We'll just look at a few verses
here this evening. Let's begin reading with verse
47. And this is just to kind of give
you an idea of what's happened. This is right after Lazarus.
right after our Lord raised Lazarus from the dead. And look beginning
again with verse 47. It says, then gathered the chief
priests and the Pharisees a council and said, what do we? For this
man doeth many miracles. I'm often amazed at how these
men had witnessed one of these great miracles of our Lord, and
they never rejoiced. They were never able to rejoice
in it. So they gathered this council
together, and they said, what do we, for this man doeth many
miracles, if we let him thus alone, all men will believe on
him. And the Romans shall come and
take away both our place and our nation. And one of them named
Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them,
ye know nothing at all. Now here we read the words of
the high priest. And the old writers say that
by this time, by the time Caiaphas was a high priest, it was no
longer a lifelong position. It had become a, he was basically
a political appointee from year to year. And it was really just
kind of up to the highest bidder to determine who that was. And
these men, These Pharisees and Levites and
priests, what they're worried about is
their own skin. That's their concern. It's not
the glory of God. It's what's best for them as
individuals. That's why they've gathered together
here. And what's just amazing though,
is though Caiaphas speaks from his own wicked heart. When he says this, he says, you
know nothing at all. He said, you're ignorant, you're
foolish people. And you sit around, why are you wasting time sitting
around discussing this fella? And he's talking about the Lord
Jesus Christ here. And even though Caiaphas speaks
from his own wicked heart and from his own selfish desire,
the Spirit of God is going to use him to preach a message,
to preach, listen, the truth about the gospel of substitution
and redemption through him. Is there anything too difficult
for our God? And this wicked man, this selfish
man, he's gonna say everything he wants to say, but in doing
so, he's gonna speak the truth. God's gonna use him to speak
the truth. What a wonderful prophecy we're
gonna hear from this man. Psalm 76 verse 10 says this. Surely the wrath of man will
praise him. Even the wrath of man's gonna
praise Almighty God. So let's look at these few verses
together here this evening. Look, beginning with verse 50. You have verse 50, he says, you
know nothing at all, nor consider. You haven't considered. Now, the word consider, You think
about it, you go through the day, you consider a lot of things. You know, if we all went to Dairy
Queen after the service tonight, we would consider what kind of
blizzard we wanted, right? Maybe it would be an Oreo blizzard
or whatever it might be. And you know, the consequence
of that If I took a Turtle Sunday blizzard instead of an Oreo blizzard,
the consequences of that really wouldn't be that great. It really
wouldn't matter one way or the other, would it? But the word,
as it's used here in our text, this word consider, it means
to deliberate. It means to give careful consideration. It means to give thoughtful consideration,
to look at it like your life depended upon it. And that's how I want us to look
at this message this evening, as we consider what's written
in God's word. And I believe there's five or
six things here I pray the spirit of God will
enable us to see this evening. Read on in the text here. He
said, you've not considered that it's expedient, that it's good,
that it's profitable for us. Now again, Caiaphas here, he's
just thinking about himself. But consider this. It's expedient. It's expedient. It's profitable
for us to consider a few of these things here. And the first is
this. The simplicity of the gospel. The simplicity of the gospel. Look what he says there. He says
that one man. It's expedient for us that one
man should die for the people. One man. Paul speaking to the
Corinthians in 2nd Corinthians 11, 3, he said, I fear, lest
by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety,
so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity which is
in Christ. What you were talking about earlier,
Jay. Men stand up and they put together these great outlines
and all these historical facts and they just enamor people with
their wisdom. What we need is the simplicity
of the gospel. One man. One man. And listen, we're complete in
him. We are complete in Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ, he is
made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Who are we talking about here?
One man, just one. The scriptures declare one body,
one spirit, even as you are called in one hope of your calling,
one Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all who
is above all and through all and in you all. One, just one. The simplicity of the gospel. It's not, listen, it's not Christ
plus the law. It's not Christ plus your morality. It's not Christ plus your tradition. It's not Christ plus your ceremony. It's not Christ plus anything. It is Christ and Christ alone,
one man. You know, Christ plus anything
in redemption is not the gospel. It's not the gospel of God's
glory and grace. It's one man, one man. Turn with me to Colossians. chapter 2 Colossians chapter 2 look at verse 9 For in him, who is that? In Christ dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily, look at that next verse, and you are
complete. You are perfect in him, which
is the head of all principality and power. God's word declares
that we are made the very righteousness of God in Him, in Christ, in
the Lord Jesus Christ. Consider, consider the simplicity
of the gospel. One man, the Lord Jesus Christ. Now turn back to our text in
John 11. Again in verse 50, Caiaphas here,
he says, Nor have you considered that it is expedient for us that
one man should die. One man should die. And this
is the second point. We read that one man should die. You see that? Why must a man
die? Why is that necessary? It's a
three-letter word, sin. The wages of sin is death. We read that when lust hath conceived,
it bringeth forth sin, and sin, when it is finished, bringeth
forth death. Consider your sin. It's not just,
and it's not just what we do, it's what we are. We can, listen,
we can teach all the way back, trace it, we can trace it all
the way back to the garden. Back to Adam. We talk about this
a lot, right? Sin. When Adam fell, we all fell. Remember Henry used to say that
often. Wrong on the fall, wrong on it
all. All the way back to the garden.
By one man. By one man sin entered into the
world, and death by sin. So death passed upon all men,
for listen, all have sinned. When Adam fell, we were all made
sinners. And you know, in a legal sense,
we're made sinners, but also in a natural sense. We have a
sin nature. It's there. That sinful, rebellious nature
that raises its head often in all of us? It's our sin. We're born with it. David said
this in Psalm 58, 3. He said, the wicked are estranged
from the womb. When does that happen? Does that
happen when they turn 12, or 18, or 25? They go astray as soon as they
be born, speaking lies. Born, born dead in trespasses
and sin. And listen, this sin, it's our
sin. Can't blame Adam for it, even
though it originated with him. It's our sin, it's my sin. Turn to Psalm 51. Listen to David's prayer here. He says, have mercy upon me,
O God, according to thy loving kindness, according to the multitude
of thy tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly
from mine iniquity. Cleanse me from my sin for I
acknowledge my transgression and my sin is ever before me
against thee and thee only have I sinned and done this evil in
thy sight. That thou mightest be justified
when thou speakest and clear when thou judgest. We're sinners. And as a result
of that, sin bringeth forth death. One must die. One must die. Just as prophesied throughout
the Old Testament. Just as typified by all those
Old Testament sacrifices. There has to be death. There
has to be death. But listen, we read this, the
Lord Jesus Christ, he died for our sins according to the scriptures. Well, consider the simplicity
of the gospel. Consider my sin. And third, consider the substitutionary
work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at our verse here again.
Look at this text in John 11. Caiaphas said, consider that
it is expedient. It's good. It's profitable. that one man should die for the
people, for the people. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
sinner's substitute. Back there in John 10, turn back
a page to John 10. Look at verse 14. Look what our Lord, this is our
Lord speaking. He says, I am the good shepherd,
and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth
me, even so I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the
sheep. Second Corinthians 5.21. 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. The Lord Jesus Christ, he had
no sin. He knew no sin. He did no sin. He was perfect before the law
of God. It has to be perfect to be accepted. And yet our sins were laid on
him. He bore our sins. Isaiah 53 says
this, the Lord hath laid on him, hath laid on the Lord Jesus Christ
the iniquity of us all. He was made a curse. Scripture
said he was made a curse for us. Hebrews 8.28 we read that
Christ was once offered to bear the sins Romans 8 32 says this he that
spared not his own son but delivered him up for us all for who for
his for his sheep for his elect and it was for our sins it's
expedient that one man die for the people For our sins he died
under the wrath of almighty God. All of that, that his people
might go free. Remember when Abraham offered
up Isaac as a burnt offering? Remember that? And as they was
walking, Isaac stopped his dad and he said, there's the fire,
here's the wood, where's the land? You can't have a sacrifice
without a land. Where's the land? God's holy,
righteous, just. Man's guilty, sinful, evil, wicked. Abraham spoke these words, he
said, my son, God will provide himself a lamb. And you know
how the rest of that story. Remember that Abraham raised
that knife up in the air to slay his son on that altar. And God
stopped him. And right then, he looks up and
there's that ram caught in the thicket. And went and took that
ram. And what happened? Isaac goes
free and that ram dies in his place. Substitution. Substitution. He made him to
be sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him, in the Lord Jesus Christ. Consider, consider substitution. The substitutionary work of the
Lord Jesus Christ. He endured the wrath the punishment,
the guilt of sin before the law and justice of his father, before
a holy God. He suffered and died on the cross
as a sinner's substitute. He dies and his people, his people
go free. That death that we're deserving
of, that we earned, that we merited, And he took it upon himself. Well, fourth. And this kind of
goes with the third point, which goes with the second point, goes
with the first point. Satisfaction. Satisfaction. You know, I could offer myself
up as a sacrifice, but if the offended party isn't satisfied,
It's not going to do anybody any good, is it? Look at verse
50 again. You haven't considered that it's
expedient for us that one man die for the people that the whole
nation perish not. Why won't the whole nation perish?
because Christ our substitute bore our sins and almighty God
was satisfied. Satisfaction. The scripture declares
this, that when he, when the Lord Jesus Christ had by himself
purged our sins, he sat down on the right hand of the majesty
on high. In Hebrews 10, we read this,
their sins and their iniquities, well, I remember no more. Isn't it amazing that we can't
forget them? You're sinning every way on you.
We can't forget them, but he has. He's put them away. He said
there are sins and iniquities. Well, I remember no more. And
where remission of these is, there's no more offering for
sin. I remember Brother Charlie preached
a message one time, and I think he titled it, None Needed and
None Required. No more offering for sin. There's
none needed. There's none required. He paid
it. He paid the debt. Sin has been put away, and we
are made everlastingly secure in the blood of the Lord Jesus
Christ. He made one sacrifice for sins
forever. And in doing so, he completely
and perfectly satisfied the wrath and justice of God against us. Turn to Jeremiah 31. Jeremiah
31. Look at verse 34. Jeremiah 31,
verse 34. And they shall teach no more
every man his neighbor and every man his brother, saying, Know
the Lord, for they shall all know me. From the least unto
the greatest of them, saith the Lord. For I will forgive their
iniquity, and I will remember their sin. No more, no more. Consider, consider this, that
God's wrath and justice has been satisfied by the substitutionary
work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, look back, look back at
our text, John 11. Here's the fifth point. Another S word. God's sovereignty. Consider God's sovereignty in
the salvation of His people. Look at verse 52. It says, He
should gather together in one the children of God that were
scattered abroad. Almighty God is going to gather
together in one his children that were scattered. Our sins are what separated us
from God. Our selfish desires have separated
us from God. Scripture says, it's all we like
sheep have gone astray. We've turned everyone to our
own way, our own selfish way. Yet, in spite of that, he says,
I'm gonna gather them together. Who's gonna do it? He's going
to, sovereignly. Genesis 49 verse 10 says, the
scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between
his feet until Shiloh, till the Messiah come. And unto him shall
the gathering of the people be. He's gonna gather them together. Christ has a, he has a people.
His children, given him by God in eternity. A people that are
scattered abroad, a people scattered across this world. But listen to what our Lord says
in John 6, 37. He says this, all that the Father hath given
me No matter where they are, no matter what condition they
are in, all that the Father hath given me shall. Don't say maybe. Don't say I'd
like for them to or I'm going to beg them to. It says shall
come to me. And him that cometh to me, I
will in no wise cast out. Back there in Exodus, when God
was bringing his children out of Egypt, Moses said this. He said, there won't even be
a hoof left behind. Not even a hoof. He's not gonna
miss anything. He'll draw them. Scripture says
he'll draw them to himself. Our Lord himself, he said this,
this is the Father's will which has sent me that all which he
hath given me, I should lose nothing, but raise it up at the
last day. Well, consider. Consider the simplicity of the
gospel. One man, one Savior, one Lord. Consider our sin. We're dead
in trespasses and sin. Consider our substitute. He that
bore our sin. He that bore the punishment in
our place. Consider satisfaction. God's
satisfied with the sacrifice of his son. Consider God's sovereignty. His sovereignty over all things.
And listen, here's the sixth point. Consider the salvation,
the security of every believer. Again, he said every one of them
is gonna be gathered together. He shall gather together in one
the children of God that were scattered abroad. Again, he has
a people, the Lord Jesus Christ. He has a people, his sheep, his
elect, the children of God, given him from all eternity. They were
lost. They were scattered abroad. But they're gonna be gathered
together. Turn to one more scripture with
me. Turn to Ezekiel 34. Verse five, he says they were
scattered. You see that, verse five? I'm
not gonna read all this. Look at verse 11. Thus saith
the Lord God, behold I, even I, will both search my sheep
and seek them out. As the shepherd seeketh out his
flock in the day that he's among his sheep that are scattered,
so will I seek out my sheep and will deliver them out of all
places where they've been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. And
I will bring them out from the people and gather them from the
countries and will bring them to their own land and feed them
upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers and all the inhabited
places of the country. I will feed them in a good pasture. And upon the high mountains of
Israel shall their fold be There shall they lie in a good fold
and in a fat pasture, and they shall feed upon the mountains
of Israel. I will feed my flock. I will cause them to lie down,
saith the Lord. I, who's doing all the work here? He is, isn't he? I will seek
that which was lost and bring again that which was driven away. and bind up that which was broken,
and will strengthen that which was sick. I'll destroy the fat
and the strong, and will feed them with judgment, but listen,
his people, he's gonna gather them, he's gonna gather them
together, he's gonna go seek out each one, find them, and
bring them to himself. Exodus 10, let me just read this
to you. In that day, the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come to me, which
were ready to perish. The simplicity of the gospel,
one Savior, one Lord. Our sin, consider these things.
Consider our substitute, the Lord Jesus Christ, who bore our
sins in his body on the tree. Consider this word satisfaction. God was satisfied with his sacrifice. God's sovereignty. and consider
this, the salvation and security of every believer. We're all
gonna be gathered together in one. He didn't have any idea what
he was saying that day, did he? But speaking to God's people,
aren't we thankful? Aren't we thankful? All right.