You'll take your Bibles now and
let's turn to Matthew 26. We'll begin reading here in verse
47. And while He yet spake, Lo, Judas,
one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude, with
swords and staves from the chief priests and elders of the people. Now he that betrayed him gave
them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, the same is he. Hold him fast. And forthwith
he came to Jesus and said, Hail, Master, and kissed him. And Jesus said unto him, Friend,
whenceforth art thou come? Then came they, and laid hands
on Jesus, and took him. And behold, one of them which
were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword,
and struck a servant of the high priest, and smote off his ear. Then said Jesus unto him, Put
up again thy sword into its place. For all they that take the sword
shall perish with the sword. Thinkest thou that I cannot now
pray to my Father, and He shall presently give me more than twelve
legions of angels? But how then shall the Scriptures
be fulfilled that thus it must be? In the same hour said Jesus
to the multitudes, Are ye come out as against the thief with
swords and staves for to take me? I sat daily with you teaching
in the temple, and you laid no hold on me. But all this was
done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.
Then all the disciples forsook him and fled." The story of the suffering and
death of Jesus of Nazareth is an unbelievable story. Just let that roll around in
your mind for a minute. It's absolutely an unbelievable
story. If it happened today, our news
media and the law enforcement officials would have an absolute
field day. They'd print all the innuendos
and rumors and accusations that were made against him. They'd
launch investigations looking into cover-ups. They'd interview
the high priest in his court on Good Morning America. That's
who they'd have there. Geraldo would probably be down
there with Peter around the fire somewhere. And they'd interview the high
priest, and no one would believe that any man could live a life
without sin. Could you be convinced of that?
Could any man live a life without sin? No way you're going to believe
that, isn't it? A life serving the needs of the
poor and the sick and the destitute of this world. The man who did
nothing but good. That's all he ever did. That's
not even believable. All he ever did. He didn't think
any sin. He didn't do any sin. He didn't sanction any sin. He
spoke nothing but truth and was righteous in all his ways, and
more than that, Long time, I'm talking about
thousands of years, long time, honored and established religion
and their highest officials laying charges against him of corruption
and treason and insurrection. They made him out to be the Jim
Jones of his day. They made him out to be the father
divine. They accused him of being a cult
leader, a devil worshiper, and one whose ambition was to overthrow
the government so he could start his own. And then add to that
that his most trusted and valued disciple, the one chosen to carry
the money that was taken up for the needs of the poor, those
charitable contributions taken up to feed the poor, this man
left him and sold him out, took sides with established religion
against his own master. And then the icing on the cake
is that the 11 faithful followers and trusted disciples all jumped
ship when he made that last statement. It said all his disciples forsook
him. And then add to that that he
was brought into civil court where not one but two judges
of Roman authority questioned him, but he won't answer them. And then an appeal to the common
people is made, and they chose a murderer and seditioner in
his stead. No man, no woman in our day could
be convinced that this man was the Son of God, the promised
Messiah. the very Christ of God. There's
just no way. No way. If you'll read the story
of Jesus of Nazareth, and read what took place in His day, and
apply it, just think about it as though it was happening right
now. There's no way on earth, viewing the evidence before these
eyes, that you could believe that this was the Son of God. Then heap on top of that that
his friend and cousin John the Baptist was a recluse, claimed
to be a prophet who instituted a new ordinance called baptism
and preached in the wilderness, and nobody sanctioned that ordinance
except the Lord Jesus Christ, who submitted himself to it. And John wasn't sanctioned by
the Jews. He wasn't chosen to his office. And Christ, who did sanction
him, preached totally contrary to the Jews and exposed them
as evildoers. And I'm telling you, nobody in
our day or any other day could be convinced that this man was
the Son of God, the promised Messiah. But our Lord said of
all these things, He said that the Scriptures must be fulfilled And that thus, now listen to
this. This jumped off the page at me.
This is our whole lesson this morning right here. Thus it must
be. Now I'm going to tell you something. When God inspires a man to pen
his word as he did Paul and Matthew and these men, that's how it's
going to be. That's how it's going to be.
I don't care what it seems like. I don't care what it looks like.
I don't care how it's interpreted. This is how it's going to be. This is how it's going to be.
Now just let that settle in for a minute. All of these things. He said,
I was with you in the temple daily. I was sitting there. I
didn't have a shotgun. I didn't have a bunch of bodyguards
out around me. I didn't ride up here in the
polk mobile. I sat right here with you on
the bench, undefended, no weapons, every day. And you despised me
then. Why didn't you lay hold of me
then? Because my time was not yet come. Why didn't Judas come up and
kiss me then? Why didn't all these things take
place then? Because all these things had to come to pass that
the Scriptures might be fulfilled. For thus it must be. Isaiah the prophet said these
words some 760 years before they came to pass. He said he shall
grow up as a root out of dry ground. That is contrary to nature. He had no form or comeliness,
and when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire.
And He is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows, and
acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces
from Him. He was despised, and we esteemed
Him not." The Christ of God was not to come into this world to
be a famous man. That's not why He came. He was
not to be a man of great reputation and fame, but one rejected and
despised. And then again, Isaiah writes,
all we like sheep have gone astray. We've turned every one to his
own way. All will forsake him because
God said they would, and thus it must be. My friend, what took place in
the New Testament would mean nothing apart from the Old Testament.
The foundation of faith is built upon the apostles and prophets,
Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone. And it's the
precious promises and prophecies of the Old Testament that lay
the groundwork for the coming Redeemer. Everything about Him,
how He should be born. Listen to this. This is 700 and
some years before Christ ever came into this world through
the womb of a virgin. Listen to this. Isaiah 7, verse
14. Behold, a virgin shall conceive,
and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. And then,
lo and behold, old Herod proclaims that all the taxes have to be
paid, and everybody has to go back to their hometown there
and pay taxes. Just had a brainstorm one day. Here's what we're going to do.
We're going to listen to this. But thou, Bethlehem, Ephrathah,
though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of
these shall come forth unto me, him that is to be ruler in Israel,
whose goings forth have been from old and from everlasting."
Micah wrote that 730 years before Christ was born in Bethlehem. His life was a constant fulfilling
of the Old Testament prophecies. For thus, he said, it must be.
Now I'm telling you, when God says a thing, that's the way
it must be. That's the way it is and that's
the way it's going to be. And I get so tired of people
throwing up all their experiences and professions and all of these
things and their situations and all their reasons why their professions
of faith are contrary to the Scripture. There are no professions
contrary to the Scriptures that are true professions. There is no new birth contrary
to the Scriptures. If it's contrary to the Scriptures,
there is no new birth. You see what I'm saying? Paul
had one advice to that young preacher Timothy, just one thing.
He said, preach the Word. And now what he told him? Preach
the Word. Nothing that God does for or
in the hearts of chosen sinners is contrary to the Scriptures.
Paul said Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.
He was buried and rose again according to the Scriptures.
And Paul said the gospel he preached was a gospel which was the revelation
of a mystery, kept secret since the world began, but was now
made manifest by the Scriptures of the prophets. according to
the commandment of God, and to be made known to all nations
for the obedience of faith." That's Romans 16, verses 25 and
26. God could have put it into the
minds of those men not to bother His sons. The heart of the king
is in the hand of the Lord. He turneth it whithersoever He
will. It's just like those rivers of waters that He directs and
commands, so is the hearts of the king. They're in his hands.
He could have put it in their minds not to bother them. Just
shush off them Jews. These were slaves. They were
conquered people. He didn't have to listen to them.
He could have. God could have empowered Peter
to have taken off the servant's head instead of his ear. I guarantee
you, Peter wasn't swinging for the man's ear. He was swinging
for his head. And God could have guided that hand and he could
have took that head off. He could have empowered Peter
on that day to stand there before that mob and let Samson take
the whole outfit out. How many thousands did Samson
put down with the jawbone of an ass? God could have sent twelve legions
of angels. That's what our Lord said. He
said, don't you think I could call to my Heavenly Father? And
he wouldn't presently send me 12 legions of angels? Do you
know that the entire Roman army, consisting of over 12,000 people,
was called a legion? He said, I could call 12 legions. I could have 144,000 angels standing
in this spot today, right now. But then he said, how would the
Scriptures be fulfilled? Huh? And thus it must be. I tell you, the Old Testament
Scriptures weave a garment that will only fit one man. And that
man is the Lord Jesus Christ. And the Scriptures of the New
Testament are the revelation of the Scriptures of the Old.
And if you have a Jesus in which you believe and trust, but He's
contrary to the Jesus set forth in the Word of God, you've got
another Jesus. I don't know why men fight that. Everything our
Lord did, He said, I must do that the Scriptures might be
fulfilled. I must go through Jericho. I
must go through Samaria. I must go here. Why? That the
Scriptures might be fulfilled. And then while we're on the subject,
let me tell you something else. This goes for your faith. And
it goes for the means of your faith. Faith cometh by hearing. Hearing by the Word of God. I tell you, I talk to folks on
the phone all the time. I was talking to a couple of
men this past week, and they began to justify their callings
and experiences and call to the ministry and all this stuff,
and they're telling me this on the phone, totally contrary to
the Scriptures. And I tell you what I tell them,
sell it to your grandma, I don't want to hear it. I don't want
to hear it. God doesn't do anything contrary
to the Scriptures. I don't care how real it is to
you. It could be just as real. Let me tell you something. When
Satan works in the heart of a man, or his ministers works in the
hearts of men, don't you think those experiences are real? I've
had them. Don't tell me they don't feel
real. They're as real as the real thing. Sure they are. And they'll convince you. We're
convinced. I'm convinced, boy, that this God done a work in
my heart. You better throw those feelings and that experience
out the door and open this book. Open this book. That's what will
tell you whether or not your experience is an experience of
grace. This book. God is unchangeable. Situations
don't change Him. Nothing changes Him. He's unchangeable. Listen to what James said. He
said, Every gift, every perfect gift,
every good gift and every perfect gift cometh down from the Father
of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Those
gifts that He purposed, those blessings, those eternal blessings
that He purposed in Christ Jesus before the world began, do you
think He is going to change those things? No, he isn't going to change
it. And when he institutes something like baptism with his prophet
John, that was purpose before the foundation of the world. When he institutes something
like the preaching of the gospel in this gospel age and sends
out preachers, you think he just come up with that because it
was this age? Purpose before the foundation
of the world. Well, can you make good on that
preaching? Well, sure I can. 2 Thessalonians 2 verse 13, God
hath from the beginning chosen you unto salvation through sanctification
of spirit and belief of the truth, whereunto He called you by our
gospel to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
When did He purpose that? When did He call His people?
When did He purpose it? Before the world was. Did God say it pleased Him by
the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe? Is
that what He said? Buddy, you can chisel it in stone.
That's the way it's going to be. That's the way it's going
to be. Did the Lord say that the Holy
Ghost would convict men of sin, convince them beyond all doubt
of what they are and why, and convince them None righteous,
and none good, and none that understandeth, and none that
seeketh after God." Did he say that? He's going to convince
us of sin? Is that what the Holy Spirit
is going to do? Is that what the Word of God said He would
do when He comes? Write it down. That's what's
going to happen. That's what's going to happen. And quit trying
to convince me that the Holy Spirit is convincing you of all
sorts of these other things. Well, the Lord just convicted
me about how long my dress is. Somebody is, but it ain't the
Holy Spirit. It ain't the Holy Spirit. Well,
the Lord just convicted me to start a bus ministry. Huh? Where does this stuff come from?
I'll tell you where it comes from. A vain imagination. That's where it comes from. I have no doubt that men have
feelings to do things, but the Holy Ghost is not the source
of it. The Holy Spirit of God convicts men of sin, righteousness,
and judgment. The Holy Spirit of God attends
the preaching of the gospel. The Holy Spirit of God moves
in the hearts of men, giving them the revelation of God and
causing them to be born anew. That is what the Holy Spirit
does. Our business, the business of
the church, is to preach the gospel of Christ. The Holy Spirit,
His business is to make that gospel effect show in the hearts
of chosen sinners. A preacher, you believe we ought
to just ignore the needs of the poor and destitute? That's absurd. No believer is going to ignore
somebody in need. That's absurd. Actually, the
Scriptures say this. The Holy Spirit doesn't lay it
on the heart of a man to go start an orphanage or build a hospital.
That's not his business. Our business is to preach the
gospel. But listen to this. Paul said to the Galatians, over
in Galatians 6, verse 10, he said, As we have, therefore,
opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them
who are of the household of faith. If you have opportunity, help
them. Going down the road and there's a man in the ditch, you're
just going to say, well, that's your tough luck. Going down the
road, are you going to stop and help him? Well, there's an opportunity. There's an opportunity. You see
a man hungry, and you know they're hungry, and it doesn't appear
like anybody's going to help them, help them. Give them some
food. Give them the help. As we therefore have opportunity. We're living in a generation
of deceived men and women who are being ministered to by men
who don't know God and are totally ignorant of the Word of God and
the Gospel of Christ. Blind leaders of the blind, prophets
with a vision of their own heart, deceived and deceiving one another. Everything concerning the salvation
of God's elect, the means by which it's accomplished, and
the work He does in the hearts of chosen sinners is all plainly
declared in the Word of God. It's plainly declared. Listen to this. Well, I've already
quoted that to you. Over here in 2 Timothy 3, verses
16 and 17, he said, all Scripture is given by inspiration of God. Is God eternal? Sure He is. Then what He inspires, time has
nothing to do with. Job could speak as presently.
Job said, I know, though these worms devour this body, he said,
in that day I'm going to stand on this earth in this body. in my flesh, and I'll see God."
Ain't that what he said? Huh? Job's oldest book in the
Bible. They don't even know how old
it is. The Spirit of God is eternal. He's God. When He speaks, time
has no bearing on it whatsoever. You know, and folks in our day,
they said, well now wait a minute, that's the old Bible. We just
had one Bible. You want to talk about old? The
New Testament is 2,000 years old. Thus it must be. The Lord Jesus
Christ must be betrayed into the hands of His enemies. He
must do so without struggle. He must do so without defense.
He must suffer cruel mockings beatings and humiliations totally
beyond our imagination. Because thus it is written, and
thus it must be. He must rise from the dead on
the third day. How many times did our Lord tell
His disciples? And they never did get it until
after the fact. He said, I must go to Jerusalem,
I must be betrayed, I must be killed, and rise again from the
dead the third day. He just kept telling them that. He must rise from the dead, be
seen of many witnesses of sin to the right hand of God. The
Holy Spirit be sent into the world. God's visible church is
established, and His gospel be preached to all nations of men.
Why must that be? Because that's what God said.
That's what God said. And I'm going to tell you something.
Believers believe what God says.