If I Am Lifted Up: Cosmic Scope of the Cross
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Introduction
Introduction
Me - What is the point of the death of Jesus? What was really accomplished on the cross. I remember as a young man struggling with this very thing. What exactly happened that one day in human history?
How did that one day change the world?
You - maybe some of you have wondered the same thing or maybe just now, your thinking, “yea, what is the death of Jesus all about”?
Where is the power in the death of Jesus?
Seems kind of like he lost.
If that is you then, today is for you!
How did Jesus understand His death?
How did Jesus understand His death?
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Now there were some Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast;
these then came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and began to ask him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”
Philip came and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip came and told Jesus.
And Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
“He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.
“If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.
“Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour.
“Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came out of heaven: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.”
So the crowd of people who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered; others were saying, “An angel has spoken to Him.”
Jesus answered and said, “This voice has not come for My sake, but for your sakes.
“Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.
“And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.”
But He was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which He was to die.
Three Cosmic Claims Jesus Made Concerning His Death.
Three Cosmic Claims Jesus Made Concerning His Death.
Judgment upon the Kosmos - The world system, the order of the world, values, beliefs, practices, culture.
Casting out the ruler of this world system.
Jesus will be lifted up as the new ruler and will draw all humanity to Himself - His Kingdom.
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The Cross Rightly Pronounces God’s Judgment Over The Worlds System.
The Cross Rightly Pronounces God’s Judgment Over The Worlds System.
Judge - Hebrew Mishpat: A judgment that brings order to chaos or confusion.
The worlds system has been in chaos for some time.
The worlds system has been in chaos for some time.
Fall of man - Tree good and evil - determine for ourselves what is good and evil, what is beautiful and chaotic.
We chose to judge for ourselves rather than depending on God for His good judgment.
as it is written,
“There is none righteous, not even one;
There is none who understands,
There is none who seeks for God;
All have turned aside, together they have become useless;
There is none who does good,
There is not even one.”
“Their throat is an open grave,
With their tongues they keep deceiving,”
“The poison of asps is under their lips”;
We call what is good evil and what is evil good.
We desire to rule over others and use natural resources to accomplish this. (Not part of creation mandate.)
We have created chaos from God’s ordered and good creation.
As humans we killed the Prince of Peace.
The cross of Jesus shows us that our violence and condemnations are not of God!
The cross of Jesus shows us that our violence and condemnations are not of God!
Jesus showed that the violence of man was not part of God’s perfect order.
In the cross the state and religion curse God, accuse God, condemn God, call what is good evil, and then murder God, all in the name of God and civic justice.
The cross of Jesus judges us through showing us how we have turned the good order of creation upside down and lead towards death.
Father forgive them - Not violence but love, empathy, concern. The divine order of God.
Jesus became our scapegoat to show how evil we really are.
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The death of Jesus Casts Satan Out of God’s Presence Forever.
The death of Jesus Casts Satan Out of God’s Presence Forever.
And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
From Gen 3 on into human history Satan has tempted humanity, armed humanity, and the accused humanity.
Satan directly influences humanity to use violence to settle their problems.
Gen 4 Cain kills Able - first sin recorded after the fall of Adam and Eve.
Jesus even tells us who the father of murder and lies really is.
“You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
56 million abortions in the world each year. 56 million deaths to rid ourselves of a problem.
WWII 80 million people died.
Sense 911 - 1 million people of died in conflicts, half of which were innocent civilians.
Spouse abuse / child abuse / sex trafficking / race violence / tribal violence / kill, kill, kill.
The death of marriages, friendships, family relations, etc.
Satan tempts and empowers us to destroy image bearers of God and then he accuses and condemns.
The reality is, we all do deserve death -
We have all sinned against others and God
But on the cross the Satan and all the fallen powers used the world system, Lies and Violence to condemn and kill INNOCENCE.
But on the cross the Satan and all the fallen powers used the world system, Lies and Violence to condemn and kill INNOCENCE.
For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps,
who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth;
and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;
Satan over played his hand and murdered the sinless one.
Satan over played his hand and murdered the sinless one.
At this point Satan was stripped of all authority to use God’s law to condemn those who place their faith in Jesus.
Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies;
who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.
When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions,
having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
God used the death of Jesus as the opportunity to cancel all the accusations and debt the Accuser aimed at us.
For those who place their trust in Jesus God Has Allowed Himself to Take On Our Debt - Nullifying it forever.
For those who place their trust in Jesus God Has Allowed Himself to Take On Our Debt - Nullifying it forever.
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Satan rules with lies and violence
Jesus showed us on the cross what the Rule of God looks like.
And has therefore been elevated above all powers
Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,
who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,
but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.
Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Through the cross, Satan is being cast out of power and Jesus has been given the name above all names.
And in Christ the Innocent One You Are Declared Innocent.
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Lastly, Jesus said, if I be lifted up, I will draw all men to myself.
Lastly, Jesus said, if I be lifted up, I will draw all men to myself.
The cross shows the horror of humanity and our fallen systems.
The cross exposes Satan for what he truly is; murdering, lying, condemning, deceiver.
The cross also demonstrates the Beauty of God’s Love.
The Beauty of His order, His Kingdom.
Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Just as it is written,
“For Your sake we are being put to death all day long;
We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
It is the beauty of God and the unfailing Love of God demonstrated in Jesus that draws humanity to Him.
As humanity is drawn to Jesus and His order, His Kingdom, the influence of Satan diminishes.
His Kingdom - His Temple and Presence grows over the earth every time a person places their hope and life in Jesus.
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Who’s Kingdom do you live in?
What system has your heart?
Are you tired of the brokenness in your life and the brokenness you bring into the lives of others?
Are you tired of a failed system of life that offers nothing but sadness, anger, accusations, and death?
Then today I offer you Jesus!
He desires to forgive your sins, he desires to cancel the debt against you.
He desires to deliver you from this brokenness.
He desires to call you son / daughter.
If that is you, will you today choose to give yourself to Him fully?
Come to the front during communion and simply ask one of our prayer partners to pray with you.
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For those of you in Christ will you today recommit to sharing the good news that the death of Jesus offers the world?
Will you commit to making disciples and not just attending a church service.
Will you commit to go into all the world - local and afar making disciples of Jesus?
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The world has been judged and God desires to set your life to order.
The ruler of the world’s system has been cast out - He can no longer condemn you. Jesus desires to cancel all the debt that has stood against you.
Jesus is building His Kingdom, a system of love, peace, righteousness, forgiveness, Life, Joy, and Beauty.
Will you go and spread the news - Satan is defeated and Jesus is King!