JESUS GAVE HIS LIFE AS A RANSOM (Outline)
March 14, 2010 -
Lent 4 -
MATTHEW 20:17-28
INTRO: The mission of Christ while living on earth was to obey his Father’s will. Jesus was the King of kings even while living on earth covered with human flesh. Jesus also came to earth to live as God’s Servant to save sinners. Here is the kernel of the Christian faith. Jesus, true God and true man, gave his life as ransom. By this ransom payment Jesus carried out his Father’s will. By this redeeming work Jesus brought glory to his Father’s name. "No man can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for him--the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough--that he should live on forever and not see decay" (PSALM 49:7-9). We are saved by grace – God’s free, undeserved love. God’s ransom through Christ frees us from slavery to sin and Satan.
JESUS GAVE HIS LIFE AS A RANSOM.
I. The Son of Man served to save.
II. Christians are saved to serve.
I. THE SON OF MAN SERVED TO SAVE
A. Verse 17. The end of Jesus’ visible, earthly ministry was quickly drawing to its fulfillment.
1. Verse 18a. Jesus was preparing his disciples for his coming betrayal to the church leaders.
2. Verse 18b. Jesus would be betrayed. The church leaders would condemn Jesus to death.
B. Verse 19a. The Gentiles = Roman government in charge would carry out the church’s death sentence.
1. The soldiers would mock Jesus. The guards would beat Jesus. Jesus would be crucified.
2. Verse 19b. Jesus would rise again. No one could stop Jesus’ resurrection. His life = ransom.
C. Verse 28. Jesus obediently served his Father’s will. Jesus saved mankind by his death + resurrection.
D. Here is the King of kings and our Lord of lords living as a servant. This was hard for the people of Jesus’ day to understand. They wanted Jesus to be that King who drove out the Romans. The greatness of Jesus was not in the absolute, divine power that was his. Instead the greatness of Jesus was in his humble, obedient attitude that was needed to save mankind. "(Jesus) made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death--even death on a cross!"(PHILIPPIANS 2:7,8). Jesus’ dieing for us would remind us of his great sacrifice on our behalf. The death of Jesus was on a cross. This was terrible torture to hang for hours – dieing. Such was the ransom required to pay for our sins.
E. Every time we study closely the life and death of Jesus we are more and more amazed. God sent his Son to do all of this for us. We do not deserve such a display of unconditional love. God displays love. Jesus lived on earth and “hid” his divinity in human flesh and blood. Just think about how much effort it took on behalf of Jesus to keep all of his divine glory and power from being seen. Moses’ face glowed after seeing the back parts of God. It is this same glory of God that lived in the man, Jesus. Rather than rule as king Jesus served as a servant to save mankind. "Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (ROMANS 5:7,8). Still sinners – God shows love.
F. There is not one of us who are exempt from sinning. We are conceived in sin. We begin our lives in sin with our birth into sin. Sin corrupts our daily thoughts, words, and actions. Out of his great love for us God does not leave us to perish. Out of his great love for us God saves us from our own destructive, sinful actions and lives. "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all" (ISAIAH 53:6). On our own we would wander away and be lost – forever. Out of his great love for us God provides the Good Shepherd to serve his sheep. With his death Jesus, the servant-Shepherd, saves sheep forever. Jesus life is the perfect ransom.
JESUS GAVE HIS LIFE AS A RANSOM.
The Son of Man served to save mankind.
II. CHRISTIANS ARE SAVED TO SERVE
A. Jesus takes his disciples aside to explain coming events: betrayal, mocking, death, and resurrection.
1. Verse 20. Jesus’ suffering approaches. A mother comes with misguided love for her two sons.
2. Verse 21. The mother wants her sons to sit at the two positions of honor in Jesus’ kingdom.
B. Verse 22. Jesus addresses the sons. Jesus speaks of his cup of suffering. They agree to drink of it.
1. Verse 23. The disciples would drink of suffering in standing up for Christ.
a. James is killed for his confession. b. John is exiled to live alone on an island.
2. Jesus hides his divinity. Only his Father would assign positions of honor to the ones he chose.
C. Verse 24. The two wanted more fame, honor, and glory than the others. This caused problems.
1. Verse 25. Jesus reminded the disciples of the Romans. Jews did not like their authority.
2. Verses 26, 27. The disciples ought not think like the world. The first will be last -- last, first.
D. Believers, our lives are and have been changed forever. Jesus came to this earth to serve us, his creation that brought sin into a once perfect world. Amazing. Knowing this great grace of the Lord God Almighty causes us to look at and live life much differently than countless thousands who still sit in darkness. Our example or role model in life is the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus’ example is not as a regal king but as a humble servant of God’s love. "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God" (EPHESIANS 5:1,2). Notice that God always gives his perfect reason for the believer to live as a believer. “Christ loved us and gave himself up for us”. This is why we want to imitate God as his children.
E. There is a vast difference between those who imitate God and those who follow the wicked ways in this world. People in this world and of this world keep very busy looking out for their own interests. They care little about what is right or wrong. All too many today determine what is right according to their own, selfish standards and attitudes. Not so the believer who knows that Jesus gave his life as a ransom. Again, the Savior-servant has changed our hearts and very lives. "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed" (1 PETER 2:24). As believers we do know the difference between what is right and what is wrong. Rather than walking in darkness we want to walk in the light and what is right in God’s sight!
F. All that we do that is right in God’s sight we do because of Christ. “Without faith it is impossible to please God”. Today, every day, we live by faith. Every day and into eternity we strive to do everything which is right in God’s sight. Do we or can we do all of this on our own? Hardly. Rather we see what Christ has done for us so that we might live for him. "Jesus Christ gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good" (TITUS 2:14). Jesus gave his life as a ransom. As believers we are now “eager to do what is good". Check your newspapers or other news to see all those “eager to do what is good". You may not read or hear about too many. God knows those who are his and those who do his will out of love for him and others.
CONC.: Jesus was not ashamed to obey his Father’s will and willingly serve for the sake of saving mankind. We do not deserve such love. We cannot buy God’s forgiveness. Nor dare we ever think that we can earn eternity. We are saved by grace, by grace alone. We are thankful and rejoice. "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich" (2 CORINTHIANS 8:9). JESUS GAVE HIS LIFE AS A RANSOM. Jesus served to save us from slavery to sin. As Christians we are now saved to serve God and others because of the great love God has shown each one of us. Amen. Pastor Timm O. Meyer
LENT 4 rdgs:
ISAIAH 12:1-6;
1 CORINTHIANS 10:18-25;
LUKE 15:1-3, 11-32;
(PSALM 32)
SERVICES: 1:00pm @ NCF Min. (Sat)/12:00pm @ NCF Medium (Sun) / 9:30am @ Redeemer (Sun) / 7:00pm @ Hays (Sun)
BIBLE STUDIES: 10:55am @ Redeemer (SUN) / 6:00pm (Min) + 7:30pm (Med) @ NCF (TUES.)
/ Sunday radio broadcast @ 9:05am on KQNK 106.7FM or 1530AM
