All Things Written Series

ALL THINGS WRITTEN

Text: Luke 18:31-34

Introduction

1. Illustration: Old Testament scholar Christopher Wright states in his book Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament, "I find myself aware that in reading the Hebrew Scriptures, I am handling something that gives me a closer link with Jesus than any archaeological artifact could do...Above all, this is where he found the shape of his own identity and the goal of his own mission. In short, the deeper you go into understanding the Old Testament, the closer you come to the heart of Jesus...For it saddens me that so many Christians in these days love Jesus but know so little about who he thought he was and what he had come to do." (Wright, Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament, ix).

2. A while ago, I preached to you a sermon about seeing Jesus in the OT. In fact, the quote I just read to you, I read to you then. I used it again because it is so relevant to our text today.

3. The things that Jesus knew about himself and the thing he said and did can be traced back to what the OT prophets said about him.

4. Read Luke 18:31-34

Transition: The first thing that Jesus said about himself in our text is…

I. Jesus’ Death Was a Necessity (31-32).

A. Predictions of the Prophets

1. Luke begins this section with “Taking the twelve disciples aside, Jesus said, “Listen, we’re going up to Jerusalem, where all the predictions of the prophets concerning the Son of Man will come true.”

a. This is the third time that Jesus predicts his own death. However, this time it is specifically for his twelve disciples.

b. He wanted to prepare them for what is coming. He wanted them to know that what was about to happen to him and been planned for thousands of years.

c. He tells them that “all the predictions about the Son of Man will come true.” By “the prophets” he is referring to the entire OT.

d. Several years ago, I was honored to have lunch with one of my heroes in the faith, a scholar named Dr. Stanley Horton. He had taught Bible college for over 50 years. He told me his biggest thrill in his teaching ministry is when he saw the light come on in a student’s mind and they began to see that the Bible talks about Jesus from Genesis to Revelation!

e. The predictions about Jesus began in Genesis and continued throughout the OT. Many of these predictions concerned his passion, death, and resurrection.

f. He tells them they are going up to Jerusalem. This is a very appropriate way to refer to going to Jerusalem. It’s only 20 miles from Jericho, but it is 3,400 feet higher in elevation.

g. However, there is more to it than just geography, For Luke, Jerusalem is the place where the culmination of salvation history will take place. It is the Holy City, the City of David, and the place where the Temple is located.

h. This is the place where Jesus would die for all of humanity.

i. God has a plan, which he will orchestrate regardless of what people do.

j. At center of the plan is the suffering of the Son of Man, the Christ, for the salvation of the world.

2. Jesus continues to explain what will happen to him in Jerusalem. In v. 32 he says, “He will be handed over to the Romans, and he will be mocked, treated shamefully, and spit upon.”

a. The first time that Jesus talked about his upcoming death he focused on his rejection by the Jewish leaders.

b. The second time he focused on his betrayal by his friends.

c. This time his focus is on the involvement of the Romans in his crucifixion.

d. While he would be rejected by the Jewish authorities, they were powerless to kill him because they were subject to the Roman law.

e. The Jews could punish lesser crimes, but only the Roman governor could authorize capital punishment.

f. The phrase “will be handed over,” refers to the fact that this is done with God’s permission. God would allow the Jews to hand Jesus over to the Romans.

g. Once in the hands of the Romans, he would be mocked (made fun of and laughed at), he would be treated shamefully, and spit upon.

h. This is the Son of Man, the Savior, the Christ, and he would be treated worse than a common criminal.

B. Without the Shedding of Blood

1. Illustration: “Before we can begin to see the cross as something done for us, we have to see it as something done by us.” (John Stott).

2. We are the reason for the cross. It was our sin that took Jesus there, but it was his love that kept him there.