Luke 9:43b-45 (3)
Notes
Transcript
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-If you would, please turn back to Luke 9.
And we’re going to be looking at...
…that short little section that...
begins in the second sentence of Verse 43...
and goes through Verse 45...
…the central focus of which, is...
...Jesus’ now second prediction...
...of his coming Passion (Suffering and Death).
And, I believe that the gravity of that subject, is why we see...
…all three of the synoptic gospel writers…
…being careful to give it...
...its own special treatment...
…even though it is clearly connected...
...to the events that precede it.
-So try not to let its brevity...
…cause you to minimize its importance.
There’s a lot of theology...
…in these two-and-a-half verses!
They inform us even more, about...
The nature of Jesus’ Messianic Mission...
God’s Sovereignty over every aspect of it.
Needless to say, in these verses...
(as with most portions of Scripture)
…we’re going to be faced with a measure of both...
difficulty...
delight...
But, we need to encounter BOTH...
…if we’re going to be sanctified...
…by His Word! Amen?
-Well, alright, let’s read our text together...
...And ask the Lord to help us to that end.
Luke 9:43, beginning in the second sentence.
This is the Word of God:
Luke 9:43–45 (ESV)
43 ...But while they were all marveling at everything he was doing, Jesus said to his disciples,
44 “Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men.”
45 But they did not understand this saying, and it was concealed from them, so that they might not perceive it. And they were afraid to ask him about this saying.
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Pray
-Since it’s been a couple of weeks since we’ve been here...
…it would probably be helpful for us...
…to be reminded of what had happened...
…prior to this.
It had begun...
Luke 9:37–38 (ESV)
37 On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him.
And, we were told, that...
38 ...a man from the crowd cried out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child.
That man then told Jesus.....
Luke 9:39–40 (ESV)
39 ...a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out. It convulses him so that he foams at the mouth, and shatters him, and will hardly leave him.
40 And I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.”
-And after rebuking the crowds for their...
unbelief...
immorality...
Jesus summons the demon...
(through the young man)
…to come and appear before him.
And the demon...
Luke 9:42 (ESV)
42 While he was coming . . . threw him to the ground and convulsed him. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.
And, Luke had ended...
...his description of this event, by saying:
Luke 9:43 (ESV)
43 And all were astonished at the majesty of God...
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And, it is in the context of, that...
Wonder
Amazement...
…that Luke interjects what we read...
…at the beginning of our text...
…and at the end of Verse 43:
Luke 9:43–44 (ESV)
43 ...But while they were all marveling at everything he was doing...
So, notice that the scope, here...
...appears to be broader than just...
....The previous exorcism...
Luke is zooming out the scene...
…away from the specifics...
…of the Mount of Transfiguration.
-In fact, Matthew and Mark both...
…set this conversation up in...
…the broader region of Galilee.
Mark says:
Mark 9:30 (ESV)
30 They went on from there and passed through Galilee...
And, Matthew says that it took place...
Matthew 17:22 (ESV)
22 As they were gathering in Galilee...
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-So, in other words, they’ve...
Left the base of the mountain
Set out (Ultimately) for Jerusalem
And, as they’re passing through Galilee...
…they stop somewhere along the way...
…and have this conversation.
-And, in the midst of that atmosphere of...
Wonder
Excitement...
...It would appear, that...
…getting them away from the crowds...
(End of Verse 43)
...Jesus said to his disciples,
44 “Let these words sink into your ears...”
That has an ominous tone already, doesn’t it?
It literally says,
“place these words into your ears” (A command)
It was an idiom that meant, to either...
Listen closely
Not forget
Either way, the language is very emphatic
Here’s the message (verse 44):
Luke 9:44 (ESV)
44 “Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men.”
-Now, don’t forget the broader backdrop to this statement.
First:
1 And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases,
2 and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal.
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After that, Jesus the fed five thousand MEN...
…with only five loaves of bread and two fish.
Then, Jesus (through Peter’s confession)...
…Had revealed himself to be the Christ!
(No more guessing)
Then, a week or so later...
…on the mount of Transfiguration...
…He was revealed to be...
The very Son of God!
Remember:
Luke 9:35 (ESV)
35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!”
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And, immediately after this...
…he descended the mountain...
…and proved his divine, messianic authority...
…by the exorcism of that powerful demon!
-Now, he says...
Luke 9:44 (ESV)
44 “...The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men.”
Do you see the weight of this statement...
…even in its mere contrast to the preceding events?
Well, it gets even heavier...
…when you work through it.
Think about it:
Luke 9:44 (ESV)
44 “...The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men.”
Who is the Son of Man?
He is the Messianic King.
Daniel 7:13–14 (ESV)
13 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him.
14 And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.
So, the Son of Man...
…was promised ultimate victory...
…over the kingdoms of men!
He’s going to conquer...
NOT… be conquered!
But, look again, at the language Jesus uses in Verse 44:
Luke 9:44 (ESV)
44 “...The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men.”
That word “delivered,” there...
…is in the passive voice!
This is something that’s...
...going to happen TO him.
You could translate it that he is...
Being handed over
Being given over.
Does that sound like something...
…that we would expect to hear...
...about the Son of Man?
It actually seems to contradict...
…many of those Messianic Predictions, like...
Psalm 2:6–9 (ESV)
6 “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.”
7 I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.
8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
Psalm 110 (ESV)
1 The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”
2 The Lord sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies! . . .
5 The Lord is at your right hand; he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath.
6 He will execute judgment among the nations, filling them with corpses; he will shatter chiefs over the wide earth.
-And, this Paradox is even more stark...
…When we read Mark’s account:
Mark 9:31 (ESV)
31 . . . “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him...
Notice the certainty in what he says:
Mark 9:31 (ESV)
31 . . . “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him....
Does this sound like it’s certain?
Does it sound like it’s contingent on anything?
Is Jesus waiting to see how the Jews respond to him...
…before he goes through with this?
-Now, two more questions:
TO whom… and BY whom...
…will he be given up???
Is it...
Judas, giving him up to the Jews?
The Jews, giving him up to the Romans?
Well, in a sense, the answer is BOTH.
Later, Jesus would predict his passion...
...for a third time.
There, he outlines the chain of custody:
Matthew 20:17–19 (ESV)
17 And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them,
18 “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death
19 and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified...”
So, you see...
They’re all involved
They all share in the responsibility
-BUT… ask yourself this:
How could he know this for certain?
What if somewhere in the chain...
…someone changed their mind?
-Well, Luke’s account of this third prediction...
…clears up that possibility for us:
He includes Jesus also saying:
Luke 18:31–33 (ESV)
31 And taking the twelve, he said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished.
32 For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon.
33 And after flogging him, they will kill him...”
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Now, let me ask you.
Who’s delivering him into the hands of men?
The only one who has the Sovereign authority to do so!
This is yet another example of the paradox of...
God’s Sovereignty
Man’s Responsibility
Remember what the disciples prayed in...
Acts 4:24–28 (ESV)
24 ...they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them,
25 who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, “ ‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain?
26 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed’—
27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,
28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.
The enemies of God oppose Him...
Willfully
Without Coercion
AND… they accomplish EVERY. SINGLE. THING...
…that He purposes and predestines!
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-Now, is this hard for even US...
...(on this side of the Cross) to understand?
Think about the disciples...
…on THAT side of it.
-Luke tells us three things...
...about their response to hearing this:
We’ll look at only two, to begin with:
Verse 45:
Luke 9:45 (ESV)
45 But they did not understand this saying . . . And they were afraid to ask him about this saying.
Matthew adds:
Matthew 17:23 (ESV)
23 ...And they were greatly distressed.
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So, the question NOW is...
Why didn’t they understand?
I’m assuming the reason...
...they didn’t ask him about it...
…may be related to Peter’s Faux Pas...
…the first time Jesus’ predicted his death:
“not so Lord!”
“Get behind me Satan!”
And, Remember...
…that had only been a week or two ago!
So, I think the more important...
…question for us to ask, is...
Why can they still not understand?
Well… here again… the answer...
…comes from two different angles.
Both are necessary.
We can see the natural angle...
…in that similar scenario in John 12.
In verse 33 Jesus had just illustrated...
John 12:33 (ESV)
33 ...what kind of death he was going to die.
And the crowd, presumably...
...faces the same mental dilemma...
But, they’re NOT afraid to ask.
John 12:34 (ESV)
34 So the crowd answered him, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?”
That’s probably the same quandary...
…that the disciples were having...
…in their own minds.
How can he “rule the nations with a rod of iron...”
If he’s handed over to them in chains?
It just doesn’t make sense! NATURALLY Speaking!
-Now, here’s the second angle.
The spiritual angle.
Luke 9:45 (ESV)
45 But they did not understand this saying, and it was concealed from them, so that they might not perceive it...
You know what this shows us?
A. That God is in control of EVERYTHING
B. Faith is the gift of God
C. The Necessity of the work of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus would go on to...
...predict his passion a third time.
Even then… after a THIRD explicit time, we read...
Luke 18:34 (ESV)
34 But they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.
Paul explains this phenomenon for us, in...
1 Corinthians 2:14 (ESV)
14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
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This was the plight of the disciples...
…before the Spirit was given at Pentecost!
They. Just. Didn’t. Get it!
-Now, let’s make sure...
…that we who HAVE the Spirit...
…GET IT OURSELVES!
How could the Son of Man, SIMULTANEOUSLY...
Conquer...
Be Conquered?
Be given over to death...
Be utterly victorious?
Give up his own life...
Save the lives of his people?
Paul, again explains:
Romans 4:25 (ESV)
25 who was delivered up for our trespasses...
God “gave him up” as a sacrifice for his people’s sin.
The Son of Man laid down His life FREELY...
…because his people deserved to die.
His death on the Cross...
…bearing the guilt of sin for his people...
...WAS the Messianic victory!
-Back in John 12, where we saw Jesus...
Confusing the crowds, by...
Predicting his death...
He said this:
John 12:31–32 (ESV)
31 Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.
32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”
This is how the Messianic Inheritance was claimed!
-But, there’s one question still left unanswered.
And you can see it...
…in what I left off...
…when I read Mark’s account:
Mark 9:31 (ESV)
31 ...he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.”
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This is what Jesus had been saying all along.
They just didn’t yet have...
Eyes to see
Ears to hear
Paul, again explains if for US:
Romans 4:25 (ESV)
25 who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.
The Resurrection put the final seal...
…upon the Messianic Victory!
It proved the righteousness of the Son of Man
(death had no claim on him)
(He died for the sins of others)
And… It ensured his royal coronation!
He is King
He is building his Kingdom
He is claiming the Nations as his inheritance...
All because He was...
Luke 9:44 (ESV)
44 “...delivered into the hands of men.”
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Oh, let’s pray that God would give us...
Eyes to see this
Ears to hear this
Hearts to receive it
He is able!
Let’s pray