Why Jesus Died, Part 5

If you've got your Bible, turn with me to Hebrews chapter 2. Hebrews chapter 2 is where we are today as we begin to understand once again the superiority and the supremacy of Jesus Christ. Our Lord, the author of Hebrews, who's a Jew, is writing to a Jewish group of people that they might understand the significance of Christ, who he is, and what he's done. We have spent the first chapter looking at the identity of that Messiah.

The second chapter deals with the min of that Messiah. And the first four verses of chapter two deal with the responsibility that we have in light of that identity.

And in light of that ministry. As the writer of Hebrews lays out for us the identity of Jesus Christ our Lord, goes back to seven Old Testament references to show us who Jesus Christ the Messiah is. He then says in Hebrews chapter 2, verses 1 to 4, those words that warn us about drifting away from the things that we have just heard and seen. How should we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? So, there's a responsibility that we have in light of the identity of Jesus Christ the Messiah. And now he breaks down the the ministry of that Messiah.

And then once again in chapter 3, he will compel us once again not to harden our hearts to the things that we have heard that we might truly respond to. Who Jesus Christ truly is. The writer of Hebrews has laid it out so methodically, so logically. That we can learn a lot about how the Jewish Christians present the Messiah to Jewish people. In fact, we're going to see today and answer the question: why did Jesus die? Now, I know we've been here four weeks before this looking at the kingship of. Christ, helping you understand how the Jewish people knew that the Messiah was their king, that Jesus was that Messiah, and Jesus was that king.

We gave you 20 snapshots from the Old Testament to the New Testament to show you what it is they saw, what it is they believed, what they would have known. 2,000 years ago. Based on the fact that there is a world to come, that the firstborn will come once again into the world in chapter 1, the right of Hebrews says that. So we know that there is a world to come, an inhabited earth to come. The Oik Mene is the inhabited earth that's going to come, where the king will rule and reign. So we helped you understand that, but answering the question: if he is the king, if he is the Messiah, as you say he is, why did he die?

Because cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree. The Jews had a hard time with that. That's why the cross is such a stumbling block to the Jewish nation. So we have to understand it. And what the writer of Hebrews does is that he takes you down a path that's a lot different than the path that you and I would take if we were to describe to somebody why Jesus Died. And so, what he does is he spells out all the words or all the letters that have been given to Israel in the Old Testament. And show them that all those letters spell Jesus Christ our Lord is the Messiah, He is the King of Israel.

So, in verses 5 to 18, I'm going to give you five words, okay? Five words that you can hang your hat on as we outline the rest of chapter 2. We will not finish chapter 2 today. Of course not. We're just not that fast. But I want to give you five words that will help you understand where it is we're going. First word, substitution.

Second word, sanctification. Third word, partic. Fourth word, liberation. And fifth word, satisfaction. As to why Jes died. Okay? Chapter two, verse number five, reads as follows. It says, For he did not subject to angels the world to come, concerning which we are speaking. But one has testified somewhere saying, What is man? That you remember him. Or the son of man, that you are concerned about him. You have made him for a little while lower than the angels. You have crowned him with glory and honor, and have appointed him over the works of your hands.

You have put all things in subjection under his feet. For in subjecting all things to him, he left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we do not yet see all things Subjected to him. But we do see him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely Jesus, because of the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor. So that by the grace of God he might taste death for every one. Why did J die? So that he might taste death for everyone. First word: substitution.

He became our substitute. Now, what the writer of Hebrews does is approaches it from a Jewish perspective. He quotes Psalm 8. He doesn't say a Psalm of David. In fact, he says this: He says, But one has testified. Notice in chapter one, he never gave the individual who wrote it either.

He just quoted the Old Testament. Here, We ask the question: Does he not know that David wrote Psalm 8? Well, of course he does. But he doesn't give David's name. Because he draws the Jewish audience back to the supreme author of the Old Testament, who is the Lord God of Israel. He wants them to value inspiration. He wants them to value that the text in the Old Testament is God-breathed. So he doesn't reference the name. In fact, throughout Hebrews, he never references the person who wrote it, just the verse itself.

To put the emphasis on God and not the person. And he quotes Psalm 8. If you've got your Bible, turn back with me to see Psalm 8. It's important to see exactly what is being said here. It says in verse number one, O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth, who have displayed your splendor above the heavens, from the mouth of infants and nursing babes, you have established strength.

because of your adversaries, to make the enemy and the revengeful cease. When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have ordained, what is man that you take thought Of him. Once I consider all that you have done, what is man that you should even think about him, that you should even consider man. And then he says, and the Son of Man, that you care for him. This is not the Messiah. The Son of Man is a phrase used by Ezekiel describing himself as a son of man.

Now we note that the Messiah would use that phrase, son of man. He would attribute that to himself in his incarnation. Because he would prove throughout his ministry on earth that Daniel 7 was all about one like a son of man who was coming, who would be the king of Israel. But this is not referring to the Messiah. This is referring to man, a son of man. And then it says. Yet you have made him a little lower than the angels, and you crowned him with glory and majesty. You make him to rule over the works of your hands.

You have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea. Whatever passes through the paths of the seas. O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth? That's the psalm that this author quotes. In order to prove why Jesus died. Now, again, we're not Jewish, so we wouldn't approach it this way. But the author does because he understands the Jewish mindset. He must help them understand. Why Jesus died, why he became a substitute, why he died in their place.

So he goes all the way back to Psalm 8, which takes you all the way back to Beresh, Genesis chapter 1, the book of beginnings. For a Jew would know Genesis 1. 26, which reads as follows. Genesis 1 says this: it says, Then God said, Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. The earth. God gave man dominion. God gave man rulership over everything.

He crowned him with glory so that he would rule the animals. Rule the sea creatures. It says, verse 27: God created man in his own image. In the image of God, he created him, male and female, he created them. God blessed them, and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it, and rule over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth. God gave that to Adam and Eve. They had the opportunity to rule over everything on the face of the earth.

Then God said, Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed. That is on the surface of all the earth. And every tree which has fruit yielding seed, it shall be food for you. And to every beast of the earth. And to every bird of the sky, and to everything that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food, and it was so. So the psalmist says in Psalm 8, what is man that you would even cons him? The question is: What would cause the psalm to say that, and what would cause the right of Hebrews to refer to Psalm 8 based on what Genesis 1 says about man's dominion over the ear?

Think about that for a minute. God has given us dominion over the beasts of the earth. I have a dog. I have a really cute dog. I remind my dog every once in a while that I have dominion over her. She looks at me as if I'm crazy. I will say, come, and she won't come. And I will tell her, I rule you. I have dominion over you. I am your king. God granted me that. And she just cocks her head, looks at me as if I'm crazy. I have no more authority over that dog than I have authority over if I went into the jungles of Africa, saw a lion, and said, Come here, sit down, I'm going to pet you.

He'd eat me alive. I have no authority over him. Why? Because of sin. Man fell. And when man fell, it affected not just man. It affected the universe. It affected the animal kingdom, the plant kingdom. It affected everything, you see. So, why is it Jesus died? Ah. Because you see, he's going to restore all that. He's going to make all that happen once again. But unless he d and rises again. That can't happen. So, the writer of Hebrews is talking about the world to come. He says, I've been speaking about the world to come.

Oi Mene, the inhabited earth. Should we get our English word, the economy? But the Romans referred to it as the inhabited earth. There's coming a world that's going to be inhabited, okay, once again. That's important. And so he says, these very words, he says in Hebrews chapter 2, he says, What is man that you remember him, or the son of man that you are concerned? About him. The point is, he is. God is concerned about man. That's why he came. That's why he died. You have made him for a little while lower than the angels.

Now, listen, there is some discrepancy here as to whether this refers to creation or not. It does not refer to creation. You have made him a little while lower than the angels. When was man made lower than the angels? Some would say, well, they were made lower than the angels at creation. I don't think so. Because God never gave the angels dominion over the earth. In fact, one day we're going to rule the angels. We're going to judge the angels, 1 Corinthians 6 tells us. Also, 1 Peter 1, verse 12 tells us that the angels they look into with great curiosity God's saving work.

Why? Because Ephesians 3 tells us that the manifold wisdom of God is revealed to angels through the saving grace of God. In other words, the angels don't get it. They don't get it. They don't understand why God does what He does. They look with great interest on the saving grace of God towards sinful man. They don't think we deserve salvation. They don't think we deserve anything good. And so they sit back and they watch what God does and they marvel at all the things He did leading up to the cross.

They marvel at the fact that He died for sinful man, they marvel at the fact that He rose again for sin Sinful man. They marvel at the fact that one day he will give man once again dominion over the earth. They don't get it. They don't understand it. That's why they look with great curiosity at the saving work of God. But all the while, God is unfolding His manifold wisdom to the angels because they don't know everything, right? So God is unfolding His manifold wisdom to them that they might begin to understand.

His pl, how it works, how it comes together. So the rite of Hebrews is going to go all the way back to Psalm. To show that man was made a little lower than the angels. When did that happen? That happened when man sinned, when man fell into sin. He says, You have crowned him with glory and honor, and have appointed him over the works of your hands. You have put all things in subjection under his feet, for in subjecting all things to him, he left nothing that is not subject to him. But now, We do not yet see all things subjected to him.

God's original plan was to subject everything to man. But now that's not happening. That's not happening. Man is not demonstrating his kingship over the inhabited earth. So, the write of Hebrews is explaining how God is going to reverse all of that. And make it come to fruition as the original plan of God still stays intact, although there has been sin that's entered the world, and man is no longer The dominator of the world, all that's going to change through the ministry of the Messiah. He's going to prove why Jesus had to die.

So he takes them back to the very beginning to show them exactly what is going on. And then he says these words in verse number nine. But we do see him. But.

It's a word of astonishment. But hang on. Wait a second. Know this: we see Jesus. We see him. We see him with a spiritual eye. The writer probably had seen him with a physical eye, but we see him with a spiritual eye. We see what he's done. We see his concern for man. We see his consideration of man. We see his work of salvation in man. We now see him who was made for a little while lower than the angels. That's why we go back to. Verse number seven and say the word made is not create because the same word is used of Jesus, and Jesus wasn't created.

Jesus now too was made a little lower than the angels. Why? Because man in his fall was made a little lower than the angels. So, if Jesus now is going to save man, he must become man and be made a little lower than the angels. What condescension. What a humiliation. He made the worlds. He is the king of the universe. And yet, we see Jesus this way. We see Jesus now made a little lower than the angels. That's why the angels look with great curiosity into the saving work of. Jesus Christ the Lord because they just don't understand his condescension.

They don't get it that he would come down to man In the incarnation, that he would come down to save man from his sin, they have a hard time grasping that. And I wonder, I wonder how you see Jesus. You know, we come off the greatest weekend of the year last week with Great Friday and Resurrection Sunday. And the significance of that weekend as we as believers understand what Christ did for us. But so many times we go through life seeing only ourselves and not seeing Jesus. But we are who we are because of Jesus.

And the writer says, I want you to stand back and look at this for a moment because one has explained this.

He quotes Psalm 8. There's going to be a world to come, an inhabited earth. Someone's going to have to rule over that earth? Who's it going to be? It's going to be those that God gave dominion to. But man was made a little lower than the angels because of his sin. Now we see Jesus made l. Than the angels. Now, he's already given chapter one, which talks about Christ being superior to all the angels, right? How many times have we talked about that? In chapter one. His superiority, his supremacy over the angelic realm has been already proven in chapter 1.

But now the writer of Hebrews goes back and says, Oh, but listen to this, be astounded at this. Jesus. The Messiah was made l than the angels. He is over. The angels, he created. The angels, he rules. He made him l. Than them. What condescension? Let me show you something.

If got your Bible, turn to Philippians 2 for a moment. A very familiar passage of scripture. Philippians chapter 2. Paul says these words in verse number three: Do nothing from selfish or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourself.

That's just a great verse, isn't it? I wish we could apply it a little bit better than we do, but we don't. We need to, though. Do not merely look out for your own personal interest, but also for the interest of others. And now he goes in this great exhortation about the Messiah. He says, have this attitude in yourselves, which was also in Christ Jesus. In other words, if you want to regard others as more important than yourself, if you want to take a back seat to other people, you need to regard Jesus.

You need to look at Jesus. You need to consider what Jesus has done. You need to have his attitude. The reason, reason we don't regard others higher than ourselves is because we don't have the attitude that Jesus had in his condescension. In his humiliation, in his incarnation, in his enfles, had this attitude. Now listen very carefully. He says, who although he existed in the form of God, okay? Form, word morphae. We get an English word morphology, which in plain terms is DNA. Okay? He existed, had the same DNA as God, because Jesus is God.

He did not regard equality with God as a thing to be grass. In other words, he's equal in nature to God, but he didn't parade himself around as if he was God. He didn't have to let everybody know that he was God. Hey, look at me.

I'm God in the flesh. Everybody, look here. Take your picture. Anyone want to take a picture with me? Here I am. I'm God in the flesh. Look at me.

Didn do that. Didn print himself around. Unlike the way people live their lives today, because he had this great humility about him. So he didn have to parade himself around. The very fact that he was God was clearly evident in all the things he said and all the things he did. And so it says, he emptied himself, and taking the form of a bonds, and being made in the likeness of men, the form Same word, morphology, speaking of the fact that he had the same DNA as a man because he is 100% man, he's 100% God in the inc.

Being made in the likeness of man, being found in appearance as a man, he humbled him by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Now, two things I want you to see. One, he emptied him. It 's the word ken from kena, which means to relinquish, to empty, to take away. It was a word used by Roman centurions in Greek culture. It's a word that described the fact that when a centurion would lead his hundred men into battle, He would remove all the paraphernalia that identified him as the centurion.

He would lay it all aside. Okay? All the things that manifest the fact that he is the leader, the centurion, he laid them all aside that he might identify with his men in battle. That's exactly what Jesus did. He laid aside that manifestation, those things that identify him as God. His omnipotence, His omniscience, His wisdom, all those attributes that make Him who He is, He laid them aside willingly. So that he could identify now with man. He emptied him. That 's what Jesus did. And so Paul picks up on the Roman culture, uses the word that everybody who's reading this, as he writes it from prison, people would know exactly the self-emptying of the Messiah.

And then he says this, and this is quite astonishing. He says Being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason, God highly ex him. Highly exalted him, and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow of those who are in heaven and on earth and Under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. God highly exalted him.

Same phrase used in John 3, 14 when Jesus said, If I be lifted up, Okay? As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so too shall the Son of Man be lifted up. And then Jesus would later say, if I be lift up, I will draw all men to myself. So now Paul uses that phrase to say, now Christ has been lifted up as he was lifted up on the cross. God the Father lifted him up and highly exalted him above every other name. He lifted him higher than every other name. So that the name of Jesus every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

See how that all comes together? So the right of Hebrew says, but we see Jesus made a little lower than the angels. Because man in his sin was made lower than the angels. So Christ would come, having been made lower than the angels, to deal with man's sin problem so that we could deal with it. He had to become man. He had to condescend. And so the writer of Hebrews says it this way: but we do see him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely Jesus. Why? Because of the suffering of death, crown with gl and honor.

Now, it's not his. Suffering at death, he's speaking about. He's speaking about it in general terms. Why was he made a little lower than the angels? Because God can't die. God's a spirit. So God had to become man in order to die. So, because of the suffering of death, what's the wages of sin? Death. Ezekiel 18, the soul that sins, it shall die. God told Adam and Eve, the day you eat, you will die. He gave them dominion over all the birds of the air, all the fish of the sea, over all the animal kingdom.

He gave them dominion. But if you eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you will die. They ate, they died. Death entered the world. Death is passed upon all men, for one man has sinned. Therefore, we are all sinners, right? Now, man is made lower than the angels. Once that which was subject to him is no longer subject to him any. So in order for God to restore that d that man once had, he must become man and die. Years ago, we did a sermon at Christmas called, Why Did Jesus Come? We based it on 1 John chapter 3.

He came because he had to remove iniquity. 1 John 3, verse number 5. The Son of Man appeared for this reason that he may take away sins. He had to come to remove iniquity. 1 John 3:8, the Son of Man came in order that he might destroy the works of the devil. So not only did he remove iniquity, he had to ravage the enemy. But 1 John 3: says, once he removed iniquity, once he ravaged the enemy, now he could restore man's dignity. Wood had been lost in the fall. So in 1 John:, John says, This, Oh, what manner of love is this?

That the Father has bestowed upon us that we should be called the children of God. What manner of love is this? Phrase, what manner? Pot of pen in the Greek text, used two other times in the New Testament. Once of our Lord, when it says by the disciples, Oh, what manner of man is this, that even the winds and the seas obey him? Choose in 2 Peter chapter 3 to talk about those of us who are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, what manner of people ought we to be in holy living and conduct? It's a phrase that speaks of other.

In other words, when it says, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the waves obey him? It speaks to the fact that what kind of alien power is this? What kind of otherworldly power? Because it's not a natural power. It's not a power of this world. So it must be from another world. It must be alien. In nature, because we've seen nothing like it. John, who was on the boat when that was said. Now says, What manner of love is this? What other kind of world love is this? What kind of alien, foreign love is this?

It's from another dimension because we certainly can't understand it in this arena or in this dimension. What manner of love is this that the Father has bestowed upon us that we now are called the children of God? That goes way beyond anything we can grasp in this world, in this universe. It goes beyond us because it's from another universe. It's alien in nature. See that once he removes iniquity, he ravages the enemy. Having ravaged the enemy, now he can restore man's dignity. And now we become children of the li God.

So, the right of Hebrews says it this way: but, but, it's almost like he's saying, Okay, are you ready for this? Hold on to your seats, we are going to rock your socks. We're going to turn your world upside down. But we see him who, Jesus, made for a little while lower than the angels. Can you believe that? The condescension of the Messiah. Even though we know he is superior to the angels because he created the angels, we learned that in chapter 1, he was made lower than his creation, the angels.

Why? Because of the suffering of death, because of man's sin problem. That's why he's going to save man. How's he going to do that? Tells you. So that by the grace of God he might taste death for every. Wow. That's powerful. That's powerful. Substitution. Someone has to pay the price. Someone has to pay the penalty. Someone has to bear the wrath of God. Who's going to do that? Either you pay for it or God pays for it. Wh God pays for it, you don't pay. But if you're paying for it, you will spend all eternity separated from the true and living God.

This speaks to the sufficient nature of the atoning work of Christ on Calvary's tree. That this one, made lower than the angels, Because of the death problem, the suffering of death. We'll talk about Christ's suffering in Hebrews chapter 4 and the intense suffering he went through. When he suffered on Calvary's cross. But this is just talking about death in general, the death of man. Well, because of the suffering of death, he too would come, he too would die. Now he's crowned with glory and honor because he came through the grace of God to taste death for everyone.

Substitution. That's the uniqueness of why Jesus died. Now, think about it this way. Remember the book of Revelation? Revelation chapter 5. The church, represented by the 24 elders, in verse number 8 says, They sang a new song saying, Worthy are you to take the book and to break its seals. for you were slain and purchased for God and your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. And you have made us to be a kingdom, a priest to our God, and we will re upon the earth. See that?

That's speaking of the world to come. Revelation 5 that hasn't happened yet. Revelation 5 is what's going on in heaven when we are there, when we are translated into glory. It tells us what's going on there. We will reign on the earth. How do we know that? Go back to Revelation chapter 3. Verse 21. Verse 20 says, Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice, opens the door, I will come into him and dine with him, and he with me. He who overcomes. Who's the overcomer? Who, by faith, believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

I will grant him to sit down with me on my thr, as I also overcome and sat down with my father on his thr. In other words, listen, if you are an overcomer, if you're one who believes in who Jesus Christ is and what He did, and you commit your life to Him, you will now sit down at the right hand of God the Father with Jesus Christ on His father. His thr. As he overcame, so we overcome, and we will re with him. That is the restoration of man's dignity. Why did Jesus? Jesus died. He died in order that we might be able to once again have dominion over the earth.

We can't have that because of our sin. So, someone had to pay the price for our sin. Jesus paid that price. So, He now made lower than the angels, because we at the fall now were made lower than the angels. He now comes, having been made lower than the angels, because Because of the suffering of death, is now crowned with glory and honor. Now we one day will be crowned with glory and with honor. Why? Because by the grace of God, He came to taste death for every. It's everyone. Panta is the word used there.

It's everyone. What an amazing, amazing verse of scripture. Which helps us see who Jesus is and what he did for us. This is fabulous. You know, we don't look at the restoration of our dignity as part of the saving grace experience, but it truly is.

Because there's a world to come. Remember, the right of Hebrews is saying, we've already told you about the world to come. There's a world coming, an inhabited earth that's coming. Okay, and those who believe in Jesus will rule and reign with him in that world to come. I wonder, truly, if we see Jesus for who he is. In John 12, the Bible tells us that some Greeks were coming to worship at the feast, and they came to Philip. They said those familiar words, Sir, we wish to see Jesus. So Philip came and told Andrew.

Andrew, Philip came and told Jesus. Why did Philip come to Andrew? Because Andrew's name simply signifies who he is. His name means man. And the definition of man is summed up in the name Andrew. Because every time Andrew is mentioned in the Gospels, he's bringing people to Jesus. What is man? Manhood is bringing people to Jesus. That's all it is. Bringing people to a closer relationship with Jesus. You want to be a man? That's what you do. You bring people to Jesus. You show them Jesus. So Philip brings me to Andrew.

And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour has come, the hour, sevent time used in John's Gospel. The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. You want to see Jesus? You must see him, number one, ident.

He is the Son of Man. Told you earlier, this is the name that he adopted himself in the inc so that he could show that Daniel 7:1 and 14 was speaking of The Messiah, which it was, and he was that Son of Man coming in great clouds of glory. You must see him identified as a son of man. Son of man is son of God. Son of God is son of David. Son of David is the king of the world. You must see him identified. Once you've seen him identified, you must see him glorified. The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glor.

And the best way to identify and to glorify the Son of Man is in the hour of his suffering of death. Because at that point he was made lower than the angels. In his condescension he became man. In the incarnation he dwelt among us. And we beheld his glory, the glorious of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Having seen him identified as Son of Man, glorified on Calvary's cross, truly I say to you that unless a grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, It remains alone, but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

You must see him crucified. He's speaking of his death. And he who loves his life loses it. And he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. If any serves me, he must follow me. You want to see Jesus? You must see him identified as the Son of Man. You must see him glorified as the King of Israel. You must see him crucified on Calvary's Mount. And then and only then will your life be verified, because you have given your life away to the one who gave his life. For you. And that's what the saving grace is all about.

And the writer of Hebrews says, We see Jesus. We see him this way. Because this is who he is. Isn that unique? That John the Baptist, the greatest prophet ever born of a woman, by the words of Jesus. Said in John 1:2, Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The remarkable thing is not what he said, but the remarkable thing was what was not said by everybody else. Nobody said to John, John, what are you talking about? Lamb of God. What's that? Nobody said, John, what did you drink last night?

What are you smoking? How do you call a man a lamb? No one said that. Why? Because he knew. What was Passover about? It was all about. The arrival of the great substitutionary lamb forecast way back in Genesis 2. Where the Lord God said, God will provide Himself as Lamb. Well, the Jews knew that. They all know about Abraham and Isaac. Of course, they know that. Every Jew knows about Abraham and Isaac. Isaac was a perfect type of Christ. Say in 5. As a lamb before his shearers, he was silent. So no one ever questioned John's assessment of Christ.

What he said, there he goes, behold. The Lamb of God who takes away the sacrifice, the sins of the world. Because in the Passover was the promise that there would be. An ultimate sacrifice that didn't just cover sin, but truly would take away sin. We'll show you this more as we go through the next couple of verses because the right of Hebrews wants these Jewish people to know how Jesus literally took away their sin. So that it would be cast into the sea and remembered no more. And so, when Jesus, at the end of his ministry, In Matthew's Gospel, quest the religious leaders.

What does he question them about? About John. Is John the Baptist? Was he from God or from man? Put him to the rock in a hard place. They thought to themselves, well, if we say he's from God, we have a little bit of a problem because that means he is a true prophet of God and Jesus is the Messiah. We're not willing to accept Jesus as Messiah. So, if we say, no, John's not from God, we got another problem because the people think he is from God, and if they think he is from God, they're going to stone us.

We don't want to die. So they said nothing. Don't think for one moment the Jewish nation didn't know who Jesus was. Oh, they knew. No question. They said nothing. Don't think that a Jew today doesn't know who Jesus was and is. They know. They know because it's so clearly evident to them. They have suppressed the truth. They will not admit the truth. They can't admit it in their own sinful state, and they won't admit it. But do they know? Oh, yeah. Can't get around it. It's obvious. So the religious establishment didn't say a word.

So Jesus says, because they came to him and said, by what authority do you do all this that you're doing?

You have no authority here. And that's what he asked the question about: well, was John from God or from man? And they wouldn't answer him. So Jesus says, So I'm not going to answer you by what authority I do these things.

In saying that, He confirmed in their minds that he knew they knew who he was. See that? Christ was, and He is magnificent. He is supreme, He is sufficient, and He is superior to everything. And yet, He made Himself lower than the angels. Because of the suffering of death, that he might taste death for every. Wow. I trust you know Christ. Let me pray with you.

Lord, thank you for today. Thank you for the beauty of your word. What a joy. What a pleasure we have to dive in and to open it up and see the marvelous grace of God. Our prayer is for the saving work in everyone's heart today: that no one would leave here not knowing Christ as Lord and Savior. We pray this in Jesus Christ our Lord, the coming King's name. Amen.