Luke: When Messiah dies

Context

Messiah is here! Messiah is God! If we respond in faith He will cure us of our wounds, lead us on a path of righteousness, and be our eternal king!

Then Messiah dies - wait… what?

Search manically through the Old Testament and we find 2 reasons why Messiah must die.

When Messiah dies He will take the sins of the world

Isaiah 53:1–12 (NIV)

1 Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. 4 Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away.

Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished. 9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. 10 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.

When Messiah dies gentiles will be drawn to Him

Isaiah 42:1–6 (NIV)

1 “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations. 2 He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. 3 A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; 4 he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his teaching the islands will put their hope.” 5 This is what God the Lord says— the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it: 6 “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles,

Isaiah 60:1–3 (NIV)

1 “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. 2 See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. 3 Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

Isaiah 49:5–7 (NIV)

5 And now the Lord says— he who formed me in the womb to be his servant to bring Jacob back to him and gather Israel to himself, for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord and my God has been my strength— 6 he says: “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”

Example

Before Christ there had never been a prophecy of universal acceptance. There was no “god” in Mesopotamia that would be a light to the whole world or an Egyptian deity that would be worshiped by many nations. Every “god” claimed to be “god” over a nation or region.

Not until Messiah did anyone have the audacity to prophesy such a thing: HE WILL BE A LIGHT TO THE GENTILES AND SALVATION TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH.

Why does this matter to Luke? Because Luke is the beginning of the fulfillment of this prophecy

Luke 1:1–4 (NIV)

1 Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. 3 With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.

Application

Today, you are participating in the greatest prophesy ever proclaimed. There are an estimated 2.3 Billion Christians in the world today. TODAY the prophesies in Isaiah were fulfilled 2.3 billion times.

Throughout history it’s estimated that more than 4,000 rulers have bowed their knee to Christ.

Isaiah 49:7 (NIV)

7 This is what the Lord says— the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel— to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the servant of rulers: “Kings will see you and stand up, princes will see and bow down, because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”

Vision

Luke exists so that the gentiles might be certain of messiah. If you are struggling with the historical truth of Jesus and His work, or you know someone who is, point them to Luke.

Luke exists so that Jesus would not just be Christ for the Jews but for the whole earth. Luke was an educated gentile who heard a crazy story about a Jewish carpenter taking on the sins of the world. He thought to himself, “how can anyone be certain of these amazing claims?!” He went all throughout Judea collecting eye witness accounts of this “Son of God” and then he addressed it to the rest of the world.

What’s the vision? That YOU would be CERTAIN of the things that you’ve heard.