Luke 18:31 Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, "We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled.
32 He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him and kill him.
33 On the third day he will rise again."
34 The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.
The journey toward the Cross has started.
The King is on His way to the Cross.
They don’t understand, but He does. He’s on his way to the cross. He is laser focused on the Mission that he has.
The events of Good Friday did not take Jesus by surprise. He walked toward them with his eyes wide open.
In this series, we are going to examine
And right here, Luke starts sharing these stories, that show Who this King is:
1. This King has power over your problems.
35 As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging.
36 When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening.
37 They told him, "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by."
38 He called out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"
39 Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"
40 Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him,
41 "What do you want me to do for you?" "Lord, I want to see," he replied.
42 Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has healed you."
43 Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God.
If you’re going through hard times, here are three essentials for you:
Prayer. “He called out, Jesus son of David, have mercy on me!”
Persistence. “but he shouted all the more”
Honesty. “Lord, I want to see!”
2. This King has power over your past.
Luke 19:1 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through.
2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy.
3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd.
4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today."
6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, "He has gone to be the guest of a 'sinner.'"
8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount."
9 Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.
10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."
He was the chief tax collector… Anybody ever have any trouble with the IRS?
Isn’t that a frustrating organization to deal with? You know their motto? “We’ve got what it takes to take what you’ve got.”
This guy is the head of the IRS of that day… and it gets worse. In a day with really rough record keeping, a tax collector could just overcharge you and pocket the rest. If you owe $3000, he says it’s $3500, and then cooks the books, and pockets the extra $500. Doesn’t take much of that to get “very wealthy.”
But this guy was kind of fascinated by Jesus. He wants to hear him.
- Jesus knows where you are! “When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up”
- Jesus includes you! “I must stay at your house today.”
Zaccheus responds to Jesus message with CONFESSION and REPENTANCE.
Confession means taking responsibility for sin.
You can’t pass it off, and be confessing.
• “Well, she always makes me mad…”
• “Yeah, the cops just have it in for me…”
• “well, my husband/wife wasn’t treating me fair…”
• My parents were horrible…
POWERPOINT> Illustration: Adolf Eichmann
JERUSALEM — After he was convicted and sentenced to death in Israel for his role in the annihilation of millions of Jews by Nazi Germany, Adolf Eichmann pleaded for his own life.
“There is a need to draw a line between the leaders responsible and the people like me forced to serve as mere instruments in the hands of the leaders,” pleaded Eichmann — the Nazi war criminal who oversaw the lethal logistics of the Holocaust — in a letter dated May 29, 1962, the day that Israel’s Supreme Court rejected his appeal.
Eichmann asked the Israeli president, Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, for a pardon, arguing, “I was not a responsible leader, and as such do not feel myself guilty.”
You can’t decide that others are responsible for your sin, and confess at the same time.
Repentance means turning from sin.
Can you imagine the crowd at this moment?
• Is this the same guy that cheated me?
• What is going on with this man?
•
And right in front of the crowd is a picture of what Jesus can do
And at the end of this beautiful story of change… Jesus reminds us that he’s still the King on the way to the cross:
“For the son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost”
Why is Jesus on the way to be crucified?
It isn’t because of his lack of power – he can make the blind see.
It isn’t because of his own sin – his preaching even makes the greedy repent!
It’s because of this phrase right here:
“For the son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost”
Some of you have been running from God for years.
You avoid him for months, then pray when crisis hits.
You think he’s out to ruin your life.
You think God is all about judgment and criticism, and no joy.
What if you’re wrong?
What if he’s not out to judge you, or crush you, he’s out to save you?
He drafted a letter explaining his decision and its biblical basis and sent 17 debt-canceling letters by certified mail.
SIXTEEN of the 17 letters were returned, unsigned and undelivered.
Why? Because the clients refused to sign for them and open the envelopes. They were afraid that the attorney was suing them for their debts. So - in their fear - they ended up running away from his forgiveness. (Rick McCarley, sermoncentral.com)
Why is this King on his way to the Cross?
He’s on his way there to save you!
To offer you grace!
To break the chains that have held you!
To give you power over your past!
Don’t _____DODGE_____ God’s grace!
Jack Forsee was a Little kid who fought everyone... He flunked a grade 3X.
But Jack Forsee got saved.
My grandpa Stetler tutored him. He was the only one on his family who graduated from high school.
He wanted his dad to be saved. His dad said I can't get saved I'll have to quit working for the brewery...
He said I'll pray that it closes. He laughed and said you do that and I'll get saved. He prayed. 6 months later they declared bankruptcy and his dad got saved.
Today, his sons are pastoring churches. I help mentor two of his grandsons who are in college, studying to be pastors.
Jesus changes lives.
This King is on His Way to a Cross because he saves people!
______________________________________________________________________________
Luke 18:31 Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, "We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled.
32 He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him and kill him.
33 On the third day he will rise again."
34 The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.
The events of Good Friday did not take Jesus by surprise. He walked toward them with his eyes wide open. Who is this King on His way to the Cross?
1. This King has power over your _______________.
35 As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging.
36 When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening.
37 They told him, "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by."
38 He called out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"
39 Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"
40 Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him,
41 "What do you want me to do for you?" "Lord, I want to see," he replied.
42 Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has healed you."
43 Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God.
If you’re going through hard times, here are three essentials for you:
______________________. “He called out, Jesus son of David, have mercy on me!”
__________________________. “but he shouted all the more”
__________________________. “Lord, I want to see!”
2. This King has power over your _________________.
Luke 19:1 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through.
2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy.
3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd.
4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today."
6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, "He has gone to be the guest of a 'sinner.'"
8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount."
9 Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.
10 or the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."
Jesus knows __________________________________! “When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up”
Jesus __________________________________________! “I must stay at your house today.”
Zaccheus responds to Jesus message with CONFESSION and REPENTANCE.
Confession means taking _________________________________________.
Repentance means ___________________________________________.
Why is Jesus on the way to be crucified? It’s because of this phrase right here: “For the son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost”
What if he’s not out to judge you, or crush you, he’s out to ___________________ you?
Don’t ______________________ God’s grace!
