Easter Morning Message - April 20, 2014
Pastor Richard Alcumbrack Southlawn Church of God NO ONE KNEW! I want to make one simple point this morning: Not one person apart from Jesus had any knowledge of God’s plan for the cross, yet it was the most necessary event in human history. Salvation depends on it. 1. Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness - Hebrews 9:22 “In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” God has always required that those who desire to come to Him in worship bring a blood sacrifice. If you remember, Cain’s offering was rejected because it was not a blood sacrifice, as was Abel’s offering. The entire Old Testament sacrificial system was based on blood sacrifices. We may forget that, in that we do not bring sacrifices when we worship. We should remember every time we come to the house of God to worship, our only basis to come before God is through the blood sacrifice offered by Jesus Christ: v. 12 “He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.” v. 15 “For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.” How amazing, that at the cross not one person apart from Jesus Christ, had any inkling of the purpose behind the cross! It should have been clearly seen. Isaiah spoke clearly of a suffering Messiah, one who would bear our sins. Read Isaiah 53. But the Jews didn’t want a Messiah who suffered. They didn’t want a Messiah who died. They didn’t even want a sacrificial Lamb. They wanted a King. They wanted to put down those who had oppressed them. They wanted to be freed from Roman oppression and taxes. In times past they had prayed for deliverance, and God had raised up Judges. Samson, Gideon and others, who brought them deliverance from their oppressors. And for centuries they had prayed for a Deliverer, a conquering Messiah, and they got a Lamb. But now that it’s done, now that we can play Monday morning quarterback, and look back and see the wisdom of God in this glorious plan -- oh, it satisfies our souls as nothing else can. What a perfect, wonderful, all encompassing plan. Looking back - it all fits together so perfectly! Not one person apart from Jesus had any knowledge of God’s plan for the cross, yet it was the most necessary event in human history. Salvation depends on it. 2. Jesus was pierced for our transgressions - Isaiah 53:5 “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.” In fact, we have the gospel here clearly explained, hundreds of years before Jesus Christ was even born, before He even made his grand entrance in the humble manger. “The punishment that brought us peace was upon him” (v.5). Think about that. The Apostle Paul made this same point when writing to the believers at Colossae (Colossians 2:13-15). Our sins were nailed to the cross. This is so vital to the Gospel -- so fundamental. “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” Yet, when Jesus died we have no record that even ONE person recognized what God was up to. How we glory in the cross of Christ today! Yet when it happened the followers of Jesus mourned. With the benefit of hindsight, we recognize the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are paramount to our salvation. So many of our great worship songs glory in the significance of the death of Christ. Consider verse 3 of “How Great Thou Art.” The song wonderfully captures the awe of what transpired: “And when I think, that God His Son not sparing, Sent Him to die, I scarse can take it in. That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing, He bled and died to take away my sin! Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee How great Thou art, How great Thou art! Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee How great Thou art, How great Thou art! So fundamental to our salvation, and yet... Not one person apart from Jesus had any knowledge of God’s plan for the cross, yet it was the most necessary event in human history. Salvation depends on it. 3. The Cross is the Perfect Antidote for our Guilt - Hebrews 9:13-14 “The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!” I want to remind you that the word Testament would better be translated “Covenant.” “Testament” is a word that is largely unused by most people today. Perhaps the same is true of the word Covenant, but at least it’s more descriptive of what the Bible is all about. The Old Covenant was a covenant of blood, the blood of animals sacrificed to take away the sins of the one who brought the sacrifice. The whole religious system was built around animal sacrifices, including a temple, altars, priests and proclamations of forgiveness. Jesus didn’t throw our the sacrificial system - He perfected it. And He had announced that He was going to do so (Luke 22:20): “In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.” The “new covenant” was still based on blood, but rather than the blood of animals, now the blood of a perfect man -- the only begotten Son of God. Perfect. Blameless. We might underscore our main point once again - although Jesus clearly told them the purpose of His death, his followers were still clueless when he was arrested, tried, put to death and buried. Why else would Peter deny Him? I am relatively certain of this: IF Peter would have known the arrest, the trial, and ultimately the cross was part of the plan, and that on the morning of the third day Jesus would rise from the dead, I do not believe He would have denied the one he was convinced was the Messiah. But let’s get back to our third and final point. The Cross of Jesus Christ is the ANTIDOTE for our guilt. Under the first covenant, the old or former covenant, (I’m referring to Hebrews 9:13) the blood of the animal sacrifice only sanctified a person outwardly. It removed the reproach of sin, but it didn’t remove the guilt of sin. The worshiper needed to continually offer more sacrifices for his sin. But notice verse 14 (above): the blood of Jesus Christ satisfies our conscious so that we can serve God. When we consider how God “did not spare His Son, but gave Him up for us all” (Romans 8:32), we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God forgives us. Our forgiveness is sealed by the blood of God’s only begotten Son! And yet: Not one person apart from Jesus had any knowledge of God’s plan for the cross, yet it was the most necessary event in human history. Salvation depends on it. APPLICATION What’s the point? We should recognize the pattern... God doesn’t ask us to understand - just obey (Matthew 16:21-23) “From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” We have our idea of how things ought to play out. And you know what? None of our plans involve suffering. None of our plans involve much struggle. We really are like Peter in our natural thoughts! God doesn’t need us to understand - just trust Abraham obeyed, and acted on trust in God, without knowing the destination or the ultimate plan. And God credited his faith as righteousness. This is how we please God: by trusting Him even though we don’t understand. And if a little bit of suffering (or a lot!) indicates to us that God is no longer in control, we have not yet learned the lesson of the cross. The cross should stand as a reminder to us that God is always in control -- even when not one person on the face of the earth understands what He is up to. He is always working toward His eternal purposes. He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to a knowledge of the truth! What are some of those truths? God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son! God is always in control, working out His plan! God wants us to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that may well involve our own cross! Christ’s work will not be completed until He has fully established the Kingdom of God on earth, defeating all the enemies of God, and ultimately destroying sin and death (the final Judgement). Then God will make all things new, and believers will live with Him in the perfection that was God’s goal from the beginning. And yet... Not one person apart from Jesus had any knowledge that God’s plan required a cross, yet it was the most necessary event in human history. The Kingdom depended on it. Here’s the amazing thing, a little secret just for your benefit. The power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead, it is available to you to help you with your problems when you invite Jesus Christ into your life, and everyone whom you lead and to whom you speak can have that same power too. That’s why preaching on Easter weekend ought to be powerful and positive and filled with hope. We have every reason to preach with a sense of victory. And as you preach, preach for a decision. That doesn’t mean applying undue pressure. As I wrote last week, evangelism isn’t a one-time shot but an ongoing relationship. As you preach, teach, and lead this weekend, allow the story of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection to help you call people to three important decisions. 1. Invite people to love Christ. Even if God never did anything else for me, He purchased our salvation with His own blood and by giving His own life. He went all the way to death on the cross to purchase us out of the slavery of sin. He certainly deserves our love and our devotion. I should love Christ with all my heart. The Bible says, “We love because He first loved us.” 2. Invite people to hate sin. Why? Because it was my sin and your sin that put Jesus on the cross. So when I watch television and I laugh at sin or I watch a movie and laugh at somebody sinning, that is Satan’s way of getting me to lower my standards. Sin is not a laughing matter. Just look at the cross. It is a serious matter and I should hate sin and do everything I can to fight against injustice in the world. 3. Invite people to tell others. The Bible says in Ephesians 1, “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. No longer counting peoples’ sins against them. This is the wonderful message He has given us to tell others.” If somebody died for you, wouldn’t you want to know about it? I think so! Jesus Christ died for your next door neighbor. Jesus Christ died for your mom and dad. Jesus Christ died for your brother and sister. He died for your best friends. Jesus Christ died for the people you work with and go to school with. This is why we do everything we do at Saddleback Church, why we build buildings, train leaders, direct traffic, love kids, and develop small groups. It’s so we can reach one more for Jesus. The typical person that you really want to reach is sitting at home right now totally oblivious to what Jesus has done for them and how much God loves them. To put it more simply, call on people to believe in Jesus, to grow deeper in Him, to find their place in God’s family, to discover their shape for ministry, and to live on mission with God telling others the good news. Res
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AuthorRichard Alcumbrack is in his 20th year as Pastor of Southlawn. It gets better every year! ArchivesCategories |
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