Crowds and Apostles

[0:00] So in the section that we've got, chapter 3, verses 7 to 19, Jesus is in two different places. He's by the sea. Verse 7, Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake.

[0:15] And then he is up a mountain. Verse 13, Jesus went up on a mountain. And in a way it's sort of between two pieces of drama.

[0:28] Let's see what it says. The first section reflects on his very wide popularity. So Jesus as he's seen and met by loads of people with loads of different thoughts in their minds and loads of different attitudes to him.

[0:46] And the second section is Jesus as he relates to this very small nucleus, 12 men, a small nucleus of the new Jesus community.

[1:00] So we have sort of two, Jesus as he relates to two different sorts of people. And those groupings are going to become clearer or more distinct as the time goes on.

[1:13] You know, positions are going to harden and so on. But bear in mind the sort of the insiders and the outsiders that Jesus is speaking to. Let's remind ourselves of the context because we're not just dipping into this from the middle of nowhere.

[1:28] We followed through in Mark's gospel. Right at the beginning an agenda is set. And it's a very ambitious agenda.

[1:39] Right at the beginning of Mark's gospel. I send my messenger ahead of you who will prepare your way. A voice, the voice of one calling in the desert. Prepare the way for the Lord.

[1:50] Make straight paths for him. This is Jesus who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. The Jesus who, that's in chapter 1 verse 8.

[2:02] The Jesus who comes to bring the return from exile. To bring the people back home. And to give them new hearts. So that a radical new thing is being done in the people of God.

[2:17] And this new thing, please forgive my scratchy writing. The new thing begins to be unfolded to us.

[2:28] In verse 15, chapter 1, we're told the kingdom of God is near. So the kingdom that had pretty much been extinguished is now drawing near with a new king.

[2:39] And this kingdom is a kingdom in which sins can be forgiven. Chapter 2 verse 6.

[2:51] Chapter 2 verse 5. Jesus saying, son, your sins are forgiven. This is what Jesus does. He can forgive sins. And for people who were looking for that, that's amazing.

[3:04] For the Pharisees, this was rather disgusting. Because they felt that people ought to work their way to heaven. And it couldn't possibly be as easy as this chapter saying, son, your sins are forgiven.

[3:18] It's a kingdom of grace. When Jesus calls tax collectors and sinners and eats with them. And that's pretty disgusting to the Pharisees too.

[3:29] There's a new thing with this, I think, almost completely new character coming on the scene. The bridegroom. The one who comes to seek his bride.

[3:45] She's pretty obnoxious when he finds her. But he wins her and woos her and makes her a spotless bride without spot or blemish or wrinkle or anything like that.

[3:56] A wonderful radiant bride. And that seems to me to be a totally new thing. Verse 20. Chapter 2 verse 20. A time will come. Speaking Jesus of the bridegroom.

[4:08] And we have this about the wine and the wineskins. And the explosive tension between. Or potentially explosive tension between all the Moses stuff.

[4:20] And what Jesus comes to do. And we also saw Jesus had huge popularity. Chapter 1 verse 45. To do with his healings.

[4:33] And yet this in itself was a bit of a problem. Because people came just for the healings. And this hampered Jesus. 1 verse 45.

[4:45] This guy went out and told everybody about it. When Jesus had said to him. Don't you dare tell anybody what I've done for you. And as a result. Jesus could no longer enter a town openly.

[4:56] But had to stay outside in lonely places. And in chapter 2 verse 2. They're in the house there. But people can't get to Jesus. Because there's such a crush. So the popularity has a downside to it.

[5:10] And you remember Jesus praying. In the first onrush of that popularity. No I need to go somewhere else. Because I need to preach.

[5:21] And I'm hampered from doing so. You remember all that. And in chapter 3 verse 6. We saw that the new thing that Jesus did.

[5:32] Became so much at variance. With what the establishment was. What the establishment had made of. God's revelation.

[5:43] In the Old Testament. That they decided that he needed to die. Chapter 3 verse 6. The Pharisees went out. And began to plot with the Herodians of all people.

[5:54] How they might kill Jesus. So that's the context. And so let's go to the seaside. And see what's happening here. So verse 7.

[6:07] Jesus withdrew. With his disciples to the lake. And a large crowd from Galilee followed. That word to withdraw. Is a rather unusual word.

[6:18] And it seems in this case. To indicate like a strategic. A tactical withdrawal. It was getting so intense. In the synagogue there.

[6:30] It was getting so hot. And dangerous. That Jesus says. Well we'll just go somewhere quiet. So he retreats. And what is he retreating from?

[6:44] Well it makes you think. Doesn't it? Is he retreating from a confrontation? He's not going to retreat from a confrontation forever. But he's going to pick the time.

[6:55] When that's what he wants to be doing. And at the moment. He's got other things on his agenda. Than just being there. And in the center of a storm.

[7:06] A potentially lethal storm. It's one of the interesting things about Jesus. The pace at which he does his ministry. This is not the time for a confrontation.

[7:19] So he withdraws. With his disciples. To the lake. And what we find. Is this. Large crowd.

[7:30] Notice there are two words there. So we're in verse 7. A large crowd from Galilee followed. So the word crowd would do it. Wouldn't it? A crowd from Galilee followed.

[7:41] That would say there's a lot of people. But Mark puts in the second word. A large crowd. From Galilee followed. And in order to. To.

[7:53] Emphasize the point. He gives us a list. Of all the places. That they've come from. So from Judea. So that's the southern area. From Jerusalem.

[8:03] That's the headquarters of the southern area. So presumably. Some of the learned people from Jerusalem. From Idumea. I think the only place.

[8:14] That this time. The only time. That this place is ever mentioned. It seems to be. South. Of the south border. And like Samaria. Was a pretty dodgy area.

[8:26] In the north. Idumea. Is not far behind. In being. You know. Not. Respectable.

[8:39] Jewish territory. Do you remember that Herod. Was from. Idumea. Wasn't he. And they didn't. They didn't. Respect him.

[8:50] For that. For that reason. So we've got. Idumea. And the regions. Beyond the Jordan. So go the other side. Of the river. And we've got.

[9:02] Tyre and Sidon. So Tyre and Sidon. Were pretty. Pagan. In areas. Up in the north. On the coast. So Jesus has got.

[9:12] Followers. Of all sorts. From all sorts. Of areas. I mean. Galilee is mentioned first. That's the northern area. Where. Where he was based. But there's a huge number.

[9:23] Of people there. Aren't there? So. In order to. For you to understand that. I've drawn a picture of it. There's a. And notice some of the little features.

[9:35] That he says. They. Many people. Come to him. Verse eight. And because of the crowd. He told his disciples. To have.

[9:47] A small boat. Ready for him. So it sounds like. Something he used to do. In those days. It sounds like. He hired a boat. Or got them to hire a boat.

[9:59] You know. For the next couple of weeks. So. Make sure the boat's ready. It's a little boat. Mark likes to. Make things into little something. So it says a little boat.

[10:10] But it's always ready. We're going to need that boat again today. I'm going out. Preaching. We'll probably need the boat. This afternoon. He. Because of the crowd.

[10:22] He told his disciples. To have a small boat. Ready for him. To keep the people. From crowding him. And the crowding word.

[10:33] Is quite a strong word. To keep the people. From crushing him. It's a word. Which can be used. To mean trouble. You know. We endured. Great.

[10:43] Pressure. Great. Crowding. We were squashed. In our. In our emotions. But here. Just notice.

[10:54] What it said. Because it's only a short sentence. But it. It says quite a bit. Doesn't it. The boat was ready. Because people were tending. To squash Jesus. People were tending. To. To crush him.

[11:05] You know. Like. Like the Hillsborough disaster. You know. So many people. Not really caring. Where they're going. Not under any sort of control. They'd come to hear Jesus.

[11:15] But. You know. As like as not. They'd squash him. If. Oh he's over there. Everybody moves that way. Do you see what I mean. The. Book that I looked it up in.

[11:25] Said. It's what you do to grapes. You squash them. You crush them. And. Jesus said. I don't want to be. Squashed like a grape. And the sensible thing to do.

[11:36] Is to. Go and hire this boat. Make sure we've got the boat ready. And again. The. Verse 10. The. The thing that has attracted people.

[11:47] Is his healing of diseases. He had healed many. So that those with diseases. Were pushing forward. To touch him. And. The pushing forward. Has got a word in it.

[11:59] Which means something like. Falling over. So. You could say. They were falling over themselves. To touch Jesus. Can you get the picture of this?

[12:09] You know. You think of a football crowd. You think of a. All the crush. At a railway station. Or something like that. And that's what it's like. It's just. You know. Crazy.

[12:20] People are. Are falling over themselves. Look out. Look out. Hang on. They're falling over themselves. To do what? Well. To touch Jesus.

[12:32] Did Jesus want them to touch him? I don't think that was the main point of him being there. I think he wanted. Them to listen to him. But. They're just so.

[12:45] Taken up with the. I wouldn't say the frenzy of it. But the. Enthusiasm of it. That they're. Pressing forward. Falling over themselves. Squashing.

[12:55] Everybody. And. In order to touch Jesus. And this is the sort of ministry. That Jesus had. In those days. In this.

[13:06] Bit of the gospel. And there are other things. That were going on. The unclean spirits. Verse 11. The unclean spirits.

[13:19] When they saw him. They fell down as well. At least a couple of falling downs going. People falling over themselves. And the evil spirits falling down. Before him.

[13:29] Falling down as it were. In worship. Before him. And. They are shouting out. Croaking out. You are the son of God.

[13:40] God. That's what used to happen. And. Jesus. All the time. Is giving strict orders. So there's another. Word for many.

[13:50] Or much. He's much rebuking them. Not. To reveal. Who he is. That rebuking word. What does it say. In the NIV. He gave strict orders.

[14:03] He. Much rebuked them. And that rebuking word. Is the same word. As in 439. Which is what he does. To the. Wind and the waves.

[14:14] He rebukes the wind and waves. So it's a sort of authoritative. Telling. And it's the same word. As in 830. Which is what. Peter.

[14:25] If I'm correct. Oh is it. No. It's Jesus again. Jesus. Warned them. Not to tell anyone about him.

[14:36] Peter. Peter said you were the Christ. And Jesus warned them. Rebuke them. Strongly. Don't tell anybody this. So it's an interesting phase of Jesus ministry.

[14:48] Isn't it. That little summary. Just think of what it's saying. The great popularity that Jesus had. With ordinary people. Loads of people.

[14:59] Took time off work. Loads of people. Brought the kids with them. Loads of people. Went to visit auntie so and so.

[15:10] In that region. So that they could spend the next few days. Listening to Jesus. His great popularity. With ordinary people. Certainly not popular with everybody. But there is a popularity here. And I think.

[15:22] His patience with people. Because if you just read it through. You think. Well wouldn't that be marvelous. But I wonder. Whether in a sense. Jesus found it rather. A.

[15:33] Well what shall I say. Well I'll tell you what I was thinking. I think he's very patient. With these people. Because.

[15:45] Actually they're a bit of a liability. Because. Do you remember. They're so. As a crowd. They're so unaware.

[15:55] And insensitive. That they were likely to crush him. You know. Jesus said. Excuse me. Excuse me. Just go back a bit. They're not really.

[16:07] Very respectful. Are they? They're pushing. And crowding. And falling over themselves. Not really listening. They're a bit of a liability.

[16:18] And I've put this. Colloquially. I think. Spiritually. They were rather thick. Like we are. Often. They weren't. Attuned.

[16:29] To the fine points. Of what Jesus was teaching. They just wanted to. Push. And shove. And get as close to him. As possible. Because if you touched him. That would do. That would do the trick.

[16:41] They're not really. Very discerning. I mean. This whole touching thing. I know that there is a. There's the woman. Who wants to touch him. And that's a touch of faith. But you remember.

[16:52] That lots of other people. Were pushing around Jesus. At the same time. And theirs wasn't a touch of faith. So I think this shows Jesus. With this. Wide. Group of people. Being extraordinarily.

[17:03] Patient. Patient. With people who didn't really. See what he was getting at. They were there. For sort of the wrong reasons. And week by week.

[17:14] You know. How long have we hired that boat for? Another couple of weeks. That's no problem. Week by week. Jesus is teaching. Patiently. These people. So I think it shows.

[17:26] Jesus remarkable. Patience. And all the time. There is this constant threat. And the threat is. Of his. Messiahship.

[17:37] Being leaked. In such a way. That the authorities. Get hold of it. And it brings him. Personally. Into danger. And all the time.

[17:48] He's. No. Don't. Don't. Tell. What's just happened. And no. And before you go. Don't you tell. What's happened either. He's always having to be. On his guard. And what he's really.

[18:01] Moving towards. Is taking time to prepare. And to teach. And to train. And. Before. Well. That's the sort of picture.

[18:12] The passage is giving us. And. In. What reflection. I. Was able to do on it. It struck me that. This is. A very patient. Savior. There's a.

[18:22] A verse in Romans. Where God himself. Is quoted as. Saying this. All day long. I have held out my hands. To a disobedient. And obstinate people. Romans chapter 10.

[18:33] Verse 21. I think Jesus is doing that. And. I think for us. If we may. It reminds us.

[18:43] Of the value. Of being patient. And persistent. And forbearing. With people. With people. Around us.

[18:55] Who. Perhaps. Are so. You know. They really don't get. What we're trying to do. They always ask. The wrong questions. They still haven't got. The right handle.

[19:05] On. On. The gospel. People. And it's so. Tempting. To say. You know. That's the last time. I try and have a bible study. With that person. They've cancelled.

[19:16] Again and again. I could have been doing. Something else. And to give up. And say. You know. Just. You know. That's the last straw. And it's remarkable. I mean. Jesus doesn't.

[19:27] Always. Keep on. With these people. But he does. For a long time. And I think. This reminds us. Of the value. Of patience. And persistence. And forbearance.

[19:40] Sometimes. It's justified. To say. That's the last straw. But actually. I don't find. Jesus saying. That even at the end. I don't find. Jesus sort of. Losing his rag.

[19:50] At the end. And saying. Well. Right. You know. That's it. You lot. You just. You know. For three years. I've fed up with you. He doesn't say that. Even at. Right at the end. He's saying. Father. Forgive them. For they don't know.

[20:02] What they're doing. It's remarkable. Isn't it? And. So. I think. We could take. That thought. In. Witness. Perhaps. Members of our family.

[20:13] In. Persistence. In. In evangelism. Don't give up. Don't lose your rag. Don't become impatient.

[20:26] So. That's the first. Section. And. Let's move on. To the second. Section. Let's go up the mountain. Now.

[20:38] The mountain. In itself. Is. Interesting. Because mountains. Are. Special places. In the bible. A great leader. Before.

[20:49] Went up a mountain. He didn't do this though. He went up a mountain. He came down. With ten commandments. That particular button. Isn't particularly pressed. But there's a. That's a little echo.

[20:59] In our minds. That here. We've got somebody. Who. Is. In some ways. Comparable. With Moses. And we would. We would say. From other places. He's greater than Moses.

[21:10] But. He goes up. On a mountainside. And it says. He called. To him. This is verse 13. Those he desired. Those he. Wanted.

[21:21] Jesus is very much. In charge. In this section. He calls. He. He decides. And they come. So he.

[21:34] Excuse me. He calls them. And verse 14. He appointed. Twelve. Designating. Them. Apostles.

[21:45] So the appointing. Is just the word. Made. He made them. Apostles. He made them. Sorry. He made the twelve. He.

[21:56] He. He made a group. Of twelve people. And. There is also. A thing about. Naming. Excuse me. I'm going to clear my throat again. She'll come to in a moment.

[22:11] And. There are twelve of them. We'll come to that bit. In a moment. Although it's put in a very matter of fact way. This is quite a radical thing for Jesus to do.

[22:23] At this point. And I'll try and explain that as we go along. They're apostles. He names them apostles.

[22:35] And the word. So that's the. That's the noun. Apostle. There's a verb. To apostle. Apostle. And that is the word. To send. Which is in the next part of the sentence.

[22:48] That they might be with him. And that he might. Send them out. To preach. He called them apostles. And he apostled them to preach. He sent them out to preach. And.

[22:59] In doing so. He gave them. Authority. Which was very much. Akin. To his authority. Do you notice. That he gave them. Authority. To drive out demons.

[23:10] He sent them out. To preach. And gave them authority. To. To kick out the demons. Might be worth noting. That in.

[23:21] Hebrew. Culture. There was something. Called a shalia. And a shalia. Was somebody. That you could appoint. And send.

[23:33] To do stuff. For you. Your legal. Representative. He couldn't do. Absolutely everything. That you. Wanted.

[23:43] For example. If you were married. He wouldn't be married. To your wife. As well. It's not quite as close. An identity. As that. But there's many things. He could do. So the example.

[23:53] Of. Now let me just see. I didn't look it up. So this is from memory. Who sent. A servant. To get. A wife. For. His. Son.

[24:06] Was it Jacob? Was it Isaac? Yeah. So who sent. Okay. So he sends somebody off. Was it. Was it Abraham's?

[24:17] Wish I'd looked this up beforehand. Anyway. He. He goes off. And he's able to contract a marriage. For his master's son. He has the legal authority. To do that. You know.

[24:27] So. Whoever it was. Would have given him. The shaliach. His credit card. And said. You know. Whatever you need to spend. You've got. You're an authorized signature on this. Here's the pin number.

[24:38] Don't tell everybody else though. And. So. This. This person. Gets sent out. It said. A man's shaliach. Is as himself. So if you meet the shaliach.

[24:49] You meet his master. Now. As I say. That's within limits. It isn't the total. Equivalence. But within those limits. He was able to do. You know. If he said it. His master had said it.

[25:00] If he arranged it. It's as if his master had arranged it. And I think we've got the background for that. Applying to this. Because Jesus takes these 12. And he gives them.

[25:12] Pretty much. His authority. They go out to preach. They have authority to cast out demons. And this.

[25:23] These. This group of people. Becomes. A key group of people. Which we'll see. Let me try and explain a little bit more about it. So other things that are going on here.

[25:36] Is naming. So this is another aspect of Jesus's. Action. He names them apostles. Verse 14. He also.

[25:48] Who else does he name? So we've got to verse 16. These are the 12 he made. Simon. That's what he names him. Doesn't he?

[25:59] He gives him the name Peter. So. It's like. As if. I was to say. Ben. Your name's Algernon now. Okay. And Tim.

[26:10] You're going to be called Paul. But Jesus. It's not a completely random name. Because. Peter. Petros. Means rock.

[26:22] So. Rocky. Okay. The rock. Jesus sort of. Takes it upon himself. To name.

[26:34] Simon. Something. Peter. Peter. And he also. He also. Gives a name. To James. And his brother. John. He gives them the name. Boanerges. That seems to be Aramaic.

[26:45] You turn it into Greek. You get. Sons of thunder. And then you translate it into English. Are they called that. Because they're such fiery characters.

[26:56] Are they the sort of Irish. Of. That. That. Culture. You know. The ones that. You know. Whatever.

[27:07] But. Jesus sees something about these men. And he names them. So Jesus is taking the initiative. In a number of ways. And. The.

[27:19] Twelve. It says. Of them. In verse. Fourteen. He. Particularly. Wants them. To be with him. So.

[27:30] Why. To be with him. Well. Because he's going to spend a lot of time. With these chaps. And he's going to teach them. And he's going to be very patient with them. And he's going to teach them again.

[27:41] And he's going to say to them at some point later. Are you so dull. Are you so stupid. That I've taught you this. And you still don't understand. And he's going to say to them. I've been giving you special tutorial lessons.

[27:55] And you're surprised about the sandwiches. Sandwiches. And. They were talking about sandwiches. Because. No. Sorry. They were. They were amazed. Because they hadn't understood about the loaves. You know.

[28:06] All these sorts of things. That Jesus is teaching them. He teaches to the outsiders in parables. To everybody on the inside. To them. He's given the secret of the kingdom. And this is his core group.

[28:18] They're going to learn from his lips. And they. Because they're with him. And they're going to learn from his life. And I want to say. I think he's patient with these guys too.

[28:29] You know. He's patient with the vast. Pushing. Pushing. Shoving. Throng. But he's also patient. With this little group. That he gives himself to.

[28:42] They are. In many ways. Just as. Spiritually. Thick. As the other lot. Like us. But.

[28:53] Why 12? I didn't answer that to the beginning. Why 12? What. We know the answer. But. Might as well ask you. Why.

[29:03] 12. Is this. Why not 14? Or. Why 12? What's special about 12? It's the number of. The tribes. Yes. The number of tribes.

[29:15] In the old Israel. Israel. Israel. Israel was actually a person. He had 12 sons. 12 tribes. And that's the.

[29:26] The community of Israel. And Jesus. Says. I've been watching things develop. I've been sensing the way things are going.

[29:37] And now's the moment. For me. To start. My 12. And this isn't going to be 12. Sons.

[29:49] Or 12 tribes. It's going to be you guys. And you. And you. And you. And you. You're my 12. But you. Are the beginning. Of my new community.

[30:01] And it might seem a relatively small step. But if you think what that implies. That implies. So if you imagine. If Caroline Lucas.

[30:12] Were to say. I'm hiring a building. I'm going to put. Benches down this side. And benches down this side. I'm going to have a speaker's. Rostrum in the middle.

[30:24] We're going to vote. That way. And that way. And. So. And you. You and you. Are going to sit in these benches. And you think. Hang on. What are you doing? And she said. I'm making a new houses of parliament.

[30:37] I'm going to be in charge. I'm going to have a new houses of parliament. You can be my party. You can be the opposition. We're going to vote on things. And you say. Hang on a minute. You've gone crazy.

[30:47] We've got the houses of parliament. They're doing it all up there in Westminster. And she says. It's all finished up there. This is where it's all taking place now. You'd think. Wow. Wasn't really expecting that.

[31:02] But this is what Jesus is doing. Isn't he? Saying. We've got the. We've had the 12 tribes. And now I've got my 12. And it's you. And I'm going to grow it all. From. From this basis.

[31:19] So let me make a couple of comments on that. In fact the 12. The apostolic group. Are actually our link with Jesus.

[31:32] Jesus. Jesus never actually wrote down a book. We don't have access to Jesus' teachings.

[31:49] Apart from. The apostolic record. So. In effect. Jesus said to his apostles. I'm training you. And when I'm gone.

[31:59] If people want to know. What I said. And want to know. The depth. And riches. And certainty of it. They're going to come to. Have to come to you. And that's.

[32:12] Where we get the gospel. And if the gospel. Isn't from the apostles. It isn't the gospel. And whatever is from the apostles. Is the gospel.

[32:23] Just. Take a look. There's. Any number. Well. There are a number of references. But what about this one. To Peter. Chapter 1. Verse 16.

[32:35] So this is Peter. Elderly Peter. Looking back. Conscious. That his life is coming to an end. And he says. What I want you to do.

[32:48] Is to remember what we told you. To Peter. Chapter 1. Verse 16. Oh sorry. Let's go back to. Verse 13.

[33:00] I think it is right. To refresh your memory. As long as I live. In the tent of this body. Because I know. I will soon put it aside. As our Lord Jesus Christ. Has made clear to me. And I will make every effort.

[33:11] To see that after my departure. You will always be able. To remember these things. We did not follow. Cleverly invented stories. When we told you.

[33:21] About the power. And coming. Of our Lord Jesus Christ. But we were eyewitnesses. Of his majesty. We're the ones who saw. We're the ones who tell.

[33:33] We've told you. And it's vitally important. That you hang on. To what we told you. And you have a similar thing. In 1 John 1.

[33:43] Where John.

[33:54] John. One of the sons of thunder. Writes down about his role. In seeing. Being an eyewitness. An ear witness. And passing on.

[34:04] And the only access we have. To his blessing. Is to. Listen. And believe. What he says. So 1 John 1. That which was from the beginning.

[34:15] Which we have heard. We have seen with our eyes. We have looked at. Our hands have touched. This we proclaim. Concerning the word of life. The life appeared.

[34:26] We have seen it. And testified to it. And we proclaim to you. The eternal life. Which was with the father. And has appeared. To us. We proclaim to you.

[34:37] What we have seen. And heard. So that you also may have fellowship. With us. That you can have the experience. That we have. And our fellowship. Is with the father.

[34:48] And with his son. Jesus Christ. We write this. To make our joy complete. So these 12. Are our link with Jesus. And that's why.

[35:01] The new testament. Is so important. Because that's the book. That they wrote. The other wrote it. As the 12. Or had their approval. So it's the apostolic.

[35:12] Gospel. So one application of this. Is that we should read our Bibles. So that's what they said. And the second thing. That I. Thought was. Appropriate.

[35:25] That 12. Is the core. Of. The new Jesus community. And the new Jesus community. Grows. Not by having children. And grandchildren. Children.

[35:35] Like the old community did. But it grows. By people coming to faith. And. This community. Is actually vitally important.

[35:47] Now the Roman Catholics. Have a doctrine of the church. Which say. You can't be saved. Outside the church. You can't be saved. Outside the Roman Catholic church. And they've got a Latin. Word for it.

[35:59] Which I can't remember. Might be. Nulla. Nulla. Salutis. Extra. Ecclesiam. Or something like that. No salvation.

[36:10] Outside the church. Now. It's quite wrong. To say. There's no salvation. Outside the Roman Catholic church. But it is true. To say. Outside the church. Of Jesus Christ.

[36:22] Outside. Is no salvation. We have to belong. To this community. There's no salvation. Outside it. Please look at.

[36:34] Acts chapter 2. Verse 40. Excuse me. This is on the day of Pentecost.

[36:50] Right back in the church's. Beginning days. Can you give us a page number? 1094. Acts chapter 2.

[37:02] And on that day. Peter. People say to Peter. Well you know. We got it so wrong about Jesus. We're extraordinarily wrong. Terribly wrong.

[37:14] What on earth can we do to be saved? And Peter says. Yeah. The whole group of you. Jews and Gentiles. You're all in on this.

[37:24] You need to repent. And be baptized. Every one of you. In the name of Jesus Christ. For the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

[37:36] This promise is for you. And your children. And for all who are far off. For Jews. And Gentiles alike. For all whom the Lord our God. Will call.

[37:46] And with many other words. He warned them. And he pleaded with them. Save yourselves. From this corrupt generation. In other words. Don't any longer.

[37:57] Be part of this. Community. This community. Which doesn't. Believe in Jesus. Jesus. And those who accepted his word. Were baptized.

[38:09] So they took the sign. Of entering a new community. And three thousand were added to their number that day. So. Notice that is what it's saying.

[38:21] It's saying that they left. One community. These are my people. This is my home. This is where I belong. To join the community. Of whom.

[38:32] The twelve apostles. Are the foundational members. And they joined the new community. And that's what they did. They were added to that number. So.

[38:44] Let me. Put that. As a thought. Which. Community. Would you say. You belong to. Where would you say. These are my people. This is where I belong.

[38:56] There we are. You see. That's. That's the answer. So. I'm going to stop there. In a moment. We'll sing.

[39:07] Sometimes. We have the opportunity. For questions. Or observations. So. If there are. Are there any questions. Or observations. Yes. I want to say. Yes. I want to say. I want to say. I want to say.

[39:18] How many years. Somebody told me. Or I read. I want to say. That Jesus. Of all these. It's about.

[39:29] Deities of the world. I know Jesus. Was the only deity. But. Was the only person. That didn't actually. Write about himself. And in a court of the law. You would need.

[39:40] Witnesses. To. To. To. To. To. To say. Something. Is real. And true. And. So that. That was. Maybe.

[39:50] One reason. Why he didn't. Write things. About himself. That he used. Witnesses. And then. If you look. At other. And say. In the world. Most of them.

[40:01] All of them. Maybe. Have written. About themselves. And what they are. Rather than. Have witnesses. To say. Yes. That's a very. Helpful point. You know. If you. Was in a court.

[40:12] Law. You would need. Witnesses. Through the point. Yeah. And so. I think. I haven't read it. Or told me. Just that. What you were saying. That you chose.

[40:22] Witnesses. To tell us. About them. Rather than. Him. Even though. He told his witnesses. Who he was. That the witnesses. Witnessed. Everything he did. He didn't come in.

[40:33] And say. This is what I've done. Yeah. It was witness. And written down. My witnesses. Rather than. Somebody. Coming. And saying. You know. This is the way.

[40:43] I might read it. God will read it. You know. It. It. It. It. It. It. Thank you.

[40:54] That adds certainty. Doesn't. Doesn't it. So Luke says. I've investigated. From the beginning. And he says. He says. So he gets.

[41:05] Multiple witnesses. Writes it down. so that you may know the certainty of the things you've been taught. So it does add certainty. We're not just depending on one person who could turn out to be a crank.

[41:16] We've got multiple witnesses and they all agree. Yeah, yeah. Lots of people.

[41:27] Yes, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. People like that, they all wrote a certain terms.

[41:38] What they're interested in. Okay, I'm not an expert in what other people have done. But, yeah. It makes sense, doesn't it?

[41:55] So what Julia is saying is that in many other religions, you've got the one person saying, this is what I dreamed or this is what God's told me. But in Christianity, we have multiple witnesses who saw, heard, and have written it down and we can be more certain from what they're saying.

[42:12] I'm just repeating that for the recording. Any other questions or observations? Yeah. Maybe it's about, you spoke about the community being from the open and open to the throne.

[42:25] You've got the site itself, the Jewish system, the Jew, and then become saved by Christ. Yes. Do you mean that the term as the body of the bride of Christ or as the physical you're into the interception by all the church Some people say that once you say you're going to go to a membership to a member of the church so you're in fellowship and you're a member of the church as a bride of Christ or are you referring to as a friend of God's bride of Christ or?

[43:01] Well I was referring to well let's say I wasn't referring to people who are just on our membership list because for example in our church here the membership list is for people who are particularly committed to this church as their church and we most certainly believe that there are Christians who are not committed to our church and they may well be attending our church but they're not necessarily committed to it so we would say that the real church as Jesus sees it is far wider than the people who have signed up to something so I think the church as Jesus sees shouldn't be hugely different from the people who the general public can see as being people who say we're Christians we're living the Christian life and to live the Christian life we're loving other people and these are the people that we're bound up with and are loving so the two thoughts shouldn't be hugely different

[44:12] I know that they are they're not exactly the same but they shouldn't be hugely different does that answer your question? yep right let's sing a song to close with let's sing a song to close with a song to close with a song to close with a song to close with a song to close with a song to close with a song to close with a song to close with a song to close with a song to close with a song to close with a song to close with a song to close with a song to close with a song to close with a song to close with a song to close with a song to close with a song to close with a song to close with a song to close with a song to close with a song to close with a song to close with a song to close with a song to close with a song to close with a song to close with a song to close with a song to close with a song to close with a song to close with a song to close with a song to close with a song to close with a song to close with a song to close with a song to close with a song to close with a song to close with a song to close with a song to close with a song to close with a song to