Securing A Crucifixion – Part 2
Luke 19:28-48 (41-48)
June 14, 2020
Last time we met we started looking at
This monumental couple of days in the life of Jesus.
What we immediately noticed is how peculiar all of these events where.
• We have Jesus, for the first time in His ministry, not only allowing a public Messianic announcement, but actually instigating it.
• We have a crowd commending Jesus publicly, and Jesus in turn condemning the crowd.
• We have an expectation that Jesus is the King of Israel and an expectation that He will attack Rome, and yet the only place He attacks is the temple.
• We have Jesus announcing that truth has been hidden from the eyes of the Jews and yet He starts teaching daily in the temple.
They are peculiar events,
Like nothing we have seen in the ministry of Jesus ever before.
When we wonder why these things are occurring the truth becomes clear to us that Jesus is securing His crucifixion.
• Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah must die for the sins of the people.
• Daniel prophesied that it must occur at a specific time.
Jesus is here to make sure both of those prophecies come true.
In order to secure that crucifixion,
He has chosen to publicly fulfill the most “in your face”
Prophetic fulfillment that He could have done.
Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
Jesus fulfilled that specific prophesy while the massive crowd around Him
Quoted that infamous Messianic Psalms 118.
JESUS IN EFFECT IS FORCING THEIR HAND.
Now IT’S NOT that the Jewish leaders didn’t already want to kill Him.
They certainly did. The resurrection of Lazarus sealed that.
John 11:47-53 “Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council, and were saying, “What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs. “If we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all, nor do you take into account that it is expedient for you that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish.” Now he did not say this on his own initiative, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but in order that He might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. So from that day on they planned together to kill Him.”
The death plot had already been formed.
However, THE TIMING was still up for debate.
Specifically they DID NOT want to kill Jesus during the Passover.
Matthew 26:3-5 “Then the chief priests and the elders of the people were gathered together in the court of the high priest, named Caiaphas; and they plotted together to seize Jesus by stealth and kill Him. But they were saying, “Not during the festival, otherwise a riot might occur among the people.”
The problem was that this was the divine timetable.
• Daniel prophesied that this is precisely when He would be killed.
• Jesus was God’s Passover Lamb.
So the events that Jesus would orchestrate on these next few days
Would be of such audacity that the Jews would have no choice.
They would either have to bow to Him or kill Him,
But they would not be able to delay their plans any longer.
Jesus forced an immediate decision.
And we started looking at this last week.
5 events, we saw the first 2
#1 THE SUBMISSIVE WILL OF JESUS
Luke 19:28-34
We simply saw yet again that even though Jesus was the only One in the caravan who knew what was coming in Jerusalem He is still leading the pack to get there.
And not only that, but He instigated perhaps the most offensive scene He could have instigated by purposely riding that donkey’s colt into Jerusalem.
#2 THE SHALLOW WORSHIP OF JESUS
Luke 19:35-38
• It was worship.
• It was exaltation.
• It was a coronation.
But how shallow it all was, for in just 4 days
This same crowd would be calling for the death of Jesus before Pilate.
It is the most nauseating scene of hypocritical worship in the Bible
• It forever stands as a warning to everyone who participates in organized religion
• To make sure that their worship of Jesus is more genuine than just a routine following of the crowd.
• This crowd was a living fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy that “this people honors Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.”
And we certainly felt the need to examine our own hearts
To make sure that we do not fall into that category.
But, the MAIN POINT that we saw from all of this is that
Jesus began to get the reaction that was necessary.
The Pharisees could not believe what they were seeing.
(39-40) “Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” But Jesus answered, “I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!”
• The event had produced its intended effect.
• The line had been drawn.
• What Jesus did could not be ignored.
• And the Pharisees demanded that Jesus rebuke His disciples and call off
the parade.
Jesus, however, revealed to the Pharisees that
This is the worst possible thing that could happen.
If the people of Israel fail to honor Jesus as King
Then the next testimony they will receive is the testimony of the stones.
Specifically Jesus would speak of the coming destruction of Jerusalem in which “they will not leave in you one stone upon another”
The effect of failing to worship the King would be the fall of the nation.
IN SHORT, THE BATTLE LINES WERE DRAWN.
• Jesus entered the city with full outward and public display of His total authority.
• He was claiming to be King.
• He is about to turn their systematic religion on its head.
• He is about to declare His gospel in the temple.
The Pharisees want Him to stop, and He definitively said, “No”.
The battle lines are drawn.
Jesus is securing a crucifixion.
This morning we move forward
The Submissive Will of Jesus, the Shallow Worship of Jesus
#3 THE SEVERE WEEPING OF JESUS
Luke 19:39-44
We actually introduced this one last week
So that we could explain what Jesus meant about the stones crying out.
But what we see here is another one of those unexpected moments
That must have shocked the crowd.
• Jesus had stopped at Bethphage and Bethany on the backside of the Mount of Olives and had secured that donkey’s colt to ride.
• The crowd was at a fever pitch level quoting Psalms 118 as he crested the top of the mountain and began His descent into Jerusalem.
But I don’t think there is any way that the crowd could have expected
The response that Jesus would have when He overlooked the city.
For no sooner does this crowd COMMEND Jesus,
Than does Jesus turn and CONDEMN the crowd.
(41) “When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it,”
“wept” there is KLAIO
It is the strongest word for weeping in the Greek language.
It is to double over and heave and sob in grief.
• It is the word used for Peter’s weeping after He denied Jesus.
• It is the word used when Jairus’s daughter died.
• It is the word used for the weeping of the widow at the funeral of her only son.
• It is the word used for the weeping of Mary over the death of Lazarus.
THE POINT IS that Jesus doesn’t just sigh and get teary-eyed
As He overlooks Jerusalem.
He doesn’t just let a tear run down His cheek.
HE SOBS BITTERLY
IT WAS RECOGNIZABLE,
And to this crowd it must have seemed totally misplaced.
This was in their minds a joyous occasion.
Why was He all of a sudden weeping so out of control?
(42-44) “saying, “If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. “For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side, and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”
Jesus is weeping because He knows what is coming.
• He knows this worship is fake.
• He knows His rejection is coming.
• He knows that by rejecting Him Israel is bringing judgment upon herself.
The people will quit worshiping and the stones will cry out.
And though this is a tragic scene, how comforting is it to us to see
That our Lord’s initial response to the judgment of His people
Is not personal fulfillment or happiness or satisfaction.
The Lord’s initial response to this judgment is intense sorrow and grief.
Ezekiel 33:11 “Say to them, ‘ As I live!’ declares the Lord GOD, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?’”
That is certainly true of Christ.
• He does not relish the death of sinners.
• He does not enjoy the judgment of the wicked.
Will He do it? Yes
But there is no pleasure there in it for Him.
And He even explains His weeping to the crowd.
We clearly see His lament.
• These people were singing about “Peace in heaven”
• Jesus reveals to them that they didn’t have a clue what they were talking about.
What was the problem?
It was this:
Israel was at enmity with God and they didn’t even know it.
It is basic Christian doctrine and yet it is of the utmost importance.
Apart from Jesus Christ, there is NO PEACE WITH GOD.
Man is sinful (all men) and God is holy.
The Old Testament prophets clearly articulated it:
Isaiah 48:22 “There is no peace for the wicked,” says the LORD.”
It is a foolish notion for any many to assume that
There is peace with God based upon His own works or merit.
There has only ever been one avenue to peace with God,
And that is through Jesus Christ
Who negotiated that peace
Through the offering of His own righteous life to God.
He lived holy, God accepted His holy life.
Christ offered it to God as a sacrifice on our behalf.
Wicked men obtain peace, when they place their faith in what He did.
Romans 5:1 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”
ISRAEL WAS IN TROUBLE BECAUSE
They were about to reject the only One who could bring that peace.
They sang about peace in heaven,
But had no clue how that peace was going to be obtained.
What they needed was to submit to and trust in God’s Messiah.
They needed to repent of their sin and run to Jesus for salvation and forgiveness.
BUT THEY REFUSED.
And Jesus says, because they WOULD NOT believe,
Now they COULD NOT believe.
“But now they have been hidden from your eyes.”
John 12:35-40 “So Jesus said to them, “For a little while longer the Light is among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes. “While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light.” These things Jesus spoke, and He went away and hid Himself from them. But though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him. This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet which he spoke: “LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT? AND TO WHOM HAS THE ARM OF THE LORD BEEN REVEALED?” For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, “HE HAS BLINDED THEIR EYES AND HE HARDENED THEIR HEART, SO THAT THEY WOULD NOT SEE WITH THEIR EYES AND PERCEIVE WITH THEIR HEART, AND BE CONVERTED AND I HEAL THEM.”
Do you understand this?
• The revelation of God is a gift.
• The knowledge of salvation is a gift.
• The call to repentance and faith is a gift.
It is not your inherent right.
God doesn’t owe that to you, He graciously offers it.
Here we clearly see that when a man rejects the offer of salvation
That there are times when God then hardens that individual
And makes them unable to ever receive it.
In fact, Jesus said that
God was about to do that very thing to the nation of Israel.
God was about to hide the truth from them.
TURN TO: ROMANS 9:30-33
• Paul there laments the refusal of Israel to accept Jesus.
• He came to impute righteousness to them by faith.
• They wanted no part of Jesus, they sought to earn it themselves.
• They failed and ultimately stumbled over Jesus.
TURN TO: ROMANS 10:18-21
• Paul reminds that the problem on Israel’s part wasn’t ignorance.
• The gospel was preached to them repeatedly.
What was the problem?
• They were stubborn!
• They didn’t want to submit to this Christ who could save them.
• They didn’t want to call on the name of Jesus.
TURN TO: ROMANS 11:7-10
What does Paul say God did?
• First, He chose to save a remnant anyway (a small portion of believing Jews)
• But the rest He hardened.
“God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes to see not and ears to hear not, down to this very day.”
Do you understand the responsibility of hearing the gospel?
When God, in His grace, sovereignly chooses to open your eyes
To understand a proclamation of the gospel that is not a suggestion.
• “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” is not a suggestion.
• “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ” is not a suggestion.
• “Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Me” is not a suggestion.
This is the divine command of God.
And if reject that command, not only will you be judged eternally,
But every time you reject you run the risk
Of being hardened and never being allowed to hear it again.
THIS IS SERIOUS.
Do you want to see what Israel being broken off looked like in the New Testament?
Acts 13:45-46 “But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began contradicting the things spoken by Paul, and were blaspheming. Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles.”
Acts 18:5-6 “But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul began devoting himself completely to the word, solemnly testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. But when they resisted and blasphemed, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”
Acts 19:8-9 “And he entered the synagogue and continued speaking out boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. But when some were becoming hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of the Way before the people, he withdrew from them and took away the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus.”
Acts 28:23-29 “When they had set a day for Paul, they came to him at his lodging in large numbers; and he was explaining to them by solemnly testifying about the kingdom of God and trying to persuade them concerning Jesus, from both the Law of Moses and from the Prophets, from morning until evening. Some were being persuaded by the things spoken, but others would not believe. And when they did not agree with one another, they began leaving after Paul had spoken one parting word, “The Holy Spirit rightly spoke through Isaiah the prophet to your fathers, saying, ‘GO TO THIS PEOPLE AND SAY, “YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING,BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND; AND YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE; FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL, AND WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR, AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES; OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT SEE WITH THEIR EYES, AND HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN, AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.”‘ “Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will also listen.”
Do you see the tragedy there?
Do you see the danger in not listening to the truth?
God may make it to where you never hear it or understand it again.
If God has convicted your heart and called you to deny yourself
And trust in Christ, DO IT!
Hebrews 3:7-11 “Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, “TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS AS WHEN THEY PROVOKED ME, AS IN THE DAY OF TRIAL IN THE WILDERNESS, WHERE YOUR FATHERS TRIED Me BY TESTING Me, AND SAW MY WORKS FOR FORTY YEARS. “THEREFORE I WAS ANGRY WITH THIS GENERATION, AND SAID, ‘THEY ALWAYS GO ASTRAY IN THEIR HEART, AND THEY DID NOT KNOW MY WAYS’; AS I SWORE IN MY WRATH, ‘THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST.'”
It is the greatest of tragedies
• To be given the truth of the gospel
• To be called to salvation
• Then to reject it
• And for God to determine to never let you hear it again.
That is to secure and sure and certain judgment.
Don’t reject Him when He calls.
ISRAEL DID.
At the end of verse 44 Jesus says it was “because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”
God came near and they didn’t listen.
And what was the repercussion of such rebellion?
(43-44) “For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side, and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”
Ultimately it will be the testimony of the stones crying out.
There will come a horrific temporal judgment
In which the city of Jerusalem will be destroyed.
This, by the way, was fulfilled in AD 70.
• In AD 66 a Roman procurator named Cessius Flores raided the Jewish temple and stole the silver.
• Jewish animosity obviously grew and to answer it, Flores sent troops into Jerusalem and slaughtered 3,600 Jews.
• This started a Jewish revolt.
• The Jews attacked the Roman stronghold Masada just overlooking the Dead Sea and actually took the fort.
• The revolt ultimately spread throughout Judea and Galilee as zealots sought to kill Roman soldiers.
• There were several battles and even some Jewish victories.
• Ultimately in AD 70 the emperor’s son Titus surrounded Jerusalem and breached its walls.
• He killed thousands, looted the temple relics, burned the temple, sent thousands of Jews to work in Egyptian mines, and sent many more to be agents of death in the arena.
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/jewishtemple.htm
https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/issues/issue-28/ad-70-titus-destroys-jerusalem.html
What Jesus spoke of came to pass.
The Romans threw a barricade against them, surrounded them, hemmed them in, leveled them, killed their children, and obliterated their temple.
It was the first of many tragic reminders that
ISRAEL WAS NOT AT PEACE WITH GOD.
Over the centuries many more events would prove Israel’s lack of peace.
• Including things like Hitler’s Holocaust which killed around 11 million Jews.
• Stalin’s Holocaust which killed around 2 to 3 million more.
• And things like the ongoing Palestinian and Israeli conflicts.
Israel has continued to suffer the harsh reality that
They are not at peace with God.
WHY?
“because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”
And THE REAL TRAGEDY is that
This suffering on earth is the best part of it.
For Jesus was extremely clear when He said:
John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
And Peter reiterated that later to the Jews in Acts 4
Acts 4:12 “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”
Which indicates that not only have Jews suffered
Enormous temporal judgment for their rejection of Christ,
But also spend eternity in hell for rejecting Him.
It is why Jesus warned them:
Luke 13:25-28 “Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘ Lord, open up to us!’ then He will answer and say to you, ‘ I do not know where you are from.’ “Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets’; and He will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you are from; DEPART FROM ME, ALL YOU EVILDOERS.’ “In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves being thrown out.”
It has been and continues to be a horrific reality.
Refusing to submit to Christ is the worst decision Israel ever made.
And Christ, looking ahead at it
Wept over it bitterly and then announced it to this crowd.
But the announcement was NOT primarily evangelistic in its intent.
Rather, Jesus announced it here
As yet another way to secure His own crucifixion.
By the time He entered the city, He was ALIENATING HIMSELF, even from those who were marching with Him in the parade.
• He was not here to win popularity.
• He was not here to enjoy the feast.
• He was here to fulfill the plan of God to die on a cross and He is securing that
plan.
• He has drawn the line in the sand with the religious elite by entering on this
donkey’s colt.
• He has severed ties with the crowd that was applauding Him by announcing
their coming condemnation.
Jesus is moving to the cross.
And He is not finished yet.
Submissive Will of Jesus, Shallow Worship of Jesus, Severe Weeping of Jesus
#4 THE SOVEREIGN WRATH OF JESUS
Luke 19:45-46
Luke doesn’t spend much time on this event,
Because his main thrust to be made is simply that
JESUS IS CHALLENGING EVERY FACET OF JEWISH LIFE.
He is dropping the gauntlet at every turn.
If you want the FULL LAYOUT, it’s best to read Mark’s gospel.
Mark 11:11-18 “Jesus entered Jerusalem and came into the temple; and after looking around at everything, He left for Bethany with the twelve, since it was already late. On the next day, when they had left Bethany, He became hungry. Seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if perhaps He would find anything on it; and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And His disciples were listening. Then they came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple and began to drive out those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves; and He would not permit anyone to carry merchandise through the temple. And He began to teach and say to them, “Is it not written, ‘MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER FOR ALL THE NATIONS’? But you have made it a ROBBERS’DEN.” The chief priests and the scribes heard this, and began seeking how to destroy Him; for they were afraid of Him, for the whole crowd was astonished at His teaching.”
• So now we find out that He entered the city and entered the temple, but didn’t do anything.
• Instead, He went back over the top of the Mountain to Bethany.
• There Jesus purposely marked what He was about to do.
• On the way back He cursed a fig tree for its hypocritical fruitlessness.
• And then He entered the temple declared war.
Certainly we know why.
• It was called the “Bizarre of Anas”
• It was a corrupt scheme to make money off of the sacrifices coming in for Passover.
• John’s gospel added that “zeal for Your house has consumed Me”.
• Securing a crucifixion clearly wasn’t the only reason for this, it needed to be done.
So Jesus started driving people out.
(46) “saying to them, “It is written, ‘And My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a robber’s den.”
It is a reference of both Isaiah 56:7 (house of prayer) and Jeremiah 7:11 when Jeremiah told them that they were using the temple as a hide out for thieves.
Jesus cleared out that place.
• He wrecked the commerce of the temple.
• He exposed the hypocrisy.
But the real focus here is also the way He did it.
In a way that almost seems uncharacteristic of Jesus, He became hostile.
AND THIS WAS INTENTIONAL.
It was meant not just to correct the corruption of the temple,
But to do it in such a way as to incite His enemies.
• Can you see that He is giving them no choice?
• Can you see that He is securing a crucifixion?
Now, we might certainly think that surely this is enough.
I mean, Jesus has basically offended everyone left to offend.
• He’s offended the Pharisees with that triumphal entry.
• He’s offended the phony worshipers with that condemning sermon.
• He’s offended the Chief Priests by clearing out the temple.
You’d think that would be enough.
And yet that’s not all.
#5 THE SOLEMN WITNESS OF JESUS
Luke 19:47-48
Now in one sense this is perfect.
• For the first time we have the Son of God sitting in control of the temple.
• In one sense this is absolutely fitting.
But the point here is that
JESUS IS NOT STOPPING UNTIL HIS ENEMIES DO SOMETHING.
Pay attention to what Jesus has already said back in verse 42.
“If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they HAVE BEEN hidden from your eyes.”
Jesus just announced the day before that
God was not granting them the ability to see the truth any longer.
So we might assume that Jesus would be done preaching and teaching.
And yet, we find here that this isn’t the case at all.
“And He was teaching daily in the temple;”
In fact:
Luke 20:1 “On one of the days while He was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders confronted Him,”
JESUS WAS PREACHING THE GOSPEL.
That is to say He was preaching the message of repentance
And faith in Him for salvation from the wrath of God.
And do you notice the effect that His preaching was having?
“the chief priests and the scribes and the leading men among the people were trying to destroy Him, and they could not find anything that they might do, for all the people were hanging on to every word He said.”
Do you see what Jesus is doing?
• In one sense He is rubbing salt in the wound.
• He has cleared out their temple.
• And just keeps on preaching truth that is infuriating the religious elite.
In Luke 20 you’re going to see Him get into some fierce debates with these religious leaders and He is going to utterly humiliate them.
AND AGAIN I ASK YOU WHY?
For one reason He has to die here and now right?
We saw it last week, Daniel prophesied it.
But let me remind you of something else.
• Isaiah told us He had to die.
• Daniel told us when He had to die.
• I also remind you that David told us how He had to die.
Psalms 22:16-18 “For dogs have surrounded me; A band of evildoers has encompassed me; They pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones. They look, they stare at me; They divide my garments among them, And for my clothing they cast lots.”
Jesus has to die by crucifixion.
Remember:
Luke 18:31-33 “Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things which are written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. “For He will be handed over to the Gentiles, and will be mocked and mistreated and spit upon, and after they have scourged Him, they will kill Him; and the third day He will rise again.”
At this point, in order to fulfill the prophesy,
Jesus is up against two major hurdles.
1. The Jews were not permitted to kill anyone.
2. If they were to kill someone it would have been by stoning.
Jesus has to push these religious leaders to such a point of desperation that they are actually willing to take sides
With the very enemies they wanted Jesus to overthrow.
To fulfill the prophesy,
• These Jews are going to have to actually appeal to the Romans to ask them to kill Jesus by their means of crucifixion
• And they are going to have to ask the Romans to do it in the middle of their own holy Passover.
• It will require illegal trials…
• It will require illegal maneuvering…
• It will require shaking hands with the Roman government…
The Jews are going to have to cross so many of their own lines
In order to do this the way the prophets have spoken
That it seems impossible that all of those prophecies would be fulfilled.
It is almost impossible that Jesus would be crucified during this Passover
But Jesus is committed to the plan of God.
Jesus is committed to laying down His life for sinners.
And Jesus is doing everything necessary to secure His own crucifixion.
I hope you see what a tremendous act of love this was on His part.
Jesus came to die, and He will not run from His task.
Love Jesus for this!
Praise Jesus for this!
Thank Jesus for His commitment to buying your pardon!
And today, if you have never left your sin and trusted in Jesus,
Then don’t make the mistake of Israel.
Today, if He is calling you, then answer!
• Respond to Him.
• Repent of your sin.
• Believe in His righteousness.
• Confess Him as Lord.
• Call on Him for salvation.
For there is no doubt that
There has never been a Savior so committed as Him.
