We're going to come from the book of John.
When you look in your Bible and you look at those gospel messages,
What you will see are the four gospels, where there actually one gospel for four different accounts.
The first three are the synoptic gospels.
And if you really pay attention, you'll see just how much they look alike side by side.
Now, that's Matthew, Mark, and Luke, those are the synoptic gospels.
The word synoptic came from a Greek word that means seen together.
Because when you look at those three gospels, they have the similar accounts of Jesus' life and his teachings.
and they share the same content and the same wording in describing all those events.
Matthew, Mark, and Luke cover many of the same events of Jesus' life.
Most of them is his ministry in Galilee in the same order.
Now nearly 90 % of the book of Mark is found in Matthew.
50 % of the book of Matthew is actually in Luke.
All of the parables of Christ are found in the synoptic gospel.
there are no parables in the book of John.
John is going to include incidents that those three gospels omit and vice versa because what he's writing is to supplement all those events and synoptics.
Now, by having these gospels and having them actually say the same thing, that means that we can truly trust in God's word.
When you have three individuals, it was hard to find nowadays,
who can tell you the same story and like and come out with the same message, then it must be true.
Gospel, even though it's a little different than those three, it still has the same message.
Now, everything in life has a genealogy.
Very important.
Which means that it has a line of a descent or a line of development which shows you where a thing comes from.
When it comes to mankind, that's the study of families.
oh family history and they trace our we trace our lineages.
Now genealogies are used by royal families so that they can find out the true identities of future individuals because there are going to be some individuals who are going to
serve in some sovereign seats and they're going to have to show that they have right to the next rule.
So when we look at Genesis chapter 315 after the sin happened to fall the man into God
and our punishments are being handed down.
In Genesis 315, it reads, I will put enmity between thee and the woman and between thy seed and her seed.
This is God talking to Satan.
And it shall bruise thy head and thou shall bruise his heel.
This is the first prophecy of Jesus coming.
Whoever this is,
It's very important that we know that when this individual comes, his healed.
We need to find out whoever the his is.
And we know that this is Jesus Christ.
Those first four gospel accounts, they all start with genealogies of Christ.
And each one of them prove that the one that's calling Jesus, when he get here, he is exactly who he says that he is and exactly who the prophet says that he is.
When you look in the back of the book of Matthew,
You're going to see the genie-age of Christ starting with Abraham, and it's going to go down through Joseph.
Somebody give me Jeremiah chapter 23, verse 5 through 6.
Jeremiah 23 verse 5 and 6.
This is the prophecy of that.
Now when you look at Matthew, it's going to start with Abraham, but it actually starts with David.
That is the fulfilling.
In order for us to find out who this guy is in Jeremiah 23, there must be a genealogy that's going to trace him back to David.
That's what the book of Matthew does.
The book of Mark starts with a prophecy about John the Baptist preparing the way for Christ, starting with his baptism.
This is Christ's genealogy of his earthly men.
Somebody give me Malachi chapter three verse one.
Malachi chapter 3 verse 1.
Before you read that, Mark 1, 1, 2 says, the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as it is written in the prophets, behold, I send my messenger before thy face,
which have prepared thy way before thee.
That's the prophecy.
Somebody give me Malachi chapter 3 verse 1.
That's the prophecy fulfilled.
That's the prophecy of Jesus coming through John the Baptist.
The book of Luke starts with the genealogy of Christ and John the Baptist, but it put his emphasis on Mary and oh on Mary his mother and John's mother Elizabeth.
So when you get to chapter three of Luke, you're going to see the lineage of Christ being traced backwards from Mary to Adam.
That's important.
because that's going to trace them back to the his in Genesis chapter 3 verse 15.
Now, something else in Luke chapter 3 verse 23.
So in Matthew, it shows Joseph lineage going backwards.
In Luke, it says Joseph's father name was Eli.
In Matthew, it says his father's name was Jacob.
Can anybody tell me why is that?
I know that's a pretty hard question for me to put forward for the first question of the class, does anybody know that?
Well, he lied, so they don't trace the women's genealogy.
Eli is Mary's father.
That's his stepfather.
When you look in Matthew, that's actually Joseph's father.
Now, it's very important because when you look in the book of Matthew and the book of Luke and both of those genealogists, you're going to see a name in there in both of them that's
Zerubbabel.
He was a governor of the tribes of Judah, according to Haggai chapter one.
Genesis 49.10 says, the scepter shall not depart from Judah.
nor lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh come and to him shall the gathering of the people be." Jesus was going to be in the lineage.
He was going to come from Judah because of Zerubbabel.
It shows without a doubt that Jesus came from the lineage of Judah because Mary was from Judah and so was his father Joseph.
That's the fulfilling of that prophecy in Genesis 40 19.
Matthew's earthly genealogy to Joseph.
Starting from Abraham, that's the genealogy of the promise.
It mentions David to show that he's the first royal descendant.
Mark is the genealogy of his ministry through John the Baptist.
Luke is his earthly genealogy through his mother back to the promise in John 3.15.
But the book of John is its own gospel in the category by itself, even though it's still in harmony with the others.
What the book of John is going to show is his genealogy.
through the godhead as god.
What John writes in the book of John, it has one purpose and one purpose only.
That's to prove the deity of Jesus.
When you look in the book of John, every miracle in there is going to steer the readers in that direction.
The book of John has no parables in it.
You will find only seven miracles in the book of John.
Those seven miracles is evidence that John is going to
to prove Jesus is the son of God the Messiah.
book of John hinges on two passages.
That's John chapter 20 verses 30 and 31.
I'm gonna read that but somebody give me John 21 verses 24 and 25.
John 20, 30 and 31 says, and many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples which are not written in this book but these are written
that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, Son of God, and that believing ye might have life through his name.
Somebody give me John 21, verse 24 and 25.
John said, I wrote these things.
These seven miracles are going to prove beyond a shadow doubt that Jesus is the Christ, that he is the son of God.
Those seven miracles, only five of them, five of these miracles are found in this book only.
Two others are found in the other three gospels.
The seven miracles are he turned water into wine.
He's going to heal someone without even being there.
John 448.
He will heal a man on the Sabbath.
John 5 verses 1 through 11.
He's going to feed the 5,000 in John chapter 6 verse 1 through 11.
He will walk on water.
He heals a man born blind.
He raised Lazarus from the dead.
Five of these books are in the book of John only.
Healing a man in the Sabbath and walking on water are the only two of these miracles that's found in the other gospels.
Any comments or questions before we go further?
Now, you can turn to the book of John.
The first thing that John does in establishing this book, he's going to establish something very important that he's going to prove throughout the book.
Somebody read John chapter 1, verses 1 through 5.
These seven proofs are going to authenticate that Jesus is the Word, that he's the Creator, and that he's the life and the light of men, that he made all things, that all
authority in heaven and earth was given to him.
In the beginning was the Word.
That's a statement that both Greek and Jewish readers would have understood alike.
Even though they were culturally different, they would have came to the same conclusion that what John is saying is that he is divine.
When he calls him the word, he's using that Greek word, lago.
The Greeks teach that Lagos is the principle behind everything that you see.
The Greeks are the Gentiles.
That the Lagos is the eternal force that drives everything.
That's that mysterious power that always exists.
That's that unknown God, the one that they wanted to try to cover.
That's what the Lagos is.
That's what the Greeks understood.
Now the Jews taught that in the beginning,
God created the heavens and the earth, Genesis 1.1.
And they teach that he did this by speaking it in existence in verse 3.
God said, let there be light, and there was light.
The word of God created everything.
So what he is doing is telling that Jesus is that power, that force, that word, that which both of you all believe, that he did create everything.
But.
Before we get to these seven proofs, something else had to happen in chapter one.
The first thing that must happen, that we're going to have to point out who this individual is.
He need to be identified.
If we're going to say that this is the fulfillment of prophecy, somehow we're to have to point this individual out to make sure that we have the right person.
Because if we're not mistaken, the early churches warned that there shall be many false prophets shall arise of you.
We need to make sure that this individual, whoever's gonna come, he must be the one that scripture has prophesied about him being here.
John chapter one, verses six and seven say, there was a man sent from God whose name was John.
The same came for a witness to bear witness of the light that all men through him might believe.
God sent the person who would identify who the word and the light is.
We know in John 1 14 that the world was made flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory.
The glory is of the only begotten of the father full of grace and truth.
How did anybody get this wrong that it wasn't Jesus, wasn't the Messiah?
How is it that the Baptist Church would say that John the Baptist is the Messiah?
When we will see in this verse, this whole verse that John the Baptist is going to deny this repeatedly.
In fact, they're going to ask him, who are you?
What's so interesting is that three years are going to go by.
Jesus is going to ask them who do I say that I am?
And they're still going to say John the Baptist.
They still didn't get it.
That he will be pointed out who he is beyond a shadow of doubt.
uh
And so John was saying in verse eight that he was not that light but was sent to bear witness of that light.
Verse 15 of John chapter one, says John bear witness of him and Christ saying this was he of whom I spake.
He that cometh after me is before me for he was before me.
This is the day before Jesus came.
John is going to be arguing this point all day long on who this individual is.
Now, John says
Even he came after me, he was preferred or chosen before me.
When was he chosen before John?
1 Peter 1, 19, 20, but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot, who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was
manifest for you in these last days.
John is trying to beat home all through this verse that he is not the Christ.
And so then it's interesting that three years later come up and me and still asking this question.
And today we have a whole religion that's built on
on that John the Baptist was the Savior of the Baptist.
In verse 19 through 23, it says, this is the record of John.
When a Jew sends priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, who art thou?
And he confessed and denied not, but confessed, I am not the Christ.
And they asked him, what then, art thou Elias?
He said, I am not.
Are thou that prophet?
He answered, no.
Then said they unto him, who art thou?
That we may give an answer to them that sent us, what sayest thou of thyself?
He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, making straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Isaiah.
He is going to quote scripture.
He's going to quote prophecy saying that I'm not him.
You don't want to believe John saying that, hey, I'm not him.
It's interesting you just said the prophet is Isaiah.
So that means that you believe in prophets.
Well, why won't you believe that I'm not him?
Verse 27, John is still saying I'm not him.
He said, I'm not worried to latch into shoes of the one that's coming before me.
He is preferred before me.
John been preaching this, I'm not here for a whole day.
John chapter one verse 29 and 30 says the next day John see it Jesus coming unto him.
I know John had to be relieved.
Finally, behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.
Now John could have either just stopped and behold the Lamb of God.
But that next verse is important.
Take it away the sin of the world.
Whoever started whatever religion you in, he better be the individual who came to take away the sin of the world.
Because if he can't take away the sin of the world, he can't start a religion.
It's impossible.
That's the purpose of the church.
Where are they say he placed that?
In the church.
The church which was promised, the church of our Lord.
But still, can somebody tell me another way that John knew?
So another event is going to happen that's going to really point him out because John now is going to bear witness of them.
there was another event before that.
John pointed him out early in their childhood.
Can anybody tell me when that was?
in the womb.
You remember when Mary Elizabeth came together and them babies came close?
pointed Him out in the womb.
John was already, that was John's whole purpose, to point who this individual was.
John chapter 1 verse 32 and 34.
It says, John, bear record saying, saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove and it abode upon him, and I knew him not, but he that sent me to baptize with water the same
said unto me, upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining on him the same is he which baptized with the Holy Ghost.
And I saw and bear record that this is the Son of God.
John was there, his whole purpose
was to acknowledge who the Christ was.
This event here was beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus was the Christ.
It was irrefutable proof of his divine authority.
Isaiah chapter 11, verses 1 and 2 says that there should come forth a rod out of stem of a chest and a branch, shall grow out of its roots, and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest
upon him.
John recognizes, he acknowledges, and he's going to point out that this individual is Christ.
This was the one who was sent by God.
And one of the reasons that we know this beyond a shadow of a doubt is true is because the Spirit rested upon him.
When?
at his baptism.
So John and Jesus, they were second cousins.
And we know because of Luke chapter one, verse 35 through 44, that's the account when they met each other in their mother's womb.
Now.
John is going to point him out.
But there's somebody even more important than that who's really going to point him out beyond a shadow of a doubt.
The very one that said he was coming, which was God in Genesis 3.15.
God the Father himself will verbally make this claim that Jesus is his son.
So along with John who's going to point him out, there are three that's also going to testify to this truth.
The word God is plural.
It's masculine.
It means deity.
That's the Father, that's the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
1 John chapter 5 verse 6 and 7 says, is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ, not by water only, but by water and blood.
And it is the Spirit that bears witness because the Spirit is true.
There are three that bear record in heaven.
The Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one.
Somebody give me John chapter 1 verse 32 and 34.
We're going to read it one more time.
Because first thing, the Spirit is going to testify that Jesus is the Son of God.
John 1, 32-34.
Move over 34.
The Walla refers to the baptism of Jesus and it also testified that Jesus is the Son of God.
Somebody give me Matthew chapter 3 verse 16 and 17.
And then give me Matthew 27 verses 50 through 54.
Oh, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
That's it.
Also, the blood also, which refers to his death on the cross, is going to also testify to the fact that Jesus is the son of God.
Matthew chapter 27, verses 50 through 54.
50 to 54.
Those three things testify that Jesus was the son of God.
Now, you know what's interesting is that when, uh look at the rich man.
When the rich man had died and he went to uh Tartarus, and he asked him that, would you somehow let me go back and tell my brothers not to come to this place?
what he would say that that Moses and the prophets hear them.
But when Jesus now when he when he's baptized and he come out the wall and when he was he was transfigured and they see Moses and Elijah and uh trans
would say, let us build three tabernacles in each one of their names.
This is an apostle.
He's ready, all ready to start the nomination.
God spoke and said, this is my son whom I'm well pleased.
When Jesus was baptized, he came out that water.
He said, this is my son whom I'm well pleased.
God himself had to point out Jesus was the Christ.
And so there'd be no doubt that this is my son and whom I'm well pleased.
Never been said about anybody else.
the Christ.
John is really trying to prove that Jesus is the Christ.
He is the one that sent.
And it's so much Bible and so much prophecy that points to Jesus being the Christ.
I really don't understand how a man can have any justification for being any type, start any type of religion.
In order for a man to start a religion, he's going to somehow have to give you justification for it.
You ever notice they always say that God told me or God spoke to me or I saw a figure in a door and some stain or something like that?
They always have to give you that because they have to have justification.
They know it must come from God.
But the individual who's giving you that, he's the one who must come from God.
The Bible must point toward it.
Everything that you read in the Bible from Genesis on is points to Jesus Christ.
Now if anybody was going to come with any other religion, any other way, any other doctrine, they would have to be in the scriptures.
That's what God revealed his will to them.
Now if it's not in here, then it wasn't in the mind of God.
If it's not in here, it wasn't in heaven.
If it's not in here, it's not supposed to be on this earth.
He gave us one way.
He gave us his son.
And these gospels prove exactly who he is.
And it comes to question.
Let's go back up to verses 16 through 18.
John chapter 1.
Somebody read that for me.
John 1 verse 16 through 18.
I would say that we have seen grace for grace or grace upon grace.
ah What really did would change our view of how God dealt with the people in the Old Testament.
Now we know grace is unmerited favor.
And if there's anybody that we saw when you look at Israel in that Old Testament and the way they sinned against God repeatedly, we know that the things that he did for them,
brothers and sisters, my goodness, that's grace.
And in fact, when they were wandering in the wilderness, he fed them.
and their shoes did not wear out.
Now these sandals, now the wilderness was kind of rough.
He took care of them even while they were in the transgression.
Somebody tell me why Israel couldn't have left the wilderness.
Couldn't they have just walked out?
What was keeping them in the wilderness?
There was no flame and fire, no chair of them, no sword or nothing.
Why couldn't they have just left the wilderness?
Israel tried to leave the wilderness.
Remember they said, well, God told them to go.
They said, we want to go back.
God told them to stay.
Now they said, we're going to go.
We're going to leave.
Moses said, if you go, the ark ain't going with you.
They said, well, we're going to go anyway.
They leave the wilderness.
When they get out there, their enemies had them surrounded.
So they were attacked.
They were beaten.
They said they were disconfited back to Iran, if not mistaken, Iran.
They were beaten and whooped and ran back into the wilderness.
Here's the thing.
If God is not with you, there's nothing you can accomplish.
The thing was, it was God who was protecting them from their enemies.
It was God who was bringing them from their wilderness into the promised land.
So now, if you think you're to on your own and do it, it's not going to work.
The worst position you can be in is be separated from God.
That's what sin does to us, the same way it did to Israel.
Now, you may still prosper while you're in that sinful condition.
Brothers and sisters, please get out of that.
You're not going to prosper, right?
What you're not going to have are those spiritual blessings.
There are no kids in there.
Everybody knows there's one blessing that you know, we know that's so important.
That's to be able to petition God in prayer.
The older you get, I guarantee the more praying you doing.
You praying about these ailments, these sicknesses, my finances.
Boy, you do a lot of praying.
I know once you get older, we look younger, we forget from time to time.
And sometimes y'all do also.
You know when things going good.
But sin separates you from God.
That is a terrifying place to be.
They could not have gone anywhere.
They could not have left that wilderness until, number one, God often deal with the sin.
Everybody's been, there's gonna be a whole new generation gonna come out this wilderness that I'm have to bring forth.
Now some people say, think about God.
Let me show you about God's grace, God's goodness.
So what about when God went to, when Israel?
They went to Jericho.
They went to one of those nations they were supposed to utterly destroy.
What about if I tell you what?
What about those kids?
They didn't do anything.
Why would God allow them to kill those children?
Anybody got a comment about that?
Children innocent.
Guess where they gonna be after it happened?
They gonna be with God.
They gonna be in heaven.
So if they were to only destroy anybody, and it sounds sad that these five and six year olds have to go, where they gonna be at?
They're going be in heaven.
God's going to take care of those kids.
You don't have to worry about that.
But those adults, man, they're to have to be, they'll be held accountable for their actions.
So God still showed favor to the enemies and their children.
Now, if God didn't want to destroy none of them because of, that there were animals there also, it wasn't just the people.
God said there's many cattle there.
So we always, we have this thing about that, that with God, let me tell you, all lives matter including that one.
God showed grace repeatedly.
When God went and sent Jonah to Nineveh, Nineveh knew exactly how God, I mean Jonah knew exactly how God was.
He knew he was a just God and he was gonna forgive them if they repented.
Repentance is the only thing that'll change God's mind.
I guarantee you.
Now he went to Nineveh and Nineveh they stripped their clothes and sat clothes and ashes and they repented.
But what happened to Nenema later on?
They were destroyed.
How do we know Denver was destroyed?
Read the book of Nahum.
Nahum lets you know that an animal was destroyed, that they went back.
God's grace.
We sometimes, you know, got no grace and truth came by by Jesus Christ.
It does.
It's not the law in a negative light but it what it's describing is that law was the first grace offered.
There there actually was some grace in in law.
oh He delivered them from Egyptian slavery.
He showed his power against Israel's oppressors.
He set them free.
He was already gonna bring them to a land that flowed with milk and honey.
He was going to destroy all their enemies for them.
You know, they served a God who can speak in future tense before it even happened.
He said, I have delivered Jericho into your hands.
They haven't even made the march yet.
I don't know if I've won the battles for you.
That's God's grace.
God really took care of His people.
But yet repeatedly, repeatedly, over and over again, they went against those things that He had commanded, even grace.
He didn't leave them in the dark.
oh the law that was given to the people, wasn't a burden.
That was love.
Our faithfulness shows our relationship with God.
If there was no law, then you have no relationship with God.
Jesus would say, why call me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
Our faithfulness to God shows us directly our relationship with God.
Second thing, the law, it revealed the truth about ourselves.
The law was gracious because it showed where people stood before God.
How do we know where we stand if we didn't have law?
How would we know what to look at when we look into that, as Chris did this past Sunday, we were looking into that mirror that we're supposed to look in the book of James.
How would we know what to correct if we did not have law, if we did not have the Bible?
We didn't have Galatians chapter five, we wouldn't even know what to do.
When we look in that mirror, when we see the works of the flesh, do not leave that mirror until you see the fruits of the Spirit.
see in the mirror.
All our pictures in this Bible, all our reflections in there, I guarantee you.
God's grace.
Sometimes we take his grace as something that we don't have to do anything for to receive.
Well, you didn't do anything to receive, to uh actually deserve what Christ did for you, but because he made you, there is a responsibility that he have for us.
You give birth to your child.
Don't you have responsibility for feeding them?
Aren't you supposed to care for them?
Aren't you supposed to make sure that they safe?
Shouldn't they have to come to you when they have a problem?
Shouldn't you be there for them to hug and to care for them?
Shouldn't you have to discipline them?
You are obligated to do that because you had the kids.
So God did have an obligation to us because he made us and he fulfilled it.
Now our obligation is the same as our child to be obedient to him.
We're obligated by that.
In fact, when we talk about grace.
Sin was so detrimental, there was nothing you could do to undo sin.
Nothing.
In fact, our blood is so useless that God would rather with Israel use the blood of the poor because there was sin.
There was only one other blood that could be won without sin.
All our blood in him.
You nothing.
It can't save you.
The best they can do if you're a B or C type, you can give me some to maybe keep me going, but that's about it.
That's the only way to save you, but it can't save you from eternity.
So God came out of heaven.
It's Jesus who John is about.
Walked down among men.
I really don't understand why would he save us like that?
There's a whole bunch of ways I think I could probably save some people I've made without actually coming down here, being humiliated.
being spat on, being beaten, and taking that cross.
I know a whole bunch of ways.
Them bulls and ghosts with me might have worked wherever they had been with me.
Rather than me coming from heaven and taking all that punishment for them, God humbled himself to the point where he allowed his creation to kill him.
He did that for us.
Grace upon grace.
The grace from the Old Testament, it extended into Jesus.
Jesus came, that's grace.
upon grace.
But one day, God's long suffering, all those things, His grace, is going to run out.