Wednesday, August 17, 2022 PM

Sunnyside Baptist Church

Subscribe

Download

Share

00

00:08

and begin. Let me pray for us and then we'll be reading from Luke chapter 22.

00:15

Heavenly Father we thank you for the day, we thank you for the cooler weather, we thank you for the rain, thank you for gathering us here in this place at this time, and I pray that you would help us to worship you, to rejoice in your truth, to respond with an amen to your word, that we would follow through and live in its wisdom and in its light.

00:36

I pray that you would help us to pray for one another in the way that would be pleasing to you, and we ask that you would answer our prayers favorably and to give us what we need and to bring the deliverances and the healings and the helps that we ask for.

00:51

And we ask all these things in Jesus name, amen. Alright so Luke chapter 22 and we are still looking at what we've been calling eleventh hour discipleship.

01:09

It's here at the very last bit of time that Jesus has with his disciples, just prior to his arrest, trial, and crucifixion, that he has some things he needs to say to his disciples.

01:28

Some situations arise that he needs to help them walk through. He has some warnings to give them.

01:36

He has some promises to give them. He has some direction to give them. And all this at the eleventh hour, he's just packing it all in right here at the end.

01:46

So last time we looked at the way in which Jesus predicted or prophesied

01:52

Simon's denial, Peter's denial. And we looked at the way in which he went about that, the gracious, merciful, loving way that Jesus spoke with Peter and even gave him hope in light of Satan's sifting.

02:10

And we've also looked at Jesus dispelling the the quarrel amongst his disciples about who was the greatest and him describing in light of his coming death upon the cross what greatness really is in his kingdom.

02:27

So now we turn our attention to verses 35 to 46,

02:33

Luke chapter 22 beginning in verse 35. And the Lord said,

02:38

Simon, Simon, indeed Satan has asked for you that he may sift you as wheat.

02:46

But I have prayed for you that your faith should not fail. And when you have returned to me, strengthen your brethren.

02:56

But he said to him, Lord I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death.

03:03

Then he said, I tell you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day before you'll deny three times that you know me.

03:09

Okay, verse 35. And he said to them, when I sent you without money bag, knapsack, and sandals, did you lack anything?

03:18

So they said, nothing. Then he said to them, but now he who has a money bag, let him take it.

03:26

And likewise a knapsack. And he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one.

03:33

For I say to you that this which is written must still be accomplished in me.

03:40

And he was numbered with the transgressors. For the things concerning me have an end.

03:48

So they said, Lord, look, here are two swords. And he said to them, it is enough.

03:56

Coming out he went out to the Mount of Olives as he was accustomed. And his disciples also followed him.

04:03

When he came to the place, he said to them, pray that you may not enter into temptation. And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw.

04:12

And he knelt down and prayed, saying, Father, if it is your will, take this cup away from me.

04:21

Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done. Then an angel appeared to him from heaven, strengthening him.

04:31

And being in agony, he prayed more earnestly. Then his sweat became like great drops of blood, falling down to the ground.

04:39

When he arose, when he rose up from prayer and had come to his disciples, he found them sleeping from sorrow.

04:46

Then he said to them, why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation."

04:55

All right, so we're going to look at the passage here in verses 35 through 38 at this this third part of the 11th hour discipleship.

05:06

And we can recall from previous passages how

05:12

Jesus sent out his disciples. Remember, he sent them out two by two to go into the surrounding villages and towns and to preach the gospel of the kingdom.

05:23

And they were to heal the sick and deliver the demon possessed in his name.

05:30

And they were to, above all, preach the gospel of the kingdom. And they did so.

05:35

And he told them specifically in those instances to not take any extra supplies with them, but rather to wholly depend upon the instructions that he gave them.

05:50

In this instance, they weren't really to live by the bread in their knapsack. They were to live by his word.

05:58

And quite literally, they were to go out to these towns, preach the gospel of the kingdom, and then see who would receive them into their homes.

06:08

It's important to remember that in this day they didn't really have a lot of hotels and motels and inns and so on.

06:18

And that people traveled throughout the countryside depending upon the hospitality of the towns and villages where they arrived.

06:27

This was widely accepted. If you saw strangers in your town square sometime around, you know, the sun going down in the

06:37

West, and you had gone out to gather your evening water and you see strangers there, it was incumbent upon you, upon your community, to invite them to stay in somebody's home.

06:49

It may have been that there were a few families that traded off those responsibilities and always made sure that the guests had someplace to stay.

06:57

Your reputation as a town, as a village, was staked upon this hospitality. And if you did not offer hospitality, if you did not protect the stranger, if you did not bring them in and provide for them, there were very stiff penalties that were levied against you.

07:12

In fact, in the Old Testament, in some instances, it meant that your town would come under attack and you would be destroyed.

07:20

So egregious was this breach of custom. If you did not bring people into your home, if you did not make sure that their needs were taken care of.

07:30

And so Jesus is saying to them, based upon that cultural reality, you go out, you preach the gospel, and see who accepts this, who rejoices in the announcement of the kingdom, who hears the gospel and responds positively to that.

07:47

They're going to bring you into their home, they're going to provide for you, and there you'll find a man of peace.

07:54

Now if you go to a village and you preach the kingdom, and everybody there rejects you, and nobody will have anything to do with you, what are you supposed to do?

08:05

Shake the dust off your feet. We all know that expression. It's still in use today. We shake the dust off of our feet and move on.

08:13

That's what Jesus told his disciples. And in that case, it was a sign of judgment against that village and town.

08:20

For when you think about it, when it comes to hospitality, to welcoming someone to your village and town, who would be the best person ever to receive to your village or to your town?

08:41

How about the Messiah himself? Can you get any better? And Jesus said, the way they treat you is the way they treat me.

08:52

So if they rejected his apostles as they came preaching the gospel, it was a rejection of Christ himself, and that way, and that was a signal of judgment upon them.

09:02

They would shake the dust off their feet. So that was his previous instructions. He had a very specific purpose in that, and he was teaching his disciples the need and the urgency, the priority of preaching the gospel.

09:15

He was also teaching independence upon him. He was also showing them his authority, the importance of his name, and so forth.

09:24

Now we have a slightly different situation that is forming up. He reminds them of their previous travels, their previous itinerant preaching ministry, and he says, you remember how that went?

09:38

How I told you not to take extra supplies? How you were to depend upon my instructions and to walk by faith?

09:45

And he reminds them of that, and he also reminds them of his provision. Now at the first, it seems like, wow, those instructions would be really hard to follow.

09:55

It would seem that we would need to make sure that all the logistics were laid out first before we ever did anything of this magnitude, of this importance.

10:05

It's an interesting thing that as we read back through the history of Christianity, very often in difficult situations the church looked at these instructions of Jesus about not taking anything and just going and preaching, and they would just, they would just do it.

10:19

And they would go, there's good stories of this happening in the inland China, of the Christians just striking out for the inland and going to preach the gospel and praying that God would provide for their needs, and there'd be a man of peace in a village somewhere down the road.

10:34

You know, and the Lord is able to provide in those ways. In this situation,

10:40

Jesus reminds them that he provided for them, that God provided for them, they were not in need of anything.

10:46

And he stresses that first. And he stresses that by asking them the obvious question, and they give the obvious answer.

10:55

Verse 36, then he said to them, but now, but now, he who has a money bag, let him take it, and likewise a knapsack.

11:07

And he who has no sword, let him sell his garment, and maybe an extra cloak or something, and buy one.

11:14

For I say to you that this which is written must still be accomplished in me, and he was numbered with the transgressors, with the transgressors, for the things concerning me have an end.

11:28

Okay, so now something is going to change, something's going to be different. And what's the primary difference for the disciples moving forward?

11:36

What would you say, based on the text? Jesus is not going to be with them.

11:41

Now, that's a, that's a particular issue, isn't it? Now, imagine, you know, traveling with Jesus.

11:47

Remember how many times he tried to kill Jesus and they failed? You know, it was not his time and there was nothing they could do about that.

11:55

Also, remember how many times Jesus was with his disciples and they were traveling from town to town, from place to place, within maybe the larger cities, along the

12:05

Sea of Galilee, even in Jerusalem, and the crowds surrounding Jesus were a deterrent to the religious leaders from doing anything, right?

12:16

They couldn't take him when he was with the crowds. That's why they made that deal with Judas, right?

12:22

They made the deal with Judas here in a few, a few verses earlier, saying, you find an opportune time to deliver

12:31

Jesus into our hands when the crowds aren't protecting him. See, so all, so they had

12:36

Jesus with them, which meant, because of his power and his popularity, you know, they weren't too afraid for their safety.

12:45

But what happens when Jesus is no longer with them? Things are a little bit different, aren't they?

12:51

In some ways, they are very practically different. Now, they have learned the lesson that God provides.

13:00

Having learned that lesson, how then are they to think of their provisions now? The same way, right?

13:10

Like, here it is, this is out of true wisdom, which again, the fear of the

13:15

Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Once you've realized that God is the one who provides, and Jesus has made that point with his disciples, now that you know that, now that you trust the

13:23

Lord for your provision, now be a good steward, and you, you should be prudent, you should, you should make plans, you should think about some logistics, you should think about those things.

13:35

But remember, it's the Lord who provides, right? So having learned the lesson, now here's a new lesson about being a good steward and thinking ahead and being prudent and so forth, but never trusting in the material wealth, never trusting in the material protection, even though you recognize the practical wisdom of these things.

13:57

But there's more here, isn't there? Okay, money bag, knapsack, and a sword.

14:07

So, of course, money, the flexible, whatever we're going to need in a pinch.

14:12

The knapsack, where we keep extra clothes or food, maybe a flask of the paste from the wine that they would mix with the water, so they could drink without getting poisoned from bad water.

14:28

Then a sword, a sword to protect yourself against bandits, perhaps.

14:35

But notice what he says in verse 37. He didn't simply say, you need to make provisions because I'm going to be absent from you.

14:47

How does he say it? For I say to you that this which is written must still be accomplished in me.

14:58

And he was numbered with the transgressors.

15:03

Numbered with the transgressors. And he said, for the things concerning me have an end. Alright, so what's that passage from that he just quotes?

15:14

Isaiah 53. So, this is, of course, all at once always encouraging to see how the prophecies of the

15:26

Old Testament are fulfilled in Christ. He is saying this is a passage about me.

15:32

I always find that fascinating. I always find it captivating and encouraging. When we look at this particular passage, we read, and let's read it from verses 10 through 12 of Isaiah chapter 53.

15:56

And why don't we just back up to verse 9. And they made his grave with the wicked, but with the rich at his death.

16:06

We remember him dying with the accused on these crosses. But he was laid in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, a rich man.

16:16

They made his grave with the wicked, but with the rich at his death, because he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.

16:23

In other words, they counted him as wicked. They killed him as wicked, even though he had done nothing wrong and said nothing wrong.

16:35

But here's the reasoning. Here's the backstory, the reality of it. Verse 10, yet it pleased the

16:41

Lord to bruise him. He has put him to grief. When you make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the

16:53

Lord shall prosper in his hand. Because of the Lord's work, because of the Lord's design, the

16:59

Messiah, the suffering servant, would die and be raised again. Verse 11, he shall see the labor of his soul and be satisfied.

17:08

By his knowledge, my righteous servant shall justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities.

17:13

So the servant is the sacrifice. He is, the Lord is the Lamb, bears the iniquity of his people, justifying them.

17:23

Now verse 12, therefore I will divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul unto death.

17:33

And he was numbered with the transgressors, and he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

17:40

Now notice he was numbered with the transgressors. How did the religious, the

17:46

Jewish religious leaders think of Jesus of Nazareth? You know, they they called him a transgressor, didn't they?

17:55

They accused him of blasphemy, they accused him of breaking the Sabbath, they accused they accused him of violating their temple, they accused him of all manner of transgressions.

18:07

They saw him as a threat, they often plotted to kill him, they were ever trying to scheme and find ways to get him in trouble with the

18:16

Roman authorities. And Jesus said this to his disciples. He said, if they so treated the master, if they so treated the master, how are they going to treat you?

18:32

Did he not say that to his disciples? So Jesus is saying to his disciples, not simply that he will be taken away from them in death, because he's already promised them he's going to rise from the dead.

18:46

But that's not precisely it, right? Because he's going to spend time with him even after his resurrection, you know, 40 days with them and so forth.

18:53

And he's promised them not, they're not going to be, he's not going to leave them orphans, and they're not going to be totally left on their own, because he will send them the

19:00

Holy Spirit. But here's the point. He quotes this particular part of Isaiah 53, indicating he was, he's going to be numbered with the transgressors.

19:13

Meaning, Jesus is saying, I'm going to die as an outlaw. How are they going to view you?

19:23

He's not telling them to give up on dependence upon the Lord, but because he's going to die as an outlaw, numbered among the transgressors, his followers are going to have to make provision and get ready for a life of being outlaws.

19:42

Aren't they? Right? How, how much more likely will it be that when they try to to take the gospel of Jesus Christ through all these cities and villages in Israel, how much more likely will it be that they will recognize them as followers of that seditious sect called the way, and we don't have anything to do with you?

20:09

Right? How much more important will it be that they have a knapsack that has some rations in there that they'll be able to pass their, their days in serving

20:19

Christ, and have provision that's not going to be dependent upon the hospitality that they would find in villages and cities and so on?

20:27

How much more important will it be that they have money to be able to meet the needs that they're going to face?

20:33

How much more important will it be that they have swords to protect them if they have to camp out by the road at night?

20:41

Right? Do you see what Jesus is saying? Because I'm going to be numbered with the transgressors, you have to get ready for a life that's going to be not accepted by the authority and cultural structures of the day.

20:58

So, if we're not sure about that, if we're unsure about that when it comes to, you know, how people saw

21:10

Jesus's disciples and so on, you'll only have to read the book of Acts. We're doing very slowly on Sunday mornings.

21:19

When we see how the Christians are treated in the book of Acts, we see that they are thoroughly opposed by the

21:30

Jewish cultural structures. They are often thrown into prison. They are very often the target of sustained persecution, where they are being rooted out.

21:46

When you read the the balance of the New Testament, we find that Christians lose their jobs, they lose their homes, they lose their families, they lose their lives.

21:55

And so Jesus is saying, you need to get ready for this. Not only was the

22:01

Jewish persecution especially fierce for many decades, but eventually the

22:06

Roman Empire, then for about three and a half years, got very intense under Nero.

22:14

So not only outlaws from the Jews, but outlaws from the civil authorities, the other types of civil authorities as well.

22:22

So it makes sense that Jesus instructs his disciples in this way.

22:29

Christians throughout the generations of the church have often found themselves in situations where they need to be resourceful, where they need to to obey

22:42

God rather than man, where they need to defy tyrants and keep on following the

22:47

Lord. And Jesus gives instructions to his disciples that, you know, hey, you need to think about this.

22:53

Now first of all, remember that even when you have nothing, God will take care of you. But because of the fact of the way that Jesus is rejected, he says, get ready.

23:07

Now I think that's the best way to read this text. When they respond, they say, Lord look, here are two swords.

23:14

And he said to them, it is enough. Meaning, okay, don't go sell your shirt. So now when

23:25

I reflected and pondered on this passage about Christians arming themselves,

23:32

I wondered, I thought, that sounds incredibly not like Christian scholarship and Christian parlance today.

23:46

And so I went and read a few commentaries for some laughs. Here was my favorite one.

23:52

Here's my favorite one. Straight down the middle, very prominent, easy to read commentary.

24:00

The interpretation of this text is that Jesus's point in this passage was that Christians should never arm themselves.

24:13

That this is a definitive passage that Christians should never have swords. Isn't that great?

24:21

I'm telling you, some of these scholars missed their calling. They should have been in gymnastics.

24:29

They would have won several gold medals, I think. I won't bore you with the awful straining that they had to go through to get there.

24:37

But again, see how Jesus says not to trust in, but to be good users of these types of preparations.

24:50

And I think that that is a good counsel for Christians that we would live wisely, practically, and to live by faith.

25:00

So there are many considerations that our brothers and sisters in Christ all around the world have to make on a regular basis on how to continue to follow

25:13

Christ in the face of state persecution, in the face of tyranny, and indeed in the face of opposition from opposing religious groups.

25:27

This kind of instruction, I think, must be like a tall glass of cool water to a thirsty man.

25:35

Remember, as the followers of Jesus in all sorts of difficult situations, see that their shepherd knows what they go through and has instructions for them, and that they can trust him.

25:46

Any questions or thoughts about our passage tonight? Alright, well let's turn our attention to some prayer requests.