MISREADING THE KING

Proud. Blind. Submitting.

BIG IDEA

If you misunderstand the kind of King Jesus is, you will misread your life—but Christ secures victory by surrendering to the Father, and calls us to do the same.

INTRODUCTION: WHEN YOU MISREAD JESUS, YOU MISREAD EVERYTHING

There is nothing more dangerous than being close to Jesus and still misunderstanding Him.

Not rejecting Him. Not walking away from Him.

Misreading Him.

Because if you misunderstand Jesus, you will:

misinterpret your life

overestimate your strength

collapse under pressure

And Luke 22 shows us something sobering:

The disciples are closest to Jesus, right before they fail the hardest.

And the issue is not distance.

It’s perception.

They don’t see Him clearly.

And Luke exposes three layers of the human heart:

Pride. Blind. Submitting.

1. PRIDE: MISPLACED GREATNESS Luke 22:24–30

The Argument That Exposes the Heart (v. 24)

Luke 22:24 NIV

A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest.

“A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest.”

This is not a side note.

This is exposure.

And the timing matters.

Jesus has just:

revealed betrayal

Instituted the Lord’s Supper

pointed to the cross

And they respond with: self-exaltation.

Even in the presence of overwhelming revelation, the sinful heart remains consumed with self-interest and self-promotion. (MacArthur)

You can be near Jesus and still be centered on yourself.

The System They Still Believe (v. 25)

Luke 22:25 NIV

Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors.

“The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them…”

MacArthur makes this clear: They are still thinking like the world.

They haven’t rejected Jesus; they’ve just redefined Him to fit their system.

The Kingdom Jesus Actually Brings (vv. 26–27)

Luke 22:26–27 NIV

But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.

“But not so with you…”

This is a direct collision.

In Christ’s kingdom, greatness is not about authority over others, it is about humility and service toward others. (MacArthur)

Luke 22:26–27 NIV

But I am among you as one who serves.

The world climbs to greatness, the kingdom kneels to it.

Grace in the Middle of Their Failure (vv. 28–30)

Luke 22:28–30 NIV

You are those who have stood by me in my trials. And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

“You are those who have stayed with Me…”

This is shocking.

Because they are:

arguing

confused

about to abandon Him

And yet, He affirms them.

Their future kingdom is not based on their present strength, but on Christ’s sovereign grace toward them. (MacArthur)

Luke 22:28–30 NIV

I confer on you a kingdom

This is covenant language. Given, not earned.

They don’t understand the kingdom, but they are still invited into it.

Pride distorts greatness.

Pride blinds you to who Jesus really is.

2. BLIND: MISREADING JESUSLuke 22:31–38)

The War They Don’t See (v. 31)

Luke 22:31 NIV

“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat.

“Simon, Simon, Satan has demanded to sift you like wheat…”

This is not casual temptation. This is violent spiritual assault.

Satan desires to shake the disciples violently, to expose their weakness and ultimately destroy their faith. (MacArthur)

The “you” is plural. All of them are targeted.

There is more happening in your life than what you can see.

The Prayer That Secures Them (v. 32)

Luke 22:32 NIV

But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”

“But I have prayed for you…”

This is everything.

Jesus does not prevent Peter’s fall, He preserves Peter’s faith. (MacArthur)

Luke 22:32 NIV

that your faith may not fail

Not: no failure

But: no final collapse

Jesus doesn’t always remove the trial; He secures you through it.

The Certainty of Restoration (v. 32)

Luke 22:32 NIV

when you have turned back

Not if. When.

Christ’s intercession guarantees not perfection, but preservation. (MacArthur)

Failure is not final for those Christ holds.

The Blindness of Self-Confidence (vv.33–34)

Luke 22:33–34 NIV

But he replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.” Jesus answered, “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.”

“I’m ready…”

Peter believes it.

The greatest danger in the spiritual life is not weakness, but confidence in one’s own strength. (MacArthur)

The danger is not weakness; it is unrecognized weakness.

Pride distorts.

Blindness misleads.

We see the King clearly because He does what no one else will do.

Luke 22:33–38 NIV

But he replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.” Jesus answered, “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.” Then Jesus asked them, “When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?” “Nothing,” they answered. He said to them, “But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one. It is written: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors’; and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfillment.” The disciples said, “See, Lord, here are two swords.” “That’s enough!” he replied.

We see the King clearly because He does what no one else will do.

3. SUBMITTING: THE KING WHO SECURES VICTORY

(Luke 22:39–46)

A. The Command They Ignore (vv. 39-40)

Luke 22:39–40 NIV

Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.”

“Pray that you may not enter into temptation…”

The issue is not external danger; it is internal collapse. (MacArthur)

The Cup Defined (vv. 41–42)

Luke 22:41–42 NIV

He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”

“Take this cup…”

The cup is not merely physical suffering—it is the full fury of divine wrath against sin. (MacArthur

This is:

Isaiah 53

divine judgment

substitution

Jesus is not shrinking from pain; He is staring into wrath.

The Moment That Secures Redemption

Luke 22:41–42 NIV

yet not my will, but yours be done

“Not My will… but Yours…”

The victory of the cross is secured in Gethsemane, where Christ fully submits to the will of the Father. (MacArthur

Redemption is secured when the will is surrendered.

Strength After Submission (vv.43–44)

Luke 22:43–44 NIV

An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

The angel strengthens Him.

Why?

Because He has submitted.

Divine strength meets those who fully yield to the will of God. (MacArthur)

God strengthens obedience, not resistance.

The Final Contrast (vv.45–46)

Luke 22:45–46 NIV

When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”

Jesus: praying

Disciples: sleeping

Spiritual failure often comes not from outright rebellion, but from neglect of spiritual dependence. (MacArthur)

We drift in the moments that demand dependence.

CONCLUSION: THE KING THEY MISREAD AND STILL NEED

They misunderstood Him.

They expected power. He showed surrender.

They expected control. He submitted.

They expected strength. He embraced weakness

And yet:

He was right.

They were wrong.

GOSPEL

Jesus drinks the cup.

Jesus takes the wrath.

Jesus secures the covenant.

So you don’t have to.

FINAL CALL

You want:

victory

breakthrough

change

But you are still holding onto control.

The greatest victories in your life will not come when you take control, but when you surrender it.