The Lifting Up of the Son of..

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com. That's cornerstonerbc.com. John chapter 8 from verse 21. So he said to them again, that's Jesus, I am going away and you will seek me and you will die in your sin.

Where I'm going you cannot come. So the Jew said will he kill himself since he says where I am going you cannot come. He said to them, You are from below, I am from above. You are of this world, I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.

So they said to Him, Who are you? And Jesus said to them, Just what I've been telling you from the beginning. I have much to say about you and much to judge. But He who sent Me is true, and I declare to the world that I have heard from Him." Or, what I have heard from Him.

27. They did not understand that He had been speaking to them about the Father. So Jesus said to them, When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing on My own authority, but speak just as the Father taught Me. And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.

As he was saying these things, many believed in him. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord remains forever. So brothers and sisters and friends, we've been working our way through the eighth chapter of the fourth gospel, the gospel of John for a little while now. And we know how that chapter opens, he opens up with the woman caught in the act of adultery, but then after that narrative, we begin a dialogue, a dialogue between our Lord Jesus Christ and the religious leaders of the day, namely, the Pharisees, we are told. But he begins with a mammoth declaration from the mouth of our Lord Jesus Christ.

One of his great I Am statements, they're all great, He says, I am the light of the world. He who follows after me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. And now the Pharisees disagree with Jesus. They oppose Jesus. They don't like the words of our Lord.

And this has been the case all along. But in this eighth chapter, we will, as we work through, and I hope we've been seeing this already, we've been seeing the glories of the person and the work of Jesus Christ. More and more truths have been surfaced. Probably truths that he's already spoken about, he's already professed. But they're being made clearer and clearer as we go along here for the religious leaders who are now going toe-to-toe with our Lord and our Saviour Jesus Christ.

But as we begin to see more and more truth, more light shining upon who this Jesus is, the Son of God, the Sovereign of the Universe in flesh, we will see the darkness of the human heart. More and more as we continue through the eighth chapter, we will see the human heart to be very dark. Very dark and depraved. And we see these examples in the ignorant unbelief in the religious leaders who are before our Lord. Even to the point where Jesus gives them a warning.

That's where we ended a few weeks ago when we were last in the Gospel according to John. Jesus was giving these men a warning and it's a gracious warning. Whenever Jesus gives a warning in the Scripture, it's gracious. Because if we heed that warning, there is mercy and there is grace and there is one who can forgive us. But when that warning is not heeded, then you're in Infinite danger.

What was the warning that Jesus gave? I told you, Jesus says in verse 24, that you would die in your sins for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins. You will die in your sins. Unless you believe that I am... And if you remember, last time we looked at that passage, it says in front of us in our ESVs that I am He.

That He has been added by the translators in the original. It's I, I am. And we spoke about that last time. Unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins. Spoken to the religious leaders of the day in the temple, in the treasury, in fact, in the temple in Jerusalem.

But beloved, just as relevant to all of us today. Unless you believe that Jesus is the Great I Am, you will die in your sins. These religious leaders were hearted. Their hearts were hearted. They were willfully ignorant of the truths they were hearing from the mouth of our Lord Jesus Christ.

They couldn't understand His words. Most of the words of our Lord were going straight over His head. And we'll see this more and more as we work our way through this chapter. And as we work our way towards the crucifixion of our Lord. So where did they respond?

When Jesus gives them this glorious warning. How do these men respond to the warning of our Lord? Let's listen in verse 25. So they said to Him, Who are You? It's so amazing that they would ask such a question.

It's not as though Jesus has been hiding in a corner. He's been teaching in front of the crowd. a while now, where we're talking he's only six months or so from his crucifixion. His earthly ministry is only six months before it comes to an end through his crucifixion, his burial, his resurrection, and his ascension at the right hand of the Father. And when Jesus came to Jerusalem, that's where they are now in the context of our passage.

He was in the temple. He came halfway through the feast and you remember he assumed his place in the temple and began to proclaim the truths of God in the temple. Made his claims of who he is and the salvation on offer from God through his son in the temple precinct for everyone to hear. He wasn't shy about it. He knew these men wanted his back.

He knew these men wanted him gone, eliminated, killed. He knew he's the one who knows all things when they're done. He doesn't need to be told what is inside the heart of man. And yet he was in the temple preaching and teaching the truths of God about who he is and now these men are saying, who are you? Who are you?

Now it's true that our Lord did open up more to his disciples, right? He did open up to his disciples but he wasn't secretive with these people either. His teaching was public, and the answer to this question has been answered over and over again. Even if we just look through our Lord Jesus' engagement with the religious leaders in Jerusalem on previous occasions. He wasn't shy.

The Gospel authors tell us when He was in Jerusalem that He raised His voice on many occasions, or He cried out for everyone to hear. He wasn't in a corner whispering. His invitation to believe was spoken to multitudes who were all present, but only a few believed. We know that. The underlying theology of that is found in Matthew chapter 22.

Many were called, but few were chosen. We'll get to that later. Even though the truth was plain to these religious leaders, in their stubborn, unbelieving hearts, they remained oblivious to who Jesus is. Now, the Lord's response to their question points that out. 25b, Jesus responds, just what I have been telling you from the beginning.

Who are you? Jesus says, just what I've been telling you from the beginning. Basically, He's saying you've heard it from my lips before. Don't act as if I haven't been clear in telling you who I am, where I came from, what I'm here for, and where I'm going. My teaching and my claims have been for all to see.

And they've been consistent from the beginning. From the time you first saw me, down here in Jerusalem, I've been teaching the same thing. I haven't changed. My teaching is true. Spoken clearly.

I haven't stuttered. I haven't mumbled. If you don't know who I am, it's simply because you are unwilling to believe. Now, you should know that there are some who see the words of our Lord more... the words of the religious leaders asking the question, who are you?

They see those words more so, not in a genuine inquiry as to who Jesus is, as if to say, please tell us, but more so mocking Christ, belittling Christ, scornful in a way. You see, because literally in the original, the structure reads more, you, who are you? In other words, Jesus, who do you think you are? Telling us, unless we believe that you are, or telling us that you believe that I, unless you believe I am, you will die in your sins. And this way of talking was possibly accurate.

We know that, for the most part, the prideful religious leaders of the day were quite disrespectful to our Lord. They didn't take this claim seriously. And in their pride, they did think that this Jesus who stands before them is a lightweight. He wasn't recognized amongst the religious elites. He wasn't recognized amongst the academic elites in the day.

So who is He? Who is He to tell us, religious heavyweights, we are the Pharisees after all. That we will die in our sins unless we believe in His claims. Who do you think you are, Jesus? It's a possibility, but I don't think that's what's happening here.

I believe what's happening here is what is being put on display by the Spirit of God before us in John chapter 8 is that these religious men are spiritually ignorant, spiritually blind, devoid of spiritual substance. And therefore the things of heavenly truths don't make sense to their minds or to their hearts. They have massive minds. They have big brains that store up loads and loads of information. They can recite scripture.

They memorize the first five books of the Bible that could point you to almost any verse that you come up to or come up with. But do they have true knowledge? Do they have true understandings of the matters of God? No. No, they don't.

Beloved, these are exactly the type of people that the Apostle Paul refers to in 2 Timothy, when he says these chilling words, always learning and never able to arrive at the knowledge of truth. Always learning. Always reading. It's scripture in their hand hours a day, memorizing it and teaching it, yet never being able to arrive to the knowledge of truth. Because they don't know the One who is true.

Spiritually ignorant. Willfully they close their eyes to the matters of this Messiah who stands before them. Willfully they close their eyes to the light that has been presented from God. They've been exposed to much teaching. And it's been clear, however, the Lord's identity has not made residence in their minds or in their hearts because of their unbelieving hearts.

That's a dangerous, dangerous thing. Now I'm sure you can think of some examples throughout the Bible of people who were exposed to particular truths and were not able to actually fathom the truth. How about Nicodemus for example? One of these guys. One of the Pharisees.

Probably one of the best of the best. The teacher of Israel we're told by our Lord in John chapter 3. You remember what Nicodemus' response to Jesus was? When Jesus said, unless you are born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God? The guy was confused.

I need to go back into my mother's womb, he says? And Jesus speaks to him as though, you should know these things, teacher of Israel. It's written in the Old Testament, and you know the Old Testament. How can you not know these things? And these men before our Lord in chapter 8 will see examples over and over again of their spiritual blindness.

They still don't know, for example, the one who set Christ is the Father God. Do you remember when Jesus brought that up? They were almost saying, bring him here, let him testify for you. They misconstrued our Lord's words to think that he's planning on committing suicide. Remember that from a couple of weeks ago.

And now after our Lord has revealed so much about Himself, about who He is and where He comes from, and who it is that sent Him, that we're still asking the question, who are you? Who is this man speaking to us? Who are you? Beloved, in relation to spiritual matters, these men have proven to have scales over their eyes. They remain in darkness.

The light of Christ has not exposed their hearts. But that darkness won't last for long. Because in a few verses, in verse 28, Jesus says, a time will come, and it's not far from now, that he'll be lifted up And those lights will actually be turned on for these men. But what does he mean by those words? And is that knowledge enough for them to believe in a salvific way, enough for them to find or to receive saving faith?

I'm getting my head in myself. Back to verse 25. So they said to him, who are you? And Jesus said to them, just what I've been telling you from the beginning. How exactly is our Lord been playing in answering that question?

Because that's what he's saying. I've told you the answer to that question over and over again. From the beginning of my ministry I've been telling you who I am. And how has Jesus answered that question? Well, He has answered that question many times.

If you can think of the last time He was here, that we have documented for us in the Gospel of John, is in John chapter 5. I was going to get you there, but we are, for the sake of time, I'm not going to take you there. But I will recount for you what is written there. You remember the high Christological truths that Jesus professes to the religious leaders after that miracle. You remember the miracle?

The healing of the invalid man of some 38 years on the Sabbath. And they were angry at Christ. They wanted Him gone. They wanted Him killed. They were furious at Him.

And then Jesus says, My Father is working, and so am I. And they knew why He was working. Because He was making Himself out to be God. So they wanted to stone Him. They wanted to kill our Lord.

What do we find in that chapter? What do we find that is so plain in the words of our Lord to these religious leaders that they just still don't get who He is? What does He claim for Himself in chapter 5? Well, let me tell you. First, He says that He's equal with God.

He's equal with God in power. He's equal to God in authority. He's equal in honor. He's equal in knowledge. And He's equal with God in that He knows all things, even the secret things of man's heart.

He must. It's been granted to him to execute judgment. Remember? All judgment has been given to the Son. Jesus has been clear from the beginning.

He is divine. He is the Son of God. He is the God-man. So when He tells these men, unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins, that's what He's been saying from the beginning. And He means every word.

Unless you believe my words, all that I claim to be, you will remain under the judgment of God. That's what it means to remain in one's sins, to remain unforgiven. Salvation and life is found in no one else. One way, I am the way, the truth and the life. No other way to die in your sins is to one day stand before the peacing, all-seeing eyes of the One who has given authority to execute judgment, Christ, and then to be judged according to every deed, every thought, every intention of your heart.

And so looking upon these people, our Lord makes that point in verse 26. Put your eyes down and have a look at verse 26. I have much to say about you, and much to judge, but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him. Beloved, these are very terrifying words for those who have years to hear. Our Lord is looking at these men and he's saying, omniscience, omniscience is one of my attributes.

I know all about you. And I have much to say about what I see. I have much to judge about what I know. I see your hearts. I know your thoughts.

I know your secrets. Piercing eyes that see everything. Think about those words. Please don't be indifferent to those words. Right now, if this Jesus stood before us and said those words, how will your heart stack up?

He sees all. That gaze of His sees right through you, right through me. Brothers and sisters and friends, He does stand before us, even now. And he sees everything. This evening, he declares that eternal truth.

Unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins. That is for us as much as it is for these men in the first century. You see, these men were plotting to kill Jesus. He knew it. He could tell them about that.

But now is not the time for Him to judge, right? That's what He's saying. His first advent was a mission to save. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. John 3, 17.

And for the Son of Man came to seek and save that which was lost. Luke 19, 10. We've probably committed those verses to memory. You see, the day of judgment will come. Jesus says, I have much to say.

I have much to judge. But for now, I'm not going to judge. For now, I'm going to accomplish the Father's will, to do what He wants me to do, to say or speak everything that I've heard of the Father, so that everyone who looks upon the Son will receive life, forgiveness, salvation. That's why my Father sent me to say, and I will be perfectly, faultlessly obedient to His will. Because I will only ever, only ever, ever do and say what the Father has told me to say.

Nothing more, nothing less. Judgment will come. But today is not the day of judgment. Today is the day of salvation. If, there's always an if.

If you Believe, if you believe I am, is what Jesus is saying. These are not my only words. They're not my words only, I should say, but they are the words of the one who is true. So dismissing me, Jesus is saying, if you reject what I have to say, you're not just dismissing the man who stands before you, because I've what I've heard from the Father. So if you dismiss my words, if you dismiss my claims, you're dismissing God Himself.

Because it is God who speaks through me. It's as though our Lord is saying, remember moments earlier when you Pharisees looked at me and you said that my testimony was not true. Remember how you accused me of falsehood? Well, you weren't accusing me, love. You're guilty of accusing God.

Because if every word that comes out of my mouth is the word that He's given me to say, then Pharisees, you know what you've done? You've just called God a liar. Oh beloved, how serious is it that we, if we dismiss any of our Lord's teachings, or any of our Lord's claims, they all carry with them the full authority of God, supreme authority through the mouth of the Son. How serious, how frightful, how devastating would it be if we have hearts that look upon that with indifference. Anything that is spoken, anything that is in His Word, God forbid we look upon anything Because the one who speaks through Him is God Himself.

Because He's the one who reveals God. These religious men, they claim to know Yahweh, but they are deceived because acknowledging that they do not acknowledge the Son of God, or the teachings of Christ. What does that mean? Read between the lines. And now look at the words of our Lord in verse 19.

You know neither me nor my father. If you knew me, you would know my father also. Jesus, who are you is the question, right? Beloved, that question is synonymous with these men asking God, who are you? Unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins.

These words are just as fitting, as I said, in that day as they are to us. And any religion, any sect, any cult that denies that Jesus Christ is the God-man, that He is the Son of God eternally, then beloved, we can't compromise on this point. They will die in their sins. Die under the eternal wrath of God that is fury upon all unrighteousness. As it is written in John chapter 3 verse 35-36, the Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand.

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life. Hear this point. But the wrath of God remains on him. Remains on him.

There is no other way. There is no other truth. Realize how Jesus is saying in verse 26, but He who sent me is true. So the Father is the one who sent Him and He says He who sent me is true. And I declare to the world what I've heard from Him.

God is truth. And His truth is revealed exclusively through whom? Through the Son. No one has ever seen God. The only God who is at the Father's side.

He has made Him known. John 1.18. The truth of God is unknowable apart from if His Son reveals that truth. You know why?

Because the Son was eternally in a face-to-face relationship with the Father from all eternity. He is the only one qualified to reveal the Father. No one else. Only the Son knows the Father in that way. So you want to know the truth about the Father?

You want to know the truth about God? You want to know the truth? Know Christ. Truth personified. That has serious implications, what I just said.

Because to deny the Son is to deny God. And as I said earlier, to deny the teachings of the Son is to deny the One who is true. The One who does not, cannot lie. For it is impossible for God to lie. And to deny Him in that way is to call Him a liar.

And that's a scary thing. Or you can say it another way. The way we can affirm or acknowledge and declare God to be true God is true. But the way we can declare God to be true is to implicitly and unequivocally believe in the testimony of His Son. That's the only way to say it.

Don't take my word. John 31 or John 3, 31 through 34. He who comes from above is above all. He who is from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all.

He bears witness to what he has seen and heard. Hear that? That's Christ. He's the one who bears witness to what he's seen and heard. No one else qualified to do that.

And then he says, yet no one receives his testimony. Here it comes. 33. whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this. Sets his seal.

He declares this to be true. That God is true. That God is true. For he whom God has sent utters the word or the words of God for he gives the Spirit without measure. Did you get that?

The only way to declare God to be true, not only with your mouth, not only in your mind, To truly declare God to be true in the heart is to receive the testimony of the Son of God. Beloved, if you don't receive, anyone who doesn't receive the full testimony of the Son of God as revealed to us in Scripture declares God to be a liar. His every word, His every teaching, His every claim, all of it, yes, all of it, If we don't receive at all, we declare God to be a liar. Basically, your view of Christ is your view of God Himself. Either you see that, or you remain in darkness.

Now, the Lord declared in verse 12, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. Truth of God revealed through the light of His Son. No other light, no other light, any avenue, any door, any other option is pure darkness. One source of light, the Son of God who says, I am the light of this world.

And the Pharisees before our Lord are yet in darkness. They can't see. They have the scales over their eyes. They cannot see. The natural self, the sinful nature has blinded their eyes.

Look at their response in verse 27. Or what we're told about them. They did not understand that He had been speaking to them about the Father. The lights were turned off. spiritual darkness, they could not see.

So if they couldn't see and these men were considered the spiritual teachers of the day, what type of religion were they teaching? If they couldn't see or understand or fathom the elementary things of spiritual and heavenly matters that Jesus is speaking and He's told them over and over again, but they couldn't perceive them, then what type of religion are these men teaching? What sort of doctrines are these men teaching? They have the scripture in their hands. But if they don't recognize Christ, you know what they're teaching?

Doctrines of demons. Because they're not teaching from a true knowledge. They pick and choose. They accept what they will, and they dismiss what they don't want. Stumbling and bumbling through the darkness is very sad.

the simplest of spiritual truths are spoken to them. Jesus says simply, he who sent me and they're left scratching their heads thinking, who is he speaking about? This one who sent him. Selective hearing, there's no excuse. Because only moments earlier, literally, literally moments earlier, in verse 18, Jesus spells it out for them.

He says, I am the one who bears witness about myself and the Father who sent me bears witness about me. Did you get that? And the Father who sent me. He who sent me. Who sent Him?

The Father. Only moments earlier. It wasn't a lapse of attention, beloved. It wasn't a lack of information. It was a lack of light in relation to elementary spiritual matters.

In other words, the light of Christ hadn't revealed the contents of their heart. They had not come to abide in the light of Christ. And they remained darkness. It's a spiritual thing, beloved. We say that over and over again because there's a difference here.

You can have mental knowledge, a whole heap of information in this part of your anatomy. It's up here, but it doesn't settle into your being. You might say, I know of Christ and I recite scripture, but do you really know Him? Has He been made known to your soul? You can't do that.

You can't. You can't take him and press him in. That's a divine work. Only God can fix that problem. That darkness problem.

Only God can fix that. And beloved, I'm sure, I'm sure we can all find examples in our everyday life that depict that reality. The reality that even the elementary, the simple, the basic things of the Christian faith that we've just come to accept and acknowledge and believe that when spoken to others they just don't get it. Now I'm thinking more in the way of when we evangelize. I'm not thinking about the one-off, the people who speak to one-off in the streets I'm not thinking about that.

I'm thinking about the loved ones, the relatives, and the unsaved relatives, or our workmates who are unsaved, that the Lord gives us an opportunity to proclaim the gospel to them more than once. Now we ought to do it in love, and respect, and gentleness, and we ought to be respectful, and we also ought to be as simple as we can. The gospel is profound, but we can be taught simply. The Lord may have given you opportunities to share with your friends, with your relatives who aren't saved on more than one occasion. and maybe collectively hours of time you've sat with someone expounding the scripture, preaching the gospel and showing them the word of God to hopefully pray that the Lord will bring that to bear upon their soul.

You've explained to them over and again that salvation is not anything that you've done. It's not based on your performance. It's not based on your merit. It's not how good you are because no one is good before God. You've explained that it is by grace through faith in the only one who is Jesus Christ.

Don't try to work your way into heaven. You won't get there. You'll only dig yourself further into the opposite direction. You've tried to explain that to them and you've told them over and over again. Maybe one day you've sat down with them.

As you're speaking, the countenance changes and you think, maybe the light of the gospel is coming in, and I don't know if you felt that, but you begin to pray, Lord, Lord, may these words that I'm speaking really, really, may you take them by your spirit and make them realities in these people's lives, and then they say, yes, you're right, you're right. Your heart begins to beat, and then the next words out of their mouth is something like this, you're right, I need to try harder. You're thinking, No, no, I never said that. Where did you get that from? It never came out of my mouth.

I'm not a heretic. I need to try harder. You're preaching your heart out. Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Don't you dare try to work your way into heaven, because everything you put your hand to is filthy.

It's tainted with corruption and blood. Don't you dare dishonor the Savior like that. And they come and say, You're right. I need to try harder. You see the spiritual ignorance?

How does the Bible explain this? How can the Bible explain someone who can be so academically advanced, big brains, just like these Jews, yet so oblivious to spiritual matters, so oblivious to matters of faith? It's darkness, as I said earlier. There's no spiritual light. It's willful, yes, and it's ignorant, yes.

rooted darkness. And beloved, it's darkness that is found in every single man and woman and child that is born in Adam. Unless the light of God in Christ is turned on, and remember that is a work of God himself, that they just won't get it. They won't get it. Even the simplest things, they won't care.

Now, it could be that after many times of repetition, that they might be able to, after a few months or whatever, they might be able to memorize some things, they might even be able to utter some particular truths, but there's no substance in the heart. There's nothing in here. And without the light of Christ, without the divine work, they're not able to truly hear or acknowledge the sweetest, beloved, the sweetest voice. of a loving Savior. He says, come.

They're not able to acknowledge the warnings of the gentle Savior who says, unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins. And this state of ignorant unbelief will continue now. for the Jews as we continue working our way through the 4th Gospel. In fact, in a couple of chapters they'll get quite agitated. They'll get agitated to the point where they look to Christ and they demand of Him an answer.

But they demand an answer for which He is already answered. John chapter 10 Verse 24 through 27, we have this text. It says, So the Jews gathered around him, that's around Christ, and they said to him, How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly already. Tell us.

If you are the Messiah, please tell us. We've been anticipating and awaiting Him for centuries. Tell us. Are you the Messiah? And Jesus answered them, I told you.

Told you. I've told you. I've already told you. And you do not believe. The works I do in the Father's name bear witness about me.

But you do not believe because you are not. You are not among My sheep. My sheep hear My voice. Aren't they beautiful voices? Aren't they beautiful words?

My sheep hear My voice. I know them and they follow Me. They hear. They know the voice of the Saviour. You're not my sheep, is what Jesus is saying.

It's not that they lacked information. It's not as though they weren't taught well. Let's get that straight. Jesus Christ is the very best teacher who had ever roamed the planet. Ever.

Ever set foot on the planet. Let's make sure we get that right. It wasn't the teacher and it wasn't the information. It's because they were not his sheep. And if they're not his sheep, they're not going to recognize his voice, his words, They cannot understand.

They cannot understand. But more than that, in chapter 8, which is the chapter before us in verse 43, Jesus tells us why. He says, why do you not understand what I say? Then he says, it's because you cannot bear to hear my word. You cannot bear to hear my word.

Beloved, it's not simply that they're ignorant in one ear and out the other. There is an active rejection going on. There's a spiritual battle going on. The sheep hear His voice and the voice of the Saviour is oh so sweet to the ears. But those who don't belong to the Great Shepherd, They're opposing everything He says and everything He does.

The sheep hear His voice and His voice is oh so sweet. Beloved, let me ask you this question. Do you hear His voice? And is it sweet to your ears? Do you hear His voice when you read His word?

I'm not talking about an audible voice. Let's get that clear. I'm talking about He speaks through His Word by His Holy Spirit. Beloved, as you read His Word, does it give your heart joy? Do you recognize that you're hearing and reading the very words of our Savior, the God of the universe, the One who came and laid down His life to redeem our unrighteous, unworthy, wicked lives?

Because if you're not His sheep, we know that His voice is repulsive. It's offensive. And it cannot be tolerated. And the difference between the two, the ones that belong to Him and the ones that don't, is this. Simply this.

The sheep have been given. That's the word I want us to remember. Given. The sheep have been given. They haven't purchased it.

They haven't attained it. They haven't worked their way to it. They have been given ears to hear. And those who don't belong to Him have not. You see the difference is not in the person.

The difference is in God. He is the one who bestows salvation. But I'm so glad that his salvation is of the Lord. Jonah says that in the beautiful words. I mean, think about the responsibility.

We do have a responsibility. Preachers have a responsibility. Every Christian has a responsibility. And that is to faithfully meditate upon God's Word. To spend time in His Word.

To immerse ourselves in the Word of God and in prayer. In communion with Him. So that we will be faithful when we open our mouths and say, Thus says the Lord. If we speak to our friends and we share the Gospel, we want to be faithful with the proclamation. ridden.

We plead with sinners. Come. Come. Escape the judgment to come. Escape the wrath of God.

Come. Come and believe in the Son. Come. Come repent and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. But if it came down to the strength of my own argument or my power of persuasion.

If salvation wasn't of the Lord, I wouldn't sleep a single night I don't think. Because I could have said this, and I could have said that. But what if I said this? What if that person didn't believe because I didn't say the right words? Oh Lord, forgive me!

Is that person's blood on my hands? Would that person go to hell because I didn't say the right words? I wasn't as persuasive as I should be. Praise be to God that salvation is of the Lord. It doesn't leave the responsibility that we have to be faithful.

But ultimately it is in His hands. Although we see much darkness in the world, as we look outside we see the depravity and the sinfulness and we see so much ugliness, so much darkness. But we also know that He is merciful, don't we? How do we know that He is merciful? Well, Scripture says so, and that's enough.

But we also see that He is merciful, because beloved, look around. Anyone in this place who has, by grace, through faith, come to trust in Jesus Christ, Anyone who has been actually united in the Son of God has been united in the Son. Not because of anything you have done. But because He turned that light on. Because He applied the redemption.

He applied the righteousness of His Son. And the blood that He bore. That He shed upon the cross. And the wrath of God that He bore was wrath that was designed for you. For your sin.

But He said, I'll carry it. Because they are My sheep. And in real time. In real time. He saved you.

All credit, all credit to Him. And beloved, salvation is only possible because of the truths that are found in the next two verses, 28 and 29. As I said earlier, we will be considering 28, but we won't look at 29. That will be next week by God's grace, because that's the verse that really does warrant a full sermon on its own. Verse 28.

So Jesus said to them, when you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing on my own authority but speak just as the Father taught me. And this is a loaded verse. Really, it's a loaded verse and there's so much that we can open up here. When you have lifted up the Son of Man, it doesn't take much to know what Jesus is talking about. If you're thinking about the lifting up language, what are you thinking?

You're thinking the way that Jesus will His crucifixion, and that's exactly on point. Because the cross is to come. The cross is to come. He's able to look at these men before Him and say to them, unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins, beloved. It's because He has His gaze fixed like flint to the cross.

He knows the cross is coming. But the only way he can keep that promise, the promise that is, believe in me and you will not die and you'll see in the reverse of what he said, the same truth, is because he is going to bear the cross. It's not the first time he mentions the cross or the language we have before us being lifted up. In John chapter 3, in the famous dialogue with that prominent Pharisee Nicodemus, he also mentions being lifted up. You may remember we referred to this two weeks ago in Numbers 21.

with the bronze serpent on a pole, you remember. And it reads this way, it says, as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, I hope that brings back some memories, so must the son of man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. So must the son of man be lifted up. The bronze serpent in the wilderness was lifted up. And the instruction was, tell the people who have been bitten, the people who have that poison coursing through their body, to look and live.

Look and live. To look with faith and live. And Jesus is saying, the remedy for a far more serious disease, far more serious venom and poison is sin. Because it's permeated every single human being who's ever been born on the planet by one. It says that I will be lifted up so that those who look to me will live.

Now, being lifted up seems to be understood by the Jews in this day. For us, it may not be. If we read the Bible for the first time and you read this lifted up language, it might not click. Understandably. We live in a different culture, so we may have to do some study.

But in this day, it seems like it was understood. Because in chapter 12, the other place in the Gospel of John where lifted up language is used, It sounds like the listeners actually understood what Jesus was saying. Listen to what he said. He says, Now is the judgment of the world, Jesus speaking. Now will the ruler of this world be cast out.

And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself. Now that's the declaration that he'll be lifted up. He said this to show what type of death he was going to die. So that's the narrative that we're being We have heard from the law that Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up?

Did you hear it? So we heard that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Because the implication is, to be lifted up means to die. Seems like they understood, to be lifted up at least is to die.

And very likely that it is crucifixion. But there's so much more in verse 28. And I don't want us to I don't want our familiarity with the Gospels allow the wonder of what our Lord says escape us, because there's some beautiful truth here. Because Jesus is speaking with absolute certainty, not about the things that have happened, right? But about things that are yet to come.

Who does that? He's not saying, But when I am lifted up, did you see that? Before the crowd, he's peering into the future with the divine authority that he has. And he's telling them what is going to take place. What will come to pass?

It's not yet, his hour has not yet come, but in about six months time, he will be lifted up. And he's telling these people that I'm fully conscious. Awfully aware of why I have come, I know how it will end for me on this earth. This is phenomenal. When I am lifted up.

No surprises here. I know what is coming is what Jesus is saying. I'm no me-man, no me-carpenter, or the son of a carpenter, Joseph, as you would be thinking right now. I'm in complete agreement with the Father, we're intimately united and his words I speak, yes! But I know absolute truth and I know what is yet to come.

And I'm telling you with absolute certainty of what is to come. And we know that he began to give specific details about his death to the disciples. Actually, he began after the disciples professed. They professed that Jesus is the Christ once he actually clicked. Now, their knowledge and understanding of that needed to be, well, it needed a bit of work.

But when he did click, Jesus began from that point, we're told, in about Mark 30, 31. From that point we're told that he began to tell them that he'll be handed over to the scribes and the Pharisees and the evil men to die. And then three days later he'll be resurrected. But these are his disciples who are soon to be his apostles. But these Jews weren't not that.

They weren't that, right? Yet he was still very specific in the words that he gave them that I think is absolutely remarkable. Firstly, the certainty that he will be lifted up. The certainty that he's speaking to them, that you know what, I know what's going to happen. And then the mode of his death, being lifted up, meaning the crucifixion about, or the way he's going to die, the crucifixion.

But what else do we find in his words? What else does he, what else is he referring or inferring with these words? He's giving them the who. Not only will he be lifted up, not only the type of death, crucifixion, but who is going to hang him. And who is the who?

You. You. When you have lifted up the Son of Man. Who's he speaking to right now? The religious leaders in the temple and he's saying you.

You. He's speaking directly at them and he's saying you're going to be responsible for my death on the cross. It's amazing. These men he's saying they will be responsible for my death. The death upon a Roman cross.

The crucifixion wasn't invented by the Romans, but they claimed it, and they did a pretty good job at it. It was horrific, it was gruesome, it was disgusting and inhumane. Let's be serious about this. It was humiliating, excruciating pain. reserved for what they would call the scum of the earth, where the victim was set up on high before all and humiliated in a painful death by the Romans.

Beloved, even crucifixion was so humiliating and so painful that it was beneath the Romans for the most part, except for extreme cases such as high treason. Roman citizens were exempt from this type of execution. So now, how is it that these Jewish religious men before our Lord will be responsible to put Him on the cross? Jews didn't crucify people. Sure they plotted to kill Him, right?

We know that, we've read the narrative. And they were thinking, stone Christ, right? We see at the end of this chapter they'll try to stone Him They might have been thinking also to push him off a cliff. You remember in Luke, they try to push him off a cliff. They may have even been thinking of the sword to kill Christ.

A crucifixion? How would they pull that off? Seems awfully unlikely, right? What are the chances of that happening? Well, it doesn't matter the chances.

He has spoken. And they heard it first from the mouth of our Lord, who is the man, they asked. Who is this man? That's their question. Who is this man?

Well, the day will come where they'll be able to look back and see He is the one who knows the end from the beginning. That's who He is. The Son of God. The Son of Man. It's interesting the Lord uses that title, Son of Man.

Did you see that? Looking at these religious leaders, telling them that they'll be responsible to crucify the son of man. Now it could be interpreted son of Adam, meaning son of a human, to speak of his humanity. In many cases it is that way in his ego. But when Jesus used it, he's got a higher purpose for that use.

A more spiritual meaning. And every time John refers to Christ being lifted up in the Gospel of John, the Son of Man title is present in the narrative. And that's significant. Because the Pharisees before our Lord, they were very familiar with Scripture. We have to give them that.

They knew Scripture. So they would have known exactly who Jesus was referring to. And Jesus was referring to Daniel chapter 7. Daniel chapter 7. That majestic heavenly figure who is distinct from the ancient of days and yet worthy of the same glory, of the same honor, of the same majesty, of the same power, and of the same rule as the ancient of days.

He's described as far more than a man. He's a heavenly figure. He is divine in Daniel 7. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. It will never come to an end.

And the Son of Man in Daniel 7 is also an everlasting King. Remember that. His kingdom will never come to an end because the King's reign will never come to an end. As mysterious as the Son of Man was, the first century Jew, it seems, knew that the Messiah, the awaited Messiah to come and the Son of Man were one and the same. Why do I say that?

Well you remember the passage I referred you to back in John chapter 12 where Jesus was saying that He needs to be lifted up. This is what they say. This is what the crowd, remember, I read to you the response of the crowd and this is what they say. We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever. So we have heard from the law that the Messiah remains forever and that's why they're thinking he's lifted up, he's dead.

Then how could it be that the Christ remains forever and you're killing him now, right? And you're going to die. We heard that the Christ remains forever. How can you say the Son of Man must be lifted up? One and the same.

In their mind, the Son of Man and Messiah was one and the same. And they were right. Yes, these evil men will crucify me, Jesus is saying. But they will not have the last say. His death will not be the end.

They know that the Son of Man is an eternal heavenly figure with an eternal existence who will reign forever and ever in His kingdom. God's word cannot be broken. It's true. These Jews believe that. Then our Lord stating that they will crucify the Son of Man necessarily also implies that His death will not be the end.

How could it be the end of the son of man if his reign is eternal? So he doesn't have to say that he's going to be resurrected. The fact that he refers to himself as the son of man who's going to be lifted up and killed by these men is to infer that that lifting up, that death is not final. They will not have the last word because he will rise again. And although He will be delivered by the hands of lawless men to death by crucifixion according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, He will not remain in the grave because death could not hold Him.

He is the Son of God. He is the Son of Man after all. I told you these verses are loaded with meaning. And our Lord then tells them, then you will know that I am. Verse 28, then you will know that I am.

I'm not quoting the original he, that I am he, because as I said earlier, the he has been added by the translators. Then you will know that I am. that I am God, that I am all that I said I am, that I speak truth, that I come in the authority of God. Then you will know that the words I speak are the words of God. Then you will know that the power I demonstrate was the power of God.

The claims I made were the claims of God. My teachings were the doctrines of God. Then you will know my earthly ministry was in faultless obedience to the Father's will and with an authority the very authority of God. And when all has been fulfilled, just as I said beforehand, and you've handed me over to be lifted up, when all has been fulfilled, you will look back on the one you crucified. And then you will know that I am.

Beloved, they will know. Jesus says they will know. Yes, but does that mean they will all believe? Does that mean that they will all be saved? Sadly, he doesn't.

They will all come to know that when they crucify the Lord, they will all come to know that Jesus is all he said he is. But unfortunately, they won't all bend their knee to him until it's too late. Somewhere, many won't. Beloved, one can't help thinking as we read through this narrative, if you were in the crowd, You're probably thinking something huge is going to happen when this man's lifted up. Well, think about it.

All the religious leaders are completely against Christ. They're antagonistic against him. Everything Jesus says, they're opposing him in every way. And Jesus says, you don't believe in me. You don't know who I am.

Unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins. And then he says, that one day you will know. When you've lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know. Are we thinking something huge is going to happen when Jesus is hung on that cross? He does!

He does! But when first Jesus is hung on the cross, it doesn't happen straight away because we know as Jesus was on the cross, the religious leaders mocked Him. We remember the passages, don't we, in the Gospels. Matthew 27 tells us, so also the chief priests, Jesus is on the cross, and the scribes and elders mocked Him saying, He saved others, He cannot save Himself, He's the King of Israel, let Him come down from the cross and we will believe Him. He trusts in God, let God deliver Him now if He desires it.

It doesn't sound like the lights have been turned on, does it? Not yet. But then it happens. Matthew 27 from verse 45 through 50. Open your Bibles if you like.

Let's go there. Sorry, I'm a little bit over, I'll be just, we haven't got too much time. Matthew 27, let's start reading from verse 45, if this is a narrative that would be good to have now. Because this is what Jesus is speaking about, being lifted up. hour there was darkness over the land until the ninth hour 46.

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice saying, That is, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? And some of the bystanders hearing it said, this man is calling Elijah. And one of them at once ran and took a sponge filled with sour wine and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. But the other said, wait, let us see whether Elijah comes to save him. And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up His spirit.

And behold, the curtains of the temple were torn in two from top to bottom, and the earth opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. And coming out of the tombs, after the resurrection, they went into the holy city and peered to many. When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, Truly this was the Son of God." What I'm about to say is actually a terrifying truth to decide.

a true example of how morally dark and corrupt the unregenerated heart actually is. Because although I have no doubt that some came to faith as they witnessed this frightful, chilling experience when our Lord hummed on the cross, Nicodemus may have been one. But for the most part, even with all the evidence And they knew that it had been fulfilled exactly as Jesus said it would. And they had come to know that Jesus was speaking truth for the most part. All that evidence and it was not enough.

even though heaven authenticated that it is the son of man who is crucified. Even though, even though the sun ceased to shine, darkness covered the whole earth. The temple veil was torn in two from top to bottom, opening up the holy place from the holy of holies. The earth shook and the rocks split. Tombs were opened and the dead rose and walked through the city with all that evidence, was it enough to deal with the naturally darkened heart of unbelief?

And the answer is no. No. No, like, this is remarkable to us. Let me give you a moment for that to sink in. All that evidence, not enough to clean one's sinful heart.

These men knew that Jesus spoke truth. As I said, heaven had spoken. The earth had spoken. And these men could not explain all that has taken place. Which took place exactly as Jesus said it would.

Apart from the power of God. There was no other explanation. No other explanation. They knew that much. So the question is, we look upon the people, these religious leaders who were supposedly the ones who knew the word of God, but have a sinful, unbelieving heart, we look upon them and we ask the question, what do you have to say about yourself?

Now that you look back and know that everything he said was true, what would you have to say for yourself? What about if on the third day, the grave that you convinced the governor to heavily secure, just in case, what if on the third day you went and you found the grave was empty? Just as scripture had foretold, will you now believe if the grave is empty? The grave was empty. And the guards that were securing it, they didn't see anyone come and go.

No one took Jesus away. He's not there. You know, you know He's risen. Will you now believe and put your trust in the Great I Am? Let the narrative speak for itself.

Matthew 28, 11-15. Some of the guard went into the city, this is after the tomb was empty, and told the chief priests all that had taken place. And when, and when, They had assembled with the elders and taken counsel. So the religious elders, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers and said, tell people his disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep. And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.

So they took the money and did as they were directed, and this story had been spread among the Jews to this day. Did they believe? No. No. No, we're not gonna believe.

No, no, we're gonna make up a story, pay a lot of money, but we will not believe. We can't bear to hear this Jesus any longer. We can't stand him. We want to crush Him, His teaching, and everyone who stands in Him. You will not believe.

Maybe, maybe if you saw the resurrected body, maybe if someone comes back from the dead and presents himself to you, maybe then you will believe. We haven't answered that question, don't we? Luke chapter 16, Lazarus and the rich man. We're told there even if someone comes back from the dead, they will not believe. How does salvation happen?

How can someone come to faith, true saving faith? It's not that they left evidence. You can't get more evidence. The whole universe declared that this is the Son of God. There was enough evidence back then, beloved, there is more than enough evidence right now.

Simply the human heart is dead to the things of the spirit. It cannot respond, nor does it want. It's just like the Jews in chapter 8 who cannot bear to hear the words of Christ. So simply, salvation, as I said earlier, is of the Lord. He needs to take initiative to bring the light into the darkness, to bring life where there was only death.

If God doesn't move, no one, no one is saved, no matter how much evidence you place before a sinner. They cannot be saved. That's my last point of the sermon. You might be thinking, why would you end a sermon on a downer like that? But beloved, it's not a downer.

This is one of the more glorious truths we find in scripture. Because not only does it reveal the state of man's heart in Adam, and we would do well to know what the sinful nature is within us, how destructive it is, how perverse Wicked our heart is before the Lord, not only does it reveal how far gone we are in and of ourselves and not a thought is righteous. No one seeks after God. No one. All we're capable of doing is sinning continuously.

Thoughts continually evil. But then we also see the beautiful mercy of God as well. that in Christ, his eternal son, was willing to lay down his lifeless sheep. Now think about that, that those two things were good. And beloved, I want us to take our emotions away and think purely biblically.

Biblically. The church would be in such better situation if we only thought biblically. Think now. If it were up to us, if it was up to me, if it was up to you knowing your heart, knowing your sin, knowing your depravity, knowing how far deep your heart actually is. If we know what the Bible speaks about, when it speaks about the sinful nature, about the person who is not in Christ, and what they're capable of, the heart is deceitful above all things, who can understand it?

Not even we have the full understanding of our hearts. And beloved, let me ask you this. Knowing your own depravity, your own moral darkness, your own spiritual deafness and blindness, then if it was up to you or up to me, then who can be saved? Zero. No one.

No one would be ever saved if it was up to us. No one seeks after God. That's Paul's words in Romans chapter 3. Aren't you glad it's not up to us? But he pleased God.

He pleased God to bring salvation to some. You see, the Jews had come to a superficial knowledge in their mind about who this Jesus is and who he claimed to be. And the evidence could not be refuted, and they still rejected him. Evidence won't save a person, God does, because not all are rejecting Christ. There are the elect.

Remember those who have been chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world? They will be saved and none, none, none will be lost. Not because they're bright sparks that have been able to figure it out. Not because they've looked at the evidence and gone, oh, the evidence points to Christ. No, don't give any man credit.

Man does not deserve any credit, but because God moves. And God does the supernatural miracle in the heart of stone, removing it. He does surgery and plucks it out and gives a heart of flesh that can respond to the things of God. The light of Christ is exposed to the darkness and He gives, He teaches your heart to embrace Jesus by faith and to know forgiveness can be found in no other. There's no other name under heaven by which man must be saved.

God moves, beloved, and He grants saving faith to some. If it wasn't for God, if it wasn't that God is the one who saves, no one will be saved! None! None! No one!

You know why people get upset about this doctrine? The alternative is everyone goes to hell. Praise be to God that He's merciful. You and I don't know. You don't know the Alamns, neither do I.

And we love all men and we proclaim the Gospel as if every single last one was. Beloved, verses like Thessalonians 5 really give joy to my heart. And it reads, for God has not destined us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus, who died for us, that whether we are awake or asleep, we might live with him. So, beloved, don't despair. If you have come to know Christ in an intimate, saving way, if you have been inserted into Jesus Christ, in your life.

He's done something that you would never have done. But also don't be despairing in your evangelism. Because as the wrath of God wasn't destined for the elect for us, then we know that there are many out there who His wrath is not destined for either. Because the Son of God Jesus Christ has bore it for them just as He has for us. If it was up to them, They would all perish.

We would perish. But by God's grace, we share the gospel, and we believe He is merciful to bring the light of the Son of God, the Son of Man, who was delivered up according to the definite plan and full knowledge of God, to be crucified and to be killed at the hands of lawless men. And then God rose Him from the dead so that He would grant forgiveness and faith to all who believe in Him, so that His promise can be Real. True. Unconditional.

When He says, unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins. Or if you do believe that I am He, you will not die in your sins.