Sermon Central
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Why Jesus Had To Suffer Series
Contributed by Scott Maze on Jul 2, 2024 (message contributor)
Summary: For Jesus to be the “the Lamb of God” meant the Messiah HAD TO suffer. Yet, to think that the Messiah would suffer was as preposterous as thinking you could swim across the Atlantic.
3.7 Do You Believe?
Earlier, I spoke about two kinds of people: those who follow Jesus and everyone else. What kind are you, my friend?
And before you answer that, hear this: You aren’t ready to live until you are ready to die. You are not ready to die until you are ready to meet God. You are not ready to meet God until you know Him as your Father. You do not know Him as your Father until you become His child. You do not become His child until you are born again into His family. You are not born again into His family until you receive His Son, Jesus Christ by faith. Simply, God becomes your Father when you become His child, but you only become His child when you receive His Son.12
The cross and resurrection are designed to save you. Jesus’ death is not an award for your hard work or your religious nature. The cross isn’t a payment for your good deeds. Instead, Jesus’ death and resurrection is a free gift for you.
EndNotes
1 Overall, he presents the gospels as being written in the second century, approximately half a century later than the most popular date for Luke’s gospel. F.F. Bruce is among those who date the writing of Luke’s gospel in the early to mid-60s. F. F. Bruce, The Book of Acts, New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1988), 6-13. See, https://www.rezaaslan.com/home-1/zealot; accessed March 5, 2024.
2 This is taken from an email discussion (dated February 4, 2014) with Mark Spence who read the book and from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/06/books/reza-aslans-zealot-the-life-and-times-of-jesus-of-nazareth.html?pagewanted=all; accessed February 4, 2014.
3 C. S. Lewis, Christian Reflections, Walter Hooper, ed. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1967), 155.
4 Timothy Keller, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism (New York: Riverhead Books, 2009), 110.
5 I am grateful for the words of C. H. Spurgeon, “‘It Is Finished!,’” in The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons, (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1861), 7:585–92.
6 Matthew has thirty-one occurrences of the word “amen” while Mark has thirteen (fourteen times if you count Mark’s longer ending), Luke’s gospel has six usages, and John’s Gospel contains fifty uses of the word on twenty-five occasions.
7 G. F. Hawthorne, “Amen,” ed by Joel B. Green and Scot McKnight, Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1992), 7.
8 http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=22566_CAIR_VP-_If_Jesus_Were_Here_Hed_Be_a_Muslim&only; accessed February 9, 2014.
8 Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan
9 Mahatma Gandhi, Harijan (March 6, 1937): 2; as quoted in Driscoll and Breshears, 15.
10 Illustration is from Tim Keller’s message, “Do You See Anything.”
12 This entire section is from Pastor James Merritt: https://www.sermonsearch.com/sermon-outlines/124320/in-gods-hands-7-of-7/#; accessed April 6, 2022.
