Christ Cruelly Condemned

I preached yesterday on the betrayal, arrest, abandonment, trail, sentencing, beating, and mockery that Jesus experienced in His final hours. It was a weighty, sober, and joyful meditation. All of the suffering Christ experienced was in our place as our substitute. You can listen to the audio here.

Hebrews 12:3 commands us to think upon the hostility Christ endured so that we will not grow weary or lose heart.

The 7 "I AMs" of Jesus in John's Gospel

Last night at our corporate prayer meeting, we utilized Jesus' "I AM" statements as the foundation for our prayers for our church. And what a rich foundation it is!

1.     I AM the Bread of Life.

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35 ESV)

2.     I AM the Light of the World.

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12 ESV)

3.     I AM the Door of the Sheep.

So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.” (John 10:7-9 ESV)

4.     I AM the Good Shepherd.

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.” (John 10:11-15 ESV)

5.     I AM the Resurrection and the Life.

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26 ESV)

6.     I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6 ESV)

7.     I AM the True Vine.

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:1-5 ESV)

The Sorrowful Soul of the Savior

I preached a solemn but joy-filled sermon this morning on the agony of Jesus in Gethsemane (you can listen here). I felt something of the weight, saw something of the horror, tasted something of the sting, heard something of the pain, and sensed something of the meaning of it all. It was for me and my sin that the Savior was greatly distressed so much that He wanted to push the cup away from Him. It was for me and my sin that He embraced the cup, submitted to His Father, and accomplished His work. What a Savior!

My God, My Savoir, What Aileth Thee?

Charles Spurgeon on the meaning of Gethsemane:

"How black I am, how filthy, how loathsome in the sight of God, -- I feel myself only fit to be cast into the lowest hell, and I wonder that God has not long ago cast me there; but I go into Gethsemane, and I peer under those gnarled olive trees, and I see my Saviour. Yes, I see him wallowing on the ground in anguish, and hear such groans come from him as never came from human breast before. I look upon the earth and see it red with his blood, while his face is smeared with gory sweat, and I say to myself, 'My God, my Saviour, what aileth thee?' I hear him reply, 'I am suffering for thy sin,' and then I take comfort, for while I fain would have spared my Lord such an anguish, now that the anguish is over I can understand how Jehovah can spare me, because He smote His Son in my stead."

Sermons Full of Christ

This is a longer quote, but worth taking the time to read:

"I believe that those sermons which are fullest of Christ are the most likely to be blessed to the conversion of the hearers. Let your sermons be full of Christ, from beginning to end crammed full of the gospel. As for myself, brethren, I cannot preach anything else but Christ and His cross, for I know nothing else, and long ago, like the apostle Paul, I determined not to know anything else save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. People have often asked me, "What is the secret of your success?" I always answer that I have no other secret but this, that I have preached the gospel,—not about the gospel, but the gospel,—the full, free, glorious gospel of the living Christ who is the incarnation of the good news. Preach Jesus Christ, brethren, always and everywhere; and every time you preach be sure to have much of Jesus Christ in the sermon. You remember the story of the old minister who heard a sermon by a young man, and when he was asked by the preacher what he thought of it he was rather slow to answer, but at last he said, "If I must tell you, I did not like it at all; there was no Christ in your sermon." "No," answered the young man, "because I did not see that Christ was in the text." "Oh!" said the old minister, "but do you not know that from every little town and village and tiny hamlet in England there is a road leading to London? Whenever I get hold of a text, I say to myself, 'There is a road from here to Jesus Christ, and I mean to keep on His track till I get to Him.'" "Well," said the young man, "but suppose you are preaching from a text that says nothing about Christ?" "Then I will go over hedge and ditch but what I will get at Him." So must we do, brethren; we must have Christ in all our discourses, whatever else is in or not in them. There ought to be enough of the gospel in every sermon to save a soul. Take care that it is so when you are called to preach before Her Majesty the Queen, and if you have to preach to charwomen or chairmen, still always take care that there is the real gospel in every sermon."

-CH Spurgeon, The Soul Winner, p. 35

Learning To Enjoy More

By God's grace, I'm learning to enjoy more things by being satisfied in Jesus. The combination of Mark 8-9, Together for the Gospel Conference, and J.D. Greer's new book, Gospel, have conspired to teach me that, "Learning to be satisfied in Jesus will free you to enjoy everything else."

This is the irony of the Christian life. You can't enjoy things and people by depending on them for satisfaction. The only way to enjoy "everything else" is by being satisfied in Jesus. Jesus said, "whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it." When we are satisfied with all that Jesus is for us, we can begin to enjoy all the good things we have because of Jesus.

10 Minutes of Glory

Last Sunday, I listed everthing the book of Hebrews says about Jesus. You can read the pdf here. Or, now you can listen to the audio of just that section of the sermon here.

Jesus in Hebrews

I concluded our Hebrews sermon series with an overview sermon. You can listen to that overview here (The Unrivaled Supremacy of Jesus Christ).

In that sermon, I listed everything the book of Hebrews says about Jesus with just a few expository comments from me. You can see, print, or share that list here (pdf).

What a Savior!

Sanctified by a Single Sacrifice

Hebrews 10:11-14 gives us 4 features of Christ's death that prove its absolute sufficiency.

1. Jesus' Sacrifice was a single sacrifice.
-In contrast to the multiplicity of sacrifices under the Old Covenant.

2. Jesus' Sacrifice culminated with Jesus being seated at the Father's right hand.
-In contrast to the priests who stand daily, never finished.

3. Jesus' Sacrifice was comprehensive ("for all time")
-In contrast to the limited effectiveness of the Old Covenant sacrifices.

4. Jesus' Sacrifice accomplished perfection for sinners.
-In contrast to the sacrifices that cannot make perfect (Heb. 10:1).

Jesus is the Source of Eternal Salvation

Hebrews 5:9 says that Jesus is "the source of eternal salvation."

I love this title for Jesus: The word “source” means the reason for something existing. The source is the place of origin. Jesus is the supplier of eternal salvation. Hebrews 12 describes Jesus as the author or founder of our faith.

Salvation from sin and an eternal relationship with God is found only in Jesus (He is the sole source). Eternal salvation is found in no other place in the entire universe. Jesus is the source, the supplier, the origin, the place where salvation is found.

And the idea of this phrase is not just that Jesus gives salvation and then goes on about His business as if salvation were a possession to be traded. Salvation is not essentially something that we possess. Salvation is essentially a person that we treasure. That Jesus is the source of eternal salvation means that we must have Him to have eternal salvation.

No one goes to Jesus for salvation and then turns away from Jesus to something else. You don’t stick salvation in a drawer and then live life any way you please. Only those who have Jesus have eternal salvation because Jesus is the source of salvation. At every point in God’s work of drawing us to Himself (justification, sanctification, and glorification), it is Jesus who is our salvation.

And don’t gloss over the word “eternal” in this title for Jesus. Jesus is not just the source of temporary salvation. Jesus is the source of everlasting salvation. For all eternity, Jesus will be the fountain of righteousness that we will drink from. If you have eternal salvation through Jesus, 50,000 years from now, you will need Jesus to be your source of salvation just as much as you need Him today.

It will always be through Jesus’ mediation that we will draw near to the throne of grace.

Who cares about temporary salvation? What good is momentary atonement? Give me eternal salvation! Give me a High Priest who is the source of salvation that will never end. Jesus is in every way a superior High Priest.

Jesus is Superior to Angels

From Hebrews 1:5-14, here are 4 reasons Jesus is superior to angels:

• Because of His unique relationship to the Father (v. 5).
• Because angels worship Him (v. 6).
• Because He is God (v. 7-12).
• Because of His unique position (v. 13-14).

You can hear my sermon from Sunday at the Christ Baptist website.

The Bible is About Jesus, Not You

The Supremacy of the Savior

I started a series on Hebrews Sunday morning. Hebrews 1:1-4 is a majestic passage. Here are the 7 proofs of Jesus' supremacy I meditated on:

1. Jesus is God's Ultimate Word.
2. Jesus is the Heir of All Things.
3. Jesus is the Creator of the Universe.
4. Jesus Displays the Glory of God.
5. Jesus Sustains All Things.
6. Jesus Made Complete Purification for Sins.
7. Jesus is Better than Angels.

Not Better than Jesus

Snuggling with my daughter during the first inning of the All-Star game, I told her, "Albert Pujols is the best baseball player in the world."

Her immediate question: "Even better than Jesus?"

"No, sweetie, not better than Jesus. I meant best player in...(never mind). You're right. Nobody is better than Jesus."

Philippians 2:5-11 - Gospel Glory

This is one of the most majestic passages in all of Scripture. In this passage, we are allowed to peer deeply into the greatest realities in the history of the universe.

The passage takes us on a breath-taking journey from the highest of heights in the eternal counsels of God to the lowest of lows and the agony of the cross and back up again to the most supreme place in the universe.

In Sunday's sermon, I focused on 2 aspects of the glory of Christ in this passage:
1. The Self-Humiliation of Christ (v. 6-8).
2. The Super-Exaltation of Christ (v. 9-11).

In verses 6-8, we see 4 downward steps in Christ's self-humbling:

• The top step is that Jesus is God.
• The first step down is that Jesus became a man.
• The second step down is that Jesus became a servant.
• The third step down is that Jesus was obedient to the point of death.
• The final step down is that Jesus died on a cross.

In verses 9-11, we see at least 4 truths about the exaltation of Christ:

• Jesus is at the highest place in the universe.
• Jesus' exaltation includes His resurrection, ascension, and enthronement.
• Jesus is Lord of the universe and has comprehensive authority.
• Jesus is the universal object of worship to the glory of God.

Significance of the Ascension

Studying Acts 1:9-11 gave me an opportunity to think about the ascension of Jesus. The ascension of Jesus is rarely talked about today. But, it is full of significance. Here are 6 ways to see the importance of the ascension of Jesus.

1. The ascension is a necessary corollary to the resurrection. If someone denied the ascension, they would have to say that either Jesus is still on earth or that He died again at a later time. Belief in the resurrection necessitates belief in the ascension.

2. The ascension assured the disciples that the physical appearances were over. The ascension allowed the disciples to get busy with the work they had been called to do.

3. The ascension is a demonstration of God’s power. Think about it: the ascension of Jesus is just as miraculous as the resurrection.

4. The ascension is representative of Jesus’ exaltation to the right hand of God the Father. How did Jesus get to the place of power and authority? Answer: He ascended there. Now, Jesus intercedes for us continually before the Father. Jesus is our continual advocate. We know this because He ascended. Phil. 2:9: “God has highly exalted Him and given Him the name above every name.”

5. The ascension distinguishes the Son from the Spirit. The Son ascended and the Spirit was sent by the Son to continue His work. This is another pointer to the Trinitarian nature of God.

6. The ascension foreshadows Jesus return. Jesus will return in the same way He was taken up (Acts 1:11).

Thank God for the ascension of Jesus Christ. Because He is ascended, we know He is indeed the center of the universe. He can be trusted and His work continues.

Jesus in Philippians

Here is what I feasted on this morning. These 50 references to my Savior in Philippians:

1:1 – Paul and Timothy are servants of Jesus
1:1 – The saints are in Jesus
1:2 – Grace and Peace are from Jesus
1:6 – God will complete the work He started in us at the day of Jesus
1:8 – Paul yearns for the Philippians with the affections of Jesus
1:10 – Paul prays for them to be pure and blameless for the day of Jesus
1:11 – Righteousness comes through Jesus
1:13 – Paul’s imprisonment is for Jesus
1:15 – Some preach Jesus with impure motives
1:17 – They preach Jesus out of rivalry
1:18 – Paul rejoices that Jesus is proclaimed
1:19 – The Spirit of Jesus will help Paul
1:20 – Paul wants Jesus to be honored in his body
1:21 – For Paul, to live is Jesus
1:23 – To be with Jesus is far better than living on earth
1:26 – Paul wants them to glory in Jesus
1:27 – We are to live worthy of the gospel of Jesus
1:29 – We suffer for the sake of Jesus
2:1 – Encouragement comes from Jesus
2:5 – We are commanded to have the mind of Jesus
2:6 – Jesus did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped
2:7 – Jesus made Himself nothing, being born as a servant
2:8 – Jesus humbled Himself and was obedient to death on the cross
2:9 – Jesus has the name above every name
2:10 – At the name of Jesus, every knee will bow
2:11 – Every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord
2:16 – Paul looks toward the day of Jesus
2:17 – Paul hopes in Jesus to send Timothy
2:21 – Most people do not seek to glorify Jesus
2:30 – Epaphroditus risked his life for the work of Jesus
3:3 – We are to glory in Jesus
3:7 – Paul counts everything as loss for the sake of Jesus
3:8 – Paul counts everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of Jesus
3:8 – All must be rubbish in order to gain Jesus
3:9 – Righteousness comes through faith in Jesus
3:10 – Paul wants to know Jesus
3:11 – Jesus has made Paul His own
3:14 – Paul presses toward the call of God in Jesus
3:18 – Some walk as enemies of the cross of Jesus
3:20 – Jesus is the Lord and Savior, whom we wait for
3:21 – Jesus will transform our bodies by the power that enables Him to subject all things to himself
4:1 – We are to stand firm in the Lord Jesus
4:2 – We are to agree in the Lord Jesus
4:4 – We are to rejoice in the Lord Jesus
4:5 – The Lord Jesus is at hand
4:7 – God’s peace will guard our hearts in Jesus
4:13 – Paul can do all things through Jesus
4:19 – God will supply all needs according to His riches in Jesus
4:21 – The sains are in Jesus
4:23 – Paul prays that the grace of Jesus will be with the Philippians

Seeing the Glory of Jesus on a Friday Morning

Nothing in all the universe is as powerful as Jesus.
Jesus is before and behind all things.
Jesus has life in Himself.
The living One died...for our sins.
Jesus rose from the dead and will never die again.
Jesus possess absolute sovereignty over all things.

"Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades."

-Revelation 1:17-18

Seek Wisdom As If Your Life Depends on It

We all lack wisdom. How do we seek wisdom?

1. Ask God - "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God..." (James 1:5).
2. Get to know God - "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Proverbs 9:10).
3. Seek Godly counsel - "Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom..." (Proverbs 19:20).
4. Saturate yourself in the Scriptures - "...the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise..." (2 Timothy 3:15).
5. Treasure Jesus Christ - "in Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom..." (Colossians 2:3).

"I Will Build My Church"

It was a joy to preach from Matthew 16:18 at our 3 year anniversary celebration Sunday. My intention was to encourage our young church with this massive promise by Jesus: "I will build my church." I brought out 5 truths:

1. Jesus is the Builder of His Church.
2. The Building of the Church is certain.
3. The Church belongs to Jesus.
4. Jesus is the foundation of His Church.
5. Jesus builds His Church by His sacrificial death (v. 21).