A Word about Our Master and Commander

Today I want to share a word about our Master and Commander as I comment on Matthew 28 verses 18-20. This very familiar passage reads:

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you and lo I am with you always even until the end of the world. Amen.

From time-to-time people like to assert their authority and I've collected several stories to illustrate this but not most appealing side of human behavior. From the business world comes this story:

Employed by the Human Development Center of a corporation in the Midwest, a young lady trained employees in proper dress and etiquette. One day, as she was stepping onto the elevator, a man casually dressed in jeans and a golf shirt got on with her. Thinking of her responsibilities, she scolded, "Dressed a little casually today, aren't we?" The man replied, "Well, that is one benefit of owning the company.”

Police officers also exercise authority. One officer reported, "It was the end of the day when I parked my police van in front of the station. As I gathered my equipment, my K-9 partner, Jake, was barking and I saw a little boy staring in at me. 'Is that a dog you have back there?' he asked. 'It sure is,' I replied. Puzzled, the boy looked at me and then he looked at the dog and then he looked back at me and said, "What did he do?"

We all know that teachers must control their classrooms for learning to take place and that's why one child reported this after she had just finished her first week of school” "I'm just wasting my time," she said to her mother. "I can't read, I can't write, and they won't let me talk." 

Finally, there comes this story from the home front. A mild-mannered man was tired of being bossed around by his wife, so he went to a psychiatrist. This psychiatrist said he needed to build up his self-esteem and gave him a book on assertiveness, which he read. As soon as he had finished the book and confronted his wife. He pointed a finger in her face and said, 

"From now on, I want you to know that I am the man of this house, and my word is law. I want you to prepare me a gourmet meal tonight and when I am finished eating my meal, I expect a sumptuous dessert afterwards. Then after dinner you're gonna draw me my bath so I can relax and when I'm finished on my bath guess who's gonna dress me and comb my hair?”

“The funeral director,” interrupted his wife. 

We all like to exercise what little authority we may have but there is one person who has ultimate authority. He is Jesus our master and commander. Let's see his authority today.

FIRST, OUR MASTER AND COMMANDER HAS ALL AUTHORITY:

Jesus is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and because he is the sovereign ruler, he has all authority. This is what sovereignty means. Sovereignty means all authority. Our government in the United States is sovereign, but its powers are limited by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Jesus, however, is King and his authority is unlimited.

 One great advantage of the church serving the King of Kings and Lord of Lords is that his church also has authority. Some people think that Satan rules hell like God rules heaven, but this is not so. Jesus is ruler over all of these things. And that's why Jesus told Peter this about the authority of the church in Matthew 16:18-19, 

Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it, and I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

The authority of the Church doesn't come from what we do in church. It doesn't come from our worship or our worship music or even our pastors. The authority of the Church descends from our Lord. But not only that, but Jesus’s authority also extends to us personally.

We Americans are rebellious and we're individualist and we're proud. As an example, a kindergarten teacher, was observing her classroom of children while they drew. She asked one little girl, "What are you drawing?" The girl replied, "I'm drawing God." The teacher paused and said, "But no one knows what God looks like." And without missing a beat or looking up from her drawing, the little girl replied, “They will in a minute.”

We often forget that we too are under the authority of Jesus, and we can think we can do what we want, but we can't. 1 Corinthians 6: 20 says that we were bought with a price and therefore we should glorify God in our body and in our spirits which are the Lord's. They belong to God. We must to bow our knee to Jesus as our King, our Master and Commander is our Sovereign. He has all authority. And our Master and Commander sent us to all nations. 

OUR MASTER AND COMMANDER SENT US TO ALL NATIONS:

Jesus gave us a mission. He wants all people to have a saving knowledge of Him. He wants all people to understand the truth and be set free from the lies of Satan. He wants us as His Church and as His people to be the tools to make that happen. To do this, we must have power.

The old television show, Home Improvement, always had a joke about “more power,” but Acts 1.8 says that God’s people will receive more power when the Holy Spirit comes upon us, Then, we will be witnesses to Jesus in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Jesus knew we couldn't do this work on our own, so He sent us power to give us the ability to do this work.

Today we have the Holy Spirit. Today we have the entire Word of God, the entire Council of God's Word, the entire Canon. We have our own testimony of salvation and so much more. We all those things He gave us, because our task is huge, and our task is difficult. And to do this task, we must go outside our comfort zone.

We often think that Jerusalem meant our hometown or the disciples' hometown, but that's wrong. The disciples were from Galilee. was not their home field. And it's not our home field either. This world is not our home field, we are just passing through it. We never have any advantage here except the advantage that God gives us. 

So, our Master and Commander had all authority and he sent us to share the Gospel with all peoples. He also told us to do all things.

OUR MASTER AND COMMANDER TOLD US TO DO ALL THINGS:

Our Master and Commander also told us to do all things and to teach people all that He has taught us. So, we need to be “full gospel preachers”. I don't mean that in a Pentecostal sense. What I mean is that we need to preach the full counsel of the Word of God. We don't need to keep people in ignorance; we need them to know what the full richness of God's love is for us. 

You don't need to know very much to be saved. You just need to know that Jesus died for you, and He wants you to commit yourself to Him, that you need to repent of your sins and that He would take care of the rest. But we do need to know a lot about being a disciple. The Psalmist said we should sing with understanding so we must teach people the full gospel. 

So, what is the full gospel? Since we come to the Lord as a child. it can't be hard to understand. What we need to teach is that:

• The Son of Man came to seek and save that which was lost.
• That we need to love the Lord with all our hearts, souls, and mind and with all of our being.
• We need to love our neighbors as ourselves. 
• We need to obey the commands of Christ and we need to help people become disciples. 

Before we can help other people become disciples, we too must become disciples. Doctors were medical students first. Lawyers were flaw students first. Generals in the Army were first cadets first. Senior NCOs in the army began as privates. We must ourselves grow up to be disciples and we must be full gospel people before we are full gospel preachers. If we are not disciples ourselves, we can't make disciples. We can't lead by example if we don't know where we're taking people. We are not making disciples if we're disobeying our Lord and we really don't want to disobey our Lord, our Master and Commander, our King. Hebrews 10 :24 -27 says, 

And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as ye see the day approaching. For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation which shall devour the adversaries.

The one organization in the whole world that I'm afraid of is the Internal Revenue Service, not because I cheat on my taxes but, because I'm afraid of making mistakes. Some people do try to cheat on their taxes, and the IRS is there to find them and to bring them to justice. Many of those tax cheats live in fear that they will be found out. 

Our God wants us to obey Him. Jesus said if you love me, keep my commandments. We don't need to put ourselves in the position of becoming afraid of God because we have not done what He's asked us to do.

FINALLY, OUR MASTER AND COMMANDER IS ALWAYS WITH US:

In this passage we can see a final truth which is as, good thing for us: our master and commander is always with us. 

We often let our fears prevent us from obeying God. We are just ordinary people. We feel incapable of doing the tremendous ask that He has given us. Sometimes we try to duck that task and let someone else do it who we think are more qualified. Sometimes we say, "Hey, I'm no hero." 

Interestingly, I've actually known some heroes. There was a man by the name of Al. Al who served in the 3rd Squadron, 4th Cavalry, the old 3/4th Cav as is it was called in Vietnam. He wasn't in the country but for three months when he'd been wounded three times and sent home. He limped the rest of his days, but that didn’t prevent him from retiring as a senior NCO many years later. 

My first platoon sergeant when I was a brand-new platoon leader in the Army was a man by the name of Chuck. He won a Silver Star escorting a convoy in Vietnam with the 4th MP Company because he was the sole survivor of the escort team.

I once knew a senior NCO when I was serving in the headquarters of the 25th Infantry Division in the United States Army, who won a Medal of Honor in Vietnam.

I know a fellow by the name of Jeff who was a missionary, but who had to resign because of a tropical illness that he caught in Africa, sacrificing his body for the cause of missions.

And then there's William, William who was a martyr at the Jibla Baptist Hospital, killed by an Islamic terrorist while helping to heal people in a very impoverished area of the world. 

The truth is that each of these was an ordinary person:

• Al had a bad temper. A really bad temper.
• Chuck, had his own stubborn, crazy way of doing things. His nickname was Crazy Harold and he sort of was.
• Jeff had a fixation on a particular kind of theology. He was saved and a man of God, but he was fixated that if you didn't believe about a certain thing a certain way that your faith was flawed.
• Bill was a very mild, avuncular, unassuming man. He didn’t look like the popular image of a hero.

All these folks were heroes, but they were just real people, regular people. And they needed God's help to do the work that they did.

We can obey God because He's always with us. Jesus will never leave us, nor will He forsake us. He will always help us whenever we step forward for Him and He sent the comforter who will help us do the things He's asked to do.

An old recruiting poster says, “Uncle Sam wants you!” Well, Uncle Sam may not want you. He does not want me anymore as old as I am. But God wants us. Jesus, our Master and our Commander, wants us. So the question comes, are we obeying Him today? Are we allowing Him to be all authoritative in our life? Are we going to all peoples for the cause of the gospel? Are we doing all the things that Jesus asked us to do? Are we resting in the fact that God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is always with us? 

Are we obeying our Master and Commander today? 

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt

Word about the Master of Salvation

Today I want to share a word about the Master of the Salvation as I comment on Luke 24:13-49. Let’s begin by reading Luke 24:13-24:

And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. But their eyes were holden that they should not know him. And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad? And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days? And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people: And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him. But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done. Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre; And when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive.  And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not. 

My dad was a very frugal man because he had grown up during the Depression era. I remember very clearly when my mother and father had a long debate one night about buying an electronic calculator so they could do their taxes.  It was sort of like buying a computer today because sone couples might debate buying an expensive computer. They were debating this purchase because my father was very frugal, and he liked to save money as well as other useful things. In fact, he never threw away a screw or a nut or a washer or anything that could be useful someday. 

My dad had a big wooden box where he had stashed all of fasteners. It was a big wooden ammunition crate that he had scavenged from somebody, somewhere. If he needed a screw or a nut for a project, he would get an old scrap of a cloth tarpaulin and he would lay that out. Then, he would tip that wooden box over, and he'd go through all those little items he had saved over many years until he found what he needed. Then he'd pack it all back up again until the next time.

My dad was good at saving things that might be useful someday, down in the future. Well, our Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ, came to seek and save that which was lost. He was the Master of Salvation as we will see in Luke 24. We began by reading verses 13 through 24 and seeing some surprised disciples.

FIRST, WE SEE SURPRISED DISCIPLES:

After the Crucifixion, the disciples were defeated, and they were demoralized. This actually began before the Crucifixion, because they had been so excited about celebrating Passover in Jerusalem. That was something so exciting that it was the highlight of their life up to that day. So, they were shocked, they were dismayed, they were upset and surprised, by Judas and his betrayal of Jesus.

They'd been frightened by His arrest and by His trial. And when He was crucified on the cross, they were more than surprised, and they were more than saddened. They were shattered. They saw something they never expected to see, and it just destroyed their faith. Because of their shattered faith, these disciples scattered to the four winds.

Some of them, like these two who went to Emmaus, left Jerusalem. Some of them were holed up in the upper room. The doors were shut and barred, and they were hiding out in a place they hoped was safe from the Jews and the Romans. Later on, we see in the Scriptures, that Peter decided, "I'm going fishing." When you are in trouble, “you go with what you know.” Peter was a fisherman, so he went back to what he was comfortable with. Thomas, the doubting disciple, just disappeared. Nobody knew where Thomas went. He had a bolt hole, and he went there to hide out.

Now, these two that were on the way to Emmaus were discussing these events when they were met by Jesus. They were talking about the events of the past week because that's what people do. When someone has a situation in their life, they talk about it. They tell their story until they're finished telling it. Then when they're finished telling it, they don't talk about it anymore. These two, these followers of Jesus, were doing just that, talking about what was happening.

When Jesus came upon them, Jesus said, "What's all this about?" They were surprised because surely, everybody knew what was going on in town. They looked at Jesus and they basically said, "You ain't from around here, are you?" He couldn’t be from Jerusalem, because everyone there knew what was happening.

Of course, Jesus knew what was happening as well, but Jesus wanted to use this as a teaching moment because they didn't understand what was happening. They had seen it with their own eyes. They had heard the stories from others, and they were at a loss, and they had no idea what these things meant. They were surprised.

• They were surprised by the betrayal.
• They were surprised by the trial.
• They were surprised by the scourging.
• They were surprised by the Cross.
• They were surprised by the Resurrection.

But, if we read verses 25-32, we see that Jesus had a superior explanation.

Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further. But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them. And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight. And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?

NEXT, WE SEE A SUPERIOR EXPLANATION:

Jesus is not only the Master of Salvation, but here we also see Him being the Master Teacher. Jesus was often called Rabbi, meaning “teacher,” and he wanted people to have a saving knowledge of him and to understand the truth. As He said in the scriptures, "You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free."

These folks wanted to know the truth and they were genuinely confused. Today, many people are confused spiritually as well; even a cursory review of social media outlets will confirm that fact. But even before social media, there were plenty of spiritual ideas around in the world in any case.

The key element is that Jesus said, "You need to know the truth." Then He went to the beginning of Scriptures and started to teach them all that they should have already known. We need to remember that Jesus and the early church did not have the same total Bible that we have today. The Bible that they had was the Old Testament. Jesus said, in essence, "If you understand the Old Testament and you know me, you know everything you need to know to find salvation." Again, Jesus was saying, that those who know the truth will be set free. But what is the truth?

• Truth is not a philosophy of life.
• Truth is not an abstract concept.
• Truth is not a system of belief.
• Truth is not a list of principles.

Truth is much simpler than all these things. Jesus said very simply in John 14:6, “I am the way, I am the truth, I am the life.” So instead of complex theories, what they needed was the Savior.

They didn't need to understand all the reasons why the Jews rebelled against Jesus, and they didn’t need to understand the legal reasons why the Romans were the ones that had to put Jesus to death. They didn't need to understand the reason why God worked it out so that almost all known humanity at that time were responsible for the death of our Savior and Lord. What they had to know was there was a Savior who suffered and died for them. What they had to know was there was a Savior who rose from the dead for them and what they needed to know was a Savior who could warm their hearts. 

No doubt they were a little embarrassed at the situation they were in.  It's embarrassing when you don't recognize someone that you should know. These disciples were embarrassed, but what is more embarrassing than what they experienced is to cross over into eternity without recognizing your Savior. That's much worse than anything.

Next, let’s read verses 33-43:

And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them, Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon. And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread. And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet. And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And he took it, and did eat before them.

WE ALSO SEE SCARED SINNERS:

What we see in the upper room were a group of scared sinners. To put their situation in context, we need to remember who these people were. We know what they became in the rest of the New Testament. We know their ministries. We know that they all died as martyrs for the cause of Christ. But at the time that we see them here, they were just regular ordinary people. None of these folks were what we today would call opinion leaders or influencers.  

They were nobody in particular and so when Jesus came in their midst, they were scared. They were scared because they finally understood He was different. He was the son of a carpenter, but He was also the Son of God. Because He was God, they were scared.

They also knew that they had really betrayed Him. All of them had run away. Thomas hadn't even come back yet. They were frightened. And frankly, we would have been frightened too, because they knew they were hopeless sinners in the presence of extreme Holiness. 

This situation is really not about the disciples, however. It is about Jesus coming to the disciples. They were nobody important. They were smelly fishermen, and they were rebellious people, and they were traitors, and they were scared, and they had run away and they had betrayed Him and yet Jesus came to them anyway. He saw fit to come in their midst and to talk to them and to bless them. What did He say when He came in? “Peace be unto you!” So, in the upper room we see some scared sinners, but we also see a sufficient Savior.  

Let’s read verses 44 through 49:

And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things. And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

FINALLY, WE SEE A SUFFICIENT SAVIOR:

Jesus is the sufficient Savior.  Jesus is sufficient because he fulfilled the law. Jesus said, "I didn't come to abolish the law, I came to satisfy the law."

• He satisfied the law by His life; He lived a perfect life.
• He satisfied the law by His sacrificial death.
• He satisfied the law by rising from the dead and completing all of His work.
• He fulfilled the law in a way that we are incapable of doing for ourselves.

Jesus is sufficient because He has done for us those things that we can't do for ourselves. Because He fulfilled the law, He gave us freedom from our sins by relieving us from the debt of sin. When we are in Jesus, we are freed from the power of sin. In Jesus, we are able to live an abundant life here on earth.

Finally, Jesus is sufficient because He sent us the Helper.  He sent us the Holy Spirit to write God’s law on our hearts the way God said He would in the Old Testament. He sent us the Holy Spirit to help us live out our life without fear and He sent us the Holy Spirit to give us authority for being a witness. 

CONCLUSION:

Jesus is the Master of Salvation. He was the Master of Salvation for these disciples, and He is the Master of Salvation for us because He is the way, the truth, and the life. 

The question for today is this, have you met the Truth?  Has your heart been warmed by His presence in your life? Have you allowed Him to save you from your sins?

My daddy loved to save stuff. Jesus does too. And He would love to save you today.

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt

A Word about the Master of His Fate

Today I want to share a word about the Master of His Fate as I comment on passages from Luke, Matthew, and John. Let’s begin by reading Luke 18:31-34:

Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished.  For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again. And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.

We often live in dread of our fate. For example, I received an e-mail from a man which told a tale that illustrates this point: 

I was sitting in the waiting room of the hospital after my wife had gone into labor and the nurse walked out and said to the man sitting next to me, “Congratulations sir, you're the new father of twins!” The man replied, “How about that, I work for the Doublemint Chewing Gum Company.” The man then followed the nurse to his wife's room. About an hour later, the same nurse entered the waiting room and announced that Mr. Smith's wife has just had triplets. Mr. Smith stood up and said, “Well, how do you like that, I work for the 3M Company.” The gentleman that was sitting next to me then got up and started to leave. When I asked him why he was leaving, he remarked, “I think I need a breath of fresh air.” The man continued, “I work for 7-UP.”

Jesus’s human fate was nothing less than gruesome.  He was beaten, and abused, and He was whipped until His flesh was flayed.  He was hung from a Roman cross which was the means for a cruel, lingering, and horrible death.  Who would choose such a fate as this?

Jesus. Only Jesus.

As we continue to see Jesus as the masterful person that He is, we will see clearly that not only did Jesus allow this fate, but He also actually chose it.  We’ll begin to see why as we review our first text for today.

JESUS PREDICTED HIS FATE:

Jesus came to the Earth with a purpose. From the beginning of human sin, God had a purpose: to redeem the world. Satan’s rebellion and sin had ruined God’s perfect creation, and this was something God could not abide. So, Jesus had come to redeem a lost, dying, and decaying world. In Luke 19:10 Jesus said, “for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."  Therefore, His whole mission was focused on this purpose, and He, as always, was still on task.

The Disciples, however, were possibly distracted by other things. They had just come into Jerusalem. Now they felt as is if they were in the “big leagues.” They had just experienced the Triumphal Entry, but they didn’t know yet how fickle the crowd can be. They were also looking forward to Passover in Jerusalem, which, emotionally was like us today attending the Super Bowl or celebrating Christmas in Bethlehem. Trouble was far from their minds!

As we see in the passage from Luke 18, Jesus was focused on His purpose, and He reminded them of it. This was the third time He’d done so and both times before were near in time to an exciting event. The first time was just after Peter’s profession of faith in Matthew 16, and the second time was just after the Transfiguration in Matthew 1. Each of these (Peter’s Confession, the Transfiguration, and the Triumphal Entry) were important, but . . . they would be meaningless unless Jesus went all the way.

Jesus, of course, intended to go the distance and do what needed to be done!

JESUS ATTRACTED HIS FATE:

Let’s continue by reading Matthew 21:10-16:

And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee. And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves. And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them. And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the son of David; they were sore displeased, And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?

In Jerusalem, Jesus was a threat to the establishment:

• He threatened the traditional way of interpreting the Word of God.
• He threatened the political power of the Sanhedrin.
• He threatened the bankrupt fundamentalism of the Pharisees.
• He threatened the bankrupt liberalism of the Sadducees.
• He threatened the security concerns of the Romans.

Jesus was like a thunderstorm: you couldn’t ignore him, and no one could predict where He would go and what He would do.

Jesus was no different in Jerusalem than He was in the Galilee or in Samaria. The difference in Jerusalem was that He brought a disruption to the power structure of that day that they did not expect or desire. The snobby people of Judah expected there to be disturbances in Galilee.  What more could you expect from such low-class people? Likewise, nobody cared much about what happened in Samaria, either.  Those “half-breeds” were beneath the notice of the elite. Now, however, like the attack on Pearl Harbor or the attack on 9/11, Jesus brought the threat home. Something had to be done!

In response to the threat to their power, the forces of evil were going to strike back: They were going to kill this “man” if it was the last thing they did.  Just like when David was caught with Bathsheba, they were caught in their sin. They were going to cover it up with a murder conspiracy, just like David did. And Jesus, being God, knew exactly what they were doing. What do you think He did?

JESUS EMBRACED HIS FATE: 

As we read in John 18:33-38, Jesus embraced His fate:

Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and called Jesus, and said unto him, Art thou the King of the Jews? Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me? Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me: what hast thou done? Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all.

People have different reactions when they are confronted by their fate. For example, Adolph Hitler committed suicide, while Saddam Hussein fled and wound up hiding in a hole in the ground. Saddam Hussein’s sons died in a shoot-out with the US Army, but others try to plea-bargain their way out of trouble. A few will trust in God, like the teenaged girl asked by the shooters at Columbine High School, “Do you believe in God?”  When she said “Yes,” she was shot and killed. All of them would rather be somewhere else, doing something else. Not Jesus, however.

• He embraced His arrest.
• He embraced the illegal, night-time trial that took place.
• He embraced the experience of being brutalized and killed.
• He embraced the fact that in all these things there was a purpose.

What Jesus did was literally, out of this world! What Jesus did was based on a different reality than the one that humans embrace. Only in God’s economy could defeat be victory. Only in the spiritual realms could this suffering bring succor!

Jesus came to give us what we couldn’t give ourselves. To do this, He had to be crowned King with a crown of thorns. He embraced this fate without reservation!

JESUS ALLOWED HIS FATE: 

Finally, John 19:5-11 tells us that Jesus allowed His fate:

Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man! When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify him: for I find no fault in him. The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God. When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid; And went again into the judgment hall, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer. Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee? Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.

Those in power thought that they had Jesus right where they wanted Him. The Romans had Him in custody, so He was contained. The Sanhedrin were going to kill Him, so He would be out of their hair. The Disciples had been scattered to the winds, so they could threaten neither the Roman nor the Jewish establishments. Satan had manipulated it all, or so he thought. 

In truth, they had all been caught in Jesus’s trap. In fact, Jesus was right where He wanted to be, with the same attitude that the legendary Marine, Lewis “Chesty” Puller once expressed when surrounded by the enemy, “All right. They’re on our left, they’re on our right, they’re in front of us, they’re behind us … They can’t get away this time.”

Jesus had come for this purpose and in an example of spiritual Jujitsu, He was using His enemies’ own actions against them. Jesus was in control, not the Romans, nor the Jews, nor Satan. He could have had armies of angels come release Him. He could have spoken and rained fire down on His captors. He didn’t however, not because He couldn’t, but because He wouldn’t. He was right where He wanted to be.

Why would Jesus knowingly, willingly, and determinedly, inflict the trauma He experienced upon Himself? Because He loves us, and He wants to save us. Because He wants to give us righteousness, and He wants to have a relationship with us. Because He wants to give us a relationship with God that we need, and that God desires.

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. John 10:10

CONCLUSION:  

Jesus embraced His fate on our behalf. Have you embraced what Jesus did for you? Don’t you think you should? Does your life honor what Jesus did for you? Don’t you think it should?