A Foreordained Sending Series

The Master’s Plan of Sacrifice:

A FOREORDAINED SENDING

Perth Bible Church, Palm Sunday April 5, 2009 Rev. Todd G. Leupold

INTRODUCTION:

VIDEO: “Palm Sunday Intro”

Yes, the King is here . . . but who sent Him? When was this all actually decided and planned? For what purpose? What were the expected results?

As we celebrate the Passion and Resurrection of Christ this year, it is my desire for us all (myself included) to better understand these events in light of God’s divine plan and sovereignty. At the center of all of these events is the Sacrifice of Christ upon the cross of Calvary. While many have chosen to look at these events as God’s ’last ditch effort’ to save humanity after a series of so-called misses, Scripture is very clear that this is far from the truth. Rather, God’s perfect and divine revelation recorded in Scripture, outlines these events as being exactly according to The Master’s Plan of Sacrifice that He established before time and has been unfolding perfecting throughout the ages.

This season, then, we will explore the Scriptures to see how the precise Sending of Christ, His coming as our Savior, the work of His Salvation, and the Service for which He has saved and empowered us have all progressed exactly as The Master had planned from before time and His Word has prophesied. Our focus this morning, will be upon the Master’s Foreordained Sending of the Son for Sacrifice.

PRAYER

As planned from The Beginning, Jesus was sent in order to . . .

I.) EMBODY GOD BEFORE MANKIND

Jesus, the incarnate God-man, enabled all humanity to see and understand God in a more familiar and tangible way. Jesus was, as some have put it, “God with skin on.”

In addition, He represented for us what a human life would look like if it were perfectly aligned with the Spirit and character of God.

Matthew 1:21-23 She will give birth to a son, and you are to name Him Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins." Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet (Isaiah 7:14): See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name Him Immanuel, which is translated "God is with us."

Matthew 4:12-17 When He heard that John had been arrested, He withdrew into Galilee . . . This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah (9:1-2): Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, along the sea road, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles! The people who live in darkness have seen a great light, and for those living in the shadowland of death, light has dawned. From then on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near!"

Luke 4:17-20 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to Him, and unrolling the scroll, He found the place (Isaiah 61:1-2) where it was written: The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. And the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on Him.

From the beginning, Father God planned for the day He would send His Son Jesus to embody His goodness and holiness before humanity.

II.) EXPERIENTALLY RELATE TO HUMANITY

Second, Jesus was sent – according to plan – in order to experientially relate to humanity.

That is, to experience what we experience and demonstrate to us that He truly does understand our trials and struggles.

Isaiah 53:2-9 He grew up before Him like a young plant and like a root out of dry ground. He had no form or splendor that we should look at Him, no appearance that we should desire Him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of suffering who knew what sickness was. He was like one people turned away from; He was despised, and we didn’t value Him. Yet He Himself bore our sicknesses, and He carried our pains; but we in turn regarded Him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But He was pierced because of our transgressions, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on Him, and we are healed by His wounds . . . He was taken away because of oppression and judgment; and who considered His fate? For He was cut off from the land of the living; He was struck because of My people’s rebellion. They made His grave with the wicked, and with a rich man at His death, although He had done no violence and had not spoken deceitfully.