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foreign you you you you you you you [Music] now you welcome to everyone it's good to be back or in the house of god on this lord's day just a couple of announcements tonight in our evening service we'll have the participate in the lord's supper and then a reminder our wednesday night bible studies begins at 7 30. uh we meet in the fellowship hall where presently in the book of exodus exodus 20 we'll be looking at the sixth commandment god willing this wednesday night well for our call to worship you can turn with me in your bibles to psalm 148 psalm 148. i'll begin reading in verse 1 praise the lord praise the lord from the heavens praise him in the heights praise him all his angels praise him all his hosts praise him sun and moon praise him all you stars of light praise him you heavens of heavens and you waters above the heavens let them praise the name of the lord for he commanded and they were created he also established them forever and ever he made a decree which shall not pass away praise the lord from the earth you great sea creatures and all the depths fire and hail snow and clouds stormy wind fulfilling his word mountains and all hills fruitful trees and all cedars beasts and all cattle creeping things and flying fowl kings of the earth and all peoples princes and all judges of the earth both young men and maidens old men and children let them praise the name of the lord for his name alone is exalted his glory is above the earth and heaven and he has exalted the horn of his people the praise of all his saints of the children of israel a people near to him praise the lord amen well please turn to psalm 99 psalm 99 a as in alpha and when you find that please stand and we'll sing together [Music] foreign [Music] is foreign [Music] foreign [Music] is [Music] yes [Music] uh [Music] this morning as we pray we'll remember jonathan hall i've been given an encouraging update he was able to have coffee today so he's on the improve and we can bless god for that and then as well if you take a copy of the church newsletter the front page there's a girl called leah we have prayed for her for quite a while she has been held by boko haram in nigeria for four years and her crime is that she will not renounce jesus christ a lot of the others that were kidnapped were able to get set free but they have held on to her because she is a faithful christian woman so we'll remember her in our prayers so let us look to god our god and our father we come to you on this wonderful and beautiful day and truly the heavens declare your righteousness and your majesty and your glory as we look at the creatures we look at the things that you have made it leads us back to consider the creator the god of absolute sovereign glory and power we acknowledge that you are from everlasting to everlasting we acknowledge your handiwork in the created order we acknowledge your power in providence and in your government over all things and we acknowledge as well your grace and your mercy in the gospel of our salvation we praise you for redemption through our lord jesus christ we praise you father son and holy spirit for so great a blessing that you have given to us we know god that you chose us in him before the foundation of the world we know that his life his death his resurrection is the means by which we are saved and we know that it's the power of the holy spirit who takes that finished work of the savior and applies it to your people so god we pray that you would be glorified in this glad hour that as we approach you we would do so with reverence and with fear knowing that you are a thrice holy god that you are majestic that you are exalted on high but may it be mingled with thanksgiving and with joy and with with great gratitude for what you have done in terms of salvation we know god that you have not dealt with us according to our sin nor have you rewarded us according to our transgression but as the psalmist said as far as the east is from the west so you have removed our iniquity god help us to ponder these things not just on the lord's day but each and every day may we live in light of the cross of our lord jesus christ may we love him may we glorify him may we serve him in this lower world and god we pray even now that others who are still dead in their trespasses and sins would be awakened by that powerful voice of god most high as it comes to the gospel we ask lord in heaven that you had opened the hearts and minds and eyes of sinners here and elsewhere wherever the gospel is proclaimed to see their place before a holy god and may they see jesus christ as the sufficient savior for all sinners who draw nigh unto god through him and may it be the case today that sinners would come by grace to believe on him and to receive that forgiveness and that righteousness that the creature so desperately needs forgive all of us for our sin and remaining corruption we know that you have saved us and have called us to live in a manner that is consistent with that holy gospel and yet we find in us that remaining corruption and we confess it even now and trust in that precious blood of the lord jesus christ to wash us and to cleanse us and to purify us and god we cry out as well for help from on high for the provision and the power of the holy spirit in our daily lives that we may live in a manner that is consistent with your word and that we may bring glory and honor to you as john said i write these things so that you may not sin but if anyone does sin we have an advocate with the father even jesus christ the righteous and we rejoice in that lord god we rejoice in what you have done in the gospel of our salvation we know there is none righteous no not one there is none who seeks after you there is no fear of god before the eyes of those you've made in your image and yet father in your grace and according to your great mercy you've saved us you've washed us you've cleansed us you've given us everything necessary for life eternal and so god as we sing today and as we turn our attention to the holy scripture and tonight when we come to the supper may our minds be drawn out to praise and to worship and to adoration of our great and our blessed god even father son and holy spirit we pray for other churches in our community we thank you that we're not alone in this town we pray for your great blessing upon the churches of christ that are preaching the gospel that are worshiping you in spirit and in truth we pray for those men that are that are going into the pulpit today that you would open their eyes and hearts to the truth as it is in jesus and give them boldness and courage to proclaim the gospel of everlasting life we ask god that you'd bless the saints in surrey and our our sister church there we pray for the saints in vernon and thank you for what you are doing there as well god we pray for those in northern ontario and dryden we just commit them to you into the word of your grace and pray that there would be a faithful church established in that community and god bless the work in honduras we thank you for pastors carlos and luis we pray those men would be faithful ministers of the whole council of god almighty we continue to pray for ralito and for anna lee that all would go well in terms of her surgery and her return back to their their their life in honduras as well god we think of the persecuted church as we were reminded this morning and god our hearts go out to this girl leah what a rebuke for so many in the western world that are so weak when it comes to the propagation of the gospel and when it comes to holding fast with reference to the truth as it is in jesus and what an encouragement to see your hand of mercy upon her the way that you have preserved her the way that she has not renounced her faith in the living god we pray that you would watch over her and her little children and we pray that she would be free soon and that she would be able to return to her home and not and if that is not the case god continue to give her the grace and and the mercy that she needs to persevere in the midst of this most trying situation we pray for the church in china as we read in the last hour again that the government is oppressing even further uh prohibiting the the free exchange of any sort of religious freedom we know god that this is a great perplexity for the saints there and yet as they have been oppressed and persecuted in the past they have nevertheless gone forward in the fear of god lord bless the church there give them grace and strength to be able to glorify you and to shine as lights in that crooked and perverse generation and may they hold forth your word of truth and father we pray for our nation we see the the the great difficulties of the last few weeks and even the last couple of years and god we pray for a reprieve and we pray for your help from on high we ask that you would give wisdom to our governing authorities that they would do what they do in a manner that is consistent and and good ultimately for the body politic we are suspicious of this we confess and we wonder at times lord god in heaven how long until such are removed and yet father we know that as a brother steve prayed this morning these are your men these are your women these are persons that are that are serving according to your sovereign providence the apostle says let every soul be subject to the governing authority for there is no authority except from god and those which exist are established by god so help us to continue in prayer help us to continue in faithfulness and help us lord god to continue in witness bearing to the truth as it is in jesus christ our lord help us lord god to have those opportunities help us lord god to even seek those opportunities out to tell sinners about the glory of jesus christ and the salvation by grace through faith in him as well god we see a lack of commitment a lack of respect for the sixth commandment in this land we see the wholesale murder of babies in their mother's wombs and it graves our hearts and god we pray against such things as well the euthanizing of of elderly folk and and sick people god this is a horrendous assault upon the image of god in man and we just cry out to you that in your wrath you would remember mercy that you would turn the hearts of those in high places in such a way that there would be respect for the the sanctity of life as well our father we pray for the various needs in our own congregation here we thank you for this good report concerning jonathan we just asked god in heaven that he would continue to improve day by day that he would have health and strength and that this cancer would be mitigated and that he would be able to return to his wife and children and to his normal life and work we ask god or we praise you god for what you have done in terms of his provision and protection thus far and we just ask that you would continue with their family continue to look with favor upon them and just cause him to be a a pointer a marker to the test to the faithfulness of god most high relative to his people and their sufferings we pray for bev we just ask god in heaven that you would give her health we pray for mrs bolt and for mrs van shaykh we just commit them to you and to the word of your grace and as well god we pray for the new felts that you would just continue to watch over this family and lord thank you again for this opportunity thank you for the beautiful day thank you for the fellowship of the saints thank you for the worship of the living and true god and may you bless us now and we pray through jesus christ our lord amen we can turn with me again in your hymn books to number and seventy number one seven zero and we'll stand together so oh [Music] so yes uh [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] yes [Music] yes [Music] well you can turn with me in your bibles to second timothy chapter one for our scripture reading second timothy chapter one this is paul's last letter that he wrote before he died and you see that at the end of chapter four he understands that the time of his departure is at hand he had fought the good fight he had finished the race and he had kept the faith and he knew that he was departing and would receive that crown of righteousness that the lord had promised to him so it was written about 8064. so the book of acts ends at about a.d 62 with the apostle in jail or about 60 and then he spent two years in jail about 62 he got out again and he engaged in further ministry he was rearrested he's being held in rome at this particular time and as i said he knows that he's going to die nero was at the helm at this particular time and nero was nuts by this particular time he was a political leader obviously a caesar in rome who in the mid 50s wasn't bad he was restrained by some decent counselors but by this time he has gone off the reservation as they say uh rome burnt and he blamed the christians for having done that so the apostle understands that his time is short so it's very instructive for us you see that sort of 11th hour emphasis often times you see it in the bible you see it at person's end of life they call for their families and they seek to impart upon them some wisdom or some sort of nuggets for instruction to leave with their families so ii timothy is that context second timothy is what paul says to this young ministerial companion with reference to his life and conduct as a pastor and with reference to the church of the lord jesus christ so i'll read beginning in second timothy 1 at verse 1. paul an apostle of jesus christ by the will of god according to the promise of life which is in christ jesus to timothy a beloved son grace mercy and peace from god the father and christ jesus our lord i thank god whom i serve with a pure conscience as my forefathers did as without ceasing i remember you in my prayers night and day greatly desiring to see you being mindful of your tears that i may be filled with joy when i call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you which dwelt first in your grandmother lois and your mother eunice and i am persuaded is in you also therefore i remind you to stir up the gift of god which is in you through the laying on of my hands for god has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our lord nor of me his prisoner but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of god who saved us and called us with the holy calling not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace which was given to us in christ jesus before time began but has now been revealed by the appearing of our savior jesus christ who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel to which i was appointed a preacher an apostle and a teacher of the gentiles for this reason i also suffer these things nevertheless i am not ashamed for i know whom i have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep what i have committed to him until that day hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me in faith and love which are in christ jesus that good thing which was committed to you keep by the holy spirit who dwells in us this you know that all those in asia have turned away from me among whom are phy jealous and hermogenes the lord grant mercy to the household of vanessa forest for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chain but when he arrived in rome he sought me out very zealously and found me the lord grant to him that he may find mercy from the lord in that day and you know very well how many ways he ministered to me at ephesus amen well in the first place we see paul's prayer for timothy in verses three to five and notice that timothy's coming to christ was through the use of means god saves he is sovereign it is him that opens the heart it is him that gives the graces of faith and repentance such that sinners can close with them but god does use means and we see the means here were a faithful mother and grandmother when verse 5 he says when i call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you which dwelt first in your grandmother lois and your mother eunice later on he'll be able to tell timothy remember or take heed or or consider the scriptures that that were taught to you from your youth so his grandmother and his mother were faithful in the education of their child he then exhorts timothy or gives timothy a particular call or charge notice in verse 8 therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our lord nor of me his prisoners but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of god in other words timothy you need to take seriously the ministry that has been given to you you're not in this for your own self you're not in this for your own personal fulfillment or realization or actualization but you are a servant of god most high and as a servant of god most high you're not to be ashamed of paul who is suffering not because of crime but because of his offense of preaching the gospel in the roman empire but as well you're supposed to follow in my train also you're not to let the threat of jail or the threat of beheading or the threat of other kinds of capital punishment dissuade you from doing your job you're supposed to remain faithful no matter what the external pressures are so the apostle tells timothy how timothy is to conduct himself and then notice that the apostle highlights the sovereign sovereignty of god in the salvation of sinners notice he speaks of the power of god verse 8 and then verse 9 who has saved us and called us with a holy calling not according to our works none of us go to heaven because of our works we go to heaven because of jesus works we go to heaven because of god's grace and faith in our lord jesus so not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace which was given to us in christ jesus notice it says before time began this wasn't some new thing in the plan of god that sinners might actually believe no it was purposed by god decreed by god predestined by god such that it would occur that men from every tribe every tongue every people every nation and a great multitude of them would come to the savior that is by design so when paul rehearses the gospel of our salvation he doesn't begin first in history he begins an eternity pass before time began god chose us unto salvation and then notice one final thought in verses 13 and following he tells timothy two crucial things in verses 13 and 14 hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me in faith and love which are in christ jesus notice what he does not say have coffee with everybody be the most gregarious fellow in the in the community that you serve no i mean he's not probably telling him not to have coffee or not to be a gregarious fellow but the emphasis for gospel ministry is hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me in faith and love which are in christ jesus in other words timothy you need to hold it fast for your own safety and your own stability and security and so that you'll be able to teach others also it is sound words it is sound doctrine it is the truth of god's holy gospel that stabilizes the church that advances the church and that brings sinners out of darkness into marvelous light it is a most high and lofty and noble calling and why in the world ministers today have sacrificed that for a whole host of other things i don't think i'll ever know so not only does he say hold fast the pattern of sound words but then notice in verse 14 that good thing which was committed to you keep by the holy spirit who dwells in us paul didn't spend this time cultivating timothy passing on this information to timothy so that timothy could abandon it when paul died and timothy could go out and be a televangelist no timothy was to to retain the standard of sound words and he was to keep that by the holy spirit and then paul ends this chapter by furnishing timothy with examples phy jealous and hermogenes bad men they heard of paul's suffering they heard of paul's imprisonment and they abandoned paul o'nessa forest however was a good man o nessa forest heard about paul suffering in a roman prison and so anessa forest sought to alleviate the discomfort of the apostle that is the emphasis it is steadfastness it is faithfulness and it is perseverance with reference to the things that god has called us unto that's what paul wants not only from ministers but from churchmen as well he doesn't call us to be famous but faithful he doesn't call us to be sensational but he calls us to be sound he doesn't call us to be you know the most popular fellows on the face of the earth but persevering pastors who do the work of the ministry in a manner that god is pleased with may god indeed raise up from among us men like that and may god raise up men like that for what i think are some difficult times coming and if god is pleased to give us those sorts of trials and afflictions may he be pleased as well to give us an elijah may he be pleased as well to give us a john the baptist may he give us the sort of men that by god's grace have kept to it in the midst of trial and affliction and haven't shrank back from declaring the whole counsel of god well let us pray our father in heaven we thank you for what we see in this chapter of holy scripture a man like paul a great man a man blessed richly by god arrested for criminal activity we notice that governments don't arrest men for teaching about unicorns or fairy tales or things that are make-believe but they are threatened by the kingship of our blessed sovereign christ and god we thank you for what paul exemplifies in the pages of holy scripture we thank you for the faithfulness of a timothy that received this instruction and that that acted upon it and we pray for like men in our own church our churches and we pray for that [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] positionally through the gospel of john we're in chapter five and our focus this morning will be verses 31 to 40. but i'll begin reading in chapter 5 at verse 16 by way of reminder chapter 5 verses 1 2 15 is an account where jesus healed a man that was paralyzed and as a result of his healing him he told him to rise up take his mat and walk well the jews saw that and they thought that this was a vile uh offense on the sabbath day so they then question our lord jesus and that's the the section we're in now so notice in chapter 5 at verse 16 for this reason the jews persecuted and sought to kill him because he had done these things on the sabbath but jesus answered them my father has been working until now and i have been working therefore the jews sought all the more to kill him because he not only broke the sabbath but also said that god was his father making himself equal with god then jesus answered and said to them most assuredly i say to you the son can do nothing of himself but what he sees the father do for whatever he does the son also does in like manner for the father loves the son and shows him all things that he himself does and he will show him greater works than these that you may marvel for as the father raises the dead and gives life to them even so the son gives life to whom he will for the father judges no one but has committed all judgment to the son that all should honor the son just as they honor the father he who does not honor the son does not honor the father who sent him most assuredly i say to you he who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has everlasting life and shall not come into judgment but is passed from death into life most assuredly i say to you the hour is coming and now is when the dead will hear the voice of the son of god and those who here will live for as the father has life in himself so he has granted the son to have life in himself and has given him the authority or given him authority to execute judgment also because he is the son of man do not marvel at this for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear his voice and come forth those who have done good to the resurrection of life and those who have done evil to the resurrection of condemnation i can of myself do nothing as i hear i judge and my judgment is righteous because i do not seek my own but the will of the father who sent me if i bear witness of myself my witness is not true there is another who bears witness of me and i know that the witness which he witnesses of me is true you have sent to john and he has borne witness to the truth yet i do not receive testimony from man but i say these things that you may be saved he was the burning and shining lamp and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his life but i have a greater witness than john's for the works which the father has given me to finish the very works that i do bear witness of me that the father has sent me and the father himself who sent me has testified of me you've neither heard his voice at any time nor seen his form but you do not have his word abiding in you because whom he sent him you do not believe you search the scriptures for in them you think you have eternal life and these are they which testify of me but you are not willing to come to me that you may have life i do not receive honor from men but i know you that you do not have the love of god in you i have come in my father's name and you do not receive me if another comes in his own name him you will receive how can you believe who receive honor from one another and do not seek the honor that comes from the only god do not think that i shall accuse you to the father there is one who accuses you moses and whom you trust for if you believed moses you would believe me for he wrote about me but if you do not believe his writings how will you believe my words amen well let us pray our father we thank you for the written word of the living and true god we pray now for the ministry of the holy spirit who gave us that word we ask that you would guide and lead our hearts that you would give us uh illumina illumination in our minds that we would behold the glory of jesus christ as it set forth so clearly in john's gospel again forgive us for all of our sin open any dead hearts to receive the truth as it is in jesus such that sinners may come to him that they have everlasting life and we pray this in jesus name amen well as i said the particular context is a display of christ's glory in the ministry of healing that particular paralyzed man and so initially they thought that jesus was just a sabbath breaker but then jesus gave us the rationale for his works on the sabbath day the rationale of his father who worked ever since the creation of the world in providence now that really outraged them that really incensed them notice in verse 18. it says therefore the jews sought all the more to kill him because he not only broke the sabbath but also said that god was his father making himself equal with god now the theological word making himself equal with god is consubstantial that means one substance with we already see this in john's gospel at chapter 1. if you notice in chapter 1 verse 1 it tells us in the beginning was the word that's jesus christ so in the beginning was the word and the word was with god and the word was god one in substance with the father and so the jews understand his claim in chapter 5 and as i said it makes them very unhappy now they not only want to kill him for what they perceive to be sabbath-breaking but they want to kill him for blasphemy blasphemy according to leviticus 24 was punishable by death and as far as they were concerned a man equating himself with a man asserting consubstantiality with the father was a likely candidate to be stoned to death for having committed the sin of blasphemy so it's very curious as to how jesus responds what will he do how is he going to navigate how is he going to avoid this particular implication well he meets it head on and confirms it he tells them you're absolutely positively right i am equal with my father i am consubstantial with the father and he first indicates that by his relation to the father in verses 19 to 23 and then secondly by two god befitting tasks that are his giving of life and then judgment and so he does assert that they have charged him or the the charge that they have leveled against him what they've said is actually true and now in this section that we're considering this morning verses 31 to 40 he calls in witnesses for the defense remember a capital offense has been alleged jesus gives his own testimony concerning his relation to the father and now he points to witnesses with reference to the defense so we'll look first at the assurance of multiple witnesses in verses 31 and 32 and then the appeal to multiple witnesses in verses 33 to 40. notice in the first place the insufficiency of one witness look at verse 31 which is a curious statement from one who describes himself later as the way the truth and the life notice he says if i bear witness of myself my witness is not true now i think the margin in the new king james is better here and it reads valid as testimony john gill says for true here is not opposed to that which is false but to that which is not valid in law turn over to john chapter 8 where we see a similar confrontation between jesus and the religious leaders of his day jesus asserts in verse 12 i am the light of the world he who follows me shall not walk in darkness but have the light of life verse 13 the pharisees therefore said to him you bear witness of yourself your witness is not true your witness is not valid as testimony jesus answered in verse 14 and said to them even if i bear witness of myself my witness is true factually for i know where i come from and where i am going but you do not know where i come from and where i am going in other words in your confusion my testimony means nothing to you but back to john chapter 5 remember the context they have alleged that he is guilty of two capital offenses in deuteronomy 17 and deuteronomy 19 the loss of witnesses or the law of witnesses demands two or three witnesses in a capital offense so for jesus to say my testimony is not valid in a courtroom is absolutely positively legitimate so he points to the witness testimony he points to those who can confirm that what he is saying is in fact true that he is in fact equal with god that he is in fact consubstantial with the father that's the emphasis that he undertakes and it shows us just practically in a western civilization that is abandoning the principle jesus regard for due process in other words there are laws there are stipulations there are regulations governing justice in the civil polity there are laws that must be respected in terms of witnesses and evidences and argument and examination it really should concern us brethren that there is a disregard for that due process that is going on today in the western world i know it's going on in not the western world but we happen to live in the western world and this should alarm us when witnesses and examination and evidences and all of that are subjugated they're kept at bay instead of bringing them out so that persons can sufficiently be informed concerning a particular matter so christ is not saying he's telling falsehoods he's not saying he's lying he's only saying that his testimony as a singular individual is not valid in terms of testimony relative to the law of witnesses now notice he assures them that there are multiple witnesses in verse 32 he says there is another who bears witness of me and i know that the witness which he witnesses of me is true that either refers to john the baptist about who he's going to presently speak or the father who he's going to speak to speak of later either way doesn't matter so let's now move to the appeal to multiple witnesses there are four you have the testimony of john the baptist in verses 33 to 35 you have the testimony of jesus own works in verse 36 the testimony of the father in verses 37 and 38 and then the testimony of scripture in verses 39 to 40. all of these corroborate that christ is consubstantial with the father that he really is equal with the father they do that work of two or three witnesses notice in the first place the testimony of john the baptist notice the nature of it in verses 33 and 34. he says you have sent to john and he is born witness to the truth go back to john chapter 1. john chapter 1 and what we call the prologue john the apostle sets forth the role of john the baptist he does that in chapter 1 verses 6 to 8. notice there was a man sent from god whose name was john this man came for a witness to bear witness of the light that all through him might believe he was not that light but was sent to bear witness of that light he then mentions john the baptist in verse 15 john bore witness of him and cried out saying this was he of whom i said he who comes after me is preferred before me for he was before me now most likely what jesus is referring to in verse 33 you have sent to john is what we find here in chapter 1 at verse 19. notice now this is the testimony of john when the jews sent priests and levites from jerusalem to ask him that is language that should cause us to reflect who are these jews that happen to be in jerusalem that send these priests and levites to to sort of vet the testimony of john the baptist it's the sanhedrin it's the highest body of religious and political leadership in the nation at that particular time and so this sanhedrin this formal council hears about john the baptist in the wilderness of judea testifying concerning jesus christ and they wonder who is this man what kind of fellow is he so they dispatch a delegation to go and figure out who john the baptist is so that is what jesus refers to now notice the witness that john bore with reference to their investigation they first asked him who are you and then he confessed and does not deny he says i'm not the christ i'm not elijah i'm not the prophet and they of course say well who then are you he says i'm the man prophesied in isaiah chapter 40 at verse 3. i'm the forerunner of the messiah i'm the forerunner of the christ i am the one that was sent to announce his presence so this is what jesus is affirming or alluding to in the witness testimony of john the baptist they already knew something concerning jesus because they had talked previously with john the baptist now in terms of the witness that john bore to the truth is what jesus says in 33 b the witness that john bore to the truth as it is in jesus is threefold now there are a lot of other things that john the baptist said but there are three main emphases that i think jesus is alluding to in this witness testimony in the first place john declared that jesus christ is the lamb of god who takes away the sin of the world so john 1 29 john the baptist when he lays eyes upon jesus christ says behold pay attention look and see this is the lamb of god who takes away the sin of the world now if you're not familiar with the old testament this probably doesn't strike you as a very significant statement but in the old testament the way that israel came to their god was through sacrifice they would on a friday afternoon or on a saturday morning grab an animal out of their flock it was a stipulation that they picked the best animal out of their flock not the lame one not the mangy one not the loser in the barnyard brawl but rather they were to chi to pick the best of the flock because that's what sacrifice implies so they would take that particular animal they would take it to the priest at the tabernacle or temple the priest would then cut its throat lay its hands upon it and then cut it up and offer it up to the living actually the the worshiper would cut its throat and then hand it over to the priest in order to make atonement this was typical this prefigured the coming of the lord jesus christ the apostle tells us in hebrews 10 that the blood of bulls and goats could never take away sin but the lamb of god takes away the sin of the world all those things that pointed forward every lamb every goat every pigeon every animal that was sacrificed in that system spoke concerning this event and so the baptist sees him and he says this is the lamb of god who takes away the sin of the world he is god's provision he is god's remedy he is god's answer to man's sin problem the second aspect of john's testimony is in john 1 34 john 1 34 john the baptist describes jesus this way and i have seen and testified that this is the son of god so when jesus is disputing with these jews in john 5 and he invokes the witness testimony of john the baptist these are things they were already already familiar with not only is the the lamb of god but he's also the son of god and son of god there in the mind of john son of god in the mind of john the apostle son of god in the language of the lord jesus christ is not sun by creation it's not sun by adoption it's sun by nature christ is very god of very god that's the whole debate that's the whole dispute that's the whole point and that's what is unique about christianity in every other religion man tries to get to god in christianity god comes down to man the second person of the trinity takes on our humanity with all the essential properties of that humanity and all of the the the likenesses or the infirmities associated with it and yet without sin and christ comes to save us from our sins as the champion as the messiah as the victor as the triumphant lamb but the last thing that john testifies is in john 3 at verse 30. again the testimony of the baptist we've got two johns here john the apostle who wrote john and then we have john the baptist of whom john the apostle is writing so hopefully you keep that clear after i've made it unclear in your heads notice in john 3 30 he must increase but i must decrease john the baptist is a deferring man john the baptist understands the preeminence of our lord jesus and john the baptist is most happy to simply be the friend of the bridegroom who announces the coming of the bridegroom so back to john 5 when jesus says you have sent to john and he has borne witness to the truth this is what jesus means john is a corroborating witness john's testimony is most blessed it is consistent with not only what jesus has said but also to repudiate the charge of blasphemy in the case of jesus now notice with reference to our savior what he says in verse 34 he says yet i do not receive testimony from man again a curious statement well then why did you offer up the testimony from man jesus as the son of god is not dependent upon the creature he doesn't need our affirmation he doesn't need our confirmation he doesn't need us to validate his claim to being consubstantial with the father the creature does these jews do others of us do but christ is not dependent upon the testimony of the john the baptist to confirm that he is in fact consubstantial with the father that's what he means in verse 34 but then notice what he says in verse 34 yet i do not receive testimony from man but i say these things that you may be saved in other words he confirms john's witness he validates john's witness and he sees the effect of receiving john's witness so look at just for a moment these men are outraged with our lord in fact look again at verse 16 and get the import of this for this reason the jews persecuted jesus and sought to kill him because he had done these things on the sabbath verse 18 therefore the jews sought all the more to kill him because he not only broke the sabbath but also said that god was his father making himself equal with god brethren i have an admission or a confession to make somebody wants to kill me i don't know that the first order of business in my heart is to see them saved i'd like to think it's there i'd like to think it would be there i'd like to think it would be something i would want or ponder or desire but i'm not sure i would be this robust in my assertion jesus says john's testimony is such that if you believe it by the grace of god you'll be saved he wants his persecutors to be saved he wants his oppressors to be saved he wants his would-be murderers to be saved this is a very instructive passage and it's consistent with paul's uh uh exhortation in first timothy chapter two we pray for kings and all who are in authority so that we may lead peaceable and quiet lives in all godliness well if we ask the question in context there what do we pray for we pray for their salvation we pray that god opens the heart of justin trudeau and brings him out of darkness in a marvelous light we pray that for the several premieres in canada we pray that for the bible administration we pray that for the chinese communists we pray that god saves them now as you know there are other prayers that we can legitimately offer up but in this particular context jesus is underscoring the validity and legitimacy of praying even for those who persecute you praying even for those who want to destroy you praying for those who want to murder you who are falsely alleging things that are not true and want to to to see you dead as a result of their wickedness and of their unrighteousness paul the apostle summarizes john's ministry he says john indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance saying to the people that they should believe on him who would come after him that is on christ jesus that's in acts 19 in ephesus that's a great summary statement of john's ministry john's a bit of a peculiar character at times for some of the people of god in the church i mean he eats funny things and he dresses in funny clothes well he looks like elijah the prophet in a new covenant said it but his testimony or his preaching or his declaration or his ministry is gospel ministry he wants you to believe on the lord jesus he wants you to repent from your sins and so jesus invokes the testimony of john not only to corroborate what he has said in terms of his equality with the father but he wants them to be saved you should have listened to john you should receive what he has to say because then by grace you pass from death unto life now notice he doesn't stop there he describes john's ministry in more detail verse 35 he was the burning and shining lamp and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light the baptist preached the truth that's what i think at least the reformed commentary for the most part has seen light as truth and heat as earnestness in other words if this truth is in your heart it has to get out if this truth is in your heart you will proclaim it if this truth is in the place where it ought to be you're not going to leave it there and when you preach it you're not going to do it as some chatty pastor today with his hand in his pocket and his latte in the other hand in his holy jeans and his cool hip sort of jesus talk no john the baptist was a burning and shining lamp he proclaimed the truth as it is in jesus and again look at what jesus says concerning their reception of it verse 35 he was the burning and shining lamp and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his life you were willing for a time there was a curiosity about him there was something about him that drew you there was something about him that intrigued you or interested you it was likely when he started saying things like behold the lamb of god who takes away the sin of the world or jesus is the son of god or he must increase and i must decrease it's probably at that particular time they said oh this he's a madman we don't want anything to do with him the jesus that he preaches they had an axe to grind with so christ invokes the witness testimony of john the baptist in the first place now notice secondly the testimony of jesus works in verse 36 but i have a greater witness than john's for the works which the father has given me to finish the very works that i do bear witness of me that the father has sent me now the works of jesus are a greater witness a greater testimony to the person of jesus than even is the the testimony of john the baptist and the works were given him by the father in order that he might accomplish that in other words the father sends the son into the world and one of the things he does in terms of his earthly ministry is he'll paralyze men like he did in chapter 5 at verses 1 to 15. those are the mighty works that jesus was about now if we ask the question didn't other people do mighty works i mean think back in the old testament when moses appears before pharaoh what happens they throw down the rod and it turns into a serpent the moses tells pharaoh to put his hand into his his garment and he takes it out and it's leprous moses was a man of god a prophet of god and as a result he did the works of god you had elijah the prophet who did miracles you had elijah the prophet who in many ways is one of the most significant types of our lord jesus in the old testament you have the prophets do miracles of god and then after the ministry of our lord jesus the apostles did the works of god so persons might say well what's the difference jesus works are consistent with one cent from god well that would offer up two reasons why they're different in the first place moses and elijah and the apostles never claimed equality with god they didn't do these things and say therefore i am the son of god and therefore consubstantial with him they didn't do that that is a significant difference jesus did that and those men were in fact again by adoption by creation sons of god but they weren't sons of god by nature that's the difference in terms of the works of the lord jesus when we see those works they confirm yes the glory of christ is mediator but it confirms as well the glory of christ as consubstantial with the father and so jesus makes that emphasis in verse 36 i have a greater witness than john's for the works which the father has given me to finish the very works that i do notice bear witness of me that the father has sent me that's a big issue in this section that's a big issue in all of john's gospel this having been sent from the father reflects something concerning theology it's the father who sends the son the father is the one who eternally generates the son the son is sent by the father and these works confirm that particular relation these works confirm that jesus is son of god by nature in a way that moses and elisha and elijah were not the function of christ's work were to confirm his eternal generation from the father and hence the works confirm that he is equal with the father now notice thirdly the testimony of the father you see what jesus is doing sometimes i think we read the bible we kind of wonder what is he doing here well he's answering the charges he is answering the specific allegations that he is guilty of two capital offenses brethren he's not only very god of very god he is very man a very man and as man again he respects due process and as men he uses those legitimate means that god has given to redress sinful accusations and things that could land us in hot water so he gives the testimony now of the father in verses 37 to 38. notice in the first place the testimony of the father to the son now it would be wrong to limit this to matthew 3 matthew 17 but it's not wrong to illustrate with matthew 3 and matthew 17. matthew 3 at the baptism of our lord jesus christ when the spirit descends upon the savior and the voice of the father the voice of approbation comes this is my beloved son in whom i am well pleased he is testified of his son at the mount of transfiguration in matthew 17 at verse 5 jesus as it were displays his divinity and then the voice of the father comes and says this is my beloved son in whom i am well pleased hear him john the apostle the author of john's gospel says in his first epistle if we receive the witness of men the witness of god is greater for this is the witness of god which he has testified of his son so he confirms that verse 37 the father himself who sent me has testified of me do you think they're getting happier as he answers do you think they're getting more won over the when as he proceeds we're upset we want to kill you because you're making yourself equal with god absolutely positively i am equal with god not only in my own relation to the father not only in my own god befitting functions as sovereign over life and and judgment but with reference to the various testimonies not only from john the baptist not only from the works that i do but from the father the very father that you say you serve the very father that you say you worship the very father you say or claim to to glorify and now notice in verse 37 he says you have neither heard his voice at any time nor seen his form perhaps there's an allusion to deuteronomy 4 12. deuteronomy 4 12 and yahweh spoke to you out of the midst of the fire you heard the sound of the words but saw no form you only heard a voice so that is a a very biblical and a very acute observation god is spirit and does not have a body like men this is one of the reasons for the prohibition against idolatry we're not supposed to fashion something even in the uh according to the true and living god that is creature because god is not creature and to try to contain him in golden calves simply cannot do but what jesus is saying not only have you not seen his form but you've not heard his voice now brethren this would be a big challenge to these people right they were brought up in the synagogue these are most likely leaders or some of them that were quite in tune with the scriptures these these were the kinds of guys that that wore phylacteries those were little boxes that you wore on your on your arm or you put it around your head and in those boxes were scripture texts so they knew the scripture they understand the word of god they understand the the reality of yahweh of israel having created all things and having been the governor of all things the god of israel being covenant lord the god of israel being the one who saves his people but with reference to jesus condemnation here he affirms you don't know him you don't have him what do you think he's a a a saying it's going back to chapter 5 verses 23 and 24. look at what he says in verse 23 he who does not honor the son does not honor the father who sent him verse 24 most assuredly i say to you he who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has everlasting life and shall not come into judgment so dropping down to verse 38 or verse 37 when he says you have neither heard his voice at any time nor seen his form he goes on to elaborate or explain this but you do not have his word abiding in you because whom he sent him you do not believe see for all the vague sort of spirituality that exists in our world it's all a bunch of garbage if it is not rooted in the lord jesus christ oh i have a relationship with god as i understand him you know what really doesn't matter in life is as you understand him what matters is the revelation of god from genesis 2 the book of revelation the true and living god the one from everlasting to everlasting the god who made beautiful days like these the god who governs all his creatures and all their actions and the god and father of our lord jesus christ who saves his people from their sins that's the only god there is so this vague notion that i have a relationship with god but i'm not so interested in jesus christ is just like empty futile words look at what the son of god says in verse 38 but you do not have his word abiding in you because whom he sent him you do not believe in other words if you reject the son of god who is son by nature who is consubstantial with the father then you are in effect rejecting the father it's a pretty simple concept really aquinas says consequently anyone who does not believe that he is the son of god does not believe in the testimony of god it's a very simple logical exercise you reject the one whom the father sent therefore you've rejected the father himself and again brethren i do not think for a moment he is winning them over to his side because in verses at the end of the chapter in verses 41 to 47 he continues his indictment he continues his rebuke he continues his reproof of them and says moses himself will bring the charge against you why because moses wrote about me moses is that final testifier or witness and when you say oh we love moses and we love the prophets but you have no regard for the son of god then you are saying in essence we have no regard for moses and no regard for the prophets i think it's pretty simple logic that christ is employing with these particular men now notice fourthly and finally in terms of the witness the testimony of scripture verses 39 and 40. he speaks of their willingness to search the scriptures and then he speaks to their unwillingness to come to the son again it's a paradox if the script scriptures exist to point us to jesus and we don't come to jesus then we really don't care about the scriptures i'm not trying to make this overly simple but that's how simple it is in terms of his approach to these particular leaders or these particular jews look at what he says in verse 39 you search the scriptures it's not a command here it's not an imperative it could be it could go that either way either an imperative or an indicative but it's an indicative he's not saying i want you to search the scriptures i want you to learn of me i want you to find out what moses and the prophet said no he's speaking to something that was their practice you search the scriptures you investigate them you examine them again they wore phylacteries they went to the synagogue they were about the torah about the prophets they were about the writings they they were very curious about what isaiah had to say very curious about obadiah about jonah about micah very curious about the kings and and chronicles and first and second samuel they weren't like us in many respects because they actually searched the bible far more than modern christians do in the the world in which we live so he says you search the scriptures and then he gives the reason why you search them why because in them you think you have eternal life again that's a good thing right if i wanted to find out how to plumb i would go get a book on plumbing if i wanted to find out how to you know do something electrical i'd call lucas or benjamin if i wanted to learn how to fix a car i'd go online or google if i want something about eternal life i go to the bible this is a good thing right the bible holds the words of everlasting life it tells us of a holy god it tells us of sinful man and it tells us of god's provision in the person and in the work of the lord jesus christ so jesus acknowledges this you search the scriptures for in them you think you have eternal life but then notice the issue notice the rub notice the problem you do all this searching you're looking for eternal life but you've missed this fundamental point these are they which testify of me big problem again you guys have read moses you've read the prophets you've read the writings you've searched for eternal life and all those things have converged at this very moment in redemptive history in the coming of the lamb of god who takes away the sin of the world you search those scriptures you think in them you have eternal life but these are they which testify of me that does a great deal with reference to those people i am sure they did not like this one bit we don't get sort of their response at the end of chapter 5. we get it at the end of chapter 10 where there's a similar construct where jesus there is accused of making himself equal with god i wonder why because in john 10 30 he says i and the father are one how many times do we need to hear this right jesus is god this isn't made up this wasn't nicea that put this together nicea only confirms what the bible teaches concerning our blessed triune god father son and holy spirit but in john 10 after he makes that assertion what do they do they get outraged again because he made himself equal with god and then they take up stones to throw at him same sort of thing in john chapter 8. so probably here at the end of john 5 after giving them these sort of truth bombs or red pills or whatever we want to call them they did not like this and i'm sure they did not like verse 39 you search the scriptures for in them you think you have eternal life and these are they which testify of me now that's an interesting statement the bible illustrates that further christ is the scope of scripture christ is the telos christ is the purpose christ is the reason there's a comment on ruth chapter 4 verses 17 to 22 that i want to read that sort of summarizes this you might go why ruth chapter four you know what the point of ruth is it's ruth chapter 4 verses 17 to 22. it's not the love story it's a beautiful love story i mean i could see it today all the women reading those romance novels oh ruth what a wonderful woman what a virtuous woman and a virtuous woman she was she's mentioned that way twice in the book of ruth in the jewish canon you've got ruth then proverbs right proverbs is the proverbs 31 is the virtuous woman well with reference to ruth it's all about the genealogy it's all about the end it's all about the end game and how it connects us to the lord jesus christ john gill says with reference to this brief comment in ruth 4 the principal design of it is to give the genealogy of david whom samuel had anointed to be king of israel and from whom the messiah was to come and who therefore may be said to be the aim and scope of it as he is all of scripture and whereby it appears that he sprung from both jews and gentiles and his savior of both and there is good foundation for both to hope in him and the call and conversion of ruth the mobitus may be considered as a shadow emblem and pledge of the conversion of the gentiles but you see jesus emphasis on jesus being scope of the scriptures in luke's gospel you can turn there it's very close luke 24 luke chapter 24 notice what jesus says in verse 25 then jesus or then he said to them of foolish ones and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken ought not the christ who have suffered these things and to enter into his glory and beginning at moses and all the prophets he expounded to them in all the scriptures the things concerning what concerning himself verse 44 then he said to them these are the words which i spoke to you while i was still with you that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of moses and the prophets and the psalms concerning what concerning me and he opened their understanding that they might comprehend the scriptures remember peter preaching to the household of cornelius in acts chapter 10 verse 43 he says to him jesus christ do all the prophets testify or witness that whoever believes in his name will have everlasting life christ is scope of the scriptures and that's what he says to these jews and then he ends on this note at least in our sermon this morning you're probably happy to hear that verse 40 but you are not willing so they have this willingness to search the scriptures they have this willingness to find eternal life unfortunately for them it leads them to the one they presently want to murder that kind of is a conundrum for them and a bit of an enigma and then he highlights this reality in their setting but you are not willing to come to me that you may have life the unconverted jews miss the point of the bible the unconverted jews missed the point of moses and the prophets they missed it not by a little bit just kind of almost they missed it by a mile as well the coming to the sun that he refers to notice but you are not willing to come to me that you may have life the willing or the coming to the son is for eternal life you hear about you know christians talking about faith in jesus believe on jesus that's what it means to come to jesus notice in the next chapter in john chapter 6 several times he alludes to this verse 35 i am the bread of life he who comes to me shall never hunger and he who believes in me shall never thirst again in verse 37 he says all that the father gives me will what will come to me and the one who comes to me i will by no means cast out verse 44 no one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws him and i will raise him up the last day john 6 45 it is written in the prophets all they that all they shall uh and they shall all be taught of god or taught by god therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the father comes to me and then again in verse 65 same emphasis for jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe and would betray him and he said therefore i have said to you that no one can come to me unless it has been granted to him by the father so this idea of coming to jesus if you're not a believer here this morning this is the point coming to jesus doesn't mean you're getting a rocket ship and fly to heaven and find jesus it means to believe the gospel it means to stop looking at yourself it means to stop looking at your so-called good works it means to stop thinking well you know i'm not that bad so i'll probably make it into heaven no you are that bad you're a whole lot worse than you can even imagine the bible will tell you about that if you give it a time give it some time to do so it is faith in our lord it is belief in the gospel of our lord people here that are going to heaven are not going to heaven because they're good they're not going to heaven because they're righteous they're not going to heaven because they keep god's law every jot and tittle they're going to heaven because jesus is good because jesus is righteous because jesus kept the law every jot and tittle and by grace the people here going to heaven have believed in him and when you believe in him you're both cleansed in his blood and clothed in his righteousness it is most glorious and most wonderful and when jesus says you are not willing to come to me that you may have life he is not celebrating man's free will he is condemning that will he is indicting that will now it's a common fallacy that the reformed reject the notion of free will we don't reject the notion of free will at all but we see that there are differences in terms of the state of man man in his original integrity before he fell his free will was such that he could do both good and bad man in a state of sin only can do that which is bad man in a state of grace again has been restored to a place where he's able to do that which is good and he still struggles doing that which is bad and then the state of man in glory his will is confirmed only to do the good so it's not a negation of free will among the reform it's a qualification of free will among the reformed that is most crucial but in this passage he is not saying to them that it's your free will alone unaided by the power of the holy spirit that will bring you out of darkness into life no it's simply making the observation man's will is bound by his wicked heart and their wicked heart was on full display in the fact that they wanted to destroy him who was in fact the son of god by nature testified to by the baptist his own works the father and the scriptures that they themselves said they had allegiance unto john gill speaks to this issue in terms of free will he says in such the depravity perverseness and stubbornness of their wills that they had no inclination desire and will to come to christ any more than power which is an argument against and not for the free will of man unless it be that which is evil he says yeah it's an argument for free will if you only under if you understand under evil man's heart is affected or man's will rather is affected by his heart and if the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked and no one can understand it that argues what john teaches us in john 3 or jesus teaches us in john 3 you must be born again so christ ends the dispute not here but he will god willing in our study next week with rebuke with indictment and with reproof well just a couple of observations and then we'll go first the wretched state of these unbelieving jews what a bad place to be right you've lived your life you've gone to synagogue you've gone to you know rabbi school you've loved you've learned you've studied torah you've studied the prophets you've studied the rabbis and you've missed everything they had to say you've missed it by by a million miles the searching of scripture for eternal life and completely missing the point see if that's you and you're not saved and you're sort of reading the scriptures ponder this passage ponder that that jesus is in the old testament it's a bad thing today that we're only giving people new testaments we need the old testament too the old testament is as much full of christ as is the new testament and if we are shortchanging them with information concerning christ that's not good perhaps you've read recently where the cdc hid data with reference to kovid19 that's atrocious that's horrifying but do we do that in the church with persons concerning jesus give them whole bibles brethren we're rich enough wealthy enough to buy both testaments to give to our unconverted friends search the scriptures with this mindset they tell me and they lead me to jesus it's about christ if you don't have christ you don't have life and that's the horrible state these jews find themselves in secondly and i want to camp on this just for a moment because i don't ever want to leave without holding up the baptist as a good example not in terms of his ecclesiology but in terms of his ministry kind of goes along with what we read in second timothy chapter one timothy was to be the kind of man that was bold and courageous in the midst of suffering and persecution and oppression john the baptist was that kind of man when jesus is asked or when john sends a delegation john's in prison the baptist and he asks jesus are you the christ are you the coming one or do we wait for another he's not actually wondering concerning the identity of jesus he knows the identity of jesus but he knows the prophet isaiah the prophet isaiah says that consistent with the coming of the messiah there will be healing there will be blessing there will be liberty there will be joy well john the baptist is in a prison he's probably thinking to himself if this is the time of messiah then was a good guy like me sitting in a prison cell so jesus then praises the ministry of john the baptist fact turn to matthew 11. this is the kind of guy you should pray for in terms of eldership in terms of missions in terms of pastoring in terms of preaching the world has enough effeminate nancy boys standing in pulpits with their hands in their pockets we need john the baptist we need timothies we need paul's notice in verse 4 jesus answered and said to them go tell john the things which you hear and see the blind see the lame walk the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear the dead are raised dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them and blessed is he who is not offended because of me so go answer john go answer john the baptist tell him this is what isaiah spoke of because these things are consistent with the ministry of messiah now notice in verse 7 as they departed jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning john what did you go out in the wilderness to see a reed shaken by the wind did you go out to see a nancy did you go out to see an effeminate man did you go out to see somebody who was easily knocked off his game by the prevailing winds of doctrine no you didn't go out to see a reed shaken by the wind you went out to see a man who is going to tell you 16 ounces to the pound biblical truth every time he opens his mouth and then notice in verse 8 but what did you go out to see a man clothed in soft garments indeed those who wear soft clothing are in king's houses probably a reference to court prophets remember the pro or the kings would would hire men that would tell them what they wanted them to hear that instance in first samuel first yeah first samuel chapter 22 with ahab and with uh ahab and jehoshaphat and ahab wants an alliance with jehoshaphat and jehoshaphat says well going against syria in war so jehoshaphat says are there any prophets to sort of confirm this decision and so they trot out all the court prophets and all the court prophets say oh yeah go into battle certainly you're going to win and then jehoshaphat probably a little bit suspicious by this consistent testimony he said is there no one else ahab sullenly says well yeah there is this one he never tells me what i want to hear he doesn't tell me what i want and then jehoshaphat thankfully says well let's probably hear what he has to say so michaela comes and tells him you're going to die on the battlefield ahab you know what that got him did he get him a promotion did it get him a new car did it get him a wife with big hair no it got him jail time and bread and water so the baptist was not a court prophet verse nine but what did you go out to see a prophet yes i say to you and more than a prophet now when we pray for pastors we pray for missionaries we pray for elders to be raised up in our churches they're not going to be the same as the baptist in terms of his role or function and redemptive his history he's not that's just not but in terms of the spirit and the power of about of john the baptist that that burning and shining lamp brethren we have the word of god we have the theological goods we have the truth as it is in jesus what do we do with that we preach it we proclaim it we herald it we thunder it the voice of yahweh crushes the cedars of lebanon according to psalm 29 the voice of yahweh in the scriptures of the new testament older new testament crushes the hardened hearts of men and women and boys and girls so what do we do we proclaim it we pray for god to raise up men to proclaim it of course we see thirdly the glory of the only begotten son the consistent testimony of john the apostle from the very beginning to the very end of his gospel minute a gospel record is that jesus is the christ the son of the living god and that testimony is upheld not just in the prologue and not just in john's sort of ending statement in john 20 30 and 31 but it's in the life and ministry of jesus so what you see in the prologue in chapter one is what you see in the ministry in chapter five the economy reveals to us something concerning the theology the economy underscores what is true in the theology and it underscores this fact that christ is the second person of the trinity that christ came and dwelt among us that christ lived in obedience to the father's law that he died as a substitute and as a sacrifice to function as the lamb of god and then christ was raised the third day such that all who believe in him will have everlasting life now brother don't make the mistake or friend don't make the mistake of these jews don't make the mistake of just you know discounting this just rejecting this we had an interesting thing happened over the weekend some of the little grandkids came and stayed with us and one of the little grandkids she's the cute blonde you see bouncing around in here she wears glasses and my beloved said she's pretty protective of those glasses i said what do you mean she says well whenever she takes them off she uses two hands kid's three and a half i mean i still you know bend them or whatever take them off and and and when she takes them off she carefully lays them on the table at three and a half and i was thinking about this this morning i thought there's probably one of three reasons why she does that first parental pressure if i bought my children things that cost lots of money i threatened them i said don't break these because they cost me a lot of money second is intellectual my wife and i are convinced she's a genius so i think that you know bright people don't break things but the third i thought was probably more appropriate it's practical it's practical she knows the value of the remedy because she understands the gravity of the problem see without those glasses she doesn't see very well they said when she got those glasses and put them on it was like wow right this is great well when something helps you like that you guard it you see the value of the remedy and therefore you understand or because of that value of the remedy it's closely connected to the gravity of the situation i suspect that many here have a concept of sin sin is what those guys out there do sin is a little bit of what i do because i'm not perfect i i do try and if all things being equal and god grades on a curve i'll probably make in it i've never murdered i never committed adultery you don't understand the gravity of the problem you don't understand what westminster catechism says what does every sin deserve every sin deserves god's curse and wrath both in this life and that which is to come when you understand the sin problem jesus is then all together lovely and chief among ten thousand when you understand that you have transgressed god's law not just a little bit but every jot and tittle when you understand that you lack that conformity that god calls you to then jesus comes as that blessed savior as that blessed redeemer as that blessed lord and son of god as the lamb of god who takes away the sin of the world you've got big problems today if you're not a christian and those big problems problems are going to land you in hell and the only escape is through the one that is testifying in the scripture here that he is equal with his father and that he has come to seek and to save that which is lost look to him in faith use the idea that we see here in verse 40 come to him by grace through faith and you will have everlasting life let us pray our father we thank you for your word we thank you for your grace we thank you for the gospel of our salvation and god we do pray that you would undertake on behalf of sinners bring conviction for sin and set before them the blessed christ the one who is able to save to the uttermost all who draw nigh unto you through faith in him we ask that you would look with favor upon this world that you would send forth your glorious gospel conquering and to conquer and we pray in the name of our lord jesus amen let's stand and sing 568 in praise to our great and triune god so so grace of the lord jesus christ and the love of god and the communion of the holy spirit be with you all amen father we pray that these things would be true for each of us that we would know this experientially by your grace and for your glory god we pray that all over the earth as the gospel goes forth you'd open hearts to the grim reality of sin and its consequences and set forth the glory of jesus christ and his power and ability to save sinners and in this god we pray that father son and holy spirit would be glorified would be exalted and would be praised and we ask in jesus name amen please be seated for a brief time of meditation [Music] you