Participants: Pr. Stephen Bohr
Series Code: 24ELD
Program Code: 24ELD000001
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00:35 Welcome! Let's bow our heads for prayer to ask for the Lord's
00:39 guidance. Our loving Father, what a privilege it is to call 00:44 You our Father. We ask that as we open Your Holy Word today, 00:50 as we begin this series on the identity of the 24 Elders 00:54 that Your Holy Spirit will be with us to instruct us. 00:58 Help us to understand this very complex subject 01:01 and how it applies to our own personal walk with Jesus. 01:05 We thank You for Your presence and for hearing our prayer 01:09 for we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. 01:15 The title of our study today is Mission Accomplished, 01:20 and I'd like to begin our study by going to John, Chapter 1 01:24 and verses 1 to 3. John 1:1-3. 01:28 These verses are so well known that probably most of you could 01:32 repeat them from memory. 01:34 There's one particular point that I want to underline 01:37 in these three verses. 01:39 There the beloved disciple wrote this: In the beginning was the 01:44 Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 01:50 He was in the beginning with God. 01:53 And now comes the point that I want to underline. 01:56 All things were made through him; and without him nothing 02:03 was made that was made. 02:05 This text tells us that Jesus was the Creator of everything. 02:10 In other words, Jesus is responsible for our existence. 02:15 Now we need to understand that Jesus is not responsible for our 02:19 sin, but Jesus is responsible for our existence because we did 02:23 not ask to exist. He was the one who created us, 02:27 and He is responsible over the fact that we exist. 02:31 Now you might be saying, Well that's kind of unjust. 02:35 I'm born into this world. 02:36 I did not choose to be born into this world. 02:39 And so that's not fair. 02:42 Well, it wouldn't be fair unless Jesus had given us a chance 02:47 to escape the sin as it exists in this world. 02:52 In other words, if Jesus had created us and simply said, 02:56 Well, you fell into sin. 02:57 There's nothing I can do for you. 02:59 We would have problems with that because we didn't choose 03:01 to fall into that condition. 03:03 But as long as Jesus has given us a way of escape, 03:07 He is not responsible for us being lost. 03:11 In other words, we don't choose to come into this world, 03:14 but we can choose how we will go out of this world. 03:17 He has given us a way of escape. 03:19 And so this text tells us that Jesus created everyone. 03:24 Now when I say this, there's always people who say, 03:27 Well, you know, I wasn't created by Jesus. 03:29 I was born from my mother. 03:31 And so I say, Okay, you were born from your mother, 03:34 and who was your mother born from? 03:35 Well, she was born from her mother. 03:37 And who was her mother born from? 03:40 Well, she was born from her mother. 03:41 Now if you go all the way back to the beginning, 03:43 where does the sequence end? 03:46 It ends with Adam and Eve. 03:48 When Jesus created Adam and Eve He created every single human 03:54 being that descended from them. 03:56 In other words, Jesus is responsible for our existence. 03:59 Jesus created everyone on planet Earth. 04:03 Now when Jesus created this world He created Adam and Eve, 04:08 and He placed Adam as the king over this realm or over this 04:14 territory. I'd like to invite you to turn in your Bibles 04:18 with me to Psalm 8 verses 3 to 5. Psalm 8:3-5. 04:24 We're going to talk about the original individual that God 04:27 established on this earth to rule over the earth. 04:31 It says in Psalm 8 Verse 3: 04:48 It's speaking about the creation of Adam. 04:57 Now who is it that uses crowns? 05:00 Kings use crowns. So Adam was created to be a what? 05:05 a king. His position was the position of king or ruler. 05:10 And so it says: for you have made him a little lower than 05:12 the angels, you have crowned him with glory and honor. 05:16 You have made him to have dominion over the works of your 05:21 hands. Now every king has a realm over which he rules, 05:26 right? And so Adam was created to be king. 05:29 He must have had a territory over which he should rule, 05:33 or a realm over which he should rule. 05:36 What was that realm? Verse 6 once again: 05:46 That expression, under his feet, means that you have placed 05:48 him as a ruler. Now what was under his feet? 06:03 7 Now when the Bible uses the expression, beasts of the field, 06:06 birds of the air, and fish of the waters, it means everything 06:11 connected with planet Earth: sky, earth, and waters. 06:15 In other words, Adam was created to occupy the position of king 06:21 and his realm, or his territory over which he ruled was planet 06:26 Earth. But in order for Adam to continue ruling over planet 06:31 Earth, he had to render perfect obedience to God's holy law. 06:36 In other words, he could not deviate from God's law in the 06:41 minutest detail. You see, the law of God requires absolute 06:47 sinless perfection. The law says offer me sinless perfection 06:52 and you will live forever. 06:54 Unfortunately, the Bible tells us that Adam and Eve chose 06:59 to sin. And when they sinned another individual took over 07:06 the position of Adam as king, and took over the territory 07:10 over which he ruled. Notice Luke chapter 4 and verses 5-7. 07:15 Luke 4:5-7. This is speaking about the moment when the devil 07:21 took Jesus up unto a high mountain to tempt Him, 07:26 and you'll notice what the devil says to Christ. 07:29 Luke 4 verses 5 thru 7: 07:39 Did you notice that the devil is showing Him the realm? 07:42 Showing Him the kingdoms of the world. 07:45 Now notice what it continues saying. 07:47 He shows them all of the kingdoms of the world 07:49 in a moment of time, and verse 6 states: 07:59 What does authority imply? 08:02 That's talking about the fact that the devil is saying, 08:04 I am the ruler. I'm the one who governs over the kingdoms 08:09 of the world. So do you notice the two aspects? 08:12 Adam was created to be king, and the realm of his dominion 08:15 was the planet Earth. 08:18 In Luke chapter 4 the devil is saying, Look I have the kingdoms 08:23 of the world; that's the realm. 08:24 And he says, I have the authority over those kingdoms. 08:28 In other words, I rule as king over those kingdoms. 08:31 And then the devil says: 08:43 Who gave the position of king and the territory into the hands 08:48 of his enemy? It was Adam. 08:50 And so the devil is saying, the kingdom and the realm 08:55 of dominion has been given into my hands. 08:59 I am now the king and this is my realm of dominion. 09:04 Now the Bible tells us that everyone who descended from 09:09 Adam is also a sinner. 09:13 In other words there's no one on planet Earth that can offer 09:18 the law the sinless perfection that the laws requires. 09:21 And so because the Bible says that all have sinned 09:25 and come short of the glory of God, all of us are slaves, 09:29 and all of us have lost our territory, 09:32 our position of dominion. 09:33 So the question is, how could man recover the lost throne, 09:40 or the dominion, and recover the lost territory over which 09:46 Adam was placed to rule originally. 09:48 The answer to this question is found in the laws of redemption 09:54 in the Old Testament. 09:55 I'd like to invite you to turn in your Bibles to 09:57 Leviticus chapter 25 and verse 25, and then we will also read 10:02 verses 47 to 49. In Israel every Israelite was given a plot 10:07 of land over which they were sovereign rulers. 10:11 But what would happen if an individual sold that plot 10:17 of land? Could that plot of land, or that territory, 10:20 be recovered in some way? 10:22 And what if an individual sold himself, from being lord over 10:26 his dominion, he sold himself into slavery, 10:30 could he be delivered from his position of slavery, 10:34 and once again be placed as ruler over his domain? 10:38 The answer is yes, but there was a specific prescription 10:42 that needed to take place. 10:43 Leviticus 25 and verse 25 tells us what would happen if an 10:48 individual sold his possession, that is his territory. It says: 11:02 the word redeeming there means to buy back by paying a price. 11:06 That's what the Hebrew word means. 11:07 And so if his redeeming relative comes to redeem it, 11:14 then he may redeem what his brother sold. 11:19 Who was supposed to be the redeemer? 11:21 It was supposed to be a relative or a brother according to this. 11:27 So could a brother or a relative pay the price to buy back 11:32 the possession that had been sold? 11:34 Absolutely! Now what would happen if an individual sold 11:38 himself into servant hood, or into slavery? 11:41 Could he once again be emancipated so that he could 11:45 occupy his position as ruler over his territory? 11:48 The answer is yes. 11:50 Go with me to Leviticus 25 and verses 47 to 49. 12:15 See, he sold himself into servant hood. It says: 12:21 He may be what? redeemed. 12:23 That word goel in the old testament means to buy something 12:27 back by paying the price that is required to buy it back. 12:31 So verse 48 says: 12:36 Who could redeem him? 12:57 Of course, he couldn't redeem himself because he had sold 12:59 himself into slavery. That's a hypothetical statement. 13:02 But it's interesting to notice that if an individual sold 13:06 himself the only way in which he could recover his lordship, 13:10 so to speak, was if a next of kin, a close relative, 13:14 would pay the price to buy back his freedom, 13:18 or to buy back the territory which he had sold. 13:21 The problem is with regards to the redemption 13:25 of the position that Adam lost. 13:29 There was no one in the human race that could recover 13:32 the throne that Adam lost, because we all became servants 13:35 because we all sold ourselves to sin. 13:37 There was no one within the human race that could recover 13:41 the lost possession, the lost territory, because all of us 13:45 sold our patrimony by being sinners. 13:47 You see, the Apostle Paul tells us in: 13:55 And in verse 23 he says, 14:00 So the human race was in a very tough predicament because 14:04 there was no one within humanity who could redeem what had been 14:09 lost. There was no next of kin that could pay the price to buy 14:14 back the position of sovereignty and to buy back the territory 14:18 that had been sold. 14:21 This is the reason why Jesus Christ came to this earth. 14:24 Let me ask you, was Jesus our next of kin before He became 14:31 incarnate? Was Jesus a member of our family before His 14:35 incarnation? No, He wasn't a member of our family. 14:39 Whose family did He belong to? 14:41 He belonged to the family of the Godhead, right? 14:45 the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 14:47 He was a member of a different family. 14:49 So could Jesus apply the laws of redemption when He was a 14:52 member of a different family, and He was not our next of kin? 14:55 Absolutely not! What needed to happen in order for Jesus 15:00 to be able to fulfill the laws of redemption? 15:03 He had to become our brother, or He had to become our next 15:07 of kin. Are you understanding me? 15:09 And so Jesus gathered all of the angelic host, 15:13 all of the heavenly beings together, and He said, 15:17 Folks I am going to leave for planet Earth. 15:21 And I am going to face Goliath in place of all of those slaves 15:28 down there who have lost their patrimony. 15:31 I am going to fight with the enemy down there. 15:34 But in order to do it I have to become one of them. 15:39 I have to join their family. 15:40 And so we're told in John chapter 1 and verse 14, 15:45 And the Word became flesh and dwelt us, (and we beheld his 15:51 glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) 15:55 full of grace and truth. 15:57 You see, Jesus, by His incarnation became our 16:01 next of kin. He became our brother, and therefore He could 16:06 pay the price to buy back the lost possession, and to buy back 16:11 our rulership, or our sovereignty. 16:13 Are you following me or not? 16:15 And so Jesus says to the heavenly beings gathered there, 16:19 He says, I'm leaving. I'm going to be gone for 33 years. 16:23 And during those 33 years in human flesh, being next of kin 16:28 to those people down there who have lost their possession, 16:31 and they have lost their position, I am going to do 16:34 battle with the enemy in their place. 16:36 And I assure you, He says to the heavenly beings, that 33 years 16:41 from now, I will be back, and I will be a victorious 16:46 war hero. So you'd better start preparing the party. 16:49 And then Jesus, by a mystery that we can never understand, 16:53 was implanted in the womb of Mary, 16:57 and He became our next of kin. 17:01 He became our brother. 17:03 Now, you know, it's interesting to notice that Jesus actually 17:06 belonged to two families. 17:08 Take, for example, David. 17:11 In Revelation 22 and verse 16 we're told that Jesus is: 17:19 Now that's interesting! 17:21 He, in other words, He is the creator of David, 17:24 and He is also the son of David. 17:26 He's the root and offspring of David. 17:28 The Bible also tells us that Jesus is the father of Abraham 17:33 and He is the son of Abraham. 17:35 We're told in Matthew chapter 1 that Jesus was the seed 17:39 of Abraham. But Jesus in John chapter 8 told the Jews that 17:42 were gathered there, Verily, verily, I say unto you, 17:45 Before Abraham was, I am. 17:48 In other words, Jesus is Abraham's father, 17:52 and He is Abraham's son. 17:54 And you say, that's absurd. 17:56 An individual cannot be his father's son, and his son's son. 17:59 It's impossible! But Jesus actually was father 18:07 of Abraham, and He was also son of Abraham. 18:10 He was father of David, and He was also the son of David. 18:14 The father of Abraham and David as God, 18:17 and the son of Abraham and David as man. 18:21 Jesus became flesh of our flesh and bone of our bones. 18:25 And Jesus had two things that He needed to fulfill 18:29 in His mission. You see, the law of God demands absolute 18:34 sinless perfection. No one in the human race can offer the law 18:38 what the law requires, and therefore the law says, 18:41 if you don't offer me the perfection that I require, 18:44 you must die. So what did Jesus come to this earth for? 18:50 He came to do two things. 18:52 1. He came to live the perfect life that the law requires 18:57 in my place. And then at the end of a perfect life, 19:03 which He lived in our place, Jesus took all of our sins upon 19:08 Himself, and He was punished for our sins. 19:11 He suffered the death penalty that we should suffer. 19:14 In other words, Jesus had to come to live the life that the 19:18 law requires from us. 19:20 And He came to die the death that the law requires from us 19:23 as sinners. He came to live a perfect life, 19:27 and He came to die in our place. 19:29 He lived for us, and He died for us. 19:32 Do you know that this is illustrated in the sanctuary 19:36 service? Notice Exodus chapter 12 and verses 5 and 6. 19:40 You know, usually when we start the study of the sanctuary, 19:43 we usually begin in the court where the alter of sacrifice is. 19:47 That's not the proper place to begin the study of the 19:50 sanctuary. The proper place to begin the study of the 19:53 sanctuary is in the camp where the sinners live. 19:57 You see, before Jesus went to the cross, which is illustrated 20:01 by the altar, the Lord Jesus came and lived in our midst. 20:05 He lived a perfect life. 20:08 He was tempted in all things such as we are, 20:10 yet He did not sin. 20:12 You see, in the sanctuary these two roles of Christ, 20:15 His perfect life, and His death for sin, are illustrated 20:18 by the lamb. Now you know the lamb was sacrificed, 20:22 but before the lamb was sacrificed they had to be 20:25 absolutely certain that the lamb did not have any what? any 20:29 blemish or any defect. 20:31 In other words, the fact that the lamb didn't have any blemish 20:34 or defect represents the perfect life of Christ, 20:37 whereas the sacrifice of the lamb represents the death 20:41 of Christ. Two functions, one in the camp where He lived His 20:45 perfect life in our midst, and then the altar of sacrifice 20:49 where He suffered death in our place. 20:52 Notice Exodus chapter 12 and verses 5 and 6 where this is 20:56 brought out clearly. 20:57 Speaking about the Passover lamb it says: 21:20 Do you notice two things regarding the lamb? 21:21 First of all they had to be sure that it had no blemish; 21:25 that's the perfect life of Christ. 21:27 And then secondly, they had to slay the lamb 21:30 that had no blemish. 21:32 Perfect life of Christ and His death for sin in our place. 21:36 Now this is also spoken of in 1 Peter chapter 1 21:40 and verses 18 thru 20. 1 Peter chapter 1 verses 18 thru 20. 21:45 Here the Apostle Peter says: 21:50 Notice the word redeemed that we studied before. 22:11 There you have His death. There you have His perfect life. 22:21 So my question is, what was the function of Jesus in taking upon 22:26 Himself human flesh? 22:28 Jesus came to this world to live a perfect life in obedience 22:34 to the law in our place. 22:36 He came to this world to bear our sins and to die 22:40 in our place. He came to live for all, and He came to die 22:46 for all. And He could do that because He was the Creator 22:50 of all. Only He who created all could offer Himself to take 22:55 the place of all. Are you following me or not? 22:58 And so Jesus bid farewell to heaven. 23:01 He says I'm going to go down there for 33 years. 23:04 I'm going to live a perfect life. 23:06 I'm never going to disobey the law. 23:08 And then even though I'm a perfect lamb, at the end of my 23:12 life I'm going to be killed because I'm going to be 23:15 bearing the sins of the world. 23:17 I'm going to offer my life a ransom for many. 23:21 Now do you think that the devil knew why Jesus had come, 23:26 and who He was? Oh, yes he did! 23:29 Turn in your Bibles to Mark chapter 1 verses 23 and 24. 23:33 The demons knew who He was and why He had come. 23:37 They knew that He had come to destroy them and to restore 23:40 Adam to his original position of rulership, 23:43 and to the territory which he had lost. 23:46 It says there in Mark 1: 23 and 24, 23:49 Jesus is in the synagogue on a Sabbath. 24:04 And now notice! Did You come to what? to destroy us? 24:10 Did they know why He had come? 24:11 Oh yes! Did they know who He was? Let's continue reading. 24:23 Now if the mission of Christ was to come and live a perfect life 24:27 in our place, and to offer His life as a sacrifice for sin 24:32 in our place, what do you suppose the devil's mission was? 24:36 Well, it's very simple. 24:38 The devil's mission was simply to keep Jesus from living 24:42 His perfect life, and to keep Jesus from offering His life 24:47 as a sacrifice for sin. 24:48 In other words, the devil's mission was to keep Jesus 24:52 from doing what He came to do, which was to live His perfect 24:55 life and to die for sin. 24:58 And so the devil 24/7365 was after Christ 25:05 To try and keep Him from living a perfect life. 25:08 Trying to get Him to sin, and trying to keep Him from offering 25:13 His life as a sacrifice for sin. 25:15 And the devil used four methods to try and prevent Jesus from 25:21 being successful in His mission. 25:22 The first method that the devil used was to try to kill Jesus 25:28 Christ before He reached the point where He was supposed 25:31 to offer His own life as a ransom for men. 25:35 You see, if the devil had killed Jesus before the hour of Jesus 25:39 had arrived, that would not count as a sacrifice for sin, 25:42 because it was not acceptable if His life was taken. 25:47 He had to offer His life. 25:49 So the devil says, if I can kill Him before He offers His life, 25:53 then the plan of salvation will not be successful. 25:56 That's why constantly in the gospel of John we find 25:59 the expression, they could not lay hands on Him because 26:03 His hour had not yet come. 26:05 His time had not yet come. 26:07 They could do nothing to Him as long as the moment for Him to 26:12 offer His life had not come. 26:14 Did the devil attempt to kill Christ on several occasions? 26:17 Yes, he did. When was the first occasion? 26:21 When He was born! 26:23 The devil says, I'm going to nip this in the bud. 26:27 I'm going to get rid of Him when He is born. 26:29 Notice Revelation chapter 12 and verses 3 and 4. 26:32 Revelation 12 verses 3 and 4. 26:54 Now, of course, we know the way in which that occurred. 26:57 The devil influenced King Herod to kill all of the male children 27:02 in the hopes of killing the rival to his throne, 27:06 which the devil is really saying to Herod, You know if 27:09 you let Him live He's going to take your throne, 27:11 but the devil is thinking, If I let Him live He's going to 27:14 take my throne. And so we find the devil attempting to kill 27:18 Christ from the moment of His birth. 27:20 Another time there was a storm on a lake. 27:23 It was a storm out of season. 27:25 The fishermen were out on the lake. 27:27 It was not expected that there would be a storm. 27:30 And there was this horrific storm, and Jesus was sleeping 27:33 in the boat. Who do you suppose knew that Jesus 27:36 was sleeping in the boat? 27:37 Who causes storms? Satan causes storms. 27:40 He says, I'm going to drown this man. 27:43 On another occasion Jesus was preaching in the synagogue 27:47 in Nazareth. This is found in Luke chapter 4 verses 28 to 30. 27:51 And Jesus said some things that the Jews didn't like, 27:53 like, you know, in the times of Elijah, 27:56 and in the times of Naaman the Syrian, God favored the Gentiles 28:01 instead of the Jews, and they were really angry at Jesus. 28:04 And so the Bible tells us that they pushed Jesus outside 28:07 the city and they were going to throw Him over a cliff. 28:10 Ellen White tells us in Desire of Ages that there were demons 28:14 disguised as men there, egging on the group of individuals, 28:20 the multitude to throw Jesus over the cliff. 28:23 The devil was trying to kill Christ. 28:25 On several occasions during the ministry of Jesus they picked up 28:29 stones to try and stone Christ. 28:31 The Bible says that He would walk in their midst 28:33 and they could not find Him. 28:35 So the devil says, I need to kill Him before the moment 28:39 comes for Him to offer His life voluntarily for sin. 28:44 It didn't work. The devil used a second method to try and get 28:48 Jesus to fail in His ministry. 28:50 The devil tried to infect Jesus with the virus of sin. 28:55 Three times on the Mount of Temptation the devil tried 28:58 to get Jesus to sin. 29:00 And each time the Lord Jesus responded by saying, 29:03 It is written. I live by what God says in His Word, 29:08 and in His law. Man shall not live by bread alone, 29:11 but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. 29:14 In other words, Jesus refused on the Mount of Temptation 29:18 to allow Himself to be infected with the virus of sin, 29:21 because if He had He would have been an imperfect sacrifice, 29:24 and His sacrifice would not have been accepted. 29:27 In Hebrews chapter 4 and verse 15 we're told about the perfect 29:33 sinlessness of Christ. It says there: 29:47 He was perfectly sinless. 29:50 He did not allow the devil to infect Him with the virus 29:52 of sin because He had to be a perfect lamb, 29:55 a perfect sacrifice. Hebrews chapter 7 and verse 26 30:00 speaks also about the perfect sinlessness of Christ. It says: 30:13 Notice the terminology: holy, harmless, undefiled, 30:17 and separate from sinners. 30:19 In John chapter 8 Jesus was speaking to a group of Jews 30:22 and He threw out this question in John 8 verse 46 30:27 where He said, which of you convicts Me of sin? 30:30 In other words, Who of you can convince Me that I am a sinner? 30:34 And, of course, as a rhetorical question, nobody could say 30:37 that He was a sinner. 30:38 In 1 John chapter 3 and verse 5, once again we have a 30:42 description of the perfect sinlessness of the life 30:45 of Christ. It says there: 30:56 One final verse on the perfect sinlessness of Christ, 30:59 1 Peter chapter 2 and verses 21 and 22. 31:03 Here Peter says, inspired by God's Spirit: 31:23 Jesus committed no what? 31:25 Jesus committed no sin. 31:28 Jesus came to live the life that the law requires from us. 31:33 He came to live a perfect life. 31:34 The devil says, I'm not going to allow Him to do it! 31:37 So the devil was after Him 24/7 365, but each time Jesus refused 31:43 to allow the devil to infect Him with the virus of sin. 31:47 He lived His perfect life. 31:48 The devil could not kill Him, and the devil could not 31:51 infect Him, so the devil says, what I'm going to do is this, 31:55 distract Him from the cross. 31:57 I'm going to distract Him and lead Him to choose a different 32:00 path, or a different way of getting the throne back. 32:03 So the third method of the devil is to distract Him from having 32:08 to live and die in place of man, offering Him an easy way. 32:13 And, of course, the easier way is to offer Jesus the throne 32:18 without Jesus having to suffer and to die. 32:21 Now let me ask you, did the devil on repeated occasions 32:25 try to get Jesus to take a detour, a different way 32:30 of getting the throne of the world back? 32:32 Yes, on the Mount of Temptation the devil says, Look, here's all 32:37 the kingdoms of the world, and all the authority. 32:39 I have those because Adam gave them to me. 32:42 He says, You don't have to go to Jerusalem and suffer and die. 32:46 No, no, no! All You have to do is bow down and worship me 32:49 for an instant and You will be the king without any suffering, 32:53 and without any agony. 32:54 Jesus says, no way! 32:57 That's not the way! 32:58 The way of the cross leads home. 33:01 In John chapter 6 and verse 15 Jesus had just fed 5,000 people 33:06 with 5 loaves and 2 fishes, and the Bible tells us that the 33:10 people were so impressed that they wanted to make Jesus 33:13 a temporal king. And, by the way, the ring leader was Judas 33:17 Iscariot. Constantly the disciples wanted Jesus to take 33:21 the throne. Now Jesus had the window thrown back, 33:24 but not in that way! 33:26 The devil tried to distract Him getting Him to choose a 33:29 different path. In John 6 and verse 15 33:32 after feeding the 5,000, we're told this: 33:46 Six months before His death Jesus asked His disciples, 33:50 Who are men saying that I am? 33:52 And the disciples say, Well, some people say that you're 33:55 Jeremiah, some say that you're Elijah, others say that you're 33:59 one of the prophets. 34:00 And then Jesus said, Who do you say that I am? 34:02 And Peter, who appeared to be the spokesman for the disciples 34:05 said, Oh, You are the Christ, which means the Messiah. 34:08 You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God. 34:11 Jesus now says to Peter, Peter, well said. 34:15 Flesh and blood did not reveal it to you, but My Father 34:18 in heaven did, because Peter didn't even know what He was 34:20 confessing. You say, how do we know that 34:22 he didn't know what he was saying? 34:24 Yeah, he knew that Jesus was the Messiah, but he had wrong in his 34:27 mind about the kind of Messiah. 34:29 In fact, Jesus immediately afterwards, 34:32 in Matthew chapter 16, and verses 22 and 23, 34:35 Jesus says, I must go to Jerusalem. 34:38 I must suffer. I'm going to be killed, and I will resurrect 34:41 the third day. And when Jesus says that Peter is indignant. 34:44 Notice the story in Matthew 16: 22 and 23. 34:51 Imagine Peter rebuking the Master. 35:00 Whose emissary was Peter at that point? 35:02 Who was trying to say to Jesus, Naw, You don't die! 35:06 Messiah rules! Notice verse 23: 35:14 Wow! He wasn't talking to Peter, He was talking to whom? 35:19 To the devil who was using Peter. 35:29 Now after Peter's confession the disciples began their journey 35:34 with Christ towards Jerusalem. 35:35 This was Christ's last journey to Jerusalem, and the disciples 35:38 are disturbed because Jesus has said He's going to Jerusalem 35:42 to suffer and to die. 35:43 They kinda didn't hear that He said that He would resurrect 35:46 the third day because they were so focused on His sufferings 35:49 than on His death. And so for six days the Bible tells us that 35:52 they're walking behind Jesus, and they're sad. 35:55 And, you know, they say, we're going to Jerusalem. 35:58 He said he's going to be killed. 35:59 He's going to die there! 36:00 And six days later Jesus knows that they're terribly 36:03 discouraged, and so He takes three of His disciples up to the 36:07 Mount of Transfiguration. 36:09 The Bible says that He is transfigured in their presence. 36:12 He looked like He will look at His Second Coming. 36:15 In other words, He was trying to tell them, Hey, after the 36:18 suffering comes the glory. 36:19 As a result of what I'm gong to do in Jerusalem, 36:22 I will be glorified someday, and I will come again. 36:26 Not as the suffering servant, but as the King of Kings, 36:30 and Lord of Lords. 36:31 And Moses and Elijah appeared speaking to Christ 36:35 on the mountain, and encouraging Jesus. 36:37 And then when this scene ends Peter still didn't get it. 36:42 Peter knew that they were on their way to Jerusalem. 36:45 He says, Lord, it is good for us to stay here. 36:49 Let's not go to Jerusalem. 36:51 It's good to stay here. 36:52 Let's build three tabernacles, and just stay here. 36:56 It is a temptation to stay. 36:58 You'll remember that towards the end of the life of Christ, 37:01 during the last week of His life, some Greeks came 37:04 for an interview to speak with Jesus. 37:06 See, they wanted Jesus to go to Greece to speak the beautiful 37:10 things that He had spoken and to perform His marvelous signs. 37:13 And so they come to Jesus for an interview, and they talked to 37:17 Philip, and Philip talks to Andrew. 37:18 And when they say to Jesus, The Greeks want to speak to you, 37:22 Jesus said something that is very strange. 37:24 Let's read about this in John 12 verses 20 to 24. 37:46 And now notice the strange answer of Jesus. 37:55 In other words, the hour for Me is not to go to Greece, 37:58 the hour is now to be glorified, to die, and to resurrect, 38:02 and to be exalted. Then He says this: 38:17 What He's saying is, if I go to Greece now people will believe 38:20 but they can't be saved, because in order to be saved 38:24 there has to be a perfect life, and a death for sin 38:27 in their place. And so they'll hear my beautiful words, 38:31 and they will be healed by my marvelous works, 38:34 but they won't be saved! 38:36 He says, the only way in which they can truly be saved is if 38:40 a seed of wheat, or a grain of wheat falls into the earth, 38:44 , and dies, it then germinates. 38:48 It becomes a plant, and it produces much fruit. 38:51 Jesus says, if I die and I am buried, I will sprout to new 38:56 life, and then there will be many people saved 38:59 in the kingdom. The devil was trying to distract Jesus 39:03 from going to the cross, to go to Greece to preach the gospel. 39:07 He was even using something positive to try and distract 39:10 Jesus from the way of the cross, even when Judas 39:14 betrayed Jesus Christ. 39:15 You know, some people think that Judas betrayed Christ because 39:19 he wanted Christ to be crucified. 39:21 No, no, no, no! That's not what the gospels say. 39:24 Judas betrayed Christ because he wanted to put Jesus 39:28 between a rock and a hard place. 39:30 He wanted to pressure Jesus into retaliating against those 39:35 who arrested Him, and to proclaim Himself king. 39:39 He wanted to pressure Jesus into taking over the kingdom. 39:42 You way, How do we know that? 39:44 Hey, if it was the intention of Judas that Jesus be crucified, 39:49 he wouldn't have committed suicide. When he saw that Jesus 39:51 was being crucified, he would have said, Hey, my plan worked 39:54 perfectly. But what happened when he saw that Jesus did not 39:57 escape, and did not proclaim Himself king? 40:00 The Bible says that he went and he threw the money. 40:02 You see money meant nothing for this covetous man anymore. 40:06 He threw the money there in front of the Priest 40:08 and he said, I have betrayed innocent blood. 40:11 And the Bible says that he went and he committed suicide. 40:15 You see, once again the devil was using, in fact the Bible 40:18 says that the devil entered Judas. 40:20 That's what the Bible says! 40:21 And through Judas the devil was trying to pressure Jesus 40:25 into taking the throne in a different way than living 40:29 a perfect life and dying for sin. 40:31 The devil used a fourth method, and this was the most terrible 40:36 method of all, the most trying for Jesus Christ. 40:40 Basically the fourth method was to discourage Jesus 40:44 in such a way that He would pick up, and that He would leave 40:48 to where He was loved in heaven. 40:50 Do you know that Jesus at any point during His ministry 40:53 could have chosen to go back to heaven and allow the human race 40:58 to perish? And the devil, especially at the end of the 41:01 life of Christ, tried to discourage Jesus in such a way 41:05 that Jesus would simply say, It's not worth staying here. 41:10 I'm going back to heaven where I am loved. 41:13 Let's notice several verses in the final days, 41:17 in the final hours, of the life of Christ. 41:19 Matthew 26 and verse 38. Jesus speaks to His disciples 41:25 when He goes to the Garden of Gethsemane and He says, 41:36 Notice Jesus is filled with sorrow as He goes to 41:39 the Garden of Gethsemane. 41:40 And then in chapter 26 and verses 39, 42, and 44 41:46 Jesus three times begs the Father that if it's possible 41:50 the cup might be taken from Him. 41:52 Notice Matthew chapter 26 and verse 39. It says: 42:32 Let me ask you, what was it that was contained in that cup 42:37 that Jesus had to drink? 42:39 Folks, it was the wrath of His Father! 42:43 That word cup that is used there is the same word that is used 42:47 in Revelation 16 where it speaks about the bowls of God's wrath 42:52 being poured out upon the earth. 42:54 The word bowl in Revelation 16 is the same word cup here. 42:59 Jesus was going to drink the wine of the wrath of God 43:03 because He was bearing the sins of the whole world upon Himself. 43:07 Who gave Him that cup? 43:09 His Father gave Him that cup. 43:12 Notice John chapter 18 and verse 11, 43:15 John chapter 18 and verse 11. 43:23 This is when he cut off the ear of the 43:25 servant of the High Priest. 43:36 Why would the Father give Jesus the cup of His wrath? 43:39 It's because Jesus was carrying upon Himself the sins 43:44 of the whole world; the punishment for sin. 43:47 He had lived the perfect life, and the devil is saying to Jesus 43:51 If You go through with this You will never see Your Father's 43:54 face ever again. You'd better leave while You can. 43:58 In fact, Hebrews chapter 5 and verse 7 describes the agony 44:04 of Jesus in the Garden o Gethsemane. 44:06 The devil was torturing the heart of Jesus with his 44:09 temptations, according to The Desire of Ages, telling Him 44:12 listen, leave now while You can or else You are going to be 44:16 lost and everyone else is going to be lost. 44:19 And Jesus, you know, He wanted the encouragement of His 44:21 disciples. He says, pray, pray for Me, and three times He finds 44:26 them sleeping. And the devil is saying to Jesus, 44:29 Oh, Your disciples sure love You a lot, don't they? 44:31 They're sleeping while You are agonizing; trying to discourage 44:36 Christ. It says in Hebrews chapter 5 and verse 7, 44:39 speaking about the suffering of Jesus in Gethsemane, 44:58 Notice the expressions: prayers, supplications, cries, 45:02 and tears He's raising up to His Father. 45:05 In fact His agony was so great that instead of sweating sweat, 45:09 the Bible says that He sweated blood. 45:12 Luke chapter 22 and verse 44 says: 45:26 Ellen White in The Desire of Ages, page 753, expresses the 45:30 the agony, and let me interject before I read that statement 45:33 something very important, Jesus did not die from His wounds. 45:37 Do you know that Ellen White tells us that Jesus would have 45:43 died in the Garden of Gethsemane before one finger was placed 45:48 on Him if it hadn't been for an angel that was sent 45:50 to strengthen Him. That's before anything happened 45:54 to Jesus. Before one finger was placed on Him, she says, 45:57 He fell dying to the ground, and an angel was sent 46:01 to revive Him so that He would not die. 46:03 Jesus did not die because of His wounds, 46:06 Jesus died because of the weight of the sin of the whole world 46:10 that He was bearing upon Himself after living His perfect life. 46:13 Ellen White says: 46:41 Imagine that! The devil is saying the 46:44 separation is going to be eternal. Then she says: 47:07 And do you know something folks? 47:08 Jesus said to His disciples, He said to Peter after he cut off 47:12 the ear, He said, Put away that sword. Don't you know 47:17 that if I wanted to I could call right now 12 legions of angels, 47:21 and they would deliver Me? 47:22 In other words Jesus is saying, I could leave right now 47:25 if I wanted to. I don't have to go through with this. 47:28 Imagine the devil says to Jesus, Huh, Your disciples really care 47:32 for You, don't they? One of them betrayed You. 47:35 The other one denied You. 47:38 And all of the rest of them scampered away. 47:42 And they slept when You asked them to pray for You. 47:45 Hey, not even Your disciples are going to be saved, 47:48 much less the human race. 47:51 Pick up and leave while You can. 47:53 The Bible tells us that Jesus was beaten, and He was punched. 47:59 They spit in His face. The purpose of the devil is to 48:03 either get Jesus to leave, and to go where He's appreciated, 48:07 or else for Jesus to retaliate, 48:09 and in this way sin and ruin the plan of salvation. 48:13 We're told in Mark chapter 14, and verse 65: 48:28 In Mark chapter 15, verses 16 thru 20, we find how Jesus 48:32 was treated. The devil is causing this because He wants 48:35 Jesus either to retaliate or He wants Jesus to leave. 48:39 It says there in Mark chapter 15, verse 16: 49:15 Do you know that even while Jesus hung on the cross, 49:18 the devil tried to entice Him to come down from the cross? 49:22 There were individuals gathered at the foot of the cross 49:26 that actually said to Jesus, If you're really the Son of God, 49:30 come down and prove it. 49:32 They were breathing the words of the devil. 49:35 Notice Matthew 27, verses 41 to 43: 50:01 But Jesus would not be discouraged. 50:04 He was going to go to the tomb even if it meant 50:07 eternal separation from His Father. 50:09 That's how much Jesus loves us! 50:12 In John 8 and verse 29, Jesus explained that His Father was 50:18 always with Him. In fact it says there, Jesus is speaking: 50:32 So Jesus says the Father is always with Me. 50:35 He's never left Me alone. 50:36 But listen carefully, Matthew 27 verse 46 tells us that when 50:41 Jesus hung on the cross He could not feel the presence of His 50:44 Father. In fact He cries out, My God, My God, why have 50:49 You forsaken Me? Why hast Thou forsaken Me? 50:52 You walked with me all during My life, but now I don't feel 50:56 Your presence. Why have You forsaken Me? 50:59 And then Jesus says on the cross, It is finished! 51:05 And as we'll notice in our next lecture in this series, 51:08 Jesus was actually speaking those words to His Father. 51:12 Jesus was saying, I have lived the perfect life that the law 51:16 requires, and now I am bearing the sins of the world. 51:20 Salvation is finished! There's a perfect life, 51:23 and there's a death for sin available to every repentant 51:27 human being who comes confessing his sin, and trusting in Me. 51:32 It is finished! John 19, verse 30 says: 51:44 But, you know what? Luke tell us that Jesus said one last thing 51:48 after He said, It is finished. 51:50 This is found in Luke 23 and verse 46; Luke 23 verse 46. 51:56 Now listen folks, Jesus felt forsaken by His Father. 51:59 We just read it. He said, My God, My God, why have You 52:04 forsaken Me? He could not see beyond the portals of the tomb. 52:07 He feared that sin was so offensive to God that the 52:10 separation would be eternal. 52:11 And yet Jesus, the last words that He pronounces on the cross 52:15 are found in Luke 23 verse 46. where we are told: 52:30 Do you know what Jesus was saying? 52:31 Jesus was saying, Father You promised that if I was faithful, 52:35 that if I lived a perfect life, and that if I offered My life 52:40 as a ransom for sin that You would preserve My Spirit, 52:44 and that You would resurrect Me from the dead. 52:47 Father into Your hands I'm commending My Spirit 52:51 because You have promised that the third day You are going to 52:55 give Me my Spirit back. You are going to resurrect Me and I will 52:58 be alive again. Father, into Your hands I commend My Spirit. 53:01 So Jesus did not die a dejected and pessimistic life. 53:06 Jesus feels separated from His Father, but He says, Father, 53:10 I claim Your promise that You will return to Me My Spirit. 53:13 You will preserve My Spirit, and You will return to Me 53:17 My self identity. You will make Me who I was in life on the 53:21 third day when I resurrect from the dead. 53:27 Jesus died on what is known as Good Friday. 53:32 He rested in the tomb on the Sabbath. 53:36 Very early on the first day of the week two angels descended 53:40 from heaven. One of them removed the stone. 53:45 Ha! You know the devil was trying to keep Jesus 53:48 in the tomb. Ha, Ha! It kind of makes me snicker. 53:52 The devil thought that he could keep the Prince of Life 53:55 in a tomb with a little stone in front of the entrance 53:58 of the tomb? with a Roman guard? with his demons there, present 54:05 in front of the tomb? He actually thought that he could 54:08 keep Jesus in the tomb? And so one of the angels removes the 54:12 stone and sits upon it. The other angel stands in front of 54:16 the tomb, and with a commanding voice he says, Oh thou 54:21 Son of God, Thy Father calls thee! 54:25 Remember He had said, Father into Your hands I commend My 54:28 Spirit. Immediately out through the entrance of the tomb comes 54:34 Jesus Christ. He had removed the wrappings, and He had folded 54:39 them neatly. See He was a neat individual. 54:42 This teaches us that we should make our bed kids 54:45 in the morning. It teaches us many important lessons 54:49 that we need to be orderly. 54:50 See, He didn't say, Oh I've got to resurrect, you know, 54:53 just throw everything aside. 54:54 No, He folded everything perfectly. 54:56 And when He comes out of the tomb He says in a commanding 55:00 voice, I am the resurrection and the life! 55:04 The Roman soldiers fell like they were dead. 55:07 The demons scattered. The earth shook because the Messiah 55:12 had come forth from the grave. 55:14 Now He had a perfect life! 55:16 And He had a death for sin that He could offer to every sinner 55:20 that comes to Him repentant, confessing sin, and trusting 55:25 in Jesus Christ as Savior and as Lord. 55:29 But Jesus did not resurrect by Himself. 55:31 Our final point is that there was a group of individuals 55:35 that resurrected with Him. 55:36 Notice Matthew chapter 27 verses 51 to 53; 55:41 Matthew 27 verses 51 to 53: 56:10 There was a multitude of individuals that resurrected 56:14 with Christ, and the purpose was two-fold. 56:17 1. For 40 days to go into the city and prove that Jesus 56:24 had resurrected from the dead. 56:25 And secondly, when Jesus went to heaven 40 days after His 56:30 resurrection, Jesus took these people who resurrected with Him 56:34 as a sample to heaven of all of those that will come forth 56:40 from the grave when Jesus comes for the second time 56:43 in power and glory. In other words, by taking that small 56:47 group to heaven Jesus is saying to the devil, I'm only taking 56:51 the sample now, but when I return again I'm going to take 56:55 all of the rest of them with Me as well. 56:58 Now some people have reached the conclusion that this group 57:04 that resurrected with Christ were the 24 elders 57:08 of Revelation 4 and 5. But the question is, as we conclude 57:12 this presentation, are those who resurrected with Jesus really 57:17 the 24 elders, or are the 24 elders a different group 57:23 who play a very important role in the plan of salvation? 57:28 Don't miss the next exciting episode 57:30 when we will study this subject. |
Revised 2014-12-17