We're going to seek to understand how we can move from being near the kingdom to actually being in the kingdom.
We're going to talk about all those things.
But we'll waste our time if we view this text as mostly a distant event that has no real bearing on our lives today.
And it will do us no good to treat this passage as just another intellectual exercise.
Because the truth is that you too might be near the kingdom without actually being in it.
And my prayer is that by the end of this study together, you'll either be encouraged by the grace of Jesus that you have already received,
or else you will be prepared to receive him by faith just now.
And so I'm going to lay all my cards out for you right there from the beginning.
If you're here today and you're somewhat of a skeptic, not necessarily against Jesus,
just not really sure exactly what to do with him,
my goal is to persuade you today to follow Christ.
And I hope that you will do that today.
First thing I want you to see is the scribe's inquiry.
The scribe's inquiry in verse 28 or the scribe's question.
Look with me at verse 28.
One of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another and seeing that he answered them well,
asked him,
which commandment is the most important of all?
Now this interaction between Jesus and the scribe comes at the end,
as you well know, of a series of confrontations
through which the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem
were attempting to destroy the Lord and his influence.
The Pharisees,
the Herodians,
the Sadducees had all taken their turns to trap Jesus,
but each of them have,
in Mark's gospel,
failed to do so.
And what turns out to be their final attempt
at getting to Jesus,
the ruling body of the Jews,
we know them as the Sanhedrin,
sent this scribe to Jesus.
Matthew 22 tells us that he was a Pharisee
and that they sent him to trap Jesus
in some kind of issue relating to the law.
Well,
scribes were lawyers,
so it's not very surprising
that that would be the thing that they sent him to Jesus to discuss.
However,
what's interesting about this particular interaction
is that as the man got close enough
to hear the way that Jesus was responding
to these other groups that were challenging him,
he discovered very quickly
that he actually appreciated,
even agreed with the Lord.
And that surely must have come as such a surprise to him.
He has been sent by his buddies to go and trap the Lord,
but as he gets close enough to actually hear
the things that he was saying
and the way that he was saying them,
he actually found himself inwardly applauding Jesus,
not actually wanting to destroy him.
So though he belonged to a group
that outright rejected Jesus,
he seems to be somewhat personally conflicted about him.
And I think this man is similar to the people
that we often refer to as searching.
Maybe you've used that term before
and referring to people who aren't yet Christians,
but aren't necessarily closed off to it,
at least in their minds.
They don't yet believe and follow Jesus,
but they aren't exactly sure what to do with him either.
Do you find that to be a fair description
of where you are in relation to Christ?
You wouldn't say that you're against Christ.
You think it's pretty amazing,
the things that he did,
and especially the example that he laid forth.
And you're not prepared at least to outright deny
who he is and what he might can do,
but you're just not really sure
exactly what you're supposed to do with him either.
How you're supposed to take him.
And I want to tell you, if that's you today,
you're close.
You're close.
You're not in, though.
Salvation doesn't come to those
who are friendly toward Jesus,
but those who wholeheartedly follow him.
There's a difference.
It's no real surprise that a scribe would ask Jesus
a question concerning the law, really.
Pharisees in particular remained in constant debate
over the various nuances of God's law,
but then also this enormous list of regulations
and traditions that they had added to it.
And just as when we're kids,
we divide our thoughts of wrongdoing
into categories of big sins and little sins.
Did you do that when you were a kid?
We used to do that.
We'd say, well, the big sins are things like murder,
and the little sin is just the thing that I do.
Right?
That's how we weigh them out.
Well, the Pharisees weren't really actually very different than that.
They had divided the law and their traditions
into two different categories.
They had the things that they felt were weightier laws,
and they had things that they felt were less laws,
lesser laws,
things that they felt were strictly binding
that they would not waver on,
and then they had things that they felt like were less binding.
Maybe there's a little gray area.
Maybe we can find some ways to get around it.
And Jesus did that too.
Jesus had times where he weighed out the weightiness.
He told the Pharisees,
at one point you tithe with dill and cumin,
but you ignore the weightier things of the law.
Now, Jesus wasn't saying that some sins
are less important than other sins.
He's just categorizing the backwardness
in the Pharisees' thinking in that moment.
But the Pharisees took that a little different.
They were trying to find these lesser things,
and the problem is that the debate was so subjective
because they would often point to the weightier things
as the things that they felt easier to follow,
and then the lesser things, of course,
would be the things that maybe they struggled with personally.
So this is a common question.
The one that the man asked Jesus
is a common question among the scribes,
but what's really behind the question
is what lies at the heart of every system
of works-based salvation and religion.
In asking Jesus to summarize the entire law
in one single command,
here's what the scribe was asking the Lord.
Sincerely granted, I really truly believe
that he was asking this sincerely at this point.
He's asking Jesus,
Lord, what is one great command that I can follow
and that in obedience to that command,
I can satisfy God?
That's really what he's asking here.
Jesus, rabbi, teacher,
if you could just summarize it
into one thing that I can do,
just one thing that I can do,
and if in doing that thing,
I will be able to satisfy the wrath of God
against my sin.
So knowing that he couldn't possibly achieve perfection,
the perfection that's required by God's standards,
he was determined to get as close as he possibly could,
hoping that God would then reward his effort.
Now let's go back and revisit our opening illustration.
Here's what this scribe was trying to do.
He was aiming for the one yard line.
He's not aiming for the end zone here.
He's aiming for the one yard line,
hoping that if he can at least make it that far,
that God will just help him out
and just kind of carry him the rest of the way.
He's close.
But he's not there.
And of course, we all know people
who live with that same mindset.
I'm not perfect, they may say,
but I'm sure God will give me some credit
for trying my best.
I mean, what else can I do
but my best?
And for these people,
Jesus is a moral example to be followed,
but he's not a savior
to which they must cast all their faith and hope.
They become their own savior.
Jesus is the example,
but if I can just do my best to be like him,
then God will accept me.
And they've missed the whole point.
They're close.
They're not in.
But Jesus can be your savior today
because he did indeed perfectly fulfill the law of God
that each and every one of us continually violate.
So salvation does not come to those who do their best,
but to those who trust only
in the righteousness of Christ on their behalf.
That's what Paul was on about in Romans chapter three.
Many of you have read this
in preparation for our Lakeside Connect.
Here's what he says,
And he continues,
for there's no distinction.
All have sinned.
All fall short of the glory of God.
But anyone who is justified
is justified by his grace as a gift
through the redemption that's in Christ Jesus,
whom God put forth as a propitiation
by his blood to be received by faith.
Substitute.
A satisfaction for God's wrath
does not come by any righteousness that we have
because as Isaiah said,
our righteousness compared to God's
is like a filthy rag,
but not Jesus
because Jesus perfectly fulfilled that law.
He perfectly fulfilled the law.
So he is truly righteous.
And by faith in him,
God then grants us the righteousness of Christ.
Number two,
the Lord's insight.
The Lord's insight.
So the scribe asked the Lord for one great law.
Jesus gave him two.
Now Jesus didn't provide this answer
just to teach that,
or to agree in any way
that it's possible to earn salvation.
He gives this answer here
to actually expose the impossibility
of earning salvation.
We read it a moment ago.
Who could ever keep these demands?
No one.
There are two parts to it.
The first one is this.
Jesus says you got to love God.
You got to love God.
Verse 29.
Jesus answered,
the most important is,
hear, O Israel,
the Lord our God,
the Lord is one,
and you shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart,
with all your soul,
with all your mind,
and with all your strength.
This first part of Jesus's answer
is a direct quote
from Deuteronomy chapter six,
verses four and five.
It is known as the Shema.
The Hebrew word to hear
is what that means,
which begins the statement,
hear, O Israel.
Devout Jews,
recite the Shema
in the morning
and in the evening
of every day.
Hear, O Israel,
the Lord our God,
the Lord is one.
You shall love him
with all your heart,
soul, mind,
and strength.
And of course,
in Deuteronomy six,
this is what they were commanded
by Moses to teach
to their children
and to talk about all day.
This was an important command.
Everybody knew it.
And the command begins
with the affirmation
that there is only one God
to love and worship
and it rejects
any form of idolatry
that might be present
in our lives.
So think about this.
To fulfill this command
is to live a life
that never
seeks personal will
over the will of God.
Now let me ask you something.
Have you ever pursued
your will
with a complete disregard
to whatever God
might desire instead?
Because if you've ever
done that,
you've broken this command.
You've already fallen short.
It is to wholly pursue
the Creator
and His purpose
in creating you
rather than pursuing
self-identity
or self-glory
or self-pleasure.
this is the demand
of God's law.
We love
and glorify Him
as our only
one
and Savior
God.
Even
when it comes
to denying ourselves
to do so.
Now we don't really
have to go any further.
We already know
we broke that.
Who could keep
that law?
Who could keep
that command?
But Jesus continues
and He gives
four categories
of our being
in which God
is to be the object
of our total love
and devotion.
He says we're to love
the Lord
with all our heart
which is setting
all of our affection
on Him
and tuning
our emotions
to His person
and His will.
He says we're to love
the Lord
with all of our soul.
That is to
place God
and His glory
at the center
of your whole being.
That when you think
who am I
you have no other thought
than a creature
of the living God
for whom I live
in everything that I do.
That is to love
the Lord
with all your soul.
It is to put Him
first in all your ambition.
It is to live your life
in total service to Him.
And then He says
even beyond that
that's hard enough, right?
All your heart
and all your soul.
Then He says
you gotta do it
with all your mind as well.
You have to think
with pure thoughts.
Discipline
and surrender
your thoughts
to align with
the truths of God
as He has given them
in the Scriptures.
Not as you wish
He had given them
in the Scriptures
but as He has given them.
It is to trust
His ways
are best
even when you don't
understand them.
And then He says
you love the Lord
with all your strength.
That's to put
all of your work
and energy
toward obeying
and following Him.
When it comes
to loving the Lord
in this way
there's no such thing
as retirement.
There's never a time
in your life
where you set aside
all of your energy
and all of your ambition
and all of your things
and you direct them
away from what
God's desire is
for your life
in order to pursue
self-identity
and self-glory
and self-pleasure.
It just isn't.
You can't love God
and self.
It doesn't work.
Kent Hughes said
heart, soul, mind
and strength
were not intended
as a breakdown
or a psychological analysis
of human personality.
They simply meant
that everything
was to be devoted
to loving God.
Everything.
I'm all yours, Lord.
Lord.
Have you ever
done that perfectly?
I haven't.
I don't know
that I've done
that perfectly
even today.
So we've already
fallen short.
So this man's
looking for one
great command
he can follow
that would satisfy God
and the first thing
that Jesus leads off
with is an impossibility.
But he doesn't
stop there.
He also says
we're to love others.
Verse 31.
The second is this,
Jesus said,
you shall love
your neighbor
as yourself.
This is a quote
from Leviticus 19
verse 18.
And it makes
perfect sense,
right?
That Jesus
would attach
this command
directly to the
command to love
God
because love
for others
flows directly
out of our love
for God.
Right?
Listen,
to love God
is to love
what he loves.
What does he love?
Us.
To truly love God
means that the
natural reflex
of our hearts
is going to be
to extend
our love
and affection
and kindness
to the others
in which God
has created
not because
we line up
with him
and everything
and that our
personalities
perfectly mesh
and that we
necessarily
want to be
kind
but because
we love
him
we will
by nature
love
them.
Think about
this.
His grace
in some measure
is extended
to every human
being
every single
day.
Even the ones
who utterly
reject him
and hate him.
They still
enjoy the
rising of the
sun.
They enjoy
the blessings
of the food
that he provides
in the earth
that he's given.
He provides
them with air
to breathe
and life
to live
and beauty
to behold.
All of that
to the very
people who
reject and
hate him.
Is that
not the way
that the
scripture
continually
teaches us
that we're
to love
our enemies?
Not because
we're just
good at it
but because
that's exactly
what God
does and
as we love
God it makes
sense that
Jesus would say
then the next
thing right behind
that is that
you're going to
love others
the same way.
first because
of God's
love.
The inerrant
dignity of
human life
is wrapped
up in this
command.
Because God
has imprinted
his very image
on every
human we
are to
treat one
another with
love and
respect.
But notice
how Jesus
commanded for
us to love.
Love others
the way you
love yourself.
love others
the way you
love yourself.
I don't know
about you but I'm
pretty good at
loving myself.
It's pretty easy
for me to tell
Jared yes even
when Jared hasn't
been real good to
Jared because I
love Jared.
He's my favorite.
Jesus says love
others the way
you love yourself.
Love others the
way you love
yourself.
It's interesting he
doesn't say love
others the way you
love God because he
knows we love
ourselves more than
we love God.
He says you need
to love others
that way.
In every
situation we're
to treat other
people the way we
would hope to be
treated given that
the circumstances
were in reverse.
James Edwards
said love for God
releases the love
of God.
Love for God
releases the love
of God.
You love him
you won't be able
to help it
but show his love
for others.
This is what John
was on about in
1 John chapter 4.
Beloved let us not
love one another
or let us love one
another for love is
from God and whoever
loves has been born
of God and knows
God.
Anyone who does not
love does not know
God because God is
love.
but notice how Jesus
ends the statement
verse 31.
He says love God
love others.
There is no other
commandment greater
than these.
No other commandment
greater than these
Jesus says.
And this is so
important.
This statement might
be the most important
of all of them
because it it
corrects the errant
perspective of the
scribe's question.
In Matthew 22
Matthew writes that
Jesus added this
statement.
He says that all of
the law and the
prophets that's a
single title for the
Old Testament.
All of the law and
the prophets depend
on these two
commandments.
What does that
mean?
He meant that all
the lesser quote
lesser commands are
subsumed or absorbed
into these two
summary statements.
Now an example of
that is the Ten
Commandments.
The first four
commandments are all
under and underneath
and subsumed in this
command to love God.
Love God.
No graven image.
Don't take his name
in vain.
Remember the Sabbath.
Keep it holy.
All of that is about
our love for God.
Subsumed in the one
command.
The final six subsumed
in that second command.
Love others as
yourself.
Don't kill them.
Love them.
Don't steal from them.
Love them.
Don't commit adultery
with them or against
them.
Love them.
Don't covet against
them.
Love them.
Don't lie about them.
Love them.
In other words,
to violate a lesser
command is the same
as violating the
greatest commands.
Do you see that?
Jesus says all of the
law, all the law and
the prophets.
They depend on these
two summary statements.
Love God.
Love others.
And if you kill
somebody, you have also
broken the law of love.
If you worship someone
else, you have also
broken the command of
loving God.
In other words, to
break a lesser command
is to break all of the
law, which is exactly
what James told us.
James chapter 2 and
verse 10.
So the scribe comes to
Jesus and he says,
just give me one thing,
one thing I can do.
And Jesus says, that's
not possible.
It's not possible.
You can't separate the
law of God.
It is one.
To violate in one point
is to violate in all
points.
So Jesus wasn't giving
this man a path to
follow to earn God's
favor.
What was he doing?
He was leading this
man to the truth and
the understanding that
our best obedience can
never gain eternal life.
Who has ever loved God
and others this way?
No one but Christ.
We've all violated God's
demands.
And it's not possible for
us to make it up through
our efforts and morality
and religion.
The law is not there to
save us.
God gave it to show us
that we need saving.
That we need a Savior.
And all we can do in
responding to this answer
that Jesus gave so
profoundly is to say,
have mercy on me.
I can't do that.
I've never done that.
I'll never be able to do
that perfectly.
Lord, have mercy on me.
And fortunately for us,
God is full of grace.
And mercy.
Micah chapter 7 and verse
18, the prophet writes,
Who is a God like you?
Pardoning iniquity and
passing over transgression
for the remnant of his
inheritance.
He does not retain his
anger forever because he
delights in steadfast love.
He delights in mercy and
grace.
Finally, we see the final
assessments.
The final assessments.
This exchange concludes
with two of them.
The first is from the
scribe.
The second is from the
Lord.
So the scribe assessed
the answer.
That's what he did.
The scribe assessed the
answer.
Look with me at verse 32.
And the scribe said to
him, You are right,
teacher.
You have truly said that
he is one and there is no
other besides him.
And to love him with all
the heart and with all the
understanding and with all
the strength and to love
one's neighbor as oneself is
much more than all whole
burnt offerings and
sacrifices.
That's a pretty incredible
answer.
It's nearly a perfect answer,
actually.
This is the only place in
Mark's gospel that we ever
find a friendly exchange
between Jesus and a
scribe.
And this man was not only
kind to Jesus in this
answer, but he gave a
glowing review of the
Lord's answer.
He's clearly impressed by
Jesus's intellect and
wisdom.
And I want you to notice how
truly close he is.
He affirmed the
truthfulness of Jesus's
teaching.
He literally said, You're
right.
You're right, teacher.
That's the right answer.
He's affirming that Jesus
is true and that his
teaching is as well.
Secondly, he agreed with
Jesus's theology.
You have truly said he is
one.
Now, there were probably
certainly things that they
didn't line up with.
But as far as this text is
concerned in this
conversation, this man's
theology and Jesus's
theology are one in the
same.
They both believe that the
Lord is one.
He even viewed the law as
primarily spiritual, not
external.
Notice what he says at the
end.
That all of these things,
loving God, loving others,
is much more than all whole
burnt offerings and
sacrifices.
There's a lot of Christians
that don't understand that.
And here is this scribe
saying what God said
through Isaiah.
That I don't care about
your following the law.
I don't care about all the
sacrifices and all the
rituals if I don't have
your heart.
And this man recognizes all
of those things.
Do you see how close he is?
So what's the problem?
The problem is not what he
said.
The problem is that he
didn't take it far enough.
He assessed only Jesus's
answer when he should have
assessed the Lord himself.
He was only intellectually
concerned about this
conversation.
What he should have done is
considered the identity of
Jesus and its implications
on his faith.
He saw Jesus's answer.
He saw Jesus's actions.
And he thought,
wonderful, fantastic.
But he never saw Jesus.
He saw all the things Jesus
taught, all the things Jesus
did, but he looked right
past the Lord himself.
So he assesses the answers,
but he doesn't assess the
Lord.
So he never understood.
James tells us again in
chapter 2 and verse 19, he
says, you believe that God
is one.
You do well.
This man, that's the whole
conversation.
We agree, Jesus.
God is one.
James says, you believe God
is one.
Great.
You do well.
But think about this.
James says, even the demons
believe.
And they shudder.
They tremble.
So what's the difference
between the theology of the
demons and a theology of
someone in the kingdom, a
true believer?
Demons intellectually assent
to the truths of God.
They recognize that they are
true.
They do not deny the factual
existence of Jesus's identity
and his purpose and all that
he was going to do.
The difference is theirs is
purely intellectual.
Disciples surrender
themselves in faith and
obedience to Jesus Christ.
Jesus.
And just like this scribe, there
are many people who will be
friendly to Jesus.
They'll even intellectually agree
with his general theology.
Yet they will fail to receive
him as Lord and Savior.
And that's where the scribe is.
He's close.
Real close.
Close enough to think that he's
in.
But he's not.
Well, that gets to Jesus's
assessment.
Jesus assessed the scribe.
He assesses the scribe.
Look at verse 34.
And when Jesus saw that he
answered wisely, he said to
him, you are not far from the
kingdom of God.
This must have come as a
stunning statement to this
man.
Because they haven't been
talking about the kingdom of
God.
Surely he thinks this is coming
out of left field a little
bit, right?
They were in this debate about
the law.
Why all of a sudden this
statement about the kingdom
of God and eternal life?
Where is that coming from?
And why in the world is he
saying that I'm close to it?
Because by saying that he's
close to it, he's basically
saying you're not in it.
You're on the outside.
Again, we see Jesus making
this distinction in Mark's
gospel between insiders and
outsiders.
His assessment, you're close
to the kingdom, but you're not
in the kingdom.
And by the way, this statement,
I believe, comes from the
depths of Jesus's compassion
for that man.
His heart was not as hard as
the Pharisees.
And Herodians and Sadducees
before him.
Jesus left them in their
darkness.
He doesn't do that with this
scribe.
He compassionately leads this
man to truth.
And some would look at this
passage and say, Jesus was
being really rude.
They would think Jesus was
kind of mean to this man.
Here's this man doing
everything that he can.
And it seems like he's really,
he seems like he's on Jesus's
side here.
And yet Jesus doesn't actually
give him the peace of knowing
that he has eternal life.
He actually tells him that he's
not quite there yet.
That's actually kind of rude and
judgmental.
But that's not what Jesus is
doing.
We actually find that Jesus's
true love is seen here for this
man.
And it's seen in the fact that he
told the man the truth.
How much must you hate someone
to let them continue thinking that
they know Christ when they don't?
How much must you hate them to let
them claim to be a Christian when
you know that they're not a
Christian?
How much must you hate them to let
them continue in error and even
capitulate to that error knowing
full well that they do not know the
Lord Jesus?
This wasn't Jesus being rude.
This is Jesus showing his love.
He's loving this man.
And this passage reveals so many
things that can get you close to
salvation without ever receiving it.
This man was fervently religious.
His whole life, his whole career
was wrapped up in studying and
interpreting the Old Testament.
That's what he did for his life.
He's fervently religious, but his
religion could only get him close.
He's zealous of good works.
That was the point of his question.
What's one thing I can do?
How can I be better so that I can be
accepted?
That's his question.
He's zealous for good works, but his
good works can only get him close.
The man agreed with sound doctrine.
He might have had more biblical wisdom
in this statement about burnt offerings
and sacrifices than any other of the
scribes that we've read about in the
gospels.
But his theological positions
could only get him close.
And maybe you're very much like the
scribe.
Maybe your fervency in religious things
has gotten you close.
Or maybe you're just a good guy.
And that's gotten you close.
And you can tell me who Jesus is.
And you can tell me all about asking
Jesus in your heart and all those kinds
of things.
You can tell me all the stuff that you
want to tell me.
And all those things are only getting you
close.
And perhaps you're so close that you think
you're in and you're not.
So we have to ask the question.
How do we move from being close to being
in?
And to get this answer, I think we'll be
helped to go back to chapter one.
You can turn there if you'd like.
Remember at the very beginning of our
study about eight or nine years ago, we
began studying the gospel of Mark.
Feels that way, doesn't it?
Remember when Jesus came on the scene?
John was arrested.
What was it that characterized Jesus'
ministry?
Was this preaching?
What was the message that he preached?
Verse 14.
After John was arrested, Jesus came into
Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God,
saying,
The time is fulfilled.
The kingdom of God is at hand.
Repent and believe in the gospel.
This question of how can I move from
being close to being in?
That's the question Jesus had been
answering for three years.
His preaching about the kingdom.
This was the answer.
Jesus himself is the answer.
He is the representative of the kingdom
of God that he says is near.
He's not talking about the kingdom is
near as far as timing.
He's speaking spatially.
He himself is the representative of the
kingdom.
He is there.
He is at hand.
His purposes are about to be fulfilled.
Jesus is the answer.
Because of his identity as the son of God
and Messiah, he fulfilled God's demands
perfectly.
That's why his death on the cross
is a sufficient substitute for sinners.
If he had sinned, he couldn't die for our sins.
He'd have to die for his own.
But because he is the son of God and the Messiah,
he fulfilled God's law perfectly.
Therefore, his death was not to pay for his own sins,
but to pay for the sins of those
who would follow and believe him.
And in the sacrifice of Christ,
as we mentioned last week,
God takes, God the Father puts our sin on Jesus
in order that he might put Jesus's righteousness on us.
And then his resurrection guarantees
that his sacrifice on the cross is sufficient.
It proves that he has power and authority
over life and death.
Therefore, he is the one that can either grant us eternal life
or judge us to eternal death.
And how was it that Jesus said in Mark 1
as he preached this gospel of the kingdom?
How is it that he said we are to respond to these things?
This is the answer to how you get in.
Jesus said, repent and believe the good news.
What good news?
Repent and believe Jesus.
Trust him.
Turn away from your sin.
Turn away from your morality.
Turn away from your religious fervency.
Turn away from your orthodoxy.
Turn away from all these other things you're trusting
to gain you some kind of favor with God.
And Jesus says, turn away from those things
and believe the good news.
The good news that you can't get salvation,
only I can give it to you.
And if you will just come to me and believe and follow me,
I will give it to you freely.
We forsake all else and we follow him.
You cannot earn eternal life.
You can only trust that Jesus Christ has secured it on your behalf.
And if you can come to a point where you wholeheartedly agree
and cast yourself on the mercy and love of Jesus Christ,
that is the moment that you move from being near the kingdom
to being in the kingdom.
And I want to close with the end of verse 34.
Look how Jesus finishes the conversation back in chapter 12.
Or excuse me, that's how Mark closes the conversation.
Mark says, after that,
no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Now, why do you think they stopped asking him questions?
Why do you think they stopped asking him questions?
Certainly part of this is
that they came to the realization
that they weren't going to be able to trap him
the way that they thought they could.
So they stopped trying perhaps.
I think there's another part to it.
I actually think this is the dominant reason.
I think there was nothing left to ask.
There's nothing left to ask.
For three years, these men have watched him.
They have scrutinized everything that he did.
They have witnessed his miracles.
They have seen his power.
They have heard his teaching.
They have asked every question they can ask.
They have exhausted every intellectual means
of refuting and disproving his identity and message.
But they failed every time.
There's only one action left for them to take.
And it's not a question.
It's a decision.
The only thing left for them
is whether or not they're going to receive him,
believe him, and follow him.
Or are they going to reject him
and deny him outright?
And can I ask you, are you in that place today?
Have you exhausted every question in your attempt
to discern the person and work of Jesus?
You've been asking maybe good questions
and right questions,
and you've asked everything you can ask,
and it seems like every time you get in a conversation
with somebody about the Bible or Christianity
or life or whatever it is,
yet now you're at the point
where you're just circling around
to the same things over and over again.
There's really nothing left to ask.
Are you friendly toward him,
but still unsure?
Perhaps what you need to do
is stop fiddling around with the questions
and just decide
whether or not you're going to believe him
or you're going to walk away from him.
Please don't wait another moment.
You can come to him today.
There's no perfect time.
Now is the time.
You're not going to come up with a question
to stump him.
You're not going to find a way,
no matter how hard you try,
to disprove him.
It's time to just decide,
am I going to follow him
or am I going to walk away?
And I want to leave you with Jesus' words
and then we'll close.
Matthew 11.
Jesus himself said,
and I believe he says this to you today,
come to me.
Come to me,
all who labor
and are heavy laden
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you.
Learn from me.
For I am gentle and lowly in heart
and you will find rest for your soul.
For my yoke is easy
and my burden
is light.
for you,