Matthew chapter 20, we just had
a Bible study, a Sunday school lesson from these verses, verses
20 to 28, that's what we just looked at. And we considered
what our Lord was saying in these verses. But our Lord said something
in verse 28 that made me want to give special attention to
it. So let's read these verses again,
the ones we just looked at, and then I'll tell you what our subject
matter will be. Matthew 20, verse 20, it says, then came to him the mother of
Zebedee's children with her sons worshiping him and desiring a
certain thing of him. And he said unto her, what wilt
thou? She saith unto him, grant that
these my two sons may sit the one on thy right hand and the
other on the left in thy kingdom. But Jesus answered and said,
you know not what you ask. Are you able to drink of the
cup that I shall drink of and to be baptized with the baptism
that I am baptized with? They say unto him, we are able. And he saith unto them, you shall
drink indeed of my cup and be baptized with the baptism that
I am baptized with. But to sit on my right hand and
on my left is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them
for whom it is prepared of my father. And when the ten heard
it, they were moved with indignation against the two brethren. But
Jesus called them unto him and said, you know that the princes
of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are
great exercise authority upon them, but it shall not be so
among you. But whosoever will be great among
you, let him be your minister, and whosoever will be chief among
you, let him be your servant. even as the son of man came not
to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give his life
a ransom for many. Verse 28 says, the son of man
came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give his
life A ransom for many. A ransom for many. What is a ransom? It is, according to the definition
of it, it is the price owed for redeeming. It is redemption's price. All right, redemption's price.
What is redemption? Redemption is, and it means,
deliverance. That's what the word means. Deliverance. The word means the releasing,
the liberation, the letting go, the setting free. That's what
the word means. Verse 28, even as the son of
man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to
give his life a ransom, a payment, the price owed for the releasing,
for the setting free. Another way of saying that is
for the salvation. The deliverance. The salvation. Christ said, I came to pay the
price for the salvation. I came to pay the price for the
salvation. What was the price? He came to pay the price. What was the ransom price? Verse 28 says, even as the son
of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to
give his life a ransom. His life. ransom. His life was the ransom. His own life was the ransom price. Just listen to these scriptures.
Don't turn to these. Isaiah 53 verse 10 says, Yet
it pleased the Lord to bruise him. That's speaking of Christ.
Who bruised Christ? You say the Romans did. No. The
Jews did, no? God Almighty did. It pleased
the Lord to bruise him. He hath put him to grief. Now listen to this. When thou
shalt make his soul an offering for sin. Think about that. Think about what that's saying. He hath put him to grief when
thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin. His soul was made to
be an offering for our sin. His soul. Honestly, does that
grab you like that grabbed me? His soul. John 11 verse 50, it says, consider that it is expedient for us that
one man should die for the people and that the whole
nation perish not. And this spake he not of himself,"
meaning this unbelieving Pharisee named Caiaphas who is talking
right now. this high priest who was talking at that moment. He
didn't speak this concerning himself. He was spiritually prophesying
that Christ would die, not only for that nation, the
Jews, but that he also should gather together in one, in himself,
all of the children of God that would be scattered abroad. Christ Himself was the ransom
price. Titus 2 verse 14 says, Christ
gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from all iniquity and
purify unto Himself a peculiar people, a very peculiar people. Zealous of good works. Zealous
of good works. A very peculiar people. Zealous
of good works, not the wicked works of the flesh trying to
accomplish the deeds of the law to please God. That's what the
natural way of man is. That's what everybody naturally
thinks. That's the that's the common way. Well, how do you
please God? You obey the Bible. That's the that's the common.
error of all men. Christ said, I'm going to turn
my people from that. I'm going to redeem them to myself. I'm going to redeem a peculiar
people, a people who don't make sense to everybody else. Peculiar. Because they will be
a people who are actually zealous of good works. Who does good
works? Jesus Christ. God's people are
zealous of Christ's works. Isn't that right? Zealous. I want Christ's works. I want
to go stand before God pleading Christ's works. When the books
are open, I want his book. They're zealous of Christ's works. Not the wicked works of this
wicked flesh right here. This is a wicked man standing
before you. The good works of the spirit
of God. In this flesh, if we do apply
them to the flesh, what are the good works of God? John 6, verse
29, it says, Jesus answered and said unto them, this is the work
of God. You want to do the work of God?
Here it is. That you believe on him whom he hath sent. You believe on him. You look
to him. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Cast your all on Christ. All of false religion thinks
that the good works of God are obedience to the law. And it
is, but only Christ accomplished it. Only Christ accomplished
it. It takes the new mind of repentance
to cause a sinner to see. that Christ is the only one who
satisfied the law in a pleasing way to God. Listen, I want to
obey the Ten Commandments. Don't get me wrong. I want to
honor my father and my mother. Happy Mother's Day to all of
you mothers. I want to love my neighbor as
myself. I don't want to worship and serve any other God but the
true and living God. But if I bring my own efforts
in doing this, I'm going to fall so far short of the holy, absolute
standard of God Almighty. Only one man has ever lived up
to that standard, and it's Jesus Christ. And I believe on Him. And I'm looking to Him. I'm not
looking to myself. I'm looking to Him. I need Him. I don't want to go stand before
God in my own flesh. I need to stand before God in
the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord said, I gave my life
as the payment owed to redeem my people to that repented knowledge
and that liberty from the bondage of the law and that salvation
to freedom, freedom, freedom in Christ. He gave his soul.
He gave his body. And 1 Peter 1 verse 18 says,
for as much as you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible
things as silver and gold from your vain conversation received
by tradition from your fathers, but you were redeemed with the
precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ as of a lamb without blemish. and without spot. Thank God. Thank God. Our Lord gave his
life. He gave his soul. He gave his
body. He gave his blood as a ransom payment. Redemption's payment
to God. Now, here's our question for
the morning. I said all that to ask this.
Okay, here's our question for the morning. Who did he make
that payment for? Who did he make that payment
for? That's what I want us to find out this morning. And I
want to tell you something. I'm very sincere in this moment.
I want to find out the truth of what this word says. I do
not want to know what I think this word says. I really, I don't want to go
meet God based on what I think he has demanded of me. What I
think he has commanded in his word. I want to go meet God based
on the truth of what he has written. And in truth, I want to know
who did Christ make that payment for? I've titled this message.
Who did Christ die for? Who did Christ die for? This
is so important. Well, from this Word, everything
that we see, we need to see it from the Word if we're gonna
find out the truth of what God has said in His Word. From the
Word, let's first acknowledge who Christ didn't die for. Let's acknowledge that verse
28 does not say, even as the Son of Man came not to be ministered
unto, but to minister and to give his life a ransom for everybody. Does it say that? It doesn't
say that, does it? According to this word right
here, Christ did not die for everybody. That's a shocker,
isn't it? Nowhere in this word does it
say that Christ died for everybody. And I'll tell you this, that's
the best news I have for us today. That is good news. I'll tell
you, that is such good news. It's good news that nowhere in
this word does it say that Christ died for everybody, and here's
the reason why. This is the reason why. According
to this word, not all men and women are saved. We know that's
so. According to this word, not all
men and women are saved. There are some who are lost. There are some who enter eternity
and they go meet God and they go stand before his throne lost. And my heart breaks for those
people. This is why I preach. I want
to tell everybody, hear the truth, listen to the truth, believe
the truth who is a person. Christ said, I'm the truth. But if Christ died for everybody,
and he didn't save everybody, there would be no hope for anybody.
Honestly, I'm gonna say that again because it's true. If Christ
died for everybody, but he didn't save everybody, then why would
we be hoping in his death? There would be no hope for anybody.
If His death did not accomplish salvation, if He could not through
His own giving of His soul and His body and His blood, if He
did not accomplish salvation, then why would we trust in His
death and His giving of His body? There would be no hope in that.
His death life, soul, body, blood that he gave in death. That was
his ransom payment for our sin. He made one offering to God,
only one, and that was it. That was his ransom payment for
our sin. That's what he paid to set us
free from eternal curse. And if he paid that for everybody,
but everybody is not set free, if there's one soul that he made
the payment for, but the payment was not enough, then we can't
put our trust in his payment. If that's the case, there's no
security in his payment. Thank God that's not the case. Thank God it's not the case.
Nowhere in this word does it say that Christ died for everybody. But the word does give us good
news on the matter. It does say that he died for
many. Don't you love that word? Verse
28, even as the son of man came not to be ministered unto, but
to minister and to give his life a ransom for many. Many. When God says many, he means
many. He means a number no man can
number. He means a number no man can number. The word is very clear. Every
soul that Christ died for, he made a sure payment for that
soul. Every single soul. He is the
successful Savior. He is the accomplished Savior. He is God's Savior. And every
soul that He made His payment for, He made that payment in
full for that soul. It was many. It was many. He made that ransom payment for
many. Now let's find out who it is. According to the Scripture,
who did Christ die for? Who did He make that ransom payment
for? Who did He save? Follow me to some scripture here,
okay? Turn with me to John chapter three. John chapter three, verse 16,
John 3, 16. It says, for God so loved the
world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth
in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Who did
Christ die for? He died for the ones that he
loved, first of all. He died for the ones that he
loved. Somebody will say, well, wait
a minute, doesn't God love everybody? And I, you know, again, I don't,
some of these things are hard. Some of these things are hard.
Some of these things are difficult, but they are so, and they're
set in stone. God does not change. He didn't
used to be one way, and now he's another way. He said, I am the
Lord, I change not, therefore you sons of Jacob are not consumed.
He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Whatever he said
then, he says now. And this is what he said, and
I just repeat what God said. This is what he said. Jacob have
I loved, Esau have I hated. Isn't that what he said? I tell you this, Christ died
for Jacob, but he didn't die for Esau. That's tough, isn't
it? How could God hate Esau? How
could God love Jacob? That's the better question. Jacob
was a sinner, just like me. He was a trickster, just like
me. He was a supplanter, just like me. Me and Jacob, we're
not holy rollers. We're sinners. My dad was a sinner. His dad was a sinner. How could God love Jacob? Here's
the answer. Only in Christ. This is the secret
of the gospel. This is the mystery of the gospel.
The amazing news of the gospel is in Christ God set His love
on some people. He loved some people. He did
not set His love on all men without exception. He didn't set His
love on the entire world and He clarified it right here in
John 3, 16. Let's read it again. God so loved
the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth
in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. He gave His love and He gave
His Son for every soul that He gave faith to. Faith is not of
ourselves, that's the gift of God. That's the gift of God. He gave His Son. He gave His
love. He gave His faith. The gift of
faith is what causes men and women to believe this. You know
what? I've never seen this before. But that's what it says. And
if God said it, I may not understand it, but I believe it. And I bow
to it. That's faith. That's not of ourselves. That's the gift of God. Look
at verse 18. He that believeth on him is not
condemned. But he that believeth not is
condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name
of the only begotten Son of God. Verse 36, he that believeth on
the Son hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not the
Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.
That's hard, isn't it? It's God's Word. Salvation comes
to those who God loves. The redemption price was made
for those whom God loves. Look at John 13 verse 1. John
chapter 13. Verse 1, it says, 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. All the way to the end, the ones
He loved. Look at John 15, verse 12. This is my commandment that you
love one another as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man
than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." Who
did Christ die for? The ones that God loved. It was
the ones that God specifically, particularly set his affection
on. The scripture calls them his
elect. The chosen of God, that's who
Christ died for. Look at verse 15, right here
in John 15, verse 15. He said, henceforth I call you
not servants, for the servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth,
but I've called you friends. For all things that I have heard
of my Father, I've made known unto you. You have not chosen
me, but I've chosen you. and ordained you that you should
go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain,
that whatsoever you shall ask of the Father in my name, he
may give it you. He said, my people were chosen
to this, my own having loved his own. His own were chosen
to be his own. And they didn't do the choosing,
God did. I had a brother read John 17 for us just a moment
ago. Those that you gave to me out of the world, those are the
ones I kept. He said in John 17 verse nine,
I'm praying not for the world, but for them which thou has given
me. They are thine. All mine are thine. I pray for
them. Don't turn back, but in Matthew
20 in our text, the Lord said, those who sit with me, we just
looked at that for the Bible study a minute ago. Those who
sit with me, he's speaking to them in their terms, in their
language, the way they came to him, the language they understand. He said, those seats are not
mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is
prepared of my father. It means they are reserved seats,
reserved in heaven for all of his people. Union with Christ
is an ordained union, a selected, chosen union. Turn with me to
Romans chapter 8. Romans 8 verse 28, it says, And we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God. And what that means
is not my version of God or not my thoughts on God, but the true
and living God as he has declared himself to be in his own word.
All things work together for good to them that love God, to
them who are the called according to His purpose. Verse 29 says,
For whom He did foreknow, and the definition of that word is
elect. That's what the word means, elect. Whom He did foreknow, He also
did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son. that
he might be the firstborn among many. Thank God it's many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate,
them he also called. And whom he called, them he also
justified. And whom he justified, them he
also glorified. What shall we then say to these
things? If God be for us, who can be
against us? He that spared not His own Son,
but delivered Him up for us all." Now wait a minute. Us all? Who are the us all? Every soul
He foreknew. Every soul He predestinated.
Every soul that He called. Every soul that He justified.
Every soul that He glorified. He said in John 17, I lost none
of them. None of them are lost. All, all
of them are saved. I finished the work for all of
them. Verse 32, he that spared not his own son, but delivered
him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give
us all things? Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? God's elect, it's God that justifies. Who is he that condemneth? It
is Christ that died. Yea, rather, that is risen again,
who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession
for us. Who are the us? God's elect. The ones that God chose to set
his love on. Verse 35 says, who shall separate
us from the love of Christ. That's who Christ died for. That's
who he paid the ransom price for, his elect. who he loved. In John 10, he called them my
sheep. He said, I lay down my life for
the sheep, not the goats. I don't want to be a goat. Because
he said, I laid down my life for the sheep, my sheep. All
right, now one more question. Who are the elect sheep that
God loved? God has an elect people who are
his loved people. Here's what I want to know. Who
are they? Who are they? The only way that
I can know if I'm one of them is if I know who they are. So
who are they? This is gonna be really good
news for some people. This is gonna be really good
news for some people. It may be bad news for other
people. I don't know. It may be. This
is going to be real encouraging for some people. This may be
real discouraging for some people, but I pray it's really good news
and extremely encouraging for everyone here. I want to show
us from the scripture who the elect are, okay? Those that God
loved. If you want to know if you're
one of them, Honestly assess yourself. Take a good look inside
and out. Examine yourself, as the scripture
says, and see if you fit this description or not. Turn with
me to Romans 5. Romans 5, verse 1, it says, Therefore,
being justified by faith, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we
have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom also
we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand and
rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but
we glory in tribulations also. knowing that tribulation worketh
patience, and patience experience, and experience hope. And hope
maketh not ashamed because the love of God is shed abroad in
our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given to us. All right,
who, given to us, who, verse six, for when we were yet without
strength in due time, Christ died for. Now, who did Christ die for?
The title of this message is who did Christ die for? He died for his elect. He died
for his sheep. He died for the ones he loved.
Yeah, well, who is that? Who did God commend his love
to? Verse six, when we were yet without
strength in due time, Christ died for. I'm telling you, I'm
just going to speak on my own behalf. This is the greatest
news that I have ever heard in my life. I'm telling you, this
is so encouraging to me. This gives me hope. This gives
me comfort. This gives me peace to go meet
God. I assess myself, all right? You
assess yourself. Assess the inside of you. Assess
the outside of you. Assess your thoughts. Assess
your mind. Assess your emotions. Assess
everything about you. What do you see? What are you
in your nature before God? I'm ashamed to tell you what
I am. What are your thoughts? What
are your actions? What are the intents of your heart? If the
answer is ungodly, then Christ died for you. Christ
died for you. When we were yet without strength,
in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. Really? Did He really die for the ungodly?
Yes, He did. Yes, He did. Verse 7 says, For
scarcely for a righteous man will one die, yet peradventure
for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commended
his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us. Much more than being now justified
by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. This
is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation. Christ Jesus
came into this world to save sinners. sinners, ungodly sinners
of whom I'm the chief. I don't want to be. I don't want
to be the chief. I don't want to be the worst
person I know. I don't want to be. I'm ready to be like Christ.
And like David said, one day soon, when I awake in glory,
I'm going to awake with his likeness. I can't wait. But I have to acknowledge
the truth before God. I am what I am in myself. By the grace of God, I am what
I am in Christ, saved, redeemed, purchased. If someone assesses
himself or herself and honestly says, you know, you look inside
and you say, I don't see that. I don't know where you're coming
from. I don't agree with you. I don't see ungodliness. I don't
see complete ruin and sin. I don't have any good news. I
don't have any good news, all I have is bad news. Our Lord
said, he physically said in his word, I did not come to call
the righteous, but sinners. He said the whole, the well,
no, I'm not sick. What are you talking about sick?
I'm not sick. He said the whole, the well, they don't need a physician,
but the sick do. He said that's who I came for.
Those are my people, the Pharisees, the good church-going religious
leader Pharisees kept saying, why does he eat with the sinners
all the time? Why does he only associate with
sinners? It's who his people are. That's who he loved. That's who he came and died for. If you're a sinner in need of
a savior, If your only hope before God is that Christ made a ransom
payment on your behalf, if that's your cry, if that's your plea,
mercy in the ransom payment of Christ, if all your trust is
in the fact that He made the payment for you in full, without
me, Him alone, If your faith has found a resting place in
Christ alone, then according to that word, I happily say,
he made that payment for you. How do you know, Gabe? He said
so. A dear brother said one time,
I'm so glad 1 Timothy 1.15 doesn't say this is a faithful saying
and worthy of all acceptation. Christ Jesus came into the world
to save. The man said, Todd Nyberg. He
said, I'm so glad. He said, if it said that, I'd
think there was another Todd Nyberg in the world. But he said,
it says he came to save sinners. I know that's me. I know that's
me. If that's you, then Christ died
for you according to his word. And if he died for you, he arose
for you. He ascended for you. And right
now, he ever lives for you. He ever lives to make intercession
for you. That is good news to me. That's
good news to me. Amen. That's all I can say. Amen.
Amen. All right.