About six months before our savior was crucified.
He took his disciples up to the regions of caesarea.
Philippi about 30 miles north Northeast to the Sea of Galilee.
And for the first time, in his Earthly Ministry, he questioned
them specifically concerning his own identity.
Now, he'd been in his Earthly Ministry about two-and-a-half to
three years at that point and there had been multitudes,
literally that had seen his miraculous Our the workings that
he had performed, they have seen him healed the sick
miraculously. They had seen him cleanse
lepers, which was unheard of. They've seen him cause the lame
to walk. The blind to see that.
Even seen him walk upon the surface of the water.
They've watched him cast out demons who were in possession of
individuals, that even seen him raise the dead back to life.
And in addition to that, they had heard his distinctive
teaching. And, you know, the When he
taught, he didn't just quote, the latest Traditions from the
various schools of the rabbis, but he spoke as one who had
Authority directly from God. And they, they shook their heads
in amazement, and they, they said to themselves, we've never
heard anybody teach like this man.
So they were equally impressed with his teaching.
And so, at this point, Jesus wanted to know what they thought
about him. He said he said, whom do men say
that. I Siam to put that in our
vernacular tonight is like saying, what are they saying
about me? You know, the Lord was to ask us
tonight? What are they saying about me?
What would we tell him, you know, tragically, I'm afraid
that we'd have to tell him that. A lot of people are not saying
much that there. A lot of people who are not
talking about him very much and that he's not in their minds and
their hearts very much and really doesn't have much of an
impact upon their lives. You know, there's one thing
that's being said about our Lord vote.
Now that Be surprising to you. But some in the Jewish community
of all places, there are some very prominent Jewish people
Jewish religious leaders religious leaders.
In fact, that had begun to reassess, their estimate of
Jesus Christ. Now in, according to the New
Testament, when Jesus arrived upon the scene, the religious
leaders of the Jews were hostile to him or hostile toward him
from the very beginning and mark the second chapter you'll
remember that there was as a civilian that were carrying a
paralyzed man on a pallet. And when Jesus was in Capernaum,
they were taking him to Jesus for the purpose of having him
healed of his paralysis, they got to the house where Jesus was
the crowd was so thick that they couldn't get inside, but not to
be denied, they went up on the roof and tore a hole in the roof
and lowered the man down through the roof on the palate to Jesus
below. And the first words out of Jesus
mouth, when he saw the paralyzed man were thy sins, be Forgiven
Thee, Well, the Jewish religious leaders recoiled and shocked.
And they thought to themselves who can forgive sin, but God
only and they accused him, right?
Then of blasphemy later, when Jesus ate normally, when he
visited his friends, who was, who was a tax collector.
Also when he went to a wedding Feast later according to Matthew
11 and verse 19, the religious leaders of the Jews accused him
of being a gluttonous, man, A wine-bibber and A Friend of
publicans and sinners in Mark 3 and verse 30.
They conceded that Jesus was able to cast out demons and evil
spirits but they said the power by which he did.
That was an evil spirit in Mark, three of the first seven verses
they accused him of being a violator of the Sabbath day
saying see that at the very beginning that they were hostile
toward Jesus. And, you know, the fact is that
after his resurrection and as the church began to grow and
began to become a You're popular among the people, the slander,
and the charges that were made against Jesus by the religious
Jewish Community. Only intensified, you can find
in the talmud today and the talmud it was a commentary upon
the Jewish scriptures, the Jewish writings there, Jesus is
accused of being one who was asked offerer against the words
of the wise. He is also called the
illegitimate son of a Roman soldier and on and on it goes.
Goes until relatively modern times, you know, beginning about
75 years ago, there were some Jewish leaders that began to
reassess their opinion of Jesus Christ.
And it continues on to this day. I want to read you just a few
quotes Rabbi Hyman in low past. President of the central
Conference of American rabbis said Jesus has become the most
popular, the most studied, the most influential figure in the
religious history of mankind. No sensible Jews, who Be
indifferent to the fact that a Jew has had a tremendous part in
the religious education and direction of the human race
Rabbi. Stephen s wise Zionist leader
and founder of the Jewish Institute of Religion, says
neither Christian protest. Nor Jewish lamentation.
Cannot know the fact that Jesus was a Jew, a Hebrew of the
Hebrews, he goes on to say, surely it is not wholly.
Unfit that we not so much. Appropriate him but that he be
assigned by us to the place in Jewish life and Jewish history,
which is rightfully his own. Jesus was not only a Jew, but he
was the Jew, the Jew of Jews doctor pinches who peed in
Orthodox collar ads. Jesus, was utterly true to the
law of Moses as myself hope to be.
I even suspect, that Jesus is even more true to the law of
Moses than I in Orthodox Jew, the laid out early.
Stein Nobel Prize winner in physics from Princeton
University. He said, as a child, I received
instruction both in the Bible and in the Jewish talmud, I am a
Jew, but I am enthralled by the Luminous, figure of the
Nazarene, Benjamin Disraeli, the former Prime Minister of Great
Britain, he says, uh, perhaps in this enlightened age, he says,
maybe we'll be able to see that that of all the princes of the
House of David none. Have done so much for the Jews
as the prince who was crucified at Calvary and then finally
Larry King on CNN's, Larry King live.
He said, as a Jew, I've had nothing, but the greatest and
the most profound respect for Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
He was after all Jewish born, Jewish died, Jewish.
I Think. Jesus Christ was the greatest
single individual in the, both millenniums.
And he has had a more profound effect on mankind than any
individual ever born. If there's one person in
history, I'd like to interview, it would be Jesus.
That's pretty interesting. Isn't it?
You know, all this began about 75 years ago, as a result of a
book that was published by a very prominent, Jewish scholar,
a man, by the name of dr. Joseph klaussner, dr.
Klaussner was a professor at Hebrew University in Jerusalem
for a number of years and he wrote a book entitled Jesus of
Nazareth. And What he concluded about
Jesus of Nazareth, was that Jesus was just a simple teacher,
who saw himself sent only to the lost sheep of the House of
Israel. And he quotes, Matthew 10,
verses 5 and 6, Matthew 15 and verse 24.
He said Jesus viewed himself as did every other two of his day
as a son of Abraham and superior to the Gentiles and he quotes
Luke 19 verse 9 13:16. And Mark, 7 and verse 27.
And he goes on to argue that it never entered the mind of Jesus
to Proclaim his teachings outside of the Jewish Nation.
He said the law and the prophets, these were his faith
in his religion, the people of Israel, this was the people to
whom this religion was given and he went on to say that the
ethical and moral teachings of Jesus, are the greatest that
have ever been uttered. And he said the only way that
they can take their rightful place in Jewish literary
history, is if we can disassociate him from the
religion of Christianity and as outrageous as that may sound to
you, that is precisely what they've done.
They argue that Jesus was born a Jew.
He lived at you, he died a Jew and he never intended to spread
his teaching to anybody. Other than a small band of Jews
and they contend that it was Paul, who later Came Upon the
scene who took the teachings that that Jesus had given to the
Jews and expanded them and turned it into a worldwide
religion of Christianity. Now, that sounds outrageous.
But that's precisely. What is being said by many
prominent Jews in the religious world today.
You know, that way they can, they can claim the Savior but
they don't have to accept the religion of Christianity.
At the same time, I'll tell you what it reminds me of My son
mentioned last night. I believe it was my son.
My older son, Corey is 28 but when he graduated from Junior
High School seems like yesterday, we bought him a
guitar as a graduation gift. That's all he wanted.
You know, I worry that he would get it and play it a few days
and put it in the closet for from now on.
Well he didn't do that. He got it and he played it every
day and he's 28. Now think he's probably played
it almost every day since that time.
Time. In fact, he said it was
therapeutic, really. And he thinks that's about the
only thing that kept him sane through graduate school, but
anyhow it, when he was in high school.
I remember that, you know, he'd be on the school programs when
they had have, you know, programs and that have talent
from the school, he had a friend that he made, they weren't real
close, but he was also a guitar player.
He was mainly a singer, and he accompanied himself on the
guitar. Whereas Cory was a guitarist.
But anyhow, they would always be on.
Programs at school, never to gather, but on the same
programs, and I remember the night that they graduated from
high school, of course, they were thrilled.
I saw him standing together. There's about four or five of
them standing outside the auditorium, you know, thrilled
to death. They finally graduate from high
school and, you know, from that night, it was just like that
fella dropped off the face of the earth.
I mean, I'm eating, he was just, he never came over to the house
anymore. Never saw him again, and about
two or three years. Later, I was at home on a
Saturday, and I was watching the football game on television, had
my sweat clothes on, but tennis shoes.
And you know, I didn't plan on going anywhere and got a call
and is one of the Brethren he sounded frantic and he was out
at the lodge and he said that there was a wedding party out
there and that for some reason that the preacher didn't show
up. And could I come out there and
officiate the wedding and I thought, well I but I'm not, I'm
not dressed on. Ready, man, I can't do that.
And you know the game is on and well, he handed the phone to the
bride and she began to cry and I said, okay, I'll be right out.
Well, I got up hurriedly got cleaned up and got ready and
rushed out there. You know, when I, when I walked
into the lodge, there was Court, his old, buddy from high school
and it was, it was his father who was getting married thing.
He was a widower, he's getting married again, and his buddy was
going to be the best man that he was also going to sing.
For the wedding. And, you know, we spoke and kind
of renewed acquaintances. And, and I left after that, and
I didn't see him again. I mean, again, it's just like he
dropped off the face of the Earth.
Well, seven years from the time, they graduate from high school
is two summers ago Phyllis and I went out Marietta Georgia, a
suburb of Atlanta out there to hold a meeting.
The very first day we got there brother.
Larry Parker came up to me and he said, Carl, he said, do you
know Noah guy from Ada named Blake Shelton.
Oh, that's cool, resold buddy. And I thought, oh my, I hope
he's not out here in trouble. And I thought, man, I hope he's
not wanting money. And then I got to thinking,
uh-oh, what if he wants to ride home with us from Atlanta, all
the way back date. He's about 65 and Phyllis and I
can hardly get in our car and get all of our stuff in the car,
you know, as it is. And I thought, you know,
reluctantly I said, Yeah, I know.
Blake why he said, man? He's a big star.
He's a, he's a big country, western singer and he said, it's
not a Nashville. Ma'am.
Well I you know, I don't listen to country music, I have a shock
to me and he said, he's out of Nashville.
Now, I said, man, he's got a song right now that is number
one on all the charts throughout the whole United States.
He said, men, they play his music here in Atlanta 24 hours a
day. I'm I mean he is a star and he
said, you know, they say on the radio that he's from Ada
Oklahoma he said I just wondered if you knew him and I said, oh
Blake. Wow, I said he's like one of the
boys. I said, why graduated with my
son? Corey from high school.
I performed his dad's wedding, man, I was ready to claim him.
Well you see that's kind of the way.
It works is somebody that you didn't think, maybe a whole lot
of at one time all of a sudden, a hit Big time and hey, you
ready to claim them as your own and that's precisely what a lot
in the Jewish world have done today about our savior.
They readily admit, that Jesus is the most popular, the most
studied, the most influential figure that has ever existed in
the history of mankind. And he was a Jew.
And now it's time that they claim him as their own.
But the only way they can do Do that is to say that he was only
a Jew and that he really had no lot.
No part of this matter of Christianity and that was all he
invention. All the brainchild of the
Apostle, Paul Well, that's an inadequate view of Jesus.
Now, that's a big turnaround from the hostility that they
began to demonstrate toward the Savior, but that's not good
enough. They're going to have to admit
that he is the Christ, the son of the Living God in order to
have an adequate concept of him. Well, in addition to that, In
the Days of Our Savior, there were those who had inadequate
views of him. We're told here.
When Jesus asked his disciples, they said was something that you
are, John the Baptist. And I can understand how some
could mistake Jesus for John. They were cousins and the John
was about 6 years older than Jesus.
It could be that they had similar physical
characteristics. One thing that we do know, for
sure is that they preached alike in March.
Matthew 3 verses 1 and 2, John preached, repent.
She for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.
And so, John preached, the necessity of repentance.
And he also mentioned that the kingdom was near Jesus said, in
Mark 1 and verse 15. He said, repent for the Kingdom
of Heaven is at hand. The time is fulfilled and the
kingdom of God is at hand, repent, ye and believe the
gospel. So both men emphasized
repentance and the kingdom. Furthermore, John was Appetizer,
that's where he got his name, John, the Baptist, her John, the
immerser, Luke 3, and verse 3 in Mark, 1 and verse 4.
The Bible says that John preached, the baptism of
repentance for the remission of sins, in John 4, verses 1 and 2,
John says that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than did
John. And so both men, preach the
necessity of repentance of baptism and the fact that the
kingdom was at hand, neither man could stand And hypocrisy,
there's an interesting episode in Luke the third chapter, John
was baptizing in the River. Jordan, and there was some some
Jews who came to him in order to be baptized but they were not
sincere and John apparently had an ability that we don't have
today. He could look into the heart and
he could read people's motives and John apparently refused to
baptize them and he told them, he said woe unto you Generation
of Vipers, bring forth fruit worthy of repentance.
Since he was in essence calling of a bunch of Snakes in the
Grass because they'd come to him and in and actually they were
desecrating an ordinance of God because they were not sincere.
Some of you here in the audience, probably remember the
late James. Our Stewart brother Stewart was
a gospel preacher years ago lived in Texas.
He told me one time before he died.
He said that that he was holding a meeting somewhere and he said
to you baptized man, you know, 30 or 40 people back in those
days. I don't think there's all that
uncommon baptizer, you know, maybe 30, 40 50 people.
He said you had was having a great meeting at baptized a
number of people, but it said there was A couple of boys that
had been coming every night he's had back in those days.
Everybody went to the meeting, you know, regardless, that was
kind of their social Gathering and he said there was a couple
of big old boys. Teenage boy is just really, just
a couple of hoodlums had come to the meeting and he said that cut
up, you know, and he reserves and he said one of them told
that the other one that he thought it would be funny for
him to go up and answer the invitation and had that preacher
baptizing even though he really wasn't converted.
And he said, he thought he had to do it.
And the other guy says, I don't think you'll do that.
He said, I bet you I will. He said, I bet you you won't.
He said, I bet you have a ham that I will, he said you're
wrong when I kind of got to bragging around about it and
word filtered, back to brother Stewart.
What he had in mind and brother Stewart says, sure enough at
night, when they extended the invitation, there were several
that responded to it, came down the aisle.
He said, here came back, they go who to him grinning from ear to
ear like a possum? Said he came up there and sit
down and he said, he took their confessions and said it took him
out to the tank. As they say in Texas, they don't
call him a pond. They called it a tank.
He said, took him out to the tank.
Got him lined up there, got him in line you know, he's taken one
at a time and he would raise his hand.
And he'd say, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission
of sins, I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and
the Holy Ghost, and he would immerse them.
But he said this big old young Hood, came up to him, you know,
kind of snickering into himself. He said he got him already and
raised his hand and he said, I'm baptizing you for half of a ham
and he said he's soused him good.
Well I think that was appropriate because that was the
reason that he was being baptized.
He he was making a mockery of the ordinance of God.
He wasn't sincere about it and therefore he got really just
what he deserved. And apparently that's exactly
what what John did on this occasion.
Well, the Lord had very little patience with hypocracy.
See in Matthew 23, verses 14 and 15.
He said woe unto you scribes and Pharisees Hypocrites for you.
Devour widows houses and for a pretence, make long prayer.
Therefore you shall receive the greater damnation, woe unto you
scribes and Pharisees Hypocrites for ye Compass sea and land to
make one proselyte. And when he is made, you make
him twofold more. The child of Hell than
yourselves further. Both men were men of
self-denial. The Bible says, John was clothed
in leather and camels hair. And he ate locusts and Wild,
Honey, Jesus said the foxes have holes and birds have nests, but
the son of man hath, not where to lay his head.
And then further, both men were men of great courage, you know,
Herod Antipas was the tetrarch and that were tetrarch means the
router over 1/4 of a province, but he was the tetrarch of
Galilee. During the days of our Lord, he
had a half-brother named Phillip, Who lived in Rome and
Phillips wife was named herodias and the one-time Antipas went up
to visit his brother in Rome. And when he got there, he was
infatuated with his brother's wife herodias and when he got
ready to go back home, he just stole her from his brother.
Philip, took her back home with him and made her his wife.
Well, it was very well known that they were living together
in an adulterous relationship in Galilee.
And so, John, you know, the prophet, the conscience of the
nation he approached. T' antithesis and he confronted
him about it. He said it's not lawful for you
to have your brother's wife. Well, herodias was was enraged
and she wanted John executed on the spot when now Antipas
respected John. In fact, he was a little bit
afraid of John because he knew that John was a man of God, he
didn't want to kill him and so he just put him in prison. and,
you know, the Bible actually says that from time to time and
he could get away from the clutches of his domineering
wife, he would go down to the prison and visit with John
instead of staying up there with her Well, she bided their time
and waited for a convenient season which presented itself at
antithesis birthday. She planned a big party invited
a bunch of his cronies. And you know, when things were
just right, she sent her own daughter salami into dance, but
obviously was a very provocative dance before these half drunken
men. And the Bible tells us that
Antipas was very pleased with it because in a moment of, for
stress braggadocio, he jumped up and said up to half of my
kingdom, you name it and it's yours.
I've always thought that was kind of funny.
He didn't rule over half of a kingdom.
He ruled over a fourth of a kingdom.
They watch a little exaggeration when you're trying to impress a
pretty girl. Well, she didn't know what to
ask for. So she went and told her mother
what he had said and she oh, whoo.
That's just what she I've been waiting for she said you go back
in there and you tell him that you want the head of John on a
platter, she did just that. And tipis was, he was crushed.
He want to hurt John well, now he's in a bad situation if he
doesn't go through with this, he's going to look bad to the
girl and to his drunken cronies. So he sends one of his specula
toria's down to the cell and in a Flash he's back at his got
John's head on a platter. Tradition tells us that it was
given to salomi who in turn, gave it to her mother herodias
and that herodias. Hit that she took a Bodkin and
stuck it. Through, John's tongue and
shouted. You'll never condemn anybody
again and then cast his head away.
Antipas never forgot about John, though Antipas was superstitious
and I've got a hunch every time he went to bed at night, he saw
John's Apparition just better where he looked and then He
began to hear people out in the courtyard.
Talking about a man. A stranger who had a arrived
upon the scene, who was talking about repentance.
He was baptizing people, and he was making disciples.
And so, and tip is needed to hear.
He was convinced. This was John, come back from
the dead to haunt him. He was wrong, but I think you
can see why he make the association, you know, John was
one of the greatest men who ever lived according to our Savior,
but again, it's not adequate to say that.
Jesus was just exactly like John because he wasn't, there were
some different. Even though there are a lot of
similarities between them, there were some differences between
the two, but I always think about is over in Matthew 11,
beginning at about verse 16, and also in Luke 7 at about verse
33. You remember that the Jesus was
talking to the religious leaders of the day and he told them, he
said, you cannot be pleased. He said, John came to you and he
said, John would eat no meat. Eat, he would drink no wine.
He went with without food for long periods of time and he said
you called him insane. You said he was possessed of a
demon. He said I come to you and he
said, I attend a wedding Feast. He said I eat and drink like a
normal person and you call me a glutton and a wine-bibber.
He said you remind me of little children who are playing a game
and you're playing wedding feast and know you're not happy with
playing wedding Feast, you want to play funeral and so they
change the, let's start playing funeral and you're not happy
with that either. When Jesus gave him that
analogy, he told us a great deal about the difference between the
way, John lived, and the way he lived John and his disciples
lived as though they were isolated.
They lived, they went long periods without food and they
would not interact with society and Jesus characterize them as
though they were at a Perpetual funeral in morning.
But he on several occasions characterized himself and his
disciples as though they were attending a wedding feast.
And so there were some differences between the two.
Well, there were others who said that they thought that he was
Elijah. Elijah of course, is one of the
greatest men who ever lived and Elijah lived about 800 850 years
before Christ. And he, he was the one really
who God States. Well, just to show you how great
he was in the eyes of God. You remember when Jesus selected
Peter, James, and John and took them up on the Mount of
transfiguration and gave them a glimpse of his glorious nature
member, who appeared on the mount, it was Moses and Elijah
of all the characters from history, and they were the
representation of the law. And the prophets you had the law
and the prophets. But God spoke from heaven and
said but now here's my son hear ye him.
You'll recall that when the children of Israel, the Hebrews
settled in Canaan and they established a kingdom.
Their first king was King, Saul the second king, was King David.
David ruled for 40 years? David was succeeded by his son,
Solomon who ruled for 40 years and then when Solomon died, he
was succeeded by his son rehoboam and it was when Rhea
boehm assumed the Throne of Israel that Israel had a civil
war and Guided and the northern ten kingdoms pulled off from the
southern Kingdom of Judah. The Bible tells us that from the
time that that happened until some 200 years later when the
Assyrians took over the northern kingdom and took them into into
captivity, that they had 19 Kings that ruled over the
Northern Kingdom of Israel and that every single one of them
did evil in the sight. Side of God.
They were as rotten as they could be.
They were just as wicked as human beings could possibly be
in a seem like each one in succession was a little more
wicked than the one before. Probably the worst of the lot
was King Ahab and his wife Jezebel.
And it's interesting to me that have all these 19 Kings.
They have is the only one who has, you know, the, the
privilege of having his wife mentioned Jezebel.
And there's An obvious reason for that, he is truly was a
petticoat rain. She was the boss, she ran the
show and he did what she said. Now she was an idolater.
She worshipped Baal. She worshipped a stir rod and
she wanted to make that the national religion of Israel.
They literally slaughtered hundreds of prophets of God
because she was determined to make Baal and ashtaroth the
national religion of Israel. Well, God decided to use a man
by the name of Elijah to confront Jezebel and King Ahab.
Take a look at Elijah's name for just a minute.
The letter z l in Hebrew. Are an abbreviation for Elohim
or elephant how you prefer to pronounce it.
But it is an abbreviation for the name of God, it is the
general name for God. Often times in the Old Testament
Hebrew God is referred to by the letters e l then the letters j.
H. That is an abbreviation of God
specific name Jehovah, the letter.
I I means me or mine. So, just from analysis of the,
his name is named means my God is Jehovah.
So when Elijah appeared upon the scene and he introduced himself
to King Ahab and Jezebel, he was condemning them, he said my God
is Jehovah. Well, he appeared upon the scene
with lightning and thunder and and fire raining down from
heaven in chapter 18 of first king.
Remember probably the most momentous episode in the life of
Elijah. Was he challenged the 450
prophets of Baal to build an altar and he would build an
altar and they would pray to their respective gods and
whichever one sent down fire and consume the altar.
They would agree that that was the true God.
Well, of course, god Jehovah is the one who answered and the
people cried out and said, Jehovah is God.
And so Elijah had the people gather up the 450 prophets of
Baal and he took his sword and he executed every one of them.
You may be sitting there thinking wasn't that a little
bit of an Overkill but you know what?
If you've got a cancer that's going to destroy the body, you
need to cut it all out. Excise you need you need to get
it all and the 450 prophets of Baal were a Cancer and if they
were destroying the people of Israel and he got them all He
went out the same way. He appeared on the scene with
fire and Thunder From Heaven. When his life was over, he
didn't die a natural death. God sent a chariot of fire in a
whirlwind and took him to Heaven translated him without his
tasting of death in the natural. Since, you know, I've heard
people say, you can see how that Jesus could be mistaken for
Elijah. It's, you know, in the last two
verses of the Old Testament, The Book of Malachi, the prophet
Malachi says that before the Messiah.
Comes that, that, that Elijah, I'll return, He will return to
be the Forerunner for the man of God.
And the course Jesus explained his disciples.
What that meant, that that was referring to John, the Baptist,
who was coming in the spirit of Elijah to pave the way for him.
But the Jews even to this day are still looking for the return
of Elijah. The fact is orthodox, Jews will
set an extra plate at the table for the Passover.
Just in case. He Elijah comes back at that
time. And so, because most of the Jews
were looking for Elijah to come back.
And there appeared upon this. Seen a man who could work
miracles and He's all time talking about fire.
Did you know that the word if I if memory serves me correctly,
the word hell is found 12 times in the gospel nine times.
Jesus is the one who voiced it he was, he talked about hell
about fire about a lake of fire and the an eternal fire in
addition to that, he cleansed the temple, he drove out the
money changers, he turned over the tables of the money changers
and the seats of the dove sellers.
And people saw that this man wasn't just me.
But they saw that there was that there was also some, some
severity involved. Remember?
Paul said in Romans 11, verse 22 behold, both the goodness and
the severity of God. And there are those who seem to
think that? Well, you know, maybe this this
man was Elijah. And again, that's even though
there were some similar characteristics.
It's inadequate to say that Jesus was just like Elijah
because there was differences between them.
I'm often reminded. When the Lord and his disciples
were getting ready to make that fateful Trek From Galilee down
to Jerusalem, that would end in his crucifixion.
He sent some of his men ahead of him through Samaria and told him
to go down there and secure a place for them.
Now they didn't usually travel through Samaria.
Here was Judea here with Samaria and he was Galilee usually they
would go over here east of the River Jordan and go up that way
to go around so they wouldn't have to go through Samaria
because there was bad blood. Blood between the Samaritans and
the judeans Jesus. However, on this occasion told
his disciples to go through Samaria and secure them, a place
to stay en route to Jerusalem and his disciples got down
there, and they wouldn't give them a place to stay.
They would not accommodate him. And you remember on that
occasion, That John. He told Jesus, he said, why
don't we just do like Elijah did and call down fire from heaven
and burn them off the face of the Earth?
I'm going to confess to you about 10 years ago.
I was driving out here to California.
Told me that I don't remember where I was going now, but I do
remember that I got a late start.
For some reason, how was gonna be able to leave very early
about noon? I think it was and I knew it was
going to take me at that time probably about 10 or 11 hours to
drive to Albuquerque. And so I called and I made a
reservation at a motel that I'd stayed had before and I secured
it by paying for it, with my, with my credit card, You know, I
got there is late. I don't remember, you know,
around midnight. I was so tired.
I was absolutely a just, I felt Dopey.
I got out of my car. My reflexes were slow.
I didn't I couldn't walk a straight line into the lobby and
I got in there and I told the clerk, I said I'm Carl Johnson.
I've got a reservation for tonight.
And forgive me this this arrogant snotty clerk
condescendingly told me he said, Mr. Johnson, he said we've over
booked for tonight. You have no reservation with us.
He said there's a roadway in couples, couple of blocks down
the street. You know, I thought about Elijah
thin. And if I could have called down
some fire from heaven, I would have given him a dose so I can
understand you. I kind of identify with maybe
how John felt on that occasion, but you know what?
The Lord told John on that occasion, it's just amazing.
He told John. He said that you don't even know
what you're talking about, call down fire from heaven and
burned. These people to a crispy said, I
didn't come into the world to destroy mankind.
He said, I came into the world to save.
Voom. Now, even even Elijah
understood. Eventually that there's a place
for fire and thunder and lightning and earthquakes and
not clear the Clutter But it still takes the calm reasoned
voice and word of God to convert the heart.
Well, we could go on tonight. There are others who thought
that he was, Jeremiah Jeremiah was the weeping prophet Jesus
was called The Man of Sorrows acquainted with grief.
Both men wept for the same reason because of the sins of
the people and I guess we could go on and on and you know, those
are flattering estimates of anybody to say that they're like
John that they're like Elijah that they're like Jeremiah that
they're like any of Is great. Esteemed profits in history.
The friends. I want to tell you, all of those
are inadequate. The only adequate response is
the golden Oracle. That was spoken by Peter.
When it said, Thou Art the Christ, the son of the Living,
God and Friends, regardless of what estimate, you might have of
Jesus. If you don't have that estimate
of him, it's inadequate. We thank you for listening to
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