AN UNPREACHED SERMON (173)
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
There are some people who think it would be a great asset to be able to see into the future. I have my doubts! Looking back over our lives we can all pick out things that if we had known about them in advance, we would have given them a wide berth. The disciples of Jesus on more than one occasion were told by Jesus what the future held for Him, and they chose to blot it out of their minds. It was just too painful to contemplate. In terms of us seeing the future, the hymnwriter got it right: “God kindly veils our eyes”.
But it was different for Jesus. His eyes were wide open to all that lay ahead. He knew exactly what the future held for Him and He tried to share it with The Twelve (Luke 18:31-34). They couldn’t countenance losing Him in such a gruesome fashion. We, of course, are in a more favoured position than the first disciples because we know the end of the story. Even though He hinted at what would have to transpire before the happy ending kicked in, they couldn’t visualise it. Jesus was all too aware of the details of what to expect, not because of some supernatural prophetic gift, but because
• He knew His Bible (“everything written by the prophets”)
• He was sure of His identity (“the Son of Man”)
• The Hebrew scriptures said Messiah had to suffer (“everything will be fulfilled”)
HE KNEW HE WOULD BE ARRESTED.
The phrase He uses is “handed over” or “delivered up”. Early in Christian thinking and preaching it become a technical phrase for the work of Christ on the Cross. Peter used it when he preached on the day of Pentecost. “This Man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge...” (Acts 2:23). It was all part of the eternal plan; nothing was by chance or haphazard. The Cross was no accident. Paul also spoke in these terms. “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification” (Romans 4:25).
It is quite clear that greater forces were at work in Jesus being rounded up for trial than those who hounded Him to His death could ever imagine. They were the ones being manipulated by the mighty hand of God. It was all in the divine plan.
HE KNEW HE WOULD BE ABUSED.
There is plenty on our TV screens to remind us of man’s humanity to man, but it is almost as if it is condensed by what Luke records of Jesus’ prediction. He would be so barbarically and brutally treated. Here is abuse on a cosmic scale against the One who is Lord of the cosmos. Each phrase takes us deeper and deeper into what Christ endured.
Mentally (“mock Him and insult Him”). In Christian art for decency’s sake artists are very loathe to depict Christ as naked. But crucified criminals always hung on their crosses without any dignity. It added to the shame and provided ample opportunity for crude jokes by the mob. Entertainment for the masses.
Physically (“spitting and flogging”). The whipping under the Roman lash was severe. Many a criminal never reached the crucifixion stage, by conveniently dying under the lash. It is a tribute to the physical stamina of Jesus that He made it through such an ordeal. And as for the spitting – it is bad enough to be spat on, but the original Greek phrase says they “spat at Him”. It was an insult of the lowest degree.
Fatally (“and kill Him”). Jesus was under no illusions where the Calvary Road was leading, and He tried to get that through to His disciples. He was born into the world to die for the world. Ironically, of course, in the end they did not take His life, He gave it.
Spiritually. All that Jesus predicted and explained could never convey the depth of His sufferings, for in the end the Cross was a spiritual experience. We are near the mark when we sing, “We may not know we cannot tell what pains He had to bear”. There was a depth to what Christ endured when “He bore our sins in His body on the Tree” that we will never be able to fathom fully (1 Peter 2:24).
HE KNEW HE WOULD BE ACKNOWLEDGED.
“On the third day He will rise again”. Jesus knew the Cross was only one side of the story. He would be vindicated by His Father. This is why all through Holy Week and on Easter Sunday itself we do what the writer to the Hebrews instructs us: “Let is fix our eyes on Jesus....who for the joy set before Him endured the Cross, scorning its shame and now sits on the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Hebrews 12:2).
All this Jesus tried to get across to His disciples. But those who were closest to Him couldn’t or wouldn’t take it in. “They did not know what He was talking about” (v34). He is trying to forewarn them, but they were blind to His clearest teaching. Despite Him being a great Teacher whom they revered and with special instruction spelled out before them, they remained ignorant to what He was saying. They just didn’t get it.
I am convinced the reason they didn’t grasp it, is the same reason people in our day shut their minds to the real meaning of the Cross and Good Friday.
• They didn’t want to face the truth. It was too disturbing and had implications for their own discipleship.
• Their minds were blinded and kept in the dark by Satan (2 Corinthians 4:4). The last thing he wants is for people to understand why Jesus died.
• Just like them, our human nature has a great capacity to disbelieve or ignore what is plainly put before our eyes. It was unwelcome and they chose to ignore it. We dare not follow in their footsteps.
Instead, when we gather for our special Good Friday services or come regularly to the Lord’s Table, we are trying to take in all that Jesus tried to tell His original disciples. The reason we celebrate Good Friday and Easter year after year is because there is so much more to digest and take in than we will ever know.
“O make me understand it, help me to take it in;
What it meant for Thee, the Holy One, to bear away my sin”
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