The Council of the Wicked - The Jew's Reaction to Lazarus's Resurrection - John 11:47-57

1:19And what Jesus does is he comes into this scene, and by raising Lazarus from the dead, he divides the Jews who came to Comfort Mary into two groups. He divided them into the believers and the unbelievers. Remember, look back at verse 45. Therefore, many of the Jews who came to Mary and saw what he had done believed in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them the things which Jesus had done. So there were those who believed in him. John doesn't go into the degree of their belief, if this was genuine saving faith, if it was just a cessation of their hostilities against him. But you can say this: they interpreted the implications of Jesus's miracle correctly. They realized Jesus was indeed sent by God and deserved to be treated as such, and certainly not be antagonist to.

2:25John makes it clear that faith based on miracles is not a very reliable faith, but he does make it clear that it is better than no faith at all. And so perhaps these individuals who believed they correctly associated the goodness of Christ, if they really came to genuine faith, then they saw the miracle. Maybe as they were party to removing the stone or removing the bandages, they came to realize the incredible miracle. And maybe they could. Caught a glimpse of the goodness of Christ, and so they were melted and they believed.

3:10Well, the second group interpreted the miracle as a threat. They quickly went to the Pharisees, they quickly reported to them what had happened. And you see in this context, two different reactions to the light, as it is to this day. Those who are born of the light respond to the light, and those who are confined in darkness react against the light. And you see that very clearly laid out. What's interesting about this passage is that John traces the effect of the miracle up, he traces the effect that it had on the Jews. Now, we would love to hear, oh, what was Mary's thoughts? How did Martha react?

4:08How did Lazarus react? You know, I would love to hear. Give me a little description about what was on his face when he came out. Or Lazarus, tell me, what did you see the last three days? Give me some insight. Write a book, okay? Talk about it. This isn't a near-death experience. This is incredible. You were decaying. What did you see? We would love to. Into that, John doesn't take us there at all. He is interested in the unbelief in these Jews.

4:47And what he does is he follows the path of these unbelievers. They leave this stunning place of the miracle and they go into the council of the wicked. I'll tell you, something incredibly evil happens in our passage this morning, the likes of which you just is unparalleled in human history. Something deeply evil happens. And John is going to take us into that council of the wicked. We read Psalm 1 a little while ago. And the counsel of the wicked. The blessed are those who do not walk into it.

5:39And he's going to take us into the very counsel, into the inner workings, into the thinking of evil incarnate. So John has shown us that Jesus is powerful, he is kind, he is beautiful, he is good, he is life, and he is. Light, and that's what we've been focusing on. But now we turn a corner, we shift our focus away from this beautiful one to the incredible darkness that resides in humanity. You see, our condition is worse than we imagine. It's a miracle that anyone could ever be saved. This unbelief is a cancer and it contaminates logic, reason, and moral persuasion. It is a deep evil in man.

6:43How do we come out of it? It can interpret the blessing and the beauty of God into a threat. That's what unbelief does. That's what it does in our passage. And we watch these who are hardened, hardened in their unbelief. Friends, I don't want that to be us. I don't want that to be. I don't want that to be anyone to be hardened in unbelief. The same light softened some and it hardened others. And what we see in our text this morning is this crystallizing, hardening effect of those who just wouldn't. Believe.

7:35What trajectory are you on this morning? I pray that you will, by all measures, cease growing in your unbelief about faith, turn, and that you would by great strides grow in your simple faith and trust in all that the prophets have said, and all that Jesus is, and all that the New Testament writers proclaimed him to be. And let your soul rest there, and you will find a delight and a beauty and a life worth living. Well, John's narrative follows this second group, and he gives us insight into the real trial of Jesus, what I call the real trial. In fact, you turn over to Mark chapter 14. You need to see there. I want you to write something here. You can just note it. But this is the real trial. John gives us insight into the real trial. Everything that happens after he goes into Passover is more of a mockery. The decision has already been made to put him to death. And everything that you see recorded after. He enters into the city and the trial and all that. All that is just show. All that is a stage front to gain popular support because they don't want an uprising. But the decision to kill him, the real council, happens here.

9:16In Mark 14:1, we read these words. Now the Passover and unleavened bread were two days away, and the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to seize him by stealth and kill him, for they were saying, Not during the festival, otherwise there might be a riot of the people. So two days away, their mind has already been made up. They're going to take him. They're going to seize him. They're going to kill him. The decision to do that, John records in the passage that we'll be looking at this morning. So let's read, beginning in verse 47 to the end of the chapter. Therefore, the chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council, and were saying, What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs. If we let him go on like this, all men will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation. But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, You know nothing at all, nor do you take into account that it is expedient for you. That one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish. Now, he did not say this on his own initiative, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but in order that he might also gather together into one the children of God who were scattered abroad. So from that day on, they planned together to kill him. Therefore, Jesus no longer continued to walk publicly among them, but went away from there to the country near the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim. And there he stayed with the disciples. Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up to Jerusalem out of the country before the Passover to purify themselves. So they were seeking for Jesus and were saying to one another as they stood in the temple, What do you think? That he will not come to the feast at all? Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where he was, he was to report it so that they might seize him.

11:38Well, this morning I want you to see the action taken by those who perceive Jesus to be a threat. And I want us to look at the inner dynamics of this wicked council. And I want us to observe its characteristics, and then I want to take away some lessons from it. So, first of all, we'll look at some characteristics. And I'm just going to walk through. The narrative, and I'll bring your mind, or I'll articulate them as we go along. First of all, I want you to look at this threat or this perceived threat.

12:13Verse 47, therefore, that is, because of the report of the miracle that they have heard, this guy can raise the dead. Therefore, the chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council. That is, they had a Sanhedrin, word Sanhedrin. They convened a council. Now, this would be made up of Sadducee and Pharisee, very opposite political parties, not really agreeing on anything except in their hatred for Christ. So it melded them together because they perceived a greater threat than each other. Now, their powers were delegated by Rome. They were under Rome. And for the most part, they had governing authority over Jewish internal matters. They had legislative duties, they had judicial duties, and even the high priest had executive powers. But all of this was under the authority of Rome. So they convened a council. Let's get everybody together. And we're saying, what are we doing?

13:26For this man is performing many signs. And look at 48. If we let him go on like this, all men will believe in him. I'm scared of that. What are we doing? It's like this idea, we need to do something else. Inaction is not an option at this point. The do-nothing plan or doing as we have planned is not an option at this point. We must ramp up our actions because if we don't, everyone's going to follow him.

14:09What's interesting, just making a few observations, look at the notice the closed-mindedness of this wicked council and those in it. No amount of evidence is going to convince these individuals. Notice that they regard the miracles as legitimate. In other words, they have ceased going down the road of saying, well, that miracle really didn't happen. They had that embarrassing situation already a few chapters ago, right, with the blind man. Now, this is an incredible thing. He opened my eyes, and you don't know where he's from. They've already had these embarrassing moments. So they've just said, okay, his miracles are legitimate. You can imagine some of those coming back from the miracle site with Lazarus saying, we. Rolled the stone away. We were there. We watched it. We may have done it. We may have even pulled. We were party. We saw. They're not questioning the legitimacy of the miracles. They're seeing them as legitimate, but still, Jesus needs to be opposed. No amount of evidence is going to convince them. Remember Luke 16, we just heard a wonderful sermon on this not too long ago by Justin that this man, this rich man, Lazarus, another Lazarus context, right? This other, Lazarus has died, and he's in this rich man dies, and he sees Lazarus, and he then says to Abraham, send somebody back to tell my brothers of this horrible place. And Abraham says, Look, they have Moses, they have the prophets. And he says, no, they're not going to listen to him. But if one went back from the dead, they would listen. And then we hear these astounding words in Luke 16, 31. But he said to him, If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded, even if someone rises from the dead.

16:21And now here's another Lazarus raised from the dead. And they're not going to believe. Is a deeper problem to the unbelief in our fallen state that many of us do not perceive. We are dead, and dead is dead. We're not just sick, our condition is far worse. They will not open their minds to consider, and they should open their minds, and they should consider and follow the miracle where it leads. It's a good miracle, it's powerful, but it says something a lot about the person doing it.

17:14They would have none of that closed to that. Second characteristic you can see in these is that they're very desperate. Not only are they closed-minded, but they're desperate. The more indefensible their position, the more desperate and aggressive they become. They do not yield to the truth, and the more the light shines, the more they seek to put it out. That's the nature of unbelief. That's the nature of skepticism. And the more truth comes, the more untenable their situation, their position, the more desperate and aggressive they become. If we let him go on like this, all men are going to, we need to do something.

18:02To stop this. And they're very protective. Third characteristic, they're very protective of their own self-interest. Closed-minded, desperate, and protective of self-interest. And the loss that they fear is personal. But look at, there's a published reason here in verse 48. If we let him go on like this, all men will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation. And there may be some legitimate concern there. That's a good published reason as to what's going on. It's true. If things get way out of hand, right, as the Sanhedrin, we're not so much about biblical conviction or doing what's right. We're about keeping the population from uprising. Rome wants us to stay here. We can have power. We can rule and reign so long as we keep the internal Jewish affairs from spilling over and being a threat to Rome. If we do not keep the Jewish nation in check, Rome will come.

19:19But notice, and take both our place, and us is in, our is in a place of emphasis here. They'll take both our place and our place. Nation away. You know, there's a real reason, real reason, and I would illustrate the real reason like this. Remember, in Acts chapter 19, Paul goes to Ephesus, has a great, great time there, ministering the word. And then in verse 23, we read these words. About that time there occurred no small disturbance concerning the way. For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, was bringing no little business to the craftsmen. These he gathered together with the workmen of similar trades and said, Men, you know that our prosperity depends upon this business. You see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in almost all of Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable number of people, saying that goods made with hands are no gods at all. Not only is there danger that this trade of ours fall into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis be regarded as worthless, and she whom all Asia and the world worship will even be dethroned of her magnificence. See, they had a little gig going on that brought them in a lot of money. They didn't like Paul coming in and changing up the dynamics. Jesus has already come into the temple, he's already cleared house. And they're saying if we follow Christ, we're out of business. Can't go there. We've got a pretty good gig going here. So we're better off trying to make relations and put our trust in the Romans.

21:19You see, they were good about keeping political power, and they cooperated with the Romans to secure their position. So there's a published reason that seems to be no, but we don't want our nation and our place to be destroyed. But the emphasis is upon our role in our place and our nation. And you really do have at this time a recipe for a messianic uprising. As history will show, there were a lot of messianic expectations at this time, just a few of them. Daniel's 70 weeks have pretty much run. You can do the math there. People are anticipating, okay, the time is about right. John the Baptist comes on the scene, his testimony.

22:13And then there's this individual appears with all these mighty miracles, doing all these wonderful things. He's a great teacher, one with authority. And then all of a sudden, he raises the dead. Jesus. Now, Passover is happening. Large crowds are gathering. This is a recipe for a Jewish messianic uprising. And so their fear, Jews' fear, the disturbance would be silenced by the Romans, and those in the Sanhedrin would be held responsible or certainly seen as inadequate and lose power. So that's them. They are motivated. They are protective of their self-interest. They're closed-minded, desperate, protective of self-interest. This is the council of the wicked. This is what's driving this whole council. But fourth, they're ignorant. They're ignorant. It's not just unbelief. There is certainly unbelief, and this whole thing pervades. Unbelief pervades all of this. It's the common denominator in all of them. But there is an ignorance here that has to be noted, and at least on three levels. First of all, they were ignorant of the power of the Messiah. They're ignorant of the power of the Messiah. Now, think for a minute. How could the one who could raise the dead endanger the nation?

23:49Okay? You see, the bigger problem was in their unbelief, not with Rome. I mean, if Jesus can have the power to go. Up to a tomb and take a man who's decaying on the inside and say, Lazarus, outside. Then that same individual I would trust to have the power to say, Rome, inside, right? Rome, you go in there. I mean, think about it: the power of the Messiah. He's got Rome. He can take care of Rome. In fact, when he returns, when he slays the enemies, what does he do it with? The words of his mouth. Listen, the reason why any of us live, the reason why any of us exist, is because he says so.

24:44And they weren't, so they're ignorant of the power, power of Rome. Second, they were ignorant of the power of the truth. Listen, the truth will take care of itself. Why does the government or ecclesiastical authority think they have to stand in and protect people from the truth? Look, the truth is going to run its course. In fact, in Acts chapter 5, there was a problem what to do with the disciples as the preaching ministry was gaining momentum and they didn't know what to do with these disciples. And then, word of the wise from their council stands up, Gamaliel, and he says, Look, Isaiah. To you, stay away from these men and let them alone. For if this plan or action is of men, it will be overthrown. But if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them, or else you may even be found fighting against God. So they're ignorant of the power of the truth.

25:54Oh, that governments would learn a lesson here. Three, third level, they were ignorant of Rome's loyalty. They were ignorant of Rome's loyalty to them. Not long after this, everything they described happened. After 70 AD, everything they feared came to pass. Rome sacked Jerusalem, killed, destroyed, and dispersed. As it is this day, no temple has been built. So not only are they closed-minded, desperate, and protective of self-interest, and ignorant, they also have misguided trust. Their trust is in man.

26:47Their trust in what they can see, what they can touch, what they can get their mind around, rational thinking. Their trust is in man. And as you survey Israel's History, this becomes their problem. It was easier to make an alliance with Assyria, who you could see, or with Babylon, or with Egypt. It was easier to make alliances with man who you could see than trust the God who you couldn't see. And this is Israel's problem. And even to this day, God waits for them to trust in Him and cease their alliances or their trust, their confidences in human governments, Gentile governments.

27:45Well, but this isn't about Israel so much as it is about us. Many of us trust in man. We trust in our own wisdom. We trust in our own perception. We trust in the things of man rather than the trust of God. Misguided trust. Characteristic that drove this whole council of the wicked. Well, now I want you to see the madman. Now comes the madman. He enters the scene. Look at verse 49. But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, You know nothing at all.

28:31So here's this. Here we see this madman coming on the scene. It's like that executive power grabbing the steering wheel and recklessly driving the nation and everyone in it to their destruction. That's the picture. This individual, you know, nothing at all. Here is evil incarnate. Here is the madman. Here is the one that all the tyrants of the world and history can take lessons from. So, along with all those other characteristics we've mentioned, he has all of those, but I want to add a few more that takes us even more deeply into this, or it gives us more insight into the hardened heart of unbelief.

29:23We have more description here of what happens to a heart than what happened to Pharaoh. And here we see this crystallizing, hardening effect, and here it is. It's embodied in Caiaphas. And he is, first and foremost, arrogant. Surprise, right? And this is evident in his insulting and condescending speech. He drives the counsel of the wicked, and it's insulting, ridiculing, condescending. This is what he says. Y'all. Are a bunch of mindless imbeciles. That's how we would translate it here in the Texan vernacular.

30:08Y'all don't get it. Brainless, right? And so that's what happens. If you can't really deal with the facts, you have to resort to name kindly. That's where that goes. And so it's funny, Josephus in the War of the Jews writes about the behavior of the Sadducees, and he says, they are rather rude, and the way they relate to each other is rough. And that's the way they relate to strangers as well. So it's a matter of history. There is rudeness. But he is arrogant. Second observation about this individual, Caiaphas, is he censors contrary views. He censors things. His speech left no room for dissent. You remember back in chapter 7, verse 51, Nicodemus stands up and says, Wait a second, our law does not judge a man unless it first hears him and knows what he is doing, does it? They're like, get out of here. You're one of his disciples. You know, you're from Galilee, too, right?

31:12He left no room to hear the counselors that were there in the room. Third, he is driven by expediency. This is characteristics of a madman. Arrogant censors contrary views, and he's driven by expediency. Look at verse 30. 50. It's like you don't get it. You know nothing at all. Nor do you take into account that it is expedient for you that one man die for the people and that the whole nation not perish. So he uses an accounting term. He says, Let me break this down for all you imbeciles. There's a plus column, there's a minus column. The whole nation in the plus column. One man in the minus column. Listen, this is very easy. He must die. It's better for him to die than the whole nation. You guys just don't get it. You're not smart enough to think through this, so I'm going to have to spell it out for you. And that's the attitude.

32:18And so, and here's his thinking. I think it goes something like this: if Rome sees us stopping an uprising by taking care of Jesus, by killing Jesus, they would see our loyalty to Rome, and therefore they would leave us alone. I think his thinking is going along that line. If we take care of Jesus, that will buy us good favor with Rome because Jesus is known. He is being perceived as a threat. So he's arrogant, censors controversy. Views. He's driven by expediency. And fourth, he is lawless. He says, Look, forget this has nothing to do with his character. This has nothing to do with the legitimacy of his miracles, the beauty of his character, the goodness of them. It has nothing to do with this.

33:23He needs to die. You know, plus column, minus column. He needs to die. Regardless if it's right or wrong, that doesn't come into his mind because he is a law into himself. Such is the counsel of the wicked, lawless. But not only is he arrogant, he censors. He's driven by expediency. He's lawless. He's brutal. He is brutal. There is a brutality in this man that is deeply, deeply severe. He cares nothing about the life of the innocent.

34:10The innocent mean absolutely nothing to him. And sixth, he's shameless in his lawlessness and his brutality. What others were debating, he boldly asserts. You don't get it, do you? Jesus must die. Regardless of how good he is or how legitimate, he must die. And it's good for us to kill him. What others might have debated, he boldly asserts. Woe to those who follow the counsel of the wicked. I'm going to shift gears a little bit, looked at some characteristics of this wicked council and those involved. I want to derive some lessons from it, just a few. And these lessons certainly apply to everyone, but they specifically, I would address them, to politicians and to all of those in seats of ecclesiastical or governmental authority.

35:19In summarizing what we've already said so far, first of all, first lesson we can learn here is principle comes before expediency. Principle comes before expediency. That which is morally wrong should never be considered politically right. Period. Lohal Ryle says it, to govern only for the sake of pleasing and benefit the majority without any reference to the eternal principles of justice, right, and mercy may be expedient and please man, but it does not please God. And it is foolish, I would add, it is foolish to think that it is better to provoke God than provoke man.

36:11Caiaphas thought it was a whole lot better to provoke God than provoke Rome. And what he does is he brought the wrath of God upon him, upon the whole nation. Which leads me to the second lesson we can learn. The nation will pay for the, or the nation will pay the price for the direction the leaders take. And the history of Israel is a tragic example of this. They're still paying for it. How different things would have been for the nation had these leaders responded correctly to Jesus. You've got a mass of people in Israel that are beginning to believe that Jesus really is the Messiah and that he has come. And it is here in this council of the wicked that that whole seems to shift in dramatic proportions.

37:11What was their duty? What should their response have been? Well, they should have owned their responsibility to recognize Christ, to believe at once the mighty miracles that he was doing, to accept what those miracles were saying about him and his relationship with God and who. He was. They should have at once publicly confessed him as such Messiah. They should have followed him as such Messiah, whatever the cost, wherever he led, and they should have encouraged others to do the same. That would have been the proper response of the leadership. But Israel has historically had a problem with shepherding leaders who seem to feed themselves rather than look out for the best interest of the flock. And boy, you have that tragic example here. And the nation will pay for the direction you take.

38:10Third lesson: it is better to answer those who dissent rather than silencing them. It's better to answer those who dissent rather than silencing them. Caiaphas had some wise counselors in his midst. Yet you do not hear the voices of Nicodemus, the voices of Joseph of Arimathea, the voice of Gamaliel. They were not heard. They were not given much opportunity to speak. And that's what autocratic, wicked leadership does: it silences legitimate concerns. And that's what a madman does. And you can look at that throughout history.

39:00Fourth thing, fourth lesson we can learn from this passage is that God is still in control. God is still in control despite a madman at the will, despite the principle of expediency, despite all of that, God is still in control. Look at verse 51. Now, he did not say this on his own initiative, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but in order that he might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. Now, what's going on in Caiaphas' mind? Well, I can say I think one of two things is happening. Number one, either God inspired the words of Caiaphas' mouth, or two, Caiaphas inspired the words of his mouth.

39:54If God did it, he spoke. Caiaphas misunderstood. If Caiaphas inspired his own words, he did so to promote Jesus' death. Oh, I got a word. Here it is. I prophesied. But either way, regardless what happens, John sees that there's truth in his words, but not in the sense that Caiaphas saw them. Caiaphas is thinking, yeah, Jesus is definitely a lamb, but he's a political lamb. He's somebody to sacrifice for a political expediency, for good favor with the Rome, perhaps.

40:33John sees him as the sacrificial lamb for sin, and that he is going to die for the whole nation, but not just the nation, but so that he may be gathered into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. And certainly, in John's mind, this includes the mission to the Gentiles. By this time in the writing, he's talking about, and what's interesting is he's gathering together those who are called children of God and they haven't even responded yet. Just like he said, I have other sheep and I'm going to call them in. They already belonged to him, but he's going to bring them in by proclaiming the good news to the ends of the earth.

41:19Fifth lesson we can learn, the integrity of your decisions and motives will be exposed. Listen, one day, the integrity of your decisions, and if you're leader, governmental, church, or whatever capacity you have leadership in, which in some degree all of us have leadership in some capacity somewhere, the integrity of your decisions and motives will be exposed for what they are. Look at verse 53. So from that day on, they planned together to kill him. They went along with it. Caiaphas won the day. As the serpent deceived Eve, so he deceived Israel.

42:08Caiaphas' position was out of fear of Rome and love for his personal position. That's what drove him. He esteemed Rome. He despised God. He crucified the Son. party to it, and he did all this in the name of preserving religion, the temple, and the nation. And yet, history will remember him. No, history has exposed him. Biblical narrative has exposed him for what he really was. He was a monster of monsters who did not regard God, but loved himself.

42:57So listen, the integrity of your decisions and motives will be exposed. Well, so that's the end of the council. And then there's a dark shadow that goes forward. The rest of John's Gospel lives under the dark shadow of this council's decision. Look back at verse 54. First, we see that shadow upon Jesus' ministry. Therefore, Jesus no longer continued to walk publicly among the Jews. But went away from there to the country near the wilderness into a city called Ephraim, and there he stayed with his disciples. So Jesus' miracle prompted the Sanhedrin-level council that determined and purposed to kill him. It's an official rejection, it's an official purpose to kill. And so, the effect, Jesus leaves the scene. And what he'll do for the rest of the gospel is he's going to focus on his disciples and prepare them for his departure. But the shadow also is cast upon the Passover. Look at verse 55. The shadow of this council's decision also is cast upon the Passover. Look at verse 55. Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up to Jerusalem out of the country before the Passover to purify themselves. Now you have to stop there for a moment and just underscore the hypocrisy in all of this. Listen, the Sanhedrin, the Sanhedrin priests oversaw this purification process. So here are the ones in the council of the wicked coming out, and now they're going to oversee all of these purifications. They're far more interested about the little ceremonial washings than they are the weightier matters they have of the heart. Cannot help but see the hypocrisy there.

44:58So they were seeking verse 55. 56 for Jesus, and we're saying to one another as they stood in the temple, What do you think? That he will not come to the feast at all? See, purification took time, it happened in the temple, people standing around, so lots of talk time. Verse 57: Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where he was, he was to report it so they might seize him. So the leadership saw Jesus as a threat. The miracle of Lazarus triggered his death warrant.

45:32And they saw Jesus as a threat and those who would not turn him in as accomplices. So much of this is being talked about. Is he going to show up? Well, come to the end of this chapter. Make a few concluding comments, and we'll be done. But you remember when Jesus was a baby? His parents take him into the temple. You remember Luke chapter 2? A man named Simeon comes along seen, and he blessed them, verse 34, and said to Mary his mother, Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel and for a sign to be opposed. And a sword will pierce even your own soul to the end that the Thoughts from many hearts may be revealed. Boy, you see that played out here.

46:40The great miracles of the Exodus only hardened Pharaoh's heart, and likewise, the many miracles that Jesus performed only hardened the hearts of those who did not want to believe, who didn't want Him in their lives. And so, for us here today, we must be aware that there is a hardening effect that happens in unbelief. That's why the writer of Hebrews says in verse chapter 3 and verse 12: Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. And this is the purpose of the church. But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called today, so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

47:42So, what does it take to change a hardened heart? As we come through this, we see this cancer, this evil, this disease that hardens. How does it change? It's not by this display of the miraculous. What is That softens a hardened heart? It's grace. It's grace. It's the grace of His Spirit in our hearts. You see, that's what we respond to. It's not enough to know that Jesus is King of kings, that He has great power, that He knows all things, the judge of all things.

48:30That doesn't really do enough for us. Because I can tell you, with just that information, I would be very frightened. I mean, who is this guy who can do all these miracles? And He comes on the scene and He is paraded around, He's stripped, He's beaten, He's led up to a cross. What is going on there? Listen, just I know that He has power. I know that He's a judge of all things. I know He is infinitely holy, and I know I infinitely fall short, and I'm the one that needs to be paraded around and made a public spectacle of. The monster that's in my heart that I have come to even seen and experience myself cries out, You deserve that. And God would be wrong if He didn't give it to you. So, as I look into the holiness of God and I look into the holiness of His Son, and I see what He did, I am. Condemned.

49:33And so, of course, I'm hardened. I'm going to run away. But when I put it all together and say, He went to the cross, he didn't have to go to the cross. He did that because there is a goodness. There is an overwhelming beauty in him. He did that for me, for you, for his people. We're the ones that needed to be paraded around. He didn't want us to be paraded around and made a public spectacle of what not to do, what not to become.

50:03And so, when you start seeing this individual and he comes on the scene and he gives himself, I love the song we just sung. He's overwhelming, beautiful. I mean, you look at the stars. Let me tell you something. What he does in the realm of righteousness and how he can make his own people righteous and beautiful. He does so at such an overwhelming and spectacular degree that it is amazing. And so, we can be overwhelmed. It's his love towards us.

50:33If you do not understand Jesus' life as an expression of God's love for you, your heart will never be soft towards him. Start believing there, and the rest will unfold. We never outgrow the cross. He did not come to condemn you, he came to save you. His death was not an accident. It was the most extreme and complete expression of his love for you. Leave your trajectory of unbelief. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, dear goodness, we see and we can run into your arms, into your presence, because of mercy, because we are overwhelmed by the grace that is so far superior to our sins. Father, we thank you for revealing this in your Son. We thank you for resurrecting us from the dead by the display, the miraculous display of the overpowering wonder of your grace and the beauty and the righteousness it brings, this righteousness that comes by faith in you. Father, let us all have that faith. Give that to us because it's not going to come from us. Let us drink of your spirit, awaken us, illumine us, regenerate us, continue to grow us in settled, confident trust in you. Thank you in Jesus' name. Amen.