Comprehending The Cross
Luke 18:31-34
May 17, 2020
Our Text this morning marks quite a moment in the life of our Lord.
For we read in verse 31, “Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold we are going up to Jerusalem”
To you and I this might seem like an insignificant statement
Until you realize that this is the final trip
Jesus will ever take to Jerusalem.
He has been many times before
And it seems that every time He goes He finds Himself in danger.
In October
• He went up for the “Feast of Booths” as was recorded in John 7
• Where He announced Himself to be both the fountain of living water and the Light of the World.
But by the time the feast was over we read:
John 8:59 “Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple.”
In December
• He returned to Jerusalem for the “Feast of Dedication” (Hanukah) John 10
• Where He gave the sermon about being the Good Shephard and declared that He and the Father are one.
And during that feast we read:
John 10:31 “The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him.”
And when we get to John 11
• Jesus receives word that Lazarus is sick and 4 days later when He determines to go to Him, the disciples strongly caution Him.
John 11:8 “The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone You, and are You going there again?”
• Of course He went anyway and raised Lazarus from the dead which did not help His popularity with the religious elite.
John 11:53 “So from that day on they planned together to kill Him.”
The point is that even on a typical day
Going to Jerusalem was a dangerous venture for Jesus.
Certainly the disciples knew it.
They must have wondered
If Jesus would attempt to return again in APRIL to attend the Passover.
John 11:55-57 “Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up to Jerusalem out of the country before the Passover to purify themselves. So they were seeking for Jesus, and were saying to one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think; that He will not come to the feast at all?” Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where He was, he was to report it, so that they might seize Him.”
No doubt the disciples themselves likely wondered
If traveling to Jerusalem was the best idea.
And yet Jesus gave this announcement.
“Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem”
That must have been an anxious announcement for the disciples to hear.
What they did not realize was that this trip would not turn out like the rest.
This would be the final time Jesus would go.
• For on this trip He would not escape their murderous plot.
• On this trip He would be arrested.
• On this trip He would be mistreated.
• On this trip He would be tried and condemned.
• On this trip He would be crucified.
And that is what Jesus is about to tell them.
And incidentally, this is the 3rd time
He is going to make this direct announcement.
In Caesarea Philippi He revealed to the disciples that He was the Messiah.
Luke 9:21-22 “But He warned them and instructed them not to tell this to anyone, saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised up on the third day.”
Then later, after the transfiguration:
Luke 9:44 “Let these words sink into your ears; for the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.”
Today He will tell them again,
And they still won’t get it.
Despite having been with Jesus now for 3 years
And having heard Him preach countless messages,
They still didn’t understand the necessity of the cross.
Our goal this morning is to make sure that we do understand it.
3 points
#1 A SOVEREIGN PLAN
Luke 18:31
This statement that we read here in Luke’s gospel is also quoted in Matthew and Mark, but only Luke records the second half of this verse.
Only Luke includes the phrase: “and all things which are written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished.”
• Only Luke includes the statement that what is about to occur is all part of a much bigger and much older plan.
And if you are familiar with Luke’s writing, you know that
LUKE LOVES TO INCLUDE THESE TYPES OF REFERENCES.
Luke loves it when he gets the opportunity to remind His readers that the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus was part of God’s eternal plan.
Later, in the upper room, Luke records these words from Jesus:
Luke 22:22 “For indeed, the Son of Man is going as it has been determined; but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!”
Take for example after Jesus rises from the dead.
• Only Luke includes the story of the men on the road to Emmaus.
• You remember they are struggling with the fact that Jesus was killed.
• They aren’t sure what to do with it.
• Jesus appears (though they do not recognize Him)
• And He reproaches them.
Luke 24:25-26 “And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! “Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?”
You get the idea that this was the very reason Luke included this story,
If for no other reason than to remind that all that happened to Jesus
Was part of the sovereign and eternal plan of God.
Even later in Luke’s gospel, when Jesus appears to the disciples, only Luke includes this statement:
Luke 24:44-47 “Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”
Luke loves the reminder that the death of Jesus was all part of the plan.
You also know that Luke wrote the book of Acts,
Where he continues preserving these types of reminders.
When Luke recorded Peter’s sermon at Pentecost:
Acts 2:23 “this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.”
When Luke recorded Peter’s sermon in Jerusalem:
Acts 3:17-18 “And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers did also. “But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled.”
When Luke recorded the prayer of the church:
Acts 4:27-28 “For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur.”
You get the point.
Luke is fascinated with the fact that the rejection and suffering and death and resurrection of Jesus was NOT a result of chance or bad luck.
The suffering and death of Christ
Was part of the eternal and sovereign plan of God.
This event was determined long before any of it came to pass.
• The man who would betray Jesus
• The men who would arrest Jesus
• The men who would beat Jesus
• The men who would mock Jesus
• The men who would accuse Jesus
• The men who would try Jesus
• The men who would crucify Jesus
Weren’t even born when God determined that it would happen.
This event was not the result of the sinfulness of men (though they were happy to participate), this event was the eternal plan of God.
FROM THE BEGINNING GOD DETERMINED THIS.
“things which are written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished.”
We certainly don’t have time to read them all,
But I think it only fitting to read two of them this morning.
TURN TO: PSALMS 22
TURN TO: ISAIAH 53
There are in fact many others that we could read
As there are more suffering servant passages,
But those two give us quite the story just by themselves.
THE SUFFERING OF JESUS WAS ALWAYS THE PLAN.
And beyond such specific prophecies like those…
The Old Testament is also filled with PROPHECIES OF TYPE
Which spell out the coming death of Christ.
• No sooner do Adam and Eve sin than does God clothe them in animal skins which was a picture of a blood sacrifice for atonement.
• When we get to Abraham we remember the story of Abraham being told to sacrifice his son:
Genesis 22:10-14 “Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son. Abraham called the name of that place The LORD Will Provide, as it is said to this day, “In the mount of the LORD it will be provided.”
And there we learned not only the necessity of a sacrifice,
But even better that God would be the One who would provide it.
• We could go on and talk about the Passover Lamb whose blood caused God’s wrath to pass-over His people.
• We could talk about the scapegoat or the sacrificed goat on the Day of Atonement.
• Or we could talk about every other single animal that had to die either as a sin offering or thank offering or freewill offering or any other type of offering to God.
Every sacrifice merely pictured a coming atonement
Since we know that in and of themselves
NONE OF THOSE ANIMALS WERE ACCEPTABLE TO GOD.
Hebrews 10:4 “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”
At best every one of those bulls or goats or doves
Was just a foreshadow of a sacrifice to come.
The point is that God had determined this from the beginning.
It was always the plan.
Luke certainly loved that reality, BUT SO DO YOU AND I.
WHY?
Because it so perfectly demonstrates for us
THE SOVEREIGN GRACE OF OUR GOD.
Here we have a God who created us, and even after the fall of Adam, and our entire race was conceived in iniquity, God continued to create us.
• He created us knowing that we were fallen.
• He created us knowing that we would rebel.
• He created us knowing that we were sinful and would need atonement.
He also knew that nothing we could do and nothing we could offer would ever be able to satisfy His holy requirement.
• In short, God knew from the beginning that if He made us, He would also have to atone for us.
And He knew from the beginning what that atonement would cost.
• It would cost Him His only begotten Son.
It’s not like God just rocked along, twiddling His thumbs
Hoping things would turn around,
And as a last-ditch effort, having been backed into a corner,
God finally succumbed to having to give Christ.
No, giving Christ was the plan was from the beginning.
IT WAS NOTHING SHORT OF THE SOVEREIGN GRACE OF GOD.
• He chose us knowing He would have to redeem us.
• He chose us knowing the cost.
• And He graciously proclaimed that He would pay it.
• The prophets announced it.
• Jesus Himself proclaimed.
John 3:16 “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.”
• And now, on this day Jesus was headed was headed to Jerusalem to fulfill it.
He was going to cash the check that God had written.
What a gracious God we serve.
Who would know what we are, and yet purposed to redeem us anyway.
A Sovereign Plan
#2 A SUBMISSIVE SERVANT
Luke 18:32-33
In case there was any confusion as to what Jesus meant
When He said all the prophets promised was about to be accomplished,
HERE HE SPELLED IT OUT.
• He wasn’t going to Jerusalem to be crowned King.
• He was going to Jerusalem to be crucified.
• AND HE KNEW IT
But despite knowing it, HE WENT ANYWAY.
Hebrews 12:2 “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
In full compliance He went to fulfill all that God had promised.
AND WE SEE SPELLED OUT FOR US WHAT THAT WAS.
1) “For He will be handed over to the Gentiles”
What does this mean except that He will be rejected by the Jews?
John 1:10-11 “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.”
Psalm 22 and Zechariah 13 both specifically indicate that
The death He would die must be by having His hands and feet pierced.
Psalms 22:16 “For dogs have surrounded me; A band of evildoers has encompassed me; They pierced my hands and my feet.”
If that is the case then we know the Jews aren’t going to kill Him.
• If the Jews had killed Him it would not have been through crucifixion.
• The Jewish method was stoning, which we already saw threatened several times.
Crucifixion was a Roman tactic.
Crucifixion was a Gentile form of death penalty.
Beyond that, Jews were not permitted to kill anyone
Since they were under Roman rule.
He had to be totally rejected so that He would be killed.
This is why He came.
John 12:27 “Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour.”
He became human and He lived on earth so that He could die.
Hebrews 2:14-15 “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.”
And if death was going to occur,
He had to be rejected by the Jews and handed over to the Gentiles.
We also understand He had to be rejected because
He was TAKING THE PLACE OF SINNERS and sinners were rejected.
• Do we not read in the Law that sinners must be stoned?
• Do we not read in the Law that sinners must be sent away?
• Do we not read that the evil must be purged from among you?
Just as the scapegoat had to be sent away and rejected for bearing sin,
SO DID JESUS.
This had to happen.
We also see:
2) “and will be mocked and mistreated and spit upon,”
Certainly the prophets spoke of this as well.
Isaiah 50:6 “I gave My back to those who strike Me, And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard; I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting.”
Psalms 22:6-7 “But I am a worm and not a man, A reproach of men and despised by the people. All who see me sneer at me; They separate with the lip, they wag the head,”
BUT WHY?
• Why not just let Him die in honor?
• Why not just let Him die a hero’s death?
Because He didn’t come to take the place of heroes.
He came to take the place of sinners.
And part of taking the place of sinners is that there is shame involved.
For we know that sinners aren’t just rejected,
We know they are also shamed.
Are we not told in the New Testament than when a brother or sister continues in sin that ultimately we are to treat them as a Gentile or a tax collector?
There is shame involved in sin.
Galatians 3:13 “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us — for it is written, “CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE”
If He was taking the place of sinners then He had to suffer like sinners.
• He had to be rejected.
• He had to be shamed.
Isaiah 53:4 “Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted.”
He had to be “handed over to the Gentiles, and…be mocked and mistreated and spit upon,”
3) (33) “and after they have scourged Him, they will kill Him;”
WHY DEATH?
Because the wages of sin is death.
Genesis 2:16-17 “The LORD God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”
Ezekiel 18:20 “The person who sins will die…”
And it was not enough simply to bleed a little.
It was not enough simply to suffer a little.
Our sentence was a death sentence
So His sentence had to be a death sentence.
If He was going to stand in our place, then He had to be treated as we deserved.
• He had to be rejected…
• He had to suffer…
• He had to die…
And this is where Jesus was headed.
And before we get to the final reality that would occur in Jerusalem
Can we just stop here a moment and ponder
THE STEADFAST LOVE OF JESUS.
I’m always blown away by the statement in John 13:1
John 13:1 “Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.”
• He loved them to the max.
• He loved them to the uttermost.
The youth have been studying the book of John.
• It is there in the upper room where Jesus lowers Himself to the point of a
servant to wash the feet of those who would betray and deny Him.
• It is there in the upper room where Jesus offers Himself to Judas and tells
Him, “what you do, do quickly”
He knew what was coming.
It would be torment so severe that we read statements like:
John 12:27 “Now My soul has become troubled…
John 13:21 “When Jesus had said this, He became troubled in spirit, and testified and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, that one of you will betray Me.”
Or the infamous:
Luke 22:44 “And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground.”
And even now, He’s the only One in the group who knows what is coming And yet it is He who makes the statement “we are going up to Jerusalem”
Can we contemplate the steadfast love of Jesus?
• Can we see how committed He was to our cause?
• Can we see His devotion to bear our reproach, our shame, our sin, and our
condemnation?
There is no greater love than the love He willingly showed on our behalf.
The sovereign God of the universe
Graciously determined to sacrifice His Son to redeem us,
And His submissive Son lovingly embraced that plan.
If we were to be saved, it had to happen.
But it didn’t end in death.
4) “and the third day He will rise again.”
Of course you know this also had to happen.
If it didn’t, then we have no assurance that His death was effective.
• We know He was sinless…
• We know He was accepted by God…
• We know death was conquered…
• Because Jesus rose from the dead.
Romans 4:25 “He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.”
This also had to happen.
• But before He could rise, He had to die.
• Before He could die, He had to suffer.
• Before He could suffer, He had to be rejected.
• Before He could be rejected, He had to go to Jerusalem.
And in His great love and submission that’s exactly what He did.
Our salvation was determined by a sovereign God
And purchased through a loving Savior.
That is the truth about the cross.
• He didn’t die for His sin, He died for our sin.
• He didn’t die as a hero, but as a sinner because He was dying in our place.
• He was bearing our sin and our shame.
• He was suffering our rejection.
• He was enduring the wrath of God on our behalf.
And if we were to be saved, it had to happen.
This is what it means to comprehend the cross.
And yet we come to one final point.
A Sovereign Plan, A Submissive Servant
#3 SIMPLE-MINDED DISCIPLES
Luke 18:34
And Luke doesn’t mention it once, but three times in that verse.
• “the disciples understood none…”
• “this statement was hidden form them”
• “they did not comprehend”
The statement repeated 3 times leaves no doubt that
They did not have a clue why Jesus would say such a thing.
Now Luke does not include what they talked about next,
But Matthew and Mark do and it solidifies how little of a clue they had.
Matthew 20:20-21 “Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus with her sons, bowing down and making a request of Him. And He said to her, “What do you wish?” She said to Him, “Command that in Your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit one on Your right and one on Your left.”
Mark 10:35-37 “James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, came up to Jesus, saying, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.” And He said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?” They said to Him, “Grant that we may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory.”
That definitely qualifies as being clueless.
Here Jesus just revealed
• The sovereign plan of God to save sinners through the sacrifice of His Son,
• And His loving submission to that plan.
And the first response of the disciples
Is to jockey for position in the kingdom?
CLUELESS
BUT THERE IS A BIGGER ISSUE HERE
Than just disciples that don’t pay attention.
• Why is it that they did not comprehend that God had ordained for
Jesus to die?
• Why is it that they did not comprehend the necessity of Christ’s
death?
Well there are two reasons.
(and these hold true for all men)
There were two things that they could not have understood,
For if they had understood them
Then the cross would have made perfect sense.
1) THEY DID NOT UNDERSTAND THE DEGREE OF THEIR OWN SIN AND THE DEGREE OF GOD’S WRATH UPON IT.
When Jesus speaks of the necessity of His own death they don’t get it,
But it’s only because they don’t understand
Just how much danger they are in before God.
In fact, James and John seem to think they’re the best two in the group.
(Their mother certainly thinks that)
• They were obviously clueless to how sinful they were before God.
• They were obviously clueless to how God hated their sin.
• They were obviously clueless to the death sentence they were under.
• Do they not understand that they are hell-bound?
• Do they not understand that God’s wrath abides on them?
• Do they not understand that judgment is their lot?
If they think they can go to heaven without the death of Jesus,
They obviously don’t understand the degree of their own sin.
2) THEY DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE INEFFECTIVENESS OF THE LAW OR THEIR WORKS TO OBEY IT.
Perhaps this is why they don’t understand the degree of their sin.
They put far too much confidence both in their flesh
(ability to live righteous)
And far too much confidence in the goats and bulls they have offered.
Why else would they assume they have the right
To sit on the right and on the left in the kingdom?
They obviously have way overestimated
The value of the goats and bulls they have sacrificed.
• For if they had understood how ineffective those sacrifices were…
• If they had understood how sinful they actually were before God…
• Then the need for the cross would have been far more apparent to them.
If they think they can go to heaven without the death of Jesus,
They obviously think way too much of their ability to fulfill God’s Law.
They obviously had failed to rightly assess
The danger of their own situation.
Isaiah 53:1-4 “Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted.”
Isaiah said the reason people don’t get it
Is because they can’t see their own sinfulness.
John would later echo that reality.
John 12:37-38 “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?”
People just don’t see how badly they need a savior
And so the cross makes no sense to them.
And this is interesting regarding the disciples.
• Especially since just last week we made the point about their desperation and how they had left everything to follow Jesus because they were so desperate for eternal life.
But now we are seeing more of the picture.
• They sought life through Jesus because He was the only One who could give it.
• What they had yet failed to understand is that without Jesus they not only would not have a kingdom, but they would actually have eternal judgment.
They didn’t just need Jesus to usher them into the kingdom.
They needed Jesus to rescue them from eternal hell.
Because they had yet to see that, they had yet to understand the cross.
IN ORDER TO FULLY COMPREHEND THE CROSS
You must understand that it is the only way for you to be saved.
You must understand that all of His rejection and suffering and death
Is because that is what you deserve and were destined to receive.
SOMEONE HAD TO PAY FOR OUR SIN…CHRIST DID.
That is comprehending the cross.
And this morning we come to a time to commemorate that.
• We come to the Table of the Lord where we partake of this juice and this cracker which symbolize His body and His blood.
And we partake as if to say,
“What You did, You did for me, Your suffering was my fault.”
And we partake in trust knowing that
Through His suffering we are forgiven and we are saved.
We are going to have a time of preparation, and then we will partake of the Table of the Lord.
