SERMON: WHOSOEVER

I.  Introduction

            -- if you’re following along at home this morning, I want to invite you to join me in the gospel of John -- we’re going to turn to John Chapter 3, and we’re going to read 3:16

John 3:16 -- For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

            -- this is a verse that all of us have heard before in our lives -- it’s a verse that all of us probably have memorized -- it is probably the most known verse in all the Bible

            -- we see it on bumper stickers -- we see it on t-shirts -- we see it on signs held up at football games and other sporting events

            -- a lot of people wonder what this verse means -- when Tim Tebow wore the words, “John 3:16,” on his eye black during the 2009 national championship game, over 94 million people googled the verse just to look it up and see what it meant

            -- this verse is the church’s answer to “Why?” -- Why did God send Jesus to earth? -- Why did God send Jesus to the cross?

            -- He did it because of His love for us -- as it says, for God so loved the world -- that’s why

            -- because He so loved the world, He gave His one and only Son -- His only begotten Son -- for us

            -- He sent Jesus to earth show us His love -- to die on the cross for our sins -- to rise from the dead on the third day -- to free us from our bondage to sin and death -- so that, if we would just believe in Him, we would be forgiven of our sins and have eternal life with Him

            -- that’s what John 3:16 is all about -- it’s the gospel in a nutshell -- it’s the meaning of Easter in just a few short words

            -- but you’ve heard that before -- you’ve heard this verse so many times, you probably know it from heart -- you know this verse -- but do you really know it?

            -- I was reading a Max Lucado book the other day and he had written a short devotional thought about John 3:16 -- and, because I’m so familiar with this verse -- because I know its message by heart -- I was just sort of skimming through this chapter, when one word jumped out at me -- whosoever -- whosoever

            -- “for God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son -- that whoever -- whosoever -- believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life”

            -- that one word -- whosoever -- changes everything

II.  The Whosoever

            -- you know, I have never been popular -- I have never been part of the in-crowd -- the cool kids -- the popular people -- never

            -- it was like that when I was in grade school -- and it’s still like that today

            -- all the way up through high school, I just didn’t fit it -- I wasn’t one of the crowd -- I wasn’t athletic -- I wasn’t good-looking -- I didn’t have all the cool clothes -- I didn’t listen to the right music -- I didn’t know all the right phrases

            -- the only thing I did have going for me was academics -- I did good in school -- I was in the Top 10 in my class -- I read a lot -- I did really well on tests and with my grades -- but that doesn’t make you popular -- and so I was left out of a lot when I was in school -- I was made fun of a lot -- picked on a lot

            -- I remember always wanting to be in the group, but never being invited in -- just always on the fringe -- usually alone

            -- I remember one day I had eased up to the edge of the group of guys who gathered to talk and joke before the first bell rang -- someone noticed me and asked somewhat mockingly if I was going to the party that weekend -- I was dumbfounded -- first, because someone noticed me and asked if I was going to the party -- and secondly, because I didn’t know there was a party -- everyone was there standing around the guy hosting the party and holding their invitations -- and I didn’t have one and they all knew it -- I was left out…again

           

            -- so, you can see why that word -- whosoever -- in the middle of John 3:16 is so breathtaking and so unbelievable for those of us who are outcast -- who aren’t in the club -- who aren’t in the “in crowd”

            -- John 3:16 doesn’t say, “For God so loved the world He sent His one and only Son, that the popular people shall not perish but have eternal life” -- it doesn’t say, “For God so loved the world that He sent His one and only Son, that the Jews shall not perish” -- or the Pharisees shall not perish -- or the holy shall not perish -- or those who go to church every Sunday shall not perish -- or those who always follow God’s laws shall not perish

            -- no, it doesn’t say that -- it says, “so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish” -- as Max Lucado pointed out in his devotional, “God’s gospel has a “whoever” policy”

            -- and that’s something that’s easy to say, but harder to accept in practice -- this means that the gospel is for everyone, with no exclusions -- you know that person at work that you just can’t stand? -- that you don’t like to be around for whatever reason? -- maybe it’s their language or the way they look at you or the things they say or do -- yeah, that person is the “whoever” this verse is talking about

            -- you know that politician that just grinds your teeth and that you just can’t stand and that you honestly just hate? -- yeah, that person is the “whoever” this verse is talking about

            -- along with the drug-users and the thieves and the prostitutes and the homeless guy holding up the sign at Walmart asking for money that you just know is a scam -- yeah -- they’re all the “whoever” this verse is talking about

            -- and that’s easy for us to say -- and it’s easy for us to know -- but it’s hard for us to believe and practice

            -- and, if you think it’s hard for us, just imagine what is was like for the Jews in Jesus’ day -- the Jews were a very exclusive club -- they were God’s chosen people -- and if you weren’t a Jew, then there just was no hope for you at all -- you were obviously out of God’s kingdom

            -- but even if you were a Jew, you still had to fit in with the right group -- if you were a Pharisee or a Sadducee, you were welcome to come to God -- but not everyone could join -- not just every Jew was invited into the kingdom -- certainly not the immoral or the “sinners” or the tax collectors -- those type of people weren’t included -- they weren’t part of the church crowd -- not that they didn’t want to be -- they just weren’t allowed to be -- they were excluded and cast out

            -- but then Jesus showed up and spoke these words here in John 3:16 -- and He made a point of making sure that those around Him heard that word, “whosoever” -- and He made a point of showing the people what “whosoever” meant

            -- that’s why we have the parable of the good Samaritan -- the Jews hated the Samaritans -- they were an unclean people -- a mix of Jewish and Assyrian and other ethnicities -- they hated them so much that Jews wouldn’t even go through Samaria -- if they had to go somewhere and the shortest route was a direct line through Samaria, they would go around, just to avoid the Samaritans

            -- so, when Jesus was answering the question, “Who is my neighbor?” He shared the story of the good Samaritan and told how the priest and the Levite walked by the man who had been robbed and left for dead -- but how the Samaritan had mercy on the man and took care of him -- His listeners had to be dumbfounded when they heard that story -- how could a Samaritan do anything of value? -- how could a Samaritan be the hero of the story? -- Jesus was trying to show them what John 3:16 meant when it said, “whosoever”

           

            -- or think about the time when Jesus called Levi to leave his tax collection booth and to come and follow Him as a disciple -- tax-collectors were hated in Israel -- they were lumped in with the lowest of the low -- they were abhorrent -- they were sinners of the worst kind -- conspiring with the Romans against the Jews and becoming rich through their conniving ways

            -- and when Jesus went to Levi’s house later that day for a celebratory meal, the Pharisees complained to Jesus and His disciples -- “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” -- meaning, “Why are you with them?”

            -- in Luke 5:31-32, Jesus replied, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick -- I have not come to call the righteous, but sinner to repentance” -- in other words, “I have come to call whosoever will believe…”

           

III.  Scripture Lesson -- Luke 19:1-10

            -- let’s finish up by looking at one more passage where a nobody became a somebody because of God’s love to whoever would believe -- if you’re following in your Bibles, turn over to Luke 19

            -- Luke 19, starting at verse 1-4

Luke 19:1 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

            -- Zacchaeus was a tax collector -- not only a tax collector, but the chief tax collector -- the worst of the worst -- and he had made himself extremely wealthy in this despised practice

            -- and, not only was he a tax collector, but he was a short tax collector -- which meant that everybody looked down on him -- not just because of his height, but because of who he was

            -- Zacchaeus was not popular -- he was not in the cool club -- he was despised and hated by his own people -- and, even though he was rich, he lived on the fringe of Jewish society -- an outcast whose only friends were those like him

            -- when Zacchaeus heard that Jesus was passing through, he got curious -- the text says that he wanted to see who Jesus was

            -- that's a curious phrase, isn't it? -- he wanted to see who Jesus was -- we can assume from this that Zacchaeus had heard about Jesus and about His miracles and about His teachings -- but now, he wanted to see who He really was -- he wanted to see if Jesus was really who they said He was

            -- we come into contact with a lot of people like Zacchaeus every day -- they've probably heard about Jesus -- they know about church -- maybe they've even been to church off and on -- maybe they even call themselves a Christian -- but they've never really experienced Jesus -- they don't know who Jesus is -- they know about Him, but they don't know Him

            -- that's what Zacchaeus was doing -- he wanted to see who Jesus was -- if He was real

            -- so, Zacchaeus goes to the place where Jesus is passing by, but he couldn’t see because of the crowd -- and there’s a lot to say about that -- you can see what the people thought about him based on this statement

            -- they all knew he was short -- they all knew he needed to be up front in order to see -- but no one would let him in -- no one would make way for him or move so he had a clear line of sight -- and, once again, he got pushed back -- to the edge of the crowed -- the edge of society

            -- so, he did the only thing he could do -- he climbed up a tree to get above the crowd so that he could see Jesus when He passed by

            -- verse 5-7

Luke 19:5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. 7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”

            -- can you imagine the look on the people’s faces -- and on Zacchaeus’ face -- when Jesus comes to a dead stop in the middle of the road and looks up into that sycamore tree and says to Zacchaeus, “come down immediately -- I must stay at your house today?”

            -- out of all the people gathered there in Jericho to see Jesus that day -- out of all the cool kids and the religious leaders and the popular crowd -- Jesus doesn’t stop and call out to any of them

            -- instead, He calls out to the guy at the back -- the one in the tree -- the outcast -- the one that no one else liked or cared about or even wanted -- and He calls him by name and says, “Zacchaeus, I choose you -- come down and let’s go to your house together”

            -- chosen -- that’s another good word -- that’s a word that the whosoever long to hear -- that the whosoever desire with all their heart -- just to think that someone would see them and choose them and call them and make them special and important -- how cool is that?

            -- well, the people didn’t think so -- when Jesus called out to Zacchaeus and followed him to his house, the people started to mutter -- “we came all this way to see this Jesus -- we thought He was somebody -- we thought He was one of us -- but now He’s gone to be the guest of a sinner…”

            -- the cool crowd never wants to include the whosoever

            -- what about us? -- do we exclude people like the Jews in Jesus’ day did? -- do we judge them based on their past or their upbringing or their clothes or their status in life?

            -- I have -- and, if you’re honest, you’ve probably done the same, too

            -- years ago, Kim and I were going to church over at Morven and we were really happy -- really comfortable in that little church -- good people -- good church people -- you know what I mean -- everybody just fit in -- we were all alike -- we all believed the same thing -- we were like a really close-knit family -- everything was just right

            -- well, one day, this guy showed up and he didn’t fit in -- he was a biker dude -- he came in wearing leather pants with a black motorcycle jacket -- had one of those chains that goes from your belt to your wallet

            -- he was unkempt -- he had wild hair and a long beard that fell down to his chest -- kind of like one of the Duck Dynasty guys -- but back then, you didn’t see many people that looked like that

            -- he looked really, really scary and I when I saw him, my first thought was,  "I don't want to mess with him -- I don’t want to be around him" -- he was a person that I wouldn't want to pass by on the street at night, for sure -- I was hoping we could just get through the service and this guy would leave and we’d never see him again

            -- but he asked if he could speak -- and he told his story about how God had changed his life -- how God had saved him from drinking and drugs and fighting and everything else -- about how he used to be a nobody -- someone that nobody wanted to be around -- someone that everybody avoided -- but then he heard Jesus say, “whosoever,” and he realized it meant him and how that made all the difference

            -- verse 8-10

Luke 19:8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

            -- Zacchaeus knew who he was -- he knew how those around him saw him -- and when he heard the people muttering against him once again, he stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount."

            -- and note what Jesus said, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.” -- this man is one of the whosoever -- this man is the reason I have come -- this man is the reason God sent Me

            -- For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost -- lost -- not only through sin and death -- but lost because of exclusion -- lost because of prejudice -- lost because of hatred and discrimination

            -- the people of Jericho excluded Zacchaeus because he was not part of the “in crowd” -- but Jesus saw him and loved him and called him His own

IV. CLOSING

            -- let’s bring this to a close

            -- One night in a church service, a young woman felt the tug of God at her heart. She responded to God's call and accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior. The young woman had a very rough past, involving alcohol, drugs, and prostitution. However, the change in her was evident.   -- As time went on, she became a faithful member of the church. She eventually became involved in the ministry, teaching young children. It was not very long until this faithful young woman had caught the eye and heart of the pastor's son. The relationship grew and they began to make wedding plans, this is when the problems began.

            -- You see, about a half of the church did not think that a woman with a past such as hers was suitable for the pastor's son. The church began to argue and fight about the matter.

            -- So, they decided to have a meeting. As the people made their arguments and tensions increased, the meeting was getting completely out of hand. The young woman became very upset about all the things being brought up about her past. As she began to cry the pastor's son stood to speak. He could not bear the pain it was causing his wife to be.

            -- He said, "My fiancé's past is not what is on trial here. What you are questioning is the ability of the blood of Jesus to wash away sin. Today you have put the blood of Jesus on trial. So, does it wash away sin or not? -- is the blood of Jesus for everyone or just for some?”

            -- and, with that, the whole church began to weep as they realized what they had been doing and saying through their actions

            -- as we close, I want to remind you of the whosoevers in our midst -- we are such a polarized and divided nation right now -- every issue -- every event -- has turned into an “us versus them” moment

            -- this needs to change -- we need to remember what John 3:16 tells us -- we need to recapture the wonder that is in the word, “whosoever” -- and we need to share God’s love and God’s message with everyone

            -- remember that in God’s kingdom, there is no “them” -- there’s only us -- saved by grace through faith, despite who we were or who we thought we were

            -- and that same grace and that same love that stopped and spoke our name and called to us to “come,” is the same grace that is calling out to the whosoevers around us right now

            -- so, let us look for the whosoevers and let us call out to them and make them our friends and introduce them to Jesus -- so that, they may believe and receive eternal life in Him, too

            -- let us pray