The Work of the Son: "He Came to Rescue a Lover"

Text: Matthew 20:25-28

Theme: God came to earth to rescue a lover – His Church

In John 5:16-17 the Jewish religious leaders are condemning Jesus for doing miracles on the Sabbath. “Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.”” (John 5:17, NIV84). Jesus came to do the works of the Father. I’d like to take several Sunday evenings to share with you what those works were. Over the years you’ve heard me repeatedly refer to God’s redemptive work in Christ. Well, that begs the question: “What did the redemptive work of God involve?” Five things ...

Christ came to Rescue a Lover

Christ came to Destroy an Enemy

Christ came to Proclaim the God’s Truth

Christ came to Dispel Spiritual Darkness

Christ came to Save Sinners.

That’s it. Those five agendas constitute God’s redemptive work in Christ. Tonight we will look at the first one.

“Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”” (Matthew 20:25–28, NIV84)

I want to bring your attention to the most important word in that text. It’s the word ransom. It’s a word of redemption. It’s a word of rescue. The Bible is like a love story from beginning to end. It pictures God’s own Elect people as having shunned Him; turning against the One who loves them. But God, from eternity past, has purposed to go after His wayward bride and rescue her. At the end of history, the mighty angel says to the Apostle John "I will show thee the Bride, the Lamb's wife" (Revelation 21:9). It is the culmination of history—God presents to His Son, his bride, pure and spotless.

This is a story about you, if you know Christ. Jesus Christ came into the world to obtain for Himself a Bride. He has selected her, he has saved her, and he has secured her.

I. CHRIST'S BRIDE IS FIRST SELECTED

1. the church of Jesus Christ is composed of a definite number of sinners chosen by God in eternity past

a. I understand that when preachers begin preaching on the Doctrine of Election and Predestination, that worshiper’s eyes begin to glaze over

1) but Election is a doctrine of the Bible and cannot be denied

b. it is a doctrine that makes some uncomfortable, but it is a biblical doctrine and cannot be ignored

1) your heard me read this verse this morning ... hear it again

"God hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world" (Ephesians 1:4)

2. the Doctrine of Election means that Christ came into this world with you on His mind

a. why is it important to understand this?

A. DIVINE GRACE IS MORE TRULY APPRECIATED

1. because of the fall, God’s absolute justice requires the condemnation of all men

a. all men have sinned

b. all men truly deserve hell

c. the Apostle Paul paints a picture of us before we came to Christ

"Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, ... remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ." (Ephesians 2:11-13, NASB95)

d. do you see our plight as well as God’s promise

1) out plight ... we’re separated from Christ, which means were separated from God; we’ve been excluded from all the promises and blessing of God; we’re hopeless, and we’re Godless

2) God’s promise ... we’ve been brought near even though we were far off

2. God has done this

a. free grace causes one to marvel at the salvation of any man

B. HUMAN PRIDE IS TOTALLY REMOVED

1. when the Corinthian church began to flatter themselves regarding abilities and insightfulness, Paul wrote to put them in their place

"For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:26-31, NASB95)

ILLUS. In his hymn And Can it Be? John Wesley posed the question: “Died He for me, who caused His pain? For me, who Him to death pursued?” Then the Refrain: “Amazing love! how can it be; That Thou, my God, should die for me!”

II. CHRIST'S BRIDE IS THEN SAVED

1. as I said in the introduction, the story of redemption is the story of a heavenly romance

ILLUS. Few stories, in all the Bible, are sadder than the story of the Prophet Hosea and his wife Gomer. The prophet takes a wife who proves utterly faithless to him. She disrespects him and brings dishonor to him. But Hosea’s love for Gomer, is revealed by the degree he goes to redeem her and bring her back into his home.

“The LORD said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.” So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and about a homer and a lethek of barley. Then I told her, “You are to live with me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will live with you.” Hosea 3:1-3 NIV

Even though under Mosaic law, Hosea has the legal right to divorce his wife, God instructs him to take her back and seek reconciliation. But there is a problem. Gomer had fallen so deeply into sin, that her lover has evidently become her pimp and is hiring her out as a prostitute. Nevertheless, Hosea goes and purchases Gomer at a great cost, brings her back into his home, and loves her as the bride of his youth.

a. more than any other Old Testament prophet, Hosea understood the depth of God’s love for sinners

2. like Gomer, we were slaves of sin, but God in Christ, purchased us out of that existence

a. we were held captive by the law of God, under sentence of death, in need of rescue

b. in due time the lover of our souls came to redeem us from the law and rescue us from sin

1) the word redemption, throughout the bible, means "deliverance by payment of a ransom"

2. Christ came to deliver His Bride

a. the ransom?

1) His own life

2) Christ bore on the tree the sentence for me

A. THE WORK OF GOD IS SEEN AT CALVARY

1. the work of God is the ransom required by the law of God

ILLUS. C. S. Lewis referred to God’s redemptive work at Calvary as “God closing in.” He wrote: "Amiable agnostics will talk cheerfully about man's search for God. For me they might as well talk about the mouse's search for a cat ... God closed in on me [caught me and saved me]."

a. the work of God is seen at Calvary

B. THE WORD OF GOD IS ALL ABOUT CALVARY

1. the message of Calvary is the means by which souls are delivered

"It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. The Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: But we preach Christ crucified" (I Corinthians 1:23- 24).

III. CHRIST'S BRIDE IS FULLY SECURE

1. Christ died for His Church and His Church will spend eternity with Him in the Kingdom

A. EVERYONE CHRIST RANSOMED SHALL BE ETERNALLY HIS

1. God not only saves sinners, He keeps sinners

a. we are secure in His grace and the saving work of Christ

1) we can have blessed assurance because of god's gift

Eph. 2:8-9 "By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourself, it is the gift of God--not of works, lest any man should boast."

2) we can have blessed assurance because of god's guard

"Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy," (Jude 24, NASB95)

3) we can have blessed assurance because of god's grip

"For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39, NASB95)

4) we can have blessed assurance because of god's guarantee

"In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory." (Ephesians 1:13-14, NASB95)

Jesus came to do the works of the Father. As part of the work Christ came to Rescue a Lover. You’ve been espoused to Christ. Be the faithful bride.