Why the cross?

Discussion

What was your biggest take away from the Pre-Work this week?

Hear updates on Practicing Mission/Story of Scripture projects

Main Point: The story of the Bible finds its fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ. He is the perfect King and Priest who has come to fulfill all of God’s promises by making atonement.

Why did the original passover take place?

Were the Israelites more righteous than the Egyptians? Did they deserve to be killed also?

Exodus 11:1–12:13 ESV

1 The Lord said to Moses, “Yet one plague more I will bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. Afterward he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will drive you away completely. 2 Speak now in the hearing of the people, that they ask, every man of his neighbor and every woman of her neighbor, for silver and gold jewelry.” 3 And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and in the sight of the people. 4 So Moses said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘About midnight I will go out in the midst of Egypt, 5 and every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the cattle. 6 There shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there has never been, nor ever will be again. 7 But not a dog shall growl against any of the people of Israel, either man or beast, that you may know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.’ 8 And all these your servants shall come down to me and bow down to me, saying, ‘Get out, you and all the people who follow you.’ And after that I will go out.” And he went out from Pharaoh in hot anger. 9 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not listen to you, that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.” 10 Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh, and the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go out of his land. 1 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 2 “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. 3 Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household. 4 And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, 6 and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight. 7 “Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. 8 They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9 Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts. 10 And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. 11 In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover. 12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. 13 The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.

The lambs died in the place of the firstborn—it was a substitute.

The lamb atoned for human sin/wrongdoing.

The sacrifices made God and human beings “at one”

Why do human beings need an atonement?

God is not indifferent to our immorality, all the way down to our immoral thoughts.

The smallest lie is a cosmic offense against God.

We deduce and don’t realize how objectionable our imperfections are to God.

From God’s perspective, is human nature natural?

Is sin natural?

Humanity’s current state is corrupt; not natural.

God does not view “human nature” as natural—because that’s not how He created it to function or to be.

Behind all our perverse behavior lies a worse crime: The dethroning of God.

When we sin against God, we dethrone Him as sovereign king of our lives.

We betray Him, side with the enemy, and become evil like the devil himself allthewhile convincing ourselves why we’re not that bad.

Is God just to condemn the devil?

Is God just to condemn humanity?

If He is to be consistent, He must judge humanity to the same degree that He judged Satan.

How are we made right with God?

The cross of Jesus Christ.

We meet the end of our sin and the beginning of our lives with God at the cross.

Not only is it the center of our atonement, it’s also the enthronement of God as He’s come to establish and break His kingdom into this world.

Why is blood necessary to be made right with God?

Hebrews 9:22 ESV

22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.

Justice requires death.

God provided for Adam/Eve in the garden with clothes of animal skins.

The shedding of blood means death is happening.

The sacrificial system

Death clings near to us.

How much blood are we talking about?

Every sacrifice that is made we’re hearing echos from Adam/Eve “you will surely die.”

Death is now our companion because of what happened in Eden.

Christus Victor

This understands Christ’s redemptive work fundamentally as a cosmic conflict in which Jesus achieves victory over sin, satan, death, and hell!

This framework emphasizes the divine struggle and triumph over evil that enslave humanity.

Moral Example

Penal Substitution

Substitution is the glue that holds the entire atonement gem together.

Substitution is the bedrock of the work of God.

Hebrews 10:12–14 ESV

12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

Christ is not only the sacrifice offered, He’s the High Priest who is offering it.

God exercises a holy wrath against sin.

The good news of the gospel is that He has placed His holy wrath against sin on His Son, and whoever believes in Him will have forever life with God in Christ.

Jesus being our substitute is pivotal for the gospel.

Because Jesus was the substitute, He is the victor over sin and death.

What is the relationship between the kingdom of God and the cross?

Isaiah 52:7 ESV

7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”

This is all about enthronement.

There is a King who reigns/rules.

Isaiah 53:4–5 ESV

4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 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.

Isaiah almost instantly begins speaking of the atonement.

He’s talking about the exact same King.

“Kings are not supposed to die on crosses. They’re supposed to reign and rule from thrones” (JT English)

The good news is that because the enthroned King was killed on the cross, there is no more condemnation against us.

The sacrifices of the old covenant never ended.

The blood continued to flow because the people continued to sin.

In the final sacrifice of Jesus—there’s no more blood required.

In the final bloody sacrifice of Jesus, we become a kingdom and priests to God.

Hebrews 10:14 ESV

14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

In this one sacrifice, there is enough to cover all those who are being sanctified.

Jesus’s ministry is perfectly fulfilled and we are perfectly covered.

Jesus’s death was sufficient for our justification, our sanctification, and our glorification.

Discussion

What is your main takeaway from this session?

What aspect of Christ’s accomplishments do you emphasize most (Justification, sanctification, assurance, adoption, reconciliation, redemption)? Why?

What aspect of the cross do you tend to de-emphasize? Why?

Pre-Work 2.4.26

Turn and Tell: With whom can you share something you learned in this session? What do you plan to share with them?

Continue working on the “Story of Scripture” and “Practicing Mission” assignments

Write a paragraph doctrinal statement on what you believe about “Atonement”

Read Matthew 28, Luke 24, John 20-21, Acts 1:1-11, Romans 6:1-14, 1 Corinthians 15.

Take five minutes and pray through Romans 11:33-36. Read it once out loud then use it to shape your prayer.

Next Big Idea question: “Does death win?”