(2 Peter 3:1-18)
Introduction:
Most people get in trouble when they only know irrelevant bits and pieces of the story. If you do not know the whole story, it is possible to spin it in any direction that you possibly can spin it. This is good for those who have a personal agenda in mind.
The more important the story, more important the details are of that story and the more devastating the outcome when key pieces are missing.
Luke establishes the purpose and the procedure of his writing this gospel. (1:1-4).
There is very little that we know about Luke.
Colossians 4:14, “Luke, the beloved physician…”
He was a frequent companion of the apostle Paul. Whether he came to saving faith in Christ through Paul’s ministry or not we are not told. But he seems to have been a very important part of Paul’s ministry team.
We also know that Luke wrote the book of Acts.
“The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which he was taken up, after that he filled the Holy Ghost had given commandment to the apostles whom he had chosen.”
Then he goes on and gives us the story of the church following the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. The book of Acts is one of the most important books in understanding the church as conceived by Christ and as developed by the apostle Paul.
The key verse in the gospel of Luke is 19:10, “For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
This verse gives us insight into the whole theme of the gospel of Luke. The theme of the gospel of Luke is the gospel of the Human Divine One, as the Gospel of John is of the Divine Human One.
Luke gives us the most comprehensive look at the mother of Jesus and his infancy and boyhood. The genealogy of Jesus, quite interesting, in Luke’s gospel is traced through Mary. There is a reason for that and when we come to that passage will delve into it.
Theme…
The purpose of Christ coming into this world was to so identify with mankind that he could lift mankind out of the despondency of sin and depravity.
If you had to come up with the most important aspect of the human side of the Lord Jesus Christ, what would you say? The gospel of Luke presents Jesus as God in the flesh. This has to be the most important aspect.
If God is going to reconcile man in a way that is going to bring permanence, legal and eternal relief to mankind has to come down to man’s level. No easy job.
We can sympathize with Christ hanging on the cross and understand the horrific agony that that brought to him. But we little realize what it meant for Christ to become a man. All the other Gospels have their place. Perhaps we could even say that the Gospel of John is the greatest of the Gospels but what we have here in the gospel of Luke is the unfolding of God’s great love for humanity. He was so great that he stepped out of eternity and fit himself into a vessel of clay in order to redeem all mankind.
Luke emphasizes the importance of his Gospel by saying, “it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.”
What is it that we will see throughout the gospel of Luke?
I believe it will all be boiled down to three important aspects.
I. The Divine Personality - “For the Son of Man…”
Luke clearly identifies Jesus Christ as the “Son of Man.”
In other places, the apostle Paul refers to him as the “second Adam.” This is what I believe Luke is getting at. Jesus Christ is the second Adam and as such has come to undo everything the first Adam did.
The plight of humanity is a downward spiral because of Adam’s sin. Everything that is wrong about humanity today can be traced back to the fall in the garden.
Jesus Christ now has come as the second Adam to correct that in such a way as to lift up humanity to where God wants it to be. Only through Jesus Christ, the second Adam, do we see any hope for humanity at all.
This is the one that has come and he has come with a purpose in mind.
II. The Divine Purpose of Christ Coming - “came to…”
Jesus Christ has come into the world with a well-defined purpose. As we travel through the gospel of Luke and see Jesus at work, we will find that everything he does supports one purpose.
It is interesting to see that throughout his life on earth the Pharisees tried to knock Jesus off his game. Satan himself, try to do it, you remember the temptation in the wilderness? Even his family tried their best to knock him off his game.
However, Jesus, set his face like a flint toward the city of Jerusalem. He “came to” and nothing would stop him.
He had a purpose and nothing is going to deter him from that purpose. All of humanity was riding on him fulfilling his purpose.
I discard any thoughts that he would not be successful in his purpose. But I think what is happening is the enemy is trying to throw up as much dust of confusion as possible so that people cannot focus on the true purpose of Jesus Christ.
The enemy cannot get at him, but he sure can get at the people Jesus was trying to win.
This phrase “came to” emphasizes emphatically that nothing about the coming of Christ was accidental or capricious. He had a purpose in coming, and fulfilled that purpose most admirably.
We shall see that all of the nuances of His life only served his purpose. Christ was in control of his life and therefore in control of the circumstances. We will see this all the way through this gospel.
Early we see this in Jesus.
“And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my father’s house?” (2:49).
Some translations say, “about my father’s business.”
There was never a question in his mind of his purpose and goal in life.
III. The Divine Priority- “seek and save the lost.”
The objective of Christ coming into the world is very clear. It was clear in his own mind and he constantly tried to make it clear in the minds of the people and especially his disciples.
He was not here to build an empire.
He was not here to establish a name for himself.
He was here, however, to seek out the lost and to provide a way of salvation for each and every one. This was His priority
Not everyone would heed his warning.
Not everyone would welcome his invitation.
Not everyone would appreciate the gracious invitation that came from his lips. “And the common people heard him gladly” (Mark 12:37).
Throughout the gospel of Luke, we will see the priority of Christ was in this area. What I think should happen is that this priority of His should be adopted by us now.
We are not here to save our generation.
We are not here to transform the culture around us.
Rather, we are here to seek out the lost, identify them for who they are, and bring to them the salvation offered by Jesus Christ the Son of Man.
Conclusion…
The word “gospel,” as everybody knows means “the good news.” And Luke brings us this good news of Jesus Christ coming to seek and to save those who are lost.
In one place Jesus says, “The well do not need a physician.”
Jesus came such a way as to deal with the problem from his perspective. We do not understand many things about the ways of God. But this is one assurance we had. Jesus Christ came to seek and to save. Nothing else was on his mind. Nothing else burdened his heart, as much is this. Nothing hindered Him.
For the Christian…
We have become assured that Jesus Christ came into the world with the single purpose of seeking and saving the lost and that he accomplished it to such an extent that we can come back into his family. Nothing else makes us rejoice than this. We now are part of the family of God because of Jesus Christ.
For the non-Christian…
There is hope for you. No matter how wrong things seem to be in your life, Jesus Christ came for the singular purpose of providing for your salvation. Your salvation is not in the world, it is not in religion, it is only in Jesus Christ. The great joy of your heart will be connecting with this One who came to seek and to save the lost, just like you and me.
Religion only gives part of the story.
Jesus is the whole story.
