Today, on this the 7th day Sabbath of out God, the Creator of Heaven and earth, we will deviate a bit from our daily study of To know Jesus Christ as He is presented to us in the four Gospels of Matthews, Mark Luke and John.
Today we will listen to s sermon by a man of God; Dr. Sidlow J. Baxter “The Sublime Uniqueness of The Lord Jesus Christ”
I have also tried to make a transcript of the Sermon and published it on our website;
https://quovadisworld.com/ under the heading “The Sublime Uniqueness of the Lord Jesus Christ”
This Sermon gives you a deeper insight into the Man Jesus Christ the saviour of all mankind, the Messiah Son Of God, God with Us.
Let us listen with great intend with great attention, get to know Jesus like we should know Him.
Tomorrow, Sunday on the first day of the working week, the day we use to worship and bring our money and contributions to the Lord, we will carry on with our study of Jesus Christ Son Of God.
May God Bless and Keep you all, My He give you all His Peace.
Have a blessed Sabbath and remember today “This is the day which the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” Psalm 118:4
Now let us enjoy the Sermon, read while you also listen. This sermon teaches us a lot about Jesus Christ, so pay close attention.
The Sublime Uniqueness of “The Lord Jesus Christ” – Dr. Sidlow J. Baxter.
Our subject, in reality, is Jesus according to himself. No one can read, observantly through the narratives of the four gospels without noticing the recurrence of three simple and yet significant expressions in the phraseology of Jesus. Those three are; I am, I say, I will. They are so recurrent and characteristic as to be practically idiomatic. In those three signature forms, we see three arresting features. First, in that recurrent I AM, we see a unique and sublime egoism. Second, in that recurrent I say, we see a unique and sublime dogmatism. Third, in that recurrent I will, we see a sublime regalism. I am, I say, I will, egoism dogmatism, regalism. In the dictionary meaning, and common usage of today, those three terms are definitely undesirable. But in the teaching and character of Jesus, we see them in a sublimated and magnetic form.
Let me ask you, first of all, to think a little about the unique and sublime egoism of Jesus. Let us be clear first as to the use of the term. Egoism in philosophy is the doctrine that we have no proof of anything, but our own existence. In ethics, egoism is the theory that self-interest is the root of all human morality. In common parlance, egoism is inflated self-esteem. Let us once remove those meanings far from that lovely man who both by lip and life said, “I am meek and lowly in heart.”
Ordinarily, egoism is self-assumption, accompanied by self-assertiveness, and both these spring from the presuming use of self-ignorance. But in the case of Jesus, you have the unique feature of a self-assuming without the slightest self-inflation. Moreover, what Jesus assumes concerning himself is the very opposite of any presuming upon self-ignorance. There is not a psychologist in the world today who understands human nature as Jesus does. His mental and moral diagnosis, his ethical and spiritual teachings, his miracles of physical healing, and his omniscience foretelling of the distant future. All indicate that he speaks out all the supernatural Pleroma of knowledge.
He is neither [inaudible 00:05:21]. He is too meek for egotism. He is too big for bigotry. He speaks from the consciousness of sincerity and knowledge, which are as obvious and transparent to us as they were deep in his own mind. Listen then to the seven occurrences of his majestic, I am, as they occurred in the gospel, according to John. One, in Chapter 6, “I am the bread of life.” Two, in Chapter 8, “I’m the light of the world.” Three, in Chapter 10, “I am the door of the sheep.” Four, in Chapter 10, verse 11, “I am the good shepherd.” Five, in Chapter 11, “I am the resurrection.” Six, in Chapter 14, “I am the way, the truth, the life.” Seven, in Chapter 15, “I am the true vine.” Did you ever hear of anyone else in history-making such orders, exalted, profound and startling claims? But was Jesus aware of their immensity?
And did he make those claims really seriously? Those two questions are easily answered by reading the seven; I am in their immediate setting. Take the first; I am the bread of life to which he adds, “He, that cometh to me shall never hunger. And he, that believeth on me shall never thirst.” Take the second. I am the light of the world to which he adds, “He follows me shall not walk in the darkness, but have the light of life.” Take the third; I am the door of the sheep to which he adds, “By me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved.” Take the fourth; I’m the good shepherd to which he adds, “I lay down my life of myself. No man takes it from me. I have power to lay it down. I have power to take it again.” Take the fifth; I am the resurrection to which he adds, “He that believeth on me, though he shall have died. Yet, he shall live again. And who is living on believing upon me shall never die.” Take the six. I am the way the truth and the life to which he adds, “No man cometh to the father, but by me.” Take the seven; I am the true vine to which he adds, “My father is the husbandman. And apart from me, you can do nothing.”
But all those seven stupendous I am of Jesus, substantiated by testimony other than his own. Indeed, they were. In the fifth chapter of John, we find that on being challenged, Our Lord submitted four witnesses. One, the advanced witness of John, the Baptist. Two, the supernatural witness of God, the father. “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Three, his own miraculous sign miracles. And four, the testimony of the Old Testament prophets. And to those four, we may now add a further three. One, the testimony of his stainless character, and two, the undeniability of his bodily resurrection. And three, his well-attested visible ascension. Thus the seven-fold claim of Jesus has seven-fold attestation.
This is indeed a unique and sublime egoism. And what does it mean? Well, both primarily and fundamentally, it means the message of Jesus Christ was himself in that he is altogether unique. He did not come merely to preach a gospel; he himself is the gospel. He did not come merely to give bread. He said, I am the bread. He did not come merely to shed light, he said, I am the light. He did not come just to show the door; he said, I am the door. He did not come merely to name a shepherd, he said, I am the shepherd. He did not come merely to promise a resurrection, he said, I am the resurrection. He did not come just to point to the way, he said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. He did not come merely to plant a vine or start a new movement, he said, I am the vine.
Now think what all of that means to us as human beings full of needs. Jesus is the solitary, absolute, and final goal of all our human heart quest. I remember years ago, plowing my way through the three main periods of philosophy, the ancient, the middle, and the modern. Starting with Heraclitus, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, and coming right down to the modern period, beginning with Descartes, the famous French philosopher. And then finding a temporary [inaudible 00:12:20]. Only to find that everybody else who’s found human philosophy doesn’t have the final answer or the last word. Even at its best human philosophy is shifting sand. I remember reading the life and the moralizing of Kung Fu Sage, the great Sage of China Confucius, and the famous [inaudible 00:12:52] and his Buddhist break from Hinduism and Mohammed and the Koran of Islam. But none of those religious innovators ever dreamed of saying, I am, I say, I will in the way that Jesus says it. By their own confession, they were religious philosophers, would be Pathfinders by their own confession. They had not found the way; they were seeking the way. But Jesus says, I am the way, I am the truth. I am the light. And I say again, in that he is utterly transcendent and unquestionably unique.
It means this, is your soul hungry with an emptiness that nothing on earth can satisfy? Jesus says, I’m the bread you need. Is your mind dark with problems that no philosophy on earth can dispel? Jesus says, if you walk after me, I’m the light you need. Are you seeking the salvation of your soul? Jesus says, I’m the door; if you will come through me, you’ll find salvation. Are you trying to find a true leader and provider for the needs of your mind and your soul? Jesus says, I’m the good shepherd, I lead you to the green pastures. Are you wanting hope for that mysterious life beyond the gates of the grave? Jesus says, I am the resurrection, and I am the life. Are you really honestly trying to find the way to God, and yet you’re puzzled? You seem as though you can’t find God who is everywhere and yet, so illusion.
Jesus says, I’m the way; trend me with your feet. I’m the truth; trust me with your heart. I am the life, treasure me. And I’m yours. Are you longing to know the secret of living a life of fruitfulness, and self-fulfillment? Jesus says, I am the true vine, he that abides in me, the same bring forth much fruit.
But now briefly look at the unique and sublime dogmatism of Jesus. One hundred thirteen times in the gospels, we find our Lord’s characteristic, I say. Now, that word dogmatism has unpalatable associations. In its stricter sense, of course, it simply means the positive assertions of doctrines or tenets in the name of some denomination. In its commoner on more objectionable sense, it means headstrong self opinionitiveness. But in the case of Jesus, once again, dogmatism is given a unique sublimation. If there is one thing more noticeable than another, it is this that Jesus, in all that he said and taught, was not merely purveying mere opinions or a contending for personal views. He was not merely passing on what he had read or studied, or what a human teacher had taught him. The dogmatism of Jesus was his declaration of truth with an originality and authority and profundity and finality, which grew out of his own absolute certitude of knowledge.
Have you ever noticed in reading the memoirs, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John Jesus never once argued? Jesus never reasoned a thing out. Jesus never once drew on inference. Jesus never used the word, perhaps. Jesus never arrived at a conclusion. He never needed to; he was already there. Jesus never once had to go back and correct himself. Never once did he have to modify or improve or correct a former utterance. All the way through with Jesus, there is certainty, simplicity, authority, and finality. Jesus was certain because his knowledge was absolute. Therefore, in the royal dogmatism of Jesus, there is no pride of learning. There is no need for an elaborate syllogism, but his masterly verily, verily settled it once for all. In the word, there was a unique and sublime dogmatism, which 2000 years of critical testing have only served to substantiate. Oh, I have down here so many quotations, which I’m afraid I must bypass. You have heard how it was said of old time, but I say unto you, you have heard that it has been said, but I say to you all the time, you’re listening to the tones of legality, of absolute knowledge uncertainty.
If you will take time, one of these days to go through all the I say of Jesus, you’ll find that he has the last word on one, how all things began. Two, how all things will eventuate. Three, on the being of God. Four, on human destiny beyond the grave. And five, the way of human salvation. And all the time he’s teaching us about God and about man, and about death, and about the beyond, and about salvation. You have his verily, verily I say to you. And when Jesus says it, somehow deep calls unto deep. And deep in your mind and mine, there’s a consciousness that what Jesus says is the truth. I mentioned only just one of those great I will passage in a famous paragraph. John, Chapter 5, “Verily, verily, I say to you, he that hears my word, and believes on him that sent me has everlasting life, and shall not come into the judgment. And if they’re are in St. Andrew’s Cathedral just now, those who have no inward consciousness of being reconciled to God, cleansed from sin, and saved forever. That’s the I say of Jesus to you. I say it to you. He that hears my word and believes on him that sent me to have everlasting life.
And finally, see the unique and sublime legalism of Jesus over and over and over again in these immortal records, we have this, I will. Now, nothing is more pathetic than unaffected re legalism moving and posing as King, or Lord or Master when there is no compelling power in the personality or no kingliness of stature. We are living in days that are hyper suspicious of all hypocrisy or legalism in any form. It is not an admired concept today, but in Jesus, you see a sublimated legalism. Jesus walks and speaks on that as one who knows that at his feet, nature and angels and demons, and mysteries and life and death, all pay homage. Just listened to a few of them. To the leper, I will, be thou clean.
And he still says I will to more lepers. Listen to his first promise to humanity. Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden. And I will give you rest. Is that just man talking or incarnate God? Listen to this prophetic; I will. And upon this rock, I will build my ecclesia, and the gates of hades shall not prevail against it. Listen to this, he that believes on me has everlasting life, and I will raise him up on the last day. Listen to this; if I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all man to me. Listen to this; it is expedient for you that I go away, for I go not away, the helper will not come to you. But if I depart, I will do what only God can do. I will send the Holy Spirit, the heavenly power. I will send them to you. Just once again, I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and I will receive you to myself.
Years ago now King Edward VII, paid a visit to our large York’s your city of Leeds. And there was a great welcome prepared for his majesty, which included thousands of boys and girls from the schools in Leeds, who were brought together and made wonderful choirs to sing to King Edward. All too soon, the visit was over, but the King made a very kind promise to the scholars of the school which had not been able to participate in the public welcome. It’s happened that the railings of the playground ran along the side of the railway, just near a tunnel through which the Royal train was to emerge as the King passed on his way from Leeds South again. And King Edward’s promise that if all the scholars would be up the rails of their playground, he would stand at the door of the Royal coach and wave to them. You can guess what that meant to that crowd of boys and girls. Well, the day came, and the hour, and the moment. And as those hundreds of boys and girls lined the rails to see the Royal train come out of that tunnel and slowly pass on the railway line. Along by the school, they peered onto that railway trackers like their little eyes would come out. And presently, there it was, the Royal train. There was the King, King Edward VII, dressed in a light gray suit with a rather bright tie. And he was not wearing a hat of any kind, and he waved, and waved again, but it was all too short for those boys and girls. And soon, they saw the Royal train disappear down the track.
One of the teachers found one little girl weeping her eyes out, and she said, what on earth is the matter, dear? And what do you think the little girl said? She thought she was going to see the King dressed in armour and in purple, wearing his crown and wilding his sceptre. She wanted to see him in all the lindens of his royal regalia. And she was weeping, and she said, I wanted to see the king, and I only saw a man. Oh, the tragedy of human history is this, John Chapter 1, Verse 5. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world didn’t know him. And That’s the biggest irony and tragedy in modern Sydney. The King has come, and they’re saying, we’ve only seen a man. I wanted to see the King. And I only saw a man. But he’s the King.
And as I close, let me ask you to look at him and listen again. I am, he’s telling you who he is, gaze at him. I say, he’s the invaluable teacher, learn of him. I will; he’s the King of glory, bow to him. I am; he’s the perfect exemplar. I say, he’s the infallible teacher. I will; he’s the sovereign savior. I am, he’s your all-sufficiency. I say, he is your eternal security. I will; he is your never-failing pledge of salvation. And those others who know him who are true Christian believers, listen to his, I am and worship him. Listen to his, I say, and heed him. Listen to his, I will and yield to him. Listen again.
I am, he’s telling you who he is, gaze at him. I say, he’s the infallible teacher learn of him. I will; he’s the King of glory, bow to him. I am; he’s the perfect exemplar. I say, he’s the infallible teacher. I will; he’s the sovereign saviour. I am, he’s your all-sufficiency. I say, he is your eternal security. I will; he is your never-failing pledge of salvation. And those others who know him who are true Christian believers, listen to his I am, and worship him. Listen to his, I say, and heed him. Listen to his, I will, and yield to him. And may I remind you in closing of one of the loveliest “I will” the King of heaven ever spoke. Him that cometh to me, I will in no way cast out.
Amen.
PLEASE PRAY THE HOLY SPIRIT WILL USE THIS SERMON TO BRING MAY TO A UNDERSTANDING AND SAVING KNOWLEDGE OF JESUS CHRIST.
TELL SOMEONE TODAY HOW MUCH YOU LOVE JESUS CHRIST.
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