Okay, now turn in your Bible
back to Mark. Mark 1. Mark chapter 1. And today we begin an ambitious
project. Lord willing, in the next, probably
the rest of this year, we'll be preaching through the Gospel
written by Mark. The Gospel according to, it says,
Saint Mark. How is he a saint? Well, like
every believer, he's a saint in Christ. He's not saintly in
himself. You who study the Scripture know
a little bit about the shaky beginnings of this man we know
in Scripture as John Mark. Sometimes he's called Marcus,
Marcus. But let's read verse 1. The beginning
of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The Gospel. Now, we're going
to stay right here in this book on this first verse this morning,
but let me give you this introduction. Here's my introduction to our
study in the Gospel written by John Mark. The center that God
used to write this God-given record, to record what God had
given, I say, and I choose my word deliberately. The sinner
that God used to record these words, we find his name given
in scripture as John Mark. John Mark. He was not, he was
not one of the apostles. Now we have Matthew, Mark, Luke,
and John. Matthew was an apostle. John
was an apostle. Luke, he was not an apostle.
He was a faithful doctor, traveling companion with the Apostle Paul.
He also wrote those words recorded in the Acts of the Apostles that
we've studied. Luke was a writer of that. So
John Mark was not an apostle, as Luke was not an apostle, but
he was certainly a sinner saved by God's grace. He was an early
traveling companion of the Apostle Paul. And he was the nephew of
Barnabas, remember? He was a traveling companion
who went with Paul and Barnabas on that first missionary journey. But do you remember what happened?
John Mark got homesick. He quit and went back to Jerusalem. Well, later on, hold your place
there and find the book of Acts chapter 15. Paul determined to go on his
second missionary journey, and Barnabas wanted to take young
John Mark, his nephew, with him, and Paul said, no, he's not going. And you know, they had a sharp
contention over this very matter of John Mark. Notice Acts 15,
verse 36, And some days after Paul said to Barnabas, Let us
go again and visit our brethren in every city, where we have
preached the word of the Lord and see how they do. And Barnabas
determined to take with them John, whose name, surname was
Mark, John Mark. Paul thought it not good to take
him with them who departed from them from Pamphylia and went
not with them to the world. And the contention was so sharp
between them that they departed asunder one from another. So
Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus, that was Barnabas'
home country. And Paul chose Silas and departed,
being recommended by the brethren under the grace of God. So John
Mark had a shaky beginning in the early days of the church. Later, Paul said of him, and
I want you to find II Timothy 4, later when Paul was in prison,
II Timothy chapter 4, when he was in Rome, in prison, about
to lose his head, his life for the gospel, he writes this in
2 Timothy chapter 4, verse 10, For demons hath forsaken
me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica,
christened to Galatia, tied us unto Damasia. Only Luke is with
me. Take Mark, and bring him with
thee, for he is profitable to me for the ministry." Evidently,
John Mark became a faithful gospel preacher, and Paul said, when
you come Timothy, you bring John Mark, he is profitable to me
for the ministry. Here's another reference to John
Mark, Colossians chapter 4. Now I bring all this up to show
you, God will use whom He will, and He uses weak, sinful vessels
that He might get all the honor and glory. John Mark was just
like you and I, a sinner saved by God's grace. Now Colossians
chapter 4, look at this, verse 10, talking about John Mark,
and here he mentions Aristarchus, Aristarchus, you remember from
our study in the book of Acts, he was one with the Apostle Paul
on that ship that broke apart in the storm. Aristarchus, my
fellow prisoners, salute you. And Marcus, that's John Mark,
sister's son to Barnabas, touching whom you received commandments,
if he come to you, receive him. Receive him. So even though he
had a shaky beginning, God called him to be faithful to the gospel
and God used him to pin the words to these that we find here in
the gospel written by John Mark. Peter called him, in 1 Peter
5, Peter called him, my son, Marcus. Now Mark's record that
we have here before us, although the shortest of the four gospel
records we have, It's no less important than the others, just
16 chapters here. Matthew has 28 chapters. John
has 21 chapters. Luke has, what, 24? 24 chapters. Mark's record, although
the shortest of the four is no less important than the others,
like all Scripture, every word Every word is God-given, and
every word is inspired, God-breathed, God-given, and it is good for
us. It is profitable unto us. All Scripture is given of God. Now, Mark's record seems to focus
more on the mighty deeds of the Lord, the mighty works of the
Lord, more than the mighty words of the Lord. Now, he did speak
And John Mark did record the mighty words of the Lord, but
he seemed to focus more on the mighty deeds of the Lord. For
example, I'll give you this. In Matthew, that Sermon on the
Mount that the Lord spoke, in Matthew chapter 5, chapter 6,
chapter 7, three chapters are given to that powerful Sermon
on the Mount. And Luke records it too. But
John Mark doesn't mention a word. Does that mean his record is
not inspired? No. Sometimes you need to take
all four records, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, take all four
stories and put them all together to get the whole complete picture
of all things. But the Lord did, and John Mark
did record the words of the Lord, the mighty words of the Lord.
For example, Mark chapter 1, notice if you will, verse 21.
And they went into Capernaum, And straightway on the Sabbath
day, he entered into a synagogue and taught. And they were astonished
at his doctrine, for he taught them as one that had authority,
not as the scribes." So he did speak the mighty words of the
Lord. He did record, rather, the mighty
words of the Lord, but also the mighty deeds of the Lord. So, that's my introduction. Now
let's look at verse 1. Now there's two points in this
message today. Here's the first point. Here's
the first point. The beginning of the gospel of
Jesus Christ. That's number one. And number
two is, the Son of God. Now here's the first point. The
beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Now, when we read that,
the beginning, what do we mean? What does Mark mean? We're not
to understand that the gospel had its beginning at this time.
Or even at the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. Or even when the
Lord began His public ministry when He was 30 years old. That
was not the beginning of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Was it? You see, the gospel of
God concerning the Lord Jesus Christ is the ancient gospel. The gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ is older than creation. It's as old as God Himself, in
the beginning, God. You see what he's saying here?
The gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is nothing new or novel.
It's ancient, it's old, it's the everlasting gospel. Before Adam sinned, before Adam
fell, the Lord Jesus Christ was already the remedy. Already the
remedy. He's the Lamb slain before the
foundation of the world. So, it's the ancient gospel of
God. That's what he means by the beginning.
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the same
gospel that God preached to fallen Adam. The same message. Now turn
to Genesis chapter 3. It's the same message. It's the same gospel that God
preached to fallen Adam in the garden. Same gospel. Genesis
chapter 3, verse 15. Here's that gospel promise. I
put enmity between thee and the woman, between thy seed and her
seed, it shall bruise thy head. Talking about the seed of woman,
who is that? The Lord Jesus Christ. The seed
of woman will bruise Satan's dominion, crush sin's power,
and his humanity, his heel, will be bruised. That is the same
gospel that God preached to fallen Adam. The same gospel that Mark
records and the same gospel that Mark preached. The gospel, the
beginning of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's the same
gospel that turned to Genesis chapter 6. Stay right here in
Genesis for just a minute. We can spend the rest of our
time here this morning talking about the gospel of the Lord
Jesus as it is in the Old Testament. God preached this same gospel
to Noah. You remember Genesis chapter
6 verse 8? That ark of God that Noah was
120 years building? That ark is a picture and type
of the Lord Jesus Christ. It says here in verse 8, but
Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. What is that grace? That's God's favor to sinners
because of Christ. It's the same gospel that God
preached to Abraham, turn to Genesis 12. It's the same message. The beginning of the gospel of
Jesus Christ is the ancient gospel of God. Now in Genesis chapter
12, this is the story of how God preached the gospel to Abraham.
Same gospel, same message. Genesis 12 verse 1, Now the Lord
had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from
thy kindred, and from the land of thy father's house, And from
thy father's house unto the land I'll show thee. Here was Abraham
steeped in idolatry, dead in sin, and God sovereignly called
him out and pushed him out. Look what he said, I'll make
of thee a great nation. I'll bless thee, and I will bless
thee, and make thy name great, and thou shalt be a blessing.
I'll bless them that bless you, and I'll curse them that curse
you, curse thee, and in thee shall all families of the earth
Be blessed. Now, what's he talking about
there? Pencil in, if you have, this text, Galatians 3, verse
16. Pencil that in and then turn
there. Galatians 3, verse 16. This seed here, the seed of woman,
and that seed that promised son, that God said Abraham would,
that would come out of his loin, that God would bless a multitude
of sinners, that seed is Christ. It's the same message, same gospel.
Galatians chapter 3 verse 16, Now to Abraham and his seed with
the promises made, he saith not, and to seeds as of many, but
as of one, and to thy seed which is Christ. You see, the gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ didn't have its beginning in Bethlehem
when the babe was born, nor did it have its beginning when the
Lord Jesus entered into his public ministry at the age of 30 years
old. You see, the point I'm making, it is the ancient gospel that's
older than creation, that's older than the Fall. It's the gospel
of God. It's called the everlasting gospel
of God. Now, back to the text. Mark 1-1, in the beginning, the
beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Now, what is this gospel
all about? It says right there in the text,
The beginning of the gospel, and that word means good news. It's the good news of Jesus Christ. The gospel is all about who He
is and what He did. The gospel is all about Him. It's not all about us. It's His
story. It's all about Christ. It's Him. What's the gospel about? Jesus
Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ. The glorious
person of God our Savior. Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus
Christ. He is the gospel. And the gospel
is Jesus Christ. It's all about Him. That's why
Paul said, we preach not ourselves, but we preach Him. We preach
Him. We preach Christ. That's why
he said, I'm determined to know nothing among you but Jesus Christ.
and Him crucified. Preacher, what's the gospel all
about? It's all about Him. It's all about Him. That's what
it says there, the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's a good story
of God's mercy to sinners in Christ Jesus. It is a revelation
of God. It's a revelation, God's revelation
of who the Lord Jesus Christ is and what He has done. Now let's look at a couple of
things right there. It says of His name, His name is called
the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Now where did He get that name,
Jesus? Turn to Matthew chapter 1. It
actually means Savior. It's like that Old Testament
word, Joshua. Joshua was a picture of the Lord
Jesus Christ, a personal type of Christ. And His name, Jesus,
means Savior. And you know what? He is just
what He's called. He is the Savior of sinners.
He came to save sinners. He came to seek and to save that
which is lost. Now, Matthew 1, where did He
get that name? It's not a name really that Joseph and Mary even
picked out. You know, you ladies, when you
have children and you're expecting babies, you're thinking about
names, aren't you? Lisa's over here, she's expecting.
And you're thinking about names, aren't you? Well, Joseph and
Mary, they didn't even contemplate about a name. God named the child. And His name describes His office. Notice what it says here. Verse
21, Matthew 1.21, And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt
call his name Savior, Jesus. For he shall save his people
from their sins. All this was done that it might
be fulfilled, which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and she shall bring forth
a son, and thou shalt call his name Emmanuel. which being interpreted
is God with us. He's our Savior, He is God our
Savior. So He is the Lord Jesus Christ. That's where He got His name,
and His name describes His work, His office as Savior. He is my
Redeemer, He is my Savior. Now look back at the text again,
and then the second part of that is He's the Christ. When I refer to my Lord, unless
I'm reading in the scripture, I don't normally refer to Him
as Jesus. I usually say Jesus Christ, or
preferably the Lord Jesus Christ. But this word here means Christ
means He's the anointed. It means that He is the Messiah.
It means that He is the Promised One that God said the whole Old
Testament from Genesis to Malachi says someone is coming. The Savior
is coming and He is the Christ. He is the Messiah. He is the
Anointed One of God. So He is the Christ. Now, if
He's anointed of God and sin of God, That means everything
that he undertakes, he undertakes in a most successful way. Because one who is God our Savior,
sent of God, blessed of God, anointed of God, certainly is
someone who cannot, cannot fail. Can he? He cannot fail. He's
sent of God, blessed of God, anointed of God. All power, he
said, is given unto me in heaven and earth. He can't fail because
of who He is. So as the Christ, as the anointed
of God, He is God's, He is the Mediator. He is God's prophet,
priest, and king. He is the Mediator, one who represents,
you see, I must have a Mediator. I must have a Mediator and the
reason I must have one who is a Mediator, and a Mediator is
one who stands between two, two parties. You see, God is infinitely
holy, right? I am terribly sinful, and I cannot
come to God apart from a designated, anointed Mediator. A Mediator
is one who represents me before God. And who is that one Mediator? He is the Lord Jesus Christ.
There's one God and there's one Mediator between God and men. It doesn't say man as referring
to mankind. God and men, and that is the
God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ. So He is that Mediator. He's
the Anointed One of God. He's my Savior. He's my Mediator.
And then we read in Scripture that He is that Prophet. In Deuteronomy
18.18, you remember the promise that God gave to Moses. He said,
I will raise up a prophet from among your brethren, and I'll
put my word in his mouth, and he will speak forth my word,
and those who refuse to hear him, I'm going to require it
at your hand. You remember what the Lord said,
this is my beloved son in whom I'm well pleased? What was the
next thing he said? Hear him. You better hear him. Now I'm not going to require
you to hear me, you ought to, but you're required to hear him.
He's going to hold you responsible. As my pastor used to say, he's
going to hold you responsible for what you've heard and what
you could have heard and refused to hear. He's going to hold you
accountable. So hear him. He is God's prophet. He's anointed
as God's prophet. Now a prophet is one who represents
God to the people. As the anointed prophet of God,
he cannot fail. He said, I'll speak forth the
word and it shall not return to me void. Not only is he my
mediator, he is my prophet, but he is my priest. Now what is
the difference between a priest and a prophet? The prophet represents God to
the people. The priest represents me unto
God. Now that Old Testament priest,
when he came into the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement,
He didn't dare go under that thick veil, lift up that thick
veil and go under without the blood. Without the blood, there's
no remission. If he tried to approach God apart
from the blood, oh, it meant certain death. Matter of fact,
it's told. by some of the historical Jewish
writers that when that high priest went in there on the Day of Atonement,
on occasion they'd tie a rope around his leg in case God killed
him. They could drag him out without
going in there to try to retrieve the body. It was such a holy
thing and such an amazing thing to approach God. But you had
to come the exact way God said, or death. My friend, we have
a great high priest who has somewhat to offer, who cannot fail. We're redeemed not with the blood
of bulls and goats, but with the precious blood of Christ.
He obtained eternal redemption for us with his own blood. And
my friend, he didn't minister in tabernacles made with hands.
It says in Hebrews 9, 24 that he entered into the holiest by
the blood of himself. That is, He entered glory as
the forerunner, as my representative, on the merit of His sacrifice.
Having put away my sin, I have a Mediator, a High Priest, who
is seated at the right hand of God, who made complete atonement
for my sin. You see, I have a High Priest.
He is the Lord Jesus Christ. I need one because I need someone
who represents me. who can represent me properly,
who can represent me upon the power of His saving blood, upon
the power of His sacrifice, His redeeming blood. And then we
see this. You see, He is Jesus, the Savior,
the Anointed, Prophet, Priest, and then what's the third one?
King. King. He's Prophet, Priest, and
Potentate. Peter put it this way on Pentecost. when he preached to those Jews
the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, this same Jesus
whom you crucified, He is Lord and Christ. He is called in the
revelation, Lord of lords and King of kings. He is the Lord. He is anointed as such. God said,
I set my King upon my holy hills, I am. He is the established one. He is the established Lord. And
this is the one to whom we preach, this is the one to whom we rest,
this is the one to whom we look unto for all of our salvation. Would you look anywhere else?
No. This is all our hope. Neither
is there salvation in any other. Is there? But the Lord Jesus
Christ alone. So, okay, that's my first point.
Secondly is this. Now look back at the text again.
He's the Son of God. The Son of God. Now what does
that mean? That means He is God the Son. That means that He is
God. The Lord Jesus Christ is God
manifest in the flesh. We do preach and believe what
we call the Deity of Christ. the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ,
His Godhead, His Godhood. He is, He remained what He was
when He was incarnate, God manifest in the flesh. We read in John
chapter 1, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God. The same was in the beginning
with God, and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. Now
listen to me. He remained what He was when
He became incarnate, And made of a woman, made under the law,
He became flesh? He became what He was not, but
He remained what He is. God, eternal God. This is what
is being said here. He is God the Son. The Son of
God. Without controversy, great is
the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. Now, Matthew begins his writings
with his humanity. His humanity. Turn to Matthew
chapter 1. Back to Matthew 1. Matthew shows the genealogy of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew describes His human nature
as the Son of David. He had to be the Son of David
to be the Christ because God said out of Judah, a lion shall
come out of the tribe of Judah. That's the kingly tribe. He is
the lion of the tribe of Judah. But here Matthew talks about
His humanity. In Matthew 1.1, look at this,
the book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David,
the son of Abraham. Abraham beget Isaac, Isaac beget
Jacob, Jacob beget Judas and his brethren. You can trace his
human genealogy right back to Abraham, right back to David.
So what I'm saying is this, Matthew begins his writings with the
humanity of Jesus Christ. He is the son of David, he is
the son of man. According to His human nature,
in the fullness of time, God sent forth His Son made of a
woman. He was a real man. He had no sin. He had no sin
nature. That's why He was conceived of
God. That body was not conceived of
a man. That body was conceived of God
the Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary and conceived in her a man,
a man without sin. But He was a real man. with body,
soul, and spirit, just like we have, but no taint of sin. So he's a real man, but he's
also, as Mark says here, he's a son of God. Now, preacher,
are you contradicting yourself? No. No, he's both. You see, he is a son of man,
he is a real man, and he is a son of God. You see, he's a God-man
in one person. in one person. He is both God
and man in one blessed person. In Him dwells all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily. In Him. He's the only begotten
of God. Our Lord said, when you've seen
me, you've seen the Father. I and my Father are one. Yet
He was a real man. When He Suffered, he was tempted,
tried, and tested in all points like as we are yet without sin. But he is called what kind of
a man? A man of sorrows and acquainted
with grief. He was a real man. He identified
with my human nature apart from sin. Was tempted, tried, and
tested in all points like we are yet without sin. He was a
real man. But never forget this. He was
God, totally 100% God, 100% man. The Word was made flesh and dwelt
among us in one blessed person. This is who He is. This is whom
we preach. You see what I'm trying to say?
Don't ask me to explain that. You can't explain that. Through faith we believe. We
declare it, but I can't explain it. But I certainly do believe
it. that the Lord Jesus Christ, He is the Son of Man and He is
God the Son. God the Son. Now, is this important? Oh, yes. Oh, yes. He had to be a man because God
cannot bleed and die. And He had to be God to give
infinite value to what the God-man did. He had to be both. You see,
it's who He is that gives infinite value and effectual merit to
what He accomplished. We read in Acts 20, 28. All of
you got that memorized by now, right? I wish I did. God bought us with His own blood. It left my mind for a minute.
God bought us with His own blood. Feed the church of God which
He purchased with His own blood. You see, it's who He is that
gives infinite value to what He did. You understand what I'm
saying? He's not just a mere man. This is just the one dying on
that middle cross is not just a good man. One who did miracles
and taught profound things. He's more than just a mere man.
He is God and man in one blessed person. You see that? And this
is what gives infinite value on all that he accomplished.
Now listen to this. The whole gospel stands or falls
on this issue. on this issue, the deity of Christ,
the humanity of Christ. It stands and falls on this one
issue. If he's just an ordinary man, conceived of a man, he's
an imposter and his soul is in hell. But if he's the God-man
mediator, as this book teaches, then everything he did, he did
exactly according to God's purpose and he fulfilled every jot and
tittle for us. His death was not just the death
of a mortal man, but one who was both God and man in one person. I know I'm repeating myself,
but it bears repeating. Now let's read it in the Scripture
then. Find Philippians chapter 2. Philippians chapter 2. And here's what it is. Philippians chapter 2, now here
we see this humanity and this deity in one blessed person.
Philippians chapter 2 verse 5, let this mind be in you which
was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought
it not robbery to be equal with God. same nature, same essence,
same glory, same deity, but made himself of no reputation, and
he took upon himself the form of a servant, and was made in
the likeness of men, apart from sin, as you read Romans 8, verse
3. And being found in fashion, that
word means habit, as a man, he humbled himself, became obedient
unto death, even the death of the cross. No man took his life,
He became obedient unto death. He became obedient unto the law. He was God's sacrifice for sin. He is the Lamb of God. Wherefore,
God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which
is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee
should bow. Things in heaven, things in the
earth, things under the earth, Those who have died will one
day be resurrected, the just and the unjust, and they will
confess He is Lord. As it says in verse 11, every
tongue should confess that He is Lord, that Jesus Christ is
Lord to the glory of God the Father. You see, His humanity
and His deity and His obedience unto death, that's all of our
salvation. Now, six things. And my time
is pretty well gone. I've got six things to say. That means, because of who He
is, that means He cannot fail. It says that in Isaiah 42, verse
4, He cannot fail. Secondly, that means that Calvary
He made full, complete satisfaction for all the sins of His covenant
people. If you're taking notes, Hebrews
2, 9-18. Thirdly, that means He brought
in everlasting righteousness for His people. God made him
to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the
righteousness of God in him." That means he made peace with
God with his own blood. He made peace with God with his
own blood, Colossians 1.20. That means that God was in Christ
reconciling us unto himself, 2 Corinthians 5.18. That means,
fifthly, that there's no condemnation to those who were in Christ Jesus.
Oh, that's good news to this sinner. Turn to Romans chapter
8. That means that there's no condemnation
to those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans chapter 8. Paul talks
about in verse 24 of Romans 7, O wretched man that I am, who
shall deliver me from this body of death? Oh, I thank God through
Jesus Christ my Lord. So then with my mind I serve
the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin. There is
therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus,
who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." There
is no condemnation. Who shall deliver me from this
old wretched man that I thank God through Jesus Christ our
Lord? Now, Romans 8, look at verse 32. He that spared not
his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not
with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything
to the charge of God the left? God can't charge me with sin.
Now, wait a minute, preacher. You see, there's something God
can't do. He cannot lie. He cannot change. And because
I'm in Christ and because Christ paid all my sin debt, He cannot
condemn me. Who can lay anything to the charge
of God the left? It's God that justifies me. He's
not going to justify me in Christ Jesus and turn around and condemn
me. That can't happen. He can't charge my sin to Christ
and then charge me with my sin and make him unjust. He's not
unjust. He is a just God and Savior.
Sixthly, that means sinners have a genuine, real, lasting, good
hope through grace in Christ Jesus. I have a good hope through
grace. Now let me close with this. Let
us jealously guard this precious truth. that He is God our Savior. Without, with it we stand upon
a solid rock. Our Lord said, I'll build my
church upon that rock and the gates of hell shall not prevail
against it. Without it we have nothing to stand upon. All other
ground is sinking sand. You see, it's on this rock we
stand. Who He is, what He did, why,
and where He is now. Where is He now? When He by Himself
purged our sin, He sat down on the right hand of the throne
of God, as I said earlier, as a forerunner, as our representative. He's entered into the heavenlies,
seated in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus. And you know what the
book says? This is what the book says. The
book says in Ephesians 2 that we're already seated in the heavenlies
in Christ Jesus. Read it. Ephesians chapter 2.
Although I'm not there literally, I am in my representative, and
he's a surety of my salvation, and he cannot fail. Our flesh,
most sinful, our sin, so many, we need a mighty Redeemer. Who is? You remember the story
of Ruth and Boaz the kinsman Redeemer? Three things had to
be true of Boaz in order for him to be the Redeemer for Ruth. You remember those three things?
First of all, he had to be near kin. And the Lord Jesus Christ,
He is the Son of Man and Son of God. And he is, second qualification,
had to be able to redeem. And Boaz was able. He was rich.
He was near kin to Naomi and Limelech. He was near kin. He was able to redeem. And the
Lord Jesus Christ, as our kinsman-redeemer, He's able to save to the uttermost
all that come to God by Him. And the third thing is this,
old Boaz had to be not only near kin and able, but he had to be
willing. When Ruth came in that night
and laid down at Boaz's feet, and he took his cover and covered
her, made her willing, and he was
willing to redeem this woman named Ruth. And we read in Scripture,
all that the Father hath given to me, they'll come to me, and
those that come to me I will in no wise cast out. Well, I
came down from heaven not to do my own will, but the will
of Him that sent me. He is the willing Redeemer. Well,
we need to bring a message on the Kinsmen Redeemer, don't we?
It's been a while since we've preached from that text.