We Saw Thee Not

1. We Saw Thee Not “We saw Thee not when Thou didst come To this poor world of sin and death; Nor yet beheld Thy cottage home In that despised Nazareth. But we believe Thy footsteps trod Its streets and plains, Thou Son of God.” Text: I Pet. 1:7-9

2. Our society is one that promotes the idea that before • something is truth, it must be proven. If it can’t be • witnessed, it never happened • Seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, or tasting – where would we be without them? We rely on our senses! • Thomas said he needed sensory proof to believe Jesus • was alive again (Despite the sensory proof of 3 years!) • Jn. 20:28-29: When he professed Jesus as His “Lord” and “God” Jesus said, “Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.” He’s speaking about those who would come after the Apostles! Intro II Cor. 5:7 (We voluntarily give up a sense) 7. for we walk by faith, not by sight-- We Saw Thee Not

3. Anne Rigby Richter (1792-1857): • “We Saw Thee Not” (1834) • She was a 19th century poet, daughter of a preacher and later a wife of a preacher in the Anglican Church of England. • She wrote “We Saw Thee Not” in 1834 as an eight six-line poem. • Though the circumstances for the poem aren’t known, she was known to question her faith from time to time, and her poem reminds us that “we walk by faith, not by sight” (II Cor. 5:7). • It was later turned into a hymn in 1851, and the now popular tune (Shaw) was composed by Knowles Shaw (1834-1878) in 1877. • Shaw is also remembered for the hymn “I Am the Vine,” the text of “Bringing in the Sheaves,” and the tune for “Tarry With Me, O My Savior.” Intro We Saw Thee Not

4. I Pet. 1:7-9 7. so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 8. and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9. obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls. We walk by faith and not by sight, for our faith overcomes the world! (II Cor. 5:7; I Jn. 5:4) Intro We Saw Thee Not

5. “We saw Thee not when Thou didst come To this poor world of sin and death; Nor yet beheld Thy cottage home In that despised Nazareth. But we believe Thy footsteps trod Its streets and plains, Thou Son of God.” We did not see the incarnation of Christ: Jn. 1:14; Phil. 2:5-6 We did not behold His “cottage home” in Nazareth: Lk. 2:39-40 Thomas believed because He saw; we believe because of the inspired record: Jn. 20:29-31 We Did Not See Him on Earth, Yet We BelieveHe Lived! Jn. 20:29-31 29. Jesus said to him, "Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed." 30. Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31. but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name. We Saw Thee Not

6. “We saw Thee not when Thou didst come To this poor world of sin and death; Nor yet beheld Thy cottage home In that despised Nazareth. But we believe Thy footsteps trod Its streets and plains, Thou Son of God.” • It is a matter of historical fact that Jesus lived: • Josephus, Antiquities Book 18 Ch. 3.3 • “Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man; for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was the Christ.” We Did Not See Him on Earth, Yet We BelieveHe Lived! By faith we believe God sent His Son to live among men and be the ultimate example! (I Cor. 11:1; I Pet. 2:21)! I Cor. 11:1 (I Pet. 2:21) 1. Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ. We Saw Thee Not

7. “We saw Thee not when lifted high Amid that wild and savage crew; Nor heard we that imploring cry, ‘Forgive, they know not what they do.’ But we believe the deed was done That shook the earth and veiled the sun.” We did not see Jesus when He was lifted up on the cross: Mt. 27:32-38; Phil. 2:8 We did not hear His cry, “Forgive them for they know not what they do”: Lk. 23:33-34 Based upon the Scriptures we believe that Christ died for us: Rom. 5:8; I Cor. 15:3 We Did Not See Him On the Cross, Yet We Believe He Died for Us! Rom. 5:8 8. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. I Cor. 15:3 3. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, We Saw Thee Not

8. “We saw Thee not when lifted high Amid that wild and savage crew; Nor heard we that imploring cry, ‘Forgive, they know not what they do.’ But we believe the deed was done That shook the earth and veiled the sun.” • It is historical fact that Jesus died on the cross: • Josephus, Antiquities Book 18 Ch. 3.3 • “And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross...” By faith we believe Christ willingly became the sacrifice for the world for all time! (Heb. 10:12) We Did Not See Him On the Cross, Yet We Believe He Died for Us! Heb. 10:12 12. but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD, We Saw Thee Not

9. “We gazed not in the open tomb, Where once Thy mangled body lay; Nor saw Thee in that ‘upper room,’ Nor met Thee on the open way. But we believe that angels said, ‘Why seek the living with the dead?’” We did not gaze into the open tomb as did the women: Mt. 28:1-8; Lk. 24:1-11 We did not meet him on the open way, as the disciples of Emmaus, nor in the upper room with the twelve: Mk. 16:12-14 Lk. 24:4-7 (NKJ) 4. And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. 5. Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6. He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, 7. saying, 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.' " We Did Not See His Resurrection, Yet We Believe He Rose from the Dead! We Saw Thee Not

10. “We gazed not in the open tomb, Where once Thy mangled body lay; Nor saw Thee in that ‘upper room,’ Nor met Thee on the open way. But we believe that angels said, ‘Why seek the living with the dead?’” • We believe the message of the angels about • His resurrection: Lk. 24:5; I Cor. 15:4 • The empty tomb stands as the most incredible evidence! • All parties to the burial of Jesus agree that He was dead (Mk. 15:42-47; Jn. 19:31-42). • Jews made sure they were dead – Jn. 19:31-33 • All parties to the burial of Jesus agree that His body was in the tomb (Mt. 27:63-64; 27:66; Mk. 15:45-47). • Jews made sure He was sealed – Mt. 27:62-66 • All parties to the burial of Jesus agree that the tomb was empty on Sunday morning (Mt. 28:11-15; Jn. 20:2-8) – Lk. 24:5-6 • Jews tried to keep it a secret – Mt. 28:11-15 We Did Not See His Resurrection, Yet We Believe He Rose from the Dead! We Saw Thee Not

11. “We gazed not in the open tomb, Where once Thy mangled body lay; Nor saw Thee in that ‘upper room,’ Nor met Thee on the open way. But we believe that angels said, ‘Why seek the living with the dead?’” • It is historical fact that Jesus rose from the dead: • Josephus, Antiquities Book 18 Ch. 3.3 • “And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day.” We Did Not See His Resurrection, Yet We Believe He Rose from the Dead! If the Jews or Romans had Jesus’ body, Christianity would have ended in the 1st century! By faith we believe Christ died for our sins! Eph. 1:7 (Rom. 5:8) 7. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace We Saw Thee Not

12. “We walked not with the chosen few, Who saw Thee from the earth ascend; Who raised to heaven their wondering view, Then low to earth all prostrate bend. But we believe that human eyes Beheld that journey to the skies.” We did not walk with the chosen few who walked with Jesus after His resurrection: Mt. 28:16-20; I Cor. 15:5-8 We did not see the cloud that took Him from the earth: Acts 1:9; Phil. 2:9-11 Phil. 2:9-11 9. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10. that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11. and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. We Did Not See Him Ascend, Yet We Believe He Reigns from Heaven! We Saw Thee Not

13. “We walked not with the chosen few, Who saw Thee from the earth ascend; Who raised to heaven their wondering view, Then low to earth all prostrate bend. But we believe that human eyes Beheld that journey to the skies.” We believe that Jesus ascended back into heaven just as the scriptures teach: Acts 1:9-11 (And will one day return!) I Thess. 4:16-18 16. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18. Therefore comfort one another with these words. We Did Not See Him Ascend, Yet We Believe He Reigns from Heaven! By faith we believe Christ sits at the right hand of God and will return one day! (Heb. 12:2)! We Saw Thee Not

14. The Scriptures teach that Jesus is now reigning on high: I Cor. 15:25 However, there is no visible evidence of His reign because we walk by faith and not by sight: II Cor. 5:7 We still believe on Him through the word of those who left us eyewitness testimony – Jn. 16:13 The Scriptures teach that we must believe in Jesus Christ as the divine Son of God in order to be saved from our sins – Jn. 8:24 Conclusion Jn. 8:24 24. Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins." We Saw Thee Not

15. His inspired word provides all the evidence that is needed to obey Him (Jn. 20:30-31) Let us say, “Our faith firmly rests in You, O Lord, even though ‘We Saw Thee Not!’” Conclusion We Saw Thee Not

16. Hear The Gospel (Jn. 5:24; Rom. 10:17) Believe In Christ (Jn. 3:16-18; Jn. 8:24) Repent Of Sins (Lk. 13:35; Acts 2:38) Confess Christ (Mt. 10:32; Rom. 10:10) Be Baptized (Mk. 16:16; Acts 22:16) Remain Faithful (Jn. 8:31; Rev. 2:10) “What Must I Do To Be Saved?” For The Erring Child: Repent (Acts 8:22), Confess (I Jn. 1:9), Pray (Acts 8:22)