Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's take this opportunity to find our seats, silence our electronics, and prepare our hearts for worship. It's okay. Yeah, he's that big Sunday too. so so of you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to Dayspring Fellowship. We are delighted to have you with us on this beautiful morning. And I want to especially extend a warm welcome to those of you who are visiting us. And for those who are visiting us for the first time, we have a stack of these booklets titled Ultimate Questions that we would love for you to pick up a copy for free on your way out. It's on the hall table. And while you're there, sign our guest register so that we can have a record your visit. We're glad that you are all here this morning. I want to direct your attention to the inside of your bulletin where you'll see that we are continuing on in the Sunday school hour, every Lord's Day morning at 945, right here in this room. We're working our way through 1 Samuel. We're in chapter 25 this morning and looked at David's marriage to his wife Abigail, future queen of Israel. And if you were providentially hindered from joining us, you can grab that online on Sermon Audio or from our website, dsf.org, this week. And I want to point out that our sermon passage for next week is a long one. It's the Gospel of Matthew, first two chapters, chapters 1 through 2. You'll want to be meditating on those two chapters in your private devotions or your family worship time this week in preparation for next week as we enter into our Advent season together. And then I want to direct your attention to the announcements on the right-hand side there. You'll see that this Sunday's the last Sunday for me to mention to you this free online resource by D.A. Carson, a book titled Love in Hard Places. We are called to love all people, to love our neighbors as ourselves. And in a fallen world, love is done. in hard places, because we're called to love our religious enemies, to love our national enemies, to love our political opponents and our neighbors and our estranged family members. And so this is a book that really helps to equip us and train us up in that task of loving others from scripture. So I encourage you to grab a hold of that free book online. this week and be reading it. We are shifting gears in the year 2025. On our second Wednesday evenings, instead of lectures, we're going to have testimonies. We're going to hear from you, from Dayspringers, telling the story of how God brought them to salvation, how he changed their life, what he's been doing in their life ever since their conversion. So I want to encourage you to attend these Wednesday nights, but also to let me know if you would like to share your testimony in the year 2025, and we will add you to the calendar. We have a lot of traditions that we are fond of, our beloved December traditions, and so Notice that this December the Austin Symphony will once again be performing Handel's Messiah on Tuesday, December the 3rd. This is going to be at Riverbend Center at 8 p.m. You can purchase tickets at austinsymphony.org. This is a majestic work of art that sets God's Word in the King James Version to music and tells the story of the Messiah from his promise in the Old Testament, to his virgin birth, to his perfect sinless life, to his sacrificial death and triumphant resurrection, his ascension into heaven, that's where you get the hallelujah chorus, and then his powerful coming again to set all things right and to establish a new heavens and a new earth. So it's just a majestic work of music that I encourage you to attend in preparation for worship during the Advent season. You'll also see that after the service next week, so Sunday, December the 1st is a week from today, We want to help decorate this building for our Advent season. So after the service is over, feel free to bring a brown bag lunch or something to eat. We're going to be pulling things out of storage and decorating this chapel. It's kind of a free for all. Day springers get to decorate this place however you want to decorate it. You can bring your own decorations. We have plenty in storage that we'll be pulling out as well. And that is in preparation for our whole Advent season. And one of the first things up is our annual Christmas party, which will be held in the Fellowship Hall at 6 o'clock p.m. on Saturday, December the 7th. So there is a sign-up sheet on the hall table for signing up for the food that you want to bring to that Christmas meal. We hope to see you all there. And then we have some other important December dates listed there for you. December 11th is a Wednesday evening. That's when I'll be giving my final lecture in this lecture series on Heaven and Hell. And then December 14th, the ladies are going to have their gift exchange at 11. So no Gospel of John for the ladies this month. You'll resume that in the new year. And then December 18th, that's a Wednesday evening. There's going to be neighborhood Christmas caroling right here in this neighborhood. We'll meet up here at 630, go out by candlelight, as we always do, and sing for our neighbors the gospel, invite them to come to our Christmas Eve service. And then you'll see that on December the 22nd, that'll be our scripture and songs worship service. at 6.30. If you want to sing a song or perform a musical piece, let Jonathan and Alyssa know as they put together that particular evening's order of service. And then finally, on December the 24th, our Christmas Eve candlelight service will be held right here in this room. It starts promptly at six o'clock. This is the only service that we have that always starts right on time at six. We're done right at 6.30 so that you can go enjoy Christmas Eve with your family, but we do encourage you to invite your friends and neighbors to come to this candlelight Christmas Eve service. It's a very warm, one of our favorite little services that just involves scripture reading. congregational hymn singing. And then finally, a few volunteers are needed after today's service to help put away our fall decorations in preparation for the Advent decorations. So see Sandy if you're willing to help in putting away fall decorations after the service today. That's it for announcements. And so as we begin worship this morning, I want to invite you to please turn in your blue hymnal to hymn number 82, 8-2 in the blue. Hold your place there and please stand together for our call to worship. Our call to worship this morning comes from the Apostle Paul's first letter to the Corinthians. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet, for the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised and perishable. and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin. and the power of sin is the law, but thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. Let us sing together. I heard an old, old story How a Savior came from glory How He gave His life on Calvary To save a wretch like me I heard about His groaning Of His precious blood's atoning I repented of my sin and won the victory. Oh, victory in Jesus, my Savior forever. He sought me and He bought me with His redeeming blood. He loved me ere I knew Him, and all my love is due Him. He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood. I heard about His healing, of His cleansing power revealing, how He made the lame to walk again, and caused the blind to see. And then I cried, Dear Jesus, come and heal my broken spirit, and somehow Jesus came and brought to me the victory. O victory in Jesus, my Savior forever! He sought me and bought me with His redeeming blood. He loved me ere I knew Him, and all my love is due Him. He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood. I heard about a mansion He has built for me in glory And I heard about the streets of gold Beyond the crystal sea About the angels singing And the old redemption story And some sweet day I'll sing up there The song of victory Oh, victory in Jesus, my Savior forever. He sought me and He bought me with His redeeming blood. He loved me ere I knew Him, and all my love is to Him. He plunged me to victory beneath the claims He fled. Let us pray together. Our merciful God and gracious Heavenly Father, Lord of all heaven and earth, we praise you today and we rejoice that there is coming that day when we will see Jesus face to face, our Lord and King who reigns over all. And we give you thanks for giving us the victory in Jesus, victory over sin, victory over death, and we thank you that we can glorify and worship you today because of all that you have done for us in him. We are utterly dependent upon you for every good gift and every perfect gift. All that we have has come to us by your grace, and so we come to praise your holy name, to thank you for your mercies to us. They are new every morning, and we thank you, Heavenly Father, manifesting your great love to us and sending your only son, your beloved son, to die for us while we were still sinners. We thank you, Lord God, that in his name we may draw near to you. And Father, we pray that as we do that and come to worship you this day, that it would be in spirit and in truth that your Holy Spirit would Fill us with joy in you and give us, Lord Christ, a reverence for you as our Lord and our Messiah. And we pray that we might have a deep love for you as our Savior, which would spill over into our love for one another, for all people. We pray, Heavenly Father, that you would work all of these things in us by your Holy Spirit, by your invincible power, that you would be with us as we praise you, that you would supply all that we need as we exhort one another with the singing of these hymns and psalms and spiritual songs, and as we meet with you in prayer, and as we celebrate the Lord's Supper, as we hear your word read aloud and proclaimed, that you would be pleased and that you would receive all glory and honor. For Jesus' sake and in his name we pray, amen. Amen. We may be seated for the reading of God's word. Good morning. Our reading comes from Revelation chapter 1 verses 4 through 8. John to the seven churches that are in Asia, grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come. and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth, to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins in his blood, and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and father, to him be the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him. Even those who pierced him in all tribes of the earth will wait on account of him. Even so, amen. I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. Well, we celebrate the Lord's Supper every Lord's Day here at Dayspring, and we want to welcome you to the table. It is an exclusive table, so it is not for everyone. It's especially not for those who are good, upright, religious people fitted for God's presence. It is for desperately wicked sinners who know that they have no hope except in Jesus Christ alone. And it's for desperate sinners who have turned and trusted on the Lord Jesus. In a moment, we're going to sing a song that says it well. It says, let not conscience make you linger, nor of fitness fondly dream. All that God requires of sinners is to turn and trust in Him. And so if you have turned and you have trusted in Jesus Christ alone, this is the first and most important thing that we ask of you, that you are one who has been saved by God's grace alone, through faith alone, in the Lord Jesus Christ alone, to His glory alone. There is no boasting on our part. And then secondly, we ask that you be a baptized believer, but we do leave the details of your Christian baptism up to your own individual conscience. So as you look to scripture, if you're able to answer in the affirmative, have I been obedient to my King, Lord Jesus, in baptism? And then finally, thirdly, we ask that you not be under church discipline from your local congregation so that we might respect the work of our Lord as he builds his church here in this world. As we prepare for the Lord's Supper, let's turn to hymn number 428 in the Blue Hymnal, 4-2-8, as we remind one another that we come to this table as sinners, poor and needy. Come ye sinners poor and needy, bruised and broken by the fall. Jesus ready stands to save you, full of pardoning love for all. He is able, He is able, He is willing, doubt no more. He is able, He is able, He is willing, doubt no more. Let not conscience make you linger, nor of fitness fondly dream. All that He requires of sinners is to turn and trust in Him. He will save you, He will save you, tis the Gospel's constant theme. He will save you, He will save you, tis the gospel's constant theme. Lo, the incarnate God ascended, pleads the merit of His blood. Venture on Him, venture wholly, let no other trust intrude. None but Jesus, none but Jesus can do helpless sinners good. None but Jesus, none but Jesus, can do helpless sinners good. Well, this is the week that the nation in which we all sojourn celebrates Thanksgiving. And in my home, In the Van Court home, it's not the first Thanksgiving celebration of the year, because last month we celebrated a Canadian Thanksgiving together. But it's also not the first Thanksgiving of the year for you either, because there is a much older Thanksgiving celebration that goes all the way back to the first century. As the early church, we see this starting from the earliest writings after the New Testament was completed. So starting with the Didache and then into the Epistles of Ignatius. The early church referred to this supper, the Lord's Supper, as the Eucharistia, transliterated into English, the Eucharist, translated into English, the Thanksgiving. the Thanksgiving, which means that the early church viewed the Lord's Supper as among other things, a Thanksgiving meal. And this makes perfect sense because as we celebrate the Lord's Supper, we're reminded not only of what Jesus went through on the cross, his body and his blood and how he suffered, but we also remember what he has done for us and in us through and because of the cross, which should cause us to give him thanks and praise. And so as we celebrate communion together and remember, once again, the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus, I want us to focus this morning on being thankful. There are so many things that we can be thankful for as we remember what Jesus accomplished on the cross. But I just want to mention to you three things today which come from the familiar passage that we're about to read once again as we do every Lord's Day from 1st Corinthians 11. So first, be thankful for all of God's provisions to you. On the night in which Jesus was betrayed, he took bread and after giving thanks, Eucharist, he broke it. So here's an example to follow, right? Giving thanks for the provisions from God for everything from our daily bread to the ultimate provision of a savior. Which brings me secondly to be thankful for God's sacrifice. Jesus goes on to say, this is my body which is given for you. Had he not willingly given his body as a sacrifice for you, you would still be in your sins and under the eternal wrath of God that he chose to take upon himself on the cross for you. So third and finally, be thankful for his covenant with you. Jesus said, this cup is the new covenant in my blood, the new covenant that Jesus cut on the cross. It brings about the complete removal of guilt, and a new way of approaching God, and new relationships with God's people. So as we partake today, let us be thankful for the blessings in our lives, for the sacrifice Jesus paid for us, and for the new covenant that God has made with us through his blood. And so I speak as to sensible people. Judge for yourselves what I say. The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. Whoever therefore eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world. Brothers and sisters, let's take a moment of silence before the Lord to examine ourselves. Our Heavenly Father, how grateful we are to you today and how we praise you and thank you that you have provided us with life and breath and daily provisions and ultimately, ultimately the provision of a Savior and a substitute who sacrificed himself in our place so that we might be reconciled to you through the new covenant in his blood. And so we ask you to Bless this bread and this cup, sanctify these elements for their holy use, and bless us in partaking of them to do so by faith alone, in Christ alone, to his glory alone, and so in a worthy manner. In Jesus' precious name we pray, amen. For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night when he was betrayed, took bread. And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, this is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way also, he took the cup after supper, saying, this cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, You proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. This is the body of our Lord, crushed for our iniquities. This cup is the new covenant in Christ's blood, shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins. morning now if you will take your insert out of your bulletin we will be singing in Christ alone alone my hope is found He is my light, my strength, my song, this cornerstone, this solid ground, firm through the fiercest drought and storm. What heights of love, what depths of peace, when fears are stilled, when strivings cease, my comforter, My all in all, here in the love of Christ I stand, in Christ alone, who took on flesh fullness of God in helpless babe. This gift of love and righteousness, scorned by the ones he came to save. Till on that cross, as Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied. My every sin on Him was laid. Here in the death of Christ I live. There in the ground His body lay. Light of the world by darkness slain Then bursting forth in glorious day Up from the grave he rose again And as he stands in victory sin's curse has lost its grip on me. For I am His, and He is mine, bought with the precious blood of Christ. No guilt in life, no fear in death, This is the power of Christ in me. From life's first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny. Power of hell, no scheme of man can ever pluck me from his hand. Till he returns or calls me home, here in the power of Christ I'll stand. Well, this time I'm going to tell the story. Last time we sang it, I didn't tell the story, and some people wanted to know, what is the story? Most of you know it. The story behind this hymn that I like to tell is back in, I think it was about 2013, I was having lunch with a friend of this church, a friend of the founding pastor. named Sinclair Ferguson, and he's the one who told me this story. Those of you who are at the Wednesday night lecture this month on theological liberalism, fundamentalism, and evangelicalism, you'll be interested to know that the PCUSA, Presbyterian Church of the United States of America, We studied about them on that Wednesday night. They were the group who were putting their ministers on trial for heresy, for straying from the essentials of the doctrine back in the turn of the 20th century, as many of their ministers in their denomination began to deny essential things of the faith. And as we studied in that part of history, Eventually, those who were denying the essentials of the gospel won and took over that whole denomination. And so that denomination, it's the mainstream, mainline Presbyterian denomination in America today. They loved this hymn, and they wanted to incorporate it in the new rendition of the hymnal that goes out to every church in the entire denomination across the country. But they didn't like one part of the hymn, and so they wrote to seek permission from Keith Getty and Stuart Townsend to see if they could have permission to change this hymn to say, instead of, till on that cross as Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied. If they could change that, the wrath of God was satisfied to the love of God was magnified. And the authors of the hymn wrote them back. said, no, you don't have permission to change this hymn. Because while we agree that on the cross the love of God was magnified, the love of God was only magnified in that the Lord Jesus Christ took the wrath of God so that the wrath of God was satisfied. Well, let's turn now in our red hymnal. So if you would take your red hymnal, you'll find one on the rack in front of you. To the back of the red and to page 796 in the red, what we're going to do is read responsibly Psalm 34. Please stand together. I will extol the Lord at all times. His praise will always be on my lips. My soul will boast in the Lord. Glorify the Lord with me, let us exalt his name together. I sought the Lord, and he answered me. He delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant. Their faces are never covered with shame. This poor man called, and the Lord heard him. He saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them. Fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing. Come, my children, listen to me. I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry. The righteous cry out and the Lord hears them. He delivers them from all their troubles. A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all. He protects all his bones. Not one of them will be broken. Evil will slay the wicked. The foes of the righteous will be condemned. The Lord redeems his servants. No one will be condemned who takes refuge in him. Let us pray together. Our Father, we come before you this day thanking you that you have given us salvation through our seeking refuge in you, that we are safe in the arms of our Lord Jesus. We thank you that you are our eternal creator to whom we owe worship, to whom we owe everything. You've substituted your own son in our place, and you have purchased your church with his blood. We pray, Lord God, that you would be with your redeemed church today when we lift up this congregation to you. We ask that you would be very much present with us. We thank you for calling us together, for sustaining us in our faith. for giving us spiritual gifts, for giving us extraordinary opportunities to share in the privilege of working to spread your kingdom by proclaiming your gospel. We pray, Lord God, for all who are in need today, that you would provide healing for the sick and comfort to the afflicted. We pray especially for families who are missing loved ones at Thanksgiving, that you would be with all who are traveling this week and bring them home safely. Lord, make us a light that illuminates your love and presence to all of our lost loved ones this holiday season. We pray for your church throughout the world today and ask that you would continue to bless your church, to add to it daily as many as are being saved. We lift up to you Pastor Rob Satterfield at First Baptist Church in Oak Hill this morning. We pray, Lord, that you would fill him with your Holy Spirit and that you would enlarge and enrich that congregation for your glory. We lift up to you Mayor Watson and Governor Abbott and President Biden and President-elect Trump that you would save each one of them from their false religions, Lord, that you would give them saving faith in your son for your glory and for the good of your church. We pray for our missionaries. We thank you for sustaining them, Lord, in their labors. We pray that all Israel might be saved. And finally, we pray that the whole earth might be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. In Jesus' name and for his glory, we pray. Amen. Well, you may be seated. And our children may go out to Children's Church at this time. And as they go out, Let me invite you to take your copy of God's inspired, infallible, inerrant word and turn with me in that copy to John chapter 19. We'll be finishing up chapter 19 today. And also, we're finishing up our study of the book of John, at least for this year. We're not finishing up the whole book, obviously. There are chapters 20 and 21 left. But we're going to be coming back, Lord willing, to those in the new year, and then finish up the entire book probably sometime in March. What we've been studying recently has been the betrayal, the arrest, the trial, and the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ. And as we were reminded of last week, The Apostle John wants you to know that none of this is an accident. None of it's just happening to Jesus outside of his control. The whole idea that Jesus was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, saying the wrong things, and he just somehow got rolled over by the wheel of history and got himself killed, that is just wrong, and the Apostle John wants you to see that. He wants you to see that from the moment that Jesus knocks down all the soldiers in the garden with just the power of of his voice, to the moment when he turns the tables on Pontius Pilate and puts Pilate on trial, really more than Jesus is on trial, to the moment that he cries out to Telistai, it is finished from the cross, and he gives up his spirit. John wants you to see that nobody is taking the life of Jesus. Jesus is laying down his life of his own accord. Well, today we're picking up the story here at verse 31. And for the first time, it looks just unavoidable that finally some things are gonna happen to Jesus that he is not in control over. And why is that? Well, it's because he's dead, right? We left off last week with him giving up his spirit. He is a corpse hanging on a cross. He can't possibly be in control now, right? And yet, even here, the Apostle John wants us to know that what the soldiers finally do to his body and what they don't do in not breaking his legs, that is controlled 100% by the Lord in fulfillment of the scriptures. Every bit of this is a detailed part of God's sovereign plan. It has all been in place since the very beginning of time. And it's all meant to communicate, yet again, who Jesus really is and what Jesus has just accomplished by dying on the cross. So let's read the passage together, then we'll talk about what John is saying to us through it. He writes there, beginning in verse 31, since it was the day of preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath, for that Sabbath was a high day, The Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who had been crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. He who saw it has borne witness. His testimony is true. And he knows that he is telling the truth, that you also may believe. For these things took place that the scripture might be fulfilled. Not one of his bones will be broken. And again, another scripture says, they will look on him whom they have pierced. After these things, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus. And Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body. Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about 75 pounds in weight. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. Now in the place where he was crucified, there was a garden. and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. So because of the Jewish day of preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there. So you've got two major parts to this passage, clearly. First, you've got in verses 31 to 37, that whole paragraph there, the actions of the soldiers while Jesus was still on the cross, So you've got them, you know, breaking the legs of the two insurrectionists who are crucified on either side of him. But when they get to Jesus, they find out that he's already dead, and so they don't break his legs, but instead one of the soldiers takes his spear and thrusts it up into Jesus's body, and blood and water come out. And John says there at the end of that paragraph that both of those things are not just bare details, they're fulfillments of Holy Scripture. And then in the second part of it, in 38 to 42, you've got the story of these two men, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, first preparing Jesus' body for burial and then placing it in this tomb that's nearby in a garden that's not far from the place of the skull, the place of the crucifixion. Now at first glance, I realize that this is one of those passages in the Bible that's very easy to just skip over without giving it too much thought. I mean, it seems like what you've got here is just the detailing of some of the events that happened after Jesus died, and it's basically just serving as a bridge to get you from Jesus on the cross, dead on the cross, to Jesus in the tomb. so that then we can get on to the resurrection in chapter 20. That's what it might seem like. But I think that if you look at this a little closer, and you start to really look at the details, you start to look especially at some of the ways that scripture is used from the Old Testament, this passage, I think you see that even in these moments where Jesus's dead body is still hanging on the cross, John sees immense significance here. In fact, I hope, my hope and prayer is that what you will see by the end of this sermon is that in some ways this passage right here serves as kind of the climax to the entire book of John. Now, I know the resurrection is coming, and that's kind of the theological climax of it all, but in the way that John has been telling his story, and the way that he's been leading up to the moment of Jesus's greatest glorification, this moment right here has a good case for being the climax of the whole book. Why? because John has been telling us from the very beginning of this book that this moment, ironically, this moment, when Jesus is dead, is the moment of his greatest glory. It's when he's exalted, it's when he's been lifted up, it's when, as Jesus has said over and over again, the hour of his glorification has now come. And now he is drawing people to himself, as we'll see in just a moment. So the main idea of our passage this morning is this. Here's the main idea. Look to the crucified king and be transformed. That's what happens over and over again in this passage. Look to the crucified king and be transformed. It happens here. It has happened in many of your hearts already. And I imagine that there are some here today for whom this needs to happen over the next few minutes. We pray that that will happen. You need to look to the crucified King, and you need to be transformed. You need to be changed. I want to look at this passage today in just two points. They correspond to those two paragraphs there, so 31 to 37, and then 38 to 42. Here are the titles of the sermon points. First, the piercing of the lamb, the piercing of the lamb, and second, the honoring of the king, the honoring of the king. And what you're gonna see as a theme throughout both of these sections is that people are looking to the pierced king and they are being transformed. So point number one, the piercing of the lamb. We ended last week with Jesus sovereignly giving up his spirit. So by the time you get to verse 31, Jesus has finished his work. He has paid the debt in full. He has fulfilled all of God's promises. The work is done, and he is now dead. which is surprising to everybody that's involved, because it has only been about three hours that Jesus has been hung up there on the cross, that they only got him up there about noon, and then one of the other Gospels tells us that there were three hours of darkness, right? At the end of that, Jesus cried out, in a loud voice, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? The darkness lifts, and then he cries out again, Tetelestai, and then he dies. And now, basically, the Jews wanted to make sure to get this business of crucifixion over with quickly. And you can see that here. If you look at verse 31, this was the day of preparation, which was the day before the Sabbath. So we're talking about a Friday here. If you've been wondering about the whole debate about whether Jesus died on Thursday or Friday, it's right here in verse 31. This sort of nails that case down. We're talking about the day of preparation. That's Friday. the day before the Sabbath. In fact, the early church continued to refer to this day as the day of preparation. That was the name for Friday, and Sabbath was the name for Saturday. So Jesus, he's dying on a Friday, and by now, on that Friday, we know, just from the chronology of how things work, that it's getting on towards 3 p.m. So if you say the sunset's around 6.30 or 7 p.m. at this time of year in that part of the world, then you're only talking about three more hours or so until sunset, when the Sabbath would begin. and everything needed to be finished up by then, because you cannot do any work on the Sabbath. And also, according to Jewish tradition, you also couldn't have people still hanging on a crosses, right, dead or alive on the Sabbath day, especially on this kind of high Sabbath of the Passover week. Remember, we're in one of the highest, holiest festival weeks of the entire Jewish calendar, and the Sabbath that fell inside that week is considered one of the highest Sabbaths of the entire year. So we don't want dying or dead people on the cross. So what do you do? Well, if you're the Jews, you go ask Pontius Pilate to do a little something to hasten the process by breaking the legs of the crucified men. Now this is actually not an unusual action. The Romans, they did this all the time. Where the Roman soldiers would, when they decided that they were tired of this whole business and one of the people on the cross, you know, had yet to die, they would take a giant, heavy mallet and they would swing it into the leg bones of the people who were hanging on the cross and shatter those bones. Because if your legs are broken and shattered, you can't push up anymore to take a breath. And so you asphyxiate much more quickly that way. So that's what they do here. They start on the outside. They break the legs of the two insurrectionists, the ones who were crucified on either side of Jesus. But when they get to the center, they notice, to their surprise, that Jesus is already dead. So in verse 34, instead of breaking the legs, one of the soldiers, he reaches up and he thrusts his spear into his side, which John says caused a stream of blood and water to flow out. And there are a few reasons for those details. is that John was there, right? John was an eyewitness to all of this, like he says in verse 35 there. And so he's recording a detail that he himself witnessed. The second reason, not just eyewitness, but everyone would have recognized this detail of blood and water flowing out of his side as proof positive that Jesus was really dead. He had not just swooned. He was not just in a coma. He was not some sort of heavenly being that looked and appeared dead. No, he was a man who was dead. And even the fluids that had filled up in his chest cavity were starting to separate. The heavier blood on the bottom and then you had this lighter water on the top. And so when the spear pierced that cavity, all of it ran out, first the blood and then the water. Jesus was really, really dead. That's part of what John wants you to see here. But if you look at 36 and 37, you can see that John sees even more significance in all of this. If he wanted you to just understand that Jesus was dead, he wouldn't have written verses 36 and 37. He wants you to see the significance scripturally speaking, the significance that all of these aren't just details, they are details that continue to speak, to speak about who Jesus is and what he has accomplished now in dying on the cross. So let's look at it together. Look at verse 36 first. He says, these things took place so that the Scripture might be fulfilled, not one of his bones will be broken. What's that talking about? It's talking about the fact that they didn't break his legs like they did the other two, and John says that is a fulfillment of God's Word, that none of his bones shall be broken." Okay, so where does that come from in the Old Testament? Well, clearly it comes from Psalm 34. You heard it as we read it together just a moment ago. The Lord protects the righteous one's bones. Not one of the bones will be broken. But it's not just that prophetic psalm. More significantly, both the psalmist and the apostle John are thinking of Exodus chapter 12 here, where the Israelites are told what they ought to do with the lamb that they've just slaughtered on the Passover. The Passover lamb, remember, whose blood they smear on the doorposts of their houses. Here's what's written in Exodus chapter 20. of this lamb. God says to his people, it shall be eaten, that lamb shall be eaten in one house. You shall not take any of the flesh outside the house and you shall not break any of its bones. Then it goes on and it tells you other things. Now that's a small detail, but to John, seeing Jesus' bones surprisingly not being broken causes all the meaning and significance of everything he's seen year after year in the Passover and everything that he's seen in the life of Jesus, everything he's heard Jesus say about the significance of his own death, it causes all of that significance of the true and once for all Passover Lamb of God to crystallize in John's mind and he realizes who Jesus really is. John looks up at the cross and he sees the truth of it all. that John the Baptist had said all the way back in chapter two, this is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And John thinks, I am saved by the blood of the Lamb. And then there's the piercing of his side with the soldier's spear. And John sees here a fulfillment of Zechariah 12.10. So look at verse 37. And again, another scripture says, they will look on him whom they have pierced. So he's saying that when the centurion's spear goes into Jesus' side, when Jesus is pierced, that is the fulfillment of Zechariah 12.10, that they will look on him whom they have pierced. Zechariah 12 is a passage that's talking about the king of Israel, future king, the Messiah, being killed by his own people and he's pierced. So John looks at that story in Zechariah 12 and he says that that's Jesus. He sees that layer of meaning there, the king, the rightful Messiah has now been killed by his own people and pierced just as Zechariah had prophesied. So that's one layer that he sees, but there's another layer to it too, because what's so fascinating about Zechariah 12, 10 in particular, is that the pronoun, the object of the sentence, it keeps switching between me and him, me and him. Now John shortens it, so you can't see it in the book of John in the quotation here, but let me just read it you. This is Zechariah 12 10. The Lord God is speaking and the Lord God says, they will look on me, on him whom they have pierced. Do you hear that? God says they will look on me, on him. the King whom they have pierced. So who gets pierced? Is it him, the Messiah King? Or, as God puts it, is it me, God, who gets pierced? Well, both, right? Because it turns out that the pierced Messiah King is God. And then once you see that, there's even another layer of meaning underneath it, especially in the water that pours out when Jesus is struck. I mean, think about that for a second. Do you remember another place in the Old Testament where water comes out when God is struck? Exodus 17, when Israel's wandering around the wilderness, they're about to die of thirst, and they come to this place called Meribah, right? And God says to Moses, behold, I will stand before you there on the rock, and you will strike the rock. The point being, with me on it, and water will come out of it. That's why so many times in the Old Testament, God says to the people, I am the rock, right? I am your rock and there is no other. It's because right there in the wilderness, the rock was struck instead of the Israelites who were grumbling and complaining and wanted to go back to Egypt, right? God was struck instead of the Israelites. Rock, capital R, and life came forth. And then throughout the rest of the Old Testament, that image of flowing water just shows up all over the place as a symbol of the blessings of salvation, the Holy Spirit, eternal life, forgiveness, cleansing, the removal of sin, the washing. All of those things are said to flow from God. The rock was cleft, and we were saved. blessings flowed out. So we sing that song, Rock of Ages, right? Cleft for me, let me hide myself in thee. Let the water and the blood from thy riven side which flowed be of sin the double cure, right? Save me from its guilt and power. You see the point of all that, that John seems to be seeing, even in the dead body of Jesus, as it continues to hang on the cross, as he looks at Jesus's dead corpse upon the cross, John's mind fills up with all of these images from the Old Testament, all of which ultimately end up pointing to salvation, and to the death of the king being necessary for that salvation. He sees it, and he sees it in living color. Jesus is the unbroken Passover lamb. He is the pierced king. He is the stricken rock. He is the one who wins salvation for his people. Now look closely at verse 35. It's fascinating. Look at what John says right in the middle of the story. So he breaks in here as narrator. He interrupts this, and he says, he who saw it has borne witness. That's John, who is seen and borne witness. His testimony is true, and he knows that he's telling the truth, that you also may believe. Now, why does verse 35 show up right here, at this point, while John is staring at the dead body of Jesus? Why does he place this here? I mean, John is an eyewitness to a whole bunch of things, right? So he could have put a verse like 35 in many, many different locations throughout this story. And yet he puts this verse where he says, I have seen and I have borne witness, he puts it right here. Why not back at the trial? Why not at the point of it is finished? Why is it here that he puts verse 35? Well, I think there are a couple of reasons. One reason that I'm pretty certain about, so I believe this is the reason that it is here, and then one reason that I'll admit I'm not so sure about, but I wonder if it might be true. So the one that I'm sure about is because the last time that John used this form of words of him being an eyewitness, seeing Jesus, the last time he used that was all the way back in chapter one. It's chapter one when he said, the word became flesh, dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory. So do you see what he's flagging for you by using the same form of words again? What he's flagging is what we've been learning throughout the entire book. Where is Jesus's glory? We have seen his glory. What does it turn out that that glory is? His death. His death, that is when he is exalted. That's when he's lifted up. That's when he draws all men to himself. That is the hour of his glorification that has now come. So John, he calls back to that time when he said that we have seen his glory, and he says, it's right here. We see his glory. We saw his glory. We saw it right here, right now, in his death. That's what I'm seeing. That's when I'm seeing his glory. That's when I saw him, John says, for who he really is. That's when I understood. Now that brings up the second reason, perhaps, maybe, why John put verse 35 right here. I want to be straight up with you. It's a bit speculative, so I don't know that this is the case. I can't say so for certain, but I really, really do wonder. I really wonder if this was the moment right here at the foot of the cross, watching all of these events happen, and having all of these Old Testament themes and images flood into his mind. I wonder if it was right there that John, the apostle, actually became a Christian. I wonder if that was the moment of his conversion. Now, why do I say that? Well, because again, with that call back to chapter 1, John just seems to be saying here, this is when I beheld his glory. This is when I saw him for who he really is. But look also at the reason John gives for why he says this. At the end of verse 35, he says there, so you also may believe. That is so interesting. Because at the end of the book, when he says a very, very similar thing, that I've testified to what I've seen so that you might believe and by believing might have eternal life." When he says that later, there is no also, but here. at the foot of the cross, when John is staring at the dead body of Jesus, when he understands who Jesus is and beholds his glory, he's saying, I'm bearing witness to these things so that you also may believe, just like I did when I saw these things. It's personal for him. He's staring at the crucified king and it changes him. For some, some of you here today, you need to do that today. You need, like John, you need to stare at the crucified king and you need to let him transform you. You need to see him for who he really is. You need to behold his glory. You need to think deeply about what he has done. You need to see him as the Passover Lamb of God who dies so that you don't have to die, so that you're passed over by God's judgment. You need to see him as the pierced, stricken king whose death brings salvation and joy and life and eternity. And when you look at Jesus, when you're sitting here this morning staring, metaphorically I understand, but staring at the dead body of Jesus hanging there on the cross, what do you see? And the problem is that different people see different things. I mean, notice that John, he wasn't the only one who saw Jesus hanging on the cross, right? The soldiers did too. But you know the difference? Look at verse 33. All they saw when they looked at Jesus is that he was dead. That's it. When they look at Jesus, they just see a corpse, not John. Not John. His mind and his heart came alive, and he saw his salvation. What do you see? What do you see when you look at the crucified lamb? Here's point number two, the honoring the King, the honoring of the King. So moving into that second paragraph there, verses 38 to 42, They come sometime later after all of these events in the first paragraph, so an hour or two later at the most. And when you first read it, the story, it seems pretty straightforward here. You've got this guy, Joseph of Arimathea, who used to be a fearful disciple of Jesus, who now does this very brave thing. He goes to Pilate, asks for the body of Jesus. Nicodemus also, whom we met in chapter three, came bringing this mixture of myrrh and aloe, 75 pounds of it. They embalm the body of Jesus, they anoint the corpse, and they lay his body in the new tomb, which happens to be nearby in a garden. I mean, again, it just seems like it's filling in the details of how Jesus' body basically got from off the cross into the tomb. But as always, in the book of John, There is way more to it than that. So for one thing, look at these two men, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, who do this work of embalming Jesus's body and then placing it in the tomb. What do these two guys have in common? What do these two men have in common? Well, one thing that John doesn't tell us here, though we know from other places, is that both of these guys were Pharisees. They were even members, both of them, members of the Sanhedrin. So to come out as public disciples of Jesus in this way was an incredibly dangerous thing. It was dangerous from a Jewish perspective. It was also dangerous from, you know, just the perspective of the Romans. because Jesus has just been executed for sedition, right? And normally anyone who's a friend of his gets tracked down, too, and also executed for sedition. So they're doing a very, very brave thing here. What else do they have in common? Well, we know that until now, until this moment, when they go to Pilate and get the body of Jesus, we know that both of them have been afraid to let themselves be known as followers of Jesus. Verse 38, John says it straight up about Joseph. He was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews. And then look at that phrase in 39 about Nicodemus. Nicodemus, also who earlier, or at first, is actually how it reads, who at first had come to Jesus by night. And why is that significant? Well, because we know that the Apostle John, over and over again, he uses night, physical darkness, as we've seen, as a symbol of spiritual darkness, right? So when Judas is going out to betray Jesus, remember it says, and Judas departed, and it was night. He's talking about spiritual darkness. Well now he reminds us that in chapter 3, Nicodemus came to Jesus by night in spiritual darkness, but now the night seems to be broken. See what's happening here? Now that Jesus has died, now that Jesus is dead, these secret followers of his are coming out of the darkness. They're doing this incredibly brave thing of letting themselves be known as his disciples now. Now put it all together. Think about John, think about Nicodemus, think about Joseph of Arimathea. What's going on here? over and over again, now that Jesus is dead, now that he's died, all these people are coming into the light. They're becoming public disciples of Jesus. You've got three of them right here. You've got Nicodemus, you've got Joseph, both coming out of the darkness, and then I think you've also got John, at the same time, sort of light dawning on him and becoming a Christian and coming into the light. And in another gospel, you've got the centurion, right, the Roman centurion. Also, after Jesus's death, right there, just his dead body hanging on the cross, and the centurion looks up at him and says, surely this man was the Son of God. It's fascinating, isn't it? Now that he's dead. People are coming to him. But that's exactly what Jesus said would happen. Remember, he said, when I am lifted up, I will draw all men to myself. Look, wouldn't it be incredible? I mean, wouldn't it be just absolutely incredible if this is the day when the same thing happens to you? When he is lifted up, you are drawn to him. it would be an incredible thing for you to say with all of these people, as you're looking at the dead body of Christ, I also believe. I want you to notice something else here, too. Normally, when the Apostle John says something like, he was a disciple secretly because of fear of the Jews, or when he said something like, he came by night. Throughout this gospel, it's usually a thundering verdict against that person, like every single time, but not here. Not here. Here it's a description of who these men used to be in the past. Why? Because they've made a decision to come out of the darkness. and everything changes for them. The last thing I want you to notice here are all of these details that are given about the way particularly that Jesus was buried. So look at verse 39. He tells us that Nicodemus brought some embalming spices, and look at how much of it there was. 75 pounds, which if you look at the footnote below, if you have one in your Bible, it'll tell you it's a very round number. It's 100 Roman pounds, as the Romans weighted things. It was known to be 100 pounds of this stuff. Now, you really didn't need that much spice to embalm a body, unless you were burying a king. We know from other sources that this is the normal amount for a king, a round number of superabundance of spices, 100 Roman pounds of myrrh and aloes to bury a king. And then look at verse 41, at where his tomb was. It's in a garden. Why? Why is that significant? John mentions it two times right here. He's going to mention it again later in chapter 20 when Mary mistakes the risen Jesus for the gardener, right? Why is John so fascinated with it being a garden? Well, there's probably a couple of reasons. I mean, it was in a garden that God breathed life into the lungs of the first Adam. And it's here in a garden that he will do the same for the last Adam, the new humanity, the first fruits of the resurrection and the new creation right here. Also, though, there's something else. If you read the Old Testament over and over again, what you find is that kings were buried in gardens. And then I want you to just notice here how all of this falls into place so quickly. I mean, I don't know if you've ever been involved in putting together a funeral, but it's not something that happens quickly. It's not something that happens over just a couple of hours. And yet all of this happens over just a couple of hours. I mean, where do you get 100 pounds of spices so quickly? Where do you find a garden with a brand new tomb so quickly that's really close to the site of the execution? Where do you find linen strips on the evening before the high Sabbath of the Passover? It's as if God has prepared it right from the very beginning. And that's what you do for rulers, right? That's what you do with sovereigns. Everything is ready for when they die. After the it is finished, after the to tell us die, God no longer treats his son as a condemned sinner. He treats him with royal honor befitting of his station. How do you treat him? Do you still treat him like a condemned criminal, somebody to be cast aside? or do you treat him with the honor that befits his station? Jesus is a merciful king. He sits right now on the throne of the universe with his arm outstretched, his hand extended to you to show you mercy. Go to him. Go to Him and find salvation from the crucified Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Let us pray. Our Lord Jesus, we honor you today with praises that are befitting of your station as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Lord Jesus, you're not just King Jesus the Great, you are King Jesus the Crucified and Resurrected. You are King Jesus the Redeemer. You are King Jesus the Savior. You're the one who gave yourself for us so that we might live in your presence forever. We pray that you would help us to remember these things every day of our lives and to live in the light of them. We ask all of this in your name and always to your honor and praise and glory. Amen. Please stand together. Remember that Sandy needs a few helping hands to put away the fall decorations and preparation for next week when we decorate for our Advent season. And we wish you all a happy Thanksgiving, and now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of His Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.