Address—R.L. Reeves
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Will you please turn with me to the 40th chapter of the book of Isaiah, Isaiah chapter 40, Isaiah chapter 40 and verse 9 Ozion, that bring us good tidings. Get the up into the high mountain. Oh, Jerusalem, that bring us good tidings. Lift up thy voice with strength. Lift it up. Be not afraid.
Say unto the cities of Judah.
Behold.
Your God What an interesting place in the Bible to find the key to the Gospel of John. But here it is. Behold your God. Now we need not be surprised that we can find a key.
To something in the New Testament, in the Old.
In fact, the Old Testament is God's hearing, furnishing us many keys which opened for us the blessed truth of the New Testament revelation.
And so this afternoon, in the next few moments, I would like to present to you.
The key to the Gospel of John.
Behold your God. You may wonder why and how I ever came across this verse, and so I'll share with you just how it came to pass.
I had the joy of sitting in the reading meeting here in Wheaton on Saturday afternoon and enjoying the ministry of John's Gospel Chapter one. I was so impressed about the things that John the Baptist said about the Lord Jesus.
That my heart was taken up with that line of things.
And so I noticed in that chapter that there was an expression frequently used going like this, it said the next day.
For the day following.
Well, now, that was Saturday.
And so I thought, well.
The next day.
Rising somewhat before breakfast.
I'll just go to the lounge in Fisher dormitory and I'll open that chapter.
The next day and I'll just ask the Lord to show me from that chapter more about what John was pointing out.
And so I read about it.
In those early hours of the morning and I noticed that John the Baptist when asked who he was.
Why? He said. I'm just a voice of one crying in the wilderness.
Well, I noticed in my Bible that there was a little reference and so I thought, well I better just look that up and I found that reference took me to Isaiah chapter 40.
And there I found those words quoted by John the Baptist when he said, I'm a voice crying in the wilderness. And then it dawned on me that John the Baptist was really fulfilling the word of God. And I discovered again what I have noticed before, that the servants of the Lord.
Don't get their revelations from the air or the ocean, they get them from the Word of God.
And so I was impressed by it. And so I thought, well, if John the Baptist was giving us what he received from God.
Maybe there's some more in that chapter and I read on. And so I came down the chapter until I got to verse nine and the end of verse nine. I saw the key to John's gospel.
Behold your God. And then I read the next verse and it says behold the Lord God will come. And here I found way back in Isaiah chapter 40.
That John the Baptist received from the Lord, those two beholds that he gives us in John One. And I was impressed by that. So this afternoon it is on my heart.
To seek by the grace of God to take this key.
And seek to use it.
To open up a few thoughts on that majestic book.
The Gospel of John, so dear Christian friend.
Will you please take a walk with me this afternoon along the pages of the Gospel of John and let's carry with us this key. Behold your God. Let's go to John's gospel, chapter one. Let's begin at the beginning. Behold your God.
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Now it will be impossible for us to read all the chapters.
That we're going to walk past this afternoon, but I intend to point out in the chapters as we pass by them, a few of the points.
It's utterly impossible to think that we'll all we'll be able to see the mall. And what thrills my heart is this.
As we go together along the pages of this blessed book of John, what thrills my heart is to think that you're going to see things that I may miss. And this makes me thankful because we're going to have before us such a bright display of the glory of God that no one person can see it all. So with this confidence as we walk together.
I really believe that there will be a blessing in your heart that may even exceed mine, and for this I give God thanks.
In chapter one, we begin. In the beginning was the word.
And the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Here we have the Lord Jesus presented to us as the Word.
Equal with God. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. Yes, dear Christian friend, there is a Trinity, there is a Father, there is a Son, and there is a Holy Spirit. And Jesus Christ the Son is a member of the Trinity. He is God the Son, and so he's presented to us in this.
Verse God with God. He is the Word, the expression of God.
And we find in verse.
Three, all things were made by him.
And without him was not anything made that was made. He is the creator of all things.
As we go on down this chapter.
We find that he's the light, we find that he's the life, and we find all those words of one syllable which are easily understood and in a sense completely beyond our ability to understand them. The light, the life, the word.
We have before us this afternoon this glorious person, Jesus, the Son of God.
And that key that we found in Isaiah so well applies. Behold.
Your God.
Jesus is God. He is God the Son.
Oh, what a blessed proof. And this is the rock foundation upon which our faith rests.
It's a foundation that can never, never be moved.
We've had quite a bit before us in the remainder of chapter one. That's been very interesting.
And we've noticed how that John the Baptist opens the door to the Lord Jesus in chapter one.
We find later in chapter 10 that to him the Porter opens, and so the Lord Jesus enters into the testimony by means of the door, and John by the Spirit of God opens it to him.
And so we find these words in John chapter one, verse 29. Behold the Lamb of God.
I was wondering why?
In John the Baptist's ministry.
Why He spoke of Jesus the Lord as the Lamb of God.
And this thought came to my heart.
The Jewish people, and of course the world in general, was in such a terrible condition.
That what they needed to know about Jesus at that point was that he was the Lamb.
A nation loaded with sins and rebellion and decay, and they needed to hear about God's Lamb. And so John presents him. John the Baptist presents him as the Lamb of God.
But all that key that we spoke about before so well applies.
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Behold, your God. Ah, this is who he is.
Well, later on in chapter one we discover that the Lord Jesus is able to meet the individual and personal needs of souls. And we enjoyed it so much this morning in our reading when he said to his disciples, what seek ye?
I'll tell you what I was thinking about.
It's, you know, it's quite interesting what people think about in the Bible readings and it's amazing, but sometimes you have some very good thoughts.
I doubt not that the Spirit of God brings some interesting thoughts to our hearts. I wish I had all those thoughts in all the minds of my dear brethren here. God honoring Christ, honoring thoughts that were produced in your souls this morning when Jesus was presented to you. Oh, it would make a tremendous collection. But when I read this verse, it said, what seek you? I thought about.
The common experience that we all have.
Of going into a store.
Perhaps we'll just say for an example, we go into a hardware store.
And what does the clerk say?
May I help you?
What would you like?
And the insinuation is, whatever you want, I've got. In fact, there's a hardware store in Des Moines where I live. It says if we don't have it, you don't need it.
What would you like? What can I do for you?
Anything you suggest, I'll take you right to the shelf because we certainly have it. And you know, I thought about that this morning. It's it's that way here. The Lord Jesus says, what are you looking for? If it's worthwhile, I've got it all our friends, he does.
Behold your God. You and I have been given a heart that can only be satisfied with God.
And Jesus has what you need. Well, as we go on down the chapter, we see he meets the individual needs of souls. But we're going to walk past chapter one. Now I know we're going to leave a few things that we didn't speak of. And let's go into chapter 2 and we find the Lord Jesus Christ at a wedding.
And you know, if there's anything that's needed at a wedding, it's joy. And if there's anything that's needed in a home, it's joy. And we see the blessed Savior turning water into wine, bringing joy.
Behold your God.
Yes, he can do it. He has done it in my soul and he has done it in yours.
He can bring joy into the everyday form of life.
Well, we go on down Chapter 2. I'm just supposing this afternoon as I ramble along and make a few comments. It will be, I'm sure, just sketchy. I'm just supposing that you'll turn the pages with me as we walk together along these blessed pages. But down in Chapter 2, we find that he goes into the temple, the place that belonged to him, and he cleaned it out.
It was his.
Behold your God, He had a right to that place.
Now let's go on down to Chapter 3.
Well, let's not go that far yet. Let's go back to chapter 2 and see.
Lord Jesus speaks of his death and resurrection.
It was not a surprise to him.
That the road that he traveled would lead to a cross.
I love that song that we sometimes sing in the gospel. He came to die.
And so it is. Yes, he said. Destroy in verse.
19 He says, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it again.
The Ordeal of the Cross, His suffering, and His glorious resurrection did not come upon this Blessed One by surprise. Because you see, that was His mission. He came to die. He came to die for you and me.
Behold your God.
Well, now let's go down to chapter 3, where we're brought face to face with our good friend Nicodemus. And we like Nicodemus, don't we? The kids love to sing about him, you know, and.
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I love to sing about him, but I love the story that we find in the Word of God about Nicodemus. Well, the first thing we discover about Nicodemus is that he had not found any satisfaction in human religion. All of Judaism had not filled his heart. And so he comes to Jesus, but he comes at night, so he would not be detected. He comes at night.
Oh, but the joy that we see here is He came. He came.
And he had a few questions.
And the Lord Jesus answered his questions.
And then we find that wonderful verse in verse 14 of chapter 3, where the blessed Savior says, as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, Even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Nicodemus was told the way whereby he could have everlasting life, and Nicodemus was called the means whereby that life would be brought to him.
It would be by the means of the cross, it would be necessary for a sacrifice to be lifted up that life may be brought to needy souls. And then we find the basis of all of that, the spring behind it all, for God so loved the world. And you know, we miss a lot in John 316.
If we don't use the word for because it is the word because.
And it means this is the spring of it all because.
God so loved the world. Ah, this is the spring. This is the source from which blessing flows to every man, woman, and child, because God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Dear Christian friend.
Behold your God, this is Jesus. He is the answer to the needs of our souls.
Well, in the remainder of chapter 3 we see John fading out.
And any real servant of Christ is glad to fade out, and he says, he must increase, but I must decrease. These are real words from a man that knows his proper place before God. How could he stand in the way of this one about whom we have said, Behold your God?
Well, let's leave chapter 3.
But let's go to Chapter 4.
Where we find the blessed Savior on a mission of mercy and He.
Goes to a place.
To meet the needs of a soul.
And we find him in.
Verse six of chapter 4, sitting as a tired band on a well.
And we find a poor, needy woman brought to him.
Loaded down with sins.
And we find the Lord Jesus.
Able to meet every need of her heart.
But first he exposes to her that she had a need.
He opens her heart up and she acts as though he knew all about her and she later on says come see a man that told me all things that ever I did.
She was brought into the presence of the light and he met the needs of her soul. And he uses questions, you know, to bring out of her heart her real condition that she might see it. And one of them was go call your husband. And she says.
I don't have any lace as I know that you've you've already had five and the one you've got now is not your husband. She had six men that could not satisfy her soul, but then came this 7th man Jesus and all their friends, their Christian brother and sister. Jesus came and met the needs of her heart.
And so it is Behold.
Your God God can meet the needs of the most depraved heart, and he did so in chapter 4.
Well, the blessings spread to others through this woman's testimony, and at the end of the chapter we find that he's brought face to face with human sickness, and he takes care of that too. The thing that impresses me is that we find this blessed person.
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God manifest in the flesh.
We find him in relation to all the needs of man.
We find him at a wedding, we find him at a well, we find him in the presence of sickness.
And as we go on through John's gospel, we're going to find him in various other situations.
But in all of these things we're going to see, behold your God. Oh, he's the answer to every situation wherein he's found. Now in chapter 5, find him healing the weakness of an impotent man. If we read the Old Testament about David, we discover that David had no love for the lame and the blind. But you see their friends, we're not talking about David now.
We're talking about Great David's greater son, who did not despise the lame and the blind.
But he loved them all. He loved them. And so in chapter five, he makes a lame man walk.
Well, as we go down through that chapter, we find some blessed verses. We find that he's the judge.
I turned 2 pages. I'll have to go back one verse 27 of chapter five. He have given him authority to execute judgment also because he is the Son of man. God has committed all judgment into the hands of the Son of God. And when man appears before God in that coming day of judgment, he is not going to appear before a throne occupied by a brilliant.
Mysterious being.
That he does not understand, but man is going to encounter a man.
Upon the throne as a man, he judges. God has given him authority. And So what is so blessed of chapter 5 is in verse 22. The Father judgeth no man, but has committed all judgment unto the Son, that all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honours not the Son on earth, not the Father which has sent him. Now listen to the words of the Judge himself.
What does the judge say? Oh.
Verily, verily, I say unto you.
He that heareth My word, and believeth on him that sent Me hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life. Friends, this is the word of the Judge himself, and if the Judge himself pronounces that you and I believers in him, shall never come into condemnation.
The case is closed.
This is the word of the judge himself. Oh, we can rest there.
Let's go down to Chapter 6.
Now we find some hungry people.
Behold your God.
What would God do in the presence of hungry people?
Ah, he would feed them. And so we see the Lord Jesus in chapter 6 saying in verse 10 make the men sit down.
Now there was much grass in the place. Isn't it interesting He doesn't choose a rough place and say, put him on the rocks. Oh no, that's not the kind of a Lord we know.
Behold your call. This is a God of love, he says. There was in the place much grass.
So the men sat down in number about 5000, and Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and that the disciples to them, that were set down as and likewise the fishes, as much as they would. When they were failed. He said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remained, that nothing be lost.
Behold, your God. Ah, this is the one who meets the needs.
Of our souls, and this is the one that meets the needs of our bodies and meets the needs of the vicissitudes of this life.
Do you think the Lord Jesus knows, dear Christian friend, that you need a job? Oh, he knows that you need a job. Do you think the Lord Jesus knows that you need a gallon of milk? Yes, He knows that you need some milk. Do you think that He knows that your child needs a pair of shoes? Yes, He knows that. Behold, your God, He is sufficient for all of the needs of our souls and our lives from the very beginning until the end.
I would like to share with you a thought about verse.
Well, gather up the fragments that remain that nothing be lost.
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I have been privileged to sit in the meetings of this kind for a long time.
And I have heard.
Unspeakably blessed things.
And I appreciated so very much what our brother Wilbur Smith told us yesterday.
We have a heritage that's most valuable.
In receiving the truth of God.
And I feel that.
And dear Christian friend, I have often asked the Lord something like this, as the truth of God was presented to my soul. I have said to the Lord, Lord Jesus, gather up the fragments that remain, that not one truth shall be lost to the enjoyment of my soul. And that remains my desire today, all that you and I, dear young Christians and older ones, to who might heed the exhortation of the word of God.
Truth and sell it, not gather up the fragments that remain that nothing be lost.
Well in chapter 6 we find in verse 19 that he can still the storm.
Is there a storm raging in your life?
Behold your God, He can stop the storm.
Later on in chapter 6, we find the Lord Jesus offering Himself as the food of his people.
Notice what it says in verse 48 of chapter 6.
I am that bread of life your father did eat, man in the wilderness and are dead.
I am the living bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof and not die.
The Lord Jesus is the manna that came down from heaven and He can meet the daily needs.
Of our souls. Ah yes, behold your God.
Well, as we go to Chapter 7, we find the Lord Jesus greater than the Feast of Tabernacles. Why? He's greater than anything.
Against which He is compared, and He supplies the needs of his people. In Chapter 7 and the notice in verse 37. In that last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. They tell me that the gathering of water was very significant in the Feast of Tabernacles, and I'll just have to let that remain for you to investigate.
But the Lord Jesus said, if any man thirst, let him come to me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the Scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. Behold your God. Ah yes, he can meet the thirsty soul.
Let's go on together.
To the 50th verse of that chapter where we see our friend Nicodemus once more, and I don't want to get so occupied that I forget about Nicodemus because he's very helpful and we see in verses 50 down through verse.
51.
That Nicodemus speaks up for the Lord. Now when he first appears on the scene, he came at night and it was night time in his soul. But now when we see Nicodemus, it's just at twilight and the light is beginning to dawn. You see, Nicodemus is a lot like you and me. He doesn't learn everything the same day. First he came to Jesus by night.
And now we see the light beginning to break upon his soul.
Wait till we hear him from him at the last point.
You see, the Lord is gently drawing Nicodemus to himself.
Well, chapter 8 brings before us the Lord Jesus in the presence of a sinful woman who has every reason to be stoned, and the blessed Savior is in her presence, and he Stoops down and writes upon the ground in such a way that those who supposedly had the right to throw the first stones at her because of her sins, they all disappear.
And they don't have the power to throw a stone. They can't even lift up a rock.
Because their consciences are not enabling them to do so. And so he said to the woman, Now he says, where are thine accusers? Does no man condemn thee as she says, no manlord? And he says neither do I condemn thee. He dismissed her case and he had scripture to do so. Because if we turn back to Deuteronomy chapter 17, we would discover that those who found somebody in sin.
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And were witnesses of the fact they had to cast the first stones. And after that the other people were to help with the stoning. And so the Lord Jesus said, well, you don't have any witnesses, they've all gone away and they're not condemning you. Well, since nobody has cast the first stone, I don't condemn you either. Dear friends, this is God.
Manifest in the flesh. Oh, how he loves the Sinner, or how he loves us. He does not love our sins.
But he loved us.
Well, in chapter 8 we find he's the light of the world.
And in Chapter 8, the end of the chapter, I would like to point out a very significant.
Consideration.
Verse 56 of chapter 8. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it when it was glad.
Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet 50 years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was.
I am.
This, dear friends, is Jehovah.
Jesus. He has every right and title to that name. Jehovah, because he's God, before Abraham was I am. That's the name of Jehovah. He who was, he who is, he who always shall be, This is Jehovah.
This is Jehovah Jesus.
Behold your God.
Now in Chapter 9 we find a blind man.
And we find the Lord Jesus gives him sight, and he tells him to go and wash in a pool which has a very significant name.
And you'll notice that in verse 7, go wash in the pool of Siloam, which is by interpretation sent, sent. Oh, what a word. Oh, how I love that word. The Lord Jesus came into this world, scent of a father who loved your soul and mine sent. And it was in that pool of Siloam, that pool of scent that this man received blessing and all. What joy and peace comes to our hearts.
When we find that Jesus was sent of God, the sent one of God.
Well, he received his sight.
And now I'd like to take you to the end of that chapter.
And we'll see something very interesting.
The 35th verse.
Heard that they had cast him out, and when he had found him he said, Dost thou believe on the Son of God?
He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? Now notice.
And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him.
And it is he that talketh with thee, ah.
That man got his sight that he might see Jesus.
And dear Christian friend, you have been given spiritual sight that you might see Jesus.
That from your heart and mind may come.
Like it did from John the Baptist looking upon Jesus looking upon Jesus.
You see, before we were saved, before we knew the Lord Jesus as our Savior, we couldn't see him. We were blind. But he's given us sight, as in the case of this blind man. He said, I opened your eyes that you might see me. Oh, that's the purpose. Thou hast both seen him and he it is that talketh with thee. And So what happens? Why, the only logical thing that could ever happen when your eyes get open to see Jesus.
He said Lord, I believe.
And he worshipped him all. Behold your God.
Now in chapter 10, we find him presented as the Shepherd.
He comes in through the door and we've already talked about that the Spirit of God opened the door for him to enter into the.
Fold by the ministry of John the Baptist, and he was declared with every right and title to be there.
By the presence of the Spirit of God dwelling upon him, he came in through the door.
But now he says, I'm the shepherd.
And we love that verse 11, don't we? I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep all it was necessary for Jesus.
To come into this world and give his life, to save your soul and mine.
If Jesus Christ had not come into this world, you and I would have been lost forever and remain in our sins and go to hell. But Jesus came. He came and gave his life. Christ died for our sins. According to the scriptures. He was buried and he rose again the third day. According to the scriptures. I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
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And in that chapter.
In verse 28 we find the security of the believer. I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
Ah, once you're saved, you're saved forever. You can never, never, never be lost, because if you're lost, the Shepherd would have to lose you, and he's never lost one yet.
Behold your God, what a person He has brought before us.
Now, I don't want to leave chapter 10 before I call your attention to one of my favorite verses in the Bible.
Chapter 10, verse 41. And I might just say that John the Baptist is one of my favorite characters.
He was a man who was willing to serve the Lord for a very short period of time. I asked a brother the other day how long he thought the ministry of John the Baptist lasted, and he said about three years or so. And I said I thought it was shorter than that. I frankly don't know, but I would like to ask you to investigate and see what you think. But at any rate, the ministry and service of John the Baptist was very short, and he was willing to serve the Lord Jesus.
Willing to serve God a very short time according to His will. Now in verse 41 it says something very wonderful.
And many resorted unto him, That's to Jesus, and said John did no miracle.
But all things that John spake of this man were true.
Summary. What a summary to be given for the life of a servant of God.
Dear Christian friend, would you like to have a summary like that given for your service for God in this world? John did no miracle.
All things that John spake of this man were true. I say that I would love to have somebody say that about me. If God would take my life away, well, this would be desirable. Now let's go to Chapter 11 where we find the Lord Jesus in the presence of death.
And in verse 35, which we all know so well because it's in the English Bible.
The shortest verse.
Jesus wept. Ah, he was affected by death.
Because of the sorrow that death had brought.
And yet, in the presence of death, he brings life.
And we notice in that chapter, verse 43, that he finds himself by the grave.
And when in verse 43, when he had thus spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. Ah, who can raise the dead? Only God. But have we not said before? And will you permit me to say it again?
Behold your God. This is a God who loves. This is a God who sympathizes and who has a big heart. And this is God who raises the dead.
Now in chapter 12, we find him at the supper.
And there's nothing more congenial than sitting down to eat. And we find the Lord Jesus as a congenial and sociable person.
But there as the object of admiration of his loved ones. And later on in that chapter we discover that He tells his disciples.
That it would be necessary for him to die. Notice in verse 31. Now is the judgment of this world. Now shall the Prince of this world be cast out, and I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This he said, signifying what death he should die. Yes, Calvary was no surprise to him. He came for that purpose.
This is God manifest in the flesh. Behold your God.
Now in chapter 13 we find him washing the disciples feet. Oh.
How he loved his own willing to stoop down and Washington their feet.
Well, you know enough about that chapter that I don't have to elaborate on it for you, but it brings before us the grace and mercy of the Lord Jesus.
Willing to wash the feet of His disciples, willing to cleanse them from all the things that would hinder them from being able to enter into the ministry that He's going to give them in the succeeding chapters. And all how He loves to cleanse us by the washing of His precious word from anything that would hinder us from entering into the fullness of the ministry of His precious truth. And so in chapter.
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13 He washes the disciples feet and makes them comfortable.
So that they might listen to his message in chapter 14, which we all notice just now. Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. And my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you, I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself.
But where I am, there you may be also. Or how he loves his own. And he says I'm going to take you to my father's house.
Why does he want to do that? Because he loves us.
You know there's nothing.
That is so cold as a house without your loved ones. There have been times in my life when I've been I've been home alone and my children were gone and my wife was gone and I did not enjoy the place. It made no difference how nice the home was if my loved ones were not there. It was no home for me and I heard every squeak.
I heard the furnace when it came on.
And I heard squeaks that I could not identify, and sometimes they scared me. But at any rate, I did not enjoy that house without those that I loved. Oh, I want my loved ones in my home. And so we have the Lord Jesus telling us of his heart. And he says I've got a home, but it won't be home for me.
Until you come and I'm going to come and get you to take you to be with myself. Well, in chapter 15, we find He's the vine. He's the source of all joy and fruitfulness for his people in this world. And to abide in Him is to bring forth fruit. In chapter 16. We're going rapidly now, but we notice in chapter 16 he tells about the coming of the Holy Spirit.
And let's not forget that the Holy Spirit is a member of the Godhead too.
And how great the Holy Spirit is. The Holy Spirit is so great that it was necessary for the Lord Jesus to go up to heaven first before He could come down. But then he tells us in chapter 16 that the mission of the Holy Spirit would be to make Christ precious to your heart and mind. Verse 13 Howbeit, when He, the Holy Spirit of truth is come, He will guide you into all truth. He shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever.
Shall hear that shall he speak, and shall show you things to come. He shall glorify me.
For he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you. Ah, he said, I'm not going to leave you by yourself. I'm going to send you the Holy Spirit to comfort you during my absence.
That's just like God, isn't it? Behold your God Now in chapter 17, we are taken into a very wonderful sphere. We're allowed to listen to the prayer of our blessed Savior. Have you ever listened in your young Christian to the prayers of your mother or your father? When your dad and mom pray, what do they pray about?
Or whom do they pray about? Have you ever listened to their prayers?
If you'll just listen to the prayer of the Lord Jesus in chapter 17, you'll find out who he is praying about. He's praying about you, He's praying about me. Oh, how he loves us and he desires our blessing. One dear Christian young person told me once. He says I don't have any worries about my security. I don't have any worries now about being lost.
Because he says in verse 11 of chapter 17.
The Lord Jesus was praying for me, and He committed my care to His Father. Why? He says if he was praying for me and committed my care to His Father, I can't be lost. All is well. In chapter 18, we find the Lord Jesus in the presence of those who hated Him, those who came to take Him away. We find Him mistreated, and we find Him willing to take a place of rejection.
Behold your God.
Oh, why did he do it? He was willing to be replaced in this world by Barabbas.
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Are young Christians willing to be replaced at their jobs by those who don't know the Lord? Has your faithfulness for Christ put you in a place of rejection and the world would rather have Barabbas than you? Don't be surprised. It won't be the first time this happened. It happened in the case of the Blessed Lord Jesus Christ. In chapter 19, we find Him.
Taken to a cross.
We find him hanging there as a sacrifice for sin. Behold your God.
This is God manifest in flesh, the one that came to die, the one that came on this preparation day and all how little they understood what was being prepared that day, but all on that day He was preparing all that was necessary to save your soul and mind from hell. Hanging on that cross notice verse.
26 When Jesus therefore saw his mother and the disciples standing by whom he loved, he said unto his mother, Woman, Behold thy son.
You know what that makes me think about? It takes me back to the to the book of Genesis.
Where I find that first gospel message preached, the seed of the woman shall bruise the serpents head, but thou shalt bruise his heel. And it's just as though the Lord Jesus says, here I am fulfilling Genesis 315. He says, woman, behold thy son, I'm the answer to Genesis 315.
And we find that blessed Savior.
In verse 30 says when Jesus therefore had received the vinegary said it is finished, he bowed his head and gave up the ghost. He died for you, he died for me. Oh dear Christian friend, behold your God. But one of the soldiers, verse 34 with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came throughout blood and water. The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin. Or let us always make much of the blood of Christ. It's the foundation.
Of our blessing both now and forever in chapter 20.
All let's not leave chapter 19 till we notice Nicodemus at the foot of the cross, like the Israelite of old at the foot of the pole. Looking up, we see Nicodemus, and he finds now the answer to Genesis, to John 314. There he is, and all is in bright daylight, and it's daylight in his soul.
The Lord Jesus is put in a grave, and in chapter 20 he is raised again.
And I would just like to take you quickly to what we find in the words of Thomas.
In verse 26, after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them. Then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
Then said he to Thomas, Reach, hit her thy finger, and behold my hands, reach, hit her thy hand, and thrust it into my side, And be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God, Oh dear Christian friends.
Do we have the key to John's Gospel when we say?
Behold, your God Thomas discovered it. In chapter 21 we find that the Lord Jesus is glad to have the help of his servants, but he doesn't need them. And here they had gone out and gone fishing, and they thought we're doing a great thing. But after they'd finished their fishing trip, they came to shore and found he had fish already. Oh, don't think the Lord Jesus doesn't know how.
To fish don't think he doesn't know how to get his work done, and he has a special way to do so. And you and I are wise if we do it according to his will. All that work. And here they come, and he find we find.
In verse nine and as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there and fish laid on and bred. Oh, he's got a way of getting his work done that does not need the schemes that you and I may imagine.
Well, in the end of that chapter we find the Lord Jesus restoring publicly a servant that had missed the path or how he loved him. And let us be willing as Christians to forgive and to seek the restoration of our fellow Christians who may in some way have missed the path. May we follow the example of the Lord Jesus as He publicly was willing to restore Peter to a place.
Of blessing and service. And then in closing our little message this afternoon.
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Let us read verse 25. And there are also many other things which Jesus did, but which, if they should be written everyone. I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written ah.
We have approached a marvelous subject.
We have seen on the pages of John's Gospel God manifest in the flesh.
And the key.
Behold your God. But we have discovered this as an ocean that we cannot Passover.
This is a mountain that we cannot scale and we have only scratched the surface.
But I want to tell you, my dear Christian friend, it has been the deepest longing of my soul this afternoon.
As we have taken this brisk walk together along the pages of John's Gospel, it has been my desire.
Not to show you everything that is here, I cannot do so.
But it would be and is the desire of my soul, that you may say.
I would like to go back and take another look and if there is created in your heart that desire.
To go back over these pages and take another look, it will make me very happy.
May we ask God bless you.