When They Saw Him

Q: What does the Bible say about seeing Jesus?

Seeing Jesus is essential for salvation and spiritual growth, as it leads to true belief and worship. The act of seeing Jesus, as described in Matthew 28:17, encapsulates the essence of faith in Him. It is not merely a physical sighting; rather, it involves spiritual insight and understanding of His true nature as the Son of God. Many witnessed Jesus during His earthly ministry, but not all recognized Him for who He truly is. Only those who were given the eyes to see Him with spiritual understanding could worship Him. This belief is rooted in the recognition of Jesus as our substitute and representative, who fulfills all of God's promises and requirements for salvation. Worship and true belief flow from seeing Him as He is—God incarnate, the source of life and righteousness.

Q: How do we know the resurrection of Jesus is true?

The resurrection of Jesus is evidenced by His appearances to many witnesses, affirming God's justification of believers. The resurrection of Jesus is foundational to the Christian faith, as declared in Romans 5:25, which states that He was 'delivered for our offenses and raised again for our justification.' This event is not merely a spiritual metaphor; it is a historical reality confirmed by numerous witnesses. After His resurrection, Jesus appeared to His disciples and over 500 believers at one time, which testifies to the certainty of this event. The resurrection signifies God’s acceptance of Christ's sacrifice for sin and His declaration of righteousness to all who believe. Without the resurrection, Paul states our faith would be in vain, highlighting its critical importance in securing believers' hope of eternal life.

Q: Why is Jesus' death important for Christians?

Jesus' death is essential as it serves as the sacrificial payment for sin, fulfilling God's justice. The death of Jesus is central to the gospel because it addresses the fundamental problem of sin. According to Romans 3:24-26, His death serves as a propitiation for our sins, satisfying God's justice. The necessity of His death arose from the requirement that a perfect sacrifice must be made to atone for human sin. Only Jesus, being fully God and fully man, could fulfill this role. His voluntary death ensures that all who believe in Him are justified before God and receive forgiveness of sins. This truth emphasizes that salvation is not achieved through our works or efforts, but through faith in the accomplished work of Christ on the cross.

Q: What is the significance of the Great Commission?

The Great Commission commands Christians to proclaim the gospel, teaching all nations about Jesus. The Great Commission, found in Matthew 28:19-20, underscores the responsibility of believers to spread the gospel message. This command reflects the heart of God's plan for redemption, urging His followers to teach all nations about Jesus Christ and the salvation found in Him. It indicates that the gospel is universal, meant for every tribe and nation. Furthermore, it emphasizes the necessity of baptism and the teaching of Christ's commands, which are foundational to a believer's life. The Commission is not a mere suggestion but a mandatary directive to engage in discipleship under the assurance of Christ's abiding presence with His people.

Q: How does seeing Jesus lead to worship?

True worship arises when individuals see Jesus for who He truly is, acknowledging His divinity and grace. The act of seeing Jesus leads to worship because it cultivates a deeper understanding of His nature and His work in redemption. When the disciples saw Jesus after His resurrection, the appropriate response was to worship Him, as recorded in Matthew 28:17. Worship is a natural response to recognizing His glory, majesty, and love. This encounter transforms the observer, shifting their focus from self to Christ. It involves surrender, adoration, and an acknowledgment of His sovereignty. True worship is a result of a heart that understands and sees the significance of Christ’s redemptive work—His incarnation, life, death, and resurrection—experienced in the fullness of grace and truth.

If you will take your Bibles and turn to Matthew chapter 28. I'm going to have Fr. Ryan come and read the chapter to us. In this chapter I've chosen a text to preach from so you might want to put a marker. Good morning everyone. Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers here. All right, let's begin. Chapter 28, verse 1. In the end of the Sabbath, as began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulcher.

And behold, there was a great earthquake, for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone from the door and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning and his raiment white as snow. And for fear of him, the keepers did shake and became as dead men.

And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye, for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here, for he is risen. As he said, Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead. And behold, he goeth before you into Galilee. There shall ye see him. Lo, I have told you.

And they departed quickly from the sepulcher with fear and great joy, and did run to bring his disciples word. And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet and worshipped him. Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid.

Go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me. Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city and showed unto the chief priests all the things that were done. And when they were assembled with the elders and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers, saying, Say ye, his disciples came by night and stole him away while we slept. And if this come to the governor's ears, we will persuade him and secure you. So they took the money and did as they were taught, and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.

Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him, they worshipped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

And this verse means a lot to me because a dear sister in Christ, Mary Carling, she gave me a towel and it has this last verse here. It says, I'm with you always. And it's a perfect reminder. I look at it every day. And so I thank the Lord for Mary and the Lord's mercifulness to me and sinners alike. If you're here today, And you have any interest, any interest in your soul, I invite you to turn with me back to Matthew chapter 28.

My whole message is built around verse 17, and it's on this precious declaration, when they saw him. This sums up what I believe. It sums up what I preach. It sums up the well from which I draw my hope, seeing Him. It's all about seeing Him, isn't it? He said, this is the Father's will which has sent me, that of all which He hath given me, I should lose nothing, but raise it up again at the last day. And this is the Father's will which has sent me, that everyone that seeth the Son and believeth on him shall have everlasting life, and I'll raise him up at the last day." It's all about seeing him. Not everybody that saw him with these eyes saw him the way these disciples saw him.

Listen to these verses. In John chapter 6, verse 35, Jesus said unto them that were gathered before him, he said, I am the bread of life. Now, in the book of John, you're going to keep running on this phrase, I am. And he says in one place to the woman at the well, I am he. But if you look, the he's in italics. Just lift it out. What he's saying is, I am. That's another name for God. And when he said, I am the shepherd, I'm God the shepherd. I'm the water of life. Yes, he is. He said, I am the way, God's way. I am the truth, God's truth. And he said, I'm the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

But I said unto you that you also have seen me, and believe not." They didn't see what these disciples saw. Judas saw him and sold him for 30 pieces of silver. The Pharisees and the scribes saw him and said, He has a devil. Pilate and Herod saw him and condemned him to gain favor with the people. The soldiers saw him, mocked him, and gambled over his clothes. Many saw him in the flesh and died in their sins. And that's what he told them.

Except you believe on me, you'll die in your sins. But some saw him with spiritual eyes and heard him with spiritual ears. And Christ said to his disciples, blessed are your ears. If you're here today and you can hear what I'm saying, I can say to you, blessed are your ears.

After 30 or 40 years in the ministry, I can tell you not everybody hears what I have to say. One man came and heard me, and his son asked him, he said, well, or I mean his father asked him, he said, son, he said, what'd you think? He said, well, two songs and a sermon, same old thing. The woman at the well began her conversation with Jesus, talking to a man. He asked her for a drink.

And she just started a conversation with him. And as they went on, She began to get a little flustered. It didn't matter what she brought up. He knew so much about her that anything she brought up, he'd say, I know. I have a husband. He said, yeah, you said that right. You've got tertiary. He knew everything she ever did. And then she started to get religious. And that's when he really told her things that just She was totally flustered, and finally she said, well, I'll tell you this.

Here's what I know. When Messiah's come, he's going to tell us all things. Christ said, I that speak unto thee am he. The gospel, my friend, is a person. To see him is to be saved. It's a person. Salvation is in a person. It's not a plan. It's not a creed. It's not a confession. It's a person. And he that hath the Son hath life. You can know and recite the doctrines of Calvinism. I'm getting where I almost despise the word anymore. It used to be precious to me, but it's not anymore. I've seen it so misused and so a misapplied, you can know all of these doctrines and not know Christ.

Paul said this, he said, we don't preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord and ourselves your servants for his sake. Gospel's not a ticket on this heavenly train I hear men sing about. It's not a shuttle. Not a ticket on a shuttle. It's not an insurance policy that you can cash in when you die. It's not a creed. It's not any of these things by which your life, it's not something your life can be reformed by or some antidote for spiritual heartworms. The gospel's a person. a representative person, a substitute, one in whom is the full provision of God.

Now you think about that. Everything that God demands from the sinner, He provided in His Son. If you have Christ, you have everything God has for sinners. But if you don't have Christ, I don't care what else you have, you don't have life. What you have is a false profession. What you have is a spiritual refuge, a false refuge.

The four witnesses were chosen by our Lord and walked with him for three and a half years and heard him preach, saw the miracles that God did by him to confirm his person and work, and were eyewitnesses of his glory on the Mount of Transfiguration. He calls them gospel writers. The gospel according to Matthew. That's what we're reading from this morning. What do these gospel writers say? Well, they tell us of the incarnation of Christ. His coming into the flesh.

In John 1.14 it says the word. What word? Well, he tells us in verse 1 what he's talking about. The word that was with God and was God. the word by whom he made all things. This word was made flesh and dwelt among us.

And we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Paul would write some years later to the saints at Colossae and tell them that in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and you're complete. Talking about his birth through the Virgin Mary, Matthew says, now all this was done that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, behold, a virgin shall be with child and shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Immanuel, which is being interpreted God with us. God and man in one person, Immanuel. God sent forth his son, Paul wrote to the Galatians, made of a woman. You're talking about a miracle. The seed of God growing in the womb of a woman. He was made of a woman.

Made under the law to redeem them that were under the law. And to save sinners, God himself must come into the flesh. He must take part of the same. He took not on him the nature of angels, but the seed of Abraham. And I don't know if you know this, but God saved sinners by an eternal covenant union. God, in his purpose, chose us in his Son, made full provision for us in his Son, and counted everything he did as our own work.

There's no other way. The scripture said, in that day, a believing man is going to enter into heaven, and he's going to hear these words. Well done, thy good and faithful servant. Now you go home, and you look yourself in the mirror and see if you could say that to yourself. You can't do it. There's only one way we can do that, and that's with the righteousness of Christ. Well done, he said. Just as though you've done it.

To save poor sinners, God himself must come into the flesh. He chose a people in his son, made them one with him, and everything God requires from the sinner, he provides in his son. He didn't come into this world to try to save as many as He could. I've heard that since I was a baby. That's not why Christ came into this world. He came to save those given Him by the Father. That's what He says. And gospel writers tell of His incarnation. They tell of the life He lived. His life is the life God demands from the sinner. Unbroken obedience from the cradle to the cross.

And he writes in Galatians 3.10, for as many as are of the law, that is, hoping to be saved by their obedience to the law, hoping to establish a righteousness before God to gain his favor, as many as are of the law are under the curse.

If that's your hope here this morning, I'm going to do the best I can and hope I'm accepted of God, you're under the curse. The curse is to see that God demands righteousness from me, but to see at the same time my inability to do it. That's a curse, isn't it?

I have to do this, but I can't. Salvation is doing what you can't do. That's what salvation is. Stretch forth thine hand, this withered hand. He couldn't, but he did. Rise up, take up your bed and walk. He couldn't, he couldn't even roll over into the water, but he did. Lazarus, come forth. He couldn't, he did, but he did. Cursed is everyone that continueth not in all things written in the book of the law to do it.

They must be done perfectly and with perfect love for God and perfect love for our neighbor, because the whole law hinges on love. So he don't just demand that you pay 10%. He demands that you do it loving God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. He don't just demand that you come and assemble together, but that you do it in love. The love of God constraineth us.

And David's dying words were that God had made with him an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure. And he said, this is all my salvation and all my desire, even though he make it not to grow. He didn't save everybody in David's house. The gospel writers didn't write the events of his life simply to inspire us, but to give us hope through his representative life.

The gospel is a person. That's what I'm trying to preach this morning. It's personal. The gospel, Paul said, is the power of God unto salvation, for therein is the righteousness of God revealed. Where is it revealed? In Christ. You won't find it anywhere else. You'll find it in Christ.

And Christ, Paul said, is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believes it. That's the goal of the law, the highest expectation of the law, the loftiest. Christ set the bar on righteousness, didn't he? He took it as high as it can go. And he's the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believes it. Gospel writers thirdly tell us of the fulfillment of all messianic prophecy, all of God's promises of life, acceptance, favor, and blessing are all accomplished in the person of Christ. They all come to pass.

In Acts 10.43, it says to him, give all the prophets witness that through his name, whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. But you can't receive remission of sins if they're not paid for. Romans 3, 24 through 26 tells you that. Can't be. Can't be.

So all the forgiveness to those Old Testament saints was all manifested in faith in his blood. When they saw that lamb's blood, they saw his blood by faith, this coming redeemer. And time and time again, it says in the writings that he said unto them, or it was said of such and such, that the scripture might be fulfilled that spoke of him." Gospel writers tell us of Jesus Christ fulfilling all that was written of him. And the gospel writers tell us of the death of Jesus of Nazareth on the cross. God demands death for sin. Oh, I'll never forget that preacher who had a blackboard. You got no business with a blackboard behind the pulpit. But there was a blackboard there.

And he said, stealing. And he put a mark. And he said adultery. And he put a mark. And cursing. And he put another mark. And he said, these are your sins. And he named all five or six sins. Then he took an eraser and he said, this is forgiveness. And he erased it.

That's not how God forgives sins. God paid for those sins. He hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. He bore our sins in his own body on the tree. God didn't kill an innocent man. This man bore our sins. He was guilty in the sight of God as our substitute.

And God killed him. He slayed him. He poured out his wrath on him. He trod the winepress of God's wrath alone. That's what it says. And gospel writers tell us of the death of Jesus of Nazareth on the cross. He demands death for sin. The soul that sinneth shall surely die, and surely it did. And he demands a certain kind of death. Our death can never pay the price.

That's why hell's eternal. That's why the suffering there is eternal. Hell is described in the book of God as everlasting punishment. These shall go away, Matthew 25, 46, into everlasting punishment. And the reason it's everlasting is that our death can never satisfy God.

But his death can. Isaiah said this is about the death of our substitute. He shall see the travail of his soul and be satisfied. His death was a God-honoring death, a voluntary death, a dying to give life, a death to preserve God's holy name. And seeing the cause of his death in his soul, God was satisfied. He was satisfied. No salvation apart from the death of Jesus Christ, his death Necessary. Necessary.

He tells us in Romans 3.24, he said, being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that's in Christ Jesus. Through faith, you know, God has, he set him forth as a propitiation for our sins through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness in the remission of our sins.

God's going to declare his name. He's going to glorify his name. He's going to glorify his righteousness in the death of his son. He's just and justifier. Once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And Paul said this, he died for our sins according to the scriptures.

I tell you, if you listen to men, especially down at the funeral home, go down there and listen to a preacher's funeral. You talk about come home confused. The whole of this book, the full canon of God declares redemption by substitution. Does it not? Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission.

He died, Peter said, just for the unjust that he might bring us to God. And gospel writers record the substitutionary death of Jesus of Nazareth as the Christ. Paul says in Colossians 121, and you that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now if you reconcile in the body of his flesh through death to present you holy, boy, I tell you what, try to think of yourself before God as holy. But that's what we are in Christ, to present us holy, unblameable. Don't take long for one of us to look at another one and find some blame. That's the easiest thing in the world to do. And then listen to this, unreprovable.

God can't find anything in you to make you any better than you are in Christ. You're perfect. And all this is yours if you continue in the faith, grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel. What hope? Christ in you. Salvation's in a person. In a person. And know this, all gospel writers declare Jesus of Nazareth to be risen from the dead. Well, what's that got to do with faith and the salvation of our souls?

In Romans 5.25, it said, he was delivered for our offenses and raised again for our justification. How do I know God justified chosen sinners? Because he raised his son from the grave. That's what his resurrection was all about.

In Hebrews 10.15, having declared the perfecting of the saints and the death of Christ, Paul says, were of the Holy Ghost also as a witness to us.

For after that he said before, this is the covenant that I'll make with them after those days, saith the Lord. I'll put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them." So he took all these laws and just writes them in our mind. No, that's not what he's talking about. What he's talking about is he writes his laws in the mind of Christ as satisfied, honored, exalted. Isn't that what it says?

He exalted the law and made it honorable. That's the covenant the Holy Ghost puts in our minds. His law kept, fulfilled, honored, exalted. God satisfied. And in their hearts I'll write them, not just in their minds. Loved and kept in perfection in Christ. And I don't fear the law anymore because I see the law honored and exalted in Christ as much as it can be. Perfectly obeyed.

Verse 17, and the saints I mean, and the sins and iniquities, their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. That's the covenant. God said, I took away your sins. Now, if he takes them away and he can't see them, why do we keep finding them? Huh? We're a remission of these.

There is no more sacrifice, no more offering for sin. Nothing left wanting, just a full, free justification of grace. There's nothing more grounded, in fact, evidenced than the resurrection of Jesus Christ. You know, after he was raised from the dead, he spent a month on this earth A month.

Why? Because he's going to establish his resurrection. If he wasn't raised from the dead, our faith's vain, the promise of God's vain, all the dead in Christ are dead forever, they're doomed. He first appeared to the 12 and then to above 500 brethren at one time. Appeared to the woman at the tomb, to the guards, Oh. Is his resurrection important? Be no resurrection, then Christ is not risen.

Preaching is vain. Faith is vain. Every poor sinner that died with a gospel hopes perished forever. And all of it left is us trying to live out our days in this world without any hope. And we will be of all men most miserable without the resurrection. But now, he said, is Christ risen from the dead? Well, where are you going with all this, pastor? I'm going, here's where I'm going.

They saw him. What did they see when they saw him? They saw him who'd been promised from the gardens, and now he's appeared, and they saw him. Isn't that what John said? The word was made flesh, the same one that God made the worlds by. He came. He was here and we saw him. We saw that life. Our hands are handled of the word of life. We saw it. They came and they saw him. What'd they see? They saw a man stand in a boat that was sinking and just looked out into the darkness and the lightning and said, peace be still. And even the winds and the waves obeyed his voice.

Lazarus, come out of that tomb. Huh? Those Pharisees sent some scouts out and said, you go out and get this Jesus and bring him over here. And they come back empty handed. And they said, well, where's he at? Why didn't you bring him? We ordered you to bring him. And they said, never a man speak like this man. I got angry at him one day. I said, we're going to throw him off the cliff. He'd just turn around and walk right through the middle of them. And nobody laid hands on him.

They watched him come into the temple. I'm talking about the camp of the enemy. This was the heart of false religion. And they're sitting there in that temple. And there's money changers. And they're making money off of the worship of God and just solding up his temple. And he came in and quietly sat down and wove a whip, sat there and plaited a whip. And when he got done, he stood up and beat those money changers out of the temple.

What'd they see? They saw more than poor little Jesus, boy, that religion talks about. They saw more than this one who can't do anything without man. God done all he can do. Now it's all up to you. Boy, I hope not. I hope not. That's not what they saw. They saw God come into the flesh. They saw the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. And you know what happened? Same thing will happen to us when we see Him. They fell down and worshipped. You know what I'm saying? They worshipped.

You're not going to worship poor little Jesus, boy. You're just not going to do it. You might fall in love with that entertainer they call a pastor who stands up there and tells jokes and sings songs and whatever else he does. But you're not going to worship God until you see his glory in Christ. And when you do, everybody that sees him going to worship. They're going to worship. But now think about all that they saw.

They saw him spit in the dust, put it in his hand and do that, and anoint the eyes of the blind. And that man walked away, washed in a pool, and he could see perfect. They watched him tell the leper. That leper said, if you will, you can make me clean. The Lord said, I will. What happened? He was clean. He was clean. They saw that. They saw that woman touch his garment and was cured. They saw him raise that man at the Pool of Bethesda. They saw him cleanse, you know, he healed the lame, and the halt, and the blind, and who knows what all they brought.

There was a Gadarene demoniac. There's no telling how many evil spirits this man was possessed of. They tried to chain him with chains, and he'd just break them. They didn't have a rope strong enough or a chain to hold this man. He lived in the tombs. The Lord spoke peace into his soul, and he cast out those demons into a herd of hogs. He still does. He still does. But now listen to this. This is just as amazing as what I've just told you. Some doubted. When does a man doubt? When he sees the Lord as he is. As he is. That's when he sees. When you see him as he is, then you'll see yourself as you are.

And they saw their doubts. They doubted. How could they doubt? How could they doubt? But they did. And let me tell you something. He didn't scold them for it. He didn't rebuke them for it. What he did next was give them a gracious exhortation and give them a great commission. He said, all power in heaven and earth is given to me. Everything that you doubt, I have. Everything that you see that you're still wanting, I have. Now based on that, go do what I tell you.

You go teach every nation, black, white, yellow, and red. You go every nation, and you teach them. And those that are here, you baptize them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost. And you teach them this, to observe everything that I told you to observe, you tell them to observe. Now you go do that based on this. When they saw him, don't you want to see him? Boy, I do. I want to see him as he is. I want to hear him exalted as he is. He's seated at the right hand of God. I can't imagine. And we're seated with him. That's my hope. That's my hope.

You know, there's a breed of dog they call a pointer. They use them when they're hunting birds. And they'll come up in that thick brush, and all of a sudden, that one paw will come up, and that tail will go straight out. And that dog will just look right where that pheasant or quail or whatever it is, he'll look right where he's at. That hunter will get that gun and get ready.

That's what preachers are. They're pointers. They're pointers. They're pointing men to Christ. This is Him. This is Him. And they just keep pointing men to Christ. Why? Because that's where everything is. That's where glory is, knowledge, wisdom, salvation, life. It's all in Him. And here's where we get in trouble when we start contemplating what's in here. That's a black hole. It's an endless pit. You're staring into darkness is what you're doing. Quit looking in here and look to Him.

When They Saw Him

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about seeing Jesus?

How do we know the resurrection of Jesus is true?

Why is Jesus' death important for Christians?

What is the significance of the Great Commission?

How does seeing Jesus lead to worship?

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When They Saw Him

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about seeing Jesus?

How do we know the resurrection of Jesus is true?

Why is Jesus' death important for Christians?

What is the significance of the Great Commission?

How does seeing Jesus lead to worship?

Sermon Transcript

About Darvin Pruitt

Comments

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