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You're listening to Heat the Word with our pastor and teacher Ken Davis. Pastor Ken is the senior pastor of Calvary Chapel Southwest Metro in Burleson, Texas. Please join us as we study the Gospel of Luke verse by verse.

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When we think, guys, about what it is that Jesus did and about what he had to do, and we realize that it wasn't just something that happened. It wasn't that Jesus, this good moral teacher, lived upon this earth and that he was rejected by people and that some really bad things happened to him and he became a martyr. It's not that simple. The fact of the matter is that everything that Jesus experienced, everything that happened to him, happened to him for a purpose and for a reason, that our salvation might be secured.

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The Gospel of Luke is the third account in the Gospels of the life and teachings of our Savior, Jesus Christ. As believers, there are few studies that will benefit us more spiritually than studying the life and teachings of the Master. In the book of Jeremiah, we learn that God knew us even before we were formed in a mother's womb. He not only knew us, but loved us. He loved us so much that he sent his only son to be the ultimate sacrifice for our sin. You see, even though God knows that many will deny him, he still loves us enough to make a way for our forgiveness. Don't forget to stay with us after today's message to hear more information about Heather Word, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching. But for now, please open your Bibles to the Book of Psalms, chapter 22, verse 23, as we join Pastor Kent.

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My praise shall be of you in the great assembly. I will pay my vows before those who fear him. The poor shall eat and be satisfied. Those who seek him will praise the Lord. Let your heart live forever, all the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you, for the kingdom is the Lord's, and he rules over the nations. All the prosperous of the earth shall eat and worship, and those who go down to the dust shall bow before him, even he who cannot keep himself alive. A posterity shall serve him. It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation. They will come and declare his righteousness to a people who will be born that he has done this. Not only does the psalmist David here prophesy of what will happen to the Lord, but he prophesies of what will happen even beyond, even to our day, that it would be accounted to us, that we would be told of what he had done, and that it would be a remembrance to him. What more exact picture of crucifixion could we find? And there's more, Isaiah 53. Let's turn there. And we hid, as it were, our faces from him. He was despised, and we did not esteem him. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted, but he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his stripes we are healed. Had Jesus not undergone the lash, had Jesus not been beaten by the Romans, then he would not have fulfilled this scripture. Had Jesus died by any means other than crucifixion, he would not have fulfilled the scripture of Psalm 22. Had he been executed by the Jewish peoples as opposed to the Romans, again, he would not have fulfilled the prophecies. Everything that was happening to Jesus at that time was happening for a purpose that the word of God might be fulfilled. And Jesus knew it. He knew what was going to happen to him because it was his very spirit that had inspired the prophets to write these things. And in keeping them, he is attested to the truth not only of himself, but of his word. Now, regarding his rising again the third day, we find several prophecies of great interest, and even some that might not seem to be prophetic, and yet, in retrospect, are quite interesting. Psalm 1610 says, For ye shall not leave my soul in shale, nor will you allow your holy one to see corruption. Now this psalm was written by David, and yet we know that David is dead, and that David has seen corruption, and that he is decayed, right? And so we see that David was not writing of himself, but that he was writing of the Messiah. Hosea 6.2 says, After two days he will revive us. On the third day, he will raise us up, that we may live in his sight. Now there's something very interesting here that I want to share with you. And I don't know that I would be dogmatic about the fact that this was a prophecy. And yet it's quite interesting to me. Turn to um Genesis chapter one. Starting in verse 9, we'll read. Now, this of course is the story of creation. Then God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear, and it was so. And God called the dry land earth, and the gathering together of the waters he called seas, and God saw that it was good. Then God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself on the earth. And it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind, and God saw that it was good. So evening and morning were the third day. Now you say, Where are you going with that, Ken? Well, this is where I'm going with it. Turn to First Corinthians chapter 15. Paul writes here, moreover, brethren, starting in verse one, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also ye received, and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first all that which I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day, according to the Scriptures, and that he was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that he was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, whom the greater part remained to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that he was seen by James, then by all the apostles, then last of all he was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time. For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain, but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach, and so you believed. Now, if Christ is preached that he has been raised from the dead, how does some among you say there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty, and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up, if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen, and if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins. Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep, for since by man came death, by man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive, but each one in his own order, Christ the first fruits, afterward those who are Christ at his coming. Now I want to skip ahead here to verse 35. But some will say, How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come? Foolish one. What you sow is not made alive unless it dies. And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere grain, perhaps wheat or some other grain, but God gives it a body as he pleases, and to each seed its own body. Now, here's the point that I want to make with this Jesus had to die in order for us to have life. And when his body was buried in that tomb, it was as though a seed were being planted. And that seed on the third day sprang up into eternal life. And it's through his eternal life that we ourselves have life. And as Paul points out, without that resurrection of Christ, there's no resurrection for us, and we're still lost in our sins. And so isn't it interesting? And again, I'm not saying that it was prophetic, I don't know, but isn't it interesting that Christ, that seed of the woman that was prophesied, was buried in the ground and on the third day sprang up into eternal life, and it was on the third day of creation that God ordained that those seeds that were planted would spring up into life. The words of Jesus ring true. Jesus had said in Luke 18 that all things written by the prophets would be fulfilled, and there are many illustrations of this that we see in Scripture. Here are just a few more. In Genesis 3.15, I spoke of this a moment ago, God spoke to the serpent, and he said, I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. This is fulfilled in the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. And we read in Hebrews 2.14, Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared in the same, that through death Jesus might destroy him who had the power of death, that is the devil. In Psalm 34, 20 we find that he guards all his bones, not one of them is broken. Psalm 69, 21 said, They also gave me gall for my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. In Isaiah 53, 8 and 9, he was taken from prison and from judgment, and who will declare his generation? For he was cut off from the land of the living, for the transgression of my people he was stricken, and they made his grave with the wicked, but with the rich at his death, because he had done no violence, nor was any deceit found in his mouth. These three prophecies and more are found answered in John nineteen. Let's turn there. And he bearing his cross went out to a place called the place of the skull, which is called in Hebrew Golgotha, where they crucified him and two others with him, one on either side, and Jesus in the center. Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross, and the writing was Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. Then many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. Therefore the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, Do not write the King of the Jews, but he said, I am the King of the Jews. Pilate answered, What I have written, I have written. Then the soldiers, when they had crucified him, took his garments and made four parts to each soldier apart, and also the tunic. Now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top in one piece. They said therefore among themselves, Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be, that the scripture might be fulfilled, which says, They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. Therefore the soldiers did these things. Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother and his mother's sister, Mary, the wife of Clopus and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing by, he said to his mother, Woman, behold your son. Then he said to the disciple, Behold your mother, and from that hour that disciple took her to his own home. After this Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, said, I thirst. Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there, and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to his mouth. So when Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, It is finished. And bowing his head he gave up his spirit. Therefore, because it was the day of preparation that the body should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath, for the Sabbath was a high day, the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and they might be taken away. Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with the spear, and immediately blood and water came out. And he who is seen has testified, and his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe. John makes a little aside here and he says, Listen, I was an eyewitness to these things. I saw this happen. This isn't hearsay. This isn't something that I just thought would be nice to write down for you. I saw this happen. I was an eyewitness to these things. You can trust that what I'm telling you is true. Verse 36, he goes on for these things were done that the scripture should be fulfilled, not one of his bones shall be broken. And again, another scripture says, They shall look on him whom they pierced. After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission so that he came and took away the body of Jesus. Now, had Joseph of Arimathea not done this, Jesus' body probably would have been cast into a common grave, and there would have been no way to verify that the tomb was empty. And yet that the scriptures might be fulfilled, we see these things happening. And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. Then they took the body of Jesus and bound it in strips of linen with spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury. Now the place where he was crucified, in that place there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had let yet been laid. So there they laid Jesus because of the Jews. Preparation day, for the tomb was nearby. Matthew does a wonderful job of telling us what happens next. So let's turn to chapter 28 of Matthew. I know I'm doing a lot of reading today, guys, but in so many ways, when we look at these scriptures in conjunction with one another, we see how they answer and explain themselves so perfectly. Matthew 28, verse 1. Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb, and behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone from the door and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow, and the guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men. But the angel answered and said to the woman, Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who is crucified. He is not here, for he is risen, as he said. Come see the place where the Lord lay, and go quickly and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead, and indeed he is going before you into Galilee. There you will see him. Behold, I have told you. When we think, guys, about what it is that Jesus did and about what he had to do, and we realize that it wasn't just something that happened. It wasn't that Jesus, this good moral teacher, lived upon this earth and that he was rejected by people and that some really bad things happened to him and he became a martyr. It's not that simple. The fact of the matter is that everything that Jesus experienced, everything that happened to him, happened to him for a purpose and for a reason, that our salvation might be secured, that the word of God might be proven true, and that we would have these things as an example as we look back in Scripture to see that when God says something is going to happen, it happens. And it happens just as He says it will happen. Jesus had told them, listen, hey, we're going to Jerusalem and it's going to be a bad scene. They're going to turn me over to the Gentiles. They're going to mock me, they're going to scourge me. They're going to spit in my face. Don't think it's going to be easy as we go up to Jerusalem, disciples. And you know, by the same token as Christians today, we need to realize that it's not always going to be easy as we try to follow Jesus. But by the same token, Jesus ended these statements to the disciples by saying, But on the third day, I'm going to rise again. Jesus says virtually the same thing to us. As we read in John 16 33, where he says, In the world you will have tribulation. But be of good cheer. I've overcome the world. You know, as we read in Luke 18, verse 34 said, but they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not know the things which were spoken. So often we want to hear the sweet things of the gospel. We don't want to hear the hard things sometimes. We want to hear about how God is going to bless us and how our cup is going to overflow, right? But we don't want to hear about repentance of sin. We don't want to hear about how God calls us to live holy and separate lives unto Him. We want to hear about the fact that we'll be raised from the dead one day and that we need not fear death anymore, but we don't want to think about the fact that until that day we need to be able to die to ourselves daily. Paul put it well in 2 Timothy 3.12, where he said this, yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the holy scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus. Salvation through faith is available in Christ Jesus because of the fact that He suffered and died for us. What a precious thing is salvation, amen. We ought not count cheaply that which was purchased at so great a price. Can I say that again? We ought not count cheaply that which was purchased at so great a price. You see, had there been any other way for us to be saved and reconciled to God apart from the death of Jesus, then that way is the way we'd have gone. That way is the way that God would have made provision for us. Jesus asked him in there in the Garden of Gethsemane, he said, Father, if there's any other way that we can get this done, let's do it that way. Let this cup depart from me. But nevertheless, not my will, but thy will be done. The only way that you and I could be reconciled to God. The only way that you and I could be forgiven for our sins. The only way that you and I could ever hope to receive eternal life was through the death of Jesus Christ. And praise God through his resurrection from the dead. I cannot understand how we, as believers, can look at all that Christ did on our behalf and not be moved and not be compelled to respond.

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Why?

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Why did he do this for us? John 3 16 tells us the answer. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, but who whosoever believed in him, him and him should not be church.

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Why? Why did he do the do this for us?

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John three sixteen tells us the answer. For God so loved the world that he gave his his his his only begotten son. But whosoever in him should not perish. But have it have it at last. If that life for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten can look at all that Christ did on our behalf and not be moved and not be compelled to respond.

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Why? Why did he be do this for us?

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John 3 16 tells us the answer. For God so loved the world. What leaver lever lever lever lever leverage? The only way that you and I could be forgiven for our sins, the only way that you and I could ever hope to receive eternal life was through the death of Jesus Christ. And praise God through his resurrection from the dead.

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I cannot understand.