Fellowship Bible Church, Tacoma - Weekly Sermon

There's one clear main point to this passage: Jesus is not guilty. So why do we need to see this? What would we miss if this passage was missing from our Bibles? By the end, we'll observe four reasons why we can't understand the message of the cross unless we first see Jesus's innocence. And how, for all of us who ARE guilty, the message of the cross is very, very good news.

We are drawing into one of the darkest sections of the story of Jesus. In Luke 22:54-62, we see one of Jesus's top disciples (arguably THE top disciple) desert Jesus in his time of greatest need. So what can we learn from Peter's example? We learn plenty about temptation, tests, and how to fail. But even more importantly, against the dark backdrop of Peter's faceplant, we see the faithfulness, power, and grace of Jesus shine out all the brighter, even for failures like us.

The world, as we know it, is going to end someday. In the second half of Jesus's famous "Olivet Discourse" (go back and listen to the first half from Bruce last week!), Jesus tells his followers what that end will look like and, more importantly, how to prepare right now.

There is one clear theme in our passage today: Jesus is Lord. Once again, he faces challenges (this time about taxes and marriage), and once again - Jesus emerges victorious. In the process, he addresses questions like "Do we have to pay taxes?", "Will there be sex in heaven?", "What's the point of marriage if it's going to end in eternity?" and more. Jesus then ends with one of the most thrilling declarations of Lordship in all of scripture, prompting all who listen to respond in submission and rest.