Christ’s Passive Obedience
1 Peter 2:22-24
February 25, 2018

We are currently in our discussion of SOLUS CHRISTUS
Namely the understanding that our salvation is IN CHRIST ALONE

More specifically what we are trying to understand is that
Our salvation is not about what Christ has done IN us,
But rather what Christ has done FOR us.

We have also simplified this understanding by saying,
“Christ did not come to make me righteous, but to be my righteousness.”

And really as a pinnacle verse here to understand that we have often returned to:
2 Corinthians 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

And in that one verse is really contained
All of the depth of what Christ did for us.

I suppose you could say that as we have embarked upon this journey to understand SOLUS CHRISTUS
Our first course of business has really been to answer the question:

WHAT EXACTLY DID CHRIST DO FOR US?

And we have broken that down into two categories.
1) We spoke of His ACTIVE OBEDIENCE

Christ fulfilled the positive requirements which God set forth in His Law.
• These were God’s righteous expectations which we have failed to keep.
• Christ came and kept them for us that He might then impute that righteousness
to us.

And we looked specifically at Hebrews 10
And how instead of giving God sacrifices,
Jesus was given a body in which He lived a perfectly obedient life.

That is really the first thing Jesus did for us.
He lived a perfectly obedient and righteous life.

Tonight we move on to the other thing Jesus did for us.
2) That would be His PASSIVE OBEDIENCE

Not just that Christ actively fulfilled
Our righteous obligations before God.
BUT CHRIST ALSO PASSIVELY ENDURED
OUR RIGHTEOUS PUNISHMENT FROM GOD.

We are talking now about His atoning work.

This concept is far more familiar to most of us than that of His active obedience,
But it is still so rich and so important
That it absolutely bears us examining it again.

For after a life of deliberate and faithful obedience to God
This Christ then offered Himself up in submission
To receive punishment which He did not deserve.

We are talking about His substitutionary atonement.

Now to be sure we have already discussed this some in our study.
If you remember our study of SOLA GRATIA we talked about
The concept of Limited Atonement or Particular Atonement.

We examined His death on the cross and noticed that what was happening there most certainly was NOT POTENTIAL.
• Jesus was actually bearing the wrath of God on the cross.
• We saw the darkness at noon (picturing the day of the Lord wrath)
• We heard Him cry, “My God, My God, why have You forsake Me?”

We know that Jesus was actually bearing the wrath of God on the cross.

The question we want to more definitively answer here is: WHY?
• Why was Jesus bearing the wrath of God on the cross?
• Was it for something He had done?
• Of was there a different reason?

And of course you already know
That central to the Christian faith is the belief that
On the cross Jesus bore the wrath which was due to the elect
For He had no deserved wrath on His own account.

• We believe that He submitted Himself to our punishment.
• We believe that He bore our sin and the wrath that abides on it.
• We believe that He suffered as though He had lived our life.

And that is what we want to examine even more here tonight.

To do so, we are looking at a very popular text in Peter’s first epistle.
To be accurate, it is a text which is really a mere illustration to Peter’s main point.
• Peter’s epistle is about the suffering and how believers should endure it.
• In the immediate context Peter is addressing SUFFERING UNDER UNJUST
PERSECUTION.
• Peter’s request is that instead of rebelling true believers should patiently
endure suffering as Christ did.
• Peter’s point is that as followers of Christ we should passively endure and
obey.

And then Peter gives us the example of Christ’s PASSIVE OBEDIENCE
As the example we should follow.

Tonight, we are just going to look at that example
As Peter gives us the glorious truth of what Christ endured for us.

There are three points we want to make.
#1 CHRIST’S SINLESSNESS
1 Peter 2:22

Here Peter quotes directly from Isaiah 53:9
Isaiah 53:9 “His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a rich man in His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.”

And in quoting this text
Peter makes two very definitive statements about Christ.

1) HE COMMITTED NO SIN
“who committed no sin”

This of course refers to the fact that
Jesus never did anything in violation of the Law of God.

This does not so much speak of His fulfillment of the things God requires
(as we spoke of in His ACTIVE OBEDIENCE)
As much as it reveals that Christ never violated anything God forbid.

He never broke one of those “Thou Shalt Nots” we read of.
He never offended God through rebellion or disobedience
Or transgression of any kind.

Now IF YOU WILL REMEMBER, this was one of the main goals of the religious leaders of His day; to prove that He did.

He was constantly being accused of violating God’s Law
And thus making Himself deserving of wrath.

They accused Him several times of violating Sabbath Law.

TURN TO: MATTHEW 12:1-14

There are two incidents in which Jesus was accused of breaking the Sabbath.
• One for His disciples picking grain
• The other much more bold when Jesus specifically healed on the Sabbath

But in both cases the issue was NOT that Jesus broke the Sabbath,
But rather that the religious leaders
Did not understand the Law they claimed He broke.

• The Sabbath Law never forbid deeds of necessity (eating…see David, vs. 3-4)
• The Sabbath Law never forbid deeds of worship (see the priests, vs. 5)
• The Sabbath Law also didn’t apply to God (see Jesus, vs. 6)
• The Sabbath Law also didn’t forbid mercy (see sheep in a ditch, vs. 11)

The issue there
(as in all other times they accused Him of breaking the Sabbath)
Was not His rebellion, but rather their ignorance.

But Sabbath Law wasn’t all they accused Him of breaking.

Other times they accused Him of violating dietary restrictions.
Matthew 15:1-2 “Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.”

Jesus first rebuked them and then responded:
Matthew 15:10-11 “After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to them, “Hear and understand. “It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.”

The issue there being that they again
Didn’t understand the purpose of the Law.

TURN TO: LUKE 11:37-41

Jesus there revealed that the issue wasn’t His violation of the Law,
But again their misunderstanding of it.

They assumed all of those commands were merely external,
Jesus revealed otherwise.

God wasn’t worried about clean hands or clean stomachs,
God was concerned with clean hearts.
JESUS NEVER VIOLATED THOSE COMMANDS.

The point being that Jesus was not guilty of violating God’s Law…EVER
• He “committed no sin”
• Not once, not ever.

The other point Peter definitively makes is
2) HE NEVER LIED ABOUT WHO HE WAS
“nor was any deceit found in His mouth;”

Trying to prove Jesus violated the Law was only one tactic.

THE OTHER (as we have been seeing in Luke on Sunday mornings) is that
They tried to prove that His power was really from Satan and not God.

They repeatedly accused Him of blasphemy because of what He said,
Thus trying to prove Him to be a liar.

TURN TO: JOHN 5:8-18
• There again they start by being angry because of another one of those Sabbath healings,
• But they end up chasing a different rabbit into the bush.
• They decide instead to try to nail Him as a liar because He called God His Father.

We don’t have time to go through the entire response,
But the basic response of Jesus was this:

(READ 36-39)
• I’m not lying about who I claim to be, My works prove that.
• The only reason you can’t see it is because you are ignorant.
• The Father has clearly testified of Me,
• It’s just that you don’t know the Father and you can’t hear or understand His word.

Jesus didn’t lie about who He was, they just couldn’t comprehend it.

And of course there are other accounts of this same sort of thing:
John 8:48-49 “The Jews answered and said to Him, “Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?” Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.”

Or
Matthew 12:24-26 “But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.” And knowing their thoughts Jesus said to them, “Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself will not stand. “If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand?”

Obviously Jesus was not demon possessed.
• Why would Satan drive his own army out?

Jesus was exactly who He said He was,
The Son of God who had authority over evil spirits.

And then of course there were just those BLANKET ACCUSATIONS.
John 18:29-30 “Therefore Pilate went out to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this Man?” They answered and said to him, “If this Man were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him to you.”

Or
John 8:46 “Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me?”

Or
John 18:23 “Jesus answered him, “If I have spoken wrongly, testify of the wrong; but if rightly, why do you strike Me?”

Their accusations were totally baseless.
They were never able to provide one single piece of evidence
To prove that He was anything other than who He said He was.

And that is what Peter wants you to know first about Christ.
HE WAS INNOCENT OF ALL WRONG DOING

“who committed on sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth”

Jesus was exactly who He said He was and He never did anything
To deserve one single drop from the cup of God’s wrath.

He did not deserve the cross.

It was as Peter preached at Pentecost
Acts 2:22-23 “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know — this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.”

(You can see why Peter uses Jesus as an example of unjust suffering)

That was Christ’s Sinlessness.
#2 CHRIST’S SUBMISSION
1 Peter 2:23

One thing we know about humanity is that
Very few submit to suffering that they do deserve,
But I don’t really know of anyone
Who willingly submits to suffering that they don’t deserve.

That was one of the things that made His death so peculiar, and so emboldened His enemies.

• The fact that He would submit to this death on the cross without kicking and screaming only served to prove to His enemies that they were right about Him.

Isaiah said it years before:
Isaiah 53:4 “Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted.”

They just thought that He was suffering for His own sin.
But Peter ALREADY reiterated that He didn’t have any sin to suffer for

THIS WAS NOT A MAN WHO SUFFERED JUSTLY.
THIS WAS A MAN WHO SUFFERED WILLINGLY.

“and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;”

Instead of complaining about His predicament…
Instead of threatening those who accused Him…
He “kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously”

That is to say He just kept putting His fate in God’s hands.

Did we not see that over and over and over?

Go to the garden:
Matthew 26:39 “And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.”

See Him when the soldiers arrived:
Matthew 26:51-54 “And behold, one of those who were with Jesus reached and drew out his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear. Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword. “Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? “How then will the Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must happen this way?”

See Him before Pilate
John 19:8-11 “Therefore when Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid; and he entered into the Praetorium again and said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. So Pilate said to Him, “You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?” Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”

See Him on the cross
Luke 23:46 “And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, INTO YOUR HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT.” Having said this, He breathed His last.”

“but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously”

He put His life in God’s hands at every turn.
He was submissive.

And as we said at the very beginning of our study a few weeks ago,
This was NOT JUST AN ATTITUDE HE EXHIBITED AT THE END.

His PASSIVE OBEDIENCE is characteristic of His entire life.
• He submitted to the incarnation
• He submitted to the manger
• He submitted to human parents
• He submitted to earthly struggles
• He submitted to human persecution and hatred

His whole life was passive obedience.
Philippians 2:5-8 “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

And those aren’t all.
The Psalms give particular interest to Christ’s PASSIVE OBEDIENCE
And His willing submission to the Father.

TURN TO: PSALMS 16
(You’ll recognize this one as the often preached Psalm by the apostles)

• See Jesus in the Garden, ministered to by angels, faithful to the Father (1-4)
• See Jesus looking past the cross to the reward (5-6)
• See Jesus confidence while facing hostility and even death (7-11)

TURN TO: PSALMS 118
Another Psalm of His passive obedience to the Father

• See Him in the Garden (5-7)
• See Him before Pilate (8-9)
• See Him on the cross (10-14)

And we didn’t even look at the famous Psalm 22
Which details His crucifixion.

The point that is being made is simply that
In His suffering it was NOT because He did something wrong.

He was bearing the wrath of God not because He was guilty
But because He was submissive.

So we are already answering that question as to
Why He was bearing God’s wrath on the cross.

We can clearly say that it wasn’t because of something He did.
• He was innocent
• He knew He was innocent
• And He knew that God knew He was innocent and would vindicate Him

So why was He suffering?

#3 CHRIST’S SUBSTITUTION
1 Peter 2:24

What a wonderful and yet gut-wrenching answer.
“and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross”

He wasn’t being punished for His sins,
He was being punished for our sins.

Isaiah 53:1-6 “Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty 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 and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and 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.”

This is the reality of what was happening on the cross.
He was suffering for the way I have lived my life.

2 Corinthians 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

Or listen to Paul when he wrote to the Galatians.
Galatians 3:13 “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us — for it is written, “CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE”

When Paul speaks of the “the curse”
He is referring to the penalty for breaking any of God’s righteous commands.

Deuteronomy 28:15-20 “But it shall come about, if you do not obey the LORD your God, to observe to do all His commandments and His statutes with which I charge you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you: “Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the country. “Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. “Cursed shall be the offspring of your body and the produce of your ground, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock. “Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out. “The LORD will send upon you curses, confusion, and rebuke, in all you undertake to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken Me.”

That is what Christ was taking on the cross.
He was taking the punishment for God’s elect
Who had failed to keep their end of the bargain.

He took that curse upon Himself.
He willingly and submissively endured that punishment.

That is why when we are talking about SOLUS CHRISTUS and salvation in Christ alone, we are NOT TALKING ABOUT what Christ did IN us.
WE ARE TALKING ABOUT WHAT CHRIST DID FOR US.

So what did Christ do for us?
1) He actively fulfilled our righteous obligation before God.
2) He passively endured our just punishment from God.

We didn’t do that, He did that.
He didn’t just do most of that, He did ALL of that.

• We don’t present any mixture of our own righteous deeds up with His as our offering to God.
• We don’t endure one stroke of punishment as payment for our sin before God.

Jesus paid it all
Jesus achieved both

Romans 8:1 “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

That is the verse that speaks to the greatest fulfillment of
THE PASSIVE OBEDIENCE OF CHRIST.

If you want to use a word for what Christ’s active obedience means,
That word is FREEDOM (we are freed from the Law)

If you want a word for what Christ’s passive obedience means,
That word is NO CONDEMNTATION. (there is none left)

This is what Christ did FOR us.

And tonight I just think it’s fitting to rest in that before we go any further.
And so we’re going to partake of the LORD’S SUPPER tonight.

I need our deacons to come and pass out both elements tonight.

NOW, LOOK AT THEM FOR A MOMENT.

In one hand you have the bread which represents His body.
Hebrews 10:5 “Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, “SACRIFICE AND OFFERING YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED, BUT A BODY YOU HAVE PREPARED FOR ME;”

• It was in this body that He fulfilled your righteous obligation.

In the other hand you have the juice which represents His blood (His death)

• It was through this death that He satisfied the wrath you had earned.

He came to this earth and lived a righteous life
And then died a sacrificial death.

We partake in this as an acknowledgement
That what He did, He did for me.

1 Corinthians 11:23-25 “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

And now let’s just stand and sing.

Eligible For Salvation?
Luke 5:27-32
February 25, 2018

This morning we approach the story of Matthew’s calling.
Matthew of course was one of the 12 disciples,
And even the man who wrote the gospel that bears his name.

And while that story is certainly an important one,
It is actually the debate that broke out after Matthew’s salvation
That leaves the most memorable mark.

It is in response to this debate that Jesus makes that famous statement, (32) “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

The startling thing that must first be recognized in that statement is that Jesus there revealed not only the type of people He calls to salvation,
But also the TYPE OF PEOPLE HE DOES NOT CALL.

According to Jesus there are people who are eligible for salvation
And there are people who are not.

You might find that reality a little shocking, but it is true.
I know our world likes to tote a Jesus with arms open wide
Who accepts everyone, but that just isn’t true.

• There ARE people that the Lord does not accept.
• There WERE people that the Lord did not accept.

And here in Luke’s gospel
Jesus gets extremely plain as to who those people are.

We are talking then about BEING ELIGIBLE FOR SALVATION.

Have you ever considered that question?
• Am I eligible for salvation?
• Do I meet the requirements?
• Am I one of the ones that the Lord is willing to save?

I can’t think of a more important eligibility based question than that.
Well this morning Jesus answers the question.

Here Luke gives us yet another CLASH between Jesus and the Pharisees.
• This is certainly one of many as they continually try to prove that Jesus did not receive His authority from God.

But it is also another story from Luke about the necessary attitude of salvation.
• Luke brings it out over and over, and this morning we see it again in this familiar story.

Let’s just break it down into 3 main points.
#1 A STRANGE CHOICE
Luke 5:27-28

Now after reading those two verses
There are MORE THAN A FEW PEOPLE in our world
Who SPOT A STRANGE DECISION that was made there.

However, I would also say that most people in our world
Would be wrong about the decision they picked to be the strange one.

MANY WOULD THINK it strange that Matthew would be willing to just get up and leave “everything behind” to follow Jesus.

But that’s not the strange decision.
If you know the truth about Jesus,
That’s about the most obvious decision that could have been made.

The strange decision in these two verses
Is the decision Jesus made to choose Matthew.

“After that He went out and noticed a tax collector named Levi sitting in the tax booth, and said to him, “Follow Me.”

Now because Rebecca loves it so much when we talk about tax collectors, we certainly have to make sure we all UNDERSTAND THE ISSUE.
(But take heart Rebecca, Jesus chooses tax collectors)

Probably easier than telling you about the office of tax collector,
I can read you an excerpt about them from a commentary I read.

The Roman occupation of Israel involved more than just a military presence; the nation was also subject to Roman taxation. The taxes in Galilee, for example, were forwarded by tax collectors to Herod Antipas, and by him to Rome. Antipas sold tax franchises to the highest bidder, and such franchises were lucrative business. Tax collectors had a certain amount that they were required to collect, and whatever they collected beyond that they were permitted to keep (cf. Luke 3:12-13). In addition to the poll tax (on everyone, including slaves), income tax (about 1 percent), and land tax (one tenth of all grain, and one fifth of all wine and fruit), there were taxes on transport of goods, letters, produce, using roads, crossing bridges, and almost anything else the rapacious, greedy minds of the tax collectors could think of. All of them left plenty of room for larceny, extortion, exploitation, and even loan sharking, as tax collectors loaned money at exorbitant interest to those who were unable to pay their taxes. Tax collectors also employed thugs to physically intimidate people into paying, and to beat up those who refused.
All of that was anathema to the Jewish people, who believed God was the only one to whom they should pay taxes. Tax collectors were viewed as traitors to their people, were classified as unclean, and were barred from the synagogues. They were also forbidden to give testimony in a Jewish court, because they were considered to be liars. Repentance was deemed especially difficult for tax collectors.”
(MacArthur, John [The MacArthur New Testament Commentary Series; Luke 1-5; Moody Press, Chicago, IL, 2009] pg. 330)

I think that spells it out.

Even in our day we tend to classify out our sinners.
For Example:
• In west Texas we’re known for the “Good Ol Boy”. This is the type of unredeemed sinner we still tend to love and trust. They are obviously immoral in areas but because they hold the right kind of manners and ethical code we don’t mind being around them.

• But then we have the “thug” kind of sinner. And this is the guy who not only does things we don’t approve of, but they do them with such audacity and vileness that we don’t even want to be around them. They just rub us the wrong way.

In Israel that thug was the tax collector.
The fact that he would have the audacity to extort his own people on behalf of the Roman government was just unforgivable.

The scorn they received is made pretty evident by the fact that they weren’t allowed in SYNAGOGUE nor allowed to TESTIFY at a trial.

Now think of a person you know who is so vile
You don’t want them to come to church
And you wouldn’t trust them to testify under oath
Even if they were the only eye-witness to a crime.

Now you’re beginning to grasp the tax collector’s reputation.

And here we have “Levi sitting in the tax booth”

Now it is true that nothing immoral or dishonest
Is ever listed about Levi’s tax collecting practices.

Luke doesn’t give you all those harsh details,
• But in reality he doesn’t have to.
• The only way Matthew could have even become a tax collector was if he
secured the job by being the highest bidder.

No one made him do it.
He chose to do it, and he paid money to do it.
Furthermore his only income was the “extra” he received.

Luke doesn’t have to tell you what kind of a guy Matthew is,
Because the fact that he is in this position
Tells you everything you need to know.

No one wants Matthew around.
EXCEPT JESUS…

“He said to him, “Follow Me.”

It actually says that He “AFTER THAT He went out and noticed a tax collector named Levi”

• Jesus just healed that paralytic in the crowded room.
• The crowd was overcome with amazement and fear.
• The Pharisees were a little shell-shocked because Jesus had just silenced them in regard to His authority to forgive.

Can you imagine how many of the people in that crowd were now following Jesus as He left that room?

And Luke says, “After that He went out and noticed a tax collector named Levi”

“noticed” is a word that actually means “gazed intently at”

The point being made here is that
After Jesus revealed that He indeed has the authority to forgive,
He walked right out of that house and right up to this tax collector.
This isn’t random, this is intentional.

Jesus just proved He had authority to forgive,
Now He’s about to prove how powerful His forgiveness is.

He’s about to extend it to the vilest person in the area.
He’s about to offer it to the tax collector sitting outside.

Jesus tells Matthew “Follow Me”

It’s one thing to forgive that paralytic,
• For all we know he could have been like the man who was born blind. There were a lot of people who even thought that that man was born blind as a result of his parent’s sin, not his own.

• There would have been plenty of people rooting for that paralytic’s forgiveness, certainly the fact that 4 men would go to such lengths to get him to Jesus reveals how loved he was.

BUT OFFERING FORGIVENESS TO MATTHEW?
This is beyond belief.

Now I do want to make sure everyone understands THE INVITATION here.

• The call of Jesus here is not a call to “go to heaven”
• The call of Jesus here is not a call for “life abundant”
• The call of Jesus here is not a call for “your best life now”

The call of Jesus is a call to follow Him.

And incidentally to follow Him wherever He goes.
Jesus’ road would be Matthew’s road
Jesus’ work would be Matthew’s work
Jesus’ popularity would be Matthew’s popularity
Jesus’ scorn would be Matthew’s scorn
Jesus fate would be Matthew’s fate

And Jesus makes this clear on more than one occasion.

Saying to a would-be follower:
Luke 9:57-58 “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.”

Saying to His disciples:
Matthew 16:24 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.”

Or we read the story of Peter a couple weeks ago
John 21:18-19 “Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go.” Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me!”

There are many people in our world today that assume
That all Jesus wanted to know from people
Was if they wanted to go to heaven or to hell when they die.

But that wasn’t what He went around asking.

He asked people to totally abandon their own lives and to make His life their priority.
• He asked people to leave their family
• He asked people to leave their occupation
• He asked people to leave their wealth
• He asked people to leave their land
• He asked people to leave their safety
• He asked people to leave their reputation

And He asked those people to then put a cross on their back
And follow Him up the hill for the world to nail them to it.

Please don’t miss that.
The call of Jesus does NOT include the “saved but not committed” option.

When Jesus approached Matthew here, the stakes were clear.
Jesus said, “Follow Me.”

At this point Matthew will either follow or he won’t.
But Matthew DOES NOT HAVE THE OPTION of being a “Private follower”
Who gets to keep his tax booth.

That isn’t an option here.

SO PLEASE UNDERSTAND WHAT JESUS IS ASKING,
Because this is the call of salvation.

Matthew 16:24-26 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”

Luke 14:25-27 “Now large crowds were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.”

I certainly want you to understand that.
Do not assume that you can be a saved follower of Jesus
If you are not following Him.

But THE POINT you really must see is the peculiar decision that:
JESUS CHOSE MATTHEW

OF ALL THE PEOPLE Jesus had at His disposal to call into service and eventually to entrust with His message of salvation,
This tax collector would have been the least obvious candidate.

• This is a man who is already banned from the synagogue.
• This is a man who already has a reputation for not telling the truth.
• This is a man who is already not welcome in a single home in Galilee.

IN OUR DAY modern evangelism says Popular Athletes and Movie Stars
Have the biggest opportunity to impact the kingdom.

But Jesus passed all the athletes and movie stars by
AND ENLISTED THIS GUY.
That is what you call a strange choice.

But it was a choice meant to demonstrate the power of His forgiveness.
He had the authority to forgive even tax collectors.

And since that is the case, all of a sudden
Matthew’s decision doesn’t seem all that strange.

(28) “And he left everything behind, and got up and began to follow Him.”

Can I make an obvious point here?
Matthew just made a decision of which there is no reversal.

We know that Peter, Andrew, James and John all left their nets to follow Jesus
• They did it in Matthew 4.
• They did it again in Luke 5
• They did it again in John 21

Point being that they, at least for a time, always had fishing to fall back on.

When Matthew left this booth, there was no going back.
He had to pay a large sum of money to get that job,
And there would be no getting it back.

WHY WOULD MATTHEW LEAVE ALL OF THAT?
BECAUSE HE GAINED CHRIST!

Remember the parables we have so often talked about?
Matthew 13:44-46 “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.”

Neither one of those men where honorable men.
• One was digging for treasure in a field he didn’t own, and when he found it,
instead of informing the land owner, he took advantage of the owner’s
ignorance and bought the field for a price less than it was worth.

• The other had only one goal, and that was to make money, for he was a
merchant, and he found a good deal. He knew the pearl was worth more
than the price it was being sold for.

Those were men who were only concerned about getting more.
THE ONLY THING that could have caused them to give up all that they owned
Was if giving up all that they had would allow them to secure even more.

Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is like that.
Matthew is proof.

Matthew left a lucrative tax-collecting business
Because he saw the value of Jesus as greater value.

What is said about Moses in the book of Hebrews could also be said of Matthew here.
Hebrews 11:24-26 “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward.”

Matthew understood value.
• And he recognized more value in forgiveness than in wealth,
• So when Jesus came calling, Matthew followed.
• This filthy tax collector did what a young wealthy synagogue ruler will later refuse to do. (Aka: the rich young ruler)

Matthew’s choice isn’t the strange one…his is obviously a good deal.
The strange choice is that Jesus would choose Matthew.

So right off the bat, WE’RE TALKING ABOUT being eligible for salvation
And we find out that Matthew the tax collector was indeed eligible.

We might not have guessed that by looking at him, but Jesus said He was.

A Strange Choice
#2 A SHOCKING CELEBRATION
Luke 5:29-30

Here again there are some parts of this story that aren’t shocking
And there some parts that are.

It is certainly no shock to us what Matthew does.
“And Levi gave a big reception for Him in his house; and there was a great crowd of tax collectors and other people who were reclining at the table with them.”

THAT IS NOT SURPRISING.
Matthew just received the greatest offer of his life,
Certainly he is going to share what he has found with his friends.
MATTHEW IS CELEBRATING!
Why wouldn’t he?

Remember the man who lost a sheep?
Luke 15:5-6 “When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. “And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’”

Remember the woman who lost here coin?
Luke 15:9 “When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost!’”

Remember the father who lost his son?
Luke 15:32 “But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.'”

That is why Matthew is rejoicing.

And can we also again just point out that
A FRUIT OF TRUE REDEMPTION IS EVANGELISM.
No one who has the light hides it under a bushel.

If you’ve got the light, you shine the light.
That is what Matthew is doing.

Furthermore we just realized that perhaps Matthew wasn’t as unlikely of an evangelist as we first thought.

• Matthew wasn’t welcome in a synagogue, but he didn’t go to the synagogue.
• Matthew wasn’t welcome in court, but he didn’t go to the courthouse.

Matthew was a tax collector and that is who Matthew went for.
And he invited all of these tax collectors to his house.
Luke says he also invited “other people”
Which seems rather nice since Matthew actually called them “sinners” in his gospel. (A title which the Pharisees obviously agree with)

This was no upstanding gathering.

The shocking part is that Jesus attended.
• These men were considered unholy
• These men were considered unclean
• These men were considered defiling
• And yet Jesus is in that house eating with them

(30) “The Pharisees and their scribes began grumbling at His disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?”

Well, we obviously see the mentality of the Pharisees.
They had no compassion whatsoever.

In fact, Matthew’s gospel includes a statement that Luke does not:
Matthew 9:13 “But go and learn what this means: ‘I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

These Pharisees didn’t care at all about these tax collectors
Or these other people as Luke calls them.

They were useless leaches to society that had no benefit,
And therefore it is a complete and total waste of time
For anyone who seeks to be near God to even associate with them in the least.

And yet here, Jesus is eating with them.

I THINK IT’S IMPORTANT TO ZOOM IN A LITTLE MORE ON THIS.

From my perspective it seems to me that
Christians are all over the place on this concept.

It seems to me that the pendulum often swings to one far side or the other, without very often landing where Jesus walked.

ON ONE HAND we have the crowd of Christians who, like the Pharisees, have no compassion.
• They seem to forget that we were left on this earth for the purpose of reaching even the vilest of sinners.
• They would rather stay in their social circle of Christianity with their Sunday suits and Easter dresses, but never be forced to come in contact with the “unclean” of this world.
• They live in fear of defilement
• They live in fear that their reputation might be harmed
• They live unconcerned about the wrath that abides on the wicked of the world.

That is a social “club like” form of Christianity
That was nothing like the Christianity of Jesus.

• Jesus dwelt among lost people.
• Jesus entered a world full of lost people.
• He walked our filthy earth and rubbed elbows with the most vile among us.

You are going to have a tough time being like Jesus
If you circle never leads across the path of the sinful and the wretched.

Consider what Paul said in that famous passage about church discipline:
1 Corinthians 5:9-10 “I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world.”

And yet there are a great many professing Christians
Whom Jesus saved out of sin,
Who now turn a deaf ear and a blind eye to the people that are still there.

That is obviously not like Christ.

ON THE OTHER HAND We also have a form of Christianity today that has made friendship with sinners the primary and really only goal.

They drip with compassion it’s just that they lack conviction.

They are so concerned with maintaining a friendship with sinners
That they are also content to let the sinners remain sinners
So long as the friendship stays intact.

The first group would not have gone to the party Matthew threw.
The second group would have gladly gone, but they would have only gone to eat and laugh.

That is also not what Jesus did.
• Jesus went, but this wasn’t a social visit.
• Jesus went, but this wasn’t just about making new friends.
• Jesus went, but this wasn’t about learning to identify and meet people where
they are.

In fact, in verse 32 Jesus explains exactly WHY He went to that party,
And that was “to call…sinners to repentance.”

You must understand something about the work of Christ.
He is called the friend of sinners.
But He did not come just to make friends.
He came to reconcile sinners back to God.

He couldn’t do that by avoiding sinners
And He couldn’t do that by just befriending them.

When we lack COMPASSION we fail to be like Christ.
When we lack CONVICTION we also fail to be like Christ.

The Pharisees obviously fell into the first group and that is why they couldn’t believe Jesus would attend that party.
• They are the people who wouldn’t rejoice with the man who found the sheep.
• They are the people who wouldn’t rejoice with the woman who found the coin.
• They are the brother who wouldn’t rejoice with the father who found his son.

They are totally ignorant of God’s redemptive heart.
And so they ask why Jesus would attend this banquet.

A Strange Choice, A Shocking Celebration
#3 A SOBERING CORRECTION
Luke 5:31-32

You just have to marvel at the simple wisdom of Jesus
To answer even the most controversial question.

WHY WOULD YOU GO ASSOCIATE WITH THOSE SINNERS?

And Jesus responds:
“That’s like asking a doctor why he associates with sick people.”

(31) “And Jesus answered and said to them, “It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick.”

Imagine getting sick and calling your doctor…
• The receptionist answers and says, “How can I help you?”
• And you say, “I don’t feel good, I’d like to make an appointment.”
• And the receptionist responds, “I’m sorry Dr. so&so doesn’t see sick people, call us when you feel better.”

That’s absurd!
Well, then you understand the mission of Jesus.

Luke already revealed to us that Jesus is the One who can:
• Give grace to spiritual beggars
• Give forgiveness to captured criminals
• Give sight to the spiritually blind
• Give rest to the religiously burdened
• Give salvation to sinners

So what good would it do if Jesus refused to associate with blind criminals or with burdened beggars or with tax collectors and sinners?

From Jesus vantage point
The Pharisees just asked a really STUPID QUESTION.
And Jesus makes them look foolish with His answer.

And then He continues:
(32) “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

This is the spiritual reality behind the analogy He just gave.

Jesus didn’t come for the physically sick.
• He is called the Great Physician, but that has to do with His ministry of healing
men of sin, not His job to stop all physical infirmities.

Jesus came for sinners.
• He came to lead sinners to repentance.

And certainly that should clarify our calling
We are called to do the same.

But there is one more thing that is important to see here.

Had Jesus only said, “It is those who are sick who need a physician, I have come to call sinners to repentance.”

Then we would just understand that Jesus is clarifying His calling.

BUT THAT IS NOT ALL JESUS SAID.
He also threw in there a jab.

He added “It is not those who are well who need a physician…I have not come to call the righteous”

Jesus didn’t just reveal who He came to save,
But He also went out of His way to purposely reveal
Who He DID NOT come to save.

He included not only those who are eligible for salvation,
But He also revealed those who are ineligible for salvation.

According to Jesus who is ineligible for salvation?
“those who are well” or “the righteous”

Now you must UNDERSTAND THE SARCASM that Jesus is using here.
For Jesus knows full well that there is none who is righteous, not even one.

Jesus is revealing that while He is more than willing to save sinners
THERE IS A GROUP THAT HE WILL NOT SAVE
And that is those who don’t think they need it.

It is those who trust in their own righteousness.
We call them the self-righteous.

It is people like those in Nazareth who after Jesus insinuated that they were blind in need of salvation responded by saying, “Physician, heal Yourself!”

It is men like these Pharisees who in John 9 argue with Jesus that they most certainly are not blind.

John 9:40-41 “Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and said to Him, “We are not blind too, are we?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.”

People who refuse to see their own sinfulness
And who insist upon their own righteousness as adequate for salvation are ineligible for the salvation of Jesus.

It is only the poor in spirit who are eligible.
• If you come to Jesus in humility He will save you regardless of your sin,
• But if you approach Him in pride you will walk away empty handed.

Jesus just revealed that here.

SO LET’S JUST MAKE SURE WE GET THE POINT
• Jesus came to save repentant sinners regardless of their level of sin.
• Jesus saves those repentant sinners by leading them out of their sin and after Himself.
• His salvation of sinners is not just a promised tolerance of their sin, but rather a repentance of and a deliverance from that sin.

On the other hand
• Jesus refused to save sinners who would not repent.
• Their lack of repentance is EITHER because they loved their sin, OR because they refused to acknowledge that their sin was real.
• Either way, sinners who refuse repentance are ineligible for salvation.

Those people are like a sick man who refuses to go to the doctor,
Insisting that he is fine on his own.

Jesus came “to call…sinners to repentance”
Let that sink in.

• Jesus didn’t come to make you feel loved…
• Jesus didn’t come to just coddle you in your sin…
• Jesus came to reconcile you to God.

He came to lead you to repentance.
• Upon your repentance He came to grant you forgiveness of that sin.
• He then came to pay the penalty your sin has earned.
• And He came to give you His righteousness in return.

But if you won’t acknowledge you are a sinner or you won’t repent,
Then Jesus has nothing for you.
That is when you are rendered an ineligible candidate.

This morning I simply encourage you to leave it behind and run to Jesus.

Christ’s Active Obedience – Part 2
Hebrews 10:1-18 (5-18)
February 18, 2018

A few weeks ago we started studying this 4th SOLA from the Reformation.
It is SOLUS CHRISTUS or the statement that
We believe salvation to be “In Christ Alone”

And as we said, this certainly includes the reality
That Christ is the only savior, but it is also much bigger than that.

We certainly proclaim that Christ is the ONLY SAVIOR,
But we also proclaim that Christ saves us BY HIMSELF.

And really the verse we have been seeking to wrap our minds around is:
2 Corinthians 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

This verse speaks to us about the doctrine known as imputation.
Our sin was imputed to Christ and His righteousness is imputed to us.

At a Ligonier Conference Q&A with R.C. Sproul, John MacArthur spoke of that verse in this way:
“In my understanding of the cross I think the simplest way to grasp it is in 2 Corinthians 5:21, where it says, “God made Him, who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God through Him”. You have there, what I think, answers the question of what was going on on the cross as clearly as anywhere. “God made Jesus sin” the question is “in what sense?” Did He become a sinner? No, He couldn’t become a sinner. He was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners; the writer of Hebrews says. The Father Himself affirms that, “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased”. We cannot conclude at all that Jesus became a sinner. That would be utterly impossible; it could not occur. The only sense in which God made Him sin is this; God treated Him as if He had committed every sin ever committed by every person who would ever believe. God treated Him as if He had committed every sin ever committed by every person who would ever believe, though in fact He committed none of them… The other side of it is, the rest of the verse says that “we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” That’s the other side of imputation; God imputes our sin to Christ, treats Him as if He’d committed our sins, turns around and treats us as if we’d lived His life. That’s the imputation, that’s the reality of imputation. Was Christ a sinner? No. Are you righteous? No. But He treats Christ as if He’d lived your life and turns around and treats you as if you’d lived His life. “
(R.C. Sproul Q&A [Questions and Answers 2: Los Angeles 1998, R.C. Sproul, John MacArthur, Ligonier Ministries, mp3 file] at: 25:43)

This is the greater reality that we are speaking of.

When we talk about SOLUS CHRISTUS,
We are not talking about what Christ has done IN us,
We are talking about what Christ has done FOR us.

Put another way:
Jesus Christ did not come to make me righteous,
He came to be my righteousness.

And that is what we are seeking to grasp and understand.
Not just that He is the only Savior,
But also how He brought that salvation about all by Himself.
Christ saves us apart from any help from us.

And so we have begun to discuss the issue of His perfect righteousness.
(If it is His righteousness that is imputed to me,
Then I certainly want to know what type of righteousness this was)
So we have started looking at His life.

We talk about
• His Active Obedience – His Righteous Life
• His Passive Obedience – His Sacrificial Death

Both are absolutely essential for our salvation.

Most understand the sacrificial death part because they understand God’s wrath on sin, and the need for One to bear that punishment.

What many don’t understand is the importance of Christ’s righteous life because they overlook that God also maintains a righteous standard which must be met.

If all Christ did was die on the cross to pay for our sin,
He would have only succeeded in taking us back to even with God,
And I think it is accurate to say that from there
We would have only blown it again.

Certainly His death is essential in appeasing God’s wrath on our sin.
But in what way did Christ satisfy God’s righteous requirements for us?

And that answer is THROUGH HIS ACTIVE OBEDIENCE,
Or through His righteous life.

We used the illustration of you telling your son to mow the yard.
• If he refuses then certainly there will be punishment, but even after the
punishment, the yard must still be mowed.

• Christ stepped in as the older brother who not only took our punishment,
but also mowed the yard for us.

This was the essence of what He said in:
Matthew 5:17 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.”

He satisfied both God’s wrath and God’s righteous requirement.

I was reading this week a book by R.C. Sproul called
“The Truth of The Cross”
And I found what he wrote helpful in further understanding the concept here.

In the book Sproul said that sin is described in Scripture in 3 different ways.
1) As a Debt
2) As a State of Enmity
3) As a Crime

I just want to talk about the first, that sin is seen as a debt.

And you understand the analogy.
Matthew 6:12 “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”

Or perhaps you remember the parable in Matthew 18
• About the man who owed his king 10,000 talents, but the man was unable to repay, and when begging for mercy the king forgave him.

Matthew 18:27 “And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt.”

• Of course the story goes on to reveal how that slave then found a fellow slave who owed him 100 denarii and also demanded repayment.
• However when his fellow slave asked for the same mercy, the first slave refused it, prompting the king to respond.

Matthew 18:32-34 “Then summoning him, his lord said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. ‘Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’ “And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him.”

Sin is pictured there as a debt.

Here is what R.C. Sproul had to say:
“If I am under someone’s authority, that person has the right to impose obligations on me, so if he or she issues a morally sound command to me, I am responsible to carry out that obligation. Likewise, we are under God’s authority by virtue of His authorship of all things, so He has the intrinsic and absolute right to impose obligations on us. When He does so, we “owe” obedience to Him. If we fail to perform the obligations He places on us, we incur a debt…When sin is depicted as a debt, the New Testament calls Christ our Surety (Heb. 7:22). That’s an economic term, just as debt is an economic term. With this language, the Bible tells us that Christ is the One Who cosigns the note. He is the One who stands there, backing up our indebtedness, taking on Himself the requirement of what must be paid.”
(Sproul, R.C. [The Truth Of The Cross; Reformation Trust Publishing, Sanford, FL, 1982] pg. 34, 42)

That paints another great picture of what we are talking about here.

We have a debt we have occurred before God.
• Not just a sin debt (which we often refer to)
• But also a righteousness debt which has yet to be paid

Sproul speaks of Christ as
THE ONE WHO COSIGNS our note to pay off our debt.

If you’ve ever cosigned for someone you understand the responsibility.

The difference of course is that you do it
Fully expecting the other party to take care of their debt,
Christ signed knowing full well that we were already delinquent.

He came to offer to God the righteousness which we had failed to give
And therefore to satisfy our negative account.

That is what are talking about
When we talk about the ACTIVE OBEDIENCE of Christ.

He wasn’t just satisfying God’s penalty for our sin.
He was satisfying God’s requirement for our righteousness.

And to look at this further, last time we began looking at Hebrews 10.
I want to pick that back up tonight and see what the writer has to say.

Now we saw the first point last time:
#1 A SYMBOL, REPEATED PERPETUALLY, CAN NEVER SAVE
Hebrews 10:1-4

Here we read that familiar truth that
“it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”

The writer of Hebrews was addressing the problem of Judaism,
Namely that they were prone to trust in their religious ceremony as an effective atonement.

The writer of Hebrews says,
• “If that is true, then why does the priest have to keep offering it every year?”

• “If that goat or those sheep or those bulls were so effective then why do they have to do it so often?”

The reality is that those things were nothing more than a symbol of atonement, but were not actually an effective atonement.

What is more, COMMON SENSE would tell you that the notion of God wanting goat’s blood as an all-sufficient payment for your sin is absolutely absurd.

The reality is that
• These things were “only a shadow of the good things to come and not
the very form of things,”
• And therefore the priests “can never, by the same sacrifices which they
offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near.”

And that was the key issue.
God mercifully agreed to accept those sacrifices
AS A PLEDGE against the real sacrifice that would one day be offered.
Those were really nothing more than I.O.U’s

That is to say, He agreed not to kill you when you brought them,
As they were a picture of the real offering that was on its way.

But because those were nothing more than figurative pictures
THEY COULD NOT MAKE YOU PERFECT.

They could not satisfy God.
Not His requirement of righteousness
& Not His wrath on sinfulness

A symbol, repeated perpetually, can never save
BUT…
#2 A SAVIOR, ROBED IN PERFECTION, DID FINALLY SATISFY
Hebrews 10:5-10

So first we come to grips with the fact that
All of those religious efforts were terribly insufficient.
They never worked.

That means sinners remained deficient in righteousness – still needing it
And they remained in their sin – still needed forgiveness.

What are they to do?
(5-7) Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, “SACRIFICE AND OFFERING YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED, BUT A BODY YOU HAVE PREPARED FOR ME; IN WHOLE BURNT OFFERINGS AND sacrifices FOR SIN YOU HAVE TAKEN NO PLEASURE. “THEN I SAID, ‘BEHOLD, I HAVE COME (IN THE SCROLL OF THE BOOK IT IS WRITTEN OF ME) TO DO YOUR WILL, O GOD.'”

Here the writer is quoting from Psalms 40
TURN TO: PSALMS 40

This was one of the first Psalms I ever read after I was saved, and I was able to instantly peg this as a Psalm of salvation.

1) The Psalmist’s Deliverance (1-3)
• He recognized how God had pulled him out of the pit of sin and shame and given him a firm foundation.

2) The Psalmist’s Doxology (4-5)
• This is the “new song” he is now singing; that trusting God is so worth it.

3) The Psalmist’s Delight (6-8)
• The Psalmist says, “Now I get it”, it was never about religious routine, what You always wanted was an obedient life, well that’s what I want to give.

4) The Psalmist’s Declaration (9-10)
• Now the Psalmist has turned evangelist and is telling everyone else that it’s not about sacrifices, but all about righteousness!

5) The Psalmist’s Discernment (11-12)
• He recognizes now that God is for him and that he will be delivered from dangerous without and iniquity within.

6) The Psalmist’s Desire (13-17)
• Namely that God would deliver him yet again from his enemies and his sin.

Now that is a wonderful Psalm depicting salvation.
You clearly see the changed attitude of the Psalmist.

However, there is still an implied problem that is not addressed
Until the writer of Hebrews addresses in the New Testament.

• This Psalmist recognized that God did not want sacrifices, but
rather that God wanted righteous living.

• THE PROBLEM, however, was that even though he knew it, he
obviously still didn’t give it. He couldn’t give it.

That’s why this Psalm begins and ends with cries for deliverance from sin

And isn’t that true of us in salvation?
• We don’t just repent of sin on the day we are saved,
• We find that repentance is the constant theme of our conversation with God
• Because even though we know God desires righteousness, we still can’t seem to give it.

The GOOD NEWS however is this.
The righteous standard that the Psalmist recognized in verses 6-8 (but couldn’t’ give) the writer of Hebrews said, that Christ did that for us.

He stepped in and satisfied our debt of righteousness before God.

The writer of Hebrews recognized Psalms 40 as a Messianic Psalm
And he attributes verses 6-8 as being about the Messiah.

This Psalm perfectly makes the writer’s point.

“Sacrifice and offering You have not desired”
That’s been the whole point. God doesn’t want a dead goat!

Psalms 50:7-15 “Hear, O My people, and I will speak; O Israel, I will testify against you; I am God, your God. “I do not reprove you for your sacrifices, And your burnt offerings are continually before Me. “I shall take no young bull out of your house Nor male goats out of your folds. “For every beast of the forest is Mine, The cattle on a thousand hills. “I know every bird of the mountains, And everything that moves in the field is Mine. “If I were hungry I would not tell you, For the world is Mine, and all it contains. “Shall I eat the flesh of bulls Or drink the blood of male goats? “Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving And pay your vows to the Most High; Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me.”

Isaiah 1:11-14 “What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?” Says the LORD. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle; And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats. “When you come to appear before Me, Who requires of you this trampling of My courts? “Bring your worthless offerings no longer, Incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies — I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly. “I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them.”

Jeremiah 7:21-24 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, “Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat flesh. “For I did not speak to your fathers, or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. “But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘ Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you will be My people; and you will walk in all the way which I command you, that it may be well with you.’ “Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and in the stubbornness of their evil heart, and went backward and not forward.”

God didn’t want sacrifices.
What did He want? Obedience! (The positive requirement of the Law)

He only allowed the sacrifices as a way to show them
The enormous cost of disobedience.

But the Israelites completely missed the point
And started placing all the value in the sacrifice.

Certainly David and the truly redeemed understood that,
But even they recognized their inability to fulfill it.

But when Jesus came He did fulfilled it for us.
“Sacrifice and offering You have not desired, but a body You have prepared for Me.”

When God sent Christ into the world, He didn’t send Him with a pet goat.
He didn’t say, “Now Jesus, you go down there and show them the proper way to sacrifice a goat.”

He just sent Jesus in a body to live out perfect obedience.

And that is what He did.
(6-7) “In whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sins You have taken no pleasure. Then I said, ‘Behold I come (in the scroll of the book it is written of Me) to do Your will, O God.”

I didn’t come to sacrifice goats, I came to live a perfect life.
I didn’t come to be religious, I came to be righteous.
I didn’t come to perform ceremonies, I came to be perfectly holy.

This was the absolute perfection of Jesus.
He perfectly obeyed every command of God.

I think one of the most unique places that this is seen is at His baptism.
Remember John when Jesus arrived?

Matthew 3:14-15 “But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” But Jesus answering said to him, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he permitted Him.”

We certainly understand why John would try to prevent Him.
• John knew He was righteous.
• Jesus didn’t need repentance.

But Jesus was baptized because
He was fulfilling all the commands that we were under.
John was a prophet of God and through John, God had commanded baptism.
So if Jesus was going to fulfill all the commands even He had to be baptized.

Jesus came to do God’s will.
He came to accurately fulfill what David recognized back in Ps 40.

AND THEN COMES THE WRITER’S POINT.

(8-9) “After saying above, “SACRIFICES AND OFFERINGS AND WHOLE BURNT OFFERINGS AND sacrifices FOR SIN YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED, NOR HAVE YOU TAKEN PLEASURE in them” (which are offered according to the Law), then He said, “BEHOLD, I HAVE COME TO DO YOUR WILL.” He takes away the first in order to establish the second.”

And notice the end of verse 9.
The writer is making another Old Testament point.

When Jesus said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will”
The writer said that Jesus was
Establishing a new means of making you pleasing God.

In fact the writer says, “He takes away the first in order to establish the second.”

What was He taking away?
That God could be pleased through the offering of a goat.

What was He establishing?
That God would be pleased through the offering of His own righteous life.

God was taking away the first ordinance (that He would accept goats)
And establishing the second (that He would accept Christ)

In Psalms 40:6-8 Jesus was saying, “I will come and be the sacrifice. I will come and be the offering. You don’t want goats, so I won’t offer them. I will offer My own perfect life.”

And then notice the power of verse 10.
“By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

How many times did Jesus offer His righteous life to God? “once”
What did He accomplish in doing so? “we have been sanctified”

Do you know what “sanctified” means?
It means “set apart as holy”

When Jesus offered His holy life to God on our behalf,
God accepted it and consequently set us apart as holy.

We were not holy, we are not righteous.
But God set us apart as such
Because He applied Christ’s righteousness to us.

He did what bulls and goats never could.
He satisfied God’s requirements.

This is why the active obedience of Christ is so important.
He satisfied our debt.
Not just our sin debt, but our righteousness debt.

God looked at Christ and said He was well-pleased.
And now God looks at us in the same way
Because His righteousness has been credited to us.
It is bigger than huge, it is everything!

A symbol, repeated perpetually, can never save.
A Savior, robed in perfection, did finally satisfy.
#3 A SINNER, RELYING ON HIS PAYMENT, IS FULLY SANCTIFIED
Hebrews 10:11-18

Now first we spoke of Christ’s active obedience.
• Namely that He lived for us.
• He obeyed for us.
• He was righteous for us.

And therefore He offered to God the righteousness that we failed to offer.

But the other side of Christ’s obedience is His PASSIVE OBEDIENCE.
• That is what He endured for us.
• Namely we are talking about the wrath He endured for our sin.

And that is what the writer of Hebrews addresses here.

Now here comes an awesome comparison.
He’s going to put that priest at the Day of Atonement
Side by side with Christ.

(11-14) “Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD, waiting from that time onward UNTIL HIS ENEMIES BE MADE A FOOTSTOOL FOR HIS FEET. For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.”

First comes the earthly priests.
• Do you see them?
• Do you see them standing?
• Do you see them “daily ministering”?
• Do you see them “offering time after time the same sacrifices”?
• Do you see that they “never take away sins”?

Now look at Christ.
• He didn’t offer many sacrifices but “one sacrifice for sins for all time”
• He isn’t standing because He’s finished, He “sat down”
• And He didn’t offer a sacrifice that didn’t work. “For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.”

That’s it!
That’s the beauty!

At that moment on the cross when Jesus offered Himself to God.
He took every single person who would ever believe in Him
And He perfected them!
He SATISFIED THE WRATH THEY OBTAINED
And SUPPLIED THE RIGHTEOUSNESS THEY LACKED.

2 Corinthians 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

Isaiah 53:4-6 “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.”

Colossians 1:19-20 “For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.”

Colossians 2:13-14 “When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”

And probably the greatest symbolic picture that occurred was
When Jesus died on the cross something happened
That no Day of Atonement had ever accomplished.
THE VEIL CAME DOWN!

Matthew 27:45-54 “Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?” that is, “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?” And some of those who were standing there, when they heard it, began saying, “This man is calling for Elijah.” Immediately one of them ran, and taking a sponge, he filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink. But the rest of them said, “Let us see whether Elijah will come to save Him.” And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many. Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

For the first time since the fall in the garden access to God was available.
And the only way that is possible is if sinners are made perfect
Because no one else gets into the presence of God.

That is what Jesus did on the cross.
He made those who trust in Him perfect, acceptable to God!

The headlines in heaven read:
• “Sinners declared righteous through life of Jesus”
• “Veil comes down, access to God granted through death of Jesus”
• “Forgiveness achieved through crucifixion of Jesus”

This was the effect of Christ’s obedience.
• His Active obedience supplied the righteousness that we lacked.
• His Passive obedience satisfied the wrath we had acquired.

And what that means is that CHRIST ALONE is all that is required.

Listen as the writer finishes his thought:
(15-18) “And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after saying, “THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THEM AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD: I WILL PUT MY LAWS UPON THEIR HEART, AND ON THEIR MIND I WILL WRITE THEM,” He then says, “AND THEIR SINS AND THEIR LAWLESS DEEDS I WILL REMEMBER NO MORE.” Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin.”

Do you recognize that passage?
It is Jeremiah 31, that passage on the New Covenant that the writer introduced back in chapter 8.

He is reminding of the promised effect of that new covenant.
“their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

The promised effect of that new covenant
Was forgiveness of all your sins.
And the writer wants you to know that it happened.

To which he says: “Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin.”

In other words, you no longer need the Day of Atonement.
• You don’t have to go to Passover anymore.
• You don’t have to attend the feast of booths any more.
• You don’t have to bind that Law on your forehead.
• You don’t have to bring God any more goats or bulls or grain offerings.

Your religious ceremonies are no longer needed.
Jesus satisfied God’s requirements.
Jesus paid your debts.

You are forgiven – You are free – You are now perfect

And that is true for every single sinner
Who places their faith in Jesus Christ.

They are now perfected.
Romans 8:1-4 “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

Jesus did what the Law couldn’t do.
He offered His perfect life as an offering for sin,
And through Him we are now perfected in the sight of God.

Do me a favor tonight if you’ve placed your faith in Jesus Christ.
Take a deep breath in. Now let it out.

Your labors are over
Your work is over
God is pleased and there’s nothing left for you to do

It is not as Rome teaches
• That Christ came to make it possible for you to live righteous.
• Or that Christ’s example shows you how to live righteous.
• Or that Christ’s authority threatens you to now live righteous.
• Or that Christ’s power now enables and expects you to become righteous.

Those sell Christ terribly short regarding what He did for us.

• He actively obeyed God His entire life that He might accrue all the righteous merit which God demanded.
• He passively endured suffering on the cross that He might pay for all sins at which God was angered.

And when we come to Him in faith,
Both of those aspects of His obedience are transferred to us.

Again, I read it:
2 Corinthians 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

So now, that we’ve begun this study
Let me make another seemingly SHOCKING STATEMENT to you.

• We spent several weeks on the doctrine of SOLA FIDE where we said that man is justified by faith alone.
• We talked about salvation is by grace and through faith and not of works.

Well now let me tell you this.
WE ARE ABSOLUTELY JUSTIFIED BEFORE GOD BY WORKS

You heard me. We are absolutely justified by works.
It’s just that it’s not by our works;
It’s by the works of Christ which we clothe ourselves in.

That is why it is so important for us to be “in Him”
And we’ll talk about that more next time.

Authority To Forgive
Luke 5:17-26
February 18, 2018

OK, by now you know what’s going on here in Luke’s gospel.
• Luke introduced Jesus to us
• Luke showed us the type of people Jesus came to save
• Luke showed us how Jesus has been traveling around offering that salvation.

I really think the central passage of Luke’s gospel thus far
Is when Jesus returned home to Nazareth.

Matthew and Mark both record the event
Matthew and Mark both record His rejection there
But only Luke records the powerful sermon Jesus preached.

Luke 4:17-21 “And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written, “THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.” And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

I really think that passage is the central theme to the message Luke is preaching to us about Jesus.

Jesus claimed to be the One whom God sent to:
• Give grace to spiritual beggars who had nothing to offer God.
• Give forgiveness to sinful criminals who awaited punishment.
• Give sight to spiritually blind men who had no knowledge of God.
• Give relief to spiritually burdened men who had labored to try and please God.
• Give salvation to sinners and grant them access into God’s kingdom

And of course Luke also recorded how Jesus began to quickly validate that claim.
• We saw the demon cast out
• We saw Peter’s mother-in-law healed of her fever
• We saw all the sick in Capernaum healed
• We saw Peter’s great catch of fish
• We saw the leper cleansed

Luke is making it obvious that Jesus can do what He said.

However LAST WEEK WE REALIZED that
Luke was starting to prepare us for ANOTHER ARGUMENT.

At first people just thought Jesus was crazy for making such claims.
Once they saw His power, they realized that His authority was not joke.
HE REALLY DOES HAVE POWER.

But we also noted that the next question is going to be:
Sure He has power, but where did He get it from?

And you have read enough of the gospels to know that
They are going to attribute His power to the devil and seek to discredit Him that way.

Luke has already begun to challenge that faulty notion
By revealing that Jesus routinely returns to God in prayer,
Even if He has to leave the crowd to do it.

Jesus seeks the Father; that is where His authority comes from.
It is just as Jesus quoted when in Nazareth,
“The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me…He anointed Me to preach…
He sent Me to proclaim”

Jesus has authority and this authority came from God.
And we saw that last time.

But that is the next battle He is going to fight.
They are about to start challenging Jesus commitment to the Father in order to try and discredit His ministry.

The marvelous thing is that Jesus foils them at every turn.
Not just because He is smarter than them.
But because He really did come from the Father.

5 points
#1 THE SCENE
Luke 5:17

Now pay special attention here to this verse because Luke is giving you information that no one else gave, and he is doing so for a purpose.

First we have Jesus in the ministry.
“One day He was teaching”

This ISN’T NEW information, nor is it exclusive to Luke.
Mark’s gospel also reveals what Jesus is doing here.
• He came to teach.
• He came to preach the gospel.
• He came to offer access into the kingdom.
• That’s what He always does.
• This day was no different.

EXCEPT: on this day He got a new crowd.
(And only Luke reveals this)

“and there were some Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem;”

Certainly the other gospel writers tell us that
There were some scribes there who would later question Jesus,
But no one told us they had shown up to this extent.

This wasn’t some coincidental congregation.
• This was pre-meditated.
• It’s obvious that word about Him has gotten out.

As I told you, by this point He’s already been to Jerusalem and back.
He’s already cleared the temple once.

And now He’s causing quite a commotion throughout Galilee
And the Pharisees and lawyers have decided
To pay a little closer attention to this traveling teacher.

This isn’t a normal crowd, they’re scouting Him out.

And then Luke reveals one more piece of information.
“and the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing.”

NOW DON’T MISUNDERSTAND LUKE HERE.
He is NOT insinuating that Jesus’ power was only available intermittently.

There is no time in Scripture recorded where Jesus wanted to work a miracle, or heal someone and had to say, “Sorry, there’s no power available today.”

Luke is NOT insinuating that sometimes He had it and sometimes He didn’t.

Luke is merely setting the scene of what’s about go down here
By reminding you that all of these religious big-wigs had showed up
And don’t forget, Jesus has the power to work miracles.

Luke’s intent is that you will evaluate the scene.
• On one hand Jesus is teaching the crowd like He always did.
• But in walks a large group of skeptics here to evaluate and challenge Him, mostly looking for dirt on Him.
• And then we have Jesus who has proven by now that He has the power to back up everything He says.

Can you see that the stage is set for an explosion?

If you have any ability to read a room at all you should be able to see that
THIS SCENE COULD GET VERY INTERESTING VERY QUICKLY.

I show you that because I simply want you to know that
The miracle coming is not Luke’s only purpose in writing.

Certainly he wants you to see that, but it is also clear that he is very interested in making sure you understand the battle that is underway.
This isn’t just Jesus vs Sin
This is also shaping up to be Jesus vs The Religious Establishment

The Scene
#2 THE SPARK
Luke 5:18-19

Well we already saw that the room was rather tense.
PEOPLE HAD TO KNOW what was going down there.

I mean if a group of seminary professors or an anti-religious group showed up in mass form this morning and sat down in church you’d all be curious what was going on.
What is more, you’d also be wondering how I would handle it.

That’s got to be running through the mind of the crowd here as well.
• Will Jesus do anything brass with all of these guys watching?
• Will He make any of those outlandish claims with these guys here?
• Will He try and work some miracle with a Pharisee right in front of Him?

It was a room tense and ready to blow, all it needed was a spark.

And boy was one provided.
(18-19) “And some men were carrying on a bed a man who was paralyzed; and they were trying to bring him in and to set him down in front of Him. But not finding any way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down through the tiles with his stretcher, into the middle of the crowd, in front of Jesus.”

Well, it was bound to happen.
• Jesus is in town and everyone knows the word has spread.

• No doubt this paralytic heard about it, or perhaps one of his friends heard about it, but one thing is certain, the plan was to get this man to Jesus.

In many ways, this is no different than what has happened for many years in America when a prominent faith-healer comes to town.
• People with illnesses and infirmities go to see them.
• People who have loved ones with illnesses and infirmities take them to see
them.
• Sometimes even people who are skeptical still go because the hope of being
healed is a massive urge.

This man is just fortunate to have 4 friends
Who cared about him enough to take him.
And the goal was just to go and set this man down in front of Jesus.

BUT THERE WAS A PROBLEM.
They were “not finding any way to bring him in because of the crowd”

• There they are again, that selfish group of people that we most recently saw driving Jesus into the sea because they were all jockeying for position.
And here they are at it again, unwilling to yield or move
To let an obvious afflicted man get through.

It’s probably important to note at this time as well, that while we are sure that this paralytic wasn’t the only sick man in the crowd, we do know there was a rather large group of spiritual leaders there who weren’t willing to let this man through either.

But this man did not have any ordinary friends.
“they went up on the roof and let him down through the tiles with his stretcher, in the middle of the crowd, in front of Jesus.”

That’s what you call making an entrance.
I certainly sense a little “Red Neck” gitt-er-done,
In your face, brashness here.

But can you imagine what it must have been like to all of a sudden have someone poke a hole in the roof and start tearing away the sod?

• You know people were at first startled,
• And then probably a little irritated as the dirt fell on them.
• I know the deacon in that room that was running the sound was mad because all he was thinking about was having to fix that roof.

And then to have that paralytic lowered down
As Luke says, “in the middle of the crowd, in front of Jesus.”

That’s what you call a show-stopper.
And there’s your spark.

If there was any hope of just preaching a nice little message without offending that group of Pharisees all of that is now out the window.

That’s just not going to happen now.
You realize that Jesus now has to deal with this issue.

This isn’t like many of those modern day faith-healers who do a good job of catching the wheel chairs at the door and ushering them into the private room where they watch the whole thing on a TV screen.

Well, someone just dropped a paralytic right on stage.
Jesus has to deal with him.
And He has to deal with him with the Pharisees watching.

SO WHAT ARE HIS OPTIONS?

Well, He can just heal the man and put His power on display.

But that’s not the move He’s after
Because physical healing is not the goal.
His miracles of healing are strictly for reinforcing His message,
But His message isn’t finished yet, it has been interrupted in the middle.

To heal this man now is just going to start the healing frenzy
Before the message is finished.

The other option is to not heal the man and just move him out of the way,

But that is just going to play right into the hands of the Pharisees
Who are there to discredit Him.

This is an interesting situation.
Rest assured there are some people over in the corner looking at Jesus and then looking at the Pharisees who are a little curious how this whole thing is going to play out.

The Scene, The Spark
#3 THE STATEMENT
Luke 5:20

This is remarkable on a number of levels.

First, I think we have to ask the obvious.
WHY DID JESUS START WITH FORGIVENESS?

The obvious issue at hand is that this man’s paralysis, not his sin.

Now, I’m well-aware of the stigma of the day which assumed all sickness to be the result of a person’s sin, so certainly there were people in that room who thought he was a paralytic because he was a sinner.

SO IT’S NOT LIKE FORGIVENESS IS TOTALLY FOREIGN.

It’s just that when a paralytic gets lowered through the ceiling
I think the request is obvious.

He wants to be healed.
(Luke already reminded us that the power for healing was there)
BUT JESUS GIVES FORGIVENESS.

WHY?
BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT JESUS CAME TO DO.

We know what Jesus has been preaching,
Luke has made sure we are aware of the gospel He is preaching.

Jesus has been talking about giving freedom to captives
And when this man comes down through the roof,
Jesus sees the opportunity for the ultimate illustration.
He forgives this man.

AND THAT PERFECTLY HANDLES THE CROWD AS WELL.
• Now if anyone wants to rush Jesus for their own benefit, they also have to
acknowledge their sin
• Because presently Jesus isn’t handing out healing, He’s handing out
forgiveness.

It also reveals the priority of Jesus
To recognize and treat the most urgent needs first.

If you set up a triage center after an earthquake and they bring a man to you who is bleeding extensively, you don’t first go to work on his in grown toe nail.
He won’t die from the toe nail, he will die from the bleeding.

Well Jesus understands that too.
If it seems bizarre to us that
He would skip the paralysis and start with the forgiveness
It is only because we don’t have a correct understanding
Of what the real problem of humanity is.

Paralytics can go to heaven, unforgiven sinners can’t.
It may look like his real problem is paralysis, but it only looks that way.

This man’s real problem is that he has offended the God of the universe
And he stands condemned facing eternal torment.
Paralysis is nothing compared to hell.

Jesus fixes the right problem first.
In fact, this man’s sin problem is so much more severe than his paralysis problem that Jesus isn’t even urgent to fix that one.

But beyond that, don’t miss the remarkable reality here.
JESUS JUST FORGAVE THIS MAN OF ALL HIS SINS

How could Jesus do that?
Jesus just agreed to pay for them Himself.

You should all know that forgiveness is never free.
If you forgive someone then you agree to basically eat the debt they owe you.
You agree to pay the cost yourself.

That’s what makes forgiveness so difficult.

But Jesus didn’t just forgive this man for tearing a hole in the roof,
He forgave this man for a lifetime of offending God.

For that to occur God would have to appeased.
Jesus was agreeing to be that man’s appeasement.

Remember when Paul wrote that letter to Philemon about forgiving Onesimus?

He wrote:
Philemon 17-19 “If then you regard me a partner, accept him as you would me. But if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge that to my account; I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand, I will repay it…”

That is the cost of forgiveness and that is the offer of Jesus.

Jesus just worked the most amazing miracle any person ever received.
He agreed to satisfy this man’s debt before God.

And so, just for a moment stop and contemplate that.
• Not only is forgiveness your biggest need,
• But it is also a need that is only satisfied in Jesus.

Don’t miss that.

The Scene, The Spark, The Statement
#4 THE SCORN
Luke 5:21

WELL, THERE IT IS.
These religious leaders came in to this room with one agenda; they were looking for dirt on this traveling teacher.

• They’d heard all about Him.
• They’d even seen some of what He had done.
• What they needed was some video footage on YouTube that could be used to discredit His ministry.

They needed something that was so awful and so unbiblical
That the world would know that this man could not possibly be from God.
That’s all they were out to prove, and here they think they have it.

When Jesus says this man is forgiven,
They all start making eye contact with each other.

Some even leaned over to one another and “began to reason, saying, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?”

Incidentally, that’s not a new response.
• This is not the first time the crowd has thought His message was absurd.
• This is not the first time the crowd has responded by saying, “Who does He think He is?”

And again I remind you that you cannot simply call Jesus
A “good man” or a “moral teacher”.

If this guy isn’t God then He is a lunatic.
If He isn’t God then He is absolutely a blasphemer.

And what you need to know about these Pharisees
Is that their theology was spot on.

“Who can forgive sins, but God alone?” – absolutely no one.

Their theology was right.
It was their discernment that was lacking.

Only God can forgive sins,
What they couldn’t see was that God was standing right in front of them.

But because He has made such an outlandish claim,
They think they have Him dead to rights.

They are about to take this little statement
And use it to undermine His entire ministry…so they think.

#5 THE SIGN
Luke 5:21-26

Now notice that THESE MEN DID NOT CONFRONT Jesus.
• None of those Pharisees raised their hand and said, “You sir are out of order!”
• None of those Pharisees ripped their garments or made a spectacle.

They weren’t looking for a debate,
They were just looking for dirt and now they had it.

Their problem was that Jesus WAS looking for a debate.
“But Jesus, aware of their reasonings, answered and said to them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins have been forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?”

They didn’t have to confront Jesus in verbal debate,
He could read their minds.
He knew what they were thinking and He brought the battle to them.

And after exposing their skepticism
He then asks them a very easy question to answer.

“Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins have been forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?”

Now, don’t misread the question.
HE DID NOT ASK:
Which is easier to forgive this man or to heal him?

Because I can tell you that healing this man is much easier than forgiving Him.

• Even to our day there are many forms of paralysis that are beyond the human ability to heal,
• But I promise you that humanity would come much closer to healing every single paralytic than they ever will absolving their sin debt before God.
• You might pull off healing this man, but none of us can forgive Him.

JESUS DIDN’T ASK IF FORGIVENESS OR HEALING WAS EASIER.

Jesus asked, which is easier “to say”?

And that is an easy question to answer.
• Anyone can say you’re forgiven.
• Anyone can say God is no longer angry at you.
• Anyone can say you are going to heaven when you die.

We’ve got false prophets all over the world
Who say that kind of stuff all the time.

And anyone can say it because it’s absolutely unverifiable.
It’s not like you can go have a cat scan done
And see if there is still wrath aimed at you.
Saying that is easy.

If this paralytic is forgiven, no one can tell it.
• That was actually the point of the Pharisees.
• Jesus told the man he was forgiven and the Pharisees scoffed as if to say, “Yeah right! Only God can do that.”

But saying to this man “Get up and walk”,
Now that’s a whole different story.

Jesus is here using His miracles as He always used His miracles.
To verify His preaching.

He wasn’t healing this man because
He wanted to rid the world of paralysis.
He was healing this man because
He wanted to prove He could forgive sin.

(24-25) “But, so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,” — He said to the paralytic — “I say to you, get up, and pick up your stretcher and go home.” Immediately he got up before them, and picked up what he had been lying on, and went home glorifying God.”

That is remarkable!
Jesus didn’t lay a finger on that man.
He didn’t pop his back…
He didn’t push on a pressure point…
He didn’t even prop him up…
He just told him to get up and walk and the man did!
And I love that the man didn’t even hang around,
He just cut through the crowd and went home.

If you think the tension in the room was intense before,
I’m telling you this whole place is crawling now.

(26) “They were all struck with astonishment and began glorifying God; and they were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen remarkable things today.”

FIRST “they were all struck with astonishment”

“astonishment” translates EKSTASIS
It is a transcendent, out of reality experience.

The first thing that happened is
They realized they weren’t in Kansas anymore.
This is not normal.

AND THEN it says they “began glorifying God”

Because they realized that
This Jesus standing in front of them was no ordinary man.
If only God could forgive sins…
And Jesus just forgave this man…
Then God must me be standing right here in front of us.

AND THEN it says “they were filled with fear”

“fear” there translates PHOBOS, it’s where we get our word for phobia.

THEY ARE TERRIFIED.
Why?
Listen to what they say, “We have seen remarkable things today.”

And they aren’t just talking about the miracle.
These people are struck with fear because they’ve just seen God.

Remember when Peter saw God?
Luke 5:8 “But when Simon Peter saw that, he fell down at Jesus’ feet, saying, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!”

That is this crowd.

And at this point the Pharisees have been silenced.
Now that silence is short-lived, they are about to come after Jesus with everything they have, but they certainly lost the battle on this day.

BUT THE MAIN POINT HAS BEEN MADE.

• This Jesus is God in human flesh.

• He has been commissioned by God Himself to come offer grace to beggars
and forgiveness to captives, to open blind eyes, and give relief to the
burdened.

• And what He says He can do. He can do.

• Including forgive you of your sin.

If you don’t understand the value of forgiveness (most of our world doesn’t)
Then let me explain it to you.

The reason our world doesn’t understand the value of forgiveness
Is because they don’t understand the consequence of sin.

But God has a lot to say in His word about what will happen to sinners.
Called “the wicked” throughout the Bible.

Psalms 1:4-6 “The wicked are not so, But they are like chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the wicked will perish.”

Psalms 11:5-7 “The LORD tests the righteous and the wicked, And the one who loves violence His soul hates. Upon the wicked He will rain snares; Fire and brimstone and burning wind will be the portion of their cup. For the LORD is righteous, He loves righteousness; The upright will behold His face.”

Psalms 75:8 “For a cup is in the hand of the LORD, and the wine foams; It is well mixed, and He pours out of this; Surely all the wicked of the earth must drain and drink down its dregs.”

Psalms 145:20 “The LORD keeps all who love Him, But all the wicked He will destroy.”

Psalms 146:9 “The LORD protects the strangers; He supports the fatherless and the widow, But He thwarts the way of the wicked.”

Psalms 147:6 “The LORD supports the afflicted; He brings down the wicked to the ground.”

And look, we could go on and on and on.
God will destroy the wicked.

And here’s the reality – YOU AND I ARE WICKED
• We have offended God.
• We have broken His commands.
• We have done what He said we should not do, and we have failed to do what He said we must do.

Romans 3:10-12 “as it is written, “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.”

The greatest need of every single human is that of forgiveness.
• It’s not some ailment you have…
• It’s not some financial problem…
• It’s not some social dilemma…
• It’s not some deadline…
• IT’S THE FACT THAT OUR SIN HAS LANDED US UNDER THE TERRIBLE WRATH OF GOD.

But here is the good news that Luke is trying to pound in to our brains.
JESUS CAN PROVIDE THAT FORGIVENESS

We’ve looked at this verse a lot recently on Sunday nights, but what a glorious reality.
2 Corinthians 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

And that is the very basis for forgiveness
For every person that has ever been forgiven.

In our story this morning.
BECAUSE OF WHAT JESUS PROMISED THIS MAN
• Even though Jesus was perfectly righteous, God treated him as though He had
lived that paralytic’s life.
• God poured out the full fury of hell upon Jesus.
• And then God treated that paralytic like He had lived Jesus’ life.

That was the transaction Jesus worked on this man.

And that is the transaction Jesus works
On behalf of all of those who come to Him in faith.

That is why Paul said this:
2 Corinthians 5:18-20 “Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”

That is my plea this morning too.
I also beg you to be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ.

• Leave your sin, leave your pride, leave your notion of “goodness”
• Own what you are, own what you have done
• Understand how you have offended God and see His fury.
• And run to Jesus that He might forgive you and reconcile you to God.