End of Life
Notes
Transcript
Troubled Soul
Troubled Soul
Jesus is in his last week of life and he understands what will transpire in a few short days. His soul is troubled by the brutal death he was going to die, but more excruciating was the wrath of God that He was going to bear for man’s sin. These two factors display his human and divine nature.
Humanity of Christ
Humanity of Christ
Jesus was a 33 year old man that knew he was about to die. One may say, “He knew that he was going to be raised from the dead, so why was his soul troubled.” Often times we lose understanding of the gravity of the situation when we don’t consider the humanity of Christ.
Put yourself in the shoes of Christ. (humanly speaking) If you knew your were going to die a brutal death in a weeks time, would your soul be troubled. Of course! Here you have a 33 year old man that has real emotions. He has a mother, siblings and friends that he knows will be heartbroken over his death. They do not know what he knows.
He knew the type of death he was going to die. He would be betrayed by his closest friends, illegally tried by his own people, beaten beyond recognition, mocked by everyone who walked by his crucified body, nailed to a roman cross and then would die. I would venture to say that this would cause my soul to be troubled.
Deity of Christ
Deity of Christ
Not only would Christ die a brutal death, but the fullness of God’s wrath would be put on Him for all of man’s sin. God did not hold back his wrath because it was His Son. He poured it all out on Him so that our sin could be atoned for. Isaiah 53:4-6
Surely our griefs He Himself bore,
And our sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten of God, and afflicted.
But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him.
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.
Jesus bore the wrath of God for all of humanity. No person other than Jesus could have been able to do this. To put it in perspective. The wrath of God for one person’s sin requires everlasting death in the lake of fire. Jesus bore the wrath of God for all sin. Isaiah 53:10-11
But the Lord was pleased
To crush Him, putting Him to grief;
If He would render Himself as a guilt offering,
He will see His offspring,
He will prolong His days,
And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand.
As a result of the anguish of His soul,
He will see it and be satisfied;
By His knowledge the Righteous One,
My Servant, will justify the many,
As He will bear their iniquities.
Christ bore the iniquities of the many!
Jesus gave himself for the glory of God
Jesus gave himself for the glory of God
Jesus was willing to go through the brutal death and the wrath of God for the sake of God’s glory. Jesus life on this earth was 100% about bringing glory to God. He leaned into this to enable him to go through what was necessary to bring glory to God.Luke 22:40-44
When He arrived at the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”
And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and began to pray,
saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.”
Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him.
And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground.
Jesus knew that his purpose was to give his life as a sacrifice for sinful man. He said, “for this purpose I have come to this hour.”
Our lives were created for the glory of God. 1 Cor. 6:20-21
For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
Westminster first Catechism says: Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever.
What does this look like for your life? What is God’s purpose for you? How will you bring glory to God?
Judgement Has Come To the World
Judgement Has Come To the World
Jesus came into the world to remove sin and defeat Satan. He proclaims two important judgments. The first is the judgement of Satan. The second is the judgement of sin.
Judgment of Satan
Judgment of Satan
Jesus says that the ruler of this world will be cast out. The crucifixion and resurrection was the destruction of Satan. Satan thought that the crucifixion of Jesus was his victory. He believed that Jesus was gone and he had won. Satan had bruised Jesus heal, but Jesus crushed his head. Genesis 3:15
And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her seed;
He shall bruise you on the head,
And you shall bruise him on the heel.”
Jesus resurrection defeated Satan. 1 John 3:7-8
Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous;
the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.
Ultimately, Satan will be cast into the lake of Fire. Revelation 20:10
And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Satan has been judged and is just waiting on his sentence to be executed.
The World is Judged
The World is Judged
God has made provision for mankind to have the sentence of our judgment taken care of by Jesus. Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
When a person puts their faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins, they avoid the judgment of death and receive eternal life. John 3:16-21
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
“For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.
“He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
“This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.
“For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.
“But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”
It is simple. If you trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins then you are not judged and receive eternal life. If you refuse to believe in Jesus for the forgiveness of sins then you are judged and face the same sentence as Satan. Revelation 20:13-15
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds.
Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.
And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Come to the Light!
Come to the Light!
Jesus told the people that when he was lifted up that he would draw all men to himself. He is the one who has died for all who will come. There is no reason that should keep someone from coming to Jesus as their Savior. Your age doesn’t matter, your race doesn’t matter, your socioeconomic position doesn’t matter. The only thing that stops a person is their sin and pride.
John, Volumes 1 & 2 The Offer of Light
From the beginning of his Gospel, John has used light to describe Jesus. Light is an ancient symbol for God, and by applying it to himself, Jesus declared his deity. “The LORD is my light and my salvation,” David sang (Ps. 27:1). Moreover, Jesus’ claim to be a light shining in the world teaches that he is the One who makes God known. It is in this way that Jesus meets the need of this world. James Montgomery Boice writes, “[Men] do not know God. Jesus comes; his light shines upon men. Now those who were in darkness have the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” Therefore, it is by following Christ’s light that those in darkness are led to God.
But now Jesus warns that his light will soon be taken away: “The light is among you for a little while longer.” This made it urgent for anyone who would be saved to believe on him. “Walk while you have the light,” he exhorted, “lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going” (John 12:35). This is Jesus’ warning: the Pharisees and other Jews who were opposing him did not realize what they were bringing onto themselves. To reject the light is to be plunged into a greater darkness. Alexander Maclaren writes: “Rejected light is the parent of the densest darkness, and the man who, having the light, does not trust it, piles around himself thick clouds of obscurity and gloom, far more doleful and impenetrable than the twilight that glimmers round the men who have never known the daylight of revelation.”
We are to come to the Light so we can become sons of the Light!
So how do we handle end of life?
Lean into the glory of God as you approach the end of life and live it to the end.
Make sure you have put your faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. This will keep you from judgement.
Do it now! Don’t wait! The light may not always be available!