"Four Things Jesus Saw!"
Isaiah 50:1-11; Luke 9:51-56
INTRO.In Luke 9:51 The BIBLE says, "And it came to pass, when the time came that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem." You will recall that at many times early in His Earthly Ministry Christ told His disciples, "My time is not yet come.” But here, v51, we see that His time has come! It is time for Christ to face pain, ridicule and rejection of men to pay For your sins and mine!
Did Christ shrink from what He must face? NO, NO, A THOUSAND TIMES NO!! In fact, continuing in v51, it says, "He STEDFASTLY set his face to go to Jerusalem." The word "stedfastly" used in that verse is translated from a Greek word which means "resolutely". So, instead of dreading, shrinking from, or running away from what laid before Him, Christ resolutely set His face toward Jerusalem. Jerusalem, where He must face persecution, pain, and eventually crucifixion on the Cross for you and for me! But He went forward because He was not alone!
Isaiah 50:7 says, "For the LORD God will help me: therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed." Isaiah 50 is one of the Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah. In v7, Jesus, the Messiah, knowing His destiny, knowing God was with Him and would help Him, and knowing He would not be confounded (defeated), set His face like a flint." There it is again, "set His face like a flint." In other words, His face was steeled, His mind was determined, and He would finish the course set before Him by the Father, which was the redemption of our Souls!
But I wonder what Jesus saw as He and His disciples journeyed on toward Jerusalem. Now I'm not talking about seeing with His physical eye, but with His Spiritual eye. I believe Christ saw four things. First of all, The Place Where Sin Had Brought Me. Second, The Pain He Must Endure for Me. Third, The Price He must Pay For My Redemption. And Finally, The Potential in Me When Redeemed.
Hebrews 12:2 says, "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; Who for THE JOY THAT WAS SET BEFORE HIM endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne Of God." (emphasis mine). What was the JOY set before Christ? The pain, the ridicule, the rejection; No, I was the JOY! He saw me and what I could be!
HE SAW:
(1) The Place Where Sin Had Brought Me
- I WAS LOST (Isaiah 53:6).
B. I WAS LADEN WITH SIN (Psalm 40:1-4).
(2) The Pain He Must Endure For Me
- HE ENDURED PUNISHMENT FOR ME.Isaiah 52:14—“...his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men”--Literally, not human!
B. HE ENDURED PAIN FOR ME (Isaiah 53:3-7). HE ENDURED:
1)Rejection (Psalm 22:1-2).
2)Ridicule (Psalm 22:6-8).
3)Riveting Pain (Psalm 22:13-18).
*5 Wounds Present On Christ's Body:
(1)A Contusion-When hit with the Reed
(2)A Laceration-A tear-Cat-of-nine tails
(3)A Penetration-Crown of Thorns
(4)A Perforation-Nailed to the Cross
(5)An Incision--Sword in His Side
*He endured all this willingly for you and me to obtain our redemption!
(3) The Price He Must Pay For My Redemption
- A PRICE I COULDN’T PAY (Galatians 1:3-5).
- A PAYMENT I COULDN’T PERCEIVE (1 Peter 1:18-21; Hebrews 9:22).
(4) The Potential In Me When Redeemed
- I HAVE HIS POWER (Acts 1:8;Ephesians 3:20-21). God’s Power=Our Potential!
- I HAVE HIS PROMISE (Galatians 2:20; Philippians 4:13). Paul said in Colossians 1:29—“whereunto I also labor, striving according to his working which worketh in me mightily."
CLOSING:Lost Friend, Jesus one day looked forward in time. He saw YOU helpless, hopeless, and hell bound. He knew you needed a Savior; and because He Loves you, HE BECAME THAT SAVIOR! The question is now, "Will you look to Him and be saved?"
Christian, Are you looking daily to Him for every area of your Life? He saw potential in you; Are you using that potential for Him? (Hebrews 12:1-2).