The man, Christ Jesus (gospel)

… We will read a few verses in Matthew chapter 1, Matthew chapter 1, verse 21. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for ye shall save his people from their sins. Now all this came to pass, that that might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophets, saying, Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which has been interpreted, God with us. In the nineteenth chapter of John's Gospel. There's a part of verse 5, Behold the man. John chapter 18, verse 38, What is truth? For a very long time, God has been speaking to men. In the Old Testament we are told that God spoke through the prophets. Today God is speaking in the person of the Son. I desire to present to you tonight Jesus, the Savior of sinners. This is a man of whom we read, His name shall be called Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. Why was it necessary for Jesus to come into this world? To save men from their sins? Because the scripture declares that all have sinned, and there is no exception, except of course the Lord Jesus. He was holy. He was undefiled. He was separate from sinners, but he came into this world of sin. John the Baptist, in speaking of him, he says, Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. That one that was prepared of God, because God was not taken by surprise, beloved friends. We are taken by surprise when things overtake us, but God knows everything from the beginning to the end, and God was not taken by surprise when sin came into this world. Indeed, the provision was made before sin even entered this world, before man was created, before man had an opportunity to sin, God had provided for that. There are angels who have sinned. God has not provided for angels that have sinned. They are kept in chains of gloomy darkness, awaiting the time when they will be finally dealt with in judgment. But God loves man, we are told in that well-known verse, John 3, 16, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. You might say to me, then, why does the scripture say in John's epistle that we are not to love the world? Well, in John 3, 16, the word for world is the world of mankind. God loves man. In 1 John, it is the systems of man, and we are told that we must not love the world nor the things that are in the world. And then we are told the things that are in the world, the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. Now this reference goes right back to the beginning when sin came into this world. When Adam, who is the head of a sinful race, sinned in Eden, where God had given everything, made everything for man to be happy and comfortable, and man was made in innocence, and when God had made man, he says, it was very good. Very good. But as at the beginning and throughout the ages, and as it will continue right down to the end, when it will become greater and more full-blown, man always wants to do what he is told not to do. It's a principle with man that if he's told not to do something, that is what he wants to do. And so God had said to Adam that he should not eat of the tree, a certain tree in the garden, and that is what he wanted to eat of. And so we find, beloved friends, that sin came into this world. And you know what happened? The man blamed the woman, the woman blamed the serpent. Do you understand the principle that came into force when sin came into this world? That man is always making excuses, they're always blaming something. I would be a good man or a good woman had it not been for this or that or the other. And God is not asking you to be a good man or a good woman. The law was given to Israel that if they did certain things, they would live by those things, and they couldn't do it. The Lord Jesus is the only one who made the law honourable, he's the only one who sets forth in himself what man should be before God. But no other man was able to do it. And so man needs a saviour. That is what man needs. Man believes that he needs a lot of things, and man tries to get all sorts of things, a lot of which is not needed. But what man needs is a saviour. And there might be some in this room tonight who feel that they can get on without God. There was a man in the Old Testament, a great man, a man called Pharaoh. He thought that he could do without God. Indeed, he says of the River Nile, my river is mine own, and I've made it for myself. Pharaoh, the head of Egypt, represents independence of God, and that's a feature that marks men in a general way. We feel that we can do without God. But whenever a tragedy takes place, you know what man does? He calls on the name of the Lord. Why do you wait for a tragedy to call on the name of the Lord? He's available, he's ready, he's able to save to the utmost all that come unto God by him. He's able to do it because he has died for you. He has shed his blood to settle the question of sin which was introduced by your forefather. He died condemning sin in the flesh, and he died for the sins of believers. If you're a believer in this room tonight, you can happily say that he bore my sins in his own body on the tree. But if you're a sinner without Christ, without hope, and without God in this world, you cannot say so. And if you die in your sins, you're going to be raised in your sins, and you're going to be judged in your sins, and you're going to be banished from the face of Christ who will be the judge then in the lake of fire. And you will be judged in regard of the sins which you have committed. But beloved friends, you need not face the serious consequences of your sins. When Christ is available, we are told that there is no other name given among men whereby he must be saved, and salvation is in no other. If you wish to have salvation, you can have it no other way. But in Jesus, he's the way, the truth, and the life. And so, God provided for this great tragedy that came upon the human race. His name shall be called Jesus. You know what Jesus means? Jah, the Savior. That's what it means. He shall save his people from their sins. You may say to me, I don't need a Savior. Well, if you don't need a Savior, you don't need the Gospel either. The Lord Jesus said that he came to seek and to save that which was lost. Man, all mankind was lost as a result of the fall in Eden. All mankind have sinned. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. How easy it is for man to deceive himself. Beloved friends, if you have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, he has saved for time and for eternity. But if you have not, I say to you, the time is now, not tomorrow. The time is now, today. If you will hear his voice, harden not your heart. There were some who hardened their hearts, who did not take advantage of the opportunity that was available to them, and their carcasses were stewed in the desert. There was a man in the days of the Lord Jesus on earth, a blind man. You might say he was disabled, he couldn't see. And when the Lord Jesus was passing through Jericho, he could not see Jesus passing through. He could not see. But he heard something. He inquired and he was told that Jesus was passing through. And he cried out, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. And the people tried to quiet him. Satan is here tonight. Anytime the gospel is being preached, Satan is here. Because he wished to keep you away from salvation. There were some people through whom Satan was acting to keep this blind man away from salvation. They said to him, keep quiet. Shut up. He cried so much more. Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. Jesus stopped. He will stop tonight. We might say, beloved friend, that Jesus is passing by this place tonight. Do you want the Savior? Or do you want to go on in your sins and face the consequences of it? All in his travel, he came to a place called Athens. It was headquarters of philosophy and higher learning in those days. And the people spent all their time in talking about new things. And when Paul came into the place, and when he observed that they were given up to idolatry, his spirit was pained within him. And he spoke. He says, passing by, I beheld your devotions to the unknown God, whom he ignorantly worshipped. Him declare I unto you. He says, God that made the world and the things that are in it, is not worshipped by men's hands. But he says, but now, God. The times of ignorance, God winked at. But now, God commands every man to repent. Why? Because he has appointed a day in which he's going to judge the world. And he has given proof of it by having raised Jesus from the dead. And he's going to judge the world by that man whom he has raised from the dead. There were some people who atoned and got saved, but others mocked. Are there some mockers in the room tonight? I ask the question, are there mockers in the room tonight? Are you concerned about your condition as before God? It says of Jesus that he's Emmanuel, which by interpretation, God with us. You know, one of our hymns put it in a very apt way. Sinner, see thy God beside thee. In a servant's form, come near. Sit in, walk in, talk in with thee. Signia is Mount, no longer fair. That the Lord came in to introduce the grace of God. We're told in Titus, the grace of God, which carries with it salvation, has appeared. Teaching us how we should live. The grace of God, personified in the Savior Jesus, has appeared. Are you going to spurn the grace of God? The love of God? That God in his mercy provided for your need? Provided a Savior for you? Because the redemption of the soul is costly. It's costly. None shall by any means give a ransom for his brother. Because the redemption of the soul is costly. And it must be given up forever. The Lord had to give up his life. He gave his life. Not only to save you, beloved friends. That is very important for us who are saved. And for those of you who are sinners in the room tonight, it is very important that Jesus died to provide the basis for your salvation. But there was something more important about the death of Christ. And I tell you, that even if there was not one man that was to be saved or would be saved, because of the challenge of sin to the glory of God and the righteousness of his throne, it had to be dealt with. So the first thing that Jesus did was to deal with that question of the challenge to God's throne. And that is much more important, I say, beloved friends, than the other aspect of his death. We believe, and it is truly so, that Christ's death for us is very, very important. But I say to you that that which was due to God was much more important. And that had to be dealt with. But in dealing with that, he had consideration for you and me. And beloved friends, if you will avail yourself of that which God has provided in Jesus, you can be saved now, right now. Come unto me, he says, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Do you feel the burden of your sins? Do you feel the disappointments in your life? Do you feel that you are not making any progress? The more you think you are getting through with the less you are getting through. Difficulties of one kind and another. Tragedies after tragedies. The Lord Jesus says, come, come unto me. In Isaiah, he says, come, buy bread without money and without price. Salvation is so expensive that no one can pay for it. No one can pay for it. If that were so, the rich would be saved and the poor would be lost. But that's not God. He's given a free gift to every man, every woman, every child. I'd like to say a word to the young people. You're brought up in Christian households. Your parents are Christians. But you have to have to do with Jesus for yourself. You cannot be saved because your father is saved or your mother is saved. You must come to it that you're a sinner and accept Jesus as your savior. What a terrible thing it would be for the Lord to come to take his own to be with himself and some of the children of these parents are left behind for judgment. Don't take it lightly, beloved young people. Don't assume that because you're young, your life is before you and you have a lot of time. There's a very important verse in the end of Deuteronomy. The secret things belong to God. That's tomorrow. The things that are revealed belong to the sons of men. That's today. If you hear his voice, today is the day, not tomorrow. Stories told of a young girl who was brought up in a Christian home. When the brethren come to visit her parents, speak to her about her soul, she would mock. On one of these occasions, she left the home, went with her fiancé riding on a motorcycle. They had an accident. She died. She was lost. She spurned the gospel. She behaved in a way that was unacceptable to God. You cannot spurn God's love and God's grace. You'll not get away with it. Beloved friend, you're with young people. Make sure that you are saved. That's the first thing that you must do. Make sure that you're saved so that you'll be in the family, your natural family, in the family of God, going on together, enjoying the blessings of God. Don't think that being born in a Christian home is going to settle every matter for you. Each one, every individual must deal with this matter of their sins before God. And it cannot be done by proxy. It cannot be done by a mediator. It has to be done individually by each one. I trust, beloved young people, that you'll see the importance of Jesus, the name Jesus, the Savior. Salvation is in Jesus, and there is no other name by which we can be saved. No other name, the name of Jesus. Two profound statements are made in John's Gospel, chapter 19 and chapter 18. Behold the man! He was being tried. There were false witnesses. Pilate declared that I find no fault in this man. The innocence, the righteousness, the sinlessness, the holiness of this man had to be testified to, and by a wicked man. Three writers, the three main writers of the New Testament, testified as to the sinlessness of Jesus. Those are persons writing under the inspiration of the Spirit of God. But a wicked man had to say that I find no fault in this man. And the Spirit of God says, behold the man. What a statement! It was not just an empty statement that I present to you, the man, but the way it is put, behold the man. In Isaiah, chapter 53, who had believed our report? And to whom had the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he shall grow before him as a tender sapling and a root out of dry ground. He has no form nor lordliness. And when we see him, there is no beauty that we should desire in him. He is left alone of man, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and one from whom men hid their faces. He is despised, and we esteem them not. Later on it says, all we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way, and Jehovah has laid upon him the iniquity of us all. This is the man, this is the man that we present to you. Behold the man, the man Christ Jesus. God's man, and that man who is heading a new race, a new generation. We are told in Romans, as by one man sin entered into the world, thus by one man. As by one man came death, so by one man came resurrection of the dead. Jesus, the man, is available, and there are those, the generation of Jesus Christ. At the end of Isaiah 53 says, he shall see a seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of Jehovah shall prosper in his hand. The seed, that is the new generation, those who are saved, who are going to be brought into the glory. Beloved friends, what a wonderful thing to contemplate. Behold the man. Pilate asks a question, what is truth? He did not wait for a response, and indeed he did not need to, because what he had before him was the truth. The truth in Jesus. Do you know the truth? Have you come in contact with the truth? The Lord Jesus is said to be the truth. The spirit is the spirit of truth. And if we are going to understand, embrace the truth of God, not like Pilate, because he couldn't. It is that which has its source in a divine person, communicated by a divine person. Brought within the range of man, so that man can understand it. But the means of communication, and the communication itself, is by a divine person. And if there is a break in the link, from the divine person back to the divine person, then we have lost the truth. The truth outside of Christ is not truth. And so he says, what is truth? There in Jesus, beloved friends, we have the truth personified. He is the truth. And so, in 1 Corinthians, we are told that spiritual things are communicated by spiritual means. And the man, the natural man, cannot receive the things of the spirit. They have to be received by a spiritual means, and communicated by a spiritual means. Beloved friends, I say to you, those who are without Christ, the presentation of Jesus, who is the saviour of the world. As a woman in John 4 says, I see that thou art a prophet. And then later she says, come see a man who told me all things I ever did. Is not this the Christ? And the men came, and they came, and they had to do with Jesus. And they said, no, it is no longer your word, but we have seen him for ourselves, and we know that this is the saviour of the world. Beloved, I would to God, that if there is anyone in this room tonight, who is still in their sins, without God, without hope, in this world, that you would come to Jesus, and be saved tonight, just as you are. For those who are saved, I say, behold the man, the character of the man, God's man. That man, who in his life on earth, in every detail, was pleasing to God. The fine meal, mingled with oil. The meal offering. The life of Jesus here. Behold the man, Luke's gospel. And even in that, perfection, personified. He was made sin. Yes, indeed, he was made sin on the cross. He was made sin, beloved friend, for you and for me. When he faced that in Gethsemane, his holy nature recoiled from it. He says, Father, if it would be possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done. And then he took the cup from his father's hand, not from wicked men. He took the cup from his father's hand, and he left Gethsemane to move forward, doing the father's will. Not what man did to him. We are told in Acts, ye by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. Ye by the hands of wicked men are crucified and slain. He took the cup from the hand of the father, and he went forward. If he seek me, let these go their way. He was ready now to go forward, to bear, to drink that cup, that cup of the wrath of God. When Jehovah lifted up his rod, on Christ it fell. He was made sin, for you and for me. Behold the man. But then, beloved friend, truth. Are we in the truth? Are we in contact with Christ? Are we getting the communication from Christ in its purity? That's the challenge. Pilate says, what is truth? There in Jesus, fully personified, and the Spirit of God, the Spirit of truth, has come to be with us, to guide us into all truth. Beloved friends, Jesus, the Savior of sinners. Jesus, the man, God's man. Jesus, the truth. May the Lord graciously help us to have a great appreciation of this blessed man, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Savior, the Lord, the one who is son of man, will come in his glory soon. But he will come to take us first, to be with us. And then he will come with us. A wonderful prospect, a wonderful hope for the Christian, that Jesus is going to come for us. That's the hope of the Christian. And I would to God, beloved friends, that every single one in this room, man, woman, child, that everyone is looking forward to that blessed hope of the Lord's return to take us, to be with himself. May the Lord graciously help us. …