(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. On the first. Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus. Just to take him at his word. Just to rest upon his promise. Just to know the safe the Lord. Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him. How I've proved him o'er and o'er. Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus. Oh, for grace to trust him more. On the second. On the second. Oh, how sweet to trust in Jesus. Just to trust his cleansing blood. Just in simple faith to plunge me. Beneath the healing cleansing flood. Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him. How I've proved him o'er and o'er. Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus. Oh, for grace to trust him more. Yes, tis sweet to trust in Jesus. Just from sin and self to cease. Just from Jesus simply taking life and rest and joy and peace. Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him. How I've proved him o'er and o'er. Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus. Oh, for grace to trust him more. On the last. I'm so glad I learned to trust thee. Precious Jesus, Savior friend. And I know that thou art with me. Wilt be with me to the end. Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him. How I've proved him o'er and o'er. Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus. Oh, for grace to trust him more. Good morning, everybody. Turn to Matthew chapter 16, Matthew 16. Matthew 16, starting in verse 1. Matthew 16, verse 1. Matthew 16, verse 1. Matthew 16, verse 1. Matthew 16, verse 1. Matthew 16, verse 1. Matthew 16, verse 1. Matthew 16, verse 1. Matthew 16, verse 1. Matthew 16, verse 1. Matthew 16, verse 1. Matthew 16, verse 1. Matthew 16, verse 1. Matthew 16, verse 1. Matthew 16, verse 1. Matthew 16, verse 1. Matthew 16, verse 1. Matthew 16, verse 1. Matthew 16, verse 1. Matthew 16, verse 1. Matthew 16, verse 1. Matthew 16, verse 1. Matthew 16, verse 1. Matthew 16, verse 1. Matthew 16, verse 1. Matthew 16, verse 1. Matthew 16, verse 1. Matthew 16, verse 1. Matthew 16, verse 1. Matthew 16, verse 1. Matthew 16, verse 1. Matthew 16, verse 1. Matthew 16, verse 1. Matthew 16, verse 1. Matthew 16, verse 1. Matthew 16, verse 1. Matthew 16, verse 1. Matthew 16, verse 1. Right, amen. Matthew chapter number 16. If you would, look at verse number 13. So the Bible says, When Jesus came into the coast of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? And that's what we're going to be talking about this morning. The title of the sermon is, Who is Jesus? Who is Jesus? Obviously, when people ask you guys that, you have an answer, you're able to explain. But the point of this passage is, when you read verses 13 through verses 20, you're going to see there's two groups of people. There's a group of people known as the disciples, and this is who Jesus is asking. Who do men say that I am? Which highlights what? The second group of people. So what you're going to see is this first group of people, they don't know who he is, but they know the name. Okay, and that's the same thing you're going to find today. A lot of people know the name of Jesus, but they do not know who he is. And so we're going to spend some time this morning going through this passage here, and just breaking it down and highlighting who is Jesus. He is the Son of God. Can you explain what that means? How can he be a son if he's from everlasting? If you pay attention, we're going to go over all of that stuff this morning. But again, look at verse 13. It says, When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? Now look at the answer right off the bat from the disciples at who they say people say Jesus is. Verse 14 says, And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist, some say, Elias, and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. Now obviously all of these answers are wrong, but they're better than what you hear today. Okay, I'm going to show you that from several sources. So let's talk about today. What do people say when they are asked who is Jesus? Well, we'll start with New Evangelical Christianity. What does New Evangelical Christianity say about Jesus? Well, they say he's the Son of God. They say he's the Savior. Depending on which sect you ask, you're pretty much going to come down to this conclusion and that he's the person who died to give you power to be able to turn from all of your sins. In a nutshell, that is what most of them believe and teach. You can do your own research. All you have to do is just type in church around here. Look at their website and what they believe and that will come up. Okay, that is what they believe. Mormons say the similar thing. They'll say, well, you know, yeah, we're not saved by works, but Jesus died to give you power to turn, you know, from your sins and things like that. Total nonsense, okay? That is not right. That is incorrect. That is blasphemy. What about the Mormons? Okay, we have a high population of Mormons in the Treasure Valley. We talk to them all the time. Who do they say Jesus is? Well, this is right from their website. They say that Jesus was a pre-existing spirit who was exalted. Yeah, a pre-existing spirit who was exalted and basically came into the world to save sinners, give them power to be able to turn from their sins in hopes of one day that people will be able to be with their families and many wives and have their own planet and things of that nature. They also teach, and I've heard that Jesus is the brother of Lucifer. Now, I've also heard that from Jehovah Witnesses, but not all of them seem to believe that, so you just kind of have to pay attention, okay? What about Jehovah's Witnesses? The J-dubs, what do they believe? Straight from their website, they say, Jesus, we follow the teachings and examples of Jesus Christ, and we honor him as our savior and as the son of God. Okay, and they got a couple verses they quote. Thus, see how they're trying to get all King James. Thus, we are Christians. However, we have learned from the Bible that Jesus is not Almighty God and that there is no scriptural basis for the Trinity doctrine, and they quote John 14, 28. We'll smash that here in a little bit. So, according to the Jehovah's Witnesses, Jesus is not God, okay? It's very important to understand. What about Islam? What do they say? They say that Jesus is a prophet. Some of them will say that he was born of a virgin, but they do not believe that he is God. What about the several isms out there, Buddhisms? I mean, all of them pretty much will say, yeah, Jesus had followers. He was a great teacher, but, okay? And it's that but that puts them in the same category. Now, this is where a lot of people will stop. And not go any further. Maybe they'll highlight a couple specific other sections of so-called Christianities. They might call it the Seventh-day Adventists. They might call out these, you know, some of these other groups like that. But what about Judaism? What does Judaism say about Jesus? Well, according to Christians, I went to a Christian website, you know, this Christian apologetics website to see what they say. And look at how nice they put this. They say, according to Judaism, Jews believe that Jesus was Mary's son. He was a teacher, a rabbi, and had many disciples, was respected, performed miracles, claimed to be the Messiah, and was crucified on the cross. They also acknowledge his followers reported Jesus was raised from the dead. Now, if that doesn't scream political correctness, I don't know what does, okay? But I'm gonna tell you who the Jews say Jesus is. Now, what I'm holding here is this Bible. Jesus is. Now, what I'm holding here is this book called Jesus in the Talmud. Okay, now, according to this book, there's two different talmuds, or teachings of the Jewish fathers in that nature. There's the Babylonian Talmud, and then there's the Jerusalem Talmud, okay? Now, some of this might shock you, but I'm gonna open this up here, and we're going to see what their scriptures, what their basis, what their foundation says about Jesus. You say, oh, you're just picking on the Jews. No, I'm trying to teach you something. I'm trying to highlight facts. You're supposed to be able to come to church and get truth, and this is straight from them. Now, this book is written by a guy who is just basically trying to report both sides, okay? Now, in this eighth chapter here, he talks about Jesus' punishment in hell, and he compares and contrasts what the Bible says about Jesus dying to go to hell, and what the Babylonian Talmud says about Jesus dying, and let's see what it says. Now, prior to this, there's several mentions of the Jews believing that Jesus was either the son of Joseph or the son of a guy named Pantera, and has different spellings, Pantera, things of that nature, but they do not obviously believe that he is God in the flesh. So, according to this book here, he acknowledges and says, according to the New Testament, Jesus was indeed resurrected on the third day after his crucifixion. Then he goes on to say this. It is again reserved to the Babylonian Talmud to tell the counter-narrative to the New Testament's message. In fact, the exact opposite of what the New Testament proclaims, namely a most graphic and bizarre story about Jesus' descent to and punishment in hell. Now, the Bible does say in Acts chapter 2 and other places that Jesus did descend there, but hell couldn't hold him, and obviously he rose from the dead. He's no longer there. The Jews believe he's still there, okay? So, he goes on to start to tell this story in the Babylonian Talmud about when the temple was destroyed, and I'm gonna read for you what he pulled out of the Babylonian Talmud for us to read. So, this is all leading up to what the Jews believe Jesus is up to today. Goes on to say this. So, this is from the Babylonian Talmud, okay? The Romans send Emperor Nero against the Jews, but Nero, when he realizes that God wants to use him as a tool to punish his people, flees and becomes a proselyte, okay, or a convert. So, they're saying that Nero was going to destroy the temple and then decided, oh, wait, God's trying to use me as a punishment to his people. That means I'm gonna get punished. That's according to the Babylonian Talmud. He goes on to say this. Let's see here. Then the Romans dispatch Vespasian, who, when he learns that he is elected emperor, sends Titus in his stead. This is historically correct here. Titus defiles the temple by entering the Holy of Holies, which, obviously, the Holy of Holies, is the temple of the Holy of Holies, which, obviously, the high priest was only supposed to enter into once a year. And then it goes on to say that he commits an act of fornication. I'm just gonna leave it there. It gets graphic. And then he goes on to say, the burning of the temple is not explicitly mentioned, only that Titus robs the utensils of the temple for his triumph in Rome. Now, what you have to understand is by the time Titus, the Roman emperor, got to the temple, God had already destroyed it and just made it a simple building. And that gets a lot of people upset, but I've covered that in great detail, and it is what it is. But according to the Jews, they're still bitter about their temple being destroyed by Titus. Now, listen to this. However, as a punishment for the arrogant and wicked emperor, God sends a gnat, which enters his brain through his nostrils and feeds upon his brain for seven years. When the poor emperor finally dies and they open his skull, they find that the gnat had grown into something like a sparrow, or even a young dove with a beak of brass and talons of iron. This is what your rabbis at the synagogues believe. Now, I'm not saying that every single Jew that you encounter is gonna even know this or believe this, okay? But this is what Judaism teaches. After this, the narrator proceeds with the story of a certain person named Unquelos, okay? So then it inserts a story about this guy named Unquelos, the son of Kalanikos, who considers converting to Judaism, presumably following the example of Emperor Nero. So after that whole ordeal with Titus, which is completely bizarre, very, very weird, and didn't happen. We all know that. It's a fairy tale, to say the least. Okay, there's this guy that's named Unquelos. He's considering, you know, becoming a Jew. And look at what it says. This is what the Talmud says. It says, Unquelos, the son of Kalanikos, the son of the sister of Titus, wanted to convert to Judaism when he went and brought up Titus out of his grave by necromancy and asked him who was important in the world of the dead. Okay, so now this guy is going through witchcraft, trying to communicate to the dead, and he's going to talk to three people. He's going to talk to Titus, the Roman Emperor. He's going to talk to Balaam, the son of Basor, and then he's going to talk to Jesus, and that's where we'll end up here understanding what they truly believe about Jesus Christ. I'm just going to read this for you just because I think it's hilarious. I think you'll get a kick out of it. So here's the conversation recorded in the Talmud between Unquelos and Titus after Titus is already dead. So it says, He, Titus, answered the question, and the question is, who's important in the world, in the world of the dead? And Titus says, Israel. Okay, so Israel. Israel after the flesh. He, Unquelos, answered, What then about joining them? Titus says, Their religious requirements are many, and you will not be able to carry them all out. Go and attack them in that world on earth, and you will be on top. As it is written, her adversaries have become the head. Lamentations 1.5, meaning whosoever harasses Israel becomes its head. Very bizarre, okay? Unquelos then says this, Hey, what's your punishment in the netherworld? What have you been up to? Okay, Titus says, Would I decree upon myself, so Titus got to choose his own punishment. Would I decree upon myself? Every day, my ashes are collected, and they pass sentence on me, and I am burned, and my ashes are scattered again over the seven seas. So that happens every single day in the afterworld. Not in hell, but just in the netherworld. Okay, so here's conversation number two. So he wants to make doubly sure, okay, triply sure, that he's gonna be making the right choice and converting to Judaism. So now he's gonna call up Balaam, and it says this, He, Unquelos, went and brought up Balaam out of his grave by necromancy and asked him who was important in that world. Balaam answered, Israel. Okay, so there's your second confirmation. Israel. And he says, well, what about joining them? Balaam says, you shall not seek their peace nor their prosperity all your days forever. And then he quotes Deuteronomy chapter 23 in verse seven. Unquelos says, hey, what's your punishment? And Balaam says, actually, I can't read that. Okay, if you're an adult and you want to see what that says, I'm sorry, you can come see me after the service, but it's terrible. I can't even believe this could come into someone's mind, but I read the book, whatever, okay? So here's the one you want to hear, okay? Next up, by necromancy, it says this, Unquelos went and brought up Jesus, the Nazarene. See, so right off the bat, you could tell what they believe about Jesus, that he's still in the netherworld, but it gets worse. So he brought Jesus up by necromancy and asked him, who is important in that world? And then it says this, he they, that's what it says, he they, Jesus, answered, Israel. I thought it was just, you know, of recent, this he they, they them type stuff, you know, came to be a thing, but it's in this book here, it's in the Babylonian Talmud, so that tells you there's nothing new under the sun. Okay, so Jesus apparently tells Unquelos, well Israel, okay? So what does that tell you? That the Jews are still bitter about that and they believe that he's still in the afterlife, in hell. So he says, what about joining them? Jesus says, seek their welfare, seek not their harm, whosoever touches them is as though he touches the apple of God's eye. Unquelo says, hey, what's your punishment? Jesus says, with boiling excrement. And that's where I'm gonna leave it. So, according to the Judaism, who do they say Jesus is? He's either the son of Joseph, the son of Pantera, and he's boiling an excrement in hell right now. So how did they go from Matthew 16, 16, saying, well, he might be Elias, might be Jeremiah, might be one of the prophets, that he's burning an excrement. That's how far we've come. That's how they answer that question today. And that's by far the worst answer out of all of them. Just saying. So, I want you guys to turn to 1 Timothy, chapter number 16. Matthew chapter number 16. I'm sorry, 1 Timothy chapter three. 1 Timothy chapter three. Did I say Matthew 16? Yeah, 1 Timothy three, and we're gonna look at verse number 16. Sorry, reading that really just kinda jumbled my mind here. Okay, so going back to Matthew, after the disciples give the answer, okay, Jesus says, okay, I see what the world says. I hear you guys. Okay, you guys are hearing different things, what people are saying about who I am. He says in verse 15, he saith unto them, who say ye that I am? Okay, and that's where we're gonna spend most of our time this morning. Who say ye that I am? And I think it's interesting here that the first person to pipe up is Peter. Simon Peter. He says, and Simon Peter answered and said, thou art the Christ, the son of the living God. That is obviously a correct answer. Not only do the disciples know who he is, but they can explain who he is thoroughly. Okay, a blessing. So Simon Peter says that he is the Christ. Christ is not his last name. Christ means Messiah. He is the savior and the son of the living God. First Timothy chapter three, look at verse 16. The Bible says this, and without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. Okay, what that means is God was made known in human form. God became a man. God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the spirit. Scene of angels preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. And so what Paul is telling Timothy there is a good reminder of how to explain who Jesus is and what he has done and what he is continuing to do. The Bible says that Jesus is up in heaven drawing all men unto himself. Turn to 1 John chapter number five. 1 John chapter number five. So towards the end of your Bible there, go to 1 John chapter number five. And we're gonna take a look at something and connect it to 1 Timothy chapter three and verse 16 because Paul told Timothy that there's a mystery. Okay, that God is a mystery. He says without controversy, great, meaning large, is the mystery of godliness, the fact that God became a man. And how that looks and how that works is not only a mystery to the world, it's almost impossible to explain it correctly. Okay, that's why I'm big on just quoting the Bible verses about it. But we're gonna teach this and I'm gonna try to break this down for you here. 1 John chapter five verse seven, look at what this says. It says, for there are three that bear record in heaven. And notice these three that he mentions here, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost. These three are one. Okay, so there are what? Is there just one in heaven that changes positions? Or are there three that are one? Well there are three that are one. There is the Father, there is the Word, and the Holy Ghost. Okay, and somehow it's a mystery, but these three are one. Okay, but there are three and they are one. It is what it is. Okay, we are not a oneness church. Okay, a oneness Pentecostal, a oneness Baptist, whatever you want to call it, a Trinity denier, will say it's just one God manifesting in three positions. Okay, that is blasphemy, that is not true. There are three that are one. You have the Father, you have the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and they have different roles and that is crystal clear throughout the entire Bible. All the way from Genesis to the end of the book. Okay, so go to Luke chapter number two. Luke chapter number two. So what you have here is that you have the fact that the Word, who is Jesus, the Word became flesh. Okay, God became a man. God born of a virgin. Okay, that's why we say that Jesus is fully man and fully God. Now before Jesus was born of a virgin, before God was manifested in the flesh, he would have been known in the Trinity as just God or as the Word. Okay, but he was still there. God, Jesus was in the beginning in Genesis. He was there in Genesis 19. He's always been there. Okay, Luke chapter two. Let's answer this question here. Let's break down what Peter said. He said, thou art the Christ. When he said that, he's acknowledging the fact that he is the third person in the Trinity. He is the Messiah. He is fully God, but he also makes this statement and he says, you are the son of the living God. Okay, Luke chapter number two. We're going to start reading in verse 30. And this passage here is explaining a man from Jerusalem by the name of Simeon. And the Bible says that the Holy Ghost was upon him. That gives you some insight on his character. This is a great man of God. And he was promised that his life would not end on this earth, meaning he would not be transferred from here to heaven before he got to see the consolation of Israel, meaning the Messiah, the savior, the one who would bring the world comfort. And look what he says in verse 30 of Luke chapter two. For mine eyes have seen thy salvation. You see that there? So who is Christ? Who is Jesus? He is salvation. He is not probation. Okay, again, most of Christianity, people today, and really I break it down like this, and some of you have seen me say this to people. You have two schools of thought. Okay. You have a Christianity so-called. You have different sections of so-called Christianity today. And they teach a message called probation. They teach that a person must endure a period of good behavior on this earth under supervision. And that supervision is the pastor, the deacon, people in the church, or worse, they say Jesus is basically your parole officer. And as long as you meet this and that requirement, you can then enter into heaven. That is false. He is salvation. That is what Simeon, full of the Holy Ghost, is telling us. The Bible, real Christianity, the real theme is the fact that Jesus came, was born of a virgin, lived a perfect life, and died as an offering for the sins of the entire world. Look at verse 31. He says, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people. Okay. So not only does Simeon say that he is salvation, he says, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation. That's what he says when he sees the baby Jesus. He says that mine eyes have seen thy salvation. Now he says this in verse 32, a light, a light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of thy people, Israel. Okay. So not only is Jesus salvation, but he is light. Go to John chapter 12, and let's try to understand that for a minute. John chapter number 12. So Jesus is light. That's why we say that he is the light of the world. John chapter 12, look at verse 34. John chapter 12, verse 34 says this. It says, then the people answered him. We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth forever. And how sayest thou the son of man must be lifted up? And then here's the question from them, who basically are of the world, who is this son of man? So again, you have another example here of people who do not know who the son of man is. What does Jesus say in this moment about himself? Look at verse 35. Then Jesus said unto them, yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you. For he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whether he goeth. This is why during soul winning, one of the questions that we ask people is, hey, do you know where you're going to go when you die? If you were to die today, are you 100% sure that you would go to heaven? Because if they don't give you an assured answer, and it's correct according to the Bible, because sometimes people will give you an assured answer, but it's wrong. But if they don't know where they're going, what does the Bible say? That person's in darkness. That gives you some understanding about where that person is, and then gives you a possible opportunity to shed light, meaning the word of God, because Jesus is the word to get that person to hear and to be saved. But something very interesting here in this verse also is when it says in the beginning there, then Jesus said unto them, yet a little while is the light with you. Then he says, walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you. And so this means several things, but one of the things he's saying here is, hey, basically I'm right in front of you. We're preaching to you. We're showing you all of these things here. You have light. Okay, I brought you light. You need to make the choice to actually open and see and receive the word of God and be saved before it is too late. Look at verse 36. He says, while ye have light, believe in the light that ye may be the children of light. So when people get saved and they are born again, they're also referred to as the children of light. Things breed forth after their own kind. Okay, the only way to get a person saved is through the light. Who is the light? It's Jesus. Who's Jesus? He is the word. This is very important. This is why we talk about this so often. These things, verse 36, spake Jesus and departed and did hide himself from them. You have to understand, and we don't have time to go back and develop this, but Jesus is talking to a mixed multitude. There are people in this crowd that just do not want anything to do with them. They don't want anything said about them. And then there's people that are just in the middle. They're not sure, okay, and they are going to receive the word. But he says this and he departs. Look at verse 37. But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him. See that there? They did not choose to look at the light. They rejected that. Verse 38, and here's why. It says that the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report, and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed, meaning the strength of the Lord, the salvation of the Lord, okay? What this is saying here, and many of you already know this, is that God is the giver of light, but he's also the remover of light. Verse 39, therefore, look at this, they could not believe because that Esaias said again, and that's Isaiah the prophet. Verse 40, he hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart, that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. So the situation is here, Jesus is giving the word. The disciples were preaching the word. It was going into the heart, but as it says earlier on in Matthew, that the devil is standing by taking that seed, blocking that light out, and taking it out of their hearts. And really what this passage is saying is there's an urgency to this, okay? People do need to be made aware of the fact that you do not have until your last breath necessarily to get saved. Some people it works out that way, others it doesn't. Some people get to a point in their life where they've had so much word, they've had so much seed, that they just completely close off, reject it, and God takes away that light, and he blinds them, and he makes it so that they cannot be converted, they become reprobate, or rejected concerning the faith. So what do we learn here? Who is Jesus? He's the salvation, he's light, but he's also the one that takes away that light from some people. Go back to John chapter one in your Bibles. Go backwards. Go to John chapter one and let's continue on with answering this question, who is Jesus? John chapter one, let's start here. Let's look at verse number 29. This is the introduction of Jesus according to John. Look at what it says here, talking about John the Baptist. Verse 29 it says this, the next day John, this is John the Baptist, seeth Jesus coming unto him and saith, and this is key here, behold the lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. Now we're gonna do a little bit of flipping around the Bible here from this point forward, okay? Keep your place in John, but go to Psalm chapter 103. Psalm chapter 103. So when John the Baptist introduces the Lord Jesus Christ, he says behold the lamb of God. Why is Jesus referred to as the lamb of God? Because the lamb there pictures the sacrifice, the fact that he would sacrifice himself for all of humanity, and that sacrifice, John says, taketh away the sin of the world. Now the problem is a lot of people hear that and they say, oh, well what that really means is that he sacrificed himself to give you power, to give you spiritual power so that you can repent of all your sins. Not happening. That is not what that means, okay? The question is, how far did Jesus take away the sin of the world? I think that's a great question because if you can answer that question, you're gonna have a deeper understanding of who Jesus is. John the Baptist got it and he said, behold the lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. Not just the sin of the saved person but the sin of the world. Look at what Psalm 103 verse 12 says. So the question then is, okay, well how far did he take it? Psalm 103 verse 12 says, as far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Transgressions means sin. Okay, the definition of sin is a what? Transgression of the law. Breaking the law of God. And I like to break this down. I learned this a long time ago. I think that's a great analogy. You don't have to use it. I use it. Why doesn't he say from north to south? And I know this gets flat-earthers mad but, you know, whatever, okay? Again, because theoretically, let's just say, we take you guys and set you up at the North Pole. You're literally standing on the North Pole. And you take a step in any direction, okay? You're gonna begin to head south. Okay, so what that means is north to south is finite. It is measurable, okay? But when you start to head east, how far do you head east until you turn west? It's infinite, okay? If you start flying east, you start driving east, you're gonna go east and east and east into perpetuity forever. It's just gonna keep going east, okay? That's how far Jesus took away the sin of the world. Infinite, okay? The distance between east and west cannot be measured. It is infinite. And that's what the Bible says about how awesome the sacrifice of Jesus Christ was. Go to Romans chapter four. I will prove it to you even further. Go to Romans chapter number four. Romans chapter number four. And we're gonna go back to Psalms so just kind of keep that in your mind. But Romans chapter four, here's another passage I keep in my back pocket for people if they're really struggling with this because I'm telling you guys a lot of people, and I mean a lot of people, they unfortunately get it in their heads, okay, I'm saved up until the moment I went down to the altar and gave my life to Christ. But from that day forward, man, it's on. I gotta be following every little rule. I gotta be doing this. I gotta be turning from sins. Now those are all great things to do, right? We're all trying to get better, okay? But a lot of people out here, in fact, most people out here are stuck in that vacuum. They do not understand how vast, how infinite the sacrifice of Jesus is because they don't know who Jesus is. So Romans chapter four, look at verse seven, and we're gonna go over three things here really quickly, and these three things are gonna show you beyond a shadow of a doubt that our sins are covered from past, present, and future, echoing what you just read in Psalm chapter 103, verse 12. Look at what it says. Romans chapter four, verse seven. This is Paul writing to the Romans, and he says this, saying, blessed are they whose iniquities, and remember this here, are forgiven. Maybe if you like to write in your Bible, you could underline that, or you could circle that, are forgiven, and write down past, okay? This is past tense. So he's saying, blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins, look at this, are covered. That is present tense. Look at verse eight. Blessed is the man whom the Lord will not impute sin. You see that? That's future tense, meaning God is not imputing sin any longer, okay? God is not imputing sin to the world. Jesus took away the sin of the entire world, okay? And there's other verses I could go to to continue to prove this. Why is that so important? Why do we need to understand that? Because people today don't know who Jesus is, and they are trying to pay for something that has already been paid for. That's why. That's why you have to know this. That's why this is so important. And of course, Paul goes on to Romans chapter four, verse nine, which says, cometh this blessedness, then upon circumcision only, or upon uncircumcision also. And he goes on to basically say, no, it's for both, okay? It is for everyone. So you can't just say, well, no, that's just for the disciples, or that's just for the Jews. No, or that's just for the Christians. No, he took away the sin of the world, the sin debt of the world. He took it all away, meaning it is impossible then for you or for anyone to take them away. Are you greater than God? And so again, that's why we have to understand this. Go to Psalm chapter 102. So not only is Jesus salvation, he is light, but he's obviously what? He's the atonement for sin. And that sin being the sin debt of the whole world, all sin. Now number four, Jesus is the eternal creator, and this bugs a lot of people, but let's take a look at this here. Psalm chapter 102, we're gonna go to Hebrews after this, but Psalm chapter 102, look at verse 25. The Bible says this. Psalm 102 verse 25 says, of old hast thou laid the foundation, remember that, the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of thy hands, verse 26, they shall perish, but thou shalt endure, yea all, and pay attention to this, of them shall wax old like a garment, as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed. Look at verse 27, but thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end. Now some people will look at that, a Jehovah's Witness, they know this, they will take you here, I've had them take me here, and they will quote this to you and try to slump you. They'll try to just basically confuse you, okay? Here's where you take them after this, and I've done this, okay? And I've caused them to be like, I don't wanna talk to you anymore. Okay, go to Hebrews chapter one. I'm gonna show you that this here is talking about Jesus as well. Hebrews chapter one, look at verse number eight. Hebrews chapter one, look at verse number eight. So the writer of Hebrews, who I believe is Paul, says this. He says, but unto the Son he saith, and this is a conversation here about God to the Son, Jesus, but unto the Son he saith, thy throne, O God, is forever and ever a scepter of righteousness, is the scepter of thy kingdom. So the sign, the power of the kingdom of God is what? It's righteousness. It's the fact that Jesus died for our sins and now is imputing righteousness to those who receive the light. But notice what the beginning of this verse here says. This is God to the Son, but unto the Son he saith, thy throne, O God. People say all the time, oh, does the Bible say that Jesus is God? Yeah, says Revelation chapter one. It says it right here. God calls the Son, the Word, O God. Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever. Look at verse nine. Thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity. Therefore, meaning, remember, therefore means for that reason. Therefore, God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. Look at verse 10. And thou, Lord, in the beginning, hast laid the foundation of the earth. What does that sound like? That's Psalm 102, verse 25, which we just read. And the heavens are the works of thine hand. Okay? You starting to see this here? Who is Jesus? People say, well, well, Jesus is just the Son of God. I mean, he just started. He just kind of appeared when he was born. No, he's from everlasting. He is God. Okay? He is the creator. He was there in Genesis chapter one. He was there before that. He was there before that. Look at verse 11. They shall perish, but thou remainest, and they all shall wax old as doth a garment. That's exactly what we read in Psalm 102. Look at verse 12. And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed, but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail. So who is Jesus? Not only is he salvation, not only is he light, meaning the only way into heaven, but he is also the atonement for the sins of the entire world, and he is the creator. He is the eternal creator as well at the same time. Go back to the book of Psalms, but I want you to go to Psalm chapter number 45. Psalm chapter number 45. Look at verse six. Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever. Sound familiar? The scepter of thy kingdom is a right scepter. Verse seven. Thou lovest righteousness and hadest wickedness, therefore God, thy God hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. So write this down as a note, and make a note in your mind that when you're reading through Psalm chapter 45, that the commentary on this is found in the book of Hebrews, Hebrews chapter number one, and this is about Jesus Christ, the word of God. Understand that. That's what it's saying. What the writer of Hebrews is doing is quoting the Psalms, and then saying, hey, this was written of old time. Now it's just made manifest. Now it's revealed so that you guys can know and understand truly and in depth what these things mean. Go to the book of Proverbs. Proverbs chapter 16. Proverbs chapter 16. So again, who is Jesus? He's the salvation, okay? Salvation of the world. He's the light. He's the atonement. He's the sacrifice. He is the eternal creator. He hath made all things for himself, yea, even the wicked, for the day of evil. So if somebody says, hey, well, why did God make evil? Why did he make the wicked? What's going on here? Take him here. Write down Proverbs 16.4. He made it for himself. He made it for the day of evil. It's an easy way to get them to think and to get them to understand some things. John chapter number one. John chapter number one. You see how wrong the Jehovah's Witnesses are, by the way. I mean, it's just too easy to debunk their stuff. But John 1.1, look at what this says. In the beginning was the word. And the word was with God and the word was God. Now on Friday, Kinley and I knocked on someone's door. I'm not going to say where he lives. I'm not going to be immature like he is. But it's the chief guy who stands out here and hurls threats at all of this as we walk into church. Should have seen the look on his face. It was pretty interesting. Made soul winning real, I guess, interesting. I mean, we finished the day, but one of the things he came out and said and his wife or whatever partner came out and said was, was basically, why do you say that all the sodomites should be put to death? Jesus wouldn't say that. There's nowhere in the Bible that you could go to to quote that. And I quoted this verse to him. The Bible says that in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. That word there in John chapter one is talking about Jesus, the Messiah. Meaning he was there in the creation. He was there in Genesis 19. He was there when Asa, when Josiah, when all the kings were taking sodomites out of the land. He's there in the millennium when he imposes his statutes as a rod of iron on this world in the millennium. And they're like, well, this was their response. Well, he hasn't come back yet. And I'm like, that's the best you got? Well, he hasn't come back yet. Very nice things. Should have seen a look on his face. I invited him to church. At first I didn't quite recognize who he was. It took me about four seconds. This guy literally answered the door wearing devil horns. Literally wearing devil horns. He had no idea. I didn't know where the guy lived. I mean, if you had sent me your address, dude, I would have knocked on your door. It makes the next door very difficult because you know what they do, right? They knock on the next door. This is Joe Jones and this is everything he believes. We didn't get anybody saved. But this dude, you got to give it to him. Because he is a Satanist through and through. I mean, he literally hits the door with a game controller in his hand and devil horns. I had to bring it up. I'm sorry, but it's just too crazy. Go to Genesis chapter one real quick. Genesis chapter one real quick. But of course, they don't know who Jesus is. And of course, one of the things they're like, all the churches around your area, every church on your street hates you. I'm like, yeah, because they're not real churches. They don't know who Jesus is. It's a simple concept, dude. I don't get why you don't understand it. But you should have seen, I took the invite back real quick. Because at first, he didn't quite know who I was for the first few seconds. He was like, no. And I was like, wait, you already come to our church. Never mind. And when I was talking to his neighbor, he's screaming and all this stuff. We have parking lot church every other week. And the guy was like, okay, I get it. But look at this here. Who is Jesus? Well, he's the creator, okay? John one tells you that. Several places in the Bible tell you that. Look at verse 27 of Genesis chapter number one. Actually, look at verse 26. I'm sorry, verse 26. Look at what it says. And God said, let us. And God said, let us. And God said, let us make man in our image after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish and the sea and over the fowl of the air and over the cattle and over the earth and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. And you can leave your place there and go back to John chapter one. I just wanted to show you that there. Okay, your commentary for that, your answer for that could be first John five seven. But I think the best commentary is John chapter one and verse number one, which says, Now on Tuesday, I had a woman say this to me. And this woman, I've knocked on her door before and she's always been very pleasant, but this time she came out with just excitement. Okay, she comes out and she's like, I'm so excited, I have to share something with you. She's like, I am on fire right now for God. I know that I'm going to heaven. And I was like, great, how do you know that? She's like, because I came to the realization that there's God the mother. She's like, you know, Genesis one 26, where the Bible says, let us make man after our image. So that us there is God the mother and God the father. And I just stare for a second. I'm like, I said, who told you that? Who told you that? And she said, the church of God. I was like, oh boy, I haven't heard that yet. And just jokingly, I said, do you guys bake cakes to God the mother? To God the mother by any chance? It's like, huh? You know, a reference to the children of Judah baking cakes to the queen of heaven in Jeremiah. But anyways, you know, so I did, because I haven't heard that, I did ask several questions. Like, you know, tell me some more about this, just because I want to kind of get an idea of what we're dealing with here. But yeah, she basically is saying that the church of God where she goes is teaching that there's God the mother and God the father, you know? And I'm like, that, you know, that is not true. She's like, well, there's female and there's male. I'm like, yeah. He says, let us make man in our image. I took her to John chapter one, okay? And I said, and also furthermore, who is the first person made? I said, Adam. I said, right. So let us make man after our own image. Obviously talking about God being a man. I said, the Bible says that God is a man of war. That's what it literally says in the Old Testament, okay? God is a man of war. That's what Moses said about God, that God is a man of war. There's no mention of God the mother anywhere in a positive light in the Bible. Where are you getting this? All extra biblical sources, of course, okay? Because they don't know who Jesus is. Look at John chapter one, verse three. All things were made by him and without him was not anything made that was made. Again, that takes you from Genesis one, one all the way through the end of the Bible. Jump down for sake of time. Look at John chapter one and verse 14. The Bible says, and the word was made flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory. So again, what was made flesh? The word, God made flesh. He says, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten son of the father full of grace and truth. We're almost done here. Go to Colossians chapter number one. Colossians chapter number one. Again, we're just trying to go over a simple question. Who is Jesus? If you're saved, if you have the light, you understand. He is salvation. He is God's salvation. He is the light. He's the atonement, okay? He is the creator of all things. He's from everlasting. He is fully man. He is fully God. And yes, to a certain extent, this is all a mystery. But Colossians chapter one, verse 16, look what Paul tells the churches at Colossae. For by him, verse 16, referring to Christ, for by him were what? All things created that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and, notice this word, invisible. Whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things are created by him and for him. Hopefully you're starting to see that consistency regarding God throughout the Bible. Now let's finish this up here. Go back to Matthew chapter number 16. Matthew chapter number 16. Now let's look at this passage real quickly again. Look at verse 13. This is where we started. Matthew 16, 13. When Jesus came into the coast of Caesarea Philippi, Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples saying, whom do men say that I, the son of man, am? You know why he's called the son of man? Because he was born of a virgin. He became man, but he's also fully God. Verse 14, and they said, some say that thou art John the Baptist, some Elias, and others Jeremiahs, or one of the prophets. Now what does it say next in verse 15? I've got that here. My printer is all jacked up. Okay, verse 15, he says, he saith unto them, but whom say ye that I am? Okay, so he says, okay, let's compare. What does the world say? Because they all know me now. They're starting to hear my name. But who do ye say that I am? Simon Peter answered and said, thou art the Christ, the son of the living God. He gives a detailed answer. Now understand at this moment in time, Peter doesn't even have it all put together. Again, he still thinks that Jesus is gonna set up a physical kingdom and they're gonna just clean house. Okay, that's what he thinks. But he's still saved. Okay, he's still saved. And we're gonna talk about this in a couple weeks. We have guest preacher next week. Look at verse 17. And Jesus answered and said unto him, blessed art thou Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. That is so important. We'll talk about this as we progress here in another week or two. But this will smash people that say, well, I just had a revelation. I was just walking down the street and Jesus appeared to me. Okay, or I was in prison and I saw a light and these words just came out and said, you know, be saved or no. Okay, you get saved by the light. You get saved by the Bible, by the word. Jesus is the word. Okay, and what Jesus is telling Peter here is, hey, you're blessed because you can see this. You're blessed because you can understand this, but flesh and blood hath not revealed it to you. This is a spiritual thing. Last place I wanna have you turn is first Corinthians chapter 15. First Corinthians chapter 15. We're gonna look all the way down in verse number 15. First Corinthians 15, verse 15. Paul says this. Now this I say, brethren, that what? Flesh and blood shall not inherit the kingdom of God, neither doth corruption. What does that say there? Inherit in corruption, okay? This is what we're gonna talk about when we come back here. This is what we're gonna talk about when we come back here. Inherit in corruption, okay? This is what we're gonna talk about when we come back to this passage in a couple of weeks. Let's finish off two more verses in Matthew 16. Look at what Jesus goes on to say there. He says, hey, flesh and blood doesn't reveal this to you. You know what that means also? Flesh and blood is not gonna get you to enter into the kingdom of heaven. It's impossible. It is a spiritual thing. It is by the one who did the ultimate sacrifice. It is because of God's grace. Verse 18 says this of Matthew 16, and we'll finish right here. And I say unto thee that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it, and I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whosoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. We'll get into that, and again, not next Sunday, but the Sunday after that. But again, you could really spend just months and months and months on the subject of who is Jesus, because the Bible is about Jesus, and his word is infinite. But just some basic things I think we all ought to be refreshed on and all ought to know is that he is salvation. That's what the Bible says. He's salvation. He's light. Not only is he the light, but he's also the one that can take away that light. He is the atonement. He's the ultimate sacrifice for the sins of the entire world, past, present, and future, who else is Jesus? He is the creator. He's from everlasting, okay? Remember, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, these three are one. And also, what does the Bible say about Jesus? Did he save everyone? Everyone's automatically going to heaven? No, only those who accept him as their savior, the ones who hear the word and believe and put their faith and trust on him. But Jesus said that you're blessed if you know who he is and you can explain that to people, okay? That's what that means. And that's what we need to understand as we go out and we teach people about Jesus. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Thank you so much, Lord, for your word and for allowing us to be able to see who you are. We just pray that you help us to reveal you to other people through your word. In Jesus' name I pray, amen. All right, everyone. For our final song of this morning, we will be turning to song number 130, song number 130, Yesterday, Today, Forever. On the first, Oh, how sweet the glorious message simple faith may claim. Yesterday, today, forever, Jesus is the same. Still he loves to save the sinful, heal the sick and lame. Cheer the mourner, still the tempest, glory to his name. Yesterday, today, forever, Jesus is the same. All may change, but Jesus never. Glory to his name. Glory to his name. Glory to his name. All may change, but Jesus never. Glory to his name. On the second, He who pardoned erring Peter never needs thou fear. He that came to faithless Thomas all thy doubts will clear. He who let the love disciple on his bosom rest bids thee still with love as tender lean upon his breast. Yesterday, today, forever, Jesus is the same. All may change, but Jesus never. Glory to his name. Glory to his name. Glory to his name. All may change, but Jesus never. Glory to his name. On the third, He who made the raging billows walked upon the sea. Still can hush our wildest tempest as on Galilee. He who wept and prayed in anguish in Gethsemane drinks with us each cup of trembling in our agony. Yesterday, today, forever, Jesus is the same. All may change, but Jesus never. Glory to his name. Glory to his name. Glory to his name. All may change, but Jesus never. Glory to his name. On the last, of old he walked to Amos with them to abide. So through all life's way he walketh ever near our side. Soon again shall we behold him, hasten, Lord, the day. But we'll still be this same Jesus as he went away. Yesterday, today, forever, Jesus is the same. All may change, but Jesus never. Glory to his name. Glory to his name. Glory to his name. All may change, but Jesus never. Glory to his name. All right. Brother Scholf, could you please dismiss us in a word of prayer? If you're looking for the preaching, or the geniuses, know it's helpful to remind people that have questions, it's coming around, and that geniuses are everlasting, and you can say, yeah, the whole world, and especially the world that we need more, and there's a fellowship afterwards. We love you. Thank you very much, Lord. Thank you so much. Thank you. Amen. Amen.