True Life Church

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon Series: “The Servant King”

-What did Jesus believe and teach about the Old Testament? This is vital to us because what He believed and taught is what we should believe and teach about the Old Testament, which applies to the entire Bible.

1. All of the Bible is to be believed (v. 25-27).

-It is all to be believed because all of it is the Word of God that is completely true.

-He said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away” (Matthew 24:35).  In  Matthew 5:18, Jesus said, “For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.”  A jot is a yod, which is the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet.  A tittle is a little mark on a letter in the Hebrew alphabet that distinguishes it from another letter.  You could say that Jesus is saying down to the crossing of the “T’s” and dotting of the “I’s,” not one bit of the law is going to pass away until all of it is fulfilled.  In John 10:35, Jesus said, “The scripture cannot be broken.”  In addition, John 17 records a prayer of Christ to His Father.  In verse 17, Jesus said to His Heavenly Father that “your word is truth.”  When I say that the Bible is God’s truth, I am only saying what Jesus said.

Also, Jesus affirmed many passages in the Old Testament that liberals and skeptics deny.  He affirmed the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch (John 5:45-47), Jonah literally being in the belly of a great fish (Matthew 12:40, the historical reality of Noah and the Flood (Matthew 24:37-39), the Exodus account of the wandering of the Israelites in the wilderness (John 6:49), the burning bush (Matthew 22:32), and the historicity of Adam and Eve (Matthew 19:5).  The Old Testament was Christ’s Bible while He was on the earth.

2. All of the Bible is the authority for our lives.

-Jesus models this idea by appearing to them but pairing His revealing to them with the teaching of Scripture. He showed them that His resurrection is that the fulfillment of Scripture and that they were to function according to Scripture and not experience, feelings, reason, or religious tradition. They had failed to interpret their experiences by the Scriptures. 

Key Principle:  When the Bible speaks, God speaks, and we must obey.

3. All the Bible is about Jesus (v. 27, 44).

-Every message should be Christ-centered. Jim Shaddix correctly states that “after all, that’s the primary distinguishing factor between Christian preaching and the moralistic, God-themed sermons that characterize most theistic world religions.” The underpinning of this approach is “that the Person and work of Jesus Christ are the central focus of the entire Bible.” Based on this truth, Tony Merida challenges expositors “to passionately make the hero of the Bible (Jesus) the hero of every message you prepare.”

4. All the Bible is to be expounded in a Christ-centered way (v. 27).

-An expository sermon accurately conveys the original meaning of the text with an emphasis on Jesus in a way that a contemporary audience can understand and apply the message. The sermon is developed through a process of grammatical-historical interpretation that discovers the intended meaning of a text, preaches that meaning as a timeless truth for contemporary people. The goal of expository preaching is changed lives for the glory of God through exalting Jesus, evangelizing non-believers, and edifying believers.

Conclusion: Let’s look at the response of these two disciples in verses 28-35 and let it guide our response: 

1. Biblical truth is spiritually discerned and requires the work of God for us to truly understand it (v. 32, 45).

2. We are to believe and act on the Word of God.

3. We are to share the Word of God with others.

How much are you intaking Scripture? How does it affect your life and decision making? Are you being obedient to it? Are you experiencing Jesus through it? How much are you sharing it with others?

Sermon Series: “The Servant King”

Read Luke 23:50-24:12

How does the empty tomb change everything? Here are some specific ways that it does:

1. The resurrection of Jesus can change us from skeptics to believers (24:1, 4, 12). 

-Skepticism comes when we forget the Word of God

-John 20:24-28

2. The resurrection of Jesus can change us from hopeless to hopeful.

-It’s Friday, but Sunday is coming.

-What hope really is, which is a “know so” kind of thing instead of a “I wish” kind of thing.

-How can there be ultimate hope apart from this?

-1 Peter 1:3-4

3. The resurrection of Jesus can change us from being religious to having a real relationship with Jesus (23:54-56).

-Them observing the Jewish customs so carefully but then that changing so much  [How do you explain the change apart from the resurrection?]

-A person instead of a philosophy or set of religious rules

4. The resurrection of Jesus can change us from being dead in sin to being alive in Christ.

-The words of Jesus connected to the Old Testament

-A living Savior

-The symbolism of the two angels and the mercy seat

-Romans 4:25, Romans 6:1-4

5. The resurrection of Jesus can change us from failures to world changers (24:12). 

-Example of Peter

-Acts 2:14, 17:6

Conclusion: John 20:29-31

If we trust Jesus, His resurrection will change us!

Luke 23:44-49

Sermon Series: “The Servant King”

1. In His death on the cross, Jesus’ fellowship with the Father was temporarily broken so that we can be eternally reconciled to the Father (v. 44-45a).

-Symbolism of the darkness

-Reconciliation means to bring two separated things back together like a broken marriage

-Psalm 22:1, Colossians 1:19-23

-Application: You Are My King (Amazing Love) Lyrics

“I’m forgiven because You were forsaken 

I’m accepted, You were condemned”

-Because Jesus reconciled us to the Father, we are completely accepted and eternally secure. We can never be separated from the Father’s love and presence because Jesus was separated from fellowship with the Father. All of us are looking for acceptance and security. This is the only way and place we can be guaranteed that we will have it forever.

2. In His death on the cross, Jesus made a perfect sacrifice for sin that made the way open into the presence of God (v. 45)- “Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two.”

-Hebrews 9:24-28, 10:11-25

Application: We can draw near any time through Jesus. We have 24/7 access instead of once a year like the High Priest. We don’t need a priest because Jesus is our High Priest. In fact, we are all priests. We don’t have to go to a temple to try to bring God down to us, but we are His temple, permanently indwelled by Him so we do not need temples made with hands. We don’t have to offer a sacrifice to appease God because Jesus is our perfect and permanent sacrifice.

3. In His death on the cross, Jesus victoriously laid His life down and was resurrected so that we can be resurrected to eternal life (v. 46).

-John 10:14-18, 27-28

Kent Hughes: ""Into your hands I commit my spirit” was the Jews' traditional evening prayer that pious Jews offered before going to sleep. Jesus chose to pray it at the moment he entered the ultimate sleep - death.”

4. In His death on the cross, Jesus exchanged His righteousness for our unrighteousness in order to make us righteous (v. 47).

-Judas Iscariot, Pilate, Pilate’s wife, Herod Antipas, the repentant thief, and this Roman Centurion all proclaimed his innocence.

-Isaiah 53:11, Romans 5:18-19, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Romans 4:3-5

Application: You are righteous in union with Christ. You are a saint. You are justified. You don’t have to strive for it, but you can live like who you are. We don’t earn righteousness. The difference between Catholicism and Christianity (they take away from the gospel by adding to the gospel). Justification is how we can go to heaven without confessing every sin.

Conclusion: All of this means three things according to John Stott:

1. Our sin must be extremely horrible.

2. God’s love must be wonderful beyond comprehension.

3. Salvation must be a free gift.

Luke 23:26-43

Sermon Series: “The Servant King”

-(v. 26) Simon is compelled to carry the cross (talk about the physical condition that Jesus would have been in at that point, this was fulfillment of Isaiah 53:5).

(v. 27-31) Jesus warns them of the coming judgment that He has warned them about previously. The point of what He is saying seems to be if you think they are treating me badly, just wait and see how bad it is when God uses them to judge you.

-(v. 32) Two criminals were on the way to the cross also to be crucified along with Jesus (give background on the criminals, this is a fulfillment of Isaiah 53:12, that says, “He was numbered with the transgressors.").

-(v. 33) They make it to the place of crucifixion (Describe what the process of crucifying them would have been like, this is a fulfillment of the last sentence of Psalm 22:16, that says, “They pierced my hands and feet.”)

-(v. 34) Jesus prays and asks for them to be forgiven. This is a fulfillment of the end of Isaiah 53:12, which says that He “made intercession for the transgressors.” Also, the soldiers gambled for His clothing, which is a fulfillment of Psalm 22:18.

-(v. 35-38) Jesus is mocked by the crowd, the religious leaders, and the soldiers. This is a fulfillment of Psalm 22:7-8. Note how they are confirming who He claimed to be by their mocking taunts.

-(v. 39-43) Jesus has a conversation with the criminals who are crucified with Him.

Here are five truths to learn and act on from this passage if you want to experience paradise instead of hell:

1. Jesus gave Himself instead of saving Himself so that He could save us (v. 35-37, 39).

2. Nobody, no matter how unrighteous, is too sinful to be saved.

-This is seen by Jesus’ response to the repentant criminal.

3. However, we can be too (self) righteous to be saved (v. 35).

-Matthew 21:28-32

4. There is grace now and heaven forever for all repentant sinners who trust Jesus (v. 42-43). 

-Paradise as a synonym for heaven (2 Corinthians 12:4), but it is also used of garden imagery, including for the Garden of Eden in the Septuagint.

-Jesus died on a tree to make the way open again to the tree of life (Genesis 3:22-24, Revelation 22:2).

5. This story shows you how you can be saved.

-It is a picture of Romans 10:9 and 10:13.

A. Acknowledge our sinfulness and repent (v. 39-41).

-This involves honesty, humility, the fear of God, and admitting we are deserving of punishment. 

 B. Recognize who Jesus is by faith (v. 41-42).

 C. Ask Jesus to save us (v. 42).

Conclusion: Respond to the gospel

-Christians, we are to love and worship Jesus and to be evangelists like Jesus was up to His dying breath. Let’s use Easter as an outreach opportunity.

Luke 22:63-23:25

Sermon Series: “The Servant King”

Sections in the story:

1. Jesus is convicted by the Jewish religious leaders because He claimed to be the Son of God (22:63-71).

2. Jesus appeared before Pilate (23:1-5).

3. Pilate sent Jesus to Herod where He was treated very badly (23:6-12).

4. Pilate attempted to release Jesus, but He gave in to the will of the crowd and released Barabbas but sentenced Jesus to crucifixion (23:13-25).

Main Idea: Who killed Jesus? The religious leaders, Pilate, Herod, and the crowd of people killed Jesus. However, beyond that reality, all of us killed Jesus, but ultimately, God killed Him as the substitute for sinners.

Why would I say this? 

1. Theological truth: We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and the wages of sin is death (Romans 3:23, 6:23).

2. Apostolic preaching and praying: Acts 2:22-23, 4:27-28

3. The picture of Jesus taking the place of Barabbas

4. Fulfillment of the Old Testament: Isaiah 53

Conclusion: Are you trusting Jesus as the substitute for your sins?

Luke 22:39-46

Sermon Series: “The Servant King”

-Background including the metaphor of the cup: Psalm 75:8, Isaiah 51:17, Jeremiah 25:15-16, Matthew 26:39, Revelation 14:10 (the wrath of God)

Cup of salvation-Psalm 116:13 

Main Idea: Jesus surrendered to the Father’s will and fully drank the cup of God’s wrath, so we can freely drink the cup of God’s salvation. 

Applications:

1. Salvation:

     A. Jesus, the second Adam, resisted the temptation to compromise in the garden in order to save us from the sin of the first Adam, who gave in to the temptation to compromise in the garden (1 Corinthians 15:22).

     B. Jesus surrendered to the Father in the garden of Gethsemane to deal with the sin of the garden of Eden, so we can enter the garden of heaven (Revelation 22:1-5).

     C. Jesus took all of the curse of sin, so we can eternally experience all the blessings of salvation (Galatians 3:10-14) [background of it in Deuteronomy]

     D. This demonstrates how seriously God takes how incapable we are of saving ourselves, and how there is no way but Jesus.

     E. This shows us how much God loves us and cares about us.

     F. Repent and trust Jesus

2. Surrender: 

Jesus fully surrendered to the Father. Will we? Are we doing our will or God’s will (Matthew 6:10)? Where are we being disobedient?

3. Prayer:

(Paraphrased from Thabiti Anyabwile)

     A. Prayer protects us from temptation (v. 40, 46).

     B. Prayer is to focus on seeking and submitting to the will of God (v. 42). It’s more about “God, what do you want me to do” than it is “God, this is what I want you to do for me.”

     C. Prayer is always answered, but the answer is not always yes.

     D. The answer being no does not mean that God is abandoning us (v. 43).

     E. God says no to our requests in order to bring about His best.

     F. Prayer requires effort and self-denial (v. 44-45).

4. Suffering: 

-Hebrews 5:6-9

Jesus was heard, and He died. He was delivered through death instead of by death so that we can be delivered by His death. He ultimately found joy in doing this (Hebrews 12:2) even though He was in agony. God saying yes to Him would have kept us from being saved. God answered the prayer in His will for His glory. 

We are being heard too. God is answering our prayers according to His will for His glory and our joy. It does not feel that way sometimes. It did not feel that way to Jesus in the garden. We must submit our feelings to truth even though that is hard. Maybe God is delivering us through suffering instead of from suffering. If the perfect Son of God learned obedience through suffering, should we expect to learn it any other way? If Jesus suffered, should we expect to avoid suffering? He is the only one who didn’t deserve to suffer, but He chose to suffer for us.

Luke 22:31-62

Sermon Series: “The Servant King”

Main Idea: If we belong to Jesus, we may fail Him, but He never fails us, and He restores us when we repent. 

Background: Jesus nicknamed Peter, “Rock,” (John 1:42), and it was actually prophetic for who He was making him to be. However, Peter was very up and down, and it took him time to get there. Sometimes he acted like Simon and sometimes he acted like Peter.

-Judas did not belong to Jesus (John 17:9-12). 

1. The Road To Spiritual Failure

-The road to spiritual failure is marked by:

      A. Self-confidence (v. 31-34).

-1 Peter 5:5b-9

     B. Fighting spiritual battles with earthly weapons (v. 35-38, 47-53). 

-2 Corinthians 10:3-5

     C. Prayerlessness (v. 40, 46).

     D. Putting our self-interest ahead of confessing Jesus (v. 54-62).

2. The Reliability of Jesus’ Faithfulness

     A. Jesus knows all things (v. 34).

     B. Jesus prays for us (v. 32).

     C. Jesus keeps His own (v. 32, John 17:12).

     D. Jesus forgives and restores (John 21:15-19).

3. The pathway to restoration is paved by repentance (v. 61-62).

-Contrast with Judas

-Be broken and stop trying to manage our sin.

-We can fail without our faith failing.

-2 Corinthians 7:9-11

-Parable of the Prodigal Son

-Walk through what repentance truly is: Recognition, brokenness, contrition, confession, restitution, action as the fruit of repentance

-Restoration to the Lord and the body of Christ (ministry sometimes but not always)

Luke 22:24-30

Sermon Series: “The Servant King”

Introduction: Are we going to live our lives to build our own little empire or to advance God’s everlasting, but upside down kingdom? This passage confronts us with that question. What a scene! Can you imagine being at a dinner party (much less one of the biggest religious celebrations of the year) and the host says he’s about to die because one of you is going to betray me? Awkward! So you start talking about which one of you is going to do this. Then, you somehow transition into one of your favorite arguments, which is the question of which one in the group is the greatest. That’s the context for what Jesus says.

-Warren Wiersbe: “When you are interested in promoting yourself, it doesn’t take much to start a fight.”

1. Conviction: The world says greatness is found in position, power, and prominence, but Jesus says true greatness is found in humility, service, and sacrificial suffering (v. 24-27). 

-Who are we going to listen to and believe? If we are Christians, we are citizens of God’s Kingdom under the Kingship of Jesus, and we are to live according to His values and commands.

2. Reason: Jesus is truly great, and this is how He lived.

     A. Jesus is truly great, but He stooped to serve (v. 27).

John Maxwell: “Leadership is towels-not titles.” “Only the secure can stoop.” 

-John 13:1-5, 12-17

     B. Jesus is truly great, but He lived with humility (v. 26-27).

-Philippians 2:5-8

     C. Jesus is truly great, but He sacrificially endured suffering (v. 28). 

-Jesus’ sacrificial suffering went all the way to giving His life on the cross (Mark 10:45). 

3. Applications: This is how we can live this way:

     A. Compare ourselves to Jesus instead of other people.

-Comparison is toxic and leads to pride and insecurity. We answer to Jesus alone, and we will not answer for how we compare to others but for how much are we like Jesus.

     B. The ability to live this out is found “in Christ” (v. 27).

-The gospel

-The indwelling of the Spirit

-Obeying Jesus’ commands and following His example

-This is evidence that we are genuinely “in Christ.”

     C. Reject the world’s lies about finding glory and find true glory in the glory of God as we live lives of humble, sacrificial service.

-Jeremiah 2:11-13

     D. There is suffering now but glory later (v. 28-30).

-Philippians 2:9-11

Sermon Series:  "The Servant King"

Introduction:

-(Read v. 7-13) Set the scene and give the practical application of how Jesus guides and provides as we listen to Him

-Background info on the Passover 

-Read v. 14-20

-What does Jesus’ object lesson teach us about His death?

1. The death of Jesus is the centerpiece of the biblical story line.

-Jesus is the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8)

-The story of the Passover in Exodus 12-13

-John 1:29, 1 Corinthians 5:7

-Jesus applying it to Himself and His pending crucifixion in this passage

-The Marriage Supper of the Lamb (v. 16, 18 Revelation 19:1-9)

2. The death of Jesus accomplishes our salvation.

     A. Jesus is our substitute who atones for our sin

Let me quote from John Stott’s classic book, The Cross Of Christ, to explain this point.  He writes, “The Passover story is a self-disclosure of the God of Israel in three roles.  First, Yahweh revealed himself as the Judge….Second, Yahweh revealed himself as the Redeemer….Third, Yahweh revealed himself as Israel’s covenant God.  He had redeemed them to make them his own people.”  We clearly see this as fulfilled in Jesus because John the Baptist said, “”Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).  Paul wrote, “For indeed, Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us” (1 Corinthians 5:7b).  Stott goes on to write, “…It is equally clear to us who see the fulfillment of the Passover in the sacrifice of Christ.  First, the Judge and Savior are the same person.  It was the God who ‘passed through’ Egypt to judge the firstborn, who ‘passed over’ Israelite homes to protect them.  We must never characterize the Father as Judge and the Son as Savior.  It is one and the same God who through Christ saves us from himself.  Second, salvation was (and is) by substitution.  The only firstborn males who were spared were those in whose families a firstborn lamb had died instead.  Third, the lamb’s blood had to be sprinkled after it had been shed.  There had to be an individual appropriation of the divine provision.  God had to ‘see the blood’ before he would save the family.  Fourth, each family rescued by God was thereby purchased for God.  Their whole life now belonged to him.  So does ours.  And consecration leads to celebration.”

     B. Jesus is our redeemer who delivers us from the bondage of sin.

     C. Jesus is our new covenant sacrifice who brings us into eternal fellowship with God (v. 20).

3. The death of Jesus must be appropriated by faith in order for us to experience salvation (v. 21-23).

-Talk about Judas taking Passover with them but not being saved

-Talk about Satan’s will being done, God’s will being done without forcing Judas to sin, Judas exercising his will and being responsible (refer to Justin’s message)

-Relate it to Communion (Catholicism) and religious works in general not saving us (1 Corinthians 11:17, 27). It is not enough just to take the elements of communion or do religious works.

4. The death of Jesus is memorialized through celebrating communion.

-Why would so many people celebrate 2000 years later something so awful as the death of Jesus?

-Passover was a time of worship (Exodus 12:27), obedience (Exodus 12:35), a fellowship meal (v. 46-47), consecration (Exodus 13:1-2), remembrance (Exodus 13:3), celebration (Exodus 13:8), an ordinance ( Exodus 13:10).

-These elements are carried over into the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:17-32).

Conclusion: -Repent and trust Jesus to be saved and receive the benefits of His death

-Let’s rightly celebrate communion personally and corporately

Luke 22:1-6

Guest Speaker: Justin Self, True Life Elder