April 30, 2025 • 51 mins
In this episode, Pastor Chuck Rains opens up Matthew 16 to explore the true identity of Jesus Christ. The message traces Christ's role from the Old Testament sacrificial system to His New Testament mission as the Messiah and Savior. Pastor Raines emphasizes that Jesus wasn't merely a prophet or good man — He is the Son of the Living God, the fulfillment of the Law, and the only perfect sacrifice for humanity's sin.
Key Themes:
- Christ in the Old Testament Sacrifices: Review of the five main sacrifices and how they symbolized Christ's future work.
- Who Do Men Say That I Am? (Matthew 16:13-20): Jesus questions His disciples about public opinion and receives Peter’s Spirit-revealed confession — "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God."
- From Kingdom to Cross: Although Jesus was the promised King, His mission first required the cross — not a crown — because of mankind’s need for salvation.
- God’s Plan Over Man’s Plan: Peter’s initial rebuke ("this shall not be unto thee") and Christ’s sharp correction: "Get thee behind me, Satan." God's plan of redemption required the cross.
- Victory Through the Cross: Christ's death was not defeat but divine victory, proven through the Resurrection.
- Personal Application: Believers are called to take up their own cross daily, rejecting worldly values and identifying with Christ’s suffering and mission.
Scripture References:
- Matthew 16:13–28
- Isaiah 42:8
- Romans 1
- 1 Peter 2:6
- Acts 2 and Acts 10
- Luke 9
Notable Quotes:
"You cannot serve God on your own terms. You're going to have to seek God's forgiveness first."
"The resurrection proves it. It proves that God accepted His sacrifice and that death couldn't hold Him."
"Take up your cross daily. Live not tied to this world’s values but tied to the love and glory of the one who died in your place."
Resources Mentioned:
- Podcast Website: www.legacybiblepodcast.com
- Full episode transcripts (up to episode 51 available)
Call to Action:
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- Share this episode with friends hungry for deep Bible teaching.
Explore the website for transcripts and past episodes!
Comments or questions ? you can contact me at legacybiblepodcast@gmail.com
Thanks for listening.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hello, podcast listeners.
(00:14):
And welcome.
This is the Legacy Bible Podcast, a place where you will hear legacy audio from the tape
archives of the Fellowship Bible Church in Joliet, Illinois.
All messages are preached by our pastor, the Reverend Chuck Rains.
And I'm going to be your host today and every day.
(00:38):
My name is Marcus Onate.
And today we're going to have one from, let's see, this is from March 25th, 1990.
I think we finished just about all the 1989 ones that I have.
If I have a few more, I could find a throw in there, but we're going to be going into
the 90s this week.
(01:00):
So in the title of this much is the true identity of Christ from sacrifice to sovereign.
All right.
So let's get right to that and take it away, pastor.
Open to Matthew's Gospel, if you will, chapter 16.
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We've been talking about the sacrifice of Christ.
And I've been looking with you at the five sacrifices of the Old Testament, the two that
are the non-sweet saver sacrifices that were for sin.
There is what was called the sin sacrifice and the trespass sacrifice.
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There were three that were called sweet saver sacrifices because the idea was that when
they were offered, there went up a sweet smell before God.
It was acceptable for fellowship.
It spoke of something delightful.
Whereas the sin offerings spoke of atonement for sin and dealt with the need to cleanse
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the sinner from their sin.
But the fellowship offerings, the three sweet saver offerings, spoke of the sweet fellowship
that one would have in the Lord.
Going through this life as one's whole life was given over to walk with him and to worship
him.
I want to look into the New Testament in the Gospels here from the Lord's own teachings
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and see the emphasis that he places on his death.
Here in Matthew 16, let's look at verse 13, where he wants to have the disciples tell him
who people say that he is.
When Jesus came into the coast of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying,
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whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?
Who do people say that I, the Son of Man, am?
It's interesting.
In the question he's already described himself, anything that people would say that would
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fall short of that couldn't adequately glorify him, couldn't really declare who he is.
Here's the standard.
He's the Son of Man.
Now he has many names.
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You know, there are approximately 200 names for God in the Bible.
Christ the Son has many names, wonderful names.
But when he came to this earth to be born as a man, it was so that he might suffer as
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a man, that he might die as a man.
Because the purpose of God in doing that was to make his Son available to us, to bring
his Son to this world, and let him become that perfect sacrifice that fulfilled all
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the pictures that he had given in the Old Testament.
No animal could ever take away sin by its death, by its shedding of blood.
The scripture is very clear, the blood of bulls and goats can never take away sin.
And you think of the thousands and the tens of thousands and maybe the millions of animals
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that were killed.
In obedience to God's scriptures, you remember this, those animals, though they were offered
according to God's word, were not being offered in order to take away sins in themselves.
They could never do that.
What they were being offered as was a picture directing people to that perfect sacrifice
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that would come one day, that would take away sins.
People were putting their trust not in what the sheep or the gold or the dove or the bullock
would bring to them.
They were putting their trust in what those sacrifices spoke of, what they looked to.
And when they, without even knowing all the details, when they said, well, God, you told
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me to offer this sacrifice this way, whatever it serves for your purposes, God, I put my
trust in you and believe that you have a way for me to come into your presence.
And I'm obeying you, and my trust is fully in you, though I don't know all the details.
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And you see, God honored those sacrifices because they came and they were pictures of
that perfect sacrifice that one day would come his son.
And so Jesus now says, all right, here I am.
I've come.
I am here now, anointed of God.
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In my ministry, I've come and offered myself to this nation Israel, the people that I've
chosen for myself for special glory and special blessing.
I've offered myself to them.
Now he's coming to the end of his life.
He's basically saying, what's their conclusion about me?
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Who do they say that I am?
The answer comes back.
Verse 14, they said, some say that thou are John the Baptist.
Now the reason they could say that was by this time that John the Baptist was dead.
Israel had not seen a prophet for 400 years until John came.
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Now were those years we sometimes call them the silent years.
I'm not sure they were totally silent, but as far as written revelation is concerned,
they were.
Years when God was still keeping his people Israel as a nation and yet years when there
was no written message given, no message for writing, no prophet, then God sent John the
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baptizer into the world to call to the nation Israel to ready themselves for the coming
of the one that was anointed to be their king.
He was going to call them to turn away from their sin.
He was going to call them to repentance that they might be a pure people ready to let the
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king, the Messiah means the anointed one.
The Christ is just the New Testament word for the Old Testament word Messiah to let the
Messiah come and reign over them.
In fact, he was offering them the kingdom that God had promised them so many times in
the Old Testament.
He had confirmed that in David that one of David's line was going to come and sit on
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the throne of his father David and was going to reign over Israel.
And John the Baptist came and offered that to the people.
When his head was cut off, because the people regarded him as a prophet of God, as one that
spoke truth, oh he was a fiery preacher, not afraid to even speak against the king himself
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for his immorality and it cost him his life.
When the people recognized God speaking through John so that when the question was
asked, well who do people say I am?
Some said, well this must be John raised from the dead.
Now that shows you that they weren't very well aware of Jesus' life.
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Jesus in fact was right there when John was alive.
John was the one that baptized Christ.
In fact, they were really cousins.
Simultaneous ministries, though John was perhaps six months older in the sense being born before
Christ, nonetheless simultaneous ministries.
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So these people were trying to do honor to the Lord Jesus, trying to acclaim him as a
prophet by naming him as John, but they were totally ignorant of the truth.
And as much as you might try to honor the Lord Jesus, as much as you might try to say,
well he's a fine man.
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He was a lovely man.
He was a sincere man.
He was even a prophet of God.
You haven't gone far enough.
You must not stop there.
Because until you get to the very names of Christ himself, until you get to who he really
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is, you haven't gone far enough.
Others said, you're Elijah.
Now maybe they were looking back to the promise at the very end of the Old Testament.
Maybe they were still considering these days that they had gone without a word from heaven
until John came.
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Because in the last chapter of the last book of the Old Testament, the second verse from
the very end of the Old Testament, it says, Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet
before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children and the heart of the children
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to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
There's a prophecy at the end of the Old Testament that Elijah would come.
Interesting comment is made by the Lord Jesus right here in the book of Matthew when he's
talking about John the Baptist.
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He even says this.
And he says this of John the Baptist.
This was Elijah if you would receive it.
But you see, John the Baptist could have fulfilled the prophecy of Elijah, but they wouldn't
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receive the message of John the Baptist.
What does that mean?
I think that should clear up forever for you from the Lord's own lips that that does not
mean that Elijah himself will have to be resurrected and come to the earth.
It is one who will come in the spirit and power of Elijah, one who will have a ministry
as that of Elijah because if John the Baptist could have fulfilled the prophecy, then you
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see you don't need Elijah.
And Jesus said John could have.
But you know what?
John did not fulfill the prophecy of Elijah coming because the people would not receive
his message.
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The truth is that Israel still looks for an Elijah and there is going to have to come
one in that spirit and power to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts
of the children to their fathers.
Now we'll study that another time in the book of Revelation perhaps.
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Maybe Tuesday if you were there at the Institute because I'm going to be touching on that subject
on Tuesday.
But back here in Matthew, no, he wasn't John the Baptist, he wasn't Elijah.
Well others thought Jeremiah or one of the prophets.
They all had candidates for who Jesus would be and they named some of those who were the
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most fiery preachers.
Those that were many that would have laid down their lives and some that did lay down
their lives for the Lord, for preaching His Word and being true to His Word.
My what honor, He's a faithful preacher, even unto death.
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But you see that's not enough people, it isn't enough.
He wasn't just John the Baptist, he wasn't just Elijah, he wasn't just Jeremiah or one
of the old prophets.
He was more than that, so Jesus asked them more.
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Verse 15, he said unto them, but whom say ye that I am?
And Simon Peter is the one that speaks for the disciples.
Remember now the question is asked of all of them, not just of Simon, but of all of them.
And Peter speaks and he answers, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
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He has named Himself the Son of Man in His question.
And Peter has responded for the disciples, you're the Christ.
You're the Messiah.
You're the one that was prophesied in the Old Testament by God that would come and be anointed
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of God to reign over Israel.
You're the Son of the living God.
Talk about God as the living God.
There were others named gods by people.
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Many of them took forms as animals and as humans in their worship.
There were idols when I'm talking about idols.
And the Old Testament has much to say about them.
It comes down to this.
They have ears, but they hear not.
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They have eyes, but they see not.
They have mouths, but they speak not.
They have hands, but they handle not.
They have feet, but they can't walk.
Oh yes, and God even says those that make them or just like them.
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They don't have much either.
They don't have much power to know, to do anything that has eternal value.
You know what kind of gods men make?
And it almost takes a phrase right out of the book of Genesis, doesn't it?
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Men make gods after their own image.
Now really when we say that and the Scriptures bear it out very well, what we really mean is after their own inner self.
See they might fashion a god to look like a snake.
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You say, well man doesn't look like a snake.
Frogs, oh people have worshiped some strange things over the years.
I guess almost anything that you could look at on the earth that men have had to deal with, they've worshiped.
They've worshiped trees and rocks, mountains and sun and rivers and sea.
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Every kind of creature that's walked on the earth that man's had some contact with, you could probably find somebody has worshiped.
Beyond all that they've even made some images that combine a bunch of these.
They're hideous things. Sometimes they had a head of a human being and a body of an animal and sometimes it's two or three animals kind of mixed together.
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Sometimes you see the grotesqueness of those forms and trying to reveal maybe power or sensuality or some aspect of life.
But I'll tell you, they all fall short of ever being able to do one thing and that's live.
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They're all dead.
They don't have any life and they can't give any life.
And when it comes to the bottom line that's really what counts isn't it?
Can the god that a man worships give him life?
Life, not money, not power, but life.
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Let's take it to the extreme because I think all truth can be taken to the extreme.
Can it give eternal life?
Can it give man victory over death?
Can it transport him into a realm of life beyond all the limitations of this world?
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Can it bring him into a place of fulfillment that this world always limits?
The mind, the very emotions and most of all the fullest expression of what we know from the scripture to be the man's spirit, his very heart, his soul?
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Can that god give that man that much?
In the scriptures clear, there is only one god that lives.
You know Isaiah 42, 8?
I am the Lord.
That is my name and my glory will I not give to another neither my praise to graven images.
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He is the living god.
First of all, he is the source of all creation.
You know what I was thinking on that?
While I was thinking on that, I thought there are those who will look at the creation and say,
Now that's a very simplistic answer to a very complex problem.
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I guess I'd have to say, yes, it is.
And yet it's not so simple when I look at the complexity of what he's made.
I think that when I look at the creation and see it in all of its detail and all of its complexity,
rather than show me the foolishness of believing in God, what it does to me is bring me to appreciation for how wonderful, how great, how infinite he is.
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The more you examine the creation, the more you recognize its intricacies,
the more you have to realize the wonder of the mind behind its creation.
And after all, it's only stuff.
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And yet it does show the tremendousness of his mind.
And his will, because it has designed. It's going someplace. It works together, you know?
On this planet, like we suppose, on no other, we haven't been everywhere else, so we can't really say that.
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But the only revelation we have is that God put man here.
And all these living creatures have been put here.
And ours is to look at this and the other things that God has created in so far as we can contact them, whether by sight or by going there,
and realize that when we get there and when we look at them, they tell us how wonderful he is, how infinite he is.
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It should bring us to our knees to praise him, to worship him, but don't miss this.
It's like those idols versus God. He is alive. They are dead.
The living God has brought all this into being.
He's the source of it all.
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And not just the inanimate, but the inanimate. He's the source of life.
And not just animal life, but even has given to man one thing that he didn't put anywhere else in all of his creation, and that's a spirit.
He gave us the capacity for having a personal and eternal relationship with him. You can't see your spirit.
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And if I argued with you that ants have spirits, but you don't, you'd say, well, you know, I don't know about that.
Only ants would know that. But the scriptures clear that you are the one creature in this creation that has a spirit, and you do have the capacity to test that.
You have been called within your spirit. Romans 1 declares it. You have been called by God in your spirit to worship him.
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You may have said no to it.
You may have shut the door to it, but God has spoken to you.
And the obviousness of your being a limited creature that's moving on through life and destined to die should be self-evident.
You can't conquer death in yourself. You need help from the one who has had victory over death.
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And so Jesus came as a man, took the place of man, lived life perfectly and died in man's place that man might have victory over death.
It was God's heart of love that provided such a wonderful salvation and such a wonderful Savior.
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He alone is God and is offered in his son life for all who would take it.
And then he has one who is the one that he is appointed to be his king. He has, we call in the Old Testament, a Messiah.
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First of all, to reign over Israel. But that's not the limit of the Messiah's reign. You can find that in the Scriptures also.
He's going to reign over all nations. He is called Lord of lords and King of kings.
He shall reign. I have to say shall because he hasn't yet.
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And it's wonderful to see some portions of Scriptures that were given as prophecy when they were given and to see that they've been fulfilled.
And then to find other portions of Scripture that have not yet been fulfilled and say that has to await a future day.
There is a day coming when this one that God has said is his chosen one to be king. That one shall be king.
Well now John the Baptist came along and said to Israel, here he is here now. Worship him, clean your hearts, fall before him,
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acknowledge him as the Messiah. And Israel said no.
No, he was rejected. Came to his own and his own received him not.
They wanted nothing to do with him.
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So Jesus is saying, who did they say they are? The Son of Man.
Well, John the Baptist, one of the other prophets, Elijah maybe, but who does he want them to see that he is?
And it's at this time that the Lord God made it possible for Simon to speak for them all and name him for what he really is.
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He is again the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Now, where did that come from?
It certainly didn't come from man's thoughts. It didn't come from man's values. It didn't come from man's reasonings
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because man as far as he was concerned was not ready to acknowledge Christ.
Jesus as Savior, Jesus as Messiah, not from man's values, man's values would never end up at the place of glorifying the Lord Jesus.
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Man's values never lead one to praise Christ, not as always prophet, perhaps, good teacher certainly, kind man without question.
But as Son of God, as Savior, I'm going to tell you, no.
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No. Because when you mention Savior, you have to have sacrifice.
To praise him and honor him is the Savior. No.
Substitutionary sacrifice? Never. Man's values never lead him to that because you see to be ready to acknowledge a Savior,
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you have to be ready to acknowledge that you're a sinner. Don't you know about the heart of man?
It's deceitful and desperately wicked.
Deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.
You see, man is not ready to acknowledge that he needs a Savior because in the pride of man, man would say, I need no Savior.
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I'm able to live life on my own.
It's not true.
So when Peter said this, the Lord said, in blessed are thou Simon, Bar- Jonah, for flesh and blood, if not revealed it unto thee, but my Father, which is in heaven.
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That could only come from God, that does not come from man, that is not from man's values.
It does not come from man. To claim Christ as the son of the living God, as the one that God anointed, that can only be a truth that comes from God, and it is from the Lord, from God Himself.
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Verse 18, I say, also unto thee, that thou art Peter, Petrus, little rock, and upon this rock, Petrus, solid rock, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Often used as a verse to show that Peter was made the foundation of the church. It doesn't say that at all. It's really a play on words. Peter was a little rock stone, you know.
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If you will, a little pebble, but the rock that the church, or the called out assembly would be the better way to say that.
The one that the called out assembly of God, the ones called out of the world, the ones called from among the unbelievers, to the Lord that make up a great company, a great host, for the Lord, their built not on some man, and some little stone.
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They are built on Petrus, but they are built on Petra, on Christ Himself. You know, Peter even says this, when he shows us that Christ is the stone to be honored.
It's in his writings in 1 Peter, chapter 2, and he's talking about the Lord here in chapter 2, as that special stone.
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I'd like to especially read verse 6.
Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect precious, and he that believeth on him shall not be ashamed, shall not be put to shame.
Do you know what Peter is saying? The scriptures tell us that there is a cornerstone. That means a topping out stone.
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The stone of glory, and it is a person. You believe on him. You have to believe on that one that God has named as his stone of glory. His stone of authority, his stone of rain, if you will, his stone that's precious.
In Zion, the anointed to be in first place to reign over all in full authority. You must believe in him. You must come to him and put your trust in him.
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That's what Peter is saying. My Peter is saying, don't look to me as your stone. Look to Christ. He is the stone.
By the way, I might add on this and say that Peter never assumed any prime place in leadership ever in the church. If you want to look in the book of Acts, it was James that led the council.
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But there was something special that Peter had an opportunity to do. That's discussed by the Lord at verse 19.
I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
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Keys are symbols of authority or power. And you know Peter was the one that the Lord used to unlock, if it were, if you will, the whole ministry of the gospel, first to be the one that was used in the church.
And then to the Jews at Pentecost, you know, when Peter stood and explained to the Jews how that God was working now, reaching out to them, and was doing a great work by the Spirit and in the name of Christ, the work of redemption.
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He stood and explained that to the Jews there in the book of Acts. But he also was used of God. By the way, that's Acts chapter 2. Verse 6 is a good, or no, Acts, I'll get the reference in my mind just a second. He preached it in Acts 2.
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And then he later was used of God, and that's in Acts 10. He was later used of God to bring that same message of the gospel's offering of freedom from sin, of cleansing from sin to the Gentiles at Cornelius's house, if you remember.
So Peter was in that place of use by God in declaring to Jews and to Gentiles alike that the gospel was for them. That was Peter's blessing.
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He was in that prime place. But you know, far as Peter was concerned, I like this little phrase, it's not original with me.
But he looked at himself and he said of himself, he was an apostle by gift, 1 Peter 1 1, and an elder by office. 1 Peter 5 1.
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An apostle by gift is 1st book, 1st chapter, 1st verse, and an apostle, or an elder, rather by office. That's his 5th chapter, 1st verse.
That's what he saw himself as. An apostle, well, that was a wonderful gift from the Lord to be able to be that for the church, and an elder in the place of his service.
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That's what Peter saw for himself and of himself.
Acts 2, 38 to 42 is that place where he opens that message to Israel.
Kingdom of Heaven. What is that that we're talking of here in verse 19?
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Well, that's looking to the ultimate victory and presence on this earth, the triumph of the Lord Jesus in his kingdom being actually here on this earth, and then ultimately in all of eternity.
But be that kingdom that will be present on this earth when he reigns King of Kings and Lord of Lords. That's been a promise in the Scriptures for centuries, even centuries before the New Testament was written.
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That the Messiah would reign, there would be a kingdom that Jews were asking for. You see, they weren't asking wrongly, they were just asking very selfishly and very much out of ignorance of what God really wanted to do.
They wanted the kingdom to be then, but on their terms, when Christ came and offered it, he offered it on his terms. What were his terms? John preached them, repentance.
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You cannot serve God on your own terms. You're going to have to serve God with a righteous life. You're going to have to seek God's forgiveness first.
Let him cleanse you, let him give you a new life, and then let him use a clean life. Let him use a reborn life for his glory.
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That's the way to come to him. That kingdom of heaven, of course, has its present aspect in this age. The only reason we would really have any revelation on that, that's very, very pointed, I think, would probably be because we can be taken to that.
In Matthew 13 for one and the other parables that follow that, that talk about a present age, the present course of this age, when we can see that God is working and calling out from the people of this age, a people for himself.
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There's a progress of this age described in those parables. You think, well, what has happened? Not that the Jews understood it at the time it was given, not that the apostles did initially, but now that we go back and we read it with the Spirit of God's help, we can see that things have gone just as the Lord Jesus prophesied.
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The age is progressed and we're still here. There are those that are godly in this world, but the world is still very evil. The world is still in need of the salvation that God offers.
The kingdom of heaven in its present form is, you might say, that called out assembly even today, which is going to be perfectly manifest in the kingdom when Christ reigns, but right now those that trust in Christ are very much a part of that kingdom. That's why Israel and the Gentiles were both given the gospel and both brought in to that wonderful hope, if they would take it, of salvation in Christ.
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You can therefore, whether you're a Jew or a Gentile, and that takes into the whole world, you may have the offer of salvation in Christ, and you may be a part of God's family and God's kingdom, if you will.
However, things had to change. The message had to have a new emphasis. And that's why verse 20 is here. Then charged, he is disciples that they should not, should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ, the Messiah.
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Do you understand? He's saying, now this message of me being the Messiah is not where you are to preach. That's not what you're to preach. I am the Messiah. He's not denying that. In fact, Peter claimed that and he said that was from God. There's no denial that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah. What he does not want him to do though is make that their message. Their message can no longer be, you're being offered the Messiah. You're being offered the kingdom.
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Here it is. Take him. No, he said that's not the message I want you to go out with. Here's the message I want you to go out with.
And this is just like you came to a 90 degree turn in the road in the Gospels. John the Baptist was trying to get them to receive him as Messiah. Jesus admitted that his acclamation by Peter as the Christ, the Messiah, was from God.
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But no, this is not the message that's to be given. Not any longer. They have said no to him as Messiah. What would he like them to tell Israel and the world? Here it is.
From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples how that he must go into Jerusalem and suffer many things that the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and be raised again the third day. You want to know the message?
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Not the glory of the rain because they had said no to him misunderstanding that they needed forgiveness. But now go out to the world with this. Tell them that their first concern must be to see me as the crucified Savior.
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This world needs the message of the cross. This world needs to know of what happened at Calvary. All of the officials of that nation caused him to suffer. And Luke chapter 9 adds another word. They rejected him.
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He suffered and was rejected. And they killed him. And it really means they murdered him.
They couldn't have said it more completely, more plainly that we don't want anything to do with you than to inflict suffering on him and to reject him and ultimately to murder him.
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They couldn't have said it more completely. You can't do anymore to a man after you've murdered him.
But that wasn't the end of the message. You've got to go out and tell them that God has given victory over all of the rejections of man and even the murder of the son of man and the son of the living God.
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Go out and tell them that he was raised the third day. God has given victory over death so that death on Calvary isn't simply a murder anymore.
That death on Calvary becomes a sacrifice. It becomes a place of victory. He's been raised from the dead so that the emphasis on the cross isn't, oh, they've killed him.
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But rather, in his death, God has had a victory. You see, the resurrection proves it. It proves that God accepted his sacrifice. It proves that death couldn't hold him.
That means that there was no sin in him because if there had been one sin in him, he'd have to spend eternity in hell. The absolute right, take it to the extreme. Go ahead.
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The absolute righteousness of God would demand eternal judgment for his sin if there was one.
So never, never teach that he suffered in hell after his death. Don't teach that because he did not suffer in hell.
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The Bible never says that. It never teaches it. Neverwhere it denies it. He suffered at the hands of men.
But when he died, his death was acceptable to God as a sacrifice as God had pictured it five times over and five different ways in the Old Testament.
His death was a sacrifice for us to have our sin cleansed and to enjoy his fellowship. Go out with that message, she says. That's your message.
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Tell them that the Son of Man must suffer. He must die and he will be raised on the third day.
Then Peter took him and began to rebuke him saying, Be it far from the Lord. This shall not be under thee.
Oh my no, we don't want to get into this, Lord. Let's just forget this whole death idea that you have and let's go right to the kingdom.
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Let's go right to the throne. No, my, that would be man's way. You can't have eternity without the Savior's sacrifice.
And so he's rebuked in the strongest way possible. Verse 23, turn and set unto Peter. Get thee behind me, Satan.
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Thou art an offense unto me. Can you think of any worse words that the Lord would ever say to you than to look at you in the eye and say, Thou art an offense unto me?
Why was Peter so strong and offense to the Lord? Because he didn't yet see and he wasn't speaking of the cross as a pivotal place for victory?
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He saw Peter saw it as defeat. Peter saw it as an end of all the workings of God on Christ behalf. When in fact, it was very much in the will of God.
And Peter needed to get himself turned around and needed to look at the cross as absolutely essential. He had to look at the cross as something that God wanted that was in the will of God.
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Something that in fact had to be the very focal point of the preaching now. That the cross was there as a way for victory. The cross was there as the way of salvation was offered to man.
We need to tell the world that there's a cross, a sacrifice, not of defeat, but a sacrifice that has brought to man and offer of absolute forgiveness and eternal life.
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A fellowship with God as a free gift. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. And Luke says, and take up his cross daily.
You know not only do we have to have the view of Christ's death on the cross as central in our preaching to the world. And when I mean preaching, I mean when you talk with them, I don't mean make yourself strange and talk at them, but talk with them.
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Bring the message to them and bring it constantly in love. Bring it faithfully in love. Tell them that he died, but also tell them he rose the third day, which proves he has victory and can forgive sin and give them life. Bring that message to them will you?
But do this. You also have to take up your identification with the cross. And it's your cross. It means that in your life, you too are committed to live righteously in this life unto death.
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To take whatever the world would throw against you in total identification with your Lord, realize that it means the rejection of the world, the rejection of the world's values. That's what the cross is.
It's proof that the world rejected him absolutely and totally. Take up your cross daily, live that way, live not tied to this world system and values.
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Tied to this rather, that your heart and your life is to be lived to love and glorify the one who died in your place.
That's what your life should be all about. Take up your cross daily and follow him.
You could have all the material gain of this world and lose your own soul. What profit would you have?
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But if you keep your eyes on this, that the glory of the Father and the blessings that he's ready to bring to those that trust in him, believe in the one that he has given to them as our Savior, that's your hope, that's your future.
If you see this world is passing away and look at what the Lord calls worth having, and I'm not just speaking of the things in heaven. I'm speaking of the Lord's glory.
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All right, there we have it. Thank you, Pastor Raines. I don't know if you noticed, got cut off a little bit there at the end.
So that message, like I said, he's come from tape. So tape must have ran out or something, but I got cut off.
I hated to waste that just because it has a few minutes of it missing at the end.
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It was such a great message. It was good up until then. But I think we could just about get most of the meaning from it.
So I was glad to put that on because I didn't want to waste that. I have a few that are like that once in a while earlier, some that either day became late or they ended early.
(49:08):
But they're still great messages, so that's why I brought that today. All right, so come back next week.
We'll have more. And if you'd like, you can subscribe. That would be nice. You could subscribe on Spotify or on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen.
You could comment. And most importantly, share, share with your friends.
(49:31):
Hey, listen to this podcast. There's a lot of good Bible study content.
And if you want, you can check out our website, which is www.like-a-see-biblepodcast.com.
And there's a few things on there. You can check out. You can listen to all the back episodes there.
And you could check out one thing that I'm really promoting is the transcripts.
(49:59):
I have up to episode 51 of the transcripts.
And my sister is working on getting more from up there.
But they're really well done.
So you get a little bit more out of it than just listening to the little audio.
It's nice you can listen to them.
She formatted them in a real nice document form. We're easy to read.
(50:21):
So you can go check that out. You could read them online or download them and put them out there.
Share them with your friends or whatever you want with it.
So they're there for you to listen to. All right.
So thank you for listening. And please come back next time.
And we will have more from the tape archives of the Fellowship Bible Church.
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And until then, have a great day. I'll see you next week.
So long.
Thank you.
Hello, podcast listeners.
(00:14):
And welcome.
This is the Legacy Bible Podcast, a place where you will hear legacy audio from the tape
archives of the Fellowship Bible Church in Joliet, Illinois.
All messages are preached by our pastor, the Reverend Chuck Rains.
And I'm going to be your host today and every day.
(00:38):
My name is Marcus Onate.
And today we're going to have one from, let's see, this is from March 25th, 1990.
I think we finished just about all the 1989 ones that I have.
If I have a few more, I could find a throw in there, but we're going to be going into
the 90s this week.
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So in the title of this much is the true identity of Christ from sacrifice to sovereign.
All right.
So let's get right to that and take it away, pastor.
Open to Matthew's Gospel, if you will, chapter 16.
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We've been talking about the sacrifice of Christ.
And I've been looking with you at the five sacrifices of the Old Testament, the two that
are the non-sweet saver sacrifices that were for sin.
There is what was called the sin sacrifice and the trespass sacrifice.
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There were three that were called sweet saver sacrifices because the idea was that when
they were offered, there went up a sweet smell before God.
It was acceptable for fellowship.
It spoke of something delightful.
Whereas the sin offerings spoke of atonement for sin and dealt with the need to cleanse
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the sinner from their sin.
But the fellowship offerings, the three sweet saver offerings, spoke of the sweet fellowship
that one would have in the Lord.
Going through this life as one's whole life was given over to walk with him and to worship
him.
I want to look into the New Testament in the Gospels here from the Lord's own teachings
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and see the emphasis that he places on his death.
Here in Matthew 16, let's look at verse 13, where he wants to have the disciples tell him
who people say that he is.
When Jesus came into the coast of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying,
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whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?
Who do people say that I, the Son of Man, am?
It's interesting.
In the question he's already described himself, anything that people would say that would
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fall short of that couldn't adequately glorify him, couldn't really declare who he is.
Here's the standard.
He's the Son of Man.
Now he has many names.
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You know, there are approximately 200 names for God in the Bible.
Christ the Son has many names, wonderful names.
But when he came to this earth to be born as a man, it was so that he might suffer as
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a man, that he might die as a man.
Because the purpose of God in doing that was to make his Son available to us, to bring
his Son to this world, and let him become that perfect sacrifice that fulfilled all
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the pictures that he had given in the Old Testament.
No animal could ever take away sin by its death, by its shedding of blood.
The scripture is very clear, the blood of bulls and goats can never take away sin.
And you think of the thousands and the tens of thousands and maybe the millions of animals
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that were killed.
In obedience to God's scriptures, you remember this, those animals, though they were offered
according to God's word, were not being offered in order to take away sins in themselves.
They could never do that.
What they were being offered as was a picture directing people to that perfect sacrifice
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that would come one day, that would take away sins.
People were putting their trust not in what the sheep or the gold or the dove or the bullock
would bring to them.
They were putting their trust in what those sacrifices spoke of, what they looked to.
And when they, without even knowing all the details, when they said, well, God, you told
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me to offer this sacrifice this way, whatever it serves for your purposes, God, I put my
trust in you and believe that you have a way for me to come into your presence.
And I'm obeying you, and my trust is fully in you, though I don't know all the details.
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And you see, God honored those sacrifices because they came and they were pictures of
that perfect sacrifice that one day would come his son.
And so Jesus now says, all right, here I am.
I've come.
I am here now, anointed of God.
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In my ministry, I've come and offered myself to this nation Israel, the people that I've
chosen for myself for special glory and special blessing.
I've offered myself to them.
Now he's coming to the end of his life.
He's basically saying, what's their conclusion about me?
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Who do they say that I am?
The answer comes back.
Verse 14, they said, some say that thou are John the Baptist.
Now the reason they could say that was by this time that John the Baptist was dead.
Israel had not seen a prophet for 400 years until John came.
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Now were those years we sometimes call them the silent years.
I'm not sure they were totally silent, but as far as written revelation is concerned,
they were.
Years when God was still keeping his people Israel as a nation and yet years when there
was no written message given, no message for writing, no prophet, then God sent John the
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baptizer into the world to call to the nation Israel to ready themselves for the coming
of the one that was anointed to be their king.
He was going to call them to turn away from their sin.
He was going to call them to repentance that they might be a pure people ready to let the
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king, the Messiah means the anointed one.
The Christ is just the New Testament word for the Old Testament word Messiah to let the
Messiah come and reign over them.
In fact, he was offering them the kingdom that God had promised them so many times in
the Old Testament.
He had confirmed that in David that one of David's line was going to come and sit on
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the throne of his father David and was going to reign over Israel.
And John the Baptist came and offered that to the people.
When his head was cut off, because the people regarded him as a prophet of God, as one that
spoke truth, oh he was a fiery preacher, not afraid to even speak against the king himself
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for his immorality and it cost him his life.
When the people recognized God speaking through John so that when the question was
asked, well who do people say I am?
Some said, well this must be John raised from the dead.
Now that shows you that they weren't very well aware of Jesus' life.
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Jesus in fact was right there when John was alive.
John was the one that baptized Christ.
In fact, they were really cousins.
Simultaneous ministries, though John was perhaps six months older in the sense being born before
Christ, nonetheless simultaneous ministries.
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So these people were trying to do honor to the Lord Jesus, trying to acclaim him as a
prophet by naming him as John, but they were totally ignorant of the truth.
And as much as you might try to honor the Lord Jesus, as much as you might try to say,
well he's a fine man.
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He was a lovely man.
He was a sincere man.
He was even a prophet of God.
You haven't gone far enough.
You must not stop there.
Because until you get to the very names of Christ himself, until you get to who he really
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is, you haven't gone far enough.
Others said, you're Elijah.
Now maybe they were looking back to the promise at the very end of the Old Testament.
Maybe they were still considering these days that they had gone without a word from heaven
until John came.
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Because in the last chapter of the last book of the Old Testament, the second verse from
the very end of the Old Testament, it says, Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet
before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children and the heart of the children
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to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
There's a prophecy at the end of the Old Testament that Elijah would come.
Interesting comment is made by the Lord Jesus right here in the book of Matthew when he's
talking about John the Baptist.
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He even says this.
And he says this of John the Baptist.
This was Elijah if you would receive it.
But you see, John the Baptist could have fulfilled the prophecy of Elijah, but they wouldn't
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receive the message of John the Baptist.
What does that mean?
I think that should clear up forever for you from the Lord's own lips that that does not
mean that Elijah himself will have to be resurrected and come to the earth.
It is one who will come in the spirit and power of Elijah, one who will have a ministry
as that of Elijah because if John the Baptist could have fulfilled the prophecy, then you
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see you don't need Elijah.
And Jesus said John could have.
But you know what?
John did not fulfill the prophecy of Elijah coming because the people would not receive
his message.
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The truth is that Israel still looks for an Elijah and there is going to have to come
one in that spirit and power to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts
of the children to their fathers.
Now we'll study that another time in the book of Revelation perhaps.
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Maybe Tuesday if you were there at the Institute because I'm going to be touching on that subject
on Tuesday.
But back here in Matthew, no, he wasn't John the Baptist, he wasn't Elijah.
Well others thought Jeremiah or one of the prophets.
They all had candidates for who Jesus would be and they named some of those who were the
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most fiery preachers.
Those that were many that would have laid down their lives and some that did lay down
their lives for the Lord, for preaching His Word and being true to His Word.
My what honor, He's a faithful preacher, even unto death.
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But you see that's not enough people, it isn't enough.
He wasn't just John the Baptist, he wasn't just Elijah, he wasn't just Jeremiah or one
of the old prophets.
He was more than that, so Jesus asked them more.
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Verse 15, he said unto them, but whom say ye that I am?
And Simon Peter is the one that speaks for the disciples.
Remember now the question is asked of all of them, not just of Simon, but of all of them.
And Peter speaks and he answers, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
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He has named Himself the Son of Man in His question.
And Peter has responded for the disciples, you're the Christ.
You're the Messiah.
You're the one that was prophesied in the Old Testament by God that would come and be anointed
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of God to reign over Israel.
You're the Son of the living God.
Talk about God as the living God.
There were others named gods by people.
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Many of them took forms as animals and as humans in their worship.
There were idols when I'm talking about idols.
And the Old Testament has much to say about them.
It comes down to this.
They have ears, but they hear not.
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They have eyes, but they see not.
They have mouths, but they speak not.
They have hands, but they handle not.
They have feet, but they can't walk.
Oh yes, and God even says those that make them or just like them.
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They don't have much either.
They don't have much power to know, to do anything that has eternal value.
You know what kind of gods men make?
And it almost takes a phrase right out of the book of Genesis, doesn't it?
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Men make gods after their own image.
Now really when we say that and the Scriptures bear it out very well, what we really mean is after their own inner self.
See they might fashion a god to look like a snake.
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You say, well man doesn't look like a snake.
Frogs, oh people have worshiped some strange things over the years.
I guess almost anything that you could look at on the earth that men have had to deal with, they've worshiped.
They've worshiped trees and rocks, mountains and sun and rivers and sea.
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Every kind of creature that's walked on the earth that man's had some contact with, you could probably find somebody has worshiped.
Beyond all that they've even made some images that combine a bunch of these.
They're hideous things. Sometimes they had a head of a human being and a body of an animal and sometimes it's two or three animals kind of mixed together.
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Sometimes you see the grotesqueness of those forms and trying to reveal maybe power or sensuality or some aspect of life.
But I'll tell you, they all fall short of ever being able to do one thing and that's live.
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They're all dead.
They don't have any life and they can't give any life.
And when it comes to the bottom line that's really what counts isn't it?
Can the god that a man worships give him life?
Life, not money, not power, but life.
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Let's take it to the extreme because I think all truth can be taken to the extreme.
Can it give eternal life?
Can it give man victory over death?
Can it transport him into a realm of life beyond all the limitations of this world?
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Can it bring him into a place of fulfillment that this world always limits?
The mind, the very emotions and most of all the fullest expression of what we know from the scripture to be the man's spirit, his very heart, his soul?
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Can that god give that man that much?
In the scriptures clear, there is only one god that lives.
You know Isaiah 42, 8?
I am the Lord.
That is my name and my glory will I not give to another neither my praise to graven images.
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He is the living god.
First of all, he is the source of all creation.
You know what I was thinking on that?
While I was thinking on that, I thought there are those who will look at the creation and say,
Now that's a very simplistic answer to a very complex problem.
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I guess I'd have to say, yes, it is.
And yet it's not so simple when I look at the complexity of what he's made.
I think that when I look at the creation and see it in all of its detail and all of its complexity,
rather than show me the foolishness of believing in God, what it does to me is bring me to appreciation for how wonderful, how great, how infinite he is.
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The more you examine the creation, the more you recognize its intricacies,
the more you have to realize the wonder of the mind behind its creation.
And after all, it's only stuff.
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And yet it does show the tremendousness of his mind.
And his will, because it has designed. It's going someplace. It works together, you know?
On this planet, like we suppose, on no other, we haven't been everywhere else, so we can't really say that.
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But the only revelation we have is that God put man here.
And all these living creatures have been put here.
And ours is to look at this and the other things that God has created in so far as we can contact them, whether by sight or by going there,
and realize that when we get there and when we look at them, they tell us how wonderful he is, how infinite he is.
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It should bring us to our knees to praise him, to worship him, but don't miss this.
It's like those idols versus God. He is alive. They are dead.
The living God has brought all this into being.
He's the source of it all.
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And not just the inanimate, but the inanimate. He's the source of life.
And not just animal life, but even has given to man one thing that he didn't put anywhere else in all of his creation, and that's a spirit.
He gave us the capacity for having a personal and eternal relationship with him. You can't see your spirit.
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And if I argued with you that ants have spirits, but you don't, you'd say, well, you know, I don't know about that.
Only ants would know that. But the scriptures clear that you are the one creature in this creation that has a spirit, and you do have the capacity to test that.
You have been called within your spirit. Romans 1 declares it. You have been called by God in your spirit to worship him.
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You may have said no to it.
You may have shut the door to it, but God has spoken to you.
And the obviousness of your being a limited creature that's moving on through life and destined to die should be self-evident.
You can't conquer death in yourself. You need help from the one who has had victory over death.
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And so Jesus came as a man, took the place of man, lived life perfectly and died in man's place that man might have victory over death.
It was God's heart of love that provided such a wonderful salvation and such a wonderful Savior.
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He alone is God and is offered in his son life for all who would take it.
And then he has one who is the one that he is appointed to be his king. He has, we call in the Old Testament, a Messiah.
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First of all, to reign over Israel. But that's not the limit of the Messiah's reign. You can find that in the Scriptures also.
He's going to reign over all nations. He is called Lord of lords and King of kings.
He shall reign. I have to say shall because he hasn't yet.
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And it's wonderful to see some portions of Scriptures that were given as prophecy when they were given and to see that they've been fulfilled.
And then to find other portions of Scripture that have not yet been fulfilled and say that has to await a future day.
There is a day coming when this one that God has said is his chosen one to be king. That one shall be king.
Well now John the Baptist came along and said to Israel, here he is here now. Worship him, clean your hearts, fall before him,
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acknowledge him as the Messiah. And Israel said no.
No, he was rejected. Came to his own and his own received him not.
They wanted nothing to do with him.
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So Jesus is saying, who did they say they are? The Son of Man.
Well, John the Baptist, one of the other prophets, Elijah maybe, but who does he want them to see that he is?
And it's at this time that the Lord God made it possible for Simon to speak for them all and name him for what he really is.
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He is again the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Now, where did that come from?
It certainly didn't come from man's thoughts. It didn't come from man's values. It didn't come from man's reasonings
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because man as far as he was concerned was not ready to acknowledge Christ.
Jesus as Savior, Jesus as Messiah, not from man's values, man's values would never end up at the place of glorifying the Lord Jesus.
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Man's values never lead one to praise Christ, not as always prophet, perhaps, good teacher certainly, kind man without question.
But as Son of God, as Savior, I'm going to tell you, no.
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No. Because when you mention Savior, you have to have sacrifice.
To praise him and honor him is the Savior. No.
Substitutionary sacrifice? Never. Man's values never lead him to that because you see to be ready to acknowledge a Savior,
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you have to be ready to acknowledge that you're a sinner. Don't you know about the heart of man?
It's deceitful and desperately wicked.
Deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.
You see, man is not ready to acknowledge that he needs a Savior because in the pride of man, man would say, I need no Savior.
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I'm able to live life on my own.
It's not true.
So when Peter said this, the Lord said, in blessed are thou Simon, Bar- Jonah, for flesh and blood, if not revealed it unto thee, but my Father, which is in heaven.
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That could only come from God, that does not come from man, that is not from man's values.
It does not come from man. To claim Christ as the son of the living God, as the one that God anointed, that can only be a truth that comes from God, and it is from the Lord, from God Himself.
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Verse 18, I say, also unto thee, that thou art Peter, Petrus, little rock, and upon this rock, Petrus, solid rock, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Often used as a verse to show that Peter was made the foundation of the church. It doesn't say that at all. It's really a play on words. Peter was a little rock stone, you know.
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If you will, a little pebble, but the rock that the church, or the called out assembly would be the better way to say that.
The one that the called out assembly of God, the ones called out of the world, the ones called from among the unbelievers, to the Lord that make up a great company, a great host, for the Lord, their built not on some man, and some little stone.
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They are built on Petrus, but they are built on Petra, on Christ Himself. You know, Peter even says this, when he shows us that Christ is the stone to be honored.
It's in his writings in 1 Peter, chapter 2, and he's talking about the Lord here in chapter 2, as that special stone.
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I'd like to especially read verse 6.
Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect precious, and he that believeth on him shall not be ashamed, shall not be put to shame.
Do you know what Peter is saying? The scriptures tell us that there is a cornerstone. That means a topping out stone.
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The stone of glory, and it is a person. You believe on him. You have to believe on that one that God has named as his stone of glory. His stone of authority, his stone of rain, if you will, his stone that's precious.
In Zion, the anointed to be in first place to reign over all in full authority. You must believe in him. You must come to him and put your trust in him.
(31:24):
That's what Peter is saying. My Peter is saying, don't look to me as your stone. Look to Christ. He is the stone.
By the way, I might add on this and say that Peter never assumed any prime place in leadership ever in the church. If you want to look in the book of Acts, it was James that led the council.
(31:49):
But there was something special that Peter had an opportunity to do. That's discussed by the Lord at verse 19.
I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
(32:10):
Keys are symbols of authority or power. And you know Peter was the one that the Lord used to unlock, if it were, if you will, the whole ministry of the gospel, first to be the one that was used in the church.
And then to the Jews at Pentecost, you know, when Peter stood and explained to the Jews how that God was working now, reaching out to them, and was doing a great work by the Spirit and in the name of Christ, the work of redemption.
(32:50):
He stood and explained that to the Jews there in the book of Acts. But he also was used of God. By the way, that's Acts chapter 2. Verse 6 is a good, or no, Acts, I'll get the reference in my mind just a second. He preached it in Acts 2.
(33:14):
And then he later was used of God, and that's in Acts 10. He was later used of God to bring that same message of the gospel's offering of freedom from sin, of cleansing from sin to the Gentiles at Cornelius's house, if you remember.
So Peter was in that place of use by God in declaring to Jews and to Gentiles alike that the gospel was for them. That was Peter's blessing.
(33:50):
He was in that prime place. But you know, far as Peter was concerned, I like this little phrase, it's not original with me.
But he looked at himself and he said of himself, he was an apostle by gift, 1 Peter 1 1, and an elder by office. 1 Peter 5 1.
(34:16):
An apostle by gift is 1st book, 1st chapter, 1st verse, and an apostle, or an elder, rather by office. That's his 5th chapter, 1st verse.
That's what he saw himself as. An apostle, well, that was a wonderful gift from the Lord to be able to be that for the church, and an elder in the place of his service.
(34:38):
That's what Peter saw for himself and of himself.
Acts 2, 38 to 42 is that place where he opens that message to Israel.
Kingdom of Heaven. What is that that we're talking of here in verse 19?
(35:00):
Well, that's looking to the ultimate victory and presence on this earth, the triumph of the Lord Jesus in his kingdom being actually here on this earth, and then ultimately in all of eternity.
But be that kingdom that will be present on this earth when he reigns King of Kings and Lord of Lords. That's been a promise in the Scriptures for centuries, even centuries before the New Testament was written.
(35:30):
That the Messiah would reign, there would be a kingdom that Jews were asking for. You see, they weren't asking wrongly, they were just asking very selfishly and very much out of ignorance of what God really wanted to do.
They wanted the kingdom to be then, but on their terms, when Christ came and offered it, he offered it on his terms. What were his terms? John preached them, repentance.
(35:58):
You cannot serve God on your own terms. You're going to have to serve God with a righteous life. You're going to have to seek God's forgiveness first.
Let him cleanse you, let him give you a new life, and then let him use a clean life. Let him use a reborn life for his glory.
(36:20):
That's the way to come to him. That kingdom of heaven, of course, has its present aspect in this age. The only reason we would really have any revelation on that, that's very, very pointed, I think, would probably be because we can be taken to that.
In Matthew 13 for one and the other parables that follow that, that talk about a present age, the present course of this age, when we can see that God is working and calling out from the people of this age, a people for himself.
(36:57):
There's a progress of this age described in those parables. You think, well, what has happened? Not that the Jews understood it at the time it was given, not that the apostles did initially, but now that we go back and we read it with the Spirit of God's help, we can see that things have gone just as the Lord Jesus prophesied.
(37:23):
The age is progressed and we're still here. There are those that are godly in this world, but the world is still very evil. The world is still in need of the salvation that God offers.
The kingdom of heaven in its present form is, you might say, that called out assembly even today, which is going to be perfectly manifest in the kingdom when Christ reigns, but right now those that trust in Christ are very much a part of that kingdom. That's why Israel and the Gentiles were both given the gospel and both brought in to that wonderful hope, if they would take it, of salvation in Christ.
(38:08):
You can therefore, whether you're a Jew or a Gentile, and that takes into the whole world, you may have the offer of salvation in Christ, and you may be a part of God's family and God's kingdom, if you will.
However, things had to change. The message had to have a new emphasis. And that's why verse 20 is here. Then charged, he is disciples that they should not, should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ, the Messiah.
(38:45):
Do you understand? He's saying, now this message of me being the Messiah is not where you are to preach. That's not what you're to preach. I am the Messiah. He's not denying that. In fact, Peter claimed that and he said that was from God. There's no denial that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah. What he does not want him to do though is make that their message. Their message can no longer be, you're being offered the Messiah. You're being offered the kingdom.
(39:13):
Here it is. Take him. No, he said that's not the message I want you to go out with. Here's the message I want you to go out with.
And this is just like you came to a 90 degree turn in the road in the Gospels. John the Baptist was trying to get them to receive him as Messiah. Jesus admitted that his acclamation by Peter as the Christ, the Messiah, was from God.
(39:41):
But no, this is not the message that's to be given. Not any longer. They have said no to him as Messiah. What would he like them to tell Israel and the world? Here it is.
From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples how that he must go into Jerusalem and suffer many things that the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and be raised again the third day. You want to know the message?
(40:12):
Not the glory of the rain because they had said no to him misunderstanding that they needed forgiveness. But now go out to the world with this. Tell them that their first concern must be to see me as the crucified Savior.
(40:39):
This world needs the message of the cross. This world needs to know of what happened at Calvary. All of the officials of that nation caused him to suffer. And Luke chapter 9 adds another word. They rejected him.
(41:07):
He suffered and was rejected. And they killed him. And it really means they murdered him.
They couldn't have said it more completely, more plainly that we don't want anything to do with you than to inflict suffering on him and to reject him and ultimately to murder him.
(41:32):
They couldn't have said it more completely. You can't do anymore to a man after you've murdered him.
But that wasn't the end of the message. You've got to go out and tell them that God has given victory over all of the rejections of man and even the murder of the son of man and the son of the living God.
(41:55):
Go out and tell them that he was raised the third day. God has given victory over death so that death on Calvary isn't simply a murder anymore.
That death on Calvary becomes a sacrifice. It becomes a place of victory. He's been raised from the dead so that the emphasis on the cross isn't, oh, they've killed him.
(42:25):
But rather, in his death, God has had a victory. You see, the resurrection proves it. It proves that God accepted his sacrifice. It proves that death couldn't hold him.
That means that there was no sin in him because if there had been one sin in him, he'd have to spend eternity in hell. The absolute right, take it to the extreme. Go ahead.
(42:49):
The absolute righteousness of God would demand eternal judgment for his sin if there was one.
So never, never teach that he suffered in hell after his death. Don't teach that because he did not suffer in hell.
(43:10):
The Bible never says that. It never teaches it. Neverwhere it denies it. He suffered at the hands of men.
But when he died, his death was acceptable to God as a sacrifice as God had pictured it five times over and five different ways in the Old Testament.
His death was a sacrifice for us to have our sin cleansed and to enjoy his fellowship. Go out with that message, she says. That's your message.
(43:41):
Tell them that the Son of Man must suffer. He must die and he will be raised on the third day.
Then Peter took him and began to rebuke him saying, Be it far from the Lord. This shall not be under thee.
Oh my no, we don't want to get into this, Lord. Let's just forget this whole death idea that you have and let's go right to the kingdom.
(44:08):
Let's go right to the throne. No, my, that would be man's way. You can't have eternity without the Savior's sacrifice.
And so he's rebuked in the strongest way possible. Verse 23, turn and set unto Peter. Get thee behind me, Satan.
(44:32):
Thou art an offense unto me. Can you think of any worse words that the Lord would ever say to you than to look at you in the eye and say, Thou art an offense unto me?
Why was Peter so strong and offense to the Lord? Because he didn't yet see and he wasn't speaking of the cross as a pivotal place for victory?
(45:03):
He saw Peter saw it as defeat. Peter saw it as an end of all the workings of God on Christ behalf. When in fact, it was very much in the will of God.
And Peter needed to get himself turned around and needed to look at the cross as absolutely essential. He had to look at the cross as something that God wanted that was in the will of God.
(45:26):
Something that in fact had to be the very focal point of the preaching now. That the cross was there as a way for victory. The cross was there as the way of salvation was offered to man.
We need to tell the world that there's a cross, a sacrifice, not of defeat, but a sacrifice that has brought to man and offer of absolute forgiveness and eternal life.
(45:52):
A fellowship with God as a free gift. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. And Luke says, and take up his cross daily.
You know not only do we have to have the view of Christ's death on the cross as central in our preaching to the world. And when I mean preaching, I mean when you talk with them, I don't mean make yourself strange and talk at them, but talk with them.
(46:29):
Bring the message to them and bring it constantly in love. Bring it faithfully in love. Tell them that he died, but also tell them he rose the third day, which proves he has victory and can forgive sin and give them life. Bring that message to them will you?
But do this. You also have to take up your identification with the cross. And it's your cross. It means that in your life, you too are committed to live righteously in this life unto death.
(47:02):
To take whatever the world would throw against you in total identification with your Lord, realize that it means the rejection of the world, the rejection of the world's values. That's what the cross is.
It's proof that the world rejected him absolutely and totally. Take up your cross daily, live that way, live not tied to this world system and values.
(47:28):
Tied to this rather, that your heart and your life is to be lived to love and glorify the one who died in your place.
That's what your life should be all about. Take up your cross daily and follow him.
You could have all the material gain of this world and lose your own soul. What profit would you have?
(47:53):
But if you keep your eyes on this, that the glory of the Father and the blessings that he's ready to bring to those that trust in him, believe in the one that he has given to them as our Savior, that's your hope, that's your future.
If you see this world is passing away and look at what the Lord calls worth having, and I'm not just speaking of the things in heaven. I'm speaking of the Lord's glory.
(48:25):
All right, there we have it. Thank you, Pastor Raines. I don't know if you noticed, got cut off a little bit there at the end.
So that message, like I said, he's come from tape. So tape must have ran out or something, but I got cut off.
I hated to waste that just because it has a few minutes of it missing at the end.
(48:47):
It was such a great message. It was good up until then. But I think we could just about get most of the meaning from it.
So I was glad to put that on because I didn't want to waste that. I have a few that are like that once in a while earlier, some that either day became late or they ended early.
(49:08):
But they're still great messages, so that's why I brought that today. All right, so come back next week.
We'll have more. And if you'd like, you can subscribe. That would be nice. You could subscribe on Spotify or on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen.
You could comment. And most importantly, share, share with your friends.
(49:31):
Hey, listen to this podcast. There's a lot of good Bible study content.
And if you want, you can check out our website, which is www.like-a-see-biblepodcast.com.
And there's a few things on there. You can check out. You can listen to all the back episodes there.
And you could check out one thing that I'm really promoting is the transcripts.
(49:59):
I have up to episode 51 of the transcripts.
And my sister is working on getting more from up there.
But they're really well done.
So you get a little bit more out of it than just listening to the little audio.
It's nice you can listen to them.
She formatted them in a real nice document form. We're easy to read.
(50:21):
So you can go check that out. You could read them online or download them and put them out there.
Share them with your friends or whatever you want with it.
So they're there for you to listen to. All right.
So thank you for listening. And please come back next time.
And we will have more from the tape archives of the Fellowship Bible Church.
(50:45):
And until then, have a great day. I'll see you next week.
So long.
Thank you.
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