Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Why Jesus Had to Die | Learning to Follow Jesus | Luke 9

Starting point is 00:00:00 Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life and the time it takes to get to work. I'm Patrick Miller. And I'm Keith Simon. Right now, we're learning what it looks like to follow Jesus by working our way through the gospel of Luke. Luke chapter 9 marks a key juncture in Luke's gospel. So I kind of think this might be a great time to slow down, look back at what we've learned so far, and take a peek forward at where we're headed. So if you remember, at the beginning, we learned about Jesus' miraculous conception. And in the midst of that, we saw God's plan to rescue Israel through him and through that rescue to somehow even make him into a light for the nations. Over the last five chapters, we've then watched as Jesus travels through Galilee. He calls apprentices to follow him. He announces the good news that in him, God is returning to establish his kingdom, to begin ruling over his whole creation. Jesus healed. people as a sign of that kingdom's return. And now he's teaching how to live within that kingdom, as people of the kingdom. Simultaneously to all of this, though, Jesus has earned the hatred of the religious establishment. We've got leaders like the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who are

Starting point is 00:01:19 coming from places like Jerusalem or Galilee, and they've marked him out as a public threat. And they need to eliminate him. They're planning. How can we get rid of this guy? Finally, in chapter 9, we reach a decisive turning point. Jesus asks his disciples a question, who am I? And Peter correctly identifies him as the Messiah. Now, Messiah was a Hebrew word, which simply meant anointed one. And it was often used to describe the king or a priest. Now, when Peter says this, I think he clearly has the kingly dimensions in view.

Starting point is 00:01:52 He's saying that, look, Jesus is the promised king from the line of David. and he's returned to reclaim his throne, to rescue Israel, to open up a golden age where God's kingdom spreads and fills the world with God's love, justice, and mercy. So it's not a surprise that by the time we get to the end of chapter 9, we reach a major transition point. We read this in verse 51. When the days drew near for him, Jesus, to be taken up. Let's pause. So when the time was coming, not for Jesus to just disappear into the sky, but when the time was coming for Jesus to ascend into heaven, and to take his throne as the rightful king over creation, when that time was coming near for the time of Jesus' enthronement,

Starting point is 00:02:33 he set his face to go to Jerusalem. Of course, he has to go to Jerusalem. Why? Well, it's because Jerusalem was the ancient place of David's throne. And not just that. It was also the ancient place of God's own throne. You see, the temple was viewed as a place where heaven and earth were overlapping. And so the temple was really God's throne room. It was his cosmic command center.

Starting point is 00:02:58 So how is Jesus going to do this? I mean, how is Jesus going to rescue his people and take back the throne? Well, the answer to that question again comes right in chapter 9. The first answer comes in Jesus's transfiguration. We learned that he is planning a new exodus. How's he going to save people? How is he going to take the throne? Well, he's going to plan a new exodus.

Starting point is 00:03:19 Let's pick up in verse 28. About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John, and James, with him and went up on a mountain to pray. As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. Okay, so according to these last two verses, what is Jesus planning to do in Jerusalem? Well, the verses say he's planning a departure. So what in the world does that mean? Well, the Greek word, which is being translated here as

Starting point is 00:04:01 departure, is actually Exodus. In other words, Jesus isn't planning to leave. Jesus is planning a new Exodus. Now, we've got to do a quick refresh here. What was the Exodus? Well, the Exodus was when God rescued his people from slavery in Egypt, and he saved them with the 10 plagues, and then by splitting the Red Sea in half and guiding the people of Israel through on dry land. Ultimately, he destroys Pharaoh and his entire army inside of the Red Sea. So what does it mean that Jesus is saying that he's planning a, quote, fulfillment of the Exodus in Jerusalem? Well, I think he can only be saying two things. First, he's saying, I am rescuing Israel. How's he going to do it? By defeating the powers which oppress and enslave her. Now, we might be tempted to think that this means Rome,

Starting point is 00:04:52 and it certainly did mean Rome in part. But Jesus actually did mean Rome in part. But Jesus, Jesus actually, actually has a far greater power in his sights. He wants to destroy sin and death and the devil. He's going to destroy the dark powers behind every Pharaoh and Caesar, behind every Egypt and Rome. And in doing so, that's how he's going to set Israel free to serve God, to live genuinely human lives. And of course, through this new Israel that he's starting up, he's going to offer that exact same kind of freedom, the freedom to be human. He's going to offer it through Israel for all the nations. Okay, so let's summarize. How will Jesus rescue his people and take the throne?

Starting point is 00:05:31 Well, first, he's going to bring about a new exodus from sin and death. He's going to defeat Israel's enemies and give them freedom. But again, we're left with a question, how exactly, how exactly is he going to accomplish this new exodus? And that leads to our second point. He'll accomplish it by dying and rising. You see, just after Jesus's, transfiguration, when the disciples see his glory, this is what he tells them. But while they were all

Starting point is 00:05:59 marveling at everything he was doing, Jesus said to the disciples, let these words sink into your ears. Okay, so let this sink in. The son of man is about to be delivered into the hands of men. But they did not understand this saying, and it was concealed from them so that they might not perceive it. And they were afraid to ask him about this saying. is not what anyone expected. And Jesus knows it. So he tells them, let this sink in. I am going to die. I'm going to die. How is Jesus going to disarm Israel's worst enemies? Well, he's going to do it by allowing those enemies to exhaust their worst arsenal against him. How will Jesus defeat sin? By allowing sin to be punished in him. To set us people free, to fulfill a new Exodus, to take the

Starting point is 00:06:52 throne of heaven, Jesus must actually serve his own creation by becoming obedient to the point of death on a cross. That's not the story people expected. It's not what his disciples expected. It's not how they thought he would take the throne. It's not how people normally take the throne. But this is what has to happen for Jesus to sit on the throne of heaven. And that's why Jesus' death isn't the end of the story. You see, Jesus will rise again victorious, and he will announce forgiveness for all those who give him their allegiance. And through him, he says he's going to spread the good news of what he's done to fill the entire creation so that all people will know that he died, that he rose, and that he's the king. So we have to let Jesus's words sing into our hearts. The way to life is death,

Starting point is 00:07:39 the way to glory is service. Or as he puts it in Luke 948, it is the one who is least among you, who is the greatest. Jesus lived that statement out to the fullest. And as a result, he inaugurated God's kingdom. He affected a new exodus. And now God wants us to continue to set people free and to spread his kingdom by living out that exact same kind of humble, serving love. As we go forward through Luke, we're not only going to be challenged by the good news that God's kingdom is coming, but we're going to be challenged by the surprising news that it spreads the most unusual ways. Thanks for listening. If you've enjoyed this content, please subscribe. and give us a rating. That helps other people find this podcast more easily. Also, ask yourself,

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Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Why Jesus Had to Die | Learning to Follow Jesus | Luke 9

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