The Cross (Jake Enns)

Sermon title for this morning is the cross.

When we look at the idea of a cross in our time, we see them

on church steeples, buildings, we see them in books.

Bibles have embossed crosses on them and we have this idea of a

cross. But in ancient times, during the

times of Jesus, when the government of its time, those

days wanted to execute a criminal, they would oftentimes

do so by nailing them to a cross was a very common practice in

those days. And we're not, we're not used to

that. I don't think any of us here has

ever seen a live person hanging on a cross.

So this morning we want to kind of go all over the place a

little bit in this topic of the cross.

What did it do? What did it mean for Jesus?

What would the impact? What's the impact of it?

Well, let's look, first of all, what the cross did.

What did the cross do? It brought an end to life.

It killed its victim in a very slow, prolonged, agonizing,

painful, humiliating way. First there was the there's the

process of nailing this person on it.

And then was put up right in the hole and it stood there.

This person is hanging there, dying slowly, bleeding and

dying. The idea behind it was to make

it last. To execute with a sword was too

swift, too too too too quick. They wanted this person to feel,

and they did. The Roman government had some

rules. One of the rules, one of the

laws, was that you could not crucify a Roman citizen.

That was too dehumanizing, too degrading.

And no matter what you did, if you're a Roman citizen, you

would never be nailed on a cross.

It didn't happen. History has it.

Tradition says so. I don't know if it's true.

I believe it possibly is, but the Apostle Peter was crucified.

It's not in the Bible, but the Apostle Peter, according to

tradition, was crucified. He didn't think himself worthy

to be crucified like his Lord Jesus.

So he asked to be crucified upside down.

There's there's records, there's stories that of that.

Now did it happen? I cannot say, but very possibly

because a lot of people were crucified.

But then the Apostle Paul, tradition has it, he was not

crucified. He was beheaded.

Now, why might that be? Well, Paul was a Roman citizen.

He was a Jew. Peter was a Jew.

Paul was a Roman citizen, Peter was not.

It makes sense. Another thing about the cross,

it was a form of communication for the Roman government to

really show who's in power and who's boss and who's not.

Of course, the man who got nailed to the cross was not in

power. Of course, they were vanquished,

but then let's look at the teachings of Jesus and we'll

bring this together eventually here.

Let's look at the teachings of Jesus for just for a little bit.

And it's amazing and it's surprising to me how often He

referenced the cross. You can jot these scriptures

down if you want. Matthew 10 verse 38 or Matthew

Matthew 10:38 Matthew 16:24

16 verse 24 or Luke 9 verse 23 and Luke 1427, The most

Luke 9:23

disgusting, despicable, abhorrent method of execution.

He says that, by the way, is the standard or the level to which

you have to be willing to go to follow me.

Those are Jesus words. Then later Paul as an apostle

takes this teaching and he goes and uses that as his foundation

for planting churches. 1st Corinthians 18.

It's not verse 18 one verse 18 I believe it is.

He says for the message of the cross is foolishness to those

who are perishing, obviously, but to those of us for being

saved, it is the power of God because the cross killed sin.

Jesus lived a life of the cross long before he was nailed to 1.

He lived a life of submission to the Father, a life of self

denial, self sacrifice, service to humanity.

In other words, he lived a life of the cross, and when Jesus

died on the cross, he once and for all broke the power of sin

and death over humanity. Jesus did not lose on the cross.

He conquered death by dying on it and then rising to life a few

days later. He willingly gave his life to

die on the cross, and then by doing that, dying on the cross,

rising from the dead, he forever conquered death.

And what is so amazing about the story of the cross is He didn't

do it in anger because he was forced to or he had to.

He volunteered to. What this tells us about Jesus

is how much worse we have in his eyes.

You see what some when something is of great importance to you,

when something is of great value to you, you will go to great

lengths to obtain that, whatever that may be.

The question we need, we need to ask ourselves from time to time

is how much are we worth to Jesus?

What length did He go to to redeem us?

He willingly went to the cross on our behalf.

He suffered. It's cruelty, it's shame, it's

agony and humiliation. Why?

Because He loved us. You ever wondered how much you,

I, we are worth to Jesus? He says in Romans 5.

Paul says in Romans 5 verse 8, while we were still sinners,

Romans 5:8

Christ died for us. We were not yet even saved when

it happened. Now if Jesus would start taking

inventory, and I use this sometimes when I visit with

people who are going through hard times.

I use this illustration sometimes.

If Jesus would start taking inventory of people and He would

have to now put a price tag on each human individual, how much

would you be worth to him or me or us together?

If God would put a price tag on each one of us, you know, price

tags in the store, Imagine that there would be no one on

discount. There'd be no one on sale or 50%

off. Nobody would make the clearance

rack in his eyes. You and I, we have eternal

value, unending infinite value. Think about that.

Jesus as godson, He has infinite value, and yet He was willing to

lower himself, become a human and do what?

Die on a cross? It does not matter old or young,

rich or poor, the richest billionaire to the poorest St.

person, the oldest, wisest person to the newborn or the

person on the street. If God would put a sticker price

on you and me, He would say the life of my son.

That would be the price. And this is a free gift that God

extends to us through grace. When we believe in Him, we put

our faith in Him, and it's available to every human being

who wants it. God does not show favoritism.

I want to mention something here before we get to the scripture

passages. Over the last year, something's

been on my mind that I've been really spending a lot of time

thinking about. In my heart, I know what I

believe and have for decades, and I've never really paid deep

attention to the different various interpretations of the

gospel, specifically salvation. But since last year had numerous

people come to me with questions about salvation, how do I

understand it? What do I believe about

salvation? So on.

So I've done a lot of thinking and reading and listening and so

on. And I will just say this.

There are preachers online and in churches and Bible teachers

who say Jesus didn't die for everybody.

He died for the call of the elect.

That's it. He didn't die for those who will

not be saved. He only died for those who would

choose to be saved. And they use different,

different words that are maybe hard for some to understand like

predestination and so on. And I won't take time in this

room to unpack it all, but let me just say this.

Jesus never taught that a purse person does not have a choice.

And responding to his invitation, he never said that.

He never taught that. And this whole point in bringing

us to salvation is he wants a relationship with us.

Why else do you think He calls people to repent and believe and

be saved? And it's over and over and over

again in Scripture. Why do you think Jesus

constantly called, invited, warned, encouraged, and drew

people to Himself if they have no choice and can't reject

salvation if He chooses them? Here's what I believe.

God wants to have a relationship with you and me, and it's free.

If it's not free, it's not a relationship.

And if it's free, it can be terminated, it can be rejected,

and sadly, some do. Jesus made it possible for you

and me to be in relationship with Him when He took our place

on the cross and He died for our sins.

And today this gift of salvation is free by grace to those who

want it. He draws us to Himself.

Yes, but we, you and I, we do the accepting or the rejecting.

There's a very well known verse in Scripture that I've, I'm sure

many of you know off by heart. John 316 For God so loved the

world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever

believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting

life. This is 1 passage of many, but

this passage tells us God so loved humanity, the world, not

select, He gave his only begotten Son, that whoever, not

only some, whoever believes in him, should not perish but have

everlasting life. That means this means we have a

choice. It tells us God valued us far

more than we can ever know. Jesus valued and loved human

beings above all else. For some people this is a hard

thing to understand and accept, and understandably so sometimes,

given the environment they've grown up in, or how they've been

trained and taught and so on. Is it safe to say that there are

people who love themselves a lot less than God loves them?

Just a thought. We are purchased by the blood of

Jesus. That happened when he died.

So let's look deeper into the story and how it unfolded.

What was Jesus cross? Let's look at that as well #2

what was Jesus cross? Well, we know he died on a

wooden cross, but he lived a life of the cross long before

that day when he was nailed to 1.

We know Jesus often said to his followers, if anyone wants to

follow me, let him take up his cross and follow me.

He was not referring to a literal physical cross when he

said those words. He was referring to a lifestyle,

to a way of life, and he modeled it before he actually died on

it. But nevertheless, it was on Good

Friday that Jesus made the final ultimate sacrifice when he

physically died on a Roman cross.

But he had already carried a cross of service and ministry

long before now. He was finishing this ministry

with one final act of self sacrifice so that all people

could have access to him for all time.

When we think of the cross, we all too easily just think of a

wooden cross. But on a day like today, we

remind ourselves that a cross in the biblical sense is not

something pretty, something to admire.

It is an instrument of death. And I'm not saying we shouldn't

have a beautiful cross hanging somewhere as a reminder.

It's not my point. But that's not what a cross is,

really. And the other thing about Good

Friday, I've often wondered about this.

Why is it called Good Friday? It's good for us.

Wasn't good for Jesus in the sense of what he went through,

but it's good in the outcome of it.

When we talk about Jesus, when we read about Jesus, we find

only love and forgiveness from him and all of this, there was

no hate or anger or malice in him at all.

And on the day he died, he made the biggest payment ever by

dying on a cross and giving his blood for our sins. 2nd

Corinthians 5 verse 21 the apostle Paul writes for he made

him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the

righteousness of God. What does that mean?

Our debt became Jesus's debt. He decided to pay for it.

He volunteered for it. God sent him and he he, he says

I lay my life down. Nobody takes it from me.

I lay it down on my own. So again, does Jesus death on

the cross for me have the same value for me that my life is to

him? In other words, would I or do I

hold Jesus as closely to my heart as he holds me to his?

By reading the biblical accounts, we know what we're

worth to Him, His life, and how. The question becomes, is He

worth that much to us too? To understand and appreciate

what He did for us, we must look.

We must study what really happened.

And we know that for Jesus to redeem us from sin, it cost him

first and foremost everything. I mentioned that Jesus carried a

cross in life, not just when he went to Golgotha, to Calvary.

He carried a cross in his life. But let's look at some of the

things that happened even before.

We know the final outcome of Good Friday.

He died, was dead, buried in a grave.

We know those things. But God choose to use the evil,

sinful deeds of mankind to bring this about, to allow a son to be

killed and to die for our sins. So let's look at #3 the pain of

the cross. Jesus didn't suffer cheerfully

with a smile on his face. There was deep and real pain.

In many ways, and I've sometimes said it this way, the cross was

not meant to be an easy thing. It was an instrument of self

denial of pain. Jesus lived the life of the

cross before he physically died on it.

Part of what makes a life of the cross so painful is that it

intersects with one's life at so many levels.

And it did that in Jesus life too, and we'll do that in our

life too, if we decide to take up our cross and follow Jesus at

the human level in his day-to-day life.

The Pharisees caused Jesus a lot of pain.

So there was pain at that level. They had turned against him

because he interfered with their teachings, their sinful

lifestyles, their corrupt ways. They rejected him.

On Palm Sunday when Jesus wrote into the city of Jerusalem, that

was last Sunday, the crowds, even children were praying,

praising and shouting and worshipping and the Pharisees

upset about it. They didn't like it.

Let's let's read chapter Luke chapter 19, verse 37 and onward

Luke 19:37

to the end of verse 40, Luke 1937 to verse 40.

This is now going back to last Sunday.

Then as he was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of

Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice

and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they

had seen, saying, Blessed is the king, who comes in the name of

the Lord, peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.

And some of the Pharisees called to him from the crowd, Teach or

rebuke your disciples. But he answered and said to

them, If I if I tell you that if these keeps silent, the stones

would immediately cry out. For Jesus as a man, it was a

very difficult and emotionally hard thing to see the deep

rooted and strongly entrenched sin and spiritual blindness of

the Jewish leaders, especially the leaders.

The leaders and Pharisees had turned God's laws into

self-serving programs that took advantage of the people for

their own personal gain and Jesus was deeply troubled by

that. But then there are also the

disciples, the Last Supper, and even before they were also

worshipping. And they're also thinking, yeah,

Jesus is going to come now and we're going to Jerusalem.

He's going to inaugurate the Kingdom and we're going to throw

out the Romans and we're going to be the national government.

They're all excited about what Jesus is going to do.

And they're saying, I'll be this and I'll be that.

And they were arguing among themselves and what did Jesus

do? How did Jesus respond to all of

that in fighting and so on. Luke 22, verse 19, let's go

Luke 22:19

there. Luke 2219 and onward says, and

he took bread, gave thanks and broke it and gave it to them,

saying, this is my body which is given for you.

Do this in remembrance of me. That was communion which we'll

celebrate here at the end of this sermon.

He brought His disciples together for the Passover meal

to bind them together to to bond them together in one unity, and

didn't go as as it could have. Let's read verse verse 20.

And then on likewise He also took the cup after supper,

saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood which is

shed for you. But behold, the hand of my

betrayer is with me on the table, and truly the Son of Man

goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he

is betrayed. Then they began to question

among themselves which of them it was who would do this thing?

Who's going to be right? Verse 24.

Now there was also a dispute among them as to which of them

should be considered the greatest.

What? They weren't getting it.

While Jesus was trying to teach his disciples about sacrifice

and suffering, the disciples were already jockeying for

position in what they believed would be the new government.

They completely missed the point where Jesus was getting ready to

suffer. They were getting ready to rule.

They were blind. Are there times in our lives

when we're blind? When we fail to see what's

happening in our own lives, in the lives of others, this is an

area of weakness in the church. Many times people see following

Jesus as something to gain status and position and control.

Fast forward and and from Palm Sunday to Thursday night.

Then Friday morning it was the Pharisees who egged the crowd on

and stoked their anger. Was they who said crucify him,

crucify him. Not just did the Pharisees hurt

Jesus, not just did the disciples hurt Jesus, so did the

people. Again, back to to Palm Sunday.

We're back to Luke 19 verse 41. As he drew near, he saw the city

Luke 19:41

and wept over it, saying if you had known even you, especially

in this day, this your day, that things that make for peace, but

now they're hidden from your eyes.

For the days will come upon you when your enemies will build an

embankment around you, surround you, enclose you and on every

side and level you and your children within you to the

ground. And they will not leave on you

and you one stone upon another, because you did not know the

time of your visitation. Jesus saw this coming.

And in 76 AD it literally happened.

Jerusalem was destroyed. So Thursday, Palm Sunday,

through the week, teaching in the temple, Thursday night,

Friday morning, people just kept missing it.

Then there was Gethsemane. Jesus was hurt by the judgement.

The hardest thing for him was to experience the punishment of sin

when he had done nothing to deserve it.

Matthew 26, we read. Then Jesus came with him to a

place, verse 36, Matthew 2636. Jesus came with them to a place

called Gethsemane and said to the disciples, sit here while I

go and pray over there. And he took with him Peter and

the two sons of Zebedee. And he began to be sorrowful and

deeply distressed. Then he said to them, My soul is

exceedingly sorrowful even to death, Stay here and watch with

me. He went a little farther and

fell on his face and prayed, saying, Oh my Father, if it is

possible, let this cup pass for me.

Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.

Then he came to his disciples and found him sleeping, and said

to Peter, What could you not watch with me one hour?

Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.

The Spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Again a second time he went away and prayed, saying, Oh my

Father, if this cup cannot pass away from me unless I drink it,

your will be done. And he came and found them

asleep again, for the for their eyes were heavy.

So he left them, went away again, and prayed the third

time, saying the same words. Then he came to his disciples

and said to them, Are you still sleeping and resting?

Behold the hours at hand. The Son of Man is being betrayed

into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going.

See, my betrayer is at hand. This was the most agonizing time

in his life, and he agonized alone.

Then the soldiers came. They arrested him, bound him up

and off. He was led to the high priest it

says in John 18 verse 12 and on says then the detachment of

John 18:12

troops and the captain and the officers of the Jews arrested

Jesus and bound him. They led Him away to Anas first,

for He was the father-in-law of Caiaphas who was high priest

that year when he was before the leaders.

And remember this is early Friday.

He was treated very poorly. They spat in his face.

We read Matthew 26 verse 67. They spat in his face, they beat

Matthew 26:67

on him, they struck him with palms with their hands, saying

prophecies to us. Christ, who's the one who struck

you? There was not a lot of good

about that except that we got redeemed.

After that, he was sent to Pilot.

Things did not go any better. Pilot actually wanted to release

him because he said, I don't see any reason why he should be

killed. And that's when they said, if

you release this man, you're no, you're not.

You're no friend of Caesar. Pilots saw what was happening.

They were starting. They're cornering him.

So he sided with a crowd, handed Barabbas over to be released and

Jesus to be crucified. It says in John 19 verse one it

says So then Pilate took Jesus and scourged him and the

soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on his head.

They put on him a purple robe and they said hail king of the

Jews, and they struck him with their hands.

He gave them what they wanted. Jesus got whipped, beaten, and

the Jews insisted on crucifixion and he gave that in that as

well. And He was made to carry a cross

to his death. It was a heavy cross and he

couldn't carry it by himself. He was too weak by that time.

And so a man coming in from the country was stopped, and you

take his cross, and so he had to carry it.

But John 19 verse 17 says he, bearing his cross, went out to a

John 19:17

place called the place of a skull, which is in Hebrew called

Daldatha. And there, outside the city,

Jesus was nailed to a cross. Luke 2332 adds a bit more detail

to the story. And it says there were also two

others criminals LED with him to be put to death.

And when they came to the place called Calvary, there they

crucified him and the criminals, one on the right hand and the

other on the left. He was just a common criminal.

That's how they viewed him. And yet Jesus voluntarily

accepted all this as a part of God's plan for him to pay for

the sins of the world. He lived out the life of the

cross in every aspect, in every part of the way, emotionally,

spiritually, physically, everything.

And then he died. His death was no less dramatic

than his suffering. We read in the forces of nature.

Even God sent darkness and there was an earthquake and then one

of the Gospel that says the Roman centurion said truly, this

was the Son of God for salvation to happen, this had to happen.

You and I cannot pay for our sins and live.

That's a that's a true statement.

We, you and I, we cannot pay for our sins and live.

We can only have Jesus pay and then we live.

God designed it so that sin cannot survive due to its

nature. Sinful living, selfish living,

always leads away from God. It destroys.

It never brings life. Sin must meet its death by its

own actions. When sin happens, a debt is owed

and the debt must be paid. In eternity there will be no

balance owing. There will be no unpaid debt.

All the debt of sin is paid, but held to account for those who

won't receive it. For people who reject it,

they'll be held accountable for their own sins.

They'll spend eternity separated from God.

Sin can only be paid for with life.

Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

Hebrews Chapter 9, verse 22. The writer says according to the

Hebrews 9:22

law, almost all things are purified with blood, and without

shedding of blood there is no remission.

God knew from the beginning that because of sin in the world,

blood would have to be shed so His people could live.

Sin and holiness cannot coexist side by side.

So what's the lesson for us in the cross?

What does the cross matter for you and me today?

We can turn to the cross, embrace, welcome it and treasure

it, or we can reject it and turn away.

The choice is ours to make. There's a judgment coming.

And all who repented, who put their faith in Jesus, who are in

relationship with Jesus, they will spend eternity with Jesus.

We, you and I, we get to choose in the Gospel of Matthew.

I won't read the passages. We have the story of Jesus

coming in his glory. Matthew 25 He sits on his

throne, and the nations are before him.

And he'll separate the sheep from the goats.

And he'll say to the sheep on his right, come blessed by my

Father, and inherit the Kingdom, prepared for the foundation of

the world. I was hungry, you fed me,

thirsty you give me to drink, a stranger you took me, and naked

you clothed me sick, and you visited me.

And they'll say, when did we ever do that?

And he says what you did to the least of these, you did for me.

You see, friends, that's the life of the cross in action.

The life of the cross means walking with Jesus, living for

Jesus, embracing the opportunities he provides for

us. There's also the other side.

He also that says in Matthew 25 as well, that he turns to those

on his left. He says, depart from you, curse

into the everlasting fire, prepare for the devil and his

angels. They wonder why he says, you

didn't invite me. You didn't give me to drink.

You didn't visit me. Is it?

When did we not do it? He said he will say in verse 45,

I say to you as much as you did not do it for one of the least

of these didn't do it for me. And they will go into

everlasting punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.

These are sobering words. On Good Friday was when that

divide happened. Unless the story of Easter

results in a changed life in US, it's empty and has no meaning.

There's no detour, there's no shortcut.

Everyone comes to the cross, to God.

That's the only way. His victory on the cross is our

salvation. That's the gift.

We don't have to earn it, We don't have to work for it.

We just live it out. So I encourage us this morning,

let's surrender ourselves to Him continually.

Jesus suffering was deep and very real and painful.

It was at every level, emotional, spiritual, physical,

and in every aspect. He died for us.

You see our sins with our names on them, we're laid on Jesus.

So what does it do to you and me?

Do we just yawn and think, OK, what's for lunch?

Are we willing to carry a cross? Where the true Church of Jesus

Christ is, there is also a cross.

Without faith. Without a cross, there's no

hope. Without a cross, it's not really

faith. Without the cross, there's

really no relationship with Jesus.

This morning we again want to celebrate communion.

We want to celebrate what Jesus did for us.

We want to participate and remind ourselves what Jesus did

on the cross for us. He paid our penalty.

So as we celebrate communion, may our hearts, our minds and

focus be on Jesus and what he did for us.

I want to go to prayer and as I pray that the worship team will

come up, our ministerial will come forward and distribute the

bread and the juice. Then you want to celebrate

communion. So that's let's pray.

Lord Jesus, you gave not just much, not just a portion, You

gave everything. You love this world so much that

you gave your Son your all so that whoever believes can have

eternal life. Whoever believes will have

eternal life. Lord, on this side of eternity,

we will never fully understand at all, but we can remind

ourselves repeatedly of your love for us and how much you

loved us. Lord, may you be our King and

Lord, maybe worship you a Savior, but especially also as

King and Lord. Help us, Lord, to remember what

you did for us. Lord, as we celebrate communion

here now, this morning, may our hearts be right with you.

Lord, we pray that we'll continually reflect on what

you've done for us by dying for our sins and help us to

surrender fully and totally at all times.

We thank in Jesus name, Amen.