Intro. Why a sermon like this? Various critics over the centuries have declared God is dead. They are wrong, but we must never forget, there was a day that Deity Died. Over the centuries, we have commercialized and idealized what Jesus did for us so much, that we do not have a clear picture. In reality, most that name the name of Christ are an ungrateful bunch. Maybe the greatest sin of us all is the lack of gratitude toward an awesome, holy God. A few weeks ago, we saw as Jesus has entered into Jerusalem as a great Leader. He cleansed the Temple, was anointed by Mary, shared the passover with His disciples, and dismissed Judas to go and betray Him. We will start where the night before his crucifixion begins, late Tuesday evening. He finds his place to pray. That is our starting place, Gethsemane.
I. The Sorrow (the garden)
A. The Place- Gethsemane -“oil press” Christ would be pressed.
B. The Plea - Matthew 26:37 "And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. 38 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me." Tarry -Be with me- None likes to be alone when facing heartache! Not even Jesus. Watch and Pray! - Be Alert! An attack is coming!
C. The Pain - I believe that in the garden, Jesus began to lay aside his power, or He would never die. He began to feel the stress of what was about to happen.
1. He began to Sorrow - vs. 37 - He began to grieve
2. Very Heavy - vs. 37 HE WAS AS LOW AS ANY HUMAN COULD GO!
3. Exceeding Sorrowful - vs. 38 Overcome with sorrow to the point of causing death - He felt that His heart would explode!
4. Extreme Agony - Luke 22: 44 "And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground."
5. His Horror (To be separated from the Father) - Mark 14:36 "And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt." “Abba” is the Aramaic word that means Papa or Daddy! It reveals that intimate relationship that was about to take a vicious blow! “THE Cup” - The Judgement He would face - Isa 51:17 "Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the hand of the LORD the cup of his fury;"
But He had been born to do the Will of the Father, to die for ME! God’s Judgement on sin disrupted the relationship of the Father and the Son - For Me!
II. The Scoffing (the house of Caiaphas) - trial at night
Briefly, but we need to realize this happened - account in Mat. 26
A. Jesus was directly asked was He the Messiah, He confirmed.
B. They called Him a Blasphemer and began to spit and beat Him
Jesus was already bruised when taken to Pilate! It was here that John and Peter watched from a far, and Peter denied the Lord. They beat Him (suspended), made sport, and put Him in a pit until early morning.
III. The Suffering (Pilate to the Cross) (Romans did not invent torture, but they perfected it) I will not deal with Pilate to Herod, back to Pilate. We come now to the last time before Pilate.
A. He was Tested - John 18:37 "Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. 38 Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all. 39 But ye have a custom, that I should release unto you one at the passover: will ye therefore that I release unto you the King of the Jews? 40 Then cried they all again, saying, Not this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber."
B. He was Tormented - Scourged - Mk 15:15 "And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified. 16 And the soldiers led him away into the hall, called Praetorium; and they call together the whole band. 17 And they clothed him with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about his head, 18 And began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews! 19 And they smote him on the head with a reed, and did spit upon him, and bowing their knees worshipped him. 20 And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him, and put his own clothes on him, and led him out to crucify him."
Let’s look at the Scourging (WHIP) - A lictor, professional of torture. Many times there were 2, one on each side. Jesus would be moved to a position, stretched with his legs spread. Flagrum, Flagellum - not an English cat of nine tails. Piece of wood, 14-18 inches long, glass, bone, etc. The lictor would be ready, and then a drum would begin to beat to keep rhythm of the beating.
One Watched with salt water, would not let him pass out. Roman scourging was considered a long and slow death penalty from which only the gods could save the victim from. The victim usually died in 2-3 days from blood loss and infection. Historian FLAVIOUS JOSEPHUS noted that “certain rebel Jews were torn to pieces by the scourge before being crucified” I believe the scourging was Pilates attempt to privately kill the Lord, (CROWN OF THORNS - NAKED, robe at shoulders).
Scourging was just another attempt by Satan to stop the crucifixion.
C. He was Tortured - Pilate released Jesus to be crucified - this was murder! He had Jesus scourged, and nothing confessed, he knew Jesus was not guilty of any crimes. But killed Him to save his own skin from a riot.
1. The Identification of Guilt - OH NOT ON JESUS - The truly guilty carried the cross - not Jesus - Mark 15:21 "And they compel one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross."
- Bearing the cross signified guilt (Mob followed - 24 inch board, charges) (Jesus bore my shame, but He was never guilty!)
And when Christ paid all this ransom, will you just notice, that he did it all himself! Simon carried the cross; but he would not be nailed to it. As Spurgeon put it: "That sacred circle of Calvary was kept for Christ alone." Simon and his sons came to Jerusalem with a Lamb for Passover and came face to face with the Passover Lamb!
2. The Indescribable Pain - Crucified - Our English word, Excruciating comes from the word crucify, no better word to describe the pain, yet I still feel it is not sufficient. Jesus bled from the scourging and the nails, but the crucifixion was more brutal than religious groups have explained. It was death by bleeding, suffocation, dehydration, all at one time. It is the most brutal death of history. We must forget all pictures and movies we have seen, none give an inkling of what happened.
a. The Executioner - (NAIL) A man stood waiting as the soldiers led Jesus to the place. An apron around His waste holding large square nails, and a hammer in his hand. They would have stood Jesus in front of the crowd, disrobed Him. They would lay the cross down, grab the accused suddenly, throw him down hard.
b. The Evil Accomplices - Soldiers would jump on to the body, place their knees into the arms, holding them in place as the nails were driven into the hollow.
c. The Excruciating pain - When both hands were nailed securely, the cross was raised, jerked as it enters the ground. Many different ways the feet could be attached. A skeleton was found in 1968 that gave some clues. It appeared they twisted the legs, placing the heels and toes together, hurting the hips, and twisted the body to drive a single spike through both feet. When the man hung on the cross, he was twisted to one side. The crucified would have to constantly move to try and breath.
Pull up on the nails to exhale. And drop back down. A small seat, just low enough to keep them from breathing.
V. The Surrender (of His Life)
A. He Surrendered on my Behalf!
1. His Willingness to Die for me - Most when crucified would curse, but
Jesus surrendered to the Cross
2. His Words to Reveal His Gift for Me -(7 sayings, finished work of Christ)
- Of Intercession - Father Forgive Them
- Of Intervention - Today thou shalt be with me in Paradise
- Of Interest - Woman Behold Thy Son
The Angels had Surveyed the Suffering Savior from Gethsemane to Golgotha!
I BELIEVE THE ANGELS BECAME RESTLESS:
They saw PILOT SCOURGE HIM
They saw THE NAILS AS THEY PIERCED THE ONE that they served
They saw the ROMAN SOLDIER PIERCE HIS SIDE.
I can almost hear One angel in the balconies of Heaven as he must have looked at the Father and said, "FATHER LET US DEFEND HIM, we can go and take care of this mess in no time, “Today He can not be defended” LET US AVENGE HIM, and the Father said "Today he cannot be avenged" Another angel said if we can’t defend or avenge Him, then, LET US RELEASE HIM AND RETURN HIM TO HIS RIGHTFUL PLACE" they are attacking Him that we have worshiped," and the Father said, Today my son cannot be released or returned. Then the Father did what the angels thought they would never see: God turned away from the Son.
- Of Isolation - My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken Me
Matthew 27:46 "And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Jesus not only died physically, but the word death means “separation” When the Father and the Son were separated, Jesus faced my Spiritual death for me!!!!!
- Of Identification - I Thirst, He had become flesh to bear our sins
Imagine the pain of the dehydration, lost a lot of blood.
The Cramping of the Muscles - body in knots - The crucified would have painful cramps and have to constantly move to try and breath.
The Aching of the Wounds. The Agony of the Nails.
- Of Immunity - It is Finished - Freedom now available
It was Paid in Full! DON’T MISS THIS - Just as Isaac, in Genesis 22, carried the wood up the mountain, Simon did the same, but when he arrived at the Top - The Sacrifice took His place! HALLELUJAH!!!!!
Then the angels heard him cry, "TETELESTAI?" This was the Greek cry that the athletes running the race would cry crossing the finish line "it is finished" THE RACE IS RUN AND THE RACE IS WON! But then the last words
- Of Invincibility - Father into thy Hands I commend my Spirit!
The only one He could trust - And the Father held the Son!
He had not died at birth, at temptation, in the garden, in scourging, on the Via Dolorosa, but on the cross as He bore all the sin of man!
He Surrendered to His Father - Lk 23:46 "And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost." He Gave up the ghost (this is the only way He could die)
AND HE DID DIE! - John 19:34 -infantry spear was 5 to 6 ft long - To confirm that a victim was dead, the Romans inflicted a spear wound through the right side of the heart, above the fifth rib. When pierced, a sudden flow of blood and water came Jesus’ body .
The medical significance of the blood and water is more proof that Jesus died. Jesus was witnessed as dead by Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus, John, the Special forces of Rome, and yet some believe He could have survived the scourging, crucifixion, and laying in a cave! But praise God, THERE WAS:
V. The Subduing (The enemy was defeated) - (the Tomb) Resurrection
Jesus was not dead for Long! Matt. 28:2 "And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, AND SAT UPON IT."
It is as if the angel thought - Heaven and hell just collided, the smoke is clearing and I’ve got the best seat in the house IT’S RESURRECTION DAY. How would you have liked to have been that angel and heard the Father say go get my Son, IT’S RESURRECTION DAY. And out of the Tomb came the RESURRECTED ROSE! I’ll never get over the RESURRECTED JESUS!
VI. The Satisfaction - Jesus ascended to the Father, and paid it all!
Can you imagine as Jesus ascends to His father as promised to Mary.
Possibly an Angel annouces - HE”S COMING HOME! Jesus, approaches the Throne, where the Mercy Seat in Heaven abides forever! He placed His precious blood across that Mercy Seat and I can imagine as he stands at attention and smiles at the Father and says “Mission Accomplished!” The Father steps out and says "Jesus, mission accomplished!" and the angels wonder! MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! - All of it, and it was for ME
Concl. Everyone must make a decision. No one can be neutral on Christ!
His story is not merely a tale - God, the I AM, came in the flesh and was killed by man, and He allowed it to pay for all sin. His payment is sufficient, but you must trust Him. You cannot straddle the fence.
Disclaimer: A man once told me that if it is true, it is not new. If it is new, it is not true. We all know there is nothing new under the sun. With that said, I glean ideas for my sermons from God’s Word, my own thoughts and work, and many other sources. Any similarity to my sermons and others, where credit is not given, is either coincidental, or an unintentional mistake on my part. As none of us have a corner on the wisdom and teaching of God’s Word, it is my desire that any of my outlines be an encouragement, a help, and hopefully a motivation for others to preach God’s Word clearly. Please feel free to use any portion of my sermons if they can be of help to you and your ministry. It is all for His Glory.
