Title: Prophecy of Suffering (Luke 18:28-34)
Content Our Lord gives glorious promises to those who sacrificed for him.
<No one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will not receive many times as much in this age, and eternal life in the age to come.> This promise in the text is very unique.
This promise is not speaking of a reward in the afterlife or a crown that will not pass away, but clearly teaches life in the present.
This is the word about <now at this time>.
This word, “received many times” must be taken in a spiritual sense.
This means that Christians are fully compensated for everything they have given up for Christ.
Such a person will find that what he has lost and given up has been rewarded several times.
In short, Jesus Christ would be far better for them than relatives, property, or friends.
God's people will discover the amazing fulfillment of these words in their experience.
Note the word hundredfold.
Through all the ages of the church, this word is being witnessed, saying that when people give up everything for the sake of the kingdom of God, the rich grace of Christ is more than enough to compensate for all the losses.
A true Christian can glorify himself in tribulation and rejoice in sickness, need, discipline, or suffering for Christ's sake.
Even in the darkest of times, we can have a full joy, and we can be proud of being reproached for the name of the Lord, when we are poor or in captivity, when we are in prison or in court, when we are in the midst of fire or the threat of the sword, the word of Christ. Those who believe that silver always brings good results are rewarded in this world.
Friends can break promises, rich people can go bankrupt, but the word of our Lord has never fallen to the ground.
Therefore, we must hold fast to this promise.
We must not succumb to the fears and doubts that lie ahead.
And what we believers need is a daily practice of faith in the word of Christ.
Let us today look at the fact that the text himself clearly foretold the death of Jesus Christ.
You will see the Lord saying, “The Son of Man will be delivered to the Gentiles, to be harassed, to be insulted, to be spit on, and to be whipped and to death.
The Lord spoke often of his own death.
His death is a substitutionary death.
He hung His body on a tree to make up for our transgressions.
He gave his flesh and blood to give life to the world.
The cornerstone of all truth about Christ is the saying, “For while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
The love of Christ is beyond words and beyond measure.
We can rest on that love without fear.
If Christ loved me so much before we thought of him, then I am sure he will love me even more after we believe in him.
Our Lord did not shun the bitter cup of death before it.
Therefore, we too cannot avoid the cup that the Lord gives us.
As we read the text, we see that the Lord's disciples did not quickly understand the Lord's death.
When the Lord explained the suffering, it is written, “They did not understand any of these things, because the words were hidden, and they did not know what he had said.”
We will be amazed at the blindness and folly of the Jews and the disciples.
We cannot ridicule those who did not understand the clear teachings hidden in the clear symbols of the Law of Moses and the Prophets, who knew neither the explanation of death nor the prophecies of suffering.
Before we start to wonder at his feeble disciples who don't understand what the Lord said about his death, we'd better take a look at the people around us.
It humbles us to think that so-called Christians today do not value or understand the death of Christ.
We must examine our own hearts.
We live in an age of false doctrines about the death of Christ.
Let us understand that Christ crucified is the living foundation of our hope, and that Christ's atoning death gives true life to our souls.