Luke chapter 18 verse 31 I want to emphasize one word
in this 3 or 4 verse text. From verse 31, chapter 18, Then
he, the Lord Jesus, took unto him the twelve, and said unto
them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem. And all things that are written
by the prophets concerning the Son of Man shall be, here's our
word, everything God said about His Son in all of the book is
going to be accomplished. And you know who accomplishes
it, don't you? He said, I'm going to go accomplish everything that
my father sent me to accomplish. I'm gonna get it done. For he
shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully
entreated, and spitted on. And they shall scourge him, and
put him to death. And the third day he shall rise again. And they understood none of these
things. Boy, he's gonna do everything
And we're not only not going to do anything, we're not even
going to know what he did. We don't even have any idea,
even now. He said to his disciples, I've
been so long with you and you don't even know who I am? Think about that. Does that not show his absolute
sufficiency in our utter worthlessness? But by God's grace we're precious
to Him. I'm a worm, but I'm His worm. They understood not any of it,
not any of it. Neither knew they the things
which were spoken. Now, none of what the Lord said
was hard to understand, was it? You read it there with me. If
you took it a phrase at a time, He didn't speak some mysterious,
we're gonna go to Jerusalem. And even that right there, you
think about that. The word Jerusalem means set double peace. Make, establish double peace. Make double peace happen. That's
what it means. You think about that, double
peace. I'll give you a little homework assignment Ephesians
2 11 through 20. I was going to read that this
morning, but I don't want to be long God brought Jew and Gentile
together There's no middle wall of partition between any of God's
people. We're all reconciled to one another in Christ We're
all family. We're the people of God one Lord one faith one
birth one baptism one hope of our calling he's broken down
that middle wall of partition and But also, he made peace with
God for us. He set double peace. So what
he said to them there, literally, the word means it. He said, we're
going to set double peace. We're going to establish double
peace. That's what we're fixing to go
do. Upon the birth of the Lord Jesus
Christ, the angels proclaimed in Luke 2.14, glory to God in
the highest and on earth, peace. goodwill toward men. This doesn't
mean that people aren't going to kill each other anymore. That
hasn't happened. That hasn't stopped. And it's
not going to. As long as this world stands,
people are going to be killing each other. But what has happened by his
birth, his life, his death, and his resurrection is that there's
peace between God and sinners. All sinners for whom Christ made
peace by the blood of his cross are at peace with God. The natural
mind is enmity against God, but he made peace. He reconciled
us to God by the death of his son. And that's the language
of Colossians 119. Listen, for it pleased the Father
that in Christ, in him it says, but it's Christ that should all
fullness dwell. And having made peace through
the blood of his cross, He said, for this cause I came
into the world. He was born, His birth made glory
to God in the highest and peace on earth. Because that one born
in the manger is going to the cross. Through the blood of His cross,
by Him, by Christ, to reconcile all things to Himself, I say,
whether they be things in earth or things in heaven, and you,
that's the part I like you me that were at one time enemies
in your mind enemies in your mind by wicked works
yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through
death to present you wholly and unblameable and unreprovable. That's how there's no more enmity. That's how there's peace. The
enmity between you and God is that He's holy and you're evil.
But now He's caused you by the blood of His cross to be unreprovable
and unblameable and holy in the sight of God. And so there's
peace. It's tied to that. It's tied
to us being made holy and unblameable and unreprovable. peace is. That doesn't happen by anything
we do. It happened by what Christ did. People say, well, I've made
my peace with God. You're in trouble. If your peace
with God is something you did, you're in trouble. The only peace
there is between God and sinners is the peace made by Christ in
the body of his flesh through his death. It happens about him and what
he did and therefore there's peace with God for the sinner.
So he said to his disciples, we've got to go up and establish
double peace. And look what he said next. And
all things that are written by the prophets concerning the son
of man shall be accomplished. What did the prophets write about
him? Well, Every animal that was ever slain as a sacrifice
for sin and there were multiplied millions of them. They sacrificed
some tens of thousands of animals just when they opened and dedicated
the temple that was built for the worship of God. Every animal
ever slain in the Old Testament pointed to this. We're going
up to Jerusalem and everything the prophets wrote is fixing
to be accomplished. The Son of Man giving Himself
a sacrifice for the sins of God's people. He's the Lamb of God
that takes away sin. He's the woman's seed crushing
the serpent's head in Genesis 3. The prophet Moses spoke of
that, wrote of that, pointed straight to Calvary. That's where
Satan's head was crushed. That's where all of God's enemies
and ours were vanquished at Calvary. This is Abel's more excellent
sacrifice. His sacrifice wasn't more excellent
than Cain's because a lamb is better than a box of vegetables. It's because the precious blood
of Christ represented by that lamb is the only thing that satisfies
God for sin. This is Noah's ark on which the
wrath of God against the sins of his people fell so that those
in that ark in Christ would be safe and live. This is the serpent
of brass lifted up in the wilderness. When Moses cried, look and live,
and those dying from the poison of sin that was in their veins,
when they looked to him, they were made whole. And the Lord
Jesus said to Nicodemus, as that serpent was lifted up in the
wilderness, so must the son of man be lifted up that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Everything
the prophets wrote, It's fixing to be not just fulfilled, although
it is fulfilled, but accomplished. It's a victory won by somebody. By the one of whom it was written. This is God providing himself
a lamb as Abraham promised Isaac that he would. This is the child born. Which
is also the son given as described in Isaiah 9-6. Because God so
loved somebody that he gave his only begotten son. So that those who believe, who
are given faith in Christ should not perish but have everlasting
life. This is the despised and rejected one from Isaiah 53.
We just studied, bearing our sins in his own body on the tree.
This is the Lord laying on him, the iniquity of us all. This
is the one by whose stripes all those for whom he died are healed,
accomplished. That's what he died to do, to
heal us. And he said, I'm going to go
get it done. And then he went and got it done. And when he
got it done, he said, it's done. This is what must happen. This
is what they did not understand. There was nothing that our Lord
said that was unclear. You think about this, they understood
the mechanics of it. They knew where Jerusalem was.
They knew how to get there. They knew, the Lord said, we're
going there, so I guess we're going there. They knew who the
prophets were. They knew something about the
prophet's prophesying of Christ, and they believed that he was
Him. The concept of what they all
said coming to pass was not foreign to them. What all the prophets,
they understood that whatever was prophesied, God was able
to bring to pass. There are not any big words or
strange, confusing descriptions in our Lord's statement anywhere,
and yet it says they didn't understand any of it. None of it. You think about that. They didn't
understand any of it. Now think about this. This may be the most
important part of the message this morning. Surely they understood
the part about going up to Jerusalem. They didn't even understand that.
They didn't understand it. They knew where Jerusalem was
and they knew how to get there. But him saying, we're going to
Jerusalem, they had no idea what that was all about. You think
about that with me. Consider this well this morning.
If you do not know Christ, who he is, what he did, why he did
it, what he accomplished when he did it, and where he is now,
you don't understand anything. You don't understand anything
because everything is about that. None of these things. You don't
understand any of these things. None of them. Well, Chris, I
know who I am. No, you don't. You don't have
the slightest idea. If you don't know Christ, you
don't know who you are. You don't know what you are. You know nothing
about even yourself. That's just the truth. If you're
going to know any of these things, you got to know him. You got
to know what he accomplished. You have no idea who or what
you are. You don't know Christ and what he accomplished on Calvary.
You don't know the meaning of life. You don't know what life
is. What you call life is death. You don't know where anything
came from or how anything ends. You can't answer one question
worth asking if you don't know the Son of God. That's what we're
taught right here. Any of these things, none of
which even the disciples at this time understood. One of the most
significant things that people do not understand is that word,
our key word, accomplished. You don't even know what that
means. You don't know what accomplishment is. And I don't either, unless I
know Him. Whatever Christ went to Jerusalem
to do, He did. Is that hard to understand? Do
you know how many people understand that? About one in a million. That's just a wild guess, but
you know. It's probably worse than that.
You think of the billions of people that are in this world.
Well boy, that's simple Chris. Whatever He went to do, He did
it. That's simple. You're not going to get it. until he reveals
to you who he is. That's the difference between
false religion and the gospel of Christ. Accomplished. The one that passes for a savior
in this world did all he could do and left salvation up to you. My Savior accomplished salvation
for his people. What he went there to do is detailed
in the Old Testament. That's why he said it the way
he did. All of it was accomplished by him there and then. The whole
matter is reconciliation with God. He didn't do all he could,
he did all, period. He didn't make salvation possible,
he accomplished it. He does not now offer redemption,
he obtained it. Listen to the way Paul said it
in Hebrews 9.11, but Christ being come and high priest of good
things to come, And the prophets all spoke of the high priest.
God established a priesthood in the Old Testament. Well, what's
that all about? Don't look to the people that are called priests
in our day. They have nothing to do with
the priesthood of God. The high priest in the Old Testament
was a representative of the people. He's the one that spoke to God
for the people and to the people for God. He was the mediator
between God and men. Then there's just one. There's
one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.
Well, who's the high priest then, Chris? He's a type of Christ.
He was established by God to represent in the Old Testament
Christ and who he is and what he did. What did the high priest
do? Well, he mediated between God
and men, but here's how he did it. He went into the very holy
place of God, the Holy of Holies, where God's very presence dwelt.
And he did it on behalf of the people, as representative of
the people, but he never went in there without one thing. You
know what it is? The high priest went into the
Holy of Holies every year, the scripture says, not without blood. Christ is fixing to go accomplish
that. What those high priests pictured,
they were shadows of. He's the substance that cast
the shadow. And listen to what he said, Christ
being come and a high priest of good things to come by a greater
and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands. The one
made with hands was just a representation. of the tabernacle of God, that
is to say, not of this building, neither by the blood of goats
and calves. Those high priests in the Old
Testament brought animal blood, but that just pictured something.
He, by his own blood, entered once into the holy place, not
every year, one time in the end of the world hath he appeared
to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself, and listen to the
way it's worded, but by his own blood he entered in once into
the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. When
our high priest went into the holy place, not the one made
with hands, where God appeared in the form of His glory on that
mercy seat, but in the very presence of God for us, He went there
with His own precious blood, having already done something.
Where did He do it? Where He said He was going to
do it, at Jerusalem. he had accomplished, he obtained eternal redemption
for us. And with that sacrifice, with
that offering unto God of his own precious blood for our sins,
he went to God for us as our high priest. and we are redeemed, we are bought,
we are purchased, God is satisfied, we are free, we are saved. Hebrews
10, 12, but this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for
sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God from henceforth
expecting till his enemies be made his footstool, for by one
offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. Past
tense. It's done. When he said it's
finished, that's when it became past tense. Right then. In every
other sense, it's eternal. But in the sense of time, it
became past tense right then. It's finished. It's done. It's
accomplished. It's perfect. This is not hard
to understand, is it? And yet they understood none
of it until He revealed it to them. People understand none
of these things by nature and you're not going to figure it
out. You're not going to study enough to figure it out. I recommend
you study the Word of God, but what you need is a revelation.
The Lord Jesus Christ said, No man knoweth the Son but the Father. Neither knoweth any man the Father
save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him." You're
not going to know God until He gives you eyes to see and ears
to hear and faith to lay hold of Him in the person of His Son.
To know Christ is to know God. People don't understand any of
these things because they don't understand the one thing. Christ
crucified. And those who do understand,
what is it that they understand? Turn with me to 1 Corinthians
1. This is so important now. This is the glory of God and
this is the salvation of sinners. 1 Corinthians 1 verse 18. There are some that understand
now something of who he is. We don't fully understand. We
don't know anything as we ought to know, the scripture says.
But listen to 1 Corinthians 1.18. The preaching of the cross is
to them that perish foolishness. Now think about that. The preaching
of the victory of all victories. The preaching of the very glory
of God. is nonsense to those that have no idea what we're
saying. But unto us which are saved,
it's the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy
the wisdom of the wise and will bring to nothing the understanding
of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the
scribe? Where is the disputer of this
world? Where is the one that can argue and debate and come
up with something worth hearing? you're not going to come up with
anything. That's not how you find out who God is, by arguing
and debating. Hath not God made foolish the
wisdom of this world? Verse 21, For after that in the
wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, by all of its wisdom
put together. If I know all things, and understand
all mysteries, And God has not shed abroad his love in my heart.
I am nothing. I'm a sounding brass and a tinkling
cymbal. 1 Corinthians 13. But when that
was the case, when we were helpless and hopeless and unable, it pleased God by the foolishness
of what I'm doing right now. That's why nothing else is more
important than this, y'all. I'm just like you, you know. But this is why we're here. Because
it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that
believe on Him. For the Jews require a sign,
the Greeks seek after wisdom. All they have are these fleshly
means to try to obtain what they're looking for. But we preach Christ
crucified unto the Jews a stumbling block and unto the Greeks foolishness.
But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ
the power of God and the wisdom of God. Now listen, because the
foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God
is stronger than men, for you see your calling, brethren, how
that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not
many noble are called, but God hath chosen. What's the difference between
the wise and the fool? God hath chosen the foolish things of the world
to confound the wise, and God hath chosen the weak things of
the world to confound the things which are mighty, and the base
things of the world, and the things which are despised hath
God chosen, yea, and the things which are not to bring to naught
the things that are, that no flesh should glory in his presence,
and I guarantee you If He chose you and opened your eyes, you
don't want anybody to get any glory but Him. And it's a good
thing because nobody's getting any but Him. But of Him, of God,
of His choosing, are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto
us wisdom. We know Him, and so we know everything. We're getting to that you say
well. I don't see that there could just hold on and Righteousness
and sanctification and Redemption so don't dare glory in yourself
or anybody a glory in him All right Now look at Hebrews 10
12 I'm sorry look at 1st Corinthians
2 the next chapter 1st Corinthians 2 1 & 2 and 1 Corinthians 2, right where you're
at there, look at chapter two, verse one. And I, brethren, when
I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom,
declaring unto you the testimony of God, for I determined not
to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I think it was Todd Navrat that
wrote an article recently that's saying, Paul's not saying there
that he's not going to preach some things because he's too
busy preaching Christ. He's saying Christ is all there
is. Because, you know, he just said there, I'm not with excellency
of speech or wisdom. He just said the wisdom of the
world don't exist. It don't exist. There ain't but
one message. Now skip down to verse 7. But
we, here's what we do say, we speak the wisdom of God in a
mystery, even the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the
world unto our glory, which none of the princes of this world
knew. For had they known it, they would not have crucified
the Lord of glory. But as it is written, I have
not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of
man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
But God hath revealed them unto us. Nobody's ever seen it. Nobody's
ever heard it. Even the princes, those who were
wealthy and had every advantage known to man and resources available
to them, they didn't know anything about what God said. How do we
then? He revealed it to us. By His Spirit, for the Spirit
searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what
man knoweth the things of a man? You don't even know yourself.
Say, the Spirit of man which is in him, even so the things
of God knoweth no man but the Spirit of God. If you're going
to know God, you're going to have to hear from God. Now, as far as everyday things,
the illustration here, as far as just like basic physical things
about myself, you know, that not everybody knows, if you want
to know, ask me. Don't ask somebody else and don't speculate about
it. Ask me. That's what he's saying. If you
want to know God, you're going to have to hear from God. Now we have received
not the Spirit of the world, verse 12, but the Spirit which
is of God that we might know the things that are freely given
to us of God. That's how you're going to know
anything. It's freely given. Which things also we speak. Not
in the words of which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy
Ghost teacheth, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. We don't
even use man's logic to figure out the things of God. Only Scripture
can shed light on Scripture. Only something spiritual can
shed light on something spiritual. And so the Spirit of God in us
enables us to do that. But look, the natural man, verse
14, receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God for they
are foolishness unto him. Two reasons now. First of all,
he thinks it's stupid. Try telling somebody that doesn't
know God about God. I've been there. They think you're
an idiot. But also, they can't possibly
know them because they're spiritually discerned. They're incapable
of understanding it because they're only understood by the Spirit.
That's what he just said. And that which is born of the
flesh is nothing but flesh. You're going to have to be born
of the Spirit if you're going to understand the things of the
Spirit. And that's being born from above. But he that is spiritual judgeth. Judgeth all things. Yet he himself
is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of
the Lord, that he may instruct him?" Now, we're not instructing
him, but we have the mind of Christ. We discern all things. Does that mean you know everything?
Well, my children used to think I knew everything, and I'm trying
to keep that, you know, alive as long as possible. But I'll
tell you this, if you know Him, you know everything worth knowing.
You just do. You can answer every question.
What's the purpose of man? Christ. What's the origin of
man? Without Him was not anything
made that was made. What's the end of man? We're
all going to stand at the judgment seat of who? Christ. What's the point of it all? What's
the purpose of life? Of Him and through Him and to
Him are all things. John said, you've created all
things and for your pleasure they are and were created. Christ
is the answer to every question that all the philosophers are
asking. You know everything worth knowing
if you know Him. If you don't know Him, you understand none
of these things. Verse 32, we have to hurry. Verse 32, for he shall be delivered
unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated,
and spit it on. You know, it sounds like a lot
of things happening to him. This is what's gonna happen to
him. But he just got through saying, I'm gonna go accomplish
these things. Everything that they did, they
did by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. This
is not them doing something to him, this is him doing something.
He said, no man takes my life from me. I lay it down of myself. This is just the way he did it.
This is just the means by which he did it. And when it says delivered
there, who delivered him? Acts 2 23 him being delivered
by the determinant counsel and foreknowledge of God have you
taken And by wicked hands have crucified
and slain This is not us doing something
to him although we're guilty it doesn't alleviate our guilt
But this is him doing something for his sheep Verse 33 and they
shall scourge him and put him to death and the third day he
shall rise again This is why Paul said we preach Christ crucified You know the message that we
preach is also described as The kingdom of God in Luke 9 60 Jesus
said unto him let the dead bury their dead, but you go and preach
the kingdom of of God. Do we preach Christ crucified
or do we preach the kingdom of God? Yes. What did John and the Lord Jesus
preach? The kingdom of God. John the
Baptist came preaching the kingdom of God. Listen, Mark 1.4, now
after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee preaching
the gospel of the kingdom of God. What is the kingdom of God? What's the preaching of the kingdom
of God? Listen, listen how the preaching of the kingdom is described
in Acts 28, 30. Paul dwelt two whole years in
his own hard house and received all that came in unto him, preaching
the kingdom of God and teaching those things which concern the
Lord Jesus Christ. That's what it is to preach the
kingdom of God, is to preach Christ crucified. with all confidence. Listen to
Romans 14, 17. The kingdom of God is not meat
and drink. What's he saying there? Well,
he's talking about meat and drink in the context of religious people.
You know, you can't eat this on a certain day, and you can
only drink certain things, and no alcohol's ever touched my
lip. Well, you may just go to hell with no alcohol touching
your lips. It has nothing to do with the kingdom of God. The
kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness and
peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. Paul said there that God's kingdom
is not a bunch of religious people doing a bunch of religious stuff.
It's righteousness. We read while ago in 1 Corinthians
1.30 where it says, Christ is made unto us righteousness. Of God, he's made unto us righteousness. Peace, it's peace. We also read
while ago in Colossians 1.20 where it says, Christ hath made
peace by the blood of his cross. Joy in the Holy Ghost. Paul described all believers
in Philippians 3.3. We are the circumcision which
was the sign of the covenant. So he's saying that we're the
covenant people of God. Which worship God in the spirit.
And rejoice in Christ Jesus. And have no confidence in the
flesh. Joy comes. How do we joy? Let me close with
this. The kingdom of God is joy. And
our text says they didn't understand any of these things. Where is
joy? Where is real joy? What makes you happy? The things
of this world? Well I hope not because what
are you going to be when the things of this world are burned
up or when you lose them? God gives and he takes away and
his name is to be blessed in both. So that can't be your joy. Joy in the Holy Ghost. Turn with
me to Luke chapter 24. Verse 44. Luke 24, 44. There's a lot of ways we could
expound upon this, what we preach and how that we preach what's in
our text. That's our message, Christ and what he accomplished.
That's our message. This is precious to me. Look
at Luke 24, 44. He said unto them, these are
the words which I spake unto you while I was yet with you,
that all things must be fulfilled. which were written in the Law
of Moses and in the Prophets and in the Psalms concerning
me. Do you see that? That's referring
to our text. He told them at least three times.
That's recorded in the Scriptures. He probably told them other times
too. At least three times he said these same things to them.
The Son of Man must go up to Jerusalem and he must be betrayed
and he must be delivered into the hands of wicked men and he'll
be crucified and slain. And here he is saying, this is
what I told you. Here I am. He opened their eyes
and they knew who He was. He said, this is what I was telling
you all that time. That this would have to happen.
You saw me crucified. And now you see me risen. Remember
what I said to you? And listen, all of that is what
Moses and the prophets wrote about. Christ crucified is the
message of all of God's Word. And look, this is what he said.
He began it in Moses. That's Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus,
Numbers, and Deuteronomy. And in the prophets, that's all
the rest of the Old Testament except for the Psalms. And in
the Psalms. You see that? In all of God's
Word that was written at that time. It concerns me, he said. It's about me. And that's what
I've been telling you. And then opened he their understanding. Then he did something, and all
of a sudden they said, I get it, I get it, I get it. That they might understand the
scriptures. Isn't that beautiful? And said
unto them, thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to
suffer. and to rise from the dead the
third day." See how tender He was and long-suffering? And that
repentance and remission of sin should be preached in His name
among all nations beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses
of these things. Now that they know what in the
world He's talking about. And what was He talking about? Himself. Now that they know, now that
you know something, now that he's opened your understanding,
that you might understand, now you can tell, you got something
to say now. And behold, I send the promise
of my Father upon you. But tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem
until ye be endued with power from on high. Boy, we don't have
any authority till he gives it to us. I didn't have something
to say until the Lord gave me some authority to say something. And he led them out as far as
to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands and blessed them. And
it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them
and carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him and returned
to Jerusalem with great joy. That's what joy is now. It's
understanding and knowing. Let him that gloryeth, glory
in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the
Lord. With great joy, and they were
continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen. So be it. May we praise and bless
his holy name this morning as we go from here. May he make it so. Let's pray
together. Father, thank you.