Strength of Salvation • Luke 22:21-38
1:08:20 Teaching begins
Notes
If you remove the founder of a religion from the religion, what happens? If you remove Moses from Judaism, it doesn’t really change. You still obey the law, you make the sacrifices, you can do Judaism without Moses. If you remove Mohammed from Islam, it’s still the same. You still have to do the five pillars. You can do Islam without Mohammed.
You can do Buddhism without Buddha, Mormonism without Joseph Smith, you can do any religion without its founder. The reason is, the religion doesn’t depend on its founder to work. It depends on you, the practitioner. You either do it, or don’t do it, but it’s all on you to do.
But you can’t do Christianity all on your own, without Jesus. It’s impossible, because Jesus is the strength of salvation.
I’m reading in Luke chapter 22, from verse 21.
1. As we pick up the narrative, Jesus warns His betrayer.
A. Judas was already known to Jesus.
1. Jesus spent all night in prayer about choosing the Twelve to be his disciples. He chose Judas because the Father said, “This is the one.”
2. Jesus knew that Judas was already betraying His trust by pilfering the money box that Jesus entrusted to him.
3. He knew that Judas had gone to the chief priests and scribes to offer his services to them to betray Jesus when He was alone and away from the crowd.
B. Notice that Jesus doesn’t expose Judas, He doesn’t say, “Grab him, Peter, he’s the one! We’ll prevent him from betraying Me.” He’s letting Judas have his free will, make his own decisions, and do what he wants to do.
C. What Jesus says here means, “I know what you’re doing. This is not good. Don’t do it.” Woe to that man! It’s not going to work out like you think. Jesus is showing grace and forbearance and mercy in the face of treachery and betrayal.
2. The disciples begin discussing which of them it was who would do this thing.
A. To Jesus, they say, “Is it I Master?”
B. To each other, they say, “I don’t feel especially treacherous. I’m pretty established in faithfulness and loyalty. I can’t see myself betraying Jesus at all, it’s got to be someone other than me. Probably you or him.”
3. This naturally morphs pretty quickly into a fight over who’s the greatest.
A. The issue is loyalty to Jesus. Everyone is defending themselves. “I wouldn’t do it, because I’m the most loyal disciple He’s got.” “What about me? You think you’re the only one who’s faithful and loyal? You been looking at me?” Who’s stuck up for Jesus the most? Who’s the greatest?
B. They are competing with one another, and it’s a zero-sum game. They can’t all win, only one can be the greatest. If there is one winner, the rest are losers.
C. You can imagine that for the moment they have forgotten Jesus. He’s in their midst, He’s the reason they’re all together, but they’re focused on themselves, not Him.
4. Jesus quiets this discussion by His own example.
A. Being the greatest above all others is the attitude of the world.
1. They want to lord it over the rest, to project this air of, “I’m above you, I’m better than you.”
2. Not only that, but they want to be known as “Benefactors”. They exercise authority, but they want to look like they’re doing everyone a favour by ruling over them. When people come to them hoping for some patronage they call them benefactors. They want support or influence, or business or activity, power, preferment. People will call you a good guy if you give them what they want.
B. Jesus says that is not how it works with you.
1. If you want to be the greatest, be the youngest, because he’s last. Help everyone else get where they need to be.
2. If you want to be a leader, be a servant. Make life better for others. Again, help everyone else get where they need to be. Benefit them.
C. The problem with this is a very natural attitude we have, which says, what about me? If I take the last position and serve everyone else and look out for everyone else, what will there be for me? Our temptation is to say, “Nothing. That’s suicide. I’d be a complete dope to do that. Who will look out for me?”
D. Now, Jesus is among them and He makes like the youngest, although He’s the Ancient of Days, and He is the Servant of God written in Isaiah 42. In Isaiah 49:6 it is written, He says, “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations so that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” Jesus is to be the Servant of the Lord and of everyone who has ever lived. You could ask, what’s in it for Him? What’s He going to get?
E. It’s all humility now, and all glory to come.
1. Jesus understands that He will serve in humility now, and the Father will give Him the kingdom. That’s the true and only way to live. You don’t carve out for yourself a kingdom of greatness and defend it against all challengers who want to take it for themselves. You serve the Father now, and He will give you the kingdom forever.
2. Notice Jesus says, you have continued with Me in all my trials. That’s now, that’s all humility. They’re going to continue their whole lives standing by Jesus and suffering for it.
3. I confer on you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one on Me. You will eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. That means, ruling and reigning. They don’t have to fight for it. God will give it to them.
F. In John 13 Jesus knows they still don’t get it, so He gets up from the table, fills a basin with water, and He washes their feet. This is how Jesus lived His life. He expects His disciples to live with the same attitude. True greatness is humility.
5. Jesus makes it clear: they will not be glorified for their own goodness, but because of Jesus’ goodness.
A. Peter is confident in his loyalty and faithfulness to Jesus. Even if the others denied you, I will never do that.
B. Luke alone has this statement of Jesus’: Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat.
C. But I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail. Father, keep Simon trusting in Me, that I Myself am the sacrifice for his sins.
1. He is going to be absolutely rocked by his own faithlessness, his pitiful lack of commitment to Jesus when put to the test. He will deny Jesus three times, in front of a little serving girl. Satan will fling you around like winnowing wheat. You’re going to be pulverised, disintegrated.
2. The only way back is to trust in Jesus, that He really did die for your sins. Father, don’t let his faith in Me fail. Because there is no other way to the Father except by Jesus.
3. Then Jesus says, once you have turned, strengthen your brethren. Strengthen them in faith in Me. They’re going to sin, too. They’re going to wipe out so bad it will look like there is no way back. You tell them, Jesus is the way back. You trust in Him, you are back. He brings you directly to the Father.
D. You are not going to make it to heaven on your own effort, your own loyalty, your own faithfulness. You will make it through trusting in Jesus.
6. Jesus tries to warn the disciples that following Him is going to become more difficult.
A. He deliberately made it easy on them when He sent them out. They came back encouraged and excited: “We did it! It was just like You said! Wow, what a way of life!”
B. Now Jesus is telling them that’s not the norm. It’s going to get harder. You’ll need money, sometimes you won’t have enough. You’ll need a knapsack with things, and you’ll need a sword more than you need a coat.
C. The reason for all this is that what is written of Jesus must be fulfilled, “And He was numbered with the transgressors.”
1. That is, Jesus would be considered as a transgressor. He didn’t do anything wrong, but He would be considered an enemy, somebody who is doing hurtful, wrong things.
2. You will also be considered evildoers just because you follow Me. You’ll be hated by all because of My name.
D. Whatever Jesus means, it’s metaphorical.
1. Because when He’s arrested and Peter tries to defend Jesus, and cuts off a guy’s ear, Jesus shuts it all down. He says, “All who live by the sword will die by the sword.” He doesn’t support that interpretation at all. Jesus’ followers practice NO violence against anyone.
2. I personally believe Jesus is saying, they need to become mighty in the Scriptures, the sword of the Spirit. He will give you wisdom that your enemies will not be able to resist. God’s word is a hammer that breaks rock, a fire that burns, a sword that divides between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
E. The disciples interpret Jesus literally, find two swords, say, “How are we doing? Good, huh?”
F. Jesus says, “It is enough.” They don’t understand him, He knows they don’t understand. He is ending the discussion.
7. So what?
A. On the one hand, we see Jesus’ disciples who are concerned for themselves, not aware of their own deficiencies, over-confident, not understanding what He’s getting at. They’re going to crash and burn. To be honest, I see myself in the disciples. If you’re honest, you do, too. You think, how in the world are they ever going to make it to heaven?
B. On the other hand, we see Jesus, who says, I know you, I’m praying for you, I want you, I’m not going to let you wipe out completely, I know what you need, I give you the kingdom.
C. The disciples are not going to make it to heaven on their own power, but only through Jesus.
1. He has determined to save His people.
2. He saves them by His determination.
3. He Himself is the strength of their salvation.
D. You can find out how strong God is by asking, if you remove God from His salvation, what do you have left?
1. You have His promises, you have the illustration of salvation in the sacrifices, the festivals, the tabernacle, the ark of the covenant. You have theology and you have prophecy.
2. But without Jesus the promises have no effect, the illustrations are powerless, the sacrifices don’t mean anything, the theology is useless. It’s just words.
3. If you focus on Jesus, all the promises of God are in Him, yes and amen. He fulfils the word of God. He is the strength of salvation.
G. Right there, in the presence of Jesus, the disciples argued who was the greatest and it was like He didn’t exist. Like them, we forget Jesus, and all the weight and focus is on us, and our salvation becomes as nothing.
H. So we are careful to remember Jesus, that all our salvation rests on what He did and what He does. He knows what we’re like, He’s not worried about us being slow to learn, slow to understand. He’s going to get us where we need to be. He is the strength of our salvation.
Let’s pray.