Our text is found in the chapter
that we read in John, John chapter 20, and I'll read again, verses
21, 22, and 23. John 20, verses 21, 22, and 23. Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you. As my Father hath sent me, even
so send I you. And when he had said this, he
breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost,
whosoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them, and whosoever
sins ye retain, they are retained. And the subject matter that we
have before us in these verses surely is that of the preaching
of peace. This is the message that the
Lord himself proclaims to them here in verse 21. Then Jesus said to them again,
Peace be unto you. He had already uttered these
words at the end of verse 19. And then a week later, The following
first day of the week, there at verse 26, we see how, again,
this is the manner of His address to them. After eight days, again,
His disciples were within, and Thomas with them. Then came Jesus,
the doors being shut, and stood in the midst and said, Peace
be unto you. All these repetitions then, of these remarkable words the
preaching of peace and first of all we see it is on the day
of his resurrection when the Lord Jesus comes and shows himself
to his disciples that this is the message that he bears to
them the preaching of peace and so this is the subject that I
want us to address for a little while as we look at these three
verses here in John chapter 20 verses 21 to 23 and dividing
the subject matter into some three parts first of all to say
something with regards to the source of this piece and then
secondly the preaching or the proclamation of this preach of
this piece and then finally to observe something of the consequences,
the result of this preaching of peace. First of all, the source. It is, of course, the Lord Jesus
Christ himself who is so evidently the source. What does he say
here in verse 21? It is the Lord Jesus
who himself utters the words peace be unto you. Now previously, that is previous
to his crucifixion, previous to his death, in those discourses,
those valedictory discourses that we have in the previous
chapters 14, 15 and 16, he speaks how he is going to leave peace
with as their inheritance. In chapter 14 verse 27 he says,
Peace I leave with you, my peace give I unto you, not as the world
give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled,
neither be ye afraid. That is the legacy that the Lord
Jesus Christ says then he will live as the portion of his disciples,
those who are his followers. And so here, having accomplished
all that great work, having made the one sacrifice for sins, now
risen again from the dead, the very first message that he preaches
to them is this message of peace. Now remember this was the message
that was also proclaimed by the angels at the time of his birth,
when he came into this world. We read in that second chapter
of Luke's Gospel of the message that the angels proclaimed unto
the shepherds who were watching over their flocks there in the
fields around Bethlehem. Glory to God in the highest they
sing, peace on earth, good will toward men. That was the message
then that they came to set before those shepherds at the birth
of the Lord Jesus Christ. There was a peace at that time,
we know that. There was the peace of the Roman Empire,
the Pact Romana, where the Soldiers of the Roman Empire
were able to maintain peace in every part of that vast empire,
one of the mightiest empires the world has ever known. But
when those angels come to proclaim peace to those shepherds, it's
not some political peace that they're speaking of. It is something
much more profound, much more glorious. It is that spiritual
peace, it is that peace with God that comes to those who by
nature are in a state of alienation to God and enemies of God. That
is the peace that is being proclaimed by the angels, that is the peace
that was procured by the dying of the Lord Jesus, and this is
the peace then that Christ himself is here proclaiming. He in His
very person is that source of peace. Isn't that one of the
names that He's given unto Him? We're familiar with those words
of the prophet in Isaiah 9. Unto us a child is born, unto
us a son He's given. And remember the name? His name
shall be called Wonderful Counselor of the Mighty God, the Everlasting
Father, the Prince of Peace. or in his very person. He is
that one who is the source of peace with God. Why? He is God's
and man. He is that one who is able to
lay his hands upon both. The desire of Job, as we have
it there in chapter 9 of his book, where he bewails the fact,
neither is there a day's man betwixt us, he says, that may
lay his hand upon us both, that He's someone to lay His hand
upon God, someone to lay His hand upon man. Well, here is
that One, even the Eternal Son of God, who in the fullness of
the time is made a man. That One who had entered into
the Eternal Covenant with His Father. All we read in Zechariah
6.13 of that Council of Peace, that council of peace shall be
between them both." That was the eternal covenant, a great
covenant of redemption, the purpose of God, and it was a council
of peace that was entered into by the persons in the Godhead,
when the Eternal Son so willingly, so readily agreed that He would
become the Saviour of sinners. and so he becomes a man. Again
the prophet Micah this time, Micah 5.5 says, this man shall
be the peace. And who is that man? Why, it
is the man Christ Jesus. It is that one who is the God-man,
who is therefore able to lay his hand upon both. He is God's,
and he is man, and he is the mediator. He comes between God and men. And who are these men that he
will stand as mediator for? They are the sinful sons of Adam,
the transgressors of God's holy law. And so as a mediator we
see the importance not only of the person of the Lord Jesus
Christ. He was proclaiming this peace,
but we must recognize the great significance of that work that
He came to accomplish. How was it that He procured this
peace for sinners? Well, look at what we read here
in the context. It is that first day of the week. It is the glorious day of the
resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. And in that resurrection,
of course, we see him as that one who is vindicated by the
Father. Death is unable to hold him,
because there is no real cause of death in him. The soul that
sinneth it shall die, but he is the sinless one. He has died
as a substitute in the place of others. And so now we see
Him as that One who was broken through the bars of the grave,
risen again from the dead. Or the Father has declared Him
to be His Son, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection
from the dead. And so we read here, verse 19,
Then the same day, or that resurrection day, That evening, being the
first day of the week, when the doors were shut, where the disciples
were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in
the midst and said unto them, Pleased be unto you. And when
he had so said, he showed unto them his hands and his sight.
Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. Then
said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you. And here we have
to observe not just the words and the significance of the words
but look at the actions that are associated with this message
that the Lord Jesus Christ is preaching. When he had so said,
we read in verse 20, he showed unto them his hands and his thigh
Now, of course, in this action, he is revealing himself. This is the one who has been
crucified. And they had witnessed the crucifixion. Why, Thomas,
who was not present, had said that in order for him to be brought
to believe these things, he wanted to see his hands and the print
of the nails. And he wanted to put his fingers
into those nail prints and to thrust his hand into that side
that they had pierced through with a spear. Here is the evidence
that it is Jesus of Nazareth and that he is risen again from
the dead. But it's not just a matter of them identifying him by these
wounds, but what do these wounds speak of? They speak of the reality
of his dying. He had just suffered a most bloody
death. He had literally bled to death
upon the cross. When the soldiers came, and you
remember how they break the legs of those other two malefactors
who were crucified with him to ensure their death, they didn't
have to break a bone of the Lord's body, he had died. He was dead
already. Oh, it was such a bloody death,
and it was those wounds It was his bleeding that procured this
peace with God. All without the shedding of blood
there is no remission of sins. And so Paul, when he comes to
explain these great doctrinal truths, look at the language
that he uses there in his epistle to the Colossians. In Colossians
1.20 He says of Christ having made
peace having made peace through the blood of his cross by him
to reconcile all things unto himself by him I say whether
they be things in earth or things in heaven and you that were sometime
alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works yet now
hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death to
present you holy and unblameable and unreprovable in his sight."
All those who were in that state of alienation and enemies to
God, reconciled, at peace now with God, and how so it is by
the death, by the blood shedding of the Lord Jesus Christ. How
significant then is this action? as he shows unto them his hands
and his side. Or they see his wounds. They
are reminded of the shedding of that precious blood that had
procured for them the pardon of all their sins. And this is
the great work of God. God is in all of these things.
This is a fulfillment of those things written in the Old Testament
Scriptures. It was God who so dealt with
his well-beloved son. He suffered as the substitute.
For God had sent him in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin. God hath made him to be sin for
us, says Paul. He who knew no sin that we might
be made the righteousness of God in him. There upon the cross
in his own person he bore all that wrath of God that was due
to sinners. He died the accursed death. He
bore the curse of the broken law of God. Remember how John
in his first epistle speaks the great truth of that propitiationary
sacrifice. Here in his love, he says, not
that we love God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to
be the propitiation for our sin. He is the propitiation for our
sin, says John. It's a technical word, it's a
theological word, but it's an important word, it's a biblical
word. And we do well to consider the significance of the word
because it speaks to us of the Godward aspect of the dying of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Or there is a manward aspect,
of course. He has made expiation for the
sins of his people that was there just desserts, has been visited
upon him. He has paid the price, the penalty. He has paid that that the law
required. He has ransomed his people. But
then there is also that Godhood aspect. God who is a just God,
a holy God, a righteous God, a God who will by no means clear
the guilty. That God who is angry with the
wicked every day. And it is that aspect, that Godward
aspect that that word propitiation reminds us of. For we have satisfied
all the justice of God. And so that sinner who was an
enemy of God is now reconciled. No more any alienation. And it
is all through the Lord Jesus Christ by His work and in his very person as that
one who is the God-man. He is the source of peace. And so here we have him proclaiming
this peace, preaching this great message of peace. Then said Jesus to them again,
Peace be unto you, as my Father hath sent me. Even so send I
you." And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said
unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Now, when we think of
the preaching and the proclamation, of course we have to recognize
that it is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself who is the great preacher
of this message. We are told how He came and preached
peace. to them that were near and to
them that were far off. When Paul is writing in Ephesians
chapter 2 and he's speaking of that great mystery that had been
hidden but was now revealed, that there was a purpose of grace
to sinners of the Gentiles, they are the ones who were afar off, God did not know the Gentile
nations under the Old Testament. He says to Israel, you only have
I known of all the families of the earth. But with the Gospel,
there is this proclamation of the message of peace to the ends
of the earth. Not only to them that were near
to Jews, but also to them afar off, to the Gentiles. And Paul
says there in Ephesians 2.17 concerning Christ he came and
preached peace to them that were near and to you, you Gentiles
that were far off. Oh Christ is that one who is
the great preacher. The fulfillment of the office
of the prophet in the Old Testament With regards to the Old Testament
prophets, their appeal was always to the Lord of Moses. As Isaiah says, to the Lord and
to the testimony if they speak not according to this word, there
is no truth in them. They appealed to Moses. But then
there was one who was to come far greater than Moses, another
prophet like unto Moses, yes. but someone so much greater even
than that man. The language that we have there
in Deuteronomy 18, Moses himself says, verse 15, the Lord thy
God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee of thy
brethren like unto me, unto him ye shall hearken. And then God himself speaks directly.
Verse 18, I will raise him up a prophet from among their brethren
like unto thee, and I will put my words in his mouth, and he
shall speak unto them all that I shall command him." Who is
this prophet? It's the Lord Jesus Christ, the
fulfillment of the prophetic office, the Prince of all preachers. Oh never man spake like this
man. Remember how we're told the reaction
of the multitude after his Sermon on the Mount, when Jesus had
ended all these sayings that people were astonished at his
doctrine, at his teaching, because he taught them as one having
authority and not as the scribes. He is the great preacher. that
one who was sent by God, who speaks the words of God. Look
at the language that we find here in this Gospel of John. In chapter 3 and verse 34, He
whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God. For God giveth
not the Spirit by measure unto him. There's the secret. He is the Anointed One. He is
the Christ. And the Father giveth not the
Spirit by measure unto him. Or there was such an effusion
of the Spirit as he comes up out of the waters of baptism.
Remember, out there in Jordan, the heavens open and the Spirit
descends upon him in the form of a dove. And the Father speaks
those words from heaven, This is my beloved Son, in whom I
am well pleased. He whom God hath sent." God had sent him and he comes
to speak the words of God and there is that blessed unction
of the Spirit upon all of his ministry. And as the Lord Jesus
Christ was anointed as the preacher, the prophet, So here we see that
He also anoints. Look at the language. Verse 21,
As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when He had said this, we
are told, in verse 22, He breathed on them, and said unto them,
Receive ye the Holy Ghost. All we see here, this blessed
truth, is that God the Holy Spirit, in that sense, proceeds from
the Son. Now we know that He proceeds
from the Father. He proceeds from the Father.
when the Lord speaks of him there in 1526. He says, When the Comforter
is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the
Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify
of me. Now here, of course, when we're
speaking of these things, this is most profound doctrine. This is the doctrine of God.
This is the doctrine of the Godhead, the doctrine of the Triniton.
We confess one God, and we confess one God subsisting in three persons,
God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Now
in the Godhead, the Son, of course, is that One who is eternally
begotten. He is the only begotten of the
Father. full of grace and truth that
is the relationship between the father and the son the father
begets and the son is begotten but there is no superiority or
inferiority and the Jews understood that why they they would have
Christ crucified because they said he was a blasphemer he said
that God was his father making himself equal with God And this
is what we must believe. We're told here at the end of
this chapter, these things are written, that ye might believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing
ye might have life through his name. But then what of the Holy
Spirit? If the Son is eternally begotten,
the Holy Spirit is He who eternally proceeds. He proceeds eternally
from the Father and from the Son. And isn't that what the
Lord Jesus Christ is saying there in chapter 15, the end of that
chapter? When the Comforter is come, whom
I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth
which proceedeth from the Father. All the eternal procession of
the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Father and proceeding from
the Son. And so, how we see it here in
the words of the Lord Jesus, He breathed on them. He breathed
on them and said unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Or we see
then here the great truth concerning the doctrine of the Godhead.
But then we can also, and we must also, think in terms of
the way in which God has revealed himself. He has revealed himself
in terms of covenant. We have a Bible that is divided
into two parts, the Old Testament and the New Testament, or the
Old Covenant and the New Covenant. In the Old Testament we have
the law. The law was given by Moses. in
the New Testament we have the Gospel the law was given by Moses
grace and truth came by Jesus Christ and here is one you see who is
greater than Moses that great prophet, that greatest of preachers
and so when we come to consider the way in which God has made
himself known we are to Remember that God does reveal himself
in terms of covenant. And here we have the unfolding
of that great covenant, the covenant of grace. Now, when we think
in terms of the covenant, do we not see that it is the Father
who sends the Son? Or the Son who becomes in the
covenant the servant of God? Behold my servant whom I uphold,
mine elect, he says, in whom my soul delighteth, I have put
my Spirit upon him." When the fullness of the time was come,
God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law. But what of the Holy Spirit?
Well, as the Father sends the Son, we see there is that sense
in which the Son sends the Spirit. Again, look at the language of
the Lord in those discourses. John 16 now. In John chapter 16, verse 7,
Nevertheless, I tell you the truth, it is expedient for you
that I go away. For if I go not away, the Comforter
will not come unto you. But if I depart, I will send
him unto you. And the Spirit comes as the Spirit
of Christ. Just as the Son comes to to do the will of the Father.
So we see how the ministry of the Spirit is also such a self-effacing
Spirit. He comes to make known the things
of Christ. Chapter 14, 26, "...the Comforter,
which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name.
He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your
remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you." 16 verse 13, O be it when he the
Spirit of truth is come he will guide you into all truth for
he shall not speak of himself but whatsoever he shall hear
that shall he speak and he will show you things to come and he
shall glorify me for he shall receive of mine and shall show
it unto you. And what is the Lord speaking
of here in our text? He's speaking of this ministry
of the Spirit, as He sends forth these preachers. He is the great
preacher proclaiming this message of peace. As my Father hath sent
me, even so send I you. And when He had said this, He
breathed on them, and said unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost. and how that Spirit of God is
so essential to the ministry of the Word of God, the preaching
of the Word of God. It's not anything in the preacher. It's not that a man is able to
persuade others to believe by force of argument or anything
like that. The vital thing is that ministry of the Spirit.
What is all the preaching without that Blessed Unction? And again,
it's John, the same apostle, the writer of this fourth gospel,
writing there in his first general epistle, he speaks of that unction. You have an unction from the
Holy One, he says, and ye know all things. The anointing, or
the unction, which you have received of Him abideth in you, and ye
need not that any man teach you, but as the same anointing teacheth
you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie. And even as it
hath taught you, ye shall abide in him." Oh friends, how we should
desire that, that blessed gift of the Spirit. And how we can
ask that gift. The Lord Jesus encourages us.
to pray to God that we might know the Spirit, if He, being
evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much
more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them
that ask? The Spirit Himself to come and
to open our understandings and to move us in our spirits, to
touch our hearts, to move our wills, and to work
all these great works of grace in the very depths of our souls. We need to know that precious
gift of God, even God the Holy Spirit himself to be our teacher
and our instructor. But here, of course, we see it
principally in terms of the proclamation, the ministry of this Word, he
speaks to his disciples, As my Father hath sent me, even so
send I you. And when he had said this, he
breathed on them, and said unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost. And then the result. What is the result of all of
this? Verse 23. Whosoever sins, ye remit, they
are remitted unto them. and whosoever sins he retain,
they are retained. What of this? Well, this has
nothing at all to do with the Roman Catholic doctrine of auricular
confession. The Roman Church claims that
this is what gives the priest authority to remit sins. And so, Around this
verse and other similar statements they build the doctrine of auricular
confession, the need to go and confess all your sins to the
priest before ever you can go and legitimately take the Romish
Mass. But this has nothing at all to
do with the confession. What's being spoken of here,
as I trust we've made clear this morning, really, is preaching,
the preaching of the Lord Jesus, and the preaching of his disciples,
his apostles. And what we see here is that
the consequence of that preaching is very discriminating and very
separating. There is the remission of sin
with some, there is the retaining of sins with others. In other
words, the gospel to some is the saber of life, but to others
the saber of death. There's discrimination. But before
we say something with regards to that aspect, and that consequence
where there is the faithful preaching of the Word of God, I just want
to make some remarks with regards to the sovereignty of the Lord
Jesus Christ in all of these things. It is the Lord Jesus
Christ Himself who is speaking. And look at what He says here
in verse 23. He speaks with such authority,
"...whosoever sins they remit," He says, "...that is, those whom
He is sending, and sending in the power of the Holy Spirit,
whosoever sins they remit, they are remitted." They are Remitted,
says the Lord Jesus Christ. And what does it mean to remit
sins? Well, literally it means to send them away. To forgive, we would speak of
forgiveness, but it's a strong word, and it has this idea of
sending away or separating. Oh, as far as the East is from
the West. So far hath he removed our transgressions
from us, says the Psalm 103. And what a statement is that!
As far as the East is from the West, that's infinite. North and South, as we know,
are fixed points on the compass, the North Pole, the South Pole. But East to West, That's infinite. You start journeying in an easterly
direction and you keep on going round and round and round, but
you're always travelling in an easterly direction. Or, if you
go in a westerly direction, you're always travelling in that direction.
You never come to a fixed point. You travel to the north, you
come to the North Pole, and then you pass the North Pole and you
start travelling south. That's not the case, is it, when
it comes to East and West? And that's the wonder of the
Word of God, as far as the East is from the West. So far has
He removed our transgressions from us. Or they're remitted. They've been sent away. And then
again, there's that great verse. I love that verse that we have
in Jeremiah chapter 50 and verse and verse 20, you'll remember
the verse in those days and in that time
saith the Lord the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for and
there shall be none and the sins of Judah and they shall not be
found for I will pardon them whom I reserve, or all those
whom the Lord has appointed to salvation. And he's speaking
of those days, that time, the gospel day, or the acceptable
time, the day of salvation. And here is iniquity, it's sought
for, but there's no iniquity. Here is their looking for sins,
and sins are no more. This is the great work of the
Lord Jesus Christ and it is Christ I say here who is speaking with
such authority all power is given unto him you see in heaven and
in earth it is the Lord Jesus Christ who
is sending out these preachers as my father hath sent me even
so send I you we read at the end of verse 21 He exercises His ministry. He
exercises that ministry so clearly when He calls His disciples to
Him. Observe the language there in
Mark. Mark 3.13 He goeth up into a mountain and calleth unto Him
whom He would. And they came unto Him. And He
ordained twelve that they should be with Him. and that he might
send them forth to preach and to have power to heal sicknesses
and to cast out devils and then we have the names of the twelve.
But how striking the language! He goes into a mountain and he
calls unto him whom he would whom he would or the sovereignty
of the Lord Jesus Christ And so he says here to these disciples,
receive ye the Holy Ghost. Oh, he speaks with such authority. He speaks with authority. He
is that one who is a great prince and he has left now a glorious
legacy to these, his disciples. I leave with you, he says. I give unto you. That's the language of the Lord
Jesus when he comes to this bequest of peace. There in 1427, peace I leave
with you. My peace I give unto you. Not as the world give I unto
you. Let not your heart be troubled,
neither let it be afraid." Oh, He is the Sovereign and God has
put all authority in His blessed hands. There's that one who has
the power of the keys. When John sees the glorified
Christ there on the Isle of Patmos, he tells us the thing that the Lord had said
unto him I am he that liveth and was dead and behold I am
alive forevermore amen and have the keys of hell and of death
and isn't that the same message really that he speaks when he
comes to address the churches he addresses there in Revelation
3 And verse 7, the church at Philadelphia. The angel of the
church in Philadelphia writes, These things hath he that is
holy, and he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he
that openeth, and no man shutteth, and shutteth, and no man openeth. All authority. He is able to
remit sin. He is able also to retain sin. That is the sovereignty of the
Lord Jesus, whosoever sins ye retain, they are retained, whosoever sins ye remit,
they are remitted. How discriminating that is! And
that is the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. We see it, of course,
in the course of His own earthly ministry, there were divisions
because of Him. Here in John, John 7, 43, and
then chapter 9, verse 16, and again
in chapter 10, verse 19, on three separate occasions, there was
a division among the people because of Him. There was a division
because of these sayings. This is the ministry of the Lord
Jesus. And this was also the ministry of the apostles. Or were we sufficient for these
things? cries out Paul as he contemplates the ministry
that the Lord had committed to him. There at the end of 2 Corinthians
chapter 2 He says, Thanks be unto God,
which always causes us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest
the savour of His knowledge by us in every place. For we are
unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in
them that perish. To the one we are the savour
of death unto death, and to the other the savour of life unto
life, and who is sufficient. for these things for we are not
as many which corrupt the word of God but as of sincerity but
as of God in the sight of God speak we in Christ as he sought
to be faithful in executing his ministry he recognized that it
would come just as the Lord had said it would come to separate
between men And you know the Lord Jesus still comes in the
Gospel. All that is a wonder. What's
the point of our coming together like this and sitting under the
ministry of the Word of God if we don't believe that the Lord
Jesus Christ himself is pleased to gather with us? Where two
or three are met together in my name, he says, there am I
in the midst. I will manifest myself unto you.
Oh, we sang it just now in the hymn. As we come together, He
bids the saints be glad, He makes the sinner sad, and humble souls
rejoice with fear. Or do we believe these things?
We sing these words, familiar words to us. It was the great
Puritan divine John Owen who said that none are the same.
After hearing the preaching of the Lord Jesus Christ, after
Christ is preached, There must come then a judgment in the soul
of a man. He is either a rejecter of Christ
or a receiver of Christ. That's the solemn truth. We either
reject Him or we receive Him. And this is what the Lord is
saying, "...whosoever sins you remit, they are remitted unto
them, and whosoever sins you retain, they are retained." But
what of us this morning as we look to ourselves and examine ourselves or when
the Lord comes here you see and appears there in the midst we're
told at the end of verse 20 then were the disciples glad when
they saw the Lord or did it make gladden our hearts that we might
be those who are favoured to serve by the eye of faith to
see the Lord Jesus Christ. It was the first day of the week.
It was that glorious day of the Lord's rising again from the
dead. He said that He would come again
to His disciples, He would manifest Himself to them. Or does He not
come Lord's day by Lord's day, Sabbath by Sabbath? Is that what
we long for when we come together in this fashion? that we might
know something of the fulfillment of these things that are spoken
in the Scriptures. They're written, John says, that
ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and
that believing ye might have life through his name. O God,
grant that that might be your portion and my portion. Amen. Let us sing a concluding hymn,
number 460, and the tune is Russell, 763. The Gospel's a message of
peace. We oft by experience have felt
it is filled with Emmanuel's grace and sweeps away mountains
of guilt. O sweet revelation divine! Delighted we've heard its contents,
All through it our Jesus does shine, The lover of all his dear
saints. To him, four hundred and sixty.