#1287 Matthew 17 Part 3 What Has To Come

 

22 As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, 23 and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.” And they were greatly distressed. Matthew 17: 22-23 ESV

Matthew 17: 22-23 What Must Take Place

14So the LORD God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and every beast of the field! On your belly will you go, and dust you will eat, all the days of your life. 15And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” Genesis 3: 14-15

Jesus said to them - The time for Jesus to atone for the sins of those who believe is fast approaching. He has spoken on this subject with them before, and Peter tried to rebuke the Lord, but there is no good argument against it, and instead Jesus rebukes Peter as taking sides with the devil. Men in their depravity, all of us, have fallen so far away from the reality of God, His holiness, and His eternal nature. If there is an eternal Being, an infinite God, Who called the finite into being, and if He is infinite in His attributes, so when we say, "God is good, Holy, just, righteous, love, and pure," this is His eternal nature. This is beyond difficult for us to understand, especially since we, in accordance with our fallen nature, don't really want to understand. From the position of time and space, we have an inkling, an idea of the possibility of eternity, that the greater establishes the lesser, but with depraved minds we try to establish a "science or theology" of this that matches up with our corruption. We make idols of ourselves and limited intellects in humanistic atheism, we carve idols out of wood or metal in some pagan traditions. We may even borrow from the Bible, yet fashion a Christ that matches our desires, and condones our sins. Some worship nature, or an eternal conscience that absorbs all individual conscience. When Peter tried to rebuke Jesus, He was inadvertently making light of the sin which required so great a sacrifice. I have said it before, "the problem of evil, is that nobody thinks they are."  

…10My shield is with God, who saves the upright in heart. 11God is a righteous judge and a God who feels indignation each day. 12If one does not repent, God will sharpen His sword; He has bent and strung His bow.… Psalm 7: 10-12

…10As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one. 11There is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. 12All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”… Romans 3: 10-12

…24Therefore God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to impurity for the dishonoring of their bodies with one another. 25They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is forever worthy of praise! Amen. 26For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.… Romans 1: 24-26

The Son of Man - The Messiah, deity combined with humanity. It was man who offended, but it was the holiness of an eternal God that was offended. Who could redeem the account of so great an offense? It must be the infinite, and only God is thus. God did not sin though, so what satisfies that end, that man rebelled against his design? Who will fulfill man's side of this, to meet all righteousness, to submit to the Creator, walk in perfect obedience? 

19Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20by the new and living way opened for us through the curtain of His body, 21and since we have a great priest over the house of God,…

…22let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23Let us hold resolutely to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. 24And let us consider how to spur one another on to love and good deeds.… Hebrews 10: 19-24

…13In my vision in the night I continued to watch, and I saw One like the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into His presence. 14And He was given dominion, glory, and kingship, that the people of every nation and language should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. Daniel 7: 13-14

…18And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and firstborn from among the dead, so that in all things He may have preeminence. 19For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, 20and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through the blood of His cross.… Colossians 1: 18-20

Is about to be delivered into the hands of men - This is the gospel, and it's traumatizing for the disciples, it goes against everything their earthly minds desire. It is a story that started at the fall of man, and it is in the prophecies handed down to them by God, look, He gives it to us in pictures and words.

…12“Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him,” said the angel, “for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your only son from me.” 13Then Abraham looked up and saw behind him a ram in a thicket, caught by its horns. So he went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son. 14And Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. So to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.”… Genesis 22: 12-14 The time of Abraham was about 2200 B. C.

6 “Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering for himself and shall make atonement for himself and for his house. 7 Then he shall take the two goats and set them before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 8 And Aaron shall cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for Azazel. 9 And Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the Lord and use it as a sin offering, 10 but the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel. Leviticus 16: 6-10

Given by Moses circa 1300 B. C. Above and below

15 “Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering that is for the people and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, sprinkling it over the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat. 16 Thus he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleannesses of the people of Israel and because of their transgressions, all their sins. And so he shall do for the tent of meeting, which dwells with them in the midst of their uncleannesses. 17 No one may be in the tent of meeting from the time he enters to make atonement in the Holy Place until he comes out and has made atonement for himself and for his house and for all the assembly of Israel. 18 Then he shall go out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement for it, and shall take some of the blood of the bull and some of the blood of the goat, and put it on the horns of the altar all around. 19 And he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it and consecrate it from the uncleannesses of the people of Israel.

20 “And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat. 21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. 22 The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and he shall let the goat go free in the wilderness. Leviticus 16: 15-22 

And they will kill Him - This is the atonement, man fell, so man must die. Jesus, as the God/Man, is the perfect Mediator of this covenant.

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?

2 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,

and by night, but I find no rest.

3 Yet you are holy,

enthroned on the praises of Israel. Psalm 22: 1-3

But I am a worm and not a man,

scorned by mankind and despised by the people.

7 All who see me mock me;

they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;

8 “He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him;

let him rescue him, for he delights in him!” Psalm 22: 6-8

I am poured out like water,

and all my bones are out of joint;

my heart is like wax;

it is melted within my breast;

15 my strength is dried up like a potsherd,

and my tongue sticks to my jaws;

you lay me in the dust of death.

16 For dogs encompass me;

a company of evildoers encircles me;

they have pierced my hands and feet—

17 I can count all my bones—

they stare and gloat over me;

18 they divide my garments among them,

and for my clothing they cast lots. Psalm 22: 14-18

A Psalm of David approximately 1000 B. C.

Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,

and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,

he will see his offspring and prolong his days,

and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.

11 After he has suffered,

he will see the light of life and be satisfied;

by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,

and he will bear their iniquities.

12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,

and he will divide the spoils with the strong,

because he poured out his life unto death,

and was numbered with the transgressors.

For he bore the sin of many,

and made intercession for the transgressors. Isaiah 53: 10-12

Written by Isaiah circa 700 B. C.

Will be raised on the third day - Even in light of this it says of the disciples, "they were greatly distressed."