In some very important ways, Jesus Christ is not the same today as he was yesterday.
! Think about in his incarnation when he took on flesh.
! He became one of us.
So Augustine said, you know this quote,
Without ceasing to be what he eternally was, he became what he eternally was not.
He has become one of us.
And the word that was with God, John 1, the word that was face to face with God,
that word was made flesh, took on skin and bones, and dwelt amongst us.
And we have beheld his glory, the glory of the one and only, of the Father, full of grace and truth.
And after his earthly career, after he was raised from the dead and he appeared over 40 days,
he ascended on the clouds bodily to heaven.
And so that tonight, there is a man in the glory, isn't there?
At the right hand of the majesty on high, he seats the risen and ascended and glorified Lord Jesus Christ.
And it's a man.
He didn't discard his humanity when he ascended to heaven.
He didn't get rid of his humanity like a set of clothes that were shed as he went up on the cloud.
When he returned to his Father's presence, he returned as a man where he sits tonight.
I love the words of Martin Luther.
He said something like this,
I live as though Christ died yesterday, rose again today, and is coming back again tomorrow.
Christ died yesterday.
He bled and died on the cross.
He suffered abject shame and pain and humiliation.
Yesterday, he died on the cross.
Today, he is alive from the dead.
And we proclaim him as his church in word and in sacrament.
But tomorrow, he's coming back again.
And with all his holy angels unto salvation to all who look for him.
So it's not true to say that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
So clearly, you can't take this verse just on its own, pull it out as a kind of Chinese cookie verse, whatever it is,
and apply it in an unqualified, unlimited way.
And so we need to put it into its context because it is a wonderful verse.
And there are three things that it teaches us about the unchangeableness of Jesus Christ.
What does this verse really mean that you're going to learn this week?
The first thing I want to say is this.
Jesus Christ is always the same yesterday, today, and forever in his own person.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever in his own person.
The context is interesting, isn't it?
So look with me at verse 7.
Look at verse 7.
Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God.
Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.
And then compare it with verse 17.
Obey your leaders and submit to them.
For they are keeping watch over your souls as those who will give an account.
Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that will be of no advantage to you.
And so verse 7, we're told to remember.
Remember your leaders, we spoke the word of God to you.
And then verse 17, we're told to obey the leaders and to submit to their authority.
So the context is really interesting, isn't it?
The context is about leadership.
Leadership that is past and present.
Verse 7, it's present leaders that they're told to obey.
Verse 17, it's present leaders.
Sorry, verse 17, it's present leaders.
Verse 7, it's past leaders.
Now who are they?
Well, we don't know, do we?
We don't know exactly who they are, but they were probably people like Stephen, the first Christian martyr.
Probably people like James, the brother of our Lord.
And the leader of the Jerusalem church who was beheaded.
Remember those leaders who spoke faithfully the word of God to you.
And so whenever there's new leadership within a church, or a change of leadership,
there's a tendency, isn't there, I think, to compare.
I think that's a great tendency in London churches, to kind of compare your church leaders,
to kind of play top trumps with them.
And there's a tendency, certainly, to romanticize leaders of the past.
To idealize the heroes of the faith, those who've gone by.
To put those men on pedestals and venerate their memories.
To look back with rose-colored spectacles.
I think I've used this quote in the past with you about the pastor, the minister.
If he visits his flock, he's nosy.
If he doesn't, he's a snob.
If he preaches longer than ten minutes, it's too long.
If he preaches less than ten minutes, he can't have prepared his sermon.
If he runs a car, he's worldly.
If he doesn't, he's always late for appointments.
If he tells a joke, he's flippant.
If he doesn't, he's far too serious.
If he starts the sermon on time, his watch must be fast.
If he's a minute late, he's keeping the congregation waiting.
If he takes a holiday, he's never in the parish.
If he doesn't, he's a stick in the mud.
If he runs a bazaar or a gala, he's money mad.
If he doesn't, there's no social life in this parish.
If he has the church painted and decorated, he's extravagant.
And if he doesn't, the church is shabby.
If he's young, he's inexperienced.
If he's getting old, he ought to retire.
But when he dies, there's never been anyone like him.
And the tendency is, isn't it, and I find this in my own heart,
I make too much of men and too little of the Lord Jesus.
So remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you,
and consider the outcome of their way of life.
Do remember them.
Imitate their faith.
But Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Leadership is really in vogue, isn't it?
There's lots of good things about that.
There are many books, many conferences in leadership.
Sometimes feels there's more chiefs than Indians around.
And sometimes Christian books on leadership get more bizarre and more eccentric,
the more original.
And the more people seem prepared to follow.
But I think we need to say this, don't we?
Originality in the leadership of the church
is not a mark of Christian leadership.
True Christian leaders don't strike out by themselves.
True Christian leaders, I don't think, are great innovators.
They keep in line with Jesus Christ.
They follow well-worn paths of those who've gone before.
And I think tragically, in conservative evangelicalism,
which is a bit broader than us,
pastoral practice over the past 13 years
has kind of gone away from the well-worn paths
of Christian leadership and pastoral practice,
and we're reaping the fruit of that.
And so when you look for elders,
don't look for original minds.
And if you're going to look for a leader in Christ's church
and follow a leader,
you better make sure he knows where he's going.
And you better make sure that they know where they're going
in as much as they follow Jesus Christ.
And the writer of the Hebrews is saying,
you follow them, imitate their way of life,
their faith,
because Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, forever.
And don't follow them blindly.
Follow them in as much
as they follow Christ.
Because in the end,
he is the only king.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the only head of his church.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the only leader
it is safe to follow.
Always himself.
Apparently, you can translate it like this,
Jesus Christ always himself.
Always himself.
And that can be said of very few people, isn't it?
Very few of us.
As we grow older,
as we change,
we see that with people, don't we?
In your workplace,
new young people,
full of zeal and idealistic.
And that is the more cynical people
who've been through it all.
Been around a bit.
It's got to them.
They become cynical.
There are very few people
who are always the same, aren't they?
Those kind of people are like gold
when you meet them.
We know, don't we,
as a church family,
circumstances change us.
Life situations change us.
Some of us are affected by the weather.
Some of us have been greatly affected by hard things.
We're affected by all sorts of things,
but Jesus Christ is always himself,
always the same.
Earth did not change him.
Heaven has not gone to his head.
He is the same yesterday,
today,
and forever.
He's unchangeably the same.
He's always himself.
The arm of flesh,
it will fail us.
The best of men,
the best of leaders,
are men at best,
and they have feet of clay,
but Jesus Christ is always himself.
He's always the same.
He's unchangeably the same in his own person,
but secondly,
he's unchangeably the same in his message,
in the message that we preach.
Again, look at the context.
Remember your leaders
who spoke the word of God to you.
Jesus Christ is the same
yesterday,
today,
and forever.
Don't be led away,
verse 8,
verse 9,
by diverse and strange teachings.
You see,
Jesus Christ is not only the leader
that we are to follow,
but he's also the message
that we are to proclaim.
Him we proclaim,
Paul says in Colossians.
The word that the New Testament spoke
was all about him.
And that message,
which you've heard from your leaders,
was the same.
That message about Jesus
is the same yesterday,
today,
and forever.
Error changes.
Can you notice that in verse 9?
Truth is singular.
So,
verse 7,
they spoke to you,
the word of God,
that's singular.
But in verse 9,
do not be led away
by diverse and strange teachings.
That's plural.
Because once you move away
from the faith
that's been delivered
to all the saints,
you have to keep reinventing
the gospel for every generation.
One of the hallmarks
of God in the Bible
is that nothing needs changing.
Nothing needs to be revised
or adapted
or rewritten.
Take, for example,
I don't want to get into,
well, I don't mind
getting into controversy
about it,
but take into the creation account,
Genesis 1 and 2.
It stands for all time.
It can be understood
in any age,
the plain reading of the text.
It does not have to be rewritten
and revised
for the 21st century.
It can be understood
by a caveman,
it can be understood
by an Oxford scientist.
It's one of the hallmarks
of God,
but error is constantly
being rewritten
and revised
and updated.
John Stott,
in his lovely little book
and the contemporary Christian,
identifies 13 different
interpretations of Christ.
13 different attempts
of the church
to fashion Christ.
And we could probably
come up with some more.
It's been a few years
since this was written.
So you have Jesus the ascetic,
the pale Galilean,
the cosmic Christ,
the teacher of common sense,
the clown of God's spell,
the star of Jesus Christ,
superstar,
the revolutionary,
the socialist,
the mystic,
the magician,
the carpenter,
the management consultant.
And you name it,
people are always trying
to reinvent Jesus
and adapt him
for their own age,
but he is not.
Jesus Christ is always the same.
The message which you heard
and read in your scriptures
is the message
that we are to preach today.
It's the same yesterday,
today,
and forever.
And Jesus never needs updating
or revising.
He's always new,
if I can put it like that.
Not in the novelness kind of way,
but in the sense of freshness.
It's why it is,
isn't it,
a wonderful thing.
It's a great,
great privilege
to be a preacher of the gospel
because the core thing
is to introduce people
to the Lord Jesus Christ.
To bring people to Christ.
I can't think of anything better.
There's nothing more reviving
than when that happens.
And when you see someone
meeting Christ
for the first time
during the preaching
of the gospel,
Jesus is always new,
not novel,
but always fresh,
always relevant.
Just look at
the direction of this
exhortation.
I wanted to do a bit more work
on this,
but I haven't enough time really,
but see if you can
stick with me here.
What happens
in the church today,
it's the exact opposite
of what Paul is,
of what the writer
to the Hebrews
is kind of exhorting us here.
So he's saying,
remember your elders,
who were these leaders?
Well, they were the apostles
of Jesus Christ.
Remember your leaders
who spoke the word
of God to you.
Remember them
who first spoke
the word of God to you.
Now what do we have
in today?
We have the reverse
of that,
don't you?
It's not we
who remember
people like Peter
and what people
like Paul preached
about Christ.
Today,
they have to remember
what we have discovered.
And they have to remember
what we have suddenly discovered.
So to make it
even more controversial,
let's talk about
women's ordination
for a minute.
The ordination of women
to the office of elder
and minister.
What is that about?
It's about the authority
of the Bible.
And it basically
comes down to this.
Are we going to follow
the New Testament?
Are we going to remember
what the apostle Paul
spoke to us
and what Paul wrote?
Or does he have to remember?
Does he have to remember
what we think today?
Does he have to follow
our view on things?
And so do we follow Paul
in the first century AD
or does he have to fit in
with our modern culture
and our political correctness?
so that what he wrote
then needs to be
reinterpreted
in the light of today.
People say it has
to be contextualized.
It has to be lifted
out of the first century setting
and dropped
into the 21st century.
And the amazing thing
is that when you do that,
Paul is made to teach
the exact opposite
of what he actually taught.
And he agrees
with our culture,
amazingly.
And that's not
where we're to stand.
We stand under the authority
of the word of God,
under the authority
of the apostles
and of our Lord Jesus Christ
and we're to remember
those who spoke
the word of God to us.
They don't have to remember
what we think.
We have to remember
what they have spoken,
what they have said.
That kind of twisted thinking,
if you go down that track,
what it does is it takes
the Bible away
from you altogether.
So remember,
remember that word
that has been spoken to you.
We are Protestants.
We don't use that very well.
It would be a good word
to kind of actually reuse.
But I used to think
that means someone
who protests.
But the word is from
the word protestare,
which means to confess.
It means to attest
to something.
It means to proclaim.
To be a Protestant
is to proclaim Jesus Christ.
It's the old, old story
of Jesus and his love.
He is unchangeably
the same in his person.
He's unchangeably
the same in his message.
And he's unchangeably
the same in the message
that we preach.
And thirdly and lastly,
he's unchangeably
the same to his people.
He's unchangeably
the same to his people.
And it's all very well,
isn't it,
to look back to the past.
Some of the great heroes
of the faith,
people like Luther,
Athanasius,
Wesley, Calvin,
Whitfield, Spurgeon,
Amy Carmichael,
people like that.
But that can be a form
of escapism,
can't it?
I'm a great fan of
Martin Lloyd-Jones.
I'm a kind of preacher
from the last century.
He would often say to people,
I don't agree with everything
he said,
he would often say,
well, I'm an 18th century man.
And you know what he means.
He means that
if there was any period
in church history
that he'd like to have
gone back to,
it was in the TARDIS.
He would go and visit
George Whitfield,
preach.
But there is a danger
in that.
And that is,
the danger is that
many of the people
who followed Dr. Lloyd-Jones
actually preached
like they were
in the 18th century.
And believe it or not,
we don't live
in the 18th century.
We live in a very
different time
and a very different place.
And we have to serve Christ
here and now in London.
And there were giants
in the land
in those days
and so much of church history.
And we are a race
of little people
in comparison.
But don't forget
those men
who spoke the word
of God to you
and sealed their confession
with their own blood,
they were just flesh
and blood,
weren't they?
These people,
they were just men
and women like you and me.
And times have changed
but Jesus hasn't.
And what he was to them,
he will be to you.
Jesus Christ
is the same.
That word
that's used there
in verse 7
is an interesting word.
There's only two places
where you find that word
in the New Testament.
In verse 7,
he talks about
these leaders
who spoke the word
of God
consider the outcome
of their way of life.
And the word
that's used there
means
a coming out of it.
It's the same word
that Paul used
in 1 Corinthians 10
verse 13
where he's referring
to the wilderness
wanderings
and he's reminded
the Corinthians
that it was Jesus Christ
who was actually
leading the people
out of Egypt.
the rock
in the wilderness
was Christ.
And then he says this
in 1 Corinthians 10
verse 13
he applies it to them
and he says
God is faithful.
You will not be tempted
beyond what you can bear.
And when you are tempted,
when you are tried,
when you are like those people
in the wilderness
between a rock
and a hard place
as they came out of Egypt
with Pharaoh's troops
breathing down their necks
and the Red Sea
in front of them
they're surrounded
by hills and mountains
it's a trap
there didn't seem
to be any way out.
And just as Jesus
opened up the waters
of the Red Sea
and they crossed
on dry ground
Paul says
when you are tempted
when you are tried
like that
what will he do?
He will provide
a way out.
An exodus
that's the word.
That's the word
that's used here
in Hebrews.
Remember what Jesus
was to these people
at the Red Sea
when they were entangled
in the land
and the Egyptians
are in hot pursuit
and they're trapped
and there didn't seem
to be any way forward.
I frequently find myself
in that kind of situation
I'm sure we all do
don't we?
And in those situations
what are we to do
when we're trapped
and we haven't got
a clue what to do
will we remember
that Jesus Christ
is the same yesterday
today and forever?
The same Jesus Christ
who opened up
the Red Sea
and brought his people
safely through
that Jesus Christ
is the same
today
as he was then
and what he can do
for them
he can do for you
and he can provide you
with a way
through the challenge
that you are facing
and you don't know
how am I going to
cope with that
I don't know
if I've got the resources
to get through this week
and he is the same
he can provide you
with a way through
how else do you explain
someone like Stephen
the martyr
how do you explain
the way he died
with his face
like that of an angel
as it's smashed in
by rocks
remember what we're told
in Acts 7
that as the rocks
were raining down
on him
he fell on his knees
and he cried out
Lord do not hold
this sin against them
and when he said this
he fell asleep
how do you explain that?
how do you explain
a man like Peter
who denied the Lord Jesus
with oaths and curses
before a servant girl
he says I don't know
the so and so
and he swears
how do you explain
that man
just a few weeks later
boldly proclaiming Christ
and 3,000 people
are converted
how do you explain that?
how do you explain
Paul and Silas
singing hymns
at midnight
in a rat infested
prison hole
in the ground
in the stocks
a Roman instrument
of torture
and we're told
they sang hymns
at midnight
think of Athanasius
and he is told
the world is against you
and he says
well it's Athanasius
against the world
the courage of
Martin Luther
when it seems
the whole might
of the church
is against him
and he says
here I am
I can do no other
how do you explain that?
the only way
you can explain that
is in the terms
of our text
that Jesus Christ
is the same
yesterday
today
and forever
and what he was
for Athanasius
and what he was
for Luther
and what he was
for Stephen
and what he was
for Peter
and what he was
for Paul and Silas
he is the same
for us
I don't know
if you know
it's a daft story
of a man
painting a stripe
down the middle
of the road
and that was his job
and on his first day
at work
he paints
two miles
of the road
people are amazed
no one's ever
painted so much
before
on the second day
his production
dropped to one and a half miles
which is still far
above average
on the third day
it was only
one mile
fifth day
it was even less
apparently his boss
went to him
and asked
why has your production
fallen off so sharply
and he said
I'm just getting
so far from the bucket
it's a rubbish
story
isn't it
that's the trouble
with our society
our society
has drifted
from its heritage
hasn't it
a very very long way
it's the problem
with the Christian church
that wants Christian values
but actually doesn't want
the radical teaching
of Christian
of the Lord Jesus
and you can't have
Christian values
without the Lord Jesus Christ
you might want
a traditional
Judeo-Christian ethic
but you won't have that
without the Lord Jesus
people need Jesus Christ
and it's the gospel
that they need here
and Jesus Christ
has not passed
his sell by date
he never will
he'll never be superseded
!
and he'll never be replaced
and kingdoms will come
and kingdoms will go
and empires
will rise and fall
and whole civilizations
will disappear
but Jesus Christ
is the same yesterday
today and forever
I've told the story
haven't I
of Lord Reith
and the founder
of the BBC
and he is
late for a meeting
and as he walks
into a room
all the board
of directors
are talking
at the BBC
and as Lord Reith
comes in
they fall silent
Lord Reith
is quite a fiery man
he's a really interesting
man to read
and Lord Reith
wants to know
what they're talking about
and they're very reluctant
to tell him
and in the end
he loses his temper
and they tell him
and they say
Lord Reith
we are planning a program
on the funeral
of the Christian church
Lord Reith
smacks the desk
and says
the church of Jesus Christ
will stand at the funeral
of the BBC
that is true
because Jesus Christ
is the same
yesterday
today and forever
Charles Spurgeon
said
there is the same water
in the well
still
and if we've not
drawn it out
it's our own fault
we've come away
from the fire
and that's why
we're cold
let's return
to him
and he will
receive us gladly
as gladly
and as warmly
as he did
when we first believed
isn't that why
there's so many
ups and downs
in your Christian life
and mine
yesterday you could pray
tomorrow you can't
today you know
a measure of victory
over the temptations
that you've struggled with
tomorrow you're
totally overwhelmed
by them
why
why is that
because we take
our eyes off Jesus
and if you're anything
like me
you've turned to men
and movements
and books
and programs
and it's Jesus Christ
you need
not another book
of all him
but the living Christ
who is always the same
always himself
yesterday
and forever
here is solid ground
there is the same
water
in the well still
and if we've not
drawn it
it's our own fault
we've come away
from the fire
and that's all we're cold
let's return to him