THE CROSS OF CHRIST
Luke 23:32 There were also two others, criminals, led with Him to be put to death.
33 And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left. NKJV
1 Corinthians 1:18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. NKJV
A CROSS IN THE HEART OF GOD
We are going to be standing on holy ground this morning as we come to very heart of God’s word, the cross of Jesus Christ. God’s word proclaims the message of the cross as an eternal message that began long before the creation of the world and it will be the dominating and central theme of eternity.
The cross of Jesus Christ was God’s idea. It was not a mistake. The cross was God’s plan from the beginning and it is the only plan that God designed with the power to give us eternal salvation.
If I were to live 10,000 years, I would still never be able to adequately describe to you the triumph and power that comes to us from the cross.
Paul said if we are to glory in anything let be the cross of Jesus Christ.
In the days of Jesus, thousands of men hung from a cross to suffer a terrible death.
But there is one cross that stands out above all the others. It is the cross of Jesus Christ.
Upon this cross the creator of heaven and earth, the eternal Lamb of God poured out His royal blood to purchase my eternal salvation.
To the non-believer the cross is a place of suffering and shame.
To the non-believer the cross is a myth filled with foolishness.
But to the believer, the cross of Jesus Christ is a place of victory and triumph.
It is a place of life and salvation. It is a place of forgiveness and truth.
THE DESTINY OF THE CROSS
Picture in your mind Jesus as a 12-year-old young boy as He walks with His parents along a road in Jerusalem. On His left, He sees the temple Mount and its magnificent buildings. Down the road on the right, He sees the place called Golgotha…
And as they pass this place, Jesus sees it from the eyes of His heart and He knows this is His place of destiny. He knows that one day at this very place, He will lay down His life as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. He knew that all history and eternity would one day be determined at this place. Jesus knew all of this and He still choose to die for us.
HIS ARREST
Fast forward to the night of His betrayal and see Jesus and His disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Listen to how John describes this moment in the garden.
John 18:2 Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. 3 Then Judas, having received a detachment of troops, and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. 4 Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, "Whom are you seeking?" 5 They answered Him, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus said to them, "I am He." NKJV
See Judas as he betrays Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. See the temple soldiers as they march through the Eastern Gate and cross the Kidron Valley to arrest Jesus.
Get that picture in your mind and listen again to verse 4… Don’t miss this verse.
John 18:4 Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, "Whom are you seeking?" NKJV
From His position in the garden, He could see the Eastern Gate. He could see the soldiers coming for Him and He knew what it all meant. He knew His time had come and that this was the purpose for which He was born and He would not turn away from it. He knew it was the Father’s will that He be delivered into the hands of sinners and die for the sins of the world.
He did not run. Instead, Jesus waited for them because He was determined to do the will of the Father which was to die for the sins of the world. When the will of God sends us into the fire, let’s go forward just as Christ did for us that night.
When He asked them whom they wanted, they said, Jesus of Nazareth. When Jesus said, “I AM HE” the power of His name so overwhelmed them that they were thrown to the ground. The point is this; He could have instantly stopped them, but He didn’t. Instead, He allows them to arrest Him and under the cover of darkness, He allows them to bind Him like a criminal and lead Him away into the night. (John 18:12)
This was not a mistake, but the perfect plan of God in action.
THE TRIAL BEFORE ANNAS AND CAIAPHAS (John 18:13, Matthew 26:57-68)
He is first taken to the home of Annas and then he was taken to the home of the High Priest, Caiaphas, where he was tried before the Sanhedrin and given a mockery of a trial. These were men who supposedly knew the scriptures. They were in charge of discerning the coming of the Messiah, the King of kings and now He is in their presence and they did not recognize Him. Oh how that describes our generation today.
In spite of all the evidence that stood before them, they choose to condemn Him with the penalty of death.
Consider this; Jesus had all the power of heaven and earth at His disposal and yet He refused to use His power to perform any miracles or do a mighty work to save His own life? He could have called on the angels of heaven but He didn’t.
He could have spoken the word and He would have instantly been delivered, but He
didn’t. He allowed Himself to be condemned because of the plan of God
THE TEMPLE GUARDS (Mark 14:65, John 18:22)
Now that He has been condemned to death, the Temple guards decide to have some fun. First, they spit in His face. Then they blindfolded Him and mocked Him by hitting Him in the face with their fists and saying, “Prophesy, who hit you that time.”
By the end of it, His body and face was bruised and battered. Throughout the entire ordeal He never said a word.
Imagine the shock these temple guards must have had when they stepped into eternity and realized that the one they had beaten and whose face they spit upon was the Messiah, the eternal King of kings? Can you imagine their shock?
I sincerely believe that as they struck Him, He prayed for their souls and prayed that one day their eyes would be opened to see Him as their Messiah and their eternal Savior.
BEFORE PILATE
In the early morning, He is brought before Pilate, at the Fortress of Antonia. The fact that Pilate is in Jerusalem is also part of God’s plan to fulfill the prophecy that Jesus would die in Jerusalem and not Caesarea.
Upon questioning Jesus, Pilate says he finds no fault in Jesus and chooses to release Him, but the religious leaders force the issue and in order to keep peace; Pilate orders
Jesus to be scourged.
So they take Jesus to the far side of the fortress that was reserved for scouring and punishment. Scourging was a terrible form of torture and the Romans were masters at it. If there was any instrument of torture at that time that was worse than the scouring, I don’t know what it is. So many died from this punishment, that it was known as the half death.
There were two ways they would scourge a criminal. One was to tie them to a post and the other was to lay the top half of the body across a large millstone. No one knows which position they used on Jesus, but we do know the scourging was very brutal.
Jewish law allowed a maximum of 40 lashes, but they stopped at 39 in case of a miscount. But Romans cared nothing about following Jewish law. They had their own law of torture. Usually 1-6 Roman officers would administer the punishment and alternate positions during the flogging.
The scourge was also called the cat of nine tails. It had a short handle with 9-12 braided leather tongs. Each leather piece would have pieces of glass, metal, bone and other sharp objects glued to them. At the end of each leather tong, was 1-2 small balls of lead tied into knots. The idea here was to administer torture and to cause the victim intense pain along with an excessive amount of blood loss.
Picture in your mind as Jesus is tightly tied to the scouring post. Picture in your mind as they stretch out His arms and body so that His skin is tight. Two roman centurions stand on either side of Jesus and with all of their strength, they alternate their blows across His back and His body. With each blow, they twist the cords of leather to tear at His skin and inflict as much pain as possible. Back and forth, they beat Jesus body until his flesh is laid open. Historians of the day indicate that Jesus body was reduced to human rubble. And y throughout this entire ordeal, Jesus never said a word.
ROBE AND CROWN (Matthew 27:27-31, Mark 15:16-20, John 19:2-3)
Immediately after His beating, the Roman soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium for a little time of sporting. Since He was called the King of the Jews they place a placed a purple robe on Him to mock His royalty as a king. Then they twisted together a crown of the long, sharp, Judean thorns, (5-7 inches long) and placed them on His head.
They beat Him over the head with a reed, driving the thorns in His scalp and face. Then they placed the reed in His hand and mocked Him and said, “Hail, King of the Jews.” The Bible says they spit in His face and struck Him in the face with their fist. The word the Bible uses here is the same word we use for boxing, which means that they literally punched Jesus in the face with their fists.
During this entire ordeal, He never said a word, not a word. I personally think that each time they struck Him, He prayed, “Father, forgive them, forgive them, forgive
them…”
There was a time in my life when I was in great shape. I lifted weights, and I could run several miles. But there is no way I could have endured what He endured because of His love for me.
When they finally finished with their sport, they brought Jesus back to Pilate.
Pilate had Jesus brought out to stand before the crowd, wearing His purple robe and crown of thorns.
Pilate cried out, “Behold the Man…” (John 19:5)
Pilate then gave the crowd a choice. Pilate spoke to the crowd and said they could choose between Jesus, their king, or Barabbas a murder. Which do you choose?
Today, you have a decision to make. You have to choose between Jesus as Savior or the world and its sin. Which do you choose?
I can picture in my mind the religious leaders moving among the crowd, stirring them up against Jesus and to have Him crucified. (John 19:6 / Matthew 27:20)
The crowd shouted, “Give us Barabbas. We want Barabbas. We want Barabbas. Crucify Jesus. Crucify Him. Give us Barabbas.” (Matthew 27:20-22)
On top of all that Jesus had endured, He had to stand there in His broken and weakened
condition and listen to His own people cry out for His crucifixion. The Bible says that He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. He listened as they denied Him and called for the release of Barabbas, a condemned murder. Pilate washed His hands of the ordeal, and handed Jesus over the Roman Centurion to be crucified.
THE CROSS (Matthew 27:31, Mark 15:20, John 19:17-18)
The robe, which had now congealed with His blood, was ripped from His body, causing Him to bleed again. Condemned criminals were forced to carry their own cross beam, with the beam tied to their arms and shoulders. (Much like the one I have here.) Depending on the size of the beam, it could weigh anywhere between 50-75 pounds.
They tied a cross beam across his shoulders and they lead Him along the road of what is called today the Via Dolorosa or the Way of Sorrows. The journey from the fortress where He was condemned to Golgotha, where He was crucified, is about 650 yards.
Can you imagine carrying this load in His weakened condition for 650 yards? Somewhere along the road, Jesus fell and could not get back up. The loss of blood, the shock to His body was too much and He fell, and was unable to get up.
Can you imagine what the angels of heaven must have thought at this point? This is the plan of God? Can you imagine the warriors of heaven as they watch their master fall to ground? Their swords are drawn and ready to do battle, but Jesus never calls them. Why? Remember His words in the garden, when He prayed, not my will, but your will be done.
SIMON OF CYRENE (Mark 15:21-22)
Picture in your mind a man standing along the edge of crowd as Jesus falls at his feet. The Roman Centurion points at him and commands him to take up Jesus cross.
I don’t believe this was a coincidence but was a moment ordained by God. God knew this man’s heart and He had this man at the right place, at the right time.
Moved with compassion, this man willingly steps out of the crowd and takes up the cross of Jesus.
What a message that says to us. On that day, at that moment, this man, steps out from the crowd and takes up the cross of Jesus. That is exactly what we are called to do with our lives; step out from the crowd and take up the cross of Jesus.
The Bible tells us that His name is Simon from Cyrene and tradition has it that he was a black man. We find from the book of Acts that He is the father of Alexander and Rufus, who became well known believers and ministers of the gospel. (Acts 13:1, Romans 16:13)
When I think about him stepping out to carry the cross of Jesus, I think about what Jesus
once said, “If any man would come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.” (Luke 9:23)
CRUCIFIED (Luke 23:32-33)
See Simon as he steps out of the crowd and carries Jesus cross the rest of the way to Golgotha, the place of the skull, the place Jesus knew He had an appointment with.
When they arrive at the top of the hill, Simon lays down the crossbeam. The Roman soldiers immediately hammer the crossbeam into place. The soldiers then remove Jesus clothing leaving Him only a loincloth and then they cast Jesus backward onto the cross.
The legionnaire who has crucified literally hundreds of men does his work quickly and with precision. He places his foot in the palm of Jesus and forces His wrist to move upward. Another s soldier feels for the depression at the front of the wrist and then with an iron mallet he drives a heavy, square shaped, 8-inch nail through His wrist, through His flesh and nailed it into the wood.
They then pull His other arm to extend His arms and to stretch out His body and then they quickly nail His other wrist to the cross.
By driving the nail at a precise point through the wrist, the median nerve is struck sending a never-ending fire of pain racing up and down His arms.
The legionnaire presses Jesus left foot backward against his right foot with both feet extended. They take a 12-inch spike and drive it through the top front of His foot, through the arch, and through the heel of His back foot, and nailed Him to the cross.
They pick up the cross… They pick it up, and drop it into a hole in the ground, and placed wedges around it to uphold Him and the cross.
BEHOLD THE MAN ON THE MIDDLE CROSS (Luke 23:32-33)
Jesus is now crucified between two criminals as He hangs between heaven and earth.
Above the cross is God the Father. Below the cross is you. And the only way from where you are to the Father in heaven is through the cross.
Jesus once said, “I am the way, the truth and the Life. No man came come to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)
He alone is our way of salvation. The only way to heaven is through the cross, not just any cross, but the cross of Jesus Christ.
The cross, where the Lord of Glory died for our sins.
The cross, where the Lamb of God, gave His life as a ransom, to pay for our eternal salvation.
If you desire eternal life, then you must come to the cross of Jesus Christ.
That is why He alone is the only way of salvation. He alone is our eternal Savior.
You have to determine in your own heart who is this man on the middle cross.
He is either a liar, or is He truly the Son of God, who died for the sins of the world, and you have to choose for yourself which one you believe.
You must choose either to believe Him and accept Him or deny and reject Him. Whatever decision you make regarding Jesus Christ will determine your eternal destiny.
MOCKING OF THE CROWD (Matthew 26:53, Mark 15: 29-32, Luke 23:35-36)
The crowd mocked Him and insulted Him. “Save yourself if you are king.”
Of course, He is the King and of course, He could have saved Himself. He could have called upon 12 legions of angels to deliver Him.
He held within His nail-scarred hands the power of the universe, but He refused to come down. Not because He couldn’t, but because of love. It was not the nails that held Him to the cross; it was His love for you.
John 18:37, Jesus said, “for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world”
The world had never seen such love demonstrated like this and therefore, the world could not comprehend it.
HIS WORDS (Mark 15, Luke 23,)
As He hung on the cross, Jesus said things like, “Father forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” (Luke 23:34)
When He spoke these words, He was not just speaking about the men who drove the nails into His hands. He was not just speaking about the Roman Centurion, or the religious leaders or even for just those who were standing at the foot of His cross.
He looked down through the ages and He saw you, and you, and you, and you…
He looks right at you and He says I am doing this just for you. He says to you, “Father,
forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.’
I ask you, has the cross made any difference in your life?
THE THIEF ON THE CROSS (Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23)
One of the condemned men looked over at Jesus and said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
His body racked with pain, Jesus pushes upon His feet to get into His lungs, and He replies to this man and says "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise." (Luke 23:43)
The words He said to this man, He says to you. If you will call out to Him today and tell Him that you know you are a sinner and that you need His love and His forgiveness, He will immediately forgive you, just as He did for this man.
THE CENTURION (Matthew 27:45-54, Mark 15:33-34, Luke 23:44-45)
When Jesus hung on that cross, the greatest spiritual battle in history took place.
The sun that had earlier been shining in its noonday glory was now darker than a thousand midnights. The clouds in the sky began churning and boiling in fury as the thunder rolled across the heavens. The ground trembled and shook from an earthquake as the forces of righteousness and sin clash.
Standing nearby is a Roman Centurion, who was a battled hardened veteran of many battles. He has seen thousands of men die. But when he felt the ground shake like Jell-O and saw the sun hide its face in darkness and heard the heavens rolled with thunder, he shook with fear and he knew this man on the middle cross was no ordinary man, and seeing all of this, he cried out “Truly this man was the Son of God.” (Matthew 27:54)
The centurion knew this man was different.
While the sun hid its light and darkness covered the land Jesus cried out…
Matthew 27:46 "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"--which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
I sincerely believe this is the most unique moment in all of human history.
This is the very moment Jesus dreaded in the garden. The beating, the scourging, the humiliation, and the crucifixion are nothing compared to what Jesus endured at this moment.
Jesus Christ who speaks only the truth said at this moment that God the Father had forsaken Him. Why? Because this is the moment that all the sins of world, your sins and mine were placed upon Jesus, and God who cannot look upon sin, immediately turned away from His Son, Jesus, who now become filled with sin, our sin.
The enormity of this moment is so great that it will take all of eternity for us to grasp it. At that moment, all of history and eternity were forever changed as Jesus Christ was immersed with sin, as the sins of the world were poured out on Him. He, who had never
known sin, became sin. Why? His love knows no end.
For God so loved the world… (John 3:16)
He who had never known a moment of separation from the eternal presence of God the
Father, now experienced the gut wrenching horror of sin and hell reserved for sinners
like you and me.
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. He chose to give up His life for us.
HIS LAST WORDS
Finally, He pushed up one last time and uttered three last words, “It is Finished.”
He had spent three hours on the cross and He called that life and victory.
The world looks at the cross and sees death and defeat. But for us who believe, the cross is a place of life and victory. Do you know why I know He won? Not just because of the resurrection but because of what the Bible tells me in Mark 15:37…
Mark 15:37 And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last. 38 Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. NKJV
When the veil of the temple was torn in two, it was God’s message to the world that the cross is the only way of salvation.
Now, I could end the message here, but what happened at the cross was only the beginning.
After His death, two men (Joseph and Nicodemus) came and took Jesus body down from the cross, and laid it in a tomb. Three days later, something miraculous happened.
I have been to Golgotha four times, and I have been to the tomb four times. I have looked there, and the tomb is empty.
Jesus Christ is alive. He is alive and will soon return with power and great glory.
Because He lives, I know I will live, because I have placed my faith and my hopes in Jesus Christ as my redeemer.
I close out with this poem… THE THIRD MAN
One day we will all step into eternity and stand before Jesus Christ. Imagine what it will be like for those who choose to reject Jesus Christ.
If you have never been to the cross and knelt in the blood soaked sand of Calvary, you cannot know eternal life. Give Jesus Christ a chance in your life. Today is your chance to give your life to Jesus Christ, the one who died for you.
Eternal life is found only at the cross Jesus Christ. Come to cross of Jesus, in Him and
in Him alone is salvation.
