Acts 17. It shows you how bad
I erred this morning in thinking that we could get through this
passage. But I want to look at it again. Because what we said this morning,
we didn't get it even at the issue. And that's what I was saving
for last. So let's go back and look at it here again. when Paul
and Silas had come here to Thessalonica. In verse 2, Paul, as his manner
was, went in unto them, and three Sabbath days reasoned with them
out of the Scriptures. And it's so important to know
what he reasoned with them concerning it, because We saw this morning
that these men believed, and we saw the effects of that. I
mean, they proved their election. That's how men prove that they're
one of God's elect, if they believe the Word of God. That's how we
have hope. That's how we're converted. It's
by hearing. But notice what he reasoned with
them out of the Scriptures, opening and alleging, that is, You can
just go ahead and read that, that he was comparing Scriptures
with Scriptures. Basically, that's what that meant.
He's quoting Scriptures. He's opening them. He's turning
to them. He's laying one Scripture beside
another Scripture. Opening and alleging. And here
it is, that Christ must needs have suffered and risen again
from the dead, and that this Jesus whom I preach unto you
is Christ, and some of them believed." Now, this is the whole issue
of what we're reasoning about. Paul looked at the Old Testament
Scriptures, and of all the subjects that he could have talked about,
and all the issues he could have taken up throughout the Old Testament,
here's the issue. Here is the main issue, and that's
Christ and the sufferings of Christ. Now, there's a lot of
subject in the Old Testament, but this is the subject. This
is the subject that all other subjects lead you to, is Christ. If a Jehovah Witness comes to
your door and you want to sit and talk to Him, if you want
to take the Scriptures and prove to Him that there's a hell, that's
fine. That's an issue. I've got nothing
wrong with that. But that's not the issue. There's
a much more important issue than just proving whether there's
a hell. And what is it? The sufferings of Christ. That's
the issue, that Christmas needs have suffered. George Spurgeon
was telling one time about a missionary going to one of the islands to
preach. And for one solid year, he preached nothing but the moral
law. He preached the moral law, the
law of Moses, for one year. And he said those people got
so mean that they were a danger to one another. And he changed
his message one day. He went and started preaching
Christ and Him crucified to Him. And he said, I've never seen
the like at the tenderness come over a group of people. And he
asked them, he said, what happened? They said, all you did was command,
command, command. But when you started preaching
Christ to us, we fell in love with Him. And that's it, ain't
it? You can go to the Old Testament
and find all kinds of subjects. And men do. But what's these
subjects? When Paul opened the Word of
God, and the Old Testament Scripture is all they had back then, wasn't
it? Here's what he reasoned with him on. The sufferings of Christ. And notice how he says it here.
Open and allege that Christ must needs have suffered. Now what
does he mean by that? Well, let's look at it this way.
First of all, Christ must suffer. That word must, it means necessity. It means it's binding. It must
come to pass. The Son of Man must be lifted
up. There's no other name under heaven
whereby we must be saved. You must be born again. Christ
must suffer. Now why is that so? Why is that
so binding? Well, the Old Testament Scriptures
predicted it. That makes it a must, don't it?
He reasoned out of the Old Testament Scriptures, and when he saw all
of these predictions that Christ would suffer, he says, this is
a must. This is a must. Why? Because
the Scripture must be fulfilled. How often do we read that? This
was done, or that was done, to fulfill the Scripture. These prophecies in the Old Testament
concerns the sufferings of Christ. They are so numerous. They're
so precise, they cannot be mere coincidences when they come to
pass, can they? Too many of them. They're too
precise. Listen to this and I'll see if
this ain't so. It was prophesied hundreds of years, some thousands
of years, that Jesus Christ would be born of a virgin. That He
would be a poor man. That his followers would be common
people. That he would be betrayed by
a friend for money. That he would be forsaken of
all of his friends. That he would be judged of kings
and rulers and be condemned to death. That was prophesied of
Jesus hundreds of years before he was born. It was predicted
of him that he'd be whipped and the whites of his bones would
show in his back, that the hair would be plucked from his face,
that his hands and his feet would be pierced, that he would be
crucified and buried with criminals, that they'd give him vinegar
to drink, and he said in his dying hours, my God, my God,
why hast thou forsaken me? And that he would be mocked,
If you be the Christ, you trusted on the Lord, come down from the
cross. All of these things were predicted of Him hundreds or
thousands of years before they actually came to pass. And they're
too numerous and precise just to say, well, that's a coincidence,
isn't it? And listen to this. No one willingly
and knowingly aided in the fulfillment of these Scriptures. His friends
tried to stop His sufferings, and they would have if they could.
His enemies were ignorant of who Christ even was and of the
necessity of His sufferings. Neither His friends nor His enemies
plotted together to make sure these sufferings that were predicted
come to pass. If they had known who He was,
they'd never crucified the Lord of glory. The sufferings of Christ
was not instigated and plotted and schemed by His friends nor
by His enemies, because neither of them had any idea what was
going on. Every time the Lord said the
Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men, He must
be crucified and buried and raised the third day. They had no idea
what He was talking about. Why did these things come to
pass? God had purposed them to come to pass. The Holy Spirit
had moved upon men of old and predicted all of these things
would come to pass. That's why they come to pass.
Isn't it so encouraging to your faith? And don't it prove over
and over again that when you read these prophecies in the
Old Testament, and you turn right around and hundreds or thousands
of years later, you see them fulfilled in the New Testament,
don't that just strengthen your faith in the inspiration of the
Holy Scriptures? And we see it all the time, don't
we? That's why Christ suffered. He must suffer, because the Scriptures
predicted it. Now look at a couple of places
with me, very familiar places. Look in Acts chapter 13, just
over to your left. Acts chapter 13. And look in
verse 26. Paul opening in the legend from
the Scriptures that Christ must suffer. Look what he says in
verse 26. Paul was preaching here at Antioch.
He said, Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, whosoever
among you that fears God, to you is the word of this salvation
sin. For they that dwell at Jerusalem,
and the rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices
of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath day, they have
fulfilled them in condemning him." Ain't that amazing? See,
they didn't plot to do it. They didn't say, well listen
now, this has to come to pass. So what we need to do is plot
and scheme and make sure he comes to pass. They didn't even know
what they were doing. They condemned him and doing
that, they fulfilled everything that was written about him. Ain't
that amazing? It shows us, brothers and sisters,
that what God predicts, it's going to come to pass. And usually
nobody knows it until it's come to pass and it's fulfilled. And
look in verse 28, And though they found no cause of death
in him, yet bizarre they piled, that he should be slain. And
when they had fulfilled all that was written concerning him, of
him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulcher. That's why I said, if you want
to know something about the sufferings of Christ, Larry told us, been
telling us there in 2 Peter 3.18 about Christ's suffering. And
you want to know something about the nature of these sufferings?
Go back and look in the Old Testament. The New Testament basically,
especially the epistles, it don't deal much with the nature of
His sufferings. It just tells us that He suffered. But boy,
go back in the Psalms. Go back in the Prophets. and
see some of the statements that they make concerning the sufferings
of Christ. Is it nothing to you that pass
by? Behold and see if there's any
sorrow like unto my sorrow. What's wrong with it? The Lord
hath afflicted me in the day of His fierce wrath. We find
out about that in the Old Testament. Look here in Luke chapter 24. Luke chapter 24. Look in verse
44. Very familiar Scriptures concerning
what the Old Testament Scripture says about Jesus Christ's suffering. Here He's ready to go back to
heaven. He's got His disciples and He's teaching them. And He
says in verse 44, Luke 24, These are the words which I spake to
you while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled
which are written in the law of Moses, in the Prophets and
in the Psalms concerning me." And look at this. Oh Lord, do
this for us. Then opened he their understanding,
that they might understand the Scriptures, and said unto them,
Thus it is written, and therefore thus it behooves Christ to suffer
and to rise from the dead to the third day. Why did He suffer?
He must suffer because it is written of Him. It is written
of Him. So Paul told these Thessalonians
here, he reasoned with them, that Christ must suffer. But he said something else in
this statement here. He said this, Christ must needs
have suffering. He had something to it now, don't
he? He must suffer because the Scriptures predicted it. But
now he says, need. There's a need for his suffering.
This word need, it means a want, a necessity. a certain state
or situation that requires supply or relief, an urgency. What was the urgency in Christ's
suffering? Well, it was this, brothers and
sisters, and we know it well, don't we? All of us have sinned
and come short of God's glory. God's moral law has judged us
and has condemned us. And we stand guilty before God. Our sins are upon us and we die. If God doesn't take our sins
from us and put them upon His dear and blessed Son, we will
die. That's a pretty drastic need,
ain't it? The soul that sinneth, it shall
die if that sin is not removed from it. The wages of sin is
death. If those wages aren't paid, we
die. That's the need. Christ must
needs have suffered. So God did what no man or angel
could do. What did He do? He took our sins,
our transgressions, our iniquities. And what did He do with them?
He put those sins and all the guilt and the entire weight and
the full responsibility upon His dear and blessed Son, Jesus
Christ. Tell what you said this morning,
Lord. The transfer of sins. That was the need, brothers and
sisters. All God has to do to assure a
man's eternal ruin, just leave his sins on him. Leave his sins
on him. So God must do what nobody can
do. Take those sins. And that He
did. Thank God that He did. And He
put them upon His dear and blessed Son. And Jesus Christ did what
angels and men could bind, could never do. He's satisfied. He's satisfied. That was the
need. Christ must needs. There was a need for His suffering. He bore our sins in His own body. He suffered for our sins. Christ suffered untold agony
of soul and body upon Calvary's tree. Not for our righteousness. Not for our potential. But for
our sins. And God saw that suffering. And
you know what He said? Satisfied. I'm satisfied. That's why I asked Brother Larry
that question this morning. When you look at the sufferings
of Jesus Christ, what does the Scripture teach us about those
sufferings? That He made full satisfaction. And to say, Brother
Larry, that that suffering is ineffective? That is blasphemy. That's what
you said this morning. That is blasphemy. That somebody,
as the Son of God, with the power and merit and the preciousness
of His person and His blood, should suffer and say that's
ineffective? Uh-uh. No. He needs to suffer for us. But in His suffering, I'll tell
you what He did. He satisfied. God saw of the
travail of His soul and was satisfied. Do you think Paul preached other
than that? Do you think He cut up here and
He preached and He proved from the Scriptures that Christ needed
to suffer and turn around and say, but I just don't know how
effective it is? No. No, sir. He didn't. He took away
our sins by the sacrifice of Himself. There is nothing that
you and I can do to satisfy God for our sins. If you and I are
concerned this afternoon about our sins, and a need to be saved
from them, and their eternal consequences, then we must believe
what the Scripture says about it. Christ suffered and satisfied
for us. That's the only way to escape
it, isn't it? That's why he said this right here in the last portion
of verse 4, in the first portion of verse 4. He said, and this
Jesus whom I preach unto you is Christ. This is the one that
took our sins away. This is the one that suffered. You know why so many people didn't
believe it? You know why so many people didn't
believe that Jesus was the Christ? The way He came into this world
through the womb of a poor virgin. that he lived in this world in
poverty with no place to lay his head. The people that followed
him were a bunch of nobodies, fishermen, tax collector, was
crucified in utter weakness and beat to a pulp. That's the Christ. Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ. Paul said that's who He is. That's
who He is. You'll never know it. Listen
now. You'll never know it. You'll
never know He's the Christ if you don't go to the Scriptures
and prove it. But when you go to the Scriptures, what do you
find? He's born of a virgin. He's born in poverty. The common
people hear Him. He is whipped. He is despised. He is crucified. He is Jesus. The suffering Christ of God.
And he says here in verse 4, and some of them believed. And
some of them believed. And I believe it, don't you?
I believe. Brothers and sisters, I believe.
that Jesus, that was born to Mary, is the Son of God. And
that in the days of His flesh upon the cross of Calvary, after
living a sinless life, He suffered for sin. And because of His great
merit of His person, He atoned. He satisfied for sin. And you
know what, brothers and sisters? I don't feel anything. I don't
see anything. I don't do anything that would
merit anything. And that's our hope, ain't it?
Is that or not? Is that or not? Look here, 2
Thessalonians in closer. I wish we could come back to
this, but I think we're just about afraid to for some reason
or another. I think we're afraid of easy-believe-isms and all
of this, but I wish we could come back to this. I heard Todd
Nyberg make a statement a few days ago, 2 Thessalonians chapter
1. And he said this, I thought it personal, wait a minute. You
know what he said? He said, if you believe, if you
believe God's word, you're saved. If you believe God's word, you're
saved. I thought, wait a minute, what? But you know, I've got
thinking about that. Who is this speaking? Who is
this speaking? If we could say, when the Lord
Jesus Christ was here, and you heard Him preach a message, and
I walked up to you and said, now, if you believe Him, you
say it. Would that be the truth? Absolutely. Well, here He is
saying it. Here's God speaking to us. Is
that not so? Thy Word is truth. And when the
Apostle Paul went, opened in the Scriptures, and said, listen,
Here's what God says about His Son. He's sinned in Him. He's suffering for sins. God
is satisfied with it. You believe that, you're saved.
And they believed it. I don't know what they felt.
I know what they believed. Was that enough? Was that enough,
brothers and sisters? Reckon we'll ever get back to
that. Brethren, the Lord brings us back to say, fillings come
and fillings go. Fillings are deceiving. Our warrant
is the Word of God. All else is worth believing.
When you go to face death and eternity with nothing but faith
in God's Word, then all the fillings and experiences you can have. Paul watched these people. Boy,
he watched them. He watched them grow. He wrote
another letter to them, the Sacred Thessalonians, and wrote them
to them about a serious subject, the coming of the Lord Jesus
Christ. And some of them were troubled about it. And look what
he wrote to them to encourage them and assure them. Verse 7
of chapter 1 of the Sacred Thessalonians. To you who are troubled, rest
with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be refilled from heaven
with His mighty angels. You rest. You just rest with
us. Rest in Him. He's going to come
in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God and
that obey not the gospel, believe not the gospel of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction
from the presence of the Lord, from the glory of His power,
when He shall come to be glorified in His saints and to be admired
And all of them that what? Feel? Have some kind of experience?
Let's just pin it right down, okay? Let's just shake off everything
that in and of itself may be good. I love feelings. I've had
some experiences. But the Bible says nothing about
that here. But to them that believe. Believe what? Because our testimony
among you was believed in that day. Testimony of what? Christ's
mercy and deeds have suffered and risen from the dead. That's
where our hope is, isn't it? That's where our acceptance is.
And if you believe God, you're saved. You're saved. Father, we do thank You for Your
precious Word. Oh, Lord, we believe You. Help
our unbelief. Oh, we rob ourselves. We rob
You of Your honor when we don't simply believe You. We rob ourselves
of assurance and joy when we don't simply believe You. Oh,
we go faltering and stumbling and doubting and fearing because
we will not believe You. Oh, grant us, Lord, I pray, grace
to believe. Help our unbelief. Help us to
simply believe what You tell us in Your Word. Except we believe
what shall not be established. Oh, Lord, give us grace to simply
believe You. How it would encourage us. How
it would affect the way we live. It would affect every aspect
of our life. Oh, give us grace to open the
pages of this book and say this is God speaking and believe you
as though you were standing here this afternoon and speaking it
again to us. Everything you've said is true.
Every prophecy you've given has come to pass. You've never let
a promise fall to the ground. Oh, Lord, grant us understanding
to know this and grant us grace to believe it. Watch over your
dear children here. Oh, use them for your glory.
Oh, a few days, only a few days, we've got left, and we'll go
the way of all the earth. Oh, Lord in heaven, use us like
you used these men in your New Testament. Oh, grant us the grace
you granted them, the strength, the urgency, the understanding of the Word. Grant us the courage to raise
this blessed issue of your Son with others that surround us.
Oh, Lord, help us to shut men up. Under God, to shut men up
and bring them to a verdict, a decision, to bow to Christ,
Jesus our Lord. Bless your dear children in every
place, Lord, those that are struggling, those that are in severe trials.
Oh, we pray for them. Their souls, their hearts are
heavy. Great is the need. Oh, Lord, may you be mindful. Let their misery draw out great
mercy from your heart. For Christ's sake, we ask these
things. Amen.