John chapter 13, verse three,
Jesus knowing. I've entitled this message, The
Knowledge of Christ. Jesus knowing. Now, did you know that there
is nothing he does not know? Jesus knowing. His knowledge is infinite. His
knowledge is unlimited. Somebody says, how can that be?
Because he's God, Jesus knowing. I am always kind of interested
in how intimidated I feel by artificial intelligence, all
the things it can do, all the ways it can help us, all the
ways it can hurt us. AI, artificial intelligence. What a vast amount of knowledge
is in artificial intelligence. But remember, it's artificial
intelligence. And it's the intelligence of
man. And what is the intelligence of all men combined with the
omniscience of Jesus Christ the Lord? He, knowing. I love to say this, Jesus Christ
is God. I love the way it sounds. I love
the truth of it. Jesus Christ is God. In the beginning was the Word.
The Word was with God as a distinct person. The Word was God. The same was, eternally was. His isness in the beginning with
God. He is omniscient, all-knowing,
and all-wise. He is independent God. I love to think of His independence
because think of how dependent you are. We can't even express
just how dependent we are on Him for everything, for the next
breath. For everything, we are utterly dependent creatures.
We have needs that if they're not met and done for us, we will
not live. He has no needs. He's utterly independent. He
doesn't need you. Do you realize that? He doesn't need you. You need
him. As independent God, there's not something that he has to
have us do before he can do something for us. Turn with me for a moment
to John chapter five. Turn just back a few pages. We're
talking about the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse
17, John chapter five. This is after that he had, in
their opinion, broken the Sabbath and worked on the Sabbath. And
I love the way the Lord replies to them. My father worketh hitherto
and I work. Yes, I am working what you're
accusing me of. You have no idea what the Sabbath
is. My father worketh hitherto, I work, I do what he does. Therefore,
the Jews sought the more to kill him because not only had he broken
the Sabbath, but said also that God was his father making himself
what? Equal with God. the only one who can be equal
with God is God. Then answered Jesus and said,
and then verily, verily, I say unto you, the son can do nothing
of himself, but what he seeth the father do. For what things
soever he doeth, these also doeth the son likewise. For the father
loveth the Son, and showeth him all things that himself doeth,
and he will show him greater works than these that you may
marvel. For as the Father raiseth up the dead and quickeneth them,
even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. For the Father judges
no man, but has committed all judgment unto the Son, that all
men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He
that honoreth not the Son, honoreth not the Father which has sent
him. Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word,
and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and
shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto
life. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
the hour is coming, and now is when the dead shall hear the
voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live. For as the father hath life in
himself, life independent, so hath he given to the son to have
life in himself, and hath given him authority to execute judgment
also, because he's the son of man. Now this gives us some idea
of the greatness, the infinite, indescribable greatness of the
Lord Jesus Christ. You know, in this book of John,
It's centered around these seven miracles that he performed. Now
there were other miracles he performed, but these are the
only ones that are recorded. As a matter of fact, turn over to
John chapter 20. John chapter 20. Verse 30, and many other signs
or miracles truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples,
which are not written in this book. But these are written,
these seven miracles, that you might believe that Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of God, in the believing you might have life
through his name. Now, these miracles were given that we might
believe that he's the Christ, and that believing we might have
life, the life of God in our souls. Now, let me name these
miracles that tell us that he is God the Son. He made water
into wine. He didn't take water and make
it look like wine. It didn't smell like wine. It didn't taste
like wine. It was wine. He made it to be
what it was not. That's what he does when he saves
somebody. He makes them to be what they were not. And then
the second miracle that's mentioned is he healed a man as an act
of his will without the use of means." That man came with a
son at the point of death, dying, and he said, go your way, your
son lives. And the young man was cured as
an act of his will without the use of means. Then he made a
man who had been paralyzed for 38 years rise up instantly and
walk. In John chapter 6, he brought
matter into the universe, which was not there before. Do you
know that's impossible? Not with him. He brought matter into the
world, into the universe. It was not there before when
he created food and fed 5,000 people with five biscuits and
two sardines. 5,000 people, not including the
women and children, probably perhaps 20,000. And he suspended
the law of physics. He walked on the water. Then we read where a man who was born blind, he
gave sight to in spite of the means he used. He made mud, rubbed
it in his eye. He did this in spite of the means. And he went and was made to see. And then he raised a man from
the dead. that had been dead four days.
He'd already begun to stink. His body had already gone through
the process of decay. And he says, Lazarus, come forth. Cried with a loud voice, the
scripture says. And he that was dead came forth. Jesus Christ
is God. He said in John chapter eight,
verse 58, verily, verily, I say unto you, before Abraham was,
I am. That's the name of God, Jesus
knowing. And there's a scripture in Isaiah
chapter 53, verse 11, by his knowledge, shall my righteous
servant justify many for he shall bear their iniquities. Now that's
not talking about our knowledge of him by his knowledge, by,
you know, and him, you know, I saw him at his knowledge. his
omniscience, his utter, complete knowledge. By his knowledge shall
my righteous servant justify many, for he shall bear their
iniquities. His knowledge, his omniscience, is that which makes
him one who is able to do this glorious work of bearing our
iniquities and putting them away by his knowledge. He was able
to do this. Now, this is a crude illustration, I suppose, but
in 2005, or 2006, I'm not real sure when
it was, I got esophageal cancer. And I read about it, and this
is bad. I'm afraid that I'm not going
to make it through this. I remember waiting to see a doctor, and
I was pretty concerned that I was not going to live, because it's
a bad cancer to get. It's one of the worst if it gets
outside of your esophagus. Paul Walmsley and Paul Harries
both looked for a doctor because the doctor at UK told me, he
said, look, if you're going to have this taken care of, don't
do it in Lexington. Go somewhere else. Somebody that
knows what they're doing. Nobody here knows what they're
doing. I guess, I don't know what all
the other surgeons in Lexington thought about that, but that
was his advice. So Paul Harries and Paul Walmsley found a doctor
at Cleveland Clinic. His name was Tom Rice. And I
remember I was just thinking, well, I'm not going to live much
longer. What's going to happen? And when I got to talk to that
man, he had such knowledge. He said, I performed this surgery
over 2,500 times. He said, there's more. He says,
it's confined to your esophagus. He said, you'd be more likely
to go out here and get run over than to die of this. And I remember
after talking to him, I felt so much better. I mean, I was
feeling a whole lot better because of his knowledge. And well, the
knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ is infinitely above the knowledge
of this man. But by his knowledge, shall my
righteous servant justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities. Jesus knowing. Look what it says
next. Jesus knowing that the father
had given all things into his hands and that he was come from
God and went to God. Now here's what he knew that
we're told. He knows all things, we know
that, but it says he knew that the father had given all things
into his hands. And he knew he was come from
God and went to God. Now, most people have asked the
question, what's my purpose? You've asked yourself that question
before. Why am I here? What is my purpose? And they've
also asked the question, where am I from? What's my origin? And where am I going? What's going to happen to me?
What's my destiny? Well, the Lord never had to ask
that question because He knew. He knew why He was here, because
the Father had given all things into His hands. He knew where
He was from. He came from the Father. And
He knew where He was going. He was going back to the Father. Jesus knowing that the Father
had given all things into His hands. Now, the word given means
is in a tense that would tell you they've always been given.
They were given eternally. The father entrusted everything
into the hands of his son. Matthew 11, 27, the Lord says,
all things are delivered into me of my father. And no man knows
the father but me. Nobody knows me but the father.
And nobody knows the father but the ones I reveal him to. All
things have delivered into my hand. Now I think one of the
scriptures that might shed some light on this, when he's saying
the Lord has delivered all things in my hand, all of God's purposes,
all of God's salvation, all of God's decrees, everything God
is gonna do, he delivered into the hands of the Lord Jesus Christ. In Ephesians chapter one, verse
12, we read of him who first trusted in Christ. It says that
we should be to the praise of his glory who first trusted in
Christ. Now that's not talking about
the folks who first trusted him. Somebody trusted him a whole
lot longer than the first person, human being did. The Father trusted
him. He trusted him with his glory.
He trusted him with the manifestation of his person. He trusted him
to save everybody that he gave to his son. He entrusted all
things into the hands of Jesus Christ before the foundation
of the world. He first trusted in the Lord
Jesus Christ. The father trusted him like this. Turn to Revelation five for just
a moment. And I saw in the right hand of
him that sat on the throne, a book written within and on the backside,
nothing could be added to it. Front and back. This is the book of God's purpose,
God's decree, everything God intends to do. It has to do with
his glory, how he'll be glorified, how he'll manifest himself, how
he's made the way to be just and justify the ungodly. Everything
God is gonna do is found written in this book. Sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel. I was
thinking, is there any other kind of angel but a strong angel?
I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, who is worthy
to open the book and to loose the seals thereof? And no man
in heaven, nor on earth, neither under the earth was able to open
the book, neither to look there on." And John says, I wept much
because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book,
neither to look there on God's purposes and decrees for his
own glory. And one of the elders saith unto
me, weep not behold the lion of the tribe of Judah." This
is what his Judah's father called him in Genesis chapter 49, Judah
thou art a lion's wealth. He says, behold, the lion of
the tribe of Judah, the root of David, David came out of him,
has prevailed upon to open the book and to loose the seals thereof
and I beheld in low in the midst of the throne and of the four
beasts and in the midst of the elders stood a lamb as it had
been slain." Now he was looking for a lion, what did he see?
A lamb. as it had been slain. Now, the only reason this book
could be opened is because of the Lamb who was slain. Revelation 13, eight, you're
familiar with the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Before there was ever a sinner, there was the Savior, the Lamb
slain. And only he could open this book with regard to the
purposes and decrees of God. This book has the names of all
of God's elect. written in it. Let me show you
how significant this book is. Turn to Revelation chapter 20. Verse 11, I saw a great white
throne and him that sat on it from whose face the earth and
heaven fled away and there was no, there was found no place
for them. And I saw the dead small and
great stand before God and the books, plural, were opened And
another book was open, which is the book of life and the dead,
dead and sins were judged out of those things, which were written
in the books, according to their works. Every one of their works,
every one of their sins have been recorded. in this book,
and God will deal with exact, perfect, absolute, unflexible
justice from those books. That's who He is. God must punish
sin. And the sea gave up the dead
which were in it, people who were long forgotten, and death
and hell delivered up the dead which were in them, and they
were judged, every man according to their works. and death and
hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death
and whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast
into the lake of fire. But you know what everybody found
written in that book? They were saved. They were in
the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of
the world. And this is what gives me confidence.
My salvation is because of the Lamb slain. No other reasons
needed because Jesus Christ died for me and put away my sins and
gave me his righteousness. Let's go back to Revelation five
for a moment. Verse six, and I beheld and low
in the midst of the throne of the four beasts in the midst
of the elders stood a lamb as it had been slain, having seven
horns. That's his omnipotence. Seven. Number of perfection, horns means
power, his omnipotence. Seven eyes, his omniscience,
he sees all, which are the seven spirits of God sent forth into
all the earth. And he came and took the book. He didn't ask for it. He took
it as equal with the Father. He wasn't disrespectful. This
is his right as equal with the father. He came and took the
book out of the right hand of him that sat on the throne. And
when he had taken the book, And this is all God's purposes, all
God's accretions. You see, he's the only one who
is able to accomplish all of this. Remember how it says he
knew that all things were delivered unto him of his father. This
is all God's purpose. This is all God's glory. It's
wrapped up in his ability to have all things put in his hands
and succeed in what the father gave him to do. And when he had taken the book,
the four, the four beasts and the four and 20 elders fell down
before the lamb, having every one of them hearts and golden
vials full of odors, which are the prayers of saints. And they
sung a new song. You know, the gospel is always
new. Any other song gets old. Not this song. It's always news. It always comes as news. It always
comes as good news. It's a new song. They sung a
new song saying thou art worthy to take the book and to open
the seals thereof for thou was slain and hast redeemed us to
God by thy blood out of every kindred and tongue and people
and nation, and has made us unto our gods, kings and priests,
and we shall reign on the earth. Now this is his ability to take
this book. Now this is what is being referred
to when Jesus knowing that the Father had placed all things
in his hands. He knew he was able to do everything
the father required of him, his ability. He knew what was before
him in performing this work of obedience for his people, keeping
the law perfectly. He knew that just within a few
hours, Judas would betray him. He knew he would be arrested.
He knew he would be nailed to a cross, he knew that he would
suffer the full equivalent of an eternal hell. And he was so
overcome with it, even as the God-man, knowing what he was
going to suffer and knowing there's no way it could be anything but
that, he still said, Father, if it'd be possible, let this
cup pass from me, this cup that I'm to drink of drinking up the
sins of my people and your wrath on their account. He knew. He also knew what he would accomplish
by that. He knew he would accomplish the full glory of his father.
His father would be completely glorified. And oh, what joy that
gave him. Looking into Jesus for the joy
that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame.
He knew that he would completely save all of his people. He knew
he would be raised from the dead and accepted by the father, completely
saving his people. He spent, knew he'd spend 40
days speaking to his disciples and he knew he would ascend back
to glory. I want to read Psalm 24, the
Ascension Psalm, just a few verses. I love this. Lift up your heads,
O ye gates, and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors, and
the King of glory shall come in. This is talking about Christ's
ascension back to the Father. Who is this King of glory? The
Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your
heads, O ye gates, and lift them up, ye everlasting doors, and
the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory?
The Lord of hosts. He is the King of glory. And I love the way it says the
Lord of hosts. You know, when he ascended back
to the Father, he didn't do so alone. All of the elect were
with him. The scripture says we were raised
together with him and we sit together with him in the heavenly. So the knowledge of the son of
God, the father trusted him. Let me show you another old Testament
illustration of this turned to Genesis chapter 42. Let me give you the setting. The 11 sons, Joseph, remember,
was in Egypt, and they didn't know it. They thought he was
dead. They went down to Egypt, and when they were looking for
food, guess who they had to get it from? Joseph. They didn't
realize this. Now, he remembered them. They
didn't know who he was. They had sold him into Egypt.
And can you imagine how he must have felt looking at these guys?
And he spoke, the scripture says he spoke roughly to them, harshly,
and he gave them food. And he said, one thing you're
going to have to do is if you come back for food again, you're
going to have to bring your little brother with you, Benjamin. And
that was his brother, you realize, but he said, you can't get any
more food unless you bring back Benjamin. Well, they run out
of food. And in Genesis chapter 42, verse 35, it came to pass
as they emptied their sacks that behold, every man's bundle of
money was in his sack. And when both they and their
father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid. And Jacob,
their father, said unto them, Me, have you bereaved of my children?
Joseph is not, Simeon is not, and you will take Benjamin away?
All these things are against me. He didn't want to bring Benjamin
down there. And Reuben spake unto his father,
saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee. and
deliver him into thy hand and I'll bring him again to thee
again. That's kind of interesting. Look, if I don't bring him, you
can kill my two boys. You can kill your grandson. Yeah, he's
really gonna do that. But you know, Jacob knew Reuben
real well. You remember when he said, Reuben,
unstable as water, thou shall not excel. Now look what he says,
verse 38. And he said, my son shall not
go down with you. He knew Reuben. He's not going with you. For
his brother is dead, and he's left alone. If mischief befall
him by the way into which you go, then shall you bring down
my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave." Now, he would not
trust Benjamin with Reuben. Verse 43, And the famine was
sore in the land, and it came to pass, when they had eaten
up the corn which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said
unto him, Go again, buy us a little food. And Judah spake unto him,
saying, The man did solemnly protest unto us, saying, You
shall not see my face, except your brother be with you. If
thou wilt send our brother with us, we'll go down and buy thee
food. But if thou wilt not send him,
we'll not go down. For the man said unto us, You
shall not see my face, except your brother be with you. And
Israel said, Wherefore, dealt ye so ill with me, as to tell
the man whether you had yet a brother? And they said, the man asked
us, straightly of our state and of our kindred, saying, is your
father yet alive? Have you another brother? And
we told him, according to the tenor of these words, could we
certainly know that he would say, bring your brother down?
And Judah sent unto Israel. Remember, this is the line of
the tribe of Judah. Christ came out of Judah. And Judah said
unto Israel, his father, send the lad with me and we will arise
and go that we may live and not die, both we and thou and also
our little ones. I will be surety for him. I will bear all the responsibility
of him. Of my hand shalt thou require
him. If I bring him not unto thee
and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame forever. And Jesus Christ said to his
father, I will be surety for every believer. Of my hand you'll
require them. Whatever you're looking for out
of them, you look to me for, I'll be surety to them. If I bring him not back to glory,
then let me bear the blame forever." You see, if Jesus Christ lost
one of his people, he loses glory. And the father entrusted the
salvation of his people with Christ. He is the one who first
trusted Christ. Now, he said in John chapter
17, verse four, I have glorified thee on earth. I have finished
the work thou gavest me to do. Now the father gave him a work
to do. Jesus knowing that the Father had delivered all things
into his hands. He gave him the work of manifesting
his name through the cross. He knew that. You see, God is
not known apart from the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, but
every attribute of God is manifest in the cross. And he knew that
all of God's glory was in him going to the cross and finishing
what the Father gave him to do. He said, I've glorified thee
on the earth. I've finished the work thou gavest me to do. Now,
not only did He come to glorify His Father, but we benefit out
of that. He came to save His people from
their sins. Now, this is what glorifies God, that God can take
somebody like me. I don't even know how to describe
how sinful I really am. I don't know. I know I have a
whole lot higher opinion of myself than is real, but I have some
vague notion of how sinful, how my motives are bad, how I'm always
seeking, I can just go on and I've got some vague notion of
it. What glorifies God is that God can take somebody like me
and make me just like His Son. And I know that in heaven, I'll know this. I am a complete
debtor to His grace. And I'm the biggest example of
salvation by grace in all of heaven. And I have no doubt that
every believer feels that way about themselves, without exception. He came to glorify His Father.
He came to save His people from their sins. Now, He knew He was
come from God. He said, I came down from heaven,
not to do my own will, but the will of Him that sent me. Forty
times in the book of John, he refers to himself as him whom
he hath sent. Isn't that a precious thought?
That God the Father sent him. He left his Father's presence. As the Eternal Son, he was God
alone. And yet the word was made flesh,
and he came down from heaven and assumed flesh. Great is the
mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh.
And his intention in coming was to glorify his father and to
save his people from their sins. And he knew everything that was
going to take place. He knew. I think when we're going
to be looking at this in the coming weeks, He washed Judas'
feet. Judas participated in the Lord's
table, and he knew all of this. And I don't understand this,
neither does anybody else, but somehow as a man, he was crushed
over this. Judas was his friend and he was
betrayed and crushed over this betrayal. He knew this was getting
ready to take place. He knew everything. He knew what
he was going to suffer soon. He knew that within 24 hours
he's going to be hanging on a cross. He knew all things His work was the work of the
full manifestation of the character of God. And I want you to think
of this. He knew where he was from, why he came, and where
he was going. And put, may God give us the
grace to enter into this just a little bit. Paul said, he loved
me. And he gave himself for me. I live, yet not I. but Christ
liveth in me. In the life that I now live in
the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me
and gave himself for me. How could he do that? Because
that's who he is. No other explanation can be given. That is who he is. He knew that he went back to
God. And like I said, he did not enter
heaven alone. behold I and the children that
thou hast given me." Now there's something so special about this,
He knew, He knew that the Father had delivered all things into
His hands. He knew that He came from God,
that God sent Him. What must we do that we might
work the works of God? This is the work of God that
you believe on him whom he hath sent." Do you believe the father
sent him? Do you believe that he was successful
in what the father sent him to do? He knew he was. He knew he
was going back to God. And what was he gonna do when
he went back to the father? He's gonna sit down. At the right
hand of the majesty on high, and he was going to make intercession
for his people. Wherefore he's able to save him
to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing that he ever
liveth to make intercession for them. Peter, I prayed for you. Todd, I prayed for you. That said of every single believer,
he ever liveth to make intercession for them. Now, knowing all this
back to John chapter 17, I mean, John chapter 13. Let's begin in verse one. Now,
before the feast of the Passover. When Jesus knew that His hour
was come, that He should depart out of this world unto the Father,
having loved His own, which were in the world, He loved them unto
the end. That does not mean there was
an ending place of His love. It means He loved them to the
uttermost. And supper being ended, the devil
having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son,
to betray him, Jesus knowing that the father had given all
things unto his hands and that he was come from God and went
to God, he rises from the supper and laid aside his garments.
I think that can actually picture his incarnation when he left
heaven and came here. He laid aside the splendor of
his glory, veiled in flesh, and he wrapped a towel around him. He rises from supper, laid aside
his garments and took a towel and girded himself. And after
that, he poureth water into a basin and began to wash the disciples'
feet and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.
Only the lowest servant and a Gentile of that would be given such a
task. And this one who is so altogether
glorious, knowing he was from the father, knowing the father
delivered all things into his hands, knowing he was going back
to the father, he washes the feet of his disciples. How stunned would you be if he
took your feet and put them in a basin and washed them? Well, he did. Let's pray. Lord, how we thank you for the unspeakable gift of thy son. Lord, truly human words fall
short of describing what and who he is and what he accomplished. And Lord, we ask that you would
enable us by your grace to see the greatness, the complete salvation
that's in this one who humbled himself and he didn't think he
was humbling himself. He's doing this because he wanted
to, to wash the feet of his disciples. Lord, we ask that you would wash
our feet. They get so dirty. We ask that
you would wash our feet continually for Christ's sake. Bless this
message for your glory and for our good. In Christ's name we
pray. Amen.