The Cross
Notes
Transcript
We are all sinners..
deserving of eternal death..
but thank God that we have hope..
I love what peter writes in the opening of his first letter..
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
Because of jesus we have a living hope..
that no one can diminish..
A hope that satan himself cannot even tough..
And that hope was made possible to sinners like us through the cross..
The way in which Jesus paid the price for our ransom, our rescue, for our sin..
Introduction
Introduction
For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
The Cross is the center piece of our relationship with God..
Its is the bridge by which sinners become children of god..
by which Jesus has miraculously saved us from eternal death.
The cross is vital..
The world
Even the world counts the cross as important..
We live in a world where people see the cross as a symbol of good moral intentions..
and they use the cross in their everyday lives..
Icon
People put it in their jewelry..
rappers hang it around their neck..
People use it in clothing as a fashion statement..
builders incorporate it into building designs..
Our culture uses the cross in many ways..
People
but few of these ways reflect its true meaning..
to most its is a religious symbol or fashion icon at best..
because they have yet to accept the work that was completed on it by christ through repentance..
They have yet to realize that the wood itself is meaningless without the work that was accomplished on it..
And so it becomes folly, it never changes them..
Many see the cross but not the christ..
BUT
But for those who know the redemptive power of what happened at calvary…
Those that have been forever changed by it..
The cross is a constant reminder that the son of God, Jesus himself came and gave his life for our rescue and salvation.
Even though
Still though, most christians do not see the true nature of the cross..
The real suffering that christ endured through it and on it..
The terrible price that was truly paid for our freedom..
most of our modern worship and reflection does not come close to expressing the scene of which Jesus endured for us..
in our era we have desensitized the cross to make it a more palatable experience..
we’ve taken out the suffering so that people are not offended by its bloody and painful nature..
choosing to live in blissful ignorance of what truely took place..
What our caused our savior to endure..
understanding
but understanding the cost that was paid for us is paramount to our relationship with christ..
being deeply aware of what Jesus did for us is a must..
when we encounter the true cross of the Scriptures, of history, and of reality..
it changes us..
and so lets look at the cross..
Why the cross
Why the cross
The real cross was not situated in a comfortable sanctuary..
it wasn't a pleasant event that took place…
Rather, the cross was a horrible death
Moses under the inspiration of the holy spirit wrote centuries before Jesus..
…For anyone hung on a pole is under gods curse…
Romans Torture
The cross was invented by the romans and reserved as the worst punishment available..
It was the maximum punishment a person could receive..
It was so bad that the romans themselves implemented laws forbiding roman citizens from being hung on the cross..
Experience
the experience of the cross its self was ment to be pure torture..
Many would hang, hands and feet nailed to the cross for days..
without food or drink..
this would drive some to madness..
people would hang in the hot sun, in full veiw of the public..
suffering and dying without any dignity..
Eventually death would most often come in the form of suffocation
this was because those who hung their ran out of strength
and eventually they could no longer pull themselves up to breath..
It was pure torture…
Scriptural
For us To truly understand the meaning of the cross for us though
we must see it through the biblical setting in which it was used..
old Covanant
under the old covenant law, god mandated that sin must be paid for in blood
hebrews 9:22 reminds us of this..
Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
And this blood was required to come from a sacrifice without spot or blemish..
Man
Under the law of sacrifice..
Man would sin.. and then be required to bring a specific animal to the tabernacle..
the offender would then cut its throat..
shed its blood..
and the priest would sacrifice that animal for the sin of the man..
the blood would atone for him..
All People
on a more corporate scale
once a year a
sacrifice was made for the entire nation of israel..
This was known as the day of atonement..
The day that the sins of the nation were atoned, or paid, for..
a perfect spotless sacrifice would be brought..
blood would be shed again..
and the people would be forgiven..
the entire nation..
See
Now.. because of the law of sacrifice..
Man could see his sin and his need for a solution..
Problem
but the problem with this system was it was not permanent..
anytime someone sinned..
payment had to be made..
when israel sinned..
payment had to be made..
blood shed, after blood shed, after blood shed..
Jesus
then enters Jesus..
the fulfillment of gods plan..
remember what he said in matthew 5:17?
That he came not to abolish the law but rather to fulfill it..
Jesus came..
God in the flesh..
Fully god, and fully man..
and as we know.. he comes to laid down his life for us..
why?
Because he was the final sacrifice that atoned for our sin..
You see christ was the final perfect sacrifice that appeased the law of sin and bloodshed for eternity..
and not just for israel..
but for all.. as john said.. who would believe..
Sinless
The bible tells us he was sinless and spotless..
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.
Hebrews tells us he was the final sacrifice..
And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
You see the cross became an altar..
where the spotless lamb of god laid down his life..
so that our sins could be forgiven..
His blood shed.. so we could be free..
For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
without the cross there is no relationship with god..
Jesus was our final sacrifice..
But he died a horrible death to pay this price..
The real Cross
The real Cross
We know Jesus WAS An innocent man who was condemned to death.
When he was 33 he came into Jerusalem..
riding in as a humble king..
He was arrested and the jews brought up false charges against him..
Lies piled up about him…
They turned him over to pilot to be dealt with..
But Pilate could find not fault with him to condemn him.
Pilots wife even told him
….“Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today in a dream.”
But it was all in vain as the public was against Jesus. AND GOD WAS IN CONTROL..
They said to Pilot
… “If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.”
…they kept shouting, “Crucify, crucify him!”
Pilot gave in to there demands and sentenced him to death…
Christ the King of Kings and Lord of Lords
He who was the maximum authority in all of the universe was judged by a human council.
(Roll Passion Video Roll-in of Public Whipping)
The Lamb Prepared for Sacrifice (READ WHILE THE PASSION CLIP IS ROLLING)
Pilot ordered Jesus to be whipped
He was tied to a post, hands bound
The execution held a roman whip with pieces of metal and bone attached to leather straps.
He was then whipped until he had no skin left on him back, blow by blow, lash by lash..
Chunks of flesh pulled from his body.
He did not complain.
Many prisoners died during this beating,
But Jesus stood firm, taking the punishment.
The Anger of Satan was loosed on him until there was no skin left on his back, only open wounds and a resemblance of hamburger meat.
(You say that’s gross…That’s too graphic pastor, no he took it for you. Thats reality)
That’s what our sin caused the god of the universe to have to experience for us to have a relationship.
You ask why did Jesus suffer such a beating?
Why was there no mercy in the executioner?
Or why did he not have clear vision to see who Jesus was, The Author of Life.
To all of this we must respond that Jesus voluntarily accepted the torture in order to give us complete redemption.
that like he said in john 10:18.. no one takes my life from me.. I lay it down voluntarily..
The reason for every part of the affliction that was applied to the body of the Lord is a message of freedom.
We also know IT WAS THE FATHERS WILL!!
Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
he has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for guilt,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
Sickness Destroyed..
He Received 39 lashes that destroyed His back.
With every blow he received, however, the sickness and pain of humanity was being destroyed.
It is no coincidence that scientists have discovered 39 different types of infirmities in the human body.
What a significance those 39 blows have.
It’s Like Jesus is telling us “With these 39 lashes I have destroyed all sickness once and for all.
Scripture Bears this out
Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
(End Video Roll in of Whipping; Begin Video Roll-in Crown of Thorns on His Head)
They then placed a crown of thorns on his head that they constructed.
They were not satisfied with seeing Jesus’ Back destroyed and laid open.
The Thorns penetrated his head until it blead
It is believed that his head began to swell to twice its normal size leaving him unrecognizable.
again Isaiah Prophesied,
As many were astonished at you—
his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance,
and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—
so shall he sprinkle many nations.
Kings shall shut their mouths because of him,
for that which has not been told them they see,
and that which they have not heard they understand.
(Show Video –Roll-in of Jesus body being laid on the cross and being nailed to the Cross.)
He was made to carry a rough and heavy cross, which He hauled to Calvary.
But still he did not complain..
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
There were two others with him through torture, two of the worst criminals of the time..
And they made his grave with the wicked
and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.
Violently the executioners laid Jesus body on the cross and set about nailing his hands and feet to the wood.
For dogs encompass me;
a company of evildoers encircles me;
they have pierced my hands and feet—
hung
The Agony increased when the executioner lifted the cross into place.
He was suspended, hands and feet nailed to the cross for hours.
I can count all my bones—
they stare and gloat over me;
He was stripped of his cloths:
they divide my garments among them,
and for my clothing they cast lots.
They Mocked him saying things like:
“You saved others, now save your self”
“You gave sight to the blind and you raised the dead and you cant save yourself?”
“If you are the SON of God, come down from the cross and we will believe in you.”
Even the criminals said to him “ Jesus save yourself and save us”
Death (Start Video of MY GOD MY GOD … )
Luke 23:44 records From noon to three on the day of his death a severe darkness covered the land because the sun stopped shining.....
At about three Jesus cried out “ My God My God why have you forsaken me”..
His death was excruciating that it was like God himself had forsaken him..
Then with his last breath he cried “Father into your hands I commit my spirit”
Immediately the earth shook, The rocks split, tombs broke open and the veil of the holy of holies was torn.
Its important to note that 3pm was the exact time that the sacrifice was to be slain for the sins of the people under the old covenant… on the same day and time that Jesus breathed his last breath..
-HIS DEATH WAS SO POWERFUL THAT Many holy People who were dead were resurrected and seen through out the holy city.
(Picture of Jesus hanging on the cross)
Gods Plan
Understand… This was Gods Plan, Not Mans
Certainly the orders of the Jewish leaders contributed to the death of Jesus, but we must not forget that this was the plan of God for His Son.
Christ came for this purpose, to save the world.
Jesus knew
He knew the moment would come when he would have to confront the darkness.
He also knew it would be the most difficult moment of His life.
He knew the day and hour that he would be hung on the cross.
He spoke about it frequently among his disciples.
he reminded them that the Son of Man was going to be rejected, mocked, and spit upon.
Even though His ministry was short at 3 years, he walked everyday knowing and remembering his purpose, with out flinching.
His goal the completing the work on the cross.
We Deserved it..
We need to understand this morning.. that We deserve for all the wrath of god to be poured out on our lives as payment for our iniquities;
We deserved to be in his place on the cross..
paying the price for our sins..
but Jesus Christ chose to occupy our place, and in doing so became a curse so that we would not suffer eternal condemnation. =
Hanging on that cross, He poured out His blood.
He was the Lamb of God sacrificed for our sin.
This was Gods Devine plan, the savior becoming flesh and assuming the consequences for our sins.
The Device purpose for Jesus (Who is 100% God) was to make him the mediator before the father.
The significance of the death of Jesus on the cross should be for believers a source of great motivation because, as Jesus conquered death and the works of Darkness, we can conquer in the name of Jesus.
The indescribable experience that Jesus suffered on the cross is still valid and will be until the end of time.
this may be incomprehensible for some
Why
Why would God send his Son to this world to be wounded, mocked and beaten?
Because remember the shedding of Blood Was necessary
Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
To redeem means to be free from sin by the payment of a price
Jesus paid in full the price of our sins.
When Mankind fell in sin, we rebelled against God and fell into the hands of Satan.
But When anyone accepts the work of the cross
the blood of Jesus cancels out there sins
and we become children of god..
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Jesus took the cross for us..
He took our place..
so we could be free from sin and restored to relationship with him..
IT WAS FOR YOU AND I…
WE DESERVED TO BE ON THAT CROSs.. FOR OUR SINS AGAINST A HOLY GOD…
BUT THANKS BE TO GOD HE PAID THE PRICE FOR US..
(Hand out The nails.. )
