Let us turn in our Bibles tonight
to John chapter 10, the gospel of John chapter 10. I'll begin reading in verse 39. John chapter 10 and verse 39. Therefore, they sought again
to take him, but he escaped out of their hand and went away again
beyond Jordan into the place where John at first baptized,
and there he abode. And many resorted unto him and
said, John did no miracle, but all things that John spake of
this man were true, and many believed on him there. Our text tonight that we've just
read begins with the Lord Jesus Christ leaving Jerusalem where
he had gone for one of the feasts. If you look back in verse 22,
we read, and it was at Jerusalem, the feast of the dedication and
it was winter. Now this feast was not one of
the three annual feasts. that every Jew under the law
was required to attend. Those three feasts was the feast
of Passover or unleavened bread. They went together like that.
Passover, next day, seven days of unleavened bread. The other
feast was the feast of Pentecost, which took place, I believe it
was 40 days after that Feast of Unleavened Bread ended, and
then the third and last feast was the Feast of Trumpets, and
during that feast is when they celebrated the Day of Atonement. But this feast, and none of those
feasts, was in the wintertime. You notice John says, and it
was at Jerusalem, the Feast of the Dedication, and it was winter. During the the Old Testament
and the New Testament. For Malachi, when he closed his
prophecy until Matthew, there was roughly 400 years that transpired
during the Entered Testaments. And at one time, the Syrians,
Epiphanes, the Syrian conquered Jerusalem, conquered Palestine,
And he desecrated the temple. He had a swine slaughtered on
the altar, and he sprinkled the blood of that swine everywhere
he could inside the altar. And then there was those who
were known as the Maccabees. Jewish Maccabees, Jonathan Maccabees,
I believe, led the recapture of Jerusalem and they cleansed
the temple and rededicated it. And that's what this feast was
called the Feast of Lights. And it was celebrated on the
25th of December. And every year you hear about
the feast of Hanukkah, Hanukkah. That's this feast, this feast
that our Lord went to Jerusalem at this time. And he walked, the scripture
says, in the portico of the temple. If you notice in verse 24, Verse
23 says, And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch.
Then came the Jews round about him and said unto him, How long
dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us
plainly. He answered that he had already
told them. Notice the next word, I told
you. Verse 25. They asked, how long
makest thou to doubt? If you be the Christ, tell us
plainly. I told you, I've already told
you, but you did not believe. And the reason that you did not
believe is because you're not of my sheep. Look at that in
verse 25. Jesus answered them, I told you,
and you believe not, The works that I do in my Father's name,
they bear witness of me, but you believe not because you are
not of my sheep. One thing, are you one of his
sheep? One mark, there's more than one
mark, but one mark of the sheep of the Lord Jesus Christ is They
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. And you'll never
convince one of God's sheep any different. You know, I mentioned
in the message, I believe it was last Sunday evening about
Peter denying the Lord, but Peter did not deny that Jesus was the
Christ. He didn't deny that. He denied
that he knew him. But once Peter made that confession,
which had been revealed to him by the Father, thou art the Christ,
the Son of the living God. Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona,
for flesh and blood hath not revealed this unto thee, but
my Father, which is in heaven. He did not deny. Because the
scripture, our Lord said, if we deny him before men, he will
deny us. And there's no exceptions. If
we deny, but God's sheep will never deny that. They will never
deny that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God. Are you one of
his sheep? If you are, then you know that
so, and you believe it with all your heart. Well, this conversation
ended. If you notice in verse 31, the
Jews took up stones again to stone him. In other words, their
attempt was to do away with him, to kill him. Now the Lord Jesus
Christ would die. He would be crucified. He would
be killed in that sense of the word, but it would be at God's
time on God's way. And God's way was not for him
to be stoned. That was a typical way of the
Jews to uh, execute a prisoner by stoning. That's what the law
said. But the Lord Jesus Christ, he
would die. Yes, but he would die on God's
day. That is the day of the Passover. And he would die by being nailed
to a tree. being made a curse, because the
Word said, Cursed is everyone that hangeth upon a tree, that
he might deliver us, that he might save us from the curse
of the law. No, he went through their hand
somehow or the other and escaped. And so he goes back to where
I believe he was baptized. It says in our text here that
in verse 39, therefore they sought again to take him, but he escaped
out of their hand and went away again beyond Jordan into the
place where John at first baptized. Now John came baptizing, where
was he baptizing? He was baptizing in an area that
was somehow between Judea and Samaria. It's called the wilderness. That's where he was baptizing.
And usually, I read this just recently, but usually that's
where you will find God's preachers. You're not going to find them
in the big cathedrals and with all the fanfare and all of that. You're going to find God's preachers
usually in some kind of wilderness situation preaching the gospel. just like John. Now, there are two things I want
to point out to us tonight from these verses. First of all, as
he came back to Jordan, where the place where John was baptizing,
notice what we read first in verse 41. Many resorted unto
him, and said, John did no miracle. John the Baptist, he did not
perform any miracle. God didn't work any miracle through
John the Baptist. But all things that John spake
of this man were true. And I want us to look at three
things that John spoke about this man, the Lord Jesus Christ,
that are true. First of all, John spoke of his
unparalleled dignity, the Lord Jesus Christ, his unparalleled
dignity. And before we look at the verse
that contains John's words, let me just remind us of what the
Lord Jesus Christ said about John. Now, he didn't just As
Brother Scott Richardson used to say, he didn't just ride into
town in the back of a pickup truck. John, our Lord said this
about John. Verily I say unto you, among
them born of women, there hath not risen a greater than John
the Baptist. That's what the Lord said about
John the Baptist. There hath not arisen a greater
than John the Baptist. But now, let's look at what John
said. John the Baptist said it. What
he said about this man. These people said he didn't do
any miracle, but everything he said about this man is true. Turn back to John chapter 1. John chapter 1 and verse 27. The Jews sent some Pharisees
out to John, wanting to know and asking him, who are you and
what are you doing out here? Look at what he, in verse 27. Well, let's say verse 25. And
they asked him and said unto him, why baptizes thou then if
thou be not that Christ, nor Elijah? nor that prophet that
Moses said was going to come. If you're not any one of these
three, why are you baptizing?" John answered them, saying, "'I
baptize with water, but there standeth one among you whom you
know not. He it is who coming after me
That is, he was born about six months after John. He coming
after me is preferred before me, whose shoes latch it. I am not worthy to unloose. That's the first thing I point
out about the words of John, that he spoke of his unparalleled
dignity. John, and remember this, in that
time, in that society, the servant in the house that took care of
the feet, washed the feet, took the sandals off the feet, that
was the lowest position in a house at that time. That was the lowest
position. Many servants in the house, no
doubt, but the man that washed the people's feet as they came
into the house. That was the lowest position.
And to wash their feet, you'd have to take their sandals off.
And John said, there's one here among you. You don't know him.
He was among them. Isn't it interesting that in
the Middle Ages, if you look at the artwork, they all painted
a picture of supposedly Christ. We know it's not. But almost
all of them put a halo around his head. He was among the people. John said, he's standing among
you, but you don't know him. But I want to tell you something.
I'm not worthy to unloose his shoe. I'm not worthy to untie
his shoes. John knew the dignity of this
man, that it was such that he was not unworthy, or that he
was unworthy, rather, to unloose his shoe latchet. And it grieves
me, and I know it does you as well, to hear people today, as
so many use the name of Jesus and have no reverence at all
when they speak of him. And his disciples, remember this,
if you read Ephesians chapter one, how many times did Paul
refer to the Lord Jesus and every time the Lord Jesus Christ. He didn't say just Jesus, it's
always the Lord Jesus Christ. No matter how many times he mentioned,
no matter how many times he wrote, it was always the Lord Jesus
Christ. The dignity of this person, John
recognized it, John spoke about it, by him. John recognized the dignity of
this man who by Him all things that were created, all things
that were made were made. He�s the creator of all things. And not only is He the creator
of all things, but by Him all things consist. And not only
that, but all things are upheld by the Word of His power. This man All things he said about
this man were true. And make no mistake, when Isaiah
saw him, he saw him in that vision, in Isaiah chapter 6, high and
lifted up. High and lifted up. And his train,
and I've read this and heard this, that a king or a queen,
I suppose, that their train, the longer it is, the greater
king or queen they are. His train filled the temple. That's the one that Isaiah saw. And make no mistake about it,
Isaiah saw the Lord Jesus Christ. You say, prove that. Look in
John chapter 12. In John chapter 12 and verse
37, we read, but though he had done so many miracles before
them, yet they believed not on him, that the saying of Esaias
or Isaiah, the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake,
Lord, who hath believed our report, and to whom hath the arm of the
Lord been revealed, That's in Isaiah chapter 53. Therefore,
this is Isaiah 6, when Isaiah saw the Lord high and lifted
up, therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said
again, he hath blinded their eyes and hardened their heart,
that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with
their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. Now notice,
these things said Isaiah, when he saw his glory. Who did Isaiah see high and lifted
up on that throne? With the seraphims crying, holy,
holy, holy. Saw the Lord, the Lord Jesus
Christ. When he saw his glory and spake
of him. When a person sees the glory
of the Lord Jesus Christ, he's going to speak of him. The reason
so many preachers have everything else in the world to say except
Christ preaching about Him is because they've never seen His
glory. Let Him reveal Himself to man
as He is, not as this world pictures Him as some effeminate, weak
individual, but as He is, the King of kings and Lord of lords,
the very Son You see him, see his glory, and you'll speak of
him. Now here's the second thing. First of all, everything these
people said, everything John said about him, all things that
John spake of him or this man were true. Number one, he spoke
of his unparalleled dignity. And number two, he spoke of his
unparalleled success. Again, let's look at John's words
in chapter 1, John chapter 1. You're more familiar with these
words, verse 29, and these are the words of John. The next day
John the Baptist seeth Jesus coming unto him and saith, Behold
the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. He spoke of his unparalleled
success. The success of the Lord Jesus
Christ in removing, in taking away, bearing away the sin of
the world. He didn't speak of him making
this possible. That's what many people think,
isn't it? That he did something, now you
mix your little works with it. They call that synchronism, I
believe. Salvation is a joint venture
between Christ and the sinner. No salvation is of the Lord.
He took the sins. He bare away the sins of His
people. Long before, God had testified
to what would happen if man put his hand to the work. Remember
when they first came out of Egypt and God was giving the law to
Moses, He said, Now if you build an altar, and they would build
altars. Everywhere Abraham, you know,
he moved from place to place there, because he was going to worship
God. And what a testimony to us men
in our homes how we should always have a place to worship God,
not just when we go to church on Sunday, but everywhere Abraham
moved. One of the first things he did,
he built an altar. But he did not. Don't, don't take your mallet,
your hammer, and your chisel out and start making, alter the
stones every so square and so beautiful and fit together. Because
when you put your hand to it, it's polluted. Christ alone took
the sins of his people away. without the help of any man. You say, well, what world? John
said, Behold, the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of
the world. What world? Well, the world that
God loves. That's who sins, the world that
he took away, the world that God world for which the Lord Jesus
Christ refused to pray. You see what I'm saying? The Lord Jesus Christ had to
be both God and man to bear the weight of the guilt of the sin
that he took away. No creature, no group of creatures,
all the holy angels would have failed in this work. None could
have done it apart from he who is both God and man. Remember that was pictured, wasn't
it, by the scapegoat on the great day of atonement, the one day
in the year when the high priest took the blood from the Lord's
goat that was slain, took that blood in the basin, went into
the tabernacle, pulled up that veil with the censer and the
incense and went in there. and before the mercy seat, and
then he comes back out, puts his hands over on the head of
that other goat, confesses the sins, the transgressions, the
iniquities, not of the world, no, but of Israel. And then that man led that goat
away, never to be seen again. That's what Christ did. He took
away. Behold the Lamb of God which
bears away the sin of the world. He took them away. Aren't you
glad to know? He took your sin away, and you
bear them no more. One last thing. John spoke of
his unparalleled gift. If you look in John chapter 3,
in John chapter 3, And verse 36, and these are the
words of John. If you go back to verse 27, you
will see that. Verse 26 says, And they came
unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee
beyond Jardin, to whom thou bearest witness, behold, the same baptizeth,
and all come to him. And John answered. Now these
are the words of John. These people were trying to cause
some division between John and his master, between John and
the Lord Jesus Christ, trying to provoke some jealousy on John's
part. John said, listen, they asked, why do your disciples
fast and his disciples don't fast? when they're with the bridegroom.
You see, a wedding is a type of celebration, a type of jubilation. Fasting doesn't go along with
that. But when he's taken away, John said, then they shall fast. But his testimony always was
the same. He must increase. I must decrease. And so in verse 36, he's still
speaking, he that believeth on And he that believeth not the
Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. His unparalleled gift, eternal
life. Everlasting life. And the thing
about eternal life, everlasting life, it's not just existing
forever and ever and ever. It's being with God, being like
the Lord Jesus Christ. It's, the old writers called
it, beatific vision, seeing God, enjoying the presence of God,
worshiping God, eternal, everlasting, ever-blessing, Blessings that never end. It means to hear the Lord Jesus
Christ say to you, to say to me, to say to each and every
one of his children one day, come. Come, ye blessed of my
Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared
for you from the foundations. Now the second part of the message,
notice in verse 42 in our text back here in John 10. So I pointed
three things out that John said about this man. The people said
everything John said about this man was true. He didn't do any
miracles, but he preached the truth about Christ, the Savior. And then notice in verse 42,
"...and many believed on him there." The Lord Jesus Christ
came to this area again, and he came on purpose. We often
mention John chapter 4, knowing that it was typical for the Jews
not to go through Samaria. They'd go a long way around so
they didn't have to say hi to any Samaritans. They were so
prejudiced. They felt like they were so much
better and holier and God's people, you know, than anybody else.
But the scripture says, he must needs go through Samaria. And we emphasize the truth that
one of his chosen, one of his elect was going to be coming
out there to the well. But she was probably an outcast
there in that town because of her life. He must need to go through Samaria.
He's going to need her. But you know, we emphasize that. But remember this. She was just
the first one of many that were saved there in that place called
Sycor. because she left her water pot
and went into the town and said, Come see a man that told me everything
I've ever done. Is this not the Messiah? And
many believed on him then, and he stayed there for two days,
I believe it says, preaching and teaching. And then they said,
Now we believe on thee, not because of the word of this woman, but
we've heard your And there were many in this place. They'd heard
John. And now our Lord comes back here,
and the scripture says, many believed on him. The Lord had
been here before, but the time of harvest had not come until
he came this time. And I would just say this, what
an encouragement to us, you and I, to keep on. Keep on keeping
on, as the old preacher said. Keep on proclaiming the gospel
of Christ. There may be a great harvest
of souls soon, or it may even be after we have left this scene
altogether. But us being faithful to the
gospel is ever important. The wise man said, in the morning,
so thy seed. And in the evening withhold not
thy hand. In other words, it's always time
to preach the gospel morning and evening. For thou knowest
not whether it shall prosper, either this or that. whether
they both shall be alike good. We'll just keep on keeping on,
keep on preaching. We know this as somewhere between
the cradle and the grave. God is going to cross the path
of each and every one that he has loved, chosen, and redeemed
with the gospel. And they're going to believe.
We're going to believe. I'm so thankful he crossed my
path with the gospel. Aren't you? Amen. Let's close
with him.