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Appreciate you just listening to the series. We’re eight weeks into the series as one of the longer series that we’ve ever done at the church. Um, typically they they will inform pastors not to do series so long because people tend to lose interest along the way. I just want you to know, this is the the ending of the portion of a lot of theology for those who who aren’t so much into the theology, but more in the practicality of of doing things for Jesus. The next four weeks will be all about application and how what we’ve learned over this series applies to our lives. To those of you who love the depths of theology. We balance each other out, don’t we? And I’m grateful that you’ve come and been a part of that. And you’ve listened to just the eight weeks of the core of what the Christian faith is all about. We really do balance each other out in those things we need to understand. It tells us in Jude chapter or verse 24 and 25 that the Christian life is really about contending the faith. What you believe matters. But those of us who love studying the depths of theology a lot of times just fill ourselves with a lot of head knowledge, but no practical application. And so the danger is, is that we get really super smart about Jesus, but we really can’t connect that into the world. And so it’s important for us to learn the depths of what we believe, but get with those people who are really engaging in life and learn how to apply that to the world, to share that with people, learn what it means to share and contend for your faith and love people to Christ.
And today, all of what we’ve learned together is culminating into one important point. And that is Jesus has given his life for you and for I. This is about the death and the resurrection of Christ. Your whole Bible we’ve gone through the theme together is just one big idea. God’s pursuit of man and man’s redemption through Jesus dying on the cross for us. God is the main character. His love is declared through us through 66 books found in your Bible, both made up in the Old Testament and the New Testament. It’s all about him. And we get the luxury as people of coming to understand him, growing with him relationally, and loving him deeply because he’s first loved us. And all of that culminates in the coming of Jesus and in his death and resurrection. And so today is a very reflective day. It’s a day of worship for us. It’s a day, really, that’s just all about Jesus, because we’re going to conclude the service taking communion, which for us is the mark of everything that Jesus has done for us. For us. Excuse me? The drink is about his blood and and the bread is about his body that was broken on our behalf.
God saves. God is in the saving business, and salvation is made possible because of Jesus’s death and resurrection. Did my did my slide show go away? There we go. Salvation we refer to is in the form of the word. You may have heard it. The gospel. Gospel really is a breaking down of two English words that mean good spell in the Middle Ages, when they heard the gospel or the good spell. It was such a a wonderful, delightful story for people to hear that God loves them and that God can redeem them, that God will save them and give them eternity with him. That it was like a good spell was being cast upon them. And so it later became one word being referred to as the gospel. In Greek, the word gospel means good news that someone took your punishment. Someone took the penalty, the payment that you owed to God on their behalf for your sake, that you could enjoy the luxury of a relationship with God for all eternity. And just to be very pointed in what I’m referring to when I say the word gospel in first Corinthians chapter 15, it declares to us what it is. It says, for I delivered to you as of first importance in the Bible. If you read in in Colossians chapter one, Ephesians chapter two, and Corinthians chapter 15. There are creedal statements that are inserted in texts of Scripture.
These statements are are so old that they can be dated back to the very beginnings of the church, right after Jesus’s death and resurrection. First Corinthians 15 and verse three is is one such passage. And it says, for I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures. When we talk about the gospel, it has nothing to do with us and everything to do with what Jesus accomplished for us. It’s his death, his burial, and his resurrection. The cross is a symbol to us of the gospel. The cross became the symbol of the early church, and that’s weird to think about it. For those who are on the outside, to those who’ve grown up in maybe Christianity their whole life, the cross has just been something that you’ve accepted as part of your life. But to an outsider, it’s it’s a ridiculous symbol if you think about it. The cross is a symbol of shame and of suffering. Yet the cross is the most known symbol in the world. A little later in this year, in the fall, we’re going to send a couple of people to India to care for some of the orphans that are over there. There’s a ministry that’s being conducted, and it’s interesting when you study the country of India that worships over 300 million gods, but the one thing they won’t allow into their country is a cross, because the cross to them is offensive.
To the church. The cross is a marvel. We marvel at this because upon a cross is where God died. Why do we talk about the cross? Maybe we could start with that important question this morning. Why do we talk about the cross? The crucifixion is gross. It started in 500 B.C. under the Persians. It was perfected under the Roman rule until it was outlawed by Constantine in 300 A.D. Josephus referred to it as the worst of death, since Cicero said that it’s not even worth mentioning. And if you read in Galatians chapter three and verse 13, it says, Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us. For it is written, cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree. The Roman citizens considered the crucifix so disgusting that they wouldn’t even crucify their own citizens to be crucified. During Roman times. You you weren’t a citizen of Rome, and you had to have conducted the worst and most grievous of crimes. What took place upon the cross was considered so painful that even in our English word, the word excruciating literally means from or out of the cross. Details of the crucifixion are disgusting. Victims usually died by asphyxiation as they hung on the cross. They would literally suffocate themselves upon their rib cage in order to prolong their death.
They would mount, sometimes mount, a seat upon the cross in which an individual could sit down and take a breather and rest without having to to crush their lungs and become asphyxiated. Many times they to to speed up their death. Men would fall off of of that cross or off of that seat upon the cross, in order to to hasten their death, in order to to make sure the Roman citizens, in order to make sure those individuals would suffer as they hung their, would nail a certain part of the male anatomy upon the cross to keep them from sliding off of the seat. This was a very slow and painful way to die. This was an event that took place in the open when victims were usually crucified, they were done so at eye level, in which passersby could mock the individual who hung there, spit upon their face, yell obscenities, and throw things at them. It was considered such a heinous act that women were rarely crucified, and if they were, Rome would turn their backs to to the audience and nail them face down upon the cross so people couldn’t see their face. At one point, when Spartacus led a revolt against Rome, it tells us that over 6000 individuals were crucified that day. It was a line of people that hung on the cross that went for over 120 miles, people just hanging there. Could you imagine that on your drive to to work one day, watching the suffering of over 6000 people as they spanned across that that roadway? People were often dehydrated.
They were picked up by the birds under the the cross where they where they were nailed, there would have been a pile of tears and of blood and of sweat and of feces and urine that would have collected as the individual hung there for days upon the cross, waiting for his death to come. And yet today the cross has become to many a fashion statement. Jesus’s death, I think, was by far even worse than the typical death that you experience upon the cross. Before Jesus went to the cross, he was scourged. They would take a cat O nine tails, and on the end of this tail would have been these metal balls and these giant hooks. And the purpose of the balls were to to beat the flesh until it became tenderized. And the purpose of the hook was to rip open the flesh. Sometimes when the individual would be struck by this cat o’nine tails, it would it would hit into the individual’s side so hard that it would literally rip out bones or organs as they pulled back to bring their next swing. Some people couldn’t even survive the scourging that took place. The Bible tells us, in reference to Jesus, that as he was heading to the cross in Isaiah 52 and 14, just as many were astonished at you, my people, so his appearance was marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men, when it talks about Jesus hanging on a cross.
Jesus’s appearance was so destroyed that it was beyond the form of any man that had experienced it. Jesus was scourged. Jesus had a crown of thorns placed upon his head. Jesus carried a timber that could have weighed up to £100 to the place in which he was crucified upon his back. Oftentimes that timber was recycled timber. Many individuals could have been crucified through that very same timber that Jesus hung on. It would have been blood stained, and it would have been very raw, piercing and putting splinters into the back of Christ, which was just whipped and beaten by the by the Roman guards upon arriving to the crucifixion site. Jesus would have been nailed to the most painful place on the human body, into into the nervous system that’s considered the most sensitive on the body and is in his wrists and in his ankles. He was totally stripped was oftentimes a tradition that in order to mock the individual as much as possible, they would hang on the cross totally naked. I know many times we see Jesus covered up, and that wouldn’t look good in church if we hung naked Jesus up. But in shame towards that individual, they would dishonor them by stripping them and then dropping them into a hole. Jesus began to sweat, to bleed, and to suffer.
He stood there, hanging up on a cross as people began to mock him. You say that you are the Son of God. Then save yourselves. Come down from from upon that cross. And yet, the entire time that Jesus proceeds to this persecution and this torture being marred beyond recognition, he never retaliates. Jesus makes seven statements from the cross, including statements like John, please love my mother. Father, please forgive them for their sins because they don’t know what they’re doing. The thief. Today you will be with me in Paradise. And it is finished. Just one chapter later in Isaiah, in chapter 53 and verse three. It tells us he was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And like one from whom men hide their face, he was despised, and we did not esteem him. Surely our griefs he himself bore, and our sorrows he carried. Yet we ourselves esteemed him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. As Jesus hung upon the cross to make sure that Jesus died, he was run through by a spear into his side. The Bible tells us in First Corinthians chapter one. The reason the church has picked the cross as an emblem for for their victory in God is that it tells us in verse 18, for the word of of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.
Here’s why. When you look throughout texts of Scripture, as we’ve seen the Old Testament, Jesus has been prophesied his coming and his purpose declared to us as people that once again, as in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve experienced a holistic, beautiful relationship with God. And when sin entered, it was destroyed. But Jesus and loving his created beings still desires that relationship. And so Jesus gave us the promise of his coming, and to us it becomes an emblem of victory because of what Jesus has done for us. Notice as I read these verses, just one little three letter word for why is the cross so important to the church? It has to do with the word for in Isaiah 53 and five. But he was pierced through for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities. He was delivered over to death for our sins, and was raised to life for our justification. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. In John two two, he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for our sins also, but for the sins of the whole world. Why do we talk about the cross? Why did Jesus die? Why is it called good news? What is so good about a gospel that leads to someone’s death of such despicable suffering that no man has ever experienced.
It was for us. The mark of the cross is a victory to the church. I find it interesting that today Jesus died for our sins, and yet people still try to earn their way into God’s favor and earn their way into heaven when Jesus has already paid it all. If Jesus’s death was not necessary, then why did Jesus come to die? Throughout the Bible, it was prophesied that Christ would die. Israel celebrated the Passover of the lamb, the sacrificing of an innocent lamb as the foreshadowing of Christ, who would come and be that sacrifice for them. On the Day of Atonement, Israel would make blood atonement upon the altar before God on behalf of their sins, to enjoy the relationship with him. Reflecting on the fact that one day a messiah would come and die for their sins. This cross should inspire for us worship. It should take a calloused heart and recognizing God’s love for us, and respond in all of what God has done for us. The cross is our victory symbol. The reflection for us today are the thought maybe for us to carry is that when we leave here, go out to the store and buy the biggest honkin cross on clearance that you can find, carry it around and let people know this is a symbol of victory for us. Jesus did this for us. As a church, we’ve studied throughout the entire Bible. God declaring to us that he would come, that he he would die for us, and to us it is a symbol of victory.
To an outsider. He sees such suffering and despicable despair that took place upon upon this cross, but they cannot recognize that it was for our sake that Jesus did it. Jesus did this for us. God took such a despicable moment of horrendous despair and turned it into such a glorious promise to those who trust in him. You know, when I look at my own life and I consider what Jesus went through, no matter how difficult a moment I find myself experiencing, I can look at the cross and say, If God can turn this in for his glory, God can intervene in my moment and help me out too. The cross is a reminder to us no matter how bad any moment gets, God’s glory can always shine through. The death on the cross is important, but you know what? It’s just as important or more important as the resurrection of Jesus. What’s the big deal about the resurrection? I would say the resurrection of Christ is the most important event in all of Christianity Because apart from the resurrection of Jesus, there is no Christianity. All of Christianity is based on his resurrection. You might say, wait a minute, didn’t Jesus teach us some things? Didn’t Jesus tell us some things that we’re supposed to do in your life? And I would say, yes, Jesus taught some things to do, but apart from the resurrection of Jesus, none of that would be important.
Jesus’s resurrection proves to us that God can give us life, that God can bring to us eternal hope that Jesus overcame death, he overcame sin, he overcame Satan. He overcame the grave to bring you life. And in fact, it tells us in the Bible in first Corinthians 15. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain. Your faith also is in vain. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless. You are still in your sins. Doesn’t matter how moral Jesus taught us to be, because morality isn’t what saves. Jesus does. And without the resurrection of Christ proving to us that he overcame the grave. There is no importance in Christianity. There is no Christianity. So how do we know that Jesus was resurrected? Did he really die? You know, there’s a lot of groups Christian Science, Islam, Jehovah’s Witness that don’t teach a literal physical resurrection of Jesus. Some just say Jesus faked it. Yes, Jesus was scourged. Jesus went to a cross that was intended to kill people. Jesus was executed by a professional executioner. Then, to make sure that Jesus was dead, he was run through by a spear. Then Jesus was locked in a tomb. Jesus was sealed in this tomb by Roman guards. If the Roman guards fell asleep during the time that they were guarding the tomb, they would forfeit their lives.
If anyone attempted to. To break the seal, they were forfeit. They would forfeit their lives. Jesus was wrapped in over £100 of mummification blankets and spices as he was placed into the tomb, and somehow Jesus faked it. Jesus unwrapped himself in this tomb. Jesus pushed this enormous rock out of the way three days, laying there with no medical attention and no heart because it was pierced. Jesus faked it. I think that happened at all. Jesus died. As a matter of fact, the professional executioner that would have overseen Jesus hanging on the cross confirmed that Jesus was dead before they pierced his side. And then he went through and pierced Jesus’s side, piercing his heart. And the way that we know that he pierced his heart, because the scriptures tell us that blood and water flowed. Anytime your heart experiences a tremendous amount of pressure, it feel around it, there’s a protective sac of water that would fill up. They say that Jesus, when he was hanging on the cross, didn’t die from asphyxiation or not being able to breathe. What really killed Jesus was a broken heart. That the amount of sin and the weight of sin that was carried upon his shoulders as he hung on the cross, caused so much pressure and intensity in his life that that sack that was intended to protect his heart because his body had lost so much blood, ended up literally crushing his heart. And Jesus died of a broken heart.
If Jesus had come off that cross, and that professional executioner hadn’t confirmed that Jesus had really died, and it was found out later that Jesus was still living, that executioner would have been executed for having a false claim on Christ. But not only that, being thrown into a tomb without any medical attention being wrapped in £100 of blankets. That’s not enough to kill you. Jesus died. We know that Jesus died because every form of torture that was placed upon Christ was intended to kill Christ. Secondly, we know that that Jesus died because of the claims of those who followed Christ. You think about the individuals who pursued Jesus after his resurrection, tells us in the Bible that Paul was a persecutor of the church, and yet Paul the Jew of Jews, the Hebrew of Hebrews, the Pharisee of Pharisees, the very top of his people, left everything behind to follow after Christ. After Jesus’s crucifixion, many of the disciples forsook him. Peter, if you remember, Jesus told him before he was crucified. Listen, Peter, before the rooster crows, you’re going to deny me three times this night. And it tells us that Peter’s outside around a fire, listening to the things that are happening to Jesus as he’s put on trial. And a little school girl comes to Peter and says, aren’t you one of his disciples? And Peter denies Jesus because of a little schoolgirl doubting Thomas says, no way am I going to believe that Jesus has overcome the grave until I put my fingers into his hands and into his side.
The Bible tells us in first Corinthians 15 that 500 people saw the resurrected Christ at one time, 500 at one time. That’s not to mention the rest who saw the resurrected Jesus at the time Scripture was written? If you wanted to know Jesus was resurrected, you could read First Corinthians and see. Paul says, 500 people saw this, and you could go find the 500 people and confirm that they had seen the resurrected Jesus out of the disciples that Jesus had, ten of them died a martyr’s death because of their faith. The only one who didn’t die a martyr’s death was John. John was boiled alive in a pot of boiling water and somehow managed to live, and then was exiled to the island of Patmos. Their claim was that they saw the resurrected Christ. I don’t know about you, but when I tend to lie, it is to my benefit. When I think about stretching the truth a little bit, I have. For those of you who don’t know, I’ve caught fish up to eight feet long. Right? If I weren’t here today, I would be a male model somewhere, right? We tell ourselves that’s not true. I wouldn’t do that. Not that male models are bad. Any male models are here if you’re looking for someone to hire. I’m just kidding. I’m just kidding. But when we stretch the truth, the reason that we stretch the truth is to our benefit.
You think about these individuals who are following after Jesus. What did they gain by making this claim? They died horrendous deaths, much similar to Jesus’s, and yet they remained loyal to him. Any of you have siblings? You think of what it would take for one of your siblings to worship you. Let’s think about this for a minute. I’m pretty sure my sister is a no on that. I have given her too many torturous moments in her life, but what would it take for your sibling to worship. You can imagine Jesus. Did you know Jesus had siblings? Jesus had sisters and brothers. The Bible tells us, as a matter of fact, that his brothers refused to worship him as God. To those of you who have siblings, you might relate to that perfect Jesus. You bring your bees home and you’re so happy about your report card and Jesus has a-pluses. It tells us in chapter seven, verse three. Therefore his brothers said to him, leave here and go into Judea, so that your disciples also may see your works which you are doing. For no one does anything in secret when he himself seeks to be known publicly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world and look in verse five, for not even his brothers were believing in him. His brothers refused to follow after him. But, you know, right after Jesus’s death and resurrection.
It tells us in acts 114, the early church had gathered together and they went into the upper room and prayed. It says, these all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women and Mary, the mother of Jesus and with his brothers. Something between John chapter seven and acts chapter one caused the brothers of Jesus to change their hearts and follow after him. The thought is, what could that have been? I think the response is very plain. They saw Jesus. Mary was there as Jesus hung on the cross and died. And then Jesus, after his resurrection, began to appear. And now his brothers begin to worship Jesus as God. When you look at the early church, they begin to celebrate communion and baptism, symbolizing the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. These weren’t the kind of people that lied, people who lived in poverty, who cared for the widows and orphans. They weren’t about lying. They were about truth. They began to worship Jesus as God in a monotheistic society that only worshiped one God. They gathered on Sunday to worship God in the Jewish tradition was upon Saturday, but they began gathering worshiping God on Sunday because Jesus resurrected on a Sunday. The tomb in which Jesus was buried wasn’t enshrined until much later on in history. In fact, some people are even unsure of whether or not the tomb that they gather at today is even the right tomb in which Jesus was crucified in.
You can go to every tomb of every major religious leader in the world and and honor them. But but Jesus’s tomb, they didn’t go to worship there. You know why? Because Jesus wasn’t there. The Bible tells us in Matthew chapter 28, when Jesus ascended into heaven, he says, lo, I am with you always. And rather than go to the tomb and worship the church, begin to gather together, worshiping and praising God’s name, because God’s presence is promised to be among us. Christianity comes like fire. We saw quotes last week. It didn’t even take 20 years after the time of Jesus, before the news of his death, burial and resurrection went from Jerusalem all the way to Rome, proclaiming the name of Christ. And why stop at the resurrection of Jesus? Why can we not believe in a physical resurrection of Christ? Jesus’s prophecies to this point foretold everything that had happened. Jesus would come and he came. Jesus would live in a certain way, and he fulfilled all the prophecies of the way in which he would live. Born in Bethlehem. Sold for 30 pieces of silver, crucified on the cross. And it tells us in prophecy that Jesus would die. And it also tells us in prophecy that Jesus would be resurrected. Jesus fulfilled it all. So what does the resurrection prove for us as people? What does the resurrection say to us as a church family? Paul wrote it a few different ways in Scripture, and I want to just look at a couple.
Romans 116 when he considered going into this world and proclaiming the name of Christ, all of Romans is about the saving work of Christ on our behalf. And he begins with this thesis statement of everything that the book of Romans is going to be about. He says, listen, for I am not ashamed. There’s one thing to to to feel shame from people who who mock you and make fun of you. But he’s saying to us, there is no reason to be ashamed when it comes to Jesus. And this is why he’s not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. There is hope in this promise because there is a resurrected Christ. First Corinthians 15 it says, but now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. God saves. This morning, this message is just simply all about everything that Jesus has done for us to think about that this morning, I’m going to invite the guys that are passing out the communion just to go ahead and come forward. Who’s. As I hand this out to us, let me ask the question, why is the death and resurrection of Jesus so important? Some of us believe we have to punish ourselves.
You guys can go ahead. We have to punish ourselves when we sin and we need to know it is unnecessary. God wants to forgive our past and give us a better future. Some of us are trying to earn God’s favor, not realizing we have it available to us through Christ. Some of us don’t see the importance of Jesus’s death because we don’t understand the importance of eternal life. Some of us think we’re unworthy to come before God, not realizing that Jesus can make us worthy. Some of us have heard of the word salvation, but have no idea that salvation means rescued from sin, Satan, and death. And so our decision over what we choose to do with Jesus is eternally important. Some of us don’t understand the magnitude of God’s love displayed to us on the cross. You need to know that Jesus, by his death, wants to cleanse your soul and make you a new person and give you a new heart. Some of us have a hard time seeing how God can work bad situations out for his good. Until we look at the disgusting cross and see the glory of God. We see how God can heal through a despicable cross. We can see how God can heal through our tough situation too. Some of us need to be reminded that there is greater hope to come in Christ.
Some of us need to know that God cares even when we feel like no one else does. Some of us need to know that apart from Jesus, we are under God’s wrath. Yet Jesus makes a way for us to be rescued. Some of us need to know that when Jesus died for you, you should embrace that for the first time in your life. Connect to God in a relationship with him. Let me just share with you the significance of today. There are a lot of things that we could address in our lives to just be more like Christ, but there’s nothing better that could happen in our lives than to know Christ. God heals everything that we could ever want. God’s given us a greater love than we could ever experience. Jesus did this for you. Bible tells us first Corinthians 1123 for I received from the Lord that which also I delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, in the night that he was betrayed, took bread, and he gave thanks. Let’s pray. God, we just thank you this morning that we could stop in everything and just in our hearts and our lives. Acknowledge your significance and importance. God help us just to commit to just placing you where you should be in our lives. And thank you for dying for us. In Jesus name, Amen. When he had given thanks, he broke it and said, this is my body, which is for you.
Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way he took the cup also after supper, saying, this cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me. I think if we really saw ourselves as Jesus, saw us the future that he gives us, the love that we can experience through him, we would never have to feel alone. We’d never have to value or struggle with our value or self esteem. We’d never live life for a vain purpose, but we’d live every day with hope and joy and peace through him. Paul said this in Galatians chapter six and verse 14, far be it from me to boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world. In verse 15 it says, he has made you a new creation. And this morning all we talk about is Jesus, because we know in Christ God has made us completely new in him, and that is something for us to celebrate. So the goal for you this morning, I’m doing this. This week I’m going to go buy the biggest cross that they sell at that little nice store up the road. And I’m not going to be ashamed of Jesus because of what he’s done for me or to you.