But the fact that the Lord Jesus
Christ is the true Messiah is proved by many things. The fact
that he is the one for whom the people of God look, and the one
to whom the people of God must look, and the one in whom the
people of God must trust, that's proved by many things. First
of all, all of the prophecies of the Old Testament were fulfilled
in Christ and were fulfilled by Christ. Luke wrote in the
book of Acts, to him give all the prophets witness. He fulfilled
every type, he fulfilled every prophecy, he fulfilled every
ceremony, and the fact that he fulfilled these prophecies is
proof that he is the Messiah. And all of the prophecies regarding
his betrayal, his denial, is being mocked and ridiculed and
nailed to a tree. All of these were fulfilled by
Christ. And then I would like for you
to turn to this scripture, Luke chapter 7. This is one I want
you to read yourself. But his miracles prove that he
comes from God. His miracles prove that he is
the Messiah. Now the reason I use that is
because Christ used it himself. In Luke 7, verse 19, John was
in prison, John the Baptist. He'd already announced that Christ
is the Messiah. In Luke 7, verse 19, John called
unto him two of his disciples and sent them to Jesus, saying,
Art thou he that should come? Are you the Messiah? Are you
the Christ? Or do we look for another? When the men were come
unto Christ, they said, John the Baptist hath sent us unto
thee, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another? And in that same hour, and I
want you to watch the answer that Christ sends back to John.
In that same hour, Jesus Christ cured many of their infirmities
and plagues and of evil spirits, and unto many that were blind
he gave sight. Then Jesus answering said to
these two disciples, You go your way and tell John what things
you've seen and heard. How that the blind see, the lame
walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised,
to the poor the gospel is preached. That's the proof of his Messiahship,
and that's the proof he used to convince John. And then his
teachings were proof of his mission. The Scripture says, Never man
spake like this man. And one day the disciples said
to him, after he had said to them, Will you also go away?
They said, To whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of life.
And then his resurrection from the grave is clear proof of his
Messiahship. For it says in Romans 1, 4, he
was declared to be the Son of God by the Spirit of holiness
by the resurrection of the dead. But in addition to all this and
more, the Heavenly Father was pleased to speak from heaven
three times. With an audible voice, the Heavenly
Father declared that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah, that
he is the Son of God, that he is the Christ. And I looked at
these three times that the Father spake from heaven, these voices
from heaven, and I found them for my personal benefit, spiritual
benefit, most instructive, and I think they deserve our attention,
and I want to look at them tonight under three headings. First of
all, when these voices were heard. Now let's look at the first one.
When these voices were heard. In Matthew chapter Verse 13,
Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John to be baptized
of him. The first time that the voice
from heaven was heard was at the beginning of Christ's public
ministry. The beginning of His public ministry. He came from Galilee to Jordan
unto John to be baptized of him. He had lived thirty in comparative
obscurity. And it seemed good to the Father
that there should be a divine token that he was who he professed
to be and what he professed to be at the very beginning of his
ministry. Let's read on. But John forbade
him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee. Comest thou
to me? And Jesus answering said unto
him, Suffer it to be so now, for thus it becometh us to fulfill
all righteousness. Then he suffered him. And Jesus,
when he was baptized, now then, this voice was heard when Christ
was in the act of obedience, when Christ was in the act of
submission, when Christ was in the act of identification. He came to be baptized. One old
writer said, why did he need to be baptized? This is a sinner's
ordinance. It is called the baptism of repentance. He's no sinner. He needs no washing. He needs no symbol of death.
He needs no burial. But he is taking the sinner's
place. And in this act of baptism, he
is being identified with sinners. He is coming to the waters of
baptism, being identified with sinners, and also showing forth
a preview of his death, his burial, and his resurrection. And it
was at that time, listen, and Jesus, when he was baptized,
went up straightway out of the water, and it was at that time
that the heavens opened, And the Spirit of God descended like
a dove lighting upon him, and it was at that time that the
voice from heaven said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I
am well pleased. At the beginning of his ministry,
in an act of submission, in an act of humiliation, in an act
of obedience, and chiefly in an act of identification with
us, the Father said, with all of this, I'm well pleased. With all of this, I'm well pleased. This is my son, he's fulfilling
my purpose, he's on my mission, and I'm well pleased with all
that he's doing." That's at the very beginning, all right? Now,
the second time, and the question I'm dealing with now is, when
were these statements made? Now, Matthew 17. Matthew 17,
verse 1. Now this was about in the middle
of his ministry. But our Lord had announced to
his disciples his future suffering. If you will go back to Matthew
16, verse 21, the chapter just preceding this one, Matthew 16,
verse 21. From that time, from that time
forward, began Jesus to show to his disciples how that he
must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things of the elders and
the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and be raised
again the third day." Now he had been talking to the disciples
about his suffering, about his future suffering, and about his
death. Now these predictions and these
prophecies, these words, were grievous to the disciples. They
were a grievous blow to them, And doubtless, not only to Peter,
but to every one of them. And you'll see that in the next
verse. And Peter took him, evidently he took the Lord aside from the
rest of them. And he said, he began to rebuke
the master, and he said, Lord, be it far from thee, this shall
not be unto thee. We won't have this. This was
a grievous blow to these disciples. When Christ talked about the
cross, when he talked about his suffering, when he talked about
his death, these disciples were terribly upset. Peter upset to
the point that he dared to rebuke the Lord. But the Master turned in verse
23, and he said to Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan. Now you
know that must have been a tremendous blow. First of all, the Lord
announced that he was going to go to Jerusalem and suffer all
these indignities and all of these mockings and death on a
cross. That was a grievous blow, and
then when Peter took him aside to rebuke him about it, the Lord
called Peter, Satan. He said, Get thee behind me,
Satan. Now, what's the next statement? And this is even worse. For thou
savest not the things that be of God, but those that be of
men. Then said Jesus to the rest of
the disciples, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself
and take up his cross and follow me. For whosoever shall save
his life or lose it, and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake
shall find it. Now that's the setting for this
next voice from heaven. These disciples were troubled,
terribly troubled. They had suffered some grievous
blows. And so then he took Peter, James,
and John, verse chapter 17 of Matthew. And after six days Jesus
took Peter, James, and John, his brother, and brought them
to a high mountain, and was transfigured before them. His face did shine
as the sun, his raiment as white as the light, and, behold, there
appeared unto them Moses representing the law, Elias representing the
prophets, and he talked with them. And then Peter said, Lord,
it's good for us to be here. If thou will, everything's all
right now, you see, seeing the glory of Christ. And he said,
if you will, let us make here three tabernacles, one for you,
and one for Moses, and one for Lazarus. Peter still had a lot
to learn, didn't he? And while he yet spake, behold,
a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of that
cloud which said, This is my beloved Son. in whom I am well
pleased, hear ye him." Now this was said at a particular time
when the disciples were dismayed, they were discouraged, they had
been shaken by the Master's prophecies, and God was pleased at this time
to give them a foretaste of Christ's future glory and a foretaste
of heaven to strengthen them and to comfort Now in the third
time, in John chapter 12, each time something very significant,
something very significant. The third time in John chapter
12, verse 27, verse 27. Now this was toward the end of
his ministry. The first time the Father spake,
This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, was at the
beginning of his ministry. It was a divine token. It was
a divine announcement. It was when our Lord started
his ministry in a public identification with sinners, coming to the baptism
of John, something the Pharisees wouldn't dare do. They would
not submit to John's baptism. And Christ came, and the Father
said, This is my Son, in whom I am well pleased. And then when
the Lord had announced to his disciples his death, his suffering,
and they were so shaken by it all, and so troubled and discouraged,
the Father let them see a preview of his glory. And then the third time, John
12, verse 27, this was just before he went to Gethsemane's garden
and to Calvary's cross, and Christ said, verse 27, Now is my soul
troubled. Troubled. Now my friends, I want
to read something that I wrote down out of another book from
another writer. Now is my soul troubled. This
trouble of soul in the Master is real. It's real. This agony of soul that he suffered
here in verse 27 and later in Gethsemane's garden was real. It was not fictitious. And the
only way that we can account for this trouble of soul in the
Master is to remember the uniqueness of his personality. He was God. He did know that everything was
going to turn out all right. He did know that he came down
here solely for this purpose. For look at the next line. What
shall I say? Father save me from this hour,
for this cause came out of this hour. He knew that. He was God, but he was man. And he was a man with the full
capacity for suffering. I can't explain that. But Jesus
Christ, while he never ceased to be God, was also a man with
full capacity for temptation, full capacity for suffering,
and a full capacity for obedience. He had identified himself with
our nature, and he was about to actually undergo the sting
of death which is sin. He was actually about to undergo
the transference of our sins from us to him. Our sins were
laid on him. And when he was separated from
the Father, while it cannot be explained, it was real. It was real. Now is my soul troubled. And in the garden of Gethsemane
he said this, my soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto death. The burden was so great, the
weight was so heavy, the sin so real that the Lord Jesus was
saying, I'm going to die right here in this garden if something
doesn't take place. My soul is sorrowful even unto
death. In verse 28, Father, he cried,
Glorify thy name, just like he cried in Gethsemane's garden.
Not my will, but thy will be done. If it be your will, let
this cup pass from me, not the cross, this cup. Father, glorify
thy name. And a voice came from heaven
saying, I have glorified it, and I will glorify it. And this voice is a confirmation
of the Father's divine purpose in Christ. The Father saying,
My purpose remains the same. I have glorified My name, and
I will glorify it again. I want you to turn to John chapter
1. John chapter 1 verse 30. Now John the Baptist was the
forerunner of Christ. He came to prepare the way for
the Lord Jesus. He came to announce his coming.
He had an unusual birth, supernatural birth, He had an unusual beginning. He was filled with the Holy Spirit
from his mother's womb. He was a declared sent messenger
of Christ. In John 1, verse 30, he's talking
about Christ, and he says, John 1, verse 30, This is he of whom
I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me,
for he was before me, and I knew him not. that he should be made manifest
to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. And John
bear record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven
like a dove, and it abode upon him, and I didn't know him, I'd
never met him before. But he that sent me to baptize
with water, that's the Father, God Almighty. The same said to
me, and of course by his Holy Spirit, upon whom you shall see
the Spirit descending and remaining on him, the same is he which
baptizeth with the Holy Ghost." John was not left to his own
judgment about Christ, but John was given a word from God Himself,
and God says, John, the one upon whom you see the Spirit descending
and remaining on him, the same as he was baptized with the Holy
Ghost. And when Christ was baptized
and came out of that water, the Scripture says, the Spirit of
God came upon him like a dove, and a voice from heaven said,
This is he. John, this is he. And I don't
know whether anybody else heard that voice or not. It doesn't
say. I know John heard it, and I know the Lord Jesus heard but
I believe the confirmation was for John primarily. And that
saying, you and I are not left to our own judgment or thoughts
about Christ, but the Father hath given us his word, and we
are to preach not what we think about Christ, but what the word
of God says about Christ. And God is saying, John, this
is my beloved son. All that I told you is fulfilled
in him. Now then the second time that
the Father spoke from heaven. We read about it over here in
Matthew 17. Let's turn over there one more
time. Matthew 17. These three disciples went with
the Lord up the mountain, and there the Lord was transfigured
in front of them. And as I told you before, he
had announced his sufferings, he had announced his death, and
this was contrary to their ideas about a Jewish kingdom. Peter
had been severely rebuked by the Lord. The Lord said, Get
thee behind me, Satan, you savers, not the things of God, but that
which be of men. And now look at this. In verse
5 of Matthew 17, verse 4 rather, here Moses and Elijah had appeared
with the Master, talking with Christ, and Peter said, Lord,
it's good for us to be here. If it's all right with you, Let
us make here three tabernacles. One for you, one for Moses, one
for Elijah. Moses represented the law. Peter
said, We'll build a tabernacle to the glory of the law and Moses. Elijah, Elisha represented the
prophets. We'll build a tabernacle to the
glory of the prophets. And on an equal scale, we'll
build one to you. And again, Peter is rebuked this
time by the Heavenly Father. Again, Peter is instructed, this
time by the Heavenly Father. When the Father said, listen,
this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, hear ye him. Not Moses in the Law, hear Christ. Not Elias in the Prophets, hear
Christ. And it carries on over into the
book of Hebrews, and to catch what I'm saying here, you'll
have to turn with me to Hebrews 1. Moses, in the house of God,
is just a servant. Christ is the Son. This is what
the Father is saying, My Son is not on an equal footing with
the law and with the prophets and with the angels and with
these other messengers. This is My Son. You listen to
Him. In Hebrews 1, verse 4, listen
to this, talking about Christ, being made so much better than
the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name
than they. For unto which of the angels
said he at any time, Thou art my son, this day have I begotten
thee. And again, I will be to him a
father, and he shall be to me a son. And again, when he bringeth
in the first begotten unto the world, he said, Let all the angels
of God worship him. And of the angels he saith, Who
maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire?
But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and
ever. A scepter of righteousness is
the scepter of thy kingdom. This is not Moses Christ and
Elias, this is Christ. Before these disciples went out
to preach the message, they had to learn it. Before these disciples
went out to proclaim the gospel, they had to learn it. And that's
what the Heavenly Father is teaching them here. Christ is better than
the angels. And look at Hebrews 3. Let's
look at this again. He's better than Moses. Look
at Hebrews 3, verse 1. partakers of the heavenly calling,
consider the apostle and high priest of our profession, Christ
Jesus, who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses
was faithful in all his house. For this man was counted worthy
of more glory than Moses, and as much as he who hath builded
the house hath more honor than the house. For every house is
built by some man, but he that built all things is God. And
Moses verily was faithful in all his house." Let's don't take
anything away from Moses. "...as a servant, for a testimony
of those things which were to be spoken after. But Christ is
the Son over his house, his own house, whose house are we, if
we hold fast to confidence and rejoicing in the hope firm unto
the end." Here's what Peter, James, and John saw the Lord
Jesus glorified before them with Moses and Elijah in his glory. And Peter said, Let's build three
tabernacles. And the father spake and said,
This is my son. This is the Savior. This is the
Messiah. You listen to him. He gets the
glory. He gets the praise. If any tabernacle
is to be built, it's built to Him, not Moses and Elijah. Now
turn to John 12, the third time to whom it was spoken. The first
time the Lord spoke to John the Baptist. The second time He spoke
to these apostles. And as I said, before the apostles
could go out presenting this message, they had to learn it.
They had to learn it. They had to unlearn their allegiance
to the law. They had to unlearn their allegiance
to the ceremony. They had to learn how that Christ
was the fulfillment of all these things, and Christ had more honor,
was worthy of more honor than angels, or the tabernacle, or
Moses, or Abraham, or any of these men. Now the third time. In John chapter 12, verse 28,
Father glorified our name. came there a voice from heaven
saying, I have both glorified it, I will glorify it again. The people therefore that stood
by and heard it said it thundered. Others said an angel spake."
Now you know what Spurgeon said about that? He said, isn't that
just like folks? They'll have anything but God.
Here God spoke and they heard God speak from heaven. when he
said, I have both glorified my name, and I'll glorify it again.
But rather than give God the glory, they said it thundered. And others reported that an angel
spake to them, they'll have anything but God. And Jesus answered and
said, This voice came not because of me. Christ doesn't need a
voice of confirmation. Christ doesn't need a voice of
confirmation. Christ doesn't need any proof
of his person or proof of his mission. This voice came, Christ
said, for your sake. For your sake. Man does need
it. Man needs a proof. Man needs
a voice of confirmation. Man needs a word from heaven
and God the Father saw fit to supply it. God will, John Gill
says, bear witness to his glory, and at the same time he will
leave men without excuse. Three things that God was doing
here. Number one, he was giving a public
testimony to the life and death of Christ. Number two, he was
giving a public testimony to the glory of God in Christ's
life and death. Thirdly, he was given a testimony
to the promise of the future glory of Christ through his sacrifice
and through his suffering. Now the third thing. To what
was the Father bearing witness in these three voices from heaven? But if you want a brief summary
of it, if you want something just to briefly hold on to, I'd
say this is a summary of these three witnesses. Number one,
at the Jordan River, when Christ was baptized and the Father spoke,
he was bearing witness to Christ's origination, this is my Son. He was bearing witness to his
sonship, this is my beloved son. And he was putting divine approval
upon his mission, in whom I'm well pleased. That's a brief
summary of it. He was bearing witness to Christ's
origination, this is my son. He was bearing witness to Christ's
sonship, this is my beloved son. He was bearing witness and putting
divine approval on Christ's mission and on Christ's work. I'm satisfied,
I'm well pleased with what he says and what he does. Now a
summary of the voice from the mountain when Christ was transfigured
in the presence of the disciples. Why did the Father do this? To
what was he bearing witness? Well, again, he was bearing witness
to Christ's sonship. This is my son. Moses is not
my son. Moses is a servant. Elias is
a servant. This is the son. This is my son. Get that. That's what he's getting
to these disciples. This is my son. And then the main emphasis, as
I'm going to show you in a few moments, but the main emphasis
here is you listen to him. Now that's what it is. This is
my beloved son. At the baptism of Christ, he
said, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. He
said the same thing here, but he adds three words. Hear ye
him. Hear ye him. He's the voice of
authority. He's sent to reveal the Father,
not Moses, not the prophets, but Christ. Hear ye him. He'll interpret all the rest.
hear ye him." That's what he's bearing witness
to on the mountain. He is the voice of authority. He'll interpret Moses' law, which
he did in the Sermon on the Mount. And then the third time, a summary
of that third voice from heaven, the voice to the people. in which
the Heavenly Father bore witness to the success of Christ's work. Don't you imagine, now being
human, these disciples were all human, don't you imagine being
human, that it crossed their mind, what if Christ should fail? Don't you imagine that crossed
their mind? As Christ talked to his disciples about his death,
about the suffering in Jerusalem, about these things. Don't you
imagine it crossed their mind, what if he should fail? Here
we've left all to follow him. What if he should fail? And the
Father says, when the Son said, Glorify thy name, the Father
said, I have glorified it in your birth, in your work, in
your words, and I'll glorify it again. I'll glorify it again. The Father says, My purpose shall
be accomplished. But outside of that summary, I want
to pass on just two or three comments here in closing. I see
in these three statements a gospel message. I see a gospel message. First of all, when he came to
John's baptism, when he came down there by that little muddy
river Jordan, and told John to baptize him. And then the voice
from heaven spake, and the Spirit descended. The old-time preachers
used to say, If you want to see the Trinity, go to the Jordan. Go to the Jordan. And that's
true. Anytime anybody comes to you
with this Jesus-only thing, and the fact that there is no Father,
Son, Holy Spirit, take them to the Jordan. There you have the
Trinity, the Father speaking, the Son being baptized, and the
Holy Spirit descending. But then the old-time preachers
used to say this, if you want to see the gospel, go to the
Jordan. That man rising from the water,
dripping, having been buried beneath that water, showing forth
his future death, burial, and resurrection, That man rising,
dripping from the water is the hope of every sinner, for that
man is Christ Jesus. And he is picturing the gospel. He's picturing the gospel. And
when the Father speaks and says, this is my Son in whom I'm well
pleased, I can say, having entered into Christ by faith, that with
me the Father is well pleased also. Now God is not well pleased
with me as I am, but in Christ I am accepted. And the Father,
when Christ went beneath that water and came out, and the Father
said, I'm well pleased, Christ is showing his death, his burial,
his resurrection, and the Father with whom there is no past, present,
and future sees all of that in this and says, I'm well pleased.
And if I'm in Christ, if I'm in Christ in his death, burial,
and resurrection, which I show by my own baptism, I can hear
the Father say, this is my Son in whom I'm well pleased. I'm
well pleased. energies of religion and my zeal
and efforts of trying to make myself acceptable to God, but
in my resting in Christ and in his sacrifice, in his death,
burial, and resurrection, I'm well pleased." All right, the
second voice, the first voice from heaven at the baptism shows
us the gospel, and the second voice shows us the gospel command. This is my beloved Son, in whom
I am well pleased. You hear him." Now, my friends,
salvation does not come by seeing. It comes by hearing. That's what
the Father is saying. We've seen the gospel in his
death, burial, and resurrection. Now the Father instructs us,
there's the gospel, now here's the gospel command. You hear
him. The gospel, the salvation does
not come by seeing. That's what so many ritualistic
religions claim, is that we see the statues, we see the pictures,
we see the crucifix, we see the robes, we see the candles, we
see these things, we touch them, but salvation doesn't come it,
that way it comes by hearing. Faith cometh by hearing, and
hearing by the Word of God. You hear Him. That's the gospel
command, hearing. Salvation's not by doing. The
ritualistic and legalistic churches tell you that salvation's by
what you do for God, but it doesn't come by doing. It comes by hearing
the preaching of the gospel. How shall they call on him in
whom they've not heard? Now the third statement from
heaven, the first, this is my son in whom I'm well pleased
in his obedience, in his humiliation, in his identification with sinners.
This is my son in whom I'm well pleased. You hear him. That's
how you're going to be saved, by hearing him. Faith cometh
by hearing. That's it, hearing. Now the third
for us, I have glorified it and I will glorify my name. It is
through the gospel that God is glorified. It is through the
death of Christ. If we preach Christ, we glorify
God. If we don't preach Christ, we
don't glorify God. And no gospel falls to the ground
and no gospel is ever lost. true gospel preaching of the
death, burial, and resurrection of Christ will glorify the Father. Now Martin Luther was not by
any means an adorable character, by no means, by no stretch of
the imagination. But Martin Luther was used of
God, why? Because he preached Christ. He
preached Christ. And that's what the Father is
saying here, I am glorified, that's how I get my glory, through
the death of my Son. I have glorified my name, and
I will glorify it at Calvary, and I will glorify it at Gethsemane,
and I will glorify it at the Mount of Olives, and I will glorify
it when he comes again. I will glorify my name. Our Father,
we are thankful for thy word. and for thy Holy Spirit who teaches
us thy word. And we want to be in our meditations,
in our thoughts, in our messages, in our fellowship, we want to
be those who glorify Christ, who honor the Son, for he alone
is worthy of the honor. We praise thee for Moses and
Abraham and David and Jacob and for these blessed disciples and
apostles and for what they have meant to us But no glory is due
unto any man except unto Christ. It is the Son in whom thou art
well pleased. It's the Son whom we are to hear. It's the Son in His obedience
that thy name is glorified. It's in Him, in Him alone, who
is our refuge and our rock. Now we pray thy blessings on
this message, and we pray thy blessings on our friends who
are sick. Minister to them for thy glory and for thy praise,
for Christ's sake. Amen. Let's stand, please. Oh, the unsearchable riches of
Christ, wealth that can never be told, riches exhaustless of
mercy and grace, precious, more precious than gold. Wealth that can never be told
All the unsearchable riches of Christ Precious, more precious
than gold