[0:00] Let's turn back then to the chapter that we read and we can read again at verse 40.
[0:13] The Gospel of John chapter 7, we can read again at verse 40. Many of the people therefore when they heard this saying said, of a truth this is the prophet.
[0:27] Others said this is the Christ, but some said shall Christ come out of Galilee. Hath not the scripture said that Christ cometh of the seed of David and out of the town of Bethlehem where David was?
[0:40] So there was a division among the people because of him. And some of them would have taken him, but no man laid hands on him. Then came the officers to the chief priests and the Pharisees and they said unto them, Why have you not brought him?
[0:59] The officers answered, Never man spake like this man. Especially the words there at the end of verse 46.
[1:11] Never man spake like this man. The various pieces of discourse that we have recorded for us in this chapter are like so many other things in the Gospel of John, not recorded in the other three synoptic Gospels.
[1:36] John's Gospel is not what we call a synoptic Gospel.
[1:53] And synoptic simply means that it gives a synopsis, that is a summary of the life of Jesus. That's what Matthew, Mark and Luke do.
[2:05] Although each one is written from a different perspective. But those three Gospels were in circulation. They had already been in circulation for quite a number of years before John writes his Gospel.
[2:21] We're not exactly sure where John wrote his Gospel. Some think it was in Ephesus, when he was an old man, before he died there.
[2:33] As you probably know, John was well over 90 when he died in Ephesus. And one of the Church historians, Arrhenius, recounts that even as an old man, he was being carried into the Church by the younger men of the congregation.
[2:52] Others think that the Gospel, that John wrote his Gospel in Patmos during the time that he also had the Revelation. But we cannot be sure where it was written, or exactly when.
[3:07] But we are very sure as to why it was written. John's purpose in writing his Gospel is quite different to the other three Gospel writers.
[3:20] The other three are concerned with the narrative, with telling the detail of what happened. John is concerned from the very beginning to prove the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[3:37] To prove that Jesus is God. Why was that so important to him? Well, I mean, that may seem like an obvious question to ask, but there was a very special reason there.
[3:51] Because a heresy had broken out in the Church in Ephesus and various of the churches of Galatia roundabout, disputing that Jesus was not divine.
[4:05] That he was simply a special prophet. That he was simply a special person, a special messenger of God. But that he was not divine. And that is why John begins his Gospel very clearly, saying, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
[4:27] And that's a very definitive statement. The same was in the beginning with God. And he uses this term, the Word, from the beginning of the Gospel.
[4:38] The Greek word logos. And we may come back to that later, but we'll see. And this is John's purpose, to show the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[4:51] And therefore many of the things that he selects and writes are not recorded in the other Gospels, but specifically point to the fact that Jesus is God.
[5:06] We'll come to that later on. That is, of course, the whole debate and discussion that we see in the passage that we read from verse 40 onwards.
[5:17] Many of the people, therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the prophet. What prophet were they referring to? They were referring to the prophet mentioned in Malachi, in the last book of the Old Testament.
[5:31] The coming of Elias again. But Elias represented the spirit of prophecy. It was not a prophet as such who was to come, although he did come in the form of John the Baptist.
[5:46] But it was the spirit of prophecy that was more referred to. Others said, this is the Christ. Some said, shall Christ come out of Galilee. And so on.
[5:57] So there was a division among the people because of it. It's interesting, I said that in 2,000 odd years, nothing has changed.
[6:09] There is still a major division among the people because of Jesus Christ. If you ask people nowadays what their opinion is of Jesus Christ, those who have any knowledge of him other than as a swear word, many will say, ah, yeah, he was a good guy.
[6:29] Did a lot of interesting things. Did a few miracles here and there as well. Although many of these miracles, you know, were things that couldn't be quite easily explained.
[6:43] That's one side of the argument. Others will say, ah, stuff of legend. It's a fairy tale.
[6:54] Never really existed. Just something that's been put together by people long time ago, trying to persuade us to follow a certain kind of religion.
[7:07] Well, those of course are quite wrong. If you go to historical text outside of the Gospels, outside of the Bible, because many people argue and say, well, you're only justifying your argument from the Bible.
[7:24] No. Have a look at the writings of Josephus. Jewish Roman historian writing around the same time as the life of Christ.
[7:35] He mentions the crucifixion of Christ quite clearly. And there are various others. Again, I'm telling you, I'm not going into all of them. But they demonstrate very clearly in the historical text that such a figure as Jesus Christ actually lived.
[7:51] Of that there is no doubt. But the doubt is, of course, as to what we have here. This is the prophet. This is the Christ. There is a division among the people because of him.
[8:05] And it's the same division as we see even in his own family. We see at the beginning of the chapter, after these things, Jesus walked in Galilee, for he would not walk in Jewry or in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill him.
[8:24] Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand. And that detail allows us to date exactly when this took place. The Feast of Tabernacles, or the Harvest Thanksgiving, took place between the 15th and the 22nd of October.
[8:44] And it almost certainly, depending on the dating system that you use, this is either the year 29 or the year 30 AD. Probably the year 29.
[8:57] But again, that can be argued from different ways of working the calendar. It was known very often as the Feast of Booths, established from the Old Testament times.
[9:09] If you go back to Leviticus 23 and number 29, you'll find there that this was the Harvest Thanksgiving feast that was to be held once a year. And the custom was, as the people came to Jerusalem, in order to give thanks for this, the feast lasted several days throughout the week, that they would build booths, or sometimes referred to as tabernacles or tents, usually made out of palm branches, and quite often by the sides of houses, or sometimes even on the roof of houses, where they stayed and slept there during the days of the actual feast and the festival.
[9:51] This is Jesus' final year of ministry, his third year of ministry, sometimes called the year of opposition, but most of the time it is the retirement ministry and the years that he spent in Galilee.
[10:09] And that's what we see at the beginning of the chapter. And his brethren said to him, are you going? So that people can see you doing miracles as well. Now, it's obvious that this first part of the chapter takes place before Jesus comes to Jerusalem.
[10:27] And you see from verse 5 that his brethren, that is his brethren according to the flesh, we have a list of them in the other Gospels, his brothers didn't even believe in him then at all.
[10:40] But we know, of course, that they came to faith later on. But Jesus goes up in verse 10, when his brethren were gone up, then went he also up at the feast, not openly, as though it were in secret.
[10:56] And the purpose, of course, was that he did not wish, at this particular time, to disrupt from the proceedings of the feast. The feast also remembered how God had given water to the people of Israel at the waters of Meribah.
[11:14] You can find that in Exodus 17. That's why we sang Psalm 107, the verses that were in it. And this feast went on until it reached its final day when we see what happens in verse 37.
[11:39] In the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the Scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
[11:58] And you see how John puts in a note for us there, But this spake ye of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive, for the Holy Ghost was not yet given, because that Jesus was not yet glorified.
[12:12] And that lets you see very clearly, of course, that this was written quite some time after the events. What happened on that last day of the feast?
[12:23] Well, the custom was that the high priest, usually the high priest, sometimes one of the others, but usually the high priest, would draw water in a golden vessel from the pool of Siloam, and then would bring it to the temple, to the courtyards of the temple where the people were, and would pour it out over the altar that was there.
[12:54] And again, the symbolism of this was, first of all, the thanksgiving for the water that they had received in the desert, but also remembering what Isaiah had prophesied.
[13:09] In chapter 12 and verse 3, that with joy, people shall draw from well water, from wells of salvation.
[13:21] Now, it's interesting also, that this chapter, and what Jesus does here, and what he says, actually fulfills another Old Testament prophecy, that had been made 500 years before, to the very day.
[13:39] 500 years to the very day. And you'll find that in the prophecy of Haggai, one of the restoration prophets, in Haggai chapter 2, and we'll find it from verse 6 onwards, verses 6 to 9.
[13:57] For thus saith the Lord of hosts, Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, the earth, and the sea, and the dry land.
[14:09] And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come. And I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts.
[14:22] The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts. The glory of this latter house, shall be greater, than of the former, saith the Lord of hosts.
[14:35] And in this place, will I give peace, saith the Lord of hosts. And you can look at that prophecy again yourselves. Haggai chapter 2, and verses 6 to 9.
[14:49] 500 years to the day, when Jesus stands up and cries, If any man thirst, let him come to me, and drink.
[15:01] Now the Jews would also, have borne in mind here, of course, and would have remembered, in the ceremony, of the pouring out of the water, would have remembered, the vision, of Ezekiel's temple.
[15:16] You remember, how Ezekiel, had been in the captivity, in Babylon, and yet, at a certain point, in his captivity, he is given a vision, of a temple.
[15:30] And he is led, by an angel, through, the measurements, of the temple, and he gives us, the great details of this. It runs, during the last chapters, of the book of Ezekiel.
[15:43] It's quite interesting, again, if you're interested, in this kind of thing, you'll find, on the internet, a 3D model, of this particular, this particular temple.
[15:58] It was never built, Ezekiel's temple, was never built, in fact, it couldn't have been built, because it was huge. It would have covered, most of Europe, never mind, replacing the temple, in Jerusalem.
[16:10] It was a symbolic, description. But the curious thing, is that out of the temple, flows a river, of water. And as Ezekiel, goes closer, and closer, to the river, of water, he discovers, that the deeper, and deeper, it gets.
[16:29] And as the river, flows out, from, the temple, it continues, until it reaches the sea, getting deeper, and wider, all the way.
[16:40] And of course, the symbolism, was of the living water, that was to come. This is why Jesus cries, if any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
[16:55] We had seen earlier, in John's gospel, him speaking, exactly the same thing, to the Samaritan woman. You remember, how she came, when Jesus was sitting, at the well.
[17:08] And he asks her, for a drink. And then, of course, during the conversation, he refers to, giving her a drink, of living water. Whoever drinks, of this water, will never thirst again.
[17:23] And you will remember, the discourse, that goes on, there. And if you don't, you can, go back, and look at it yourselves. And shortly after that, the next incident, that appears, again, in John, again concerning water, is the incident, referred to in verse 23, where he says, are you angry at me, because I have made a man, every whit hole, on the Sabbath day?
[17:48] And what he's referring to, is his healing, of the man, at the pool of Bethesda. Where you will remember, again, the idea, of the waters being stirred, by an angel, etc.
[17:59] and so on. And yet, Jesus carries out, a healing, without any mention, or reference, to the waters there. But every single thing, that Jesus does, and every single thing, that he says, has this effect, this effect, of, dividing, opinion.
[18:23] This is what we see, after that, from verse 25 onwards, then said, some of them of Jerusalem, is this not he, whom they seek to kill? But lo, he speaketh boldly, and they say nothing to him.
[18:35] Do the rulers, know indeed, that this is the very Christ? Howbeit, we know this man, whence he is, but when Christ cometh, no man knoweth, whence he is.
[18:48] Now, sometimes, we get a little confused, by the term, the very Christ. What did that, actually mean? This is simply, the Greek word, Christos, being used here, for the Hebrew word, Messiah.
[19:05] Both words, simply mean, the anointed one. The one, who was to come. The anointed one, of God, who would have been prophesied, throughout the Old Testament, and who was now, to come.
[19:21] It's one of the amazing things, that if you go back, to the Old Testament, and start counting, the number of prophecies, there are, regarding, the coming, of Christ, the coming, of Messiah.
[19:37] there are, three hundred, and thirty-four, of them, exactly. Every, single, one of them, was fulfilled, to the letter.
[19:53] Every, single, one of them. Starting, with Genesis, three, fifteen. You remember, when man, Adam and Eve, fell, that God, promises, that from the seed, of the woman, shall come, one, to bruise, the head, of the serpent.
[20:18] From the seed, of the woman. And yet, we don't, really, take on board, how significant, that was. You and I know, what we should know, nowadays, from modern biology, we know, that the seed, doesn't come, from the woman.
[20:35] The seed, comes from the man. It's the egg, that is provided, the ovum, from the woman. And yet, scripture is saying, at the very beginning, from the seed, of the woman.
[20:50] It's not, a human incarnation. incarnation. It's a divine, incarnation. And we can see, that theme, running right through. Look at the psalm, Psalm 22, and various others.
[21:05] Look at Isaiah's, prophecies, regarding this man. But no matter, how much you look, at the prophecies, we should look, much more, about what this man, actually has to say.
[21:20] We can read, a count, after account, of his miracles. And the miracles, progress of course, from the turning, the water into wine, dealing with natural elements, right through, to raising Lazarus, from the dead.
[21:38] It's only John, who records that. Chapter 11. Lazarus, wasn't the only one, who was whom, Jesus raised, from the dead. There was the daughter, of Jairus as well, and the young man, on the beard.
[21:54] But Lazarus, is the one, whom John, outlines, in detail. How do you, explain that? And you remember, significantly, that one of the details, that John gives, is that Jesus, waits, before he goes, to visit, the sisters.
[22:20] So that, when he gets there, and he says, where have they laid him? He is told, but Lord, he stinketh.
[22:31] Why was that? Decomposition, would have set in, already. Well, we don't know, if that was the case. We assume, it must have been the case, in Lazarus' body.
[22:45] And, the question, the interesting question, is, why did Jesus, wait four days? And the reason, is to be found, in a belief, that the Jews had.
[22:56] That the spirit, of the departed person, hovered, around the body, three days, after his death, before it went, to Hades.
[23:08] Now again, remember that Hades, does not necessarily, mean heaven or hell, it simply means, the place of the dead. Wherever that was. That's another discussion, that we won't go into here.
[23:22] But you remember, that something significant, happened, before, Jesus, raised, Lazarus. And, John relates it, in the shortest sentence, the shortest verse, that we have in scripture.
[23:41] Jesus, wept. Why did he weep? he wasn't weeping, for Lazarus, because he knew, that he was going to, raise him from the dead, in a few moments.
[23:56] He wasn't weeping, for the sadness, of Martha and Mary either, because he knew, that they would see, the risen Lazarus. But he was weeping, for the effect of sin, for the effect of sin, on the world.
[24:13] What sin, had brought in, how sin, had brought in death, and with it, corruption. And theologians, tell us, that is why, he commands, Lazarus, come forth.
[24:31] That if he had, simply said, come forth, all the other dead, in the tombs, round about, would have also risen. That's why, he names him, by name.
[24:45] Lazarus, would die again. But then, when we come to look, at this man here, this prophet, this Christ, this Messiah, and it's interesting again, that the people, are disputing, in verse 42, hath not the scripture, said that Christ, cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town, of Bethlehem, where David was?
[25:12] Shall Christ, come out of Galilee? You notice, that they were, not very careful, in checking their facts. He was coming, from Galilee, at this particular time.
[25:26] But if they'd, gone back, and checked, as Luke tells us, so carefully, that Jesus, had been born, in Bethlehem. You remember, that's where the wise men, came to see him.
[25:41] And you remember, when the wise men, went to Herod, to ask, where is the king, of the Jews? That Herod, asks, the scribes, what does scripture say?
[25:53] And they say, Bethlehem. It's curious, isn't it though, that the scribes, and the Pharisees, don't bother, going to check.
[26:08] The wise men do, and there they find, the child. But the only one, who really believed, this, because he saw, it as a threat to him, was Herod himself.
[26:22] It is Herod, who afterwards, orders, the massacre, of all the male children, up to the age, of two years.
[26:34] Just in case, there would be one there, who was a king, who was to be a king, and a threat, to his own power. But none of the scribes, and the Pharisees, seemed to have bothered, going to Bethlehem, to check.
[26:49] Of course, you remember, that Joseph, had been warned, in a dream, by the Holy Spirit, to take the child, and his mother, to Egypt. And all these things, as Matthew tells us, were done, so that scripture, might be fulfilled.
[27:04] And so, we come, to this division. There was a division, among the people, because of it. And then, the officers, for some reason, come back, empty handed, in verse 45, to the chief priests, and the Pharisees.
[27:20] democracies. Why have you not, brought him? Never man, speak, like this man. What did they mean?
[27:33] How many of the actual discourses, the speeches, the sayings, of Jesus, had they actually heard?
[27:44] had they simply heard, the words, that we see, from verse 32 onwards, where it says, the Pharisees, and the chief priests, sends officers, to take him.
[27:57] Simply, this term, of the living water. if any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture has said, out of his belly, shall flow rivers, of living water.
[28:15] Is that all they heard? Or perhaps, that's all recorded, that they heard. There are bits and pieces, where Jesus says, yet a little while, am I with you, and then I go unto him, that sent me.
[28:30] You shall seek, and you shall not find me. And where I am, thither you cannot come. Now again, put yourself, in the place, of the people, who were standing around, listening to this.
[28:44] It's easy for us, in retrospect, to see what Jesus is saying. A little while, am I with you? Of course, because the crucifixion, is going to be, the following Easter.
[28:56] And then I go unto him, that sent me, back to the Father. You shall seek me, you shall not find me. And where I am, thither you cannot come. We have the benefit, of the gospel, we have the benefit, of the hindsight, of the, those who wrote, about these things.
[29:12] We can understand, these things. And the Jews argue, where we will go. Where is he going? And then comes this, if any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
[29:29] What kind of thirst, was he referring to? How was it, that the officers, were so impressed here, that they say, never man, spake, like this man?
[29:45] Was it something, in their own thirst, that was satisfied? Right? Because, what are we talking about, in terms of the officers? The officers, were the temple guard.
[29:59] Not Roman soldiers, but the temple guard. And as the temple guard, they would be familiar, with the words, of the Old Testament. They would be close, to being on a level, with the scribes, and the Pharisees, in terms of their knowledge.
[30:14] And you remember, of course, that Jesus' knowledge, was one of the things, that the people, had decried a little bit. Because, they say in verse 15, the Jews marvel, how knoweth this man, letters, having never learnt?
[30:30] Now, some people, get a wee bit confused, by that. What does that mean? What it means, of course, was that Jesus, had never attended, any rabbinical school. And you will see that, of course, when you look at Paul, you remember, that Paul, had studied, at the feet of Gamaliel, for quite some time, before he embarks, on his crusade, against Christians.
[30:56] But Jesus, had never studied, in a rabbinical school. It doesn't mean, of course, where did he learn, to read and write. Remember, that all Jewish children, were taught, to read and write, from a young age.
[31:11] So that they were able, to read, the scriptures. How knoweth this man, letters, having never learnt? My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.
[31:21] Who sent him? Now, we don't know, how much, of these, these words, the officers, actually heard. But we do know, that they must have been, quite impressed, that they did not, lay a hand on him.
[31:38] Some of them, would have taken him, but no man, laid hands on him. Why was that? Well, one reason, of course, was what our Lord, says himself.
[31:52] My time, is not yet, come. His time, wouldn't fully come, until Easter time, until the Passover time.
[32:05] And if you look, at the high priestly prayer, in John 17, he says there, the time, is now come. You see, when we see that, we have to remember, God's sovereignty.
[32:22] It is something, that we don't often, pay an awful lot, of attention to. God's sovereignty. God is in control, of all things, at all times, in all places.
[32:40] And in the same way, as God, the Father, is in control, God, the Son, is also, in control. Many of us, have a great difficulty, in dealing, with the person, of Christ, as we look, at the second, person, of the Trinity.
[33:01] Some people, even struggle, to understand, what the Trinity, actually means. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
[33:13] All three, existing, from all eternity, to all eternity. Now that's an easy, thing to say.
[33:25] But how, do you and I, understand? That. We can understand, eternity, as we look forward, because we are working, from our own, time frame.
[33:37] And therefore, we have a fixed, time frame, to look forward, and see, eternity, in the future. Even although, it's impossible, for us to reason out, what it actually means.
[33:49] How can something, be eternal, never ending? nothing. But it's, when you look, backwards, then it becomes, almost impossible, for us to understand.
[34:03] How can it have, no beginning? And there are those, who then question, well God, surely God, if he existed, at the very beginning, must have existed, alone, and then brought, the Son, and the Father, and the Spirit, into being.
[34:22] That's not, what scripture teaches. Scripture teaches, us so clearly, that all three, persons of the Godhead, existed, together, from all eternity.
[34:38] Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And you remember, your catechism questions, that teach you, that the three persons, are equal. You see, we have a tendency, to think of the Father, as up here.
[34:52] This old man, sitting on a cloud, controlling things. And the Son, pictured more or less, in the person, of Jesus Christ. As being, sort of, half human, on earth, etc.
[35:03] And then the Holy Spirit, as something else, that floats around, and sort of, does things here and there, every so often. Nothing could be further, from the truth.
[35:16] All three, exist together, from all eternity. And all three, exist in reciprocal, love.
[35:26] That is, love, flowing backwards, and forwards, from one, to the other, at all times. Never diminishing, and never increasing.
[35:40] It cannot increase. It's the same with every single attribute, of the Godhead. All the attributes, of the Godhead, flow backwards, and forwards, from each, of the three persons, of the Godhead.
[35:59] God's justice, God's omnipresence, God's omnipotence, God's sovereignty. Every time, we use that terminology, we have to remember, that all the attributes, of God, are found, in all the persons, of the Trinity.
[36:19] Trinity. The old, buttocks, used to say, that if you want, to see, the Trinity, in action, go to Jordan, go and look, at the baptism, of the Lord, Jesus Christ.
[36:37] Where the Father, speaks from heaven, the Son, is being baptized, and the Holy Spirit, descends like a dove.
[36:48] Three, persons, in action, at the same time. But that then, brings us to consider, the unique role, of the Son.
[36:59] Never man, spake like this man. Why? Because there never was, a man like this man. There never was, a man, who had, a divine, nature.
[37:13] and a human, nature. That's something, that for you and I, is almost impossible, to understand. How could, what apparently, to everyone, from the outside, this man, how could a divine, nature, exist here?
[37:37] This is what the theologians, call the hypostatic union. Don't worry about the term, it's never used, of anyone else, because it only applies, to the Lord Jesus Christ.
[37:48] Christ. You see, remember that the divine, nature, is not united, to a human person, but to a human, nature.
[38:07] That's very difficult, for us to understand. There are things, about the person of Christ, that are beyond, our understanding. How is it, that once he, rises from the dead, he rises still, with a human body, but yet a human body, that transcends, transcends, the normal parameters, of humanity, where he can appear, and disappear, through walls, and doors.
[38:35] And yet still, apparently, he eats, the broiled fish, on the beach, with them. But he ascends, unto heaven, still having the marks, of the nails, in his hands. Where he now, intercedes, on the right hand, of the Father, for his people.
[38:54] Never man, spake like this man, because no one else, had the authority, to speak like this man. No one else, had the knowledge, to speak, like this man.
[39:07] And no one ever will. And you remember, how often, he foretold, that he would, lay down his life. And you remember, how he said, that I lay down my life.
[39:21] I have the power, to lay it down, and I have the power, to take it up again. And the more, you look, and you study, at the person of Christ, you begin, to see, how the officers, are perceiving, a little bit, never man, spoke like this man.
[39:45] I don't know, how much perception, they had, of his offices, of prophet, priest, and king. Probably, very little, if any.
[39:58] How much perception, do you have, of Christ, as a prophet, of the Lord, Jesus Christ, as a priest, and the Lord, Jesus Christ, as your king.
[40:11] You see, there are many people, who will accept, like the divisions, we saw in the chapter, of the Christ, as the miracle man, the Christ, who said, wonderful things, amazing things.
[40:23] They will even, accept him, as the prophet, as we saw, in verse 40. But they don't, want him, as their priest.
[40:36] And they certainly, don't want him, as their king. And maybe, you're here, this evening, and you don't, understand, the priestly role, of Christ. What Christ, has done, as a priest, as a high priest, in that he laid, down his life.
[40:52] He gave, his life. That's what, the atonement, is all about. That's why, the cross, was necessary. You hear, so many people, saying, surely there was, some other way, that God, could have done it.
[41:08] Without the cross, coming into the picture. God's, perfect justice, had to be, satisfied, in a perfect way, by a perfect victim, and perfect obedience.
[41:24] A perfect victim, there was no one else, without sin, who could satisfy, God's, perfect justice. That's what, the symbolism, of the mercy seat, and the tabernacle, had been, from the very beginning.
[41:41] The blood, of the Passover, being sprinkled, for the sins, of the people. And now, it is being applied, from Calvary, once and for all, in this, atonement.
[41:56] Break down, the word, atonement, and what do you get? At, one, meant, with God. To be at one, with God.
[42:07] To find, peace, with God. You see, that's what, it's all about. That's why, this, sacrifice, took place. And if you, understand, the sacrifice, then you see, the role of Christ, as your high priest.
[42:25] But perhaps, you're here, this evening, and you're still, resisting him, as king. We will not, have this man, to rule, over us.
[42:36] You see, you can't accept, two of the offices, of Christ, and then refuse, to accept the third. You either, take the whole package, or you take nothing, at all.
[42:53] And coming, and accepting Christ, as prophet, and priest, means you must, also accept him, as king. That he is, your lord, and master.
[43:04] And that you commit, your life, your faith, your future, your eternity, into his hands. Oh, you see, that's what's so difficult, for us.
[43:20] It's that last step, that's so difficult, for us. Is it any surprise, that the central letter, of the word sin, is I?
[43:31] Because it is, what I want, what I think, what I do, that really matters. But when you come, to this king, you have to lay yourself, down in humility.
[43:47] You have to acknowledge, that you are a sinner. That you are in need, of salvation. And that he is, the only one, to whom you can come.
[44:00] Come unto me, all ye, that are laden, and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Never man, speak like this man.
[44:11] The more you look, at his words, the more you go, through his sayings, the more you begin, to understand. But every single day, you will find, new things, about this man.
[44:28] This man, who becomes, your prophet, priest, and king. As you lay yourself, in his arms, in humility, you will suddenly, find, how he loves you.
[44:41] That all this, was done, because God, so loved the world. Not everyone, in the world, but his own people.
[44:54] And you have, the privilege, this evening, of hearing, the word, of God. That is not, a privilege, that everyone has. And you will be, made accountable, for that privilege, in the day of judgment, if you pay, no attention to it.
[45:15] Never man, speak like this man. Let us pray.