Book of Luke - Ch. 9, Vs. 10-22 (05/10/2020)

Okay, we're ready to go then. All right, cool. All right. Okay, I'd like to begin this morning with a quick word of prayer.

Most gracious Heavenly Father, thank you for this day and thank you for giving us a beautiful Mother's Day here in Texas and I'm sure throughout most of the country.

We are happy to have everybody join in with us this morning. We want to thank you, Lord, for giving us this place and this technology that we can meet together even though we're thousands of miles apart in some cases.

Bless us and keep us and go through the services today. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. We are going to pick up chapter nine at verse 10.

Now at the end of last week, we spent a little bit of time talking about the feeding of the 5 ,000, which actually was the feeding of about 20 ,000.

But this happened after the disciples had gone out to teach and preach and heal.

And while they were doing all of this, the healing that they did was used as a sign to let the

Jews know that the message that they were preaching was from God.

So I'm gonna begin when the apostles come back from that meeting. And the apostles, when they were returned, told him all that they had done.

And he took them and went aside privately unto a desert place belonging to a city called

Bethsaida. Now, I'd like to take a second to describe

Bethsaida. Bethsaida is on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee, where the

Jordan River enters into the lake. Peter, Andrew, and Philip had all grown up there.

We know that from John 1, verse 44. You don't need to go there. I'm just gonna read one part of a verse.

Now, Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. There was a nearby city,

Capernaum, six miles away. And that was the home of two other disciples,

James and John. And James and John were partners of Peter and Andrew in the fishing business that they were in.

There was a sixth disciple, Bartholomew, who's called in John, Nathanael, he was from Cana.

That's only 16 miles from Capernaum. If you kind of a geography lesson, if you were at the church and you headed south on the interstate, you would not get six miles.

When you reach six miles, you would not yet have gotten to the Angus exit. If you turn north from there and went north 15 miles, you would be about at Rice.

So all of these are in a small area of Galilee, along with Jesus, who was from Cana.

So that's where we are. Verse 11, and this is chapter nine of Luke.

And we're now in verse 11. And the people, when they knew it, followed him, and he received them, and he spake unto them of the kingdom of God, and he healed them that had need of healing.

So Jesus did the same things. He asked his disciples to do, and he empowered his disciples to do back at the beginning of the chapter.

He healed them, and he spake unto them of the kingdom of God.

Note the linkage that we have. That we referred to last week between preaching and healing.

The healing was the sign that helped the Jews to receive the message being preached. Now, unfortunately, most of them rejected it anyhow.

Now, when the day began to wear away, then came the 12 and said unto him, send the multitude away.

Now, remember where they are. They're in a desert place near the city of Bethsaida.

Which is not really a city, it's only a small village. So it's a desert area near a small village.

That they may go into the towns and country roundabout and lodge and get vittles.

For we are here in a desert place. Now, the disciples showed some compassion.

They showed some understanding. And as you will see in a few minutes, they showed a little doubt.

Verse 13, but he, and that's Jesus, said unto them, give ye them to eat.

And they said, we have no more but five loaves and two fishes, except we should go and buy meat for all this people.

Where were they? They were in a desert place. Were there to lodge for the night?

No place. What was to eat? Five loaves and two fish. And they didn't even belong to the disciples.

The five loaves and two fish belonged to a boy. What I like to do is go to John chapter six, picking it up at verse five, and look at the same event from the account of John to get some extra details.

When Jesus then lifted up his eyes and he saw a great company coming to him, he saith unto

Philip, whence shall we buy bread that these may eat? Now, the question

I'm gonna ask you right now is, why did Jesus ask Philip? Why did

Jesus ask Philip were to go to buy bread? Well, if we didn't have verse 16, we might say, this is

Philip's hometown. He knows all about it. He should know the answer. But we have verse six, which tells us the reason

Jesus asked the question. He knew where the places to go were.

He said this to prove or to test Philip, for he himself knew what he would do.

And Philip answered him, 200 pennies worth, that's 200 days work, 200 days work would not buy enough bread.

200 pennies worth of bread is not sufficient for them that every one of them may take a little bite.

And one of his disciples, Andrew, now, Andrew, you call is another local, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him, there is a lad here which has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?

And Jesus said, make the men sit down. Now, there was much grass in the place, so the men sat down in number about 5 ,000.

And as we mentioned last week, last Sunday, it's not 5 ,000 people, it's 5 ,000 men.

That makes it closer to 20 ,000 people. Verse 14 says, for there were 5 ,000 men.

And he said to his disciples, make them sit down by fifties in a company. Well, no place to stay, nothing to eat, but two fish and five barley loaves.

But they did so, and they made them all sit down. And he, that's

Jesus, took the five loaves and two fish and looking up at heaven, blessed them, and gave to the disciples to sit before the multitude.

Now, how far do you think that's gonna go, five loaves and two fish? Well, had

God not intervened, it wouldn't have gone very far. It was enough for one young boy to eat.

But God took what was offered and he multiplied it. And they did eat.

How much did they eat? And they were all filled. Any left over?

There was taken up from the fragments that remained to them 12 baskets. Now, that's quite a miracle.

But that's nothing compared to the miracles he has been doing. He's been going around the countryside, like Jesus has, healing, making the blind to see, making the lame walk, raising people from the dead.

All of those were miracles of a, in my estimation, a higher order of magnitude than feeding the 5 ,000.

The one thing this had going for it, it was done in front of 12 ,000 people. Now, later, when he came to pass, as he was alone, praying with his disciples were with him.

And he asked them saying, whom say the people that I am? Now, I want to go to one of the early commentators,

Matthew Henry, and read what he said. Who say the people that I am?

Christ knew better than they did. But he would have his disciples made sensible about the mistakes of the others concerning him.

How happy they were to be led into the knowledge of him and the truth concerning him. We should take notice of the ignorance and the errors of others, that we may be the more thankful to him who has manifested himself to us and not unto the world.

Now, that's interesting. Manifested himself to us, but not to the world. And may pity them and do what we can to help them and to teach them better.

They tell him what conjectures concerning him they had heard in their converse with the common people.

Matthew Henry suggests that ministers would know better how to suit their instructions and reproofs and counsels to the case of ordinary people, if they did but converse more frequently and familiar with them.

They would be better able to say what is proper to rectify their notions, correct their irregularities, remove their prejudices.

He goes on to say, the more conversant a physician is with his patient, the better he knows what to do for him.

And here's what he said. Some said he was John the Baptist who was beheaded but the other day.

Some say Elijah or one of the old prophets, anything but what he was.

They called him anything but the Messiah. Now we're back to verse 19.

In Luke's account, Luke 9, 19. They answering said

John the Baptist, but some say Elijah and others say that it is one of the old prophets is risen again.

So they answered the question that Jesus asked exactly as he knew they would answer it.

But then he goes on to say, but he said unto them, but whom say ye that I am?

And Peter answering said, the Christ of God. He calls him the

Messiah. Peter was always the bold one and he answers for the 12.

Now let me tell you what Matthew Henry said about this passage. Now see what an advantage you have by your discipleship.

You know better. So we do say of Peter, thanks be to our master for it.

We know that thou art the Christ of God, the anointed of God, the

Messiah promised. It is a matter of unspeakable comfort to us that our

Lord Jesus Christ, that Lord Jesus is Christ anointed. For then he has unquestionable authority and ability for his undertaking.

For his being anointed signifies both being appointed to it and qualified for it.

Now that was Matthew Henry's account. I'm now gonna read a little from the gospel of Matthew's account.

This would be Matthew 16, verse 13. Matthew 16, verse 13.

And when Jesus came to the coast of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples saying, whom say men that I am?

That I, the son of man am? And they said, some say that thou art

John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.

And he said unto them, but whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, thou art

Christ, the son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, blessed art thou,

Simon, Barjonas, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my

Father which is in heaven. Now, what he has just said is, there is nothing that the people said that would lead him to say that this was, that he was

Christ, the son of the living God. He got that directly from his father.

John MacArthur, a current day scholar and commentator, had this to say,

Christ's messianic claims had always been subtle illusions to Old Testament prophecies combined with miraculous works that substantiated these claims.

Never before had he explicitly taught Peter and the apostles the fullness of his identity.

God the Father had opened Peter's eyes to the full significance of those claims and revealed to him who

Jesus really was. In other words, God had opened Peter's heart to this deeper knowledge of Christ.

Peter was not merely expressing an academic opinion about the identity of Christ.

This was a confession of Peter's personal faith made possible by a divinely regenerated heart.

I'm gonna go back to Matthew and continue. Matthew, verse 18. He goes on to say, and I will say unto thee that thou art

Peter, and upon this rock I build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

And I will give unto thee the keys to the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was

Jesus the Christ. And from that time forth, Jesus began to show his disciples how he must go unto

Jerusalem and suffer many things of the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed and be raised again on the third day.

Now, this is, again, John MacArthur speaking. This marks the beginning of a new emphasis in Matthew's account.

He turns his attention from Jesus's public ministry, this Matthew's account, to his private instructions for the disciples, which took on a new, somber tone.

The disciples had confessed their faith in him as Messiah. From then on, he began to prepare them for his death.

Now, back to Luke 9, verse 21. He's gonna tell his disciples the same thing.

And he straightway charged them and commanded them to tell no man that thing.

Now, there's an interesting comment on this by Matthew Henry that I'm gonna read.

Now, one would have expected that Christ should have charged his disciples, who were so fully apprised and assured of this truth, to publicize it to everyone that met with him.

But no, he strictly charged them to tell no man that thing.

Yet, as yet, because there's a time for all things.

It's not the time to be told. Peter made the temple ring of it after Jesus's resurrection when he said this, that God hath made that same

Jesus whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Peter said that in his sermon.

God hath made that same Jesus whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ.

But, Matthew Henry goes on to say, as yet, the evidence was not ready to be summed up.

And therefore, it must be concealed. While it was so, we may conclude that the belief of it was not necessary for salvation.

I'm gonna read that last part again because I kind of stumbled and I want to get to his exact conclusion.

God hath made that same Jesus whom you have crucified, both Lord and Master. He has now told them, at the end of the time, who

Jesus was. But in the meantime, he strictly charged them to tell no man that thing is yet.

So we may conclude that the belief of it was not necessary for salvation.

To clean it up, the belief of what? Is it necessary to believe that Jesus was the

Lord and Christ? Was it necessary to believe that in order to obtain salvation?

And rather than wait for answers, I'm going to give you a little bit of my understanding of salvation.

Salvation is not simply one thing. As I've looked at this,

I've concluded that there are four aspects of salvation. Four aspects of salvation.

And I'd like to talk about those this morning for a bit. But understand this.

This is what is in my mind. This is my understanding. This is not scripture. So what you need to do is you need to study the scripture and see if those things were true.

A person that I used to listen to all the time on the radio, and in fact, on TV, has now passed away, always said this.

This is my password, Acts 17, 11. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind.

That's what I ask you to do, receive the word with all readiness of mind, and search the scriptures daily whether those things are so.

Now, I want to read a passage, a short one, out of Romans 8, starting at verse 29, in order to pick out some words that I'm going to use.

All I'm looking here for are words. Romans 8, verse 29.

For whom he did foreknow, he did also predestinate, to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called.

And whom he had called, them he also justified. And whom he had justified, them also he glorified.

Now, as I was reading that, I kind of stumbled a little bit because it occurred to me, I might've put the wrong scripture notation there.

But that's in Romans in any case. And the words that I want are these. Three of them are found in this passage.

Justification, sanctification, glorification are found in this one, and confirmation.

Well, I'll take that back. Justification, confirmation, glorification are found in this passage, and sanctification somewhere else.

So we're gonna look at these one at a time and just look at exactly what they are. First is justification.

We always remember what that is because you can kind of make a little word game out of it.

Just as if I had never sinned. Justification makes you seen by God as righteous, seen by God the

Father as righteous, as if you had never sinned. It results from the blood of Jesus and nothing else.

I put that in my notes in boldface count, all bold, all capital, and nothing else.

The blood of Jesus and nothing else. Another thing about justification in the

Father's eyes, it was completed, done, over with, totally completed before time began.

Now, in Jesus's eyes, there was a process. It was completed after his resurrection, when he presented his atoning blood before the

Father, and the Father accepted. On the cross, Jesus said, my work is finished.

It is done. Paid in full. The price was paid in full, but the blood had not been presented to the

Father. Now we're gonna go to Romans 3 .19. Now, we know what things are whatsoever the law saith.

It saith to them that are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.

Now, what about the law? The law was never intended to be a set of rules that we should follow to show how righteous we are.

Now, instead, it was a set of rules to show that it is impossible for anyone.

That is to say, anyone except for Jesus. Anyone except for Jesus, and to point out the need for an intercessor.

Verse 30, verse 20. Now, therefore, by the deeds of the law, there shall no flesh be justified in his sight.

If you rely on the law to make you appear to be justified, you'll be seen exactly what you are.

Well, the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested being witnessed by the law and the prophets.

Even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all of them that believe, for there is no difference.

All of us, for all have sinned and come short of the glory. But being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom

God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past through the forbearance of God, that's what justification is.

Justification is being seen by God, the father, as righteous, as Jesus's righteousness that has been placed upon you at the same time that Jesus bore your sins and paid the penalty for them and presented his blood at the altar.

So you are justified, have been justified, always will be justified, and it has nothing to do with any work that you might do.

It only has to do with the work that Jesus Christ has already done 2 ,000 years ago, finished, nailed on the cross, and it pays the sin, it pays the price for the sin that you did.

Because every sin that you did, you did after his resurrection, you did it now.

If you do another sin tomorrow, it's paid for too. But that is a different story altogether.

And now we come to the second of those four aspects of salvation, sanctification.

That means being set apart for the use of God. It also means being made fit for some use, being made fit for such use.

That also is entirely the work of God. You have nothing to do with being set apart for the use of God.

You have nothing to do with being made fit for such use. That is entirely the work of Jesus, and we have nothing to do with it.

And in fact, it, like justification, was completed before time began.

Now I'd like to read a passage out of 1 Corinthians 6, beginning of verse nine, and I would like for you to go to this one.

1 Corinthians 6, verse nine. I'll give you a second to get there. Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God?

The unrighteous, who are the unrighteous? The unrighteous are all those that are not covered by Jesus's blood.

Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived, neither fornicators, nor adulterers, nor idolaters, nor the effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetousness, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of God, period.

And then look at verse 11. And such were some of you.

Could have said all of you were guilty of some of it. And such were some of you, but ye are washed.

Ye are sanctified. You're set apart for God's work. You are justified in the name of the

Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. So we have two passages that we've basically covered now.

Justification and sanctification, set aside for God's work. But I'd like to add something.

Not all men are set apart for God's work. Some are set apart for the work of Satan.

I'd like for you to go to Jude, next to the last book of the Bible, only one chapter, verse three.

Beloved, when I give all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, he was talking about salvation.

It was needful for me to write unto you and exhort you that you should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

Verse four, for there are certain men crept in unawares who were before of old ordained to this condemnation.

Let's speak that a little bit differently. Who were set apart for this condemnation.

Ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness and denying the only

Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. So that's the first two.

Being justified and being set apart for God's word and some people being set apart for the work of Satan.

Now we come to the third aspect. The third aspect, confirmation or transformation.

Transform to be more like Jesus. Here and only here we have a role.

This transformation process is ongoing. It begins the moment we are notified that we belong to him.

The moment we know that we are the bond slaves of Jesus Christ.

From that moment on, we are to work to be more and more like Jesus Christ.

That process continues for all of our life until either one of two things happen.

Either we die and we are no longer able to work or until the rapture when we're called out to be given our glorified bodies as those that died before us.

Romans 12, verse two. Be not conformed to this world, but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

That's what we're to do. Now Philippians, Paul in Philippians says it this way.

Philippians 2, five. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Jesus Christ.

What he's saying is, have your mind be like the mind of Christ who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal to God.

Well, we can't think that. But made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant.

We can't do that. And was made in the likeness of men. And being found in the fashion of men, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death.

We can do that. We can humble ourselves and become obedient unto death, even death on the cross.

Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him and given him, this is Jesus, a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow of things in heaven, things in earth and things under the earth.

And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the

Father. For for my beloved, as ye have always above me, obeyed me.

Now Paul is addressing this to his disciples or his students.

For for my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more so in my absent, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

Now what are you asked to do when you're asked to work out your own salvation? You're asked to make yourself more and more like Jesus Christ.

Now we can't ever get there. But we do know this.

It is God which worketh in you, both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

So the reason you want to do something, make yourself like Jesus, is because God is working in you to make you want to do it and to give you the ability to approach

Jesus. And now we come to the fourth aspect of glorification.

A new incorruptible body obtained at the rapture.

I might add, there's also a permanent body given to those who are not glorified.

Let's get to Romans 8, verse 17.

Romans 8, verse 17. And if children, then heirs. Heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.

If so be that we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified together.

For I reckon, or I count, that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

This glorification that we're going to get is so much greater than what we have now that you can't compare it.

And Paul, Paul in 1 Corinthians 15, verse 51, tells us one other thing.

Listen, behold, I show you a mystery, something that they didn't know before. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.

In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trump. For the trump shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible and we shall be changed.

For this corruptible shall put on incorruption and this mortal must put on immortality.

So when this corruptible shall put on incorruption and this mortal shall put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory.

O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is? So now we come to what might be the most important question we'll ever be asked.

What is necessary for salvation? Now, the answer is nothing that we can do or fail to do.

All that is necessary is that God chose us before the foundation of time.

Nothing is left for us to do to be saved, but there's much left for us to be, to do after we have been made aware of our salvation.

Brother Otis Fisher used to say, after you're notified that you're saved.

Matthew 12, verse 34. I know I'm bouncing around. I'll give you a second to get back to Matthew 12.

O generation of vipers, how can ye being evil speak good things?

For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things.

And an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.

And he straightly charged them, and he straightly charged them, commanded them to tell no man that thing.

That's the verse we read before we went off on this little rabbit trail. Verse 22, saying, the son of man must suffer many things and be rejected of the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be slain and be raised on the third day.

And that's a message that's not to the liking of anyone present, not the elders, not the chief priests, not the scribes, not even the disciples.

He told them now, the son of man must suffer many things and be rejected of the elders and of the chief priests and the scribes and be raised again on the third day.