The Cross (my notes and some expansion from my
sermon on the 22 July 18).
Why is the
cross important why do we need to know about it?
The cross is
important as it pertains to eternal life and where we spend eternity when our
bodies die. It should not be overlooked not lightly or spitefully as that I
believe along with millions of Christians who can testify that Jesus is alive
would be extreme folly spiritually.
Isaiah 53 King James Version (KJV)
53 Who hath believed our
report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord
revealed?
2 For he shall grow up
before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no
form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we
should desire him.
3 He is despised and rejected
of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our
faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he hath borne
our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of
God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded
for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of
our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep
have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us
all.
7 He was oppressed, and
he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the
slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his
mouth.
8 He was taken from
prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut
off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he
stricken.
9 And he made his grave
with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no
violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to
grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his
seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
11 He shall see of the
travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my
righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore will I
divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the
strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered
with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for
the transgressors.
As a young man I remember saying to my mum “What is the big deal with the
cross? why do we Christians get so hung up on the cross of Jesus. Surely it is
merely the door to the kingdom of God shouldn’t we be going deeper into the
things of God.”
I couldn’t have been more wrong if I tried. But when we refer to the Cross what
we should really be saying is Christ crucified. So why is the Crucifixion of
Jesus so important? A question every Christian should be able to answer without
a doubt in my mind.
1. LOVE
God sent his Son to pay the price for our sins, so we may be saved by
believing in him (that is actively trusting Christ Jesus by obeying his
teachings).
Note not because were perfect. (pride)
Not because we were righteous (for all have sinned).Not because we worth it. (puffed up).
Not because were beautiful. (vanity)
But because the father loves us.
“For God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son…”. John 3:16
John 3:16 King James Version (KJV)
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life.
2. The BLOOD.
Without the crucifixion of Christ Jesus there would be no blood shed for
the remission of sin for our forgiveness or to pay our ransom.
a. Forgiveness
Matthew 26:28 King James Version
(KJV)
28 For this is my blood
of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
The remission of sin
applies to the old legal requirements of blood being shed for forgiveness in
the religious law.
b.
Ransom
Matthew 20:28 King James Version (KJV)
28 Even as the Son of
man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom
for many.
Ransom who was holding humans to ransom now there isn’t really a short
explanation to this. But this is do with the fall of Lucifer and the fall of
man. When Adam and Eve fell in the garden of Eden having been deceived by the
devil man subsequently as a race we all fell into sin and separation from God
or death not just physical but death being separation from eternal life. This
separation left us hostages of Satan (formerly lucifer).
Now the enemy is very clever (although we could question the wisdom of
someone rejecting an all loving benevolent father in the first place), he may
of thought it was impossible for someone with undefiled blood from the line of
Adam to pay the price for our sins either that or he wanted to put God to the
test.
But you see there was someone from Adams line that did have undefiled
blood but it wasn’t one of Adam descendants it was his creator The Father
(Yahwah, Jahovah, God). The Bible is very clear it says that God made man male
and female in his image. You could say the blueprint where do we find our blue
print in our DNA. We all have DNA and it’s our DNA our genic code that defines
what we look like. Our bloods contain our unique DNA code.
The devil held us to ransom and God did not spare the blood of his son
to pay that ransom they say the blood of a baby does not normally mix with the
blood of the mother whilst the baby is in the womb, so the blood of Jesus would
not have been defiled by someone else’s blood.
Revelation 12:10-11 King James
Version (KJV)
10 And I heard a loud
voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of
our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast
down, which accused them before our God day and night. 11 And they overcame him
by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved
not their lives unto the death.
So, the fact God paid the ransom gives the devil No legal basis to
anyone, he has been paid IN FULL for the race of men. We have been bought at a
price, so we are no longer slaves to sin but to righteousness. The only power
the devil has now is deception he only wins souls to hell by deceiving them.
The Earth is currently in a spiritual battlefield where the kingdom of
God and the forces of darkness are locked in a battle for the souls of men and
women. The Kingdom of God uses the truth and the kingdom of darkness employs
lies to win people to their cause.
3.
DEATH no longer has its sting.
John 11:25-26 King James
Version (KJV)
25 Jesus said unto her,
I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were
dead, yet shall he live:
26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou
this?
Death no longer separates a believer’s spirit and soul from God. As
believers we no longer have anything to fear in death because we have been
washed in the blood of the lamb.
And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These
are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their
robes, and made them white in the blood of the
Lamb.
As Jesus approached John the Baptist, John declared to his disciples
“Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”. 1 John 1:29.
Passover.
This is also to do with the blood. Jesus was crucified on the Jewish
Passover this was the exact time year God had told them to celebrate they
deliverance from the final plague of death that God sent on the firstborn of
Egypt. God gave the Israelites specific instructions to kill a lamb and dip
hyssop in its blood and paint the door posts of their houses in the lambs
blood. This would mean the angel of death would pass over their house and not
take the life of the firstborn.
4.
“And with his stripes we have been healed.”
There is
healing in for the sake of Jesus name because he went to the cross. By his
stripes there is spiritual provision for all our healing. Isaiah 53 is about
the suffering of the Messiah.
5.
Peace.
Because
Jesus was crucified to pay the price for our sins we now can have peace when we
believe in him.
“5 But he was wounded
for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of
our peace was upon him”
6. Justification.
The crucifixion of Jesus justified us- there is no other way of being
justified before God. Certainly not by works because we would be subject to the
same trap the devil fell in thinking he was like God if not better than God
deceiving himself.
So because Jesus was crucified we having faith (trusting him in
obedience) are made righteous by God.
2 Corinthians 5:21 King James
Version (KJV)
21 For he hath made him
to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of
God in him.
7. The
crucifixion of Jesus sets the Bar for how we should judge others when we are
offended.
No one has an excuse to stay angry or bitter.
They Crucified Jesus- They falsely accused him- they mocked him – they
stuck a crown of thorns on his head, the whipped him with a three spiked whip
until he was unrecognisable, they ripped his beard out, they then made him
carry his cross, they then nailed him to it, the very people who were meant to
recognise him and show the most compassion, even the high priest mocked him and
said if you really are the son of God come down from your cross. The very
people he came to save mocked him and instigated his crucifixion with false
accusations, torture and brutal execution.
YET JESUS Said from that very crucifixion “Father forgive them for
they know not what they Do!”.
Let that sink in…
Putting it another way it was with Jesus’s power to call on legions of
angels to cleanse the whole scene and remove the wicked people from the face of
the earth, yet he chose to die to pay our ransom and intercede for the
transgressors being counted and crucified with two sinners on cross’s to his
left hand and right.
8.
The crucifixion is the Centre peace of God’s Love for the race of Man.
The crowning
achievement of Gods work and literally on the seventh day he rested. All of
Jesus ministry had built up to his crucifixion for our redemption, it was
literally Gods way of demonstrating that he practices what he preached when
Jesus said;
“No greater
love has no man than to give his life up for his friends.”
John 10:11 King James
Version (KJV)
11 I am the good
shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
9. The
Crucifixion of Jesus is a complete work!
- The eternal law is satisfied.
- The devil is paid IN FULL he no longer can claim anyone truthfully.
-
God made himself an example of how to love others.
Jesus said
“IT IS FINISHED”
We cannot
add or take away to the redemptive work of God. There is only one thing left
for us to do and that is BELIEVE.
1 God looks at the cross when we confess,
So, when we repent of sin and the punishment for our sin fell on Christ
at his crucifixion. It’s like we plead guilty to sin in court and the
judge gets up and takes the electric chair for us.
Conclusion.
There would
be no way to the father if Christ was not crucified, in fact God would have not
made this world if he was not prepared to send his son out of love for us to
redeem us to himself.John 1 says nothing that was made, was not made through the word, and Jesus is the word.
John 1:1-5 King James
Version (KJV)
1 In the beginning was
the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made
that was made.
4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
5And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
This
Universe would not exist if it were not for the crucifixion of Jesus.
The cross of
Jesus is the centre piece of Gods redemptive work for humanity. And I apologise
if I missed anything out.
God sent his
son. Because he loves us.
His son was
crucified. – So that we can have everlasting life.
God raised
him from the dead. – So we could enjoy him forever.
The messiah.
HE CAME, HE
WAS CRUCIFIED, HE ROSE AGAIN, AND HE LIVES.
The Cross of
Jesus is not just a symbol it is the very example of God’s love for us – It
silences every Judge!
No one can
say God Doesen’t love me, He will simple say look at the cross. I sent my son
to die for you.
And Jesus
was very clear that the Son and the Father are ONE.
Jesus did
not die for sin he died to save you and I because he Loves us he showed this;
by paying the legal price for our sins - death, and to pay our ransom
to the devil in FULL. You can no longer sell what isn't yours to sell..
Satan is a liar since you have been bought with the blood of the lamb he can't
touch you since you now legally belong to Jesus. So, Death and devil are
defeated all of which happened by their own hands when they crucified God.
The Bible
clearly states there is only one way to the father and one way into paradise
and that's through trusting Jesus Christ (believing him proven by obeying his
teachings and commandments).
The cross
is an extravagant show of love through humility the father did not even spare
his only begotten son the journey of the cross to save all his sons and
daughters. The crucifixion of Jesus fulfilled all of Jesus work and ministry it
proves God practices what he preaches. It paid the terrorist the ransom of an
entire race. It was the price paid for the healing of the nations and of every
disease, peace and eternal life.
Love -
the cross is the ultimate expression of Love and an example of true love - That
the creator with all the power to create matter and universes out of nothing by
just speaking would humble himself out of love and be crucified to pay for the
ransom and redemption of the whole of mankind. So that whoever believes in
Jesus could be saved.
It is the express will of the Creator that everyone comes into the saving knowledge of Salvation through trusting and obeying Jesus Christ (believing in him). It is not his will any should perish.
Just
think how unjust it would be to conceal the ultimate expression of true love it’s
not for us to keep to ourselves as not knowing about the redemptive work of God
or rejecting it comes at too high a price.
So, the Good news is God loves us that's why Jesus
was crucified to save us it should never be taken lightly or rejected, and even
hidden as if it were a secret.
