BROKEN (part two)
Recap: Last week in pt. 1 I talked about some events leading up to the crucifixion that had to do with brokenness. First, we looked at Mary breaking the seal on her jar of expensive perfume so she could anoint Jesus. She was willing to let go of something very valuable to honor her Lord. What are we willing to give up to show how much the Lord means to us?
Then we looked at how the religious leaders broke protocol in their arrest and trial of Jesus. Yet Jesus remained silent during their harsh inquisition. But he broke his silence when asked to declare whether or not he was the Messiah. In some situations, remaining silent is in our best interest except when it comes to declaring that Jesus is Lord.
And lastly, we looked at how there were some broken hearts that day. The Father's heart was broken in having to turn and walk away from his son when he took our sins upon himself. Jesus' heart was broken for the same reason which is why he cried out in anguish about being forsaken by the Father. Jesus' heart was also broken over his people's refusal to believe in him.
Then we looked at Jesus' mother Mary. Her heart was broken over witnessing what was happening to her son as any mother's would be. And his disciples had broken hearts too. Do our hearts break over what happened to Jesus? Let's see what else was broken.
1) The broken barrier.
Matt. 27:50-54, "And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. 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. When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”
When the curtain of the temple was torn completely it signified two barriers that were broken. One was the barrier between Jews and gentiles for now Christ's sacrifice made it possible for all to be saved. The other broken barrier was between man and God. The tearing of the curtain meant there was no longer any sacrifice for sins needed because Jesus was the final sacrifice.
The curtain of the temple separated the holy place from the most holy place. Up to that point, the high priest would go into the Most Holy Place to make atonement for the sins of the people. Now that was no longer necessary. Also, only the High Priest could enter the Most Holy Place where God was. And this was allowed only once a year. But now, with the barrier broken, that opened the way for all believers to enter into the presence of God any time they wanted to.
Heb. 10:19-22, "Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water."
Through Christ we are allowed to enter the Most Holy Place and approach the throne of God and draw near to him with confidence. Confidence, not arrogance. God is still holy and that holiness is to be respected. We are approaching a pure and holy God who is all powerful so we need to always approach him with humility. But we are thankful that now that barrier is broken and we can have the close relationship with God that the Jews of old weren't able to have.
And notice it said in Matthew that not only was the curtain torn but the tombs broke open too. And when Jesus resurrected they went into the city. This happened to further legitimize that Jesus conquered death. As the seal on Jesus' tomb was broken, so were the tombs of these people broken.
And likewise, the seal on our tombs will be broken and we will come back to life; although not literally like those people did. What happened to them was a sign to show what will happen to us spiritually. Although we die physically, through Christ we are made alive spiritually.
After Lazarus died, Jesus consoled his sister Martha. John 11:25-26, "Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
Jesus is still posing this question. Do we believe that eternal life exists in Jesus alone or do we think we can achieve it some other way? The curtain was torn so that the way to salvation would be opened up to us through Christ. The barrier between man and God has been broken.
We can now come to God and be reconciled to him. We can now have a relationship with him. And we look forward to being with him forever. Jesus died to pay for our sin and he rose to give us new life. The barrier has been broken by Jesus.
2) The broken chains.
Because Jesus rose to life and conquered death, we can be free from the bondage to the power and penalty of sin. Consider how the words of the psalmist apply to us.
Psalm 107:10-14, "Some sat in darkness and the deepest gloom, prisoners suffering in iron chains, for they had rebelled against the words of God and despised the counsel of the Most High. So he subjected them to bitter labor; they stumbled, and there was no one to help. Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness and the deepest gloom and broke away their chains."
These words have both a literal and a spiritual application. Literally, God's people often found themselves in bondage and captivity. This would happen because they would persist in disobeying and rejecting his commands. Then, after a while, they would cry out to God in repentance and God would deliver them.
Spiritually that's where we are. We sinned and through that we became bound. And there was no hope for our release from our bondage to sin unless we repented and turned to God. As Peter said in Acts 3:19, "Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord."
In order for our chains to be broken we need to recognize our sin. We need to realize that we have broken God's commands and because of that we are slaves to sin. Jesus said in John 8 that everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Since Rom. 3:23 says all have sinned, that means we are all slaves to sin unless Jesus sets us free, as Jesus said later in John 8.
And not only did the psalmist have some words to say about this subject, Job did too. Job 36:8-12, "But if men are bound in chains, held fast by cords of affliction, he tells them what they have done— that they have sinned arrogantly. He makes them listen to correction and commands them to repent of their evil. If they obey and serve him, they will spend the rest of their days in prosperity and their years in contentment. But if they do not listen, they will perish by the sword and die without knowledge."
These verses, like the ones in Psalm 107, have both literal and spiritual applications and in the same two ways. God will reveal the truth to us. This is what the gospel is-the truth that we are sinners and that Christ has come to set us free. And we are commanded to repent-to make a faith commitment to turn away from sin and turn to God so that our souls, and our lives, would find refreshment.
If we will turn to him in faith in repentance and baptism we will spend the rest of our days in spiritual prosperity. We will have the precious commodities of the fruit of the Spirit-love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control. We will discover the secret of being content. However, if we reject this precious invitation, we will suffer the consequences and perish. We will be doomed to spend eternity in bondage.
Jesus came to break those chains and set us free. But not just set us free from the penalty of sin, but also from the power of sin. We have been set free from slavery to sin so we can now live in spiritual freedom. Rom. 6:22-23, "But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
At first it sounds like a turn-off to be a slave to God. But we see that under the first slavery we are bound to sin and death but in the second one we are bound to holiness and life. Therefore, being a slave to God is not a bad thing; it's the best thing. Remember what Peter said, 'repent and turn to God so that times of refreshing may come'.
We know how good it feels to be refreshed when we're tired. This is what's waiting for us as a servant of Jesus. Being a slave to God sounds bad, but it's not. We can experience the fullness of life Jesus promised in John 10:10, or we can continue to live an unfulfilled, unsatisfying life without him. Jesus came to break our chains so we could be set free.
3) We need to be broken.
When Peter was preaching that first sermon after Jesus ascended into heaven, the people had a heart reaction. Acts 2:36-38, “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."
The phrase, cut to the heart means they were convicted and deeply distressed. In essence-their hearts were pierced; they were broken. They received what Peter was saying and they were sorrowful over knowing they were wrong about Jesus. Although the Jews were responsible in one way for Jesus' crucifixion, it was their sin that really put him there.
Therefore, we are not exempt from Peter's words. We, too, are responsible for Jesus' death. I did a play when I was in NSCC titled, Guilt By Association. The premise of it was that we are all guilty. We may not have been there shouting crucify him but in essence that's what our sinful nature says. The flesh wants nothing to do with the Spirit. So, in our sin we shout crucify him.
Therefore, we need to be cut to the heart, we need to be convicted, we need to recognize our guilt, we need to be broken. Psalm 51:17, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise."
In the OT people brought various sacrifices to God. But just because they were doing this didn't mean their heart was in it. And their sacrifices would not be acceptable to God if their heart wasn't right. Likewise today, there are a lot of people who are religious but that doesn't mean their heart is in it.
Many people just go through the motions. This isn't acceptable to God. God is looking for a humble heart; a convicted heart-a heart that recognizes its great need for him. God wants a spirit that understands that we're not righteous based on our religious observances and traditions. God wants people to recognize their need for Jesus. God wants people who are broken; who realize they are unworthy of his grace.
The proud one, the unbroken one thinks he is good enough without Jesus. The unbroken one feels God should honor all the good deeds he has done. But we need to take to heart what Jesus said in
Luke 18:9-14, "To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
The Pharisee did a lot of religious things but his heart was not right; he was proud-he bragged about how religious he was. The tax collector wasn't even willing to lift his face such was his shame and sorrow.
In the people's eyes, the Pharisee-the religious leader, would've been the one who was accepted by God and the tax collector, whom the people looked down on for working for the enemy-Rome, would've been rejected by God. But Jesus showed who was really acceptable to God. It was the one who had the humble heart; the one who's heart was contrite-broken.
What about us? Who are we more like in this parable? What about the people in Acts 2? Have you been cut to the heart?
After Peter told them what they needed to do there was a wonderful response. Acts 2:41, "Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day." 3,000-that's a lot of people. There was much rejoicing going on that day.
Unfortunately, though, some were not convinced, otherwise it would say, everyone there was baptized instead of, those who accepted his message were baptized.
What about you? Will you accept the message of salvation through Jesus? Will you be added to the number of those who have been set free? If you're interested in talking about that please approach me after the service.
