#153 Lu. 18:31-34  ANOTHER WARNING BEFORE GOING ON TO JERUSALEM

Introduction:

    The time for the annual Jewish Passover was drawing near.
Every adult male in Israel was required to go to Jerusalem to
celebrate the deliverance of Israel from bondage in Egypt.  While
the women were not required to attend, some of them usually went.
Thousands of Jews filled the highways throughout the land making
their way toward Jerusalem.  Jesus and His twelve apostles plus a
number of other disciples traveled from Galilee along with a
growing crowd of other people.
    There must have been a sizable group when they left Galilee,
but others must have joined with them at ever city and village.
So now there must have been a very large crowd of people in which
Jesus and His disciples traveled.

I.  Jesus giving another warning of His suffering at Jerusalem

    V. 31, "Then he took unto him the twelve..."  Matthew said
that he took the twelve apart from the others.  It was impossible
for Jesus to have any private conversation with His disciples
without taking them aside from the crowd.  He may have done this
on several occasions.  This time He took only the twelve apart
from the others.
    This was a private conversation between Jesus and the twelve
apostles alone.  Jesus wanted to strengthen the twelve because at
the time of His crucifixion it would fall their responsibility to
strengthen the others.
    (V. 31), "...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 accomplished."  Once Jesus is
alone with the twelve, He tells them once again what is going to
happen to Him at Jerusalem.
    He had already told them before they left Galilee.  Luke 9:22
reads, "Saying, the Son of man must suffer many things and be
rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be
slain, and be raised the third day."  In Luke 9:44 He added,
"...for the Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men."
In Luke 17:25 He again said that the Son of man must suffer many
things and be rejected by the people of that generation.
    Now in this warning Jesus wanted the twelve apostles to be
aware that the suffering which would befall Him in Jerusalem would
be in keeping with what the prophets of old had said.  He said
that all the things that were written about Him by the prophets
must come to pass.
    Jesus does not mention any specific statement from the
prophets, but He must have had such passages as Isaiah 53:3-9 in
mind.  In this passage Isaiah said, "He is despised and rejected,"
etc.  Isaiah also prophesied that the Christ would suffer great
afflictions, would be put to death and would be buried in a grave.
Other prophets also spoke many things about His afflictions.  Even
King David wrote a graphic description of His suffering and death
in Psalms 22:1, 7-8, 13-18.  Jesus said that all these things and
others which the prophets had written must come to pass.
    In verses 32 and 33 Jesus is not referring to what the
prophets have written.  Rather He is making His own comments about
what would happen.  V. 32, "For he shall be delivered unto the
Gentiles..."  In Luke's account Jesus does not tell who would
deliver Him to the Gentiles.  However, in Matthew's account
Matthew tells clearly that it is the Jewish leaders who deliver
Him into the hands of the Gentiles.  The reason the Jews would
deliver Him to the Gentiles is because they were not allowed to
administer the death penalty.  Only the Roman government could do
that.
    (V. 32), "and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and
spitted on."  V. 33, "And they shall scourge him, and put him to
death..."  Jesus said that once He is in the hands of the
Gentiles, He would be mocked by them and despitefully treated and
even spit upon.
    Verse 33 said, And they shall scourge him..."  They would beat
Him with a whip.  This verse continues, "and put him to death..."
Again Matthew's account give more information.  Matthew said that
Jesus tells that the Gentiles will crucify Him.  The Romans don
usually administer the death penalty by crucifixion.  Usually,
they just chop off the head, which sounds cruel enough.  They
would normally crucify only the very worst criminals.  Jesus would
be treated as the worst of criminals.  Death by crucifixion was
far more horrible than death by chopping off the head.
    In the latter part of verse 33 Jesus turns to the brighter
side of the picture.  (V. 33), "...and the third day he shall rise
again."  Jesus wanted the twelve to know beforehand about His
death, but He also wanted them to know about His resurrection.  He
did not want them to think that things were hopeless.  When they
get to Jerusalem and they see Him arrested and beaten and brought
to trial and crucified, He did not want them to despair.  When
they see Him laid away in the grave He did not want them to
despair.  He wanted them to know that there is light at the end of
the tunnel.  There is hope!  There is a sure and certain hope!
After the third day in the grave He would arise from the dead.
They would see Him alive again.  All will be well in spite of the
awful circumstances that would first come.

II.  The failure of the disciples to understand

    V. 34, "And they understood none of these things: and this
saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were
spoken."  Now here is a strange thing.  At least, at first it is
strange.  The twelve apostles did not understand what Jesus was
talking about.  He had repeatedly told them.  They still did not
understand.  Before they left Galilee He had told them.  After
they left Galilee He told them again.  He tells them now again for
at least the third time.  But they still did not understand.
    Even prior to the first revelation by Jesus, the prophets of
Old had told them.  They had heard and read and studied the
sayings of the prophets all their lives, but they still did not
understand.
    Why?  Why did they not understand?  Was it because they were
dumb?  No.  These were smart men.  Was it because they were
beginners in Christianity?  No.  They had walked with Jesus daily
for three years.  Thy had the best of training and under the best
Teacher.  Was it because they refused to believe the Scriptures
and refused to believe the words of Jesus?  No.  They believed the
Scriptures to be true and they believed Jesus to be the very Son
of God.  They why?  Why did they not understand?
    The answer is simple.  They simply did not wish to believe
that Jesus would suffer such horrible things.  They did not wish
Him to die.  They just closed their minds to the truth.
    Anybody can do it.  We have all done it at one time or
another.  Something was told us and we just closed our minds to it
and refused to believe it.  They would never understand until
after Jesus was crucified and resurrected.
    So we can understand why they did not understand at first.  We
can understand why they needed to be informed before He was
crucified even thought they would not understand.  But hearing the
explanation now, they would understand later.  They would still be
somewhat devastated at His death, yet they would recover from
their despair more quickly because they were informed now.  Also,
they would be better able to strengthen the others by being
informed now.

III.  More questions of "why?"

    But let me ask "Why" again.  Why would Jesus go through all
that torment?  Why would God the Father permit it?  Especially why
would God the Father plan it?  Why would God the Father want His
Son to suffer such great anguish?
    Let me tell you why.  It was because of people like Harold
Davis, Gay Taylor, Doyle Gentry, Cloe York, LaMerle Poole, Frances
Davis, Reed Thomas, Steve Furguson and all of the rest of this
congregation.  It is because of all of the people in the world.
    You see, either Jesus Christ must go to the cross to suffer
for us or else we must all spend eternity suffering in the fire.
    I feel somewhat like the twelve apostles.  I would like to
just shut it out of my mind.  I hate to think about Him suffering
such great agony on the cross.  But on the other hand, I thank God
that He did!
    There is something else about all this that bothers me.  In
spite of the fact that Jesus died on the cross, there are some
folks who will still end up in hell because they fail to trust in
Jesus and get saved.  And there are some folks who get saved and
then never serve the Lord.