When Andy was reading that 33rd
Psalm, there's a verse that I always enjoy reading and thinking about. It's the last verse of that 33rd
Psalm where David says, let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us according
as we hope in thee. And you know, all my hope is
in him. And if that's the case, he said,
let your mercy be upon us according as we hope in thee. I like that. Don't you turn back to Luke chapter
nine, if you would. I've entitled this message, the
musts of the son of man. Now the word must means it is
necessary. It is binding. It is needful. It has to be done. Now keep that
in mind when we read this passage of scripture once again together.
Now this is right after Peter had made that confession. Thou art the Christ of God. You're
God's prophet. You're God's priest. You're God's
king. Thou art the Christ. of God. Verse 21, and he straightly
charged them and commanded them to tell no man that thing. Now
notice it says he charged the man, he commanded him, he gave
a double command. Make sure you don't tell anybody that I am
God's Christ. He did that quite often, didn't
he? Quite often. Why? Well, I don't know all of
his reasonings, obviously, but there were some things that had
to take place And evidently that would have not been the thing
to do for these things to take place. Here's some things that
must take place. And I guess you could think if
people go around saying he's the Christ, well, I don't know
what would have happened, but he told them not to do it, didn't
he? Saying, verse 22, the son of man. Now he who is the Christ
of God is also the son of man. And I love the way he calls himself
the son of man, don't you? He was called in derision the
carpenter's son. But the one who was in derision
called the carpenter's son was the son of God and the son of
man. And what a blessed name of our
Lord. Bone of our bone and flesh of
our flesh. A real man. He who is God is
the Son of Man. Saying, the Son of Man must,
it's necessary, it's binding, it's needful. The Son of Man
must suffer many things. And he must be rejected of the
elders and chief priests and scribes. And he must be slain. And he must be raised from the
dead the third day. The son of man must suffer many
things. As the sinners substitute, he
must be a man of sorrows. intimately acquainted with grief. The Lord said he would be that
way. He said, is there any sorrow
like my sorrow, which is done to me wherewith the Lord hath
afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger? Now, our Lord's
sorrows were not. He who had perfect communion
with God knew he was going to be cut off from his father. That is what grieved his soul
so bad. Oh, there was many sorrows being
around people like us, no doubt. But what grieved him so much
was the thought that he was going to be cut off by his father all
his life. He knew this was going to take
place. And the scripture says he must be rejected. Again, it
was foretold. The scripture says he's despised
and rejected of men. a man of sorrows and acquainted
with grief, and we hid, as it were, our faces from him. He
was despised, and we esteemed him not. That's one of the saddest
verses of scripture, to think that I've been guilty of that,
that you've been guilty of that. Not esteeming the Son of God. Can you tell me anything that
could be worse than that? But that's what we're all guilty
of. But notice who had to reject him. He must be rejected by who? The religious, the elders, the
chief priests, and the scribes. Now this is a reminder to us,
don't ever forget this. Human religion is an evil thing. It's anti-God, it's anti-Christ. Human religion, most of what
goes on under the name of Christianity, is an evil thing. I tell you,
I don't even like to tell people when I'm out that I'm a preacher
because I know what they think about me. It's an evil thing. He must be rejected by the elders
and the chief priests and the scribes. And next it says he
must be slain. He must be slain. Why must He
be slain? Why was it binding for Him to
be slain? Why was it needful for Him to
be slain? Well, because it was God's purpose,
first of all. He's called in Revelation 13, 8, the Lamb slain
from the foundation of the world. Isn't that mysterious? The Lord
Jesus Christ, before time began, was the Lamb slain. Not as if he had been slain,
but the lamb slain. Now that's just one of those
things that you can't understand, you just believe. God's elect
have always been viewed in the lamb slain. And before there
was ever a sinner, there was a savior. The lamb slain from
the very foundation of the world. And because God purposed it,
it had to take place. He must be slain. Well, what's
the reason for death? There's only one reason for death,
sin. Now, when our Lord was slain,
this was not a moral example to us, although it was the greatest
act of obedience that there ever was, that the Lord would willingly
offer himself up in obedience to his father to be our substitute. Oh, there is no other greater
act of obedience, but his death was not a moral example. It was the justice of God against
sin. It was the punishment of the
offense. You see, my sin became his sin,
so that he became guilty of that very sin. And the wrath of God
came down upon him. You see, the scripture says,
the soul that sinneth shall surely die. My sin became his sin, and
the very justice of God demanded his death because he was guilty. That's why he must be slain. He was guilty. My sin became... When I think of the Lord, all
the Pilate questioned him, and Herod questioned him, and the
high priest questioned him, and he didn't answer for himself.
He just kept his mouth shut. Why? Because he knew he was guilty. He didn't try to defend himself
because he knew he was guilty. Now, I know that when I feel
like I'm accused of something I'm not guilty of, man, I try
to justify myself. I try to clear my name. Not him,
because he was guilty. He must be slain. You know, I love to think of
our Lord dying, and this is so simple. So simple. There were three crosses where
our Lord was dying. On one cross, there was a man
dying in his sin. As he lived, so he died in rebellion
and hatred for the living God. and he's dying and going to hell. There was a man dying in his
sin, but there was another man dying for sin. He was dying for sin. The sins of God's people became
his, and he was dying for sin. And because he died for sin,
there was another man on another cross that was dying unto sin. That very day, the Lord said,
you're going to be with me in paradise, a place with no sin. Why did he die? Why was there
a necessity for him being slain? Because he was guilty. The just for the unjust. He'd
bear our sins in his own body on the tree. But notice the scripture
also says it was necessary for him to be raised again the third
day. He must be raised the third day. Why? Because complete payment
was made. Believer, your sins were paid
for. put away, and they are now gone. The very justice of God demanded,
just like the justice of God demanded his death, the justice
of God demanded his resurrection, because he offered complete satisfaction. Now, if Aubrey died, and somebody
killed her, and, oh my, they said, you know, I'll give you
a million dollars, would that satisfy me? What if they said,
I'll give you 10 million? Would that satisfy me? No. The
only way I could be satisfied is if she was raised from the
dead. Now, I would give satisfaction in that. And God the Father was
satisfied with what his son did. And there was complete satisfaction
in raising him from the dead. I am so thankful for the musts
of the Son of Man. Scripture says he was delivered
for our offenses, Romans 4 25. He was delivered for our offenses
and he was raised again for our justification. Now, like I said,
I've entitled this message, the musts, the necessities, the needfuls
of the son of man. When he came into this world,
he said, lo, I come. In the volume of the book, it's
written of me. I delight to do thy will. Oh
God, he came to do his father's will. Now, the must of the Son
of Man, do you remember what his first words were? Anybody
remember? Luke chapter two. Wist ye not, I must be about
my father's business. They came looking for him. Son,
we've been searching for you. Wish ye not that I must be about
my father's business. And what was his father's business?
He sent his son into this world to save sinners. Christ Jesus
came into the world to save sinners. Now, I'll tell you who this is
good news to. Sinners. Sinners rejoice in this. I said,
call his name Jesus for he shall save his people from their sin. That's his father's business.
And he said, I came to do my father's business. I must be
about my father's business. And I love thinking about this.
What were his last words? It is finished. My father's business has been
completed. In John chapter three, verse
14, The Lord says, as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,
and you remember that story, the children of Israel complained
and murmured. They said, they'd gone very discouraged
because of the way you can read about it in Numbers 21. They
said, we don't have any food, we don't have any water, and
our souls loathe this light bread, that manna that had been angels'
food had become light bread to them. And the Lord said, fiery
serpents, into the camp, biting them. Can you imagine how horrible
that would be? I've tried to, I preached on that not that long
ago, but can you imagine having snakes coming all over the place,
biting people, killing people? So they come up to Moses and
they said, we've sinned against the Lord. We've sinned against
you. Pray to the Lord for us that he'll get rid of these snakes.
And Moses said, make a serpent on the pole and lift it up, that
serpent on a brass serpent on a pole. And whoever looks, anybody
that's bitten, doesn't matter who they are, when they look, And the Lord said, as Moses lifted
up the serpent on the pole, even so must the son of man be lifted
up that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have
everlasting life. Now there's only one reason he
must do anything. He must do his father's will. He said, for I've come down from
heaven not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent
me, and this is the Father's will that sent me, that of all
which he hath given me, I should lose nothing, but raise it up
again at the last day. Turn with me to John chapter
10. John chapter 10. Verse 15. As the Father knoweth me, Even
so know I the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which
are not of this fold, them also I must bring. It's necessary, it's binding,
them also I must bring. And they shall hear my voice,
and there shall be one fold and one shepherd. He must bring every
one of his sheep into heaven. And not everybody's a sheep.
They're sheep and they're goats. The Lord said this in John chapter
10. You're right there. Look in verse 24. Then came the
Jews, ran about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou
make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly.
Jesus answered them, I told you, and you believe not. The works
that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me, but
you believe not, because you're not of my sheep. He didn't say,
you're not my sheep because you don't believe. He said, you believe
not because you're not of my sheep. As I said unto you, my
sheep hear my voice. I know them. They follow me and
I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish.
And that's his sheep and all his sheep. He says, I must bring
them in. I must save them. You know, the
death of Christ was an accomplishment. Never look at it in a way. Luke
9 31, they spake of the deceased, which he should accomplish. Now,
when somebody dies, we think of it as being the end, don't
we? That's the end. You know, when the Lord died,
it was the beginning. His death was an accomplishment.
He saved all of his sheep. And he said in Luke chapter 4
verse 43, I must preach the kingdom of God for therefore am I sent.
The spirit of God had anointed me to preach the gospel to the
poor. Now, the Lord said I must preach
the kingdom of God. The Lord Jesus Christ is a preacher
and he must preach the kingdom of God and we must as well. And
because of this, I love this scripture in John chapter 4 verse
4, it says he must needs go through Samaria. Now, there wasn't a necessity
as far as him taking that direction. He could go any way he wanted
to. And there were quicker ways to get there. But he must needs
go through Samaria. Now, why must needs he go through
Samaria? Because one, his sheep was there.
This woman at the well, you remember the story? This woman, she had
some issues, didn't she? She'd been married five times. And the man she was with at the
present time, she was living with him outside of wedlock in
a sinful relationship. Now this woman had issues. There's
no doubt about it. Anybody like that would have
issues. We can relate with people who have issues. But when you
told me in John chapter four, this is after the Lord had asked
her to drink, verse 16. Jesus saith unto her, Go call
thy husband, and come hither. The woman answered and said,
I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said,
I have no husband. For thou hast had five husbands,
and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband. That saidst
thou truly. The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou
art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this
mountain, and you say that in Jerusalem is the place where
men ought to worship. She automatically turns her religion on. Jesus
saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh when you
shall neither in this mount nor yet at Jerusalem worship the
Father you worship you know not what. We know what we worship
for salvation is of the Jews, but the hour cometh and now is
when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit
and in truth. For the Father seeketh such to
worship him. Don't you want to be one of those
people? Man, I do. God is spirit and they that worship
him must worship him in spirit and in truth. The woman saith
unto him, she said, I know what he's talking about. And she said,
I know that when Messiah comes, which is called Christ, when
he has come, he'll tell us all things. Jesus said unto her,
I that speak unto thee, am he. He must needs go through Samaria. One of his sheep is there and
he's always going to get his sheep. The Lord is walking through Jericho
on the way to Jerusalem. to be crucified. Can you imagine
how heavy his heart was at this time? The scripture said he'd
set his face like a flint in order to do this. And as he's
going through the town of Jericho to get to Jerusalem to be crucified,
he stops. There's a big crowd around him.
Everybody's calling his name. He stops and he looks up in a
tree. And there's a little man up there
by the name of Zacchaeus. Once again, this is one of his
sheep. He says, Zacchaeus, make haste,
come down, for today I must. It is binding. It is necessary. Today I must abide at thy house. You know what the scripture says
he did? He made haste, and He came down. I pray that that's
what the Lord does with me and you, that He calls us to make
haste and come down. You see, the way up is always
down. Make haste and come down, for
today I must abide in thy house. You see, At the end of that story,
he said, the son of man has come to seek and to save that which
was lost. And this was one of his lost
ones. And he always saves his lost
ones. You know, it's a good thing to
be lost. Because if you're lost, he's
going to find you. Isn't that wonderful? If you're
lost, he's going to find you. I turned to Matthew 26. This is when Judas was betraying
the Lord. You know, it's interesting, I was
reading earlier this week where the disciples were saying, is
it I, when the Lord said, one of you shall betray me. All of
them said, Lord, is it I? Lord, is it I? Am I the one that's
going to do it? You know what Judas said? He
said, Master, is it I? He never really saw the Lord
as the Lord, just the teacher. And he is betraying the Lord.
And we read in verse 50, And Jesus said unto him, Friend,
wherefore art thou come? Matthew 26, verse 50. And you
know when the Lord said, Friend, He really meant it. Judas was
His friend. I don't understand this, how
He knew that Judas was the son of perdition from the very beginning.
He knew exactly who Judas was as God, but as man, Judas was
His friend. And you read in the Psalms of
how it broke His heart, this betrayal. Now let's go on reading.
Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid hands
on Jesus, and took him. And behold, one of them," we
know it was Peter from one of the other accounts, which were
with Jesus, "...stretched out his hand, and drew his sword,
and struck a servant of the high priest, and smote off his ear."
And I guarantee you, he was trying to cut off his head. I mean,
he bit down, and when he's trying to get his head off, it just
gets lopped off his ear. Then Jesus said unto him, Put up again
thy sword into thy place. For all they that take the sword
shall perish with the sword. Thinkest thou not that I cannot
now pray to my Father, and He shall presently give me more
than twelve legions of angels? Do you think I need your help,
Peter? I don't. I don't. I can get twelve legions of angels
here just like that to wipe everybody out. How then shall the scriptures
be fulfilled? That thus it must be. Everything taking place is a
must. That the scriptures might be
fulfilled. Everything that took place was
what God's hand and counsel determined before to be done. Now we turn
to Luke 24. You remember the story of the
disciples that were on the road to Emmaus, and they were walking
with the Lord after the resurrection, but their eyes, they didn't know
who He was. I don't understand all that,
but they were walking with the Lord, and they didn't know who
He was. And then we read, beginning in
verse 24, And certain of them which were with us went to the
sepulchre, and found it even so as the women had said. But
him they saw not. Then said he unto them, this
is the Lord speaking, O fools, and slow of heart to believe
all that the prophets have spoken. Ought not, now that word ought
is the same word translated must. Was it not necessary? Was it
not binding? Was it not needful? Ought not
Christ to have suffered these things? Wasn't it necessary?
And then to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all
the prophets, he expanded unto them in all the scriptures, the
things concerning himself. But he said, ought not Christ.
Wasn't it necessary? God purposed it. Look in this
same chapter in verse 44, 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 were written in the law
of Moses and in the prophets and in the Psalms concerning
me. Do you know every scripture must be fulfilled? It's binding,
it's necessary. It's the word of God. Then opened
he their understanding that they might understand the scriptures.
And he said to them, thus it's written and thus it behooved. And if my marginal reading says
it's necessary, it's the same word translated must and ought.
It was necessary for Christ to suffer and to rise from the third
day that repentance and remission of sin should be preached in
his name among all nations, beginning in Jerusalem, and you are witnesses
of these things. Now, I love the fact that the
scripture quite often puts these two words together, repentance
and the remission of sins. Why do these two words go together?
Because every single one of us, by nature, make the forgiveness
of sins the payment for something we've done. I did this, therefore
my sins will be forgiven. I did that, therefore my sins
will be forgiven." You know, that's not so. Your sins will
not be forgiven because of anything you've done. Your sins are forgiven
for Christ's sake only. You see, I changed my mind about
the forgiveness of sins, about it being God's response to me.
The forgiveness of sins is God's response to Christ. That repentance
and remission of sins should be preached in His glorious name. Now turn to Acts chapter 4. Beginning in verse 7, And when they had set them in
the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name have you
done this? And Peter filled with the Holy
Ghost said unto them, You rulers of the people and elders of Israel,
If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent
man, by what means he is made whole, be it known unto you all,
and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ
of Nazareth, Whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead,
even by Him that this man stand here before you whole. This is
the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which has become
the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in
any other, for there's none other name under heaven given among
men, whereby we must be saved. We must be saved by Him. While you're there in the book
of Acts, let me show you how this is apostolic preaching.
Turn to Acts chapter 17. Verse 2, And Paul, as his manner
was, this was just his typical preaching. went in unto them,
and three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,
opening and alleging that Christ must needs have suffered." Same
word. And must needs have risen again
from the dead, and that this Jesus whom I preach unto you
is Christ. Here's the last of the must.
Would you turn to 1 Corinthians 15? Now if you would want to know
what a formal definition of the gospel of God is, I would highly
recommend studying 1 Corinthians chapter 15. Because Paul says,
moreover brethren, in verse 1, I declare unto you the gospel.
So this is Paul's declaration of the gospel. And every word
until verse 25 begins with a, every verse begins with a conjunction,
which lets us know that the thought is not over till verse 25. When
he starts saying, I declare to you the gospel, he says all this
stuff up into verse 25. And here's where he began. Here's
where he ends. Verse 25, for he must reign.
He must reign. till he hath put all enemies
under his feet. He must reign because he's sovereign. He reigns. You know, when people
say, won't you let Jesus save you or won't you make Jesus the
Lord of your life? That's so ridiculous. He is the Lord. He
reigns. He's in control. He rules. He reigns. He always has. He's never abdicated that. He's
reigning right now. He must reign because of who
He is. He's so glorious. He must reign. He's manifesting. He reigned
in creation when He just spake the world into existence. He's
reigning in providence right now. Everybody here, He's in
control of you. He reigns in salvation. The Son quickens, gives life
to whom He will. He could come up to Matthew.
It's so amazing. Here Matthew is a publican sitting
at the receipt of customs, trying to rip somebody off, making money
as a tax collector. He says, follow me. And you know
what Matthew did? He got up, forsook all, and followed
the Lord Jesus Christ. You know why? Because His grace
reigns. He is the King of grace. He must reign. I want to give you one final
must. The Philippian jailer said to
the Apostle Paul and Silas, Sirs, What must I do to be saved? There's not a more important
question that could possibly be considered. What must? What is necessary? What is binding? What must I do to be saved? You know how Paul answered him?
He didn't answer him like a lot of theologians would. Well, you
can't do anything to be saved. I mean, you're barking at the
wrong tree. Salvation is by grace. You can't
do anything to be saved. That's probably what some of
us would say. Probably what I'd say. You're wrong. But how did
Paul answer? He said, believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ. and thou shalt be saved. Believe. Rely on the Lord. He's the Lord, isn't he? That's
no empty term. He's the Lord. He's the Lord. The disciples
knew that. Judas didn't. Judas called him
master. But the disciples said, he's the Lord. Jesus, thou shalt
call his name Jesus. It means something, doesn't it?
For he shall save his people from their sins. He's the Lord
Jesus, and he's the Lord Jesus Christ. God's prophet, God's
priest, God's king. He's the one who brings me the
way. You know, I believe him. I believe his word. I believe
him as God's prophet. Oh, I'm relying on him as God's
priest to bring me into the very presence of God. And I'm relying
on him. I'm believing on him as God's
king to cause me to do his will. Now, what must I do to be saved? Good question. Believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ. And thou shall be saved. Now, there is someone in here
who is not saved. You are commanded by God. to believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ and you shall be saved. That's God's promise. Let's pray
together.