Were It Not for Grace

(Written by: Larnelle Harris)
(Performed by: Peggy Swaringen)

Time measured out my days
Life carried me along
In my soul I yearned to follow God
But knew I’d never be so strong
I looked hard at this world
To learn how heaven could be gained
Just to end where I began
Where human effort is all in vain

Were it not for grace
I can tell you where I’d be
Wandering down some pointless road to nowhere
With my salvation up to me
I know how that would go
The battles I would face
Forever running but losing the race
Were it not for grace

So here is all my praise
Expressed with all my heart
Offered to a Friend who took my place
And ran a course I could not start
And when He saw
Just how much His love would cost
He still went the final mile between me and heaven
So I would not be lost

Were it not for grace
I can tell you where I’d be
Wandering down some pointless road to nowhere
With my salvation up to me
I know how that would go
The battles I would face
Forever running but losing the race
Were it not for grace

Forever running but losing the race
Were it not for grace

Download Here:

The Suffering Servant – Part 2
Psalms 69
April 26, 2020

Tonight it is our objective to once again look at this 69th Psalm.
We studied through it last week and sympathized with David
And the suffering which he was forced to endure.

But we also noted, as did many of the New Testament writers
That this Psalm carried a heavy prophetic weight.

(4) “Those who hate me without a cause”

John 15:24-25 “If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father as well. “But they have done this to fulfill the word that is written in their Law, ‘THEY HATED ME WITHOUT A CAUSE.’”

(9a) “For zeal for Your house has consumed me,”

John 2:15-17 “And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; and to those who were selling the doves He said, “Take these things away; stop making My Father’s house a place of business.” His disciples remembered that it was written, “ZEAL FOR YOUR HOUSE WILL CONSUME ME.”

(9b) “the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.”

Romans 15:2-3 “Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his edification. For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “THE REPROACHES OF THOSE WHO REPROACHED YOU FELL ON ME.”

(21) “They gave me gall for my food and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.”

Matthew 27:33-34 “And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means Place of a Skull, they gave Him wine to drink mixed with gall; and after tasting it, He was unwilling to drink.”

It is clear that this Psalm is about more than the temporary trial of David.
This Psalm is about the real Suffering Servant
Who is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ.

Indeed you are well aware that Jesus bore this title.
• He is often referred to as “The Suffering Servant”.
• Isaiah 53 refers to Him as “a man of sorrows”

In fact, there are 4 passages in the book of Isaiah
That are commonly referred to as “The Suffering Servant Passages”.

Isaiah 42:1-4
Isaiah 49:1-7
Isaiah 50:4-11
Isaiah 52:13-53:12

These are passages that prophesied of the coming Servant
Who would suffer on the behalf of His people.

And Jesus made no bones about it in the New Testament
That He came to fulfill those realities.

Matthew 16:21 “From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day.”

Matthew 17:22-23 “And while they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men; and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day.” And they were deeply grieved.”

Matthew 20:17-19 “As Jesus was about to go up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and on the way He said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, and will hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify Him, and on the third day He will be raised up.”

Luke 17:25 “But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.”

HE CAME TO SUFFER.

Psalms 69 is really about Him.

So while we can study this Psalm from David’s perspective
• And find a great example of how to suffer the right way.

What we really must do is read this Psalm from Christ’s perspective
• And read it not just as an example, but as a means of hope
• Because the suffering which Christ accomplished He did for us.

David suffered at the hands of godless men and gave us an example.
Christ suffered at the hands of godless men
And a Holy God and gives us salvation.

So we are definitely interested in walking through this Psalm again.

Now I gave you the outline last week,
• And assigned you homework to begin to search out the pictures of Jesus in this Psalm.
• And if you did that, then tonight’s sermon will most likely pale in comparison to the wonderful week you have already had gazing into the perfect sacrifice of Your Savior.

Again, there are 7 realities here.
#1 THE SUFFERING SERVANT
Psalms 69:1-4

When we looked at this from the perspective of David
We noted how his trial was severe.

He likened it to be drowning.
(2) “I have sunk in deep mire, and there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and a flood overflows me.”

This was the description David gave regarding his suffering.

NOW THAT’S NOT THE ONLY PLACE David described his suffering in those terms.
Psalms 40:1-2 “I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.”

Lostness itself was described by David in those terms.
He was stuck in the miry clay and the Lord pulled him out.

What we find in this 69th Psalm is that
The Lord rescued him from it by also Himself entering it.

We know this about Christ.
• He doesn’t just call down from heaven with instructions on how to escape our snare.
• He doesn’t just cry out to drowning victims and say, “Kick your feet! Now make a flapping motion with your arms…”

• No, He enters our pain.
• He enters our suffering.
• He enters the water, the miry clay, the deep mire with us.

HE DOES THAT HERE.
Christ, willingly became a partaker of our suffering.

And even the struggles found here can be easily seen in His life.

We read in verse 1 as David cries “Save me, O God”
• And we remember on the cross, what was also spoken in Psalms 22.

Psalms 22:1 “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning.”

We read in verse 3 as David laments “my throat is parched”
• And we remember our Lord on the cross what was also revealed in the
22nd Psalm.

Psalms 22:14-15 “I am poured out like water, And all my bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It is melted within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And my tongue cleaves to my jaws; And You lay me in the dust of death.”

I remind you that in David’s case, he had no choice; suffering found him.
But in Christ’s case, this suffering was a conscious decision.

HE WILLINGLY ENTERED OUR SUFFERING.

And while David could say they “hate me without a cause”

We understand that in Christ’s case this was absolutely true.
• He never gave a reason to be hated.
• He came only to do the work of God.
• He came only to save that which was lost.
• He came only to redeem that which was enslaved.
• He come only to reconcile that which was separated.
• He came only to restore that which was broken.

There was no cause for Him to be hated, and yet He was.

And probably the most telling line of His suffering comes at the end of verse 4.
“What I did not steal, I then have to restore.”

David laments having to pay a debt he did not cause.
But this is precisely what Christ came to do.

He didn’t suffer because of His own debt, but because of our debt.

All His pain, all His struggle, all His hardship
Was that which He willingly entered and endured
Because of the mistakes that we had made.

1 Peter 3:18 “For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;”

That is a great statement Peter makes when he says that Christ died…
“the just [Christ] for the unjust [us]”

He was the Suffering Servant.
Suffering unjustly for wrongs He did not commit
Simply because He willingly chose to enter our muddy pit.

#2 THE SANCTIFIED SERVANT
Psalms 69:5-12

And again we remember David
• Seemingly vindicating himself by crying out to God
• As if to say, “You know my heart and You know I’m innocent”.

Again, David may have actually believed that,
But at best David could only say that
He was INNOCENT IN THIS PARTICULAR MATTER.

The reality is that even when you and I think we are innocent we are not.
It is just that God hasn’t yet revealed to you
The full measure of your sinfulness.

But Christ, being examined by God really was.

And in this innocence He became the one hope
Of the faithful that they might be saved.

(6) “May those who wait for You not be ashamed through me, O Lord GOD of hosts; May those who seek You not be dishonored through me, O God of Israel,”

I think here of moments like the temptation in the wilderness.
• Imagine all of heaven, depending upon His redeeming work and therefore also depending on His perfect righteousness watching Him in His battle with Satan.

Satan is doing everything He can to cause Christ to fall from His perfection,
And because He is our only hope we watch eagerly as He fights that battle.

Or we watch at Caesarea Philippi
• As He announces His necessary death and Satan again (this time using Peter) tells Him He doesn’t have to die.

Or we watch in the garden
• As Peter offers to go to battle on His behalf and save Him from the Roman Cohort.

Or we watch on the cross
• As the religious leaders dared Him to come off the cross and save Himself.

If Jesus fails at any one of those moments
Our hope of salvation perishes, but He did not.

He was the truly Sanctified and Holy Servant of God.

Isaiah 42:1-4 “Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations. “He will not cry out or raise His voice, Nor make His voice heard in the street. “A bruised reed He will not break And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice. “He will not be disheartened or crushed Until He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law.”

Don’t you love that statement, “He will not be disheartened or crushed…”?

I’m so glad He didn’t get overwhelmed or discouraged and decide to quit.
He perfectly followed.

And of course that included His HOLY ZEAL
Which was on display when HE CLEARED THE TEMPLE
And bore the hatred that people really had toward God.

We read that “the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.”

Jesus Himself said:
John 8:42 “Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me.”

Jesus revealed that the reason they hated Him
Was because actually they hated God.

He bore that reproach because of His holiness.
Verse 8 says, “I have become estranged from my brothers And an alien to my mother’s sons.”

John 7:3-5 “Therefore His brothers said to Him, “Leave here and go into Judea, so that Your disciples also may see Your works which You are doing. “For no one does anything in secret when he himself seeks to be known publicly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.” For not even His brothers were believing in Him.”

And it didn’t matter what He did.
• It didn’t matter if He fasted (10) “it became my reproach”
• It didn’t matter if mourned in sackcloth (11) He “became a byword”
• It didn’t matter what He did, He was talked about.

Remember this sermon?
Matthew 11:16-19 “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market places, who call out to the other children, and say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’ “For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’ “The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”

It wouldn’t have mattered if He had eaten or not eaten; drank or not drank.
His life represented the holy presence of the Father
And so they were going to hate Him regardless.

David could say he was innocent and undeserving,
BUT CHRIST REALLY WAS.
His only offence was that He was holy
And the sinful world hated Him for it.

Yet for those who were looking to Him for salvation,
This holy suffering is our great hope.

The Suffering Servant, The Sanctified Servant
#3 THE SUBMISSIVE SERVANT
Psalms 69:13-19

Last time we listened to the faith of David here
And we talked about faithful suffering.

David was faithful in suffering because
Regardless of the difficulty, David never turned on God.
• He continued to trust God’s sovereignty
• He continued to trust God’s lovingkindness
• He continued to trust God’s compassion
• He continued to trust God’s omniscience

THAT WAS A GREAT EXAMPLE OF FAITHFUL SUFFERING.

But the faithful suffering of Jesus is even more remarkable
Because He had the power to escape that suffering at any moment
And yet faithfully remained in it.

Do you remember His conversation with Peter?
Matthew 26:52-54 “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?”

If you’ll remember this was the very truth Satan reminded Him of in the wilderness
When he told Him to throw Himself off the temple.

If Jesus had wanted out of the suffering,
He could have gotten out with the snap of a finger.
But He faithfully bore the suffering.

When we read (13) “But as for me, my prayer is to You, O LORD, at an acceptable time.”

It is the equivalent of Jesus in the garden praying:
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.”

Certainly in His humanity He dreaded what He was about to face,
And yet He willingly faced it.

We recently studied with the youth:
John 12:27-28 “Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. “Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came out of heaven: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.”

Even when granted the possibility of choosing to escape,
He faithfully endured.

He was The Submissive Servant.

Isaiah 50:4-6 “The Lord GOD has given Me the tongue of disciples, That I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple. The Lord GOD has opened My ear; And I was not disobedient Nor did I turn back. I gave My back to those who strike Me, And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard; I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting.”

Isaiah 53:7-9 “He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth. By oppression and judgment He was taken away; And as for His generation, who considered That He was cut off out of the land of the living For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due? 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.”

He just faithfully submitted to the call.
He willingly endured.
He was THE SUBMISSIVE SERVANT

But He also endured it with faith as David did.
He knew that even in His suffering God would vindicate Him.

(17-19) “And do not hide Your face from Your servant, For I am in distress; answer me quickly. Oh draw near to my soul and redeem it; Ransom me because of my enemies! You know my reproach and my shame and my dishonor; All my adversaries are before You.”

Jesus trusted that even in His suffering God would vindicate Him.

Remember His trial?
John 19:10-11 “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.”

He wouldn’t run to Pilate for deliverance, He just KEPT TRUSTING GOD.
1 Peter 2:23 “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;”

He simply believed that God would vindicate Him.
And God most certainly did.

Psalms 16:8-10 “I have set the LORD continually before me; Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will dwell securely. For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.”

And this was just another testimony
To His holiness and to His faithfulness.

The Suffering Servant, The Sanctified Servant, The Submissive Servant
#4 THE SLAUGHTERED SERVANT
Psalms 69:20-21

These two verses are easy to spot.

Isaiah 53:3-6 “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.”

We talk about His immense suffering on the cross.

And we know about the physical suffering.
• Certainly it was terrible.

But even more than the physical suffering
Was the EMOTIONAL and SPIRITUAL suffering.

And do you remember the scene at the cross?
Matthew 27:33-44 “And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means Place of a Skull, they gave Him wine to drink mixed with gall; and after tasting it, He was unwilling to drink. And when they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments among themselves by casting lots. And sitting down, they began to keep watch over Him there. And above His head they put up the charge against Him which read, “THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.” At that time two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and one on the left. And those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking Him and saying, “He saved others; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him. “HE TRUSTS IN GOD; LET GOD RESCUE Him now, IF HE DELIGHTS IN HIM; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.'” The robbers who had been crucified with Him were also insulting Him with the same words.”

It was a horrible display of rejection by man.
BUT IT’S WORSE EVEN THAN THAT.

David could say that he had no sympathy.
David could say that he had no comforters.
• But the reality is that David may have no earthly sympathy or earthly
comforters.
• But the very presence of the Psalm indicates that David had the sympathy
and comfort of the Father.

But Jesus did not even have that.
HE WAS FORSAKEN OF THE EVEN THE FATHER ON THE CROSS.

When Christ says, “I looked for sympathy, but there was none, And for comforters, but I found none” you understand what He meant.

He was crushed and forsaken even of the Father.

We all remember the, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

• Christ, on the cross was dying as a rejected sinner.
• Christ, on the cross was dying as the worst of humanity.
• He was mocked by the religious elite…
• He was mocked even by the criminals next to Him…
• He was forsaken of God…

He was slaughtered in every possible way on the cross.
No one ever has, nor ever will be able
To suffer to the extent that He suffered.

The Slaughtered Servant
#5 THE SUPREME SERVANT
Psalms 69:22-28

And this, as we said, is the one that shocks people a little.
• Because we distinctly remember Jesus on the cross praying, “Father, forgive them…”

So it seems strange to us initially that we would attribute this Psalm to Christ and yet see such an imprecatory prayer.

But we clearly see Christ referenced here.
(26) “For they have persecuted him whom You Yourself have smitten, And they tell of the pain of those whom You have wounded.”

Jesus was bearing the wrath of God which they deserved
And yet all they sought to do was add insult to injury.

And granted, the request here seems harsh.
• (24) “Pour out Your indignation on them…”
• (24) “may Your burning anger overtake them.”
• (27) “Add iniquity to their iniquity”
• (27) “may they not come into Your righteousness.”
• (28) “may they be blotted out of the book of life”
• (28) “may they not be recorded with the righteous.”

That is serious judgment.

First let me remind you that this is NOT NEW INFORMATION.
Jesus flat out warned them of this, did He not?

John 7:33-34 “Therefore Jesus said, “For a little while longer I am with you, then I go to Him who sent Me. “You will seek Me, and will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come.”

And then later in the conversation
John 8:21-24 “Then He said again to them, “I go away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin; where I am going, you cannot come.” So the Jews were saying, “Surely He will not kill Himself, will He, since He says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?” And He was saying to them, “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”

He had been very clear, that if you don’t repent and believe in Me
Then you’re not going to like where you end up.

If you reject Me then you are going to die in your sin
And You won’t be able to come where I am.

He promised them judgment for rejection.
That is the same reality we see here.

Consider Peter as he stands to preach at Pentecost.
• And Peter announces the unjust murder of Christ.
• And Peter announces the resurrection of Christ.
• And Peter announces the glorious ascension of Christ.

And then Peter says:
Acts 2:36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ — this Jesus whom you crucified.”

You say, “What was the point?”
Peter was letting them know that they blew it!
They killed God’s Christ.

And the people understood the ramifications.
Acts 2:37-38 “Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

You need to do what you previously refused to do.
IF YOU REJECT THIS SERVANT YOU WILL DIE IN YOUR SINS.

This isn’t harsh, it’s true.
• If you reject Christ then all you can expect is judgment.
• This is not a petty spirit on Jesus’ part,
• This is Jesus praying according to the very will of God.

Hebrews 10:26-31 “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY.” And again, “THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE.” It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

Jesus is the supreme Servant and you cannot overlook Him.

Listen to this suffering servant passage:
We read Isaiah 50:4-6 earlier about how He willingly gave His back to those who strike Him. LOOK AT THE REST OF THIS PASSAGE.

Isaiah 50:7-11 “For the Lord GOD helps Me, Therefore, I am not disgraced; Therefore, I have set My face like flint, And I know that I will not be ashamed. He who vindicates Me is near; Who will contend with Me? Let us stand up to each other; Who has a case against Me? Let him draw near to Me. Behold, the Lord GOD helps Me; Who is he who condemns Me? Behold, they will all wear out like a garment; The moth will eat them. Who is among you that fears the LORD, That obeys the voice of His servant, That walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God. Behold, all you who kindle a fire, Who encircle yourselves with firebrands, Walk in the light of your fire And among the brands you have set ablaze. This you will have from My hand: You will lie down in torment.”

Do you understand that this is part of it?
• He is the Suffering Servant, but He is no insignificant One.
• How you respond to His suffering determines your eternity.

Those who reject Him and crucify Him will be judged for all eternity.

But for those who receive Him it is a different story.
#6 THE SATISFYING SERVANT
Psalms 69:29-33

Here we listened as David showed us hope in the midst of his suffering.
That even in his pain he would sing to God
And that would be worth more to God than a sacrificial offering.

But the even greater picture is that
When Christ offered Himself to God
It was definitely worth more than some goat or ox.

We remember the offering which Christ presented.
Hebrews 9:11-12 “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.”

And that is good because Hebrews 10 reminds us that
“It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”

But when Jesus came He didn’t offer to God a bull,
He offered to God a righteous life.

Hebrews 10:5-7 “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.'”

And we remember that through offering God that righteous life,
God was satisfied.

Hebrews 10:10 “By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

Hebrews 10:14 “For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.”

And that is what we see here.
(31) “And it will please the LORD better than an ox or a young bull with horns and hoofs.”

Isaiah 53:10-11 “But the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities.”

The good pleasure of the Lord was satisfied in the sacrifice of Christ,
And therefore THE MANY WERE JUSTIFIED because of His offering.

And that is what David referenced.
(32) “The humble have seen it and are glad; You who seek the God, let your heart revive.”

What a joyful day when Christ satisfied the Father!
What a glorious day when Christ propitiated His wrath!

THE HUMBLE (who knew they could not save themselves)
Now rejoice in the offering of Christ which satisfied the Father!

Only Christ could have done it and He did!
He is the Satisfying Servant

The Suffering Servant, The Sanctified Servant, The Submissive Servant,
The Slaughtered Servant, The Supreme Servant, The Satisfying Servant
#7 THE SAVING SERVANT
Psalms 69:34-36

David looked with eyes to heaven
To the glorious choir singing of redemption.
“Let heaven and earth praise Him”, David said.

There is now a glorious heaven (36) “And those who love His name will dwell in it.”

And we remember yet another suffering servant passage.
Isaiah 49:4-7 “But I said, “I have toiled in vain, I have spent My strength for nothing and vanity; Yet surely the justice due to Me is with the LORD, And My reward with My God.” And now says the LORD, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, To bring Jacob back to Him, so that Israel might be gathered to Him (For I am honored in the sight of the LORD, And My God is My strength), He says, “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” Thus says the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel and its Holy One, To the despised One, To the One abhorred by the nation, To the Servant of rulers, “Kings will see and arise, Princes will also bow down, Because of the LORD who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen You.”

Notice that statement… “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

And when we go to the end of the book, we read about this scene:
Revelation 7:9-10 “After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”

HE IS THE SAVING SERVANT.

And speaking of this new Zion we read:
Revelation 21:27 “and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”

This is the work of Christ.
• He willingly came and entered our suffering.
• He came and paid a debt He did not owe.
• He endured through the suffering even though He could have escaped at any moment.
• And He endured that suffering alone, even at the hands of God.

And yet as a result of His suffering
• God vindicated Him through the resurrection
• And will yet vindicate Him by bringing judgment to His enemies.
• But for those who submit to Him, they rejoice in His salvation
• And eagerly anticipate spending eternity in Heaven with Him.

HE IS OUR SUFFERING SERVANT.
Not just one who taught us how to suffer,
But One who suffered for us so that we might be saved.

And when we sing Psalms 69 we sing it in honor of Him!
We sing it in gratitude to Him!

1 Peter 2:22-25 “WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH; 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; and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.”

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Justification According to Jesus
Luke 18:9-14
April 26, 2020

As you know, Jesus has been preaching in Luke’s gospel
Most recently regarding His coming kingdom.

It all began in 17:20 when Jesus was “questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming”

It was certainly a sarcastic and mocking question,
Not much different than those Peter spoke when people mock and ask
“Where is this Second Coming you speak of?”

But despite their mocking Jesus told them straight that
The Kingdom they should concern themselves with
Was the spiritual kingdom which was already in their midst.

These men simply needed to repent
And submit to the King of this present spiritual kingdom.

Of course you and I know that they were absolutely unwilling to do this.

From there Jesus did address His disciples regarding the future physical kingdom that would one day come and we discussed that.

• A Coming Departure – Christ was leaving and we would long for Him
• A Coming Deception – Evil men would deceive in the world
• A Coming Death – the unexpected necessary atonement
• A Coming Destruction – the judgment of the wicked at His 2nd Coming.

Then last week we jumped into chapter 18, but as we pointed out, the scene has not changed.

THERE WAS A DILEMMA IN WHAT JESUS HAD SAID.

If Jesus was going to leave, and deception and persecution where going to rise, how where His followers supposed to deal with that?

THE ANSWER.
Luke 18:1 “Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart,”

The answer was to pray.
And not just pray in general, but prayer to God for justice.

• And to illustrate that Jesus gave us the story of a widow woman who would not quit crying out to an unrighteous judge for vindication.
• Because she literally was beating him up on the inside, he finally granted her request
• And Jesus said that our good Heavenly Father will do the same.
• He will bring about justice.
The only reason we don’t see it right now
• Is because He is currently exercising patience toward all of His elect and will not judge the world until they are all in.
• But when all the wheat are gathered in the barn you can know for certain that He will burn the chaff with unquenchable fire.

In short, God will vindicate His own.
So don’t lose heart in your suffering…pray.

In light of Jesus’ promise to return and judge the wicked,
A believer living in a sinful world should not lose heart,
But should continually pray to God for justice.

That is how a believer lives in light of the second coming.

BUT IF YOU’LL REMEMBER,
Believers weren’t the only people who asked about the coming kingdom.

In fact, Jesus was first asked about it by non-believers;
He was asked by the Pharisees.

And Jesus has a parable for them as well.

Now you may also remember that when Jesus was explaining the destruction that would come with His return He gave A VERY SOLEMN WARNING.

Luke 17:31-33 “On that day, the one who is on the housetop and whose goods are in the house must not go down to take them out; and likewise the one who is in the field must not turn back. “Remember Lot’s wife. “Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.”

That was hardly the first time Jesus gave that warning.

Namely that “Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.”

Matthew 16:24-27 “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. “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? “For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS.”

What Jesus referred to was the necessity of denying self.

Often times when that concept is spoken about it is spoken of primarily in a PHYSICAL CONTEXT.
• We reference Peter and Andrew leaving their nets.
• We reference James and John leaving their father.
• We reference Matthew leaving his tax booth.
• We reference the R.Y.R. unwilling to leave his wealth.

And so often times the APPLICATION is made
To having to leave the things of this world in order to follow Christ.

And certainly that is true.
You can’t follow Christ and the world.

But even in that WE RECOGNIZE that in a physical context this looks different for almost everyone.

For example:
• Jesus told the R.Y.R. to sell all that he possessed and give it to the poor.
• Later Zaccheus will only volunteer half of his possessions.
• The disciples were called to leave their families and follow Jesus.
• But the Gadarene Demoniac was told to go back to his family.

The point is that while there is certainly a physical cost
There is not one universal standard
Of what “deny self” in that sense looks like.

Even at the end of John’s gospel
As Jesus told Peter that he would be bound and led where he did not want to go and killed, Peter asked Jesus “What about him?” (talking about John)

John 21:22 “Jesus said to him, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!”

The coming road was going to be different for those two men.

And so you see that in a physical context,
“Deny self” can look different for different people.

HOWEVER:
IN A SPIRITUAL CONTEXT, “deny self” is exactly the same for every single person.

I would also say that when Jesus mentions the necessity of denying self,
It is the spiritual context which has the first application.

What “deny self” means more than any other thing
Is that in order to follow Jesus you must deny yourself
As having any ability of earning your own salvation.

That is to say you must deny
• Self-Help
• Self-Righteousness
• Personal Accomplishments
• Your spiritual resume

Anything and everything you have ever done
By which you think that you have acquired credit and favor toward God
MUST BE DISCARDED.

You must (as Isaiah said) see all your righteous deeds as “filthy rags”.

Everything you have done that you might be tempted to “take pride” in
Or to stand on as that which makes you a good person
MUST BE TOTALLY AND PERMANENTLY DISCARDED.

Want some examples?
TURN TO: Philippians 3:1-11

Paul here actually warns about those whom he calls spiritual “dogs” and “evil workers” and “false circumcision”.

Their main problem?
They put confidence in the flesh.
They trust in what they have done.

And then Paul gives one of his great statements
On the utter worthlessness of our own human achievements
(even the highly religious ones)

Paul said (7) “whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.”

• That is, anything that boosted my reputation…
• Anything that made me feel more pleasing to God…
• Anything that made me feel good about myself…

I had to toss it.
Paul said in verse 8 that counted “them but rubbish”.

That is self-denial.

TURN TO: 1 Corinthians 3:18-20

Paul here spoke to the Corinthians who certainly wanted salvation,
But they also wanted a high-standing reputation to go with it.

They wanted to be saved, but they still wanted accolade in the world.
Paul burst their bubble.

Paul taught them that foolishness precedes wisdom.
• What he meant was that in order to acquire the highest wisdom you must first discard that which is esteemed by the world.

In the circle of academia you must commit intellectual suicide.
• You must turn from the pagan philosophies and trust in Christ.
• Things like creation, substitutionary atonement, exclusivity of Christ.

It was what Paul spoke of back in chapter 2 of the same book.
(flip back to 1 Corinthians 2:1-5)

That is self-denial.

TURN TO: John 6:66-69

• We studied John 6 Easter Sunday and remember how Jesus told the crowds that in order to be saved they must eat His flesh and drink His blood.
• Jesus told that crowd that He came from heaven and was headed back there again.
• The crowd departed because it was a hard statement.

But Peter knew he had to stay.
He could get eternal life nowhere else.

Peter in effect said, “I have no other outlet; no other plan; no other means to obtaining eternal life. Apart from You I am hopeless. I’ve got nothing on my own.”

That is self-denial.

And in order for you to be saved, IT MUST HAPPEN

And I’m going to tell you this morning church,
Unfortunately I see it all the time.
Men and women who want to be saved
But still want to maintain their reputation.

Even people who instead of denying self, actually try to use Jesus and His church to glorify themselves.

• I see preachers who desperately want to be considered “scholars”
• I see those who want to be regard as “great men of God”
• I see those desiring the title of “theologian”

AND JESUS SAW IT TOO.
But turn one more place for me:
TURN TO: Matthew 23:1-12

Can you see there this problem?
• These weren’t men who outwardly rejected God.
• These were men who supposedly followed God.
• They taught about God.
• They took on the title of teacher of the things of God.

But the problem was instead of deny themselves to follow God
They were trying to use God
As a means of bolstering their own religious accomplishments.

And what you must know
Is that just because they were participants in organized religion
Did not mean they were acceptable.

They came to religion, but they still didn’t deny self.
They tried to use religion to exalt self.
AND JESUS CALLED THEM OUT.
(12) “Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.”

They wouldn’t deny themselves.

Well, I know that was a rather lengthy introduction
But you see now where we are headed.

The statement Jesus made in Matthew 23:12
Is the same statement Jesus will make here in Luke 18:14.

He is addressing the same problem.
Men who will not deny themselves.

And as I told you, this parable is a direct illustration
To the statement made in Luke 17:33
Regarding the necessity that in order to gain life, one must lose it.

And the life they had to lose was their life of self-exaltation.

3 points this morning.
#1 THE PREFACE
Luke 18:9

Similar to the last parable, Luke also prefaces this one.
• Only this time he doesn’t tell us the main point of the parable right off the bat.
• This time he tells who it is for.

“And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous”

Well obviously we know who that is in this crowd.
It is those same Pharisees who first approached Him and asked about His kingdom.

He knew them and He knew what made them tick.
They were described as men “who trusted in themselves”

AND THINK ABOUT THAT FOR A MOMENT.

We are all aware of the unyielding
And unalterable divine requirement of God.
RIGHTEOUSNESS

God demands perfect righteousness and accepts nothing less.

Psalms 15 “O LORD, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill? He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, And speaks truth in his heart. He does not slander with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor takes up a reproach against his friend; In whose eyes a reprobate is despised, But who honors those who fear the LORD; He swears to his own hurt and does not change; He does not put out his money at interest, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.”

Over and over in the Old Testament we read: “You shall be holy, for I am holy”

Matthew 5:48 “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

It is the non-negotiable divine requirement of God.
Only holy and perfect people go to heaven to dwell with God.

At the very least this puts all men on a quest for righteousness.
• Righteousness must be the most valuable commodity to any man anywhere
since it alone is accepted for entrance into heaven.

And this parable is addressed to those people
Who when they look for righteousness they look to themselves.

“He told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous”

This parable is for people
Who when given the requirement of righteousness
They figure that they can accomplish it.

It’s the “I’m a good person” crowd.

And by the way, they are fairly easy to spot.
They have a tell-tell sign that accompanies them.

They “view others with contempt:”

“contempt” is a Greek word which means
“of no account” or “to despise utterly”

You can spot a person who thinks
They are achieving righteousness on their own because
They disdain others who haven’t done as well as they have done.

• They have no mercy.
• They have no grace.
• They have no compassion.

IN A PHYSICAL SENSE
We see people today who work hard, who earn a living, and who practice sound money management.

And we see the disdain that they will have for those who don’t work, who expect handouts, and who blow their money on frivolous things.

A hard working man might view them as being
“no count” or a “good for nothing”

Well, these men do that spiritually.
They figure that they worked hard for their high spiritual standing
And so they view with disdain those who have not.

Luke says this parable is for them.

That’s the preface
#2 THE PARABLE
Luke 18:10-13

Jesus begins the story with absolute POLAR OPPOSITES.

(10) “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.”

In Jewish culture you could not get two more polar opposites than this.
• One was considered the highest example of piety.
• The other was the lowest example of immorality.

• One was devout
• One was depraved

• One was a patriot in Israel
• One was a traitor to Israel

• One was a blue-collar worker
• One was a white-collar cheat

• One had seemingly turned his back on the world for the sake of God.
• One had turned his back on God for the sake of the world.

You don’t get more natural polar opposites than this.

And what is interesting here is that
If you were to stand a Pharisee beside a tax collector
And ask the crowd which one had denied self,
THERE IS NOT A DOUBT THAT EVERYONE WOULD PICK THE PHARISEE.

If you take Matthew 6 for example.
• We see Pharisees praying on the street corner
• We see Pharisees giving their money
• We see Pharisees in poor condition due to their fasting

• We don’t see tax collectors giving, we see them cheating
• We don’t see tax collectors praying, we see them partying
• We don’t see tax collectors fasting, we see them drinking and in gluttony

The natural pick here for an example of self-denial
Had to clearly be the Pharisee to the crowd.

Well let’s see.
LET’S LOOK AT THE PHARISEE.
1) HIS APPROACH (11a)
“The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself:”

Now, certainly praying while standing is not a problem.
The tax collector in a minute is going to be standing too.

The implication here is their proximity.
Whereas the tax collector won’t come near,
It is implied that the Pharisee
Has come as near to the temple veil as was allowed.

He has boldly walked right up in front of everyone.

And he is “praying this to himself”
• It either means he is just praying silently
• Or that he is literally praying to himself.

I don’t think it matters which you choose,
The point is that we now see what is going on in his heart.

Jesus is giving us a glimpse into his soul.
We see here his belief system.

2) HIS ANNOUNCEMENT (11b)
“God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.”

Here is the contempt that Luke spoke of in verse 9.

The only confusing part is the Pharisee even included the words
“God, I thank You” because it is clear that God is receiving no credit here.

Perhaps more accurately the Pharisee should have prayed,
“God, You should thank me that I am not like them.”

It is clear that his chest is puffed out
And he’s feeling real good about his accomplishments.

• He took inventory of his life…
• He filled out his application to go to heaven…
• And then he borrowed God’s stamp and stamped his own application, “approved”

If it wasn’t clear to everyone else, it certainly was to him;
He was the cream of the crop.

He was so much better than other people.
• He worked harder…
• He studied harder…
• He prayed harder…
• And he stayed away from all those fleshly vices that had plagued so many other people.

Look at how much better I am than them.

That is his announcement.
• There is no request here.
• There is no repentance here.

He just took time out of his busy schedule
To go and show God how good he was doing.

3) HIS ASSURANCE (12)
“I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.”

If you were to ask him why he was so sure that he was so acceptable.
His abstinence from fleshly sins was only part of the equation.

Certainly he had not done any of those wicked things,
But on top of that, he had done some very good things.

He was a regular faster.
• Jewish Law only required fasting once a year before The Day of Atonement.
• But this man did it “twice a week” (God must surely be impressed)

He was a meticulous giver.
• While tax collectors were busy hoarding money this man was paying “tithes” of everything.

He basically stood before God
As the supreme model of one who had denied self.

Now, before we just swallow everything he is selling
It is important to listen to the preaching of our Lord.

He bragged on not being an adulterer, but perhaps we should listen to Jesus.
Matthew 5:27-28 “You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY’; but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

He bragged about fasting, but Jesus said:
Matthew 6:16 “Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.”

He bragged about tithing, but Jesus said:
Matthew 23:23-24 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. “You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!”

And I remind you of those passages because
It is important for you to see that
Everything this man based his righteousness on was a faulty hope.

He had assurance, but it was false assurance.
He was best illustrated by Jesus as the man who built his house on the sand.
• He certainly thought it was strong, but there was no way that house could withstand the coming judgment.

All his goodness wasn’t nearly good enough.
Now that was the Pharisee.

Let’s look at THE TAX COLLECTOR

(13) “But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’”

1) HIS APPROACH (13a)
“But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast,”

There is a stark contrast.
• He’s not running up to the temple doors.
• He’s not getting out in front of everyone.

• He’s far too terrified to try and get close to God.
• He was likely afraid that God would strike him dead for coming too close.

He was as far away as he could get and still cry out to God.
And he wouldn’t even look up to God, he was not that bold.

He just stood there beating his breast.
It was a sign of Jewish horror and even self-loathing.

The only other time we see it occurring in the gospels is:
Luke 23:47-48 “Now when the centurion saw what had happened, he began praising God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent.” And all the crowds who came together for this spectacle, when they observed what had happened, began to return, beating their breasts.”

After the crowd saw Christ die there was a recognition among them
That they had condemned and murdered an innocent man.

And in horror, and certain fear of their own judgment,
THEY BEGAN TO BEAT THEIR BREASTS.

That is this tax collector.
Nothing in him sees himself as a good person.

2) HIS ANNOUNCEMENT (13c)
Notice what he calls himself, “the sinner!”

Not simply A sinner, but THE sinner.
That is, I’m the worst sinner in here.

Whereas the Pharisee thanked God that he was the best person,
This tax collector cursed himself for being the worst.

It reminds of Paul’s self-assessment.
1 Timothy 1:15 “It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.”

• There are no excuses…
• There is no attempt to pass the blame…
• There is no one worse to stand next to in order to look better…

I’m the worst. I’m the lowest.

3) HIS ASSURANCE (13b)
“God, be merciful to me”

• The hope of the Pharisee rested in his own goodness.
• The hope of this tax collector rested only in God’s mercy.

His only hope, his only assurance,
His only confidence for even approaching God at all
Was in the fact that God is a merciful God.

He had no right…
He had no merit…
He had no good deeds…
He could only come pleading for mercy.

“God, be merciful to me, the sinner!”

And by the way, this is the only reference in the Bible that you will find to “The Sinner’s Prayer”

This evangelistic gimmick that has grown so popular where evangelists lead people to “repeat after me” this so-called pre-scripted “sinner’s prayer” has no Biblical basis whatsoever.

But if you’re looking for the real sinner’s prayer, this is it.
“God, be merciful to me the sinner!”

I also like to remind Rebecca that this can also be called
“The Tax Collector’s Prayer”

But the reality is that this every person’s prayer.
At least it should be.
• It is all any sinner can ask for.
• It is all any sinner can hope for.

By the way the word “merciful” here.
Is the Greek word HILASKOMAI
It literally means “propitiate”

Hebrews 2:17 “Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.”

What that means is that this tax collector
Is not just asking God to overlook his sin, but to atone for it.

• He is asking for the placation of God’s wrath.
• He is asking for the appeasement of God’s judgment.
• He is asking for his sin debt to be covered and paid for.

HE IS A SINFUL MAN, BUT A SINFUL MAN WHO UNDERSTANDS
That mercy does not come at the expense of God’s righteousness.

God is holy and God will judge.
He has no right to simply ask God not to judge his sin.

That is how the world wants to ask God to forgive.
“God, would You just get over it, and decide to let me off the hook. Would You just forget what I did and let it go and decide not to punish me.”

That is how the world often expects mercy.
Mercy doesn’t come like that.

Mercy comes through appeasement, through propitiation;
Through an atoning sacrifice.
NAMELY THE SACRIFICE OF JESUS CHRIST

That is what the tax collector asks for.
God would you please pay for my sin.

That’s the parable.
#3 THE POINT
Luke 18:14

And here is a statement that will certainly cause the crowd to gasp.
THEY PICKED WRONG AT THE BEGINNING.

This is God made flesh giving you His Soteriology (doctrine of salvation)

“I tell you, this man when to his house justified rather than the other”

It wasn’t the religious man who was saved it was the sinner.

WHY?
“for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

God isn’t looking for good people, (because there is none good)
He is looking for humble people.

It is the poor in spirit, who mourn over their sin,
And who hunger and thirst for righteousness who are saved.

It is sinners who come to God pleading for mercy
And trusting in God’s propitiatory payment
Who are justified in God’s sight.

This is justification according to Jesus.

Now take that truth back and plug it in to the sermon He just gave.
Luke 17:33 “Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.”

Now look at those two men.
Which of the two was really trying to keep his life? (the Pharisee)
• He wanted his reputation…
• He wanted the accolade…
• He loved the respect he was getting…

The tax collector let it all go.
He had nothing to offer and he knew it.

And that is the point church.
As we seek to be ready for the return of the Lord
And the judgment that will follow

Might I remind you that if you are trusting in anything you have done for salvation then you have a false assurance.

• If you are proud of your spiritual accomplishments…
• If it is important to you that other people see how devout you are…
• If you easily look down on less spiritual people than yourself…

You had better
• Beat your breast, deny yourself,
• Throw all your righteous deeds in the trash where they belong and run to Jesus begging Him to pay for your sin.
• Fling off your filthy robe so that you can put on His
• Because there will be no justification for those who trust in their own works for salvation.

AND IF YOU KNOW YOU ARE SINFUL
THEN RUN TO CHRIST FOR MERCY AND ATONEMENT.

Let go of your pride and let go of your fear and run to Jesus.
Cry out to Him.
“God, be merciful to me the sinner!”

Jesus says that man is justified.
That man will be the one who is saved when the Lord returns.

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The Suffering Servant – Part 1
Psalms 69
April 19, 2020

Tonight we come to the 69th Psalm and I must say that
I find it very fitting for where we walk in our day.

I have certainly felt the Lord working
His sanctifying work on me over the past few weeks.

One of the things that I have become keenly aware of is that
I still have a long way to go in the “death to self” department.

In a sermon John MacArthur preached called “God’s Pattern for Husbands” he gave a brief monologue about dying to self.

I suppose death to self, is the real issue. Somewhere along your pilgrimage as a Christian, you need to learn to die to yourself regularly. It saves you from being defensive, revengeful, retaliatory, [and] hostile, accumulating the list of things against you.
When you are forgotten or neglected or purposely set aside and you sting and hurt with the insult or the oversight, but your heart is happy and you count it a privilege to suffer for Christ; that is dying to self.
When your good is evil spoken of, when [others] misunderstand you, when your desires are not interesting to [others] when your advice is disregarded and your opinions are ridiculed, and when you are abused, when you are mistreated, or misunderstood, and you refuse to let anger rise in your heart, or even defend yourself; that is dying to self.
When you lovingly, patiently bear any disruption; any irregularity; any annoyance; when you can stand face to face with folly and waste and extravagance and insensitivity and endure it as Jesus endured it; that is dying to self.
When you are content with any food, any clothes, any climate, any society, any interruption, or any solitude; that is dying to self.
When you never care to refer to yourself in a conversation or to record and recite your own good works, or to pursue commendation; when you can truly love to be unrecognized for something good; that is dying to self.
When you see someone else prosper, someone else reach goals that you desire, and you can honestly rejoice with that other person in spirit; feel no envy and not question God while your needs are far greater and [you are] in desperate circumstances; that is dying to self.
-John MacArthur, from sermon “God’s Pattern for Husbands – Part 1”
https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/1946/gods-pattern-for-husbands-part-1 quoted at: 34:00 minutes.

I often include that quote as part of our training for our mission teams as we prepare because
• I am acutely aware that at some point the mission trip is going to push the boundaries of our personal sense of right and wrong.
• If the backward culture, unfamiliar diet, or fluid schedule don’t get you then the airlines certainly will.
• I remind our mission teams that if we are going to go and be representatives of Christ in the world then we are going to have to die to self.

I stumbled across that paper this week and realized that
God is continuing that process in my life because inwardly
I have not always handled this quarantine very well.

In fact, there have been a couple of days
Where I have been extremely angry about it.

And while I would like to just pass it off as righteous indignation
It is more likely that it has simply exposed that
My flesh is still very much alive and must be killed.

And you know that this is necessary.
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.”

Colossians 3:5-10 “Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience, and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them. But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him”

Death to self is necessary and honestly there are few things
That accomplish that better than a little SUFFERING.

Tonight’s Psalm is good for me.
It is a Psalm all about suffering, but more than that
It is a Psalm that reminds us HOW TO SUFFER CORRECTLY.

And you know that we could have a full sermon-length introduction just on the topic of suffering correctly.
• 1 Peter speaks all about suffering like Christ.
• James deals with the issue of suffering right out of the gate.
• Paul actually told the Philippians that suffering had been “granted” to them.

We could say a lot about it just by way of introduction,
But because it is a lengthy Psalm we really don’t have time to do that.

But tonight, let’s just examine this 69th Psalm and hear David’s heart
As he walks through this time of hardship.

We actually see 7 aspects to David’s suffering in this Psalm.
#1 UNJUST SUFFERING
Psalms 69:1-4

Now we certainly point out the first words of the Psalm
Because they are important.

“Save me”

• We are aware that James tells us to “count it all joy when you face trials of various kinds”
• We know that the writer of Hebrews assures us that “God disciplines those whom He loves”
• We’ve heard Peter tells us that if we suffer as a Christian we should “glorify God in this name”

We understand the Bible’s mandate to suffer the correct way,
But that does NOT MEAN that
In our suffering we cannot pray for deliverance.

David is about to outline his suffering,
But it is not lost on us that his first words are “Save me, O God”

This is the legitimate response of the believer in his trials.
Of all the different avenues a man can seek to escape his suffering,
None are as important or as powerful as praying to God about it.

Indeed this was the whole point of what Jesus taught us this morning.
• Be like the persistent widow.
• Pray night and day to God for justice.
• And Jesus promised that God will give it.

That is where David begins.

From there we learn that it is most certainly because David needs saving.

(1b-3) “For the waters have threatened my life. I have sunk in deep mire, and there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and a flood overflows me. I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched; My eyes fail while I wait for my God.”

It is poetic language but it is not hard to understand.

David is drowning, and he can’t swim.
• The horror of being in the water is that there is not handhold to grab hold of.
• There is not foot rest to support your weight.
• All you can grab is water and it does not allow you pull yourself up.

David is there.
He can’t escape.

All he can do is cry out for help,
But that cry has gone on so long that he is ABOUT TO LOSE HIS VOICE.
“I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched; My eyes fail wile I wait for my God.”

He is just speaking of a lengthy time of suffering
That he has not been able to escape.

And adding to the struggle is the fact that
Thus far God has allowed it to continue.

I would venture to guess that most people here
• Have been in that boat at one time or another,
• Where suffering is intense
• And it has already gone on longer than you ever thought possible.

Let me just point out to you that
It is when suffering extends our limits that death to self occurs.

It is when the suffering moves beyond what we can handle
And we come to the end of ourselves
That we actually come into the place where God works on us.

I feel certain you have been there.
That is where David is.

But to make matters even worse for David.
His suffering is unjust.

(4) “Those who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head; Those who would destroy me are powerful, being wrongfully my enemies; What I did not steal, I then have to restore.”

David’s suffering isn’t a quarantine or an illness or anything abstract.
David’s suffering is persecution.

• He is hated, but the problem is that he is hated “without a cause”
• And his enemies are many.
• David says they are “more than the hairs of my head”
• Not only that, but they “are powerful”

We just simply point out that
David is suffering and he is suffering unjustly.

Now we get to see how he handles it.
How do you suffer when you are suffering unjustly?

#2 HOLY SUFFERING
Psalms 69:5-12

When we read verse 5, it is NOT so much an admission of guilt
As it is an acknowledgement that God is his judge.

There is no hiding his true character from God.
There is no hiding his actions from God.
God knows everything about him.

In this incident David has already proclaimed that
His suffering is undeserved
And now he appeals to the God who knows that.

“O God, it is You who knows my folly, And my wrongs are not hidden from You.”

If David was guilty, God would know it.

But instead of being guilty, David actually has pure motives.

His goal is to suffer well as an example
And an encouragement to those who are watching.

(6) “May those who wait for You not be ashamed through me, O Lord GOD of hosts; May those who seek You not be dishonored through me, O God of Israel,”

It is David’s hope that in his suffering that he can suffer in such a way
As to encourage the brethren.

Have you ever considered that in your suffering?
• It is very easy to get self-absorbed.
• It is very easy to get angry.

Have you thought about your suffering
As a tool for the encouragement of the body?

We remember Paul while jailed, writing to the Philippians.
Philippians 1:13-14 “so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else, and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear.”

Paul saw his suffering as an opportunity to encourage the brethren.
• He even wrote to the Philippians regarding how they should follow his lead and
suffer like him.

Philippians 1:27-30 “Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; in no way alarmed by your opponents — which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God. For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me.”

His hope was to be an encouragement.

That is what David says here.
• There are those who are hurting who are waiting on God,
• I hope I don’t let them down.
• I hope I can be a model of strength and encouragement to them.

• There are also those who are counting on me to do the right thing.
• I hope I do not dishonor them.

You see that proper mindset from David.
He is suffering unjustly, but he still wants to suffer well.

Beyond that, we also get a picture of WHY he is suffering.

(7-9) “Because for Your sake I have borne reproach; Dishonor has covered my face. I have become estranged from my brothers And an alien to my mother’s sons. For zeal for Your house has consumed me, And the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.”

David actually says why he is suffering.
• It is “for Your sake”

David’s desire to obey and follow God has caused him suffering, even in the midst of his own household.
• “I have become estranged from my brothers and an alien to my mother’s sons.”

Why?
• “For zeal for Your house has consumed me.”

They hate me because I am so passionate about You.

What that really means is that they hate God,
And since David is passionate about God
The hatred they have for God has spilled over to him.

And there is so much there regarding suffering for Christ that is echoed in the New Testament.

• Jesus Himself told us that He would cause division even among our families.
• Jesus said they would hate us because they hate Him.

Paul said:
Colossians 1:24 “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions.”

That doesn’t mean that Christ’s suffering was insufficient, rather it means that the world wasn’t finished persecuting Christ when He left.
And now their animosity falls to His church; His body.

And Paul said, I feel that animosity.

WE UNDERSTAND WHAT DAVID IS SAYING.

We remember the lament of Jeremiah.
Jeremiah 15:16-17 “Your words were found and I ate them, And Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart; For I have been called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts. I did not sit in the circle of merrymakers, Nor did I exult. Because of Your hand upon me I sat alone, For You filled me with indignation.”

Jeremiah 20:8-9 “For each time I speak, I cry aloud; I proclaim violence and destruction, Because for me the word of the LORD has resulted In reproach and derision all day long. But if I say, “I will not remember Him Or speak anymore in His name,” Then in my heart it becomes like a burning fire Shut up in my bones; And I am weary of holding it in, And I cannot endure it.”

And his suffering even came from his own home.
Jeremiah 12:6 “For even your brothers and the household of your father, Even they have dealt treacherously with you, Even they have cried aloud after you. Do not believe them, although they may say nice things to you.”

YOU GET IT.
It is suffering, not for stupidity, but because of holiness.

Peter said:
1 Peter 4:15-16 “Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name.”

Well that’s how David is suffering.

(10-12) “When I wept in my soul with fasting, It became my reproach. When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a byword to them. Those who sit in the gate talk about me, And I am the song of the drunkards.”

He is a scorned and hated and rejected man because he is righteous.

Let me remind you that this is the highest calling of the believer.
To suffer reproach because of the name of Christ.

Peter said:
1 Peter 4:14 “If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.”

Jesus said:
Matthew 5:11-12 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

In short, we are not just called to be sufferers, but holy sufferers.
We are called to suffer like Christ
And we are called to suffer because of Christ.

DAVID DID.

Unjust Suffering, Holy Suffering
#3 FAITHFUL SUFFERING
Psalms 69:13-19

We call this faithful suffering because in his pain
David does not turn on God.
Rather, in his pain David draws nearer to God.
He remains faithful so that the suffering can accomplish its perfect work.

• Now you still see David crying for an answer.
• You still see David crying for deliverance.

• BUT YOU ALSO SEE DAVID’S FAITH in God’s sovereign control, God’s loyalty, God’s compassion, and God’s omniscience.

He is trusting God in the midst of the suffering.

SOVEREIGNTY
(13a) “But as for me, my prayer is to You, O LORD, at an acceptable time;”

• He doesn’t run to another.
• He doesn’t pray to another.
• God remains his only hope.

And David even acknowledges that all times are in God’s hands.
While he prays for deliverance, he also trusts the timing of God.

That is faithful suffering when your God is sovereign.

LOYALTY
(13b-15) “O God, in the greatness of Your lovingkindness, Answer me with Your saving truth. Deliver me from the mire and do not let me sink; May I be delivered from my foes and from the deep waters. May the flood of water not overflow me Nor the deep swallow me up, Nor the pit shut its mouth on me.”

You are well acquainted now that “lovingkindness” is CHECED
(God’s loyal covenantal love)

David doesn’t question God’s loyalty in suffering, he counts on it.
It is because of God’s loyalty that David can cry for deliverance.

He is trusting God.

COMPASSION
(16-18) “Answer me, O LORD, for Your lovingkindness is good; According to the greatness of Your compassion, turn to me, And do not hide Your face from Your servant, For I am in distress; answer me quickly. Oh draw near to my soul and redeem it; Ransom me because of my enemies!”

His suffering doesn’t cause him to question God’s compassion.
It is his belief in God’s compassion that causes him to pray for help
And to even pray for redemption.

Do you see the difference between suffering in faith
And suffering without faith?

OMNISCIENCE
(19) “You know my reproach and my shame and my dishonor; All my adversaries are before You.”

He also trusts that God knows what is going on.
• Reminiscent of Hezekiah spreading the Assyrian letter out before God, David is well aware that God knows what is going on.

That’s faith isn’t it?

That is faithful suffering and the way we are called to do it.
To trust God in the storm even when we can’t see.

#4 SOLITARY SUFFERING
Psalms 69:20-21

It escalates the degree of David’s suffering.
• Not only is he suffering unjustly…
• Not only is he suffering for doing right…
• Not only is he maintain faith while suffering…
• BUT HE IS SUFFERING ALONE

• David says that he has no sympathy.
• David says that he has no comforters.
• Instead of food he is given gall.
• Instead of water he is given vinegar.

This is certainly a stinging and difficult suffering,
But it has not changed David’s faith or trust in God.

David still has not turned on God.
David still cries out to God.

It is certainly a difficult day when all of our other nets are removed.
When truly our only source of deliverance is God.

It is there that we find out the degree of our faith
And also the greatness of God’s power.

Unjust Suffering, Holy Suffering, Faithful Suffering, Solitary Suffering
#5 PATIENT SUFFERING
Psalms 69:22-28

This is the stanza of the Psalm that causes most people confusion.
• Again, it is a failure to understand the role and importance of the imprecatory Psalms.

If you only determine to pass them off as “unchristian”
Not only do you render a large portion of the Psalms incomprehensible,
But you also rob yourself of a rich treasure God has for you.

As I have told you, we do not reject the imprecatory Psalms.
• They are God’s Psalms.
• They are inspired by God’s Spirit.
• They are not now irrelevant (that cannot happen to God’s word)
• They are not now put on the “does not apply today” shelf.

We sing these songs!
We pray these prayers!

Instead of taking our own revenge (of which we are strictly forbidden)
We go into our closet and we lay our cause out to God
And ask Him for vengeance for vengeance is His.

• We are not ok with the oppression of the righteous.
• We are not ok with blasphemy of God’s name.
• We are not ok with the slaughter of the innocent.
• We are not ok with the mocking of the arrogant.

So we take our requests to God.
• We pray for His return (as we learned this morning)
• We pray for His righteous reign.
• We pray for His vindication.

The judgement of the wicked is as much the work of God
As the salvation of the humble is.

And we pray for that.
• While we turn our other cheek…
• While we go our extra mile…
• While we respond with a blessing…
• We lay our justice at the feet of God and ask Him to deliver.

That is what David is praying here.
It is an imprecatory prayer.

In the New Testament we see them most often in the book of the Revelation.
• The saints below the altar crying out “How Long?”
• Or the elders singing “Hallelujah! As the great harlot is destroyed”

But this is also part of the model prayer.
• When Jesus taught us to pray “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
• When Jesus taught us to pray “deliver us from the evil one.”

These are certainly references to our Lord’s coming
And His judgment on the wicked.

And David does that.
He pours his frustration out to God.

(22-25) “May their table before them become a snare; And when they are in peace, may it become a trap. May their eyes grow dim so that they cannot see, And make their loins shake continually. Pour out Your indignation on them, And may Your burning anger overtake them. May their camp be desolate; May none dwell in their tents.”

That is harsh poetic language of judgment that David asks for.

BUT WHY?
(26) “For they have persecuted him whom You Yourself have smitten, and they tell of the pain of those whom You have wounded.”

Remember the book of Obadiah?
It is a judgment on Edom.

Why?
Because when God judged Jerusalem, t
Hey stood at the crossroads and cut down the survivors.

Obadiah 10-11,14 “Because of violence to your brother Jacob, You will be covered with shame, And you will be cut off forever. “On the day that you stood aloof, On the day that strangers carried off his wealth, And foreigners entered his gate And cast lots for Jerusalem — You too were as one of them…Do not stand at the fork of the road To cut down their fugitives; And do not imprison their survivors In the day of their distress.”

They had no right to persecute God’s people, but they did.
And God judged them for it.

The same is what David prays here.
He cannot seek his own revenge,
But he can most certainly patiently wait for the wrath of the Lord.

(27-28) “Add iniquity to their iniquity, And may they not come into Your righteousness. May they be blotted out of the book of life And may they not be recorded with the righteous.”

It is a simple prayer for the justice of God.
• We are thankful God is merciful and gracious and compassionate,
• But we are also thankful He is holy and just.

We do not take our own revenge in our suffering,
But we do patiently wait for God’s vindication;
Which He will surely bring.

Luke 18:7-8 “now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? “I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”

David is patiently suffering.

#6 HOPEFUL SUFFERING
Psalms 69:29-33

Here David is still suffering. Here David is still in pain.
But he is looking to the day of salvation and deliverance
When that suffering is over.

(29) “But I am afflicted and in pain; may Your salvation, O God, set me securely on high.”

He is looking with hope to the day when it is over.
But even in the midst, he worships
And he understands that this is the desire of God.

(30-31) “I will praise the name of God with song And magnify Him with thanksgiving. And it will please the LORD better than an ox Or a young bull with horns and hoofs.”

God loves a sufferer’s song more than a rich man’s dollar.
God loves a sufferer’s gratitude more than a priests offering.

David sings songs of salvation even while suffering
Because he is suffering with hope.

Romans 5:3-5 “And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

This worship, this gratitude, this hope even while suffering
Is evidence that the Holy Spirit dwells within us.

Worship while suffering is what Paul calls “proven character”.
IT PROVES WHOSE WE ARE.

DAVID WORSHIPS WITH HOPE.

And do you remember how EARLIER he was concerned about being an encouragement?

Well, because he sang while suffering, HE WAS an encouragement.
(32-33) “The humble have seen it and are glad; You who seek God, let your heart revive. For the LORD hears the needy And does not despise His who are prisoners.”

David’s song in the night was precisely what other humble believers needed to hear.
• It is the song of Paul and Silas while in jail in Philippi…
• It is the worship of Job while burying his children…
• It is the celebration of Peter and John after a flogging…

It is suffering with hope, and it encourages the weak.

Unjust Suffering, Holy Suffering, Faithful Suffering, Solitary Suffering, Patient Suffering, Hopeful Suffering
#7 VICTORIOUS SUFFERING
Psalms 69:34-36

With eyes to eternity.
David moves from earth to heaven where the victory is won
And recounts the total praise that will be God’s forever.

(34) “Let heaven and earth praise Him, The seas and everything that moves in them.”

WHY?
(35-36) “For God WILL save Zion and build the cities of Judah, That they may dwell there and possess it. The descendants of His servants will inherit it, And those who love His name will dwell in it.”

With eyes of faith David looks to the victory of the city
Where there will be no more crying or pain or death
And already begins to sing the song of the victorious.

This is how we must suffer as well.
• No matter how difficult, unjust, or solitary.
• We must suffer holiness, faith, patience, hope, and victory.

That is the example David lays out.
And you see that.

BUT I’M BETTER YOU’VE SEEN MORE THAN THAT
AS WE WORKED THROUGH THIS PSALM.

Perhaps you read verse 4 about “those who hate me without a cause” and it sparked a memory in your mind.

John 15:24-25 “If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father as well. “But they have done this to fulfill the word that is written in their Law, ‘THEY HATED ME WITHOUT A CAUSE.’

Perhaps you read verse 9 “For zeal for Your house has consumed me” and it sparked a memory.

John 2:15-17 “And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; and to those who were selling the doves He said, “Take these things away; stop making My Father’s house a place of business.” His disciples remembered that it was written, “ZEAL FOR YOUR HOUSE WILL CONSUME ME.”

Perhaps you read also in verse 9, “the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me” and it sparked a memory.

Romans 15:3 “For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “THE REPROACHES OF THOSE WHO REPROACHED YOU FELL ON ME.”

Perhaps you read verse 21, “They also gave me gall for my food and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.” And it sparked yet another memory.

Matthew 27:34 “they gave Him wine to drink mixed with gall; and after tasting it, He was unwilling to drink.”

No doubt some of you already picked up on this.

But while David wrote the Psalm, this Psalm is really about
The true Suffering Servant, who is Christ.

What I want you to do now is jot down this outline,
• Perhaps even in your margin
• And then you can go home and look at Christ in this Psalm
• And rejoice in His victorious suffering.

(1-4) THE SUFFERING SERVANT
• See Christ hated without a cause (4)
• See Christ surrounded by His foes (4)
• See Christ having to pay for what He did not do. (4)

(5-12) THE SANCTIFIED SERVANT
• See Christ examined by God (5)
• See Christ as the only hope of His brethren (6)
• See Christ suffering because He was righteous (7-8)
• See Christ zealous for God (9)
• See Christ mocked for and cursed and slandered (10-12)

(13-19) THE SUBMISSIVE SERVANT
• See Christ in the garden praying, “not My will, but Yours” (13)
• See Christ praying for this cup to pass (14-15)
• See Christ suffering in agony yet enduring (17-18)
• See Christ contemplating the shame and reproach that is coming (19)

(20-21) THE SLAUGHTEED SERVANT
• See Christ hanging on the cross (20)
• See His heart broken (20)
• See everyone mocking and scoring (20)
• See Him suffering alone (20)
• See them give Him gall and vinegar to drink (21)

(22-28) THE SUPREME SERVANT
• See Christ as the exclusive Savior (26)
• See Christ as the exalted King
• See Christ as the sure and certain Judge of His accusers
• See Christ’s life mean death for those who hate Him
• See that acceptance or rejection of Christ is the most important decision this world ever makes.

(29-33) THE SATISFYING SERVANT
• See the salvation Christ purchased (29)
• See that His sacrifice was more pleasing that goats or bulls (31)
• See that the humble love what He did (32)
• See that the needy are revived through His offering (32)
• See how the prisoners are released through His suffering (33)

(34-36) THE SAVING SERVANT
• See Christ exalted in heaven (34)
• See every tongue confessing and every knee bowing (34)
• See the host of heaven crying worthy is the Lamb (34)
• See the redeemed in the new Zion (35)
• See the redeemed dwelling there with Him (35)
• See those who love His name dwelling with Him in heaven (36)

That is your homework for the week.
(these notes will be on the website with the sermon post if you want a guide)

And then next week,
• We’re going to come back and we will study this Psalm again.
• Next time we will look to the glorified Savior who was the true example and suffering Servant.

Download Here:

Praying For Justice
Luke 18:1-8
April 19, 2020

This morning we come to a pretty familiar story.
This story of the persistent widow is not uncommon to us, we’ve all heard it before.

In one sense it is quite an easy story to understand.
• The analogy Jesus makes is pretty obvious to us, as is His point about persistence in prayer.

But in another sense it is a widely misunderstood story
• And one that we miss the point of completely.

To show you how we miss the point,
I would just first direct your attention to the final verse of the text.

Look at verse 8.
• This is after we are told to pray and not lose heart.
• This is after we are told about the persistent widow and the unrighteous judge.
• This is after we are reminded that God is not at all like the unrighteous judge.
• This is after we are reminded that God will bring about justice for us.

And then at the end of vs 8 we read this rather peculiar statement.
(8b) “However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”

In my studies I had actually written on my scratch sheet:
“Why does He mention the second coming here?
Why not say, ‘However, do you trust Him enough to pray day and night?’”

It almost seems like the reference
To the second coming comes out of nowhere.

We might ask:
• What does His coming have to do with our praying about injustice?
• What does His coming have to do with our persistence in prayer?

This is one of those places in the Bible where
THE CHAPTER BREAK is extremely unfortunate.

If you were with us two weeks ago, and even before that, you’ll know that
We have been listening as the Lord spoke of the coming of His kingdom.

• It all started back in 17:20 when the Pharisees sort of dared Him to produce
signs of His kingdom.
• Jesus instead told them that the spiritual kingdom was here and they needed
to enter it.
• He did, however, then turn to His disciples to talk to them about the coming
of His kingdom.
• And so you know that 17:22-37 was all about the second coming and the
setting up of Christ’s kingdom on earth.

And the temptation is to think that
The sermon was over at the end of chapter 17, but it wasn’t.

When you get to chapter 18 we read, “Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart.”

Nothing there indicates a new audience or a new setting.

In fact, if verse 18:1 was actually 17:38
You’d be more likely to unite it with the previous train of thought.

THE SERMON CONTINUES

Now remember what Jesus told them?
Luke 17:22 “And He said to the disciples, “The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.”

Jesus told His disciples that there was coming a time
When He would be gone and they would long for Him,
But would not see Him.

• During this time would be great deception.
• If you read Matthew’s gospel you know there would also be persecution.

And one might ask: How are believers supposed to endure this time period without Christ in which deception and persecution abound?

AND THE ANSWER: We are to “pray at all times and not to lose heart”

“lose heart” translates EKKAKEO and it means “to be utterly spiritless;
to be wearied out, exhausted; to give up, or lose courage.”

And so perhaps you understand now a little better
Why the purpose of this parable.

It is NOT a simple parable about prayer in general,
But rather IT IS the specific instruction of our Lord to His disciples
Regarding how we are to handle this difficult period
Between His ascension and His second coming.

• This time period when we long for Him.
• This time period when we so badly want to see Him.
• This time period when injustice and evil and godlessness abounds.
• This time period when God is mocked and Christ is rejected.
• This time period when babies are aborted and immorality is sought.

• How do we handle such a time without losing heart?
• How do we handle this time period without growing weary?
• How do we handle this time period without losing courage?

The answer: WE PRAY

This parable is specifically about
• Praying for the Lord’s return.
• Praying for God’s vengeance and justice.
• Praying for Christ’s return and the day in which He will judge His enemies.

As Christians we pray for that day.

John said:
Revelation 22:20 “He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”

Now to that end, BEFORE WE GET FURTHER into our text let me remind you again of those truths we have so often studied in the Psalms.

They are called the Imprecatory Psalms.
The Psalms where David calls down judgment on His enemies.

Psalms 5:8-10 “O LORD, lead me in Your righteousness because of my foes; Make Your way straight before me. There is nothing reliable in what they say; Their inward part is destruction itself. Their throat is an open grave; They flatter with their tongue. Hold them guilty, O God; By their own devices let them fall! In the multitude of their transgressions thrust them out, For they are rebellious against You.”

Psalms 7:6 “Arise, O LORD, in Your anger; Lift up Yourself against the rage of my adversaries, And arouse Yourself for me; You have appointed judgment.”

Psalms 10:12-15 “Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up Your hand. Do not forget the afflicted. Why has the wicked spurned God? He has said to himself, “You will not require it.” You have seen it, for You have beheld mischief and vexation to take it into Your hand. The unfortunate commits himself to You; You have been the helper of the orphan. Break the arm of the wicked and the evildoer, Seek out his wickedness until You find none.”

And as we have studied these we have talked about
How so many of the current Christian community
View prayers like that as actually “Un-Christian”.
They say, “We must never pray like that.”

And of course the go-to passage is where Jesus prayed on the cross
That God would forgive His enemies.

And we certainly do not overlook the importance of that prayer.
• Certainly we pray for our enemies.
• Certainly we pray for those who persecute us.
• We pray for their repentance.
• We pray for their salvation.

But at the same time we do not pray that
They will be able to live in sin indefinitely and spurn God forever.

WE STILL LONG FOR JUSTICE AND RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Psalms 7:12-16 “If a man does not repent, He will sharpen His sword; He has bent His bow and made it ready. He has also prepared for Himself deadly weapons; He makes His arrows fiery shafts. Behold, he travails with wickedness, And he conceives mischief and brings forth falsehood. He has dug a pit and hollowed it out, And has fallen into the hole which he made. His mischief will return upon his own head, And his violence will descend upon his own pate.”

We want repentance, but we are not willing to just roll over
And treat evil as something we will tolerate forever.

• We pray for the day when Christ will come and judge His foes.
• We pray for the day when Christ will come and set up a new heavens and a new earth where righteousness dwells.

Romans 8:24-25 “For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.”

Philippians 3:17-21 “Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.”

We know this wicked world will be destroyed when Christ comes,
But that doesn’t keep us from eagerly waiting for Him.

Our desire for the wicked to repent does not in any way diminish
Our desire for the Lord to return and judge the wicked.

In fact, tonight we’re going to look at Psalms 69.
It’s a Psalm with several Messianic fulfillments

For instance:
Psalms 69:21 “They also gave me gall for my food And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.”

You recognize that event. It spoke of the cross of Jesus
When they gave Him vinegar on the cross.

Do you want to see the very next verse?
Psalms 69:22-28 “May their table before them become a snare; And when they are in peace, may it become a trap. May their eyes grow dim so that they cannot see, And make their loins shake continually. Pour out Your indignation on them, And may Your burning anger overtake them. May their camp be desolate; May none dwell in their tents. For they have persecuted him whom You Yourself have smitten, And they tell of the pain of those whom You have wounded. Add iniquity to their iniquity, And may they not come into Your righteousness. May they be blotted out of the book of life And may they not be recorded with the righteous.”

That catch you off guard?
You were expecting, “Father forgive them” weren’t you?

THE POINT IS that even in His righteous suffering,
And even while He prayed for the forgiveness of His persecutors,
Even Christ looked with an eye to the future of His coming kingdom
And the day His enemies would be destroyed.

Or perhaps you remember these Psalms?
Psalms 57,58,59.
We called them the “Destroy Not” Psalms.
They were set to “Al-tashheth” which means “destroy not”

But we noted that was a strange distinction
Since in those Psalms we read statements like:

Psalms 57:2-3 “I will cry to God Most High, To God who accomplishes all things for me. He will send from heaven and save me; He reproaches him who tramples upon me. Selah. God will send forth His lovingkindness and His truth.”

Psalms 58:6 “O God, shatter their teeth in their mouth; Break out the fangs of the young lions, O LORD.”

Psalms 59:5 “You, O LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel, Awake to punish all the nations; Do not be gracious to any who are treacherous in iniquity. Selah.”

Psalms 59:13 “Destroy them in wrath, destroy them that they may be no more; That men may know that God rules in Jacob To the ends of the earth. Selah.”

How can you call those the “Destroy Not” Psalms?
Because they weren’t sung for God’s benefit, but for our benefit.

They were songs of David sung to remind him and his men
To never take their own revenge,
But rather to leave room for the wrath of God.

Remember?
Romans 12:19 “Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,” says the Lord.”

Even Jesus taught us to pray:
Matthew 6:10 “’Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.”

WE KNOW OUR ROLE. On this earth, without Christ, as evil abounds.
• We are tempted to lose heart.
• We are tempted to shrink back.

BUT WE DON’T.
Instead we pray for the return of the Lord
When He will come and set all things right.

• We are tempted to take our own revenge and take matters into our own hands.

BUT WE DON’T.
Instead we pray for the return of the Lord
When He will come and set all things right.

We, in many ways, are like the martyrs below the altar:
Revelation 6:9-11 “When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, ” How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed also.”

So I hope you now have a better understanding
Of what we are talking about in this parable.

• We have a widow who wants justice.
• We have a widow who wants vindication.
• We have a widow who wants deliverance from her opponent.

• She is not losing heart.
• She is not taking matters into her own hands.
• She is instead doing exactly what we must do.
• She is bringing her burden to her judge.

The blessing for us, is that unlike her we have a righteous judge.

So let’s look at the story together and learn how we are to respond
During this time of evil while we wait for the return of Christ.

Let’s break this story down into 3 points this morning.
#1 THE PREFACE
Luke 18:1

We actually find here what is NOT COMMON to all of the parables.
• And that is that Luke actually makes sure we get the point of the parable right off the bat.

Luke prefaces the parable with this explanation.

“Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart.”

Jesus has mentioned that He will be leaving.
• During His absence His disciples will long for His days and won’t see it.
• He has told us that deception will abound.
• And we know that evil and persecution will abound as well.

In fact we read passages like:
1 Timothy 4:1-2 “But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron,”

Or
2 Timothy 3:1-5 “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.”

Or
2 Peter 2:1-3 “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.”

Or perhaps even more relevant to the current point:
2 Peter 3:3-4 “Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.”

We see the promises all throughout the Bible that
This world is not getting better, but is in fact getting worse.

As time goes on and we still await the return of the Lord,
Our world seems to take His absence as a sign
That He isn’t coming at all.

Some even mock that He won’t come.

Certainly we see irreverence on the rise.

I’m sure some of you caught the news conference by Governor Cuomo this past week in which he said, “The number is down because we brought the number down. God did not do that. Fate did not do that. Destiny did not do that. A lot of pain and suffering did that.”
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/progressivesecularhumanist/2020/04/new-york-governor-andrew-cuomo-god-did-not-stop-spread-of-virus/

And that’s to not even mention some of the other attacks of governors on Christianity in the past 2 weeks.

We know how Christ is mocked and how people say His return is myth.

JESUS EVEN PROMISED THAT.

Remember Luke 17 when He spoke of His return.
• He said it would be like the days of Noah and the days of Lot.
• Both of those days where extremely immoral days.
• Days when men lived in the grossest and vilest sin imaginable.

And they lived in that sin with absolutely not thought given to judgment.

Remember how Jesus put it?
Luke 17:27 “they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.”

Luke 17:28-29 “It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.”

They were undisciplined, unholy, unconcerned men.
• They lived in their worldly pleasures with absolutely no concern of a coming judgment.
• They ignored the righteous men in their midst that they might swim in the filth of their sin.

WE UNDERSTAND THAT.
We understand the pain of living in a sinful world.

We understand what Peter says about righteous Lot.
2 Peter 2:7-8 “and if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men (for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds),”

That’s a good way to put it isn’t it?
TORMENT
• We are tormented by abortion.
• We are tormented by sexual immorality.
• We are tormented by homosexuality and other sexual perversion.
• We are tormented by greed and deception and a lack of integrity.

And all the while it just keeps getting worse
And Jesus still hasn’t appeared.
We long for His days but we don’t yet see them.

So what’s the command?
“pray and not to lose heart”

THIS STORY IS ABOUT THAT.

The Preface
#2 THE PARABLE
Luke 18:2-5

You understand this story pretty well without much explanation.

1) AN UNRIGHTEOUS JUDGE (2)
“In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man.”

Incidentally, there was a specific warning in the Old Testament
That all judges must do this.

2 Chronicles 19:6-7 “He said to the judges, “Consider what you are doing, for you do not judge for man but for the LORD who is with you when you render judgment. “Now then let the fear of the LORD be upon you; be very careful what you do, for the LORD our God will have no part in unrighteousness or partiality or the taking of a bribe.”

But this judge didn’t care.
• In fact later, he’ll say this about himself. (4b) “Even though I do not fear God
nor respect man,”

“respect” is a Greek word which means “to be put to shame”

What Jesus is saying is that this judge “was not ashamed before people”
• He didn’t care what they thought.
• He wasn’t worried about their opinion.
• He had no shame.

He was just a vile and carnal man with no moral code.
He was only a judge for what he could get out of it.

2) A HELPLESS WIDOW (3)
“There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me legal protection from my opponent.’”

She must have been ALONE because in their culture
Any women would have rather a man go on her behalf.
She was a widow. She was helpless.

She had no power to resist or stop her legal opponent.
HER ONLY HOPE was that this judge would act on her behalf.
Literally that he would vindicate her.
That he would give her justice.

You already understand what a FAR-FETCHED NOTION that was
Since this man already rejected the two great social pressures
That would have caused him to do it.

On one hand it is all throughout God’s word
• That He would have us care for the orphans and widows; but this man didn’t
fear God.

On top of that, there is a certain social pressure
• That society would put on a judge to help the less fortunate, and he didn’t care
about that.

In reality, he was probably more likely to rule in favor of the opponent
Because this widow had nothing to offer him that would profit him
And it is likely that the opponent did.

She was in a tough predicament.

3) THE INITIAL JUDGMENT (4a)
“For a while he was unwilling”

• He just said, “No”.
• There was nothing in it for him.
• His only motivation was what was good for him and this widow had nothing.

She was on her own.
He didn’t care about her.

4) THE EVENTUAL JUDGMENT (4b-5)
“but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.’”

You do need to understand the culture a little here.
It is true that women in that day had no basic rights.
Yet, they were held in high respect and had honor.

And this meant that they could get away with certain behaviors
That men could not get away with.

• Namely, they could badger and beg and even yell non-stop at the judge without real fear of repercussion.

We might understand that in today’s unwritten rules like,
“You should never hit a woman”.

If a man gets in your face and starts mocking and threatening, you might feel at liberty to sock him in the nose, but you won’t do it to a woman because she is a woman.

Well that’s where this man was.
There was a certain honor in place
And a certain line that even he couldn’t cross.

He couldn’t stop this woman from continually badgering him.

He actually said, “by continually coming she will wear me out.”

“wear out” is HUPOPIAZO (hoo-poe-pee-od-zoe)
Which literally means “to strike in the face” or “to treat roughly”
Or “to beat black and blue”.

1 Corinthians 9:27 “but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.”

This woman was gnawing on him and beating him up
From the inside out and he couldn’t take it any longer.

So finally he consented.
• Not because he feared God.
• Not because he respected man.
• But because this woman wouldn’t leave him alone,

He gave “her legal protection”
He gave her justice – He gave her vindication.

THAT’S THE PARABLE.

The Preface, The Parable
#3 THE POINT
Luke 18:6-8

“Hear what the unrighteous judge said”

What did he say?
“because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection”

He basically stated that there’s no other way of dealing with her
Than to give in to her requests.

To which Jesus responds.
“will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night”

The important thing here obviously is to recognize the CONTRASTS.
• We contrast an unrighteous judge who does not care for this widow,
• With a righteous Father who certainly cares for His elect.

Matthew Henry noted 9 important contrasts here that further emphasize the point.

1) This widow was a stranger, but we are God’s own elect, whom He knows and loves.
2) She was one, but the praying people of God are many.
3) She came to a judge who bode her keep her distance, but we come to a Father who bids us come boldly to Him.
4) She came to an unjust judge, but we come to a righteous Father.
5) She came to this judge purely on her own account, but God Himself is engaged in the cause which we are soliciting.
6) She had no friends to speak for her, but we have an Advocate with the Father, His own Son who ever lives to make intercession for us.
7) She had no encouragement given her to ask, but we have a promise that if we ask it will be given to us.
8) She could have access to the judge only at some certain times, but we may cry to God day and night and at all hours.
9) Her importunity was provoking to the judge, but our importunity is pleasing to God.
(Henry, Matthew [Matthew Henry’s Commentary in one volume; Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI; 1960] pg. 1481)

It is an obvious contrast isn’t it?
If that unrighteous judge would bring about vindication
For this widow then certainly God will for us.

THIS IS THE ANSWER TO THE FRUSTRATION
That all believers feel as we long for the return of Christ.

As we see a world of evil and corruption and immorality and blasphemy and defiance.
• We, like the disciples, long to see the days of the Son of Man.
• We feel the anguish of righteous Lot.
• We identify with the Psalmist’s prayers for justice.

But here, our Savior reminds us that VINDICATION IS A CERTAINTY for God’s children.
• He will not leave us as orphans.
• He will come to us.
• He will vindicate us.
• He will come and make everything right in the end.

That is a certain promise meant to encourage us.
In your frustration, in your despair,
Cry to God who will most certainly respond.

Now, we do need to do a little work on that next phrase
Because it is a little MISLEADING.

(7b-8) “and will He delay long over them? I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly.”

Now, in reading that statement IT DEFINITELY SOUNDS LIKE that
If you will simply cry out to God for justice then He’ll give it to you quickly.

There is a problem however isn’t there?
The Bible is filled with stories of BELIEVERS who cried out for vindication or justice WHO DID NOT receive it quickly. (At least not by human terms)

That is the point of all those imprecatory Psalms.
That is why we so often read the phrase, “How long..?”

We know that many believers lived lives of great injustice,
And were even martyred before any vindication in this world occurred.

We certainly do not doubt any words from our Lord,
But is it possible that perhaps
This is not exactly what He was saying?

“delay long over them” actually translates MAKROTHUMEO
• In relation to time MAKROS means “distant”
• THUMOS means “wrath”

The word Jesus used here literally means “to be patient”

It is translated “delay long” because translators assumed
Jesus was reinforcing His answer that God will vindicate.

However, there is much reason to believe
What Jesus was actually doing
Was EXPLAINING WHY VENGEANCE IS DELAYED.

Let me show you some OTHER PLACES that MAKROTHUMEO is used.
Romans 2:4 “Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?”

Romans 9:22 “What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction?”

In both of those you see that what Paul referred to was
GOD PATIENTLY ENDURING SINNERS.
He was delaying His wrath in judgment and giving them an opportunity to repent.

Paul actually credited that patience as the reason for his own salvation.
1 Timothy 1:16 “Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.”

Peter speaks of this same concept going on during the days of Noah.
1 Peter 3:20 “who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water.”

But perhaps the most telling usage of this word
Comes in Peter’s second letter.
2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”

There we are reminded that the reason Christ seems slow in regard to His promise to come and vindicate His children is because He is patient.
• He is not willing that one single one of His elect should perish.
• He will not judge the world until every single one of His sheep are found.

Peter mentions it again later.
2 Peter 3:15 “and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you,”

And this gives us a better explanation
Of what Jesus is talking about here in Luke’s gospel.

He certainly promises that God will vindicate His children,
But at the same time He explains why there is a delay.
He is patiently waiting for all of His elect to come in.

A better way to read the verse would be like this:
“will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night?” (YES) “but He exercises patience over them.”

And then Jesus says:
(8) “I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly.”

Which DOES NOT speak to quickly in a calendar sense,
But rather in a sudden sense.
His return is a sudden event
And that is what He is saying here.
• Do not lose heart in this world.
• Do not quit praying.
• Do not quit trusting.

God is a good Father who faithfully cares for His elect.
He most certainly will bring vindication for His own.

The only reason for His delay
Is that He is patiently waiting for all His elect to come home,
But when they do, His return and judgment will be sudden and swift.

And then Jesus ends this story with a very important question.
(8b) “However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”

What is He talking about?

When the Lord returns there will be two types of people.
• Those who eagerly sought and anticipated His return as evidenced by their faithful prayer and not losing heart.

• And those who dismissed His return as evidenced by their busyness in all of the world’s ventures.

Those who were only interested in the affairs of this world
Will be judged suddenly.
Those who were ready for the return of the Lord will be saved.

And the implied question is: WHICH ARE YOU?

Have you given up on the Lord?
• Are you tempted to lose heart when looking at this wicked world?
• Have you adopted the “if you can’t beat ‘em you might as well join ‘em”?
• Are you convinced that He’s not coming back and so you aren’t concerned about the way in which you live?

Or, are you faithfully holding to the promise?
• When life is unjust, are you able to refrain from taking your own revenge because you still believe that one day Christ will return and vindicate you?
• Are you able to simply cast all things on Him in prayer and trust His coming?
• Are you walking in faith that He will come and set all things right?

That is how we handle this difficult time
Between the Lord’s ascension and His departure.
We walk in faith that the Lord’s timing is perfect and His day of reckoning will come.

2 Peter 3:9-10 “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.”