Good morning, good to see you
all here today. It's a beautiful day and good to see family and
friends gathered together here. I hope some of you got here early
enough to hear that concert by Amy. Wow, that was some great
music. It's beautiful music and God-honoring
music. Our text for today is taken from
the 12th chapter of the Gospel of John. And as you turn there,
let me kind of set the stage for you. As recorded in the previous
chapter 11, Jesus had just raised Lazarus from the dead. And as
we continue into chapter 12, we're told that as word spread
of that miracle that many began to follow Christ. We read of
his triumphant entry into Jerusalem as now the time of his crucifixion
neared. And then as we get to verse 20,
where we're going to begin our consideration today, we're told
that certain Greeks, Gentiles, who were present, they approached
the Apostle Philip and expressed their desire to see Jesus. And so Philip, along with Andrew,
they relayed their request on to Christ, and his response to
their request is so telling. And that's where I intend to
focus our attention this morning. From this text, it seems possible
that those gathered were in hearing distance of Jesus, and if so,
it would be reasonable to expect Christ to respond to that request
that we would see Jesus by saying something like, well, sure, here
I am, come on over, or perhaps, well, not right now, but it's
not a good time, but maybe a little later. But instead, Christ, it
says he, in answer to their request, his response was to begin to
speak of his death. And he began with the words,
the hour is come. And in that answer, our Lord's
answer, we hear his explanation of what it is to see Jesus. All who will see the risen Savior
in heavens eternal, everlasting glory, they will see Him, His
person and His finished work, as He is before leaving this
earth. They will see Him in belief of
the gospel of God's sovereign grace, which sets forth how God
saves sinners in and by the obedience unto death of the Lord Jesus
Christ. So the question posed by the
title of my sermon is this. Will you see Jesus? Look with
me beginning in John 12 verse 20 where we read, and there were
certain Greeks among them, that is these Gentiles who had witnessed
or at least had heard of Christ having raised Lazarus from the
dead. Gentiles that came up to worship
at the feast. This is the Jewish feast of the
Passover. The same, these certain Greeks
came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee,
and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus." Many commentators
think that these certain Greeks were expressing more than just
a desire to visually see Jesus, perhaps due to his celebrity
at having raised Lazarus from the dead. Rather, it seems to
have been an expression of their sincere desire to be with Him
and to know Him as He truly is. And it's interesting to me they're
described as certain Greeks when you consider that Christ has
indicated earlier in this book that only certain ones called
His sheep would come to see Him. See Him as He's revealed to them.
in salvation. And we're going to look at that
a bit more in detail later on, but for now I think there's also
significance in that their question, it wasn't addressed to a master,
or teacher, or miracle worker, or Messiah, but to Jesus. They
said, they came saying we would see Jesus. And that word Jesus
is the same word that the angel instructed Joseph to name him
before his birth. as it's recorded in Matthew 121.
And the angel told Joseph, and she shall bring forth a son,
and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his
people from their sins. That word Jesus, that's what
it means. Jehovah, God our Savior, or Jehovah who saves. So if you
would see this Jesus, not as we might imagine him to be, but
as he truly is, then your understanding of him and what he accomplished,
it must be that of one, one who is Jehovah, God who saves, the
God-man, God manifested in the flesh. And secondly, it must
be one who has saved his people from their sins. So does this
describe the Jesus that you've come to see? Continuing in verse
22, we read, Philip cometh and telleth Andrew, And again, Andrew
and Philip tell Jesus, and Jesus answered them saying, now this
is his answer to their request that we would see Jesus, saying,
the hour is come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Now,
three times before in the book of John, Christ is quoted as
saying, mine hour is not yet come. And on two of those occasions,
it said his enemies were about to capture him, but they could
not lay their hands upon him. because he said his appointed
hour had not yet come. But now, as the time of his death
approaches, our Lord answers those who would see Jesus by
speaking of his death, and beginning here by noting that God's appointed
time for it had come. And the verses that follow, you'll
see in just a moment, they show us clearly that this speaks of
his death. But notice, here he begins to
speak of it as that time in which He, the Son of Man, would be
glorified." Glory. That's a revelation of who God
is, what He's like. There's glory, a revelation of
God, see, that is uniquely discovered in the person and finished work
of Christ in His death on Calvary's cross. Continuing in verse 24,
Christ said, "'Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a corn
of wheat fall into the ground and die, It abideth alone, but
if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit." The Bible often
uses that analogy of the farmer to teach us about salvation.
We read how it's likened to planting and harvesting. God the Father,
in fact, is called the Lord of the harvest. It's recorded in
both the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, how Christ spoke of how
the harvest was plentiful, but the laborers were few. So he
adds, pray ye therefore to the Lord of the harvest, to God the
Father, that he would send forth laborers. And this harvest is
in reference to the end gathering of his church. Likewise, in John
15, 1, Christ said, I am the true vine and my Father is the
husbandman. Now, husbandman is just another
word for farmer. You know, a wise farmer, he plans
what he's going to grow and he follows his plan. He chooses
the seed he wants to grow, and he plants it. And so does the
Lord of the harvest, choosing some, perhaps such as these certain
Greeks, that he will have planted in Christ and will harvest unto
eternal life. And so, here Christ is expounding
not just on the fact of his upcoming death, but of the necessity of
it. If we will see Jesus, we will
in this lifetime see the absolute necessity of his death and the
absolute efficacy of his death to fully accomplish that which
he came to do, as the angel said, to save his people from their
sins. That phrase, corn of wheat, refers
to a kernel of wheat or a wheat seed. Now if you take a wheat
seed and we just lay it here on the table, nothing's going
to happen to it. And keep in mind, many of the
Jews expected a Messiah who would come and he would reign forever
and ever on earth as a king. He wouldn't die the death of
a common criminal on a cross. Not in their minds. That's not
what they were looking for. But Christ says, unless the seed
fall or be planted in the ground and die, it will not bring forth
fruit. In other words, no death, no
life. Everlasting life comes from His
death. And if we would see Jesus, we
have to come to grips with this. Not just the truth that He lived,
died, and rose again, but the necessity of His death. and subsequent resurrection unto
life of which he's speaking. Why did it have to happen? How
is it necessary and effectual for the salvation of all, each
and every one for whom he lived, died, and rose again, his fruit? You know, Christ said he lived
the perfect life of obedience, which he did, and then ascended
unto the Father without having ever died, he would have his
heavenly glory And, you know, people might speak volumes about
what a wonderful, sinless example He left us. But as sinners, there'd be no
hope for us. There'd be no fruit, no hope of salvation for any
sinner. No death, no life. Back to John
12, picking up in verse 25, Christ continued saying, He that loveth
his life shall lose it. And he that hateth his life in
this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve
me, let him follow me. And where I am, there shall also
my servant be. If any man serve me, him will
my father honor." Hear our Lord speaking of a sense in which
it can be said of all his fruit, that is, all those who are saved
by his death. Those who in time are given his
blood-bought gift of faith, there's a sense in which they too, by
that faith, they'll die to live. First they do so as they see
their oneness with him in both his death and resurrection in
that what he did, he didn't do for himself, he did as a representative
and a substitute for a people. So they come to know that it
was for their sins that he died. He knew no sins. He died to pay
their debt before the justice of God. And they see the assurance
of eternal life then in His very resurrection. You see, He came
out of the grave, proof that God's justice was satisfied by
the shedding of His precious blood for His people. When you
think of the resurrection, think of satisfaction. By God's mercy,
see, having these people, these elect people, having been made
one with Him from all eternity, they too will in time arise unto
spiritual life in the new birth, and ultimately they'll be raised
unto heaven's eternal glory itself. I think there's also the sense
here in which those who see Jesus as he truly is, they die to this
world and to themselves. See, being convinced of sin,
as the scripture tells us, that's what God the Holy Spirit does
to all who are saved, They see the utter impossibility of being
saved if salvation is conditioned in any way to any degree on anything
that proceeds from them as sinners. See, to be convinced of sin is
not just to be convinced that I fall short a little bit. I
know I'm not perfect. No, it's to be convinced of I'm
standing before God in desperate need of His mercy. If He's not
merciful to me, I'm a goner. I can do nothing to save myself. It's to come to see that a holy
God requires a perfection, you see, that they can't render,
that only Christ could. And he did render for them as
their substitute and surety. And so, as they examine themselves
in this life, as it pertains to their relationship with God,
they're being accepted by God. See, you have to keep in mind
here the subject matter. Christ is talking about life
by his death, salvation itself. And so, as they think of themselves
in that regard, they see nothing that would commend them unto
God. And in that sense, they hate. It says there, he that
hateth his life in this world doesn't mean we hate everything
about our life, but as it pertains to this subject, they hate that
which proceeds from them as sinners. And so they dare not present
it to God as a basis upon which they'll be saved, upon which
they could possibly find acceptance before a holy God. And you know,
like many of you, as I know, I once dared to expect God to
save me. I knew the scriptures, as most
do, say that there are many, even most, who will perish. But
I thought I was saved because, unlike them, I did my part. I believed and they wouldn't."
Well, thank God He gives His adopted children repentance from
such notions when He brings them to see Jesus, to see how they
must have the merit of that which He alone accomplished by His
perfect obedience even unto the death of the cross. As we reach verse 27 of our text,
Knowing the hour had come, Christ begins to express the agony that
he was experiencing. Think of it. He had the demerit,
the guilt, of all the sins, past, present, and future, of every
single one of those for whom he would die laid upon him. The biblical word is imputed
or charged to his account so that he might soon now bear in
their place the just wrath of God." Listen, a wrath that was
poured out that would be equal to more than the sum total of
the eternal miseries that would otherwise have awaited those
for whom He died, for whose sins He bore. Think on it. Sinners who perish, they spend
an eternity forever banished from the presence of God. So
we see from that that their suffering in hell never, never pays the
debt due to a holy God. Only Christ's infinitely valuable
sacrifice, the blood of the God-man, could do and has done that. So he says in verse 27, now is
my soul troubled. And what shall I say? Father,
save me from this hour, but for this cause came I unto this hour. You may remember some of you
back in Matthew's Gospel when we read how Jesus began to show
his disciples how he must go to Jerusalem and suffer and be
killed, that even Peter, one of his disciples, he rebuked
him and said, oh, be it far from thee, Lord, and this just can't
be so. Well, this is the context in
which we're dealing here. Christ is telling them, you know,
I must die. He's telling them, I'm troubled,
but what shall I say? Shall I ask God to save me from
this hour of my death when this is why I'm here? This is why
I came. As the angel declared again to
Joseph, he came to save his people from their sins. And that fruit
of salvation, that eternal life, it only comes by his justice
satisfying death. Continuing in verse 28, he prays,
Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from
heaven saying, I have glorified it, I have both glorified it,
and will glorify it again. This is speaking of a past, present,
and a future glory. God had glorified his name, revealed
something about what he's like in creation. He'd revealed something
about what he's like, glorified his name in his birth, the birth
of Christ, and he will glorify it in Christ's resurrection.
and He will ever do so in His eternal reign. But here, now
at His death, will be manifested the very highest glory of God,
the revelation of who He is, as He is uniquely known by those
He saves. As they see in this giving of
life by His death, the majesty and glory of God in every attribute
of His character, Isn't that what Paul wrote to the Corinthians
when he said, the God who created this world, God who commanded
the light to shine out of darkness has shined in our hearts. He's
speaking to the believers there in Corinth. He says he shined
in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the
glory of God where in the face the person of work of the Lord
Jesus Christ. You see, hereby they behold how
God can be just, how he can be holy. dealing with the sins of
his people, and still in loving kindness and mercy and grace
save them. God doesn't save anyone. He doesn't
show mercy and grace at the expense of his justice. That's why Christ
had to come. He had to come and die for a
people. You remember God spoke through
the prophet Isaiah in chapter 45, and he said, I'm not quoting
it, I'm sure verbatim, but something like this. He said, look unto
me, all the ends of the earth, and be ye saved. I'm God, he
says, there's none like me. I declare the end from the beginning.
He goes on and says, there's none like me. And that's where
he actually said, look unto me and be ye saved, all the ends
of the earth. none like me." And then he distinguishes something
unique about him when he says, both a just God and a Savior. Now that's a glorious God-honoring
death that Christ did die that would reveal to us how God can
be both a just God and a Savior. In verse 29 we read, the people
therefore that stood by and heard it said that it thundered. He's
talking about hearing the voice of God saying, I have both glorified
it and will glorify it. And others said an angel spake
to him. You know, that's kind of how
it is when the gospel is preached. It's like some just hear kind
of a rumble, you know, like a thunder. And others say, oh, the angel's
speaking. It's an angel and he's speaking
to him. But look what Jesus said. Jesus answered and said, this
voice came not because of me, but for your sakes. And these
words in this passage today, they're recorded for our sakes.
That if God be pleased, hereby we might see Jesus. Jesus has
asserted to them that he must die and now the voice of God,
the Father from heaven, has graciously confirmed it. And now Christ
is about to explain more concerning that which he would accomplish
by his death. We continue in verse 31 with Christ saying,
now is the judgment of this world, and now shall the prince of this
world be cast out. Christ is saying now, now on
the cross of Calvary is judgment being administered against the
sins that he would bear away by his death, and thereby Satan,
the prince of this world, is cast out. Here at the cross,
the world is judged. All of redemptive history, saints
before the cross, those who live after the cross, all of redemptive
history converging on the cross where everything was settled. God the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ,
he's bearing away the just penalty due unto all the sins of each
and every one for whom he lived and died. Now listen, that means
no good deed of yours, no penance, no confession, no amount of suffering,
listen, now or forever in hell will ever pay that which is due
unto the infinite holy justice of God, only the infinitely precious
blood of Christ. His death on the cross could,
listen, redeem. That means pay in full the debt
due unto the sins of a people to buy them back. Those chosen
from all eternity. A people of which God declares
of them not guilty. That's what it is to be justified
by the blood of Christ. Christ adds that now by his death,
Satan shall be cast out. We know from other scripture
that, and we know, we experience Satan certainly alive and well
and influencing things in this world. We know from other scriptures
he's not permanently put down until Christ returns, but this
refers to Satan's being cast out or cast aside in this sense. The condemnation that is due
under the sins of God's elect It's been totally removed by
the death Christ died for them at Calvary's cross. A good commentary
on that, on how Satan is cast out, is found in Hebrews 2, beginning
at the end of verse 13 where we read, Behold I and the children
which God hath given me, that's certain people, For as much then
as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, is there
humanity, humans, he also himself likewise took part of the same.
He condescended, God condescended, to take into union with his deity
a sinless humanity. And for what purpose? That through
death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that
is the devil. Now that word destroy here doesn't
mean completely annihilate. It means to render powerless. What is Satan's power of death?
This here is not speaking of physical death. Satan's never
had the power over physical life and death. This is speaking of
eternal death. Elsewhere, Satan, he's called
the accuser. But that power to accuse God's
elect, the children which God the Father gave to Christ, as
it says here, That power is negated. Satan is cast aside. He's rendered
powerless by the death of Christ, whereby their sin debt was paid
in full. They're redeemed. They've been
bought. They're free and clear. As Paul
wrote in Romans 8, beginning in verse 33, he says, who shall
lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies. He, God, who the scripture calls
the judge of all the earth. He justifies. He declares them
not guilty, but righteous. Who is he that condemneth? Satan's
power to condemn has been rendered useless. His accusations, see,
they can't stick. Why, it is Christ that died,
yea, rather, that is risen again. He arose, and that confirms to
us he got the job done. Satisfaction was made, and so
he lives, and because he lives, so will all those for whom he
lived and died. He who arose to be at the right
hand of the Father, who is even at the right hand of God, who
also maketh intercession for us, ever interceding on the behalf
of his people based on the righteousness he had finished at Calvary's
cross. Let's read through the rest of
these verses and I'll make a few closing comments. Picking up
in verse 32, Christ says, and I, if I be lifted up from the
earth, will draw all men unto me. This he said signifying what
death he should die. the death, as he was lifted up
into the air, nailed to a cross. And the people answered him,
we've heard out of the law that Christ abideth forever, and how
sayest thou the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son
of Man? See here, they still had not
grasped yet the necessity of Christ's death, that for the
Messiah, see, that they expected would establish his kingdom and
reign forever on earth. Then Jesus said unto them, yet
a little while is the light with you. He's speaking of himself.
Walk while you have the light, lest darkness come upon you.
For he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. That's what it is to be lost,
isn't it? It's to not know the way. While
you have light, believe in the light, that you may be the children
of light. And these things spake Jesus
and departed, and look, and he did hide himself from them. You
know, when I was reading those verses today, I was reminded
of how blessed we are to have the light of the gospel of God's
grace in this place. The gospel light which shines
on the light of the world, the Lord Jesus Christ, so that we
might see him. See him as he's seen in salvation.
See him as the Lord, our righteousness. And look, let's never take that
for granted. All you know who hear this message,
they're going to hear, as poorly delivered as it might be, they're
going to hear the light of the gospel preached. And thereby,
they're going to hear His righteousness brought near. His righteousness. And that simply again, remember,
just refers to the perfect satisfaction, to justice, made by Christ's
obedience unto death. The very righteousness which
we'll look at in a moment, you'll see, by which all of us are going
to be judged. I pray God will cause everyone
who hears this message to see Jesus, to see Him as the prophet
Jeremiah called Him. He called Him the Lord our righteousness. The light of the gospel, see,
is here, just as Christ was there with Him. So let's not take that
for granted. And look, before we leave this
section, I want to diverge just a moment and comment on those
often quoted words from verse 32, where Christ said, and I,
if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. You know, many who are persuaded,
as I once was, that Christ died for all men and women, and that
he tries to draw them all to himself. They'll sometimes quote
this passage as a proof text, but The Apostle John, he had
already settled this issue of the all, of which this speaks
in prior chapters. Some of you, I know, know from
prior teaching that the word all in this context, and look,
as that word and the word world, much like it, as they are often
used in the book of John, references a truth that was new to the Jews
in that day. Think again of the context. Certain
Gentiles had come to him. here at the peace, the Jewish,
the peace, the feast, the Jewish feast of the Passover. You see,
what was new to them was that God had a people, His elect,
and they didn't have a problem with election. They were a chosen
nation under the old covenant. But His elect chosen from all
nations, including from among the certain Greeks, the Gentiles. And the truth is Christ will
draw all those whom he represented, all those he came to save, all
those for whom he lived and died. And as I say, let's look at the
previous commentary in the Gospel of John where Christ helps define
for us the all that he will draw to himself. First in John 6,
Christ referred to God's elect as those who were given to him
by God the Father. When he said in verse 37, all
that the Father giveth me shall come to me. And him that cometh
to me I will in no wise cast out. Well, there we have the
all that he'll draw unto himself. He'll draw by his irresistible
calling and they shall come to him. And they are those that
the Father gave to him. And then in John 10 verse 11,
Christ said this of himself. He said, I am the good shepherd
the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep." Now, we
see here who Christ died for. He died for those called the
sheep. And if anyone believes, as I
once did, that Christ died for everyone, then you have to assume
here that the sheep refers to everyone who ever lived. But
look further down in this same chapter. Beginning in verse 26,
where Christ, in answer to those who would not believe, said this,
But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep." Not everyone's
his sheep. As I said unto you, my sheep
hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give
unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall
any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father which gave them
me is greater than all, and no man's able to pluck them out
of my Father's hand. it for any who have a problem
with particular redemption." This biblical doctrine. Look
at these words because if you don't agree, I just want you
to admit your argument's not with me, but it's with God. These
are His words. Well, I wanted to diverge because
I know when people see that verse, that's where their mind goes
and I thank you for bearing with me. But let me share a few more
thoughts on the subject here in closing. Turn with me to Acts
chapter 17. I suspect many of you said, I
know Randy's going to go to Acts 17. I often do, but I can't resist
on this day when so many gather to celebrate the resurrection
of Christ. They're at least gathering, if
nothing more, to celebrate the historical fact of it. And sadly,
many remain blind. to the real significance of his
resurrection. I wonder how many truly see Jesus
as he described here, seeing Jesus, as that victorious accomplishment
of his death, whereby there's fruit, as seen in our passage
today. A victory that's proven to be
so by his resurrection unto life. Truly see without death there
is no life. No death, no life. In Acts 17,
as Paul is wrapping up his sermon on Mars Hill in Athens, he closes
with this, beginning at the end of verse 30, saying, but now
God commandeth all men everywhere to repent. That is, to have a
complete change of direction of what seemed right to you.
As the writer of Proverbs put it, there's a way that seemeth
right to a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. And so
now God calls on all of us to change what seemed right to us,
to repent, to have a change of mind and heart because he hath
appointed a day, a serious business, in the which he will judge the
world by what standard? In righteousness. Whose righteousness? By that man whom he hath ordained. And listen, whereof he hath given
assurance unto all men in that he hath raised him from the dead."
He's assured all of us that this is how you'll be judged, you
see, for his perfect righteousness. That alone merits and demands
life, just as sin demands death. The wages of sin is death. So
how can a sinner measure up if he's going to be judged by the
perfect righteousness of the sinless Son of God? Boy, that's
to be reduced to a mercy beggar, isn't it? It's to find out, I
need God's grace and mercy to give me the merit of what my
Savior did for me, and I can do nothing to gain it myself.
But if God ever brings you to that point, man, what good news?
Because, listen, that's what He does when He draws His sheep
to Himself. He causes them to see their desperate
need of Him for all of their salvation. You see, we can't
measure up to that unless God sends a substitute to do for
us what we could never do for ourselves. The sins of God's
elect, imputed or charged to Christ, look, they demanded His
death. But His perfect satisfaction
to the justice of God by His obedience unto death, it rendered
a perfect righteousness which merited and demanded life. And
so he arose from the grave. And listen, he didn't do that
for himself. Just as sure as he lives, all
those for whom he lived and died, they shall arise with him. Listen,
both spiritually, as I've said, in the new birth, in each generation,
they're given the gift of spiritual life and the faculties that go
with that, whereby the spiritual wise, where they can come to
see Jesus, see him as he is, as the Lord their righteousness.
And ultimately, they will be raised from physical death to
see Jesus for all eternity in heaven's glory. Boy, think of
that. The very merit of what he accomplished,
his perfect righteousness, they have. It's imputed or charged
to their accounts. And on that basis, and on that
basis alone, God has declared them justified. And that means
truly righteous. not guilty in his sight. You know, few will argue that
those who see Jesus in salvation, they shall evidence that by belief
of the gospel. Christ said that to his disciples.
He said, go and preach the gospel and they that believe it shall
be saved. They that believe it not shall be damned. But the
question I want to pose to you in closing is this, is the gospel
you believe God's gospel? As I often do, I again direct
you to Romans 1. We're taught there in verse 16
that the gospel, God's gospel, it truly is the power of God
unto salvation. That's the means that God uses.
It's the very preaching of the gospel. This message of how God
saves sinners. It tells us though in verse 17
why that's so. Here's a distinguishing mark
of God's gospel. It says it's the power of God
unto salvation for or because therein is the righteousness
of God revealed. And as you saw from Acts 17,
that's the standard by which we're all going to be judged,
that righteousness that He rendered by His death on the cross. You
know, for many religious folks, like myself in years past, their
thoughts concerning Christ, and look, including that which took
place by his death and resurrection, they often expose a lack of understanding
of really that there was an accomplishment. You know, I once thought that
by Christ's death on the cross that somehow my salvation had
been made possible. but I thought that the ultimate
determining factor was in my response, whether or not I would
believe. I knew God commands us to believe,
but if I had been pressed about it, if someone had placed this
hypothetical in front of me, if someone had said, Randy, what
if the Bible said, if you'll believe that pigs fly, you can
be saved? I would have to admit this. that
were that so, it would not have changed my understanding of who
God was at that time. And look, that's serious, because
you remember Christ, He prayed in John 17, He says, this is
life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God,
and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent. Salvation is knowing God
as He is. If God sees save me a sinner,
simply because I believe something, then he would have to dispense
with who he is. He would have to, in essence,
un-God himself. He would dispense with his justice.
He would have to decide to just, I'm gonna overlook or pretend
you didn't sin or look the other way. But could God, being true
to who he is, holy and just, who cannot commune with sin,
could he just as well have devised another way whereby sinners could
be saved? Not if you would see Jesus. No
death, no life. To see Jesus with the eyes of
God-given, blood-bought faith is to see both the necessity
and the efficacy of His obedience unto death in your place. To establish for you the only
righteousness by which God can be who He is, both a just God
and a Savior. Will you see Jesus?