Look at Him
A Sermon on John 7:5
Originally preached April 12, 1959
Scripture
5For neither did his brethren believe in him.
Sermon Description
Throughout the New Testament is found the call to believe and the warning to examine oneself, lest anyone be found destined for hell. Belief is the central message of the Gospel of John. In fact, the entire book is an apologetic to believe in Christ. In this sermon on John 7:5 titled “Look at Him,” Dr. Lloyd-Jones once again calls all to believe by illuminating the manifestations of unbelief. The backdrop is found in a scene with Jesus and His brothers where it is time to go to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Booths. Jesus announces that He is not going to the feast, and His brothers immediately criticize this decision. Their argument centers on worldly motivation. It is in their argument to Jesus that one finds manifestations of unbelief that apply to all sinners of all times. Through their words, Jesus’s brothers reveal their misunderstanding of Jesus and His mission, proving their focus on worldly problems. These carnal attitudes mark an unbeliever and will always be found in the unbelieving. In this sermon, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones warns listeners to examine their belief, lest they be found unbelieving.
Sermon Breakdown
- The passage being discussed is John 7:1-5 which describes Jesus' brothers not believing in him.
- This passage illustrates the great tragedy of Jesus being rejected by mankind.
- The words "for neither did his brethren believe in him" provide the key to understanding why Jesus' brothers did not believe in him.
- Believing in Jesus is the most important thing in life.
- The characteristics of unbelief as seen in Jesus' brothers are:
- A misunderstanding of Jesus and his actions
- A spirit of disputation, criticism and feeling superior towards Jesus
- Always being perplexed by Jesus and seeing contradictions in his words and actions
- The causes of unbelief are:
- Spiritual blindness and deadness
- Failing to start with Jesus himself and instead focusing only on his words and actions
- Failing to see Jesus as a whole and only looking at certain parts of him
- Expecting the wrong things of Jesus and what he should do
- Failing to realize the truth about who Jesus is, why he came, and how he saves
- Belief is the opposite of unbelief. Believers:
- Worship Jesus, recognizing he is the Son of God
- Understand the unity of Jesus' person and work
- Are not stumbled by things like Jesus staying in Galilee or dying on the cross
- See the whole plan of salvation and marvel at it
- Are filled with love, gratitude and thanksgiving towards Jesus
- We must look at Jesus as he is, not as we think he should be. We must believe in him to be saved.
The Book of John
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.