Cross - God Dies.

Steve Gentry

[0:00] What a privilege it is to have the opportunity to preach the gospel to you this morning. [0:06] Open your Bibles to John chapter 19 if you have them. [0:09] If not, I think all of the verses that we’re going to go through today will be up on the screen. [0:15] That’s my hope that they were able to get them all down, because there are a lot of them. [0:20] And if you try to keep up, I fear you will get lost. [0:24] So on everything but two places that I’m going to tell you to turn to today,

[0:28] I’m going to ask that you not spend time flipping through your Bibles. [0:33] And I don’t usually say that, but we have so much to get through today that I’m going to ask you just [0:37] to believe that what’s on the screen is actually in there. You can write them all down and check [0:42] later. I promise we didn’t change it, but it’s what’s in the ESV is what’s going to be up there. [0:48] John chapter 19 is a place where we see what is really the climax of the gospel of Jesus. [0:56] We talked last week about the fact that God became man in the person of Jesus Christ,

[1:03] that he was fully God, he was fully man. He walked the earth for 30-some years, [1:08] living a completely obedient life to the will of God the Father, and that he obeyed the law [1:14] perfectly. Something that we cannot do, something that we have not done. Every one of us have sinned [1:20] against God, something that Jesus never did. But today what I want to talk about is probably, [1:27] it’s going to be sort of somber. There may be some humor in there. I don’t know. We’ll see. [1:32] Most of it’s made up on the spot anyway. But what we’re going to talk about today is probably the

[1:36] most serious conversation that I will probably ever have with you, because what we’re talking [1:43] about today is the death of God. We’re talking about the cross of Jesus Christ, where God went [1:51] and took my sin and your sin onto himself and died a death for the penalty of what I have done. [1:59] He took it onto himself, and Jesus physically died for you and for me. [2:07] And in John chapter 19, I want to get right at it, we read this. After this, Jesus, knowing that [2:17] all was now finished, said to fulfill the scripture. I thirst for the book of Psalms.

[2:26] A jar full of sour wine stood there. So they took a sponge full of the sour wine on a hissop branch [2:34] and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, [2:41] It is finished. And he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. [2:48] Now, there’s a way of reading this where we view a Savior or we view Jesus Christ on the cross, [2:56] not really suffering, where we view him as being up there and simply saying, I thirst. [3:03] And we view him as simply saying, okay, it is finished. And he just bows his head and the

[3:09] spirit leaves him. And Jesus, who was just sort of a human, goes up and he’s done. [3:14] But that’s not what we’re reading. If you remember last week, if you weren’t here, [3:17] go listen to the podcast. We’re dealing with someone that was truly human and truly God at [3:22] the same time. We’re dealing with someone that when he walked this earth, he would travel. And [3:27] of course, they didn’t have cars. They went everywhere by foot. And we saw in scripture [3:31] where he would be weary from traveling, where he would actually be physically tired. And he

[3:37] had to stop at one point, and that’s where he had that conversation with the woman at the well [3:41] in Samaria. We see where he finishes preaching, gets on a boat, and him and the disciples are [3:47] traveling, and Jesus is exhausted. And he goes and he takes a nap during a storm. So we know that [3:52] Jesus slept. We see where Jesus was emotional at funerals, where he cried over the death of [3:58] his friend Lazarus. Right before he said, okay, Lazarus, just go ahead and get up, [4:03] which shows that he wasn’t just human. He was also God, because I’ve never been to a funeral.

[4:07] And seen anyone say, okay, get up. And the person actually did it. Hopefully, no one will actually [4:13] try to do that because that may be frowned upon. But we see where on the earth, Jesus was a human [4:20] being. So when you get to this point in scripture, and Jesus says, I thirst, the reason that he’s [4:27] doing that is, of course, to fulfill prophecy that he would say it, which is in the Old Testament. [4:32] But it’s because he was thirsty. He was on the cross. His mouth was completely parched, [4:40] and he had a great thirst. And so when you see him saying it is finished, you do not see someone

[4:49] that is simply making a statement, it’s finished. You see someone who literally is at his last [4:56] breath. And with everything that he has in him, he cries out to Telestai, which is the word there. [5:03] And I want to now jump off of this, and I want you to know that the rest of the sermon is going [5:08] to be on that phrase. What it meant that Jesus said, it is finished. He meant more than simply [5:16] I’ve come to my last breath. He meant more than simply I’ve suffered all that I can, and my body [5:22] can’t take it anymore. That word to Telestai, that’s the Greek form, that’s the original form

[5:26] was in that verse right there. What it means is it means to bring to completion, [5:33] or to perfect something. It was actually a word that was used that had monetary value. [5:37] It was about taxes. As you know, taxes, of course, are always controversial, especially during [5:42] like the primary season that we’re in right now. Are you going to raise my taxes or are you going [5:46] to lower my taxes? But at that point, Rome was taxing everyone in excess. To be a tax collector [5:53] was to be someone that was frowned upon because not only did they collect that which was owed to

[5:58] the government, but they collected more because that’s how they made money. And you see, tax [6:03] collectors were really rich, but they were looked at as traders. And what Jesus is using here is a [6:10] term that would be used by the tax collectors to let people know that their payments were paid in [6:15] full. And so Jesus cries out. He says, it’s paid in full. The debt is overcome. And so it’s a strange [6:23] thing for Jesus to say from the cross, because in our view, death is not something that completes [6:32] a payment for something. Death is something that is always a tragedy. So there’s a way that we can

[6:38] view scripture to say, did God fail? Did Jesus come to set up a kingdom to overthrow Rome? And then [6:46] that he failed because in our views of triumph, the hero always wins. The hero walks away with [6:57] the beautiful girl or the hero saves the child that’s in danger. The hero always lives. Have [7:06] you ever seen a movie that at the end, the hero dies and you just didn’t see that coming? [7:12] I hate it. It hits you wrong because that’s not the way you want to see it play out. And I’ve seen a [7:20] couple of movies like that. I remember Braveheart. I was totally ignorant of the history and he dies

[7:25] at the end. And I was like, well, that’s not good. Little did I know that’s really what happened. [7:30] Could have saved myself some grief and just read about it beforehand, but I didn’t. [7:35] But when that happens, it’s painful. It’s wretched. It’s terrible. We don’t want to see the hero die, [7:42] but that’s literally what happens to Jesus. He comes and you see one week before that, [7:50] he comes into Jerusalem and we see what we call the triumphal procession or the triumphal entry [7:56] into Jerusalem where everybody’s yelling, Hosanna, Hosanna, which means praise to our king.

[8:01] And they’re waving the palm branches. Then he rides in and they’re saying, yes, triumph.

[8:09] Just a few days later, the same people cry, crucify him. But then we see this great hero [8:18] that the disciples even you see in Acts one after the resurrection, [8:22] that the disciples didn’t even understand what was going on.

[8:27] And you see Jesus die. And in that moment,

[8:39] defeat. That’s what they felt. Our hero didn’t win.

[8:47] But what I want us to look at this morning is that our view of death is unlike God’s view of [8:55] death. Our view of death is tilted towards the penalty that we ultimately have to pay for sin. [9:05] It’s a tragedy. It’s a curse. And it is to God as well. But if you’ll remember over the past few [9:12] weeks, what we’ve been talking about in Genesis chapter three, verse 15, [9:15] when God says to the serpent, he says, you will strike the heel of man, but through a man born [9:21] to woman, I’m going to crush your head. We see that God has an interesting way of turning things

[9:27] around. And he immediately tells them, you have tried to thwart me through man and through bringing [9:32] the curse of sin, but I am going to ultimately defeat you in the exact same way that you attempted [9:40] to defeat me. Jesus did not come with this campaign in order to simply redeem Israel [9:48] and overthrow Rome. Rather, Jesus came with a mission of dying. Jesus came with a specific [9:57] purpose that he was going to die. And he knew and he lived his life pushing for death. The very thing [10:06] that we spend our lives trying to avoid is the very thing that Jesus spends his life pursuing.

[10:16] That at the right time, he was going to die and he not only knew it, but he pushed the envelope [10:23] in order to get there. And you think, well, that doesn’t sound right. That doesn’t sound [10:28] like anything someone would do, but it was the plan of God. In Isaiah chapter 53, written years, [10:36] probably 400 years before the death of Jesus. And I’m going to ask you to maybe turn there with me.

[10:42] Isaiah, it’s in the Old Testament, Isaiah chapter 53. What is happening here is that God, [10:48] through the prophet Isaiah, has talked about for about 10 chapters now that Israel has been a very [10:54] unfaithful servant to God. But then he begins this thing of contrasting the unfaithful servant with [11:03] the faithful servant. And he says, Israel, you have ultimately been a very unfaithful servant to [11:09] me. But there’s coming a day when I will send my faithful servant and he will be faithful to [11:17] everything that I have ever said. And 400 years before the death of Jesus, God writes this through

[11:23] the prophet Isaiah about the faithful servant. Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom [11:32] has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he, speaking of the faithful servant, grew up before [11:39] him like a young plant and like a root out of dry ground. He had no form or majesty that we should [11:45] look at him and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man [11:50] of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And as one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised, [11:57] and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed

[12:03] him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was crushed [12:11] for our iniquities. Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace. And with his stripes, [12:18] we are healed. And we, like sheep, have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way. [12:24] And the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and he was afflicted, [12:30] yet he opened not his mouth, like a lamb that was led to the slaughter and like a sheep [12:35] that before its shearers is silent. So he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment,

[12:41] he was taken away. And as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of [12:47] living, stricken for the transgression of my people, and they made his grave with the wicked, [12:54] and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his [13:01] mouth, yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him. He has put him to grief. When his soul makes [13:11] an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring. He shall prolong his days. The will of the Lord [13:19] shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul, he shall see and be satisfied. By his

[13:26] knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall [13:32] bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide [13:38] the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the [13:43] transgressors. Yet he bore the sins of many and makes intercession for the transgressors. I know [13:51] that was a lot of verses, but I wanted you to see just this entire totality, 400 years before Jesus [13:58] comes, the prophet Isaiah spells out exactly God’s plan through the cross. That he was going to send

[14:06] his servant, ultimately we know this, Jesus, God the Son, and that his servant would have no sin. [14:12] There would be no deceit in his mouth. He would not die for his own sin. Rather, he will take the [14:18] sins of God’s people onto himself, and he will pay the ultimate penalty for sin. He will be crushed [14:26] under the weight of sin, and it will be through the will of God to kill him.

[14:35] And then through his stripes, through his pain, through his suffering, many will be made righteous. [14:48] And so we see when Jesus on the cross makes that statement, when he says it’s finished, [14:56] when he says it’s paid, when he says it’s done,

[15:02] he’s saying this has always been the plan for you. Let’s go further. In the book of Numbers,

[15:15] God finds Israel in this situation with Moses, and they’ve gone into this town, and all these [15:20] serpents have come, and they’ve bitten many of them, and Moses is looking, and Moses is saying, [15:26] hey, what’s going on? Everybody’s going to die. They’ve been bitten by these poisonous snakes. [15:30] God tells Moses, and the Lord said, make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who [15:35] is bitten when he sees it shall live. So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole, [15:41] and if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.

[15:48] All right, remember, we are way back, way back, hundreds of years even before the prophet Isaiah, [15:53] and here we have God saying, put up a bronze serpent, because when you are bitten by the snake, [16:03] and what do we hear in Genesis 3.15? You shall bite the heel of man. Put up on the pole something [16:13] that will represent the sin of all of humanity, and when you look upon it, when you see it, [16:23] when you trust in God, you’ll be healed. Deuteronomy, [16:33] chapter 21, verses 22 through 23. And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death,

[16:39] and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain all night on the [16:45] tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. You shall not defile [16:53] your land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance. You see all these pictures [17:01] in the Old Testament. Sin upon a pole, it’s a curse to hang someone up on a tree.

[17:16] And then you see Jesus taking sin onto himself, being lifted up before all the people to see, [17:28] hanging on a tree. Not to be facetious, but it’s as if God knew exactly what he was doing. [17:42] It’s as if this plan that Jesus says is finished now. It’s as if it is something that was planned [17:48] ahead of time. It’s as if things were going this way by the very will of God that we read about in [17:55] Isaiah 53. More than that, in Luke 18 verse 31, Jesus puts his face towards Jerusalem. It says, [18:03] and he makes his way into Jerusalem so that everything written about the Son of Man by the

[18:08] prophets will be accomplished. So he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked [18:13] and shamefully treated and spit upon. And after flogging him, they will kill him. On the third day, [18:21] he will rise. Jesus runs headway into the face of death. You see, Jesus at his birth, [18:34] as he grew up, as he came into manhood, he knew what he was doing. He knew why he was doing it. [18:42] And he knew the death that he would come to because that was the very plan of God from before time [18:49] began. God was moving history towards the cross. God was moving history towards redemption. God was

[18:56] moving himself towards laying his very life down so that you and I could be reconnected with him [19:06] and not simply sweep our sin under the carpet because there’d be no justice in that. [19:13] But in the very justice that he demanded, he himself would meet on our behalf. [19:21] So what did Jesus do? Once Jesus got there, what was going on? All right, but I want you to [19:29] understand the very purpose that Jesus went to the cross, the very purpose that Jesus died [19:34] was so that he would suffer for sin that was not his own. We ask ourselves, why was this necessary?

[19:43] Remember, justice is necessary because God is holy. Justice had to be seen through death because [19:52] that is exactly what God said would happen if Adam and Eve disobeyed him. He said, if you eat of that [19:58] tree, if you rebel against me, you will surely die. So we see there this Romans 3.23 reality [20:05] that all have sinned, fall short. And then Romans 6.23 that the wages of sin is death. And throughout [20:12] the Old Testament, we see God giving picture after picture after picture of what death really [20:18] looks like. We see as soon as Adam and Eve sin, God demands a sacrifice of death. He says,

[20:25] go and sacrifice that lamb, that spotless lamb, and you will cover the impure nakedness that you [20:31] now see with its wool. You will be covered by the bloody death of this animal. Then throughout the [20:38] Old Testament, we see God install a sacrificial system. We see sacrifice after sacrifice, animal [20:44] after animal, bloodshed after bloodshed. And we see every time sin rears its ugly head, the only [20:51] thing ugly enough for us to look at and see how God views sin is death. The only thing disgusting [21:01] enough is blood. Have you ever just seen lots of blood? If you’re a doctor, I know you have. If

[21:12] you’ve ever seen something just gross, someone die in a gross way, you see it. If you’ve ever [21:16] watched a movie that probably kids, you shouldn’t be watching, but I know that’s what you’re doing [21:20] at 1 a.m. when mom and dad are asleep. You’re watching those movies that are just gory when [21:24] you ever look at that. When I see stuff like that, my stomach just starts to turn. And I hope yours [21:29] does too. If not, let’s go to a counselor. But I may need to talk, but it just turns my stomach.

[21:39] And I think God designed us that way. Because when you see blood, what you see is you see the very [21:46] source of life. I don’t know if you know this, but you can’t live without blood inside of you, right? [21:50] It doesn’t work that way. You lose blood, you lose life. When blood leaves the body, what that [21:57] represents or what it literally is, is life leaving. You ever heard you bleed to death? [22:06] Well, that’s why you put a bandaid on. You don’t want that to happen. But that’s the only thing [22:12] that God could give us a picture of that was ugly enough to represent what our sin

[22:20] causes and what it looks like to God. But we see that the sacrifices of the Old Testament, [22:26] they were not strong enough to bring forgiveness of sins. In Hebrews chapter 10 verse 4,

[22:36] read, for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Then in verse 11, [22:43] and every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which [22:50] can never take away sins. Then let’s back up into Hebrews chapter 9 verse 25. [22:58] Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, speaking of what Jesus did on the cross. [23:04] All right, remember, the Hebrews were used to sacrifices that were offered over and over and [23:08] over again. And what the author of Hebrews is saying is Jesus came to put away with that. He

[23:14] didn’t come so that he would make that sacrifice over and over again. As the high priest enters the [23:19] places every year with blood, not his own. For then he would have to had to suffer repeatedly [23:24] since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages [23:31] to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. Then in Hebrews chapter 2, I don’t know why I go [23:42] backwards so much, but that’s just sometimes it’s like you ever get a book and then read the last [23:46] chapter so you know how it’s going to end and then you back up to the beginning. Just makes way

[23:50] more sense for me to do that. Start with the gospel, then try to understand Leviticus. It’s [23:54] easier. All right, Hebrews chapter 2, but we see him who for a little while was made lower than the [24:01] angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death. Isn’t that crazy? [24:12] Isn’t that weird? Jesus is crowned with glory because he suffered to death. See, we would look [24:23] at it the other way. If you survive, we’ll think you’re pretty cool. But Jesus, he’s crowned because [24:30] of his suffering. Why? So that by the grace of God, he might taste death for everyone.

[24:39] He did it for you. He did it for me. We see that he does it on the cross. Now, what’s very interesting [24:49] about the cross is that for really the first time in history under the Roman government, [24:54] death became a spectacle. Maybe you’ve seen movies like Gladiator when you see a society that’s just [25:00] obsessed with death. That’s really the way it was in Roman culture. We see at this time, [25:06] Israel is under the rule of the Roman government like most of the world at that time. [25:11] So the only people that have the power to really execute anyone is the Roman government. So what

[25:19] type of death did Jesus die? I want to ask that question right now. We see the historian Josephus [25:25] who wrote most of what is considered historically accurate from before the first century and then [25:30] the first century. We see him. He calls dying on the cross the most wretched of deaths. [25:41] The Romans were a people that brought death to a science. And in Roman culture, if you were a [25:49] thief or if you were a murderer, if you just committed some type of crime that people just [25:55] found it totally wrong or it’s something that the government really wanted you to avoid, they would

[26:00] hang you up on a cross. And the roads that led to Rome oftentimes would be lined with crosses. [26:09] Often they would hang you on the cross nude for embarrassment. And they would line the roads with [26:14] it and they would hang you on this cross and you would be hanging about face to face with people [26:21] passing by, maybe just a little higher. And you would be hanging right by the road so that people [26:25] could come up to you and spit in your face because you represented the lowest of their society. [26:32] And your death stood as a warning for people to not commit the same crime that you did. And often

[26:38] they would put above your head an indictment or the crime that you were found guilty of. And they [26:43] would nail a five to seven inch spike in this area of your wrist. And they would do that because [26:50] that’s right between two bones. See if they put a nail right between your hand it would just [26:55] rip right through it because there’s nothing to hold it in place. So they would typically put a [27:00] nail right between this part of your wrist and nail you up to a cross beam. And then they would [27:05] put one foot on top of another and right in between your two of your toes they would drive another

[27:12] nail so that it could fit right between the bone without going through the bone. And they would [27:17] hang you there and you wouldn’t bleed to death. No because when you’re hanging you have to lift [27:24] yourself up to catch your breath and you fall back down. And after hours, sometimes days,

[27:35] you just didn’t have the strength to lift yourself up any longer.

[27:39] So eventually while you’re suffering under that pain your lungs fill up with fluid. [27:46] You asphyxiate, you die. You suffocate. You drown into your own body’s fluid

[27:57] for all the world to see. You’re held up before all men. Humiliated before all men. [28:07] And that’s the death that Jesus died. You see before Jesus ever got to the cross typically [28:14] that’s where it would start. Before he ever got there when he’s arrested in the Garden of [28:19] Gethsemane we read in scripture that he’s taken and he’s tried in the middle of the night and [28:24] they can’t figure out what to do with him. So they take him and then they say well maybe if we beat [28:29] him these Jewish officials they’ll just be happy with it. So they flog him or they

[28:35] physically beat him with their fists. They take poles and they beat him with poles. And then they [28:40] say is that enough? And they say no. So then they bring in Big Daddy who’s got the cat of nine [28:45] tails and this is a whip that has nine leather strands coming off of it and they would put [28:49] chipped pieces of animal bone on the end of it and they’ll put pieces of glass on the end of some [28:55] of them. And then they would bend you over a stump and they would whip it and when they would do that [29:00] it would come over your body and the the glass and the bone would rip into your flesh and then

[29:06] tear it back and it would rip your very skin off. And they did this to Jesus and they said by the [29:14] time they were done whipping him you couldn’t even recognize who he was because they’d beaten [29:22] him so badly. They say is that enough? I say no, crucify him. So then Pilate you know the story [29:34] says okay washing my hands of it have your way. Jesus doesn’t even have the strength because [29:43] they would carry the they would have to carry their own cross beam up a hill where they would [29:48] be spat on and kicked and knocked over by people in the streets. Jesus doesn’t have the strength

[29:54] so they grab a man Joseph of Arimathea and they say you carry it for him and he carries it up there [29:59] and they go with him and they nail him to the cross

[30:05] and begins the slow process of suffocating

[30:11] and then they come in order to hurry it up a little bit because this point there in Israel and [30:19] in Israel death needs to be quick because the Sabbath day is coming and we can’t have anyone [30:24] hanging on crosses in our city limits before that so they take a spear and jab it into the [30:30] side of Jesus and then it says and all sorts of liquid started pouring out what happens there [30:36] medically is you see that it probably pierced the liquid sack that’s around the heart now I’m not a [30:43] doctor so the heart’s somewhere in this area I don’t know exactly where so I’m just going to pretend

[30:48] here it pierced the liquid sack that protects the heart and it says it just began to gush [30:54] out Jesus died a real death probably the most painful death in history that we’ve ever come up [31:07] with have you ever been in excruciating pain you may have thought you were you may have said you [31:11] were but you haven’t because that term was originally pinned to explain death on a cross [31:20] it’s the root of that word is cross

[31:24] see Jesus endured excruciating pain Jesus endured a pain that I’ve never experienced [31:31] Jesus endured a pain that’s worse than any pain that I’ll probably ever feel in my life

[31:39] and the scripture says he set his gaze towards Jerusalem and walked right towards it

[31:50] why would someone do that

[31:56] see Jesus suffered for you but he did it

[32:03] so that you won’t have to endure something worse

[32:08] that’s the second thing that Jesus endured on the cross and that’s the wrath of God [32:13] see Jesus death accomplished redemption from sin [32:19] first Peter chapter 2 verses 20 through 24 we read this for what credit is it if when you sin [32:27] and are beaten for it you endure but if when you do good and suffer for it you endure this is a [32:35] gracious thing in the sight of God for to this you have been called because Christ also suffered [32:42] for you leaving you an example so that you might follow in his steps he committed no sin

[32:48] neither was deceit found in his mouth when he was reviled he did not revile in return when he [32:56] suffered he did not threaten but continued and trusting himself to him who judges justly he [33:02] himself bore our sins in his body on the tree that we might die we excuse me that we might die [33:11] to sin and live to righteousness by his wounds we are healed Jesus accomplishes death in order [33:21] to give us life look in Colossians chapter 2 please and you who are dead in your trespasses [33:30] and uncircumcision of your flesh God made alive together with him having forgiven us all our

[33:36] trespasses by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands [33:42] in other words there was a debt owed by us because of our sin to God this he set aside [33:53] nailing it to the cross he disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame by [34:00] triumphing over them in him the serpent raised that heals the curse that’s put on a tree Jesus [34:09] endures the very curse that we have in order that we will not have to suffer for that curse

[34:19] second Corinthians 521 says and he who knew no sin became sin so that we might become the [34:28] righteousness of God see Jesus does not know sin why would someone who has never sinned who has [34:39] never committed a crime who has never done anything wrong why would he die willfully for that

[34:47] Romans chapter 5 says maybe someone would die for a good man but a good man dying for people who [34:53] deserve to die that makes no sense Jesus does it for us Jesus takes death second Corinthians 521 [35:04] says so that we can have his righteousness see two things have to happen for me to be righteous [35:12] the first thing I want you to understand about it is that Jesus secures our expiation I’m going to [35:18] few words today Jesus secures our expiation in that Jesus secures sin being taken away from me [35:30] I’ve sinned and I’ve done great at it I mean I’m good maybe you are but I doubt you’re as good as me

[35:40] Jesus on the cross it says he exchanges his righteousness for my sin [35:46] in other words he takes all of the wrong that I have ever done [35:50] on to himself and he expiates my sin he takes it away [35:57] but there’s something else that needs to happen and in that Jesus secures my justification [36:04] so you don’t simply need my sin taken away from me I need my sin to find justice [36:11] God needs justice for my sin and in Jesus he finds it because Jesus pays the price how and why

[36:21] could Jesus do that because sometimes maybe it doesn’t make any sense how Jesus could pay for [36:25] your sin see penalty of sin is death okay but what if you have no sin to pay a penalty for [36:34] see if Jesus had ever sinned he could not have taken my sin he could not have brought [36:39] justification to me but if Jesus was perfect he could be a substitute for someone else

[36:49] only God can pay the price for your sin because only God is perfect that’s why if Jesus was just [36:59] an ordinary man forget about him go about your business you’re gonna go to hell because he [37:08] had sin so he had to be the price for his own but if he is God

[37:15] then he can bring justification he can make it as if you’ve never sinned [37:19] he can make it so that in God’s eyes he doesn’t see a sinner but I needed more [37:24] I didn’t just need expiation I didn’t need justification I needed to do good things

[37:31] but Isaiah says my righteousness is his filthy rags I needed imputation and Jesus did that Jesus [37:37] secured it for me what’s imputation imputation is success that he exchanged my sin for his [37:45] righteousness I can be given a second chance you can take all my sin off my account and guess what [37:51] I’m gonna go right out and I’m gonna do more I’m gonna be prideful I’m gonna be confident no I’m [37:58] gonna be cocky no I’m gonna go out and I’m gonna have bad thoughts I’m gonna go out and probably [38:03] a lie I’m gonna go out I’m probably gonna steal I’m gonna go out and do good things for motives

[38:07] of simply making myself look good in front of you I’m gonna do things wrong I’m gonna sin I’m gonna [38:14] greatly I need someone to be obedient for me well Jesus walked the earth 30 some years never sinned [38:26] Jesus was perfect see he was obedient so that I could have more than simply forgiveness he was [38:34] obedient so that his obedience could be credited to my account Jesus secures the imputation of [38:43] righteousness on to me he also secures my propitiation like well that’s a lot of peas [38:48] he secured it for me what’s that see the greatest person offended by sin is God

[38:56] and so God the only true penalty is complete and utter separation from him when Jesus died he [39:04] didn’t just endure a physical death given by humans he endured the very wrath that was secured [39:12] for me the wrath of God when Jesus cries out my God my God why have you forsaken me that’s because [39:19] the very wrath of God the Father in that moment is being poured on him at full speed and he’s [39:25] forced at full tilt God is pouring the wrath of every sin that I have ever and will ever commit [39:34] in my life on to Jesus in that moment and you know what he perpetuates in other words

[39:45] he turns wrath into favor because Jesus took wrath I can have the favor that was secured for him [39:56] for being completely obedient Jesus secures my substitutionary atonement see sin puts me on the [40:06] outs with God sin makes it so that we can’t have a relationship and because of that there has to [40:13] be atonement there has to be something that will make it right there has to be reconciliation [40:19] and I will never do it I can’t but through the cross Jesus substitutes himself and he says I’ll [40:26] make it right I’ll make you right so the question is is who did Jesus die for

[40:37] me who who gets this great security that Jesus brings who is it that gets this atonement is it [40:46] everyone do when Jesus dies do we see everyone for all time being completely forgiven

[40:56] no we don’t we see a few interesting things in scripture we see that in order to experience this [41:06] atonement we do have to respond something needs to happen in my life in order for it to come in [41:16] because Jesus doesn’t die and then everyone who’s just willfully living in rebellion will all of a [41:21] they have a free ticket to continue to live in rebellion scripture does not paint that picture [41:27] scripture paints a picture that those who repent of their sins and turn towards God that doesn’t [41:34] mean you pay a price for your sin that just means you see it you see the cross you see what Jesus

[41:41] has done you see what Jesus secures for you and you see your sin and you say this sin is what’s [41:47] killing me and you turn to the cross and you say that is what gives me life I don’t want this I [41:53] want that and that is what brings this great substitutionary atonement into your life [42:02] and you say well doesn’t Jesus die for the sins of all let’s look at some scriptures second [42:09] chapter five verses 14 through 15 here’s what we read

[42:16] for the love of Christ controls us because we have concluded this that one has died for all [42:22] therefore all have died and he died for all and those that those who live might no longer live [42:28] for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised first Timothy two five through [42:34] six there’s one god and there’s one mediator between god and men the man Jesus Christ who [42:38] gave himself as a ransom for all which is the testimony given at the proper time for the grace [42:44] of god has appeared bringing springs in Titus 2 11 it says for the grace of god has appeared

[42:49] bringing salvation to all people in Titus 2 14 it says who gave himself for us to redeem us from [42:55] all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are [43:01] to redeem us given himself for all but the question is is that everyone are we all just [43:10] going to heaven so let’s just forget about even talking about it Jesus paid it all or is there an [43:15] identity to who receives this atonement well I want you to look back at second Corinthians [43:21] uh 5 14 through 15 real quick um in this scripture what we there seems to be a language

[43:27] that’s completely inclusive for it says for the love of christ controls included this [43:31] that one has died for all but then at the end it gives us somewhat of a qualifier and he died for [43:39] all that those who live who are those who live those who accept christ might no longer live for [43:46] themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised there seems to be an identity in [43:56] Romans chapter 5 verses 15 through 19 we read this but the free gift is not like the trespass [44:02] for if many died through one man’s trespass much more have the grace of god and the free gift by

[44:08] the grace of that one man jesus christ abounded for many and the free gift is not like the result [44:13] of that one man’s sin for judgment following one trespass brought condemnation but the free [44:19] gift following many trespasses brought more excuse me brought justification for if because of one [44:25] man’s trespass death reigned through that one man much more will those who receive the abundance [44:30] of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man jesus christ [44:36] therefore as one trespass led to condemnation for all man so one act of righteousness leads to

[44:42] justification and life for all men okay but look look at a few things here okay look in verse 18 [44:50] therefore as one trespass led to condemnation for all men so one act of righteousness leads [44:55] to justification and life for all men and then you say well looks like there everyone’s just [45:01] forgiven everyone receives the gift back up verse 17 for if because of one man’s trespass [45:10] death reign through that one man much more will those who receive

[45:20] the abundance of grace

[45:26] you must receive it

[45:31] okay here’s the key sometimes all has a definition

[45:41] and here it’s all who receive

[45:49] it if you do not receive the gift you will not experience the advantage of the gift

[46:07] you must respond

[46:12] to the gift you cannot live an absolute rejection of the gospel you cannot live a life in which [46:21] you do not treasure what jesus has done on your behalf you cannot live a life in which you mock [46:29] it in which you deride it in which you just flout life in the face of it and say that’s not what i [46:36] want to live for i want to live for me

[46:41] who’s he to deserve my life

[46:47] you cannot live for yourself and think that for a second in the end you get all the gifts [46:59] you must receive the gift in john chapter 10 jesus tells us this very sobering warning [47:10] he says i am the good shepherd and the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep [47:17] see jesus again foretelling what he’s gonna do for he who is a hired hand and not a shepherd [47:23] who does not own the sheep sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees the wolf snatches [47:30] them and scatters them he flees because he’s a hired hand he cares nothing for the sheep that

[47:34] he says i am the good shepherd i know my own and my own know me just as the father knows me and i [47:41] know the father and i lay down my life for the sheep then skip down to verse 26 look at what [47:48] he says in verse 26 he says but you do not believe because you are not part of my flock [47:56] my sheep hear my voice and i know them they follow me [48:01]

[48:11] jesus secures for us

[48:15] definite atonement see some people ask is the atonement of god limited

[48:25] it’s just some

[48:28] things i don’t like that because i don’t think it’s limited i believe it’s powerful enough [48:37] to cover the sins of all men for all time

[48:44] but i believe it’s given to those who know the shepherd

[48:55] because that seems to be what jesus said

[49:00] you see jesus death reveals the victory of god’s love and power

[49:09] on the cross [49:10] you see in verse 9 [49:11] Romans 5 8 tells us that in that while we were yet sinners christ died for us

[49:27] see jesus not having sin he comes [49:32] to us and first john chapter 4 starting in verse 9 puts it this way in this the love of god was [49:40] made manifest among us that god sent his only son into the world so that we might live through him [49:45] in this is love

[49:52] not that we have loved god because we haven’t you have not loved god [50:02] but he loves you

[50:06] but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation there’s that word again for our sins

[50:16] what’s your sin this morning

[50:20] you just be blunt and ask you that what’s your sin

[50:28] is it disbelief

[50:31] jesus died for that he took it

[50:36] do you have some type of addiction in your life jesus died for that he took it you see on the cross [50:45] jesus took every sin that you have ever committed onto himself and he paid the penalty for it stop [50:55] paying the penalty for your sin how far how deep does it go jesus took the sin of the addict [51:04] jesus took the sin of promiscuity jesus took the sin of the child molester jesus took the sin of [51:11] rapist jesus took the sin of the murderer well what about the sins that are done against you

[51:17] jesus took that sin too jesus took the sin of the spouse that was not faithful to you jesus took [51:24] the sin of the friend that stabbed you in the back jesus took the sin of the child that disappointed [51:29] you jesus took the sin of everyone that has ever hurt you or abused you jesus took the sin of abuse [51:37] you’ve done to yourself jesus took the sins done against you onto himself well what about those of [51:44] you that don’t think you have enough sin that’s worth dying for well jesus took your pride jesus [51:49] took your self-righteousness jesus took your denial of him onto himself and he died for that

[51:56] there is no sin that is greater than the sin that jesus died for he died for you and here’s the key [52:06] if you do not care what he endured for you if it does not do something to you when you hear about [52:13] what jesus died for if you do not think anything of it guess what you are not right now one of his [52:20] sheep and you must repent i love you too much to lie to you

[52:30] if you are living as if jesus did not die for you [52:35] you need to repent [52:38] because you do not want to die without this gift

[52:44] don’t be so prideful

[52:49] that you won’t receive this gift because he did it for you

[52:56] today is the day of salvation receive christ trust in what he has done and you will have [53:10] all the security that he could ever give you for eternity [53:16] right now

[53:21] we want to reflect

[53:27] on one of the most somber of things that we can look at in this life and that’s the death of christ [53:33] for my sins when we talk about this i truly believe that that you understand communion in a way [53:39] that you may have not understood it before you see jesus’s body like we talked about today it was broken

[53:49] and the bread represents him breaking it for you [53:54] and then the cup represents the blood that he shed when he was beaten and when he was bruised [54:00] and when he was battered and was hung on the cross and was stabbed with the spear

[54:05] that’s what that cup represents and when we eat the bread and drink the cup what we’re doing is [54:13] is we’re doing something that’s symbolic there’s nothing there’s no potion up here there’s nothing [54:17] magic about it it’s symbolic and what it’s symbolic of is jesus giving his life and you taking it [54:26] into your own that’s why if you’re not a follower of jesus

[54:33] we ask that you don’t come to the table

[54:39] but if you’re not a follower my question is why not

[54:44] the cross shows that god loves you [54:50] and the cross is where justice and grace meet perfectly if you want to be a follower of jesus

[55:02] today receive him i’ll be up here to talk to you if you have questions there will be someone in the [55:07] back to talk to if you have questions we have communion tables back there we have communion [55:11] tables up here if you’ve never done it as a follower of jesus grab one of us and we’ll tell [55:17] you how you can do it for the first time as a follower of this great god who died for you

[55:27] father we love you

[55:30] we ask today that your grace would just overcome us spirit

[55:38] Jesus you died so that we would never have to endure the wrath of god you died so that we [55:45] could have a relationship with you you died so that we could take joy in you you died so that [55:51] we could experience life as it was meant to experience so that we could see the world [55:56] through reality [55:57] Lord today may we worship in light of your cross