That rich man told Abraham, send
somebody to them. They might hear the gospel. They
might learn of Christ. Let them see a miracle. Abraham
said, if they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will
they be persuaded though one rose from the dead right in front
of them. Will you hear him? Well, I hear
the word of the Lord. Or will I keep talking about
what I think? We've got two ears and one mouth. What if we could
use them? Our text tonight is going to
be in Mark chapter 12, but let's turn to John chapter 10 first. John chapter 10. Our text is,
even to me, it's a frightening text. It's piercing. It's like a javelin hit me in
the chest as I read it. And as Paul wrote to that church
at Galatia, he said, I'm afraid for you. There are some professing
believers in this world that I'm afraid for. I'm afraid for
myself. Do I hear the Lord? This morning
we looked there at that bit of instruction to the children of
God. Old folks need to hear that,
too. That's not just for the young folks. Old folks need to
hear that, too. That's a sin of the heart. It's
not a sin of walking up down these streets. That's something
that happens on the inside. And tonight, old believers need
to hear this, too. I've heard this for 20-some years. I need to hear it again tonight. Scriptures tell us, say, make
your calling and election sure. I hope I can look inward. Here
in John chapter 10, beginning in verse 7, the Lord gave a parable
of these sheep coming in and out of the holding pen. And He said, if any man go in
any other way than that door, he's a thief and a robber. And
they didn't understand that. And He said, those sheep, they
won't follow the voice of a stranger. Won't have anything to do with
it. They didn't understand. And so
he explains it to them. John 10, verse 7. Then said Jesus
unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door
of the sheep. All that ever came before me
are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. By me, if any
man enter in, he shall be saved and shall go in and out and find
pasture. He'll be comforted in and he'll
be comforted without. The thief cometh not but for
to steal and to kill and to destroy. I am come that they might have
life and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the
Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd giveth His
life for the sheep. These sheep come at a great cost.
They were bought with the price. But he that is a hireling, and
not a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf
coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth. And the wolf catcheth
them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because
he is a hireling, and careth not for the sheep." The Lord
told us, He said, I careth for you. You are my friends, I care
for you. I am the good shepherd and know
my sheep and am known of mine. I know them and they know some
doctrine. They know some scripture. He
said they know me. I am known of mine. Verse 15,
As the Father knoweth me, even so I know the Father, and I lay
down my life for the sheep. There's a necessity for Him to
lay down His life for the sheep. And of the sheep I have, which
are not of this fold, them also I must bring, and they shall
hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd. Therefore doth my Father love
me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it up again.
No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down,
and I have power to take it up again. This commandment have
I received of my Father." Is there any question as to who
the door to eternal life is. The Master just said it. God
Almighty just told us. He is the way. He is the truth. In Him is the only life there
is. He is the life. I hope we can see more about
this door. More about entering into it. If you will, turn back
to Mark chapter 12. Mark chapter 12. I want to go through a good portion
of this chapter before we get to our text so we can have the
stage set leading up to this scribe. The scribe was here all
day. We need to see what he saw. Here
in Mark 12 we get the parable of the husbandman and the vineyard.
This Lord had bought a vineyard. He had bought some land. And
he sent his servants to those that ran it over and over again. Verse five says, and many others,
many others were sent there. And the response got worse and
worse. First off, they wounded some,
and then they badly wounded some. And then they started killing
those that he sent to his vineyards. Then when the landowner, he sends
his only precious son, his heir. They killed him as well and cast
him out of the vineyard. Then the Lord of the vineyard
came. He cast them all out together.
He cleared the place out. Those people that our Master
just told this parable to, they understood what he was getting
at. God Almighty sent His prophets. He sent Moses and the prophets.
People wouldn't hear Him. He sent His prophets again. They
killed them. They stoned them. Mean to them. Mean to them. Someone stood in
front of a group of people and said, here's how you have everlasting
life. It's in Christ Almighty. Get
away from us. Run. Paul said, are you mad at
me because I tell you the truth? What a shame. The Lord sent prophets,
preachers, sent John the Baptist to them, and now His Son is standing
before them. And what's their response? Here
in verse 10, the Master says, And have they not read the Scripture? The stone which the builder rejected
is become the head cornerstone. This was the Lord's doing, and
it is marvelous in our eyes. And they sought to lay hold on
Him. They were going to kill Him. but feared the people for
they knew that he had spoken the parable against them and
they left him and they went their way. That was their response.
They wanted to kill him and they couldn't and so they just took
off. They get mad and go home. They marveled at him. Now comes
the Pharisees and the Herodians. They're trying to catch our Lord
in His words. And they're bragging on Him, calling Him Master. Calling Him Master. Now verse
13, And they send unto Him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians
to catch Him in His words. And when they were come, they
say unto Him, Master, we know that Thou art true and carest
for no man. For thou regardest not the person
of men, but teachest the way of God in truth." Boy, that sounds
good, doesn't it? You're no respecter of persons.
Oh, you teach the truth. Oh, you're a master. And so they
ask him a question. Is it lawful to give tribute
to Caesar or not? Shall we give or shall we not
give? Should we pay federal taxes?
That's what they're asking. If Christ says, yes, pay your
taxes, they can say, well, he supports a pagan ruler. Oh, that's
a waste of money. We could have been giving that
to the poor and the needy. He doesn't care about the poor
and the needy. They accused him of all kinds of things. He's
a winebibber and a glutton. If he says, no, don't pay your
taxes, he's broke the law. Antinomian. He doesn't care.
Look at him. He disregards the law. That's
a catch-22. Gotcha! If that was me, they got me,
don't they? What do I say? Here's Christ's response, end
of verse 15. But He, our Lord, knowing their hypocrisy, said
unto them, Why tempt ye me? Bring me a penny, that I may
see it. And they brought it. And He said unto them, Whose
image and superscription, whose on this coin, And they said to
Him, Caesars. And Jesus answering said unto
them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God
the things that are God's. And they marveled at Him. They
marveled at Him. But they left. They said, Oh,
what a crafty man. He won the battle, but we're
going to win the war. No, that's not the case. That's
all they saw was a man standing before them. Well, thank you,
Christ. This is just one of the prophets.
Some man standing here. Then the Sadducees came in. They
didn't believe in the resurrection, so they thought they would catch
Him in His words concerning the resurrection. Getting caught
up going on a story. They might answer something and
catch Him in it. They asked about this woman with the seven husbands.
The brothers kept marrying her. The husband kept some hypothetical.
That's what the religious like to fight over. Let's talk about
a hypothetical. Let's look at what the word of the Lord says.
How about that? These seven husbands. Which one
is going to be her husband in glory? And oh, the response to
these Sadducees. Oh, the dealing of our Lord had
with him. Here in verse 24. And Jesus answering
said unto them, Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the
Scriptures, neither the power of God? Which way are you in
error? Don't you know what the word
of the Lord says or don't you know the Lord? His power, who
He is. It's one or the other or both.
What piercing. It says in verse 25, for when
they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given
a marriage, but are as the angels which are in heaven. And as touching
the dead, that they rise. Have you not read in the book
of Moses how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am
the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living. Ye,
therefore, do greatly err. He's the God of the living. Who's that living? Those he has
given life to. So He has come to and put His
incorruptible seed in. Abraham at that time and Abraham
right now is living. Isaac is living. Jacob is living. They're living in Christ. Just
as they were alive in Him as they walked this earth, they're
alive in Him in glory right now. He's the way. That's the truth. He's the law. They're living
in Him. Now, verse 28-31. This scribe's
been around all day. This is the scene that he saw.
These are the things he's witnessed. Those people left again, upset. He's hung around. He's going
to ask a question. Verse 28, And one of the scribes came,
and having heard them reasoning together, he'd listened, and
perceiving that Christ had answered them well. He had some perception. He asked the Lord, which is the
first commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, the first
of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel, The Lord our God is one Lord. And thou shalt love the Lord
thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all
thy mind, and with all thy strength. This is the first commandment.
That's the first table of the law covered to the Lord. And the second is like namely
this. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other
commandment greater than these. The Lord gives four points here.
Hear, O Israel, what a commandment and how thankful we are that
the Lord commands His people to hear Him, His spiritual Israel. Hear. Hear Moses and the prophets. Hear my preachers I send to you
in that vineyard. Listen to them. Pay attention. Listen diligently. Hear, O Israel. And He said, there is one Lord,
that triune God, the Father, The Holy Ghost and the one standing
right in front of them are one. They are one. Love Him with everything in you. Not on Wednesdays and twice on
Sundays. Love Him with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength.
Everything in you. Love that Lord. Love Him. And love your neighbor. Is that
the person next to me on the pew? It's good church goers,
my brothers and sisters. Love them, yeah. What about the
person that lives next door to me? Who's my neighbor? Love them
too. What about that one that curses
you? Goes out and stabs you tires and spits at you and plots on
you? Love them with everything in
you. Why would we do that? What would
be our motivation to that? Because the Israel that he commands
to hear God Almighty loved them in Christ when we were at enmity
with Him. We were at war with God. He loved
us. What an example. Servant's not
above his master, is he? We're commanded to love. Now
I ask you, do we hear as we should? We listen all the time. As our
mouths shut up in sin, our iniquity closes our mouths and we listen
to the Word of God. Or do we talk about what we think
in it? Do we have any idols other than the one true and living
God? Anything. Our children. My home. My job. My football. My fishing. Whatever it is. My husband. My
wife. Is that my idol? Or do I have
one God that I seek His voice, that I hear? Do we love Him with
everything in us all day, every day? Do we love our neighbor? Here's the scribe's response.
Verse 32, And the scribe said unto him, Well, master, thou
hast said the truth, for there is one God, and there is none
other but He. And to love Him with all the
heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with
all the strength, and to love His neighbor as Himself is more
than the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices." Boy, that sounds good, doesn't
it? There's one God. Love Him. Love
your neighbor. Oh, and that's better than all
the sacrifices and burnt offerings. Verse 34, and when Jesus saw
that he had answered discreetly, that doesn't mean he whispered
to him. He got over on the corner and said, hey, I agree with you. That means he answered earnestly,
with conviction. And the Lord discerned that in
him. He was serious. There was a zeal there. This
wasn't just words coming out of his mouth, he meant it. When
Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not
far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask
him any questions. Did he say you're in the kingdom
of God? You're not far from the kingdom of God. Close. Swing and a miss. We say, close
on the counts of horseshoes and hand grenades, don't we? You're
not in. You're not in that fold of the
sheep. Boy, you're close to it. You're
near. What's this kingdom of God that
He's speaking of? That's the kingdom of grace.
Kingdom of Christ. His kingdom and His people that
are on this earth and those that are already called home to glory.
The body of Christ that He bought with His blood with a price.
And He's preserved forever. What a place to be. Made one
with Christ. A fellow heir. The Lord looked at this man and
said, you're near. You're close. I want to look at a few things
about this scribe. I want to see who this man was. What is
it that he knew? What was his attitude? And where did he go wrong? Where
did he fail? So who was this man? He was a
scribe. You know what that is? His daily occupation was to spend
all day long in the Word of God. That's his job. He transcribed
the Word of God. They'd get down with that paper
and a pen and he'd copy it over. You think he memorized some verses?
Some of them translate them into other languages. Well, that takes
even longer. You've got to make sure you get
it right. There's some responsibility there. That's earnest. That's
studying. What was the context of that?
Where does the paragraph go? You think he had a favorite verse?
There's just a lot nicer to write than others. That was his occupation.
That was his full-time job. Living in the Holy Word of God.
There was a lot of respect that went with that. He was honored
in the community. He had some authority in the community. But
this is a good thing, isn't it? I'm not discounting being in
the Word of God. This is a good thing. Scriptures tell us, faith
comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Paul told
Timothy, from a child you have known the Scriptures and they
can make you wise unto salvation. Oh, what a blessing. Was this
man made wise unto salvation? Did he have faith that came by
hearing and hearing by the Word of God? Turn over to John chapter
5. John chapter 5. Is that all we
need? Do we just need the scriptures?
We can sit down with the scriptures and I'm just going to study them
all day long. I'm going to read them 10 times a day. I'm good
to go. John 5 verse 36. I have greater witness than that
of John, John the Baptist, for the works which the Father hath
given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness
of me that the Father hath sent me. And the Father Himself, which
hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard
His voice at any time, nor seen His shape. And ye, these that have never
heard, they're not Israel, they haven't heard the voice of the
Lord, they've never seen His shape. And ye have not His Word abiding
in you. It's a great privilege on this
earth to have the Word of God in our hands. What a privilege! But to have Him abiding in you,
the living Word of God, having Christ abide and dwell in you.
For, whom He hath sent, ye have not believed. All those prophets
to the vineyards. His preacher standing before
you saying, here's His Word, here's what God says about it,
you don't believe it. Search the Scriptures for in
them, in the searching, And the searching of the scriptures,
that ain't what he told Timothy was. No, it's a different context
here. He's not speaking to a child of God. He said, you think that
sitting around searching the scriptures all day, you think
you have eternal life, but those scriptures you're searching,
they are they which testify of me, of a person. That scribe
was in the word and boy, he was well-educated. That's who he
was. And he searched the scriptures
thinking that the searching itself, the verb, The work, expenditure
of energy is what saved him. But it was Christ who the Scriptures
was about that saved him. Now back in our text there, what
did this man know? He says there, there is one God. He said, O Master, thou hast
said the truth, for there is one God and there is none other
but He. Well, he knows God. He knows there's one God. Boy,
that's wonderful, isn't it? What did James tell us in James
2.19? He said, Thou believest there is one God? Oh, you do
well. The devils also believe. And
they tremble. They don't just believe there's
one God. They tremble at that one God. That deranged man was
in that graveyard, out of his mind, possessed with demons. And Christ came to him and He
cast those demons out. And the disciples come back and
that man is sitting there and says, in his right mind, that's his pure mind,
that's a believer's right mind, looking to Christ, sitting right
across the campfire from him. And he took those demons, when
he cast them out, put them in a herd of swine. And what did they say? They said, oh Lord, has judgment
come? Is that why you're here? They
knew that he was God. They knew that judgment was coming
and they knew they were convicted under that judgment. They trembled, didn't they? And
he cast them off a cliff. This scribe knew the idols were
bad. He said, there is none other but He. They're in verse 32.
Idols aren't a good thing. Idols are a bad thing. He knew
this. He knew loving the Lord and loving the brethren, that
was the fulfillment of the law of Moses. Love is the fulfillment
of the law of Moses. This is more than all the burnt
offerings and sacrifices. Most churches in our day, they
would make this man an elder right now. He's the third-in-line
associate assistant pastor. Promote that man. Boy, he knows
something. What knowledge! Oh, he knows
something. We see who this man was, a scribe,
his occupation, what he knew. Lord had given him some revelation. He had some knowledge, didn't
he? What was this man's attitude? He says in verse 28 that he perceived
Christ answered all those contenders well. Everyone that came up against
him, all his opposition that came speaking to this man, boy
he had the right answers. It was according to the Scriptures.
Know what the devil tempted Christ with? Scriptures. What did our Lord reply to him?
Did he yell and stuff? He just told him the Scriptures
right back to him. He was the Scriptures. This man's attitude
was that he properly approached Christ. He called Him Master.
But that's just what those Pharisees did, too, back in verse 14. Oh,
Master, Teacher, Wise One. Oh, He spoke so highly of Christ.
This man was teachable. All those others, they'd get
a little bit of information. The Lord would speak to them,
then they'd run. This guy hung around all day. Oh, he clung
on for a while. I might be able to learn something.
He had a teachable spirit, didn't he? And to some degree, he had
a spiritual revelation. He had some type of discernment.
The problem was, he was 18 inches from salvation. Every bit of
it was right here. It just trickled down to there.
And he'd have some. But he had a head knowledge.
Where did he fail? Where did he go wrong? This gainfully
employed scribe had a whole bunch of knowledge and what seemed
to be a good attitude. What happened? Why was he near
the kingdom of God and not in the kingdom of God? He spoke of God, spoke well of
Christ, spoke well of God's law, but he did not mention sin, did
he? He never said, I've not loved
the Lord as I ought. I've not loved my brethren as
I ought. I haven't heard as I ought. I've
had idols. I have idols still. He that confesses sins. Scriptures
say if we confess our sins he is able and faithful to forgive. Turn over to Psalm 51. David wrote here in Psalm 51
verse 3, for I acknowledge my transgressions and my sin is
ever before me. It used to be before me 45 years
ago whenever I accepted Jesus into my life. No, it's ever before
me. The Lord is on your mind, you
know what you are. Against thee and thee only have I sinned and
done this evil in thy sight, that thou mightest be just when
thou speakest and be clear when thou judgest. Behold, I was shapen
in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me." This isn't
something that just happened recently or just once. This is
from the womb. I'm sin. Behold, thou desirest
truth in the inward parts. And in the hidden part, thou
shalt make me to know wisdom. Right there where you require
in the inward parts that truth, that's where you're going to
give me your truth. Not up here. right there in the heart. That's
where He's going to come. Christ came to call sinners to
repentance. To turn to Him. To turn us from
looking to ourselves, from looking to the law, to looking to stuff
and people and men and doctrines and theologians and everything
else, to look to Him. To the person. Not to righteous
people. That's a heart work. That's on
the outside of the sepulchral work, outside of the cup. That's
the inside of the sepulchral work, in the inward parts. And
I ask you and I ask myself, me. I struggled with this growing
up. I grew up underneath the sound of the gospel. I didn't
grow up and raised in false religion. And I had that from birth, I
had it here. And oh, I was scared to death, terrified. Lord, do
I know you? Do I know you in my heart or
do I know you in my head? I ask you and I ask myself, have
we ever wept over our sin against the holy God that we offended?
Not against man, not against grandma, not against our kids
when we whipped them when we shouldn't or didn't whip them
when we should have whipped them. The God we offended, have we
wept over our sin? Have we ever been estranged from
the true and living God of the Bible? Not the God of our imagination. Have I just been alone with people
all around me? I'm without God in this world.
Lord, I need You. Speak to me. Let me hear You.
Give me ears to hear. Have we believed His Word? Have
we heard that Word when it says, all flesh is grass? Like David
said, we're shaped in iniquity. Sin was imputed to me from Adam.
It was imparted to me in that womb when I was born and I enacted
on it from the time I come out crying from the womb, lying from
the womb. That's what the Lord says. Do I believe Him? Have I ever had a thirst for
wisdom and knowledge? Have I had a necessity for a
Savior? Or is that something convenient
that comes along once or twice a week? Put on a Christmas card. Get you a calendar. Or do we
need a Savior? A person. A person. This man
standing before this scribe in our text. The one looking at
him. The one the scribe's talking
to. He delights in showing mercy. That scribe, oh he knew the scripture
as well. You know what he's quoting? Hosea 6.6. I desire mercy, not sacrifice. How many times do you think he
wrote that down? He's standing in front of mercy.
Looking at him. in our pride, in this flesh that
we're born into, this body of death? Do we stay in it and do
we kiss the Master on the cheek as Judas did? Are we honoring
with our mouth? Or do we beg Him for mercy in
an incorruptible seat in us where we followed His feet like Mary
and kiss His feet? Do we know He's not our equal? There's no mention of sin. And
there's not a plea for mercy. If you're still there in Psalm
51, verse 1, he says, David writes, Have mercy upon me, O God, according
to Thy lovingkindness, according to the multitude of Thy tender
mercies. blot out my transgressions, wash
me thoroughly from mine iniquity and cleanse me from my sin."
How much sin can the Lord watch us from? How much sin can He
purge from His people? Well, it's in direct proportion
to the multitudes of His tender mercies. Why aren't you thankful? That
Pharisee and Republican were in the temple. And that publican
cried, Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner, a thief on the cross. Heard the Lord speak those seven
things that we have recorded in the scriptures. And he turned
to the Redeemer that hung next to him. And he said, Lord, remember
me when thou comest into thy kingdom. That's having mercy. Lord, have mercy on me when you
come into your kingdom. This scribe calls Christ Master,
he calls Him good, calls Him wise, but he does not call Him
Lord. This man came with the crowd,
stayed longer than most of them, and he left with the crowd. He
stuck around a little bit longer, but he went out from the Lord,
and he went out from the Lord's people. He didn't follow the
Lord. What do the scriptures tell us?
Our Master said, my sheep hear my voice. They hear the word
of the Lord. Oh, Israel hears, don't they?
They hear my voice and they follow me. If we experience mercy, You
beg Him for mercy, you'll have it. If we experience mercy, not
look at it, not quote it and have a theological position on
mercy. If we experience mercy, you will not leave the one that
gave you mercy. If He saves His people, you won't
leave the one that saved you. If we're truly loved of God,
we will not leave the one that loved us and gave Himself for
us. We're reading the Old Testament
about that city of refuge. You're swinging an axe, chopping
wood. Axe head comes off. Hits the man behind you. Kills
him. That's manslaughter. Ain't murder, it's manslaughter.
And under the law, you gotta die. Unless you go to the city
of refuge. Do we run to that city of refuge? We know where it is. We know
what the walls look like. You know what the city looks
like? Do we run to it and then not enter, begging for mercy? Do we run to the city of refuge
and stand outside, looking at the walls, and say, boy, it's
a nice city of refuge. I know all about the city of
refuge. Or do we enter into the city
of refuge? If we are guilty, Holy Spirit's come to His people,
convicted them of sin, you enter into the city of refuge. You
go into it. It says there in our text, that
no man that durst ask him any more questions. Are we close
to the Kingdom of God? How far was this man? An arm's
length? The Kingdom of God is standing
right in front of him. The Word of God is coming from God's mouth
into his ears. So in the case of the Lordship
of Christ, in case we missed that, look here in verse 35.
And Jesus answered and said, while he taught in the temple,
how say the scribes that Christ is the son of David? For David
himself said by the Holy Ghost, the Lord said to my Lord, sit
thou on my right hand till I make thine enemies thy footstool.
He's asking what think ye of Christ? Whose son is he? Verse 37, David therefore himself
calleth him Lord. And whence is he then his son? Back in those days, you don't
call your son boss. You don't call your son Lord.
There's no respect for age. This was unheard of for them. This wasn't about the flesh,
was it? It's about a heart work. And the common people heard Him
gladly. What think ye of Christ? There's
a person, not a knowledge, not an attitude, not a peace of mind
and a warm fuzzy feeling. A person lived for us, died for
us, and rose again for His people. And the common people heard that
and they were glad. Are you common? Or do you got
a fancy job and a bunch of knowledge and a good attitude? Or are you
just a sinner? That's when it comes to dealing
with a person. There in Acts 4, it says, Now when they saw
the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were
unlearned and ignorant men. That's from Pike County, Kentucky.
Unlearned and ignorant men. They marveled. They marveled
and they took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus.
Where did they come up? Where did Peter and John come
up with all this knowledge and this understanding and this position
that they had? They'd been with a person. Lord
God Almighty, do you and I, do we come to the door of Christ
and do we admire the door? Do we look at the hinges and
the door handles and all that stuff, or do we enter in? Do
we throw ourselves at His feet and beg for mercy? Do we hear
Him? Our Master had four points. Hear,
O Israel, there is one God. Love Him with all your heart.
Love your neighbor as yourself. What did that scribe answer in
three of them? He hadn't heard. Do we hear? If you hear Him,
He convicts you of sin that crosses all righteousness and all that
judgment's been taken care of. He's satisfied judgment forever
for His people. Come to Him. Enter that city.
Enter that gate and bow to His feet. What peace you'll have. And you will have entered the
kingdom of God. You entered a person, not a place. That's who He is.
Amen. Let's pray together.