The Difficult Sayings of Jesus #13

[0:00] Would you open the New Testament, please, to Matthew's Gospel, chapter 16. This is where we were in our last session together, and we are not going to continue the passage per se, but we are going to continue the conclusion of the passage because it also represents a difficult saying, and you will see that when we get to it.

[0:35] But for now, let's follow along as I read from Matthew, chapter 16, beginning with verse 13. Now, when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he began asking his disciples, saying, Who do people say that the Son of Man is?

[0:56] And they said, Some say John the Baptist, and others Elijah, but still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets. He said to them, But who do you say that I am?

[1:12] And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus answered and said to him, Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.

[1:33] And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it.

[1:44] I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

[2:00] And we treated this passage in our previous get-together, but we did not deal with verse 20, which in and of itself constitutes a difficult saying.

[2:16] Then he, Jesus, warned the disciples that they should tell no one that he was the Christ.

[2:26] Well, what is that about? Wasn't that the whole point? Weren't they supposed to tell everyone that he was the Christ?

[2:39] Isn't that the message that he came to communicate? And the answer is, yes and no. I realize at the outset that's not terribly satisfying, but I trust we can put together a case that will explain how I could offer a solution like that.

[3:00] Then he warned the disciples that they should tell no one that he was the Messiah. Is that almost tantamount to, shh, don't tell anybody.

[3:17] Keep it a secret. But that seems completely contrary to what his earthly ministry was all about. So we will get there.

[3:28] But before we do, I want to review just briefly, because as you have the setting in mind, I think the answers will be more helpful. First of all, we pointed out to you that this passage represents the very cornerstone of Roman Catholic theology and the basis upon which they justify the papacy.

[3:52] The traditional position regarding the Roman Catholic Church is that Peter was the first pope and that this, in effect, recognizes his papacy and that each person since Peter has stood in the stead of Peter being a direct successor.

[4:13] This is called apostolic succession. And it is believed by the Roman Catholics that Benedict XVI, who occupies the papal throne today in the Vatican of Rome, is a direct successor to the first Peter, to Peter, the first pope.

[4:32] And, of course, there have been scores and scores of popes that have come on the scene, been elected as pope, and then died and then replaced by other popes and so on. And most of us have lived long enough to have seen that transition even during our lifetime.

[4:48] In this passage, of course, Protestants have great difficulty with this. And the standard Protestant opinion is that Jesus is identifying Peter on the one hand, but he is saying that it is Peter's confession that is the rock upon which Christ is going to build his assembly.

[5:12] And Protestants, of course, have no difficulty with that because the very backbone of our theology is the fact that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that he died on the cross for our sins.

[5:28] And it would be easy to see how Peter's confession could then be looked upon by Protestants as being the rock upon which the assembly or the church is built.

[5:39] The church and the kingdom, I take it, are actually one and the same as the text uses the terms here.

[5:51] And perhaps that would help clarify this. When he says, I will build my church, we pointed out to you that that word is the ecclesia, and it simply means a gathering, an assembly, or a congregation.

[6:06] It can have reference to the kingdom of heaven, which in this case we believe it does. It can also have reference to a local New Testament church, one of which we are, and there are tens of thousands of them throughout the country.

[6:21] It could also mean an assembly or a called-out number for any purpose. It could be for a commercial purpose. It could be for a political purpose. It could be for a social purpose.

[6:33] It could be for anything and be called an ecclesia. But it is often translated in the New Testament church. So whenever somebody sees the word church, they automatically think of what most people think of when you use the word church.

[6:48] But I would emphasize that it can refer to any number of different things, all of which would constitute an entity called out for a specific purpose.

[6:59] So what I am saying is that the church, the word church that is used here, I will build my assembly or my church, and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it, and I will give you the keys of that assembly, of that congregation, of that kingdom of heaven.

[7:20] These keys are going to be verbal utterances that Peter is going to express that will open the door of access to Jews and Gentiles.

[7:37] He will use those keys on the day of Pentecost when he addresses the assembly there at the temple site. He will use the keys again in chapter 3 when he addresses a similar crowd in the same place.

[7:53] He will use the key when he reluctantly goes to the home of Cornelius, a Gentile, and gives him the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

[8:04] He is using the key. He is unlocking the door, if you will, making a way of access available to those to whom he is speaking. The keys, we believe, are related not to present heaven, where believers go when their spirit vacates their body and they are absent from the body present with the Lord.

[8:29] You go into his presence. That's in heaven. That's not the same as the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of heaven that is coming to earth will be on earth.

[8:40] But heaven, the throne room and abode of God, is not on the earth. It is in the heavenlies. And exactly where and how far out, we don't know.

[8:51] But Paul talks about having been caught up into the third heaven. And if the immediate atmosphere represents our first heaven, and then above that, the stratosphere where the astronauts have gone, where spaceships have penetrated beyond out of our atmosphere, being the second heaven, that is the place where there are planets and stellar bodies, the second heaven.

[9:16] Then the third heaven, above and beyond that, in the abode of God. And I know the traditional opinion, not only among Roman Catholics, but even among most Protestants, is that St. Peter is standing up there, and there are the pearly gates, and he's standing there.

[9:31] He's got this big key ring on his robe. And as you check in, when you appear, name please. And he looks on the, you know, and he's got the key. And if you are acceptable to heaven, then he uses his key.

[9:44] He unlocks the gate, the pearly gate, and lets you in. That is pure hokum. There isn't a single shred of biblical evidence to support that.

[9:55] But you'd be surprised how many people believe it. And they even make movies about it, and there are cartoons about it and everything. But St. Peter has the keys to heaven, and he decides who gets in and who doesn't. And he'll unlock it and let you in if you're a nice guy.

[10:07] And he says, what have you, what have you, well, you know. So, anyway, that is not biblical. It is just, if you want a reference for it, check out the book of Hezekiah.

[10:19] So, we are saying that, and the gates of Hades. Hades is the place of the departed dead.

[10:35] It is sometimes, in the Old Testament, it is referred to as Sheol, the place of the dead. And the gates of Hades is the entrance into this death place for the departed.

[10:55] And what Jesus is saying is that death itself shall not be able to stand against this kingdom of heaven.

[11:09] Shall not be able to thwart it, and shall not be able to prevent it. And I believe what he is talking about is in reference to his impending death, which will very shortly after this passage be realized.

[11:25] And what he is saying is that not even death will prevent the establishment of the kingdom of heaven. Not even the gates of Hades will be able to prevail against it because he is going to be victorious over death.

[11:45] It is his resurrection that will guarantee the establishment of the kingdom of heaven on earth. And death itself will not be able to prevent that.

[11:56] And then when he uses the term binding and loosing, I don't really agree with the translation that is given even in the New American Standard.

[12:08] Because I believe that it ought to be rendered in the Greek. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatever you shall bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven.

[12:23] And whatever you shall loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven. This is absolving of guilt or the assigning of guilt.

[12:36] This is forgiving or dismissing. They are going to have that power and that authority. It is vested in the twelve by Christ himself.

[12:50] And we saw that reinforced in chapter 19 of Matthew over just a couple of pages. Where Jesus said, You who have followed me, meaning the twelve, in the regeneration, that is, in the remaking of all things new, when the Son of Man comes into his glorious kingdom, you also shall sit upon the twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

[13:23] Israel will be the key leadership nation for all the nations of the world. And the world headquarters will be Jerusalem.

[13:34] The twelve will be enthroned and they will administrate the affairs of the nation of Israel. And Israel will expand its authority to all of the other nations of the world.

[13:49] I know that sounds very, very far-fetched now. But that's the way it's going to be. All in the promise God gave to Abraham back in Genesis chapter 12.

[14:00] This will be the fruit of it. And those twelve apostles are going to occupy positions of administrative authority.

[14:12] They are going to function as apostles and function as agents and function as those assigned to this specific task by Christ and heaven itself.

[14:28] So what they are administering through their efforts and through the twelve tribes of Israel is an absolute kind of perfect justice.

[14:41] And they will be operating on the basis and on the standard of that which has already been established in heaven. And it has been delegated to them. God is a great delegator.

[14:53] Do you realize he could do everything all by himself without using anybody? He doesn't need us. He is an all-sufficient God.

[15:05] He didn't need people to write the Bible. He could have handwritten it himself just as he wrote on the tablets of stone that Moses brought down from the mount, written with the finger of God.

[15:17] He could have done that with all of the Bible and just dropped it out of heaven. But he delegated people. He uses human instrumentality.

[15:28] God is committed to working with people and through people. Not because he has to, but because he chooses to. And we are the blessed that he has.

[15:40] So here he is going to use the twelve in a very strategic way. And they are going to apply the standards of heavenly jurisprudence in exact justice that they will dispense so that whatever they loose on earth will have already been loosed in heaven.

[15:59] Whatever they bind on earth or assign as guilt, etc., will have already had that standard met in heaven. They are simply going to be administering it. And really, in effect, this is all that our judges are supposed to be doing.

[16:15] Judicial authority is granted to all of our judges at all levels, either through the federal government or through the state government. And all these judges are supposed to do is administer justice in accordance with the higher authority that has delegated them to do that.

[16:35] And in the case of our nation, it's the United States Constitution. In the case of a state, it's the state Constitution. And they are duty-bound to follow that.

[16:45] The twelve are going to be doing the same thing. And they are going to be operating under that standard. Then, on the heels of this difficult saying, we have yet another in 1620.

[17:04] At the conclusion of all of this, it makes this wonderful assignment. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, whatever you bind with. And then, he warned the disciples that they should tell no one that he was the Christ.

[17:20] And this difficulty is compounded with additional references. And while you're in Matthew, come next door to Mark. Mark chapter 3.

[17:30] And as they say, the plot will thicken. Mark chapter 3. And verse 7.

[17:44] Jesus withdrew to the sea with his disciples, and a great multitude from Galilee followed, and also from Judea. Now he's gathering a real crowd. And from Jerusalem, and from Idumea, and beyond the Jordan, and the vicinity of Tyre and Sidon, great multitude heard of all that he was doing, and came to him.

[18:09] And he told his disciples that a boat should stand ready for him because of the multitude, in order that they might not crowd him. So, he is going to be standing, or seated, on this boat.

[18:27] and they push the boat out a little bit from the shore. And the huge throng of people are all massed there on the shore.

[18:37] And he's using the boat as like a pulpit. And he is teaching from the boat. And we read in verse 10, verse 10, for he had healed many, with the result that all those who had afflictions pressed about him in order to touch him.

[18:58] Well, of course they would. And whenever the unclean spirits beheld him, they would fall down before him and cry out, saying, you are the son of God.

[19:12] And he earnestly warned them not to make him known. Now, I can understand, on the one hand, Jesus not wanting to be identified by these unclean spirits.

[19:31] And one reason is because certain of the Pharisees had made the accusation that Jesus was in cahoots with the demonic world.

[19:43] And that's how he was able to perform the miracles that he did. He did it through the power of Satan. So, if here there are demonic spirits acclaiming Jesus to be the son of God, that would support their contention that they're all in this together.

[20:02] He isn't really the son of God at all, but the demonic spirits say he is. Of course, you know you can't believe them. So, in other words, it could be a guilt by association thing and perhaps on that basis he refused to allow them, he would not allow them to make him known.

[20:18] He warned them not to make him known. Well, we aren't finished with Mark. Look at chapter 8, if you would. Chapter 7.

[20:29] Chapter 7 first and verse 31. Again, he went out from the region of Tyre and came through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee within the region of Decapolis and they brought to him one who was deaf and spoke with difficulty and they entreated him to lay his hand upon him and he took him aside from the multitude by himself and put his fingers into his ears and after spitting he touched his tongue with the saliva.

[21:02] Sounds kind of gross, doesn't it? It probably wouldn't if you were deaf and were able to hear. Looking up to heaven with a deep sigh he said to him Ephatha that is be opened and his ears were opened and the impediment of his tongue was removed and he began speaking plainly.

[21:31] All right? That's all well and good. But verse 36 says He gave them orders not to tell anyone.

[21:42] Why? Why didn't He give them orders go tell everybody? Don't tell anyone.

[21:56] But the more He ordered them the more widely they continued to proclaim it. And they were utterly astonished saying He has done all things well.

[22:07] He makes even the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak. Now I've read some commentaries that go so far as to say well Jesus was so clever that He was using reverse psychology and He knew very well what would happen if He told these people not to tell anybody.

[22:28] He knew they would go around and just blab it everywhere. And that's why He told them not to tell. Nah, I can't buy that. That just my Lord was not a manipulator.

[22:42] He spoke plainly. He did not manipulate. So why then did He tell them not to tell anyone?

[22:53] chapter 8 and verse 27 is a parallel account that Mark records.

[23:04] We've already read it in a fuller version in Matthew and we will not read the whole thing but I just want you to jump down to verse 29 of chapter 8 and he continued by questioning them but who do you say that I am?

[23:19] Peter answered and said thou art the Christ and he warned them to tell no one about him. Isn't that puzzling to you?

[23:32] Certainly is to me. And Mark chapter 9 and verse 7 this is that monumental incident regarding the transfiguration which was just absolutely spectacular and we'll just have to jump to jump in here with verse 6 but it has already taken place and he did not know what to answer for they became terrified and then a cloud formed overshadowing them and a voice came out of the cloud this is my beloved son listen to him and all at once they looked around and saw no one with them anymore except Jesus alone now Moses and Elijah had been there they appeared out of nowhere and they disappeared into nowhere and now they're gone and there's no one there but Peter James

[24:33] John and Jesus and as they were coming down from the mountain here we are again he gave them orders not to relate to anyone what they had seen but the next word changes everything until the son of man should rise from the dead now if I may be so bold as to read in the white spaces here what Jesus is saying is these who have experienced seeing him transfigured in this glorious incident were to keep completely silent about it but after he has risen from the dead tell everybody however look at verse 10 they seized upon that statement because that really got their attention until the son of man be raised from the dead what what did he say they were discussing with one another what rising from the dead might mean we don't know what that means but we know that rising from the dead doesn't mean rising from the dead so what does it really mean yes it really means that but they just could not compute that because if you're going to rise from the dead you have to be dead but if you're the messiah you're not going to be dead in the first place there is nobody who would be able to kill the messiah and in the second place there is no way that

[26:41] God would allow his messiah to be dead so what do you suppose he means by that rise from the dead and it never entered their minds that it was to be taken quite literally and I have a couple of other references and we need to look at them get them on the table Luke chapter 8 we're just meandering through the gospels here Luke chapter 8 and verse 54 this is the healing of the little maid and we'll jump in to the conclusion of the incident in verse 54 and it says he however took her by the hand and called saying child arise and her spirit returned and she rose immediately and he gave orders for something to be given her to eat and her parents were amazed but he instructed them to tell no one what had happened now that is really remarkable because here we have

[28:00] Jesus in a number of venues in different places healing multitudes of people in front of all kinds of eyewitnesses and obviously huge throngs who were just amazed at this man's powers and ability so it was already common knowledge among certain masses as to what he had done and to whom he had done it and there were still trophies walking around of his miraculous healing powers there were people who had been blind who were still seeing and deaf who were still hearing and maimed and crippled who were still walking what is this about not telling anyone in 918 this is Luke's reference about the identity of the Messiah who did the multitude say that I am and again in verse 21 after

[29:02] Peter says you are the Christ of God verse 21 he warned them and instructed them not to tell this to anyone but as I have tried to tell you so many times when you come to difficult passages looking for answers and there seems to be none we must always compare scripture with scripture and what is it does anybody remember what we have said is king anybody remember context is king context is king and look at this reference he warned them and instructed them not to tell this to anyone saying the son of man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and be raised up on the third day that is critical now something

[30:12] I want to run by you by way of what I think is a confirmation of the inspiration process that is of the scriptures being the word of God and that is all of these references that we have read about our Lord warning them and some texts even render he sternly warned them that they should tell no one if there had been a collusion if there had been a conspiracy of these biblical writers getting together so that what they were producing that we call the word of God is nothing more than just the writings of men I would have cleaned this stuff up this appears to be a glaring contradiction where he keeps telling them don't tell anybody don't tell anybody but that's the whole reason for your being to tell everybody is for everybody to know and you're saying don't tell anybody if this were as

[31:20] I said just a human conspiracy I would have left those things out because they seem to be hostile to what Jesus is all about and what is Jesus really all about what did he come to proclaim did he I don't want to split hairs but I do want to be precise did he come to proclaim that he himself was the Messiah or did he come to proclaim repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand that was the message oh he was the Messiah all right and he never denied that he even congratulated Peter but he told Peter actually the congratulations aren't all yours because you didn't figure this out on your own

[32:22] Peter flesh and blood did not reveal this to you it wasn't your own IQ that revealed this to you but my father in heaven because what the father in heaven did for Peter was he allowed Peter to process all that he saw Jesus saying and doing and then Peter was able to reach the conclusion this has to be who I think it is and it was but that wasn't to be known by everyone why is that there appear to be glaring contradictions that had man merely written these records on their own they would have avoided these and not included them I certainly would have left them out now I want to ask you a question what would have happened had Jesus been determined to convince

[33:27] Israel that he was the Messiah Messiah now think about that this is a probing kind of question I want you to really think about that what would have happened if Jesus had been determined to convince Israel that he was their Messiah do you think he would have been able to do that do you think that Jesus could have done anything that he was determined to do of course he could have do you think that he could have successfully defended himself when Judas came with a troop of soldiers and temple policemen in the middle of the night and they conducted a raid on the garden of

[34:27] Gethsemane where they found Jesus at about two or three o'clock in the morning and they took him prisoner do you think that Jesus could have defended himself successfully well of course he could have why didn't he could he have successfully convinced Israel even the chief priest that he was indeed the Messiah of course he could have he could have presented arguments and presented works that would have been so compelling nobody would have been able to deny it I mean nobody he could have but he didn't because that wasn't why he came he being who he was could have done whatsoever he would so why didn't he and why forbid others to proclaim his messiahship one thing he did not forbid them to proclaim but commissioned them to proclaim and that is the kingdom of heaven is at hand the kingdom of heaven is it was like they had a fiddle that had one string on it and that was it and it was all about this coming kingdom

[35:45] Jesus consistently and persistently announced the kingdom of heaven is at hand at hand at hand but before it could progress from being at hand to becoming a reality fulfilled what must first occur the messiah had to pay the cost for establishing the kingdom up front what did that entail it necessitated his capture his arrest his trial his sentencing his crucifixion his burial and his resurrection all of those things had to be in place before anyone could legitimately say the kingdom of heaven is available

[36:55] Israel will you take it Israel's answer was no and they rejected the kingdom it did not become viable and available until Christ paid the penalty for Adam's transgression removing Adam's curse making the kingdom clear sailing and all that was needed was a positive response from the nation of Israel and it was not forthcoming Jesus had to die he must allow nothing to deter or interfere with his death burial and resurrection which was always his primary objective in acts 2 and acts 3 again presided over by

[37:58] Peter when he verbally used the keys to the kingdom by offering Israel their crucified and risen Messiah to the national entity of Israel and to highlight his principal mission above all else that he came to do I have some other references that we have to consider because they are the icing on the cake to this so called difficult saying and the first is in John chapter 7 and verse 25 therefore some of the people of Jerusalem were saying is this not the man meaning Jesus whom they are seeking to kill and look he is speaking publicly and they are saying nothing to him the rulers do not really know that this is the Christ do they however we know where this man is from but whenever the

[39:00] Christ may come in other words in other words they're saying Jesus couldn't be the Messiah because we know where this man Jesus is from he's from Nazareth but whenever the Messiah may come no one knows where he's from so Jesus couldn't be the Messiah because we know where he's from and then Jesus therefore cried out in the temple teaching and saying you both know me and know where I am from and I have not come of myself but he who sent me is true whom you do not know I know him because I am from him and he sent me and they were seeking therefore to seize him and no man laid his hand on him well very good question is why didn't they if they were seeking to seize him and he was there in their midst what kept them from it and the text simply says because his hour had not yet come his hour had had not yet come in verse 37 on the last day the great day of the feast

[40:27] Jesus stood and cried out saying if any man is thirsty let him come to me and drink he who believes in me as the scripture said from his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water but this he spoke of the spirit whom those who believed in him were to receive for the spirit was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified some of the multitude therefore when they heard these words were saying this certainly is the prophet others were saying this is the Christ still others you see all of this indecision some believe he's the Messiah some believe he isn't the Messiah some can't make up their mind one day they think he is the next day they think he isn't surely the Christ is not going to come from Galilee is he I mean Galilee do you realize that Galilee is on the border with the Gentiles and Nazareth is right next door to the Gentiles Nathaniel says could any good thing come out of Nazareth has not the scripture said that

[41:31] Christ comes from the offspring of David and from Bethlehem the village where David was so there arose a division among them because of him and some of them wanted to seize him but no one laid hands on him because his hour was not yet come and turn the page to chapter 8 and verse 12 all of this is in my estimation allowing scripture to interpret scripture because it is the only reliable one now in verse 12 he is claiming to be the light of the world and he is bearing witness and in verse 19 he says you know neither me nor my father if you knew me you would know my father also these words he spoke in the treasury as he taught in the temple and no one seized him because his hour had not yet come now chapter 12 same book

[42:32] John we were stringing all of these threads together and it builds a case he has repeatedly said his hour has not yet come in other words they couldn't take him they couldn't arrest him they couldn't lay hands on him until the appointed hour and that hour had already been determined in heaven and in John chapter 12 and verse 23 we read Jesus answered them saying the hour has come all the way up to now he's been saying his hour had not yet come his hour had not yet well now it has the hour means the specific time that had been predetermined and predesignated for this event that is to take place the arrest the trial the sentence the crucifixion all timed out all planned in advance this is why he came and nothing must be allowed to short circuit that or interrupt that and what do you think would have happened what do you think would have happened in connection with the death burial and resurrection of

[43:57] Christ had he succeeded in presenting himself as the Messiah and the nation embraced him as the Messiah do you think for a moment that loyal Jews who can be as rabid about their faith as Muslims or Christians can be about theirs do you think they would have stood by and allow Romans to crucify their Messiah not in a million years there would have been an incredible insurrection there would have been a riot there would have been bloodshed that would not have quit that's precisely what and he knew all that he did not come to force himself as a Messiah upon these people he came to be their Messiah and die for their sins and the sins of the world that's why he did not want all of these accolades going out announcing and proclaiming him as

[45:06] Messiah because the more the nation embraced that idea humanly speaking the less likely there would ever have been an arrest and a crucifixion there would have been a massive amount of bloodshed both Roman and Jewish and he knew that keep the lid on the Messiah thing proclaim the kingdom of heaven is at hand now after after the resurrection tell everybody tell everybody because then the price had been paid then they could look back on the miracles that they saw and heard about and put it all together and say yes he was the Messiah and we crucified him after the death burial and resurrection that's the major achievement that's his number one goal and in chapter 13 and verse 1 before the feast of the

[46:08] Passover Jesus knowing that his hour had come this was it and in chapter 17 and verse 1 these things Jesus spoke lifting up his eyes to heaven and said father the hour has come glorify thy son that the son may glorify thee how is he going to do that by putting him on the cross and putting the sins of the world upon him and then judging him for it incredible absolutely incredible we will not turn to it but I'll quote it for you in Luke 22 and verse 53 Jesus is confronted by Judas and the band of soldiers who came to arrest him in

[47:09] Gethsemane the night before he was crucified and he said to the religious authorities Jesus said when I was with you daily in the temple you did not lay hands on me but this is your hour and the power of darkness think about it he was saying to the religious authorities this is your hour this is your time of triumph because you've got me and you're going to do with me what you will and I'll end up being crucified because the power of darkness is behind it and you will look upon it as victorious so this is your hour but you know something your hour is also my hour and as he prayed in Gethsemane he said oh my father if it be possible let this cup pass from me and what shall

[48:18] I say father save me from this hour but for this hour this hour came I into the world now for me Christ's refusal to allow others to proclaim his messiahship does appear to be contrary to everything but far from it his refusal was a confirmation of his main purpose in coming and he did not want it short circuited his purpose was in his death this all consuming passion of dying for a lost humanity more than adequately justifies his prohibition against their openly proclaiming his messiahship and when you put all of these things together makes perfect sense at least it does to me and you see it in a different light so he sternly warned them not to tell anyone that he was the messiah makes a lot of sense when you consider the whole picture have you a question or comment you would like to inject

[49:46] Scott Luke 8 okay return to your house and describe what great things God has done for you and he went away proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him and these were I think it is obvious here he's talking about the miracles that were performed the benefits that accrued to this man and and I cannot I cannot divorce that from the whole picture and there are other places as well for instance the woman at the well in

[50:47] John chapter four the Samaritan woman at the well she made the statement about when the Messiah comes he will reveal all things to us and Jesus said to her he that speaketh with thee is he and there he identified himself as the Messiah and you know what she did she went back to the town of Samaria and brought the whole population out to hear him out to the well and the text goes on to say that many of the Samaritans believed in him there what did they believe the only thing they could have believed was he was the Messiah they were convinced of it so there is an instance where he not only told her that he was the Messiah but there's no indication that he told the Samaritans not to tell anybody now it could be because the

[51:49] Samaritans and the Jews had no love lost between them nobody would believe what a Samaritan said anyway but I don't think that would have entered into it and I don't have a better answer for that another case he he told well that was different when he was before Pontius Pilate Pilate said to him well are you then a king and Jesus said thou sayest which is tantamount to affirming or confirming that he was indeed a king he might as well have said yes I am we would say you said it and that means that he agreed with it so there are other instances like this too and I cannot I cannot completely reconcile these all I can say is there were different atmospheres created different circumstances created in each of these that might have caused him to treat one in one way and one in another way and we're not able to capture that of course historically after the fact and

[52:59] I'm sure that there are some others as well that don't completely fit this but the overarching theme that I see here is his insistence that the main purpose for which he came would not be subverted and that is to give his life a ransom for many and everything he did contributed to that one end yes and that was you're right absolutely and let me make this point this is a really really important point I should have made it and I should have emphasized it but let me make it now and it is this it is far far more important that

[54:02] Israel and everybody else see Jesus as the Messiah after his death burial and resurrection than before that is critical you've got you've got to remember it is the death burial and resurrection of Christ that gives Christianity the message for the world today and for everybody that's that's it that's the whole sum and substance Christ died for our sins Paul sums it up in 1 Corinthians 15 in the back I'm sorry Brad I've only got one hearing aid here and I'm not hearing you would you stand and repeat your question please given that people aren't necessary for God to do what he does right

[55:11] I guess we can think of it as we're kind of God in the experiment so I guess we also think of the Bible as a collection of people that we put together in order to understand so it's easier for people to just believe what they can see so so in order to get the message across and have people actually make believe of faith like we believe I guess the message would have to be that Jesus was Messiah by well there's no question but what they were able to witness first hand with their eyes and ears gave tremendous credibility and the subject of faith is still grossly misunderstood by a lot of people even by a lot of Christians faith the faith that God requires is never faith required without good and sufficient reason biblical faith is not a groundless faith it is a grounded faith and what we are able to witness through the eye and ear gate and see with our own eyes is designed to build a case to enable us to reach a conclusion based on what we have seen and heard and some us for instance we've not had the benefit of that

[57:17] I haven't seen any miracles I haven't seen anybody healed of blindness being born blind I haven't seen any of course some may consider that and some of the televangelists that you see on TV and the supposed healings and the slaying and the spirit and all of that nonsense which I think is 99% balderdash but when Jesus said to Thomas after he invited him to feel tactile and look with your eyes at my body the spirit doesn't have flesh and bones like you see me have Thomas reach hither your hand and feel the wound in my side and look at the scars in my hands and be not faithless but believing and then he said Thomas because you have seen me you have believed blessed are they who haven't seen and yet will believe and on what basis do we believe we believe solely on the basis of historical information that we believe has been faithfully recorded by credible eyewitnesses who had no advantage or no reason to lie we believe on the basis of historical testimony that's the only way anything historical can be verified because you can't run the event by and look at it again so we accept what we see here in scriptures because of the credible witness of eyewitness testimonies and and and the combination of them and the fact that it corresponds to the reality that we know today so regarding health and nature and these kind of things we know that it isn't possible at least it isn't possible for me to lay hands on somebody and make them see or cause them to hear and yet we have faithful reliable credible evidence that that's exactly what

[59:32] Jesus did and he did it repeatedly so our faith is not built on fluff it's built on substance would you stand please we'll be dismissed father we are truly grateful for the record that you've been pleased to give us and you've given it in such a way that it requires diligent study and investigation and we wouldn't have it any other way thank you for that glorious truth that he who knew no sin was made to be sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in him and how grateful we are that our Lord Jesus was willing to undergo what he did and virtually hide in many respects his true identity which deserves the worship of men in every account simply so he could keep the way paved for going to that old rugged cross and doing there for us what really needed to be done we bless you for that and we will till we are able to see you face to face and thank you then in Christ's wonderful name amen