Would you turn back to Matthew
chapter 22? What think ye of Christ? When God looks into your heart,
and He does, what does He see? when he sees
your thoughts of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, the answer to this
question, this question, trumps all other questions. What do
you think of Christ? You see, what God thinks of you
is seen in how you respond to this question. What do you think
of Jesus Christ? I'm not asking you what you think
of religion. I'm not asking you what you think
of Christianity. I'm not asking you what you think
of church. I'm not asking you what you think
of Calvinism versus Arminianism. I'm not asking you what you think
of the preacher. What do you think of Christ? What do you think of Christ? Verse 41, while the Pharisees
were gathered together, Jesus asked them, they had been asking
him a series of questions. And now he asks them a question
saying, what think ye of Christ? Whose son is he? They didn't
realize they were speaking with the Christ, but they believed
what the Old Testament said about the coming Messiah. They believed
he was the son of David and they gave the correct answer. Verse
43, 42. What think ye of Christ? Whose
son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David. They gave the
correct answer. He was from the loins of David,
as was prophesied. Verse 43, He saith unto them,
How then doth David in spirit call him Lord? And he quotes
the 110th Psalm, where David said, The Lord. Jehovah said
unto my Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ, sit thou on my right
hand till I make thine enemies thy footstool. If David then
called him Lord, how is he his son? And no man was able to answer
him a word. They could not give the answer
to this question. And they didn't ask him any more
questions. Now, do you know the answer to
that question? Turn with me for a moment to
Romans 1. Hold your finger there. Turn to Romans 1. Verse 1. Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ,
called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God which
he had promised afore by his prophets in the Holy Scripture
concerning his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the
seed of David, the Son of David, according to the flesh, and declared
to be, not made, but declared to be the Son of God with power,
according to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection of the dead.
Isaiah 9, 6 says, unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. Now that son wasn't born. That's
the eternal son who's always been. Unto us a child is born. Unto us a son is given. The government
shall be upon his shoulders, and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father. Did you hear that name of the
Lord Jesus Christ? The Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. I know. how David called his
son, his Lord. He's declared to be the son of
God with power. According to the spirit of holiness,
the only holy man to ever live filled with the spirit by the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. What do you think
of Christ? I hope you'll ask yourself that
question right now. What do you think of Christ when
God looks into your heart? What are the thoughts that he
sees with regard to his son, the Lord Jesus Christ? Now the issue between you and
God is what you think of Christ. I repeat, what God thinks of
you is seen by what you think of His Son. Now what I want to
do before you answer that question, I want that question to be in
your mind, but before you answer that question, what I want to
do is I want to conduct an interview with others in the Bible what
they thought of Christ. And maybe we can find out what
you and I think when we see what others thought of the Lord Jesus
Christ. I want to conduct some interviews
with the scripture. And the first thing I thought
of is I'd like to interview his enemies. His enemies. What do you think of Christ?
And I would begin with his enemies, the Pharisees. The Pharisees,
the representatives of works religion. Now the Pharisees,
that's not a religion from way back in the Bible times. Phariseeism
is alive and well today. We have everybody in this room,
as a matter of fact, by nature is a Pharisee. Did you know that?
A Pharisee. A Pharisee is someone who thinks
something they do separates them from other men. That's all it
means is a separated one. And this is the religion of the
natural man, the Pharisees. Let's conduct some interviews
with the Pharisees, what they thought of Christ. What do you
think, Mr. Pharisee? This man receiveth
sinners and eateth with them. That's what I think of him. He
receives sinners. And each with him, behold, a
gluttonous man, a wine-bibber, the friend of publicans and sinners." Is that a good thing? Thank God He is the friend of publicans
and sinners, the sinners friend. When he was being tried and Pilate
tried to let him go, the Pharisee said, His blood be on us and
our children. There's my prayer. His blood be on us. and our children. The only hope
you and I have of being accepted by God is if His blood was shed
for you and put away your sin and made it to where you have
no guilt before God. That's the only hope you have. The Pharisees looked at Him hanging
on the tree and they said, He saved others. Himself He cannot
save. What a true statement. For me
or you to be saved, he sure couldn't save himself. And that's precisely
what he did on Calvary's tree. What about Pilate, the one who
condemned him? Let's see what he had to say
regarding the Lord Jesus Christ. Now his wife, you can read in
Matthew's account, had said, have nothing thou to do with
this just person, for I have suffered many things this day
in a dream because of him." Let's hear what Pilate had to say,
the one who condemned him to death. He said, I am innocent
of the blood of this just person. See, he took it. I find in him No fault at all. How do you see the Christ? Do you see him as that just person? Absolutely just without sin? No fault at all? What about Caiaphas, the high
priest? that participated in his death, saying he deserved
to die. What did Caiaphas, the high priest,
have to say? He didn't know he was speaking
under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, because he was the
high priest that year. But he said, know ye nothing
at all, nor consider it expedient for us that one man should die
for the people, that the whole nation perish not. Caiaphas,
the unbeliever, said that. Under the inspiration of the
Holy Spirit, the Scripture says this, he said, not of himself,
but he, being the high priest that year, prophesied that Jesus
should die for the nation. The Roman centurion who presided over the death of
Christ, the one who gave the soldiers the orders regarding
what to do to him. After he saw the sun hide its
face, and darkness covered the land, and the earth quaked as
the Lord cried out, it is finished. He said, truly, this was the
Son of God. That's what his enemy said. What about the angels? What did
the angels have to say regarding this man? The angels, those creatures
that are greater in power and might than we, what do they think? The angel said to Mary, Hail,
thou art highly favored. much graced. Behold, thou shalt conceive in
thy womb, and thou shalt bring forth a son, and thou shalt call
his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall
be called the Son of the Highest. And the Lord shall give unto
him the throne of his father's David, and he shall reign over
the house of Jacob for ever and ever, and of his kingdom. there
shall be no end. That holy thing, as if they couldn't
come up with a name for him, that holy thing that shall be
born of thee shall be called the Son of God. When the Lord was risen from
the dead, the angel said, why seek ye him that lives among
the dead? What a question. Why would you
seek him that liveth among the dead? He's not here. He is risen. Right now, he is he who was dead,
but now he's risen. Let me ask the demons, the devils, those fallen creatures,
those wicked creatures that are very powerful. I'm no match for
one, you aren't either. Let's ask the demons what they
said concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us alone. What have we to do with thee,
thou Jesus of Nazareth? Art thou come to destroy us before
the time? I know thee who thou art, the
Holy One of God. You know, the demons have a higher
view of Christ than most religious people. Listen to this. What have we
to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? What connection is
there between you and us? What have we to do with thee,
Jesus, thou Son of God? Art thou come to torment us before
the time? And the devils also came out
of many crying and saying, Thou art the Christ, the Son of God,
for they knew He was Christ. That's what the devils had to
say regarding this one. Now I want to hear the Father's
testimony concerning Him. Aren't you interested in that?
What did God the Father have to say concerning His blessed
Son? When He came up out of the waters
of baptism, a voice came from heaven saying, This is my beloved
Son, the Son of my love, in whom I am well pleased. Not with whom I'm well pleased,
although he was, but in whom I'm well pleased. And if you're in him, he is well
pleased with you. On the matter of transfiguration,
when the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember, He is God.
I love to say this, Jesus is God. He's the creator of the
universe. But when His deity burst through
His humanity and He spoke with Moses and Elijah, and we know
what they were talking about. Luke 9, 31 says they speak of
the deceased which He should accomplish. That's what they
were talking about that time. The deceased, the death of Christ
was an accomplishment. What did he accomplish? The complete
salvation of everybody he died for. And Peter and James and
John were there. Peter had to say something. He
always did. He said something very foolish. He said, Lord,
it's good for us to be here. Let's make three tabernacles.
One for thee, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. And as soon
as he said that, a bright cloud came down upon the mount, and
they hit their faces in fear, and a voice came from heaven
once again, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear ye him. When they looked up, the scripture
says, they saw no man save Jesus only. The writer to the Hebrews quotes
the Psalms where the father says, to the son he saith, thy throne
O God is forever. A scepter of righteousness is
the scepter of thy throne. Thou hast loved righteousness
and hated iniquity. Therefore God, even thy God,
hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. That is God the Father's testimony
concerning him. Thy throne Oh, God is forever. What about the forerunner, John
the Baptist? He's the only one in the New
Testament besides the Lord who was prophesied of in the Old
Testament. Paul wasn't prophesied of. Peter wasn't prophesied of. John
wasn't prophesied of. John the Baptist was. He's spoken
of in Isaiah chapter 40, the last chapter of Malachi. What
did John the Baptist have to say concerning this one? Behold, the Lamb of God, the
Lamb of God's providing. The Lamb of God, behold, look
upon the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. He must increase, I must decrease. He that believeth on the Son
hath everlasting life. He that believeth not the Son
shall not see life. But the wrath of God abides on
him. Now, did you hear what he said? If you don't believe on the Son,
God's wrath, God's displeasure, God's anger abides on you. What a terrifying thought. What do you think of Christ? Let's ask the four evangelists,
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the writers of the four Gospels.
What do you think of Christ? Now, they thought the same thing.
They were all unified in their thoughts, but I think it's interesting,
each one has a different emphasis, though. The emphasis of Matthew
is Christ the Sovereign King. The emphasis of Mark is Christ
the Servant. The emphasis of Luke is Christ
the Savior. The emphasis of John is Christ
the Son, the eternal Son of God, the great I AM. What do you think of his sovereign
kingship? Now, remember this, when we're talking about the
sovereignty of Jesus Christ, what that means is everybody
in this room and everybody outside of this room is in His hand. And He can do with me and you
whatsoever He's pleased to do. Your eternal destiny is not in
your hands, it's in His hands. He's the Sovereign King. He's
the servant. He's the servant of God. He came
not to be ministered to, but to minister and to give His life
a ransom for many. Oh, think of His being a servant
when He washed the disciples' feet. Luke lets us know He's the Savior. The only thing that's going to
keep me and you out of hell is His name. You know, one time
there was a man cursing his name, using abusive language toward
his name, and a man looked at that fellow who was cursing and
said, My friend, the only thing that will keep you out of hell
is that name that you're cursing. He's the Savior, but my friend,
when we're talking about him being the Savior, we're not merely
talking about us being saved from hell, though I don't want
to go to hell, but saved to where I have no sin, save to where
I'm made just like the Lord Jesus Christ, that I'm going to be
spending eternity in His presence. Now that's salvation, isn't it?
And what about John? who spoke of the eternal Son
of God. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning
with God. All things were made by Him,
and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was
life, and the life was the light of men. The Word was made flesh
and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the
only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. The
Law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
He's the Eternal Son. He's the Great I Am. What about Peter? You know, Peter's
got a very special place in the Scripture, doesn't he? What about
Peter? Peter, what do you have to say?
What are your thoughts regarding the Lord Jesus Christ? Well,
here's Peter's thoughts. When he first saw who Christ
was. More than just a man, but the
God-man. When he saw who Christ was. You know what his response was? Depart from me, Lord. Somebody like you doesn't want
to have anything to do with somebody like me. Depart from me, Lord. I'm a sinful man. I'm full of sin. And then I think
of Matthew chapter 16. When the Lord said, whom do men
say that I the Son of Man am? They put him in some high cot
and some say you're Jeremiah, some say you're Elijah, one of
the prophets. They say good things about you. But whom say ye that
I am?" Peter's answer, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living
God. And the Lord said, Blessed art
thou, Simon Bar-Jonah. Flesh and blood didn't reveal
that to thee. But my Father which is in heaven, and thou art Peter,
are upon this rock this confession of me. While I build my church,
the Lord's the builder of the church, and the gates of hell
shall not prevail against it. You remember in John chapter
6 when the multitude left Christ and the Lord looked at his disciples
and said, Will you also go away? Doors open. Will you also go
away? Peter's response, Lord, to whom
shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal
life, and we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ,
the Son of the living God. And the Lord said, have not I
chosen you? That's the reason you're saying this, Peter. I
think of Pentecost. That message that Peter preached,
beginning with him being delivered by the determined counsel and
foreknowledge of God, you have taken with wicked hands and crucified
and slain. I love the way he ends it up.
God has made this same Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord
and Christ. Won't you make Jesus the Lord
of your life? God's already made Him the Lord
of your life. He's the Lord of the dead. If you're dead in sins,
He's still your Lord, whether you know it or not. And He's
the Lord of the living. To this end, Christ both died,
rose, and revived, that He might be Lord, both of the dead and
the living. Can we possibly forget the words
of Thomas called Didymus, the doubting disciple? Didymus means
twin. Whose twin is he? The doubting
disciple. Twin of me, twin of you. But you remember he's the one
disciple that was not there. When the Lord appeared to everybody,
I don't know what his reason was, but he wasn't there. And
when they told him the Lord was risen, he said, except I see
in his hand, the print of the nails and put my finger into
the print of the nails and thrust my hand in his side, I will not
believe. And then the Lord appeared to
him, Thomas. Reach hither thy finger and behold
my hand and reach hither thy hand and thrust it in my side
and be not faithless but believing. Do you remember his reply? My Lord and my God. That's what Thomas thought of
Christ. My Lord. and my God." Now here's a sampling of the
thoughts of the men and women that he healed and saved during
his earthly ministry. The leper. The leper. Filled with leprosy. He came and worshipped, saying, If you will, you can make me
clean. My being made clean is totally
up to your will. If you will, you can. The Roman centurion, Boothe,
sick servant, speak the word only. And my servant, shall be
healed. The Syro-Phoenician woman, when
the Lord said, I'm not sent but to the lost sheep of the house
of Israel, then came she and worshipped him. She worshipped
him as God saying, Lord, help me. And he said, I'm not sent
but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. It's not right. It's not fit. It's not appropriate to take
the children's bread and to cast it to dogs. Truth, Lord. I'm a dog. Truth, Lord. Yet the dogs eat of the crumbs
that fall from the master's table. That's what she said. She knew
He was the Master and she would be grateful for any crumbs of
mercy that came her way. I love what the thief on the
cross said. Don't you fear God? This is God
hanging on this tree beside me. Don't you fear God? We're getting
exactly what we deserve. We're receiving the due recompense
for our deeds. But this man hath done nothing
amiss. He's never sinned. Then he looked
at that one hanging on that tree, seemingly so helpless, and he
said, Lord, Lord, Remember me when you come into
your kingdom. You're not going to stay here.
You're coming back as a mighty reigning king. Oh, when you return,
remember me. What glorious things they spake
concerning Him. Now, we could not possibly do
this without interviewing the Apostle Paul. Oh, I love to think of Paul.
He's on the road to Damascus with absolutely no interest in
Jesus Christ except to blot out his name. No love for him. He
was on the road to Damascus to kill Christians, put him in jail.
Somebody once said he wasn't on his way to a prayer meeting.
He wasn't. A blinding light came and knocked
him off his horse. And he said, Who art thou, Lord? I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest. It's hard for thee to kick against
the bricks. You're hurting yourself. And
then he said, Lord, Lord, what would you have me to do? No higher statement has ever
been made in that statement in 1 Timothy chapter 6 regarding
the Lord Jesus Christ. He says, He is the blessed and
only potentate, the Lord of lords and the King of kings. dwelling in the light that no
man can approach, whom no man has seen nor can see, to whom
be honor and power everlasting. That's what Paul said about the
Lord Jesus Christ. Listen to these words from Colossians
chapter 1. In whom we have redemption through
his blood, even the forgiveness of sins, who is the image. This is who he is. Who is the image. of the invisible
God, the firstborn of every creature, for by Him were all things created."
Better in heaven and better in earth. Visible and invisible. Everything you see and everything
you can't see was created by Him. Whether they be thrones, or dominions,
or principalities, or powers, all things were created by Him
and for Him. And He is before all things. And by Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body,
the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn
from the dead, that in all things he might have the preeminence.
For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell."
Does that please you? Does that please you? That all
fullness dwells in him. In him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead in a body. And you are complete in him. Paul, what do you have to say
regarding him? Christ is All. In all. Hear this testimony from Paul. This is a faithful saying. And
it's worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners of whom I am the chief. Aren't you thankful
for that testimony? What if it said Christ Jesus
came into the world to save good people? What if it said Christ
Jesus came into the world to help those who help themselves? Doesn't say that, does it? Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners. of whom I am the
chief." The writer to the Hebrews, hear his testimony. God, who
at sundry times and in diverse manners spoke to the fathers
by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken to us by his
Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things by whom also he
made the world, who being the brightness of his glory, and
the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the
word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat
down at the right hand of God. Now let me give you just a small
sampling of what Christ said about himself, and then I'm going
to ask you what you think of Christ. Here's what Christ said
regarding himself. He thought it not robbery to
be equal with God. He said to the Pharisees, Abraham
rejoiced to see my day. And he saw it and was glad. They replied, Thou art not yet
fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Before Abraham was, I am. If you believe not that I am,
You shall die in your sins. He is the great eternal I am. He said, I am the way. I am the truth. I am the life. No man cometh to the Father but
by me. Philip said, Show us the Father,
and it sufficeth us. He said, Have I been so long
time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that
hath seen me hath seen the Father. I am the Alpha and the Omega,
the first And the last, the beginning and the end. That's what he said
concerning himself. Now, with all these testimonies
of the thoughts of the Father, angels, demons, many saved, the
writers of the scripture, himself, what do you Think of Christ. When God looks in your heart,
what does He see? You know, to some, He's nothing.
And let me assure you, if that's your response, you're nothing
to God. You're not going to be in heaven. You see, what God
thinks of you is seen wholly in what you think of His Son. That is the issue. What do you think of Jesus Christ? Let me tell you what I think. I think he's God. I know he's
God. He's my Lord. He's my Savior. He's the only hope that I have. Now, what do I mean by that?
My only hope of heaven, of being accepted by God, has absolutely
nothing to do with any work that I perform. The only hope that
I have is that when He said, it is finished, My salvation was absolutely accomplished. It means I'm saved. What do you think of his person?
He's the God-man. What do you think his work? It's
perfect? Successful? What do you think of his offices
as the Christ, God's prophet? Oh, I love him as the Word of
God. God's priest? I love him as bringing me to
the Father as my priest. God's king? I need his kingship
to rule and reign over me and cause me to do his will. What
do you think of Christ? I think he is all. He's all to God. He's all in
the Bible. And He's all in my salvation. That is what I think of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Now what the eternal God thinks
of you and me is seen by what we think of His Son. Now I want
to close with this scripture. What must, sirs, what must I
do to be saved? And the reply was believe. on
the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. What you think of Christ is really
seen in if you believe on Him as all you have in salvation. Now, if you believe, God has
high thoughts of you because you're in His Son. If you don't
believe, God has nothing for you but judgment. Now what must
I do to be saved? Believe. That's God's command
to you. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved. Let's pray. Lord, we think thy Son is altogether
lovely. We think your Son is God the
Son, the eternal God, the creator of the universe. Lord, we think your Son is the
Son of David. God manifests in the flesh. And
we think your son is the only and the successful savior of
sinners. Lord, we think your son is the
Lord and the King. We think he's all to you. And
Lord, he's all to us. Lord, we ask that you take your
word. These things said about your
son, and that you create saving faith in each heart here according
to your will. In his blessed name we pray.
Amen.