If you would, turn to the book
of Mark, chapter 14. Mark chapter 14, I'm going to
begin reading in verse 60. Mark chapter 14, verse 60. And the high priest stood up
in the midst and asked Jesus, saying, answerest thou nothing? What is it which these witness
against thee? But he, this is Jesus, held his
peace and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him
and said unto him, art thou the Christ, the son of the blessed? And Jesus said, I am, I am. And you shall see the Son of
Man sitting on the right hand of power and coming in the clouds
of heaven. Then the high priest rent his
clothes and saith, what need we any further witnesses? Ye
have heard the blasphemy, what think ye? What think ye? And they all condemned him to
be guilty of death. I'm gonna stop right there. This is when Jesus Christ was betrayed
by Judas and the Jews and the soldiers came and got him and
they took him to the high priest. Peter followed afar off, that's
verse 54, and the chief priests and all the council sought for
witnesses against Jesus to put him to death and what? Found
none. That's verse 55. Found none. For many false witnesses, Many
bear false witness against him, but their witness agreed not
together. What we have here in this account of our Lord Jesus Christ being
confronted by these religious leaders, we have a glorious admission. We have a gracious declaration
and we have a godly confession of who this Jesus is. This man appearing before these
men, this God man, I'm gonna say, Jesus, this man, clearly
and succinctly declares that he is the Christ of God. He answered clearly and distinctly
a direct question from the guy that was high priest that year.
I believe his name is what, Caiaphas, it tells us in other places. And this is that encounter. The
Lord of glory and the religious men, religious leaders, Starts off in verse 60, and the
high priest stood up in the midst and asked him, aren't you gonna
answer? You don't say anything. He didn't answer those who bore
false witness against him. He held his peace and he answered
nothing. This appointed high priest was questioning the true
high priest of God. He was asking Jesus to respond
to liars. And the high priest and the other
priest there knew those men were liars. It says that in other
places. I'm not going to go into it.
Jesus didn't answer him. Now let me be clear here. Jesus
Christ was under absolutely no obligation to answer any creature,
any man. He didn't have to answer anyone's
questions, because He is the Creator and we are the creation. The obligation for deference
goes the other way. He came under the express will
and purpose of the Father to accomplish some things, but to
answer the question of liars was not one of them. Jesus did
not answer He's the only begotten Son of God and we are not He
is the high priest of the Most High God And this man was just
high priest appointed for a year evidently There was one person Called the
priest of the Most High God in the scripture and And his name
was Melchizedek. It's in Hebrews chapter seven.
For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the most high
God. What's it say in chapter six
in verse 20? Whether the forerunner for us
is entered, even Jesus made an high priest forever after the
order of Melchizedek. So this earthly high priest,
who was appointed evidently for just a year, was trying to question
the true high priest, the most high God. What did it say about
Melchizedek? Without father, without mother,
without descent, having neither beginning of days nor end of
life, but made like unto the Son of God. He abideth a priest
continually. Lord this man this Jesus they
were questioning was high priest when they were questioning him and Jesus Christ the high priest
of the Most High God was not required to answer even to a
religious earthly high priest But then he asked him another
question And for me, this is the question
of all questions. Aren't thou the Christ, the Son
of the Blessed? Who? The Son of God. That's what
the high priest was asking him here. Aren't thou the Christ,
the Son of the Blessed? And from man's point of view,
I'm gonna tell you, this is the question of all questions. This is the question that a lot
of people have been desiring the answer to. and don't know
the answer. The Christ had been prophesied
for thousands of years, beginning in the garden. The seed of the woman is going
to bruise the head of the serpent. He was prophesied in the garden.
He was prophesied out of the garden. He was prophesied all
through the Old Testament, because the Old Testament is a book Plainly
stating that this Christ shall come the Lamb of God was coming
Starting in Genesis through the Pentateuch through the law the
Sacrifices the judges the Psalms the Proverbs and all the prophets
major and minor Through the book of Solomon This is a book of Christ from
beginning to end. And that's what this high priest
is asking. Are you that one? Now that high priest, I guarantee,
didn't know it all. Certainly did not understand
it all. Because the Old Testament is
plain about what's gonna happen to that Christ. What's gonna
happen to that anointed one who was promised and who was coming.
And Isaiah 53 makes it plainer than anywhere else that I can
think of. That one, that anointed one had
to die, had to be punished. So this high priest was asking,
are you Jesus of Nazareth? This man right here, are you
the one sent from God? Are you the holy one of Israel? What's it say in Isaiah? The
holy one of Israel is thy redeemer, old Jacob. And this question,
this question must be answered. How do I know that? He answered
it. If it didn't have to be answered,
he wouldn't have answered it. This one question, art thou the
Christ? Art thou the Son of the Blessed?
Had to be answered, and it was answered here in two words by
this man, Jesus of Nazareth. When Jesus Christ speaks, he
means exactly what he says. We say that about all the scripture
and that's true. But I think it's doubly true
of Jesus Christ. When he says, he says what he
wants to say, and it means exactly what he said. They asked him,
art thou the Christ? Art thou the Son of the Blessed?
And he said two words, he said, I am. Walter talked about that
the other day, and it's true. When Moses saw the burning bush,
he said, who shall I say sent me, Lord? What's your name? You
tell him, I am. that I am. The great I am sent
Moses forth. And that's exactly what Jesus
Christ is saying here when he says I am. He's saying it to
these Jewish leaders. He meant exactly what he said
and they knew exactly what he meant. You know, there are a lot of
people out there Well, I don't know exactly how many. There
are a lot of people out there that you can, you read the New
Testament and Jesus Christ never said that he was the Christ. Jesus never said he was the son
of God. Yes, he did. Yes, he did. Now, if they mean by that, he
never preached it. He didn't proclaim it on the
sermon at the Mount. No, he didn't. Not in so many
words, not directly. He didn't proclaim it, but he
said it right here in two words. He said, I am. Art thou the Christ? I am. And let me just take you
to one other, because I think it's important, and I believe
it is just a wonderful thing anyway. John chapter 10, verse
35. This is the story, the account, the recording of Christ's encounter
with that blind from birth beggar. The man who was blind from birth.
This is after Christ has restored his sight. This is after Christ
had left him. This was after that beggar had
spoke to the Pharisees. They cast him out in verse 34,
the Pharisees did, after he told them that Whether this man's
a sinner or no, I don't know, but all I know is that once I
was blind, now I see. Verse 35 says this, Jesus heard
that they had cast him out. And when he had found him, he
said unto him, dost thou believe on the Son of God? And this man
answered truthfully. He answered and said, who is
he, Lord, that I might believe on him? And Jesus said unto him,
Thou hath both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. And this blind man said, Lord,
I believe, and he worshiped him. Now here's a revelation of who
the son of God is. From his own lips, it's me. The one that you've seen and
the one that's talking with you right now Man looks for any excuse to disbelieve
God. Naturally, naturally, naturally. But when God gives you eyes that
see, he's gonna fix it so that you see him. and you're gonna see him in his
son. Or you're not gonna see him at
all. He told these Jews, I am. The name of God, the name of
glory. He revealed himself speaking
to individuals. He is the Christ. He is the Son
of the Blessed. He is the Holy One of Israel. He is God manifest in the flesh. He is the Child that was born
and the Son that was given. He is Emmanuel, God with us. And then he told them more than
what they asked. High priest asked him, are you the Christ?
Are you the son of the blessed? He said, I am. And he is. I am the Christ. But more, if
he's the Christ, what else does that mean? And ye shall see,
what, the son of man, sitting on the right hand of
power. And ye shall see, I'll put it
in there, coming in the clouds of heaven. Understand Jesus being the Christ
means everything All of the Old Testament is true well, we have
all of the New Testament is true all of the epistles are true
and He told this high priest and those other priests that
were there I am and you're gonna see it You're gonna see it He
didn't say it was gonna like it He didn't say they was gonna
want it, but he did say they're gonna see it. And this man, after he resurrected
from the dead, ascended into heaven to be seated at the right
hand of the father, right hand of the majesty on high. And once he shall see the son
of man sitting on the right hand of power. He has all power. The Father's given him all power.
He has power over what? All flesh. He had power over
this high priest and those priests that were there. And yet, in John nine, we see
one reaction to the revelation that Jesus is the Christ. But
here you're gonna see a totally different one. Here's the reaction of the religious
to the fact that this Jesus is the Christ. Here's their reaction
to the truth of God in the face of Jesus Christ. They accuse
him of blasphemy. Actually, they don't even accuse,
they state it loudly. The high priest rent his clothes.
And they all condemned him. to be guilty of death. How is this possible? How is
it that men, religious men, religious leaders, would think that this
man who worked all these miracles healed these people, raised the
dead? They were getting reports. It
was noised abroad. what this man did. How could it be that after all
this, they believe the lie? Well, the depravity of man is
unfathomable to man. His word had no place in them. That's what it states in other
places. My word has no place in you. That's what he told some fellas.
Same is exactly true of this high priest and these priests
here, these religious leaders. The word of God incarnate in
the flesh spoke the words, the answer to the question they asked.
He said, I am. the son of the blessed. I am
the Christ. And they would not have it. That formerly blind man believed him and worshipped him. What's the difference? Well, that's actually the wrong
question. It's who's the difference. Paul states it in another place that the princes of this world
didn't know him. Didn't know what? Him. For had
they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. This high priest and these priests
did not know the one who spoke to them. They did not know the
great I Am, the Christ, the Holy One of Israel, the everlasting
Father, the Prince of Peace, Emmanuel, God with us. They didn't
know Him and they didn't believe Him and they would not worship
Him. They would not have this man
to reign over them. That is just the oddest thing
you can ever think of sometimes when you get down to it. Especially
with these Jews, they were looking for the king to come. Here he
is. Here he is. This is the one prophesied
in all the Old Testament, from beginning to end, from Genesis
to Malachi. This is the man who had been
prophesied. The child who was born, the son
who was given. This is the one they've been
looking for all this time. And they would not have this
man to reign over them. Luke put it this way. In Luke
22 and 67, I'm not gonna turn here, I'm just gonna read it.
Aren't thou the Christ, tell us. And he said unto them, if
I tell you, ye will not believe. If I tell you, you won't believe. And Mark, we have it where he
did tell. And guess what? They didn't believe. Again, Jesus Christ doesn't have
to answer any question of any man, but it was time here to
answer this question. to all these religious leaders
here. But here's the point. Unless the Father gives it to
you, you cannot come. Except the Father draws you,
you cannot come. This is speaking of inability,
not of unwillingness. The unwillingness is there too.
But right there when Christ was saying this in John chapter six,
it's talking about inability. You can't come to me unless it
be given you of my father. And that's as true of the high
priest as it was of that blind beggar. The one who was blind
from birth. That's as true of this high priest
as it was of that leper that he healed if thou will. Thou
canst make me clean. Unless it be given to you by
the Father, you cannot come, what? To Him. To Him. You can come to church. You can
come to the front of the place and pray a sinner's prayer, whatever.
But that doesn't mean you come to Him. Because if you don't
come to Him, you haven't gone anywhere. Believing is the result of faith
given. Faith is not the result of somebody
believing. And that's how it is that a man
will not, cannot believe the Son of God. We are incapable
naturally. When we preach, when we preach,
we do our best to try to preach the words of Christ, the word
of God, the truth of God, as plainly and as coherently as
possible, as I can. And I know Walter does the same
thing. We want to come out with a plain, clear message. This
Jesus is the Christ. Believe Him. Submit to Him. Love Him. Come to hear Him preached. But
here's the thing we also know that stand up here and you that
sit there. Only those whom God has given it to will hear that
message. And that's even when the Lord
of glory himself said it. It's just amazing to me the depravity
that we are. If he doesn't circumcise the
heart, circumcise the ears, open the blind eyes, we can't understand
his word even when he is speaking his word. That's clear through
the New Testament. They tried to kill him several
times. A couple of times he walked out of their midst, whatever.
That's how bad we are. I know some people don't like
the word depraved. Well, depraved, bad, whatever, evil, dead in
trespasses and in sins, dead spiritually to God. That's where
we are unless he has done something to us. Open the heart, open the
ears, open the eyes. We preach, to the best of our
ability, sheep food for sheep. The sower goes forth to sow.
The ground is the ground. The sower has no control over
the ground. He just throws the seed. And
it falls, and if it falls on good ground, it shall spring
up. But if it falls on bad ground,
there's not gonna be any fruit from that seed, from that sowing. Our Lord Jesus Christ knew the
hearts of these men. He knew exactly how they were
gonna react. And they reacted, what does it say? With wicked hands, they have
crucified and slain the Lord of glory. But they did it according
to the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. Now that
absolves them of no guilt whatsoever. It was wicked hands that did
it. It was the wicked hands of wicked
men that did it. But it was by the determinant
counsel and foreknowledge of God, and it accomplished everything
that he sent it forth to do. A man's capacity for self-deception
cannot be underestimated. It's not possible. And the only thing I have to
do to remind myself of that is if I remember the pit from which
I was digged. Understand it says, remember
the pit from which you were digged. I don't have to know the pit
from which you were digged. You don't have to know the pit
from which I was digged. All you have to know is that
we were all in pits. And if he digs you out of that
pit, You're out of it. Stay out of it. Israel never went back into Egypt,
not as a nation. Not once they came out, they
were out. You remember the pit from which
you're digged. I remember the pit from which
I was digged, but I don't ever go back there. We were just like this high priest
and those priests there at one time. Totally ignorant of God,
Christ, and the Spirit, and totally unconcerned about it, even if
we were the most religious men around, which these guys were. They were religious more than
I could ever be religious. And our Lord told him, I am the
Christ. I am the son of the blessed.
And they said, he is guilty of death. The only cure, the only answer
to keep me from saying that exact same thing is the fact that he
touched me. He came along and saw me polluted
in my own blood, and he said unto me, live. That's the only
thing that keeps me, that got me out of the pit. We preach the truth, but we are
to know only those that God has given faith will believe him. And only the giver of faith knows
for sure. I have a good hope of some people.
I have a good hope of myself. But Christ is my hope. Christ
is my hope. Thank God he didn't leave me
there in that pit, where I was mostly happy with myself and
very secure in my ignorance of Christ. I didn't know this man was the
Christ. I didn't know what the Christ was. I didn't know what the son of
the blessed meant, Mac. But thank God, the great I am
did not leave me to myself. And I believe he did not leave
you to yourself. The father which sent him has
drawn you to him, or you don't know him. I'm continually fascinated sometimes
about the way people react to stuff. Like I said, there are people
who consider it a really big deal that Jesus Christ didn't
preach that he was the Christ to all men. That's not what he
came for this time. He came that the scriptures may
be fulfilled, all of the scriptures about what would happen to the
Christ at this time. He came to give his life a ransom
for many. He did individually speak to
individuals and reveal himself to them. He did as his father willed him
to do. But he does clearly state in
his word that he is the Christ, the son of the blessed. And the
natural man still won't have it. Still won't see it. Still won't see him. But his people will. He's calling
them out. One by one, two by two, however
by however, wherever he is. Everyone who is of the election
of grace is being brought in by the son to the father. His work is his work. Now he's given us some things
to do, but that ain't part of it. He brings his sheep in. He's the good shepherd. Guess
what? We're to be in the flock. We're to be in the fold. We're
to gather ourselves together to hear his word proclaimed and
extolled. That's where we are to be. Why? Because I am the Christ. I am the son of the blessed.
And I want to hear of him. Our heavenly father, thankful
again for this time in this place. Most of all, thankful for you,
Lord. You've given everything to us and continue to give as
we walk in this world. Thank you for all you've done.
Please be with Walter as he comes to bring us another message,
a message of your grace, your glory of your son, our Lord Jesus
Christ, whose name we pray. Amen.