Journeying to Jerusalem
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Intro
This morning we are taking a journey to Jerusalem…
Tonight we will journey to the Upper Room…
Wednesday we will journey to the cross…
Sunday we will journey to the empty tomb…
32 And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus went before them: and they were amazed; and as they followed, they were afraid. And he took again the twelve, and began to tell them what things should happen unto him, 33 Saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles: 34 And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again.
35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire. 36 And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you? 37 They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory. 38 But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? 39 And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized: 40 But to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared. 41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John. 42 But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. 43 But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: 44 And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. 45 For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
46 And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me. 48 And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me. 49 And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee. 50 And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus. 51 And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight. 52 And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.
INTRO/CONTEXT:
Jesus and His disciples have been going from place to place doing miracle after miracle...
Multitudes of people have followed Him around just to see what He would do next...
Now Jesus takes His disciples to the side just before going up to Jerusalem where He would soon be betrayed and crucified...
17 And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them,
In these sweet moments, Jesus expounds on more truths to His disciples...
In this moment just before going to Jerusalem and entering into passion week, I find 4 characteristics that envelop the disciples as they go with Jesus to Jerusalem...
Title: Journeying to Jerusalem
Title: Journeying to Jerusalem
1. They were Amazed
1. They were Amazed
32 And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus went before them: and they were amazed; and as they followed, they were afraid. And he took again the twelve, and began to tell them what things should happen unto him,
Question: why were they amazed?
I think:
1.) They were amazed because of Jesus’ position
“...Jesus went before them...”
In this first portion of the passage, the disciple’s reaction to Jesus starting His trek to Jerusalem left the 12 disciples in “amazement”...
This isn’t the first time the disciples were amazed:
a.) They were astonished at His doctrine
22 And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes.
b.) They were astonished at His power
23 And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, 24 Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God. 25 And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. 26 And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him. 27 And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him. 28 And immediately his fame spread abroad throughout all the region round about Galilee.
When Jesus healed the man sick of the palsy in Capernaum, the response was:
12 And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.
When Jesus raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead:
42 And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment.
When Jesus walked on water to His disciples:
51 And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered.
When Jesus healed the blind mute man:
37 And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.
When Jesus spoke to the man asking “What shall I do to inherit eternal life”:
c.) They were astonished at his words
24 And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!
Wrap up point:
When you witness through the living Words of the Bible, the journey that Jesus took to Jerusalem...
There is PLENTY to be amazed about...
There is PLENTY to be astonished over...
It should cause the Christian to stop with mouth open in awe at Jesus
We SHOULD be amazed at His doctrine...
We SHOULD be amazed at His power...
We SHOULD be amazed at his Word...
**Shame on us for being bored and non-chalant about approaching God…
Question: Have you lost your amazement in looking at the Savior walk where we couldn’t?
1.) They were amazed because of Jesus’ position
2.) They were amazed at Jesus’ disposition
This is the 4th time recorded in scripture that Jesus tells his disciples that He is going to be crucified and rise again the 3rd day...
Other mentions: Mark 8:31; 9:9; 9:30 and now...
In spite of walking into His death… Jesus made that journey to Jerusalem...
They were Amazed
2. They were Afraid
2. They were Afraid
32 And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus went before them: and they were amazed; and as they followed, they were afraid. And he took again the twelve, and began to tell them what things should happen unto him,
They were astonished at Jesus’ boldness and resolve, but afraid of what would happen...
We too stand back astonished and amazed at Jesus’ boldness, courage and lack of fear...
Yet we become afraid at what will or could become...
Notice: they were amazed as Jesus went before them toward Jerusalem...
But then they were afraid… “...as they followed...”
We can be amazed at seeing Jesus lead the way...
But we can also experience fear when we follow Him...
a.) I notice that Moses was fearful to follow God
He said:
“Who am I that I should go unto Pharaoh?” and
“I am not eloquent to speak”
b.) I notice that Peter was fearful to follow God
It says:
29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
c.) I notice the disciples were fearful to follow God in the storm
It says:
37 And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. 38 And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? 39 And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?
d.) I notice that even the Apostle Paul was fearful to follow God…
9 Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace: 10 For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city.
Moses had the fear of inadequacy for his calling from God…
Peter had the fear of doing something new for God…
The disciples were fearful of something they couldn’t control…
Jesus commanded them to “pass over unto the other side”
They obeyed and became fearful because of the storm
Paul had fear in preaching Christ…
3 What time I am afraid,
I will trust in thee.
Sometimes in our journey, we too can become afraid because of what is or could happen…
3. They were Arrogant
3. They were Arrogant
35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire. 36 And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you? 37 They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory. 38 But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? 39 And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized: 40 But to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared. 41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John. 42 But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. 43 But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: 44 And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. 45 For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
Cross reference:
34 And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.
Sometimes our focus gets off Jesus and on ourselves...
James and John were focused on all the wrong things…
Sometimes on our journey, we too can be ignorant and focus on all the wrong things…
I mean Jesus is about to go through the worst week known to the history of mankind…
Yet James and John are asking their position…
We become arrogant by focusing on myself, what’s good for me, what I can get out of serving God, how I can be helped, etc. instead of focusing on the one that is walking before me to His prophesied death…
We have churches full of people who:
Are only there to get something instead of give something
4. They were made Aware
4. They were made Aware
46 And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me. 48 And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me. 49 And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee. 50 And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus. 51 And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight. 52 And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.
As you walk with Jesus, it is a sobering amazement at watching what Jesus did for us...
It can lead us to be fearful, knowing what’ is or could come our way …
We can be arrogant as to the purpose behind our walk with Jesus thinking about ourselves over what’s happening to Jesus before our eyes…
But if you walk in sincerity and truth, Jesus will make you aware of what it’s all about...
a.) Healing of the broken and beggarly
b.) Providing sight to the blind
c.) Bringing others to follow Christ also
Conclusion:
Conclusion:
As we journey with Jesus to Jerusalem…
Are you still amazed as you watch Jesus walk before you?
Are you maybe afraid as you follow Christ?
Maybe you are arrogant and your mind is focused on all the wrong things?
Hopefully you will allow God to make you aware… What it’s all about…
