Episode Transcript
WEBVTT
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Going to read two passages today on
first from John Chapter One and then continuing
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on in John Ten. John Chapter
One, Verse Twenty Nine, speaking of
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John The Baptist, the Gospel writer
says writes this. The next day he
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saw Jesus coming toward him and said, behold the lamb of God, who
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takes away the sin of the world. This is he of whom, I
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said, after me comes a man
who ranks before me, because he was
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before me. I myself did not
know him, but for this purpose I
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came baptizing with water that he might
be revealed to Israel, and John bore
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witness. I saw the spirit descend
from heaven like a dove and it remained
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on him. I myself did not
know him, but he sent me to
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baptize with water. Or but sorry, but he who sent me to baptize
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with water said to me he on
whom you see the spirit descend and remain.
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This is he who baptizes with the
Holy Spirit. And I have seen
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and have borne witness that this is
the son of God. And now John
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Chapter Ten. I'll begin reading at
Verse Twenty Two I and I'll read the
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end of the chapter. The focus
of the sermon this morning is on verses
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thirty one to the end, but
for now let's hear God's word from John
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Ten, verse twenty two. At
that time, the Feast of the dedication
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took place at Jerusalem. It was
winter and Jesus was walking in the temple,
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in the colonnade of Solomon. So
the Jews gathered around him and said
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to him, how long will you
keep us in suspense if you are the
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Christ? Tell US plainly. Jesus
answered them. I told you, and
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you do not believe. The works
that I do in my father's name bear
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witness about me, but you do
not believe because you are not among my
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sheep. My sheep hear my voice
and I know them and they follow me.
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I give them eternal life and they
will never perish and no one will
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snatch them out of my hand.
My father, who has given them to
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me, is greater than all and
no one is able to snatch them out
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of the father's hand. I and
the father are one. The Jews picked
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up stones again to stone him.
Jesus answered them. I have shown you
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many good works from the father.
for which of them are you going to
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stone me? The Jews answered him. It is not for a good work
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that we are going to stone you, but for blasphemy because you, being
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a man, make yourself God.
Jesus answered them. Is it not written
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in your law? I said you
are gods. If he called them gods
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to whom the word of God came
in scripture, cannot be broken. Do
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you say of him whom the father
consecrated and sent into the world, you
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are blaspheming because I said I am
the son of God. If I am
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not doing the works of my father, then do not believe me. But
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if I do them, even though
you do not believe me, believe the
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works that you may know and understand
that the father is in me and I
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am in the father. Again,
they sought to arrest him, but he
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escaped from their hands. He went
away again, across the Jordan to the
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place where John had been baptizing at
first, and there he remained, and
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many came to him and they said
John did no sign, but everything that
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John said about this man was true
and many believed in him. There you
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may be seated. So here in
John Ten we have this very, very,
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very clear expression and explanation, testimony
that Jesus is God and man,
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both these things completely true. We
read that in John Ten. At the
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end they're the people say John did
no sign, but everything John said about
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this man was true. And what
did John Say about this man? What
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do you say about this man from
Nazareth, this man that was born of
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Mary, this man that had brothers
and sisters? He said that he was
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the lamb of God who takes away
the sin of the world, he said.
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John said that this one that comes
after me in terms of ministry,
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also in terms of his birth.
He though he was younger than John John
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says he was before me, both
in terms of the priority of his ministry
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and in term of his age,
if we could speak of it that way.
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Because before Jesus became man, he
was and always has been, God
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of God, light of light,
very, God of Very, God begotten,
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not made from his father. I
am in the father and the father
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is in me. I am the
father. Are One, two persons,
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three, including the Holy Spirit.
One God. Jesus doesn't say he's a
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God and I'm a God. Jesus
says I am the father. Are One,
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and the Jews picked up stones again
to stone him. Have you ever
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been that angry? I know I
have. So angry that you're just looking
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around for something to throw wherever I
grow, you know you that that boiling
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heart, that tension in your body, that reaching for something to solve this
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problem, to fix this distress,
something that's distressing you and frustrating you and
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making you so mad that it feels
like the only way to solve that is
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with violence. This is not a
intellectual, merely intellectual, theological debate,
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reasonable people sitting around a table discussing
these points. Not that that would even
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be a good thing, but it's
not that either. This is people that
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understand the consequent in a way,
understand the consequences of what Jesus is saying,
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and it's making them very, very
angry, so angry that they want
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to pick stones up off the ground
and kill him to make the distress stop,
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to make the trouble stop. They
are so in distress, so troubled,
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that rage seems like the only option. They say it's a theological thing,
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and truly it is a theological thing. Jesus is saying, points he's
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making are affirming things about the knowledge
of God, what we know about God,
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who he is, who he's not
not denying that at all, but
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it's not mere this. This whole
situation is not merely operating at that level,
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and that's important to remember, because
it never operates on that level only
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the things that Jesus says has fall
always has far reaching implications for all of
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life. What did John say?
Jesus, the Lamb of God who came
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into the world to take the way
the sin of the world. That's huge.
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Now, if you believe that this
is worth dying for, if you
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believe that it's worth living for,
if you believe that it's worth gathering and
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worshiping and celebrating and growing in that
truth every day and every minute of your
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life. But if you don't believe
that, if the you see this man
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who comes with this amazing power,
the power to raise the dead, the
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power to calm storms, the power
to give paralyzed people life, the power
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to give a blind people's sight,
the power to totally undermine your way of
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life, to pull the rug out
from your authority, and you can't catch
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him, you can't overtake him,
you can't destroy him. The Jews we've
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been reading have been trying to arrest
him, trying to stone him, and
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they can't manage to do it.
And yet people keep coming to him and
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coming to him and coming to him. They feel their power, their authority,
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their livelihood, all the things that
are most important to them slipping away,
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as the people go out, away
from Jerusalem, away from the temple,
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to follow Jesus. If they followed
John and now they're following him even
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more. They loved themselves more than
anything, which is what all of us
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do, apart from God, and
when that's threatened, it makes us angry.
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It made them angry, and so
they picked up stones to stone him,
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to hit his body again and again
and again until he died. Well,
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we have here is a moment of
anger on but also kind of a
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court room seen as well. They
are about to execute him by stoning,
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where you pick up stones and you
and you strike someone. Jesus slows down
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the process a little bit and asks
for evidence right before we get to the
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execution. How about a trial?
And he says in Verse Thirty Two,
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I have shown you many good works
from the father. for which of them
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are you going to stone me?
Now? The Jews answer this way,
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verse thirty two. It is not
for a good work that we are going
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to stone you, but for blasphemy
because you are a man making yourself God.
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So how does Jesus respond to this? It's a little bit complicated.
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I want you to try very hard
to to follow me and I'll do my
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best. I'm to explain it.
Jesus is basic point is you're not consistent.
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You're not consistent in the way that
you are judging things. You judge
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this thing on this standard, but
then in a similar case you switch the
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principle and you don't judge it fairly. You need to take a better look
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at the evidence. Let's look at
how he does that. He does that
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based on a passage of scripture from
Psalm Eighty two. Let me read it
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to you here in John and then
we'll go and look at all eighty two
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in particular and read that passage.
You will follow me so far, looking
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for eyes and nods. Okay,
good, all right. So Jesus says,
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is it not written in your law? Quote. I said you are
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God's. So he's quoting scripture here. So first of all, isn't it
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true that scripture says that it's written
in your law the word of God?
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I said you are God's and then
he makes this point. If I called
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them God's or sorry, if he
called them gods, to whom the word
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of God came, and scripture cannot
be broken. Do you say of him
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whom the father consecrated and sent into
the world? You are blaspheming because I
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said I am the son of God. This is a point about the word
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of God, and that's central to
what John is telling us in this Gospel
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about Jesus. You remember how the
book begins. In the beginning was the
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word, and the word was with
God and the word was God. So
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this is what the point Jesus is
making is a point about the word.
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So let's turn now in bookmark John
Ten and turning your bibles, or simply
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turn your attention to psalm eight two, will read that Psalm Eighty two is
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an amazing song in which God shows
his supreme, awesome power over everything by
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condemning a group of Gods who are
under his authority. So listen, salmyy
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two. God has taken his place
in the Divine Council, in the midst
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of the Gods. He holds judgment. How long will you judge unjustly and
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show partiality to the wicked? Give
justice to the weak and the fatherless,
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maintain the right of the afflicted and
the destitute, rescue the weak and the
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needy, deliver them from the hand
of the wicked. They have neither knowledge
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nor understanding. They walk about in
darkness. All the foundations of the earth
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are shaken. I said, you
are God's sons of the most high,
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all of you. Nevertheless, like
men, you shall die and fall like
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any prince. Arise, Oh God, judge the earth, for you shall
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inherit the nation's so we're going to
come back to John Ten, but let's
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focus on psalm eighty two for a
moment. So in Psalm Eighty two,
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God shows his awesome power by condemning
these gods who are under his authority.
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How do we know they are under
his authority? Verse One, he takes
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his place in the Divine Council,
he holds judgment and he speaks to them,
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and he speaks to these gods and
he judges them. And in verse
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two, how Long Will you judge
unjustly? They are doing a bad job,
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a really bad job. Instead of
protecting the weak, instead of protecting
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the fatherless, the destitute, rescuing
the needy, they are showing partiality to
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the wicked. This is exist perfect
definition of a bad judge. This is
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what it means to be corrupt,
and that's what they're doing. He describes
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them in verse five. They,
these judges, these gods, have no
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knowledge nor understanding. They walk about
in darkness. What's the consequence of that?
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The foundations of the earth are shaken, another words, because of their
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bad judgment, because of their corruption
and their wickedness, the very foundations of
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the earth are shaken, we might
say the principles of our lives are unsteady.
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We also know that they are underneath
him, because they are called his
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sons, and he condemns them to
death. Nevertheless, like men, you
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shall die and fall like any prince. And then the psalmist cries to the
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Supreme God in Verse Eight. Arise, Oh God, judge the Earth,
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in other words, do the thing
that these gods are failing to do,
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for you shall inherit the earth,
the nation's. These gods were supposed to
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be just, but they weren't,
and for that they were going at themselves,
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going to come under judgment. So
the question, one of the questions
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to answer here, is, well, who are these gods? Right and
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different answers have been given for this, and I'm going to go through them
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very briefly. One is that the
idea is that this is God among sort
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of the false gods great pantheon.
God is viewed as sort of a judge
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among all the pagan idols of this
world and it's a reminder that God is
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supreme over overall we would we know
from the rest of scripture that these gods
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would that in this case, not
be true God's but sort of as they
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are perceived by humans. A second
and very different explanation from this is that
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these are angels, that God,
in his divine counsel, is speaking to
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rulers and authorities in the heavens.
Among these, perhaps I'm Satan and his
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fallen ones, who would be judged
like men. A third possibility is that
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this these gods, are men,
I'm who have received this divine title as
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God's agents, but, despite their
powers and the task which God has given
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them and equipped them to judge,
it's gone to their head and they are
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not doing their job. However we
take this, I'm inclined to number three.
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Psalm Eighty two is a jewel to
every person whoever is had their world
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rocked. The foundations of the earth
shaken underneath them because of bad justice,
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by seeing that the very the simplest
things that are supposed to happen in this
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world, that good is rewarded and
evil is punished. When that falls apart,
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life gets very hard very fast.
The foundations of our lives shake and
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psalm eighty two reminds us that God
sees it and he knows it and he's
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supreme overall, and those who are
in charge of judgment, those who are
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in charge of acting, and fail
in that, will be a condemned.
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This was CAIN's worry right when Kane
was condemned for the murder of his brother
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back in Genesis. He says,
what am I going to do if people
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try to kill me? And God
says I will execute seven full judgment,
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divine judgment. In other words,
this world is not going to be this
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lawless place forever, even though you
were king. I am going to reign
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supreme, I am going to maintain
law in order, at least to a
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degree. And finally, all things
will be consummated on the last day when
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God will judge, and judge perfectly
and fairly and set all things right.
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Arise, Oh God, judge the
nation's to those who rightly fall all under
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God's judgment and condemnation, this is, of course, terrifying, but to
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those who seek his mercy and who
find grace in him, this is our
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great hope. It allows us to
walk steady in a world that is very
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shaken. So now back to John. Jesus is talking. That's a very
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weak word, I guess, Jesus, I'll just keep using it for now.
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I guess I talking with the Jews, who themselves were supposed to be
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God's leaders, God's rulers, who
Jesus is just very recently defined as hired
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hands, as people who are not
protecting the sheep, as people who are
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devouring the sheep, as people who
were not executing justice and leading in the
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ways of the Lord, but instead, as we know from this and chapter
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ten and other places, were all
about themselves. They were doing in many
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ways the things that are described in
psalm eighty two. So it's very ironic
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and evil. But they are condemning
Jesus here and picking up stones to stone
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him, that they are judging him, when they are the ones who are
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not giving life to the people.
They are the ones who are not exercising
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God's authority in Godly ways. It's
Jesus who is giving life, it's Jesus
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who is giving healing, it's Jesus
who is teaching with authority. It's not
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him who has the problem. And
he points us out in a way by
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using PSALMATY two. And here's how
he does it. He says you're not
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being consistent. You're willing to accept
that God rightly called in Salmaty two men
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gods. You're willing to accept that. You're willing to accept that the word
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of God, the Scripture that cannot
be broken, called these men God.
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But yet you say I'm blaspheming,
and you're saying it to the word of
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God, which cannot be broken.
In other words, you accept God's word
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here in this place, when it
says you are gods, but you don't
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accept God's word here when it says, when I say I am God,
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scripture cannot be broken. God's word
came in Psalm Eighty two and spoke these
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words, and I have come as
the word. What does he say?
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He says I am consecrated. Do
you say of him whom the father consecrated
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and sent into the world? You
are blasphemy. How can the word of
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God blaspheme? How can God blaspheme
himself? This is Jesus's argument. You're
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not being consistent. You're willing to
accept the word of God, which cannot
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be broken here, but you're not
willing to accept it here now. Of
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course, the counter argument to that
is, well, who said you're the
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word of God? Right? And
that's what Jesus answers the way he answers.
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He says, well, what does
he say? If I'm not doing
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the works of the father, then
don't believe me. If I am not
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the word that has been spoken,
if I am not the light that is
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shining in the darkness, then of
course don't believe me. That would be
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blasphemy to attribute to a man things
that are of God. But if I
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am the light that is shining in
the darkness, if I am the lamb
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that has come into the world,
if I am doing the works that the
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father has given me, then you
must believe. And of course you must,
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because this is exactly what Jesus has
been doing. Remember, they have
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already told him we don't condemn you
because of your works. They've already granted
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that point and so you see what
he's saying. He says if you grant
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that, if you grant the fact
that I roll a cause this permanently paralyzed
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man to walk again, if I
caused this person who is blind from birth,
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to have sight, if I speak
with authority and people are following me
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and you grant these things, then
you have no right to say that I
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am blasphemy. What was their reaction? Again? They sought to arrest him.
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You remember what we read earlier about
how the one in the flesh cannot
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please God. It's like they're blind, isn't it? It's like they're parawized,
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they're they're simply incapable of seeing who
he is, of recognizing what he's
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done and what he's doing. And
that is, of course, the point.
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This is what God is revealing to
the whole world through these events,
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that we cannot come to know him
until he calls us. But when he
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calls US and when he makes his
grace known and when he says get up
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and walk or let your eyes of
sight, everything changes. The sheep here
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his voice and they follow him,
and the same hands which go about throughout
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the world touching people, healing people, become the hands that are crucified to
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a cross and the hands that hold
us forever in his hand, in him
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tightly, carefully, such that none
can take us out of his and his
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father's grasp. This is Jesus's argument, this is Jesus Point. Look at
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the evidence, consider the signs.
This is the word of God, these
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are the works of God. I
am the word of God, I am
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the works of God. See them
and leave. I once had a pastor
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who told me in marital pre marital
counseling that he would sometimes, on his
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way home, just in his mind, try to think of things that he
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really appreciated about his wife, just
driving home, and he would say,
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just sort of challenge himself, what
do you think of five or ten things
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that I that she's done or is
doing for me that I really love?
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And he said guaranteed by the time
I get home I'm singing a tune and
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I'm walking in Oh hi honey.
By reflecting on the love of his wife,
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it positioned or put his heart into
a certain disposition toward her. Jesus
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is saying something similar here, and
we have similar things throughout the psalms and
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other persons of scripture, consider the
steadfast love of the Lord, consider his
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mighty works that are being done right
now through Jesus. When we consider the
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use we we come to understand what
Matthew Henry says, the works that he
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did. Among them we're not only
miracles but mercies, not only works of
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wonder to amaze, but works of
love and kindness to do them good and
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so make them good. So this
is what John, this is what the
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Holy Spirit, speaking through John even
me to day, is calling all of
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us to to consider Jesus's works as
they are testified, to hear us by
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the Holy Spirit, to pay attention
to them, to recognize that they culminate
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with him on the Cross, taking
away our sin so that we might have
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no condemnation with God, so that
we might be adopted into his family,
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so that we might no longer be
at war with God, picking up stones
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to throw against him to protect our
little worlds, our little kingdoms are our
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loves, but so that we might
have life instead of war with God,
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peace with God. Let's reflect on
the works of God in Christ and trust
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him with everything. Let's pray
