Louie Giglio - Savior of the World - Part 2
In 1935, they were working at John Rylands library, a man, Chester England and a guy named Collin was going through a collection of papyri that they had from a collector in Egypt. And as he's working through this collection, he finds a little tiny fragment that catches his attention. The fragment is the size of a credit card, but what's on it is absolutely stunning. But when he saw this little fragment, he immediately realized that this is something unlike anything I've ever seen before. He sent it to the leading experts in papyri in the world and they began to study and try to date this little, tiny fragment. And as they did, they dated it almost to the time of its original writing. And that matters to us today because written on the fragment, is the gospel of John 18.
On one side, part portion of verses 31-33, on the back side, written on the other side of the papyrus, verses 37 and 38. These verses, are what we're preaching about and proclaiming today. On this little fragment found from a collection in Egypt, now in a museum on display in a library in Manchester, England. It says this on one side, "Pilate said, 'Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.' 'But we have no right to execute anyone,' they objected". This took place to fulfill what Jesus had said about the kind of death He was going to die. "Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, 'Are you the king of the Jews?'"
Now, flip to the other side of the little fragment. "'You are a king then, said Pilate. Jesus answered, 'You say that I'm a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world, is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.' 'What is truth?' retorted Pilate". And maybe that's the question you're asking today, "What is truth"? "And with this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, 'I find no basis for a charge against Him.'"
Now, this is stunning for several reasons. Number one, the book of John, the gospel of John has been dated around 100 A.D., but some think maybe as early as 90 A.D. or slightly earlier than that. But this fragment, the John Rylands papyrus, P-52 is the way it's known, this fragment has been dated by the experts that Collin sent it to on discovery of it at 150, 100 but one expert dated it at 90 A.D. So, where Salvator Mundi was the period following Leonardo, this fragment is the period following John or actually could be contemporaneous with the original manuscript in circulation. God has preserved a little piece of His word so that you and I today when we open up this gospel to the book of John, we know we are on good ground to answer the most important question in the moment, "Is He the savior of the world"?
I take us to John 3, a passage of scripted that is incredibly well known throughout the church and even the reference of it, John 3:16 is known to people outside of the church, because they've seen it so many places and culture. And I wanna just set a context today because you know, I know Tim Tebow put John 3:16 on his eye patch and it became, and when he did that the first time, the most searched item on Google in the world in that moment, during that football game, the most searched thing on planet earth was John 3:16. It's been held up at signs at sporting events, if you've ever been watching the Super Bowl and some guys got right in the camera shot behind the goal post.
And he's got John 3:16 written on a little poster or maybe you've seen it on a billboard. Or sometimes when we're just driving out through the suburbs and you get out a little bit further into the country, and you'll see somebody just put a big sign out in their front yard, you know, "Jesus saves," and then another one over here, John 3:16, people driving by. And so, John 3:16 has made it onto bumper stickers, and bracelets, and it's kind of in the mix, but that's not the way John 3:16 started. John 3:16, this is gonna blow your mind, was spoken in a conversation between Jesus and a guy who came to investigate whether or not He was truly the savior of the world. A man named Nicodemus, living in Jesus' day, was a part of a set called, "The Pharisees".
The Pharisees, were Jewish people who really did not like Jesus or His teachings. But Nicodemus' heart was warming to this man because he realized, "Something is going on through this man, Jesus, unlike anything I've ever seen before". The Pharisees were all about the outside, they were all about performance, they were all about the show. They were all about the religious exterior. They were all about knowing it all and doing it all. They were all about the external. But Nicodemus was having something going on on the inside of his life, and he knew he couldn't come to Jesus in the daytime and have a conversation. So, it says in John 3, "And at night, he came to the place where Jesus was staying".
Can you imagine how this goes down? "Hey, guy outside says his name is Nicodemus, he's one of the Pharisees. He wants to know if he can come in and talk"? Jesus' like, "Oh, come on. Come on in". So, now you got Nicodemus and Jesus at a table. And Nicodemus says to Him, "I can tell by your works and the power that you display that you're not from this place". And Jesus answers him in a crazy way, you can read it right in John 3. He says, "No one can see the kingdom of God, unless he is born again". That's where that phrase came from by the way, being born again. Jesus spoke it, He says, "Unless you're born again, you can't see the kingdom of God".
And Nicodemus of course, you know, default. First time these words have been spoken to a person as far as we know. Says, "Hello, I don't see how that's gonna work. How can a man," Nicodemus replies, "When he's old, when he's grown, when he's this big. How can he enter into his mom and be born again? I don't see how that's gonna work". And Jesus said, "No, I'm not talking about being born of the flesh. I'm talking about being born of the spirit". Everyone in these gatherings, everyone watching, wherever you are around the world, we all have one thing in common today, and that is, we were all born of the flesh and we're all living right now, or we wouldn't be in this gathering. And how did you get born of the flesh? Your mom and dad.
Yeah, God was superintending the process, but it was literally your mom's life blood that sustained you until the moment of your birth. And that's why Jesus said to Nicodemus, "Flesh gives birth to flesh". But then he said, "Nicodemus, Spirit gives birth to spirit". In other words, I'm not talking about your mom, I'm talking about your creator. I'm not talking about going back inside your mom's womb and being born again in a fleshly way. I'm talking about being connected to your creator, and being born again in a spiritual way. Because the other thing we all have in common in this gathering is, everyone of us was created flesh and spirit. You are more than cells wrapped around flesh and bone. You were created in the image of God and you have a spirit within you.
And actually, that's the most important part of you. But the dilemma, the problem, the insurmountable, was that our sinful choices cause our spirit to be dormant and dead, thus separating us from our creator, God. And Jesus is now at a table with a Pharisee who's got questions and he's saying, "You've come to the right place, Nicodemus because I'm telling you how to be born again". And He describes it, it comes to this famous verse, John 3:16. "And he looks across the table," are you with me today? He doesn't say, "Oh, Nicodemus I got it for ya'," and then He holds up a poster, John 3:16. No, He looks across the table and He says, "Nic, Nic, this is so great. You're gonna love this, Nic".
Can you imagine being Nicodemus? You are hearing John 3:16 spoken out of the mouth of Jesus himself for the very first time. He has no clue that this is gonna be recorded by John, eyewitness account. Probably in the vicinity of this conversation happening, he has no idea it's gonna become a hallmark, it's gonna be preached on every continent. It's gonna be a doorway for billions of people, he has no idea, he's just in a conversation trying to figure out, "Who are you? And how do I get whatever it is that you've got"? And Jesus said, "You gotta be born again, man". "How do you get born again? What is the story here"? And Jesus says, "I'll tell you the story Nic", here's the story. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son," Nic, "that whoever believes in him would not perish, but would have everlasting life".
And you gotta realize we're in a moment. We're not driving by a billboard, we're in a moment and Nicodemus is going... And He said, "No, no, listen to this". And then, He adds this phrase, He says in verse 17, "For God did not send His son into the world to condemn the world," Okay, ready? What is our question? "Is the guy in the painting the savior of the world"? That's our question, is He the Salvator Mundi? And Jesus answers the question, "For God did not send His son into the world to condemn the world but to save the world through Him". Jesus was saying, "I am Salvator Mundi, I am the sent one of God. I am the one who reconciles people to their creator. I am the means by which God can give life again. I am the way that hearts that are doomed and dead because of sin, burst forth into brand-new everlasting life because of the grace of God and the finished work of the cross and the empty tomb".
Jesus is saying, "I am savior of the world and I'm right here in front of you". And He's saying that to you today. If you're thinking today, that God's plan is to condemn you, you do not understand the gospel. God doesn't need to condemn you. In our sin, we're already condemned. We're already guilty. We already got no shot and no chance with a Holy God. We couldn't be more condemned than we are now a part form Christ. So, God isn't gonna come into your life and say, "Let me pour a little bit more condemnation on you". He already knows you're fully under it. And you don't need condemnation, you need a way to be forgiven and free. It's no accident that He's having this conversation with Nicodemus, because you know what the Pharisees did?
They went around condemning everybody, they had all the perfect exterior, interior a mess just like everybody else. But man could they put on a front that they know all the information, that they have super high standards that they were gonna hold everybody to. And so, they went throughout the cities and they would say, "You're not good enough. You're not gonna make it. God would never let you in the temple, and we're not either. You actually cannot walk on the same side of the street as we can. You are never gonna have a shot with God. You, oh, don't even think about it. You have messed up your life so bad that there isn't even a chance that you should think that God's gonna bring you back into His good graces".
They condemned, judged, held themselves to a higher standard, rode in on their high horse. But when Nicodemus came to meet Jesus in the night, Jesus shattered that all and said, "Hey, I'm not like you, all show and a mess on the inside. I am pure throughout and I am the highest standard, but I am not here to condemn people. I'm here to save the lost. I am here to offer hope. I am here to bring forgiveness. I am here to pay the price. I am here to wipe away the debt. I am here to make a way for people to come back to God. I wanna be known as Salvator Mundi. Paint me, if you will, but I proclaim, God so loved you".
Please don't leave Easter today and not know that the heart of Heaven is bent toward you. And if Jesus were at that table with you right now, He'd say, "Do you know I love? Do you know that I love you"? Do you know that God loves you? Did you know that He still loves you? That He's never stopped loving you? Before you were born, He loved you. That sitting in that place you're sitting in right now, He loves you. And you're like, "Okay Louie, I get it, I get it, I feel it. Just tell me, what do I gotta do? How do I make it up? How do I fix it? How do I clean up this mess? How do I get back to God? Tell me what to do".
Jesus already did, He said, "Whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life". That's how you get born again. You don't do anything, you don't pay anything, you don't earn anything, you don't achieve anything, you don't strive for anything, you just believe in something. You're like, "Believe? What does that mean? Like I believe I'm at church right now"? No, not like that kinda belief, that intellectual nod, not that kinda belief. The kinda belief that says, "I put my confident trust in the finished work of Jesus. I believe that what He paid on the cross was enough. I believe that if I ask Him, He'll forgive me. I believe that He forgives me, I'll come to brand-new spiritual life. I believe when I come to brand-new spiritual life, I will be a son or a daughter of God. I believe that when this flesh fails and dies, that my spirit will live on with Him forever. I believe His grace is bigger than all my mess. I believe in Jesus".
Whoever believes, so that's how you get born again. So, could we ask maybe the most important question? "Have you been born again"? I know there's a date in history where you were born one time, but when was the moment in time when you were born again? You're like, "Well, I've always believed in God". Didn't ask that question. "Oh, my mom, well, she was a real strong Christian". Go, mom. "Oh, our family, we were always Methodist growing up". Yay! "Oh, you know, we were Catholic or were Protestant. Well, my granddad was a pastor. Well, my aunt, you know, she served at the church. Well, I've been to Easter before. I have a Bible. I actually like Jesus, I don't have any problem, really with the whole Easter story".
Great, congratulations on all of that. The question we're asking is, "Have you been born again"? 'Cause being a Methodist ain't gonna get you into heaven. No one's gonna ask you at the door, "You Methodist? A Presbyterian? What kinda Presbyterian? Okay. You Baptist? Bible church? Home church? Some church? A little church? One time church? Online church"? Nobody cares. Only living souls in Christ, arrive into Heaven forever. Have you been born again? And I'll tell you who's on my heart right now, it's someone who's been in a dozen Easter gatherings before. And you know the run sheet, but you've never believed. You never said, "I put my confident trust in the finished work of Jesus. I wanna be born again".
So, we're gonna pray together, all locations Cumberland, here, 515 Trellis. Anybody in Africa or Asia, I'm just gonna invite you just if you would, just to close your eyes and bow your head. Just allows you to lock in with God and I wanna give anyone in this gathering, the opportunity right now to put your confident trust in the finished work of Jesus, and know from this moment you are born again to brand-new life. You could feel like you are the furthest person or maybe you taught Sunday school somewhere along the way at the other church. And anybody in between, Jesus is at the table He's calling you by name, he's saying, "Here's the gospel. I didn't come into the world to make you feel worst, I came into the world to save the world and to save you".
Anybody need that? "Louie, my life is a wreck, everything is upside down. I have no clue what to do, I'm overwhelmed by frustration, by my failures. There's so much junk behind the closet door. And if I can have a brand-new start and be born again to a brand-new life today because of God's work, I want it. I need it. I need the savior of the world. I need Salvator Mundi". Then just ask Him. It has to be your faith, but I'll help you. Just tell Him, say:
Dear Jesus, I'm asking you to save my life right now. I do believe, that you are the savior of the world. But I'm asking you today to be my savior. Jesus, thank you for giving your life for me. I ask you to forgive me for all my sin, and I'm asking you to wash all the guilt, all the shame, all the failure, all the stain away. I'm asking you, Jesus to give me a brand-new heart, a brand-new life, a brand-new start. Jesus, I wanna know you, I wanna follow you all the days of my life. I want to be born again, a son, a daughter of God.
That's belief and that's confident trust, and if that's what you are placing in Jesus right now, then right in this moment He's saving you. That confident trust, that faith is what's saving you. His grace did the work, your faith is what is saving you. His grace made the way, and it's your faith that is saving you. You're saved by grace through faith. It's the work of God, so just thank Him, say:
Jesus, thank you for saving me right here and right now. I believe it and I receive it in Jesus' name.