WEBVTT 00:00:06.959 --> 00:00:12.720 This sermon was recorded at Faith Evangelical Free Church in Grand Forks, North Dakota. 00:00:18.239 --> 00:00:21.679 Would you take your Bible with me this morning to the Gospel of Matthew? 00:00:22.000 --> 00:00:24.960 We've been working our way through Matthew's Gospel. 00:00:25.839 --> 00:00:27.839 And we are in chapter 17. 00:00:28.480 --> 00:00:34.240 If the Bible is new to you, you can just take that Bible that's in the Pew Rack in front of you and open it. 00:00:34.320 --> 00:00:36.719 I believe it's page 823. 00:00:38.000 --> 00:00:43.200 I preach from the English Standard Version, and that's the version that's in the Pew Rack in front of you. 00:00:43.359 --> 00:00:46.799 And that's just to be able to help us all to follow along together. 00:00:47.039 --> 00:01:00.560 And we do that so that we can all be aware that it's that whoever's preaching here is not just saying some words from their own mind, but is actually reading to you and preaching from the Word of God. 00:01:00.719 --> 00:01:04.879 And you can see that and sense that from the text in front of you. 00:01:04.959 --> 00:01:10.239 And this morning, we're in Matthew chapter 17, beginning in verse 22. 00:01:10.719 --> 00:01:25.519 We're going to cover just two verses this morning, and they're familiar to you, at least in their content, but it's good for us to be reminded of them because Jesus reminds his disciples in Matthew 17, verse 22. 00:01:26.560 --> 00:01:39.920 As they were gathering the disciples in Jesus in Galilee, Jesus said to them, The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. 00:01:41.040 --> 00:01:44.400 And he will be raised on the third day. 00:01:44.719 --> 00:01:46.640 And they were greatly distressed. 00:01:46.879 --> 00:01:47.519 Would you pray? 00:01:47.680 --> 00:01:48.640 Lord Jesus. 00:01:49.680 --> 00:02:03.120 We know, and we've gathered here today because we believe that you are the Son of Man who gave his life as a ransom for us. 00:02:04.159 --> 00:02:18.000 We've gathered today because of the hope of your life, because we we believe and we trust that you, though you were killed by the hands of men, yet you were raised on the third day. 00:02:19.280 --> 00:02:26.159 Lord, I pray that you would you would take these words and make it real to your people in a new way. 00:02:26.240 --> 00:02:40.159 And maybe even if there's if there's someone among us this morning who has not placed their trust in you for their eternity, that they would be gripped by the truth of these words this morning and trust in you today. 00:02:40.960 --> 00:02:46.879 Lord, make your resurrection full of hope for us today. 00:02:47.120 --> 00:02:49.360 As we consider again what you've done for us. 00:02:49.520 --> 00:02:50.560 In Christ's name we pray. 00:02:50.719 --> 00:02:51.360 Amen. 00:02:54.240 --> 00:03:08.000 Have you ever had the experience of eating a mildly spicy food that builds an intensity the more you eat it? 00:03:09.439 --> 00:03:13.120 Some of you are nodding yes, the rest of you are saying, Why would I do that? 00:03:16.319 --> 00:03:18.719 Most of us have had that kind of experience. 00:03:19.120 --> 00:03:22.560 It starts off sort of benign. 00:03:25.599 --> 00:03:46.879 And then the more you eat this spicy food, you begin to sense this tingling in your mouth, and before you know it, your throat is starting to burn, and you realize that the fire in your mouth and your throat is mocking you for thinking that you can handle the heat. 00:03:47.680 --> 00:03:48.560 Been there? 00:03:49.840 --> 00:03:53.360 Now the real question is how many of you like to return to that place? 00:03:53.599 --> 00:03:54.080 Right? 00:03:55.280 --> 00:03:57.439 Some of us are insane enough to do that. 00:03:58.479 --> 00:04:01.199 That's these two verses in a nutshell. 00:04:03.199 --> 00:04:13.120 You see, Matthew didn't decide to just sit down one day and record all of the things that he could remember about Jesus. 00:04:13.840 --> 00:04:18.319 He didn't just take a bunch of memories and throw them together into a book. 00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:23.759 This is a carefully composed biography. 00:04:24.560 --> 00:04:33.839 And one of the themes that is placed at strategic areas throughout this biography is the concept of death. 00:04:34.240 --> 00:04:38.720 And it's not just any death, but Jesus' death. 00:04:39.680 --> 00:04:48.879 By my account, there are at least nine times where Matthew weaves the death of Jesus into the storyline of the Gospel of Matthew. 00:04:49.120 --> 00:04:55.920 Sometimes it's a veiled reference, and other times it's quite direct, but it builds. 00:04:56.639 --> 00:05:03.120 The intensity increases each time we see a reference to the death of Jesus. 00:05:03.360 --> 00:05:11.519 And as we see here, by the time Jesus' disciples are hearing it this time, they are now struggling to handle it. 00:05:12.560 --> 00:05:17.040 So much so that they are greatly distressed. 00:05:18.240 --> 00:05:21.360 This isn't just a mild bothering. 00:05:23.199 --> 00:05:30.480 This is that point of eating spicy food that you are beginning to wonder, can I really handle this? 00:05:31.920 --> 00:05:34.319 Or is this going to destroy me? 00:05:35.839 --> 00:05:42.800 In chapter 2, we saw that Herod sent soldiers to kill the male children around Bethlehem. 00:05:43.600 --> 00:05:45.199 Why did he do that? 00:05:46.160 --> 00:05:50.079 Because Jesus had been born in Bethlehem. 00:05:51.199 --> 00:05:54.399 That's a veiled reference to the death of Jesus. 00:05:54.480 --> 00:06:00.959 But then two chapters later in chapter 4, Satan tempts Jesus to jump off the corner of the temple. 00:06:03.360 --> 00:06:07.360 What happens if you jump off the corner of the temple? 00:06:09.680 --> 00:06:10.319 You die. 00:06:11.439 --> 00:06:16.800 Chapter 12, we are told that the Pharisees conspired as to how to destroy Jesus. 00:06:17.680 --> 00:06:24.720 And then Jesus responded by saying that there would be a sign given to the people, the sign of Jonah. 00:06:25.839 --> 00:06:31.439 That is just as Jonah spent three days in the belly of a fish, so Jesus would spend three days in the heart of the earth. 00:06:31.839 --> 00:06:33.920 What's that a reference to? 00:06:36.319 --> 00:06:51.839 Becomes clear in chapter 16, with the very first clear statement, a prophetic statement, that Jesus was going to go to Jerusalem and that he would suffer many things and be handed over to the Gentiles and to the leaders and he would be killed. 00:06:51.920 --> 00:06:53.680 And Peter rebukes him for it. 00:06:53.920 --> 00:06:55.439 Peter says, absolutely not. 00:06:55.600 --> 00:06:59.439 That is not going to happen to you, Jesus, over my dead body. 00:07:02.000 --> 00:07:15.600 Then we have this statement in chapter 17, verse 12, where the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands. 00:07:17.759 --> 00:07:20.720 Then in verse 23, they will kill him. 00:07:21.439 --> 00:07:25.839 There's another clear statement in chapter 20 and a fourth clear statement in chapter 26. 00:07:26.000 --> 00:07:31.120 All throughout the Gospel of Matthew, there are these references to the death of Jesus. 00:07:31.439 --> 00:07:44.959 Like shipping companies, Matthew gives us the equivalent of tracking numbers to remind us again and again and again that the life of Jesus is all about the death of Jesus to save his people from their sins. 00:07:47.040 --> 00:07:55.600 All throughout the gospel record are these small reminders that Jesus is headed to the cross and the death that it brings. 00:07:57.040 --> 00:08:05.360 Now, this text before us this morning is the second of four very clear and very pointed declarations of Jesus to that intent. 00:08:06.160 --> 00:08:17.439 So God thought it necessary to remind his people of this reality again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again. 00:08:17.519 --> 00:08:18.240 Was that nine times? 00:08:18.319 --> 00:08:20.240 I lost count about four. 00:08:24.399 --> 00:08:30.720 And like those first disciples, we should we should be ready for the reminder. 00:08:33.600 --> 00:08:44.879 Even though we we think we know what it means, even though we we think we don't need to hear it again, we need the reminder. 00:08:47.120 --> 00:08:51.120 I could tell by your singing this morning that it that it built. 00:08:51.840 --> 00:08:54.799 It came to a crescendo with that last song. 00:08:54.960 --> 00:08:55.840 Why is that? 00:08:56.080 --> 00:09:00.559 Because something about the death and the resurrection of Christ impacts his people. 00:09:01.600 --> 00:09:03.919 It's good to be reminded. 00:09:05.759 --> 00:09:14.159 But in our reminders, we should also be prepared for the potential increase in the intensity level in ways we don't expect. 00:09:16.960 --> 00:09:22.720 What is revealed to us in this reminder in verses 17, verses 22 and 23? 00:09:23.200 --> 00:09:28.960 Well, there are two truths, two realities, two doctrines, if you will, that are present here. 00:09:29.600 --> 00:09:35.120 One is a reality about God, and the other is a reality about human beings. 00:09:36.000 --> 00:09:43.679 These two truths only make sense when we understand them in light of what Matthew has been showing us from the very beginning. 00:09:43.919 --> 00:09:52.080 They only make sense if Jesus is God who came to save his people from their sins through his death and resurrection. 00:09:52.720 --> 00:09:56.480 We encounter the truth about God first in verse 22. 00:09:56.639 --> 00:10:05.519 As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men. 00:10:05.759 --> 00:10:06.960 What do we see here? 00:10:07.200 --> 00:10:11.600 We see primarily the control of a sovereign redeemer. 00:10:12.799 --> 00:10:17.919 Matthew records for us that they were gathering together, they were getting together in Galilee. 00:10:19.840 --> 00:10:24.879 And Jesus reminds them what's going to come. 00:10:25.120 --> 00:10:29.279 They've been in the far northern reaches of Palestine, of Israel's territory. 00:10:29.440 --> 00:10:35.279 Now they're returning southward, and as they return southward, Jesus tells them we're not going to stay in Galilee. 00:10:35.360 --> 00:10:46.080 And in the next verses, we're going to Capernaum, our hometown, but we're not going to stay there either, because what's in front of us is something far greater than ministering to all of these little villages along the way. 00:10:46.240 --> 00:10:53.759 What's in front of us is the city of Jerusalem, and what's there is suffering and death at the hands of sinners. 00:10:57.120 --> 00:11:02.000 That sounds terrible, but what in reality we see here is the hand of God. 00:11:02.879 --> 00:11:11.840 There are elements of human responsibility here that we're going to touch on in a moment, but first we need to see the elements of the hand of God in the Lord's death. 00:11:12.080 --> 00:11:19.759 And those elements tell us about our Savior and his actions to ransom us. 00:11:20.080 --> 00:11:20.960 What do they tell us? 00:11:21.039 --> 00:11:25.519 Well, they tell us first that Jesus' death required the humanity of God. 00:11:29.679 --> 00:11:34.240 We see this often in the Gospels, this term son of man. 00:11:34.960 --> 00:11:41.279 Some of you may be a little uncertain about what that means, so we'll help you out a little bit here. 00:11:41.600 --> 00:11:45.120 This is a favorite title that Jesus uses for himself. 00:11:45.919 --> 00:11:52.320 When Jesus refers to himself, to other people, he often uses son of man. 00:11:52.559 --> 00:11:56.159 Sometimes it's son of God, but most often it's son of man. 00:11:56.399 --> 00:12:00.080 And it's a term that carries a double implication. 00:12:00.559 --> 00:12:04.240 One of those implications comes from the Old Testament book of Daniel. 00:12:04.480 --> 00:12:13.360 Daniel saw a vision of the throne room of God, with God sitting on his throne full of glory and one beside him like a son of man. 00:12:14.799 --> 00:12:22.000 From Daniel, this term points to one associated with divine glory and the sovereign rule of God. 00:12:23.600 --> 00:12:28.639 But even more than that, it identifies the pre-existence of Jesus. 00:12:30.799 --> 00:12:37.120 In other words, Jesus, when he was born, already existed. 00:12:39.039 --> 00:12:44.320 He didn't suddenly come into being with his birth. 00:12:45.120 --> 00:12:50.240 As the Son of Man, he was present in the throne room of God in the book of Daniel. 00:12:52.960 --> 00:13:00.000 It's used also in Ezekiel, of the prophet Ezekiel, in ways that points to the lowliness of human beings. 00:13:00.480 --> 00:13:07.360 So on the one hand, we have this elevated glory of the person, the eternality of God. 00:13:07.840 --> 00:13:11.840 On the other hand, we have the lowliness of human beings. 00:13:12.799 --> 00:13:18.720 But those opposites come together to reveal the reality of Christ's being. 00:13:19.600 --> 00:13:21.279 He is the God man. 00:13:22.240 --> 00:13:25.919 He is the divine, pre-existent, sovereign God. 00:13:26.000 --> 00:13:32.159 And as we saw here in Matthew 17, it shows the humanity of God because he's going to die. 00:13:36.879 --> 00:13:44.080 When we see the humanity of God, it tells us that Jesus wasn't a figment of the disciples' imaginations. 00:13:45.120 --> 00:13:46.960 He wasn't an apparition. 00:13:48.240 --> 00:13:53.120 That's why John would later say, we saw him and we touched him. 00:13:54.159 --> 00:13:56.879 He was actually a human being. 00:13:57.759 --> 00:14:01.120 He didn't appear to be a man or simply look like a human being. 00:14:01.279 --> 00:14:03.200 No, he is fully human. 00:14:03.440 --> 00:14:06.240 Philippians 2 tells us that very clearly. 00:14:12.240 --> 00:14:18.080 That's why the scriptures say to us that Jesus was born, as a human being is born. 00:14:18.320 --> 00:14:19.200 He grew. 00:14:19.919 --> 00:14:20.879 He aged. 00:14:21.440 --> 00:14:22.879 He ate and drank. 00:14:23.039 --> 00:14:24.879 He walked and he talked. 00:14:25.360 --> 00:14:27.360 He became tired and he slept. 00:14:27.600 --> 00:14:29.600 He sorrowed and he wept. 00:14:30.320 --> 00:14:31.919 He had compassion. 00:14:32.480 --> 00:14:33.519 He touched. 00:14:33.759 --> 00:14:34.480 He saw. 00:14:35.519 --> 00:14:38.000 And in the end, he died. 00:14:38.879 --> 00:14:42.639 Those are all aspects inherent to humanity. 00:14:43.759 --> 00:14:50.559 So when Jesus says, I am the Son of Man, it identifies him as a human being. 00:14:52.240 --> 00:14:55.039 God, on the other hand, is eternal. 00:14:55.759 --> 00:14:58.240 He has no beginning and no end. 00:14:58.879 --> 00:15:00.639 He's always living. 00:15:01.360 --> 00:15:08.559 How then can Jesus say, the Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men and they will kill him? 00:15:09.279 --> 00:15:14.639 If Jesus is the divine Son of Man, how can He die? 00:15:16.559 --> 00:15:22.240 If God is eternal, how can God die? 00:15:22.559 --> 00:15:26.080 Well, Philippians chapter 2, verse 7, explains for us. 00:15:26.320 --> 00:15:33.120 It says of Jesus that even though he was in the form of God, he made himself nothing. 00:15:34.399 --> 00:15:40.720 To the point of taking on the form of a slave and being born in the likeness of men. 00:15:41.440 --> 00:15:53.600 So that as he was found in human form, he further humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross. 00:15:53.679 --> 00:15:57.120 There are stages of humility identified here. 00:15:57.600 --> 00:16:02.799 There's the glories of heaven that are unmatchable. 00:16:04.720 --> 00:16:13.120 And Jesus set those aside to wrap himself in flesh to be one of his creatures. 00:16:14.720 --> 00:16:16.720 But that wasn't enough humility. 00:16:16.799 --> 00:16:22.559 He humbled himself to the point of being like a slave. 00:16:23.120 --> 00:16:24.720 And yet, even that wasn't enough. 00:16:24.799 --> 00:16:27.840 He humbled himself to the point of dying, God dying. 00:16:27.919 --> 00:16:31.519 And then he humbled himself even further by dying on a cross. 00:16:31.679 --> 00:16:36.639 So here we see the necessity of the two elements of Son of Man coming together. 00:16:36.960 --> 00:16:45.519 The manner in which the eternal God could die is by becoming one of his creatures and his own creation. 00:16:47.120 --> 00:16:52.879 Jesus wrapped himself in a house of flesh that could suffer death. 00:16:54.720 --> 00:16:59.200 God, the Son, must become man. 00:17:00.720 --> 00:17:02.159 That's the only way. 00:17:02.799 --> 00:17:13.279 That's the only way to die and pay a price sufficient to cover sin, to satisfy death, and to meet the justice of God. 00:17:13.440 --> 00:17:17.839 If that is not true, then what we have sung this morning is pointless. 00:17:20.799 --> 00:17:23.519 Now it ought to make us ask. 00:17:28.160 --> 00:17:40.720 If the Son of Man in all of his glory in the throne room of God would condescend to die, that kind of death for me. 00:17:42.559 --> 00:17:50.720 If he would take on that kind of humility, then why would I not be humble enough to set aside my pride and come to him? 00:17:54.160 --> 00:18:00.079 Further, what keeps me from humbling myself to serve my brothers and sisters in Christ? 00:18:02.480 --> 00:18:05.359 There's a second element of humanity that we see here. 00:18:05.599 --> 00:18:10.400 Jesus' death required the sovereignty of God over the affairs of mankind. 00:18:11.200 --> 00:18:13.119 This is the flip side of the Son of Man. 00:18:13.200 --> 00:18:15.359 We've seen now the humanity side. 00:18:15.519 --> 00:18:17.920 Let's consider the divine side. 00:18:20.000 --> 00:18:26.000 We see here that Jesus is about to be delivered into the hands of men. 00:18:26.160 --> 00:18:38.079 We see this divine side a little more clearly in Romans chapter 8, verse 32, where it says that he who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all. 00:18:39.599 --> 00:18:46.960 There is a divine handing over, a giving up of God Himself. 00:18:47.119 --> 00:18:52.240 From a divine perspective, humanity couldn't lay a hand on Jesus. 00:18:53.599 --> 00:18:59.279 God in his sovereign control must give Jesus up to be crucified. 00:19:00.000 --> 00:19:03.920 Because God is sovereign over all action. 00:19:04.160 --> 00:19:05.839 Scripture is clear about this. 00:19:06.000 --> 00:19:10.240 We could spend the rest of our morning looking at passages that detail this. 00:19:10.799 --> 00:19:13.920 You might be familiar with Proverbs 21:1. 00:19:14.559 --> 00:19:20.960 Speaks of the king's heart being like a stream of water in the hand of God. 00:19:21.279 --> 00:19:24.640 He turns it whatever direction he wants. 00:19:27.039 --> 00:19:38.559 Daniel chapter 4, verse 17 of speaking of Nebuchadnezzar says, the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whomever he will and sets over it the lowliest of men. 00:19:39.680 --> 00:19:51.359 When you see regime changes in your world, when you see presidencies change, when you see congresses change, when you see all kinds of leadership change, God is behind that. 00:19:52.640 --> 00:19:56.799 He is in sovereign control of all of these events. 00:19:57.119 --> 00:20:02.079 Now bring that concept to the cross. 00:20:03.440 --> 00:20:13.359 Think of Isaiah 53, with all of its details about the suffering and the death of God's chosen one. 00:20:14.480 --> 00:20:21.519 The only way for all of those things to take place is by God being sovereign over the affairs of mankind. 00:20:21.680 --> 00:20:28.000 That's why Luke would say the Son of Man goes as it has been determined. 00:20:31.440 --> 00:20:39.680 Friends, everything that we've sung joyfully, worshippingly, reverently this morning is because it was determined. 00:20:41.519 --> 00:20:52.079 That's why Acts chapter 2, verse 23 records that this Jesus was delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God. 00:20:52.880 --> 00:20:57.680 God is sovereignly in control of the purposes of men. 00:20:58.880 --> 00:21:06.000 Now that requires that humanity be submissive to the purposes of God. 00:21:06.640 --> 00:21:26.240 And that's what we find in Acts chapter 4, just a couple of chapters later, where Peter says, There were gathered together in this city of Jerusalem against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, Roman rulers, along with Gentiles and the peoples of Israel. 00:21:26.559 --> 00:21:28.640 What were they gathered there to do? 00:21:28.880 --> 00:21:30.640 Whatever God decided. 00:21:31.920 --> 00:21:39.200 Whatever your hand and your plan had predestined, had determined beforehand would take place. 00:21:43.920 --> 00:21:46.880 My friends, think of what that means for your life. 00:21:48.559 --> 00:21:56.960 For all of its obstacles, all of its pains, and all of its trials, and all of its difficulties. 00:22:00.079 --> 00:22:06.880 Whatever your hand and your plan had determined beforehand to take place. 00:22:10.720 --> 00:22:21.680 For Jesus, that meant that he understood that the cross was coming with all of its suffering, with all of its pain, with all of its trial and with his death. 00:22:22.880 --> 00:22:27.599 And for the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross. 00:22:29.680 --> 00:22:43.920 For Christians, it ought to be like the Apostle Paul said, I endure everything that is set before me so that I might gain Christ and be found in Him. 00:22:45.759 --> 00:22:51.599 How do we approach the things in life that feel as though they are outside our control? 00:22:55.440 --> 00:22:58.000 Do we complain and gripe and fight against it? 00:22:58.079 --> 00:23:00.960 Or do we say, Lord, I know that your hand has determined this. 00:23:01.119 --> 00:23:03.119 Help me to face it with joy? 00:23:07.279 --> 00:23:11.200 Jesus' death also required the sovereignty of God over time. 00:23:13.039 --> 00:23:18.160 Throughout the gospel record, we read that the leaders of Israel desired to do away with Jesus. 00:23:18.240 --> 00:23:19.759 They wanted him gone. 00:23:20.319 --> 00:23:23.279 Have you ever thought about why it didn't happen earlier? 00:23:26.640 --> 00:23:29.359 Why did the cross take place when it did? 00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:32.079 Why didn't it happen later? 00:23:33.359 --> 00:23:37.599 Why did Jesus die at the time of the celebration of the Passover? 00:23:39.119 --> 00:23:47.920 Why did, according to the Gospel of John, did his cry, it is finished, happen at the moment of the sacrifice in the temple for the sins of the people? 00:23:48.799 --> 00:24:00.240 Why, when the people were desiring to push Jesus off of a cliff to kill him, was he able to just walk through the clouds, crowds, seemingly untouched, escaping death? 00:24:01.440 --> 00:24:13.920 Why was Jesus able to speak of Jonah and being in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights, and then to say that he was going to be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights and then be raised on the third day? 00:24:14.079 --> 00:24:16.720 Why is everything so precise? 00:24:18.000 --> 00:24:23.920 To the day, to the hour, even to the minute. 00:24:26.559 --> 00:24:29.200 There's only one sufficient answer. 00:24:29.920 --> 00:24:32.559 God is sovereign over time. 00:24:34.240 --> 00:24:41.279 God created time, and it's within his power to control and to direct as he wills. 00:24:42.000 --> 00:24:54.799 Consequently, everything within the plan of God will take place exactly when he determines it should, including everything in your life, and in my life. 00:24:58.880 --> 00:25:12.880 God is neither a second, a millisecond, a microsecond, a nanosecond, or even if you prefer a picosecond behind. 00:25:17.839 --> 00:25:19.200 Nor too soon. 00:25:21.920 --> 00:25:29.119 Jesus would not, indeed could not die before or after God's determined time. 00:25:29.440 --> 00:25:33.200 God was and still is completely sovereign over time. 00:25:33.359 --> 00:25:39.839 All of the events in your life, all of the events in my life happen within the divine sovereign control of time. 00:25:40.000 --> 00:25:42.160 Now we might ask, why now? 00:25:44.400 --> 00:25:46.079 Most of us probably have. 00:25:46.559 --> 00:25:49.200 If we haven't asked it, we've at least thought it. 00:25:49.920 --> 00:25:52.400 Why couldn't this have happened tomorrow? 00:25:53.759 --> 00:25:54.720 Why now? 00:25:55.279 --> 00:25:57.680 And it's okay to ask. 00:26:00.079 --> 00:26:06.880 Even Jesus asked, right, the night before the cross, Father, if it be your will, take this away. 00:26:07.119 --> 00:26:08.960 Can't there be another way? 00:26:11.039 --> 00:26:12.960 It's okay to ask. 00:26:14.079 --> 00:26:21.920 But when you ask, remind yourself and then labor to submit to the comforting place of submission to God's control over time. 00:26:22.160 --> 00:26:28.160 For your eternal rescue and your eternal rest is found in that sovereignty over time. 00:26:32.480 --> 00:26:42.240 There's a last element of humanity that we need to see, and that is that Jesus' death required the submission of death to the power of God. 00:26:44.799 --> 00:26:49.200 We won't spend much time here since we covered it back at Easter. 00:26:49.920 --> 00:26:54.079 But there is a fact that God is the always existing one. 00:26:56.000 --> 00:26:59.279 A characteristic of the divine is eternality. 00:27:00.000 --> 00:27:02.960 Scriptures say God is life. 00:27:03.519 --> 00:27:05.440 Therefore, God cannot die. 00:27:07.039 --> 00:27:10.960 There is another fact that humanity is not eternal. 00:27:12.160 --> 00:27:14.240 Therefore, all people die. 00:27:15.920 --> 00:27:19.920 If you question that, read the first few pages of Genesis and it'll convince you. 00:27:22.000 --> 00:27:27.119 But there is a divine truth that is revealed here, and that is that Jesus is the God man. 00:27:29.519 --> 00:27:33.920 He is the God who does not die, and he is a man who can die. 00:27:35.039 --> 00:27:38.559 And we are then told that Jesus does die. 00:27:40.319 --> 00:27:41.839 But what happens? 00:27:42.559 --> 00:27:44.799 And they will kill him. 00:27:46.240 --> 00:27:47.920 And what follows that? 00:27:48.799 --> 00:27:49.759 A comma. 00:27:51.680 --> 00:27:55.359 The translators were right, I think, in putting a comma there, not a period. 00:27:55.759 --> 00:27:57.279 It's not a full stop. 00:27:58.559 --> 00:27:59.920 Because there's an and. 00:28:00.480 --> 00:28:04.160 Something comes after the and they will kill him. 00:28:05.839 --> 00:28:09.279 And he will be raised. 00:28:11.680 --> 00:28:18.400 The expression of this divine truth of Jesus being the God man is an apparent disparity. 00:28:18.799 --> 00:28:24.319 Jesus dies, but Jesus rises from the dead and is alive forevermore. 00:28:25.759 --> 00:28:31.680 And Jesus identifies all of that in advance, time and time and time again. 00:28:32.720 --> 00:28:40.880 Given all of that, what keeps you from resting all of your cares and all of your anxieties in Him? 00:28:42.799 --> 00:28:45.359 I'll tell you what keeps you from doing that. 00:28:46.720 --> 00:28:51.920 You keep you from doing that. 00:28:53.039 --> 00:29:00.799 Because what we do is we wrestle control away from God so that we might have it. 00:29:01.839 --> 00:29:04.880 But what ends up happening is that we have no control. 00:29:07.279 --> 00:29:19.599 What keeps you from fighting for control over your life and your experiences and even your happiness when you have this kind of Son of Man in whom to rest. 00:29:21.920 --> 00:29:25.759 That's a divine side of this picture. 00:29:26.160 --> 00:29:31.279 There's a human side that identifies the culpability of sinful people. 00:29:31.839 --> 00:29:36.240 Verse 23, Jesus says they will kill him. 00:29:37.680 --> 00:29:47.680 I remember several years ago when a book was published with the title The Murder of Jesus, someone expressed to me his outrage over that title. 00:29:47.920 --> 00:29:50.880 Jesus wasn't murdered, this man said. 00:29:52.480 --> 00:29:55.039 Scriptures say he laid down his life for us. 00:29:55.200 --> 00:29:57.440 No one takes it from me, I give it up. 00:29:57.599 --> 00:29:58.640 Well, of course. 00:29:58.880 --> 00:30:00.400 The scriptures do say that. 00:30:00.559 --> 00:30:08.559 Jesus himself said in John chapter 10, verse 18, No one takes my life from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. 00:30:08.880 --> 00:30:13.039 He says, I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up. 00:30:15.519 --> 00:30:21.759 At the same time, there is responsibility in mankind for Jesus' death. 00:30:23.359 --> 00:30:25.119 Who's going to kill him? 00:30:27.039 --> 00:30:27.680 They. 00:30:29.039 --> 00:30:29.680 Right? 00:30:30.319 --> 00:30:38.160 The ones into whom whose hands he is delivered are the ones who will take his life. 00:30:40.880 --> 00:30:48.000 In John chapter 11, we see a secret plot to kill Jesus by the leadership of Israel led by Caiaphas the high priest. 00:30:48.160 --> 00:30:55.119 So there's volition, there's intent behind the desire to be rid of Jesus. 00:30:55.359 --> 00:31:13.599 That's why Peter said in Acts chapter 2 that we looked at a few moments ago that Jesus was delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, whom you, speaking of the leaders of Israel, whom you crucified and killed, there is responsibility laid onto human beings for the death of Christ. 00:31:15.759 --> 00:31:17.440 Why would they do that? 00:31:21.440 --> 00:31:23.920 We would never do that, of course. 00:31:24.240 --> 00:31:25.839 At least that's what we think. 00:31:26.720 --> 00:31:29.680 So why did they do that? 00:31:30.000 --> 00:31:37.839 Well, there's probably several reasons, but maybe a couple that we could highlight this morning is that they desired to retain their own place of authority. 00:31:39.680 --> 00:31:44.880 See, human beings do not like to give up control to a sovereign God. 00:31:47.359 --> 00:31:49.279 As human beings, we want our way. 00:31:49.359 --> 00:31:50.799 That is the nature of sin. 00:31:52.319 --> 00:32:01.920 And the nature of sin is to wrestle control of life and events and of circumstances out of God's hands so that we might have control over our own lives. 00:32:04.799 --> 00:32:13.599 So we read in Luke 23, verse 5, that they said of Jesus that he was stirring up the people. 00:32:14.240 --> 00:32:18.240 He was teaching throughout all Judea and from Galilee even to Jerusalem. 00:32:18.400 --> 00:32:22.720 And the question that we need to answer is: why were they upset with Jesus stirring up people? 00:32:24.480 --> 00:32:25.680 Why was that a problem? 00:32:25.839 --> 00:32:32.559 Why was it a problem for Jesus to go from village to village, from town to town, from location to location, teaching? 00:32:34.480 --> 00:32:38.400 Well, it's because Jesus refused to accept their false teaching. 00:32:39.839 --> 00:32:42.480 He was teaching the right way of God. 00:32:43.759 --> 00:32:49.759 Do you remember in Matthew how Jesus told his disciples to watch out for the leaven of the Pharisees? 00:32:50.240 --> 00:32:52.319 They thought he was talking about bread. 00:32:53.119 --> 00:32:55.119 Don't buy the bread that comes from the Pharisees. 00:32:55.200 --> 00:32:57.039 No, Jesus wasn't talking about bread. 00:32:57.119 --> 00:32:58.960 He was talking about what they taught. 00:32:59.759 --> 00:33:03.119 He says, watch out for what people teach. 00:33:04.559 --> 00:33:06.480 See, Jesus called a spade a spade. 00:33:06.559 --> 00:33:16.400 He wouldn't let the hypocritical teachers of Israel continue to masquerade as examples of righteousness when they were nothing but decorated tombs full of rotting bones. 00:33:18.160 --> 00:33:25.200 But the people were flocking to Jesus for his provisions and for his teaching. 00:33:25.839 --> 00:33:28.000 Because Jesus didn't teach like everybody else. 00:33:28.079 --> 00:33:30.400 He taught as someone who actually had authority. 00:33:30.480 --> 00:33:37.519 And that came to a head when the day came to ride down into the city of Jerusalem on a donkey. 00:33:38.000 --> 00:33:40.240 We call that the triumphal entry. 00:33:41.839 --> 00:33:46.480 Some triumph when they then turned around and hung him on a cross. 00:33:47.599 --> 00:33:51.680 But on that day he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and they were celebrating him, right? 00:33:51.839 --> 00:33:56.480 Crowds of people were gathering around him, shouting praises, Hosanna to the God of Israel. 00:33:56.640 --> 00:33:59.119 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. 00:33:59.359 --> 00:34:04.000 And the Pharisees said, Jesus, would you tell them to be quiet? 00:34:05.279 --> 00:34:08.079 Because if they make a noise, the Romans are going to come. 00:34:13.440 --> 00:34:20.320 Leaders weren't about to lose their grip over the people, so they sought to destroy Jesus, even if it meant an illegal kangaroo court at midnight. 00:34:21.440 --> 00:34:26.719 All throughout the gospel records, we find the leadership of Israel despising Jesus. 00:34:26.960 --> 00:34:32.000 And even after his ascension into heaven, they sought to quiet the apostles. 00:34:32.079 --> 00:34:35.599 They said, Don't say anything about Jesus. 00:34:37.039 --> 00:34:37.679 Why? 00:34:38.400 --> 00:34:42.000 Because ultimately they chose to reject their Messiah. 00:34:43.360 --> 00:34:44.719 That's why. 00:34:47.360 --> 00:34:54.480 They would not see Jesus as the one who came by the hand of God to save them from their sins. 00:34:55.519 --> 00:34:58.000 They would not see him as their Messiah. 00:34:58.079 --> 00:35:02.800 And that was prophesied hundreds of years in advance by an angel speaking to Daniel. 00:35:03.039 --> 00:35:06.480 It's written in Daniel that an anointed one was going to come. 00:35:06.639 --> 00:35:07.679 And it's the same word. 00:35:07.840 --> 00:35:10.079 Anointed one is the same word as Messiah. 00:35:10.480 --> 00:35:14.800 And that Messiah, that anointed one, Daniel is told, is going to be cut off. 00:35:16.639 --> 00:35:23.039 So we read in Acts 2.23, this Jesus, you crucified. 00:35:23.840 --> 00:35:25.280 And you killed. 00:35:29.679 --> 00:35:39.679 Peter says, Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus, whom you crucified. 00:35:40.639 --> 00:35:42.480 You see the culpability there? 00:35:44.559 --> 00:35:46.639 God says, I'm giving you grace. 00:35:46.880 --> 00:35:50.320 And they received the grace and threw it back in God's face. 00:35:53.440 --> 00:35:58.400 Peter would later say in Acts chapter 4, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel. 00:35:58.960 --> 00:36:03.840 And by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified. 00:36:04.239 --> 00:36:06.639 Speaking of a healing that took place. 00:36:08.239 --> 00:36:22.239 And then to top it all off, in that same text in Acts chapter 4, Peter quotes from Psalm 2, saying, The kings of the earth gathered themselves together against the Lord and against his Messiah. 00:36:22.639 --> 00:36:25.119 Peter says, That's the crucifixion. 00:36:25.920 --> 00:36:27.199 You did it. 00:36:29.440 --> 00:36:35.599 So from a purely human perspective, it may be accurate to suggest that Jesus' death was indeed a murder. 00:36:36.719 --> 00:36:38.639 He was completely innocent. 00:36:42.800 --> 00:36:48.960 As John stated so clearly in John 1, the light of the world came to his own people and they rejected him. 00:36:49.519 --> 00:36:58.159 And if that if that were all there was to the death of Jesus, it would be a sad, sad tale. 00:36:59.280 --> 00:37:01.039 It would be a sad story. 00:37:04.079 --> 00:37:08.000 But that's only one side of the Son of Man. 00:37:10.800 --> 00:37:20.159 Yes, there's one side of the Son of Man that is full of humanity where he would be beaten and killed. 00:37:22.719 --> 00:37:24.239 Be crucified. 00:37:25.440 --> 00:37:33.840 It's true that mankind does bear responsibility for Jesus' crucifixion because he had to come and he would give himself as a ransom. 00:37:35.199 --> 00:37:41.840 And by extension, it's all our responsibility because it's our sin that placed him there. 00:37:41.920 --> 00:37:45.679 But the hand of God is also very evident in his death. 00:37:45.840 --> 00:37:52.000 On the one side is culpability from sin, and on the other side is provision from God's grace. 00:37:57.440 --> 00:37:58.880 That's our reminder. 00:38:01.760 --> 00:38:03.280 How will you respond? 00:38:06.880 --> 00:38:10.880 I've likely not said anything that you haven't heard before. 00:38:11.280 --> 00:38:13.840 Maybe some things are new for some of you. 00:38:14.639 --> 00:38:16.639 But much of this is a reminder. 00:38:19.760 --> 00:38:21.840 Notice the disciples. 00:38:23.920 --> 00:38:28.880 We are now two-thirds almost of the way into the Gospel of Matthew. 00:38:29.840 --> 00:38:32.880 And Matthew's told us again and again and again expect the death of Jesus. 00:38:33.039 --> 00:38:33.920 Expect the death of Jesus. 00:38:34.079 --> 00:38:35.760 Expect the death of Jesus. 00:38:38.000 --> 00:38:43.440 And the disciples are hearing this now for the second time, very clearly. 00:38:43.760 --> 00:38:47.920 And they were greatly distressed. 00:38:48.800 --> 00:39:08.480 Back in chapter 16, in Jesus' first statement of his plan, verse 21, from that time, chapter 16, verse 21, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed and on the third day be raised. 00:39:08.639 --> 00:39:13.039 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, Far be it from you. 00:39:13.599 --> 00:39:18.800 This shall never, ever, absolutely not, God forbid, happen to you. 00:39:19.920 --> 00:39:28.960 Peter speaking for the group of the disciples, saying, No, I will not accept that end from my Lord. 00:39:30.159 --> 00:39:32.639 Jesus, I'm taking control. 00:39:34.800 --> 00:39:36.960 We see Peter doing that a lot, don't we? 00:39:37.199 --> 00:39:49.599 Now in the second clear statement of chapter 17, the disciples seem to understand or at least grasp more clearly that Jesus is serious about his own death. 00:39:51.920 --> 00:39:56.320 They're beginning to understand that they're in Galilee, but they're not going to be staying here long. 00:39:56.400 --> 00:40:00.000 They're going to be going to Capernaum, but they're not going to be staying there long either. 00:40:02.239 --> 00:40:12.000 They're here to prepare to go to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover and for Jesus to be betrayed and to be handed over to the powers that be for his own death. 00:40:13.039 --> 00:40:24.800 Matthew's theme of the death of Jesus has intensified to the point that the disciples are now realizing the reality that comes with following Jesus. 00:40:26.559 --> 00:40:28.239 What did he tell them? 00:40:29.039 --> 00:40:35.679 No one can be my disciple unless he takes up his cross and follows me. 00:40:39.519 --> 00:40:44.000 The intensity of that heat has gotten quite intense, hasn't it? 00:40:44.559 --> 00:40:46.400 The truth is sinking in. 00:40:46.880 --> 00:40:50.880 The disciples are no longer rebuking Jesus, even Peter. 00:40:51.920 --> 00:41:00.559 They're beginning to comprehend that Jesus really is going to Jerusalem and he really is going to die, and they're crushed. 00:41:02.719 --> 00:41:06.320 In their mind, Jesus' death is the death of their dreams. 00:41:07.199 --> 00:41:10.880 His being delivered into the hands of men is the end of their hope. 00:41:11.440 --> 00:41:24.239 Because, like we so often do, that they're looking at the present, they're looking at the temporal side of things, the present expression of reality, and they see this and they hear this and they feel hopeless. 00:41:24.559 --> 00:41:33.360 And it's the end of their dreams and the end of their hope, precisely because they are focusing only on his death. 00:41:36.000 --> 00:41:43.840 There's no thought whatsoever to the words, and he will be raised. 00:41:47.360 --> 00:41:52.239 The applicable truth here is that Jesus is not simply a man who dies. 00:41:56.400 --> 00:42:01.679