This morning we’re telling the story about someone who changed. Someone who changed from having… issues. It’s someone who was impulsive, angry. Who would overreact, was insecure, obsessed with power, and hatred. And he changes to become overflowing with LOVE. You may know how hard it is to change those sorts of tendencies. Maybe you’ve heard or said “I’ll never do that again” “I don’t know why I said that” – But today’s story is incredibly hope-giving because it’s about something that brought change that is hard to imagine –it’s about what happens when you meet JESUS.
Jesus and Love: The Story of John
Mark 3:17 (NIV)
17 James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means “sons of thunder”)
John 1:29 (NIV)
29 The next day John [the baptizer] saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
Mark 1:16–20 (NIV)
16 As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 17 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 18 At once they left their nets and followed him. 19 When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. 20 Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.
Jeremiah 16:16 (NIV)
16 “But now I will send for many fishermen,” declares the Lord, “and they will catch them…
Luke 14:26 (NIV)
26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.
Luke 9:49–50 (NIV)
49 “Master,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us.” 50 “Do not stop him,” Jesus said, “for whoever is not against you is for you.”
Matthew 20:20–22 (NIV)
20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him. 21 “What is it you want?” he asked. She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.” 22 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” “We can,” they answered.
Mark 9:33–36 (NIV)
33 They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” 34 But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. 35 Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” 36 He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them,
Mark 10:38 (NIV)
38 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”
Luke 9:54 (NIV) 54 When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?” (answer = Luke 10:25–37, John 13–17)
1 John 1:1–4 (NIV)
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our joy complete.
John 20:2–8 (NIV)
2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” 3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed.
Series outline adapted from Darling, Daniel. The Characters of Easter. Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition.