All right, let's look at Matthew
chapter 20, beginning at verse 17. It says, And Jesus, going
up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples apart in the way. And
he said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and the Son
of Man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the
scribes, and they shall condemn him to death. and shall deliver
him to the Gentiles to mock, to scourge, and to crucify him. And the third day he shall rise
again. Now those are the facts of the
gospel. And as Lord taught his disciples,
he told the whole story. But here he began walking to
Jerusalem. This was impending death for
him. But this is the reason he came
into the world. And he told his disciples over
and over again as they, in their fleshly selfishness, and we are
all like that. I'm not saying we're above the
disciples. If we're sinners saved by grace,
we all have a struggle with the flesh, with selfishness, self-righteousness,
and even unbelief. And when they would hear about
him being arrested and condemned and dying, it brought them sorrow. But he always told them, just
like he did here in verse 19, the third day he shall rise again. Now I understand why they had
such a problem with that, even though they had already seen
one risen from the dead, Lazarus. Christ said, Lazarus, come forth,
and Lazarus came out of the grave. But they were thinking in earthly
terms. And again, I think it's significant
that we understand that the disciples still had their mind on an earthly
kingdom and not a spiritual kingdom. And that hindered their understanding
too. Now we were talking about this
last week. Sometimes you go through these scriptures and you wonder,
were they actually converted here or was it later? I personally
believe it was later. But the Lord providentially kept
them together under the preaching of the truth. And that's what
he does. You know, salvation as it applies to us experientially,
the first thing that happens to every one of God's elect is
a providential blessing from God that we don't even realize
at first. And what is that? That's when
he brings us under the preaching of the gospel. Because that has
to happen. The gospel is the power of God
unto salvation. And it's to everyone that believeth.
Of course, we know that believing is a gift from God. That's faith.
The gift of faith. It's not of ourselves, not of
works, lest any man should boast. But the first thing that happens
in our lives as God's elect, we were God's elect from the
very beginning, before the foundation of the world. Given to Christ. And sure to be saved. But we're
born into this world in the gall of bitterness and sin and depravity
and death because we fell in Adam. And so until the Lord gives
us eyes to see and ears to hear spiritually, we don't know these
truths to glorify him. We're worshiping an idol. We're
enemies in our minds of God in wicked works. But the first thing
that happens to us in our experience of the gospel is God providentially
brings us in some way, somewhere, to hear that true gospel. And
I love that passage in Romans 6, 17, where it talks about,
he says, but God bethink that you were the servants of sin?
But God, well, I'm trying to quote it, and we were talking
about our memories, weren't we, Randy, last week, and Jim? But God bethink that you were
the servants of sin. Oh, but you have obeyed from
the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. And
literally that would go like this, that verse in the original
language, it would go something like this. It'd say, but God
bethink that you were the servants of sin, but you have obeyed from
the heart that form of doctrine unto which you were delivered. God delivered you to hear the
gospel. But when you first hear it, you
don't realize what a blessing it is because until God gives
you faith and understanding to believe it, it's a negative message
to you. I remember that in myself, and
I'm not saying everybody was like me, but we're all born in
unbelief. And that's why we must be born
again. But when I first heard the gospel, I did not like it,
I hated it. And I set out to prove it wrong.
And now I realize that bringing me under that message that I
then, because of my lack of spiritual life and understanding, that
I hated, now that's the greatest blessing that ever was. God changed
me. He didn't change, but he changed
me. And that's what he did to you when he brought you under
the preaching of the gospel. So these disciples, when they
heard these things, They, you remember Peter, after he made
that great confession, and then when the Lord told him he had
to go to Jerusalem and be killed and rise again the third day,
Peter said, not so, Lord. Basically, it's a construction
there in Matthew 16 where Peter says, Lord, be merciful to yourself.
And remember what Christ said, get thee behind me, Satan. That's
a satanic influence. And Satan still attacks us, doesn't
he? That's why we're told to put
on the whole armor of God. Well, here he is, he's coming out of
this land and going to Jerusalem, and the multitude's following,
but it says he took his 12 disciples apart. He got them by themselves
from the rest of the crowd. And he identifies himself once
again, he says the Son of Man in verse 17, or verse 18. That's
the Messiah. That speaks specifically of his
humanity in light of his deity because that's who he is. He's
God manifest in the flesh. Now you remember the Apostle
John wrote against those false preachers who were saying that
Christ the Messiah did not come in the flesh and did not have
a fleshly body. Because they equated flesh with
sin. But Christ had a sinless flesh
body. A sinless human body and soul. United with His deity. He could
not sin. He is the impeccable Christ.
You know, these people who are talking about Christ being corrupted
with our sins. Well, how could He be corrupted?
Did He have sinful thoughts? I do. Do you? You do. And if you'd say, listen, if
you'd say, no, I don't have them, you just had a sinful thought
because you just told yourself a lie. Yes, we have sinful thoughts. Do we have sinful desires, sinful
goals? Yes, we do. And we have to fight
them. But Christ did not have to fight sin within himself. So that when he was made sin,
how was he made so? Only by imputation. The sin dead
of his people laid to his charge. And that's why he had to die.
But the Son of Man is a messianic term. He's the Messiah. He's the one Son of God. And
look at what he says. He says he's gotta be betrayed. The Son of Man shall be. Do you
see that? Not might be. Shall be betrayed. Well how did he know that that
was gonna happen? Because he's God. Manifest in the flesh, and
that was predetermined and predestinated before the foundation of the
world. He knows everything. And it says
unto the chief priest, the religious people, now notice this. He shall
be betrayed unto the chief priest. Think about that priesthood of
the Old Testament. The high priest, that was a picture
of Christ. The other priest, which was a
picture of believers in the church. The very thing that was set up
to picture Christ, those were the ones who were gonna condemn
him. And it shall be, he says unto
the scribes. And look, it says, they shall
condemn him to death. This is a sure thing. Verse 19,
they shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, remember they
took him to Pilate, and to scourge and to crucify him, and the third
day he shall rise from the dead. Our salvation in and by the Lord
Jesus Christ is a sure thing. The assurance of salvation. So there we have it. He used
that term, shal, four times. So these things were all set
up from the beginning. And I've got some scripture in
your lesson there that shows you that. The lamb slain before
the foundation of the Lord, that's the purpose of God. And that
was the very reason he came into the world. Now look at verse
20 and 21. It says, then came to him the mother of Zebedee's
children, I believe that's James and John, with her sons, worshiping
him, and design a certain thing of him. Now they knew him to
be the Messiah, even their mother. She worshipped him. You don't
worship one who's not God. I never forget one time, this
kind of reminded me of this yesterday because Debbie and I were driving
down West Doublegate Road and we saw a couple walking with
little pamphlets and ties and Jehovah's Witnesses. I've often said that the government
could save some money if they just let Jehovah's Witnesses
deliver the mail, because they're in the neighborhood anyway. But
anyway, but they were Jehovah's Witnesses. And you know, they
deny that Jesus was God, or is God. And I remember I was talking
to two of them, and I said, do you worship Jesus of Nazareth? And they said yes. I said, well
then you're an idolater. He said, what do you mean? I
said, you don't believe him to be God, yet you worship him?
I believe he is God. God and man in one person. And
I do worship him. But you don't worship anyone
who's not God. So we can assume here that this
woman, the mother of Zebedee's children, that she believed him
to be God manifest in the flesh. And look at verse 21, it said,
he said unto her, what wilt thou? What do you want? She saith unto
him, grant that these my two sons may sit the one on thy right
hand and the other on the left in thy kingdom. Well, hadn't
that issue come up before among the disciples back in Matthew
chapter 18? And you remember what He said to them? He said,
He that's going to be first shall be last, and last first. In other
words, He was showing that blessed equality that exists in the Kingdom
of God, that there's no hierarchy. It's not Christ, then Mary, then the Pope, then
the Cardinals. That's all false religion. Understand that. And boy, we've
got to call it what it is. It's idolatry. Now again, we don't, you know,
as I go through the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and
even John, I don't try to climb into the minds of the disciples,
but I do know this. They still had their minds on
an earthly kingdom, and the reason I know that is the very last
time they saw Christ in the flesh, that was on their minds. When
are you going to establish the kingdom here? Well, he'd already
established the kingdom on the cross of Calvary, the church. That's his kingdom. But they
still had their minds and they were thinking, well, there's
going to be a little hierarchy here. And so they didn't understand
the spiritual nature of the kingdom yet. But look at verse 22. It says, but Jesus answered and
said, you know not what you ask. You're speaking out of ignorance.
I remember when I was first converted, I spoke out of ignorance some
too. But he says, are you able to
drink of the cup that I shall drink of and to be baptized with
the baptism that I am baptized with? And they said unto him,
we're able. Well, we know what happened,
okay? Well, the cup and the baptism
that Christ is speaking of is his own death, suffering unto
death, to put away the sins of his people. Our sins imputed
to him, he suffered, he bled, he died, he was buried, and he
arose again the third day. Now that was all a sure thing. The baptism of suffering. what he said. And the reason
I believe he asked him that is as far as having any position
of authority in the Kingdom of Heaven, you would have to do
something equivalent to what Christ did for His people. And
they couldn't do that. But look on verse 23. They said
we're able And verse 23, he saith unto them, you shall drink indeed
of my cup and be baptized with the baptism that I'm baptized
with, not as a substitute now, not as a surety, not as a representative
or a savior, but to sit on my right hand and on my left is
not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it
is prepared of my father. Now what he's saying here, and
I know some of this language is a little difficult to understand,
Basically all he's telling them though, very simply, is you're
going to suffer for the cross. You're going to suffer for Christ's
sake. But it's not going to give you any higher position or any
authority in the kingdom than any other believer has, save
by the grace of God. And so there'll be no higher
or lower positions in this spiritual eternal kingdom of God. All of
God's people are equally kings and priests, the Bible tells
us. Equally saved, equally redeemed, equally justified, we're justified
based upon the imputed righteousness of Christ, and there are no degrees
there. If I'm saved and I'm justified before God based upon the righteousness
of another, which is Christ the Lord, there are no degrees there. I'm no more saved than any of
you all who are saved. There's a blessed equality, remember
that. So he's telling them they're
gonna suffer, but they won't suffer like him, they'll suffer
in the same way in the sense that they will suffer for the
gospel's sake. And that's why he suffered in
what you might say in a secondary cause. The main reason he suffered
is because it pleased the Father to bruise him. It was God the
Father who sent him to the cross. Sent him to the cross? Well,
Galatians 4.4, in the fullness of the time, God sent forth his
son. Huh? to be made of a woman, to
be made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law.
Well, look at verse 24. He says, and when the ten heard
it, they were moved with indignation against the two brethren. The
other disciples got jealous over the mother of the sons of Zebedee
asking that question, where they had asked the question before. It's almost like they're saying,
you think you're gonna rule over me? Well, Christ is the ruler. Well, look at verse 28. Yeah. Well, read verse... Well, let's see. I skipped over some, didn't I?
Okay, verse 24, all right? They reeled against it. Now look
at verse 25. Here we are. Okay, I got it.
But Jesus called unto him and said, You know that the princes
of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are
great exercise authority upon them. But it shall be not so
among you. Among men, there's different
positions, different authority, even in the Gentiles. But whosoever
will be great among you, let him be your minister, your servant. And whosoever will be chief among
you, let him be your servant. In other words, the Lord's showing
them that among the people of the world, as he mentions Gentiles,
they spend their time and their energy trying to get ahead of
other people. We all want a promotion, don't we, in our job, want more
money, more authority, all of that. And when they achieve it,
they often abuse it, don't they? You know, we always say absolute
power corrupts, or something like that, power corrupts and
absolutely and all that. Well, we know all about that.
Some people can handle authority better than others, but that's
what the world wants. But what do we want in the kingdom
of God? We want to glorify Him. Isn't
that right? I don't want to stand up here
or sit up here now in this pulpit and glorify myself. I'm serious,
I don't want that. I want to glorify Christ. I want
you to hear about His glory and His power, His goodness, His
mercy, His grace, His justice, all of that. And I've got written
in your lesson where Christ tells us not to be like those Gentiles.
He said, seekest thou great things for thyself? Seek them not. Jeremiah 45, but seek ye first
the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be
added unto you. Here's the point. Christ is the
King of kings. He's the authority. We're his
subjects equally. Now go to verse 28. even as the
Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to
give his life a ransom for many. Now he's talking about his mediatorial
servanthood. Now, we serve the Lord Jesus
Christ, and he came to save his subjects who were to serve him. We are willing, loving bond slaves
of Christ. But what he's talking about here
is one thing specifically, he's talking about the redemptive
work to fulfill the terms of the covenant of grace. And he
was the servant of the covenant. And that's why I entitled this
message, Christ the King, the Servant King. If you'll look
over in Acts chapter two, just look there just for a moment,
in Acts chapter two. And Peter's preaching the gospel,
the gospel of the kingdom. And he says in verse 36 of Acts
chapter two, talking about the redemptive work of Christ, and
in verse 36 he says, therefore let all the house of Israel know
assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus, that same Jesus
whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now, a man asked
me one time years ago, he said, well, wasn't Christ always Lord
in Christ? Wasn't he always the sovereign?
In his deity, yes. But this is speaking of the work
that he did as the servant of the covenant to fulfill all the
conditions and all the stipulations of the salvation of his people
by going to the cross. So this is his mediatorial lordship. That's what we can call it. And
that's what he's talking about here back in Acts 20 and verse
28. He came not to be ministered unto. He didn't come the first
time on a white horse, a warrior, a king in the clouds to defeat
their enemies and bring everybody to serve him. He came into the
world to obey the law, to suffer unto death for the salvation
of his people. And he's called the servant of
the covenant. And he says to give his life
a ransom for many. Now, who are the many? Look over
at Hebrews chapter two. I think I've got this verse cited. I may not, but you can write
it out there in Hebrews chapter two, where he talks about many
sons. Yeah, Hebrews chapter two. Where
it says here, verse nine, but we see Jesus who was made a little
lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with
glory and honor. See, it's the very thing he's
talking about in Acts 20, 28. Crowned with glory and honor
that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. In
the original, every man's not even there. It should be just
every. And what he's talking about is
the ones he identifies beginning at verse 10. Who are the every? It's not all men and women without
exception. Because if he died for all men
and women without exception, all men and women without exception
are going to be saved. And we know that's not so. His
death is the assurance of the salvation of his sheep. I laid
my life down for the sheep. He said, all that the Father
giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will
in no wise cast out. And this is the will of him that
sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing,
but raise it up again at the last day. If He shed His blood to put away
your sins, then your sins are put away and they cannot be charged
to you. For who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?
It's God that justifies. Who can condemn us? It's Christ
that died. He rather is risen again, seated
at the right hand of the Father, making intercession for us. So
look at verse 10 of Hebrews 2. For it became Him, for whom are
all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons
unto glory. That's who the every is, the
many sons. to make the captain of their
salvation perfect through sufferings. For both he that sanctifies and
they who are sanctified, that's the many, they're set apart.
All one for which cause he's not ashamed to call them brethren,
that's the many, his brethren. Saying I will declare thy name
unto my brethren, that's the gospel preached and revealed
to them. In the midst of the church, the called out ones,
the redeemed ones, that's the many. Will I sing praise unto
thee? And again, I will put my trust
in him. And again, behold, I and the children which God hath given
me. That's the elect. You see, for
as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood,
he also himself likewise took part of the same, that through
death he might destroy them that had the power of death, that
is the devil, and deliver them who through fear of death were
all their life subject to bondage. For barely he took not on him
the nature of angels, but he took on him the seed of Abraham.
And who's the seed of Abraham? He's talking about Abraham's
spiritual seed. Who is that? Believers. And who
are the believers? Those whom God gives life and
gives faith. Now go back to Matthew 20, and
I'll finish this up. Look at verse 31, or verse 29. It says, and as they departed
from Jericho, a great multitude followed him, and behold, two
blind men sitting by the wayside, when they heard that Jesus passed
by, cried out, saying, have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David. Have mercy. Verse 31, the multitude
rebuke them because they should hold their peace. Now we don't
know what was going through their minds there, but it says, but
they cried and the more saying, have mercy on us, oh Lord, thou
son of David. What a great picture. Now we
know these guys were physically healed. Verse 32, and Jesus stood
still and called them and said, what will you that I shall do
unto you? And they saying to him, Lord,
that our eyes may be open. So Jesus had compassion on them
and touched their eyes and immediately their eyes received sight and
they followed. They followed him. What a great
picture of spiritual rebirth. If the Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin and shows
us the glory of Christ, a multitude of people cannot stop us from
coming to Him. We're gonna get to Him. And He'll
always stand still for His people. Not as a response, but that's
his sovereign will. And I love that passage in Exodus
chapter 14, I think it is. I may have that in your list,
where Moses said, stand still and see the salvation of those.
That's what he brings us to do. Stop trying to work your way
into God's glory and stand still and see the salvation that God
has by grace through Christ. Okay.