The twelfth chapter of the Gospel
of John. I cannot read as much of this
as I would like, so let us just walk our way through the first
part of the chapter so that when we pick up our reading, we will
not be totally unmindful of what has preceded this. Our Savior
is on His way to Jerusalem, and He is going there to die. As
far back as Luke chapter 9, the Lord Jesus is described as having
set his face like a flint to go to Jerusalem, that is, to
go to the cross, to go to Calvary. Let us be reminded of this glorious
truth. The Lord Jesus became a man in
order to suffer and bleed and die. in the room, place, and
stead of his people. He was under covenant obligation to come as the substitute of
his people. So in this chapter, John chapter
12, it opens with our Lord at Bethany. He is at the home of
Martha, Mary, and the resurrected Lazarus, who has just in the
previous chapter been raised from the dead. And so a great
stir and a great controversy has occurred because of the raising
of Lazarus from the dead. In verse 10, the chief priests
of the Jewish religion in Jerusalem have already held consultations
how they might put Lazarus to death. Because, verse 11, by
reason of him, many of the Jews went away and believed on the
Lord Jesus. Beginning at verse 12, the Lord
comes in that triumphal entry into Jerusalem, riding on a donkey's
coat, and entering that city to the acclamation of a large
crowd who in just a matter of one or two days would be singing
those words, Crucify Him, Crucify Him. Our emotions are fickle
things. We can love one thing one minute
and hate it the next, and nowhere is that more true than the blessed
Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. So a lot is taking place in John
12. Our Lord says in verse 23, the
hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. In verse 31, having reference
to the voice that spoke from heaven as the As the divine Trinity
in heaven declares that they have glorified the Lord Jesus
Christ, God's name in Christ, and will glorify it again, the
Lord says in verse 31, Now is the judgment of this world. Calvary,
the cross, is the judgment of this world. Now is the judgment of this world. Now shall the prince of this
world be cast out. And if I be lifted up from the
earth, will draw all men unto me. Not all men without exception,
but men of all kinds and types and colors and tongues and nationalities
and places. This, he said, signifying what
death he should die. The people answered him, We have
heard out of the law that Christ abides forever. And how say you
the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man? And that, my friend, is the question
of all questions. Who is the Lord Jesus Christ?
Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with
you, himself being that light. I am, he said, the light of the
world. Walk while you have the light,
lest darkness come upon you, for he that walks in darkness
knows not where he goes. While you have the light, believe
in the light, that you may be the children of light. These
things spoke Jesus. and departed and, let me look
at this more closely, did hide himself from them. But though he had done so many
miracles before them, yet they believed not on him. Contrary to popular opinion,
Miracles do not produce saving faith. Christ is the author of
saving faith and Christ alone. That the saying of Isaiah the
prophet might be fulfilled which he spoke, these are the opening
words of the fifty-third chapter, that famous, most famous chapter
in the whole book of Isaiah. And that chapter begins with
these two expressions, both of which are questions. Who has
believed our report? Isaiah said that. The Lord Jesus
now repeats it. And we say it to this day. Who
has believed the report of the gospel? And the second question
answers the first one. And to whom has the arm of the
Lord been revealed? God must reveal to us His saving
arm which is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore,
quoting from Isaiah once more, beginning at verse 39, they could
not believe because Isaiah said again, He has blinded their eyes
and hardened their hearts that they should not see with their
eyes nor understand with their heart. and be converted, and
I should heal them." These things said Isaiah when? In the chapter that contains
his vision. But the most important aspect
of when is this statement, when Isaiah saw Christ's glory and
spoke of Him. 750 years before the Lord Jesus was
ever born at a stable in Bethlehem, Isaiah saw Christ's glory and
spoke of Him in the sixth chapter of the prophecy of Isaiah. These things said Isaiah when
he saw His glory and spoke of Him. Nevertheless, among the
chief rulers also, many believed on him. But because of the Pharisees,
they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the
synagogue. For they loved the praise of
men more than the praise of God. The Prophecy of Isaiah, the Prophet,
chapter 6. This book in our Bible is often
called the Gospel according to Isaiah, for he certainly had
extremely clear views of the Lord Jesus Christ Truthfully,
this can be said of every book of the Old Testament, for Christ
is seen in every part of this book from start to finish. The Bible is a book about Christ. Now, I cannot say to you that
I can tell you where Christ is in every passage in the Old Testament,
but that doesn't mean He isn't there. just means I'm too dumb
to see it, or it's not pleased the Lord
yet to open my eyes to it. For whatever reason, I make no
profession of being able to point out Christ in every passage.
But I'm sure of one thing. He is definitely here in Isaiah
chapter 6, and I'm beginning to learn that He is in every
single one of the Psalms. We finished Psalm 99 this morning
in our Bible class, and without question, Christ is certainly
revealed in every single one of the Psalms. Isaiah chapter 6, may we pray. Lord, under your good hand of
mercy and your good providence to us,
you've gathered us in this house this morning, and you have favored us already to have read your Word in many
places, and even in this hour to have read those precious words
according to the testimony of the Apostle John in his gospel. And now, Lord, once again, you
enable us to open this book, to read it publicly from this
pulpit, and to preach the glorious message of Christ and Him crucified,
the only hope for sinners. the only hope of Old Testament
sinners, the only hope of New Testament sinners, and the only
hope of contemporary sinners. Lord, as we come to this book, we cannot, by the powers of our
own mind, We cannot understand the message of this holy book. Those two questions that your
Spirit has recorded for us through the prophet Isaiah that introduced
that fifty-third chapter establish the point. Who has believed the
report of the gospel? Lord, our only hope The only
way any son or daughter of Adam can be brought to believe the
message of the gospel concerning your son, the Lord Jesus, is
to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed. Lord, we cannot know you except
you make yourself known to us. We cannot love you except you
love us first. Lord, we cannot do anything except
sin unless you do something for us first. And that something
is a person, and that work is salvation and redemption. through the shed blood of our
Lord Jesus Christ. Father, help us this morning.
We come to Your Word. Show us the Lord Jesus Christ
in this place. Cause our hearts, under the influence
of Your blessed Spirit, cause our very souls to hunger and
thirst after righteousness, that they might be filled in that
perfect, imputed righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Bring
us now to this chapter of your holy Word, and as it pleases
you so to do, open your Word to us. Grant us the work and ministry
of your Spirit to take the things of Christ and show them unto
us. But Lord, not only must you be
at work in your Word and your Spirit in illuminating our souls,
but there must be a work of grace within us. For we are just like
those persons that we read about in John chapter 12. who prefer
the praise of men over the praise of God. And as long as that's
the case, we'll never truly be saved. Lord, help us. Grant us Your mercy and Your
grace. We pray in Christ's name. Amen. Taking only the first seven verses,
out of Isaiah chapter 6 beginning at verse 1. Many, many notable
things appear in this chapter, some things beyond comprehension
at least for me, but I'll try to speak of that which I have
a relatively good degree of certainty. is recording for us in this vision,
as it is called, and remember that it is a vision. This is
not a literal sight of God in Christ. It is a revelation by
vision. But this marks for us the conversion
of the prophet Isaiah. Why does it wait until chapter
6? I don't know. I'm not going to let that bother
me. It's not something I'm worried about. But that's where we find
it in this book. The question is not why it's
here. The reason it's here is that the Lord superintended it
being here, and so we'll just leave it at that without trying
to know everything about it. But this is a record of Isaiah
coming to know who God is, and the The essence of knowing God
is the discovery of what it means for God to be holy. In this case, holy three times
over, just as we sung it in the hymn a moment ago. Perhaps that
means Holy Father, Holy Son, and Holy Ghost. But God is three
times holy. being a man of great wisdom and
learning in his day, and having no doubt great affection for
this King Uzziah, suddenly finds out what it means for God to
be holy. Because the chapter at its very
beginning sets for us a particular time, a definite time. It is in the year that King Uzziah
died. that this event transpired, this
vision was given from the mercy of God to the prophet Isaiah
in the year that King Uzziah died. Uzziah was king of Israel
and a very good king and a godly man. But one day he decided that
being king was not enough. He thought because of who he
was that he ought to be able to offer sacrifice, incense offering
in the temple, in the tabernacle, even though he was not a priest. And over the objections of all
of the priesthood, the king had power over them, and he enters
that tabernacle and he offers that incense, and God smites
him In that exact moment with the disease of leprosy, he lived
out all the remainder of his days in a house isolated from
any human contact. And it is in the year that this
man died that Isaiah finds out who God is. And I suggest that that's when
any person finds out who God is, is when man, in my own estimation,
dies. We find out who the Lord is. You see, we're all deist by nature. We make God to be who we want
Him to be. God can only do what I let Him
do. That's the free will God of this
present age. It's the God of deism. It's the
God of Kings. So the chapter opens with this
expression, In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw also
the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train
filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims,
each one had six wings, With two he covered his face, with
two he covered his feet, and with two he did fly. And one cried unto another and
said, here's what Isaiah heard. For the first time he understood
something of what this statement means. Holy, holy, holy is the
Lord of hosts. the triune God, Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit, the whole earth is full of His glory. And the post of the door moved
at the voice of Him that cried, and the house was filled with
smoke. Then said Isaiah, Woe is me, for I am undone. Because I am a man of unclean
lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips,
because my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphims
unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken
with the tongs from off the altar. And he laid it upon my mouth,
and said, Lo, this has touched your lips, and your iniquity,
your sin, is taken away, and your sin purged." Alright, I'm not going to be
nearly as optimistic as I usually am. I want to talk to you about
two things. Number one, in verse 3, when Isaiah said
that this cry that he heard said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord
of hosts, the whole earth is full of God's glory. And in verse
5, he said the reason that he felt himself under such woe such
undone, lost, hopeless, helpless condition is because his eyes
have seen the King, the Lord of hosts." The first question
is simply this, who did Isaiah see? My eyes have seen the King, the
Lord of hosts. Now just who is that? Now if you'll go back to John,
I'm going to put me something here to mark my place so I can
quickly come back to Isaiah. But I want you to spend just,
if you have a Bible and you feel comfortable doing this, I want
to start in chapter 12 where we were earlier. I meant to ask
you to put a marker there and I did not do that. But if you're interested in turning
with us, I will delay beginning to read the specific reference
to which I've asked you to turn, John chapter 12. Whom did Isaiah see? Whose glory filled that place
and the effect of that sight, what Isaiah saw in the glory
of God The effect of that sight caused him to look at himself
and say, I am a goner. There's no hope for me. Woe is
me. I'm undone. Undone. Now whom did he see? Thankfully,
the Spirit of God in infinite wisdom has given us the clearest
and plainest answer that could possibly be given. Therefore,
this question is not subject to debate. It's not a matter
of one person's opinion over another. In the 41st verse of
John chapter 12, we learn explicitly, clearly, and plainly that Isaiah
saw Christ glory and spoke of Him. Christ's glory. It was none other
than a pre-incarnate revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ to the
prophet Isaiah. This is undebatable. This is
absolutely the case. And if we ever discover what
we sung a little bit ago in that hymn, Immortal, Invisible, that
we cannot see God. We cannot know God except we
see Him and know Him as He has made Himself visible and known
in the Lord Jesus Christ. And this has always been the
case. There has never been a time in all the generations of man
that this has ever been any different. It was this way for Isaiah, and
that's smack dab in the middle of the Old Testament. It's this
way in John chapter 12, and that's in the middle of the New Testament.
And it is exactly that same way to this very hour. And I suggest
it's never been any different, and it never will be. To know
God, to see God, to worship God is to know Him, see Him, and
worship Him in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Any other worship
than that is false worship. Any other knowledge than that
is false knowledge. God is unknowable outside of
the Lord Jesus Christ. So this statement in John 12,
verse 41, ought to be marked in our Bibles if you are a person
that marks yours. Isaiah saw His glory, Christ's
glory, and spoke of Him. Illustrate this a bit further.
Since we're right here in the New Testament, if you'd flip
over to 1 Timothy chapter 6, just for a second, and let me
go ahead and get this one off the list, and then we'll head
back to the Old Testament again. And hang on to John if you will
stick something there. I've already lost mine, but I
think I can find it again. Turn to 1 Timothy chapter 6.
I need to do this in a certain order. Or else I would just take
it chronologically as it appears in our Bibles. Verse 16 of the
last chapter of 1 Timothy, speaking of the being of God, who only, that is God only, has
immortality. God is immortal. Dwelling in
the light, which no man can approach unto." As we sung it in the hymn,
the only thing that hides God was that light, that blinding
light. So it says here, dwelling in
the light which no man can approach unto, and then these words, whom
no man has seen. Not Isaiah, Not Moses, not anybody. No man has seen God in His essential
essence of being. He is invisible. Nor can see. It's still that way now. It is
still that way. to whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen. Now we go back in the Old
Testament, please, to the book of Exodus, chapter 33. Moses, in a great many respects,
conversed with the Lord, the Lord God, in the person of the
Lord Jesus, Moses conversed with the Lord a very, very great deal. He interceded for the children
of Israel on numerous occasions. So in chapter 33, beginning at
verse 18, Moses makes a request of the Lord, and Moses said,
Exodus 33 verse 18, Moses said, I beseech you, speaking now to
the Lord, show me your glory. And the Lord said, I will make
all my goodness, God's glory and God's goodness are tied here
together. I'll make all my goodness pass
before you. And I will proclaim the name
of the Lord before you, and will be gracious to whom I will be
gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. And
God said to Moses, verse 20, Exodus 33, You cannot see my
face. For there shall no man see me
and live.' And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me,
and you shall stand upon a rock." Interesting word, rock. "'And
it shall come to pass, while my glory passes by, that I will
put you in a cliff or as the hymn puts it, the cleft of the
rock, and will cover you with my hand while I pass by. And I'll take away my hand, and
you shall see my back parts, but my face shall not be seen."
That place in which Moses finds refuge in order to see the glory
of God is none other than the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ,
crucified and slain on the cross. Now look back in this same chapter,
Exodus 33, verse 11. Exodus 33, verse 11. And the Lord spoke unto Moses. Same chapter now, verse 11. The
Lord spoke unto Moses face to face as a man speaks unto his
friend. And Moses turned again into the
camp, but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man,
departed not out of the tabernacle. Now in one place in this same
chapter, verse 20, no man shall see me and live. And in verse
11 of this same chapter, God speaks to Moses as a man speaks
to his friend. And another place says He speaks
to him face to face, though it is plain and clear as words can
possibly be that no man can see the face of God and live. So
how is it that Isaiah or Moses or anyone else in this book or
anyone else to this present hour, if you'll turn back to John's
Gospel again, I'll meet you over there. How is it that anyone
can truly have a revelation of God without perishing? It is
simply this. God can only be seen in the face
of Jesus Christ. Christ is the visible Jehovah. He is God and man in one person. And as our Mediator between God
and men, the man Christ Jesus, the only Mediator there is of
such kind, it is in and by and through Him that God makes Himself
known unto us. Now let me try to nail this down.
First of all, John chapter 1, verse 18. John 1, 18. Now here in the very Gospels
themselves, we have this statement, verse 18. John chapter 1. Now I'm laboring the point. I want you to see this in a Bible
if possible. I want you to see it in your
own Bible if you have such a thing. No man has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, the Son
of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, God manifests in human flesh
the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father,
He, Christ, has declared Him. And in the New Testament, in
the four Gospels and the book of Acts, anybody who met God
met Him in Christ or they did not meet Him. And as I've shown
you already in our reading in chapter 12, the Lord Jesus was
not nearly so popular as popular religion makes Him out to be.
He was hated. He was scouted. He was avoided.
They attempted to kill Him on numerous occasions. They tried
to stone Him to death in the very village where He spent the
first thirty years of His life in this world, the village of
Nazareth. And yet everybody today loves
Jesus. Why is that? because the Jesus
of modern religion ain't God. That's why I come. And He ain't
real. He's not the Christ of this book.
Whoever Jesus Christ is must fit the description of Him in
this holy Word. So verse 18 of John chapter 1,
no man has seen God at any time. If we are to see Him, we must
see Him. in the only begotten Son of God,
the Lord Jesus." John chapter 6. John 6. John 6 is a very interesting
chapter of Scripture. begins with that famous miracle
of taking one little boy's lunch and feeding 5,000 men plus the
women and the children. And the persons who were the
recipients of that miracle thought they could use force and make
the Lord Jesus Christ be their King. They found out they couldn't. So the next thing they want to
do, they want Him to acquaint them how they can take one little
boy's lunch make enough food for them to live on without having
to work. Then the chapter really gets
interesting. Beginning about verse 29, the
Lord Jesus begins to talk of Himself as the bread of life. He talks of, by faith, eating
His flesh and drinking His blood. And all they can think of is
in literal terms. They have no comprehension that
there is a spiritual realm in which Christ is the entire and
only and altogether spiritual food of His people. So when we
get to a chapter that begins with such promise, the miracle
of the feeding of the 5,000, and we get down to verse 59, which ends the passage
proper, and then there are some statements made that follow verse
59 that are most revealing as to the outcome of what is taking
place. The 59th verse tells us, informs
us, these things said the Lord Jesus in the synagogue as He
taught in Capernaum. Many therefore, verse 60, many
therefore of His disciples, now please understand this is professed
disciples, This generation, alive when our Lord was on the face
of the earth, is just like all other generations. There are
people who claim to know God who don't, and there are people
who claim to know Him who do. So there are professed believers
in John 6, and there are professed believers to this day. And it's
nothing but a profession. There's no reality to it. So
many, therefore, of His disciples When they had heard this, they
said, this is an hard saying. That is, that Christ is the only
spiritual food of our souls. We do not provide not one thing
on the gospel table. It is all Christ from start to
finish. He's everything. He's everything. I mean, the Scripture even uses
the expression that Christ is all and in all. That we're complete
in Him. They said, this is a hard saying. Who can hear it? Now what does
that mean? It means that the Lord Jesus
is too much Lord Jesus. And I'm telling you that nothing
has changed. You tell people the truth about
who Jesus Christ is and you'll find out that He's still too
much Jesus. What we have on our hands in
the year 2000 and whatever this is for, is big religion with
a Jesus that is nobody. Therefore, we have churches where
everybody is somebody and Christ is nobody. Now, you decipher
that and figure it out. This is a hard saying. Who can
hear it? When the Lord Jesus knew it Himself
that His disciples professed, disciples murmured at it, He
said unto them, Does this offend you? Well, goodness, I'll just
take it out. The last thing I would ever do
is offend you." No, that's today's Jesus, not this one. This one
said, does this offend you? Then what are you going to do
with this? What and if you shall see the Son of Man ascend up
where He was before? What if there is no physical,
literal Jesus? Then what are you going to do?
What are you going to do? John chapter 3 verse 13, having referred to
ascending up where he was before, teaches us clearly this glorious
truth that Jesus Christ did not begin when that seed, that holy
seed deposited by the Holy Ghost in the womb of Mary became the
human nature of our Lord Jesus Christ Christ did not there begin. He has always been. He's God Almighty. He is eternal. He is everlasting. He is immortal and unchangeable. So here in verse 13 in this famous
third chapter of John's Gospel, our Lord is talking to another
man by the name of Nicodemus. Nicodemus has problems understanding
what our Lord is talking about when He is talking about the
new birth, about being born again, about regeneration. So in verse
12, our Lord said to Nicodemus, If I have told you earthly things
and you believe not, how shall you believe if I tell you of
heavenly things? And no man has ascended up to
heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of
Man which is in heaven. Now, if that one doesn't throw
you, I've got some real hope for you. The Lord Jesus is standing
on this earth talking to Nicodemus, yet he says he's in heaven as
the eternal, everlasting God. All right, quickly, time's gone.
Ah, me, me, me, let me see. Back to Isaiah, just for a moment. I'll have to work on this later. What effect did the sight of
God in Jesus Christ have on the prophet Isaiah? Here you have
it in verse 5. Then said I, Woe is me! Have I ever met God in Christ
with that same effect? If I have not, I've never seen Him. we can go all over this book
and find this very same outcome. Whether we're talking about Job,
or David, or Isaiah, or Daniel, or John, or Paul, or someone
else, there are numerous examples. The apostle John, even in advanced
old age as a believer of a great many years. John's in his nineties
when this takes place, when he writes those words making up
the last book of Scripture called the Revelation of Jesus Christ.
In chapter 1, he sees the Lord Jesus in His glory and John says,
I fell at His feet like a dead man. Isaiah said, Woe is me,
I'm undone. There's no hope for me. This
is who God is. I'm a man of unclean lips, unclean
hands, unclean feet, unclean mind, unclean heart. Nothing but wounds and bruises
and putrefying sores from the top of our head to the bottom
of our feet. Now if you ain't ever seen that
about yourself, you've never seen God revealed in Jesus Christ. Because until this happens, we
think ourselves a pretty good fellow. And we dare in our minds
to conceive that we're well able to meet God based on who we are
and what we've done. But just in case, we'll take
Jesus Christ with us as like an insurance policy in case we
need him. Isaiah said, Woe is me, for I
am undone. I am a man of unclean lips, and
I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. How do you know
this, Isaiah? Because my eyes have seen the
King, the Lord of hosts. All right, we close with a hymn.
in the Red Hymnal 118 when I surveyed.