We're turning this morning to
the book of Matthew, chapter 11. I'm going to read and speak
from verse 25 of Matthew 11. Now, here's our subject, the
mysteries of the gospel. Now, the scripture calls the
gospel a mystery, the mystery of godliness, the mysteries of
things revealed. But I'm speaking on the mysteries
of the gospel, which are hidden and which are revealed. Now listen
to the text. This is the Master speaking.
He says in verse 25 of Matthew 11, at that time Jesus answered
and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord Sovereign of heaven and
earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and
the prudent, from the wise and the clever, the worldly wise,
and thou hast revealed these things unto babes. Even so, Father,
for so it seemed good in thy sight." Now, my friends, when
our Lord appeared on this earth in the flesh, when Jesus Christ
came into the world, though he came on the most gracious and
merciful heavenly business, and Paul said this business was to
save, he said Jesus Christ is come into this world to seek
and to save that which is lost. Our Lord said himself, the Son
of Man is come to seek and to save the lost. Christ came to
die for sinners, Paul said, of whom I am cheap. Now though he
came on the most gracious and merciful heavenly business, and
though he was himself without blame, holy without sin, the
Scripture says he knew no sin, even Pilate before that throng
crying for his Pilate said, I find no fault in him. I find no fault
in him, though he was holy and without blame. And though men
acknowledged that he came from God, Nicodemus said, we know
your teacher come from God. No man could do the miracles
you do, except God be with him. And though he healed the sick,
and though he performed innumerable acts of kindness and love, he
was hated. The scripture says, despised
and rejected of men. a man of sorrows and acquainted
with grief. He was rejected. He was despised. We esteemed him not. No beauty
that we should desire him. He found many enemies. In fact,
everybody that was anybody turned thumbs down on Jesus Christ. He found many enemies and few
friends. Our Lord was especially hated
by those high in religious circles. You know that. He was especially
hated by the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Sanhedrin, the scribes, even
the high priests. These men who were noted for
their theology, noted for their doctrines and their knowledge
of morality and tradition, these men who carried on the ceremonies
in the so-called house of God despised Jesus Christ. They sought
on every hand to trap him, to ensnare him, to turn the people
against him. They despised him. And then he
was especially hated by those in great political power and
great national power. They began to say, well, can
any good thing come out of Nazareth, that little burg, that little
village, that poverty-stricken pocket? Can anything good come
out of that place? Our Lord was rejected by the
wealthy, by the influential. Our Lord asked this question.
He said, how hardly shall they that have great riches enter
into the kingdom of God. Those who came to him were sinners. Those who gathered about him
were the needy, the unlearned, the unloved, the obscure persons. He was called the friend of sinners. Our Lord was kind and merciful
to sinners. He associated with men whom other
men abhorred. He said, I'm not come to call
the righteous, but sinners to repentance. The well have no
need of a physician, but they that are sick. The Pharisees
said, look at him. He's gone to be the guest of a man who's
a sinner. One day the Pharisees asked his disciples, why does
your master eat with publicans and sinners? Because the others
rejected him. Because they despised him. Because
they turned their backs on him. He didn't turn his back on them.
Our Lord never turned his back on any man. They turned their
backs on him. Let's put the blame for our misery
where it belongs. Christ said, you will not come
to me that you might have life. One day he said, O Jerusalem,
Jerusalem, how oft would I have gathered you to myself as a hen
doth gather her bull, but you would not. That's where the blame
belongs. The high and mighty, the wise
and clever, the political powers, The religious powers all turned
thumbs down on Jesus Christ. They turned their backs on Jesus
Christ. They cried for his death. He
did not turn his back on them. Let's put the blame for the misery
of men where it belongs. God says, I have called, and
you refused. God says, I have stretched forth
my hand, and you would not. Therefore, when your fear cometh,
I will laugh. You will seek me. and shall not
find me. You call upon me and I shall
not hear. However, our Lord shall not fail
on his mission of mercy. Our Lord shall not fail on his
redemptive road. God will have a people. Heaven
will be populated. The gospel of Jesus Christ will
be believed. Heaven will resound with songs
of praise for the grace of our lovely Lord. And that's what
our Lord is rejoicing about right here. At that At that time, Jesus
lifted his eyes to heaven and said, Father, Lord of heaven
and earth, Sovereign King, thou hast hid these things, thou hast
hid these things from the wise and the clever, but thou hast
revealed them unto babes, even so, Father, it seem good in thy
sight. Now I want us to look at this
statement carefully. What's our Lord saying here?
I want to divide it into five parts. so that it'll help you
understand it and help you retain it. Number one, what are these
things that the Lord's talking about? When he said, Father,
you've hid these things from the wise and the clever, the
worldly wise, you've hid these things. What are these things
which are hidden? Secondly, where are they hidden?
In what sense are they hidden? And thirdly, from whom are they
hidden? And then fourthly, how is the
knowledge of these things to be obtained? Somebody's going
to hear it. Somebody's going to believe it. Somebody's going
to lay hold upon it. Somebody's going to embrace it.
God's going to have a people. The Lord God shall not fail.
Christ did not suffer in vain. Though the rich and the wealthy
and the influential and the powerful and the religious say, no, we
will not have this man reign over us, we will not submit to
him, we will not bow in subjection to him, we will not have Jesus
Christ, we'll have our own way of religion, they may say that,
but Christ will have a people. The poor and the despised, the
haught, the lame, the blind, go out and call them, he said,
compel them to come in, that my house may be full. And the
fifth thing I'm going to look at is this. to whom are these
things, these things revealed." Now, let's take them one at a
time. First of all, what are these things? Our Lord said,
I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have
hid these things, these things, from the wise and the prudent.
What are these things? Well, in general, in general,
these things are the things that pertain to salvation. These things
are the things that pertain to eternal life. These are the things
that pertain to a relationship with God, a true relationship
with God. Now Christ accused those of his
day. This is what he said, you neither
know me nor my Father. He says, if I tell you earthly
things and you don't understand, how can you understand, how can
you believe if I tell you heavenly things? The Apostle Paul said,
I had not seen, ear had not heard, neither hath it entered the heart
of man the things God has prepared for them that love him. But God
hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit. Neither hath it entered
the heart of man these things that God hath prepared. And that's
what I'm talking about, these things here. are the things pertaining
to salvation, eternal life, a relationship with God. And it's evident from
Scripture, and it's evident from experience, and it's evident
from history, that the natural man knows little or nothing of
God. Oh, he has a God, a God of his
own imagination, a God of nature, a God that he's whittled out
with his own tin knife. He has a God, he has an idea
of God, but it's not according to knowledge. He's ignorant of
spiritual matters. He's ignorant of a true knowledge
of God, but Jesus Christ said eternal life is to know the living
God. And David said, as the heart
panteth for the water brook, so panteth my soul after the
living God. These things are hidden from
the wise and the prudent. Now that's in general. These
things in particular, these things in particular are the truths
and doctrines which pertain to the gospel. of the Lord Jesus
Christ. They hated Christ and rejected
him for the things which he taught. They didn't hate Christ because
he healed the sick, because he raised the dead, because he fed
the hungry. They didn't hate him for these
things. He said, Many good works have I done among you. For which
of these do you stone me? They said, We're not stoning
you for good work. We're stoning you because you're a man and
you say you're God. Oh, that's the problem. He is God Almighty. Do you believe that? Jesus Christ
is God Almighty. He said, I and my Father are
one. He said, He that hath seen me hath seen the Father. He said,
No man knoweth the Father but the Son, and he to whom the Son
will reveal him. God said, Thy throne, O God,
is forever. Paul said, Feed the church of
God, which God purchased with his own blood. These things,
the Deity of Christ, are hid from the wise and the prudent.
The deity of Christ, what about his sovereign grace and his sovereign
power? When he was down in Nazareth,
he told the people he'd show mercy to whom he would, he'd
be gracious to whom he would. Why, he said when there was a
great famine over the land of Israel, there were many widows
without food, God didn't feed one of them, he fed a Gentile
woman, and there were many lepers But God didn't heal a one, he
healed a Gentile by the name of Naaman, and they rose up in
anger, and would have killed him, would have thrown him off
a cliff, simply because he said, sovereign mercy, mercy is sovereignly
given. Grace is sovereignly given. It's
not mercy if it's earned, it's not mercy if it's bought, it's
not mercy if it's owed. It's mercy if it's sovereignly
given. When a man casts himself on the
mercy of the court, he's casting himself upon the sovereign mercy
of the judge. The judge doesn't have to free
him, he doesn't have to pardon him, he doesn't have to parole
him. He'll do it if he will. And that's what the leper said
to Christ, Lord, if you will, you can make me whole. But these
things are hidden. And not only that, but the new
birth. Our Lord talked to Nicodemus about being born again. He said,
how can this be? Here's a master in Israel. Here's
a student of the scriptures. Here's a theologian, graduate
theologian. Here's a man old, up in years,
who's been leading, teaching people, religion, all his life,
and Christ talks to him about the simple matter of regeneration,
the simple matter of the new birth, the simple matter of the
awakening of a sinner, the creation of a new heart, and he says,
what, what, do I go back in my mother's womb and be born again?
Our Lord said, Nicodemus, are you a master in Israel? And you
don't know that. You don't know anything about
the new birth? These things are hid, the nature of faith. He
said to them, except you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and
drink his blood, you have no life in you. And they began to
look around saying, how can this man give us his flesh to eat?
We're not cannibals. We're not supposed to drink blood.
How can we drink his blood? They didn't understand the nature
of faith, of receiving Christ into the heart, like I receive
food. into my mouth, it goes into my belly, and is digested
and sent into all parts of my body, and nourishes me and strengthens
me and gives me life by that which I put within. So when I
receive Christ by faith in my heart, he nourishes my whole
being." They didn't understand that. They didn't understand
the depravity and inability of man. He accused them of being
sinners. They said, we're not sinners. We're not sinners. We don't do anything wrong. We
don't steal. We don't kill. Christ said, let me tell you
something. You've heard it said by them of old times, I shall
not kill. Listen to me. To hate a man in your heart is
to be guilty of murder. You see, that's where sin is
born, that's where it's bred, that's where it's nourished,
in the heart. The things that the flesh does is simply the
result of sin concocted and planned in the heart. They didn't understand
that. These things were hidden from
them. Well, they said, God's our Father, we have Moses. And
I'll tell you this, men today, will not hear these things. These
things. In general, our Lord said, Father,
you've hid these things from the clever and the wise and the
intellectuals and the smart-alecks. You've hid these things. And
these things in general pertain to salvation, life, a relationship
with God, in particular, the deity of the Son of God, his
incarnation, his sovereign power, the inability of men, The substitutionary
work of Christ, the new birth, regeneration, repentance, faith,
sanctification. To most people these are just
words, imputed righteousness, imparted righteousness. These
things. Well, where are they hidden?
In what sense are they hidden? Well, I'll tell you where, they're
hidden in Christ. That's right, they're in Christ.
That's where they are, they're in Christ. God's put every blessing
pertaining to sinners in Christ. God's put every blessing pertaining
to salvation in Christ. In Him dwelleth. It wasn't there
for a little while and then left. It dwelleth. All the fullness
of the Godhead bodily. That's where it is. It's in Christ.
He of God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification
and redemption. You don't need anything but that. Wisdom, heavenly
spiritual wisdom. Righteousness, that pure, perfect,
immaculate, infinite holiness. Sanctification, that's imparted
righteousness, holiness of life, and redemption. No charge, no
condemnation, no judgment, all in Christ. They're in Christ,
that's where they are. Well, you say, why are they hidden
then? Why does he say, if they're clearly in Christ, if they're
vested in Christ, if God's put them in Christ, if that's where
they are, then why are they said to be hidden? Well, they're not
hidden as in a game when we play hide and seek, or when we hide
the apple or hide the marble, and they're not put in Christ
so that men can't find it, if they really want Christ, if they
really seek Christ, if they really desire Christ. Blessed are they
that hunger and thirst for righteousness, they shall be filled. Any man
who wants to know these things can know them. But these things
are in Christ, and men do not find them or discover them or
learn them because they're seeking them. Listen to me. Not in Christ,
but everywhere but in Christ. That's the reason they're hidden.
You'll never find anything if you don't look where it is. If
I take my keys today and hide them over there under that chair,
you're not going to find them looking on this pulpit. You're
not going to find them looking back here behind the backdrop. You've got to look where they
are. And the reason salvation, eternal life, forgiveness, mercy,
which is hid in Christ, is not discovered and understood and
laid hold upon by sinners is because they're not looking for
these things in Christ. They're looking for them everywhere
but in Christ. They're looking for salvation
down at the front of a church, or in a preacher's hand, or in
a sacrament, or in bread, or wafers, or wine, or in the baptismal
pool, or in the law, or in the good work. Paul said in Romans
10, he said they're going about to establish their own righteousness.
They won't submit to the righteousness of God, which is Christ. Christ
said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh to
the Father but by me. But we're trying to get to the
Father through the church. Ask a man, how are you saved?
Well, I'm a good Christian, or I'm a Methodist, or a Baptist,
or a Catholic. That's not the way to be saved. Christ is the
way to God. It clearly says that. It's in
Christ. Or men try to be saved by doing
good. Are you a Christian? I've never
done anybody any harm. I've always tried to do the best
I can. I've been good to my wife and children and taken care of
my family and paid my honest debt. Well, that's not the way
to God. You're looking for it everywhere
it is. It's in Christ. Forgiveness, in whom we have
redemption, the forgiveness of sin in Christ Jesus. And where are you looking for
redemption? Well, you're looking in your works. Are you a Christian?
Yeah, 25 years ago I did this, I did that, I did this. But that's
not what the Scripture says. It says redemption is not in
I did, it's in he did. It's in Christ. You see what
I'm saying? These things are hid. The door
to heaven, what is it? Somebody says, well, there's
a lot of ways to heaven, we're all just traveling different
ways. Christ said, other foundations can no man lay than that which
is laid, Christ Jesus. There's none other name unto
heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. I am the door,
by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved. He that climbeth
up some other way is a thief and a robber. These things, they're
hid from the wise and the clever and the prudent, because he's
looking for these things everywhere but where they are. And they're
going to stay hid from you till you see them in Christ. You're
coming to Christ or you're not coming to God. You're coming
by the way of the cross or you're not coming at all. Now that's
so. And you'll go on blinding Blinded by the God of this world.
He's religious. He's always been religious He's
always dealt with people in the religious area in the religious
realm Some people think Satan hangs out at the honky-tonks
and down at the pool room or someone. No, he doesn't he hangs
around in churches and Synagogues and cathedrals and everywhere
where religion is named so he can blind people with everything
in the world But Christ he doesn't care how religious you are just
so you do not know Christ And they'll remain hidden from everybody
who looks for them anywhere but in Christ, who said, look unto
me, and be ye saved. I'm God, and there's none else.
All the ends of the earth. Is that clear? Thirdly, from
whom are they hidden? He said, Father, you've hid these
things from the wise and the prudent. Now this expression
does not mean that these people who reject God's grace and gospel
are truly wise. He calls them the wise. You hear
these things from the wise. They're not really wise. They're
wise in the wrong things. They're clever in the natural
realm. They can build bridges and skyscrapers and make war.
But they think themselves to be wise, but the wisdom of this
world is foolishness with God. A truly wise man is one who fears
God. Now our Lord Jesus Christ is
saying this, you hear these things from the wise and the prudent,
from people who have worldly wisdom, natural wisdom, physical,
material wisdom, and they think themselves to be wise in the
spiritual realm, but in that realm they're blind and dull
of hearing. The natural man receives it,
not the things of God, their foolishness to it. The truly
wise man is the man who fears God. Listen to the wise man Solomon.
He said the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord. That's
where it all starts. The secret of the Lord, the secret
of God, the mysteries of God are with them that fear God.
A man of good judgment, a prudent man is one who knows that a man's
life does not consist in the things which he possesses. that
what shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose
his soul? Listen to 1 Corinthians 1.26. You see your calling, brethren,
how that not many wise men after the flesh are called, not many
mighty, not many noble, but God hath chosen the foolish things
of this world to confound the wise. And God hath chosen the
base things, and the things which are despised by men. that can
bring to naught the things that are. To whom are these things
hidden? The worldly wise, even the religious
wise, those who think themselves to be wise, and have not subjected
their so-called wisdom to the wisdom of God, who have not come
down in the dust at the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ, who
have not said, Lord, I'm but a child, teach me. I'm so hungry,
feed me. I'm so empty, fill me. I'm so
blind, give me sight. I'm so deaf, give me hearing.
I'm so dumb. Let the light of the glorious
gospel of Jesus Christ shine into my heart. Well, how is the
knowledge of these things obtained? Salvation, forgiveness of sin,
eternal life. He said, Thou hast revealed them.
That gives us the clue. Thou hast revealed them. It's
a revelation. One day our Lord said to his
disciples, Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man am? And they
said, well, some say you're John the Baptist, and some say you're
Elijah, and some say you're one of the prophets. See, these are
natural men of logic and intellect, trying to figure out who this
man Jesus Christ is, trying to figure out, well, where'd he
come from, and who is he, and what's he saying? They couldn't
figure it out. They couldn't see it. They were so-called wise
men. But our Lord pointed to these
so-called ignorant fishermen, these obscure, uninfluential
men, and he said, but whom do you say that I am? And Peter
looked at him and said, I know who you are. You are the Christ,
the Messiah. You are the one promised all
the way through the Old Testament. You're the son of God. And he
said, Peter, blessed are you. Flesh and blood didn't reveal
that to you. You didn't learn that in school. You didn't learn
that down at synagogue. My father taught that to you.
Flesh and blood didn't reveal that to you, but my Father which
is in heaven, Peter, blessed are your eyes, they see, and
your ears, they hear." Here were these scribes and Pharisees. Peter spent his life on a boat,
on the beach, fishing, cleaning nets, washing nets, casting them
into the sea, cleaning fish, cutting them up, selling them.
Here were these men who spent their lives up there with all
the old rusty, rusty books. They'd blown the dust off and
swept the cobwebs and read them from cover to cover. They'd read
all of the old writers. They'd read the scriptures. They'd
searched the scriptures. They'd searched them in vain.
They were blinded by their own traditions and ceremonies and
religious heritage. They couldn't see anything. And
they said, well, who is this man Jesus, etc., etc. And our
Lord said, Peter, whom do you say that I am? And he said, you're
the Son of God. I know exactly who you are. That's
how he came to know it, by revelation. But God, who commanded the light
to shine out of darkness, has shined in our heart to give us
the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ,
from faith to faith. Yes, sir, that's how it's learned.
That's how it's learned. You're not going to teach a man
these things. God teaches. God's his teacher.
And we preach, and we teach, and we give the Scripture, but
I want to tell you something. God's our teacher. The Holy Spirit's
our teacher. And we'll only learn from him
when he opens the heart and is pleased by his grace to give
us an understanding. To whom are they revealed? Babes. Thou hast hid these things from
the wise and the clever and the intellectual, and thou hast revealed
them to babes. You talking about little children
preaching? Well, not necessarily. I'm talking about those who are
brought down to the feet of Christ, down, down, down, as little children. Our Lord said, except you be
converted and become as a little child. What's a little child
like? Well, he knows he's ignorant. He knows he doesn't know. Secondly,
he's teachable. He'll listen to you. And then
he's dependent. He'll not reason. He'll receive. And when you stop reasoning and
start receiving, you'll start believing.