THE GREATNESS OF CHRIST

D. A. Brown

John 18: 1–6; 8: 12; Revelation 1: 17, 18

I would like to speak of the greatness of our Lord Jesus. He could say Himself, “I am he” (John 18: 6); there is no other one who could say that, and again, “Altogether that which I also say to you”, John 8: 25. The greatness of the Lord Jesus would be before us in an occasion like this; not only the greatness of the fact that He is a Saviour for men; not only the greatness of the fact that He is the Saviour of the world, but the fact that He is the One who is so great in Himself. Has it ever entered your soul that the One with whom we have to do in the glad tidings is God Himself? We cannot therefore trifle with nor be flippant about the glad tidings for they have to do with eternal realities. Can I ask every one in this room, Have you come to that One who could say, “I am he”, that is the Lord Jesus Christ? Have you had a transaction with Him?

It speaks in John chapter 18 of One who went “beyond the torrent Cedron, where was a garden”, and then it says, “And Judas also, who delivered him up, knew the place, because Jesus was often there, in company with his disciples”. Here was the time when the Lord Jesus was about to be betrayed by His own intimate friend. It could be said of Judas, in the psalm, “We who held sweet intercourse together”, Psalm 55: 14. Think of what was here against the Lord Jesus. Here was one of His disciples and he was about to betray the Lord. It says, “Judas therefore, having got the band, and officers of the chief priests and Pharisees, comes there with lanterns and torches and weapons”. These persons were set against the Lord Jesus. Out there in the world persons are set against the Lord Jesus. Do not be deceived by the attractiveness of the world; do not be deceived by all the tinsel and all the veneer that

there is in the world; persons are set against Christ. As they were here in this chapter they still are set against the Lord Jesus and, to come closer home, every one in their natural heart is set against the Lord Jesus. Thanks be to God for the grace that would give each of us the opportunity to receive Christ as our Saviour, and own Him as the blessed Son of God. Were it not for the grace of God we would have been as this band bringing torches, lanterns, and weapons. These persons lived in darkness, that is why they had to bring these things. I trust every one here has been brought into the light; the light that shines from the glory tonight.

If they had been in the light they would have recognised the Lord Jesus and they would have owned Him. Friend, have you owned the Lord Jesus as your Saviour? Have you owned Him as your Lord? Have you known what it is to come into subjection to Him? There are many persons who want to please themselves, they want to do their own will. How fine it is to look upon those who have come under the divine will, under divine direction! We look upon faithful older ones amongst us and we see in them examples of those who have come under the divine will and divine direction. How wonderful it is! May our hearts be subdued worshipfully in the presence of the greatness of such a One as the Lord Jesus Christ. I feel such a frail vessel to speak of such a great message, and to speak of such a great Person as our Lord Jesus Christ, but I would like just to convey to you something of God’s feelings for His Son. I trust, friend, that you have accepted Him, One who is the Saviour, One who is God Himself, and yet has come near to men. He stooped into manhood, taking a bondman’s form, being here in this world and satisfying God in every respect. He became Man in order to fulfil God’s will. Now He is in glory and we can preach salvation; salvation is in a risen and ascended Christ Christianity is based on the fact that Christ is no longer in the grave, but is raised and ascended at God’s right hand in glory. Do you know Him there as the One who is victorious?

There was much against the Lord here. It says, “Jesus therefore, knowing all things that were coming upon him, went forth and said to them, Whom seek ye? They answered him, Jesus the Nazaraean. Jesus says to them, I am he. And Judas also, who delivered him up, stood with them”. I wonder where you are standing? Are you with Jesus or are you against Him? There is no middle ground; there is no grey area and there is no compromise. We are either with Him or we are against Him. Judas was standing with persons who were against Christ, and if we align ourselves with, the world, we are aligning ourselves with those who are against Christ. “When therefore he said to them, I am he, they went away backward and fell to the ground”. What can I say in the presence of such greatness and glory as this? The power was there in Jesus. There He was, as a Man, about to be delivered up, about to be taken and beaten at the hands of men, and yet they went away backward and fell to the ground. Have we a sense of the greatness of Jesus, and yet the blessed humanity of that One who came into this scene to secure us for Himself? Do you know what it is to be secured for eternity? How marvellous it is to have a place in heaven! How wonderful a privilege it is to be a believer on the Lord Jesus Christ!

In John’s gospel chapter 8, it says, “Again therefore Jesus spoke to them, saying, I am the light of the world; he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life”. In John’s gospel He speaks of Himself as the door; He speaks of Himself as the good Shepherd. I would like to draw attention to the fact that here He says, “I am the light of the world”. Men do not like light, as it says, “men have loved darkness rather than light; for their works were evil”. John 3: 19. I would seek to attract your heart into the light; the light in which Christ is operating. He is the light of the world. The true light was that which, “coming into the world, lightens every man”, John 1: 9. At the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, and later it says, “And God said, Let there be light. And there was light”. It does not say that God created the darkness. Why is there darkness? Why is there darkness in the hearts of men if God did not create it? It says He called the darkness Night, but it does not say He created it. The light at the beginning of Genesis dispelled the darkness, and I trust that the light that is shining from heaven, that is coming to you through the preaching, may dispel any darkness in your heart.

I do not know the soul history of every person in this room; perhaps some are troubled in their soul, troubled about their soul’s salvation, perhaps wondering if they are saved at all.

You may have been brought up in a Christian household, wonderful as that is, enjoying fellowship among the saints, but perhaps you are still wondering if you are saved, wondering if you will have a place in heaven. If you are having these doubts, dear friend, open your heart to the Lord Jesus, ask Him to come into your life, to take over your life, to bring you through in victory, so that you may be here for His will. These are very real exercises, and the very fact that you have these exercises is the evidence that the Spirit is working in your soul.

I trust the young people will bear with me, because we must find the Anchor for our souls. In this world we see darkness, hatred, corruption, mistrust, features which we do not see in the Lord Jesus Christ. We must therefore have a judgment of this world, and know the surety and the joy and the peace of having a living link with the Lord Jesus. Now preachers often say that, but it means that we are kept alive in our links and in our associations with the Lord Jesus. That is why we pray every day, and read a little every day. These things are real. Dear young believer, if you do not practise these things then you will become dull, things will start to dim and you will find it difficult to carry the testimony.

The Lord Jesus says here, “I am the light of the world; he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life”. Are we all followers of the Lord Jesus? Are you known as a follower of the Lord Jesus? It is the life which is in Christ Jesus that gives us power which enables us to walk here below. We do not need to go outside of Him for anything; everything is there in Him; everything for the Father rested in Christ, and so it is to be for us. Think of that time when the heavens were opened, and the voice uttered, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I have found my delight”, Matthew 3: 17. O the preciousness of that utterance! How great that was, a life down here precious to the Father! Let our souls be bathed in the perfection of the manhood of Jesus.

In Revelation it says, “I am the first and the last, and the living one”. I refer to this scripture because I think it brings in something of the power that is in Christ. The Lord Jesus knows the end from the beginning, that is why we trust Him. At night we commit ourselves into His hands because we trust Him. I do not trust myself; I cannot trust myself, but I can trust the One in whom I find my all. John says here, “And when I saw him I fell at his feet as dead; and he laid his right hand upon me, saying, Fear not”. What a wonderful touch that must have been, a touch in power. John was a bit fearful, he was in isolation on the isle of Patmos. This was the same one who knew what it was to lie in the bosom of Jesus, but here he was, falling at His feet as dead. And the Lord laid His right hand upon him, saying, “Fear not”. I think the Lord, tonight, would be saying, “Fear not; I am the first and the last, and the living one”. He is the Alpha and the Omega. He knows the end from the beginning. Of what other person can that be said? The only One in whom we can trust is the Lord Jesus Christ. Then there is what is of Him down here in the saints, and we need to value and keep near them, so that we may know the salvation which is in the assembly.

He says, “I am the first and the last, and the living one; and I became dead, and behold, I am living to the ages of ages, and have the keys of death and of hades”.

Everything is in the Lord’s hands. It says at the beginning of John, “The Father loves the Son, and has given all things to be in his hand”, John 3: 35. These are trustworthy hands; these hands into which the nails were driven on the cross are trustworthy hands. The Father has committed all things into the hand of Jesus. He has the keys of death and of hades, not Satan—the Lord Jesus has these keys, and He will have the final say. The lake of fire was designed for the devil and his angels, not for men, but yet it is solemn to think that men will be put there because they refused the witness and rejected the testimony to the Man Christ Jesus. We may think the world is in the hands of the wicked one, and so it is; the world is judged. But dear young person, if you are a believer, you are spoiled for the world, you have a better hope and a better place, that is heaven. What an outlook we have in Christ and in heaven. It says, “and I became dead, and behold, I am living to the ages of ages, and have the keys of death and of hades”. The Lord Jesus is not going to die again. He has effected everything to God’s complete satisfaction, and for God’s glory and eternal praise and worship. Let our souls bow in the sense of One so great as Jesus. One who has effected everything for God. It was secured there in Christ, the One who became dead, but who is living to the ages of ages, and has the keys of death and of hades.

‘Life is found alone in Jesus,

Only there ‘tis offered thee;

Offered without price or money,

‘Tis the gift of God sent free’. (Hymn 266)

These things are all in Jesus. Do we know Him? Do we have Him in our hearts? Many believers came together this morning; what did we do? We were assembling together to remember Him whom we love. Do you love Jesus? He loves you, I can tell you that. He loves you, but He is desirous of your loving Him. May each one of us know more of being livingly attached to this One who could say, “I am he”, “I am the light of the world”; “I am the first and the last, and the living one”; God Himself come near in Jesus. I often think that we do not contemplate enough the greatness of the incarnation. These are wondrous truths which we need to have firmly in our souls. May each one of us be helped by the Spirit to appreciate more the greatness of Christ and be here for God’s pleasure, for His name’s sake.

Preaching at Kirkcaldy
3 February 1991