======================================================================== WHAT THINK YE OF CHRIST? by John McClay ======================================================================== Summary: The sermon emphasizes the importance of thinking correctly about Christ and highlights the various ways in which people have described his worthiness, preciousness, and loveliness. Duration: 23:51 Topics: "Redemption Through Christ", "Worthiness Of God" Scripture References: Matthew 22:35-46, Revelation 5:9 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DESCRIPTION ------------------------------------------------------------------------ In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the theme of redemption, which runs throughout the Bible. He highlights the wonderful message of redemption, explaining how sinners can be redeemed through the precious blood of Jesus. The preacher mentions that redemption was planned in eternity, even before the creation of the world. He then refers to Revelation chapter 5, where a heavenly scene is described, with a company of people singing a new song about the worthiness of Christ, who has redeemed them to God through his blood. The sermon concludes with the preacher posing the important question asked by Jesus to the Pharisees: 'What think ye of Christ?' ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CONTENT ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I want to read this evening from Matthew's Gospel chapter 22. Then said one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? And Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. When the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, What think ye of Christ? Whose son is he? They say unto him, The son of David. He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord? Saying, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand till I make thine enemies thy footstool. If David then call him Lord, how is he his son? And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more question. Now my text this evening are those words in verse number 42, where the Lord Jesus said, What think ye of Christ? What a very important question. This question was asked, of course, by the Lord Jesus. In verse number 35, we read there how a lawyer came and asked a question to him. Which is the great commandment in the law? And the Lord Jesus, of course, answered them, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. And while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, What think ye of Christ? Whose son is he? And they, of course, said, The son of David. He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord? Saying, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand till I make thine enemies thy footstool. If David then call him Lord, how is he then his son? And, of course, the Lord Jesus silenced the people. He silenced the people. And I want you this evening to think of this very important question asked by the Lord Jesus to these Pharisees. What think ye of Christ? What an important question it is. The hymn writer asked the question, What think ye of Christ is the test to try both your state and your scheme? You cannot be right in the rest unless you think rightly of him. It is so very important to think rightly of the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. What think ye of Christ? You know, there are some of you here this evening that I know. And if I were to go around you personally and ask you, What do you think of him? What do you think of Christ? I know the kind of answers I would receive. For those of us, you know, who are saved, we think much. We think everything of the blessed Lord Jesus Christ. I want us just this evening to take a little journey, as it were, through the scriptures. And to look at some people and to what they thought of Christ. We're going to look first of all at Revelation chapter 5. There we have a heavenly scene. And you know, there is a company of people. And there they are singing the new song. And verse 9 says, They sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book. For thou wast slain and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred and people and tongue and nation. Here we have these people. And you know, if you were to ask them the question, What do you think of Christ? They would answer this, He is worthy. He is the one who is worthy, worthy to open the book. And you know, here they are singing in heaven. And they are singing about his worthiness. Now I want us just for a moment or two, just to think about their song. I want you to notice the great theme in their song. There was a great theme. And the great theme was the theme of redemption. That was the theme, of course, that runs through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. It's the great theme of redemption. As the hymn writer could say, Oh, wonderful story. Glad message for you and for me. That Jesus has purchased our pardon and paid all our debt on the tree. Believe it, oh sinner, believe it. Receive the glad message that's true. That Jesus has purchased our pardon and paid all our debt on the tree. Do you know what a wonderful message? It is the message of redemption. Telling sinners how they can be redeemed unto God by the precious blood of the Lord Jesus. Do you know, redemption was planned in eternity before ever Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden. Before ever God made the world. Redemption was planned. The hymn writer could say, Before thy hands had made the sun to rule the day, or earth's foundation laid, or fashioned Adam's clay, what thoughts of love and mercy flowed in thy great heart of love, oh God. God loved us. God thought about us in eternity. And he planned redemption. And you know, when the fullness of the time was come, he sent that blessed one into the world. And entered into this world was the Lord Jesus, the Son of the living God. And he came that he might go to Calvary and die and shed his precious blood and there provide redemption, provide a way back to God from the dark paths of sin. A way whereby sinners could be reconciled to God. You know, this was the great theme in their song. But you know, there's a great triumph in the song. For it says, Thou wast slain. You see, the one who was slain was the one, of course, who rose again from the dead. Up from the grave he arose. With a mighty triumph over his foes. He arose the victor from the dark domain. And he lives forever with his saints to reign. He arose, he arose. Hallelujah! Christ arose. The great triumph in the song. My dear friends this evening, isn't it great to know that he's alive? He's alive in the presence of God. And this was the great triumph in their song. They were singing unto one who was alive. One who had defeated death and hell and the grave. You know, there's not only the great theme in the song and the great triumph in the song, but you know, there's the great testimony in the song. They sung a new song saying, Thou wast slain and hast redeemed us. These people had a testimony. These people had experienced redemption. There was a time in their life when they learned this very important lesson. That in the sight of God they were sinners. And in their sin they could never enter heaven. And if they died in their sin, they would be lost and banished into the lake of fire for all eternity. But they saw their need. The Spirit of God wakened them and showed to them their need of Christ and their need of salvation. And you know, there was a time when they looked to the cross. When they looked to the Christ of the cross. And they put their faith and trust in Him and they experienced redemption. What a wonderful moment it is in a person's life when they experience redemption. I'll never forget it. Over 55 years ago on a Sunday evening under the preaching of the late W.P. Nicholson I can remember it well. Trusting Jesus Christ as my own and personal Saviour. And I experienced redemption. Tell me, have you experienced redemption? Are you saved tonight? Are you ready for heaven? Here we have these people. If you'd have asked them, what do you think of Christ? He's worthy. He's worthy. I want you to look at another scripture. This time it's 1 Peter. 1 Peter chapter 2. And there you know Peter said these words in verse 7. Unto you therefore which believe He is precious. What a wonderful word. Unto you therefore which believe He is precious. If you would have gone to Peter and to these people to whom he was writing and were to say to them what think ye of Christ? Tell me, what do you think of Christ? They would have told us this. He's precious. Precious. More precious than silver or gold. More precious than anyone. More precious than anything in this world today. Jesus my Saviour is precious to me. And if you said to Peter Peter, why is this one so very precious to you? Why is the Lord Jesus so very precious to you? You know Peter would have said this. First of all I believe He's precious to us because of who He is. Because of who He is. You remember in Matthew chapter 16 when the Lord Jesus was coming to the coast of Caesarea Philippi the Lord Jesus asked a question to the disciples and He said to them Whom do men say that I the Son of Man am? And of course they said Some said you're John the Baptist. Some said you're Elijah. Some said you're one of the prophets. Some said you're Jeremiah. But whom do ye say that I am? And it was Peter who said Thou art the Christ the Son of the Living God. Oh what a confession. Thou art the Christ the Son of the Living God. Do you know the Lord Jesus said Blessed art thou Simon Barjona for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee but my Father which is in heaven. It was a divine revelation that Jesus is the Son of God. My dear friend let me tell you this evening without the shadow of a doubt He is the Eternal Son of the Eternal God. Yes He would have said He's precious because of who He is but you know He's precious because of what He has done. He's precious because of what He has done. In chapter 2 in verse 24 He says this Who His own self bare our sins on His own body on the tree that we being dead to sins should live unto righteousness by His stripes ye were healed. My, the cross. He died there on the cross to make a way back to God. He died for our sins winded for our transgressions bruised for our iniquities the chastisement of our peace was upon Him and with His stripes we are healed. Peter would have said He's precious because of who He is. He's precious because of what He has done for us but you know He's precious because of what He has given to us. He's precious because of what He has given to us. In chapter 1 you know He says this Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance incorruptible undefiled that feedeth not away reserved in heaven for you who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Oh, what a hope! What a hope the Lord Jesus gave to them! What a hope the Lord Jesus has given to His people, to His children! Tell me, are you saved tonight? Tell me, have you got the hope tonight? Do you know that you're going home to glory? The little hymn could say we're going home to glory soon to see the city bright to walk the golden streets of heaven and bask in God's own light. But some of you are out of Christ and held by many a snare we cannot leave you lost alone we want you over there. My those in the glory they were singing about the worthiness of Christ and here we have Peter he's writing about the preciousness of Christ. Do you know there's another scripture that came to my mind it's in the Song of Solomon chapter 5 and there of course we have that lovely story of the bride and the bridegroom and of course the bride is asked the question What is thy beloved more than another beloved that thou dost so charges? Tell me, what's different about him? What is thy beloved more than another beloved that thou dost so charges? My, if you'd have spoken to this dear person and to the bride and said, what do you think of Christ? Do you know what she said? He's altogether lovely. He's altogether lovely. My, she began to speak of him. My beloved is white and ruddy he's the chiefest among ten thousand and then she says, you know his mouth is both sweet he is altogether lovely this is my beloved and this is my friend he's altogether lovely the loveliness of Christ. Do you know everything about him is lovely My, everything about him is lovely My, the lovely life that he lived the one who knew no sin the one who had no sin and the one in whom is no sin spotless, perfect, Lamb of God sinless, what a life he lived what lovely words he said what lovely words he spoke how he could say to the sinner thy sins be forgiven thee how he could say to those who were bound in sin if the Son therefore shall make you free ye shall be free indeed the loveliness of Christ Tell me, what do you think of him? What do you think of Christ? Those who said he's worthy speak about his worthiness those who speak about his preciousness and those who speak about his loveliness I'm going to look now at the prophet Isaiah Isaiah chapter 9 Isaiah was that wonderful prophet someone has called the prophecy of Isaiah the gospel according to Isaiah because it's just full of Christ and in chapter 7 of course he speaks there of the virgin birth but it's chapter 9 verse 6 I want you to think of chapter 9 verse 6 he says this 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 of the mighty God the everlasting father and the prince of peace the word I want you to think about here is the word wonderful not only is he worthy and precious and lovely but he's wonderful wonderful unto us a child is born unto us a son is given and his name shall be called wonderful and the one who is wonderful of course is none other than the mighty God and the everlasting father what do we see? if you would have said to Isaiah the prophet and he prophesied of course about Christ what do you think about Christ? do you know if he would have just said he's wonderful he's wonderful a wonderful saviour is Jesus my Lord a wonderful saviour to me do you know if in Revelation 5 we think about his worthiness 1 Peter 2 we're thinking about his preciousness Solomon 5 we're thinking about his loveliness and here in Isaiah 9 we're thinking about his uniqueness uniqueness there's none like him there's none like Jesus as the hymn writer said no mortal can with him compare among the sons of men fairer is he than all the fair that fill the heavenly train how wonderful Jesus really is do you know no one ever loved like him no one ever loved like him do you know I love that lovely verse because the Lord used it to bring the assurance of salvation home to my soul for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life my dear friend if you're in the meeting this evening and you've never been saved you've never been saved would you listen to this great verse again it tells us about God's love God so loved the world God loved the world of sinners lost and ruined by the fall salvation full at highest cost he offers free to all it tells us about the love of God God loved you so much that he gave his only begotten son the one in whom God found all his pleasure and all his delight God gave him to the cruel agonizing death of the cross in order that you might be saved God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son and listen to it that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life my what a blessing my what a salvation and if you're not saved tonight thank God you can have it salvation is a gift free gift of God the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord tell me in closing what do you think of Christ? what do you think of Christ? have you ever trusted him as your saviour? can you not see that you're lost? perishing? can you not see that he loves you? that Christ has died for you that salvation is for you tonight if you'll come this is the glorious message of the gospel and if you're not saved tonight will you come? will you put your trust in him? for his name's sake ======================================================================== Audio: https://sermonindex1.b-cdn.net/2/SID2887.mp3 Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/john-mcclay/what-think-ye-of-christ/ ========================================================================