Transcription downloaded from https://sermons.heritagesermons.org/sermons/26311/ought-not-christ-to-have-suffered-these-things-quality-average/. Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions. Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt. [0:00] May it please the Lord to help me to speak to you this morning on a word you will find in the Gospel according to Luke, chapter 24, verse 26. [0:18] The Gospel according to Luke, chapter 24, verse 26. [0:31] For not Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into his glory? [0:48] Very many times since the solemn event which I have read to you this morning took place have the solemnities of the crucifixion of the Son of God been brought before and meditated upon by the servants of God to the people of God. [1:18] This day, for some reason, my thoughts seem to have been led away from the chapters which are customarily used on this occasion. [1:32] I felt some reluctance in seeking to speak or attempting to speak on a word which was found in a chapter which deals with his triumph instead of his crucifixion. [1:53] And yet, you see, I have said before me, in the words of the Lord Jesus himself, a reason hinted at for the suffering. [2:08] And will this not assist us, if God be pleased to lead us into it? Will it not assist us just as much to worship him if he shall reveal to us the reason for the suffering, as well as knowing what they were? [2:32] This, you see, we have already discovered by the reading which has taken place. We have read as far as our intellects could understand what the dear Lord suffered. [2:52] Surely here now we have his own words as to why this was needful. There is hidden something more than appears on a momentary glance at these first two words. [3:11] Or not. These have stayed with me a great deal during this past week. Or not. [3:22] Is it without purpose? Was it entirely without fruitful effect? Was it just a promiscuous happening? [3:35] Or was it indeed in the counsels of God from all eternity? Or not? Must it not be so? [3:47] Is there not a cause? Is there not a reason why the Lord Jesus should leave the realms of glory, come down and suffer as never anyone else suffered? [4:02] Was this entirely without purpose? Or not this to have been? Well, may the Lord show us in his mercy, at least somewhat, of why it was, why it ought to be so. [4:25] May our small meditations on these solemn things be the means of causing us to worship him sincerely before we separate is my earnest desire. [4:44] There is an outstanding reason. My thoughts were assisted when this word was brought to my mind. [4:55] You know it occurs in that intimate communion Jesus had with his Father, which we read in 17 John. [5:08] The first clause of one verse was sufficient to set me thinking, I have glorified thee on the earth. [5:20] Glorified thee? How? In what way particularly? Well, I shall never be able to tell you or anyone else fully how he glorified his Father. [5:37] But it has been shown to me, I believe, that he glorified him very much. And therefore, he ought to have suffered these things because in doing so, he proves all the scriptures in the prophecies concerning himself to have been the word of God. [6:01] The word of God. Nothing more stable than the word of God. And it must be fulfilled why so often I am brought to this in my little ministry. [6:16] The words of Jesus himself so often, frequently then, emphasize the scripture must be fulfilled. [6:27] The scripture cannot be broken. Well, there have been since that time many of those who have opposed the scriptures and there are today those who question its veracity and truthfulness and its divine origin. [6:48] The Lord Jesus Christ in this solemn way proved the words of those who had spoken or written in time past would come from God. [7:02] And he honored God in the fulfillment of the prophecies of his own word has revealed to his own servants. There was honor to God here in this. [7:17] No wonder he was able to say I have glorified thee on the earth because I have proved that which I gave utterance to. You'll find it in the fifth chapter of the gospel according to Matthew. [7:33] Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets. I am not come to destroy but to fulfill. [7:48] You have a solemn word too that the things that are written must be accomplished in me. [7:59] I would like you to consider that very carefully must be accomplished in me. That he was deeply concerned with fulfilling the mind and will of his father even in all its most painful matters concerning himself we find in various scriptures one which occurs to the mind at the moment shows the intense exercise of his soul concerning this as he approached the time and to complete the verse I partly quoted it is this the things concerning me have an end they are coming to the close we are nearing the finish of the stay on earth and there remains now the solemn completion of the work the father has given me to do but as he approached it let me remind you how clearly his humanity is revealed as well as his divinity you will find in the word of God that he said this now is my soul troubled and what shall I say father save me from this hour you're told by those who are far wiser than [9:39] I that this clearly shows Jesus to be the man human man sinless but human soul troubled what shall I say now in view of this which confronts me but his divinity we are assured is clearly shown in the next declaration but for this cause came I unto this hour there ought to be this there's no avoiding it it must be passed through for the honour and glory of God ought not Christ to have suffered another reason is that he is the divinely appointed surety of his people their sins the tremendous total of them the dreadful guilt of them the awful number of them they were laid upon him [10:50] I can't say this too reverently I hope I said it sincerely the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all all who fear God there was one who said and some of us have had a little feeling in that direction how huge the heavy load of all and only mine so great consider this and that there ought to be this because without it not one sin of all the election of grace could be passed this is a profound truth it should form the subject of our amazement and meditation gratitude and thankfulness to the suffering savior and only wish that you had before you this morning more deeply taught and gracious servant of [12:07] God to speak to you on such solemn things may the Lord still lead me into the truth and enable me to deliver the message he sees shall be for his glory and your instruction and edification if his holy will or not Christ to have suffered these things the sins of the Lord's people were to be atoned for there was no other way God provided no other way than that there should be the shedding of blood the word says without shedding of blood there is no remission and therefore blood must be shed which is pure sinless and holy where is it to be found not on earth as such but he came to earth who was who is pure and holy and he did shed his precious blood for poor sinners and thus became in a most glorious sense the [13:40] Lamb of God the Paschal Lamb was set forth and his blood was used for the protection and preservation of the literal national people of God in time past as a type of what his blood should be whom I have referred to as the Lamb of God this precious blood can has atoned for your sin and mine if their names are written in the Lamb's book of life and we are predestinated to obtain salvation therefore solemnly I would say he ought to suffer death he ought to shed his blood because this is so essential for the atonement of sin but we are still unclean my friends you realize this we are unclean and we cannot stand before God until clean clean that is in God's sight which is a simple [15:14] I am told interpretation of the word justification and being justified which is to stand clean sinless regarded as sinless by God himself through his son or not this precious blood to have been shed which alone can cleanse from all sin always vitally necessary without it we stand unforgiven and unclean in the sight of God do hope my dear friends young and old that you solemnly realize this it is absolutely essential to pardon and cleanse still there is more to perform for poor sinners or not [16:23] Christ to have suffered these things to purchase eternal life all human beings as born short of being in the covenant of grace are under the condemnation of death there is no eternal life in that sense as set before us in the scriptures for the whole race of humanity unless grace reach their case and they be included in the electing love of God there is for them no propitiation no savior no purchaser of eternal life the scriptures are clear in this but the way to it was this way the solemn way the suffering way he must die that they might live this is the essence condensed very much [17:39] I admit of the gospel of Jesus Christ one to live a holy life one to fulfill in every jot and fittle and detail the sacred and holy law of God it must be fulfilled on our behalf or God's honor would still be tarnished God's honor was restored when the Lord fulfilled the law on the behalf of his people and made it honorable and honored God in so doing when he died then he purchased heaven as well as atoning for sin and cleansing his people he was able to save beings of before all this took place that he gave to his sheep eternal life and they should never perish neither should any man pluck them out of his or his father's hands so eternal life at his request to every saint is given safety on earth and after death plenitude of heaven or not [19:11] Christ to have suffered these things think what his sufferings accomplished and know that for the most part we are quite rightly deeply concerned about our own soul's salvation under the spirit's instruction as we journey on through life this far from becoming something we regard as of lesser importance becomes increasingly so because we are led by the spirit into some knowledge of a deepening need of salvation this is the way by the spirit's instruction by which the lord jesus becomes precious to exceedingly precious as we journey on nearer to the end of the journey it becomes to us if we were to really consider it more frequently and clearly than we do a more marvelous thing a more miraculous thing that such and one should ever be completely pardoned completely washed and favored with eternal life and a complete freedom from condemnation now my friends this [20:57] I'm trying to hint and bring before you is becoming to many of us whom the lord is leading along into this path a wonder of wonders and nothing short of a miracle that such should reach the glories and wonder of heaven and dwell with jesus there consider then what the lord accomplished when he suffered these things consider the tremendous huge number who have been the blessed recipients and have profited under and are blessed through this solemn and sacred suffering mentioned in my text then consider the wisdom if you can of god in providing such a way of escape such a refuge for sinners such a way by which there could be communion with himself so this is another of the reasons why he ought to have suffered because this establishes for every child of god contact with god through him [22:34] I once made a great mistake unintentionally in a certain statement in my ministry which happily I was able to immediately correct I said that today we are favoured with this direct contact with God and have no need of a priest and there I was wrong we have no need of an earthly priest I should have said we have great need of the high priest that great high priest that God has provided for us and in suffering and by suffering through suffering we really became that high priest who can be touched with the feeling of our infirmity being tempted in all points like as we are much more than we are yet without sin [23:43] I believe now if you care to carefully consider this and seek for grace to meditate upon it you will see this this is a wonderful lasting reason why Christ ought to suffer I will as help bring before you a most solemn portion of the word of God which is beyond my understanding completely though he were a son yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered the profound truth there too deep for human minds to reach too deep for minds truth there is so high as to be out of reach thankfully we see this [24:44] I travel along in this respect very closely to the apostle and his words and what were they now we see through a glass darkly perception is obscured often obstructed generally misty very small but have we seen my dear friends enough to cause us to earnestly seek to be led more deeply and sweetly and experimentally into the truth as in Jesus yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered he was a great example you know as well as the saviour of sinners and I might drop just a word here an obedient saviour who fully fulfilled all the will of God has every right to expect that those who say by their actions and sometimes by their words that they desire to be followers of him are expected also to be obedient children and if they should happen to have to learn this obedience by walking to some extent in the path he walked they will learn the lesson surely they will learn it securely they will learn it in such a way that they will presently say in spite of all the previous excuses which may have been made or hindrances raised up they will be brought to this finally not in the measure oh never in the measure that he said but after the same manner probably under the influence [26:59] I should say of the same greatest spirit which was so much in the Lord Jesus not my will thine be done there is a reason then for the Lord's sufferings because it is only through this that any poor sinner is brought to that condition to say thy will be done whatever it may cost and it does usually cost something you can't be a follower of the Lord Jesus without walking in the path he himself has laid down what is that you will say it is this if any man will come after me let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me or not Christ will suffer these things they crucified him under the charge that he had falsely said he was the king of the [28:12] Jews he's the king of the whole earth he is the king of Israel there was no false charge it was misunderstood but it ought so to obey because why his kingdom was not of this world his kingdom is in the hearts of his people he said so himself kingdom of God is within you oh may it prove to be within you and I as we seek this morning to adore him who ought to have suffered because it was the mind and will of God the Father who ought to have suffered because there was no other way by which sin could be pardoned and cleansing wrought and eternal life given and poor sinners constrained with or without their natural will to become worshippers of God in spirit and in truth all this was involved as a result of the fruits of sufferings of Christ know must must hear say very carefully that there were other things to be accomplished relative to the final salvation of the people of [29:59] God and their entry into heaven but these we do not normally deal with in seeking to speak today on the sufferings of Christ but the Lord has seen fit to give to me I do trust this portion to speak to you from which I have read and tried to deal with feebly and there are yet a few words in the text which I have not yet been able to bring before you or not Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into his glory then there is another reason why the Lord Jesus must suffer the scriptures again must be fulfilled and unless he had come to earth been the propitiation for his people how could he then have been re re received into the kingdom of heaven again in accordance with and compliance to the word open the gates that the king of glory may come in you see he had to enter it was ordained that he should enter a triumphant savior from then and there to receive adoration in heaven from the angelic host as the triumphant victor over death sin and the grave and satan his praise to be enlarged and emphasized by the redeemed spirits of ransomed souls in heaven later to be augmented with earnestly hope and trust by those now on earth and maybe yet to be born ought not [32:24] Christ to have suffered to have achieved such honor and glory to God which will be endless in the proclamation of it ought not this to have been attended to in every detail for the honor and glory of God who had designed this plan briefly for a moment I would recount the persons of the trinity's part in this solemn matter of salvation desiring to show that there is clearly a necessity for Jesus to suffer as he did for his people plan of salvation was devised or designed by the wisdom of God the Father and in accordance with his holy will there is no other need for any other reason for the salvation of sinners than that it should be in accordance with the mind and will of [33:40] God himself coupled with this the Lord Jesus himself says fear not little flock it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom in accordance with his design it is exactly what he wills and wishes and therefore in this sense your salvation is secure but this plan involves the gift of his son and this involves that he should be the shorty of his people that he should come be born into the world and live in the way they live experience the things they experience only to so much greater experience of opposition scorn and derision in order to prove himself to be the very essence of patience and complete obedience to the path which was laid down for him to walk in this was essential because it was in the provision of God and part of the plan and no part of it could be omitted of the suffering any more than there will be of the joy and the benefits accruing thereto the one must be as equally fulfilled as the other but while that point is in my mind [35:45] I feel I must just mention this the Lord Jesus knew perfectly well since he is the fulfiller of scripture that there was this appointment for him as well he shall see of the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied I thought I must bring this before you because this scripture will equally be fulfilled to the honor and glory and joy of the Lord Jesus himself he will receive eternal satisfaction for his serious and solemn suffering throughout the whole of eternity and I do venture to believe that there are a few occasions now when he receives honor from his people here below and there is to him a feeling of satisfaction that his work when upon earth is bearing fruit fruit in the lives and deaths of his people and fruit to his own and his father's honor and glory there was a reason for it and it can all be summed up in a very few words worship of [37:27] God you will say was that the only real reason why all this was accomplished and all this preaching goes on about the gospel of Jesus Christ well I'll quote from the word of God the words of Jesus through the words of the Lord through the prophet which Jesus fulfilled this people have I formed for myself they shall show forth my praise then there ought to have been this because that God will be worshipped in spirit and in truth all the sacrifices that were diligently and carefully attended to through all that period of time previous to the coming of the Lord [38:36] Jesus pointed to who were types and shadows of this one great sacrifice when John the Baptist saw one coming toward him he uttered a great and profound truth when he said behold the Lamb of God it is my desire that you and I may be favored by faith frequently to see him in the sanctuary to see him in his word and to see how fully and blessedly he was in every detail the Lamb of God and to enter into his glory ought not Christ to suffer these things so that in entering into his glory he became visibly and actually the way to bliss for all his people things to know [39:57] I expect in this house of prayer you more than once sung that hymn about Jesus Jesus is the way to God Jesus is the way to bliss and it was essential that he should suffer these things and to enter into his glory for now there is an open way into heaven for the whole election of grace he said and what it meant I shall never succeed in fully bringing before the people of God but I hope the spirit will reveal to you somewhat of what is hidden in those few words of his I am the way I am the way man has contrived and still does contrive many ways of approaching [40:59] God still not prepared to go into them criticize them or anything of the kind I am still very much a learner in the way but I would much rather and do hope I may be kept to the end of time with me looking alone to this way by which I may be favored to approach to God have contact to him through his blessed son so coming toward the close of my few remarks this morning I now see why it was necessary for the Lord Jesus to suffer as he did you see we could not approach God while upon earth still inhabiting a sinful body unless there was a mediator and this mediator to be one who could plead from the standpoint of authority with [42:12] God be able to deal I want to say this very reverently on equal terms with God as being God and then you see he can receive does receive the prayers his spirit indicts and makes them acceptable to God receivable by him through his own person because these are offered if they're offered rightly in his name and through his merits and if you and I in prayer to God feel to come to God by him we come rightly I believe I may go one step further and say that when you feel an inward interest in the intercession of the [43:13] Lord Jesus on your behalf you will know what it is to feel liberty in letting your requests be made known unto God because you will feel that there is one who is atoned for you cleansed you and renders you acceptable in the sight of the holy God of heaven it was essential very necessary that Jesus should suffer and that he should then enter into his glory coming to the close I could earnestly wish that everyone in this house of prayer should be keenly exercised to know am I his or am I not my dear friends may I put it to you most affectionately does it cause you anxious thoughts do you question do I love the [44:22] Lord or no it's so essential the time is passing on perhaps more rapidly than we are aware toward the end of all things not known to me or to any on earth according to the words of Jesus himself but unless we have a vital interest in the solemn truths read you this morning and the few things I may have been enabled to say which are right in the sight of God it is essential that you should seek earnestly to know how you stand not in my sight or in the sight of your fellow creatures but how you stand in the sight of God a solemn question I may have mentioned this here before a solemn question occurs at the end of certain verses in the [45:30] Sunday school hymn book we used to use when I was aboard and that solemn question has remained with me and is very frequently still in my heart and my heart desires flow from the need of a satisfactory answer to it it says simply but so solemnly concerning eternity and heaven oh say will you be there you will be my friend if the Lord suffered for you and has gone into his glory to prepare a place for you and he hath said for your comfort and mine if this is the case if I go away I will come again and receive you unto myself that where I am there ye may be also statement number 23 will but hear oh onde he touches head forth num [47:01] Chris Toą wierzę, doch 돼요, z Seaft, przez Boże, doch andere zmar нужен Są.