Beyond the Cross
-Salvation to all who Believe-
I Corinthians 1:18-25
Today is Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy week, the last week of the public life and ministry of Jesus. Holy week goes from the Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem to the crucifixion on Friday to the resurrection on Easter Sunday.
To prepare for His entry into Jerusalem, Jesus sent two of his disciples; possibly Peter and John, to find a colt for him to ride. Jesus said, “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here.” (Luke 19:30) This action would fulfill the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9, “Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout. Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king, comes to you righteous and having salvation gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
Peter and John are near Bethphage and they see a colt tied to a post outside the doorway of an inn. “Remarkable, isn’t it,” says John. Its right where he said it would be. Peter comments, “Yes that is remarkable, but compared to what happened to Lazarus rising from the dead it’s not such a big deal.”
They approach the colt and untie it and Peter says, “I don’t like this. Judas should have come with us with money to pay the owner.” Then they hear a cry from a man standing nearby- “Hey you two, what are you doing?” Bold Peter says, “What do does it look like we’re doing. We’re taking this colt. Our Lord sent us to find a colt and bring it to Him.” Some men standing nearby call out. “You have no right to steal that colt.” Then the owner of the cold walked up to John and asked, “This Lord of your, would he happen to be the Prophet from Nazareth?” “Yes He is,” John replies.
“We have heard rumors of his arrival, the man says.” “Will he pass by this way?” John nods affirmatively. The owner thinks for a few moments. “The story about a dead man -- Lazarus of Bethany. Were you there? Is it true?
“Words cannot do it justice,” Peter replies. “I smelled the stench of death myself, and out of the dark tomb, Lazarus came forth, called out by our Lord.”
The owner of the colt makes his decision. There can be no harm and possibly great gain in extending a favor to a famous worker of miracles. “Go ahead, take the colt.” Peter unties the colt and smiles at the man.
“Tell me,” John asks, “Has the colt been ridden before?” “The colt has never been ridden,” the man replies.
When the disciples arrived back with the colt, Jesus got on the colt and rode toward Jerusalem. Luke 19:41, “As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it.” Others looked at the city and did not weep. Why did Jesus weep? What did He see that others did not see?
Jesus probably saw beyond the façade of people’s position, prestige, power or possessions. Jesus saw empty lives, and people living purposeless lives. Jesus knew that for the most part the population of the city did not completely understand His message of Salvation. Many were searching for another free meal or signs and miracles. Jesus could see the shadow of Good Friday hanging over the city. Shouts of “Hosanna” would quickly turn to “Crucify Him, Crucify Him.”
Jesus knew that his leading a parade into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday was part of the preparation for the Cross of Calvary and His death as God’s Lamb of sacrifice for the sins of the world.
The Cross of Calvary was a historical event in history. “Beyond the Cross” is the message of salvation for all who will believe.
The Apostle under divine inspiration explained the true message of the cross in I 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.”
From this passage in I Corinthians 1:18-25 we can draw three distinct truths.
I. The Cross is a Stumbling Block to all who Refuse to Believe.
The cross is foolishness to all who are perishing. Unbelief has no cultural boundaries; both Jew and Gentile are guilty. The cross to the Jew was a stumbling block, and to the Gentile it was foolishness.
Both Jew and Gentile refused to believe Jesus was the Messiah in spite of the many signs and miracles and healing Jesus demonstrated before the people. Their hearts were hardened by their traditions and laws.
When Jesus healed a blind man they accused him of healing by the power of the Devil. The fact that Jesus died on a Cross gave further evidence that Jesus was the mere son of a carpenter and not the Messiah. No Messiah would suffer and die. How could he save others when he could not even save Himself? The cross was a stumbling block to the Jews.
The Cross continues to be a stumbling block in America. Last week a judge in San Francisco declared that a large Cross – part of a war memorial- had to come down. The ACLU and Atheist Society in America will not rest until America is stripped of all Christian symbols and Biblical references. The Cross is offensive to all who refuse to believe.
Could this be the beginning of the end of so called “Christian America?” A Democracy without God is powerless. Actually the Godless trends in America should not surprise us. A day is coming when all references to God and Jesus Christ will be punishable by law. Only those who bow to the god of this world – the Anti-Christ- will be able to buy and sell. The church of Jesus Christ will go underground like in the days of the early church when it was against Roman law to name Jesus as Lord instead Caesar as Lord.
Didn’t you feel proud when you heard the testimony of Asley Smith this week? She was taken hostage by the murderer Brian Nichols on Saturday March 12,2005 in Duluth, Georgia. This 26 year old mother read to Nichols from “The Purpose Driven Life” book and the Bible. She prayed for him and persuaded him to give himself up and quit his killings.
The “Purpose Driven Life” book is making a great impact on many leaders in America. It has sold nearly 25 million copies. We have several copies available. If you would like a copy of the book let me know.
People in American life believe the answer is education or politics or innovative inventions. Many believe that the wisdom of this world is the answer to the problems in the world. I Corinthians 1:19 says, “For it is written, ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” (Verse 20) “Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?”
When the great French philosopher Blaise Pascal was buried it was discovered in his coat a piece of paper saying, “My God is not the god of the philosophers. It is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”
Compared to the wisdom and power of God in creation and God’s plan of salvation, human wisdom with a 300 plus I.Q. is puny. It is like a pebble of sand on the beach or 1 kilobyte compared to 1,000 gigabytes in a computer. There is no comparison between the wisdom of God and the wisdom of human kind.
I Corinthians 1:21-25, 27-29. The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ is the Wisdom of God in the flesh. (Verse 30) You get smart when you know Jesus Christ personally. Wisdom according to God is not your level if I.Q. but wisdom is having faith in God’s Son, Jesus.
The American public has a false view of wisdom. When asked what is most important in American life, 57% said that Science is most important and 38% noted that churches were most important, Teachers and Fireman rater higher than Christian Leaders.
At one time Carl Sagan viewed Christian as being scientifically ignorant. Sagan was the first president of the Planetary Society and played a leading role in the American space program. He was a consultant and adviser to NASA beginning in the 1950s.
When Sagan was teaching at Harvard he decided to read the Bible. He said that knowledge of science brought him to his knees. The mysteries of the universe revealed an Intelligence behind creation. Sagan renounced his Atheism and became a believer in God as creator of the Universe.
The cross is a stumbling block to unbelievers. The cross is foolishness to those who are perishing but salvation to all who believe.
II. The Cross is the Power of God to all who believe.
The Apostle Paul personally experienced the risen Christ on the road to Damascus as recorded in Acts chapter 9. Paul saw the power of God at work in the world among both Jews and Gentiles. He said in I Corinthians 2:1-4, that the cross is the great plus sign for all human kind.
The preaching of the cross is good news and salvation to all who believe. Behind the apparent tragedy of the cross, a divine hand was at work. All that had happened had been according to God’s plan. The cross had been, not God’s defeat, but God’s purpose and God’s victory.
To the Jew that accepted Jesus as Messiah the Cross was the power of God. The blood of Jesus as the Lamb of God shed on the Cross became like the Passover Lamb for all who believed. I Corinthians 5:7, “…For Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed.”
The first Passover Lamb is described in Exodus 12. The last great plague God brought on Egypt was the death of the first born child in every family. Moses told the families of Israel to take a lamb without blemish and take some of the blood of the lamb and put the blood on the sides and tops of the doorframes of their homes. That night the death angel would pass over every house that had lamb’s blood on the door frames. Every home that did not have blood on the door frame the death angel would take the life of every first born child.
When Jesus died on the Cross He became our Passover Lamb. When we accept Jesus as our Savior by faith His blood is applied to our life and his blood becomes a covering of sin and the death angel will pass over our life. We know that the blood of Jesus will never lose its power to forgive sin and protect us from the evil one.
We sing old time hymn: “What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus; What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. O precious is the flow that makes me white as snow; no other fount I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus. There are some speakers that shy away from talking about the blood of Jesus. But when viewed in the context of the Passover Lamb in Exodus 12 and the Cross of Calvary the blood of Jesus is nothing to be ashamed of.
Have you accepted Jesus and allowed Him to cleanse you from sin? Jesus shed His blood on the Cross for you. Jesus died that you might life and have eternal life. Without the Cross and the death of Jesus there would be no victory over sin.
III. The Cross is Your Way to Victory
“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.” I Corinthians 1:18
The Hymn, “There is Power in the Blood,” speaks of the victory in the Cross of Calvary.
“Would you be free from the burden of sin? There’s power in the blood, power in the blood. Would you over evil a victory win? There is wonderful power in the blood.
There is power, power - Wonder-working power in the blood of the Lamb; There is power, power, Wonder working power in the precious blood of the Lamb.
When Jesus died on the Cross he completed the mission He was sent to accomplish. Jesus cried out from the cross, “It is finished.”
When Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon, an American flag was planted to signify the accomplishment of his space journey. The goal had been established in 1960 to set a man on the moon before the end of the decade. In 1969, that goal was achieved in a most dramatic way.
When Jesus was on earth, he planted a cross to signify the accomplishment of his journey. The goal had been established from the foundation of the world that God would love the world, no matter what took place. On a place called “The Skull” during the Roman occupation of Palestine, that goal was achieved in a historic event of the ages when Jesus hung between two thieves in that very place.
As Christ followers we are not to be ashamed of the Cross. The Cross stands for Victory. Christ through His death conquered the forces of evil and provided a way for all to have access to heaven through faith in Christ.
The great divide is between faith and unbelief. One dying thief criticized Jesus and ridiculed Him. The other thief felt sorrow and remorse for an innocent man who was suffering for unjust acquisitions. Jesus forgave the man seeking for forgiveness and said, “Today you will be with me in Paradise.”
We have a cross at the very top of our steeple. The Cross represents salvation and hope to all who will believe. The cross is a message of triumph and victory. The cross is a message to everyone in our community that God loves them and died in their place.
The hymn writer has written:
Bearing shame and scoffing rude,
In my place condemned He stood;
Sealed my pardon with His blood,
Hallelujah! What a Savior.
On the south coast of China, Portuguese settlers built a massive cathedral overlooking the harbor. Hurricane winds proved stronger than the cathedral and the buildings fell in ruins, except the front wall. High on top of that jutting wall of the cathedral a bronze cross continued to stand. In 1825 Sir John Bowring was ship wrecked near the harbor. Clinging to the wreckage of his ship, he caught sight of the great cross, which showed him where he could find safety. After his dramatic rescue he wrote:
In the cross of Christ I glory,
Towering over the wrecks of time;
All the light of sacred story
Gathers round its head sublime.
At Calvary God offered up His Son Jesus, His life was given, Jesus’ blood was shed, a covering was made for our sins. Not only a covering but Jesus takes away the sin. Jesus forgives sin, Jesus cleanses from sin, and Jesus washes away sin. Hallelujah what a Savior!
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to use who are being saved; it is the power of God.” I Cor. 1:18
1. The cross is a stumbling block to all who refuse to believe.
2. The cross is the power of God to all who believe.
3. The cross is your way to victory.
When we sing, “When I survey the wondrous cross, on which the Prince of glory died, my richest gain, I count but loss and pour contempt on all my pride.” In this hymn we realize that it was no mere man who died on Calvary, but it was the Lord of Glory.
What ever your burden, whatever your sin, take it to Jesus. Take it to the cross and at the cross you find forgiveness and victory.
Arthur Blessitt, evangelist and world Christian, has carried a 12 foot cross around the world. He has carried the cross in 303 nations and walked 36,650 miles during his 35 years of ministry. and still walking.
He writes that in 1969 Jesus spoke to him at 5 a.m. in the morning and told him to take the cross and carry it across America. He believed that God called him to tell the world of God’s love, and later to give my life to carry the cross to every nation. In carrying the cross for Jesus he’s been through wars, jail, jungles, deserts, and walked roads in almost every nation. The Guinness Book of Records lists this as the world’s longest walk, that means he have spent thousands of hours and years of holding the cross, thinking of Jesus on the cross and His suffering. Blessitt says, “I feel His great love and presence. I’ve cried countless tears and seek to give Jesus my best in carrying the cross in such a way He is proud and honored. It’s only for Jesus. Not for sport, exercise, or fame only in obedience to Jesus’ call. I am not ashamed of Jesus or the cross. I have seen all types of reaction to the cross but I shall not focus on my cross walk. ---Just on Jesus and the ’real’ cross.”
On his walk in Midland, Texas 1984 he prayed with then Govenor George W. Bush. In 1985 he carried the cross in India. In 1998 he carried the cross in Iraq. www.blessitt.com
He tells one personal story on his website: “I was carrying the cross in New Zealand from Auckland to Wellington. Along the highway one morning as I walked beside the sea an awesome event happened. The road was narrow with almost no roadside to walk on. As the highway went up from the seaside I looked down and saw a lady running by the sea. Continuing up the mountain and watching out for traffic I was later surprised to see the lady running toward me! She shared this story. She had been living there by the sea for two and a half years in a house. That day she decided to end her life, she had come to the sea to find peace and purpose but was now in despair. She was going to run into the water and drown. It was to be her last run before dying. She stopped and cried out "God if there be a God, I NEED LIFE !" She looked up and there was the cross!!! as I carried it up the mountain. As she approached me weeping she said "The cross, the cross, I saw the cross, I’ve come to the cross!" We talked for a long while beside the road, then prayed together, cried together, then rejoiced and laughed. I invited her to walk on with me to where my wife Denise would be waiting in a camper ahead. She smiling said "no, I’m ok now, I know what to do now, you go on and help someone else" My deep desire is just to BE THERE holding up the cross, lifting up Jesus, loving Him and following Him and loving each person I meet.”
What does the Cross of Calvary that Jesus died on mean to you? Are you skeptical and filled with doubt concerning the message of the cross? Will you believe and allow the shed blood of Jesus cleanse you from all sin and live in the power and victory of the risen Christ.
At the Cross
Alas, and did my Savior bleed? And did my Sovereign die? Would He devote that sacred head; For such a worm as I?
At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light, and the burden of my hart rolled away, It was there by faith I received my sight, And now I am happy all the day.
