Verse 28, Then said Jesus unto them, When
ye have lifted up the Son of Man, then shall ye know. The things He makes us know are
going to all be connected with Him being lifted up on the cross.
We know the things He teaches us through the cross by the things
that took place afterwards. the cross. By the things that
he's still doing due to his being raised again. He says, then shall
you know that I am. He's the great I am. We know
that by the cross. And that I do nothing of myself. What Christ did, the Father did
in him. He did in the Father that won.
But you notice here, the Lord gave God all the glory for all
that he did. I do nothing of myself. Then
shall you know, as my Father hath taught me, I speak these
things." His doctrine and the Father's are the same, but as
the servant, he only spoke what the Father taught him, and he
gave God all the glory for everything he spoke. All these things are
fulfilled when he was lifted up on the cross. When you've
lifted me up, then you'll know He that sent me is with me. The Father has not left me alone.
They were perfect oneness, perfect unity, fidelity to one another. Even when God forsook him bearing
our sin, the Lord didn't leave him alone. He was doing what
pleased the Father. Now listen to this statement.
For I do always those things that please Him. Truly, we can say with those
officers, never a man spake like this man. Out of all the millions
of people in this world, nobody could ever say this of himself,
take this honor to himself, and use this language, speaking of
himself, as our Lord did. No man can proclaim that of himself
alone, he has this relationship with God, just of himself. No man could speak of his future
with such accuracy. He looked those folks in the
eye and said, you shall lift me up. He told them they would. And think about this, he's speaking
of that ignominious death of the cross. Nobody could speak
with that kind of composure knowing what he's about to face when
he goes to that cross. And no man can say this, I do
always those things that please the Father. He could say that
of himself. So he said, when you have lifted
me up, you shall know. All these things are manifest
most clearly at the cross, and then he meant what took place
after the cross as well. And we'll look at some of those
things, but you know, The father's well pleased with Christ's obedience
alone. We know Romans 5.19, as by one
man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience
of one shall many be made righteous. And he's that one. He said, I
do always those things that please him. Now that's an incredible
statement. You think about eternity before
anything was made, the father was well pleased with him in
his surety ship as the covenant head of his people. I saw something
I'd never seen before in Matthew 12, 18. He's quoting Isaiah,
but he said this, behold my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved
in whom my soul is well pleased. Then he said, I will put my spirit
upon him. Even before He came into this
earth and He put His Spirit upon Him, God said, He's my servant
whom I am well pleased. He's been pleased with Him from
eternity. He said, I was before Him ever His delight. He was
pleased with Him when He made the world. God the Father and
His Son made all things. He put all things into His hand.
He created all things for Himself, and the Father was pleased with
His creation. and His government of the world
all through the ages, setting forth the law and the types and
shadows of the law, and governing all things that came to pass
throughout the ages. Our Lord's been doing that as
the pre-incarnate surety of His people, the King who had all
things in His hand from eternity. And the Father's always been
well pleased in Him. But especially when He came in
human flesh to work out a righteousness for His people, from the womb
until he yielded up his spirit, he said, always. At all times,
in all ways, in every situation, even through that shameful death
of the cross, he said, I always do that which pleases the Father,
those things which please the Father. Now, that's our righteousness. He's our righteousness. He always
did what pleases the Father. And that's what it takes to please
the Father, to do always, always those things that please Him.
Now, a sinner needs righteousness our whole life. We need righteousness
throughout our life. He is that righteousness. A sinner
needs a holy conception. We need to be holy in our mother's
womb. Now that should end all our boasting of trying to come
to God by anything that's of us because in conception and
sin did our mother conceive us. And we come from our mother's
womb speaking lies. He is that holy thing in the
womb. He's that sinless one in the
womb from the womb. Holiness Perfect holiness, perfect
nature is Christ. From the womb, He has been that
one in whom His people are perfectly holy. From the womb. He became
us. He became us. From there, He
was that holy thing. From conception. Absolutely from
conception. And then, we need holiness and
righteousness throughout our youth when we're children. I was a child once, a sinful
child. Do you ever pray, remember not
the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions? According to
thy mercy, remember thou me for thy goodness sake, oh Lord. When
we pray, remember not the sins of my youth, we're asking God,
remember the righteousness of Christ's youth. Remember his
righteousness throughout his youth. When he was unknown, when
he was the carpenter's son, when he was coming up under the governorship
of Joseph and Mary, he was righteous and holy. That's the righteousness
and holiness of our youth right there, brethren. Christ Jesus. Throughout his manhood, he always
did that which pleased the Father. So did all his people in him.
We need a perfect, righteous, obedient youth and manhood. And that's him. Sin is in everything
we've ever done. We can say this, I do always
sin. You and I could say that without
a doubt. I do always sin. Just as surely
as he could say, I always do that which pleases the Father. He put away the sins of our youth.
He put away the sins of our manhood, and He's the righteousness of
our youth and the righteousness of our entire manhood. That's
Christ. He's the righteousness of our
religious works. Ever since the Lord called us
by His grace, when we went through water baptism, we sinned while
we were undergoing water baptism. went through that ordinance in
perfect righteousness. When he said to John, it behooves
us in fulfilling all righteousness, that one act of being baptized
in perfect obedience with perfect sinless righteousness from a
perfectly holy heart, that's an example of his entire life
for his people. And just as we were in him when
he did that, brethren, we were in him the whole time. His baptism,
just the act of that ordinance, was done in perfect righteousness.
And His people did it in perfect righteousness in Him. And when
He went to the cross, He put away the sin even that we sinned
while we were being baptized. It's that specific. Everything
He did. Everything He did. When He was
tempted of the devil, Do we ever sin when we've been tempted by
the devil? He was tempted of the devil 40
days and 40 nights and never sinned. And was perfectly righteous
and perfectly honored the Father while he was tempted. The devil,
throughout his whole life, the devil was trying to find some
weak spot in our Redeemer. He's the only one that could
say, the devil comes and he finds nothing in me. He always did
that which pleased the Father. And He put away all our sin for
all of the times that we have been tempted and we have sinned.
That's what He did for His people on the cross. Under the law. He came under
the law, magnified and honored the law. The ceremonial law. At eight days old, He was circumcised.
And He fulfilled the ceremony perfectly. He was at that Feast
of Tabernacles, the week before, or the few days before he's speaking
here in our text, he was there because he observed every ceremony
perfectly. And he's the end of them. He
fulfilled them all. He did it. He's done with it.
It's over. He fulfilled them in perfect
righteousness. He was what they pictured, and
he fulfilled them. And then the moral law, he fulfilled
the moral law, not striving to do it, not that it was something
to be grasped at. He just is the righteousness
of it. It was his heart and he fulfilled
it perfectly. Everything that was written,
that's who he is. He always did that which pleased
the Father and his people have in him. And then think about
this now. You know who he's called. We
want God to have the glory. We want to give God the glory.
But He even is our perfect righteousness in giving God all the glory.
We sin even when we try to give God the glory. He's the perfect
one who perfectly glorified the Father. He said here, He said,
I do nothing of myself. I do nothing of myself. You and
I could say that, and have a whole lot of sin in it, a whole lot
of false humility in it. Our Lord said that in perfect,
with a perfect heart, glorifying the Father. Everything He did,
He was one with the Father in doing it. It wasn't that He was
doing it, you know, separate. He did it all. The Father was
in Him, and He in the Father, and what He did, He was doing
perfectly as God. But He's saying here, as a servant
of God, He was sin of God. And he did everything he did
by the Father working in him. And he's saying, I do nothing
of myself. He glorified the Father for everything he did. Perfectly. Perfectly. When we do anything
as we ought, we have to give God the glory. Because it's God
working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight. We
have to give him the glory. Well, he did that perfectly.
He glorified him perfectly. And he even put away the sin,
our sin, when we try to glorify him and speak glorifyingly of
him, the sin that's mixed with that, he put that sin away for
his people. Everything he spoke was of the
Father. He said there, I do nothing of myself but as my father has
taught me, I speak these things. Now that, he's perfectly going
to find a father as being the one who taught him what to speak. And you and I, if we, there's
so many times we don't speak as we ought. But when we do speak as we ought,
Speak the truth the gospel and we do it in spirit and in truth
we have to give him the glory for this just like he did right
here as My father has taught me. I speak these things we have
to give him the glory But there's so much sin mixed even with us
giving him the glory He gave the father glory perfectly And
put away the sin of his people That's mixed with our trying
to give God the glory Even speaking of Him teaching us. Here's something
else we need. We're going to need a righteous
death. I mean just the act of dying. There's going to be so
much unbelief mixed with our faith when we try to die. When
we come to the point of dying. Just the act of dying. We're
going to be full of unbelief when we come to that point. He'll
give you grace when you need grace. Just like He does now.
But we're going to be sinful when we try to die. Lord gave perfect submission
in death without sin and look with what kind of death it was
He going to the cross to bear unimaginable shame and pain and
sorrow and being forsaken of the father and he faced that
and Went into that and went through that and did it without any sin
in himself He perfectly was righteous to the father with a holy heart
while he did it Perfect obedience. You know,
he said, when you've lifted me up, you'll know these things
are so. The only way he could be lifted up on that cross as
a substitute of his people was that he did always those things
that pleased the Father. He had to be perfect. He had
to be spotless. He had to be the spotless Lamb
of God. That's how we know he is the
great I Am, because he couldn't have been lifted up any other
way. not bear the sin of his people, not do the work he did
without being first himself, perfectly righteous with no sin. That's how we know he is who
he said he is, and he was doing what he said he was doing. And
even when God forsook him in justice, he said to his apostles
before he went to the cross, you're going to leave me. You're
going to forsake me. But I'm not alone. The Father's
with me. And that's what he said here, in everything he did from
the womb all the way till he yielded his spirit up, the Father
was with him. Even when God turned his face
from him because he was bearing sin and he was pouring out the
wrath and justice of God on him, the Father was still with him
because what he was doing pleased the Father. It pleased the Father
to bruise him, pleased God to bruise him. He was satisfying
justice. So even in that forsaking, God
was with him and pleased with what he was doing. Because it's
what he came to do. So you see, there you have our
conception all the way to our death. There's only one we can
look to and say, He always did that which pleased the Father.
That's the only place you and I can be righteous, is in Him.
In Him. Fully put away all the sin that
we are from our nature and conception all the way to all the sins We
commit to the day we draw our last breath he put away all the
sin In every area of our life from our youth to our manhood
all our religious acts Even our death he did it perfectly and
he put away all the sin in it completely But then there was
things that he says that we know the cause after He was lifted
up includes more than just Him on the cross, it's things that
took place after. And this is how we know He's
the great I Am. Look at Matthew 27. Here's some
things that took place after the cause of who He is. Verse 50,
Matthew 27, 50. And you know, we probably should
include in this, if you read the gospels, you know, when he
was lifted up, not only did he fulfill all the scriptures and
the things he did as he went through his life, as the scriptures
said he would, but when he was lifted up on the cross, there
were things that took place that were written before that would
take place that God made certain they were done. His garments being parted for
instance. Him being betrayed initially
for 30 pieces of silver. All of those things. And you
know the Lord moved things too to where Pilate said, Pilate
declared his innocence. What fault do you find in it?
I washed my hands of this innocent man he said. Even the devil was
made by God's hand to testify he is spotless. We know who you
are. You're that innocent one. You're
that righteous one. Even the devils bore witness
to it. Pilate's wife had nothing to do with this man. I had a
dream about this innocent man. When you've lifted me up, you're
going to know, the Lord said, everything that was taking place
was showing us He is who He said He is. He's the great I Am. Always
doing that which pleases the Father. Look here now, Matthew
27.50. There were things that happened after he yielded up
the spirit. Jesus, when he had cried again
with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. He yielded it up. He did that. No man takes my
life, he said. He yielded up his spirit. And
behold, the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top
to the bottom. That's making everybody know
he's the end of the law. And the earth did quake. and
the rocks rent, and the graves were opened, and many bodies
of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after
his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto
many. Now when the centurion and they that were with him,
watching Jesus, saw the earthquake and those things that were done,
they feared greatly, saying, Truly, this was the Son of God. That's what our Lord said. You're
going to know. When you've lifted me up, you shall know I am. Not that they would know and
believe Him, but they without excuse. All these things were
witnessed. He is who He said He is, did
all the things He said. And then after His resurrection,
and then He appeared to many witnesses, and then He ascended
to the right hand of the Father. And the scripture says he is
declared to be the son of God with power according to the spirit
of holiness by the resurrection from the dead. He is not being
in that tomb. His being at God's right hand
declares he is the I am. He is the one that always did
that which pleased the Father. He said when you lift me up you'll
know. And then you have Pentecost. He poured out the Holy Spirit.
And at Pentecost, saved 3,000 people through the preaching
of the gospel. And then he continued to save more. He said, you'll
know! And he's been calling his people
ever since. Look over at Hebrews chapter 2. His preaching by his apostles
bears witness, and God bore witness by giving them the ability to
work the miracles they worked. He said, Hebrews 2 verse 3, How shall we escape if we neglect
so great salvation which at the first began to be spoken by the
Lord and was confirmed unto us by them that heard Him, God also
bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders and with different
miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost according to His own will. All of these things is what He
was saying when He said, When you have lifted Me up, you shall
know. We know He is the I Am because He called us to faith
in Him. And we know that He did all things
that pleased the Father. We know everything He did, He
did of the Father. Everything He spoke, He spoke
of the Father. These things we're seeing today, we know these things
because He called us to faith in Him. We know because His gospel
is still going forth into this world, He still has a people
to call. And God's still well-pleased
with him. Everything he's doing, God's
well-pleased with him. He's doing it. Everything that's
coming to pass as the prophet, priest, and king of his people,
and God's well-pleased with everything he's doing. So, look at John
10. I want to end with this. John
10 in verse 37. Listen to what our Lord said
here. If I do not the works of my Father,
believe me not, he said. But if I do, though you believe
not me, believe the works that you may know and believe that
the Father is in me and I in him. That's what he's declaring
in our text. The Father is in me and I'm in
him. When you've lifted me up, you're going to know this. I
do know these things of myself as I hear I speak. And I always
do that which pleases Him. He said, now if you don't believe
me, believe the works. All these works that He did and
all these works that have come to pass since. What's He saying
by that? You know how He said in Romans
2, the invisible things of creation declare God is. All these things
He's created, all the works of His hand, they all bear witness
He is. And he's saying here the invisible
things of the Redeemer are clearly seen by all His miracles and
all His works, by everything He accomplished. So those that
refuse to believe on Him are without excuse. Just as men are without excuse
just from creation. We've got a better witness than
that. Christ has come. You know, if a person that doesn't
believe the gospel, if they just look back on history and think
about the fact that this whole world's divided between Isaac
and Ishmael. Really? Where'd that come from? You got, really, three. You got
Ishmael, you got the Muslims, you got Isaac, you got Jews,
and you got those that were the elect that came out. That's really
the whole world right there. Where did that come from? It's
right here in this book. Right here. And there's just
so many witnesses, but the chief witness is him. He said, you're
going to lift me up. He was lifted up. And by him
being lifted up, by all these things that he's done, we know,
but it takes faith doesn't it? It takes Him giving you faith
in your heart. We had all these witnesses and we didn't believe
Him. But it takes Him giving faith in the heart to make you
know. He's the one that did always those things that pleased Him.
Now believer, for you that trust Him, it's only His continual pleasing
of the Father from the conception to He yielded up the Spirit that
is our righteousness. He is our righteousness. beginning
and end. And only Him, nobody else but
Him, is our righteousness. So when he says here, He that
sent me, the Father hath not left me alone, He's with me.
That's true of you, brethren. You can always know this. He's
with you. He said, I'll never leave you,
I'll never forsake you. He said, I do nothing of myself.
Anything you do that's pleasing to God, that God says, His people
should do, give Him the glory. Anything you speak, He said,
I speak nothing of myself, give Him the glory. As He's taught
you, that's how come you speak it. If you speak it by your spirit
and truth, that's the only way. But know this, He alone could say of Himself,
I do always those things which please the Father. But if you
trust Him, if you believe Him, Here's the assurance we have. In Christ, in Christ alone, God
looks upon him and sees you in him and says of you, believer,
you have always done that which pleased the Father. That's my
only hope. That's our only confidence. If
we try to bring anything else, God won't receive it. In Christ,
we have always done that which pleases the Father. That's where
faith rests, right there. That's where faith rests. All
right, brethren, let's go to the Lord. Father, help us to
see you, see your Son, see and hear these things, and know in
our heart that Christ and him crucified is all
our hope, all our righteousness, all our acceptance. Lord, make
us to do that which is well pleasing in your sight. Work in us to
do that. Speak as you'd have us speak.
Act as you'd have us to do. Lord, make us to remember we
only do it by your will, your power. But make us in all be
constantly, continually looking to your son and resting in him. Thank you, Lord, for perfect
righteousness. Thank you for coming and working
this out for us. Lord, call your people, if it's
your will, today. Call one of your saints and make
them hear, make them know this, one of your sheep. Pour out your spirit, Lord, and
make us truly behold Christ. Thank you, Lord. And Lord, forgive
us of our sins. Keep us trusting you. Save us
from our own belief. Thank you, Lord, for Christ Jesus,
your son, our gracious Redeemer. Amen.