And you should turn to John 5. John 5. This year we were going to every Lord's Supper Sunday be walking through fairly large chunks of the book of John as we go. And we did do that for a while. I think we missed maybe one month anyway. But we did get all the way to John 5 through verse 18 in John 5. So we're going to pick up there today at verse... I guess actually we got all the way to verse 31, because we took two sermons to go through John 5, verses 1-31. Today we'll pick up with verse 32. You might look to John 5, verse 32. And a quick review, because it does help to see the context of what we'll be looking at. In verses 1-18 of John 5, we had the healing of the man who was lame for 38 years by the pool. And that was the third of seven specific signs that John records in his Gospel. to show that Jesus is the Son of God. Signs are recorded that we see in chapter 20, verse 31, that those may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing, they may have life in His name. With the healing of that lame man, Jesus gave the example of life and salvation. the life and salvation he brings as the Son of God. The lame man had no ability to heal himself. He needed to know he was completely helpless and dependent. And Jesus took the initiative to point out his inability. And he commanded him to come. And he made him well, enabled him to rise and to walk in obedience. And then Jesus sought him out again and warned him not to sin anymore in his healed state. We said then that this is an example of that man's sinful inability. And actually all of man's sinful inability, but God's sovereign grace and mercy to save and to raise them to life while commanding the sinner to his responsibility to see his sin and respond to repentance and faith. And in John chapter five, Jesus healed the man on a Sabbath. You might recall that. And sadly, that caused a stir among the religious leaders that he would dare to do good. on a Sabbath, which is actually part of the nature of the Sabbath. And he used that dispute over the Sabbath to enter into a third of his seven discourses that's recorded in John's gospel. There's seven signs, there's seven discourses, there's seven I am statements in the book of John. And this is the discourse of Christ as the divine Son of the Father. The discourse of the Son as the divine Son of the Father in verses 19 through 47. And we went from verses 19 through 31 last time. We saw through verse 30 that Christ claimed to be the divine son of God who is equal with the father in his essence and in his works. And he was the son whom the father sent to bring divine salvation to his people. And Christ says, most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has everlasting life and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. We saw there that Jesus said he will raise the repentant, believing sinner to new life now and in the final resurrection to come. But those who refuse him will be left in their sin and will know the resurrection to condemnation in the end. So now what Jesus has done in John chapter 5 after stirring things up or maybe after lighting a fire by healing on the Sabbath and it said then they sought to kill him as a result. He then poured gas on the fire by claiming to be the divine son equal to the father. Then it said even more they wanted to kill him when he said this. He also claimed he was the Lord over life and death and resurrection and judgment and salvation. And because of that, it should not surprise us that he finishes this discourse on the divine sonship with divine proofs of his sonship, divine proofs of his sonship in verses 31 through 47. As God the Son, the second person of the Trinity, he has the right to make these claims. He doesn't have to show proofs or bring up witnesses. But perhaps as a man, God incarnate, there's a sense he needs, I put that in quotes because he doesn't need anything, but he needs to validate who he is by two or three witnesses. Certainly that was the law at the time. I think largely it was because Christ, in His grace and His mercy and His condescension, He wants to provide sinners with validation of who He is, so they'd be drawn to Him and they'd have no excuse. And so what He does in verse 31 of John chapter 5, you can look there, He says, if I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true, it's not valid. It's not saying that what he says is false. He's saying, this is his transition to his proofs. He's saying, in your eyes, what I've said makes no sense. It's not valid to you. So I'm going to provide two or three witnesses is what he's saying in verse 31. And so then in verses 32 through the end of the chapter, he finishes his discourse of his divine sonship with four divine proofs of his sonship. And it's basically a rebuke, you should have known this, because he's speaking to the religious leaders. And so he gives a fourfold witness of himself, or a fourfold testimony, not just two or three, but four, of who he is as the Christ, the Son of God. And if you look in your bulletin, you'll see a very brief outline of the main points. We'll see that he brings forth the witness of the Father who sent him, Then he speaks of the witness of John the Baptist who the father sent to declare him. Then he speaks of the witness of his works that the father sent him to do. The largest section is he brings forth the witness of the word of God that spoke of him all the time through and still does now. And may these four witnesses be a witness to us today to bring you to faith if you're outside of Christ or to strengthen your faith if you already know him. So first of all, the witness of the father who sent him. I'm going to do something that Jared would like, but I hate doing this. I'm going to bounce around a little bit. It's so much easier to go sequentially through because you don't get lost. But I want us to look at verse 32 and then verses 37 and 38. We love Jared, though. I'm not just saying that because his parents are here. But look at verse 32, we start seeing the witness of the father who sent the son. Verse 32, this is after he says, if I bear witness of myself, that's not going to help you. But he says in verse 32, there's another who bears witness of me. And I know that that witness, I know that the witness which he witnesses of me is true. He just said my, My witness might not be true to you, but I know this other one who bears witness of me. His witness is true." And the emphasis in the original is true. It's a true witness. And it seems a little bit nebulous in verse 32, but we know this is the father he's speaking of. In context, even in verse 30, he speaks about the father who sent him. He doesn't do his own will, but the will of his father who sent him. In fact, the whole context of this chapter is, I am the son of the father. So if there's any default, if somebody you don't know, you should go to the father. But if you would read through the rest of it, we will. He next goes to John the Baptist, but then he says, but I need no testimony of a man. This is for your benefit. So he's comparing John the Baptist as a man's testimony to God's testimony before he finally then gets back to the Father in verses 36 and 37, 38. So this is speaking about the Father's witness for the Son. That's the witness he has about himself that he is true. He is indeed the Son of God, the Christ, the Savior of the world. So the question might be, how is the father a witness for the son? How is the father a witness for the son? What the heart of the covenant of redemption between the three persons of the Godhead to save their people from their sin, a covenant was made before the foundation of the world. The father sent the son to take on flesh and by his life, death and resurrection to save his people from their sin. And the heart of this is that the Father is a witness for the Son. And you can think of two obvious examples that we'll look at. While the Son was sent, the Father testified to the Son in two obvious ways, in His baptism and in His transfiguration. In His baptism and in His transfiguration. So if you want to look at his baptism, you can look to Matthew 3.13-17 to see the Father testifying, witnessing of the Son. In Matthew 3.13-17, in verse 13 we read of Matthew 3, Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by John. And John tried to prevent him, saying, I need to be baptized by you, and you're coming to me. It's a wonderful picture. John the Baptist recognizes, I have a baptism of repentance and belief. Repentance for sin and belief in the Messiah. And yet you're coming, the sinless one, who is the Messiah, and I am the sinful one, and you want me to baptize you? This does not seem right. It should be the other way around. But in verse 15, Jesus answered and said to him, permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. What you see here is when Jesus is baptized by John, He identifies in his baptism with the sinners he came to save. It's a picture of he who knew no sin became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God. He identified with sinners who would be baptized to be identified with him after the reception of his salvation, his atonement. It's much like Jesus says he's the bronze snake that was lifted up in the wilderness by Moses. And if you look at that snake and you will live, you need to look at me and live. That bronze snake represented the sin and the destruction. He took on that sin. Look to him and live. But also Jesus' baptism. was to identify Him with what He came to do. He identifies with His people by being baptized. He identifies with what He came to do, to be put to death, and to be buried, and to be raised to new life, to take on the sin of His people and to impute righteousness to them. And therefore, this was to fulfill all righteousness for Him to be baptized. What a beautiful picture it is. And we have the blessing. We had a baptism not long ago. We have a baptism this coming Sunday as well. that baptism is the believer who's publicly identifying with Christ as he's already been spiritually identified in union with Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection. And here the beauty of this is that Christ identified himself with us by being baptized as well. Then in verse 16, In Matthew 3, when he had been baptized, because John allowed him to do so, Jesus came up out of the water, immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon him, and suddenly a voice from heaven from the Father. saying, this is my beloved son in whom I'm well pleased. And the father testifies to the son of who he is. A second time we can see this testifying, this witnessing is in the transfiguration. If you're in Matthew, you can turn to Matthew 17. We'll look just at verse 5, but in Matthew 17 you have Christ, he goes up to the mountain and you have Elijah and Moses appearing with him, but he shows his glory in some sort of fashion, the blindingness of his glory. It's almost like he pulls his flesh back to reveal his divine sonship and his glory. And Peter, as he's apt to do, he speaks too much. He says, hey, we should build some tents up here and stay. This is a great place to be. And so in verse 5 of Matthew 17, while Peter was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them. And suddenly a voice came out of the cloud saying, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Hear him. Not Elijah, not Moses, not even Peter. This is my beloved son of whom I'm well pleased. hear him. I think this is in fulfillment of what Moses prophesied in Deuteronomy, when he says there's going to be a prophet, not like me, but but like me, and that he will come from the brethren, but greater than me, and him you shall hear. And now the father is repeating that even now. Perhaps a third testifying of the Son by the Father would be in His Word, and we'll look at that later. The most important way the Father testifies to the Son is through His Word. You have baptism and transfiguration, but through His Word, but that's actually one of our points later, so we'll look at that later. So you see, here's some cases of the Father witnessing for the Son. So look at verses 37 through 38, when Jesus actually gets to speak more about that. He says, and the father himself who sent me has testified of me. He's already spoken of John the Baptist and the works that the father sent him to do. Then he says in verse 37, and the father himself who sent me has testified of me. You have never heard his voice at any time, nor seen his form. But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe." I hope you can see the rebuke in that. He's saying, the Father has testified of me since the fall. You can look all the way back to Genesis 3, and there'll be a seed of the woman who will conquer the seed of the evil. And throughout the whole scripture, we have the testifying of the Son to come, and now the Son who has come. But the religious leaders, with their hard hearts and their pride and their unbelief, they had never heard his voice. They had never seen his form, because they did not have faith. And the irony was that if you see Jesus, you've seen the Father. If you hear Christ, you hear the Father. The Son is a perfect representation of the Father and the revelation of the Father. And he's standing before them, and they do not believe. And so Jesus says, you've never heard his voice at any time, nor seen his form. And he's standing right before you now, and you don't see or hear him even now. And why is it? Because you do not have his word abiding in you. You have a hardened heart, a stony heart. It has no spirit, it has not been regenerated, it's still stuck in its pride, it has not repented and believed. And you cannot believe. Because you refuse to believe is what the rest of this passage will tell us as well. It's sobering to reject the testimony of the father regarding his son is to continue in unbelief. If you reject what the father has said about his son, you've said, nope, I'm not going to believe it. And you're condemned already and you will continue to be condemned. And the problem is not the evidence or the witness. The evidence and the testimony and the witness of the Son is perfect. The problem is the heart and the will of the sinner. And if you're outside of Christ, we urge you to repent and believe and call on God for help to bow before Christ and repent and believe. So you have the witness of the Father who sent the Son. But then with verse 33 through 35, we have the witness of John the Baptist who is sent To declare the Son, John the Baptist was sent as a forerunner to prepare the way for Christ and to declare Christ as the Son of God. Look at verse 33 then. You have sent to John, remember earlier in the Gospels the Pharisees said, Why don't you go check out this John the Baptist guy, see what's going on. They sent to check him out, and they liked what they saw at first perhaps, but it didn't last long. So he says, you have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. He has borne witness to the truth. How did John bear witness to the truth? We'll turn to John chapter 1, starting in verse 29. Whereas the Pharisees and the leaders that Jesus was speaking to could not hear, and could not see, and could not believe in the Son or the Father, John the Baptist saw and heard the Son, and he did believe. And then he testified as a witness for him. In John chapter 1, starting in verse 29, the next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, this is he of whom I said, after me comes a man who is preferred before me, for he was before me. I did not know him, but that he should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water. It's a wonderful passage. Jesus is the lion who would conquer and rule, but he had to first be the lamb to be slain for sinners. He was preferred before John because he was before him. That means he had preeminence and priority before John because he existed eternally before John, before he took on flesh in a moment in time. In verse 32, John bore witness, saying, I saw the spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and he remained upon him. I did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, upon whom you see the spirit descending and remaining on him, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. Where is John baptized with water? Christ will immerse you into the Holy Spirit, that you might be born again. It's interesting that John both saw and he heard the Son, and so he saw and heard the Father, whereas the religious leaders could not. So in verse 34, and I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God. This is the Son of God. So we see the testimony of John the Baptist, that this is the Son of God. John was sent by God to testify of the Son, and because of that, he is a great example for us. If you're still in John 1, look at verses 6-9 and what was said at the very opening of the book of John, the prologue. In verse 6 of John 1, there was a man sent from God whose name was John. This man came for what? A witness. And to do what? To bear witness of the light. that all through him might believe. He was not that light, but was sent to bear witness of that light. That was the true light which gives light to every man coming into the world." So his job was to bear witness as a lamp for the light that would actually give light and life to men. So you look at verse 34 in chapter 5 again. Your fingers move that fast. In John chapter 5, after saying, you sent to John, he has borne witness to the truth of who I am. Verse 34, yet I do not receive testimony from man. That seems odd. He's basically saying, I don't need man's testimony. I'm doing this for your benefit. Why? I say these things that you may be saved. That's the point. I bring up these testimonies, and in particular, the testimony of a man, even though he was divinely sent. that you might be saved. That's what John was preaching and testifying as well. In verse 35 it speaks of John the Baptist. He was the burning and shining lamp and you are willing for a time to rejoice in his light. That means they no longer do. It's interesting, the lamp emphasizes a not self-sufficient light. A lamp needs to have oil given. It needs to have a match to start it. It needs to have its wick trimmed. It doesn't have the light by nature just to be there, but that lamp of John the Baptist was then lit. And by the Spirit of God and by the plan of God said he might then shine the light on the self-sufficient light of the world who gives life, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Son of the Father. So John was a lamp who would illuminate the way to the real and true light that gives life. It's interesting, when John did this, he did it with great joy. He's an example for us in this, that it gave him great joy to testify for Christ. In John chapter 3, verses 29 and 30, John says, he who has the bride is the bridegroom. He's distinguishing himself from Christ and his church. But the friend of the bridegroom, that would be him, who stands and hears him rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. Therefore, this joy of mine is fulfilled. It brought him great joy to see the Messiah and to testify of him. Therefore, he says, he must increase, but I must decrease. This is a great example for us in both his actions, his attitude, and the joy that comes from being a witness for Christ. May we be the same way, remembering that all disciples in Christ Jesus are empowered by the Holy Spirit. who also is sent by the son to testify of the son. Later, Jesus would say in John chapter 15 and instructing his disciples before the cross, he says, but when the helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the father, the spirit of truth who proceeds from the father, he will testify of me. And you also will bear witness. You will also bear witness because you have been with me from the beginning. And I have news for you. We know from Acts chapters one and two that the spirit of God actually has come. And all those who are born again by the spirit have the power of the spirit to be witnesses for Christ, that the gospel might go out to the ends of the earth and make him proclaimed and bring great joy to the one who does the testifying. May we be as John the Baptist in this way. So we have the witness of the Father, we have the witness of John the Baptist. That takes us to verse 36. The third witness would be the witness of the works that Christ was sent to do. The witness of the works that Christ was sent to do. Look at verse 36. He said, there's another who bears witness. You know about John, but then he says, but I have a greater witness than John's witness. For the works which the Father has given me to finish, the very works that I do, means I'm doing works now, and there'll be works that I will finish. Because of those, they bear witness of me that the Father has sent me." Which is another way of saying, I am the Son of God. Bring light in life. Christ transitions. to the witness of the father, that comes next, but before he gets to the father in verse 37, he stops at the works the father sent him to do. And those are the works he was sent to do. He was doing them at that point and he would finish them. What about the ones he was doing where we're talking about works of signs and wonders and miracles to validate and to be a witness of who he is. We know from all of scripture that God has used miracles and signs to validate his promises and his work and his people. Some of us are reading in 2 Kings, and so we've seen Elijah and Elisha and the signs and wonders that God gave through them to validate who they were and what they were doing. The apostles, even in the book of Acts, To validate who they were and the work of the gospel to go forth, it was validated by signs and wonders. You think in Acts chapter 2, there were signs when the gospel was given so the Jews would know that this was something of God. In Acts chapter 8, the Samaritans saw signs and wonders and said, yes, this is of God. Acts chapter 10, there are signs and wonders. So the Gentiles would know. And even Acts chapter 19, the disciples of John who didn't know about Jesus, there are signs and wonders to show, to say, yes, indeed, this is the gospel, the final gospel. And God is good at this, using signs and wonders in the past to validate what he is doing. but they're no longer necessary for the gospel of Christ and the scriptures have been established. And so in Hebrews chapter one, we read that God who at various times and in various ways spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, but he has in these last days spoken to us by his son and his speaking through his son is finished. We have even greater things in signs and wonders with salvation through Christ in the scriptures In the book of John, we said there's seven signs in John's gospels that are supposed to attest then to the identity of him as being the son sent by the father. In chapter 2, he turns the water into wine to show that this son of God brings joy and life. And in John chapter 4, he heals the nobleman's son. And he says, go your way. Your son lives. And he gives life to the son. And this nobleman believed. In chapter 5, The man who is lame for 38 years was told to rise and walk and sin no more. In chapter six, you'll see him feeding the multitude and he uses this to show that he is the bread of life. Take of me and eat and believe and you will no longer hunger. Later in in john chapter six, he walks on the water and the other gospel accounts. It says that afterwards that the disciples worshiped him and declared him as a son of God by seeing him do this. In John chapter 9, the man who was blind from birth was given sight, and he was asked, do you believe in the Son of God? These were signs to testify to him as the Son of God. And in John chapter 11, Lazarus was left dead for three days until he stinketh, the King James says, and he miraculously raised him from the dead. And he says in John chapter 11, I am the resurrection of life. He who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this? And she said to him, yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world. So he was doing these works that the Father sent him, as he said. But there are also spiritual works, works of life and death and resurrection, spiritually, that he would finish. There are even greater miracles and bring greater miracles. Spiritually, Jesus would cast out demons. He'd forgive sins. Only God can do this. And he promised eternal life and salvation. which the greatest miracle, the greatest creation is the creation of life out of a dead sinner's soul to make him new and to raise him to new life. And Christ lived a perfect life as a man to fulfill the moral law of God perfectly. Never a transgression in him of God's law or a missed opportunity to love God or to love neighbor. Can you imagine fulfilling the law of God perfectly? Never a sinful thought or desire in the heart of him. That's where sin starts. And he died a perfect death as a man to suffer the wrath of the Father for the sins of his people. And though he was sinless, he became sin for us to the point of death, humiliation on the cross, and in the grave. And he rose to new life to conquer sin, death, and hell, and to impute his perfect righteousness, and to give eternal life to all those who would receive him in repentance and faith by all of the testimonies and witnesses about who he is and what he has done. He would finish these works. He would say it is finished. The perfect atonement for the sin of his people would be done. The cross is empty, the grave is empty, but the throne is occupied and his reign in return is guaranteed. So when Jesus said in Matthew chapter 20 verses 17 through 19, as he was taking his disciples up to Jerusalem, he said to them, behold, we are going up to Jerusalem and the son of man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and to crucify him. But on the third day, he will rise again. And He has done it. He has finished those works. The greatest works that point to who He is. That should point you to Him. For salvation. And salvation alone in Him. So we see the witness of the Father. We see the witness of John the Baptist. We see the witness of the works that He was sent to do. Then finally starting in verse 39. Because we are skipping 37 and 38 because we already covered that. We see the witness of the Word of God. Really, the witness of the Word of God is the ultimate, most important witness for Christ. It is the greatest witness we have. It's ultimately what you must have. All Scripture points to Christ. Christ and his work and his church are at the center. That's from the Old Testament to the New. Christ is throughout the whole book. If you don't see Christ in it, you're missing it. All of the Old Testament points to Christ. There's over 300 prophecies that point to him very clearly. And if you say you're seeking Christ, but you're not in his word, you're not really serious about seeking him. If you say that you love Christ, but you're not in his word, you're deceived or mistaken or lying. We find who Christ is through His Word. That's the greatest testimony. Jesus, on the day of His resurrection, He's talking with some of His disciples on the road to Emmaus. And they did not believe that He would be raised, and they were confused. And it's in Luke chapter 24, verses 25 through 27, if you want to turn there. In Luke chapter 24, verses 25 through 27. Jesus talking to these disciples on the road to Emmaus. Now He's the risen Lord. It says in Luke 24, 25, He said to them, O foolish ones, foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that what? That I said? No, all that the prophets have spoken. He's speaking about the scriptures they had, which was the Old Testament. Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory? And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he expounded to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. Almost said a whole bunch of things that maybe we look at the scriptures for, but that would almost be rude. Concerning himself. Wouldn't you have liked to have been there? Every time you read that passage, you can't help but dreamily look off into the night. Wouldn't you have liked to have been there? I wouldn't mind being called foolish and slow of heart to have Christ, the Lord of Glory, open up His word and say, here I am, here I am. A few weeks ago, we saw Philip telling the Ethiopian eunuch, here is Christ. But to have Christ himself do this and expound all of the scriptures, the things concerning himself, I think that's a large part of what we'll be doing in eternity. Because we'll never be able to run the scriptures dry of all of the truths of who God is and to know who he is. And later, that same chapter in verses 44 and 45, Jesus is now talking to the disciples, if you will. The twelve, or how many of them might have been at that point. I think there's only ten together at that point in time. In Luke 24, verses 44 through 45. And again, they didn't believe. They didn't understand. They couldn't fathom how someone would be put to death and then be raised again. And if they just had the Old Testament scriptures, they should have known it, but they had Christ himself telling them these things. And verse 44 of Luke 24, then he said to them, these are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you. He'd already told them that all things must be fulfilled which are written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning me, concerning me. And he opened their understanding. You need the Spirit of God to illumine your mind, as well as the Bible to be open before you, that they might comprehend the scriptures concerning Christ. So the ultimate and most important witness of Christ is the Word of God. Take it, read it, cherish it, make it be part of you. But in John chapter 5, Starting in verse 39, he says, this is rebuke. He's talking to the leaders of the Jews, those who are supposed to know the scriptures, are supposed to be teaching the truth of the scriptures, but they're full of their own pride, thinking they could figure out things for their own glory and their own eternal life, but they miss Christ in it because of their hard hearts and pride. You search the scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life, like you can do it. And these are they which testify of me. The scriptures testify of me, but you're not willing to come to me that you may have life. You see what he's saying? The problem is your pride in your hard heart. You thought you could get life on your own. You're not willing to come to him. The problem was not the witness of the word, but the problem was the unbelief of the hard heart. They did not want to see Christ or to come to him. So in verses 41 through 44, I do not receive honor from men. Again, it seems odd, but what he's saying is, I could not care less about receiving honor and glory and praise from men, but you do. That's all you care about. And it makes you miss the God of glory in the scriptures and miss the son of glory himself. I do not receive honor from men. That's not what I'm interested in. But I know you, because he is God, that you do not have the love of God in you. They have no love for God in them. They've not been born again. They have a dead heart and persistent unbelief. So whatever they're doing as leaders, religious leaders, they're doing for their own glory and not for God. So is it any wonder that they don't know the Son is right before them? I have come in my Father's name and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, him you will receive. And we have all sorts of teachers or false messiahs who will come and they throw themselves to them so they might have honor and praise from them in return. How can you believe who receive honor from one another and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God? Jesus knows their heart. They don't have love for God, but they have love for self. If they had loved God, they would have loved and received the son whom he sent. but instead they receive men to receive honor from them, and not to honor God. So in verses 45 through 47, we see that due to their prideful, hardened hearts, they do not love God, and they will not believe the Scriptures, and they will not believe Jesus. And those three things are synonymous to love God, You must believe the scriptures and you must believe Christ. You can't have one without the other. Do not think that I shall accuse you to the father. In other words, I don't have to accuse you or condemn you. You're already condemned. There's one who accuses you, Moses, in whom you trust. For if you believe Moses, you would believe me. If you read the word and you love God and you believe his word, you'd know who I am. For Moses wrote about me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words? Reminds us of the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. And the rich man is in hell. He said, if I just have a bit of water, just go tell my brothers. And the response is, basically they have the scriptures. Even if someone were to be raised from the dead, they would not believe. They have the scriptures. We see the importance of the scriptures here. You cannot love God without love for the Son and without true belief in the Scriptures. They're all the same thing. The Scriptures are the divine testimony of God and the divine testimony of who Christ is as the Son of the Father. And you must believe in Him via repentance and faith through the Word of God for eternal life. What's so important about the Word of God? Well, just briefly, This is just almost just off the top of your head. You think of all of the Old Testament from Genesis to the end. In Genesis chapter 3, we see the seed of the woman promised who would conquer the seed of the serpent. That is Christ. In Genesis chapter 12, we see the seed of Abraham who would be the blessing of all nations. That is Christ. In Exodus, we see the Passover lamb who whose blood must be shed to save sinners and to give them life. That is Christ. In Leviticus, we see the priest who have to be without blemish, whose sacrifices have to be given for the sacrifice of sin. That is Christ, who is the priest without blemish, whose sacrifice would be a once for all sacrifice of himself. You see in the book of Numbers, the bronze serpent that's to be looked upon. That they might live, that's Christ who is raised up on the cross, and if you look at him, you will live. We see in Deuteronomy that there's a prophet who's prophesied who'd be greater than Moses, who'd be raised up from the brethren, from the Jewish people, and him you shall hear. In 1 Chronicles, we see he's not merely a priest and a prophet. He's the king. He's the seed of David, who will rule and reign forever. In Isaiah, we see who this king is and what it's going to take. In chapter 9 of Isaiah, we see he's the child who is born, but the son who is given. He would be born a child, but he'd be the given son from eternity, who would be the wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting father, prince of peace, who would rule over his kingdom without end. But how does he get there? When Isaiah 53, we see he's the suffering servant. He's a man of sorrows, who'd be stricken, smitten, and afflicted by God the Father to bear the sins of his people, to conquer sin, death, and the grave, to provide righteousness, and be the one who justifies many. And we see in Daniel chapter seven that the Son of God is the Son of Man who then ascends to the throne in victory, and who indeed does rule forever. That's just a smattering from the Old Testament. of this Christ with the word of God that testifies for him. Pastor Dale Crawford had conclusions about this passage. I think you're helpful. He said the ultimate revelation of God is his son. We can only know God through his son, but this is by his word and spirit. And the son reveals the father, but the father testifies of his son. The Father verified his Son through various witnesses and ultimately it rests on the Word of God. The ultimate purpose of the Word of God is to declare Christ. The testimony of the Word and of the Son is clear, but lost men will not believe. The Word must be received and believed. You reject your Bible at your own condemnation. And you need regeneration and illumination by the spirit to come to Christ in repentance and faith. Rejection of divine revelation by men in no way diminishes its authority and the rejection of the divine son in no way diminishes his glory. But the problem of fallen humanity is its great desire to display his own glory, craving exaltation by men. But Jesus did not do this. He's intrinsically glorious, yet few see his glory and surrender before his excellence. It's your hard heart and unbelief that is your undoing. Don't let this be you. Come before God. Come before Christ with a repentant heart, believing in Christ, opening up his word and believing what the word of God says unto life. I'd like to close by actually reading from the Old Testament scriptures of what is said about Christ and also to prepare us for the Lord's Supper. And I hope you don't get weary of Isaiah 53. We looked at it a couple weeks ago. I want us to look at Isaiah 53 and actually read through it just in its solemnity. Then we'll pray, and then we'll proceed to take the Lord's Supper. In Isaiah 53, How can you not see Christ in Isaiah 53, starting in verse one, who has believed our report and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he, speaking of Christ, shall grow up before him as a tender plant and as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness. When we see him, there's no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised. rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and we hid, as it were, our faces from him. He was despised and we did not esteem him. Surely he has borne our griefs, do you see the substitutionary atonement predicted, and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted, but he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities, and the chastisement for our peace was upon him, and by his stripes we are healed. Oh, we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned every one to his own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, he opened not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment. And who will declare his generation? For he was cut off from the land of the living. For the transgressions of my people, he was stricken. And they made his grave with the wicked. He was crucified with transgressors. But with the rich at his death, he's buried in a rich man's tomb. Because he had done no violence, nor was there any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him. He has put him to grief. When you make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed. He will have offspring, those who are born again in him. He shall prolong his days and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see the labor of his soul and be satisfied. By his knowledge, my righteous servant shall justify many. He brings justification through faith, for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong. Because he poured out his soul unto death, and he was numbered with the transgressors, and he bore the sin of many, he made intercession for the transgressors. This indeed is the word of God speaking of Christ, and he has done it. Let us pray. Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for the abundance of witness that you've given us. Your witness, O Father, the witness of John the Baptist, the witness of the works you sent your son to do, and we even marvel most of all for the works that he has finished. It is finished indeed. Sin has been atoned for. Death has been conquered. The evil one is conquered. And for those who come to Christ, their sins are forgiven and righteousness is given. And the promise of eternal life, both now and forever, is given even now. We have the witness of the Word of God that tells us all of these things. It is the ultimate witness and the best of all witnesses. I pray Lord for those who are outside of Christ today that these witnesses would be used by the power of your spirit to convict in their hearts to see their sin and to see who you are and to see who Christ is and what he has done that you would then lead them to repentance and faith. May them do everything possible to bow before the cross, to desire to give up everything the world or they might have could offer for the glory of Christ and salvation in him. for those who are in Christ. May this be an encouragement and a strengthening of their faith to see the witness that you've given us that we can then give to others as well. And help us then, as we've just read through Isaiah 53, to keep these thoughts in mind as we then sing, O sacred head now wounded, and prepare ourselves for the observance and the celebration of the Lord's Supper to remember Him and what He has done even today. In Jesus' name we pray these things. Amen.