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.
a. This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you. 11 They wondered what time or situation the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ’s suffering and his great glory afterward. (1 Peter 1:10-11).
b. As Jesus declared, his going to the cross was a necessity. It had to be done.
c. It had to be done because it was predicted by the Old Testament prophets. They predicted long ago that the Messiah would suffer and die.
d. But the reason the Messiah had to suffer, and die was because of our sin.
e. It was because of our rebellion against God that Jesus had to die in our place.
f. “In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.” (Heb. 9:22).
g. There was no way around it. If Jesus was going to save us from our own sins, he had to die on the cross.
h. At Christmas time we like to say, “Jesus is the reason for the season,” but at this time of year we need to remember that we are the reason for this season, because our sins made it necessary!
Transition: But Jesus’ mission does not end there, and his death was not the end of the story because…
II. Jesus’ Resurrection was Inevitable (33-34)
A. On the Third Day
1. Jesus then continues what will happen to him in v. 33, “They will flog him with a whip and kill him, but on the third day he will rise again.”
a. Here Jesus gets into the serious part of the crucifixion. He says he will be flogged with a whip.
b. The Roman scourge was a deadly weapon. It was a leather whip attached to a wooden handle, plus it had pieces of metal attached to it in different places.
c. It would literally rip the skin off your back. Many people did not survive the scourge.
d. He also says that the Romans would kill him. Although he doesn’t mention the cross, it’s a given that this is what’s in mind. It was the Romans favorite form of capital punishment.
e. However, Jesus leaves them with hope by saying that he would rise again on the third day.
f. So sad were these words that it seems the disciples didn’t even hear the last sentence—on the third day, he would rise again.
g. Their ignorance and blindness were simply because they could not grasp the scope of God’s plan in Jesus.
h. The disciples didn’t understand Jesus, apparently because they were focusing on what he said about his death.
i. Even though Jesus spoke plainly, they would not grasp the significance of his words until they had seen the risen Christ face-to-face
2. Even though Jesus laid it all out for them, we find out in v. 34, “But they didn’t understand any of this. The significance of his words was hidden from them, and they failed to grasp what he was talking about.”
a. Even though Jesus laid it all out for them, they still didn’t get it.
b. Once again, the disciples were clueless when it came to the idea that Jesus mission was to die on the cross.
c. The text tells us that the significance of Jesus words were hidden from them.
d. Now we are not real sure what that means. Does it mean that God kept them from understanding? Does it mean that their upbringing kept them from understanding? Or does it mean they were just ignorant? We’re not sure.
e. They would not come to grips with it until after the resurrection.
B. Just As the Scriptures Said
1. Illustration: So significant is this event that the whole of the Christian faith would fall if the resurrection of Jesus Christ were not true. William Lane Craig suggests that “Without the belief in the resurrection, the Christian faith could not have come into being. The disciples would have remained crushed and defeated men. Even if they continued to remember Jesus as their beloved teacher, His crucifixion would have silenced any hope of his being the Messiah. The cross would have remained the sad shameful end of his career.” Therefore, it is crucial that the events of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection are true and historically accurate.
2. Just as the crucifixion was predicted by the prophets, so was the resurrection.
a. “I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. 4 He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.” (1 Cor. 15:3-4).
b. The death of Jesus on the cross was necessary, but you can’t separate the cross from the resurrection.
c. Without the resurrection Jesus was just another religious fanatic.
d. Without the resurrection we are still lost in our sins and Jesus is not who he said he was.
e. But because he was who he said he was, because he was the Son of God, because he was the Messiah, the resurrection was going to happen.
f. The resurrection gave us victory over sin, death, and the grave.
g. The resurrection is the proof that the cross was God’s plan, and the resurrection is the culmination of his plan of salvation!
h. The resurrection is our hope of eternity!
Conclusion
1. The prophets declared that…
a. The Cross was a necessity.
b. The resurrection was inevitable.
2. What’s the point preacher? The cross and the resurrection were the plan of God. Therefore, we can declare the hope of our salvation.
