1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:04,920 Father, as we open the Word this morning, we just ask for the 2 00:00:04,920 --> 00:00:07,800 protection of your angels that excel in strength and might and 3 00:00:07,800 --> 00:00:09,960 love for you in the presence of Your Holy Spirit. 4 00:00:10,760 --> 00:00:14,960 It is He, Father, that inspired these words and we pray that as 5 00:00:14,960 --> 00:00:18,440 we read and as we meditate on them, Father, that you Spirit 6 00:00:18,440 --> 00:00:22,360 would touch our hearts and open to us a deeper and more 7 00:00:22,360 --> 00:00:24,880 beautiful picture of our Savior Jesus Christ. 8 00:00:24,880 --> 00:00:33,760 We pray in Jesus name, Amen. All right, so the title of this 9 00:00:33,760 --> 00:00:36,840 message this morning is do you know Jesus? 10 00:00:37,880 --> 00:00:40,560 And some of us are saying absolutely, I know Jesus and 11 00:00:40,560 --> 00:00:44,520 others they're not quite sure. And for those that are online 12 00:00:44,520 --> 00:00:47,400 and those that are here, we're going to talk a little bit about 13 00:00:50,360 --> 00:00:53,560 Jesus in a way that I haven't heard before. 14 00:00:53,960 --> 00:00:56,480 I came across a message that touched my heart. 15 00:00:56,480 --> 00:00:57,960 I'm going to share just a part of it. 16 00:00:58,440 --> 00:01:01,800 It's rather long, so I had to abbreviate it and I'm going to 17 00:01:01,800 --> 00:01:10,120 watch my time because I do have commitments after all, right? 18 00:01:11,640 --> 00:01:14,880 So Luke 23 starting in 32 and 30 to 34. 19 00:01:15,400 --> 00:01:19,480 There were also two other criminals who led with him to 20 00:01:19,480 --> 00:01:21,760 put be put to death. And when they had come to the 21 00:01:21,760 --> 00:01:25,720 place called Calvary, there they crucified him and the criminals, 22 00:01:25,720 --> 00:01:27,960 one on the right hand and one on the left. 23 00:01:28,520 --> 00:01:31,640 Then Jesus said, Father, forgive them for they do not know what 24 00:01:31,640 --> 00:01:34,760 they do. So we see here a picture of 25 00:01:34,800 --> 00:01:39,800 Jesus going to be crucified with two other criminals. 26 00:01:40,760 --> 00:01:44,240 And so people being crucified by the Romans as a form of 27 00:01:44,240 --> 00:01:46,600 punishment was very common in his day. 28 00:01:47,600 --> 00:01:50,440 And so the question when we're speaking to somebody and we say, 29 00:01:50,440 --> 00:01:56,600 well, Jesus died for your sins, I actually ran into somebody who 30 00:01:56,600 --> 00:02:01,760 said, So what? Because somebody I know suffered 31 00:02:01,760 --> 00:02:08,039 far longer than Jesus. So what makes him so special? 32 00:02:09,240 --> 00:02:13,800 And it's, and if you think about it, there are people that have 33 00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:18,280 suffered much longer than Jesus on the cross in far more pain 34 00:02:18,280 --> 00:02:23,120 than he did. So why is his death on the cross 35 00:02:23,120 --> 00:02:28,680 different than anybody else's? Why is Jesus's life and death 36 00:02:28,960 --> 00:02:32,080 and resurrection different? Well, obviously the resurrection 37 00:02:32,080 --> 00:02:34,760 is something that nobody else has done, right? 38 00:02:35,680 --> 00:02:40,000 But what makes Jesus's life and what he went through different? 39 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:42,080 So we're going to talk a little bit about that this morning. 40 00:02:45,680 --> 00:02:50,320 So Matthew 2414 says, and this gospel of the Kingdom will be 41 00:02:50,320 --> 00:02:53,320 preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations. 42 00:02:53,680 --> 00:02:57,400 And then the M will come. And Fred was asking the question 43 00:02:57,400 --> 00:03:01,640 this morning similar to what I'm going to ask you now. 44 00:03:01,640 --> 00:03:03,120 Not exactly the same, but similar. 45 00:03:03,880 --> 00:03:07,640 Where's Jesus? Why hasn't he come back? 46 00:03:08,680 --> 00:03:12,160 Because this verse says and this gospel of the Kingdom will be 47 00:03:12,160 --> 00:03:16,800 preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations and 48 00:03:16,800 --> 00:03:20,480 then the end will come, which means Jesus is returning. 49 00:03:21,400 --> 00:03:26,760 So that would, if A is the gospel is preached and B is the 50 00:03:26,760 --> 00:03:31,280 end will come, then we must be missing something on the A side, 51 00:03:31,280 --> 00:03:33,720 right? Because B hasn't shown up yet. 52 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:40,200 So when you think of Matthew 2414, what scripture comes to 53 00:03:40,200 --> 00:03:42,280 mind? That's a pretty famous Adventist 54 00:03:42,280 --> 00:03:45,600 scripture that we talk about. And this gospel of the Kingdom 55 00:03:45,600 --> 00:03:48,240 will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the 56 00:03:48,240 --> 00:03:50,480 nations. Anybody. 57 00:03:50,480 --> 00:03:55,000 What scripture do you think ties in very closely to that? 58 00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:56,880 That we preach at most of our seminars. 59 00:03:56,880 --> 00:04:01,640 Anybody. Matthew 28. 60 00:04:01,640 --> 00:04:04,720 It's a good, it's a good one, but not the one I'm thinking of. 61 00:04:06,680 --> 00:04:10,440 There you go. Revelation 14, verse 6. 62 00:04:10,920 --> 00:04:13,800 Then I saw another Angel flying in the midst of heaven, having 63 00:04:13,800 --> 00:04:16,920 the what? The everlasting gospel, to 64 00:04:16,920 --> 00:04:19,920 preach to who? Who twos, to dwell unto the 65 00:04:19,920 --> 00:04:23,000 earth, to every nation, tribe, tongue in people. 66 00:04:23,240 --> 00:04:27,440 So we see here there is a correlation between Matthew 2414 67 00:04:27,760 --> 00:04:36,000 and Revelation 14/6. So manuscript 32, Sister White 68 00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:39,880 tells us the message proclaimed by the Angel flying in the midst 69 00:04:39,880 --> 00:04:42,240 of heaven is the everlasting gospel. 70 00:04:42,240 --> 00:04:44,240 And that's what the Bible says, right? 71 00:04:44,240 --> 00:04:47,480 It's the everlasting gospel, the same gospel. 72 00:04:47,720 --> 00:04:51,080 Now look at what she says, the same gospel that was declared in 73 00:04:51,080 --> 00:04:55,440 Eden when God said to the servant, I will put enmity 74 00:04:55,440 --> 00:04:58,320 between thee and the woman and between thy seed and her seed, 75 00:04:58,760 --> 00:05:01,840 and it shall bruise thy head, and thou shall bruise or crush, 76 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:05,480 bruise his heel. So it shall bruise or crush thy 77 00:05:05,480 --> 00:05:07,240 head and and thou shall bruise his heel. 78 00:05:07,600 --> 00:05:12,520 So she's saying that the gospel that it was preached in Eden is 79 00:05:12,520 --> 00:05:16,200 the same gospel in Revelation 14. 80 00:05:16,960 --> 00:05:20,560 And so the question is, what's that gospel? 81 00:05:21,120 --> 00:05:23,520 So we're going to just touch on that just a little bit today. 82 00:05:23,520 --> 00:05:28,080 We're just going to give you a little taste of what that might 83 00:05:28,080 --> 00:05:29,920 be. So Revelation 315 says, And I 84 00:05:29,920 --> 00:05:33,440 will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed 85 00:05:33,440 --> 00:05:35,680 and her seed, and it shall bruise thy head, and thou shall 86 00:05:35,680 --> 00:05:40,040 bruise his heel. So here we see that Christ was 87 00:05:40,040 --> 00:05:43,840 to suffer here, right? That bruise is going to cause 88 00:05:43,840 --> 00:05:45,600 pain, is it not? When you get bruised, do you 89 00:05:45,600 --> 00:05:47,800 have pain? Yes, you have pain. 90 00:05:48,440 --> 00:05:52,080 So here we see a very early indication that our Savior was 91 00:05:52,080 --> 00:05:55,920 going to have to be a Savior of suffering, right? 92 00:05:55,920 --> 00:05:57,840 We're going to look at that through many of the books of the 93 00:05:57,840 --> 00:06:02,720 Bible today. So Genesis 37 says and the then 94 00:06:02,720 --> 00:06:05,960 the eyes of them were both open. So they had sinned, right? 95 00:06:05,960 --> 00:06:08,840 They ate the fruit and they knew that they were naked. 96 00:06:08,840 --> 00:06:12,720 So the, and we're not going to go into all the supporting 97 00:06:12,720 --> 00:06:15,920 scriptures, but we know that the garments of light that they had 98 00:06:15,920 --> 00:06:19,640 faded away when they chose to eat and they sewed fig leaves 99 00:06:19,640 --> 00:06:21,480 together and made themselves covering. 100 00:06:21,480 --> 00:06:23,480 So what are those fig leaves represent? 101 00:06:23,960 --> 00:06:28,560 They represented Adam and Eve were trying to save themselves 102 00:06:28,560 --> 00:06:31,120 embarrassment, right It that's salvation by works. 103 00:06:31,640 --> 00:06:35,840 They were deciding to put on something to cover them because 104 00:06:35,840 --> 00:06:39,240 they realized that they were exposed, right? 105 00:06:39,400 --> 00:06:42,600 Also for Adam and his wife, the Lord made tunics of skin and 106 00:06:42,600 --> 00:06:45,160 clothe them. So when the Lord came to that 107 00:06:45,160 --> 00:06:50,880 garden, what did He do? He searched them out knowing 108 00:06:50,880 --> 00:06:54,360 that they had fallen. So that's part of the gospel. 109 00:06:54,360 --> 00:06:56,840 God comes to us before we're even ready. 110 00:06:57,360 --> 00:06:59,800 Amen. He searches us out. 111 00:07:00,840 --> 00:07:04,320 Now part of the gospel is realizing that we can't save 112 00:07:04,320 --> 00:07:06,360 ourselves. They tried to sew fig leaves on. 113 00:07:06,360 --> 00:07:10,120 Of course, if you put a leaf on yourself, what's going to happen 114 00:07:10,120 --> 00:07:14,440 over time to that leaf? It's going to, it's going to 115 00:07:14,440 --> 00:07:16,440 disintegrate, right? It's going to dry out and fall 116 00:07:16,440 --> 00:07:19,960 off. So in order to teach them a 117 00:07:19,960 --> 00:07:25,840 lesson, some innocent animal had to die and they had to be 118 00:07:25,840 --> 00:07:28,640 clothed. And what animal died we know is 119 00:07:28,640 --> 00:07:33,000 the lamb, right? So the Lord had to kill a lamb, 120 00:07:33,240 --> 00:07:36,560 and it was skin, and then that skin was taken care of and it 121 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:40,680 made them tunics so they could be covered, right? 122 00:07:40,680 --> 00:07:45,320 So here we have a precursor to once again, the suffering Savior 123 00:07:45,320 --> 00:07:50,800 who represents the lamb had to pay for the sins to cover us. 124 00:07:51,040 --> 00:07:55,400 Amen. So God was helping Adam and Eve 125 00:07:55,400 --> 00:07:58,520 to see their need when He asked them that question, right? 126 00:07:58,520 --> 00:08:01,360 Where art thou? Because you and I need to hear 127 00:08:01,360 --> 00:08:04,640 His voice to say, hey, why are you staying away from me? 128 00:08:04,640 --> 00:08:06,840 Why are you wandering away? What are you afraid of? 129 00:08:07,240 --> 00:08:10,360 I'm here to help you. He's trying to get our 130 00:08:10,360 --> 00:08:13,560 attention. And Sister White says. 131 00:08:13,760 --> 00:08:15,520 And what is justification by faith? 132 00:08:16,520 --> 00:08:19,640 Look at this carefully. It is the work of God in laying 133 00:08:19,640 --> 00:08:25,120 the glory of man in the dust and doing for man that which is not 134 00:08:25,120 --> 00:08:29,840 in his power to do for himself. When men see their own 135 00:08:29,840 --> 00:08:34,080 nothingness, they are prepared to be clothed with the 136 00:08:34,080 --> 00:08:38,320 righteousness of Christ. So when He came to Adam and Eve 137 00:08:38,320 --> 00:08:43,039 in that garden, he asked that question that was to help them 138 00:08:43,039 --> 00:08:47,200 to see their true condition and their need right. 139 00:08:47,200 --> 00:08:49,560 They knew they were in trouble, they were hiding, they knew that 140 00:08:49,560 --> 00:08:53,680 they had were naked, they sewed the fig leaves on, and yet the 141 00:08:53,680 --> 00:08:57,600 God that they were afraid of came and called them to let them 142 00:08:57,600 --> 00:09:01,640 know that they had nothing to be afraid of because He was there 143 00:09:01,960 --> 00:09:03,960 to help them. Amen. 144 00:09:07,200 --> 00:09:10,120 So we know that something innocent has to die to cover 145 00:09:10,120 --> 00:09:12,680 their shame. Now John 129 says the next day 146 00:09:12,680 --> 00:09:15,960 John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, Behold the Lamb of God 147 00:09:16,360 --> 00:09:17,920 who takes away the sin of the world. 148 00:09:17,920 --> 00:09:21,960 So we see here the tie between Genesis where Adam and Eve were 149 00:09:21,960 --> 00:09:27,480 clothed with the skin, and John the Baptizer in John 129 saying, 150 00:09:27,480 --> 00:09:30,160 Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. 151 00:09:30,800 --> 00:09:34,800 And the lamb was used in the sacrifice on a regular basis in 152 00:09:34,800 --> 00:09:37,640 the sanctuary. And we can see how it all ties 153 00:09:37,640 --> 00:09:44,480 together. Now it says He is despised and 154 00:09:44,480 --> 00:09:47,760 rejected by men, a man of sorrow as we read, acquainted with 155 00:09:47,760 --> 00:09:51,120 grief, and we hid as it were our faces from him. 156 00:09:51,120 --> 00:09:55,320 So here we see a correlation to Adam and Eve doing what? 157 00:09:55,320 --> 00:10:00,880 Hiding from the Lord, He was despised and we did not esteem 158 00:10:00,880 --> 00:10:03,200 Him. Surely He has borne our griefs 159 00:10:03,200 --> 00:10:06,320 and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten 160 00:10:06,320 --> 00:10:11,080 by God and afflicted. He is the suffering Savior. 161 00:10:11,080 --> 00:10:14,120 We're going to look at some verses today to help us get a 162 00:10:14,120 --> 00:10:18,760 deeper understanding of why can we relate to Jesus Christ? 163 00:10:19,640 --> 00:10:22,320 What did He go through that makes Him relatable? 164 00:10:25,200 --> 00:10:29,080 In Isaiah 53, verse three to five, we read. 165 00:10:29,160 --> 00:10:31,080 But He was wounded for our transgression. 166 00:10:31,080 --> 00:10:32,640 He was bruised for our iniquities. 167 00:10:32,640 --> 00:10:35,880 The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by His stripes 168 00:10:35,880 --> 00:10:42,480 we are healed. So in Eden, healed and bruised. 169 00:10:42,480 --> 00:10:47,800 In Genesis 315, right talked about being bruised in Eden, 170 00:10:47,800 --> 00:10:49,920 Tunics of skin. Something had to die. 171 00:10:49,920 --> 00:10:54,480 Genesis 321 in the sanctuary we see the lamb is slain. 172 00:10:54,480 --> 00:10:59,680 In Leviticus 1413 in the prophets they talked about a 173 00:10:59,680 --> 00:11:02,640 Messiah that will suffer and just I didn't have a lot of 174 00:11:02,640 --> 00:11:07,640 space so I put up Isaiah 53, Psalm 22 and Zechariah 13, six 175 00:11:07,640 --> 00:11:09,320 and you can read those at your leisure. 176 00:11:10,160 --> 00:11:15,840 And Jesus said I will suffer. Matthew 1621 to 23. 177 00:11:15,840 --> 00:11:18,360 Let's turn there in our Bible. So I don't have a slide for 178 00:11:18,360 --> 00:11:24,120 that. So let's go to Matthew 16 and 179 00:11:24,120 --> 00:11:27,160 let's see what Jesus said starting in verse 21. 180 00:11:30,040 --> 00:11:33,640 From that time Jesus began to show to his disciples that he 181 00:11:33,640 --> 00:11:38,040 must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and 182 00:11:38,040 --> 00:11:42,600 the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed and be 183 00:11:42,600 --> 00:11:46,800 raised again a third day. Then Peter took him aside and 184 00:11:46,800 --> 00:11:50,480 began to rebuke him, saying, far be it from you, Lord, this shall 185 00:11:50,480 --> 00:11:53,920 not happen to you. But he turned and said to Peter, 186 00:11:53,920 --> 00:11:57,920 get behind me, Satan, you're an offence to me, for you are not 187 00:11:57,920 --> 00:12:00,920 mindful of the things of God, but the things of men. 188 00:12:01,760 --> 00:12:05,680 So we see Peter was struggling with understanding that his 189 00:12:05,680 --> 00:12:08,800 understanding was the Savior was going to come and set them free 190 00:12:08,800 --> 00:12:12,760 from Rome by being a great warrior and a victor and having 191 00:12:12,760 --> 00:12:15,960 an army. And yet Jesus said, I have not 192 00:12:15,960 --> 00:12:20,040 come to battle that way. I have come to pay for your 193 00:12:20,040 --> 00:12:24,760 sins. In Luke 2425 and 26, it says, O 194 00:12:24,760 --> 00:12:27,520 foolish ones, slow of heart, to believe all that the prophets 195 00:12:27,520 --> 00:12:29,880 have spoken. Ought not the Christ who have 196 00:12:29,880 --> 00:12:33,480 suffered these things, and to enter into his glory. 197 00:12:34,080 --> 00:12:37,080 So that's from a sermon we preached a couple of weeks ago 198 00:12:37,080 --> 00:12:40,240 where the disciples were on the road to Emmaus and they were 199 00:12:40,240 --> 00:12:43,200 lamenting, they thought Jesus was the Savior. 200 00:12:43,200 --> 00:12:46,520 As they walked on that road, Jesus pulled up next to them and 201 00:12:46,520 --> 00:12:49,960 they were walking and they were talking and they shared. 202 00:12:49,960 --> 00:12:54,680 And Jesus reminds them, O foolish ones and slow of heart, 203 00:12:55,120 --> 00:12:59,040 ought not the Christ who have suffered all these things and to 204 00:12:59,040 --> 00:13:03,120 enter into his glory? It was a misunderstanding they 205 00:13:03,120 --> 00:13:05,880 had and he was trying to help them understand. 206 00:13:09,200 --> 00:13:12,240 So Jesus was not just a man who died to give others a better 207 00:13:12,240 --> 00:13:15,120 life. So we see and Eden once again, 208 00:13:15,640 --> 00:13:18,520 he was healed and bruised, tunics of skin. 209 00:13:18,520 --> 00:13:20,520 Lamb is slain, Messiah will suffer. 210 00:13:20,760 --> 00:13:25,560 Jesus says I will suffer. In Acts 2623 we see the Messiah 211 00:13:25,560 --> 00:13:27,720 suffer. That's how the disciples 212 00:13:28,240 --> 00:13:30,640 preached about it, right? They explained it that way. 213 00:13:30,640 --> 00:13:36,000 And in and in Revelation 1318, we see once again who was slain. 214 00:13:36,000 --> 00:13:38,160 The Lamb was slain and who was the Lamb? 215 00:13:38,840 --> 00:13:43,040 The Lamb is Jesus Christ, so he here we see from Genesis all the 216 00:13:43,040 --> 00:13:45,600 way to Revelation, and there are many other verses that we could 217 00:13:45,600 --> 00:13:51,720 put in there that Jesus was a suffering Messiah for us. 218 00:13:51,720 --> 00:13:55,360 And we say, well, how can we relate to him? 219 00:13:55,400 --> 00:13:57,640 He wasn't just a man who gave us a better life. 220 00:13:58,080 --> 00:14:01,200 So people are looking for someone who can understand the 221 00:14:01,200 --> 00:14:02,760 situation that they're going through. 222 00:14:02,800 --> 00:14:06,000 Amen. And so let's look at some of the 223 00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:09,040 verses. Matthew 118, He was conceived 224 00:14:09,040 --> 00:14:14,400 out of wedlock. So imagine Mary and what she 225 00:14:14,400 --> 00:14:20,960 went through in that day, right? Deuteronomy 2220 to 21 says if a 226 00:14:20,960 --> 00:14:24,560 woman was not a virgin at the time of marriage, having engaged 227 00:14:24,560 --> 00:14:27,760 in sex while her in her father's house, she was to be stoned to 228 00:14:27,760 --> 00:14:30,320 death. So Mary's life was in danger 229 00:14:30,320 --> 00:14:32,880 even though she decided to cooperate with him. 230 00:14:33,280 --> 00:14:36,440 And that made Jesus, and I'm not going to use the term that's 231 00:14:36,440 --> 00:14:39,960 used to commonly describe somebody who's born out of 232 00:14:39,960 --> 00:14:46,320 wedlock, but he was born in a way that many people thought was 233 00:14:46,320 --> 00:14:50,360 illegitimate, right? They thought she had an affair 234 00:14:50,360 --> 00:14:54,600 with, not an affair, but had sex with somebody that she should 235 00:14:54,600 --> 00:14:58,680 was not her husband, right? So imagine what Jesus and her 236 00:14:58,680 --> 00:15:01,520 had to go through as he was growing up, people knowing that 237 00:15:01,520 --> 00:15:05,840 Joseph was not her husband, right? 238 00:15:06,680 --> 00:15:10,720 And imagine in in Matthew 119, we know that the Bible says that 239 00:15:10,720 --> 00:15:14,640 Joseph, her husband, being a just man and not wanting to make 240 00:15:14,720 --> 00:15:18,320 a public example, was minded to put her away secretly until the 241 00:15:18,320 --> 00:15:22,920 Lord spoke to him and said what is in her womb is of the Lord, 242 00:15:23,760 --> 00:15:24,640 right? Amen. 243 00:15:24,640 --> 00:15:28,920 So we can see for those that were born out, conceived out of 244 00:15:28,920 --> 00:15:31,960 wedlock, Jesus went through the same thing. 245 00:15:32,560 --> 00:15:35,240 Amen. Where was Jesus born? 246 00:15:35,240 --> 00:15:38,960 He was born in a stable. Did they have a lot of money? 247 00:15:39,120 --> 00:15:42,160 No, right. So he was born poor. 248 00:15:42,400 --> 00:15:45,280 He wasn't born in a big house, right? 249 00:15:47,840 --> 00:15:50,640 Matthew 317 says. And behold, a voice from heaven 250 00:15:50,640 --> 00:15:53,880 said, This is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased. 251 00:15:54,400 --> 00:15:58,520 So God said to him, this is my beloved son. 252 00:15:58,520 --> 00:16:04,600 Are any of you? Well, I know Ernie or Phil is a 253 00:16:04,600 --> 00:16:06,080 son of a preacher, right? Ernie. 254 00:16:07,520 --> 00:16:09,920 Yeah. And who else? 255 00:16:09,920 --> 00:16:12,760 Anybody. Son or a daughter or a preacher 256 00:16:13,160 --> 00:16:15,600 or somebody who's well known. Right. 257 00:16:15,640 --> 00:16:18,800 Is there a lot of pressure to live up to a certain standard 258 00:16:18,800 --> 00:16:21,360 when you're a child of a preacher? 259 00:16:21,960 --> 00:16:28,040 Phil, Come on, You can, right? There's a lot of pressure, 260 00:16:28,200 --> 00:16:30,240 right? If you're, if you're a child or 261 00:16:30,240 --> 00:16:33,520 a sibling of somebody who's famous, there's a lot of 262 00:16:33,520 --> 00:16:35,360 pressure. Well, here Jesus is being told 263 00:16:35,840 --> 00:16:39,880 right in front of everybody that he is his beloved son, the Son 264 00:16:39,880 --> 00:16:42,240 of God. So imagine if Jesus was to 265 00:16:42,240 --> 00:16:45,840 stumble, imagine the pressure that was on him not to fall 266 00:16:46,160 --> 00:16:49,400 because he had been told he's the beloved son of God, right? 267 00:16:49,400 --> 00:16:51,560 Is that more pressure than any human has ever had? 268 00:16:52,120 --> 00:16:55,120 Absolutely. So Jesus understands the 269 00:16:55,120 --> 00:16:59,080 pressure that siblings and other children go through when their 270 00:16:59,080 --> 00:17:02,160 parents or their relatives are very famous. 271 00:17:04,760 --> 00:17:07,160 Isaiah 52. He was beaten beyond the point 272 00:17:07,160 --> 00:17:10,359 of recognition. Verse 14 And just as many were 273 00:17:10,359 --> 00:17:13,640 astonished at you, so his appearance was marred more than 274 00:17:13,640 --> 00:17:18,240 any man in his form, more than the sons of men for those that 275 00:17:18,240 --> 00:17:21,880 have suffered physical violence. And it is unfortunately more and 276 00:17:21,880 --> 00:17:24,079 more common today than it used to be. 277 00:17:24,599 --> 00:17:31,720 Jesus understands He was whipped twice, not just with a whip, but 278 00:17:31,720 --> 00:17:37,120 with metal pieces and fragments that were in it which tore his 279 00:17:37,120 --> 00:17:40,960 flesh. He was dehydrated, he was tired, 280 00:17:41,280 --> 00:17:45,600 He suffered societal rejection, emotional suffering, physical 281 00:17:45,600 --> 00:17:48,560 suffering, hunger, hunger and thirst. 282 00:17:48,560 --> 00:17:51,400 And we see that also in Paul the disciple. 283 00:17:51,800 --> 00:17:54,840 So can Jesus relate to you when you don't have enough bread to 284 00:17:54,840 --> 00:17:56,960 put on the table? Yes. 285 00:17:57,320 --> 00:18:00,280 Can you relate when your water stops working 'cause you can't 286 00:18:00,280 --> 00:18:02,280 pay the bill and you don't have any water coming out of the 287 00:18:02,280 --> 00:18:04,040 faucet? Yes. 288 00:18:04,560 --> 00:18:08,720 Can he understand when you've been abused by a spouse or a 289 00:18:08,720 --> 00:18:14,280 brother or a sister or whatever? Yes, because He has been through 290 00:18:14,280 --> 00:18:20,720 physical abuse. Isaiah 53 verse 3 says he was 291 00:18:20,720 --> 00:18:22,520 despised and rejected. Amen. 292 00:18:22,520 --> 00:18:26,440 Has anybody ever been despised or rejected by somebody falsely 293 00:18:26,440 --> 00:18:28,600 accused? Jesus was falsely accused. 294 00:18:29,240 --> 00:18:33,320 He was a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief and as one 295 00:18:33,400 --> 00:18:36,240 whom men hide their faces. You ever needed help and you 296 00:18:36,240 --> 00:18:39,400 call out to your friends and they just turn their backs on 297 00:18:39,400 --> 00:18:42,000 you. Jesus had that happen. 298 00:18:42,680 --> 00:18:45,160 He was despised and we esteemed Him not. 299 00:18:45,920 --> 00:18:47,640 What challenges are you going through? 300 00:18:47,840 --> 00:18:50,880 Jesus can relate to what you're going through. 301 00:18:53,720 --> 00:18:57,560 In Isaiah 53 verse four, He was overwhelmed by sorrow and grief 302 00:18:57,560 --> 00:18:59,200 as He went through what He went through. 303 00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:03,360 He felt stricken, smitten by God and afflicted. 304 00:19:03,920 --> 00:19:06,760 He was wounded, bruised and chastised. 305 00:19:07,600 --> 00:19:13,320 He received many stripes. He was oppressed and abused. 306 00:19:13,440 --> 00:19:15,840 Have you ever been abused and oppressed? 307 00:19:15,840 --> 00:19:19,440 Jesus understands. He understands the challenges 308 00:19:19,440 --> 00:19:20,680 that you and I are going through. 309 00:19:21,760 --> 00:19:24,720 He was mistreated in prison and in the courts. 310 00:19:26,560 --> 00:19:30,840 He died childless. He was found guilty for things 311 00:19:30,840 --> 00:19:33,200 he never did. Has anybody ever accused you of 312 00:19:33,200 --> 00:19:38,240 something you haven't done? It happens, right? 313 00:19:39,200 --> 00:19:42,280 It happens. Trust me, it's happened to me. 314 00:19:42,280 --> 00:19:45,880 I'm sure it's happened to many that are here Accused. 315 00:19:46,720 --> 00:19:49,560 He died for things he was totally innocent of. 316 00:19:49,560 --> 00:19:55,560 So he paid for something that he never even did, and they killed 317 00:19:55,560 --> 00:20:00,080 him for that. Psalm 22 says he felt forsaken 318 00:20:00,120 --> 00:20:03,560 of God. If you look at verse 1, he felt 319 00:20:03,560 --> 00:20:06,440 that God was not hearing him or helping. 320 00:20:06,440 --> 00:20:09,080 He was crying out but felt unheard. 321 00:20:09,080 --> 00:20:12,080 He remembered that other people received help when they prayed, 322 00:20:12,800 --> 00:20:15,080 but didn't feel that his own prayers were being heard or 323 00:20:15,080 --> 00:20:16,680 responded. You ever feel like your prayers 324 00:20:16,680 --> 00:20:19,000 are going up to the ceiling and bouncing back and they're not 325 00:20:19,000 --> 00:20:22,200 being heard? Jesus has gone through that. 326 00:20:22,720 --> 00:20:24,800 When he was on the cross, what did he cry out? 327 00:20:25,200 --> 00:20:28,320 Father, why have you forsaken me? 328 00:20:29,120 --> 00:20:30,800 Right. He felt alone. 329 00:20:31,360 --> 00:20:33,800 He couldn't see through the portals of the cross. 330 00:20:35,280 --> 00:20:39,520 He was despised and ridiculed. Have you ever been despised and 331 00:20:39,520 --> 00:20:42,920 ridiculed over something? Even something you haven't done? 332 00:20:43,720 --> 00:20:46,000 Some maybe in your family, right? 333 00:20:46,000 --> 00:20:48,760 Maybe when you became a Christian, your family disowned 334 00:20:48,760 --> 00:20:51,520 you because of your beliefs. Or maybe when you became an 335 00:20:51,520 --> 00:20:54,760 Adventist, they disowned you because you became an Adventist 336 00:20:54,760 --> 00:20:58,360 and they think you're in a cult. Jesus has been through that. 337 00:20:58,880 --> 00:21:01,080 He's been accused of many things. 338 00:21:01,800 --> 00:21:04,200 People mocked him for being a child of God. 339 00:21:04,200 --> 00:21:07,280 Has that ever happened to you when you became a Christian? 340 00:21:07,280 --> 00:21:09,200 Have people mocked you for your beliefs? 341 00:21:10,000 --> 00:21:14,200 It's common today. He felt exhausted and empty in 342 00:21:14,200 --> 00:21:17,400 verse 14. He had no strength left. 343 00:21:17,560 --> 00:21:21,880 Verse 15. He was stripped of his clothing 344 00:21:21,880 --> 00:21:29,600 and cried to God for help. Verses 18 and 19, Verses 22 to 345 00:21:29,600 --> 00:21:32,960 24, he came to understand that God was listening and hadn't 346 00:21:32,960 --> 00:21:36,440 abandoned him, so he held strong. 347 00:21:36,440 --> 00:21:40,040 He held firm even with all of the doubts that were being 348 00:21:40,040 --> 00:21:44,080 pushed on him by the enemy. And he came to the conclusion 349 00:21:44,080 --> 00:21:47,800 and trusting that God was listening, even though he had to 350 00:21:47,800 --> 00:21:49,480 go through what he was going through. 351 00:21:50,200 --> 00:21:54,200 So Jesus understands us in the pain. 352 00:21:54,920 --> 00:22:00,360 He was filled with praise in Matthew 2, verses 13 and 15. 353 00:22:00,360 --> 00:22:03,640 He was a refugee and had to flee his homeland due to violence and 354 00:22:03,640 --> 00:22:06,040 political unrest. Do we know people like that 355 00:22:06,040 --> 00:22:08,160 today? Absolutely. 356 00:22:08,160 --> 00:22:11,360 It's in the news, isn't it? It's all over. 357 00:22:11,360 --> 00:22:14,400 There's places in Africa, we have the Palestinians over in 358 00:22:14,400 --> 00:22:18,640 Israel, we have Ukraine, right? Refugees, they've lost 359 00:22:18,640 --> 00:22:22,680 everything due to violence and political unrest, right? 360 00:22:22,880 --> 00:22:25,960 Jesus understands he had to go through that. 361 00:22:28,680 --> 00:22:32,800 Matthew 4, he was tempted to doubt his identity as God's 362 00:22:32,800 --> 00:22:38,000 child in verse 3 when the devil says if you are the Son of God, 363 00:22:38,840 --> 00:22:41,480 right? Challenging him when he's weak 364 00:22:41,480 --> 00:22:43,360 and hungry and tired and thirsty. 365 00:22:44,120 --> 00:22:46,800 He was tempted to provide for his own needs instead of 366 00:22:46,800 --> 00:22:51,280 trusting God to provide for him. So he had to wait on the Lord to 367 00:22:51,280 --> 00:22:55,000 provide for him and the devil's tempting him to provide for his 368 00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:56,720 own needs. Have you ever been tempted to 369 00:22:56,720 --> 00:23:00,360 try and do something on your own instead of waiting for God? 370 00:23:00,360 --> 00:23:02,920 Remember Saul? King Saul? 371 00:23:02,920 --> 00:23:08,280 Did he not become impatient and not wait for Samuel to show up 372 00:23:08,680 --> 00:23:11,760 and decided to do the offering himself instead of waiting? 373 00:23:13,080 --> 00:23:15,320 That didn't lead to very good things, did it? 374 00:23:16,040 --> 00:23:19,960 Fortunately, Jesus waited. He was tempted to comfort 375 00:23:19,960 --> 00:23:22,720 himself with food when stressed. Anybody ever done that? 376 00:23:23,040 --> 00:23:24,840 Decide to eat when you're stressed. 377 00:23:25,160 --> 00:23:27,760 Comfort yourself. Jesus was tempted. 378 00:23:28,760 --> 00:23:30,960 He understands what we're going through. 379 00:23:31,480 --> 00:23:34,320 He was tempted to prove his worth in pride. 380 00:23:34,920 --> 00:23:38,160 Verse 6 from Matthew 4. If you can read Matthew 4, 381 00:23:38,160 --> 00:23:42,160 you'll see that he was tempted to physically harm himself. 382 00:23:44,400 --> 00:23:49,280 We have a daughter who for a while was very depressed and was 383 00:23:49,280 --> 00:23:53,040 struggling with harming herself almost to the point of suicide. 384 00:23:53,040 --> 00:23:56,560 And quite frankly, I actually lost one of my daughter's to 385 00:23:56,560 --> 00:24:00,800 suicide a number of years ago. So I understand some of the 386 00:24:00,800 --> 00:24:05,640 pain, right? People are tempted, the devil 387 00:24:05,640 --> 00:24:08,840 whispers in their ears and tries to discourage them and get them 388 00:24:08,840 --> 00:24:14,520 depressed to harm themselves. Jesus understands he was tempted 389 00:24:14,520 --> 00:24:17,520 to give up his faith in God to receive everything the world has 390 00:24:17,520 --> 00:24:20,840 to offer. Verses 8 and 9 from Matthew 4, 391 00:24:21,760 --> 00:24:26,520 right? So pride, physical harm, the 392 00:24:26,520 --> 00:24:32,280 worldly goods to give everything up for the world, but he held 393 00:24:32,280 --> 00:24:35,680 firm, Amen. He understands the temptations 394 00:24:35,680 --> 00:24:40,080 that you and I go through. In Matthew 14, a close relative 395 00:24:40,080 --> 00:24:41,760 and friend of his was brutally murdered. 396 00:24:41,760 --> 00:24:44,480 Anybody remember John the Baptist, right? 397 00:24:44,480 --> 00:24:49,440 He was taken into prison and he was murdered not because of 398 00:24:49,440 --> 00:24:52,600 anything he did wrong, because he was willing to stand up for 399 00:24:52,600 --> 00:24:54,600 God. And he was a cousin of Jesus. 400 00:24:55,080 --> 00:24:57,840 They were around the same age, right? 401 00:24:57,840 --> 00:24:59,640 And he was the precursor to Jesus. 402 00:24:59,640 --> 00:25:02,920 He was out in the wilderness preaching that the Lord was 403 00:25:02,920 --> 00:25:07,000 coming soon and repent. So imagine how Jesus felt to 404 00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:11,760 know that his cousin was brutally murdered people many. 405 00:25:12,080 --> 00:25:14,600 We had Doctor Walsh in our congregation. 406 00:25:14,600 --> 00:25:17,520 A relative of his down in Florida was shot and murdered 407 00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:20,920 needlessly. Just random violence, right? 408 00:25:21,960 --> 00:25:26,480 It happens way too often today. Jesus understands. 409 00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:30,800 His own family thought he was out of his mind in Mark 3 verse 410 00:25:30,800 --> 00:25:32,720 21. Does your family ever thought 411 00:25:32,720 --> 00:25:34,520 you were crazy because of your beliefs? 412 00:25:35,520 --> 00:25:38,560 Jesus understands. He's been through that. 413 00:25:39,760 --> 00:25:42,000 In John 7. His own brothers mocked him and 414 00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:45,120 did not believe in him. That ever happened to anybody. 415 00:25:45,120 --> 00:25:48,680 Your siblings mock you. They make fun of you because 416 00:25:48,680 --> 00:25:51,200 they don't understand what you believe and why you believe what 417 00:25:51,200 --> 00:25:56,880 you believe. Jesus understands Matthew 26. 418 00:25:57,080 --> 00:25:59,880 He wrestled with accepting the will of God for his life and 419 00:25:59,880 --> 00:26:01,880 being willing to go through with the suffering. 420 00:26:02,280 --> 00:26:04,880 Here He is on the Mount of Olives and what does he say? 421 00:26:05,800 --> 00:26:10,520 Lord, if you allow it, please let this cup pass. 422 00:26:11,080 --> 00:26:17,200 But I want your will, not mine. Our future was in his hands up 423 00:26:17,200 --> 00:26:21,160 on that mountain, in that garden, and yet He was willing 424 00:26:21,160 --> 00:26:24,000 to yield everything for you and I. 425 00:26:25,240 --> 00:26:30,080 Are you and I willing to yield everything for him, is the 426 00:26:30,080 --> 00:26:33,960 question Today. He was betrayed by a close 427 00:26:33,960 --> 00:26:37,400 friend. Judas came right, turned him in. 428 00:26:37,720 --> 00:26:40,160 Judas had been with him for 3 1/2 years. 429 00:26:40,880 --> 00:26:46,120 Jesus washed Judas's feet. He called him friend. 430 00:26:46,920 --> 00:26:52,600 Do you betray me with a kiss? Betrayed with a kiss by a 431 00:26:52,600 --> 00:26:56,120 friend. How sad is that? 432 00:26:56,480 --> 00:26:58,080 You ever been betrayed by a friend? 433 00:26:59,120 --> 00:27:03,720 Jesus understands. He was abandoned by his friends 434 00:27:03,720 --> 00:27:06,720 in his greatest time of need. As he went up on the Mount of 435 00:27:06,720 --> 00:27:09,280 Olives, He brought the disciples. 436 00:27:09,280 --> 00:27:11,760 The 11 were with him. One had already gone to betray 437 00:27:11,760 --> 00:27:16,000 him, so he had 11. He had eight stay outside and he 438 00:27:16,000 --> 00:27:19,440 brought 3 in. Peter, James and John went with 439 00:27:19,440 --> 00:27:23,120 him and he asked them to pray, to watch and to pray. 440 00:27:23,960 --> 00:27:27,680 How did they do? They fell asleep. 441 00:27:27,680 --> 00:27:31,840 You ever been betrayed by a friend? 442 00:27:33,280 --> 00:27:38,840 Jesus understands. One of his closest friends 443 00:27:38,840 --> 00:27:42,360 denied that he even knew him. Peter right, said I would die. 444 00:27:42,360 --> 00:27:48,320 I would never deny you. And yet shortly after that, what 445 00:27:48,320 --> 00:27:50,760 happened? Not only did they all run away 446 00:27:50,760 --> 00:27:54,840 when Judas came with this this small group of people to arrest 447 00:27:54,840 --> 00:28:01,720 Jesus, but later on Peter denied Jesus 3 * 3 times. 448 00:28:01,720 --> 00:28:04,880 Jesus denied that he even knew him, and he denied him with 449 00:28:04,880 --> 00:28:09,920 vulgarity in front of others. Does Jesus understand being 450 00:28:09,920 --> 00:28:12,640 abandoned by friends and denied that people even knew him? 451 00:28:13,400 --> 00:28:18,360 Yes, he understands he didn't receive a fair trial. 452 00:28:18,360 --> 00:28:20,880 People lied to secure his conviction. 453 00:28:22,320 --> 00:28:28,240 He understands when people lie against us and turn against us. 454 00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:33,240 He was spat on and abused by the religious leaders. 455 00:28:35,440 --> 00:28:39,600 You know there is a time coming when those of us who are willing 456 00:28:39,600 --> 00:28:44,520 to stand firm in the Lord will go through exactly what Jesus 457 00:28:44,520 --> 00:28:48,000 went through. We will be accused of many 458 00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:54,960 things, but be assured Jesus understands and will be with us. 459 00:28:57,680 --> 00:29:02,000 Matthew 27, one of his closest friends, committed suicide. 460 00:29:02,000 --> 00:29:06,720 Judas, after he betrayed him, was so weighed down with guilt 461 00:29:06,720 --> 00:29:08,720 that he went and committed suicide. 462 00:29:11,320 --> 00:29:14,680 Jesus was brutally beaten, tortured, stripped, and mocked 463 00:29:14,680 --> 00:29:18,360 by the equivalent of the law enforcement of the day. 464 00:29:18,480 --> 00:29:25,320 Verses 26 to 28. And yet he didn't offer one word 465 00:29:25,320 --> 00:29:32,200 of rebuke, did he? He understands what people go 466 00:29:32,200 --> 00:29:35,560 through. He was tempted to numb his pain 467 00:29:35,560 --> 00:29:37,080 with wine. Verse 34. 468 00:29:37,080 --> 00:29:41,320 He understands addiction, he understands what we're tempted 469 00:29:41,320 --> 00:29:46,480 with to try and hide the the physical pain or the emotional 470 00:29:46,480 --> 00:29:51,080 pain with alcohol, with drugs, with other things. 471 00:29:51,640 --> 00:29:55,920 He understands because he suffered too. 472 00:30:00,160 --> 00:30:05,520 So as we close today, this was just a brief overview of just 473 00:30:05,520 --> 00:30:11,360 some of the scriptures that help us to understand what Jesus went 474 00:30:11,360 --> 00:30:14,240 through and why He can relate to you and I. 475 00:30:15,960 --> 00:30:19,680 And I pray that as you meditate on those scriptures, you would 476 00:30:19,680 --> 00:30:24,000 be blessed to understand that we have a Savior that understands 477 00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:33,560 suffering, emotional, physical. He is truly the Savior of 478 00:30:33,560 --> 00:30:35,840 mankind. Amen. 479 00:30:37,920 --> 00:30:42,000 Let us bow our heads. Father, we are grateful for 480 00:30:42,000 --> 00:30:47,280 being reminded of all that your son went through for us. 481 00:30:48,440 --> 00:30:52,760 That whatever situation we're in, Father, he can relate to it 482 00:30:53,840 --> 00:30:58,440 because in some way, in some form, he suffered through it for 483 00:30:58,440 --> 00:31:01,840 us. Lord, your son came here and 484 00:31:01,840 --> 00:31:04,880 gave his life for us. He gave his life as an example. 485 00:31:06,240 --> 00:31:10,440 He lived and was hated and chastised physically, 486 00:31:10,440 --> 00:31:15,880 emotionally, and in so many ways, Father, And we can trust 487 00:31:15,880 --> 00:31:18,720 that when we're struggling, Jesus can relate to us. 488 00:31:19,640 --> 00:31:22,320 Thank you, Father, bless each and everyone who is here and 489 00:31:22,320 --> 00:31:25,720 those who watch online. Keep them Father, and encourage 490 00:31:25,720 --> 00:31:30,320 them to be in Your Word, to see the Savior that understands us, 491 00:31:30,840 --> 00:31:35,080 that can empathize with us, and that loves us beyond measure. 492 00:31:35,400 --> 00:31:37,640 I pray in Jesus name, Amen.