The Life of Christ
Part 3: He Died...
March 20, 2005
Palm Sunday
Introduction
This is our third message in a series on the life of Christ. So far we’ve talked about the fact that Jesus lived, and we discussed not events in the life of Jesus, but rather some things we can take away from what he modeled for us.
We took that approach last week as well, as we looked at how Jesus taught.
Today we’re moving along in this progression. We’re going to look at the death of Jesus, and what it did for us.
Author Calvin Miller said, "One cannot even begin to understand the life of Christ without understanding His death." (SermonCentral.com - Contributed by: Victor Yap)
We all know or at least have heard that Jesus died for us, but I want us to investigate that a bit further.
And it’s my hope that today you will gain a better appreciation for what actually took place all those years ago.
I want us today to look at four truths surrounding Jesus’ death that are crucial for us to grasp if we want to understand just what it is Christ did for us on the cross.
It’s very easy in our day and age to just go along with our lives as if nothing ever happened, and never give much thought to the fact that Jesus died and rose, and the real reasons behind Easter.
More people seem to be concerned about the Easter Bunny and what he might bring than about the fact that the Son of God was sacrificed for you and me.
My intention with this message is simply to review some things that are even sometimes easy for followers of Jesus to overlook and under-appreciate.
I don’t know that you’ll hear anything new today, but I’ve been a believer for a long time in the fact that some of the most important things in life need to be repeated time and time again.
They can become so routine that we don’t give them much thought. And so I hope that after you’ve heard this message, you’ll be shaken out of any "routine" understandings of Jesus’ death, and that you will touched anew in your spirit.
The first truth I want us to look at today is that...
He died SACRIFICIALLY.
What I mean by this is that his death satisfied the requirements of God’s law that sin required blood.
The Bible says in the book of Hebrews that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
In the Old Testament, it meant that the blood of goats, bulls, and lambs would take care of it.
But Jesus’ death paid that penalty for sins once and for all.
Look with me at this passage from 1 John:
1 John 4:9-10
This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
Circle the phrase, atoning sacrifice.
The Bible says that God hates sin - he’s angry about it and he’s angry at it. And he needs to pour out his anger because of sin.
The phrase atoning sacrifice means that Jesus’ death not only paid the legal penalty for our sins, it also means that he took care of God’s anger.
When God looks at you, if you have trusted in Christ as your forgiver, he is no longer angry at your sin. He sees the blood of his son, and the anger is taken care of.
So many people see God as some big cosmic meanie, just waiting to strike them down with a lightning bolt or something.
But let me tell you something. Yes, it’s true that God is angry toward sin, and that anger needs to be satisfied.
But the bottom line is that God loves you so much that he preferred to put his anger and wrath on his own son than on you.
At the end of the message, I’m going to tell you how you can avoid God’s anger for your sin, so make sure you’re paying attention, okay?
The second truth we need to grasp about Jesus and his death is that...
He died PHYSICALLY.
An old preacher was dying. He sent a message for his Doctor and his Lawyer, both church members, to come to his home. When they arrived, they were ushered up to his bedroom. As they entered the room, the preacher held out his hands and motioned for them to sit on each side of the bed. The preacher grasped their hands, sighed contentedly, smiled and stared at the ceiling.
For a time, no one said anything. Both the doctor and lawyer were touched and flattered that the old preacher would ask them to be with him during his final moment. They were also puzzled; the preacher had never given them any indication that he particularly liked either of them. They both remembered his many long, uncomfortable sermons about greed, covetousness and their avaricious behavior that made them squirm in their seats.
Finally the doctor said, ’Preacher, why did you ask the two of us to come?’ The old preacher mustered up some strength, then said weakly, ’Jesus died between two thieves and that’s how I want to go too’. (SermonCentral.com. Contributed by: Guy McGraw)
Look quickly at these two Scripture passages with me, okay?
John 19:33 -
But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs.
Mark 15:44-45 -
Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. 45 When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph.
Not exactly the verses of the Bible most people pick to memorize, huh?
Why is this such a big deal? Because there are a number of people who don’t believe Jesus really died.
It’s a little thing called the "swoon theory," and basically says that Jesus didn’t really die; he just passed out, and because of that, his resurrection wasn’t really a resurrection, it was a "resuscitation."
One lady wrote in to a question and answer forum.
"Dear Sirs,
Our preacher said on Easter, that Jesus just swooned on the cross and that the disciples nursed Him back
to health. What do you think?
Sincerely, Bewildered.
Dear Bewildered,
Beat your preacher with a cat-of-nine-tails with 39 heavy strokes, nail him to a cross; hang him in the sun for 6 hours; run a spear thru his side...put him in an airless tomb for 36 hours and see what happens. (SermonCentral.com. Contributed by: A. Todd Coget)
Folks, you have to understand that Jesus died. The Romans were professional executioners. They knew how to kill, and they knew dead when they saw it. Jesus was dead.
He went all the way. He went all the way because that’s what was necessary to pay the price for you and me. Nothing less than death would do it.
He died physically.
The third truth we need to grasp in understanding the death of Jesus is that...
He died PURPOSELY.
Jesus’ death wasn’t an accident. It was intentional from the beginning of human history.
Even as early as the Garden of Eden, the Father said that a redeemer would come to pay the price for the sins of Adam and Eve and everyone who descended from them.
His death had a purpose, and it’s outlined beautifully in these two verses from 1 Peter and Romans. Please read these aloud with me.
1 Peter 3:18 -
For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit.
Romans 5:8 -
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
The bottom-line purpose for Jesus’ dying was so that you and I could come to God.
We can’t get there on our own. We have to come through Christ. Jesus said that there is no other way to get to heaven.
The apostle Peter said that there is no other name under heaven by which we can gain forgiveness of sins and a home in heaven.
His death was on purpose. He wasn’t just at the wrong place at the wrong time, and just happened to get caught up in a scheme to crucify someone. He prepared his entire life for this task.
And because of his sacrifice, you and I have a way to heaven, if we’ll just take it.
The fourth truth I want us to look at today in understanding the death of Jesus and the impact it has for us today is that...
He died WILLINGLY.
When The Passion of the Christ was released, there was a lot of concern that the Jews would be blamed by Mel Gibson for causing Jesus’ death.
For centuries, and even today, people blamed the Jews, especially the Jewish leaders for killing Jesus.
Others have blamed the Romans. After all, no one could legally be sentenced to death unless the Roman authorities actually passed the sentence, no matter the crime.
There is also the thought that WE killed him. It was our sins that put him on the cross. So we are just as guilty of killing Jesus as the Jewish leaders and Romans. And there is an element of truth in that, because if we hadn’t sinned, there would be no reason for Jesus to pay the price for our sins, right?
But look at this passage from John 10 -
John 10:17-18 -
The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life--only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.
Circle the phrase, no one takes it from me.
You see, folks, ultimately, no one killed Jesus. He laid down his life.
He allowed it to be done through the Jewish leaders, and by the Romans. And He did it because of us and our sins.
But he laid down his life because of his love for us, and because he knew his Father would be glorified by it.
The Bible tells us that Jesus could have stopped the process at any time. He could have avoided arrest, he could have avoided the humiliation and scourging, and he could have avoided the cross.
But he didn’t. He would rather die than see the plans of the Father put aside. And that plan was to have you and I spend eternity in heaven.
He wasn’t a spoiled child who kicked and screamed when he didn’t get his way.
By the way, did you hear about that little 5-year-old girl in Florida who was arrested?
Let me read this to you, from the Associated Press:
Friday, March 18, 2005
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - A 5-year-old girl was arrested, cuffed and put in back of a police cruiser after an outburst at school where she threw books and boxes, kicked a teacher in the shins, smashed a candy dish, hit an assistant principal in the stomach and drew on the walls.
The students were counting jelly beans as part of a math exercise at Fairmount Park Elementary School when the little girl began acting silly. That’s when her teacher took away her jelly beans, outraging the child.
Minutes later, the 40-pound girl was in the back of a police cruiser, under arrest for battery. Her hands were bound with plastic ties, her ankles in handcuffs.
"I don’t want to go to jail," she said moments after her arrest Monday.
No charges were filed and the girl went home with her mother.
The girl’s mother, Inda Akins, said she is consulting an attorney.
"She’s never going back to that school," Akins said. "They set my baby up."
Puh-lease! Set her up? Gimme a break!
Can you imagine Jesus doing that? "I don’t WANNA be arrested! I don’t WANNA be tortured and crucified! I’m going to tell my daddy! You’ll see!"
My point here is that Jesus said, "God, if there’s different way, then I’ll take it. But what I want even more is for your will to be done."
No kicking a screaming, throwing a temper tantrum. Willing obedience. For the glory of God the Father, and for our salvation.
Conclusion
Jesus died. He died sacrificially, he died physically, he died purposely, and he died willingly.
The first truth we looked at today was that Jesus died sacrificially. In other words, he paid the price for you and your sins.
He bought you, if you are one of his. Jesus’ death is immeasurably significant, and not just on a global scale, in that Jesus died so the world could be saved from paying the penalty themselves.
He died so that you as an individual could be saved from paying the penalty yourself.
Because the time’s going to come when you will pass from this earth, and you will stand face to face with God.
I don’t know exactly what’s going to happen at that point, but here’s one possibility.
I’ve asked my daughter, Dani, to help me with this.
Here’s what I think might happen:
You’re standing there before God the Father. And Satan, the enemy, will be there also, and he’s going to say, "It’s just Dani, God. Let me just have her. You know she sinned against you. Besides, she’s just one person. It’s just Dani."
Then Jesus is going to stand in front of her and say, "Yes, Father. It’s just Dani. And yes, she has sinned during her time on earth. But SHE’S MINE. I bought her with my blood."
And the Father’s going to say, "That’s all I need to hear. Enter, my child."
Again, I don’t know if that’s what’s going to happen exactly, but the truth of the matter is that Jesus’ death makes it possible for you and me to stand before the Father.
And I can tell you that the first time I heard that over 20 years ago, I said to myself, "I want Jesus to say that about me." And I acted on that, placing my faith in Christ.
He paid the price for you. All you have to do is accept that gracious offer, turning to him for forgiveness and a home in heaven.
He promises that not only will your sins be forgiven, but that you will be made a new person, a child of God.
So here’s the question: are you "His?"
Do you have the confidence today that when you are in front of the Father, Jesus will say, "He’s mine." Or "She’s mine."
If not, then I want to invite you to join me in a prayer that you can pray along in your heart. In this prayer, you will be telling the Father that you are accepting Jesus’ payment for your own, and that you want him to run the show, because he not only created you, he also knows what’s best for you.
And you can walk out of here today knowing you have forgiveness of your sins and a home in heaven, and that you are a real live child of God, with all its rights, privileges, and responsibilities.
You might be thinking, "You wouldn’t say that if you really knew me. I’m not good enough to save. Jesus wouldn’t want me."
But let me tell you that nothing could be further from the truth. He has forgiven serial killers, rapists, and others. Certainly he can forgive you. And the beauty of it is that he wants to! Really, he does.
The Bible says so, and unlike a lot of people in the world, God’s true to his word. You need to trust him.
In a moment I’m going to pray that prayer, but before I do that, I want to encourage the rest of us here to take to heart what you’ve learned today.
Ask God to drive these truths into your heart, so that you will never again think of the death of Jesus the same way, but rather have a new appreciation for not only what he went through, but why he did it - to bring you eternal life as a child of God.
I’m going to pray now, and those who want to give their lives to Jesus, putting their trust in Jesus and what he did can pray along with me right now, okay?
(Prayer)
