The Work of Christ Part 3: Who is Jesus? - John 9:35-41

0:52Verse 35, Jesus heard that they had put him out, and finding him, he said, Do you believe in the Son of Man? He answered, Who is he, Lord, that I may believe in him? Jesus said to him, You have both seen him, and he is the one who is talking with you. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him. And Jesus said, For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind. Those of the Pharisees who were with him heard these things and said to him, We are not blind. Are we? Jesus said to them, if you were blind, you would have no sin. But since you say, we see, your sin remains. So looking back at verse 2, what began as a question about the problem of evil, look back at verse 2, and his disciples asked him, Rabbi, who sinned this man or his parents, that he would be born blind begins with a question about why is this man in this situation? As we go through the chapter, it quickly becomes a question about who is Jesus, or really a trial about who is Jesus. And in this chapter, the man responds positively to the illuminating light of Christ, and the Pharisees do not. Still, in this context, greater context of Jesus declaring himself to be the light of the world, the man, the blind man, responds positively to the light. The Pharisees do not. So just thinking about what this man had experienced is chapter 9 begins. Here is this man. He's in his usual routine of begging. He's blind, and he's dependent upon the benevolence of everyone that passes by to meet his basic needs. That's where he begins. He's an object of pity, but also an object of. Contempt, at least at some level. Because there was this popular notion that somebody had sinned because this man is in this situation. Either it was him or it was his parents, but somebody, somehow, this is the just deserts of sin.

3:18Well, when Jesus healed the man, he turned the man's world upside down. Now, think about what this man experienced, the emotions that went through his being. There were certainly joy, excitement. Just think about the newness of being able to see people for the first time, see the world. There was this, probably, this amazement of, wow, this is new, this is unusual, this is actually too good to be true. So, a lot of discovery and the exhilaration that all goes with that. But then, his emotions would have taken a very different turn. People didn't believe his story, they discounted his testimony, and he found himself caught up in the most intense controversy of his times. Who is this Jesus? And he found himself right in the middle of two very powerful forces, and even his soul is caught up in the very center of it all. Who is this Jesus?

4:27Well, by the time the entire Interrogations are over. His parents have distanced themselves from him. The Jewish leaders have publicly rebuked him and have kicked him out of the synagogue. In fact, you see the statement there in verse 34. I'm sorry, you were born entirely in sins, and you are teaching us. And so they put this man out. The power of simple truth. The man was simply armed with truth, simple truth. And the Pharisees, the learned leaders, could not refute his simple argument, so all they could do is excommunicate him. Let's just get rid of him since we can't defeat him in argument. His truth, his logic is too simple, too powerful.

5:26And so they put him out. Well, think now, as we look at this man's life, think about the range of emotions that he went through in just a short time. He experienced the joy of regaining his sight. He experienced the frustration of the trial. He experienced the amazement of the spiritual blindness of the religious establishment. And then he would have experienced the humiliation of being publicly expelled. And so this is where we find the subject. Of our study this morning. He is rejected, isolated, and disenfranchised with the religious system of his day. He is the epitome of a humble outcast.

6:16So fix your eyes on him, a humble outcast, because this is the one that John wants us to be like. This is the one who learns who Jesus really is. And this is the one who understands why Jesus really came. And so this is who we need to be like. This is who John wants us to be like. And so I want you to see who Jesus is this morning and why he came. So like this man, you will worship him. Outline's very simple. In fact, I'm not even going to put it up. Very simple. Two questions. Who is Jesus and why did he come? Who is Jesus and why did he come? This poor blind beggar gets it. And we can learn from him.

7:14Well, let's just walk through this question. Look at what Jesus did. Verse 35. Jesus heard that they had put him out and finding him, he said, Do you believe in the Son of Man? Notice three actions there. First of all, Jesus heard. Jesus heard that they had put him out. Okay? And the man, by the way, the man is the beginning. He's the beginning of a long line of people who are going to be persecuted for honoring Jesus' name. You see, because a favorable opinion of Jesus does not fit within the religious constructs of man. Now, it does fit well with Christ. It does not fit well within the religious constructs of man.

8:06And so when Jesus heard they had put him out, look at what he did. He went looking for the man. Second action. He went looking for the man and he found him. When he heard they had put him out, he found him. Finding him, he went looking for him and he found him. You see, Jesus is not indifferent to those who are persecuted for his name's sake. He's not indifferent to those who take his side and honor his name and then are rejected because of it. No, he goes out. That's the one he looked down, looked for, found him. Notice the third action. He asked him a very personal question.

8:46When they had put him out and finding him, he said, Do you believe in the Son of Man? Notice Jesus doesn't make any small talk here. Now, this isn't a pretty exciting moment. You think about all that had happened. He didn't come up. How's your eyesight? Man, how you like the colors of the spectrum? Pretty cool, huh? Yeah, I made that myself. He doesn't go into any of that, right? He doesn't even go into, wow, those guys really wronged you there. Do you see how blind? He doesn't even go into that. He gets very personal, very direct, because he wants to get right to the heart of the work that he came to do. And that is to open this man's spiritual eyes.

9:29You see, he gets very personal. Do you believe in the Son of Man? He brings it all down to the most important thing. And then, to us, who do you say Jesus is? What about you? Do you believe in the Son of Man? Now, there's a couple versions translate this as Son of God. But most translations, and almost universally accepted, that the best translation here, best textual evidence, is that he's saying, Do you believe in the Son of Man? Now, both ideas communicate God's ruler for mankind. Do you believe in the Son of God, Son of Man?

10:18But certainly, John captures the idea of Son of Man here. And it again, it points to the idea of God's ruler. In fact, Daniel 7, you cannot help but let your mind go to Daniel. Daniel 7. Daniel's vision in verse 13: I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven, one like a Son of Man was coming, and he came up to the ancient of days and was presented before him, and to him was given dominion, glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and men of every language might serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away, and his kingdom is one which will not be destroyed. Do you believe in the Son of Man that God has proclaimed is going to be the ruler of all, that all the peoples, nations of every are going to serve him? Do you believe in this individual? Scripture speaks of him loud and clear.

11:17It's interesting when John uses the phrase Son of Man, it's always in the context of crucifixion. That this one who is the appointed ruler, the one who is given dominion, glory, and a kingdom, the one whose kingdom will not pass away, is also the one that's going to be crucified. The Son of Man is going to reign, but he will also be crucified, as John presents him. But the most important thing, the matter of who you believe Jesus to be, is the main question of your life.

11:54What you do with Jesus. That's why Jesus makes no small talk. He finds this guy, and he Gets right to the issue. Do you believe in the Son of Man? You see, the miracle of physical sight would be worthless if it doesn't lead to spiritual sight. The resurrection is worthless unless it leads to spiritual sight. So all that Jesus did comes down to really the question of soul. All other issues, including the great miracles, all of that is secondary. Who is he?

12:35Do you believe in this Son of Man? Do you believe that all peoples and nations and men of every language are going to serve him, that his dominion is everlasting? Do you believe that? Observe the man's answer in verse 36. He answered, Who is he, Lord, that I may believe in him? Now, there you may be saying, Who is he, sir, as a polite reference? He hasn't had the full revelation, but here in a moment, he's going to certainly acknowledge him as Lord Master.

13:12The man heard Jesus. The man recognized Jesus' voice. The man saw Jesus for the first time. Jesus told him to go down and wash. Now Jesus has found him, and now he sees Jesus. And he knew that Jesus had come from God, and he knew that Jesus' words could be trusted. He was completely disenfranchised with the religious system of his day that totally missed it, and he understood that they missed it. And so the man answered Jesus' question by asking a question: Who is he, Lord?

13:52That I may believe in him. And his question communicates his simple trust, doesn't it? His simple trust in Jesus to guide him. Who is he, Lord? Tell me, your word is good enough for me, and I will believe in him. And this is what a soul that is opening up to the light looks like: simple trust, motivated by a simple desire to obey. That's what a heart looks like that is responding to the light. Do you have such trust in Jesus? Do you have such a simple trust? That's where John wants us to be.

14:38Now look at Jesus' clear declaration to this man, verse 37. Jesus said to him, You have both seen him, and he is the one who is talking to you. You see, up until this time, or just a few days before, he had not seen anything. And now he sees and hears the Son of God, Son of Man. Now, this is all reminiscent of the woman at the well. Remember when Jesus directly disclosed himself to the woman at the well?

15:11John 4:25, the woman said to him, I know that Messiah is coming. He who is called Christ, when that one comes, he will declare all things to us. And Jesus said to her, I who speak to you am he. It's interesting who Jesus reveals himself to, and he does so directly, by direct statement. He is the Christ. Make no mistake about it. Jesus explicitly declares himself to be the Christ, the anointed ruler, God's anointed ruler, for not only the nation of Israel, but for all of mankind. He expressly says that with his own mouth. Second, he says, I am the Son of man. I am the Son of Man. And he reveals that by direct statement to this blind man.

16:00Now look at, you see, it's very important to understand something about Jesus. You cannot, it's impossible to have a high opinion about Jesus if you see him anything less than he declared himself to be. So don't fool yourself. Don't let anybody fool you that they have a high opinion of Christ if they deny that he is Messiah and that he is the appointed Son of Man to whom all dominion is given. Anything short of that does not honor Christ, does not honor Jesus, because that's who he said he was going to be. We have to look at our own lives. How does my life respond to this? And I'm not just talking intellectually. Yeah, you make a pretty good case there, Pastor. I'm talking from your heart.

16:50Do you simply trust the one that God has given to open your eyes about him? He is the one who has exegeted God. Well, observe how the man responded to Jesus in verse 38. There's two aspects here. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshiped him. First of all, faith. You see how the man responded in faith? I believe. And if I'm sitting there, I can imagine what this looked like. Jesus said, You have seen him, and the one that is talking to you right now is he. And I believe that man looked, and I think a grin went across his ear. One of those satisfying, restful, illuminating, excited grins. I believe. I believe.

17:56And he worshiped him. I believe Jesus smiled here, too. I believe he saw this man and he smiled. You see, the man simply believed that's what he did. He was able to untether himself from all other perspectives of who God is, and he let Jesus define who God is. And it said a truth in his heart. And he was able to let go of all other mental and spiritual grips that would hold his mind to another perspective of God. And he simply accepted, and trusted, and reoriented his life to Christ.

18:39In other words, this man was able to think, feel, and live as if Jesus' words were really true. That's what faith does. Do you live as if Christ's words are really true? You see, this kind of faith revolutionizes the soul. When you believe that the anointed ruler, God's Son, has come, taken upon himself flesh, that he might pay the price for your sin, that he might bring you into a loving relationship with the Father. If that begins to, if you believe that, that changes. Who you are. That changes everything about you.

19:36Revolution of soul. Well, that's what happened to this man. And so the second aspect in which he responded was worship. The man physically and spiritually bowed down and gave Jesus the reverence that is due only to God. And by the way, Jesus clearly received the man's worship. Now, the disciples, they won't receive worship, as the rest of the New Testament discloses, but Jesus clearly does. You see, man needs someone to live for other than himself. You need to live and worship somebody other than yourself. That's the problem we have in our world today.

20:24So learn life's greatest lesson from this blind man. He understood the truth and he began living for Jesus. And he was a good steward of the truth that he had been given. You see, an honest soul opening up to the light. First of all, there's this man called Jesus as we go through chapter 9. Then he sees this man, Jesus, as a prophet, and then he refers to him as one worthy to have disciples. And then he recognizes him as one from God with a unique power. And then he recognizes. Recognizes him as the Son of Man and the right object of his worship. Do you see how his heart has opened and blossomed under the light? Let me tell you something wonderful about Jesus. See, most of the time, when you first get to know a person, you're drawn to their strengths, right? And what happens over time? You get to know what?

21:26You get to know they're human, right? You get to know their weaknesses. We've got a married couple here. Yes, you guys are drawn to your strengths. And congratulations, you've been drawn to each other's strengths. Now, let me tell you a little bit about what's going to happen with married life. As you go along, you're going to start discovering each other's weaknesses. You're going to start discovering failures and the faults. All those are going to start coming out. That shouldn't change your covenant love. That's why you enter into covenant love.

21:54But let me tell you something about Christ. The more you get to know him, guess what? The greater he becomes. Because there is no flaw. There is no weakness. There is no failure. There is only glory and beauty. And the more you get to know him, this baby in a manger becomes more and more beautiful and precious and wonderful with every day that you get to know him more. That's just who he is. Well, look at this, the miracle.

22:30Of spiritual sight, we need to make an observation about this, and especially in light of what everything that's been said, how can anyone ever have faith in Christ? How can anyone ever have this kind of simple faith that we just let him set our definition of God in our life? How do we ever get there? Especially in John chapter 8. You remember in verse 44, he's speaking to the leaders and he's saying, You are of your father the devil. He's the mankiller. He's the murderer from the very beginning. And he does not stand in the truth. And you know what? It's because it is the truth that he hates it.

23:10And so he says in verse 45 of chapter 8, but because I speak the truth, you do not believe me. It's because Jesus speaks the truth that that's the very reason why they hated him. It was the truth. So how can any of us ever come to spiritual sight if the very proclamation of truth to us actually causes us to recoil? Well, this is the work of Christ. This is what he came to do. Look back at the beginning of chapter 9, back to this dialogue. Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind? Jesus answered, It was neither that this man sinned nor his parents, but it was so that the world was not. Of God might be displayed in him. And then he says, We must work the works. I love that we.

24:08We must work the works of him who sent me as long as it is day, night is coming when no one can work. So, why was this man born blind? Jesus says, Well, so that God might show his mighty works in him. And the work was more than just making blind eyes see physically. Because Jesus' miracle of physical sight led the man to have to think through the person who performed it. And the trial itself becomes, in many ways, comparable to the inner arguments that a person goes through when they're dealing with Christ. Who is Christ? Is he the anointed ruler? Well, certainly he did this, he did this, and that's, but then, no, he can't be that, he must be a liar. Well, then, he might be. And you kind of go through this trial, and the trial itself forced the man to think through all the critical issues and possibilities of who Christ could be. And the man comes out on the other end, totally disenfranchised with the religious system.

25:19And he comes, I believe, that he is from God. That's for sure. So, who is Jesus? Well, this man comes to know that he is from God. He is God's anointed ruler. He is the Son of Man, and he deserves honor as such from my life. That's where the man goes. That's where biblical truth takes us. So it comes back to the question of your life. Who is Jesus? Who do you say he is? And is your response, is your life response consistent with the profession? Who do you say he is?

26:12That's the first question. First part, who is Jesus? Second part of my message, why did Jesus come? So we've looked at the first. Who is Jesus? Why did he come? And this is what Jesus goes on to explain. Look at verse 39. And Jesus said, for judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind. So Jesus says why he came into the world right there. There's a purpose that brings two effects. First of all, his purpose, for judgment I came into this world.

26:51Now that's a, and he explicitly says that, right? Now, how does this reconcile with other passages that he explicitly says? Says that he did not come to judge the world. Remember, John 3:17, for God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him. And then he's going to say in John 12, 47, I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.

27:18So, how do we reconcile this explicit statement, for judgment I came into the world? Well, Jesus' life clearly itself is a judgment. His mission is clearly salvation. And salvation involves the exposure of sin, right? Salvation, for one must be saved, they must understand sin. They must understand God's just punishment of sin, right? And what is his just punishment of sin? Well, humiliation. We need to be ashamed of our sin. We need to be isolated because of our sin. We need to be crucified because of our sin. It's that bad before a holy God. That's what Christ comes to tell us. It's that bad. It's everything that is wrong with this world.

28:22And so, when he comes to save some, he inevitably leaves some condemned. You see, because the way one reacts to Jesus naturally divides people. So people judge themselves by the way they judge Jesus. You see, this is what our sin deserves. But he did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. Love what he says in John 8:3, 18. He who believes in him is not judged. He who does not believe has been judged already.

29:05What he says in John 12, 47, for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. He who rejects me and does not receive my sayings has one who judges him. The word I spoke is what will judge him. Bottom line is, he comes into a world that's already condemned. And in his coming to expose sin, those who believe, those who, like this blind man, respond to his light are saved. And those who reject his light are left condemned.

29:48Well, that's his statement. He comes to judge. And what's the first effect of his coming? Look back at verse 39 there. So that those who do not see may see. Literally, so That those not seeing may see. Those who do not understand God, those who want and know they don't understand God and need further illumination about God, about sin, about Savior, about their own condition, he came to those so that they would know God and come to know him.

30:21It's to those who are humble enough, who know their need, who in their soul agree, yes, my sin deserves humiliation, yes, my certain sin deserves isolation and to be made a public public spectacle. Those who are humble enough to admit that, he shows himself to. And in revealing himself to them, he brings spiritual life, a resurrection of soul. And for such as these, what happens is the light of Christ brings light and brings fellowship with the Father. But there's a second effect. So he comes for judgment, the first, so that those who do not see may see, and the second effect, that those who see may become blind.

31:19You see, those who think they have God all figured out and they need no revelation other than the light of their own mental capabilities, those who are satisfied. In their own interpretation of God, and have no need for the Son of God to interpret God for them. For such as see these, the light blinds them. It confuses them. I don't know what to think about Christ. I don't even really know what to think about God anymore. It's that kind of blinding. He can further blinds them. Look, if you trust in your own capabilities and you reject the testimony of Christ, who God is, you never will figure out who God is. You will bumble and stumble through life confused about God, and in the end, you will meet Him as your enemy.

32:10You know, the same sun can melt wax, and the same sun can harden clay. Same sun. So have a heart that melts under the light of truth. We'll look at the Pharisees' question. Verse 40: Those of the Pharisees who were with him heard these things and said to him, We are not blind too, are we? Now, the question is not from a humble, teachable heart. What they're saying is something, there's a bit of sarcasm, or they're offended by what Jesus said. So we might interpret it more like this: You're not saying that we are blind also, are you? Are you?

33:02Or maybe something like, oh, I get it. So you're saying we're blind. That's the sense here. What they're saying is, look, we understand the law a whole lot better than this poor, uneducated beggar. We certainly see better. You're not saying that we're blind, are you? And the problem with the Pharisees here is that they're going through life with their eyes half open. They're not allowing their eyes to be opened fully to who God is and who His Savior is. They know enough to be responsible for their sin.

33:42They know enough. They should open their eyes to the light that's right before them. Instead, they prefer to go through life with their eyes half open, purposely not seeing what they should see, preferring that which they can see. Well, look at Jesus' response in verse 41. Jesus said to them, If you were blind, you would have no sin. But since you say, we see, your sin remains. I mean, this is a stinging rebuke. Basically, he says, yes, you're blind.

34:30But he goes on to reveal two kinds of people, and he reveals why people do not come to Jesus. And it's right here. And I want you to see these two groups of people. One group that Jesus explicitly says has been has no sin or has been separated from their sin, and the other who stays bound to their sin. So look at the first group. There are those who have no sin. What does he mean? You see, what Jesus is saying is if you were blind, that is, if you knew that you were in need of someone to explain God to you, if you knew that you needed more information and that you were honest with what had already been revealed, and that you were looking for the one that Moses said would come, and if you want information about his Christ, about his king, and you need more information, and you recognize that you need to be taught, then you would be believing what I'm saying. You would have been recognizing.

35:40So basically, the blind man is an illustration of just such a person in verse 36. Who is he, Lord, that I may believe? He confesses, I need to be taught. I don't know. I am bankrupt without the light of truth. And for these, their sin does not remain. But then there's a second group here that Jesus says, but since you say, speaking to the Pharisees, we see your sin remains. Since you say you've got it all figured out, since you will not take off your own tradition or your own interpretation of God through that tradition, which was based on that of men, not on raw truth, but since you will not take off your own interpretation of God, and since you tell yourself, we see God fine, regardless of whether you can do only that which God can do, I mean, he makes it unmistakably, unmistakable that he is from God.

36:46But they are committed. No, we see God fine without you. You don't need to tell us about God. You know what John 1:18 says? Very important verse in the whole concept of, or in all of John's gospel. You know what it says? Let me read it to you. No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, he has explained him. Literally, he has exegeted him. He has interpreted him. He has explained him to us.

37:24And so here's Jesus right before them. And they'd reject. His testimony, despite all evidence contrary, that they should at least give him a hearing. They deserved judgment. They were already under condemnation. Listen, you know what death is? Death is just the universal statement that we're all under condemnation. That's what physical death is. They needed to hear from the one Moses would sent. They needed to hear from God's king, and he sent them. You see, when you don't pay attention to the Christ of Scripture, that is Jesus, the one from Nazareth, when you do not pay attention to him, guess what? You remained tethered to your sin.

38:16You may remain bound to your sin and to the ultimate judgment that awaits. You see, if they were blind and knew that they were in need of someone to explain, submit to, shepherd, then they would have been believing and their sin would not be there. But since they were so confident in their own understanding and would not budge from that, even to all evidence to the contrary, their sin remained. Let me tell you something: Christ makes perfect sense. To the sinner, he doesn't make sense to anyone else.

39:07You know, there are three perspectives of the cross. There's the one that Paul mentions in 1 Corinthians 1, from the vantage point of the Jews. It was a stumbling block because to them, the cross speaks of weakness, completely contrary to their understanding of Messiah, which is strength. But then there's another perspective, the cross, and that is of the foolishness by the Greeks. You see, to the Jew, looking down from the perspective of their tradition and their understanding, they stumbled over the whole concept of a crucified Messiah. And the Greek, looking down from their lofty height of philosophy, desired the whole idea of a crucified Messiah as foolishness, rubbish.

40:03But then there's a third perspective. But looking at the cross from the perspective of a poor sinner, ah, ah, it makes sense. When you can look at the cross from the depths of your own consciousness, of your own guilt and your own need for forgiveness, Then the cross makes perfect sense. He took our sin. He took what I deserve. I get it. I understand it. Well, who is Jesus? He's God's anointed ruler, Son of God, Son of Man. Why did he come? To glorify his Father by taking the sin of the people that deserved his judgment.

41:06Well, I know our time's waning, but I want to beg your indulgence a little bit. My daughter, a couple of days ago, asked me if I was going to tell a Christmas story, like I've done in previous years. And so, when one of your spoiled brat kids asks you to tell them a Christmas story, well, you do so. If you remember, a couple years ago, I told the story about the Christmas cat. You remember the Christmas cat? Told the story of why it's necessary to be born again based on John 3. You remember then, I don't know, a little bit later, another year, I told the story of the Christmas flower, which. Tells the story of how one is born again. Well, today, I want to tell you the story of the Christmas cloak that tells you why some people do not get born again. So, the time, centuries ago, place, picture a northern village far north of the Arctic Circle. It's a thriving place during the winter months, but it's a fairly deserted place in the dead of winter. But still, those who remained through the winter had grown accustomed to surviving the harsh winters and even thriving in the cold, at least during the normal winters. But you see, there was a problem. Every 50 years or so, a severe winter would set in that even the strongest could not survive without proper equipping. And the infrequency of the harsh winters made him impossible to predict, except to those who were old enough to have experienced them and to those who were wise enough to have survived them. Well, that's the hero of our story. He's a tailor. He's the town tailor. He's an old man. He was experienced. He had seen the signs of a winter such as this before. He had survived such a Severe winter. How did he survive? Well, his loving father had made him a special cloak that saw him through. Now, the coat wasn't much to look at, but it certainly did the job. Well, as our story goes, this particular year, as summer turned into fall and fall turned into winter, the old tailor was able to discern the signs of nature. And he understood that a fierce winter was coming, like he had witnessed many, many years ago. Well, so the tailor went to work, making coats for every person in the village. And he used the finest materials. He emptied his shop of all of his livelihood, and he poured into making these coats for his townspeople, whom he loved so much. Well, as winter set in, the tailor went from house to house, from person to person, offering to give a coat to everyone who would receive one. He only had one stipulation: you must take off and give me the coat you now wear.

44:52Because he knew they'd be tempted to wear that coat as they went out, and he knew. They would not make it. So he goes and he offers with one stipulation. What's interesting is the number of people that refused to take the coat. Some of them just didn't believe him, thought it's silly to have a winter that harsh. And so they didn't accept his coat. There were some of the young ladies in town that, no, that doesn't look good at all. Okay, that's a homely-looking coat. I've got one that's a little, and it can't get that bad, so I will prefer the coat that I have. And even others, he would go and they would say, you know what, this is a coat my father gave to me, and it was good enough for him, so sure it would be good enough for me. The man would say, no, no, he's never seen a winter like this one. No, no, I'm completely confident in the coat that I have.

45:59Well, there were some people who accepted. They would take one look at their own coat, threadworn, threadbare coat, right? And they would look upon it and they would know immediately that it was insufficient. And they gladly exchanged it for the man's coat. Well, you can imagine the harsh winter came. And I'm going to let you finish the story. But I want you to answer three questions as you answer how things end. What happened to those who didn't take off and put on the Christmas coat?

46:42Talk it over with your parents. Talk it over. Think through it. What do the old coats and the new one represent? And finally, why did the Jews remain tethered to their sins? They're all related. Key verse: John 1:18. Would the ushers come forward? We're going to turn our attention to the Lord's Supper.