In his sermon 'The Waters Prevailed' based on Genesis 7:17-24, Jason Dohm emphasizes the recurring phrase 'the waters prevailed' to underscore the overwhelming and inescapable nature of the flood. The sermon contrasts the salvation of Noah and his household within the ark with the destruction of all life on land outside it. Dohm affirms the flood as a global event, claiming biblical authority for this interpretation and linking it to scientific and cultural evidence such as fossil records and global flood myths. He discusses the theological implications of the flood, viewing it as a demonstration of God's judgment on sin and a foreshadowing of Christ's return. The sermon also addresses the condition of humanity and God's rights as Creator, urging listeners to reflect on personal repentance and the urgency of turning to God. Finally, Dohm connects the flood to the sacrifice of Christ, portraying it as an expression of God's hatred for sin and His provision of grace through a substitute.

The title of the message today is The Waters Prevailed. It is that title because that exact phrase, the waters prevailed, appears four times in the text. So if you want to know what the thrust of a text is, look for things that are represented. That exact phrase, the waters prevailed, occur four times. As I said last week, the first part of the chapter, last week's text, was focused on those who would be saved from the flood in the ark.

That was Noah and Noah's household and other creatures two by two, these male-female pairs that would then be able to reproduce so that species would survive after the flood. And the second part of the chapter, this week's text, is focused on all those who perished in the flood because they were outside the ark. So that's what's before us today, those who were outside the ark and perished in the flood. The waters very literally prevailed on the earth or the waters dominated on the earth that would be another word for prevailed or the waters overran the earth That would be another word for prevailed or the waters overran the earth. That would be another word for prevailed.

This was a global flood from which there would be no escape. And the waters literally prevailed against everyone and everything that wasn't in the ark. There were no survivors, not a single survivor of any who lived on land. On land. So as we come to this text, let's ask God to be among us, helping us.

God, it would be hard to imagine a more sobering text. Very little in this text that is cheerful. So many details that we might wonder about that are missing that it's easy to have a surface reading that doesn't disturb us at all. But if we slow down to consider it at any depth at all like we're going to do today. There are very many things in it that are disturbing.

So I pray that you would help us to learn the things that you wanted people to learn when they came to this text. It's here for a reason, I know that, and I pray that you would be among us to press disturbing truths on us. Don't let us come and go unchanged. Move us with your Word. Pray in Jesus name, Amen.

Well as normal we'll be subdividing. Hopefully your Bibles are still open to Genesis 7. Follow along as I reread verses 17 through 20. Read, rereads Genesis 7, 17 through 20 now. Follow along.

Now the flood was on the earth 40 days. The waters increased, lifted up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. The waters prevailed and greatly increased on the earth, and the ark moved about on the surface of the waters. The waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth, and all the high hills under the whole heaven were covered. The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward, and the mountains were covered." So in these verses we have the rising of the waters, if you're taking notes on the handout by filling in the blanks, waters fills in the blanks, the rising waters.

This section begins, now the flood was on the earth 40 days. This isn't new information to us. We've already been told this. If you just look back to verse 4, So same chapter just earlier in the chapter, chapter 7 verse 4, for after seven more days, this is God saying, after seven more days I will cause it to rain on the earth forty days and forty nights and I will destroy from the face of the earth all the living things that I have made." If you just move forward to chapter 12, we studied this last week too, excuse me, verse 12, still in chapter 7, verse 12, And the rain was on the earth 40 days and 40 nights. So God told Noah that he was about to do this and then God did this.

We're seeing the fulfilling of this in our text. It's raining day and night, day and night, day and night, and the fountains of the great deep are broken up. So that was in verse 11. So the water is rapidly rising. Wherever the ark is, we really don't know where on earth the arc was, but wherever the arc is, this giant floating box that is made to meet two objectives, to float and to not tip over in turbulent waters.

You can imagine how turbulent these waters would be. If you actually study the dimensions of the arc length, width, and height, it's actually designed to be incredibly stable. So It's just supposed to do two things, float and not tip over. Wherever the ark is, at some point the waters reach the ark and come up to a sufficient depth to lift this massive structure off the ground so that now it's floating on the surface of the waters. Verse 18 says, the waters prevailed.

Verse 19 says, the waters prevailed exceedingly. And then this, all the high hills under the whole heaven were covered. So everywhere on earth under heaven, where is that? Everywhere on earth. All the high that all the high hills under the whole heaven were covered.

So there is debate about whether or not there was actually a global flood, and there are theories about a regional flood, etc. But let's be satisfied with this. The Bible says it was a global flood. So, you can think something different but just don't think that the Bible says something different. The Bible says it was a global flood.

Look again at verse 20. The waters prevailed 15 cubits upward and the mountains were covered. The ESV, which is just a different translation but a good translation, one that's different that we're using, translates verse 20 this way, the waters prevailed above the mountains covering them 15 cubits deep. 15 cubits would be about 22 and a half feet. So take the tallest mountain peak and go up 22 and a half feet and you have the water level according to scripture.

So, if words mean anything, There's really no way to wiggle out of the Bible says this was a worldwide flood. There was nowhere where the waters weren't. I love what Ken Ham of Answers in Genesis says. He says this, If Noah's flood is true, you'd find billions of dead things buried in rock, laid down by water, all over the earth. Then he says this, what do you find?

You find billions of dead things buried in rock, laid down by water, all over the earth. Did you know that there are flood myths among people groups all over the earth? And many of them share striking resemblances to what we're studying, meaning when you read these flood myths from different cultures all over the earth you say, that sounds like Genesis. For instance, in the Epic of Gilgamesh, I'm sure you've read the Epic of Gilgamesh, Certainly you've read the Epic of Gilgamesh. No, me neither.

Which is from Mesopotamia. Babylon would be the great city of the region of Mesopotamia. So we're talking about ancient Babylon and that region. There is the epic of Gilgamesh and in that a man builds an ark, fills it with animals and survives a catastrophic flood. Here's another example.

This is from Matthew Poole. Matthew Poole is one of my favorite commentators. He wrote his commentaries in the late 1600s so this is actually old commentary on this text. Matthew Poole writes, the Chinese writers relate that but one person whom they call Puankuis with his family were saved in the flood and all the rest perished. So the Chinese writers say there was a great flood in which one man and his family were saved and everything else on earth drowned.

Matthew Poole goes on to say there are similar stories in India and there are many, many more. John MacArthur says there are actually 270, over 270 flood masts. So I haven't read them all, I haven't counted them up, but John MacArthur says there's over 270, maybe there are. Did you know that it is not uncommon to find fossilized seashells on mountaintops? Don't take my word for it.

Go to Mr. Google And just Google fossilized seashells on mountaintops and you'll find that this includes near the peak of Mount Everest. Mount Everest is the highest peak on earth. You can find fossilized seashells near the peak of Mount Everest. Feel free to double check me.

Now to be fair, there are alternate explanations for all these things. I'm familiar with plate tectonics and how that could drive a mountain peak from low to high as plates collide. I'm aware of that and at least some of the alternate theories. Ditto with the flood myths. There are alternate theories about why there are flood myths in every culture and whether Genesis comes from those or whether those come from Genesis.

So I have all of that. However, I would just say a global flood is a credible way to make sense of both the fossil record. Why do we see what we see in the fossil record? A global flood is a credible way to make sense of both the fossil record why do we see what we see in the fossil record a global flood is a credible way to make sense of that and the mini flood myths So I think Kim Ham takes a measured approach and says these things don't prove the global flood, but they fit well with a global flood. Okay, before we move on, one more comment, and this one might actually be more important than the rest.

This might be the most important comment. All of this is consistent with what we learned in Genesis 1. So look back at Genesis 1. Look at just the first two verses of the Bible, Genesis 1 verses 1 and 2. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

The earth was without form and void, and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. In these first two verses of the Bible when God first made the earth the description was the face of the deep and the face of the waters At that time right at the beginning of God's fashioning the earth any and all land was submerged below the waters. This is the starting point. Then look down to verse 9.

We're still in chapter 1, now verse 9. Then God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear. And it was so. So this is day 3 of creation week. And day 3 of creation week saw dry land emerge from the waters.

That was the first appearance of dry land. So don't tell me that a global flood is impossible. Don't tell me there's not enough water for that. So that's verses 17 through 20, the rising of the waters. If you believe that the God of creation week exists, a global flood is not a problem.

It's not a problem. All these things are consistent. If you don't believe in that God, okay, then the Bible has a little to offer you. Now moving to the next section, that was verses 17 through 20, the rising of the waters. Let's keep moving to the next subsection which will be verses 21 through halfway into 23.

I usually don't break verses up, but I wanted to break it off in the middle of verse 23 here, so I'll stop reading there. Follow along as I reread verses 21 through 23 halfway. And All flesh died that moved on the earth, birds and cattle and beasts and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth and every man. All in whose breath was the, all in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life. All that was on the dry land died.

So he destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground, both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Here in this subsection, we have the death of all that were on dry land. If you're taking notes by filling in blanks, dry land fills in the two blanks. The death of all that were on dry land.

Here's the big takeaway from this section. Everyone and everything that lived on dry land and wasn't in the ark perished in the flood. So everyone, every person, every individual human and every other creature that lived on the dry land, if they weren't in the ark they perished in the flood. 21. All flesh died that moved on the earth, and every man, Verse 22, all in whose nostrils was the breath of the Spirit of life, all that was on the dry land died.

Verse 23, all living things which were on the face of the ground, both man and creature, were destroyed from the earth. All and every, all and every, the extent is perfectly clear in the text all and every if you were a man or a woman or a child or A creature on the ark you were saved there were no children on the ark If you were a man or woman Or a creature on the ark you were saved there were no children on the ark If you were a man or woman or a creature on the ark you were saved if you lived on land But weren't on the ark you died Did all that happen in a moment? Well, look back to verse 11. Let me make sure I'm looking at verse 11. Look back to verse 11.

In the 600th year of Noah's life in the second month the 17th day of the month on that day all The fountains of the great deep were broken up and the windows of heaven were opened so there was rain from above and subterranean water bursting forth from beneath subterranean water meaning water from beneath the surface of the earth by the way there's a tremendous amount of that still today subterranean waters is not something that we don't know about. We know a lot about it and there's a lot of it. So it's coming from above, it's coming from below. That is definitely catastrophic. But of course some people and creatures lived on higher ground than others and could flee to higher ground still but in the end no rooftop was nearly high enough no tree was nearly tall enough no hill was high enough no mountain peak was tall enough in the end all flesh on land died.

Every person died except those on the ark. How many people died? The Bible never gives us a number. That's not a question. That's a question I can ask but not answer.

Scholars who have taken what the Bible does say and made estimates, Meaning people are named, lifespans are named, that they had multiple children is given. So you can take what the Bible does say and make estimates. The scholars who have done that come up with numbers on the low end around 170 million people and on the high end well over a billion people. If you go to the highest of the high estimates, you end up with estimates of more people than are on earth today. I don't know.

But just to say, the low end is 170 million of the scholars who are making estimates and the high end is well over a billion. So we should be imagining a big number. It's safe to say we should be imagining a big number. What were they doing when it rained? Jesus actually tells us this in the New Testament, Luke 17, verses 26 and 27.

Just listen to what Jesus says in Luke 17, verses 26 and 27. Jesus says, and as it was in the days of Noah so it will be in the days of the Son of Man they ate they drank they married wives they were given in marriage until the day that Noah entered the ark and the flood came and destroyed them all. Though God sent Enoch as a prophet to thunder against the world's ungodliness, we encountered Enoch in chapter five, so this was a couple of chapters back, God sent Enoch as a prophet to thunder against the world's ungodliness. We encountered Enoch in chapter five. So this was a couple of chapters back.

God sent Enoch as a prophet to thunder against the ungodliness of the earth. And the Noah himself was a preacher of righteousness, he's described as a preacher of righteousness in 2 Peter chapter 2 verse 5, all those warnings were ignored and people lived carelessly in rebellion against God. So what can that look like? People simply living carelessly in rebellion against God. It looks like people just eating and drinking, getting married, being given in marriage, doing the normal things of life without thought of God.

Now if you stop and think about this at any depth. So it's just a couple of verses we get no details, not a single account of a single person dying. It just says that they all died. So this is never individualized in the text. So it's really easy to skim along the surface of the text and miss the horror of the text.

But if you stop and think about this at any depth, it is a horror. All that death. What if it was the low end of these estimates? What if it was just 170 million people swept away by the waters? We have to ask ourselves, what are we really seeing here?

We're seeing a couple of things. One, we're seeing what happens when God simply allows humanity to chase our natural inclinations. So what if God just leaves us alone? Just lets you live out of your nature. You're naturally inclined to certain things.

What if God just leaves you alone and lets you just chase the things that you're inclined to out of your nature. Here's what we get. We universally, meaning without exception, set ourselves against God and make ourselves God and plunge ourselves into destruction because God hates that. When we set ourselves against God and make ourselves God, by the way you can do this in very respectable ways, meaning it doesn't even hit your neighbor's radar, but God knows all and can see into thoughts, motives. When we make ourselves God, I won't be governed by you, I'll do what I want to do when I want to do it We plunge ourselves into destruction if God just leaves us alone understand Genesis chapter 7 is what you get To We see how much God hates sin.

Romans 6.23 says, �The wages of sin is death.� So Paul says, �You get a paycheck for sin.� What's the paycheck? What is the wages for sin? Death. All sin. Even the sins that we think are no big deal like a little pride.

It's just a little pride. Or coldness toward God. No thankfulness, no acknowledgement of God. He doesn't enter your thought from one day's end to the other, one week's end into the other, one's months into the other. Never take time to thank Him, acknowledge Him, delight in Him.

So we think, murderers and adulterers, yeah, get them God. God says, yes and I hate your pride. Yes and I hate your coldness towards me. Your unthankfulness. You never acknowledge me.

You never value me. Coldness toward God is like adultery and murder. He feels about that like we feel about adultery and murder. Now you might be tempted to say, but not everyone who drowned was sinning. There were day old babies drowned in those waters.

And now we're talking about not just skimming over the top, but thinking at a little depth. There were day old babies that drowned in those waters. Here's my question to you. According to the Word of God, according to Scripture, according to the Bible, are people sinners because they sin or do people sin because they're sinners? What are you talking about?

Think, think, think. What does the Bible teach? Not what most people think because it's actually the opposite of what the Bible teaches what does the Bible teach is it people are sinners because they sin so they do the crime therefore earning the designation of sinners, the crime comes before the designation, or do people sin because they're sinners? Are people so warped and corrupted and wrong at the core, bent against God at the core, that they only need any opportunity and they'll do the crime So the crime is just an expression of what they are at their actual core We should get this really straight in our minds. What does the Bible teach?

Are you a sinner because you did those crimes? Or were the crimes inevitable because you're so corrupt? Well, there are seven billion people on earth. Are you content to say that they either are, they've already committed the crimes many times over? I mean, I'm 55 and if someone were to share the count of my the times that I haven't met this standard What would the count even be?

What would the count be in an hour of my life? So there are seven billion people on earth, and they've either done the crimes, or they just need the first opportunity and they'll do the crime because of how corrupt they are at the core. The Bible teaches not that we're sinners, that we get the designation because we've done the crime. The Bible teaches that actually We're so corrupt, so warped that the crimes are inevitable. If you think about our text at some death and you see the horror and your conclusion is God is a mass murderer, God is a monster, if that's your conclusion from this, I would simply ask you to think through two things.

One, the rights of the Creator, and two, the condition of mankind since we brought sin into the world and corruption into our nature our nature has changed when when we rebelled against God as a race of mankind and corruption came into our nature. So what rights does the Creator have? Just listen to Jeremiah 18 verses 1 through 6. So God sends his prophet down to the potter's house to watch some pottery. That's interesting.

Listen, Jeremiah 18 verses 1 through 6. The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord saying, Arise and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause you to hear my words. Then I went down to the potter's house and there he was making something at the wheel. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter so he made it again into another vessel as it seemed good to the potter to make so goes it's instructed to go down to the potter's house he goes down to the potter's house, the potter wheel is going, he's making something, but what he's making is marred and wrong, so he mashes it just into a clump and starts all over again. Now The question is who would say to the potter how dare you?

Take that marred Creation and start over Because everybody knows better the pot it's the potters clay He can do whatever he wants to with the clay, because it's his clay. It's his creation. No one can accuse the potter of a crime to when things are going wrong in the shaping process to mash it into a lump and to start all over again that's not a crime because of the rights of the Creator in Romans 9 Romans 9 is the classic chapter on this and the question from God is who are you to answer back So we come demanding that God explain himself to us, the creator God of everything, explain himself to us. God explain yourself. This seems like injustice to me.

Explain yourself to me. He says, don't talk back. Don't talk back. Now, we're very dissatisfied. I'm dissatisfied with that answer.

I'm humbled by that answer. You know, the Truth is, if he explained it to us, at the capacity that we have compared to God, we probably still wouldn't understand it. I'm not sure it would help. But he does not have to explain himself to us. He assures us in his word that in the end, he will be totally vindicated of all wrongdoing.

Let's fast forward to the end. God was totally good and wise and right in everything that he's ever done. That's the end. So when we come demanding an answer, suspecting injustice from God, he says, who are you to talk back? You're the clay.

What kind of clay demands an explanation from the potter? This is Romans chapter 9. What is the condition of mankind? Listen to God's analysis of this in Psalm 53 verses 2 and 3. Psalm 53 verses 2 and 3.

God looks down from heaven upon the children of men. So this is God looking down on the entire population of planet earth. God looks down from heaven upon the children of men to see if there are any who understand, who seek God. Here's what he sees, verse 3, Psalm 53, verse 3. Every one of them has turned aside.

They have together become corrupt. There is none who does good, no, not one." So we're very impressed with each other and our well-doing. Wow, if I could just be as good as him, or If he could just be as good as me, we're more likely to actually say that. He could just be as good as me. What does God see?

What does the all-knowing God see? Universal corruption. There's not one who does good down there. Look back at Genesis 6 verse 13. This one's near us.

Genesis 6 verse 13. And God said to Noah, the end of all flesh has come before me for the earth is filled with violence through them and behold I will destroy them with the earth here in that one verse we see both the rights of the Creator here's what I'm going to do with my creation I'm wiping them from the face of the earth and the condition of mankind when I look I see the earth filled with violence there's not a corner it's not filled with violence corruption sin rebellion So that is the death of all that were on dry land. Let's go to the last little section. 23B or the second sentence in 23 and 24. Only Noah and those who are with him in the ark remained alive.

And the waters prevailed on the earth 150 days. In this Verse and a half, all in the ark remained alive. Alive fills in the blank if you're taking notes that way. All in the ark remained alive. God preserved Noah and those who were with him in the ark.

Why? Why Noah? Chapter six, verse eight. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Grace is undeserved favor.

In the eyes of the Lord Noah found undeserved favor. So don't think the sinners were outside the ark and were swept away in the flood and this good dude that didn't deserve it made it into the ark. Okay, he found undeserved favor from God is what chapter six, verse eight says. The waters prevailed for 150 days, that's five months. The waters are dominating or overrunning, prevailing on the earth for five months.

So perhaps Some survived for days or even weeks, and smaller boats are clinging to something that floated, but no one outside the ark survived for that length of time, not for five months. God only preserved those on the ark. Applications I'll give you three. Applications is just the time to consider, what should we do with all this? How interesting.

Let's go away and say, we heard something interesting. Nope. God doesn't give His word for that. He's actually trying to change us. So, what should we do with this?

Application number one. Jesus taught that the flood was a type. A type. What is a type? A type is something that points forward to and teaches about a greater future reality.

So there's going to be something in the future that's that's much greater than the type but the type points forward to it and teaches about it. So you know it when it's coming. Something that foreshadows a greater future reality. So I've already read this, but let me reread it. Luke 17 verses 26 and 27.

Jesus says this in Luke 17 verses 26 and 27, and as it was in the days of Noah, so it will also be in the days of the Son of Man. They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage until the day that Noah entered the ark and the flood came and destroyed them all. Jesus is saying this is pointing forward to and teaching about the days of the Son of Man. Jesus taught that the flood was a type of his return. That's what the days of the Son of Man, or when Jesus comes back.

He came the first time in humility to save. He's coming back the second time in power to judge. Let me ask you this question. I think this is a really interesting question. Is catastrophic judgment for sin the exception or the rule?

You've certainly never seen a catastrophic judgment like this, a worldwide flood where the water level reached 22 and a half feet above Mount Everest or the highest point on earth at that time, whatever that was. It's clearly the exception. Catastrophic judgment for sin is clearly the exception. The patience of God is the rule. That's really the value of this is because catastrophic judgment for sin, immediate, irrevocable judgment for sin is the exception.

We know so much more of the patience of God than this. The wages of sin is death, that is true. But the gap between the crimes and death, the patience of God, not paying the paycheck for the sins, right? Like you sin death. No, there's a gap and sometimes a long gap can make us insensitive to the truth that the wages of sin is death.

You just you grow insensitive to it. I sin nothing happened, I sin nothing happened, I sin nothing happened, I sin more nothing happened. You start to draw the wrong conclusion from this. In a way, these rare but extraordinary judgments of God are a merciful reminder to keep us from slumbering our way unrepentant to hell. You want to slumber your way unrepentant to hell?

Having misinterpreted the patience of God, the kindness of God, that He hasn't paid the wages right on the heels of the crime over and over and over again, but then that makes you insensitive so you slumber your way and are shocked at the end. What is this? He brings us to texts like this. It's actually merciful to Tell us this history. That's one.

Jesus taught that the flood was a type. Jesus is coming back. The second time it will be in power for judgment. Jesus says just like the days of Noah, Hey people, just be eating and drinking, living life carelessly and then Jesus will return without warning, coming like a thief in the night. Jesus says, if you'd have known what hour the thief was coming, you'd have been waiting on him.

Number two. Application number two. This is not about other people. So let's say there were a billion people. Let's go upper end on the estimates.

Don't worry about any people. It's not about them. Any one of them or all of them together. This is about me. This is about you.

I want us to consider what Jesus says in Luke 13. I actually turned to this one. This one's worth looking at together. This is our last stop. I'm almost done.

Luke 13. This is such an interesting passage. The things that happened and the conclusions that people drew from the things that had happened, and Jesus says wrong. Luke 13 verses one through five. There were present at that season, some who told him, who told Jesus, about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.

So apparently there were some people from Galilee, a region in Israel, had come to make sacrifices and for whatever reason the Roman governor Pilate had them killed in the middle of them making sacrifices. They're making blood sacrifices and Pilate mingled their blood with their sacrifices. Verse 2, Jesus answered and said to them, Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans Because they suffered such things? I tell you no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Verse 4, who were beneath him, they were crushed by this falling tower.

Do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. You had these two events and people were saying, if God let that happen to them, those Galileans who the Roman governor mingled their blood with the blood of their sacrifices, if God let that happen to them, They must have been really bad people. God knew they needed to get it. Or the people that that tower fell on, if God let that happen to them they must have been the really bad people.

All the murderers and adulterers apparently were gathered at the base of the Tower of Sodom, and here came the Tower, and God gave them what they deserved. No! Jesus wants us to know that things like this should teach us that life really is a vapor. So the Bible says life is like a wisp of steam. And you see it and it's gone.

Your life seems long until you're 55, turned that last Monday. And yesterday I was a teenager. Life is a vapor. The window to repent and trust in Jesus closes we know not when. Do you know when the window will close?

So Jesus is saying things like that happen to warn you that life is a vapor and so uncertain and that the day to repent isn't tomorrow it's today you don't know when the window will close unless you repent you will likewise perish these things aren't reserved for the bad people If we get what we deserve you have the flood The flood is people getting what they deserve So that's application number two this is not about other people this is about me this is about you This is in the Bible to teach us that life is a vapor and things are so uncertain and that the days when water came from above and erupted from below, people were just going about their normal life like we're doing. Number three, finally. Consider another expression of God's hatred of sin. So the Bible has quite a number of expressions of God's hatred against sin. If you want to know how God feels about sin, look at the flood.

Here's another expression of God's hatred of sin. The cross. Why is Jesus Christ the beloved Son of God? God loves His Son. Why is He dying this shameful, agonizing death of being nailed to a cross?

Because God hates sin! The history of the flood is incredibly valuable. It teaches us what would happen if God just left us all to ourselves to pursue our natural inclinations. It teaches us about the perfect goodness of God that is utterly unable to overlook sin and rebellion. Understand this about God when you think of the flood and when you think about the cross.

God is so perfectly good that he is utterly unable he cannot overlook sin and rebellion he cannot he's too good he's unbreakably good but if that's all we had if the flood narrative was all that we had we would be without hope But now consider the cross where God's hatred of sin and His perfect justice are expressed. God's anger towards sin being poured out on this man who is dying on the cross for sin, but also his great mercy in offering a substitute to bear the guilt of sinners. So we get what we get in the flood God pouring out his fury about the sin and rebellion of mankind But we get something else God's mercy is in his willingness to accept a substitute the truth of scripture if scripture is true that I deserve that treatment that we see as Jesus is spit upon, beaten, nailed to a cross, humiliated, mocked. That's how you treat a traitor. That's how you treat a traitor.

That's what the Bible says about me. But God is willing to accept a substitute so that I don't have to be treated that way and ultimately die on a cross, but that Jesus is willing to take my penalty upon himself because I've entrusted myself to him. Why can Jesus do that? He's the God man. He has none of his own sins to die for, so he can die for mine.

And he has willingly left the glory of heaven to die for mine. In the days of Noah, God was pleased to save eight people who didn't deserve it in the rest of human history. And especially since the coming of Jesus to do his saving work on the cross. The numbers of the undeserving who have been rescued are in the millions upon millions upon millions upon millions. So it is horrifying that all these people are washed away, but they're getting what they deserved.

Now think of the millions upon millions upon millions upon millions that the goodness of God, the mercy of God, the grace of God has entered into the life of a sinner who never would have chosen to walk after God, to walk with God, but God just in His mercy says, I'm claiming you as a son. I'm claiming you as a daughter. This is the gospel. It's here in our text, let's pray. God, the good news means nothing to us without an accurate assessment of reality and the bad news, of what we're like, what we deserve, what we'd get if you just left us to ourselves.

Thank you for bringing us nose to nose with these things, not letting us continually just skip past these realities that are eternal in nature. Thank you for your word. How little we would know without you revealing yourself and revealing truth in your word. We give you thanks for it in Jesus' name, Amen.