1 00:00:00,166 --> 00:00:01,766 Thank you, Roger Dale. 2 00:00:06,099 --> 00:00:09,266 Every Bible's open with me to the Gospel of John chapter 10. 3 00:00:11,433 --> 00:00:14,166 It's been a Johannian type of week for me. 4 00:00:14,233 --> 00:00:16,699 So we go back to John. 5 00:00:17,699 --> 00:00:22,133 And actually, this is our 2nd message in 6 00:00:22,133 --> 00:00:26,000 covering verses 22 to 42. 7 00:00:27,133 --> 00:00:30,133 So I told you last time we were going to have to split that up into 8 00:00:30,133 --> 00:00:33,366 two messages, and we'll 9 00:00:33,366 --> 00:00:36,433 pick up right where we left off last time, but before we do, I 10 00:00:36,433 --> 00:00:40,033 want to read the whole text in verses 22 to 42. 11 00:00:40,266 --> 00:00:41,299 Look there with me. 12 00:00:43,833 --> 00:00:47,533 At that time, the feast of the dedication took place at Jerusalem. 13 00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:51,700 It was winter, and Jesus was 14 00:00:51,700 --> 00:00:55,500 walking in the temple in the portico of Solomon. 15 00:00:57,100 --> 00:01:00,166 The Jews then gathered around him and were saying to him, 16 00:01:01,100 --> 00:01:02,966 How long will you keep us in suspense? 17 00:01:04,700 --> 00:01:09,933 If you are the Christ, tell us plainly, Jesus answered them. 18 00:01:10,933 --> 00:01:11,599 I told you. 19 00:01:13,133 --> 00:01:16,333 And you do not believe, the 20 00:01:16,333 --> 00:01:20,433 works that I do in my father's name, these testify 21 00:01:20,433 --> 00:01:23,900 of me, but you do 22 00:01:23,900 --> 00:01:27,666 not believe because you 23 00:01:27,666 --> 00:01:29,166 are not of my sheep. 24 00:01:30,500 --> 00:01:33,566 My sheep, hear my voice, and I 25 00:01:33,566 --> 00:01:36,099 know them, and they follow me. 26 00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:38,966 And I give eternal life to them. 27 00:01:40,133 --> 00:01:41,599 And they will never perish. 28 00:01:42,799 --> 00:01:45,200 And no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 00:01:46,500 --> 00:01:50,799 My father, who has given them to me, 30 00:01:50,799 --> 00:01:53,900 is greater than all, and no one is able 31 00:01:53,900 --> 00:01:56,166 to snatch them out of the father's hand. 32 00:01:59,033 --> 00:02:01,500 I, and the Father are one. 33 00:02:03,799 --> 00:02:07,366 The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. 34 00:02:08,900 --> 00:02:10,699 Jesus answered them. 35 00:02:12,633 --> 00:02:15,133 I showed you many good works from the Father. 36 00:02:17,300 --> 00:02:19,466 For which of them are you stoning me? 37 00:02:20,933 --> 00:02:22,033 The Jews answered him? 38 00:02:23,333 --> 00:02:25,633 For a good work, we do not stone you. 39 00:02:26,533 --> 00:02:30,000 But for blasphemy, and because you being 40 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:33,833 a man, make yourself out to be God. 41 00:02:35,433 --> 00:02:37,033 Jesus answered them. 42 00:02:37,900 --> 00:02:39,699 Has it not been written in your law? 43 00:02:40,733 --> 00:02:42,300 I said you are gods. 44 00:02:43,300 --> 00:02:46,466 If he called them gods, to whom the Word of God came, and 45 00:02:46,466 --> 00:02:49,866 the scripture cannot be broken, do you say of him whom 46 00:02:49,866 --> 00:02:52,866 the Father sanctified, and sent into the world? 47 00:02:52,866 --> 00:02:55,866 You are blaspheming, because I said, 48 00:02:55,866 --> 00:02:57,233 I am the Son of God? 49 00:02:59,433 --> 00:03:03,133 If I do not do the works of my Father, do 50 00:03:03,133 --> 00:03:07,400 not believe me, but if I do them, 51 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:10,766 though you do not believe me, believe 52 00:03:10,766 --> 00:03:14,000 the works, so that you may know and 53 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:17,066 understand that the Father is in me, 54 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:20,266 and I, in the Father. 55 00:03:20,833 --> 00:03:24,133 Therefore, they were seeking, again, to seize him. 56 00:03:25,699 --> 00:03:28,166 And he eluded their grasp. 57 00:03:29,199 --> 00:03:32,466 And he went away again beyond the Jordan, to the place where John was 58 00:03:32,466 --> 00:03:35,300 first baptizing, and he was staying there. 59 00:03:36,599 --> 00:03:40,766 Many came to him, and were saying, while John performed no sign. 60 00:03:42,033 --> 00:03:46,166 Yet everything John said about this man, was true. 61 00:03:47,533 --> 00:03:50,166 Many believed in him there. 62 00:03:51,833 --> 00:03:54,500 Now, I told you before. 63 00:03:56,400 --> 00:04:01,599 This is the last public 64 00:04:01,599 --> 00:04:05,966 declaration, by Jesus, of his deity, 65 00:04:05,966 --> 00:04:08,966 of the reality that he is God in human flesh. 66 00:04:10,433 --> 00:04:14,066 And this is also the final invitation 67 00:04:14,066 --> 00:04:17,233 in the temple in the face of 68 00:04:17,233 --> 00:04:20,366 the Jewish religious leaders before, 69 00:04:20,366 --> 00:04:23,399 as we just read, he leaves for three 70 00:04:23,399 --> 00:04:24,733 months of isolation 71 00:04:25,266 --> 00:04:28,133 across the Jordan River, with his disciples. 72 00:04:30,199 --> 00:04:33,266 As far as John's gospel that were studying here is 73 00:04:33,266 --> 00:04:37,533 concerned, this is John's final record 74 00:04:37,533 --> 00:04:40,566 of Jesus declaring himself to 75 00:04:40,566 --> 00:04:44,466 be God, and then calling on people to believe. 76 00:04:46,300 --> 00:04:48,333 It's wintertime, as the text says. 77 00:04:49,800 --> 00:04:53,800 And Jesus is at the feast of dedication, which today we know as Hanukkah. 78 00:04:55,199 --> 00:04:58,233 And all through this gospel, and I keep 79 00:04:58,233 --> 00:05:02,266 bringing this up, and I will to the very last verse, there 80 00:05:02,300 --> 00:05:05,433 have been two primary emphasis that John 81 00:05:05,433 --> 00:05:09,366 wants us to understand in this gospel, overarching 82 00:05:09,366 --> 00:05:10,500 everything that he writes. 83 00:05:10,633 --> 00:05:13,699 Number one, is he wants us to get down in our 84 00:05:13,699 --> 00:05:15,966 bloodstream that Jesus is God. 85 00:05:17,699 --> 00:05:20,733 And believing in Jesus, 86 00:05:22,033 --> 00:05:23,300 will bring you eternal life. 87 00:05:23,366 --> 00:05:26,699 Those two things of the primary reasons 88 00:05:26,699 --> 00:05:29,466 for why John wrote this gospel. 89 00:05:29,533 --> 00:05:33,266 Believing that Jesus is God is 90 00:05:33,266 --> 00:05:37,033 absolutely necessary for any person to 91 00:05:37,033 --> 00:05:38,233 receive eternal life. 92 00:05:38,300 --> 00:05:42,266 I simply cannot overstate that enough times to you. 93 00:05:43,533 --> 00:05:45,133 If you do not believe that. 94 00:05:47,133 --> 00:05:50,766 then you will enter into eternal death when you die. 95 00:05:50,833 --> 00:05:52,566 I don't care what else you believe about Jesus. 96 00:05:52,633 --> 00:05:54,666 I don't care what else you believe about the Bible. 97 00:05:55,399 --> 00:05:59,000 If you do not believe who he claimed to be, and 98 00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:02,000 you say, well, I believe in Jesus, you're believing in 99 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:05,766 a Jesus that doesn't exist, if he's not God in human flesh. 100 00:06:07,399 --> 00:06:11,600 Believing that Jesus is God, folks, is the very heart of 101 00:06:11,600 --> 00:06:12,800 the Christian faith. 102 00:06:12,866 --> 00:06:15,266 the very heart of the Christian gospel. 103 00:06:15,300 --> 00:06:18,300 He's not just a religious leader, he's not just 104 00:06:18,300 --> 00:06:20,533 a very moral man. 105 00:06:20,600 --> 00:06:24,199 He's not just someone with unusual wisdom, 106 00:06:24,199 --> 00:06:26,366 although all of that is true. 107 00:06:26,466 --> 00:06:29,533 He is God, eternal 108 00:06:29,533 --> 00:06:33,266 God, and believing anything less than that. 109 00:06:33,366 --> 00:06:36,800 When you speak, anything about Jesus, as 110 00:06:36,800 --> 00:06:39,966 far as who he is, less than that is 111 00:06:39,966 --> 00:06:41,399 blaspheming Jesus. 112 00:06:43,899 --> 00:06:45,100 And the Jewish leaders, 113 00:06:46,300 --> 00:06:48,333 Well, they had made their own conclusions about Jesus. 114 00:06:50,100 --> 00:06:50,666 Remember? 115 00:06:51,399 --> 00:06:54,500 Well, he does what he does by the power 116 00:06:54,500 --> 00:06:55,633 of Beelzebub. 117 00:06:57,600 --> 00:07:00,866 His miracles, as you know, were so obviously 118 00:07:00,866 --> 00:07:03,866 overwhelmingly supernatural 119 00:07:05,433 --> 00:07:07,633 that that was the only thing that could come up with. 120 00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:13,066 Remember, Jesus' miracles were so astounding that it 121 00:07:13,066 --> 00:07:16,266 was just obvious to anybody, even 122 00:07:16,266 --> 00:07:19,399 with a single digit IQ, that this was not some type 123 00:07:19,399 --> 00:07:21,333 of trickery, right? 124 00:07:22,233 --> 00:07:24,566 You got people that have been blind all their life. 125 00:07:24,600 --> 00:07:27,666 You've been looking at the man for 50 years sitting at the gate, 126 00:07:27,666 --> 00:07:28,866 and all of a sudden, he can see. 127 00:07:29,933 --> 00:07:33,433 There's no charlatan there that can make that happen. 128 00:07:35,800 --> 00:07:36,633 And what did they say? 129 00:07:36,666 --> 00:07:40,199 Well, obviously, that really happened. 130 00:07:40,266 --> 00:07:43,333 So he has to do what he's 131 00:07:43,333 --> 00:07:45,000 doing from the power of Satan. 132 00:07:46,600 --> 00:07:47,866 They're calling God. 133 00:07:49,233 --> 00:07:49,866 demonic. 134 00:07:50,833 --> 00:07:53,666 Also, well, he's insane. 135 00:07:53,699 --> 00:07:55,133 He's a lunatic, they said. 136 00:07:56,133 --> 00:07:57,199 And you have to understand this. 137 00:07:58,500 --> 00:08:03,300 At this point, and really long before this point, they 138 00:08:03,300 --> 00:08:06,533 were fixed in their conclusion about Jesus. 139 00:08:08,100 --> 00:08:13,300 And because it was a fixed conclusion, 140 00:08:13,300 --> 00:08:17,266 Jesus said, You will not be forgiven. 141 00:08:19,300 --> 00:08:23,300 If that's your verdict, then 142 00:08:23,300 --> 00:08:25,533 there's no possibility of salvation for you. 143 00:08:27,733 --> 00:08:32,000 There's a very interesting transition in Matthew near the end of chapter 12. 144 00:08:33,933 --> 00:08:38,333 Jesus there is, and we're not going to look at it, but Jesus there declares 145 00:08:38,333 --> 00:08:41,766 the Jewish leaders beyond salvation, because, 146 00:08:41,766 --> 00:08:44,766 as I just said, they had made the conclusion that he is 147 00:08:44,766 --> 00:08:47,899 satanic, and then, 148 00:08:47,899 --> 00:08:49,766 here's the transition that's interesting. 149 00:08:49,866 --> 00:08:53,100 starting immediately in chapter 150 00:08:53,100 --> 00:08:56,266 13 in the Gospel of Matthew, right after that, 151 00:08:56,299 --> 00:08:58,100 he starts to speak in parables. 152 00:09:00,633 --> 00:09:04,333 And there's an assumption today by some that 153 00:09:04,333 --> 00:09:07,866 Jesus spoke in parables to 154 00:09:07,866 --> 00:09:10,866 make things clear to unbelievers. 155 00:09:13,133 --> 00:09:15,000 Some say we need to talk in parables. 156 00:09:16,500 --> 00:09:18,633 We need to be storytellers. 157 00:09:18,666 --> 00:09:21,733 I just need to get up here and tell you a bunch of stories like 158 00:09:21,733 --> 00:09:22,933 Jesus. 159 00:09:24,399 --> 00:09:28,299 You need to get away from doctrine and theology, preacher. 160 00:09:28,399 --> 00:09:29,899 and just be a storyteller. 161 00:09:32,033 --> 00:09:33,600 But there's something that you need to understand. 162 00:09:35,833 --> 00:09:39,566 Jesus did not speak in 163 00:09:39,566 --> 00:09:42,566 parables in order to make things clear 164 00:09:42,566 --> 00:09:44,733 for unbelievers. 165 00:09:44,766 --> 00:09:48,366 He spoke in parables as a judgment 166 00:09:48,366 --> 00:09:50,833 so that they would not understand. 167 00:09:50,899 --> 00:09:51,966 Amen. 168 00:09:52,933 --> 00:09:54,000 And it's so interesting. 169 00:09:54,066 --> 00:09:58,033 It was a judgment that 170 00:09:58,033 --> 00:10:01,799 was also tempered with mercy. 171 00:10:04,000 --> 00:10:07,399 He said this right out of Isaiah 6. 172 00:10:07,466 --> 00:10:10,466 It was prophesied by Isaiah, you know 173 00:10:10,466 --> 00:10:12,799 those passages, hearing they will not hear. 174 00:10:13,899 --> 00:10:17,600 They hear the verbiage, but they're not really hearing what he's saying. 175 00:10:17,666 --> 00:10:18,799 They're not understanding. 176 00:10:18,899 --> 00:10:20,766 Seeing they will not see. 177 00:10:22,399 --> 00:10:23,866 And they will not understand. 178 00:10:25,200 --> 00:10:27,466 Isaiah prophesied that, and that's what happened. 179 00:10:29,133 --> 00:10:32,166 Jesus is basically saying, that's why I'm talking in 180 00:10:32,166 --> 00:10:33,233 parables, right? 181 00:10:34,633 --> 00:10:37,766 But then, To 182 00:10:37,766 --> 00:10:40,766 his disciples, he turns around to them and 183 00:10:40,766 --> 00:10:44,066 he says, but to you, It 184 00:10:44,066 --> 00:10:48,200 has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom. 185 00:10:50,233 --> 00:10:51,366 And how did they know them? 186 00:10:51,933 --> 00:10:53,966 Well, because they explain the parables to them. 187 00:10:54,833 --> 00:10:55,866 You can go and read about it. 188 00:10:57,033 --> 00:11:00,966 Mark actually says, from that point onward, 189 00:11:00,966 --> 00:11:02,833 he only spoke in parables. 190 00:11:04,500 --> 00:11:05,366 That was a judgment. 191 00:11:07,733 --> 00:11:10,766 So don't let anybody tell you that Jesus 192 00:11:10,766 --> 00:11:14,133 told stories as a way to make things clear to unbelievers. 193 00:11:15,233 --> 00:11:19,866 He told stories in order to communicate truth, 194 00:11:19,866 --> 00:11:22,866 clearly, to his sheep, to his 195 00:11:22,866 --> 00:11:26,233 own people, and not to those who rejected 196 00:11:26,233 --> 00:11:28,766 them, not to those who didn't believe. 197 00:11:31,333 --> 00:11:33,500 And the mercy, here's the mercy in it. 198 00:11:33,566 --> 00:11:34,766 You want to get nuanced? 199 00:11:34,799 --> 00:11:35,833 Here's the mercy in it. 200 00:11:37,633 --> 00:11:39,866 He didn't give them more revelation. 201 00:11:41,799 --> 00:11:43,366 making them more guilty. 202 00:11:44,899 --> 00:11:45,799 for their rejection. 203 00:11:46,933 --> 00:11:50,233 Making their own eternal punishment worse for 204 00:11:50,233 --> 00:11:51,666 whom much is given, much is required. 205 00:11:51,733 --> 00:11:52,766 Think about it. 206 00:11:52,799 --> 00:11:54,533 Think about it. 207 00:11:55,399 --> 00:11:58,700 It was relatively with the numbers of human beings 208 00:11:58,700 --> 00:12:02,133 that have been born in all of Earth's history. 209 00:12:02,166 --> 00:12:05,933 It's a small group of people that actually got to hear what Jesus had to say. 210 00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:10,166 And the more truth they absorbed, the more guilty they got. 211 00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:11,433 Right? 212 00:12:11,466 --> 00:12:15,799 So not understanding the parables was a mercy for them. 213 00:12:17,200 --> 00:12:21,500 Now, we've been looking at a series of different scenes in this text. 214 00:12:21,566 --> 00:12:24,266 If you remember, the 1st one was the confrontation. 215 00:12:26,333 --> 00:12:29,833 And found in verses 22 to 24, remember 216 00:12:29,833 --> 00:12:32,899 the scene, Jewish leaders 217 00:12:32,899 --> 00:12:34,100 are all gathered around Jesus. 218 00:12:36,299 --> 00:12:37,966 And they hit him, look in verse 24. 219 00:12:38,799 --> 00:12:41,666 They hit him with how long will you keep us in suspense? 220 00:12:42,733 --> 00:12:45,733 If you are the Christ, tell us plainly, 221 00:12:45,733 --> 00:12:48,500 and as we saw, it's just hypocritical sarcasm. 222 00:12:50,533 --> 00:12:53,399 We've been going through this gospel of John for quite some time now. 223 00:12:53,466 --> 00:12:56,399 He's already told them over and over and over again. 224 00:12:58,200 --> 00:13:01,333 So they know that he has told them over and over and over again 225 00:13:01,333 --> 00:13:03,666 when they say this right here in verse 24. 226 00:13:04,500 --> 00:13:05,600 So what were they doing? 227 00:13:05,666 --> 00:13:09,100 Well, it was just an attempt to get him to say something publicly 228 00:13:09,100 --> 00:13:12,500 that they could just twist into blasphemy 229 00:13:12,500 --> 00:13:15,666 so that they could justify stoning him on the 230 00:13:15,666 --> 00:13:18,899 spot because murder was raging in their 231 00:13:18,899 --> 00:13:20,933 hearts right now as they stood around him. 232 00:13:22,399 --> 00:13:26,133 And in response to that, we saw next the claim, verse 25. 233 00:13:28,000 --> 00:13:28,833 I love this. 234 00:13:29,399 --> 00:13:30,633 Jesus answered. 235 00:13:31,299 --> 00:13:32,200 I told you. 236 00:13:34,433 --> 00:13:35,166 And he has. 237 00:13:35,299 --> 00:13:39,066 I told you, but what's the problem? 238 00:13:40,100 --> 00:13:41,966 And you do not believe. 239 00:13:43,399 --> 00:13:44,266 The works. 240 00:13:44,299 --> 00:13:45,200 When he says that. 241 00:13:45,266 --> 00:13:48,633 He's talking about all these incredible jaw-dropping miracles. 242 00:13:48,666 --> 00:13:52,566 The works that I do in my father's name, these 243 00:13:52,566 --> 00:13:56,233 testify of me, but you do 244 00:13:56,233 --> 00:13:57,966 not believe me. 245 00:13:58,399 --> 00:14:01,466 And last time we went on, at some length, talking 246 00:14:01,466 --> 00:14:03,200 about human responsibility with that. 247 00:14:03,799 --> 00:14:07,399 But then next, So that's the human responsibility 248 00:14:07,399 --> 00:14:08,899 side for us to believe. 249 00:14:08,966 --> 00:14:10,233 Then next we flip over. 250 00:14:11,533 --> 00:14:14,833 to the divine side of salvation versus 251 00:14:14,833 --> 00:14:18,666 26, starting in verse 26, going through 28. 252 00:14:20,399 --> 00:14:22,166 Now notice his wording here. 253 00:14:24,399 --> 00:14:27,433 But you do not believe, why do you not believe? 254 00:14:27,433 --> 00:14:29,066 Because you are not of my sheep. 255 00:14:29,899 --> 00:14:30,466 You see? 256 00:14:32,299 --> 00:14:34,233 What about my sheep, verse 27? 257 00:14:34,266 --> 00:14:35,466 Well, my sheep, hear my voice. 258 00:14:36,399 --> 00:14:39,666 And I know them, and they follow 259 00:14:39,666 --> 00:14:42,666 me, and I give eternal life to 260 00:14:42,666 --> 00:14:45,733 them, and they will never perish, 261 00:14:46,600 --> 00:14:49,533 and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 262 00:14:51,933 --> 00:14:57,266 So, as we saw on the one hand, You don't believe. 263 00:14:59,433 --> 00:15:02,600 And you are responsible for that unbelief. 264 00:15:04,433 --> 00:15:05,766 And at the same time. 265 00:15:06,899 --> 00:15:07,833 Got this over here. 266 00:15:09,600 --> 00:15:13,399 On the other hand, Beyond our 267 00:15:13,399 --> 00:15:16,633 full human reasoning, You 268 00:15:16,633 --> 00:15:17,899 are not my sheep. 269 00:15:19,233 --> 00:15:22,466 Because if you were my sheep, you would have been chosen by my father. 270 00:15:23,500 --> 00:15:24,500 To be my sheep. 271 00:15:25,533 --> 00:15:28,700 Because you would hear my voice if you were my sheep. 272 00:15:28,766 --> 00:15:30,633 You wouldn't be over here not believing. 273 00:15:30,733 --> 00:15:33,733 You would hear my voice, and you would be following 274 00:15:33,733 --> 00:15:37,566 me, if you were, of my sheep. 275 00:15:38,633 --> 00:15:40,500 And guess what else, you would never perish. 276 00:15:41,633 --> 00:15:44,666 And no one would ever snatch you out of 277 00:15:44,666 --> 00:15:46,000 my hand in verse 29. 278 00:15:47,399 --> 00:15:49,366 Or the father's hand. 279 00:15:53,000 --> 00:15:56,133 And then, de creme de la creme. 280 00:15:57,600 --> 00:16:00,033 He sums it all up, verse 30. 281 00:16:01,333 --> 00:16:03,433 Stunning statement, right here. 282 00:16:04,700 --> 00:16:08,733 I, and the Father, are one. 283 00:16:10,033 --> 00:16:13,766 May be the clearest declaration of Jesus godhood. 284 00:16:14,700 --> 00:16:15,866 The whole New Testament. 285 00:16:16,933 --> 00:16:17,766 that he ever made. 286 00:16:19,399 --> 00:16:22,399 And of course, That put the 287 00:16:22,399 --> 00:16:23,733 guys in the circle around him. 288 00:16:24,733 --> 00:16:27,066 The Jewish religious leaders over the edge. 289 00:16:29,133 --> 00:16:30,266 Look at verse 31. 290 00:16:31,700 --> 00:16:35,233 It says the Jews picked up stones 291 00:16:35,233 --> 00:16:36,500 again. 292 00:16:36,566 --> 00:16:40,533 Remember, again to stone him. 293 00:16:41,500 --> 00:16:44,533 This is the 4th time in 294 00:16:44,533 --> 00:16:45,899 the gospel of John. 295 00:16:46,399 --> 00:16:48,500 that they bent down and picked up them stones. 296 00:16:49,733 --> 00:16:53,466 Stones were all over the place in Israel, obviously. 297 00:16:54,833 --> 00:16:56,166 They're ready right now. 298 00:16:56,233 --> 00:16:59,233 They got the stones in their hands, and they're ready to 299 00:16:59,233 --> 00:17:02,366 snuff out his life for claiming to be 300 00:17:02,366 --> 00:17:05,500 equal with God, which they clearly understood. 301 00:17:05,533 --> 00:17:06,299 So here they are. 302 00:17:06,366 --> 00:17:09,500 Verse 31, stones in their hands, they're 303 00:17:09,500 --> 00:17:12,599 ready to just pelt him and crush out his 304 00:17:12,599 --> 00:17:15,466 life in one of the most horrible ways to die. 305 00:17:15,566 --> 00:17:16,233 You can imagine. 306 00:17:16,266 --> 00:17:17,099 Think about it. 307 00:17:17,166 --> 00:17:21,500 Just standing there, taking big rocks getting pelted and hitting you in the head. 308 00:17:22,733 --> 00:17:26,299 But I want you to look just notice Jesus here. 309 00:17:28,633 --> 00:17:31,700 Imagine you standing there, and you got all these guys around you with 310 00:17:31,700 --> 00:17:34,833 stones, and they're just getting ready to to hit 311 00:17:34,833 --> 00:17:37,933 you with 10 or 15 of them at the same time. 312 00:17:39,333 --> 00:17:41,233 Notice Jesus in the middle of this circle. 313 00:17:42,400 --> 00:17:43,400 Completely calm. 314 00:17:45,299 --> 00:17:46,533 He's steady Eddie. 315 00:17:47,799 --> 00:17:49,166 He's unflinching. 316 00:17:49,200 --> 00:17:50,400 Verse 32. 317 00:17:51,400 --> 00:17:55,099 He just looks them square in the eye, and They're 318 00:17:55,099 --> 00:17:56,133 ready to stoning. 319 00:17:56,166 --> 00:17:57,066 Jesus answered them. 320 00:17:59,000 --> 00:18:00,866 I showed you many good work from the Father. 321 00:18:02,799 --> 00:18:04,599 For which of them are you stoning me? 322 00:18:07,333 --> 00:18:09,966 I mean, he just stopped them dead in their tracks. 323 00:18:13,299 --> 00:18:14,000 Hey, Jesus. 324 00:18:14,833 --> 00:18:16,166 He can do that with words. 325 00:18:17,400 --> 00:18:20,400 Never a man spoke like this, the temple police said when they came to 326 00:18:20,400 --> 00:18:21,533 arrest him, okay? 327 00:18:21,599 --> 00:18:23,400 So right now, pause. 328 00:18:25,900 --> 00:18:27,333 He stopped them with his words. 329 00:18:29,333 --> 00:18:32,766 And apparently, at this point, they 330 00:18:32,766 --> 00:18:35,833 lowered their arms, because in the next 331 00:18:35,833 --> 00:18:37,700 verse, they speak back. 332 00:18:38,333 --> 00:18:39,200 Verse 33. 333 00:18:39,366 --> 00:18:40,633 The Jews answered him. 334 00:18:42,400 --> 00:18:44,433 For a good work, we do not stone you. 335 00:18:46,033 --> 00:18:49,266 But for blasphemy and because you, 336 00:18:49,266 --> 00:18:52,266 being a man, make yourself out 337 00:18:52,266 --> 00:18:53,900 to be God. 338 00:18:53,966 --> 00:18:56,966 Now, again, sidebar for those 339 00:18:56,966 --> 00:18:59,966 people who claim Jesus never claimed to be God in the Bible, obviously 340 00:18:59,966 --> 00:19:01,299 the Jews thought that. 341 00:19:02,799 --> 00:19:04,233 That's complete. 342 00:19:05,333 --> 00:19:08,400 Calm of Jesus in 343 00:19:08,400 --> 00:19:12,166 this very drastic situation. 344 00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:16,066 It just brought down the temperature, 345 00:19:16,066 --> 00:19:19,400 and it just subdued, the impending 346 00:19:19,400 --> 00:19:21,799 violence that was fixing to happen. 347 00:19:21,866 --> 00:19:23,733 Right now, that's gone. 348 00:19:25,700 --> 00:19:26,366 And think about it. 349 00:19:27,500 --> 00:19:30,200 His statement is sensible. 350 00:19:30,633 --> 00:19:35,666 It's reasonable, it's rational. 351 00:19:35,700 --> 00:19:37,033 Look at it again, verse 32. 352 00:19:37,200 --> 00:19:40,133 I showed you many good works from the Father. 353 00:19:41,700 --> 00:19:43,466 For which of them are you stoning me? 354 00:19:45,533 --> 00:19:49,266 And again, they know all of the unparalleled, undeniably 355 00:19:49,266 --> 00:19:53,099 supernatural miracles that he had performed, for which of those good works? 356 00:19:54,900 --> 00:19:57,266 For which of those blind eyes that I healed? 357 00:19:58,933 --> 00:20:01,933 For which of those guys that were completely lame that got up 358 00:20:01,933 --> 00:20:03,200 and walked with their mat? 359 00:20:03,900 --> 00:20:06,500 For which of them are you stoning me? 360 00:20:06,566 --> 00:20:08,133 Those are works from the father. 361 00:20:08,833 --> 00:20:12,000 And again, look at verse 33 again, for a good work, 362 00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:15,533 we do not stone you, but for blasphemy, because you are being 363 00:20:15,566 --> 00:20:18,333 a man, make yourself out to be God. 364 00:20:20,033 --> 00:20:21,666 We're not stoning you about the works. 365 00:20:22,200 --> 00:20:23,966 We're stoning you about blasphemy. 366 00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:28,166 Based on the mosaic law, a blasphemer was 367 00:20:28,166 --> 00:20:29,299 to be stone. 368 00:20:29,366 --> 00:20:30,266 So what do they think? 369 00:20:30,299 --> 00:20:33,133 Well, we're carrying out our religious duty. 370 00:20:33,933 --> 00:20:36,966 You are a blasphemer because you being a man, 371 00:20:36,966 --> 00:20:39,966 make yourself out to be God, which, of course, in their minds 372 00:20:39,966 --> 00:20:43,099 is the ultimate and most extreme blasphemy 373 00:20:43,099 --> 00:20:45,799 coming from Jesus, who is God, by the way? 374 00:20:45,866 --> 00:20:49,000 So they feel it's their religious duty to 375 00:20:49,000 --> 00:20:52,400 crush out his life at that very moment. 376 00:20:55,000 --> 00:20:56,133 For whatever reason. 377 00:20:58,033 --> 00:21:02,099 On the verge of a very violent bloody 378 00:21:02,099 --> 00:21:05,566 scene that you would have to look away from, really, 379 00:21:05,599 --> 00:21:09,066 if you really saw it, you would have to turn your head. 380 00:21:11,033 --> 00:21:14,066 There's no stone thrown in this passage, not one. 381 00:21:15,333 --> 00:21:19,866 Now, big picture, I think, there 382 00:21:19,866 --> 00:21:23,099 has to be, as before, a 383 00:21:23,099 --> 00:21:26,099 divine restraint from above in holding 384 00:21:26,099 --> 00:21:30,066 this back in addition to what Jesus says here. 385 00:21:30,133 --> 00:21:32,833 I think both things are obviously working together. 386 00:21:32,900 --> 00:21:36,666 But look next, because you've always got some nutcase 387 00:21:36,666 --> 00:21:39,799 in a pile of nutcases that I'm just going to really get after it. 388 00:21:40,533 --> 00:21:41,366 Look next. 389 00:21:43,533 --> 00:21:45,200 This is extraordinary. 390 00:21:47,400 --> 00:21:51,200 Jesus causes them to think. 391 00:21:51,266 --> 00:21:53,500 What a passage this is. 392 00:21:54,533 --> 00:21:55,266 Look what he says. 393 00:21:55,333 --> 00:21:56,833 Verse 34 36. 394 00:21:57,000 --> 00:22:00,433 Jesus answered them, has it not been written in your law? 395 00:22:01,599 --> 00:22:03,033 I said you are god's. 396 00:22:04,133 --> 00:22:07,466 If he called them gods to whom the word of God came, 397 00:22:07,466 --> 00:22:11,000 and the scripture cannot be broken, Do 398 00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:14,233 you say of him whom the Father sanctified and sent into 399 00:22:14,233 --> 00:22:17,466 the world, you are blaspheming, because I said, I 400 00:22:17,466 --> 00:22:18,666 am the Son of God? 401 00:22:22,233 --> 00:22:24,200 Now, what in the world is going on there? 402 00:22:26,599 --> 00:22:30,500 Well, To start with, What 403 00:22:30,500 --> 00:22:32,966 Jesus is saying with these words is this. 404 00:22:34,799 --> 00:22:36,333 Can you just hold up for a second? 405 00:22:38,633 --> 00:22:41,833 Can you just be rational 406 00:22:41,833 --> 00:22:44,666 and objective here with me for a minute? 407 00:22:46,133 --> 00:22:50,666 Can you just think here with me for a moment? 408 00:22:51,333 --> 00:22:54,433 Can you set aside your hate 409 00:22:54,433 --> 00:22:58,466 and your rage just for a second and 410 00:22:58,466 --> 00:23:01,466 consider the Old Testament, which you 411 00:23:01,466 --> 00:23:02,833 know to be the Word of God? 412 00:23:04,333 --> 00:23:06,500 When in your own scripture. 413 00:23:07,900 --> 00:23:11,000 We have a passage, where men are 414 00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:12,866 called gods. 415 00:23:12,900 --> 00:23:14,166 Did you know that? 416 00:23:16,599 --> 00:23:21,233 And here we see a display 417 00:23:21,233 --> 00:23:24,799 of the infinite mind of Jesus. 418 00:23:25,799 --> 00:23:27,500 Just think about the contrast. 419 00:23:27,566 --> 00:23:31,266 He is literally a second away on 420 00:23:31,266 --> 00:23:34,400 the verge of a violent death, an 421 00:23:34,400 --> 00:23:37,533 intense moment that would cause any 422 00:23:37,533 --> 00:23:40,633 other human being to just buckle as 423 00:23:40,633 --> 00:23:42,066 those stones are in the air. 424 00:23:43,799 --> 00:23:45,700 And there's the god man, come. 425 00:23:46,700 --> 00:23:47,299 Cool. 426 00:23:48,299 --> 00:23:51,733 Collected, with his mind, with his mind, 427 00:23:51,733 --> 00:23:53,233 in that drastic moment. 428 00:23:53,299 --> 00:23:54,066 What does he do? 429 00:23:54,133 --> 00:23:55,799 He goes straight to the Old Testament. 430 00:23:57,033 --> 00:23:59,766 And he plucks out of the Old Testament. 431 00:24:00,633 --> 00:24:04,166 A very obscure section, 432 00:24:04,166 --> 00:24:07,033 and it's not from the law, and it's not from the prophet. 433 00:24:07,500 --> 00:24:08,566 It's from the Psalms. 434 00:24:10,033 --> 00:24:11,900 This is from Psalm 82. 435 00:24:13,833 --> 00:24:15,900 And let me tell you, I want you to look at it. 436 00:24:16,599 --> 00:24:17,299 What's going on here? 437 00:24:18,833 --> 00:24:21,866 This is a judgment 438 00:24:21,866 --> 00:24:24,866 by God on the rulers of 439 00:24:24,866 --> 00:24:25,933 Israel at that time. 440 00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:27,133 Look at verse one. 441 00:24:28,933 --> 00:24:30,799 God takes a stand. 442 00:24:31,400 --> 00:24:33,200 In his own congregation. 443 00:24:33,266 --> 00:24:36,133 God shows up in Israel and he's not happy. 444 00:24:37,733 --> 00:24:39,200 Next, look what it says. 445 00:24:39,266 --> 00:24:43,299 He judges in the midst of the rulers. 446 00:24:44,333 --> 00:24:47,533 So we're talking about rulers here, and the rulers were judges. 447 00:24:48,500 --> 00:24:49,766 That was their job. 448 00:24:50,066 --> 00:24:51,700 They adjudicated issues. 449 00:24:51,733 --> 00:24:54,966 They solve problems between 450 00:24:54,966 --> 00:24:57,799 the people of Israel next, verse two. 451 00:24:57,866 --> 00:24:59,533 He says to these judges, 452 00:24:59,599 --> 00:25:02,599 God says to these judges, how long will you 453 00:25:02,599 --> 00:25:05,666 judge unjustly and show partiality 454 00:25:05,666 --> 00:25:06,733 to the wicked? 455 00:25:06,799 --> 00:25:09,666 Boy, I'd like for him to come down right now and say that out thou. 456 00:25:10,733 --> 00:25:13,400 He's calling them out for being corrupt. 457 00:25:14,833 --> 00:25:16,866 For being partial to the wicked. 458 00:25:17,799 --> 00:25:19,299 Look what he says next in verse three. 459 00:25:20,233 --> 00:25:23,400 Vindicate the weak and fatherless, 460 00:25:23,400 --> 00:25:26,400 do justice to the afflicted and destitute, 461 00:25:26,400 --> 00:25:29,833 verse four, rescue the weak and needy, 462 00:25:29,833 --> 00:25:33,299 deliver them out of the hand of the wicked. 463 00:25:33,433 --> 00:25:35,400 That's what they were supposed to do. 464 00:25:36,400 --> 00:25:37,099 The judges. 465 00:25:37,200 --> 00:25:38,266 That was their job. 466 00:25:40,033 --> 00:25:41,599 But look next in verse 5. 467 00:25:43,633 --> 00:25:46,466 They do not know, or understand. 468 00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:50,133 They walk about in darkness. 469 00:25:51,433 --> 00:25:54,299 All the foundations of the earth are shaken. 470 00:25:55,633 --> 00:25:58,933 He's saying, listen, everything that 471 00:25:58,933 --> 00:26:02,400 holds this society together is 472 00:26:02,400 --> 00:26:03,533 rattling loose. 473 00:26:03,599 --> 00:26:07,133 Why is it rattling loose, because there's no justice 474 00:26:07,166 --> 00:26:10,500 being imparted by the judges, and 475 00:26:10,500 --> 00:26:11,833 then verse 6. 476 00:26:13,599 --> 00:26:17,466 I said, you are gods, 477 00:26:17,466 --> 00:26:20,900 notice, little G, gods, and 478 00:26:20,900 --> 00:26:24,666 all of you are sons of the most high. 479 00:26:27,200 --> 00:26:28,166 What does he mean by that? 480 00:26:28,200 --> 00:26:29,099 Amen. 481 00:26:29,166 --> 00:26:33,066 Well, Mormons will run with that verse. 482 00:26:33,700 --> 00:26:36,799 to prove their heretical view that men can become gods and their 483 00:26:36,799 --> 00:26:40,033 uncountable number of gods ruling over different planets throughout 484 00:26:40,033 --> 00:26:41,366 the universe. 485 00:26:42,400 --> 00:26:46,299 But I digress because that's clearly not what's going on here. 486 00:26:48,599 --> 00:26:52,666 Consider the context of what we have read up to this first. 487 00:26:54,233 --> 00:26:56,233 God is talking to rulers here. 488 00:26:56,299 --> 00:26:59,599 He's talking to judges here, and he's calling them 489 00:26:59,599 --> 00:27:01,233 little G gods. 490 00:27:02,633 --> 00:27:03,500 Because why? 491 00:27:04,233 --> 00:27:07,700 Because they are representatives of the one true God. 492 00:27:07,766 --> 00:27:10,866 They are God's agents in the world, 493 00:27:10,866 --> 00:27:13,266 that he has ordained to be judges. 494 00:27:13,333 --> 00:27:16,633 You are sons of the most high, he says. 495 00:27:16,700 --> 00:27:20,166 They have a delegated authority 496 00:27:20,166 --> 00:27:23,700 as rulers here on earth. 497 00:27:23,766 --> 00:27:25,633 They received the word of God. 498 00:27:25,700 --> 00:27:28,833 That's what Jesus said, look back in John 10:35. 499 00:27:29,733 --> 00:27:33,366 And Jesus says, directly, Coming 500 00:27:33,366 --> 00:27:36,733 from this passage, if he called them gods, 501 00:27:36,733 --> 00:27:39,366 to whom the word of God came. 502 00:27:39,433 --> 00:27:42,500 They were the ones in the Old Testament, 503 00:27:42,500 --> 00:27:45,599 who taught and applied and upheld the 504 00:27:45,599 --> 00:27:46,733 word of God. 505 00:27:46,799 --> 00:27:48,233 That was part of their responsibility. 506 00:27:48,299 --> 00:27:50,233 And God says next. 507 00:27:51,233 --> 00:27:53,533 In a Psalm 827, 508 00:27:54,400 --> 00:27:55,766 Not the same group. 509 00:27:57,000 --> 00:28:00,333 I said to you or gods, and all of you are the sons of the Most High. 510 00:28:00,799 --> 00:28:04,533 Next verse, verse 7, nevertheless you will die like men. 511 00:28:06,799 --> 00:28:08,966 So does that mean they were actual gods? 512 00:28:09,533 --> 00:28:10,166 Nah. 513 00:28:11,500 --> 00:28:13,466 Now you can see possibly. 514 00:28:14,099 --> 00:28:15,566 Maybe some irony here. 515 00:28:17,733 --> 00:28:18,900 Maybe some sarcasm. 516 00:28:20,500 --> 00:28:23,766 In the use of the word God, with 517 00:28:23,766 --> 00:28:24,933 the little G. 518 00:28:25,433 --> 00:28:29,766 And he may also be saying here, And 519 00:28:29,766 --> 00:28:32,333 you think you are gods, but you're going to die like men. 520 00:28:32,400 --> 00:28:33,133 Could be. 521 00:28:34,533 --> 00:28:35,400 Says next. 522 00:28:36,533 --> 00:28:39,900 And fall like any one of the princes, verse 8. 523 00:28:41,700 --> 00:28:45,666 Arise, 0 God, uh, That's 524 00:28:45,666 --> 00:28:47,333 the big God, the only God. 525 00:28:48,299 --> 00:28:51,799 Judge the earth, for it is you who possesses all the nations. 526 00:28:53,433 --> 00:28:54,200 And what? 527 00:28:54,700 --> 00:28:58,333 Jesus' brilliant point in 528 00:28:58,333 --> 00:29:01,466 using this verse is, in the 529 00:29:01,466 --> 00:29:04,299 Old Testament, Jewish leaders that you know. 530 00:29:05,733 --> 00:29:08,400 Corrupt judges were called little G gods. 531 00:29:10,433 --> 00:29:11,900 Maybe sarcastically. 532 00:29:13,333 --> 00:29:14,966 Maybe ironically. 533 00:29:15,599 --> 00:29:18,966 But the word was used for them, because they 534 00:29:18,966 --> 00:29:22,099 received the word of God, and they were the instruments for 535 00:29:22,099 --> 00:29:25,200 God on the earth, and of course, there's a sense in 536 00:29:25,200 --> 00:29:27,466 which that's true with the little small G. 537 00:29:27,566 --> 00:29:31,166 So if those corrupt 538 00:29:31,166 --> 00:29:34,566 judges could be called gods, 539 00:29:34,566 --> 00:29:37,733 if God himself in the Old Testament, 540 00:29:37,766 --> 00:29:41,233 in the scripture, called them gods, 541 00:29:41,233 --> 00:29:45,799 to whom the word of God came, go back to John 10.36, 542 00:29:45,799 --> 00:29:48,799 do you say of him whom the Father sanctified 543 00:29:48,799 --> 00:29:51,866 and sent into the world, you are blasphemy because 544 00:29:51,866 --> 00:29:53,833 I said, I am the Son of God? 545 00:29:55,133 --> 00:29:56,666 Do you see the analogy here? 546 00:29:57,933 --> 00:29:58,933 Wow, man. 547 00:30:00,033 --> 00:30:00,599 Huh? 548 00:30:00,833 --> 00:30:04,799 Think that he thought of this in the moment when he's fixing to get stoned to death. 549 00:30:05,400 --> 00:30:08,599 And then he pulled that obscure scripture passage 550 00:30:08,599 --> 00:30:09,733 out of Psalm 82. 551 00:30:09,900 --> 00:30:11,233 It's extraordinary. 552 00:30:12,933 --> 00:30:15,866 Make a comparison is what he's saying to them. 553 00:30:15,966 --> 00:30:17,000 Look next. 554 00:30:17,066 --> 00:30:17,900 Verse 37. 555 00:30:18,833 --> 00:30:22,333 If I do not do the works of my father, 556 00:30:22,333 --> 00:30:25,333 do not believe me, verse 38, but 557 00:30:25,333 --> 00:30:26,366 if I do them. 558 00:30:27,099 --> 00:30:30,700 though you do not believe me, believe the works. 559 00:30:32,133 --> 00:30:36,000 So that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I. 560 00:30:37,599 --> 00:30:41,200 So, at this great moment of fixing 561 00:30:41,200 --> 00:30:44,766 to be murdered, Jesus goes right to the Old Testament 562 00:30:44,799 --> 00:30:48,866 to make his case, certainly, if the term gods 563 00:30:48,866 --> 00:30:52,166 can be applied to corrupt rulers 564 00:30:52,166 --> 00:30:55,333 in the Old Testament, is not a stretch 565 00:30:55,333 --> 00:30:58,333 for the incorruptible, perfect, sinless, righteous 566 00:30:58,333 --> 00:31:00,566 Son of God to be called God. 567 00:31:03,333 --> 00:31:04,266 Because he actually is. 568 00:31:07,333 --> 00:31:10,400 Think about what you're doing before you start throwing those 569 00:31:10,400 --> 00:31:11,599 stones at me, man. 570 00:31:13,299 --> 00:31:17,133 Now, there's another thing that's also said here in verse 35 we need to take note up. 571 00:31:18,900 --> 00:31:20,733 Where Jesus says, look at it again. 572 00:31:20,766 --> 00:31:23,900 If he called them gods to whom the word 573 00:31:23,900 --> 00:31:25,599 of God came, 574 00:31:26,133 --> 00:31:30,500 And then next, it's kind of like, uh, 575 00:31:30,500 --> 00:31:33,866 by the way, And the scripture cannot be broken. 576 00:31:36,900 --> 00:31:38,266 And there are a couple things going on with that. 577 00:31:39,000 --> 00:31:42,266 First, the word of God in scripture are parallel. 578 00:31:43,400 --> 00:31:46,666 The word of God, and scripture, 579 00:31:47,099 --> 00:31:49,599 according to Jesus are synonyms. 580 00:31:50,633 --> 00:31:54,733 Jesus equates scripture with the word of God. 581 00:31:54,799 --> 00:31:57,933 If you're going to take the view that, well, come 582 00:31:57,933 --> 00:32:01,033 on, man, you living in 2026, the 583 00:32:01,033 --> 00:32:04,166 Bible is just an old book that men wrote, and it's been passed 584 00:32:04,166 --> 00:32:07,933 down, and, you know, I watched the Discovery Channel documentary on it. 585 00:32:08,000 --> 00:32:11,066 It's been changed so many times and yeah, we can get 586 00:32:11,066 --> 00:32:12,266 some good things out of it. 587 00:32:12,299 --> 00:32:14,633 If that's your view of scripture. 588 00:32:16,500 --> 00:32:19,000 Then it's contrary to Jesus' view of scripture. 589 00:32:20,333 --> 00:32:21,566 Jesus is clear. 590 00:32:22,733 --> 00:32:24,866 In his view of scripture. 591 00:32:26,033 --> 00:32:28,033 It is the word of God. 592 00:32:29,433 --> 00:32:32,966 So in this little digression in his sentence, 593 00:32:32,966 --> 00:32:36,200 we find this treasure that we have to contemplate. 594 00:32:37,033 --> 00:32:40,500 Secondly, he says, and the scripture cannot be broken. 595 00:32:41,633 --> 00:32:42,966 Well, what does that mean? 596 00:32:46,033 --> 00:32:49,099 Don't when you come to these kind of verses, you say, well, I need to know what 597 00:32:49,099 --> 00:32:50,133 that means. 598 00:32:50,166 --> 00:32:51,133 I mean, I do. 599 00:32:52,400 --> 00:32:54,733 I have to know what they mean. 600 00:32:54,799 --> 00:32:57,799 I can't skip over that without knowing what in the world does that mean? 601 00:32:58,500 --> 00:33:01,633 Well, we never know what they mean until we dig 602 00:33:01,633 --> 00:33:04,099 in and investigate them, if they're not clear on the surface. 603 00:33:05,099 --> 00:33:06,633 The Greek word for broken. 604 00:33:07,400 --> 00:33:08,799 Here's an issue you need to know. 605 00:33:11,000 --> 00:33:14,200 It's not a word like broken in the English. 606 00:33:15,000 --> 00:33:17,666 You know, like I broke a glass on the floor. 607 00:33:19,599 --> 00:33:22,000 It means dismissed. 608 00:33:23,799 --> 00:33:24,766 Dissolved. 609 00:33:26,033 --> 00:33:26,833 Removed. 610 00:33:28,433 --> 00:33:29,466 Annihilated, 611 00:33:30,500 --> 00:33:31,466 Eliminated. 612 00:33:32,633 --> 00:33:36,200 What Jesus is saying here is that scripture 613 00:33:36,200 --> 00:33:39,266 cannot be changed or 614 00:33:39,266 --> 00:33:42,866 removed, or dismissed, or 615 00:33:42,866 --> 00:33:44,200 nullified. 616 00:33:45,733 --> 00:33:45,966 Listen. 617 00:33:47,000 --> 00:33:49,900 This passage is Jesus' view of scripture. 618 00:33:51,833 --> 00:33:53,700 That it is a seamless chain. 619 00:33:55,533 --> 00:33:57,299 And not one link of it. 620 00:33:57,366 --> 00:34:00,299 Not one can ever be pulled out. 621 00:34:00,366 --> 00:34:03,133 This passage itself in Psalm 82. 622 00:34:03,299 --> 00:34:06,466 It doesn't have any connection to his deity, but he 623 00:34:06,500 --> 00:34:08,133 uses one word. 624 00:34:09,500 --> 00:34:12,733 Little G gods to make a point from 625 00:34:12,733 --> 00:34:15,966 the lesser to the greater, which is what Radbos did all the time. 626 00:34:17,333 --> 00:34:18,566 But he also stops. 627 00:34:19,333 --> 00:34:23,000 In the middle of that, and he makes this powerful, overarching 628 00:34:23,000 --> 00:34:26,133 statement that the scripture cannot be broken. 629 00:34:26,699 --> 00:34:31,033 And while he's busy proving that his claim 630 00:34:31,033 --> 00:34:33,866 to deity is valid by his works. 631 00:34:33,900 --> 00:34:36,766 He doesn't just try to prove this statement. 632 00:34:36,866 --> 00:34:37,766 He just says, 633 00:34:39,099 --> 00:34:41,133 Scripture cannot be broken, period. 634 00:34:43,033 --> 00:34:47,066 And the reason why he doesn't try to prove it to these religious leaders. 635 00:34:48,333 --> 00:34:49,566 Is because they don't question that. 636 00:34:51,199 --> 00:34:53,199 That's their view of the Old Testament as well. 637 00:34:53,233 --> 00:34:54,300 They understand that. 638 00:34:54,433 --> 00:34:56,300 Scripture is the final word. 639 00:34:57,433 --> 00:34:59,066 And you can't tamper with it. 640 00:35:00,099 --> 00:35:02,566 In fact, he makes his whole argument, 641 00:35:03,400 --> 00:35:06,466 On one word, in one obscure verse, 642 00:35:06,466 --> 00:35:09,866 in a psalm, but every single word of God, 643 00:35:11,000 --> 00:35:13,833 God's word in scripture, you can't even touch a word. 644 00:35:14,833 --> 00:35:15,966 And try to change it up. 645 00:35:17,199 --> 00:35:19,166 You you can't loosen it up. 646 00:35:20,233 --> 00:35:21,133 And pull it out. 647 00:35:22,000 --> 00:35:25,066 Because what does 2nd Timothy 316 say? 648 00:35:26,800 --> 00:35:27,766 All! 649 00:35:28,533 --> 00:35:33,366 Scripture. is inspired by God. 650 00:35:33,433 --> 00:35:37,500 You know what that phrase means, God breathed. 651 00:35:37,566 --> 00:35:41,833 All scripture is God 652 00:35:41,833 --> 00:35:45,733 breathes, and then 2nd Peter, one, 653 00:35:45,733 --> 00:35:46,866 20 to 21, 654 00:35:47,733 --> 00:35:51,266 But knowing this 1st of all, that no prophecy 655 00:35:51,266 --> 00:35:54,500 of scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, for 656 00:35:54,500 --> 00:35:56,900 no prophecy was ever made. 657 00:35:56,966 --> 00:35:57,733 Look at this. 658 00:35:58,400 --> 00:36:01,233 By an act of human will. 659 00:36:03,300 --> 00:36:06,800 But men moved by 660 00:36:06,800 --> 00:36:10,566 the Holy Spirit spoke from God. 661 00:36:10,633 --> 00:36:13,933 That's the inspiration, the divine inspiration of scripture. 662 00:36:15,099 --> 00:36:17,866 So, This is what I'm submitting to you. 663 00:36:17,900 --> 00:36:21,000 You can't have a more elevated view 664 00:36:21,000 --> 00:36:22,566 of scripture than Jesus has. 665 00:36:24,633 --> 00:36:29,300 And whenever we get into the discussions about fallibility, 666 00:36:29,300 --> 00:36:32,400 authority, inerrancy, accuracy of 667 00:36:32,400 --> 00:36:35,466 the instiration of scripture, the best place 668 00:36:35,466 --> 00:36:38,900 for you to start when you get into that situation when 669 00:36:38,900 --> 00:36:42,566 discussion with somebody is to ask that person, well, 670 00:36:42,566 --> 00:36:44,133 what did Jesus think of the scripture? 671 00:36:46,933 --> 00:36:48,733 You can have whatever view you want. 672 00:36:50,199 --> 00:36:53,699 But tell my dying breath, I'm 673 00:36:53,699 --> 00:36:55,433 going to go with Jesus' view of scripture. 674 00:36:56,699 --> 00:36:59,699 There's a book that came out one time called 5 675 00:36:59,699 --> 00:37:01,266 views on inerrancy. 676 00:37:03,800 --> 00:37:05,733 Well, there want 5 views on inerrancy. 677 00:37:05,833 --> 00:37:07,633 There's only one view of an errancy. 678 00:37:09,033 --> 00:37:10,566 And then there are 4 wrong views. 679 00:37:10,699 --> 00:37:12,033 in that situation. 680 00:37:13,233 --> 00:37:14,099 I mean, it's simple. 681 00:37:15,599 --> 00:37:16,400 It's not complicated. 682 00:37:17,933 --> 00:37:19,500 It's either inerrant or it's not. 683 00:37:21,733 --> 00:37:24,066 I'm not following a scripture that is not inerrant. 684 00:37:25,033 --> 00:37:26,599 It wouldn't be God's word. 685 00:37:28,199 --> 00:37:29,866 And it can't be broken. 686 00:37:29,900 --> 00:37:30,866 Dismissed. 687 00:37:31,733 --> 00:37:34,633 You can't mess with a word of it is what Jesus is saying. 688 00:37:37,699 --> 00:37:40,933 And Jesus, in a discussion about, again, 689 00:37:40,933 --> 00:37:43,933 the most serious claim he could ever possibly make, turns 690 00:37:43,933 --> 00:37:46,699 his argument, On one word. 691 00:37:48,000 --> 00:37:49,400 That's his view of scripture. 692 00:37:50,533 --> 00:37:53,599 In Matthew chapter 5, follow this. 693 00:37:55,333 --> 00:37:56,699 Verses 17 to 19. 694 00:37:56,900 --> 00:37:59,900 Jesus says, do not think I came to abolish the law or the prophets. 695 00:37:59,966 --> 00:38:02,666 I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. 696 00:38:03,199 --> 00:38:06,500 For truly I say to you until heaven and earth shall pass away, 697 00:38:06,500 --> 00:38:09,633 not the smallest letter or stroke 698 00:38:09,633 --> 00:38:13,066 shall pass from the law until all is accomplished. 699 00:38:13,166 --> 00:38:16,500 Whoever annuls one of the least of these commandments 700 00:38:16,500 --> 00:38:19,566 and teaches others to do the same shall be called least in the kingdom 701 00:38:19,566 --> 00:38:22,800 of heaven, but whoever keeps and teaches them shall be called great 702 00:38:22,800 --> 00:38:24,166 in the kingdom of heaven. 703 00:38:24,266 --> 00:38:27,400 Jesus there affirms his view of the 704 00:38:27,400 --> 00:38:30,733 utter inerrancy and absolute authority of 705 00:38:30,733 --> 00:38:33,966 the Old Testament as the word of God, down to the 706 00:38:33,966 --> 00:38:35,933 smallest letter and stroke. 707 00:38:37,333 --> 00:38:40,566 And that the New Testament should 708 00:38:40,566 --> 00:38:43,633 not be seen as supplanting the 709 00:38:43,633 --> 00:38:47,900 Old Testament, but as fulfilling the Old Testament. 710 00:38:49,800 --> 00:38:51,633 And who's least in the kingdom of heaven? 711 00:38:51,666 --> 00:38:54,900 Well, he tells you, people that tamper, what the inerrancy 712 00:38:54,900 --> 00:38:58,800 of scripture, and teach others to do the same, who's the greatest, whoever keeps and 713 00:38:58,800 --> 00:39:00,133 teaches them, shall be exalted. 714 00:39:00,599 --> 00:39:02,433 So that's Jesus' view of scripture. 715 00:39:03,099 --> 00:39:05,433 Now, go back to John 10. for fixing clothes. 716 00:39:08,133 --> 00:39:09,000 Right at the point. 717 00:39:10,500 --> 00:39:15,000 of fixing to be stoned to death, 718 00:39:15,000 --> 00:39:18,166 Jesus stops them in their tracks and says, stop and think. 719 00:39:20,000 --> 00:39:21,099 Then objectively. 720 00:39:22,099 --> 00:39:25,266 Someone comes from God and speaks for 721 00:39:25,266 --> 00:39:28,333 God, there's a sense in which they could be called 722 00:39:28,333 --> 00:39:31,699 little G, gods, with a small G, 723 00:39:31,699 --> 00:39:33,433 because of that representation. 724 00:39:33,500 --> 00:39:37,400 And guess what, men, if that's true of corrupt men. 725 00:39:39,433 --> 00:39:40,466 And God said it. 726 00:39:41,933 --> 00:39:45,000 How much more is it true of the 727 00:39:45,000 --> 00:39:48,366 perfect, sinless creator, God, 728 00:39:48,366 --> 00:39:51,533 in human flesh that you saw, do all these amazing works? 729 00:39:52,400 --> 00:39:53,500 Verse 37. 730 00:39:53,699 --> 00:39:57,666 Again, if I do not do, The 731 00:39:57,666 --> 00:40:00,833 works of my father, do not believe me. 732 00:40:02,400 --> 00:40:06,566 Make an objective judgment, he is saying. 733 00:40:08,033 --> 00:40:10,033 Because he knew that they knew that he did them. 734 00:40:10,099 --> 00:40:10,833 They saw them. 735 00:40:10,866 --> 00:40:11,699 Verse 38. 736 00:40:11,900 --> 00:40:12,566 But if I do them, 737 00:40:14,133 --> 00:40:15,599 You do not believe me. 738 00:40:17,033 --> 00:40:17,766 Believe the works. 739 00:40:18,833 --> 00:40:21,900 So that you may know and understand that 740 00:40:21,900 --> 00:40:25,366 the Father is in me and I in the Father. 741 00:40:25,466 --> 00:40:27,800 In other words, we are one. 742 00:40:29,199 --> 00:40:31,300 Just like, look back at verse 30 again. 743 00:40:31,333 --> 00:40:33,599 He said it straightforward. 744 00:40:33,666 --> 00:40:35,766 I am the Father. 745 00:40:36,699 --> 00:40:37,233 One. 746 00:40:38,099 --> 00:40:41,800 And Jesus is saying, here's the proof that I am God, by my works. 747 00:40:42,300 --> 00:40:43,233 Objective. 748 00:40:43,266 --> 00:40:44,766 You see it with your eyeballs. 749 00:40:46,000 --> 00:40:49,333 Let me tell you, this is his final 750 00:40:49,333 --> 00:40:52,633 call for them to believe. 751 00:40:53,400 --> 00:40:56,366 And he's just getting real down to the nitty gritty. 752 00:40:57,400 --> 00:40:59,366 Look, you don't believe me what I'm saying? 753 00:40:59,400 --> 00:41:00,966 Believe the works, then. 754 00:41:01,500 --> 00:41:04,533 You saw them so that you may know 755 00:41:04,533 --> 00:41:07,733 and understand that the only way to eternal 756 00:41:07,766 --> 00:41:11,133 life is to believe in the person and work of Christ and 757 00:41:11,133 --> 00:41:14,533 to believe that he is God in human flesh. 758 00:41:14,666 --> 00:41:17,000 This is a final. 759 00:41:17,066 --> 00:41:20,833 And I would submit to you, as they were just standing there, 760 00:41:20,833 --> 00:41:24,533 fixing to stone him to death, gracious invitation. 761 00:41:25,733 --> 00:41:28,800 And he's basically saying, look, you can call me a blasphemer 762 00:41:28,800 --> 00:41:31,933 because of my words if you want to, but you can't possibly call 763 00:41:31,933 --> 00:41:35,166 me a blasphemer if you look at my works that 764 00:41:35,166 --> 00:41:36,900 I've been doing for the past three years. 765 00:41:37,033 --> 00:41:38,366 They all came from the Father. 766 00:41:38,400 --> 00:41:40,133 They all honor the Father. 767 00:41:40,199 --> 00:41:42,066 I've been saying that all the way through. 768 00:41:42,133 --> 00:41:45,199 And the very notion that I do what I 769 00:41:45,199 --> 00:41:48,966 do by the power of hell itself is 770 00:41:48,966 --> 00:41:52,333 simply a revelation of the corruption of 771 00:41:52,333 --> 00:41:56,533 your own heart that you would ever utter those words out of your mouth. 772 00:41:57,933 --> 00:41:59,233 And even with all of that. 773 00:42:01,233 --> 00:42:02,599 And all that he said and done. 774 00:42:03,133 --> 00:42:07,500 He's still giving them one last gracious invitation. 775 00:42:08,599 --> 00:42:10,833 And then next, we come to 39. 776 00:42:11,500 --> 00:42:12,566 The final scene. 777 00:42:12,599 --> 00:42:13,933 This is it here in chapter 10. 778 00:42:14,733 --> 00:42:15,599 The consequences. 779 00:42:18,133 --> 00:42:18,966 Verse 39. 780 00:42:21,199 --> 00:42:24,033 Therefore, they were seeking again to seize him. 781 00:42:27,066 --> 00:42:30,199 And he eluded their grass. 782 00:42:31,900 --> 00:42:34,466 Now like I said, at this point, it didn't matter what he said. 783 00:42:35,099 --> 00:42:36,766 It didn't matter what appeals he made. 784 00:42:36,866 --> 00:42:39,800 It didn't matter how merciful or gracious he was. 785 00:42:39,866 --> 00:42:42,866 They were fixed in their unbelief, 786 00:42:42,866 --> 00:42:45,933 and they are going to continue to scream for 787 00:42:45,933 --> 00:42:49,366 his blood all the way to the execution 788 00:42:49,400 --> 00:42:51,866 of him on the cross. 789 00:42:51,966 --> 00:42:54,800 And this is the same response they had back in verse 31. 790 00:42:54,966 --> 00:42:58,099 This time, they tried to seize 791 00:42:58,099 --> 00:43:02,133 him, again, for 792 00:43:02,133 --> 00:43:06,466 the same reason, to stone him to death, and he disappeared. 793 00:43:08,333 --> 00:43:12,366 Now, the Bible doesn't tell us how? 794 00:43:13,933 --> 00:43:14,533 Look what it says. 795 00:43:14,599 --> 00:43:18,500 It just says, he eluded their grass. 796 00:43:18,599 --> 00:43:19,266 Well, think about it. 797 00:43:19,333 --> 00:43:21,000 They're all standing right there around him. 798 00:43:21,933 --> 00:43:24,966 How did he elude their grass? 799 00:43:26,599 --> 00:43:30,166 Well, here's just a preacher's wishful opinion. 800 00:43:31,000 --> 00:43:32,433 This is not dogmatic. 801 00:43:33,599 --> 00:43:36,599 But I like to think that in that moment, 802 00:43:36,599 --> 00:43:39,433 all of a sudden, he just wasn't there. 803 00:43:41,400 --> 00:43:42,466 That's what I like to think. 804 00:43:42,566 --> 00:43:44,433 I mean wouldn't that be the coolest thing? 805 00:43:46,800 --> 00:43:47,566 Could he do it? 806 00:43:49,133 --> 00:43:49,633 Huh? 807 00:43:50,599 --> 00:43:51,633 Whatever it was. 808 00:43:52,633 --> 00:43:53,366 For sure. 809 00:43:54,800 --> 00:43:56,900 It wasn't possible. 810 00:43:57,900 --> 00:44:01,500 There was absolutely no army that you could gather 811 00:44:01,500 --> 00:44:04,633 that we're going to seize him because his hour 812 00:44:04,633 --> 00:44:06,500 had not yet come. 813 00:44:06,566 --> 00:44:08,800 It says that in multiple gospels. 814 00:44:08,833 --> 00:44:11,966 They weren't going to get their hands on him if they had the 815 00:44:11,966 --> 00:44:15,033 whole Roman army behind them for 3 816 00:44:15,033 --> 00:44:18,366 months until God's perfect timing took 817 00:44:18,366 --> 00:44:20,533 effect during Passover week. 818 00:44:20,599 --> 00:44:22,699 That was the time, not this day. 819 00:44:24,300 --> 00:44:27,800 So the 1st consequence is the rejectors are confirmed again, 820 00:44:27,800 --> 00:44:30,933 and they're damning unbelievable, but next, there's another consequence. 821 00:44:31,733 --> 00:44:35,000 Verse 40, and he went away again beyond the Jordan to 822 00:44:35,000 --> 00:44:38,766 the place where John was 1st baptizing and he was staying there. 823 00:44:38,833 --> 00:44:41,833 There is a place called Bethany, 824 00:44:41,833 --> 00:44:44,900 actually different from the Bethany, which was right next to Jerusalem, 825 00:44:44,900 --> 00:44:47,233 where Mary, Martha, and Lazarus lived. 826 00:44:47,300 --> 00:44:51,333 No, this Bethany is where John the Baptist started his ministry. 827 00:44:51,366 --> 00:44:52,099 So think about it. 828 00:44:53,199 --> 00:44:56,266 In the same place where John the Baptist started, his public 829 00:44:56,266 --> 00:44:59,699 ministry is the same place where Jesus started 830 00:44:59,699 --> 00:45:02,699 to end his public ministry, 831 00:45:02,699 --> 00:45:04,933 and he stays there, it says, until chapter 11. 832 00:45:05,233 --> 00:45:08,400 He comes back during the Passover time, to 833 00:45:08,400 --> 00:45:10,566 enter Jerusalem, to die. 834 00:45:11,800 --> 00:45:13,233 And to rise on the 3rd day. 835 00:45:13,266 --> 00:45:14,033 Verse 41. 836 00:45:14,300 --> 00:45:17,666 Many came to him and were saying, while John performed 837 00:45:17,666 --> 00:45:20,900 no sign, yet everything John said about 838 00:45:20,900 --> 00:45:23,133 this man was true. 839 00:45:23,900 --> 00:45:26,066 Why didn't John do miracles? 840 00:45:26,099 --> 00:45:28,366 Well, John wasn't Jesus, and John wasn't an apostle. 841 00:45:29,199 --> 00:45:32,466 Signs and wonders only belong to Jesus 842 00:45:32,466 --> 00:45:33,500 and the apostles. 843 00:45:33,566 --> 00:45:37,199 He performed no sign that says, yet everything John said, 844 00:45:37,199 --> 00:45:40,500 when he was preaching out there, eating honey and locusts, 845 00:45:40,500 --> 00:45:43,366 everything he said about this man, Jesus was true. 846 00:45:44,699 --> 00:45:45,566 Let me tell you something. 847 00:45:47,033 --> 00:45:49,166 That's a mandate for every preacher. 848 00:45:51,699 --> 00:45:53,500 If you're a genuine preacher. 849 00:45:53,533 --> 00:45:54,300 Guess what? 850 00:45:54,366 --> 00:45:55,266 We don't do miracles. 851 00:45:57,000 --> 00:45:58,666 Okay, I don't have no miracles here. 852 00:45:59,533 --> 00:46:02,900 The only miracle that will ever happen in this building is 853 00:46:02,900 --> 00:46:05,966 the greatest miracle that could ever happen, and it won't have anything really to do with 854 00:46:05,966 --> 00:46:07,766 me except delivering the gospel. 855 00:46:07,800 --> 00:46:11,633 And that's when a sinner is regenerated and comes to faith in Christ. 856 00:46:11,699 --> 00:46:12,966 That's the only miracle. 857 00:46:13,033 --> 00:46:15,066 That's not me, right? 858 00:46:16,599 --> 00:46:20,366 But just like John, for every preacher. 859 00:46:21,300 --> 00:46:22,166 Genuine. 860 00:46:23,699 --> 00:46:27,033 Everything we say about Jesus is true, just like John the Baptist. 861 00:46:27,066 --> 00:46:28,733 That's what ministry is all about. 862 00:46:29,733 --> 00:46:31,699 John was dead at this point. 863 00:46:31,766 --> 00:46:35,300 John had his head cut off, but these people in 864 00:46:35,300 --> 00:46:38,766 this area, all this time later, remembered 865 00:46:38,766 --> 00:46:42,000 what John had said about Jesus, and 866 00:46:42,000 --> 00:46:44,266 they said everything he said about Jesus was true. 867 00:46:44,366 --> 00:46:48,266 They heard John, and then they saw what Jesus did. 868 00:46:48,300 --> 00:46:51,133 They saw the miracles. 869 00:46:51,199 --> 00:46:53,066 And next, look at verse 42. 870 00:46:54,733 --> 00:46:57,300 Many believed in him there. 871 00:46:58,433 --> 00:47:00,366 That's where the miracles was happening right there. 872 00:47:00,433 --> 00:47:02,233 They were coming in faith in Christ. 873 00:47:03,333 --> 00:47:04,099 So that's it. 874 00:47:05,633 --> 00:47:08,666 The final public exposure in the way that we've been seeing 875 00:47:08,666 --> 00:47:11,800 it happen in the gospel of John so far, and 876 00:47:11,800 --> 00:47:15,000 Jesus stays out here in this area with 877 00:47:15,000 --> 00:47:19,133 his disciples and with this gathering group of believers, Until 878 00:47:19,166 --> 00:47:20,733 it was time for the Passover. 879 00:47:21,699 --> 00:47:24,699 And for him to go back to Jerusalem, the diamond cross. 880 00:47:25,833 --> 00:47:31,099 At the end of the day, Folks, 881 00:47:31,099 --> 00:47:33,500 it always comes back to the same thing. 882 00:47:35,099 --> 00:47:37,000 Do you believe? 883 00:47:38,733 --> 00:47:40,333 Here is the scripture. 884 00:47:41,333 --> 00:47:44,966 that we're studying, that Jesus believes 885 00:47:44,966 --> 00:47:49,466 is the word of God and cannot be broken, cannot be dismissed. 886 00:47:49,500 --> 00:47:52,566 We just read and studied some 887 00:47:52,566 --> 00:47:54,733 of its words about Jesus. 888 00:47:54,800 --> 00:47:57,733 And the question is, what do you conclude about Jesus? 889 00:47:59,433 --> 00:48:00,500 Was he a madman? 890 00:48:02,800 --> 00:48:03,933 Was he a charlatan? 891 00:48:06,000 --> 00:48:06,800 Or is he God? 892 00:48:08,133 --> 00:48:09,199 Who he claimed to be. 893 00:48:11,233 --> 00:48:14,466 Again, if you deny that he is God, 894 00:48:14,466 --> 00:48:17,233 you are the ultimate blasphemer. 895 00:48:19,233 --> 00:48:22,099 Now, if you think I'm crazy for being believe in that, 896 00:48:23,433 --> 00:48:24,366 I'm okay with that. 897 00:48:25,800 --> 00:48:29,366 I think you probably noticed by now what other people think and say about me. 898 00:48:29,400 --> 00:48:31,433 It doesn't really register in my DNA. 899 00:48:31,500 --> 00:48:32,633 Just does it. 900 00:48:32,699 --> 00:48:33,966 That's how I'm wired. 901 00:48:35,199 --> 00:48:36,933 Everybody has to make the call. 902 00:48:39,333 --> 00:48:43,099 Now, I'm only responsible for the call I make when it comes to Jesus. 903 00:48:44,000 --> 00:48:47,366 Every single person will stand 904 00:48:47,366 --> 00:48:50,433 alone before God and 905 00:48:50,433 --> 00:48:53,633 give an account for what they did with the reality 906 00:48:53,666 --> 00:48:55,300 of Jesus in this life. 907 00:48:56,199 --> 00:48:58,099 You'll be standing there by yourself. 908 00:48:59,133 --> 00:49:00,566 Don't look to the side for me. 909 00:49:02,800 --> 00:49:03,800 Or anybody else. 910 00:49:05,433 --> 00:49:06,800 It's just going to be you and him. 911 00:49:09,866 --> 00:49:10,900 And I'm responsible. 912 00:49:12,633 --> 00:49:15,900 Not to do miracles with anointing oil and 913 00:49:15,900 --> 00:49:17,266 holy prayer cloths. 914 00:49:18,300 --> 00:49:19,533 Like we see on television. 915 00:49:20,733 --> 00:49:21,866 That's not my responsibility. 916 00:49:23,300 --> 00:49:26,500 My responsibility is simply to do the 917 00:49:26,500 --> 00:49:30,000 absolute best I can to preserve and 918 00:49:30,000 --> 00:49:33,133 proclaim the truth of God's Word, 919 00:49:33,133 --> 00:49:36,300 Sunday in, and Sunday out, and you 920 00:49:36,300 --> 00:49:39,233 be the judge if whether or not what I'm preaching is the truth. 921 00:49:39,300 --> 00:49:42,366 You be like the Barian and search the scripture to 922 00:49:42,366 --> 00:49:44,033 see if what I'm telling you is the truth. 923 00:49:45,333 --> 00:49:47,166 It all comes down to believing in Jesus. 924 00:49:48,333 --> 00:49:50,900 His person and his work. 925 00:49:51,733 --> 00:49:52,500 That's the gospel. 926 00:49:53,699 --> 00:49:54,933 That's the Christian message. 927 00:49:56,433 --> 00:49:57,566 And it comes from scripture. 928 00:49:58,633 --> 00:49:59,766 Scripture alone. 929 00:50:01,033 --> 00:50:05,099 And scripture always tells the truth. 930 00:50:06,199 --> 00:50:06,933 Let's pray. 931 00:50:08,099 --> 00:50:10,766 Father, we marvel. 932 00:50:10,800 --> 00:50:14,566 We absolutely marvel at Jesus in this scene 933 00:50:14,599 --> 00:50:17,900 of impending death and extreme 934 00:50:17,900 --> 00:50:22,400 violence, and he calmly, Once 935 00:50:22,400 --> 00:50:25,699 again, sets these Jewish 936 00:50:25,699 --> 00:50:27,033 religious leaders in their place. 937 00:50:29,599 --> 00:50:31,766 And it's their final gracious offer. 938 00:50:32,599 --> 00:50:36,699 And as history has shown, they reject him. 939 00:50:36,733 --> 00:50:39,433 Oh, how we thank you for the ones that did not. 940 00:50:39,566 --> 00:50:42,933 We think about Nicodemus, that 941 00:50:42,933 --> 00:50:46,333 great chapter in John 3, and 942 00:50:46,333 --> 00:50:49,466 then we see Nicodemus at the end, a 943 00:50:49,466 --> 00:50:52,500 Pharisee, believing in Jesus, taking 944 00:50:52,500 --> 00:50:53,533 care of his body. 945 00:50:53,599 --> 00:50:57,000 Lord, how gracious, how 946 00:50:57,000 --> 00:50:58,433 gracious you are to every one of us. 947 00:50:59,599 --> 00:51:03,466 We do not deserve your grace, your unmerited favor. 948 00:51:04,500 --> 00:51:07,766 But by your grace and for your glory, you 949 00:51:07,766 --> 00:51:08,966 have chosen a people for yourself. 950 00:51:09,733 --> 00:51:11,400 We gather here every Sunday. 951 00:51:11,466 --> 00:51:13,933 And we want to learn and hear more. 952 00:51:14,066 --> 00:51:17,066 I pray we've done that today, and we've done it 953 00:51:17,066 --> 00:51:20,433 in such a way that you have received all the glory for it. 954 00:51:20,466 --> 00:51:22,099 In Jesus' name we pray. 955 00:51:22,166 --> 00:51:22,699 Amen.