The Gospel According to Luke - Luke 18:31-34

14 September 2026

Pastor Brant Van Rolkel of Christ Church Kitsilano explores a crucial moment in Jesus's ministry when he predicts his passion to the disciples. Drawing from Luke 18:31-34, the sermon unpacks two central themes. First, the necessity of Christ's death and resurrection according to Old Testament prophecies. Van Rolkel demonstrates how God's unified plan of salvation, woven through over a thousand years of scripture by more than thirty authors, consistently pointed to a Messiah who would both suffer and reign. The pastor explains why the suffering was essential: without Christ's atoning death addressing humanity's sin, a glorious Messiah would rule over a kingdom with no redeemed citizens. Second, the sermon addresses the mystery of why the disciples couldn't grasp what Jesus was telling them. They were blinded both by their own expectations of a political, military Messiah and by their need for God's revelation through the Holy Spirit. Van Rolkel calls believers to surrender their own visions of how God should save them and to ask the Holy Spirit to open their eyes to see Jesus as he truly is, trusting that God's plans are far better than their own.

Listen to the sermon