In the 7th chapter of John's
Gospel, from verse 37, we read this. In the last day, that great
day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man
thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth
on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall
flow rivers of living water. But this spake he of the Spirit,
which they that believe on him should receive, for the Holy
Ghost was not yet given, because that Jesus was not yet glorified. Many of the people therefore
when they heard this say and said, of a truth this is the
prophet, others said this is the Christ. But some said, shall
Christ come out of Galilee? Have not the scripture said that
Christ cometh of the seed of David and out of the town of
Bethlehem where David was? So there was a division among
the people because of him. and some of them would have taken
him, but no man laid hands on him. Then came the officers to
the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said unto them, why
have you not brought him? The officers answered, never
man spake like this man. Then came the officers to the
chief priests and Pharisees, and they said unto them, why
have you not brought him? The officers answered, Never
man spake like this man. How remarkable is the speech
of Jesus Christ. He who John in his gospel introduces
us to him as being the word of God. Christ came, born, a man, the
Son of God, in human flesh, very God and
very man. Christ came into this world as
the Word of God, the very speech of God, the one through whom
Almighty God speaks. and Christ's entire life as he
lived upon this world was an outpouring of the very speech
of God. All that he is, all that he was,
all that he said, all that he did, everything about him was
God's speech unto man and declaration unto mankind and this world of
whom Christ is, from whence he came, why he came, and who you
are in relation to him. He is the Word of God. He is
the speech of God. He is the message of God. He is the gospel of God, the
good news, the evangel of God unto this world. Then no wonder
when men heard him, when his officers heard him, they said
of him, Never man spake like this man. When Christ went about
speaking and teaching the gospel, there was such a contrast between
his message and the message of religion. the message of the
scribes and the Pharisees, the message of man and his wisdom,
even in the things of God, there was such a difference in the
speech of Jesus Christ, and the message of his gospel, and the
power of his gospel, with everything that men had heard before. Never
man spake like This man. This man. Oh what a man this
man was. Who was this man that spake in
this way? Who was this Jesus? Who was this one who declared
himself to be the son of God? Who was this man of whom some
said he is the prophet? And others said, this is the
Christ. And others questioned, but shall
Christ come out of Galilee? Who was this man who caused such
a division among the people that some would have laid hands on
him and killed him and murdered him? But they could not until
his time was come. Who was this man? who spake like
no man. Never a man spake like this man. Well if you look through John's
Gospel from beginning to end, you'll see this man made known
for whom he is. Made known as the Son of God. John refers to this man in a
journey through his gospel in various ways. In John 6, we hear Christ spoken of. He says, I am the bread of life. He that believeth on me have
everlasting life. I am that bread of life. Your
fathers did eat manna in the wilderness and are dead. This
is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat
thereof and not die. I am the living bread which came
down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread,
he shall live forever. And the bread that I will give
is my flesh. which I will give for the life
of the world. The Jews therefore strove among
themselves saying, how can this man give us his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said unto them, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of
Man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth
my flesh, and drinketh my blood, have eternal life. and I will
raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed,
and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh
my blood dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father
hath sent me, and I live by the Father, so he that eateth me
Even he shall live by me. This is the bread which came
down from heaven. Who is this man? He is the bread
that came down from heaven. He is the one who brings life,
eternal life. and except ye eat of his flesh
and drink of his blood ye have no life in you except you are
one with him and dwell in him and he dwell in you you are dead but what a thing to say and how
the Jews did not comprehend What he said. Never man spake like
this man. The Jews strove among themselves
saying how can this man give us his flesh to eat. This man's message. Firstly. This man's message. This Jesus. The word of God. His message. is spiritually discerned. This
man is a spiritual man. He came from heaven. And he speaks with wisdom from
heaven, which the wisdom of this world, which the religion of
this world, which the minds of this world cannot receive. He comes declaring that he is
the bread come down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof and
not die. And the Jews strove among themselves
saying, how can this man give us his flesh to eat? I am the
living bread which came down from heaven if any man eat of
this bread he shall live forever and the bread that I will give
is my flesh which I will give for the life of the world and
they could not understand him and you cannot understand him
and you will not understand him except your understanding is
opened by God Accept your ears are open to
hear. Accept your blind eyes are open
to see. Accept this Jesus, this man. Speak with power through his
gospel to your soul. And put faith in your heart where
there is but unbelief by nature. And put life where there is death. And cause you to eat of his flesh. and drink of his blood and live. And should he do that, then you
will know what it is to be in him and for him to be in you. And you will know who this man
is and from whence he came and why he came to bring life to
the world, to sinners such as you and I. but his message is
spiritually discerned. In chapter 7 we read several
references to this man. Several references as we read
through the chapter earlier we saw how he came to the feast
in Jerusalem and the reaction of those that heard his speech
He went into the temple. Now about the midst of the feast,
Jesus went up into the temple and talked. And the Jews marveled,
saying, how knoweth this man letters, having never learned?
They heard his speech. They heard him speak from the
scriptures, from the Old Testament, from the oracles of God, and
show their meaning. He went beyond the letter of
the Scriptures. He went beyond the surface. He
went beyond reading the mere historical accounts and prophecies,
but gave them understanding. He pointed out what they meant
and what they pointed to. He showed forth how they prophesied
and spake of Him. How in all the Scriptures, The
message is of Christ. How all the scriptures testified
of him and his coming and his life and his death. How all the scriptures showed
forth that Christ must come and lay down his life for sinners
that they might eat and drink. and live. But when the Jews heard
him, they marveled, saying, how know if this man letters having
never learned? He never learned these things
in school. He was never taught these truths
by men. He was not a learned man or a
wise man in the eyes of men. They despised him outwardly. They despised his natural upbringing. And yet he knew more of the Scriptures
and their meaning than these scribes and Pharisees who'd learnt,
who'd sat in the school of Gamaliel, who'd learnt from their youth
upwards The things of religion. Never a man spake like this man. This man is full of knowledge. Full of knowledge. But he received
it not of men, but of God. He received it from his father,
from heaven, from whence he came. They marveled at his knowledge, as he knew everything. He knew and he knows everything. He knows the scriptures, he knows
their meanings, he knows from whence they came, He knows the
hearts of all men. He knows whom his heroes are. He knows who you and I are. He
knows what you've done. He knows what you will do. He
knows from whence you've come and he knows to whence you go. He knows all things. There is
nothing hid from this man. And there is nothing you can
hide from this man. He is full of knowledge. The chapter goes on. Speaking of the law, Christ asked
them about the Sabbath day. If a man on the Sabbath day receives
circumcision that the law of Moses should not be broken, are
ye angry at me because I have made a man every whit hole on
the Sabbath day? Judge not according to the appearance,
but judge righteous judgment. Then said some of them of Jerusalem,
Is not this he whom they seek to kill? But lo, he speaketh
boldly, and they say nothing unto him. Do the rulers know
indeed that this is the very Christ? Howbeit we know this
man whence he is. But when Christ cometh, no man
knoweth whence he is. They knew this man. They knew
from whence he came. They knew that he was the carpenter's
son. They knew he was Joseph and Mary's
son. This man from Nazareth. This
common working man, a carpenter. They knew who he was. And they
doubted that he could be Christ. Because to them, when Messiah
should come, they knew that they would not know from whence he
came, that he would come from God. And yet this man in their
midst, they knew who he was. So they said, how can he be Christ? But they knew he was a man. They knew who he was, this carpenter. And he was very much a man. You
see, this man was a real man. And to those that saw him, he
was, to many eyes, nothing but a man. But a man that they could
not deny, spake like no other man. Christ, the Son of God,
come into this world, was truly a man. He was born. He lived, he grew, he spake. He was in all ways as we are,
yet without sin. They knew this man was a man. And some knew he was also the
Christ, the Son of God. Yes, they knew he was a man,
but a man unlike any man. He had a knowledge that they
could not comprehend. How he could have acquired, how
does he know these things? And he's not a learned man. He
spake in a way that no other man did. And he performed miracles. Miracles that astounded them. Then they sought to take him,
but no man laid hands on him because his hour was not yet
come. And many of the people believed
on him and said, when Christ cometh, will he do more miracles
than these which this man have done? The people saw the miracles
that this man did. and they were astounded by them
they'd seen him make the lame to walk and the blind to see
and the deaf to hear and he even made the dead to
live Lazarus come forth and that man who'd laid in the grave four
days came forth alive Oh what miracles Christ performed. And when some saw them they said,
how can this not be Christ? How can this man not be of God? Who performs miracles like this? He had a power that men do not
have. Further on in John 7, as we read,
The officers answered concerning Jesus and said, never man spake
like this man. He spake in a way that no man
spoke. Not just what he knew, not just
what he said, but the authority and the power with which he spake. When he spoke, you listened. And should this man ever speak
in his gospel by his spirit to your soul, you will listen and
you will know who he is and from whence he's come. You will say,
never man speak like this man. but his speech had a consequence. As we saw in this chapter, there
were those who believed and there were those who hated. There were
those who said he's a prophet and he's the Christ, and there
were those who doubted. There was a division among the
people because of him. There were those who sought to
put him to death. There were those who hated his
speech. There were those who hated his
gospel. They felt that gospel undermined
their religion and found them out. They felt
his gospel exposed the sin that was done in the darkness. the
things people did in secret that they hoped to keep hidden his
gospel brought it to the surface and it found them out and they
felt guilty the religious felt his gospel
and his message was undermining their religion undermining the
law of Moses and there was a division because of it John chapter 9
We read the reaction of the Pharisees. Therefore said some of the Pharisees,
this man is not of God because he keepeth not the Sabbath day. Others said, how can a man that
is a sinner do such miracles? There was a division among them. The Pharisees. were more interested
in upholding the letter of the law as they saw it and the keeping
of their Sabbath to the letter of the law and when Christ came
doing things on the Sabbath that they felt should not be done
they hated him and said he can't be of God he's undermining our
Sabbath this man's not of God and yet others said, how can
he not be? How can a man that's a sinner
do such miracles? And there was a division because
of him. His message, his speech, his
truth, his gospel divides. You will either receive and believe
him for whom he is, or your heart will hate and despise him. even
though you may feel you are religious. You may despise him thinking
you are serving God. These Pharisees believed they
served God and upheld God's ways and God's law. They felt they
did God's service in hating and despising this man. When they
put him to death, they thought they did right. And you may believe
you're doing right when you put him to death in your heart. When
you reject him, when you reject his message, when you reject
his ways, you may believe you're doing right. Yeah, this message is true. Does this man divide you? On which side of the fence do
you sit? On which side will you go? Do you receive or do you
reject this man? This man is of God. The Pharisees in verse 16 of
chapter 9 said, this man is not of God because he keepeth not
the Sabbath. But in verse 33, we read those
who said, if this man were not of God, he could do nothing. Now we know that God heareth
not sinners, but if any man be a worshiper of God and doeth
his will, him he hereth. Since the world began, was it
not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that were born
blind? If this man were not of God,
he could do nothing. The people saw that Christ came
and made the blind to see. And they said, how could he do
this? Except God sent him. And you will say the same if
Christ comes unto you and through his gospel touches your blind
eyes and makes you to see. Until he does, you'll reject
him. But should he come in the gospel
and touch your eyes and open them and cause you to see who
he is and why he came, then you will know that this man is of
God. Not only is he of God, but he
was promised of God that he should come into this world and come
for a purpose. This man is of God as promised
and as prophesied throughout all the scriptures. In John chapter
10, we read that many resorted unto him and said, John did no
miracle, but all things that John spake of this man were true. And many believed on him there.
everything that john said john the baptist said of christ was
true God sent John the Baptist before his son to make way for
his son and his entrance into this world. God sent John the
Baptist preaching in the wilderness and making a way for his son
and John said that this man would come and he pointed to him and
said, behold the Lamb of God. which taketh away the sin of
the world. Behold the Lamb of God which
taketh away the sin of the world. Everything that John said of
him was true. And everything that the law and
the prophets said should come about concerning Christ was true. Earlier we read of the people
doubting that He could be Christ. He came from Nazareth. They said
that Christ should be born in Bethlehem, the city of David,
as prophesied in the Scriptures. Yet He was born in Bethlehem,
the city of David, in fulfillment of all the Scriptures. He was
promised and He came. John chapter 11 we read people
speaking of this man again and some of them said, could not
this man which opened the eyes of the blind have caused that
even this man should not have died? When they come to Lazarus
in the grave and Lazarus has died, some moan that Christ didn't
prevent it. He'd made the blind to see. Could he have not prevented this?
But they came to see something even greater. Christ came to
Lazarus and caused this man who had died to live again. Yes, he could have stopped him
dying, but he came to raise the dead unto life. Now you and I by nature are dead
already. We're fallen and lost in sin
already. We're condemned of God because
of our sin already. We are dead men before God. You are dead in trespasses and
sins. Your sins have slain you. Your unbelief has slain you. You're born in sin and from the
womb you have gone astray, telling lies, living a lie, living in
rebellion against Almighty God your maker, living a life in
this world as though God that made you and sustains you isn't
even there. as though God doesn't exist,
with unthankful hearts, ungrateful hearts, taking everything that
God gives you and using it to your own end and your own glory.
You're dead in trespasses and sins. And Christ came into this
world to make the dead live. And if he hadn't come, you and
I would remain dead. He came to do something much
greater than simply preventing the living from dying or the
whole from becoming sick. He came to do something greater
even than making the blind to see and the deaf to hear. He
came to bring life to the dead. He came to speak to those who
are in the grave and cause them to come forth. Lazarus, come
forth. He came to say unto the souls
of sinners like you and I, live. Yes, this man did many miracles. This man opened the eyes of the
blind. This man causes the dead to live. and he was, and he is, hated
for it. He's hated for it, despite what
he does, despite this miraculous resurrection of Lazarus, the
reaction of the priests and the Pharisees. is to despise him. Then gathered the chief priests
and the Pharisees a council and said, what do we for this man
do if many miracles? If we let him thus alone, all
men shall believe on him and the Romans shall come and take
away both our place and nation. How they feared losing what they
had. They didn't want to lose their
place in the religious rule of the people. They didn't want
to lose their nation. They didn't want to lose what
they had in this world for the sake of the truth. If this man's
true, we'll lose what we have now. But if they believed on
him, they'd have gladly lost all that they had now, for all
that they would have with him in the world to come. He was hated for it. Do you love his message? Do you
love his speech? Or do you hate him? In Luke 15,
the scribes and the Pharisees despised the fact that Christ
received sinners. We read, Then drew near unto
him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. And the Pharisees
and the scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and
eateth with them. They despised him. How can he
mix with these people? How can he receive them? How
can he eat with them? They would not go. near those
that they condemned as outward sinners. They were so pure, so
righteous in their own eyes, so self-righteous. They wanted
to keep themselves unspotted, unspotted from the world, unspotted
from sin. They wanted to walk in a manner
that they thought was holy before God. And the result of it was
a hard heart that would not go near those that they felt were
sinners. And yet this man that came into
their midst received sinners. Are you a sinner? Are you a sinner? because the good news of the
gospel is that this man received sinners. All the publicans and
sinners drew near unto him to hear his voice, to hear his speech,
to know the life that he brought in the gospel. Scribes and the Pharisees despised
him for it. They hated him for it. And as
a consequence this man, this man full of knowledge, this man
that came from God, this man that went about doing good, This
man who performed many miracles, this man who spake like no other
man, this man promised in all the scriptures, this man who
made the blind to see and the dead to live, this man was betrayed
by men and deserted by all men and left to die. Judas. for a few pieces of silver,
having spent years hearing this man's speech, but never hearing. In the end, betrayed him. And even the disciples who were
his, even the disciples who loved him, and in the end would be
with him, Even they, when he needed them most, deserted him. Even Peter, when Christ was betrayed,
on that night, denied him. John 18 we read, when the damsel
discovers Peter in the court, outside, said unto Peter art
thou also one of this man's disciples and he said i am not i am not he denied him are you
one of this man's disciples what do you answer what do you
answer to me what do you answer to the world. Do you fear man? Or do you fear God? We've all deserted Him. We've
all betrayed Him by nature. Even if He loves us. Even if He gave Himself for us. Even if we are His. We've all
answered, I am not. Not only was he betrayed, not
only was he abandoned and deserted of all men, but he was also falsely
accused. John 18 verse 29, Pilate then
went out unto the people and said, what accusation bring ye
against this man? or accusation bring ye against
this man? And they answered and said unto
him, if he were not a malefactor, we would not have delivered him
up unto thee. They claimed he was a sinner. They claimed he called himself
the son of God. And they denied that he was.
They claimed he blasphemed. They claimed he set himself up
as the King of the Jews. They found all manner of accusation
against him. And yet everything he said was
true. He was the King of the Jews. He was the Son of God. He was the Christ. He would,
speaking of his body, have his temple destroyed and
rebuild it again in three days. All that he said was true and
yet they accused him falsely and they brought him under Pilate
and despite Pilate's attempts to set him free they said no
crucify him because this man in the counsels of God came as
a substitute for sinners. God sent his son into this world
to save his people from their sins. He sent His Son as a sacrifice
for sins. He sent His Son to die in the
place of sinners, and to bear their sins, and to bear the judgment
of God against their sins, and to be their substitute, to go
where they should go, to die what they should die, to suffer
what they should suffer. to stand in their place, under
their judgment, under their sentence, to be their substitute. So when
he was brought before Pilate, the people cried out, don't release
him. Though there was a custom that
one should be released, they said, not him but Barabbas. Then cried they all again saying,
not this man, but Barabbas. Release unto us Barabbas, but
crucify him. They knew Barabbas was worthy
of death. They knew what Barabbas had done. They knew that Barabbas was guilty. But they'd rather have him than
have the innocent son of God. They rather have him spared than
spare this man. Not this man, but Barabbas. What a substitute Christ was. Spare not this man, the just,
but spare Barabbas, the unjust. And in this, God offered up his
son. the just for the unjust, the
innocent in the place of the guilty, the righteous in the
place of the sinner. He came into this world to save
sinners. Did he suffer upon the cross
in your place? Did he suffer in your place? Were you delivered as Barabbas
was whilst this man died because of your sins? Is he your substitute? Is he your saviour? Your deliverer? Did he ransom you? Did he redeem
you? Did He set you free by offering
His own blood? His own blood. Lastly, in John 19, we see how
Christ was crucified in the place of sinners. From thenceforth
Pilate sought to release Him, But the Jews cried out, saying,
If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar's friend. Whosoever
maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar. They would not
have this man released. They cried out, Crucify him! They cried out, Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him! Pilate saith unto them, Shall
I crucify your king? The chief priests answered, We
have no king but Caesar. Then delivered he him therefore
unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus and led him
away. And he bearing his cross went
forth into a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called
in the Hebrew Golgotha. where they crucified him. And
two were with him, on either side one and Jesus in the midst.
And Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross, and the
writing was, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. This title then read, many of
the Jews, for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh
to the city, and it was written in Hebrew and Greek and Latin.
Then said the chief priests of the Jews to Pilate, write not
the king of the Jews, but there he said, I am king of the Jews. Pilate answered, what I have
written, I have written. What I have written, I have written. And this man was crucified. This man died when the sinner
Barabbas was set free. This man was betrayed by sinners. He was deserted by all. You betrayed him. You deserted
him. You in your heart cried out in
response, away with this man, crucify him. We will not have
this man to reign over us. And he was led away, nailed to
that cross, lifted up and died. He died. this man died and yet
never man spake like this man and never man speaks like this
man and he being dead yet speaketh he died But his death sounds
a message throughout time and eternity, throughout the world,
to every soul in this world that this man is of God. This man, Jesus, is the Son of
God. This man is the saviour of the
world. This man is your only hope. This man brings the dead to life. This man, whom they crucified,
could not be held in the grave. And on the third day, he rose
again. And everyone for whom he died,
rose again with him. As they walk with him, as they
eat of his flesh and drink of his blood, of this man who said,
I am the bread of heaven. Do you know this man? Has he
brought you this life? Have you eaten this bread? Have you heard his voice in the
gospel? Can you say from your heart,
Never man spake like this man. Never man spake like this man.