The Gospel... the good news about a God who SAVES!!!
What are we giving our lives to?
The Gospel... the good news about a God who SAVES.
De-motivational Poster
The cross is gruesome! Demotivated
"Jesus died for you!"
Is that a big deal to you? If not, then you need today’s reminders to re-ignite your heart.
I. THE TRIAL OF Jesus SHOWS HIS PURPOSE
Jesus actually went through six trials. They arrested Him at night and they arrested Him secretly because He was so popular they didn’t want an uprising in the city of Jerusalem. Then He went through three religious trials and then He went through three civil trials.
Trials of Jesus (kangaroo court):
Annas
Caiaphas (high priest)
Sanhedrin
Pilate (governor of Jerusalem)
Herod (governor of Galilee)
back to Pilate
Result? No crime
Finally they got Him convicted on one count. He claimed to be the Son of God. That’s why they put Jesus on the cross. He claimed to be the Son of God.
Son of God = Creator
“The chief priests were looking for false evidence against Jesus so they could put Him to death. But they did not find anything. Then they said, `Tell us if You are the Christ the Son of God.’ `Yes, it is as you say,’ said Jesus. Then they spit in His face and struck Him with their fists. Others slapped him…” See Matt. 26:59-68 (NIV)
He didn't say he was a good man or a good teacher, but God Himself.
Three options:
1. This is made up and a lie.
2. Jesus was cray-cray
3. Truth
His claim: Savior of the Universe!
“Jesus said, `I did not come to judge the world, but to save it.’” John 12:47 (NIV)
God is judging the world - and Jesus was on a rescue mission to be the end result of that judgment.
His purpose - He allowed the trial to happen to show who He was, to show His purpose as Savior.
The result - Condemned!
II. THE DEATH OF Jesus SHOWS HIS PASSION
Before the death on the cross - incredible pain and bruises.
Six trials - lack of sleep
crown of thorns
pluck his beard
spit and slap Him - "Who slapped you?" Jesus could have given their names, their father's names, their grandfather's names. He could have traced their family tree back to Adam. But He remained silent because He was taking the suffering of the world upon Himself.
Then Scourged - far worse than whipping. Tie him down in a half way position. Whip him with cat-o-nine tails - with pieces of bone and bits of lead. Shred skin and bruise the underneath. Illegal to whip someone over 40 X - whipped 39 times in case you miscounted. If you did, you got the same punishment.
Then carry the cross across town. Jesus couldn't do it. They chose Simon of Cyrene. A black man was given the privilege of carrying Jesus’ cross.
Cross = suffocation - So the death on the cross would have been a simple death of suffocation except the Romans didn't want to make it that easy. What they would do is take a person’s knees and bend them a little bit and nail the feet to the cross. So a man would be hanging there in absolute agony until the pain in his chest was about to explode with pins and needles then he would lift himself up on his feet that were nailed to the cross, so he could breathe. He would hold that position until He could no longer stand the pain in his feet and He would let himself back down again. Until the pain in his lungs became unbearable. The death on the cross was up and down, up and down. It was an incredibly torturous event. That’s why the Bible tells us (and history too) that the Romans would eventually break the legs of the person on the cross. They couldn’t stand up anymore and then they’d suffocate.
Heart ripped - Why did Jesus have to die? They took a spear and stuck it in His side just to make sure He had died and it says water and blood came out of the chest cavity. There are many books that have been written on this and doctors say that the only way you get water and blood mixing in the chest cavity is if the heart rips. You can call it what you want, but Jesus died of a broken heart. It exploded. He was saying, “I love you so much it hurts!”
Why did Jesus have to die?
Law of the universe - reap what you sow.
Since you have sinned, you have been reaping death. Wages of sin = death.
Friend taking a punch for me - jumped in.
“God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” ROM. 5:8 (LB)
Jesus took the punch! Jesus hadn’t done anything wrong. He didn’t deserve to die. He didn’t deserve the penalty. What was He guilty of? He was guilty of love in the first degree.
“By the death of Christ we are set free, that is, our sins are forgiven. How great is the grace of God which He gave to us in such large measure!” Eph. 1:7 (GN)
III. THE RESURRECTION OF Jesus Shows HIS POWER
After Jesus died and they took His body down and put Him in the tomb. The tombs of the Middle East are different than the tombs we have here in America. They don’t bury people in caskets under the ground. They would dig caves in the side of mountains, into the limestone, kind of like a mausoleum. They’d dig the caves then dig a trench right in front of the cave and put a giant millstone in front (You can still see these all over the Middle East today.) of the cave. They’d wedge it shut. Then when someone else in the family would die they would take it apart – roll the stone back and put another person’s body into the tomb.
It’s interesting that religious leaders after Jesus died felt a little frightened by all of this. So they went back to Pilate and said, “Jesus claimed that He was going to raise Himself from the dead in three days. We know that’s not going to happen. But, we would like for you to put an official Roman seal over that stone so it can’t be moved and we want you to post guards around it.” In the history of the world, Jesus is the only person who they planted guards at His grave to keep Him from coming out. But this is what the essence of Christianity is. The resurrection. If there were no resurrection, we could just all go home
The resurrection is a historical event. If it did not happen, then Christians are all duped and should be pitied (1 Corinthians 15:19). So what did the empty tomb do for us?
1. The resurrection credentialed Jesus. Jesus was murdered by crucifixion because He claimed to be the “Son of God”, a title that made Him the same as God. The resurrection proved He said Who He said He was.
Romans 1:4 - Jesus was appointed to be the powerful Son of God according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection of the dead.
This means we don’t face death nor the judgment of God without an Authorized Advocate.
2. The resurrection means Jesus is our King. We have a new ethic, that is to love God and to love people. Since Christ is made LORD, we do what He says. He said that the most important thing is to love God, and to love people. He said we should serve others. He said that we should strive to be holy as He is holy.
1 John 3:3 - And everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself just as he is pure.
“We are in fact called to be people of forgiveness in the present because that is the life we shall be living in the future.”
~ N. T. Wright, Evil and the Justice of God (p. 143).
3. The resurrection means our King can defeat anything. This gives us new power to face trials, temptations, and burdens. This is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. We get to have it in us through the Holy Spirit to face anything this world throws at us.
Ephesians 1:18-21- I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what is the wealth of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the mighty working of his strength. He exercised this power in Christ by raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens—far above every ruler and authority, power and dominion, and every title given, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
When your past comes up to haunt you, you are forgiven by resurrection power!
When you present life has obstacles, they are shattered by resurrection power!
When your future seems dim, there is the brightness of hope by resurrection power!
Are you willing to gamble your life that He was wrong? Are you saying that everybody who’s put their trust in Him is a fool? It’s time to vote. It’s time for a verdict. What are you going to do?
A - Admit you need a Savior
B - Believe on Jesus Christ
C - Call Upon Him to save you!
Romans 10:9-10 - If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.