The Last Sermon

Luke 23:27-31

March 7, 2010

As you have noticed this morning it is time once again

To come to the table of the Lord.

Christianity hangs upon the atonement of Jesus Christ.

The very heart of the gospel is that God became flesh

And gave His life in substitute of wicked, sinful, detestable man.

Romans 3:23-25a “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith.”

Romans 5:6-8 “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

We are all aware that were it not for the substitutionary death of Christ There could be no salvation for any man.

It was the death of Christ that appeased God’s wrath.

It was the death of Christ that satisfied God’s anger.

It was the death of Christ that paid our debt.

It was the death of Christ that purchased our forgiveness.

The death of Jesus is the centerpiece of Christianity.

And therefore we are commanded by our Lord

To never stray too far from the cross.

However, this morning we are not focusing on the death itself,

But rather an even that occurred just prior.

As I began to seek and to search for the text that I would preach,

I turned to read the account of the crucifixion in Luke’s gospel,

And was struck by these 5 verses.

It is Jesus explaining how some should respond to His death.

The Crucifixion of Jesus brings about no shortage of emotions.

Well, in our text this morning we see

How Jesus said that some should respond to His death.

And those He specifically refers to

Are those who have rejected His sacrifice.

Many times we focus on the response of the redeemed

As we examine the cross.

And for a redeemed person, there may be initial sorrow, but sorrow that quickly gives way to unspeakable joy.

In fact, once we understand the victory of the cross,

The believer comes to glory in the cross.

Paul would say:

1 Corinthians 2:2 “For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.”

Galatians 6:14 “But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”

And certainly those who have come to the cross take a similar view.

But this morning we are NOT talking about the response of the redeemed.

This morning Jesus tells those who have rejected Him

How to respond to the cross.

This sermon is for those

Who have patterned their lives after the Jews of Jesus day.

Those who are educated in religion, and who know all the answers,

But who have failed to ever deny themselves and follow Jesus.

I called this “The Last Sermon”

And indeed it was.

The last sermon Jesus ever preached to the lost.

This is the last time He ever addressed those who had rejected Him.

This is the one truth Jesus chose to leave fresh on their minds.

#1 A CROWD IN TEARS

Luke 23:27

It is true that by picking up here in the text we are well into the story.

But at this point:

Jesus has already spent the night in the garden praying, and sweating drops of blood.

Jesus has been betrayed by Judas and arrested by the Roman soldiers.

Jesus has already been tried by the Sanhedrin, by Pilate, by Herod, and then by Pilate again.

And even though Pilate tried to release Him, the crowed persuaded him to crucify Jesus.

The sentence has been passed and Jesus has been led away to be crucified.

Verse 26 reminds us that on the way to “The Place of the Skull”

Simon was forced to carry His cross and there we pick up our story.

And the first thing we see is that “following Him was a large crowd of the people, and of women who were mourning and lamenting Him.”

We don’t know a whole lot about the crowd,

Except that they were mostly women and that they were from Jerusalem.

Jesus makes that clear in verse 28 when He calls them “Daughters of Jerusalem”

That means that these are not the women you initially think of.

This is not His mother, or the other Mary.

This is not those converts from His Galilean ministry.

These are women of Jerusalem.

That puts them among those who are lost.

They are among those who have rejected Him.

And yet we find them here

Following Him out of the city weeping and lamenting.

And to that let me just say two things.

1) THEIR WEEPING IS HONORABLE

They knew what was coming, and the thought of the cross moved them.

(Explain the humiliation and suffering of the cross)

Here was a man about to suffer like no other and they wept.

Their weeping is honorable

2) THEIR WEEPING IS INSIGNIFICANT

While it is an honorable thing that they wept over the suffering of Jesus,

In reality their weeping doesn’t mean anything.

Tears have never been a fruit of faith, repentance, or genuine salvation.

Remember Esau selling his birthright?

Hebrews 12:17 “For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.”

John the Baptist also had this to say about repentance:

Matthew 3:8 “Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance;”

Just because a person weeps, doesn’t indicate

True salvation, true faith, or true repentance.

The Rich Young Ruler went away sad, but he went away none the less.

And so their weeping is honorable, but it is also insignificant.

The only reason Luke mentions it

Is because of the response it provokes in Jesus.

A Crowd in Tears

#2 A CORRECTION IN THEOLOGY

Luke 23:28

Here is the beginning of the last sermon Jesus ever preached to the lost.

“Daughters of Jerusalem, stop weeping for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.”

This must have been somewhat of a shock to them,

But it reflected that their discernment was off line.

For Jesus knew all, and He knew what was coming,

And He wept for different reasons.

Luke 19:41-44 “When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, "If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. "For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side, and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation."

Jesus did not weep for what Jerusalem would do to Him,

He wept because of what God would do to Jerusalem.

These women were weeping for the wrong reason.

Jesus said, they should also cry for their “children”.

Was it not the crowd in Jerusalem that had just bought upon them the awful curse?

Matthew 27:25 “And all the people said, "His blood shall be on us and on our children!"

No wonder Jesus told them to weep for their children.

They were in a great bit of danger, and they were unaware of it.

A Crowd in Tears A Correction in Theology

#3 A COMING TRIBULATION

Luke 23:29-30

In case you wonder why you should weep for yourselves,

Jesus explains it here.

“For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.’”

Jesus revealed that there is coming such a day of judgment

That women with children will wish that their children did not exist.

And this is a very pessimistic sentiment.

You may remember those in Scripture who lamented their own birth.

Job 3:11-12 "Why did I not die at birth, Come forth from the womb and expire? "Why did the knees receive me, And why the breasts, that I should suck?”

Jeremiah 20:14-18 “Cursed be the day when I was born; Let the day not be blessed when my mother bore me! Cursed be the man who brought the news To my father, saying, "A baby boy has been born to you!" And made him very happy. But let that man be like the cities Which the LORD overthrew without relenting, And let him hear an outcry in the morning And a shout of alarm at noon; Because he did not kill me before birth, So that my mother would have been my grave, And her womb ever pregnant. Why did I ever come forth from the womb To look on trouble and sorrow, So that my days have been spent in shame?”

There were those who saw hardship and lamented their own life;

But it is strange for a woman to lament the birth of her child. Unless she is witnessing the brutal suffering of her child.

And that is the picture here.

There will be such a dreadful judgment coming

That as women watch the suffering of their children,

They would rather they had been as one of the barren women.

Similar to the point Jesus made about Judas.

Mark 14:21 "For the Son of Man is to go just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born."

(My mom prayed for our death over our lostness)

And then Jesus continues.

(30) “Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘cover us.’”

And here Jesus quotes a passage of Scripture

To purposely draw a parallel to both a past and future judgment.

First lets look at the past judgments He is referring to.

TURN TO: HOSEA 10:1-8, 14-15

First Hosea recounts the faithlessness of Israel.

READ VERSES 1-4

You can see that Israel had no regard for God (as we have studied recently in Kings)

Then Hosea begins to announce the coming judgment

READ VERSES 5-8

Their Hosea said that the judgment from Assyria would be so bad

That the people would actually wish for the mountains to fall on them

To quickly ease their suffering.

And by the end of the chapter Hosea reveals why.

READ VERSES 14-15

Hosea saw a day when altars and cities and fortifications would be smashed.

He saw a day of extreme death.

He saw a day when mothers and their children would be dashed to pieces.

He saw a day so horrific that people wanted the mountains to fall on them.

But that wasn’t the only place that such imagery was used.

TURN TO: ISAIAH 2:5-22

And First Isaiah recounts the sin of Judah.

READ VERSES 5-9

Judah had become worldly and had rejected God.

And the advice that God gives?

(10) “Enter the rock and hide in the dust from the terror of the LORD and from the splendor of His majesty.”

God is so angry that you ought to try and hide from Him.

And then Isaiah announces judgment.

READ VERSES 11-18

God is going to utterly destroy Jerusalem.

WHAT WILL BE THE RESPONSE OF THE PEOPLE?

VERSES 19-22

Men will be so terrified in that day,

That they will wish for the mountains to fall on them.

What Rome is about to do to Jerusalem

Will be like what Assyria and Babylon did to Israel & Judah.

The judgment will be so bad

That you will wish your children had never been born

And that the mountains will fall on you.

But His announcement also foreshadows a FUTURE judgment.

TURN TO: REVELATION 6:12-17

AND SO DO YOU GET THE PICTURE?

Jesus tells these women that they shouldn’t weep for Him,

They should weep for themselves.

Jesus was about to suffer and die, but in three days He would rise again and reign forever.

But these women would suffer and die and spend eternity under the judgment of God.

They are about to suffer such great punishment for rejecting Jesus that it makes the cross look easy.

That’s like a man having his arm cut off

And weeping because his rolex was on it.

They didn’t grasp the severity of the situation.

Weeping for Jesus was not unwarranted,

But it wasn’t nearly as warranted as the weeping

They ought to be doing for themselves.

Because of their rejection of Christ,

Their suffering was about to be really bad.

A Crowd in Tears A Correction in Theology A Coming Tribulation

#4 A CONDEMNED TREE

Luke 23:31

Here Jesus closes with a very logical illustration.

“For if they do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”

In a literal sense we understand that green trees are not for burning,

Rather dry dead trees are for burning.

And the point there is that if a person is willing to burn a green tree, do you think they would hesitate to burn a dead one?

Of course not

The explanation of the parable then is this.

The “green” tree represents Jesus, who was full of life and God’s favor.

The “dry” and dead tree represents Jerusalem and the Jews who were dead and full of God’s judgment.

“they” who burn the tree is initially the Roman government, but it even looks further, ultimately representing God.

And the point is this.

If Rome (and ultimately God) would destroy Me,

A righteous man who doesn’t deserve it by cruel death on a cross. How much worse do you think He will do to you who do deserve it?

1 Peter 4:17-18 “For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? AND IF IT IS WITH DIFFICULTY THAT THE RIGHTEOUS IS SAVED, WHAT WILL BECOME OF THE GODLESS MAN AND THE SINNER?”

DO YOU UNDERSTAND JESUS POINT?

Here were lost people weeping

Because the suffering of Jesus looked so bad.

But Jesus says, “Look, the suffering I am about to undergo dwarfs in comparison to the suffering you are about to endure. Don’t weep for Me, weep for yourself.”

And just by way of filling in the gaps, you should know that about 35 years later a group of zealots led a Jewish revolt against Rome.

The revolt was squashed and in A.D. 70 Jerusalem and the temple were utterly destroyed.

Jesus’ words had immediate fulfillment.

But they also had eternal fulfillment,

For those very Jews who rejected Jesus on that day,

Suffered a fate far worse than even the destruction of Rome.

They have since been forced to face the wrath of God in eternal hell.

No wonder Jesus didn’t weep for Himself,

But instead wept for Jerusalem.

Luke 19:41-44 “When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, "If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. "For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side, and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation."

AND YOU AND I MUST LEARN FROM HER MISTAKE.

Israel failed to believe in God even when the opportunity was there for her.

And as a result she was broken off,

The opportunity was given to the Gentiles for salvation.

But take heed to what Paul said:

Romans 11:17-22 “But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, "Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in." Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear; for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either. Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God's kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off.”

Don’t make the same mistake that the Jews made

And miss your time of visitation.

2 Corinthians 6:2 “for He says, "AT THE ACCEPTABLE TIME I LISTENED TO YOU, AND ON THE DAY OF SALVATION I HELPED YOU." Behold, now is "THE ACCEPTABLE TIME," behold, now is "THE DAY OF SALVATION"

THE POINT THEN IS SIMPLE

Often times when we look at the cross we are moved to tears.

Weeping is appropriate, but not for Jesus.

There was a time when we might have wept for Him, but not anymore.

Even Jesus said:

John 16:20-22 "Truly, truly, I say to you, that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will grieve, but your grief will be turned into joy. "Whenever a woman is in labor she has pain, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy that a child has been born into the world. "Therefore you too have grief now; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.”

Don’t weep for Jesus.

IF YOU ARE LOST weep for yourself,

For if God was willing to crush His own Son who didn’t deserve it,

What must be in store for those who do?

And if you are saved weep for the lost.

It is they who are in danger, not Jesus.

Weep for those who crucified Him

And for those who continue to do so.

Hebrews 6:4-6 “For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.”

THERE IS THE REASON TO WEEP.

Charles Spurgeon once preached in regard to this text:

“Now, dear friends, I think I have said enough on this painful matter to assure you that the most terrible warning to impenitent men in all the world is the death of Christ; for if God spared not His own Son, on whom was only laid imputed sin, will He spare sinners whose sins are actual, and their own? If He smote Him to death who only stood in the sinner’s stead, will He let the impenitent sinner go free? If He who always did His Father’s will, and was obedient even unto death, must be forsaken of God, what will become of those who reject Christ and live and die enemies to the Most High? Here is cause for weeping; and, very solemnly would I say it, God help me to say it so that you may feel it – the most dreadful thought is that perhaps we ourselves are in the condition of guiltiness before God, and are hastening on to the judgment which Christ has foretold. Oh, think if within the next six months – nay, stretch it as far as you like – if within the next fifty years some of us should be asking the hills to cover us, and wishing that we never had been born? What an awful prospect! And yet, unless we are renewed in heart, and made believers in Jesus Christ, that certainly must be our doom. Think of your children, too, who are growing up about you, capable of understanding, and responsible for their actions. Oh, if they live as they now live, and die as they now are, you may wish that they had never been given to you, and had never borne your name. Think of this, and weep. Dear friends, if the Lord would put you into a right state of heart, you would scarcely think of an unconverted person’s condition without the deepest pity. You would not hear an oath in the street without the tear starting to your eye.”

Spurgeon, Charles; (The Treasury of the New Testament, Volume II St. Luke XV to Romans III. 25 [Marshall, Morgan & Scott, Limited; London] pg. 168-169)

This morning I want you to grasp

The realness and the severity of the judgment of God.

If there was every any doubt how much God hates sin,

All you have to do is look at what He did when sin went on His Son.

There is a severe judgment, and while the cross can save us from it,

The cross is also the greatest proof of it.

If the judgment were not real, Jesus would have never had to die.

The call this morning is to mourn.

Not for Jesus, but for your sin, and for the destruction of sinners.

James 4:8-10 “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.”

This morning we are going to partake of the Lord’s Supper.

We’ll have a time of preparation.

It is also a time for you to respond to the cross of Jesus Christ.

Pray

LORD’S SUPPER

Deacons come forward and fold blanket.

Isaiah 53:1-3 “Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.”

GIVE BREAD TO DEACONS

DEACON PRAYER

PASS OUT BREAD

Isaiah 53:4-6 “Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.”

TAKE BREAD

Isaiah 53:7-9 “He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth. By oppression and judgment He was taken away; And as for His generation, who considered That He was cut off out of the land of the living For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due? His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a rich man in His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.”

GIVE JUICE TO DEACONS

DEACON PRAYER

PASS OUT JUICE

Isaiah 53:10-12 “But the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, And He will divide the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors.”

DEACON PRAYER

PARTING CHORUS