WHAT IF JESUS HAD NOT DIED?
MATTHEW 16-27; 2 CORINTHIANS 5:17-21
THREAD: What if Jesus Christ had not died on the cross for you and for me?
WHAT IF:
Matthew 16:21-23 “From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. 22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!"
What if in that moment, Jesus decided that He really did not want to suffer “many things” and be killed? What if in that moment instead of continuing in God’s Will He decided to run away? Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Peter, you are right! Go and get the others!” While Peter was gone getting the other disciples, Jesus went and bought an ox team and a wagon. He then gathered all the disciples and said, “I do not want to go to Jerusalem and die. Come with me or stay. Your choice.” Some jumped in the wagon. Others stood stunned. Jesus along with some of the disciples travelled south… never to be heard from again.
WHAT IF:
Matthew 21:6-11 “The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Hosanna in the highest!" 10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, "Who is this?" 11 The crowds answered, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee."
What if in that moment, instead of having His heart set on our salvation, Jesus liked all of the cheers and accolades and praises and decided to lead and uprising against the invading Romans? Jesus looked at Simon the Zealot and the other disciples and said, “Now is the time! Grab your sword! Grab your gear!” Jesus then spoke to the cheering crowds in a parable about the injustice of the occupation of the Romans. As He finished speaking and trying to arouse the crowd to furious anger, a Roman detachment from Jerusalem approached and began to squash the rebellion as it was beginning. The soldiers killed every person in the crowd with the sword, but Jesus narrowly escaped never to be heard from again.
THREAD: What if Jesus Christ had not died on the cross for you and for me?
WHAT IF:
Matthew 26:26-30 “While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body." 27 Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom." 30 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.”
What if, on His way to the Mount of Olives, Jesus succumbed to His fears? He knew He would be arrested. He knew He would be beaten almost to death. He knew He would be nailed to a cross. He knew His blood would be shed. He knew He would take on the sin of the world. He knew He would be separated from God the Father. What if it was all just too much? As they approached the Mount of Olives, Jesus looked at His disciples and said, now is the time for my departure. I am going back to the Father. Jesus rose from the top of the mountain and disappeared into the night to Heaven.
WHAT IF:
Matthew 26:47-50 “While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people. 48 Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: "The one I kiss is the man; arrest him." 49 Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" and kissed him. 50 Jesus replied, "Friend, do what you came for." Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him. With that, one of Jesus' companions reached for his sword, drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear. 52 "Put your sword back in its place," Jesus said to him, "for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. 53 Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?”
What if in that moment, Jesus did decide to call down 72,000 angels from Heaven? He could have prayed to God and 72,000 (or more) heavenly powered beings would have swept into the Garden of Gethsemane on top of the Mount of Olives and all over Jerusalem. “Jesus looked up and said, May the Host of Heaven Come forth!” Thunder rolled. Lightning cracked. The sky would have parted. Heaven would have rained down divine retribution never before seen and smote them all to cinders. I doubt any human being would have survived!
THREAD: What if Jesus Christ had not died on the cross for you and for me?
WHAT IF:
Matthew 27:38-43 “Two robbers were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. 39 Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads 40 and saying, "You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!" 41 In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. 42 "He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! He's the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, 'I am the Son of God.'"
What if Jesus came off the cross as all the people were taunting Him instead of staying on the cross for us? What if in that moment of taunting, Jesus decided to come off the cross? They did say if He came off they would believe in Him… didn’t they? Jesus certainly had the power. You see nails did not keep Jesus on the cross, but it was His own free will. He could have said, “I now show the full extent of my God-hood to all those who watch me upon this cursed tree.” He then could have summoned all His divine power and heavenly light would have begun to glow in His chest. Celestial light would have shot out of the tips of His fingers and come out of every pore of His body. His eyes would have blazed with fire. Jesus would have un-nailed Himself from the cross and landed on His feet in front of them all with all wounds healed and in all His glory.
THREAD: What if Jesus Christ had not died on the cross for you and for me?
Summary
Jesus did not run away because He loves us. Jesus did not lead an armed rebellion against the Romans because that was not His divine purpose. Jesus marched to the cross even knowing what was coming for Him physically, emotionally, and spiritually because He was willing to follow the plan of God to save us. Jesus did not call down legions of angels because His way was compassion, love, and grace. Jesus willingly stayed on the cross suffering because it was what we needed!
THREAD: What if Jesus Christ had not died on the cross for you and for me?
If Jesus had not died on the cross, then there would be no religion in this world based on His birth, life, and teachings. If Jesus had not died on the cross, then overall the spiritual condition of every human being on the planet would be in a constant state of hopelessness. You see, the cross proves everything. I would like us to read 2 Corinthians 5:14-21 (this is in the New Testament) this morning and see more specifically what the death of Jesus changed for human beings. The death of Jesus is the most significant historical and spiritual event in all of human history. The passage that we will look at this morning gives us the results of the death of Jesus. First, the death of Jesus gives new life. Second, the death of Jesus gives purpose.
READ 2 Corinthians 5:17-21
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
I. THE DEATH OF JESUS GIVES NEW LIFE (verses 17-19)
One of the things we can see about our world just by looking around is that the world and the people in it are not in harmony or at peace with God. There is a moral law that has been broken because of our sin and our choices. Because of our sin, there is now chaos between the Holy God and unholy human beings.
A gulf of sin exists between God and us so that our relationship is broken.
A mountain of human nature lies between God and us so that we cannot have a relationship with Him.
Death exists as a consequence of our sins which permanently separates us from God.
God knew that there is no way for us to build a bridge over the gulf ourselves. God knew that there is no way for us to travel around or over the mountain to get to Him. God knew death stood in the way of the Creator and the created being united together. Therefore, He made the way through Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ died on the cross so that we could have new life. Verse 17 tells us that if we accept Jesus Christ, our old selves that are sinful and full of human nature are forgiven. The Apostle Paul says specifically “the old has gone, the new has come.” He also says that we have been “reconciled” to God which means that the gulf between us is no more. Paul says specifically in verse 19 that one of the results of “reconciliation” is “not counting men’s sins against them.” The mountain of sin has been taken out of the way. Death has been satisfied. But only through the death of Jesus Christ.
New life in Christ means that we are different on the inside. You see, once we have accepted the death of Jesus Christ as our own, placed faith in Him, and been baptized, we receive the Holy Spirit inside of us (John 14:26, Acts 2:38, Romans 5:5). That Spirit of God poured out on us changes who we are on the inside. It changes our spirit to be more like His. The Holy Spirit begins a work of erasing the old person that we were on the inside and replacing it was a new person rooted in Jesus Christ.
ILLUSTRATION… Margaret’s Story (Mike Yaconelli, Messy Spirituality, pp. 55-56)
A young woman named Margaret had spent decades battling depression and anxiety that were traced back to a horrible day in school when a teacher, frustrated with her tardiness, made her stand in front of the room and invited all the students to come up to the board and write something bad about her on the chalkboard. The kids were ruthless. They wrote things like "Margaret is ugly!", "Margaret smells" and "Margaret is stupid." All twenty-five students went up to the board and wrote these hurtful things. This event inflicted wounds that Margaret found difficult to heal. She battled depression, discouragement, and was angry all the time. Finally she went to a psychologist for help. She spent two years meeting weekly but finally they had reached the end of their sessions.
The counselor said, "Margaret, I know this will be difficult, but just to make sure you’re ready to move on, I am going to ask you to do something. I want to go back to your schoolroom and detail the events of that day. Take your time. Describe each of the children as they approach the blackboard, remember what they wrote and how you felt--do this for all twenty-five students. In a way, this would be easy for Margaret. For forty years she had remembered every detail. And yet, to go through the nightmare one more time would take every bit of strength she had. After a long silence, she began the painful description. One by one, she described each of the students vividly, as though she had just seen them, stopping periodically to regain her composure, forcing herself to face each of those students one more time.
Finally she was done, and the tears would not stop, could not stop. Margaret cried a long time before she realized someone was whispering her name. "Margaret, Margaret, Margaret." She looked up to see her counselor staring into her eyes, saying her name over and over again. Margaret stopped crying for moment.
"Margaret, you left out one person."
"I certainly did not! I have lived with this story for forty years. I know every student by heart."
"No, Margaret, you did forget someone. See, he’s sitting in the back of the classroom. He’s standing up, walking toward your teacher, Ms. Garner. She is handing him a piece of chalk and he’s taking it. Margaret, he’s taking it! Now he’s walking over to the blackboard and picking up and eraser. He is erasing every one of the sentences the students wrote. They are gone! Margaret, they are gone! Do you recognize him yet? Yes, his name is Jesus. Look, he’s writing new sentences on the board. ’Margaret is loved. Margaret is beautiful. Margaret is gentle and kind. Margaret is strong. Margaret has great courage.’" And Margaret began to weep. But very quickly, the weeping turned into a smile, and then into laughter, and then into tears of joy.
Jesus Christ takes the nasty things of our lives and erases them and changes our story. That is called redemption. He changes us and makes us new on the inside and the outside. None of that could happen if Jesus had not willingly died on the cross for us.
Our new life given to us by God is only possible through the blood of Jesus.
Our fresh start with God is only possible because of the death of Jesus.
Our real change of heart and spirit is only possible because Jesus loved us so much that He died for us.
II. THE DEATH OF JESUS GIVES PURPOSE (verses 20-21)
Not only does the death of Jesus give us new life, this passage shares with us that we are also given purpose because of His death. Verses 20-21 give us two purposes for our lives once we have accepted the death of Jesus on the cross.
First, in verse 20, we are to be His ambassadors. In fact, the Apostle Paul says that God makes His appeal about Jesus through us. The job of every believer in Jesus Christ is to tell others about Jesus Christ. We are encouraged elsewhere (1 Peter 3:15) to do with this gentleness and respect. We should communicate to those around us four simple and important Truths:
(1) God loves each of us unconditionally.
(2) We are all sinners made to crave God.
(3) Jesus Christ willingly died for us to save us.
(4) Jesus provides the only way to God.
These are essentials when communicating faith in Jesus Christ and are one of two purposes in our lives as believers. Communicating and sharing faith is not an option or a suggestion, but rather a confirmed purpose we have been given because we are believers and therefore God’s ambassadors.
Second, in verse 21, we are to become the righteousness of God. What does that mean? That means that not only does new life in Christ change us on the inside, but that the changes on the inside will also affect our outsides and actually make us different and more righteous in God’s eyes. You see, once we have the Holy Spirit inside us, we are in a constant state of moving to be more like Jesus… or we should be. Ephesians 4:15 and 1 Peter 2:2-3 share with us that once we are born again we should grow up in our salvation. Ephesians 4:15 says, “Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.” 1 Peter 2:2-3 shares with us, “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.”
Our speech and the words we use will change.
Our character changes for the better.
The way we act in front of others will reflect the God who saved us.
The way we act when no one is looking will reflect the God who saved us.
Our desires become God’s desires and God’s plans become our plans.
The changes in us are not only on the inside, but God erases who we were and replaces everything with someone who is more like Him. This is a process in which we are an active and willing participant.
ILLUSTRATON… My Mouth (p)
I’m not sure I should share this or not, but about a month ago, we hosted a small group at our house. During the small group, I asked one of those present a question about a family member and pictures I had seen on facebook. It was a half-innocent question, but it came with huge repercussions. About two weeks later I get a text from another in the group if I had seen a series of posts on facebook. The person I had talked to had spoken to their family member, relayed what I said, and this family member was crushed by my words. I did not mean to hurt feelings, but I certainly had.
Here is why I am telling you this story. Once I figured out who was hurt and how and why… I then had a choice. I could face it or leave it. I could follow my faith or follow my own way. There was a great temptation to leave it… which was certainly easier. I don’t even know this person I unintentially hurt. I don’t know where they live, their phone number, or anything. Does that matter? I did not mean to hurt them. Does that matter? I happen believe in actually living out the faith that we profess which doesn’t mean we don’t sin. . Matthew 5:23-24 says, “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.” My faith gives me purpose and direction for when I do sin. I knew of a person who had something against me. I had hurt them.
Here is where God has given me purpose. Did I do something wrong? Well, yes. It was unintentional, but I still said something that hurt another person. My purpose was to go to them, talk it through, genuinely apologize, and try and make it right. That is what I did to the best of my ability.
Matching the commands in the Bible with our lives and obeying is part of our purpose given in Christ. If I had left it and ignored what I had done and said, I would not be growing up in my faith. Yet, I knew what Jesus’ command in Matthew 5 was and I knew it directly applied in this situation. No question. Was God proud of my words? Absolutely not. Looking back on the situation, I should have kept my mouth shut about things I know nothing about. Was God proud of how I handled my sin? I hope so. I followed what He said.
CONCLUSION
THREAD: What if Jesus Christ had not died on the cross for you and for me?
What if Jesus had run away instead of facing His suffering and death? If He had done that, you and I would have no opportunity for forgiveness of sins.
What if Jesus had decided to lead an armed rebellion instead of facing crucifixion? If He had done that, we would have no new life given to us through His sacrifice.
What if Jesus ascended into Heaven before the physical, emotional, and spiritual pain of the cross? What if Jesus called down legions of angels to defend Himself before the cross? If He had done that, we would have no religion, no faith, and no message to share with anyone else.
What if Jesus came off the cross in the midst of His crucifixion to prove who He was to the onlookers? If He had done that, we would have no way to become more righteous and have no purpose in this life.
INVITATION
John 3:16-17 tells us, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
