The Glory of the Cross

If you've got your Bible, turn with me to Luke chapter 22. Luke chapter 22. We know that when we began the Gospel of Luke, some of you women were pregnant and you had children. And since we have gone through the Gospel of Luke, they have grown up, gone off to college, gotten married, now they're having their children. Now, your grandparents, no, that's not, it hasn been that long, but it's been a while since we've. Started the Luke chapter 1, verse number 1. But now we come to the greatest portion of Luke because the good news is that everything that we have studied up till now has all been in preparation.

Of Luke 22 to 24. Everything is prologue. Everything is an anticipation of what's going to happen now.

Because the great climax of Luke's gospel is the apex of redemptive history. And so, as we begin to gather around the cross of Christ and understand the glory of the cross, we now come to the The apex of redemptive history, the greatest event in all the world, the cross and the resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord. Without the cross, there is no forgiveness of sins. Without the cross, there is no hope. Without the cross, there is no freedom from. Sat's bondage. Without the cross there is no heaven.

That's why it was the Apostle Paul who said these words in 1 Corinthians chapter 1, verse number 2. But we pre Christ and Him crucified. He would go on to say in chapter 2 of 1 Corinthians, the second verse.

For I determine to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Everything that's happened in the Old Testament and everything that's happened up to this point in Luke 22. Is all preparation for the cross. Everything. Everything in the Old Testament is all about prepar. For the cross. It began back when sin entered the world, and the Lord God. Killed some animals as a sacrifice and covered Adam and Eve. All that was a pre, all that was a Symbol, all that was a type, all that was something that would anticipate the ultimate sacrifice that would come.

When Abel offered an offering, he offered an acceptable offering, which was all a prefigure of the cross, all in preparation of the coming sacrifice. The ark, Noah and his family. When they entered the ark, they were free from the judgment of God. They were. Saved from the judgment upon the world, all a symbol of the glory of the cross. In Genesis chapter 22, when there was a ram caught in the thicket, and the Lord God said, I will provide myself as a lamb. All that was in preparation of. The ultimate sacrifice, the ultimate substitute that would come.

In Exodus chapter 12, you had the Passover. And everything that was about the Passover with the blood of the Lamb on the doorposts and on the cross beam all symbolized the ultimate sacrifice that would one day come. All that was in preparation. Of the cross. If you go back and you read about how Moses struck the rock in the wilderness, that too was a symbol of Christ in his crucifixion. That's why, by the way, when Moses struck the rock a second time, God said you can't enter the promised land.

Why? Because he misconstrued the picture of the cross. 1 Corinthians 10 tells us that that rock was Christ. And so he was supposed to smite the rock once, speak to the rock the second time.

But because he got angry and struck the rock, he marred the picture of Calvary to Israel. Therefore, he was unable to enter the promised land. Need to understand that. That's very important when you begin to understand the life of Moses because everything in the Old Testament is preparation. For the cross. Everything is. It all pictures. It all is a. The whole Levitical system was a system designed to show you how man's sins could not. Be done away with, but could be covered, but there would be a sacrifice that would come that would rid man of a sin and the consequences of that sin.

You can go back and you can look at the Old Testament and how the serpent was lifted up. And as a serpent was lifted up in the wilderness, and all who looked upon that serpent were delivered. It's a symbol of the cross of Jesus Christ. It was all in preparation of the cross, even with Ruth and Boaz as Boaz, the kinsman, Redeemer. All that was a part in preparation of the coming of the Messiah who would die for the sins of the world. Everything in the Old Testament, all the laws, all the Levitical system, all that dealt with something that was going to come, a greater sacrifice, the ultimate sacrifice that would satisfy divine wrath.

And a sacrifice that would appease the Lord God of Israel. So everything in the Old Testament was all about prepar for the cross. Everything in the gospel, in Luke's Gospel, in Matthew, and Mark, in John's gospel, up to this point, is all in preparation of the cross because Now, once the cross happens after the cross, number two, everything is about the proclamation of the cross, right?

Everything in the Gospels after this. The cross and the resurrection. Everything after that is all about the proclamation of the cross. Because in the book of Acts, what you have is the ex of the cross. In the epistles, you have the application of the cross, and in Revelation, you have the celebration of the cross. So, everything in the New Testament after the cross and resurrection is about the proclamation of the cross. That's why Paul said we preach Christ. And him crucified. That's why Paul said: as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you do proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

And so, when you look at everything in the book of Acts, in the epistles, and in the book of Revelation, you understand the proclamation of the cross.

That's why, over in the book of Acts, in Acts chapter 13, listen to what Paul says. In verse number 29, he says, And when they had carried out all that was written, Concerning him, everything spoken about the coming of the Messiah, his death, all that took place. It says, and when they had carried out all that was written concerning him, what was written? And where was it written? It was written in the Old Testament, and it was all about the coming Messiah and the cross, the death, the sacrifice for the sins of man.

It says this: everything that was written concerning him, they took him down from the cross and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him up from the dead, and for many days he appeared to those who came up with him. From Galilee to Jerusalem, the very ones who are now his witnesses to the people. And we preach to you the good new. What's the good news? The good news of the promise made to the fathers. When was the good news of the promise made to the fathers? What fathers? Everybody in the Old Testament.

Then it says that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus as it is also written. In the second Psalm.

And he reads the Psalms, he reads Isaiah 55, he goes back to Psalm 16 because he tells them: listen, everything in the Old Testament was written about this event. What event? The cross and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Everything in the Old Testament is about the preparation for the cross. Everything in the New Testament after the cross and resurrection is about the proclamation of that cross. Everything is. Because the cross is central to everything. It is the mainstay of Christianity. We need to understand that.

We need to digest that. And so when you come to Luke's Gospel in Luke chapter 22, you have the events that lead up. To the cross of Jesus Christ our Lord. And it's very simply stated in Luke chapter 23. Verse number 33, and when they came to the place called the skull, there they crucified him. That's a statement. Everything that's been written before that verse leads to that one verse. Everything in the Old Testament, everything in the Gospel leads to that one verse. It is the reason for the incarnation.

It is the reason Jesus came. He came to die. And very simply stated in one verse. And then over in chapter 24, verse number 1. But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.

And Luke 24 speaks of the resurrection of the Messiah. In Luke 22, you have everything that leads up to that event. Now, before there was that ev, there was the prediction. About the cross. Okay? So everything in the Old Testament is about the preparation for the cross. After the cross, the New Testament is all about the proclamation of that cross. Everything dealing with its application, everything dealing with its instruction, everything dealing with its celebration, everything dealing with the ultimate culmination of the end of the world, all as a result of the cross of Jesus Christ.

But before Luke 22 and Christ speaking about what's going to happen, there is always the prediction that he gives about the cross. Because Luke 22 is not the first time it's mentioned.

If you go back to Luke chapter 9, Luke chapter 9, it says, The Son of Man must suffer many things. And be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised up on the third day.

In Luke chapter 9, he's already spoken to them about the necessity of the cross. Listen. When he was 12 years old and he was in the temple, and his parents had left him at that bar mitzvah, his official bar mitzvah. The son of the law, they had left and gone back to Nazareth and realized that he wasn't with them. Remember that? And so they came back and found him in the temple. He was talking to the scribes and Pharisees. And Mary said to him, Where have you been? We've been looking for you. What was his response?

The only recorded words of Jesus before his earthy ministry at the age of around 30 years of age. Was do you not know? I had to be about my father's business. What is his father's business? His father's business was all about sending his son to die. So at the age of 12, everything was centered around the cross because he knew that everything in the Old Testament was preparation. For the cross. Everything after that would be a proclamation about the cross. And right before in the Gospels, He gives us the predictions.

Concerning the cross. Luke 9 tells us about the necess of the cross. He must. Suffer. And then over in Luke chapter 9, verse number 44, let these words sink into your hearts, for the Son of Man is going to be delivered. Into the hands of men. Not only the necessity of the cross, but the certainty of the cross. Not only is it necessary. It is absolutely certain to happen. And then it says in verse 45, but they did not understand the statement. And it was concealed from them so that they might not perceive it, and they were afraid to ask him about the statement.

Why were they afraid? You read on, you realize they were afraid to ask him because of the implications of the cross. They were so concerned about who was the greatest in the kingdom. They were so self-absorbed, they couldn't even think of death and what the cross meant for them. So he talks in Luke 9 about the necessity of the cross. He moves then to the certainty of the cross. And then over in Luke chapter 18, already spoken by our Lord. He gives us what we call the brutality of the cross. Verse 31: Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things which are written through the prophets about the Son of Man.

Will be accomplished. There you have the statement. Everything written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man is all about the preparation. Of the cross. It all prepares people for the coming sacrifice that will appease the wrath, the divine wrath of Almighty God. And he says, for he will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and mistreated and spit upon. And after they have scourged him, They will kill him, and the third day he will rise again.

He talks about the brutality of the cross. He begins with the necessity of the cross. He moves to the certainty of the cross. Then he talks about the brutality of the cross, but he always talks about it in context with the victory of the cross. After three days, he will rise again. But that's not the end of his prediction because he also talks about the essentiality of the cross. For Luke 9:2, he says, For if any man come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and Follow me. It's the essentiality of the cross.

It is fundamental to the gospel presentation to speak about the cross and its implications. To leave the cross out of your gospel presentation is to leave the fundamental element of Christ out of the conversation. You cannot talk to somebody about their eternal destiny without talking to them about the cross of Jesus Christ. It's necessity. Its certainty, its brutality, its victory, its essentiality, because without bearing the cross, you will never be a follower of Jesus Christ. And that's why, when you come to Luke's Gospel in the 23rd chapter, these words are spoken in verse 26.

And when they led him away, they laid hold of one Simon of Cyrene. Coming in from the country and placed on him the cross to carry behind Jesus. That one verse is the one verse that is the biggest message that Jesus. Gave because it symbolized what it meant to be a follower of Christ. Because Christ, throughout his ministry, had preached: if any man come after me, he must deny himself, he must take up his cross, he must follow me. And Simon of Cyrene was compelled out of the crowd to carry that cross beam and follow Christ to Calvary because that became the living illustration of what it meant to be a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.

If you're going to follow me, you must be prepared to die for me. That is the gospel presentation. That was the truth of the gospel. That's why you have everything in the Old Testament as preparation for the cross. Everything in the New Testament, after the Gospels, as the proclamation of that cross, and in the Gospels, everything is about the prediction concerning the cross. You with me so far? This is the glory of the cross. So important. You need to grasp it. Now you come to point number four: the precision of the cross.

The precision of the cross, because everything you're going to read now is. pre. It's exact. It's perfect because of what the Lord God does to orchestrate everything to bring about his purposes. He orchestrates Satan. He orchestrates the son of perdition, who is Judas. He orchestrates his students, the disciples, to do what they've been told to do. He orchestrates the lives of the. Superficial, the superficial leaders of Israel, the scribes, the Pharisees, the religious establishment of Israel. All that is orchestrated by the sovereign God of the universe.

And you're going to see everything happen in a precise manner exact as God des it. It's Wednesday of Passion Week. There are 48 hours left, approximately, before his crucifixion. Really, there's only 24 hours left. And everything has to come together with Judas, the son of perdition. With a superficial religious establishment, the scribes, the Pharisees, the Herodians, with Satan orchestrating in the life of Judas. With all the students, the disciples, doing what they're called to do by God by preparing the Passover, everything happens at a precise moment.

Because the Lord was in complete control of everything. Let me read it to you. It begins in Luke chapter 21. Verse number 37, because this is where we left off some nine weeks ago before the Christmas celebration and our New Year's message. Luke 9:3. Now, during the day he was teaching in the temple, and at evening he would go out and spend the night on the mount that is called Olive. And all the people would get up early in the morning to come to him in the temple to listen to him. Now, the question comes: why would he go to the Mount of Olives at night?

You have to understand this. Remember, he has just spoken on Wednesday of Passion Week. To us, men, about the coming kingdom of God. We spent many weeks talking to you about all that that entails as best as we possibly could in Luke's Gospel. He was on the western slope of the Mount of Olives talking to him about the coming kingdom of God. But each night, remember, he came into Jerusalem on Monday. He would teach on that day. He would go then back to Mary and Martha's house, and then he would come on Tuesday and cleanse the temple.

With that, it was a huge ruckus. At the same time, he would begin to proclaim the truth. On Wednesday, he would come back and he would teach all day, preaching and teaching to the multitudes, as well as answering the questions of the religious establishment. But he had to go away at night to the Mount of Olives because it was dark. It was pitch black. He had to go there because if they could find him, they would find him and they would kill him. This is important. That's why they would need someone like Judas, someone on the inside, so they could finally get to Jesus, because they did not know where he was.

Listen to what it says in chapter 22, verse number 1. Now the feast of unleavened bread, which is called the Passover, was approaching, and the chief priests and the scribes were seeking that they might put him to death, for they were afraid of the people. Why were they afraid of the people? Because of his immense popularity. You see, it would be their desire to get him, to capture him. To hold him through Passover so the crowds would subside and they could go through their trial and they could kill him without an uproar from the people.

But that was not God's plan. That was their plan. But they couldn't get to him. They couldn't find him. The people loved him. And so they had a little bit of a predicament. What would they do? Listen to what Matthew's gospel says, Matthew 26, verse number 1. And it came about that when Jesus had finished all these words, all what words? All the words in the Ol Discourse, Matthew 24. Matthew 25, Mark 13, parallel passages, Luke 21. When God had completed saying all these words, it says He said to his disciples, You know that after two days the Passover is coming and the Son of Man is to be delivered up for crucifixion.

That is precise. This is the precision of the cross. After two days, it's Wednesday of Passion Week. It's going to happen on Friday. After two days, it's going to happen. The Son of Man is going to be crucified. He had already predicted this. He had already spoken about this. Everything in the Old Testament was preparation for the cross. Everything after the cross is a proclamation about that cross. In the Gospels, it's all about the predictions concerning the cross. Now, in Luke 22, you come to a place called the precision of the cross.

Everything happens at the exact moment, at the exact time, with the exact events surrounding it because it had been ordained by a sovereign God. This tells you that our Lord God is in control of everything, every little thing. Let me show you how.

Read on Luke 22. And Satan entered Judas, who was called Is, belonging to the number of the twelve. And he went away in discussed with the chief priests and officers how he might betray him to them. And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. And he consented and began seeking a good opportunity to betray him to them apart from the multitude. Then came the first day of unleavened bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed.

He sent Peter and John saying, Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it. And they said to him, Where do you want us to prepare it? He said to them, Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water. Follow him to the house that he enters. This is the precision of the cross. Go to the city. Guess what? You're going to find a man carrying a pitcher of water. Wow. And you shall say to the owner of the house, The teacher says to you, Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with my disciples?

And he will show you a large furnished upper room, prepare it there. And they departed and found everything just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover. Folks, that is precise. It is the precision of the cross. Everything happens at a divine timetable precisely as God has ordained it. Everything. It's called the precision of the cross. Luke tells us in Luke 22: Now the feast of unleavened bread, which is called the Passover. Very important to understand that. Number three: great feast: Pentecost.

Feast of booth, and fe of un bread. Three great feasts that the Jews celebrated. Unleavened bre the the feast of un bread took place on the 15th of Nisan through the twenty first of Nisan.

On the 14th of Nisan was Passover. Passover was a celebration of what took place in Exodus chapter 12 with the blood on the doorposts and the cross when the death angel would pass over those. Who had obeyed the word of the Lord. Okay? And so Passover was one day. The Feast of Unleavened Bread would be the following seven days. It was an eight-day celebration. But Luke tells us that the feast of unleavened bread became known as the feast of the Passover. Okay, so the two bec one major feast. It was a specific feast because Christ was going to die on Passover.

Because he would be the Passover lamb that would be slain, you see. He would die at the precise time that all the Passover lambs were being slain. Everything was precise. It's called the precision of the cross. Remember, he was born where? In Bethlehem. Right at Mig Ad, according to Matthew 4, verse number 8, for to you it will come. What will come? The dominion of things to come, the ruler of the world. And why? Because at Mig Ader in Bethlehem is where they raised all the lambs for sacrifice. That's where he would be born in the city of David.

So, in Luke chapter 2, what do you have? For unto you this day, in the city of David, there's been born for you a Savior. Who is Christ the Lord? In the city of David called Bethlehem, at Mig Ad, there would be a lamb that would be born. That's why, when John the Baptist came on the scene in John 1:2. He said, Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And not one person said, What are you talking about? A lamb? Taking away the sin of the world. What are you talking about, John?

Nobody asked that. Nobody said that. Why? Because everything in the Old Testament was all preparation for the cross. Everything in the Old Testament led up to the sacrifice of the ultimate lamb that would come. That's why there was no question. What are you up? What are you talking about? John Lamb that would be slain. For the sins of the world, that would take away our sins. What are you talking about? It was never asked because everybody knew. See that? And so now you have the preparation for the cross, the proclamation about the cross, the predictions concerning the cross, and then the precision of the cross.

Was absolutely precise. It would all happen on time, just as the Lord God of Israel had planned it to happen. Because on Thursday night, The following night, it's Wednesday of Passion Week when we're talking in Luke 22. But on Thursday night, the following night, he is going to take that Passover meal. He's going to. Change it, translate it into something new called the Lord's table. So the bread and the wine that were used at Passover. Are now going to be used to celebrate the Lord's table to signify how it is now man's sin can be completely wiped away.

No longer will it be covered, it will be completely wiped away. And he will take that bread and take that cup and will bless it. And you will proclaim the cross until he comes. What a beautiful, beautiful picture of the redemption of man's sinful soul. Everything is about the cross. Always has been, always will be. And so, as you read on in the text, you realize that there was. All along, listen, number five, a protection for the cross. There was always a protection. For the cross. Why? Because they all want him de.

Back in Matthew chapter 2. H would slay every child two years and under for fear that there would be another king that would be born and take his place. He was used by Satan. But remember, the angel came to Mary and Joseph, and they fled to Egypt as a fulfillment of prophecy, by the way. But they would come back from Egypt, go to Nazareth, but they were protected. It's called the protection of the Cross. Remember in Luke chapter 4 in Nazareth when he stood up and preached in the synagogue in Nazareth to his homet to the people he grew up with.

to the people he played with, to the people he communicated with, where his family was from. They got up there and he began to speak and they hated everything he said, so much so that they wanted to take him to a cliff and throw him off the cliff and kill him, but he was protected. Because he would escape through the crowd because it was not his time to die. You can go on and you can look at all the events surrounding the Christ.

Remember in John 7, it says this: that this is the man whom they are seeking to kill. That became the title of the Messiah. This is the one whom they are seeking to kill. It happened in John chapter 5 at the pool of Bethesda when he healed a man who had been paralyzed for 38 years. And it was at that point they sought and made plans to kill him. They wanted to kill the Messiah and they thought of, were thinking of a way that they could capture him and get rid of him. But all the while, he was completely protected by a sovereign Lord.

who would watch over him until the exact moment that he would give his life away. That's why in John 10 he says, No one takes my life from me. I lay it down on my own initiative. No can take it. I lay it down willingly, sacrificially. But everything was about the protection of the c. That's why in John 7, verses 44 and 46, they sent the temple police to arrest him. And when the temple police went there and heard him speaking, they said, Never a man spoke. like this man spoke, and they could not arrest him.

Everything was precise, because in the precision of the cross was the protection for The cross. The Son of Man was given to die for the sins of the world. He would die at the exact time that had been predetermined in eternity past. So once you talk about the preparation for the cross, which is all the Old Testament and the first parts of the gospel.

And then you talk about the proclamation about the cross, which is the rest of the New Testament. And you go back and look at the Gospels and see the predictions concerning the cross.

And understand then the precision of the cross and the protection for the cross, you must come to grips and understand the predestin of the cross. Because it was all pre. Look at this: Luke 22.

Luke chapter 22, verse number 22. For indeed the Son of Man is going as it has been determined. Who determined it? Judas? Who determined it? The religious leaders? Who determined it? The nation of Israel? No. Who determined it? God determined it. It's called the predestination of the cross. Look what it says over in the book of Acts, the second chapter.

Acts chapter 2, verse number 22. Men of Israel, listen to these words. Jesus of Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs. Which got before him through him in your midst, just as you yourselves know, this man delivered up by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put him. To death, and God raised him up again. How was he delivered? He was delivered up by the predetermined plan and Foreknowledge of God the Father.

That's why in Revelation 13:8, he's called the Lamb of God slain before the foundation of the world. It was a pre plan. Everything happened as God designed it to happen. It's called the predetermination of the cross. This is why everything in the Old Testament was preparation for the cross because it was predetermined in eternity past. That's why all the all the figures and all the symbols and all the types of the Old Testament pointed to the cross because that was the plan that the Son of Man would come.

And die for your sins and for mine. That's always been the plan. And because that was the plan, that's the plan we proclaim. That's what we tell people. It's called the predetermination of the cross. Son of man is going as it has been determined. Wh leads us to point number seven, I believe it is, the propitiation on the cross. The propitiation on the cross, the satisfaction on the cross. You see, it was at that time. Isaiah 53 was fulfilled, verse number 10, when it says, It pleased the L to cr his son.

It pleased the Lord to crush his Son. You see, he wasn't man's victim, he was God's victim. Not man's. He wasn't subject to man's whims. He was subject to the predetermined plan of Almighty God. That he was a part of because he is God in the flesh from the very beginning. He came as a willing sacrifice, as a willing substitute. So that your sins and mine could be atoned. That's why we call it the propitiation on the cross or at the cross. Because that's when he could say, Lord, into thy hands I commend My spirit, because after those three hours of darkness, God's wrath had been satisfied, and God would receive him into his presence because he had borne in his body the sins of the world.

Everything. In the scriptures, it is about this event that we're going to study in min detail. From now to the end of the year, understand the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord. That 's why in Acts chapter 8. In Acts chapter 8, when Philip came across the Ethiopian eunuch who was reading from the prophet Isaiah. And he asked, to whom does the prophet refer? And Philip says, as Acts 8 tells us, He speaks to him concerning Jesus. And he interprets Isaiah 53 for the Ethiopian eunuch. And that man is born again and is baptized.

And thus, we realize that everything in the Old Testament led to that. That's why Paul says, Christ, our Passover. Was sacrificed for us. That's why in Revelation chapter 5, what is the celebration of the cross? Worthy is the Lamb. That was slain to receive glory and honor and praise. The book of Revelation is a celebration of the cross. Because that's what we're going to do throughout all eternity. Because we will see him, the Son of Man, as the Lamb of God. His apocalyptic name, because everything in eternity is a celebration about the cross.

Everything. Everything is about this. The Lord's Table. Everything in the Old Testament pointed to this. Everything in the New Testament stems from this. It's all about the cross. It's all about how that cross was predetermined. How that cross was prepared by everything that takes place in the Old Testament, how that cross would be proclaimed, how that cross would be exactly precise as God had determined it. how that cross would be that which would satisfy the wrath of Almighty God again sin and men who live in that sin.

What a beautiful, beautiful time we are going to spend understand everything concerning the cross of Christ. Because the Christ, the cross, is the provision for you and me. So we gathered together today to do what? To promote the cross. To be passionate about the cross, to contemplate the cross, to think back and reflect back on the cross. This is what we do. This is why we gather together on the first day of the month and set aside time for the Lord's table.

Because we do want to proclaim the Lord's death until He comes. And as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, that's exactly what we do. And that's why we're here today. In all this, at the end of Luke's Gospel and of chapter 21, leading into chapter 22, we're going to see how everything is prepared precisely, every event, every person, every detail. So much so that in John 19, when Pilate was angered that Christ would not speak to him, he says, You don't speak to me? Don't you know that I have authority to kill you?

And Jesus said, You have no authority over me un it be granted to you from above. Next time your boss says, don't you know I can fire you? say you can't fire me unless it's been granted to you from above. And they'll say, you're fired. Say, must be beneath you from above then. But God's in complete control of everything. And you're going to see all through the rest of Luke 22, leading into chapter 23, the crucifixion, 24, the resurrection, the glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord. It's all so perfectly detailed for us.

Just to show you that the Lord Jesus was not this well-intentioned prophet who came to earth and all of a sudden things just kind of went south. And they crucified him. Oh no. Oh no. Everything happened exactly as it had been designed to happen. He was God's lamb. Every Jewish family would select their Passover lamb. They would take their lamb into their house for three days before the sacrifice. So the children could love on the lamb, so the children could live with the lamb, so the children could pet the lamb, so that children could fall in love with the lamb, and then they would sla The lamb.

Why? They wanted to slaughter a lamb that meant something to the children. So here was Jesus. He wasn't Israel's lamb, but he was God's lamb. He was. He was God's victim. He would die for the gl, the glory of heaven. That 's why we call it the glory of the cross. Listen, we have one symbol in our auditorium. It's right there. That's the only symbol we have in our auditorium. It's the only one that matters. Nothing else matters. Beware the churches who have taken that symbol of the cross out of their auditorium.

They're not true messengers of the cross. They're not true preachers of the cross. That is our sanctuary, the cross. We bow before the cross of Christ. We humbly come and bow before the authority and everything around the cross and what it means because that is where we were purchased. That's where our ransom was paid. Right there. So we come and bow at the foot of the cross because of its glory. That's why, in John 17, when Christ prayed, Father, glorify thy name. What was going to glorify his name?

The cross. The cross of Christ would glorify all of heaven for all eternity. And we gathered together on this Lord's Day to celebrate the cross of Christ, the sacrifice that took place on Calvary's mountain. For each of us. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for today. We truly are a blessed people. We ask that, Lord, you would use this time in all of our lives. And we thank you for the cross as we come and bow before you in humiliation, humbly coming to thank you for your sacrifice. We pray that you'd be honored.

In Jesus' name, amen.