The Tale of the Messiah with two different Missions
Matthew • Sermon • Submitted
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· 4 viewsThe Messiah and Mission of Jesus wasnt exactly the same Messiah and Mission the disciples had in mind.
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Matthew 20:17-28
Matthew 20:17-28
As we moved through Matthew 19-20- we encountered a some very pointed teaching to his disciples, Jesus has turned away one of top prospect in the rich young ruler, and made it very clear to the disciple that following Jesus does come at great cost but the eternal reward is worth it
As we pick up again in Matthew, I believe we have a the Tale of Two Different Men and Missions
And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, “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 and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.”
Jesus made his move to head towards Jerusalem some time ago
When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.
From that point onward in the book of Luke have a recorded purposeful march toward the cross
From John 12- we hear the “hour” is now here- and the proceeding chapters will recount the last days of Jesus life, death and resurrection
The birth and death of Jesus Christ are the greatest revelations of God
Jesus, the God man is the complete revelation of God to us
The disicples ask Jesus to show them the Father and they will believe and Jesus says if you see me, you see the Father
no one else can say that- A prophet may have spoke for God but he could never say- If you see me, then you have seen God
As the life of the Jesus is coming to an end, we see once again the Messiahs Mission of which Jesus makes perfectly clear
Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”
But in Matthew this is now the 3rd time Jesus had said he would be killed and each time the verbiage became clearer and more direct
From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.
Suffering,Killed by his own people and a glorious resurrection 3 days later
But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands.”
As they were gathering 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, and he will be raised on the third day.” And they were greatly distressed.
We learn that there will be a delivering over of Jesus to men
Here in the text- we see once again
And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, “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 and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.”
He is delivered to the Jews and will condemend and handed over to Gentiles
-Mocking, flogging, crucified, death and resurrection 3 days later
Clear direct eternal truths have been spoken by Jesus and the disciples should have got it
Is 53- the Suffering Servant is seen to be despised, rejected, smitten by God
-one of whom which God has placed the sin of us all
-He would be pierced but it will be by his death and shed blood that we can healed of the curse of sin
Vs 10 will even say it was the Will of the Lord to crush him- some text says it pleased God
-Is God some sadistic person who enjoys hurting others? No, but he is one who delights in justice and eradication of sin
-Revelation will again remind us that Jesus is the lamb slain before the foundation of the World and in that it pleased God and was the Trinity delight and sovereign purpose to eradicate the curse and redeem Gods people
Thats the Messiah that the OT Scriptures were always pointing to
Thats the mission He was always coming to accomplish
Thats the plan he took the 12 aside to unfold on that road to Jerusalem once again
But there was a different Messiah and Mission that the disciples and many others had in mind
It primarily involved a kingdom now- present time- Removing the Romans, establishing the kingdom here and now
We see this in the unfolding of the next verses
And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” He said to them, “You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Vs 20- this doesnt mean it was immediately necessarily but one of the next major conversations for sure
-James and John’s mother come and positions herself before Jesus
-a posture of humility but also honor for Jesus for I truly believes she thinks Jesus is the Messiah because of her next words
And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.”
-Jesus asks what does she need, and she says hey i want my boys to have postions of honor in your kingdom
-If she didnt believe he was the Messiah she wouldnt ask
-But she also has missed the heart of Jesus Mission and the calling that Jesus gave her two boys and all other believers
-that is faithfulness not status
Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.”
Jesus statement is a loaded one
-Jesus knows what is coming for him- He just told them
The usage of the word “cup” has been correlated in the OT to represent Gods wrath
-Ps 75:8, IS 51:17,22 , Jer 25:15-16 all speak of the cup of Gods wrath
-All the Gospels seem to articulate this idea as well- Matt 26:39, Mark 14:36, Luke 22:42, and John 18:11
-But Jesus doesnt address their mother then, he addresses her sons with this- they may have put her up to it
-to which they respond- we can - clearly showing the Messiah and Mission that they had in mind was not what Jesus came proclaiming
So the question for us to consider is why did they have this idea about the Messiah
-Just because the discuples were unlearned and uneducated in a rabbinic school or a trained orator doesnt make then ignorant to the law or Jewish history
-Many were probably good law abiding Jews who knew the Torah
But lets think about something- what is the way Jesus referred to himself the most?
-Son of Man- we see it in this passage in vs 28-
-Where do we find that used?
“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.
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.
Daniel writes to real struggles going on,
He is also speaking symbolically about a future event where Judas Maccabeus will also overthrow Antiochus IV Epiphanis in the mid 150s AD
He also is speaking towards the very return of Jesus to come get his people
But with Judas Macabees, to commemorate the rededication of the temple and the Jewish state so to speak
Every year they would keep the Festival of Lights- Hannakuah- remembering the restoring of the Jews but looking forward to the “son of man” who would come and rule and reign forever and finally drive out all nations and restore “Gods people”
Every year this occured
When Jesus shows up, doing what no one else could, speaking with authority no one else had, calling himseld the “Son of Man”- their minds were linked back to Daniel 7
Son of David they will shout during the triumphal entry- because the promise that through David seed the Messiah would come
So we can understand why they thought this
But in the same breath- they missed it as well
-they saw the Messiah and believed but they missed his mission
He said to them, “You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”
Vs 23- Jesus says- you both will drink the cup- speaking to dying for the cause of Christ
-James beheaded- John exile on Patmos
-But granting personal request for power and authority in the kingdom has been determined already
-Following Jesus isnt a popularity contest, its not a pyramid scheme that we hope to get in on the ground level and ride it to the top
-Following Jesus is a gift of grace, and when we view it that way- we remember that had it not been for the grace of God, we too would still be dead in our sins and trespasses
Vs 24- As the other fellas, who are typical humans who like some power and position, they get upset with the two
But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.
Jesus gives them a clear picture of what the kingdom of God is not
-They can clearer see the power and dominance the Romans exerted over all the people and have them enslaved
It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,
But for the faithful follower- that isnt the case
The way up is down, the way to be great in the kingdom- is to become a servant
The great words of JTB ring clear- “he must increase but I must decrease”
so much so it will cost him his head
and whoever would be first among you must be your slave,
Jesus continues the humble serving attitude that is needed to accomplish the Messiah Mission
even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Then Jesus again clears the air
-They have watched his life over the last three years- he cared for the lost and outcaste while giving them the Gospel
-For those who came self righteously justifying themselves and their sin- he sent them away
-The Mission of Jesus wasnt a glamorous one but it also wasnt one that ended in a personal kingdom now
-Because he did come to give his life as ransom for many
-the great news we have today is found in Verse 17-19- the Gospel of Jesus
-We didnt need political overthrow but spiritual rebirth
-We needed a Savior to undo the curse of sin and all that it entails as we all sat atleast at some point dead in our sins and trespasses
Its the tale of a Messiah with two different missions
They missed it- and I believe we can miss it as well
Its very easy to become consumed with good things, even righteous things, and completely miss the Messiahs mission