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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This is the greater reality that we are speaking of.

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

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

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

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

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

Both are absolutely essential for our salvation.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sin is pictured there as a debt.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This Psalm perfectly makes the writer’s point.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

AND THEN COMES THE WRITER’S POINT.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And that is what the writer of Hebrews addresses here.

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

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

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

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

That’s it!
That’s the beauty!

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

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

Isaiah 53:4-6 “Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

5 points
#1 THE SCENE
Luke 5:17

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SO WHAT ARE HIS OPTIONS?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This is remarkable on a number of levels.

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

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

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

SO IT’S NOT LIKE FORGIVENESS IS TOTALLY FOREIGN.

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

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

WHY?
BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT JESUS CAME TO DO.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

That’s what makes forgiveness so difficult.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Don’t miss that.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

#5 THE SIGN
Luke 5:21-26

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jesus asked, which is easier “to say”?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

FIRST “they were all struck with astonishment”

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

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

AND THEN it says they “began glorifying God”

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

AND THEN it says “they were filled with fear”

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

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

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

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

That is this crowd.

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

BUT THE MAIN POINT HAS BEEN MADE.

• This Jesus is God in human flesh.

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

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

• Including forgive you of your sin.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

That was the transaction Jesus worked on this man.

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

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

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

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

The Source of Jesus’ Obvious Authority
Luke 5:12-16
February 11, 2018

We are going to do things a little different this morning.
We’re going to try and kill two birds here with one stone.

On one hand we want to examine the text and extract the point.
But this morning, as we do that,
We are ALSO going to have a little lesson on how to study the Bible.

This morning we are confronted with a familiar story
About a miracle which Jesus worked in cleansing a leper.

It is a miracle recorded in all three of the synoptic gospels
(which is true of several of the miracles we see in this section).

Because this miracle is brief one, I think it affords us an OPPORTUNITY to not only look at the story, but also HOW TO STUDY IT.

One of the most common mistakes I think people make when studying the Bible (and one I used to make all the time) is that they
Tend to read the Bible like history instead of like theology.

That is to say, they learn to pick out the facts of the story,
But don’t work as hard to get the point of it.
They tend to forget that men like Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were not just giving you the facts about Jesus, but they were also preaching to you a point about Jesus.

A greater understanding of truth comes
When you not only grasp the facts, but also the point.

Let me show you.
Matthew 8:1-4 “When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed Him. And a leper came to Him and bowed down before Him, and said, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one; but go, show yourself to the priest and present the offering that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

• Matthew includes this story immediately after The Sermon on the Mount
• And as the first of several miracles Jesus performed in chapters 8 & 9 where He is chronicling Jesus’ power over things like demons, sickness, nature, sin, and death.

Mark 1:40-45 “And a leper came to Jesus, beseeching Him and falling on his knees before Him, and saying, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed. And He sternly warned him and immediately sent him away, and He said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” But he went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread the news around, to such an extent that Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city, but stayed out in unpopulated areas; and they were coming to Him from everywhere.”

Mark there already added to Matthew’s story.
• Mark adds that the reason, saying that Jesus was “Moved with compassion”
• Mark also adds that the Jesus commanded the man to tell no one
• And that the man specifically disobeyed that command
• The result was that the ministry of Jesus was hindered due to the crowds
• And that Jesus was forced to stay in the unpopulated areas

And then we read Luke’s version again:
Luke 5:12-16 “While He was in one of the cities, behold, there was a man covered with leprosy; and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” And He stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately the leprosy left him. And He ordered him to tell no one, “But go and show yourself to the priest and make an offering for your cleansing, just as Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” But the news about Him was spreading even farther, and large crowds were gathering to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray.”

So quickly we see that Luke also adds the command to tell no one.

However
• Luke doesn’t mention that the man failed to obey Jesus.
• Nor does Luke blame the man for Jesus retreating into unpopulated areas.
• Luke reveals that Jesus retreated into the wilderness for the purpose of prayer.

Now, let me give you the quick “How To” Bible study lesson.

Because we have a story recorded by 3 authors,
And because it is the same story with a common miracle
Then we know that there are GENERAL truths which all 3 reveal.

What are some of those GENERAL TRUTHS?
(and we’ll come back to them in a moment)
1) Jesus obviously has authority over leprosy
2) Jesus obviously has a willingness to help the afflicted
3) The Lepers humility was obviously important to all 3 writers

Those are general truths that we can glean
And certainly we don’t want to miss those.

However because all 3 writers include some different information
There are also some SPECIFIC TRUTHS which we don’t want to miss
As they reveal to us the main point of each writer.

Let me explain.
Suppose we were going to tell the story of you coming to church this morning.
On the little subheading (like you have in your Bible) it might read:
“Peggy Goes To Church” or “Leo Goes To Church”

And one writer says:
Peggy arose at 5:30 in the morning and cooked breakfast for Tommy, she then started a load of laundry, and then took a shower. After the shower she ironed Tommy’s shirt, straightened up the living room, and put a pot of beans on for lunch. She then put on her jacket, faced the cold, got in her car and made the 10 mile journey to Spur and went to church.

Obviously the story is about Peggy going to church,
But the emphasis is on the obstacles Peggy had to overcome to get here.
Point would be PEGGY’S DEVOTION

Another writer says:
Peggy got up, got dressed, and went to church, arriving early so she could practice the piano, drink coffee, straighten out her brother Leo, fellowship with the women, and go to seduce all the children with candy. And then Peggy attended worship where she played the piano before listening to the sermon.

Same story about Peggy going to church,
But the focus isn’t on what it took to get there,
Instead it’s on what she did while she was there.
Point would be PEGGY’S SERVICE

And even another writer could say:
Peggy went to church where she fell under extreme conviction for the large amounts of unconfessed sin in her life and laying prostrate at the altar she begged God’s forgiveness and then having received peace she went home.

Again, same story but still a different point.
Point would be PEGGY’S UNBELIEVABLE AND ENORMOUS SIN

DO YOU SEE WHAT I’M GETTING AT?
We have the same thing going on in the fact that
God appointed there to be more than 1 gospel account of Jesus.

• In each of these stories there is the GENERAL MESSAGE which is clear in all
3 accounts, and you must see that.

• What we also want is the SPECIFIC MESSAGE, and I would also tell you that
the specific message is the one that often requires the most work yet also
yields the most reward.

We want to know the basic facts
AND we want to know the point Luke is making.

• Matthew recorded the inspired word of God and yet was not compelled to
reveal that Jesus’ command not to tell anyone was disobeyed or ineffective.

• Mark recorded the inspired word of God and was compelled to speak of the
leper’s disobedience.

• Luke also recorded the inspired word of God and HIS MESSAGE WAS
DIFFERENT FROM BOTH.

WE WANT TO KNOW WHY?

So our question must be, not only “What is the GENERAL point?”
But also “What is the SPECIFIC point?”

But let’s look at this story together.
And let’s begin by looking at THE GENERAL POINT.

(12) “While He was in one of the cities, behold there was a man covered with leprosy;”

We are just reinforcing what we already know about the ministry of Jesus.
• He was committed to preaching the gospel to every city and village.
• He came to proclaim the truth of the kingdom.
• He came to offer grace to beggars
• He came to offer forgiveness to criminals
• He came to offer sight to blind
• He came to offer rest to captives

That was His main purpose and so that is what He is doing.
His ministry has led to Him to yet another city.

And from Luke’s perspective the city doesn’t matter,
It’s just Jesus doing here what He’s done in countless other cities.

THE DISTINCTION here comes in the fact that He is approached by “a man covered with leprosy”

AND THIS IS ALSO IMPORTANT.
On one hand leprosy could easily be thrown into the category of sicknesses and diseases and we could talk about Jesus’ ability to heal the sick.

And certainly that would be a true and accurate message.
Sickness is the result of the sin curse which this world is under.

Jesus came to reveal His authority over sin
And His ability to usher in the kingdom of heaven
So it is important to reveal that
He can conquer all of sins various consequences.

No matter if that is demonization, sickness, unruly nature, even death.
JESUS CAN UNDO IT ALL.

And certainly leprosy can be thrown in that category
As a sickness which Jesus healed.

On the other hand leprosy paints a much greater picture than even that.

Leprosy is a chronic illness that has never been fully understood.

And in Jesus day it was highly contagious.
• You could spread it with your breath,
• You could spread it by touching common objects.

And it has really only been with medical advances
That we have really understood what leprosy does.

It appears to rot the flesh and make fingers and toes fall off.
What it essentially did was cause nerve damage
And numb the physical sense of pain.

But what that meant was that it pushed the body
Into a sort of self-mutilating condition.
Because of numbness you are more susceptible to cuts and wounds and infections, etc.

Physical pain is a tremendous warning
That keeps you from doing something truly destructive,
And if that warning is removed,
You can do serious damage to your body before you even realize it.

One man wrote of leprosy:
“The disease which we today call leprosy generally begins with pain in certain areas of the body. Numbness follows. Soon the skin in such spots loses its original color. It gets to be thick, glossy, and scaly…As the sickness progresses, the thickened spots become dirty sores and ulcers due to poor blood supply. The skin, especially around the eyes and ears, begins to bunch, with deep furrows between the swellings, so that the face of the afflicted individual begins to resemble that of a lion. Fingers drop off or are absorbed; toes are affected similarly. Eyebrows and eyelashes drop out. By this time one can see the person in this pitiable condition is a leper. By a touch of the finger one can also feel it. One can even smell it, for the leper emits a very unpleasant odor. Moreover, in view of the fact that the disease-producing agent frequently also attacks the larynx, the leper’s voice acquires a grating quality. His throat becomes hoarse, and you can now not only see, feel, and smell the leper, but you can hear his rasping voice. And if you stay with him for some time, you can even imagine a peculiar taste in your mouth, probably due to the odor.”
(MacArthur commentary, page 7)

And so with leprosy what you actually have is a disease
That numbs the body to its own natural warning system,
And thus the body self-destroys.

It is a particularly cruel disease.
That in and of itself would be enough to pity this man who came to Jesus.

But aside from the disease you need to understand HOW IT WAS VIEWED.

Being sick was one thing.
You could be sick and still get sympathy from others.
But if you had leprosy there was no such sympathy.

Those with leprosy were viewed as those STRICKEN BY GOD.
And that with good reason

Remember when Miriam challenged Moses?
She was made leprous.

Remember when Gehazi became greedy for Naaman’s money?
God made him a leper.

Remember when Uzziah insisted upon offering the sacrifice?
God made him a leper.

And so leprosy was often viewed as a supernatural punishment
Or consequence upon a person.

It was a rotting disease that you brought on yourself.

And if that is why if you had leprosy, you weren’t considered sick,
You were considered UNCLEAN.

Leviticus 13:45-46 “As for the leper who has the infection, his clothes shall be torn, and the hair of his head shall be uncovered, and he shall cover his mustache and cry, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ “He shall remain unclean all the days during which he has the infection; he is unclean. He shall live alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp.”

Lepers were not treated with sympathy,
Lepers were TREATED AS OUTCASTS,
And this was a command from God.

• One Rabbi spoke of throwing rocks at lepers to keep them away.
• Another said, “I would not buy an egg off a street that a leper had walked down.”

And so not only was your body destroying itself,
You were also seen to have brought this on yourself,
And were banished from all fellowship from your fellow man.

THAT MAKES LEPROSY A PHYSICAL PICTURE OF SIN

Leprosy was a disease that would numb your body until your body ended up destroying itself.
• Sin is a disease that will numb your conscience until your soul
ends up destroying itself.

Leprosy was a disease thought to be brought on oneself because of choices they made in life.
• Sin is a disease that is also brought on oneself because of choices
that are made.

Leprosy separates man from man.
• Sin separates man from God.

So it is easy now at this point
To understand in a general sense what all of the writers are doing.

They are all revealing an encounter
When Jesus was up against the most terrifying disease of the day
And one which illustrated the rotten effects of sin like no other.

ANOTHER THING THEY ARE REVEALING
Is the humble state in which this leper approached Jesus.
“and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”

Obvious to us again is the very important point about the humility in which we come to Christ.
• Jesus came to heal people who are beggars and who knew it.
• Jesus came to forgive people who are guilty and who knew it.
• Jesus came to give relief to people who are burdened and who knew it.

We find in this leper that same mandatory humility
That has been seen in the people that Luke has highlighted for us.

Everyone who comes to Christ comes in that same type of humility.
We are all leprous beggars, inflicted the soul-rotting disease of sin
And in desperate need of the Savior’s touch.

You have to know that.

ALSO REVEALED
Is the faith which the leper brought to Christ.
“If You are willing, You can make me clean.”

He has already come at great personal risk
To even be brave enough to venture into town and approach Jesus.

He must have at least assumed that Jesus WOULD BE WILLING
Or else he would not have come at all.
What is clear is that he was certain Jesus WAS ABLE.

And again as sinners when we come to Christ,
We come in humility, but we also COME IN FAITH.

You must believe that CHRIST CAN
And that CHRIST WILL when you approach Him for salvation.

So this is a tremendous GENERAL picture
Of the type of person who comes to Jesus for salvation.

• Do you see yourself as a spiritual leper?
• Do you see the rottenness of your soul?
• Do you mourn the foul condition of your heart?
• Have you grieved your exile from the company of God and the fellowship of the saints?

Those are the necessary attributes of the one who rightly comes to Christ.
This leper is a tremendous example of how sinners come to Christ.

ALSO REVEALED
Also in a general since we see the great power and compassion of Jesus.
(13) “And He stretched out His hand and touched him, saying “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately the leprosy left him.”

Now we are all well-aware that Jesus has ability to heal with a word.
• He didn’t touch the demon-possessed man when He cast out the demon.
• He didn’t touch Peter’s mother-in-law when He drove out her fever.
• He didn’t touch Peter’s fishing net before the great catch of fish.

His physical touch was not a pre-requisite for healing,
And yet here He did the unthinkable and “touched” this leper.

Not only does this demonstrate the compassion of Jesus as Mark pointed out, but what a demonstration of the POWER of Jesus.

If anyone else touches a leper they get defiled.
If Jesus touches a leper the leper gets cleansed.
Even while walking this sin-infested earth, Jesus remained undefiled

The writer of Hebrews said:
Hebrews 7:26 “For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens;”

And for those of you who have been with us on Sunday nights studying the ACTIVE OBEDIENCE of Jesus, you know why that is so important.

• It is the righteousness of Christ which is credited to us,
• If He was in danger of becoming defiled by this world
• The last thing we would want is for Him to go around touching lepers.

But Jesus was absolutely incorruptible.
Even while living on this earth, He remained pure and holy.

And certainly His POWER OVER the uncleanness and sin effects of this world is made clear.
“And immediately the leprosy left him.”

This was not some sort of psychosomatic healing
Like is so commonly claimed today.
This was instant – This was verifiable – This was total.

And that is why He told this now cleansed leper
To go and bear testimony the way in which God had prescribed.

(14) “And He ordered him to tell no one, “But go and show yourself to the priest and make and offering for your cleansing, just as Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

This was the proper steps of verification.
• It would have been the examination of a priest which would have declared this
man unclean,
• And only the examination of a priest could now declare him clean.

But Jesus knew exactly how to have this miracle verified as authentic.
Send this guy back to the priest that condemned him.

Jesus had authority to reverse the curse of sin
And it needed to be verified and proclaimed.

NOW AGAIN, THOSE ARE THE GENERAL POINTS that are obvious in all 3 gospel accounts.
• You see Jesus’ Power
• You see Jesus as Savior
• You see the necessary humility required to be saved.

Don’t miss those points.

But also, don’t be lazy in your study.
Luke writes a slightly different story than those other gospel writers
And it is worth our diligence to find out why.
This difference in the story comes in verses 15-16

HERE IS THE SPECIFIC POINT
(15-16) “But the news about Him was spreading even farther, and large crowds were gathering to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray.”

Matthew doesn’t include this at all.
• That reveals to us that Matthew’s sole purpose was to demonstrate the power of Jesus and to reveal Him as the rightful Messiah.
• Matthew focuses on THE POWER OF JESUS

Mark includes this story, but also blames it on the disobedience of the leper who instead of obeying Jesus “went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread the news around, to such an extent that Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city, but stayed out in unpopulated areas; and they were coming to Him from everywhere.”

• And it seems that Mark really wants you to realize the enthusiasm of the leper.
• Certainly it was misguided enthusiasm, but you can’t dispute his excitement.

• Not only did he spread the story, but “to such an extent” that even hindered the ministry of Jesus and made it difficult for him to come into town.
• So Mark focuses on THE RESPONSE OF THE LEPER

LUKE DOESN’T INCLUDE THAT.
The response of the leper is not Luke’s priority.

Luke goes in a different direction.
• Luke focuses on THE RESPONSE OF THE CROWD
• And THE RESPONSE OF JESUS

Now the crowd’s response is not new to Luke’s gospel.
We’ve already recognized how their excitement has been building.

After casting out the demon
Luke 4:37 “And the report about Him was spreading into every locality in the surrounding district.”

After healing Peter’s mother-in-law
Luke 4:40 “While the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and laying His hands on each one of them, He was healing them.”

After all the healings in Capernaum
Luke 4:42 “When day came, Jesus left and went to a secluded place; and the crowds were searching for Him, and came to Him and tried to keep Him from going away from them.”

Even as He entered the region of Galilee
Luke 5:1 “Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God, He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret;”

This is hardly new information here regarding the crowd.
Luke is just reinforcing that truth that
JESUS FRENZY is at an all-time high.

The crowd is enamored with Him because He has authority.
• If Jesus were nothing but talk we’d know it by now.
• This crowd is a great witness that Jesus has power.
• Now the crowd might indeed be missing the main point, but they do make a
credible witness that Jesus’ authority is legitimate.

Certainly Luke reinforces that truth.

It’s the next truth that Luke introduces
That is a little more curious to us.
(16) “But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness to pray.”

That is the verse I think we have to settle on
If we want to obtain Luke’s unique perspective on this story.

I suppose the main question we can ask here is: WHY?
Why did Jesus so often pull away and pray?

And as soon as we ask this question,
We have to also acknowledge that the Bible doesn’t tell us.

Now certainly we can GAIN SOME INSIGHT just by looking at some of the things JESUS TAUGHT US ABOUT PRAYER.

Things like:
Matthew 5:44 “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,”

• Obviously Jesus could have been praying for Nazareth or any of the others
who rejected His message.

During the Sermon on the Mount
Matthew 6:6 “But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.”

• This would at least explain why Jesus retreated to a deserted area to pray. He
simply wanted to seek God, not put on a show of piety.

We remember the parable of the persistent widow
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,”

• This reveals the level of Jesus’ faith.
• He prayed because He believed the Father was at work through Him.

Speaking to the disciples in the garden:
Luke 22:40 “When He arrived at the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”

• Certainly there is a calling upon God for grace and strength to do the things
asked for.

I don’t think any of those are far-fetched notions as to
Why Jesus would pull away and pray during the height of His ministry.

AND CERTAINLY WE COULD SAY,
If Jesus felt it necessary to stop and pray
Then we are fooling ourselves if we don’t think it necessary for us.

But more than any of them, I think Luke is making this point:
THAT JESUS KNEW WHO HE WAS SERVING

Do you remember the passage Jesus quoted in Nazareth to reveal His mission?

Luke 4:18 “THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED,”

“He anointed Me” “He has sent Me”

Now look at how Luke wrote this.
“large crowds were gathering to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses. BUT Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray.”

LUKE DOES NOT SAY: “large crowds were gathering…AND Jesus Himself would often slip away…”

• That would imply that the two truths are somewhat unrelated.
• Just two basic things that were happening.

LUKE DOES NOT SAY: “large crowds were gathering…THEREFORE Jesus Himself would often slip away…”

• That would imply that the size of the crowd drove Jesus to pray.
• As though the crowd overwhelmed Him or as though He needed some peace to get away from them.

But that’s not what Luke says.
Luke says, “large crowds were gathering…BUT Jesus would Himself often slip away…”

Luke writes it as a peculiarity.
It is written as though Jesus often did what was NOT EXPECTED.

The arrival of those crowds looked like the epitome of success.
This is everything you ever wanted.
The crowd arrived.
And yet Jesus leaves!

From a modern day perspective He is doing ministry all wrong.
TODAY – THE CROWD IS SOVEREIGN

Church growth books tell you that:
• You have to have a facility that makes the crowd comfortable
• You have to play music that attracts the crowd
• You have to meet when it is convenient for the crowd
• You can’t meet longer than the crowd wants to meet

They all basically say the same thing – THE CROWD IS SOVEREIGN
Oh, don’t get me wrong, they spiritualize it
Because after all “Every person represents a soul!”

And that is how they justify doing anything they can to gain a crowd.

But Luke reveals that Jesus has a different focus.
In Jesus’ ministry the crowd is not sovereign. God is.

Jesus was in the service of the Father, not the service of the crowd.
Furthermore Jesus sought the Father over the crowd.

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?
When Jesus stepped on the scene,
The first thing we were amazed about was that He would make such outlandish claims.
• Remember how Nazareth was shocked by this and even Capernaum?
• That He would make claims like being able to forgive and such…
• And so the first response to Him was that He was out of His mind.

But that response couldn’t last long because He quickly put His power and authority on display.
• After casting out that demon…
• After healing Peter’s mother-in-law…
• After all of those other healings…
• After that great catch of fish…
• After cleansing this leper…

You really can’t call Him crazy anymore.
It is obvious that He has authority.

Even the leper revealed that the mindset on Jesus has shifted.
The leper said, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”

Jesus’ authority is now obvious to the people.

BUT WHAT IS THE NEXT QUESTION GOING TO BE?
• Where did you get this authority?
• By whose power are You doing these things?

Luke 20:2 “and they spoke, saying to Him, “Tell us by what authority You are doing these things, or who is the one who gave You this authority?”

And what you will begin to see is that
The mood is about to shift in Luke’s gospel
And people are going to STOP DOUBTING HIS POWER,
And they are going to START QUESTIONING HIS SOURCE.

Later Jesus will call Matthew and while eating at his house:
Luke 5:30 “The Pharisees and their scribes began grumbling at His disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?”

Then Jesus will be confronted by the legalistic disciples of John the Baptist.
Luke 5:33 “And they said to Him, “The disciples of John often fast and offer prayers, the disciples of the Pharisees also do the same, but Yours eat and drink.”

In chapter 6 they’re going to question His keeping of the Sabbath.
Luke 6:1-2 “Now it happened that He was passing through some grainfields on a Sabbath; and His disciples were picking the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating the grain. But some of the Pharisees said, “Why do you do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”

And it goes on from there.
In chapter 7 they’ll call Him “a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!”

You see where the skeptics are headed.
Luke cuts them off at the pass.

JESUS IS IN THE SERVICE OF ALMIGHTY GOD.
And anyone watching His life can see that nothing is as important to Him as spending time with the Father.

• If all Jesus cared about was deceiving Israel into following Him…
• If all Jesus cared about was gaining popularity…
• If all Jesus cared about what starting a movement…
Then why is He always abandoning the crowd in favor of prayer?

It’s just another point that is solidified in our minds regarding Jesus.
• He is here (just as He said) in service of the Father.
• It is the Father who anointed Him
• It is the Father who sent Him

And if you reject Him, then it is not just Him,
You are also rejecting the Father
And the only offer of salvation you will ever receive.

Jesus is the One with Authority.
• He said He can save
• He has proven He can save
• And He received this power and authority from God

He deserves our trust and submission.

Christ’s Active Obedience – Part 1
Hebrews 10:1-18 (1-4)
February 4, 2018

Last time we met we started looking at the 4th of the 5 SOLAS.
We began to examine SOLUS CHRISTUS
Or the reality that salvation is in Christ Alone.

Now, just to again reiterate what we are talking about.

Most people assume that SOLUS CHRISTUS simply means that
Jesus is the only way of salvation.

And that is certainly true, and is a definite part of SOLUS CHRISTUS,
But that is not really the heart of the issue.

The term is defined because of a perversion of the gospel
In Roman Catholicism.

Rome would attest to Jesus being the only Savior,
But the debate stems regarding HOW Jesus saves us.

Rome would basically say that the work of Jesus is to make it possible for you to be now be saved.

Namely that Jesus saves you by working in you
To equip and guide and motivate you to become righteous.

SOLUS CHRISTUS adamantly denies that assertion.
• SOLUS CHRISTUS DOES NOT refer to what Jesus has done IN me.
• SOLUS CHRISTUS refers to what Jesus has done FOR me.

Again, the other statement:
We do not hold that Jesus has come to make me righteous.
We hold that Jesus has come to be my righteousness.

And to make that point
We looked at Paul’s famous statement to the Corinthians.
2 Corinthians 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

That verse perfectly explains to us the work of Christ “on our behalf”
• We have the sinless and righteous Son of God bearing our sin and thus being treated as a sinner.
• And we have sinful and wicked humans bearing Christ’s righteousness and thus being treated as righteous.

Christ did not become a sinner on the cross
And consequently we are not now perfectly righteous.
IT IS THAT WE ARE EACH TREATED AS THE OTHER.

• Christ wrapped Himself in human flesh that He might suffer as a sinner.
• We now are wrapped in Christ’s perfect righteousness that we might be rewarded as a saint.

It is not what He is doing in us, it is what He has done for us.

And as we also said last week,
There is a great deal of assurance to be found here

• When we start looking to our own righteousness as a means of our security
there is nothing that follows there but doubts and fear.

• But when we understand that our eternal hope does not rest on what I do, but
Christ has done for me, then assurance is ours.

SO THERE’S THE HEART OF THE ISSUE.

Beginning TONIGHT I just want to begin to zoom out a little
And try to understand the issue a little more.
And to do that we need to gain a better understanding of
The righteousness which Christ had.

I actually introduced you to the terms last time,
But I want to recall them for you tonight.

It has to do with the obedience of Christ, and in His obedience we divide that into two terms:
• THE ACTIVE OBEDIENCE OF CHRIST
• THE PASSIVE OBEDIENCE OF CHRIST

Now, please understand that when we talk about those we are not talking about two separate time periods in the life of Christ as though He were actively obedient for a while and then passively obedient for a while.

Throughout Christ’s life He was always both.
He was always actively obedient and He was always passively obedient.

However, it is easier to understand the difference if I say it like this.
• The Active Obedience of Christ refers to His righteous life.
• The Passive Obedience of Christ refers to His sacrificial death.

You can’t separate them just into those two events, for He was always both,
But it does help in understanding them if you separate it out like that.

And we want to begin looking at: THE ACTIVE OBEDIENCE OF CHRIST.
LET ME TELL YOU WHY IT IS IMPORTANT.

It is based on a reality that is very often overlooked in Christianity today,
And also one that when it begins to be realized
Seems to bring with it an enormous amount of confusion.

What is this reality that is both overlooked and at times confusing?

THAT GOD’S LAW HAS MORE TO SAY
THAN JUST HOW TO ATONE FOR SIN.

Let me put it another way.
In regard to the Law of God there is more that is required than just to make a sacrifice when you mess up.

• God’s Law not only includes penal sanctions (required sacrifices)
• It also includes positive commands. (righteous living)

Now on one hand that is OFTEN OVERLOOKED.
It is quite easy for people in evangelicalism today
To really just turn a blind eye to all of the righteous requirements
That God brought forth in His Law.

It’s as though they are just sort of willing to throw up their hands and say,
“Yep, I’m a sinner, but that’s ok because Jesus is my all-sufficient sacrifice for sin.”

And honestly there is a great mass of people
That never think about it any deeper than that.

But then, ever so often, you find a person who has come to Jesus
And who desires to love God and live for Him,
And they start reading their Bible (in particular the O.T.)

And many of these people fall into CONFUSION
And they read about all of these positive commands that are found in the Old Testament.
• Laws about dietary restrictions
• Laws about Sabbath day requirements
• Laws about being set apart
• Laws about basic morality

And they get confused because they know that God has not changed.

And they rightly ask if God required obedience to these things in the past, why would we assume that God no longer requires obedience to these things today?

And many of them then decide that they must start obeying all of these commands and they in essence come under the law.

PERHAPS YOU’VE NOTICED THIS CONFUSING TENSION

What most often occurs today is that
People cherry-pick the commands that best suit their agenda
As those which are important to God
And then they disregard the rest.

• How many times have we heard someone quote from the Law about how homosexuality is an abomination to God?
• How many times have we heard someone quote from the Law how God hates the shedding of innocent blood?
• I even read a facebook debate the other day about whether or not Christians can get tattoos based on the Old Testament Law.

And so people have cherry-picked commands that suit their own agenda.

And granted some go further than that.
• Seventh Day Adventist are going to use the Law to enforce Saturday worship.
• Hebrew Roots people are going to use the Law to enforce dietary restrictions.

You get the idea.

And of course every group omits some of the commands.
• I don’t know anyone who refuses to wear half cotton half polyester T-shirts even though mixing fabrics was forbidden.
• I don’t know anyone who refuses to mix bread their cattle, although that was also forbidden.
• I don’t know anyone who grows the hair long on their temples although that was also required.

My point is just this.
WHAT TO DO WITH THE LAW
HAS BEEN A MASSIVE SOURCE OF CONFUSION
FOR THE CHURCH.

• We all seem to know what to do with the sacrificial commands (we look to the cross)
• But people are all over the chart when it comes to what to do with all those positive commands we find.

The confusion comes because people have failed to rightly understand the gospel, namely the doctrine of SOLUS CHRISTUS

What the gospel says; what Paul was saying in 2 Corinthians 5:21,
Is that Christ fulfilled both the penal sanctions of God’s Law
AND He fulfilled the positive commands of God’s Law.

• He fulfilled the penal sanctions through His penalty-bearing work
most easily seen in the cross.
• But He also fulfilled the positive commands through His will-of-
God obeying work most easily seen in His righteous life.

AND THAT IS SO IMPORTANT.

Do not make the mistake (which is commonly made) of saying that God no longer cares about the righteous commands set forth in the Law.

THAT’S JUST NOT TRUE.

We read the command in the Old Testament.
Leviticus 11:44-45 “For I am the LORD your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. And you shall not make yourselves unclean with any of the swarming things that swarm on the earth. ‘For I am the LORD who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; thus you shall be holy, for I am holy.'”

And then we read the command in the New Testament.
1 Peter 1:14-16 “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.”

We even have Jesus Himself say:
Matthew 5:48 “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Or how about:
Matthew 5:17-20 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. “Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

And by the way, those are all the types of commands
That Hebrew Roots people or Seventh Day Adventist
Will quote in order to emphasize that God’s Law still matters.

You must understand that God is holy and He demands holy living.
His Law is filled with righteous commands that you must do.

Deuteronomy 10:12-13 “Now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require from you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the LORD’S commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good?”

Micah 6:8 “He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?”

Joshua 22:4-5 “And now the LORD your God has given rest to your brothers, as He spoke to them; therefore turn now and go to your tents, to the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you beyond the Jordan. “Only be very careful to observe the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, to love the LORD your God and walk in all His ways and keep His commandments and hold fast to Him and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

And that is just a few to remind you that
God has always been passionate about the fact that
As His children there is a righteous standard which we must meet.
Now, also provided for in the Law was the penalty and means of atonement for the times when we fail to uphold that standard.

Right?
I mean, when you fail to do what you are supposed to do, then you bring your sacrifice to God to be forgiven for your failure.

But please understand, the availability of atonement
Does not nullify the requirement of obedience.

Let me put it to you this way.
• Let’s say you tell your son, “God mow the yard”.
• But he decides to rebel against your command and refuses to do so.
• Will there be a punishment for his rebellion? Yes, there must be.
• But after the punishment is over, is the requirement to go mow the yard now
nullified as well?
• No

Does that help you understand God’s Law a little?
Just because forgiveness is offered through sacrifice
Does not mean that the righteous requirement is now nullified.

Now perhaps you are BETTER UNDERSTANDING THE CONFUSION
And why there all these groups who are trying to
fulfill all of these commands and reinforce them on the church.

THE PROBLEM IS THAT
THEY DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE WORK OF CHRIST.

No one ever explained to them
The significance of CHRIST’S ACTIVE OBEDIENCE.

First let me give you a few statements from men with far greater theological minds than mine.

Wayne Grudem wrote:
“If Christ had only earned forgiveness of sins for us, then we would not merit heaven. Our guilt would have been removed, but we would simply be in the position of Adam and Eve before they had done anything good or bad and before they had passed a time of probation successfully. To be established in righteousness forever and to have their fellowship with God made sure forever, Adam and Eve had to obey God perfectly over a period of time. Then God would have looked on their faithful obedience with pleasure and delight, and they would have lived with him in fellowship forever…For this reason, Christ had to live a life of perfect obedience to God in order to earn righteousness for us. He had to obey the law for his whole life on our behalf so that the positive merits of his perfect obedience would be counted for us.”
(Wayne Grudem: Systematic Theology, Inter-Varsity Press, Leicester, England and Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, A Division of HarperCollins Publishers, pp.570-571)

He goes on to say:
“Jesus had no need to live a life of perfect obedience for his own sake—he had shared love and fellowship with the Father for all eternity and was in his own character eternally worthy of the Father’s good pleasure and delight. He rather had to “fulfill all righteousness” for our sake; that is, for the sake of the people whom he was representing as their head. Unless he had done this for us, we would have no record of obedience by which we would merit God’s favor and merit eternal life with him.”
(ibid)

RC Sproul wrote:
“If Jesus merely needed to die on the cross to save His people, He could have descended from heaven as a man on the morning of Good Friday, gone straight to Golgotha, died on the cross, risen, and left again. Our sin problem would be fixed. He did not need to be born to Mary in a stable, go through all the trials and tribulations of growing up in this fallen world, or endure the animosity of the Jewish leaders during His ministry. However, Jesus did not live those thirty-three years for nothing. In order for Him to qualify as our Redeemer, it was not enough for Him simply to go to the cross and be crucified. If Jesus had only paid for our sins, He would have succeeded only in taking us back to square one. We would no longer be guilty, but we still would have absolutely no righteousness to bring before God. So, our Redeemer needed not only to die, but also to live a life of perfect obedience. The righteousness that He manifested could then be transferred to all who put their trust in Him. Just as my sin is transferred to Him on the cross when I trust in Him, His righteousness is transferred to my account in the sight of God. So, when I stand before God on the judgment day, God is going to see Jesus and His righteousness, which will be my cover.”
Adapted from R.C Sproul’s Preface in The Work of Christ (David C Cook, 2012)

I hope those statements help you
Understand a little bit better what we are talking about.

We are talking about what is required
TO SATISFY THE RIGHTEOUS REQUIREMENT OF GOD.

And Christ fulfilled this requirement through His obedient living.
He fulfilled this requirement through His ACTIVE OBEDIENCE.

And so when we trust in Christ,
We are not only trusting that His punishment is done for me,
But also that His righteous obedience is done for me as well.

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

Now perhaps you see both elements.
• On one hand the passive obedience in His paying my debt through His suffering,
• On the other hand His active obedience also being applied to me.

So what we want to look at now is HIS ACTIVE OBEDIENCE,
WHY it is important, and HOW that works on my behalf.

Well certainly you should understand that Christ was perfect.

John 5:19 “Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.”

John 8:29 “And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.”

Both of those verses give insight into
The mindset and commitment of Christ.
He never had any intention of doing anything
But exactly what the Father desired.

HE ALWAYS PERFECTLY OBEYED.

The writer of Hebrews noted that:
Hebrews 4:15 “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.”

Perhaps you remember His baptism, and the debate He had with John the Baptist.
Matthew 3:13-15 “Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him. But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” But Jesus answering said to him, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he permitted Him.”

John certainly understood that Jesus had no need of repentance.
John was a witness to the perfect obedience of Christ.

But Jesus was not being baptized because He was sinful.
Jesus was being baptized because He was obedient.
He always did the things which God required,
Even if it seemed to the outside world to be unnecessary.

And because of that relentless obedience we even have the Father bearing witness to His perfection from heaven.
Matthew 3:16-17 “After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”

And of course God echoed that assessment again at His transfiguration.

This perfect righteous obedience was even further demonstrated during His temptation in the wilderness where Jesus was faced with every temptation but still remained faithful to God.

He always obeyed.
He was perfectly righteous in all things.
He was without sin.

And that is so important to our understanding of the gospel.
• Jesus didn’t just die to pay my penalty.
• Jesus lived to satisfy my requirements.

If we go back to that illustration of telling your son to mow the yard.
What we find in the story is that your sons brother stepped up and agreed to take the punishment for his rebellious brother and then went further by going ahead and mowing the yard for him too.

He satisfied the wrath AND He fulfilled the requirement.
Both of which are imputed to us.

Now listen again to the passage we read a moment ago.
Matthew 5:17-20 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. “Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

That is such an important passage that Jesus introduced.
But it will be totally misunderstood
If you don’t rightly grasp that first verse.

• No doubt you see that God’s Law is important.
• No doubt you see that keeping God’s Law is essential.
• No doubt you see that a failure to keep God’s Law keeps people out of heaven.

I mean Jesus could not have said it any clearer than that.
• The righteous requirements set forth in God’s Law will never be EXPIRED.
They will be here even after heaven and earth pass away.

• The righteous requirements set forth in God’s Law will never be REDUCED.
Every single “letter or stroke” will forever be enforced.

• The righteous requirement set forth in God’s Law will never be DISREGARDED.
People who don’t meet them will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

DO YOU SEE ALL THAT?
(Those Hebrew Roots folks camp there)

What is failed to be understood is that first statement.
“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.”

THAT IS HUGE!
Jesus came to fulfill the Law.
(Not just the sacrificial Law on the cross,
But also the moral Law through His righteous living)

And is that fulfillment that the gospel says is also transferred to us.
Jesus didn’t just die for us, Jesus also lived for us.

Jesus atonement is not all that is imputed to us,
So is His righteous resume.

That is what makes this understanding of His active obedience so FULFILLING.
• When I begin to understand that the entire summation of the pleasing life of
Christ is now applied directly to my life and account.

• And when God looks on me, He sees that I have perfectly fulfilled the Law,
because I am wearing Christ’s graduation gown and Christ’s honor chords.

Do you see that?

Again,
• It’s not what Christ has done in me, it’s what He has done for me.
• It’s not that He has just made it possible for me to be righteous, it’s that He IS my righteousness.

Now, I did not intend to have that long of an introduction, but that’s ok.
We can still begin this powerful passage which explains this very reality.

The last time we examined it was a little over 2 years ago in our study of the book of Hebrews.

I pulled up those old notes and noticed that sermon was called:
“How to Be Perfect”

Having studied the idea more and in light of the truths we’ve uncovered,
I would probably change that a little to say, “How to be Perfected”

For that is really what the writer of Hebrews reveals.
(14) “For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.”

What I want to begin to do tonight is to
Begin looking at this passage and then we’ll come back to it next time.

READ AGAIN: HEBREWS 10:1-18

Here is the first point that the writer of Hebrews makes here.
#1 A SYMBOL, REPEATED PERPETUALLY, CAN NEVER SAVE
Hebrews 10:1-4

Now because we haven’t just read the book of Hebrews
I need to remind you the truth he just taught.

In chapter 9 the writer gave us a parable.
It was the parable of the Day of Atonement.

The writer asked us to look at 4 symbolic realities from that parable.

1) The Existence of the Veil (9:1-10)
Man is separated from God

2) The Execution of the Sacrifice (9:11-22)
Blood is the requirement for a broken covenant

3) The Expiation of the Sinner (9:23-26)
That blood must be taken to God to appease His wrath on sin

4) The Emergence of the Priest (9:27-28)
The priest coming out reveals that God accepted the sacrifice

The writer revealed to us that
Everything that happened on the Day of Atonement didn’t actually work.

It was a parable, it was a symbol
• It wasn’t real heaven, it was just a tent
• It wasn’t an acceptable sacrifice, it was just a goat
• It wasn’t taken to God, it was just taken behind an earthly veil
• It didn’t accomplish real forgiveness, it just symbolized it

The problem was that so many of the Jews had missed the point. They performed that ritual so long that many of them
Started to believe that there was power in the ritual.

Somehow they came to believe that
Building a tent, killing a goat, and sprinkling blood on a man-made altar
Would actually bring forgiveness.

But the writer of Hebrews is clarifying that
THERE IS NO POWER IN THE SYMBOL.

(1) “For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near.”

Did you catch the problem?
The Law… All those sacrifices…
“can never…make perfect those who draw near.”

• Attend every Jewish festival
• Kill thousands of goats
• Present millions of wave offerings
• And at the end of the day you still will not be perfect.

EVEN IF THOSE THINGS COULD ATONE,
THEY STILL COULD NOT PERFECT.

That is tragic since we’ve already established that
Perfection is all God accepts.

Do you want proof they can’t make you perfect?
(2) “Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins?”

If you are a person who likes “logic” and “reason”
Then this verse is for you.

Let’s say that on the Day of Atonement
That offering actually did what it was supposed to do.
Let’s say it actually atoned for all the sinner’s sin.

If that happened wouldn’t the offering have stopped?

If those people had actually been forgiven they would have had a clean conscience and would no longer feel the need to sacrifice.
But that is not what happened.
That sacrifice didn’t make them feel forgiven
And that is why the kept coming back.

(3) “But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year.”

Those sacrifices didn’t make you feel forgiven,
Those sacrifices only reminded you that you were a sinner.

THERE AGAIN IS RELIGION.

Make no mistake religion needs sinners.
Religion needs people that it can threaten and terrify and command.

That’s how religion gets power
That’s how religion gets funded

The worst thing for religion is permanent forgiveness.
Then it loses it’s hook.
Indeed that is never the goal.

What religion wants to do is get people enslaved.
You have to keep coming back here
And keep doing this thing over and over and over OR ELSE.
ROME CERTAINLY FLOURISHED HERE.

That is also what the Law did.
Come back year after year and be reminded that you are a sinner!
• It didn’t forgive anybody.
• It didn’t make anybody feel forgiven.
• All it did was continually remind people that they didn’t measure up to God.

Now the question is:
WHY DIDN’T THE LAW FORGIVE PEOPLE?

IT COULDN’T
It was just a symbol and a symbol,
Regardless of how many times you repeat it, it can never save.

(4) “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”

Just let that sink in for a second.
• Do you really suppose that killing a goat makes you right with God?
• Do you really suppose that getting dunked in a baptistery makes you right with God?
• Do you really suppose that eating crackers and drinking grape juice makes you right with God?
• Do you really suppose penance or purgatory can make you righteous?

EVEN IF THEY COULD ATONE
THOSE THINGS CAN’T MAKE YOU PERFECT.

I mean do we really suppose
That God is sitting up in heaven and men are requesting entrance and He is saying, “Nope, not until you say 50 “Hail Mary’s” and 25 “Our Father’s”?

Do you catch the absurdity?
The Jews were killing a goat and that has no power over anything.

I mean let your banker call and say, “I’m going to foreclose on your house because you are behind on your payments.” And you say, “I tell you what I’ll do, I’ll kill a goat.”

Let your boss call you into his office and say, “You’re doing a lousy job and I’m going to have to let you go.” And you say, “Instead of that, why don’t we just kill a goat?”

That’s how absurd it is to think religious ritual can save you.
That’s how absurd it is to think religious symbols can make you perfect.

They never can – it is the first major point of the writer of Hebrews.
A symbol, repeated perpetually, can never save.

#2 A SAVIOR, ROBED IN PERFECTION, DID FINALLY SATISFY
Hebrews 10:5-10

And unfortunately this is where we have to stop for the night.
• The writer just revealed that sacrifice alone was not enough to make a man right with God.
• It also required adherence to God’s righteous standards, and Jesus also did this.

He not only presented Himself as a lamb for the slaughter.
He also offered His righteous life as satisfaction of God’s requirement.
The tragedy of Catholicism was that they looked to Mary or to the Saints to gain their “supererogatory merit”

The Reformers said – NO!
We look to Christ Alone (SOLUS CHRISTUS)

And the effect (as we will see next time)
Is that we are now counted righteous.

(14) “For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.”

The Proper Response
Luke 5:1-11
February 4, 2018

As you know, we are working through Luke’s gospel
In which he is revealing to us the “exact truth” about Jesus.

We’ve already learned about
• The holiness of Christ
• The deity of Christ
• The humanity of Christ
• That Christ was under the Law
• That Christ resisted temptation
• That Christ demonstrated divine power
• That Christ is the Messiah who came to save

As a conscientious historian, Luke has made sure to give us the facts
About who Jesus is and what He did.

Beyond that, Luke has also been very interested in revealing to us
The type of people who respond to Jesus,
And the necessary attitude that is required to do that.

As mentioned many times before,
• Only Luke shows us Zacharias and Elizabeth.
• Only Luke gives such detail about Mary.
• Only Luke introduces the shepherds present after His birth.
• Only Luke speaks of Simeon and Anna.

Luke is highlighting that ALL IMPORTANT ATTITUDE OF HUMILITY
That is required in order for one to follow Christ.

By contrast was that humility which the hometown of Jesus (Nazareth) clearly lacked and therefore tried to throw Him off a cliff.

SO LUKE’S POINTS ARE BECOMING CLEAR TO US.
• Who is Jesus?
• What did He come to do?
• And what does He require from us?

These are the questions that Luke is answering.

As I ponder these realities even during my time of study,
I am reminded actually of a statement John makes about Jesus
In the opening chapter of his gospel.

John 1:9-13 “There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

John introduced a tragedy there that despite the glory of Christ,
There were so many who would not receive Him.

And of course after looking at Nazareth we know why.
• People weren’t interested in having spiritual light shined into their darkened hearts.
• They didn’t want to acknowledge spiritual poverty or spiritual guilt or spiritual blindness or spiritual exhaustion.
• When Jesus tried to expose that, they quickly rejected Him.

However, there were a few who did receive Him.
There were a few who did respond correctly.

And those who did respond correctly were given
“the right to become children of God”

Luke is making that same point, and he is doing it
Through various encounters that Jesus had with those around Him.

THIS MORNING we look at the day when Jesus encountered Peter.

Now it is important for you to understand that
Luke 5 is NOT THE FIRST TIME Peter was acquainted with Jesus, not by a long shot.

• Peter first met Jesus in John 1 when Andrew introduced them.
• By this point Peter would have been with Jesus to that wedding in Cana and seen Him turn water into wine.
• By this point Peter would have been with Jesus to Jerusalem and seen Jesus clear the temple.
• We actually saw Jesus in Peter’s home in Luke 4 healing his mother-in-law of her fever.
• Luke 5 doesn’t even record the first time Jesus approached Peter at the water front and asked him to follow.

The first time occurred in Matthew 4.
Matthew 4:18-20 “Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.”

That is obviously not the same incident that Luke records,
It would have been an earlier one.

And through all of those encounters it is clear that
Peter had already heard Jesus say many amazing things,
And he had already seen Jesus do many amazing things.
What is more, Peter should have been aware
Of what Jesus expected of His followers.

Peter was not ignorant of the person or expectation of Jesus.

BUT IT WAS NOT UNTIL THIS DAY THAT PETER ACTUALLY MET JESUS.

This is the day when Peter’s eyes were finally opened to exactly who Jesus was, and we love the story because Peter responds properly.

Now that makes this story very pertinent and relevant to us.
I can relate to Peter here so easily.

• I grew up in church and I knew all the stories about Jesus.
• I grew up in a Christian environment and I was well acquainted with the way
Jesus had changed people’s lives.
• I was aware of the expectation Jesus had for us to follow Him and serve Him
• I even went on mission trips as a teenager and was involved in various
ministries.

But I didn’t really meet Jesus until that one fateful night in Abilene, TX.

How do I know that is when I really saw Him for the first time?
Because in seeing Him, for the first time I also saw me.

Jesus didn’t just show me who He was.
Jesus also showed me who I was.

And if you’re paying attention to Luke, this is the real point of contention.
That is what Nazareth didn’t like.
That is what Capernaum ignored.
But Peter gets it right.

So, as we work through this story,
• Let me just ask you if Jesus has ever confronted you?
• And let me also ask you how you responded?

Peter is a tremendous example of the proper response.

5 things we see here.
#1 THE CROWD
Luke 5:1-3

Now really here, we just see Jesus doing business as usual.

We read in:
Luke 4:14-15 “And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding district. And He began teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all.”

When He came to Nazareth, more of the same:
Luke 4:16 “And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read.”

When He returned to Capernaum, He’s still preaching:
Luke 4:31 “And He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and He was teaching them on the Sabbath;”

And even when Capernaum tried to detain Him:
Luke 4:43-44 “But He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.” So He kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.”

So at this point the fact that we find Him preaching to a crowd
IS NOT SURPRISING AT ALL.

He’s just doing what He came to do.
He is proclaiming the kingdom of God.

He is revealing to people that He is the One who can
• Offer grace to beggars
• Offer forgiveness to criminals
• Offer sight to the blind
• Offer rest to the weary
• Offer salvation to sinners

He can grant you access into God’s kingdom right now.

That’s what He came to do and that’s what He’s doing
…relentlessly.

It’s also not surprising when we see the response of the crowd.

“Not it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God…”

Luke speaks of Jesus preaching “the word of God” (i.e His own words)
And Luke speaks of the crowd pressing in on Him.

Now you know why.
• These people will more than readily endure a sermon if they think it’s going to
end in a healing display.
• The whole time He is preaching you have the crowd jockeying for position.
• They all want to be up there at the front to make sure they get their miracle
when they start.

I still remember a picture of Ken Gilcrease on mission in Guatemala
Backed up to a wall with kids pressing all around him
Because he had candy he was giving out.

That’s what they are doing to Jesus,
And they’ve literally backed Him up to the edge of the water.

There is a crowd, but I’m not yet ready to yield to the fact that
They are all there because they want to hear the gospel.

And because of the crowd we read:
(2-3) “and He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake; but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. And He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little way from the land. And He sat down and began teaching the people from the boat.”

This was no accident, nor was it merely a contingency plan.
As you’ll see in a minute,
Jesus has been setting the stage for this all night long.

• But by the edge of the water you “two boats” and “fishermen”
• And the fishermen had gotten out of the boats “and were washing their nets.”

This was the Sea of Galilee and we see in a minute that
The fishermen where Peter and James and John.

That indicates that
• While they had spent time with Jesus,
• And had even followed Him on some isolated ventures,
• They had yet to fully become devoted to Him,
• Because here they are still fishing.

• Fishing in Galilee was done at night,
• And the type of fishing here was a large fishing net dropped from the boat
• Which worked as a sane where the fish were gathered and dragged in to the
boat.

These men had fished all night.
Now it was time to clean up and then catch some rest
Before they went back out again.

Jesus gets into Simon’s boat “and asked him to put out a little way form the land.”

Even though Simon must have been tired,
He was certainly more than willing
To accommodate the ministry of Jesus.

Some of us may have seen it as an INCONVENIENCE,
Apparently Peter did not.

Based on His previous dealings with Jesus,
He was more than willing to lend a hand.

So they move the boat out and “He sat down and began teaching the people from the boat.”

SO JESUS IS BACK TO PREACHING THE GOSPEL.

Now, Luke doesn’t go into detail here,
But the previous preaching encounters have taught us a thing or two.

• By pulling away from the crowd, Jesus has just forced the crowd to quit
focusing on getting close to Him and to start listening to the message.

• And we’ve also seen that any time people listen to the message of Jesus it
isn’t long before they start clamoring for some proof, because after all
Jesus does make some pretty amazing claims about Himself.

• Well, again Jesus is about to substantiate those claims.

Only this time, the miracle is not for the crowd,
It is for Peter, James, and John.

The Crowd
#2 THE CATCH
Luke 5:4-7

So Jesus finishes the sermon, and again you are aware about the anticipation of the crowd. They want to see proof.

“He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.”

If we didn’t know anything else about the circumstances of the story, this would still be a pretty remarkable request.

• For one thing, these men didn’t fish during the day, fishing was done at night. This is not the way it’s done.

• For another thing, they just finished fishing and cleaning their nets. If they put the out again, they’re just going to have to clean them again.

That alone makes this request a difficult one.

Peter’s answer tells us what makes this request even more remarkable.
(5) “Simon answered and said, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets.”

I think that is a remarkable response from Peter there.
I think it is a response filled with
Love and Submission and Willingness and Obedience.

Some see Peter’s response as sort of a complaint,
But I don’t think that’s it at all.

What Peter says is true.
“we worked hard all night and caught nothing”

Peter doesn’t think this will work.
What he doesn’t know is that the reason he caught nothing is because Jesus had re-routed all the fish in the sea and made sure they caught nothing.

Peter is skeptical, but Peter is NOT RULED BY SKEPTICISM.
Peter is still willing to submit to Christ.

He calls Him “Master”
And despite the circumstances says, “but I will do as You say and let down the nets.”

That is what we call meekness.
That is what we call submission.

Peter here goes out in faith, not logic.
(6-7) “When they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to break; so they signaled to their partners in the other boat for them to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats, so that they began to sink.”

While the Lord had driven the fish away all night,
Suddenly He brought them all back…and then some.

It is called “a great quantity”
• So great that “their nets began to break”
• So great that “they signaled to their partners…to help them”
• So great that “they…filled both of the boats”
• So great that the boats “began to sink”

Let’s just say that this is a lot of fish.

And again Jesus has put His power and authority on display.
• This is the man who can command DEMONS and they obey.
• This is the man who can command SICKNESS and it obeys.
• This is the man who can command CREATION and it obeys.

We are dealing here with no ordinary man.

This particular miracle demonstrates His OMNISCIENCE
(Who else knows where the fish are in the lake?)

This miracle demonstrates His OMNIPOTENCE
(Who else can command fish to jump in a net?)

This miracle demonstrates His SOVEREIGN CONTROL
(Who else can do it exactly when He wants it done?)

Jesus has again confirmed His authority.

And again we realize that His amazing claims may be amazing,
But they are not crazy.
He can do the things He says.

If He says He can offer grace to beggars…He can do it.
If He says He can offer forgiveness to criminals…He can do it.
If He says He can offer sight to the spiritually blind…He can do it.
If He says He can relieve the burden of the oppressed…He can do it.
If He says He can usher in the kingdom of God…He can do it.

RIGHT?
This is really just another day in the life of Jesus.

But on this day Luke presses the story further
To reveal the impact it had on Peter
And Luke even highlights Peter’s proper response.

The Crowd, The Catch
#3 THE CONFRONTATION
Luke 5:8-10a

“But when Simon Peter saw that, he fell down at Jesus’ feet, saying, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!” For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon.”

Peter’s reaction is so very telling.
“he fell down at Jesus’ feet, saying, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!”

Now first just let me contrast that with the other reactions we have seen.

When Jesus revealed Himself to Nazareth:
Luke 4:28-29 “And all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things; and they got up and drove Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him down the cliff.”

So Nazareth said, “Go away from us, for we are NOT sinful men.”
They had heard just about enough of His confronting message.

Then He went to Capernaum:
Luke 4:42 “When day came, Jesus left and went to a secluded place; and the crowds were searching for Him, and came to Him and tried to keep Him from going away from them.”

Capernaum said, “Don’t go away from us”
(They obviously were not concerned about their own sinfulness)
(Remember Matthew’s gospel reveals that they never repented)

Nazareth didn’t want Him around confronting their sin.
Capernaum wasn’t worried about it so long as He kept on healing them.

But Peter’s reaction was very different.
“Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!”

This was not Peter saying He didn’t want Jesus around.
This was Peter saying He didn’t deserve Jesus around.

And incidentally, James and John are said to have had the same mentality
As they were all struck with “amazement”.

WHAT HAPPENED?
These men didn’t just see a carnival show, these men just saw God.
• They saw His omniscience
• They saw His omnipotence
• They saw His sovereignty
• They saw His holiness

And when they saw Him, they saw themselves.
And in the presence of the Holy One
They were overcome with their own sinfulness.

I love the reality that with two boats filled to the max with fish,
All Peter could smell was the stench of his own sin.

And let me just put it to you straight.
• If you have never come to the awareness of your own wretched sinfulness…
• If you have never been overwhelmed by the extent of your filth…
• If you have never been crushed under the weight of your own guilt…

THEN I PROMISE YOU, YOU HAVE NEVER ENCOUNTERED JESUS.

To further illustrate this, let me take you to another encounter with Jesus and show you what happened.

TURN TO: ISAIAH 6:1-8

Do you see the parallel?
Isaiah saw the Holy One
(and by the way John 12:41 reveals that Isaiah saw Jesus)

And when Isaiah saw Jesus, Isaiah saw Isaiah
And had the same reaction as Peter.

And that’s not the only one.
In Ezekiel 1-3 Ezekiel had the same encounter.

Ezekiel 1:28 “As the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the surrounding radiance. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice speaking.”

The same thing happened to John again on the Island of Patmos.
Revelation 1:17 “When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last,”

My point is simply this.
A true encounter with Christ is first and foremost
An extreme awareness of your own sin and guilt.

(I don’t care if you went out to a “shack” and saw a vision of God or not)
If you’ve never had that awareness then I promise you,
You’ve never encountered Christ.

PETER JUST DID.

Now, that’s NOT yet Peter’s response. (we haven’t seen a request yet)
All we see there is that Peter just came under intense conviction of his own sin.

It’s important to see that
Peter did humble himself and acknowledge his sin,
But Peter’s ultimate response is what Luke is going to show in a moment.

The Crowd, The Catch, The Confrontation
#4 THE CALLING
Luke 5:10b
“And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not fear, from now on you will be catching me.”

As I told you earlier,
This is not the first time Jesus revealed that calling to Peter.
Jesus had already told him that once in Matthew 4.

It’s just that Peter didn’t quite fully grasp it back then.
But here Jesus has Peter’s attention and once again reveals the calling.

You’re no longer a fishermen.
• From now on you are going to be a messenger of the kingdom of God.
• From now on you are going to be a preacher of the gospel.
• From now on you are going to offer salvation to people in My name.

And I also point out that this was not a request, it was a command.
Jesus didn’t offer Peter a job here,
Jesus commanded Peter to change course.

The sovereign God of the universe… The supreme King of heaven…
Just gave Peter new marching orders.

Now for purposes of continuity, I hope you are thinking of John 21.
Because in John 21 we find Peter disillusioned,
After he had denied Jesus 3 times and Jesus had been crucified,
And Jesus had risen from the dead.

And after his monumental failure
Peter thinks he has blown it beyond repair and tells the disciples:
John 21:3 “Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will also come with you.” They went out and got into the boat; and that night they caught nothing.”

That is to say “I’m going back to fishing”
Peter thought he had blown it too big.

Then if you will remember Jesus reenacts this very miracle a second time.
He once again reroutes all the fish in the sea and once again commands him to throw his nets again and once again gives a great catch of fish.

And when Peter recognizes the Lord Jesus once again reiterates
To Peter that he is no longer a fisherman, he is a shepherd.

Remember the infamous “Peter do you love Me?”… “Feed My sheep…”

The point is that the calling of Jesus on Peter’s life
Is NOT OPTIONAL, NOR is it TEMPORARY.

Jesus is calling for sole and total and final control
Of Peter’s life from here on out.

The calling Jesus places here
Is a calling that Jesus will never relinquish until the day of Peter’s death (Which Jesus will remind Peter of in John 21)

John 21:18-22 “Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go.” Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me!” Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them; the one who also had leaned back on His bosom at the supper and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?” So Peter seeing him said to Jesus, “Lord, and what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!”

THAT IS THE CALL.
• Jesus has just confronted the sinful nature of Peter,
• And is now asking Peter to forsake that sinful life and follow Him all the way until death.

Do you see that?

Now, as we said
• Nazareth didn’t want to hear that so they tried to kill Jesus.
• Capernaum didn’t want to hear that either.

They didn’t want to forsake their life to follow Jesus,
They wanted Jesus to forsake His calling and stay with them.

That is the wrong response.
Jesus is asking Peter here
• To totally and finally forsake all that he is and all that he knows
• And to be a follower of Jesus and a messenger of His kingdom for the rest of his life.

Do you see that?
Well there’s the question, what is the response?

The Crowd, The Catch, The Confrontation, The Calling
#5 THE COMMITMENT
Luke 5:11

It wasn’t just Peter, but James and John as well.
“When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.”

Bear in mind that
They not only left their boats and their nets and their way of life,
But they also just left the biggest catch of fish they had ever secured.

They had a virtual fortune in those boats.
The biggest score their business had ever landed.
And Jesus asked them to leave it all to that greedy crowd on the beach.

He wanted them to forsake it all and follow Him.

And the response?
(11) “When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.”

John MacArthur said it like this:
“Those who recognize their sinful unworthiness and embrace Jesus as the truthful, omniscient, omnipotent, holy, and merciful God are the ones He reconciles to Himself. He forgives their sin, takes away their fear of judgment that sin causes, and commissions them to the great task of evangelization, of catching men alive for the kingdom of God.”
(MacArthur, John [The MacArthur New Testament Commentary Series; Luke 1-5; Moody Publishing, Chicago, IL; 2009] pg. 309)

THE CONTRAST COULD NOT BE CLEARER.
• Everyone is enamored with Jesus. (Even Nazareth)
• Everyone is flocking to hear Jesus. (Even Capernaum)
• Everyone wants Jesus to fix their problems.

Those desires do not reveal true believers.
Those realities are common place.

The true believers are those that in the midst of Jesus preaching and miracles
• Become convinced of their sin,
• Humble themselves under that conviction,
• Run to Jesus for the forgiveness of that sin,
• Then submit to His sovereign lordship for the rest of their lives.

And that distinction is so clearly defined throughout Luke’s gospel.

Peter here joins the list of the genuinely redeemed.
He joins with Zacharias, Elizabeth, Mary, Simeon, Anna, and the shepherds.

EVERYONE ELSE simply represents those
Who are willing to use Jesus for their own selfish ends,
But who are otherwise unwilling to own their guilt
And submit to His leadership.

Now, let me ask you, WHICH ONE ARE YOU?
• Have you ever met Jesus?
• Have you ever come face to face with your own sin?
• Have you ever been crushed under the weight of your guilt?
• Did you own that sin, or did you argue about it?
• Did you run to Jesus for forgiveness, or did you determine just to ignore it?
• Are you presently in His service, or are you still running full speed in the kingdom of this world?

The unmistakable point of Luke is that
Upon learning that Jesus is the rightful King,
That you and I would forsake this kingdom and run to His.
That we would also leave everything and follow Him.

Don’t suppose that admiration of Jesus
Is the same thing as submission to Him.
Everyone Jesus confronted was amazed,
But only a few were obedient.