My subject this morning is the
free obedience of Christ. My text will be John chapter
10, verses 17 and 18. Listen carefully while you turn.
In wondrous condescending love, Christ makes his grace appear. He left the shining realms above
to be God's servant here. Though Lord of heaven, he stoops
to earth to do his father's will. Though we esteemed him, nothing
worth the Lord of glory still. Fatigue and suffering, toil and
pain, He as God's servant bore that all his church with him
might reign in heaven forevermore. He did the work none else could
do. Then he resumed his throne, still
keeping his designs in view and gathering in his own. John chapter
10, we'll begin at verse 16. Our Lord Jesus tells us what
his work is as God's servant. There was a portion of that work
that had to be done on the earth while he walked on the earth.
And a portion of that work that must yet be done that will not
be fulfilled until the last of God's elect is saved. He cried,
it is finished, and his work of obedience on the earth as
our substitute was finished. And then one day, when he lifts
his hand to heaven and says, time shall be no more, and the
work is finished, all those for whom he lived and died on this
earth will be with him evermore in his glory. John 10, verse
16. The Lord Jesus is describing
this work. Other sheep I have. They're already
my sheep. Everything he does is for his
sheep. Everything. A people called God's
elect, chosen sinners, vessels of mercy, aforeprepared unto
glory. Everything he does is for his
sheep. Some of the sheep are in the fold. Here you are. in one of his folds, in a sheep
fold, a local gospel church in the fold, which is his church
universal, his kingdom. And others are, uh, are still
outside the fold. Maybe some of his sheep here
still straying. He says other sheep. I have their
mind before they were born. They're mine when they went astray
from their mother's womb. They're mine while they live
continually in rebellion against me. And they're mine now as much
as they will be when hell itself is finished. They're mine. Other sheep I have. The father
gave them to me and I bought them in the times coming when
I'll call them. Which are not of this fold. Now
what's his next word? Them also I must. Wow. What a word. Is there something the son of
God must do? Is there anything binding upon
him? Is there anything that he is
compelled to do? Anything that he must do he says
there is He said the son of man must suffer many things at Jerusalem
and be put to death at the hands of wicked men and rise again
the third day He said other sheep. I have them also I must bring
Well, how can that be true? How can that be true? God can't
be forced to do anything God can't be compelled to do anything.
He's absolutely free. I But as the good shepherd, as
our surety, as Jehovah's servant, the Lord Jesus in covenant mercy
struck hands with the father before the world was and said,
I will bring my sheep home. And it was done. And he said
it must be done because I've given my pledge. My honor is
wrapped up in it. My name is wrapped up in it.
Then also, I must pray. And there shall be one fold.
All the sheep of Christ in one fold. And there'll be one shepherd. All the sheep of Christ under
the rule of him who is our good shepherd, who's coming as the
chief shepherd, who rules as the great shepherd. Now look
at verse 17. In verses 17 and 18, remember
verse 16 is describing his work. The shepherd is describing that
which he must do he must save his sheep There's a day coming
when he will say lo I and the children whom thou has given
me none of them is lost Not one of them if you're one of his
sheep, you're not going to hell. He will save his sheep But there's
only one way it can be done only one way can be done He will save
his sheep by his own obedience unto death as our surety and
our substitute. He says in verse 17, therefore,
doth my father love me because I laid down my life that I might
take it again. No man taketh it from me, but
I lay it down in myself. I have power to lay it down.
I have power, the right, the authority and the ability to
lay it down. The right, the authority, and
the ability to take it again. This commandment have I received
of my Father. Now put your mark here and turn
back to the book of Lamentations. The death of our Lord Jesus is
the most wonderful Astonishing, magnificent, mysterious event
in history. I never tire of hearing him describe
it or of hearing others describe it. I never tire of reading about
it. I never tire of having it read
to me. Oh, the wondrous mystery. God's
darling son. took on human flesh, Wes, for
sinners like you and me, and bore our sin in his own body
on the tree. He was made a curse for us to
redeem us from the curse of the law. And yet, the Lord Jesus,
as he is dying a substitute for guilty sinners, as he is dying
in the place of hell-deserving, hell-bent sinners such as we
are, expresses a most woeful, unexplainable lamentation. Look
in verse 12, Lamentations chapter 1. Is it nothing to you, all ye
that pass by? Behold and see. If there be any
sorrow, like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me. Ron, that's
the Savior talking. That's Jeremiah. Yeah, but Jeremiah,
the words don't, they can't possibly apply to Jeremiah in the strictest
sense because the other suffered the same kind of sorrow he did.
Nobody ever suffered like this man. This sorrow wherewith the
Lord God hath afflicted me. In the day of his fierce anger. When his fury was burning at
its highest. In the day of his fierce anger. Verse 13. From above hath he
set fire into my bones, and it prevaileth against them. He hath
spread a net for my feet. He hath turned me back. He hath
made me desolate and faint all the day. The yoke of my transgressions
is bound by his hand. They're wreathed and come upon
my neck. He hath made my strength to fail. The Lord hath delivered me into
their hands from whom I was not able to rise up. And the Savior
says, is it nothing to you? Of whom does he ask that question? Of whom does he ask that question?
Is it nothing to you? Nothing in all the universe is
more wonderful, magnificent, gracious, and pleasant or useful
in the eyes of God than the death of his darling son. The Savior
himself declares, therefore doth my father love me because I lay
down my life for the sheep. the angels of heaven constantly
look into this wondrous mystery. I was talking to Joe and Cynthia
the other night, we were visiting a little bit, and one of the
wonders of God's purpose of grace in the fall of our father Adam.
People think somehow that that happened by accident, that God
Wasn't aware of what was going on and just kind of sneaked up
on his backside. What foolishness. No, no, no. You see, God Almighty not only
permitted but ordained the fall of our father Adam because he
would show us his glory in such a way as only fallen men could
know it. Had there been no fall, there
would have been no redemption. no deliverance, no forgiveness,
no salvation. And the angels of God, Larry
Brown, don't have a clue what that is. Well, sure they do. They hear
about it all the time. You don't have a clue what anything is
until you experience it. And they can experience it. Oh,
but now the angels of God look at his death as the most wondrous
thing, the most wondrous thing. Can't be talking to them when
he says, is it nothing to you? Certainly God's servants to the
servants of God. They they glory in the cross
of our Lord Jesus Christ, the servants of God. All of them
say with the Apostle Paul, God forbid that I should glory saving
the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. All of them are determined to
know nothing among you, say Jesus Christ and him crucified and
certainly God's people. Both the redeemed of the earth
and the redeemed in heaven rejoice in the knowledge of Jesus Christ
crucified. I'll tell you what I've never
heard anyone imply who gave any suggestion, really, that they
believe God. I've never had one person in
this congregation in 30 years to say, Brother Don, I sure wish
you wouldn't talk so much about the death of Christ. I've never
had that happen. Don't ever expect it to happen.
Not from God's people. Not from God's people. Oh, no,
no. This mystery will never get over. The saints in heaven continually
sing of the worthiness of the lamb and the telling that he's
worthy and tell one another that he's worthy of praise and honor
and power and glory and all the riches of the earth. because
he redeemed us to our God out of every nation, kindred, tribe,
and tongue. Hell itself looks upon the death
of Christ as a wondrous thing. I am convinced that Satan, that
crafty foe, that one who heard the Lord God himself pronounce
that the woman's seed would crush the serpent's head, While he
knew that he must be cast down and destroyed, while he knew
that he must, while he's on this earth, have but a little season,
I'm convinced that he did not really know that the cross of
Christ would be his destruction. Had he known it, he wouldn't
have put it in the heart of Judas to betray the Savior. No, no. Hell itself is astonished at
this wondrous thing of Christ dying in our room, instead bearing
our sin, bearing the wrath of God in the place of his people.
And yet there are some people to whom the Lord Jesus speaks
when he says, Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? Is it nothing to you? Behold,
the sorrow that I have. None's ever been like the sorrow
wherewith the Lord God afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger."
Who are these people? Who are these people? Who thinks
the sin-atoning death of the Lord Jesus Christ, God's darling
son, is insignificant? Oh, unbelieving Christless soul,
it is you to whom the Savior speaks. You who pass by day after day,
week after week, month after month, year after year, hardening
your heart against him, it is you to whom he speaks. You esteem
Christ crucified a useless thing. Oh, you wouldn't say it. No,
you wouldn't say it. Not openly so we could hear it.
Not openly so you could think that God would hear it. But you
say it all the time. I don't need Him. I have no sin
that He must put away. I have sufficient goodness and
righteousness to merit God's favor. His death is nothing. Not only is he thus speaking
to the Christless, unbelieving rebel, if I had the ear of the
preachers of this hour, I would say, oh, cold, calculating, heartless,
worthless preacher. cold, calculating, heartless,
worthless preacher. That's what I think of him. So
I got preachers in my family, brother Don, I do too. That's
what I think of him. That's what I think of him. I got preachers
I have a close association with, me too, and that's what I think
of him. Oh, cold, calculating, heartless, worthless preacher. you who pass by Christ crucified
and tape to your lips meaningless, insignificant things to preach. It's nothing to you. What are
you talking about? Abortion, politics, conservative
or liberal, doesn't matter. Church creeds and confessions. historic dogma, church traditions,
church order, all of the things that mean love to debate, that
mean nothing. Prophecy and rules and regulations,
theological debates and Bible trivia. People like to find out and show
people how much Bible trivia they know. And to them, it's
all trivia. That's the reason I use the word,
just trivia. Like the fellow who knows the
most facts about the baseball teams in the United States. Just
trivia. Nothing. Nothing. To such preachers,
the suffering Lamb of God says, is it nothing to you? Is it nothing to you? And I'll
tell you why they choose every other theme in the book. Because, Bobby, it's nothing
to them. It's nothing to them. Christ
crucified is a meaningless, mundane, insignificant thing only to unregenerate,
unbelieving people, religious or otherwise. All right, now
let's look at our text. It is my heart's prayer before
God that before you leave here, the death of our Lord Jesus Christ
will consume you. I mean, consume. Consume your thoughts. Consume
your heart. Consume your life. Consume your
motives. Consume you. There'll be everything
to you. And it is my prayer that God
will graciously and constantly make it everything to me. That
it may consume me. Would to God, Bob, it so consumed
me, I had no room in my mind for another thought. Well, wouldn't you be useless?
That kind of useless I'd love to be. That kind of useless I'd
love to be. Let me show you three things.
Our Lord Jesus here speaks of his father's commandment. And
then he speaks of his obedience. And then he speaks of his father's
love to him for his obedience. First, our Savior speaks of the
father's commandment. This commandment have I received
of my father. How can the father give the son
a commandment if the father and the son are one God? as the scriptures
declare them to be. Now you'll have some Mormon preacher
or some Mormon witnesses or some Russellites, they call themselves
Jehovah's Witnesses, knock on your door and want to have a
Bible study with you, and one of the first things they'll do
is ask you why you use the version of the Bible you use, and they'll
suggest another one that doesn't teach what this book teaches.
And they'll next ask you about passages of scripture like this.
You see, you can't really say that Jesus is God. No, no, no,
no, no. He's a God. That's all right.
But you can't really say that he's God. If he's God, all together,
one with the Father and equal with the Father, then the Father
could not command him to do anything. And they're exactly right. Exactly
right. If the Father commands him as
God. But our Savior, Larry, is talking
to us about Him being the shepherd, the good shepherd. He's talking
to us about Himself in His mediatorial capacity. And as the God-man,
our mediator, as Jehovah's righteous servant, the Lord Jesus volunteers
to make Himself Jehovah's servant and to assume our nature that
He might redeem and save His people. And now, as the shepherd,
He assumes total responsibility for the sheep. The father, before
the world began, put the sheep in the shepherd's hands. Now you go save them. And the
shepherd said, OK, what does it take to save them? Righteousness. Satisfaction and omnipotent grace. I'll do that. I'll do that. And the shepherd took the sheep
under his care. And the shepherd became totally
responsible for the saving of the sheep. And the father thus
commands him to lay down his life for the sheep. This is the
father's commandment to which he freely agreed. Turn back to
Psalm 40. Psalm 40, I want you to look
at two texts. Psalm 40 in Hebrews chapter 10,
and I want you to see them as they stand plainly in the book. Psalm 40 verse 7. Are you there? Then said I. Is that past tense? Did I read
that correctly? Is that past tense? Then said
I, David, that's past tense. This is something that's already
done. Well, that can't be, he hadn't come yet. If he agreed
to it, it's done. When he stood forth as our surety
before the world began, and the father accepted the son as our
surety, as the lamb slain from the foundation of the world,
the work was done. So I don't understand that. I
don't either, but God's bigger than me. Then said I, lo, I come
in the volume of the book it is written to me to do thy will,
O God. So when the father and the son
struck hands in the covenant, the son said, I'm coming to do
your will, O God. And he'd been on his way ever
since doing the will of God. Now look at Hebrews chapter 10.
Hebrews chapter 10, we have the New Testament explanation of
our Lord Jesus coming into this world. And in verse 5, the apostle
writes, by divine inspiration, as did the psalmist. What does
it say? When he cometh into the world. Well, that can't both be true.
Was this said before he came? Or was it said when he came?
Yes. when he cometh into the world as he was coming into his
mother's womb by the miraculous conception of the Holy Spirit
as he's coming into her womb as he came through her womb into
this world nine months later coming into the world. Verse
seven. Then said I, lo I come. In the volume of the book it
is written of me. Which book? We just read it.
Psalm 40, verse 7. Which book? The book of God's
decree. The book of God's prophets. The
book of the Psalms. Throughout the book it's written
to me. I come to do thy will, O God. And then we're told what
will it is in verse 9. By which will we are sanctified
through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. I'm sorry, verse 10. The death
of Christ then. was not accomplished by the arrangement
of men. It was not something that happened
because hell overcame him for a while. The death of Christ
was by the arrangement of the triune God. Him being delivered
by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have
taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain. Allen ungodly
men put the Son of God on that cursed tree and did exactly what
they wanted to. They were doing exactly what
their wicked wills desired. When they walked by and mocked
him and laughed at him and spit in his face, derided him and
cried, let his blood be on us and on our children. They were
doing exactly what the will of man wants to do with God. Exactly
as man wanted to do. Their wills exercising themselves
most freely, more freely than man ever exercises his will at
any other time. And they were doing exactly what
God from eternity ordained must be done. I find it, I find it
delightfully humorous to read the four gospels when we get
to the passages dealing with the crucifixion. And read what
men did. Let's see. What are we going
to do with him? Let's go back and look at the
book. It says we're supposed to pierce him. What are we supposed
to do? What are we going to do with
his garments? His garments are not supposed to be torn. We're
supposed to throw dice for that. What are we going to do with
him? We're supposed to deride him and mock him and laugh at
him. What are we going to do with
him? He's supposed to be hung on a
tree. What are we going to do with him? Did they do that? No. But Frank, they fulfilled
every word in this book, just as if they had planned to fulfill
every word in this book. performing their wicked wills
because God Almighty in His infinite sovereignty rules even the wicked
wills of wicked men to accomplish His will for the saving of His
people. Now, that'll float your boat
in troubled waters, my friend. That's good. God rules. Have you got that? God rules. Christ died then by the commandment
of the Father and his own free, voluntary obedience to his Father. The death of Christ at Calvary
was accomplished by the arrangement of an eternal covenant, by the
arrangement of God's sovereign providence, by the arrangement
of God's infinite love for us. All right, look back at John
10, 17, and 18. Here the Lord Jesus speaks to us about his
own voluntary obedience to the Father. He says, I lay down my
life that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me. But
I lay it down in myself. I had the power to lay it down.
Nobody else ever did. But lots of folks commit suicide.
That's not what he did. He laid down his life. There's
a huge difference. Any man can commit suicide. Everybody knows
I'm a hard-hearted old crusty old southern fellow who doesn't
have much sympathy for wimpish men. And fellows sometimes will
say to me, well, I've tried to commit suicide 20 times. I said,
no, you hadn't. It's too easy. I've got a 12-gauge
to do it right now. No, you just tried to get attention.
There's a huge difference. You just had to get attention.
You will commit suicide. It's easy. But no man has the
power to lay down his life. That's something else. Here is
a man who has a God given, given him as Jehovah's servant, a God
given authority. That's the right to do it. And
the ability to Quit living in this flesh like this. That's called free obedience
unto death. The Lord Jesus voluntarily laid
down his life. Not that he was forced to do
it. Not that he was compelled to do it. Not even by his father. He was the servant of Jehovah,
but he said while he was here performing Jehovah's service.
I could at this time speak to my father in heaven and he would
send 10,000 angels down here to take care of me. You got no
power over me. He could have gone out free anytime
he wanted to. Anytime he wanted to. Without
his wife. And without his children. But he wouldn't go out free.
Oh, bless God. He wouldn't go out free. He said. I lay down my life. The death of our Lord Jesus was
accomplished by his own will. And by his own voluntary obedience,
he obeyed the father in his life, performing righteousness as a
man. But the father God the Father, the triune Jehovah, Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit demanded satisfaction. Sin can't be put away, but by
satisfaction. Sin can't be put away, but by
atonement. And the Lord Jesus Christ, I
went back and changed my notes. I had written out earlier, voluntarily
fell on the sword of justice. But more to the point, he kissed the sword and poured
it into his own heart. And when justice was satisfied,
he cried, it's finished. And he said, Father, into thy
hands I commend my spirit. And he bowed his head and gave
up the ghost. Let me pause a minute and scold
you a little bit. Please don't ever say in my presence,
please don't ever say that old craftsman lawnmower Won't crack
anymore when I gave up the ghost. No, it didn't. That's as near
akin to blasphemy of Merle as cussing God. Only one man in the universe
gave up the ghost. And that man's God, my savior. And he did it for me. He did it for me. freely, voluntarily,
because he wanted to. Now, let's look at the Father's
love for the Son. The Savior says, therefore, doth
my Father love me. Therefore, doth my Father love
me. Do you mean, Brother Don, to
suggest that God the Father didn't love God the Son before? No, a thousand times no. Well,
what do these words mean? As the mediator, as our God-man
mediator, he who came here and took on himself our nature, he
who is God, who came here in human flesh, the word made flesh
dwelling among us, by his obedience, to the will of the triune God,
this man who for 33 years, the full age of a man, walked on
this earth in perfect righteousness. He never did anything but right. This man who Walked on this earth
in perfect faith Always believing God always believing God going
about doing his father's business Until at last he said it's finished
But when he said it's finished Even his work on earth wasn't
quite finished That's the reason the Oftentimes when you read
theological works about the obedience of Christ, you read about what's
called active obedience and passive obedience. That's a poor choice
of words. But the implication is this,
that there was our Lord's deliberate obedience while he walked on
this earth, obeying God's law, working out perfect righteousness
for us as a man. And then his passive obedience
inflicted upon him by the hands of men. Oh, but that too was
his active obedience. For he who has his hand nailed
to the tree is the one who by his hand gives strength to the
man wielding the hammer, nailing him to the tree. He's in absolute
authority and control all the time. And there at last, justice
is satisfied. And now, here is a man who having
walked on the earth in perfect obedience, was made sin and justly made a curse for us. And he said, when the spirit of truth comes,
he'll convince you of righteousness because I, Jehovah's servant,
going back to my father, I've done what I came here to do.
And Merle, he earned the love of God. He earned it. He earned it. Sitting here in the front is
this beautiful blonde headed lady. And I fell in love with
her when I was 17 years old. I flat did. Cause like she is
now, she's pretty. Man, I locked eyes on that girl
and I said, she's going to be mine if I can get her. I mean,
I just, I made up my mind early on. I wouldn't marry that girl. But I fell in love with her.
Passion and emotion and all those things. I said, well, that's
just puppy love. The only good thing I ever heard Billy Graham
say in my life, he said, well, it's real to the puppy. Yeah, it's real. But it was nothing. After 40 years, and don't all
y'all say amen at once, she's earned my love now. She's earned
it. She fully deserves it. Fully
deserves it. All of it. All of it. Therefore, doth my father love
me, because I lay down my life for the sheep. You got that? You know why he loves you? Turn
to John chapter 17. John chapter 17. The father loves the son and
hath committed all things to the son. Gave him the glory he had with
him before the world was, John 17, 22. And the son says, the
glory which thou gavest me I've given them, that they may be
one even as we are one, I in them, thou in me, that they may
be made perfect in one. that the world may know that
thou hast sent me, and hast loved them. That can't be. That can't be. Has loved them as thou hast loved
me? That can't be. Oh, yes, it is. The Father loved the Son, as
his obedient servant before the world began. And he says, I've
loved you with an everlasting love. The father loved the son
immutably. And he says, I am the Lord. I
change not. Therefore, you sons of Jacob
are not concerned. The father loved the son because
of his obedience unto death, because the son lived on this
earth in perfect righteousness and in perfect faith and made
full satisfaction to God's justice. And in Him, I lived on this earth
in perfect righteousness, in perfect faith, and I died in
Him and made full satisfaction to divine justice And Lindsay, in him I fully deserve
God's love. Is that what he said? That thou
hast loved them as thou hast loved me. Read on. Father, verse 24, I will that
they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am that
they may behold my glory, glory which thou hast given me, for
thou lovest me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father,
the world hath not known thee, but I have known thee, and these
have known that thou hast sent me. And I have declared unto them
thy name, and will declare it. that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them and die in them. As Lindsay talked about love
this morning, as we read about it, I kept praying, God, Teach me to love these people
and your people, my enemies and your enemies that way. And Mark, I've got to acknowledge
I don't have any idea in the experience of my life in loving
anybody what that love in 1 Corinthians 13 is. I don't have any idea what it
is, except as I know it in my Redeemer. And God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Holy Spirit love me. And God the Holy Spirit has shed
abroad the love of Christ in my heart. And without that love, I'm nothing. You too. Oh, may God shed abroad
the Savior's love in your heart, giving you life and faith in
Him. For without it, you're nothing. Nothing. Amen.