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[0:00] The following message is given by Walt Alexander, lead pastor of Trinity Grace Church in Athens, Tennessee.! For more information about Trinity Grace, please visit us at TrinityGraceAthens.com.

[0:14] Mark chapter 6. We're going to dive into reading God's Word together. Look at me there.

[0:28] Mark chapter 6, verse 31. He said to them, Jesus said to them, Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest for a while.

[0:39] For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away, that's the disciples and our Lord, in the boat to a desolate place by themselves. Now, many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns, and got there ahead of them.

[1:01] When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them. Because they were like sheep without a shepherd.

[1:14] And he began to teach them many things. Wouldn't you love to sit in that audience? And when it grew late, verse 35, his disciples came to him and said, This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late.

[1:30] Send them away into the surrounding countryside and villages, and have them buy themselves something to eat. But he answered, You give them something to eat.

[1:42] They said to him, Shall we go and buy 200 denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat? And he said to them, How many loaves do you have?

[1:57] Go and see. When they had found out, they said, Five and two fish. Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass.

[2:08] So they sat down in groups by hundreds and by fifties. And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing, and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people.

[2:23] And he divided the two fish among them all. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish, and those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.

[2:43] Verse 45, Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, where he dismissed the crowd. And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray.

[2:56] And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them.

[3:08] And about the fourth watch of the night, it's three in the morning, he came to them walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them. But when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought he was a ghost and cried out.

[3:24] For they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, Take heart, it is I. Do not be afraid.

[3:36] They got into the boat. He got in the boat with them, and the wind ceased, and they were utterly astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves, for their hearts were hardened. Verse 53, When they had crossed over, they came to a land at Gennesaret, and moored to the shore.

[3:55] And they got out of the boat. The people immediately recognized him, and ran about the whole region, and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick, even in the marketplaces, and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment, and as many as touched it were made well.

[4:22] Heaven and earth will pass away. Jesus says, My words will never pass away. In 2007, a Washington, D.C. newspaper conducted a now famous experiment.

[4:34] They arranged for the world-renowned Joshua Bell, world-renowned violinist Joshua Bell, to perform in a D.C. subway, in the midst of an ordinary rush hour morning.

[4:46] On that morning, leaning up against a subway wall, disguised in jeans, a T-shirt, and a Washington Nationals cap, Joshua Bell opened his violin case to collect change, and began to play.

[5:00] He was playing a Stradivarius violin, made in 1713. Whoa. Reportedly worth 3.5 million. Days before, audience paid 100 bucks a seat to see him perform in Boston, but on that morning, he performed six classical pieces, lasting 45 minutes, and collected a mere $32.17.

[5:24] Over 1,000 people passed by while he was playing. Most never slowed. Some Paul's 27 gave a bit of change, but one lady got it.

[5:40] She was astonished, amazed, and confused. Why in the world is Joshua Bell playing in this subway for loose change?

[5:51] It's a fascinating experiment, seeking to discover how well we notice things, even extraordinary beauty when we're in a rush.

[6:02] The stats are clear. Far too often, because of our frenetic pace of life, beauty, even Joshua Bell-level beauty, is often left hidden in plain sight.

[6:16] In a similar way this morning, there's a startling hiddenness to our Lord. Many in the crowd recognize him at the beginning of our chunk of verses, but many who are closest to him do not.

[6:35] Even after performing several astounding miracles, Jesus remains hidden in plain sight. Unlike Joshua Bell, who carefully concealed who he was, Jesus has come to reveal himself.

[6:47] He's come to make himself known. He's come to help us see. And so doing, Mark is doing what he's done all throughout this gospel. He doesn't tell us so much about Jesus as he shows us. He doesn't describe him, but he unveils him.

[7:00] He doesn't trace out his features, but uncovers him. He doesn't so much explain Jesus as present him. So like the experiment, the big question for us is, do we see him?

[7:15] Do you see who he really is? Beneath all the Bible stories and beneath all the Bible school answers, have we encountered this Jesus Christ?

[7:31] Maybe you see Jesus stuck in religious stories, who's unable to lift a finger when it really matters. If so, I pray that you look with me. Maybe you see a Jesus who rubber stamps your lifestyle and can never disagree with you.

[7:44] If so, I hope you'll see more. Maybe you just see a Jesus who's a prophet or a holy man or a good moral person, but not the Son of God.

[7:55] I hope you'll open your heart even as we open these verses. Where we're going in the Word is, look and see, the Lord our God has come to deliver us fully and finally in Jesus.

[8:06] Look and see, the Lord our God has come to deliver us fully and finally in Jesus. So we're going to break this out in three points and they're not going to make a ton of sense when you hear them, but they will hopefully when we get done.

[8:18] The first is, Jesus is the better Moses. You know, after hearing, Jesus is the better Moses, after hearing of Herod's ungodly feast that ended with John the Baptist on a platter last week, Jesus shows himself to be the true leader who spreads out a good feast for all.

[8:33] We can get into the story. Jesus, he tells his disciples to come away with him that they might go and go to a desolate place to rest, but there's just a wonderful vividness as you heard, as I read, as they try to go away, many recognize them in the boat and they're kind of running all around the Sea of Galilee and they get there before him.

[8:54] I just love how vividly Mark captures this scene. So they're going away to rest, but Jesus can get no breaks. And they get there before him.

[9:06] And when he reaches the shore, he sees the crowd and has compassion. Look at verse 34. When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd and he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd.

[9:22] Don't fail to take this in. He sees them and he has compassion. This word for compassion is only used in the New Testament for Jesus Christ.

[9:36] It literally refers to the bowels, the guts, the innards, the core of who this person is. And what Mark is telling us is that the core of Jesus Christ is compassion.

[9:48] compassion. This one who teaches with such authority is compassion. Richard Sivs helps us with this, the Puritan. He says, when Christ saw the people in misery, his bowels yearned within him.

[10:04] What do you think yearns within the Lord for you? The works of grace and mercy in Christ, they come from his bowels first. Now we think about bowels and we think about something different, but they come from the inside, deep down.

[10:20] What is the core of Jesus Christ? What's the first thing he thinks about when he thinks about you? Compassion. Grace and mercy.

[10:30] I just love that. We can hang out there all morning, but we can't. So he sees him, he has compassion, he begins to teach. Apparently he teaches for quite a while, you know, that comforts all us preachers, you know.

[10:41] He teaches for a while and it gets late and you know, it's getting late, getting into the evening, the disciples say, you gotta send them away, Lord. You gotta give them something to eat and there's this wonderful back and forth between Jesus and the disciples then, you know.

[10:55] And Jesus has a way, anytime you ask him something or demand something, he often just brings something totally out of the blue and that's kind of what's going on here. They say send him away and he said, you give them something. They say, shall we go and buy 200 denarii worth of food?

[11:11] I mean, the modern day equivalent based on the mean salary in America would be $24,000 worth of food. Should we go and deplete the Ingalls and the food city to buy all the food for these guys?

[11:25] They have 24 grand worth of food in there. He says, how much bread do you have? He doesn't answer their question.

[11:36] They say, five loaves, two fish and then Jesus takes over. Look at verse 39. He commanded them to all sit down. You can go through and underline all the verbs here that rest in our Lord's hand all throughout this passage.

[11:48] It's fascinating. They sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties and taking the five loaves, two fish, he looked up to heaven, said a blessing, broke the loaves and gave them the disciples and stepped before the people. He divided the two fish among them all and they all ate and were satisfied.

[12:02] What an incredible miracle. Did you notice right down there in verse 44, 5,000 men.

[12:14] I would say feed the 5,000 but probably 15,000, 20,000 including women and children. Now, a lot of scholars look at this and say, no way.

[12:26] One of my favorites is one of the rationalist type guys in the early 20th century. Jesus can't feed that many people and so what really happened is disciples were hiding all this food in their pockets and they suddenly just came out with it because it's better to share.

[12:42] If you just share, everyone will have something. I don't think that was going on. Another says it's a sacramental meal so it's kind of a precursor to the Lord's Supper.

[12:52] We were satisfied. Trust me, if we do the Lord's Supper today, you won't be satisfied with that little thing not in a physical way. I think this is a sign much of the way I mean, all four Gospels include this.

[13:08] Miracle must be very important. There's a sign showing us something about Jesus in a word. This is what it's trying to show us. Jesus is a better Moses who gathers the people of God and provides for all their needs. Jesus is a better Moses who gathers the people of God and provides for all their needs.

[13:23] Each Gospel tells this story but each one tells it differently and Mark's recounting of it is filled with sign that Jesus is the promised one who will lead and shepherd the people just like Moses did in the Old Testament. Three times he tells us he led them to a desolate place.

[13:36] Literally, he led them to the wilderness. Remember, Moses was in the wilderness for 40 years. He led his people after being delivered out of Egypt. As Moses is leading them through the wilderness, Jethro, his father-in-law, tells him to separate them into groups.

[13:49] They're an unruly group altogether and that's what Jesus does here. Do you see that? He separates them into hundreds and fifties to make order out of it. When Moses was leading the people through the wilderness, God provided miraculously for them through two things, right?

[14:06] Manna, a flaky bread-like substance and quail. So too, Jesus miraculously provides two things for the crowd here as well. Bread and fish.

[14:18] It's meant to shoot off buzzers in our heads. Ding, ding, ding. Jesus is doing something that Moses did and did you notice that there were twelve baskets? Numbers are very important in the scriptures.

[14:30] Twelve is a very important number. In the same way that Jesus, I mean Moses, led the twelve tribes out of Egypt, so Jesus is gathering all the twelve tribes that are lost and broken and beaten and scattered back into the family of God.

[14:47] And if that weren't clear enough, it says he had compassion. Why? Because they were like sheep without a shepherd. This is a very careful reference to Moses' dying prayer.

[15:01] Look with me, Numbers 27. Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation who will go out before them and come in before them who shall lead them out and bring them in that the congregation of the Lord may not be as sheep that have no shepherd.

[15:20] Mark's saying this man is here. The answer to Moses is here. The next Moses is here. Do you see all this is not about 20,000 people being fed?

[15:31] That's great. It's a sign of something greater, something only God can do. Back when I was in college, a string of wildly popular and eerily suspenseful movies came out by M. Night Shalemahan, if that's how you say his name.

[15:50] One of which is called Signs. Graham Hess, played by Mel Gibson, is a former Episcopalian priest living in an isolated farm with his family and he begins seeing things.

[16:05] Probably thought of that line from the sixth sense right there, or maybe some of you did, but first he saw these crop circles out in his farm. He saw these weird looking crop circles. He just thought it was vandalism, but it just didn't make sense.

[16:17] They were too perfect. He said, next he saw lights, 14 lights in the field, looking like a landing strip or something.

[16:29] He can't stop thinking about all these signs and wonder if something supernatural is happening. Wonder if the end is coming. It's just such a well done movie. You just wrapped attention to it.

[16:41] In one of the final scenes, he talks with his brother about all these signs. He says, people break down into two groups when they experience something lucky. Group number one sees it as more than luck, more than coincidence.

[16:54] They see it as a sign, evidence that there is someone up there. Group number two sees it as pure luck, just a happy turn of chance. I'm sure the people in group number two are looking at those 14 lights in a very suspicious way.

[17:10] For them, the situation isn't 50-50. Could be bad, could be bad. Or could be good, could be bad. But deep down, they feel that whatever happens, they're on their own.

[17:21] And that fills them with fear. Yeah, there are those people. But there's also a lot of people in group number one. When they see the 14 lights, they see a miracle.

[17:36] Deep down, they feel that whatever's going to happen, there will be someone there to help them that fills them with hope. He turns to his brother. See, what you have to ask yourself is, what kind of person are you?

[17:50] Are you the kind that sees signs? Sees miracles? Or do you believe that people are just lucky? His brother answers, which is a totally classic answer.

[18:03] He says, one time, I was at a party, and I was sitting on the couch with Amanda McKinney. She was sitting there looking beautiful. So I lean in to kiss her, and I realize I have gum in my mouth.

[18:16] So I stuff it down in a cup. I turn back, and Amanda has thrown up all over herself. I knew the moment it happened, it was a miracle.

[18:29] That would have scarred me for life. He concludes, I'm a miracle man. Those lights are a miracle. What kind of person are you?

[18:49] What are all the details in this passage? Are they just facts of an old religious myth? Or are they signs telling us who Jesus really is? Look and see. You know, and Mark is trying to say that Jesus is a promised one.

[19:01] He is one like Moses who gathered his people and provides for all their needs, but it's not just that he comes and he's like Moses, packed into this, are startling reminders that what Jesus has come to do is far greater.

[19:13] Did you notice that he leads them to green grass? That's got to be a reference to Psalm 23, 4. Unlike the people of Israel who grumble almost immediately after eating, Jesus gives the crowd food and they're satisfied.

[19:26] Did you notice that he fed them with fish? Do you remember when they were wandering in the wilderness they said, oh, we were back into Egypt so we could eat fish. He gives them food. Jesus is not another Moses. He's not another prophet.

[19:36] He's the Lord who's gathered with people who've been scattered in the highways and byways and he's bringing them home. He's the good shepherd who's come for his sheep just like in Ezekiel 34. He's the great master of the feast who provides forgiveness and good food for all like Isaiah 25.

[19:50] Jesus is the soul satisfying food who calls everyone who thirsts to come to him and drink and to all who are hungry to come to him and eat just like John 6 proclaimed. Do you see? Do you see what Mark is trying to show you?

[20:05] Secondly, Jesus is the better revelation to Moses. Now that's definitely a clunky point but hopefully it makes sense in a minute. Jesus is the better revelation to Moses and before we even have time to hear their response, Jesus pushes him into the boat.

[20:21] It's startling. I mean, he just fed 5,000, 20,000, whatever it is. He fed all these people and then Jesus immediately pushes him into the boat. He says, we've got to get out of here quick and he wants to rest like he is resting earlier and he wants to get alone with God and so he pushes them into the boat.

[20:39] Look in verse 45, he said, immediately he made disciples get in the boat and go to the other side and after he had taken leave he went up on the mountain to pray. He went up on the mountain to pray.

[20:49] There's so much to linger on here with all that is on our Lord's agenda he pulls away to pray. Jesus is fully man and fully God.

[21:03] He got tired and weary and needed rest and he pulls away to rest. It is one wonderful theme of rest running through this passage so too was we. Charles Spurgeon said it like this, it is wisdom to take occasional furlough or retreat.

[21:20] In the long run we shall do more by sometimes doing less. We must every now and then halt and serve the Lord by holy inaction and consecrated leisure. He who forgets the humming of the bees among the heather the cooing of the wood pigeons in the forest the song of the birds in the woods the rippling of rills among the rushes and the sighing of wind among the pines need not wonder needs not wonder if his heart forgets to sing and his soul grows heavy.

[21:48] I just love that little well I love Spurgeon but this window too there's no awards in the Christian life for running yourself to death. There's no applause for burning yourself out.

[22:02] No celebration for not resting. That's a warped Christianity if you think that. You're not the measure of what you do. Serve the Lord by holy inaction.

[22:14] Consecrated leisure. Learn to fish! More importantly learn to pray. And then his prayer is interrupted. There's not a single prayer in the Gospel of Mark where it's not interrupted.

[22:28] His prayer is interrupted. Look at verse 48. And he saw them so he's up there praying he saw them they're making headway painfully for the wind is against them.

[22:39] So he sees them again and he moves to hell. They're not in a storm this time they are in a hard headwind. Even in poor conditions the Sea of Galilee could be crossed in six to eight hours but late in the evening they're struggling in a strong wind.

[22:54] The NIV says they're straining at the oars. It captures the vividness of this. He goes to them by walking on the sea. Look at verse 48b. He said about the fourth watch of the night he came to them walking on the sea meant to pass by them but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost and cried out for they all saw him and were terrified and he meant to pass by but whatever the reason when they see him they're terrified he gets into the boat verse 51 tells us and the wind ceases.

[23:29] Right after the feeding of the five thousand we have another fabulous miracle. Years ago I read the book Albert Schweitzer's The Quest for the Historical Jesus and he talked about how all the smart guys rejected this too.

[23:47] One of them said that it was a sandbar that Jesus was walking on. Somehow the boat of the disciples didn't get stuck in it but whatever so they were walking I shouldn't kind of mock those guys you know they were thinking carefully.

[24:00] Sandbar. Another said it was a raft. He was actually on a raft surfing into their rescues. You know I think those things explain away what's going on.

[24:11] This is just another sign that the Lord is here. In a word Jesus is the better revelation to Moses who comes to make the invisible God known. I mean I think what's going on here is there's a ratcheting up so there was a feeding of the five thousand and all the people were satisfied but the disciples did not get it their hearts were hardened and so there's a ratcheting up here there's a greater revelation that occurs here and Mark says when he went by him he meant to pass by.

[24:43] Now what in the world does that mean? You know are we playing hide and seek? You know he's going to go ahead and hide jump out you know something like that is he trying to trick them out there to test their faith?

[24:55] Was Jesus just wanting to walk on water and remain unrecognized? What is going on? Was Jesus just planned to pass by but changed his mind? Did God change his mind? It's a big conundrum if he did when Mark says he meant to pass by he's not talking about like a car passing another car it's an intentional reference to Exodus 33 you remember that story so Moses has been receiving the law up on the mountain with the Lord and he's been writing it down the Lord wrote the Ten Commandments with his finger we're not quite there yet to that passage but Moses is up there on the mountain with the Lord and they're just it's amazing you know his face is shown like the sun is what we hear in the scriptures and so he's up there and the Lord you know they're almost done you know kind of wrapping it up and the Lord says I'm sorry man but the people they just can't wait on you any longer and so they they made a calf to worship like right after the Exodus right through the Red Sea right after being delivered to worship him the whole story and they said

[26:02] Moses whatever you're doing up there we can't take it we're going to make a calf I mean a calf to worship and the Lord says I'm going to consume him and it's over right he's just he should and there's this fascinating back and forth with Moses and the Lord if you want to go back and read this 32 to 34 would be wonderful not right now but he begs the Lord not to consume him and finally the Lord relents Moses knew they deserved to be wiped out but the Lord said he'd be gracious and Moses is stunned and floored like what kind of God is this what kind of God who delivers his people out of Exodus and then they forget him they're like the nine lepers that run away and they give no thanks they turn and go the opposite way but the Lord says I will relent and so Moses is just blown away he says show me your glory remember he's up on the mountain show me your glory what he's saying is I don't understand you I know about a God who judges people for what they deserve but I don't know a God who gives people what they don't deserve show me more of you show me your glory the Lord says

[27:16] I'll show you my goodness and then he says this Exodus 33 but you cannot see my face for man cannot see me and live as the Lord said behold there's a place by me where you stand on the rock and while my glory passes by I will put you in the cleft of the rock and I'll cover you with my hand until I have passed by then will take away my hand and you will see my back for my face shall not be seen so what Mark is telling us it's the same word Exodus 33 that's right here in our passage Mark's in teaching linking them saying this miracle is a revelation of God that's not all the story continues the Lord passed by him the same word again Exodus 34 he said the Lord the Lord he proclaimed his name

[28:18] God merciful and gracious slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness it runs through the whole scripture so he proclaims it but he begins by proclaiming the divine name I am you remember Moses in the burning bush I am who I am I am that's what the Lord means he's just saying I'm the God of your fathers I'm the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob and I am your God I'll be with you and I'll be for you forever I am who I am and after Jesus passes by the disciples he says take heart it is I literally he says take heart I am it's very striking to me that Joy said in that word it is me almost verbatim to what the Lord says right here it is I that's what he's saying Jesus is saying I'm not I'm not a prophet come from God I am the Lord I am the God who was and is and is to come

[29:20] I'm the God of your fathers the God of Abraham and Moses and Rahab and Ruth and Elijah and David and I am your God if you'll come to me and he's kind of putting all these questions together do you remember in chapter 1 they said who is this man that teaches with such authority I am who does this man who is this man that speaks like this why does he speak like this because I am who is this that even the winds and seas obey him I am that's what our Lord is saying some people say Mark's picture of Jesus is too human too basic but this revelation is gripping we come to see that Jesus Christ he's the Lord he's Yahweh he's the God who revealed himself to Moses but this revelation is even better because the disciples see his face no one can see God he's a spirit no one can see God but twice Mark says they saw him he's trying to make you know he's trying to make you realize they saw him they all saw him walking on the sea as if it was a ghost they cried out they all saw him and were terrified remember it said you cannot see my face and live but Jesus says take heart it is I don't be afraid you won't die

[30:46] I've not come to condemn you I've come to have mercy John 1 18 says no one has seen God ever seen God the only God who's at the Father's side he has come Jesus has come to make him known John 3 17 for God did not send his son into the world condemned the world but in order that the world might be saved through him don't be afraid but why why does it occur on the water and not a mountain sorry these might just be questions I'm asking because God has come to his people again to deliver them not from the water but through it just like he did with Noah and the flood just like he did with the Israelites and the Red Sea and just like he'll do for you in the waters of death come to flood you because of Jesus

[31:47] Jesus gets into the boat then and goes with him that's unbelievable do not fear most repeated command in the whole Bible is not clean your act up it's not go to church not read your Bible and pray every day and you grow grow grow or something like that it's not any of those things the most repeated command in the Bible is do not be afraid do not be afraid there's a storm coming in the most powerful way it's saying there's a storm of wrath coming but if you'll come and hide in this one if you'll let him get in the boat with you you don't need to be afraid they'll take you all the way to the promised land the land that Moses longed to get into but in a much more powerful way he's saying even death cannot destroy you nothing can destroy you you are Teflon man if you're with Jesus Christ don't fear it's a sin and it lies to you and it says that in the heart of God is not good but in the heart of God is compassion and goodness he's God slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love does not always chide he doesn't keep his anger forever he's faithful and just and good the scene ends sadly though look in verse 51 the wind ceased they're utterly astounded which is

[33:51] I mean it seems like we're going in a good direction but they did not understand about the loaves so that tells us that their astounding response is not a good one because of their hearts were hardened which is another word joy used by the way last point Jesus brings the better deliverance after two miracles our passage concludes with what looks like just an odd little add-on it is kind of it's a summary statement that has happened several times already in the book of the gospel of Mark look at verse 53 it says when they crossed over they came to the land of Gennesaret they moored to the shore and when they got out of the boat the people immediately recognized them again remember the same word from the beginning of the passage they ran about the whole region they're running twice they began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was love how just casually that's wherever they heard that he was that's where they went you know that's what I do and whenever he came in villages and cities and countryside they laid the sick in the marketplace implored that he might touch even they might touch even the fringe of his garment many who touched it were healed so it's just this wonderful vividness the disciples don't recognize him they're afraid the crowd they see him they see him they get it they run to him as many as touch him were made well that's a word that means healed but it also means saved same word

[35:48] I think Mark is telling us that the healings of Jesus are not an end themselves but an invitation to a full final deliverance not merely healing but forgiveness of sins eternal life in a word Jesus brings the better deliverance who comes to set us free and lead us into everlasting rest Jesus brings the better deliverance who comes to set us free and lead us into everlasting rest along with full salvation there's another thing that stands out to me as we conclude this passage Jesus was always looking for a place to rest he had no time to eat and no time to rest just constant activity and constant interruption you ever felt like that you know somebody always tugging on me you know that's like welcome to mom life 101 you know but there's just constant interruption he was looking for rest you know who else was looking for rest his whole life Moses Moses was looking for rest for the promised land when he was wandering through the wilderness for 40 years but he never found it he wandered through the wilderness for 40 years quail and manna every night and he never found the rest interestingly enough

[36:57] Jesus will find no rest on earth the pace of mark will only continue to pick up and the pressure against our lord will continue to bear down there will be no rest for the son of God Jesus Christ first will come the sneers then will come the mocking then the shouting then the kangaroo court then the nails then the three hours of experiencing in his body and his soul the full fury of the wrath of God for sinners and there will be no rest for him there until the full cup of wrath is exhausted and there he will cry after all this is exhausted there he will there he did cry it is finished there he will cry there he did cry into your hands I commit my spirit why was our lord placed in turmoil for 33 years and three hours of agony so that all the guilty held deserving sinners who trust in him might enter the rest that Moses longed for and Jesus died to provide look and see the lord our god has come to deliver us fully and finally in Jesus so the big question for you is do you see him one thing you notice about everybody who does recognize him in these verses is they act on it faith without works is dead not in the sense that you need to earn something from god but faith that isn't active is not faith so do you see him some of you say absolutely

[38:39] I see him and if you do I say praise the lord spend your life living full tilt for him some of you say I read these miracles miracles and I don't believe any of it I believe this is a man-made document we can talk about all the problems with it I don't believe any of it to you I'd say thanks for coming but I pray that you read this more to see if you can begin to see for others you might say I'm considering it and if you're considering it like always we'd love to talk to you after the meeting we'd love to give you a book we'd love to help you come to these things 20 years ago next month I was considering it I became a Christian on August 9th 2001

[39:40] I remember the rooms where I was just reading this Bible for the very first time I pray that's you today is the day of salvation if you won't harden your heart that's what scripture says Jesus Christ stands at the door and knocks you may be considered or you may be ready to run full tilt into our Lord's arm if you are praise the Lord come down and you will be saved let me pray Father in heaven we don't want to know a lot of things about Jesus Christ we don't want to be known for knowing a lot of things about Jesus Christ we want to be known for knowing him and the power of his resurrection knowing him to be our chosen portion in our cup the one who plans all our days the one who's at our right hand the one who's laid out the path of life for us that we might find life in his name we pray

[40:57]  God I pray you lead us more deeply into communion with this one who though he was rich he became poor though he possessed all the attributes of God in their fullness as a son he chose to become a baby become a man to be treated like we should be treated be judged like we should be judged mocked like we should be mocked that in him we might find forgiveness resurrection in life pray God open our hearts more and more to you into rejoicing in you in Jesus name amen groan