We Go To Jerusalem

Q: What does the Bible say about the purpose of Jesus going to Jerusalem?

The Bible indicates that Jesus' journey to Jerusalem was essential for His mission to redeem His people through His death and resurrection. The purpose of Jesus going to Jerusalem is deeply rooted in the redemptive plan established by God. Throughout Scripture, Jerusalem symbolizes the culmination of Christ's mission. He states, 'Behold, we go up to Jerusalem,' highlighting that this journey is not merely a physical relocation but the essential step towards the cross. His death was necessary for making peace between sinners and God, fulfilling prophecies and the covenant of grace revealed in the Old Testament. The journey to Jerusalem encompasses His sacrificial role as the Messiah whose ultimate act would be to bear the sins of His people, illustrating the depth of His love and commitment to redemption.

Q: How do we know that Christ's death was part of God's plan?

Christ's death was predetermined and prophesied in Scripture, confirming it as part of God's sovereign plan for redemption. The certainty that Christ's death was part of God's plan is underscored by biblical prophecy and divine foreknowledge. As stated in Acts 2:23, Jesus was delivered 'by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God.' This reveals that His death was not an accident or a result of human malice alone; it was orchestrated by God as the appointed method of salvation. The Old Testament contains numerous prophecies pointing to the sufferings and purpose of the Messiah, reinforcing the necessity of His crucifixion for the redemption of His elect. Jesus consistently communicated to His disciples the destiny awaiting Him in Jerusalem, emphasizing that the third day would bring His resurrection, a fulfillment of His role as the Savior.

Q: Why is understanding Christ's journey to the cross important for Christians?

Understanding Christ's journey to the cross reinforces the essence of the gospel and the significance of His redemptive work for believers. Understanding Christ's journey to the cross is vital as it encapsulates the heart of the gospel message. His path to Jerusalem is marked by the profound realities of betrayal, suffering, and ultimately, triumph over death. This journey teaches believers about the magnitude of Christ's sacrifice and the cost of salvation. The crucifixion was not a mere endpoint but the means through which He conquered sin and death for His chosen people. Recognizing this helps Christians to live in gratitude and faith, grounded in the assurance that their sins have been paid for by His blood. As Christians reflect on His journey, they come to appreciate the profound grace inherent in their salvation – that it is not based on their merits, but solely on Christ's finished work.

Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the 12 disciples apart in the way and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem. Let's stop right there for now and pray. Lord, thank you for bringing us together again. Thank you for this family and your church you've established here. Just pray your presence with us, Lord, Sit in here, and as we preach, that the message of Christ and Him crucified would be clear, true to Your Word, and as precious to it, Lord, as it ever was. And just give us the grace to worship You, Lord, to thank You for all Your tender mercies toward us in Christ. Give glory to Your name. In Christ's name we ask it. Amen.

Going up to Jerusalem, he took his disciples apart in the way and said, going to Jerusalem. Now our Lord's entire life was a journey to Jerusalem. He was always going to Jerusalem. That was gonna be the end point of all of his travels. Everyone and everything that he talked to and that was done before led up to this. And we point back now to that.

What was Paul's hope in Romans 8.34?

It is Christ that died and rose again. Jerusalem. When our Lord said what he did to the woman taken in adultery, neither do I condemn thee. Here's God's Son. Now they told The Pharisees said she's caught in adultery. The law says stone her. And Christ is the one who wrote that law. He wrote it with his own finger on Mount Sinai.

So how can he not condemn her? The reason is because he's going to Jerusalem. He was on his way to Jerusalem. He's going to make peace between the sinner and God. He's going to make peace between that woman and God. He can say to the publican, or of the publican, he went down to his house justified, because Christ was going up to Jerusalem.

Isaiah chapter 50, I want to read that, if you want to turn there, Isaiah 50 verse 4. Lay of 50, verse 4, the Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary. He wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.

The Lord God hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back. I gave my back to the smiters and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair. I hid not my face from shame and spitting, for the Lord God will help me, therefore shall I not be confounded. Therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed." He set his face like a flint to go to Jerusalem, to go to the place where he would redeem his people.

And this wasn't the Lord's first time to go to Jerusalem. He had been to Jerusalem before. He was taken there as a baby when Joseph and Mary brought him to the temple to be circumcised according to the law of Moses. Born in Bethlehem, but in Luke chapter two, they brought him to the temple. And Simeon was there, you remember, and said, mine eyes have seen God's salvation. And later in that same chapel, they lost him for three days. And they found him in Jerusalem. And he said there, I must be about my father's business.

Malachi prophesied this in Malachi 3.1, behold, I will send my messenger and he shall prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to his temple. Even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in, and behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts." Well, that temple was in Jerusalem. When the Lord came to Jerusalem for the first time, and the last time, it was purposed by God that he do so.

We see in Matthew 21.12 that the first place that he stopped was at the temple there. That's in the next chapter where we'll be in a couple of studies or two. And Jesus went into the temple of God and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple and overthrew the tables of the money changers. in the seats of them that sold doves, and said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves. My house, he shall come to his temple. Malachi said he would come to his house.

There he was. The Lord purposed it, prophesied it, and brought it to pass. The Lord was always followed by a great multitude. He was followed to where he was in our text by a great multitude. And in the next chapter in verses eight and nine, there's a great throng gathered and they threw their garments and some threw palm branches down and they exalted him, they praised him. But that multitude in the next chapter or two of Matthew, they went from Hosanna to the son of David, blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. And just a few days later, they were shouting, crucify him.

Because they didn't know who he was or what he was doing. But he took his disciples apart. He took them aside separately, apart from the multitudes that followed him there and that later extolled him. He took them apart in the way and explained what nobody else knew.

All the others expected Christ to be an earthly champion for Israel, Israel was under the tyranny of Rome. They were invaded by Rome and afflicted by Rome. And they expected Christ to be their deliverer as an earthly kingdom from the tyranny of Rome. But the Lord took his disciples aside and told them a different story.

He revealed the will of God to them, not the will of men, not what men expected or wanted or desired, but what God had purposed. His kingdom was not of this world. And he was the champion of his people. He was the champion of a nation. He was the savior of a nation. Turn with me to Acts chapter 22. Our Lord explained this there to Saul of Tarsus in Acts 22 verse 6.

And it came to pass, as I made my journey, Paul tells here, and was come now into Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me. And I fell into the ground, and I heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And I answered, who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest. They that were with me saw indeed the light and were afraid, but they heard not the voice of him that spake with me. And I said, What shall I do, Lord?

And the Lord said unto me, Arise and go into Damascus, and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do. And when I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of them that were with me, I came into Damascus.

One Ananias, a devout man, according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt there, came unto me, and stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. In the same hour I looked up upon him, and he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that just one, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth. Thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard." God's going to reveal his will to you, and you're going to tell it to others, you're going to tell it to the Gentiles, you're going to preach it to them. Everybody else was caught up in this excitement of earthly freedom, of earthly delivery from enemies. But they were taken aside, the disciples were taken aside just like God isolated Saul of Tarsus and said, here's my will, here's what's really happening.

And that's such an important thing for all believers. We see this world and it's easy to get discouraged. There's so much hatred of the Lord and just gratuitous blasphemy and just evil. Seems like it's more blatant and visible and open than it's been in my lifetime.

But the Lord takes us aside and he tells us what's really happening. what this world is really for, what's going on that people can't see, that people don't understand. His purpose is rolling along just fine. All of this is according, he told us it was going to happen. People are going to wax more and more evil in the last day. There's going to be a great blindness on people.

There's going to be a judgmental changing the natural into unnatural things and all the things that our Lord prophesied would take place. But He's taken us aside, we come aside by His providence and design to find out what's really going on. The Lord, He's going to be done with this world soon. And it's evident, I believe it's becoming more and more evident, that this world can't stand as it is. And we know his purpose in all this is the redemption of his people.

You remember in Luke, I think it's Luke 24, maybe, I'm not sure, where we studied the end times. And he said, when you see it all falling apart, when you see everything going into chaos, When you see the evil of man ripening to such an extent that everything seems to be unstable and the world is coming apart, do what? Look up. Look up.

For your final redemption draweth nigh. He's redeemed us with his precious blood and he's gonna redeem us into his very presence from this earth. So that's what's really going on. Let's all get together. Let's follow this Jesus. He's so popular. He does miracles. He's a great man. Let's follow him and let's defeat the Romans. No. He said, we're going to Jerusalem. I'm going to die there. I'm going to be betrayed by men. I'm going to be mocked and ridiculed and despised. And they're going to murder me. Can you imagine the shock that that would be to someone who was looking the other way?

So my question, I guess, for us is, do we know what's going on? Do we understand when we look at this crazy world, what's really happening? Most people still don't know why the Lord went to Jerusalem. He's explaining to them why he must go. And you could say, well, I know why he went to Jerusalem, to die and be raised again. That's what he said in the text, but why? To what end? To what purpose? What did he accomplish in that? So he says, behold, this is a heavy and epic behold here. Because he says, look now, we're going to Jerusalem.

And what's about to happen there is what's been happening all along. It's what everything else has led up to. It's the point of everything. What's going to happen there is the point of everything. It's why there's an earth. It's why there's a universe. It's why I have a people. It's why God created a man to begin with. It's the fulfillment of everything.

Can we behold that? He said, behold, look, look at this. Look what God's doing. Look what I'm going to do. Simeon was able to look into his face as an infant and say, I'm ready to die now because I've seen God's salvation. Can you look at that which doesn't appear to be what it is and say, this is the glory of God, this is the purpose of God? Can we look around in this world today and not be affected by, not be rattled by the vanity of this world, but to understand that God's purpose is right on track. It's right on track. What's happening is exactly what he said would happen. And that's what's going on here.

These men's lives were were torn up. You see, I think it is Luke chapter 24 this time, I think I'm right. But when they were walking along and they were sorrowful, they were sorrowful. The Lord asked them, why are you so sad? They said, well, haven't you heard? Jesus of Nazareth was crucified. And they were sad about it, even though he had told them What was going to happen?

And when we get to thinking, well, how in the world could they be sad? He sat there and we've seen this, that verse right there, verse 18, behold, we go up to Jerusalem and the son of man shall be betrayed into the chief priesthood and to the scribes and they shall condemn him to death. We've seen that very same verse. How many times in our, in our study, not that verse, but the same words in other verses of scripture, probably seven or eight times. He told them that's recorded. How in the world can they be sad? Let me ask you this, how can you be sad? How can we be so tore up about things? How can we get upset and anxious and afraid?

Didn't the Lord tell us, don't be afraid? I've overcome this world. You're gonna have tribulation in this world, but don't be afraid. Don't be worried, don't be upset about it, don't be surprised. Not so easy, is it, to remember the words of the Lord and rest in His promise? Not so easy for this flesh, but we ask for that, that the Lord would keep our eyes fixed upon Him and give us comfort in our trials.

Son of man shall be betrayed. Betrayed. We go up to Jerusalem and he be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, betrayed by one of his own apostles. And they shall condemn him to death. Man has always condemned Christ to death. We committed deicide in the garden. We had no use for God in the Garden of Eden. We've always hated God as a natural, sinful people.

In John 19, 7, the wording of it is so beautiful and clear. And I say beautiful not because it's a happy subject, but except in the sense that we know why the Lord died, what he accomplished by it. But listen to how clear this is. The Jews answered, pilot and said, we have a law. In other words, we have constructed a system of how things ought to be. And in that system, here's how things should be.

And if anybody violates this, there's punishment for you. And our system, our law says this, Jesus Christ ought to die. By our law, he ought to die because he made himself the Son of God. That's always been man's law. Our reckoning of how things ought to be has always been that. It was that in the garden and it has been ever since. The Son of God ought to die, the only good man that ever lived, the only begotten Son of God, God in human flesh. God ought to die, that's what happened, and will continue to happen, is happening, and always will happen, as long as there's a sinner.

But also, this perfect purpose and will of God, betrayed by evil men, but delivered, Acts 2.23, by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God.

Do you see a tragedy? or has the Lord taken you aside?" He says, here's what really happened. Here's what's really going to happen. Him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain. A tragedy, cause for sadness even in the disciples. But when the Lord takes us aside and shows us that he was condemned to death in order to die our death, He was crucified and the wrath of God poured out upon him in our place as our substitute.

He was made a curse that we might be free from the curse of the law. Now it's time to sing his praises, not be sad. He was condemned to death. Paul said, there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ. He was condemned with my condemnation. Now there's no condemnation to me."

That's what really happened. You see, the Lord takes us aside and the gospel is preached. And He teaches us what nobody else understands except those who have ears to hear by the grace of God the truth of what's really happening. It's not what appears to be the case. He was condemned by His Father for our sin so that for us, those who are in Him, there is no condemnation.

He was condemned to death. So many saw the death of a martyr, the end of a little bit of excitement, you know, people were saying he was committing miracles and all that, but look at him, he's just, he's helpless, he's beaten, he's defeated, no? He's the king. And he's winning the greatest victory that's ever been won. And if you believe that he died, we're sinners so that all sinners would have a chance to be saved. You missed it.

The Lord's gonna have to take us aside and show us what really happened. He redeemed, he obtained eternal redemption for his own. You know, if all the Lord did was give me a chance to be saved, think about how vain that is. Judas had a chance to be saved. Jezebel, in Revelation chapter 2, represents false religion, and God said, I gave her space to repent, and she repented not. Surprise, surprise. God's got to give repentance. That's the clear teaching of Scripture.

Pray for those who oppose themselves so that God, peradventure, might give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth. You've got to change your mind about what's true and what's a lie, about who God is, about the Son of God, whether He's able to redeem somebody or if He can't violate man's almighty free will. You have to change your mind about that. I don't want to be in that situation where I have a chance to be saved. I need the God of heaven and earth and the person of his son to grant me repentance. If he brought me on Calvary, he surely will.

Every covenant blessing that was procured by Christ for his covenant people will be theirs. Why? Because his blood is the blood of the everlasting covenant. The covenant is ratified, accomplished, fulfilled and sealed by the blood of the covenant. And the covenant says, I will and you shall. I will be merciful to your transgressions. When he broke the bread and handed it to his disciples, he said, this is my body, which is broken for you. And he took also the cup, saying, this cup is the new covenant in my blood. That's what happened in Jerusalem.

The covenant of God's grace, his eternal covenant of grace, made between the three persons of the Godhead and made for and inclusive of his people It's a covenant of grace toward His people, His elect, the ones, not the many called, but the few chosen we talked about this morning. He fulfilled all the terms of that covenant for His people so that every blessing of that covenant is ours unconditionally. The old covenant was conditional upon obedience. But God said in the book of Hebrews, this one's not going to be like that one because you didn't keep that one. The one thing different is this one's not going to depend on you.

The power and blessing of that covenant is going to rest on the shoulders of my son. And help is laid upon one that is mighty. Do you see? Has God taken you aside and showed you what happened on that cross? Listen to verse 19 and we'll close. And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify him. And the third day he shall rise again.

You see how selective we are in our faith? Sometimes if the Lord is gracious, now we won't be. But we lean this way. It's striking in the scriptures how that, whenever they heard that, whenever they heard this testimony, Simon Peter, the Lord said, get thee behind me, Satan, because you savor the things that be of men and not the things that be of God. Because the Lord told him, I must be crucified and slain.

But you know, they just ignore the last part. The third day, he's coming out of that grave. Why would you be sad? Because you just flat don't believe that. That's why. We just flat don't believe it until he reveals it to us. until he impresses it upon our soul. What's sad about that? Yeah, the first part of it sounds horrible, doesn't it? But he's gonna rise again. They just ignored that part. Do we do that? This is what the whole book of God is about. To mock, to scourge, to crucify. And the third day, he's going to rise again. Over and over, he told them that. And now the time's come. And he said, now, he took them apart, said, behold, listen to this.

Listen carefully. You remember where we saw in another text recently in Matthew that he said, let these things sink down into your ears. Let it sink down into your ears. that I must be betrayed into the hands of men and mocked and scourged and crucified and rise again the third day.

Let it sink in. Don't be shocked when it happens. Don't be sad. Understand the reason. Understand the purpose. Understand what salvation is. Understand what's necessary. This is why the sun comes up in the morning, and goes down in the evening, and comes up the next morning. Because of the purpose of God, and the redemption of His people, by the sacrifice of His Son.

May we let it sink down into our ears every day, sink down into our hearts, This is the purpose of it. You want to be happy? You want to not be afraid? You want to not get all bent out of shape when, you know, you see things happen in the world and you say, look what the world's come to, you know.

I get interested in politics and things like that. And it may seem like I'm upset about it. I'm not really that upset about it. I think of King David, when things were going wrong in his country, it mattered to him. When there was godlessness, when there was false worship, when there was evil, it upset him. He was involved in it. We shouldn't get involved in politics. I guess King David should have quit then and went out and lived on a mountain somewhere. Of course we're involved in what's happening around us.

It grieves. the soul of believers to see evil, to see evil unchecked, and we pray to God, how long, Lord? How long will this go on? But we know how it ends. We know what his purpose in all of it is, because he's taken us aside from this world, explained it to us, whispered it into our hearts. We know what's happening. We know why it's happening, and we know who wins. He's already won. And we with him, he's given us the victory.

Thou shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. Does that sound like a venture? Like he just died on a venture, you know, hoping somebody would do something about it. Every time you hear the name Jesus, think, He's the sovereign Savior, He'll save everybody He came to save. And make no mistake, that verse, the Son of God submitting Himself into the hands of wicked men and being mocked and scourged and crucified, that He Himself And that character is salvation.

Period. Paul said, I cannot be condemned by anybody in heaven, earth, or hell because it's Christ that died. That's it. Period. Justified by God by the death of his son. Yea, rather, that he's risen again. Don't forget that part. He's risen, he's life and the way and the truth, and he sits on the throne of glory, ruling all things for our good. You know, religious people celebrate the resurrection, and we talked about that a little bit recently. I remember what the Lord said to Martha when she was in the life.

He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. He's talking about two kinds of people here. If you die, if you're dead in this world, if your body is laying in a grave somewhere, you shall yet live. And whosoever liveth, whosoever doesn't ever die in this body and believeth in me, is never gonna die. Believest thou this, so many so-called theologians and people giving their opinions on the scripture, interpreting the scripture. It's of no private interpretation. God just said what he said. May he give us grace to believe it, to believe him.

Is our hope an empty tomb or the one who came out of it? Those ladies came to that empty tomb, and the angel said unto them, why seek ye the living among the dead? And you think about this. They're coming to a tomb. It's empty. People talk about the empty tomb. They sing about the empty tomb. They may paint pictures of the empty tomb. They said, why seek ye the living among the dead?

You remember the next word? He. What are you doing? He. What are you doing here? Why would you look for him where he said he wasn't going to be? He, they pointed him to He, is risen. He is not here. He's not in the religious relics. He's not in the religious holy days. He's not in religion at all. He's risen. He's seated on the right hand of the throne of the majesty of God on high.

Just like He said, and because He is, we live. Because He is, He's made us kings and priests unto our God. Because He is, we're saved. He is our salvation. He is our life. He's everything. He's our hope, our comfort. That's why we come, and like those angels pointed Him, behold, He ain't here. He's not here. He's risen. He's here in spirit. But don't look around and say, oh, the Lord's with him. No, the Lord's on the throne. He's here to inspire by his spirit. He's here to shine the light of scripture on us. He said, the Holy Spirit, I leave with you. And he's going to take the things of mine and show them to you.

And he gathers with his people. It's not a building, it's a person. It's not a time, it's not a place. Somehow, may the Lord teach us once and for all. I suspect it'll be by degrees, though. A little bit at a time, like it's been so far. But maybe one day, just once and for all, He'll reveal to us that He is all. He is all. He's all we need. His grace, all we want, must be dismissed in prayer.

We Go To Jerusalem

What does the Bible say about the purpose of Jesus going to Jerusalem?

How do we know that Christ's death was part of God's plan?

Why is understanding Christ's journey to the cross important for Christians?

Sermon Transcript

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We Go To Jerusalem

What does the Bible say about the purpose of Jesus going to Jerusalem?

How do we know that Christ's death was part of God's plan?

Why is understanding Christ's journey to the cross important for Christians?

Sermon Transcript

About Chris Cunningham

Comments

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