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Open up our song books to song number 18. Song number 18, take the name of Jesus with you. That's song number 18. Sing about all the works. The name of Jesus with you, child and son forever. We will join with you, take you wherever. Precious name of sweet, hope of birth and joy of death. Precious name of sweet, hope of birth and joy of death. Take the name of Jesus there. Pass us to the first name. Temptations from the gathering, holy prayer. Precious name of sweet, hope of birth and joy of death. Precious name of sweet, hope of birth and joy of death. The precious name of Jesus, how great we are. Thank His love, He loves to save us. Thank His love, He loves to save us. Precious name of His name, holy prayer. Precious name of sweet, hope of birth and joy of death. The name of Jesus, how great we are. The name of Jesus, how great we are. Temptations from the gathering, holy prayer. Precious name of sweet, hope of birth and joy of death. Precious name of sweet, hope of birth and joy of death. We open up our song books to song number 97. Song number 97, I need you to get it out. Song number 97. I need every administration. Temptations divine can be a song. I need only you. Every hour even you. Blessed are you by God to me. I need every hour. Take that you love. Temptations from now and now. I need only you. Every hour even you. Blessed are you by God to me. I need every hour. Temptations divine can be a song. I need only you. Every hour even you. Blessed are you by God to me. I need every hour. Take that you love. I need every hour. I need every hour. Temptations divine can be a song. I need every hour. Blessed are you by God to me. I need every hour. Blessed are you by God to me. Blessed are you by God to me. Blessed are you by God to me. Blessed are you by God to me. Blessed are you by God to me. Blessed are you by God to me. Blessed are you by God to me. We're going to be in chapter number three this week. We've got the salvation and baptisms below that. As well as some announcements regarding the church. Also happy new year to everybody. I know it's not quite the new year but it's close enough. Don't forget next Sunday we're going to have donuts in honor of those celebrating their birthday in the month of January. So come on out for that nice and early. 10 a.m. and get you a donut. If your name or anniversary was not included in the birthdays or anniversary list respectively, it's because I don't have that information. It's not because I don't like you. I'm always putting people in there that I don't like. I'm just kidding. But not always, just sometimes. That also is a joke. If it wasn't in there, it's because I don't have that info. I know some people are kind of shy about having their names in there or whatever. We would like to help you celebrate your birthday. You never know, you might get a card out of it. You might get a gift card out of it, who knows. So it's worth getting that information in there. So text me, text my wife, email the church, birthdays, anniversaries and we'll be sure to include you this year. If it wasn't in there last year, chances are we don't have it. So keep that in mind. Also below that, there's going to be a couple opportunities in the coming week for some guest preaching up in Tempe. First of all, you have Wednesday. This coming Wednesday at 7 p.m., Pastor Bruce Mejia will be preaching up there in Tempe. And then on Sunday night, not morning, Pastor Anderson will still be preaching the morning service. But Sunday evening, Pastor Berzins will be preaching the evening service. And that's the same day as the wedding reception for Solomon and Chloe. So if you wanted to go up there, enjoy the reception, enjoy the guest preaching that evening. Please feel free to do so. If there's enough people that are interested in going up there and someone who's insured wants to take the van, they can even transport people. So this stuff is always available to folks down here. I know it's a little bit of a trek, but sometimes it's worth going up there. Get some fellowship up there with some of the other church members and taking in some guest preaching. I won't be offended, I promise. I kind of wish I could go. But anyway, that's that's the cross I'm called to bear here. But if you want to go, just make sure you let me know if you're going to go to the wedding reception. If you plan on going or RSVP in the church Facebook group, if you're in there. And then also the 2023, it should read year end giving statements are available by request. So these don't just automatically get issued because I'm not just going to automatically issue hundreds of year end giving statements to people that don't even want them. That's a lot of work and it's just unnecessary. So if you want one, you got to let us know. Email the church and we'll be sure to get one to you. That'll do it for announcements. Let's just quickly count up the soul winning going back to Friday if there's anything for Friday. And I know the group yesterday had one. So the last salvation of the year is back in the Tucson court. You know, the Tempe guys aren't going to get it done here. We appreciate the effort. Anything else outside of the group yesterday? And what about today? I think the group today won today. Who got it? Who got it though? You got it? So you're the last, you got the last one of the year? All right. I mean, I know it was your team that got it. So you got you got till midnight, folks. You and Waline. Okay. All right. So we're going to say you got it though, because he's still I know he's got to still have a Tempe guy. You know. Tonight. That it would count. Yeah, I would be impressed. I would gladly I would gladly say, you know what? You earned it, buddy. But anyway, I don't know why that's significant at all, but I'm because I'm making a big deal out of it, I guess. Anyway, let's go ahead and sing one more song for the preaching. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Mark two. Mark. Mark. Chapter two. First one. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Now, they'll say Jesus never claimed to be God. And while it's true, Jesus never said expressly, I am God, those exact words. He behaved as God. And he certainly alluded to the fact that he was God. And others testified that he was the Lord and that he was God. Now, if you would keep something there and Mark will refer back to it throughout the sermon. But go to John chapter number eight. We're going to look at quite a bit of scripture tonight. So, go to John chapter eight. Jesus may have never claimed to God, but he certainly behaved as God. And even if Jesus were to have said, I am God, the Muslims wouldn't believe that anyway because they don't believe the Bible. And one of the reasons Jesus perhaps have never said that is because of the fact that one cannot bear witness of himself. You know, Jesus wasn't going around trying to convince everybody. He was letting his actions do the talking. Okay. One cannot bear record of themselves. Look at verse 12 of John chapter eight. Then spake Jesus again unto them saying, I am the light of the world. He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life. The Pharisees therefore said unto him, thou barest record of thyself, thy record is not true. Now, that's what I would suppose that a Muslim would say if Jesus had said, I am God. They would say, well, of course he said that. He's trying to claim deity. You're bearing record of yourself. Your record isn't true. So it's this faulty logic. It's insincere. The Pharisees here are saying, you bear record of yourself. Your record's not true. Jesus answered and said unto them, though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true. For I know whence I came and whither I go, but ye cannot tell whence I come and whither I go. He's saying, I know it's true. It doesn't really matter what you think because you don't know. I know. Ye judge after the flesh. I judge no man. And if I judge, my judgment is true for I am not alone. But I am the father that sent me. It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. And that's Old Testament. You see that in Deuteronomy that it required two witnesses in order to put anybody to death. Two or three witnesses. Okay. And that's something that's established even in the New Testament. That we do not have to receive an accusation against the elder before two or three witnesses. Okay. He said, verse 18, I am one that bear witness of myself and the father that sent me beareth witness of me. Now, Jesus isn't being cryptic here. He's not trying to, you know, evade the question or evade the accusation. He's saying, look, the father sent me. When he's saying, I was sent of the father, what he's saying is I am coming from God. Okay. He is God. Then said they unto him, where is thy father? Jesus answered, Ye neither know me nor my father. If ye had known me, ye should have known my father also. These words spake Jesus in the treasury as he taught in the temple. And no man laid hands on him, for his hour was not yet come. Notice, what was the reason that no man laid hands on him? Because his hour was not come. It was almost like a divine miracle. It didn't say no man laid hands on him because nobody was upset enough to lay hands on him. The things that he was preaching and saying, saying, I am from my father. You don't know where I'm from. I have one that bears witness of me. The father also bears witness. He's claiming deity. Okay. He's saying, I am the light of the world. They're saying, no, you're lying. Right? They're upset by the things that he's saying. That's why it says no man laid hands on him. You follow what I'm saying? What was it that was upsetting them? The fact that he was claiming deity. The fact that he was claiming to be divine, to be the Christ, the son of God. The Jews understood what it was that he was suggesting. The claim that he was making by saying, I am the light of the world. I am come from the father. Okay. Look at verse 42. Jesus said to them, if God were your father, you would love me. For I proceeded forth and came from God. He's saying, I'm the one who came from God. I proceeded forth from God. Neither came I of myself, but he sent me. Why do you not understand my speech? Even because you cannot hear my word. So again, they didn't understand not because he's being cryptic. He's being very clear about what he's saying. The Jews who had the word of God, they understood what he's saying when he's saying, I proceeded forth from the father. I didn't come of myself. The reason they can't understand is because God has darkened the light of their understanding. He's darkened their eyes. We understand that's part of what happened. That seeing they would not see and hearing they would not hear or understand. Now, notice verse 44. Notice 44 gets pretty strong. Ye are of your father, the devil. That's some strong preaching. It always cracks me up when I run into people who say things like, I just think Jesus would be a lot more male. I had someone recently tell me, I just don't see Jesus raising his voice and pounding on a pulpit and getting upset. I told this person, you've never read the Bible apparently. I said, just go read Matthew 23. Think of all the other chapters we could send people to. Come back and tell me that Jesus was mellow. That's what he told me. I just think Jesus was a lot more mellow than that. Ye are of your father, the devil. Maybe he said that in a mellow way. He was like, you know dude, you're of your father, the devil, man. How do you say that mellow? How do you call someone a child of Satan in a nice way? You don't. Even if he said it with just a nice inflection, instead of just a most loving tone that he could muster, he's still calling somebody a child of Satan. He's saying this to a whole group of people publicly. Ye are of your father, the devil, and the lusts of your father he will do. He was a murderer from the beginning. You're the son of a murderer. This is a strong language. And abode not into truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own, for he is a liar and the father of it. Look at verse 51. Verily I say unto you, if a man keep my saying, he shall never see death. Then said the Jews unto him, now we know that thou hast the devil, Abraham is dead, and the prophets, and thou sayest, if a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death. The Jews here are being very pedantic, aren't they? They're taking his word so literally and saying, oh, well, if that were true, then Abraham would still be alive today. They're missing the point, right? He that believeth on me has passed from death unto life. They're failing to understand eternal life. That's what Jesus is talking about. He shall never see death. He's never going to go to hell. He's going to have the hope of the resurrection. He's going to be absent from the body, to be present with the Lord. That's what Jesus is teaching, right? They're being pedantic. They're saying, oh, well, if that were true, then Abraham would be alive. Right? So they're trying to, they're not understanding, okay? And I love how Jesus handles this. He doesn't even really try to, like, correct them on it. He just uses it as an opportunity to just double down on what he's already been saying to them, that I came of my father, that there's one that bears witness of me, even of my father. You know, I am the light of the world. He's claiming to be God without saying those exact words. The Jews understand, and we'll see here in a minute, in a second rather, that's exactly what he is. I don't want to use the word insinuating, because insinuate is used to describe something bad, but that's what he's alluding to, okay? He's alluding to the fact that he is God. They said, art thou greater than our father, which is dead, verse 53, and the prophets are dead? Who makest thou, makest thyself, thou thyself? Jesus answered, if I honor myself, my honor is nothing. It is my father that honoreth me, of whom ye say that he is your God. Yet ye have not known him, but I know him. And if I should say I know him not, I shall be a liar, like unto you. I mean, this is hard preaching. But I know him, and keep his saying. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and saw it, and was glad. Then said the Jews unto him, again, this is more of them just being pedantic, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, verily, verily, I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am. Okay? Now, I don't know how else you can interpret that, that Jesus is saying, I am. You know, that he is God. That's what he's saying. Before Abraham was, I am. I am, of course, being what the Lord told Moses when he said, who shall I say he sent me? Tell them the I am, right? They might have understood it that way, but also, just the grammar. Before Abraham was, past tense, I am. He's saying, I've always been. That's an attribute of God, right? He's claiming the attributes of God when he's preaching to them. And only somebody, you'd only claim the attributes of God if you were claiming to be God. Okay? Notice 59, that was enough. Then they took up stones to cast at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by. So, what's interesting here is that Jesus, you know, he doesn't get upset. They don't get upset about the fact that he called them a liar, the son of a liar, the son of a murderer, the son of a devil. That's not when they picked up stones. They pick up stones when he says, before Abraham was, I am. So, why are they stoning him? Why are they attempting to stone him, rather? Because he's making claim to be God, okay? That's exactly why they're trying to stone him. They didn't try to kill him when he's insulting them, okay? They're like, that's fine, you know, because they probably are like, yeah, it's true, right? But what they got upset about was when Jesus finally just came out and said, I am, you know? Look at John chapter 10. Go over to John chapter number 10. When you get in John, we're going to keep something in John tonight, too. We're going to come back a little bit later. But look at verse 23, and we'll look at another instance where Jesus is preaching to the Jews and making it abundantly clear that he is God without having to say the express words, I am God, okay? And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch. I mean, just think about what a poor argument that is. Like, we don't know somebody's something until they expressly say it to them, those exact words. Like, I don't think I've ever had to walk up to anybody in this church and say, I am my husband's wife. I am my wife's husband. Look, if I ever say that in this church, you got permission to, you know, to deal with it, all right? You need to get on the phone with Pastor Anderson. It's been a long week, all right? See, I put myself out there for you folks. You have no idea the risks you take when you get behind this pulpit. What was the point I was trying to make? Oh, that I've never had to walk up to anybody and say, I am my wife's husband. I am my wife's husband. Got it right that time. But, I mean, everyone here kind of knows that, right? Just because they see me with my wife, and we have children together. You know, I've got a wedding ring. You're looking at everything that we're doing, everything that we're expressing. And you go, oh, they're married. You never get, no, they look like they're married. It appears that he is, in fact, his wife's husband, right? But I'm not sure. I'm not going to believe him until he just says it to me, right? That's, you know, there's things, if I say and do, you're just going to go, oh, you're going to come to the logical conclusion that I'm married to my wife, right? Jesus is saying and doing things where you would just read what he's saying, hear what he's saying, see what he's doing, and you would just come to the conclusion, oh, he's God. In fact, even in the passage, Mark Chapter 2, let me get ahead of myself, Jesus, you know, they're saying, well, hey, if he could forgive sin, only God could forgive sins. Uh-huh. It's like, yeah. Right? Anyway, let's look at John 10. He's walking in Solomon's porch. Verse 24, then came the Jews round about him and said unto him, how long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. Just say it, right? And they understood when they're saying Christ the Messiah, the Savior, the understanding that that is God, okay? Just tell us plainly. Just say it. It's like they're a bunch of Muslims back then. Jesus answered them, I am God. I am the Messiah. I am the Christ. No, he said, I told you, and you believed not. He said, I said it, and you didn't believe me. Right? When did he say it? John 8. Before Abraham was, I am. I am the light of the world. I am come from the Father. He sent me. I proceeded and came forth from the Father. That's him saying, I am the Christ. Okay? And now they're saying, well, just say it plainly. Just, you know, quit going round and round about it. Just say it. Just say the words. And we know why that we want him to say the express words is so they could kill him for it. Because they don't believe he's the Christ. They've rejected him as the Christ. They rejected him as God. They don't want to accept him. They want him to say those exact words so they could catch him in his words and have an excuse to kill him. Which is exactly what they end up doing. But Jesus is saying, look, I did tell you. You didn't believe me. Not the, you believe not. The works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me. How do you know I'm God? Because of what I do. Not because I just go around saying it. It's because of what I do. Jesus didn't have to go around claiming to be God expressly because the works that he did were only the works which God could do. But ye believe me not because you're not of my sheep. As I said unto you, my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me and I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father which gave them me is greater than all and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one. I mean, how much more plainly can he say it without saying those exact words? I am God. I am the Christ. You want to hear me say it? You want me to tell you plainly? I and my Father are one. And who is the Father? God. I am one with God. Me and the Father are one. In the sense that we are both God. Not the same person but both deity. Okay? Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. Again, when are they getting ready to stone him? When he makes this claim. Right? Because that's what they want to hear. They want to hear him claim that he is God so they can kill him. Jesus answered them, many good works I showed thee from my Father. For which of those works do you stone me? And the Jews answered him saying, for a good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy. And what was the blasphemy? And because thou, being a man, makest thyself God. You know, it's funny that these Jews had it figured out. These Pharisees back then. They heard what he was saying. They saw what he was doing. And they're saying, you're making yourself God. But where does he say, I am God? Right? Where does he just expressly say it? Well, he said, I am my Father in one. Before Abraham was, I am. He's making all these claims. He's alluding to it without expressly saying those words. And the Jews get it. You're claiming to be God. Right? So it's kind of a stupid argument. They say, well, Jesus never said he was God. Well, it's funny, the people that he was talking to back then, that's exactly what they understood. That's exactly what they took him to mean when he said these things. OK? In fact, Jesus, if you remember, was killed for what? For making himself God. That's why they're attempting to kill him. Thou, being a man, makest thyself God. That's blasphemy in our book because they don't believe. Look, it is blasphemy. It's blasphemy as a man to make yourself God. But it wasn't blasphemy for Jesus. Why? Because he was God. Because he was God. Right? And this is why I'm never going to watch movies or anything that have people portraying Christ. Because it's a man making himself out to look like God. I believe it's blasphemous, in my opinion, for any man to try to portray Christ in a physical role. OK? Two, I don't want some Hollywood actor's image emblazoned upon my mind every time I read the scripture. Have you ever read a book and then saw the movie? Right? And you're kind of disappointed because the movie's never as good as the book. And the characters in there, you're like, that's not how I imagined them. That's not how I imagined they looked like. And if you try to go back, you don't even bother to go back and read the book because you know if you try to read it, you're going to see that actor. Right? And that's one reason I never want to watch movies that portray Jesus. Because no one knows what he looked like. And two, we know enough about what does look like that they've got it wrong. Isn't that ironic? The little bit we do know about what Jesus looked like, they get it completely wrong. How so? They all have long hair. They all look like he put a surfboard down over in California somewhere and went over and preached. Right? Like he came out of the surf. Like he should be wearing board shorts. He's got his long, flowing hair. He's usually a white guy. You say, well, what are you saying? He wasn't white? Well, we don't know. Chances are not. He's probably Middle Eastern. He's probably brown. He probably didn't have blue eyes. Right? You say, well, how do you know he didn't have long hair? Because the Bible tells it's a shame for a man to have long hair. But isn't it funny? That's exactly how they portray Jesus. You know, I don't want some guy's image of Christ in my mind when I read the Bible. And when a man makes himself God, it's blasphemous. Okay? The Jews were right. That is blasphemy. They were just wrong about the fact that it wasn't blasphemy for Jesus because he's just telling them, I'm God and you don't believe me. Go over to Luke chapter 22. Luke 22. Begin reading in verse 66. I mean, Jesus claiming to be God was the exact reason why they killed him. It says in verse 66, as soon as it was day, the elders of the people and the chief priests and the scribes came together and led him into their council saying, art thou the Christ? Tell us. And he said to them, I tell you, you will not believe. Again, so they're trying to press him to just say it. Just say the words. Say, I am Christ. Say, I am the Lord. Say it. And also, if I also ask you, you will not answer me nor let me go. But he says, hey, whoa, what do you think? Am I the Christ? They won't answer. Hereafter shall the Son of Man sit on the right hand of the power of God. And then said they all, art thou the Son of God? And he said to them, ye say that I am. Right? So he's not giving. He's just being cryptic. It's not that he's like trying to deny it. He's just playing their word games with them. Right? He's messing with them. And they said, what need we any further witness? For we all ourselves have heard him of his own mouth. Go back to John 19. John 19. And we know they began to beat him and torture him and eventually led him to Pilate because he said this. They're like, well, we're not going to get him to say it. So that's close enough. Right? Close enough. We don't need any more witness. He's just being evasive. Right? We all know he's guilty. Right? Yeah, okay. John 19, look at verse 6. When the chief priest, therefore, and the officer saw him, they cried out, saying, crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, take ye him and crucify him. I find no fault in him. He hasn't broken any Roman law. What do you want me to do? The Jews answered him, we have a law, and by our law he ought to die. What's their law? Because he made himself the son of God. They're saying, he's claiming deity. He's claiming to be God. He's claiming to be the son of God. You know, I don't believe that the Trinity was a mystery to them. I believe they understood the triune nature of God in the Old Testament. I believe there's enough in the Old Testament for them to understand. I mean, Genesis, you know, let us make man in our image. You know, that's the same one that they were reading back then. Like, oh, there's more than one. And they, you know, I'm not going to take all the time to go into that. But they're saying, look, he made himself the son of God. What they're saying is, he's claiming to be God. And that gives Pilate pause for a second. You know, and so the Jews back then, they understood this, exactly what it was that Jesus was claiming. Okay, when he said, before Abraham was, I am. Before, when he said, I and my father are one. They understood that he was making himself God. And he claimed to be the son of God. And they're just trying to press him to say it explicitly, which is the exact same tactic that the Muslims use today. Right, he never said it. Even if I showed you a passage where he said it, they wouldn't believe it anyway. The Bible says, who is a liar but he that denieth Jesus is the Christ. He is anti-Christ that denieth the father and the son. Whoso denieth the son, the same hath not the father. But he that acknowledges the son hath the father also. And you know what is funny to me is when I see people that trip all over themselves, Christians and others, to try and defend, you know, the Bible or deity to people like Muslims or atheists. The Bible says, a man that is an heretic after the first and second admonition, reject. The Bible says, speak not in the ears of a fool for he despised the wisdom of thy words. You know, I'm not, I don't, I don't, what Muslims think of the Bible doesn't keep me up at night. I'm not trying to convince Muslims and atheists of anything. Because the Bible has to believe, be believed by faith. You either believe the record that God gave of his son or you don't. You know, so I'm not, you know, sit there and try and like figure out all these clever ways to counter argue and whatever. You know, I'm not, I'm not going to try, I'm not held accountable to prove anything to a bunch of, you know, Christ rejecting, you know, followers of an illiterate pedophile. Well, you know, Jesus never said that he was God explicitly. But you know what? We all know that your prophet, Mohammed, you know, married a nine year old. And that's fact. Ayesha was nine. You know, it's like, well, what do I care about trying to explain that to people who follow a literal pedophile? Why am I going to sit here and trip all over myself? Well, you know, Jesus might not have said it. Where if they actually believe the Bible, the testimony that God gave of his son, like anybody else, you would, you cannot read this book and not come to the conclusion Jesus is God. Because that's what he's saying. That's what they're testifying of. That's what the apostles and everybody wrote. Okay. Now, that's one part you say, boy, that's quite the message to get in part two, but you know, it's there, right? Who can forgive sins but God only? Uh-huh. It's like, yep. But the other thing I want to point out in Mark 2, if you want to go back there, Mark chapter 2, is how Jesus responds, okay? So they're saying, you know, who can do this but God only? You know, and they're saying, is he claiming to be God? You know, and it's actually kind of a good proof text when you look at the preceding verses that Jesus is God. That he actually, in a roundabout way, did claim to be God. Although he might not have explicitly said those words, he often alluded to it. Before we get to that, look at verse 8. And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said to them, why reason you these things in your hearts? So the things that they're thinking, they're saying, they're reasoning in their hearts. They're not saying this out loud. They're all kind of thinking this in their hearts. That, you know, what are they reasoning? Who can forgive sins but God only? They're not saying it out loud. Okay? But I love how it says there that Jesus perceived in his spirit. Okay? Now, some people will wonder, you know, and I've heard this question put out there, and I've thought about this over the years, is when it says that Jesus perceived in his spirit, does it mean he read their minds? Like he knew what they were thinking? Or was it more that he had that perception, right? He was able to perceive this. Or he was able to see what it was they were thinking. Now, I'm of the opinion that he was not reading their minds. Okay? That he knew what they were thinking. Because think about that. We, even in our own lives, we can do that with people sometimes. People will say something, and then we'll see the look on their face, and you can kind of tell what someone's thinking or feeling, you know, in reaction to something you said. Right? Anyone who's married knows this is true too, right? You know, you can kind of get a sense of how the other person is feeling or what they're even thinking, right? Jesus knew he was dealing with. He knew he was dealing with these people, these, you know, the Pharisees that were questioning him and were going to reject him. He understood all that. But I believe that when it says he perceived in his spirit, it's not necessarily that he's reading their minds. Okay? And the reason why I believe that is because, you know, and I don't want to be misunderstood by, and having people think that I'm saying that Jesus wasn't completely divine on earth. He was. He was completely man and completely God at the same time. But there is that great mystery that God was manifest in the flesh. If we can't, it's hard to comprehend with our limited minds exactly what that means, exactly all that that entails. Okay? But the fact is, in other passages, we also see, and if you would, go over to Luke chapter number two, Luke chapter number two, is that Jesus, when he was on earth, did leave some of the attributes or the attributes of his divinity behind. There were certain things or powers, if you want to put it that way, that he did not have when he was manifest in the flesh here on earth. Okay? And that's, the Bible's clear about this. Okay? And Jesus, and I don't believe Jesus was omniscient on earth. You know? And this is just my opinion, you know, and I'm certainly open to being corrected on this. This is something I've thought about over the years, meaning he wasn't able to discern, you know, or to know exactly what someone's thinking. It's something that he discerned, just like any other human being can discern. Okay? You and I can sometimes get a sense of what other people are thinking. All right? I mean, you start preaching sometimes, and you can kind of tell when people do or don't like what you're saying. Okay? But Jesus did lay aside certain attributes of his deity. Look at Luke chapter two, verse 51. And when he went down with them, Mary and Joseph, and came to Nazareth, he was subject unto them. Remember, he gets lost. They lose him at the temple, and they go back to find him, disputing and questioning the doctors and the Pharisees. And then it says, then he went back down with them and was subject unto them. But his mother kept all these sayings in her heart, and Jesus increased in wisdom. Okay? He increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man. So Jesus, you know, when it's saying he increased in wisdom, meaning he learned. Right? There's things that he learned here on earth. He got smarter. He became more wise. Right? Now, if he's, you know, if he had all the attributes that came with being God, which he was, okay, he was 100 percent. You know, wouldn't he have been all-knowing from the start? Because people get some weird ideas sometimes when it comes to Christ, you know, and him on earth. They'll say things like, well, Jesus as a baby never cried. I'd be surprised if he didn't. You know what I mean? Like, that's just kind of weird. Like, where do you even get that from? Where does the Bible even hint at that? You know, people, that's just conjecture. Well, we know he was God and God's perfect and perfect babies don't cry. Well, babies don't cry because they're trying to be malicious. You know? It's because they can't talk. You know what I mean? They don't, they can't say, change me. They can't say, feed me. That's how they communicate. Right? It's not an evil intent. It's just how babies, it's how they work. So, yeah, of course Jesus would have cried. You know, in fact, even as a man, Jesus wept. Right? But he had to increase in wisdom, meaning he wasn't born knowing everything. He even said to his apostles, you know, that no man knoweth the day or the hour, not even the Son of Man. The Son of Man doesn't even know the timing of the coming of Christ. When he was here on earth, certainly he knows it now in his glorified form back with the Father. But when he was here on earth, there were things that were taken from him in certain respects of his abilities as God. And I believe this was one of them, that he was not omniscient, all-knowing. So when it says he perceived in their heart, I believe that was just the normal perception that we all have of people. You know, some people are better at reading people than others. Okay? And he was able to perceive in his spirit what these Pharisees were thinking. You know, in other proof texts that Jesus laid aside certain attributes of the deity, how about when he was, you know, just to kind of back up my argument here. Okay? How about when he was transfigured on the mount? You know, that was him in his glorified form. Right? He didn't walk around like that. That was something he laid aside. That was something he didn't always possess. That was something that was granted to him in that moment. Right? Where he was shown as the brightness of the sun. Right? And, you know, what's great about that is that that makes Jesus more relatable. It's nice to know that Jesus knows what it's like to be us, to not know everything, to maybe even be uncertain, or to have to rely on your own human perception of things. Okay? We have a high priest, says in Hebrews 4, verse 15, for we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities. Meaning, we do have a high priest which can be touched with the feelings of our infirmities. He knows what it's like to be human. He knows human weakness, but was in all points tempted, not with sin, but was in all points tempted, he knows the trials and tribulations that we go through as human beings. Okay? That was part of that. I love that about Christ. That he's not, he wasn't just some stoic, you know, robotic, callous, unfeeling person just kind of getting it over with. He was just here, it's like, well, I got 33 years down here until I can get back to where I was. Like, he went through these things. Right? He went through, he experienced the same things that you and I experienced, even to a greater degree, so that we can boldly come to the throne of grace to find, may obtain mercy and find help in time of need. Right? He can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. God knows what it's like. So, there's that part in Mark chapter 2. Now, I know it's kind of a separate kind of birdwalk there, but Jesus may have never claimed to be God, but let me point this out, too. He never denied being God, did he? Go back to Mark chapter 2. Mark chapter 2. Again, in verse 6, it says, But there were certain scribes sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, Why did this man thus speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God only? And immediately Jesus perceived his spirit, they so reasoned with themselves, and he said unto them, Well, let me clear things up. I don't want you to misunderstand anything here. I'm not God. You know? That's not what he said here. He doesn't deny it. Right? Because they're thinking, only God could do this. And Jesus, when he perceives, that's what they're thinking, doesn't say, Well, let me take this opportunity to clarify that I, in fact, am not God. He never denies it. And when people call him God, when people, you know, attribute deity to him, he always accepts it. He accepts worship throughout the Gospels. People worship him as God. He never denies it because he is God. Okay? But I love his response here. He says, Why reason ye these things in your hearts? Verse 9, Whether it is easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee, or to say, Arise, and take up the bed, and walk, but that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sin. So what's he saying here? He's saying, Why reason ye these things in your hearts? Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy? Which one is easier to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee, or is it easier to say, Arise, and take up the bed, and walk? He's saying, Which statement is easier to say? Not in the sense that, Which one rolls off the tongue more easily? Or which one is going to be more better understood by the one that is sick, the one that I'm healing? What he's saying is, Which one is easier for you to understand? Verse 10, That ye may know that the Son of man hath power on the earth to forgive sins. He's saying, Which one is going to make it more abundantly clear to you that I have the power on earth to forgive sins? Obviously, it's going to be much more easy to understand if he says, Thy sins be forgiven thee. If he says that, there's no question that he has power on earth to forgive sins, right? And he's saying it that way so that they would understand that, right? Whether of the two is easier for you to understand that I have the power on earth to forgive sins. That's what he's saying here. It's not, Which one is easier to say, you know, phonetically, right? He's saying, Which one is easier for me to say to make you understand that I do indeed have power on earth to forgive sins? It's a very clear statement. Thy sins be forgiven thee, right? If he's saying that, he's basically claiming I have power on earth to forgive sins. So in a roundabout way, he alludes to his deity here, doesn't he? Because he says that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins. And it's like, they just need to connect the dots. Well, who can forgive sins but God only? Exactly. Exactly. It's like, yeah, see, you're getting it. You're almost there. Thy sins be forgiven thee. The Son of man has power to forgive sins because I'm God. That's what he's saying. Everyone sees that, right? You know, God, Jesus never denied being God. And he never may have explicitly claimed to be God. But he certainly behaved as only God could. Only God could do the miracles that he did. And he certainly insinuated that he was God. And again, I don't want to use that word insinuated. He alluded to the fact that he was God. And this is a great passage proving that. Hey, the Son of man hath power to forgive sins. But only God can do that. Exactly right. Because I'm God, right? I love what he said in John 8. You don't have to turn there. He said to these people, these same people that wanted to argue and be pedantic and go back and forth and say, you know, you know, just say plainly, just tell us plainly if be thou be the Christ. He said, if you believe not that I am he, you shall die in your sins. You know, and that's that's all I have to say to the people that want to deny the need of Christ. That's all I have to say to the Jehovah Witness. It's all I have to say to the Jew. It's all I have to say to the Muslim about the deity of Christ. If you believe not that he is he, then you will die in your sins because there is no salvation outside of Christ. You know, you have to you have to believe that he is by faith. You know, and Jesus has made it abundantly clear in the scriptures that he is God. And the people that were alive when Jesus was alive, saw the things he did, heard the things that he said, came to that conclusion that this is indeed the Christ, the son of the living God. This is the Messiah. That's the conclusion that, you know, multitudes of people came to and got saved, even of the Jews. Many of them believe, the Bible says. But those that refuse, those that just want to be pedantic, that don't want to believe, that really aren't interested in what the Bible actually says, you know what, you're going to die in your sins. And what's sad about that is it doesn't have to be that way. What's unfortunate is that no matter how much you argue with these people, what arguments you can come with, they don't want to believe that. They're going to reject it. I mean, that's what you see with Jesus and the Pharisees. He's always going back and forth. And he's proving himself. And he's doing this. You know, if you believe me not for my words, believe for the work's sake. And what more could he have done to prove that they don't want to believe? Look at verse 11. We'll wrap it up. I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. And immediately arose, and took up the bed, and went forth before them all, insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God. So this guy just lifts up his bed, and he walks in the midst of them. They're all just amazed at the sick of the palsy. You know, he walks out of the house. And they glorified God, the Bible says, saying we never saw it on this fashion. You know, when people do believe, they glorify God. God is glorified when Christ is believed on. When you go out there and you win that soul to Christ, God is glorified. You know, when someone gets saved, they're praising God. They're thanking God. Even if they're not saying it out loud, you know, God is being glorified. I've experienced it. Other people have told me about it. About what an amazing thing it is when someone believes in Christ. When you preach them the gospel, it's like you can see it on their face. Their countenance changes. They express some kind of gratitude. You know, God is glorified through belief. But if people want to just be pedantic, if people just want to deny that Christ is God, they are not going to bring glory to God. There is no glory being brought to God through Islam. There is no glory being brought to God through any religion that denies the deity of Christ and salvation by grace through faith. That's a great privilege that we have as believers. We can genuinely glorify God through our own belief in Christ as the Messiah, as the Son of God, and through bringing others to that same conclusion through the preaching of the word of God. Let's go ahead and close in a word of prayer. Dear Lord, again, thank you for the great opportunity we have in this life to glorify you by faith, Lord, in our own lives and through the preaching of the gospel to others, Lord, and Lord, I pray you just help us in the coming year to continue to work for you and to glorify you in all that we say they can do. We ask these things in Christ's name. Amen. Alright, we'll go ahead and sing one more song before we are dismissed. Please open your song books to song 169. Song 169, coming up now. Song 169, coming up now. Not so many years, yeah. Come, thou fight of every blessing To thy heart's use, to thy grace Dreams of mercy, have never ceased After songs of loudest praise, Teach me song of glory, strongly, Some my faith is unto all, Praise the Lord, I'm fixed up on him, Round till I reach him again, May I praise my evidence now, Lither by thy heart I know, Yet I know my wonder and joy, Take me out of my own. Jesus, our King, my exchanger, Wand'ring from the throne of God, Who to bless you with your pain, Who to host his precious blood, What to praise, shall be his heaven, Here we are, come straight to thee, Let thy good peace, like the heaven, Out of thy wonder, come to thee, Come to wonder, Lord, our King, Come to thee, Lord, our God, He is our God, Take us now to the Lord, our God, He is our God,