His Obedience Gave us Life

Introduction

Good Friday is one of those terms that seem off to us when we are talking about the crucifixion of Jesus

crucifixions were not good, it was torture

the dying of suffocation was the easy part

that would have been the end, after you have been beaten

the Bible says that Jesus was beaten so bad before his crucifixion that he was unrecognizable as a man

yet, we call it good or better yet the Bible calls is good. Why?

because through the obedience of Jesus we can have life

Two types of Obedience

Passive - you sit back and let something happen, you are obedient to let something happen to you

Jesus demonstrated his passive obedience on the cross

He asked three times if the cup could pass from him

He could have called down a legion of angels to rescue him

He went to the cross without a fight

Active Obedience - you are doing what you are told to do

Jesus demonstrated active obedience in that he followed the law of God perfectly

He lived without sin

He did not abolish the law, but fulfilled the law

Romans 5:18–21 CSB

18 So then, as through one trespass there is condemnation for everyone, so also through one righteous act there is justification leading to life for everyone. 19 For just as through one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so also through the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. 20 The law came along to multiply the trespass. But where sin multiplied, grace multiplied even more 21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace will reign through righteousness, resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Our Sinful Nature

passed from Adam...

we could get into a great debate, a sin passed from one man… I thought that Eve was the one who ate of the fruit

what Paul is writing to the Romans is that we have a sinful nature that we have inherited

that has been passed down from one generation to the next

illustration - Easter Egg Hunt to show our sin nature

not just the kids, the parents

look how powerful sin is

one sin and many sin, one corrupt act lead many to destruction

the Bible tells us to flee sin, the and the devil

our sinful nature is not just one little thing that we have done some time in the distant past

sin creeps into any and every aspect of our lives where we are not on guard

As precious as your little babies are, we have passed this trait on to our kids

this leaves us short of the requirements of God

short of what it takes for us to enter into his kingdom

so we try and offer sacrifices

maybe we are not like those in the OT that we offer up animals, but we offer up deeds and works to try and impress God

an attempt to earn our way to him

but no attempts are good enough, we needed a perfect sacrifice, a spotless lamb

Our Justification

Justification - the action of declaring or making righteous in the sight of God.

the easy way of remembering, “Just if I had died”

a price was payed

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 5

18 So then, as through one trespass there is condemnation for everyone, so also through one righteous act there is justification leading to life for everyone.

this one righteous act was Jesus’s passive obedience on the cross

the we are owed the full wrath of God due to our sin

I know that this is something that I have said repeatedly, but let that sink in

this was not simply a beating that Jesus took

we can talk about the cat of nine tails

we can talk about the spikes ran through his wrists

but all the hatred that God has for sin was poured out on Jesus at Mt. Calvary

on the cross, that debt was transferred to Jesus where he paid it all

that is our justification, we no longer stand condemned, no longer stand owed a punishment that would take all of eternity to pour out

through the death of Jesus on the cross our debt is paid… this is why we call this of all days… good!

Our Righteousness

if all we had was Jesus death on the cross, we would have our debt paid, but would not be righteous

righteousness was what was required to spend eternity with God, to be in his presence

Romans 5:19–21 CSB

19 For just as through one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so also through the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. 20 The law came along to multiply the trespass. But where sin multiplied, grace multiplied even more 21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace will reign through righteousness, resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

what we must see when we are talking about Good Friday is not that it was just a man that died on the cross

but it was a righteous man

Jesus lived a perfect life according to the law of God

there was no sin in him, no wrong that he committed

this is why in Revelation 5 we can read that He is Worthy to open the scroll

Jesus’s passive obedience on the cross, justified us, but Jesus’s active obedience to the law made us righteous

our sinful nature was transferred to him on the cross, his righteousness was transferred to all who would believe that we might spend eternity with him.