I invite your attention to Psalm
number 76, the 76th Psalm. And we are coming back today
to verse number 10. Psalm 76, verse 10, this message
will continue the message we commenced last Lord's Day on
the subject the gospel according to Christ's enemies. Psalm 76,
verse 10, my text reads in these words, Surely the wrath of man
shall praise thee, the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain. Now you have the synopsis of
the message in front of you, and just to review somewhat and
bring us up to where we are today, because I did not finish the
message last Lord's Day, only commenced it. But you have the
synopsis in front of you, so let's just look at the introduction
to the subject, and then we'll go to the point for today. Jehovah
glorifies himself. in the wrath of the wicked against
him. When they bellow their wrath
against him, he puts his trumpet to their lips, causing them to
sound forth his praise instead. He may cause prophets hired to
curse his people to bless them instead, as he did with Balaam
and Moab. He may magnify his name in destroying
those who try to destroy his people. as he did with Pharaoh
of Egypt in the Red Sea. The truth stated in our text,
Surely the wrath of man shall praise you, was gloriously illustrated
when the enemies of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ vented
their wrath against him. They unwittingly spoke the truth
about him when they castigated him. Their words of condemnation
against him unwittingly justified him. He wore their terms of derision
as badges of honor. We read of this in the four gospels
written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the first four books
in the New Testament. We will here consider the wrathful
sayings of men against Jesus Christ in what we may call a
fifth gospel. the gospel according to Christ's
enemies. In wrathfully castigating him,
they expressed the following truths regarding him. His divine
sonship, his indisputable humanity, his divine power, his unbridled
sovereignty. We looked at those four last
week. Today we continue with the fifth.
His vicarious death, his kingly lordship, His Godward faith,
His unselfish salvation, His legal vindication, and His receiving
grace. Now, having looked at the first
four of those points last Lord's Day, we today come to the fifth,
and we're going to consider the truth spoken by the enemies of
Jesus Christ regarding His vicarious death. John 1150, here we read that the popularity
of Jesus had become very great and widespread. People knew he
was a man sent from God. They saw the miracles that he
could do, and it was thought that He might become a political
messiah. He had no intention of being
a political messiah. When they tried to force him
to be their king, he hid and would not let them find him.
But the people were wanting to be free from the Romans who ruled
over them, and they thought Jesus could do it. And so there was
fear that he would become a political messiah. And the Sanhedrin, the
council of 70 men who ruled over the political affairs of Israel
gathered together. If Jesus became a political messiah,
then the Romans would come in and probably destroy the nation. We cannot let that happen. Caiaphas
is high priest. We read of Caiaphas here that
he was a very shrewd man. He said, it is expedient for
us, and if Caiaphas was known for anything, it was his pragmatism
and doing what was expedient. He would do anything to make
himself look good. He said, it is expedient for
us that one should die for the people
and not that the whole nation should perish. What he's saying
is this, let's get rid of Jesus and save our nation. If Jesus
prospers anymore, our nation is in very deep trouble. It is
expedient. It may be murderous, it may be
dishonest, but it is expedient. that he should die for the nation
so that the whole nation does not die. Well, he's speaking pragmatically.
The end will justify the means. He's speaking with expedience.
And unbeknownst to him, he is speaking the gospel. Unbeknownst
to him. What do we read later? We read
in the following verses. Now this he, Caiaphas, the high
priest, did not say of his own authority. He's like Balaam who goes to
curse the people and opens his mouth and out flows a blessing. not of his own authority, he
has declared the truth of substitutionary atonement and did not even know
it. He did not speak of his own authority,
rather he was directed by the Holy Spirit, but being high priest
that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for the nation,
not the political nation, but God's elect among the Jews. And
not for that nation only, but also that God would gather together
in one the children of God who were scattered abroad, elect
Gentiles. When Caiaphas, speaking the expedient,
said one should die for the people, he declared the vicarious death
of Jesus Christ. For that nation, the Israel of
God, comprised of Jews who were among God's elect and Gentiles
scattered across the earth, also among God's elect. Unbeknownst
to him, he went to do something to curse
Jesus and instead declared the truth regarding him. Be careful when when you speak
against Jesus Christ. He will take the word from your
mouth that may be spoken, you think, against Him, and He's
going to make you be what you said you're
not going to be. The wrath of man shall praise you. Well, here
is Caiaphas, and he has spoken what he thinks is expedient,
and instead he has spoken the gospel. Number six, Jesus Christ's kingly
lordship. Jesus is arrested, turned over
to the Jews, or turned over to the Romans, and Pilate turns him over to
the soldiers. Oh, you would be hard-pressed
to find people who could be more cruel than soldiers. Well, they were to him. They
mocked him. He's a king and he's a rogue. Anybody got a piece of purple?
Yeah, here's some. Put it on him. He's a king. He needs a scepter. Here, I got this piece of cane.
Put it in his hand. He's a king. He needs a crown.
What can we do? I'll plant some thorns." And
they crushed it to his brow. Then they got down on their knees
and said, Hail, King of the Jews! Oh, they mocked him. They mocked
him. They ridiculed him. They did
all they could to belittle him. And unbeknownst to them when
they said he's king of the Jews, they spoke the truth. The Jews
would say we have no king but Caesar. The Roman soldiers spoke the
truth when they said he's king of the Jews. Now he is king of
physical Jews because he is king of kings and lord of lords. Therefore,
he's king of the Jews and also the Gentiles, whether or not
they admit it. But he's also king of spiritual
Jews, the true Jews, according to the Apostle Paul. For he is
not a Jew, he was one outwardly, that is, one whose circumcision
is in the flesh. But he is a Jew, he is one inwardly,
that is, one whose circumcision is of the heart. whose praise
is not from men, but from God. We call him King of the Saints. The true Jews in the Israel of
God called Jesus Christ our King. When those Roman soldiers said,
Hail King of the Jews, they told the truth, that is whom and what
he is. Now, number seven, Jesus Christ's
inward faith. So they finally led him to Calvary. And there they crucified him
on Calvary. It was on a promontory, a high place in the land, and
a road went by. It is a time for a feast, a sacred
day, and people are coming into Jerusalem. And everybody walking
by mocks Him. They that are at the foot of
His cross, they're mocking Him. They're casting derision in His
teeth, and even the malefactors, the two of them crucified with
Him, they also are mocking Him as well. And then, they spoke
these words in his crucifixion. He trusted in God. Let God deliver him now, if he
will have him, for he said, I am the Son of God. Notice, he trusted
in God. Sometime or other, Some dreadful thing's going to
befall you. Might be a death, might be some
catastrophe. Someone may say, where's your
God now? You still trusting Him now? Yeah. Yep. He's got nails in His hands
and nails in His feet. and he's being mocked and he's
still trusting in God. He trusted in God, even his enemies
admitted that. He trusted in God or they told
the truth. Jesus on the cross said these
words. My God, my God, why have you
forsaken me? He's still trusting in him though.
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? That is Psalm 22
verse 1. It is likely that Jesus quoted
the entire 22nd Psalm while he's there on the tree because that
entire 22nd Psalm describes his crucifixion. If he did not quote it out loud,
it was surely in the lips of his heart. And still he's trusting in God. In that 22nd Psalm, we read these
verses in verse 8. All those who see me ridicule
me. They shoot out the lip, they
shake the head, saying, he trusted in Jehovah. Let Jehovah rescue
him, let him deliver him, since he delights in them. Do you not
see that when those Jews at the foot of the cross of Jesus Christ
mocked him by saying he trusted in God, what they did was they
unwittingly fulfilled the scriptures. Unwittingly fulfilled the scriptures. It was as though they had never
read these words, and here they quoted them. They quoted the
22nd Psalm. He trusted in God. Let's see
if you'll deliver him. Well, Jesus had indeed trusted
in God. In that same 22nd Psalm, verses
9 and 10, Jesus said, But you are he, speaking to God, who
took me out of the womb. We often say that a mother gave
birth. Well, she did. She did. But it
was not all by herself. You took me out of the womb. You made me trust while on my
mother's breast. That's a remarkable statement.
There in Bethlehem when he's born, they take him after he's
born. wrapped him in swaddling cloths,
hand him to his mother. She suckles her infant there
on her breast and he on his mother's breast is trusting in God. That's remarkable. Notice what
the psalmist said, what Jesus said. You make me trust while
on my mother's breasts I was cast upon you from birth from
my mother's womb. You have been my God. And there
on Calvary, when Jesus has cried, my God, my God, why have you
forsaken me? Consider, well, he did not say,
my father, why have you forsaken me? But he says, my God, why
have you forsaken me? He's still trusting in him, still
trusting in him. years ago, a preacher, perhaps the foremost
voice of God's sovereign grace in our generation, known for preaching the sovereignty
of God. His darling son was killed in
Vietnam and someone mocking him, mocking
the preacher. Upon the death of his son said,
where was your God when your son was killed? And the preacher replied, same
place he was when his own son was killed. And here is Jesus Forsaken by
God, but His Father laid help on Him, but forsaken by God,
He's still trusting in Him. Who are you going to trust when
it seems that all the world is against you? Who are you going
to trust when all has failed around you? I know who Jesus
trusts. Even His enemies said, He's still
trusting in God. He's still trusting in God, and
God delivered him. God delivered him! Surely the
wrath of man shall praise you. Number eight, Jesus Christ's
unselfish salvation. There He is on the cross, still
on the cross, and His enemies said, He saved others, Himself He cannot save. They
thought they were mocking Him when they said, Himself He cannot
save. Well, Jesus could not save Himself
because He would not save Himself. His judge says, Do you not know
what I can do to you? And Jesus says, do you not know
what I can do? I can right now call for 12 legions
of angels to come and deliver me. Now 12 legions of angels. A Roman legion was approximately
6,000 troops. 12 legions, we're talking in excess
of 70,000 troops. These troops are angels. Now
why would Jesus speak of six or twelve legions of angels?
Evidently he could see them. Remember when the prophet walked
out of the city? with the young man who was his
aid. The city is surrounded by enemy,
and the prophet walks out and takes a look around. And the
young man is scared. He says, don't you see how many
there are? And the prophet said, there are more for us than are
against us. Well, where are they? I do not
see them. And the prophet said, Lord, open
his eyes so he can see. And the Lord opened the young
man's eyes and looked. Battalions of angels in the sky
waiting for word as to what they should do. Now, didn't Jesus'
eyes were opened and none else were because he looked around
and he says, I can right now call for one, two, three, twelve
legions of angels and they'll come and take me away and there's
not a thing in the world you can do about it. So, Jesus could
not save himself because he would not save himself. He would not
call the angels to deliver him. They're there. They're waiting
for the word. Jesus say the word. We're coming
down to get you. Nope, not going to do it. Not
going to do it. You just stay where you are.
I could save myself, but I will not save myself. My enemies have
spoken the truth when they said he cannot save himself. He could
not save himself because he had purposed unselfishly to die for
his people. He would not save himself because
he would save others and the only way he could save others
was to die in their place instead. He died as their substitute.
He is the good shepherd who gives his life for the sheep. So when
his enemy said himself he cannot save, yep,
that's true. He cannot save himself because
he will not save himself and he cannot save himself because
he will die so that others can be saved. That is how unselfish
he is. His enemy spoke the truth. They
spoke of his unselfish salvation. Number nine. Jesus Christ's legal
vindication is on trial before Pontius Pilate. Pontius Pilate is the Roman governor. He knows Jesus is innocent. He
knows the charges against him are trumped, made up, nothing
to justify them. He brings out a basin of water. He washes his hands. And he says,
I am free of the blood of this man. His blood is not on my hands. You say to it. And they said,
the Jews said, his blood be on us and our children. Be careful what you say. Oh, those words came back to
haunt them. His blood be on us and on our
children. We accept it. In essence, what
they're saying is this. If Jesus is innocent and we put
him to death as a guilty person, may the punishment due to such
a crime be inflicted upon us and all our children after us,
if he is innocent, and we spill his blood, may the
guilt of his blood be on us and our children." Well, they got
their wish. They got their wish. Forty years later, 70 AD, the
guilt of the Jews fell upon them when their city was destroyed
and their temple destroyed. Afterward, the crucifixion of Jews was so
prolific that the roads were lined with crucified Jews and
they ran out of trees upon which to hang them. And you look at
what has happened to that nation since that first century. Look
at what has happened to them. I venture to say they have, as
a nation, suffered more than any other nation has ever suffered. A holocaust was against them,
an extermination multiple times put upon them. And when you consider
what has befallen them, remember that they said, His blood be
on us and upon our children. What they said has come to pass. Their blood guilt has been upon
that nation ever since. And their blood guilt has justified
Jesus Christ. If nothing had ever happened
to them, what they did would have been just. But because of
the blood guilt that is upon their hands, Jesus Christ is
vindicated. Number 10. Jesus Christ receiving grace. They derided him and said, this
man receives sinners. Yeah, a good Pharisee never would. Get away from me. I am holier
than thou. We are self-righteous and despise
others who are not as righteous as we are. And look at Him, Jesus,
look at Him. Sinners are attracted to Him. They come to hear Him speak.
Look at those people around Him. Publicans, tax collectors, and
harlots, and adulterers, and adulteresses. He's kind to them. He receives them. He tells them
the truth about themselves and of salvation. And sinners follow
him. You don't see any of us following
him. None of us Pharisees follow him. This man receives sinners. Yeah, he does. You told the truth. You mocked him, but surely the
wrath of man shall praise you. He takes their term of derision
and wears it as a badge of honor. He receives sinners. He says,
I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. I came to call sinners. The righteous
do not need to repent, do they? Ask them. Ask them. I don't need
to repent. Sinners need to repent. So Jesus
calls sinners. The sinners whom he calls come
to him, and he graciously receives them. And no sinner who came
to Jesus was ever refused by him. He saved even the chief
of sinners, Paul said. He came into the world to save
sinners, of whom I am chief. Well, I'm going to tell you this.
If Jesus Christ can save, if He already has saved the sheep
of sinners, He can save you. And if He received a man like
Saul of Tarsus, He will receive me. This man receives sinners. He even receives some sinners
who had their blood guilt on their hands. Saul of Tarsus. He was the lead Pharisee and
the lead member of the Sanhedrin at the stoning of Stephen, the
martyr. Stephen was stoned just a short
time after Jesus was crucified. We are not told so in the scriptures,
but Saul of Tarsus evidently was in that Sanhedrin that condemned
Jesus and called for his death. He was the second-ranking man
in Jewry, he tells us. He was one of the leaders in
the Sanhedrin. Saul of Tarsus undoubtedly was
among those who said, his blood be on us and on our children. For he was one of the highest
ranking men in the Sanhedrin. And yet, Jesus received him. Jesus received Saul of Tarsus. Jesus receives even some who
have the guilt of his blood on their hands. The Scripture says that in the
final day, many will look upon him whom they pierced. Well,
I pierced him. I pierced him. It was not my
spear, but I tell you, my unbelief often pierced his heart. And
yet, Jesus received me. That's good news, is it not?
There is not a sinner here too big, too bad, too despicable,
too deplorable for Jesus to receive. And I tell you this, if you come,
He will receive you.