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The Rejected Stone
Luke 20:9-18
July 5, 2020

As you know Jesus is now in the midst of the temple
Poking a stick right in the eye of the religious elite.

• He already offended the Pharisees by riding that donkey into Jerusalem.
• He already offended the crowd by turning and condemning them.
• And now He is working on the Chief Priests, Scribes, & Sadducees.

He has cleared the temple and now He is setting up shop
Preaching His gospel in the midst of the temple.

Last time we saw
• A failed intimidation tactic used by the religious elite.
• They tried to spring upon Him and intimidate Him by questioning His authority.
• Instead Jesus humiliated them and basically told them “No”.

Matthew’s gospel tells us that Jesus immediately went from that confrontation to a parable about a father who had 2 sons and he told them both to work in the vineyard.
• One said “no” and then felt bad and went.
• One said “yes” but never actually went.
• And Jesus made the point that tax collectors and prostitutes will get into
heaven before the religious leaders because even though they had a moment of rebellion they eventually repented and did what was required.

Luke doesn’t include that parable.
Luke skips right to the next one.

And it is the parable that we see this morning.

One of the UNIQUE things about this parable,
And perhaps all of the parables Jesus preaches here in the temple
Is that the people were given UNDERSTANDING to them.

You may remember that this was NOT ALWAYS THE CASE with parables.

In particular when we read the parable of the soils we remember that not everyone was granted understanding of that parable.
Luke 8:10 “And He said, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables, so that SEEING THEY MAY NOT SEE, AND HEARING THEY MAY NOT UNDERSTAND.”

As is true with all of God’s word,
It cannot be understood apart from God granting understanding.

And at times Jesus preached parables without granting understanding
Simply because they had not believed what He had already preached
And therefore He wasn’t giving them more.

But this parable is different.
Jesus grants understanding.

We know that because
• In verse 16 the crowd understands the point and cries out “May it never be!”
• And verse 19 says: Luke 20:19 “The scribes and the chief priests tried to lay hands on Him that very hour, and they feared the people; for they understood that He spoke this parable against them.”

While Jesus didn’t grant understanding of every parable He preached,
He did grant understanding of this one.
There was a point here that He did not want anyone in the temple to miss.

For not only does Jesus continue to preach the gospel,
But here He also fires an unmistakable warning shot
To the entire Jewish religious establishment.

He tells them flat out that they will be destroyed for their rejection.

And so we are now reading THE THIRD JAB
That Jesus gives to the Chief Priests here in the temple.

To study the text we can break it down into 3 main points.
#1 A SIMPLE PARABLE
Luke 20:9-15a

“And He began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard…”

While Luke’s gospel doesn’t indicate it, Matthew’s gospel makes it clear
That Jesus here is referencing an ancient parable of God recorded by Isaiah.

TURN TO: ISAIAH 5
• Most of you are likely familiar with this for Jesus references it a couple of times and we’ve studied it often.
• But in case you are not familiar, Isaiah 5 is simply a song about a vineyard.
• It is a parable explaining God’s expectation and frustration with Israel.

(1-2a) Simply reminds us that we have a vineyard owner that did everything possible to get the best grapes he could from his vineyard.

(2b) Reveals that despite all his efforts the vineyard was a failure. There were no good grapes.

(3) Asks for a judgment from the reader.

(4) Shows us the two questions. The answer to the first is obviously “nothing” and the answer to the second is “a bad vine”.

And then we get the vineyard operators decision regarding the vineyard.
(5-6) He’s going to destroy the vineyard.

And finally the explanation.
(7) The vineyard was Israel and the expected fruit was righteousness.

God promised to destroy His own vineyard
Because they did not produce
The justice or the righteousness which He expected.

This is the parable that Jesus references here.
They certainly would have been FAMILIAR with it.

However Jesus gives MORE INSIGHT INTO THE STORY
Which Isaiah did not tell us.

(9) “A man planted a vineyard and rented it out to vine-growers, and went on a journey for a long time.”

• Isaiah didn’t include that the vineyard owner leased out his vineyard.
• He rented it to vine-growers.
• They were the ones in charge of working the vineyard to make sure it produced good grapes.

And then the vineyard owner came back with an expectation.
(good grapes)

However there was a problem.
(10) “At the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, so that they would give him some of the produce of the vineyard; but the vine-growers beat him and sent him away empty-handed.”

Here we find that the men in charge of the vineyard were corrupt.
We already know the vineyard produced only worthless grapes,
BUT NOW WE KNOW WHY.

It was poorly managed.

The people running the vineyard didn’t know what they were doing
And when called to give an account of their operation
They responded by attacking the messenger.

Jeremiah 10:21 “For the shepherds have become stupid And have not sought the LORD; Therefore they have not prospered, And all their flock is scattered.”

Ezekiel 34:5 “They were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and they became food for every beast of the field and were scattered.”

Hosea 4:6 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.”

It is true that throughout the Old Testament
God punishes His people for their lack of righteousness and justice.

• We even see that God exiles them for 70 years to Babylon because of their wicked behavior.

But we also see that God also holds the leaders of the nation doubly responsible for this rebellion.
• They were the ones who were called to oversee the vineyard.
• They were the watchmen.
• They were the pruners.

And they did not do their job.

But instead of owning up to their mistake and asking for mercy
They rebelled against the vineyard owner
And beat up the slave who came to warn them.

Already you can hear the people gasping at such a heinous crime.
• This is unbelievable that such rebellion would occur.
• No doubt the crowd is already thinking about the punishment for such an offense.

But to the shock of the crowd, the owner of the vineyard is MERCIFUL.
(11) “And he proceeded to send another slave; and they beat him also and treated him shamefully and sent him away empty-handed.”

• It’s hard to fathom that the vineyard owner would send that second slave,
• But what is even more unbelievable is that they treated him like the first.
• These people had the chance to save themselves and repent and do what was required but again they refused.

(12) “And he proceeded to send a third; and this one also they wounded and cast out.”

OK now it’s just getting silly.
• What manner of mercy would send a third slave to that vineyard?
• Surely their intentions were clear by now.

After all, we’ve all heard the famous saying,
“Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.”

But mercy is on full display and the vineyard owner tries a third time
And again it is unsuccessful.

And then comes a little crowd interaction.
(13) “The owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do?’”

Well we already know what he should do.
• He should take an army and go run those criminals out of his vineyard.
• This is a “no-brainer”

But would you look at his shocking decision!

(13b) “I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him”

And of course you’ve already figured out the meaning of the parable.
• God is the vineyard owner.
• The vineyard is Israel.
• The tenants are the religious leaders.
• The slaves are the prophets who came to warn.
• And the Son is none other than Jesus Christ.

Prophet after prophet had come on God’s behalf
• Warning the people and the religious leaders to stop their rebellion against God.
• And one by one those men had been rejected.

Perhaps you remember Stephen’s sermon in Jerusalem.

The bulk of the first part of the sermon is how the people continually rejected Moses.
Acts 7:25 “And he supposed that his brethren understood that God was granting them deliverance through him, but they did not understand.”

Acts 7:35 “This Moses whom they disowned, saying, ‘WHO MADE YOU A RULER AND A JUDGE?’ is the one whom God sent to be both a ruler and a deliverer with the help of the angel who appeared to him in the thorn bush.”

Acts 7:39 “Our fathers were unwilling to be obedient to him, but repudiated him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt,”

And then at the end of the sermon Stephen lowered the boom.
Acts 7:51-53 “You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did. “Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become; you who received the law as ordained by angels, and yet did not keep it.”

Every messenger God ever sent they rejected.

Jesus will soon preach to them:
Matthew 23:29-36 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ “So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. “Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. “You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell? “Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city, so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. “Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.”

Jesus announced to the crowd that the religious leaders of Israel
Have systematically rejected every prophet God ever sent.

And all you have to do is read the prophets to discern that.
• Isaiah was sawn in two.
• Jeremiah thrown in a well.
• Ezekiel put on house arrest.
• Zechariah stabbed before the altar.
• Amos run out of town.
• John the Baptist beheaded.

And yet, despite all that rejection
God was still merciful enough to send His Son.

It is absolutely remarkable to us that
• After all the rebellion…
• After all the scorn…
• After all the rejected prophets…

It is remarkable that God would still be giving mercy.

And yet He gave His greatest mercy next.
John 3:16-17 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.”

He sent His Son.
• Not with an army that He might destroy those tenants.
• But He sent His Son in love hoping that they might come to their senses.

It is unfathomable mercy.
It is absolutely undeserved.
There is no doubt that the heart of the Father
Is for the salvation of these tenants.

(14-15a) “But when the vine-growers saw him, they reasoned with one another, saying, ‘This is the heir, let us kill him so that the inheritance will be ours.’ So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.”

Jesus again announced exactly what was coming.
He’s actually announced it several times already
But no one has been able to see it.

Luke 18:31-34 “Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things which are written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. “For He will be handed over to the Gentiles, and will be mocked and mistreated and spit upon, and after they have scourged Him, they will kill Him; and the third day He will rise again.” But the disciples understood none of these things, and the meaning of this statement was hidden from them, and they did not comprehend the things that were said.”

But on this day, He tells them again,
Only He has granted understanding to everyone there.

They all know what the parable means.
• Jesus is God’s Son
• He has come to make the vineyard fruitful and bring that fruit back to God.

In fact, tomorrow night
Jesus will gather in the upper room with His disciples
And will complete this thought by saying:

John 15:1-5 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”

Jesus was NOT JUST coming to DEMAND fruit,
Jesus was coming to PRODUCE fruit.
• He was coming to make Israel fruitful.
• He was coming to produce in them what they had failed to produce.

He was righteous, He was acceptable to the Father
And if they would believe in Him
They would also be declared righteous to the Father.

THAT WAS THE OFFER.
And He went to that hijacked vineyard with such a gift in mind.

BUT THEY REJECTED HIM.
• They didn’t want His righteousness.
• They didn’t want His influence.
• They wanted His vineyard.

They wanted the nation for themselves.
John 11:48 “If we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”

And so their plan all along has been to kill Him.
They desire to kill Him and steal what is rightfully His; the vineyard.
And Jesus just announced it in a parable
That He allowed everyone to understand.

I hope you can see the dropped jaws.
I hope you can hear the murmuring buzz circulating through the crowd.

Jesus just announced that He had come on His Father’s behalf
And yet He was about to be killed,
Just like these religious leaders had rejected
All the other messengers from the Father.

This was an “in your face” announcement.

But Jesus isn’t done.
#2 A SHOCKING RESPONSE
Luke 20:15b-16

Jesus starts by asking a question.
“What, then, will the owner of the vineyard do to them?”

He’s following the pattern of Isaiah 5 and asking the crowd for a judgment.

And by the way, Matthew’s gospel says the crowd answered.
Matthew 21:41 “They said to Him, “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and will rent out the vineyard to other vine-growers who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons.”

They answered correctly.
And it is apparent that Jesus repeated their answer to them.

(16) “He will come and destroy these vine-growers and will give the vineyard to others.”

Jesus repeated their answer
WITH ONE noticeable and unmistakable CORRECTION.

The crowd said “He will bring THOSE wretches to a wretched end”
Jesus said, “He will come and destroy THESE vine-growers”

It is unmistakable.
This really isn’t just a warning shot, this is a direct hit.

If the battle line wasn’t already clear, it is now.
• Jesus just announced that these men were going to kill Him
• And in return God would destroy them for it
• And give their vineyard to someone else.

Incidentally the “others” here is the apostles
Who will be mandated to shepherd the flock of God.

BUT IT IS YET ANOTHER ANNOUNCEMENT
Of what Jesus told the crowd during the triumphal entry.

There is a rejection coming which will result in destruction.

And the crowd can’t believe it.
“When they heard it, they said, “May it never be!”

It is the strongest negative in the Greek language.
• The crowd isn’t arguing that the vine-growers didn’t deserve such a fate for such a rebellion.
• As we already saw from Matthew, the crowd already made that judgment.

The “May it never be!” here is the crowd gasping
And responding to the horror of the entire situation.

They are saying, “May nothing like this ever happen!”
• Surely not!
• May there never be such wicked vine-growers who would actually reject God’s Son.
• This can’t be true!

And that paves the way for what Jesus says next.
(Now comes the sermon)

A Simple Parable, A Shocking Response
#3 A SOBERING ANNOUNCEMENT
Luke 20:17-18

“But Jesus looked at them and said, “What then is this that is written: ‘THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone’?”

Oh He’s good!

Do you remember as Jesus sat on that donkey and descended into Jerusalem what they sang about Him?
• They sang Psalms 118 remember?

Specifically they sang:
Psalms 118:25-26 “O LORD, do save, we beseech You; O LORD, we beseech You, do send prosperity! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD; We have blessed you from the house of the LORD.”

TURN BACK TO PSALMS 118
If you were here a couple of weeks ago you’ll remember that this is the Conqueror’s Psalm or the Psalm of a champion.

I gave you a brief outline of it when we studied it.
• (1-4) begins with exaltation
• (5-9) the Psalmist is in distress but chooses to trust God
• (10-14) the Psalmist is in the fight of his life and should lose
• (15-18) the Psalmist is miraculously spared
• (19-20) the Psalmist rejoices in his victory

And we noted how the Psalm ends with the worship of those He saved.

And look at verse 22, “The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief corner stone.”

Apparently in all their study of Psalms 118
The children of Israel had never stopped to ponder
What verse 22 meant.

• They saw the battle.
• They saw the death.
• They saw the resurrection.
• They saw the glory.
• They saw the salvation.

But what they never saw was who the enemy actually was.
They never recognized that enemy of this Conqueror
WAS ACTUALLY HIS OWN PEOPLE.

He had been the rejected stone.

His own people had cast Him aside just as Jesus just announced.
And there it was prophesied all the way back in that Psalm they were just singing.

Now do you see perhaps a little more clearly
• Why Jesus wept so hard at them singing that song?
• Why He turned and condemned them so harshly?
• Why He would curse that fig tree for its lack of fruit?
• Why He would become so enraged in the temple?

He was about to be rejected by these very people.

And then He would become “THE CHIEF CORNER stone”

The corner stone was the most important stone of the entire foundation.
• It was what every other things was squared off of.
• If it was wrong the building was wrong.

And the announcement of Psalms 118 is that
“The least valued piece actually becomes the most important piece.”

This foundation piece is the most important piece of all
And yet before He would serve as the foundation for the church,
He would first be rejected by Israel.

The crowd was shocked.
As Jesus confirms the parable.

Psalms 118:23 “This is the LORD’S doing; It is marvelous in our eyes.”
• David calls it “marvelous”
• Another word could be “shocking”

The crowd doesn’t think it possible
That the children of Israel could reject and kill the Son of God
And yet Jesus says, it has already been prophesied
In the song you’ve been singing the last 3 days.

AND THAT VERSE THEN BECOMES THE TEXT
FOR THIS VERY IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM JESUS.

(18) “Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.”

I know that is sort of a hard statement, so let me simplify it for you.

First, we see two different fates, but both are bad.
• One is “broken to pieces”
• The other is “scattered like dust”

Second, one fate is worse than the other.
• Clearly being broken is not as bad as
• One gets broken, the other gets absolutely pulverized.

The question comes in as to WHAT CAUSES IT?

“Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces;”

We already know the stone is Jesus,
And so the one who falls on Him will be broken.

The Greek word “on” translates EPI
57 times in Scripture it is translated “over”

Let’s read it that way.
“Everyone who falls over that stone will be broken to pieces;”

And that helps us understand it much better.

Isaiah 8:14 “Then He shall become a sanctuary; But to both the houses of Israel, a stone to strike and a rock to stumble over, And a snare and a trap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.”

Romans 9:30-33 “What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone, just as it is written, “BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.”

It speaks of a people who couldn’t get over the fact that Messiah
Would suffer and die, and because of this they failed to believe.

It falls in line with Isaiah 53 when people simply can’t believe
Because the Messiah had no “stately form or majesty” to help us believe.

They would be people who would hear the message of the cross
And shout, “May it never be!”

They stumbled over Him.
And a person who rejects the cross, thinking it unnecessary
Will end up being broken.

It may be rejection due to ignorance,
But it is still rejection and they will still be judged.

This is the crowd.
• This is the people who just screamed “May it never be!”
• This is the people who thought salvation could occur without the death of Christ.
• This is the people who didn’t think they needed Christ.

And what a tragedy,
They will stumble over this stone and will be “broken to pieces”.

But the second problem is even worse.
“but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.”

WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT HERE?

Well some people trip over the stone of Jesus,
Not willing to accept His humiliation and they never believe and are judged.
But some actually have the stone fall on them and crush them to pieces.

What does that mean?

Let me give you a few other Scriptures
To help you understand the figure of speech here.
Zechariah 12:3 “It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it.”

In that passage Israel is the stone
And those who try to lift it are severely injured.
So this person tried to lift the stone and the stone ended up hurting them.
Either their back, or dropped it on a foot, or something.

Psalms 2:1-3 “Why are the nations in an uproar And the peoples devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, “Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!”

Now that Psalm speaks of rebellion and rebellion against God’s anointed,
Namely Jesus.

And there they are trying to “cast away their cords”.
Literally throw Him off.

And maybe now you are getting the picture.
Jesus is referencing those who recognize the rock, they just don’t like it,
And so they are trying to throw it away.

He is not the stone overlooked by the builders,
He is the stone rejected by the builders.

But He says when they do that, the rock will actually fall on them
And crush them into a fine powder.

The crowd did not recognize their need and tripped over Jesus.
The leaders actually rejected Him and will be crushed by Him.

Those vine-growers, they knew it was the son.
It was a pre-meditated attack on the Son of the Vineyard Owner.

They knew what they were doing.
They didn’t kill him thinking he was merely a slave.
And that made them in even greater danger.

And that is Jesus’ point here.
You think that story about the vineyard is shocking
And hope nothing like that ever actually happens.

I’m telling you not only will it happen,
But it is happening right before your very eyes.

• I am the Son
• You are the vine-growers.
• You have produced no fruit and I came to call you into account.

But instead of humbling yourself and listening to My message,
You have rebelled against Me and will kill Me.
And as a result of your rebellion God will bring you to a wretched end.

To reject or to try and destroy Christ is to secure one’s own destruction.
That is the point.
And a painful one.

JESUS IS THAT ROCK.
And you have 3 options.

• You can stumble over Him and be broken.
• You can try to throw Him away and be crushed.
• Or you can build your house on Him.

Matthew 7:24-27 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. “And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. “Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. “The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell — and great was its fall.”

But understand there is no middle road.
Jesus was a lightning rod.
There was no way anyone could be a moderate follower of Jesus.

Everything Jesus does during this last week forces people to make a decision.
• There will be no true followers who are able to keep their worldly status.
• There will be no rejecters who are able to keep God’s favor.

He is asking men to trust in a stone
The world is desperately trying to throw away.

This is the calling.
Jesus is the Rejected Stone,
• But if you are willing to bear His reproach He can be the chief corner stone for you.
• He alone can secure your eternity.
• He alone can cause you to safely weather the storm.

What are you going to do with this stone we call Jesus?

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The God Who Is To Be Feared
Psalms 76
June 28, 2020

I don’t know if Psalms 74-76 were intended by Asaph to work together or not, but it certainly isn’t hard to see a definite flow between the 3.

In Psalms 74 we saw confusion followed by Faith.
• Asaph described the Babylonian invasion
• He didn’t understand most of what he saw
• Nevertheless he determined to trust God

In Psalms 75 we saw the revelation of God which encouraged Asaph
• God answered Asaph
• Judgment is in His time
• Judgment is just and certain

Asaph even ended Psalms 75 with a promise that he would declare the truths of God’s judgment to the world.

Psalms 75:9-10 “But as for me, I will declare it forever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob. And all the horns of the wicked He will cut off, But the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.”

Psalms 76 certainly fits that bill.

This Psalm is not a memorial, this Psalm is a warning.
It is a declaration of God’s righteous judgment
And it is meant to warn all men.

1. It warns the righteous that they must fulfill their vows to the LORD.
2. It warns the rest that they had better appease God through sacrifice.
3. And the reason of course is because He is the God (11) “who is to be
feared”

4. This Psalm is HISTORICAL and PROPHETIC.
5. This Psalm is ENCOURAGING and EVANGELISTIC.

6. It REMINDS God’s people that God will (9) “save all the humble”
7. And it REMINDS the world no one (7) “may stand in Your [God’s]
presence when once [He] is angry.”

8. It is a Psalm that breaks forth in the enthusiasm of Asaph over the truths
of God’s judgment.
9. All of a sudden the stings of persecution don’t burn so bad now that
Asaph looks to the end and sees God’s righteous vindication.

In many ways this Psalm is like that famous Psalm of David in Psalms 2.
• Where David recounts the kings of the earth taking their stand against God’s anointed in order to cut Him off.
• There we see God laughing at the futile attempts of the wicked and announcing that they are too late. He already installed His King on Mt. Zion and that King will rule the world.
• The final warning of the Psalm then parallels this one.
Psalms 2:10-12 “Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; Take warning, O judges of the earth. Worship the LORD with reverence And rejoice with trembling. Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!”

And so ultimately it is a reminder that God is to be feared.
AND WHAT A TIMELY REMINDER.

In one sense a failure to fear God is NOT NEW.
Psalms 36:1 “Transgression speaks to the ungodly within his heart; There is no fear of God before his eyes.”

MAN NOT FEARING GOD IS NOT NEW,
And yet we see it on such a scale today
It feels like we are living in unprecedented times.

For even among those who do claim to believe in God,
• We mostly only see God portrayed as a God of love who is never angry,
• And one who you need not fear at all.

• We are promised that He is not angry.
• We are promised that He is not disappointed.
• We are promised that His grace and mercy are so big that we have nothing to fear.

It is a classic picture of the reminder that the best lies are 90% truth.

God’s grace IS amazing.
God’s mercy IS new every morning.
God’s love INDEED NEVER fails.

However, the Bible reminds us of some important DISCLAIMERS there.

HIS GRACE IS FOR THE HUMBLE
James 4:6 “But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.”

HIS MERCY IS FOR THE REPENTANT
Luke 13:3 “…but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

HIS SAVING LOVE IS FOR THOSE WHO OBEY HIM
John 14:23 “Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.”

AND ALSO OFTEN MISSED
Is the fact that God will in fact send all sinners who have not repented
And come to faith in Jesus Christ to hell for all eternity.

It’s as RC Sproul used to say:
“People say that God hates the sin but loves the sinner, and yet God doesn’t send the sin to hell, He sends the sinner there.”

What are we to make of such a truth?
THAT MAN SHOULD FEAR GOD.

There are many verses of Scripture
That speak to the importance of the fear of the LORD.

My favorite comes from the book of Ecclesiastes, where the old preacher writes:
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.”

In the New Testament we read:
1 Peter 1:17-19 “If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth; knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.”

And the writer of Hebrews warns:
Hebrews 4:1-2 “Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it. For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.”

• Because we are dealing with a Holy God.
• Because we are dealing with an omnipotent God.
• Because we are dealing with a God who will judge sinners in hell.
THERE MUST BE FEAR.

The fear of the LORD (as you know) is the beginning of wisdom.
THAT’S FIRST.
You get that before you get anything else.

It is pointless to preach faith or repentance or love or mercy or grace or salvation to a person who does not fear God.

OUR WORLD MUST LEARN TO FEAR HIM.

Asaph knows that, and that is precisely what he is preaching.
• He said at the end of Psalms 75 that he would declare it;
• Psalms 76 is an example of that declaration.

We’re going to break this Psalm down into 4 points tonight.
Each of them are great warnings to the wicked
Who would spurn God and attack God’s people.

Everyone should know these things about God.
#1 GOD’S HISTORY OF DEFENSE
Psalms 76:1-3

The Psalmist begins with an announcement of God
Which speaks of WARNING and CAUTION to the reader.

“God is known in Judah; His name is great in Israel. His tabernacle is in Salem; His dwelling place also is in Zion.”

The Hebrew word for “tabernacle” is interesting.

It is the Hebrew word COK (Soche)

And it actually speaks of a natural den or hiding place or LAIR.

It speaks more than just of a structure that was built,
But of a natural dwelling for a wild beast.

For example, in Psalms 10 when the enemy was compared to a lion hunting his prey we read:
Psalms 10:9 “He lurks in a hiding place as a lion in his lair; He lurks to catch the afflicted; He catches the afflicted when he draws him into his net.”

Jeremiah actually used the word regarding God.
Jeremiah 25:33, 38 “Those slain by the LORD on that day will be from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be lamented, gathered or buried; they will be like dung on the face of the ground…”He has left His hiding place like the lion; For their land has become a horror Because of the fierceness of the oppressing sword And because of His fierce anger.”

That is the word USED HERE as well.

As the Psalmist opens the Psalm
He is speaking of a place where the wicked should fear to tread.

If you were hiking in the woods they might say,
“Don’t go up on that ridge because there is a bear cave there.”

Of if you were walking in Africa someone could say,
“Lions live over in that brush.”

That is the warning here.

And even more specifically,
It is a warning not to mess with those who live in Israel
Because God dwells among them.

“God is known in Judah; His name is great in Israel. His tabernacle is in Salem; His dwelling place also is in Zion.”

• “Salem” is short for Jerusalem.
• “Zion” is a specific reference to the temple mount.

If these last 3 Psalms do work together,
Then it would be a severe warning to the Babylonians for making the terrible mistake of approaching God’s lair in Jerusalem.

And the MAIN THING Asaph reminds of here
Is God’s historical propensity to defend and avenge His lair.
(3) “There He broke the flaming arrows, The shield and the sword and the weapons of war. Selah.”

Most people see a reference to the Assyrian attack under Sennacherib.
• Perhaps you remember the story.
• Sennacherib invaded Judah and approached the city of Jerusalem.
• He sent his general Rabshakeh to demand Israel’s surrender.
• He taunted Israel from outside the gates.
• When a letter was sent in to Hezekiah he spread it out before the LORD and appealed to God for deliverance.

Ultimately, here was God’s answer.
Isaiah 37:33-38 “Therefore, thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, ‘He will not come to this city or shoot an arrow there; and he will not come before it with a shield, or throw up a siege ramp against it. ‘By the way that he came, by the same he will return, and he will not come to this city,’ declares the LORD. ‘For I will defend this city to save it for My own sake and for My servant David’s sake.'” Then the angel of the LORD went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men arose early in the morning, behold, all of these were dead. So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and returned home and lived at Nineveh. It came about as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons killed him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son became king in his place.”

Many think Asaph has that battle in mind as he pens this Psalm.
Perhaps he does.

I tend to think he’s got that battle and every other battle in mind.
God has a history of defending His lair.

“There He broke the flaming arrows, the shield and the sword and the weapons of war. Selah.”

And the point of Asaph to the wicked in the world
Is that God has a history of defending what is His.

You wouldn’t think it wise to enter a lion’s den to steal what is his,
It would be even more foolish to seek to do that in God’s den.

It is a simple announcement to the wicked that
• God is NOT passive,
• God is NOT complacent,
• God IS dangerous.

THE WORLD HAS PAINTED GOD AS APPROACHABLE,
But where do you see that in the Old Testament?

Was it the veil He hid behind?
Was it the wrath He unleashed on Uzzah for touching His ark?

People say,
But the New Testament speaks continually of us being able to draw near to God.

TRUE, But we only draw near to God through Jesus Christ
Who propitiated the wrath of God on our behalf.

Apart from Christ, apart from atonement, apart from the appeasement of God’s wrath through His death, no man draws near.

An infant would have better chances entering a lion’s den
Than a sinner entering the presence of God.

That is the picture Asaph is painting.
• There is a dangerous lion’s den in Jerusalem.
• It is where God dwells and He has a history of defending His own.

God’s history of defense
#2 GOD’S EASE OF VICTORY
Psalms 76:4-7

There is actually a TRANSITION that is occurring here.

Asaph is moving from God’s HISTORICAL RESUME’
To God’s PROPHETIC FUTURE.

There is A VERB TENSE that the prophets and Psalmists like to use
Which is often referred to as “The Prophetic Perfect” tense.

You obviously don’t hear about that in grammar class.
It is a theological term derived
To help the reader understand how to read prophetic text.

“The Prophetic Perfect” is a verb tense which speaks of a future event, but which speaks of it as being so certain that it actually uses a past tense verb.

In other words, the Psalmist is speaking of events in the future,
But he is so convinced of them
That he speaks of them as though they already happened.

That is what is happening now.
• Asaph is moving beyond history to prophecy.
• He is looking forward to every other attempt that might be made to attack God and seeing the utter futility of them.

And the overwhelming point here is that
In the past, present, and future
God crushes His enemies and He does so very easily.

When you enter this Lion’s den, you’ve really got no chance at all.

Speaking to God Asaph says:
(4) “You are resplendent, more majestic than the mountains of prey.”

“resplendent” is the Hebrew word OWR (ore)

It means “to shine” or “to be or become light”
Another way to translate the word might be “glorious”

Asaph merely gives unhindered praise to God.
• He is brilliant and beautiful.
• He is majestic and unapproachable.
• He is glorious and resplendent.
• He is light and He shines brightly.

Asaph says “more majestic than the mountains of prey.”

• Some translate that phrase, “more majestic than the everlasting
mountains”. Which certainly paints a beautiful comparison for us.

• Others see the translation “mountains of prey” as a reference to God’s
enemies as if to say, the foreign armies in all their glory cannot compare to the God they approach.

That second interpretation certainly fits the next 2 verses.
(5-6) “The stouthearted were plundered, They sank into sleep; And none of the warriors could use his hands. At Your rebuke, O God of Jacob, Both rider and horse were cast into a dead sleep.”

The picture here is of a battle that wasn’t a battle at all.
It wasn’t even a good fight.

And it’s not like God was fighting the sickly and the weak.
• It was “the stouthearted” that arrayed in battle against God and yet they “were plundered.”

Asaph said “none of the warriors could use his hands”
• It is a picture of hands hanging limp in fear and dread.
• There was no strength in them to even approach this mighty God.

Isaiah 13:6-9 “Wail, for the day of the LORD is near! It will come as destruction from the Almighty. Therefore all hands will fall limp, And every man’s heart will melt. They will be terrified, Pains and anguish will take hold of them; They will writhe like a woman in labor, They will look at one another in astonishment, Their faces aflame. Behold, the day of the LORD is coming, Cruel, with fury and burning anger, To make the land a desolation; And He will exterminate its sinners from it.”

It was “both rider and horse” who “were cast into a dead sleep.”
• The battle against God is not even a good fight.
• It’s not even close.

You have the mountains covered with God’s enemies
Who are going to approach His city and overthrow Him,
But one glimpse of His majestic glory and their hearts melt within them.

Even the bravest among them dies from fear and dread.

And that is why Asaph says:
(7) “You, even You, are to be feared; And who may stand in Your presence when once You are angry.”
• It is a foolish notion for this world think they can approach God and overthrow Him.

For a sinful world, who has rebelled against God,
There will be only one response when they stand before Him… FEAR.

Hebrews 10:31 “It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

In the book of the Revelation we catch a glimpse of this great fear.
Revelation 6:12-17 “I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

And this is the message Asaph is preaching to the world.

If you seek to approach the living God in rebellion as if to attack His city or His land and overthrow Him…
• You have no idea who you are approaching.
• He is like a deadly lion in His lair and when you draw Him out to battle you will not be able to handle Him.
• He will defeat you, He will kill you and He will do it easily.

In his famous sermon, “Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God”
Jonathan Edwards wrote:
“There is no want of power in God to cast wicked men into hell at any moment. Men’s hands cannot be strong when God rises up. The strongest have no power to resist him, nor can any deliver out of his hands.—He is not only able to cast wicked men into hell, but he can most easily do it. Sometimes an earthly prince meets with a great deal of difficulty to subdue a rebel, who has found means to fortify himself, and has made himself strong by the numbers of his followers. But it is not so with God. There is no fortress that is any defense from the power of God. Though hand join in hand, and vast multitudes of God’s enemies combine and associate themselves, they are easily broken in pieces. They are as great heaps of light chaff before the whirlwind; or large quantities of dry stubble before devouring flames. We find it easy to tread on and crush a worm that we see crawling on the earth; so it is easy for us to cut or singe a slender thread that any thing hangs by: thus easy is it for God, when he pleases, to cast his enemies down to hell. What are we, that we should think to stand before him, at whose rebuke the earth trembles, and before whom the rocks are thrown down?”
https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/edwards_jonathan/Sermons/Sinners.cfm

God’s victory over sinners is easy.
Only a foolish man would seek to call Him out or meet Him in judgment.

GOD IS TO BE FEARED.

God’s History of Defense, God’s Ease of Victory
#3 GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY OVER EVIL
Psalms 76:8-10

Here we certainly see that “Prophetic Perfect” tense
As Asaph seems to vividly describe the same scene
We see coming in the end as recorded by John in the Revelation.

(8-9) “You caused judgment to be heard from heaven; The earth feared and was still When God arose to judgment, To save all the humble of the earth. Selah.”

• Asaph speaks of a time under God’s sovereign control.
• A time which He “caused”.
• A tie of “judgment” which He orchestrated.

It was a judgment God ordained “to save all the humble of the earth.”

The book of the Revelation speaks clear of just such an event.

TURN TO: Revelation 16:12-16
• It is the setting of the stage for the great battle of Armageddon.
• You see here that it was God who would draw all these men to this plain.
• They would come with grand views of attacking God and seizing His land, but God was sovereign over their every impulse, even supernaturally clearing the way for them to come.

Ezekiel 38:10-12 “Thus says the Lord GOD, “It will come about on that day, that thoughts will come into your mind and you will devise an evil plan, and you will say, ‘I will go up against the land of unwalled villages. I will go against those who are at rest, that live securely, all of them living without walls and having no bars or gates, to capture spoil and to seize plunder, to turn your hand against the waste places which are now inhabited, and against the people who are gathered from the nations, who have acquired cattle and goods, who live at the center of the world.’”

God will draw them in.
And then God will destroy them.

Ezekiel 38:18-23 “It will come about on that day, when Gog comes against the land of Israel,” declares the Lord GOD, “that My fury will mount up in My anger. “In My zeal and in My blazing wrath I declare that on that day there will surely be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. “The fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field, all the creeping things that creep on the earth, and all the men who are on the face of the earth will shake at My presence; the mountains also will be thrown down, the steep pathways will collapse and every wall will fall to the ground. “I will call for a sword against him on all My mountains,” declares the Lord GOD. “Every man’s sword will be against his brother. “With pestilence and with blood I will enter into judgment with him; and I will rain on him and on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, a torrential rain, with hailstones, fire and brimstone. “I will magnify Myself, sanctify Myself, and make Myself known in the sight of many nations; and they will know that I am the LORD.”‘

And that is precisely what we see in the Revelation.
TURN TO: Revelation 19:11-21

It is a terrifying scene, and that is what Asaph wants the world to know.
• God is sovereign over judgment.
• He is orchestrating it all.
• The wicked may think they have a plan for rebelling against God, but it is ultimately all His plan to draw them in for judgment.

It is God’s doing that He might destroy the wicked
And “save all the humble of the earth.”

Don’t be foolish
Don’t be brave
Don’t be arrogant

You cannot handle God and you’d be foolish to think you can.

In fact, Asaph writes:
(10) “For the wrath of man shall praise You; with a remnant of wrath You will gird Yourself.”

We have seen this so many times in Scripture.
Where man seeks to rebel against God and rises up against Him in anger
And all we find is that they did precisely what God had intended.

No greater example of this can ever be given than the cross of Jesus Christ,
• Where God’s enemies rose up to murder His Son and yet it was the
predetermined plan of God.
• God used their foolish wrath to save the humble.
• God used their arrogant rebellion to work His own will to perfection.

Their wrath only ended up bringing God glory.

And then God promised to turn and destroy them.
“with a remnant of wrath You will gird Yourself.”

Isaiah 59:17-18 “He put on righteousness like a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His head; And He put on garments of vengeance for clothing And wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle. According to their deeds, so He will repay, Wrath to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies; To the coastlands He will make recompense.”

And we have clearly seen this in Luke’s gospel.
• Where the Jews rose up to murder Christ.
• God used their wrath to bring glory to Himself by atoning for the humble.
• But God then wrapped Himself in wrath and destroyed their city and burned their temple with fire.

Even when the wicked think they are winning, they are not.

And this is the warning of Asaph to this world.

You may rise up against God and curse His name and attack His truth,
And it may even appear to you that you are winning
And that God is doing nothing.

BUT THIS IS NEVER THE CASE.

He is sovereign over all things, including your rebellion,
And if God has allowed you to spurn His holy name
It is only that He might use your rebellion for His glory.

Perhaps it will be like that of Saul, whom God saved to show that even His greatest enemies can be saved and converted to evangelists.

Or perhaps it will be like that of Pharaoh whom God brought to power simply so that He might display His glorious wrath in Pharaoh’s destruction.

But neither man, in their rebellion, caused God one single moment’s grief.
They were sovereignly used for His purpose of glorifying His own name.

And this is something the world needs to understand.
This is something even Christians need to understand.

God will be glorified for all eternity by all creation.
• Some will be the redeemed, who will glorify Him in heaven clothed in white
robes and they will praise Him for His gracious salvation.
• Some will be the judged, who will glorify Him in hell, bearing the full penalty
of their sin and rebellion.

BUT GOD WILL BE GLORIFIED.
He will be glorified in salvation and He will be glorified in judgment.

Asaph wants the wicked world to understand that.

God’s History of Defense, God’s Ease of Victory, God’s Sovereignty over Evil
#4 GOD’S EXPECTATION OF WORSHIP
Psalms 76:11-12

Since God judges.
Since God easily judges.
Since God sovereignly judges.
There is an expected response from the world.

When you hear that God is a roaring lion
And that He will easily destroy all those who rebel against Him
Then it should instantly produce a response in you.

THIS IS THAT RESPONSE.
(11) “Make vows to the LORD your God”

Think in terms of wedding vows here.
• Submit your life to Him.
• Commit your life to Him.
• Devote yourself to Him.

Bow down before Him and pledge your allegiance.
Surrender, wave the white flag, ask for terms of peace.
Sign the treaty.

You get the idea.

(11) “Make vows to the LORD your God AND FULFILL THEM”

Then do what you say.

Ecclesiastes 5:4-7 “When you make a vow to God, do not be late in paying it; for He takes no delight in fools. Pay what you vow! It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. Do not let your speech cause you to sin and do not say in the presence of the messenger of God that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry on account of your voice and destroy the work of your hands? For in many dreams and in many words there is emptiness. Rather, fear God.”

DO NOT SEEK TO DECEIVE HIM.
Psalms 78:34-37 “When He killed them, then they sought Him, And returned and searched diligently for God; And they remembered that God was their rock, And the Most High God their Redeemer. But they deceived Him with their mouth And lied to Him with their tongue. For their heart was not steadfast toward Him, Nor were they faithful in His covenant.”

Isaiah 29:13 “Then the Lord said, “Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote,”

Hosea 6:4-6 “What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? For your loyalty is like a morning cloud And like the dew which goes away early. Therefore I have hewn them in pieces by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of My mouth; And the judgments on you are like the light that goes forth. For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, And in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.”

Do not take the name of the Lord in vain.
Submit to Him and then honor that submission.

Luke 6:46 “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?”

Since God will certainly judge His enemies.
Then you must submit your life to Him and do what you said.
Seek terms of peace, but do not renege on your offer.

(11) “Let all who are around Him bring gifts to Him who is to be feared.”

What is this?
• It is appeasing offerings.
• It is satisfying gifts.
• It is atoning sacrifices.

Ultimately, for us, it is Jesus Christ.

When you approach this fearful God,
• Do not come to Him in arrogance and boastful pride.
• You come to Him in submission and trembling.
• You come to Him seeking to give whatever He wants, and to make an offering that He will accept.

For when you enter His presence you run the extreme risk
That He might kill you any moment and judge you for all eternity.

So we come to Him with Christ.
We come to Him in the name of the only gift God ever truly accepted.

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

Hebrews 10:11-14 “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.”

You must submit yourself to God in all humility
And bring Him the only gift He has ever accepted
And that is the righteous sacrifice of Jesus.

In short, call upon Christ for forgiveness and salvation
That His atonement might cover you as well.

Otherwise you face the holy and living God all alone
AND THERE IS NO WINNING THERE.

For no man can stand before Him or against Him.
(12) “He will cut off the spirit of princes; He is feared by the kings of the earth.”

It doesn’t matter how great or strong they are, none can stand before Him.

Revelation 20:11-15 “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”

And this is Asaph’s point exactly.
It is a foolish thing to rebel against God.
He will win and He will win easily.

Psalms 2:10-12 “Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; Take warning, O judges of the earth. Worship the LORD with reverence And rejoice with trembling. Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!”

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The Temple Takeover
Luke 20:1-8
June 28, 2020

As you know, we have now entered the final week of the life of Jesus.
• It was most likely on Monday when Jesus rode the donkey into Jerusalem amid cries of Hosanna.
• It was also then on Monday when Jesus refused the Pharisees demand that He silence the crowd.
• On that same Monday Jesus would enter the temple, look around, and then go back to Bethany.
• On Tuesday Jesus would enter Jerusalem and clear out the temple and drive out all the money changers.

Now it is likely Wednesday and Jesus has returned.
This time Jesus has returned to hold court in the temple
And basically claim it as His own.

Of course, you and I know that this is extremely fitting.
Since He is the Son of God,
No one had more right to be in that temple than He did.

But to the Chief Priests, the scribes, and the Sadducees,
This was an unprecedented bold move by Jesus.

As we have repeatedly said, Jesus is driving for a crucifixion
And He will not relent until all of those prophecies have been fulfilled
And He gives His life as a ransom for sinners.

We left off last week at the end of chapter 9 where we read:
Luke 19:47-48 “And He was teaching daily in the temple; but the chief priests and the scribes and the leading men among the people were trying to destroy Him, and they could not find anything that they might do, for all the people were hanging on to every word He said.”

THERE IS A MASSIVE PROBLEM FOR THE RELIGIOUS LEADERS.

The High Priesthood had become a corrupt profession.
• It was basically given to the highest bidder.
• Annas had served as high priest, as had his sons.
• And now his son-in-law Caiaphas was the High Priest.
• It was a position they had bought and paid for.

Authority in that temple belonged to them,
And now this Jesus had just shown up
And was claiming what they thought was theirs.

And so they want to destroy Him.
The problem is they don’t have any grounds.

He is treading on their turf, but they don’t know what to do.
It is a tricky business to accomplish your purposes
Without losing the support of your followers.

We see this sort of thing in politics all the time.
• Politicians have an extremely difficult time doing what is right because they are constantly concerned about staying in office.

• So politicians tend to make decisions with their finger in the air, always seeking to get a read on the latest wind.

• And their decisions are often secretive, deceptive, manipulative, and underhanded so that they can do what they want while seeking to keep the approval of the public.

That is the sort of barrel the Chief Priests are over.
Their main problem is that the crowd is mesmerized by Jesus.
He teaches like no one else ever taught.

Now, just to be clear, the crowd is NOT SAVED, they are just mesmerized.

John 12:42-43 “Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.”

But you can sort of pick up on the scene.
• You have a crowd that believed what Jesus said, but would not openly confess Him because they feared the religious leaders.

• You have religious leaders that hate Him, but won’t do anything because they fear the crowd that does believe Him.

And in this sort of standoff, you have Jesus refusing to back down.

THE PLAN then will be to TRAP JESUS.
• They’ll try intimidation.
• They’ll try manipulation.
• They’ll try flattery.
• They’ll try trickery.

Their goal will be to get Him to say something that will offend the crowd,
Or to get Him to say something that will offend Rome.

And for us, it makes for a wonderful segment of Scripture
Where the wisdom and boldness of Jesus is put on display.

Today in the temple Jesus is going to put
His Wisdom, Authority, Boldness, and Conviction on full display,
And we get to see it all.

And the first incident that arises has to do with A SURPRISE ATTACK,
Meant to intimidate Him by questioning His authority.

Let’s work our way through it.
There are 3 things Jesus does here
That will only continue to push the buttons of the religious elite,
But for us it is MORE THAN just Jesus being antagonistic.

We see here the kind of boldness
That every follower of Jesus should have
In the face of religious hypocrisy and worldly intimidation.

• So we certainly marvel at His submission to the Father’s plan
• And we love His commitment to go to the cross,
• But we also learn from His example how to be a light shining in a dark world.

Let’s look at the 3 things Jesus did here to “set off” the religious leaders.
#1 HIS INVASION
Luke 20:1-2

I realize to call what Jesus did here an invasion is in one sense terribly WRONG since after all it was His temple and they were actually the invaders.

But from their perspective, Jesus had no right to be there,
And yet here He came anyway.

We find here “On one of the days while He was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel…”

THIS IS CERTAINLY BOLD ON HIS PART.
• This is not Jesus gathering a crowd out on a hillside somewhere.
• This is not Jesus speaking in a synagogue as a visiting Rabbi.
• This is Jesus entering the temple and taking over with His own doctrine.

He is “preaching the gospel”

Luke doesn’t get specific about the actual message He preached

• Perhaps it was similar to that sermon He preached in Nazareth where He
turned to Isaiah 61:1-2 and said, “This is Me!”

• Or maybe He spoke again about the necessity of denying self, taking up the
cross, and following Him.

While none of the synoptic gospels give us insight
Into what Jesus was saying here, perhaps John’s gospel does.

John 12:44-50 “And Jesus cried out and said, “He who believes in Me, does not believe in Me but in Him who sent Me. “He who sees Me sees the One who sent Me. “I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness. “If anyone hears My sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. “He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day. “For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. “I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me.”

At some point Jesus did preach this sermon in the temple.

Jesus is here calling everyone in that temple to believe in Him.
• If they will believe in Him they will be brought out of darkness.
• If they will believe in Him they will be saved.
• If they reject Him they will be judged.

And it is with preaching like that that the chief priests SPRING UPON HIM.

While He was “preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders confronted Him,”

Back in Ch. 19 we saw them racking their brains trying to figure out what to do. Apparently this was their plan.

It is an intimidation tactic.
They get every big-wig in the temple they can find, and their goal is sort of surprise attack Him, challenge His authority, and in a sense scare Him off.

The Greek word for “confronted” is EPHISTEMI (a-fist-a-me)
It speaks of a surprise or sudden attack.

When the angels appeared to the shepherds:
Luke 2:9 “And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.”

When Martha had enough of Mary’s refusal to help her in the kitchen.
Luke 10:40 “But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.”

Or even when describing the second coming.
Luke 21:34 “Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap;”

That is the plan here.
• They are all going to get together
• And with one accord their going to charge into His teaching session,
• Get in His face, put on a grand display of power
• And challenge His authority.

So they “confronted Him, 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?”

So hopefully you have A MENTAL PICTURE of how this went down.

They charged into His teaching session and basically said,
“Who do You think You are to be doing this?”

Can you see the intimidation factor here?
• This is the authorities.
• This is the scholars.
• This is the chief priests.
• They all came and they are seeking to make a public spectacle of the moment when they put Jesus in His place.

They come and challenge His authority.

But before we get to His answer,
It is important that you understand WHY THEY HAD TO do this.

IT IS BECAUSE JESUS ACTED WITH AUTHORITY
His whole life

Over Demons
Luke 4:33-36 “In the synagogue there was a man possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, “Let us alone! What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are — the Holy One of God!” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in the midst of the people, he came out of him without doing him any harm. And amazement came upon them all, and they began talking with one another saying, “What is this message? For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits and they come out.”

Over Nature
Luke 8:24-25 “They came to Jesus and woke Him up, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And He got up and rebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they stopped, and it became calm. And He said to them, “Where is your faith?” They were fearful and amazed, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?”

Over Death
John 10:17-18 “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. “No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”

To Forgive
Luke 5:24-25 “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.”

To Save
John 17:1-2 “Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life.”

To Judge
John 5:22-23 “For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.”

It was certainly an authoritative act
To enter that temple and drive everyone out.

But perhaps the thing that has them the most riled up
Is the authority with which He is teaching and preaching.

Matthew 7:28-29 “When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.”

Jesus taught like no one else had ever taught.
• All the prophets up to that day would say, “Thus sayeth the Lord”,
• But Jesus always said, “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

AND UNDERSTAND WHO THIS CROWD IS.
These are the religious liberals.

This was NOT THE PHARISEES here. They were the legalists, they were the hyper-literalists, they were the supposed conservatives.

• The Sadducees and the Chief Priests were liberals.
• They were the ones who denied things like angels or the resurrection.
• They did not hold to Biblical authority.

And here you have Jesus in the temple speaking boldly and dogmatically.
• He speaks with confidence, He speaks with certainty.
• He doesn’t mince words, He doesn’t beat around the bush.
• He doesn’t offer non-confrontational opinions.

Jesus spoke with full authority because He spoke God’s words.
John 7:16 “So Jesus answered them and said, “My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me.”

John 14:24 “He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.”

Jesus spoke God’s words and God’s words are authoritative.

Jesus speaks truth;
rigid; bold; uncompromising; certain; dogmatic; truth.

You know in our day how offensive this is.
• Our world hates it when someone speaks with certainty.
• Our world hates it when we are dogmatic.
• Being bold is considered to be proud and uncompassionate.

Our world has adopted statements like
• “that may be true for you, but not for me”
• “let’s agree to disagree”
• “no one can be certain”.

And it is certainly tragic and definitely un-Christlike
When Christians adopt that worldly uncertainty.

We have truth and we are called to boldly proclaim truth.
• It Is OFFENSIVE as light is always offensive to darkness.
• It Is CONDEMNING as God’s righteous standard always condemns sin.
• It Is NARROW as it promises only one way of salvation.
• It Is UNCOMPROMISING since it promises judgment to all who reject.

But we are called to proclaim it none the less,
And we are called to proclaim it with boldness.

Ephesians 6:19-20 “and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”

2 Timothy 4:1-5 “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”

Titus 2:15 “These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you.”

Well that is exactly what Jesus is doing here.
He is speaking so boldly and so directly
That it actually caused the chief priests to ask Him
Where this authority came from.

Have you ever been accused of being so bold?
Have you ever been challenged regarding who you think you are to say such things?

Jesus was because truth demands boldness.

He was so bold that they came and challenged His authority.
“Tell us by what authority You are doing these things, or who is the one who gave You this authority?”

His Invasion
#2 HIS INTERROGATION
Luke 20:3-7

I’m not sure Jesus here gave the response that this group was expecting.

I think they expected Him to say something like,
“God gave Me this authority”.
That is what they were hoping for at least
So that they could accuse Him of blasphemy and arrest Him.

I think the plan was to scare Him into either leaving
Or making a verbal slip up.

HE DID NEITHER.
Instead, in one instant THE ACCUSED BECAME THE INTERROGATOR.

(3-4) “Jesus answered and said to them, “I will also ask you a question, and you tell Me: Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men?”

Now first of all, this is NOT Jesus being evasive.
• This was an acceptable from of debate and conversation among Rabbis.
• To answer a question with a question was to seek deeper thought and more clarification.

Jesus uses that.

They want to know where Jesus received His authority.
Jesus wants to know if
They would even recognize the authority if He told them.

So before Jesus answers a thing,
He first turns and interrogates His accusers.
He asks them specifically about the baptism
And the ministry of John the Baptist.

“Was the baptism of John from heaven of from men?”

And by the way, this has already been established by Jesus.
Luke 7:24-28 “When the messengers of John had left, He began to speak to the crowds about John, “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? “But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Those who are splendidly clothed and live in luxury are found in royal palaces! “But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and one who is more than a prophet. “This is the one about whom it is written, ‘BEHOLD, I SEND MY MESSENGER AHEAD OF YOU, WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY BEFORE YOU.’ “I say to you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

Jesus already made it clear where John was from.

Of course the religious leaders had rejected that notion.
Luke 7:29-30 “When all the people and the tax collectors heard this, they acknowledged God’s justice, having been baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God’s purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by John.”

And now Jesus is calling the Chief Priests to testify.
He is exposing them, He is humiliating them
He is finding out their view of authority

And in ONE STUNNING CHESS MOVE
Jesus put this entire mob in a corner they could not get out of.

(5-7) “They reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ “But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.” So they answered that they did not know where it came from.”

You don’t even need really any explanation there
for Luke spells out the predicament they were in.

If they say “From heaven” then it is a question of their submission to divine truth.
• John publicly proclaimed that Jesus was the Messiah.
• If John was sent by God, then certainly God’s priests should have believed him.

If they say, “From men” (insinuating John as a false prophet)
• They would have instantly had to explain themselves to a crowd who believed John was from God.

It didn’t take long for Jesus to flip the script did it?

And finally “they answered that they did not know where it came from.”

Can you imagine the humiliation?
Can you imagine the embarrassment?

Here was Israel’s finest scholars and religious leaders
And they can’t even tell Jesus if John was orthodox or heretical.

They just have to sort of hang their heads and shrug their shoulders.

BUT I WANT YOU TO SEE THE BIGGER PICTURE HERE

Can you see the massive difference
Between Jesus and the religious leaders here?

• Jesus was willing to die for His belief, they were not.
• Jesus had conviction, they did not.
• Jesus had truth, they did not.
• Jesus was worried only with pleasing God, they were worried about pleasing
people.
• They were ruled by fear, Jesus was ruled by faith.

And, as followers of Jesus,
I think it is only fitting that we ponder this for a moment.

I think the church today must answer a few questions.
• Where is the boldness?
• Where is the conviction?
• Where is the certainty?
• Where is the uncompromising commitment to truth?
• Where is the courage?

In a world that is spinning haywire out of control,
The last thing this world needs is a wishy-washy church.

Have we forgotten?
1 Timothy 3:15 “but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.”

I was reading through the book of Acts this week,
And it really struck me the boldness and courage
And uncompromising conviction of the early church.

Acts 4:18-20 “And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

Acts 5:27-30 “When they had brought them, they stood them before the Council. The high priest questioned them, saying, “We gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in this name, and yet, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross.”

They were in a similar scene, being surrounded and interrogated,
But they would not yield one step.

Even when persecution broke out:
Acts 8:1-4 “Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death. And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Some devout men buried Stephen, and made loud lamentation over him. But Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house, and dragging off men and women, he would put them in prison. Therefore, those who had been scattered went about preaching the word.”

Persecution didn’t silence the church
And it did not force them underground.
They fled, but as they fled they preached.
There was a boldness and a conviction.

Even later when it was revealed to Paul that he would be arrested for the truth.
Acts 21:10-14 “As we were staying there for some days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. And coming to us, he took Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands, and said, “This is what the Holy Spirit says: ‘In this way the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.'” When we had heard this, we as well as the local residents began begging him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” And since he would not be persuaded, we fell silent, remarking, “The will of the Lord be done!”

I just have to ask, “Where is that?”

The church cannot be more concerned about upsetting the people
Than they are with the proclamation of truth.

Listen, THERE IS NO WAY to follow Jesus and
Not be offensive to people who live in sin.

Light offends darkness.
Righteousness offends sin.
Truth offends deception.

Be bold, be courageous, follow the example of Jesus.

These religious leaders could not handle Him,
And one of the main reasons is because
He had truth and was not afraid to stand on it.

And so if you’re keeping score:
• Jesus offended the Pharisees by orchestrating that triumphal entry.
• Jesus offended the crowds by condemning them.
• Jesus offended the chief priests by clearing out the temple and humiliating them in front of everyone.

This man is committed to His ministry and His mission.

His Invasion, His Interrogation
#3 HIS INSUBORDINATION
Luke 20:8

It seems strange to speak of the insubordination of Jesus,
But for the second time in just a few days
Jesus looks right in the face of the religious elite and tells them “No”.

• He told the Pharisees “No” when they wanted Him to call off the parade.
• And now he tells the chief priests “No” when they want an explanation.

He owes them nothing.
He has truth on His side.

“And Jesus said to them, “Nor will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

• I hope you can see their faces.
• I hope you can feel the sting of their humiliation.
• Their entire plan just blew up in their face.

And I remind you again of the boldness of Christ
And of THE EXAMPLE He set.

He’s not rude, He’s not mean-spirited,
But He understands that if a man rejects the authority of God
There is no reasoning with him and it is pointless to try.

Matthew 7:6 “Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.”

Jesus did not owe them an explanation.

And I want to remind you that the truth never requires this.

And with that in mind let me read you
Another very important verse about the authority of Jesus.

Matthew 28:18-20 “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Do you understand that?
• We are NOT called to go out and debate the world.
• We are NOT called to go out and seek the world’s approval.
• We ARE called to go in the authority of Christ and proclaim His gospel to the world.

Jesus felt no need to defends His right to proclaim God’s word
To God’s people in God’s temple in God’s city.

Do you understand that?

We serve the God of all creation.
• God created this world.
• God created all humanity.
• Humanity as sinned against God and thus deserves punishment.
• But God in His great love and grace has provided a means of salvation to sinners.
• And He has commissioned us to go and tell those sinners the terms of His salvation.

We certainly aren’t asking permission to tell them.

I had A FUNERAL to do not so long ago of a man who was not a believer.
I was specifically told he held no religious belief.

And I am asked to go and stand over his grave
And speak to his family that he has left behind.

Every human inclination in me wants to say words that will not offend.
Every human inclination in me wants to please the crowd.

And while we certainly at a funeral are respectful of a family
Who has lost a loved one
YOU MUST ALSO UNDERSTAND THE DIVINE MANDATE.

Here was a man who lived his life in rebellion against God.
• According to Romans 1 he never honored God as God nor gave thanks.
• According to Romans 5 he was an enemy of God.

His family was certain that despite his rebellion
That he was now in heaven
Picking fights with formerly deceased family members.

I only tell you this story because I want you to know I understand fear.
My flesh wanted to bail, my self-preservation button wants to say what everyone wants to hear at a funeral; namely that the deceased is in heaven.

But the Spirit of God refuses to allow that.
The Example of Christ cannot allow that.
• The gospel has to be proclaimed.
• The truth that salvation is only found in Jesus Christ.
• The truth that no one comes to the Father except through Him.
• The truth that all men must believe in Christ or they will perish.

It certainly runs the risk of hostility or a lack of popularity
But we cannot be those who fear men.

Our Lord spoke truth.
Our Lord spoke with authority.
Our Lord fulfilled His Father’s mission.

You see that conviction and authority on full display here.
He is not backing down.

I WANT TO CHALLENGE YOU CHURCH.
It has been heavy on my heart that “we” (and I say we, not you)
Must ramp up our efforts to proclaim the gospel.

I’m not here to accuse anyone personally,
For I’m not with you 24/7 and have no record of all your conversations.

But I have an assumption that there are many
Who are never sharing the gospel with anyone else,
And this is a failure on our part to follow our Lord’s mandate.

All authority belongs to Christ
And under that authority He told us to go and preach the gospel.

I want to challenge you church to do that.
If we don’t we are failing in the main purpose for why we are here.

And I would think that in the state of our world today,
The church more than ever needs to be proclaiming this truth.

• It is our part in a divided world.
• It is our part in a confused and scared world.
• We are the pillar and support of the truth and like our Lord, we must
proclaim it, even to those who do not wish to hear it.

And we must proclaim it without apology, without fear,
Without reservation, without permission, without retreat.

It may very well be a stick in the eye to the enemies of truth,
But if it did not stop our Lord, it MUST NOT STOP US.

So go, and proclaim the gospel.

Download Here:

Rejoicing In God’s Sovereign Judgment
Psalms 75
June 21, 2020

Tonight we come to the 75th Psalm.
It is another Psalm of Asaph.

Most people I read and listen to as I study agree that
Psalms 75 is directly linked to Psalms 74.
In fact, they see Psalms 75 as the answer to Psalms 74.

So allow me just a quick recap of the Psalm we studied last Sunday night
So that its truth is readily on our brain.

We called it “Faith Beyond Circumstances”
Because we looked at how Asaph (similar to Habakkuk)
Determined to trust God in the midst of a bad situation
When there were many circumstances he clearly didn’t understand.

The context was the Babylonian invasion & the destruction of the temple.
And as those events unfolded, there were several things
That Asaph couldn’t reconcile in his mind.

1) The Perceived Rejection of God (1-2)
2) The Apparent Victory of God’s Enemies (3-8)
• Invaded the Temple (3)
• Mocked God there (4a)
• Hung Pagan Banners (4b)
• Destroyed the Altars (5-6)
• Burned the Temple (7)
• Totally dominated the people (8)
3) The Silence of God’s Prophets (9)
4) The Absent Response of God (10-11)

Asaph had no answers for such circumstances.
• If you approached him and asked him what was going on, he would only be able to shrug his shoulders.
• He could not explain how these pagans could enter God’s temple, desecrate it, and then burn it to the ground.

The beauty of the Psalm was that despite the negative circumstances
Asaph chose to trust God anyway.
He declared (12) “Yet God is my king from of old”

And then Asaph began to recount other difficult circumstances in which God delivered.
• Events like the slavery in Egypt
• Events like the trap at the Red Sea
• Events like the lack of water in the wilderness
• Events like the crossing into the Promised Land

All of those events seemed hopeless too, but God intervened.
And he ended his Psalm with some requests.
He didn’t ask for an explanation, but he did have some requests.
• Remember the Enemy (18)
• Remember Your Beloved (19)
• Remember Your Covenant (20-21)
• Remember Your Glory (22-23)

All in all, it was an inspiring song and one that the church could sing
Every time we face circumstances that we do not understand.

But the reality was that the Psalm ended in faith, but not in sight.
• There was no resolution given by God.
• There was no answer given.
• There was no explanation made.

The song just ended with that great expression of faith
And a cry for God to remember.

But that is what makes Psalms 75 so joyful!
Psalms 75 is the answer.

The real heart of the Psalm is that in verses 2-5 God actually speaks!

Now, I do think it is important to clarify.
I’m not sure that we are getting new revelation here,
• As if to say that God spoke from the Heavens to Asaph in regard to His prayer.

Verse 1 seems to indicate that someone declared God’s wondrous works.
• It reads more like Asaph heard a sermon.

And therefore what we have going on in Psalms 75
Is much like what we learned from Asaph in Psalms 73.

Remember in Psalms 73 he was perplexed about the prosperity of the wicked.
He couldn’t understand why they could have it so good.
But we read:
Psalms 73:16-17 “When I pondered to understand this, It was troublesome in my sight Until I came into the sanctuary of God; Then I perceived their end.”

And we didn’t apply anything mystical to that.
We just read what he said.

He went to church.
• He heard God’s word proclaimed and it set his thinking straight.
• He was reminded that this is not the end, but that it is in the end when God
makes all things right.
• And that message or word that Asaph heard completely changed his entire
outlook and demeanor.

He immediately stopped envying the wicked
And started rejoicing in the fact that he had God.

That is exactly what happens here as well.
• In Psalms 74 Asaph is perplexed. (He’s not contemplating defection as he was in Psalms 73, but he is still confused)
• He declares faith in God.
• He cries out to God in that faith, but still he has no answer.

And yet, now it would appear that God has once again opened his eyes.
Asaph has once again heard a message from the word of God
And it has redirected his mind and changed his demeanor.

Only in Psalms 75 Asaph actually gives us an excerpt of the message
And he builds this entire Psalm around it.

IT IS A TREASURE!

Now, before we dive into it, there is one more thing we need to see.

The subheading reads “For the choir director; set to Al-tasheth. A Psalm of Asaph, a Song.”

I don’t know if you recognize that heading, but you should.
“Al-tasheth” was also the setting of Psalms 57, 58, and 59.

It means “destroy not”

And I hope you remember the basis of those Psalms.
• By identifying the Psalms as “destroy not” Psalms the immediate assumption is that they are songs pleading for mercy, but they are not.
• In fact, all 4 of these Psalm are actually Psalms that cry out for severe judgment and rejoice in that judgment.
• And we pointed out that the theme “destroy not” was not a point directed at God as if we are asking God not to destroy. Rather, it was a theme directed at us reminding us that we never take our own revenge because God is the One who will avenge us.

Asaph here clearly adopts that theme
As a point of emphasis for this Psalm as well.

In similar fashion he is reminding his readers
To never take their own revenge
But to also leave room for the wrath of God.

• Even in regard to these “blood-thirsty Chaldeans” who invaded the temple, blasphemed God, and slaughtered their children.

• Asaph here relates the message he has heard and thus encourages the people to worship God for His just judgments.

Let’s work our way through this Psalm tonight.
4 points
#1 THE ANSWER RECEIVED
Psalms 75:1

The actual answer itself is not revealed to us until verse 2.
What we have at the beginning of the Psalm is a word of gratitude to God
That He would be willing to relate an answer to us.

If you will remember,
• One of the real points of grief for Asaph in the midst of these negative times
was that he was getting no response from God.

Psalms 74:9-11 “We do not see our signs; There is no longer any prophet, Nor is there any among us who knows how long. How long, O God, will the adversary revile, And the enemy spurn Your name forever? Why do You withdraw Your hand, even Your right hand? From within Your bosom, destroy them!”

Asaph was grieved that all of this had happened and God had been silent.

Well now God has broken His silence and Asaph is grateful.
“We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks,”

And we remember again that revelation is strictly a one-sided reality.
• We have no capacity in ourselves to go and find God in order to know Him.
• We are mortal, He is eternal.
• He dwells outside of time and space, beyond our realm.
• If we are to know anything of Him it is only because He has graciously chosen to allow us to know.

Job reminded us that while men can dig deep into the earth to find diamonds or gold or other precious jewels, there is no place a man can go to find wisdom.

Job 28:12-23 “But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? “Man does not know its value, Nor is it found in the land of the living. “The deep says, ‘It is not in me’; And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’ “Pure gold cannot be given in exchange for it, Nor can silver be weighed as its price. “It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, In precious onyx, or sapphire. “Gold or glass cannot equal it, Nor can it be exchanged for articles of fine gold. “Coral and crystal are not to be mentioned; And the acquisition of wisdom is above that of pearls. “The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it, Nor can it be valued in pure gold. “Where then does wisdom come from? And where is the place of understanding? “Thus it is hidden from the eyes of all living And concealed from the birds of the sky. “Abaddon and Death say, ‘With our ears we have heard a report of it.’ “God understands its way, And He knows its place.”

This is partly the frustration of our world.
They keep up this search for wisdom and revelation.
• Some have sought it outwardly through exploration and even space and such.
• Some have sought it inwardly through meditation and contemplation.
• Some have sought it experientially through drugs and substances.
• Some have sought it spiritually through religious ritual and requirement.

But the truth of the matter is, it only comes from God.
Revelation is purely His prerogative.
If He doesn’t choose to reveal, you and I can never know.

And that is why it is so fitting that when God does answer Asaph,
Asaph begins with a word of gratitude.

He DOESN’T say, “It’s about time!”
He says, “We give thanks to you, O God, we give thanks,”

And he even gets specific.
“For Your name is near; Men declare Your wondrous works.”

When we speak of God’s “name”
We are referring to His person and the revelation of who He is.

Throughout Scripture we read of the names of God which give us insight into who He is.
• Jehovah Jireh “The LORD Provides”
• Jehovah Rohi “The LORD is my shepherd”
• Jehovah Tsidkenu “The LORD is my righteousness”
• Etc.

Asaph here is grateful for God allowing His name (His person)
To be brought “near” or to be revealed.

God has revealed Himself to Asaph.

How?
“Men declare Your wondrous works.”
• Asaph heard preaching about the truth of who God is.
• And as Asaph heard God spoken about, he learned more of who God is, and Asaph rejoiced.

Another translation renders the verse:
“Thy name is brought very near to us in the story of Thy wonderful deeds.”

God, men have declared to us Your “wondrous works”
And thus You have revealed Yourself yet again,
And for that we “give thanks”.

When God does this for you…
Even as simple as allowing you to understand His word – THANK HIM!

The Answer Received (for which he is grateful)
#2 THE ANSWER REVEALED
Psalms 75:2-5

• Here is the excerpt of the sermon.
• Here is the revelation from God.
• Here is the truth, that perhaps Asaph had forgotten, but now has been reiterated to him.

(2-5) “When I select an appointed time, It is I who judge with equity. “The earth and all who dwell in it melt; It is I who have firmly set its pillars. Selah. “I said to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’ And to the wicked, ‘ Do not lift up the horn; Do not lift up your horn on high, Do not speak with insolent pride.'”

Remember that Asaph ended Psalms 74 with some SPECIFIC REQUESTS.
That God would:
• Remember His Enemies
• Remember His Beloved
• Remember His Covenant
• Remember His Glory

Asaph wanted God to right a wrong situation.
Asaph wanted God to exercise justice on the earth.

Here is God’s answer.
1) HE SPEAKS OF HIS ULTIMATE SOVEREIGNTY (2)

“When I select an appointed time, It is I who judge with equity.”

So what is God’s first answer to Asaph?
I am sovereign over the timing of judgment.

Asaph wanted justice, God said, “In My time, not yours”

The timing of judgment has always been God’s prerogative.

We even remember way back to the days of Abraham,
• When God was making promises regarding the giving of the land to Abraham’s
descendants.

Genesis 15:13-16 “God said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years. “But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions. “As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age. “Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.”

• God had every intention of giving Israel the land.
• God had every intention of judging Egypt.
• God had every intention of destroying the Canaanites.

But in His timing, not ours.
He alone knew what He was doing.

And certainly this is STILL TRUE regarding the timing of God’s judgment.

Jesus Himself said:
Matthew 24:36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.”

• God knows the day.
• God determines the day.
• And it is His prerogative alone.

Acts 17:30-31 “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”

And God reminds Asaph of this here.
You want justice, you want judgment.
The timing for that justice is Mine alone.

And yet, God promises that He will do it.
“It is I who judge with equity.”

• The timing is God’s, so is the judgment.
• He alone determines when, He alone determines how.

And God’s judgment is A JUST JUDGMENT.
He judges “with equity”

It is the Hebrew word MEYSHAR
And it means “level or smooth or even or right”

There are no crooked scales with God’s judgment.
There are no broken levels when God judges.

Romans 2:6-11 “[God] WILL RENDER TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS: to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation. There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God.”

And this is the first thing God taught Asaph.
I do judge, and I do judge rightly, but I judge in My time, not yours.

2) HE SPEAKS OF HIS UNENDING SUSTENANCE (3)

“The earth and all who dwell in it melt; It is I who have firmly set its pillars. Selah”

Think again to the concern of Asaph.
There was destruction everywhere.
• It must have felt very close to the end.
• It must have felt like life couldn’t continue much longer.

We see this type of panicking even in our world today.

• For years we’ve dealt with the environmentalist groups who assure us that the world cannot sustain, but that global warming and other ecological disasters will kill us all.

• Some are convinced that a plague like COVID-19 will spread and kill us all.

• Some see the civil unrest of riots and protests or of ANTIFA or some other militant group and they see the end.

Asaph must have certainly wondered if he was near the end.

And yet God reminds him that the earth nor its inhabitants
Have ever determined its longevity.

If the duration of life was up to humanity we’d been in a horrible condition because “The earth and all who dwell in it melt” (or totter).
• There is no strength or ability to sustain this earth.

But God is the sustainer.
“It is I who have firmly set its pillars. Selah”

• The earth survives…
• Humanity survives…
• Because God causes it to survive.

God even promised Noah after the flood.
Genesis 8:22 “While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, And cold and heat, And summer and winter, And day and night Shall not cease.”

Furthermore God used the certainty of the faithfulness of creation as a sign of His commitment to His people.
Jeremiah 31:35-36 “Thus says the LORD, Who gives the sun for light by day And the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, Who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar; The LORD of hosts is His name: “If this fixed order departs From before Me,” declares the LORD, “Then the offspring of Israel also will cease From being a nation before Me forever.”

GOD SUSTAINS THE EARTH.
And when the earth does implode or is destroyed,
It will be because He destroys it.

2 Peter 3:7 “But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.”

This world is not going to fall because of global warming
Or over population or COVID-19 or any other man-made dilemma.

God has determined the day of the destruction of the world
And He is reserving the world for that day.

And God reminds Asaph of that here.
• I will judge with justice.
• I will judge in My time.
• I will preserve the world until the time for that judgment.

3) HE SPEAKS OF HIS UNYIELDING STANDARD (4-5)

(4-5) “I said to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’ And to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up the horn; Do not lift up your horn on high, Do not speak with insolent pride.'”

Here God reminds exactly who will receive the force of His wrath.
It is the boastful, it is the wicked, it is the arrogant and proud.

THOSE WHO HAVE THE AUDACITY
To defy God and break His Laws and exalt themselves.
GOD WILL JUDGE THOSE PEOPLE.

James 4:6 “But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.”

We remember that story about the Pharisee and the Tax Collector.
Luke 18:14 “I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

And certainly we remember the Beatitudes of Jesus
• Where He reminded us that it was “the poor in spirit”
• And those “who mourn”
• And “the gentle”
• Who inherit the kingdom of heaven, not the proud.

But this was the answer God gave to Asaph.
This was what Asaph was so grateful for.

From where Asaph sat, it looked like the wicked had won,
God had been defeated, and the end had come.
Namely because the enemy had boasted
And God had not done anything about it.

God spoke to Asaph and said, not hardly.
I most certainly will judge them. I will judge them justly, and in My time.

That was God’s message to Asaph.

And now Asaph will take that message and relate it to the church.
#3 THE ANSWER RELATED
Psalms 75:6-8

• Here is where the “Al-Tasheth” comes into play.
• Here is where we see the “destroy not”

Asaph reminds the people.
“For not from the east, nor from the west, nor from the desert comes exaltation; but God is the Judge; He puts down one and exalts another.”

• We don’t have to defend ourselves…
• We don’t have to deliver ourselves.
• We don’t have to avenge ourselves…

GOD ALONE DOES THAT
He is the Judge and He will judge in His time.

Romans 12:17-21 “Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,” says the Lord. “BUT IF YOUR ENEMY IS HUNGRY, FEED HIM, AND IF HE IS THIRSTY, GIVE HIM A DRINK; FOR IN SO DOING YOU WILL HEAP BURNING COALS ON HIS HEAD.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

This is the very message Asaph is now preaching.

And just in a word of the events of our day.

• While no one thinks racism is a good thing.
• While certainly the church understands that in Christ Jesus “there is neither
Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female”
• While we condemn racism, racial inequality, and all forms of injustice against
anyone for any reason.

We also understand that any response or movement
That takes it upon itself to seek its own revenge is sinful.

There is no way to justify
• The Black Lives Matters movement
• Or the Looting or Vandalism
• Or even the protesting that seeks to resist the civil authority of the police
department. Things like this Autonomous Zone are sinful to the core.

There is no justification for them whatsoever,
And no Christian can be involved in such movements
And at the same time claim to be following the Scripture.

Christians “destroy not”
Christians “never take their own revenge”

ASAPH KNEW THAT HERE.
Even in captivity the Jews were NEVER CALLED to rise up
And win their freedom from the Babylonian government.

In fact, THEIR SPECIFIC COMMAND in captivity might surprise you.
Jeremiah 29:4-7 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, ‘Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their produce. ‘Take wives and become the fathers of sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there and do not decrease. ‘Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare.’”

Asaph is reiterating that very thing here again.
Leave room for the wrath of God.

“He puts down one and exalts another.”

AND HE WILL CERTAINLY DO IT
(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.”

Asaph reminds the afflicted TO TRUST God
And that they CAN SURELY TRUST God.
He will most certainly judge the wicked.

And let me just show you the frustration that the Israelites had
Toward this Babylon and to the Edomites who helped them.

Psalms 137:7-9 “Remember, O LORD, against the sons of Edom The day of Jerusalem, Who said, “Raze it, raze it To its very foundation.” O daughter of Babylon, you devastated one, How blessed will be the one who repays you With the recompense with which you have repaid us. How blessed will be the one who seizes and dashes your little ones Against the rock.”

This children of Israel certainly wanted revenge.
Asaph wanted them to know that GOD WOULD BE THE ONE TO DO IT.

TURN TO: JEREMIAH 51:54-57

And this is also true for us.
• We trust that Judgment is God’s prerogative alone.
• And we trust that God will certainly do it.

Asaph speaks of God’s CUP OF WRATH
Which He will pour out and cause the wicked to drink.

Do you doubt this?
TURN TO: REVELATION 16

God does not need our help judging the wicked.
God has not allotted to us the judgment of the wicked.
God has given us the message of the word of reconciliation.

If there was ever any doubt as to OUR JOB IN THIS EARTH.
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.”

We are not in the revenge game, we are in the evangelism game.
We trust God for the judgment.

That is the message God gave to Asaph
And the one he relates to God’s people.

The Answer Received The Answer Revealed The Answer Related
#4 THE ANSWER REJOICED IN
Psalms 75:9-10

We saw Asaph’s demeanor in Psalms 74.
• He was confused and uncertain.
• He was walking in blind faith with the hope that God knew what He was doing.

My how God’s word has once again changed his perspective.
• He is now a man with a message.
• He is now a man on a mission.

“But as for me, I will declare it forever;”

Declare what?
What he learned about God.
• Namely that He is judge.
• That the timing of judgment is His.
• That He will judge with equity.
• That He will certainly do it.

Asaph is going to preach that message over and over.

And, he is going to rejoice in that message.
“I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.”

Have you ever considered that?
That the message of God’s judgment
Is both one to be declared and rejoiced in?
Asaph did.

And he closes with one final reality of rejoicing.
(10) “And all the horns of the wicked He will cut off, But the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.”

Asaph didn’t see that today,
But he knew he would see it and that was enough.

That is where our hope lies as well.
• That even in a day of confusion and injustice we trust who God is and what He
has promised to do.
• We don’t have to worry about overthrowing evil, God will do that.
• We simply overcome it by trusting God.

Now, there is ONE FINAL POINT to be made
And one that we always want to remember.

It’s very easy to read verses like verse 10
Where we read of “the wicked” and “the righteous”.

And it is very easy to read that and say,
“I’m the righteous” and my enemy is “the wicked.”

But again we must be reminded that
“there is none righteous, not even one.”

The only reason we can apply this verse favorably to our lives
Is because of the work of Christ on our behalf.

Consider this when you read verse 10.

“And all the horns of the wicked He will cut off.”
That is what God did to Christ because of us.

“But the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.”
That is what God does to us because of Christ.

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 means we certainly look forward to God’s righteous judgment,
But ONLY BECAUSE in Christ we have been declared righteous.

Otherwise we have nothing but fear and dread.

But as those who are in Christ, and dressed in His righteousness,
We can certainly rejoice in the coming judgment of God
Where He will vindicate us and deliver us from evil.

Download Here:

Securing A Crucifixion – Part 2
Luke 19:28-48 (41-48)
June 14, 2020

Last time we met we started looking at
This monumental couple of days in the life of Jesus.

What we immediately noticed is how peculiar all of these events where.

• We have Jesus, for the first time in His ministry, not only allowing a public Messianic announcement, but actually instigating it.
• We have a crowd commending Jesus publicly, and Jesus in turn condemning the crowd.
• We have an expectation that Jesus is the King of Israel and an expectation that He will attack Rome, and yet the only place He attacks is the temple.
• We have Jesus announcing that truth has been hidden from the eyes of the Jews and yet He starts teaching daily in the temple.

They are peculiar events,
Like nothing we have seen in the ministry of Jesus ever before.

When we wonder why these things are occurring the truth becomes clear to us that Jesus is securing His crucifixion.

• Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah must die for the sins of the people.
• Daniel prophesied that it must occur at a specific time.

Jesus is here to make sure both of those prophecies come true.

In order to secure that crucifixion,
He has chosen to publicly fulfill the most “in your face”
Prophetic fulfillment that He could have done.

Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

Jesus fulfilled that specific prophesy while the massive crowd around Him
Quoted that infamous Messianic Psalms 118.

JESUS IN EFFECT IS FORCING THEIR HAND.

Now IT’S NOT that the Jewish leaders didn’t already want to kill Him.
They certainly did. The resurrection of Lazarus sealed that.

John 11:47-53 “Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council, and were saying, “What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs. “If we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all, nor do you take into account that it is expedient for you that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish.” Now he did not say this on his own initiative, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but in order that He might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. So from that day on they planned together to kill Him.”

The death plot had already been formed.

However, THE TIMING was still up for debate.
Specifically they DID NOT want to kill Jesus during the Passover.

Matthew 26:3-5 “Then the chief priests and the elders of the people were gathered together in the court of the high priest, named Caiaphas; and they plotted together to seize Jesus by stealth and kill Him. But they were saying, “Not during the festival, otherwise a riot might occur among the people.”

The problem was that this was the divine timetable.
• Daniel prophesied that this is precisely when He would be killed.
• Jesus was God’s Passover Lamb.

So the events that Jesus would orchestrate on these next few days
Would be of such audacity that the Jews would have no choice.

They would either have to bow to Him or kill Him,
But they would not be able to delay their plans any longer.
Jesus forced an immediate decision.

And we started looking at this last week.

5 events, we saw the first 2
#1 THE SUBMISSIVE WILL OF JESUS
Luke 19:28-34

We simply saw yet again that even though Jesus was the only One in the caravan who knew what was coming in Jerusalem He is still leading the pack to get there.

And not only that, but He instigated perhaps the most offensive scene He could have instigated by purposely riding that donkey’s colt into Jerusalem.

#2 THE SHALLOW WORSHIP OF JESUS
Luke 19:35-38

• It was worship.
• It was exaltation.
• It was a coronation.

But how shallow it all was, for in just 4 days
This same crowd would be calling for the death of Jesus before Pilate.

It is the most nauseating scene of hypocritical worship in the Bible
• It forever stands as a warning to everyone who participates in organized religion
• To make sure that their worship of Jesus is more genuine than just a routine following of the crowd.
• This crowd was a living fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy that “this people honors Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.”

And we certainly felt the need to examine our own hearts
To make sure that we do not fall into that category.

But, the MAIN POINT that we saw from all of this is that
Jesus began to get the reaction that was necessary.

The Pharisees could not believe what they were seeing.
(39-40) “Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” But Jesus answered, “I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!”

• The event had produced its intended effect.
• The line had been drawn.
• What Jesus did could not be ignored.
• And the Pharisees demanded that Jesus rebuke His disciples and call off
the parade.

Jesus, however, revealed to the Pharisees that
This is the worst possible thing that could happen.

If the people of Israel fail to honor Jesus as King
Then the next testimony they will receive is the testimony of the stones.

Specifically Jesus would speak of the coming destruction of Jerusalem in which “they will not leave in you one stone upon another”

The effect of failing to worship the King would be the fall of the nation.

IN SHORT, THE BATTLE LINES WERE DRAWN.
• Jesus entered the city with full outward and public display of His total authority.
• He was claiming to be King.
• He is about to turn their systematic religion on its head.
• He is about to declare His gospel in the temple.

The Pharisees want Him to stop, and He definitively said, “No”.

The battle lines are drawn.
Jesus is securing a crucifixion.

This morning we move forward
The Submissive Will of Jesus, the Shallow Worship of Jesus
#3 THE SEVERE WEEPING OF JESUS
Luke 19:39-44

We actually introduced this one last week
So that we could explain what Jesus meant about the stones crying out.

But what we see here is another one of those unexpected moments
That must have shocked the crowd.

• Jesus had stopped at Bethphage and Bethany on the backside of the Mount of Olives and had secured that donkey’s colt to ride.
• The crowd was at a fever pitch level quoting Psalms 118 as he crested the top of the mountain and began His descent into Jerusalem.

But I don’t think there is any way that the crowd could have expected
The response that Jesus would have when He overlooked the city.

For no sooner does this crowd COMMEND Jesus,
Than does Jesus turn and CONDEMN the crowd.

(41) “When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it,”

“wept” there is KLAIO
It is the strongest word for weeping in the Greek language.
It is to double over and heave and sob in grief.

• It is the word used for Peter’s weeping after He denied Jesus.
• It is the word used when Jairus’s daughter died.
• It is the word used for the weeping of the widow at the funeral of her only son.
• It is the word used for the weeping of Mary over the death of Lazarus.

THE POINT IS that Jesus doesn’t just sigh and get teary-eyed
As He overlooks Jerusalem.
He doesn’t just let a tear run down His cheek.
HE SOBS BITTERLY

IT WAS RECOGNIZABLE,
And to this crowd it must have seemed totally misplaced.
This was in their minds a joyous occasion.

Why was He all of a sudden weeping so out of control?

(42-44) “saying, “If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. “For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side, and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”

Jesus is weeping because He knows what is coming.
• He knows this worship is fake.
• He knows His rejection is coming.
• He knows that by rejecting Him Israel is bringing judgment upon herself.

The people will quit worshiping and the stones will cry out.

And though this is a tragic scene, how comforting is it to us to see
That our Lord’s initial response to the judgment of His people
Is not personal fulfillment or happiness or satisfaction.

The Lord’s initial response to this judgment is intense sorrow and grief.

Ezekiel 33:11 “Say to them, ‘ As I live!’ declares the Lord GOD, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?’”

That is certainly true of Christ.
• He does not relish the death of sinners.
• He does not enjoy the judgment of the wicked.

Will He do it? Yes
But there is no pleasure there in it for Him.

And He even explains His weeping to the crowd.
We clearly see His lament.

• These people were singing about “Peace in heaven”
• Jesus reveals to them that they didn’t have a clue what they were talking about.

What was the problem?

It was this:
Israel was at enmity with God and they didn’t even know it.

It is basic Christian doctrine and yet it is of the utmost importance.
Apart from Jesus Christ, there is NO PEACE WITH GOD.

Man is sinful (all men) and God is holy.

The Old Testament prophets clearly articulated it:
Isaiah 48:22 “There is no peace for the wicked,” says the LORD.”

It is a foolish notion for any many to assume that
There is peace with God based upon His own works or merit.

There has only ever been one avenue to peace with God,
And that is through Jesus Christ
Who negotiated that peace
Through the offering of His own righteous life to God.

He lived holy, God accepted His holy life.
Christ offered it to God as a sacrifice on our behalf.

Wicked men obtain peace, when they place their faith in what He did.

Romans 5:1 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”

ISRAEL WAS IN TROUBLE BECAUSE
They were about to reject the only One who could bring that peace.

They sang about peace in heaven,
But had no clue how that peace was going to be obtained.

What they needed was to submit to and trust in God’s Messiah.
They needed to repent of their sin and run to Jesus for salvation and forgiveness.

BUT THEY REFUSED.

And Jesus says, because they WOULD NOT believe,
Now they COULD NOT believe.

“But now they have been hidden from your eyes.”

John 12:35-40 “So Jesus said to them, “For a little while longer the Light is among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes. “While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light.” These things Jesus spoke, and He went away and hid Himself from them. But though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him. This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet which he spoke: “LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT? AND TO WHOM HAS THE ARM OF THE LORD BEEN REVEALED?” For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, “HE HAS BLINDED THEIR EYES AND HE HARDENED THEIR HEART, SO THAT THEY WOULD NOT SEE WITH THEIR EYES AND PERCEIVE WITH THEIR HEART, AND BE CONVERTED AND I HEAL THEM.”

Do you understand this?
• The revelation of God is a gift.
• The knowledge of salvation is a gift.
• The call to repentance and faith is a gift.

It is not your inherent right.
God doesn’t owe that to you, He graciously offers it.

Here we clearly see that when a man rejects the offer of salvation
That there are times when God then hardens that individual
And makes them unable to ever receive it.

In fact, Jesus said that
God was about to do that very thing to the nation of Israel.
God was about to hide the truth from them.

TURN TO: ROMANS 9:30-33
• Paul there laments the refusal of Israel to accept Jesus.
• He came to impute righteousness to them by faith.
• They wanted no part of Jesus, they sought to earn it themselves.
• They failed and ultimately stumbled over Jesus.

TURN TO: ROMANS 10:18-21
• Paul reminds that the problem on Israel’s part wasn’t ignorance.
• The gospel was preached to them repeatedly.

What was the problem?
• They were stubborn!
• They didn’t want to submit to this Christ who could save them.
• They didn’t want to call on the name of Jesus.

TURN TO: ROMANS 11:7-10
What does Paul say God did?
• First, He chose to save a remnant anyway (a small portion of believing Jews)
• But the rest He hardened.

“God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes to see not and ears to hear not, down to this very day.”

Do you understand the responsibility of hearing the gospel?

When God, in His grace, sovereignly chooses to open your eyes
To understand a proclamation of the gospel that is not a suggestion.

• “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” is not a suggestion.
• “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ” is not a suggestion.
• “Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Me” is not a suggestion.

This is the divine command of God.
And if reject that command, not only will you be judged eternally,
But every time you reject you run the risk
Of being hardened and never being allowed to hear it again.

THIS IS SERIOUS.

Do you want to see what Israel being broken off looked like in the New Testament?

Acts 13:45-46 “But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began contradicting the things spoken by Paul, and were blaspheming. Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles.”

Acts 18:5-6 “But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul began devoting himself completely to the word, solemnly testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. But when they resisted and blasphemed, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

Acts 19:8-9 “And he entered the synagogue and continued speaking out boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. But when some were becoming hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of the Way before the people, he withdrew from them and took away the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus.”

Acts 28:23-29 “When they had set a day for Paul, they came to him at his lodging in large numbers; and he was explaining to them by solemnly testifying about the kingdom of God and trying to persuade them concerning Jesus, from both the Law of Moses and from the Prophets, from morning until evening. Some were being persuaded by the things spoken, but others would not believe. And when they did not agree with one another, they began leaving after Paul had spoken one parting word, “The Holy Spirit rightly spoke through Isaiah the prophet to your fathers, saying, ‘GO TO THIS PEOPLE AND SAY, “YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING,BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND; AND YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE; FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL, AND WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR, AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES; OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT SEE WITH THEIR EYES, AND HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN, AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.”‘ “Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will also listen.”

Do you see the tragedy there?
Do you see the danger in not listening to the truth?
God may make it to where you never hear it or understand it again.

If God has convicted your heart and called you to deny yourself
And trust in Christ, DO IT!

Hebrews 3:7-11 “Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, “TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS AS WHEN THEY PROVOKED ME, AS IN THE DAY OF TRIAL IN THE WILDERNESS, WHERE YOUR FATHERS TRIED Me BY TESTING Me, AND SAW MY WORKS FOR FORTY YEARS. “THEREFORE I WAS ANGRY WITH THIS GENERATION, AND SAID, ‘THEY ALWAYS GO ASTRAY IN THEIR HEART, AND THEY DID NOT KNOW MY WAYS’; AS I SWORE IN MY WRATH, ‘THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST.'”

It is the greatest of tragedies
• To be given the truth of the gospel
• To be called to salvation
• Then to reject it
• And for God to determine to never let you hear it again.

That is to secure and sure and certain judgment.
Don’t reject Him when He calls.

ISRAEL DID.
At the end of verse 44 Jesus says it was “because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”

God came near and they didn’t listen.

And what was the repercussion of such rebellion?
(43-44) “For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side, and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”

Ultimately it will be the testimony of the stones crying out.

There will come a horrific temporal judgment
In which the city of Jerusalem will be destroyed.

This, by the way, was fulfilled in AD 70.
• In AD 66 a Roman procurator named Cessius Flores raided the Jewish temple and stole the silver.
• Jewish animosity obviously grew and to answer it, Flores sent troops into Jerusalem and slaughtered 3,600 Jews.
• This started a Jewish revolt.
• The Jews attacked the Roman stronghold Masada just overlooking the Dead Sea and actually took the fort.
• The revolt ultimately spread throughout Judea and Galilee as zealots sought to kill Roman soldiers.
• There were several battles and even some Jewish victories.
• Ultimately in AD 70 the emperor’s son Titus surrounded Jerusalem and breached its walls.
• He killed thousands, looted the temple relics, burned the temple, sent thousands of Jews to work in Egyptian mines, and sent many more to be agents of death in the arena.
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/jewishtemple.htm
https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/issues/issue-28/ad-70-titus-destroys-jerusalem.html

What Jesus spoke of came to pass.
The Romans threw a barricade against them, surrounded them, hemmed them in, leveled them, killed their children, and obliterated their temple.

It was the first of many tragic reminders that
ISRAEL WAS NOT AT PEACE WITH GOD.

Over the centuries many more events would prove Israel’s lack of peace.
• Including things like Hitler’s Holocaust which killed around 11 million Jews.
• Stalin’s Holocaust which killed around 2 to 3 million more.
• And things like the ongoing Palestinian and Israeli conflicts.

Israel has continued to suffer the harsh reality that
They are not at peace with God.

WHY?
“because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”

And THE REAL TRAGEDY is that
This suffering on earth is the best part of it.

For Jesus was extremely clear when He said:
John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

And Peter reiterated that later to the Jews in Acts 4
Acts 4:12 “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

Which indicates that not only have Jews suffered
Enormous temporal judgment for their rejection of Christ,
But also spend eternity in hell for rejecting Him.

It is why Jesus warned them:
Luke 13:25-28 “Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘ Lord, open up to us!’ then He will answer and say to you, ‘ I do not know where you are from.’ “Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets’; and He will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you are from; DEPART FROM ME, ALL YOU EVILDOERS.’ “In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves being thrown out.”

It has been and continues to be a horrific reality.
Refusing to submit to Christ is the worst decision Israel ever made.

And Christ, looking ahead at it
Wept over it bitterly and then announced it to this crowd.

But the announcement was NOT primarily evangelistic in its intent.
Rather, Jesus announced it here
As yet another way to secure His own crucifixion.

By the time He entered the city, He was ALIENATING HIMSELF, even from those who were marching with Him in the parade.
• He was not here to win popularity.
• He was not here to enjoy the feast.
• He was here to fulfill the plan of God to die on a cross and He is securing that
plan.

• He has drawn the line in the sand with the religious elite by entering on this
donkey’s colt.
• He has severed ties with the crowd that was applauding Him by announcing
their coming condemnation.

Jesus is moving to the cross.

And He is not finished yet.
Submissive Will of Jesus, Shallow Worship of Jesus, Severe Weeping of Jesus
#4 THE SOVEREIGN WRATH OF JESUS
Luke 19:45-46

Luke doesn’t spend much time on this event,
Because his main thrust to be made is simply that
JESUS IS CHALLENGING EVERY FACET OF JEWISH LIFE.

He is dropping the gauntlet at every turn.

If you want the FULL LAYOUT, it’s best to read Mark’s gospel.
Mark 11:11-18 “Jesus entered Jerusalem and came into the temple; and after looking around at everything, He left for Bethany with the twelve, since it was already late. On the next day, when they had left Bethany, He became hungry. Seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if perhaps He would find anything on it; and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And His disciples were listening. Then they came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple and began to drive out those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves; and He would not permit anyone to carry merchandise through the temple. And He began to teach and say to them, “Is it not written, ‘MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER FOR ALL THE NATIONS’? But you have made it a ROBBERS’DEN.” The chief priests and the scribes heard this, and began seeking how to destroy Him; for they were afraid of Him, for the whole crowd was astonished at His teaching.”

• So now we find out that He entered the city and entered the temple, but didn’t do anything.
• Instead, He went back over the top of the Mountain to Bethany.
• There Jesus purposely marked what He was about to do.
• On the way back He cursed a fig tree for its hypocritical fruitlessness.
• And then He entered the temple declared war.

Certainly we know why.
• It was called the “Bizarre of Anas”
• It was a corrupt scheme to make money off of the sacrifices coming in for Passover.
• John’s gospel added that “zeal for Your house has consumed Me”.
• Securing a crucifixion clearly wasn’t the only reason for this, it needed to be done.

So Jesus started driving people out.
(46) “saying to them, “It is written, ‘And My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a robber’s den.”

It is a reference of both Isaiah 56:7 (house of prayer) and Jeremiah 7:11 when Jeremiah told them that they were using the temple as a hide out for thieves.

Jesus cleared out that place.
• He wrecked the commerce of the temple.
• He exposed the hypocrisy.

But the real focus here is also the way He did it.
In a way that almost seems uncharacteristic of Jesus, He became hostile.

AND THIS WAS INTENTIONAL.
It was meant not just to correct the corruption of the temple,
But to do it in such a way as to incite His enemies.

• Can you see that He is giving them no choice?
• Can you see that He is securing a crucifixion?

Now, we might certainly think that surely this is enough.
I mean, Jesus has basically offended everyone left to offend.

• He’s offended the Pharisees with that triumphal entry.
• He’s offended the phony worshipers with that condemning sermon.
• He’s offended the Chief Priests by clearing out the temple.

You’d think that would be enough.

And yet that’s not all.
#5 THE SOLEMN WITNESS OF JESUS
Luke 19:47-48

Now in one sense this is perfect.
• For the first time we have the Son of God sitting in control of the temple.
• In one sense this is absolutely fitting.

But the point here is that
JESUS IS NOT STOPPING UNTIL HIS ENEMIES DO SOMETHING.

Pay attention to what Jesus has already said back in verse 42.
“If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they HAVE BEEN hidden from your eyes.”

Jesus just announced the day before that
God was not granting them the ability to see the truth any longer.

So we might assume that Jesus would be done preaching and teaching.

And yet, we find here that this isn’t the case at all.
“And He was teaching daily in the temple;”

In fact:
Luke 20:1 “On one of the days while He was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders confronted Him,”

JESUS WAS PREACHING THE GOSPEL.
That is to say He was preaching the message of repentance
And faith in Him for salvation from the wrath of God.

And do you notice the effect that His preaching was having?
“the chief priests and the scribes and the leading men among the people were trying to destroy Him, and they could not find anything that they might do, for all the people were hanging on to every word He said.”

Do you see what Jesus is doing?
• In one sense He is rubbing salt in the wound.
• He has cleared out their temple.
• And just keeps on preaching truth that is infuriating the religious elite.

In Luke 20 you’re going to see Him get into some fierce debates with these religious leaders and He is going to utterly humiliate them.

AND AGAIN I ASK YOU WHY?

For one reason He has to die here and now right?
We saw it last week, Daniel prophesied it.

But let me remind you of something else.
• Isaiah told us He had to die.
• Daniel told us when He had to die.
• I also remind you that David told us how He had to die.

Psalms 22:16-18 “For dogs have surrounded me; A band of evildoers has encompassed me; They pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones. They look, they stare at me; They divide my garments among them, And for my clothing they cast lots.”

Jesus has to die by crucifixion.

Remember:
Luke 18:31-33 “Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things which are written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. “For He will be handed over to the Gentiles, and will be mocked and mistreated and spit upon, and after they have scourged Him, they will kill Him; and the third day He will rise again.”

At this point, in order to fulfill the prophesy,
Jesus is up against two major hurdles.
1. The Jews were not permitted to kill anyone.
2. If they were to kill someone it would have been by stoning.

Jesus has to push these religious leaders to such a point of desperation that they are actually willing to take sides
With the very enemies they wanted Jesus to overthrow.

To fulfill the prophesy,
• These Jews are going to have to actually appeal to the Romans to ask them to kill Jesus by their means of crucifixion
• And they are going to have to ask the Romans to do it in the middle of their own holy Passover.

• It will require illegal trials…
• It will require illegal maneuvering…
• It will require shaking hands with the Roman government…

The Jews are going to have to cross so many of their own lines
In order to do this the way the prophets have spoken
That it seems impossible that all of those prophecies would be fulfilled.

It is almost impossible that Jesus would be crucified during this Passover

But Jesus is committed to the plan of God.
Jesus is committed to laying down His life for sinners.
And Jesus is doing everything necessary to secure His own crucifixion.

I hope you see what a tremendous act of love this was on His part.

Jesus came to die, and He will not run from His task.

Love Jesus for this!
Praise Jesus for this!
Thank Jesus for His commitment to buying your pardon!

And today, if you have never left your sin and trusted in Jesus,
Then don’t make the mistake of Israel.

Today, if He is calling you, then answer!
• Respond to Him.
• Repent of your sin.
• Believe in His righteousness.
• Confess Him as Lord.
• Call on Him for salvation.

For there is no doubt that
There has never been a Savior so committed as Him.