12/17/22 12/17/22

JUDGMENT DEFERRED

#865 JUDGMENT DEFERRED

Scripture John 7:53-8:11 Orig. April 3, 1991

Passage: 7 53 Then they all went home, 8 1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 “No one, sir,” she said.

Purpose: Resuming the study of John’s Gospel, here showing Jesus’ compassion upon the woman taken in adultery.

Keywords: Christ, Mercy, Compassion

Timeline/Series: Sequential/John

Introduction

One of the books that has been the most helpful to me over the years has been A.T. Robertson’s A Harmony of the Gospels(1). Whenever I have needed to study parallel texts from two or more of the gospels, this book has been my teacher. Additionally, there is a supplemental section dealing with texts that are to some degree troublesome.

Our text for this evening, did not, however, receive such scrutiny. He only adds a footnote. “Most of the ancient authorities omit John 7:53-8:11. Those that contain it vary much from each other.”

The reference is to the fact that this passage is not found in but one of the early manuscripts. Six of the best, according to Barclay, make no mention of it. Two others leave a blank space where it should have been. And the so-called “church fathers” do not mention it.

It does appear in the Roman Vulgate, so Jerome knew about it in the fourth century. Augustine and Ambrose comment on it, so it was known to them. Other manuscripts that include the story, have it at the end of John’s Gospel, while some even insert it at the end of Luke 21.

The best explanation I have read about this is that the early church had to deal so vigorously with paganistic sexual practices, that the story seemed a compromise. Knowing the teaching of Jesus, this seemed to offer justification to those susceptible to more questionable practices.

In spite of all these questions, the story is where it belongs, giving evidence of the gracious way that Jesus dealt with the people he encountered.

I. Judgment Begins Actually with the Woman Herself. V4 “They say unto Him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.”

The law relative to adultery is quite clear, she had to know it. In the eyes of the Jewish legalists, it was a serious crime. Parenthetically, it may have been this Jewish influence keeping this from before the people. It was the Rabbi’s teaching. “Every Jew must die before he will commit idolatry, murder, or adultery.” Leviticus 20:10 says that both parties shall die without specifying how they are to die. Deuteronomy 22:13f is complicated and states that the woman can be stoned to death.

Knowing all of this, she chose to live in this unacceptable, and illegal way. We do not know if she was a wife or a betrothed. Only that she was taken in the act. We also know, however, that there is no mention of her partner. They claim affinity for the law. We do not know why they did not likewise bring the man. We know that they had little interest in this wretched woman. Their interest was entrapment. Jesus is himself the object of their spite. V6 “This they said, tempting him.” Peirazo—“prove by soliciting to sin.” Zodhiates p.1720. James 1:13 “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted by evil, neither tempteth He.”

II. The Next Turn of Judgment is on the Part of These Religious Leaders. V3 “The scribes and Pharisees brought unto Him a woman taken in adultery.” They are performing a legitimate function. Law is meaningless unless it is enforced. Digressions from the norm must be treated without compromise. Everything must relate to the severity of the offense. There is a difference in telling your child he can’t have a cookie, and telling him he can’t play in the street. If it is life-threatening, he needs something to help him remember. Their interest was not in judging her but in judging Him. Evidently, they cared little about the way she lived her life. They are out to get Jesus.

III. Their Point is that Jesus Make a Judgment Relative to This Woman. V5 “Moses in the law commanded us, . . what do you say?” V7 “They continued asking him.” The background is of Jesus being hounded by the religious leaders. He was in Galilee as Chapter 7 begins “because the Jews sought to kill him.” Now he has come to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles.” Officers were sent to arrest Him. There was division among the people. There were unbelieving rulers. 7:53: “And every man went to his own house.” 8:1 “And Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.”

They determine to use this woman for entrapment. His reputation with the people is of mercy, the friend of sinners. He could be made to appear to flaunt the law. If he condemns her, however, he could be in jeopardy with Romans. The immediate response of Jesus seems to be uncharacteristically vague. He stoops and writes in the dirt. Not graphein—“to write.” Rather, katagraphein—“to record against.” Job 13:26 “Thou writest bitter things against me.” It could be because of her shame, he forcibly takes his eyes from her—she would have been emotional, the state of her dress or undress may have shamed her.

IV. Where Judgment Ultimately Takes Us However, is in Jesus’ Assessment. V7 “He that is without sin, let him first cast a stone at her.”

It shows Jesus’ different set of values. There is a sense of authority to expose the sinner. Jesus sought to understand and redeem, find oneness with, show compassion for. George Whitfield: “There, but for the grace of God, go I.” B.H. Carroll reminding us of Song of Solomon 1:6: “Thou hast made me a keeper of vineyards, but mine own I have not kept.” After golfer Ed Dunlop experienced vandalism against his property, he hung the [damaged] desk top in his office “to remind me to be more tolerant.” (Pro 2/9, p35)

It shows a proper relationship to people. Their interest in this woman was to use her. She was a tool. We have a need to certify ourselves. Do we care about people? What kind of people? Our kind? What steps are we willing to take to redeem?

Dr. W. Barclay refers to Paul Tournier’s “A Doctor’s Casebook in the Light of the Bible.” How fond the Bible is of people’s names. Exodus 33:17—“I know thee by name.” Isaiah 45:3 (Cyrus): “I am the Lord which call thee by thy name.” Dr. Tournier’s patients were more than gallbladders or lungs.

Consequently, Jesus gives us His attitude toward sin. Only the sinless has the right to judge sin. Matthew 7:1 “Judge not that ye be not judged.” One of the two choices left is apathy. Philippians 2:21 “All seek their own, not the things that are Jesus Christ’s.” Amos 6:6 “They are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.”

The remaining and appropriate attitude is the helpful spirit. Jesus does not tell her that her sin does not matter. He tells her she deserves a second chance. A point of great importance is that there will be a last chance.

“How I wish that there was some wonderful place, called the land of beginning again,

Where all our mistakes and all our heartaches and all our selfish grief

Could be dropped like a shabby old coat at the door, and never put on again.” –Louisa Fletcher

John 5:14 “. . . behold thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.” Impatience is the last and worst thing.

CONCLUSION

Lee Atwater is dead. He is Chairman of the RNC. Quoted (MMS 11-3-90) “I have found Jesus Christ. It is that simple. He’s made a difference, and I’m glad I found Him while there’s still time. . . . For the first time in my life, I don’t hate somebody.” (Card 91:4-7)

1Robertson, A.T. (1950). A Harmony of the Gospels. Harper & Row.

12/17/22 12/17/22

WHEN THE WINE RUNS OUT

#858 WHEN THE WINE RUNS OUT

Scripture John 2:1-12 Orig. October 17, 1989

Passage: On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.” 4 “Woman,[a] why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.[b] 7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. 8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so, 9 and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10 and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.” 11 What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him. 12 After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days.

Purpose: Continuing a study of the gospel, here calling attention to Jesus’ beginning of appeals to his disciples for their faith.

Keywords: Bible Study Miracle Series, John Christ, Glory

Timeline/Series: Bible Study/John

Introduction

This is not to be a treatise on or against the use of beverage alcohol. If it were, I would use some other text. This passage has a much deeper, much more lucid meaning for us to grasp.

But I will give you a testimony. I will remind you that alcohol remains the true nemesis of our times. I grew up in a home where it was the principal source of strife. The absence of it frustrated my father, the presence of it was my mother’s strongest antagonist. I can still remember times in young childhood when my dad was picked up for public drunkenness. It was not a difficult decision for me to make to decide that my children would not have to struggle with that, nor their mother. I contend, to this day, that leaving the use of beverage alcohol out of my life has cost me nothing, and gained me much. That’s all I have to say on the subject.

Let us now get back to what the text does say. Let’s see that when Jesus and his disciples (Andrew, James, Simon Peter, Phillip, Nathaniel, and John) arrived, Mary was already there. She may have been an official part of the proceedings, a hostess, if you please. It could well have been a kinsman who was the groom. Some say John himself. For instance, the women who come to the garden tomb to prepare the body of Jesus are identified. One is called Salome (in Mark). Matthew mentions another woman, without naming Salome, and calls her the mother of Zebedee’s children. They say, then, that Mary and Salome were sisters.

Mary’s responsibility in the household was certainly official. She saw that the refreshments were gone, and that embarrassment was ahead.

I. So, Jesus Has Begun His Earthly Ministry. V1 “The third day was a marriage in Cana, of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there.” The form of the verb “to be” suggests station. It is imperfect—she has been there all along. Jesus came at her request. Six extra guests didn’t deplete the wine. His purpose was to define his role for the disciples.

The groom made his choice, makes arrangements, and has come to his father’s home, or to his new home. His guests waited there. Her guests entered after their return.

Mary reports to Jesus the embarrassment of having run out of wine. This is fermented juice of the vine. Without refrigeration, it’s the only alternative. I remember when Ann opened Welch’s grape juice out of an unplugged refrigerator.

Mary’s direct comment to the servants suggest some official position. Wealthy or poor cannot be derived. It is important that we note Jesus’ presence at ordinary events. Jesus was not an ascetic like John the Baptist. Luke 7:34 “The son of man came eating and drinking, . . . a friend of publicans and sinners.”

A comment must be made relative to the miraculous in Jesus’ ministry. Remember, John calls it a “sign” (sémeion) as he does throughout. John also uses numbers with significance. “And the third day” concludes a description of the first week. He has revealed six disciples, a number for incompleteness. Interestingly, there will be mentioned six waterpots.

Also, John selects only seven miracles. There were 35-40 in the gospels. Several are reported by Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Five of the seven only John records. Here; healing the nobleman’s son (John 4); making the lame man walk (John 5); feeding the 5,000 (John 6); calming the storm (John 6); restoring sight to the blind man (John 9); and raising Lazarus (John 11).

II. He Begins This Earthly Ministry Coming to the Rescue of a Bridegroom in Distress. Undoubtedly, he has put his seal on the institution of marriage. Nearly every marriage ceremony affirms this. I would remind you that marriage is of divine, not Christian, origin. The institution preempts expensive ritualism and legal documents. Marriage is commitment to another person and to a divine mandate.

Mary calls upon Jesus to offer aid. Remember the status of her faith. She was chosen. She is celebrated in the Magnificat (Luke 1:47), “My spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.”

The aid he has come to offer is to define his Messiahship. He “manifested forth His glory” (v 11), that “his disciples believed.” The answer given to Mary is not as sharp a rebuke as it sounds. She is already called “mother of Jesus,” though this is the FIRST sign Mary knew her son. She may well have known John the Baptist’s identification of Jesus. She would conclude that “His time had come.” The hour of public assertiveness is on hold in concern for the disciples.

By the way, “woman” (gynaika) is exactly what he called her from the cross in John 19:26.

III. There Is a Spiritual Meaning Here Open to Each of Us.

V3 “They have no wine.” When the wine runs out, when that upon which all else depends is gone, what do we do? When life’s exhilaration vanishes, where do we go? He decided to provide the wine, but the true miracle is the message delivered to his disciples. To the six: “What will you do when the exhilaration turns to exhaustion, execution?” To all of us: “To whom (what) do you turn ‘When the wine runs out’?” Surely you have experienced it. The sun hides, birds hush, songs die. Life’s elixir becomes tainted. What do you do “when the wine runs out”?

It is in this context, then, that Jesus works a miracle. He instructs the workers to fill the six waterpots. 2-3 firkins would be 25-30 gallons. Water was always identified with purification (i.e., salvation). Isaiah 44:3 “I will pour water upon him that is thirsty.” 53:12 “he poured out his soul unto death.” 55:1 “He poured out his soul unto death.”

When the waterpots were filled to the neck, to the brim, it was not enough. Stone pots filled represent law. Filled, they suggest that now the law has been filled full. There was a stone pot for each of the six disciples. Six means “not enough,” incomplete. What do you do when the wine runs out? When all else comes up short? A hundred gallons of wine makes for a happy wedding, but who can make it happen?

F.W. Boreham (T47.8p209) quotes the old violinmaster to his pupil “before you have finished the world will do one of three things with you. It will make your heart very hard, it will make it very soft, or else it will break it.” When exhilaration becomes exhaustion, when the wine is gone, what do you intend to do? Jesus still holds the answer.

A final comment must be made on verse 10. “Thou hast kept the good wine until now.” Where but in Christ does exhilaration follow exhaustion? The world insists the best be used first. Beauty spends itself for maturity. Youth surrenders in time to age. And the world counts them losses.

The believer who stands by his faith sees it become. Jesus said to Nathaniel in John 1:51 “Hereafter.”

The choicest blessings of marriage await the exhaustions of time.

12/17/22 12/17/22

A MAN BESET

#062 A MAN BESET

Scripture John 3:1-21 NIV Orig. 4-25-71 (9-83)

Rewr. 2-23-88

Passage: Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.” 3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.[a]” 4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” 5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit[b] gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You[c] must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”[d] 9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked. 10 “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? 11 Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.[e] 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,[f] 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”[g] 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

Purpose: To share with my people a measure of the life of a man, Nicodemus, that we might all be more honest with the spiritual values that touch our lives.

Keywords: Biographical New Birth Revival Christ, Redeemer

Timeline/Series: Greek Texts

Introduction

Picture, please, the coming of Nicodemus to counsel with Jesus. He is a man, deeply perplexed. He sees as we often do, people living differently from their stated religious values. He sees long-held doctrine no longer constraining the lives of his people. He hears of this man Jesus who is adding a new assessment to moral/ethical standards. Jesus defines spiritual values as those held constructively in the heart, and therefore influencing the way people live.

So Nicodemus, the Pharisee, a religious pace-setter, and Nicodemus, “a ruler of the Jews” (Sanhedrin), wants to discuss with this itinerant preacher these waning, changing values of his people.

We need to come to grips ourselves with changing standards. We need to be sure we understand what is at the heart of our ethical/moral values.

Bruce Larson, in his book, No Longer Strangers (N34p12), shares the admission for South Hadley Seminary (now Mt. Holyoke College). It was one of the first finishing schools for girls. These were the requirements:

No young lady shall become a member of this school who cannot kindle a fire, wash potatoes, and repeat the multiplication table.
No cosmetics, perfumeries, or fancy soaps will be allowed on the premises.
Every member of this school shall walk at least a mile every day unless a freshet, earthquake, or some other calamity prevent.
No member of this school is expected to have any male acquaintances unless they are retired missionaries, or agents of some benevolent society.
No member of this institution shall tarry before the mirror more than three consecutive minutes.
No member of this school shall devote more than one hour each week to miscellaneous reading. The Atlantic Monthly, Shakespeare, Scott’s novels, Robinson Crusoe, and immoral works are strictly forbidden. The Boston Recorder, Missionary Herald, and “Washington’s Farewell Address” are earnestly recommended for light reading.

We are not interested in such strictness, not for ourselves, nor for our daughters. But clearly, standards are still in our best interest. So let’s keep this appointment with Nicodemus as he seeks out Jesus.

First of all, We Must Learn what We Can of Nicodemus. “There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night.”

He was clearly a man of position. By today’s standards, he lived in the best neighborhood, served on the community council, was a favored donor at political clambakes. Had he lived in the old south, he would have been an aristocrat. In Victorian England, of the ruling class. In 14th Century Europe, a Lord.

He was recognized by his peers as a man of truth. Now, integrity and position do not always go together. Compromise is thought by some to be a virtue. Here, however, is a man respected at every level of social interaction. He was aware of needs about him. He knew what the injustices were, and spoke out of the underdog. Hear him in 7:48f as he withstands those who rebuke the soldiers sent to take Jesus: “Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him? 49 But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed.” 50 Nicodemus saith unto them, (he that came to Jesus by night, being one of them,) 51 “Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth?” What bothered him as much as anything was the inconsistency in his religious peers. Here was a man who was still willing to learn from the insights of others.

Who better is there to go to than Jesus? John 1:18 “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.” It is of total inconsequence that he came to Jesus by night. Some say he sought to hide his intent from others. More accurately, he simply wanted time to address Jesus on critical issues undisturbed. So ought we, to go to our Lord, with those issues that beset us, at times convenient for our full concentration.

II. Having Considered the Man, We Now Turn to His Question. V2 “Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God; for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.” It is not a question about “Are you a teacher sent from God?” He knew Jesus by word and deed. Perhaps he had been a quiet listener during the Galilean ministry. He had been impressed by what he had seen. Perhaps when Jesus drove the money-changers from the temple. He saw a consistency in Jesus’ life not found in others. Nicodemus did what has never been too-hastily done: He went to Jesus. In John 7:50 he verbally defended Jesus. “Nicodemus saith unto them, (he that came to Jesus by night, being one of them,) 51 ‘Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth?’” In John 19:38f he helped prepare his body for burial. “38 And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus. 39 And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight. 40 Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury.”

We can fairly well assume that the question had little to do with the duplicity of birth. Now, he asks this question. V4 “How can a man be born when he is old?” Not the only statement found with question mark. But this seems to be only some shock-reaction to Jesus’ insight to his problem.

To know what the real question was, we must delve into the answer given it by Jesus. Answer: “Nicodemus, flesh is flesh. That born of the flesh is flesh, nothing more. Spirit can only be born of spirit.” Wycliffe P289 reads, “The law of reproduction is “after its kind”. . . Sprit produces spirit, a life born, nurtured, and matured by the Spirit of God.”

Question: “If I am made a Hebrew by virtue of my birth, is it likewise my good fortune to claim the sanction of God because I am Hebrew? Note that the answer to that question is “Absolutely not!” You are flesh, and all that flesh can reproduce is more flesh. To be a man of the spirit requires reproduction beyond human understanding. He illustrates by using “wind.” “Wind,” “breath,” “spirit” are all the same. It produces observable effect, but where it comes from, and where it is going, we cannot control.

III. The Next Best Step for Us is to Apply this Answer to Ourselves. V14f “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him, should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son. . .”

The first application is to the new birth. V3 “Except a man be born again.” As always, the Scripture speaks generically. There are no exceptions, all are included.

We must be able to give priority where it belongs. I know all the rudiments of my birth. Born in LaGrange, GA, to James Ewell and Allene Thompson Skinner. I am proud to claim such genealogy. Don’t we all over-play the birth records? We have a daughter born in Texas. We were in Texas when Alaska was admitted to the Union. They took it offensively.

Do we as well know the specifics relative to our spiritual birth? It isn’t necessary to know the verse of the song being sung. Nor who was preaching. Nor what the month and day were. You should know, beyond human speculations, that it did, in fact, happen. You were there. Who else was is immaterial. You are the one who took the hand extended to you.

I regularly have people, out loud, invite Jesus, in response to Revelation 3:20—“Behold I stand at the door and knock”—into their hearts.

There needs to be a birth-like identification with the Kingdom of God. I had absolutely no emotional feeling when born. But the birth of two daughters brought great joy. I have shared that happiness with many others over many years as pastor. So, the new birth, or second birth, being born of God’s spirit, is consummate joy. And it happens through Jesus Christ only.

Conclusion

In James Agee’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel, A Death in the Family1, a boy of nine sits clutching a daily newspaper and his father’s pipe. The father is dead, auto accident. “My daddy’s dead. He can’t ever come home: not tomorrow, or the next day, or the next, or the next.” What terrible grief. But the new birth is the antithesis of such grief. It is joy.

1-Agee, J. (1957). A Death in the Family. McDowell, Obolensky.

12/17/22 12/17/22

WITHOUT EXCUSE

#028 WITHOUT EXCUSE

Scripture John 3:19 NIV Orig. 11/12/61 (11/76)

Rewr. 4/20/87

Passage: This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.

Purpose: In preparation for revival, remind my people that sin remains a problem that can only be controlled through the Cross.

Keywords: Christ Forgiveness Man Lost Sin Disobedience

Introduction

Matthew Arnold was a prominent author and poet of Victorian England. His concept of sin, however, was far removed from that found in the scriptures. To quote Arnold, sin was pictured “not as a monster but an infirmity.” He spoke of it more directly as “an infirmity to get rid of.”

The Victorian poet’s views are shared by many people today. However, neither Arnold, not these contemporary dreamers, ever give us the foggiest notion about how we may get rid of it. Sin abounded then, as it surely does now, but the resolution to it is found somewhere other than in the human will.

It would be a wonderful thing, indeed, if humanists owned an answer to such a question. Of course, to do so, they would have to know more of the human heart than God knows.

The attitude of the Father is one preoccupied with the seriousness of sin. God’s disposition was not to admonish us to be done with it, for indeed, he knew we could not. He, rather, moved in the direction of taking matters into His own hands. He sent His Son to die with man’s sin burden squarely upon Him. Man’s deliverance was and is in Christ’s death.

“Don’t take it seriously” may be the attitude of some, but the attitude of God is intervention. The Bible declares a substitutionary atonement. Man’s sin separates. Christ’s death redeems and restores the separated one to favor once more.

Back in the 1600-1700s, the Black Death claimed millions of victims. So little was known by way of treatment that two meaningless methods were tried. Thinking fragrance would help, victims were walked through rose gardens. If they could no longer walk, attendants (doctors) walked around their beds sprinkling them with posy petals. Ashes were also used to stimulate sneezing in the hope that some good would result.

Innocent children still sing a song at play that came out of that awful time.

Ring around the rosies,

A pocket full of posies:

Ashes, ashes, we all fall down.

Only when the cause was perceived to be the bite of fleas of diseased rats was the Black Death controlled. So is sin. Only the liberation wrought through Jesus will bring us deliverance from it.

I. First Note that Man is the Fallen Creation of God. V19: “Men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” And Romans 5:12: “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned….”

Man was created in and for holiness. Acts 17:26f: “From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.” NIV. Thus was Adam created, free of sin, but with the potential to choose. Of course, the official position is that we evolved. Judge Duplantier’s writ still stands. Our schools must teach it scientifically.

We all find our way into the world the same way. The baby is conceived. It comes with potential to health and disease. Parents seek to protect its wellness. At some point, we must assume self-responsibility.

Created, as we surely are, in holiness as we most certainly are, responsible under the law of God: Thou shalt not kill/steal/abuse: Yet overnight there may be as many as 15,000 arrests for these wrongs; child abuse alone has reached epidemic proportions. A man shall leave father and mother, and cleave to his wife: Yet the statistics on marriage indicate that every other one ends in divorce; pregnancy among youth is a major social problem, as is HIV. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: Prison populations are growing faster than society can expedite solutions; mental institutions are full; last night there were 75 or more suicides, some of them teenagers.

“Submit yourself to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake,” 1 Peter 2:13. The plight of national solvency is affecting tens of millions. Population will double in less than twenty years. Hunger is legion. Amos 5:24 “Let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.”

This unique creation of God, voluntarily fallen… V3:19b “Men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.” Note: “rather than,” not “more than.”

Someone calls attention to what is our ultimate hope. “Lord, I find the genealogy of my Saviour strangely checkered with remarkable changes in 4 generations. Rehoboam begat Abijah: a bad father begat a bad son. Abijah begat Asa: A bad father begat a good son. Asa begat Jehoshaphat: a good father begat a good son. Jehoshaphat begat Joram: a good father begat a bad son. I see from hence that my father’s piety cannot be handed on. That is bad news for me. But I see also that actual impiety is not hereditary, and that’s good news for my son.” (Thomas Fuller, 1608-1661)

II. In Adam, All have Inherited a Tendency to Sin. Romans 5:19 “For by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.” It was potential to sin, not compulsion. We know only that he sinned, we cannot imagine if he had otherwise chosen. It is inconceivable that he had no other choice. He was not foreordained to sin. A theater manager was telling a trainee about his new job. “What would you do if a fire broke out?” The trainee replied, “Don’t worry about me. I’d get out alright.”

Man’s choice could have been that of obedience. We have the example of Jesus of the One who chose correctly. The consequence of Adam’s sin is that all mankind is marked by the taint of sin. It is the sin of self-will. It is the sin of conscious deliberation. Moliere: “It is not only what we do, but also what we do not do, for which we are accountable.” Psalm 51:5 “Behold, I was shaped in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.”

III. Finally, We are Under Just Condemnation to Eternal Ruin. Galatians 3:21-22: “Is the law, then, against the promises of God? God forbid: For if there had been a law which could have given life, the righteousness should have been by the law. But the scripture has concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.” For all humankind, it is a dilemma.

The love of God is obvious. God’s love does not and cannot alter man’s sin nature. God’s word leaves no uncertainty as to man’s guilt. Romans 6:23 “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ.” Therein the “good news” of the gospel is established. There is one way to go home again. Many say you cannot. It is because home is ever a variable. But the gift of God is a constant. Faith in Christ brings us back to an acceptable posture before God. John 3:17 “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”

The means through which this restoral is activated is repentance and faith. Thomas Fuller: “You cannot repent too soon, because you do not know how soon it will be too late.”

Conclusion

Charles Haddon Spurgeon closed crusade sermons with an admonition to faith. “This I will venture to say: If thou casteth thyself on Christ, and he deserteth thee, I will be willing to go halves with thee in all thy misery and woe. For he will never do it; never, never, never!

“No sinner was ever empty sent back, who came seeking mercy for Jesus’ sake. “I beseech thee, therefore, try him, and thou shalt not try him in vain, but shalt find him ‘able to save to the uttermost them that come unto God by Him.’”

#028 WITHOUT EXCUSE

Scripture John 3:19 NIV Orig. 11/12/61 (11/76)

Rewr. 4/20/87

Passage: This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.

Purpose: In preparation for revival, remind my people that sin remains a problem that can only be controlled through the Cross.

Keywords: Christ Forgiveness Man Lost Sin Disobedience

Introduction

It would be a wonderful thing, indeed, if humanists owned an answer to such a question. Of course, to do so, they would have to know more of the human heart than God knows.

Innocent children still sing a song at play that came out of that awful time.

Ring around the rosies,

A pocket full of posies:

Ashes, ashes, we all fall down.

Only when the cause was perceived to be the bite of fleas of diseased rats was the Black Death controlled. So is sin. Only the liberation wrought through Jesus will bring us deliverance from it.

This unique creation of God, voluntarily fallen… V3:19b “Men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.” Note: “rather than,” not “more than.”

The means through which this restoral is activated is repentance and faith. Thomas Fuller: “You cannot repent too soon, because you do not know how soon it will be too late.”

Conclusion

12/17/22 12/17/22

GOD'S INTENT TO BLESS

#19 GOD’S INTENT TO BLESS

Scripture John 7:37-39; Acts 2:1-4 NIV Orig. 4/5/64 (5/79)

Rewr. 3/3/87

Passage: John 7:37-39 NIV ³⁷On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. ³⁸Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”^[^a^] ³⁹By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

Acts 2:1-4 NIV When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. ²Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. ⁴All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues^[^a^] as the Spirit enabled them.

Purpose: To remind us that we are God’s people, and that it is His intent to bless in His purpose and by His presence.

Keywords: Christ Death Faith Sovereign God Revival Holy Spirit

Introduction

The presence of God never comes by accident. We never perceive Him under conditions that He did not intend.

If Jesus went through those times when he did not perceive God’s presence, and He did, then the chances are that we will also. Gethsemane suggests this aloneness that Jesus felt. Luke 22:44 “Being in agony he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat were as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”

Later, on the cross He would experience more, with greater eagerness to pray. Mark 15:34 “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

The scripture gave prophetic utterance that it would be so. That such a feeling of aloneness would occupy Jesus before His death. Isaiah 63:3 “I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me.”

The theme of “aloneness” of Jesus would occupy some of the New Testament writers. I Peter 2:24 “Who His own self bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness, by whose stripes ye were healed.”

Though Jesus was forced to endure such separation, He was never out of the mandate of God’s caring. As believers, nor are we. The times when we feel so, are in reality times when He would magnify both purpose and presence in our lives. Consider what Jesus truly endured at Calvary. His followers scattered into the night. One had denied even knowing Him. Another had been instrumental in his arrest. The religious people of Judea clamored for His blood. Roman soldiers perceived His mortality as a cat and mouse game with Him as the victim. In 1868 Elizabeth Cecilia Clephane wrote the hymn, “There Were Ninety and Nine”:

“But none of the ransomed ever knew how deep were the waters crossed,

Or how dark was the night that the Lord passed through ere He found His sheep that was lost.

Out in the desert He heard its cry, sick and helpless, and ready to die.

Lord, where are these blood drops all the way, that mark out the mountain track?

They are shed for one who had gone astray, ere the Shepherd could bring him back.

Lord, whence are thy hands so rent and torn? They’re pierced tonight by many a thorn.”

In the midst of such agony of aloneness, God used the faith of a dying thief to bolster the dying Saviour. A revolutionary, a convicted felon, is remembered now as the one who brought the healing balm of faith to the festering wounds of Jesus.

I. To Bless by His Purpose. V37 “In the first day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried saying, ‘If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.’”

We cannot separate this even from Jesus’ death. John 7:6 “Therefore Jesus told them, ‘the right time for me has not yet come.’” This is about opportunity, intervention, and destiny. V7:30 John: “His hour was not yet come;’ v33 Jesus: “I go unto Him that sent me”; v39 John “Jesus was not yet glorified.” God’s glory is manifest when one performs service of honor in His name. What greater service than giving of one’s life.

Now Jesus was in Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles. Late October was the harvest festival. The last day was reserved for a special ceremony. Water, symbolizing the life of the harvest, had been brought in a golden vessel from the pool of Siloam. As it was poured out, it was accompanied by an ecstatic burst of Levitical trumpets. Of all God’s blessings at harvest, the longing for Messiah is keenly felt in such a celebration. There is a sudden pause of stillness and silence. In this climactic void, Jesus speaks, “If anyone thirsts, . . . come unto me and drink.”

The interpretation is easy. Without water from heaven, there would be no harvest. Without the effusion of Christ’s presence, an exceeding spiritual drought is evident. Out of Jesus, says the text, do these waters come forth. The Holy Spirit is not yet given. But Jesus entrusts to us the sharing of these waters of life. John 14:12 “He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also, and greater works.”

II. To Bless by His Presence. Acts 2:4 “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” First, a clarification. We must let Luke speak God’s message for us here. The text speaks of “other” languages, not “strange, unknown” ones.

Scripture defines the “unknown” tongue of the Corinthian church. I Corinthians 14:39 “Thou shalt not forbid to speak in tongues.” The text here speaks otherwise. Acts 2:1 “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all in one accord in one place.” The Holy Spirit was working. This day constitutes God’s empowering of believers to communicate the Gospel.

The performance of God’s presence is manifest through three quintessential steps in believers.

Step number one is repentance. One becomes concerned about sin when we perceive it contrary to our good. More than regret. More than fear of consequences. Rather, anguish that one’s life is out-of-step with God’s plan. Psalms 51: “Against thee, thee only have I sinned, and done that which is evil in thy sight.

Step number two is the step of believing, faithing Christ as Lord and Saviour. This is an intellectual faith, but not that only. II Timothy 1:12 “. . . for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.” What we believe is secondary to in whom.

Faithing Christ is commitment in Him, surrender to Him, being changed by Him. John 12:32 “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” Not “all” without exception, rather “all” without distinction. It is the work of Christ. It is the work of Christ alone. But we are encouragers not discouragers of seekers. “Out of his belly flowed rivers.”

Step number three is that we are the “rapids” through which those waters move out to bless humanity. Thus, in this melding of repentance and faith, the new ground is broken in which the Holy Spirit works. John 14:23 “If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” John 14:26 “. . . the Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and will bring all things to your remembrance.”

When next you come upon a windmill, watch it closely. See if you can see the source of its energy. Look good for pulleys and gears. They are not there. But you can see the result of the wind’s intractable presence. As the blades turn, life-giving water is pumped where it is needed. So with the Holy Spirit. As we believe, and allow the living waters to be manifest in us, others come to be blessed by these waters.

Conclusion

When the Passion Play first began to be performed, the lead was played by Anton Lang. It was early suggested that a papier-mache cross be devised instead of the heavy wooden timbers. Night after night, a “real” cross would be too much. He refused, demanding, “Unless I feel the weight of the cross, I cannot play the role.” Too often we pursue the easy, convenient way to live as believers, a way more contemporary, more tasteful. We are looking for papier-mache crosses. The Holy Spirit has come to make the purpose and the presence of God a blessing: A blessing to us, and to those around us. There is no second-hand, less demanding Holy Spirit.

12/17/22 12/17/22

THE DRAWING POWER OF CHRIST

#010 THE DRAWING POWER OF CHRIST

Scripture John 12:20-32 Orig. 1/7/64 (1/75)

Rewr. 8/21/87

Passage: ²⁰Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. ²¹They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” ²²Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus. ²³Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. ²⁴Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. ²⁵Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. ²⁶Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. ²⁷“Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. ²⁸Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” ²⁹The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him. ³⁰Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. ³¹Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. ³²And I, when I am lifted up^[^a^] from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”

Purpose: To show the superior magnetism of Christ for the work to which He came.

Keywords: Christ, Nature Commitment

Introduction

We watched with abandon as a unique event unfolded in our back yard. It was a Sunday afternoon in New Orleans. One of the girls was at home from college and had brought a friend along. The drama had nothing to do with anything that night precipitate from normal Sunday pursuits.

It all started, unknown to us, some weeks before when a wood duck had laid her eggs in a tree across form our house. The ground below the tree was boggy wet at the time the eggs were laid, but now, in early summer, the only water in sight was in a swimming pool, beyond our fence, in the adjoining yard.

It was time for her ducklings to get to water. One after the other she pushed them from the nest, followed them to the ground, and led the determined charge to the water she had seen from the tree. The first thing we knew was that they were all in our back yard, stymied by our fence, and now joined by every child within four blocks of our house. We were impressed by this mother duck. She showed remarkable daring, supreme devotion, and an almost unsettling determination to provide the necessary thing for her charges.

Fortunately, a knowledgeable neighbor came to her rescue. Duck and ducklings were soon rounded up and taken to safe water not far away. From time to time, when I see wild wood ducks, I wonder if any are offspring of those who passed suddenly through our yard and our lives on a busy Sunday afternoon.

It is with even more daring, and devotion, and determination that the Christ seeks to make His presence known in our hectic lives. Sidlow Baxter refers to “the most remarkable characteristic of Christ’s preaching [as] its sublime egoism.” He knew that His work was the most important work in the world. He knew that to “be lifted up” would be to “draw all” people unto himself.

I. Consider, First, the Superlative Daring of His Message. V32 “And I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me.” This statement is worthy of our closest personal scrutiny. Note the use of multiple personal pronouns—I, me, my. Note the strong reference to the crucifixion—“If I be lifted up.” How much easier for us to understand; the disciples did not have His example and yet, because we see so clearly, we come to take it for granted. Note the certainty of assumed success—“I will draw all . . . unto me.” Don’t overlook the descriptive adjective and superlative form, “all.”

The burden of this text for nearly two thousand years is that Jesus could say “all.” And there have been variant interpretations. “All” come to grace or to judgment. “All” come under the sway of the gospel. “All” are participants in this millennial age. “All” are defined in relation to the church. “All” are without distinction instead of “all” being without exception.

Clearly, Jesus did not expect such a total assimilation of people into the kingdom. Consider the Beatitudes, so clearly distinguishing between those in and out of the kingdom. Reread the parable of the sower, contemplating those gospel seeds never brought to fruition.

We must also understand better the developing circumstances of this event. The day began with Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem just days before the crucifixion. Some Greeks approached Phillip about an interview with Jesus. Phillip, uncertain because they are Gentile, seeks out Andrew for assistance. Together, they go to Jesus for advice. Jesus acknowledges that a staggering moment has come. V23 “The hour of the glorification of the Son of Man.” It reminds us of John 11:4, where Jesus said of Lazarus’ illness, “it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified.”

As best we can infer, Jesus did not grant the interview. In life, He was the Jews’ Messiah. Only in death would He be the world’s Saviour. There was a battle years ago over Ted Clark’s book Saved By His Life; this seems to refute such a concept. It is this message that has sent gospel chroniclers to the end of the earth.

II. Consider More, Now, the Supreme Devotion of His Manner. V27f “Now is my soul troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour? But for this cause came I to this hour. (What shall I say?) Father, glorify Thy name.”

Observe His capacity for love of God. We marvel at our natural world and creature things done out of instinct, such as the wood ducks leaving the nest. The greater marvels are the human acts of self-sacrifice: On flight 255 out of Detroit in 1987, a mother, realizing that the plane was going down, unbuckled her own seat belt and draped her body over that of her 4-year-old daughter; the child was the only survivor of the crash.

Jesus offers Himself in love. The Shema is a Hebrew prayer based on Deuteronomy 6:5—“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, soul, and strength.” So, also, He taught in Luke 10:27, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thine heart, soul, strength, and mind, and thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”

Observe His compassion for those around Him. To this end He would stay on track. To this purpose God had brought Him forth. I John 4:19 “We love Him because He . . . loved us.”

Observe also His hatred of sin—not hatred of “sins,” particular ones, but rather His hatred of SIN. How can we, claiming to be His followers, take delight in anything that brings Him such displeasure. We are sinners, but it is not us He hates, but the unrenounced sin that robs us of victory, and robs our Lord of the fellowship He seeks to have with each of us.

III. Finally, Consider the Superior Dedication to His Mission. V25 “He that loveth his life shall lose it, He that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.” In loving life, the sacrifice becomes the more acute, the destiny more provoking. Jesus loved life with a purpose achieved by no other.

The one thing that He could not love, nay, that He hated, was this necessary separation from the Father. But He would endure it forever if necessary. It was in losing what He loved (the world) that He gained what He loved the more (His place at the Father’s side).

Conclusion

The Indian mystic Tagore (w43p126) has written a piece which should speak yet to all of us. He pictures life from the unwholesome vantagepoint of a dismal alleyway of a great, crowded, uncaring city. Occasionally, one sees a patch of blue sky, feels a sudden cool breeze, is warmed by some broken passage of the sun. And always we ask, “Are these things real? Sky, breeze, warmth of sun!” But, day in and day out, there are those other experiences that are never questioned. There are dust and rubbish, and they are real. The noise of traffic, jolting carts, and jostling crowds in the marketplaces: No one asks, “Are these real?” Refuse and smoke and corruption and death are all too real to inquire. But so are the blue sky, and cool breeze, and warming, life-giving sun; and so is the SON, WHO CALLS US TO Himself. He reminds us that by His stripes we are healed.

12/11/22 12/11/22

A WORD OF PERCEPTION (Fourth Word from the Cross)

#075 A WORD OF PERCEPTION (Fourth Word from the Cross)

Scripture Matthew 27:45-46 NIV Orig. Date 4/1/62 (3/80)

Rewr. Dates 3/25/87

Passage: 45 From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. 46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli,[a] lama sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).[b]

Purpose: Continuing the Words from the Cross series with a special emphasis placed upon the sovereignty of God in behalf of His Son and His people.

Keywords: Christ, Death Sovereignty, God Commitment

Judgment Suffering

Timeline/Series: Words from the Cross

Introductions

Somewhere, Thornton Wilder has a significant line that declares “In love’s service, only wounded soldiers will do.” In that context, then, it should not seem unusual to us, or unreasonable, that Jesus became a “wounded soldier.” It was to that end that Old Testament prophecies foresaw Him as “man of sorrows.” But we must interpret that correctly.

Here we discover the degree to which Christ would go as a “wounded soldier.” More, it testifies that there is no degree to which He would not go “in love’s service.”

Eli, Eli; lama sabachthani? That is, My God, My God; Why hast Thou forsaken me?

What pain hurts more than aloneness? What hurt weighs more heavily on us than that of feeling forsaken, especially unjustly forsaken? Off-beat theologians have emerged, and in their effort to explain, have explained away this text. Jesus, they say, had lapsed into delirium. Others, that though conscious, the pain rendered Him verbally out-of-control. Yet others suggest that He was not forsaken but simply felt so.

Jesus did not ever give in to the flesh. Why should we think it is happening here? There was neither unconsciousness, uncontrolled delirium, nor mistaken anguish. Jesus felt forsaken because he was forsaken. For sin to be effectively dealt with, it was necessary for God’s complete disposition of it to take place. Christ was the instrument through which that disposition took place.

After having seen the great dancer, Pavlova, perform, someone asked her to explain the artistic meaning of her dance. She stood there drained of the last bit of her energy and replied, “Do you think I would have danced it if I could have said it?” For Jesus, words are an inarticulate description of God’s intent to save. The cross must be endured if we are to have perception of God’s love.

I. It is Perception, First, of Supernatural Covenant. Luke 24:44 “. . . all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, . . . , concerning me.”

Surely, this is not the only time that Jesus questioned the strange events of His life. Perhaps, as a small boy, He wondered of the unique events of His birth. Luke 2:19, “She pondered these things.” Perhaps, as an adolescent, He questioned why things of interest to others His age, did not interest Him. Luke 2:49, “. . . Wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?” Even as an adult, it shouldn’t surprise us if He wondered, despaired of unbelief all around. Matthew 22:5, “They made light of it and went . . . away.” Mark 3:5, “Being grieved for the hardness of their hearts.”

And whenever such times had enveloped Him, He always before had felt the deeper wealth of assurance. Boyish questions were answered with meaning of His name—Jesus: “He would save His people.” Adolescent wonderings were assuaged by His own love for the Father, and the Father’s house.

As an adult, little could have been more obvious than the signs of God’s presence. At His baptism, there had been the voice boldly declaring “Thou art my beloved son.” During the temptation in the wilderness “angels came and ministered unto Him.”

Starting at Cana one day at a wedding: John 2:11, “This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.”

On a mountain side one day: Matthew 17:1f, “. . . There appeared . . . Moses and Elijah talking with Him.”

Toward the end of His ministry, at Bethany: John 11:41f, “Father, I thank Thee that Thou hast heard me. And I knew that Thou hearest me always: but because of the people . . . that they may believe . . . Lazarus, come forth.”

Even with all of this, His plea is the plea of a man alone. Not over-wrought psyche playing tricks; not low pain-threshold binding reason. It is divine covenant being completed with all of its wretched consequences.

There had likewise been 3 words to the cross. “If Thou be the Christ, come down,” was the one thing He could not do. “He saved others, Himself He cannot save,” was a true saying. “Remember me, when. . .” was a reminder that we, too, have our crosses in following.

II. It is Perception of Superhuman Commitment. John 12:46 “I am come a light into the world.” There are, of course, those who argue that Jesus was not forsaken. They claim some physical distress, that Jesus simply quoted Psalm 22 in its present context. Psalm 22:23: “Praise Him ye who fear the Lord; . . . do Him honor; stand in awe of Him. . . For He has not scorned the downtrodden, . . . but gave heed to him when he cried out.”

But the point is, here at Calvary, was commitment in the flesh. Luke 22:44 “Being in agony He prayed more earnestly; and His sweat were as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” It was the kind of commitment forever an example to us. John 11:42, “. . . because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that Thou has sent me.” Luther and Calvin (233T20p139) say that these were hours spent in the torments of the damned.

Rambach said in Meditations On the Sufferings of Christ, “God was now dealing with Him not as a loving and merciful Father with His child, but as an offended and righteous judge of an evildoer. The heavenly Father now regards His Son to be the greatest sinner to be found beneath the sun, and discharges on Him the whole weight of His wrath.”

It is time, then, to pursue the measure of our own commitment. Isaiah 53:9f “He made His grave with the wicked . . . He was numbered with the transgressors. Galatians 3:13 “. . . redeemed us from the curse . . . being made a curse for us.” Philippians 2:8 “He became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”

What kind of commitment do we offer to compare with that? We expect to be painless Christians. An hour or two on Sunday morning is as near to Calvary as we intend to go. I forgot my checkbook so I’ll rattle some change God’s way. We plan our commitment around mediocrity.

III. That Brings Us to Consider Superficial Circumstance (Uncircumstantial) “Why hast Thou forsaken me?” Jesus surrenders to the high cost of God’s will. So are such times when we likewise must.

As Gideon (Judges 6:13) “If the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? As Elijah (I Kings 19:2) under Jezebel’s threat he “arose and went for his life,” As Job (Job 30:20) “I cry unto Thee, and Thou dost not hear me.” The psalmist (Psalm 73:13) “. . . Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocence.” All would stand before us to declare faithlessness on their part, faithfulness on God’s part.

So often, that that is real in our experience is to become the circumstance of God’s blessing. Yes, Jesus was separated from the Father, forsaken even. But to remain as companions of sin is to remain separated from the Father. Our hope of restoration was fulfilled by Christ on the Cross.

Conclusion

Back in the early part of this decade the USS Hope made the newspapers for the last time. That ship, having brought medical aid to tens of thousands in third world nations, was trapped on a sand-bar on its way to the scrap yard.

There are too many people who have given up on hope. But we Christians must be the first to proclaim it. Because of God’s covenant, and Christ’s commitment to it, I can find reason to trust even in the most circumspect of circumstances. Ships of the sea, even ships of state, may flounder, but Christ gives me reason to believe through every consequence of my life.

12/11/22 12/11/22

A WORD OF PROVISION (Third Word from the Cross)

#074 A WORD OF PROVISION (Third Word from the Cross)

Scripture John 19:25-27 NIV Orig. Date 3/21/1965 (3/1980)

Rewr. Dates 3/19/1987

Passage: 25 Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman,[a] here is your son,” 27 and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

Purpose: Continuing a series of Words from the Cross, directing our thoughts to the salvation accomplished on the cross by the means of Christ’s gift of Himself

Keywords: Biography, Mary Crucifixion Salvation Blood Christ, Death

Easter

Timeline/Series: Words from the Cross

Introduction

How often, when attempting to console a friend who has lost a loved one are we moved to say, “I know how you feel!”? But we know that unless we have ourselves walked through that “lonesome valley,” we cannot know how they feel.

Even so is any word that reflects on Mary’s feelings here. How do we contemplate the feelings of Mary as she watched Jesus die? Recalling Simeon’s prophecy (Luke 2:35), “a sword shall pierce through thine own soul also,” can we comprehend her feeling? Do you suppose she recalled those words as she looked on?

Hebrew women depended on sibling caretakers just as elderly mothers do today. Perhaps more so. Joseph was surely dead. There were other children, four sons, at least two daughters. But there was only one like her first born. Now she can only stand by and watch.

Jesus is dying; and he is dying the shameful death of a criminal. She had to watch. She felt the same pain that He felt. His blood coursing down the cross was as it were her own. She could see the gaping wound, the trickling blood, the wounded hands and feet, the parched lips and tongue, yet she could do nothing. She remembered, perhaps, a child’s feet, ever-present near her own. She saw in her mind’s eye, the boyhood hands, skillfully learning from Joseph, the trade of carpenter. And every taunt, from the indifferent crowd, tore through her heart like a dagger.

Perhaps she remembered the angel (Luke 2:10), “I bring you good tidings of great joy.” She recalled the shepherds (Luke 2:20), “return[ing], glorifying and praising God.” Were the shepherds deceived, the angel a deceiver? How else to explain this now? The word here spoken was an intimately personal one spoken to His mother, but with deep meaning for all of us.

I. Consider, First, a Provision Centered in Human Need. John 19:26, “He said to His mother, ‘Woman, behold your son.” We hear Jesus address an apparent need, the care of his mother in her senescence. She is left in the care of a son of the cross. She was 45, perhaps 50. There were 6-7 siblings (Matthew 13:55-56). Galatians 1:19 speaks of James “the Lord’s brother.” John 7:5: ”5 For even his own brothers did not believe in him.” At this time, none of the others are followers, and Jesus wants her under redemptive care.

Not only is this a testament to God’s providence, but His foreknowledge as well. John probably outlived all others. Mary will know comparative ease in the distant confines of Ephesus.

It must also be noted that there is spiritual need here as well. It is not as son, but as Saviour, that Jesus reaches out in her behalf. There were those deep forebodings.

Shepherds were already mentioned, as were the angels. The wise men (Matthew 2:11f) were learned astrologers from the distant east, worshiping, gifting. Luke 1:42 is Elisabeth’s Magnificat—“Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.”

There were spectacular displays in His life: The Passover pilgrimage when He was twelve; manifestations of healing, teaching. There are stranger forebodings to beset her now. We must see her humanity, so unique, yet still one of us. It is disparaging and dishonest to see her as other than sinner. Jesus must gently remove Himself as son, that she might see Him as Saviour. Ephesians 2:16, “That He might reconcile both [Jew and Greek] unto God in one body on the cross.”

Fine, deeply religious, God-honoring woman that she was, needed not a son, but a Saviour.

II. A Provision Consummated in Manly Compliance. John 19:27, “Then saith He to the disciple, Behold

Thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto His . . . home.” Thus, we concluded Jesus’s intent to see her under the care of a believer.

John had given evidence of the change in his own life. He had been “Boanerges”--son of thunder. He would become “the disciple Jesus loved.” From fisherman to fisher of men. From net mender to knee bender. I John 1:1-2, “1That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; 2 (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you . . . .)”

John would be the one, the only one (?), able to help her keep the perspective of Saviour. Not even His own mother must cloud the issue of who He really is: Son of God, Saviour. Multiple references show John’s insight. John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

Where John could make such a difference for Mary was in the good news of salvation through the cross. John undauntedly proclaimed Christ as Lord. John only records the interview with Nicodemus. John 3:17, “God sent not His son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved.”

Again, only John tells of the woman at the well. John 4:13f, “Whoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again, but who drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst.”

He tells of the lame man in Jerusalem. John 5:39f, “Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life . . . . And ye will not come unto me that ye might have life.”

As the family of Christ in the world today, how vital that we proclaim Him Lord, nothing else. John 9:4, “I must work the works of Him that sent me while it is yet day, for the night cometh.” The time comes when the mind is closed against the Lord. Satan works his doom-saying work through sin that clouds the heart to faith. Those who show themselves as Christ’s, show of their Lord.

Throughout history, those times when our Churches have been strongest was when Christ was most clearly enthroned. Mary must not be a detriment by beholding Him as son. How much clearer is our compulsion to proclaim Him Lord?

Church/Lives/Work/Pleasure

Around the world people seek to maintain their status quo, even with guns and tanks.

We are taught to pursue truth. Too many are pathetically like the blind men in the children’s story describing an elephant. One at side, trunk, leg, ear. God’s purpose remains to reveal truth through Christ.

We are facing the corruption of power on a world scale. A historian wrote of the corruption in NYC a hundred years ago. “The good people got tired of being good before the bad people got tired of being bad.”

The Real in our world today is Jesus. The Truth is Jesus. The Power capable of confronting corruption is Jesus. What are we doing about it? He is God’s Son, Saviour, who made provision for the sin of Mary and the Jews, but not for the Jew only and, as well, not only for us WASPS.

Conclusion

A businessman made an appointment to meet with his banker friend. His purpose was to share with his friend of the great estate of Christ to save. As he shared Christ’s love in that He died on the cross to save us, the banker became quite annoyed. “His destiny was in His own hands,” said the banker. “How could Christ’s death redeem me? If I am to be saved, it will be through my efforts.”

The businessman called attention to another man, known to them both waiting to see the banker. “He is coming to tell you of some need. He will press for a loan to meet that need. Will you grant him the right to set the conditions of the loan?” “Absolutely not! I will determine the conditions!” said the banker. “You stand in the same relationship to God. He is the great BANKER. We the poor, helpless sinner. We come to Him for mercy, pardon. Do we presume to set conditions, or do we accept His own?” (251T43p188)

12/11/22 12/11/22

A WORD OF PROMISE (Second Word from the Cross)

#069 A WORD OF PROMISE (Second Word from the Cross)

Scripture Luke 23:39-43, NIV Orig. Date 3/18/62 (3/80)

Rewr. Dates 3/12/87

Passage: 39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”

40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.[a]”

43 Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Purpose: The second of a seven part series with an emphasis on the meaning of the crucifixion.

Keywords: Christ, Redeemer Easter Cross God, Word of

Timeline/Series: Words from the Cross

Introduction

It is interesting that the antagonism faced by Jesus was the antagonism of the religious. Oh, there was some of the other kind, but Jesus had been friend to sinners. He was on the cross now to die for sinners. He has taken His place between two thieves.

The religious leaders had been careful to create an atmosphere of suspicion relative to Jesus, and many of the people were afraid to look with openness at what He was doing.

Mark 15:31 “the chief priests . . .said . . . with the scribes ‘he saved others; himself he cannot save.’”

Luke 23:35 “. . .the rulers also scoffed at him.”

Matthew 27:41 “. . . the chief priests mocking him.”

Of these two men with whom Jesus is dying, one “railed” v39 blasphémeó —"to speak evil of.” The other “rebuked” v40 epitimaó—charged.

It was not by accident that Jesus came to die between these two. Two nameless souls, they, who were suddenly thrust into the gaze of eternity. All of Jesus life He had been the friend of sinners. He would not be separated from them in death.

Who they were, no one knows. Bandits perhaps, like those in Jesus’ story of the Samaritan. It has been put forth that they were associates of Barabbas. Insurrectionists, like him. He was the one released by Pilate (Matthew 27:15). The insurrectionist movement was begun to oppose Roman domination but it had degenerated into a habitat for thieves and criminals.

In this context, one suddenly faced up to himself, and then his accomplice. This man between them was also dying. But He was doing so courageously. There was even something regal about His bearing. He prayed for the soldiers “Father, forgive them.” For His antagonists among the leaders and on-lookers, “Father, forgive them.” He suddenly perceived Jesus to be, not an enemy, but a friend. It is that awakening that has brought untold millions to the awakening of faith over the centuries. He no longer saw a cross, but a throne; not thorns about His brow, but a crown; the blood he saw no longer meant death, but life.

I. In This Context, We Must Note First a Promise Defied. V39 “And one of these criminals blasphemed him saying, ‘Are you not the Christ? Save yourself, and us.”

This man seems almost to believe. We know that Jesus could have done so. Could relieve them of this dying sting. But this man! Can he believe this of Jesus? Like so many, his first thought is of his fleshly body, not his eternal soul.

His anger at being here confuses the promise.

Anger is not of itself a bad thing.

James 1:19 “be slow to anger.”

Ephesians 4:26 “Be angry and sin not.”

Matthew 5:22 “Whoever is angry without cause.”

Anger, and the anguish it espouses, can be a good thing for the believer. Emily Brontë wrote in Remembrance—“Once drinking of that divinest anguish, how could I seek the empty world again?” Anguish, you see, can be an ally leading to honesty, and faith, and Christ. And not that only, it is the truest friend of repentance.

But this man’s anger and anguish turn to arrogance. He stands ready to sacrifice everything to his own self-interest. Proverbs 26:12, “Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? There is more hope of a fool than of him.”

Anguish, born of arrogance, will find no relief. Not unlike Oscar Wilde in his poem Ballad of Reading Gaol,

“The vilest deeds like poison weeds bloom well in prison air;

It is only what is good in man that wastes and withers there:

Pale anguish—anguish—keeps the heavy gate, the warder of despair.”

I Peter 5:5 “. . . All of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the humble.”

II. Notice Now a Promise Subscribed. V40 “But the other answered . . . 42 Jesus, Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom.”

Some who had approached Jesus, and some at the cross now, insisted on some sign of power. Just a sign, Jesus, and we will believe: Many in the world today, some in this room today.

But Jesus had spoken all that there is to say. “The only sign that you will be given is that of Jonas”: a sign of death, a sign of submergence and submission, a sign of dependence and selflessness. And too many of us, like too many of them, will have none of it.

“Give us something to help us remember Golgotha.” Give us proof or forget it. Write out a check for the bottom line.

Here was one man who needed no further sign. I remind you, it was not death that converted him. It was life, Jesus’ life. He saw through new eyes. In fact, he saw through no eyes at all, but through his heart. John 6:40, “This is the will of him that sent me, that everyone that seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life.” John 4:42 (Samaritans) “We have heard him ourselves and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.”

He, here and forever, makes himself accountable to Christ. Have we done so? You and I? “Well, no,” you say, “But I am not a thief.” When you keep for yourself, what belongs to another, you are a thief. This has nothing to do with possessions. It has to do with us. We belong to another. But we selfishly, greedily withhold what He desires the most: ourselves, our friendship, or time and presence and growth.

III. There Is a Final Element to the Promise. It Is a Promise Supplied. V43 “And He said unto him, Truly I say to you that today you will be with me in paradise.” It was a promise of compassion. Without hesitation the promise is made for Jesus recognizes faith. He opens Himself to the hurting offender. The one who sincerely seeks will always find. He will find all that he wants and more.

But it is essential to see Himself as He is. If we would know Jesus, we would, as well, know our sin, our need. In that comprehension of self, Jesus stands the more revealed. Matthew 11:28 “Come unto me, all ye that labour, and I will give you rest.”

As it was a promise of compassion, it was also a promise of comprehension. Jesus meant every word that He spoke. It was a promise of God’s blessing. He didn’t have much of that left. For us, it is a promise of life purpose.

It was a promise of forgiveness. Story of adoptive parents who used an old, tattered, dirty pair of shoes to remind the child from what he came as discipline. Our heavenly Father does not bring out the tattered memories of the past, but promises that through Jesus “our iniquities He will remember no more.” (Jeremiah 31:34).

It was a promise of death-watch. Jesus has already told them to weep not for Him. He will next “commend” His spirit. He has spoken to the thief urging upon him this new life.

It was finally, then, a promise of salvation. Heaven is a place. It is immediately accessible. It is presided over by Christ. It is a place for sinners.

Conclusion

Thus, Jesus herein sets His final seal of satisfaction on what He had given His life to fulfill and declare: “This day thou shalt be with me.” It is not fantasy, but reality.

As declared by James S. Stewart, “The Life and Teaching of Jesus” (p. 170), “. . . that in a single moment from the dust heaps and cinder heaps of life any ruined, hopeless soul, bound in affliction and iron, may pass straight to the perfect release of forgiveness, and wear the white robes of a saint.”

12/11/22 12/11/22

A WORD OF PRAYER (First Word from the Cross)

#068 A WORD OF PRAYER (First Word from the Cross)

Scripture Luke 23:33-34 NIV Orig. 3/11/62 (2/80)

Rewr. March 4, 1987

Passage: 33 When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”[a] And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

Purpose: Beginning a series on the words of Christ from the cross, and therein to speak to my people about the prayer of Jesus, and his role as intercessor.

Keywords: Christ Mediator Easter Prayer

Timeline/Series: Words from the Cross

Introduction

There is no better place to begin a study of Jesus’ intercessory prayer on the cross than to examine other places where we find Jesus engaging in prayer. Clearly, his prayer-life and his spiritual purpose are tied strongly together.

Go, in your mind’s eye, and take a position where you can view Jesus at prayer. Go first to the Jordan and watch His baptism. Luke 3:21f “As Jesus was baptized and prayed, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit came in the bodily form of a dove.” God crowns Christ’s surrender in death with the dove which is the symbol of peace.

Then in the wilderness view him praying and fasting. In Matthew 4:1f the devil sought to tempt Jesus to find a less painful way, and less effective, to work at the objective of God. It was through prayer and fasting that Jesus achieved.

Observe occasions when Jesus was beset by weariness. He sought a place of prayer. Mark 1:32f “And at even . . . they brought unto him all that were diseased, . . . and all the city was gathered at the door. . . . And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.” We have different ideas today about “resorting,” but for Jesus it meant “to pray.” When Jesus ministered to the needs around Him, He gave of his spiritual vitality and strength. It could only be reclaimed in communion with God the Father.

On the occasion when the apostles were called, Luke 6:12f, “ . . . he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day . . . he chose twelve.” How much of this dependence and helplessness on the part of Jesus must we see revealed before we reckon with our own dependence?”

So, now at Calvary, the crowning achievement of Jesus’ life, and again, we find Him at prayer.

I. The Word of Prayer Speaks First of Priority. V34 “Father, forgive them.” This crisis hour requires strong intervention. Pain seems to bring out the best in people who are the more oriented to it. We who seldom experience it are more taken with self-pity. Too easily accepting sin likewise creates a fantasy of rationalization.

There is a correlation between suffering and sin. It is not always the sinner who suffers. The sufferer is not necessarily the one who has sinned. Behind it all is grace, pointing us through the crisis to forgiveness and peace. Here is Jesus, suffering unto death. His suffering is sin-related, but it is not His crime being exorcised on the cross. He chooses to submit to the will of God that we, you and I, might know His strong intervention in our behalf.

Such suffering, related to the will of God, has eternal consequence. Philippians 3:10 “That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His suffering, being made conformable to His death.”

The priority of the moment is that this historical event must express the ultimate will of God. We betray ourselves doctrinally by over-zealous denominationalism. Christ died for our sin is priority. Satan tricks us morally with issues: equality; sexuality; drugs. Being morally right delivers not from sin.

Thus, in prayer on the cross, Jesus teaches us this tremendously important lesson of priority: His determination to do the will of God. Luke 22:42 “Not my will, but Thine.” John 1:13 “Born, not of blood, or of the will of the flesh, nor . . . man, but of God.” Jesus sought for all to know that the Father was to be trusted.

Paul admonished Ephesians (6:4) fathers, and Christians in general, that they were to be related to their children in trust.

The means of forgiveness is set forth. We must know of “the more excellent way.” We must know that it is attainable: by whom, through whom. We must know the cross is the means.

II. The Word of Prayer Speaks Next of Persistence. V34 “Father, forgive them.” Here is a beautiful illustration of the expressiveness of the Greek language. The English translates, “Then said Jesus.” The Greek, however, contains intense repetition. “He kept on saying, over and over, ‘Father, forgive them.’” As He completes this death-dealing passage through Jerusalem: “Father, forgive them.” His hands and feet are nailed: “Father, forgive them.” The Cross is roughly seated, “Father, forgive them.” Of the jeering crowd, “Father, forgive them.” Of the gambling soldiers, “Father, forgive them.” And the disciples would never be able to forget this scene at Calvary.

Such persistence is typified by His fellowship with the Father. Jesus was content to do the will of God. In Deuteronomy 3:25f, Moses sought to go over the Jordan—God said to Moses, “Speak no more unto me of this matter” (wroth). In Jeremiah 20:7, Jeremiah’s dreams of awakening were quashed. “I have been made a laughing stock all day long.”

Jesus encourages us to this same fellowship with the Father. Samson is an Old Testament example. Judges 16:28 “Give me strength only this once, O God, and let me at one stroke be avenged on the Philistines for my eyes.” A New Testament example is Stephen: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” Acts 7:60.

We must also note here for whom Jesus prayed: those believers with breaking heart who accompanied Him here; but as well, the soldiers, the temple police, gloating Sadducee, and grimacing Pharisee; Roman and Jew alike; and for us today, South African of Cape Town or Soweto, Lebanese, of whatever extraction. God seeks our forgiveness and Christ arranged it. The them is us, and we must pursue it.

III. The Word of Prayer Speaks Lastly of Performance. “Father, forgive them. We are guilty beyond measure.” Our guilt is multiplied. We are guilty of sin as charged. Matthew 15:18 “Those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.”

We are made twice guilty when we pay only lip service to the Christ of the cross. I Peter 4:13 “Rejoice inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.”

The real performance of our lives revolves around the cross of Jesus. Do you understand why He went to the cross? Do you understand it was with your sin (not sins) in mind? Can you grasp that unless you allow His death to cover your sin, nothing else ever will?

Marvelous grace of our loving Lord, Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt,

Yonder on Calvary’s mount outpoured, There where the blood of the Lamb is spilt.

Dark is the stain that we cannot hide, What can avail to wash it away?

Look! There is flowing a crimson tide; Whiter than snow you may be today.

Grace Greater than Our Sin, #164

The prayer of Jesus performed one thing more. It eased the agony through which He was going. It was not the agony of raw nerves, untended wounds, or insult, or indifferent masses, then and now. It was the agony of separation from the Father.

Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer, That calls me from a world of care,

And bids me at my Father’s throne, Make all my wants and wishes known.

In seasons of distress and grief, My soul has often found relief,

And oft escaped the tempter’s snare, By thy return, sweet hour of prayer.

Sweet Hour of Prayer

Lest we forget, nothing shows His consciousness of His Sonship like this prayer: God’s will first, and dealing with man’s sin effectively.

What remains is obedience on our part.

***THE REMAINDER OF THIS SERMON HAS BEEN LOST***