His Death
Nothing To Keep Us Apart
Back To Christmas (4)
John 19:17-19, 25-30
Luke 9:23-25
Luke 14:25-27
Prayer
Several years ago in Newsweek Magazine there was an article on how different religions view Jesus. They used the views of Jews, Muslims, Hindu’s, Buddhists and Christians. The article concluded with these words: “Clearly the Cross is what separates the Christ of Christianity from every other Jesus. In Judaism there is no precedent for a Messiah who dies, much less as a criminal. In Islam, the story of Jesus’ death is rejected as an affront to Allah himself. Hindus can only accept a Jesus who escapes the degradation of death. Buddhists say the crucifixion does no justice to Jesus. The image of a benign Jesus has universal appeal. Most of the world cannot accept the Jesus of the Cross.”
NO – people don’t get the cross today and they didn’t get it 2000 years ago, that is why Paul wrote these words in the first chapter of this letter to the Corinthians.
22Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength. – 1 Cor 1:22-25
NOW - the Greek word foolishness suggests something that is publicly despised, and ignored because it is ridiculous.
NOW - a crucified Savior does not sound unusual to us… BUT - for a Jew in Paul’s day – it was a total contradiction of terms. It was like saying “icy cold flames or hot ice.” It would be like calling a pizza place and asking for a (small-large) pizza or asking for a (meat lovers- vegetarian) pizza.
A – crucified Messiah defied all Jewish reasoning; because every hope they had in a Messiah was for a strong and powerful king coming to defeat their enemies, driving the Romans to the sea, restoring the glory of Israel to like it was in the days of David and Solomon. THEY - wanted a powerful conquering hero and instead they got a stumbling block…
NOW – before we become too quick to point our fingers at them, Lets be honest enough to admit that is some ways we are not all that different. I MEAN – truth be told we find a Christ who is willing to (die on a cross for us and make our lives new, much more palatable then a Christ who calls us to die to ourselves and daily carry the cross of self denial.
• To the Jewish mind the cross was a contradiction…
• To the Roman mind a crucified God was weak
• And to the Greek mind the cross was just plain ridiculous and unsophisticated…
QUESTION – what is the cross to you? Max Lucado in his book No Wonder They Call Him Savior, says of the cross;
The cross rests on the time line of history like a compelling diamond. Its tragedy summons all sufferers. Its absurdity attracts all cynics. It’s hope lures all searchers…
My what a piece of wood! History - has idolized it and despised it; gold plated it and burned it; worn it and trashed it. History has done everything to it but ignore it.
That’s the one option that the cross does not offer. No one can ignore it! You can’t ignore a piece of lumber that suspends the greatest claim in history. A crucified carpenter claiming that he is God on earth? Divine? Eternal? The death-slayer?
UNDERSTAND - there is an awesome power in the cross of Christ. IT - is at the cross that sinners are convicted; the arrogant are humbled; the hardened are broken, the skeptic convinced, the weak strengthened and the repentant are forgiven… AND – the Christ-follower is given the pattern and power for living.
THIS MORNING – as we continue in our message series ‘Back To Christmas’ we will look at the death of Jesus and then talked about how that event is intended to shape and define our lives today, December 2, 2007.
BUT BEFORE – we go there let me ask you a few questions about where we have been so far in this journey.
• Have you spent anytime thinking about heaven since November 11 when we talked about His return. Have thoughts about one day being in the perfect world, the home you’ve always dreamed of. Have thoughts about the ultimate ‘happily ever after’ in a world with: no doubt, no worry, no debt, no fear, no sickness, no pain, no sorrow, no sin AND the forever presence of God. Has this soon coming reality… started to give you a before vacation attitude about this life? Start thinking about it – it will.
• AND – how have you been doing in your primary mission – the reason why you (if you are a Christ follower) are still on this earth… Telling the people in your world about Jesus. Have you talk to anyone about Jesus since November 18th? Have you prayed about who is that God wants you to reach? Have you invited anyone to church? This time of year there is more openness then at other times. (Southeast card)
• AND – has there been more bounce in your steps, more strut in your stride, more life in your hope, more confidence in your future, more joy in your circumstances and more security in your true worth and identity because His resurrection means that your Jesus is God!
YES – people die all the time… BUT – no death was like His…
His Death Was A Prophesied Death
UNDERSTAND – Jesus’ death wasn’t something that just happened. It wasn’t a last ditch effort or a backup plan. IN FACT – Jesus was chosen before the creation of the world. CHECKOUT - 1 Peter 1:18-20:
“For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.” 1 Peter 1:18-20
Chosen when? before the creation of the world
LISTEN BEFORE– God spoke the world into existence; BEFORE – He formed Adam from the dust of the earth; BEFORE – anything that we see existed; BEFORE – that first bite of the forbidden fruit was ever taken… God had a plan and that plan was Christ! AGAIN – Peter says, He was chosen before the creation of the world and Peter’s fishing buddy John, put it this way in Rev 13:8; the lamb was slain from the creation of the world…
NO HIS DEATH – was not a back up plan… IN FACT – His death had all the marks of premeditation. GOD – knew and so did His Son that the cross was coming… AND BECAUSE OF – this knowledge God talked about Christ’s death through His prophets centuries before He was born. AND – the details of Christ death that are given so many years before His birth are amazing… IN – these prophecies we are told:
• that the Christ would be betrayed by a friend for 30 pieces of silver
• that people would lie about Him during His trial
• that He would be silent before His accusers
• that people would: beat Him, spit on Him and tear out His beard
• that people would gamble for His clothing
• that He would agonize in thirst
• that His body would be pierced (and crucifixion was not invented yet)
• that no bone would be broken
• that He would be deserted by His followers
• buried with the rich and forsaken by God.
AMAZING – prophecies, incredible detail… AND - powerful evidence… that Jesus was exactly who He said He was… (The Messiah, God’s Son the Savior of the world). I want to read a few of those prophecies… AND – as we do close your eyes and picture your Savior…
“All who see Me mock Me, they hurl insults shaking their heads. He trusts in the Lord, let the Lord rescue him. My strength is dried up and My tongue sticks to the roof of My mouth; you lay Me in the dust of death. Dogs have surrounded Me; a band of evil men has encircled Me, they have pierced My hands and My feet. I can count all My bones; people stare and gloat over Me. They divide My garments among them and cast lots for My clothing.” Psalm 22
“He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities, the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth.” Isaiah 53:5-7
OKAY – okay go ahead and open your eyes… MAN – those words paint powerful, piecring images of the canvas of our souls… AND – what about the image of Mary the mother of Jesus… weeping uncontrollably falling down before the cross, reaching out to her son. Blood running onto her hands and fingers… PERHAPS – as her tears and fists pounded the ground her mind flashed back 33 years earlier, to the day she carried her 8 day old baby in arms to the Temple and met a godly man named Simeon who God had sent to her with these words;
“Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, His mother; “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.” Luke 2:34-35
PEOPLE – die everyday (in fact there will be 153,000 deaths today)… BUT – no one as ever died like Christ died. NEXT
His Death Was A Voluntary Death
PICTURE – the scene… Jesus is in the garden. It’s dark. HIS GUYS – are in the garden with Him… They are confused, afraid, overwhelmed, and tired. AND – Jesus is in a very desperate state. IN FACT – he says of himself in Matthew 26:38; that His heart was full of sorrow, to the point of death… AND LUKE – the doctor tells us that His pain was so intense, that he prayed so hard that His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
Although this medical condition is relatively rare, according to Dr. Frederick Zugibe (Chief Medical Examiner of Rockland County, New York) it is well-known, and there have been many cases of it. The clinical term is "hematohidrosis." "Around the sweat glands, there are multiple blood vessels in a net-like form." Under the pressure of great stress the vessels constrict. Then as the anxiety passes "the blood vessels dilate to the point of rupture. The blood goes into the sweat glands." As the sweat glands are producing a lot of sweat, it pushes the blood to the surface - coming out as droplets of blood mixed with sweat.
UNDERSTAND - the garden was a tough spot for our Lord… AND - In the garden we see the humanity of Jesus in bold and vivid color. Those were real tears and real drops of blood… AND – that was real pain, real doubt and real fear… NO - there was no perfectly kept blond haired, blue eyed, halo wearing Jesus in the garden…INSTEAD – there was a man… struggling intensely over what lay ahead
YOU SEE – all of those prophecies… Jesus knows that everyone of them is about to become reality. YES - Jesus understood what He was doing. AND - when He walked up that hill, He knew what it meant to be executed. IN FACT TRADITION - tells us that around the time that Jesus was a teenager, there was a rebellion near where He lived. The Roman army crushed the rebellion but they didn’t want it to happen again so they crucified an Israelite every ten meters along the road for the distance of sixteen kilometers. The sight of some 1,760 people, dead or dying in agony must have made an incredible impression on the mind of a teen-ager.
I want to read a passage from Matthew 26.
39Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."
40Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter. 41"Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." 42He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done."
LISTEN – I am convinced that the battle against satan (and that was one of the many great things about the movie, The Passion Of The Christ, it put satan right there. Tempting Jesus, trying to get in His head, trying to get Him to doubt the Father) I’m convinced that the battle was won in the garden…
Which is only fitting… SINCE – it was in a garden that the first battle was lost. JUST – one more passage about His voluntary death.
“The reason My Father loves Me is that I lay down My life, only to take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from My Father.” - John 10:17-18
NEXT…
His Death Was A Distinctive Death
UNDERSTAND – Jesus’ death was not a normal death for a variety of reasons. YOU SEE - there were several circumstances; there were things that happened during His death that point to the fact that Jesus was who he said He was… The Messiah, the Son of the Living God.
TURN - to Luke 23:44-49… AS - we look at these verses we will see 5 very distinctive things about His death. The first is:
Darkness
“It was now about the sixth hour (12 noon), and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour (3 pm), for the sun stopped shining.”
- Luke 23:44-45
UNDERSTAND - for 3 hours as Jesus hung on the cross the sun stop shining and darkness covered the entire land. QUESTION – if at 12 pm today the Sun stop shining and darkness covered Orlando until 3 pm would it get your attention?
NOW OF COURSE – some people try to explain this away, BY saying that it was just an eclipse, but scientifically that would be impossible; for 2 reasons. #1 because this darkness lasted for three hours (and even in a total eclipse the time the sun is completely blocked out is only a few minutes) and #2 because the Passover always took place when there is a full moon… AND – eclipses do not happen during or near a full moon.
OKAY – it was dark for 3 hours… it got everyone’s attention… but what was the point. LISTEN – the darkness was a sign of God’s judgment… AND - the people living in Jerusalem at that time understood this… YOU SEE - the OT prophets would always couch God’s judgment of nation by describing supernatural events in the heavens (I put a few examples in your notes; Is 13:10; Ezk 32:7,8; Amos 8:9,10).
FOR - 3 hours the area was in total darkness as God pronounced judgment of the Jewish nation and as He pronounced judgment on the sins of man. Douglas Webster says, “At the birth of the Son of God, there was brightness at midnight. At the death of the Son of God there was darkness at noon.”
The second thing that makes His death distinctive was that the temple curtain was torn in two.
Temple Curtain Torn in Two
“And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.’ When He had said this, He breathed His last.” Luke 23:45b-46
THE - Temple was made up of 2 rooms… One room was called the Holy Place… IN – the Holy Place you had… the golden lamp stand, the table of showbread, and the altar of incense… It’s the room were the priest would offer incense during the 3 times of prayer… 9 am, 12 pm, 3 pm.
HEY – do you know what’s really wild? Jesus was nailed to the cross at 9 am – it got dark at 12 pm and the Temple curtain tore at 3 pm as the Savior hung His throne crowned head and died. WHAT A PICTURE – A priest offering incense to God at the Temple… WHILE GOD – hangs, naked, beaten, nailed to a cross just outside the city.
The other room in the Temple was called the Holy of Holies it was separated for the holy place by a curtain that was 30 feet high, 60 feet wide and thick as your hand. The Holy of Holies was where the ark of the covenant rested. On the top of the ark where 2 golden angels each with a wing span of 30 feet. And in between these 2 angels above the ark was a cloud where the presence of God dwelt.
The only one who could go into this room was the High Priest and only one time of the year on the day of atonement (Leviticus 16); to offer a sacrifice for the sins of the people. Tradition that says that they would attach a rope around the high priests’ ankle, and that he had bells on the hem of his garment that day… That way, while he was in the presence of God, if he were to die they could just pull him out.
WHEN – Jesus died the curtain was tore in 2 from top to bottom, why top to bottom – because God is the one who tore it… DECLARING - that the distance has been removed… DECLARING - that because of His death there is now nothing to keep us apart. Now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away from God are brought near through the blood of Christ’s death. – Ephesians 2:13 (NCV)
Back in 1995 Philipps Craig & Dean came out with a song called, ‘Mercy Came Running… (Remember the definition of ‘mercy’ is not getting what you deserve.) HERE – are a few of the lyrics…
Once there was a holy place
Evidence of God’s embrace
And I can almost see mercy’s face
Pressed against the veil
Looking down with longing eyes
Mercy must have realized
That once His blood was sacrificed
Freedom would prevail
And as the sky grew dark
And the earth began to shake
With justice no longer in the way
Chorus:
Mercy came running
Like a prisoner set free
Past all my failures to the point of my need
When the sin that I carried
Was all I could see
And when I could not reach mercy
Mercy came running to me
The third piece of evidence that the death of Jesus was distinctive was that an earthquake took place.
Earthquake
“At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split.” - Matthew 27:51
NOW - an earthquake is not a miracle. BUT - what made this event two thousand years ago miraculous was the timing. YOU SEE – it was precisely at the moment of Christ’s last breath that the earth shook . AND – as with the darkness this was a sign of God’s Judgment and the people in Jerusalem understood it that way; (Is 29:6; Jer 10:10; Ezk 26:18). Calvin Miller describes what was going on by saying, “The earth shuddered in her awful crime.”
NOW – the next distinctive thing about His death is really insane… Only Matthew mentions it.
Resurrection of the Saints
“At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs and after Jesus’ resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.” Matthew 27:51-53
NOW – that’s crazy (I don’t care who you are)… ON FRIDAY – the tombs of many holy people broke open and on Sunday they are walking around the city. That’s insane. “Matthew thanks for mentioning it, but dude I wish you would have told us more,” LIKE:
• how many people were rasied
• did they appear in the city only once
• did they live out the rest fot their lives
• AND – what was it like when Grandma showed up for Sunday supper?
NO - we don’t know everything that took place, but somehow it was God’s way of saying… “My Son has conquered the grave, not just for Himself but for his people.”
Changed Hearts
UNDERSTAND - there were people standing on that hill, observing what was going down that day who were never the same again. FIRST - there was a thief on the Cross who came to faith and was changed for all eternity. THINK ABOUT IT – Friday morning he is a condemned man hanging on a cross and Friday night he went to bed in Paradise. AND THEN THERE’S – the Roman centurion who on a regular basis stood at arms length from those being crucified. BUT - for some reason that day he changed his mind.
“The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” Luke 23:47
AND - Matthews’ Gospel account tells us that it wasn’t just the Centurion who was changed… but it was also the men who were with him guarding Jesus… who after seeing what happened became; “terrified and exclaimed, and “Surely He was the Son of God.”
AFTER – seeing what?
• After seeing the darkness
• After feeling the earth quake and seeing the rocks split
• After seeing the way Jesus didn’t fight back, didn’t curse those who were murdering him
• After seeing the way he spoke to the thief nailed beside him
• After hearing him say those 12 incredible words that had never been spoken at any other crucification they had witnessed (and there were many) “Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing…”
Jesus’ death made them different men. It changed their hearts. Has it changed yours?
An Atoning Death
This is where the question – ‘Why did Jesus have to die,” is answered.
IN – 1 Corinthians 15:3, Paul said that; “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.” AND – Peter wrote in his first letter, Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. – 1 Peter 3:18. The big theological word for this is “Atonement.”
Atonement is a word that William Tyndale invented in 1526 as he was translating the first Bible into the English language. He wanted a word that conveyed both the concept of being reconciled to God and having our sins covered… there was no such word available so he came up with one of his own, the word atonement…
The doctrine of atonement is foundational to the Christian. UNDERSTAND - Christ did not simply die as a martyr. He didn’t just die as an example of God’s love, or as an example for us to follow. INSTEAD - He died a “Substitutionary” death… In other words, He died in our place. Paul in a second letter to the church in Corinth would read this INCREDIBLE words; God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Sometimes people ask, “Yeah, I get that God loves us and that He wanted to forgive our sins but couldn’t He just forgive us without His Son having to die? ” I like how Professor Millard Erickson answers this.
“Those who raise this question don’t understand who God is. God is not only the one being wronged by our sin, He is also the judge of the universe. He is the ‘official administrator of the judicial system’ of this world. As a private individual, He could theoretically forgive us as we forgive others. For Him to remove our guilt without requiring any payment would “destroy the very moral fiber of the universe, the distinction between right and wrong.”
UNDERSTAND - for God to just forgive us with no penalty being paid, would be like a weak judge turning loose the most evil of criminals. Justice demands payment. We see this played out on the Cross when one of the criminals shouts out, “Aren’t you the Christ? Then save yourself and us!” “Sorry… I can’t do that. THE – only way I can you is to NOT save me…”
That is why His death is an atoning sacrifice for us. What was unfolding when Jesus died was a fulfillment of the Old Testament.
• He was piecred for our transgressions
• He was crushed for our iniquities
• The punishment that brought us peace was upon Him
• IT – was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause Him to suffer because as we read in Hebrews 9:22;
“Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” - Hebrews 9:22
QUESTION…
• What can wash away your sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus
• What can make you white as snow? Nothing but the blood of Jesus
• What can make you whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus
• What can pay you debt in full? Nothing but the blood of Jesus
• What will bring you safely home to the Father? Nothing but the blood of Jesus
• What makes everything new and different? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
• What is the source of your hope and peace? Nothing but the blood of Jesus
• What is the power to live the life God created you to live? Nothing…
LISTEN - the gospel, the good news on which we can and must take our stand on:
• Is that Jesus died in our place
• Is that He died so we don’t have to
• Is that He died so that we can live – and not just barely live, but abundantly live
“He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed.”
- 1 Peter 2:24
Several years ago a church performed a drama around Easter time about a carpenter’s family who lived in Jerusalem during the time of Christ. Needing the money, the Jewish carpenter agreed to make crosses for the Romans. Even his son, who was about ten years old helped in the carpenter’s shop.
Near the end of the play, the little boy came running into his dad’s shop crying as though his heart was breaking. When his family asked what was wrong he sobbed that he had just seen a mob take Jesus to be crucified.
They had heard Jesus preach and teach and had some relatives that had been healed by Him. They loved Jesus and now heard this sad news. Their son looked up and said, “Dad, there’s more. They crucified Jesus on one of the Crosses that we made.” The father tried to soothe his son saying, “Son, there are dozens of carpenters who the Romans have employed. All of those Crosses basically look the same.”
His son said, “Dad, you don’t understand. Last week when we made our Crosses I was so proud of the one that we did that I did what a great artist would do. I signed my name on the Cross. As Jesus was carrying the Cross up the hill, He fell in front of me. I glanced down and saw my name on the Cross.”
If somehow we could see it and look closely we would see that our names are there as well; your name and mine. For if I were the only person on the face of the earth, God would have come to earth and died on a Cross with my name on it.
Ravi Zacharias said, The Cross (His Death) proves 3 things: that sin is not trivial; that we are valuable and that forgiveness is possible.”
QUESTION – how should His (prophesied, voluntary, distinctive and atoning) Death shape and define us?
FIRST…
By choosing to let Jesus die in your place! By choosing to let His death pay the penalty for you sins.
• How do you do that?
• Have you done that? If not why not?
If you have never placed your trust in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we offer that invitation to you now. You can repent of your sins, and you can confess that this Jesus is the Son of God and be baptized into to Him today.
NOW – for the second way His death is intended to shape and define us…
In the book The Signature Of Jesus, Brennan is talks about a time when he spent 7 months in a retreat in a cave in Spain… Check this out it is awesome!
On the wall of the chapel hung a 3 foot crucifix. I awoke each morning at 2:00 am and went to the chapel for an hour of nocturnal adoration. On the night of December 13, during what began as a long and lonely hour of prayer. I heard in faith Jesus Chris say;
“For the love of you I left my father’s side. I came to you who ran from me, fled me, who did not want to hear my name. For the love of you I was covered with spit, punched, beaten, and affixed to the wood of the cross.”
These words are burned on my life. Whether I am in a state of grace or disgrace, elation or depression, that night of fire quietly burns. I looked at the crucifix for a long time, figuratively saw the blood streaming down from every pore of His body, and heard the cry of his wounds: “This isn’t a joke. It’s not a laughing matter to me that I have loved you.”
The longer I looked, the more I realized that no man has ever loved me and no one ever could love me as he did. I went out of the cave, stood on the precipice, and shouted into the darkness, “Jesus, are you crazy? Are you out of your mind to have loved me so much?”
Wow!
Wow!
HIS love is the fuel and power for life!
Let Him love you.
For the love of YOU he went to the cross!
A few paragraphs later Brennan writes;
We do not expect to find the Supreme Being with spit on His face. It jars us to discover that the invitation Jesus issues is (and hey, get ready this is awesome…)
“Don’t weep for me; join me.
The life I have planned for you is a Christian life, much like I led.”
