I invite you to turn in your Bibles with me to the Gospel of
Mark in chapter 13. Today we're going to be looking
at one verse, but I want to read the surrounding passages because
there is a blessing in the simple reading of God's Word.
Mark chapter 13, beginning in verse 32, which will be the
verse of our focus today we read here.
But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the
angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
Be on guard, keep awake, for you do not know when the time will
come. It is like a man going on a
journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge,
each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake.
Therefore stay awake, For you do not know when the master of the
house will come in the evening, or at midnight, or when the
rooster crows, or in the morning, lest he come suddenly
and find you asleep. And what I say to you, I say to
all, Stay awake. Lord, we ask that you bless the
proclamation of the Word, the reception of the Word, that the
Lord Jesus Christ might be exalted through it, more
importantly, through our application of it.
Lord, you know the hearts of all men, and we pray that you give
us, Lord, a willing heart, an open mind, understanding and
clarity, not just for the sake of growing in knowledge, but so
that we can grow in our obedience and worship to You.
We ask these things in the name, the living name, the saving name
of Jesus Christ. Amen.
If God is all knowing. And we as Christians believe
that the Lord Jesus Christ is indeed God.
But at the same time we see that Christ in this one verse admits
to His limited knowledge, namely about the day or the hour of His
triumphant return. How do we as Christians
reconcile this? It is very difficult to defend
the omniscience of the Son of God.
If He confesses in this one verse that he doesn't know
something. Does he therefore disqualify
himself as being divine? Perhaps you have wrestled with
this in your own study of the Gospels, or it's very likely
that in your endeavours to preach the Gospel, someone has
brought this up as an objection to you with the intent of
casting doubt. Because he himself does not
acknowledge that the divine nature of the Son of God.
And it's in this particular verse in Mark, which is also
found in Matthew, Matthew 2436, that is often employed to do
just that, to cause others and to convince them that Jesus
Christ isn't who we believe him to be.
But if you have been wrestling with this particular passage or
you find it difficult to explain it to a skeptic, then I want you
to take heart from the beginning that the focus of today's
message is to bring clarity to it.
And I believe the best way to understand and reconcile what
Christ says here with who Christ is, is by providing this answer
in three steps. In other words, if someone were
to approach me and bring this verse as a dilemma, then I would
first want to ask them if they are willing to patiently receive
a robust answer because it will require a listening ear and a
humble heart in order to have a proper interpretation of this
passage. And if you can remember this
three layered response, and even if you rehearse it just a little
bit, then I can guarantee you that you will grow in your peace
with the veracity of the scripture.
And you will also be able to have the confidence to convey it
to those who may ask you for the reason of the hope that you
have. And so this is a very simple
approach. I want you to take this message
as a format of an individual approaching us and asking as
they quote Mark 1332, how do you believe Jesus Christ to be God
manifested in the flesh if he claims himself that he does not
know something? And the first step to this three
staged answer, if you are taking notes, this will be helpful, is
to ask the Inquirer #1 to consider the implications of
that very verse. That's step #1 Consider the
implications of the very verse that you are bringing to my
attention. Read Mark 1332 slowly with me
once more before we expand on it.
But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the
angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
Now when the Lord Jesus says no one knows, what he means by that
is no human being knows. And that would be more obvious
if you held the King James Version in your hands, because
that translation provides clarification in the following
way. This is how it would read in the
King James quote. But of that day or that hour
knoweth no man. But even if you don't have the
King James translation as your go to text, this categorization
is understandable since the Lord would not have to follow no one
knows with anything else. If Jesus meant to say no one
knows to encapsulate absolutely everybody, then he wouldn't have
to say not even the angels of heaven nor the sun.
No, by the way, this is going to be heavier today, so you got to
lean in and pay attention. You don't want to doze off at
one part because you might miss it.
Why is understanding this important?
Because the Lord is making a clear distinction between
classes of beings in His teaching.
In fact, if you read it, you'll notice that there's a hierarchy
here. He mentions how no human being
knows, how no Angel in heaven knows.
Then he speaks of himself by saying nor the Son, but only the
Father. So within the same text that
people often use to dilute the nature of Christ, you actually
have the Lord Jesus placing himself in an order that is
superior. He mentions no one knowing, no
rational, intelligent human being is able to know.
Then he speaks about the angels in heaven not knowing, and after
that he says nor the Son, He separates himself from spiritual
beings and from human beings. And so This is why I say step
one is to consider the implications of the verse
because you have to acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ is
conveying something about himself.
There's a intentional difference being spelled out here,
something that I would ask a skeptic and if they're willing
again to listen, then I would show how what Christ is saying
here is in concert with the rest of the Bible.
And one of the go to passages for this to be echoed is the
book of Hebrews. Turn to the book of Hebrews
chapter one. Do you want to know the goal of
the book of Hebrews? The author there intends to show
why Jesus Christ and the New Covenant is greater than Moses
as the mediator of the Old Covenant and the Old Covenant
itself. And right at the beginning of
this letter, there is no time wasted for the Spirit of God to
demonstrate and declare the greatness and the superiority of
the Lord Jesus Christ. He's greater not just more than
Moses, not just over the Old covenant, but over everything.
He's superior to all things, period.
And we weren't, we're not going to read the 1st 3 verses, but we
read there that He is appointed the heir of all things.
We read there that He is the creator of the whole world.
You read there that He is the radiance of the glory of God and
the exact imprint of His nature. You read there that He's supreme
over everything. And in the same breath, you
realize as you come to verse four that He is even recognized
as greater in the realm of the spirit, more specifically among
angels. Let's read verse 4 together.
Having become this is speaking about the Son of God having
become as much superior to angels as the name he has
inherited is more excellent than theirs.
For to which of the angels did God ever say, You are my Son?
Today I have begotten you, or again I will be to him a Father,
and he shall be to me a Son. And so you see here that the
prominence of Christ is heralded in that he holds a unique title
that no Angel shares and that he has a relationship with the
Father that no Angel has. And if that isn't convincing
enough, you read in verse 6 something astounding.
And again, when he brings the first born into the world, he
says let all God's angels worship him, worship the Son of
God. So not only is he superior
because he has a name that they do not have, not only is he
superior because he has a relationship they do not have,
He is superior in that he's to be worshipped.
He's to be worshipped by these heavenly beings.
Now, there are some who really, really, really don't want to
believe that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh.
And so they would say, yes, he is superior.
Yes, he does have eminence, but among the creatures he is the
greatest of all creatures. He is distinguished.
And that is what your friendly Jehovah's Witness believes, that
he was the prized creature and through him God performed
everything, including the creation of the universe.
But if one is honest enough to acknowledge what we just found
in Hebrews in the beginning of the book, then you have to also
be honest enough to honor the rest of what the author says.
Look down here at verse 8. He's still again proclaiming the
preeminence of Christ. And not only does he say that
the angels worship in verse six, but now the Spirit of God
through this author tells us what God says about the sun.
Highlight this if you've never seen it.
This is where God honours and acknowledges the sun in a way
that is undeniable. But of the sun, he says, who's
he? Verse five tells us it's God
who's speaking. So it's the same person who is
saying these things. But if the Son, he says your
throne, O God is forever and ever, who's speaking God?
And what does he say to the Son? Your God?
God is telling the Son of God that He is God.
The scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your Kingdom.
You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.
Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of
gladness beyond your companions. So the same God who declares
that Jesus Christ the Son is superior to angels is to be
worshipped by angels. Himself acknowledges and crowns
him with deity. Your throne, O God, is forever
and ever. You know, this obviously
troubles many cults, including Jehovah's Witnesses and the
Jehovah's Witnesses have their own version of the Bible.
It's a perverted version. It's a satanic version actually.
And what they've done with this particular verse, I'm going to
quote it to you, is there's to go to show how much Satan hates
how he absolutely loathes the truth that God, the mystery of
godliness manifested in the flesh.
Here it is in a New World translation and whoever came up
with that translation is going to is going to be terrified when
they stand before God. Hebrews 1/8 and the New world
translation reads but about the Son, he says God is your throne
forever and ever. What's in your translation?
But of the Son, he says in verse eight of ours, your throne, oh
God is forever. How did the Jehovah's Witnesses
spell it out? God is your throne forever and
ever, and the scepter of your Kingdom is the scepter of
uprightness. And if you do engage with the
Jehovah's Witness, you can actually prove from their own
Bible that whoever mistranslated this actually messed up because
they didn't finish the rest of the chapter.
So they went to the most obvious verse that declares the deity of
Christ from the mouth of God himself.
But God didn't finish speaking in Hebrews 18 and 9:00.
There's a verse 10. Look at verse 10 in your own
Bibles. The the Bible is telling us here
that God is still speaking. Look at verse 10 and quote now
God is still speaking to the Son of the Son.
And you Lord, you Lord laid the foundation of the earth in the
beginning and the heavens are the work of your hands.
So somebody forgot to miss translate verse 10 because God
is not telling of the Son your Lord.
And he quotes Psalm one O 225 to 27, which in that Psalm ascribes
the creation and all these wonderful things to Yahweh.
So the Lord is not just calling him Lord in the sense that we
see it sometimes in the Old Testament as master as a
superior. When you see that he's quoting
Psalm 1O2, he's actually God is actually saying of the Son,
you're Yahweh, you're Yahweh. So why am I bringing this all to
your attention? Because if back in Mark in our
main verse, Christ contrasts himself from all men and angels
and Hebrews confirms that order that he's superior.
He's he's been appointed the heir of all things, He's
superior to the angels while acknowledging that the Son is
God. Then the skeptic has to
reconsider his weaponization of Mark 1332 because Christ places
himself as the Son above the angels, above all human beings.
And Hebrew elaborates on that and says, yes, He is above all
things, He is above the angels, but He's above in the sense that
He is God over all these things. So what is Christ implying by
him placing himself in that order?
That's why you have to step one. Consider the implications of the
very verse that you are quoting to deny the deed of Christ.
Christ is actually confirming it.
That's step #1. Consider the implications of
this verse. Step #2 is to honour the
immediate context. Honour the immediate context.
So step number one is to consider the implications of
that one stand alone verse. My follow up to that in the
second stage of my response would be to honour the
surrounding passages. Anybody who was honest would
acknowledge that it would be irresponsible and completely
unfair to take one verse out of a body of text and rip it out to
make it say something that is not faithful, that is not
honest, that is not integral. Especially that stand alone
statement is connected to a body and a flow of thought.
And that's exactly what Mark 301332 is.
So if some insist that Mark 1332 means that Christ cannot be
divine, then I would remind the person that Mark 1332 is not the
only verse in Mark. It's not.
Mark doesn't begin in Mark 1332 and end with Mark 1332.
And so if you have been with us in the past, we've been in this,
I think over a year at least, I'm sure over a year, probably
close to two years studying Mark together week after week after
week after week. And we've seen one
demonstration, one display example, illustration after
another, showing us that God is in fact manifested in the person
of Jesus Christ. From his profound teachings and
claims to his demonstrations of divine power, we gladly
acknowledge that Jesus Christ is our God.
He bears the attributes of deity.
So in the very same breath that Jesus says he does not know the
day or the hour, he thunders the following declaration.
I mean, how many places can we go on Mark to show that he is in
fact divine? But you don't even have to go
back to chapter one. You don't have to go to chapter
three. You don't have to go to chapter
5. All you have to do is look at
the immediate context and look at this right before he says
that he does not know the day or the hour.
Look at Mark 1331. We study this briefly last week.
He proclaims heaven and earth will pass away, but my words
will not pass away. For a mere man to declare that
would be absurd would be bold. But Christ is no mere man.
He's no ordinary fellow and the way he fashions this statement
about the eternality of his own words was strategic because as
you remember, this is a little bit of review.
As you remember when he said that in the presence of his
disciples, they would have connected it to what the Old
Testament says about God's word. Here's Jesus saying everything
will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
And those listeners would have said, wait a minute, hold on
because here's what Isaiah 40 verse eight says.
The grass Withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God
will stand forever. And so Isaiah the prophet
declares the exclusive trustworthiness and
indestructible witness of God's Word.
And yet Jesus of Nazareth comes along, and he dares to claim
that his word is on the same level as God's.
The skeptic must make a conclusion.
Either Christ is a blasphemer or he is claiming to be God.
For him to authenticate his word as the same as God's is an
astounding assertion. But it's not even just that.
I mean, we're still in Mark 13. Scroll back to Mark 1326.
And then he says, they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds
with great power and glory. And we touched on that, how he
is borrowing from Daniel's vision and Daniel chapter seven
of one like a Son of man who comes before the Ancient of
Days. And not only does the Ancient of
Days recognize him and attribute to him the prerogatives that
belong to God alone, but everybody will worship this one
who is like a son of man. And most people who come to this
passage just stick with verse 26 and don't realize that verse 27
is jam packed with evidence, further evidence that Christ
himself is more than just a man. Notice what he says.
And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from
the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.
So he says one like a Son of man will come in the clouds with
great power and glory. And it's like that's obviously a
reference to Daniel. But then he follows that by
saying, and he the same one, the same Son of man, he's going to
dispatch his angels and they're going to gather the elect from
the four corners of the earth and from even the ends of
heaven. And again, if if you're
saturated in the Hebrew Scriptures, then you also with
verse 27 would say, hold on, hold on, hold on.
I read in many places that there is only one who has the
authority and the ability to fetch for his people from such a
distance, from such a scattered state.
There's only one who possesses that ability and you guess the
right is God Almighty. Here's one among many references
that you can have. Write this down.
Write it down in Deuteronomy 30, listen to what God says to his
people after warning them if they disobeyed, how they would
be in fact exiled. But he promises hope in
Deuteronomy 30, verse three and four.
And here's why I'm quoting this. I'm quoting this to show you
that the things that Christ claims about His power and His
ability and His authority, it can only be linked to one other
person, and that's God himself, and it's no different here.
Here's what the Word of God says in Deuteronomy 30, verse 3.
Then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have
mercy on you, and He will gather you again from all the peoples
where the Lord your God has scattered you.
If your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from
there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He
will take you. You find it in Isaiah, you find
it in other places. It's sprinkled that whenever the
Lord says this, He attributes that ability to Himself.
And yet here's Christ and His teaching of the end times,
saying me as the Son of Man. When I return, I'm going to call
for the elect. I'm going to dispatch my angels
because they're inferior to me. They serve me, and they will
gather the elect to myself. Who do you think you are?
That's a simple question you can ask in the Gospel of Mark or any
gospel account. Who does Christ think he is?
Never mind what you think, never mind what may be convoluted and
complicated for you. But who does Christ claim to be?
Obviously he is claiming to be God.
So step one, if I'm standing before a skeptic who's saying if
Jesus is God, then how does he not know?
I would say, well, consider the implications of the verse.
Do you realize the order? You realize the hierarchy here.
Where does Christ place himself? Well, I don't know what this
means for Him to be after the angels and the human mix.
Well, let me show you in Hebrews what it means.
And after that I would say zoom out a little bit and look at the
surrounding passages. What does Christ say in the same
breath where He says He does not know the day or the hour?
What does He say about himself? What does He say about what He
can do? Let's not even go throughout the
whole neighborhood. And Mark, let's just stick here
to this one street, so to speak. But this is where it gets
exciting. This is stage 3.
This is step three. If that person is able to endure
everything that I just said, I would then say this.
Not just consider the implications of the verse, not
just honor the immediate context.
You're Step 3 to this answer. Factor the wider testimony of
Christ. Factor in the wider testimony of
Christ from throughout the Bible.
And what you notice about these steps is what we're zooming out,
right? You start in the verse, then you
look at the context just in Mark.
And that's important because some people will say, yeah,
well, that's what this person says.
That's what that book says. But that's not what Mark says.
OK, let's just stay in Mark then, and if they're still
willing to listen, then I would say, let's consider now what the
whole Bible has to say, because all of God's Word is God's word.
How much of Christ being more than just a man is presented to
us? But not just that.
There are even places where we see without a doubt, Christ
claiming or at least receiving the acknowledgement that He is
all knowing, that He is all knowing.
OK, so you have your Bibles with you, right?
Go to John 21. This is very important to see
with your own eyes. How can Jesus be crowned as God
if he is not all knowing? Well consider these verses in
the Gospel accounts that tell us he is all knowing.
John 21 verse 17. Here's Jesus with Peter and some
of the disciples. Peter decided to go fishing when
he wasn't supposed to be fishing.
He was called to Fishman, but disappointment in your
sanctification and in your performance for Christ can
really do a number. He is so just distraught, he
decides to go back to square one before Christ called him to
himself. And Jesus stands on the shore.
What a merciful king we have. And he calls to Peter and the
rest of that boat, and they recognize that it's Christ and
they come to the shore and what do they find?
They find their Master. And what does the Master do?
He prepared breakfast for them. Can you imagine God making you
breakfast? He prepares a meal for them and
he sits with them. And this is so amazing because
he's intending to take this opportunity for Peter, who
publicly denied Christ, to now publicly affirm his love for
Christ. So after their bellies were
full, Jesus turns over to Peter and he asked them twice before
what we're about to read. Do you love me?
Peter says I do feed my sheep. Do you love me?
I do 10 my lambs. And look at verse 17.
He said to him the third time, Simon, son of John, do you love
me? Peter was grieved because he
said to him the third time, Do you love me?
And he said to him, Lord, you know everything, you know
everything. You know that I love you.
Wow, you know, I thought about that.
Never mind. We're making this is very much a
theological session. I get it.
But I just want to pause here. Isn't it amazing that Peter
understood something about Christ that he did not even need
to tell him he loved him. He knew that Christ.
He knew that Christ knew that he loved him or not.
Christ knows your heart. He knows my heart.
The facade might fool others, but he already knows before I
sing a note or preach a gospel message, if I love him.
Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.
You know what Jesus didn't say, Peter?
Now you said I know everything. I don't know everything.
Remember? Remember that teaching when I
said I don't know the day or the hour?
Jesus corrected Peter on many blunders.
You read the gospel accounts, you discover that Peter has a
tendency to just say things right off the whim, right?
And Jesus corrects him, sometimes rebukes him.
But here's Peter saying, Lord, you know everything.
You know that I love you. And Jesus said to him, feed my
sheep. He doesn't misdirect his
thoughts. He doesn't correct.
He receives he receives that acknowledgement.
Now you realize that John 21 is Christ post resurrected, right?
This is after his resurrection. This is before his ascension.
So that is to be taken into consideration.
But go to John 16 and look at another account of the disciples
having a conversation with Jesus where he tells them that he will
no longer speak to them and figures of speech what will
speak to them plainly. John 1629, his disciples said,
ah, now you're speaking plainly and not using figurative speech.
Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to
question you. This is why we believe that you
came from God. So pause, take your time and
understanding what the disciples are saying here, they realize it
dawned to them, the light was switched on.
Oh, you, you know all things. And they followed up by saying
and do not need anyone to question you.
What do they mean by that? Lord?
You don't need anybody to test your knowledge to probe you
because you've convinced us you know everything.
So unlike others who might be subject to scrutiny and
investigation and testing, you stand out among them all because
you know all things. And the omniscience of Christ
moved them to such a degree that they make this conclusion.
Look at the last part of verse 30.
This is why we believe that you came from God.
What compounded their conviction that Christ came from God?
He knows all things. You know everything.
We don't have to wonder about it.
We don't have to second guess it.
It's so plain and so obvious now.
This is a major claim, is it not, for somebody to know
absolutely everything? Wouldn't this be an opportunity
for Christ? This is before his death, by the
way. That's why I'm quoting it to
you. This is John 16.
He hasn't gone to the cross yet. This is him while he's still on
earth fulfilling His earthly ministry.
Wouldn't this be the time for him to say now, Now I did come
from heaven, but I don't know absolutely everything.
Instead, look what he says in verse 31 is his response.
Jesus answered them. Do you now believe like finally
you got it. Finally you understand that yes,
I did come from God. But more than that, he's
acknowledging everything that they're saying that I also know
all things. So we come to this passage.
The Lord doesn't deny it. He confirms everything that
they're claiming. So before the resurrection,
after the resurrection, the Scriptures directly deal with
the person of Christ and declare that He is what all knowing.
So then how do we make sense of him?
How do we make sense of Him in Mark 1332 saying that He doesn't
know something? And this is where you and I have
to take into account the dual nature of Christ.
Everything that was presented up to this point, I hope confirms
to you that Jesus did not cease to be God when he entered into
this world. And we also believe that through
the incarnation that the Lord of glory did come to become a true
human, which means that as much as his divine attributes were
present while on earth, we have to also remember that the
components and the essential ingredients of being a human
were also in function, though without sin.
So he was fully or truly God, but he was also fully and truly
man. And if he was truly man, though
without a trace of sin, you have to understand then that there's
going to be limitations by virtue of being man.
So He has to eat and he has to drink and he has to rest.
And He asked to, as we learned in the Gospels, grow in his
wisdom and knowledge. And part of that growth and
wisdom and knowledge is that there is some restriction to a
certain degree of data, and that is all to again confirm His
humanity. And so the restriction that
Christ underwent is part of His subjecting himself to the will
of God by entering into this world as a man.
Now you might think to yourself, this is so complicated, it can't
be true. How do you make sense of the
mingling of someone being truly divine and and truly human?
What are the intricacies of the mechanics of that?
The Bible doesn't give it. But let me comfort you in this,
and maybe this is something that will help.
Never mind the complexities of two nature working in one
person, your nature alone as a man, we can't figure ourselves
out. You realize that the depths of
consciousness, how your brain functions, why certain things
happen and why they don't happen.
We can't even figure that out. And here we are not renouncing
our existence. And so it's it's something for
us to take into account that we ourselves are complicated beings
and yet we're willing to throw away the truth just because we
can't wrap our minds around the person of Jesus Christ in his
incarnation. There is a ceiling that you will
meet in this. And the Bible does not give us
this in depth kind of insight into how those things work.
All it does is give us the evidence and we're supposed to
acknowledge that evidence and humble ourselves at a certain
point. Say you are God.
That's why Timothy tells us that this is the mystery of godliness
that God manifested in the flesh.
It's a mystery. It's a mystery and we as
creatures have to humbly accept mystery in our faith that we are
a rational faith. We're not people who who blindly
accept things, but there's some things that we must be joyfully
surrendered to. But again, this is the part
where we go from wondering to worship, because again, the
restrictions of man is something that Christ willingly surrender
to. And that's why in Philippians
27, you read this in Philippians 27.
But he emptied himself by taking the form of a servant being born
in the likeness of man. So Paul tells us, not only did
he humble himself by becoming a man, but he became a servant.
Yes, human, but not a king, not a human king, not a not a human
ruler. No, He came as a man, but as a
servant. And what's so amazing is that
Jesus Christ indirectly speaks about one of the elements of
being a servant. That sheds some light into him
not knowing the day or the hour. If you want to see it, you're
already in John. I hope go to John 1515 and
you'll be able to under score what I'm conveying.
John 1515 No longer speaking to his disciples.
No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does
not know what his master is doing.
Paul tells us that when Jesus came to this world, he became a
servant. And look how Jesus qualifies.
What a servant the limitations of a servant.
At least he says a servant doesn't know what his master is
doing. But I've called you friends, for
all that I have heard from my Father, I have made known to
you. Ah, Christ becoming a servant is
willing to subject, subjugate himself to a role in which he
restricts his knowledge. So how do we tie this all
together? As a man, as the perfect servant
of the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ would not be able to
recollect that which the Father chooses only to make known to
Him. So he he surrendered to the
Father, revealing to Him everything that He needed to
know as a servant. At the same time, the ability
for Christ to recall all things always remained, so He
surrendered Himself to that limitation in His humanity.
But in His divine aspect He did know all things.
How to make sense of that? Not easy, it's not easy, but the
evidence is plain, and so the intricacies of it, the
harmonization of it, may not be plain, but what it is plain is
that He does know all things. And yet in His humility and His
mission to come save us to identify with man, He applied
limitations as a servant, only being able to convey and bring
to mind that which the Father as his superior would make known to
him what we can under there. Hopefully you know now the three
steps to answering that question concerning that that verse.
But there is an alternative view.
There is an alternative view that I want to present to you.
And it's a good case to make many people make it.
Maybe this is the first time you've heard it.
Maybe this is something that you believe.
Go back to Mark 1332 as we're prepared to close in a moment,
he says. But concerning that day or that
hour, no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son,
but only the Father. Now the word know in the
Scriptures can mean something else depending on the context.
It can also mean to make known. So to know something isn't
limited to the Bible in the sense of having cognitive
understanding of something that word know can also mean to make
known. It's almost like a verb to
reveal or to disclose. And the the best example of that
being the case is in First Corinthians chapter 2, verse 2,
where Paul tells these Corinthian believers the
following. For I decided to know nothing
among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
So what's happening here is Paul admitting that he knows
absolutely nothing except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
No, no, that's absurd. That's not what Christ.
That's not what Paul rather is saying.
He's telling these Corinthian believers as he's reminding
them, that when he came to them to preach to them, he decided to
make known. I decided to know in his
language, nothing among you. My central message was the
gospel, the person of Christ and what he's done on the cross.
But notice the verbiage here. For I decided to know nothing
among you. And so the alternative view is
when you take this and apply it back to Mark 1332, it could read
the following way. But concerning that day or that
hour, no one knows one because they don't have the ability to
know. Human being knows that they are
the hour, not even the angels in heaven, because they also don't
know. They're not omniscient.
They don't have access to that, nor the son, not because he
doesn't know, but because as a servant, because he is subject
to the father, he does not have the prerogative or the right to
make it known. I cannot make that known unless
the father gives me access and the authority to make it known.
I do know cognitively, but I can't, like Paul says, I can't
make it known to you. That's up to the father alone.
And that's why he says, but only the Father.
So that is a view that many do hold to even his historically.
That is a view that many have held to and explained this verse
in that way. But All in all, this is how I'm
going to end because I don't want to end it on that thought.
But concerning that day or the hour, no one knows, not even the
angels in heaven, nor the Son. But only if I what is he talking
about that day or the hour? The day or the hour of his
return. And when he returns, he's coming
to judge. So we were in school today, we
this was heavy theology today and that's good.
The church needs it. But I want to end by giving you
an opportunity to receive the Lord Jesus Christ.
You know, verse comes to mind and I want to quote it to you.
It's in Acts 10 where the apostles say the following in
Acts 1042. And He commanded us to preach to
the people and to testify that He is the one appointed by God
to be judge of the living and the dead.
Let me tell you something. Jesus Christ was not just
appointed to save the world. He's been appointed to judge the
world. Judgement Day is coming.
And for you who might be bothered by that message, you
have to come to this verse and try to explain it, because these
are telling us that they were commanded to preach.
What judgement He commanded us to preach to the people to
testify that what he is the appointed 1 by God to judge the
living and the dead. Not a lot of talk of judgement
from preachers today, but this is Apostolic and so I want to
let you know that there's a day coming where God is gone to by
the Son. Take into account every single
thought, deed, action, lack of action, and bring retribution to
it. There is a day coming where
you're going to give your final breath, and the very few seconds
after that, your eternal destination will be sealed.
And I heard somebody say it this way, that the job of the
preacher is to preach and convince others to change their
eternal address. You're going somewhere, I'm
going somewhere. I know you want to try to live
here as long as possible, but I heard another preacher say this
way, that he stood on the side of many deathbeds where people
have fought for their breath and they couldn't keep it.
Explain the sight and the sound of it that there have been
people who try to hold on to their breath and it's going to
leave you. No matter how strong you are, no
matter how many vitamins you've pumped into your body, no matter
how many weights you've lifted, no matter how many things that
you've done for you to be as healthy as possible, there's
going to be a day where your breath is going to leave you and
you can't do anything about it. And the moment you give that
final breath, you're going to enter into a world more real
than this one. And what's going to happen is
this. What you did with Jesus here
will determine what Christ will do with you then.
He's been appointed by God to judge.
He's going to judge every wicked deed, every unbelieving thought,
every single conviction that contradicts His truth will not
be winked at. It will be acknowledged and it
will be dealt with by a holy God and the scrutiny of His
Holiness. No man can dare stand there and
even think that they can defend themselves.
The very sight of His being will cause you to melt and realize
that you have no chance. You have no chance to receive
eternal life. But that's not the only thing
that the apostles said here in Acts 1042.
We're told that they were were to preach this message.
But look at verse 43. To him, all the prophets bear
witness that everyone who believes in Him receives
forgiveness of sins through His name.
So it's not just judgement, it's grace forgiveness.
Judgement Day is coming, but you can escape it.
Judgement Day is coming, but you can be forgiven.
And notice that forgiveness for any sin, any deed, any action,
any misaction, is only applied and accessed through His name,
the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, whom I serve.
And I present to you that name. If you have not believed on that
name, if you have not repented from your sin and received and
applied your heart to that name, today is your day.
Let your heart be at rest this afternoon, knowing that you've
made peace with God Almighty. Let your heart be at rest,
knowing that you have received salvation as a gift from this
Jesus Christ of Nazareth. And so I want to invite you
today if you have never made that choice, if you can't
remember a time where you have decided I will turn from my sin
and I will receive the shed blood of Jesus Christ to wash
over me, why would you deny such a request?
There is a time coming where many, many people will realize
the foolishness of them rejecting this message that I
present to you. You think we're just a random
ball floating in the blackness of space and this just all
happened? You think this is going nowhere?
No, no, no, no, no. Every Rd. is leading to Judgment
Day and God in His great love and steadfastness has made a way
for us to hide from the wrath to come and to receive not just
forgiveness, but fellowship with God, fellowship with God.
This is not just you erasing your account so that when when
he comes, he's going to examine you, say, OK, you pass, now just
tuck yourself somewhere in the peripheral of heaven.
This is God in his great love, though Judge is also one who
desires to extend himself as Father to his creatures, and he
wants to receive you and know you, walk with you, love you,
and for you to share an eternal communion forever.
And so I herald this truth to you today.
Repent from your sins and flee to the cross of Jesus Christ.
Run to him. Flee to the city of refuge
before it's too late. I know many people want to make
other people feel good. You can make people feel good
until they go to hell. That's not my job.
That's not the job of the preacher, the job of the
preachers, to proclaim salvation and for people to enter into
abundant life through His name alone.
I'm not inviting you to a drudgery.
I'm not inviting you to some kind of weighty way of life in
which you're always looking over your soul.
I'm inviting you to joy. And joy abundantly can only come
for the One who made you, can only come from the One who
created. You can only come from the One
who saved you, wants to restore you, make you whole.
You are a frag. You are creating the image of
God, but it's fragmented. You are created to reflect His
glory, but sin has muddied it and only Christ can cleanse it.
Only Christ can restore you and make you whole.
And I want to tell you today in my closing that this Jesus
Christ, who I proclaim to you is not just the way into heaven,
He's the way into. You can know freedom here on
earth. He sets free.
He breaks any shackle, any bondage, any turmoil.
Let me tell you something. When I got saved, I know I got
saved. Not into sinless perfectionism.
No, no, no, no, no. But I can tell you that the
weight came off. The burden of sin, the power of
iniquity was removed from my life.
And it's been 12 years and I can look back and still say I'm a
free man because of Jesus Christ.
I invite you into freedom in Christ, my brother.
Do you struggle, dear? Do you have bad days?
You better believe it, but I have Christ in my life, and I
rather be with Christ on a stormy day than be without
Christ on a sunny day. I want Him.
I have nowhere else to go. You are a wanderer.
You are lost. You are abandoned without Him.
But here He is now, inviting you to know fellowship and
relationship with your Maker. Do not deny it.
He is stretching His hand to you on the Sunday afternoon, and
he's pleading with you to come and receive the assurance of
eternal life and life today. And so I beg of you, come,
receive the living bread of heaven.
I beg of you, drink of this living water.
If you come and sip from this, you will never have to look at
another well again. I assure you that if you drink
from this fountain, you will never have to explore another
day in your life to no satisfaction.
It's completely found in him. And there's a day coming that
this invitation I present to you has an expiration.
There is an expiration date. You cannot afford to wait.
Did you notice what we read in the beginning?
After speaking about that day or the hour in which he will
return, he urges his listeners stay awake.
We're going to talk about that next week.
You don't know when it's going to happen.
Don't. Don't allow yourself to stay
asleep. Get up from your slumber and
realize that the day of salvation is now, is now.
So I beckon you to get saved. Listen, if you don't know Jesus
Christ as your Lord and Savior, the elders will be here.
Whoever came with you as a believer will be here to answer
any questions and to help you find the light in Christ.
That's what this is about. We're not here to play church.
They didn't sign up for this thing to just go through an hour
and a half every single Sunday and just go home.
Souls are hanging in the balance every week.
And so I want to let you know that we take this seriously.
If you need to be saved, find one of us.
Find one of us and ask, and we'll be glad.
It will be considered a privilege to help you see the
glory of Jesus Christ. I'm done.
Let's pray together as the praise team comes up, before the
actually praise team come up, and then I'll pray.
I just want you right now in the silence of your own heart to
evaluate yourself. If you're somebody here who
doesn't know Christ, ask yourself, why would I deny this
gospel? Why would not I accept this free
gift of salvation? Believe if you're here, just
rejoice in knowing that this Bible that you hold is the
truth, and give God glory in knowing that you have everything
you need in Him. Lord, we do thank you from the
bottom of our hearts for this session in which we were able to
understand the depths of Scripture.
Thank you for confirming to us that even in places in the Bible
that may seem to be challenging and those who may say he's
contradicting, you've given us answers.
We praise you for that. But Lord, in this day or the and
then in this hour, we realize that the gospel must be
proclaimed. Yes, explanations, but also the
gospel that saves. Explanations can only go so far.
It's this gospel that renews and redeems.
So we pray that if even if there's one person in here that
doesn't know Christ, that your Spirit will continue his work.
They're bringing that conviction that brings about change if it's
responded to appropriately. Lord, at this time, we worship
you. We thank you that you did send
your Son, the superior one who humbled himself and became a
servant to serve sinners. There is no God like you and we
worship you and give you your due on this Sunday afternoon.
In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
Let's stand and give him glory and praise and exaltation.
He is worthy. He is the King of kings.
He is the Lord of Lords.