Near the Cross
John 14:19
Introduction:
Our culture is saturated with marketing that attaches a jingle, catch phrase, or symbol to a product so that we, the consumer, make a connection by sound or sight and become loyal to a brand or company. Here are some jingle examples, please finish them if recognized: Red Robin…. (YUM), when I say Hillshire you say farm, Hillshire (FARM)...Go meat! You’re in good hands with… (ALLSTATE). You could save a bunch of money by switching to… (GEICO). Ok, well done, now let’s do some symbols. In a second I will display some symbols on the screens behind me, when you know them, just call them out.
1. McDonalds (M), 2. Apple (Apple logo), 3. Nike (Swoosh symbol), 4. Mercedes (Symbol), 5. Shell (Symbol), 6. Facebook (F). It is interesting that when we see these symbols we immediately think of great French fries, our computer, comfortable shoes, a dream car, expensive gas and a social media tool that has brought many closer together. We, as the marketing folks aimed to do, have connected certain feelings and emotions to each of these symbols and because of that these companies have our loyalty.
Now let me share a few other symbols to test your skills of recognition: 1. The lotus flower (Symbol of Buddhism), 2. The Star of David (Judaism), 3. Crescent (Islam), 4. Pentagram (Satanism), 5. Swastika (Nazi’s) and now the final symbol and call out the first thing that comes to your mind when you see it. (I now show the cross). This is the most recognizable symbol in the entire world.
For the Christian viewing this symbol brings many emotions and feelings to surface: grace, mercy, love, sin, forgiveness, reconciliation, sacrifice, power, compassion, victory, Savior, Messiah, The Lamb, the Only Begotten Son of God…Jesus Christ.
And yet there are other groups of people that do not have these thoughts when they view the cross, some folks would say: fairy tale, myth, lunatic, liar, crutch, hypocrisy, contempt and even child abuse. And, still others would say: good man, great teacher, nice guy, prophet, charismatic leader, and powerful orator.
And yet the majority, according to statistics, (Christianity Today shows 85 percent of our countries population) are near the cross and classified as Christian. But, being near the cross may not be enough. Let me share three groups of people, found in the Word of God, that were near the cross and let’s discover together where we fall as we classify ourselves.
1. Some were Forced to the Cross:
Matthew records the account of the journey of Christ to the cross and brings out an interesting event “And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled (or forced) to bear his cross.” –Matt. 27:32 Mark says of this same event “And they compel (force) one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross.” –Mark 15:21 Luke reports “And as they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the country, and on him they laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus.” –Luke 23:26 While Simon was as near to the cross as one could get, we have no record of any change being wrought in his heart from this experience.
Through the years I have had parents, spouses, friends and family try to use me and my office as a Minister to bring change upon someone. I have often felt like a dog that was being commanded to “sick” Jesus on someone else. And, what I have learned through the years is that no matter how much you force the cross on someone. No matter how close you get someone to come to the cross, change will not come unless and until they want change to come.
Proximity to the cross never brings change. Change can only come through repentance. And repentance hurts because it always involves giving up something that is providing something for us. Repentance means that we are willing to surrender something in our lives because Jesus has surrendered all of His. Paul tells us “by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. –Rom. 12:1 Now to sacrifice your body is not pleasant, it is not comfortable…it HURTS! Yet if we are to live for the Lord, in victory, making a difference, we must give up what we see to obtain what we can’t.
Don Wyman knows what it means to give up something. In 1993 he was all alone in the woods cutting up a fallen tree when suddenly the tree snapped back in his direction and knocked him to the ground. Unable to free himself and loosing much blood he realized that he was going to bleed to death unless something happened. With nobody close enough to hear his screams and his chainsaw not functioning he realized there was only one thing to do, although it was drastic. He pulled the starter cord from his chain saw, wrapped it around his leg, and tied the cord to a wrench. Then he twirled the wrench until it cut off the flow of blood to his shin. Somehow he amputated his own leg below the knee with his pocket knife. After crawling uphill for 135 feet he climbed into a bulldozer and drove a quarter mile to his truck and then to a farmers home a mile and a half away. Soon Wyman received the medical care that saved his life.
Don Wyman’s leg was dear to him but as he lay bleeding to death beneath the oak tree, he recognized that keeping his leg might cost him his life. We may get near the cross: come to church, put money in the offering plate, read our Bible’s, pray and even teach or preach. But until we realize that it is not how close we get to the cross that makes the difference but how much we open our hearts to the “message of the cross” –I Cor. 1:18
Are you near the cross today because you were forced to be? Are you here because of your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife, parent, family or friends? I mean if you did not have anyone in your life that cared whether or not you were in church this morning, would you really be here today? Are you here today like Simon who having the cross forced upon him, felt like he had no choice?
Some were Forced to the Cross
2. Some wanted Fame at the Cross:
The religious leaders of the day were so very good at playing the game and looking like they were really sold out in their relationship with God. They wore the church clothing, they had all of the religious jewelry, and they spent much time in church, oh when you saw these folks you thought, “Now that is a God fearing man”. And yet as Jesus Christ, the Son of God, hung on that cross these “religious” people came near the cross, but not to pray, or worship, or to fall down in their humility in reverence to the Lord of Lord, no, they came mocking saying things like “He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.” –Matt. 27:42 and “He trusted God; let him (God) deliver him now, if he will have him…”-Matt. 27:43A these religious folks were very near to the cross, yet change never came. They were there just playing the game, dotting their religious “I” as a salve for their guilt and shame.
We live in a culture where, as Vance Havner would say “The world has become so chuchy and the church so worldly we can’t tell the two apart.” The statistics that I read earlier revealing that 85 percent of our population claims to be Christian, must either be flawed or folks are fooled into thinking that simply being near the cross is enough. We are actually in an age where it is “cool” to be Christian, now don’t get me wrong, I am not speaking of those sold out, dedicated believers, I am referring to those who are Christian in name only.
We have the fish signs on our book bags, the Christian magnet on our cars, Spirit-FM playing on our radios and a cross hanging around our necks. We, as a culture are as near to the cross as we can be, yet it must be asked, “Where is the change?”
In speaking of the religious leaders that got near the cross and in speaking to those today who “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” –II Tim. 3:5 God says “Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias (Isaiah) prophesy of you, saying, this people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” –Matt. 15:7-9 you see, it is possible for you to be near the cross yet far from God.
You have played the religious game long enough. It is time for you to stop dancing around the message of the cross and start receiving the meaning of the cross.
Some were Forced to the Cross
Some wanted Fame at the Cross
3. Some had Fallen in Love with the Cross:
While there are some that have been forced to the cross and some that wanted fame at the cross, there are others who have fallen in love with the cross. I pray that either you are either in this category or by the time you leave today will be. It is only here that real change can occur in your life. If you are seeking answers. If you are wondering why. If you are feeling hopeless, anxious, burdened. If you really desire a lasting change, then you have come to the right place, for once someone hits rock bottom and gets near the cross they discover what really happened there about 2000 years ago and fall in love with not what, how, why or when, but WHO. And that who is Jesus Christ.
A Roman Centurion was near the cross the day of the crucifixion. He was one that started the day like many others before: perhaps leading prisoners up the road from town to Golgotha or Calvary. He was very familiar with death and had become hardened and callous from watching so many tortured, suffer and die that he, perhaps, never shed a tear but simply did his job. But, this day was different. This day there was something unique about the man in the middle. This centurion was much closer to the cross then most others for the Bible says that he “stood over against him (Jesus)” –Mark 15:39A While he was forced to be near the cross, due to him job, he was about to make a confession that would change his life.
Everyone else that he witnessed being scourged and crucified yelled, cursed and shouted back, but this man…he not only remained eerily silent most of the time but when he did speak he actually said things like “Father forgive them; for they know not what they do.” –Luke 23:34A and while others in the past have only been concerned for themselves, this man was giving comfort to the those beside him and overheard saying “Verily I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in paradise.” –Luke 23:43 and then there was the complete darkness in the middle of the day and the earthquake that caused such chaos, this day was different and this man on the cross was unique. And when the centurion heard Jesus say “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit” –Luke 23:46 and watched His head fall lifeless, while the rulers “derided him”-Luke 23:35A, the soldiers “mocked him” Luke 23:35B here was this centurion that had been considering this day as extraordinary, looked into the face of Jesus and declared “Truly this was the Son of God.”-Matt. 27:54B and he “glorified God, saying, certainly this was a righteous man.” –Luke 23:47
Some are near the cross because they have been forced. Others are near the cross because they seek fame: using the cross to get attention from man and blessings from God. And then there are those who are at near the cross because they, like the Centurion, have realized that Jesus Christ was not just a good man, a prophet, a powerful teacher, or even a miracle worker. They realize that he was not a lunatic or a liar. They have fallen in love with the One in love with them.
A.B. Simpson records a story written in the Alliance Weekly: There is a strange power in the consciousness of being loved…It is said that one of the most distinguished statesmen of the times of the American Revolution was once a hopeless drunkard. He had been engaged to a beautiful girl, but his dissipation had compelled her to break the engagement and sever herself from his influence, which was dragging her down. She had not ceased to love him, or to pray for him. One day she was passing along a suburban road. She saw him lying intoxicated by the sidewalk, his face exposed to the blistering sun, and swollen with drink and exposure. Her tender heart was moved, and, as she passed by, she took her handkerchief and gently spread it over his sleeping face. An hour or two later he awoke and saw the handkerchief and her name upon the corner of it. He sprang to his feet and a glad thrill of hope and courage came to his heart. “She loves me still,” he said, “all is not yet lost. For her sake I will redeem my life.” And he did!
Oh, how much more power there is in the love of Christ to save the lost from despair, if they can only believe that He loves them. And how much more can He prove that He does than to die on a cruel Roman cross on Calvary’s hill that we might come near the cross, be bathed in mercy, washed in His blood and be transformed by His love.
