JESUS PREDICTS HIS GLORIOUS DEATH AND RESURRECTION

Matthew 20:17-34
Key Verses: 20:18-19

    "We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed
     to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will
     condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be
     mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be
     raised to life!"

     In the last passage we learned Jesus' generosity and hard work.
Jesus was compared to a landowner and this landowner went out to get
workers at 6:00 a.m., 9:00 a.m., 12:00 noon, 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.
Usually a daily work agency opens its office at 8:00 a.m. and hires
people for two hours and then closes. But Jesus in the parable works
all day long from 6:00 in the morning to 5:00 p.m. We also see our Lord
Jesus Christ's generosity. Jesus agreed with those who came at 6:00
a.m. to give them one denarius. But he also gave one denarius to those
who came at 5:00 p.m. If we are generous like our Lord Jesus Christ,
our hearts might be like the summer ocean. However, most of us have big
bodies, but have hearts like the eye of a needle. May God bless us to
have a heart like Jesus. In today's passage Jesus teaches his disciples
his glorious death and resurrection. But his disciples were still
earthbound and didn't listen to him. He taught them to the end instead
of arguing with them. Finally, there is a conclusive story about two
blind men. This is Easter Sunday.  May God penetrate into our souls and
plant Jesus' glorious death and resurrection in our hearts so that we
may have life on earth and eternal life in God's house.

First, the Son of Man (17-19). Look at verse 17. "Now as Jesus was
going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside and said to
them...."  Jesus finished his earthly messianic ministry with his
divine compassion and God's love. He also taught his disciples as time
permitted. They were on their last journey to Jerusalem. Starting from
Galilee, Jesus came to Jericho around that time. Jesus took the twelve
disciples aside and said to them, "We are going up to Jerusalem, and
the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers
of the law. They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to
the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day
he will be raised to life!" (18,19) In these short verses Jesus
concisely manifested God's plan of salvation work; more specifically,
Jesus' death and resurrection. Here in verse 18 Jesus professes himself
to be "the Son of Man." In Mark's Gospel "the Son of Man" is repeated
more. But Matthew saw Jesus as the King. He didn't use the words "the
Son of Man" frequently. "The Son of Man" is a most exquisite
description of himself. "The Son of Man" reveals his incarnation. John
1:14 says, "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We
have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the
Father, full of grace and truth." Originally, Jesus is God. He was with
God and nothing was made without him. But he renounced his glory and
power and his righteousness as God and came down to this world and
lived among men. John interpreted the meaning of "the Son of Man" in
such a beautiful way that anybody can understand the meaning of "the
Son of Man." The incarnation of Jesus is full of grace and truth. Here
the word "grace" in Greek means, "charis." "Charis" is the root of all
the beautiful words in the Bible. "Eucharitis" in Greek means beautiful
and wonderful. The Son of Man who came to this world and lived among us
is indeed beautiful and wonderful, as we have studied in the last
several chapters. He is full of grace, but also he is full of truth.
What is truth? Truth is never-changing, universal and invaluable. The
things of the world all perish and spoil and fade away. Where on earth
is such a thing that does not? Yes, there is Jesus who is truth.
Hebrews 13:8 says, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and
forever." Most people wander while living in this world, not knowing
their specific direction of life or destination of life. But Jesus, as
our advocate, embraces us and passes us through the twelve pearly
gates. Jesus is full of grace and truth. This Son of Man will be
betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. The chief
priests and the teachers of the law are chosen people to do the work of
God. They are chosen people to take care of God's flock of sheep. But
they all became thieves. Now we see that they will condemn Jesus, and
because they do not have the right to pronounce the death sentence,
they will hand him over to the Roman governor to be crucified. In this
way the Son of Man was arrested and mocked and flogged and crucified
and died. The death of Jesus is to save men from their sins. The death
of Jesus is to bring his children to God's house. Ultimately, the death
of Jesus destroys the power of sin and death with God's love. The death
of Jesus is in fact the sacrifice of the Lamb of God. The death of
Jesus is the universal love of God to save men from their sins and
bring them back to God. If we study hard, it is easy for us to
understand Calculus II. If we study a little more, we can also
understand Linear Algebra and we can understand the principles of
politics, economics, medicine, astronomy, and speech. But it is not
easy for us to understand the death of the Son of God. When we look up
at the cross, sometimes we feel sorry. Sometimes the Son of God's
crucifixion looks pathetic, so pathetic that we cannot but cry. But we
should not look up at the Son of Man's crucifixion with
sentimentalism.  Isaiah 53 expressed the Son of Man's death on the
cross so vividly and so meaningfully. While on earth the Son of Man
healed the sick and preached the gospel to the poor.  And with great
divine compassion he healed men with leprosy and opened the eyes of the
blind. But the Son of Man was despised and rejected by the Pharisees
and the teachers of the law. How painful it is for us to know. They
should have been the most close co-workers of Jesus.  But they despised
and rejected the Son of Man. They made the Son of Man a man of sorrows
and familiar with sufferings. They made the Son of Man like one from
whom men hide their faces. He was despised, and they esteemed him not.
Jesus only loved them and healed them and preached the good news of the
kingdom of God.  But the old Christians, the Pharisees and the teachers
of the law, never esteemed the Son of Man.

     Outwardly, the Son of Man's death on the cross looked pathetic.
But by being crucified on the cross he carried our sorrows. "He carried
our sorrows" means that each person has his or her own sorrows, even if
he or she is a prince or a princess. Most people are, in one way or the
other, deeply wounded in their souls. They are crying day and night.
Last night, I saw a beautiful and attractive teenage girl. I told her
to have hope of meeting her father in the kingdom of God by believing
in Jesus. She shed many tears. But our Lord Jesus Christ took up our
infirmities and carried our sorrows. He was also pierced for our
transgressions and he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment
that brought us peace was upon the Son of Man; by his wounds we are
healed. In actuality, Jesus told his disciples his sufferings, death
and rising again on the third day.  But they only heard two words:
"sufferings" and "death." They missed the words, "On the third day he
will be raised to life!" Therefore, their despair was beyond
description. Sorrow and fear overpowered their souls.

     What then does it mean that on the third day the Son of Man will
be raised to life? It means that Jesus will be resurrected on the third
day after his death on the cross. It means that Jesus will be the Risen
Christ.  These days "Jesus Christ" is sometimes not properly used. But
the original meaning of "Christ" is King of kings and Lord of lords and
he is the Judge sitting on a throne with his twelve disciples in the
kingdom of God. Why is the resurrection of Christ so important? Once
Billy Graham said, "We can live without sex, but we cannot live without
hope." This quotation might be one of his best ones. That's true. There
is an 87-year-old man who is in bed dying. His wife is 25 years younger
than he.  Because the dying man has a legal first wife, the second wife
is no more than the old man's concubine. But this lady cried and cried
for three weeks, looking at her grandfather-like husband. It was
because she was crushed that her old husband was perishing moment by
moment, and it was because she largely depended on him as her hope and
trust. So I said, "Man is like grass. Don't depend on him. Depend on
God who gave us his one and only Son. By being crushed for our
iniquities the Son of Man brought us peace and the living hope." Since
then, the lady who was crying in the power of darkness could see the
beam of light. Now she sees that Jesus is the one who is worthy of
trusting, and Jesus is the living hope. As long as she had her
87-year-old husband she never accepted the word of God. Now Jesus is
her trust and living hope.

     There is no living hope in this world. 1 Peter 1:3,4 says, "Praise
be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy
he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never
perish, spoil or fade---kept in heaven for you...." Last night I talked
with a girl. I asked her, "Which school are you going to enter and what
are you going to major in?" She said she is going to Northwestern
University. She also wants to major in chemical engineering. This can
be her hope for the time being. But it is not an everlasting hope. Only
the kingdom of God established by the blood of Jesus is an everlasting
hope. We go to God's house. We pass through the pearly gates of the
kingdom of heaven. We can meet all whom we have missed earlier. We can
be like Christ and we can talk to Christ face to face. Therefore,
Jesus' death and his resurrection is indeed glorious.

Second, "Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?" (20-28). Those
disciples who did not hear the word about the glorious resurrection
were bewildered. The mother of Zebedee's sons came to Jesus with her
sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him. "What is it you want?"
he asked. She said, "Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit
at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom" (20-21).
Obviously these two sons were John and James and the woman was their
mother. She believed the earthly messianic kingdom they thought Jesus
would establish.  There she wanted her sons, John and James, to be top
cabinet members.  Jesus did not answer her, but he turned around to his
disciples and said, "You don't know what you are asking." Here we learn
how to fish HNWs.  "You don't know what you are asking. Can you drink
the cup I am going to drink?" Unanimously they answered, "Sure! We
can." Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink from my cup, but to
sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to
those for whom they have been prepared by my Father" (23). Jesus had
not yet been crucified and become the Risen Christ. So he answered them
in this way.

     When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two
brothers (24). Peter might have thought that he left his mother-in-law,
his wife, his Little Peter, and his fishing business which was
prospering. He was young. He was very committed to Jesus according to
his own words.  Once he said to Jesus, "Lord, why can't I follow you
now? I will lay down my life for you" (Jn 13:37). Peter had confidence
in himself that he was the most committed to Jesus and the most loyal,
and he was the most curious. In addition, he thought that nobody could
defeat him in arm wrestling. When Peter saw these two sneaky guys using
the favor of their mother, he was very upset. But because of Jesus he
tried to cool himself down until he felt that his two eyes were bulging
out. He overcame himself, breathing hard. Let's see what Jesus said to
them. Look at verses 25-27. "Jesus called them together and said, `You
know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high
officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead,
whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and
whoever wants to be first must be your slave...." Jesus knew that they
all wanted to be the President of the United States. Jesus also
understood they were living in a man's world where there are those
competing, defeating, crushing, smashing and rising to power. The
disciples must have watched Roman soldiers in very elegant and
fashionable army uniforms marching around Jericho City where most
business was going on. If someone is a man, he cannot escape from this
ambition to become the President of the United States.  One young man
said that he dreamt twelve times that he became president of his
country. But each time when he opened his eyes, he was not a president
but a factory boy. Many young people fail in their youth because they
only want to be somebody great instead of preparing to be a great man
in the future. What Jesus said to them was indeed annoying to their
ideas. The disciples might have been wishing to wield power and display
glory by following Jesus. But he was saying that "the rulers of the
Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority
over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great
among you must be your servant...." Because of their spiritual
immaturity, even Bartholomew didn't want to serve the top disciple
Peter. Rather, he wanted to be served by Peter, the top disciple. Look
at verse 27. "...and whoever wants to be first must be your slave...."
This verse clearly tells us that spiritual greatness and authority come
from serving others and spiritual authority and power come from serving
others with divine compassion. In the spiritual world, great men are
not ones who are being served, but ones who serve. Look at verse 28.
"...just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and
to give his life as a ransom for many." In this verse Jesus clearly
teaches them how to be good shepherds, and how to be truly great men in
the sight of God. Even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to
serve and to give his life as a ransom sacrifice. This verse tells us
that Jesus didn't mind, even if he gave his life in serving others.
Jesus was indeed happy to serve others who are in need. Finally, he
gave his body and blood as a ransom sacrifice.

     These days the most frequent words people use are "It is
practical," or "It is not practical." In the service of God there is no
"practical" or "not practical." We must serve others like a servant
with the clear purpose to lead them to Jesus who is the Son of Man,
King of kings and Lord of lords. God's house is not an entertainment
house. It is the house of prayer for all nations. It is the place where
people discuss how to serve God better. During the last one week, JBF
members were preparing their Easter messages, their testimonies,
singing for singspiration, and even many kinds of skits. They were
helping each other and staying up until 12:00 midnight. They looked
happy indeed. They looked as if they were ready to do anything for
others for the preparation of the Easter Conference. People think there
are only worldly joys. But that's a terrible mistake. There is a
spiritual joy that passes all human understanding.  When we serve one
another in Jesus Christ we experience that our hearts are glad and our
souls are rejoicing in the Lord. Those who are only served always feel
miserable and there is the danger that they will get diabetes or high
blood pressure. But if we work hard in the service of God we are indeed
happy. One young man from Northwestern began to help our
second-generation missionaries' orchestra. Now he is smiling, looking
at people around him. So he is frequently misunderstood. He also smiles
looking at the sky, even on cloudy days. Some think he needs a doctor's
help, but he does not need a doctor's help. True happiness does not
come by receiving something or by being served by others. True
happiness comes when we serve others in the name of Jesus Christ.  When
we have no money, even a cup of cold water given to the needy is
remembered by God. Let's bring this joy to this country through our
prayer and earnest Bible study and by receiving one rejection after
another for the purpose of carrying out one-to-one Bible study. Let's
read verse 28 together. "...just as the Son of Man did not come to be
served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Third, "Lord, Son of David" (29-34). When we study about the disciples,
we see that finally their names were spread all over the world. When we
visited a communist country, we found so many named with a disciples'
name such as Andrea, Johannes, Natasha and so on. It is because the
disciples learned how to serve others in the name of God and
experienced heavenly joy. Look at verse 29. "As Jesus and his disciples
were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him." This verse shows us
a clear picture that Jesus was like a general and his twelve disciples
were lieutenant generals, and the large crowd of people who were
following him were well-disciplined soldiers. They also look like they
were marching to Zion, the city of Jerusalem. The entourage of Jesus
was indeed glorious at the moment. But Jesus was not going into
Jerusalem as a triumphant general but to take up the cup of suffering
and death. Anyway, when they formed a large crowd and followed Jesus,
it looked spectacular.

     Two blind men were sitting by the roadside. When they heard that
Jesus was going by, they shouted, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on
us!" (30) Those who were following Jesus were Jesus' people. But let's
see how they helped these two blind men. "The crowd rebuked them and
told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, `Lord, Son of
David, have mercy on us!'" (31) They were almost grabbed and thrown
away. We cannot say that this crowd, even though they followed Jesus,
were Jesus' people in their divine integrity. They were just a crowd of
people.

     Jesus stopped and called the blind men, "What do you want me to do
for you?" "Lord," they answered, "we want our sight" (32,33). Jesus'
heart went out because of his divine compassion on them and he touched
their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and they also
followed him. Here we learn two things. First is they knew the Son of
God. At that time people were waiting for the Son of David as the
Messiah of the Jews.  Waiting for the Messiah's return began from the
time of Jesus' ascension, when Jesus was ascending to heaven. The
disciples really wanted Jesus to come back even after one hour. At
Pentecost there were 120 people in Mark's upper room and they prayed.
The Holy Spirit came upon them.  What they wanted was not sufficient
food or future success, but Jesus' coming again as the Messiah of the
Jews. Jesus' coming again had been the main idea. Later it became a
traditional idea to the Christians. The fact that the two blind men
shouted all the more means they knew that the Son of David was the
Messiah. People persecuted them, but they called out "Son of David,
have mercy on us!" Here we learn that even though they were no more
than blind beggars, they had firm faith in the Messiah, the Son of
David. Second is when Jesus asked, "What do you want me to do for
you?", they answered, "We want our sight." It is indeed amazing. They
had a chance to meet the Messiah, the Son of David. But they didn't ask
to become Prime Minister like James and John. In view of history, not
knowing what they want, many people have perished. But these blind
beggars knew what they wanted.

     Today we studied about Jesus' glorious death and resurrection. We
also learned that it is not easy to learn the true concept of Jesus'
death and resurrection; it is simply because we are full of human
calculation.  But we can learn from the blind beggars' great faith in
the Messiah, the Son of David.