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John 5:31-47 · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

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Amen. Please take your copy of God's Word and join me in John chapter 5.
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! John chapter 5, our text for today is verses 31 through 47.
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! Before reading our text, I want to give you the simple outline for our study this morning,
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and I'll link the introduction. I think it'll take us a little time to get through.
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So, first the outline. We will see in these verses, this closing portion of chapter 5,
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witnesses to Jesus. There are a number of them. Witnesses to Jesus the Christ and rejection of
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Jesus the Christ. The Scriptures contain within them a redemptive storyline. It is a magnificent
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story of a loving God saving an undeserving people for the glory of His name. Tragically,
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part of this narrative arc includes rebellion against God's loving kindness, particularly
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on the part of Israel. We trace this all throughout the Old Testament. The prophet Isaiah pictures
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Israel's unfaithfulness in a parable in Isaiah chapter 5, verses 1 through 7.
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Let me sing for my beloved my love song concerning his vineyard. My beloved had a vineyard on a very
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fertile hill. He dug it and cleared it of stones and planted it with choice vines. He built a watchtower
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in the midst of it and hewed out a wine vat in it, and he looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes.
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And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. What more was there to do
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for my vineyard that I have not done in it? When I looked for it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes?
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And now I tell you that what I will do to my vineyard, I will remove its hedge and it shall be devoured. I will break down
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its wall and it shall be trampled down. I will make it a waste. It shall not be pruned or hoed and briars and thorns
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shall grow up. I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts
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is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting. And he looked for justice, but behold,
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bloodshed. For righteousness, but behold, an outcry. Now although Israel was guilty of persistently
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forsaking God, he remained and remains loving toward them. He has yet to cease his kindness to ethnic Israel.
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See Romans 9 through 11. And he is broadening his kindness to all peoples, spiritual Israel.
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Paul writes in Romans chapter 9, verse 6 and following after expressing great grief for those
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Jewish people that rejected Jesus as the Christ. But it is not as though the word of God has failed,
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for not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel. And not all are children of Abraham
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because they are his offspring, but through Isaac shall your offspring be named. This means it is not
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the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted
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as offspring. So those who are not ethnically Jewish being grafted into Israel by God's grace.
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God expresses his great love in redeeming wayward, undeserving rebels. This is so beautifully pictured
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in the life of the prophet Hosea, who was instructed by God to marry a woman named Gomer, who is unfaithful.
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He's told this at the outset. She will not be faithful to you. She has children by other men.
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She abandons Hosea and is eventually an indentured slave. Hosea and Gomer's lives are pageantry meant to teach
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us about God's faithfulness in juxtaposition, in comparison to unfaithfulness. The story of Hosea and
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Gomer find its climax in chapter 3 of Hosea. This is the entirety of that chapter.
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And the Lord said to me, Go again. Love a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress,
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even as the Lord loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love cakes
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of raisins. So I bought her for 15 shekels of silver and a homer and a lethic of barley. This was a massive
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sum. And I said to her, You must dwell as mine for many days. You shall not play the whore or belong to another man.
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So will I also be to you. For the children of Israel shall dwell many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or
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pillar, without ephod or household gods. Afterward, the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God
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and David their king. And they shall come in fear to the Lord and to his goodness in the latter days.
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It is to a rebellious, Christ-rejecting people that Jesus ministered and John writes to.
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Many of us have received Jesus, the Christ. We have believed in his name for the salvation of our souls.
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Praise God for his great mercy to us. Justified by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone.
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Declared righteous before God because we are found in Christ. We are one with him. What a glorious reality.
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Be counted this day among those who have and are in Christ. Who have recognized him as the anointed one.
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Do not find yourself among those who reject Jesus, the Christ. Whose perfect life, sacrificial death, and third day resurrection
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grants eternal life to all who will believe in him. That's what this text sets before us today, as many of John's writings do.
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So John chapter 5, verse 31 through 47. Join me in prayer before I read it.
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Father God, thank you for your word this morning. It's such a privilege to be together
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and to be able to open up this ancient text and have it speak to us today.
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We recognize that it was written for your glory and for our good.
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And we know that we need your help to rightly understand it.
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Father, we want to believe its promises and we want to obey its commands.
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And we want to have affection for you, its author.
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Would you work this in us this day as we study together?
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And we pray this for the glory of Christ. Amen.
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Begin reading in verse 31.
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Jesus says,
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He says,
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And it is they that bear witness about me, that you refuse to come to me, that you may have life.
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I do not receive glory from people, but I know that you do not have the love of God within you.
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I have come in my Father's name and you do not receive me.
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If another comes in his own name, you will receive him.
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How can you believe when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?
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Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father.
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There is one who accuses you, Moses, on whom you have set your hope.
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For if you believed Moses, you would believe me.
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For he wrote of me.
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But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?
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Now, yesterday, at our men's morning meeting, I was made fun of for pointing out the literary structures of John,
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and it got a real good laugh.
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So, I'm not going to talk about chiastic structure this morning.
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I'm kidding.
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I am talking about chiastic structure this morning.
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You all should know that my skin is thick, especially when it comes to teaching you something that I am confident is good for your souls.
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Now, I should have done so from the beginning to help you see the structure more clearly.
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So, this morning, I have included a short outline in your bulletin to just make this point further.
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So, you have it there in front of you.
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Which, by the way, the weird lines across it are no feature of the bulletin,
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but a goofy thing the copier is doing that I didn't have time to fix yesterday.
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So, ignore the line struck through the bulletin, but notice, under your sermon notes section,
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you've heard me talk in this term, chiastic structure.
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So, now you can see the half of the X there.
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It's from the Greek letter chi for X.
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And how the beginning section corresponds with the last section.
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So, you see a true testimony that comes from John the Baptist,
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and then a true accusation that comes from Moses.
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A, and then A prime.
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Then notice B, verses 34 and 35.
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A testimony not received from man,
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and then glory not received from man,
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in verses 41 and 44.
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I hope this helps you see the way that Jesus is speaking and John is recording.
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Why does it feel so disjointed to us as we read it through?
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It's a literary structure,
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and it's meant to draw our attention somewhere.
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So, then you go on, right?
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You've got the work or the works that Jesus is doing,
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and the Father testifying in verses 36 and the first part of 37.
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And then in verses 39 and 40,
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the Scriptures testifying.
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The central part of this text,
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the center of the chiasm,
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is the last part of verse 37 and verse 38.
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So, what do we do with that?
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We pick the lens,
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and we look at the rest of the text, right?
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And again, you wouldn't have to see this to understand this.
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I'm not suggesting that I'm giving to you some special code, right?
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That you can lay this filter on top of any text,
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and suddenly it's going to just be totally unlocked for you.
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I think if you're being faithful to the text,
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and you're giving it a fair reading,
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you're going to pick up that there's testimony being given,
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and there's rejection happening.
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But this helps us to see that what's being communicated
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is particularly this rejection.
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To really note what's going on in the center of this very text.
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So, with that in mind,
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first point of the outline for today is,
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number one, witnesses to Jesus, the Christ.
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We see a number of them in this text.
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You know, you remember, right,
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for Christ, for Jesus to be the Christ,
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he's the anointed one.
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You see also the Hebrew word Messiah,
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the one who's promised in the Old Testament,
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who's going to come and take away the sin of the world,
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who's going to liberate God's people.
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Lots of misunderstandings about what that meant.
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But the people that are being talked to here in this text
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had some understanding that there was one who was going to come.
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One who was going to reign in the line of David forever.
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And they were sensitive to this.
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They're highly concerned about who this Jesus is.
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He's not the first person who would come and said he was the Christ.
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There had been rebellions led against Rome
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that were brutally squashed
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in the name of the Christ.
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They're rightly concerned.
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Is this Jesus actually the Messiah?
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And they just fail to see that he actually is.
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You may remember earlier in the chapter,
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chapter 5 and verse 18,
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we see the record.
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This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him.
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Because not only was he breaking the Sabbath,
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he had healed a man, a lame man,
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at the pool of Bethesda on the Sabbath.
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But he was even calling God his own father,
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making himself equal with God.
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If Jesus wasn't God,
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then this would have been a great blasphemy.
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They would have been right to seek justice in the matter.
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But he is.
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In the verses that follow,
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verse 18 of chapter 5,
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John records Jesus doubling down on the fact that he is God.
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Never shrinks back from this reality.
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And then we arrive at verse 31,
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verse 31,
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where he says,
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if I alone bear witness about myself,
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my testimony is not true.
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Is he saying that as God,
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incarnate God,
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that everything he says isn't true?
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Of course not.
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But for the sake of people's salvation,
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he's saying,
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look,
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on your terms,
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if a man claims something about himself,
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he better bring some witnesses along.
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And then we get this laid out for us,
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these varied witnesses to Jesus,
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the Christ.
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First we see John the Baptist,
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verses 32 through 35.
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There's a bit of debate in verse 32
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whether or not the one who bears witness about him,
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if he's referring to John,
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or if he's referring to God.
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It's not terribly important.
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I lean off in the John the Baptist direction.
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But some would say that Jesus is saying,
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I know that the testimony he bears about me is true,
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is referring to the testimony he'll later refer to
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concerning God the Father.
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But either way,
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there's another one who's giving testimony.
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And certainly in verse 33,
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he says,
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you sent to John,
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and he has borne witness to the truth.
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Now I'm pretty sure when he says,
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you sent to John,
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he's referring to something that we have recorded for us
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back in John chapter 1.
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So if you want to turn back a couple of pages
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and look at verse 19 of John chapter 1.
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There John records of John the Baptist,
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different Johns,
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and this is the testimony of John.
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This is verse 19.
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When the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem
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to ask him,
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who are you?
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That's the thing I believe he's referring to.
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Right?
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You sent to John.
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Right there we see in verse 19 of chapter 1.
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The Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem
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to ask him,
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who are you?
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John confessed and did not deny,
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but confessed,
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I am not the Christ.
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And they asked him,
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what then?
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Are you Elijah?
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He said,
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I am not.
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Are you the prophet?
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And he answered,
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no.
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So they said to him,
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who are you?
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We need to give an answer to those who sent us.
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What do you say about yourself?
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He said,
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I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness.
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Make straight the way of the Lord,
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as the prophet Isaiah said.
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Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.
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They asked him,
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then why are you baptizing,
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if you are neither the Christ,
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nor Elijah,
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nor the prophet?
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John answered them,
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I baptize with water,
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but among you stands one you do not know.
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Even he who comes after me,
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the strap of whose sandals,
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I am not worthy to untie.
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John the Baptist's witness to Christ
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was that he was the forerunner of Christ.
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He's preparing the way for the Messiah.
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Later in the chapter,
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he sees Jesus and he says,
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behold,
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the Lamb of God
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who takes away the sins of the world.
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Jesus goes on in verse 34 of chapter 5,
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not that the testimony that I received
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is from man,
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but I say these things
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so that you may be saved.
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They're such frail,
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mental beings.
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There was an earthly witness,
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someone who came,
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someone you marveled at
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who pointed to me
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as the Christ.
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He was a burning and shining lamp
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and you were willing to rejoice
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for a while in his light.
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Something was going on
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with this John the baptizer
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and you were willing to heed
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what he had to say
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for some time.
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This is most likely a reference
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to Psalm 132.
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There we can read beginning in verse 11,
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the Lord swore to David a sure oath
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from which he will not turn back.
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One of the sons of your body
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I will set on your throne.
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If your sons keep my covenant
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and my testimonies
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that I shall teach them,
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their sons also forever
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shall sit on your throne.
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For the Lord has chosen Zion.
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He has desired it
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for his dwelling place.
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This is my resting place forever.
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Here I will dwell
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for I have desired it.
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I will abundantly bless
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her provisions.
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I will satisfy her poor
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with bread.
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Her priests I will clothe
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with salvation
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and her saints
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will shout for joy.
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There I will make a horn
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to sprout for David.
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I have prepared a lamp
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for my anointed.
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I think that's the reference
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going on here.
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John the Baptist
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is the lamp
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of Psalm 132
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and verse 17.
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One meant to give light
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to the coming
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of the light
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of the world.
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So we see
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John the Baptist
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as a witness
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to Jesus the Christ.
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We also see
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Jesus' works.
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Every time that Jesus
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is performing a miracle,
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it's a miracle
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that's given to him
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by the Father
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to do,
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to testify
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to the fact
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that he is God.
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That he exercises
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dominion
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over illness,
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over creation,
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over sin.
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Again and again
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and again
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it sets a stage
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for Jesus
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to be shown
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to be
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the Christ.
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And again and again
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there's conflict
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over it.
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People miss it.
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They want the signs
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but they don't want
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the one performing
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the signs.
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And John's narrative
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is told in this way.
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We see a miracle
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and then we see teaching
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and then we see a miracle
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and then we see teaching.
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And we're in that
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teaching portion now
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following that
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miraculous healing
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of the lame man
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at the pool of Bethesda.
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Verse 36.
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He says,
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But the testimony
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that I have
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is greater than that
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of John.
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For the works
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that the Father
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has given me
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to accomplish,
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the very works
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that I am doing
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bear witness
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about me
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that the Father
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has sent me.
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I am from the Father.
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I am doing the works
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that the Father
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is doing.
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We read earlier
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in the chapter
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and this bears witness
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that I am God.
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I am the Messiah.
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The Christ.
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Jesus' works
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bear witness.
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We also see
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witness to the Christ
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of the Father.
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There in the beginning
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of verse 37.
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Jesus says,
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And the Father
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who sent me
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has himself
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borne witness
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about me.
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Now, Jesus' baptism
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is referenced
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by John the Baptist
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in chapter 1.
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But the details
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of the event
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are not mentioned
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in John's Gospel.
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It is likely
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at the later date
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of this Gospel's writing
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that the details
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were so commonly known
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that the reference
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to it was merely enough.
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But for our sake,
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listen to Matthew 3,
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verse 16 and 17.
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When Jesus was baptized,
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immediately he went up
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from the water
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and behold,
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the heavens were opened
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to him
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and he saw
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the Spirit of God
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descending like a dove
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and coming
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to rest on him.
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And behold,
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a voice from heaven
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said,
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I'm suggesting to you
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this is what he's
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referring to,
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right?
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Has himself
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borne witness
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about me.
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A voice from heaven
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said,
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This is my
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beloved son
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with whom
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I am well pleased.
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Understood.
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This is
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the
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Christ.
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So the Father himself,
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God the Father
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has borne witness
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to God
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the Son.
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We also see,
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if we jump down
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a couple verses
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to verse 39,
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the Scriptures
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bear witness
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to Jesus
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as the Christ.
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Here Jesus says,
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You search
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the Scriptures
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because you think
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that in them
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you have eternal life.
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And it is they
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that bear witness
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about me.
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He's going to
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reference the words
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of Moses later,
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being about
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him.
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Luke records
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the resurrected
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Jesus
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conversing
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with two
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doubting disciples
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as they
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travel to a place
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called Emmaus.
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You may be
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familiar.
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In Luke
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chapter 24
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verse 25
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and following,
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Jesus says to them,
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O foolish ones,
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and slow of heart
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to believe
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all that the
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prophets
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have spoken.
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Was it not
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necessary
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that the Christ
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should suffer
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these things
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and enter
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into his glory?
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They're terribly
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concerned that
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the one who said
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he was the Christ
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died.
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And then verse 27
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says,
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And beginning
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with Moses
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and all the
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prophets,
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that is to say,
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the Scripture
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of Jesus' day,
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Moses and all
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the prophets,
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he interpreted
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to them
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in all the
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Scriptures
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the things
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concerning
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himself.
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Every bit
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of the Bible,
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the entire text,
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points us
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to the person
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and work
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of Jesus Christ.
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The Scriptures
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bear witness
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to Jesus
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as the Christ.
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And then lastly,
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the last witness
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is Moses,
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verses 45
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and 46.
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Jesus says,
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Don't think I will
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accuse you to the Father?
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There is one
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who accuses you,
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Moses,
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on whom you have
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set your hope.
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Old covenant
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obedience to the law.
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This is not the place
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for hope.
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For if you believed
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Moses,
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you would believe me.
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For he wrote
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of me.
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Moses was a forerunner
25:34
of Christ
25:35
who would come.
25:37
So there's all
25:38
this witness
25:38
and that's the point
25:39
that Jesus is making here.
25:41
You've had
25:41
all the advantage
25:43
laid before you.
25:44
All of this
25:45
testimony
25:46
to who I am
25:48
and yet
25:49
he is
25:50
rejected.
25:52
So let's look at that.
25:53
The rejection
25:53
of Jesus
25:54
the Christ.
25:57
Again,
25:57
that central part
25:58
of our chiastic structure.
26:00
The last part
26:00
of verse 37
26:01
and verse 38.
26:04
Jesus says,
26:04
His voice
26:05
you have never heard.
26:06
His form
26:07
you have never seen
26:08
and you do not
26:09
have his word
26:10
abiding in you.
26:11
He's talking about
26:11
God the Father.
26:13
For you do not believe
26:14
the one
26:15
whom he
26:16
has sent.
26:17
the Christ.
26:18
You do not believe
26:19
him.
26:21
There's this
26:22
indictment issued.
26:25
Jesus says
26:25
to this Jewish
26:26
audience
26:27
rejecting him
26:28
as the Christ
26:28
and it's
26:29
threefold.
26:31
The first,
26:31
he says,
26:32
His voice
26:33
you
26:34
have never heard.
26:37
They are
26:37
unlike
26:38
Moses
26:39
in this way.
26:41
Right?
26:41
One of their patriarchs.
26:42
are unlike
26:43
Moses
26:44
who heard
26:45
God's
26:46
voice.
26:46
Right?
26:47
Who met with him
26:48
on the mountain.
26:49
Exodus
26:50
chapter 33
26:51
and verse
26:52
11.
26:54
Those who reject
26:55
Jesus,
26:56
the Christ,
26:57
have never
26:58
heard
26:59
God's
27:00
voice.
27:01
Because
27:02
Jesus
27:02
speaks
27:03
the words
27:04
of God.
27:07
Earlier in our text,
27:08
I read of you
27:09
John chapter 5
27:09
in verse 18.
27:11
The verse that
27:11
follows at verse 19.
27:13
Jesus says
27:14
to them,
27:15
Truly,
27:15
truly,
27:15
I say to you,
27:17
the Son can do
27:17
nothing of his
27:18
own accord,
27:19
but only what
27:20
he sees the
27:20
Father doing.
27:21
For whatever
27:22
the Father does,
27:23
that the Son
27:23
does likewise.
27:27
And you could
27:27
see in that
27:28
what he speaks
27:30
as well.
27:30
But in case
27:31
that's too vague,
27:32
later in
27:33
John's gospel
27:34
in chapter 12
27:35
and verse 49,
27:36
Jesus says,
27:37
For I have not
27:38
spoken on my
27:39
own authority,
27:40
but the Father
27:41
who sent me
27:42
has himself
27:43
given me
27:43
a commandment.
27:45
What to say
27:46
and what to speak.
27:49
Jesus speaks
27:50
the very words
27:51
of God,
27:52
and if we
27:52
reject Jesus
27:53
as the Christ,
27:55
then we reject
27:56
God himself.
27:59
So his voice
28:00
you have never
28:01
heard is the
28:02
first point
28:03
of the indictment.
28:05
The second
28:06
is his form
28:07
you have never
28:09
seen.
28:11
Unlike
28:12
Jacob,
28:13
another
28:14
Jewish patriarch
28:15
who wrestled
28:17
with God
28:18
and said in
28:19
Genesis 32
28:20
and verse
28:20
30,
28:22
there it says,
28:23
So Jacob
28:23
called the name
28:24
of the place
28:24
Peniel,
28:26
saying,
28:26
For I have
28:27
seen God
28:28
face to face,
28:30
and yet my
28:31
life
28:32
has been
28:33
delivered.
28:34
You don't
28:36
know him
28:37
because you're
28:38
not accepting
28:39
me.
28:40
That's the second
28:41
part of the
28:42
indictment.
28:43
The third
28:43
part of it,
28:44
and you do
28:45
not have his
28:45
word abiding
28:47
!
28:47
in you.
28:49
Unlike,
28:50
say,
28:51
Joshua,
28:53
another patriarch
28:53
who was commanded,
28:55
Joshua chapter 1
28:55
verse 8 and 9,
28:57
This book of the law
28:58
shall not depart
28:59
from your mouth,
29:00
but you shall
29:00
meditate on it
29:02
day and night
29:02
so that you may
29:03
be careful to do
29:04
according to all
29:05
that is written
29:05
in it.
29:06
For then you will
29:07
make your way
29:08
prosperous,
29:08
and then you
29:09
will have good
29:09
success.
29:11
Have I not
29:11
commanded you?
29:13
Be strong and
29:13
courageous,
29:14
do not be
29:14
frightened,
29:15
and do not
29:15
be dismayed,
29:16
for the Lord
29:17
your God
29:18
is with you
29:19
wherever you
29:21
go.
29:22
I'm going to
29:22
pick up this
29:23
idea of abiding
29:24
later on in
29:25
John's gospel,
29:27
but it means
29:27
to tarry along
29:29
with,
29:29
to travel in
29:31
your going,
29:32
you do not
29:34
have God's
29:34
word going
29:35
with you
29:36
because if
29:37
you did,
29:38
you would
29:39
see me,
29:41
the one
29:42
that it
29:42
testifies
29:43
to.
29:46
The last part
29:46
of verse 48
29:47
says,
29:47
For you do
29:48
not believe
29:49
that you have
29:49
not seen
29:49
his form,
29:50
you do not
29:51
have his
29:51
word abiding
29:52
in you,
29:53
and the evidence
29:54
of that is
29:55
that you are
29:56
rejecting the
29:57
one that he
29:58
has sent.
29:59
after he
30:01
talks about
30:01
the scriptures
30:02
and their
30:02
diligent searching
30:04
of it and
30:04
trying to find
30:06
eternal life
30:07
in it,
30:08
he says in
30:08
verse 40,
30:09
Yet you
30:09
refuse to
30:10
come to
30:12
me that
30:13
you may
30:13
have life.
30:16
This book
30:17
is a
30:17
precious,
30:19
precious
30:19
book.
30:21
We are
30:21
just so
30:23
abundantly
30:24
blessed with
30:25
Bible in
30:26
our days.
30:27
the translations
30:29
that we
30:29
have,
30:30
just pick
30:30
one of the
30:31
good translations
30:32
and we are
30:33
more favored
30:35
amongst peoples
30:36
to have such
30:37
good access
30:38
to the
30:39
scripture.
30:40
And then we
30:40
replete with
30:41
them.
30:41
We have all
30:42
kinds of
30:42
great translations
30:44
and great
30:44
tools to
30:45
study.
30:45
It's all
30:46
so good
30:47
and so
30:48
precious,
30:49
but guys,
30:49
we miss
30:50
it if we
30:51
don't see
30:51
Christ on
30:52
its pages.
30:54
It's useless
30:55
to us if we
30:56
don't take
30:57
hold of
30:58
Jesus,
30:59
the Christ.
31:01
He says in
31:02
verse 43,
31:03
I have come
31:03
in my
31:03
Father's name
31:04
and you
31:05
do not
31:05
receive me.
31:06
If another
31:06
comes in
31:07
his own
31:07
name,
31:08
you will
31:08
receive him.
31:09
And it's
31:09
like he's
31:10
saying,
31:10
what's wrong
31:11
with you?
31:13
God has
31:14
sent me,
31:16
see me,
31:17
and receive
31:18
me.
31:20
So let's
31:20
think through
31:21
some applications
31:23
as we
31:24
consider this
31:25
text in
31:25
closing.
31:28
First,
31:29
receive the
31:30
witness God
31:31
has given.
31:35
Jesus is
31:36
not lacking
31:37
for testimony.
31:40
John the
31:40
Baptist bore
31:41
witness.
31:42
Jesus'
31:43
works bore
31:44
witness.
31:45
The Father
31:46
bore witness.
31:48
The Scriptures
31:49
continue this
31:50
day to bear
31:51
witness.
31:52
Moses bore
31:54
witness.
31:56
How much
31:56
more
31:57
confirmation
31:57
could God
31:58
possibly give?
32:01
Unbelief
32:02
is not an
32:03
intellectual
32:04
problem,
32:05
but it's a
32:06
moral one.
32:08
If you will
32:08
not come to
32:09
Christ,
32:09
it is not
32:10
because the
32:10
evidence is
32:11
weak,
32:12
but because
32:12
your heart
32:13
is hard.
32:15
I plead with
32:16
you this
32:17
morning.
32:18
Come to
32:18
Christ and
32:20
live.
32:20
If you
32:21
need to
32:21
learn more,
32:22
I'm
32:22
certainly
32:23
one of
32:24
them.
32:26
Receive the
32:26
witness that
32:27
God has
32:28
given.
32:29
Find eternal
32:29
life in
32:31
Christ.
32:33
Secondly,
32:34
if you're in
32:35
Christ,
32:37
beware a
32:38
Bible without
32:38
him.
32:40
We too
32:41
often go to
32:41
the Bible to
32:42
know things
32:43
about our
32:44
God and
32:44
not to
32:45
know our
32:46
God.
32:47
God.
32:48
The Jews
32:48
searched the
32:49
scriptures
32:49
diligently,
32:51
but they
32:51
missed the
32:52
very one to
32:53
whom the
32:53
scriptures
32:54
pointed.
32:56
You can
32:56
read the
32:57
Bible,
32:57
you can
32:58
love theology,
33:00
study doctrine,
33:01
and still
33:02
perish if
33:03
Christ is
33:04
not your
33:06
Savior.
33:08
It's
33:08
altogether
33:09
possible to
33:09
know a
33:10
ton of
33:10
stuff and
33:13
not embrace
33:14
Christ for
33:15
the salvation
33:15
of your
33:16
soul.
33:17
it's
33:18
impossible,
33:19
I mean,
33:19
excuse me,
33:19
it's
33:19
possible to
33:21
master the
33:21
text and
33:22
miss the
33:23
Savior.
33:24
The ultimate
33:24
question is
33:25
not do I
33:26
know the
33:26
Bible, but
33:27
rather do I
33:29
know the
33:30
one that
33:31
the Bible
33:31
reveals.
33:34
Thirdly and
33:35
lastly,
33:37
delight in
33:39
the glory
33:39
of Christ.
33:43
Verse 44
33:44
says,
33:44
how can you
33:45
believe when
33:46
you receive
33:47
glory from
33:47
one another?
33:49
You're
33:49
willing to
33:49
prop each
33:50
other up
33:50
and give
33:51
each other
33:52
attaboys and
33:53
say way to
33:53
go.
33:55
And do
33:55
not seek
33:56
the glory
33:57
that comes
33:59
from the
34:00
only God.
34:02
He talked
34:03
about being
34:03
sent by
34:04
God,
34:05
Jesus,
34:06
right?
34:06
The glory
34:07
of Christ
34:09
is the way
34:10
that we
34:11
behold the
34:11
glory of
34:13
God.
34:14
God, what a
34:15
precious thing
34:17
this is that
34:17
we ought to
34:19
delight in.
34:21
John says in
34:22
chapter 17
34:23
that eternal
34:23
life is to
34:24
know God
34:25
and the
34:26
one whom
34:26
he has
34:27
sent.
34:29
This is
34:30
astounding.
34:31
I don't
34:32
fully comprehend
34:33
all that it
34:34
means.
34:36
I think we'll
34:36
spend our
34:36
lives trying
34:38
to know
34:39
God
34:40
imperfectly
34:41
so that
34:41
one day
34:41
we will
34:42
know him
34:43
perfectly.
34:46
John Owen
34:47
once wrote
34:48
in his book
34:48
The Glory
34:49
of Christ,
34:50
which if
34:51
you've ever
34:51
tried to
34:51
read Owen,
34:52
you may
34:53
never try
34:54
to read
34:54
Owen again.
34:56
If you'd
34:56
like to
34:57
read Owen,
34:57
some of his
34:58
writing is
34:58
really difficult.
34:59
This is the
34:59
book to start
35:00
with,
35:00
The Glory
35:00
of Christ.
35:01
It's the
35:01
simplest of
35:03
his writing
35:04
and it's
35:05
a rich,
35:06
rich read.
35:07
He said
35:07
this though,
35:08
quote,
35:08
Make up
35:09
your mind
35:10
that to
35:10
behold the
35:11
glory of
35:11
God by
35:12
beholding
35:12
the glory
35:13
of Christ
35:13
is the
35:14
greatest
35:15
privilege
35:15
which is
35:16
given to
35:16
believers
35:16
in this
35:17
life.
35:18
Let me
35:18
read that
35:19
first part
35:19
again.
35:20
Make up
35:20
your minds
35:20
that to
35:21
behold the
35:21
glory of
35:22
God by
35:22
beholding
35:23
the glory
35:23
of Christ
35:24
is the
35:25
greatest
35:25
privilege
35:26
which is
35:26
given to
35:26
believers
35:27
in this
35:28
life.
35:29
This is
35:30
the dawning
35:31
of heaven.
35:32
It is the
35:32
first taste
35:33
of that
35:33
heavenly glory
35:34
which God
35:35
has prepared
35:35
for us
35:36
for this
35:37
is
35:38
eternal
35:39
life
35:39
to know
35:40
the Father
35:40
and Jesus
35:41
Christ
35:42
whom he
35:43
has sent.
35:43
That's
35:44
John 17
35:45
and verse
35:46
3.
35:47
Let's pray
35:48
together.
35:48
here.