in that our prayer for our Lord
this morning, that he'd reach way down. He's going to find a center like
you and me. He's going to have to reach way
down, but he's able. I pray he would. All right, open
your Bibles again to John chapter 18. The title of our message this
morning is what Savior are you seeking? I ask that question
for this reason. People find the Savior that they're
looking for. People find the Jesus that they're
looking for. I hope that you come looking
for the Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior of sinners. If you are,
you'll find him. He said, in the days you seek
me with all your heart, you'll find me. But by nature, that's not the
Jesus that we seek. So many people look for baby
Jesus and they find Him. So many people look for this
helpless, effeminate Jesus who can't save anybody and they find
Him if that's who they're looking for. He can't save them, but
they find Him if that's who they're looking for. They may find the
God of their imagination who cannot save. They may find the
God who lets them do what they want and who needs them to accept
Him in order for Him to save them. But if they find him, you
know what they found? They found an idol who cannot
save. But it could be, it could be
by God's grace that they find the Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior
of sinners. And if the sinner finds the Lord
Jesus Christ, if a sinner ever finds the Savior who can save
him from his sins, they're going to find out three things about
our Savior that are revealed in our text this morning. The
first one is this, if by God's grace you seek and you find the
Lord Jesus Christ, you'll find a willing Savior. Verse 1 of John chapter 18. When Jesus had spoken these words,
these are all the words of his great high priestly prayer in
John 17 that we've looked at in the past few weeks. When Jesus
had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples over
the Brook Sedron. where was a garden into which
he entered and his disciples. And Judas also, which betrayed,
he knew the place. For Jesus oft times restored
a thither with his disciples. And our Lord went to this garden
often. Look back at Matthew chapter 26. We read this to open the
service. Our Lord went to this garden
often. It was the garden of Gethsemane. And this particular time was
when our Lord came to pray and the disciples fell asleep at
this moment of such great import. They fell
asleep. But look at Matthew 26, verse
45. Then cometh he to his disciples,
and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest. Behold,
the hour is at hand. The Son of Man is betrayed into
the hands of sinners. Arise, let us be going. Behold,
he is at hand that doth betray Our Lord knew Judas had already
betrayed him. He knew that Judas was coming.
Judas knew our Lord came to this garden of Gethsemane often, so
Judas knew where to go look for him. He knew he had this band
of soldiers and these men from the high priest and Pharisees.
He knew where to go look for the Lord. And the Lord knew Judas
would come look for him there. Well, our Savior could have gone
somewhere else, couldn't he? He could have avoided Judas altogether.
Many times our Lord passed right through the midst of those folks
wanting to take him and kill him. He could have avoided being
found by that angry mob, but he went to this place where he
knew Judas would come looking for him. Because not only was
our Lord willing to be found and taken, Aaron, he wanted to
be found. He wanted to be taken by this
mob for this reason. he wanted to be the sacrifice
for the sin of his people. Verse 3, Judas then, having received
a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees,
come a-thither with lanterns and torches and weapons. Jesus
therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went
forth and said unto them whom seek ye. Now this mob that came
out to meet our Lord, probably close to a thousand A Roman band
was 500, so we know there's at least 500 because Judas had received
a band. And a whole lot of other Jews
came along, you know, with them for the ride. So the riders estimate
there's about a thousand men in this mob. And they came seeking
the light of the world with lanterns and torches. That's like going
out here and looking for the sun with a candle. How foolish
is that? But this shows you the blindness
of Adam's nature. It shows you the blindness of
our hearts. They're seeking the light of the world with natural,
fleshly light. And Christ can only be seen.
He can only be found in spiritual light. They come looking for
Him with natural light. Verse 4 says, Jesus therefore
knowing. Now, therefore knowing, because
the Lord already knew everything that must happen in order for
His people to be redeemed, He went out. Because he knew, therefore,
what would happen, he went out to meet not just that mob, but
he went out to meet the justice of God. Because our Lord already
knew everything this mob wanted to do to him, and because he
knew everything this mob must do to him in order for him to
save his people, he went out to meet that mob and to give
himself willingly, give himself over to all of their wicked desires.
Our Savior knew what was about to happen because He has willed
this to happen from all of eternity. These folks are going to find
out they're not just doing their will. They're accomplishing the
eternal purpose and will of God. This is the will of the Savior
from all of eternity. And because He knew it, He went
out. He went out to meet them. He
wasn't hiding. Not only was He willing to be
found and taken, He wanted to be found. He wanted to be taken. He wanted to be given into the
hands of sinners for this reason. He wanted to be the sacrifice
of his people. I repeat that because I don't
want us to ever feel sorry for the Lord Jesus. On his way to
Calvary, those women were weeping. He stopped and he told them,
don't weep for me. Weep for yourselves. Weep for
your children. Don't weep for me. This is happening
because I've willed it to happen. This is happening because this
is exactly what I want to happen. I want to suffer like this. I want this because I desire
the salvation of my people. When our Lord stepped forth to
meet this bottom, He asked them the all-important question, the
question that I ask each of us here this morning. Whom seek
ye? Who are you looking for? What
Savior are you looking for? Are you looking for Jesus? That
Jesus that you can do anything you want with Him? Are you? Better
be careful. You'll never find Him. This is
the only time the Lord Jesus was in the hands of men to do
with Him as they would. Never again. It'll never happen
again. Never. Will the Lord Jesus be
put up to you to see what you'll do with him? Never. That happened
one time when he was made a sacrifice for sin. So if you think you
found this Jesus that you decided to accept, friend, you found
an idol. Now, I'm telling you, he doesn't
exist. This one, this Jesus, and I know you can't see this
in my notes, but in my notes, this is a little J. I'm not speaking
of our Lord Jesus here. This Jesus that you can decide
whether to accept him or reject him. You decide what to do with
him. That's an idol. It's a figment of man's imagination.
It's not the Lord Jesus Christ. If you find a Jesus that you
can decide to accept or reject, you've not found a savior from
sin. You've found someone who's helpless. These men found who
they were looking for, and they're damned. They found a man they
could do with as they would, and they died without a Savior
from sin. The only reason at this time
they could do with him as they would is the Lord Jesus Christ,
the Savior of sinners, is a willing Savior. He willingly gave himself. He wanted to be taken by them
so he could redeem his people from their sin. And if you ever
find him, that's who you'll find, the willing Savior. If by God's grace you seek and
you find the Lord Jesus Christ, you're going to find the Sovereign
Savior. Verse 5, They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus
saith unto them, I am. And Judas also which betrayed
him stood with them. As soon then as he had said unto
them, I am, they went backward and fell to the ground. He asked them, whom seek ye?
They said, Jesus of Nazareth. And our Lord told them his name,
I Am. And that whole mob, at the sound
of that name, I Am, fell flat on their back. Now, can you imagine
this eternal voice saying the eternal, almighty name of God,
I Am? This is the same voice that created
the heavens and the earth. This is the same voice that said,
let there be light. And there was light. This is
the same voice that said, let the dry land appear. It appeared.
The same voice. This is the voice that spake
to Moses from the burning bush and Israel went free from the
most powerful nation on earth. This is the voice that speaks
and the dead hear. And the graves are opened. Truly,
no man ever spake as this man. He spoke as one having authority,
not as the scribes and Pharisees. I am. Now we have a good illustration
here of why sinful man must have a sovereign Savior. It's because
of the hardness of our heart. These men didn't fall down on
their faces in the dust and worship the Lord. When they heard His
name, I am. Moses did. They didn't. They
fell backward. They were forced down by His
almighty power, but not in worship. It takes a sovereign Savior to
break our heart. Our heart is so hard, no one
but the sovereign Savior can break it. It takes the sovereign
Savior to give us a new heart, a heart of flesh that loves Him
and will willingly bow in the dust before Him and worship Christ
and Christ alone. But that's not what happened
to these men. Why not? Because the sovereign Savior
passed them by. Look at verse 7, Then ask ye
them again, Whom seek ye? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth.
It is just astounding how these men just over and over and over
again show us the hardness and the deadness of our natural heart. They're knocked flat on their
back by the man saying his name. I am. Just the sound of his name. I am. Knocked them flat on their
back. Now you'd think this would be
a real good time to think we're making a mistake here. This would
be a real good time to repent and beg for mercy, wouldn't it?
Why didn't they do that? It's the hardness of the human
heart. We won't do that unless the sovereign Savior gives us
a new heart that loves Him. These men just got back up like
nothing happened and continued to try to take our Lord. The
reason it was so hard for these men to learn who the Lord is,
even though He told them His name, Even though he gave them
a demonstration of their his power, the reason it was so hard
for these men to learn who the Lord is, is breath in our hearts
so hard it can't learn. It cannot learn. You cannot do
anything with this flesh. You can't teach it into submission. You can't teach it into loving
the Lord. You can teach it to repeat back
some phrases and some things, but you You cannot do anything
with this flesh to get this flesh into some spiritual condition
that loves the Lord and worships Him and follows Him. You can't
do it. This heart is so hard. Only the sovereign Savior can
break it. Only the sovereign Savior can
give you the new heart that you must have if you're going to
be saved. Do you see how desperately we
need a new heart? We can't be educated into it.
We can't see miracles and signs and wonders and somehow come
to a knowledge of the Lord. You must be born again. You must receive a new heart
or we'll be forever like these men and die with this dead, cold
heart of sin that hates God. And they just got up and dusted
themselves off and told the Lord, we're looking for Jesus of Nazareth.
They didn't get up and say, we're looking for Jesus of Nazareth
so he could save us from our sin. They didn't say. We're in
trouble, you just showed us how much trouble we're in, we're
seeking the Lord Jesus Christ to save us. No, they got back
up and sought him. They desire to have him and do
to him what their wicked hearts desire to do more than anything. And they're going to be allowed
to do it. God's going to allow them to do it so that His eternal
purpose of the redemption of His people will be accomplished.
God's going to allow them. But woe unto them that do it.
Look back at Mark chapter 14. God's going to allow them to do what
their wicked heart wants to do, but they're going to be held
accountable. In Mark 14 verse 17. And in the evening he cometh
with the twelve. And as they sat and did eat, Jesus said,
Verily I say unto you, One of you which eateth with me shall
betray me. And they began to be sorrowful,
and saying to him one by one, Is it I? And the other said,
Is it I? And he answered and said unto
them, It is one of the twelve that dippeth with me in the dish.
The Son of Man indeed goeth, as it is written of him. But
woe to that man! by whom the Son of Man is betrayed.
Good work for that man if he'd never been born." Alright, that's
Judas. Look at Matthew chapter 18. What
about the rest of the model? It'd be good for Judas if he'd
never been born. He's going to do what his wicked
heart wants to do. And when he does, he's going
to accomplish God's eternal purpose. But woe to him for doing what
his wicked heart wants to do. What about the rest of the mob?
Matthew 18, verse 6. But whoso shall offend one of
these little ones, which believe in me, that if you offend one
of these little ones, what if you offend him? What if it's
him? It were better for him that a
millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned
in the depths of the sea. Woe unto the world because of
offenses. For it must be that offense is come. Everything that's
happening to our Lord here, now it must be. It must happen. But
woe to that man by whom the offense cometh. Our Lord is the willing
Savior. He didn't run away from these
men while they're helpless on their backs. He waits for them
to get back up. He waits for them and tells them
again, I told you that I am. He waits for them to take him. He gave them space to repent.
They didn't. And he willingly gave himself
to them. Look at verse 8 in our text in
John chapter 18. Jesus answered, I told you that
I am. If therefore you seek me, let
these go their way. Now, our Lord here puts his sovereign
will on display. He said, take me and let these
go free. He speaks to men. with the same
authority that he spoke to his father. Remember in John 17 what
the authority, how he spoke to his father. Father, I will that
they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am. He
spoke to men with the same authority. You take me and let these go
free. Now we'll come back to this in a minute. But the disciples
went free. Because it was the will of the
Savior that they go free. You think if you come out to
take the Lord and to crush this movement, wouldn't you take these
eleven followers left? Would you just take them all
and kill them all? That way we can just squash this thing once
and for all. Why would they let him go? Because
the Lord spoke to him with authority. You take me and let these go
free. Look at verse 9. And why did he say this? That
the same might be fulfilled which he spake of then which thou gavest
me. Have I lost none? When did he
say that? Just the last chapter. Look back
at verse 12 of John 17. While I was with them in the
world, I kept them in thy name. Those that thou gavest me, I
have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition
that the scriptures might be fulfilled. And so quickly, after
he prayed this prayer, we see the fulfillment Here's Judas
betraying him, the son of perdition. He's lost. The scripture might
be fulfilled. He's lost because he never did
belong to the Lord. These eleven are going to go
free because they always belong to him. And he prayed for them.
This is the sovereign Savior. He's even sovereign over who
betray him. He's sovereign in all things. The Lord Jesus Christ
is the sovereign Savior. And if you ever find Him as your
Savior, that's who you're going to find, the Sovereign Savior. He is the one in complete control,
which puts us where? At His feet, begging Him for
mercy, because He's the Sovereign. You know, He's in complete control
of every event. Every event since creation, right
up till now, and however long it is to the end of this earth,
every event. The Lord Jesus Christ is in complete
control of it. So it goes without saying that
every event that happened during his earthly ministry as a man,
he was in control of it. This is all his will. This is
a man who's so sovereign, he chose his own mother. He chose
his own birth, when he'd be born. He chose the time and the method
of his own death. He even chose the man who'd betray
him, and he chose the man who would carry out his crucifixion.
That's why I tell you, don't ever feel sorry for the Lord
Jesus. Ever. Everything that happened
to him was his will. He's sovereign. Nothing happened
to him that was against his will. And nothing will happen to you
that's against his will. Nothing. He willed it all for
the salvation of his people. I was talking to a young man recently. He'd gone through a horrible,
horrible, horrible time. And we were talking about it,
and I told him, I'm sorry that that had to happen to you. I'm
sorry. And he said, it's all right. What a horrible thought. And he smiled. He said, it's
all right. I needed it. It was good for me. It was. It was the will of God
for his salvation. I can't explain that. It's just
so. Don't ever feel sorry for our Lord Jesus. Rejoice in Him. This is how He won the victory
over every enemy. This is how He won the victory
for all of His people. And in verse 10, our Lord gives
one last demonstration of His power over all flesh. Verse 10. Then Simon Peter, having his
sword, drew it. He smote the high priest's servant.
Co-op is right here. The servant's name was Malchus.
Now Luke tells us our Lord took that ear and put it back on.
That's the last miracle that's recorded before our Lord suffered
and died. He took the ear of a man who
was trying to kill him. His ear was cut off. He put it
back on. How could these men want to continue
to crucify and torture this man who just healed their friend?
Why? We're dead. We've got to say
nature now. We're dead. And I have no doubt
Peter's trying to cut off this man's head. He wasn't trying
to cut off his ear. He was trying to kill him. He was trying to cut off
his head. Henry said one time, what do you reckon Peter was
doing with a sword in a prayer meeting? I don't know. And so
many people are hard on him. Peter's the easy target, I suppose,
isn't he? But I'll tell you what. I admire Peter. I admire his courage. I admire
his love for his Lord. I admire his determination. I'm going to defend my Lord.
They're not going to take him without a fight from me. But
again, this shows us so much of Adam's nature that's in us.
All of us, now even believers. Now, Peter's got a sword. The
scriptures tell us they had two swords among them, OK? Whoever
else had their second sword wasn't drawing it. Peter had a sword. One sword. That's a thousand
men. He's willing to take them all along with one sword. I mean,
just so bold and just in a few hours, Peter's going to be so
filled with fear, he can't have an honest conversation with a
young girl. That's our nature. I mean, just,
you put any pressure at all on a pile of dust and it's going
to collapse. That's us. Not just Peter, it's
all of us. But all of this happened. because
this was the will of the Sovereign Savior who was working all these
details together to accomplish His purpose and His glory. Now,
every one of us here, we are completely dependent upon the
Sovereign Savior to save us from our sins. If He doesn't save
us, we'll be damned. If salvation is His to give,
then seek Him. If salvation is His to give,
then beg the Sovereign for it. Begging for it. He is the Sovereign
Savior. Now, Peter tried to kill this
man. Our Lord put his ear back on. And you'll notice our Lord
really heartily rebuked Peter for this. And then he made a
statement that brings us to the third thing. If by God's grace
you seek and you find the Lord Jesus Christ, you will find the
Savior who is the sinner substitute. Look at verse 11. Then said Jesus
unto Peter, put up thy sword into the sheath. The cup which
my father hath given me, shall I not drink it? Now this cup
of our Lord, I want to work on this for a minute. The cup of
our Lord, he's talking about here. The cup his father gave
him is the cup of the father's wrath. The cup of the father's
fury against sin. It's a cup of soul suffering. He made his soul an offering
for sin. He said, tell Peter, I'm going
to drink it. My father gave it to me. I'm going to drink it.
And he pictured this back in verse one when he crossed the
brook Cedron. King David passed over the same
brook. They call it the brook Chidron
in David's day. King David passed over this exact
same brook. This is the brook that David
crossed as he was running from his son Absalom. In 2 Samuel
15, Absalom had taken control of the kingdom, was seeking his
father's life, and David ran. He had to run to the wilderness
to get away from his son. And as David crossed this brook,
he was a picture of Christ in several ways. David was the father
running from his son. Christ is the son of David, the
son of God. not running from, but going out
to meet the wrath of his father. Before David crossed this brook,
David was betrayed by a close friend of his, Ahithophel. Ahithophel
was David's close friend and counselor in his kingdom. But
Ahithophel was found with the conspirators and gave them counsel. He was betrayed by his friend.
Our Lord was betrayed by his friend, Judas. Matthew says,
when our Lord went out to meet that mob, he addressed Judas
as friend. Friend, what do you come here
for? But mostly, David is a picture of Christ because he crossed
this brook, Chitron. The word Chitron means black,
dark. It means something that causes
disorder, something that causes us to mourn. That is a picture
of sin. The brook Chitron is a picture
of sin. Sin is black and dark. It's a
stain upon our soul that can be washed out by nothing but
the blood of Christ. Sin is something that causes
us to mourn. Sin has caused disorder. Sin has turned everything upside
down. It's just caused complete disorder. That's this brook. The brook hydrant is where they
emptied the sewage from the city. It's just this brook is an open
sewer. The brook chydron is also where they dumped the filth of
the sacrifices, those parts of the sacrifice that were considered
unclean, that had to be taken out and disposed of outside of
the camp. You know where they disposed of it? The brook chydron. They had to put it in that and
let it flow away, you know. On several occasions Israel,
you know their history, they turned to idolatry and eventually
a new king would come to power and he would restore the worship
of the Lord. He'd take those idols, he'd grind them into powder,
and you know where they'd throw them? If the people didn't have
to drink them, you know where they'd throw that powder? The
chydrin. So chydrin is just an open sewer. Full of sewage. It contains the
parts of the sacrifice that are considered unclean. It's got
the remains of idols in it. It's full of every kind of sin,
every kind of filth, every kind of uncleanness. And to make it
worse, We say this is a brook for nine months out of the year.
This brook's dry. There's no water in it. So, for
about nine months out of the year, the brook was just a dry
bed. It only ran with water during
the winter months when there's enough rain to cause enough runoff
for the brook to flow. So, for nine months, the sewage
and the animal waste were just thrown in that brook and sat
there. under the sun, just rotting. I mean, can you imagine the smell
of that place? Can you imagine the sight of
it? But this is such a good picture
of sin, the brook hydra is a picture of sin. It's filled with the
stench in God's nostrils of sin. Nothing could be more disgusting
to us. We wouldn't let our children
play in this brook. It'd just make us gag to walk by it, much
less cross it. This is the brook King David
crossed. He crossed it in a time of humiliation and suffering
as he's running for his life from his own son. How much more
horrible must it have been for the Son of God to come cross
in humiliation this black, filthy stream. Not running for his life,
running to his Father's justice to give his life as a sacrifice
for Because he did cross this brook, our Lord did, in mourning,
like David did. He was made sin at this time. He was going to suffer the wrath
of God for it. He crossed it in mourning. He
said, my soul is so sorrowful, I'm afraid I'm going to die right
now before I even get to the cross. He crossed it in mourning.
But when our Lord crossed this brook, he had a fate far worse
than David. David crossed the brook and went
on. Our Lord came to the brook and He immersed Himself in this
brook. He immersed Himself in the black,
filthy stream of sin and corruption of His people. And more than
that, why didn't He drink it? He drank from it. He drank it
until He drank it dry. Look at Psalm 110. The only way
our Lord could ever emerge as the mighty victor is if he drank
this stream, this brook chitrin that's filled. And of course,
you know I'm talking in picture. He didn't actually drink from
the brook. He drank from something far worse. The corruption and
sin of his people. But he's going to drink that
brook dry or he'll never lift up his head in victory. In Psalm
110, verse 7, he shall drink of the brook in the way. Therefore,
shall he lift up the head. Therefore, because he drank that
brook dry, that's the reason he lifts up his head in victory. Now, this word drink, it means
more than just a drink. It means more than just a sip. It means to take possession of.
When our Lord drank the cup of God's wrath, He drank the cup
of slaughter. He did it by drinking the cup
of the sin of his people. And when he drank of that cup,
he made that sin his. He took possession of it. Psalm
40, our Lord speaking in Psalm 40 says, my iniquities have taken
hold upon me. He didn't say the iniquities
of my people have taken hold upon me. My iniquities have taken
hold upon me. so that I'm not able to look
up. They're more than the hairs of my head. How can He call those
iniquities His iniquities? He drank from them. He took possession
of them and made them His. Christ drank from the brook and
He drank it dry so that His people are made holy. Like He drank
it dry. Sin's gone. That's how you're
holy. He took it away. But what a horrible
cup. What a horrible cup he drank.
He knew how horrible this would be. That's why he prayed. We
read this earlier. Father, if it be possible, let
this cup pass from me. But it's not possible. It's not
possible that this cup pass from our Lord's lips. If it did, his
people would perish. So he wanted to drink it dry.
He wanted to take this cup and drink it drive for his people. That's exactly what he did. Now
David crossed this brook with very few followers, just a few
people followed him. Christ crossed this brook alone. He suffered alone. He died alone. He is the atonement alone. He
won the victory alone. But he's going to cross again.
Eventually came back to Jerusalem. Absalom was killed and David
came back to Jerusalem as the reigning king. But David didn't
cross back into Jerusalem over Caetron. He crossed over Jordan. That's the way God's people are
going to cross. Our Lord Jesus Christ, he suffered and he died. He drank from this stream. He
drank the cup dry. He suffered and he died. But
he arose from the grave. And he went back to heaven. He
went back to the right hand of the Father as the victorious
reigning king. And he never crossed that brook
Chitron again. He never crossed that sin and
corruption again. Because that river no longer
exists for God's people. Christ drank it dry. And everyone
for whom Christ died is going to follow our Lord to glory.
Not crossing Chitron. Crossing over Jordan. that crossing
the River Jordan is a picture of death. We'll pass through
that River Jordan. We'll pass through death, the
death of this body, to get to the Promised Land. We will pass
through death, but there'll be no sting in it, because Christ
removed the sting of death from his people when he drank the
cup of God's wrath dry. He took that cup the Father gave
him. He willingly took it. He wanted
to take it, and he drank it Now there are other cups mentioned
in scripture, and they describe the cup that our Lord drank as
a substitute for His people. Look in Isaiah chapter 51. Isaiah
describes this cup as the cup of God's fury. Isaiah 51 verse 17. Awake! Awake! Stand up, O Jerusalem,
which has drunk at the hand of the Lord the cup of his fury. Thou hast drunken the dregs of
the cup of trembling and wrung them out." This is the cup of
God's fury and Christ is the one who drank that cup dry so
that there's not even a sip of God's fury left for any of God's
people. Not even a sip. He drank the
dreg. What gets down to the bottom
is kind of gunky and tastes ugh. He drank every drop dry. So there's not even a sip for
his people. Look at verse 22 of Isaiah 51. Thus saith thy Lord, thee Lord,
and thy God, that pleadeth the cause of his people. Behold,
I have taken out of thine hand a cup of trembling. He took that
cup of trembling out of the hand of his father, even the dregs
of the cup of my fury. Thou shalt no more drink it again."
No more, because Christ drank it dry. This cup of God's fury
is so awful, our Lord calls it the cup of trembling. That word
trembling means staggering. Just a staggering, the thought
of that cup of God's fury that our substitute drank dry. Now, if you ever find the Lord
Jesus Christ, you're going to find the substitute for sinners
who took the cup of God's fury and he willingly drank it dry
for you. Well, all right. Is there a cup for God's people
then? Is only cup given? Is that given to Christ, a cup
of God's fury? No, there's another cup. Look
at Psalm 116. There is another cup for God's
people to take. David describes it in Psalm 116. I imagine David here thinking
about the Lord taking that cup, drinking it dry as his substitute,
so that there is not even a sip left for David. And David says
in verse 12, What shall I render unto the Lord for all of his
benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation.
and call upon the name of the Lord. There is a cup for God's
people to drink of. Duane, it's a cup of salvation.
Oh, I'll take it. I'll take it and drink from it
and rejoice in it. We can take this cup of salvation
because Christ took the cup of God's fury and drank it dry. There's another cup for God's
people. When we observe the Lord's table Wednesday night, we'll
do this. We're going to remember the substitutionary death of
Christ. His death is a substitute for
sinners. The man will hand out cups of
wine. And in 2 Corinthians 10, verse 16, Paul calls that cup,
the cup of wine that pictures the Savior's blood shed for his
people, Paul calls it a cup of blessing. What a cup of blessing. All because of the blood of our
Lord Jesus Christ that washed away the sin of his people. So
when our Lord says, you take me and let these go, He's saying,
you take me as their substitute. They're guilty. They deserve
to suffer. They deserve to die. They deserve
God's wrath. You take me and let them go. I'll suffer for them. I'll die
for them. I'll take the cup of God's fury
for them. And you let them go free. Now,
three reasons why our Lord says this, probably many more, but
I'll give you these three. He says, you take me and let
these go, because Christ must suffer alone. If that mob did
say, you know, we'll just crush this whole movement all at once,
we're going to take all these disciples, we'll kill them all,
we'll just have a great big mass crucifixion. If they'd have done
that, you know what we'd have done? We'd have given those apostles
some credit for the atonement. We'd have thought, well, you
know, they must have put some sin away too. That cannot be. Their blood, it was shed as a
martyr, but their blood was never shed as atonement for sin. Only
Christ can atone for sin. So Christ must suffer alone. He's going to save his people
by himself. And all the glory, all the credit
for that salvation is going to be his and his alone. If you ever find The Lord Jesus
Christ, the Savior of sinners, you're going to find the one
who did all the saving. You contributed nothing to it.
He suffered alone. Second, Christ is going to suffer
alone for our comfort. If Christ suffered as a substitute
for sin, then it's not possible for anyone else to suffer for
those sins. God's holy justice demands you
go free if Christ suffered as your substitute. Because a holy
God cannot punish for the same sin twice. If He punished your
substitute, He'll never punish you. He suffered alone for our
comfort. And third, when our Lord says,
you take me and let these go free. He's not only saying that
to the mob. He's making this statement to
God's law and justice. You let these go free. I found
a ransom. I am the ransom. And God's justice
demands they go free because Christ was taken captive for
them as their substitute. Now, our Lord didn't make the
statement about everyone. He said, you let these go free.
He was speaking of a specific people. You let these go free.
He didn't say it about Judas. He said it about the 11, those
that he chose. And our Lord says this about
all of his elect, because he died for not just those 11, but
all of the elect. He says to his father's justice,
you let them go free. I died as their substitute, the
substitute for your elect. You let them live because I died
for them. You let them go free because
I was taken captive to sin for them. I was taken captive of
the law for them. We'll look at this in verse 12
next week, but after that, our Lord says, He healed this man.
He said, you know, I'm going to drink this cup. They took
him captive. Let my people go free. I was
taken captive for them. Let them go free from the curse
of sin. I was made a curse for them. Let them go free from the
grave, because I go to the grave and come out of it for them.
Let them go free from the grave. Your body may lay in the grave,
but it ain't staying there. It's coming out. Christ set you
free from the grave. He came out of the grave for
them. Substitution and satisfaction
is the heart of the gospel. It's the heart of the gospel.
And if you ever meet the Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior of sinners,
you'll see that in Him is substitution. He took my sin. He took my place. He suffered everything I deserve.
and their satisfaction. He satisfied every requirement
of the Father and I'm free in Him. The Lord Jesus Christ did
take the captivity of His people. He was taken captive for them
and He set them free. Forever, eternally free because
He's the willing, sovereign substitute who is the Savior of sinners.
God help us. God help us, cause us to seek
Him and to find Him. He is the heart's desire of every
sinner. Well, I hope the Lord bless that.