Timothy Keller Sermons Podcast by Gospel in Life - The Greatness of Jesus

Episode Date: December 9, 2022

In Matthew chapter 11 John the Baptist is struggling with the identity of Jesus. He sends a message and he says, “Are you really who you claim to be?” The rest of the chapter is Jesus’ answer to that question. The contemporary relevance of a chapter like this is so amazing and so obvious, because Western civilization is filled with people just like John the Baptist. People who are filled with doubts and questions about Jesus.  Jesus gives us two important things to do in his response. First of all, he says, “Use the magnitude of my claims, the greatness of who I claim to be, to knock yourself out of the deadly middle.” And secondly, “Turn it on yourself and use it to make yourself a little child spiritually.” Let’s look more closely at what the deadly middle is and then how to do this. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 29, 1996. Series: The Real Jesus, Part 1: His Teaching. Scripture: Matthew 11:18-27. Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

Do you know the real Jesus? If you're going to find out whether Jesus is the one to be king of your life, you have to make sure you understand him first in order to understand who you're meant to be, and you should know that if you reject him, you'll never be able to stop searching for him. Today on Gospel and Life, Tim Keller is looking at the Gospels to show us who the real Jesus is and what that means for our lives. After you listen, we'd appreciate it if you take a few moments to rate and review the

podcast. When you do, you'll be encouraging others to listen so they can discover the real Jesus because the gospel changes everything. Now here's today's teaching from Dr. Keller. Please turn in your bulletin to the passage of scripture on which the teaching is based this morning. We're going through the book of, pardon me, the chapter of Matthew 11, one at a time, one verse at a time, and today we read Matthew 11 verses 18 to 27.

For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say he has a demon. The son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, here is a glutton, a drunkard, a friend to tax collectors and sinners, but wisdom is proved right by her actions. Then Jesus began to announce the cities in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. What are you, Corazine? What are you, Betheseda? If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. And you,

Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths. If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day, but I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you. At that time, Jesus said, I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.

All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him. And this is God's Word. Now the reason we are looking at chapter 11 of Matthew is because the beginning of this chapter, the start of the chapter, is where John the Baptist, that great religious leader, who had originally had been very supportive of Jesus

and had told his disciples to go follow Jesus, he gets into doubts. As we saw in the first couple of, as we looked at the first few verses, John the Baptist begins to get offended by Jesus. He's struggling, he's filled with doubts. And he sends a message and he says, are you really who you claim to be? And the rest of the chapter is Jesus answered to that question. And the contemporary relevance of a chapter like this is so amazing and so obvious because Western civilization is filled, New York is filled. With people just like John the Baptist, in that they were raised up

into a kind of general supportiveness for Jesus. They subscribed to Christianity, but now that they've grown, now that they've sort of seen life as it is, now that they've had a few hard knocks, now that they've done some thinking, they start to question, they're really filled with doubts, they stumble, they're wrestling with what they perceive

to be offensiveness about Christ's claims and about Christianity. And they say, how do we know you're really the one that you say you are? Here you have somebody who's asked the question, and here we have the answer. And so we look at it. Now, in the very beginning, we said that one of the things,

if not the main thing, that offends people, Jesus, back in chapter 11 verse 4, says, blessed is the one who is not offended in me. And the reason that people wrestle and get offended, we said, was because of Christ claims about himself. And when we get here to verse 27, we have perhaps, some people would say, the greatest of all those claims,

the most astounding claim that any human being has ever made about his own greatness. But I have noticed, as I was studying for the sermon, I've noticed how often, and how easy it is, to focus completely on that verse where it says, as we just read, all things have been committed to me by my father. No one knows the Son except the Father, no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him. It's very easy just to study that because actually you can take it apart

and easily spend a long time on it. There's many, many things in there. It's wonderful. But I would like to point out at verse 25 begins at that time, Jesus said this. If we ask ourselves, why did He say it right there? Why did he say verse 27, after verse 25 and 26, and why did he say it after verse 20 to 24? Why did he say it at that time? And I began to ask that question, all sorts of things came to me, and here's what basically

came to me. Jesus does not ever just say, here's who I am. He doesn't just say, I want you to see the doctrine, I want you to see the dogma. There's an awful lot of people in this room who've been raised reciting sometimes every week, depends sometimes occasionally. The apostles creed. Where you say, I believe that Jesus is the son of God. Many of you have never not believed. And yet, as we're going to see here, it hasn't made a dent. It hasn't made a difference. It hasn't made a difference. Jesus doesn't just tell you a claim. He doesn't just tell you who he is. He tells us here how to use that knowledge.

He tells us how to use that truth. He tells us how to use the greatness of his claims on yourself. It's extremely important. He basic, Jesus is a shepherd. Jesus is a doctor. Jesus' words are not just dogma, they are food, they are medicine. And Jesus gives us, verse 27, and we're going to open that up, but he shows us how to use it. And therefore, he puts it in our lap. It's not enough to say, well, I believe that. I've always believed that. I mean, that's interesting today. I was, that was intriguing, I understand more clearly.

I've always believed that. And Jesus says, do interesting today. I was intriguing, I understand more clearly. I've always believed that. And Jesus says, do you? Let me show you how you use it. And therefore, he is gonna give us, like a good surgeon, two things to do. He basically says, take this truth. And first of all, let it knock you out of the deadly spiritual middle.

First thing you ought to do is take a look at this, what I claim, and let it knock you off dead center, let it knock you out of the deadly spiritual middle, and I'll tell you what that is in a second. And then turn it on yourself and use it to make yourself a little child spiritually. Knock yourself out of the middle and make yourself a little child spiritually,

and then your life will be changed. Now, what does that mean? Okay, first of all, he says, use the magnitude of my claims, the greatness of who I claim to be, to knock yourself out of the deadly middle. Well, what's the deadly middle? Well, look, it's in verses 20 to 24. He says, what do you, of course, and what do you, Beth Say, that what do you, Capied? It'll be better for Tyre and Sidon and Sodom than for you on the day of judgment. Now when you first read that, actually for a long time I read that and I thought, well, what's that mean? If you actually go and find out what did happen in Bethesda, what did happen in Comparative? What happened in these little towns on the Sea of Galilee?

What happened there? And if you think, when you go and study the gospel record, that people were sort of indifferent and they were kind of blas-a, or that they were even rejecting of Jesus, if that's what you think he means, we're wrong. I found what it was amazing to me is when I read and said to see what happened to Jesus when he went to those towns, is that there were droves of people that came out.

There were huge crowds. He was welcomed. He was acclaimed. People got excited. And when I took a look at the things that the people in those towns said, they kind of broke into two categories. They were continually, the text tells us, in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, it tells us they were amazed.

For example, one thing they were amazed at was his words. They said, they were amazed at his gracious words. They loved his preaching. They said, what a teacher. Incredible. They brought their friends. They said, great sermon. No tapes, but they would have bought them.

And you see, they came and they said, what, they were amazed at his gracious words. This is a great teacher. He shows me how I should live. He gives me so much wisdom, so much insight. It's very interesting. And the second thing they were amazed at, they were amazed at His miracles. They said, and I quote, we've never seen anything like this.

They saw the miracles and they said, man, Jesus, great teacher, tells me how I should live. Jesus, a man of power. Boy, there's somebody you can go to for help for your problems. And so they acclaimed him. They loved him. They turned out for him. And yet Jesus Christ says, on the day of judgment, tire, side, and and Sodom

will be in a lot better shape than you. Now see, tire, side, and and Sodom will be in a lot better shape than you. Now see, Tyre, Sidon and Sodom were big cities, and they were very known for their cruelty and for their depravity. In fact, when Jesus went to the little towns, the people came out and drove, but when he finally went into a big city, when he finally put his foot into a great big city, Jerusalem, they rushed at him and within a few days he was dead. And you realize what Jesus is saying. The only two towns that I've ever ministered in was a small town, a lot like Epernium, and a big town, a lot like Tireside and Sodom, New York.

And I want you to know that in the little town that I was in for a number of years, which is a small town in Virginia, there's 24,000 people in it, and about 60 churches. And every single one of them would be what you'd call in New York, ultra conservative, every one of them. An ultra conservative church for every 400 people in that town. And they hate big cities by and large, and they're scared of big cities. They don't even like to go to Richmond.

You know, there's things in the street you'll see that we would never tolerate here. And what is Jesus saying? He is coming and he is saying, now he is saying, oh little town, it's gonna be better on judgment day for New York City than for you. Much better.

What's going on? Here's what he's saying. What does he say? He says, because you were amazed, you loved me, you acclaiming, you didn't, what does it say? Repent. Now, right away, we realize if you read the accounts of what actually happened at Cores and Bethesda, Capernaum in those towns, we will immediately realize Jesus is not using

the word repent the way you might think. He is not saying those people never said, gee, I got to change. He is not saying those people never said, I want to try harder. No, no, obviously what it means to repent means to completely pull up the foundation of your life and totally rebuild your whole life on a whole nother foundation. It must mean at least this when he says you didn't repent. It means that when you look at Jesus Christ and you say, I want to live a better life like he. He's a great teacher in example to make Jesus a teacher in example is not enough. Or to say, look at his miracles. When I have a problem, I'm going to go and pray to him and he's going to help me. When I get sick, he's going to

make me better. When I get unhappy, he's going I have a problem, I'm going to go and pray to him and he's going to help me. When I get sick, he's going to make me better. When I get unhappy, he's going to make me happy. I'm going to go to the, go to the, if you look at Jesus, like these people did and said, he's a great teacher and example, or he is a great helper and he, I will go to him for power. That isn't repentance. These people liked him. That was the worst possible thing you can do to Jesus.

Jesus says that entire Sidon and Sodom in New York City, in the places where people get mad at me, where they get offended at me, people were the people rebel against me. He says, he says, if you hate me, or if you utterly change your life and totally throw your whole life over and totally build your life again on a whole new foundation, either those is

preferable to where you are, to where you are. Bethesda, Korazine, Gapernaum, you liked me. You didn't hate me, and you didn't change your whole lives. You liked me. Now he says, get out of the middle. It's the worst possible place. It's going to be better for New York City. Isn't this good?

This is good news, right? People getting my tapes in Virginia are going to move. But you know, you see, obviously, as we're going to see, he's not saying it's fine to hate. He's what he's trying to say is he says says, he says, tireside and sodden places with people like that are closer to repentance. They're closer to the kingdom because at least they're hearing what I'm saying. Why would it be at the end of verses 20 to 24? When Jesus says, these people didn't hate me, but they didn't really turn over and change.

They lies were not a little bit late change. They just like me, why? Well, look at verse 25, 26, 27. Verse 25 and 26 says because something was hidden from them. God hid something from them. We'll see why in a minute. And he said, but what's hidden from them? Who he really is.

Now you see, it's the claims of Jesus Christ. Look at what he says about himself. Jesus Christ claim here is absolutely astonishing. There's two things he says in verse 27. If you put them together, they're the most astounding thing that anybody's ever said about him or herself. He says, no one knows the father but the son, and he says no one knows the son but the father. Now, let's take a look at

the first, let's take a look at the clause that says no one knows the father but the son. Now what does he mean by that? Right away we say, that's odd because doesn't he say, aren't there many places in the Bible that says we should know God, we should know the Father? In fact, if you look carefully, even in that verse, he says that through Jesus Christ we can know the Father. He says no one knows the Son to the Father. No one knows the Father but the Son knows to whom he chooses to reveal. But Jesus is talking about something else and it's the word all things. When he says all things have been committed to me,

in the context, what does he mean? In the context of knowledge and revelation, here's what he's saying. He is saying, and there's really nobody who studies this passage, that's what he's saying. He says, I know everything there is to know about God. I know everything. All things, now at this point, Jesus has moved

beyond anything, any apostle or prophet, not only in other religions, but anything, any prophet or possibly, in the Bible has ever said. Look at Paul, Paul says, in 2 Corinthians 12, he says, I was taken to the highest heaven. Paul says, I have gotten revelations from God. Paul says, he was a great apostle

and he understood all these things. And yet Paul says, I see through a glass darkly. Paul says, he says, when it comes to the knowledge of God, I feel like a little child paddling in the shallows of a deep ocean. You know, every prophet, every apostle, everybody says, I can tell you a part of it. I have learned know, every prophet, every apostle, everybody says, I can tell you a part of it, I have learned something,

it's very important, Jesus says, I know everything there is to know. No one knows the Father, but the Son. And what does that mean by knowing? He goes beyond relationship. He says, I know all things, everything. Now, you know, he says, I have a monopoly on the knowledge of God, and if you want any, you have to come

to me. Now, right away, if he only said this, people would right away be saying, wait a minute here, this is what I don't like, this is narrow. And I can hear people, I've heard people for 20 years do this, and I almost kind of enjoy hearing it. Especially in New York, they talk, they say, they say, I say you're telling me that he has made every otherwise man every other prophet every other seer obsolete please. Are you telling me that there's no other way he had he knows everything there was

a no-bot got come on that's narrow now would like to say, if it's as all he said, yes, it might be possible for this to be narrow, but he said something else. And because he said this other thing, he may be right or he may be wrong, but he is not narrow. And I want everybody to stop saying he's narrow. He may be right, he may be wrong, but he's not narrow.

Because he says something more incredible than no one knows the Father but the Son. What else does he say? He says, no one knows the Son but the Father. Over the last 20 centuries, when theologians have come to that, they have all agreed that this is the most astounding thing, and this is actually a more amazing thing to say than no one knows the Father but the Son. Because Jesus is not insisting,

I am the ultimate prophet, I'm the gatekeeper, I know everything, that would be narrow. Let me tell you exactly what, I just went to one leading theology book and I pulled something out to see how they wrote it up and basically it's almost always the same and this is what this one said. It says, when Jesus asserts, what do you asserts?

He lays out a practical equality with the Father. He puts their knowledge of each other on an absolute par. To say that only the infinite Father can is capable of comprehending the depths of my being. And then to say, only I am capable of comprehending the depths of the infinite fathers being, he is saying to all of his hearers, you stand in the presence of the uncreated. You stand in the presence of the beginningless.

The father's beginningless, the father is infinite. Who daresay, I know everything, but then who daresay, there is no one in the universe, but the father who is capable of knowing me. Anyone who holds this relationship to the father cannot conceivably be a created being. Now, here's why I want you to stop saying this is narrow. Don't you see? Jesus may be right or maybe wrong, but he's not narrow.

He's not saying, I know everything. If it's true, what he says, and he says, I am the only human being who has ever lived who is equal, absolutely equal, co-terminus. Co-term with the being, wisdom, and power of the infinite beginningless God. If it's true, only human being equal with God. Then of course, he'd be the only one that could really show us everything.

It would just be natural, it would be an implication. His nothing to do with being narrow. His Michael Jordan narrow when he says he's the best basketball player in the world. He may be right, he may be wrong, there's nothing narrow about it. When Jesus Christ says, because my knowledge of God and the Father's knowledge of me is absolutely infinite and absolutely equal and absolutely on a par. He's really saying, I am the Father one. He is saying the most astonishing thing is that anyone has ever said. Now, do you see why he says, verse 27, at that time, this is why, Corson, Bessada, and Capernaum, this is why people in the middle are in such a deadly position,

they haven't heard him say this. Forgiving someone who is wronged you can be one of the most difficult things to do in life. In his new book, Forgive, Why Should I and How Can I? Tim Keller shows how the skill and ability to forgive is one of the greatest resources Christianity offers us and, if rightly understood, it is not a hindrance to seeking justice but a necessary precondition for the pursuit of it. In the book, you'll discover how both justice and forgiveness are aspects of love. We'll send you Dr. Keller's new book, is Our Thanks for Your Gift, to help Gospel and Life share the love and forgiveness of Christ with more people.

Just visit GospelandLife.com-slashgive. That's GospelandLife.com-slashgive. Now, here's Dr. Keller with the remainder of today's teaching. One man put it this way, you want to have a summary of Jesus' statement, here's a summary. I am the ultimate reality. Without me, you're totally lost. If you try to retain your own life, you'll be ruined.

I am so great that your love for me must be so much greater than all of the loves for anyone or anything else, even parents or children or spouses that you must, your love for them must look like hate, like comparison with your love for me. Nothing is worth losing me, whatever is keeping you from me, throw it away. Even if it's an eye or a hand, pluck it out, cut it off, throw it away, but don't be afraid. I have overcome the whole universe.

All things bow to me, all things belong to me, and they will to you if you come to me." You know what he's saying? These people didn't hear that, or they wouldn't have said, they wouldn't have liked them, because Jesus Christ is saying, if you come to me as an example, you think I can help you become more righteous, but I say to you, I come to be your righteousness. And if you come to me as a power, you know, as a helper, you're basically asking me to help you get to your goals, but I come to

be your new goal, your new ultimate desire, your way, your truth, your, I don't come to show you the way. Every other prophet says, I come to show you the way to God. Jesus comes and says, I come to be the way. I am the way. And it means, if you think Jesus Christ is a helper, and you go to Him when you pray, when you're in trouble, if you think of Him as an example,

and you want to become a better person when you read His teachings, but if you haven't made Him the all-absorbing center of your life, if you haven't made him the reason you get up in the morning, if you haven't made him the only way you can look yourself in the face, in a mirror, if you don't make him the only possible way that you can ever approach God. If he hasn't become that to you, you're not listening. And Tyre and Sidon and Sodom are in better shape because they're offended, but at least they hear what he's saying.

This could be a very bad moment for some of us, and I really hope it is. I'm so glad that almost every week, and I know, because I talk to people and so on, there's always somebody in this room that's pretty hostile to Christianity, but not most of us. And on the other hand,

our most of us putting Christ in the place in our lives that this statement, if it's true, would require. I don't think so. New York would be a lot different place. And therefore, most of the people, most of us, are in spiritual chorizine, we're in spiritual Bethesda, we're in spiritual cappernium, we like him. Oh, D. He says, listen to me, look at what I say.

Knock yourself out of that dead spiritual middle. Knock yourself off dead center. Knock yourself out of the middle. You have to come. middle. Knock yourself out of the middle, you have to come. Now, having said that, Paul's position is, if you're in the middle, it's the worst possible place to be. Your life isn't changed, you're kind of vaccinated with Christ. You know what, vaccination is. You have just enough of them not to catch the real thing. You've got little Christ antibodies, you've heard it. You've heard it. I've heard this.

Jesus says, it will be better for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you. I wouldn't say this unless I was forced to by the furious logic of it, I would never want to. If you're lukewarm, if you're in the middle, he says, it'll be better for some and Gamora on that day than for you. Now, the question is, if you get knocked out, are some of you feeling knocked? Are you starting to feel kind of pushed? Aren't you starting to see that the size of what he says, the magnitude of what he says,

means you're either going to have to see him as wicked or crazy, means you're either gonna have to see him as wicked or crazy, or you're gonna have to see him as the absolute Lord and savior of your life. He can't just be your helper, he can't just be your example, he has to be your savior and Lord. Now you see, and as you get pushed off the dead center, as you start to feel that, and you don't like this idea of having to utterly reject him,

because you know there's just too much wisdom about it, and there's too much strength about them. And you don't want to go, you know, you're being knocked off center. Then what do you do? And Jesus says the other thing you must do with this knowledge is let it make you spiritually a little child. He says, I thank you.

I praise you, O Father. Lord have heaven and earth. Because you've hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to little children. Now, he said it at this time. And what he's talking about is that the Galilee places, the places where the people loved him in so many ways, but didn't repent.

They saw him, they liked him, but they didn't change their lives, because they didn't realize what he was actually saying. And then he turns around and says, you know why? Because they were wise and learned up there and they were not little children. And the only people whose lives really changed, the only people who really fit into my arms, are little children. In fact, you know, the Greek word that's used here by Matthew as he quotes Jesus.

He says, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned it and revealed them to little children, it's a word that really means infants or toddlers, it means babies. Now, what does that mean? What is spiritually a little child? Well, first of all, let's take a look at Galilee. When it says, when Jesus says, you know the wise and the learned are the only ones that don't know me,

but it's the little children who do? Does he mean that old people can't become Christians, but young people can? No, because you go to Galley and it wasn't just old people, it was all sorts of ages. Well, does he mean that uneducated people can't be Christians, but a part of me educated people can't be Christians? This is a problem. The more years of education you have, the less you're able to be a Christian, and only uneducated people can be unlearned.

Is that what he means? No. Because one thing we do know about those Galilee and towns is they were not filled with educated people. Oh, what's he talking about? It's not the old versus the young, it's not the educated versus the uneducated. What does it mean? It means there's the people who think they have something spiritually to offer God, and there's the people

who know they have nothing. The way you can tell the difference between a little child, a toddler, an infant, and a kid, you know, a child, is the little ones are always saying, daddy, carry me. But when they start to say, no, daddy, I can walk myself. You know, you've gone over a threshold. Jesus goes out of his way to say, you need to have a paradigm shift. A paradigm shift.

Everybody in the world divides the world pretty much into good and bad. Now everybody draws the line differently. Liberal Democrats, Conservative Republicans, Muslims, Hindus, secular atheists. Everybody draws the good and bad differently, right? Everybody says, those are good people, these are bad people, these are the good guys, these are the bad guys. Everybody draws, everybody draws it differently, but they're all trying to draw that line. And Jesus here says, if you understand my claims, you will completely stop even trying to draw a line like that. He says the fundamental spiritual distinction between people

is not the nice versus the nasty, not the good versus the bad, not the tires and sidings down here, and the nice caverniums up here. No, he says, the real distinction is the chasm is not between the good and the bad. It's between the people who think they're wise, who think they're good, who think they have something spurred so to offer people, and those who are helpless.

If you ever had a little child in your arms, no resistance, absolute vulnerability, total dependence, absolute access, it's astounding. And this is what Jesus is saying to us. And this is what he is saying has to happen. And when you say, well, how does that happen? It happens like this. Let his claims do it. See, the things that the people didn't see, only little children see. And this is what's so ironic. I think it's being a spiritual child that shows you the claims, and

it's the claims that make you a spiritual child. Let's consider it a kind of a cycle, a circle between 25, 26, and verse 27. And here's what I mean. First of all, it takes a spiritual child to admit, Jesus is so great that no one can come to the Father, but through me. Whenever somebody has said to me, I'm offended by this idea that Jesus is the only hope. When I press, it's not just because it's narrow,

it's because it's insulting. And therefore, the claims of Christ will make you a little child in that. You will see your helplessness and weakness. The claims of Christ are that God came, had to come to you. Other prophets say, here's the way to God. But Jesus came and said, if I showed you, if somebody, if I sent you one more prophet, he says, you keep killing the prophets. I keep sending you prophets, he says, in Matthew 23, you keep killing the profits. I keep sending you profits," he says in Matthew 23, you keep killing the profits. I have to come all the way down. I didn't come to show you the way, I am the way. I didn't come to show you how to become righteous. I came to live and die to

be your righteousness, to fulfill everything that you should be and do so that you can know the father. I've come all the way down. To be a spiritual child means you realize that you are too weak, you are too helpless, you are too sinful, you're too lost for any other kind of salvation. If you say I'm offended by this idea, I think all good people anywhere can find God. That's not a narrow thing,

versus a broad-minded thing at all. You're refusing to hear what the Scripture says about your impotence spiritually. You're refusing to see that God had to come all the way down, that this can't just be a prophet. This has to be God Himself. And therefore, let the claims of Christ make you a spiritual child by showing you your sin, but, oh, children. When they just put themselves in your hands and they show this utter trust, let the claims of Jesus Christ show you not just your sinfulness but your value so that you finally trust. Even in this life, to have somebody say, I love you,

all by itself means nothing. Look, if somebody comes up to you and says, I love you, and I really admire you, and I really respect you, how will that make you feel? If you say, well, good, or you say, well, not, you don't know, it's all you know who that person is. If somebody you don't respect, somebody of shallowness, somebody with lack of character comes up to you and says, I really respect you. I really admire you. I really feel strong affection for you. You know what, if that person, you get nothing out of it, the more wonderful the person

is, the more you respect the person, the greater that person is, the more that love affirms and builds you up. Now, do you know that Jesus loves you? A lot of you say, yeah, the greater that person is, the more that love affirms and builds you up. Now, do you know that Jesus loves you? A lot of you say, yeah, I know that. You know why your life hasn't been changed by it. If somebody like that, if somebody of whom verse 27 is true, loves you, don't you see? People love to get to the end of the chapter. It says, come unto me, all ye who labor and are heavy laden. I love you. I will support you. People want to run down to verse 28 instead of going through verse 27. Of course,

it's offensive. Of course, it's threatening to say, Jesus Christ is so great that if he comes down in your life, he has to be the all-absorbing sinner, he has to be the thing you live for. Of course that's threatening, but it's not just a threat. Because unless you wrestle with the offensiveness and the threat of the statement that he is of that kind of magnitude and majesty, you'll never know the comfort and the freedom and the joy of that statement. That if somebody like that loves you like this, if somebody like that says,

I will never leave you or forsake you. If someone like that is a friend of sinners, if someone like that says, I love you with my whole heart, if someone like that says, I live for you. Then who does that make you? Do you not see? Look, if you say, I'm afraid to see how great He is, because that means that then I won't be able to live my life my own way. Yeah, that's a threat. That's a problem, sure.

Yeah. But unless you're willing to give Him and grant to Him, the magnitude of who He says He is, you will never know, unless you see the offensiveness of that, it will never transform your life to know that He has died for you. He loves you. In verse 25, what is He saying?

Father, you have hidden these things from Betheseda, from Corazine, from Capernaum. They've rejected me. They're going to kill me, and that's fine with me. Do you realize what he's saying? In verse 25 and 20, he says, people have rejected me. They have rejected me, and they are going to kill me. And that's fine with me. Why?

I've come to die for those who I love. Have you seen what that means? Do you know what that means? Unless you're willing to be offended and threatened by the fact that a God has come down in your life. So you don't have to throw everything down and make the whole new foundation for your life. You will never be transformed when he says, I and I love you. They go together.

If you just like him because you won't admit his control over you, you will never experience his transforming love for you, period. And that's what Jesus says. Get out of the middle. Become a spiritual child. Be go limp in my arms. Those of you who are not sure whether your Christians are not at this point, just remember this, a great person who says he's God is either God or he's not a great person. I mean, a great person who says I'm God, is either who he says he is or he's not a great person,

he will not let you stay in the middle if you are intellectually honest. But look at this, isn't this fair of him? If you struggle, if you find yourself getting offended, isn't it great? Here's a God. Jesus Christ is one who is not offended by you struggling with offense, his offense. He likes it. He's glad of it. Isn't this fair?

If you are a rebel, if you are a citizen not of cappernium in Coruscant of Bissata, but of Tyre, Sidon and Sodom, New York City, Sodom, and you're wrestling and struggling. Jesus says, I'm interested in you. I welcome you. I'm glad to see that your eyes are open and your mind's alert, come, let us reason to get. Isn't that wonderful? Years ago when I was first becoming a Christian,

I used to go to these Christian fellowship meetings and there was a little booklet on the table that they used to sell and it said, doubters welcome. And that used to comfort me, that we had a Savior that said complacency and indifference and Phariseism, I hate doubt, rebellion, struggle. I welcome you. Let's reason together. What more would you want in a Savior?

Christian friends, keep this in mind. Let's end on this. On the one hand, be frightened. I'll be frightened. Here's why. Did you notice this? He says, the more responsibility goes with the more knowledge. He says, you see, cappernium, getbethseta. He spent more time there. And he says, the more knowledge you have, but you don't change your life, the more I hold you responsible. Now that means that the people on the hot seat, as far as God's concern, are not the people who are not here today, it's the people who are,

and the people on the most hot seat is this one. Because I know more about this text than you do, and you know more about this text than anything else. Anybody else who's out there right now, and Jesus is so fair, he comes and says, it's not them who are on the hot seat. It's the people who have learned from me, who have got the information,

to whom I've come to and spoken to, and given you all sorts of privilege, but you haven't changed your life in the light of it. Do you see, who are on the hot seat? I'm on the hottest of all. Well, be warned, but on the other hand, be comforted because let what Jesus Christ says really make you little children. You know one of the reasons why you're worried and you say, oh my gosh, my life isn't going

right, you know why? Because you're refusing to see that you're a little child. You're a sinner saved by grace alone. What does it mean to be a little child? A little children don't know. They don't know. They don't know what should happen. The only reason you're worried is because you're sure

you know just how your life ought to go and God's not going to get it right. And why are you angry? Because you know exactly what that person should have done. And exactly what should be happening in your life and God's not getting it. Don't you realize lay down the know it all in this burden. You've got this incredible burden.

I know, I know. You're a child. Meldin to his arms. Give yourself over to him. I thank you, Lord of heaven and earth, that you've given such incredible power and privileges to those who admit they don't deserve them, and that they don't know.

And you've tepid from people who are sure they do. Let's pray. Father, thank you for giving us your son and not just one more prophet for us to beat up. And thank you for giving us such remarkable teaching and giving us guidance as to how to use it in our lives. Help us to think out the implications of his claims. Father, there's so much warning in these words,

telling us that we are responsible, but there's so much comfort in these words, telling us that it's not by being good and being moral and being disciplined, but by being helpless and melting into your arms, that our lives will be changed forever. We behold the goodness and severity of the Lord in Jesus Christ.

We thank you that you revealed this to babes and make us so. We pray in Jesus' name, amen. We hope you enjoyed today's teaching about knowing Jesus and we hope you'll continue to join us throughout the month as we continue to discover the joy and freedom of putting him at the center of your life. Before you go, if you are encouraged by today's podcast, please rate and review it so more

people can discover the message of Christ's love. Thanks again for listening. This month's sermons were recorded in 1996. The sermons and talks you hear on the Gospel Online Podcast were preached from 1989 to 2017, while Dr. Keller was senior pastor at Redeemer Presbyterian Church.