 But if you're here today, and you're a Christian, how are we to respond to Christ? How will you respond to Christ? Opposite the way they did Opposite that example think about it Put yourself in the context of the wilderness wandering Jesus Christ is the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world in that sacrificial lamb The Lord Jesus Christ is the ultimate fulfillment of the Passover. He fulfills the Passover He is the fulfillment the ultimate Passover sacrifice Jesus says he is the bread of life which comes down from heaven Being the ultimate the perfect fulfillment of God providing for his people bread manna from heaven in the wilderness So in the same way that Jesus fulfills the Passover the people of God coming out of Egypt coming out of Exodus Right the exodus coming out of bondage He's the fulfillment of that the same way God delivered and provided bread for them in the wilderness Jesus Christ is the bread of life the ultimate fulfillment of that picture God provides the wilderness Israelites water from the rock at Maraba to save their life and Jesus Christ now comes I am a fountain of living water. He is the ultimate fulfillment of that picture in the Old Testament so in the same way that they walked a trackless desert wilderness Depending upon God for everything You and I today walk a trackless desert Godless wilderness and Depend upon God for everything We depend upon God for our bread and not bread only but every word that proceeds from the mouth of God we provide from Depend upon God for his provision of spiritual bread of spiritual water to assuage our spiritual thirst He is the ultimate rock that will sustain you in the wilderness Just like the Israelites were redeemed by God from bondage in Egypt. You and I if you're safe You and I have been redeemed by God from bondage to sin Just like they wanted a trackless wilderness. You and I live today in a trackless wilderness and just like they were commanded to avoid all the sin of the nations around them You and I today are commanded to be in this world But not of this world avoiding the sin of the godless culture that surrounds us not to be like them Not to be like them to live separate from this world Just as God kept them alive by providing bread from heaven and water from the rock Listen you and I we're kept alive. We're persevered preserved by God With the bread from heaven the bread of life and the water of life And just as they were told to go in to trust God to holy follow the Lord just like they were told in to go in and possess that land Which God has promised You and I are commanded to be diligent to strive to enter in at the narrow gate and go and Possess that which God has prepared for us as believers There remains a promise of rest to God's people. We need to go in and trust God and take it So how are we supposed to respond beloved? Not like they did listen your Christian life is in the wilderness If your Christian life isn't in the wilderness then you're probably in the world The Christian life is a wilderness wandering. It is a trackless wasteland It is a constant dependence upon God as we build our little booths, right our little tents and we don't live for God Centering our encampment around God himself at the center We walk this wasteland depending upon him for everything When we're thirsty, we have to go to the fountain and drink when we're hungry We have to go for bread. We're speaking in spiritual terms But we have to depend upon God for everything. Is that what your life looks like? That's what the Christian life is That's what it's to be this second exodus if you will that picture needs to fill your thoughts fill your understanding it needs to be Prominent in your life every single day. I've got to wake up and get my spiritual nourishment from the Lord I need water from the Lord. I need bread from the I need life from the Lord And I'm gonna be walking through this wilderness all kinds of pits and holes and traps and snares And I need to trust Christ Don't complain as they did don't disobey as they did. Don't be faithless as they were. This is a short time Don't fall in the desert That's a category of those Convinced by truth, but in fact are faithless. They quote-unquote believe and yet they don't believe, right? Don't respond to Christ as they did the second point. There are those that are convinced by error We give verse 41 the second part of verse 41 there They're convinced by error and they are unmovable immovable in their deception immovable in their error I know many of you have talked to people just like this You'll hear them say well, this is just what I believe. No one's gonna convince me otherwise This is my opinion. This is what I think and you're not gonna be able to convince me otherwise Verse 41 the second half there, but some said will the Christ come out of Galilee and the way that's constructed in the Greek It expects a negative answer. No in other words verse 42 Has not the scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem Where David was is that not what this Bible says Yeah, we know that they knew their Bibles So we know in Micah chapter 5 verse 2 the Lord Jesus Christ is gonna come out of Bethlehem. We know from 2nd Samuel 7 from Psalm 89 from Isaiah 9 from Isaiah 55 that Jesus Christ Would come from the line of David you can go to the Bible and see that so there actually D. A. Carson calls this an instance of superb irony. This is ironic here the Jews end up Confirming with their words the very thing they want to reject right the very thing that they oppose And if you notice those in this category if you've ever talked to someone in this category They love to use the scripture. They love to quote the Bible. So they'll quote the Bible Partially read misunderstood taken out of context and twisted to their own description destruction But they'll quote the Bible to support the very thing they reject Which is the most important thing faith in Christ in order to have their sin To live in their unbelief and so that no one messes with them They quote scripture to support their false theology, which will send them to hell just like others Now I received a letter from a guy. I get letters all the time You know stuff all the time in the mail received a letter this week from a guy who is apparently he heard us on the radio, and so he was writing a letter to explain why my theology is all wrong and every step of the way twisting the Bible to justify what he believes and completely Deceived off base doesn't see it at all But twist scripture to do it happens all the time. They're convinced by error He's basically saying here these convinced by Aaron verse 41 and verse 42 we're saying to those guys in verse 40 in verse 41 You guys have it all wrong Everyone knows the Messiah is not gonna come out of Galilee. He's gonna come out of Bethlehem He's gonna be of the line of David. We know that to be true, but they're thinking their Conception of all this Jesus doesn't fit it. You know, he's not gonna be a Galilean in other words He's not gonna come out of the sticks the Messiah is not gonna come out of the backwoods the backwater He's not gonna come out of Chuliot or Bithlough. He's gonna be if he's coming in it from anywhere He's gonna be from Bethlehem and he's gonna be in Jerusalem And so he didn't fit their ideas and that which they reject is Actually affirming the truth, but they're so convinced. I don't even bother to check facts. They assumed They have their own ideas their own beliefs their own opinions Outwitnessing yesterday with a brother and we witness to this young lady Who like many many many that you witness to kept saying well, I believe well, I think well, my opinion is Listen, it doesn't matter not one shekel What you believe what your opinion is what you think it only matters what God says Does the truth actually any truth at all actually I asked her I said you think all the known the knowledge in the universe astrophysics and Science and planets that are light years away, you know all the known how much of that do you know? Well a sliver of it. Well, that's true next to nothing, you know, and I know one one millionth of that and You're presuming that the truth By which you are protecting your own soul You can have an opinion about or believe or understand apart from the revelation of Almighty God that created you and walled you accountable It's absurd right. It's just rank ignorance This is what I believe listen don't confuse me with the facts That's what they'll say they're convinced and yet they're convinced in error All these folks had to do was go right to the temple temple records at this point in time in Jerusalem Temple records existed that would show that Jesus Christ came from Joseph and Mary and Would trace their lineage back to David? They could have easily checked that out temple records would have shown where Jesus was born He was born in Bethlehem. They just needed to go and check, but they're not willing to do that This ignorance here is a willful ignorance. They're determined to be comfortable in their unbelief And so this is a willful ignorance This is one of the ways that people suppress the truth of God in their unrighteousness Notice two things here though. You notice they didn't ask Jesus. They weren't concerned to ask him They didn't want the truth, but also notice Jesus didn't respond to them Jesus doesn't commit himself back to John chapter 2. He doesn't commit himself to that kind of wicked hard-hearted unbelief He didn't commit himself to them because he knew it was in in their heart So what happens next verse 43? There was a division And this is not surprising at all, right? There was a division among the people because of him some of them wanted to take him But no one laid hands on him the Greek word here for division is the word for which we get our English words schism Schism it means opposing factions Luke chapter 12 verse 51 Jesus says these words listen. Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you not at all, but rather division For from now on five and one house will be divided three against two two against three Father will be divided against son and son against father mother against daughter daughter against mother mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law Daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law some of you in this church that know that to be true Men divided from wives wives divided from their husbands Divided from sisters and brothers divided from family divided from friends I've lost so many friends for the cause of Christ and praise God for it Christ came and Christ Causes division when you are changed your very nature changes your affections change your values change the things that you Wants love now you hate the things that you once tolerated now You're shamed by and wouldn't dare tolerate and that kind of change in this wicked world will cause Division Christians I've said before oftentimes you'll walk into a room and just knowing your Christian life It is a walking rebuke to unbelievers in the room There's gonna be division get used to it all who desire to live godly in this present age will suffer Persecution it comes from the division that Christ said would happen any time you go and you're gonna confront anyone in their Individualism right there post-modern individualism my ideas my thoughts my belief you know my belief is just as valid as your belief God it's gonna cause division. It's gonna cause division. These folks are Convinced and they end up reacting to the division in verse 44 with intended violence They wanted to take him but his hour had not yet come so they didn't so so far our categories of unbelief We met those who are convinced by truth We met those who are convinced by error take a quick look at the unconvinced verse 45 The officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees who said to them Why have you not brought him the officers answered no man ever spoke like this man You know that the arrest warrant was issued in verse 32 And so they went out to accomplish their duty. They were told to go arrest Jesus Christ, but these weren't just mindless thugs Okay, these were the temple guard were Levites. They were religiously trained They were thinkers themselves and they wanted to obey God and so these guys went into the temple and they Heard the Lord Jesus Christ Preaching and it struck them. This was not a mere man. These weren't merely human words He spoke as one having authority. This was direct revelation from Almighty God and something about it They just couldn't arrest him. They just couldn't take him Spurgeon said this While the constables who had mingled with the throng were waiting for an opportunity of arresting the Lord Jesus They themselves were arrested by his earnest eloquence. They could not take him for he had fairly taken them They had themselves a difficulty for explaining why they couldn't arrest him No one spoke like he spoke. They had a hard time explaining it themselves, but it was true They couldn't argue that they weren't They weren't necessarily this point convinced by Jesus, but they were certainly impressed They were certainly caught. They were captured by him and raptured by him But they certainly weren't convinced by the lies that the Pharisees were spewing otherwise. They would have arrested him So they were just unconvinced unconvinced people and oftentimes you run into people just like that. They're not obstinate and they're not unreasonable They're just unconvinced witnessing to a man like this once who Knew all the lies like he would tell me that those cults those Mormons Those joes witnesses those are false religions, you know those TV preachers You can't trust a one of them, you know Don't listen any of those he just he knew all the lot, but he wasn't convinced by Christ yet either It wasn't a follower of Christ, but unconvinced by the lies So these guys were just unconvinced then in verse 47. You see those convinced by tradition Convinced by tradition 47 the Pharisees answered them. Are you also deceived how they're mocking them, right? This is demeaning belittling. Are you also deceived? You notice they didn't reprimand them for not carrying out their duty The reprimand is in the form of are you so stupid? You're gonna be seduced by this imposter, right? It's it's a It's a snobbery. It's a sanctimonious smug Prideful self-righteous kind of response. Are you also deceived? Have any of the rulers or Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd that does not know the law is a cursed these convinced by their tradition are Relying upon their own authority verse 48 They rely on their own authority of any of the rulers or Pharisees believed in him. They don't go to the Bible They go to their tradition They think they're the real thinkers. They're the religious snobs. Have you ever talked to one of these before? they exist they saw the people as Not knowing the word of God and because they don't know it they don't obey it and so they view them as both ignorant and Immoral that's the way they view the people. In fact, they had a saying they called them the people of the land Basically, they would have thought these temple guards. Are you deceived? Are they like are you people of the land like these people are? if someone Knew the scripture knew the law of God, but did not know the mission of their rabbinic law the 631 laws they added to the law of God if you knew scripture, but did not know the mission or you were uneducated Okay, you were a people of the land. You were uneducated if you didn't know the scripture and you didn't know the Mishnah Then they thought you were no better than cattle the Bible says or they say I saw the house of Israel in the house of Judah with The seed of men and the seed of cattle So they thought this seed of cattle applied to these people who didn't know God's law or their law They were uneducated. They were no better than a cow. All right. This is elitist snobbery people do the same thing today Don't they hear people all the time those backward Christians? Right, they don't believe in science But what does all this creation nonsense? We don't want that in our schools Don't bring your prayer. Don't bring your creation. Don't bring your Bibles to school You got some guy working in some corner office on the 30-something floor of some building in some big city Thinking Christians are a bunch of idiots all the people in the south, you know all uneducated Christians As long as they have their Bibles and their guns, right? Isn't that what people say that's that that's that elitist snobbery. It's sanctimonious It's it's it's disgusting and that's this category. It's the way the Pharisees were that comment in verse 49 This crowd is accursed. It's gonna come back on their own head Lord says listen a little while longer and I go away where I'm going. You can't come They're accursed Paul says in 1st Corinthians chapter 1 verse 26 I see you're calling brethren not many wise according to the flesh not many mighty not many noble are called God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise that day is coming The day is coming where those that believe themselves to be wise will be put to shame He's chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put Shame things which are mighty the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen Listen the fifth category are These who are invincible. They're able to be persuaded with this is Nicodemus Listen to verse 50 Nicodemus he who came to Jesus by night being one of them that little phrase there being one of them is a dig against the Pharisees from verse 48 the Pharisees said have any of the rulers or Pharisees believed in him Yes, Nicodemus He being one of them right Said to them does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he's doing You notice here Nicodemus is is not all the way yet He doesn't stand up on the side of Jesus Christ against the Pharisees But he he's making his way right he's getting there We're gonna see Nicodemus later, and we'll see where he ends up, but he's making progress his humility Remember in John chapter 3 when Nicodemus went to Jesus. He was humble wanted to know wanted to understand So he goes to Jesus to ask questions to hear him out They wouldn't listen to him and he's saying listen shouldn't we hear him before we pass judgment? Nicodemus has heard him. He's able to be persuaded. He's humble And he stands up and uses their own law to favor Christ even though he doesn't directly defend him John chapter 7 verse 17 remember that the Bible says if anyone wills to do his will He shall know concerning the doctrine whether it is from God or whether I speak of my own authority and Nicodemus is gonna know not yet There yet, but he's certainly not one of these secretive believers like people try to paint him to be He's gonna come to faith in Christ. We'll find that out later Humility here pays dividends 52 the wicked snobbery religious elites show up again Are you also from Galilee to Nicodemus? Are you also one of these uneducated people to the land search and look it's the typical word for looking at the scripture They needed to search and look he says search and look for no profit has arisen out of Galilee Is that a true statement? No, the prophets have come from Galilee Jonah was from Galilee Nahum from Galilee They need to search and look at the scriptures But they are so stubborn so hostile. They don't even listen to reason. They won't listen to reason They just lash out with contempt. Have you ever noticed that when you talk to someone you're trying to explain to them you're trying to help them understand the Bible and You have truth on your side. You're fishing in a stock barrel. They have no truth And so what do they do they just lash out with contempt lash out with hostility often the way that it goes We need to remember the Lord's offer if anyone thirsts let him come to me and drink He who believes in me as the scripture has said out of his heart will flow rivers of living water thirst understanding your sin Coming turning to Christ all your hope. He is your only source of salvation and Drink fiducia faith following him acting in accord with what you believe. That's what it means to believe in him So how will you? Respond to Christ if you're here and you're lost Hope in Christ turn to him turn from your sin if you're here and you claim to be a Christian We're in a wilderness. Let's live like it trusting God Let's not fall there following that same example of disobedience. Let's serve the Lord heart soul mind and strength. Amen. Amen