This morning, I would invite you to take your Bibles and turn to John's Gospel chapter 17. We are going to move away from our study of the prophecy of Zechariah for the next three weeks as we make our way toward Resurrection Sunday morning, and I want to speak to you this morning on what Christ has done for all whom God has chosen and given him from all eternity.

I wish to draw your attention to his high priestly prayer in John 17. And this will actually need to be a two-part discourse to you. And I'm using the heading "Jesus Pleads for His Own." You know, we all have things that we value highly, things that we would do anything to protect, and certainly, family is right there. There is nothing I wouldn't do to protect my wife and my children and my grandchildren, and you all would understand that. And here we see how the Lord loves his own more than all else and undeservedly so. This is his high priestly prayer, a prayer of intercession. It's profoundly humbling, because we see that we not only belong to Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit, who has sealed us for the day of redemption. But we also belong to the Father. And therefore, the Savior, in this prayer, pleads for us all the more, even with greater earnest, because the Father has given us to him in eternity past.

And I want to dwell upon this because so often the great truths of the gospel, especially as it relates to God's sovereignty over all things, including salvation, these things typically get obscured, ignored or distorted. And I must also add that, frankly, we are on holy ground here. These are truths the world cannot, savingly understand as First Corinthians 2:14 tells us apart from regenerating grace, and certainly the world viciously opposes the true gospel. They will embrace false gospels very quickly, the prosperity gospel, the social gospel, but not the true gospel. So may I humbly say, let's remove the sandals of our feet this morning, so to speak, and bow before the Lord in deepest humility and breathless adoration.

Now let me give you some context here, before I read the passage and we begin to look at it closely. Jesus has just raised Lazarus from the dead, and he has dramatically entered intoJerusalem for the Passover feast. He's been hailed by the masses as the Messiah King, shouting Hosanna to the Son of David, which means, "bless, save now." And of course, this same crowd would a few days later cry out, "crucify Him." And His disciples and many 1000s of followers, were certain that he was the Promised Messiah, that he was going to free them from the bondage of Rome and establish his kingdom - his earthly kingdom - but they did not understand that he came first to seek and to save sinners, that he would be their Passover Lamb.

We know chronologically, in the history of what happened, according to the gospels, that that he took charge of the temple precincts. He did this physically for two days, and certainly the Jewish leaders hated him because he exposed their religious hypocrisy, and they rejected his claim to be the Son of God. They even attributed his miracle working powers to Satan. Now, just before his arrest and crucifixion, the Lord goes into the upper room of a house to celebrate the Passover meal with his disciples; you will recall that he washed his disciples’ feet to demonstrate what real humility looks like, because they were arguing about who's going to be first in the kingdom. Perfect timing to do this. He revealed that Judas would betray him and that he, their Messiah, was about to die. Even revealed at this time that Peter would deny him. And of course, the disciples were stunned as they're hearing all of this. Their euphoria over the Messiah inaugurating the kingdom, was now damaged so much that they were in despair. They were discouraged. They didn't know what to think. They were dismayed. And you may recall that in John 14, beginning in verse one, Jesus comforted them, saying,

"'Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.

In my Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.

If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am there you may be also.'"

At this time, he also promised that the Holy Spirit would come to be their helper, according to John 14, to teach them all things and bring to their remembrance all that he had said to them. And of course, this was the time when Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper, a commemoration of his death and a picture of the fellowship that we as believers have to enjoy him and to enjoy one another, and reminder of what was necessary for the new covenant to become a reality.

And then, after his farewell discourse in John 14, he abruptly leaves that upper room with his disciples. He leads them out of the city. If you've been there, you can see this in your mind as I can they go down to the Kidron Valley and the lower reaches of the Mount of Olives. And on the way with his disciples there that night, he gives the discourse of the true vine as well as the ministry of the Holy Spirit, John 15 and John 16; the one who would "'convict the world concerning sin, righteousness and judgment,'" John 16 eight, and the one who would "'guide them into all truth.'"

And then next, in John 16:20 we learn that Jesus encouraged them. He said, "'Truly, truly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will grieve, but your grief will be turned into joy.'" Yes, he knew that they would grieve over his death, but they would soon rejoice over his resurrection, and only after his resurrection would the disciples be able to truly grasp why his death was necessary; that Jesus was the Passover lamb. He was the perfect substitute, the only one that could appease, satisfy, the justice of a holy God so that we as sinners could be reconciled to Him. And then, after warning them of great trials that would come upon them, he gave them a final word of encouragement in John 16:33, "'These things I have spoken to you that in Me you may have peace. In the world, you have tribulation...'" We all understand that, but he said, "'...take courage; I have overcome the world.'"

And then after this sober reminder of trials and triumph, they approached the Garden of Gethsemane, and here we see, beloved, the second member of the Triune Godhead, the Lord Jesus Christ, offering this high priestly prayer recorded in John 17. And I might add that John17 is a transitional chapter, marking the end of Jesus earthly ministry and beginning his intercessory ministry for believers. This, my friends, is a poignant...it is a profound prayer just hours before his brutal death; a prayer where he intercedes on behalf of his disciples, and by extension, all whom the Father had given him, all of the redeemed down through the ages.

And you must understand that here we are allowed an amazing privilege to eavesdrop on his face-to-face communion with the Father.  And what we have before us is both astounding as well as informative. Can you imagine what it would have been like to be next to him and to hear all of this? Well, we can't have that recording, but we can read it here in the word that he has disclosed to us. And so in this public intercession, the Lord undoubtedly wanted to awaken the spirit of prayer within each of us. And because of his great love for his disciples, we see that Jesus' ministry now moves from instruction to intercession.

And I might add, that's a lesson we would all do well to learn. Not only must we instruct others, but we must intercede for them in prayer. Parents, please hear that, you must not only instruct your children in the things of God, but you need to be equally diligent in praying for them. Here we witness frankly the reality of all that was shadowed by the high priest of Israel. You may recall that the high priest of Israel was instructed by God to write the names of the sons of Israel on his ephod, which was a a shoulder apron that he was to wear when he went into the presence of God. Moreover, he was instructed to inscribe the names of the 12 tribes of Israel on the precious stones that were affixed to his breast piece that covered his heart, and by doing so, all of this symbolized the fact that this priest was bearing the burdens of the people on his shoulders, and that their names were close to his heart; a perpetual reminder that when he brings people into the presence of God, we are perpetually on his mind as well.

And of course, all of this pictures the Lord Jesus Christ, the one who bore our sins in his body and with our names engraved upon his heart - he brings us into the presence of the Father as our Great High Priest. I hope you see all of these connections. In Hebrews seven and verse 25 we read, "He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them." Beloved, this is what Jesus is doing now in this high priestly prayer - he entrusts the safe keeping of all that the Father had given to him to his Father's care as part of the divine plan that was decreed before the foundation of the world, before we were ever even created. And like nowhere else in Scripture, we are allowed access into the holy Holies, as we witness the inner trinitarian communication on the eve of Christ's crucifixion.

With that as an introduction, let me read the text to you, John 17 beginning in verse one,

"Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said,

'Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You,

even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life.

This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.

I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do.

Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave me out of the world; they were yours, and you gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.

Now they have come to know that everything You have given Me is from You;

for the words which You gave Me, I have given to them; and they received them, and truly understand that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me.

I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours;

and all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them.'"

Now in these 10 verses, the Lord reveals to us much about God's plan to bring glory to himself through the redemption of sinful men; a plan that includes at least four characteristics that I would like to give to you as a little outline. We're going to see that it was a predetermined plan, a personal plan, a perfect plan and a preeminent plan. And we will be examining just the first two this morning. And my prayer is that these truths will utterly eclipse all of the pagan influence that is entered into evangelicalism; all of the easter eggs and baskets and bonnets and bunnies. There's a church on the way here, they've got a big sign, and it advertises a community Easter egg hunt on such and such a day. And I'm sure they have no understanding the implications of what that means. But certainly, as we look at this text, we're going to see what the emphasis truly is. And I pray that every heart will be forever captivated by these events that help us better understand the death and the burial and the resurrection and the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ;  events that fit precisely into God's sovereign plan to bring glory to himself and his eternal kingdom, and to think that we are undeserved trophies of his grace - absolutely astounding to me, and that we fit into this plan.

So first of all, I want you to notice that his plan was predetermined. Notice verse one, first it says, "Jesus spoke these things." What's he referring to? Well, he's referring to the content recorded in the previous three chapters...I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. He promised to send the Holy Spirit. He talked about how that he was the true vine, how that the world will hate you. He spoke of the work of the Holy Spirit, how your sorrow will be turned to joy, and he's going to assure them that he has overcome the world. Those are the types of things that he has just spoken to them.

So, "Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, 'Father, the hour has come.'" Now, what hour is this? Well, my friends, this is the climactic hour of redemptive history, where the Son of God would offer himself as a sacrifice for sin; when he would conquer Satan and death; when God the Father, would make, "Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." Second Corinthians 5:21. This is the hour the Son of Man would finalize his earthly ministry, the time of his death, his resurrection, his ascension, and frankly, his coronation.

This is the hour, I might add, when all of the Old Testament prophecies, all of the shadows and types and symbols would find their fulfillment. This is the time when the old covenant now is going to be replaced with the new, and this was a predestined, predetermined plan. In fact in Acts two, we read how Peter would later preach to Israel concerning Jesus, the Nazarene. And he would say in verse 23 "This Man, delivered up by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross." And like every event in history, this hour was ordained by a sovereign God. Scriptures are being fulfilled here at this point.

Let me give you some examples. 700 years earlier, the prophet Isaiah predicted the Savior's vicarious suffering and crucifixion. In Isaiah 53 he said that he would bear our griefs, carry our sorrows. He would be smitten of God and afflicted. He would be pierced through for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities, that the Lord would cause the iniquity of us all to fall on Him, that the Lamb would not open His mouth yet be led to slaughter. That was 700 years earlier, 600 years before, in Daniel 9:25 through 26, the Holy Spirit revealed to the prophet that 483 years after Artaxerxes decree to Nehemiah, that Messiah the Prince, would be presented to the Jewish people. That would be April 10, 30 ad, and that was when Christ was crucified.

Likewise, 500 years earlier, our Lord's triumphal entry was predicted by Zechariah.  In Zechariah nine, verse nine, we read, "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold your king is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey." Oh dear friends, what an amazing reality this is, that our God is sovereign over all of his creation, that none of these things just happened randomly, and nothing that happens occurs outside of the purview of his will. This is why he tells us through his servant Isaiah, chapter 46, verse nine, "'I am God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, "My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure."'"

And ultimately, his good pleasure includes the salvation of sinners. We must remember that all of this originates from the love of God, and it's made possible by the grace of God, and it's brought to completion by the power of God.

Notice again our text here in verse one, "'Father, the hour has come; glorify Thy Son, that the Son may glorify Thee.'" Now, obviously there had been an arrangement made for mutual glorification, one that must include the son's suffering and his death. But how can that bring glory to the Son? And how can that bring glory to the Father? Well, the answer is in verse four and five and six, let me read that to you.

"I glorified Thee on earth, having accomplished the work which Thou hast given to Me to do.'" And by the way that work was to seek and to save sinners, to die on their behalf.

Verse five, and, "'Now glorify that Thou Me together with Thyself, Father, with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was. I manifested Thy name to the men whom Thou gavest Me out of the world...'" speaking specifically to the disciples, "'Thine they were, and Thou gavestthem to Me, and they have kept Thy word.'" And so here the Son is longing not just to enjoy the pre-incarnate glory, once again with the Father and with the Spirit, but to enjoy the results of all that he had accomplished; to enjoy the work that he had been sent out to do; the work that had been planned, been predetermined from all eternity, and what work was that? To seek and to save sinners who will give eternal glory to the Triune God.

Now think about that, that is what occupies the Savior's heart on the eve of his crucifixion, he's praying for his work to be accomplished so that we can enter into the joy of all the redeemed. Hebrews 12, two we read that "Jesus...who for the joy set before Him endured the cross." Now let that sink in. Dear Christian, we are all part of a predetermined plan that will bring unimaginable, indescribable joy to us and glory to God, who will also rejoice. Zephaniah chapter three, verse 17, we read that "'The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save, He will rejoice over you with gladness. He will quiet you by His love. He will exalt over you with loud singing.'" Oh, what a wonderful Savior, What a wonderful Savior. So obviously, this speaks of a predetermined plan of mutual glory and joy.

But notice it also is a personal plan. It is one that includes not only the divine persons of the Triune Godhead - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit - as we will see, but also, and I want you to underscore this, specific individuals, specific individuals. Notice how he describes his disciples, and by extension, all who belong to him. Verse two, "'Even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life.'" Moreover, in verse six, "'I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.'" Verse nine, "'I ask on their behalf, I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours.'"  There's the extension to all of the redeemed.

Verse 24, "'Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.'" And so here we see that this plan pertains to all whom the Father had given him. And this is the very heart of the Lord Jesus as he pleads with the Father on behalf of those very ones that he himself has created. He's burdened about the predetermined hour of mutual glory for the Father and the Son and these specific persons. And if you summarize what we see in Scripture, we essentially see this: that, and this is what he's saying here in eternity past, the Father ordained a plan to demonstrate his infinite love for his Son, whereby he chose for his Son a bride, a group of undeserved sinners that he would save and transform by his grace. And he chose them by name and recorded their names in the Lamb's book of life. Revelation 21 verse 27. These are the names of the son's bride, an elect group of redeemed humanity eventually, they were unredeemed at first, but they were pledged to him as a gift of the Father's love; a pledge that was sealed by the Holy Spirit. And the Father would then intentionally draw them unto himself - this great company of sinners - through the convicting and the regenerating work of the power of the Holy Spirit that they would worship Him. And as we see in Scripture, it is the Father who chose them and drew them. It is the Son, the Spirit that convicted them, that transformed them, and it is the Son who purchased their redemption.

And central to this whole predetermined plan of inner trinitarian love and glory, was the Son'sdeath. He had to be the perfect substitute for sinners, he had to pay the price that none of us could ever pay so that we could be reconciled to God. And these are the ones to which Jesus refers to as "those whom Thou hast given Me." Oh, what a beautiful picture of our betrothal to the Son. This is how the Lord Jesus receives his bride. Over the course of the years, I've officiated, they call it, I don't like that term, but I've officiated many weddings. Sometimes I officiate the marriage later on, but I've officiated many weddings, and what we see is the Father walks his beautiful daughter down the aisle and the pastor says, "Who gives this woman to be married to this man?" And the pastor says, or the father says, "I do." And he takes her hand, and he hands it over to the bridegroom. And folks, this is what the Father is doing here with his Son, "who gives this sinner to be married to the Savior?" "I do. I do."

Oh child of God, notice again, what weighs heavy on the heart of the Savior before he goes and bears our sins on the cross as he prepares to make atonement for his bride. Verse three, in essence, again, now he's about to die that they might have eternal life. And he says, "'This is eternal life,'" verse three, "'that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent Me.'" In other words, I long for them to know you, and I long for them to know me.

Verses six through eight. The same thing,

"'I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.

Now they have come to know that everything You have given me is from You;

for the words which You gave Me I have given to them, and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me.'"

In other words, I have given them a revelation of who you are, Father, as you have asked me to do. So, Father, help them to see that they are indeed your possession. They are your possession by creation and by redemption. They are not their own. They will be bought with a price. I will purchase their redemption. And I will deliver them from the penalty and the power and the presence of sin. So Father, what he's saying is, give them the assurance of your eternal love and preservation, especially in the dark days to come; preserve them in your love, make them obedient to you. Cause them to have a heartfelt allegiance to the word that I have taught them.

And in verse 11, he brings this precious love gift before the Father, and he pleads with him concerning their eternal security, pleads for them, for their unity in the face of world's temptations. Notice verse 11, "'Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one, even as We are.'"

And in verse 13, he wants them to have joy in the midst of sorrow, he says, "'But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves.'" When he says, "I speak in the world," the original gives the idea of, I'm speaking out loud so that they can all hear me. And today, beloved, you are hearing him, and it's amazing. He's letting us hear this prayer so that we might not only know that we belong to the Father and to him as a love gift, as a reciprocal expression of this inner trinitarian love, but also to know that the Lord Jesus Christ intercedes for us as our Great High Priest. Why does he do this? So that, "'...they may have My joy made full in themselves.'"

Dear Christian, don't you see the passion here of the Savior's heart? He wants us to experience the same joy that he experiences, even though he's facing the cross. Incomprehensible to me. John 15:11, he says "'These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, that your joy may be made full.'" And by the way, how is this made possible? Well, in the previous verse, he tells us, "'...abide in My love...'"by keeping my commandments, even "'as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love.'" In other words, obedience to the will of the Father, as it is revealed in the Word of God, will be the absolute basis for your joy. If you're a Christian and you don't have joy, there's something terribly wrong with your faith and your obedience, because the Lord gives joy to those who abide in him. If you share his obedience, you will share his joy. And this is the great passion of our Savior for each one of us, a priority in his prayer life, as he intercedes for us on our behalf. John 16:24, "Ask and you will receive that your joy may be full." You get the idea that Jesus is really concerned about our joy. Pray for the things consistent with the will and purposes of the Lord in your life, and he will pour out his blessings upon you.

But at the very core of all of this, you must understand the gospel, which, again, is so distorted, Dear friend, if your life is a train wreck today, I would plead with you to know Christ, to come before him in saving faith, to repent and believe in him and ask him to save you from your sin, to transform you. If you do know Christ, and your life is still a train wreck, it's because you're not obeying Him, you're living far from him, and you have forfeited blessing in your life, and you have quenched the spirit, grieved the spirit; you're not abiding in the love of Christ by keeping his commandments. So again, Jesus is praying for a plan that is predetermined and personal, demonstrating his intimate love for his bride. This isn't a mail order bride that he didn't know. And how humbling to know that through no merit of our own, we were chosen by name in eternity past to be part of the Bride of Christ. One of the most humbling doctrinal truths in all of Scripture, utterly staggering to think that our life and eternity were ordained by a sovereign God to fit perfectly into his predetermined plan. We are part, dear friends, of a love gift from the Father to the Son. In fact, the apostle Paul spoke of this in in Second Timothy, chapter one, verse nine, it says, God has "...saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity." In the original language, it means "before time began." What a humbling truth.

So God, the Father promised the son a tangible expression of his infinite love, a bridal church that will, one day, according to Revelation 19 and verse seven, "give glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready." He chose them by name and put those names in the Lamb's book of life, according to Revelation, 13 eight "from the foundation of the world." And then we see that eventually those chosen ones are born in sin. They're at enmity with God. They're unfit to be a part of his holy bride, so consistent with his predetermined plan, what does the Father do? Well, the Father compels them to come to his son with an irresistible grace. Jesus described this, for example, in John 6:37, as well as verse 39 he says, "'All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me, I will certainly not cast out.'" He goes on to say, "This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given to Me I lose nothing but raise it up on the last day.'" And then he adds this in verse 44, "'No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him;'" - "helkō" in the original language, it means to drag off to irresistibly compel. Dear friends, if God had not irresistibly compelled you to come to Him, you would have never come.

And by the way, when we come to him in this way, we're not coming to him kicking and screaming and pitching a fit, but instead we come voluntarily, willfully, joyfully, desperately, because at that point, by the power of the Spirit, we are convicted that there is nothing else in life that matters more than this. The eternal destiny of my soul depends upon this. This is the work of God, John 1:13 we read that the redeemed are those, quote, "who were born not of the will of man, but of God." Romans 9:16, "salvation does not depend on, "the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy." But the Father's drawing of sinners to the Son for salvation would be meaningless unless the Son had purchased their redemption, and this, of course, he did, as part of his predetermined plan. Ephesians five, verse 25, "Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and blameless."

Again, how amazing to know that we have been chosen by the Father as a love gift to the Son. And I hope you see that in all of this, our salvation is, frankly, only incidental to the overall planof God to bring glory to himself. So get off your high horse and be humbled by that reality. He orchestrated your conception in your mother's womb. He superintended your development and your birth. In fact, in Psalm 139 we read, "Thou didst form my inward parts. Thou didst weave me in my mother's womb." It says, "Thine eyes have seen my unformed substance." Moreover, he has ordained even the length of our life. Verse 16, "In Thy book, they were all written, the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them." So beloved, before you were ever even born, before he created you, he knew everything about you; even knew that you would rebel in your depravity, you would violate his law, you would reject him and live for yourself.

And despite all of this, because of his predetermined plan and his personal plan of redemption, he saved you. Paul put it this way in Romans five and verse eight, that, "God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Dear friends, if you've trusted Christ as your Savior, please understand that you are not just some insignificant number that is part of some vast, impersonal divine plan, but that the Lord Jesus Christ is intimately, personally, powerfully, compassionately involved in your life. Peter says that we have been made "partakers of the divine nature." What an amazing statement. We know, according to John 14 verse 23 that the triune Godhead now dwells within us. And Paul said in Galatians, chapter two and verse 20, "It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and delivered himself up for me." Personally, specifically. This is amazing to me that God, in his sovereign and perfect love, determined that Jesus Christ would bear my sin in his body. John 10 verse 14, "'I am the good shepherd, and I know My own.’” I know my own." Verse 15, "I lay down My life for the sheep."

You know, folks, he didn't come just to die, but to die for you and me, specifically and personally. As a man, he became our substitute, a specific act of substitution. Again, Jesus knew specifically those whom the Father had given him. He knew he was going to bear the sins of his bridal church. It's interesting, if you ask the average Christian, for whom did Christ die? The answer typically is, well, he died for everybody. He died for the whole world. So basically, saying that, you're saying that Jesus paid the sin debt for everyone when he died on the cross. Therefore, at the cross his sacrifice was for really no one in particular, but kind of everyone in general. So it really wasn't an actual atonement, it was a potential atonement. He bore the wrath that was deserved for no one in particular, but everyone in general. Kind of see where I'm going with this? So if God's wrath was satisfied on behalf of all people universally, then why don't all people go to heaven? Why would there be anyone in hell if Christ died for everyone? That means that hell is filled with people whose sins were paid for at the cross. SoJesus paid for them, and now they're paying for them as well. And this would mean that his death was merely an act whereby he accomplished a potential salvation, not an actual salvation. Sadly, many would agree that he died for everyone potentially, but it's up to you to accept that gift. So Jesus died for everyone, you might say, indiscriminately, so that everyone in the world is, in principle, forgiven. So the only ones who will be saved are those who, by their own efforts, actualize that potential atonement.

Said differently, the actualizing of the atonement is up to man, not up to God, and if the sinner chooses never to believe in Christ, then the atoning work of Christ remains unrealized potential. Many believe this. I don't think that's what Scripture teaches. Many believe in an atonement that is unlimited in scope, but it is limited in power - that is in effect, because it is only efficacious if a sinner decides to cooperate and exercise his will and believes in God. The big problem is, how can a spiritually dead sinner make a choice to be born again by the power of...or without being born again by the power of the Spirit? How can that happen?

I believe the Bible teaches the opposite. I believe the Bible teaches, and this is so precious to me, that the atonement is limited in its scope, in that Christ died for all those whom the Father had given him. Christ died for his elect, but it is unlimited in power, because he is able to save all of those to the uttermost. The atonement was not a potential salvation for everyone, indiscriminately, but it was an actual salvation for those whom God appointed unto salvation. Beloved, don't miss this, Christ bore your sins in his body. He knew you intimately before you were created, and Scripture is clear that he set his love on those he has chosen in eternity past. He knew you intimately, even your sins. And so what happened on the cross was deeply personal. His atoning work was not universal and indiscriminate, but Jesus came to save all whom the Father had given him from the foundation of the world.

And this is what Jesus is praying for in John 17. He had no thought of dying in general, you know, some vague death for no one in particular. No, no, he died for you and for me. And what's amazing, as you look at Scripture, we see that when he died, we died in him. Moreover, we rose in him; these amazing truths, and we did this purely by the majestic, sovereign love that God determined to place on us. So never think about the cross in vague terms. It was a real substitution. Our atonement is a real atonement, not a potential one that we must activate. Unlike those in hell, who, for whatever reason were not as clever as we.

Our God is not a helpless deity pacing the throne room of heaven, biting his nails, hoping that people will hear him, knocking on the door of their heart so that they might believe and be saved. No. He is a sovereign God who is set into motion a plan ordained in eternity past, and he will accomplish all that he has set out to do. Hebrews nine and verse 15 says that, "those who have been called receive the promise of the eternal inheritance." Isn't it interesting, the very purpose of the atonement was to unite those who had been called into union with Christ in his death, and the nature of the new covenant, which I might add, is described specifically in Hebrews chapter eight is for all who, quote, "know God and His law is written upon their heart," and it says that these are "the called ones." In other words, there is no one in the New Covenant who is not of the called, of the elect of God. And why? Why is that? Because their mediator is the Lord Jesus Christ and God only mediates what his death provides. Moreover, I might add that his atoning work was never something dependent upon some decision you might or might not make. But again, God in his sovereign love determine an eternity past, to specifically set his love upon you and to send his Son to die on your behalf, specifically. Because you were part of the love gift that the Father had given to the Son. And let's remember that God has a precise and a predetermined plan. It's a plan to bring glory to himself. It is a plan to bring joy to the redeemed, specific sinners, that are part of the Bride of Christ.

And in closing, might I say that when you begin to understand some of these things, and mind you, I've just hit on one little aspect of the diamond of the gospel. I mean, every time you turn it a different way, you see beautiful colors refracting through the prisms of that diamond. But we're just looking at one today. But folks, when you begin to grasp some of these truths, I hope you will see how utterly ridiculous, if not blasphemous, it is to make Resurrection Sunday to be about Easter bunnies and easter eggs.

May I say that if you've never placed your faith in Christ, I plead with you this day to do so, because the wrath of God abides upon you, and unless you trust in him as your only hope of salvation, you will perish in your sins. And for those of us who know and love Christ, especially those of you who are hurting, those of you who are tormented by some great trial, perhaps even to the point where you're tempted to think that somehow Christ has forsaken you, believe me. I know that there's a number of you in that category that are struggling deeply. I've talked with several of you just this last week. I want you to hear me say, on the basis of Scripture, that Christ is your refuge, Christ is your hope, your peace. He is the high priest who is making intercession for you, even right now on your behalf, pleading with the Father to help you see that you are his possession, you're not your own; to help you see that he will protect and preserve you, come what may, that you will never doubt your love for him. That's what he's praying for, that you will have joy even in the midst of sorrow. And so as we move towards Resurrection Sunday, let's be reminded of what was on the heart of our dear Savior before he went to the cross. And may we find great comfort, great peace, great joy in that and to know that someday, and I believe someday soon, we will see him face to face, amen? Amen. Let's pray.

Father, we are so thankful for the great truths of your word. Certainly, when we contemplate the infinite perfections of who you are, we have so many questions, because you are God and we are not. And sometimes our understanding of justice and fairness, which is so distorted by our fallibility as well as our own ignorance and our sinfulness, Lord, sometimes it causes us to wonder about you, but I pray that you will help us to humbly bow before the great truths of your word that help us see that indeed you are a sovereign God, yet we are a people that are responsible to you and that we must also act according to the imperatives that you have given us in Scripture. We recognize that while it is impossible for us to harmonize your sovereignty and man's responsibility, we accept them as they are in Scripture, and we are humbled by them, knowing that it makes perfect sense to you, and we rejoice knowing that you have set your love upon us. Thank you. May you be honored in our lives. I ask for Jesus’ sake and for our joy in Him. Amen.