Passion: The Cross

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John 19:17-27

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They tell us that when this virus peaks, things will start to get better. When the number of infections start to decline, when the number of new cases begins to fall. That we can start to breathe again.

But right now, things are bad… it’s bad for the people who are sick, it’s bad for the people caring for the people who are sick, it’s bad for the rest of us who are healthy because we are worried about getting sick or dealing with the impact on our society because government officials are worried about us getting sick.

From where we are right now, we can’t see much good coming out of this whole experience. At least not enough that we would say justify what all is happening. But would you believe me if I told you that there would be something good to come out of it?

Would you like to hear the good that I think will come from all this? I believe God might be calling the church to focus on what the church is called to be. I believe God is reminding Christian families what it means to be a family. I believe he is showing us where our faith rests… where our hope belongs…

Many people have asked the question over the centuries, why do bad things happen to good people. My response is that bad things happen to all of us because we live in a broken world. Things aren’t as God created them to be. People again and again do the wrong things, we choose to hurt rather than heal, we choose greed over generosity, we choose to ignore rather than include.

But God promises in scripture to bless those who love him in spite of their circumstances.

And I believe God is doing even more right now than what I can see because that is exactly what God does.

But first we have to get to the climax.

Today's text is one of those where that God used for the awful for the good.

In today’s text, we get to the climax in the story of Jesus.

Today's text is one of those where the aweful happened.

Today's text is one of those where that God used for the awful for the good.

Look at what is in arguably the The most horrific act ever committed by humanity. Think about it

We are in looking at what is in arguably the The most horrific act ever committed by humanity. Think about it

The most horrific act ever committed by humanity:

The false accusation of the only truly righteous human.

The rejection of the long-awaited messiah by the people to whom he was promised

The betrayal of their rightful and true king, in favor of a lesser, merely human ruler

The murder of the most glorious, most worthy, most innocent, most loving person ever to have lived.

The worst thing done to a person

The cross became the best thing to ever happen to us.

Best worst thing that ever happened to me.

Not your kids… not your grand-kids… not the new house… Jesus, the cross is the best thing God could do for you because through the cross, God restored you to a relationship with him.

Many of you know this.

Every time we fail to live God’s way… when we choose to do things that honor us rather than God… that’s sin. And that sin results in us being separated from God. But God chose to restore us to him through the Jesus’s work on the cross. That’s why the cross is such a big deal to us as Christians. That’s why we wear it around our necks, on our shirts, stick it to our cars.

The cross is a big deal, because it is a big deal.

But why the cross?

Faith

Humility

Metonymy: me-ton-ami

When a word represents more than the thing… more than the object.

Like when we say Washington finally approved help for our economy. we aren’t talking about the city… but actually we just use the word Washington to refer to the government as a whole.

Down south we use the drink coke… We’d say hey get me a coke… and our friend says they only have pepsi.. yes just any coke will do. We don’t use soda… but coke refers to all soda, sometimes it’s pepsi, sometimes sprite, maybe even mountain dew… it’s all coke

I understand that when we talk about the cross, we are talking about a lot more than just the wood that Jesus was nailed to.

not soda… but coke refers to all soda, sometimes it’s pepsi, sometimes sprite, maybe even mountain dew… it’s all coke

I was watching some of your videos and I saw my friend Ray Masse who’s at home with his kids this week, he decided to teach them to weld. One of them made a castle our of nuts and washers… one made a little man out of bolts. Welding means a lot more than just welding now in their house. It will forever be connected to that experience, the laughs, the mistakes, the fear, the statues.

It’s the same way when we talk about the cross, we are talking about Jesus’s suffering, we are talking about his death, his sacrifice, his love for us. All of it.

The cross is at the center of our faith. between the incarnation… God in the flesh… and the resurrection… his defeat of death - stands the cross, the central object of our faith. All of Jesus’s life was leading up to this point. All the miracles, all the teaching were for this moment.

But why a cross - the physical cross - is what I’d like for us to think about today.

Let me share for a minute on what a crucifixion was like.

Roman crosses were shaped like a T, like a X, or like a t

They weren’t just instruments of death…they were used because of the pain that was inflicted to bring about death; bu they were much more.

Those sentenced to die on a cross would often be beaten, rarely beaten like Jesus though because they might die too quickly. Romans wanted the pain to be extended. They’d strip them naked and tie their hands and feet to the cross… often though, for the worst criminals, they’d use nails like they did with Jesus… through the wrists and through the feet one on top of another

Jesus died a cross shaped death.

The cross was intended not to kill quickly, but to kill slowly. In fact it was death by asphyxiation. In order to breathe when you are hanging by your hands, you would have to push yourself up on your nailed feet. this was all about pain.

Eye level crucifixion…

Eventually, when people passed out, they would break the legs of the crucified with a hammer preventing them to push up and breathe and there fore suffocate them.

Everything about the cross was to make a person publicly suffer. To mock them, to shame them for their crime.

it was so bad they wouldn’t crucify other romans…

Now remember the culture here. Eastern cultures have a underlying tension of honor and shame… When you do the right thing you honor your family.. when you do the wrong thing you shame yourself and your family.

Some crucified bodies were never claimed by their families b/c of the shame.

The cross was designed to bring shame on the entire family… and all his followers.

The cross was designed to bring shame on the entire family… and crucifyin him as their king would bring shame on the entire people

That’s what the cross was in the Roman world… it was about death and shame.

So in answering the question, why a cross… we have to answer, why did Jesus need to experience shame?

We know that this has been where Jesus has been headed since his birth… actually since the beginning of time. This was his calling. And Pilate inaugurated him as King with his proclamation in languages so everyone would understand… Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews…

You might say that Jesus lived a cross shaped life

Jesus lived a cross shaped life.

King of the Jews… Lifting Jesus up on the cross to shame the Jews.

Now,

Remember why Jesus came to earth in the first place… to restore us to a relationship with God the father. and why did we need to be restored? Because of our sin. You see it was our sin that caused Jesus to be on the cross… the shame you see ultimately wasn’t about the Jews, it was our shame. It is my shame.. your shame. Our sin put him on the cross.

remember why Jesus came to earth in the first place… to restore us to a relationship with God the father. and why did we need to be restored? Because of our sin.

As Paul wrote in the book of

Galatians 3:13

Galatians 3:13 NIV

13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.”

Gal3:13

So you see it was our sin that caused Jesus to be on the cross… the shame you see, wasn’t about the Jews; ultimately, it was our shame. It is my shame.. your shame. Our sin put Jesus on the cross.... and we have a share in his death.

‘Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law,’ wrote Paul, ‘by becoming a curse for us, for it is written, Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree’ (, quoting 23).

Pilate proclaimed and displayed Jesus as King in order to Shame the Jews and keep control.

A Cross Shaped Life

Crosses are fashionable. That’s a strange thing when you think about it. It’s like wearing an electric chair around your neck. But for someone who loves Jesus, wearing a cross. is making a statement that I am nothing… Jesus is everything… Jesus did what I couldn’t.

For me… I needed to be adopted, but I couldn’t adopt myself.

For Christians, the cross stands for much more

I needed someone to step into my situation and make it happen.

So for Christians, the cross is much more than a wooden object.

So for Christians, the cross stands for much more than a wooden object.

For us, it represents Jesus’s love for us. His sacrifice, his compassion, his faithfulness, his dedication, his

Pilate raised a cross to being shame but the irony is that in doing this he pointed to God’s glory. God was glorified because Jesus did what we couldn’t.

He lived faithfully and died obediently.

Jesus came born of a virgin, in the line of David, he fulfilled all the prophetic requirements of the Messiah.

Psalm 22:14-15

Psalm 22:14–15 NIV

14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted within me. 15 My mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death.

Another one

Isaiah 53:3

Isaiah 53:3 NIV

3 He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

How about this one that is referred to in our passage today

Psalm 22:17-18

Psalm 22:17–18 NIV

17 All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me. 18 They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.

Psalm 22:17

The cross is where Jesus‘s whole life was headed. To the cross, to suffer, to be rejected, to be a servant, to glorify God. Even if that meant a cross.

This is where Jesus‘s whole life was headed. To the cross, to suffer, to be rejected, to be a servant, to glorify God. Even if that meant a cross.

We could say that Jesus’s whole life was shaped by the cross. Shaped by the principal that his life was not about him. That he left his power behind and accepted being humbled, mocked, and humiliated in order for others to be redeemed.

As Christians, as we worship Jesus, we love Jesus and with God’s grace at work in us, we strive to develop his character in our lives.

And guess what that means - our lives become cross shaped as well.

In the Gospel of Matthew, One of Jesus’s most powerful teachings is recorded where Jesus is explaining his death. He says:

Matthew 16:24

Matthew 16:24 NIV

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

And when our lives are directed towards the cross, we glorify God as well.

Living a cross shaped life, glorifies God.

When we live a cross shaped life we glorify God.

That’s what we mean when we say cross.

What would it mean for us today to live a cross shaped life? In the middle of a Corona-virus?

The same thing it would mean without corona-virus. We live for him.

First, we glorify God. We point people to Jesus by living out the gospel. Loving others, serving others, helping others.

That’s what we mean when we say cross.

I thought more about that… how we normally think of getting groups together. WE can’t do that now In the midst of social distancing.

Galatians 2:20

A few weeks ago a friend came to me and

In the midst of social distancing.

So how do we do it? one at a time. We find someone to help and we help them. We find someone to talk to and we talk to them.

Galatians 2:20 NIV

20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

As we serve our neighbor, as we call and check on others, as we deliver food to the needy, we are given a platform to show people Jesus. We get an opportunity to lift him up.

Paul said it this way.

2 Corinthians 5:20

2 Corinthians 5:20 NIV

20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.

Galatians 5:20 NIV

20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions

We serve others. We exercise our gifts for others.

We serve others. We exercise our gifts for others. We point people to Jesus

Pilate lifted Jesus as King on a cross in order to shame and control the people of God.

As we proclaim and display Jesus as our King, we Honor God that the world might be saved through him.

I ask you if you are on social media to share your faith these days. Everyone is on it many will see. Let’s show the world that we live cross shaped lives, willing and ready to serve our neighbor, to bring joy and encouragement into every situation. That we will seek to make this season better, even though it’s not easy or fun, but our joy rests in Jesus, not in our ability to get back to normal.

Second, we live a cross shaped life when we find our freedom in obedience.

When we live a cross shaped life we are free.

Jesus was free to do just what God wanted of him. He wasn’t bound to what his friends wanted him to do, he wasn't bound to the priests. He wasn’t bound to Pilate or to his mother Mary. He was free to obey God fully.

Living a cross shaped life, we choose to live not for ourselves, but for Jesus. Living for him, we allow him to make the most of our bad situation. And when God works in us it is the best thing that can happen to us and to those around us.

I had the opportunity to pray with a wonderful woman this week just before she died. I asked her if thee was anything she would do differently. She said no. Absolutely not. I’ve talked to many people in the days before their death and i have never had a single one who was a Christian say, they wish they hadn’t trusted Jesus.

But I have had some who didn’t trust him wonder if they had done enough. If that’s you. If you wonder if you have done enough, let me tell you. No you haven’t… unless the first thing you get credit for is surrendering your life to Jesus. That’s the only thing that matters and if you haven’t done that, then why not today?

Pray with me

Never heard a person at the end of their life say… I wish I hadn’t trusted Jesus

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