Matthew 17:22-23..Working

Matthew 17:22-23..Working

17:22 When they (Jesus and His inner circle, Peter, James, and John) came together (gathered) in Galilee, (Reassembling with the other Nine disciples after returning from Caesarea Philippi-(16:13) he said to them, “The Son of Man (Expresses a Messianic title signifying the Messiah’s human origin) is going to be (Expresses necessity, divine sovereignty) betrayed (3860-To deliver treacherously over by way of betrayal.) into the hands of men. (By Implication Judas Iscariot who would betray Jesus by turning Him over to the Jewish and Roman authorities.-{Matt. 26:21-25, 47-50})  23 They will kill (crucify) him, and on the third day he will be raised to life.” (Resurrected) And the disciples were filled with grief. (exceedingly sorrowful,  heartbroken, deeply dismayed. The disciples were only focusing on Jesus’ death, and had not yet grasped the idea of a resurrection. Or they were focusing on Jesus’ Messiahship and the promise of a coming Kingdom. Even arguing as to who would be the greatest in it.-(Luke 9:46) The Gospel of Mark says “It was hidden from them, and were afraid to ask him about it”-(Luke 9:45) Suggests they feared Jesus would reproach them for their spiritual dullness.-(Mark 8:17-18)

Extended Sermon Notes

“Displays God’s sovereign control. Nothing happens by accident or some unfortunate event.” ⇒ When we think of sin and evil in the world, including the most evil act of all, the execution of Jesus, God’s own Son at the hands of men, God is still sovereign and ultimately in control. Because God’s sovereign hand is in control. We can take comfort that no matter what goes on in life, were still in God’s hand. When a friend or spouse betrays us, were still in God’s hand. When all Hell breaks loose, we’re still in God’s hand. When the enemy stands against us, we’re still in God’s hand. When were stick and can’t seem to get well, were still in God’s hand. When were under spiritual attack, were still in God’s hand. When death knocks on the door, were still in God’s hand.

“Teaches nothing that happens or what we go through is a surprise to Jesus”. ⇒ Jesus already knows the outcome, it’s no surprise to Him. Notice in this passage that the actual betrayal doesn’t happen until chapter 26. But here in chapter 17 Jesus has already seen it.  Which goes to show that Jesus knows what’s going to happen in our lives long before it happens! That whatever goes down in our future it’s not a surprise to the Him. Our struggles and problems are no surprise to God. Nothing were going through will catch Him off guard. God knows beforehand when our hearts are going to be broken, and the pain were going to endure. He knows the loved ones we are going to lose. He knows what the enemy will try to do to us. Because Jesus knows what’ happens beforehand we don’t have to panic or stress because He saw it before we got in it. That’s why we can take courage that because Jesus knows all about our struggles, everything is going to work out for our good. That nothing happens to us by accident or chance, there’s a purpose behind it. We may not see it at the time, but the Lord does! That Jesus knows what’s appropriate and not appropriate for us.

“Teaches often times we only focus on the negative side of things and never the positive side.” ⇒  This tendency to only focus on the negative is what’s called a “Negative Bias”. It’s a natural human tendency to give more weight to negative experiences than positive ones. People with negativity bias may expect the worst in others, dwell on negative feedback, remember negative things more vividly than positive things, and respond more strongly to negative stimuli. The negative bias can have a variety of real-world effects on how people think and act. Does any of these sound familiar? You received a performance review at work that was quite positive overall and noted your strong performance and achievements. A few constructive comments pointed out areas where you could improve, and you find yourself fixating on those remarks. Rather than feeling good about the positive aspects of your review, you feel upset and angry about the few critical comments. You had an argument with your significant other, and afterward, you find yourself focusing on all of your partner’s flaws. Instead of acknowledging their good points, you ruminate over all of their imperfections. Even the most trivial of faults are amplified, while positive characteristics are overlooked. You remember how someone said “don’t wear your sunglasses on your head – it makes you look unprofessional’. Ten years later you only remember that specific feedback. You couldn’t remember what any of the positive feedback was.

“Even today, we often fail to see good news in the midst of a bad situation. We only see the awful end and make our own conclusion that it’s not going to turn out well. When what we should be doing is taking stock of what is to come, that this is not the end of the story. (No matter how bad things may seem, always take inventory of God’s Word and promises.)” ⇒ If we would remember what God had said to us in the past, we wouldn’t be sorrowful in dealing with the situation were going through right now.  Did you know that 90‰ of the time when something comes up we think it’s going to go bad. We hear part of the story and get just a limited glimpse of the situation and before we know it we start to give that situation legs. And it starts to lead us is in the place of grief, “oh no” this going to be bad! “Nothing good is going to come out of it.” Don’t let the facts talk you out of what the Most High God has promised you. The facts may say you’re addicted, it’s permanent – God says, “I override the facts. Freedom is coming”. The facts may say, “You’ve gone as far as you can”. God says, “I’m about to open doors you never dream would open. I’m about to catapult you ahead”. The facts may say, “You can’t get well”. God says, “I’ve made your body. The number of your days I will fulfill”. The facts may say, “You can’t be successful, the opposition is too big”. God says, “No one can stand against me. What I have spoken will come to pass”. What we should be doing is when going into these situations is looking for the Lord to be true to who He is.

Additional Notes & Applications

In our day where truth is in short supply, where being politically correct, crafted answers, and plain old stretching the truth. Jesus, however, is very plain about His future. There is nothing hidden or held back. How much more are we to use simply and direct words……….(To be Continued)

The disciples response in being “deeply grieved” seems to dwell strictly on the fact of Jesus’ death. Often when strong emotions overtake us, it’s hard to hear correctly or to think clearly. This also displayed in the fact that the disciples didn’t ask about the treachery involved in His arrest, (If it would be one of them or somebody else) or the miracle involved in His being “raised on the third day.” Not only that but this time they hear Jesus’ message and instead of responding with a stern rebuke of their Master like Peter-(Matt. 16:21-22) they are “filled with grief.”

This is the second passion prediction that Jesus gave to His disciples and what is to come. The differences with this one than the first one. Is that Jesus adds another detail of how He is going to be delivered or betrayed into the hands of men. Only in the third and final passion prediction will “crucify,” be used. One could say that death and how He would be killed did not take Jesus by surprise. He was in control of His life and no one took it from Him.