Sovereign Grace Baptist Church
Date: 10-25-98
Sermon Number: Luke #125
Text: Luke 18:31-34
All that is Written
In the introductory lesson on the Gospel of Luke I stated that it is first of all a book of doctrine. Which is to say, it teaches us what we are to believe about God and man. Without such revelation you and I would be left to speculation. We would have no way of knowing the Christ of history, or how a man can be saved from his sin. We must be thankful that God has revealed Himself in the scriptures through the work and minds of men like Dr. Luke. In this gospel he tells us what we are to believe about God, Christ, and ourselves. When the truth found in this book is received by faith, the sinner will be saved from the wrath to come. The Gospel of Luke is a book of soul saving doctrine.
Second, the Gospel of Luke is a book of Christian ethics. This body of ethical teaching may be summed up by our Lord's words when he said, "YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.' {38} "This is the great and foremost commandment. {39} "The second is like it, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.'"(Matthew 22:37-39 NASB) The Gospel of Luke tells us how to live reference to God and man.
Third, Luke's Gospel is a book of comfort giving us reason to rejoice. Luke emphasizes the necessity and the privilege of rejoicing. He begins with rejoicing at the Saviors birth. In the middle of the book we see Jesus rejoicing with the Father even as we are encouraged to rejoice in light of our great salvation. (See Luke 10:20-24 NASB)
Fourth, this gospel is a book that records the fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy. Which prophecy we are to study and believe with all our hearts. The words of Christ in today's text call us to consider the prophets and the words they spoke in reference to the suffering of our Lord Jesus. But before we get to our text lets think, for a time, about prophets and prophecy. We turn to the apostle Peter for the first word on this subject.
(2 Peter 1:16-21 NASB) "For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. {17} For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, "This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased" {18} and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. {19} And so we have the prophetic word made more sure, (That is, since we heard God say, "This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased," the words of the prophets have made more sense to us.) TO WHICH YOU DO WELL TO PAY ATTENTION as to a lamp shining in a dark place, (The words of the prophets are like a lamp meant to dispel darkness. So, pay close attention to their words.) until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. {20} But know this first of all, (understand these facts about prophets and prophecy) that NO PROPHECY OF SCRIPTURE IS A MATTER OF ONE'S OWN INTERPRETATION, (Every prophecy has one specific meaning determined by God who gave it. That meaning is what we must strive to discover as we study the scriptures.) {21} FOR NO PROPHECY WAS EVER MADE BY AN ACT OF HUMAN WILL, (No real prophecy ever originated with a man. Rather, true prophecy came from God as the following words indicate.) BUT MEN MOVED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT SPOKE FROM GOD." Such men, and there were a good number of them, were the prophets of God.
Other religions had and have their great leaders and teachers. The Hindus had Buddha, the Arabians had Mohammed. But nowhere does one find anything to compare to the great succession of men known as the prophets of Israel. The prophets of the Christian religion. These men were not simply preachers of repentance nor did they speak as mere social reformers. Rather, they were teachers of divine truth. They were interpreters of the very mind of God. Furthermore their central mission and purpose was to announce the coming of the Messiah. This theme binds all true prophecy together as an infallible unit. Acts 10:43 declares a truth that should never be forgotten by the people of God. "OF HIM ALL THE PROPHETS BEAR WITNESS that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins." All the prophets spoke of Jesus in one way or another, the Man whose mission was to save His people from their sin.
The Bible hangs the title prophet on no less than forty-five people! These were moved by God the Holy Spirit to speak and write the very words of God. The prophet thus moved by God predicted, foretold, saw, and represented the future. He rebuked, reproved, counseled, and admonished. He was moved by the Holy Spirit to do all these things and to do them infallibly. Which statement brings us to the great test of a true prophet. Everything he says while speaking as a prophet of God must come to pass without any failures. If any prediction fails this man is not, nor has he ever been, a prophet of God but is a false prophet and servant of the devil! When God, moved men, by the Holy Spirit, to speak for Him they did not error! Further, they never contradicted what God had revealed to men in times past. Hear the word of the Lord on true and false prophets.
(Deuteronomy 13:1-5 NASB) "If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, {2} and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, 'Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them,' {3} you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the LORD your God is testing you to find out if you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul."
The one who loves the Lord will not follow anyone away from God even if he is a performer of miracles and wonders. When you come into the presence of such people you have entered a test which can only be passed by continuing to follow God by faith and obedience to His revealed will. We find here a much needed reminder that the presence of signs and wonders does not mean you are in the presence of a man of God. Any so called prophet who contradicts, in anyway, the words of the Bible is a false prophet.
We continue with Deuteronomy 18:20-22 NASB. 'But the prophet who shall speak a word presumptuously in My name WHICH I HAVE NOT COMMANDED HIM TO SPEAK, or which he shall speak in the name of other gods, THAT PROPHET SHALL DIE.' {21} "And you may say in your heart, 'How shall we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?' {22} "When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him." All the words of God's true prophets come true without fail. If the prophets words do not come true he is no prophet of God.
(Jeremiah 23:15-22 NASB) {16} "Thus says the LORD of hosts, "Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you. They are leading you into futility; They speak a vision of their own imagination, Not from the mouth of the LORD. {17} "They keep saying to those who despise Me, 'The LORD has said, "You will have peace"'; And as for everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his own heart, They say, 'Calamity will not come upon you.' . . . . {22} "But if they had stood in My council, Then THEY WOULD HAVE ANNOUNCED MY WORDS TO MY PEOPLE, AND WOULD HAVE TURNED THEM BACK FROM THEIR EVIL WAY AND FROM THE EVIL OF THEIR DEEDS." The prophet who takes his orders from the true and living God speaks the words of God and calls on His people to turn from their evil deeds. Anyone who does not do this is not a prophet of God.
There have been tens of thousands of false prophets throughout history. But, I say again, there were at least forty-five real prophets of God. The real prophet spoke infallibly. The real prophet never led people away from God or that which had been previously revealed by God. The real prophet of the Almighty never made light of sin. The real prophet of God always, whether he knew it or not, focused on the coming of Immanuel. For Christ is, by divine design, the center of all prophecy. Further, He is the supreme and final Prophet of God. And what a prophet He is when compared to the best of human prophets.
The book of Hebrews declares that Christ was superior to all the human prophets. (Hebrews 1:1-2 NASB) "God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, {2} in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world." The human prophets were limited in power, Christ had all power in heaven and on earth. The prophets were sinful and imperfect in their persons. Christ was sinless and flawless. The prophets were inspired at given times only. Christ spoke infallibly at all times. The prophets did not always understand what they were saying, seeing and experiencing. Christ was and remains the Omniscient One. The prophets had only partial knowledge of the future. Christ was God in the flesh. He was the Designer, Creator, and governor of the ages past and of the ages to come. The prophets spoke of and pointed toward the light to come. Christ was Himself the Light of the world, the subject of all prophecy. The prophets only revealed part of God's truth. Jesus was the whole truth incarnate. The prophets all died and giving place to other prophets. Christ is without a successor. For though He died He lives again. He remains our eternal Prophet, Priest, and King! Our Lord is indeed the prophet of prophets. Beyond any doubt whatever Jesus passes the test.
Our Savior spoke infallibly as Immanuel. Never once did He lead people away from His Father or His word. Jesus never made light of sin but called all to repentance and faith in Himself. Again and again Jesus spoke of things that must come to pass concerning Him. Thus He joined with the prophets of old in pointing to Himself. Jesus was and remains the last, the greatest of all the prophets. This brings us to our text for today.
(Luke 18:31-34 NASB) And He took the twelve aside and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and ALL THINGS WHICH ARE WRITTEN THROUGH THE PROPHETS ABOUT THE SON OF MAN WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED. (Now He reminds them of what the prophets had said would happen to Him.) {32} "For He will be delivered to the Gentiles, and will be mocked and mistreated and spit upon, {33} and after they have scourged Him, they will kill Him; and the third day He will rise again." {34} And they understood none of these things, and this saying was hidden from them, and they did not comprehend the things that were said.
Jesus mentions the three main aspects of His suffering as predicted by the prophets. However, in verse thirty-one, He declares that when He gets to Jerusalem ALL THINGS which are written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. All things! As we have seen it is necessary that all the things the prophets predicted concerning Christ must come true otherwise the prophets and the scriptures are false. All things must be accomplished. This is no minor statement. One man said this,"Over three-hundred predictions about the Messiah are to be found in the Old Testament. According to the law of compound probability, the chance of their coming true is represented by a fraction whose numerator is one and the denominator eighty-four followed by nearly one hundred numbers. One might as well expect to dip up one particular drop of water out of the ocean as to expect so many prophetic rays to converge by chance upon one man, in one place, at one time in history. God has determined that the prophecies concerning His Son should come to pass with absolute, indisputable certainty. So that we may know whom we have believed. (Or, so that we may identify the promised Savior without doubt and trust in Him as the Son of God.) Mistakes in so solemn a matter are fatal and God meant that none should be possible." (End Quote)
Let's look at some of the Old Testament predictions or prophecies that have to do with Christ's suffering after he arrived at Jerusalem. We will look at the original prophecy and at its New Testament fulfillment. First He was betrayed by a friend. The prophesy is found in Psalms 41:9 NASB. "Even my close friend, in whom I trusted, Who ate my bread, Has lifted up his heel against me."
The fulfillment is found in (Matthew 26:46-49 NASB) "Arise, let us be going; behold, the one who betrays Me is at hand!" {47} And while He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, came up, accompanied by a great multitude with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and elders of the people. {48} Now he who was betraying Him gave them a sign, saying, "Whomever I shall kiss, He is the one; seize Him." {49} And immediately he went to Jesus and said, "Hail, Rabbi!" and kissed Him."
Jesus was sold for thirty pieces of silver. The prophecy is found in (Zechariah 11:13 NASB) Then the LORD said to me, "Throw it to the potter, that magnificent price at which I was valued by them." So I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the LORD."
We read of the fulfillment in Matthew 26:14-16 NASB. "Then one of the twelve, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests, {15} and said, "What are you willing to give me to deliver Him up to you?" And they weighed out to him thirty pieces of silver. {16} And from then on he began looking for a good opportunity to betray Him."
When He was delivered over to the Gentiles false witnesses accused Him of crimes He did not commit. The prophecy is found in (Psalms 35:11 NASB) "Malicious witnesses rise up; They ask me of things that I do not know." (Psalms 109:2 NASB) "For they have opened the wicked and deceitful mouth against me; They have spoken against me with a lying tongue." The Fulfillment is found in Matthew 26:59-60 NASB. "Now the chief priests and the whole Council kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus, in order that they might put Him to death; {60} and they did not find any, even though many false witnesses came forward. BUT LATER ON TWO CAME FORWARD,"
The prophets declared that He must be mocked and beaten. Look with at Isaiah 50:6 NASB. "I gave My back to those who strike Me, And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard; I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting." The fulfillment is found in Matthew 26:67-68 NASB. "Then they spat in His face and beat Him with their fists; and others slapped Him, {68} and said, "Prophesy to us, You Christ; who is the one who hit You?"
Jesus, said the prophets, must be put to death with thieves. The prophecy is found in Isaiah 53:9-12 NASB. "His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a rich man in His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was there any deceit in His mouth. . . . And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors." The fulfillment is recorded in Mark 15:27-28 NASB. "And they crucified two robbers with Him, one on His right and one on His left. {28} And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "And He was numbered with transgressors."
Finally, praise God, the prophets declared that Jesus must rise from the dead! The prediction is found in Psalms 16:10 NASB. "For Thou wilt not abandon my soul to Sheol; (the grave) Neither wilt Thou allow Thy Holy One to undergo decay." Look at Acts 2:22-24 for a record of the fulfillment. "Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know-- {23} this Man, delivered up by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. {24} "And God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power." Ladies and gentlemen it was essential that, "All things written through the prophets about the Son of Man be accomplished," and they were. Every jot and title written by the prophets of old has come to pass! The word of God is true and faithful! We can and must believe it.
As we come to the close of this message I want to return to a passage we read earlier in the lesson and then I would like to show you how all this might apply in the real world of living saints and sinners. Look with me once again at 2 Peter 1:19 NASB. "And so we have THE PROPHETIC WORD MADE MORE SURE, TO WHICH YOU DO WELL TO PAY ATTENTION AS TO A LAMP SHINING IN A DARK PLACE, UNTIL THE DAY DAWNS AND THE MORNING STAR ARISES IN YOUR HEARTS." Allow me to relate to you the testimony a modern day Jew who by, exposure to the prophetic word, found that the Bright and Morning Star had arisen in his heart.
In an article titled, "The Revival of a Rebel Jew," we find these words. "In my youth I spent every afternoon of the week studying Hebrew and then worshiped on Friday night and Saturday. As I grew older I worshiped every morning and evening in the synagogue, rising before dawn to put on tefillin, the boxes you see orthodox Jews wearing on their head and arms. Then one cold, clear midwinter night my life was shattered. My father had a heart attack and when I ran for comfort and hope to the one place I thought I would find it, the synagogue, I found the doors locked. As I banged on them, under that midwinter night's sky filled, even in New York City, with stars, I looked to the heavens and cursed God and turned away from Him. I went so far as to renounce my covenant name, Elkanah. In the Jewish community the name that has real meaning is the name given at the time of circumcision. My family had given me the name Elkanah, "God-possessed." I took for myself, instead, the name Kanah, a Hebrew version of Cain, "possessed." I was possessed with getting ahead and I graduated top of the class from graduate school, got one of the top post-doctoral fellowships and internships in clinical psychology and became an adjunct faculty member of a medical school."
The article goes on to tell how this Jew became rich as a psychoanalyst. We pick up his story as he and his wife find themselves unexpectedly in Holland. They are lost and alone. The sun is about to set and they are cold with no place to stay the night. A stranger directs them to a place called L'Abri.
The article continues, "When we arrived at the address we were greeted as though they were expecting us. We were invited to go in, where we sat on the floor and listened to a lecture on theoretical physics and it relationship to Jesus Christ. I was a man with no sense of the holy. I believed myself to be a chance accumulation of molecules in a meaningless world. But I stayed at the place, L'Abri, listening, talking, arguing and mocking until one day someone asked, "May I read you something from the Bible?" "Go ahead," I said.
He started to read: (Isaiah 52:13 NASB) "Behold, My servant will prosper, He will be high and lifted up, and greatly exalted." (Isaiah 53:1-3 NASB) "Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? {2} For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. {3} He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; . ." I had heard those expressions, "man of sorrows" and "acquainted with grief" before, and images of Renaissance paintings leapt to my mind. My piercingly brilliant Jewish mind understood what was happening: they were reading to me about Jesus. But I wasn't just an ordinary Jewish guy. I had a doctorate. I was cultured. I thought, "Do they know what they are doing, reading his stuff to a Jew?" They weren't going to fool me with their rhetoric. As they read about Jesus bearing our sin, anger rose in me. To me trusting in Jesus was just a cheap way out of long-term psychoanalysis. When they finished reading the chapter they looked at me and asked, "What do you think?" I was keen to give them the benefit of my insights and responded without hesitation: "Anyone who was there at that cross or whatever it is could have written that stuff. What does that prove?"
They handed me the Bible and in a millisecond of receiving that Bible, my life was changed. I looked at the top of the page and read the name Isaiah! I felt as though someone had taken a sword and cut me to pieces. And when the man who read it told me it was written 700 years before Jesus was born, I felt dead. In that instant what went through my head was, "Why couldn't it be Krishna? Why couldn't it be Buddha? Why does it have to be Him?" In that instant, in my first encounter with Jesus, I knew that if he wrote history about Himself in my Bible, and He was truly God then I had to submit everything to Him for the rest of my life. In that instant of confrontation I knew that God demanded everything.
In the beat of a heart I was taken from death to life. When I read the book of Acts, I can identify with Paul lying on the ground on the Damascus Road, or the Ethiopian eunuch who wondered who the prophet was speaking about. I went back to my psychotherapy practice and was fired for leading a particularly difficult patient to Christ. Through a number of circumstances I began to realize that my calling was to preach Jesus Christ." (End Quote)
The prophecies of the Old Testament, fulfilled in the New, bear witness to the truth. Jesus is the promised Messiah, the Savior of all who come to Him by faith. (2 Peter 1:19 NASB) "And so we have THE PROPHETIC WORD MADE MORE SURE, TO WHICH YOU DO WELL TO PAY ATTENTION AS TO A LAMP SHINING IN A DARK PLACE, UNTIL THE DAY DAWNS AND THE MORNING STAR ARISES IN YOUR HEARTS."