I invite you, brethren, to take out your copy of God's Word and turn with me to the Gospel according to John, chapter 11. Continue our study through the Gospel according to John, and today we'll conclude this 11th chapter. We will begin our reading in verse 44, and then read to the end of the chapter. John 11, Actually, I want to start in verse 45 and just briefly mention that verse 44 is at the end of the raising of Lazarus as our Lord commanded him to come out of the tomb after being dead four days and then commanding them to loose him and to let him go. And so now we have what follows that great event, verse 45 to 57. Hear now the word of the Lord. And many of the Jews who had come to Mary and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in him. But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things Jesus did. And the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, what shall we do? For this man works many signs. If we let him alone like this, everyone will believe in him and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation. One of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, you know nothing at all, nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people and not that the whole nation should perish. Now this he did not say on his own authority. Being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation and not for that nation only, but also that he would gather together and one, the children of God who was scattered abroad. And then from that day on, they plotted to put him to death. Therefore Jesus no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there into the country near the wilderness to a city called Ephraim. There remained with his disciples. And the Passover of the Jews was near. Many went from the country up to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves. Then they sought Jesus and spoke among themselves as they stood in the temple. What do you think, that he will not come to the feast? Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a command that if anyone knew where he was, he should report it that they might please him. Thus concludes the reading of God's word. Let us again join our hearts together in prayer, brethren. Heavenly Father, we do indeed thank you that your word is inspired. that it is a living book, that it has power, that when attended by your spirit, it can literally raise the dead. We pray that that might even be the case today, spiritually, that you might raise those who are here to be heard. Certain powerful events like this can completely captivate a whole nation, and indeed, in some cases, even a whole world. But one of the most dramatic events in human history was the public ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ. Simply from a human standpoint, His presence and His miracles had an incredible effect upon the nation of Israel in that day. Like the talk of America and the man landing on the moon or after 9-11. The one issue that was consuming the minds of the Jewish nation 2,000 years ago was the presence and the works of a rabbi from a little old country town called Nazareth. Our Lord's popularity, for better or for worse, grew exponentially over the next three, three and a half years of ministry. Each miracle, each public sermon would have incredible effects upon all of those who had the privilege of witnessing them. And this would be no less true concerning this, one of our Lord's greatest, perhaps the greatest miracle of all, the raising of Lazarus from the grave after being dead for four solid days. As we mentioned in a previous message, John has been very quick to point out to us that there was a large presence of Jewish witnesses there at the tomb. Verse 19 of chapter 11, we were told that many Jews had come to help mourn along and to be with Mary and Martha as they mourned the death of their brother Lazarus. In verse 45 and verse 46, we're told that many Jews believed who were a part of that number, but then there were some who ran to tell the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem what Jesus has done as though it was some scandalous thing in raising Lazarus from the dead. The point is that Christ had performed many great miracles on his three, three and a half years ministry, but this last great miracle seems to have the most powerful effect of them all, at least until the miracle of his own resurrection would occur. And so we have here, brethren, in verses 45 to verse 57, 13 verses here in John 11, we have what is really a description of all the effects of that great miracle of our Lord raising Lazarus from the dead. And unlike the effects of World War II or the moon landing or 9-11, the effects that would take place here in John 11 are still being felt in this present day. perhaps not in the minds of an unsaved secular world in which we live, but certainly in the minds of all who have eyes to see and ears to hear what is being communicated in this text this morning. As I studied the passage, I see three primary effects that came out as a result of our Lord raising Lazarus from the dead. Here they are if you're taking notes. Number one, as a result of the miracle, we are given a mixed perception in verses 45 and 46. Secondly, we will see that the miracle will also produce a motivating plot, verses 47 to 57. And lastly, thirdly, we'll see that as a result of this miracle, we are given a mysterious prophecy. First, let us notice that as a result of the miracle, we are given a mixed perception among the Jews. In verse 45, John tells us that many who saw that miracle that day believed in Jesus. when while verse 46 tells us that someone among the Jews essentially did not believe in Jesus, but went rather, as it were, to tattletale on Christ to the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem. It was a mixed perception of the results of what Christ had done. One group perceived Jesus was truly the Messiah, the Son of God, and one group perceived that Jesus was simply a carnival show that was threatening the status quo. We don't know the exact number, but Mary's house was filled with Jews who had come to mourn with her and her sister Martha. For three years, generally speaking, they had all heard sermons, they'd all seen great miracles of our Lord, yet they did not all come to the same conclusion about who the Lord really was. The Lord had performed perhaps his greatest miracle to date, and it was of such a kind that every one of those Jews should have believed. Yet John is showing us here that the effects of Lazarus' resurrection produced two different perceptions about what Christ had done. According to John, most of the crowd believed. Now, we've heard and seen already, those of you who've been with me in our study of John, that John, the writer of the gospel, has shown us that just because people believe in Jesus did not always mean that they savingly believed, does it? Back in Chapter 2, we're told that when Jesus was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, quote, many believed in his name when they saw the signs which he did, but Jesus did not commit himself to them. Same thing occurs in John 6 when our Lord feeds the 5,000 there in that great miracle. But we know it was a carnal and superficial belief because they immediately tried to force him to be some sort of earthly king. And in those cases, the works of Christ did not produce saving faith. But I do believe, brethren, in verse 45 that we see the blessing of true salvation having come to many of these Jews that day. And here's why. First of all, because the Lord Jesus had already said that this would be one of the purposes for why he was raising Lazarus from the dead in the first place. Back in verse 42, notice it. And he says, I know that you always hear me, but because of the people who are standing by, I said this, that what they may believe you sent me. Now, brethren, are we really to believe that Christ does all of this so the Jews would believe, and then the result would be that no Jews would believe? I think not. Second reason I believe many of these Jews were really converted was because of the little phrase there in verse 45 that says they had, quote, seen the things Jesus did. William Hendrickson in his commentary states that the words had seen as one word in the original means to reflect, to study, to ponder. Strong's Greek dictionary says it means to closely look at or to perceive. And so the raising of Lazarus, it wasn't just that in their minds at that moment. All of the miracles of the past, all of the sermons Jesus had preached, the way that he loved Mary and Martha and Lazarus, all of it came crashing in upon them as they saw Lazarus come out of that tomb. It was a rush, a flood of conversion, a flood of salvation. They were themselves being spiritually raised. This was the way many of us came to Christ, was it not? Perhaps for months or even years, we ponder the significance of who Jesus really is. We read books, we listened to sermons, people witnessed to us, and then the day came When like a rushing or a bursting of a dam, all of a sudden our hearts were flooded with the realization, Jesus Christ really is the Son of God. I'm alive in Him. I know this. And we all kind of wonder why not everybody else sees what we came to see. Now, not all the Jews came away with that same perception, did they? Verse 46 makes it clear that some of these folks decided that the best way they responded to raising Lazarus from the dead was to run to Jerusalem and to tell the Pharisees about it. It wasn't a positive motive. It wasn't because they were excited to tell them how wonderful the Lord Jesus was in doing such a great and glorious good deed, revealing to us the true depravity of the human heart these men saw one of the most glorious good deeds in the history of humanity, and they were unmoved in the perception of who Jesus Christ really was. He had proved over and over again that no one could do the miracles that he did unless God was with him. And they're unmoved. Well, brethren, we know from our study throughout, John, thus the reason why this is true. while one group believes and another group remains condemned in their sin. Why? Was it because of something in them? Well, the Bible tells us, and John tells us, that the Spirit moves where He wills, like the wind. You hear the sound of it, but you don't know where it's coming from or where it goes. And so it is with everyone who's born of the Spirit. It's up to the Spirit of God, not to the free will of man. Because the man's will in Adam is spiritually in bondage to sin. It is spiritually dead in sin. It cannot come out of its own grave unless, like Jesus said to Lazarus, he tells you and me to come forth. We later learn in John 6, 44, didn't we, that no man can come to Jesus unless the Father who sent him draws him. And I will raise that hymn up on the last day. These Jews didn't believe simply because they saw a miracle. The ones, the many, they did not believe simply because they saw a miracle. They believed because they received a miracle. That's why they believe. If anyone in here today believes, savingly believes, it is because God has done a miracle for you. A real live, on earth miracle. the miracle of the new birth. The Holy Spirit quickened them alive and granted them saving faith. Again, brethren, not because some of them were smart enough to figure it out, not because some of them were more righteous and more moral, not because they were any of these things, but it was solely based on the sovereign grace and mercy of God alone. And others who ran away, who didn't believe, they didn't believe, brethren, because they are in Adam, and they have no spiritual power to believe, savingly, if they're in Adam. Because left in that state, until the Spirit of God quickens us alive, left in that state, nobody wants to believe in Jesus. The carnal man does not submit himself to the law of God, neither can he. He doesn't want to bow himself to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and to have some other man who's not even alive and standing in front of me to tell me what to do with my life until the Spirit of God does otherwise. Now, the second major effect that came out of our Lord's miracle, a rising Lazarus from the dead, was not only a mixed perception, but now I want you to see it's a motivating plot. This is really the major outcome of, at least from an earthly side of things, of our whole text here. The result of these Jews going back to tell the Pharisees about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead produces nothing but absolute outrage toward the Lord Jesus. It's an incredible thing to see here. This was, if you will, the straw that breaks the camel's back, if you will, for these Jews. All through John, we've already been noticing, haven't we, that they are angry with him, that they've been wanting to kill him for a couple of years now because of his miracles and because the people, he's winning the people's hearts. Back in chapter five, it states that for this reason, Jesus persecuted, the Jews persecuted Jesus and sought to kill him because he'd done these things on the Sabbath. The desire of the religious leaders to kill Jesus was not a secret among the Jews either. In John 7, we are told in verse 25, now some of them from Jerusalem said, is this not he whom they seek to kill? They all knew it. The Jews, it was like you didn't need email in that day. They all knew it. Our leaders, our religious leaders, they hate this new rabbi. They want to kill this new rabbi. Just a few months prior to the raising of Lazarus, we read back in chapter 10, verse 39, therefore they sought again to seize him, but he escaped out of their hands. And so these men have desired for a long time to kill the Lord Jesus, but up to this point, John 11, they had lacked a solid plan and a desire to execute that plan. But now that's all changed. John makes it clear in verse 53, notice it, from this day forward, they plotted to put him to death. They are putting feet to the plan now. It's not just a thought. They are completely and fully motivated at this point, and at this point, it is a point of no return. And so they call a meeting of the Sanhedrin, verse 47. Notice it. Verse 47, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, what shall we do? For this man works many signs. Now, brother, the word council here is the word for which you've heard, the word Sanhedrin. It was the governing body of the nation of Israel in that day. It was made up of 71 men from the sect of the Pharisees, the Scribes, and the Sadducees. Majority of them were Sadducees. The high priests were of that number. They were from the Sadducees. And of course, what does this mean, brethren? It means that they were not very religious people. They were not very spiritual in any humanistic way. They weren't even humanistically moral in really many ways. They did not believe in the resurrection. Most of them, it was a purely political organization for which they had gained power and wealth. They were pragmatic. Pragmatic. They enjoyed their little crumbs of power and prestige that Rome allowed them to have to keep peace in Judea so they didn't have to. That's what this is all about. And so they perceive that if Jesus can raise the dead and if he can do all these other things, then he's likely to come and he's going to try to rule over the people as Israel's king. And these rulers know that Rome's not going to put up with that. They're not going to like that at all and they're going to come in. And if this Jesus keeps doing what he's doing, Rome is going to come in and he's going to squash everyone and the Sanhedrin is going to go along with it. Rome will put them all down for the sake of keeping peace. You see, these people, these Sanhedrin, these religious looters, they didn't understand anything about our Lord's real purpose for His first advent. None of it was making any connection. It's all temporal. It's all humanistic. It was all about politics. And all they cared about was maintaining power and authority, which came with many perks. And Jesus was threatening their whole cushy little deal with Rome. It was that God in their heart that nobody's going to take from them. And so the raising of Lazarus was the tipping point for them to want to now to fully silence the Lord Jesus. But again, what was their underlying motive? Well, verse 48 tells us, doesn't it? We have to do something or the Romans will come and take away our place and nation. And this is even more a sign, brethren, it's just how depraved these men's hearts really were. Did you notice it? That in verse 47, they didn't even deny that Jesus had worked all these signs, and yet they want to kill an innocent man. They haven't given us any reason, no charge. They're going to trump one up, as it were, later in these mock trials, but now we still haven't heard one. And so now these so-called religious leaders have devised a plan and they are officially going to put it in motion. The first part of the plan was to spread the word. The word was that if anybody was to see the Lord Jesus, they would immediately report him to the Sanhedrin, verse 57. That's what it says there in verse 57. They were to report. Now, there was another motive for putting this part of the plan into action, and that is that the rural people out in Judea, not who were in Jerusalem or lived around Jerusalem, they lived out in the countryside of Judea, and they were much more likely to be sympathetic to Jesus. We have seen occasions where some of them came to faith, and while the prestigious Jews in Jerusalem continued in their obstinate and unbelief. And so they knew that his popularity with the common folk, the country people, that it would get out of hand, and let's say sort of what Barney Fife would say, nip it in the bud a little early. And so you look at with verse 55 and verse 56. The Passover of the Jews was near, and many went from the country up to Jerusalem before the Passover to notice it, to purify themselves. Now, they would have to do this. The old Mosaic law said that you couldn't participate in the Passover if you touched a dead body, if a lady was on her cycle. There were all these rules that they had to take care of. In order to take the Passover, they had to go purify themselves. So they go up early, as it were, and they know they're coming in. And then verse 56, then they sought, that's this crowd that came in from the country, they sought Jesus and spoke among themselves and they stood in the temple. What do you think? That he will not come to the feast? And so the huge crowds are about to come in, this huge crowd of people, they would travel in for the yearly Passover feast. They were all excited about it. Not just because of the Passover feast, this yearly event they would all have to go to, they're more excited now because they might get a chance to see the great miracle worker. That's what they wanted. It had an entertainment element to it for many of them. But now that he has a bounty on him of sorts, they're all wondering among themselves, well, are we going to get a chance to see him? I mean, why would he come? He's got to know that everybody wants to kill him here in the city. So most of these people, again, it was an entertainment motive more than anything, not a religious one. However, brethren, the omniscient God was not going to play their games. We're told in verse 54, the Lord Jesus leaves. And he goes off to some city named Ephraim, the commentary state. We don't even know where that place even is. There's some suggestions. But that's where he would stay until it got closer to the time when he would come in in his triumphal entry, which we'll see in the next chapter. Now, what we see these Jewish leaders doing, brethren, is not that uncommon among men. Indeed, what we see them doing here goes on every day all around the world. The Lord Jesus is a threat to the idols of every man and every woman. All of us, at one time or another, have conceived a motivating plot to protect what we want, while all the while knowing it's against God's moral law. It is the Adam syndrome, if you will, the sin that brought chaos and death into the world. What was that Adam and Eve, what? They were told that if they ate the forbidden fruit, they'd be like God, knowing good and evil. And every one of us in Adam, there's a little of Adam and Eve and all of us that still want to be like God. We want the autonomy. We want to be the captains of our own ship. We want to rule. We don't like people telling us what to do. We don't want any kind of authority, whether God ordains it or not. And so the rebellious spirit of men's hearts carry on. This desire for independence goes on. And that's what these Jews wanted. Jesus was threatening that. So like us, brethren, we too are motivated to plot ways to keep our little kingdoms, ways to keep our idols near and dear to us. These idols we create for ourselves. We don't want Jesus to take it away from us. Maybe it's some lust. Maybe it's some other little sin. Maybe it's your pride and your bitterness and you won't forgive. You know, Jesus says you have to, but you don't do it because that's the thing you want to hang on to. It makes you feel good in some wicked, strange way. For the unbeliever, Jesus threatens their autonomy. The unbeliever craves earthly things. We all used to be this way, weren't we? All craved worldly things, temporal power, temporal joys, temporal freedom. We will not have this man rule over me. I can't become a Christian because he expects me to go to church every Sunday. I can't become a Christian because I've got to go to prayer meetings, I expect to read my Bible and pray. Who wants to do that when the world has opened up to me?" And so the heart of man begins to plot, plotting ways to keep it. They make up lies to justify why they don't bow the knee to Jesus. You and I did it too. The church, you see, is just filled with a bunch of hypocrites. All they want is your money down there. It's too much division. I mean, look at those Christians. They can't even get along themselves. You got all these denominations. You got the Baptists and the Presbyterians. And so, that's what they do. And unfortunately, there's a measure of truth in all those accusations, isn't it? But the unbelievers of this world love to use the sin and the weaknesses of God's people for justification to simply keep holding on to their own idols. That's all they're doing. I stand back and I look at what these Jewish leaders are doing here, and as a Christian, it makes no sense to me. But as a former idolater, I understand it. But as a Christian seeking a homeland where to be with Christ in glory, I can't help but think what great measures These men undertook for just a few short years of earthly glory and pleasure and comfort. They were willing to kill in innocent blood, to shed blood, to simply keep their fleeting moments of earthly autonomy just to give it up later. Isn't this what sin does to us, brethren? It's so irrational. We're so prone to lust. We're so prone to crave earthly pleasures, comforts, and carnal safety. We will plot and we will scheme to the death to keep losing any of them. Which is why our Lord Jesus says in Matthew 16, what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? This takes us to the crux of the matter, brethren. Sitting where we are, it doesn't make sense that these men would plot to kill an innocent man. No specific charges yet. That they would go to such extreme hatred to simply keep fleeting power and fleeting authority. Our country's filled with politicians like this. They get elected, they get a taste of power and popularity, they can't quit. Famous musicians who once had the glory days and the masses giving them their fan worship. Look at 80-year-old men standing in front still singing the classic rock. And that's not a sin in and of itself. And I can't judge their ultimate motives, brother, obviously. But they're not finding their peace in Christ. I mean, many of these have plenty of money already, but they can't let go of the thrill. It's the idol of it all. But this issue, I want you to hear this, this issue is supplanted in each one of us in here this morning. We want to be loved, we want to be thought well of, we want, brethren, listen to me, we want just a little bit of the glory. Just a little bite of the apple, because if I take a little bit of the apple or the fruit, I will be like God, knowing good and evil. The only way out for the unbeliever is to humble themselves and repent and trust the Lord Jesus Christ. The only way out for you and me as Christians, brethren, who are still struggling with idolatrous heart is to follow Jesus. He taught us how to do it. You know, the disciples, they were arguing over who's going to be the greatest in the kingdom, right? That's the same heart that the Jews had and not wanting to give up their authority in what Rome was trying to do or was going to do. And so Jesus says to his disciples, yet it shall not be among you, but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. Whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave. Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, to give his life as a ransom for many. Brethren, every morning you and I wake up, we ought to preach to ourselves, we are servants and slaves to everybody around us, for Christ's sake. This is why Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15, he talks to the brethren there, he says, I tell you the truth in Christ, I die daily. You have to. Because the old Adam still wants to be like God, doesn't he? We just want a little bit of the glory. Well, look what I did. I did this good deed. May the Lord deliver us all from our ongoing motivating plots. Plots in our hearts to miss church. Plots to skip Bible study. Plots to miss prayer meetings. Plots to keep from repenting. Plots to keep from confessing our remaining sin. Plots to not forgive why I ought not to have to forgive. And just like Caiaphas, we justify not being obedient to God with pragmatism. But these are all plots against the Lord Jesus so that we don't have to keep killing the remaining idols in our hearts. We come up with what we believe and we're convinced of or justifying reasons why I'll hold my bitterness against you. You did this to me, you hurt me. Jesus would say, forgive 70 times 7, even as I have forgiven you. He demands, His demands, His holy and good law, they all threaten what we want. You and I were to strictly, with all the power and the work of the Spirit within us, to labor every day to obey all the Ten Commandments, there would be a raging battle in us. And there is, isn't it? There's just so much in us that doesn't want to have to submit to all that. It threatens our little kingdoms. It threatens our little idols. And just like these Jews in Jerusalem, And here's the most profound irony of all, brethren. Because they refused to humble themselves and reject their Messiah, they would end up losing it all anyway. This is the message, brethren. It's exactly what the Lord Jesus said in Matthew 10, 39. He who finds his life will lose it. They had found a real cushy thing there. The Romans giving us all this tax money. We have authority over the people. We are looked upon as the men. We found our life. Jesus says, but he who loses his life for my sake, he'll find it. Some of you have little kingdoms in your heart. Some of you have these little things in your heart, and you don't want to let them go. But if you don't let it go, it's going to drag you down to hell. We have to let them go while we as Christians are no longer our own anymore. And so brethren, we've seen also have his day in court with the Lord Jesus in those mock courts. Many believe that Annas was sort of the power behind the throne. He was once the high priest many years prior, but now his relatives, son-in-law, these high priests, which they were going back and forth about him, they were all corrupt to the core. Really were, it was all politics. And Caiaphas here was very eager to shed blood in order to keep his cozy little situation with Rome. And so he tells the Sanhedrin, that if we all want to keep what we have here, we're going to have to kill this man. And so his reasoning went like this. Jesus' popularity has gone way out of hand, and this raising of Lazarus is now going to solidify the following among the Jews, and we've got to push back. And in their minds, it's probably going to end up in a revolt. The Romans didn't like that. Now, he may have been the next Judas Maccabeus, but they don't want a guy like that. They don't care about having Jewish autonomy. They don't care about having freedom from Rome. These leaders of Israel in that day loved what they had with Rome. All they cared about was protecting their little slice of power and prestige. But if Jesus and his followers lead a revolt, Rome's army is going to come in, he's going to squash the whole thing, many people are going to die, and these Jewish leaders who were entrusted by Rome to keep peace in Jerusalem, they're going to lose everything. And so the pragmatic thing to do was the one man should die for the people rather than that the whole nation should perish. You see the argument? And what he said in that statement meant one thing to these men, but it meant something completely different to the true people of God, thus a mysterious prophecy. In the mind of Caiaphas, if they put Jesus to death, well, this will mean that Rome will stay out of their business, they think. They won't bring their armies in to kill us all. And so Caiaphas is making out like this idea that he's come up with is some wonderful thing to save the Jewish people. His real motive was to save his own you-know-what. Better for us to kill Jesus than for Rome to kill all of us. He's making himself out as some great patriot for Israel. But interly, his heart was filled with greed and selfishness. However, unbeknownst to him, brethren, To his own mind and to his own heart, his words would be a prophecy from God himself. Now, the high priests in the Old Testament generally never spoke a prophecy, rare occasions. So we don't know why it says it the way it does here, but the whole system at this time was so corrupt, all God really was doing, I believe, was using Caiaphas to speak the words that God wanted him to speak in the same way God spoke through Balaam's daughter. God is supernaturally, providentially orchestrating this whole situation. Caiaphas is speaking from his own free will. His intent was his evil and truly evil intent. But God in his infinite wisdom was able to use his words to predict an ultimate reality of all that he was about to do. That his beloved son should lay down his own life as a sacrificial substitute for his holy nation made up of Jews and now Gentiles too from every tribe and nation. Brethren, the language of Jesus dying, quote, for the nation, the word for there means instead of. It's the very language that's used throughout the Bible speaking of sacrificial substitution. This, brethren, is the prophecy of substitutionary atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ for his people, and it came from the lips of the enemy of God. Perhaps I should have titled the sermon, Caiaphas Preaches the Gospel. It is better for sinners like us, condemned before a holy God, that Jesus would die in our place so that we should not perish in hell. John expressed this language of sacrificial atonement from the very beginning. In John 1, John the Baptist said, behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the whole world. And no one said it better than the prophet Isaiah. Verse 4, chapter 53, surely he has borne our grace. Now, brethren, I want you to pay attention. I got something here that I hope that you'll get. If you want to be profited from the application of this sermon, pay attention, please. Isaiah said, Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Yet we have seen Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgression. He was bruised for our iniquity. The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. It's not this, brethren, the motivation to stop plotting against our precious Savior. to protect the remaining idols in our own heart. Is this not our motivation to serve the Lord, brethren, to stay with our whole heart, to be quick to forgive, to love and to serve others with the utmost humility, even our enemies? With great love, and what great love the Father has bestowed on us that we should be called the children of God. with such love, grace, and mercy. Is there any sin worth you and I holding on to? Is there any idol of this world that can grant to us the freedom and the kind of love and the kind of joy everlasting that our Savior has given us? Isn't this the realization of what Christ has done for us? The motivating factor for all our obedience. Not to earn our right to be saved, but because he has already laid down his life that we would be saved. It's Paul's argument in Romans 12, I beseech you by the very mercies of God, that you become a living sacrifice. It is the truth that our Lord will press hard on his disciples throughout the remainder of the gospel account. All of us are plotters. We're either plotting against Christ by living for ourselves, or we're plotting for Christ as we die daily to the things of this world. James and John were plotting to see who would be greatest in the kingdom of God. Jesus said, be a slave. Be a servant to others. Jesus will wash their dirty, smelly feet in John 13, and he then commands them in 14th verse, if I then, your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. We're going to learn that there is nothing so humbling that you cannot do if you understood what Christ has done for you. Nothing. Why would we do this? Why would I humble myself and treat you better than myself? Why would I serve you? Why would I love you when there's nothing in it for me? Because Jesus took This is your application, brother, for this coming week and every day. Every time you're tempted to complain about some suffering or some injustice in which the Lord calls you to humbly bear, remind yourself why you're able to do it. He took your place. Brother, sister, are you tracking with me? He took your place. When your flesh is plotting against you to make excuses for not praying, for not reading your Bible, not coming to prayer meeting, not going to morning and evening worship, you preach to yourself, why do I make myself go? Because the Lord commands me and I go because He took my place. The wrath of God was to be poured out on me throughout all eternity. But He took my place. When you're tempted to some melancholy spirit, and your joys and comforts seem so far away, preach to yourself these words and they will help you to hold on to the end. He took your place. When the pain of mortifying remaining sin hurts so bad and the temptations of sin become so alluring, preach to yourself again and again. He took your place. And it was that sin that hung Him on the cross. And brethren, wrapped up in these four little words, He took my place. Nothing more, nothing less than the very love of God. In John 14, Jesus would tell His disciples, if you love Me, keep My commandments. Do you know what He's saying there, brethren? He is saying, if you really know, and if you really believe that I took your place, I took your hell, I took your suffering, I took your eternal damnation, then you would gladly obey all my commandments. Because in that deed I did for you, I gave you my divine love. And there is no greater love. So, brethren, in your spiritual battles that you will surely face this coming week, and I will too, preach the gospel to yourself. Face every fear, every discouragement, every battle with temptation, every sickness, every ailment by reminding yourself you can fight the fight of faith, you can finish your race faithfully as Christ took your place. Is there no pride we cannot swallow? Is there no cross we cannot bear? Is there no fear we cannot conquer when we know our dear Lord Jesus has already drunk the cup of God's eternal wrath in our place? This is why Paul would say in Romans 8.37, yet in all things, we are more than conquerors. What? Through him who loved. Did you see it? This is why Paul could say, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. How does He strengthen us, brother? The Spirit of God strengthens our faith to obey and to press forward in all situations because Christ has already taken our hell. Our judgment... And He is one of glorious heaven in which He's gone to prepare for us. How do we conquer? By not just believing the gospel sometime in the past that might have saved us, but believing it every hour of every day. If we are to trust and obey. You have to keep preaching. I have to keep preaching to myself. I got to do this. I don't feel like doing it. I don't want to do this, but I have to do it. I ought to do it because Jesus took my place. Brethren, do you know what this means? Are you not motivated? Are you unmotivated to love the Lord, to love your enemies, to love your brethren, to be obedient? Not because you feel like being obedient, but because the Lord Jesus didn't feel like dying for you. If there's any other way, Father, take this cup away. Nevertheless, not my will be done, but yours. Well, in closing, I want to point out that not only did Caiaphas ignorantly prophesy the saving grace of God's gospel, he prophesied about his own destruction. The Jewish leaders would go on to carry out their plot. They would contrive a scheme to have the Romans to put Jesus on a cross. But it would not stop the very thing they feared would happen, as was mentioned this morning. In 70 AD, the Romans would come to Jerusalem and utterly destroy the city and take away the entire Old Covenant Jewish system, as corrupt as it was even in that day. Most of these men in the Sanhedrin, if they'd have been alive in that hour, their own blood would have been running through the streets of Jerusalem. And so thus, brethren, the history proves, he who seeks to save his life will lose it. but he who loses his life for my sake and the gospel will find it." That's what happened. So I close with this. I speak to all of you. What perception do you have concerning this truth? Is your perception now that Jesus is the Son of God to whom you must believe and obey and follow to be saved? Which plot will it produce in you? Will you create excuses? Will you tell yourself something that causes you to not have to feel guilty about not doing what you know God's calling you to do? What prophecy will it foretell of your future? Will your life be saved because you lose it? Or will you save your life, lose it later, in eternity? That's what God is calling us to as Christians, too, to die daily because He took our place. Pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for sending your Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but the world through Him might be saved. Saved from the very wrath which is to come. How holy you must be, our God, that such Judgment and wrath be poured out. What a detestable thing sin is. Our Father, we thank You for Your great mercies. We ask that, Lord, today You would pour them out upon our children. Those who continue week by week, hear the gospel message. We pray that for them it might be the same as those Jews at Lazarus' tomb. That Your Spirit would fall in upon them like a dam bursting forth. seeing Christ for the first time as their Lord and as their Savior, seeking to rejoice in the great resurrection that is ours in Him. We pray unto you this prayer in Jesus' name. Amen.