Alright, let's open our Bibles
again to John chapter 19. I've entitled the message this
morning, Five People We Meet at the Cross. Now there are many
different people that we read about around the cross of Christ,
but John mentions five people specifically that I want us to
look at this morning. Each person we'll look at, each
person we meet at the cross, represents something that's true
of every believer. All five of these people are
a product of Christ crucified on the cross. The first three
I want to look at are three women that John mentions in verse 25.
Now, there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother and his mother's
sister, Mary. We've looked at this before.
That's her sister-in-law, Mary, and the wife of Cleophas and
Mary Magdalene. John mentions these three women
standing beside the cross of Christ. And when we see pictures
of movies, you know, depicting the crucifixion, you know, they
always put the cross, you know, way up there somewhere. That's
not the way it was. It was the cross just barely,
you know, stuck in the ground, kind of almost at eye level.
They're standing right beside the Lord. He's just barely elevated
from where they are. And there they stand around the
cross. You got to wonder. Where are
the great leaders of the church? Where are all the apostles? All
of them but John are off somewhere hiding in fear. That's where
they are. But here these three bold women stand beside the dying
Savior. They're standing there fearless,
identifying themselves with Christ. If you look back in Luke chapter
eight, these women had been with the Lord from the beginning. in Luke chapter 8, verse 1. And it came to pass afterward
that he went throughout every city and village preaching and
showing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the 12 were
with him and certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits
and infirmities. Mary called Magdalene out of
whom went seven devils and Joanna, the wife of Chuzza, Herod's steward
and Susanna and many others. which ministered unto him of
their substance. Now we know men lead God's church. This is the order that God has
given in the church. But I tell you, where would we
be without faithful women? Faithful women of courage and
love and conviction. These women were with the Lord
from the beginning and they ministered to him of their substance. They
ministered to the body of the Lord Jesus. Just like you women,
you minister to the body of Christ. When you minister to one another,
where will we be without women? And here's the three faithful,
courageous women standing by the cross of our Lord. So the
first person we meet at the cross is Mary, the mother of our Lord.
Now I can't imagine what is going through Mary's heart right now.
It has to be agony. I can't imagine. Look back at
Luke chapter two. Mary is an interesting figure.
From what I read of Mary, she was a thinking woman. Luke two, verse 19. Now, all
this happened after the angel appeared to Mary and told her
she's gonna be with a child, even though she'd never do a
man. This is after she had traveled many miles, nine months pregnant
to Bethlehem to give birth to her firstborn son. And she gave
birth to him in a barn. And this is after the angels,
the heavenly host came and sang at the birth of our Savior, her
firstborn son. And this is after a star hung
over the place where he was born. And after the wise men showed
up, worshiping the Lord, worshiping that baby that they laid in a
horse trough. After all that happened, verse 19 of Luke chapter
two. But Mary kept all these things
and pondered them in her heart. I think she's a thinking woman.
Then after the boy, Jesus, had become separated from his parents,
remember they were traveling home from the Passover and he
was gone. They didn't realize he wasn't
with the company and for three days he was missing. For three
days they searched for him and after three days they finally
found him in the temple. Astonishing the Pharisees, astonishing
the doctors of religion with his comments on scripture. Can
you imagine what went through her mind? She's looking for that
boy. And when she finally finds him
after three days, look over into verse 48 of Luke chapter two.
And when they saw him, they were amazed. And his mother said unto
him, son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? Behold, thy father
and I have sought thee sorrowing. And he said unto them, how is
it that you sought me? Wished ye not that I must be about my
father's business? And they understood not the saying
which he spake unto them. They didn't know what he meant. He went down with them and came
to Nazareth and was subject unto them. But his mother kept all
these sayings in her heart. Mary, she thought on these things. She kept them in her heart and
pondered them. And I'm sure there's one more thing that Mary kept
in her heart and she pondered these things. It was the prophecy
concerning her son and her that she heard from Simeon. Look back
in Luke 2, verse 34. And Simeon blessed them and said
unto Mary his mother, behold, this child is set for the fall
and rising again of many in Israel and for a sign which shall be
spoken against. Yea, a sword shall pierce through
thine own soul also that the thoughts of many hearts may be
revealed. I'm confident Mary pondered that
prophecy in her heart. And now as she stands beside
the dying Savior, she knew what that prophecy meant, the sword. It pierced her heart. She felt
the pain of it. Now we've already seen this in
our study in John, but as the Lord spoke to his mother from
the cross, he told her this relationship as mother and son is over. Verse 26, back in John chapter
19, Now when Jesus therefore saw his mother and the disciples
standing by whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, woman,
behold thy son. He means you look now on John
as your son. And saith he to that disciple,
behold thy mother. John, you look at her and treat
her as your own mother now. And from that hour, that disciple
took her into his own home. This mother and son relationship
is now ended. And the reason for that is Mary
is not in need of a son. Mary is in need of a Savior.
She's in need of the sacrifice of Christ, just as much as you
and I are. Mary needs to be washed from her sin in the blood of
Christ, just like we do, just as much as we do. Mary is no
different from any other believer, not in any way. Now, certainly
Mary did get the honor of giving birth to the Lord. That's an
honor, isn't it? But that gave Mary no special
privileges. Every believer has Christ formed
in the heart in the new birth, isn't that right? And Mary did
have the Lord formed in her womb temporarily, but she's gonna
be saved. Christ had to be formed in her
heart permanently, just like all of us. And Mary, the reason
we're looking at Mary here, how does she represent all of God's
people? How is she a picture of all of God's people? Mary's
an object of grace. Mary was chosen by God's grace. She was kept by God's grace.
She was accepted in God's grace. Mary's no different than any
other believer. Mary's no different than someone else who's there
near the cross. She's no different than the other dying thief who
believed. She's got the same nature. She's got all the same
needs. If she's gonna be saved, she can be saved by the exact
same grace that dying thief was saved by. That's right. Now look
in Luke again, chapter one. I'll show you this. I know this
is so. Every believer is an object of
God's grace. Every believer is highly favored
of God. In Luke 1 verse 28, and the angel came in unto her
and said, Hail, thou that are highly favored. The Lord is with
thee. Blessed art thou among women.
Now you notice it doesn't say above women, does it? Among women. Mary's blessed. She's an object
of God's grace. The angel said, you're highly
favored. All right, look in Ephesians
chapter one. Think, boy, I'd like to be graced
like Mary was. Wow. If you believe Christ, you are just
as highly favored, just as graced as Mary. Ephesians 1 verse 4 According as he hath chosen us
in him before the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy and without blame before him in love, having predestinated
us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according
to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of
his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the Beloved. That word translated accepted
there in Ephesians is the exact same word translated highly favored
in Luke chapter one, the exact same word. And that's the only
two times that Greek word is used in scripture. Speaking of
Mary being highly favored, highly graced, and speaking of every
believer who's highly favored of God, who's highly graced of
God. God's grace is electing grace. His saving grace, His calling
grace, His regenerating grace, His keeping grace comes to every
believer because of what Christ accomplished on the cross. In
verse 7 there, Ephesians 1, in whom we have redemption through
His blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches
of His grace. Mary and every believer is an
object of God's grace, highly favored. Second, Second person
we meet at the cross is Mary, the wife of Cleophas. This is
Mary's sister-in-law. Now look at Matthew chapter 27.
We don't know much about this Mary, other than she was at the
cross. In Matthew 27, I want you to
see here how Matthew refers to Mary, the wife of Cleophas. In
Matthew 27 verse 61. And there is Mary Magdalene.
Everybody knows about Mary Magdalene. There was Mary Magdalene and
the other Mary sitting over against the sepulcher. Mary, the wife
of Cleophas, is just that other Mary, the other Mary. She's not
significant, just the other Mary. She's like so many other of God's
sheep. She's a certain woman. certain
man whose names are never given in scripture. I mean, at least
Mary's name I reckon is given, but we don't really know much
about her. She's just the other Mary. But I'm telling you, all
these unnamed people in scripture, the other Marys, the certain
men, the certain women, they're objects of God's grace, just
the same as Mary and Paul and Peter and John, the same objects
of God's grace. Their name's not recorded in
scripture, but I'm telling you their name's on the heart of
the saviors he died. Their name's not recorded in scripture, but
their name is written down in the Lamb's book of life. I do
know that. So how does this other Mary picture every believer?
Well, by God's grace, Mary believes the gospel. She has God-given
faith. Here's how I know that. We see
Matthew, or we see Mary at the cross, And then where does Matthew
tell us that other Mary was? Where was she besides the cross?
She was at the sepulcher. She was where the Lord was buried.
She was there after he was resurrected. He appeared to her after he was
resurrected. Mary believed the gospel. Mary heard the Lord say, I must
be taken. I must be killed and tortured
by these Jewish leaders, the religious leaders in Rome, but
then I must. rise again the third day, Mary
believed him. Mary believed in both the crucified
Savior, the buried Savior, and the risen Savior. She believed
that he would be delivered for our offenses and he would be
raised again for our justification. He's gonna die, but he's not
gonna stay dead. We see her at the cross when the Lord died,
we see her at the tomb when he was buried, and we see her at
the tomb when he was resurrected. Brethren, that's the hope of
every believer. I don't care where you find them or what age
you find them, that's the hope of every believer. Christ crucified,
died, he was buried and he rose again. And I'll tell you the
evidence that you are an object of God's grace. You believe Christ,
you believe his word. If you're an object of God's
grace, you just believe. You don't understand everything
there is to understand, but you believe. You believe that Christ
died for your sins according to the scriptures. You believe
that he was raised again the third day for your justification
according to the scriptures. And you're looking for him. Why
are you looking for him? Because he said he's coming back.
Well, I believe him. So I'm looking for him. Just
like Mary looked for his resurrection. You who believe, you're looking
for him. You're looking for his second coming because he says
he's coming back. If you're an object of God's
grace, you believe, you believe the gospel, you believe Christ.
Well, what right do you have to believe Christ? You're a sinner,
you're a sinner in Adam, a sinner in your own self. What right
do you have to believe on Christ? The word of God. That's your
right. That's your warrant to believe
the word of God because Christ commanded you to. That's your
right. Whatever he commanded you to do, you've got the right
to do, don't you? He commanded you to believe. That's your right. What right do you have to believe
that Christ died for you and he rose again for you? His word. What did Christ say? Who'd he
die for? Sinners. He didn't come to call the righteous.
but sinners to repentance. Well, I fit that bill. I'm a
sinner. Are you a sinner? Christ died for you. That's your
warrant. That's your right to believe
on Christ. I believe. That's what this other
Mary, how she represents every believer. We believe, have faith
in Christ. Now, the third person we meet
at the cross is the third Mary, Mary Magdalene. What do we know
about Mary Magdalene? Well, the Lord cast seven demons
out of her. Now, I don't know anything at
all about demon possession. Does it still go on, or what
is it? I don't know, and I don't want
to know. But here's what I do know. Seven is the number of
completion. Mary Magdalene, when the Lord
found her, was under the complete control of demons. She was under
the complete control of absolute evil. And in that way, Mary's
a picture of every son of Adam. Because of the fall of Adam,
all of us are under the complete control of sin. We received Adam's
nature, the nature he received in the fall, so we're under the
complete control of evil. We're under the complete control
of the prince of the power of the air. All right, that's how
Mary's a picture of every son of Adam. How is she a picture
of every believer? The Lord, set her free from evil
completely. She's completely free. And the
only way Mary Magdalene could be set completely free is through
the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. If she's going to be
set free completely from the power of evil, Christ is going
to have to come and conquer. He's got to come and have his
heel bruised so he can crush the serpent's head. Christ came
to set her free completely. And the only way Mary, Mary Magdalene
or any of us could be set free from our sin is if Christ has
made sin for us. The only way that we could ever
be set free from being under the complete control, the complete
captive of sin and Satan and hell and death is by Christ our
substitute being taken captive for us, letting us go free. And that's what he did for all
of his people through his death. Now you consider for a minute
the power of the death of Christ. It is unexplainable power. I don't care how long you look
at it and think on it and study it, you'll never understand how
this happened. The power that it took to take
the sin away from God's elect and put it on Christ and charge
it to him. That's unexplainable power. It's unexplainable power that
the blood of the sacrifice of Christ could put that sin away
so that it does not exist. Power in the blood. What power
there is in the death of Christ to make a sinner justified without
any sin. Holy and righteous. That happened
because of the power of the death of Christ and everyone that Christ
died for is free, completely free. The Savior set Mary Magdalene
free. Mary, you're free. Go do what
you want, go where you want, do anything you want, doesn't
matter, you're free. Where does Mary Magdalene choose to be?
She chooses to be at the cross. She chooses to be at the tomb.
She chooses to be with the resurrected Savior. She chooses to be under
the blood of Christ. She chooses to go to that tomb
and watch for her Savior. Well, are you an object of God's
grace? Well, where do you choose to go? Has God set you free? Has Christ set you free through
the power of His death? Where do you choose to go? Do
you choose to go anywhere but Christ? Or is your heart's desire
to be found in Him? Where do you want to go? What
do you want to do? What do you want to do? Do you
want to go anywhere or do anything but look for Christ? Or is your
desire to win Christ. What do you want to do? Is Christ? I don't mean religion. I don't
mean being delivered from hell. I'm not talking about a fire
escape from hell. I mean, is Christ the desire of your heart
to be found in him, to have him? If so, you're an object of God's
grace. If Christ is your heart's desire,
you have been set free from the power of sin and the condemnation
of sin. And that's what Mary Magdalene
pictures. Every believer being set free from the power of sin
through the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. All right, there's those three.
Now, the Savior died. He gave up the ghost. Everyone
goes home. They went home, they all got
what they paid for. Now they're gonna go observe their Passover,
their religious feast. And what I think happened is
John took Mary, the Apostle John, he took Mary to his home. He
left her there for a time, and he came back to the cross. And
John records two more people that he watched. He saw them
at the cross. These two men we meet at the cross. He watched
what they did and recorded it for us. The fourth person we
meet at the cross is Joseph of Arimathea, verse 38 of John 19. And after this, Joseph of Arimathea,
being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews,
to sought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus,
and Pilate gave him leave. He came, therefore, and took
the body of Jesus. Now, Joseph of Arimathea, like
the other Mary, we don't really know a whole lot about him, but
John calls him a secret disciple. That's not a very complimentary
term, is it, to be called a secret disciple of Christ? Now, it's
evident Joseph of Arimathea had some interest in Christ. But
up till now, he never would confess Christ because he's afraid of
the Jews. He feared that the Jews would
excommunicate him. He feared he would lose his friends.
He feared he would lose his position in society. And he would have
lost all those things if he confessed Christ. I mean, it's not an unfounded
fear. He would have lost all those
things. This man must have been a respected
man in the community. He lost all that respect if he
ever confessed Christ. He was afraid. And no child of
God should ever be quick to judge old Joseph of Arimathea. Every
one of us, we're often fearful men and women, aren't we? We
understand, I understand. But that fear is not the only
way Joseph of Arimathea pictures every believer. Joseph did start
out being a secret disciple of Christ. But in the end, what
did he do? He made a very public confession
of Christ. He confessed him before Rome.
He went and besought the body of Christ from Pilate. He made
a confession in front of Rome. He made a confession in front
of Jews. He took the Lord and buried him, his body, according
to the tradition of the Jews. He did it right out there in
the open where everybody could see. He made a very public confession
of Christ. When Joseph went to Pilate, he
besought the body. And he took that body, and you
know what he did with it? He buried it in his own tomb.
Now that's a very public confession of Christ. Look at Mark chapter
15. Matthew says that Joseph begged
the body of Christ. Look what Mark says in Mark 15.
This is how publicly Joseph of Arimathea identified himself
with Christ. He came and he begged the body
of Christ. In Mark 15, verse 43, Joseph of Arimathea, an honorable
counselor, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came
and he went in boldly into Pilate and craved the body of Jesus. He craved Christ. He craved his body. He's making
a very public statement here. I happen to think, just in the
for what's worth category, Joseph is a true believer. I can't be
100% sure about that because scripture's silent on it. But
Brother Henry told me once, I think of this all the time, let's stick
to what we know. This is what I know. Only Joseph
of Arimathea and Nicodemus, those are the only two men in town
that identified with the body of our Lord Jesus Christ. Nobody
else came to give the body of our Lord a proper burial. None
of the apostles, none of them were there, were they? Joseph
of Arimathea and Nicodemus. And Joseph and Nicodemus spent
quite a bit of money on all the materials that they used here
to give the Lord a proper burial. You look back in our text in
verse 39, really more than even a proper burial, this is an honorable
burial in verse 39. And there came also Nicodemus,
which at the first came to Jesus by night and brought a mixture
of myrrh and aloes, about 100 pound weight. Then they took
the body of Jesus and wound it in linen clothes with the spices
as the manner of the Jews is to bury. And now in the place
where he was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden
a new sepulcher, wherein was never man yet laid. There laid
they Jesus, therefore, because of the Jews' preparation day
for the sepulcher was nigh at hand. They took the Lord, this
is an honorable burial, and his tomb, it says, was nearby. Now
if you look at Matthew 27 again, here's another way Joseph very
publicly confessed Christ. This tomb just didn't happen
to be one that was empty that was nearby. Joseph knew where
this tomb was because it's his tomb, the tomb he prepared for
his own burial, Matthew 27 verse 59. And when Joseph had taken the
body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and he laid it in
his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock, and he
rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulcher and departed.
I'm telling you, you rarely identify with somebody if you bury them
in your own tomb, in your own grave. That's what Joseph did. He's publicly identifying in
every way with the crucifixion, the death, the blood, the sacrifice
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And I don't know whether he knew
it or not, but when he put the Lord in his own tomb, he fulfilled
the scripture. Isaiah 53, nine, he made his
grave with the rich in his death. Joseph was a rich man. The Lord's
buried in a rich man's tomb. And when Joseph and Nicodemus
put the precious body of our Lord in that tomb, Brother, the
grave is defeated once and for all. This is going to be the
end of death. There's no reason for any believer
to ever fear the tomb. The Lord went there first. And
next week, well, look, he's coming out. The grave is defeated once
and for all. This is the power of the death
of Christ. Joseph had been a secret disciple
all this time. And because of the power of the
death of Christ, he's compelled to confess Christ. and the same
power defeated the grave, the power of the death of Christ.
And this way, Joseph is a picture of every believer confessing
true saving faith. Look at Romans chapter 10. There's
no one, I don't care who they are, no one has secret true saving
faith. Every believer will make a public
confession of Christ. Every believer has to confess
this. that Christ is your Savior. You can't help it. You have to
confess this. In Romans 10 verse 8, But what
saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in
thy mouth and in thy heart. That is the word of faith which
we preach, that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord
Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him
from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man
believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession
is made under salvation. Well, confess what? What is it
I'm supposed to confess with thy mouth? Confess the Christ
of the cross, the same Christ of the cross that Joseph confessed.
Now, what is it that made Joseph? What compelled him to confess
Christ? He'd been a secret disciple all this time. Why is he now
no longer a secret disciple, but an open disciple of Christ? It was seeing Christ on the cross.
It was seeing his death. That compelled Joseph to confess
salvation in the crucified Christ. And this is why we only preach
Christ. Because if God, by faith, ever
lets you see Christ crucified for your sins, you'll confess
him. You won't be able to help it,
just like Joseph of Arimathea. You see, true saving faith, you're
not saved because you confess Christ, but true saving faith
is seen in confession. and the scriptural way for us
to confess Christ, for a believer to confess Christ is believer's
baptism. When the Apostle Paul says, if
you'll confess with your mouth, what he means is that you confess
publicly, not just saying the words with your mouth, but that
you confess Christ publicly. And the way our Lord gave us
to confess Him is believer's baptism. And when a person is
baptized, what they're saying with their mouth and what they're
saying with their actions is what's in their heart. that Christ
is all my hope. I'm so sinful, the only way I
could ever be saved, my only hope of salvation is Christ,
His death, His burial, and His resurrection. When He died, He
died the death I deserve. He died the death that my sin
deserves. When He is buried, He lay in
the tomb I ought to be in. And when He was raised, I was
raised in Him. He was raised again for my justification. You see, true saving faith must
confess Christ. It must confess what Christ accomplished
on the cross for me. Then confessing, then following. Don't wait. Oh boy. Don't make the same mistake I
did. I wish I could make people not make all the mistakes I've
made. Don't wait. until you got all your ducks
in a row. Don't wait until you know more
or you understand more before you confess your Savior. When
you do that, you know what you're doing? You're making it dependent
on you, aren't you? Confess Christ. Confess total
reliance upon Him. Don't wait until you fix yourself
up. Be a little better. I got to act a little better.
I got to quit some of these sins before I could confess Christ.
No, that's making something dependent on you, isn't it? Simply confess
Christ and do it now. Now. And confessing Christ in
whole lot more than just a one time thing now, confessing Christ,
true confession of Christ is a continual confession of faith
and hope in Christ. True saving faith involves commitment. You know, I stood in front of
Henry with my wife, just a girl dressed in all this white, oh
my soul. And I said to him, I do, I will. You know how I know I loved her?
I'm committed to that woman because I love her. True saving faith,
not a one-time thing. Not saying with your mouth one
time and going off and forgetting it. True saving faith is a commitment
to Christ. That's why Paul told Timothy,
I know whom I believed, and I'm persuaded that he's able to keep
that which I've committed unto him against that day. Joseph
confessed Christ. He committed himself to Christ. There's no going back now. And
we continue to confess Christ by being where the gospel's preached.
We continue to confess Christ by supporting the gospel, by
identifying with the people of God. We continue to confess Christ. Every time I see somebody baptized,
a new believer comes in, they're baptized, they confess Christ.
And there's kind of a part of me that's jealous. I wish I could
do confessing. You can. You continue to confess him by
the way you live your life before men. That's exactly what Joseph
of Arimathea is doing. He's confessing Christ by the
way he lives his life. He's committed to Christ. That's
who he represents, faith and commitment to Christ, confession
of Christ. Now the fifth person we meet
at the cross is Nicodemus, poor old Nicodemus, verse 39. And there came also Nicodemus,
which at the first came to Jesus by night and brought a mixture
of myrrh and aloes of about a hundred pound weight. Now, what's the
first thing you think of when you hear the word Nicodemus?
One of two things, probably first thing you think of, oh, it came
to Jesus by night. He was ashamed for anybody to
see him even talking with the master. So he comes under the
cover of darkness. And Nicodemus may have spent some time just
like his buddy, Joseph of Arimathea. Maybe they were both secret disciples.
But now, after the death of Christ, Nicodemus, he's confessing Christ
too. He's helping prepare the body
of our Lord for burial in broad daylight for everybody to see. There's no mistaking what he's
doing. And here's how Nicodemus represents
every believer. He's born again. At least he
sure is given evidence of being born again. Because the other
thing we always think about as soon as we hear the name Nicodemus,
we think of what our Lord told him. You must be born again. And it looks to me like Nicodemus
is born again. He's getting evidence of the
new birth because he's identifying himself with Christ. Now, when
a person's born again, this was confusing to Nicodemus. He said,
how can a man be born when he's old? Am I gonna enter into my
mother's womb a second time and be born again? Well, no, that
first birth was no good, and if you went through that process
again, it'd be no good again, because all you're getting is
the nature of sin from the seed of your father, Adam. If Christ
died for someone, they must be born again. And when they're
born again, it's gonna be of new seed. It won't be the same
as that first birth. It's gonna be of new seed, new
sinless seed. When a person's born again, they've
got a new father. They've got a new nature. They've
got the new nature of their new father. When the flesh is born,
what's the nature we're born with in the flesh? The nature
of our fleshly father, Adam. When a believer's born again,
what nature are they born with? They're born with the spiritual
nature of their heavenly father, made partakers of the divine
nature. And that new man who's born, he's not like that first
man. That first man, all he can do
is sin. The new man cannot sin, can never
sin. That new man loves Christ. That
new man believes Christ. So he don't come to Christ by
night. He comes to him in the open daylight, just like Nicodemus
did. If you believe Christ, do you
believe Christ? Do you have faith in him? Is
he all your hope? If your answer to that question
is yes, you've been born again. Because only the new man could
say yes to that. Only the new man has faith in
Christ and love for Christ. If Christ died for you, his death
demands your new birth. You can't die if Christ died
for you. That's what Nicodemus represents.
And these five people we meet at the cross, each of them represents
something that's true of every believer. And each of them represent
a product of the cross of Christ. If Christ died for you, you're
graced, highly favored. What grace of God that he'd send
his son to die for you. What grace that God would sacrifice
his own son to put your sin away. That's grace. If Christ died
for you, you have faith in Christ. God's given you faith and you
believe Christ. You put all your trust in Him.
If Christ died for you, you were born under the complete control
of sin. Born just like every other son
of Adam. But now, because of the death of Christ, He was taken
captive for you and He sets you free. Free to serve Him. Free
to follow Him. Fourthly, if Christ died for
you, you will confess Him publicly. He can't help it. He's all for
your salvation. That's your desire to confess
Him. And fifth, if Christ died for you, you're born again, and
you will follow Him openly. Like I said, if Christ died for
you, you can never die. He already died the death you
deserve, and you'll follow Him. Someone who has life breathe
and they move and they show evidence of life. The evidence of the
new birth is you follow Christ openly. That's the evidence.
All right, I hope the Lord will bless that too. Let's bow in
prayer. Our Father, how we thank you
for our Lord Jesus Christ. How we thank you for his sacrifice. that once and for all put away
the sin of his people. How we thank you for the sacrifice
of Christ that enables you to be both just and justifier, to
show such amazing grace to sinners such as we are, to make sinful
men and women objects of your grace. Father, we're thankful. We're thankful for the power
of the cross, the power that causes your people to be born
again and to confess Christ, to follow him. You've given your
people, God-given faith, faith to look to Christ and Christ
alone. He is all of our hope. Father, we're thankful. And I
pray that you bless this word that's been preached to the hearts
of your people. Father, bless it. Use this word, the power
of your word, the power of Christ crucified, to call out your sheep
and to bless and to strengthen and encourage your people. This
is a difficult, difficult world. We're in a difficult battle.
Cause us to fight this battle, the battle with our flesh, the
battle with sin, by looking to Christ crucified. It's in his
precious name we pray and give thanks.