Sermon #28[1] Luke
Sermons
Title: “STRANGE THINGS”
Text: Luke 5:26
Readings: Office:
Bob Poncer Auditorium: Gary Baker
Subject: Some Paradoxes
The Believer Sees And Experiences
Date: Sunday Evening – April 23, 2000
Tape # V-79b
Introduction:
On a certain day during our Lord’s earthly
ministry, a great number of people spent a good part of the day in the presence
of the Son of God; and when the day was over, “They were all amazed, and they
glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things
today.” That is my subject tonight – “Strange Things.”
J. C. Ryle said, “The word translated `strange things’
is only used in this place in the New Testament. It is literally `paradoxes,’
things contrary to all common opinion and ordinary experience.”
The
fact is, God’s ways are not our ways. In fact, everything the natural man, or
the lost religious man thinks about God and grace, salvation and providence,
Christ and righteousness is always wrong. The natural man does not and cannot
know or in any way, to any degree understand…
·
The Grace of God.
·
The Lord Jesus Christ.
·
The People of God.
·
The Work of God.
These are all strange things to those who are
strangers to grace. Yet, the beiever looks on those things the world calls
strange and knows that, truly, his mercies and compassions are new every
morning.
Proposition: Those who know the Lord have
seen and experienced many strange things which cause them to be filled with
wonder and adoration.
Divisions:
1. The Strange Things Of That
Particular Day.
2. The Strange Things Of Our
Lord’s Day.
3. The Strange Things That Are
To Be Seen In Our Day.
4. The Strange Things Which
Shall Be Seen In That Eternal Day.
I.
First, I want us to consider THE STRANGE THINGS OF THAT PARTICULAR DAY which is mentioned in our
text.
It
was a day full of wonders, so much so that the people were all amazed and said,
“We have seen strange things today.’ What did they see?
A. They saw four men acting in strong faith.
Luke
5:17-19 "And it came to pass on a certain day,
as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting
by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem:
and the power of the Lord was present to
heal them[2]. (18) And, behold, men brought in a bed
a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him. (19) And
when they could not find by what way they
might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and
let him down through the tiling with his couch
into the midst before Jesus."
There
was a man who was completely paralyzed, who had four friends who believed on
Christ. They knew that if somehow they could get their sick friend into contact
with Christ, the Lord could heal him.
1. They were caring. - They had love and pity for a sick friend.
2. They were thoughtful. - They figured out a way.
3. They were zealous. - They would not be stopped.
4. They were successful. - They got him to the Lord.
I
wish that I could find some men as zealous and caring about the souls of men as
this. Let them adopt strange methods, let them be crude and abrupt, but give me
such men as this! Such men were strange in that generation, and they would
surely be strange in ours.
Mark 2:4 "And when they could not come nigh unto
him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had
broken it up, they let down the bed
wherein the sick of the palsy lay."
B. They saw a man who was a sinner freely forgiven of
all sin by the God-man.
Luke 5:20 "And when he saw their faith, he said
unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee."
Never
before had a man come who claimed to have the divine right and authority to
forgive sin. But this man could forgive sin, because he is the Son of God.
Truly, this was a strange thing.
1. The Pharisees were enraged.
2. The Greeks were astonished.
3. The sinner who was forgiven
was filled with joy.
4. My friends, the Lord Jesus
Christ, the God-man, is still in the business of forgiving sin!
a. All who trust him receive a
full, free, complete, irreversible pardon.
b. God is faithful and just to
forgive the sins of all his people, of every believer, through the blood of
Christ.
c. Believe on Christ, and you
too shall be forgiven.
Psalms
32:1-5 “Blessed
is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. (2) Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose
spirit there is no guile. (3) When I kept silence, my bones waxed
old through my roaring all the day long.
(4) For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned
into the drought of summer. Selah. (5) I
acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will
confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my
sin. Selah."
1 John 1:7 "But if we walk in the light, as he is
in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus
Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."
1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful
and just to forgive us our sins, and
to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
d. Here is something even
stranger - These people saw one man forgiven because of the faith of other men!
Look at verse 20 again.
Luke 5:20 "And when he saw their faith, he said
unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee."
C. They saw a
display of our Lord’s omniscience.
Luke
5:21-23 "And the scribes and the Pharisees began
to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive
sins, but God alone? (22) But when
Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts? (23) Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins
be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk?"
Christ
perceived what the Scribes and Pharisees were thinking and answered their
skepticism before they even spoke it.
This
was but one of those many incidental proofs of our Lord’s deity. The Son of God
perceives the thoughts of men. He knows our hearts. Nothing is hidden from him.
D. And they
saw a sick man, one who could lift neither hand nor foot, made completely whole
by the word of Christ.
Luke
5:24-25 "But that ye may
know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said
unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise,
and take up thy couch, and go into thine house. (25) And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that
whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God."
Truly
this was strange in their eyes. As an evidence of his true Messiahship and
divinity, to prove that he had power as God to forgive sin, the paralyzed man
was perfectly healed before their eyes; and they were all amazed.
You
who are spiritually sick with heart plague, sin, may come to Christ today and
be healed. He still performs miracles
of mercy. When the Son of God comes, the lame are made to walk, the
blind are made to see, the deaf are made to hear, and the dead are made to
live.
Hear Him, ye deaf, His
praise, ye dumb,
Your loosened tongues
employ;
Ye blind, behold your Savior
come,
And leap, ye lame, for joy!
II. Secondly, I
want to show you some of THE STRANGE THINGS
REVEALED IN THE GOSPEL.
If ever you have beheld the life and work of
our Lord Jesus Christ upon the earth by faith, you have been amazed by the many
strange things which you have seen.
A. The Creator of men became a man.
He that is infinite became an infant. He who
made all things hung upon a woman’s breasts. He who fills all things was laid
in a manger. He who is the Son of the Highest was known as the Son of Mary. He
who is the Lord of all became the servant of all. Truly, this was a strange
thing that happened in the earth (Isa. 9:6; John 1:14; Phil. 2:5-8; Heb.
1:1-3).
Jeremiah 31:22 "The LORD hath created a new thing in
the earth, A woman shall compass a man."
Isaiah 9:6 "For unto us a child is born, unto us a
son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall
be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The
Prince of Peace."
John 1:14 "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt
among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the
Father,) full of grace and truth."
Philippians 2:5-8 "Let this mind be in you, which was also
in Christ Jesus: (6) Who, being in
the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: (7) But made himself of no reputation,
and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: (8) And being found in fashion as a
man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the
cross."
Hebrews 1:1-3 "God, who at sundry times and in divers
manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, (2) Hath in these last days spoken unto
us by his Son, whom he hath appointed
heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; (3) Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all
things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat
down on the right hand of the Majesty on high."
B. This perfectly innocent, just, and righteous man
died as a vile transgressor and common criminal under the wrath of God, because
he was made to be sin for us. “Cursed is he that hangeth on a tree.”
1. Sin was imputed to the Son
of God (2 Cor. 5:21).
2. The Son of God was forsaken
by God the Father, when he was faithfully fulfilling his Father’s will.
3. The Just died in the place
of the unjust, that the unjust might be made just. The Innocent One became
guilty, that the guilty might become innocent. The Righteous One was made to be
sin, that the sinful might be made righteous.
4. Death was conquered by the
death of the God-man.
C. Truly, the
strangest, most mysterious, most unexplainable thing in all the world was the
death of Christ at Calvary.
Well might the sun
in darkness hide
And shut his glories in,
When God the mighty Maker
died,
For man the creature’s sin!
1. There hangs an unjustly
condemned man, praying for his executioners - “Father, forgive them.”
2. There hangs One who saved
others, but because he saved others he could not save himself.
3. There is Christ, the
innocent One, dying, while Barabbus, the guilty one is set free. -- That is
Substitution.
4. There hangs the eternal Son
of God, that One who is Life, and there he suffers and dies as a man.
5. Truly, this is the strangest
form of love, mercy, and grace this world has ever seen (1 John 3:16; Rom.
5:5-8).
Romans
5:5-8 "And hope maketh not ashamed; because
the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given
unto us. (6) For when we were yet
without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. (7) For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet
peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. (8) But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were
yet sinners, Christ died for us."
1 John 3:16 "Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life
for us: and we ought to lay down our lives
for the brethren."
Amazing love! How can it be,
That Thou my God shouldst
die for me!
D. Yet,
nothing is stranger than the choice of God’s electing love and saving grace.
1
Corinthians 1:26-29 "For ye see your calling, brethren, how
that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: (27) But God hath chosen the
foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak
things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; (28) And base things of the world, and
things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea,
and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: (29) That no flesh should glory in his
presence."
III. So, in the
third place, I want us to think about THE STRANGE THINGS THAT ARE
TO BE SEEN IN OUR DAY.
To
be sure, all who know the Lord Jesus Christ and have experienced his matchless
grace are aware of many strange things they have seen. If our Lord is pleased
to come and bless us here today, we will go home saying, “We have seen strange things today.”
Illustration: Many
years ago an old puritan, I believe it was William
Guthrie, visited a daying woman who was ignorant of the gospel and
unconverted. Guthrie preached the gospel to her and she joyfully believed it.
Before Guthrie left, the woman died. When he returned home, he said to his
family, “I have seen a strange thing today. A woman whom I found in a state of
nature, I saw in a state of grace, and left in a state of glory.”
Now
let me tell you of some strange things that I have seen and experienced in this
day of grace.
A.
I have seen a self-condemned
and helpless sinner completely justified by Jesus Christ (Job
40:4-5; 42:5-6; Psa. 51:3-4; Eph. 2:1-5).
Job 40:4-5 "Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer
thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth.
(5) Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will
proceed no further."
Job 42:5-6 "I have heard of thee by the hearing of
the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. (6)
Wherefore I abhor myself, and
repent in dust and ashes." peradventure for a good man some would even
dare to die. (8) But God commendeth
his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for
us."
Psalms 51:3-4 "For I acknowledge my
transgressions: and my sin is ever
before me. (4) Against thee, thee
only, have I sinned, and done this evil
in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest."
Ephesians 2:1-5 "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins: (2) Wherein in time past ye walked
according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of
the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: (3) Among whom also we all had our
conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of
the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as
others. (4) But God, who is rich in
mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, (5) Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together
with Christ, (by grace ye are saved)."
I
am telling you what I have seen for myself. I am not giving you second hand
information, I am bearing faithful witness of those things which I have seen
and experienced.
1. The Lord himself came to me.
2. My soul was in dreadful
despair, because of sin.
3. I feared the terrible
righteousness and justice of God.
4. I knew that God could save
me or damn me.
5. I knew that Christ died for
sinners.
6. I simply trusted myself to
Christ, leaning the whole weight of my soul upon him.
7. Immediately, the burden of
my sin, that awesome load of guilt, rolled away!
B. I have seen stout-hearted rebels broken and their
hearts renewed by almighty grace. – “With God all things are possible!”
·
Some have been converted suddenly.
·
Some have passed through a long ordeal of conviction and struggling.
·
Some have been rescued from a false hope.
·
Some have heard the word and were many years later converted.
Illustration: The Old Man Who Heard Whitfield as a Boy
But
every instance of God’s marvelous saving grace is a strange thing in our eyes
(John 3:8; 1 John 3:1-3).
John 3:8 "The wind
bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not
tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of
the Spirit."
1 John 3:1-3 "Behold, what manner of love the Father
hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the
world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. (2) Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear
what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him;
for we shall see him as he is. (3) And
every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is
pure."
C. I have seen
a soul preserved in spiritual life and faith by the grace of God amid many
trials of great evil.
Many of God’s people are like bushes burning,
but never consumed. They live in the midst of constant trials, heartaches, and
burdens. Yet, their faith does not grow dim.
Truly, these are strange things.
D. I have seen
evil turned into good by the gracious and wise hand of God’s providence.
The hand of God’s providence has been
evidently revealed to me many times in many ways.
1. Before Conversion.
2. After Conversion.
3. In My Personal Life.
4. In My Family.
5. In My Ministry.
Of
a truth, his strength is made perfect in weakness; and his grace is sufficient
for every day.
IV. And yet strange things still are to be seen.
In the last place let me show you some of
THE STRANGE THINGS THAT SHALL BE
SEEN IN THAT ETERNAL DAY.
Those things that shall yet come to pass will
truly be strange things in our eyes.
A.
Strange things will be seen
in the judgment.
Good, moral, religious men and women will be
sentenced to eternal damnation, while vile, wretched sinners who simply trusted
Christ enter into eternal glory.
B. Strange things will be seen in hell.
1. Men and women will beg for
mercy, but not find mercy.
2. People will long to die and
not be able to die.
3. Men will cry and scream like
babies, but no one will cry for them.
4. The bodies, souls, and
consciences of men will burn in pain and torment and yet never die.
5. The damned in hell will
cause no grief among the redeemed in glory.
C. And strange
things will be seen in heaven.
1. All the redeemed shall see
Christ in his beauty.
2. All the redeemed shall be
like Christ in glory.
3. All the redeemed shall be
perfect, righteous, and blameless.
4. All of God’s elect shall be
there.
John Newton said that heaven
will be full of strange things. He once wrote - “When I get to heaven, I shall
see three wonders there. The first wonder will be to see many people there whom
I did not expect to see. The second wonder will be to miss many people whom I
did expect to see. And the third and greatest wonder of all will be to find
myself there.”
Here
is the strangest of all strange things, the wonder of all wonders. This vile
wretch of a man, simply trusting the merits of Christ’s blood and righteousness
is an heir of eternal glory. And here is another wonder almost as great, you
could be too, if you will simply trust the Son of God.
Application: Here
are two other strange things, which I cannot understand:
1. Your unbelief is a strange
things to me. Why will you die, when life is set before you?
2. It is a strange thing to me
that we who have experienced so much love and grace in Christ return so little
faith and love to him.
[1] Similar
Message #486 - Preached at Danville 3-6-83, 10-5-86, 6-20-93; Jacksonville, FL
3-10-83; Kingston, Jamaica 3-13-83; Ansted, WV 3-30-83. This message preached
at Danville – Tuesday Evening (October 29, 1996) and Sunday Evening – (April
23, 2000)
[2] The power of
the Lord was present to heal the Pharisees; but they did not need healing! Luke 5:17 "And it came to pass on a certain day,
as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting
by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem:
and the power of the Lord was present to
heal them." Luke 9:11 "And the people, when they knew it, followed him: and he received them,
and spake unto them of the kingdom of God, and healed them that had need of healing."