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Sermon #5436

Come Unto Me

A Sermon on John 5:40

Originally preached May 11, 1958

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Scripture

John 5:40 ESV KJV
yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. (ESV)

Sermon Description

What does it mean to “come to Jesus”? In this sermon on John 5:40 titled “Come Unto Me,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones now considers the command of Jesus, “come unto me.” This wonderful and compassionate command of Jesus comes in the context of the healing at Bethesda. Jesus has powerfully healed an invalid who has been in that condition for nearly four decades. This powerful healing gave Jesus the opportunity to declare His true identity as the Son of God, fully divine, fully equal with the Father. Having validated these claims by confronting the Jews with the testimony of multiple witnesses, Jesus now turns to the application of the entire scene. The Jewish people, as well as all sinners, are to come to him. The Son of God, the Sovereign Creator of all things who is equal with the Father, has come into the world to invite sinners to come to Him. At its core, the command is an invitation to believe in Jesus. In this message, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones confronts sinners with this powerful invitation to come, but he does more. As he offers this wonderful invitation, he defines what it truly means to come to Jesus and what it truly means to believe.

Sermon Breakdown

  1. The sermon text is John 5:40 which says "And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life."
  2. This verse comes at an important turning point in John 5 where Jesus begins applying what he has been teaching.
  3. Jesus is amazed that the Jews will not come to him despite all the evidence and witnesses testifying about him.
  4. Coming to Christ is a personal relationship, not just adopting his teachings or moral code. It requires a conscious decision and action.
  5. Coming to Christ requires leaving your old position and prejudices behind. The Jews needed to leave their traditions and antagonism toward Jesus.
  6. The decision to come to Christ is not just intellectual or mechanical. It involves being drawn by the Holy Spirit with an inner conviction of your need for Christ.
  7. Coming to Christ requires acknowledging your need for him, especially your need for forgiveness and salvation due to your sin. Only those who recognize their sickness come to the physician.
  8. Coming to Christ means believing that Jesus is the Son of God and the only way to eternal life, not just a good teacher or moral example.
  9. Coming to Christ means submitting to his absolute authority and accepting all of his teachings in the Bible. You cannot pick and choose what to believe.
  10. Coming to Christ means accepting that his death on the cross is the only way your sins can be forgiven. He came to die to ransom us from our sins.
  11. Coming to Christ means receiving new spiritual life from him, being born again with an eternal relationship to God as your father.
  12. Coming to Christ means surrendering your whole life and will to him no matter the cost or consequences. You give up your rights to yourself.
  13. Coming to Christ means speaking to him in prayer, telling him you believe in him, need forgiveness, and want to give him your life.
  14. The Jews did not have the opportunity to see Jesus' death on the cross like we have, yet some still do not come to Christ. This is astounding and tragic.
  15. Jesus calls all to come to him, no matter how sinful they are, and promises not to cast them out. We must come just as we are, in faith, and find rest in him.

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.