Now, when our Lord comes back
to this earth a second time, there'll be no mistake as to
who he is. He will come in his own glory. He will come in the Father's
glory. He will come, the Scripture says,
with his mighty angels in majesty, in power, and in brightness. The Jewish nation is going to
know him. For the Scripture says, they
shall look upon him whom they have pierced, and they shall
mourn as one mourns for an only son. The Gentile nations are
going to know him because the Scripture says, every eye shall
see him, and all the kindreds of the earth shall wail because
of him. When our Lord comes in his own
glory, With his mighty angels in majesty and power and brightness,
the believers are going to know him. For the scripture says he
comes to be glorified in his saints and to be admired in all
them that believe. And the unbeliever shall know
him. For the word of God declares they shall cry for the rocks
and mountains to fall on them and hide them from the face of
him. who sitteth on the throne. No one shall mistake him in that
day. In the great day of our Lord,
no one shall mistake him. They shall all see him, and they
shall all know him. And the word of God says, Every
knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess that he is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father. But when he came the first time,
He was unknown, and He's unknown today. The Scripture says He
was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world
knew Him not. The Scripture says He came unto
His own, and His own received Him not. Nazareth, where He was
brought up, knew Him not. Capernaum, where He dwelt, knew
Him not. Jerusalem, where many of his
mighty works were done, knew him not. Turn to 1 Corinthians
2, verse 7. Paul, in writing to the Corinthian
church, wrote in chapter 2 of 1 Corinthians, verse 7, but we
speak the wisdom of God in a mystery. Even the hidden wisdom which
God ordained before the world under our glory which none of
the princes of this world knew, for had they known it, had they
known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. Jerusalem didn't know him. Abraham
we know, Moses we know, we know not this man. We know not this
man. Even his chosen ones many times
had doubts about him. John the Baptist, sitting over
there in Herod's prison, awaiting death, sent two of his friends
to inquire of Jesus Christ. Are you the Messiah? Are you
the Christ? John had declared at Jordan's
River, This is the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of
the world. John had declared at Jordan's River, I'm not worthy
to unlace his shoes. John had declared at Jordan's
River, He must increase, but I must decrease. Yet he had his
doubts, for he sent word to Christ, Are you the Messiah, or do we
look for another? Peter, sitting by the fire, faced
with disappointment, filled with fear, cried out, I know not the
man, I don't know him. The two friends walking through
Emmaus as Jesus Christ, risen now from the grave, walked alongside
them, they declared, we thought he was the Redeemer, we thought
he was the Messiah, and they knew him not. And here in our text tonight,
in John chapter 20, verse 24, or verse 14, John 20, 14, Mary,
the beloved Mary, Mary who loved him so, Mary who sat at his feet,
Mary who bathed his feet with tears, Mary, out of whom the
Lord Jesus had cast seven demons, knew not that it was Jesus. What hindered the recognition?
What really hindered the recognition? What kept people then and what
keep people now from knowing who he is? Why is it a mystery? Why do men not know who he is? It's not something in Christ,
for he's the same yesterday, today, and forever. He's not
unwilling to be known. He did not stand aloof from these
people, and he does not stand aloof today, but he desires to
reveal himself. He desires to be known. Why do
men not know Christ? Why didn't they know him then,
and why do they not know him now? I believe the angel at the
tomb, as Luke recorded this episode in chapter 24 of Luke, verse
5, I believe the angel at the tomb gives us the answer. in
Luke chapter 24, and they were afraid, verse 5. And they bowed
down their faces to the earth, and the angel said to them, Why
seek ye the living among the dead? Mary had gone to the tomb
to find Christ. Mary had gone to the sepulchre
to find Christ. She knew that he died on that
cross, she knew that he was buried, and she expected to find him
among the dead. She expected to find him in the
tomb. And the angel said to her, he
is not here, he is not where you seek him, he is not where
you expect to find him, he is not where you thought he was,
He is not here. He is not here. Why do you seek
the living among the dead? She forgot that he is the living
one, and death hath no power over him, and she was seeking
Christ where he was not to be found. And I think that's the
reason men then and men today do not know who he is. They have
sought him and they're seeking him where he is not. They have
sought him and they're seeking him where he is not to be found. He is not among the dead. He
is not here, the angel said. He is risen. He is not here. He is not in Bethlehem. At Christmas
time we see the little mangers everywhere with the toy dolls
in them, the wise men standing about and the shepherds with
their shepherd crooks. But he is not in Bethlehem. No
doubt the incarnation of the Son of God expresses the love
of God. No doubt the incarnation of the
Son of God brings us the presence of God. For Isaiah wrote, A virgin
shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Emmanuel,
which is God with us. The word was made flesh and dwelt
among us, but there's still something lacking at Bethlehem. For Bethlehem
is only the beginning. He is not in Bethlehem. He is
not to be found in the manger. He is not to be found among the
shepherds. He is not here. And he is not
in Nazareth. He became a man. He was born
under the law. He was tempted in all points
as we are tempted yet without seeing. Everybody had to say,
I find no fault in him. He's the perfect example. He's
the perfect man. But that's not enough. He walked
this earth without a mistake. He walked this earth without
a stumble. He walked this earth without
a fall. But he is not in Nazareth. He is not here. If you're seeking
Jesus Christ and a knowledge of Jesus Christ in the virgin's
immaculate birth, or in Bethlehem's manger, or on the streets of
Nazareth, or in the carpenter's shop, He's not here. And then
He is not in Jerusalem. He went about doing good. He
healed all that came to Him. He spoke the word and the will
and did the works of the Father. He suffered in the garden as
he prayed. Great drops of blood fell from
the pores of his skin. But he's not in Jerusalem. Christ
the healer, Christ the one who went about doing good, Christ
Jesus who walked the streets of Jerusalem and visited many
of the places that people are visiting today, but he is not
there now. And you won't find him there.
And if you look for him there, you'll hear the same thing that
the people who visited the tomb heard from the angel. Why do
you seek the living among the dead? He's not here. He's not here. For all the good
it'll do you to go to the manger in Bethlehem or to go to the
wailing wall, or to go to the tomb, or to go to the site of
his death, you might as well visit Madison Square Garden."
You say, well, he's not at Madison Square Garden. Well, he's not
in Bethlehem, either. And he's not in Jerusalem. And
he's not on the cross. He died under the wrath of God
for our transgressions. He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities.
The chastisement of our peace was laid on him, and by his strikes,
and by his wounds, and by his blood, and by his suffering,
we're healed. He put away our sin by the sacrifice
of himself, but he's not on that cross. You don't see any crucifixes
in this church because Christ is not on a cross. Christ is not on the cross. And
then he's not in the tomb. Christ Jesus was buried, but
he's not there, and there's no reason to visit that tomb. The
disciples didn't keep going back to the tomb. They went there
on this day. The women went there on this
particular day. And the angel stood there and
said to them, Why do you seek the living among the dead? What
are you doing here? Why did you come here? He is
not here. He is not here. He's not in Bethlehem,
he's not in Nazareth, he's not in Jerusalem, he's not on the
cross, and he's not in the tomb. And why do you seek the living
among the dead? And you can turn through this
Bible for the rest of your life and you will not find these disciples
ever again visiting that tomb. Never. They got more sense than
the people of this day. You won't find them saving the
relics of the past. The Apostle Paul said, forgetting
those things which are behind, I pressed forward towards the
mark of the prize of the high calling of Christ Jesus my Lord.
I don't worship relics, I don't worship hills, I don't worship
blocks of wood, I don't worship even empty tombs. I worship the
living Lord and walk with the living Lord. The disciples never
kept days and they never kept feasts. and they never visited
tombs, and they never took expeditions to the Holy Land. They worshiped
the living Lord. He's not here. He is not here. He is risen. And Paul said in 1 Corinthians
15, if you'll turn there with me, 1 Corinthians 15, verse 14,
If he be not risen, If your Christ is the babe of Bethlehem, if
your Christ is the example of Nazareth, if your Christ is the
healer of Jerusalem, if your Christ is the swollen mass of
beaten humanity hanging on a cross, if your Christ is still in the
tomb, Paul said, your preaching is vain, and your faith is vain. And verse 15, you're a false
witness of God. And verse 17, you're yet in your
sins. And verse 18, your loved ones
who died believing on Jesus Christ are perished, and there's no
hope of them ever being raised. He's not here. And he's not in
the dead forms of religion. And he's not in the duties and
devotions and rituals of legalism. And he's not in the mass, and
he's not in the mumbo-jumbo of form. And he's not in the rules
and laws and regulations and committees of denominations.
He is not here. Why do you seek the living among
the dead? Dead forms, dead rules, dead
legalism, dead laws, dead devotions and dead regulations and dead
committees. Why do you seek the Lord among
the dead? He is not here. He's risen. He is enthroned. He is the ever-present
Lord, the living Lord. What is it to know Jesus Christ? Turn to John 17. In John 17, you have the Lord's
prayer. Now, Our Father which art in
heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be
done, is not the Lord's prayer. That's the disciples' prayer.
The disciples said, Lord, teach us to pray. And he said, when
you pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven. It's the disciples'
prayer, an example which the Lord gave to them. John 17 is
actually, literally, the Lord's prayer. Here is our Great High
Priest, here is our Sovereign Lord actually praying to his
Father, himself. He's praying to the Father. And
it says in verse 1 of John 17, these words spake Jesus and lifted
his eyes to heaven, and he said, Father, the hour is come. Glorify thy Son, that thy Son
also may glorify thee, as thou hast given him authority. power,
absolute control over all flesh, that he should give eternal life
to as many as thou hast given him, and this is life eternal,
that they might know thee, the only true God." Not a God, not
some God. That they might know the only
true God. It's not enough to have a God.
Eternal life is to know whom? The only true God. You say, well,
as long as a person's sincere, it doesn't matter who that person
worships or how they worship, it does matter. Eternal life
is to know the only true God. Not a God, not some God, not
any God, but the only true God. Read on, and Jesus Christ whom
thou hast sent. That's eternal life. That's eternal
life. Now my friends, and I want you
to stay with me now and be patient, and try not to be angry, but
not many people know the only true God. And not many people
know the Lord Jesus Christ. They're seeking the living Lord
among the dead, and he's not there. He's not here. The angel
said to Mary, he's not here! He is not here! When you seek the living among
the dead, you won't find him. And to believe that there's one
God is not to know him. James said in James 2.19, you
believe there's one God? You do well. The devil believes
there's one God and trembles. Even the devil believes there's
one God. Even the devil believes that
Jesus Christ died on the cross. He had a first-hand account of
it. He had an eyewitness account
of it. He believed that Jesus Christ
was bared in rose again. He knows all the facts. There
are to know. But he doesn't know Jesus Christ. And then to say that we know
him is not to know him. Turn to John chapter 8. Listen
to what the Lord said. John 8, verse 54. It says here in John 8, verse
54, Christ Jesus answered, If I honor myself, my honor is nothing. It is my Father that honors me,
of whom you say he is your God, yet you have not known him. Now I'm not being cruel, I'm
just quoting the words of the Master. The Lord Jesus Christ,
the omnipotent, omniscient One, the One who knows all men and
needeth not that any should testify what is in man, He knows what
is in man, and He looked at these religious people of His day,
and He said to them, they were very devout, very religious,
law-abiding people who went to the synagogue on the Sabbath
day, and He said to them, You say that He's your God, but you
don't know Him. And John chapter 7, turn back
there, John 7th chapter, verse 28, to go to the temple doesn't
mean that one knows God. Go to the temple, the synagogue,
the chapel, the church, the tabernacle, all of these places of worship,
to go there is not to know God. Multitudes keep the holy day
and go to the tabernacle who do not know God. Christ said,
these people draw nigh to me with their lips but their hearts
They're far from me. In John 7, verse 28, "...then
cried Jesus in the temple, as he taught in the temple, saying,
You both know me, and you know whence I am." That is, you know
Jesus of Nazareth, you know my brothers. They said they did.
Well, we know who this is. This is Descartes and his son.
We know his mother, and we know his brothers, and we know his
sisters. "...if I am not come of myself, And I am not come
of myself, but he that sent me is true. Whom you know not, you
don't know God." Don't know God. And let me show you something
else. In John chapter 12, would you turn over there? To believe
there's one God is not to know Him. To say that we know God
is not to know Him. just to go to the temple and
go through the form of worship. Christ said to the woman at the
well, you worship, but you don't know what you worship. And in
John chapter 12, verse 3, here's a startling scripture. My friends,
to be concerned, you say, but preacher, I'm concerned about
good works, I'm concerned about missions, I'm concerned about
giving to the poor, I'm concerned about humanitarian deeds and
charities. Listen, John chapter 12, verse
3. Then Mary, then took Mary a pound
of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet
of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house
was filled with the odor of the ointment. Then said one of the
disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray him,
Why was not this ointment sold for 300 pence and given to the
poor? Which of the twelve disciples
was concerned about the poor? The one who didn't know the Lord. which of the disciples was so
disturbed when he saw this precious ointment being spilled upon the
feet of the Master, he wasn't interested in the glory of Christ,
he wasn't interested in the preciousness of the person of Christ, he wasn't
interested in giving glory to the Son of God, and he wasn't
interested in the poor either. For the next verse says, listen,
and this he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because
he was a thief. Why wasn't this money, why wasn't
this ointment sold and given to the poor? We hear people say,
well, he's such a kind and generous individual, looks after the poor,
he must know the Lord. Judas didn't know the Lord, and
here he was looking after the poor. He was the only one of
the whole gang that was concerned about the poor. So to believe there's one God
is not to know him. To say that we know him is not
to know him. To go to the temple and go through
the forms of worship is not to know him. Even to be concerned
about the poor is not to know him. What is it to know the Lord?
Maybe he's not here. He's not among the dead. He's
risen. To know Jesus Christ is to have
revealed to me by the Holy Spirit the person and work of Christ
from eternity to eternity. Christ the prophet, Christ the
priest, and Christ the king. It's not just to see the babe
of Bethlehem's manger. It's not just to see the example
of Judea. It's not just to see the healer
of Jerusalem. It's not just to see the lamb
on the cross. It's not just to see on Easter
morning the ifty two, but it's to know him as he is and for
whom he is. Jesus Christ from eternity to
eternity. Over yonder when Moses stood
in front of that burning bush, the bush that burned but was
not consumed, He stood there, and God spoke to him from that
burning bush, and told him to go into Egypt and deliver the
people out of Egypt. And Moses said, Well, whom shall
I say hath sent me? And God said, and God said, I
am hath sent thee. When Jesus Christ stood yonder
in the Garden of Gethsemane, and the soldiers came to arrest
him, and Judas kissed him with a kiss of betrayal on his cheek,
and the soldiers walked up, and Christ said, Whom seek ye? They
declared, Jesus of Nazareth! In the same words that was spoken
from that burning bush, Christ said, I am. I am. Who is Jesus Christ? I am. Before Abraham was, he said,
I am. And the scripture said those
soldiers fell back. I am. To know Jesus Christ is
to know the Christ of eternity. It's to know the Christ of time.
It's to know the Christ of eternity future. Over in 1 Timothy chapter
3, I want you to turn over there a minute, and here I think the
Apostle Paul sums up in these six articles of faith who Christ
is. Who is he? Christ said to those
people, what think ye of Christ? Who is he? Whose son is he? Christ said to his disciples,
cling to me and say that I am. Now whom do you say that I am?
Do you know him? Do you know him? Are you still
seeking Jesus Christ among the dead relics of religion? Among
the dead rituals of religion? Among the dead rules of religion? Are you still seeking Jesus Christ
among the dead? Well, the angel said he's not
here. He's not here. You're not going to find him
here. Paul said, here it is, 1 Timothy 3.16, and without controversy,
great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. The manger of Bethlehem is the
bed, temporarily, of the God of glory. The carpenter shop
at Nazareth is occupied temporarily by the God of glory. He's passing
through. The cross of Calvary bears for
the moment the body of the God of glory. The tomb which is empty
now bore for a while the body of the God of glory. Mount Olivet,
which witnessed his ascension for the moment, was walked upon
by the feet of the God of glory. God was manifest in the flesh. And secondly, he was justified
in the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the witness.
God said, John the Baptist, you're the forerunner of the Messiah. John the Baptist, you're the
forerunner of the Redeemer. Father, how shall I know him?
Him upon whom you see the Spirit descend, that's the Messiah. And when John the Baptist stood
there by the waters of Jordan and took Christ down into the
waters to be baptized with him, John said, I bore witness that
the Spirit of God descended upon him in the form of a dove. When Paul goes on, great is the
mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh,
God was justified in the spirit, and God was seen of the angels. At his birth, the angels announced,
We bring you glad tidings of great joy unto you as born in
the city of David a Savior. In the wilderness the angels
ministered to him. and around the bloody tree they
pressed with strong desire, that wondrous sight to see the Lord
of glory expire. And could their eyes have known
a tear, in sad surprise they would have dropped it there.
The resurrection was announced by the angels. He's not here!
He's risen! His ascension was attended by
the angels, and his second coming announced, This same Jesus, they
said, which you have seen go up into heaven, shall so come
in like manner as you have seen him go. God was manifest in the flesh
and preached to the Gentiles, not the Savior, the Jew only,
but he shall have a people out of every tribe, nation, kindred,
and tongue unto heaven. And then look, God was manifest
in the flesh and he was believed on in the world. A while ago when I was talking
about Brother Thompson going with me to the penitentiary to
sing and to conduct a service with me, we laughed a little
bit about my saying that the men could identify with him.
But I'll tell you this, if it weren't for God's grace, James
could be right there with them. If it weren't for God's grace
that found him on the dunghill, and found him in rebellion, and
found him hating God, and found him walking the path of the murderer
and the thief, if God hadn't have found him and changed him
and made him a new creature in Christ Jesus, he could be right
there or else already dead and already gone to hell. believed on in the world. This
Jesus, who was the covenant Savior, this Jesus who was the promised
Redeemer, this Jesus who came down here to the earth and was
made in the likeness of sinful flesh, this Jesus who went to
the cross of Calvary and bore our sins in his body on the tree,
this Jesus that was buried and rose again, this same Jesus that
ascended to the right hand of the Father, is right now our
High Priest and Mediator. And this same Jesus shall so
come in like manner as ye have seen him go, and this same Jesus
shall be the judge of all men. For the scripture says, God the
Father judges no man but hath committed all judgment to the
Son." But he's been believed on, and everywhere he has believed
on, sinners have had their lives made over. Everywhere that he
has been believed on, sinners have had their lives changed.
Where hate dwelt, love now reigns. Where evil and rebellion reigned,
now God's love and mercy shed abroad in the heart by the Holy
Spirit." I like that little poem. It was
battered and scarred, and the auctioneer thought it scarcely
worth his while to waste much time on an old violin, but he
held it up with a smile, and he said, What am I bid, good
folk? Who will start the bidding for me? A dollar for this old
violin? Two dollars? Would somebody make
it three? Going once, going twice. But no, from the room far back
an old white-haired man came forward and he picked up the
bow and he tightened the loosened strings and then he played a
melody as beautiful as an angel sings. And then the auctioneer
in a voice that was quiet and low said, Now what am I bid for
the old violin?" And he held it up with a bow. A thousand,
two thousand. Would somebody make it three
thousand? Going once, going twice, going for three thousand, cried
he. The people cheered, but some
of them said, we don't understand. What changed the worth of that
old violin? And he said, the touch of the
Master's hand. And many a man, you and you and
you and me, with life out of tune and battered and scarred
by sin, is auctioned off by a foolish crowd, just like that old violin,
but the Master comes. And the foolish crowd never can
quite understand the change that's wrought in a sinner's heart by
the touch of the Master's hand. That's the Christ of eternity,
the Christ of the covenant, the Christ of the Old Testament revelation. Every appearance that God ever
made in the Old Testament was Jesus Christ. He's the Christ
of Nazareth. He's the Christ of Jerusalem.
He's the Christ of the cross. He's the Christ of the tomb.
He's the Christ of Mount Olivet. He's the Christ of the priesthood.
He only temporarily was on this earth, but thank God he came
here, and he passed through. But he's not here! He's not here. He's not in your temples, and
He's not in your synagogues, and He's not in your old cold
dead mausoleum. He's not here, and when you look
for the living among the dead, you're going to be disappointed.
And you can make pilgrimages to Rome, and pilgrimages to Jerusalem,
and pilgrimages to Mecca, and pilgrimages all over this world,
and you can go with the Crusades to fight to defend the holy treasures
and holy places, but He's not here. He's not here. You can build your denominations
and contend for the doctrines, but He's not in them. They're
in Him. He's not here. And last of all,
it said, He was received up in the glory. Do you know the Christ?
Not a Jesus, the Jesus of eternity. The Lamb slain from the foundation
of the world, the Lamb enthroned, the Lion ruling and reigning,
all that he is, all that he has done. Look back here at 1 Timothy
2, 5. There's one God, and there's
one Mediator between God and men, the Man, Christ Jesus. We better know him. We'd better
learn something about him, for this is life eternal, that they
might know thee the living God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast
seen. Mary came to the tomb that Sunday
morning, and she saw a man, but she knew not that it was Jesus.
The angel said to her that morning among the dead, he's not here. He's risen. He's risen. Our Father in heaven, reveal
to us, thy Son, in all of his glory, in all of his greatness,
in all of his majesty, in all of his power, We know that he
is eternal, and from eternity to eternity the same, yesterday,
today, and forever. He visited this world. The world
was made by him. He was in this world, and the
world didn't know him. He came to Bethlehem. He became
a man. He was born of a woman and made
under the law to redeem them that were born under the law.
He was the perfect example. He was the compassionate Christ.
He was the Lamb slain for our sins. He was the sacrifice for
our iniquities. He was buried. He rose again
for our justification, but he ascended at our right hand, and
he reigns expectant till his enemies become his footstool.
He will come again. We shall reign with Him eternally,
revealing to us in all of His glory, the glory of this matchless
person. In His name we pray. Amen.