You return in your Bible to the book of Matthew, chapter 20, we're going to be looking at verses 17 through 19 this morning, Matthew chapter 20 verses 17 through 19 is our text. Last time we looked at Christ's warning to the 12 and to all of us that while God will reward Christians for every act of service in this life, those rewards are all of great. That's what we saw. We can never think that God owes us more, that God owes us anything. And this is especially true when we compare our sufferings and difficulties and trials and hardships with those of other Christians, our brothers and sisters in Christ, we may in fact see some comparatively easy walks. Sometimes that everything in the lives of other believers seems to work out for the best as we look at them, their work, their family, their health, their home, all we seem to be blessed and prosperous and easy. And yet beloved, how does God's grace to his other children, to our own brothers and sisters in the faith, how does God's grace to them have anything to do with us? No matter how difficult your walk may be, God is always faithful to us. He always gives us what we need to serve Him and with every difficulty and sacrifice that He brings to you, He promises great rewards. And so let us not and never begrudge His goodness to other believers. Instead, let us, when we see great examples and great blessings on other Christians, let us praise God and thank God for those blessings that we see others getting that maybe we're not getting. Let us be reminded that that's because God is good so that we would recall that it is that same goodness of God that we do so quickly see in others. It's that same goodness of God that continues to lead us to repentance. So let's always thank God when we see His goodness because it's by His goodness that He draws us back to Him over and over again. Well, in today's textbook of it, we have the third explicit prediction of Jesus concerning His coming passion. It is the most detailed and specific and yet once again the disciples do not at all understand what Jesus is saying to them. What is the purpose of these predictions and why did the disciples so thoroughly misunderstand Jesus teaching on this subject and how can we avoid their mistakes and not make them? That's the subject of our text this morning. Let's pray as we turn to God's word. Father again, we ask that you would bless the reading and the hearing and the proclaiming of your word that we would bow our knees, that we would bow our hearts, that we would change our minds according to what your word says. Oh Lord, how I pray that your spirit would be more powerful in the minds of your people than the ways and words of this world do not allow us to be led astray by the world. Allow us to embrace and hold on to your word even when it's difficult. Father, oh how I pray for any who might be struggling, who might be straying. Father, allow them to come back by your word. Allow them to see that hardship with you is the most blessed thing that they could have compared to anything in this world apart from you. And so we pray these things in Jesus name. Amen. Once again, here now the word of the Lord from Matthew chapter 20 beginning in verse 17, this is God's holy and perfect word. Now Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples aside on the road and he said to them, behold, we are going up to Jerusalem and the son of man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes. And they will condemn him to death and deliver him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day he will rise again. May the Lord establish this word this morning in our hearts. I pray. I want you to notice first of all this morning the precision of his prediction. I want you to notice the precision of his prediction. As I said in the introduction, this is now the third time that Jesus has explicitly predicted his coming death and his coming resurrection. Let's just be reminded of the previous two occasions in chapter 16 verse 20. It says then he commanded his disciples that they should tell no one that he was the Christ from that time. Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem, suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and the raised the third day. Then Peter took him aside and began to review him saying far be it from you Lord this shall never happen to you. That was the first explicit prediction of his passion in Matthew 16. In Matthew 16, the second one was in Matthew 17 beginning in verse 22. Now while they were staying in Galilee, Jesus said to them, the son of man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men and they will kill him. And the third day he will be raised up and they were exceedingly sorrowful the Texas. And in addition to these explicit statements of his coming death and resurrection, Jesus twice before spoke of the sign of Jonah that he would like Jonah spend three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish that the son of man must spend three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. And so by implication by symbol as it were, he again predicts his death and resurrection. So Jesus has repeatedly taught these things symbolically and clearly and explicitly. And in fact, we see more details being given more precision, more specificity. We saw in the first time that it was going to happen in Jerusalem that it was going to be the chief priest that scribes in the elders who would kill him and that he would suffer there. In the second occasion, we saw it was by betrayal. He adds there's going to be a betrayal for this to happen. In our text, for the first time beloved, we get the Gentiles, we get scourging, we get mocking, and we get crucifying. This is the first time that Jesus uses the word. Even though on two occasions in Matthew, he has said that if you were to follow him, if anyone would be a disciple and follow him, that you would have to take up your cross and follow him, deny yourself, take up your cross. And so by implication there, at least, if you're needing to take up your cross to follow Jesus, well, that can only mean that he is out in front of you with his own cross. But still, this is the first time that explicitly Jesus says crucified. Mark's gospel adds that they will spit upon him on this occasion until very specific, very precise, very detailed in what Jesus is saying to his disciples. And notice how he says it to them. In verse 17, it says, not Jesus going up to Jerusalem, took the 12 disciples aside. He's walking to Jerusalem with the disciples and he takes them aside on the road. This isn't while he's sitting down, while there's a great crowd, he pulls the 12 aside. This is not one of those teachings that the rest of the crowd are going to get because Jesus can't let the crowds know this. We remember that there were certain things that he was telling them that they couldn't proclaim now. Remember when he sent out the 12 in chapter 10, he said, what you hear whisper to you, you will proclaim on the house top. Well, right now, this is one of those doctrines that were still just whispered. Remember, we looked at this in the messianic secret, the great work of Wilhelm Vrede, the liberal theologian who tried to claim that the messianic secret was this rewritten revision that was put back into the gospels to try to explain away how Jesus didn't know he was the Messiah but then the church claimed he was and a bunch of other nonsense that Vrede said. But this is another one of those examples that proved him wrong. It wasn't just the fact that he was the Messiah that he said for a time people couldn't know because they would try to, because of their, sorry, because of their wrong understanding of what that meant and that would have ordered his mission, but the crowds couldn't know his coming dad because once again that was his mission and they would have tried to stop it. But they wouldn't have understood and so Christ kept many things that were not possible for the crowds to understand that would have gotten in the way of his mission. He kept those things from the crowds for a time and notice how he says, behold, we are going up to Jerusalem. The word behold means that they are to come to really focus in on what Jesus is saying. He calls attention to the next phrase. To behold something is to not just glance at it, not just take a look at it, but to really look at it, to study it, to behold it, to consider it. And that's what Christ is saying once again he really wants his disciples to get what he's saying about his coming passion. They need to get hold of these things, they need to understand them. And so these verses are clear. His teaching is straightforward. It's emphasized. It's not in a figure. It's not incidental. It's not in a parable that they have to figure out. He is plainly saying what is going to happen. Jesus knows the future. He knew God's specific plan for his death and his resurrection and he was acting to accomplish it. And beloved, this should have given the disciples great assurance. It should give us greater assurance because only God knows the future. Only God knows the future infallibly with all of these details. So often Christians miss this point. The proof of prophecy, liberals get it all the time, the liberal theologians, they understand the proof of prophecy. That's why in the 19th century the liberal theologians had to redate all the books of the Bible to be written, the prophetic books especially, especially books like Daniel. He redated them so that they're written after all their prophecies because they could not allow for a man like Daniel predicting the empire's Babylon and Persia and Greece and Rome and all of the specific things that he says he couldn't know that beforehand unless the Bible is the word of God. And remember in the 19th century the theologians had to come up with a human origin for the scriptures and religion and God and everything else because they got rid of the supernatural. And so these theologians redate all of these books and they regate the gospel to take place at the end of the second century because they needed time for myth to develop because they know Jesus couldn't have done these miracles but they have to explain them all away well after everybody's dead and gone that remembered him these legends these myths were collected and at the end of the second century we had the gospels in their final multiple edited form and that was their doctor. Because they understood better than Christians do unfortunately that if somebody can predict the future precisely explicitly and specifically they are either God or God has revealed it to them there's no other way mortal man can know these kinds of things. John Calvin says this about this passage quote by a minute detail of the circumstances he Jesus he gives a still more evident proof of his divinity. Calvin sees it for what it is it is an evident proof of his divinity only God could know these things could know what his enemies who hate him are going to do and do specifically and clearly again the secular unbelievers get the power and the point of prophecy so often better than Christians and there are other ways of criticizing the Bible in its prophetic or attacking really the Bible in its prophetic witness its prophetic proof of Christ sometimes you'll hear well there are other prophets outside the scripture why we can read about Nostradamus and how he predicted the two towers fell and you can read right now you can do a search and see Nostradamus is prediction for 2021. Take some time and actually read Nostradamus and read the vagaries and the generalities about some fire or some catastrophe that's going to happen and shake this or that no specifics no names no people no places no specific things like this. It's like reading your horoscope you know and what do we do when we read our horoscopes while we always see all of these wonderful things it's funny horoscopes never say you're a really rotten person who messes up his own life a lot of time. Oh yeah I want to read my horoscope it's always you've got so many gifts and abilities and you're always one to do this so that you we didn't go oh wow that's me how do they know that's me right that's what we do all the time. But Nostradamus and these other you know there was the civil there was the Oracle Delphi they would give these notoriously vague statements that you could interpret any way you want that's not what Jesus is doing that's not this. Behold we are going up to Jerusalem the son of man will be betrayed betrayal at Jerusalem to the chief priest and to describe specific people groups notice we are going up there it's going to happen this time. Right now we are going and this is going to happen there's not going to be another going there's not going to be a leaving Jerusalem and it's going to happen maybe another year 10 years a thousand years you know what they always do with these fake prophecies we're going up there and it's going to happen. He's going to be betrayed into the chief priest and scribes they will condemn him they're going to have a trial and condemn him to death and they will deliver him to the Gentiles another specific group another specific action and the Gentiles would do specific things they'll mock him they'll scourge him they'll crucify him again Matt Mark says they'll spit upon him and they do all these things all these things happen to the letter and the third day he will rise again on the third day he will rise again beloved the precision of his prediction should have built up the disciples faith in Christ that he really was the Messiah that his work was going on. Yeah that his word really was God's word no one can know these things unless God has revealed them to him and so his persecution his sufferings clearly were not his destruction it was his mission he's telling them it's going to happen and so all these things are confirmation of his Messianic claims this is clear prophecy and this proves the claims of Jesus this is the precision of his prediction. Secondly notice the puzzle of his prediction. Well we saw the first time he predicted his coming resurrection he was taken aside by Peter and rebuked for it the second time he predicts his his death and resurrection they're exceedingly sorrowful. You see what the responses in our text this time Matthew doesn't record one Mark doesn't record a response Matthew Mark and Luke once again all give this episode Luke is the only one that notices their response Luke 1834 but they understood none of these things this saying was hidden from them and they did not know the things which were spoken. How can that be we just saw the precision of his prediction we just saw how clear it was a child could understand what Jesus was saying. How could they not understand well some say well supernatural you know it says it was hidden from them maybe God kept it from them I don't think that's the case it doesn't say how it was hidden from them Calvin doesn't think that's the case either maybe you put a little bit more weight on Calvin. The reason why they were held in such gross ignorance was that they had formed the expectation of a joyful and prosperous advancement did you hear that. And therefore they reckoned it to be in the highest degree absurd the Christ should be ignominiously crucified what could be more absurd than that the Messiah would be crucified. Well they knew that Messiah was going to bring these awesome and wonderful times they were going to conquer the world everything was going to get better and better they're constantly jostling with Jesus hey which one of us is going to sit on your right and your left who's going to be the greatest it's going to be so awesome. And Jesus is talking about that and suffering and betrayal and mocking and scourging and now crucifixion they had a different understanding. How difficult it is for us to let go of our preconceived notions and beliefs we believe something especially in religion especially in morals especially in determining right and wrong whatever reason we begin to take in voices from out there. And we start to allow ourselves to think according to those voices. And we don't go by the word of God which clearly the disciples were not until we're puzzled by what God is doing and we don't understand and we're not able to judge things and we need to understand why it seems to me that we want to understand or rather we want to believe that we're right we have a personal bias towards our own person. I do you do everybody guys we're biased we think that we've already thought that through and we got it right until it's really difficult for us to be allow even the challenge in really even consider it fairly to really consider what God's word is clearly saying and this is clear word from God. We're biased towards our own point of view but not only that we're biased towards sin against the truth of God we have a simple nature that doesn't want to hear it. There's no there's nothing in our simple nature that once God's word at all nothing and we still have that nature so we have a bias already towards ourselves and now we have a bias against God. We all have those things this side of glory and then we have another reason we have a bias towards wanting the world to like us and we want things to go easy with us and we really want to embrace the world and we want to have good times right we want to see good days happy days. Nobody likes controversy nobody likes conflict nobody likes to be the opposition we want to go along and get along isn't that what Jesus said to love people will twist words of scripture to say and justify really what is. A twin sin it's a sin of man pleasing and it's a sin of cowardice we're afraid we don't want to suffer we don't want to have to be the opposition to be the odd man out to be in controversy conflict nobody likes these things I think the gospel of Matthew in his account gives an indication that this is exactly what was going on with the disciples. Matthew or sorry Mark in his account Mark chapter 10 you can look at it Mark chapter 10 verse 32 begins this event by saying this very similar to Matthew but listen to the differences the different details that Mark supplies now they were on the road going up to Jerusalem same thing listen to this and Jesus was going before them he's the only gospel to say that and Jesus was going before them and listen to this and they were amazed and as they followed they were afraid they were amazed and they were afraid and Jesus is going before them Mark Mark by the way it's famous for those little details those little personal eyewitness details that Peter communicated to Mark Jesus is out before them you say well he has a parapetetic ministry he often led them and walked and they would teach them yes he would walk. And teach them yes he would walk and teach them but probably very rarely with the odd in front remember there were constantly crowds and people pressing in there would have been several disciples clearing the way in a hurry to get to the next city to see what Jesus would do next there would have been such disciples behind him and on the sides of him especially as they got close to crowds Jesus would have probably been in the middle most of the time Mark notices that on this occasion he was out in front and they were amazed. Because he says we're going to Jerusalem where all of the opposition is that they've been hearing more and more and then the text says and they were afraid they were afraid for love but it's getting harder to follow Jesus they're not waltzing out in front anymore they're behind them and they're kind of dragging along because they know where they're going and they don't want to go. It gets kind of hard to follow Jesus when there's opposition. It gets difficult to be a Christian when there's opposition and we don't want to think about opposition and if the minister talks about opposition we want to say well that's a mean spirit of the unloving minister and we need to hear how Jesus loves us and everyone else all the time and everything should always get better and better rainbows and ponies for everyone.
That's not what we're seeing beloved it's just not and we've got to rid ourselves of this lunacy of this cowardice of this rebellion of this worldliness they're going up to Jerusalem and it's getting harder to follow Jesus and it's not because they have less evidence of knowing who he is less reasons. It's because there's more opposition they have more reason and more evidence than ever before they know they've seen so many things now they know he's the Messiah they know he's the son of God they confessed in 16 they saw the transfiguration 17 they saw his glory.
It's getting hard because the people out there are saying things that aren't what he's saying. And I've got to twist that somehow so that I can embrace both and have my good life in this world what are they hearing mark sorry Matthew 9-11 why did your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners remember they were hearing that. Jesus said they call me a glutton and a drunkard then press in the media we're against him he's a glutton he's a drunkard these things we're going everywhere that he went. You saw the same thing we will see the same thing with Paul right he teaches against the law Matthew chapter 15 verse 2 why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the outer so your teacher does wrong your disciples are doing wrong Matthew 12 look your disciples are doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath you know you get tired after a while going against the experts in the authorities and all the people who are telling you what's right and what you want to do when everybody will like you again. Carried was after him the Pharisees were plotting to destroy them saw him he had warned against the 11 of the Sadducees in the Pharisees but what do you get it. It's 11 you only need a little bit you start a little bit of the world a little bit and you start thinking different and you start changing and you don't see it. And you start turning the word and the new temptations come that haven't been spoken and this time you think the world's got it right and you can embrace the world.
Jesus is saying it's the elders and the priest and the scribes who were going to kill him back to the authority in Israel those are the leadership church and state these are the authorities he's saying those are the ones and those are the ones who make the laws and the rules and the traditions. And it's very difficult to go against the authorities and to go against the rules and the traditions they even made laws so they were lawless laws because their constitution was the Old Testament. And so those traditions that the Pharisees and Sadducees and scribes and elders added were really not laws and yet they were the authorities and so they made them into laws. Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors why did the disciples transgress transgress the tradition they do what is not lawful our laws. Well we passed them it doesn't matter what our constitution says we decided this is good and and so many Jews went along with it. So many were afraid so many just wanted to listen to the authorities because we have to obey them even though they're going against the authority which was scripture. That was their they were going against it I see this we talked about this a little bit in Sunday school I think we have this pressure today more than ever before in our country. We don't want to go against the authority when our authority really is the constitution and when governors and magistrates and presidents violate the constitution they are no less criminals than a thief then a drug dealer and then a mobster. And yet out of fear of death we join with the thieves and the drug dealers and the mobsters who are going against the authority that they sworn oath to the constitution that's the authority. Jesus wasn't breaking any laws but they charged him with it and yet he didn't bow to their authorities and so they're trying to kill him and he's going up to Jerusalem he and his disciples and they're getting accused repeatedly. And they know it and they're afraid and they're amazed and the love of we all have the same temptations no one is immune. Whether you're young or you're old you're young you want to go out and embrace the world right there's not what people say go out and embrace the world. And you're old and you know you've been resisting you've been resisting and you've been resisting he's not tired of resisting but the young people resist I'm going to embrace the world out too. And we both have different kinds of temptations because it was the elders and the priests and the scribes who were teaching a different notion of the Messiah a different notion of the kingdom a different notion that didn't involve suffering that didn't involve rejection that certainly didn't involve crucifixion and so beloved I just want to submit to you that the puzzle of this prediction was not at all in the words of Christ it was all in them and it wasn't in their minds. It was in their hearts they didn't understand because they didn't want to accept that there was opposition coming that Jesus was going contrary to what the world was saying and that includes their worldly church unbelieving Israel in their government and in their temple worship and so thirdly I want you to notice the purpose of his prediction. The disciples had clear prophecy and yet they remain the confused disciples Jesus took them aside Luke records this Luke 1831 then he took the 12 aside notice it's always they took them aside and he said to them now listen to how Luke puts it behold we are going up to Jerusalem and all the things that are written listen to this by the prophets concerning the son of man will be accomplished. That's how Luke describes it all the things that are written by the prophets about the son of man will be accomplished. The sufferings beloved the hostility the rejection the mocking the beating the spitting the crucifixion these were all the fulfillment of scripture these things were written in the Old Testament. And Jesus is telling them this to build them up because we are all greatly shaken when a calamity comes upon us suddenly unexpectedly tragically and it just throws us in the loop and our whole world is turned topsy turvy and we don't know what to do and so Christ is telling them repeatedly so that when it happens they won't lose heart. They won't think that he has failed that this is his destruction they'll see it his victory they'll say he said this would have no look he said this would happen even the bad things would become reasons to believe they would be encouragement to faith Christ said it would happen just like this this is the suffering servant motif as we see it in scripture New Testament theologians refer to it as the humiliation of Christ and it's found all through the Old Testament. We saw it in our call to worship he would not leave his holy one in seal the resurrection being prophesied there we saw in our scripture reading the famous passage of Isaiah 52 and 53 how Christ would take on our sins and suffer for us and our sorrows the Christ would do these things and there are many other places where these things are in the Old Testament. We're according to Luke all the things written by the prophets concerning the son of man will be accomplished remember Jesus gets that phrase son of man from Daniel 7 who is this one like a son of man he's divine and yet he's human and in chapter 9 it says that that son of man who now it's calling the Messiah the Christ will be cut off chapter 9 says the Messiah will be cut off but not for himself and so another place right from the book of Daniel where Jesus is using the son of man. The son of man but let me give you another section just a little bit longer and I just want to read it and I want you to consider this the Psalm I'm about to read Psalm 22 just portions of it was written in the 10th century BC by David a thousand years before Christ listen to what David wrote my God my God why have you forsaken me I am a worm and no man a reproach of men and despised by the people they would try crucify him so would they despise him verse 7 all those who see me ridicule me they shoot out the lip they shake the head saying listen to this verse 8 he trusted in the Lord let him rescue him let him deliver him since he delights in him the very things that the priest would say about Jesus at the foot of the cross I'm wittingly they fulfilled scripture proving Jesus to be the suffering servant the Messiah verse 14 I am poured out like water all my bones are out of joint my heart is like wax it is melted within me a description of what the body actually endures on the cross listen to the next verse verse 15 my strength is dried up like a pot shirt my tongue clings to my jaws remember when he asked for a drink I thirst and they bring him vinegar to drink which actually his prophesied in Psalm 69 they bring me vinegar and gall to drink and my tongue please clings to my jaws you have brought me to the dust of death now listen to this for dogs has surrounded me the congregation of the wicked has enclosed me remember how they mocked him while he was on the cross listen to this David writes they pierced my hands and my feet now we know that crucifixion was practiced by the Romans but before them we know they got it and it was practiced by the persons we know there's evidence maybe even in the 6th century BC we have evidence that crucifixion could have been practiced all the way is back back as far as the 6th century by the persons David writes this in the 10th century BC nobody would have understood what it meant to have hands and feet pierced as a form of capital punishment it wouldn't have made sense and yet David writes this in the text they pierced my hands and my feet I can count all my bones again the way it would be if you were hanging on a cross they look and stare at me scripture says they will look upon him whom they pierced they listen to this verse 18 they divide my garments among them and for my clothing they cast lots a thousand years before all these specific prophecies Jesus was going to fulfill them beloved recalling these scriptures it should have called the disciples back from the false teaching of the day the positive and prosperous teaching of their day it should have allowed scripture to loan to determine their faith and not their fears and not the follies of false teachers even though they had the leadership and the respect of the nation and the people neither should have been the fantasies and feelings of their own fleshly desires and just wanting a nice life they should have embraced what Christ was saying and followed him so on Calvin says quote though our Lord was fully acquainted with the weakness of his disciples he does not conceal from them a very grievous offense therefore Calvin says we ought to be the more careful not to yield to any foolish thoughts and shut our eyes against the light I think that's happening so often today or Christian come up with all different reasons to avoid taking the stand that's scripture demands us to take in whatever new thing is coming down the pipe as it gets worse and worse and we try to find reasons to compromise and reasons to say well maybe maybe we can find some good way or some good thing if I said many times the church did not throw off an area and as I'm saying you know you can read areas for all these things he's pretty good here and here they threw him out because he was a hair check remember the leaven the leaven the false teaching you can't let a little bit in until we're afraid and yet we ought to see our Lord's courage again he's walking out in front of the disciples he's in control he says what's going to happen and in effect Christ is saying I commit myself to the word of God I am about to go and suffer a horrible death and I'm going because God's word says this is God's plan for me and I will be raised on the third day and so Christ goes to face death in this world because he trusted in the scriptures the great poet and him this William Cowper considering this text in Mark where it says he was out front he was moved to write these words quote the savior what a noble flame was kindled in his breast when hastening to Jerusalem he marched before the rest he was out in front and he was leading them the scriptures for told these things our Lord knew it and so he boldly went to face it and you and I beloved should boldly see that what the world would call the conquered Christ is really the Christ who is going to conquer and so fourthly and last day I want you to notice the power of his prediction I want you to notice the power of his prediction beloved not only his humility not only his death but the exaltation of Christ is prophesied we see it in verse 19 to deliver him to the Gentiles to mock and discourage and to crucify and the third day he will rise again every time Jesus predicted his death he always also added the third day he would rise again in 16 and 17 and now here in chapter 20 the third day the third day again a very precise number Frank Morrison and writing his great work at the beginning of the 20th century who moved the stone it's that phrase the third day that persuaded him and converted him his mission was to he was a he was a journalist an English journalist and he was going to do what a lot of people were doing in the 19th and in the early 20th century he was going to demythologize the gospel he knew there had to be a grain of truth but he knew that all the miracles and you know there can't be any such thing as supernatural so he was going to study the gospels find out all the human elements the fantasy the legend the myth and pull it out and just say what really did happen to Jesus and one of those phrases of all of all during his investigation it was the phrase the three days he notices how the three days appears at the very beginning of his ministry destroy this temple and I will rebuild it in three days and how many times the three days came back off again and even his enemies knew of the three days in fact it was at his trial the only evidence they brought forward this deceiver said that he would destroy the temple in three days build another one it's not what he said but they remembered the three days and even after he was buried the priest go to pilot we remember that he said in three days he would rise the three days the three days and Morrison said that those three days that Jesus predicted from the beginning they didn't have a human explanation it had to be the Christ was inspired of God and he was actually converted to Christ and became a Christian because Christ predicted his resurrection on the third day as he studied the scriptures beloved the humiliation was a necessary part of his victory Jesus defeats death through dying he removes sin through sacrifice he satisfies God's wrath by the shedding of his blood the suffering was the plan because that's how bad sin is that's how bad we are the suffering was the plan because that's how holy God is that's how good he is the suffering was the plan of Jesus willingly did it because that's how much he loved up and that's how much he loved his father that he would come and be humiliated and endure the suffering in order to receive the exaltation the beginning with this resurrection and receive the glory and the prize that he purchased not just for himself but all of us who are his church and so this is why I think the Christian life is misunderstood so often whenever we're called to suffer with them because we have this great pride and we don't think that we need to do that now or that God only has blessing for us now and that he doesn't we don't see the same call to suffer with him just like the disciples didn't see the suffering that was everywhere promises them aside in the Old Testament so often Christians don't see the suffering the opposition that so often promise in the New Testament I want to close this sermon with just a quick whirlwind tour of just a sampling of some scriptures that call us beloved to the same suffer that it is in this suffering that we too we'll see the glory that we too will be exalted second Timothy chapter 3 verse 12 indeed all who desire hear that all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be pure persecuted not maybe might be will be persecuted how often have we seen that in Matthew let's just look at Matthew Matthew 5 10 blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness fake theirs is the kingdom of heaven blessed are you when they revile you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for my sake well certainly that can't mean everybody that's not all Matthew 10 22 and you will be hated by all for my name sake but he who endures to the end will be saved if they have called the master of the house b l's above how much more those of his house Matthew 16 24 then Jesus said to his disciples if anyone desires to come after me let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me beloved want a stumbling block that was to them and what it still is to us it's still a stumbling block and so we listened to what the world has to say we find ways to compromise and yet Jesus warned in John 15 19 if you were of the world the world would love it sound you want the love of the world be of the world they'll love you then yet because you are not of the world but I show you out of the world listen to this therefore the world hates you therefore the world hates you remember the word that I said to you a servant is not greater than his master if they persecuted me they will also persecute you if they kept my word they will keep yours also John 16 33 these things I have spoken to you that in me you will have peace in the world you will have tribulation but be a good cheer I have overcome the world how by suffering and dying how do we overcome the world by suffering and by dying to the world and sometimes even literally as many Christians and Muslim countries are facing today John 17 14 I have given them your word the world had hated them because they are not of the world just as I am not of the world why else would Paul say in 1 Corinthians 15 19 if in this life only we have host hope in Christ we are of all men the most pitiful for love of the disciples one of the non-confrontational faith they wanted to try up in faith the victorious face a calling not to suffer and that's what we want that's what we want that's what the world promises us that's what a lot of people in the church are promising and they're having as they compromise this is a crucial part of our witness first Peter chapter 2 verse 21 what is our calling for to this you were called because Christ also suffered for us leaving us an example that you should follow in his steps first Peter 3 14 but even if you should suffer for righteousness say you are blessed do not be afraid of their threats more to be troubled chapter 4 verse 12 beloved do not think it's strange concerning the fiery trial which is about to trial you as though some strange thing happened to you but rejoice to the to the extent that you partake of Christ's suffering that's why we suffer because we believe in him because we follow him because we do what he did because we say what he said and they hate that and so they can't get to him anymore but if you're that light there's still that darkness and guess what they hate and guess what they will try to stamp out that's what scripture promises us it's a crucial part of our calling and witness to the world Philippians 1 29 for to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him but also to suffer for his sake beloved this is our call it was there call it is the call of every Christian until Christ returns by suffering we show that we love him and that we choose him overall that this world has to offer and Christ conquered this world and in his suffering and death which he proved by his resurrection he guarantees our own and in fact the more you suffer the more you will be rewarded the more the world targets you the more Christ will reward you in heaven beloved the power of his prediction should empower us to say no to the world and to say yes to the word of God let's pray father we thank you for your goodness we thank you for your word we thank you Lord Jesus that you suffered you never compromised with a world that hated you with authorities that legislated against you with those who tried to distort what you were saying slandering you and they acted in the cover of darkness and wickedness and whispering and plotting behind the scenes and Lord God you proclaimed God's word and you lived it Lord Jesus and you fulfilled it and in fact you fulfilled all righteousness something that we can't do for a moment and so father give us the courage to see that our Lord triumphed that in the murder in the in the despising in the persecuting of Jesus we have the proof of his divinity the proof that the Bible is the word of God and therefore let us stand on this word let us not be afraid let us recognize the great privilege of suffering for Jesus of filling up that which is lacking in its suffering which is our suffering by way of example by way of witness and so father empower us help us to live for you and Lord God how we pray that you would be glorified in our midst and Jesus name