Setting: Traditional Worship
Length: 18:16
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Occasion: Good Friday Meditation
Style: Quiet Meditation
Commentary: A 3 part meditation originally separated by 3 prayers are unprofessionally stitched together
Title: The Appointed Time
Main Scripture: Matthew 26:17-19
Main Topics: meaning of "the appointed time", his suffering and death, plan of salvation, God's sovereignty,
As you listen, select, copy, and paste the following outline:
First Meditation: The Appointed Time
-The suffering and death of our Savior was no accident
-before the foundations of the world, it was within God’s eternal plan that His Son would come and give His life as a ransom for many
-on the night before He was crucified, Jesus was intensely focused on His mission
-He called it the “appointed time”
-in Matthew 26, it was the night of the Passover
-v. 17….the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?" 18 He replied, "Go
into the city to a certain man and tell him, 'The Teacher says: My appointed time is near.
-for the disciples, this was a time to get ready for a sacred feast
-for Jesus, He was thinking about another kind of time
-we know this because the word “time”….NOT the common word “time” which has to do with general space and time
-Jesus is NOT talking about a specific time of day
-there is a general word for that
-instead, Jesus uses another word for time with expresses a higher form of time…..such as a predetermined period of time
-and so the NIV translates is as “appointed time”
-as if what was about to unfold was appointed….predetermined to occur
-and by faith, we know that it was
…Jesus was at all times conscious of this appointed time
-Galatians 4:4…..when the time had fully come, God sent his son….
-all of heaven was conscious of this appointed time
-even the angels….
-even the fallen angels….
….earlier in His ministry….when Jesus took a boat and went into the region of the Gadarenes, He was met by 2 demon possessed men coming out of the tombs….
-upon seeing Jesus, they shouted in Matt.8:29 "What do you want with us, Son of God?" ….. "Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?"
-even the demons were conscious of the appointed time
-The suffering and death of our Savior was no accident
-before the foundations of the world, it was within God’s eternal plan that His Son would come and give His life as a ransom for many
-and so, He would eat with His disciples that night
-and fully aware of the betrayal that was about to happen, He went out into the garden
Second Meditation: The Intentions of Man and the Appointed Time
-in that garden, the intentions of man would seem to be in control
-the intentions of one disillusioned disciple who would betray his master
-there are also the intentions of the Ciaphas and the teachers of the law
-there is also the intention of Peter who tries to stop the arrest with a sword
…..Jesus would make it clear that the appointed time is a divinely ordained time that cannot be thwarted by any human effort
-He declared on that dark night that He could have called down 12 legions of angels
…..one legion is 6,000
….more than 12 legions is more than 72,000 angels!
-consider back in 2 Kings 19:35 where a single angel would slay 185,000 Assyrian soldiers….we can only imagine what more than
72,000 angels could do
-the natural forces are no match for the supernatural forces
-but He would not call them down because all that is now happening is really part of an ordained plan
-a plan that was made known in the Scriptures
-in fact, if He called down the angels, how would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?” Matthew 26:54
-a disillusioned disciple would be involved
-swords and clubs are drawn
-our savior is surrounded by a hostile crowd and his cowering disciples
-the intentions of man might seem to rule the night
-but all that happens is part of an appointed time
-The suffering and death of our Savior was no accident
-nothing happens outside the will of God
-Ephesians 1:11 speaks of God as one who “…works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will…”
….But the purpose of his will is not some formal treatise written with no feeling or emotion
-for God so loved…..the word…..that He gave His only Son…..
-the appointed time was ordained in love
…..so, we can see it as an act of love
-God loving us…..
Third Meditation: The Appointed Time and Its Significance for me
-what strikes us, is that our savior was willing to be part of this plan
-laying down His majesty
-denying all that He is worthy of….
-that we might receive the blessings there of….
-when Peter tried to stop the betrayal, Jesus says in John 18:11 "Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?"
-earlier, Jesus describes himself as a good shepherd. And in John 10, he said that “…..the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” (v.11). A few verses later (v.18), he would say, “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.”
-Peter did not understand this at first
-a sword in his hand, he wanted to stop the betrayal….or at least show his resistance to it
-when it became clear that he could not resist, he, along with the other disciples scattered
-the shepherd was struck and the sheep scattered
-Jesus’ words….His emphasis on his suffering and eventual death as predetermined….brought no comfort to Peter
-frustrated, afraid, and disoriented…..he deserted him and fled
-later, he would see things more clearly
-in his first letter, he remembers the suffering of his savior and is inspired to quote the prophetic words of Isaiah that Jesus did not retaliate….
-all for us
-that we might live for righteousness
-being healed by His wounds, we now have new meaning and purpose
-somehow, the appointed time does not remain a mysterious plan in the eternal mind of God but comes to us with meaning and significance
-somehow His unbearable suffering and tragic death brings new life for us
-and so, in a profound and mysterious way, this terrible cross becomes now something we embrace and even cherish
The following is a deeper expositional version of the "appointed time". It is more of an amplification of the first meditation above.
It also contains an explanation of "Maundy Thursday"
The following sermon makes a direct connection to the "appointed time" as the demons speak about it:
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