Great Expectations

All right, well this morning we return to the story of Jesus as told by Luke.

And today we're going to look at just a few verses.

We pick up the story in verse 21 of Luke chapter 9.

Luke 9 · chapter mention

Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone.

And he said,

The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders,

the chief priests, and the teachers of the law.

And he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

As we saw last week, Jesus is talking to his disciples in private.

And the conversation up till this point has been about who Jesus is.

Remember they asked,

Jesus actually asked the disciples,

Who do the crowds say I am?

And the disciples go through a short list of the answers that they've heard from different people.

Some say you are John the Baptizer, resurrected from the dead.

Others that you are the prophet Elijah.

He didn't die but was taken up to heaven by God and now perhaps God has sent him back.

And some others say you are one of the prophets from long ago, come back to life from the dead.

Jesus finally asks the disciples themselves,

What about you?

Who do you say I am?

And Peter, one of the twelve, answers,

God's Messiah.

Literally, the Christ of God.

Matthew records an even fuller answer of Peter's.

In his gospel,

You are the Messiah,

the Son of the Living God.

That title, Christ,

it means Messiah.

And Messiah means Anointed One.

It carries within it the meaning of being divinely chosen as king.

A king selected by God himself.

Up until this point,

there's been centuries of God speaking to the people of Israel through the prophets.

And great promises have been made by God.

There are these great expectations of a Messiah.

A coming king who is chosen by God.

We're not talking about, you know,

just a good and wise regional ruler for a time.

We're talking about a king whose reign,

whose kingdom will have global implications.

Something the likes of which the world has never seen.

Even the great empires of old,

even the modern day nations of today,

don't come close to what is promised about the Messiah.

Long ago, through the prophets.

A kingdom characterized by peace,

that endures.

By righteousness.

By justice.

By justice.

By justice.

By justice.

And not by the violence and corruption

that we have seen through the centuries

and even still see today all over the world.

Well, because of these many great promises

spoken by the prophets long ago,

the Jews who had faith

carried within them

great expectations

and a deep longing

for this Messiah

to be given.

And so Peter and the disciples

who have been following Jesus

for a little while now,

they've been listening to his preaching,

they have witnessed his miracles,

and here's the moment

where they finally come to answer this question

of who Jesus is out loud.

When Jesus asks,

who do you say I am?

Peter blurts it out.

You are the one.

You are God's king.

There was some wondering at first.

If you recall the gospel of John,

as they went and found each other

and told each other about Jesus at first,

we, you know,

this could be the Messiah.

But this is that moment

where Peter just sort of blurts it out

and says,

I know it for sure.

But then what Jesus says next,

which we just read,

might be a shock to us.

Jesus strictly warned them

not to tell this to anyone.

Matthew's gospel is even more explicit.

Then he ordered his disciples

not to tell anyone

that he was the Messiah.

That's kind of surprising, isn't it?

Like, why not?

Why can't we tell people?

This is what this is all about, isn't it?

And none of the gospels at this moment

gives us a clear statement of why not.

Some suggestions have been made about this.

Some think that perhaps

just telling people that Jesus is the Messiah

would have brought about opposition too quickly.

And in the gospel of John,

we read that Jesus does seem to have

this sense of God's timing

and how things should unfold.

We hear him say,

my hour has not yet come.

There's sort of a pace

at which he reveals himself to the people.

Another idea is that Jesus wants the people

to arrive at this faith in him as Messiah,

not by just hearing him declare,

I'm the Messiah,

but by looking at the signs.

And perhaps just, you know,

saying it out loud all over the place

right from the beginning

would short circuit this process.

The most popular suggestion

is that Jesus commands them

not to speak of him as Messiah

because he knows that

their understanding of Messiah

and the people's understanding of Messiah

is full of misconceptions

and wrong ideas.

And so to go around declaring Jesus as Messiah

at this point might stir up ideas

of political revolution

when God's plan for the Messiah will unfold

contrary to expectations.

And this last idea kind of fits

with what we see in these next words of Jesus

in verse 22.

Jesus strictly warned them

not to tell this to anyone.

And he said,

the Son of Man must suffer many things

and be rejected by the elders,

the chief priests,

and the teachers of the law.

And he must be killed.

And he must be killed.

This is certainly not

what anyone was expecting

of the Messiah.

Let's look at these words

a little more closely.

We see that Jesus refers to himself

in the third person

as the Son of Man.

That sounds strange

to us maybe.

It's kind of a mysterious

and veiled way of speaking.

The Son of Man

was what God called

the prophet Ezekiel

in the Old Testament.

And as to its meaning,

it's a figure of speech

that basically means

a male human being.

That's what a son of man is.

But then there's this one passage

where the prophet Daniel

has a strange vision.

Daniel chapter 7, verse 13.

Daniel 7:13

And in his vision,

this is many years before this,

Daniel sees one

like a son of man

coming with the clouds of heaven

and approaching God.

And this one like a son of man

in Daniel's vision

receives authority

and glory

and sovereign power

and all nations

and peoples worship him.

And he comes to rule

and reign over this

great kingdom

that will last forever.

Well, Jesus knows

who he is.

He is the Messiah.

He is this Son of Man

described by Daniel.

But there's enough mystery

around this title

that many will not see

the title as

an explicit claim

to be the Messiah.

Many will wonder about this.

Some will see it

and believe.

And yet others

who are looking to take Jesus out,

they won't really be able

to pin this on Jesus

as an overt claim.

But even if they do,

what Jesus is saying here

is very surprising.

The Son of Man

must suffer

many things.

Well, there's nothing

in Daniel's vision

about that.

We can imagine

the disciples

sort of sitting there

in this moment

scratching their heads

like,

what do you mean

the Son of Man,

the Messiah,

must suffer?

What kinds of things?

And Jesus goes on.

He says,

the Son of Man

must be rejected

by the elders

and the chief priests

and the teachers

of the law.

That's also probably not

what the disciples

were expecting.

Perhaps they were expecting

that eventually

Jesus would win them over.

That they too

would come to own

or recognize

Jesus as their Messiah.

Yeah, there's been opposition.

Yes, they've even been

plotting to kill Jesus,

but surely God's Messiah

won't be killed

by the leaders of Israel.

He's supposed to be

the one to unify

the people, right?

Yet Jesus says,

no,

he must be rejected

by the elders,

the chief priests

and the teachers

of the law.

If we think about

those three roles,

that covers both

the political side

of things

at the leadership level

in Israel

and the spiritual

side of things.

Not just the Sanhedrin

or the council of elders

who ruled the daily affairs

of the people,

but also the spiritual leaders

at the temple,

the priests.

Those considered authorities

on how to understand

the scriptures,

all of them

would reject Jesus.

Okay.

So how's this going to work

then, Jesus?

If you will be king,

then what role

or place

will those guys have

in the kingdom?

If they reject you,

then what will you do

with them

once you

have the throne?

This is how I imagine

the disciples

trying to sort this

all out in their minds.

And then comes

the jaw dropper.

The son of man

must suffer many things

and be rejected

by the elders,

chief priests

and teachers of the law

and he must be killed.

What?

What?

This is the first plain mention

of this

by Jesus

to his disciples.

What kind of king

chosen by God,

what kind of anointed one

gets killed?

How could that be?

Jesus adds one more thing.

He says he must be killed

and on the third day

be raised to life.

And this last part

about being raised to life,

we know the story,

of course,

what that's talking about,

the resurrection,

but this last part,

it seems the disciples

heard it,

but it just didn't

really sink in.

It's like they were

so shocked

by the idea,

the thought,

that Jesus,

the one they've been following,

would be killed

and how that might

come about.

That very little thought

was given to that statement

that on the third day,

he would be raised to life.

Even after Jesus

rises from the dead,

there's that moment of,

oh, yes,

now I remember

he said something about that.

He said that he would

be raised to life

on the third day.

But for now,

it's like they hear the words

and they don't really hear it.

the part about getting killed

must have been

so utterly unexpected,

so contrary

to the expectations.

In fact,

at this point

in the conversation,

we read that

right after saying this,

Peter

takes Jesus aside

and begins

to rebuke Jesus.

We read of this

in Mark chapter 8.

Mark 8 · chapter mention

Peter takes Jesus aside

and begins

to rebuke him.

You can almost imagine

Peter in this moment

like,

what are you talking

about, Jesus?

They're not going

to kill you.

You're the Messiah.

Don't say things

like this.

We're not going

to let anything

happen to you.

If anybody even

tries to lay

a finger on you,

and if you keep

talking like this,

Jesus,

you're going to start

scaring the people away.

We need their support

if we're going

to challenge

the elders

and the chief priests

and the teachers

of the law.

We can only imagine

what Peter said

as he rebuked Jesus.

It doesn't say.

Well, in Mark's gospel,

Jesus comes back

at Peter

with a stinging

rebuke of his own.

Get behind me,

Satan.

Jesus said,

you do not have

in mind

the concerns of God,

but merely

human concerns.

So this is a clue

that neither Peter

nor the rest

of the disciples

had the right

expectations

of how things

would go

with the Messiah.

I guess it seems

that they envisioned

this great movement

just sort of

picking up steam

and the followers

increasing

and as more and more

people become followers

then eventually

they all just

parade Jesus

right into Jerusalem

and toss out

the Romans

and put Jesus

on the throne

and the glory

days of Israel

will begin.

Kind of like

in the days

of King David.

I mean,

look at the miracles

that we've been able

to do,

Andrew,

in the name

of Jesus.

Look at the power

and authority

that he has.

He is God's

chosen one.

He is the Messiah.

This is it.

And then Jesus

just seems

to start raining

on his own parade.

it's wonderful

that you figured

out who I really

am, Peter.

But now

don't tell anyone.

I'm going to

suffer

many things,

be rejected,

and be killed.

This isn't

going to go

how you think,

Peter.

And it truly

baffled

the disciples

when Jesus

said these things.

We're going to

see that

bafflement

in the weeks

ahead.

What kind

of kingdom

begins

with the

suffering

of its

king?

What kind

of king

gets fiercely

hated and

despised by

the people

in the land

before he

comes to the

throne

and then

is put

to death?

How can

this be,

the kingdom

of God?

Why would

God allow

anyone to

do this

to his

chosen king?

This can't

be right,

can it?

This can't

be how the

story goes,

can it?

But it is

indeed how

the story

goes.

It was in

fact the

plan of

God right

from the

beginning.

And Jesus

knew this.

think about

this from

the

disciples

perspective.

What a

crazy thing,

eh?

It finally

comes to

that moment

where they

realize that

Jesus is

the Messiah

and they

say it

out loud

and now

Jesus says

good.

See that

you don't

tell anyone.

And from

here on out

I want you

to know

that your

expectations

for the

Messiah

are way

off.

It's

going to

go the

opposite

of how

you think

in the

short term.

At this

point

Mark

tells us

that Jesus

actually

calls the

crowd to

him.

And so

these next

things that

we're about

to read

he says

to the

disciples

and to

the rest

of them

to them

all.

Verse

23

Then he

said to

them all

whoever

wants to

be my

disciple

must deny

themselves

and take

up their

cross

daily

and follow

me.

for

whoever

wants to

save their

life

will lose

it.

But

whoever

loses

their

life

for me

will

save

it.

What

good is

it for

someone to

gain the

whole

world

and yet

lose

or

forfeit

their

very

self?

whoever

is ashamed

of me

and my

words

the son

of man

will be

ashamed

of them

when he

comes in

his glory

and in

the glory

of the

father

and of

the holy

angels.

So while

Peter's

probably still

trying to

figure out

why Jesus

rebuked him

so sternly

and called

him Satan

Jesus

is already

speaking to

the crowds

and proclaiming

a message

of denial

and death.

Jesus

said in

private to

them that

he must

be killed

now he

turns to

the public

and he

says if

you want

to be

my

disciple

if you

want to

be a

follower

of

mine

then you

must

take

up

your

cross

and

follow

me.

You

must

stop

trying to

save

your

life

and

lose

it

for

me.

I'm

not

even

sure

how

the

crowd

would

have

taken

these

words.

When

they

heard

that

word

cross

take

up

the

cross

did

they

picture

convicted

criminals

being

marched

down the

street

to the

place

where

they

would

be

executed

or

was

Jesus

saying

this

so

that

later

they

would

understand

as

they

watched

Jesus

carrying

his

cross

to

his

death.

death.

I'm

trying to

think of

how they

would have

thought of

these

words.

Is

Jesus

calling

us

to

die

for

him?

Are

things

about

to

get

ugly

or

violent?

We're

going to

talk more

next week

about what

Jesus

is saying

about

being a

disciple

of his

with

these

words.

But

for

today

through

all of

this

we see

Jesus

hinting

to the

crowds.

We hear

him

alluding

to what

he just

told the

disciples

in

private.

Not

only

will

he

be

killed

but

he

will

be

crucified.

The

cross.

He

calls

them to

follow

him.

How?

By

taking

up

their

cross.

Jesus

knows

that

this

is

what

he

will

do

in

the

days

ahead.

The

cross

was

the

method

used

by

the

Romans

to

execute

criminals

and

make

a

spectacle

of

them.

It

was

a

bloody

and

torturous

death.

Slow,

painful,

brutal.

But

the

Bible

tells

us

that

this

was

the

plan

of

God.

That

this

was

the

only

way

to

restore

the

relationship

between

God

and

man.

A

relationship

that

is

broken

because

of

our

sins.

A

sacrifice

had to

be

made.

A

sentence

had to

be

served.

Justice

had to

be

done.

Jesus'

enemies,

as they

crucify him,

meant it

for

evil,

but God

used it

for

good.

The

Bible

tells us

that

by

Jesus'

death,

he

made

atonement

for

the

sins

of

the

world.

It

tells us

that we

can be

forgiven

of any

wrong

we have

done

in the

sight

of

God

because

2,000

years ago,

Jesus

stepped

forward

and

allowed

himself

to

suffer

many

things

and be

rejected

and be

killed.

He

took

upon

himself

the

punishment

that we

deserve

for our

sins

so that

we could

be healed,

forgiven,

restored

to

God.

God,

why would

Jesus do

this for

us?

The

answer of

the Bible

again and

again is

it's because

of his

great love

for us.

It's

amazing.

Why

would

God,

holy

God,

offer

eternal

life and

forgiveness

to

stubborn

and

rebellious

sinners

like you

and me

because

of his

great love

for us.

Listen to

how the

Apostle Paul

puts it

in his

letter to

the church

in Rome.

He says,

you see,

at just

the right

time,

while we

were still

powerless,

Christ

died for

the ungodly.

Very

rarely will

anyone die

for a

righteous

person.

Though for

a good

person,

someone might

possibly dare

to die,

but God

demonstrates

his own

love for

us in

this.

While we

were still

sinners,

Christ died

for us.

trust,

God does

something amazing

and wonderful.

He gives

us a new

birth.

He gives

us a new

life.

He changes

us.

He saves

us from

what the

Bible tells

us is

coming.

As we

talked about

this morning

in Sunday

school,

yes,

judgment

and wrath

are what

we deserve.

But there

is a way

that God

has provided

to be

saved from

that.

And that

way is

through faith

in Jesus,

the one

he sent.

Not only

that,

but he

promises us

citizenship

in his

kingdom

when Jesus

returns.

Many in

our world

are asleep

at the

wheel

and headed

for disaster.

By God's

grace and

mercy,

he has

awakened us

to the

danger ahead

and he

has shown

us the

way out.

And now

he has

sent us

to go

and to

wake others

to the

danger ahead

and show

them the

way to

be saved.

And that

way is not

complicated.

Sometimes we

overcomplicate

it.

It's just

telling people

this very

story of

Jesus.

The whole

thing,

from the

beginning

to the

end.

From his

birth,

to his

miracles,

to his

message,

to his

death,

to his

resurrection,

or as

much as

they're

willing to

hear.

By

putting

their

faith in

him and

what he

has done,

they can

be saved,

just as

we have.

The

people in

Davidson,

the

people in

Crake,

the people

in

Keniston,

out on

the farm,

in town,

young,

old,

people in

the farm,

the people

who

have

good news

of God's

love and

rescue.

And the

climax of

that news

is the

cross.

We're

going to

take a few

minutes now

to remember

and to

thank God

for the

cross,

how he

used the

evil of

men,

done to

his

innocent

son to

forgive us

and to

restore us

to him.

So in

just a

moment,

we'll

pass out

the bread

and the

cup.

And if

you believe

in Jesus,

that he is

the Christ,

then of

course the

next step

for you is

to be

baptized in

his name.

But if

you believe

in Jesus

like we've

been talking

about,

then please

join with

us in

remembering

the body

and blood

which was

broken and

poured out

for our

salvation.

Let's take a

few minutes

now to

quietly pray

and to

reflect.

And then

we'll have

Dave and

Simon come

and serve

the elements.

We'll wait

until everybody

has been

served and

we'll give

thanks and

we'll eat and

drink all

together.

Let's do

that.