Divine Expectations

Gospel of Mark and given the
fact that I fully intend to preach about the resurrection next Lord’s
Day. And knowing that we’re preparing
to start a new section in Romans, a new chapter, chapter 14, with
regards to the weaker brother, I knew that to start that take
a week off with create more disruption. And I found this to be really
providential to have two weeks really to turn our hearts and
our attention to the great theme of the resurrection. It is one of the strange features
in the commentary on the resurrection, the passion that commentators
often will focus more on pity at what transpired than they
do on thankfulness. They take rather an academic
approach, and as they come, they certainly are drawn to pity as
they review all of the events. The transpired that took our
savior to the cross. But I would I would suggest to
you that beyond just pity, A gratitude is what really God. Desires to
see from us a thankfulness. And I go back to the. To the. Great thought. That Jesus. Went before us. And paid for our sin. As Paul
says, while we were yet sinners. Jesus knew fully what he was
about to endure as he drew near to the cross. Jesus went quite
eagerly. Jesus knew full well what would
transpire. And it wasn’t just the prophets
had foretold because if you If you really believe that Jesus
is God, the prophets drew the message from Jesus Christ himself. Jesus Christ gave them the prophecy
of his eventual death and suffering. Jesus knew full well what he
would endure. That while we were yet sinners,
Christ took all of this on with great eagerness. One of the passages that graphically
represents that. And seizes hold of that is Mark
chapter 10. If God’s people would turn to
Mark chapter 10. I’m not going to take the time
to set the greater context. I will tell you that they are
directing themselves towards Jerusalem. And Jesus takes this
opportunity yet again to instruct his closest friends. Mark chapter
10, beginning in verse 32. They were on the road going up
to Jerusalem. And Jesus was walking on ahead
of them. And they were amazed. And those
who followed were fearful. And again, He took the twelve
aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to him,
saying, Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son
of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes,
and they will condemn him to death and will hand him over
to the Gentiles. They will mock him and spit on
him and scourge him and kill him. And three days later, He
will rise again. This was the third time that
Jesus had delivered this disturbing message to his friends, the apostles. The third time that the Synoptic
Gospel writers record this event. Each one of them record these
three occasions when Jesus made similar prophecies concerning
his treatment, his death. All of them record them, and
each of them record a growing amount of detail as Jesus uncovers
them. Consider, if you would, flip
back just perhaps even just a page to Mark 831. Mark 831 records the first of
such, which was near Caesarea Philippi. And in this first uncovering,
this first prophecy of his death, it simply foretells the rejection
of the Savior by the Jews. And it foreshadows his death
in very general terms. Look at Mark 8 31. He began to
teach them that the son of man must suffer many things and be
rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes
and be killed and after three days rise again. And he was stating
the matter plainly and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke
him. But turning around and seeing
his disciples He rebuked Peter and said, Get behind me, Satan,
for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but
man. Peter was aghast at the very
idea that the son of man, which they were beginning to realize
was truly Jesus himself there before them. That the very idea
that he would have to suffer difficulty, hardship. Not the
least of which that he would be killed. was utterly distasteful
and unacceptable to Peter. And frankly, it was unacceptable
to any Jew. They did not have that kind of
a Messiah on their radar. They wanted a conquering king,
not a suffering servant. It happened again. Jesus returned
to this message. Mark 9 chapter 30. Jesus again
would reiterate the need for the Savior to suffer. And in
this second description, it describes his betrayal into the hands of
men who would ultimately put him to death. Rather than shying
away, just like he rebuked Peter, Jesus comes back again to this
theme and he drives home the point that the Savior would die.
The Messiah must be killed. Look at verse 30. From there
they went out and began to go through Galilee, and he did not
want anyone to know about it, for he was teaching his disciples
and telling them the Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands
of men and they will kill him. And when he has been killed,
he will rise three days later. But they did not understand this
statement and they were afraid to ask him. Now. Jesus. enhances the detail. And here he speaks of the resurrection. So had they taken the time and
the opportunity, they could have gone back to their scriptures
and searched these things out and found the testimony of the
suffering Savior. But they didn’t. They didn’t
understand. And rather than clarify, they
simply left off the discussion and were afraid even to speak to
Jesus about it. But Jesus returns again to this
subject. Jesus isn’t going to leave it
alone. He knows he knows their hearts. He knows that they are
struggling with the truth of this statement. He knows that
they’re wrestling with it. And the third time that he addresses
it, he addresses it in the passage before us this morning. Mark,
Chapter 10, verse 32. Jesus had tried to tell them.
Of his eventual fate, they didn’t or Rather better, they weren’t
able to understand it. They couldn’t grasp how the Savior,
the Messiah who had come, was to be put to death. The Jews
had not banked on that kind of a Savior. And the Apostles, being
Jews, struggled with that truth as well. Jesus adds the thought
that these details had been proclaimed by the prophets hundreds of years
earlier. They could have done their homework. Jesus takes these things not
merely through the eyes of the prophet, but. Through the one
who informed the prophets. Let’s consider the passage, if
you would. Look at the passage that we’ll
be considering this morning, Mark, Chapter 10, beginning in
verse 32. Mark starts with some very fascinating details that
the other gospel writers simply don’t include. They were going
on the road. They were on the road rather
going up to Jerusalem. Now for those of you who know
the story you know that the even the mere mention of going to
Jerusalem was frightful to the apostles. They knew that the
venomous Pharisees were there waiting. They knew that they
hated Jesus. They knew that they wanted to
kill him already. And so even the idea of going
to Jerusalem they knew that that meant trouble or the possibility
of trouble. But I want you to get a grasp
of this of the setting of the feeling of the mood if you will
of this little trip. They were on the road going up
to Jerusalem and Jesus was walking on ahead of them. They were amazed
and those who followed were fearful. There are there is an intention
here to these words, there’s not just a string of thoughts
that Jesus is walking. They were amazed. Others were
fearful. There is there is import to these
words. Look at this, Jesus was walking
on ahead of. Jesus was functioning as a leader.
Jesus was marching towards Jerusalem to fulfill the great purpose
for which he had come. As one commentator said, he was
resolutely and energetically leading the way back to Jerusalem. With solemn determination, he
was pushing forward in the face of the obvious danger involved. Knowing the danger and struck
by their master’s silent preoccupation with his own thoughts as he was
walking ahead alone. The 12 were gripped with a sense
of amazement. It’s not just that they were
amazed they were amazed at the intensity with which Jesus Christ
was persecuted or prosecuting his mission. He was resolute. He was single minded. He was pressing on. And if need
be, he would have gone completely alone. They were amazed. They were amazed at his resolute
heart. They were amazed at his determination. They were fearful. Those that
followed in the pale, the apostles maybe, were steeled by Jesus’
commitment, his determination. Perhaps the apostles could be
less left off of the list of those who were fearful. But the
greater crowd was stunned they were not only amazed at Jesus
resoluteness as the apostles were it says that they were fearful
they knew the trouble lie ahead. They were afraid of the possibilities
that lie before them they were they were not only stunned by
the fortitude of the Savior himself, but they they knew as they paused
to consider it that the son of God wasn’t missing a step. As he proceeded to ever near
the cross. One commentator said one pastor
put it quite colorfully this way. He said there are very few
pictures More striking than this. Jesus going forth to his death
walking alone along the path into the deep valley while behind
him an awful reverence and mingled anticipations of dread and hope
their eyes fixed on him. As with bowed head he preceded
them all in the majesty of sorrow the disciples walked behind and
dared not disturb his meditation Jesus. was pursuing his mission. And his mission was in Jerusalem
and his mission was to die a brutal death on the cross. Jesus wasn’t caught off guard
by this. Jesus wasn’t just in a hurry to get to Jerusalem for
any other purpose but the cross. Jesus was eager to go to the
cross for you And for me, Jesus knew that that was his mission. It’s entitled. The message this morning, divine
expectations, it wasn’t just that Jesus was an excellent student
of the scriptures and knew that the Messiah would be mistreated.
Certainly, the prophets had foretold that, and we’ve spent no little
time in Isaiah detailing the suffering servant. It’s not just
that Jesus had read those things. Jesus communicated those things
about himself to the prophets. And now Jesus is here to fulfill
them. These are divine expectations.
Jesus knew exactly what he was getting into. So when Paul says, Jesus Christ died for us while
we were yet sinners. This is what he had in mind.
Jesus knew exactly what was about to transpire. Look again at verse
32. Jesus knew full well the plans
that were prophesied for the Messiah. First of all, that he
would be seemingly helpless in his seizure. seemingly helpless
in his seizure. Here’s what I mean by this. Look
at the end of verse 32. Again, he took the 12 aside.
He began to tell them what was going to happen to them, saying,
Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered
to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will hand him
over to the Gentiles. In other words, he is going to
be arrested. His freedom is going to be taken
away. Here is God of God’s having taken on human flesh and now
he is being led around under arrest and. With complete loss
of freedom. Look at the passage. The 12 obviously
points to the apostles. Matthew is more general in his
description and just refers to the disciples. All the followers
of Christ are disciples, only 12 of them were apostles. So Jesus takes them aside. And for emphasis here Matthew
adds by themselves. Jesus had a meeting. Jesus calls
the apostles together and in order to encourage them and really
to educate them. He calls them together in a moment
of private instruction. And he says look we’re going
up to Jerusalem. He they knew that he must die at Jerusalem
as much as they on the face of it. They disdain this idea. The
prophets they knew had said that the Messiah would die. And now
they’re beginning to put things together. The truth Jerusalem that Jesus
spoke of they knew was the heart of the Jewish nation the seat
of its authority. They knew that that power. Would take over. Seemingly. And that they seemingly would
grab hold of the Messiah himself and they seemingly would take
away his rights and privileges. Seemingly they would seize hold
of him and his freedom. Jesus points it out to them.
Himself, the Son of Man, would be delivered. He’s going to be
seized hold of, arrested. The Lord had pointed to the public
testimony. Luke adds an interesting note
here. He points them back to the prophets. That all things
which are written in the prophets about the Son of Man would be
accomplished. And of the three Gospels, Matthew,
Mark, and Luke, only Luke picks up that detail. Jesus is pointing
to the fact that, as Luke records, the events that were soon to
occur had been prophesied hundreds of years earlier. This was coming
as no surprise. Son of man. Was about to be betrayed. And about to be arrested and
about to be mistreated. The divine expectations included
The fact that there would be this seemingly helpless seizure. And I say seemingly because Jesus
knew it all along. Jesus was really yielding himself
up to those who would arrest and persecute him. He wasn’t
caught off guard for a moment. The second divine expectation
that as we look at this passage becomes quite clear. Jesus knew
well the plans prophesied for the Messiah and not only this
seemingly helpless seizure but secondly an utterly unjust conviction. An utterly unjust conviction
and we’ve spent no little time on that in seasons past and I
won’t belabor the point this morning. But when Jesus says. They will condemn him to death. This meant that there would be
a trial there would be the The arrest is already prefigured
into those words that he would be handed over delivered up.
But there would be a trial there would be charges brought against
him untrue mind you. But they would be brought they
would be considered a judgment would be rendered a sentence. They will condemn him to death. But look at it know what Matthew
and Mark include here. They add that the son of man
will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes. Luke doesn’t pick it up that
way. Luke just leaves it very vague as if the Roman government
was going to take over and seize hold of Christ. He’s delivered
first and foremost to the chief priests and scribes. They’re
the ones that deliver him over to the Roman government. This
wasn’t an event in which the Jews were innocent and far from
it. On the contrary they were the
driving force. This was their doing. You see
since the Romans would not allow the Jews to carry out the sentence
of death the Jewish authorities had to hand Jesus over eventually
to the Gentiles and specifically to Pilate and to those who would
carry out their wishes. The Sanhedrin, the highest court
of the Jews, first of all, had to file these charges, had to
have a trial, had to render a judgment, and then having done all that,
they had to hand them over to the Roman government for punishment. Jesus would appear before them
That these people, the religious leaders of the nation, would
condemn him to death. And that little word there points
to their judicial power. They were able to judge, but
they could not lynch the Lord Jesus Christ. They couldn’t put
to death any man justly. Under the Roman government and
their dominion, the Sanhedrin, the ruling Judicial part of the
Jewish nation had no power to put anyone to death. But that
didn’t stop them from passing sentence on the Lord. They would
ultimately hand him over to the Romans. Him who they held to
be guilty. And the rulers of that nation
would have to leave matters into the hands of the civil government. They passed the sentence. They
judged him. They condemned him. And then
they handed him over. Luke omits that. The Gospel of
Luke omits what Matthew and Mark both pick up. That the high priests and scribes
were absolutely guilty in their condemnation of Christ. The Romans
would put him to death. They would do the service. The
Jewish nation was guilty. Nevertheless, Luke continues
that the third and by far the clearest. Circumstantial property
prophecy here regarding Jesus, that he would be delivered over
to the Gentiles. Ultimately, he would be handed
over to the civil government. And that must have deeply troubled
Jesus followers. They may have come to grips with
the fact that Jesus would die. They may have even begun to come
to grips with the fact that Jesus would be killed by the Gentiles. The heathen, the Roman government. Whose means of death, especially
for Malefactors was crucifixion. They had to send chills down
the spines. Of the apostles. And it was a
thought that they could hardly bear. This act this crucifixion
was so horrible in the minds of any godly Jew utterly impure
and vile. The Jews hated crucifixion. And here the apostles are being
informed that. Their beloved Messiah. Our beloved Messiah. Was going
to go and not only be seized hold of his rights, his freedoms
taken away. He was going to be led around
and passed around. And ultimately condemned through
an utterly unjust conviction. That’s not all. Jesus knows the full picture.
And he sees not only this seizure, he knows that he’s going to be
arrested, he knows that he’s going to be passed around like
a common criminal from one court system to the next, ultimately
handed over to the Roman government. Jesus knows. But he knows something
else. These are divine expectations.
Jesus knew well the plans prophesied for the Messiah, not only his
seizure, not only this unjust conviction, but thirdly, Jesus
knows full well of this inhumanly brutal abuse. Look at Matthew,
pardon me, Mark, verse 10, 34. Jesus said, Behold, we are going
up to Jerusalem. Son of man will be delivered
to the chief priests and the scribes and they will condemn
him to death. Will hand him over to the Gentiles.
They will mock him and spit on him and scourge him and kill
him. And three days later, he will
rise again. Consider each of those elements
just for a moment. First of all that he would be
mocked. And when you think of it this is the Lord of the universe. This is God incarnate who had
taken on human flesh. And we know in our hearts don’t
we. Those. Of you who have come to
Christ know that there are these thoughts resident within the
fallen human heart because we’ve uttered them haven’t we. We’ve
uttered them. We’ve thought them of God. We
didn’t like God’s control in our fallenness. We hated God.
That’s not my interpretation. That’s the scriptures. The scriptures
say we were at enmity with God. So when it says that they mocked
him. That they mocked God incarnate,
the Lord Jesus Christ, this really doesn’t come as a big surprise. Who mocked him? Before Herod Antipas, he was mocked. Herod and his
soldiers mocked the Lord Jesus. Treating him with contempt and
mocking him, Luke records, dressed him up in a gorgeous robe and
sent him back to Pilate. They dressed him up like a would-be
king. And that alone was mocking. Every time this word is used,
every time but once, it’s used of Christ’s mocking. The word is emphizo. It just
talks about almost making a caricature out of somebody who’s right before
you. Mocking them in such utter disdain not only before Herod Antipas,
but before Pilate, Jesus was mocked. Pilate’s soldiers mocked
Jesus. They wove a crown of thorns,
it’s said, in John chapter 19. And they put it on His head and
they arrayed Him in a purple robe saying, Hail, King of the
Jews. They didn’t mean it. They didn’t
mean it. It wasn’t sincere. It wasn’t
from the heart. They mocked Jesus with those
words. And here, Absolutely and truly,
the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords stood before them and took
their abuse, their mocking. Matthew records another scene
where this word is used and Jesus is mocked. Matthew chapter 27. The Roman soldiers mistreated
and mocked Jesus when Matthew records that they stripped him
and put a scarlet robe on him, weaving a crown of thorns, putting
it on his head and a reed in his right hand that was supposed
to symbolize some kind of a scepter. They knelt before him and mocked
him, all hail king of the Jews. They spat on him and took the
reed from his hand and beat him on the head. Jesus was mocked
and The amazing thing, as all of this begins to unfold, is
Jesus knew it. Jesus knew it all. And still
He has His face set to Jerusalem. And still He marches forward. For you and for me. He was mocked in His crucifixion.
Pilate mocked Jesus with a sign placed above the cross. This
is the King of the Jews. Ha ha. We don’t know whether Pilate
thought it was funny or whether he was just catering to the Jews.
But Pilate, putting that sign above the cross, mocked the Lord
Jesus. The passersby mocked Jesus. Matthew
records that they were hurling abuse, wagging their heads, saying,
you who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in
three days, save yourself. If you are the son of God, come
down from the cross, they mocked. Matthew goes on to record that
the chief priest, the scribes, the elders, they came to the
cross specifically to mock Jesus. When he said he saved others,
but he cannot save himself. Some Savior. That’s what their
message was. You call yourself Messiah. Some
Messiah. The attending Roman soldiers
mocked Jesus by offering him sour wine. Amazingly, even one
of the thieves on the cross, so near to death, so near to
judgment, so near to his own doom. Even he mocked Jesus records
Pardon me, Luke records that he was hurling abuse at him saying,
Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us. Not exactly
the prayer at the altar. The last three hours of Jesus
crucifixion, Matthew records one last moment of mockery. Even
in the last moment of his earthly life, Jesus was mocked. After Jesus cried out, some said,
let’s see whether Elijah will come and save him. They mocked
even his prayer and his cry of agony. And the amazing thing is, Jesus
knew it was all coming. And the amazing thing is, Jesus
was absolutely resolute. Jesus was going To fulfill his
mission. And his mission was to die for
sinners while we were yet sinners. Only. Only Luke picks up one
other little detail here. Both Matthew and Mark say that
Jesus was mocked and spit upon and scourged and ultimately killed. But Luke adds an interesting
twist. He uses a different word for
mocked. He uses the word mistreated.
The word literally means to run riot over someone, to outrage
or pardon me, to outrageously insult them, to treat them insolently. Our English word hubris, exaggerated
pride or self-confidence. Which often results in retribution. That’s where the word comes from. You say, well, when when are
those times when Jesus was mistreated? Many of the same times in which
he was mocked. Judas mistreated Jesus by betraying
him. The arresting mob mistreated
Jesus. They came in a great multitude
with swords and clubs like they were coming to arrest a common
criminal. to which Jesus would ultimately
respond to that indignity by saying, have you come out with
swords and clubs to arrest me as against a robber? It was indignant. It was a sign of abuse. Jesus’ disciples mistreated him.
As Matthew and Mark record, they all left him and fled. And we
would have done the same thing. Before Annas, The father-in-law
of Caiaphas, a high priest, the religious elite mistreated Jesus
because of a directive. Pardon me, because of a direct
answer to one of one of the officers of Caiaphas, the high priest
gave Jesus a blow. He punched him in the face. Before
the Sanhedrin, they further mistreated Jesus when the chief priest,
the whole council, kept trying to obtain false testimony, Matthew
says, in order that they might put him to death. They just kept
working the data, working the reports. Working the testimony,
trying to find something to seize to justify their cause. High
Priest mistreated Jesus by falsely accusing him of blasphemy for
admitting that he was the son of God. Talk about twisting the testimony
they asked him a question he acknowledged that he was the
son of God and for that he was accused of blasphemy. Peter mistreated
Jesus was with his threefold denial. Pilot the governor mistreated
Jesus when he sent him to the Praetorium an unclean prison
which for a Jew you couldn’t even set foot in. Remember the
hypocrisy of the Jews they wouldn’t even go in the prison for the
trial for the sentencing phase of the trial because they didn’t
want to defile themselves before the feast. Pilate mistreated
Jesus by denying him justice. The Jews mistreated Jesus by
asking him Asking for the release of a criminal instead. He was mistreated by the cruel
public humiliation of his march to the cross. So detailed in
Mark’s Gospel Chapter 27. And then perhaps the ultimate
act of mistreatment. That of crucifixion was said
to be one of the bloodiest and one of the harshest most cruel
means of torture and execution. He was mistreated and degraded
by being crucified with two thieves. He was mistreated and degraded
by having his garments, his last possessions, divided up between
the attending soldiers. And then the last act of mistreatment
was for a soldier to pierce Jesus in the side with a spear. Only Luke records that, and the
testimony wouldn’t be complete without it. But both Mark and Matthew pick
up some of the details of the cross, some of the details of
what Jesus knew he was proceeding towards when it says in Mark
10, 34, that he was spit upon. Now, you know that if the NFL
Gets all upset and in a dither about something it must be really
bad. And for the NFL to get all upset
and in a dither because one player spits upon another you know it
is a really bad vile unclean uncouth thing to do. As such
it was. This word is such a fascinating
word it’s an onomatopoeia for those of you go back to your
English it sounds like what it is. M2O. ugly word. And it’s only used
of this connection in Scripture. The Jewish religious elite mistreated
the Lord Jesus Christ by spitting in his face and then they beat
him with their fists while others stripped him. The amazing thing is Jesus knew
it. Jesus knew what lie ahead. Jesus
was marching toward not only being mocked, not only being
mistreated, but he knew at some point in this episode that someone
would look him in the face and spit into his face. Then Matthew and Mark. As they
draw to a close, say that he would be scourged. The word there is mastigao, to beat or whip someone into
absolute submission. The scourge, you know it well,
was an infamous torture instrument. There were leather straps that
were tied to a stake, a stick or a stake, and into those leather
straps was woven sometimes pieces of bone or slivers of wood, so
that every time those leather lashes fell upon human flesh,
they would dig into the back and they would tear it. Spurgeon described it as an anguish
more cruel than the grave itself. But not only did Jesus endure
it, Jesus went to it. Mark records in 1465 that when some of the so-called religious
elite blindfolded him and began to beat him with their fists
and ask him to prophesy, who was it that had punched him?
The officers received him with slaps in the face. It was one
abuse after another, not just the scourging with whips, but
the scourging with fists and slaps. Luke records an incident,
the men who were holding Jesus in custody following his arrest
were mistreating him by mocking him and beating him just very
generally. But we know that it had to be horrific. The Roman
government mistreated Jesus, as John records, that Pilate
took Jesus and scourged him. almost as a favor to the Jews. And finally, Jesus knew His divine
expectations included that it wouldn’t be just mocking, not
just mistreatment, not just spitting in the face, not just discouraging
a beating that He says in verse 34, and they will kill Him. If
the beatings themselves don’t take care of it, Jesus knew what lie ahead. Jesus knew what He was going
to for you and for me. Jesus knew that when He went
to die for sinners, Jesus knew what that entailed in its fullness. Jesus wants His apostles to know
why He’s so resolute. He’s resolute for you and for
me. He’s resolute For all who would
come to Christ. One characterized crucifixion
is one of widely used by the Romans as a method of inflicting
the death penalty. The Jews officially accepted
burning, stoning, strangling, beheading as methods of execution. But under the Romans, they were
not permitted to put anyone to death. So Jesus knew full well. That
When the prophets when he communicated to the prophets that ultimately
the savior was to die and that he would be handed not only to
the chief priest but ultimately to the civil government. Jesus
knew it was crucifixion. The apostles might have hoped
that the Jews would take matters into their own hands and secretly
kill Jesus. They had done it many times.
They had taken matters into their own hands. But Jesus knew full
well what was going to transpire. The apostles, no doubt. Were
absolutely stunned. As this begins to sink in. That the Savior. The Messiah
himself was going to be mocked, spit upon, scourged, killed. They had to have just been reeling.
This is not the Messiah that they had expected. But they were still stunned by
the. The elements of Christ’s message, so much so that they
missed entirely the message of hope. You see, Jesus’ divine
expectations went far beyond what would take place at the
cross, far beyond this makeshift courtroom. Look again at the
passage. Jesus said, Behold, we are going
up to Jerusalem and the Son of Man will be delivered to the
chief priests and the scribes. They will condemn him to death
and they will hand him over to the Gentiles. They will mock
him and spit on him and scourge him and kill him. Three days later. He will rise
again. Jesus knew exactly what he was
doing. Jesus knew exactly what he was
going to do. And if other details were difficult
to understand and grasp. This element of Christ revelation,
though it seemed to completely escape them, was the greatest
one of all. They may have been focused on
those other predictions, mocked, mistreated, spit upon, scourged. They were likely dumbfounded.
But that Jesus would rise again doesn’t even seem to have registered
with them. But that is the great truth.
That is the great truth to which we draw near next Lord’s Day
as we celebrate the resurrection. Charles Spurgeon put it in these
terms. You should rise again. On the third day, it would be
all over. A few hours of bitter grief,
grief, a night of bloody sweat, a night and a morning of mockery,
a dire full afternoon of dreadful anguish on the cross. And then
the bowing of the head, a little rest in the grave, and on the
third day, the light would break forth upon mankind for the son
of righteousness would arise with healing in his wings. If
our Lord’s record ended at the cross. It should drive us to
despair. But he is declared to be the
son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, that
he was raised from the dead makes us to see the merit, the power,
the great reward of his death. This is our Lord Jesus Christ. One whose death is the source
of our salvation and whose resurrection and eternal glory are the guarantee
and foretaste of our everlasting bliss. When Paul said. When Paul said that Jesus died
for us while we were yet sinners. What an amazing message He delivers
to us. That Jesus resolutely took on
all that the Gospel writers record and more for you and for me. Our merciful God, we humble ourselves
before You. We did not deserve Your goodness
and grace. that while we were yet sinners,
with our backs turned toward You, hurling our own abuse in
Your direction, You took all this, knowing full well what
You would experience. You took all of this for us. Merciful God, we humble ourselves
before You. We pray that You would grant
us the grace to recognize, meditate, and entertain a new level of
love and respect for our Savior. It’s in Jesus’ name that we pray.