Lamentations

Left Alone and Without Hope

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Old Testament Studies

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2012-02-12

Synopsis: Pastor John Weaver examines Mark 8:22-26, where Jesus heals a blind man outside Bethsaida and commands him not to return to the town. Weaver argues that these unusual actions signify Jesus leaving Bethsaida desolate due to their unbelief and ingratitude, despite having witnessed many mighty works. He connects this to the principle that greater light brings greater accountability, citing the destruction of Jerusalem and Jesus' woes upon Bethsaida, Chorazin, and Capernaum. The sermon emphasizes God's sovereignty in dispensing mercy and warns that those who reject Christ may be left alone and without hope, urging believers to value God's Word and seek His convicting presence.

[John Weaver] Alright, let's open our Bible's day to the book of Mark, chapter 8. Book of Mark, chapter 8. And let me say that the next couple of weeks, I'm going to be bringing a two-part message, so make sure that, if you can, you're here for both Sundays, part 1 and part 2. And by the way, I will be gone for two Sundays in June. It is June the 6th, I think, the first Sunday. And June the 20th, I think, the third Sunday. So since I will be gone the first Sunday of the month, we will try to have our meal on the second Sunday of the month.

[John Weaver] So I don't have my calendar in front of me. I don't remember the exact date. So Mark chapter 8. And let's look there beginning with verse 22. The title of the sermon is Left Alone and Without Hope. Left Alone and Without Hope. Mark chapter 8. And let's begin reading with verse 22. And he cometh to Bethsaida, and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him. And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town. And when he'd spit on his eyes and put his hand upon him, he asked him if he saw alt.

[John Weaver] And he looked up and said, I see men as trees walking. After that, he put his hands upon his eyes and made him look up. And he was restored and saw every man clearly. And he sent him away to his house saying, neither go into the town nor tell it in any town. There can be no state, no circumstance, no situation, more horrifying than to be desolate, deserted, and hopeless.

[John Weaver] I have read of parents who have abandoned small children, left them to die. Can you imagine the absolute horror for a child to be separated from his family, from his friends, and just left in pure agony to die all alone? I've also read of individuals, adults, who are out in the mountains on vacation and get separated from their loved ones, lost, and die while they're there. Again, without any comforting words, without any soothing touch, it is just about almost unimaginable when you and I stop and think what it would be like to be left absolutely alone and desolate in such a situation.

[John Weaver] A few years ago there was a martial artist by the name of Evan Tanner who went out to train by himself in the desert, which was really a bad idea. But he was in excellent physical shape and evidently he was going to push himself to the limits just to see what he could do. or maybe what he could not do. When he did not return at the stated time, a search party went out to look for him and they found him dead.

[John Weaver] Can you imagine being alone, desolate, needing help and needing someone and not being able to communicate with anyone and you know that you're lost? that you're hopeless, that you're alone, and that no one is going to come.

[John Weaver] Now, if that is true for an individual, whether it is a child or an adult, how much more is it true when it relates to a city, a state, or even a nation? I want you to hold Mark chapter 8, if you would. But I want you to turn in your Bibles very quickly to Jeremiah chapter 8. Jeremiah chapter 8. And I want you to try to picture in your mind, Jeremiah, by the way, he is known also as the weeping prophet. And can you imagine Jeremiah as he weeps over Jerusalem? Remember the Babylonians have come against the city. They're destroying the city. destroying the temple, killing thousands, enslaving some. And notice if you would in Jeremiah chapter 8 in verse 18, he writes this, when I would comfort myself against Sarah, my heart is faint in me. In other words, there is no comfort, his heart fails him. He says, behold, the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people, because of them that dwell in a far country, that is the Babylonians.

[John Weaver] Is not the Lord in Zion? Is not our King in her? Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images and with strange vanities?

[John Weaver] Now look what he says. The harvest is past. The summer's ended. And we're not saved. The harvest is past. There's no hope of getting any outside or additional food. The summer's ended. You can't grow anymore. and we're not saved. So what is being recorded here is this, that here the city is being left alone and desolate. It will die by itself. If you will turn in your Bibles to the book of Matthew chapter 23, Matthew 23, and then we're going to go over to Luke chapter 19, Matthew 23, and let's begin looking there at verse 37.

[John Weaver] at what our Lord said to Jerusalem in the New Testament, as Jerusalem would soon be facing Titus and the Roman army. In Matthew 23, beginning there with verse 37, our Lord said, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets and stonest them which are sin of thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathered her chickens under her wings, and you would not.

[John Weaver] Now watch, behold, your house is left unto you desolate. And if you will turn right over to the book of Luke chapter 19, you'll see how our Lord says essentially the same thing, but I want to emphasize the very fact that He's saying your house is going to be left unto you desolate. So Luke chapter 19, beginning there with verse 41, He says it like this, and please keep in mind, He's now talking about the Roman army, that's going to surround Jerusalem and totally destroy it. He says, For the day shall come upon thee, that thine enemy shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round about, and keep thee in on every side.

[John Weaver] And they shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee, and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another, because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation. And he went out into the temple, and began to cast them out that sold their end, and them that bought, saying unto them, It is written, My house is a house of prayer, but you've made it a den of thieves." Notice if you would, he says that it's going to be totally, absolutely cast down. If you go back to verse 41, And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, saying, If thou hadst known even thou at the least in this thy day the things which belong to thy peace, but now they're hid from thine eyes. And what's going to happen? Verse 43, your enemies are going to come and you're going to be absolutely, totally destroyed.

[John Weaver] Now, I gave you an introductory statement. I've given you several scriptures in relating to Jerusalem, about how Jerusalem was going to be absolutely left alone and desolate. And you're probably going to be thinking in your mind, what possible connection could there be with introductory remarks and the Scriptures with Mark chapter 8. Obviously, there has to be a connection, but what is it? Well, go back in your Bibles to Mark chapter 8, and let me show you something that is very unique concerning this passage. In fact, there are in this passage two very strange acts that were performed by our Lord. In fact, I will go further to say These are not recorded anywhere else in the New Testament in the sense that He never did this before or after. What are they? Well, look if you would please in verse 23. In fact, let's read verse 22.

[John Weaver] And He cometh to Bethsaida, and they, that is a group of people, bring to Him a blind man unto Him, and besought Him to touch him. He wanted to be healed.

[John Weaver] Now look what happened in verse 23. And He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. Why did our Lord lead the man out of town? Why did He not just simply heal him where he was? What is the significance of being led out of town? Secondly, if you'll skip down to verse 26, look what our Lord does, very unique. And he sent him away to his house, saying, neither go into the town, nor tell it into any town. So after our Lord heals the blind man, he says, now you may go back home, but you don't go back into town. And you don't tell what happened to you to anyone in the town. So the question has to come up, why did our Lord not want this healed man to return to town and testify of his healing and testify of the grace and power of Christ. You remember in Mark chapter 5, the maniac of Gadara, after he had been healed, he besought Christ that he could come with Christ and Christ said, no, no, no.

[John Weaver] You go back to your home and you go back to your city and you tell what great things God had done unto you. But here, he says, don't you go back into town. Don't you tell anybody what has happened to you.

[John Weaver] Now, it is true, there are times when our Lord reveal certain things to his disciples. And then he told the disciples, don't say anything about this until after I'm crucified and raised again from the dead. But this is a totally different situation here in Mark chapter 8. He takes this man personally by the hand and leads him out of town. And then he tells the man, do not go back into town.

[John Weaver] Well, a question ought to be coming into your mind. What's the name of that town? Go back to verse 22. And he cometh to Bethsaida. Ah, it was Bethsaida that our Lord took the man by the hand and led him out of town. And when our Lord healed him, he says, do not go back into town. Now, Bethsaida happened to be the home of several of the apostles. You don't have to turn there, but in John 1 in verse 44, we read this. Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. So Philip, Andrew, and Peter lived in Bethsaida. In John 12 in verse 21, the Bible says, The same came therefore to Philip which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, So we would see Jesus. Notice again, it is emphasized that Philip lived in Bethsaida.

[John Weaver] Now Bethsaida, The term literally means house of fishing. You must remember that many of our Lord's original apostles were fishermen. Bethsaida was the east of the Jordan, and it was a fishing village, but it was also a place that had a large open pasture, and it's called a desert or a deserted place, which meant it just had a huge, uncultivated piece of ground that was normally used for grazing.

[John Weaver] It was in this spot that our Lord fed the 5,000. Now, if you look in your Bibles very quickly to Luke chapter 9, Luke chapter 9, and notice verse 10. Luke 9 and verse 10. Look what the Bible says. Just to show you, Luke 9 verse 10. The Bible says this. And the apostles, when they returned, told him all that they had done, and he took them and went aside privately into a desert place belonging to the city called Bethsaida. So here's this large deserted place, this large pasture in Bethsaida.

[John Weaver] Now, you've got to remember that our Lord performed many miracles throughout the land. In fact, in Matthew 9, verse 35, let me just read it. The Bible says in Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. So our Lord then preached throughout the land. No big deal. He preached in a lot of cities. No big deal. But listen to this in Luke two and verses 42 and verse 43, the Bible says, uh, when our Lord was in Capernaum, And when it was day, he departed and went into a desert place. And the people sought him, and came unto him, and stayed him, that he should not depart from them. Listen, and he said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also, for therefore am I sent." So Jesus is performing all of these miracles throughout all the land, and many different cities, and many different villages.

[John Weaver] Now let me ask a question. How many miracles did Jesus perform?

[John Weaver] Now the answer is, no one really knows. You could go through Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and you could count those miracles that He actually performed that are recorded. But, if you will turn in your Bibles to John chapter 20, I want you to look at verses 30 and 31. Look what is said in John 20, verses 30 and 31. This is why it would not do you any good to just simply go through Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and count the miracles and say, well, he did this many miracles.

[John Weaver] The truth is, we cannot even guesstimate. Because the Bible says in John 20, verses 30 and 31, and many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you might have life through His name. So it's evident then that our Lord has performed many miracles in many different villages, in many different cities. However, there were some cities that were the recipient of more miracles than other cities. And there were some cities that received greater miracles than other cities received as well. Some cities were more favored with a regular presence of our Lord. They were more favored with regular acts of His grace and mercy.

[John Weaver] Now, I do want you to turn before I begin to answer some questions to the book of Luke chapter 12 and I want to show you the biblical principle that is going to be applied to our text in just a moment. I want you to look in Luke chapter 12 and verse 48. Luke 12 and verse 48. Here's the principle. Our Lord says this, and I'm only going to be dealing with half the verse. Okay.

[John Weaver] But he that knew not and did commit things worthy of stripes shall be beaten with few stripes. Now look, here's the principle. For unto whomsoever much is given, Of him shall be much required. And whom men have committed much, of him will they ask the more. Now what is this principle? For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required. Wow. And whom men shall have committed much, they will ask the more. So here is the principle.

[John Weaver] The greater the light, the greater the blessing. The greater the responsibility and accountability.

[John Weaver] Now, did our Lord perform greater miracles in some cities than others? Yes. Did he perform more miracles in some cities than others? Yes. So the greater the blessing, the greater the truth, the greater the responsibility and accountability.

[John Weaver] Now, let me show you. Turn back in your Bibles to the book of Lamentations right after the book of Jeremiah. You'll have Lamentations chapter 4 and remember if you would please that these Lamentations were written by Jeremiah as he saw Jerusalem being destroyed. Each one of these chapters in the book of Lamentations is a Lamentation on the destruction of Jerusalem. So in Lamentations chapter 4 and verse 6, I want you to look at what Jeremiah wrote. Then I want us to apply this principle. Look what he said. Lamentations 4 verse 6.

[John Weaver] For the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom that was overthrown as in a moment and no hand stayed on her. Now listen to what Jeremiah said. The punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people, that is Jerusalem, is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom. Wait a minute. He then adds in verse 6, that was overthrown as in a moment, no hand stayed on her. When God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, and they were wicked, they were ungodly, When God destroyed them, remember He rained fire and brimstone on them out of heaven. They were consumed instantaneously. It was not so with Jerusalem. Because Jerusalem was surrounded by the Babylonians. The people inside were starving to death.

[John Weaver] It's even recorded right here. Look in Lamentations chapter 4, beginning there with verse 7. Look what he writes. Her Nazarites were purer than snow. They were whiter than milk. They were more ruddy in body than rubies. Their polishing was a sapphire.

[John Weaver] Now all that's past tense. They were. But now what is happening, look in verse 8. Their visage is blacker than a coal. They're not known in the streets. their skin cleaveth at their bones, it is withered, it has become like a stick, they're starving to death. They that be slain with a sword are better than they that be slain with hunger, for these pine away and are stricken through for one of the fruits of the field."

[John Weaver] Now watch, the hands of the pitiful women have soddened their own children. They were their meat in the destruction of the daughter of my people. If you went outside, you were killed by the Babylonians. If you stayed inside, you starved to death slowly and surely. Now listen, It was so bad, women killed, cooked and ate their own children. Nearly two years, Jerusalem suffered. And what does he say in verse 6? For the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of Sodom and Gomorrah. And he said, one thing that makes it so greater is Sodom and Gomorrah was destroyed instantly, but it was not so with Jerusalem. They suffered. Now why was the punishment of Jerusalem worse than the punishment of Sodom and Gomorrah? Because Jerusalem had greater light, greater knowledge. They had the truth. They sinned against light. They sinned against knowledge. They sinned against truth.

[John Weaver] They had the Word of God. They had the priesthood. They had the offerings. It was there the tabernacle and the temple were. They deliberately and purposefully refused and rejected light and God visited them with a greater punishment. To whom much is given, our Lord says, much is required. The greater the light, the greater the blessing, the greater the responsibility, the greater the accountability, and I might also add, the greater the condemnation if you fail.

[John Weaver] Now, let's go back to Mark chapter 8 with this in mind. Remember the principle, to whom much is given, much is required. The greater the blessing, the greater the light, the greater the privileges, the greater the responsibility and accountability. Now, the Bible tells us in Mark chapter 8 verse 23, And He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. Why did our Lord lead this blind man out of the town? Some have suggested that The reason he let him out of town was merely a matter of privacy. It was not a matter of privacy. Had our Lord wanted privacy, all he would have had to have done was taken the man into a home or to an alley or some covered place and taken care of business there. It was certainly not a matter of privacy.

[John Weaver] You've got to remember that I told you that Peter and Andrew and Philip were from Bethsaida. What's that mean? They had houses there.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to show you something. Go back whole Mark 8, but go back to Matthew 8. Now, it is true that Peter had moved to Capernaum, but I want to show you. Look in Matthew chapter 8 and verse 14. Matthew 8 and verse 14. Just to show you this one simple truth. Matthew 8, verse 14. And when Jesus was coming to Peter's what? House. He saw his wife's mother laid in a sick of a fever. When our Lord came into Peter's house, if Peter had a wife, and a mother-in-law, and a house in Capernaum, undoubtedly he had a house in Bethsaida.

[John Weaver] So would Philip, and so would Andrew. So if it was just simply a matter of privacy, our Lord could have taken him into any house whatsoever. It was not a matter of privacy. Let me repeat the principle. The greater the light, the greater the blessing, the greater the responsibility and accountability, and the greater the condemnation as well. When our Lord was brought this blind man of Bethsaida, and requested that he heal him. Our Lord personally took him out by the hand and led him out of town. What was our Lord doing? He was showing the inhabitants of Bethsaida that he considered them unworthy of having another miracle done among them.

[John Weaver] He had already, and I'll show you the scripture, deplored their ingratitude their obstinacy and their rejection. Bethsaida was a city of unbelief and ingratitude and consequently our Lord was not about to perform another miracle there. I want you to hold Mark 8 but go to Matthew 11 and then Luke 10. Matthew 11 and then Luke 10. I want you to note what our Lord says. Matthew 11 and verse 21, and then we're going to Luke 10. Look in Matthew 11, and verse 21. Matthew 11, verse 21. Look what our Lord says, Woe unto thee, Chorazin! Woe unto thee! Who? Bethsaida!

[John Weaver] For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, They would have repented long ago and sacked cloth and ashes. But I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment than for you. Notice what he said. Woe unto thee, Chorazin! Woe unto thee, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which had been done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago and sacked cloth and ashes.

[John Weaver] Now turn right over to Luke chapter 10 and look if you would at verse 13 again. He says the same thing, worded just a little differently, Luke 10 verse 13. One to thee, Chorazin, one to thee, Bethsaida, for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon, which have been done in you, they had a great while ago repented sitting in sackcloth and ashes, but it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for you. Now I want you to note that our Lord said, for if the mighty works.

[John Weaver] These were not ordinary miracles. These were not ordinary works. These were mighty works. And moreover, the word works is plural. So they were not only mighty, they were multitudinous. There were a multitude of mighty works that had been done in Chorazin and been done in Bethsaida. To no avail. The people were obstinate, unbelieving, and rejecting Christ.

[John Weaver] Now, he mentions Tyre and Sidon. Let me tell you something about Tyre and Sidon. Tyre and Sidon were Phoenician cities. They were opulent. They were decadent. They were cities of great merchandise. They were situated on the Mediterranean Sea, and Tyre and Side were basically about 20 miles apart. They were cities of great splendor, extensive commerce. They abounded not only in luxury, but in wickedness as well. And since they were so close to each other, they were known for their ungodliness, their pride, their debauchery, and all kinds of vices, their corrupt morals, their unrestrained debauchery could, in one sense of the word, been attributed to their ignorance, as well as their depravity. But no mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon.

[John Weaver] Our Lord had not visited them. Our Lord had not favored them with His presence and with His miracles. But He had Chorazin and Bethsaida, and now He upbraids them. He reproves them. He rebukes them. They had been given blessing. They had been given advantage. They had been given privileges. And what had they done? They had rejected them.

[John Weaver] Now He holds them more accountable. He holds them more responsible.

[John Weaver] Now, before I go further, let me just point out that Matthew 11 and Luke 10 teach a very important lesson. There is a time for upbraiding. There is a time for rebuking. There is a time for reproving. I want you to turn in your Bibles to 2 Timothy chapter 4, and I want you to see what the Apostle Paul told Pastor Timothy. Look in your Bibles to 2 Timothy chapter 4. Look closely at what the Scripture says. 2 Timothy chapter 4, verse 1. Paul tells Timothy, who is a pastor, he says, I charge thee therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing in his kingdom. Now look what he says. Preach the word.

[John Weaver] Be instant in season, out of season. Help me out now. Reprove. What's that next word? Rebuke with all longsuffering and doctrine. There comes a time to reprove and to rebuke. Or to upbraid. To get on to. To tell somebody how the cow eats the cabbage. You understand that. There comes a time when you say, listen up, I've got something for you. Here it is. And our Lord flat upbraided these cities. He rebuked them. He reproved them. He says, you're reprobates. You don't appreciate anything that I've done for you.

[John Weaver] Your ingratitude and your obstinacy are prevalent. Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to John chapter 5 and let me show you how their attitude affected The Father. John chapter 5. You know, this is absolutely amazing to me in one sense of the word. We never really think about how our attitudes affect our Heavenly Father. We know they affect each other and our families. But I want you to look at what our Lord says in John chapter 5 verses 22 and 23. John 5 verse 22. He says, for the father judges no man, but has committed all judgment unto the son. Why? That all men should honor the son, even as they honor the father. He that honors not the son honors not the father who had sent him. Now watch this. that all men should honor the Son even as, let me tell you what the impact of the little Greek word that's translated even as means. Here it is. That all men should honor the Son equally as they honor the Father.

[John Weaver] Now listen to what he said. He that honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father who has sent him. So when someone then has a bad ungrateful, obstinate attitude toward Christ. He still has that same ungrateful, obstinate attitude toward the Father. If you dishonor the Son, you dishonor the Father.

[John Weaver] Now let's go a little further. I want you to turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 10 and look at verse 40. I'm just showing you how this relates to the principle at hand. Notice Matthew chapter 10 verse 40. And look at what our Lord says as He sends His disciples out to represent Him. Matthew 10 verse 40. Our Lord tells His disciples, He that receiveth you, receiveth me. And he that receiveth me, receiveth him that sent me. Now wait a minute. Let's work this out. Our Lord sends His disciples out and He says, He that receives you, receives me.

[John Weaver] They were the representatives of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was the representative of the Father. So he says, whoever receives you, receives me. Whoever receives me, receives the Father.

[John Weaver] Now, the opposite is also true. Whoever does not receive Christ's representative, does not receive Christ. And whoever does not receive Christ, does not receive the Father. So our Lord said that if you honor Him, you're going to honor the Father. If you honor the one that He sins, you honor Him. If you honor Him, you honor the Father. If you despise and reject the one that Christ sins, you despise and reject Christ, and in so doing, you despise and reject the Father. Now, our Lord then upbraids these cities.

[John Weaver] He begins to upbraid Chorazin, Bethsaida, later on Capernaum. Why does he upbraid them? Not just because of their obstinacy and their ingratitude, those were certainly sins in and of themselves, but because they failed to repent and they failed to believe. We have a duty, we have a responsibility to repent and believe.

[John Weaver] Now, granted, we may not be able to fulfill that in ourselves. Only the grace of God can enable us to accomplish those things. But when God extends His mercy, when God showers His grace, the proper response is one of repentance and faith and obedience. And Chorazin and Bethsaida and Capernaum refused to repent and refused to believe.

[John Weaver] Now I want you to note, since you're in Matthew 10, go right back to Matthew 11. Go back to verse 21, because I know this has already entered your mind. Look in Matthew 11, verse 21. Our Lord is up braiding and he says, woe unto thee Chorazin, woe unto thee Bethsaida. For if the mighty works which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes." Now, you have to admit, if you are observant, you understand that our Lord who says this is omniscient.

[John Weaver] That is, He knows everything. So our omniscient Lord says to Chorazin and Bethsaida, the mighty works that had been done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, wicked, perverted, reprobate cities, they would have repented. So what is the question? Why were not those works done there? If our Lord knew that those cities would have repented, why were not those works done there? Why were they done in Bethsaida and Chorazin? Wow.

[John Weaver] Let me give you a quick quote. Charles Haddon Spurgeon said this on Matthew 11, 21. Great privileges were lost on Chorazin and Bethsaida, but would have been effectual had they been granted to Tyre and Sidon. According to our Lord's declaration, God gave the opportunity where it was rejected And it was not given where it would have been accepted. This is true. How mysterious. This is true. How mysterious. Well, Spurgeon didn't really answer the question.

[John Weaver] He just made an observation. But I will go farther than Spurgeon. I will answer the question for you. But my answer is going to be based on the Scripture. And you're going to have to be satisfied with what the Scripture says, okay? Because I can't have an answer beyond the Scripture. So why then were these works done in Chorazin and Bethsaida where they were rejected? And why were they not done in Tyre and Sitton where they would have evidently been received according to our omniscient Lord?

[John Weaver] Well, let's look in Matthew chapter And let's begin reading again with verse 21. Here we go. One to thee, Chorazin, one to thee, Bethsaida, for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say to you, it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment than for you.

[John Weaver] And thou, Capernaum, which are exalted in heaven, shall be brought down to hell. For if the mighty works which had been done in thee had been done in Sodom, It would have remained unto this day. But I say unto you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you. Now here's the answer. Why then were not these works done in Sodom? Why then were not these works done in Tyre and Sidon? Here's why. At that time, Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, Because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Here it is. Even so, Father, for it seemed good in thy sight. You say, what's the answer? Well, I'll show you one more time.

[John Weaver] Look in Luke chapter 10. Look in Luke chapter 10. He says the same thing. Here it is, Luke chapter 10. Luke chapter 10, and notice if you would, verse 21. I believe it is. Luke, chapter 10, verse 21. In that hour, Jesus rejoiced in spirit and said, I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes, even so, Father, were sorts seemed good in Thy sight. Here's the answer.

[John Weaver] Why were the works done in Bethsaida and Chorazin and Capernaum where they would be rejected, and not done in Tyre and Scythe and Sodom where they would have been received? Here's the answer. Because it seemed good in God's sight to do it like that. That's what he said. Even so, Father, because it seemed good in Thy sight. It seemed good to the Father to do it in Bethsaida and Chorazin and Capernaum where it would be rejected and not do it in Tyre and Sidon and Sodom where it would be received. He is sovereign.

[John Weaver] He does as He pleases and whatever He does is right. Did you hear what I just said? Whatever He does is right. One quick question. How many in Tyre and Sidon and Sodom deserve to be saved? None. How many in Bethsaida and Chorazin and Capernaum deserve to be saved? None. Do you realize the very fact that God did What He just did is a demonstration of His absolute sovereignty.

[John Weaver] I want you to go back in your Bibles to John chapter 5. Look in John chapter 5, and I want you to notice verse 21. First, John 5 verse 21. Then we're going to go back to verse 1. John 5 and verse 21. Look at this verse, John 5 verse 21. For as the father raises up the dead and quickeneth them, help me out now, even so the son quickeneth whom he will. Now I want to show you the context of that truth. Let's go back to John 5 in verse 1.

[John Weaver] After this there was a feast of the Jews and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk of blind halt withered waiting for the moving of the water. And an angel went down in a certain season in the pool and troubled the water. Whosoever then first after troubling the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. And a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty and eight years. When Jesus saw him lie and knew that he'd been now a long time in that case, he said to him, will thou be made whole? The evident man answered him, sir, I have no man when the water's troubled to put me into the pool.

[John Weaver] But while I'm coming another step down before me, Jesus said to him, rise, take up my bed and walk. And immediately the man was made whole and took up his bed and walked. And on the same day was the Sabbath. The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured. It is the Sabbath day. It is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed. He answered them, he that made me whole, the same said unto me, take up thy bed, and walk. Then asked they him, what man is that which said unto thee, take up thy bed, and walk? And he that was healed wist not who it was, for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place. Afterwards, Jesus findeth him in the temple, and saith unto him, behold, thou art made whole, sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon thee. The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him whole.

[John Weaver] Now watch this, if you would, please. Here are five porches in which lay a great multitude of impotent, lame, halt, blind, sick individuals. One man had been there 38 years. Our Lord walks up to him and asks him, will thou be made whole? Let me ask you, how many of those five porches needed healing? All of them. How many could our Lord have healed had He so chosen? All of them. How many of them recognized Him as the Sovereign Lord of Heaven and Earth? None. How many cried out to Him for healing? None. Even this one man didn't know who He was. And what our Lord did was this. He walked in amongst all of these people, singled out one man, and healed him.

[John Weaver] Left the rest in their sickness. You say, that's not right. Yes, it is right. Did our Lord owe healing to the one that He did heal? No. Why did He do that? Why did He not just heal all of them? He could have done it! Well, go back to verse 21. For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them, even so the Son quickeneth whom He will. Skip down to verse 23. That all men should honor the Son equally as they honor the Father.

[John Weaver] In other words, Jesus Christ is God. You know the one thing that proves that God is God? His sovereignty. He does as He pleases, only as He pleases, and always as He pleases. The one thing that proves that Jesus Christ is God, He does as He pleases, only as He pleases, always as He pleases. He is merciful to whom He will be merciful. That's what God said in Romans 9. I will be merciful to whom I will be merciful.

[John Weaver] I'll show compassion on whom I will show compassion. If I had a million dollars, which I don't, but if I had a million dollars, and I gave half of it to Doc, how many of you are going to get mad because I don't give you half as well? I couldn't give everybody half, could I? The very fact that I gave half to Doc was just an act of grace. He didn't earn it, he didn't deserve it, I just wanted to give it to him. How many of you would look at a man and woman that went to an orphanage and there's 40 orphans there? And this man and woman select 5 out of the 40 and adopt them into their family and raise them as their own. How many of you are going to say, those wicked, ungodly, reprobate people, they left 35 orphans in that orphanage? No. It wasn't that they left 35, they adopted 5. They didn't owe the 5 anything. They did that out of the grace of their hearts.

[John Weaver] And it's the same thing with God. God doesn't owe us anything. And the very fact that He does what He does, it's His prerogative. He's sovereign. The multitudes in John 5 did not know who He was. They didn't desire Him. They didn't cry out for mercy. They didn't cry out for help. Are you listening? And he left them alone and desolate. Look in your Bibles to Matthew 23.

[John Weaver] I want you to see what our Lord again told the Jews. Notice Matthew 23, verse 38. Matthew 23, verse 38. Look what He told them. Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.

[John Weaver] Two of the most disheartening and terrifying words are the words alone and desolate. God can leave desolate and alone individuals, cities, towns, states, and even nations if He so chooses. Since you're in Matthew, go back to Matthew 15. I want you to see what our Lord said concerning the Pharisees. Watch it. Matthew 15, beginning there with verse 12. Our Lord's been teaching and preaching. Matthew 15, notice verse 12. Then came His disciples and said unto Him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended after they heard that saying? O Lord, You've upset the religious leaders of our day. I wish I could colloquialize probably what our Lord said. Tough stuff, son. Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended after they heard thy saying?

[John Weaver] But he answered and said, Every plant which my heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted up. Are you looking? Let them alone. They be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall in the ditch. Let them alone. What did Christ say? He said, let them alone. And He also said, your house is left unto you desolate. Why did our Lord take the man by the hand and lead him out of the city? He was showing Bethsaida, I'm leaving you alone. I'm leaving you desolate. And when He told the man after He healed him, don't go back in the town. Don't tell anybody what has happened to you. He's depriving them of any and every witness to His grace and mercy. He's leaving them alone. He's leaving them Desolate.

[John Weaver] Now listen to me carefully. If you don't want to be bothered with Christ, and if you don't want to be bothered with the Scripture, and if you don't want to be convicted and converted and your conscience pricked and upset and troubled, don't worry. Christ can arrange it that you can be left alone. He can arrange it that you won't be bothered. Everyone loves to quote that passage, Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I'll fear no evil, for thou art with me.

[John Weaver] Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Let me tell you something. Our Lord only walks through the valley of the shadow of death with His own. And if you don't want Him, you can walk it alone. You can be left desolate. When Christ said to the blind man, neither go back into this town, nor tell it to anyone in that town. He was saying, Bethesda, you're not worthy. You've rejected Me. You've refused me, I'll leave you alone. I'll leave you desolate.

[John Weaver] You know, there's a lot of applications of this truth. The first one is this, we don't really value the Word of God as we should. Why don't you stop and think. You just ask yourself, how much this week have you read the scripture? How much have you studied the scripture? How many messages have you listened to? We not only really and truly do not value the Word of God as we should, we don't really value the preaching of the Word of God as we should.

[John Weaver] Have you ever thought what it would be like to be deprived of the Bible? Or really to be deprived of a preaching teacher who teaches the Bible? Has it ever crossed your mind that there are numerous churches across this land that have no pastors. And numbers of them that have preachers, really don't have preachers. I got a call last night at 10 o'clock from a church, warning me to come preach for them. I said, I'll be glad to preach for you on Wednesday.

[John Weaver] But I said, I can't on Sunday. I said, I'll try to help you get someone. I'm just simply saying we don't understand the value of the Word of God. Do you ever realize the greatest curse that God can put upon a people, a city, a town, a state, or a nation is to deprive them of His Word? You remember what He did to Elijah when He got ready to curse Israel? He moved Elijah out of the land. When he got ready to curse Judah and Jerusalem, he just silenced Jeremiah. He said, pray not thou for this people. We're blind and we're ignorant when we despise and detest the Word of God and the preachers of God. You know, I think many times that the ungodly Think, you know, if we can just get away from the churches, if we can just get away from the preachers, if we can just get away from the Bible, then there'll be nobody to bother us, no one to demand repentance, no one to prick our conscience, no one to stay on our backs, and boy, we can just live and have a good time and do whatever we please.

[John Weaver] Well, that's basically what the world wants. The world wants to sin without restraint. Can you imagine what it would be like if everyone did as He pleased without restraint? I'm just simply saying, folks, our Bible tells us in Ephesians 4.11 that one of the gifts that Jesus Christ gave to His church was that of a pastor-teacher. I want you to turn to Jeremiah chapter 3, one last passage. Jeremiah chapter 3. Jeremiah chapter 3.

[John Weaver] And look, if you would please, at verse 15. Jeremiah chapter 3, verse 15. I want you to note the blessing of God upon a people. Here's what He says, Jeremiah 3 verse 15, And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. One of the greatest blessings is to have the Word of God taught and preached to us. Now here's the only application I want to make today, and I know this is not true of our people, but it is true of a lot. If you do not wish to have your conscience pricked and probed and to be convicted, if you do not wish to have your understanding shaken, your mind illuminated, your heart broken, your heart healed, If you'd rather be left alone. If you'd rather not be bothered by God's Word and by God's Spirit.

[John Weaver] Our Lord can arrange it. Just like He did to Bethsaida. Just like He did to Chorazin. Just like He did to Capernaum.

[John Weaver] We need to ask the Lord to bother us. We need to ask the Lord to shake us. We need to ask the Lord to convict us. Fannie Crosby wrote a hymn that most of us have sung in our lives. I want you to listen. The title of the hymn is, Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior. She wrote, Pass me not, O gentle Savior, hear my humble cry. While on others thou art calling, do not pass me by.

[John Weaver] Let me at the throne of mercy find sweet relief. Leading there in deep contrition, Help my unbelief. Trusting only in Thy merit will I seek Thy face. Heal my wounded, broken spirit. Save me by Thy grace. Thou the spring of all my comfort, more than life to me. Whom have I on earth beside Thee? Whom in heaven but Thee? Savior, Savior, hear my humble cry. While on others Thou art calling, do not pass me by.

[John Weaver] You know what that hymn says? Lord, you don't owe me a thing. You're a gracious, holy, sovereign God. And Lord, when you're showing your grace and your mercy to others, Lord, here I am. Don't forget me. Lord, you don't owe me anything, but Lord, I sure want you, and I surely want your grace, and I surely want your mercy. Our Lord took him by the hand and led him out of town. Then he healed him and said, don't go back and tell them what I've done. They want to be left alone. I'll leave them alone. We want to make sure that we're not left alone. Let's pray. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we ask for your grace and your mercy. Lord, I do pray that you'll bother us. I pray that you'll trouble our minds when we think wrongly. Trouble our hearts when we have wicked affections. Trouble our wills when we're in bondage to sin. Trouble our minds when we have fear and unbelief. I pray, Lord, that You would just convict us.

[John Weaver] And help us to realize, Lord, we need Thee on a daily basis. Yea, Lord, even an hourly basis. And help us, Lord, to understand the truth of Fannie Crosby's hymn. Savior, Savior, hear my humble cry. While on others Thou art calling, do not pass me by. Thank You, Father, that You have not left us alone, and that Thou hast promised that You will never forsake us or leave us. But Lord, let us know Your presence. Let us know Your power, that we may serve Thee acceptably with reverence and godly fear.

[John Weaver] In Thy name we ask and pray. Amen.

Left Alone and Without Hope

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	_cK3gBu4bzU
Subject	Old Testament Studies
Course	Lamentations
Genre	Sermon
Date	2012-02-12
Dictation Name
Book	Book 086: Lamentations — Chapter 1
Source Timed Segments	87

Formatted Transcript

Opening

Alright, let's open our Bibles today to the book of Mark, chapter 8. Book of Mark, chapter 8. And let me say that the next couple of weeks, I'm going to be bringing a two-part message, so make sure that, if you can, you're here for both Sundays, part 1 and part 2. And by the way, I will be gone for two Sundays in June. It is June the 6th, I think, the first Sunday. And June the 20th, I think, the third Sunday. So since I will be gone the first Sunday of the month, we will try to have our meal on the second Sunday of the month.

So I don't have my calendar in front of me. I don't remember the exact date. So Mark chapter 8. And let's look there beginning with verse 22. The title of the sermon is "Left Alone and Without Hope." Left Alone and Without Hope. Mark chapter 8. And let's begin reading with verse 22.

Scripture Reading — Mark 8:22-26

"And he cometh to Bethsaida, and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him. And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town. And when he had spit on his eyes and put his hand upon him, he asked him if he saw aught."

"And he looked up and said, I see men as trees walking. After that, he put his hands upon his eyes and made him look up. And he was restored and saw every man clearly. And he sent him away to his house saying, neither go into the town nor tell it in any town." There can be no state, no circumstance, no situation, more horrifying than to be desolate, deserted, and hopeless.

Introduction: The Horror of Being Left Alone

Weaver opens with vivid examples of abandonment and desolation, from lost children to a martial artist dying alone in the desert, to illustrate the terror of being left without hope.

I have read of parents who have abandoned small children, left them to die. Can you imagine the absolute horror for a child to be separated from his family, from his friends, and just left in pure agony to die all alone? I've also read of individuals, adults, who are out in the mountains on vacation and get separated from their loved ones, lost, and die while they're there. Again, without any comforting words, without any soothing touch, it is just about almost unimaginable when you and I stop and think what it would be like to be left absolutely alone and desolate in such a situation. A few years ago there was a martial artist by the name of Evan Tanner who went out to train by himself in the desert, which was really a bad idea. But he was in excellent physical shape and evidently he was going to push himself to the limits just to see what he could do, or maybe what he could not do. When he did not return at the stated time, a search party went out to look for him and they found him dead.

Can you imagine being alone, desolate, needing help and needing someone and not being able to communicate with anyone and you know that you're lost? That you're hopeless, that you're alone, and that no one is going to come.

Jerusalem's Desolation as a Pattern

Using Jeremiah 8 and Matthew 23, Weaver shows how Jerusalem was left desolate by God due to its rejection of Him, setting a biblical precedent for divine abandonment.

Now, if that is true for an individual, whether it is a child or an adult, how much more is it true when it relates to a city, a state, or even a nation? I want you to hold Mark chapter 8, if you would. But I want you to turn in your Bibles very quickly to Jeremiah chapter 8. Jeremiah chapter 8. And I want you to try to picture in your mind, Jeremiah, by the way, he is known also as the weeping prophet. And can you imagine Jeremiah as he weeps over Jerusalem? Remember the Babylonians have come against the city. They're destroying the city, destroying the temple, killing thousands, enslaving some. And notice if you would in Jeremiah chapter 8 in verse 18, he writes this, "When I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart is faint in me." In other words, there is no comfort, his heart fails him. He says, "Behold, the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people, because of them that dwell in a far country," that is the Babylonians.

"Is not the Lord in Zion? Is not our King in her? Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images and with strange vanities?" Now look what he says. "The harvest is past. The summer's ended. And we're not saved." The harvest is past. There's no hope of getting any outside or additional food. The summer's ended. You can't grow anymore. And we're not saved. So what is being recorded here is this, that here the city is being left alone and desolate. It will die by itself. If you will turn in your Bibles to the book of Matthew chapter 23, Matthew 23, and then we're going to go over to Luke chapter 19, Matthew 23, and let's begin looking there at verse 37.

At what our Lord said to Jerusalem in the New Testament, as Jerusalem would soon be facing Titus and the Roman army. In Matthew 23, beginning there with verse 37, our Lord said,

Scripture Reading — Matthew 23:37-38

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not."

Now watch,

Scripture Reading — Matthew 23:37-38

"Behold, your house is left unto you desolate."

And if you will turn right over to the book of Luke chapter 19, you'll see how our Lord says essentially the same thing, but I want to emphasize the very fact that He's saying your house is going to be left unto you desolate. So Luke chapter 19, beginning there with verse 41, He says it like this, and please keep in mind, He's now talking about the Roman army that's going to surround Jerusalem and totally destroy it. He says, "For the day shall come upon thee, that thine enemy shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round about, and keep thee in on every side."

"And they shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee, and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another, because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation." And he went out into the temple, and began to cast them out that sold therein, and them that bought, saying unto them, "It is written, My house is a house of prayer, but ye have made it a den of thieves." Notice if you would, he says that it's going to be totally, absolutely cast down. If you go back to verse 41, "And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at the least in this thy day, the things which belong to thy peace, but now they're hid from thine eyes." And what's going to happen? Verse 43, your enemies are going to come and you're going to be absolutely, totally destroyed.

Now, I gave you an introductory statement. I've given you several scriptures in relating to Jerusalem, about how Jerusalem was going to be absolutely left alone and desolate. And you're probably going to be thinking in your mind, what possible connection could there be with introductory remarks and the Scriptures with Mark chapter 8. Obviously, there has to be a connection, but what is it? Well, go back in your Bibles to Mark chapter 8, and let me show you something that is very unique concerning this passage. In fact, there are in this passage two very strange acts that were performed by our Lord. In fact, I will go further to say these are not recorded anywhere else in the New Testament in the sense that He never did this before or after. What are they? Well, look if you would please in verse 23. In fact, let's read verse 22.

"And He cometh to Bethsaida, and they," that is a group of people, "bring to Him a blind man unto Him, and besought Him to touch him." He wanted to be healed.

The Strange Acts of Jesus in Mark 8

Weaver highlights two unique actions: Jesus leads the blind man out of Bethsaida and later forbids him from returning or testifying, raising the question of why Jesus would act this way.

"And He cometh to Bethsaida, and they," that is a group of people, "bring to Him a blind man unto Him, and besought Him to touch him." He wanted to be healed. Now look what happened in verse 23. "And He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town." Why did our Lord lead the man out of town? Why did He not just simply heal him where he was? What is the significance of being led out of town? Secondly, if you'll skip down to verse 26, look what our Lord does, very unique. "And he sent him away to his house, saying, neither go into the town, nor tell it into any town." So after our Lord heals the blind man, he says, now you may go back home, but you don't go back into town. And you don't tell what happened to you to anyone in the town. So the question has to come up, why did our Lord not want this healed man to return to town and testify of his healing and testify of the grace and power of Christ. You remember in Mark chapter 5, the maniac of Gadara, after he had been healed, he besought Christ that he could come with Christ and Christ said, no, no, no.

You go back to your home and you go back to your city and you tell what great things God had done unto you. But here, he says, don't you go back into town. Don't you tell anybody what has happened to you. Now, it is true, there are times when our Lord revealed certain things to his disciples. And then he told the disciples, don't say anything about this until after I'm crucified and raised again from the dead. But this is a totally different situation here in Mark chapter 8. He takes this man personally by the hand and leads him out of town. And then he tells the man, do not go back into town.

Well, a question ought to be coming into your mind. What's the name of that town? Go back to verse 22. "And he cometh to Bethsaida." Ah, it was Bethsaida that our Lord took the man by the hand and led him out of town. And when our Lord healed him, he says, do not go back into town. Now, Bethsaida happened to be the home of several of the apostles. You don't have to turn there, but in John 1 in verse 44, we read this. "Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter." So Philip, Andrew, and Peter lived in Bethsaida. In John 12 in verse 21, the Bible says, "The same came therefore to Philip which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus." Notice again, it is emphasized that Philip lived in Bethsaida.

Bethsaida's Privilege and Unbelief

Bethsaida, home of several apostles, had witnessed many mighty works of Jesus, yet remained obstinate and unbelieving, prompting Jesus' judgment.

Now Bethsaida, the term literally means house of fishing. You must remember that many of our Lord's original apostles were fishermen. Bethsaida was east of the Jordan, and it was a fishing village, but it was also a place that had a large open pasture, and it's called a desert or a deserted place, which meant it just had a huge, uncultivated piece of ground that was normally used for grazing. It was in this spot that our Lord fed the 5,000. Now, if you look in your Bibles very quickly to Luke chapter 9, Luke chapter 9, and notice verse 10. Luke 9 and verse 10. Look what the Bible says. Just to show you, Luke 9 verse 10. The Bible says this. "And the apostles, when they returned, told him all that they had done, and he took them and went aside privately into a desert place belonging to the city called Bethsaida." So here's this large deserted place, this large pasture in Bethsaida.

Now, you've got to remember that our Lord performed many miracles throughout the land. In fact, in Matthew 9, verse 35, let me just read it. The Bible says, "And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every sickness and every disease among the people." So our Lord then preached throughout the land. No big deal. He preached in a lot of cities. No big deal. But listen to this in Luke 4 and verses 42 and verse 43, the Bible says, when our Lord was in Capernaum,

Scripture Reading — Luke 9:10

"And when it was day, he departed and went into a desert place. And the people sought him, and came unto him, and stayed him, that he should not depart from them. Listen, and he said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also, for therefore am I sent."

So Jesus is performing all of these miracles throughout all the land, and many different cities, and many different villages.

The Principle of Greater Accountability

Weaver expounds Luke 12:48 and Lamentations 4:6 to establish that greater light and blessing result in greater responsibility and, if rejected, greater condemnation.

"But he that knew not and did commit things worthy of stripes shall be beaten with few stripes." Now look, here's the principle. "For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required. And whom men have committed much, of him will they ask the more." Now what is this principle? For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required. Wow. And whom men shall have committed much, they will ask the more. So here is the principle.

The greater the light, the greater the blessing. The greater the responsibility and accountability. Now, did our Lord perform greater miracles in some cities than others? Yes. Did he perform more miracles in some cities than others? Yes. So the greater the blessing, the greater the truth, the greater the responsibility and accountability.

Now, let me show you. Turn back in your Bibles to the book of Lamentations right after the book of Jeremiah. You'll have Lamentations chapter 4 and remember if you would please that these Lamentations were written by Jeremiah as he saw Jerusalem being destroyed. Each one of these chapters in the book of Lamentations is a lamentation on the destruction of Jerusalem. So in Lamentations chapter 4 and verse 6, I want you to look at what Jeremiah wrote. Then I want us to apply this principle. Look what he said. Lamentations 4 verse 6.

"For the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom that was overthrown as in a moment and no hand stayed on her." Now listen to what Jeremiah said. The punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people, that is Jerusalem, is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom. Wait a minute. He then adds in verse 6, "that was overthrown as in a moment, no hand stayed on her." When God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, and they were wicked, they were ungodly, when God destroyed them, remember He rained fire and brimstone on them out of heaven. They were consumed instantaneously. It was not so with Jerusalem. Because Jerusalem was surrounded by the Babylonians. The people inside were starving to death.

It's even recorded right here. Look in Lamentations chapter 4, beginning there with verse 7. Look what he writes.

Scripture Reading — Lamentations 4:6-10

"Her Nazarites were purer than snow. They were whiter than milk. They were more ruddy in body than rubies. Their polishing was a sapphire."

Now all that's past tense. They were. But now what is happening, look in verse 8. "Their visage is blacker than a coal. They're not known in the streets. Their skin cleaveth at their bones, it is withered, it has become like a stick," they're starving to death. "They that be slain with a sword are better than they that be slain with hunger, for these pine away and are stricken through for want of the fruits of the field."

Now watch, "The hands of the pitiful women have sodden their own children. They were their meat in the destruction of the daughter of my people." If you went outside, you were killed by the Babylonians. If you stayed inside, you starved to death slowly and surely. Now listen, it was so bad, women killed, cooked and ate their own children. Nearly two years, Jerusalem suffered. And what does he say in verse 6? "For the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of Sodom and Gomorrah." And he said, one thing that makes it so greater is Sodom and Gomorrah was destroyed instantly, but it was not so with Jerusalem. They suffered. Now why was the punishment of Jerusalem worse than the punishment of Sodom and Gomorrah? Because Jerusalem had greater light, greater knowledge. They had the truth. They sinned against light. They sinned against knowledge. They sinned against truth.

They had the Word of God. They had the priesthood. They had the offerings. It was there the tabernacle and the temple were. They deliberately and purposefully refused and rejected light and God visited them with a greater punishment. To whom much is given, our Lord says, much is required. The greater the light, the greater the blessing, the greater the responsibility, the greater the accountability, and I might also add, the greater the condemnation if you fail.

Jesus' Upbraiding of the Cities

Jesus pronounces woe upon Bethsaida and Chorazin, declaring that Tyre and Sidon would have repented if they had seen the same mighty works, underscoring the cities' guilt.

"For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment than for you." Notice what he said. Woe unto thee, Chorazin! Woe unto thee, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which had been done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

Now turn right over to Luke chapter 10 and look if you would at verse 13 again. He says the same thing, worded just a little differently, Luke 10 verse 13. "Woe unto thee, Chorazin, woe unto thee, Bethsaida, for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon, which have been done in you, they had a great while ago repented sitting in sackcloth and ashes, but it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for you." Now I want you to note that our Lord said, "for if the mighty works." These were not ordinary miracles. These were not ordinary works. These were mighty works. And moreover, the word works is plural. So they were not only mighty, they were multitudinous. There were a multitude of mighty works that had been done in Chorazin and been done in Bethsaida. To no avail. The people were obstinate, unbelieving, and rejecting Christ.

Now, he mentions Tyre and Sidon. Let me tell you something about Tyre and Sidon. Tyre and Sidon were Phoenician cities. They were opulent. They were decadent. They were cities of great merchandise. They were situated on the Mediterranean Sea, and Tyre and Sidon were basically about 20 miles apart. They were cities of great splendor, extensive commerce. They abounded not only in luxury, but in wickedness as well. And since they were so close to each other, they were known for their ungodliness, their pride, their debauchery, and all kinds of vices, their corrupt morals, their unrestrained debauchery could, in one sense of the word, been attributed to their ignorance, as well as their depravity. But no mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon.

Our Lord had not visited them. Our Lord had not favored them with His presence and with His miracles. But He had Chorazin and Bethsaida, and now He upbraids them. He reproves them. He rebukes them. They had been given blessing. They had been given advantage. They had been given privileges. And what had they done? They had rejected them.

The Mystery of Divine Sovereignty

Weaver addresses why God performed miracles in cities that rejected Him rather than in those that might have repented, concluding that it seemed good in God's sovereign sight.

That is, He knows everything. So our omniscient Lord says to Chorazin and Bethsaida, the mighty works that had been done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, wicked, perverted, reprobate cities, they would have repented. So what is the question? Why were not those works done there? If our Lord knew that those cities would have repented, why were not those works done there? Why were they done in Bethsaida and Chorazin? Wow.

Let me give you a quick quote. Charles Haddon Spurgeon said this on Matthew 11:21. "Great privileges were lost on Chorazin and Bethsaida, but would have been effectual had they been granted to Tyre and Sidon. According to our Lord's declaration, God gave the opportunity where it was rejected and it was not given where it would have been accepted. This is true. How mysterious." This is true. How mysterious. Well, Spurgeon didn't really answer the question.

He just made an observation. But I will go farther than Spurgeon. I will answer the question for you. But my answer is going to be based on the Scripture. And you're going to have to be satisfied with what the Scripture says, okay? Because I can't have an answer beyond the Scripture. So why then were these works done in Chorazin and Bethsaida where they were rejected? And why were they not done in Tyre and Sidon where they would have evidently been received according to our omniscient Lord?

Well, let's look in Matthew chapter 11. And let's begin reading again with verse 21. Here we go. "Woe unto thee, Chorazin, woe unto thee, Bethsaida, for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say to you, it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment than for you." "And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell. For if the mighty works which had been done in thee had been done in Sodom, it would have remained unto this day. But I say unto you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you." Now here's the answer. Why then were not these works done in Sodom? Why then were not these works done in Tyre and Sidon? Here's why.

Scripture Reading — Matthew 11:25-26

"At that time, Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Here it is. Even so, Father, for it seemed good in thy sight."

You say, what's the answer? Well, I'll show you one more time.

Look in Luke chapter 10. Look in Luke chapter 10. He says the same thing. Here it is, Luke chapter 10. Luke chapter 10, and notice if you would, verse 21. I believe it is. Luke, chapter 10, verse 21.

Scripture Reading — Luke 10:21

"In that hour, Jesus rejoiced in spirit and said, I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes, even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Thy sight."

Here's the answer.

Why were the works done in Bethsaida and Chorazin and Capernaum where they would be rejected, and not done in Tyre and Sidon and Sodom where they would have been received? Here's the answer. Because it seemed good in God's sight to do it like that. That's what he said. "Even so, Father, because it seemed good in Thy sight." It seemed good to the Father to do it in Bethsaida and Chorazin and Capernaum where it would be rejected and not do it in Tyre and Sidon and Sodom where it would be received. He is sovereign. He does as He pleases and whatever He does is right. Did you hear what I just said? Whatever He does is right. One quick question. How many in Tyre and Sidon and Sodom deserve to be saved? None. How many in Bethsaida and Chorazin and Capernaum deserve to be saved? None. Do you realize the very fact that God did what He just did is a demonstration of His absolute sovereignty.

Application: Do Not Be Left Alone

Weaver warns that those who reject Christ may be left alone and desolate, and urges believers to value Scripture, preaching, and to pray that God would not pass them by.

Now listen to me carefully. If you don't want to be bothered with Christ, and if you don't want to be bothered with the Scripture, and if you don't want to be convicted and converted and your conscience pricked and upset and troubled, don't worry. Christ can arrange it that you can be left alone. He can arrange it that you won't be bothered. Everyone loves to quote that passage, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I'll fear no evil, for thou art with me." "Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me." Let me tell you something. Our Lord only walks through the valley of the shadow of death with His own. And if you don't want Him, you can walk it alone. You can be left desolate. When Christ said to the blind man, "Neither go back into this town, nor tell it to anyone in that town," He was saying, Bethsaida, you're not worthy. You've rejected Me. You've refused me, I'll leave you alone. I'll leave you desolate.

You know, there's a lot of applications of this truth. The first one is this, we don't really value the Word of God as we should. Why don't you stop and think. You just ask yourself, how much this week have you read the scripture? How much have you studied the scripture? How many messages have you listened to? We not only really and truly do not value the Word of God as we should, we don't really value the preaching of the Word of God as we should.

Have you ever thought what it would be like to be deprived of the Bible? Or really to be deprived of a preaching teacher who teaches the Bible? Has it ever crossed your mind that there are numerous churches across this land that have no pastors. And numbers of them that have preachers, really don't have preachers. I got a call last night at 10 o'clock from a church, wanting me to come preach for them. I said, I'll be glad to preach for you on Wednesday.

But I said, I can't on Sunday. I said, I'll try to help you get someone. I'm just simply saying we don't understand the value of the Word of God. Do you ever realize the greatest curse that God can put upon a people, a city, a town, a state, or a nation is to deprive them of His Word? You remember what He did to Elijah when He got ready to curse Israel? He moved Elijah out of the land. When he got ready to curse Judah and Jerusalem, he just silenced Jeremiah. He said, pray not thou for this people. We're blind and we're ignorant when we despise and detest the Word of God and the preachers of God. You know, I think many times that the ungodly think, you know, if we can just get away from the churches, if we can just get away from the preachers, if we can just get away from the Bible, then there'll be nobody to bother us, no one to demand repentance, no one to prick our conscience, no one to stay on our backs, and boy, we can just live and have a good time and do whatever we please.

Well, that's basically what the world wants. The world wants to sin without restraint. Can you imagine what it would be like if everyone did as he pleased without restraint? I'm just simply saying, folks, our Bible tells us in Ephesians 4:11 that one of the gifts that Jesus Christ gave to His church was that of a pastor-teacher. I want you to turn to Jeremiah chapter 3, one last passage. Jeremiah chapter 3. And look, if you would please, at verse 15. Jeremiah chapter 3, verse 15. I want you to note the blessing of God upon a people. Here's what He says, Jeremiah 3 verse 15,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 3:15

"And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding."

One of the greatest blessings is to have the Word of God taught and preached to us. Now here's the only application I want to make today, and I know this is not true of our people, but it is true of a lot. If you do not wish to have your conscience pricked and probed and to be convicted, if you do not wish to have your understanding shaken, your mind illuminated, your heart broken, your heart healed, if you'd rather be left alone. If you'd rather not be bothered by God's Word and by God's Spirit.

Our Lord can arrange it. Just like He did to Bethsaida. Just like He did to Chorazin. Just like He did to Capernaum.

We need to ask the Lord to bother us. We need to ask the Lord to shake us. We need to ask the Lord to convict us. Fanny Crosby wrote a hymn that most of us have sung in our lives. I want you to listen. The title of the hymn is, "Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior." She wrote, "Pass me not, O gentle Savior, hear my humble cry. While on others thou art calling, do not pass me by."

Study Guide

Major Themes

Divine Abandonment as Judgment

Summary: God can leave individuals, cities, or nations desolate and alone as a consequence of persistent unbelief and rejection of His grace.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'Our Lord took him by the hand and led him out of town. Then he healed him and said, don't go back and tell them what I've done. They want to be left alone. I'll leave them alone.'

Greater Light, Greater Accountability

Summary: Those who receive more revelation and blessing from God bear greater responsibility and face stricter judgment if they reject it.

Evidence: Weaver cites Luke 12:48 and Lamentations 4:6, explaining, 'The greater the light, the greater the blessing, the greater the responsibility and accountability, and I might also add, the greater the condemnation if you fail.'

The Sovereignty of God in Mercy

Summary: God dispenses His grace according to His own good pleasure, not based on human merit or foreseen response, as seen in His choice to perform miracles in Bethsaida rather than Tyre.

Evidence: Weaver explains, 'Why were the works done in Bethsaida... where they would be rejected, and not done in Tyre and Sidon... where they would have been received? Here's the answer. Because it seemed good in God's sight to do it like that.'

The Danger of Despising God's Word

Summary: Rejecting the preaching and teaching of Scripture is a grave error that can lead to spiritual desolation.

Evidence: Weaver warns, 'Do you ever realize the greatest curse that God can put upon a people... is to deprive them of His Word?'

The Need for Divine Conviction

Summary: Believers should actively seek God's troubling, convicting work in their hearts rather than desiring to be left alone in comfort.

Evidence: Weaver prays, 'Lord, I do pray that you'll bother us. I pray that you'll trouble our minds when we think wrongly.'

Key Arguments

Jesus' actions in Mark 8 signify judgment on Bethsaida

Summary: Leading the blind man out of town and forbidding his return were not for privacy but to demonstrate that Bethsaida was unworthy of further miracles due to its unbelief.

Evidence: Weaver argues, 'What was our Lord doing? He was showing the inhabitants of Bethsaida that he considered them unworthy of having another miracle done among them.'

Bethsaida's guilt is greater than Tyre and Sidon's

Summary: Because Bethsaida witnessed many mighty works of Christ and still rejected Him, its judgment will be more severe than that of notoriously wicked cities that lacked such revelation.

Evidence: Weaver quotes Matthew 11:21, 'Woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago.'

God's sovereignty explains the unequal distribution of miracles

Summary: The reason Jesus performed miracles in unrepentant Bethsaida rather than in potentially repentant Tyre is simply that it pleased God to do so, affirming His absolute sovereignty.

Evidence: Weaver cites Matthew 11:25-26, 'Even so, Father, for it seemed good in thy sight,' and concludes, 'He is sovereign. He does as He pleases and whatever He does is right.'

Rejecting Christ dishonors the Father

Summary: To dishonor the Son is to dishonor the Father who sent Him, making rejection of Christ a direct offense against God.

Evidence: Weaver explains John 5:23, 'He that honors not the Son honors not the Father who had sent him.'

God can leave the unrepentant alone

Summary: Those who persistently reject God's Word and Spirit may be given over to their own desires, left without divine intervention or witness.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'If you don't want to be bothered with Christ... Christ can arrange it that you can be left alone.'

Scripture References

Mark 8:22-26

Context: The primary text: Jesus heals a blind man outside Bethsaida and commands him not to return to the town.

Jeremiah 8:18-20

Context: Jeremiah laments over Jerusalem's desolation, saying 'The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.'

Matthew 23:37-38

Context: Jesus weeps over Jerusalem and declares, 'Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.'

Luke 19:41-44

Context: Jesus weeps over Jerusalem and prophesies its destruction by enemies because it did not know the time of its visitation.

John 1:44

Context: Philip, Andrew, and Peter were from Bethsaida.

John 12:21

Context: Philip is identified as being from Bethsaida of Galilee.

Luke 9:10

Context: Jesus took the apostles aside privately to a desert place belonging to Bethsaida.

John 20:30-31

Context: Many other signs Jesus did which are not written, but these are written that you may believe.

Luke 12:48

Context: To whom much is given, much will be required.

Lamentations 4:6-10

Context: The punishment of Jerusalem is greater than that of Sodom; the people suffered starvation and cannibalism.

Matthew 11:21-24

Context: Jesus upbraids Bethsaida and Chorazin, saying it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment.

Luke 10:13-15

Context: Parallel to Matthew 11:21-24, with similar wording.

2 Timothy 4:1-2

Context: Paul charges Timothy to preach the word, reprove, rebuke, and exhort.

John 5:22-23

Context: All should honor the Son equally as the Father; he who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father.

Matthew 10:40

Context: He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives him who sent me.

Matthew 11:25-26

Context: Jesus thanks the Father for hiding things from the wise and revealing them to babes, for so it seemed good in His sight.

Luke 10:21

Context: Parallel to Matthew 11:25-26, Jesus rejoices and thanks the Father for His sovereign will.

John 5:1-21

Context: Jesus heals one man at the pool of Bethesda among many, illustrating that the Son quickens whom He will.

Matthew 15:12-14

Context: Jesus says of the Pharisees, 'Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind.'

Jeremiah 3:15

Context: God promises to give pastors according to His heart who will feed with knowledge and understanding.

Historical References

Evan Tanner, martial artist who died alone in the desert

Context: Weaver uses this modern example to illustrate the horror of being left alone and desolate.

Destruction of Jerusalem by Babylonians

Context: Weaver references the Babylonian siege and destruction of Jerusalem as an example of divine abandonment and severe judgment.

Tyre and Sidon, Phoenician cities

Context: Weaver describes Tyre and Sidon as opulent, decadent, and wicked cities that would have repented if they had seen Jesus' miracles.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon's quote on Matthew 11:21

Context: Weaver quotes Spurgeon's observation on the mystery of God giving opportunities where they were rejected and withholding them where they would have been accepted.

Fanny Crosby's hymn 'Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior'

Context: Weaver quotes the hymn to illustrate the plea that God would not pass by the sinner in need of grace.

Important Quotes

There can be no state, no circumstance, no situation, more horrifying than to be desolate, deserted, and hopeless.

Significance: Sets the emotional and theological tone for the sermon, emphasizing the terror of divine abandonment.

The harvest is past. The summer's ended. And we're not saved.

Significance: Quoted from Jeremiah 8:20 to illustrate the finality and hopelessness of Jerusalem's judgment.

Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.

Significance: Jesus' pronouncement of judgment on Jerusalem, used as a key parallel to Bethsaida's fate.

For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required.

Significance: The central principle of the sermon, linking privilege to accountability.

For the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom.

Significance: From Lamentations 4:6, demonstrating that greater light leads to greater judgment.

Even so, Father, for it seemed good in thy sight.

Significance: Jesus' words affirming God's sovereign pleasure as the ultimate reason for His actions.

Let them alone. They be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall in the ditch.

Significance: Jesus' command to leave the Pharisees alone, illustrating the principle of divine abandonment.

Pass me not, O gentle Savior, hear my humble cry. While on others thou art calling, do not pass me by.

Significance: The hymn's plea encapsulates the sermon's application: to seek God's grace and not be left alone.

Discussion Questions

What does it mean for a person or a community to be 'left alone and without hope' by God?

Context: Weaver describes the horror of desolation and uses Jerusalem and Bethsaida as examples.

How does the principle 'to whom much is given, much is required' apply to our own lives and church?

Context: Weaver explains this principle from Luke 12:48 and applies it to the privileges of hearing God's Word.

Why did Jesus lead the blind man out of Bethsaida and forbid him from returning?

Context: Weaver argues this was a sign of judgment on Bethsaida's unbelief.

How should we respond to the mystery that God sometimes withholds grace from those who might seem more likely to repent?

Context: Weaver addresses the question of why miracles were not done in Tyre and Sidon, concluding with God's sovereignty.

In what ways might we be guilty of despising or undervaluing the preaching and teaching of God's Word?

Context: Weaver challenges the congregation to consider how much they read and study Scripture.

What does it look like to pray for God to 'bother' us with conviction rather than leaving us alone?

Context: Weaver urges believers to ask God to trouble their minds and hearts.

How does the sovereignty of God in showing mercy comfort or challenge you?

Context: Weaver emphasizes that God does as He pleases and is merciful to whom He will be merciful.

What can we learn from the contrast between Bethsaida and Tyre/Sidon about the danger of familiarity with the gospel?

Context: Weaver notes that Bethsaida had greater light but greater unbelief.

Applications

Value the Word of God and its preaching

Summary: Believers should recognize the immense privilege of having Scripture and faithful teaching, and not take it for granted.

Evidence: Weaver asks, 'Have you ever thought what it would be like to be deprived of the Bible? Or really to be deprived of a preaching teacher who teaches the Bible?'

Seek God's convicting work

Summary: Rather than avoiding discomfort, believers should pray for God to trouble their consciences and expose sin.

Evidence: Weaver prays, 'Lord, I do pray that you'll bother us. I pray that you'll trouble our minds when we think wrongly.'

Do not presume upon God's grace

Summary: Those who continually reject God's Word risk being left alone and desolate, so we must respond with repentance and faith.

Evidence: Weaver warns, 'If you don't want to be bothered with Christ... Christ can arrange it that you can be left alone.'

Honor Christ as equal with the Father

Summary: Recognizing that to dishonor the Son is to dishonor the Father should lead to reverent worship and obedience.

Evidence: Weaver explains John 5:23, 'He that honors not the Son honors not the Father who had sent him.'

Cry out for mercy like Fanny Crosby

Summary: Adopt the posture of humble dependence, pleading with God not to pass by but to show grace.

Evidence: Weaver quotes the hymn, 'Pass me not, O gentle Savior, hear my humble cry. While on others thou art calling, do not pass me by.'

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T21:03:58Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T13:15:00Z

Clean Transcript

Left Alone and Without Hope

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

Alright, let's open our Bibles today to the book of Mark, chapter 8. Book of Mark, chapter 8. And let me say that the next couple of weeks, I'm going to be bringing a two-part message, so make sure that, if you can, you're here for both Sundays, part 1 and part 2. And by the way, I will be gone for two Sundays in June. It is June the 6th, I think, the first Sunday. And June the 20th, I think, the third Sunday. So since I will be gone the first Sunday of the month, we will try to have our meal on the second Sunday of the month.
#1 | 0:15 to 1:08 | cleaned
So I don't have my calendar in front of me. I don't remember the exact date. So Mark chapter 8. And let's look there beginning with verse 22. The title of the sermon is "Left Alone and Without Hope." Left Alone and Without Hope. Mark chapter 8. And let's begin reading with verse 22. "And he cometh to Bethsaida, and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him. And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town. And when he had spit on his eyes and put his hand upon him, he asked him if he saw aught."
#2 | 1:10 to 1:51 | cleaned
"And he looked up and said, I see men as trees walking. After that, he put his hands upon his eyes and made him look up. And he was restored and saw every man clearly. And he sent him away to his house saying, neither go into the town nor tell it in any town." There can be no state, no circumstance, no situation, more horrifying than to be desolate, deserted, and hopeless.
#3 | 1:51 to 2:21 | cleaned
I have read of parents who have abandoned small children, left them to die. Can you imagine the absolute horror for a child to be separated from his family, from his friends, and just left in pure agony to die all alone? I've also read of individuals, adults, who are out in the mountains on vacation and get separated from their loved ones, lost, and die while they're there. Again, without any comforting words, without any soothing touch, it is just about almost unimaginable when you and I stop and think what it would be like to be left absolutely alone and desolate in such a situation.
#4 | 2:24 to 3:17 | cleaned
A few years ago there was a martial artist by the name of Evan Tanner who went out to train by himself in the desert, which was really a bad idea. But he was in excellent physical shape and evidently he was going to push himself to the limits just to see what he could do, or maybe what he could not do. When he did not return at the stated time, a search party went out to look for him and they found him dead.
#5 | 3:18 to 3:52 | cleaned
Can you imagine being alone, desolate, needing help and needing someone and not being able to communicate with anyone and you know that you're lost? That you're hopeless, that you're alone, and that no one is going to come.
#6 | 3:55 to 4:17 | cleaned
Now, if that is true for an individual, whether it is a child or an adult, how much more is it true when it relates to a city, a state, or even a nation? I want you to hold Mark chapter 8, if you would. But I want you to turn in your Bibles very quickly to Jeremiah chapter 8. Jeremiah chapter 8. And I want you to try to picture in your mind, Jeremiah, by the way, he is known also as the weeping prophet. And can you imagine Jeremiah as he weeps over Jerusalem? Remember the Babylonians have come against the city. They're destroying the city, destroying the temple, killing thousands, enslaving some. And notice if you would in Jeremiah chapter 8 in verse 18, he writes this, "When I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart is faint in me." In other words, there is no comfort, his heart fails him. He says, "Behold, the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people, because of them that dwell in a far country," that is the Babylonians.
#7 | 4:19 to 5:37 | cleaned
"Is not the Lord in Zion? Is not our King in her? Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images and with strange vanities?"
#8 | 5:39 to 5:47 | cleaned
Now look what he says. "The harvest is past. The summer's ended. And we're not saved." The harvest is past. There's no hope of getting any outside or additional food. The summer's ended. You can't grow anymore. And we're not saved. So what is being recorded here is this, that here the city is being left alone and desolate. It will die by itself. If you will turn in your Bibles to the book of Matthew chapter 23, Matthew 23, and then we're going to go over to Luke chapter 19, Matthew 23, and let's begin looking there at verse 37.
#9 | 5:47 to 6:36 | cleaned
At what our Lord said to Jerusalem in the New Testament, as Jerusalem would soon be facing Titus and the Roman army. In Matthew 23, beginning there with verse 37, our Lord said, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not."
#10 | 6:37 to 7:05 | cleaned
Now watch, "Behold, your house is left unto you desolate." And if you will turn right over to the book of Luke chapter 19, you'll see how our Lord says essentially the same thing, but I want to emphasize the very fact that He's saying your house is going to be left unto you desolate. So Luke chapter 19, beginning there with verse 41, He says it like this, and please keep in mind, He's now talking about the Roman army that's going to surround Jerusalem and totally destroy it. He says, "For the day shall come upon thee, that thine enemy shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round about, and keep thee in on every side."
#11 | 7:05 to 7:49 | cleaned
"And they shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee, and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another, because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation." And he went out into the temple, and began to cast them out that sold therein, and them that bought, saying unto them, "It is written, My house is a house of prayer, but ye have made it a den of thieves." Notice if you would, he says that it's going to be totally, absolutely cast down. If you go back to verse 41, "And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at the least in this thy day, the things which belong to thy peace, but now they're hid from thine eyes." And what's going to happen? Verse 43, your enemies are going to come and you're going to be absolutely, totally destroyed.
#12 | 7:50 to 8:41 | cleaned
Now, I gave you an introductory statement. I've given you several scriptures in relating to Jerusalem, about how Jerusalem was going to be absolutely left alone and desolate. And you're probably going to be thinking in your mind, what possible connection could there be with introductory remarks and the Scriptures with Mark chapter 8. Obviously, there has to be a connection, but what is it? Well, go back in your Bibles to Mark chapter 8, and let me show you something that is very unique concerning this passage. In fact, there are in this passage two very strange acts that were performed by our Lord. In fact, I will go further to say these are not recorded anywhere else in the New Testament in the sense that He never did this before or after. What are they? Well, look if you would please in verse 23. In fact, let's read verse 22.
#13 | 8:42 to 9:46 | cleaned
"And He cometh to Bethsaida, and they," that is a group of people, "bring to Him a blind man unto Him, and besought Him to touch him." He wanted to be healed.
#14 | 9:46 to 9:55 | cleaned
Now look what happened in verse 23. "And He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town." Why did our Lord lead the man out of town? Why did He not just simply heal him where he was? What is the significance of being led out of town? Secondly, if you'll skip down to verse 26, look what our Lord does, very unique. "And he sent him away to his house, saying, neither go into the town, nor tell it into any town." So after our Lord heals the blind man, he says, now you may go back home, but you don't go back into town. And you don't tell what happened to you to anyone in the town. So the question has to come up, why did our Lord not want this healed man to return to town and testify of his healing and testify of the grace and power of Christ. You remember in Mark chapter 5, the maniac of Gadara, after he had been healed, he besought Christ that he could come with Christ and Christ said, no, no, no.
#15 | 9:55 to 11:04 | cleaned
You go back to your home and you go back to your city and you tell what great things God had done unto you. But here, he says, don't you go back into town. Don't you tell anybody what has happened to you.
#16 | 11:04 to 11:16 | cleaned
Now, it is true, there are times when our Lord revealed certain things to his disciples. And then he told the disciples, don't say anything about this until after I'm crucified and raised again from the dead. But this is a totally different situation here in Mark chapter 8. He takes this man personally by the hand and leads him out of town. And then he tells the man, do not go back into town.
#17 | 11:16 to 11:47 | cleaned
Well, a question ought to be coming into your mind. What's the name of that town? Go back to verse 22. "And he cometh to Bethsaida." Ah, it was Bethsaida that our Lord took the man by the hand and led him out of town. And when our Lord healed him, he says, do not go back into town. Now, Bethsaida happened to be the home of several of the apostles. You don't have to turn there, but in John 1 in verse 44, we read this. "Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter." So Philip, Andrew, and Peter lived in Bethsaida. In John 12 in verse 21, the Bible says, "The same came therefore to Philip which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus." Notice again, it is emphasized that Philip lived in Bethsaida.
#18 | 11:48 to 12:46 | cleaned
Now Bethsaida, the term literally means house of fishing. You must remember that many of our Lord's original apostles were fishermen. Bethsaida was east of the Jordan, and it was a fishing village, but it was also a place that had a large open pasture, and it's called a desert or a deserted place, which meant it just had a huge, uncultivated piece of ground that was normally used for grazing.
#19 | 12:47 to 13:20 | cleaned
It was in this spot that our Lord fed the 5,000. Now, if you look in your Bibles very quickly to Luke chapter 9, Luke chapter 9, and notice verse 10. Luke 9 and verse 10. Look what the Bible says. Just to show you, Luke 9 verse 10. The Bible says this. "And the apostles, when they returned, told him all that they had done, and he took them and went aside privately into a desert place belonging to the city called Bethsaida." So here's this large deserted place, this large pasture in Bethsaida.
#20 | 13:21 to 14:04 | cleaned
Now, you've got to remember that our Lord performed many miracles throughout the land. In fact, in Matthew 9, verse 35, let me just read it. The Bible says, "And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every sickness and every disease among the people." So our Lord then preached throughout the land. No big deal. He preached in a lot of cities. No big deal. But listen to this in Luke 4 and verses 42 and verse 43, the Bible says, when our Lord was in Capernaum, "And when it was day, he departed and went into a desert place. And the people sought him, and came unto him, and stayed him, that he should not depart from them. Listen, and he said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also, for therefore am I sent." So Jesus is performing all of these miracles throughout all the land, and many different cities, and many different villages.
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Now let me ask a question. How many miracles did Jesus perform?
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Now the answer is, no one really knows. You could go through Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and you could count those miracles that He actually performed that are recorded. But, if you will turn in your Bibles to John chapter 20, I want you to look at verses 30 and 31. Look what is said in John 20, verses 30 and 31. This is why it would not do you any good to just simply go through Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and count the miracles and say, well, he did this many miracles.
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The truth is, we cannot even guesstimate. Because the Bible says in John 20, verses 30 and 31, "And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you might have life through His name." So it's evident then that our Lord has performed many miracles in many different villages, in many different cities. However, there were some cities that were the recipient of more miracles than other cities. And there were some cities that received greater miracles than other cities received as well. Some cities were more favored with a regular presence of our Lord. They were more favored with regular acts of His grace and mercy.
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Now, I do want you to turn before I begin to answer some questions to the book of Luke chapter 12 and I want to show you the biblical principle that is going to be applied to our text in just a moment. I want you to look in Luke chapter 12 and verse 48. Luke 12 and verse 48. Here's the principle. Our Lord says this, and I'm only going to be dealing with half the verse. Okay.
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"But he that knew not and did commit things worthy of stripes shall be beaten with few stripes." Now look, here's the principle. "For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required. And whom men have committed much, of him will they ask the more." Now what is this principle? For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required. Wow. And whom men shall have committed much, they will ask the more. So here is the principle.
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The greater the light, the greater the blessing. The greater the responsibility and accountability.
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Now, did our Lord perform greater miracles in some cities than others? Yes. Did he perform more miracles in some cities than others? Yes. So the greater the blessing, the greater the truth, the greater the responsibility and accountability.
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Now, let me show you. Turn back in your Bibles to the book of Lamentations right after the book of Jeremiah. You'll have Lamentations chapter 4 and remember if you would please that these Lamentations were written by Jeremiah as he saw Jerusalem being destroyed. Each one of these chapters in the book of Lamentations is a lamentation on the destruction of Jerusalem. So in Lamentations chapter 4 and verse 6, I want you to look at what Jeremiah wrote. Then I want us to apply this principle. Look what he said. Lamentations 4 verse 6.
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"For the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom that was overthrown as in a moment and no hand stayed on her." Now listen to what Jeremiah said. The punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people, that is Jerusalem, is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom. Wait a minute. He then adds in verse 6, "that was overthrown as in a moment, no hand stayed on her." When God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, and they were wicked, they were ungodly, when God destroyed them, remember He rained fire and brimstone on them out of heaven. They were consumed instantaneously. It was not so with Jerusalem. Because Jerusalem was surrounded by the Babylonians. The people inside were starving to death.
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It's even recorded right here. Look in Lamentations chapter 4, beginning there with verse 7. Look what he writes. "Her Nazarites were purer than snow. They were whiter than milk. They were more ruddy in body than rubies. Their polishing was a sapphire."
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Now all that's past tense. They were. But now what is happening, look in verse 8. "Their visage is blacker than a coal. They're not known in the streets. Their skin cleaveth at their bones, it is withered, it has become like a stick," they're starving to death. "They that be slain with a sword are better than they that be slain with hunger, for these pine away and are stricken through for want of the fruits of the field."
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Now watch, "The hands of the pitiful women have sodden their own children. They were their meat in the destruction of the daughter of my people." If you went outside, you were killed by the Babylonians. If you stayed inside, you starved to death slowly and surely. Now listen, it was so bad, women killed, cooked and ate their own children. Nearly two years, Jerusalem suffered. And what does he say in verse 6? "For the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of Sodom and Gomorrah." And he said, one thing that makes it so greater is Sodom and Gomorrah was destroyed instantly, but it was not so with Jerusalem. They suffered. Now why was the punishment of Jerusalem worse than the punishment of Sodom and Gomorrah? Because Jerusalem had greater light, greater knowledge. They had the truth. They sinned against light. They sinned against knowledge. They sinned against truth.
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They had the Word of God. They had the priesthood. They had the offerings. It was there the tabernacle and the temple were. They deliberately and purposefully refused and rejected light and God visited them with a greater punishment. To whom much is given, our Lord says, much is required. The greater the light, the greater the blessing, the greater the responsibility, the greater the accountability, and I might also add, the greater the condemnation if you fail.
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Now, let's go back to Mark chapter 8 with this in mind. Remember the principle, to whom much is given, much is required. The greater the blessing, the greater the light, the greater the privileges, the greater the responsibility and accountability. Now, the Bible tells us in Mark chapter 8 verse 23, "And He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town." Why did our Lord lead this blind man out of the town? Some have suggested that the reason he led him out of town was merely a matter of privacy. It was not a matter of privacy. Had our Lord wanted privacy, all he would have had to have done was taken the man into a home or to an alley or some covered place and taken care of business there. It was certainly not a matter of privacy.
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You've got to remember that I told you that Peter and Andrew and Philip were from Bethsaida. What's that mean? They had houses there.
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Now, I want you to show you something. Go back whole Mark 8, but go back to Matthew 8. Now, it is true that Peter had moved to Capernaum, but I want to show you. Look in Matthew chapter 8 and verse 14. Matthew 8 and verse 14. Just to show you this one simple truth. Matthew 8, verse 14. "And when Jesus was coming to Peter's what? House. He saw his wife's mother laid in a sick of a fever." When our Lord came into Peter's house, if Peter had a wife, and a mother-in-law, and a house in Capernaum, undoubtedly he had a house in Bethsaida.
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So would Philip, and so would Andrew. So if it was just simply a matter of privacy, our Lord could have taken him into any house whatsoever. It was not a matter of privacy. Let me repeat the principle. The greater the light, the greater the blessing, the greater the responsibility and accountability, and the greater the condemnation as well. When our Lord was brought this blind man of Bethsaida, and requested that he heal him, our Lord personally took him out by the hand and led him out of town. What was our Lord doing? He was showing the inhabitants of Bethsaida that he considered them unworthy of having another miracle done among them.
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He had already, and I'll show you the scripture, deplored their ingratitude, their obstinacy and their rejection. Bethsaida was a city of unbelief and ingratitude and consequently our Lord was not about to perform another miracle there. I want you to hold Mark 8 but go to Matthew 11 and then Luke 10. Matthew 11 and then Luke 10. I want you to note what our Lord says. Matthew 11 and verse 21, and then we're going to Luke 10. Look in Matthew 11, and verse 21. Matthew 11, verse 21. Look what our Lord says, "Woe unto thee, Chorazin! Woe unto thee! Who? Bethsaida!"
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"For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment than for you." Notice what he said. Woe unto thee, Chorazin! Woe unto thee, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which had been done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
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Now turn right over to Luke chapter 10 and look if you would at verse 13 again. He says the same thing, worded just a little differently, Luke 10 verse 13. "Woe unto thee, Chorazin, woe unto thee, Bethsaida, for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon, which have been done in you, they had a great while ago repented sitting in sackcloth and ashes, but it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for you." Now I want you to note that our Lord said, "for if the mighty works."
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These were not ordinary miracles. These were not ordinary works. These were mighty works. And moreover, the word works is plural. So they were not only mighty, they were multitudinous. There were a multitude of mighty works that had been done in Chorazin and been done in Bethsaida. To no avail. The people were obstinate, unbelieving, and rejecting Christ.
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Now, he mentions Tyre and Sidon. Let me tell you something about Tyre and Sidon. Tyre and Sidon were Phoenician cities. They were opulent. They were decadent. They were cities of great merchandise. They were situated on the Mediterranean Sea, and Tyre and Sidon were basically about 20 miles apart. They were cities of great splendor, extensive commerce. They abounded not only in luxury, but in wickedness as well. And since they were so close to each other, they were known for their ungodliness, their pride, their debauchery, and all kinds of vices, their corrupt morals, their unrestrained debauchery could, in one sense of the word, been attributed to their ignorance, as well as their depravity. But no mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon.
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Our Lord had not visited them. Our Lord had not favored them with His presence and with His miracles. But He had Chorazin and Bethsaida, and now He upbraids them. He reproves them. He rebukes them. They had been given blessing. They had been given advantage. They had been given privileges. And what had they done? They had rejected them.
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Now He holds them more accountable. He holds them more responsible.
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Now, before I go further, let me just point out that Matthew 11 and Luke 10 teach a very important lesson. There is a time for upbraiding. There is a time for rebuking. There is a time for reproving. I want you to turn in your Bibles to 2 Timothy chapter 4, and I want you to see what the Apostle Paul told Pastor Timothy. Look in your Bibles to 2 Timothy chapter 4. Look closely at what the Scripture says. 2 Timothy chapter 4, verse 1. Paul tells Timothy, who is a pastor, he says, "I charge thee therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing in his kingdom." Now look what he says. "Preach the word."
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"Be instant in season, out of season. Help me out now. Reprove. What's that next word? Rebuke with all longsuffering and doctrine." There comes a time to reprove and to rebuke. Or to upbraid. To get on to. To tell somebody how the cow eats the cabbage. You understand that. There comes a time when you say, listen up, I've got something for you. Here it is. And our Lord flat upbraided these cities. He rebuked them. He reproved them. He says, you're reprobates. You don't appreciate anything that I've done for you.
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Your ingratitude and your obstinacy are prevalent. Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to John chapter 5 and let me show you how their attitude affected the Father. John chapter 5. You know, this is absolutely amazing to me in one sense of the word. We never really think about how our attitudes affect our Heavenly Father. We know they affect each other and our families. But I want you to look at what our Lord says in John chapter 5 verses 22 and 23. John 5 verse 22. He says, "For the Father judges no man, but has committed all judgment unto the Son. Why? That all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honors not the Son honors not the Father who had sent him." Now watch this. "That all men should honor the Son even as," let me tell you what the impact of the little Greek word that's translated "even as" means. Here it is. That all men should honor the Son equally as they honor the Father.
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Now listen to what he said. "He that honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father who has sent him." So when someone then has a bad ungrateful, obstinate attitude toward Christ, he still has that same ungrateful, obstinate attitude toward the Father. If you dishonor the Son, you dishonor the Father.
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Now let's go a little further. I want you to turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 10 and look at verse 40. I'm just showing you how this relates to the principle at hand. Notice Matthew chapter 10 verse 40. And look at what our Lord says as He sends His disciples out to represent Him. Matthew 10 verse 40. Our Lord tells His disciples, "He that receiveth you, receiveth me. And he that receiveth me, receiveth him that sent me." Now wait a minute. Let's work this out. Our Lord sends His disciples out and He says, "He that receives you, receives me."
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They were the representatives of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was the representative of the Father. So he says, whoever receives you, receives me. Whoever receives me, receives the Father.
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Now, the opposite is also true. Whoever does not receive Christ's representative, does not receive Christ. And whoever does not receive Christ, does not receive the Father. So our Lord said that if you honor Him, you're going to honor the Father. If you honor the one that He sends, you honor Him. If you honor Him, you honor the Father. If you despise and reject the one that Christ sends, you despise and reject Christ, and in so doing, you despise and reject the Father. Now, our Lord then upbraids these cities.
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He begins to upbraid Chorazin, Bethsaida, later on Capernaum. Why does he upbraid them? Not just because of their obstinacy and their ingratitude, those were certainly sins in and of themselves, but because they failed to repent and they failed to believe. We have a duty, we have a responsibility to repent and believe.
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Now, granted, we may not be able to fulfill that in ourselves. Only the grace of God can enable us to accomplish those things. But when God extends His mercy, when God showers His grace, the proper response is one of repentance and faith and obedience. And Chorazin and Bethsaida and Capernaum refused to repent and refused to believe.
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Now I want you to note, since you're in Matthew 10, go right back to Matthew 11. Go back to verse 21, because I know this has already entered your mind. Look in Matthew 11, verse 21. Our Lord is upbraiding and he says, "Woe unto thee Chorazin, woe unto thee Bethsaida. For if the mighty works which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes." Now, you have to admit, if you are observant, you understand that our Lord who says this is omniscient.
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That is, He knows everything. So our omniscient Lord says to Chorazin and Bethsaida, the mighty works that had been done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, wicked, perverted, reprobate cities, they would have repented. So what is the question? Why were not those works done there? If our Lord knew that those cities would have repented, why were not those works done there? Why were they done in Bethsaida and Chorazin? Wow.
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Let me give you a quick quote. Charles Haddon Spurgeon said this on Matthew 11:21. "Great privileges were lost on Chorazin and Bethsaida, but would have been effectual had they been granted to Tyre and Sidon. According to our Lord's declaration, God gave the opportunity where it was rejected and it was not given where it would have been accepted. This is true. How mysterious." This is true. How mysterious. Well, Spurgeon didn't really answer the question.
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He just made an observation. But I will go farther than Spurgeon. I will answer the question for you. But my answer is going to be based on the Scripture. And you're going to have to be satisfied with what the Scripture says, okay? Because I can't have an answer beyond the Scripture. So why then were these works done in Chorazin and Bethsaida where they were rejected? And why were they not done in Tyre and Sidon where they would have evidently been received according to our omniscient Lord?
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Well, let's look in Matthew chapter 11. And let's begin reading again with verse 21. Here we go. "Woe unto thee, Chorazin, woe unto thee, Bethsaida, for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say to you, it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment than for you."
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"And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell. For if the mighty works which had been done in thee had been done in Sodom, it would have remained unto this day. But I say unto you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you." Now here's the answer. Why then were not these works done in Sodom? Why then were not these works done in Tyre and Sidon? Here's why. "At that time, Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Here it is. Even so, Father, for it seemed good in thy sight." You say, what's the answer? Well, I'll show you one more time.
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Look in Luke chapter 10. Look in Luke chapter 10. He says the same thing. Here it is, Luke chapter 10. Luke chapter 10, and notice if you would, verse 21. I believe it is. Luke, chapter 10, verse 21. "In that hour, Jesus rejoiced in spirit and said, I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes, even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Thy sight." Here's the answer.
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Why were the works done in Bethsaida and Chorazin and Capernaum where they would be rejected, and not done in Tyre and Sidon and Sodom where they would have been received? Here's the answer. Because it seemed good in God's sight to do it like that. That's what he said. "Even so, Father, because it seemed good in Thy sight." It seemed good to the Father to do it in Bethsaida and Chorazin and Capernaum where it would be rejected and not do it in Tyre and Sidon and Sodom where it would be received. He is sovereign.
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He does as He pleases and whatever He does is right. Did you hear what I just said? Whatever He does is right. One quick question. How many in Tyre and Sidon and Sodom deserve to be saved? None. How many in Bethsaida and Chorazin and Capernaum deserve to be saved? None. Do you realize the very fact that God did what He just did is a demonstration of His absolute sovereignty.
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I want you to go back in your Bibles to John chapter 5. Look in John chapter 5, and I want you to notice verse 21. First, John 5 verse 21. Then we're going to go back to verse 1. John 5 and verse 21. Look at this verse, John 5 verse 21. "For as the Father raiseth up the dead and quickeneth them, help me out now, even so the Son quickeneth whom he will." Now I want to show you the context of that truth. Let's go back to John 5 in verse 1.
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"After this there was a feast of the Jews and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. And an angel went down in a certain season in the pool and troubled the water. Whosoever then first after troubling the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. And a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty and eight years. When Jesus saw him lie and knew that he'd been now a long time in that case, he said to him, 'Wilt thou be made whole?' The impotent man answered him, 'Sir, I have no man when the water's troubled to put me into the pool.'"
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"But while I'm coming another steppeth down before me, Jesus said to him, 'Rise, take up thy bed and walk.' And immediately the man was made whole and took up his bed and walked. And on the same day was the Sabbath. The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, 'It is the Sabbath day. It is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed.' He answered them, 'He that made me whole, the same said unto me, take up thy bed, and walk.' Then asked they him, 'What man is that which said unto thee, take up thy bed, and walk?' And he that was healed wist not who it was, for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place. Afterwards, Jesus findeth him in the temple, and saith unto him, 'Behold, thou art made whole, sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon thee.' The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him whole."
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Now watch this, if you would, please. Here are five porches in which lay a great multitude of impotent, lame, halt, blind, sick individuals. One man had been there 38 years. Our Lord walks up to him and asks him, "Wilt thou be made whole?" Let me ask you, how many of those five porches needed healing? All of them. How many could our Lord have healed had He so chosen? All of them. How many of them recognized Him as the Sovereign Lord of Heaven and Earth? None. How many cried out to Him for healing? None. Even this one man didn't know who He was. And what our Lord did was this. He walked in amongst all of these people, singled out one man, and healed him.
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Left the rest in their sickness. You say, that's not right. Yes, it is right. Did our Lord owe healing to the one that He did heal? No. Why did He do that? Why did He not just heal all of them? He could have done it! Well, go back to verse 21. "For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them, even so the Son quickeneth whom He will." Skip down to verse 23. "That all men should honor the Son equally as they honor the Father."
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In other words, Jesus Christ is God. You know the one thing that proves that God is God? His sovereignty. He does as He pleases, only as He pleases, and always as He pleases. The one thing that proves that Jesus Christ is God, He does as He pleases, only as He pleases, always as He pleases. He is merciful to whom He will be merciful. That's what God said in Romans 9. "I will be merciful to whom I will be merciful."
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"I'll show compassion on whom I will show compassion." If I had a million dollars, which I don't, but if I had a million dollars, and I gave half of it to Doc, how many of you are going to get mad because I don't give you half as well? I couldn't give everybody half, could I? The very fact that I gave half to Doc was just an act of grace. He didn't earn it, he didn't deserve it, I just wanted to give it to him. How many of you would look at a man and woman that went to an orphanage and there's 40 orphans there? And this man and woman select 5 out of the 40 and adopt them into their family and raise them as their own. How many of you are going to say, those wicked, ungodly, reprobate people, they left 35 orphans in that orphanage? No. It wasn't that they left 35, they adopted 5. They didn't owe the 5 anything. They did that out of the grace of their hearts.
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And it's the same thing with God. God doesn't owe us anything. And the very fact that He does what He does, it's His prerogative. He's sovereign. The multitudes in John 5 did not know who He was. They didn't desire Him. They didn't cry out for mercy. They didn't cry out for help. Are you listening? And he left them alone and desolate. Look in your Bibles to Matthew 23.
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I want you to see what our Lord again told the Jews. Notice Matthew 23, verse 38. Matthew 23, verse 38. Look what He told them. "Behold, your house is left unto you desolate."
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Two of the most disheartening and terrifying words are the words alone and desolate. God can leave desolate and alone individuals, cities, towns, states, and even nations if He so chooses. Since you're in Matthew, go back to Matthew 15. I want you to see what our Lord said concerning the Pharisees. Watch it. Matthew 15, beginning there with verse 12. Our Lord's been teaching and preaching. Matthew 15, notice verse 12. "Then came His disciples and said unto Him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended after they heard that saying?" O Lord, You've upset the religious leaders of our day. I wish I could colloquialize probably what our Lord said. Tough stuff, son. Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended after they heard thy saying?
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"But he answered and said, Every plant which my heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted up. Are you looking? Let them alone. They be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall in the ditch." Let them alone. What did Christ say? He said, let them alone. And He also said, your house is left unto you desolate. Why did our Lord take the man by the hand and lead him out of the city? He was showing Bethsaida, I'm leaving you alone. I'm leaving you desolate. And when He told the man after He healed him, don't go back in the town. Don't tell anybody what has happened to you. He's depriving them of any and every witness to His grace and mercy. He's leaving them alone. He's leaving them desolate.
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Now listen to me carefully. If you don't want to be bothered with Christ, and if you don't want to be bothered with the Scripture, and if you don't want to be convicted and converted and your conscience pricked and upset and troubled, don't worry. Christ can arrange it that you can be left alone. He can arrange it that you won't be bothered. Everyone loves to quote that passage, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I'll fear no evil, for thou art with me."
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"Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me." Let me tell you something. Our Lord only walks through the valley of the shadow of death with His own. And if you don't want Him, you can walk it alone. You can be left desolate. When Christ said to the blind man, "Neither go back into this town, nor tell it to anyone in that town," He was saying, Bethsaida, you're not worthy. You've rejected Me. You've refused me, I'll leave you alone. I'll leave you desolate.
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You know, there's a lot of applications of this truth. The first one is this, we don't really value the Word of God as we should. Why don't you stop and think. You just ask yourself, how much this week have you read the scripture? How much have you studied the scripture? How many messages have you listened to? We not only really and truly do not value the Word of God as we should, we don't really value the preaching of the Word of God as we should.
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Have you ever thought what it would be like to be deprived of the Bible? Or really to be deprived of a preaching teacher who teaches the Bible? Has it ever crossed your mind that there are numerous churches across this land that have no pastors. And numbers of them that have preachers, really don't have preachers. I got a call last night at 10 o'clock from a church, wanting me to come preach for them. I said, I'll be glad to preach for you on Wednesday.
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But I said, I can't on Sunday. I said, I'll try to help you get someone. I'm just simply saying we don't understand the value of the Word of God. Do you ever realize the greatest curse that God can put upon a people, a city, a town, a state, or a nation is to deprive them of His Word? You remember what He did to Elijah when He got ready to curse Israel? He moved Elijah out of the land. When he got ready to curse Judah and Jerusalem, he just silenced Jeremiah. He said, pray not thou for this people. We're blind and we're ignorant when we despise and detest the Word of God and the preachers of God. You know, I think many times that the ungodly think, you know, if we can just get away from the churches, if we can just get away from the preachers, if we can just get away from the Bible, then there'll be nobody to bother us, no one to demand repentance, no one to prick our conscience, no one to stay on our backs, and boy, we can just live and have a good time and do whatever we please.
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Well, that's basically what the world wants. The world wants to sin without restraint. Can you imagine what it would be like if everyone did as he pleased without restraint? I'm just simply saying, folks, our Bible tells us in Ephesians 4:11 that one of the gifts that Jesus Christ gave to His church was that of a pastor-teacher. I want you to turn to Jeremiah chapter 3, one last passage. Jeremiah chapter 3.
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And look, if you would please, at verse 15. Jeremiah chapter 3, verse 15. I want you to note the blessing of God upon a people. Here's what He says, Jeremiah 3 verse 15, "And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding." One of the greatest blessings is to have the Word of God taught and preached to us. Now here's the only application I want to make today, and I know this is not true of our people, but it is true of a lot. If you do not wish to have your conscience pricked and probed and to be convicted, if you do not wish to have your understanding shaken, your mind illuminated, your heart broken, your heart healed, if you'd rather be left alone. If you'd rather not be bothered by God's Word and by God's Spirit.
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Our Lord can arrange it. Just like He did to Bethsaida. Just like He did to Chorazin. Just like He did to Capernaum.
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We need to ask the Lord to bother us. We need to ask the Lord to shake us. We need to ask the Lord to convict us. Fanny Crosby wrote a hymn that most of us have sung in our lives. I want you to listen. The title of the hymn is, "Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior." She wrote, "Pass me not, O gentle Savior, hear my humble cry. While on others thou art calling, do not pass me by."
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"Let me at the throne of mercy find sweet relief. Kneeling there in deep contrition, help my unbelief. Trusting only in Thy merit will I seek Thy face. Heal my wounded, broken spirit. Save me by Thy grace. Thou the spring of all my comfort, more than life to me. Whom have I on earth beside Thee? Whom in heaven but Thee? Savior, Savior, hear my humble cry. While on others Thou art calling, do not pass me by."
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You know what that hymn says? Lord, you don't owe me a thing. You're a gracious, holy, sovereign God. And Lord, when you're showing your grace and your mercy to others, Lord, here I am. Don't forget me. Lord, you don't owe me anything, but Lord, I sure want you, and I surely want your grace, and I surely want your mercy. Our Lord took him by the hand and led him out of town. Then he healed him and said, don't go back and tell them what I've done. They want to be left alone. I'll leave them alone. We want to make sure that we're not left alone. Let's pray. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we ask for your grace and your mercy. Lord, I do pray that you'll bother us. I pray that you'll trouble our minds when we think wrongly. Trouble our hearts when we have wicked affections. Trouble our wills when we're in bondage to sin. Trouble our minds when we have fear and unbelief. I pray, Lord, that You would just convict us.
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And help us to realize, Lord, we need Thee on a daily basis. Yea, Lord, even an hourly basis. And help us, Lord, to understand the truth of Fanny Crosby's hymn. "Savior, Savior, hear my humble cry. While on others Thou art calling, do not pass me by." Thank You, Father, that You have not left us alone, and that Thou hast promised that You will never forsake us or leave us. But Lord, let us know Your presence. Let us know Your power, that we may serve Thee acceptably with reverence and godly fear.
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In Thy name we ask and pray. Amen.
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T21:03:58Z

Left Alone and Without Hope

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

Pastor John Weaver examines Mark 8:22-26, where Jesus heals a blind man outside Bethsaida and commands him not to return to the town. Weaver argues that these unusual actions signify Jesus leaving Bethsaida desolate due to their unbelief and ingratitude, despite having witnessed many mighty works. He connects this to the principle that greater light brings greater accountability, citing the destruction of Jerusalem and Jesus' woes upon Bethsaida, Chorazin, and Capernaum. The sermon emphasizes God's sovereignty in dispensing mercy and warns that those who reject Christ may be left alone and without hope, urging believers to value God's Word and seek His convicting presence.

Opening

Scripture Reading — Mark 8:22-26

"And he cometh to Bethsaida, and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him. And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town. And when he had spit on his eyes and put his hand upon him, he asked him if he saw aught."

Introduction: The Horror of Being Left Alone

Weaver opens with vivid examples of abandonment and desolation, from lost children to a martial artist dying alone in the desert, to illustrate the terror of being left without hope.

Jerusalem's Desolation as a Pattern

Using Jeremiah 8 and Matthew 23, Weaver shows how Jerusalem was left desolate by God due to its rejection of Him, setting a biblical precedent for divine abandonment.

At what our Lord said to Jerusalem in the New Testament, as Jerusalem would soon be facing Titus and the Roman army. In Matthew 23, beginning there with verse 37, our Lord said,

Scripture Reading — Matthew 23:37-38

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not."

Now watch,

Scripture Reading — Matthew 23:37-38

"Behold, your house is left unto you desolate."

"And He cometh to Bethsaida, and they," that is a group of people, "bring to Him a blind man unto Him, and besought Him to touch him." He wanted to be healed.

The Strange Acts of Jesus in Mark 8

Weaver highlights two unique actions: Jesus leads the blind man out of Bethsaida and later forbids him from returning or testifying, raising the question of why Jesus would act this way.

Bethsaida's Privilege and Unbelief

Bethsaida, home of several apostles, had witnessed many mighty works of Jesus, yet remained obstinate and unbelieving, prompting Jesus' judgment.

Scripture Reading — Luke 9:10

"And when it was day, he departed and went into a desert place. And the people sought him, and came unto him, and stayed him, that he should not depart from them. Listen, and he said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also, for therefore am I sent."

So Jesus is performing all of these miracles throughout all the land, and many different cities, and many different villages.

The Principle of Greater Accountability

Weaver expounds Luke 12:48 and Lamentations 4:6 to establish that greater light and blessing result in greater responsibility and, if rejected, greater condemnation.

It's even recorded right here. Look in Lamentations chapter 4, beginning there with verse 7. Look what he writes.

Scripture Reading — Lamentations 4:6-10

"Her Nazarites were purer than snow. They were whiter than milk. They were more ruddy in body than rubies. Their polishing was a sapphire."

Jesus' Upbraiding of the Cities

Jesus pronounces woe upon Bethsaida and Chorazin, declaring that Tyre and Sidon would have repented if they had seen the same mighty works, underscoring the cities' guilt.

The Mystery of Divine Sovereignty

Weaver addresses why God performed miracles in cities that rejected Him rather than in those that might have repented, concluding that it seemed good in God's sovereign sight.

Scripture Reading — Matthew 11:25-26

"At that time, Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Here it is. Even so, Father, for it seemed good in thy sight."

You say, what's the answer? Well, I'll show you one more time.

Look in Luke chapter 10. Look in Luke chapter 10. He says the same thing. Here it is, Luke chapter 10. Luke chapter 10, and notice if you would, verse 21. I believe it is. Luke, chapter 10, verse 21.

Scripture Reading — Luke 10:21

"In that hour, Jesus rejoiced in spirit and said, I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes, even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Thy sight."

Here's the answer.

Application: Do Not Be Left Alone

Weaver warns that those who reject Christ may be left alone and desolate, and urges believers to value Scripture, preaching, and to pray that God would not pass them by.

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 3:15

"And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding."

Our Lord can arrange it. Just like He did to Bethsaida. Just like He did to Chorazin. Just like He did to Capernaum.

Left Alone and Without Hope

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	_cK3gBu4bzU
Subject	Old Testament Studies
Course	Lamentations
Genre	Sermon
Date	2012-02-12
Dictation Name
Book	Book 086: Lamentations — Chapter 1
Source Timed Segments	87

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction: The Horror of Being Left Alone: Weaver opens with vivid examples of abandonment and desolation, from lost children to a martial artist dying alone in the desert, to illustrate the terror of being left without hope.
Jerusalem's Desolation as a Pattern: Using Jeremiah 8 and Matthew 23, Weaver shows how Jerusalem was left desolate by God due to its rejection of Him, setting a biblical precedent for divine abandonment.
The Strange Acts of Jesus in Mark 8: Weaver highlights two unique actions: Jesus leads the blind man out of Bethsaida and later forbids him from returning or testifying, raising the question of why Jesus would act this way.
Bethsaida's Privilege and Unbelief: Bethsaida, home of several apostles, had witnessed many mighty works of Jesus, yet remained obstinate and unbelieving, prompting Jesus' judgment.
The Principle of Greater Accountability: Weaver expounds Luke 12:48 and Lamentations 4:6 to establish that greater light and blessing result in greater responsibility and, if rejected, greater condemnation.
Jesus' Upbraiding of the Cities: Jesus pronounces woe upon Bethsaida and Chorazin, declaring that Tyre and Sidon would have repented if they had seen the same mighty works, underscoring the cities' guilt.
The Mystery of Divine Sovereignty: Weaver addresses why God performed miracles in cities that rejected Him rather than in those that might have repented, concluding that it seemed good in God's sovereign sight.
Application: Do Not Be Left Alone: Weaver warns that those who reject Christ may be left alone and desolate, and urges believers to value Scripture, preaching, and to pray that God would not pass them by.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Jesus' actions in Mark 8 signify judgment on Bethsaida

Leading the blind man out of town and forbidding his return were not for privacy but to demonstrate that Bethsaida was unworthy of further miracles due to its unbelief.

Weaver argues, 'What was our Lord doing? He was showing the inhabitants of Bethsaida that he considered them unworthy of having another miracle done among them.'

Bethsaida's guilt is greater than Tyre and Sidon's

Because Bethsaida witnessed many mighty works of Christ and still rejected Him, its judgment will be more severe than that of notoriously wicked cities that lacked such revelation.

Weaver quotes Matthew 11:21, 'Woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago.'

God's sovereignty explains the unequal distribution of miracles

The reason Jesus performed miracles in unrepentant Bethsaida rather than in potentially repentant Tyre is simply that it pleased God to do so, affirming His absolute sovereignty.

Weaver cites Matthew 11:25-26, 'Even so, Father, for it seemed good in thy sight,' and concludes, 'He is sovereign. He does as He pleases and whatever He does is right.'

Rejecting Christ dishonors the Father

To dishonor the Son is to dishonor the Father who sent Him, making rejection of Christ a direct offense against God.

Weaver explains John 5:23, 'He that honors not the Son honors not the Father who had sent him.'

God can leave the unrepentant alone

Those who persistently reject God's Word and Spirit may be given over to their own desires, left without divine intervention or witness.

Weaver states, 'If you don't want to be bothered with Christ... Christ can arrange it that you can be left alone.'

Scripture References

Mark 8:22-26: The primary text: Jesus heals a blind man outside Bethsaida and commands him not to return to the town.
Jeremiah 8:18-20: Jeremiah laments over Jerusalem's desolation, saying 'The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.'
Matthew 23:37-38: Jesus weeps over Jerusalem and declares, 'Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.'
Luke 19:41-44: Jesus weeps over Jerusalem and prophesies its destruction by enemies because it did not know the time of its visitation.
John 1:44: Philip, Andrew, and Peter were from Bethsaida.
John 12:21: Philip is identified as being from Bethsaida of Galilee.
Luke 9:10: Jesus took the apostles aside privately to a desert place belonging to Bethsaida.
John 20:30-31: Many other signs Jesus did which are not written, but these are written that you may believe.
Luke 12:48: To whom much is given, much will be required.
Lamentations 4:6-10: The punishment of Jerusalem is greater than that of Sodom; the people suffered starvation and cannibalism.
Matthew 11:21-24: Jesus upbraids Bethsaida and Chorazin, saying it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment.
Luke 10:13-15: Parallel to Matthew 11:21-24, with similar wording.
2 Timothy 4:1-2: Paul charges Timothy to preach the word, reprove, rebuke, and exhort.
John 5:22-23: All should honor the Son equally as the Father; he who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father.
Matthew 10:40: He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives him who sent me.
Matthew 11:25-26: Jesus thanks the Father for hiding things from the wise and revealing them to babes, for so it seemed good in His sight.
Luke 10:21: Parallel to Matthew 11:25-26, Jesus rejoices and thanks the Father for His sovereign will.
John 5:1-21: Jesus heals one man at the pool of Bethesda among many, illustrating that the Son quickens whom He will.
Matthew 15:12-14: Jesus says of the Pharisees, 'Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind.'
Jeremiah 3:15: God promises to give pastors according to His heart who will feed with knowledge and understanding.

Historical References

Evan Tanner, martial artist who died alone in the desert: Weaver uses this modern example to illustrate the horror of being left alone and desolate.
Destruction of Jerusalem by Babylonians: Weaver references the Babylonian siege and destruction of Jerusalem as an example of divine abandonment and severe judgment.
Tyre and Sidon, Phoenician cities: Weaver describes Tyre and Sidon as opulent, decadent, and wicked cities that would have repented if they had seen Jesus' miracles.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon's quote on Matthew 11:21: Weaver quotes Spurgeon's observation on the mystery of God giving opportunities where they were rejected and withholding them where they would have been accepted.
Fanny Crosby's hymn 'Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior': Weaver quotes the hymn to illustrate the plea that God would not pass by the sinner in need of grace.

Important Quotes

There can be no state, no circumstance, no situation, more horrifying than to be desolate, deserted, and hopeless.

Sets the emotional and theological tone for the sermon, emphasizing the terror of divine abandonment.

The harvest is past. The summer's ended. And we're not saved.

Quoted from Jeremiah 8:20 to illustrate the finality and hopelessness of Jerusalem's judgment.

Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.

Jesus' pronouncement of judgment on Jerusalem, used as a key parallel to Bethsaida's fate.

For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required.

The central principle of the sermon, linking privilege to accountability.

For the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom.

From Lamentations 4:6, demonstrating that greater light leads to greater judgment.

Even so, Father, for it seemed good in thy sight.

Jesus' words affirming God's sovereign pleasure as the ultimate reason for His actions.

Let them alone. They be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall in the ditch.

Jesus' command to leave the Pharisees alone, illustrating the principle of divine abandonment.

Pass me not, O gentle Savior, hear my humble cry. While on others thou art calling, do not pass me by.

The hymn's plea encapsulates the sermon's application: to seek God's grace and not be left alone.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

What does it mean for a person or a community to be 'left alone and without hope' by God?

[Context]

Weaver describes the horror of desolation and uses Jerusalem and Bethsaida as examples.

[Question]

How does the principle 'to whom much is given, much is required' apply to our own lives and church?

[Context]

Weaver explains this principle from Luke 12:48 and applies it to the privileges of hearing God's Word.

[Question]

Why did Jesus lead the blind man out of Bethsaida and forbid him from returning?

[Context]

Weaver argues this was a sign of judgment on Bethsaida's unbelief.

[Question]

How should we respond to the mystery that God sometimes withholds grace from those who might seem more likely to repent?

[Context]

Weaver addresses the question of why miracles were not done in Tyre and Sidon, concluding with God's sovereignty.

[Question]

In what ways might we be guilty of despising or undervaluing the preaching and teaching of God's Word?

[Context]

Weaver challenges the congregation to consider how much they read and study Scripture.

[Question]

What does it look like to pray for God to 'bother' us with conviction rather than leaving us alone?

[Context]

Weaver urges believers to ask God to trouble their minds and hearts.

[Question]

How does the sovereignty of God in showing mercy comfort or challenge you?

[Context]

Weaver emphasizes that God does as He pleases and is merciful to whom He will be merciful.

[Question]

What can we learn from the contrast between Bethsaida and Tyre/Sidon about the danger of familiarity with the gospel?

[Context]

Weaver notes that Bethsaida had greater light but greater unbelief.

Applications

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T13:15:00Z