Jesus on a Mission #1

Jesus uses this verb to teach to show that his life as he was living it out.

His life was unfolding.

According to a divine plan which could not be thwarted. Man on a mission, a mission that never could have failed that describes our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ were glad you joined us for the truth pulpit with nongreen founding pastor of truth Community Church in Cincinnati, Ohio were continuing the series in the four Gospels titled portraits of Christ and today we move into the gospel of Luke, which describes the mission of Christ, and further shows us the magnitude of the God we follow God give us an overview of what we can expect in this message friend.

I'm really excited that you joined us for this broadcast this message will help you see the way that God planned the life of Christ to fulfill his purposes which he established before the beginning of time. When he was here on earth. Jesus did exactly what God planned and he did it to save completely. Everyone who would ever believe in him. Christ came to earth on a mission and in his death and resurrection. Luke's gospel says. Mission accomplished. Here the hope we have in Christ today on the truth pulpit, there is nongreen with part one of a message titled Jesus on a mission here on the truthful we find as we read the Bible as believers in Christ that we are part of the outworking of a great plan of God. Scripture makes this abundantly clear. It is undeniable.

It is plain. It is clear to introduce what were going to talk about from Luke I want to read a couple of brief passages out of the book of acts to you don't need to turn there, but you want to write them down in acts chapter 2 verses 22 and 23 we see a clear statement that the redemptive work of Christ unfolded, according to a divine plan that was established before time began when we read Scripture. When we hear the gospel proclaimed when we contemplate the work of Christ. There should be a sense in which we understand the were entering into a realm that transcends time, because that is exactly what Scripture teaches us in acts chapter 2 verse 22 Peter was preaching and he said men of Israel, listen to these words. Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through him in your midst, just as you yourselves know so is appealing to recently completed events at Calvary were subject of common public knowledge and he interprets it for them. He says this man referring to Christ was and what he says delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put them to death. Christ was on the cross at Calvary.

According to a predetermined plan of God. The crucifixion was carried out by the willful actions of sinful men, but make no mistake about it.

Christ was on that cross. According to the plan of God.

Scripture couldn't be more clear about it. In acts chapter 4 verse 27 it says the truly in the city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus there praying to God, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel. So says the rulers of this region will gather together against Christ along with the Gentiles, along with the Jews.

The whole group of them were gathered together against Christ and why were they gathered together verse 28, acts 428 to do whatever your hand in your purpose predestined to occur. The work of Christ was, according to a predetermined plan of God.

The crucifixion of Christ was, according to a predetermined course that God had established before time began, brothers and sisters when we gather together to study Scripture together were entering into a round that touches on the divine mind of God in such a a great in a profound way that it completely lifts us beyond the round of earth and gives us a sense of perspective about what is actually taking place. When you read the Gospel of Luke what you're going to see is that Jesus was conscious of this divine plan as he walked through life and Jesus taught his disciples by extension, he teaches us that the details of his life all unfolded.

According to a divine plan that was certain in its fulfillment. There was no accident.

There was no random chance. There were no random events that contributed to the life of Christ. This was all according to what God wanted to occur and he had established his purpose before time began. And so when you read the Gospel of Luke. What were seeing is is that in the highest loftiest sense of the term Jesus was on a mission that was certain to be accomplished. Jesus uses a short three letter Greek word that defines all of this for us, it's the Greek word day but it's not like a 24 hour day in English it would be translated DEI day in this Greek word day which is a verb that means that something is necessary, it means that something must happen this way. Jesus uses this verb to teach to show that his life as he was living it out. His life was unfolding.

According to a divine plan which could not be thwarted. There was no opposition of Satan or sinful men that could thwart the plan of God that was in operation during the life of Christ while he was on earth and what we are going to see in the book of Luke is how many times Jesus teaches this so that we won't miss the point to read one verse in acts it was according to a divine plan is really all it takes to establish it but when you see it in the details when you see section by section, chapter by chapter in the life of Christ and Christ saying it must be this way. It must be this way it has to be this way.

What you need to understand is is that he is expressing the fact that he is on earth executing a divine plan that was certain to occur. There was no chance that it could go amiss. Jesus was in perfect control even as men were nailing him to a cross because as the son of God in full omnipotence in full omniscience he is carrying out the plan of God that was bound to occur. Now, in terms of the little outline for this message. What I want you to see is as we go through is that this refers to the entirety of the life of Christ. It's the complete life of Christ that is under this divine umbrella of a divine certainty to occur will express the completeness of this plan with a simple outline the beginning the middle and the end. Those are your three points the beginning the middle and the end and the outline is simply identifying the comprehensive nature of the divine will, which was at work in the earthly life of Christ.

Remember the verb, it must is necessary, it must happen this way. This is what you're going to see woven throughout the entire book of Luke's. Let's look at the beginning. First of all, in Luke chapter 2. You can turn there if you would when Jesus was a mere lad of 12, he was already conscious of this divine imperative upon his life. You remember the story they had they had gone up with his parents. Jesus and his parents had gone up to Jerusalem and they spent time there at the feast of Passover, they came time to leave and his parents left, thinking that he was part of the caravan somewhere else. Even though he wasn't with them. Look at verse 44. His parents opposed him to be in the caravan and went a day's journey, and they began looking for him among their relatives and acquaintances when they did not find and they returned to Jerusalem looking for and they did know where he was, so they retrace their steps and then after three days. Those of you who are parents could sympathize with the angst that they must've felt verse 46 Luke chapter 2 verse 46, after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers both listening to them and asking them questions and all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and answers 12 years old. The teachers of Israel were astonished at the wisdom that was in front of them in this 12-year-old boy so his parents happen upon this scene. Verse 48 when they saw him they were astonished and his mother said mom son, why have you treated us this way, behold, your father and I have been anxiously looking for you to watch Jesus's response to her. It's more significant than you might get on a superficial first reading.

He said to them, why is it that you were looking for me.

Did you not know that I had to be in my father's house there is a Greek word day there I had to be here. It was a divine requirement. I wasn't lost I was exactly where God wanted me to be and you know that verse 50. They didn't understand the statement which he had made to them. How could they.

How could they understand that he was expressing to them of such profound eternal depth that he was he was there on a divine mission. He was there. According to the plan of God.

Even at the age of 12. He said I had to be here.

This is what God had appointed for me at this point in time and I had to be here wasn't simply a subjective sense that he wanted to be in the temple. This was part of the plan of God. The contractor plans construction and then builds a house he's got a plan in mind before it ever begins and carries it out. Do you think that there is any possibility that the sovereign eternal God of the universe when he was planning to send his eternal son into the world to accomplish eternal redemption did anything less than an earthly contractor would do foolishness. Of course there was a divine plan that was being carried out. God had a plan from the beginning the transcends all the blueprints of all the contractor throughout the whole course of time it established the course and sent Christ into the world and Christ understanding the plan in full submission to his father in a joint operation of salvation says I've got to carry this out.

He was under divine compulsion.

It could be no other way for Christ men could not distract him from the work he had to meet the divine purpose. Look at chapter 4 verse 42 Luke chapter 4 verse 42 we now accelerate forward 1819 years in the life of Christ in Luke is unfolding the early days of the ministry. The sense of divine necessity is comes from the lips of Christ himself. Christ was teaching this all the way along. It wasn't an after thought it wasn't something that was added on later by men who wrote about Christ later. Jesus was saying this from the beginning of chapter 4, verse 42 when day came, Jesus left and went to a secluded place, and the crowds were searching for him, and came to him. Watch this. They tried to keep him from going away from them.

They like having in their says stay be with us. Verse 43 but he said to them, I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities.

Also, for I was sent for this purpose, who sent him. God the father. What purpose to preach the kingdom of God. That was the plan. What was his response.

I have to do this. He was independent of the wishes and directions of men. He had a solitary focus on his mind that I will carry out this divine plan without fail without distraction, without exception, I must do this now we come to this point as we looked at Matthew and as we looked at Mark, and I want to reinforce it here at this moment in your mind because it's so important. What I want you to see is is that our view of Christ our appreciation for who he is our reverence for the majesty of his being should only increase and elevate and get higher and higher to unlimited heights as we see these things in the Scriptures we need to set aside the things of earth that were occupying our minds when we came in and give this our two thinking high thoughts of Christ and coming in deepening our understanding of who he is, when you just read the Gospels quickly and lightly you miss this kind of detail, but this is no detail.

These are the pillars upon which it is all built and what I want you to see what I want you to embrace in your heart. What I want you to grasp and then fall down and worship at the feet of Christ is the magnitude of who he is and the magnitude of what he was doing on earth. The magnitude, the inexpressible incomprehensible magnitude of the divine plans established in the divine counsels before the beginning of time. Jesus steps into time from that eternal realm to execute in time on earth in history a divine plan that existed before the foundation of the world and not only was he doing that he knew he was doing that he understood. He gladly placed himself under this divine compulsion to carry this out, so that even when onlookers and if we can call him.

This is not great but you he had these Jesus groupies in Luke chapter 4 say and stay with us and he is undeterred undistracted. I must move forward. I'm on plan on a timetable I got something to do. It was right there from the beginning it was impossible for him to settle in one place.

Look at it again. Verse 43 Luke 443.

Before we continue on.

Says I must Greek word day. I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities. Also, for I was sent for this purpose, God sent me. That's why I'm here. I'm going to do it so from the very beginning from his very youth. Jesus is expressing his consciousness of his mission. Now let's step on and this is an arbitrary break of an arbitrary second point here. Let's look at the middle. Let's look at the middle was seen that the early days now and step into the middle and the into the substance of the ministry of Christ while he was here on earth, from the beginning.

Now, been a look at the middle the loftiness with which we view Christ. The comes out of this sense of divine plan respecting revering him for all that that means will we revere him even more when we understand that he knew he knew that the divine plan required his crucible fiction crucifixion.

The most tortuous humiliating form of capital punishment, but the world is ever known Jesus as he was carrying out this divine mission knew that that was what was ahead, and still he was not a victim in the hands of his opponents. He was carrying out a divine plan. Look at Luke chapter 9 Luke nine verse 18 it happened while Jesus was praying alone. The disciples were with him, and he questioned them, saying who to the people say that I am they answered and said John the Baptist another say Elijah, but others at one of the prophets of old has arisen and he said to them verse 20 but who do you say that I am Peter answered and said the Christ of God. Jesus warned them instructed them not to tell this to anyone.

I watch this watch this in verse 22 saying all this is so important.

Even the lips of the babes affirmed all of heaven bears witness to what were about to see in verse 22 Jesus said the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day, a clear understanding that his life was moving toward an appointment with the cross.

He knew it and he said it has to be this way, the Son of Man must end up on that cross. And so you have the son of God, who in conjunction with the other two members of the Trinity conceived this eternal plan before time began, and he steps into the world knowing what the outcome is going to be the condescension of such an act, the self emptying of such an act, the brilliance, the genius of the mind that conceives that the power that is able to be on earth and be totally independent of contrary forces as if, in the sense that they could not stop it and then more to realize that this divine compulsion was leading him to humiliation, humanly speaking on the cross your mind gets lost in wonder love and praise at the greatness of Christ.

And so Jesus, knowing that the appointed time was coming, knowing that it was necessary. It was the divine plan that he would suffer many things, not just one or two many things and be rejected and be killed, knowing that what he do chapter 9 verse 51 or bird for the day is not in this verse but it's important. This is an important passage, Luke nine, verse 51, when the days were approaching for his ascension with this. He was determined to go to Jerusalem, knowing what lay ahead. Jesus set his face toward Jerusalem and was committed to going there incomprehensible courage of our Lord incomprehensible majesty of our Christ moving toward Jerusalem, according to a divine timetable knowing that it would cost him his own life.

When you inform it with the other things in Scripture where you know that he laid down his life in love on behalf on his people to purchase a people for himself or mind start to shatter, trying to get a sense of comprehension in our souls about how great this is not only great in the sense of awe, I was a great hamburger. I mean, this is quite this is beyond human expression. You're listening to the truth pulpit with Don green founding pastor of truth Community Church in Cincinnati Ohio so far in this portrait of Christ from the gospel of Luke.

We've looked at the beginning of the story and started a look at the middle next time Don will finish that up and take us to the end that really is just the beginning of a better world to come. Be here as we conclude a message titled Jesus on a mission on the truth, pulpit and friends are invited to visit us at the truth. Pulpit.com. There you'll find a link to Don's Facebook page. You can also download Don's messages to hear again at your convenience. If you're wanted lots a hard copy to more easily share with friends and family were pleased to make free CD copies available to you as well. For further information about any of the resources I just mentioned again. Just go to the truth.

Pulpit.com hi Bill, right will see you next time on the truth pulpit with Don green