The Steps to the Cross

So as we see here, as he's there, and the Lamb without spot, without blemish was to be chosen.

But on Palm Sunday, we see that the very Lamb of God entered the city of Jerusalem.

The one that is the Passover Lamb.

John the Baptist made this statement, the Lamb of God, the one that takes away the sin of the world.

I mean, he made that declaration at the beginning of Jesus' ministry.

And a few days before where we're looking here, we know that Jesus entered into the city of Jerusalem

with a triumphal entry and all that was there.

And it was for what lay ahead, it was Jesus' purpose for that he came into the world.

You know, when he entered Jerusalem, he was there because he had his face set to go.

Because he knew what was going to take place.

You know, the one thing we always have to keep in mind is the crucifixion did not catch Jesus off guard.

And Jesus knew.

But if you found Mark chapter 15, let's look here this morning.

Mark 15 · chapter mention

We'll read a couple of verses here.

Then we'll get into our text for the sake of time here this morning.

But you want to stand together for the honor of reading of the Word of God.

And we'll look down at verses, let's read two verses this morning, verses 15 and 16.

And then we'll cover some others as we go through the text here this morning.

And it says,

Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, as we come before you this morning, Lord, as we look at this text,

the reality of what you've done for us and how you were brought to that point.

Lord, the events leading up to it.

Lord, nothing that surprised you along the way.

But Lord, you had a purpose.

You had a direction and an intention when you went to the cross that day.

You knew even the day you entered Jerusalem for that time,

you knew what was going to take place from that point forward.

Lord, we pray just to have your hand upon each heart, each life here today,

that we might not take that for granted.

We might not take it lightly.

The reality of what you've done for us, that we might be redeemed.

Lord, that we might become a child of God.

And Lord, we ask it all in your precious name.

Amen.

May we be seated.

You know, as we see here, as Jesus had entered in,

and we know that he entered in Sunday, went back,

and he came back on Monday,

and we find that he cleansed the temple and all the things that were there.

You know, he was purifying, getting the leaven out.

You know, you see all the pictures of the Passover in this week.

You see all those elements laying out as Jesus is then questioned.

He's examined.

You know, is he who he says he is?

We know that he met many times every day in the temple,

and he was conversing with them.

But I want you to understand that Jesus knew exactly what was going to take place.

You know, Mark chapter 10, on their way to Jerusalem this time,

Mark 10 · chapter mention

they went every time in Jesus' ministry.

Jesus didn't miss going to Jerusalem for the festivals.

As a matter of fact, the Bible says it was his custom.

It's something he always did.

It was something that he never missed.

And we find here, just again, he heads that same direction,

but this time is different.

And with his disciples, he says,

saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem,

and the Son of Man shall be what?

Delivered unto the chief priests and unto the scribes.

And they shall do what?

Condemn him to death.

And shall deliver him to the Gentiles.

And they shall mock him.

And they shall scourge him.

And they shall spit on him.

And they shall kill him.

And the third day he shall rise again.

I want you to see here,

Jesus told his disciples exactly what was going to take place.

There was nothing that Jesus didn't already know was going to take place,

as we're going to look here this morning.

As the horrible things that men did to him

was nothing that caught him off guard.

He knew exactly when he entered that day,

what was going to take place.

He knew what was needed.

He knew what was required.

But you know, the good part is,

he knew what the outcome was going to be.

He knew why he was there.

He knew what he was going to do for others.

Because it was nothing was a surprise.

He knew those things.

He knew.

But you know, the most important thing is he chose to go.

Have you ever noticed sometimes in life,

if we know something,

especially if something's bad,

we kind of want to delay.

We want to hold off and say,

well, maybe somebody will change their mind.

I want you to understand,

Jesus didn't hesitate to go.

The Bible tells us he set his face towards Jerusalem.

That's a phrase that means he went with intention.

In other words,

even knowing what was going to happen,

he went and said,

I don't care.

There's a purpose.

There's a cause.

There's a reason.

Because there's people that I love that need a Savior.

The Bible tells us that Jesus commended his love towards us,

and while we're yet sinners,

Christ died for us.

When we see what takes place,

and he knew what was going to happen there,

and I want you to understand,

it wasn't a death wish.

Some people try to play it out like Jesus had a death wish,

trying to do things.

Sometimes people try to become famous different ways.

I want you to understand,

that's not what happened.

This is something that was set in place

from the foundation of the world.

It tells us in Ephesians chapter 1.

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

And we understand what's happening,

and even throughout the Scripture,

you'll find that God foretold what was going to happen.

One of the passages of Scripture in the Old Testament this morning,

that this time of year is a good time to read through,

is Isaiah 53.

Isaiah 53, that whole chapter talks about Jesus.

It's a chapter in the Bible you'll find Jews stumble over.

Because they understand it's talking about their Messiah,

but it's not the Messiah they were looking for.

It's not the one that they wanted,

but it's the one God foretold,

and understood, wanted them to know.

You know, in verse 5 of Isaiah 53,

it says,

I want you to understand,

that's a powerful passage

that describes exactly

what Christ was doing.

He understood the cost,

and there was a great cost to go to the cross.

As we're going to look here this morning,

the brutality that Christ faced,

it's hard to describe

to understand what took place.

And when we see this,

you know, Peter describes it this way

in 1 Peter 3,

it says,

Christ also hath once suffered for sins,

the just for the unjust,

that He might do what?

Bring us to God,

being put to death in the flesh,

but quickened by the Spirit.

You know, Jesus went there

because He wanted to bring

you and I to God.

He wants to bring your neighbor to God.

He wants to bring people

on the other side of the world to Him.

Everything He did

was for the sake of people.

That was His purpose.

That was His intention.

And here Jesus is,

He's coming,

He's about to finish

what He had come to accomplish.

You know,

I want you to understand that.

Of all the brutality,

all the things you could describe

when it comes to the cross

and the death of Jesus,

that Jesus did it

because He went,

because He knew

what was required

to accomplish what was needed.

He gave His life

that it might be

a sacrifice for our sin.

So as we look here this morning,

I want you to see here

that as Jesus was there,

He came to accomplish those things,

and that was to take sin

upon Himself,

my sin and your sin.

And He knew

that was going to take place

on the way to the cross.

But we're going to see this morning,

Jesus has now taken

those steps to the cross.

Not just figuratively,

but literally.

As we're going to see here

this morning

as they put that beam

upon His shoulders

to carry,

to walk to the place

that He was going to be crucified.

You know,

we see here

that Pilate had attempted,

we learned last week,

that Pilate didn't want Jesus.

He didn't understand

Jesus was innocent.

You know,

He declared

that He found no fault in Him,

which is the exact picture

that we see

as the Passover Lamb,

the one without spot

or blemish.

The one whose blood

was good to cover the death

and to cover the price of sin.

Pilate attempted

to release Jesus

to no avail.

All they did was cry more.

If you remember,

crucify Him,

crucify Him.

So Pilate here this morning

we're going to see

condemns an innocent man to die.

That's an atrocity to itself

when you consider

here's one that knows

somebody's innocent

and says,

I'm going to condemn you

to death anyway.

We're going to see here

He takes

and condemns

an innocent man.

No valid charge

against Him,

but now Jesus

is going to step

towards the cross.

Notice here

in verse 15,

and so Pilate

willing to content

the people

released Barabbas

Son to them

and delivered Jesus

when He had scourged

Him to be crucified.

Here we see

the Savior is condemned.

You know,

I want you to see

as Jesus

was released

into the custody

of the soldiers

who led Him away

to the courtyard

as the soldiers,

the others,

were called together

because they were

going to do something,

they were going to play

what we might think

is a very cruel game.

This is something

the soldiers

often would do.

The historians tell us

that they would take

a condemned prisoner

and they would do

atrocities

and brutality.

But we're going to see here

they mock,

they're going to mock Him,

they're going to beat Him,

we're going to see

all that takes place.

They went into the courtyard

and the scourging

would have commenced.

That alone

would have been

a brutal beating,

ripping flesh

and bone

from your body.

They complete the scourging

and they take

and they sit Him down

and they put a robe

upon Him.

Here's some men

that had no compassion

for the one

that stood before them.

Here's Jesus' back

is bloody

and bleeding

and His face

is barely recognizable

from the beating

that He had taken

as His blood

runs under the floor

from the scourging

that had taken place.

They confront

the whole band

that had gathered together

so what do they do?

They take off

His clothes,

put a purple robe

upon Him

which would have been

a faded Roman garment.

They take a crown

of thorns

and place it

upon His head.

Now I want you

to understand

that the thorns

they're talking about

are not the thorns

that you find

on your common rose bush

in America.

Those are bad enough.

The thorns

they would have had

would have been

well over an inch long.

It would have been

woven into a crown

that would have been

placed on His head

and it says

they took a reed

and started to smack Him

on the head

driving Him in.

Mocking Him.

The soldiers could do

what they desired.

Their only limitation

on the soldiers

was Jesus had to be alive

when they walked Him

up the hill.

They'd heard about

the charge of Him

being King

so they wanted

to mock Him

about it.

Hail,

King of the Jews!

You'll notice

what it tells them

here in verse 18.

It says,

And He began

to salute Him.

Hail,

King of the Jews!

And they smote Him

on the head

with a reed

and did spit on Him

and bow their knees

and worshipped Him.

And when they had

mocked Him

they took off

the purple from Him

and put on His own clothes

on Him

and led Him out

to be crucified.

I want you to see

this picture this morning

as Jesus is

on His way

to the cross.

You have a group

of people

who mock

worshipping Jesus.

You might say

they understood

the actions

that were supposed

to be.

They were saying

the things

that you might say

were the right things.

Hail,

Jesus,

King!

But you know,

you can say

the right thing

and have the wrong heart

and it becomes mocking.

The mocking

of who Jesus is,

you know,

is something

that still continues

today

because we have

a world

that speaks

about Jesus.

We have a world

that says

we openly

want to worship

Jesus

but they do nothing

towards really

understanding

who Jesus is.

He is nothing

but just a commodity

that they use

or they move.

Something they can

play a game

because there's no love,

there's no desire

to live for Him.

They don't care

about His word,

His will.

They don't care

about His ways.

You know,

the Bible talks

about that very clearly.

It says that they,

it talks about their lips.

Isaiah 29,

Isaiah 29:13

verse 13,

it says,

Wherefore the Lord

said,

For as much

as this people

draw near to me

with their mouth

and with their lips

do honor me

but have removed

their heart

far from me

and their fear

toward me

is taught

by the precept

of men.

In other words,

it's artificial.

Today we have a lot

of artificial religion

that put Jesus up

and say,

Jesus,

yeah,

we'll recognize Him

but we want to do

our own thing.

We can come together

and say all the right things

but we don't care

about Jesus

when it comes

to our life.

You know what?

People are no different

than the soldiers.

You know,

there's people

who come to church

to claim that they know Him

by their words

but will not truly

come to Him

in faith.

You know,

people might feel

the conviction

of the Holy Spirit

and say,

I can't make that decision.

They refuse

to listen

to what God

is working

in their heart.

They know

that they're

far from God.

They know their life,

their heart

testifies to them

that there's a problem

but yet they won't

turn to Him.

They come

and they feel good

because they've set

their time in church.

I've got my duty

checked off

for the week.

It looks good

to everybody.

You know,

we see that they

fail to turn

and submit

to His will

instead of their own.

You know,

the reality of that

is so clear.

When it comes

to the soldiers

and the treatment

of Jesus,

we can see

something else

very important though

because even though

they treated Him

like this,

we see a great picture

through this

that we could talk,

spend much time

but I want you

to point out

of God's grace

and mercy.

Here's the creator

of the universe

being beaten

and bruised

and mocked

and spit on

and hit

and all He

had to do

was say,

take them out.

He had the authority

to call 10,000 angels

to just destroy

everything.

If you have any question

what that might look like,

you can read in the Old Testament,

one angel's pretty

good thing to contest with.

10,000 would be devastating.

And here's Jesus

and He's taking

the onslaught

of abuse

not to make Himself

look good

but for my benefit

and yours.

Turn over to 2 Corinthians

for a moment.

2 Corinthians chapter 5

2 Corinthians 5 · chapter mention

because

I want you to understand

what's happening here.

2 Corinthians chapter 5

2 Corinthians 5 · chapter mention

it says,

For He hath made Him

to be sin for us

who knew no sin.

That we might be made

the righteousness

of God in Him.

I want you to understand

this morning

the wages of sin

is death.

Jesus took

my sin

and your sin

that day.

He did everything

that was needed.

He took our punishment

upon Himself.

He became sin

for us.

That literally means

He took upon Himself

the penalty

associated with it.

That day on the cross

I want you to understand

Jesus was there

in your place.

What we find here

is all this is taking place

the time has come

as Jesus begins

to walk

towards Calvary.

Look at the end

of verse 20

and it says

and they led Him out

to crucify Him.

Now the gospel accounts

really give us

a very light glimpse

into a lot of things

according

of what happened.

I want you to understand

there's a lot of details

it leaves out

but it's details

that aren't

the important part.

It gives us

the important parts.

What's the important part

of what Jesus

was there to do?

What did Jesus accomplish?

Because we could spend

a lot of time

talking about the brutality

talking about all the things

that take place

but that's not

the main point.

The main point

is you have a Savior

who loves you

and God wants you

to know

what He's done for you.

He says

I want you to understand

what took place.

It wasn't the brutality

that took place.

It was that

I became sin

for you.

I took your sin

and put it upon

Him.

Jesus took it.

He paid for it.

He took the wages

of death

your wages

and paid for you.

That's the point

of the cross.

But the time

has come

for Him to go

because it still

needs to be accomplished.

You know

the weight of the cross

was heavy

as Jesus

would have been

exhausted.

I mean a lot of

this time

we've got to go back

and think about

He hadn't slept.

He's been up

over 24 hours

at this point.

It's almost

9 o'clock

the next morning.

He was up

all the day before

did all those things.

He walked.

He moved.

They had the last supper.

He had prayed

in the garden.

They had been arrested.

He had been beaten

and abused all night.

And now it's 9 a.m.

the next morning.

That doesn't sound

too enticing does it?

Just the fact

you've been up all night.

It used to not bother me

as much but I tell you what

I appreciate it more

now as I get older.

You know up all night

is not as near

what it was

when you're 20 years old.

You know 20

you can kind of

shrug it off

but you know

when you get to

my point in life

and above

it's like

this is hard.

It's hard if we haven't

had any of the things

that took place.

Jesus with the

dynamics that had happened

he came unto his own

and his own received him not.

Rejection.

The very one that came

to give life

is now being put to death.

It's interesting

that you find

in verse 21

this little

note in between

that they make mention of.

You have one Simon of Cyrene

you know.

What a person

to get

I mean

we think it's random

I don't think there's

anything random about it.

But I tell you what

you know

you find these individuals

in scripture

that suddenly just

pop out

that God makes note of.

I encourage you to study

some things with him

and his children

because notice

what it says

and they compel

one Simon of Cyrenean

who passed by

coming out of the country

the father of Alexander

and Rufus

to bear his cross.

One Simon of Cyrene

here's Jesus

is too weak

to carry the cross

and the Roman soldiers

compel him

to carry the burden.

Now I want you to understand

you get a lot of things

in our mind today

and we think

you know

we look at a cross

and we think of this picture.

When Jesus went

to the cross that day

the part he bore

was the beam

that was upon his shoulders.

That was the part

that they would take

and make the condemned

carry out.

It was a beam

he was going to be hung from

and here's this Simon

from a Greek city

in North Africa.

He's at the city

with his family

you know what that tells us?

Here's a man

that had come

why was he in Jerusalem?

It was Passover.

You know

we can make some assessments

the Bible doesn't tell us

but you know

everything points to the fact

that Simon was a man

who did love God.

He wanted to honor God.

He was there

with his family.

It wasn't just a trip

across town.

They'd left

earlier

to get there

for the Passover

and here he is

he's coming out

of the country

you've got to remember

this is early in the morning

he's trying to figure out

what's happening

and a Roman soldier

takes him

and compels him.

Now that's an important word

in other words

Simon didn't say

hey Jesus

let me help you

I want you to understand

he was pulled

out of the crowd.

Roman soldiers

could compel anybody

to carry something

for at least a mile.

Remember Jesus said

if they ask you

to go a mile

to go two

this is the same principle

that Jesus

is talking about.

Simon didn't

it wasn't like

well I don't feel like it

Simon had no choice

if he wanted to live

but the Bible tells us

that he took that burden

and helped Jesus

up to the place

he was to be crucified.

That day he was there

with two children

it's interesting

that Mark's gospel

mentions them

you know

when the Bible

mentions people

by name

it tells you

that the people

it was written to

knew who they were.

It wasn't just

a stranger

that they were familiar with

when the Bible

mentions a name

it means the people

that it was originally

written to

understood who it is

because why would you

just make them generic

when people know him.

We see his two sons

Rufus and Alexander

if you want to do

a little interesting things

you can take some time

and notice it

and look up this name

Rufus

it's mentioned a few

other times in scripture

and we find he's a man

that grew up

to serve God.

You can make a lot

of speculation

out of what may have

took in place

but I want you to see

that God used

this event

to change Simon

and his family's

trajectory forever.

They came to the Passover

and came face to face

with the Passover Lamb.

1 Corinthians 5

7 says

for even Christ

our Passover

is sacrificed

for us.

You know today

have you ever come

face to face

with the Lamb

that is your Passover Lamb?

The one who took

and spilt his blood

for you.

Have you ever been saved

by grace

and that you can come

and call upon him

as your Savior?

To trust him

for the salvation

that your soul

requires

that it needs.

He can change

your life

and forever

alter eternity.

I want you to understand

the importance

of that.

This passage

goes on

and

look here

at verse 22

here

and it says

they bring him

unto the place

of Golgotha

which is being

interpreted

the place

of the skull

and they gave him

to drink wine

mingled with myrrh

but he received it not

and when they

had crucified him

they parted his garments

casting lots

upon them

and every man

should take

and it was the third hour

and they crucified him

and the superscription

of the accusation

was written

over the king

of the Jews

and with him

they crucified

two thieves

the one on his right hand

and the other

on his left

and the scripture

was fulfilled

which saith

that he was numbered

with the transgressors

I want you to see here

the site

of the one crucified

with a label over it

that says

king of the Jews

all that's taking place

and we find here

is the place

of the skull

located outside the city

it was about

the third hour

of the day

about 9 a.m.

He's raised up

that all may see

him fulfilled

the Bible says

he fulfilled scripture

in Isaiah 53

where it tells us

he was crucified

between the malefactors

we see here

this picture

it's all referring to it

but I want you to see

something more important

that Jesus said

about this moment

turn over to John chapter 3

John 3 · chapter mention

quick this morning

John 3

when Jesus

is speaking to Nicodemus

early in his ministry

it says

as Moses lifted up

the serpent

in the wilderness

even so

must the son of man

be lifted up

you can go back

and read your

Old Testament account

I encourage you to do so

because you don't have time

to go over that

this morning

but the picture was

that they had

the serpent on the pole

and they had to look

and live

that's the picture

you see

because notice

what he says

the son of man

would be lifted up

that whosoever

believeth in him

should what

not perish

but have what

eternal life

Jesus was lifted up

that you might see

and recognize him

for who he is

we could go into

a lot of other prophecies

that were fulfilled

that day

you know when you realize

that that day

on that hill

the death of Jesus

of Nazareth

and between

the two seas

were just business

as usual

for the crowd

there was nothing

unique to them

it was a blip

on the Roman radar

they didn't see

the significance

in what was happening

that day

but you know what

the news of Jesus' death

made news in heaven

the father

witnessed the death

of the son

and he was

satisfied

sin's penalty

had been paid

sinners could be

redeemed

Jesus Christ

opened the way

to God

that will never

be closed

now anyone

who comes to him

by faith

trusting his death

on the cross

his death

signifies our sin

our own responsibility

to our sin

that Jesus said

I will take

for you

if you recognize

that you're a sinner

that needs a savior

I want you to understand

what Jesus did

that day

is sufficient

for everyone

but I want you to understand

it's only efficient

if it's used

sufficient

is an outstanding thought

but unless it's applied

unless it's used

personally

it does no good

you know

it's like people

you could have food

in the refrigerator

and starve to death

if you choose

not to eat it

you know the reality

is Jesus

said I've satisfied

I've completed

everything that's required

it's sufficient

for all

but unless

you call upon him

unless you take

his salvation

to say I know

I'm a sinner

that deserve

what Jesus got

and ask by faith

to say

I trust

him

that what he did

that day

is applied

to me

that happens

in a moment

in an instant

John 3 36

and well

I want you to see this

look at John 3 36

it says

he that believeth

on the son

hath everlasting life

and he that believeth

not the son

shall not see life

I want you to understand

this points to something

very important

it's

who do you see

Jesus as

because there's a lot

of people who see

Jesus as just a good

person

they see Jesus

as a good teacher

he may meet those

qualifications

but the qualification

that's most important

is far greater

those are just subnotes

unless you realize

who Jesus is

and that he died

for you

in your place

that that day

he took

your sin

upon it

he that believeth

not the son

if you don't believe

that Jesus

is the one

who died

for your sin

you miss everything

it's not just

believing that he is

but believing in

what he's done

for you

because notice

it says

you shall not see life

but the wrath of God

abideth on him

very simply

it's either

you have

God's judgment coming

or your judgment

covered under the blood

of Jesus Christ

this morning

his heads are bowed

and eyes are closed

for a moment

I want you to consider

a few things here

this morning

even your own self

has there been

a moment in time

when you called

upon the Savior

not just saying

Jesus I believe

in you

I believe

about you

but saying

Lord

I know

that I'm a sinner

and that what you did

was for me

to call upon him

just ask Christ

to save you

if you've never done that

I encourage you

this morning

let's make today

the day of salvation

if God's working

on your heart

don't wait

there's no greater joy

than having it settled

but maybe you're here

this morning also

and you know

that you're saved

but you still struggle

with the reality

of what's happened

maybe there's some time

you need to spend

with the Lord

maybe there's some things

you need to get right

with God

saying Lord

you covered so much

for me

can I not

take a moment

to be right with you

what about you today

heavenly fathers

we just come before you

this morning Lord

we thank you

and praise you

for the day

for the opportunity

Lord

as we understand

the reality

of who you are

and what you've done

Lord I pray

just work in a mighty way

Lord I pray

that your spirit

would convict

where convictions needed

encourage

where encouragements needed

Lord I pray

that no one

would depart here today

that doesn't have it settled

for sure with you

of where they stand

whether they're your child

or that your wrath

abides on them

Lord help them not

to abide

to leave today

with that wrath

abiding upon them

that they would look

to you

and live

and Lord we ask it all

in your precious name

Amen

as heads are bowed