Now you remember our Lord began this text by identifying himself. He asked them questions. Whom do men say that I am? And then who do you say that I am? And he caused them to identify him as the Christ, the son of the living God, We talked about how that knowing him is life. Knowing who he is is salvation. It's knowing a person. How much doctrine did the thief on the cross know? You suspect he had ever been baptized or blessed by some priest or anything religious whatsoever at all.

But he knew who that was. that he hung next to, and he heard his voice, and the Lord gave him faith to believe. And he said, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. He saw a broken, beaten, bloody man and said, that's my king. That's my king. That's salvation.

And then he began to tell them, teach them concerning what he did. He began to show unto his disciples, verse 21, he showed it to them, how that he must go unto Jerusalem and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and be raised again the third day.

Think of the depth of Simon's unbelief here. Because not only was it unthinkable for him that his savior would be killed. That's a sentimental assessment that any of us might make. But he would have to utterly disregard the last part of that sentence. or just flat not believe it, and be raised again the third day. How can this end badly if the Lord Jesus Christ is coming out of the grave, exalted in resurrected power and life and glory?

He either just missed that part or he just flat didn't believe it. And if you know yourself, If I know myself, it could have been either. It could have been either. John the Baptist at the end of his life said, are you the one or do we look for another? After he had said, behold, the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. What's the lesson in that for us?

There's nothing to us. Without him, we can do nothing. We've got to have righteousness before God, and He is all of our righteousness. We can do nothing to add to it. We need life, and we're dead in trespasses and sins. Everybody knows a dead man cannot contribute to any life that he might experience thereafter.

We need wisdom. We need to know God, we need the wisdom of God. Christ is the power and wisdom of God. Without him we know nothing, we are nothing, we have nothing, we can do nothing. We need faith. Where are we getting that from? If he takes his hand off of us for one moment, we'll deny him, as Simon did later. And we'll hear him say, I've got to be killed and rise again. And Simon was a fisherman. I doubt if he wasn't a Bible scholar. He didn't probably know the Old Testament very well. And so I believe in unbelief. He just thought. If he's if he's dead, then that's the end of it.

But all of the scripture speaks As on the day of Pentecost, Simon spoke of the words of David regarding the resurrection of the Savior. The gospel has been the same from the beginning. It's about Christ, and it's Christ himself, and who he is, and what he did. He's talking about what he's going to do, what he will accomplish on Calvary.

And Simon completely, his mind was completely on earthly things, on the things of men. He savored, or his opinion was directed toward the things of men and not the things that be of God. The Lord said, I must do this. And Simon Yette was without belief or submission. And that's why the Lord referenced Satan here. Not only because Satan has a lot in us. He didn't have anything in the Savior, but he has a lot in us. And those anti-Christ sentiments that Peter felt and expressed are satanic.

The Lord Jesus from the beginning, from all the stories in the Old Testament, Noah's Ark, the serpent lifted up on a pole, all the gospel, all that Christ must be lifted up. He must suffer. Isaiah spoke of him who must bear our iniquities, that must bear our sorrows, that must be taken in our place, in our stead, and our sins laid on him. And so all of that As the Lord Jesus said to Philip, he said, have I been so long with you and you don't know me? That's a question that ought to pierce all of our souls. Have you heard the gospel so long?

When we begin to doubt, we're made out of the same stuff. Believers, yes, having the spirit of God indwelt by his spirit and redeemed by the blood of Christ, but we're still flesh. We're still going to doubt, still going to despair. We're still going to worry. We're going to we're going to stress ourselves to death. Every one of us will probably die from stress because.

We get wrapped up in this wretched world. And worry, worry, worry, worry when the Lord says, don't be afraid. I've overcome the world. He's loved us from the beginning. Everything that he orchestrates in this world is for our good. We know how it ends, and it ends well for us. It shall be well with the righteous who are in Christ. And yet, be it far from thee, Lord.

This can't happen. This can't happen that's happening. This can't happen. Oh, it can. And it can be the best thing that ever happened. such as the Lord being killed and rising again the third day. He savored the things that be of men, just like we do, but by God's grace, we also savor the things that be of God. by his grace through faith in the Savior.

And so he identifies who he is. He has this conversation with them. He designed it in order to get them to see who he is. He brought a storm and caused them to be convinced that they were going to die in that storm in order to bring from their hearts, what manner of man is this? that the winds and the seas obey Him. He puts us through what He puts us through.

This was a trial for Simon. You're gonna be killed? The one that we've left everything and followed you. But all of the storms come for the same reason. We're finding out who it is we're dealing with. And it's a blessed revelation. It's a blessed revelation.

Verse 24 again, then said Jesus unto his disciples, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself. Simon had just been selfish at me. I don't want that to happen, so that just can't happen. But we've got to deny ourselves and die to self. Take up your cross and follow Christ. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it, and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

Now, the Lord shut Job down, didn't he? He was an affluent, wise, well-respected man. And the Lord took away everything he had except his life, except his life. And he came to the place where he acknowledged God. He said, when he complained about it and said, well, you know, what's the use in being a believer when everything bad happens to me and all the good stuff happens to people that hate God? And he complained and moaned, but then God appeared to him. The Lord met him face to face, and before it was over, Job was saying, I've spoken of things I didn't know anything about.

I will lay my hand upon my mouth. I will speak no further. I will not say another word. I'm going to shut up now and let God speak. I'm going to bow to him. I'm going to deny myself and take up my cross and follow him. It's everybody that knows him has done that. It's not about me. It's about knowing him. And he was able to confess, I know that my Redeemer liveth. And in the latter day, he's going to stand upon this earth. He knew that he was redeemed by the same one that put him on that ash heap. And then what happened? Did he have a miserable life? Did he stay on the ash heap?

No, the Lord blessed him. He gave him a bunch of children again. and houses and lands and cattle and everything he blessed. It's not that we're going to go just walk through this life homeless because, well, we've given up everything for the Lord. No, no, he'll give us what we need. We've never seen the Lord's seed bag and bread.

But you got to be willing to give it up. You got to give it up in here. You got to give it up in here. The world and all of the possessions of this world and all of your ambitions in this world have got to lose their luster. They gotta plum lose it. It can't be about that for you anymore. You've got to lose that.

And it'll be a small, it'll be a gain to you if we ever see who he is. The rich young ruler could not get rid of his stuff. He had great possessions and therefore he walked away from God's son, who gave him all that, who created him, who made all that stuff and handed it to him to begin with, who owns the cattle on a thousand hills. All he said, all the silver is mine and the gold is mine. You can put it in an account, put your name on it. It's still his.

What a fool to walk away from the riches of God's grace in Christ for the toys and baubles of this world. And yet, those vain things still have attraction for us, don't they? They still have attraction. Will we lose our life? And if the Lord ever gives us grace to do that, we'll find out what life is. We'll find out what it is. Are we going to glorify Him or are we going to win because we die with the most toys? What is a man profited if he gained the whole world and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? For 30 pieces of silver, Judas sold the Son of God. You know why? Because the Son of God was worthless to him. 30 pieces of silver, you know, he could buy some groceries with that. Son of God meant nothing to him. There are those in this world to whom the Lord Jesus Christ means absolutely nothing at all. Nothing.

His name is a curse word. His book, his word is a waste of time. It's something to be mocked and ridiculed. These people are the off-scouring of the earth. They have absolutely no use for God's Son. And then there are some people who think something of Jesus Christ. They'd be scared, you know, to use his name in vain somehow, because they might go to hell if they do that, you know? You know, that's bad luck. They met, they're probably religious and they observe holy days and things like that. And they think, well, you know, I hope the Lord will bless me and I hope he'll do some things for me. But they're not going to, they're not going to, it's not going to cost them anything to follow the Lord Jesus. It's not going to come to that. If it does, they're out. They've got little use for the Lord Jesus Christ. Very little.

They'll come to church maybe on Christmas and Easter, and that's about it. And then there are some to whom the Lord Jesus Christ means quite a bit. Quite a bit. They're very religious. They go to church every Sunday. They pay their tithe. You know, they say things like, have a blessed day and, you know, thank you, Jesus.

And they, you know, they raise up their hands and get all religious and emotional and they want to be active in the church. Got to do something for Jesus. You might as well worship a totem pole. If your Lord needs you to do anything for him, you might as well dance around a totem pole.

All of that's worthless. And then there are those, by the grace of God, to whom the Lord Jesus Christ is everything. If you see who He is, if you know who He is, then stuff is just stuff. It's just stuff. It doesn't mean anything. If the Lord told that rich young ruler, go sell all you have and give it to the poor, Give it to people that didn't earn it.

I'm sure he earned all of that. Boy, he was proud of his stuff. He loved his stuff. He worshipped his stuff. And give it to people that didn't work for it. Just give it away. And come follow me. You want to be perfect? Go do that. No chance. No chance. As soon as it's going to cost them something, it's over. It's over.

And then the Lord went and found Zacchaeus. And Zacchaeus had climbed up in a tree because he was curious about the Lord Jesus. And the Lord came right where he was in a throng of people that were following the Savior. And the Lord came right to that tree and looked up at Zacchaeus and said, Zacchaeus, come down here now. "'cause I'm going to your house today." And you know what Zacchaeus did? He gave away everything he had. He restored all that he'd stolen, and the rest he had, he gave it to the poor. And the Lord never told him to do that.

Not one time. That's the difference. There are some to whom Jesus Christ means everything. And that's both an encouragement that there are such by his grace, and it's also a rebuke. Because when we say it that way, we have to wonder, am I one of those? Am I one of those?

The Lord Jesus Christ must, he must give himself. for those for whom he entered into that eternal covenant of grace and agreed to be their surety in eternity, agreed to speak for their souls, to vouch for their very souls, knowing that he'd have to pay for every sin, a thought, word, and deed of all of them You see, he didn't cosign for them just in case they defaulted. He cosigned knowing what was coming, knowing what we were. And he said, I must. I must. He obligated himself for us because we were worth it. because he loved us, because he's loved us. He's always loved us. He's always gonna love us.

And I pray he'd teach us something of that. Paul said that you might know the depth and the height and the width and the breadth, and to know the love of God, which passes knowledge. May God give us grace to know that which cannot be known. any other way if we had any idea how much he loved us we'd never be anxious about anything else and he said cast all your care cast all your care on me because i care for you i care for you he said if i be lifted up from the earth i will draw men under me He died on Calvary for that very reason, to bring his people to God, to reconcile our souls to God. And we might ask the question, am I one of those that the Savior came to save?

You know, the Lord has a question for you there too. You know what it is? Do you believe on the Son of God? Do you believe on the Son of God? The blind man in John 9, in verse 36, answered him and said, who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? You know, that's an answer that really we still give. We're still trying to find out who he is, aren't we? Still trying to find out who he is. After the Apostle Paul knew him, his prayer and his heart's desire was, that I may know him, that I may know him. Are we interested in knowing this Christ, son of the living God? Whom do men say, who do you say that he is? Religion says he's an example, he's somebody that has done his best, that's tried to save everybody. But the truth of Scripture is that he's God's Christ. And his name means he shall save his people from their sins. He shall. He must. He's obligated himself, he's covenanted with his Father and the Holy Spirit to be surety for our souls, and so he must redeem our souls.

He said to the Father, he prayed, of those that you've given me, I haven't lost any of them, not a single one, and he's not going to. That's why the sun still comes up on this wretched earth. He's not going to lose any. He's not willing that any of his sheep should perish. He's the one that came to save his people from their sins. And when he saved his people from their sins, he said, it's finished. It's perfect. It's perfect. He's not a good man. He's not a teacher come to show us how to live. He came to die.

He came to do a work which his father gave him to do. I must be about my father's business. a work which is pictured and set forth throughout all of the Old Testament in the shedding of blood, in God's dealing graciously with a specific people, because of that blood atonement pictured in, And listen to the way the Lord answered that blind man in John 9 in verse 37.

He said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. That seems unnecessary to say you've seen him, unless 10 minutes ago you weren't able to see at all. You've seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. For this man met the Lord Jesus Christ, he didn't see anything physical or spiritual, but now he sees God's glory in the face of his son.

How'd that happen? A miracle of his grace, a miracle, a miracle. Salvation's a miracle. And that's the same way I know him, because he opened my eyes that I might see. Peter was able to answer as he did in our text, because just like with this blind man, the Lord Jesus had opened his eyes that he might see. I'm the one who came where you were and saw you when you could not see me. and had compassion on you. Jesus passed by and saw a man which was blind.

What a beautiful sentence that is. When we could never see him, we could never know him, we can't see the kingdom of God, we can't enter the kingdom of God. But we're born again by his spirit. And now we see and enter by the door of the Lord Jesus Christ.

His confession to those who asked, the blind man, they asked him, what is this all about? We know this man's a sinner. What do you got to say about that? He said, one thing I know, I was blind. And now I see, now I see. And when the Lord told him who he was, he said, Lord, I believe.

And he worshipped him. He worshipped him. Was he a theologian? He said, I don't know if he's a sinner or not. I just know I was blind, and then he came, and now I can see. No, he knew a lot more than most theologians know. He knew the Son of God. He knew God's Son.

Now we've seen who Christ is, God in the flesh, His Messiah, the promised one, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of heaven and earth. We've seen what He did. He suffered and died for His people. Why He did it, what does that have to do with us? He draws us to himself. He was lifted up that he might draw all of his sheep to himself. Here we are. Here we are. Not all of them yet, but maybe soon. And now, where is he? Where is he now? Verse 27, and we'll be brief. Just a comment or two on this passage.

For the son of man shall come in the glory of his father with his angels. And then he shall reward every man according to his works. Your works better either be perfect or your works better be him. They better be him. Verily I say unto you, there be some standing here which shall not taste of death till they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom. What does that mean? Is that talking about the Lord coming back? Did that not happen? Did the Lord speak out of turn here? You know, I've heard all kinds of theories about this.

I know this about him coming into his kingdom. The thief on the cross said, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. And then you remember the Lord's next word today. Today, that's today. This is not talking about the Lord's coming back to this earth. This is the finishing of his work, the accepting of that offering by the Father and the exaltation of the Lord Jesus Christ.

He came to his kingdom that day, and he remembered that old thief on that cross, because he loved that thief forever. Revealed himself to him. He's talking about his death, which he should accomplish. and His coming victorious into His kingdom, His resurrection in glory.

John 12, 23, Jesus answered them, saying, The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. This hour. He's not going to be glorified. He has been glorified. He is glorified. 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. Christ said, I must die, and then I'll be glorified. And he has, he is.

Stephen, as he was being stoned in Acts 7 and 55, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven and saw the glory of God. even Jesus standing on the right hand of God. And he said, behold, as they were stoning him to death, he would be dead in just a few moments, a few more rocks, a few more impacts, and he would be with his Lord and Savior. And he said, behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing on the right hand God, there's a man on the throne of glory, the man Christ Jesus. And he's there for me and for you, for all who know him. He's my representative there. He's my substitute. He's entered into that holy place, not made with hands as our great high priest was somewhat to offer. His own precious blood. He's my mediator and my intercessor.

Do you believe on the Son of God? The Pharisees in that chapter 9 of John, they believed a lot of stuff. The Lord didn't ask that poor man if he believed any of that. or if he believed better things than that, he said, do you believe on me? Do you believe on the son of God?

That's life. Christ is life. Christ is salvation. Christ is the glory of God. All the fullness of the Godhead in a body. And may he give us grace to see that more clearly, to see him more clearly every day and believe on him more fully. to serve Him as it pleases Him. Let's pray.