Sunday, March 13, 2016

Sermon Series The last Week of Jesus Earthly Ministry Part 1



2016.03.13                     Jesus Predicts His Death
                       Luke 18: 31- 34
We are approaching Resurrection Sunday… Because we just finished Ephesians I want to take this opportunity to look at the last week of Jesus earthly ministry… In Luke ch 9 v 51… we read that… Jesus set His face toward Jerusalem… The  cross moved Him in that direction…  The cross is the purpose for which He came… He said… The Son of man came not to be served... but to serve… and to give His life a ransom for many… Matt 20:28…  From the very beginning… The shadow of the cross was over the manger…  He was Jesus…. Immanuel… God incarnate… He came to save us from our sins… by offering the full and final and perfect sacrifice for sin… Since the day He was born… The Shadow of the cross was over his life… Jesus ministry has always been about the cross…As we look at this final week in Jesus´ earthly ministry… 
I want to ask us all a question…. What does it really mean to deny ourselves… and take up our cross daily and follow Jesus…  What does that mean for us today here In Wiesbaden? Think about that as we study this morning…
I believe that we will learn some wonderful things about our Redeemer this morning… After all… That´s why we are here in the church… To get to know him better… And serve him with our whole hearts… To proclaim the Good News to the lost…  And of course to love and encourage each other…
We will begin our study of the last week of Jesus´earthly ministry… by looking at Luke ch 18 as Jesus predicts his death and resurrection
Jesus has set his face toward Jerusalem…. He looks ahead now… to Calvary and to the resurrection…  Listen to what He said... Luke 18:31…
Luke 18: 31- 34                         NKJV
31 Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished. 32 For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon. 33 They will scourge Him and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.”34 But they understood none of these things; this saying was hidden from them, and they did not know the things which were spoken.
Luke 18: 31- 34                         Schlachter 2000
31 Er nahm aber die Zwölf zu sich und sprach zu ihnen: Siehe, wir ziehen hinauf nach Jerusalem, und es wird alles erfüllt werden, was durch die Propheten über den Sohn des Menschen geschrieben ist;
32 denn er wird den Heiden ausgeliefert und verspottet und mißhandelt und angespuckt werden;
33 und sie werden ihn geißeln und töten, und am dritten Tag wird er wieder auferstehen.
34 Und sie verstanden nichts davon, und dieses Wort war ihnen zu geheimnisvoll, und sie begriffen das Gesagte nicht.
As we look at this prediction of Jesus suffering as the Lamb of God… I want us to notice 3 things……
1 Jesus is Fulfilling every Prophesy…. Both of Suffering and Glory
2 Jesus is accomplishing God´s plan from eternity past
3 Jesus will willingly lay down his life
Some so called theologians…. Unbelievers who became Bible Critics… love to portray Jesus as a victim… they picture Jesus as a good man… As someone who really wanted to liberate His people…   But it all ended in tragedy… Not way that He expected……
Well nothing is further from the truth……. He came into this world….. a real human baby born in a manger… He came to perfectly fulfill His Father's will…
Jesus came to die…   He knew every detail about His own death… He knew because He was God…  
He knows the end from the beginning… This plan began in the mind of the Trinity before time began… from before the foundation of the world… Because He is the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world… Rev.13:8… He knew it because He knew the scriptures… He understood perfectly the meaning of every prophesy… He came to die as predicted… He came to fulfill every single detail…….
The Lord Jesus laid out these details before they happened… He made three specific references to His arrest and His death… His ministry on earth is nearly finished…
In a few days He will enter Jerusalem…… and a week after that He will die and rise again… This is the end… We have finally come to the great climax of the earthy ministry of the Lord Jesus  Soon we will witness the agony of His death on the cross….. and the Glory that awaits Him in His Resurrection from the dead… And we will see His great and final victory over sin and death… The  disciples are the main focus of His ministry as He approaches the final events… He wants them to know that… This death on the cross is the plan… He speaks clearly of His suffering He wants them to know the facts… So that they will not be surprised…   
First let´s look at the plan of suffering, verse 31……
He took the Twelve aside…… pulling them apart from the large crowd following Him……. He is accompanied not only by the Twelve but by a very large crowd….. The crowd following Jesus is even larger than normal… because this is Passover… and they are all headed to Jerusalem for the Passover… Look at verse 31…
Luke 18:31                     NKJV    Schlachter 2000
31 Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished.
31 Er nahm aber die Zwölf zu sich und sprach zu ihnen: Siehe, wir ziehen hinauf nach Jerusalem, und es wird alles erfüllt werden, was durch die Propheten über den Sohn des Menschen geschrieben ist;
According to Marks account… The disciples are amazed and afraid because the timing seems so bad…  Because all they can see everywhere is hostility… They still think He's going to go to Jerusalem to establish His Kingdom… and it looks impossible… The leaders of Judaism are trying to kill Him by now….  And so the 12 Follow Jesus reluctantly… They are fearful… Please notice that there's no hesitation in His words……  Jesus tells them…..
We go so that all things can be accomplished…..
It was all in God´s plan… It is God who is the primary cause of the sufferings of Christ… The Jewish leaders and the Romans did the work… but they were following God´s plan…
Jesus was not a victim…   Things did not go wrong… It was all planned by God… Everything was prophesied and pictured clearly in the Old Testament…. Even in the   sacrificial system… We can look in many OT passages…
For example… Isaiah 52 and 53… Which provides the most complete picture of the sufferings of the Lord Jesus on the cross than anywhere in the Bible…  Psalm 22, Zechariah 12, And others all  provide details… In fact all the pictures of the Old Testament sacrifices provide details… Pointing to a final complete Sacrifice… The suffering servant… The Lamb of God… Jesus…  Who once and for all would be the Final sacrifice for sin… It's all part of the Fathers plan… 
He knew exactly what Scripture said…  He knows He is going to Jerusalem to lay down His life…      
Jesus made three specific prophesies of His own death…  Jesus spoke about His coming suffering and death to prepare the Disciples… Luke 9…
He is giving them lots of details…He has already said He is going to be handed over…  He's going to be delivered to the leaders…..  He's going to suffer…  And He's going to be killed… And of course… He has told them that He is going to rise from the dead… 
The heart of the Christian faith is the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ… And everything in the history of redemption moves toward the cross…    Jesus truly was the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world… Rev 13:8…   He is the perfect  sacrifice…  
Let's talk more about God´s plan of suffering Luke 18… verse 31…… 
Luke 18: 31      NKJV  Schlachter 2000
31 Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished.
31 Er nahm aber die Zwölf zu sich und sprach zu ihnen: Siehe, wir ziehen hinauf nach Jerusalem, und es wird alles erfüllt werden, was durch die Propheten über den Sohn des Menschen geschrieben ist;
He says it to them privately… They need to understand this… They need to know that this is all part of God´s plan…  He warned them to prepare them… Because all things need to be fulfilled…  He goes on to tell them what is said through the prophets…  so there will be no mistaking that He knew every detail…
It was Passover season…...  And every Passover everybody went to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover…..  So that is not unusual……  What they didn't know was that this year….. He would be the Passover Lamb… They did not understand that He would be the final offering… And the only sacrifice that would ever satisfy God… and that…  by that sacrifice He would bring to an end the whole sacrificial system…  They need to understand this… Because they will be His first apostles and evangelists…  and they need to know that these things were planned and fulfilled exactly…  One of the reasons they need to know it… Is because it will be so hard for them to grasp the truth that Jesus the  Messiah must die… it wasn't in their plans…   
 They didn't get that part of the picture  And now with so much danger…. Why was it necessary to go to Jerusalem for the Passover… The timing couldn't be worse…  the leadership of Israel was more and more and more hostile toward Jesus… And to be told that Jesus would be betrayed and die there?... no way… They would not let that happen…!    Of course Jesus knows their fears…  He knows their misconceptions… He knows they haven't been able to grasp this whole concept of the cross… Even though he has told them many times… They just don't get it…
So Jesus understands that they are afraid They were confused… Because they understood that Jesus was walking right in to the arms of His enemies…   
So, Jesus pulls them aside and says… Listen don´t freak out… I know it's a shock… but we're going up to Jerusalem… This is God's plan and Jesus knew it  He knew exactly that it meant His death on the cross… In fact that is why He went… 
We're going to fulfill prophecy…   Prophesy about the Son of Man… which is a Messianic title pointing to His humanity… but the phrase Son of Man also points to His deity… it's taken from Daniel 7:13 where it is the term used to refer to the Messiah……. In this text… the Son of Man… receives His eternal Kingdom from the Father…….  So it's not just a term of humility and humanity…. it's also a term of exaltation and deity as well……..  He says we're going so that the Son of Man can claim   His Kingdom… This event, the cross…  is the high point of Scripture…  It is the primary event in biblical history… and therefore it is the primary event in all of history…  And the Old Testament predicted it… and predicted details about it that no one could know… Many of these things were carried out by pagans who knew nothing about the Scripture…  If we look back to the beginning…. To Genesis… We  begin to see the first signs of the cross in Genesis chapter 3…  As I said earlier… It is pictured in every animal sacrifice in the scriptures….
As we think about the Cross in the Scriptures… We are talking about the Doctrine of Substitutionary Atonement…  We go to the Word of God… and think about the many atoning sacrifices…     Beginning with Adam and Eve…  we learned that sacrifice covers the guilt of sin… The Lord himself covered their nakedness with the skins of animals… From Abraham we learned that the proper sacrifice will be provided by God…...  In the Passover celebration… we learn that the sacrificial lamb must to be without spot or blemish… and that The blood of the lamb protects all that are sheltered in the house… The blood of the lamb saves them from death and produces life…  And finally… from the central place of sacrifices in the national life of Israel… There were sacrifices daily in the temple… And so we understand… Through the sacrificial system… #1 the critical importance of sacrifice… and #2 the reality that there never is a totally satisfying sacrifice…  And all this prepares us for the one sacrifice which ends all sacrifices… All these things were temporary… And they all pointed to the cross… They pointed to the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the World... The final permanent sacrifice…. Offered by God's chosen substitute…  The Lamb without blemish and without spot… He provides for us the only way to God… and the only covering for the guilt of sin……
It is Jesus the Messiah… The perfect sacrifice… He redeems us from our sin and rebellion…  He gives us eternal life…
The Lord Jesus knows all of this… He knows the scriptures…  In fact… as we shall see later  after the resurrection……  He  says to the disciples, "How is it that you don't know what the Old Testament says?  That I must suffer." Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?”
There were many Old Testament prophecies about the Suffering Servant….. The Messiah……  I'm not going to go through all of them…. There are at least 365 of them…. One for every day of the year…
But let´s look for a moment at a few of the passages about the Suffering Servant of the LordThe Lamb of God… Psalm 22…  Psalm 22 is a powerful Psalm……  It begins this way, verse 1….
Psalm 22:1a                      NKJV   Schlachter 2000
1a My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?
2a Mein Gott, mein Gott, warum hast du mich verlassen?
These are the very words that Jesus spoke on the cross……  Now look at verse 14…. It describes crucifixion
Psalm 22: 14- 18       NKJV  slt 2000
14 I am poured out like water, And all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It has melted within Me.
15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And My tongue clings to My jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death.
16 For dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me.They pierced My hands and My feet;
17 I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me.
18 They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.
14 Sie sperren ihr Maul gegen mich auf wie ein reißender und brüllender Löwe.
15 Ich bin ausgeschüttet wie Wasser, und alle meine Gebeine sind ausgerenkt. Mein Herz ist geworden wie Wachs, zerschmolzen in meinem Innern.
16 Meine Kraft ist vertrocknet wie eine Scherbe, und meine Zunge klebt an meinem Gaumen, und du legst mich in den Staub des Todes.
17 Denn Hunde umringen mich, eine Rotte von Übeltätern umgibt mich; sie haben meine Hände und meine Füße durchgraben.
18 Ich kann alle meine Gebeine zählen; sie schauen her und sehen mich [schadenfroh] an.
What amazing details about the Cross… This deed was carried out by the Romans… They knew nothing about Scripture…  In Isaiah 52 and 53… We have an awesome Messianic passage… We read about the Atonement… We see a perfect substitute… The Lord Jesus… He would die in our place…..for sin… The perfect and final sacrifice… Look with me at Isaiah 53… Starting at verse 4…
Isaiah 53: 4- 11               NKJV   slt 2000
4 Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth.
8 He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.
9 And they made His grave with the wicked— But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth.
10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.
11 He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,
For He shall bear their iniquities.

Isaiah 53: 4- 11              Schlachter 2000
4 Fürwahr, er hat unsere Krankheit getragen und unsere Schmerzen auf sich geladen; wir aber hielten ihn für bestraft, von Gott geschlagen und niedergebeugt.
5 Doch er wurde um unserer Übertretungen willen durchbohrt, wegen unserer Missetaten zerschlagen; die Strafe lag auf ihm, damit wir Frieden hätten, und durch seine Wunden sind wir geheilt worden.
6 Wir alle gingen in die Irre wie Schafe, jeder wandte sich auf seinen Weg; aber der Herr warf unser aller Schuld auf ihn.
7 Er wurde mißhandelt, aber er beugte sich und tat seinen Mund nicht auf, wie ein Lamm, das zur Schlachtbank geführt wird, und wie ein Schaf, das verstummt vor seinem Scherer und seinen Mund nicht auftut.
8 Infolge von Drangsal und Gericht wurde er weggenommen; wer will aber sein Geschlecht beschreiben? Denn er wurde aus dem Land der Lebendigen weggerissen; wegen der Übertretung meines Volkes hat ihn Strafe4 getroffen.
9 Und man bestimmte sein Grab bei Gottlosen, aber bei einem Reichen [war er] in seinem Tod, weil er kein Unrecht getan hatte und kein Betrug in seinem Mund gewesen war.
10 Aber dem Herrn gefiel es, ihn zu zerschlagen; er ließ ihn leiden. Wenn er sein Leben zum Schuldopfer gegeben hat, so wird er Nachkommen sehen und seine Tage verlängern; und das Vorhaben des Herrn wird in seiner Hand gelingen.
11 Nachdem seine Seele Mühsal erlitten hat, wird er seine Lust sehen und die Fülle haben; durch seine Erkenntnis wird mein Knecht, der Gerechte, viele gerecht machen, und ihre Sünden wird er tragen.
verse 10 says He would be a guilt offering…Then it says that God  was pleased to crush Him… He will prolong His days… This points to the resurrection…   And as a result, verse 11, "Of the anguish of His soul will see it and be satisfied.  And by His knowledge, the Righteous One, My servant, will justify the many." 
He will provide the sacrifice that produces the  justification of everyone who repents of their sins and cries out to Him… and after suffering a terrible death on the Cross… He will rise from the dead and see the redemption of sinners… and be satisfied…  He will receive a portion with the great because He poured out Himself to death and bore the sin of many…
Zechariah tells us about the cross too……
Zechariah 12: 10               NKJV
10 “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.
Zechariah 12: 10               Schlachter 2000
 10 Aber über das Haus David und über die Einwohner von Jerusalem will ich den Geist der Gnade und des Gebets ausgießen, und sie werden auf mich sehen, den sie durchstochen haben, ja, sie werden um ihn klagen, wie man klagt um den eingeborenen [Sohn], und sie werden bitterlich über ihn Leid tragen, wie man bitterlich Leid trägt über den Erstgeborenen.
Remember… The Jews didn't crucify people… They stoned them to death… That is what the scribes and Pharisees wanted to do… They were prevented from killing Jesus in this way…  The death of Christ on the cross was not an  accident……    It is the fulfillment of the very plan and purpose of God……   
Turn to John 10…..verse 11….
John 10:11                    NKJV Schlachter 2000
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.
11 Ich bin der gute Hirte; der gute Hirte läßt sein Leben für die Schafe.   
Then in verse 17 we read….
John 10: 17,18     NKJV  Schlachter 2000
17 “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. 18 No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.”
17 Darum liebt mich der Vater, weil ich mein Leben lasse, damit ich es wieder nehme.
18 Niemand nimmt es von mir, sondern ich lasse es von mir aus. Ich habe Vollmacht, es zu lassen, und habe Vollmacht, es wieder zu nehmen. Diesen Auftrag habe ich von meinem Vater empfangen.
He knew the kind of death He would die… Because it was all part of God´s divine plan…..
Peter wrote about the OT and the fact that the prophets themselves wanted to understand what they were writing about… Especially when they wrote about the Suffering´s of the Messiah… turn to… 1 Peter 1: 10….
1 Peter 1: 10,11       NKJV   Schlachter 2000
10 Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, 11 searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.
10 Wegen dieser Errettung haben die Propheten gesucht und nachgeforscht, die von der euch zuteil gewordenen Gnade geweissagt haben. 11 Sie haben nachgeforscht, auf welche und was für eine Zeit der Geist des Christus in ihnen hindeutete, der die für Christus bestimmten Leiden und die darauf folgenden Herrlichkeiten zuvor bezeugte.
When we study Messianic Prophesy… There are these 2  categories that the prophets wrote about....... #1suffering and #2 glory……  You can go through the Old Testament and find lots about the Messiah´s Glory… The Messiah King and His Kingdom…  It's in here…  Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Isaiah and many other places speak of the Glory of the Messiah…  The sufferings are here too…  Generally speaking the Jews had a hard time with the suffering parts… They could not understand them… Even though the entire OT system of sacrifice pointed to the final atonement of Christ… Even today… They seem leave out the suffering parts of the prophesies of the Messiah… 
There are some people who think that Jesus came to offer a Kingdom to Israel… and if Israel had accepted Him as Messiah….. there wouldn't have been a need for a cross….. No! It was not the kingdom or the Cross…  It was the cross…
He came to offer a Kingdom through… or by way of…  the cross… His entry into Jerusalem is described in Zechariah 9… even down to the colt that He would ride on… The rage and hatred of His enemies is described in Psalm 2…  His desertion by His friends is in Zechariah 13:7…  "When the Shepherd is smitten, the sheep are scattered… Zechariah is  talking about how the disciples will all flee…  His betrayal for 30 pieces of silver is stated in Zechariah 11:12…  And as I read, His piercing in Psalm 22…  Exodus 12:46 and Psalm 34:20 says, "Not a bone of His body would be broken," and we know that was fulfilled…  They didn't break His legs… which they usually did to speed up death, because He was already dead…  Psalm 22:18 said they would cast lots for His garments……  Psalm 69:21 says they would give Him vinegar to drink…...  Psalm 22:1, as I read you, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me," indicates His cry of distress…
All these things are laid out in the scriptures…  And the OT also prophesies that He would rise from the dead, Psalm 16:10, "Thou would not allow Thy Holy One to see corruption, but will show Him the path of life…     It was John the Baptist who announced Jesus with these words…"Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world…

That's chapter 1 of John……. It was clear to John… And it was clear to Jesus that He was the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world…   
So that's the plan….. The Son of man will suffer and die… Back to Luke 18… We will look again at Jesus prophesy of his suffering and death…. And resurrection… look at verses 32 and 33……
Luke 18: 32, 33          NKJV  Schlachter 2000
32 For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon. 33 They will scourge Him and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.”
32 denn er wird den Heiden ausgeliefert und verspottet und mißhandelt und angespuckt werden; 33 und sie werden ihn geißeln und töten, und am dritten Tag wird er wieder auferstehen.
 look at the details here…..  "He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and mistreated and spit upon.  After they have scourged Him, they will kill Him and the third day He will rise again." 
So when He says it's time for the Son of Man to go to Jerusalem so everything can be fulfilled… He is right on schedule…They had a fake trial…   then they Condemned Him to death… they couldn't kill Him so they had to  deliver Him to the Gentiles… The Romans had the power to execute Him…  And once the Gentiles followed through… He was mocked… spit on… beaten and finally killed…  And third day He arose again  Jesus prophesies perfectly… Just exactly the way it happened…
Well… The disciples followed Jesus to Jerusalem… And in time… They also picked up their crosses and followed Him… Many of them suffered and died for the sake of the Gospel… Heaven is full of great men and women of God who gave everything for Him… Turn to Hebrews in closing today….
CLOSE
Hebrews 12: 1- 3         NKJV
12 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.
Hebrews 12: 1- 3         Schlachter 2000
1 Da wir nun eine solche Wolke von Zeugen um uns haben, so laßt uns jede Last ablegen und die Sünde, die uns so leicht umstrickt, und laßt uns mit Ausdauer1 laufen in dem Kampf, der vor uns liegt,
2 indem wir hinschauen auf Jesus, den Anfänger und Vollender des Glaubens, der um der vor ihm liegenden Freude willen das Kreuz erduldete und dabei die Schande für nichts achtete, und der sich zur Rechten des Thrones Gottes gesetzt hat.
3 Achtet doch auf ihn, der solchen Widerspruch3 von den Sündern gegen sich erduldet hat, damit ihr nicht müde werdet und den Mut verliert!
As I began this sermon today… I asked the question… What does it mean to deny yourself and take up your cross daily?  I think that this sermon and this text from Hebrews gives us a start in the right direction… Let´s pray…

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