At the Cross is Forgiveness
Luke 19:37-44
Introduction
Luke 19:37-43
Last week we bean a series looking at the cross.
We saw at the cross was the most expressive way God could show his love to mankind.
By way of laying down his life, Jesus took the most horrible, and painful way of dying to show mankind how much He loved them.
Palm Sunday is usually palm branches being waved around signifying Jesus coming into Jerusalem on a donkey.
The crowd hailing Him king of the Jews, and the redeemer to the suppressed Jews against the evil and powerful Romans.
Jesus entrance into Jerusalem is recorded in all 4 gospels.
Each one compliments each other and each one shows a detail to put this event in order for us the reader to see last days of Jesus Christ before the ultimate plan of God is complete.
The ultimate plan of God was to forgive mankind their sins so that they could have a personal relationship with a holy and just God.
To bridge the gap between God and man.
A lot of people know about the cross, and they have heard of Jesus, but few have experienced what the cross of Christ means.
To most, Easter is about food, candy, and a family gathering. Some wonder how the Easter bunny fits in the Easter account. He doesn’t, the Easter bunny is a distraction, he has no biblical truth.
Why the big change among the people!
How could they go from Luke 19:38- “ Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord” to Matthews account when Jesus is before the Roman governor Pilate and Pilate asks what he should do with Jesus and the crowd said crucify Him!
The more that he wanted the innocent Jesus released, the louder the crowd cried crucify Him, to the point they released a hardened criminal Barabbas before they would let Jesus go free.
Why?
Because they had a wrong idea of Jesus-
They wanted a king to lead them out of bondage and Jesus was sent to redeem them from their sins.
It is funny how a wrong attitude can lead us in the wrong direction.
They wanted to do what they wanted.
They wanted a king to change their situation and not mess with their hearts.
They wanted military force, and Jesus came to save their souls.
Jesus told them the hard things- things that they did not want to hear.
He told them that we cannot save ourselves.
We cannot reach a point of being good enough to be accepted by God.
We need a savior, not only who can help us in our immediate situations of life, but a God who can redeem us for eternity.
What we call Palm Sunday was the final moment of a journey that Jesus chose for the redemption of each person who puts their faith in Him.
People wanted a king- Jesus wanted to be savior.
People wanted Jesus to change the Romans- Jesus wanted to change their hearts.
People wanted power/freedom- Jesus wanted peace/ relationship with them.
People saw the Romans as the problem- Jesus said they were the problem.
Where did they go wrong?
They looked for what Jesus could do for them instead of seeing what He was about to do.
For us- (This side of the cross) it was creating a Jesus to our liking instead of seeing what He has done for us.
When Jesus was making his triumphant entry into Jerusalem, the crowd was cheering, hailing Him their king- “Blessed be the king who comes in the name of the Lord.”
Pharisees (religious leaders) told Jesus to rebuke your disciples! Tell them to be quiet! They are messing up everything!
Jesus responded- “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out” Why?
Because this was the plan of God, Jesus would come and die for mankind- it was their only hope.
Luke 19:41
“As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, if you, even you had only known on this day what would bring you peace, but now it is hidden from your eyes. The day will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and your children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God coming to you.”
The very thing they feared the most would happen.
The very Romans they wanted Jesus to destroy would surround them and circle them and bring down the city.
In the fulfillment of scripture recorded in Isaiah and Ezekiel.
Why?
Because they didn’t recognize God coming to them in the person of Jesus the messiah, they failed to recognize Him and they rejected Him.
They loved Jesus when everything appeared to be going well.
They loved Jesus when people were being healed and things were going the way they wanted.
I’ll serve you Jesus as long as you run out front and protect me from anything bad.
But when it didn’t happen- things changed!
They went from cheers to crucify in a hurry.
How dare you Jesus ride into Jerusalem on a donkey! Come on!
What kind of king are you?
What kind of military leader are you?
People want to be saved from their troubles more than they want to be saved from their sins.
Jesus came to forgive sins and restore a relationship between God and man.
Jesus said, I will save you from your sins and help you through your troubles.
This is not all there is- there is an eternity and this life is a moment of time compared to eternity.
Some believe this is hell. Here and now.
I assure you this is not hell.
Hell is separation from God.
Evil at it fullness.
The Holy Spirit of God is not here to keep control of chaos and offer any peace or hope.
The first thing they needed to do and the first thing we need to do is decide if we believe Jesus is who He says He is.
Jesus says that He is our redeemer and savior- Do you believe that?
Jesus stated “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Do you believe that?
Bible records that no one is righteous in themselves. Romans 3:23- “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Do you believe that?
“At just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.” “But God demonstrated His own love for us in this; while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Do you believe that?
If you do, then you have to put your faith and trust in Him to do what He said He would do and stand on the promises He has given us.
Coming to Christ is a radical decision. Jesus made no apologies for it.
He says that your faith in Him will cause some to pull away from you.
Your faith will change what you do and how you act. It’s radical!
You make a commitment of your life to Him. You change!
In fact, you live for Jesus instead of living for yourself.
It is allowing Christ to take you from where you are to where Christ wants you to be
It is a continuous process of following and obeying God’s Word.
It is walking in the same direction as the Lord, whereas before we run from God and hide our faults.
It is obedience and a desire to please God and not ourselves.
Notice, I did not say perfection
God knows everything about us. Weather we want to admit it or not.
We cannot fake it, “hypocrite: means to wear a mask” he is not asking us to pretend to be something that we are not. He is asking us to be real and come to him when we stumble and be committed to following him.
We are living in a day and age where people are not seeing a radical change in believer’s life. The un-churched, those who are not following Christ look at a believer and don’t see any difference than they are, and they say what’s the point?
There should be a change- change of heart, change of attitude, change of priorities.
At the cross is forgiveness- because Jesus died for each one of us.
He was dead and God resurrected Him.
He has the authority and power to forgive sin.
He is not going to do that…He has already done that.
Forgiveness is available, but will you accept it?
Will you accept His forgiveness, by accepting Him as Lord and Savior?
Radical because what you have is not working.
His sacrifice was necessary to satisfy God’s justice.
The sacrifice had to be perfect and spotless.
Because of our sin nature, we cannot repair our broken relationship with God without Jesus.
“This is my blood of the covenant, which is being poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”
1 John 1:9-
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
Most people don’t make a radical change because something holds them back.
Forgiveness is one barrier.
Believing that God can truly forgive you- you confess it to him, you are truly sorry, He is faithful and just to forgive you. That is His promise.
The other side of forgiveness is forgiving someone else who has hurt you.
Forgiveness of others who have hurt you is for your benefit. You harbor those feelings and the offender sleeps like a baby.
You forgive them so you can move on.
You don’t have to put yourself back in harms way.
You don’t necessarily have to hang out together, but release that bitterness to God so that you can be set free from its bondage.
Two types of forgiveness-
God’s forgiveness of your sins.
Your obligation to forgive others. Both can hinder or build your relationship with the Lord.
The phrase “Forgive and forget” is not found in the Bible only God can forgive our sins and move us forward.
We cannot selectively “delete” events from our memory, but with God’s help, we remember the sin and chose to forgive. In time He takes the pain away.
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
Close / Altar Call
