Turn Suffering into Glory

Psalm 122:1 NLT

1 I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.”

Psalm 100:1–5 NLT

1 Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth! 2 Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing with joy. 3 Acknowledge that the Lord is God! He made us, and we are his. We are his people, the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name. 5 For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.

Welcome to Zion Baptist church. We invite you to worship with us today. You may follow along with the sermon through Bible YouVersion though Zion’s Website to join us on Facebook and enjoy Zion’s library of messages. You can also sign up for our email blast to stay connected through email as well. Please join Zions Group 2020 and like our page and post and share to reach and communicate with one another.

Let us Pray...

Lord, we seek your face today to know you and to see you. Please Lord bless us in our space with your presence as we worship you. May we feel close to you in this moment of worship. May your spirit guide us and keep us we pray. Amen.

Intro: Our Sermon today comes from . I will talk about how Jesus knows his suffering is temporary and his glory is forever. I want to encourage you from this message that your suffering, trial, pain or whatever detrimental category you claim will not last always.

I would like to say it is for a season. Thins how season have a beginning and an end. Seasons are periods of the year marked by different weather conditions. Our life cycles through different periods and we weather different parts of our life.

Think about what it means to weather the storm. It means you safely made it through. Jesus will teach us that no matter what we face we too through Christ will see it turning around for us.

Lead into text:

Let us turn to our text for today picking up at . Jesus is still on his journey into Jerusalem to become the perfect sacrifice for the redemption of the world.

Matthew 20:17–19 NLT

17 As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside privately and told them what was going to happen to him. 18 “Listen,” he said, “we’re going up to Jerusalem, where the Son of Man will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. They will sentence him to die. 19 Then they will hand him over to the Romans to be mocked, flogged with a whip, and crucified. But on the third day he will be raised from the dead.”

Seasons change

Jesus knows his season is changing. He is trying to educate the twelve that change is coming. Jesus knows that his season is coming to an end and he is about to face a season of pain, betrayal and death. Different seasons impact us in different ways. Some get pain in the body when the season change. Some have allergies that impact them as the seasons change. Emotions and physical health are impacted by seasons. Yet, seasons come and go.

Jesus shows us the attitude of determination we should have to face the trial that is ahead of him. Let me be clear that Jesus is choosing to take this journey for our sake. He is willing to suffer for us so that we might no healing though him. Now I say this because in our life most of the time we do not choose to suffer if we do not have to do so.

1. We put off surgery until we finally think we need to have it done.

2. We wait to work out and loose weight until it is mandatory.

3. We wait to renew our driver license.

In all seriousness we know that we would like to avoid suffering and enjoy less painful avenues. Yet here is Jesus facing our sin, our shame for our salvation.

Jesus’ suffering

Matthew 20:18

Matthew 20:18 NLT

18 “Listen,” he said, “we’re going up to Jerusalem, where the Son of Man will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. They will sentence him to die.

Jesus suffering is a season is willing to face. He know this season of suffering has to come but it too will pass. You can encourage yourself right now as we are facing this hardship in our life that we too can declare that this too will pass.

Jesus knows he has to endure for this season, but he also know it too shall pass. Let me encourage you you too know you too can endure what is ahead in the power of Jesus.

Son of Man will betrayed.

In Matthew’s gospel Jesus refers to himself as the Son of Man. Jesus is speaking in the third person.

Son of Man is understood as a Messiah.

Jesus is telling them what will happen to the Messiah.

The Messiah will be betrayed!

Think about betrayal. This is treacherous. Or to define the deceptive action to betray one person trust. Notice again the text tells us Jesus is speaking to the twelve. This scene is tense movie scene of suspense. Who is the one to betray the Son of Man? Is this person here now? (Yes, umm his Initials are Judas Iscariot, but not to say any names.) Yet, Jesus is telling them this and still loves them and willing to die for them, still knowing he will be betrayed.

This betrayal will turn Jesus over to his enemies. A friend will turn you over to your enemies who want you dead. The leading priests and the religious teachers of the law wan him dead. With the assistance from the one who betrays Jesus they will succeed by sentencing him to death.

What does betrayal feel like? Why?

How has the love of Christ show you his grace in your life?

How have you broke God’s trust and still see his love in your life?

Seasons come and seasons go..

Jesus knows the season is changing. He knows every step close to Jerusalem is only getting him closer to cross. May interject that season are in an indefinite period. That is to say that the length of a season is not determined and is unknown. Jesus knows the length of this season.

Son of man will be turned over to the Romans.

Matthew 20:19 NLT

19 Then they will hand him over to the Romans to be mocked, flogged with a whip, and crucified. But on the third day he will be raised from the dead.”

Jesus does not only suffer emotionally by betrayal.

Jesus also suffer:

Being mocked

Flogged with a whip

Crucified

How do you reflect on the suffering of Christ?

Let us take time to reflect on this upcoming suffering Jesus faces.

After being betrayed and condemned by his own people he is turned over to Gentiles (Romans) to be mocked, whipped and crucified.

The Gentiles are who we know to be the Romans who are legally the only agents that could give capital punishment. The Jews could not kill him but forced the hand of the Roman leadership to do so. The fact that it is the Romans later emphasized by the crucifixion.

First, let me point out that Jesus is being treated as a second class citizen.

He is flogged and no Roman citizen will suffer such an abuse.

Crucifixion is the worst way to die and again no Roman citizen would be punished in such away unless they committed treason, and therefore are no longer regarded as a citizen.

Jesus in expressing this period of suffering shows that there is a beginning and an end. The end leaves room for the beginning. The pain ends so the glory can begin.

Glory comes in threedays

But on the third day he will be raised from the dead. ()

To be raised from the dead! is to be alive! Jesus shows us that this too will pass and life will come.

Paul preaches endurance to the church by saying...

2 Timothy 2:12 NLT

12 If we endure hardship, we will reign with him. If we deny him, he will deny us.

So let us not betray him, but let us show our faith in him and endure the hardships that come knowing that troubles don’t last always. Look to God to see that hope is present in dark times. You can endure a little while longer to know that glory will be forever in the eternal Lord and Savior Jesus who overcame death that we might behold him and see his glory.