The Rejected Stone Exalted I - Part 2 of 3

Oh, for a thousand tongues to sing, my great Redeemer's praise, The praise of my God and King, the triumphs of his grace.

This is Lecce Bradley, Jr., welcoming you to another broadcast of the Baptist Bible Hour. Jesus, what a friend for sinners, Jesus, lover of my soul. Friends may fail me, foes assail me, he, my Savior, makes me whole. Alleluia, what a Savior, Alleluia, what a friend. Saving, helping, keeping, loving, he is with me to the end.

Jesus, what a strength in weakness, let me hide myself in him. Tempted triumph, sometimes failing, he, my strength, my victory wins. Alleluia, what a Savior, Alleluia, what a friend. Saving, helping, keeping, loving, he is with me to the end.

Jesus, what a help in sorrow, while the billows o'er me roll. Even when my heart is breaking, he, my comfort helps my soul. Alleluia, what a Savior, Alleluia, what a friend. Saving, helping, keeping, loving, he is with me to the end. Jesus, what a guide and keeper, while the tempest still is high. Storms about me guide, o'er takes me, he, my God, and he hears my cry. Alleluia, what a Savior, Alleluia, what a friend.

Saving, helping, keeping, loving, he is with me to the end. We continue today with the message, The Rejected Stone Exalted. There were multitudes when Jesus was here on earth that rejected his message, rejected his claims, and certainly there are multitudes that reject them today. Yet Jesus Christ is exalted, given a name above every name, and ultimately at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess.

Furthermore, he was rejected because of what he taught. Read in the fourth chapter of the book of Luke that Jesus went back to his hometown, Nazareth. They anticipated that he would perform some spectacular miracle there. He said, I know what you're thinking. They didn't speak that to him, but since he was God in the flesh, he knew what they were thinking and he said, I know what you want. You want something to occur here in which you can boast in glory as though the miracle at this place exceeded those at other places, but what did Jesus do? Jesus chose to speak on the subject of sovereignty. He talked about the fact that there were many widows in the days of the prophet and God only fed one and she was not an Israelite. Point number one of his sermon didn't go over very well.

Point number two was just like it. There were many lepers, but God only cleansed one and he was not naming the Israelite. He was naming the Syrian. He was an enemy. He had carried some of the people captive.

They didn't want to hear that. Their thought was, we're God's special favorite people. If God is going to cleanse any leper, he'll surely cleanse one among us. But Jesus said, he cleansed one of those among the enemies. The point was, God being sovereign has the absolute right to bestow his blessings, to feed those that are hungry and cleanse those that are diseased according to his own pleasure, not being obligated, not paying what somebody deserves.

It's not a reward that's given its by his sovereign blessing that those things are meted out and in like manner salvation is bestowed according to his sovereign grace. Now remember, these were people who were in the synagogue on the Sabbath day for the said purpose of worshiping God. God's son was the visiting minister. They were full of anger. They thought on either side, rushed him out of the temple, went to the brow of the nearest mountain and would have cast him over head first.

Why? Because of what he preached. Because he preached the truth of sovereignty. Then in John chapter 5 verse 42, he says this, But I know you that ye have not the love of God in you. I am coming my father's name and ye receive me not. If another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive. Jesus said, I come in my father's name and therefore you do not receive me.

See, that was just more than they could handle. They didn't mind recognizing him as a great teacher saying, you know, he spoke with authority. He was unusual. He was unique.

They never heard another man speak like he spoke. But when he said, I have come in my father's name, what is he saying? I am the son of God. That was too much.

They couldn't take that. Chapter 6, John chapter 6 verse 35, And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never hunger.

He that believeth on me shall never thirst. Verse 41, The Jews then murmured at him because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven. The Jews murmured. So it's one thing to go out and hear this rabbi speak.

One thing to hear him talk about Old Testament scriptures and give his point of view. But when he says, I am the bread come down from heaven, that's too much. And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven? We know him.

We know his mother and father. This is absurd. We can't endorse this. We can't accept this concept. And then in the 61st verse of the same chapter, When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you? What and if ye shall see the son of man ascend up where he was before?

Now you see, you couldn't misunderstand that. He said, If what I've said about being the bread of heaven offends you, what about this? When you shall see the son of man ascend up where he was before? That's a declaration that he is going back to heaven. And if he's going back there, that means he came from there.

So if you see this, it is the spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing, the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life. Verse 66, From that time, many of his disciples went back and walked no more with him. That's a hard saying.

We can't handle this. They rejected his message. They rejected him. Chapter eight, John chapter eight, verse 12, Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world. He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. Now, notice the response. Look what the Pharisees say, The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record of thyself, thy record is not true.

My! Can you imagine that? You know, the scripture says if they had really known who he was, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

Can you imagine? Here is a religious leader. Here are Pharisees, moral men, well respected men, learned men, and they're standing in the face of Jesus Christ, who is the God-man.

The one by whom God created heaven and earth holds all things in his hand. The only reason those Pharisees could stand there alive was through God's great mercy and graciousness. And they're going to stand in the face of Jesus Christ and say, Thy record is not true.

They rejected the stone. Verse 37, same chapter, I know that you're Abraham's seed, but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you. I speak that which I have seen with my father, and ye do that which ye have seen with your father. They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father.

Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth. Now Jesus says, I am the man that has told you the truth.

They've already said, Thy record is not true. What you say, what you preach, what you teach is not so. Jesus says, If you were truly the seed of Abraham, yes, they were Abraham's natural seed, but if you're of the spiritual seed, you would be like Abraham and by faith embrace what I'm telling you. But ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God. This did not Abraham.

Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication, we have one father, even God. Jesus said unto them, If God were your father, ye would love me.

That language is pretty plain, isn't it? He says, If God were your father, if you were of the seed of Abraham, if you were a true Israelite, then you would love me. You wouldn't stand there in the face of the Messiah, the God-man, Jesus Christ, the Savior of sinners and say, What you're declaring is not so. For I proceeded forth and came from God, neither came I of myself, but he sent me. Why do you not understand my speech?

Even because he cannot hear my word. You're of your father, the devil. Now I don't have the insight, the right or authority to look at anybody and say you are of your father, the devil. I've seen a few people in time and I felt like I could say you're acting like the devil. Right at this exact moment, that's about all that's apparent as a little devilish spirit here and there, but I don't have the authority to say that. Now Jesus could because he obviously knew those that were his. He knew the names of his sheep, the members of his flock, those that were given him in the covenant before the foundation of the world.

It could have been when you would look at a given individual. In other words, if I were to look at somebody today and I concluded this person shows no evidence of grace, I see no fruit in them at all. They may be one of God's elect, but they've not yet been regenerated.

In later time there may be a great transformation, there may be a tremendous change. It might not come to the very last moment of life. The thief on the cross had no time for reformation. There was no time to live out a good life, but Jesus said, this day shall thou be with me in paradise.

And so that transformation should come at the very end. But Jesus, knowing who his people are, could say, you are of your father, the devil, and the lust of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own, for he is a liar and the father of it.

And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not. Jesus Christ is despised today when his claims are really pressed. See, there are a lot of people who are willing to say, oh, I believe Jesus was a good man.

I think he was a great teacher. I think Christianity is one of the great religions of the world. And periodically you'll hear about efforts to get everybody together. Say, you know, we need to have unity. We're going to all come together. We've got a common interest, common goal, we all believe in the one God. I want to tell you, such an assembly as that is absolutely impossible if the claims of Jesus Christ are pressed.

They're willing to say, yes, we have a lot of things in common. Yes, let's all come together. But when you declare what Jesus did, he's the bread come down from heaven. He came down from the father, he's going back. He's the light, he's the truth. John chapter 14 verse 6, Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth and the life.

No man cometh unto the father but by me. Oh, wait a minute, wait a minute, you people are narrow minded. No, we can't tolerate that. We want unity.

You're going to have to lay that down. Now, it's all right for you to believe in Jesus as a great teacher, believe in Jesus as a great example, believe in Jesus as a great philosopher, but when you say he is the way, no, there's a lot of ways, we all just choose what's more comfortable for us. No, Jesus says, I am the way, I am the truth. Somebody says, well, you know, there's a little truth in all religions. I like to look for truth wherever I can find it. And of course, in this day and time, the attitude is, well, you know, this is truth for me, it may not be for you. Avoid all concept of something being absolute.

You know, this works for me, so it must be all right. My friends, Jesus Christ is the truth and what he taught is the truth. It's an absolute, not open for negotiation, not open for compromise.

It's the way. Now, when you take that stand, you begin to find out what rejection is about. Just as Jesus Christ himself was rejected, you take that stand and you're going to be rejected by some people.

You're going to find people who will not tolerate that and will tell you, you're narrow-minded, you're prejudiced, you're bigoted. And it's that stand that brought about persecution on the early church and has brought about persecution through the years and may yet bring persecution upon us in this land. There are Christians being persecuted around the world today. There are people dying for the testimony of Christ. A willingness to compromise might prevent that, but they're willing to take a stand to say Jesus Christ is who he said he was, he's everything that he claimed to be.

Now, having seen that the stone was rejected and something about the rejected stone, we see the promise or declaration that Christ made concerning the fact that the stone would ultimately be exalted. That is, he would be resurrected. Jesus clearly taught that, that though in the parable what happened, the servants came, some of them were beaten, some of them were killed, finally the son came. What did they do to the son? They killed him. Where did they kill him? They took him outside the vineyard. Where was Jesus crucified?

Outside the city. This was all prophesied. This was all seen in advance. Now, Jesus spoke to the fact that though he would die, though he came to save his people, though he would lay down his life at the cross, he would come out of the grave. Sometimes he spoke in what might be considered veiled terms. Not direct, not explicit, but it's clear enough for us now with the whole scope of things in the completed canon of scripture to understand what he was talking about. John chapter 2 verse 19, Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up. And of course, many of them thought he was talking about the temple where they worshiped. And that was one of the things that offended them.

How can this be? What's this man talking about? They brought this up on numerous occasions. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building and wilt thou reared up in three days? But he spake of the temple of his body. When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said unto them and they believed the scripture and the word which Jesus had said. So after his resurrection, they remembered these words and understood that he was talking about not the temple as a tangible building, a place where they went for worship, but he's talking about the temple of his body.

He says, You destroy it, I'll raise it up in three days. And indeed he did. More love to thee, O Christ, more love to thee, hear thou the prayer I make on men than men. More love to thee, O Christ, more love to thee, hear thou the prayer I make on men than men. More love to thee, O Christ, more love to thee, hear thou the prayer I make on men than men. Give what is best, this all my prayer shall be, more love, O Christ, to thee, more love to thee, then shall my latest breath whisper thy praise, this be the parting cry, my heart shall raise, through this still its prayer shall be, more love, O Christ, to thee, more love to thee, more love to thee. I encourage you to write and let us know that you have listened to the broadcast today.

Mention the call letters of the station over which the program comes to you. Our address is the Baptist Bible Hour, Box 17037, Cincinnati, Ohio 45217. Till we greet you next time, this is LaSara Bradley, Jr., bidding you goodbye and may God bless you. Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine. Oh, what a poor taste of glory divine, heir of salvation, purchase of God, born of his spirit, washed in his blood. Perfect submission, perfect delight, visions of rapture now burst on my sight, angels descending ring from above, there comes a mercy, whispers of love. This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long. This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long. Perfect submission, all is at rest, I am my Savior and happy and blessed, watching and waiting, looking above, filled with this goodness, lost in his love. This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long. This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior, praising my Savior, praising my Savior all the day long.