For Those Who Stay
Luke 22:28-30
November 15, 2020
As you know, we are currently in the upper room
With Jesus and His disciples.
• Since Jesus was aware of Judas’ plot to betray Him, Jesus gave cryptic instructions to Peter and John regarding how to find this room.
• When they took the Passover, it was during supper that Jesus first washed the disciple’s feet.
• He said it was an example of the service that they should have for one another.
And then Jesus said:
John 13:17-21 “If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. “I do not speak of all of you. I know the ones I have chosen; but it is that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘HE WHO EATS MY BREAD HAS LIFTED UP HIS HEEL AGAINST ME.’ “From now on I am telling you before it comes to pass, so that when it does occur, you may believe that I am He. “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.” When Jesus had said this, He became troubled in spirit, and testified and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, that one of you will betray Me.”
It is the same thing we saw last week in Luke’s gospel.
Luke 22:21-22 “But behold, the hand of the one betraying Me is with Mine on the table. “For indeed, the Son of Man is going as it has been determined; but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!”
• And after this announcement you know that it set off first a discussion as to who this might be, and finally a dispute as to which of them was the greatest.
And Jesus spoke up to that dispute by reminding the disciples again
That as Christians we don’t use service as a means of obtaining power.
Rather, we use leadership as an avenue to serve others.
With Jesus as our example, we humble ourselves,
Put our brothers before ourselves,
And give up our lives for our brethren.
And as we said last week, it seems that Luke included the story
(Which was omitted by other gospel writers)
Because it demonstrates for us THE GREATNESS OF JESUS.
There was never another like Jesus who was ranked so high,
But who stooped so low to serve others.
• He gave up His glory to become human…
• He gave up His freedom to fulfill all righteousness…
• He gave up His dignity to serve others…
• He gave up His life to save us all…
THERE IS NONE GREAT LIKE JESUS.
But after that interjection in the story
This morning we come back to the flow of the conversation.
• Jesus just outed the traitor.
• Jesus just said one of His own will turn on Him
• And Jesus pronounced “woe” on that man.
It is that same “woe” that He pronounced on the Pharisees earlier this week.
That OUI in the Greek.
Mark 14:21 “For the Son of Man is to go just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.”
Better to have been miscarried in the womb
And to have never seen the light of day
Than to have been born to such a heinous sin.
Consider the prophet Jeremiah for a moment.
He was hated and despised and persecuted
And ignored as a prophet in Jerusalem.
Because his life was so hard, he said:
Jeremiah 20:14-18 “Cursed be the day when I was born; Let the day not be blessed when my mother bore me! Cursed be the man who brought the news To my father, saying, “A baby boy has been born to you!” And made him very happy. But let that man be like the cities Which the LORD overthrew without relenting, And let him hear an outcry in the morning And a shout of alarm at noon; Because he did not kill me before birth, So that my mother would have been my grave, And her womb ever pregnant. Why did I ever come forth from the womb To look on trouble and sorrow, So that my days have been spent in shame?”
Because of his affliction Job said:
Job 3:3-4 “Let the day perish on which I was to be born, And the night which said, ‘A boy is conceived.’ “May that day be darkness; Let not God above care for it, Nor light shine on it.”
And you likely understand why they had such thoughts.
Both of those men suffered greatly.
And yet, while they lamented the day of their birth, God never did.
GOD NEVER AGREED WITH EITHER OF THEIR ASSESSMENTS.
Their suffering was bad, certainly,
But God upheld that both of those men had a purpose in life
And that it would be worth it in the end.
And yet, such was NOT THE CASE for Judas.
Of that man Jesus Himself said, “It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.”
When the omniscient, eternal Son of God looks into your future
And declares that a miscarriage would have been better for you,
You can rest assured that your destiny is bad.
Such was the penalty for the apostasy of Judas.
When the writer of Hebrews says:
Hebrews 10:29-31 “How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY.” And again, “THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE.” It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
Such was the penalty for the apostasy of Judas.
• Judas trampled Christ underfoot
• He regarded the blood of the covenant as unclean
• He insulted the Spirit of Grace.
• And Judas ultimately fell into the hands of the living God.
“woe to that man by whom [Jesus] is betrayed.”
Now, that was the announcement.
That was the pertinent news of the moment.
Granted, it turned into a defense argument and ultimately a dispute about greatness which Jesus had to correct,
But the conversation started with Jesus announcing a traitor
And pronouncing woe upon him.
Now, Luke doesn’t mention it,
But it is helpful to understand that it was during this debate and dispute
That Jesus also released Judas to go fulfill his plan.
Remember that it was during all those discussions that Peter motioned to John and told John to ask Jesus who it was.
John 13:26-30 “Jesus then answered, “That is the one for whom I shall dip the morsel and give it to him.” So when He had dipped the morsel, He took and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. After the morsel, Satan then entered into him. Therefore Jesus said to him, “What you do, do quickly.” Now no one of those reclining at the table knew for what purpose He had said this to him. For some were supposing, because Judas had the money box, that Jesus was saying to him, “Buy the things we have need of for the feast”; or else, that he should give something to the poor. So after receiving the morsel he went out immediately; and it was night.”
• That also helps you understand why the disciples were a little clueless regarding Judas.
• They were busy in their argument about greatness and so they didn’t notice all that was happening and they weren’t sure why Judas left.
I bring that up so that you’ll see where we are in the setting of the night.
1. The Passover has been eaten…
2. Jesus has washed their feet…
3. Jesus has explained the Passover as pointing to His sacrifice…
4. Jesus announced that one of them was a traitor…
5. The disciples started arguing about who it was and who was the greatest…
6. In that confusion Jesus confronted Judas and sent him out…
7. Jesus then corrected the backward thinking of the disciples regarding their argument…
SO HERE WE ARE IN THE ROOM.
And Jesus is now going to continue with the point He was making
Before the dispute and argument broke out.
He announced a traitor and pronounced judgment on him.
BUT THAT WAS ONLY HALF OF THE MESSAGE.
It’s just that He was interrupted.
Here is the other half of the message.
(28-30) “You are those who have stood by Me in My trials; and just as My Father has granted Me a kingdom, I grant you that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”
When you put those two together
It becomes clear what Jesus was proclaiming around the table.
• Those who betray the Son of Man and depart from Him are cursed.
• Those who stand with the Son of Man are rewarded.
And now that Judas was gone
Jesus could clarify that reward to the remaining 11.
So let’s take a few minutes and look at these 3 verses in Luke’s gospel
As they are of great encouragement to us.
3 things here
#1 THE REALITY
Luke 22:28
“You are those who have stood by Me in My trials;”
In direct contrast to Judas,
Who has now left the room to carry out his Satanic agenda,
Jesus now shows heartfelt gratitude to the remaining 11.
Now I realize that to some degree
Such a statement can cause you to be a little skeptic.
After all,
• Before this night is over all 11 of these disciples are going to flee.
• Before the rooster crows in the morning, Peter will have denied 3 times.
And certainly Jesus knows that, in fact He’s about to announce it.
But knowing that about the disciples
It can cause us to wonder a little by as to
Why Jesus would here commend them for their endurance.
I’d prefer to stop and thank God
That He knows the difference between stumbling and totally falling away.
It is true that every one of these disciples is about to stumble.
But don’t confuse their weakness with Judas’ apostasy.
They will all stumble, and to some degree they will all fall,
But none of them will fall FINALLY and none of them will fall FATALLY.
They’re all coming back…Judas never did.
THERE’S A BIG DIFFERENCE THERE.
And I’m thankful
That when Jesus covered all our sin, it wasn’t just the sin in the past,
But even the sins we have yet to commit.
That grace is on full display here.
• For even though Jesus knows what they are about to do,
• It doesn’t stop Him from acknowledging their faithfulness
• It doesn’t stop Him from offering them the kingdom.
That is good news for me and that is good news for you.
It reminds me of what the writer of Hebrews said
To those bewildered believers who were struggling so mightily
That they debated leaving Jesus.
After giving them several severe warnings about the danger of leaving, HE ALSO SAID:
Hebrews 6:9-12 “But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way. For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”
• Those believers were struggling, but God is merciful to those who struggle.
• God would not forget their “work” or “the love which [they had] shown toward His name.”
Even in their moment of weakness and failure,
God remembered their moments of faith.
And while every moment of failure is regrettable,
Not all failures are final or fatal.
Clearly that is the case for the 11.
And Jesus here, despite what is about to happen,
Takes a moment to thank them and commend them
For what they have already done.
And it is worth examining that a little.
Jesus said, “You are those who have stood by Me in My trials;”
Can we think about that for a moment?
It was John 1
• Where the Pharisees and sent priests and Levites to quiz John regarding this
baptism he was performing.
• John made no bones about confessing Jesus as the Messiah,
• But certainly everyone there must have known that whoever this Messiah was,
He was already being rejected by the priests.
And yet we read:
John 1:35-37 “Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.”
That was John and Andrew.
And despite the stigma they went and recruited James and Peter.
Jesus would recruit Philip and Philip would recruit Nathanael
• Later those men would leave fishing businesses behind for Jesus.
• Later those men would leave their father behind for Jesus.
• Later Matthew would leave his tax booth behind for Jesus.
They latched on to this Messiah.
And it wasn’t always easy.
• They would see Him scorned in the synagogue for healing on the Sabbath.
• They would see Him rebuked by Pharisees for not washing His hands.
• They would see Him run out of His own hometown and nearly thrown off a cliff.
But still they stayed.
Even when the cities of Bethsaida, Chorazin, and Capernaum
Would reject Jesus, still they stayed.
• When they tried multiple times to arrest Jesus in Jerusalem…
• When Jesus cleared the temple and angered the entire Jewish mafia…
• When Jesus offended and made enemies of every religious bigwig…
• When Jesus caught the attention of Herod who had killed John the Baptist…
Still they stood with Jesus.
And all the while we saw plenty of others unwilling to stick with Jesus.
Luke 9:57-62 “As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.” And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” And He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.” Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.” But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
• One man was unwilling to be homeless…
• Another was unwilling to let go of his inheritance…
• And another wasn’t willing to part with his reputation…
But even at such a cost, the disciples stood with Jesus.
• Even when Jesus promised them that they would sheep in the midst of
wolves…
• Even when Jesus promised that they would be hated by everyone because of
His name…
• Even when Jesus promised that they could be betrayed by the members of
their own families…
Still they stood with Jesus.
In John 6 Jesus preached that He was the bread from heaven who could bring life to the world and that He would return to heaven.
John 6:66-68 “As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?” Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life.”
• When the Rich Young Ruler measured between his wealth and Jesus and
ultimately chose to keep his wealth, the disciples again chose to stand
with Jesus.
• While the Rich Young Ruler kept his wealth the disciples left houses and
farms, wife and children, brothers and sisters, father and mother, and they
did it all for Jesus.
And when Jesus announced here in the upper room
That one was a traitor
And would thus seal the fact that Jesus was about to die.
STILL THEY STOOD WITH JESUS.
I’m aware that they are about to make a mistake.
I’m aware that they are going to stumble a little.
In fact Jesus is about to reveal that Satan wasn’t content with just Judas,
But that he in fact wanted all of them.
Satan is about to sift them all,
And they’re going to have a rough couple of days,
But their stumbling won’t last long.
They’ll run on Friday, but by Sunday they’ll be worshiping again.
And after the Holy Spirit comes, they’ll never run again.
Jesus knows that.
• They had decided to follow Jesus.
• They had stuck with Him.
And incidentally, that is always the encouragement.
Hebrews 10:32-39 “But remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings, partly by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated. For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one. Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. FOR YET IN A VERY LITTLE WHILE, HE WHO IS COMING WILL COME, AND WILL NOT DELAY. BUT MY RIGHTEOUS ONE SHALL LIVE BY FAITH; AND IF HE SHRINKS BACK, MY SOUL HAS NO PLEASURE IN HIM. But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.”
That was certainly the disciples.
And that is not just the reality of their life,
But you know that that is also the requirement for yours.
You must stand with Jesus.
You must bear His reproach.
You must embrace His rejection.
And these men did.
• Not perfect…
• Moments of weakness…
• But all in all they stood with Jesus…
And Jesus is not about to forget that.
Jesus is not about to overlook that.
He promised that if you even give a cup of cold water to someone in the name of a prophet you will certainly receive your reward.
This men had stood with Jesus and they would be rewarded.
That is the Reality.
#2 THE REFERENCE
Luke 22:29a
“and just as My Father has granted me a kingdom…”
This is an important reference to make.
Jesus is making A COMPARISON regarding their reward.
He is saying, “I’m going to do for you what My Father has done for Me”
Now if you’ll think about the upper room for a second
You’ll understand the significance of this statement.
We know that Jesus is about to die a horrible death.
And certainly Jesus knows that.
But we also saw that even on the eve of such hardship
There is a hope which Jesus maintains.
Remember it?
Luke 22:14-18“When the hour had come, He reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him. And He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.”
Jesus is on the eve of His great suffering and yet we find anticipation.
He is anticipating the kingdom which His Father had given Him
And the banquet meal He will one day eat in that kingdom.
He was looking past the scorn of the cross to the joy of the kingdom.
Hebrews 12:1-2 “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
• I’ve told you before but the word “despising” there when it says that Jesus was “despising the shame” of the cross.
• Doesn’t mean He hated the shame of the cross or dreaded the shame of the cross.
• The word there literally means “to think little of”
That means that even when facing the pain of the cross
And bearing the eternal wrath of God
Jesus thought it was a little price to pay
In comparison to the kingdom He would receive.
In view of the kingdom. With “the joy set before Him”
He thought little of the shame He was about to bear.
Isn’t that remarkable?
Well, Jesus is now offering
That same hope and encouragement to the 12.
What the Father has done for Me, I also want to do for you.
Reality, Reference
#3 THE REWARD
Luke 22:29b-30
“I grant you that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”
• Do you want something to look forward to?
• Do you want something to carry you through the coming days?
And by the way, the coming days are going to be hard.
In verses 31-34 He’s going to reveal that they’re all about to be sifted by Satan.
In verses 35-38 He’s going to reveal that hospitality as they knew it is over.
It’s about to get rough.
• But in those rough moments, do you want some incentive to carry you through?
• Do you want a piece of joy to look forward to?
WELL HERE IT IS.
Because You guys have stood with Me on earth,
You will get to sit with Me in My kingdom.
• I’ll be eating that bread and drinking that wine in the kingdom thoroughly enjoying the bride I purchased,
• And on that day, I want you there eating and drinking and celebrating with Me.
You guys are invited.
And not only that, but you (and add in Matthias who will replace Judas) will also “sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”
(Don’t think of judge here in a courtroom sense,
Think of it in an Old Testament “Judges” kind of sense)
These men will rule and reign with Christ.
The apostolic authority that they are about to receive
Will carry over with them all the way into the millennial kingdom.
Jesus has granted them to sit and rule with Him.
All because while everyone else was going back
To their farms or their families or their comforts,
These men chose to leave it all and follow Jesus.
And Jesus wants them to know that they will be rewarded for that.
Now, this is not the only time we see this.
(I want to bring this application to you)
TURN TO: MATTHEW 19:27
• You are familiar with Matthew 19 as the chapter which contains the incident with the Rich Young Ruler.
• Remember, he was faced with the decision to keep his wealth or obtain Jesus and he chose his wealth.
• Jesus then remarked how hard it was for a rich man to get into heaven.
But then Peter asked the question that everyone was thinking.
(27) “Then Peter said to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?”
It’s a fair question.
We chose opposite of that guy, did we choose correctly?
And first you see the same revelation which Jesus reiterates here in the upper room.
(28) “And Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”
• Same promise.
• Jesus hasn’t wavered.
• When My kingdom comes on this earth and I sit on My throne, you guys will sit and judge with Me.
Now, that is the case for the disciples, but WHAT ABOUT US?
What about other believers?
(29) “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life.”
• When you stand with Jesus, there is no fear of being cheated.
• There is a reward to be claimed.
• There is compensation to be received.
Everyone who stands with Jesus and who loses this world
As a result will be more than compensated
On the day when Jesus reigns.
Isaiah 25:6-9 “The LORD of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain; A banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow, And refined, aged wine. And on this mountain He will swallow up the covering which is over all peoples, Even the veil which is stretched over all nations. He will swallow up death for all time, And the Lord GOD will wipe tears away from all faces, And He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth; For the LORD has spoken. And it will be said in that day, “Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us. This is the LORD for whom we have waited; Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.”
Those who stand with Christ will be compensated.
And do you want some more good news?
• Keep looking in Matthew’s gospel.
• Chapter 19 ends with sort of a cryptic statement.
• (30) “But many who are first will be last; and the last, first.”
What in the world does that mean?
• Well, I would point you to chapter 20.
• Jesus gives a parable and at the end of the parable He says:
• (20:16) “So the last shall be first, and the first last.”
So obviously the first 15 verses of Matthew 20 are a parable
To explain what He means and it ties directly to this idea of compensation.
(READ MATTHEW 20:1-15)
• You likely remember the parable, and it is such good news for us.
• It is the story of a land owner who just keeps hiring people all day long.
• And at the end of the day he pays them all the same (the agreed upon wage)
• Now some are frustrated by that, thinking they deserve more.
And then we get the answer of the landowner
Which means the world to us.
(15) “Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?’”
• Did the landowner cheat those men who worked all day? No
• How about those who only worked a little? No
Why is that good news for us?
While our circumstances most certainly could change,
And persecution could break out upon the church in America,
IT IS STILL OBVIOUS THAT
We have had thus far an easier burden than other believers.
• Those apostles bore the heat of the day didn’t they?
• Believers in the Middle East are bearing the heat of the day aren’t they?
Can we really expect as believers in padded pews and air conditioned buildings to receive an inheritance with those people?
And according to this parable,
So long as you work the vineyard, then YES.
It’s never been totally about what you earned.
It’s always been about His generosity.
That was good news for the disciples
• Because in a few hours they were about to mess up pretty big,
• But fortunately for them Jesus is generous
• And He does not forget all the labor they already put in.
And that is good news for us because Jesus will reward us as well.
And that is the simple point of the Lord here in this room.
There was a traitor in their midst,
• He departed from Jesus.
• He traded the glories of heaven for 30 pieces of silver.
• And woe was pronounced upon him.
But at the same time Jesus looked around that room with gratitude to all of those who didn’t choose the world.
• They lost houses and farms…
• They lost earthly relationships…
• They lost their reputations…
• But they stuck with Jesus.
• And Jesus looked at them to tell them it is only a matter of time before our pain
will be over and we will sit around My table in My kingdom.
SO THERE IS THE ENCOURAGEMENT TO YOU.
WHICH ONE ARE YOU?
• Are you standing with Jesus?
• Are you forsaking this world for His?
• Have you said good-bye to the things of this world that you may gain Christ?
For this Jesus also said:
Matthew 10:37-39 “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. “He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.”
These disciples lost their life, but they inherited a better one.
How about you?
What are you clinging to?
The sufferings of Christ here are real.
But the glories that follow make these sufferings worth it.
Hebrews 13:12-14 “Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate. So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach. For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.”
