Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Nybert. We are located at 4137 Todd's
Road, two miles outside of Manowar Boulevard. Sunday services are
at 10.30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Bible study is at
9.45 a.m. Wednesday services are at 7 p.m. Nursery is provided for all services.
For more information, visit our website at toddsroadgracechurch.com. Now here's our pastor, Todd Nybert. In John 4, verse 4, we read these
words, and he must needs go through Samaria. That's what I've entitled
this message, he must needs go through Samaria. Now, he was
leaving Judea and going to Galilee, and going through Samaria was
the shortest route to get there. A good Jew would avoid that route
in order to avoid Samaria and the Samaritans. As a matter of
fact, when he stopped at that well in Samaria and asked a Samaritan
woman for a drink, her response was, in verse nine, then saith
the woman of Samaria unto him, how is it that thou, being a
Jew, askest drink of me, who am a Samaritan? for the Jews
have no dealings with the Samaritans. The Jews thought themselves to
be morally superior to the Samaritans. They looked down on the Samaritans,
and they would avoid going through the land of Samaria. But the
Scripture does not say that the Lord pass through Samaria in
order to get to Galilee. He could have gone some other
way. The scripture says he must, needs, go through Samaria. It was absolutely necessary for
him to go through Samaria. It was binding upon him to go
through Samaria. Now, why is that language used? He must needs go through Samaria. It's binding upon him. It's absolutely
necessary for him to go through Samaria. Why this language? Do you remember his first recorded
words when he was 12 years old. These are the first recorded
words of the Lord Jesus. He had been in Jerusalem during
the Passover, and his family was returning to Nazareth. And
they thought that the Lord was in the crowd, the 12-year-old
boy, and they went back to Nazareth from Jerusalem after the Passover,
and they realized that he wasn't with them. And they went back
to Jerusalem looking for him, and these are the words of his
mother, Behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. And he said to his mother and
to his father, How is it that you sought me? Wist ye not, or knew ye not,
that I must be about my Father's business." Same word. It is absolutely
necessary for me to be about my Father's business. It's binding
upon me to be about my Father's business. When he was going through
Samaria, This was his father's business. This was something
that he had purposed to do. Now, the only reason why the
son of God must do anything is he must do his father's will. He said in John 6, verse 38,
I came down from heaven not to do my own will. Now, hold on
just a moment. Can you imagine if I would say
to you, I came down from heaven? You'd say, you're crazy. Well,
I'm sure the people listening to the Lord Jesus might've thought
the same thing when he said, I came down from heaven. But
he did. He came down from heaven, not
to, he said, I came down from heaven, not to do my own will,
but the will of him that sent me. He said, I must work the
works of him that sent me. Now, the Lord Jesus Christ is
doing his father's business when he must needs go through Samaria. That's why it was necessary.
It was the will of his father. Now, before we proceed, Who is
this one of whom it said he must needs go through Samaria? Who is the one represented by
the pronoun he? He must needs go through Samaria. Do you know the greatest question
that you'll ever ponder? The most important issue that
you and I can ever deal with is this, who is Jesus of Nazareth? No more important question than
that. When that is answered, everything else is settled. Who
is Jesus of Nazareth? This one who grew up in the town
of Nazareth, the carpenter's son, who is Jesus of Nazareth? This was, is, and always will
be the issue. Who is Jesus Christ? Now, let me give you an answer.
This is from the scriptures. Jesus of Nazareth is God. Let me repeat that. Jesus of
Nazareth, the one who spent 30 years in obscurity working in
a carpenter's shop, Jesus of Nazareth is God. God the Son, equal with the Father,
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God as
a distinct person, and the Word was God. The same was in the
beginning with God. Jesus Christ is God Almighty. God manifest in the flesh. Listen to this scripture. Isaiah
9, verse 6 says, For unto us a child is born, unto us a son
is given. You see, the Son wasn't born,
the Son was given, because the Son is the eternal Son of God. He was born as a child, but He's
the eternal Son given. And listen to this description
of Him. The government shall be upon His shoulders. You know
what that means? He controls everything. There's nothing outside
of his sovereign control. There's not a molecule, there's
not an atom anywhere that he is not in absolute control of. He is the cause of causes. The government shall be upon
his shoulders, and his name shall be called Wonderful. Oh, he's
wonderful. Counselor. Now that counselor
is not the way you and I use the word, go to see a counselor.
He's the one who counsels. He's the one who decrees. His
will is always done. Thou shalt call his name Wonderful
Counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince
of Peace. He is that one who thought it
not robbery to be equal with God for this one singular reason. Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth
is God. He's the creator of the universe. Colossians chapter two, verse
nine says, in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead body. All that God is dwells in the
body of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, I want to read you a passage
from Hebrews 1. I love this passage. In Hebrews 1, beginning in verse
1, the writer says, God, who at sundry times and in diverse
manners, spake in times passed unto the fathers by the prophets,
hath in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He hath
appointed heir of all things. You know what that means? Everything
belongs to Him. The earth is the Lord's, and
the fullness thereof, the world and they that dwell therein.
That last breath you breathe, you're breathing His air. The
earth is the Lord. He's the heir of all things,
by whom also He made the world. He's the creator. Who being the
brightness of His glory and the express image of His person. That's who He is. The brightness
of God's glory. Upholding all things by the word
of His power. That means He's in absolute sovereign
control over everything. You know, I read in the paper
the things that take place and there's things that I don't understand
why they take place. There are things that bother
me, that trouble me. but he's in control of them, and I trust
his character. I might not understand what he's
doing, but he does, and I trust his character. Whatever he does
is right, for shall not the judge of the earth do right? And listen
to this, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down at
the right hand of the majesty on high. Now the issue is not,
is Jesus of Nazareth a man? We know he's a man. He was born
on a particular day. He lived an exact number of years,
months, and days, 33 years, whatever it is. He had an exact time that
he lived. He had a particular day that
he died. Jesus Christ is man. There's no question about that.
He is the second Adam, just as much a man as you and I are,
and he experienced all the limitations of the flesh. We read in this
same chapter in John 6, Jesus being wearied with his journey. Now, the Lord Jesus Christ, as
a man, experienced all the limitations of flesh. He experienced everything
about sin but the commission of it. Why do people get sick?
Because of sin. Did Christ get sick? He very
well might have. I don't know for sure, but I
believe He experienced everything about sin but the commission
of it. So he had all the limitations you and I do as a man. But He's
God, the God-Man. The Word was made flesh and dwelt
among us. God manifest in the flesh. Now this man is the God of glory,
the eternal, uncreated, second person of the blessed Trinity,
the Creator. Now, if Jesus Christ is not God,
he's the biggest imposter to ever live and the biggest liar
to ever live, if he's not God. And if he's not God, the Bible
is a false book. You ought not read it. You shouldn't
have any more respect to it than you do the works of any other
man. It's no more valuable than Shakespeare
or something like that. But if he's God, he is who he
says he is. Now this man that must needs
go through Samaria is God manifest in the flesh, the son of God.
And he said, I must be about my father's business. So when
he went to Samaria, you see, one of his elect was there. One
of his sheep. was there. Christ got a people
called the sheep. He said, I lay down my life for
the sheep. And he speaks of them as those
the Father gave. My Father which gave them me
is greater than all. He said to a group, you believe
not because you're not my sheep. You see, sheep believe, and one
of his sheep, he said, I lay down my life for the sheep and
other sheep I have which are not of this fold, them also I
must bring. And there should be one foal
and one shepherd. This Samaritan woman was one
of his sheep. elect, and he's going to give
his elect eternal life. Now, this is very similar to
when he came to Zacchaeus. You can read about this in Luke
chapter 19. It's a delightful passage of scripture. There's
a man by the name of Zacchaeus. He's a wicked man. He's the chief
of the publicans. He's a dishonest man. He steals from people, working
for the Roman government, padding the taxes. But for some reason,
the scripture says he sought to see Jesus who he was. Oh, would to God that somebody
right now is seeking to see Jesus who he really is. And the scripture says he could
not, for he was little of stature. Now, if you ever seek to see
who Jesus is, you'll find out you can't see who he is. Not
unless he makes himself known. You'll find out you can't see
who he is. So this man, Zacchaeus, ran ahead of the crowd, climbed
up into a sycamore tree, and he wanted to see what the Lord
looked like. He couldn't see over the crowd,
and he climbed up in a tree. And our Lord is going through
Jericho, and all of a sudden he stops, and he looks up in
that tree, and he says, Zacchaeus. You reckon Zacchaeus was shocked?
How does he know my name? I've never met him. I've never
seen him. Yet he looks up and says, Zacchaeus,
make haste and come down for today I must abide at thy house. It's absolutely binding. It's
absolutely necessary that I abide at thy house. And he was there
for good by his spirit. He didn't come and leave. He
was there eternally because Zacchaeus was somebody he came to save. You see, he must needs go through
Samaria. We read in Luke 4, verse 43,
I must preach the kingdom of God in other cities. And I pray
that he's preaching the kingdom of God right now to somebody
listening, not hearing him merely in my voice, but hearing his
voice. He said, I must preach the kingdom
of God in other cities, for therefore am I sent. Now, I bet somebody's
thinking, what is meant by preaching the kingdom of God? What is meant
by preaching the gospel? There's so many different places.
we could go, but I want to stay with this theme of he must needs. So I'm going to look at a passage
of scripture in Luke chapter 24. Now this is after he has
already been resurrected and he's speaking to his disciples.
And he says in Luke 24 verse 44, and he said unto them, these
are the words which I spake unto you while I was yet with you.
that all things must be fulfilled, which are written in the law
of Moses and in the prophets and in the Psalms concerning
me." Do you know why he was nailed to a cross? Because it was purpose
by God for this to take place. As a matter of fact, he told
them on at least three different occasions that he was going to
be crucified, slain, and raised again the third day. And his
enemies heard that. They actually said with regard
to this, this deceiver, while he lived, said, after three days
I'll rise again, command therefore that the sepulcher be made sure
into the third day, lest his disciples come by night and steal
him away Tell the people that he's risen from the dead, and
the last error should be worse than the first. His enemies knew
he said this. His disciples heard, but they
weren't there. Why is that? Well, they didn't
believe. They didn't believe. But he still
says to them, these are the words which I spake unto you while
I was yet with you, that all things which are written in the
Law of Moses and the Prophets and Psalms concerning me must
be fulfilled." It is absolutely necessary that they be fulfilled. Then verse 45 says, then opened
he their understanding that they might understand the Scriptures.
Do you know when you and I will understand the Scriptures? when
He opens our understanding, and not before then. You and I can't
figure this out. We're completely dependent upon
revelation. He opened their understanding
that they might understand the scriptures. Now let's go on reading
verse 46. And he said unto them, thus it's
written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer and to rise
from the dead the third day. Now that word behooved is the
same word translated must needs, thus it was necessary for Christ
to be crucified. and to rise again from the dead
the third day. It was absolutely necessary. Now, my question is why? Why was it necessary for him
to die? Why was it necessary for him
to be raised from the dead? And may God give us the grace
to consider those two questions. Why was it necessary for him
to die? Why was it necessary for him to be raised from the
dead? Well, let me give you three reasons
why it was necessary for him to die. First, because the scripture
said he would. He died for our sins according
to the scriptures. Him being delivered by the determined
counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken Him with
wicked hands, have crucified and slain. The Scriptures said
He must die. Now, let me remind you that the
Bible is the Word of God. It's divinely inspired. It's
the only perfect thing we have on this earth. Now, I'm talking
about the original. We have translations. I'm thankful
for those translations. But the Bible is God-breathed. Somebody says, how can you expect
me to believe that the Bible is inspired by God and is without
error? Well, was God able to create
the universe from nothing? You know he did. Why is there
something and not nothing? Because He created the universe.
And if God has the power to create the universe from nothing, He
has the power to inspire men to write a book and keep it preserved. And the reason Christ had to
die is because the scripture said He would. Secondly, why
did Christ have to die? Because it's God's purpose. It's
God's eternal purpose. God created the universe in order
for Jesus Christ to die on the cross. Let that sink in. Revelation 13 verse 8 says that
He is the Lamb having been slain from the foundation of the world. The purpose for everything is
the cross of Jesus Christ. You know, Adam fell, and it's
all his fault. It was a wicked rebellion on
his part. You and I fell in him. But you
know, if he didn't fall, there'd be no cross. The cross is the
most God-like thing God ever did, and God created this universe. Everything that has happened
has happened for the cross, for the Lord to come and die on the
cross. Why did Jesus Christ die? Because
he's guilty. You see, the sins of God's elect
became his sins. That's why he died. The sins
of God's elect became his sins. He bore more than the punishment
of the sin on the cross. He bore the sin itself. The scripture
says, all we like sheep have gone astray. We've turned everyone
to his own way and the Lord hath laid upon him. the iniquity of
us all. My sin became His sin. For He hath made Him to be sin. For us who knew no sin, that
we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." Now, the wages
of sin is death. There's only one reason for death.
sin. Christ willingly bore the sins
of his people. He willingly bore them. He said,
no man takes my life from me. I have power to take it, bring
it down. I have power to raise it up.
This commandment have I received of my father. Christ willingly
drank the cup of his people's sins. And when he died, it was
not the innocent dying. It was the guilty dying. That's why I died. Now, why was
it necessary for him to be raised from the dead? The same reasons
it was necessary for him to die, it was necessary for him to be
raised from the dead. It was necessary for him to be
raised from the dead because Scripture said he would. There
are so many Psalms that deal with his resurrection. Peter
uses those Psalms in Acts chapter 2. Scripture said he would be
raised from the dead. The Gospels have that Christ
died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and he was buried
and raised again from the dead the third day according to the
Scriptures. He was raised because the Scripture
said he would. He was raised because of the
purpose and will of God. Not only is He the Lamb slain
from the foundation of the world, but He's the Lamb raised from
the foundation of the world. You see, before there was ever
a sinner, There was a Savior. And the payment had already been
made. He was raised from the foundation
of the world. And the reason He was raised
is this is God's eternal purpose. The life, the death, the burial,
and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ as God's salvation. And it was the justice of God
that demanded Him to be raised from the dead. You see, He made
payment for sin. Now, there is an awful place
called hell, and hell is eternal. And the reason it's eternal is
because sufficient payment can never be made for sin. But because
of who this man is who never sinned, because he's the God-man.
He can put away sin. He can answer all the claims
of God's law against sin, satisfy God. He was raised from the dead
because God was satisfied with what he did. He must be raised
from the dead. This is this one of whom Peter
said, neither is there salvation in any other for there's none
other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be
saved. It's binding. It's necessary
that we be saved. That's talking about everybody
he died for. Everybody he died for. Now listen to me. There
won't be anybody in hell he died for. Everybody He died for must
be saved. It's binding, it's necessary
that they be saved. Now, the last scripture I want
to give you with regard to this must needs, 1 Corinthians 15,
25. Paul says, He must reign. You
see, He is the Lord, and He must reign. Not, won't you make Him
the Lord of your life? He is the Lord of your life.
Whether you know it or not, you're in His hands. He must reign. He's in control of everything. The Father has willed for Him
to reign, and He must reign. Oh, I love that. He must needs go to Samaria. And I pray that He must needs
come to my house and your house, even now, to save by His grace. Now we have this message on DVD
and CD. If you call the church, write
or email, we'll send you a copy or you get it off our website.
This is Todd Nybert, praying that God will be pleased to make
Himself known to you. That's our prayer. Amen. To receive
a copy of the sermon you have just heard, send a request to
todd.neibert at gmail.com, or you may write or call the church
at the information provided on the screen.