I'm reading tonight from Matthew chapter 12. Matthew chapter number 12. To get the setting of Christ's declaration of His superiority, let's begin reading in verse number 1. Matthew 12, verse number 1. At that time, Jesus went on the Sabbath day through the corn, and his disciples were unhungry and began to pluck the ears of corn and to eat." You understand, of course, this is not corn as we would grow it. This is wheat growing in the field and they're plucking it and probably rubbing it off in their hands and then eating it. But when the Pharisees saw it, They said unto him, behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the Sabbath day. But he said unto them, have you not read what David did when he was an hungered? And they that were with him, how he entered into the house of God and did eat the showbread, which was not lawful for him to eat. neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests. Or have you not read in the law how on the Sabbath day the priest in the temple profaned the Sabbath and are blameless? But I say unto you that in this place is one greater than the temple. But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath day." Let's read in verses 1 through 8. I began a series of thoughts this morning on the superiority or the supremacy of Christ. Of course, there are books like the book of Hebrews, where we could go from chapter to chapter. But it's in my heart, after meditating upon several texts, where Christ is referred to as greater than, to use these texts in magnifying His superiority. This morning, we looked at one that is often overlooked. In Hebrews 11, we're told that Moses saw the reproach of Christ, greater riches than the treasures of Egypt. And so I preached this morning on Moses, or rather Jesus, greater than the treasures of Egypt. Tonight, I'd like to use this text that was given to the Pharisees on the edge of a cornfield. Jesus mentions the temple of the Old Testament and he says to them, in this place is one greater than the temple. Now reading the Pharisees, opinions of themselves. Some of them probably thought he was talking or speaking of them. But the reference was to himself. Here he magnifies his superiority when it comes to the place of worship. You know, it is possible, as Jesus told the woman of Samaria, that you can become of such a low worship. You can approach God in such a low worship that you worship the place instead of the God of the place. And he said, the day is coming when you shall neither worship him here or in Jerusalem, but you must worship him in spirit and in truth. And so we come to this claim of Christ, that He is greater than the temple. I want to say three things, God helping me. I was preaching in Texas some years ago, I was much younger, and I did not realize that I was offending one of the brethren, but I would say every night, Please pray for me as I try to bring the message. And he got up on Thursday night. I wish he had come to me privately, but he went to the pulpit and he said, well, we've been hearing a lot about someone trying to preach. He said, I just want you to know God called me to preach and I'll preach tonight. Of course, by the time he was finished, we were all convinced he was trying also. Brethren, pray with all your power while I try to bring the Word, to preach the Word. I'd like to take just some practical thoughts about the temple and in my simple way, magnify Christ and His being greater than the temple. I would remind you first of all of the priceless ornamentation of the temple. The Bible even speaks in Matthew 23 of some swearing by the gold of the temple. It was not a shabbily erected edifice. It was very valuable. And beyond that, it was not only a valuable structure, it was a beautiful structure. I certainly don't think that we ought to go to such an extreme in the house of God that everyone is moved to look at the edifice instead of the Lord Jesus, the head of the church. However, I have been in some settings where I felt like they had gone to great lengths to try to make the building look cheap. I think we ought to build our buildings in a way that would honor God. And so I would underline the priceless ornamentation of the temple. Oh, the worth and the value of that building. I would remind you, the Lord Jesus was worth much more than the temple. And when He said, here there's one standing here that is in this place greater than the temple, we must see Him more valuable than any structure made of man. You remember Simon Peter wrote, under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, We're redeemed not with corruptible things such as silver and gold. All of that was involved in the fabric of worship in the temple. We're redeemed with the precious blood of Christ. The word precious indicating valuable. Now, in the South and the Southeast, And even here, when we say something is precious, we'll say about a little baby, oh, isn't she precious? That's not the meaning of the word in the New Testament. Simon Peter was not talking about something that's dear. He was talking about something that is valuable. And he said that the blood of Christ, the redeeming blood of Christ was much more valuable than of gold and of silver. I say then Jesus is greater when it comes to the priceless ornamentation of the temple. By the way, even in heaven, where the street is made of pure gold. We'll not be bowing down to gold. We'll be worshiping the Lamb upon the throne. I would underline secondly, as we reflect upon the temple, the sphere of Jewish worship, Jesus is not only greater than the priceless ornamentation of the temple. He's worth more than gold and more valuable than silver. And I would mention secondly, the procedural order of the temple. Now, again, I do not mean to be debasing to friends, but I've been in churches where there was no order. It's like they gloried in no order. And somehow my Presbyterianism comes out of me. And I want to sing holy, holy, holy or something that would have a little balance to it as far as worship is concerned. But in the temple, there was an order in the worship. I'll not be lengthy at this point, but I would remind you that there were three basic courts in the temple. There was the outer court, in which was situated the gate of entrance, and then the brazen altar on which the sacrifices were offered. There in that outer court, the poor sinner could approach God with a sacrifice. And the blood, as the book of Leviticus reveals, the blood was placed on all sides of the altar. And then the blood that remained was poured out at the base of the brazen altar. Beyond the outer court, which you find the gate and the brazen altar and the laver, the brazen laver, where the priest would wash his hands and wash his feet. Then you would come to the inner court, pass through the door and enter into that sphere where you would see a golden lamp stand. and also a golden table on which loaves of bread, the showbread, were placed. Then you would go further into that inner court and there was another altar, much smaller, and yet no less significant. In fact, it was made of gold, whereas the outer altar was made of brass. Brass speaking of the humanity of Christ and gold speaking of the deity of Christ. There, the priest would take hold of the horns of the altar and beseech God in behalf of the people. The smoke, the incense that was burning on the altar would ascend upward. A picture of genuine prayer that gets beyond the ceiling tile and ascends Godward as we seek His face. Then there was the inmost court, the Holy of Holies, which the priest only entered in once a year. And there he would sprinkle blood upon the mercy seat. The mercy seat overlaid the little chest we know as the Ark of the Covenant. In the Ark of the Covenant, you had the broken law, you had the pot of manna, and you had Aaron's rod that budded. The mercy seat Cherubim on each end. I love George Williams' comments about the empty sepulcher in John's gospel, where one angel had been sitting where the head of Christ had been lying, and the other cherubim was sitting on the end, or the angels, where the feet of Jesus had been. And George Williams in his students commentary on the Holy Scriptures said about those cherubim and the angels, he said about Christ's empty tomb, behold the true mercy seat. I tell you, he's the Holy Son of God. And so you have this procedural order. from the gate through the door, beyond the veil. And the high priest there would commune with God in his holiness, in the holy of holies. Somebody said, well, how does that speak to us of Christ? Well, this may not be a perfect verse to illustrate it, but you know, the furniture is mentioned in the book of Exodus, from the inside to the outside when it is being built. And then as the priest approached God, he approached from the outside to the inside. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father, but by me. He is our only means of access. He's greater than the temple. We do not have to go by a brazen altar, a lampstand, an altar of incense, and come to a mercy seat over the Ark of the Covenant, because Christ is our offering, and Christ is our light, and Christ is our access, our mediator between God and men. He is greater than the procedural order of the temple. In fact, you do not have to go into the temple You can simply go to Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit and worship God through the Lord Jesus. Let me mention briefly a third way in which Christ is greater than the temple. Here I've come tonight to try to encourage you and I'm getting help. I would mention thirdly, not only that Christ is greater than the priceless ornamentation of the temple, and Christ is greater than the procedural order of the temple. I mean, he's greater than the temple in a cornfield. And he's greater than the temple wherever you are. Thirdly, Let me mention that Christ is greater than the priestly office of the temple. Now you understand that just as there were kingly lineages, there were also priestly lineages. The sons of Levi, the Aaronic priesthood reigned in the temple, in the tabernacle and the temple. However, Christ is greater than the priestly office of the temple, in that he is not a priest after the order of Aaron, but in Psalms We have sort of the, well, in Genesis, we're introduced to Melchizedek, there's seed form truth. Then in Psalms, we have that great statement that he is a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. Here we have stock form truth, seed form truth, stock form truth. Then in the book of Hebrews, you have the corn, the full ear. Christ is the one who is interpreted as the priest after the order of Melchizedek. He didn't fit in the Levitical tribes. He was of the tribe of Judah, not of the priestly order of Levi. Hallelujah. The Lord Jesus gives us access to the Father. at all times, at all places. He's greater than the temple and the priestly office of the temple. I don't know if you've studied the Melchizedekian priesthood much, but number one, it's hard to pronounce. It's like Deuteronomy. Let's skip that book. Some of our mountain people pronounce it Deuteronomy. Well, that's okay. At least they're still trying to stay in the Bible. Some folks have forgotten such books are in the Bible. At any rate, Melchizedek had a continual priesthood in that he had neither beginning of days nor ending of life. We do not know when He was born and who His parents were. We do not know when He died and what that death was like. Similarly, our High Priest, the Lord Jesus, neither has beginning of days. He's the eternal Christ, nor ending of life. He rose in the splendor and the glory of resurrection life. and he intercedes, he ever liveth to make intercession for us and all that come to God by him. He's greater than the priestly office of the temple. Don't try to reduce him to an order and don't try to reduce him to a priestly office. He's bigger than all of that. In fact, According to the Scriptures, we have a great high priest all over the world, not just in Jerusalem. He comes to where we are. Then I would mention fourthly, the Lord Jesus is greater not only than the priceless ornamentation of the temple and the procedural order of the temple and the priestly office of the temple. But He is greater than the perpetual offerings of the temple. Now you know the children of Israel, they were to offer burnt offerings, Leviticus 1 and 2. They were to offer trespass offerings, sin offerings. peace offerings, meal offerings. This was a part of their yearly approach to God. Of course, there were thousands of offerings offered unto God. Not just those five, but thousands. Then they had a wilderness offering. And many others, Noah offered Noah offered a storm offering after the Noahic flood. It was a burnt offering, but it was a different form of offering in a way. Celebrating God's mercy, giving thanks after the terrible deluge. Well, how is Jesus better than all these offerings? He has offered Himself once for all. There need not be any more offerings. There need not be any more bullocks, any more lambs, any more goats, any more turtle doves. His done, the great transaction's done. I am my Lord's and He is mine. Glory be to God, Jesus, could sit down when he offered himself as an offering for sin. That Old Testament priest's work was never done! But Christ finished the work. It is finished! Or as it is rendered in Psalm 22, it is done! I say to you, beloved, you do not have to try to be accepted with God. He has accepted us in the beloved, in the person of his son. I've heard people testify on occasions. Oh, pray for me. I want to try. to do for Christ much because he's done much for me. Yes, but you could never pay him back. As our brother said to us earlier, we are beyond corrupt and corruption. We're corruption to the uttermost. Oh brother, but Christ has offered himself as a perfect offering for sin once for all. And therefore it never needs to be repeated. Huh? Oh, I'd like to stop right there and say, hallelujah. What a savior. The Lord Jesus has put him in to the perpetual offering. Now, before we conclude our emphasis, let me go back over these thoughts and then give you a fifth and final thought tonight. How is Jesus greater than the temple? He is greater than the priceless ornamentation of the temple. He is greater than the procedural order of the temple. He is greater than the priestly office of the temple. He is greater than the perpetual offerings of the temple. Now, let me try to bring it all together under this heading. Jesus is greater than the temple. in that he is greater than the primary object or the primary objective of the temple. What was the primary objective of the temple? That men could come to God. It was a means of access. It worked at the wilderness, in the tabernacle. It worked in Jerusalem, in the temple. I would say tonight that the Lord Jesus has fulfilled all the objectives of the temple. In the temple, men attempted to get to God. But in Christ, God has come to man. God has revealed the essence of himself in Christ. In fact, John chapter 1 tells us that the Lord Jesus is basically the declaration of the Father or the exegesis of the Father. He has exegeted God. He has set forth God. Somebody said, well, I'd like to know God. I don't know how. Then seek to know Christ. I would like to enjoy God, then seek to enjoy Christ. The poet wrote, so near, so very near to God, nearer I could not be, for in the person of his Son I am as near as he. We have been made nigh by the blood of His cross. We're one with Christ. We're in union with Christ. He's the vine and we're the branches. And all that can be said of the vine can be said of the branches because of our union with Him, our oneness with Him. The Word was made flesh. and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. So basically, when you think of worship, Jesus is the answer to every phase of worship. We draw nigh to God through the person of His Son, I wrote down a word from Spurgeon. He gave six reasons or six ways Jesus ought to be regarded greater than the temple. Are you ready? Number one. We ought to think of him with greater joy than the Jews ever thought of the temple, this beautiful house. Number two, we ought to consider him greater. We ought to consider him with greater wonder than that which men surveyed the temple. Thirdly, Spurgeon said, Christ ought to be visited with greater frequency. Fourthly, Christ ought to be reverenced with greater solemnity. Fifthly, Christ ought to be honored with higher service. Sixthly, Christ ought to be sought in a far more vehement desire. Oh, that our hearts and our lives may give to him this superior place. In 1968, after several men led by my pastor met on a mountain every Friday night, and sought God for revival. After those years of seeking after God, God was pleased to visit my hometown in revival. First, there was an awakening in my home church and in the home church community. People were saved that I never would have believed would have been saved. And God laid his hand on lives such as mine that I would have never believed God would have laid his hand on. After two weeks of God moving in mighty power and grace, my pastor stood up and said, tonight will be the last night of the meeting here. A neighboring pastor, another one of my spiritual fathers, stood up and said, we'll begin the meeting at our church Monday night. He asked the same 18-year-old preacher if he would come and preach at his church. God continued to move mightily. The meeting in reality moved from our home church over to the sister church out in the country. God was bringing down the pride of man and exult in the glory of God. After two weeks of God doing the unusual there, actually it was about four weeks later, a revival was started in the First Baptist Church of my hometown. God saved many people. called out missionaries, laid his hand on the likes of me to preach the gospel during that time frame at First Baptist. God was at work. I'm trying to bring out the fact that it did not just involve a building. It involved the living Lord, the exalted Christ. Oh, that we might worship Him in the beauty of holiness. Seek His face. And let me say this, because of many prayer meetings on the mountain, some got to thinking that the mountain was the origin of this stirring of God. It's not the mountain. It's not the church. It's not the pine thicket where I learned to pray. No, it's the Christ who is supreme. The Christ who is superior to all. May God forgive us for hanging on to religious trinkets and ideas when the living Lord is in our midst. May we look to Him. May we bow down before Him. May we glorify Him. You've been very kind to let me share my heart. May we stand together as we wait before Him. Our Father, we would join the refrain of the songwriter and cry out, I need Thee. Oh, I need Thee. Every hour I need Thee. Oh, help me now, my Savior, I come to Thee. And as well, Lord, even though the songwriter didn't say it, we can say it authoritatively, I have Thee. Oh, Lord, I have Thee. Every hour I have Thee. Oh, bless me now, my Savior, as I look to Thee. Now we ask that thou would help us in these moments. May you be glorified among thy people. Prepare our hearts for the morning hour. Bless our brothers he prepares. Give us ears to hear and eyes to see. Hearts that will receive the engrafted word. Now for all that thou hast do for us by thy grace, we'll give you praise. In Jesus' name we ask, amen and amen. Pastor, would you come please?