Would you turn back to John 7, verse one. After these things, Jesus walked
in Galilee for he would not walk in Jewry. because the Jews sought
to kill him. Now, the Jews' feast of tabernacles
was at hand. His brethren, his brothers and family, therefore
said unto him, Depart hence and go into Judea, that thy disciples
also may see the works that thou doest. For there's no man that
doeth anything in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known
openly. If thou do these things, show
thyself unto the world. For neither did his brethren
believe in him. Then Jesus said unto them, My
time is not yet come, but your time is always ready. The world
cannot hate you, but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that
the works thereof are evil. Go ye up into this feast, I go
not up yet into this feast, for my time is not yet full come. When he had said these words
unto them, he abode still in Galilee. I've entitled this message, Jesus
Unbelieving Brethren. These were the brothers and sisters
in the flesh of the Lord Jesus Christ that said this to him,
his siblings. Now I realize the Catholic church
has taught that Mary remained a virgin throughout her days. The scripture will not support
that. As a matter of fact, in Matthew chapter 13, the siblings
of the Lord are named. He had brothers and sisters. Joseph and Mary knew who he was, but evidently his siblings did
not really know who he was. Did Joseph and Mary tell them
who he was? I believe they did, but they
did not believe. I want to read a passage from
Mark chapter three, verses 20 and 21. And the multitude cometh
together so that they could not so much as eat bread. And when
his friends heard, and my marginal reading says his family, his
brothers and sisters. This is at the beginning of his
public ministry. His friends heard these people
come to hear him and they went out to lay hold on him for they
said, he's beside himself. He's crazy. Who does he think
he is? This was the testimony of his
brothers and his sisters. Now they did not believe. Neither did his brethren believe
in him. One day some of them would. You
know, the writer of James, the pastor of the church at Jerusalem,
was the Lord's brother. Jude is written by the one who
is the Lord's brother. There are some people who would
believe, But at this time they do not believe. Now one thinks, how could you
be raised in the same home with the Lord Jesus Christ and see
him every day and behold his life and not believe? You know, that answer is easy. Sin. human sin and human depravity. These siblings of our Lord watched
him grow up. They knew him. They saw a perfect life and they
were clueless. They didn't get it. They saw
holiness and they had no recognition of that. You know, the natural
man would know holiness if he saw it. They saw it. Somebody
says, I want people to see Christ in me. I understand that sentiment. But remember, they didn't see
Christ in Christ. They saw no beauty in him. They saw no glory
in him. They saw no glory in his life
or his obedience. They did not believe him. Verse one of chapter seven, after
these things, Jesus walked in Galilee for he would not walk
in Jewry because the Jews sought to kill him. Now this began In chapter five,
when he healed a man that was paralyzed and he did it on the
Sabbath day. And they saw this man walking
and he said, what are you doing this on the Sabbath day? He said, well, he that healed
me the same told me to take up my bed and walk. And the scripture
says they sought to slay Jesus. You see, he had demonstrated
in their mind, no respect for their religion. And they sought
to slay him. That's when these murderous attempts
began. And the Lord at this time did
not go into jury because he knew that they were seeking to slay
him. Now, was he afraid? Of course not. They were in his
hands. He wasn't in their hands. He
would die at the appointed time, but not before then. Verse two, now the Jews feast
of tabernacles was at hand. Now this commemorated the time
in the 40 years in the wilderness, how they traveled in the wilderness
and they were called upon to go to Jerusalem. This is one
of three festivals or feasts that they were called upon to
go to Jerusalem once a year. And this would last eight days,
the Jews feast of tabernacles. Verse three. His brethren, his
brothers and sisters, therefore said unto him, Depart hence,
and go ye into Judea, that thy disciples also may see the works
thou doest. For there's no man that doeth
anything in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly, if
thou do these things." If? If thou do these things. This
is the language of unbelief. If. Thou do these things. Show yourself to the world. Seek to be known openly. Go up to Jerusalem where there's
a crowd and let people see what you are doing. That is how you'll
get a following. That is the way you can be seen
on a greater scale and you'll have more influence. You'll have
more disciples. You'll reach more people. You'll
do more good if you go up into Jerusalem so people can hear
you. What's wrong with that? What's wrong with that advice?
You know, on the surface, it sounds good. It seems to make
good sense. Go up to the crowds where you
can have more influence and more people will hear you. Verse four, for there's no man
that doeth anything in secret and he himself seeketh to be
known openly. No man does anything in secret.
If you're real, prove it. Show yourself to these people. No man does anything in secret.
Hold your finger there and turn to Matthew chapter six. Verse one, take heed that you
do not your alms before men to be seen of them. Otherwise, you
have no reward of your father, which is in heaven. Therefore,
when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee,
as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they
may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, they have
their reward. And what a miserable reward that
is. But when thou doest thine alms, let not thy left hand know
what thy right hand doeth, that thine alms may be in secret. And thy father would seeth in
secret himself to reward thee openly. And when you pray, thou
shalt not be as the hypocrites are for they love to pray standing
in the synagogues and the corners of the streets that they may
be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, they have
their reward. But thou, when thou prayest,
enter into thy closet. And when thou hast shut thy door,
pray to thy father which is in secret. And thy father which
seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. Verse 16, moreover,
when you fast, be not as the hypocrites of a sad countenance,
for they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to
fast. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward, but thou,
when thou fastest, anoint thine head, wash thy face, that thou
appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy father, which is
in secret. And thy father, which seeth in
secret, shall reward thee openly. No man doeth anything in secret.
We better. We better. These are the words
of the Lord. Now his brethren, his unbelieving
brethren are exposed by the use of the word, if. If. Remember when Satan said,
if thou be the son of God, prove it. Command that these stones
be made bread. Jump off the temple. The scripture
says that he'll give his angels charge of thee lest thou dash
thy foot against the stone. Give us some tangible, empirical
evidence, something that we can see. Prove it. If. If you really do these things.
They're putting a question mark on it, aren't they? If you do
these things. Prove it. Show us. Demonstrate
it. Give us something that we can
see. I think of what the Pharisees
said to the Lord. How long do you make us doubt
if you're the Christ? Tell us. I love the Lord's answer. I told you and you believe not.
The works that I do in my father's name bear witness of me but you
believe not because you're not of my sheep as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice. I know them and they follow me. Now while his brethren did not
believe he still got a people he calls my sheep. There are sheep and there are
goats. A goat never becomes a sheep
and a sheep never becomes a goat. Sheep believe. Goats do not believe. Christ has a people He calls
His sheep. They are the people He died for. I lay down my life for the sheep. He didn't die for goats. His sheep are His elect. all that the Father giveth me
shall come to me and him that cometh to me I will in no wise
cast out." He said with regard to his sheep, I pray for them,
I pray not for the world but for them which you have given
me for they are thine. Now, John gives an editorial
comment in verse five. I love the way he does this.
For neither did his brethren believe in him. Perhaps they wanted him to be
famous. And that's why they said, go up where everybody can see
you. You can do more good that way. You can influence more people.
You can be more successful in a bigger crowd. Go up unto Jerusalem,
show yourself, seek to be known. You'll have more disciples, more
converts. You can do more good. You know,
that sounds like the average church growth campaign, doesn't it? I remember. when we started
this church in 1982, started in a storefront. And in 1983,
we were still in that storefront and I was still probably preaching
to eight or 10 people and working at the time and thinking, is
the Lord in this? And there was an advertisement
in the Lexington Herald-Leader, a new reformed church starting. And all I knew at the time of
reform was total depravity, tulip, total depravity, unconditional
election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, perseverance
of the saints, tulip, you've heard of that, the doctrine of
grace. And we had gone to several churches,
many churches actually, before we started this church, looking
to find where this can be preached, and we didn't hear it. We didn't
hear it. That's when we thought, well,
let's start another church. And then I heard of this Reform
Church. And I remember Paul Almsley and I went to the first meeting,
because I thought, if there's going to be a Reform Church,
we don't need to be doing this. I didn't know what reform means. I wouldn't
take that moniker now. But at the time, all I understood
was the five points. And I said, let's go to this
meeting and see what they have to say. And we went there, and
the church said were reformed and never told what reformed
was. And they went on to talk about their 10-year plan. Here's
what we're going to do. And they had hired a demographer
to consult and find them where the population was moving, where
there would be the most growth, where there would be the most
people, where you'd have the best place to start a church, and
you could influence more people, and you could do more good. And
they had a 10-year plan about how we're going to start a school.
We're going to do this. We're going to do that. I was always
a man without a plan. I didn't have any plans. And
when I heard that, I thought, this sounds Where's their faith
in this? Where's their looking to the
leadership of the Holy Spirit in this? They had everything
down pat. This is what we're gonna do.
Sounds good, doesn't it? But I knew I didn't believe in
that. And so I saw this is not the direction that we're going
to go. Now these brethren demonstrated
A fundamental ignorance of who their brother was. They had no idea of what it was
he came to do. They grew up with him, but they
were clueless. Faith is made of these three
things. Number one, you know who he is. Number two, you believe what
he says. Number three, you rely on what
he did. That is saving faith. You know who he is. His brethren
didn't. You know that he is God the Son,
the second person of the blessed Trinity, the creator of the universe,
the King of kings, the Lord of lords. You know who he is and
really everything you believe is predicated on knowing who
he is. When you know who he is, you know everything else. If
you know who he is, You know what you're gonna do? You're
gonna believe what He says. You're gonna believe every word
He says, right down to the most minute detail. And you're gonna
love what He says because of who He is. If you believe what He says,
You're going to rely on him only as everything in your salvation.
You see, he said, I am the way. You believe that. I am the truth. You believe that. I am the life. You believe that. You believe
his life is your life before God. You are completely relying
on who he is and what he did as all that's needed to make
you perfect before God. You believe? These men did not believe his
words. And they demonstrated that by
saying, if you do these things. When they told him that He needed
to show himself in the world. They demonstrated no understanding
of what he came to do in the first place. These were men with
no spiritual understanding, even though they were raised up with
the Lord. They grew up with him. They saw his life. They heard
what he said, but they were still clueless. They had no understanding
of why he came in the first place. You see, the Lord didn't come
to gain a following. The Lord didn't come to start
a new religion. The Lord didn't come to influence the culture
and change the culture and, and, and make the world a better place.
That's not why he came. Turn back to John chapter five
for just a moment, verse 41. I receive not honor from men.
You know what the Lord is saying to these people? I do not need
nor want your approval. I don't receive honor from men. But I know you, verse 42, that
you have not the love of God in you. I'm come in my Father's
name, and you receive me not. If another shall come in his
own name, him you will receive. How can you believe? Which receive
honor, one of another, and seek not that honor that cometh from
God only. How can you believe? You see, he didn't, listen to
me. He didn't come to start a religion.
He didn't come to gain a following. He came to save the elect. That is why he came. He came to save his people. That was his purpose in coming. Verse five of our text, for neither did his brethren
believe in him. Then Jesus said unto them, my
time is not yet come. He said this to his unbelieving
brethren, my time is not yet come, but your time is all the
way ready. The world cannot hate you, but
me it hateth because I testify of it that the works thereof
are evil. Go ye up into this feast. I go
not up yet under this feast for my time is not yet full come. Now, how many times, I know you've
read this and wondered about it, how many times did the Lord
perform a miracle and say, don't tell anybody about it? He did
that a lot. He performed some glorious miracle
and said, don't breathe a word of this to anybody. Now, that's
not the way I would have done it. I'd just tell everybody,
tell everybody, demonstrate who I am, show folks. That's the
way I would think. That's probably the way you'd
think too. Let's make this famous. Let's get a name. Let's influence
people. If they hear about this, this
will be great. He said, don't tell anybody a word. My time is not yet come. You see, he came for a specific
hour. You know, at the beginning of
this book of John, at the beginning of his public ministry, he said
to his mother, woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour
is not yet come. Look in the 30th verse of John
chapter seven. Then they sought to take him,
but no man laid hands on him because his hour was not yet
come. Look in chapter eight, verse
20. These words spake Jesus in the
treasury as he taught in the temple and no man laid hands
on him for his hour was not yet come. You know, at the very beginning
of his public ministry, after his first public sermon, In his
hometown of Nazareth, we read, and all they in the synagogue
when they heard these things were filled with wrath and rose
up to thrust him out of the city and led him to the brow of the
hill where their city was built that they might cast him down
headlong, head first, throw him off the cliff. But he, passing through the midst
of them, I don't know if this was some kind of miracle where
all of a sudden they couldn't see him because they had him
and getting ready to throw off a cliff, but he just passed through the
midst of them and went his way. You know why? Because his hour
was not yet come. Look in John chapter eight, verse
59. Then took they up stones to cast
at him. But Jesus hid himself. How did he do this? I don't know.
And when out of the temple, going through the midst of them, these
people that wanted to stone him, he just passed through the midst
and so passed by. Look in John chapter 12, verse
23. And Jesus answered them saying,
the hour is come. Did you hear that? The hour is come. That the son of man should be
glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth
alone. But if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth
his life shall lose it. He that hateth his life in this
world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve me,
let him follow me. And where I am, there shall also
my servant be. If any man serve me, him will
my father honor. Now is my soul troubled, and
what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour? But for this cause came I unto
this hour. John 13, verse one. Now before the feast of the Passover,
when Jesus knew that his hour was come, chapter 17. Verse 1, these words spake Jesus
and lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour is
come. The reason for the creation of
the universe is this hour. The reason for everything is
for this Now, he would later pray in Gethsemane's garden that
if it were possible, this hour might pass from him. What's he talking about? Jesus Christ came for this purpose. He came for this hour to die. That is why He came. He's called in Revelation 13
verse 8, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. This is God's eternal purpose
which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord. He came to die when He prayed Father, if it
be possible, let this hour pass from me. Let this cup pass from
me. He knew this was the time and
you and I will never understand this. We can only adore and wonder
at his glory and his greatness. But when he saw that he was getting
ready to bear the sins of his people, when he was going to
drink the cup of their sins and take their sins in his own body
on the tree, In his humanity, he was overcome. And he said,
if it'd be possible, let this cup, you see, you and I don't
really understand sin. Not really. He did. He did. And he knew he was going
to take the sins of his people in his own body on the tree. This was his purpose in coming. What his brethren did not know
was this. He came to die. He said, at this time, my hour
has not yet come. But it's coming. You see, if he did not die, there would
be no resurrection. You see, if he came and lived
this perfect, glorious life that he lived, oh, don't you love
to think of the life of Jesus Christ? So beautiful, so honoring
to God everything he did. Perfection. Oh, the beauty. of Jesus Christ, the beauty of
His life, the beauty of His obedience. If He came and did all that and
went back to heaven, what good would that do me and you? All it would do is condemn us.
That's it. Wouldn't do us any good at all. If He didn't die, there would
be no resurrection from the dead. You see, there's something that
took place in his resurrection. He came to die. I wanna say this,
I say this quite often, and I'm gonna say it again. The death
of Jesus Christ is the most godlike thing God ever did. You know,
even in glory, when we behold him who lives, he's gonna have
the marks of his death on his body. He's still bearing the
scars of his death. And that'll be a reminder to
us when we're in glory, when we won't even remember what it's
like to be a sinner. We're only there because of his death. There
is no other reason. I am there because of his life,
his death. He put away my sin, his resurrection. He came to die. He came to put away sin by his
death. Romans chapter four, verse 25
says, he was delivered for our offenses. That's what my sin is. It's an
offense, an affront to the God of glory. God could not accept
me and my sin and still be God. It would be a violation of his
character. He couldn't do that. But he was delivered for our
offenses. Do I see my sin in that light?
My offenses. And he was raised again. He couldn't
be raised again without his death. but he was raised again for our
justification. Now listen real carefully to
this statement. Everybody that Jesus Christ died
for, their sin is put away, they're justified, they stand before
God without sin. Perfect in God's sight. Justified! Now, when they were calling into
question the Lord, his time had not yet come. In his death, he completely glorified God. The hour has come, glorify thy
son. that thy son might also glorify
thee." In his death, he magnified every attribute of God. He made
the way for God to be just and justify the ungodly in his death.
But you know what else he did in his death? He saved his people from their
sins. Matthew 121, thou shalt call his name Jesus for he shall
save his people from their sins. And that is exactly what he did. Now for the big question, am
I one of his people? Am I one of the people he represented? I wouldn't dare say, well, I
better be. I'm his creature. He's no, no,
no, no. What a, what a horrible attitude.
Am I one of his people? Did he die for me? Listen to
this scripture. First Timothy chapter one, verse
15. Paul says, this is a faithful saying you can rely on this. You can rely on this. It's worthy
of all acceptation. Everybody ought to jump for joy
and receive this saying. This is a faithful saying and
worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world. Does that ring your bell? Christ
Jesus came into the world. To save sinners. Are you a sinner? Does that define and describe
you? Are you a sinner? If you are. Christ came into
the world to save you. That's the hour for which he
came, to save you. His brethren didn't believe him,
but you know what I think is so blessed? They won. Some of them at any rate would.
James did. Jude did. They wrote scripture. And I pray that every one of
us might be sinners whom he has saved who believe on him. Let's pray. Lord, how we thank you for your
gospel. How we thank you for the hour
for which you came. to die on the cross for sinners
and put away their sins and be raised again for their justification. Lord, I ask in the name of thy
son that you would give everybody in this room saving faith. to believe on the Savior. In his name we pray, amen. Let's stand and sing 249, just
as I am, 249. Just as I am without one plea,
but that Thy blood was shed for me, And that Thou bidst me come to
thee, O Lamb of God, I come, I come. Just as I am, and waiting
not to rid my soul of wanderflot, thee whose blood can cleanse
each spot, O Lamb of God, I come, I come. Just as I am, though
tossed about with many a conflict, many a doubt, Sightings and fears
within, without O Lamb of God I come. ? Just as I am, O wretched mind
? ? As I'm rich as he, think of mine ? ? Yea, all I need thee
to find, O land of God, I come, I come ? Just as I am, thou wilt receive,
wilt welcome all, and cleanse, relieve. Because thy promise
I believe, O Lamb of God, I come, I come. Okay.