The Lamb of God

Feel free to inspect it, challenge it, and look for discrepancies and contradictions. Here’s what you will discover: The testimony of the Bible remains consistent and accurate. It’s accurate not only within itself but also with historical testimony outside of the Bible. This book is true. Its message is true. You can trust it. If you trust it, it will point you to Jesus the Lamb of God who comes as God’s sacrifice to take away the sins of the world. On the cross, the Lord made atonement for our sins. Anyone who trusts Jesus’s sacrifice to turn away God’s wrath and follows Jesus in faith will be saved. Their sins will be forgiven. They will be counted righteous in God’s sight by faith in Christ. They will be born again to live for God.

Is there anyone you think you should trust more than Jesus?

Luke 22:23-30

In the times of these events, darkness no doubt filled the minds of all who understood what was to happen. When the Lord mentioned “suffer” (v. 15) and said his betrayer was among them (v. 21), no doubt darkness entered the room. The disciples wondered to themselves who would cross the Lord. That must have been an awkward dinner-table conversation! Can you imagine your leader or rabbi saying to you once again that he will suffer because one of you sold him out? They would all deny the charge and perhaps eyeball each other.

Then, amazingly, their conversation moves from denying they would betray Jesus to arguing which of them was the greatest (v. 24)! Isn’t pride a blinding and dangerous sin! They actually argue about the Lord’s replacement before he is gone!

The Lord’s response was so gracious in verses 25-30. He wants the disciples to think rightly about the Christian life. So Jesus boils kingdom life down to two things: service and solidarity. Jesus makes it clear that life and leadership in God’s kingdom does not look like life and leadership in the sinful world. His followers do not lead like Gentile unbelievers who “lord it over” others (v. 25). Gentiles rule one another in power-hungry, power-grabbing pride and call themselves “Benefactors.” They oppress others and try to convince others it is for their good. Jesus says, “It is not to be like that among you.”

In the kingdom of heaven the Lord Jesus himself is the only Lord. Even he does not rule harshly and “lord it over” others. Instead, the Lord Jesus is “among you as the one who serves” (v. 27). If our Lord were at a banquet he would not sit at the chief place at the table and wait for others to serve him. He would, rather, dress in a servant’s uniform and attend to all the other guests. He’s the Lord of the table, but he is the kind of Lord who wraps a towel around his waist and washes the feet of others. In the kingdom of God, the greatest people are the greatest servants. In a world full of people who would argue for their own greatness based on age, class, privilege, race, gender, education, and almost anything else, the Lord shines bright as the one who forsakes all of those prejudices and gives his life for others. The Lord turns the entire world upside down with his emphasis on service.

Beginning in verse 28, the Lord graciously commends the disciples as those who “stood by [him] in [his] trials.” When the religious leaders opposed him, they did not run away from him. They stayed in solidarity with the Savior. When his family said he was crazy, they disciples did not distance themselves from him socially. When city mobs would get out of control and riot, they did not run away seeking their own safety. They were with the Lord in his trials, sharing the danger and rejection that he faced. They expressed unity with him. In that solidarity the Lord promised to give them a kingdom. Just as the Father has given Jesus the kingdom for obeying the Father’s will and accomplishing his plans, so the Lord promised to confer a kingdom on his disciples for standing with him in solidarity. In this kingdom we will eat and drink together with Christ, enjoying the final fulfillment of the fellowship we have with him.

Among Christians, leaders serve. The man who would lead God’s people who wishes to be served violates the very nature of leadership in the kingdom. The pastor who would accrue for himself riches and wealth, comfort and ease, fame and popularity on the backs of God’s people, that pastor betrays Christ. What we do and who we are as leaders is not for the benefit, comfort, and ease of the leader. Pastors must be among the people as those who serve.

It is wonderful to be called “pastor.” The office of pastor ought to be respected. But a “leader” betrays the office and the honor and the trust of Christ and the people of Christ if he uses that trust for his own gain. If you see that in us as your pastors, then stop following us. Call us to repentance and to account. Never follow a man who chases his own name. Never follow a man who chases his own belly. Never follow a man who lives for himself. Christ did not live that way. Christ made himself a servant. Such a man is indeed a gift to a church. Receive such a man as a gift from the Lord.

We nominate persons to serve as deacons or elders in our church who reflect our Lord’s heart and habit in this passage. Are they not the kinds of men who lay down their lives to serve the church? Do they not quietly go about their days doing good for others and building others up? We trust that in his grace God gives us pastors who not only watch over our souls but lay down their lives for us. Let us honor such men. Cherish them. Let us encourage them in their service and praise God for his gifts.

Let us be Christians who stand in solidarity with Christ. I have been scratching my head trying to think through the police shootings of the recent past. I have sometimes been befuddled. I try to use social media in a way that I hope over the course of time speaks the whole counsel of God. I don’t make any pretensions of doing that well. Sometimes I write and almost with the first comment I regret not striking the correct balance or saying things well.

This past week, and for a long time, I found myself standing between legitimate desires for multiple people. It’s right for people to challenge me about whether something I’ve written duly honors good police officers or whether I’ve called into question the integrity of all officers. The challenge isn’t always done well, but I don’t bristle with the challenge. I hear the call to stand with those placed in authority over us (Rom 13:1), especially those whose actions are just and true.

It’s also right when people write and say, “We need to stand with those who have been victimized by officers who seem to go rogue in their treatment of citizens.” So we hear the call for Christians to stand in solidarity with victims, to cry out for the voiceless (Prov 31:8-9).

We stand between what can feel like competing calls to solidarity with either officers or victims. These calls go out unreflectively and uncritically without regard to the facts of each case. Have you figured out how to thread the needle of these competing calls? I certainly haven’t.

Reading this text did help me to figure one thing out: We are called to stand in solidarity with Christ. As we stand with him, as we take upon ourselves his name, as we endeavor to live as fully as we can the whole counsel of God, it’s that solidarity with Christ armed with the wisdom of his Word that helps us go as far as we need to go in solidarity with others. But we are not fundamentally expressing loyalty to man; we are most fundamentally expressing loyalty to Christ. That means we must have a critique and commendation for everyone. His word surely steps on the toes of all of us, affirming us and rebuking us, whether we think about the color of skin or the color of uniforms. Or, to put it another way, it is not the fulfillment of Christian solidarity with Christ to refuse to offer a necessary word of encouragement or rebuke to whomever is before us. We all have natural empathies with different groups in different situations, but those empathies are not to be trusted. Christ is to be trusted. We will have natural and instinctive responses, even well-formulated responses. Christ and his Word are to be trusted. We must interrogate our assumptions and our loyalties to be sure we stand with Jesus in these tumultuous times. We work out our lesser loyalties under our greater authority to the Lord. As it was for Jesus’s original disciples, the promise is a glorious, unshakeable, unending kingdom.

In all of our attempts to live faithfully in the world, we are not fundamentally fighting for control of the United States. We are not fundamentally fighting for control of human government. We are not fundamentally fighting for reform of police departments and policing or the change of local communities. Those are not ultimate things. Those are all proper things in their proper place. What we actually live for is another kingdom, another Ruler, and a city whose foundations are not laid with human hands! We live for another kingdom where we will rule with Christ. In that kingdom sorrow will have met its end. Death will be forever eliminated. Tears will be forgotten. In that kingdom we will only know his love, his grace, and his mercy. At this Last Supper Christ lifts our eyes to that day and that rule as our hope. Let’s make sure our hearts are set on that kingdom in solidarity with Christ.

Luke 22:31-34

Jesus addresses Simon Peter in verses 31-34. He tenderly repeats Simon’s name. The Lord states a startling fact: Satan has taken a personal interest in Simon’s destruction. Indeed, Satan would like to destroy all the disciples in order to destroy the entire Christian church in its infancy.

Simon’s response is just as startling. He seems undaunted by Satan’s interest and expresses confident self-reliance. He swears he will stand with Jesus no matter what—even unto death. Perhaps he has taken the Lord’s comment about standing with him in his trial too much to heart. As they print on every mutual fund prospectus, “Past performance is no guarantee of future results.” Simon seems oblivious to that fact. Simon thinks his past performance means a future of never failing Christ.

But we know the story. Simon will hear that rooster crow, and he will know it’s the referee’s whistle catching him in the foul. He will deny the Lord three times just as Jesus predicted.

Betrayal does not belong exclusively to Satan and to Judas. We may experience or commit betrayal as Christians. All our sins are betrayals, but here is the key: Judas went on to destruction, but even as Jesus informs Simon of his coming betrayal, the Lord also says that he has prayed for Simon’s faith to stand. What a remarkable thing! The Lamb of God prays and intercedes for us. In our conflict with Satan and temptation to sin, even when we seem unable to pray, there remains one who prays for us! Christ the Lord has chosen intercessory prayer as his continuing ministry at the right hand of the Father.

During our worst failures in sin and temptation, Christ was already praying for us. He always pleads for us. His blood always intercedes for us. We have an advocate with the Father (1 John 2:1). As with Peter and Job, invisible warfare rages around us. We are not always aware of it. Satan prowls about looking for Christians to devour (1 Pet 5:8), looking for ways to steal, kill, and destroy (see John 10:10). But Christ is always on the job to pray for us and keep us. What a merciful Savior! What a wonderful God!

When he is betrayed, Jesus becomes a perfect Priest for us. He suffers what we have suffered, so he is able to identify with us and to intercede for us.

Perhaps you are a backslider. You have turned from Christ. Your heart by some degree has hardened toward Christ. For a season, perhaps you have indulged your sin. You may be reminded even now of your betrayal. The memory of his love haunts you. Perhaps you have been tempted to think that there is no way back, that you have gone too far in sin, and that Christ would not have you. Beloved, those are the whispers of Satan, not of Christ. See what the Lord says to Peter: “When you have turned back, strengthen your brothers” (v. 32). The Lord already anticipates Peter’s restoration and usefulness. Did not Christ come to Peter after the resurrection and three times affirm his love for Peter and Peter’s love for him?

Though it would be enough to restore Peter, the Lord goes further to make wonderful use of Peter in his kingdom. If you have backslidden, your life is not over. Your usefulness to Christ is not over. The Lord still has plans for you just as he still has love for you. If you come to the Lord, he will not crush you or reject you; he will receive you. And more than receive you, the Lord will renew you and he will reuse you for his glory and your joy. This is what the Lamb of God is like. He is the friend of sinners, and the backslider can come to him.

Luke 22:35-38

Jesus reminds his disciples of a short-term mission trip he once sent them on. On that previous trip, our Lord provided for them supernaturally. They testify that they lacked nothing they needed.

Now, however, the Lord sends them with moneybag, clothing, and supplies. It’s not that he will no longer provide for them. He will now provide through the regular means of the church itself. So we go out into the whole world proclaiming this lamb in partnership together. This is why we want international missions in the DNA of every local church. We partner together to make Christ known to the world.

Praise be to God for the Lamb who was slain! In his being betrayed he guarantees us that betrayal does not have the last word. Instead, he guarantees us redemption and a home in his kingdom where our enemies cannot reach. This kingdom and our home are coming. It belongs to all those who belong to Christ.