Least in the Kingdom of God
Notes
Transcript
Opening Illustration
Opening Illustration
Johnny the painter, was big on cutting corners so he could make more of a profit.
So, when a church hired him to paint their wooden building, Johnny submitted the lowest bid, and was hired.
As always, he thinned his latex paint with water to stretch it.
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One day while he was up on the scaffolding -- the job almost finished -- he heard an oppressively loud burst of thunder, and it began raining cats and dogs.
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The torrential rain washed the thinned paint off the church while intense winds blew Johnny off his scaffolding to the church graveyard, surrounded by puddles of thinned paint.
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Johnny interpreted this as a warning from God above, so he got on his knees and cried:
“Oh, God!
Please forgive me!
What should I do?”
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God’s voice thundered from heaven:
“Repaint and thin no more!”
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So, in other words...
Repent and sin no more...
That command...
To “repent and sin no more” is how Scripture describes the Gospel message in it’s simplest form.
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We are called to repent of our wicked ways...
We are to surrender and turn our life to God...
And we are to begin a life where we are no longer under the rule of sin...
So we are to no longer make a habit of sinning.
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This is not a popular message...
People hate to be called out on their sin...
People don’t want to change...
They think they can claim to follow God and continue to live a sinful life...
And anyone who tell them otherwise is the enemy.
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Yet, Scripture is clear...
There is no real debate on the matter if we are being honest...
Jesus preached the message of “repent and sin no more”...
And His forerunner likewise preached the same message of “repent and sin no more.”
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That message was accepted by the humble in heart...
And tragically rejected by the prideful and arrogant.
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So, please turn your Bibles to the Gospel of Luke.
We will conduct our study in Chapter 7 and focus on verses 24 through 30.
Our message this morning is titled, “Least in the Kingdom of God”
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This message today will focus on the words of praise Jesus had for His forerunner...
This message will also focus on the Kingdom of God...
And how those who accepted the call to “repent and sin no more” are truly following God’s desire and will...
While the ones who reject this call will be disappointed.
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So, this morning we will cover three main points:
More Than a Prophet...
Greater Than He...
And...
Two Responses.
Opening Prayer
Opening Prayer
Before we consider our text, please join me in prayer...
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Heavenly Father...
The one true God and Creator of everything seem and unseen.
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Thank You for revealing Your truth and recording it for us in the Scriptures so we have a guide for our life...
Your word is perfect and we cherish the whole counsel of the Word of God.
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Watch over us as proclaim Your life saving truth...
And protect us from those who attack us and slander us for following Your will.
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Equip us to to fight the battles we must engage in while living in this broken world...
Equip us with the full Armor of God...
And train us in every way so we can stand firm as we experience challenges and trials.
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Teach us all we are to learn from this life...
That includes the things we must learn as we go through the storms of life...
We know that You have decreed them and allow them for a greater purpose.
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Forgive us for our pride and carelessness to sin against You...
We confess our shortcomings and desire to live lives that honor You, Heavenly Father.
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And it is in Jesus’s name we pray all these things...
Amen.
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Let’s turn to our text for today:
Reading of the Text
Reading of the Text
24 When John’s messengers had gone, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?
25 What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are dressed in splendid clothing and live in luxury are in kings’ courts.
26 What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
27 This is he of whom it is written, “ ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’
28 I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”
29 (When all the people heard this, and the tax collectors too, they declared God just, having been baptized with the baptism of John,
30 but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.)
So, let’s look at our first point...
1) More Than a Prophet
1) More Than a Prophet
Verses 24-26: When John’s messengers had gone, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are dressed in splendid clothing and live in luxury are in kings’ courts. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
Jesus opens this message to the crowds right after speaking with John the Baptist’s messengers...
Last Sunday we covered that exchange of John sending two disciples to confirm if Jesus truly was the “Expected one.”
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As you may recall John was in prison at this time and was starring to feel some doubt as Jesus did not meet his expectation of the long promised Messiah...
But John was quick and wise to go directly to Jesus with his doubts and will soon be satisfied with Jesus’ response once his messengers report back what they have seen and heard.
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So, now at this time Jesus addresses the crowds to share His praise for John the Baptist...
And He focuses on the role that John was called to be...
A role that was even more than a prophet.
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As we know from earlier accounts from the Gospels...
Great crowds of people would travel many miles to see John the Baptist in the wilderness...
Passages like Mark 1:5 confirm this:
5 And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
But what did these people go out to see?
That is the question Jesus repeats over and over again to the crowd...
In fact three times He asks “What then did you go out to see?”
The repetition of the question is intentional to draw us to what Jesus is saying and He is making a very important point...
And that point is that the crowds travels to the desert to see John because he was clearly a prophet...
And not just a prophet but he was more than that.
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So, let's take a look at those questions proposed by our Lord and Savior...
He first says, “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?”
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What exactly does Jesus mean by going to see a reed shaken by the wind?
Well, a “reed shaken by the wind” suggests something flimsy and uncertain...
However, as we have witnessed in our study of the Gospel of Luke...
John the Baptist is far from being flimsy and uncertain.
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Next Jesus says, “What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing?”
Jesus explains that if you want to see someone dressed in “splendid clothing” then one would seek them out in “kings’ courts.”
Yet, John had a very different fashion sense ad attested in Matthew 3:4 which says:
4 Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.
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So, both these questions are rhetorical and demand a negative answer...
The crowds did not travel all the way to the desert to see a reed shaken by the wind or a man dressed in soft clothing...
Jesus is saying the crowds came out for a very different reason.
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As noted by the Reformation Study Bible, Jesus was essentially saying:
“Reeds are predictable in the wilderness but not worth traveling out to see.
Well-dressed courtiers belong in kings’ courts, so crowds would not seek them in the desert.
What had drawn multitudes into the Jordan wilderness was a spokesman sent from God—in fact, the great messenger sent to prepare the Lord’s way.”
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In other words...
Like it says in the Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament on Luke:
“The figure says that John is neither ordinary nor spineless nor uncertain.
That characteristic is not what drove people to go miles to see and hear him.
Rather, he was a man of conviction.
His arrest by Herod for condemning the ruler’s marriage showed his resolve.”
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The crowds came to see someone they believed was a prophet sent from God...
And as Jesus says, “Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.”
John was so much more than any other prophet that cam before him.
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All throughout the Old Testament prophet after prophet point to the coming Messiah...
They pointed with their words...
Yet, John the Baptist pointed Him out in person...
He was not just saying the Messiah is coming...
He was saying the Messiah is here!
He was not just sharing another future prophecy with the people...
He was preparing the way for the Messiah as His personal forerunner...
As Isaiah 40:3 says regarding John the Baptist:
3 A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
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I love how the New International Commentary on the New Testament on Luke sums this all up an says:
“By His first question He points out that John is an unwavering, determined man—one who could not be moved by the opinion or influence of men to be unfaithful to his divine calling.
For no one and for nothing did he flinch from accomplishing his vocation.
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The second question to which again a negative answer must be given, together with the words following upon it, gives the hearers a clear idea of the Baptist’s attitude as a prophetic preacher of repentance who denied himself to the utmost for the sake of making his message most effective.
He denied himself all earthly comforts and luxury and appeared in the rough garments which were appropriate to his vigorous call to repentance.
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He is a prophet, but also much more than a prophet, because he did not only prophesy concerning the Messiah’s coming, but also saw Him personally, pointed Him out to others, and helped to prepare them for the Messianic advent through his preaching and baptism.”
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Jesus then reveals the high praise that John receives as the forerunner...
But then reveals something even more amazing...
That fact that being the least in the Kingdom of God is even better than being having the role of being the forerunner of the Messiah...
And this takes us to our next point.
2) Greater Than He
2) Greater Than He
Verses 27-28: This is he of whom it is written, “ ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’ I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”
First off...
This in no way was saying that John the Baptist is not part of the Kingdom of God.
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What Jesus is saying is that to be in the Kingdom of God...
Even if you are the least in the Kingdom...
Is far greater than any previous prophetic office in the old covenant...
For those in the new covenant have had so much more revelation.
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Just look at what we covered last week with John’s doubts...
John the Baptist as the forerunner did not have the same understanding of Jesus that we know have because we have be given even greater revelation.
As Hebrews 11:39–40 says:
39 And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised,
40 since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.
The writer of Hebrews talks about of the Old Testament heroes of faith and how they believed in the one who was promised....
But it is us now who knows who that promised one is and experiences all the blessings and revelations associated with the new covenant.
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At the same time Jesus is revealing to the crowds that John may have been the greatest man born among women but he was pointing to Someone greater...
And that someone is Him as He is that long promised Messiah that is the King of the Kingdom of God.
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So, as the MacArthur New Testament Commentary on Luke says:
“At this point, Jesus seized the opportunity to confirm His messiahship and put the crowds in an untenable position by pointing out the reality that because they accepted John as a prophet, they must therefore accept his testimony to Jesus being the Messiah.
If John were a prophet, that testimony was true; on the other hand if his testimony was not true, then he was not a prophet.
And John could hardly have deserved the honor of being called the greatest man who ever lived if he lied about Jesus being the Messiah.
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Based on societal norms, John would not be considered great.
He would be viewed as anti-social, abrasive, politically incorrect, and in general a bothersome, irritating nuisance.
He had no wealth, social prominence, or formal education.
He achieved nothing notable by the typical standard of measure; he held no position, built no organization, and left no literary works.
But God’s standards for greatness are the absolute antithesis of the world’s, and by those standards John was greater than anyone before him, including all the exalted persons of the Old Testament record, like Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Joshua, David, Solomon, and all of the prophets.”
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In the Gospel of Matthew we get additional words from Jesus on what He said in this account that can be found in Matthew 11:12-15 which says:
12 From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.
13 For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John,
14 and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come.
15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
So, John the Baptist in a lot of ways marks the end of the Old Covenant and beginning of the New Covenant...
As Luke 16:16 puts it:
16 “The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone forces his way into it.
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So, John the Baptist was greater than all the other Old Testament prophets because he actually saw with his eyes the Messiah...
John was greater than all the other Old Testament prophets because he actually personally participated in the fulfillment of what they only they prophesied regarding the Promised One.
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Jesus confirmed John’s status of being the forerunner by quoting the Old Testament to show that John is that type of Elijah figure that would announce the Messiah...
So, Jesus quotes Malachi 3:1 which says:
1 “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.
Malachi confirms that this messenger is a type of Elijah in Malachi 4:5–6 which says:
5 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.
6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”
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John the Baptist was not Elijah in the sense that he was the prophet reincarnated which is not even biblical...
But he is a type of Elijah just like Jesus was a type of Adam...
That is why Jesus is called the second Adam...
They share certain similarities.
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Later in the Gospel accounts Jesus will make this connection explicit so that His disciples will understand what He means by calling John the Baptist a type of Elijah...
We see this in Matthew 17:11–13 which says:
11 He answered, “Elijah does come, and he will restore all things.
12 But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands.”
13 Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.
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Now, despite John’s greatness as the forerunner and being a type of Elijah, all believers after the cross are greater still...
The reason, as we discussed before, is that they truly participate in the full understanding and experience of something that John the Baptist merely foresaw in shadowy form...
We have full understanding and experience the actual atoning work of Christ on the cross.
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So, as a prophet, John belonged to an era that is was coming to a close as the kingdom of God is introduced...
And in this sense, he is less than those who are in the kingdom.
Simply put, those who come after John live in the age of full revelation and fulfillment.
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In other words, as the Reformation Study Bible says:
“Even those who are ‘least’ in Christ’s kingdom are in a greater prophetic position than John the prophet because they have received greater revelation than John, having witnessed the full earthly ministry of Jesus, which John only anticipated and announced.”
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Furthermore, let us consider this note by New Testament scholar Robert H. Stein in which he says:
“This should not be interpreted as a denigration of John the Baptist.
The main contrast in this verse involves the contrast between human greatness and membership in the kingdom of God.
Even being the greatest prophet is less important than being a lowly member in God’s kingdom.
Membership in the kingdom is more wonderful than being the greatest of human beings.
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That John the Baptist would share in the final consummation of the kingdom is evident from Luke 13:28 (which says):
28 In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out.
There may also be a sense that although John was both a bridge crossing the ages and part of the inauguration of God’s kingdom (note he too preached the ‘gospel’), yet he lived before the greater realization of the kingdom at Pentecost.
Thus, although John marked the beginning of God’s kingdom and overlapped it, he may be viewed here as the last great figure of the old era.”
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Beloved, we take for granted the revelation that God has gifted us with...
We are no longer waiting desperately for the Messiah...
He already came and we know Him...
And not just intellectually know who He is but if we repent and surrender to Him we know Him as having a relationship with Him...
And He has showered us with many gifts included the whole counsel of the Word of God has been revealed and given to us...
Likewise, other gifts have been given to us that the saints of the Old covenant never got to experience like the fact that the Holy Spirit now indwells every single believer and stays with them as a seal until glorification.
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In summary of this point the MacArthur New Testament Commentary on Luke has a few good points we need to consider:
“In contrast to John and the others in the era of promise, believers in the era of fulfillment have the full record of the life of Christ in the gospels, the spread of the gospel by the Spirit’s power in Acts, the explanation of Christ’s person and work and the purpose of God in salvation in the epistles, and the details of Christ’s glorious return to establish His earthly kingdom and the eternal state that follows it in the book of Revelation.
Believers in the era of fulfillment also have the indwelling Holy Spirit to empower and guide them.
As a result, we understand truths not understood by those in the era of promise, not even by its greatest prophet, John the Baptist.
Paul identifies those truths as mysteries, hidden in the Old Testament, but revealed in the New. They include:
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The mystery of Christ’s incarnation; that He would be both God and man, a truth hinted at in the Old Testament, but not made clear.
The mystery of Israel’s unbelief.
The mystery of Gentile salvation.
The mystery of Jews and Gentiles united in one body.
The mystery of the indwelling of Christ in believers.
The mystery of lawlessness embodied in the future antichrist.
The mystery of the rapture of the church.
The mystery of the summing up of all things in Christ.
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Those in the era of fulfillment have full revelation concerning the depravity of man, Christ’s substitutionary atonement, resurrection, ascension, and future return in glory, heaven and hell, the justification, sanctification, and glorification of believers; in short, we have in the word of God the revelation of the mind of Christ and the full purpose of God.
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The cross and empty tomb mark the point at which promise became fulfillment.
Believers on this side of the resurrection are greater than John the Baptist, not in terms of personal character or influence, but because they have the privilege of proclaiming the fullness of the gospel.
John preached that sinners needed to repent and be reconciled to God to prepare themselves for Messiah’s coming.
But to believers in the era of fulfillment, God “has committed … the word of reconciliation,” sending us out as ambassadors for Christ, pleading with sinners to be reconciled to God through Him.
Our message is to proclaim the full truth of the Savior’s death and resurrection.”
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So, Jesus has made it clear that it should be obvious that John the Baptist was no ordinary prophet...
And He pointed to the true Messiah...
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The call by God was to repent and sin no more...
And those that genuinely believed and were not offended by this message humbly participated in John’s Baptism.
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So, there were two responses to this truth...
One response that embraced God’s will and desire...
And another response that embraced one’s own sense of self-righteousness...
And this takes us to to our third and final point.
3) Two Responses
3) Two Responses
Verses 29-30: (When all the people heard this, and the tax collectors too, they declared God just, having been baptized with the baptism of John, but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.)
How sad is that?
To claim to know God and really not know Him at all.
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The Pharisees and the Scribes they memorized Scripture...
They sat under greater rabbis that taught them all kinds of doctrines...
They were respected by the people for their knowledge...
But their hearts were far from God.
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When the forerunner came that ignored him...
When the Messiah finally arrived they ultimately killed Him!
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How sad is that?
No real discernment or wisdom?
Just the wisdom of man!
Just the love of self!
Not humble enough to realize how sinful they were!
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You would think that the religious elite would surly be able to identify the Messiah and His forerunner...
But they didn't!
They were to focuses on self to see the truth.
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Often times it is the ones who clearly lived a life far from God that end up seeing their brokenness...
They see their bankruptcy...
They see they have nothing to offer...
Nothing to offer that is except a broken heart.
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That is what God is looking for...
Not how long you claim to be a believer...
Or what teachers you sat under....
Or what school you trained at...
No, God is not looking at that...
He is looking at those that know they need a Savior and will not be offended by that fact.
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To build muscle fist it needs to be torn...
To be born again...
One has to be aware of their sinfulness.
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As Jesus said in Matthew 21:28–32:
28 “What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’
29 And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went.
30 And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go.
31 Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you.
32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him.
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Church, we have talked about the attitude that the Israelites though of tax collectors...
They despised them...
They were considered traitors and enemies of God.
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Yet, we John the Baptist proclaimed to all who would hear that they needed to repent and believe and sin no more...
They did what a genuine convicted person would do...
They said, “what shall we do?”
As Luke 3:12–13 says:
12 Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?”
13 And he said to them, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do.”
If we really desire to repent and turn to Christ then our actions will follow...
Most pulpits throughout history and still today shy away from that truth...
For that is not what people want to hear...
That is not what is going to fill the pews and make you popular.
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In Jesus’ day it was no different...
John the Baptist told a king to repent and sin no more...
He lost his head for speaking God’ truth.
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Jesus told the religious elite they too must repent and sin no more...
He was nailed to a cross for speaking God’ truth.
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John the Baptist’s call to repentance, rather than perish under His righteous wrath, was an expression of the will of God...
Those that humbly accepted it “declared God just” and “baptized with the baptism of John.”
However, those who pridefully refused repentance rejected the very will of God...
As our passage says they “rejected the purpose of God” and refused to be baptized by John as they say this act as a humiliating confession..
So, in all actuality, they rejected not just John the Baptist, but also God Himself...
They rejected God’s plan for salvation as John’s baptism had announced a new era in God’s redemptive work...
They rejected the coming of the Messiah and the inauguration of the Kingdom of God.
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As the New International Commentary on the New Testament on Luke says:
“Here the Lord points out the difference in the attitude of the ordinary Jews and the Jewish leaders towards the preaching of John.
When the common people and the ‘publicans’ [or “lawyers’], the outcasts, had heard him, they justified God.
That is to say, they acknowledged that before God they were guilty and worthy of condemnation and that He was fully justified in demanding from them confession of sins and true repentance, not in word only, but outwardly and publicly by undergoing the baptism of John.
On the part of God the baptism then serves as a sign and seal that He forgives the repentant.
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The Pharisees and lawyers, however, mostly refused to be baptized and thus rejected the counsel of God concerning them.
To their own undoing, they made His plan of redemption worthless so far as they themselves were concerned.”
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As Matthew 22:29 says:
29 But Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God.
It is not about memorizing verses and recalling tales from the Bible...
It is about truly understanding God’s truth and that requires humility...
It requires listening to the Holy Spirit and His leading.
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As Matthew 21:42 foretold...
Jesus preaches and teaches a message that will not be accepted by most...
Even by those that we would expect to understand it:
42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “ ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
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We must surrender to God in order to have our minds grasp life saving truth...
For we can only understand God’s truth if God opens our minds first...
Just look at what it says in Luke 24:45:
45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,
And look at the promise that goes along with the reality of believing in the truth of Scripture as recorded in John 7:38 which says:
38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ”
Closing Illustration
Closing Illustration
So, as this message comes to a close...
I would like to share this that I came across in my study:
The United States v. Wilson was a case in the United States in which the defendant, George Wilson, was convicted of robbing the US Mail in Pennsylvania and sentenced to death.
Due to his friends' influence, Wilson was pardoned by Andrew Jackson.
Wilson, however, refused the pardon.
The Supreme Court was thus asked to rule on the case.
The decision was that if the prisoner does not accept the pardon, it is not in effect:
“A pardon is a deed, to the validity of which delivery is essential, and delivery is not complete without acceptance.
It may then be rejected by the person to whom it is tendered; and if it is rejected, we have discovered no power in this court to force it upon him.”
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Therefore, Wilson was hanged.
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Maybe he was too proud to receive the pardon.
It is possible for sinners to be too proud to receive God's pardon.
As Psalms 10:4 says:
4 In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”
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May we not be to prideful to accept the truth that we are sinners in need of a Savior...
We were enemies of God and can’t save ourselves...
We deserve Hell...
We deserve to be rejected by Him...
But God did not give us what we so rightly deserve.
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God the Father in an act of love sent His Son to take the place of wicked sinners...
And Jesus lived a perfect and sinless life so He could rightly take the place of any sinner who will admit there sorry state...
For those who know they fall short He takes their place on the cross and dies for them...
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And it is now about Christ’s sacrifice that we bring our attention to.
Communion
Communion
As we begin our communion service, I want to invite every genuinely born-again believer in the room to partake in this act together.
If you do not yet know the Lord and do not have a relationship with Him...
Or if you are under church discipline from this church or another church...
Then I will ask that you wait until you have resolved your issue before participating.
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As you came in you should have picked up a communion packet if you are joining us.
This has both the bread and juice in a convenient package.
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If you have not received one of these please raise your hand and someone will get you one.
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Before we join in communion together, I would like us to consider 1 Peter 3:18 which says:
18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,
Consider this insight that I came across in an article in a copy of Our Daily Bread:
“A wealthy twenty-year-old was drag-racing with his friends when he struck and killed a pedestrian.
Although the young man received a three-year prison sentence, some believe that the man who appeared in court (and who subsequently served a prison sentence) was a hired surrogate for the driver who committed the crime.
This type of thing has been known to occur in some countries where people hire body doubles to avoid paying for their crimes.
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This may sound scandalous and outrageous, but more than two thousand years ago, Jesus became our substitute and ‘suffered once for [our] sins, the righteous for the unrighteous.’
As God’s sinless sacrifice, Christ suffered and died once and for all, for all who believe in Him.
He took the penalty for all our sins in His own body on the cross.
Unlike a person today who chooses to be a substitute for a criminal to get some cash, Christ’s substitutionary death on the cross provided ‘hope’ for us as He freely, willingly gave His life for us.
He did so to bridge the chasm between us and God.
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May we rejoice and find comfort and confidence in this profound truth:
Only by the substitutionary death of Jesus can we—sinners in need—have a relationship with and complete spiritual access to our loving God.”
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So, Beloved...
Let’s all take a moment right now in silent prayer to thank the Lord for all He did for us...
(MOMENT OF SILENCE)
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Tom will you pray before we partake in the bread:
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The Word of God says in Luke 22:19:
19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
(TAKE THE BREAD)
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Adrian will you pray before we partake in the cup:
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The Word of God says in Luke 22:20:
20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.
(TAKE THE CUP)
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With that we conclude the communion portion of our service.
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To God be all the glory.
Amen.
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Please join us for one more song from the Praise Band.