Christ's Third Passion Prediction
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Scripture Reading
Scripture Reading
31 Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. 32 He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him and kill him. 33 On the third day he will rise again.”
34 The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.
Introduction
Introduction
One of the things that I’ve mentioned at the start of a number of the past sermons I’ve preached from Luke is the fact that Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem to be crucified. As he’s journeying there, he continues to teach on important matters relating to the kingdom.
You will recall that last week we looked at the account of the rich young ruler that had come to Jesus, wanting to gain entrance to the kingdom of Heaven, but he had not been prepared to do everything that it took to enter the kingdom. He was prepared to try to keep the commands of God, at least externally. But he was not prepared to give away all that he had. He was not prepared to sacrifice this great wealth that he had accumulated.
At the end of that passage, the disciples had said to Jesus that they had left all to follow Christ. And he then went on to tell them that they would certainly receive their due reward due to sacrifice that they had made.
On the subject of sacrifice, that leads us into our present text, which is referred to as Christ’s Third Passion Prediction.
Through the Gospels, there are three passion predictions, and this is the third and final such prediction. Essentially, this is a prediction of Jesus of the sufferings that he would endure in order to bring salvation to mankind.
When we speak of the “Passion” of Jesus, it simply refers to the sufferings that He would face in order to bring about the redemptive purposes of God. The word “Passion” here comes from the Latin word meaning “to endure” or “to suffer.”
In Acts 1:3 we read…
3 To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.
So this is really Christ’s predictions of His own suffering that He will endure at the cross on behalf of the disciples, and all those who would come to Him.
In the Gospels, there are a number of veiled predictions, or rather, allusions to his suffering. But on three different occassions, Christ speaks openly and clearly about the fact that he would be When we speak in this manner, we exclude the veiled predictions, or the allusions.
So, there are three explicit predictions that are recorded for us. This is the last of those.
The first was in Luke 9:22
22 saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised up on the third day.”
The Second was in Luke 9:43-45
43 And they were all amazed at the greatness of God.
But while everyone was marveling at all that He was doing, He said to His disciples,
44 “Let these words sink into your ears; for the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.”
45 But they did not understand this statement, and it was concealed from them so that they would not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this statement.
Then we have the third before us this morning.
As we consider these few verses, I want to remind you of the significance of the suffering of Christ on our behalf. Christ knew full well that his suffering was coming, and He understood the extent of that suffering.
The disciples had said to Jesus that they had given up everything for Christ. Well, this was true to a certain extent, but they had not suffered at the hands of sinful men, and ultimately they had not given up their lives.
Christ was about to lay down His life for these disciples, and He would do so through extreme pain and suffering. At this point in the Gospel of Luke, He is simply telling His disciples what He is about to endure.
With that in mind, consider firstly with me…
1. A Predetermined Plan (v.31)
1. A Predetermined Plan (v.31)
In Luke 18:31 we read…
31 Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled.
The Privileged Disciples
The first thing that we see in connection with Christ’s Passion Prediction is that it was reserved for a particular group of people.
It wasn't for those who were followers of Jesus.... or mere followers. In terms of the revelation of His plans and purposes, Christ didn't make all things known to all men. This prediction of what would unfold was reserved for those that were specifically chosen.
He takes them aside and tells these twelve something particular, about that which must take place in the future.
It is evident from this that Christ was at least in some measure seeking to impress upon His disciples the gravity of the events that were to take place in the coming days.
In the text (at least in the original) Jesus begins by addressing His disciples with the word, “BEHOLD" (ESV = “See”).
The word is used to captivate the attention of both the hearer and the reader. What Christ is about to say to His disciples demands their attention.
Going up to Jerusalem
As Jesus addresses his disciples, he explains to them that they are going to Jerusalem. This is what would have been known as the city of God. This is the place that God was said to dwell among His people.
This is where the annual holy days were observed by the Jews. And so, perhaps in the minds of the disciples, the first thought would have been that Jesus was talking about going up to Jerusalem for the observance of one of those days.
Indeed, Christ would be crucified at the time of the observance of the Passover. Usually, this would have been a positive thing... something good and proper. But as Christ will reveal through these verses, they were going up to far more than merely the Passover.
It should be noted that when Christ was heading up to Jerusalem, it was not merely a matter pertaining to his feet walking towards Jerusalem. Rather, it was a matter of His heart being set upon this course to Jerusalem.
5 How blessed is the man whose strength is in You,
In whose heart are the highways to Zion!
As we have noted in previous texts along these lines, Jesus was Himself determined to go up and offer up His own life, because this was the will of his Father for Him. Christ had come in order to do the will of the one that had sent Him.
34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.
Christ’s eyes were yet set resolutely on this goal.
Everything written by the prophets
As Christ continues to speak to His disciples, he says to them that "everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled.”
We know that the “Son of Man” is a reference to the Messiah, to the one that would come to redeem and rescue the people of God. That’s the Old Testament phrase (particularly found in Daniel) that was used in reference to the Messiah.
As Christ tells his disciples that everything about this Son of Man will be fulfilled, He is not merely saying that in the Old Testament, there were a few things that were written about this Son of Man, and those few prophecies would be fulfilled.
In one sense, that was certainly true. There were prophecies that spoke about the coming Messiah, and particularly the kind of hardship that He would endure. Isaiah 53 is such a passage / prophecy.
But really, what Christ was saying was that everything that was written concerning God’s salvation plan would come to fruition and fulfilment in this Son of Man.
If you recall Christ walking with the two disciples on the Road to Emmaus, that is after his suffering… Luke 24::25-27
25 And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!
26 “Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?”
27 Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.
We see that although there are specific texts within the Old Testament that explicitly and specifically spoke about the sufferings that the Messiah would endure, it was really the entirety of God’s revelation in the Old Testament that was pointing towards that apex of God’s redemptive plans, the crucifixion of His own Son.
The time for the culminating point, the most glorious demonstration of God’s redemptive purposes in the world, was fast approaching, and Jesus was anticipating this, and telling His disciples to anticipate this.
Will be fulfilled
Christ tells his disciples that everything “will be fulfilled.
The fact that Christ was journeying to Jerusalem, in fact, was in order that these things may be fulfilled.
We must note that although there was more to it, one of the most important things that would be fulfilled was His suffering and death in order to bring about the redemption of souls.
2. A Painful Prediction (vv.32-33a)
2. A Painful Prediction (vv.32-33a)
At this point, Christ will proceed to tell his disciples exactly what it is that is going to happen to the “Son of Man.” In Luke 18:32 we read,
32 He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him and kill him.
Just as a general observation on this verse, take note of the details that are included in this. Jesus was very specific!
Firstly, Jesus says here that he will be Handed over to Gentiles. A couple of things are worth noting on this point.
We know well that it wasn’t the Gentiles that actually wanted Jesus put to death. There was no real desire on the part of any of the Gentiles to put Jesus to death.
Rather, it was the Jews, particularly the Jewish religious leaders, that wanted Jesus put to death. We’ve been noticing that as we’ve worked through Luke’s Gospel. They despised Jesus, and didn’t believe him at all to be the Messiah.
They would want to put Jesus to death, but because they didn’t really have the power or authority to do that in Roman world, they would need to hand Jesus over to the Roman authorities, who would then have him put to death.
So, in this sense, the Jews would be behind His death. The Gentiles would in some measure be behind His death.
But we must also keep in mind that all of this would be according to the perfect working of the will of God the Father.
In theological terms, there is what is referred to as a "Divine Passive."
The “Passive” is used when there is an action upon a person. They don’t perform the action themselves, but rather something is done to them. In this case, Jesus will be “handed over.” It is not Him doing the action, but rather it is being performed on Him.
A Divine Passive, then, is when God is the One performing the action. When God is the one, at least, who is behind the action being performed.
This very phrase from Jesus has been observed to be a “Divine Passive.” So while it is true that Jesus would be handed over to the Gentiles by the Jews in order to be crucified, this was also in God’s divine purposes and plan.
Acts 2:22-23 brings clarity for us in this regard...
22 “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 over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.
Jesus is telling his disciples that he will be handed over, in God's providential working, to the Gentiles....
With that said, Jesus goes on to outline what will happen to him once he's handed over. Once again, take note of the specifics in the details. Many who read these texts suggest that this was a “prophecy arising out of an event.”
In other words, they cannot believe that a prophecy would be made with such detail and then be brought so perfectly to fullfilment, and therefore they assume that this “prophecy” was written after the fulfilment of the events…
That is certainly not the case. That certainly doesn’t give a reasonable explanation of the many Old Testament prophecies that were equally accurate and descriptive, even though very detailed, that spoke to Christ’s life and death.
In fact, Christ was even here speaking about those things that would be fulfilled that had been prophesied concerning him. And example is most certainly Isaiah 53, which was read this morning. That passage just speaks to the extent of the contempt that this Saviour would endure.
Now, notice with me some of the detail that Christ gives.
Mock Him
The first detail that Christ gives is that they would mock Him and insult Him. Keep in mind, Jesus is the one that had descended from the right hand of the Father in heaven. He was the one, according to Colossians 1:16, by whom.......
Colossians 1:16–17 (NASB95)
16 .....all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.
He is the one worthy of all honour and glory and praise and adoration. But he will be mocked. That’s Christ’s prediction concerning Himself.
Christ knows that as He heads to Jerusalem, He will be taken and ridiculed and scorned by men.
Have you ever faced scorn? Have you ever faced contempt?
From our perspective, it’s terrible. When we have the power and the means to stop such ridicule and scorn against us, we will most certainly ensure that it is stopped.
Christ knew that this was approaching, and He chose to endure that suffering. The mocking that he here prophesied would certainly come to pass.
In Luke 22:63 we read…
63 Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking Him and beating Him,
Later on, in Luke 23:11 we read....
11 And Herod with his soldiers, after treating Him with contempt and mocking Him, dressed Him in a gorgeous robe and sent Him back to Pilate.
And a few verses later, in Luke 23:36 we read...
36 The soldiers also mocked Him, coming up to Him, offering Him sour wine,
Here is the contempt and scorn that Jesus faced.
Insult him…
The next word that Jesus used to describe the suffering he would face is “insult.” They would insult him. This word can also be translated “mistreat.”
It is the word that Paul used in 1 Thes 2:2 to describe the way that he was “mistreated” in Philippi, where he was put in jail. It’s the same word that is used in Acts 14:5 to speak about the plans that the people had to mistreat Paul and Barnabas.
Very clearly, this word describes a general mistreatment of a person. And Christ certainly endured such mistreatment or insult.
Again, Christ, the very Son of God, suffering at the hands of unbelievers. That is what Jesus was telling His disciples was going to happen to Him.
Spit on HIm
Next, Christ tells his disciples that they would “spit on him.” This is, in a sense, a very striking example of the extent of the insult that would be leveled against Him.
And once again, this would come to fulfilment.
65 Some began to spit at Him, and to blindfold Him, and to beat Him with their fists, and to say to Him, “Prophesy!” And the officers received Him with slaps in the face.
A little further on in Mark’s Gospel…
19 They kept beating His head with a reed, and spitting on Him, and kneeling and bowing before Him.
Christ, in speaking to His disciples, was looking forward to this time where those whom He had created would treat Him in such a manner.
Flog Him
Next, Christ predicts that they would flog Him.
This would come to fulfillment, as recorded in Mark 15:15
15 Wishing to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas for them, and after having Jesus scourged, he handed Him over to be crucified.
And then, the ultimate point of all of this…
Kill Him
Indeed, this was the event to which everything was pointing - the killing of the very Son of God.
30 Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.
Even in those words at His death, Jesus would affirm that all that was prophesied about Him was being fulfilled.
Here Jesus outlined in some detail all that was about to unfold for him. The words of William Hendriksen are helpful in drawing our minds to see something of the weight that this must have placed on Jesus. He writes:
Luke (18:31–34 The Third Prediction of the Passion and the Resurrection)
Even this third prediction, though indeed very comprehensive and detailed, does not necessarily prove that in the mind of Jesus the image of impending distress was already as vivid as it would be in Gethsemane.Nevertheless, even now the horror must have been very real and very terrifying... The man of sorrows sees it coming toward him. He already senses something of the perfidy, the hypocrisy, the calumny, the mockery, the pain, and the shame which like an avalanche threatens to overwhelm him. Yet, he does not retreat or even stand still. With unflinching determination he walks right into it, for he knows that this is necessary in order that his people may be saved. “Having loved his own … he loved them to the uttermost” (John 13:1).
Dear friends, this was indeed what was driving Christ forward… a deep love for His chosen ones.
But Christ also spoke in these verses of
3. A Powerful Victory (v.33b)
3. A Powerful Victory (v.33b)
At the end of verse 33, Jesus said to his disciples…
"On the third day he will rise again.”” (Luke 18:33)
Rise Again
Here was no doubt the comfort that Christ took from this event. As he saw the impending mockery, scorn, floggings, and ultimate death, he knew that there was a victorious outcome.
The sufferings would indeed be painful. Even more so because they were utterly undeserved for him. Nonetheless, as He considered the goal of all this, it would have encouraged Him to persevere.
Hebrews 12:2 says that Jesus, for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame…
Christ knew that victory would come, and thus He was prepared to endure suffering.
Christ knew that He was about the Father’s business of redeeming a people for Himself, and thus He endured.
Let me just make one note of application here…
We are called to do precisely that… Endure the suffering, the shame, the hardship, the contempt, the self-sacrifice, because of that which lies ahead.
1 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
4. A Profound Dullness (v.34)
4. A Profound Dullness (v.34)
As Jesus has explained these things to the disciples, we find that they didn’t actually understand what He was saying.
34 But the disciples understood none of these things, and the meaning of this statement was hidden from them, and they did not comprehend the things that were said.
Understood nothing
Neither the prediction as a whole, nor the smaller details, were understood by the disciples at this stage.
One reason is probably that they still thought in grandiose terms of the Messiah. They expectations of the Messiah that were misplaced.
We need to recognise this, since so often men are blinded by their own preconceived misconceptions.
That is what was happening with the disciples, at least in this moment. They were blinded…
4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
In a sense, their eyes were still blinded to the truth of what was to take place with Christ.
It’s not that they didn’t believe that Jesus was the Messiah. They believed this and trusted that He was the Messiah.
But as Jesus speaks these words, they absolutely do not perceive that they apply to Him. He uses the phrase, “The Son of Man.” This was a Messianic Title.
Nonetheless, they didn’t see it as applying to Jesus.
Why? Because these predictions did not fit with preconceived notions of what the Messiah was to do and achieve.
In our own day, very often this is what stops people from believing. They have preconceived ideas and notions about who God is, about what God should be doing in this world, about how God would or wouldn’t treat people. What God would and wouldn’t allow to take place in the world. And because of these preconceived notions, they refuse to believe the Gospel account.
Their eyes are blinded.
I would suggest that even many professing Christians approach God in this way, certainly when lie doesn’t go as they hoped it would. They are prepared to believe in God, they are prepared to trust in Christ.. But they expect certain things. They have these expectations of how their life is to run, and how God ought to behave; what is reasonable. And when it doesn’t happen, their faith is severely tested!
Charles Simeon’s words are helpful here. He writes:
Horae Homileticae Vol. 13: Luke XVII to John XII Discourse 1559: Christ Foretells His Own Sufferings (Luke 18:31–34)
To counteract this fatal evil, I would earnestly entreat all to lay aside their pre-conceived notions, and to come to the sacred volume, not as critics to sit in judgment upon God, but as little children to be instructed by him: on opening that blessed book, we should lift up our hearts to God, and pray with David, “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.”
However, we also need to notice, very importantly, that although it was their own eyes that were blinded, this was also in the providential working of God.
Luke clearly conveys the truth that the meaning was actually hidden from them. In God’s providential working He chose, at least at this stage, to hide the meaning of these words from these disciples.
Now, it may be asked, what is the point of telling the disciples when the meaning will be hidden? Quite simply, the meaning would not remain hidden forever. There would come a time, when all of the meaning was clearly revealed.
As the disciples would look back on the words that Jesus had spoken, suddenly everything would make sense to them!
4 “But these things I have spoken to you, so that when their hour comes, you may remember that I told you of them. These things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.
Practical Implications
We must appreciate that our spiritual sight is a gift from God. The fact that we have come to Christ is because of God’s grace towards us.
The Gospel message itself is extremely precious. The extent of what God has done on our behalf
When we evangelize, it is only by the grace of God that people will have their eyes opened.
When we seek to give godly counsel to people, it is the grace of God that is needed to open spiritual eyes.
Application / Conclusion
Application / Conclusion
Three reasons to be grateful for the sufferings of Christ.
1. His Suffering was substitutionary
As Christ was heading to the cross, he was doing so for those very disciples that he was teaching.
But beyond that, he was heading to the cross for the sake of those who were around him, those who were mocking him, those who would not listen to him.
Yes, even the religious leaders that were opposed to Him. He was going to die that even if any of them repented, and confessed Him as Lord, they would receive forgiveness.
And He went to die for you and I.
As you consider this, ask, what have been your sin struggles in life?
How have you sinned against God? How do you continue to sin, perhaps daily...?
We must understand that Christ was heading to a place where he would suffer in our place under the wrath of God.
2. His Suffering was Done Willingly
Christ went to the cross because it was His Father's good pleasure.
The Will of God was within Christ's heart
He did this willingly for us.
3. His Suffering was perfect and Complete
There is now no longer need for further sacrifice.
But dear friends, there is now a burden placed upon us, and call that is given to us.
We are called to repent and believe.
This is the first step…
elaborate…
We are called to follow…
elaborate...
21 For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps,
22 who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth;
23 and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;
24 and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.
25 For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.
Are you following Him?