Following Jesus means being a Servant

[0:00] If you would take your Bibles out, please, and go to the Gospel of Luke, Luke chapter 22.

[0:11] If you're visiting with us, you can pull out that black Bible that's here in front of you. Pull out that black Bible, go towards the back, go to page 66, again 66, and find Luke 22.

[0:28] We're going to start in verse 21 through verse 38. 21 through 38 this morning. And as you're turning there, probably selling the bulletin, I like to do a biography sermon or a missions message because we're focusing upon international missions.

[0:50] Southern Baptist, we call it the Lottie Moon Christmas offering. In the honor of Lottie Moon, he went to China. So we give towards international missions. That's kind of the focus. What I'd like to do then, I'd like to do a biography sermon.

[1:02] And so I'm going to do a biography sermon on Jonathan Goforth. What a cool last name, isn't it? Who'd you like that? Goforth. I guess I got to go, right? So Jonathan Goforth, he was a Presbyterian and who went to China, a little bit of part of China Inland Mission with Hudson Taylor.

[1:21] Did some stuff with him, connected with Hudson Taylor, did some more stuff than he did. So we're going to look at his life and get some principles that we can glean from by Jonathan Goforth.

[1:35] And then the following Sunday, do a Christmas message. I think it's John chapter 13. We're going to look a little bit at the foot washing. Well, how does that connect with the Christmas?

[1:47] Ah, you'll see. You've got to be there, right? So then we'll launch back in. I think we might launch back in to Luke, the end of this month. But for now, Luke 22, starting in verse 21.

[1:59] I'm going to read verse 21 through verse 38. But behold, the hand of the one betraying me is with me on the table. For indeed, the Son of Man is going as it has been determined.

[2:12] But woe to that man by whom he is betrayed. And they began to discuss among themselves which one of them it might be who was going to do this thing. And there arose also a dispute among them as to which one of them was regarded to be the greatest.

[2:29] And he said to them, The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them. And those of authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you. But let him who is the greatest among you become as this youngest.

[2:43] And the leader as the servant. For who is greater, the one who reclines or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines? But I am among you as the one who serves.

[2:55] And you are those who have stood by me in my trials. And just as my Father has granted me a kingdom, I grant you that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom.

[3:07] And you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Verse 31. Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded to sift you like wheat.

[3:18] But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And you, once you have turned against strength in your brothers. And he said to them, Lord, with you I am ready to go both to prison and to death.

[3:32] And he said, I say to you, Peter, the cock will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know me. And he said to them, And he said to them, When I sent you out without purse and bag and sandals, you did not lack anything, did you?

[3:50] And they said nothing. And he said to them, But now let him who has a purse take it along. Likewise also a bag. And let him who has no sword sell his robe and buy one.

[4:00] For I tell you that this which is written must be fulfilled in me. He was numbered with transgressors. For that which refers to me has its fulfillment. And they said, Lord, look, here are your swords.

[4:14] And he said to them, It is enough. Some of you might remember, I wouldn't because this was when I was born, 1972, NASA launched the exploratory space probe Pioneer 10.

[4:34] There's an article in Time Magazine about it. Some time ago, the satellite's primary mission was to reach Jupiter. Photograph the planet and its moons, beam data to Earth about Jupiter's magnetic field, radiation belts, and atmosphere.

[4:49] Leon Joroff, he wrote this in Time Magazine, this article. And he talked about how scientists regard this as a bold planet. No satellite ever had done something like this going beyond Mars.

[5:00] And they feared the asteroid belt would destroy the satellite. But Pioneer 10 accomplished its mission and much, much more. Swinging past the giant planet in November 1973, Jupiter's immense gravity hurled Pioneer 10 at a higher rate of speed toward the edge of the solar system.

[5:20] At one billion miles from the sun, Pioneer 10 passed Saturn. At some two billion miles, it hurled past Uranus. Neptune at nearly three billion miles. Pluto, or I guess it's not called Pluto anymore, at almost four billion miles.

[5:34] By 1997, 25 years after its launch, Pioneer 10 was more than six billion miles from the sun. As a matter of fact, I was reading up on this on Wikipedia.

[5:46] They lost contact with it in 2003, because it just died out, I guess, after what, what's that, more, 30 years? The article continues, and despite that immense distance, Pioneer 10 continued to beam back radio signals to scientists on Earth.

[6:03] Perhaps most remarkable, this is what Jaroff says, those signals emanate from an eight-watt transmitter, which radies about as much power as a bedroom nightlight, and takes more than nine hours to reach Earth.

[6:20] The little satellite that could, was not qualified to do what it did. Engineers designed Pioneer 10 with a useful life of just three years, because it is 82, 92, yeah, 30 years, right?

[6:32] That's a little over 30 years, 31 years. But it kept going, it kept going. By simple longevity, its tiny eight-watt transmitter radio accomplished more than anyone thought possible. That's a great illustration of someone who's a servant.

[6:49] Just does what they're supposed to do. That's what Jesus calls his disciples to do. See, that's what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. Come follow Jesus, you'll find forgiveness of your sins.

[7:04] In our section this morning, you will see following Jesus means being a servant. It just means you're a servant. You're serving. Just like little Pioneer 10.

[7:19] It wasn't that little. But that little eight-watt transmitter. You're a servant. That's what it means to be a follower of Jesus. It means other things too.

[7:32] But from our text this morning, straightforward from the passage, it means you're a servant. Specifically, true discipleship demands being a faithful, humble, dependent, teachable, ready-to-suffer servant of Jesus.

[7:55] You're going to be a true disciple of Jesus. This is the type of servant you should be. Faithful, humble, dependent, teachable, and ready to serve.

[8:06] All Christians, but especially leaders, are called to be faithful, humble, dependent, teachable, ready-to-suffer servants of their master.

[8:18] In our passage this morning, a lot starts happening. A lot is taking place. The betrayer is revealed.

[8:30] Disciples are argued over who's the greatest. First over who's the betrayer, then over who's the greatest. Jesus taught greatness was found in service. He promised the disciples a future role in Israel, over Israel.

[8:43] Jesus prayed for Peter, predicted his denials. The disciples tell him, he must be prepared to suffer as followers of Christ. They talk about swords. All these things are happening.

[8:55] Luke's given us all these details of what's going on. So as we're trucking through, we're going to keep, we're going to look at the theme here of being a servant and what kind of servant we're called to be as followers of Jesus.

[9:10] So we'll start with number one, and I put these two together, faithful, humble servants, because they kind of go together in the passage. Let's explain the bulk of our time on this first one, faithful, humble service.

[9:25] So it has the bulk of the verses, 21 through 31. It says, starting in verse 21, Behold, the hand of the one betraying is with me on the table.

[9:36] Jesus revealed the betrayer. Sort of. Jesus' suffering would be made possible by someone who would betray Him, and not just anyone.

[9:48] His hand's with me on the table, He says. It's one of the twelve. The verse begins with a strong adversative. Here, Jesus, He's talking about the new covenant in His blood.

[10:01] He's talking about what we looked at last week. The bread that symbolizes my body and break it, and this is all for you, and then the blood is the blood of the new covenant shed for you, and then He says, But, or nevertheless, behold, this is very sad.

[10:23] Judas, Judas, one who associated closely with Jesus, but was not allied to Jesus. He made a false profession and a false association.

[10:39] His defection from the group showed where His true allegiance lied. It was not with Jesus. Time will tell if someone truly is following Jesus or not.

[10:50] Time will always tell. Now, a question, though, was, was Judas during the Lord's Supper?

[11:02] It's hard to say because what happens here with Luke, Luke seems to have him there, but if you look at the other Gospels, he's gone. It seems like, in my viewpoint, it seems like Luke has Judas not there.

[11:19] He wasn't there during the Lord's Supper. I think the other Gospels are right in that. But what Luke does is he kind of gives you like the bulk and the importance, the important part first, the meal, the Last Supper.

[11:33] He does it first and then he unpacks the other details that took place during that meal or before that meal. But yet, if Judas was present, it would make his betrayal stand out even more, right?

[11:48] Because the meal represented close fellowship, close communion with Jesus. But whether he was there or not, Jesus mentions it. This is a huge blow. Jesus spent three and a half years with these guys, eating with them, laughing with them.

[12:06] They all came together to sleep together and to do ministry together. He did that with Judas. Three and a half years with him. He gave Judas his whole life.

[12:21] And he betrayed Jesus for money. That's why one of the marks of true belief is longevity.

[12:33] One of the marks of true belief is being faithful. A faithful servant. That's what it means to follow Jesus. You're a faithful servant.

[12:47] Notice what happens in verse 22. For indeed, the Son of Man is going and it has been determined as it has been determined. But woe to that man by whom he is betrayed.

[13:00] And that verse is a lot there. We could camp on that for a long time. But we won't. But we will see some of the truths in that.

[13:13] Notice how Jesus actually brings out two elements in relation to his betrayal. First, God was working. These events were destined to happen.

[13:25] It was part of God's purpose for the Son of Man to be betrayed. God didn't go, oh, oops! Oh, what happened? God didn't do that. He was thinking by surprise.

[13:37] Because he planned it to happen. So that's the first thing you have to see. Is that first, these things, these events were destined to happen. But second, the betrayer is responsible for his actions.

[13:50] Just because an event, even sin, is part of God's decretive will, doesn't mean it is conducive to his moral will.

[14:02] Decretive will is what he decrees. His moral will is what's right and wrong. He desires to be right what he says and declares to be wrong. Judas is culpable and subject to wrath.

[14:17] He will stand before God answering for his betrayal, answering for his rejection of Jesus. And then do you see how Jesus says, woe to that man.

[14:29] The idea is the woe statement is an expression of grief and sorrow. Woe to that man. It was sad to Jesus that Judas was making such a poor choice of rejection. The amazing part is if you look in the Gospel of John, no one suspected it was Judas because he was the one who held the money.

[14:49] Well, we've got to trust somebody. Let's trust Judas. He'll take care of us. All right. He won't betray us. Interesting. You see, a principle, though, here I want to touch on.

[15:03] It's a big principle, but I think it's good for us to look at. The principle is this. God renders certain all things that come to pass. He renders certain all things that come to pass.

[15:14] His decretive will. But He does it in such a way that He is not the author of sin nor tempts people to sin. That's His moral will. This is how all things can be determined by God and yet people are still culpable for their actions.

[15:31] How does that make sense? I don't know. It just is. God does that. That's how it's put together. I can't really make sense out of it. But that's definitely a principle because Jesus mentions it here in verse 22.

[15:45] Both aspects are there. Well, obviously, this sparked up the curiosity of the 12th. Verse 23. They began to discuss among themselves which one of them it might be who was going to do this thing.

[16:00] Who is it? Who is it? Who is it? Who is it? Trying to identify who it was. Now, there's more in this discussion that took place in the other Gospels. Luke just kind of summarized it for us. And yet, he shows how this led to the next discussion.

[16:14] Or should we say arguments? Notice verse 24. There arose also dispute among them as to which one of them was regarded to be greatest. As the disciples tried to figure out the identity of the betrayer they began to argue over who was the greatest among them.

[16:33] who had the best rank. Naturally, this led to this discussion. Arguments. Because the idea would be, well, I wouldn't do that because I'm awesome.

[16:46] No, you're not, John. You're a jerk. Oh, yeah? Well, look at you. Well, yeah? They start bickering over each other. Well, look at you, Thaddeus. I mean, what kind of name is Thaddeus? Yeah? So, they're just arguing over each other, arguing over the situation.

[17:00] Who's going to be the greatest in the kingdom? In the midst of a betrayal by one of their close friends, the disciples began to bicker about stupid, non-important issues.

[17:13] Way to go, guys. How very dull and thick-headed they were. One writer called them blockheads. Like the Peanuts, the comic strip, right?

[17:27] Again, interesting. What was the focus in this meal that Jesus was having with his disciples? Unity, communion, fellowship. Oh, that's happening now!

[17:38] They're just arguing with each other. And you can see Jesus going, time out. Throws the yellow flag.

[17:48] Okay, come on. He said to them, the kings of the Gentiles lord it over them. And those who have authority over them are called benefactors. So now what Jesus does, he responds to their selfish thinking, taking the opportunity to teach them by contrast.

[18:05] Worldly leaders, his leaders, his disciples, his followers. How do world leaders operate? They lord over people.

[18:19] They have their subjects. Notice he says this too in the verse. And those who have authority over them are called benefactors. They have their subjects call them benefactors or your grace or sirloin of beef or your majesty or your eminence.

[18:37] Right? That's what they have them described. You must call me this. They make sure people know who's in charge by showing force and brute strength.

[18:47] Quiet, you! That's what Jesus is saying here. 26. But not so with you.

[18:59] But let him who is the greatest among you become as the youngest and the leader as the servant. But not so with you.

[19:14] How do Jesus' disciples, even his leaders, how do they operate? How do they act? Not through exercising power, but through serving. How is greatness defined?

[19:30] By how well you humbly serve, humbly give, humbly share. The phrase, one who serves, or even the word servant, is used three times in these two verses, 26 and 27.

[19:46] To be a humble servant. Odd though, he says, become as the youngest? What does that mean?

[19:59] He has to become the youngest because it was the young ones who usually got the low end of the stick. They were the, you know, kick them around type guys, the boys type thing.

[20:09] The table waiters, the slaves. The young ones got that. And Jesus says, you become like them. So in other words, he's saying, don't exploit your age and position, but just keep serving humbly.

[20:33] Especially in reference to leaders. Leaders. The one who rules acts as one who humbly serves others. That's how leaders should be defined. It's the guy who stacks chairs and puts the tables away.

[20:50] It's not about committing to power, but committing to service. True leaders do not separate from those over whom they rule, but they identify with them.

[21:02] It's not about elitism, but service and humility among equals. I was, as I was studying, looked up Twitter, just so happens, Darren Patrick, he tweeted this, I think it was Wednesday, quote, the best leaders are the greatest servants.

[21:26] Oh, that coincides what we're studying. Now, again, as I said, Jesus was specifically thinking about leaders. Yes, it's true, but yet, this principle is for all of Jesus' disciples.

[21:39] We should have the mindset of humble service, giving, sharing. A follower of Jesus should be ready to take the lowliest place, being a faithful, humble servant to others.

[21:51] Or, as another writer put it, quote, faithful service in a lowly place is itself true greatness, end quote. And then Jesus illustrates it for us.

[22:06] Verse 27, for who's greater? The one who reclines or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines? But I am among you as the one who serves.

[22:17] Here's the illustration. Who's greater? The one who's reclining or the one who's serving him? The one who's sitting there on the hammock, bring me my grips, bring me my drills, or something, I don't know.

[22:28] Or is it the one who is actually doing the service? Obviously, it's the one who reclines, who's receiving the meal. He's regarded as superior. Who's Jesus talking about? Himself.

[22:44] From the world's perspective, this is always true and continues to be true even today. Ah, but the catch, Jesus was the one who served them.

[22:59] Was it not Jesus who washed disciples' feet? We don't have it here in Luke. You go to John, he washed their feet. That was something that the flame would do.

[23:14] He dramatized this principle that he's given to them by doing it himself. If Jesus is the greatest of the greatest, and he did not live like the world, what does it say about his followers?

[23:32] What about us? Should we not live that way too? And not just washing their feet, but didn't Jesus live a life of service before his disciples week in, week out, day in, day out, month after month, serving them?

[23:54] When he could have just went, get out of here. I don't want to be around you guys. You guys are blockheads. Go away. And as they're sitting there arguing with each other about who's the greatest, it's like they're just slapping Jesus in the face.

[24:15] And yet, the amazing part is, even in the midst of Jesus saying this to his disciples, you guys should be faithful, humble servants the way you should be, even in the midst of their selfishness and their knuckleheadedness, Jesus commended their faithfulness as opposed to Judas who defected.

[24:41] They stood by Jesus in the midst of his trials, his pressures, his rejection, and his opposition, and Jesus would reward them. Look at verse 28. And you, but you are those who stood by me in my trials.

[24:58] See, this is where I say, I don't think Judas is here right now. Because Judas, he's gone, right? He didn't stand by him. He betrayed him. So Jesus, I think, he's here talking to the eleven.

[25:11] He's saying, you guys stood by me during my trials, the opposition, the rejection. You've been with me. You stood by me. And guess what? Next verse 29. And just as my father has granted me a kingdom, I grant you, 30, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

[25:33] You will be given even greater responsibility. I am going to reward you. You're going to be rewarded. You're going to be glorified for that. And it's amazing that Jesus would do this to these guys.

[25:46] They shouldn't have bickering and arguing about who's the great is Jesus said, you must be a humble and faithful servant. And he said, you know what you guys took with me? I'm going to reward you. What? Talk about grace.

[25:59] In short, those who share in Jesus' suffering will face reward and glory later on. Jesus rewards those faithful to the end.

[26:11] He rewards you if you're faithful to the end. Now this is encouraging news. before he gives them the hard stuff, the hard, tough road.

[26:23] We'll look at that in a second. The ready-to-suffer type servant. Has it hit that yet? I mean, he has, but in our section, he hasn't. Well, how would these specific disciples be rewarded?

[26:36] What does he say? First, he says, the Father granted Jesus a kingdom and Jesus would rule sitting on his throne as Jesus faced suffering and was exalted by the Father.

[26:50] So do his disciples would suffer but also be exalted. Jesus is the Messiah, the Lord who will one day reign. He's suffering now but he'll be exalted. You will suffer now but you will be exalted.

[27:02] I'm going to reward you. So as the Father gave to Jesus, Jesus is going to give to the disciples. Notice what he's saying here. The Father gave to me and I'm going to give to you.

[27:13] What's he doing? He's displaying the very thing that he talked about. As they have given, the Father's given to me, I'm going to give to you. I'm going to give. I'm going to share with you. Jesus is saying, I'm serving you.

[27:25] You don't deserve this. You see that? I'm not going to hoard it. And as Jesus' authority was given to the eleven, so as people respond to what the disciples of the eleven, what they spoke, what they preached, they'll be included in on this as well.

[27:46] They'll be rewarded. So, Jesus' authority, which was given by the Father, would be extended to the eleven.

[27:59] And they would rule later on. But how? How specifically would these disciples rule? The eleven disciples, how would they rule? I know I'm going through this fast, so if you're taking notes, I apologize.

[28:15] How would they rule? First, he says, you'll have a place at the banquet table in my kingdom. They'll experience fellowship and love.

[28:25] They'll be with Jesus all the time. plus, he says, he will sit with him judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

[28:36] So, not only are they going to be with Jesus, they're actually going to be judging the nation of Israel. Whoa! Ruling over Israel in the consummation.

[28:47] They'll be leading Israel, judging them. Wow! That's amazing! And by the way, this shows us something. It shows that Israel does have a future.

[28:59] And that future is in the coming kingdom, which would be in the millennium. When all of God's people will reign with the Lord Jesus Christ, who will reign from Jerusalem, all of God's people would benefit.

[29:13] All of God's people would benefit. One writer put it like this. promises made to Israel long ago will be fully carried out.

[29:24] End quote. And Gentiles will also be part of those promises. Jews, Gentiles, together as one.

[29:36] Celebrating their Savior. This is what Jesus is talking about. You're going to be rewarded for what you guys have done. Which brings us to the point Be a faithful, humble servant and you'll be rewarded for it later on.

[29:56] Be a faithful, humble servant and you'll be rewarded. You will be. But, in the meantime, faith will be tested.

[30:11] Notice what happens in verse 31. Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demand to sift you like wheat. He's demanded to sift you.

[30:23] Interesting, testing and faithfulness is a theme throughout Luke's gospel. Jesus' warning to disciples, it comes right after committing their faithfulness, right after the promise of a huge reward.

[30:38] There's a huge contrast. He said, there's going to be a reward. You stuck with me through those trials. You're going to be rewarded for that. But now there's going to be some tough things.

[30:53] God tests our faith in this life. God does. He tests. Notice, Simon, Simon, notice that two times he says this.

[31:06] Two times to indicate this was serious and has demanded to sift you like wheat. Our English Bibles are so awesome that we can have the word of God in our language because what you see here is just totally right there at your hands, at your disposal.

[31:23] And sometimes, Greek is helpful. And Greek is helpful in this way because in verse 31 you don't see this in your English but when it says, has demanded to sift you like wheat, you in the Greek is plural.

[31:38] It's not singular. So in other words, Jesus is saying, y'all. Okay? In a southern accent, y'all. Satan has been to sift y'all like wheat.

[31:52] All are the objects of Satan's attack to sift like wheat. That is, to beat them down with a flail. To beat the bejubies out of them.

[32:06] Why was Peter specified? Because he was the leader. He's the leader of the eleven. Satan wanted to ruin Peter and the others, flailing them to pieces, exposing their faithlessness.

[32:24] There's a principle here. The principle is this. Disciples of Jesus are prime targets of the evil one. Especially leaders.

[32:35] Jesus. That's why I ask that you please pray for me. You would pray for me on Sundays. You would pray for me on Tuesdays. You pray for me and Daniel.

[32:49] We go to Jerome on Fridays. Satan hates us. He hates you. For many of you you get prayed for two, sometimes three times a week.

[33:01] I pray for you. Because the evil one hates us and wants to disrupt us so that we will not be faithful.

[33:12] So we will not be humble servants of our king. So, discipleship, what does it involve? First, number one, we spend most of our time on this, humble, faithful servants.

[33:26] That's what God calls us to be if you're going to follow Jesus. A faithful, humble servant. Number two, a dependent servant as well.

[33:37] We're going to look at more in verse 32, but let's just skim the first part of it. We'll get a little bit more at verse 32 later on, but I want to skim the first part for us to see how we should have dependence upon God.

[33:54] Verse 32, Jesus says, but I've prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers. This is an important point because notice how Jesus didn't ask for Peter to be freed from his trial.

[34:10] Take him away, take us away from him. No, he didn't ask that. So, that means that Jesus won't ask for us to be freed from trouble. Because, as we'll see in a moment, suffering is part of the Christian life.

[34:24] It's that that those times we must depend upon God as his servants. servants. We must show that we are servants who depend upon God. And that's why Jesus says he's not going to fall away completely, but he would return to Christ.

[34:40] Notice he says, and you, when once you have turned again, at the strephe, you've returned. In other words, he would be restored.

[34:53] Peter would come back to faithfulness once again. His failure was a failure of nerve, not a heart denial, said one writer. This was an encouraging word of reconciliation for Peter.

[35:09] And notice, he says, when Peter's faithfulness is restored, Jesus told him, strengthen your brothers. Lead them, Peter, as the first among equals, amongst a group of leaders, there's usually a first among equals.

[35:24] Lead them to be servants. Lead them, strengthen them to be dependent upon me. You must depend upon me. Teach them that, Peter. See, for those of us who've gone through tough times, those experiences enable us to encourage and help others, doesn't it?

[35:48] That's what we see here. It doesn't matter if you've experienced what I have. It doesn't matter if I experience what you have. That doesn't really matter.

[35:59] Some people say that, right? Well, you don't know what I've gone through, right? Have somebody say that to you? But does that really matter? We all have our problems. We all have our issues.

[36:11] We all have our situations. We all have our struggles. We all have our trials. The fact is this. As we all have our struggles and trials, we must direct each other to depend upon Jesus.

[36:28] That's what we must do. We must direct each other to depend upon Him. And that's what Jesus is telling them. Strengthen your brothers. Encourage them that they must depend upon me, which you did not do, Peter.

[36:41] You did not depend upon me. When you're a servant, when you're a follower of Jesus, you're a servant who's faithful, who's humble, who's dependent.

[36:54] Number three or number four, we put two together. Someone who's teachable as well. You're faithful, humble, dependent, and teachable.

[37:07] A teachable servant. 33. And he said to Jesus, Lord, with you I'm ready to go both to prison and to death.

[37:19] Ay, yi, yi. Peter declared his resolute commitment to Jesus. Basically, he didn't listen to a word Jesus just said. Did he?

[37:30] It went in and out the other. Overconfidence. Arrogance. By the way, pressure has a way of purifying one's allegiance to Jesus.

[37:45] a most trusted disciple would succumb to cowardly failure. Lord, with you I'm ready to both go to prison and to death.

[38:00] Of course you will. Of course you will, Peter. In the privacy and safety of this room, you're going to pledge your loyalty to me? Oh, yeah, of course. But when temple guards come, and when you see these Roman soldiers coming around, that might change things real vast.

[38:19] Now, other things were said in this conversation between Jesus and Peter, and Luke just kind of gives us a summary here, okay? But here's the principle. Let's not be arrogant and overconfident.

[38:34] True disciples of Jesus are servants who are teachable. This is huge for us. It's almost like Peter was saying to Jesus, Jesus, get real.

[38:47] What are you talking about? I'm going to die with you. I mean, obviously, hello, look at it. You know, it's important that we are ready to learn from those older than us and even younger than us.

[39:08] it was a couple weeks ago, two, three weeks ago. There's a gal I'm a friend with on Facebook.

[39:19] She's a couple years younger than me, and I've known her since I was in high school with the youth ministry when I went to a church in San Jose. And she posted on her Facebook page, I shared it with my wife, we were both laughing, she put on her Facebook page, she said, I'm officially old, my doctor is younger than me.

[39:40] You know, it's odd, you come into the doctor, there's one of my kids, what are you doing here? What are you, my kids? Oh, anyways, should I be listening to what he says?

[39:52] He's just like, a little wet behind the ears there, are you 25 yet or what? Right? It's hard to learn from those younger than us.

[40:06] It's hard to be a follower of Jesus. It's not easy to be a follower of Jesus. Deny yourself? Take up your own cross?

[40:18] Daily? Follow Jesus? Suffering? Allegiance? Sacrifice? Those are hard things. It's hard to be teachable.

[40:31] simple. The gospel is simple. God, in his holiness, as our creator, he must judge sinners.

[40:43] Because he's righteous and holy, he should be worshipped at all times. But we have rebelled against him. We deserve his just judgment. But the second person of the Trinity, Jesus, took on flesh, lived where we failed, was crucified on a cross as a substitute, resurrected from the dead.

[41:04] And he did that for those that turn away from their sin and put all their trust in Jesus. The gospel is simple, but it's not easy. It demands that you are faithful, humble, dependable, and teachable.

[41:19] And yet you're given life, forgiveness, and grace in Jesus alone. Notice that Jesus responds. He said, I say to Peter, unfortunately, it's not going to happen.

[41:33] The cock will not crow today until you three times have denied that you even know me. He'll deny me three times before the sunrise, Peter. Jesus knew it was coming.

[41:47] He knew Peter very well. The denial was soon. He would fail miserably and he would regret it terribly. Ponder this truth, by the way.

[42:00] Jesus knows when you fail him, but still he loves his own. We'll unpack that a little bit more in just a moment.

[42:14] I want to go to the last elements of a servant, one who follows Jesus. We've looked at faithful, humble, dependable, teachable, and now someone who's ready to suffer.

[42:26] a follower of Jesus, a servant, who's faithful, and humble, who's dependable upon God, who's teachable, and who's ready to suffer.

[42:45] That's in verses 35 to 38. Notice how verse 35 begins, which is odd. This is the only place you find it in any of the Gospels, here in Luke.

[42:56] He said to them, when I sent you out without purse and bag and sandals, you didn't lack anything, did you? They said, no, nothing. Earlier in Jesus' ministry, he said the 12, the 70 even, told them not to take anything because God's going to provide.

[43:12] And the 11, they lack nothing. So here, Jesus is actually, in essence, he's recalling happier times in early days of his ministry.

[43:23] Luke chapter 9 and chapter 10, those were great times. Oh, they would go out and God would provide and it would be great, good. People would respond, they'd listen to them.

[43:36] 36. And he said to them, but now, let him who has a purse take it along, likewise also a bag, and let him who has no sword sell his robe and buy one.

[43:48] Things are changing now. But now, the outward circumstances have changed for them. Perilous and difficult days lie ahead. Struggles, suffering, trials.

[44:02] They should be prepared to take a purse, take a knapsack, and a sword. Full provision is required. Why? Because Jesus was about to suffer and die.

[44:15] So, rejection of Jesus will be rejection of his disciples. if Jesus was rejected by the world, his disciples will be rejected by the world too.

[44:29] Be prepared. Be ready to suffer. I'll put on the screen for you. The world hated Jesus, so his disciples better get ready for that same type of hatred.

[44:45] They'll have to take care of themselves because the world will want to treat Jesus' disciples the same way they treated their master. Make them suffer. Be hostile. Kill them.

[45:00] Jesus said this in John. As they hated me, they're going to hate you. They wanted to kill Jesus and they did.

[45:12] They're going to want to kill you and they will. But yet this is odd. Notice it says a sword take up a sword.

[45:23] That's weird. Why are you supposed to take a sword? Jesus is speaking figuratively. And we know it because of the context. Remember, we're going to see this in a few weeks.

[45:35] One of the disciples takes his sword out when Jesus is about to be arrested, cuts off the slave's ear and Jesus says, what are you doing? He actually heals the guy who gets his ear chopped off.

[45:46] Stop that. So Jesus doesn't want to endorse violence. He's not saying, let's have a revolution. Yeah, bring a sword. He's not saying that. It's a figure.

[45:57] When Jesus says a sword, it's a figure of preparation, preparing for pressure. Be ready, be self-sufficient, not vengeful. Jesus knew that he and his followers would face opposition from the world, even death.

[46:13] Remember, it's not easy to be a follower of Jesus. It's not. Because it means you're going to have to suffer. I mean, who wants to suffer? Hey, come follow Jesus and you're going to suffer.

[46:28] I don't think so. Notice verse 37, which we'll look at a little bit more later on. I tell you that this which is written must be fulfilled in me.

[46:39] And he was numbered with transgressors for that which refers to me has its fulfillment. Look, guys, I'm going to be rejected by the world. They're going to kill me. I'm going to be numbered. I'm going to act like a criminal.

[46:52] That's what they're going to kill me. So if they're going to treat me like this, then any of my disciples, you're going to suffer that same rejection. Get ready.

[47:04] Jesus prophetically fulfilled, completed Isaiah's prophecy. So he's saying, be ready, be ready to face the same kind of hatred and rejection Jesus also faced. Be ready.

[47:15] me. And then the disciples, look, Lord, here's two swords. Ay, ay, ay.

[47:30] As Vicente says, ay, chihuahua. I mean, putting together, okay, we're going to be at a banquet table. We're going to be judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

[47:40] all right. We're ready for war. We got two swords, Lord, tell that. That's what they're thinking. The disciples thought Jesus was telling them to get ready for war.

[47:51] They took him literally. And so the idea, which is hard to tell from the text here, but it seems like Jesus is using a Semitic idiom like, oh my goodness, or it is enough.

[48:07] Are you kidding me? That's when he says, and he said to them, it is enough. Almost like, okay, I'm done with you guys. It seems like Jesus was dismissing the topic because the disciples just didn't get it.

[48:21] And they wouldn't get it, would they? Until when? After the resurrection. Oh, that's what he meant. At this point, they're going to make their way to Gethsemane where he would pray and he would be betrayed.

[48:41] He would come and arrest him. Now, we've gone through the text, but I want to ask a question here. The call is for you, for us to be faithful, humble, dependable, teachable, ready to suffer servants, right?

[49:01] But what if we fail? What if we fail at different times in these areas? What if you fail? What if you're not humble and faithful?

[49:16] Has there been times you haven't been dependable and teachable, not ready to suffer? What do we do? Two things we can do.

[49:29] First, remember that Jesus died for us. Go back to verse 37. For I tell you that this which is written must be fulfilled in me and he was numbered with transgressors.

[49:44] For, I tell you, it gives us the reason Jesus said the above statement in verse 36, be prepared, be ready. He said this because he's about to die.

[49:56] he was about to die as a substitute for sinners. Whereby he will be one with sinners or counted as a sinner, crucified with robbers or counted as a rebel as we read from Isaiah 53, 12 this morning.

[50:17] And he says it must be fulfilled. And so we get the Greek word again, day, delta, epsilon, iota, D-E-I, it must happen. He must be numbered as a transgressor.

[50:29] This is the only time Jesus quotes Isaiah 53. He will suffer like one rejected as a substitute for sinners. He will die a shameful death as an outlaw with outlaws.

[50:48] See, friends, this is why Jesus had to die. Those disciples were a bunch of block kids. And yet this is why he had to die for us because we are a bunch of block heads.

[51:02] But all our sin is washed away. It's a great truth to know that when you fail, you can go to the cross.

[51:14] When you fail, you're not faithful. You didn't show humility. You didn't show teachability. You didn't show dependability. You were not ready to suffer.

[51:25] You bailed out. What do you do? Go to the cross. That's why Jesus had to die. So when we sin, when we do what's wrong, we don't do what we're told to do, don't do what we're commanded to do, what do we do?

[51:40] We beat ourselves up? No. Go to the cross. Because there you find grace and compassion and mercy and the gentleness of Jesus, your Savior.

[51:51] He had to die for that sin. Last second. Remember Jesus prays for us.

[52:05] Verse 32. He died for that sin. He prays for us. Jesus gave a promise to Peter.

[52:19] I have prayed for you. and now that's singular. I've prayed for you, Peter. Jesus interceded so that Peter's faith would not totally and completely fail.

[52:34] I prayed for you, Peter. Can you imagine if Jesus didn't pray for him? Can you imagine if Jesus didn't pray for you, Christian?

[52:48] He prays for you. He intercedes for you. When we fail, we go to the cross and we know that Jesus was, is interceding on our behalf, praying for our faith to remain strong.

[53:08] God was, wasn't God graciously forgiving and merciful even before the actual denial took place? I mean, isn't it awesome to know that when we fail, and we will fail, God is already set to extend his grace, mercy, and forgiveness and love upon us?

[53:32] Isn't that amazing? Isn't that mind blowing? By the way, notice that major contrast between Judas and Peter.

[53:49] Judas totally rejected Jesus as the Messiah. Peter denied Jesus but repented. Jesus preserves those who do not totally reject him as Lord.

[54:00] it's encouraging to know that when Satan is ready to destroy us and then tempting us to despair, screaming at you how utterly guilty you are, you're guilty, you're guilty, Jesus steps in and prays for us.

[54:22] If Jesus did not keep us in himself, we would fall away from the faith completely. he keeps us. And here, friends, is the great doctrine of the perseverance of the saints.

[54:39] True believers endure to the end and they will keep growing in the faith according to God's plan for each one of them. When we fail, it's so good to know that we can go to the cross and that Jesus had to die for that.

[54:54] And second, to know that Jesus is the one interceding for us, praying for us. A bunch of blockheads? Yeah, they were. Yet, doesn't this mirror our responses too?

[55:08] Aren't we blockheads too? Just as self-centered, just as arrogant, just as dense and sinful as they were. It's a good thing Jesus is also interceding for us continually.

[55:23] He is our advocate. advocates. That's the encouragement we have from Hebrews chapter 10. That we can enter into the holy places through Jesus' blood and through a new and living way.

[55:38] Living because Jesus is interceding for us constantly. He prays for us just like he prayed for Peter, just like he prayed for his disciples.

[55:49] Yes, diligently strive to be a faithful, humble, dependent, teachable, ready to suffer, servant of Jesus.

[56:01] Yes, knowing that when we fail, Jesus died for that failure and he's praying for us that we will continue on the faith to not fall away completely.

[56:14] He keeps us. So just keep trusting your Savior and Lord. we've looked at a lot, so I'll let you take a few moments as we normally do, a few moments of silence for you to think, ponder, pray, give praise to the Lord for what he's done, praise the Lord for what he's shown you in his word, maybe a time of confession, of conviction that's hit you between the eyes.

[56:47] Whatever the case, take a few moments to just think and ponder, and then we'll do our time of giving, singing our last two songs in our closing prayer. Take a few moments to think and to ponder.

[57:01] later. One five three Love two three oneone ends