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Turn in your Bibles to Matthew 
chapter 16. Matthew chapter 16, as we continue 
our exposition of the first gospel, we find ourselves this morning 
specifically in the first prediction of the passion by our Lord Jesus 
Christ. When I use the word prediction, 
it doesn't mean that there's a chance it may not occur. He's 
not a fortune teller, he doesn't have a crystal ball, he's not 
reading tea leaves. When Jesus predicts the future, 
it most certainly and infallibly will indeed come to pass. So 
verses 21 to 23 is the first formal prediction where Christ 
mentions or refers to his passion. Passion simply refers to his 
suffering and death on behalf of sinners, to satisfy divine 
justice, to secure the salvation of his people. But I do want 
to begin reading in chapter 16 at verse 13. When Jesus came 
into the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, 
Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? So they said, Some 
say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah, or one of 
the prophets. He said to them, But who do you 
say that I am? Simon Peter answered and said, 
You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus answered 
and said to him, Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh 
and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is 
in heaven. And I also say to you that you 
are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates 
of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys 
of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will 
be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed 
in heaven." Then he commanded his disciples that they should 
tell no one that he was Jesus the Christ. Jesus began to show 
to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem. and suffer many 
things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed 
and be raised the third day. Then Peter took him aside and 
began to rebuke him, saying, Far be it from you, Lord. This 
shall not happen to you. But he turned and said to Peter, 
Get behind me, Satan. You are an offense to me, for 
you are not mindful of the things of God, but of the things of 
men. Then Jesus said to his disciples, if anyone desires to come after 
me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow 
me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever 
loses his life for my sake will find it. For what profit is it 
to a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange 
for his soul? For the Son of Man will come 
in the glory of his Father with his angels. and then he will 
reward each according to his works. Assuredly, I say to you, 
there are some standing here who shall not taste death till 
they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom. Amen." Let us 
pray. Father, we ask now for the ministry 
of your Holy Spirit. God, apart from Christ, we can 
do nothing. We pray for cleansing in the 
blood and we pray for the ministry of the Spirit to take the Word 
of God and make it alive in our own minds and hearts. We pray 
for your blessing upon this study. We pray that we would marvel 
at the Savior, that we would see Him according to the plan 
of God, saving His people from their sins. We ask for your blessing 
now. We ask that you would be glorified 
and exalted. And we pray through Jesus our 
Lord. Amen. Well, in this particular section 
of Matthew's Gospel, there is a kind of a change. We see that 
the cross now overshadows the rest of the book as a whole. 
Both geographically, because remember they go up to Caesarea 
Philippi, they're going to travel down through Galilee, but they 
are going to arrive in Jerusalem. And it's there in Jerusalem that 
Jesus will go to the cross. So there's geographic movement 
going on recorded by Matthew in this section. But even more 
importantly, there is theological reference. The cross is the looming 
event. The cross is the major emphasis. this time out. There are certainly 
miracles that follow in this part of the history, but nothing 
like what we have seen up to this point. The emphasis rather 
is on Jesus and his disciples. Jesus preparing his twelve. Jesus 
educating and encouraging and strengthening these men. that 
will then be church planters and men who will write scripture 
and do those things that he has called them to. So as I said, 
the cross looms over this entire section, but there's great hope 
and encouragement along the way. Even in this passage, a statement 
that Peter probably didn't even hear. Jesus not only talks about 
his suffering and his death, but he will be raised on the 
third day. Interesting, Peter gives no weight 
or no consideration to that statement whatsoever. In the rest or subsequent 
accounts, when Jesus reports his passion or when he tells 
that he is going to Jerusalem to die, he always underscores 
it with that reality. He will die, but he will rise 
again. And what we find in this passage 
is the very conspicuous pattern that God has always employed. 
The cross precedes the crown. The cross comes before glory. It was that way in the life and 
the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ. And that's the emphasis 
here. Peter wanted Jesus to have the 
crown, but he didn't want Jesus to have the cross. Jesus says, 
this is satanic thinking, very similar to what the devil does 
in Matthew 4, 8-10, when the devil comes to tempt Jesus to 
possess all this power and all this authority, but not in accordance 
with the will of God. You see, that is satanism, to 
deviate and divert from the plan of God Most High. And so Jesus 
sets forth this pattern, it will be the cross and then the crown, 
and it's on the heels of this, and very closely associated, 
that he gives this call to discipleship. Do you think, as Christ's people, 
you're going to have the crown without the cross? Do you think, 
as Christ's people, you're going to have the gain without the 
pain? Do you think, as Christ's people, you will not know sorrows 
or trials or difficulties? You need to think again. Because 
Jesus alerts us to the reality that he must go to Jerusalem, 
he must suffer, he must die, and he must be raised on the 
third day. And it's on the heels of that that he calls men, or 
instructs men, that when they come to him by grace through 
faith, they ought to come to him knowing that theirs is a 
life of bearing a cross. Theirs is a life of discipleship. Theirs is a life of pursuing 
the Lamb. following the Lamb wherever He 
goes. So that's something of the context 
of our particular passage in terms of the broader consideration, 
but remember in verses 13 to 20 they get to Caesarea Philippi. Jesus says, who do men say that 
I the Son of Man am? Again, the most important question 
you will ever be asked. Who do you say the Son of Man 
is? Is he just a good teacher? Is 
he just a good religious leader? Is he just a moral man? Or is 
he the son of God who laid his life down for sinners that in 
him we might be forgiven and have a righteousness that avails 
with God? Can we say with Simon Peter, 
you are the Christ, you are the Messiah, you are the son of the 
living God. Well on the heels of that confession 
Jesus pronounces him blessed. They have properly and rightly 
identified the person of the Messiah. This is who Jesus is. He is the Messiah prophesied 
in the Old Testament. He is the Christ. Both of those 
terms, the Hebrew and the Greek, mean the Anointed One, God's 
Anointed Servant to do the will of the Father in carrying out 
His plan to save His people from their sins. Now, Jesus goes on 
to specify the work of the Messiah. He is Jesus the Christ, the Son 
of the Living God, but how does this Christ occupy a place of 
triumph and of authority and of glory and majesty? It's not 
in the same way that a CEO in a Fortune 500 business does. 
He doesn't drive a big car. He isn't attended by great servants. 
He isn't catered to in as every desire and as every want. The 
path for Christ as Messiah is the path of suffering. It is 
the path of toil. It is the path of Death, ultimately. And that's the lesson that the 
disciples needed to learn in this particular instance. So 
there are three observations that we ought to make in verses 
21 to 23. First, the declaration of the 
divine plan. Secondly, the rejection of the 
divine plan. And thirdly, the affirmation 
of the divine plan. The divine plan, of course, being 
the decree of God, the purpose of God from eternity, by which 
he would save his people from their sins through the life, 
death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now notice 
first the declaration of the divine plan in verse 21. From that time, Jesus began to 
show to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem. From that 
time, this is going to be the continual emphasis from here 
on out. Again, it's not just a change in geography. The movement 
through Galilee to Jerusalem will go from this passage all 
the way to 2034. But Matthew's purpose is not 
geographic in nature, but theological. From that time, Jesus began to 
show. From that time, Jesus began to declare. From that time, Jesus 
began to indicate to them how the Christ would suffer and die 
to save his people from their sins. There were informal announcements 
before this, in Matthew chapter 9 and verse 15. You can turn 
there. Matthew chapter 9 and verse 15, 
talking about the bridegroom and the people feasting in his 
presence. 9.15, Jesus said to them, can 
the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom 
is with them? But the days will come when the 
bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will 
fast. You see, Christ knew this was 
coming. Christ always operated according to the divine plan. 
Christ was a student of only scriptures. Christ understood 
Isaiah the prophet. Christ understood the Psalter. 
Christ understood Daniel 9, 24 to 27. Christ availed himself 
of the written word of God. He availed himself of the mind 
of God. He knew every step along the path that was his ministry 
and his mission. So he alerts, or at least appeals 
to this reality, but in an informal way here. Again in chapter 10 
in verse 38, chapter 10 in verse 38, he who does not take his 
cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. You see that's 
an informal reference. The implication is those who 
take their cross and follow Jesus because Jesus has taken his cross. 
and is the one we ought to pursue. These are informal. Jesus certainly 
knew in Matthew 12.14 that the religious leaders raged against 
him and they plotted against him how they might destroy him. 
Certainly Jesus knew and Matthew knew and was alert to the reality 
that he was the suffering servant of Isaiah because that passage 
is quoted in length in chapter 12 of Matthew, but this is the 
first actual prediction. This is the first actual time 
that Jesus highlights His mission to these particular men. He does 
so again in chapter 17, verses 22 to 23. Chapter 20, verses 
17 to 19. Chapter 26, verse 2. The parallels 
to these passages in Mark's gospel and Luke's gospel. And then in 
John 2, remember when Jesus is at the temple. He says, destroy 
this temple and in three days I will raise it up again. He 
said, it's taken us 46 years to build this temple and you're 
going to raise it up in three days? John the theologian tells 
us he was not talking about Herod's temple. He was talking about 
the temple of his body. So Christ brought attention to 
the fact and the reality that he was going to the cross. Make 
no mistakes about it. The idea that Jesus was just 
this sort of man that was a bit confused and didn't really know 
what was going on and just happened to have this band of merry followers, 
that is simply not the case. In the fullness of the time, 
God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law 
to redeem those under the law. Christ was conscious of the reality 
that the cross lay before him. And here he tells his disciples, 
you need to know my person. I am the Christ, the Son of the 
Living God. But you need to know something of my work. You need 
to know how I'm going to satisfy divine justice. You need to know 
how I'm going to secure your salvation. It's going to be in 
Jerusalem. Notice, he speaks of the absolute 
necessity of his atonement. The absolute necessity of his 
atonement. Notice, from that time Jesus 
began to show to his disciples that he must. The must here is 
a must. It is absolutely necessary. There is no wiggle room. There 
is no redefinition. There is no other way. The must 
highlights the reality that this is a necessity for the Son of 
God. The salvation of His people relies 
upon His work in Jerusalem. The word used here, translated 
must, highlights, as I said, the absolute necessity of the 
mission before Christ. This wasn't optional. This wasn't 
suggestive. This wasn't one way among many 
ways. Theologians debate the necessity 
of the atonement. Was there other ways that God 
could save his people from their sins? It seems to me that if 
we introduce the idea that there were, It calls into question 
this being the best way, the wisest way, the choicest and 
most excellent way. I would argue the necessity of 
the atonement is shown and demonstrated in some regard by this word translated, 
must. As well, this word governs each 
of the other statements that follow. He must go to Jerusalem, 
he must suffer at the hands of the Sanhedrin, he must be killed, 
and he must be raised the third day. John Gill says the word 
must not only belongs to his going to Jerusalem, but to his 
sufferings, death, and resurrection, all which must be because of 
the immutable decree of God. You see, God is purposed. We 
just studied this in the last hour. Nothing happens apart from 
the will of God in this world. There is a decree, there is a 
blueprint, there is a plan. And we operate according to that. Nothing can frustrate it, nothing 
can thwart it, nothing can sidetrack it. God will do what God has 
purpose to do. And in this we greatly rejoice. He is not a contingent being. 
He does not react. He doesn't bite his fingernails. 
He doesn't clack his knees. He doesn't wonder how this creation 
got away from him. Everything that has happened 
has happened according to the divine will, and God's divine 
will was to save His people from their sins through the doing 
and the dying and the rising of our Lord Jesus. So Gil is 
right. The word mas not only belongs 
to his going to Jerusalem, but his sufferings, death, and resurrection, 
all which must be because of the immutable, that means unchangeable, 
decree of God, the counsel and covenant of grace and peace, 
the prophecies of the Old Testament, and the redemption and salvation 
of God's elect. These required them and made 
them absolutely necessary. You see, Christ had a plan. Christ 
had a purpose. Christ was carrying out what 
our Confession calls an eternal transaction made between the 
Father and the Son to save His people from their sins. It really 
is a glorious concept. Davies and Allison point out 
this Greek word, de, which is translated must, which in Matthew 
is the functional equivalent of, it is written. The must is 
the functional equivalent of every time Matthew as a New Testament 
author says, it is written, when he takes from the Old Testament 
and applies it to the life and ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
The must is seen on equivalence with, this is written. It must be the case. Christ obeys 
the Word. Christ obeys the will of God. Christ doesn't deviate from the 
plan. If you ever wanted to look at 
a model or a portion of Christ as example, you know how I feel 
about exemplary preaching. It can fall into moralism. There 
is a place where we need to imitate Christ. It was faithfulness. You know what the great challenge 
facing Christians in their lives is? Faithfulness. Get up every 
morning and do what God calls you to do. Don't deviate from 
the plan. Don't neglect the Bible. Don't 
neglect prayer. Do not neglect the corporate 
public means of grace. Be in church. Be at the table. 
Be in the baptistry if it's your time. Be at least witnessing 
those who are baptized. Avail yourselves of the means 
of grace. Be faithful men and women. We see that modeled by 
Christ? What about in Luke's narrative 
when it says he set his face like a flint to go to Jerusalem? 
Taking from the prophet Isaiah. The New King James translated, 
he was steadfast. You couldn't deter him. You couldn't 
sidetrack him. You couldn't say, well, wait 
a minute, Jesus, I want you to consider doing this. Even in 
the garden when in his manhood he knows the great weight of 
the wrath of God that is coming upon him, he prays to the Father 
as man. Father, if it be possible, let 
this come pass from me. Nevertheless, Father, not my 
will, but your will be done. He couldn't sidetrack the Messiah. 
He couldn't sidetrack the Savior. You couldn't stop Him. He's relentless 
in His pursuit of obeying His Father and in securing the salvation 
of those whom the Father had given to Him. So this word must 
is the functional equivalent of It is written. It expresses 
the conviction that Jesus' passion is the realization in time of 
a destiny stored up for and dictated to the Messiah by the scriptures 
which convey God's will." Beautiful. How does Matthew start his gospel? 
You say, well, with a genealogy. Yes. And then he punctuates that 
genealogy by showing us something about the person and the work 
of the Lord Jesus. His person. He's Emmanuel. He's God with us. His work. For it is He who will save His 
people from their sins. If we ask the question of Matthew, 
how does Jesus save his people from their sins? He must go to 
Jerusalem. He must suffer many things at 
the hands of the Sanhedrin. He must be killed and he must 
be raised again. He says the very thing in Matthew 
20, 28, in the words of the Lord Jesus, I did not come, the Son 
of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his 
life a ransom for many. You see, it was a purposeful 
death. It was a particular death. It had focus. It had scope. It had limitation. It was for 
all those whom the Father had given Him. And it was for their 
eternal benefit. This is what Christ is telling 
His disciples. And then we should understand 
when he says he must go to Jerusalem. He must suffer many things. He 
must be killed. He must be raised the third day. 
Each of these are what we might call a passive. These are things 
that happened to Jesus. These are things that were inflicted 
upon Jesus. Now again, he goes willingly. 
He highlights this several times in several places in the New 
Testament Scriptures. Jesus goes willingly to his death. 
Jesus lays down his life according to John chapter 10. Nobody takes 
it from me, but I lay it down willingly. The idea here is that 
men inflict this punishment upon him, but even more so the idea 
here is that the father was pleased to bruise him, putting him to 
grief. You see we read that in the outset 
of worship in Isaiah the prophet. You ever consider that? Yahweh 
was pleased to bruise him. You say, is Yahweh a mean, abusive 
father? No, Yahweh is concerned for his 
justice, his righteousness, and for his grace to be displayed 
at the cross. The Lord was pleased to bruise 
him, putting him to grief. We ask the question, who ultimately 
was responsible for the dying of our Lord Jesus Christ? Peter 
tells us in Acts 2.23, it happened according to the predetermined 
plan and purpose of God. Still, these were lawless hands 
that nailed him to the tree. Still, these were second causes 
that must be reckoned with. We studied Providence in the 
previous hour, so I'm kind of tying these things together here. 
But there was divine necessity upon the Savior at this point, 
well, throughout His life. He must obey His Father. He must 
save His people from their sins. Do you want a Savior that kind 
of wants to do stuff? Or do you want a Savior who's 
resigned? The Savior who is resolved, the surety of a better covenant, 
who executes fully the obligations that are laid upon Him. You see 
what happened when our happiness or eternal life or our eternal 
felicity was laid upon Adam. Adam apostatized, Adam rejected, 
Adam rebelled against God. And as a result, according to 
Romans 5, in him all died. Second Adam. The one who is the 
anti-type of Adam. He obeys. He satisfies. He does the will of the Father 
every step of the way. And this is indicative of that 
reality. From that time, Jesus began to 
show to his disciples that he must, notice first, go to Jerusalem. We ask the question, why Jerusalem? Why not Chilliwack? Why not? You know, a city in California 
mentioned in the last hour, thank you to the church for sending 
Cam and I to the conference that was in California this past week. It was great preaching and fellowship, 
the food was amazing, and the weather was so nice. It was sunny, 
it was warm, it was hot. I mean, Wednesday morning on 
the way to the airport, I was cooking. I thought, that's not 
going to happen when I get to the other side. Why Jerusalem? What's special about Jerusalem? 
There's a whole theology of Jerusalem in the Bible, but we won't spend 
time developing that. But suffice it to say, Jerusalem 
has a long history or had a long history of killing prophets. Jerusalem had a long history 
of killing prophets. We can look at just a few passages. 
2 Chronicles chapter 36 and verse 15. And the Lord God of their 
fathers sent warnings to them by his messengers, rising up 
early and sending them, because he had compassion on his people 
and on his dwelling place. They mocked the messengers of 
God, despised his words, and scoffed at his prophets, until 
the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no 
remedy. I think this is helpful data 
as we proceed in Matthew's Gospel. Because Jesus is going to make 
a prophecy concerning the Temple and concerning the city of Jerusalem. And we see some consistency here 
between Jesus and the prophets before him. Jerusalem had a long 
history of killing those prophets that were sent to them. And this 
is one of the reasons why Jesus says he must go to Jerusalem. Jesus himself highlights this 
reality in Matthew's Gospel. You can turn to Matthew 23 for 
just a moment. Matthew 23, all of this information, 
all of this data will become more evident as we proceed in 
the gospel narrative. But suffice it to say now, Jesus 
himself identifies Jerusalem as this place of suffering, as 
this place of death, and ultimately as the place of resurrection. 
But in Matthew 23, notice at verse 34, therefore indeed I 
send you prophets, wise men, and scribes. Some of them you 
will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your 
synagogues and persecute from city to city. Isn't this how 
the Book of Acts plays out? Who's the first organized enemy 
against the believers in the New Covenant age? It's not Rome. Rome jumps on board after the 
fact. Initially it is unbelieving Jews. It is unbelieving Israel. They 
condemn Messiah and therefore they condemn the followers of 
Messiah. They rejected him in his claims. 
They offered him up to death and as a result anybody that 
would follow him, Jesus the Nazarene, they likewise would be condemned. 
Jesus says, notice in verse 35, that on you may come all the 
righteous blood shed on the earth from the blood of righteous Abel 
to the blood of Zechariah. Now that plays out well in English, 
we have an A to Z. Abel to Zechariah, that covers 
the whole gamut. It plays out better according 
to the Hebrew structure of the canon. Genesis, Abel, 2nd Chronicles, 
that's the last book in the Hebrew canon, Zechariah. Everybody in 
the totality of the Old Covenant era that was a man sent from 
God. Everybody saved the remnant, 
those who actually believed. You rejected him. You despised 
him. You killed him. Isn't this the 
parable of the vineyard that Jesus tells in Matthew 21? The 
vineyard owner sends his servants and what do they do? They reject 
them. The owner says, I know what I'll do, I'll send my son, 
the heir, certainly they'll receive him. They despised him, they 
beat him, and they killed him. You see, Jesus is not only ushering 
in the new covenant era in his blood, he is also condemning 
those who abused old covenant religion. in Luke's gospel, specifically 
in chapter 13 in verse 33, Jesus said, nevertheless I must journey 
today, tomorrow, and the day following, for it cannot be that 
a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem. That's just not 
the case. You've got to be in Jerusalem 
as a prophet to die. It's just the way it goes. So 
Jerusalem has a long history as that place that kills and 
condemns the prophets. But secondly, what else is important 
about Jerusalem? It's the location of the temple. 
What's done at the temple? That's right, sacrifice. Where 
else would Jesus go to die? Where else would the Lamb of 
God go to die? Where else would the great sacrifice 
go but to the city of Jerusalem? Matthew Henry says he must go 
to Jerusalem, the head city, the holy city, and suffer there. 
Though he lived most of his time in Galilee, he must die at Jerusalem. There, all the sacrifices were 
offered. There, therefore, he must die, 
who is the great sacrifice. You see, he must go to Jerusalem. 
Secondly, notice what he says, he must suffer many things from 
the elders and chief priests and scribes. Elders, chief priests, 
and scribes make up the Sanhedrin, makes up the largest council, 
a judicial, sort of ecclesiastical, but as well a political council 
that would try cases of those in the covenant community. Isn't 
it ironic that the highest court in Israel, the highest court 
that was set to govern the people of Israel betrays the people 
they rule over by murdering the Messiah. It's truly tragic. Again, so much of this is backdrop 
to what happens in 23 and 24. You've got to get your minds 
wrapped around that when Jesus says, woe to you scribes and 
Pharisees. He's throwing down for cause These leaders who were 
charged with shepherding Israel had abused the nation, had rejected 
the Christ that was sent, had ultimately offered him up to 
his own death at Calvary. He must go. He must suffer many 
things. Where does the Bible indicate 
that he must suffer? Psalm 22. My God, my God, why 
hast thou forsaken me? Psalm 69. Isaiah 53 that we read 
at the outset of worship. Daniel chapter 9. It's interesting 
that in the remainder of Matthew's Gospel, guess what passages he's 
quoting as he goes along and narrates the death of Jesus Christ. Psalm 22, Psalm 69, Isaiah 53. 
These sufferings were prophesied. They shouldn't have surprised 
anybody. The disciples shouldn't have missed this particular means 
or manner. They shouldn't have missed the 
fact that the cross precedes the crown. The same was true 
in Israel's history. Exile and then resurrection. They go into captivity, they 
come out of captivity. These were not new concepts. 
The sufferings will be specified in the narrative to follow. Look 
at 2018 and 2019 for just a moment. Again, another prediction concerning 
his death and his resurrection. A bit more information, verse 
18, Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man 
will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes, and 
they will condemn him to death. They will deliver him to the 
Gentiles to mock and discourage and to crucify. And the third 
day he will rise again. He must suffer. He must suffer. Woe to us when 
we complain about our trials. Woe to us when we complain. You 
know there's a thing out there right now called first world 
problems. I ran out of garlic butter for 
my lobster tail. What a problem. That's a first 
world problem. Very often as Christians we mutter 
and we complain and we grumble about first world problems. In 
light of a suffering Savior. Did you realize that Jesus was 
stripped naked on the cross? As Spurgeon says, in all our 
art, which is not my art, I don't like depictions of the Savior. 
I think it's a second commandment violation, but in all the art 
they put a loincloth on him. That's not what the text specifies. 
The text says he was naked. He hung there, shamed. He hung 
there, suffering. He hung there with a crown of 
thorns embedded in his head, with spikes through his hands, 
and with spikes through his feet. and we're going to grumble and 
complain about some of the things that we do. He says I must go 
suffer. Not I must go join the country 
club. I must go vacation. I must escape 
this rain and find sunshine. I must go suffer is what Christ 
says. You see the wheels turning in 
Peter's head at this point, don't you? He loves Jesus. He doesn't 
want him to suffer. When Peter takes him aside to 
rebuke him, I understand and get what Peter's thinking. The 
Son of God whom he loves, the Son of God whom he's confessed, 
the Son of God who is the Messiah to Israel, has just said he's 
going to suffer? We don't want people to suffer, 
especially our Savior, especially the King of Kings and Lord of 
Lords, especially the one who is ultimately going to give us 
everlasting life. But this is the way, this is 
the procedure, this is the plan, and Jesus stuck to it every step 
of the way. The sufferings, or the men responsible 
rather, were the religious leaders, as I said, specifically the Sanhedrin. 
France has official and judicial rejection of of Jesus by those 
who had formal responsibility for the life of Israel as the 
people of God. He must go to Jerusalem, he must 
suffer many things, notice thirdly, he must be killed. Kind of puts things into perspective, 
doesn't it? I don't want to get up and read 
my Bible. I don't want to go to church 
twice. Jesus died to secure your salvation. We really shouldn't complain 
a lot, should we? Could this be in the mind of Paul and Philippians 
2? Do all things without complaining 
and disputing. Christians shouldn't be the biggest 
whiners in the workplace. What do you mean we have to come 
in early? What do you mean we have to stay 
late? Christians shouldn't be the biggest whiners in the home. 
What do you mean I have to pick up my songs? Christians should 
understand that their Savior laid his life down for them. 
And in gratitude, and in worship, and in adoration, we're going 
to follow the Lamb wherever he bids us. Notice, he must be killed. John Gill says, signifying that 
he should not die a natural death, but that his life should be taken 
from him in a cruel and violent manner without any regard to 
law or justice. Indeed, that he should be properly 
murdered. You see, Christ's cross work 
is not in the first place exemplary. That means Christ's cross work 
in the first place isn't an example for us. Christ's cross work is 
redemptive. It is the means by which he secures 
the salvation of all those whom the Father has given him. His 
blood cleanses us from all unrighteousness. His perfect life of obedience 
is that obedience or righteousness that is given to the elect and 
received by faith alone. Christ must be killed. He is the Lamb of God who takes 
away the sins of the world. He is the sacrifice set in the 
place to satisfy divine justice. This must take place or we die 
in our sins. This must take place or we are 
damned forever. This must take place or every 
one of us perish eternally. It is Christ's death that secures 
for us everlasting life. Isn't that beautiful? Isn't that 
glorious? Paul did not preach Christ and 
Him crucified in order to serve as a great example. Look at 1 
Corinthians for just a moment. 1 Corinthians chapter 1. For those of you who are doing 
the math in your head, we're probably not to get to 22 and 23 this 
morning. We'll put that study off, God 
willing, until next week. Let's just continue our investigation 
of these statements of our Lord, where he must go to Jerusalem, 
he must suffer many things, he must be killed. Notice in chapter 
1 of 1 Corinthians, verse 18, for the message of the cross 
is foolishness to those who are perishing. But to us who are 
being saved, it is the power of God. For it is written, I 
will destroy the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing the 
understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the 
scribe? Where is the disputer of this 
age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For 
since in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not 
know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message 
preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and 
Greeks seek after wisdom. But we preach Christ crucified. We don't preach him first as 
an example in his life. Follow Jesus and be happy in 
your day. Now there's a sense where that's 
right. Follow Jesus and be happy in your day. That's not the primary 
focus. Paul preached Christ not as an 
example, not as an influence to your life, but he preached 
Christ crucified. in his blood, in his redemption, 
in his salvific benefit, in the means by which he saves his people 
from their sins. Notice what he goes on to say, 
we preach Christ crucified to the Jews a stumbling block. Isn't 
that interesting? Doesn't Jesus tell Peter you're 
a stumbling block? The death of Messiah offended 
Peter. That offense caused Peter to 
become an offense to Jesus. It's interesting, Peter, who 
was just pronounced a rock, is now pronounced a stumbling block. 
He's a rock of sorts now, but he's the kind of rock that people 
fall over. We preach Christ and Him crucified. This is everything 
about Christianity. The cross is central. Redemption 
is what it's about. This is the essence of our religion. To the Jews, a stumbling block, 
and to the Greeks, foolishness, but to those who are called, 
both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God, and the wisdom 
of God, in the salvation of God. He must go to Jerusalem, he must 
suffer many things from the Sanhedrin, he must be killed, and fourthly, 
he says, he must be raised the third day. You see, he doesn't 
stay in the grave. He doesn't stay in the tomb. 
He doesn't stay in that place, but rather he rises on the third 
day. He bolts from that place, he 
appears to his disciples for several weeks, and then he ascends 
to the right hand of the majesty of God on high. The idea that 
he will be raised the third day, again, has its tap roots in the 
Old Testament Scriptures. Psalm 16, It was that psalm in 
Acts 2 that Peter uses to prove the resurrection of our Lord 
Jesus Christ. David wasn't writing about himself, 
he says, but he was writing of the Christ who was to come. Isaiah 
53, there are benefits conferred upon the suffering servant after 
his death. What's the implication? That 
he lives on. Messiah was cut off, but Messiah 
was raised by the power of God Most High. And he alludes to 
this, or he alludes to this, and he highlights this. This 
whole idea of the third day could have its tap roots in Hosea the 
prophet, chapter 6, verses 1 to 3. This idea that there'd be 
suffering, but on the third day God would bless the nation of 
Israel. But I think it goes right back to 1240. In Matthew's Gospel, 
Jesus is already alluded to the sign of the prophet Jonah, who 
was in the belly of the fish three days. Christ, on the third 
day, antitypical of Jonah, would be raised again from the dead. 
Jesus would not be held in that tomb. Jesus would not end at 
the cross, but Jesus would be raised again by the power of 
God Most High and be vindicated. The pattern is established. He 
has cross, and then he has crown. Paul summarizes both of these 
aspects of the doing and dying and the rising of Jesus in Romans 
4.25. Jesus was delivered up. Why? Because of our offenses. And 
he was raised for our justification. We need the Savior to live. We 
need the Savior to die. We need the Savior to be raised 
again. So that by God's grace we might 
have everlasting life. And we have a Savior who set 
his face like a flint to carry this out. We have a Savior who 
would not be deterred. He would not be distracted. He 
would not be diverted. You see, what Peter in essence 
does is tempt the Savior. Far be it from you, Lord. This 
isn't suggestive. This is unthinkable in Peter's 
mind. Far be it from you, Lord, this 
will never happen. That's why Christ says, get behind 
me, Satan. You're an offense to me. If you 
keep me from the cross, if you keep me from my mission, if you 
keep me from what God has purposed for my life, then men die in 
their sins. God is not glorified in the covenant. God is not praised and honored. 
Get behind me, Satan, because you have become a stumbling block 
to me. We'll open that up, God willing, 
next week when we gather together. But what are some concluding 
thoughts that we can gather from this particular passage. Well, 
I think in the first place, we ought to appreciate, as I've 
already alluded to, the necessity of the Atonement. The necessity 
of the Atonement. If God purposes to save sinners, 
it is going to be through this means. If God purposes in his 
eternal plan to save sinners, it will be according to this 
means. And this means exclusively, hopefully 
this sheds some light on those statements such as John 14.6. He says that I am the way and 
the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except 
through me. You see, every other attempt 
to get to God apart from the cross is futility. Every other 
attempt to get to God apart from the blood and the righteousness 
of Jesus will end in damnation. And while in your mind this morning, 
you may not be thinking along that line, you may have a thought 
that suggests this. Well, if I just try a bit harder, 
if I just live a bit better, if I just put off some of my 
bad habits, and I just make church life a continual part of my life, 
well, then I'll be okay. That is to bypass the cross. Paul the Apostle says, I do not 
nullify, I do not set aside the grace of God. For if righteousness 
comes through the law, then Christ died in vain." If you for a moment 
think that a bit of moral reform, if you think for a moment that 
a bit of additional effort on your part is the means by which 
you will enter heaven, you have denied everything, and your soul 
will end in hell. There's an exclusivity here. 
He must do these things. Why? To offer a way of salvation? To put it out there alongside 
of Buddha? To put it out there alongside of Allah? To put it 
out there alongside the philosophers? Wherever you live and whatever 
your being, just sort of pick one or choose one. This is the 
only way. There is one means by which men 
are accepted by God and it's through the cross. We've got 
to appreciate that. The church has to get its mind 
wrapped around that. Listen to Spurgeon's words concerning 
this emphasis. Spurgeon says, those who at this 
day revile the substitutionary sacrifice of our Lord. who reviled 
it, the substitution. That means that Christ stood 
in the place of his people to bear their penalty, to bear their 
punishment, to bear their suffering, and then to rise again on their 
behalf. Spurgeon alludes probably to 
theological liberals. Probably to those who deny the 
supernatural, who deny the blood and the gore and the Bible. Oh, 
you know, those parts we really don't like. We like the ethical 
teachings of Jesus. We just want to follow the Sermon 
on the Mount. You follow the Sermon on the Mount, you'll end 
up in hell. Because that standard is pure, righteous, and holy. 
And that standard, yes, defines for Christians what we ought 
to pursue, but it also sets before the non-Christian how you're 
guilty before God and need a righteousness not your own. Listen to Spurge. Those who at this day revile 
the substitutionary sacrifice of our Lord are fonder of the 
things that be of men than those that be of God. They are loud 
in their claim to be great philanthropists, but sound theologians they are 
not. Humanitarians they may be, but divines they cannot be. They may be friends of man, but 
they are not the servants of God. You see, the cross is everything 
in Christianity. You are never to tire of hearing 
the cross. You are never to tire of hearing 
the gospel. You are never to tire of hearing 
about Jesus Christ and Him crucified and raised the third day. This 
is everything. This is the foundation upon which 
our lives stand. Don't we sing this and moan to 
Him? My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. If that is the truth in our lives, 
then we'll live like it. I dare not trust the sweetest 
frame. Oh, how many Christians have 
I met that trust sweet frames? I'm doing well in my devotional 
life. I'm doing well in my church attendance. That's not why you're 
going to heaven. You're going to heaven because 
Christ did perfectly in every aspect of his life, of his death, 
and of his resurrection. That is the means by which we 
enter into heaven. I dare not trust the sweetest 
frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. Christ is the solid rock 
on which I stand. All other ground, sink and sink. Have you come to the one who 
is called the Christ, the Son of the living God? the one who 
has laid down his life for sinners and has been raised the third 
day. Can you today say, I know something of this Savior? I may 
not know it the way Peter did, I may not know it the way Spurgeon 
did, I may not know it the way John Owen did, but I know this, 
my Redeemer lives. And by the grace of God, I have 
looked to Him in faith and He has accepted me in the beloved. 
Kids and young people, this is it. This is everything. It's 
the person and work of Christ. That's everything. I mean, I 
hope that you go on to study great things. I hope that you 
go on to write papers on quantum mechanics or you go on to write 
things about scientific research and curing Ebola or whatever 
it may be. The best thing you can know is 
who Jesus is and what he's done. Isn't that it for you as believers? 
What's the best thing you know? Christ. This is why the bride 
says, He is altogether lovely. He is chief among ten thousand. This is why she describes Him 
in those glowing terms, those beautiful terms. And the daughters 
of Jerusalem say, Where is your beloved that we might find Him 
too? You see, brethren, as those who 
have been bought with a price, as those who know something of 
the suffering and the killing and the raising again of the 
Lord Jesus, don't your hearts warm in hearing His resolve, 
His determination, His submission to the divine will to do that 
which was absolutely essential to save you from your sins? Man, 
this is a great, great text for Jesus to say this and announce 
this to His disciples. We ought to notice, secondly, 
I'm jumping a little bit ahead, but it won't hopefully hinder 
too much of next week. We notice the grace of Christ 
here. Notice the grace of Christ here. Yes, to the elect in general. To those whom the Father had 
given Him, in general. Because the fact that He goes 
to Jerusalem, the fact that He suffers many things, the fact 
that He's murdered, and the fact that He's raised on the third 
day certainly benefits all of us in Christ. But look at his grace to Peter. Peter goes from blessed are you 
Simon Bar-Jonah to get behind me Satan. That's rough isn't 
it? I would greet you in the morning 
and say you're my favorite person in the world. And that night 
I said I can't stand the sight of you. feel that you've gone 
from Dan to Beersheba in terms of my opinion about you. Actually, 
I should say Dan to Beersheba. What happens after this chapter 
concludes? Peter, come with me because I 
want to show you my glory. Peter, James, and John go up 
on the Mount of Transfiguration, where Christ, as it were, peels 
back his humanity to show his deity. Jesus is merciful. Jesus is gracious. Jesus is very kind. And he displays 
this in a passage where, if we're not careful, we might say, well, 
Peter, there's no redemption for you. You were just called 
Satan. Come on, Peter. I want you to 
see something. Davies and Allison say, thus 
Peter, so far from being punished for his misguided thoughts, is 
immediately granted a glimpse of the glorified Christ. Is the 
reader not expected to see in this a triumph of grace?" Yes, 
the reader is expected to see that. If you missed that, then 
let me tell you. Please appreciate that. Peter 
is taken up to see glorious and wondrous things, even after having 
just told his Lord this will never happen. And then finally, 
in case it wasn't abundantly clear, if you're not a Christian 
here this morning, please look at this text. Please see the 
means by which men are saved. You're not saved by your good 
works. The reason for that is because your good works aren't 
perfect. They're not exact. They're not perpetual. They're 
not always done the way God specifies. The best of men are men at best 
and are filled with sin and pollution. So no one can just say, you know, 
I'm going to go out and obey the law of God from here on out. 
Let's just suppose for a vain moment that you could go out 
and obey the law of God from here on out. Let's just suppose 
you're a 25-year-old man or woman and you go out and you successfully 
engage in perfect, exact, and perpetual obedience to the Lord, 
which again, you can't do. What's going to happen to that 
25 years that you've built up of sin? What happens to that? Can you atone for it? Can you 
get rid of it? Do you think your good works 
are going to somehow cancel out your bad works? You see, this 
is the foundation of every false religion. If I do 51% more good 
and I do 49% bad, then God will let me in. No, God demands 100% 
exact obedience to his law every second. and every moment of every 
day. This is the glory of Christ. 
He obeys perfectly. He does always what the Father 
tells him to do. He never sins. He's holy, harmless, 
and undefiled. He dies as a sacrifice. He suffers 
the penalty of God. He satisfies divine justice. 
He raises again on the third day. And the Bible is crystal 
clear, and I want you to get this. Believe on Him, and you 
will have everlasting life. Believe on this gospel. Believe 
on this Lord Jesus, and you will be saved. You'll go to heaven. 
You'll have life eternal. Not because you're wiser, not 
because you're better, not because you're smarter, not because you're 
a better worker, but because God, in grace and in mercy, has 
accepted you in the Beloved, who is His Son, the Lord Jesus. 
Why will you die? You've heard me say the word 
elect. I'm sure you haven't missed that. You've heard me affirm 
sovereignty. you know that I believe in predestination. If it rises up in you for a moment 
to say, well how do I know if I'm predestined? Or how do I 
know if I'm elect? I'm not asking you to think about 
that, I'm telling you to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. I am 
telling you to look and live. You remember when God sent those 
serpents to bite the Israelites and he instructed Moses to make 
a brazen serpent and to erect it in the wilderness? What was 
the antidote? Well first ponder if you are 
qualified to look at the brazen serpent. First consider whether 
or not you are part of the eternal decree for life. It was look 
at that brazen serpent and live. So I think sometimes people take 
those concepts of predestination and election and sovereignty 
and they start to argue in a position or argue in a way that gives 
them stability in their sinful life. Well, I don't know if I'm 
elect. I don't know if I'm a predestined 
child of God. I'm going to go out and smoke crack. Well, maybe 
you don't smoke crack, but maybe you get drunk. Maybe you go out 
and have sex. Maybe you go out and abuse things 
that you shouldn't abuse. Maybe you lie. Maybe you covet. 
Maybe you cheat. Maybe you steal. Maybe you're 
a gossip. Maybe you slander. Maybe you're a Sabbath breaker. 
Maybe you dishonor your parents. Maybe you blaspheme the name 
of the Lord God. Maybe you're an idolater. Maybe you have other 
gods before God. You say, well, I don't know if 
I'm predestined. I don't know if I'm elect. I don't know about 
this sovereignty stuff. So I'm going to just pursue my 
lusts. I'm going to love myself. I'm going to worship myself. 
I'm going to love my mammon. The Bible never gives you warrant 
to do that. Everywhere you are told to look 
to the Son of Man and live. That's it. Belief. You got bit 
by one of those serpents and you looked up at that brazen 
serpent. You lived! The same is the case 
today. Look to the Son of God who was 
lifted up like that serpent in the wilderness and you will be 
saved. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
we thank you for your Word and for this section of Scripture 
where Jesus tells us specifically what his mission and what his 
purpose is. I pray that these things would be clear. I pray 
that the Holy Spirit would apply these things to our hearts, that 
as believers we would be encouraged, we would be thankful, we would 
be worshipful to this one who lived, who died, and who rose 
again for us. For those outside of Christ God, 
do that which is impossible with man. I pray that you would grant 
the graces of faith and repentance. I pray that you would cause men 
and women and boys and girls in this place and throughout 
the earth to look unto the Lord Jesus Christ and to be saved. 
And we ask these things in his most blessed name. Amen. I'll 
close with a brief time of meditation.