The Messiah’s Course

regarding fortune telling and that kind
of activity said that trying to determine one’s future is
a multi-million dollar industry in the United States. Those figures
are probably 10 years old, so you can imagine that The desire,
the attempt to know one’s future is probably only increased as
our world has seemingly spiraled downward over the years. People
will pay someone to look into a crystal ball, pay them to read
cards, pay them to read their palm, read their horoscope, all
in an attempt to know what the future holds. But I wonder, and I want to ask
you this morning, I certainly hope none of you are engaged
in those kinds of activities, though all of us probably would
like to get a glimpse on what the future holds, wouldn’t we?
We’d like to know what the Lord offers down the road. We’d like
to know what difficulties perhaps lay in our way. We’d like to
know what joys are there to be enjoyed, wouldn’t we? But I wonder
if you really knew If you really knew what all there was before
you, would you take another step? Would you want to live another
day? Christ knew. Christ knew everything
from the moment He came to earth. He knew what lay ahead of Him.
As He began to gather disciples around Him, He knew what His
ministry was ultimately. As Christ now sets His face towards
Jerusalem and begins to take each step, each step is with
full knowledge of exactly what faces Him. We come to the third prophecy
in Luke’s Gospel of the events that were going to befall the
Son of Man. And Christ knows every one of
them. He knows everything that is there waiting for him in Jerusalem,
and still he is pressing on. I want to take us to Luke chapter
18. And let’s begin in verse 31 and
see what Christ knew. Where Luke records, and he took
the 12 aside and said to them, Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem. And all the things which are
written in the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. For He will be delivered to the
Gentiles and will be mocked and mistreated and spit upon. And after they have scourged
Him, they will kill Him. And on the third day, He will
rise again.” And they understood none of these things. And this
saying was hidden from them. And they did not comprehend the
things that were said. As I indicated, it’s the third of
such prophecies in Luke’s gospel. Jesus was fully aware. He didn’t
immediately let his apostles in on everything that he knew,
however. He didn’t divulge the whole plan to them because he
knew that likely that would only serve to drive them away. If you think I’m exaggerating,
think of when Christ was arrested. The first thing the apostles
did was to flee. Even the one that hung around
denied Christ repeatedly, eventually deserting Christ to go fishing,
as we saw last week. It’s the third of three similar
prophecies by our Lord Jesus that is recorded really in each
of the synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke each record these
identical occasions when Christ made these similar prophecies.
And Christ is giving incrementally this information out to his apostles. The three occasions were these,
we’ve reviewed them in the past. The first occasion simply foretells
the apostles of Christ’s rejection, that he was going to be rejected.
Their master is not going to meet with universal popularity. Recorded there in Luke’s gospel
in chapter nine, the son of man must suffer many things and be
rejected by the elders and the chief priests and scribes and
be killed and raised up on the third day. There was absolutely
no response recorded. The apostles were dumbfounded.
It didn’t make any sense compared to the Messiah that they expected,
that the Jews expected. Everyone was expecting this conquering
hero and to think that he’s not even going to be welcomed in
the synagogue. In the Jewish religious system,
it didn’t make any sense and there was absolutely no response. The second such prophecy takes
place later as he’s passing through Galilee. And here he describes
his betrayal into the hands of men who eventually would put
him to death. Nothing really new, but the mere
repetition of it had to have grasped the apostles attention. He said it this way in Luke,
chapter nine, let these words sink into your ears. For the
Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. And this
time, the prophecy drew a reaction. It got the apostles attention,
they understood at least to a degree what it meant. And it says they
did not understand this statement and it was concealed from them
so that they would not perceive it, and they were afraid to ask
him about the statement. They knew it was something. They
knew it meant something. They knew it was profound. They couldn’t comprehend, they
couldn’t put the pieces of the puzzle together. And on this
third occasion. On the road to Jerusalem, the
passage before us, the one that we’re considering this morning,
this third opportunity that Christ has to prophesy exactly what
is going to become of him when he gets to Jerusalem. This one
tells of his delivery into the power of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish
religious council, the judicious council that would condemn him
and ultimately hand him over to the heathen authorities that
he would be mocked and spit upon and beaten and crucified. Ultimately, Jesus tried repeatedly to let
the apostles in on His eventual fate. From a human standpoint,
they had an inability. From God’s standpoint, He even
beclouded, if you will, to use the old Puritan terms. He clouded
over their minds so that they couldn’t even comprehend all
that Christ was going to face. Jesus adds in this little passage
this morning, and we’ll focus on it in a moment, That these
details have been proclaimed by the prophets for hundreds
of years. And that anyone, any real serious student of Scripture
that was looking at the Messiah knew that it was going to be
a suffering Messiah. Let me set the context for you
just a bit. Turn, if you would, keeping your
finger in Luke, chapter 18, keep your finger there and turn over
to Mark, chapter 10. Mark, chapter 10. There’s some
important details that Mark adds. And as so often, we’ll dip into
some of the other Gospels and pick those up. And I want to
go to Mark chapter 10 to do that, just to set the context, the
tone, if you will, the theme, the mood. Specifically to Mark chapter
10, 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. Now, mind you, none of the prophecy
that we just had privilege of reading was known to them other
than just these cryptic statements that Christ had said some time
ago. But there is a resoluteness to
Christ’s steps, his purpose toward Jerusalem that gripped them. It amazed the apostles and it
struck fear in those that were watching from a distance, the
other disciples. Just like a leader, like George
Washington, who often would ride out in front of his troops, like
a true leader, he would go on in front of them. That’s Christ.
Christ is marching resolutely to Jerusalem to fulfill the very
purpose for which he came. to pay the penalty for sin on
the cross. One records it this way. He was
energetically leading the way back to Jerusalem with a 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, The twelve
were gripped with a sense of amazement. But may I remind you
the context of this very journey. They had just asked Christ, what’s
in it for us? What’s in it for us? If the rich man who didn’t sell
all of his earthly goods and follow you, If He didn’t reap
the benefit and the blessings of a healthy pursuit of Christ,
we have. We’ve sold it all. We walked
away and we are following You. What’s in it for us? And the
immediate context is Jesus doesn’t even chide them for that. But
instead, He turns His face to Jerusalem and says, after telling
them what’s in it for them, That there is earthly blessings and
there is heavenly blessings in serving Christ as we saw last
week. But Jesus silently says, let
me show you what’s in it for me. They were amazed. I get that
the apostles were stunned. They probably were just so convicted
by the moment that all they were concerned with is what’s in it
for me. They never even paused to think of what Christ was going
to endure for their behalf. And what about the fearful crowd
following behind, they were terrified, fearful of the possibilities
that were before them, maybe in following Christ, they were
all going to their doom. Maybe they were all going to
experience the same rude treatment that Christ was going to experience. One pastor characterized this
by saying there are few pictures more striking than this of Christ
going forth to His death. You think immediately, don’t
you, of Isaiah 53. Like a lamb led to his slaughter. Only you know what? Christ is
leading the way. Christ isn’t being dragged here.
There are few pictures more striking than this of Jesus going forth
to His death, walking alone in the path in the deep valley,
while behind Him in awful reverence and mingled anticipations of
dread and hope, their eyes fixed on Him, and with bowed head He
preceded them in all the majesty of sorrow. The disciples walked
behind and dare not disturb His meditations.” That’s our Savior. Our Savior didn’t have to look
into a crystal ball. He knew everything laid out before
him from the moment he came to the earth. And he never paused,
he never flinched, not even once. And this is our Lord Jesus Christ,
step by step with his eyes toward Jerusalem on behalf of you and
I. Amazing. And now, if you would flip back
to Luke. I want to look at the Messiah’s
course and these subtle nuances in the plans for Christ. First
of all, I want to look at the origin of the plans. Whose plans
are they? Where did they come from? Who
cooked up this plot against Christ anyway? During the course of this march
toward Jerusalem, Luke records that he took the twelve aside.
The larger crowd, especially those who really, truly hadn’t
purpose to follow Christ yet. The greater number of the disciples,
Jesus determined, couldn’t handle this information yet. And he
took the twelve aside to instruct them, and he said to them, behold,
we are going up to Jerusalem. And it’s as if he didn’t even
need to say any more to the apostles. They knew. They knew that Jerusalem
was the place where they killed the prophets, killed the messengers. They knew the hostility that
Christ had faced up till now, and they knew it was only going
to get worse in Jerusalem. Matthew even adds the little
detail that he took them aside by themselves. He wanted a private
moment with the twelve. A moment of personal instruction. They knew what Jerusalem meant.
The prophets had died there. No wonder the greatest of all
prophets would die in Jerusalem. It was the very heart of the
nation that was their attitude towards prophets. When somebody
spoke ill of them or spoke judgment on them, they killed them. Jesus would be put to death,
not because of some mob frenzy, but because some predetermined
plan of God that fit perfectly into the hands of the Jewish
nation. They took it and ran with it. Look at the prophecy. We are going up to Jerusalem
and all the things which are written in the prophets about
the Son of Man will be accomplished. Now, that had to give the apostles
cause to shudder. Many of these men, students,
longstanding students in the Word, they knew what it meant.
They knew that the prophets spoke of a suffering servant. And of all the three Gospels
that record this occasion, only Luke picks up this detail. Jesus is saying, Luke records,
that the events that are soon to occur are going to fulfill
prophecies that were written hundreds of years earlier. What
prophecies? There’s dozens and dozens. All
I need to really do is take you to one. Isaiah, chapter 53. Isaiah, chapter 53, even if this
is the only prophecy, It is so direct and so focused
upon Christ as the suffering Savior. That it provides an overwhelming
picture. Of exactly what Christ was going to face, and the apostles
knew it. Who has believed our message
and to whom is the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he grew
up before him like a tender shoot. Like a root out of parched ground,
he has no stately form or majesty that we should be that we should
look upon him nor appearance that we should be attracted to
him. He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows, acquainted
with grief and like one who men hide their face. He was despised. We did not esteem him. Surely
our griefs he himself bore and our sorrows he carried. Yet we
ourselves esteemed him stricken. smitten of God and afflicted.
But he was pierced through for our transgressions. He was crushed
for our iniquities. The chastening for our well-being
fell upon him. And by his scourging, we are
healed. All of us, like sheep, have gone astray. Each of us
has turned to his own way. But the Lord has caused the iniquity
of us all to fall on him. He was oppressed and he was afflicted. Yet he did not open his mouth
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, like a sheep that
is silent before its shearers. So he did not open his mouth.
And there’s so much more. The apostles knew. As soon as
Christ said that he was going to experience all the things
that the prophet said about the son of man. What ominous words. What overwhelming words. More than 80 times in the Gospels,
this term son of man is used and it’s always used of Christ. And that even that little term
indicates our Savior’s humiliation. That he had no permanent residence
here on earth and that he was destined for a life of humiliation
and suffering. It emphasized the fact that the
Son of Man was not going to be this nationalistic, political
Messiah that the Jews expected. He was the man of sorrows that
Isaiah had spoken of. This very path that he was on
would lead to a crown of thorns. Jesus acknowledges in this statement
that these plans that he knew all about. It wasn’t by means
of some espionage. It wasn’t by means of some fortune
teller who let him in on some bad fate that was going to befall
his life. Because these plans came from
the divine. They came from the very hand
of God. Christ knew before he ever came
to earth exactly what was coming. And the prophets foretold it.
The Christ knew it long before the prophets. Those things would be accomplished. A little word just means they
would be brought to an end and all that was written was going
to be fulfilled in Christ. In fact, the interesting thing
is it’s the same exact verb. When Christ finishes his work
on the cross, Preparing to perish, he says, it is finished. Everything is about to be finished.
It’s about to be finished on Christ. Look at the outline of the plans,
the second nuance of the plans for Christ, not only the origin,
but the outline of the plans. Look at verse 32. For he will
be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and mistreated
and spit upon. And after they have scourged
him, they will kill him. And on the third day, he will
rise again. I begin to get the feeling that
the apostles begin to grasp. What really is going to become
of the Messiah, what kind of a Messiah he is, I really believe
that the apostles, at least 11 of them, begin to really get
the picture, grasp with their understanding to a degree what
was laid out before them, that Jesus really is going to die. They don’t understand the full
purpose of it, as we’ll see in a moment, but I get the feeling
that they begin to see the gravity of the situation. Note what Both Matthew and Mark
include very important little details. They say that the Son
of Man is going to be delivered to the chief priests and scribes. The apostles, no doubt, couldn’t
have known the whole unfolding of this, but now they know that
the hostile crowd of the Pharisees and scribes that has been dogging
Jesus’ steps nearly his entire ministry, they know now that
these are going to be at the very heart of this plot to kill
the Son of Man. This wasn’t exactly an event
that the Jews were innocent. Far from it. On the contrary,
they were the driving force. This was their doing. You see,
the Romans didn’t allow the Jews to carry out the death sentence.
They weren’t a court of law unto themselves. They could make these
edicts and and make these charges and they could even find people
guilty. But ultimately, they would have to hand them over.
They’re condemned. To the Romans. The language here in the passage
shows that the Sanhedrin, the highest court of the Jews, is
exactly what was in Christ’s mind. That’s what he was communicating
to them. And that not only would Jesus appear before them, but
those very people, the Sanhedrin, the religious leaders of the
nation. Would condemn him to death. The little verb there
points to the exercise of judicial power, it’s not a lynching, it’s
not just this quick murder that’s going to take place, it’s a it’s
a total breach of the legal system. So they would hand them over
to the Romans. And the Romans, for those who were held to be
guilty, they would punish them and punish them severely. And
most often for those who were to be executed, were crucified. See, the Jews, they had their
preferred methods. They preferred beheading or burning
or stoning. The Romans used perhaps one of
the most cruel of all in crucifixion. Spurgeon characterized this scene
in these terms, he said, they did not leave the sentence of
condemnation to the Romans, but themselves, they passed the sentence
upon their victims, the priests, the scribes. These condemned
the Holy One wasn’t the Romans that condemned him. They could
not put him to death themselves. If they dared, they would have
stoned him and that would have broken the prophecy. They can
condemn him to death that they cannot execute the sentence.
And that, too, is woven into God’s divine plan. Luke continues. This third and
by far the clearest and most detailed prophecy about his plans
says that he was going to be delivered to the Gentiles for
the first time. This detail is expressed to the
apostles. And looking back, we know what
that means, that he was going to ultimately be delivered to
the Gentiles. Perhaps this troubled Jesus followers,
but we’re not really told. They may have come to grips with
the idea that Jesus was going to be killed. But to the Gentiles,
the Romans are going to take custody of him and kill him. They knew that the Roman government’s
means of death was crucifixion, and that thought they couldn’t
probably even bear. That act of crucifixion was so
horrible to the mind of any godly Jew, that the deliverance of
the Messiah into the hands of the Gentiles would have been
almost inconceivable. Inconceivable that God would
do such a thing. While they’re still reeling from
the thought of Jesus in the hands of the cruel Romans, Jesus adds
the thoughts, these details. And they roll so quickly off
Christ’s tongue. But I want to pause. I want to
take us back through the Gospels and see how these things were
so. Jesus says, first of all, that
He would be mocked. Every time at once this word
is used in the Gospels, it is used of the mocking of Christ.
Isn’t that astounding? You think of how much mocking
goes on in the average person’s week. We mock the news, don’t
we? I’ve heard you. You mock the
commercials. We sometimes ingest, sometimes
not ingest, mock others. And you think of all the mocking
that takes place. Certainly, there would be some
more recorded instances in Scripture. But every time, at once, they mocked, of all people, the
Lord Jesus Christ. Luke chapter 23 records, first
of all, that Herod and his soldiers mocked Christ. After they had arrested him,
they brought him before Herod Antipas and they treated him
with contempt and mocking him, dressed him in a gorgeous robe
and sent him back to Pilate. Oh, yeah, you’re a king. That
was their attitude. Once he was before Pilate, Pilate’s
soldiers mocked Jesus. They wove that crown of thorns
and they put it on his head and they dressed him in purple robes
saying, Hail, King of the Jews. So they took turns dressing him
up and then stripping him and beating him. He was mocked by the Roman soldiers,
Matthew’s Gospel records, Matthew chapter 27. The Roman soldiers
mistreated and mocked Jesus When they stripped him, put a scarlet
robe on him, wove a crown of thorns, put it on his head, a
reed in his right hand, and then the audacity of it all, they
knelt before him and mocked him. Hail, King of the Jews. And they
took the reed and beat him on the head. He was mocked even during the
crucifixion. During the crucifixion, Matthew’s gospel records that
Pilate mocked Jesus with the sign on the cross that said,
this is the King of the Jews. The passers by. Who had nothing
to do with this, and may I point out, this was commonplace for
criminals. Where they would walk by and
they would wag their heads at people and they would mock them
in their penalty. And we see this all the time.
You saw it when the Oklahoma City bomber was arrested. People
stood outside the courthouse and they wanted at him. And what justice they couldn’t
deliver with their fists, they delivered with their mouths.
It’s common. And the pastors by it said 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.” The chief priests, the scribes,
the elders, they came to the cross for the explicit purpose
to mock Christ. They said the same thing. He
saved others. He cannot save Himself. The attending Roman soldiers
mocked Christ by offering Him sour wine. Amazingly, even one
of the thieves on the cross near him mocked Christ. Hurling abuse
at him, saying, are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us. Even the last three hours of
his crucifixion, the last moment of his earthly life, Matthew’s
Gospel records that Jesus was mocked. And after he cried out
some, some said, let’s see whether Elijah might come and save him. Mockery. Mockery of the Lord Jesus Christ,
not only that he was mistreated, Jesus says he was to be mistreated
and only Luke speaks of Christ among all the other horrible
things that Jesus experienced being mistreated. And this is
not only verbal abuse, the mocking that we’ve already seen, but
this is physical and it’s the breach of the justice system.
I mean, is there anybody ever that deserved justice than Christ. The word here means to run riot.
It was an outrage, an insult to treat insolently. It speaks
of an exaggerated pride or self-confidence in giving unjust retribution. When Jesus was betrayed and arrested,
he was mistreated, wasn’t he? He was arrested or mistreated
by those who betrayed him. He was mistreated by the arresting
mob. They came with swords and clubs. Jesus’ own disciples mistreated
Christ, as Matthew and Mark record, when they left him and fled. Standing before Annas, the father
of Caiaphas, the high priest, the religious elite mistreated
Jesus repeatedly. As we’ve seen, they further mistreated
Jesus when the chief priest and the whole council kept trying
to obtain a false testimony against Jesus in order that they might
put him to death. They made a mockery of their
own justice system in trying to come up with some false trumped
up charge on Christ. They mistreated him. The high
priest mistreated Jesus by falsely accusing him of blasphemy. for
admitting that he was the son of God. Peter mistreated Jesus
with a threefold denial. The Sanhedrin mistreated Jesus
when they sent him back to the praetorium and the unclean prison,
even though they themselves were unwilling to go in so that they
wouldn’t be defiled. Hypocrites. Pilate mistreated
Jesus by denying him justice. The Jews again mistreated justice
by asking for the release of a criminal. A true criminal. Jesus was mistreated by the cruel
public humiliation of the march to the cross by the ultimate
act of the crucifixion. He was mistreated and degraded
by being crucified with thieves. He was mistreated and degraded
by having his garments divided up between the attending soldiers. Finally, the last act of mistreatment
of Jesus was to pierce his side by thrusting in a spear. Utter
degradation, mistreatment. Not only that, he was spit upon,
Jesus says. He was to be spit upon. Now,
this happened in the NFL years ago, and you thought you would
have thought that somebody declared war. Big, I mean, big to do in
the NFL that so and so got spit in the face. But you know what
the interesting thing about that? It’s one sinner spitting in the
face of another sinner. Not a sinner spitting in the
face of a holy God who had come to earth to save him. The Jewish religious elite degraded
Christ by spitting in his face and they beat him with their
fists. And they scourged him. He was
going to be scourged. It’s one thing to be slapped.
dishonoring. It foretold really, when you
began to be struck, it foretold of the treatment that you were
going to be received. By that point, you pretty much knew that
you were a goner. They’re going to beat you and slap you. They
have already judged you and you are already condemned. But the
scourge was quite another matter. The scourge was an instrument
of torture. Made of leather straps with slivers
of bones so that every time those straps hit, they would tear the
flesh. Somebody said that it was more
cruel even than the grave. And the amazing thing is Jesus
knows it’s coming. He knows it’s all coming, he
knows the spitting is coming, he knows the beating is coming. He knows the mistreatment. He
knows the mockery is coming. And still he steps towards Jerusalem. Look at how they beat our Lord.
The second Jewish phase where he was before Caiaphas and the
Sanhedrin. Mark records this mistreatment
when he says the so-called religious elite began to blindfold him
and beat him with their fists, saying, prophesy. The officers received him with
slaps in the face. At the moment of Peter’s denials,
the men who were holding Jesus in custody mistreated him by
mocking him and beating him. Standing before Pilate, the Roman
government mistreated Jesus, as John records Pilate saying
that he took Jesus and scourged him, and I take that to mean
he beat him himself. Finally, Jesus says they will
kill him. They will kill the Son of Man. Jesus knew what he was going
to. He knew that he had come to die. This was his purpose. It’s a new element of definiteness
in the prophecy that’s given. And it almost carries with us
what Matthew clearly points out. Matthew distinctly expresses
that the mode of death is going to be crucifixion. We already
know that the Sanhedrin is going to judge him and they’re going
to hand him over the Gentiles and the Gentiles are going to
carry out the execution. And if the Romans are sitting
at the top of the heap. Then crucifixion is the likely
form of punishment. Crucifixion was the most widely
used means of the Romans inflicting the death penalty was never used
for merely punishment. The Jews officially accepted
burning, stoning, strangling, beheading. Those were better
methods to the Jews. But under the Roman authority,
they were not permitted to put to death anybody. Jesus words indicate that it’s
the Romans who will be as executioners and it’s crucifixion that will
be the means. The apostles, just like you and
I, as we review these details. The apostles had to be stunned.
By the previous elements of Christ’s message so much that they maybe
even miss the intend, the intended hope that Jesus was conveying
to them. This is this is all part of the
predetermined plan of God. And Jesus is going resolutely,
he’s not going to turn back, he’s not going to back down,
he is going to the cross for them. And if the other details were
probably obscure or difficult to understand, this element of
Christ’s revelation must have completely escaped them. They
just didn’t get it. They may have been focused on
those horrible predictions, mocked and mistreated and spit upon.
But their minds almost completely missed crucifixion. And so Jesus
adds. to underscore that he will really
and truly be put to death, that on the third day, he’s going
to rise again. It’s not over. What hope if they really grasp
the gravity of the moment, they really grasp part of the truth
of what he was communicating to them. The fact that he was
going to rise on the third day is what it’s all about. But he
was who he said he was, that he was the Messiah. While the prediction of his death
might have shaken the disciples’ faith, the prediction of his
rising again was meant to establish that faith. One Puritan said it this way,
you may think as much as you ever will of Calvary and let
your tears flow like rivers. But after all, you must wipe
those tears away for he is not in the grave. He rose again on
the third day. It’s a glorious truth that Christ
communicated to them. A glorious truth. The third nuance in the plans
for Christ, not only the origin of the plans and the outline
of the plans, but look at the obscurity of the plans. This
is the third such prophecy and the third unfolding. And there
certainly was some degree of understanding of these things
and an unfolding understanding of them. But in total. The apostles simply weren’t able
to put things together, they simply did not get it. Look at
verse thirty four. Several times we’ve been informed
by the other gospels, Matthew and Mark. about detail not included
by Luke, but this passage is only recorded by Luke. Look at
verse 34, where it says they, the apostles, understood none
of these things. Certainly, let’s be Let’s be
plain about this. They certainly understand what
mocking is. They understand what beating is. They understand some
of those things. It’s not like he was speaking
a foreign language, but they didn’t. They couldn’t put it
all together. They couldn’t see how it all fit. Into the divine
plan for the Messiah. They understood none of these
things, the same was hidden from them, and they did not comprehend
the things that were said. And the first question comes
to my mind, then why say them? Because after after those things
took place and after the resurrection, then their faith was going to
be buoyed. And galvanized like never before. These men were filled with amazement
and anxiety. But they were, in the final analysis,
totally bewildered, not able to even digest the words that
Christ said. One commentator suggested that
maybe they even took these statements as figurative, like parables,
like Jesus was so used to telling parables, maybe he’s telling
a parable about what’s going to happen in Jerusalem. Wasn’t the only thing they didn’t
understand. Luke 943 earlier said the first
time that Jesus told them about God’s plan, they did not understand
it was concealed from them. They could not perceive it. They
were afraid to ask him about it. They knew it meant something,
but they didn’t want to go there. John, Chapter 20, after Jesus
was raised, it still didn’t register with Peter and John. Even in
the face of an empty tomb, remember. As they did not understand the
scripture, that he must rise again. They didn’t understand
immediately, but they would. They would understand in time.
Mary Magdalene, Joanna, the mother of James and others, they all
met at Jesus tomb. And in Luke chapter 24, it records
that the angel said he is not here, but he has risen. Remember
how he spoke to you while he was still in Galilee. That’s
the purpose of these statements. Remember how he spoke to you
while he was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must
be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified the
third day and rise again. And they remembered his words. They began to get a grasp, looking
back of all that Jesus communicated to them. The gospel writers came to understand
what the prophets had foretold for centuries. Not just about
Jesus’ death, but about his life and his mission. Matthew noted Zechariah 9.5,
the moment that some thought Jesus needed some kind of transportation. This took place to fulfill what
was spoken through the prophet saying to the daughter of Zion,
behold, your king is coming to you gentle and mounted on a donkey,
even on a colt, the fall of the beast of a burden. The apostles began to put things
together. They began to look back on Christ’s
words and to really grasp. That he was indeed the Messiah.
And overwhelming it came to them that he would be numbered, as
Isaiah 53 said, with transgressors. that after his garments were
divided, John records, they divided my outer garments among them
and my clothing, they cast lots. Psalm 22.18 It wasn’t just that
they were looking back into Scripture and saying, oh, well, that fits.
I’ll use that. Their eyes were opened anew to
the Word of God. And they saw and they believed
Christ all the more to be the very Son of God. The apostles learned. The apostles
knew. They knew who Christ was. As one Puritan said, they knew.
They knew that he should rise again on the third day and it
would be all over a few hours of bitter grief, a night of bloody
sweat, a night of mourning, a night and a morning of mockery, a direful
afternoon of deadly 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 upon mankind. The son of righteousness would
arise with healing in his wings, if our Lord recorded, if our
Lord’s record ended at the cross, it should drive us to despair. But he’s declared to be the son
of God with power by his resurrection from the dead. That he was raised
from the dead makes us see the merit of 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. Now, you know what? Looking forward. We can look
into Scripture and we can see the whole plan. We can look back
over our shoulders and see the whole plan that the apostles
were so obscured to understand. And if it brought them joy, how
much more joy should it bring us? Those final words that he
will rise again and he has risen. What a great Easter message,
but it’s a it’s an Easter message year round. That the Lord Jesus
Christ not only suffered those things, but he enjoyed. By God’s
hand, the resurrection from the dead. Let’s rejoice before him
in prayer. Gracious God. We humble ourselves
before you, and indeed, we exalt in our hearts. Of your resoluteness
as you purpose toward the cross, knowing everything that you would
endure. And you did so for us. You paid
the horrible penalty on that evil cross. For the salvation
of souls. And Lord, we humble ourselves
in unspeakable gratitude. That you included us. We thank you and we praise you.
We ask your blessing as we seek and purpose to live unto Christ
this week. Grant us that grace, Father,
in Jesus name. Amen.