Ready or Not Here He Comes
Notes
Transcript
“Ready or Not here He Comes”
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We all react to things in different ways.
Don’t you like to get an advanced warning that you need to get ready for something? Have you ever invited someone to your house for dinner, and forgot to tell your wife you invited them? And then suddenly you remember the day of, and tell your wife. And what does she say? I can’t believe you didn’t remember to tell me this! I’m not ready, the house is not clean, we have no food, and you are going to help me get ready! And when they leave tonight; you’re going to die, but right now I need you to help me clean this house!
Some things that scare Tess, do not scare me. Whenever we watch a movie that has a jump scene in it; Tess will scream and kick her feet; she scares me more than the jump scene.
We need to get ready, they are coming!
Some things that are funny to me, are not funny to Tess.
John the Baptist is the prophet chosen by God to say to the world; ready are not here He comes! John was chosen by God to be the announcer of the Messiah. John’s ministry was to prepare people to receive Jesus as Savior. We meet John the Baptist, before we meet Jesus; he steps on the stage of time before Jesus and introduces Him.
My kids, love to laugh at other people’s expense.
The most famous words John ever spoke:
They will sometimes send me a video of someone falling, or getting hurt, and they think it’s hilarious. My daughter-in-law, Kim, is the worst. If you fall, or run into something and hurt yourself, she is going to laugh in your face. There you are trying to catch your breath, or wiping blood off your leg, and she’s laughing at you, it’s the worst.
-“Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world”
John’s assignment from God was to prepare people to receive Jesus. John the Baptist ministry was anywhere from six months to one year long.
My daughter Bethany will be saying, awe, are you all right, here let me help you, and Kim is laughing.
But it was marked by faithfulness to prepare people to receive Jesus as the savior.
We all react differently to things that we see or experience…
Today were going to look at people’s reactions to the cross; and ask ourselves what is our reaction to the cross?
V:4-“The voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight”.
The opening words in, V:26, set the scene for us:
John is the voice, chosen by God to prepare people to receive Jesus.
So how is a person prepared to receive Jesus?
V:26-“as they led him away…
Jesus begins to walk through the streets of Jerusalem, down the Via Dolorosa/ the way of suffering to Golgotha where he will be crucified.
The ways that John the Baptist prepared people to receive Jesus; are the same ways people are prepared receive Jesus today.
The first way people are prepared is by:
The gospel of John tells us that Jesus carried his own cross, . It was customary for the criminal to carry his own cross, which said he was guilty of the crimes he had been accused of and was going to die on that cross. Remember Jesus has been mocked and beaten by the soldiers all night long, he had gone through two trials, been scourged. He has lost large amounts of blood, his muscles, sinew, and tissue had been torn from his body. Jesus is physically exhausted and depleted.
1. Preaching the Word of God!
, tells us that Jesus would be marred beyond human recognition.”
Get the scene in your mind of our suffering Savior bearing the cross through the streets of Jerusalem. On the road to the cross Jesus will encounter several groups of people; and each one of these groups of people will react to the cross in a different way.
V:2-3“The word of God came under John… And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins”.
John stepped on the scene preaching the word of God. Luke sets the preaching of John the Baptist in the historical context. V:1-Read.
The way the people reacted to the cross on the day Jesus was crucified, is still the way people react to the cross today.
Notice with me the reactions to the cross.
Luke the historian sets the time of John the Baptist ministry between A.D. 26-27.
He mentions five wicked Roman politicians, and to crooked priest. The nation of Israel was being ruled by these ungodly Roman politicians. And the Temple was under the control of these two prideful, greedy, hypocritical religious leaders.
Reaction #1:
1. You Can Carry the Cross.
Everything we know about this list of political and religious leaders testifies to their pride, violence, and self-indulgence. It was a dark, dark day!
It was in this dark, dark day politically and religiously that John the Baptist came out of the wilderness with the word of God burning in his heart, and began preaching the message of repentance!
V:26.
Jesus was at the point of total collapse; and the soldiers were worried that Jesus might die on his way to be crucified. It was not mercy that caused them to make Simon carry the cross, but to make sure he lived long enough to be crucified.
John is the last of the Old Testament prophets, it had been 400 years since Israel had heard a word from God. There had not been a true prophet in Israel for four centuries. But then, V:2-“the word of God came to John”
In the Bible when God was about to do something, a prophet which show up, and declare the word of God! God was getting ready to do something being, and he sends his prophet John to preach the word of God.
They decide to grab a man from the crowd to carry the cross. They look out at the crowd and see Simon and they say, hey you, hey you, yes you, come here and carry this cross, V:26.
The message that John preached had greater power and authority than all the rulers in the world, and all the religious leaders in Israel! For John was preaching the word of God!
We are told where he is from Simon a Cyrenian, he was from Cyrene. Which if you looked on an ancient Atlas you would see it is modern-day Libya, North Africa. He was some 800 miles from home, at this exact place, at this exact moment.
In these dark and dangerous days that we’re living in, when people seem powerless against the forces of evil, what we need more than anything is the preaching of the word of God!
We are told he was on his way into the city of Jerusalem from the country, and the Roman soldiers told him to carry this cross and follow this man Jesus. The death squad contained 4 soldiers, one who is caring a sign that said, Jesus of Nazareth’s, the king of the Jews.
What can we learn from Simon’s reaction to the cross?
The only thing that will prepare your heart to know Jesus and live for Jesus, is the word of God!
First on the journey of a life you are going to be confronted with the cross. Here we are today, being confronted with the cross; but unlike Simon who was forced to carry the cross; you and I have a choice whether or not we will carry the cross.
Were told that John came in fulfillment of an Old Testament prophecy found in the book of Isaiah.
No doubt Simon on this holy day of Passover is being humiliated by being forced to carry the cross of Jesus. What would he tell his family and friends about this incident?
V:4-5-Read, that is a direct quote from .
When I read these verses I picture John the Baptist, with that camel hair coat, a leather belt around his waist, hair disheveled, Old Testament scroll in his hand, finger lifted to the sky, crying with a loud voice you need to repent of your sins, make your heart ready to the Savior is on His way!
But as Simon humbled himself, got under the load of the cross, and followed the bleeding suffering Savior; his life was forever changed!
What looked like a catastrophe, turned out to be the most wonderful thing that ever happened in his life; it brought him in contact with Jesus Christ!
In the ancient world it was customary to prepare the roads into a city before a king came for a visit. The roads would be repaired, pot-holes would be filled in, curves straightened out, and the road repaved for the king and his chariot. And then to make sure the people were ready to receive the king, the king would send a messenger ahead to announce the news of his coming.
John the Baptist was both that messenger; he was a spiritual bulldozer, and a spiritual megaphone, telling people that their hearts needed to be prepared to receive Jesus!
The cross of Jesus Christ changed his life, and the life of his family!
He would later tell his family, a strange thing happened to me on the way into the city.
The way a person’s heart is prepared to receive Jesus is by repentance of sin!
V:3, John’s primary message from the Bible was repentance.
As Simon is carrying the cross, following Jesus, he will feel the love of Jesus for the people, he will hear the words he speaks to the women, and he will hear the prayer that Jesus prayed from the cross. And Simon will put his faith in Jesus Christ as the savior of the world! Simon is saved, by understanding that Jesus is dying on that cross for his sin, and by accept Jesus as his personal savior.
The first words out of John’s mouth were repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”.
How do we know this?
Our lives are rocky and crooked, like the roads of Israel, mountains of pride need to be broken down, and valleys of self-pity need to be raised so Jesus can come in. The picture of roadbuilding speaks of repentance, removing obstacles, turning away from sin and self-righteousness and opening your heart for Jesus to come in.
All three synoptic Gospels include the story of Simon. But the gospel of Mark tells us the name of Simon’s sons;
-“Then they compelled a certain man Simon a Cyrenian the father of Alexander and Rufus…
John’s message was the message of repentance, and his baptism was an expression of repentance.
John’s baptism was an outward sign of inward repentance. The preaching of the word of God pushes down our pride, uproots our self-righteousness, brakes us, and prepares us to place our faith in Jesus.
How would Mark know the name of Simon’s sons, unless he knew Simon. How would he know Simon unless Simon became a follower of Jesus?
There is no forgiveness without repentance! Only people who are sorry for their sins, will admit they need a savior!
And in , Paul greets Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me to.
V:6-“And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.
Simon’s family ended up being faithful members in the church in Rome. On the day that Jesus was suffering and dying on the cross, and Satan was rejoicing, God by grace was working to change the life of this little family. Oh the wonderful love and amazing grace of the Lord Jesus Christ!
I can imagine that Simon would gather his grandchildren around and tell them, about the day he was going to the city of Jerusalem from the country. He would tell them about Jesus, and how he had the privilege of carrying the cross behind the son of God, the Savior of the world!
John says soon everyone will see salvation; his name is Jesus; the reach of the gospel is a global reach. This does not mean that God will save every single person; which is the doctrine of Universalism.
It means that there is no person the gospel cannot reach, no boundary the gospel cannot cross.
And how that day he placed his faith in Jesus as his Savior, and his life was changed; and the life of his sons, their fathers were changed.
How the cross of Jesus Christ had changed his entire family!
Luke is not saying that everyone will be saved, he is saying that anyone can be saved. And the way people are saved is by trusting in Jesus Christ as their Savior. John called people to repent and be baptized as an outward sign of their repentance.
People are prepared to receive Jesus by; the preaching of the word of God.
As I thought about this little family, and the change the cross had made in their life. I thought about my family, about my father, who was an alcoholic, who is a first generation Christian in our family. The day that my father came in contact with the cross, and believed in Jesus Christ, it changed his life, and the trajectory of our entire family.
Maybe you come from a family of alcoholics,
The second way people are prepared is by:
2. Warning of Coming Judgment!
Drug-users, criminals, unchurched, unsaved people. Today if you will come to the cross in repentance and faith in Jesus Christ; you will be changed, and God can change your whole family through your testimony!
V:7-“Oh generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
I pray that my, Alexander, and Rufus-my children, and grandchildren will be changed by seeing me carry the cross of Jesus Christ!
Seeing Simon caring this cross, is a reminder that a Christian is a cross bearer.
Repentance is not something that you can work up on your own. There were a group of people that came to be baptized by John, but there was no repentance in their heart; and John rebuked them.
Jesus said, back in -“If anyone desires to follow me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me”.
V:7-“Oh generation of vipers…
The silhouette of Simon carrying this cross following Jesus is an example for every disciple of Jesus.
John was more interested in people being saved, then just being dunked under the water. The strong words from John were intended to be a wake-up call, he said to the people you need to be broken in your sin and from your sin to receive Jesus Christ as your Savior! No true repentance- no salvation; no matter if I baptize you, no matter if you are the sons of Abraham, no matter if you’re a member of the temple, or a Pharisee; no matter who you are; you must repent to be saved!
If you don’t repent of your sin; you will experience the wrath and judgment of God!
If we do not feel the weight of the cross, if there is no sacrifice in our Christian life, if there are no occasions of humiliation as we identify with the cross, we are not following Jesus!
Christians are not people that wear a certain type clothes, listen to a certain kind of music, read certain kind of books, and go to certain kind of conferences. No!
John knew they were phonies, insincere, they wanted to get baptized, but they had no intention of turning from their sin, or living a godly life. John compared them to snakes slithering away from a fire; they want to get out of danger, but they still want to be snakes.
Christians are people who identify with the cross of Jesus Christ, and carry it out into a lost and dying world!
John warned them, unless you repent you will perish!
John paints two vivid pictures of the judgment to come on unrepentant sinners.
What good is a cross-less Christianity? That says to the world, that being a Christians means:
· V:9-“And now also the ax is laid at the root of the trees: every tree which doesn’t bring forth good fruit is cut down, and cast into the fire.
Being successful, having an altogether, having all the answers, never making a mistake, and walking through the world like I own it.
John is speaking to a group of people, who hope to be saved by baptism, but John tells them that baptism will not save them from the wrath of God! This is a warning don’t think that you can be saved by some outward action without repentance of sin, and faith in Jesus which leads to transformation of life. Understand that simply praying the sinner’s prayer, are going forward in a service will not save you: you must turn from your sin and place your faith in Jesus!
That is here’s a Greek word for you, baloney.
We’re not saved by the water of baptism; we are saved by the sacrifice that Jesus offer on the cross for our sins; the way to receive his salvation is by faith!
Nobody has an altogether, nobody knows all the answers, nobody knows perfectly! We are all broken sinners, in desperate need of the cross and the forgiveness of Jesus Christ!
And what this world needs is the cross of Jesus Christ!
No matter who you are, or where you come from; the cross of Jesus Christ can change your life!
John says the way to tell if you’ve really trusted Jesus for salvation is to examine your behavior.
Dear child of God if your heart has grown cold, and sin has entered into your life, and you don’t know what to do; come to the cross of Jesus and experience forgiveness, reconciliation, peace and the power of God to live the Christian life!
V:8-“bear fruit in keeping with repentance”.
A Christian is a cross bearer!!
Jesus said the same thing in:
-“Every good tree brings forth good fruit: but a corrupt tree brings forth evil fruit”.
Reaction #1: You can carry the cross.
Reaction #2:
You’re not saved by good fruit, the way you live, you’re saved by faith in Jesus; but faith in Jesus transforms the way you live! Saved people live a righteous, consecrated, different, changed life!
2. You Can Misunderstand the Cross.
If you are not living a righteous life, then it is clear that you have not repented, even if you have been baptized!
John tells them that the axe is laid against the root of the tree, unless they repent, trust Jesus, and begin to bring forth good fruits; they’re going to be chopped down; death and judgment, they’re going to be cast into the fire of hell!
V:27-31.
As Jesus continues to move through the streets of Jerusalem toward Golgotha, a great multitude of people followed him, and women who were weeping, morning over what was happening to Jesus. The mood is sad and sober as Jesus makes his way to the place of execution. These are not the peculiar women who ministered to Jesus during his ministry. These are just citizens of Jerusalem who would know about this man who never did anything but good for people. And there weeping, and wondering why this was being done to him.
There is no middle ground; you repent, and trust Jesus, which will be seen by righteous living. Or the ax of God’s judgment is going to fall in your life; death in hell!
John is a bold, strong preacher challenging them; to not trust in baptism are there religious connections,
And there weeping loud and wailing; they feel sympathy and pity for this one who they considered an innocent victim.
Seeing the bloody, disfigured Jesus, staggering behind the cross being carried by Simon invoked great emotion from these women.
V:8-“don’t say to yourselves, we have Abraham as our father…
Friend, you are not saved because of who your parents are, or by being a member of a church, are being a preacher or a deacon or teacher.
Seeing the cross of Jesus will move you emotionally, unless your heart is hard as a rock. Thinking about Jesus being beaten, scourged, humiliated, nailed to a cross can bring you to tears and stir you emotionally.
The pride of these religious people, would damn they’re soul to hell, unless they repent and trust in Jesus!
If you’ve seen the movie, “The passion of Christ” you get a small understanding of how emotionally stirred you can be over what happened to Jesus.
There are pictures, art, crucifixes, movies, that will stir your emotions, and draw you to church on Christmas and Easter. And you can shed a tear, feel sad… And feel good that you feel sad, and think that somehow that is what the cross is all about.
It is not enough to be in the right family, or the right church; you must be in a right relationship with God through Jesus Christ!
John told them that judgment was coming soon; so soon in fact that the axe of divine wrath was about to fall. John said you must repent! God’s wrath abides on every sinner who does not turn away from their sin and trust in Jesus! Judgment is coming soon, so don’t wait another day! Don’t delay, come today; you will never have a better opportunity than you do right now turn from your sin and trust in Jesus!
They misunderstand the cross; they think the cross is a tragedy, that Jesus is a helpless victim, and that this is being done only by cruel evil men.
The cross only draws tears, sadness, and sympathy from them. Like much of modern art, crucifixes, and pictures and images of the dying Savior in the arms of his mother. And people go to the Stations of the Cross, and pray prayers, and wail mourn over the crucified Jesus. But to everyone’s surprise, Jesus turns and speaks to the women, V:28-31. In these verses he gives both a prophecy, and a proverb.
The second picture of judgment:
What amazing Grace, that Jesus, who was on the verge of being crucified, was thinking of them, and speaks to them.
· V:17-“he will gather the wheat into his barn; but the chaff he will burn her with fire unquenchable”.
There is coming a day when Jesus will separate the wheat from the tares, the sheep from the goat, the good fish from the bad fish, the evil tree from the good tree, the wheat from the chaff. There is coming a great harvest where God will gather his children into heaven, the ones who have repented and been saved; but the chaff, the unsaved will be thrown into the fire of hell. The unquenchable fire that John is talking about is a wrath of God at the final judgment, everlasting punishment in the fire of hell; where the worm die if not and the fire is not quenched! In this church sitting side-by-side, or people who are truly saved, and people who are not; the wheat and the chaff, when Jesus returns, there will be a separation of the saved and the lost.
He says to them, V:28-“daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children”.
The postmodern world doesn’t like to think of God judging sin, then sinners. They say I thought God was a God of love and forgiveness; and God is a God of infinite love and forgiveness; but God is a holy God, and he must judge sin. Every warning in the Bible is an act of God’s love and grace!
Jesus said you’re crying about the wrong thing; don’t cry for me, I’m accomplishing God’s plan of redemption; weep for yourself. Weep for the future judgment that will come to the city of Jerusalem, and to you and your children.
Jesus does not need our sympathies! He did not need them when he was going to die, and he certainly does not need them now that his sufferings are over! Jesus is not on a crucifix, Jesus is not in the tomb, Jesus rose from the dead, and he is alive today!
God in love and grace is calling you this morning to repent and turn from destruction.
If we weep over the cross, it should be for sorrow over our sin and gratitude for our salvation, but never was sadness for Jesus!
John prepared people to receive Jesus by preaching the word of God; that they must repent of their sin. John prepared people by warning them of the coming judgment on unrepentant sinners.
It is dangerous to just let the cross stir your emotions, create tears, and a shallow response to this man is dying on the cross! Jesus was not dying as a helpless victim, he was dying as a Lamb of God that was slain before the foundation of the world!
The third way people are prepared is by:
Don’t just see the cross as a symbol of love, passion, and example; the cross is a propitiation for our sins.
3. Explaining the Nature of Repentance!
In the Godhead before the world was created, God knew that sin would come into the world. And that Jesus would die for the sins of the world, and that forgiveness would be made available through the cross.
V:10-14.
Jesus tells them to weep for themselves and for their children, because judgment was coming to the city of Jerusalem.
John the Baptist preached repentance and warned of the coming judgment with such urgency that God struck fear in the hearts of his listeners. Three groups of people came to John; ordinary people,
This is the seventh time that Jesus had prophesied about the destruction of Jerusalem. These prophecies came true in A.D. 70, when the city was destroyed by the Romans. Jesus predicted that when that terrible day came, women who were married and had children, would wish they didn’t have any children. Because not only would they suffer, but their children would also suffer, and be starved to death.
Tax-collectors, and Roman soldiers, and they asked John the same question; “what shall we do”?
Being barren was considered a curse to women of that day, but when judgment came it would be counted a blessing.
John answered by giving them an explanation of the nature of repentance.
· V:10-“The ordinary people ask him, what shall we do?
It would be better not to have any children than to see them suffer famine, and the sword, as mothers did in the siege and fall of Jerusalem.
John answers them in V:11-“if you have two coats, give one to someone who doesn’t have a coat, if you have food give some to the person who doesn’t have any.
Jesus said, V:30, that the people would say to the mountains, fall on us, and the hills to cover us.
On that day they would want to die, they would want the mountains to crush them, so they would not have to see what would happen to their children.
John knew these people’s hearts were sinful, stingy, and greedy.
Jesus says don’t pity me, don’t weep for me, weep for yourselves, be concerned about what’s going to happen to you and your children.
Repentance means not only admitting sinfulness and selfish, but also turning from sin and selfishness.
Here’s what to weep over, weep over your own sin and coming judgment.
· V:12-“the tax collectors said, what shall we do?
Come to the cross in repentance and faith, and on the Day of Judgment you will be spared, saved.
John answered them and said, V:13-“collect no more than you are authorized to collect”.
Turn from your sin of stealing from people and lining your own pockets. Repentance, means stop being a thief! Turn from your life of dishonest gain and extortion.
In fact, many Christians did escape the judgment on Jerusalem in A.D. 70. Having placed their faith in Jesus, and believing the prophecies of Jesus, the Christians fled from Jerusalem before the Romans arrived. That is the prophecy, judgment is coming, weep over that.
The proverb, V:31-Read.
· V:14-“the Roman soldiers came, and said what shall we do?
John said to them, V:14-“quit bullying people, threatening them, falsely accusing them, and bribing them, confiscating their property for your own personal gain. And be content with the money you make.
Jesus is saying look at me the innocent, green, holy, son of God and see what’s happening to me; what do you think is going to happen to the guilty sinful nation of Israel. If the Romans do this to me, the Green Tree, the source of life, what will they do to the barren, dry dead nation of Israel?
The bigger question is: if God spared not his own innocent son, what makes you think he will spare sinners who reject him?
These groups of people asked John what repentance looks like; John tells them repentance is turning away from sin, letting go of sin, and walking away from your personal sin!
The tears that Jesus wants you to shed are not tears of sadness, but tears of repentance! Jesus is calling for people to be concerned about their own spiritual condition, and turn to him in faith.
What do all three of John’s answers have in common? Money! How we deal with our money is a great indicator of the condition of our hearts. What we do with our money reveals our true priorities; a heart that wants anything more than Jesus is a heart that is not prepare.
(Sower and Soil parable)
How sad for someone to feel sorry for the sufferings of Jesus without ever feeling sorry enough for sin to go to him for the salvation he died to gain.
John is telling them that one of the most visible fruits of repentance is a generous spirit. So life is no longer about you, what you can get, but how you can serve God and others with the resources he is given to you! A true, godly sorrow leads to turning from sin and selfishness; which is seen in giving to God and others!
What you listen to what Jesus said to the women of Jerusalem and weep for your sin? The Bible says that the wrath of God is coming against all unrighteousness.
One day Jesus will come again and on that day every enemy of God will be judged to eternal damnation. Are you ready for that final judgment?
Dear Christian; do you want to make an honest evaluation of your spiritual condition? Here is a biblical test: are you generous with what God is given you? Do enjoy giving regularly and sacrificially to the Lord? If you are tight, and find it difficult to get to God, you are in spiritual trouble, and possibly you are not even a Christian at all!
Our budgets and bank accounts are the leading indicators of our spiritual health.
Don’t misunderstand the cross!
The cross is the place where God laid on Jesus the iniquity of us all!
Repentance, godly sorrow starts in your heart, but it is seen in your actions. True repentance worked in your heart by God will change the way you think, act, and feel! You can’t claim to have repentance worked in your heart by God; and go on living the same way you’ve always lived, and sin, selfishness, abuse, violence, cheating, and lying.
The cross is a place where the just, died for the unjust, to bring us to God!
What sin are you hanging on to? What is your struggle? The Bible commands you to turn away from your sin!
The cross is the place where Jesus absorbed the wrath of God; that you and I might not have to experience it!
Repentance is a change of mind that constitutes a change of heart and life!
The cross is the place where Jesus provided salvation for guilty sinners!
The third way people are prepared is by:
The cross is the place of reconciliation, where guilty sinners, and a holy God can make peace.
4. Lifting Up the Lord Jesus!
V:15-20.
The cross is not just something to feel sorry about, wear around your neck on a gold chain, put on the top of the steeple of the church. But first and foremost the cross is a place where sinners come to find forgiveness and salvation.
Jesus prophesied that there would be a day that citizens of Jerusalem would cry for the mountains and hills to fall on them.
Repentance is only half of the gospel invitation; the apostle Peter and Paul were asked the same question John was asked. “What shall we do?
· On the day of Pentecost, Peter preached, people were convicted; and asked what shall we do?
We read that the same thing will happen at the final judgment in the book of Revelation.
-“And said to the mountains and rocks, fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!
-“what shall we do? Peter said to them, repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ because of the forgiveness of your sins”.
· The Philippian jailer asked Paul and Silas the same question.
Jesus says don’t weep for me, weep for yourself; Jesus loves us, and what will happen to us if we reject him, is what is important to him, he doesn’t want you to experience the wrath of God, but salvation through him! Will you listen to Jesus and weep for yourselves and for your children?
“what must I do to be saved? They said believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, and your house”.
Rather than living to give your children heaven on earth, which can never happen, live to make sure that they go to heaven when they leave this earth!
You not only turn from your sin to be saved; you turn to Jesus in faith to be saved. So after John the Baptist talks about repentance; he begins to lift up the Lord Jesus, as the object of people’s faith!
The best gift any parent can give to their child is a living example of faith in Jesus Christ. Consider what Jesus suffered on the cross, as he endured the wrath of God in our place.
Jesus wants to spare you from the wrath to come. He calls you to come to the cross and believe that he suffered there for you. Shed tears of repentance over your sin, and trust in him for salvation.
In V:15, people start to wonder whether John might be the Messiah.
Don’t misunderstand the cross, understand that Jesus died on the cross for you.
And John quickly let them know that he is not the Savior; in fact he said:
V:16-“I baptize you with water; but one mightier than I is coming, the latches of who shoes I’m not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire”.
Reaction #3;
John the Baptist teaches us that the hallmark of preaching and Christian living is to exalt the person and work of Jesus Christ! John’s ministry was to point people to Jesus the Lamb of God. John teaches us to make more of Jesus, and less of ourselves. John would later say he must increase, and I must decrease.
3. You Can Reject the Cross.
John says Jesus is superior to me in every way.
V:32-38.
You don’t know what true greatness is, wait until you see Jesus!
In telling the story of the crucifixion, Luke provides details to identify Jesus and his work on the cross, including the fulfillment of many prophecies about the Savior.
To begin with were told in, V:32-“there were also two others, criminals, lead with him to be put to death”.
He so much greater, and mightier than me that I don’t even deserve to untie his shoelaces, V:16.
-“the suffering servant would be numbered with the transgressors.
John said Jesus was so much greater than him, he didn’t deserved even untie his shoes, must less do anything else for him.
Jesus was no criminal, he was not a sinner, but he was crucified as a criminal among criminals, put to death between two men who deserved to die. The prophet Isaiah said hundreds of years before that the Messiah would be numbered with the transgressors.
John saw himself as the lowest of the low compared to Jesus. John is lifting up Jesus, He alone is worthy of honor and worship, and even the greatest man on earth was not worthy to serve him as a slave. How amazing is it that God has called us to be his servants! Whatever God allows us to do for him we should do with a grateful humble heart!
He is the master, I am the slave.
Were told that when they reached at Calvary:
V:33-“there they crucified him…
You would do anything for the one you love. You would give to them, serve them, go out of your way for them, listen to them, and adjust your priorities for them. Why? Because you think they are worth it, they are worthy, they are important to you! John said Jesus was so worthy, amazing, it was a privilege just to untie His shoelaces!
Is Jesus worth your life, service, gives, talents, money, time and worship?
When you read that, you think to yourself after all of the buildup to the cross in the book of Luke, only four words to describe what happened. Why?
If not; you need to take a closer look at Jesus!
The gospel writers, and the epistles do not go into detail to describe how horrible crucifixion was.
Again the cross is not just to invoke our emotions and tears, it is to bring repentance of sin and faith in the Savior.
John said Jesus was a worthier person. No work for Jesus is too little, or beneath us; untying shoes is more than we deserve to do for Jesus!
It is not so much what happened there; as why it happened that matters!
Charles Spurgeon said, ”Nothing lowers you, if it lifts up Jesus” Little things done for Jesus and the church tells the character of a servant.
John said Jesus gave a worthier baptism.
There they crucified him, the perfect sinless son of God, dying for the sins of the world.
V:16-“I baptize you with water… He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire…
There is a divine transaction is taking place.
God laid on him the iniquity of us all that through faith in Jesus we can be saved, delivered from our sin and the consequences of it.
Spirit baptism takes place at the moment you place your faith in Jesus Christ.
When they reach the place called Calvary, they took the cross from Simon, laid Jesus down on the cross, and nailed his hands and feet to the cross.
-“For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
Water baptism, is an outward sign of an inward reality: which is the spirits baptism into the body of Christ. (Another sermon for another day)
This fulfilled an ancient prophecy:
-“they have pierced my hands and feet”.
Jesus baptizes us by his spirit, placing us in his body, the church at the moment of salvation.
It seems as they are nailing Jesus to the cross, or as soon as they lift up the cross and drop it in the hole, Jesus prays, V:34-“father, forgive them, for they do not know what they’re doing”.
Have you experienced this baptism? Only Jesus can do the inward work of salvation; baptize you into his body.
Jesus told his parents when he was 12 years old, that he must be about his father’s business. And here Jesus is about his father’s business, as he prays father forgive them…This is the first of seven statements that Jesus makes from the cross.
There’s no one like Jesus; no one can live like Jesus, die like Jesus, raise like Jesus, forgive like Jesus, give eternal life like Jesus! You need Jesus!
You’ve heard the statement, to err is human, but to forgive is divine.
John prepared people to receive Jesus.
Jesus is coming again, are you ready? Ready or not here He comes !How do you get ready, you hear the word of God, you repent of your sin, and you place your faith in Jesus; and you will escape the wrath to come. Every Christian should do what John did:
Here we have the divine son of God praying a prayer of forgiveness, for the soldiers who crucified him, and the religious leaders who delivered him; but also for all people who will believe in him!
· Share the word of God.
J.C. Ryle said, “As soon as the blood of the great sacrifice began to flow, the great high priest began to intercede”.
When Jesus prayed, father forgive them…
· Warn of coming judgment.
Part of the “them” he prayed for his you and me!
· Live a life of repentance.
· Lift Jesus up.
Charles Spurgeon said, “Into that pronoun “Them” I feel that I can crawl. Can you get in there? By a humble faith, appropriate the cross of Christ by trusting in him, and get into that big little word “Them”
The prayer that Jesus prayed, was soon answered as one of the thieves was saved, and then the centurion was saved… God has been answering this prayer ever sense; Jesus continues to intercede, pray that you would experience his salvation and forgiveness to the cross!
As Jesus was praying on the cross, the soldiers were at the foot of the cross gambling over his clothes.
This is again a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, -“They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots”.
As Jesus hung naked, suffering and dying on the cross his enemies played games for the last thing he owned on earth, a few pieces of clothes.
Have you thanked Jesus for hanging naked on the cross for your sin dying in your place?
Many there that day rejected the cross: notice the verbs Luke uses:
· V:35-“The People “Looking”.
· V:35-“The rulers sneered”.
· V:36-“The Soldiers mocked”.
They offer Jesus sour wine, V:36, this is a prophecy from Psalms as well. -“for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink”.
They placed a sign above Jesus head written in Greek, Latin and Hebrew. Written that all the world might see, that Jesus of Nazareth’s is the king of the Jews. We see that Jesus is prophet- He predicted the fall of Jerusalem. He is priest praying for his enemies, and he’s king of God’s people.
Jesus is prophet, priest, and king. These people were actively rejecting the cross; rejecting Jesus as a son of God, the Savior of the world.
The people who were rejecting Jesus as the savior dying on the cross said:
V:35-“He saved others, let him save himself if he is the Christ, the chosen of God”.
Yes he did save others!
V:37-“If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself”.
It was by not saving himself that Jesus saved sinners! It was while Jesus was dying on the cross for our sins that he was providing salvation. If he saved himself from the cross, we would all be eternally damned, with no way of salvation.
What will your reaction to the cross be?
You can reject the cross and the message of the gospel; you can choose not to believe that Jesus is the son of God and worthy of your worship.
You can misunderstand the cross, and feel sorry about the cross, be stirred emotionally, but not place your faith in Jesus as your Savior and Lord.
You can carry the cross.
Would you come this morning and bow at the cross, received Jesus as your Savior, and go forth into this world to carry the cross, identifying with Jesus the risen Savior?