CE Week 4

Secular:

When Rico talked about the statue Justica… he told of how she held the scales of justice and the sword of wrath… it is a simple lesson… mess with justice… face the wrath.
Capital Punishment… Not sure how you feel… founded on the principle that
There have been various forms throughout history…
Electric Chair, Lethal Injection, Noose, Guillotine, Beheaded, Torn Apart by Dogs… All are horrible ways to die… the anticipation… even the more civil methods…. Require you to be strapped down… some of those methods would be down right painful…
But nothing in history compares to death on the cross…
…You would find it strange to see ruby and diamond encrusted electric chair on a gold necklace.
Or noose or guillotine imprinted on a t-shirt…
But Christians everywhere have a strong affinity to the cross…
To the ancient world we would seem more than just a little odd….
The most horrific and terrible device of torture and death… celebrated.
Unlike the Lethal Injection or beheading…. There is something special about the cross… even as gruesome as it is… because there is something special about one person who hung from the cross…
Something extraordinary about Jesus of Nazareth.

Biblical:

1 Peter 2:21 For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, 22 WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH; 23 and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; 24 and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. 25 For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.

Personal: Have you ever had to deal with a vermin problem… rats, racoons, mice… and various other creatures can reek havoc in our lives… unchecked they may make our lives unhealthy and unbearable.

Custodian at Orangeville….

House… addition where a deck had been…
Animal tracks and burrowed underneath…
Self-made solution
Poison… one block… two blocks…
Then the smell… the situation didn’t get better it got worse
Sin in our lives are like burrowing rats. Alone it can seem harmless enough… but one rat in our life is one rat too many… and it always leads to more and when we try and handle on our own… we can wind up with a putrid mess…

Bridge:

Jesus came to die… because we made a mess… a putrid mess… of our lives.
We wallow in unrighteousness apart from God…
Justice calls for the sword…
Just as the crowd clamours outside the court house at the trial of a convicted killer….
So our Righteous and Holy God seeks justice…
Jesus death pays our debt.
Something extraordinary about Jesus of Nazareth.

The Cross… something happened

• …because we kept straying

• … because He bore our penalty

• …because He reconciled us to God

Body:

The Cross… something happened…

Why? Because we kept straying… like sheep wondering our own way…

For you were continually straying like sheep…
We make mistakes… we keep making them…
Have you ever observed sheep… this is not a flattering comparison…
Sheep constantly put themselves in harms way, find themselves stuck, often refuse to be herded….
Jesus went to the cross because we continually turned our back on God…
I have used this comparison before…

How many times have I told you…
How frustrating… how angry…

God issue isn’t about socks… it’s about our heart… and how many times our heart chooses something othe hg fvtr than him!
God is just… and on the scales of justice we don’t weigh in very well….
Deuteronomy 32:4 "The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He.”
He demands righteousness and holiness… and He wields a mighty sword…
Jesus Hung on the cross…. Because we are continually straying like sheep
It wasn’t neat or pretty, polished, ornamental… it was rough, wooden cross… designed for pain and humiliation….
Jesus Hung on the cross…. Because we are continually straying like sheep
Something extraordinary about Jesus of Nazareth.

The Cross… something happened

He bore our penalty

That penalty was due us…
He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross
2 Corinthians 5:21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
We talked about Jesus the Rescuer last week. The idea that Jesus was rescuing us from Sin, Judgment and Hell. In order to rescue us… Jesus had to stand in on our behalf… face our punishment… be our substitute.

Remember because God is just… and we have a penalty to face….

Judgement was due this rebellious sheep for straying and failing to do their master’s bidding.
It wasn’t neat or pretty, polished, diamond encrusted… it was rough, wooden cross… designed for pain and humiliation…. And Jesus who knew no sin…. Bore our sin….
Hebrews 9:22 And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no aphesis… remission. (pardon)
So Jesus went to the cross to bear our sin that we might be forgiven. He endured a humiliating and painful death on our behalf.
Jesus Hung on the cross…. Because in His mercy He Himself Bore our sins in His Body on the cross.
Something extraordinary about Jesus of Nazareth.

The Cross… something happened

He reconciled us to God

For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.
(Jesus as the bridge slide…)
There was an insurmountable chasm…
The gap created from our wondering… our sin.
Jesus… took that sin, that rebellion against God… to the cross…
And enduring the cross He reconciled us to God. We don’t have to “pay” the penalty… we don’t have to be perfect… we don’t have to shed our own blood…
We do have to surrender to Christ… We do need to trust in Him… follow Him… and we will be reconciled to God.
He is the bridge
John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name (authority),

Conclusion…

So that Old Rugged Cross looks pretty amazing… its not diamond encrusted… polished wood… it’s a rough, blood soaked symbol of death that has brought hope and light…

· On a hill far away, stood an old rugged cross,The emblem of suff'ring and shame,And I love that old Cross where the dearest and best,For a world of lost sinners was slain. Jesus Hung on the cross…. So that by His wounds you were healed*

He was on that cross because of our rebellion against God
He was on that cross because there was a penalty to pay
He was on that cross because He wanted to bridge the gap… that we might be reconciled God.
The cross as vile as it seems… was the place of the ultimate act of love…
John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.
And Jesus Loves You….