THE CROSS AND THE CROWN

THE CROSS AND THE CROWN Matthew 20:17-19 Hebrews 12:2-3 October 29, 2006 Given by: Pastor Rich Bersett [Index of Past Messages] Introduction I suppose one of the hardest things about the ministry of Jesus was His knowing what was coming. Whether He knew it because He was God and knew all things, or whether He knew it because as a man He exercised flawless faith and knew the future through God’s leading and spiritual insight, Jesus knew what was coming. I want to read three verses in Matthew 20 and, as I do, please keep in mind that Jesus is rehearsing for the disciples what is going to happen to Him in the next few days. Now as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!” The Cross Twice before Jesus had shared with His friends what awaited Him in Jerusalem. The first time (Matthew 16:21) He said He would suffer many things and be killed—you’ll recall this is the time when Peter tried to rebuke Jesus for such a negative forecast. The second time He added that He would be betrayed (17:22). Here, He lays out in detail what was coming. The text says, As he was going up to Jerusalem… That means that, even though He paused long enough to take the disciples aside and prepare them for what was coming, he was still on his way to Jerusalem. Look at the things that Jesus is aware of that will soon befall Him. 1. Betrayal -- First, he says, he will be “betrayed.” Jesus knew, at least since His Transfiguration, He would be betrayed. And in just a few days He will share with the disciples He knows that one of them is His betrayer. Jesus will be traveling, eating, sleeping, and ministering alongside the man who will betray him! And He knows it all along! No treachery is worse than betrayal by a family member or friend. Julius Caesar knew such treachery. Among the conspirators who assassinated the Roman leader on March 15, 44 B. C. was Marcus Junius Brutus. Caesar not only trusted Brutus, he had favored him as a son. According to Roman historians, Caesar first resisted the onslaught of the assassins. But when he saw Brutus among them with his dagger drawn, Caesar ceased to struggle and, pulling the top part of his robe over his face, asked the famous question, “You too, Brutus?” I was once betrayed by a friend and fellow servant of the Lord. It was in a much smaller and less dramatic way, but I confess to you that when the events played themselves out and I realized I had been played as a fool, I was angry. Angry with myself for being so gullible and trusting the wrong person, and angry with the one who betrayed me. Had the result of the betrayal been torture and crucifixion for me I don’t know if I could have handled knowing my betrayer in advance. 2. Condemnation -- Next Jesus predicts He will be “condemned.” The word used here means tried, found guilty and sentenced. It is one thing to be ratted out and found guilty when you are guilty, but Jesus was innocent. In fact, He was the only man to be totally innocent in everything. Yet He was wrongly condemned in a kangaroo court by sinful men, half of whom lied, and the other half believed the lies. So the only sinless man in history died at the hands of sinners, and the Bible makes it clear, He died in their place, offering them forgiveness and salvation through His own suffering and death. Divine innocence will die at the hands of human treachery. Knowing this was His fate the scriptures tell us He was going up to Jerusalem. 3. Mocked -- The third way in which Jesus will suffer, He says, is that He will be turned over to the Gentiles to be mocked. I don’t want to get too technical here, but the phrasing Jesus used here emphasizes an intentionality about turning Him over to the Gentiles in order to be mocked, jeered, made sport of in public. You can’t help but be stunned at the audacity of not only the guards who carried out the shameless taunting of Jesus, but also of the Jewish leaders to set it all up intentionally. 4. Flogged -- Those who would mock Jesus will also whip Him with a leash. Woven into the ends of the cords on the whips will be pieces of metal that will tear at His skin, cutting deeply into bones and muscle. Those of you who have seen the realistic portrayal of this scene in The Passion of the Christ don’t need any more vivid reminder of what Roman scourging accomplished in the body of the condemned prisoner. This, too, Jesus, knew would be happening to Him soon. In His mind’s eye He could see that bloody, torturous scene. Yet, He was going up to Jerusalem. 5. Crucified -- The excruciating death on a cross, invented by the Romans was unequalled by any other means of execution. The Roman statesman Cicero insisted that crucifixion should not even be spoken of in social gatherings because it was so horrible. As if this non-violent preacher of righteousness were a murderer or other dangerous criminal, Jesus would be hung on a cross in torture until he died when a spear penetrated His heart. Jesus knew in advance this all would take place—and He is trying to prepare His disciples with that realization. Fully committed, though, to God’s plan to redeem all mankind through His obedience, Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. Isaiah said it plainly 8 centuries before, …it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer…make his life a guilt offering (Isaiah 53:10) God made him who had no sin to be sin [or a sin offering] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21) Hebrews 12:2 - He endured the cross, scorning its shame… The Crown But the Cross is not the whole story. The next verse in the Isaiah 53 passage promises: After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life, and be satisfied. (Isaiah 53:11) The promise is that God will vindicate and satisfy the crucified Jesus. Like a crown given to the overcoming warrior, Jesus will be satisfied, rewarded. Beyond the cross there was a crown for Jesus. And the Bible makes it clear for us that this crown was what made the cross bearable. Hebrews 12:2 – Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. What exactly is the crown, the reward of Christ, that is so wonderful that He was motivated by it to endure the cross? We have three descriptions of it in our twin texts. 1. Resurrection -- Jesus called attention to this glorious promise at the close of verse 19 in Matthew 20 – On the third day he will be raised to life! The exacting demands of the holiness and justice of God required the death of the pure one to satisfy the punishment of sinful people, true. But God will not leave Jesus in the grave! Psalm 16 says, …my heart is glad…because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay… (Psalm 16:9-10) That passage is quoted twice in the book of Acts confirming it prophetically applies to Christ’s resurrection. What Matthew 20:19and Hebrews 12:2 are saying is that Jesus not only knew the suffering and death He was about to endure for the sake of sinful mankind, He also knew that God would reward His obedience by raising Him incorruptible and eternal from the grave. In this way declaring that Christ conquered death, the final enemy. Didn’t it warm your heart to see Tony LaRussa hugging his winning pitcher after they won the World Series? Unless you have ice in your veins [or you’re a Detroit Tigers fan] you had to smile and get a little misty as manager congratulated and thanked his key man in the moment of victory. In some very small way I am reminded of that scene when I think of Jesus, having accomplished the Father’s will by being faithful through all of the suffering and even death. Then on the third day he breaks the bonds of death, exits the tomb and bodily ascends to heaven 7 weeks later. There he is crowned Lord of All, given the name above every name and glorified in the Father’s presence just as he prayed in John 17 – Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. (John 17:5) The divine high five! Hebrews 12:2 says the prospect of that joy set before Him enabled Jesus to endure the cross, scorning its shame. 2. Glorification Then Hebrews 12:2 goes on to give us a second description of the crown. He sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Here is a picture of not only satisfaction (He sat down pictures the rest following a job well done), but of unparalleled honor. Where He sits is at the right hand of the throne of God—the station of the highest power and influence in the created order and beyond! And in that exalted place He remains ever to intercede on our behalf. This, Hebrews explains to us, is part of the motivation that kept the incarnated Christ true to His eternally important task. Now, at His name every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 3. Joy set before Him Before we close we need to look a little more closely at that phrase in Hebrews 12:2 …for the joy set before him [Jesus] endured the cross, scorning its shame… We are given a delightful insight here—Jesus experiences JOY! That’s a perfectly exciting concept isn’t it? Jesus being joyful?! Over what is He joyful? It might be helpful to consider this joy of Christ’s as being on two levels. One has to do with what we’ve already discussed—the vindication of His resurrection and His glorification at the right hand of God the Father. It’s not hard to see how that gratifying pair of experiences might bring joy to the heart of Jesus. When Jesus accomplished His incarnational mission He experienced what I’m calling personal satisfaction—just as He did at the creation when the six days of creation were completed. The book of Genesis says, God saw all that he had made, and it was very good... (Genesis 1:31) That sounds like the joy of personal satisfaction. But the deeper level of joy we can imagine Jesus experiencing is a joy of Kingdom Fulfillment. This joy spills way over the boundaries of personal satisfaction—this has to do with the joy of fulfilling God’s grad purpose in the world. To help see the distinction, it would be personally rewarding to share the gospel with someone tomorrow morning and see them come to saving faith in Christ. But consider the new level of joy you would experience if somehow you could know that that person you led to Christ would become another Billy Graham who would help literally millions of others to Christ? Of course, even if that would happen there would be no way to know of such quantum blessings through your act of obedience. But Jesus can and does know that His death and resurrection have opened the way to eternal life for everyone who responds in faith—millions, billions! Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father, fully divine and Lord of all, assured that His obedience has perfected the will of God in the entire course of human history. For this joy set before Him, Jesus determined beforehand, walking down a dusty Perean road with His disciples, going up to Jerusalem that he would endure the cross and scorn its shame. Praise His name forever, saints! Your salvation was the joy set before Him! He endured the cross, scorning its shame, for you! Conclusion The thing is, the same principle of Cross and Crown now applies to all of us who have determined to serve Christ. The joy set before us it the reward of the joy of personal fulfillment in living for Him, including the promise of eternal life in heaven with Him. We are privileged to be involved also in the joy of the Kingdom work for Him. And for the joy set before us, we are called to endure whatever difficulties, suffering and challenge that may come our way, knowing there is joy set before us yet to come. Hawaiian pastor, Lyle Arakaki, shares this insight: In Hawaii, because of the time difference with the continental U.S., the NFL Monday Night Football game is played in mid-afternoon, so the local TV station delays its telecast until 6:30 in the evening. When my favorite team plays, I'm too excited to wait for television, so I'll listen to the game on the radio, which broadcasts it live. Then, because they're my favorite team, I'll watch the game on television, too. If I know my team has won the game, it influences how I watch it on television. If my team’s quarterback fumbles the ball or throws an interception, it's not a problem. I think, That's bad, but it's okay. In the end, we'll win! Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:2-3 The Lord’s Supper   [Back to Top]