5.7.26 am

A warm welcome to the service this morning. It's good to see everyone and it's good to see a lot of visitors with us today from different places and you're very welcome.

! We hope you enjoy your stay in Harris and we hope that you enjoy your time with us today. There's tea and there's coffee at the end of this service and all are welcome to stay behind if you're able.

There's a creche which is just through there and behind me you can go through that door and turn left if you need to use that. And there is a Sunday school for the primary school children during the holiday time.

The children go out after the second praise and so any visiting children are very welcome to do that. There's been lots of notices on the screen and on the church email so I'm not going to go through all of these.

I'll highlight just a couple of things. First to say the evening service will be taken tonight by Scott, the Reverend Scott McLeod, our Minister in Training, who accepted the call to Graver on Wednesday evening.

So we pray for Scott as he heads in the direction of Graver soon. In the course of this week there's a lot going on. I'll highlight a couple of things.

Elders prayer meeting is on tomorrow at 6 till 7pm. Please note that, Elders. The marriage of Hugh and Julian takes place this Friday, 10th July at 1pm.

And although space may be limited in here, a warm welcome is extended to the church family to come and enjoy a cup of tea with the couple, the happy couple at the end.

Hopefully the happy couple at the end of the marriage service. And it will also be live streamed. You'll see that on the YouTube channel in due course. Services next week. Morning service will be a baptismal service taken by myself and Hannes' father, the Reverend Petrie de Cock, who is here today.

And so that's the morning service, evening service will be taken by myself at 6, God willing. Not this week, but next week we have another wedding.

And that is Duncan and Emily who are here somewhere today. And Angus and Kirsty would like to invite the church family to the wedding of Duncan and Emily, Monday, 13th of July, 1pm.

And there's an afternoon tea following that. And all are welcome. The rest of the notices you can look through at your own convenience. So let's begin this time of worship. Let's worship God.

And we'll sing from Psalm 40, Psalm 40 verses 1 to verse 5 of the Psalm. I waited for the Lord my God and patiently did bear.

At length to me he did incline my voice and cry to hear. He took me from a fearful pit and from the mighty clay. And on a rock he set my feet establishing my way.

Down to the end of verse 5. We'll stand to sing to God's praise. I waited for the Lord my God and patiently did bear.

And then to me he did incline my voice and cry to hear.

He took me from a fearful pit and from the mighty clay.

And on a rock he set my feet. He's establishing my way.

He put a new song in my mind. A God to magnify.

Many shall see it and shall fear.

And on the Lord rely. O blessed is the man whose trust upon the Lord relies. He is the man whose trust upon the Lord relies.

Respecting not the proud nor such Has turned aside to lies O Lord my God, who many are The wonders of all has done Thy gracious thoughts to us were found Above all thoughts are gone In order none can recommend

To thee if them declare And speak of them I would a more Than can be numbered Let's unite our hearts together in prayer. Let's pray.

Our Heavenly Father, we thank you That on this, your day, we are Found in this place Gathered together in the name of Jesus We thank you that you've given us The desire to be here We thank you that you've given us The opportunity, the freedom In this place, in this country To be able to gather in this way We thank you that we have the health And strength to meet together In this place And we think also of those who meet In their own homes Who watch on the live stream And we ask that as we come together In the name of Jesus That we would know The presence of Jesus We thank you, Father, for sending Your Son, the Lord Jesus Into this world And we thank you that he He came to live for us And to die for us To take away our sin We thank you that he

Did not remain Dead But on the third day As was promised He rose from the dead And we thank you that This day And every Lord's Day We remember That we serve That we worship A risen Savior And we remember That the Gospel Is good news That there is the promise Of everlasting life Resurrection life For all who believe We thank you for the Psalm That we sang A testimony That the Psalmist wrote Of his own experience And for every believer We can enter into The words of that Psalm We confess that we are sinners And that sin Is like a weight on us That causes us to sink But we thank you that As we call upon the name Of the Lord We have the promise That you incline your ear to us You hear us

You help us, Lord You reach down And save us And set our feet On that solid rock The rock of our salvation The Lord Jesus Christ So we pray That we would Be trusting in Christ We pray That we would have A new song In our hearts To sing That we would be Filled with the grace That saves us And the grace That sustains us We thank you Lord God That even though We were not deserving Of your mercy And your grace You showed to us That love And that forgiveness And we pray That as those Who receive grace We would show that grace Even when we are wronged Even when Sometimes We go through Difficult things And difficult relationships Help us to be gracious In our actions And our reactions We thank you Lord

For the fact That we can come to you With our needs And with our requests And we ask Lord That you would help us We are conscious Of those today Who are grieving In the community here We think especially Of Callum Who lost his brother In this week And we ask Lord For your comfort To be given to him And to all Who grieve And we're thankful Lord For the prospect Of weddings Of marriage services This weekend Into next week And we pray for Duncan And for Emily We pray for Hugh And for Gillian And we ask Lord That you would bless them As they prepare For the wedding day But more importantly As they prepare For married life together We thank you that Both these couples Are trusting in Jesus And Lord Jesus We pray That you would be At the centre Of these relationships And that as they Come together As your people

That they would serve you And that they would know Your presence with them On their wedding day And every day Of their married lives We commit them to you And ask that you would Bless them And that you would be Near to them And we thank you Lord God That we We have a Saviour One who we can come to Who knows what it's like To weep with those Who weep And who knows what it's like To rejoice with those Who rejoice And so we pray In all our situations In all our needs That we would know The presence of Jesus With us We pray for those Who are sick And who are struggling We think of those Who are waiting For surgery We think especially Of Shona Who we have prayed for So often over these months We ask Lord That as she prepares To go back in for surgery That you would Protect her That her body Would be free From any infections Or colds And that this surgery

Would be effective And we thank you For those who have Had treatment And who are back home And we think Especially of Lydia And we ask Lord That she And others like her Would know Your strength That strength Would increase And that they As a family Would know Your presence With them Bless us We pray We thank you For the children We thank you For the little voices That we hear And we ask Lord That you would bless Each one of them And that you would Help us As parents As grandparents Perhaps As friends As a congregation As different Congregations We pray That we would not Hinder them But that we would Help them To see And come To Jesus We pray For every congregation Represented here We're conscious Of congregations In Aberdeen And in Stirling And in different places That we can Think of Who gather together As we do And we ask That they Would know

Your blessing As we We pray Would also know Your blessing At this time So still our hearts We pray Enable us To be in the spirit Of worship On this Your day Take away Every distraction Help us To fix our eyes On Jesus For we pray These things And we ask For the forgiveness Of all our sins In Jesus name And for his sake Amen Boys and girls Would you like To come forward Please Come round this way There you go You come round that way Good job That's it Okay It's good to see All you guys today It's good to have

Some visitors With us today And some who've Been away for a while And who are back With us again So It's good to have You all Today with us Boys and girls I'm going to show you A picture On the screen What do you think Is going on There Will I tell you The story It was the Communion weekend I think it was Two or three weeks ago Saturday night Very busy Just preparing To go out For some food Before the Evening service And There was A car A tourist Who was driving Along the road And decided That rather than Going towards Leverbus She wanted to Turn around And go the other way So she drove Up by her drive And rather than Going to the top Of the drive And doing a Three point turn She thought I think I'll just Drive all over The grass And do a big

Round U-turn And she got Halfway along And the next Thing She was stuck So I was Getting organised And Mary said There's a car Stuck in the Grass I said Pardon There's a car Stuck in the Grass I said What do you Mean there's a Car There's a car Stuck in the Bog at the Bottom of the Garden So she went Off down And I went Off down Just after And there Was these Two Ladies in The car This is not It could have Been a man as Well Don't Don't hate me For saying that I'm just telling You the facts Of what happened There's two Ladies in the Car And they got Out and they Were looking a Bit shell Shocked And we said What happened And they said We didn't know The grass was Going to be wet So We said Well it's Not just wet

This is a Bog And Probably You're not Going to get This car out And they Were spinning And spinning With the Car Getting nowhere So I Said well Give me a We shot I went To the Car Tried to Reverse It wouldn't Go forward It wouldn't Go back Absolutely Stuck In a Bog Now I Don't know If you Notice boys And girls When we're Singing that Psalm But at The beginning Of Psalm 40 It speaks About being Stuck In the Mighty Clay And in The bog And the Muck And do you Know what That's a Picture of It's a Picture of Sin Isn't It Sin Sin makes Us Stuck And David And David Who wrote The psalm Was saying I know I'm a Sinner And I Just feel So stuck I feel Like I'm Sinking Now

How Were These people In that Car Going to Get Unstuck What were They going To do To be able To get out Of the Garden What do You Think Pardon Get a Tow Truck Almost Well Well the Point I Suppose You're Right ahead Of me You always Are boys And girls They couldn't Get out Themselves Even though They tried Going back And forward They couldn't Get out Themselves I Couldn't Get them Out So they Had to Phone For help And so You know Who you Phone when You're in Help You phone Knocky Next picture Please So there's Knocky Five minutes Later I phoned And Knocky's There And he Comes up

And he Looks at The thing And he Looks at The two Ladies And he Smiles And he Shakes His head Approvingly And he Then got A strap And he Tied it To the Car And because He's got A big Strong Powerful Car He was Able to Tie it To their Car Tie it To his Car And then In no Time at All They were Out So Knocky Saved The day They Couldn't Get out Because they Were stuck I Couldn't Help Them But when They cried Out for Help Knocky Saved The day Because his Car Was strong Enough To be Able To help Them To be Able To save Them Boys and Girls Who is Strong Enough To be Able To save Us From Our Sin Olivia Jesus Jesus Is the

Only One Who's Able To save Us From Our Sin Is There Anyone Else We Can Call Who Can Save Us From Our Sin Well God Jesus Is God The Son Isn't He God Is Father Son And Holy Spirit And God The Father Sent His Son Jesus Into This World!

リ Lord God, we know that we are sinners or at least we hope we all know that we're sinners.

We know that when God the Holy Spirit works in our lives he shows us that we are sinners. And so if we see that, we thank you that in your love you've shown us that we're sinners, that we're sinking.

We thank you that you haven't left us stuck in sin. But Father, we thank you that you sent your Son, Jesus, us into this world because you so love this world.

And we thank you, Lord Jesus, that you went to the cross to take our sin away. And we thank you that we have the promise that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord Jesus will be saved.

So we pray that even now you would hear us as we tell you from our hearts that we know that we are sinners. And we pray that every one of us here, whether we're young or whether we're older, would be able to say to us now, Lord Jesus, save me.

Take my sin away. And make me yours. And we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. We're going to sing now a simple hymn about the cross.

What Jesus did to take our sin away. There is a green hill far away without the city wall where the dear Lord was crucified who died to save us all.

Lord was crucified, who died to save us all.

We may not know, we cannot tell, what pains we have to bear.

But we believe it was for us, he hung and suffered there.

He died that we might be forgiven, he died to make us good.

But we might know our love's to have, saved by his precious blood.

There was no other good enough to pay the price of sin.

He only could unlock the gift of heaven and let us in.

Oh dearly, dearly has he loved, and we must love him too.

And trust in his redeeming blood, and try his works to do.

Oh dearly, dearly has he loved, and try his works to do. Oh dearly, dearly has he loved, and try his works to do. Oh dearly, dearly has he loved, and try his works to do. Okay boys and girls, if you keep heading out through the Sunday school, or crash. Or if you want to stay for the sermon, you can stay for the sermon.

And we're going to turn in our Bibles.

As they go out, as I always say, remember to pray for them. We're going to turn in our Bibles to Matthew chapter 22.

We've been going through Matthew's gospel over quite a while now, and we've come to this passage this morning. Matthew chapter 22, and we are reading from verse 15 through to the end of the chapter.

This is God's word. Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle Jesus in his words.

And they sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians, saying, Teacher, we know that you are true, and teach the way of God truthfully. And you do not care about anyone's opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances.

Tell us then, what do you think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, Why put me to the test, you hypocrites?

Show me the coin for the tax. And they brought him a denarius. And Jesus said to them, Whose likeness and inscription is this? They said, Caesar's.

Then he said to them, Therefore, render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. When they heard it, they marveled, and they left him and went away.

The same day, Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection. And they asked him a question, saying, Teacher, Moses said, If a man dies having no children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.

Now there were seven brothers among us. The first married and died, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother. So to the second and third, down to the seventh. After them all, the woman died.

In the resurrection, therefore, of the seven, whose wife will she be? For they all had her. But Jesus answered them, You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God.

For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but like the angels in heaven. And as for the resurrection of the dead, Have you not read what was said to you by God?

I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. And when the crowd heard it, they were astonished at this teaching.

But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?

And he said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And the second is like it.

You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets. Now, while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, saying, What do you think about the Christ?

Whose son is he? They said to him, He is the son of David. He said to them, How is it then that David in the Spirit calls him Lord?

Saying, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet. If then David calls him Lord, How is he his son?

And no one was able to answer him a word. Nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions. Amen and may God bless that reading of his word to us.

We're going to sing again now from Psalm 40, the end of Psalm 40. Psalm 40, And the last two stanzas, The last two verses of this psalm.

In thee let all be glad and joy, Who seekingly abide. For thy salvation, Love, Say still, The Lord be magnified. I am poor and needy, Yet the Lord of me a care doth take.

Thou art my help and saviour, My God, No tarrying make. These two verses of Psalm 40, We sing in Gaelic, And we remain seated to sing in Gaelic.

The Lord is still there. The Lord is still there. The Lord is still there. now oh The The The The The The

The The The The The The The The The The The The The Oh Oh Oh I I I

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

I I I I I I I I I If I could ask you please to open your Bibles again please at Matthew chapter 22.

We'll be sticking closely to the text so you'll probably find it more helpful to be looking at the text than my face. And as we go back to the passage let's pray.

Lord God we have sang in that psalm about the fact that we are poor and needy and that is true in every sense.

And as we open your word we know Lord that without the help of the Holy Spirit we can't hear or see or understand or respond.

And so we pray for the help of the Holy Spirit that you would speak into our hearts that Holy Spirit you would apply the truth of the word of God to our lives.

And we pray that we would be those who are not resisting and quarreling with Jesus as we read of in the passage. But we pray that we would be trusting in Christ and following him.

We pray for the children we thank you again for them. And as they head through to Sunday school we pray that you would help them to understand the simple message of the gospel.

And to believe and we pray that they would walk with you Lord God all the days of their lives. We continue to pray for them. Those in Harris who come week by week.

Those who are visiting in the Sunday school in the creche. We pray for your blessing on them. That you would draw them to yourself. We pray for the congregations around us.

We are conscious of other denominations and fellowships where Christ crucified is being preached. And we pray that whatever the truth of your word is expounded that you would be at work seeking and saving the lost.

And sanctifying your people that we would be made more like Jesus. We ask Lord that you would be at work in all these congregations.

And we pray for Gordon in Helmsdale. Our minister in training from Carloway. We ask Lord that you would be with him as he takes this placement.

That you would continue to bless him. We thank you for how much he's enjoying it. We thank you for that sense of draw that he has to the people there. And that sense of your presence with him.

Bless him we pray in Julian. And we ask Lord that you would use them in this period in Helmsdale. And we pray for Scott and for Fiona and for the family as they prepare to head for Graver.

Lord that you would prepare them and prepare Graver for the next chapter in ministry. We ask Lord that they would know your blessing and be a blessing in that place.

So we commit all these things and ourselves to you. Asking for your help at this time in Jesus name. Amen. One of the longest running programs.

Well I don't know if it is. A well established program. And a well known program on television. Is Question Time. And in that program.

People who hold positions of power and influence. Are asked questions. But very often the questions that they are asked.

Are not so much designed to find answers. But rather they're questions that are designed to trick. To catch out. To trip up those who are under scrutiny.

So the atmosphere of the program. Question Time. Can often be quite tense. And awkward. And uncomfortable. And with Matthew chapter 22 open.

In front of us. The section that we're reading today. Is a little like Question Time. For Jesus. And the atmosphere.

Around Jesus. The atmosphere. In all these different places that Jesus is going. Is increasingly tense. Because wherever he goes. He's tracked. By.

The religious leaders. The political leaders. And they have decided. That they want rid of Jesus. They want him silenced. They want him out of the way.

So as they gather around him. With their questions. Their questions. Are fired in the direction of Jesus. Like bullets. From a gun. So we see.

In this passage. Various questions. For Jesus. And I want to. Maybe preface this message today. By. By asking.

Do you have questions. For Jesus. And if you have questions. For Jesus. Why are you asking them?

Are they genuine questions? That you hope. Will help you come to faith in Jesus? Or are they questions.

That are designed to. Justify your reasons. For not coming. To Jesus. And not believing. In Jesus. Four questions.

In the time. That we have this morning. The first question. Point number one. Is a question about here. The second.

Point. Is a question. About heaven. The third point. Is a question. About the heart. And the last point. Is a question. That comes this time.

From Jesus. But it's a question. About him. About who he is. So that gives us. The structure. Where we're going. In the time. That we have this morning. So first of all. A question.

About here. And we're. Picking back up. At verse 15. So you can track with me. And look at these verses. As we go. Then the Pharisees. Went. And plotted.

How they. How to entangle him. That's Jesus. In his words. And they sent their disciples. To him. Along with. The Herodians.

Now that might not mean much. To us. But on that day. That was highly unusual. Very irregular. I remember seeing a picture.

Of a guy. Some social experiment. It was a guy in Glasgow. And he. He. Was wearing. A top. And half the top.

Was Celtic. And half the top. Was Rangers. And his task. Was to. Walk. Down the street. And remain alive. By the time.

That he got. To the end of the street. And there's lots of photographs. Of this guy. Walking down the street. And heads are turning. And faces are. Incredulous. And appalled. At the sight.

Of these two. Strips. These two things. That don't come together. And they're knitted together. On this. This man's shirt. And on.

The day that Jesus. Is. Under scrutiny here. Heads would have been turning. As they saw. The Pharisees. And the Herodians. Coming together.

To address Jesus. Because these two sides. Were enemies. The Pharisees. Were anti-Roman. And the Herodians.

Were working. With the Romans. For their own. Political gain. They were enemies. But they became friends. For a day. It seems.

As they joined forces. Against. Jesus. And we could rewind. Back to Psalm 2. Where we have this picture. Of all the.

The powerful. Of this world. Uniting together. Against the Lord's anointed. And we're. Seeing something of that. In this chapter. And we could fast forward. From here. And move towards the cross.

And at the cross. We see Herod and Pilate. Who were enemies. But they become friends. Why? Well. Because they were both.

Against. Jesus. So what then. Did the Pharisee. Herodian coalition. Have to ask. Well look at verse 16. Teacher.

They say. We know that you are true. And teach the way of God. Truthfully. And do not care about anyone's opinion. For you're not swayed by appearances.

Tell us then. What do you think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar. Or not? So that was her question. And it was a question that was.

Designed. To trap Jesus. One commentator says. If Christ opposed tribute to Rome. Then he would be arrested. As a traitor. But if he favored tribute to Caesar.

He would lose the hearts of the Jews. Who despised the Roman rulers. So whichever way Jesus went. He was in difficulty. And that was the intention of their question.

So how does Jesus answer? We'll look at verse 18. But Jesus. Aware of their malice. Said. Why put me to the test you hypocrites? Show me the coin for the tax.

And they brought him a denarius. And Jesus said to them. Whose likeness and inscription is this? They said. Caesar's. Then he said to them.

Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's. And to God. The things that are God's. So what's Jesus saying?

Well he's saying. With this coin. In his hand. This coin. He says. Belongs to Caesar. I mean you can see that.

Caesar's image is on it. So Jesus says. Give it back to him. Give Caesar the taxes. That he needs. To empty the bins. And fix the potholes.

Render to Caesar. Says Jesus. The things that are Caesar's. But notice that Jesus doesn't stop there. He then goes on to say. Render to God. The things that are God's.

So what's Jesus saying there? Well he's saying. If I paraphrase this. The coin may belong to Caesar. Because the image of Caesar is on it.

But you belong to God. God has given you life. God has made you.

In his likeness. He's put his image on you. So Jesus. Says to the crowds. Back then and to us today. Give your life back to God.

Give God your time. Give God your talents. Give God your money. Give God your stuff. Seek first. Not last.

Seek first. Says Jesus. The kingdom of God. Verse 22. When they the cried.

Heard it. They marvelled. And that's a good start. They're saying that answer was marvellous. It was amazing. We weren't expecting that. But do they listen to what Jesus says?

Well no they don't. Because it says also in verse 22. And they left him. And went away. So that's the first question.

A question about here. Now. Just before we move on. Does this section. Still connect with us today?

Is there something to teach us today? Well of course there is. Just as Jesus said to them back. There. Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's.

As Jesus still says that to us. He says to us. Pay your taxes. Be honest. Submit to those. Who have allowed to be an authority over you.

That's part of the point. But the emphasis really. In this section. That echoes into our lives. Is Jesus is still.

Saying to us today. Render to God. The things that are God's. In other words. Jesus. Is saying to us. Through this passage today.

Give your life to God. So let me ask the question. In that location. Have. You.

Have we. Given. God. Our lives. That's the question. That's the challenge. Have we.

Given our lives. To God. We're giving him an hour. On a Sunday morning. But is that. Or are we giving him.

Our lives. Have we become Christians. That's another way. I could put it. Are we. By profession. Can people see. As they look at our lives.

That we are. Christians. That we are. Christ's wants. That our lives. Are all about him. Because. If we are not.

If we haven't. Given our lives to God. If we haven't. Become Christians. He's calling us. Today. To do that. So if you're not.

A Christian. God is. Asking you. He's calling you. Today. Give me your life. I have made you. I've given you life. I've put my image on you. As the old quote.

From Augustine says. He has made us. For himself. Our hearts. Are restless. Until we find rest. In him. So he says. Come to me.

Give your life. To me. And for those of us. Who are Christians. Or those of us. Who profess. To be Christians. Let's. Let's.

Think about this question. Are we giving God. The best. The first fruits. Of our time. And our talents.

And our money. Is he at the top. Of our priorities. Is God. The one who dominates.

The way we structure. Our diaries. Is God. The one. Who. Determines. How we spend. Our money. And our time. Are we seeking.

First. His kingdom. Because that's. Our calling. Render to God.

The things. That are God's. We need to give him. Our lives. We sang. Wednesday night. The hymn. Jesus.

All. For Jesus. Not an hour. For Jesus. But all. For Jesus. Question. About here. Second.

Point. A question. About heaven. Verse 23. The same day. Sadducees. Came. To him. Who say.

That there. Is no. Resurrection. So. This is the second. Wave of attack. And we can see. That all this. Is choreographed.

The Pharisees. Are project. Managing. This whole. This whole. Show. And. For the onlooker. Again. It would have been. Surprising. To see the Pharisees.

And the Sadducees. In the same space. They were enemies. The Pharisees. Were spiritual. They. Believed. In the supernatural.

There was a lot. About them. That was wrong. But they certainly. Had a belief. In. In. In the supernatural. And who God is. The Sadducees. Were secularists.

They didn't believe. In. Supernatural. Whatsoever. They didn't think. There was any resurrection. But the Pharisees. And the Sadducees. Are usually. At each other.

They unite. Against Jesus. So what question. Do the Sadducees have. Well. They asked him a question. Verse 23. Saying. Teacher. Moses said. If a man dies. Having. No children.

His brother. Must marry the widow. And raise up children. For his brother. And for us. This sounds like madness. But that was a. It was a custom. That was recognized.

In that day. You can read about it. In Genesis. Verses. 38. 8. And Deuteronomy. 25. Verses 5 to 10. We're not going there. This morning. So they.

They then come. With the scenario. For Jesus. And basically. The scenario. Verses 25 to 28. Is. Seven brothers. They die.

One after the other. This woman. Has got. All these men. She has all these marriages. In the resurrection. They say. Whose wife. Will she be? And what the Sadducees.

Were doing. Is they were mocking Jesus. That was the intent. Of their question. They were. They were just poking fun. They were mocking Jesus.

They weren't really looking. For an answer. Because they didn't believe. In the resurrection. Didn't believe in anything. Supernaturally. They had no hope. Beyond this world.

That's why they were. Sadducees. Didn't get that one. Did you? But Jesus answered them.

Verse 29. And I love Jesus. Answers. The way he speaks. He answered the Sadducees. In the same tone. That he answered the Pharisees.

He says. You are wrong. Because you know. Neither the scriptures. Nor the power of God. Plain speaking Jesus. Question time panel.

Could learn. A thing or two. From this. Jesus says. You're wrong. You don't know the Bible. And then he says. In verse 30. For in the resurrection.

They neither marry. Nor are given. In marriage. But like. Are like the angels. In heaven. So. The answer. For Jesus. Was not a difficult answer.

To give. The answer. Is very plain. In scripture. But again. Jesus doesn't leave. The answer there. He wants to.

Challenge the Sadducees. About their unbelief. He wants to. Tell them the truth. About the resurrection. And so. Jesus says. In verse 31.

And as for the resurrection. Of the dead. Have you not read. What was said to you. By God. I am the God of Abraham. And the God of Isaac. And the God of Jacob. Now the Sadducees.

Recognized these guys. They were okay. With the first part. Of the Bible. But they. They basically. Edited out the rest. So they recognized.

Abraham. Isaac. And Jacob. And Jesus says. Have you not heard. What was said. I am the God of Abraham. The God of Isaac. The God of Jacob. He is not the God of the dead. But of the living.

One commentator says. Christ answered his critics. From the Bible. Referring to Exodus 3. God said. I am the God of Abraham. The God of Isaac. The God of Jacob. Not I was.

The God. Of Abraham. And the God of Isaac. And the God of Jacob. This means. That these men. Are still alive. And with God.

So essentially. What Jesus. Is saying. To the Sadducees. Is. There is life. Beyond this world. The soul.

The soul exists. After death. And one day. The body will rise. Whether we believe that.

Or not. And one day. Even the Sadducees. Will stand before God.

Resurrected. And Jesus. Is asking them. And he's asking us. Are you ready for that day?

So are you and I ready. For that day. When we will stand before God. And.

If we think about this. What will we say. When God calls us. To stand before him. What will we say.

When God asks us. Why should I let you. Into heaven. Some will say this.

Some will say. Well. God. I tried to read. I tried to. To live. A good life. I tried really hard. To be nice.

I tried to be good living. I tried not to. Hurt anyone. But if you say that. That won't unlock the door.

To heaven. Others will say. Well. You know. I sat in the church. Week after week. Often. Enduring. These awful sermons.

I was a regular attender. I might even have been. A communicant member. In the church. My name was on the roll. That won't unlock. The door to heaven.

Because neither. Our good works. Not our religious works. Will take away our sin. And not one sin.

Can be taken into heaven. To get into heaven. We have to believe. In Jesus. To get into heaven.

We have to trust. In the finished work. Of Jesus. At the cross. Jesus. Is the. Only one.

Who can. Unlock the door. Of heaven. We're going to. We did sing. Actually. There was no other. Good enough. To pay the price of sin. He only.

Could unlock the gate. Of heaven. And let us in. Verse 33. And when the crowd.

Heard it. When they heard. Jesus answer. They were astonished. At his teaching. And we can often see this.

About the crowds. They're astonished. They're amazed. They marvel. At the teaching of Jesus. But that's not enough. It's not enough.

To sit in the chairs. And be. Amazed. Astonished. Marvel. At the. The teaching. At the. The words of Jesus. They.

And we. Need to believe. And to come before. Jesus. And say. I am a sinner. Take my sin away.

Please. I believe in you. I believe in everything. That you've done. On the cross for me. That's the only way. That heaven's doors. Will be unlocked. Jesus says.

In John 14. 6. I am the way. The truth. The life. No one. Comes to the father. Except through me. Question.

About heaven. A question. About here. Thirdly. A question. About the heart. Verse 34. But when the Pharisees. Heard.

That he. Had silenced. The Sadducees. They gathered together. So at this point. The Pharisees. Call for a. A time out.

They call for a hydration break. They realize. The score. Is 2-0. To Jesus. And so now. They call in. An expert lawyer. And. Cue the lawyer.

In verse 35. And one of them. A lawyer. Asked him a question. To test him. And just think for a moment. About the arrogance.

Of this. We have a. A scenario here. Where the creature. Is testing. The creator. We have a.

A scenario here. Where. The one who is the source. Of all wisdom. Is being tested. By. Some lawyer. With a high opinion. Of himself.

Who has no wisdom. And he asked the question. Verse 36. Teacher. Which is the great commandment. In the law. And if we go back in time.

To that place. At that time. That was the most. Controversial question. Of that day. To ask that question. Was about like. Asking a question. About a camper van. On the Isle of Harris.

Facebook page. It caused a riot. If you want it to cause. Division. And trouble. This was the question. To ask. Because there was always.

Debate. There was always. Disagreement. When it came to. The law. And to the. The great commandment. In the law. And so. Whatever Jesus said.

In response. To this question. There was going to be trouble. Someone would have a problem with it. Because all these. All these tribes. All these. Scholars.

They were clashing heads. Over this question. And whatever. Jesus answer was. They could use it. To build a case. Against them. So that. That was their approach. And it was.

And it remains still today. A classic tactic. There are always. Particular questions. That we can ask. That will light a fuse.

Cause trouble. Cause debate. And disagreement. And. If you want to put up. Barriers to faith. You can ask these type of questions. What about election.

And predestination. There's a question. Off we go. Round the houses. Round the circles. And. Usually that's the design of it.

When Jesus is getting too close. We're starting to feel the bite. Of the gospel call. Let's throw in that question. Election. Predestination.

Off we go. Off to the races. What about other religions? That's another question. What about all the other religions? Another question.

Why is there so many churches? Another question. Why is there suffering in the world? Now. Sometimes these can be genuine questions. From those who are seeking God. But very often.

These questions. Are designed to test. And cause trouble. And justify unbelief. So how does Jesus respond to this question?

Well he cuts right to the heart of it. He bypasses all the minutiae. He avoids all the secondary issues. And he said to him. Verse 37.

You shall love the Lord your God. With all your heart. With all your soul. And with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And the second is like it.

You shall love your neighbor. As yourself. On these two commandments. Depend all the law. And the prophets. Perfect answer.

In fact. Every answer that Jesus has given so far. Was a perfect answer. And so the person.

Who has genuine questions. Is surely now able to. Thank Jesus for his answers. And for the clarity. They now have.

And immediately. Believe in him. Is that what happened? Well let's read on. As we come towards a. A conclusion.

Fourth point. Is a question about him. Verse 41. Now. While the Pharisees. Were gathered together.

Let's pause for just a second. Why are the Pharisees. Gathered together. Are they ready now. To believe. Now that their questions. Have all been so perfectly answered. Are they ready to believe.

No they're not. Why not. Because they don't want to believe. Just like there are probably.

Some people in this room today. You don't want to believe. It's not there's a lack of evidence. It's not that there's a lack of. Of answers from Jesus.

It's just a question of the will. I will not believe. That's where they were at. And so. At this point.

Before. The Pharisees. Or Sadducees. Or lawyer. As a chance to ask another question. Jesus says. I've got a question for you. And Jesus question.

Was a question about. Who he is. Verse 41. Jesus asked him a question. Saying. What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?

He said to him. The son of David. He said to them. How is it then. That David. In the spirit. Calls him Lord. Saying. The Lord said to my Lord.

Sit at my right hand. Until I put. Your enemies under your feet. If then David. Calls him Lord. How is he a son? And what Jesus does.

In this question. Is he quotes from. Psalm 110. Verse 1. It's a psalm of David. It's a psalm. That pointed. To the Christ.

It's a psalm. That pointed. To. The Messiah. The Christ. The one that David. Called Lord. And Jesus. Says. If the Christ. Is David's Lord.

How can the Christ. Be David's son? And the Pharisees. Were stumped. It's a great picture.

In our minds. Eye. Of all these. Academics. And. Self-important. Churchmen. Scratching their heads. Vacant.

Stares. Looking at. Somebody else. Have you got an answer? I haven't got an answer. Do you have an answer? I haven't got an answer. They're absolutely stumped. What was the answer?

Well one commentator. Puts it more clearly. Than I could put it. He says. The answer was given. In Matthew 1 and 2. It's the virgin birth. Of Christ. As eternal God.

Christ. Is David's Lord. But as the God man. Come in the flesh. He is David's son. So as we sometimes sing in the carols.

He. The Christ. Came down. To earth. From heaven. He's the Lord. But we can go. To the beginning of the gospels. And we can follow.

The. The line. Right the way from David. Through to Jesus. So he's a son. A son. A son. A son. A son. A son. That can be traced back. To David's line. He's a son of David.

But he's the son of God. That was the answer. And now. We have this situation. Where. The son of David. The God man.

The Christ. He's standing in the flesh. Before. All. These religious leaders. And he's asking them. A question about him. And the simple version.

Of the question. Jesus was asking. Was. Do you believe. That I am the Christ. Do you believe. That I. Am the son of David. Do you believe. That I.

Am. The Lord. Verse 46. And. No one was able. To answer him a word. Nor.

From that day. Did anyone dare. To ask him. Any more questions. It's good to ask questions.

I'm finished. It's good to ask questions. And sometimes. Our questions. Lead us to faith. When they are genuine.

And humble. And seeking. But there comes a time. And I believe this is for people in this room.

There comes a time. When we need to stop asking questions. Questions. Stop. Making excuses. For not believing.

And just believe. That was the message for the Pharisees. And the Sadducees. And the teachers of the law. And that is the message for us today.

Believe. In the Lord Jesus Christ. Follow him. Follow him. And we will be saved. Saved from sin.

Saved from death. Saved from hell. And saved for him. Saved for a relationship.

That our soul longs for. Saved for a life. That is abundant. With Christ. In this world.

Saved. And saved for. An eternity in heaven. Where we will know perfect peace. And joy. And satisfaction.

And life. Let's pray. Heavenly Father.

We thank you. That you. Are a God. Who is patient with us. We thank you Father. That. You are patient with us. Even. When we think about.

The wonder of what you have done. In sending your son. Into this world. Knowing. Knowing. Knowing. That he would be despised. And rejected. Knowing that he.

Would do everything. That was necessary. For sinners to be saved. And still. As sinners. We are so resistant. So doubtful.

So fickle. So full of. Questions. And critique. We thank you.

That you are. Slow to anger. With us. That you are abounding. In love. That you are patient. Long suffering. We thank you. That you have given us. Today. And if we hear.

Your voice. Today. Lord God. We pray. That we would not. Harden our heart. And think up. Another six questions. But that we would.

Simply believe. And find salvation. In your son. We pray these things. In his name. And for his sake. Amen. We'll sing to conclude.

Mission praise. One thousand. Two hundred and nine. The words on the screen. My heart. Is filled with thankfulness. To him. Who bore my pain.

Who plumbed the depths. Of my disgrace. And gave me life again. Who crushed my curse. Of sinfulness. And clothed me. With his light. And wrote his law. Of righteousness. With power.

Upon my heart. And then at the end. Of the hymn. Just note these words. For every day I have on earth. Is given by the king. So I will give my life. My all.

Christians. Are we hearing that? My all. To love. And follow him. Amen. Who loved the depths of my disgrace and gave me life again?

Who crushed my curse of sinfulness and clothed me with his light? And gold is all of righteousness with power upon my heart.

My heart is filled with thankfulness to him who was beside. Who floods my weaknesses with strength and causes fears to fight?

Whose every promise is enough for every step I take? Sustaining me with arms of love and guiding me with grace.

My heart is filled with thankfulness to him who reigns above. Whose wisdom is my perfect peace, whose deadly thought is mine.

For every day I have on earth is given by the King. So I will give my life, my all, to love and follow him.

And now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, the fellowship of God the Holy Spirit, be with us all now and forevermore.

Amen. Thank you.