Back in Matthew's Gospel, chapter
22, you probably, I wouldn't be surprised if you haven't guessed
my text. Verse 42, while the Pharisees
were still gathered together, the Lord asked them, What think
ye of Christ? What think ye of Christ? That's the issue. That's the
issue. Not one of the issues, that's
the issue. Consider just briefly the context
in which our Lord asked them this question. When did it take
place? In the last week of his life,
as I mentioned in the reading. Before his crucifixion, he was
only five days away from the time he had this conversation
with the Pharisees. In five days from this time,
he would lay down his life for us. In five days, he would be
made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of
God in him. In five days, he would obtain
eternal redemption. What an accomplishment. And that's
what it was. It was an accomplishment. It
wasn't an effort. It wasn't an attempt. It was
an accomplishment. Look at chapter 20. Our Lord speaks of this, as He
often did, and more and more so as the time drew near. He
told His disciples, although it was hid from them, they just
couldn't comprehend it at the time. But in chapter 20, verse
17, And Jesus, going up to Jerusalem,
took the 12 disciples apart in the way and said unto them, Behold,
we go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man shall be betrayed
unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn
him to death. And they did. And they shall
deliver him to the Gentiles to mock and discourage. And they
did. And crucify him, which they did. and the third day he shall
rise again." Which he did. That's just as sure and certain
as everything else in those verses. And then in chapter 21, you have
the record of his triumphant entry into Jerusalem. 550 years before this, Zachariah
prophesied that he would enter Jerusalem exactly the way he
did. Exactly the way he did. And our
Lord speaks of this just moments before when he sent them out
to find the mule. Look at verse 5. Tell ye the
daughter of Zion, behold, thy king cometh. This you'll find
in the prophecy of Zechariah chapter 9, which was 550 years
before this. Tell ye the daughter of Zion,
behold, thy king cometh unto thee, meek and setting upon an
ass, and a colt, the foal of an ass. He enters Jerusalem. He cleanses the temple. He chases
out the money changers. And then he leaves to spend the
night in Bethany. And then he returns the next
morning. This is when the Pharisees and
the Sadducees and the Herodians had gotten together to trap him,
to entangle him, we read, in his words. So that's whom he
is speaking to when he said, What think ye of Christ? They wanted to take him before
this, we're told, but they feared the people. They feared the people
because the people counted him as a prophet. So they said, well,
let's try a different tactic. Let's approach this from a different
way. We'll turn the people against
him. We'll eliminate the threat of
the people, which was easy to do, which they succeeded in doing. It doesn't take much to turn
the tide of popular opinion. I mean, just look at politicians. They couldn't take him, so they
changed their tactics by attempting to turn the people whom they
feared, we're told in chapter 22. So this is the when and the
where of our Lord's words. And then in chapter 23, he calls
these Pharisees blind guides. In chapter 23, he pronounces
those eight terrible woes. And every one of them, with the
exception of one, he begins with these words. Woe unto you, scribes
and Pharisees, hypocrites. Hypocrites. Woe unto you. You're blind guides. You devour widows' houses. You'll receive greater condemnation,
greater damnation. Woe unto you. You're liars and
hypocrites. You're blind leaders of the blind. You'll go over a mountain and
see the maker proselyte, and once you've done it, you make
him twofold more the child of hell than you are yourself. That's serious business, isn't
it? Have you ever heard our Lord talk that way before this? Woe
unto you. It was sort of the last straw
for them. Because after this, they said,
he's got to go. This seems to be his worst of
them here, these woes, seem to be the last straw. They said,
that's enough. That's enough. And they plot
to kill him. They said, no matter what it
takes, we'll kill him. And it was the last straw, though
they didn't realize it, for them as well, from our Lord. Between the terrible woes of
chapter 23 and their attempt to entrap Him that we read in
chapter 22, we come to these last six verses in which our
Lord asked the question in verse 42, what think ye of Christ? What think ye of Christ? First, consider the question
as to the fact of it. The fact of it. Only one. That's my point. It was really
only one question, meaning and demonstrating to us may God demonstrate
it to us, that there's none more important for you and I to consider,
nothing more important than this. He permitted them to ask all
they did, knowing their hearts, knowing why they were asking,
knowing what their intentions were, But he overruled it. He permitted it. Or he providentially
arranged it just so he could come to this very point and ask
this question of them and of you and I. What think ye of Christ? That's the only reason he arranged
all this we read of in chapter 22. So he could put forth this
question. this one question. When I thought about that last
night, I thought, oh, my soul. And Paul's words in Romans 11.
Oh, the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge
of God. How unsearchable are His judgments
and His ways past finding out. For who has known the mind of
the Lord or who has been His counselor? They tried to outwit
They tried to entrap he who was the very wisdom of God. And he arranged it so that he
could bring forth this question. What think ye of Christ? That's the issue. That's the
issue. I wrote an article for our bulletin
this morning And I refer to driving along 280. That was just this
past Wednesday on the way to Don and Sandy's house. And as
I said in the article, I saw past several churches advertising
their gimmicks, what they had to offer. But you know what? Sadly, sadly, I would that it
wasn't so, but it is, and you know that it is. I never passed
one, and I haven't passed one yet, all over this area, that advertises this. Come in here, come in here, and
we'll preach the gospel of God's grace, and we'll answer this
question. How can a man be just with God? or will answer by God's grace
from his word this question, what must I do to be saved? No, no. Come in. We'll play games. We'll entertain you. We'll do
whatever it takes to make you happy, to keep you coming back. Our Lord told these Pharisees,
What think ye of Christ? That's the issue with him. That's
the issue with Christ. It was then and it is now. There's not been a change. That's
still the truth, isn't it, brother Loyle? That's still the issue. No, man's not evolved beyond
that. He thinks he has, but he's not. There's not a greater need in
our day than this, the priest, the glorious gospel of the blessed
God. And as God gives us grace, I
say we, as God gives us grace, let us be determined in the light
of all the nonsense we see around us or may it make us more determined
to priest the glorious gospel and use every means He's put
in our hands to spread the tidings all around. to our dying children,
neighbors, loved ones. Jesus saves, Jesus saves. What? Thank ye of Christ. That's the issue, brothers and
sisters. And you that know Christ, know
that. You know that that's the issue.
Thank God that you do. Thank Him that you do. Thank
God that you know that's the issue. And right now, perhaps,
in your heart, you're happy to answer the question, what you
think of Christ. We're jumping just a little ahead
of ourselves, but that's alright. Oh, for believers, I know what
you think of Christ. I know what you think of Him.
He's altogether lovely. Isn't He, Lester? There's not
another one like Him, is there, Kenneth? I owe Him everything. I owe Him everything. And He's
not a doormat into heaven. And He's not a fire escape out
of hell. He's the King of kings and the
Lord of lords. He's David's son and David's
God. And He's your God and your King. Whether you've bowed or not,
you're in His hand. And bless God for the believer,
they rejoice in that blessed, blessed truth. I'm in his hand
and nothing, nothing can snatch me out. Notice, secondly, the
subject of the question. The fact of the question demonstrates
how important it is. Now, the subject of the question,
of course, it's Christ. What think ye? Not of Caesar's
taxes. not of your warped concept of
the resurrection, not what you consider about God's commandments,
but here's the... Question. Here's the issue. What think ye of Christ? That is, the Messiah. The Messiah. That's what he asked
them. What think ye of the Messiah? The anointed one that you've
read about in the Old Testament so much? Whose prophecies you've
memorized. What think you of him? You claim
to be waiting for him. He's told the Pharisees, you
claim to be looking for him. He asked them, how is he David's
son and David's Lord? And then he quotes verse 44 from
Psalm 110. Turn, if you will, to Psalm 110.
They knew this in their head. They knew this Scripture that
he quoted. But let's read from the Psalm
that he quoted it from. They knew it in their head, oh,
but not in their heart. Psalm 110, verse 1. The Lord
said unto my Lord, Set thou at my right hand, until I make thine
enemies thy footstool. That's God the Father speaking
to God the Son. The Lord shall send the rod of
thy strength out of Zion. Rule thou in the midst of thine
enemies. Thy people, God still speaking,
to Christ. Thy people, those people I gave
you before the world was ever created. Those people I entrusted
into your care and hands. Those people for whom you'll
go to earth for. Those people that you'll be made
like unto their flesh and bone. Like your brethren. Those people
that you'll live for and die for. And come back to glory and
intercede for. Thy people shall be willing in
the day of thy power. I'm so thankful for that, aren't
you? Louie, aren't you? People say, oh, wait a minute. Wait a minute. What about my
will? What about my free will? Well,
there's no such critter. Your will's not free. It's bound. It's bound to your nature. And
you will not will anything contrary to your nature. That's why our
Lord said, ye will not come to me. It's against your nature. Oh, thank God He didn't leave
us there. He didn't leave us there. Thy
people shall be willing. How? When? Why? In the day of
thy power. I'll give them a new heart. A
new nature. Oh, and they'll be willing to
come. They'll be willing to bow. They'll
believe, they'll repent. Thy people shall be willing in
the day of thy power and in the beauties of holiness from the
womb of the morning thou hast to do of thy youth. The Lord has sworn and will not
repent thou, that is Christ, art a priest forever after the
order of Melchizedek. What think ye of Christ? Our Lord spoke the parable in
chapter 21 about the wicked husbandmen who let out his land to them. That is the Lord of the vineyard. And when he came or sent servants,
For his crop, they beat him and ran him off. He sent his son,
and they said, here's the heir. We'll kill him, and it'll all
be ours. And he asked the Pharisees, what do you think the Lord will
do, the Lord of the vineyard will do to those wicked husbandmen?
And they said, oh, he'll destroy them. They condemned themselves. He was speaking of them. That's
exactly what they were doing. And he said, if you've never
read in Scripture the stone which the builders refused, which you
who claim to be the builders, the leaders, refused, the same
was made the head of the corner, whether you like it or not, this
is the Lord's doing and it's marvelous in our eyes. And they
knew that Scripture too. In their head. But they had no
clue, they had no clue what the Messiah's mission was. That He
was God and man, sent of God, accepted of God, made sin by
God, raised by God, and seated at God's right hand in glory,
and all those that believe on Him are complete. justified from
all things from which they could not be justified by the law of
Moses like the Pharisees taught. Complete in Him, the complete
Messiah and Savior in all and in whom all the fullness of God
dwells. And Jesus of Nazareth is that
Messiah. He's that Christ. They didn't
understand why Christ was coming. Never did. Didn't understand
what his mission was before he came or know who he was when
he did come. Does that sound familiar? Does
that sound familiar? Isn't it amazing in a sense?
As the old saying goes, the more things change, the more they
stay the same. Not really. Not really. It's the same in our day. Men
are standing, as I am, all around us in every direction, multitudes,
pastors, preachers, and they're standing just like the Pharisees,
don't have a clue as to why Christ comes, what He accomplished,
where He is now. Don't have a clue. What think
ye of Christ? That's not dealt with. He didn't
come, nor does he now abide to make people healthy and wealthy. That's not why he came. And those
who preach that are just like these Pharisees, blind leaders
of the blind. He didn't come to make us healthy
and to make us wealthy. That's not the gospel. No, no,
no. He came to save His people from
their sins. That's why He came. That's why
He came. Anyone interested in that? Is
that the issue with you? Wealth won't declare me righteous
before God. Health won't. Oh no. Only Christ can. He came to save His people from
their sins. And either He did or He didn't. That's exactly right. Either
He did or He didn't. Either He accomplished what He
intended or He didn't. Either He put away sin or He
didn't. There's no in-between. And bless
God, He did. He did. I love to repeat it. And I know you love to hear it.
Bless God, He proclaimed. He proclaimed as the mighty victor
that He was. It is finished, bless His holy
name. It's done. It's done. I've accomplished
just exactly what I came to accomplish. And now He sits in glory. calling
out of darkness His sheep, those for whom He died, those the Father
gave Him to die for. He's now calling every one of
them out of darkness into His marvelous light. And when He's
finished that, He'll lay this world aside like that. and gather
all His elect to be with Him and cast all those who aren't
into outer darkness. What think ye of Christ? He was
so far removed from what they vainly imagined the Christ to
be that when He appeared, this is how they reacted. When He said, I'm the Son of
God. They said, what? You're the carpenter's
son. We know who your daddy is. We
know who your mother is, your sisters, your brethren. We don't
need you. You're delusional. You're schizophrenic. You ought to be put away. You're
mad. That's what they told him. We
don't need you. We have Abraham and we have Moses.
They said, he has a devil and he's mad. Why do you hear him? They asked the people. Their
questions were always about what and why. About touch not, and
wear not, and taste not, and go not. And Christ said, that's
not the issue. The issue is this, what think
ye of Christ? And that's my last point. Let's
leave the Pharisees alone. like our Lord did after this.
He walked away, left them alone. But I want to be more personal
to myself and to each of you, not to Pharisees, but as though
the Lord stood this morning and nobody else was here except you.
Nobody else is present but you. And he asked you this question.
He asked Larry Chris this question. Larry, what do you think of me? What do you think of Christ? You remember in Matthew 16, whom
do the people say that I am? He asked his disciples. Some
say you're John the Baptist risen from the dead, or Elijah, or
some prophet. And he said, but whom say ye
that I am? What think you of Christ? Old
Peter had so much to learn, didn't he? My soul, I identify with
Peter. He stuck his foot in his mouth
so often. He had so much to learn. He was
so far off base so many times. When our Lord said, I'm going
to Jerusalem to die, I laid down my life, he said, I won't let
you do that. Remember that? But on this occasion when our
Lord said, who am I to you? Peter said, I don't have a question
about it. I don't have a doubt in my heart
about it. You're the Christ. You're the Messiah. You're the
Son of God. And our Lord said, Peter, you're
a blessed man. Do you know how blessed you are,
Peter? My father's done something for you that he's not done for
everybody. He didn't do it for Judas. The Pharisees, and it
was their own fault, but he said, Peter, my heavenly father has
revealed to you who I am. You know what the issue is. What
think ye of Christ? I thought about that, Joe. as I was looking over my notes
last night, and I thought about friends that I went to school
with and graduated with that are in hell right now. They're
in hell right now. And I thought, Larry Criss, who
made you the difference? The hymn writer said, "'Tis not
that I did choose thee, for Lord, that could not be. This heart
would still refuse thee, had thou not chosen me." What think
ye of Christ? The wise man said, "'As a man
thinketh in his heart, so is he.'" That word heart is used
over 900 times in the Scriptures. And very rarely, hardly ever,
is it talking about this organ inside of us that pumps blood
through our body. No. It's talking about the center
of our affections, our desires, our loves, our intellect. It's the command center, Lester.
The heart is the command center of the issues of life. Our Lord
said, where your treasure is, that which you value, that which
you esteem, that which you love, where your treasure is, that's
where your heart will be also. Out of the heart, he said. The
Pharisees one time asked him, why do your disciples transgress
our traditions? They didn't wash their hands
before they sat down to eat. Our Lord said, oh, it's not what
goes in the mouth that defiles the man, it's what comes out
of the heart. That's the problem, the heart.
What think ye of Christ? Not what we give a casual brief
nod to, but that which occupies our innermost thoughts, receives
our undivided attention. Martha, You're careful and troubled,
anxious about many things, so many things. Mary, one thing. One thing's needful. And Mary's
chosen that one thing, and it won't be taken away from her.
In Solomon's song, the bride said, My beloved is mine, and
I am his. Brother Henry Mahan wrote an
article, let me just share a little bit of it with you, on that verse
of scripture. He says, every soul has a beloved,
something or someone in which to glory, rejoice and enjoy. With some it's the world, it's
materialism and so forth. With others it's the flesh, they
live to entertain and pamper the flesh. With others it's the
family. With others, it's religion, works of righteousness. Their
religion is not a person, it's a cause. And with some, it's
self, pure and simple. What can I do for me? But to
the believer, to the believer, it's Christ. Christ is my beloved,
and my beloved is mine, and I am his. His fellowship and his love
and his approval is preferred above persons and possessions
and pleasures and pursuits. And Henry asked this question.
Could one so illustrious and supreme deserve anything less? Whom have I in heaven but thee?
And there is none that I desire upon earth beside thee. Look again at verse 42 and we'll
wrap this up. What think ye of Christ? What think ye of Christ? Well, I think this. I know this. Without him, I would have no
hope. I'd be without God in this world.
I think, know that without him, I would not have been chosen
unto salvation. Without him, I would not have
been redeemed. I would still be sitting in darkness
without Him and would have never been brought out. Without Him,
without Him, I'd stand before God Almighty alone, by myself. If not for Him, out here, depart
from me into outer darkness, because whosoever was not found
written in the Lamb's book of life was cast into the lake of
fire. If not for him, I would have
left up my eyes in hell forever." So what do I think of Christ?
John, I think I owe everything to him. And I don't act like
it most of the time. But I do. I owe everything to
him. He's the one that's made me to
differ. Till then, nor is my boasting
vain. Till then I boast the Savior
slain. And oh, may this my glory be,
that Christ is not ashamed of me. Isn't that amazing? He's not ashamed of me. He's
not ashamed of his brethren. Peter, he asked another question
after he rose from the dead right before he went back to glory.
Peter, do you love me? Peter, what do you really think of me
in your heart? Do you love me? And Peter said, you know everything.
You know everything. You know what I think. My thoughts
can't be hid from you. You know everything. And Peter
said this. You know that I love you. You
know that I love you. Oh, Hallelujah. My heart owns
none before Thee, for Thy rich grace I thirst, this knowing
if I love Thee, Thou must have loved me first. To those of you
who don't think of Christ, who don't love Him, don't know Him. You remember what He spoke to
the Pharisees on another occasion? He said, if you don't believe
that I'm He, if you don't believe I'm the Christ, you'll die in
your sin. You'll die in your sins. Something else I thought about
a lot. Am I preaching to somebody this
morning that will die in their sins because they believe not? If you believe not, you'll die
in your sins. Oh, I pray that God, God in his
grace, won't allow that to happen. After our Lord pronounced those
terrible woes against the Pharisees, yet, he said, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
thou that killest the prophets and stonest them which are sent
unto thee, how often would I have gathered thee, gathered thy children
together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings,
and you would not, you would not. I would have, he said, but
you wouldn't. The problem lies with you. Listen to this. I'll close with
this. To you that don't know Christ,
he says in grace, seek ye the Lord while he may be found. Call
upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts. And let him return unto the Lord,
and he will have mercy upon him. And to our God, for he will abundantly
pardon, he delights to show mercy. May God give you grace to look
to him.