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Kind of problems or difficulties, how could
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Jesus Christ be a legitimate priest since he was not from the tribe of Levi, but rather from the tribe of Judah?
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And the answer is given in Hebrews that the Lord Jesus Christ is of a different priestly order, one after the order of the
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Old Testament character Melchizedek, rather than being the descendant of Aaron.
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And so Hebrews 7 addresses this matter and how actually
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Jesus Christ is a superior priest than anything, any priest that ever came out of the tribe of Levi.
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Hebrews chapter 7, For this
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Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him.
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And to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace.
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He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the
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Son of God, he continues a priest forever. See how great this man was to whom
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Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils. And those descendants of Levi who received the priestly office have a commandment in the law to take tithes from the people, that is, from their brothers, though these also are descended from Abraham.
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But this man, who does not have his descent from them, received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises.
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It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior. In the one case tithes are received by mortal men, but in the other case by one of whom it is testified that he lives.
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One might even say that Levi himself who received tithes paid tithes through Abraham, for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when
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Melchizedek met him. Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood, for under it the people received the law, what further need would there have been for another priest to arise from the order of Melchizedek rather than one named after the order of Aaron?
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For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well. For the one of whom these things are spoken belonged to another tribe, for which no one has ever served at the altar.
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For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, and in connection with that tribe,
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Moses said nothing about priest. This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become a priest not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life.
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For it is witnessed of him, you are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness, for the law made nothing perfect, but on the other hand a better hope is introduced through which we draw near to God.
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And it was not without an oath, for those who formerly became priests were made such without an oath, but this one was made a priest with an oath by the one who said to him,
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The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, you are a priest forever. This makes
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Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant. The former priests were many in number because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but he holds his priesthood permanently because he continues forever.
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Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
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For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens.
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He has no need like those high priests to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself.
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For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath which came later than the law appoints a
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Son who has been made perfect forever. Let's pray.
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Our gracious Heavenly Father, we thank You for the priesthood of Christ.
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We thank You that He was innocent, that He was holy, that He was unstained, that He was separated from sinners and that He is exalted above all else, because He has a greater name above all else.
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And Lord, we thank You that You make intercession for us. We thank You that You are near to us.
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We thank You that we can come to You with our struggles and our trials. Lord, we pray that we would understand
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You better, that we would understand Your offices, that we would understand Your character.
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Lord, help us as we continue to read through the Scriptures, as we continue to study the
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Scriptures, as we continue to hear the Word of God proclaimed from this pulpit. Give us, Lord, understanding of what
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Your Word says. And give us, Lord, a great love for the Word of God. Even though things may be difficult in it,
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Lord, we pray that we would wrestle with them, that we would seek to understand them. And by the power of Your Spirit, we pray that that would happen, that we would have a clear understanding of the
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Word of God. So help us now, Lord, as we focus, as we listen. Help us to be undistracted.
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And we pray, Lord, that You would teach us things. Thank You, Lord, in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, let's turn in our
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Bibles to John 8 once again. Now, you have probably a set of notes in hand, and it might appear to be rather unwieldy.
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There's 15 pages, but actually the last five pages are just kind of a bonus.
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We won't be giving attention to them. But I came across a rather obscure Puritan.
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I'd never seen his name before, but he gave a message. It was actually a farewell sermon as he was leaving one pastorate because he had accepted another.
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And it was based on a verse here in John 8 about pleasing
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God. And so I thought it would be appropriate. And so perhaps you have time later today to read that, those five pages that speak about how if our ways please the
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Lord, the Lord is pleased to wonderfully bless us, the life of the
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Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus, of course, pleased His Father in every way. And so the Father blessed Him in every way.
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Well, today we want to give attention to the next portion of our study in John 8.
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And so we will give attention to John 8, 21 through 30.
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And we're reading, of course, in the New King James Version, which we've been using in this study.
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Then Jesus said to them again, I am going away and you will seek me and will die in your sin.
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Where I go, you cannot come. So the Jew said, will he kill himself?
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Because he says where I go, you cannot come. And he said to them, you are from beneath.
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I am from above. You are of this world. I am not of this world.
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And therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I am he, you will die in your sins.
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And they said to him, who are you? And Jesus said to them, just what
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I have been saying to you from the beginning. I have many things to say and to judge concerning you.
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But he who sent me is true. And I speak to the world those things which I have heard from him.
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They did not understand that he spoke to them of the Father. Then Jesus said to them, when you lift up the
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Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing of myself. But as my
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Father taught me, I speak these things. And he who sent me is with me.
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The Father has not left me alone. For I always do those things that please him.
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And as he spoke these words, many believed in him. The setting of our
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Lord's words here in John 8, 21 -30 are the same as the setting of his words that we considered last
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Lord's Day, in fact for several weeks. Jesus was in the temple speaking to the crowds after the conclusion of the
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Feast of Tabernacles. But in the verses we just read the Lord was addressing more directly and specifically the
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Jewish leaders. He seemed to single them out and addressing them particularly even as they were mixed up there in the crowd.
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And of course they were opposed to him. And we see from verse 22 in which
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John records the answer of the Jews to our Lord's first statement.
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There you can see he's talking about the Jewish leaders because in John's Gospel, those two words, the
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Jews, is generally a reference to the Jewish leadership of Jerusalem.
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In this exchange with these men in these verses before us, our Lord affirmed before them his identity but in cloaked terms.
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And we see the crucial importance of believing who he is in truth and responding to him in saving faith.
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And so it's really a theme that we have seen a number of times and is continually repeated in John's Gospel and it is here too.
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And so we need to believe on him particularly on his deity in order to receive the forgiveness of sins and receive the gift of eternal life.
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And yet we also read of the hopeless state of these men who are both unwilling to hear and understand the truth that Jesus was proclaiming in their hearing.
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And so it's been said of our Lord in this passage in particular, Christ here gives fair warning to the careless, unbelieving
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Jews to consider what would be the consequences of their infidelity, that they might prevent it before it was too late.
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For he spoke words of terror as well as words of grace.
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And the Lord had a way of course doing both within the same context, didn't he?
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We want to first consider the meaning of the text and then we will attempt to instruct on how to hear the word of God because one of the main lessons of this passage is that these
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Jews, although greatly privileged, quite educated, didn't understand what he was saying.
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And it was a spiritual problem they had and we don't want that spiritual problem to be characteristic of any of us.
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And so we want to understand his word. So let's consider the meaning.
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First, we have how Jesus announced his departure in verses 21 and 22.
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And Jesus said to them again, I am going away and you will seek me and will die in your sin.
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Where I go you cannot come. So the Jews said, will he kill himself?
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Because he says where I go you cannot come. Now last Lord's Day we gave attention of course to verses 11 through 20 which we read in verse 21, then
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Jesus said to them again. And we saw that actually back in verse 11 as well,
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Jesus said to them again. And in verse 21 the same thing is repeated, Jesus said to them again. And so we see that this indicates our
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Lord is speaking to the same audience, in the same location, but perhaps there had been a pause in his speaking.
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The emphasis that our Lord gave last week in verses 11 through 20 are repeated but enlarged in the passage before us.
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And in fact they are accentuated somewhat. The summary of the themes that are repeated here in this passage were identified by this commentator.
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The themes developed in verses 12 through 20 are enlarged upon through the rest of this chapter. They include where Jesus comes from,
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I'm not going to read those verse references, where he is going, who the
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Father is, who Jesus is. And further the opposite of each of these themes is applied to the
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Jews. Jesus is from above, they are from below, they are from this world, he is not of this world, where he goes they cannot come,
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God is his Father and theirs is the devil. And so we are seeing these themes repeat themselves, but again they become accentuated as it were as the passage goes on.
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And so actually verse 21 repeats largely what the Lord had declared earlier in the previous chapter,
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John 7, 33 through 34, which read, Then Jesus said to them, I shall be with you a little while longer, and then
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I go to him who sent me, you will see me and not find me, and where I am you cannot come.
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And so in John's gospel we have a number of themes or ideas that are frequently repeated and yet they are not really redundant because again as the passage unfolds they become more accentuated and the words become a little more direct, the warning is a little more foreboding and the ignorance and hostility of his enemy seems to be increasing as the narrative unfolds.
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And so there is a difference in verse 21 in that it is more threatening even though it says essentially the same thing as earlier.
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Again it reads, Jesus said to them again, I am going away, you will seek me, and you will die in your sin, and where I go you cannot come.
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Generally in John's gospel when Jesus states that he is going away it is referring to his death, burial, and resurrection and his return to the
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Father and that is what he is speaking about here as well. He is suggesting that even after he dies upon the cross they will still be looking for a coming
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Messiah but they are not going to find him because he was the real deal as it were.
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I am going away, you are going to seek me, you are going to be seeking a Messiah but you are not going to find me and where I am going you cannot come.
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That is I am going back to heaven to the Father and you cannot come there given your current spiritual state.
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And so they would be disappointed in their search even after they crucified Jesus they failed to acknowledge him as the true
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Messiah. And so these unbelievers who will be looking for another other than Jesus will be unable to go to heaven where Jesus will have gone.
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But these Jewish leaders know no more of our Lord now as they did then earlier.
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They responded with a question to themselves. Verse 22 reads, So the Jews said, will he kill himself because he says where I go you cannot come?
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This question that the Jews asked among themselves is also an elevated or accentuated response to what they had said to Jesus on an earlier occasion.
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Again they thought that Jesus was so out of touch with reality that he was perhaps suicidal. They seemed to be mocking him in this statement.
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Is he going to kill himself? Is that why we can't follow him? Verse 22
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Matthew Henry wrote, Of the jest they made of this threatening, instead of trembling at this word they bantered it and turned it into ridicule.
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Will he kill himself? See here what slight thoughts they had of Christ's threatenings. This suggestion on the part of the
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Jews was designed to slander Jesus since suicide in Judaism was abhorred and considered to be the act of an insane person.
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So you see their accusations are becoming quite direct and quite severe.
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Earlier the Jews had thought perhaps his going away was his intention to go to the diaspora.
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Do you remember that? Is he planning on going off into the Gentile world and even preaching to the
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Greeks? Is he going to the Jews out there in the world and through them reach the Gentiles?
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But here they suspect that he's contemplating suicide. And so we see that the whole issue is ramping up in degree.
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By the way here is another instance of Johannine irony and it's found throughout
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John's Gospel. As one declared again the irony of the cross is at play. No, he was not going away by committing suicide but he was going away by his voluntary submitting to his death on the cross.
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So you see the irony there. Here the Lord spoke graciously to them out of concern for their eternal well -being but they were clueless.
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They would not hear. They could not understand. Now it's possible that we might be discouraged when we encounter people similarly who cannot understand us and they perhaps infuse wrong thoughts regarding us in order to discredit us and justify themselves.
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Matthew Henry sought to encourage the servants of the Lord in their work. The idea is if Jesus encountered these kinds of people why should you be surprised if you encounter these kinds of people was his point.
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Jesus said again unto them that which might be likely to do them good he continued to teach in kindness to those who received his doctrine though they were many that resisted it which is an example of the ministers to go on in their work notwithstanding opposition because a remnant shall be saved.
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And of course that's what church work is all about isn't it? Is that we expect, anticipate and we encounter opposition and sometimes it can be quite direct and quite severe but the
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Lord carries on his work regardless. But then we see that Jesus denounced his detractors in verses 23 and 24.
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He said to them you are from beneath I am from above you are this world I am not of this world therefore
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I said to you that you will die in your sins for if you do not believe that I am he you will die in your sins.
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You notice I put the he there in italic and that's the way it is in the
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New King James Version and of course in a lot of translations and versions when you see an
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English word in italic what the translators are saying is that that word was not in the original
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Greek text and they're right actually the statement basically says if you do not believe that I am you will die in your sins.
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That's important. Our Lord responded by telling them that they were from two different realms in which there is nothing common between them.
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He said to them you are from beneath I am from above you are this world I am not of this world and therefore how could they even relate to him or understand him since they were so contrary in nature.
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Our Lord is not of this world even when he lived in this world his heart and mind were in another in heaven with his father.
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As one wrote he was perfectly dead to the wealth of the world the ease of the body the praise of men and was wholly taken up with divine and heavenly things and none shall be with him but those who are born from above and have their conversation in heaven.
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There was no common ground between him and these people. How different they were from he.
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They had a worldly frame of mind in reference. Jesus said to them you are from beneath and from this world.
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What communion could be conducted and enjoyed between them? None. It was as if Jesus was saying to them we are from two different planets.
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There is no common ground here between the two of us. And this was the reason for their inability to understand who he was in truth.
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As well as where he was going and how he was getting there. They just were totally unable to understand what he was saying to them.
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The Lord said to them you are from beneath I am from above you are this world I'm not of this world. Now we might think when we read those words you are from beneath it's a reference to hell or the evil underworld.
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But that's not what Jesus is saying here. He is saying that beneath is this world in which we live.
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In contrast to heaven where God dwells. That which is above. The fact is there are two realms heaven above and earth beneath.
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And the world as beneath speaks of its degenerated moral and spiritual order which is incapable and unwilling to understand and experience that which is above heaven and God who dwells there.
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Basically we have Jesus setting forth here the total depravity of man the inability of any human being to understand
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God and relate to God. Jesus is speaking about the need of him being an intercessor of course between heaven above and earth below.
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Jesus and the Jews belong to two different worlds. The origin of Jesus is rooted in the identity of God whereas the origin of the
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Jews is rooted in the identity of darkness, sin and death. There is no common ground between them.
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No way that these Jews could understand who he was, what he was saying the implications of it, the importance of it they were clueless.
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Jesus declared to them I am from above. By the way here is just one more occasion in which
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Jesus is speaking of his divine nature, his eternal divine nature
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I am from above. He is not saying I am from Bethlehem here. He is saying I am from above.
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His origin is in the Godhead. He came down from above in his incarnation when he the eternal son of God took upon himself our human nature that being a physical body and a rational soul.
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He did not cease to be from above that is his divine nature was not transformed into that of man.
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It is not God became man and then he goes back to being God. It is God who is
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God who took upon himself human nature goes back to heaven as the God man.
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And so it wasn't God being transformed into a man. It is the son of God taking upon himself in addition our human nature and thus becoming fully
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God and fully man. And so he became one of us of course to die in our place to atone for our sins so that we could be with him who is once again above and that is our only way of access through him.
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As one wrote the contrast is not between a spiritual world and a material world.
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John is not a neoplatonist wrote this commentator. For those who have ears you hear.
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But between the realm of God himself and the realm of this fallen and rebellious creation the world which hates
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Jesus because he testifies that what it does is evil. That is the fundamental reason why
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Jesus's opponents can neither recognize who he is nor understand his teaching.
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Nothing will suffice to remove such blindness but being taught by God being born again finding the one who is himself the way the truth and the life.
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And so we shouldn't think of these leading Jews and their obstinance and their ignorance and their maltreatment of Jesus as being that group over there who are really evil.
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They are simply reflections of who we are apart from the grace of God and Jesus Christ.
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We are from beneath and he is from above. And unless he comes down as he did of course to bring us back up there there is no way in the world we can pass from here to there.
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The words of pronouncement of these people is frightening. We read in verse 24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins for if you do not believe that I am he you will die in your sins.
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He already had declared their inability to believe on him for they were this fallen world. Again there we have the total depravity of the human race revealed.
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The only way of escape from certain damnation which results when dying in one's sins is to believe what
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Jesus claimed I am he. In this context it means that unless you believe that Jesus Christ is
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God incarnate you will die in your sins and be damned in those sins. Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation in this fallen world.
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And as we advocate and it shouldn't be any surprise to us this is historic
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Christianity but in our multicultural world it's a terrible offense to those who hear Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation.
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All other religions are false religions. All other gods are no gods. Jesus Christ himself declared unless you believe
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I am he you will die in your sins. That is the only way to escape damnation for human beings.
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By the way if you were really attentive you notice when we read verse 21 it made mention of the singular sin you die in your sin but here in verse 24 we read of dying in your sins plural.
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There's a difference. The singular sin of verse 21 was probably addressing the specific single sin of unbelief.
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You'll die in your sin. But here in verse 24 the plural sins is referring to the totality of sins committed in this life.
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Unless you believe that Jesus is God incarnate to whom alone is salvation when you die all your sins are going with you.
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Those who die in their sins will be judged for those sins before the Lord Jesus whom God the Father is appointed to be judge of the world.
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Here are the words of John Calvin by the way and he's really an excellent commentator. You know back in my
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Arminian days back in the 70s you know I used to think of this guy he was the most evil man in history
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John Calvin. Against those Calvinists those reformed guys.
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And then I always thought too that he was such an intellectual and what not that his stuff was just dry and cold.
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And then years ago I did a verse by verse study of the book of Isaiah and I probably had 15 commentaries on Isaiah and after I got into the midst of the study
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I kept going back to Calvin's commentary on Isaiah because he was so warm devotional and pastoral.
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I had a complete wrong conception of him. But he could write with a pretty sharp pen.
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John Calvin wrote having formally employed the singular number in your sin he now resorts to the plural number in your sins.
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But the meaning is the same except that in the former passage he intended to point out that unbelief is the source and cause of all evils.
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Not that there are no other sins but unbelief or that it is unbelief alone which subjects us to the condemnation of eternal death before God as some men too extravagantly talk.
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And you hear that today too. You'll hear people that say Jesus died for all sins and so the only reason people go to hell is because of unbelief.
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He's repudiating that. That's not biblical. Jesus said you'll die in your sins.
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Not just the one sin of unbelief. But because it drives us away from Christ.
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That's why he addresses the great sin of unbelief. And deprives us of his grace from which we ought to expect deliverance from all our sins.
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That the Jews reject the medicine with the obstinate malice is their mortal disease. And hence it arises that the slaves of Satan do not cease to heap up sins on sins and continually to bring down upon themselves fresh condemnations.
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Again the expression I am he is the one that we've already seen a number of times several times in John's Gospel.
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This is the Greek clause I am. We saw it just last week or the week before. The Greek ego amy which is
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Jesus claimed to be God who revealed himself to Moses through the burning bush.
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Jesus is claiming to be Jehovah. I am. And Jesus is saying to these men unless you believe
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I am you're going to die in your sins. Now granted they did not fully understand what he was saying.
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They thought he was simply saying that I am he. And that's why the he is provided.
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But later on in verse 58 he makes it clear when he declares to them before Abraham was
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I am. And then they picked up stones to kill him. But he was making the same claim here they just didn't catch on right away.
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They must have suspected what's he saying? I am he. I'm the Messiah.
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What was he saying? No surely he's not saying that I'm God. And then in verse 58 he came just forthright and declared it.
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But he was declaring the truth here. And you and I as readers of the Gospel we can see it quite clearly.
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And of course this statement that I am is found a number of times in John's Gospel.
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Seven times in which the I am is connected with a predicate. And I've listed them on the top of page 5 of your notes when
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Jesus said I'm the bread of life. We saw that one already. And then here I'm the light of the world.
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We considered that last week. And then we will come across in the future.
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I'm the door of the sheep. I'm the good shepherd. I'm the resurrection of life. I'm the way of truth and life. I'm the true vine.
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And each one of those is a statement Jesus declaring his deity. I am the
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God who appeared to Moses in the burning bush. And so the scriptures tell us that unless you believe that Jesus is
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God incarnate you're going to die in your sins. Those cults who do not believe in the
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Jesus as he's presented here say Mormons who are accepted by a lot of evangelicals these days.
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Oh they just believe a little different than we do. No it's a cult. It's a false religion. And obviously
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Jehovah's Witnesses who deny the deity of Christ. They're going to die in their sins. Although they claim to believe on Jesus.
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Very serious matter. Unless you believe I am you will die in your sins is what
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Jesus said. And of course you must believe not only as to who he is but what he did.
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Liv died rose again. But you must believe he's eternal God who came into the world assuming our human nature in order to die to atone for the sins of sinners.
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But again even though the expression I am is clear to us as we read this gospel it was not quite clear to those who heard him make this statement.
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They questioned what he meant by this. Again by the time we reach verse 58 and 59 it becomes quite clear.
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Jesus said to them most assuredly I say to you before Abraham was I am. Then they took up stones to throw at him.
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But Jesus hid himself went out of the temple going through the midst of them and so passed by.
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Again Jesus said therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins for if you do not believe
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I am you will die in your sins. Pretty direct.
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Well now we have Jesus pronouncing his identity once again in verses 25 through 27.
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Then they said to him who are you? And Jesus said to them just what I have been saying to you from the beginning.
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I have many things to say and to judge concerning you but he who said to me is true and I speak to the world those things which
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I heard from him. They did not understand that he spoke to them of the Father.
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These were religious Jewish men. Some of them knew the entire
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Hebrew scripture our Old Testament by heart.
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They had memorized it all the Hebrew and yet they were spiritually ignorant as to his identity.
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Who are you? They didn't understand what he was claiming for himself but I suspect they had their suspicions.
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Jesus' response to them was to the point. Jesus said to them just what I have been saying to you from the beginning.
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Now to these Jews when they heard him say that they would have probably assumed he was simply claiming to be the same one since they first encountered him.
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That he had been consistent before telling them who he was. But for the reader of this fourth gospel not the
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Jewish leaders but for you and I who are reading this passage it has more full meaning.
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Jesus' words from the beginning takes us back to John chapter 1 verse 1 and following.
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In the beginning was the word. The word was with God. The word was God. He was in the beginning with God.
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But also the readers of this gospel would have then taken our Lord's words back even farther even to Genesis 1 .1
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the creation which says in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
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And so they would have understood our Lord's words as but another assertion of his deity.
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Just in another way he was testifying to them who he was. As one noted the term the beginning makes an impression upon the reader that is missed by the
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Jews. In other words it impresses you and me in a way that it didn't impress them.
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They were clueless. For the term speaks not merely of the beginning of Jesus' ministry but also and simultaneously about Jesus the creator the one who was with God in the beginning.
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Jesus was at the creation of the world that he had publicly claimed to be since the beginning of his ministry.
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It was who he was at that very moment standing before the Jews. But again they were clueless.
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They didn't understand. And then the Lord said to them in verse 26
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I have many things to say and to judge concerning you but he who sent me is true and I speak to the world those things which
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I have heard from him. So our Lord said that he did indeed have many things to say that his father would have him say which would most certainly entail a pronouncement of judgment upon them but whatever he would declare to them they may be assured that his words were the words of his father given to him to declare to the people.
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As one wrote let them understand that in every word of warning and judgment from the lips of Jesus they hear the word and verdict of the great sender and that would be
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God the father. But again it's a sad thing that these
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Jews were clueless as to what he was saying to them. We read in verse 27 they did not understand that he spoke to them of the father.
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The readers of this gospel know exactly what Jesus meant when he spoke. But John revealed that these
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Jewish leaders were grossly spiritually errant and ignorant of what Jesus was saying to them.
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His words made no sense to them at all. Now just a little word of application here.
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Often times the inability of hearers to understand the words of a preacher standing before them is due to the failure of the preacher.
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We would certainly grant that. He fails to communicate clearly and properly. But the problem of understanding isn't always the problem with the speaker and we need to understand that.
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It was never the fault of Jesus that the Jewish leaders failed to understand him. The fault lie with them and their spiritual incapacity to comprehend to hear his words.
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And when we come to hear the word of God on the Lord's Day like this morning it's very important that we put ourselves in a right frame of mind and right condition of heart if we are to receive anything from the
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Lord. Yes pray for me that I would speak rightly and clearly but pray for yourself also that you would hear rightly and understand clearly.
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And if the Lord is pleased to bless then we'll both feel right and good about the matter. We're going to say more about this as we wrap up here in a few minutes.
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Then we read that Jesus declared his confidence that the Father was with him in verses 28 and 29. Jesus said to them would you lift up the
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Son of Man then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing of myself but as my
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Father taught me. I speak these things and he who sent me is with me. The Father has not left me alone for I always do those things that please him.
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Jesus here speaks of his crucifixion which would be the way and the means of returning to his
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Father in heaven and to be exalted by the Father. Again verse 28 reads
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Jesus said to them when you lift up the Son of Man then you will know I am he and that I do nothing of myself but as my
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Father taught me I speak these things. Let's break this down. First when
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Jesus said when you lift up the Son of Man he was referring to his crucifixion. They would lift up the
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Son of Man that is the promised Messiah would be crucified by them but in their crucifying him they would unwittingly be exalting him glorifying him before the
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Father for the Father of course had sent him to do that very thing to die for the sins of his people.
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Our Lord's cross was his step stool to his throne. This by the way if we just kind of interject this this is why the whole teaching of dispensationalism regarding the kingdom and a future thousand year millennium is nonsense.
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They say the Jews rejected Jesus as their king and therefore Jesus' kingship was put on hold until his second coming.
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Now the newer dispensationalists don't teach that thank God for that like John MacArthur God bless him for that but the early dispensationalists like C .I.
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Schofield Louis Barry Schaeffer John Walvard Charles Ryrie the early dispensationalists taught because the
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Jews rejected Jesus as their king Jesus did not become king but rather he will become king at his second coming.
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What they are denying is that the cross was the very way in which Jesus was exalted to become enthroned in heaven because that's what he's saying right here.
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The cross was the means of his glorification but also his dying on his cross was another manifestation of his glory.
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And so Jesus was glorified upon the cross and he was also glorified upon his resurrection from the dead when he ascended into heaven.
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And so the exaltation of Jesus by means of the cross is also the exaltation of Jesus on the cross.
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Jesus said that when this event takes place then you will know that I am he. That's somewhat of a puzzling statement.
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By the way here we have the same expression that we previously saw. The he is in italic in the
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New King James Version. It's not reflected in the Greek text. He said to them when this event takes place then you will know that I am.
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How is that? The cross of Jesus and his subsequent resurrection and enthronement in heaven over the kingdom of God manifested and substantiated that Jesus is the son of God.
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Even when our Lord died on his cross and the manner in which it took place it seemed that everyone present knew they had done something wrong here.
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That's not to say they all believed on him in the sense of having their sins forgiven but they all understood they didn't just crucify an ordinary man when he died upon that cross and even in Matthew's account the
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Roman soldiers recognized that didn't they? Here's the account in Matthew's gospel.
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Jesus cried out again with a loud voice yielded up his spirit and then behold the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom the earth quaked rocks were split graves were opened many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised coming out of the graves after his resurrection they went into the holy city he appeared to many so when the centurion this was the
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Roman who crucified him and those with them who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake the things that had happened they feared greatly saying truly this was the son of God and so when
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Jesus said to these Jews on this occasion when you lift up the son of man then you will know I am he he was probably not saying that they would all be converted having believed on him but rather as one expressed it by this
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John is not saying that all of Jesus's opponents will be converted in the wake of the cross but if they do come to know who
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Jesus is they will know it most surely because of the cross and even those who do not believe stand in the last day condemned by him whom they lifted up on the cross blinded to the glory that shone around them yet one day forced to kneel and confess that Jesus is
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Lord because of his cross everyone will ultimately be convinced either now in this life through faith or on the last journey of judgment when they are judged as unbelievers they are going to bow the knee and confess with their tongue that Jesus Christ is
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Lord to the glory of the Father and so the cross is going to manifest his deity and so when they crucified
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Jesus it would seem that many many of the Jews knew that what they had done was terribly wrong and later of course when the apostles bore witness of Jesus being crucified great numbers of the
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Jewish people around Jerusalem were cut to heart as to what they had done and then they repented of their sin believed on Jesus and they became disciples of the
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Lord that's what we read in the book of Acts here are more words of John Calvin on the words of Jesus to these unbelieving
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Jews of their coming great consternation when they learn and realize that they intended what they intended as his destruction was the very means of his exaltation and you talk about irony or the great paradox you know in history you know the devil thought he won the day when he had
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Jesus crucified but that very act was his destruction wasn't it by the term exalt
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Christ points out his own death he mentions his death in order to warn them that though they destroy him according to the flesh they will gain nothing by it as if he had said now you treat me with haughty scorn while I speak to you but err before long your wickedness will proceed further even so far as to put me to death and then will you triumph as if you had gained your wish but within a short time you shall feel to your utter ruin how widely my death differs from destruction he employs the word exalt in order to vex them the more their intention was to plunge
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Christ into the lowest hell he tells them that they will be completely disappointed and that the event will be altogether contrary to what they thus expect he may indeed have intended to allude to the outward form of his death but he was to be lifted up on the cross but he looked chiefly to the glorious result of it which soon afterwards followed contrary to the expectation of all true indeed in the cross itself he gained a splendid triumph over Satan before God and the angels by blotting out the handwriting of sin canceling the condemnation of death but it was only after that the gospel had been preached that his triumph began to be made known to men and the same thing which happened shortly afterwards that Christ rose out of the grave and ascended to heaven is what we ought daily to expect for notwithstanding all the contrivances of wicked men to oppress
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Christ in his church not only will he rise in spite of them but he will turn their wicked efforts into the means of promoting the progress of his kingdom take
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Saul of Tarsus who is breathing out threats against God's people on his way to Damascus and within a few days he's preaching
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Christ in the synagogues but in all that the Lord Jesus did and would do he gave glory to his
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Father verse 28 Jesus said to them would you lift up the Son of Man then you will know
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I am he and that I do nothing of myself but as my Father taught me I speak these things and so not only would it reveal to the
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Jews that Jesus is eternal God incarnate but they'll also know through the crucifixion and his vindication in his resurrection and in the synoptics
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Matthew Mark and Luke that's what the resurrection principally means it's a vindication it's the
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Father vindicating his Son the world crucified Jesus they voted no against him and God basically canceled out their rejection and said no
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I'm for him and he raised him from the dead it was a vindication of Jesus as to who he was who he is and everything that he did on behalf of sinners but here he gives glory to the
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Father God the Father has sent his Son on a mission it is he that sent
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Jesus that is with him God does not and will not forsake his messenger Jesus is not abandoned the deeds that Jesus did were evidence that the
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Father was indeed with him and then lastly we read in verse 30 many believed in Jesus upon hearing his words before them even before the cross however there were many who believed in him as he spoke these words many believed in him and so the word preached by Jesus was effectual in bringing about faith in him they believed his words and thereby they believed in him
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Matthew Henry wrote of these and others like them when we may see one by the ministry of the word here is a good effect which this discourse of Christ had upon some of his heroes as he spoke these words many believed on him note though multitudes perish in their unbelief yet there is a remnant according to the election of grace who believed in the saving of the soul if Israel the whole body of the people be not gathered yet there are those of them in whom
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Christ will be glorious this the apostle insists upon to reconcile the
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Jews' rejection with the promises made unto the fathers there is a remnant the words of Christ and particularly his threatening words are made effectual by the grace of God to bring in poor souls to believe in him when
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Christ told them that if they believed not they should die in their sins and never get to heaven they thought it was time to look about them sometimes there is a wide door open and an effectual one even where there are many adversaries
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Christ will carry on his work though the heathen rage and the gospel sometimes gains great victories where it meets with great opposition let this encourage
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God's ministers Matthew Henry is always doing that let this encourage God's ministers to preach the gospel though it be with much contention for they shall not labor in vain many may be secretly brought home to God by those endeavors which are openly contradicted and cabled at by men of corrupt minds the whole point if we are representing the gospel rightly there is going to be conflict there is going to be reaction there is going to be hatred false charges but the
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Lord is going to carry on his work now when we consider how obstinate and insensitive these
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Jews were to the hearing of the instruction of Jesus we should take warning about our own propensity to fail and perhaps even resist to hear and understand the word of God when proclaimed or taught to us and so how can we be assured that we will not be found to be damned on the day of judgment and so let's consider just briefly how to hear the word of God to our spiritual benefit these
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Jewish leaders could have used these words of instruction although the
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Lord Jesus taught the people of Jerusalem the word of God even the will of his father in heaven many failed to receive any benefit from doing so Jesus himself was teaching and yet they did not benefit they were a greatly privileged people and yet the word of God did not profit them may that not be said of us our
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Lord once told his disciples take heed how you hear the apostle
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Peter exhorted his readers as newborn babes crave desire the sincere milk of the word that you may grow thereby and so how we should crave
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God's word desire it seek to understand it the analogy of a nursing baby is mainly to show how we should long to hear from God hearing from God is extremely important John Gill a
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Baptist pastor in the 18th century a hundred years before Spurgeon he preached the same church pastored the same church in London as Spurgeon would later pastor he wrote about this matter of hearing the word of God the word of God should be heard constantly with great assiduity there is your word for the day folks with close attention if the word is to be preached in season out of season it should be heard as often or otherwise preaching as to no purpose much may be lost by non -attendance on and neglect of public worship as the case of Thomas shows
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Thomas missed out on the first gathering of disciples the night of the resurrection he wasn't there and so he doubted and then of course
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Jesus revealed himself to Thomas the next Sunday night second the word of God should be heard early and eagerly it is said of Christ's hearers that all the people came early in the morning to him in the temple to hear him they were swift to hear shows their eagerness third the word of God should be heard attentively it's observed of Christ auditory that all the people were very attentive to hear him or hung on him they were hearing they pressed to him got close about him hung as it were on his lips to catch every word that dropped from him and the word of God should be heard with reverence all irreverent looks and gestures should be avoided in hearing it men should consider in whose presence they are whose word they are hearing not the word of man but the word of God where the word of a king is there is power and it commands awe and reverence and much more the word of the king of kings
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God is to be feared and had in reverence in the assembly of the saints the word of God is to be heard of course with faith since without it hearing is unprofitable and then the word of God once heard should be carefully retained and not let slip or not to be like leaking cups which let out the liquid put in them or like strainers which immediately let through what is poured into them such as are forgetful hearers of the word which ought to be laid up in the mind and memory as a jewel in a cabinet which when heard should be kept in an honest and good heart and not only for present use but for future good and then lastly
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Gil talked about four different kinds of hearers of the word and he used some common metaphors to illustrate this some are like sponges which one do you fall under?
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some are like sponges which attract and suck in all both good and bad such as those hearers who receive and like all they hear be it sound evangelical discourse they'll express their affirmation of it and be it the very reverse they will commend it as a good discourse not being able to distinguish truth from error sound and unsound doctrine the best in those hearers is they're not difficult but they're easily pleased and then others are likened unto hourglasses in which the sand runs quick out of one glass into another as some hearers what they hear with one ear they let out to the other as is usually said a third sort are compared to strainers like cloth strainers which let all the good liquor pass through and they retain the dregs and leaves in other words they just remember and pick out all the flaws that they hear and they don't accept any of the good they take no notice of what is valuable which they hear but if there is anything in a discourse that is weak and impertinent foolish and vain that they are sure to observe and then a fourth sort are compared to sieves which let pass everything that is good for nothing and only retain the fine flour these are the best of hearers and who are fed with the finest of the wheat and so he advocates the need to be discerning hearers you don't accept just everything that is said but you accept everything that is said that is true to the word of God and we are to hear it as such the words of God so may the
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Lord help each of us to profit from the word of God taught and preached may he enable us to have ears to hear minds to understand hearts to believe wills to obey let's not be as the unbelieving
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Jews can you imagine standing there and hearing Jesus himself teach and caviling about what you heard and mocking him what is he going to do commit suicide it is just incredible and can you imagine their accountability on the day of judgment when they stand before this
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Jesus whom they mocked and they refused to hear and they are mindful of their of their great privilege that they had and their great responsibility for having heard and yet refused to respond may the
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Lord not allow any of us to be like that but may we all may each of us be very attentive and responsive to the things of Christ amen let's pray thank you
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Father for your word and we pray that you would help us our Lord to be bold and clear in our proclamation of Jesus Christ and we pray you would help us to be so even
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Lord if it means conflict and those who would detract from us in our efforts we pray that you would help us to be faithful to proclaim the word as our
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Savior was and we just leave the results up to you for we know our God that everyone in this world is from below and that if that is to be known from above you're going to have to do it through the blessed power and presence of the
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Holy Spirit through your word thank you God for your word to guide us instruct us encourage us and help us to go forth from this place following Christ in whose name we pray amen