Alba 9-5-2021
CHRIST DIED FOR US
Romans 5:6-11
Scott Bayles, who is the minister of Blooming Grove Christian Church in Palmyra, Illinois, admits that he is a comic book geek. In a sermon titled “Super Heroes: Superman” he makes some interesting comparisons to our Lord Jesus Christ that I want to share with you.
He tells us that Superman has been saving the day since he was created by two Jewish kids from Cleveland in 1939. It’s hard to believe, but before Superman came on the scene there was no such thing as a superhero. Superman is the one who started it all.
And over the years fans, commentators, movie reviewers, and more have noticed a striking similarity between Superman and Jesus.
Superman, perhaps more than any other character ever created, is a literary Christ-figure—that is, a fictional character made in the image of Jesus.
The story of Superman is really a reflection of the gospel story. It’s the story of a father in the heavens who sends his only son to earth with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men, to be raised in a small town by adoptive parents, and eventually save the world.
But it’s not enough to simply identify these similarities without also asking what we can learn from them? How can Superman help us to better understand Jesus and draw closer to him? To help answer that question, Scott shares parallels between Superman and our Savior.
As a baby this future Superman was placed by his father in a rocketship bound for earth to protect him from a doomed planet. It crash lands on the property of modest farmers, Jonathan and Martha Kent, who raise the boy as their own in the rural Kansas town of Smallville.
As Clark Kent he experienced humanity first hand, but as Superman he can stand for truth and save the day. Of course, Superman’s duel identity, reminds us that our Savior—the one true Superhero—also has a duel nature, both fully man and fully God.
But then Scott tells about a comic book of which I was not familiar.
The Death of Superman. He bought his copy in November of 1992.
He says that people lined up for blocks outside of comic book stores and waited for hours just to get a copy of the illusive Death of Superman issue, which sold millions of copies and remains the bestselling graphic novel ever.
In the story that resulted in the death of Superman, a mysterious monster who had been imprisoned in an abyss far below the surface of the Earth, breaks free and begins wreaking havoc all over the Midwest.
He collapses an interstate overpass, demolishes an 18-wheeler in a head on collision with his fist, and wanders from place to place destroying whatever catches his eye.
One of the other heroes who tries and fails to stop him calls him Doomsday. A bystander describes him as, “The devil incarnate ushering in the end of the world!”
Superman is the only hero strong enough to face the ferocious monster in a battle that stretches across six issues and several states.
As their mêlée reaches Metropolis, in order to emphasize the drama, the artist who drew the final comic made each panel a full-page picture. Metropolis becomes the epicenter for the fight of the ages.
Streets are demolished and cars are hurled as the indestructible fighters crash through buildings. Their final punches send shock waves, shattering the glass from nearby windows.
Bruised and bloody, Superman refused to give up. Finally, he puts every ounce of strength into one last blow. He and Doomsday collide and then collapse onto the broken pavement.
On the last page, in a picture modeled after a famous sculpture of Mary holding the body of Jesus, Lois whispers to Superman, “You stopped him! You saved us all!”
Then the page folded out as Superman breathed his last and gave up his spirit. Scott admits “I’ll be honest with you. I cried when I read that story. Superman was my hero. And there he was broken and lifeless. It broke my eleven-year-old heart. This story and that image define for me what it meant to be a hero.”
And he continues, “Of course, at that same time I was reading my Bible and listening closely to the stories I would hear in Sunday School about a hero sent from above to save the world.
“And I made a connection. What Superman did in that comic book, Jesus did in reality. The monster may have been different, but the outcome was the same.”
“Jesus died on the cross to save us from our own sin and to rescue us not just for a time, but for eternity.”
He said, “A couple of weeks after Superman #75 hit the shelves, I was baptized and entrusted my life to the hero who gave his life for me. That’s why today Jesus is my superhero!
“We all need a hero. The amazing hero that Superman is in comic books and cartoons. Jesus is in reality—and so much more...
“The story of Superman serves as modern-day parable that points us to a God who loves us so much that He gave his only Son to save the world.”
Think about how Jesus laid aside his supremacy and worship. In heaven Jesus was worshiped and adored by the angels. But in coming to earth that adoration and worship would be laid aside and replaced with being looked at as just another human being.
Instead of being adored by all he would be hated by many. Jesus' status in heaven didn't change, He was still preeminent but He wouldn't be treated as such on earth by most people.
What is stunning is that Jesus died for us when we had nothing good to offer. We weren’t exceptional in any way. Even so, He rushed to the scene and saved us. His motivation was love.
That is the message that we find in Romans 5:6-11. Turn there as I read. “6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.
“8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
“10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 11 And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.”
These verses describe us as “enemies”, “without strength”, “ungodly” and “sinners”! It was while we were like that Christ died for us. He fought a fight against the devil and won!
1. Jesus died for His enemies! God didn't send Jesus to those who loved him. Even though God loves us He hates sin; sin is His enemy. Therefore WE are His enemy because of our sin and the evil behavior that stems from it. Jesus died for us.
Jesus didn't die for anyone who was pure; He died for those who were impure. He died for those who didn't care about Him, didn't love him, didn't serve Him.
He died for those who were against him, who hated Him, who wanted Him dead. This truly is the full extent of love, to die for your enemy.
God did something that defies all logic. He allowed His Son to die for those who were against Him, allowing them a way to escape His wrath and to receive eternal life. Yet He did it anyway.
Colossians 1:21-22 says it: 21 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled 22 in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight.
2. Also Jesus died for those who are weak, without strength. He saw our need, we who could not save ourselves. We who in the eyes of a holy God could be described as useless, destitute, worthless.
He died for those for whom no man would die. He died for those who were of no value, and of no good. He died for those who were opposed to God, enemies. Such is the unbelievable love of God.
3. And Jesus died for the ungodly. Again, that is us! When the Bible says you and I are ungodly, it means when you look at all of the positive attributes of God, the exact opposite is true of you and me.
For instance, God is perfect. We are imperfect, undoubtedly. God is love. We are not always very loving in and of ourselves. God is forgiving. We often hold grudges. In other words, for every positive attribute of God, the opposite is true of you and me. We are ungodly.
4. And yes, Jesus died for sinners. We are sinners. Remember? “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” We deserve punishment for our sins.
The only hope we have of escaping God’s punishment is to be saved by someone who has not been tainted by sin. Only someone perfect could be the bridge between God and us. This someone is Jesus Christ.
During His time on earth, Jesus faced the same temptations that you and I do everyday. Unlike us, He resisted those temptations and lived a perfect, sinless life. Since He lived a perfect life He would be the only person able to be the bridge for us.
Sin is serious, serious enough that the only way Jesus could remove our penalty for it was to die. If we take that extreme payment to heart then it will cause us to see the seriousness of sin.
Jesus needed to die so that our punishment could be taken away, and also so that we would see how severe sin is. We need to know that sin kills, so we will take it seriously enough to put it to death.
The hymn “At the Cross,” was written by Isaac Watts. In the original text is the question, “Would He devote His sacred head for such a worm as I?”
You ask, “Why does it say a worm?” Because in Psalm 22:6 David, when he realized his own sinfulness, said, “I’m a worm, and no man.” Some hymn editor read that, and said, “That’s not very nice.
People don’t like to sing about what worms they are, so let’s clean it up a little. Let’s say ‘for sinners such as I.’” That is how our hymn book has it.
But I am told that there are denominations that have changed it even more, and it doesn’t even say “sinners”, it says, “Would He devote His sacred head for such a one as I.” We try to make ourselves look good.
But we can't dress it up. Scripture says it was while we were still in our sin that Christ died for us.
So here’s what that scripture might sound like to each of us, all of us with whom God desires a deep relationship.
While you were still a gossiper, Christ died for you.
While you were still an addict, Christ died for you.
While you were still selfish, Christ died for you.
While you were still a criminal, Christ died for you.
While you were still a bully, Christ died for you.
While you were still an adulterer, Christ died for you.
While you were still broken and defiant, Christ died for you.”
Jesus died for sinners, for people who are evil, fallen, lost, and hostile against Him. He died for people who didn’t deserve it one bit. But He did it out of love, and His death in our place shows His love. It shows the depth and greatness of God’s love for us.
1 John 3:1 says, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”
(NIV)
Jesus has invaded our sinful humanity, defeated it and turned it back to God so that we are no longer enemies pushing God away, but we are His children in loving fellowship with our heavenly Father.
And if God loved us enough to give His Son when we were His enemy, surely He loves us enough to care for us now that we are His child.
But there is no reason for God to love us. We are not a naturally lovable people. Sin has infected our lives so much that it has distorted even the parts we think are beautiful. Someone said it this way, “Sin 'uglyfies' everything it touches.”
If you find all this discouraging, remember this: If God loved you only when you were lovable, then when you stopped being lovable, God would have to stop loving you!
It’s better to admit the truth, isn’t it? God loves us in spite of our unloveliness. We can count on His love because it doesn’t depend on our personality or our performance.
God doesn’t love us because we are lovable. God loves us because it’s His character and nature to love sinners. In fact, look again at God’s supernatural character. Love was poured out to us from the cross.
We have a world in turmoil. What the world needs now is love. Not the “sweet love” the song says. No, the world needs God's love. It is available.
It is a love that sent His Son to die for us. A love that surpasses human comprehension. A love that reaches the worst of us. Yes, While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
We are more sinful than we ever believed. And are we more loved than we ever dared to imagine.
So, here’s a question: What more does God have to do to show this world that He loves us?
CONCLUSION:
What happens when a dog enters a concert? Max Lucado tells the story about a night in Lawrence, Kansas, when the oldest continually operating orchestra in the world was playing.
It was hot that night in Lawrence, KS, so the doors were open. Hock Auditorium was not air-conditioned. Combine bright lights with formal dress and furious music, and the result is a heated orchestra. Outside doors on each side of the stage were left open in case of a breeze.
Enter, stage right, a dog. A brown, generic, Kansas dog. Not a mean dog. Not a mad dog. Just a curious dog. He passes through the basses, the violins and the cellos.
His tail wags in beat with the music. Had he passed on through the orchestra, the music might have continued. Had he made his way across the stage into the motioning hands of a stagehand, the audience might never have noticed. But he didn’t leave, he stayed. At home in the splendor.
The musicians laughed. The audience laughed. The dog looked up at the conductor and panted. And the conductor lowered his baton. The most historic orchestra in the world. One of the most moving pieces ever written. A night wrapped in glory, all brought to a stop by a wayward dog.
The conductor stepped off the podium and scratched the dog behind the ears. The tail wagged again. The maestro spoke to the dog a few seconds, then led him off the stage. And the people applauded.
Lucado wrote, Can you find you and me in this picture? I can. Just call us Fido. And consider God the Maestro. And envision the moment when we will walk onto his stage.
We won’t deserve to be there. We will not have earned it. We may even surprise the musicians with our presence. The music will be like none we’ve ever heard.
We’ll stroll among the angels and listen as they sing. We’ll gaze at heaven’s lights and gasp as they shine. And we’ll walk next to the Maestro, stand by his side, and worship as he leads.
He, too, will welcome us. He, too, will speak to us. But He will not lead us away. He will invite us to remain, forever as guests on His stage.
