How to Get Away with Murder

There are crosses everywhere. You don’t have to look hard to find one. They are perched high atop churches. They are on billboards. They are on t-shirts. They are around people’s necks. They’re even tattooed on people’s bodies. For most, the cross is so common, that they have never stopped to think about what the cross means and why so many people have paid whatever cost to make sure it was on full display.

The Greek word cross is a verb. Over 46 times, the word cross appears in the NT. It is woven into the fabric of NT theology. It’s Marks place of transaction. Jesus paid for all of humanity’s sins on the cross. It’s Matthews place of transformation. Jesus provided a place of transition where we can walk in the newness of life. It’s John’s transportation. Jesus’ life pointed God in every move He made. Even on the cross He was making things happen. Transacting spiritual business. Transforming lives. And transporting people to heavenly places.

Cross means action. Every time you see a cross, you ought to see some action. I’ve seen enough action to know that when there’s action, there’s sound. You can hear action. When there’s action, there’s power. You can feel action. Every time I read about the cross and what took place there, I can see, hear and feel Jesus’ action. He was hung between two guilty thieves. One thief talked trash, the other thief was forgiven. “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. Jesus said, this day you will be with ME in Paradise.” Action. While hanging on the cross, Jesus took a break from dying to deal with distress. He looked at His mom and John standing near the cross. He said to his mother, “Woman, behold your son!” Then He said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. Action. Listen. You have to do something with the cross because the cross did so much for you. What Jesus did on the cross changed the course of human history! Shout ACTION! Despite the agony, He hung in there. Despite the pain, He hung in there. Despite the humiliation, He hung in there. Despite the disappointment, He hung in there. He hung in there to teach us how to hang in there when things get tough and the going gets rough. ACTION! He wasn’t dying fast enough. Roman soldiers were going to break his legs to speed up his death. But before they could touch Him, He said, “it is finished.” He bowed His head and gave up His Spirit. No one takes my life. I lay it down that I may pick it up again. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. ACTION!

He was on the cross for one reason and one reason only. He set us free! Sin had us bound like criminals. Jesus went to the cross to set us free. Peter put it this way. He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree. He bore the sins of the world. It wasn’t just his body weight hanging on that cross. He had the weight of all of our sins piled on Him. Don’t miss His strength. He was strong enough to handle the sins of the world. He was strong enough to handle the shortcomings of the world. He was strong enough to handle everything we couldn’t handle. I hear you Paul. When I’m weak He is strong! Satan gave Paul a thorn in his side. It was making him weak. It was wearing him out. 2 Cor 12:10. God will you remove my thorn. It’s making me weak. It’s wearing me out. God said, “No.” My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in your weakness. Go Paul! Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may REST on me. That is why, for the sake of Christ, I delight in weaknesses, insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong!”

He Himself BORE our sins. BORE. That word grabbed me. Originally, BORE was used to describe moving something from a low place to a high place. In essence, when Jesus went to the cross, He lifted our sins high enough so we could get from under them. I don’t care what your sins are. Jesus is able to lift them high enough so you can get from under them. I don’t care how much you curse, Jesus can lift that cursing spirit high enough for you to get from under it. I don’t care how depressed you are, Jesus can lift that depressed spirit high enough for you to get from under it. I don’t care how broke you are, Jesus can lift that poverty spirit high enough for you to get from under it. Your life is lighter because Jesus did the lifting! Lift hatred. Lift sexual exploitation. Lift unforgiveness. Lift wickedness. Lift drunkenness. Lift brokenness. Lift deception. Lift immaturity. Lift misunderstanding. Jesus. Lift this heaviness off me so I can be free! Give me a crown of beauty for ashes, oil of joy for mourning and a garment of praise in place of a spirit of despair. He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree.

Twelve different people, all moving in different directions in life. But they all had the same thing in common. They all wanted to be free. No matter how different you are from those around you, we all want to be free from something, someone, somewhere, some thought. The doctor wanted to be free from the mundane and routine. Kriminal wanted to be free from poverty. Pretty Boy wanted to be free from crime. Joe wanted to be free from sickness. JD and Teri wanted to be free from their past. Grace and Lily wanted to be free from homelessness. Pastor Matthew wanted people to be free from sin. A chance encounter. Street preacher Malachi, carrying a cross, ran into Pastor Matthew. He asked him one question that set the stage for everything else. Do you believe? Of course. I’m a pastor. So what are you going to do about what you believe? Faith without works is dead. Declaration with no demonstration is dead. All talk and no action is dead. God wanted us free. Action. He sent Jesus born of a virgin birth to live among us, to lift our sins off us, to die for us, to get up with all power in His hands for us. God didn’t just talk about wanting us free, He set us free! Faith and works. Declaration and demonstration. Talk and action! Do you believe? Live like you believe in the power of the cross! He bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.

God set you free so you could live free. Die to sin. Live to righteousness. In other words, God wants us unavailable for sin but available for righteousness. Sin weakens. Righteousness strengthens. Catch this. Somebody is watching you right now. They hear you talking about you are a believer. They hear you listening to your worship music. They see you reading your Bible. But how are you living? Actions speak louder than words. People hear what you do more than they hear what you say. So live right. By their fruit you will recognize them. So live right. Every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. So live right. Even a young man is known by his actions-whether his conduct is pure and upright. So live right. Prov. 21:3. To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice. So live right. Micah 6:8. He has show you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God? Prov 10:6. Blessings are on the head of the righteous. He set me free so I could live free! Free from fear. Free from depression. Free from setbacks. Free from sickness. Free from poverty. Free from guilt. Free from shame. Free from mistakes. Free from sin.

I know Malachi, the street preacher was free. When he saw a crime in progress, he went over to witness to the young men committing the crime. Kriminal put a gun in his face. Malachi didn’t flinch. He was free from fear. Jo was free. He was in the hospital because he was sick. He saw that Lily was sick. He was next to be seen by the doctor. He went and exchanged her name for his. He was free from fear. After committing a crime, Pretty Boy ran into the church to hide from the cops. While there, Jo invited him in to cover him. He picked up and cross. Opened his heart. Received the love of God. The next time Kriminal saw him, he wasn’t afraid. He was free from fear. Bobby, the first responder, was free. When lied on. He did what was right. When pressured by his wife to lie. He did what was right. He was free from the fear of losing everything for Christ. Don’t tell me you’re free. Show me what free looks like!

Thomas. Doubting Thomas. After the death of Jesus, He appeared to the disciples. Thomas missed it. He wasn’t with them. When they caught up with Thomas, they told him how they saw Jesus. He didn’t believe them. John 20:25. He said, “unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe. They came running to Thomas wanted to believe. Eight days later, Jesus showed up for Thomas. He showed up to set him free from doubt. Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put your hand here, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, believe! It changed Thomas’ life forever. It set him free!

God set you free so you could live free. Did you know you could be free from sin, but still hurting from it? You can be physically free, but mentally damaged. You can be on a new job, but still damaged from the last job. You can be in a new relationship, but still damaged from the last relationship. You can be in a new ministry, but still damaged from the last one. You can be in your season, but still damaged from the last one. By His wounds, you have been healed! Notice, it doesn’t say you will be healed. Nope. By His wounds, you HAVE been healed. So God healed you so you can enjoy being free!