Greg Laurie - The Beginning of the End, Following Jesus to the Cross (02/10/2018)
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Pastor Greg Laurie shares from Matthew 27 how Jesus faced the most unjust trial in history, driven by envy and corruption, yet it was all God's plan for redemption. The Father bruised the Son, and Jesus willingly laid down His life, showing ultimate love that brings the greatest good from the worst evil. This leads to a challenge: take up your cross daily and follow Him for true life.
The Most Earth-Shaking Trial in History
Let's turn in our Bibles now to Matthew chapter 27. Matthew 27. And we are in our series that we are calling Follow Me, Following Jesus in the Modern World from the Gospel of Matthew. The title of this message is The Beginning of the End. Let's pray. Now, Father, as we follow Jesus in His journey to Calvary, and from Calvary to the tomb where He rose, we pray that we will see it with new eyes and hear this story with new ears and appreciate all that Jesus did for us. So speak to us from Your Word we would ask now in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.
Well here before us in Matthew 27 is a record of the most earth-shaking trial in all of human history. More important than the famous Scopes trial, or the Judgment at Nuremberg, or the O. J. Simpson trial, or the Casey Anthony trial, or the Amanda Knox trial, or Michael Jackson's doctor's trial. And nowadays when there is a big case being tried the media is out there, and the reporters are there. And with satellite technology and the Internet it is beamed to the four corners of the earth. But in this trial there was no media covering it. But in a sense all heaven and hell watched this unfolding drama of redemption. For quite literally we are reading about the day that God went on trial.
In a human sense what happened on this day was the worst miscarriage of justice ever. Yet amazingly it was all part of God's plan. Isaiah 53 says, "It pleased the Father to bruise Him," speaking of the death of Jesus. Now we will come back to this verse in a few moments. But this is not to imply that God took pleasure in the crucifixion. But it is to say that out of this horrific event came the greatest good ever.
God's Plan in the Suffering of Christ
You need to know that not only the Father was involved but the Son as well. The Father sent His Son to the cross but the Son willingly went. I think probably the perfect illustration is the story of Abraham and Isaac. You remember that Isaac was born to Abraham in his later years. Abraham was an old man. In fact he named Isaac Laughter. That is what Isaac means. Or named his son Laughter or Isaac. Because this boy was the joy of his life. The son basically rose and sat on Isaac as far as Abraham was concerned.
But God came to the aged patriarch and said, "Take this your son, your only son, and offer him as a sacrifice to me." And Abraham obeyed. And as they made their way up to Mount Moriah, Isaac wondered, "Well Dad, where is the sacrifice that we are going to offer." And Abraham prophetically said, "My son, God will provide for Himself a sacrifice." Or another translation would say, "God will provide Himself a sacrifice."
Well ultimately you know that God did not require Abraham to offer Isaac. He never was going to require it. But it was a picture of what happened at Calvary. You see Jesus willingly went as the father sent him. Understand. Isaac could have gotten out of this. Isaac was a young man at this point. Abraham was a really old dude. He could have said, "Dad, what are you past a hundred now? Let's sacrifice you." But Isaac obeyed his father. And the father was willing to offer up a son. And that is what happened at the cross of Calvary.
Jesus said in John 10:17, "No one takes my life from me. I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down. And I have power to take it up again."
Corruption and Envy Behind the Trial
But this passage shows how corrupt the judicial and religious system of the day had become. One wonders how these religious leaders could become so corrupted they would actually try, convict, and execute God in human form. They did not accept Jesus as Messiah. We can see that. But why this venomous hatred toward him and desire for such a quick execution?
Well I think the answer to that question is the same as the answer to this question. Why do people reject Jesus Christ without even taking time to consider his claims? It is amazing. You will talk to someone about their faith and they will say, "Well I am not into that. I don't believe that." "Well have you ever read the Bible?" "No." "Well I actually have a Bible here right now." "Put that thing away." "Well it won't attack you. Put it away."
Okay. You know you bring up the name of Jesus and it will stop a conversation cold. Or sometimes even if they discover you are a Christian.
A Personal Story of Gospel Rejection
I was in Seattle a while back and we were holding some meetings there in preparation for our crusade. And so I was walking around town and I have never seen so many coffee places in my life. If you have ever been to Seattle that whole city is wired on caffeine. Okay. Maybe because it rains so much and they are depressed so they drink espressos all day. I don't know.
But they are just coffee place after coffee place. I mean there will be like a Starbucks right next to a Seattle's Best Coffee right next to a Pete's Coffee. And then inside of the Starbucks there is a little miniature Starbucks that are everywhere. And anyway so I am walking around town and someone told me that down near the fish market there was a killer place that served clam chowder. Well I like clam chowder. So I went in and ordered a cup.
And I am talking with the guy about how they make it and you know how long it takes. He is a very friendly guy. Very chatty and so forth. And so as we are talking and I said, "Hey I was wondering if I could put one of these flyers up. We are holding this event." And I gave him a flyer for our crusade. And he looked at that and he read it and he says, "Wait, wait, wait, wait. That is a Christian band." I said, "Yeah. It is a Christian band. It is a Christian event. We are here to tell people about Jesus Christ and how to come into a relationship with Him."
This guy came unhinged. He just changed. And he was angry and started going off on all the things he does not like about the Christian faith. And you know I just listened to him. I did not interrupt him. I just let him go for a while. Telling me why he did not believe in the gospel. Why he did not believe in the Bible. Etc.
Why People React Strongly to the Gospel
And then we got to the end of his little tirade. And I said, "Well let me ask you. What do you believe in?" And then he went on to talk about how he believed in the environment. And it was all about the environment. And boy you know when you just take plastic it can ruin the environment. And ironically with my clam chowder I bought a bottle of water from him. And I said, "Well you know it is interesting you say all this because I am buying this bottle of water from you. How do you feel about selling that to me in light of what you said." And he said to me, "Every time I sell a bottle of water I lose a piece of my soul." I thought he was joking. I said, "Right. You are kidding. Right." "I am not kidding."
Okay. Well it is interesting how when the gospel comes up people react. And this is what was happening here. They wanted to stop Jesus.
Here is what I have found. I have found that the most intolerant people are the ones that talk the most about being tolerant. Have you noticed that? You know Christians are accused of being intolerant. But I find that is not the case at all.
The Root Cause: Envy of Jesus
I find that a Bible believing Christian though he or she wants others to believe in Jesus and will try to persuade a person to believe is tolerant. And by tolerant I mean we are willing to accept that other people have different beliefs. So we engage them with the gospel. Yes. We make no bones about the fact we want them to believe. It might even be a spirited discussion.
But if they say, "I don't want your Jesus. I don't want to believe." We don't like hold a gun up to their head and say, "Believe or I will kill you." We just say, "Okay. Well you know what. This is what I believe. And I hope that you will come to see this truth for yourself. I will pray for you." We are nice to them. In effect we are tolerant. We recognize not everyone is going to see things the way we see it.
But I find that the people that are intolerant are the ones that talk about it the most. And people were not tolerant of Jesus at all when He came to this earth. They wanted to stop Him.
Why did they want to stop Him? The same reason people don't want to hear the gospel today. They don't want to change their ways. Jesus said in John 3:19, "this is the verdict. Light is coming to the world. But men love darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who is evil hates the light and will not come to the light lest his deeds be exposed."
Why did these religious leaders want to kill Jesus? Surprising answer. We are given it right here in Matthew 27:18. They did it because of envy. The religious leaders envied Jesus. They envied the fact that the common people heard Him gladly. They envied the fact that little children would want to crawl up into His lap and give Him a hug. They envied the fact that people would leave everything and follow Him.
Envy: The Green-Eyed Monster
Have you ever found yourself envying somebody else? It is a powerful emotion. Maybe that is why Shakespeare called envy the green eyed monster. Heard a story about a crab fisherman that caught a few crabs and was carrying them in an open bucket. And someone said, "Why don't you put a lid on that bucket? Aren't you afraid your crabs will climb out?" He said, "I don't need to put a lid on it. Because the moment one crab begins to get out the others reach up and pull them back down."
Wow. We can be like that, can't we? Everything is cool as long as we are all the same. But the moment one person succeeds a little more or gets a greater opportunity, "hey what are you doing? Get back down here with the rest of us." These religious leaders didn't want Jesus around because He showed them up. He was bad for business if you will. So they delivered Him up because of envy.
The Trial Before Pilate and Herod
They bring Him to Pilate. Now first Jesus appears before Annas and Caiaphas, the ruling and former high priest. Then He is sent to Pilate because they want Him to do their dirty work for them. Pilate wants nothing to do with Jesus. But he is already in hot water with religious rulers. He is looking for a way out. And he hears that Jesus had spent some time in Galilee, which was the jurisdiction of his old enemy Herod. So Pilate dispatched Jesus to Herod thinking he was done with the matter.
Herod examines Christ, mocks Him, returns Him to Pilate. Pilate is trying to get out of this. And then he has an idea which is during the Passover the Jews would release one person. And Pilate says, "I know. I will offer them Barabbas or Jesus." No one would pick Barabbas over Jesus. But the religious leaders had infiltrated the multitudes and got them whipped into a frenzy. And when Pilate posed the choice to them they cried out, "We want Barabbas."
So now Pilate has one more idea. Matthew 27:22. Pilate said, "What shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?" They said, "Let Him be crucified." The governor said, "Why? What evil has He done?" And they cried out all the more, saying, "Let Him be crucified."
Pilate Washes His Hands
And Pilate saw that He could not prevail at all. But rather that a tumult was rising, took water, and washed his hands before the multitudes, saying, "I am innocent of the blood of this just person. You see to it." And all the people answered and said, "His blood be upon us and on our children." And He released Barabbas to them. And when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.
The Horror of Roman Scourging
Pilate had one last hope. And that was maybe if he scourged Christ, they would be appeased. Now we have to understand how horrific it was to be scourged. It was barbaric. A man would be tied to a post with his hands over his head, his body taut. The whip had a short, wooden handle with several leather thongs attached, each one embedded with pieces of metal and bone. As the whip was brought down on the person, their muscles would be shredded and lacerated and veins and arteries would be torn open. Even the kidney, spleen, and other organs could be exposed and slashed.
When Pilate brought the beaten, bloodied, barely recognizable Jesus to the crowd. What they saw may have made some of them faint. The scourging had done its work. The flesh had been torn away from Jesus' ribs as well as His back. Some ribs would have been exposed. According to ancient authorities like Josephus and Eusebius, they said that scourging normally meant flayed to the bone. Eusebius is quoted as saying, "they would be torn by scourges down to deep-seated veins and arteries so the hidden contents of the recesses of their bodies, their entrails, and organs were exposed to sight."
David writing prophetically a thousand years before said, "I count all of my bones. People stare at me and gloat over me." This is fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah who said in chapter 52, "His appearance was so disfigured beyond that of a man and his form was marred beyond human likeness."
It is hard for us to even imagine how bad this was. You saw the film The Passion of the Christ. That was probably the most graphic treatment ever done of a scourging. And it didn't even come close. Mel Gibson admitted it wasn't as bad as it was historically. And he is right about that. So this is something that would kill many a man.
Mockery and the Crown of Thorns
So Pilate brings Jesus out before the multitudes and he says, "Ecce homo. Behold the man." All right. Have you had enough? Are you satisfied now? And much to his shock. They cry out heartlessly. "Crucify him. Kill him. Let his blood be upon us and upon our children."
There is one final conversation that Pilate and Jesus have together. It is not recorded here in Matthew. It is in John. I will just read it to you. So they come back into Pilate's court. And we read that Pilate said to Jesus, "Where are you from?" But Jesus gave him no answer. Pilate says, "What? You won't talk to me? Don't you realize I have power to release you or to crucify you?"
Jesus calmly says, "Yes that is true. But you would have no power over me unless it were given to you from above. So the one that brought me to you has the greater sin."
The Greater Sin: Knowledge Brings Responsibility
Effectively Pilate is saying, "Like who are you? Where are you from?" He knew Jesus was from the Galilee region. But effectively he is saying, "Like what planet are you from? Do you know what is going on? Do you know what these men are crying for? Do you know that I have the power to have you executed right now?"
Jesus says, "That is true. But my Father gave you that power. But the one that delivered me to you has committed the greater sin." Fascinating statement. The greater sin. I thought all sins were the same. I thought one sin was as bad as another. Not so according to Scripture. Some sins are greater than others.
So who was Jesus referring to when He said, "The one that delivered me to you has committed the greater sin." We don't know with certainty. But I think it would have been either Caiaphas or Judas. Caiaphas the high priest or Judas one of the disciples of our Lord. Either way, in effect, it is the same issue. These are men that knew better.
Caiaphas was supposed to be a man of God. He was supposed to be a man that carefully studied Scripture. A man who spent time in prayer. A man who walked with God. Same with Judas who spent over three years walking and talking with Jesus. They knew better. Thus they committed the greater sin. Why? Because knowledge brings responsibility.
You see, Pilate, he is your garden variety pagan. By that I mean he is just a godless man. Raised in the idolatry of Rome. Worshipping a multiplicity of gods. Sometimes worshipping Caesar himself. Pilate was a man that relied on instinct. But yet despite his wickedness he still had a conscience. That is why he was trying to get out of this. So he ended up doing the wrong thing. But the greater sin was the man who knew what was right and did not do it.
So when you come and hear the Word of God like you are hearing it right now you are going to be held responsible for what you have heard. The Bible says, "To whom much is given of him much will be required. And to whom much has been committed of him they will ask the more."
The Soldiers' Cruel Mockery in the Praetorium
So now the final conversation is over. Pilate is done with the matter. And he sends Jesus to be executed. We pick the story up in Matthew 27 starting in verse 27. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus to the praetorium and gathered the whole garrison around him and they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him. And when they twisted a crown of thorns they put it on his head and a reed was 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 him away taking the robe off of him. Putting his clothes back on him. And led him away to be crucified.
Now as they came out they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. Him they compelled to bear the cross.
So now Jesus has been sent away from Pilate. And he faces a whole garrison of Roman troops. This would be around 600 troops. By the way, these were elite Roman legionnaires. The cream of the crop assigned to the fortress. This would be the Roman equivalent of the Green Berets or the Army Rangers or the Navy Seals. But instead they acted like SS Nazi soldiers.
You would have thought they would have been sympathetic toward Jesus at this point. His face is swollen from slaps and the beatings. He is bleeding profusely from the scourging. Lacerations on his shoulders, muscles, ligaments, and even his internal organs are exposed. And yet verse 30 says they struck him in the face. On top of all this they punch him to the face.
Have you ever been hit in the face before? Would you like to be? Come on up here. No. It is not like it is in the movies. You know maybe even in a boxing match and you know gloves it still hurts and can do damage. Sometimes permanent damage. But if you have ever been in a fist fight you know what it is like. It is shocking to be hit in the face. And you usually will react one of two ways. You will either recoil in fear or you will strike back quickly.
Jesus did neither. He was not afraid. He was calm. He was serene in the midst of the storm. He could have struck back. Jesus was a man's man. He could have defended himself even more. He could have spoken a word and angels would have come and delivered him in that moment.
Jesus' Meekness: Power Under Control
When Peter pulled the sword out in Gethsemane and tried to defend Jesus the Lord said to him, "Put your sword away. Don't you know I could call on my father and he would at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels." Do you know how many soldiers are in a legion? A lot. 6,000. So Jesus is saying I have angelic legions waiting. They are on my beck and call. One word to heaven. They are down here. They are taking care of business.
I could call on angels. And he really didn't even need angels. He could have just spoken a word and this whole thing would have stopped. Don't forget in Gethsemane when they came to arrest him. He said, "Whom do you seek?" They said, "Jesus of Nazareth." And he said two words, "I am." And the Bible says they all fell backwards.
This is the same voice that said to Moses at the burning bush, "I am that I am." This is the same voice that said, "Let there be light." And there was light. Jesus could have said "I am." And you were. Bye. End of story.
But Jesus was a picture of meekness. What is meekness? Is it someone that is very quiet? They sort of slink into a room. "Hi. I am really meek." No you are just kind of wimpy. It is not what you really are. Jesus was far from wimpy. As I said, a man's man. But yet meekness means power under constraint. The difference between meekness and weakness is when you are weak you can't do anything. When you are meek you choose to not do something. You control yourself.
Christ could have struck back. He could have defended Himself. He did none of those things as He meekly faced all of this.
The Road to Golgotha: Simon of Cyrene
Now they give Him the cross to carry. Probably weighed around 300 pounds. That is a lot of weight for any man to carry. Much less one who has been beaten and severely scourged. Of course Jesus was a carpenter in the physical prime of His life, age 33. He was accustomed to heavy lifting. He knew how to put His shoulder to a task. But yet He has lost a lot of blood. Vital organs are exposed. And He collapses beneath the weight of the cross He is carrying.
Verse 32 says, "And they came out and they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. Him they compelled to bear the cross." What were the apostles at this point? And what was Peter, James, and John? After all Peter said in the upper room, "Though all deny you. I will never deny you." And then the gospel says, "And they all said the same thing."
Couldn't one of them have been there to carry the cross for Jesus even if for a few feet? What a privilege that would have been. But they were all gone. And some guy is randomly picked out of the crowd named Simon who is just visiting. He doesn't even know what is going on. He hears a lot of noise. Kind of makes his way to the front. He is standing there. Probably a big guy because they thought we need someone strong to carry this cross. "You. Pick up the cross."
Simon is like, "What?" And he picks up that cross and he begins to carry it. That is how it starts. And we discover this wasn't random at all. Because God chose Simon for this task. Later on reading Mark's gospel in Romans it would appear that Simon from Cyrene became a Christian. And his whole family. Well it is no wonder. He picks up the cross of this man he has never seen before. He makes eye contact with him. Maybe Jesus nods to him. Maybe he smiles. Maybe he even says thank you. I don't know. But whatever it was for those few moments of contact that Simon had with Jesus it resulted in the conversion of this man.
At Golgotha: The Crucifixion Begins
But the worst was still yet to come. Matthew 27:33. When they came to a place called Golgotha. That is to say a place of a skull. They gave him sour wine mingled with gall to drink. And when he had tasted it he would not drink. And they crucified him. And divided his garments casting lots. And it might be fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet. "They divided my garments among them. And my clothing they cast lots for." Sitting down they kept watch over him. And they put up above his head the accusation written against him. "This is Jesus the King of the Jews."
The Origins and Brutality of Crucifixion
Where did this whole idea of crucifixion even come from? Well actually the Romans did not invent it. Crucifixion originated in Persia. And the reason they did it was to not defile the earth. The Persians believed that the earth was sacred. And thus they would elevate the criminal above the earth and nail him to a cross. Well Alexander the Great introduced the practice to Egypt and Carthage. And the Romans probably learned it from the Carthaginians.
But the inventors of this method of execution designed crucifixion as a way to inflict the maximum amount of pain on a victim before death. Although the Romans did not invent crucifixion you might say they perfected it as a form of torture and capital punishment that was designed to produce a slow death with maximum suffering. It was the most disgraceful and cruel way to die. And this is why they did it. To make it as miserable as possible.
Crucifixion was saved usually for slaves, foreign revolutionaries, and the worst criminals. In our culture today if someone is going to be put to death it is done behind closed doors. Maybe a handful of people will witness it. When the Romans crucified people it was seen by all. It was a terrifying spectacle.
Josephus, a contemporary of this time, indicated that the soldiers would nail their victims in different positions either for their own amusement or out of rage and sadism, whimsy, or hatred. The Romans were so expert at crucifixion that they could control the amount of suffering, the cause of death, and even when the victim would die.
The Physical Agony on the Cross
So here comes Jesus on the cross. His left foot is placed over the other and a spike is driven through them. It is shredded back, laid on that cross as it is raised up into its spot and lowered into the ground with a tremendous thud. Pain reverberating through the arms and legs of Jesus Christ.
The crucified would normally live around twelve hours. Sometimes they would make it to the second or third day. A fever would soon set in. Producing a burning thirst. There would be increasing inflammation of the wounds in the back, the hands and the feet. There would be congestion in the blood. Of the blood rather. In the head, lungs, and heart. There was a swelling of virtually every vein in the body. Combining together to make crucifixion the cruelest of all deaths.
And what is so ironic about this is no longer would these hands of Jesus reach out to the sick to heal them. Because now they were nailed to a cross. No longer would the feet of our Savior carry Him to people who were in need. For they too were nailed to the cross. But as I have often said, it wasn't nails that held Him to the cross. It was love.
Here is something you may not know. Death by crucifixion was effectively death by suffocation. As bad as it was, it wasn't the nails and the hands and feet that brought about the death of the crucified person. It was the inability to breathe. So here is Jesus hanging on the cross, distributing the body weight between the spikes in His hands and feet, making breathing very difficult but possible. A small footrest is at the base of the beam. And the crucified person would push their self up on it to get air in their lungs. But in doing so it would cause pain, needless to say, to the hands and the feet. Not to mention how the back of our Lord was shredded open by the Roman whip.
Why the Cross Had to Happen This Way
Now we hear this, the details of crucifixion. And we wonder, why did He have to die in such a horrific way? Answer. Because it was predicted by the Hebrew prophets. They said the Messiah would be born of a virgin in Bethlehem and be crucified on a cross. Jesus would say the words of Psalm 22, which were, "they pierced my hands and my feet," as well as, "my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Interestingly Psalm 22 was written 1,000 years before the first crucifixion even took place.
But why did Jesus have to die at all? Answer. Because there was no other way to satisfy the righteous demands of God. You see God plays by His own rules. And He has said in His word, the soul that sins shall surely die. He has also said, without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
In the Old Testament the various animal sacrifices would be offered. But they were foreshadowing someone to come rather. And that someone was Jesus. Calvary shows how far men will go in sin and how far God will go for man's salvation.
If you are ever tempted to doubt God's love for you. Take a long look at the cross of Calvary.
The Ultimate Purpose and Meaning of the Cross
Now some might say that the cross was an aberration. A mistake. A tragic turn of events. But surely how it must have appeared to the disciples as they saw their Lord arrested and murdered in cold blood. How could this be a part of any plan? How could something so senseless, so cruel, have any purpose? Well the answer is it had the ultimate purpose and meaning.
Listen. 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. Romans 8:32 God did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all. Romans 3:25 God put Christ forward by His blood to be received by faith.
People will debate endlessly who killed Jesus. Some will say well the Jews did it. And they will use this to rationalize anti-Semitic behavior. Although the religious Jewish leaders played a part you can't place the blame on them. Really the Jews played a part. The Romans played a part. Caiaphas played a part. Pilate played a part. Judas played a part.
But if you are looking for someone to blame, check it out. God the Father sent Jesus the Son to the cross to die for the sin of the world. We have seen this clearly in the scriptures. As Isaiah 53:10 says, "It pleased the Father to bruise Him. He has put Him to death." God did it.
But how could it please the Father? How was God pleased by the death of His Son? Well He wasn't pleased by what Jesus went through. But He was pleased by what it accomplished. He was pleased by the eternal plan of salvation that was now fulfilled. He was pleased by the redemption that was purchased. He was pleased by the sacrifice of His Son who died so others might have eternal life.
For all of the evil in the crucifixion it brought about an infinite good. This was the most evil act ever perpetrated by sinful hearts. The sinless Son of God tortured, slaughtered, and heartlessly murdered. Yet from it came the greatest good of all time. The salvation of countless souls including yours and mine.
So Jesus dies now for the sin of the world. In our next message we are going to look at the seven statements of Christ from the cross. Each one significant.
Who Would You Have Been at Calvary?
But let me close with this final series of questions. If you could have been someone at Calvary who would you have been? In other words if you could have played one of these roles would you have been Simon Peter? I hope not. Who denied him? Certainly not Judas Iscariot who betrayed him. Certainly not Pilate who condemned him.
How about Simon from Cyrene? I mean if you were there imagine for a moment here is the crowd screaming and yelling. Here is Jesus beaten and bloodied carrying his cross to the streets of Jerusalem. Would you have rallied? Would you have stepped forward and said let me carry that cross for Jesus just for a few feet. It would have been a great privilege wouldn't it? It would have been.
But here is a thought. You can carry the cross. Because Jesus said if anyone desires to come after me let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever seeks to save his life will lose it. Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
What Does "Take Up Your Cross Daily" Mean Today?
Now today in the 21st century when we read a statement like that we don't quite get that. What does that mean to take up the cross? You know some people will use it as an expression to describe things they find uncomfortable. "Well you know my husband. He is such a jerk. But we all have our cross to bear. Right?" Yeah well I will tell you my cross to bear is this. No no wait. Your cross to bear is not your husband or your job or your kids or something like that.
When Jesus said take up the cross it was understood by the people of that day. If you were in Jerusalem or any other Roman city for that matter and saw someone bearing a cross you knew one thing about that person. They were about to die. So when Jesus says take up the cross and follow Him it means we must be willing to die.
You say well what does that mean? You mean literally die? No it means that we are to die to self. Jesus pretty much explained it when He went on to say whoever will seek to save his life will lose it. But if you lose your life for my sake you will find it. Die to self.
What it means is you put God first in your life and you do what He wants you to do even if you find it difficult. To die to yourself means that if you are a single person you wait to find the right person to marry that is a Christian. And it means you don't have sex before marriage. To die to yourself if you are married means as a husband you love your wife as Christ loves the church and you put her needs above your own.
To die to yourself if you are a wife means that you submit unto your husband as unto the Lord. To die to yourself means that you take time every day to get into the Word of God. To die to yourself means that you bring the message of Christ up to someone even if it is awkward or uncomfortable. To die to yourself means you are actively involved in the church worshipping the Lord. To die to yourself means that you give financially to the work of the kingdom of God. The list goes on.
Finding True Life by Losing Yourself
Here is what Jesus says. You want to find yourself, lose yourself. You know we live in a time where people want to find themselves. I hate that expression too. You know someone leaves a marriage. "Why did you leave her or him?" "Well I am trying to find myself." Oh shut up. Seriously. You are going to actually say that. "Yes I need more me time." No you don't. There has been plenty of me time.
The problem is you don't need to find yourself. You need to lose yourself. No no. We need to love ourselves. And if we have high self esteem that will help us live better. And all of our problems are really a result of low self esteem because we don't love ourselves enough. Now I will tell you what. The reason you get into such trouble is you love yourself enough as it is.
No it is not loving yourself. It is not finding yourself. It is losing yourself. You say well what do you mean lose myself. Jesus says you take up the cross and you follow him. That means you put God's plans above your own.
There is nothing wrong with having your own plans. There is nothing wrong with having your own dreams. To dream the impossible dream. You know that is fine. Dream away. Dream on. To quote Aerosmith. But listen. God may fulfill your dreams. God may give you what you long for. But check this out. God may have something better.
So are you willing to surrender your will to His? Here is what God says in Jeremiah 29:11. "I know the thoughts that I think towards you says the Lord. Thoughts of peace and not of evil to give you a future and a hope." God's plans are better than your plans. So never be afraid to commit an unknown future to a known God.
Now I am not saying God's plans always make sense. Because sometimes they don't. There are times I say Lord I don't get this. And to be really honest I don't like this. But I trust You. And I love You. And I know one day that all these questions will be answered. Until then I submit my life to You.
If you will lose your life Jesus says you will find it. Take up the cross and follow Jesus Christ. But listen. Jesus died on the cross for us. We can take up our cross for Him. He died so we could be made right with God.
And let me say this in closing. He died for you. Yes it is true. He died for the world. Jesus said for God so loved the world. He gave His only begotten Son. And whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. He died for every person on this planet. But then He also died for you. As the Apostle Paul said He loved me and He gave Himself for me.
He died for you and gave Himself for you. Why? Because you are separated from God by your sin. And there is nothing you can do to make this right. Good works won't outweigh it. You need to come and say, "God I am a sinner but I believe Jesus died for me. And I want to follow Him and be forgiven of my sin and know that I can live forever in Your presence."
And I ask you in closing. Have you asked Jesus to come into your life yet? Have you asked for His forgiveness? If there was any other way for you to come into a relationship with God the Lord would have surely found it. Because it was no other way for you to come into this relationship with the God that you have offended and sinned against. God sent His Son to die in your place. And that is why Jesus and Jesus alone is the only way to the Father. That is what the Bible says.
And Jesus who died and paid the price for our sins and rose again from the dead is standing at the door of your life and He is knocking. And He is saying if you will hear His voice and open the door He will come in.
In a moment we are going to pray and I am going to give you an opportunity to get right with God. An opportunity to ask Christ to come into your life and be forgiven of all of your sin. So if you have not done that yet do it now as we close in prayer.
Let us all bow our heads and Father I thank You now for Your Word to us. Thank You for Your love for us. Now I pray for every person here. Every person watching and listening. If they do not yet know You Lord help them to come to You right now and receive Your forgiveness. We ask in Your name.
Now when our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed and we are praying. Maybe you would like to believe in Jesus today. Maybe you would like to be forgiven of Your sin. Maybe you would like to know with certainty that when you die you will go to heaven. You want Christ to come into your life right now. If that is your desire wherever you are. If you want Jesus to come into your life and forgive you of your sin I want you to stand to your feet. Just stand up. Here in the sanctuary, stand up. Outside in the amphitheater, stand to your feet. Up in the court building, stand to your feet. At Harvest Orange Crest, Harvest Orange County, I want you to just stand up.
That is right. I am going to lead you in a prayer. God bless you. Just stand to your feet. I am going to lead you in prayer. Wherever you are, stand up now. God bless you. Just stand up. You want God's forgiveness today. Outside in the amphitheater. God bless you. Up in the court building. Harvest Orange Crest. Harvest Orange County. Stand to your feet. And I will lead you in prayer. Anybody else? Stand now.
This will be a prayer where you ask Christ to come into your life. God bless you. And you. And you. All of you that are standing. God bless you. Anybody else? Stand now. We are going to pray together. God bless you. There at Harvest Orange County. Just stand up. I can see you guys there. I have a little video stream. I can see you there. So if you need to stand, you stand as well. I will lead you in this prayer. God bless you.
Alright. Now all of you that are standing, I want you to pray this prayer out loud after me. And this is where you are asking Jesus Christ to come into your life. Again as I pray, pray this prayer out loud after me. Pray with me now if you would.
Lord Jesus. Lord Jesus. I know I am a sinner. But you died on the cross for me. And paid the price for all of my sins. I turn from that sin now. And I choose to follow you from this moment forward. Thank you for loving me. And calling me. And forgiving me. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.