Title: Close to the Cross, But Far From Christ? You Don’t Have to Be! 03/2004
West Side
Text: Matthew 27:29-56 and Luke 23:26-29
A.M. Service
Purpose: Asks the question: How Close Am I?
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Introduction:
A. Open with personal comments about Mel Gibson’s The Passion
1. One of the most powerful and moving films ever.
2. My prayer is that we not get lost in the detail and miss the message
3. Excellent representation of the "feeding frenzy of man’s depravity." (Sin feeding on itself)
4. Violence was different and redemptive for in "slasher¨ movies there is an oppression and demonic sense. Not here.
5. Other comments
As I watched the scenes play out, I was struck once again as to how close they were to Jesus, yet, how far they were in realizing just who he was, and why he had come. It is something that we still see today. Even with all the criticism and skeptics, etc, let us not miss the real message of this film which transcends all of us. It is about a holy and perfect God coming to this imperfect world, to die for imperfect man who is in sin. For he willingly laid down his life. They did not take it. He laid it down, and he willingly took it up again.
Yet for all those who stood in the court yard that day, many were close to the cross, but far from Christ.
Question: How close are you willing to come to the cross of Calvary?
John 12:20-26 says, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified."
Little did the disciples know what he actually meant by this statement. For now, the cost of discipleship has cost him his life"
John 12:24 I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25 The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
What does it mean to stand near the cross?
I. To stand near- sometimes means the steps will be painful
A. The cross throughout all of history. What was it"s meaning?
1. Mt. Moriah- (Abraham and Isaac) When a trembling father raised his knife to slay his son, only to have an angel hold his arm, and provide a ram caught in the thicket. (Genesis 22:9-11)
2. Serpent of brass: Moses was instructed to lift a snake upon a brass stake, and all those who would look upon it would be healed. (Numbers 21:8-9)
3. Passover Lamb: (Ex. 12:21) (1 Cor. 5:7)
4. Isaiah 53 ISA 53:5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.
The Old Testament led up with a great crescendo to the cross of Christ.
B. Part of the steps in discipleship and getting near is the willingness to take up the cross of Christ.
I am amazed that throughout the entire process, Jesus remains in total control of the situation around him.
a. During the arrest at the garden: Out of the darkness of sin, carrying flaming torches, Judas and the rest come to the true, Light of the World, Jesus, to arrest him.
b. Trial in the courtyard: Even through Peter’s denial
c. Whipped and tortured when at Pilate’s hearing:
John 19:10-11 10 "Do you refuse to speak to me?" Pilate said. "Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?" JN 19:11 Jesus answered, "You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin."
d. Presented for decision before the people.
C. Notice what painful steps Simon took in carrying the cross. Notice, that even though Jesus was suffering, while others cried out, Jesus still had enough compassion to say, v.28 Jesus turned and said to them, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. Luke 23:28
Why did he have to die? Because Love Costs
At Calvary something was happening to God by man, but something was also happening To man and FOR man by God.
What does it mean to pick up your cross and follow Christ? Why is it that the steps are painful?
a. Because there are no short cuts. (Jesus could have avoided the cross, while being tempted by Satan in the desert. He could have avoided it while in the garden. But he didn’t)
Sometimes we are tempted to take the short cuts of life.
b. Galatians 2:20 says, I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"
c. To take up the cross is an acceptance of surrender. As...
- Personal choice: it is not something forced upon us. You must decide whether or not you will follow.
- It is for Christ’s sake
The Roman Soldiers did not give Simon a choice, it was forced upon him. Yet, Jesus Christ will give you a choice. Many will feel like they have picked up the cross, but do so unwillingly.
Galatians 2:20: is not real for them, and wonder why there is no joy in serving Christ.
You and I are somewhere near the cross. And we choose who close we care to get.
II. To stand near- is being close enough to hear the Savior speak.
As we’ve picked up the cross, to follow him, meaning, taking on the things that require us to follow him, we also need to hear his voice.
A. Many come to the cross of Jesus
1. Some came to mock him (Lk. 23:35, 37, 39)
2. Rulers, those who should know better (35)
3. Soldiers (37) they were just following orders
4. Condemned (39) criminals
Matthew 27:42 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.’ "
Basically saying, "you work in my life first, prove you are who you say you are, and THEN, I’ll believe.¨
Yet the Bibles says, "We are saved by grace, through faith.¨
Eph 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
B. But some came near the cross to hear Jesus. (Many still come for various reasons)
1. Some came and were comforted (John 19:25)
Mary, the mother of Jesus. Came hurting and was comforted.
*Maybe the reason you draw near is that you need to hear the healing, comforting words of the Savior. But you have to be close enough to hear. Jesus has something for everyone.
2. Some were comforted and others changed. Lk. 23:42
Thief at first insulted Christ, but because of his forgiving spirit, was changed.
3. Some were changed like the Centurion. Mt. 27:54
MT 27:54 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!"
How close are you willing to stand to the cross? (Are you near the cross, yet far from Christ?)
Recap
1. Sometimes the steps are painful, when we pick p the cross of discipleship.
2. We need to be close enough to hear the words of the Savior, for Jesus has something for everyone.
III. Some are near to the cross, but far from Christ
A. Luke 23:48-49 talks of the multitudes who chose to stay away and went away empty. It was a darkness you could feel.
v. 48 When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. 49 But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.
"beating their breasts" saying what hope have we now? They missed what Jesus was trying to do for them.
Many in this world who are unwilling to get close to the cross, choose to leave empty.
Then we say, well they weren’t close enough. They didn’t know what they were missing. They weren’t part of the scene. They weren’t there to experience it.
Sort of like the difference between hearing someone tell about "The Passion" movie, and having gone to see it yourself. There difference is the electricity in the air.
But there WAS one group who was very near the foot of the cross.
C. The group of centurions at the foot of the cross.
Max Lucado, pg. 125 "No Wonder They Call Him the Savior"
"There was some dice-throwing that went on at the foot of the cross. Imagine the scene. The soldiers are huddled in a circle, their eyes turned downward. The criminal above them is forgotten. They gamble for some used clothes. The tunic, the cloak, the sandals are all up for grabs. Each soldier lays his luck on the hard earth, hoping to expand his wardrobe at the expense of a cross-killed carpenter.
"I’ve wondered what that scene must have looked like to Jesus. As he looked downward past his bloody feet at the circle of gamblers, what did he think? What emotions did he feel? He must have been amazed. Here are common soldiers witnessing the world’s most uncommon event and they don’t even know it. As far as they’re concerned, it’s just another Friday morning and he is just another criminal. ’Come on, hurry up; it’s my turn.’ "
That picture brings to mind the picture of many today. How somehow we are not so unlike the soldiers at the foot of the cross. We’ve been there many times, but we too, are playing games or gambling or taking a chance on our future, while at the foot of the cross.
So close to the timber, but so far from the blood.
The similarity between the soldier’s game and our game is scary. What did Jesus think? What does he think today? There is still dice-throwing going on. And it is at the foot of the cross.
Where do you stand today? Are you near the cross, but far from Christ? Do you hear the words of Jesus say, today, "You will be with me in paradise?"
Conclusion: True story from "Coral Ridge Messenger" Ft. Lauderdale, Fl.
Is It Nothing to You?
"John Griffith’s childhood ambition was to travel. He fantasized about it frequently, but that ambition crashed with the Great Depression of 1929. As the howling winds turned Oklahoma, his native state, into a dust bowl, this young man with his wife and small child packed his belongings in an old car and headed out to try and find a life somewhere else.
They made their way to Missouri, and as Dennis E. Hensley tells the story, John finally found a job as the controller of a great railroad bride spanning the Mississippi River. Each day at certain hours, this massive bridge was raised so that barges and other ships might make their way down the broad Mississippi. At other times, the brides was lowered so that the great freight and passenger trains could rush across. John found some delight in this because he often wondered what far places these people were visiting and so, he had some joy in their experience.
In the summer of 1937 John Griffith took his eight year old son, Greg, with him to work for the first time. Little Greg was understandably thrilled at the great railroad bridge and the stirring and exciting trains that roared across it. He marveled at the control house, filled with all sorts of levers over which his daddy had absolute, sovereign control. His father took him to an observation deck and told him out here he could watch the boats and trains go by.
At noon, John Griffith put the bridge up to allow for some ships that were coming. Since there would not be a train for some while, he made his way along the catwalk to the observation deck. There he opened his brown bag and he and Greg had lunch. As they ate, John shared with his son some of the stories of various ships that had gone by and of the time the great flood had overflowed the banks of the Mississippi.
Just as John was telling his son that story, he was startled by the shrieking of a train whistle in the distance. He quickly looked at his watch. It was 1:07. He had forgotten the express for Memphis. With four hundred people on board, it would be roaring across the bridge in only a few moments. He leaped from the observation deck to the catwalk.
John raced back to the control tower. He placed his hand upon the massive iron controls and started to close the bride. He glance down under the bridge to see if there were any ships beneath it. A sight caught his eye that brought his heart leaping into his throat. Greg had slipped from the observation deck, and fallen into the great gears that operated the bridge.
Greg’s left leg was caught in the cogs of the two main gears. John knew if he pushed the lever, his son would be ground between four tons of whining, grinding steel. His mind whirled in panic and desperation. There was no way to free his son before the train would be upon the bridge. Again, the train whistle shrieked. He could shear the clicking of the locomotive wheels and rapid "puffing" of the approaching train. There were four hundred passengers on that train- four hundred souls.
John was a father, and this was his boy. He knew what he had to do. He heaved the lever of the massive gears. The Memphis Express thundered across the bridge. John lifted his face, smeared with tears, and looked into the passing windows of the train. Businessmen were reading their afternoon papers, conductors were looking at their large, vest-pocket watches, and finely dressed ladies sipped coffee in the dining car, while children pushed long spoons into dishes of ice cream. With wrenching agony, John Griffith cried out to the steel train. "I sacrificed my son for you! Don’t you care? Nobody heard. The train rushed by."
John Griffith had experienced the ultimate sorrow, the sacrifice of his only son, just as God had done on Golgotha. There, Jesus can be heard today: "Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by?" surely, his life and death mean everything: the greatest offering, the ultimate sacrifice, the incomparable gift. There is nothing in all this world which has so much to do with each of us, as the birth and the death of Jesus Christ."
How close are you to the cross today? You see, the ground is level at the foot of the cross.
