Greg Laurie - Why Did Jesus Have to Die? (11/12/2017)
- Watch
- Donate
- Become Partner
Pastor Greg Laurie explains why Jesus had to die, detailing the suffering and crucifixion from Matthew 27 as the only way to satisfy God's righteous demands for sin. He shows how the cross was God's intentional plan for salvation, not a tragedy, urging believers to remember it through communion and take up their cross daily by dying to self.
Opening Prayer
Father, we're glad to be in your sanctuary now. We have access to your presence for one reason, because of the death of Jesus, who has opened to us a new and living way. And Lord, we're so thankful that we can speak to you and hear from you and have this relationship with you. We ask your blessing now on this time of Bible study as we open your word. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.
You ever have to cough and, you know, okay. It's in the middle of a prayer. All right. Well, welcome, everybody.
Announcements – Woodlawn Film and Upcoming Events
A couple of quick announcements I want to make before we get started. First of all, Woodlawn, the film opened up this weekend. How many of you went out and saw it? Well, that's a lot of you. That's fantastic. Listen to this. I got an email from the director, John Irwin. He said that Woodlawn received an A-plus cinema score, which is the highest score a movie can get from audience polling. Only two films per year receive this. And no Christian film has ever received it. So that's good news there. Then he says tomorrow, after a couple more reviews post, Woodlawn will have a 100% fresh review from critics and 90% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes. That's a site where you check out films. I mean, that's an amazing rating. And so this is being well-reviewed, which is fantastic for a Christian film.
So here's your homework assignment today. Okay, ready, class? Go see Woodlawn tonight, if you haven't seen it yet. Take someone with you that doesn't know the Lord. We're hoping that it'll really place well this weekend, even being the number one or number two film. There's a lot of great films opening this weekend as well. So it's up against some stiff competition, but I think it's great when a Christian film is a hit. And what a great vehicle we have to utilize to share the gospel. And we're also in the movie, of course. If you were there a Sunday night at the Crusade, we provide the soundtrack for the Lord's Prayer for a very important scene in the film where everyone in the stadium prays. And at the end of the film, wherever it's shown in the United States and abroad, there's a promotion for Harvest America for March of next year. So we're appreciative of that. So support this film. Go see it.
Upcoming Speakers – Levi Lusko and Gary Chapman
We've got a lot going on this week at church, man. This is a great time to be coming to Harvest. This Wednesday and Thursday, we'll have as our special guest speaker, Levi Lusko. Now you all know Levi. Levi has written a book, the title of it, Through the Eyes of a Lion. And it's a story of how he has come through the worst imaginable scenario. That is the death of his little daughter, Lenya. But this is a book of hope. It's a book of encouragement. It's a book that really will offer inspiration to anyone that is struggling in life. So he's going to speak in that topic. He's bringing his worship band with him. So Wednesday night, it's going to be Harvest Riverside. Thursday night, Harvest Orange County. So two opportunities to hear Levi.
But wait, there's more. This Friday and Saturday, we have one of the premier speakers on the topic of marriage coming to Harvest. His name is Gary Chapman. Now, I've spoken at conferences where Gary has spoken as well. I don't even like to speak at a conference on the topic of marriage if he's there, because he's so good. And he's written a book called Five Love Languages, a best-selling book on the topic. But I'm telling you, this is one of the best investments you can make of your time. And there's a little cost involved, though not a lot, because this will strengthen your marriage, guaranteed. So there's going to be five sessions in all. Gary will speak. Some of our pastors are going to do a Q&A time. It'll be on Friday night and all day Saturday. If you want to find out more, you can go back to the booth there in the back. And I actually wrote down on a scrap of paper because I'm so high-tech. The website. Signup.harvest.org. So if you want to do it online, signup.harvest.org. That's us coming Friday and Saturday. Gary Chapman.
Randy Alcorn Next Sunday
And then finally, next Sunday, we're going to have a very special guest with us. Randy Alcorn is coming back again. Now, you all know Randy. Randy's a good friend. And to me, just a wonderful gift to the church. He's written the definitive book on the subject of heaven, in my opinion. So biblical, so rich, so much to say. And you know, we've had him here before. And we'll have interviewed... I'll interview him and we'll have sort of a biblical discussion. And well, he's come out with a brand new book. And the title of it is Happiness. What a great subject. Happiness. So next Sunday, I'm going to interview Randy Alcorn. We're going to have a biblical discussion on this topic. Let me just give you a couple of bullet points. In this book, Randy points out, God wants you to be happy. There's nothing wrong with that. God has pre-wired you to be happy. But you need to go about it in the right way. He even points out, we serve a happy God. I've read a good deal of this book, though not all of it. I hope to read all of it before next Sunday. But I found some things in this book I'd never thought of before. Really good book. So he'll be here speaking on this topic. There'll be his books here as well. And he'll be signing after first service only. So that is this coming Sunday. Randy Alcorn will be with us.
Farewell to Pastor Scott Stout
Well, today we have a very special friend that we're going to say goodbye to Scott Stout, one of our pastors here. We're firing him today. And we wanted to do it publicly. No, it's a joke. No, to the very... Sorry, Scott. That's so bad. No, Scott and his wife Anne-Marie are going to go to a church in Lake Arrowhead. He's going to be the pastor of Calvary Chapel of Lake Arrowhead. Isn't that great? Now, I'll tell you what, they're getting such a great couple with you guys. They're so blessed. It's our loss. It's certainly their gain.
But tell us, where did you guys meet? At the Harvest Crusade. Now, wait, aren't you the girl that does the signing here as well? Yes. Usually I don't talk. Usually it's my hands. You do a very good job of it, too. You're fast, too. I speak too fast, don't I? Yes, sometimes you do. I know that. And so, you guys met at the Harvest Crusade? Yes, we met in 1992 at the Harvest Crusade, both serving the Lord there and had no idea that that was where I was going to meet my wife. Hey, single's not a bad place to meet your spouse at the Harvest Crusade. That's right.
So, then you came on staff, Scott, and you worked in janitorial. How many years were you there? I was in the janitorial for about a year and then came back and did maintenance after I went to Bible college for 15 years. Yeah. You went for 15 years to Bible college? No, I was maintenance here. Maintenance, okay. That's a long time to go. You must have needed a lot of help, but that's good. Now, but then we hired you as a pastor and you've been a pastor for 11 years, isn't it? Right. And this is a great example here for you to see how people end up on staff. You know, he started in janitorial and he served the Lord faithfully. And we saw that God had gifted Scott. And so more opportunities opened up. And it's sort of like the idea that the cream rises to the top. You know, we don't choose who a pastor is. God chooses that. We merely acknowledge what the Lord has already done.
So he served faithfully. And you oversee a bunch of ministries here. I have it written down. You oversee compassion ministries, the cancer ministry, the bereavement ministry, the disability ministry, widows and seniors. So, wow, all those people are just going to be abandoned or what? I'm hoping they don't feel that way. Yeah. So we'll have other pastors that will step in. But so Lake Arrowhead, are you excited about this opportunity? A little afraid? How are you feeling about it? Totally excited, but a little bit sad. I've known a lot of people here for many years. I've worked here more than half my life, you know, been on staff. And so excited and a little scared to a little bit. Yeah, absolutely. But definitely excited. How are you feeling, Marie? Excited and I'm sad for the people that I'm leaving. But, you know, we have the hope of heaven and I get to see everybody here, there again. You know, you don't have to wait to heaven. You can just drive down the hillward. I mean, heaven's good, but we're all here still. You're not going to Siberia. You're going to Lake Arrowhead.
Okay, well, you know, it's sad that why I've been up here the whole time, it looks like I have security up here. This is Pastor Brad and Jeff. They're going to join me in prayer as we pray for Scott and Anne-Marie as they take this bold step of faith. Lord, we thank you for this couple. Thank you for their faithfulness to you and their love for each other and their wonderful family, their two daughters. Lord, bless them as they go up to Lake Arrowhead. Bless that church. May that church grow both spiritually and numerically in the days ahead. May it be a radiant light for all the folks up there in the mountains and even beyond. And Lord, we know you are faithful and we know that you will use them for your glory. So, thank you for this couple. We commit them to you now. Bless them, we pray, in Jesus' name. Amen. God bless you guys. Thank you. Thank you.
Why Did Jesus Have to Die? – Matthew 27
Well, I've used all my time with all this, so God bless. Now, all right, let's grab our Bibles and turn to Matthew chapter 27. Matthew 27. And we are in our God Came Near series. And the title of my message today is, Why Did Jesus Have to Die?
I have a grandson. His name is Christopher. He's named after his uncle, Christopher, who's in heaven. Same name, Christopher David Laurie. Blonde haired, little guy, cute. And you know what his favorite word is? Why? He always asks why. Maybe he's climbing up on something. It's a little dangerous. I'll say, Christopher, get down from there. Why? Well, because you could fall and hurt yourself. Why? Well, probably because you fell and hurt yourself. Why? Well, just because I said so. Okay, so don't. Why? He just asked that question over and over again. Why? Why? Why?
We have that question, too. There's a lot of things we wonder about in life. For instance, here's some questions someone came up with. These aren't original to me, but good why questions. Here's the first one. If men evolved from apes, why do we still have apes? That's a good question. How about this one? If an orange is orange, why isn't a lime called a green or a lemon called a yellow? Have you ever thought about that? How about this one? Why do we press harder on the remote control buttons when we know the batteries are going dead? You did that? Hard. You press a little. Same with the garage door opener, right? How about this one? Is it a bit unnerving to you that doctors call what they do a practice? This is one I've wondered about myself. Why do they have braille dots on the keypad of the drive up at the ATM? Think about it. They do. Braille dots at the drive up. I'm kind of hoping those who are blind don't drive. I'm kind of hoping that. When you have your picture taken with the guy in the Mickey Mouse suit at Disneyland, does the guy inside the costume smile or does he just... Okay, one last one. These went over a lot better first service. I don't know what the deal is. What are you, high-kneed or what? Maybe they're just bad jokes, right? Okay, I like this one though. Why don't we raise our shoulders when we're out in the rain? You know what I'm talking about? Starts the rain, you do this. Why? You're still gonna get wet, right? Okay, you like that one.
Now, these are not life-altering questions, are they? But then there are more serious questions, and many of them about God and about life in general. A Barna poll was taken, and the question was asked, if you could ask God one question, and you knew you would get an answer, what would you ask? That's a good question, isn't it? If you knew you could ask God one question and get an answer, what would you ask? The most common response was, why is there pain and suffering in the world?
Well, today I want to talk to you about the worst pain and suffering a human being has ever experienced. And I'm talking about the whipping, torture, and murder of Jesus Christ. Now you say, now Greg, I know Christ suffered, but maybe there is someone somewhere who suffered even worse than he suffered. Well, I think that's questionable when we learn about what he went through, but we have to remember one thing. Jesus didn't just go through the beatings and through the scourging and through the crucifixion itself, but he also bore upon himself all the sin of the world. Listen, no one has ever suffered like Jesus Christ suffered when he went to the cross for us.
And we might wonder, why? Why? As Christopher would ask, why did this have to happen? Why did he have to pay for our sins in such a brutal way? Well, the answers are found in Scripture.
Jesus Was Born to Die
Let's start with this. From the very beginning, Jesus knew he was going to die. I mean, when you really get down to it, he was born to die. He came to earth on a rescue mission to be born in the manger of Bethlehem, to live his perfect life, fulfill his ministry, and voluntarily go to a cross and die for the sin of the world. And Jesus said in John 10, my father loves me because I lay down my life. Then I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down. I have power to take it up again. So the Lord was not sent to the cross, so that's technically true. Excuse me. But he went to the cross voluntarily for each of us.
Now, let's sort of pick up where we last left off. Let me take a little drink of water. Was that an awkward moment for you? It was for me. I'm going to do it one more time. Okay, I'm good.
Chronology Leading to the Cross
So let's go back over the chronology now of what happened, because this is very serious. We won't be doing a lot of laughing in the next few minutes. Jesus is in the upper room, and he reveals to his own disciples that one of them is going to betray him. They each ask, is it I, Lord? He says, it's the one that has his hand with me right now, and they're dipping into the sauce there with the unleavened bread, and it's Judas Iscariot. Our Lord turns to Judas and says, whatever you do, do it quickly. Judas leaves the room. He goes to the chief priest, and he is now orchestrating the arrest of Jesus.
Our Lord has what we call the Last Supper with his disciples. They break the bread. They drink of the cup. They sing a hymn. And then Jesus goes to the Garden of Gethsemane, and there he contemplates the horrors of the cross, crying out in prayer to the Father as the disciples watch in bewilderment. They've never seen him behave like this before. Dr. Luke tells us he's actually sweating blood. He's under so much pressure.
Along comes Judas Iscariot with the temple guard. He betrays our Lord with a kiss. Christ is arrested, and he is sent to the high priest where he is examined. And then he is sentenced to die, and he is sent off to Pontius Pilate.
Before Pilate and Herod
Now, Pilate, being the Roman governor, presided over the deaths of thousands of men. History, as well as scripture, shows us he was a hard man. He was used to prisoners pleading for mercy in his presence, but he had never met anyone like Jesus before. Jesus stood there before him, calm and collected. In fact, it unnerved Pilate. And Pilate felt more as though he were standing before Jesus being judged than Jesus was standing before him. And he desperately wanted to get out of the situation he was in.
To make matters worse, his wife had said to him that she had had a dream about Jesus. And she said, you have nothing to do with this just man. So as they're talking about Jesus and, excuse me, his ministry, it comes out that he spent time in Galilee. Pilate sees a way out of the dilemma. Oh, Galilee, he says, that's a jurisdiction of Herod. You need to send Jesus to Herod. Pilate thinks he has now washed his hands effectively of this decision as Jesus is taken over to King Herod.
And as our Lord stands before the king, he didn't speak a single word to him. Herod mocks him, sends him now back to Pilate. Pilate realizes there's no getting out of this, but then he has another idea. I'll release someone. That's the custom of this time during Passover. And I'll offer the least desirable character that we have right now, or Jesus. Surely the people will pick Jesus over Barabbas, the terrorist. Barabbas, the murderer. Barabbas, the insurrectionist. And so he brings Jesus and Barabbas before the crowds. And he says, the custom is I should release one to you. Who shall I release? And much to Pilate's shock. The people say, we want Barabbas. Well, what about Jesus who has called Christ? What should be done with him? Let him be crucified, the people yell.
Pilate cannot believe his ears. He has one more idea. He commands that Jesus should be scourged. Now normally the Roman scourging was designed to get a confession out of the prisoner. After a few lashes of the Roman cat of nine-tail that would cut into the skin and into the skeletal tissue, a prisoner would confess. But because our Lord was innocent, he had to take 40 stripes minus one for mercy. 39 times that whip came on his back. And Pilate brings Jesus out before the people. He's beaten, he's bloodied. And Pilate says, ecce homo, which means behold the man, like have some mercy now. Still they say, let him be crucified. Pilate washes his hands of this and gives the command that Jesus should be sent to the cross to be nailed to it.
Mockery by the Soldiers – Matthew 27:27-31
But as horrible as these events sound, everything was going according to plan, that is God's plan. Let's read about it now. Matthew 27, starting in verse 27. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the praetorium and gathered the whole Garrison around him. And they stripped him and put a Scarlet robe on him. And when they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and a Reed in his right hand. And they bowed the knee before him and mocked him, saying, hail king of the Jews. And they spit on him and took the Reed and struck him on the head. And when they had mocked him, they took the robe off of him, put his own clothes on him and led him away to be crucified.
Simon of Cyrene Bears the Cross
Now as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name, him they compelled to bear his cross. We'll stop there. It says a whole Garrison surrounded Jesus. That is around 600 soldiers. And by the way, these were the elite Roman legionnaires. They were sort of the cream of the crop of the Roman army. Not unlike the Navy SEALs or the RV Rangers. They were the best of the best. And yet, these legionnaires behaved as though they were Nazi SS soldiers. You would have thought they would have had some sympathy toward Jesus after he's been scourged and he's been beaten. His face is swollen from the slaps and the beatings he's received. He's bleeding profusely from the scourging and terrible lacerations on his shoulders and muscles. And yet, what do they do? Verse 30. They strike him in the face.
Have you ever been hit in the face by a closed fist? It's not like it is in the movies. You know, when a fight scene breaks out in a film, a punch is thrown in the face of our hero and our hero smiles, spits out a couple of teeth, and a brawl begins. And it's sort of an enjoyable time. Not at all. No. It hurts to be hit in the face. And usually, you will react in one of two ways. It's shocking, of course. And one is to fall back from fear. The other would be to strike back in anger. Well, Jesus was certainly not afraid of these men, but he made no attempt to fight back. Why is this? It was meekness. Not weakness. Oh, he could have fought back. See, weakness is when you can't do anything. Meekness means you can, but you don't. The word meek means power under constraint.
Not only could Jesus have struck back, but he could have given a word, and the angels of heaven would have come to his rescue. Really, as they put this robe on him, they're effectively mocking his claims of being a king. And they're saying, well, where's your army, king? Where was his army? His army was armed and ready for action. There was an angelic army, no doubt, with swords drawn and ready and eager to intervene. How do I know that? Because earlier, in the Garden of Gethsemane, when Peter pulls out the sword to defend Jesus, Jesus says, put that sword away. And then he goes on to say to Peter, don't you think I could call him my father? And he would put at my disposal more than 12 legions of angels. Now, he's using Roman military jargon. A legion is around 6,000. Jesus says to Peter, buddy, listen, I've got 72,000 angels at my Beck and call right now. I really don't need your help. Thank you very much.
How powerful is one angel? In the Old Testament, we read of how one angel killed 185,000 of Israel's enemies. Well, I think Jesus had this covered with 72,000 angels. And even more to the point, he didn't even need angels. He could have spoken a word and this situation would have been over. We see a glimpse of that in John's gospel when he says, when Judas came to arrest Jesus, Christ said, who do you seek? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. And Jesus said, I am. And when he spoke those words, they all fell backwards. You don't think he couldn't have gotten out of this? Of course he could have, but he was going through it voluntarily.
Now, they put a crown of thorns on his head and they place a massive cross on Jesus' bleeding shoulders. Now, this may have just been the cross beam, but then again, it could have been the entire cross. If so, the weight of it would have been around 300 pounds. That's a lot of weight. Even you guys who are bodybuilders know that's a lot of weight. But consider this, how hard it would be to carry 300 pounds, but after your back had been ripped open and your face punched and the hair ripped from your face, it would have been so difficult.
So our Lord now is bearing the cross so much for the image of the anemic Jesus. Even the effeminate Jesus, we sometimes portrayed in religious art. Jesus was a strong man and he was able to bear this cross. But even Jesus had his limitations and he collapses beneath the weight of it. And a man is chosen from the crowd. Verse 32 says, his name is Simon, and he was compelled to bear the cross. Probably was a big guy, right? I mean, okay, the soldiers are saying, we don't want to carry that cross. Let's find someone who can do it. Pick that big dude in the back. Hey you, come here. Pick the cross up. Simon's probably thinking, oh man, why did I have to be here for this? I don't want to carry that cross. He doesn't know who Jesus is. He doesn't know what's going on. This isn't his problem. And he lifts up that massive cross and next to him is Christ.
My question is, wait, where were the other disciples? Where was Peter? Didn't Peter say he would die with Jesus? Where was John? Where was Matthew? Where was James? Well, they're all in hiding. But Simon was here. I think initially he probably resented it. But without question, after a little time in the presence of Jesus, this man, Simon from Cyrene, became a believer. How do we know that? Because Mark's gospel lists the names of Simon's sons, Alexander and Rufus. Mark would not have listed the name of his sons if they had not come to know Christ. And Paul in Romans 16:13 says, greet Rufus, whom the Lord picked out to be his very own and also his dear mother, who's been a mother to me. It would appear that after his time with Jesus, Simon from Cyrene believed and led his entire family to Christ. Man, what a testimony this guy would have. The man who carried the cross of Jesus. He was up close and personal with the Lord at a critical time in history.
At Golgotha – The Crucifixion Begins
And so now Jesus is sent to the place to be crucified. Back to Matthew 27, drop down to verse 33. They came to a place called Golgotha. That is to say, place of a skull. They gave him sour wine mingled with gall to drink. But when he had tasted it, he would not drink. Then they crucified him, divided his garments, casting lots, and it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet. They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. Sitting down, they kept watch over him there, and they put up over his head the accusation written against him. This is Jesus, the King of the Jews. Then two robbers are crucified with him, one on the right, the other on the left.
Those who passed by blasphemed him, wagging their heads and saying, you who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself if you're the Son of God. Come down now from the cross. Likewise, the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes, and the Lord said, he saved others. Himself he can't save. If he's the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and then we'll believe in him. He trusted in God. Let him deliver him now, if he will have him. For he said, I am the Son of God. Even the robbers who were crucified with him reviled him with the same thing. We'll stop there.
The Horror of Roman Crucifixion
Crucifixion. Who dreamed up something so cruel as this? Well, historically, we know it probably originated in Persia. The reason the Persians crucified people is they believed that the earth was sacred. Thus, the criminals should be lifted up above the earth. Alexander the Great brought the practice to Egypt and Carthage. The Romans probably picked it up from the Carthaginians. But the Romans then took it to another level. They produced a form of torture that was designed to bring about a slow death with maximum pain and suffering. The objective of crucifixion was not merely to kill the prisoner. The objective was to humiliate and cause excruciating pain. And often the Romans did it to warn other people who would rebel against their dominion. And it wasn't uncommon to see roads leading into Roman cities with crucified men on each side saying, in effect, don't rebel against Rome or this could be your fate.
And so Jesus is now nailed to this cross. And it was a terrifying spectacle. Josephus, a contemporary of this particular time, a Jewish historian, wrote that the soldiers would often nail their victims in different positions, either for their own amusement or out of rage or sadism, whimsy or hatred. Some men would be crucified sideways. They would be crucified upside down. They did it in many ways. And they were so familiar with the actual act of crucifixion. They knew exactly when the victim would die. They knew how to make it more painful. And they seemed to revel in that.
So here is Jesus, now nailed to this cross, is shredded back, is laid against it. The crucified would usually live up to 12 hours. Sometimes even until the second or third day, they would experience a burning thirst, increasing inflammation of wounds in the back and the hands and the feet, unbelievably painful. And you think about these hands of Jesus nailed to a cross. No longer would these precious hands reach out and heal the sick and raise the dead. You think of his feet nailed to that cross. No longer would these feet carry him to hurting people. There he hung, but we of course know it wasn't nails that held Jesus to the cross. It was love.
Now consider this. Death by crucifixion was effectively death by suffocation. The crucified person was unable to breathe. They would put a small wooden step at the base of the cross and to get air into your lungs, the crucified person had to push up to get that gulp of air. And Jesus, with his back shredded, was able to give seven significant statements from Calvary. And we'll look at those on our next message. Seven powerful statements from the cross as he died there for the sin of the world.
Why Jesus Had to Die – God's Righteous Demands
Now we hear this and we say, but why? Why would the father have the son go through such pain? Jesus had to die because there was no other way to satisfy God's righteous demands. Listen to this. God plays by his own rules. And he has said in his word, the soul that sins shall surely die. God said that without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins. And all of those Old Testament sacrifices were all pointing to the complete and finished work of Jesus on the cross. Because as John the Baptist said, Jesus was the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
And besides, the Hebrew prophets foretold how Messiah would be born, where he would be born, and what would happen when he was put to death. In fact, in Psalm 22, you read these words, they pierced my hands and my feet. And as Jesus hung on the cross, that's exactly what happened to him. And amazing thing is that statement in Psalm 22 was written 1,000 years before the first crucifixion even took place on the earth. Everything was described in detail. Isaiah 53 is so vivid in his description, you would think he was standing at the cross. But he wrote it many years before the event actually transpired.
But Jesus knew this was coming. He was prepared for it from the moment he was born. He effectively lived in the shadow of the cross. Now, some might see the cross as an aberration or a mistake or a tragedy. But listen to this. The cross was not a tragic failure. It was a triumphant rescue. Jesus was very intentional in all that was about to happen. And the Father was in control. Listen to this. God was the master of ceremonies at the cross. Isaiah 53:10 says, it was the will of the Lord to crush him. He has put him to grief. It was God's will. Romans 8:32 says, God did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all. Romans 3:25 says, God put Christ forward by his blood to be received by faith.
Who Really Killed Jesus?
Why do I bring this up? Because sometimes the issue comes up, who killed Jesus, right? And sometimes anti-Semites will say, the Jews killed Jesus. Others might assert the Romans killed Jesus. Let me say something that might shock you. Ready for it? God the Father killed Jesus. In effect. He sent his son to the cross. Oh sure, the religious leaders played a part in it. Sure, the Romans played a part in it. But if you want to get real technical, I killed Jesus. You killed Jesus. Because it was our sins that put him on that cross. But he voluntarily went, knowing there was no other way to satisfy those righteous demands of the Father.
Here was the most evil act ever perpetrated by sinful hearts. This sinless son of God tortured, slaughtered, and heartlessly murdered in cold blood. Yet from it came the greatest good of all time. The salvation of countless souls, including yours and mine. Calvary shows how far men will go in sin, and how far God will go for man's salvation. Let me repeat that again. Calvary, or the death of Jesus, shows how far men will go in sin, and how far God will go for man's salvation.
Carrying Our Cross Today
Think about this for a moment. If you were an eyewitness of the cross, if you were there, and you had to pick one of these people to be, who would you be? Would you be Mary at the foot of the cross? Would you be Peter, or James and John, who apparently were in hiding at this time? I think I probably would have picked Simon of Cyrene. I would like to have been the guy who carried the cross for Jesus, even if for a few feet. I would like to be the guy that relieved his suffering, even if it was just for a short period of time.
Well, here's the thing we all need to realize. We are supposed to still carry the cross of Jesus. Not literally walking around with crosses, but the Bible says that we're to follow him and take up the cross. Jesus said, If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it. If you'll lose your life for my sake, you'll save it. Take up your cross.
What does it mean to bear the cross? You know, some people will say, Well, my cross to bear in life is my wife. You'll probably need to come to this seminar this weekend for sure. The wife might say, My cross to bear is my husband. Or the kids may say, Our cross to bear is our parents. Like, those aren't your cross to bear. Those are your family, okay? That's what that is. But the cross is something different. What does it mean to bear the cross today? Well, it means dying to self. When we say bear the cross, we mean you die to yourself. You say, Well, I don't understand what that means to die to self. Listen, to die to self means that you resist that temptation that everyone else gives into. To die to self means if you're married, you don't have sex outside of marriage. You're faithful to your spouse. If you're single, it means you wait until you're married. To die to yourself means you forgive people who have hurt you. To die to yourself means that you ask for forgiveness from people that you have hurt. To die to yourself means to swallow your pride. And tell someone about Jesus. And the list goes on. I could give you many illustrations. You get the gist of it. Dying to self simply means you put God first. You put his will first.
You might say, well, I don't really do crosses. Okay then, you don't do Christianity. Because if you're a real follower of Christ, you're going to pick up that cross and you're going to follow him. And this is what he asks you to do. You say, well, Greg, this sounds so depressing. Carrying a cross around, dying to self. Man, where's the fun and all that? Oh, you're missing it. You want to really live a life that's full and meaningful. You take up the cross.
Do you remember what Jesus said? If you lose your life, you'll find it for my sake. If you seek after life, you'll never find it. But if you'll lose it or give it over to me, then you will really find it. That's why Paul wrote in Galatians, I'm crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live. Yet not I, but Christ lives in me. This is living life as it was meant to be lived. It just means you bring your plans, your aspirations, your dreams, as well as your weaknesses and your shortcomings and your sins. And you say, Lord, I give my life to you. I know your plan is better than my plan for myself. And I trust you. And you'll never be disappointed. Never be afraid to commit an unknown future to a known God.
Ah, but this flies in the face of our self-culture. We hear so much about self, self-image, self-worth, self-esteem, loving self. People will walk out of a marriage saying, I need to go find myself. Ah, really? Maybe I should change it to a selfie culture. That sums it all up. Selfies. Loving to take photos of ourselves. I actually read an article that pointed out that many people have died taking selfies. Have you read this article? It was really sad, really. One person was, a girl was on a bridge and she went out to the edge and wanted to get a shot of herself from the bridge and lost her grip and got the shot and fell to her death. Another couple were standing near the edge of a cliff and they took the selfie and then fell off the cliff. Hey, I have a better idea than all of that. Instead of taking selfies or dying for selfies, why don't we die to self? And then we'll really live as we take up the cross and follow Jesus Christ.
Remembering the Cross Through Communion
The death of Jesus. It's something we never move beyond. It's something we never should forget about. In fact, our Lord instituted a... Well, we could call it a ceremony. But it's really more than that. He instituted something for us to do that would sort of jog our memory. And we call it communion. Sometimes it's called the Lord's table. It's when we come together and we take of those elements, the broken bread and the juice in the cup and we eat of it and we drink of it because Jesus said, this do in remembrance of me. He wants us to remember this and think about this and ponder this.
Why should I go back over the events of the cross? And why should I think about the significance of the death of Jesus? Because friend, that is how you have a relationship with God. And you need to never forget that. It's not because of your worth or because you're such a wonderful prize. No, it's because he did all of this for you because he loves you. And you need to come back to that and be reminded of it. And you need to also be reminded of the fact that when you have sinned, there's always forgiveness at the cross. You can come back to the cross again and again and again. You can never exhaust the resources of Calvary.
You say, well, I messed up this week. Then ask for forgiveness. So when we come to the communion table, we take that bread and we drink that cup and we do it to remember him. But Paul points out that when you do it, you should examine yourself. And he says you should not eat of these elements in an unworthy way. What does that even mean? It means don't do it flippantly. Don't do it in a cavalier fashion. Don't do it in a dismissive way. Think deeply and carefully about what these elements represent.
Communion, the Lord's Supper, this is for Christians only. And maybe you've joined us today as a visitor. First of all, I want to say welcome. I'm glad you're here. And you're saying, well, I'll do this little Christian ritual. That'll be a good thing. No, it'll actually be a really bad thing. Don't do this little ritual if you don't believe in Jesus. But better, why don't you put your faith in Jesus right now and he will forgive you of your sin. No matter what it is, you can have Christ come into your life. This is why he died. He died so you could live. He died so your sins could be removed from you.
Jesus summed it up when he said, for God so loved the world he gave his only begotten son and whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Jesus died on that cross because he loves you. And if you'll believe in him, if you'll put your faith in him, your trust in him, he'll remove all of your sin. And you can know that you'll go to heaven when you die. Do you know that right now? If not, let me give you an opportunity to get right with God.
We're gonna pray for a moment. And I'm gonna extend an invitation for you to pray and ask Jesus into your life. If you're not sure if your life is right with him, if you're not sure that you're a Christian, pray this prayer with me right now wherever you are. Let's all bow our heads. Pray this prayer wherever you sit. You could even pray it out loud if you like. Just pray this. Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner. But I also know that you are the Savior who died on the cross for my sin. I turn from that sin now and I choose to follow you. Thank you for dying for me and rising for me. I choose to follow you now from this moment forward. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.