After Peter’s confession, Luke records – “And he straitly charged them, and commanded them to tell no man that thing; Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day. And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.”
There can be little doubt but that this is the same context. Later in that same context, still in Luke 9 we read in verse 51 – “And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem, And sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him. And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem.”
Why did Jesus begin to teach His disciples about what lay ahead for the little church? Was it out of kindness that Christ began to spell things out for them? Were these the beginning of other lessons that He wanted them to learn? Was this to prepare and strengthen them – His first church? Is there any further material for US when the Bible says that Jesus “steadfastly set his face toward Jerusalem”? What lay ahead of the Saviour in Jerusalem when He set His eye on that city? He certainly knew then, and we now know through the Word of God, that Jesus’ betrayal lay ahead. He knew that beatings, trials, nails, thorns, mockery and shame were all there in the near future. There would be incredible pain, rejection and death, even the death of the cross. That crucifixion was the purpose for the Saviour’s incarnation; it was the climax of His life.
But listen to Peter’s outrageous statement – “Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.” Peter rebuked the Saviour – that’s the sort of thing that a parent might do to an impolite child. This is what a judge might say to an arrogant lawyer. They may tone it down just a bit, but this will not be the last time that Peter and the rest, make interfering statements like this. Obviously, they didn’t want to think that there might be sad or dangerous events in their futures. No one really wants to consider such things.
My theme for this evening is not so much those things which lay in Christ’s future. We will come to those things in due time – if the Lord is willing. But my interest is in the WAY that the Lord Jesus looked toward Calvary. By watching Him perhaps we should see how we look toward our futures. But rather than considering things which may or may not occur in our lives, let’s think about one which is guaranteed. There is something that lies out there in our future, which will be to us in some ways as much a crisis to us as the cross was to the Saviour. I refer to the Judgment Seat before which every saint of God shall one day stand. Do you think about it very much? Do you keep an eye on that fact? It’s in the Bible that we must all stand before the “bema” – the judgment seat of Christ.
How Christ looked toward Calvary should show us something about the way we should view the “bema.” And how was that? APPRECIATION, ANTICIPATION and perhaps even ASPIRATION. Let me show you what I mean.
Our Lord first of all ACKNOWLEDGED, or APPRECIATED the fact, that his home-going was soon-coming.
Verse 21 says, “From that time forth” – some of the experts say that this was about six months before His crucifixion. You all probably know what it is like to make plans six months in advance. If the planned event is a good one – oh, how those 180-185 days seem like years. But if the event is something awful, each tick of the clock seems like another drop of blood drained from our body. At six months, Jesus acknowledged that He was facing the cross.
Where will you be six months from now? As awful as the thought may be, it could be that 180 days from now you will be in Hell. “Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.” It could be that your soul will be boiling up in that incredible heat. In six months, every corner of your being may be screaming out in excruciating pain. Or it could be that in six months you will have spent 179 days in the glorious presence of the Saviour. We could all be singing “Sweeter as the eons go by” with Samuel, Daniel and David. We might be rubbing elbows with Peter and Paul, Timothy and Silas. Or then again it could be that many of us may be standing before God’s appointed Judge – Christ Jesus. When exactly will the judgment of the bema take place? 4,320 hours from now your every deed may be on the big screen for all to see. I don’t know exactly how it will be, but I do know that …. “Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.”
Will you acknowledge with me that there is a possibility your judgment may begin quite soon? Will you say, “I will soon stand before Christ Jesus? I will very soon have my hypocrisy exposed and my imitation service revealed for what it really is. I will shortly be proven to be the sinner that I know I really am.” I think that it would do us good to admit and acknowledge that we are nearer to eternity than we usually like to think of ourselves.
Jesus said, “I must go to Jerusalem.” Note that He didn’t say, “I should go to Jerusalem, I might go” or even “I shall go to Jerusalem.” He said I must go. Why must the Saviour go so willingly to the city of His death? To shed His blood in order to save my miserable neck and soul. If the Son of God had not died upon that cross, I’d have no hope or redemption, and neither would you. “He was wounded for OUR transgressions; he was bruised for OUR iniquities.” If he was not delivered for our offences and raised again for our justification, God would remain thoroughly offended at us. Christ Jesus was going to Jerusalem to change the direction of His life – and mine and yours.
And in the same sort of way, the judgment seat of Christ shall mark changed lives for every Christian. In that judgment, the finishing touches will be added to the picture of our salvation. On that day the last vestiges of sin will be removed from each of us. Oh, we may have already been “glorified” so to speak, but if we are being judged, then there will still be some sort of sinful remnants. An at that time, the full praise which we owe to Christ will be drawn from us. Our days of beggarly service will be both honored and exposed. From that day forward our service will be perfect, even as we shall be – in a way – perfected. It will be a day of ear-to-ear smiles and tear-after-tear stained checks. Will YOU acknowledge these things with me? Will you admit that the Bible teaches such things?
When Jesus announced His upcoming crucifixion, Peter denied it and rebelled. But you aren’t a rebellious denier are you? Of course not, you believe the Bible. The Saviour rebuked Peter’s denial, as He will all those who rebel.
The second thing that we see in this scripture is that Jesus ANTICIPATED His day of crisis.
This wasn’t just an inevitable day, a bitter pill that the Father was forcing Him to swallow. Note verse 21 and see if you can see any reluctance on the part of the Saviour there. The events of Jesus’ last week in Jerusalem were not accidental; God was not taken off-guard. The Lord Jesus was “delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God.” And what is more, the Saviour himself knew every detail from before the foundation of the world. He had been making plans for the Crucifixion; you might say that He had been packing His bags. He further prepared His disciples; He gave the Lord’s Supper, and discipline, to the church. He said “Good-bye” to some of His earthly friends during these upcoming six months. He spent much time in prayer with His Father, whom He missed so much. Physically and humanly, Christ may have shuddered to think of the iron driven through His hands and feet. But His spirit was dedicated to the glory of the Father and the salvation of a few worthless sinners. He would not be diverted from His task – His life would be given. He was on a pilgrimage.
Now, did YOU really acknowledge that you are going to face Christ …… in judgment a few minutes ago? I just about said that you’d “face Christ as a defendant.” But is that really the case? Do all the images of a modern court-room apply to the “bema?” I’m not sure that “defendant” is appropriate in this case, because of what the Saviour has already done on our behalf. Nevertheless, did you acknowledge that you are going to stand before the Lord in judgment? Well then, will you go one step farther? Will you learn to anticipate that with me? By anticipation I refer to living a life in the prospect of that great day. Two mothers with two children each are walking into the mall. One pair of kids are crying and fussing; they are angry that they aren’t home playing. They are disheveled, disobedient, and dirty along with being distraught. But the other pair are all dressed up in their fanciest clothes; they have big smiles. If they were moving any faster they’d be running. The second pair of kids are anticipating getting their pictures taken one of the stores in the mall. This is what I mean by “anticipation.”
I know that I can’t make you the promise, but I wish that tomorrow when you awake, you might be able to say: “I Know that this may be my last day on earth – I look forward to standing before the Saviour.” Not just tomorrow morning, but you need to realize that any and every morning could be your last on earth. I wish the next time you look temptation in the face you could say, “I go from here to meet Christ Jesus.” It might change your life if there was sign by your bed – “From here to Eternity.” When you drink coffee with your neighbor, you should remember that this might the last occasion for this. We need to anticipate the Second Coming, anticipate the conclusion of all things, and anticipate our judgment before the Lord.
There was at least one more emotion in Jesus’s thoughts about Calvary – ASPIRATION.
To “aspire” to something is to strive to reach it. Jesus steadfastly set his face toward Jerusalem, in the way that you might look forward to a vacation. The Lord Jesus wanted that day to come and pass – the sooner the better, but “thy will and thy time be done.” He wanted to give His life an atonement for sin – that you might have eternal life. He wished to lay His righteousness over your unrighteous back. He knew the only way that you could enter the gates of splendor was for Him to feel the pain of Hell. He did absolutely everything for your forgiveness of sin. Jesus aspired to the greatest, but most painful event of history. And in that He left us an example to follow His steps.
In a similar way, will you not only accept that the Judgment Seat of Christ is in your future, but can you aspire to it? That day will be a part of Jesus’ ultimate glorification – something for which to be yearned. That will be the day when the saints will be rewarded – to the praise and glorification of Christ. That will be the day when the last remnants of sinful failure will be removed and cleansed.
I am looking forward to that time – my life will finally be made the way that the Lord intended. That will be the day this crooked life shall be made straight. And though I am 10,000 miles from perfection today, I still yearn for it. “Even so come Lord Jesus, and bring your white throne with you. I may not have much to offer; there is more wood and stubble than gold and silver. But what I have I give and pray that you’ll find a nugget or two for your crown.”
Is this your attitude this evening? If not then there is a good likelihood there are things in your life that you need to make right with the Lord. You may be hiding deliberate sin. You may be fooling yourself – filling yourself with excuses for not obeying the Lord. Or if you fear the Lord’s all-seeing eye, you could very well not be a child of God at all.
Do you aspire to the Judgment Seat of Christ?