Cross of Jesus Wonders of

The transcription discusses Jesus Christ as a compassionate leader, focusing on his sacrifice and the significance of the crucifixion. It delves into the historical context of crucifixion, its brutality, and the theological implications of Jesus' death. The passage emphasizes the joy and purpose behind Jesus' sacrifice, contrasting it with temporary happiness. It also explores the symbolism and power of the cross in Christian beliefs, highlighting the planned nature of Jesus' crucifixion for salvation. Ultimately, it reflects on the profound love and sacrifice of Jesus for humanity. 今天早上我想說幾句關於耶穌基督的領袖和領袖的奇蹟 祂的領袖是如此的慈悲 祂在第17章第五章的天堂的榮耀之中 祂在這片地球之前 因為祂說 當祂向父親祈禱時 祂說 祝福我 以我曾與你一起的榮耀 祂說 祂在這片地球之前 祂說 祂向父親祈禱時 祂說 祝福我 以我曾與你一起的榮耀之中 祂說 祝福我 以我曾與你一起的榮耀之中 祂說 祝福我 以我曾與你一起的榮耀之中 祂說 祝福我 以我曾與你一起的榮耀之中 祂說 祝福我 以我曾與你一起的榮耀之中 祂說 祝福我 以我曾與你一起的榮耀之中 祂說 祝福我 以我曾與你一起的榮耀之中 祂說 祝福我 以我曾與你一起的榮耀之中 If you will, let's turn to Hebrews chapter 12, beginning in verse 1. I'll use the New King James Version. In Hebrews chapter 12, In Hebrews chapter 12, beginning in verse 1. beginning in verse 1. Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, As the writer had mentioned those great witnesses of chapter 11, As the writer had mentioned those great witnesses of chapter 11, He said, Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, He said, Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, Let us lay aside every weight, Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. He says we're to look unto Jesus. He says we're to look unto Jesus. He's the author and the finisher of our faith. He's the author and the finisher of our faith. Who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, Who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despised in the shame, despised in the shame, and hath sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. and hath sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. and hath sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. I've studied that, and I've looked at that, and I've pondered on that, concerning Jesus, concerning Jesus, who for the joy that was set before him, who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despised in the shame, and I thought how can it be joyous and I thought how can it be joyous to go to the cross? to go to the cross? And that's what it says. Who for the joy that was set before him, Who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despised in the shame of that cross. It was the most despicable way that you could be put to death. that you could be put to death. And he did that for us. You know why it was joy for him? You know why it was joy for him? You know, as I mentioned this in class probably when I coached football and baseball, I did that for 17 years on the junior high and high school level. And there's a difference in happiness and joy. Happiness is based upon what is happening right now. We would win a ball game. We were happy. When we lost a ball game, we were unhappy. We were sad. But if we looked out over the career of 17 years of coaching, it was a joyous time of my life. And if you played athletics, looking back at your time of those athletic days on a team, most likely you have a joyous remembrance of it. But it wasn't happy when you're doing all those win sprints. Jesus was not happy. You remember he prayed in the Garden of Death saying, and they let this cup pass from me. But he said, not my will, but your will. But it was joy to go that cross because he knew what the results would bring for us. And that's how much he loved us. Crucifixion was invented by the Persians in 522 B.C. My source of information is from F.T. Ratiff and L. Sears from the Department of English and Classical Culture, University of the Free State. Crucifixion in Isaiah chapter was written about Jesus being crucified in Isaiah chapter 53 in about 700 B.C., and crucifixion hadn't even been invented at the time Isaiah told us. So Jesus, before he came to this earth, he knew how he was going to die, didn't he? In the 4th century B.C., Alexander the Great brought crucifixion forward from the Persians. According to my source I just gave you. The Phoenicians introduced it to Rome in the 3rd century B.C. concerning crucifixion. The Romans perfected it. I mean, they knew what that nerve ending was when they had nailed that spike. And they used it, the Romans used crucifixion for 500 years. It was the most despicable way to put someone to death. Roman Constantine, you remember in the 4th century, I think he ruled from like 306 A.D. to 336. He'd gone away with crucifixion. No doubt today it'd be ruled unconstitutional in our nation, wouldn't it? Because of the cruelty of it. According to the books that I studied, a person normally hung in crucifixion from six hours, that's what Jesus and the two thieves hung, six hours to up to four days. The ones that were crucified were beaten before they were nailed to the cross. Hemorrhage, dehydration, a heart attack often was the cause of death. And the Romans protected this. The crime of the one being crucified was put above their head. You remember Jesus, king of the Jews, they couldn't find anything of sin so they just put king of the Jews. In Hebrews 10 in verse 32 and 33 the new American standard was remember the former days, the writer said, when after being enlightened. You remember those days you Hebrew Jews who had become Christian and some of you were thinking about giving up Jesus and going back under the law of Moses? You remember those former days? You became a Christian and you were enlightened, you endured a great conflict back then of sufferings partly by being made a public spectacle. What do you think Jesus was made? A public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations and partly by becoming shared with those who were so treated. You went through a lot of that you Hebrew Jews who had become Christian and now some of you want to give that up, give up Jesus, give up what he did for you and go away and go back under the law of Moses? Let's read John chapter 19 verse 31 to 34. John chapter 19 verse 31 beginning Therefore it was a preparation day talking about Jesus' crucifixion that the body should not remain on the cross of the Sabbath for that Sabbath was a high day. Sabbath was a Saturday, well we know it was a Saturday, also it was the Passover, that's why it was a high day, it was the Passover. You know Paul mentioned this about Jesus being our Passover? This was a high day. The Jews asked Pilate that the legs might be broken that they might be taken away, all three of them. They asked to break all three of them's legs. The two thieves and Jesus. So they went to Pilate to ask for this. And then the soldiers they came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Jesus but when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead they did not break his legs. You see, if you're hanging on the cross and your arms are spread and they got your feet nailed to that piece of wood and what happens is there's a diaphragm inside your chest it sinks down, it cuts off your air and you have to push up to get a drop of air. And that's how you believe. And so these Jews went to Pilate and you see they became religious then didn't they? They didn't want the bodies to hang over the Sabbath especially the Passover. So break their shin bones, crush them. Why? So they can push up and get a drop of air. What a Savior. The wonders of the cross. And the word wonder according to Webster's dictionary is defined as a cause of astonishment or admiration, marvel. Webster's dictionary defines metaphor as a figure of speech in which a word or phrase literally denoting one kind of object or item is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them. In 1 Corinthians 1 and verse 18 you American standard, for the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. In Galatians 6 and verse 14, but may it never be, Paul said, that I would boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. The power of God for man's salvation is in the gospel of Jesus in Romans 1 and verse 16. The cross was not an accident by God, it just didn't happen. It was planned by God, wasn't it? In Isaiah chapter 53 and verse 10, it was planned by God to crush his son. It pleased the father, it says in the American standard to crush his son. Jesus was required to shed blood. He couldn't have died of a heart attack. Jesus couldn't have died of cancer. He couldn't have died of an accident. You remember Jesus was talking to those Jews in Luke 13 and verse 3. He goes back and he said, well, they were trying to mock him about the Galileans that Pilate had killed and took their blood, verse 1 of Luke 13, and mixed it with the animal blood. Oh, they must have been worse sinners than anyone else. And Jesus said, I tell you, no, but except you would stand. You're a light, wise priest. Then he talked about the Tower of Siloam. He said, what about those 18 that the Tower of Siloam fell that was in Jerusalem and they died? That was an accident. It fell on them. Jesus couldn't have died of an accident. He couldn't have died of cancer. He couldn't have died of a heart attack. He had to die to death on the cross for us. In Acts 7 and verse 58, when they, the Jews, had driven Stephen out of the city, they began stoning him and the witnesses laid aside their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul, who later became the Apostle Paul. In Revelation 1 and verse 5 to him, speaking of Jesus who loved us and released or washed us in the New King James Version from our sins by blood. Soaking water wouldn't do it. It took the blood of Jesus. In John chapter 12 and verse 27, Jesus said, Now my soul has become troubled. You remember we were talking earlier, there's a difference of happiness and joy. Now my soul has become troubled. And what shall I say? Father save me from this hour, but for this purpose I came to this hour. In verse 32 of John 12, and Jesus said, If I am lifted up, if I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all peoples to me. That's crucifixion. That's taking the cross. They would lay, they would lay according to my source, the cross would lay and they would have a hole dug in front of it. And they would lay the cross down flat on the ground and they would lay the person on the cross and they would nail them to the cross and they would pick the cross up at the head and drop it in the hole. You can just imagine the tearing of the flesh. And that's what Jesus said, If I am lifted up from the earth. That's what it says. In John 12 and verse 32, I will draw all men to myself. But it's under his conditions that we come to him. The cross will draw all men to Jesus. We are to stand behind the cross as a gospel preacher and not in front of it. The emphasis is not to be on the preacher, but it's to be on the cross of Jesus. Preachers stand behind it with the Lord out front. The cross was a central theme of preaching in the first century, wasn't it? And it's to be the same today. The cross drew both the Jews and the Gentiles together. Remember in Ephesians chapter 1, verse 22 and 23, as Paul is writing to the church at Ephesus. And notice what he says in verse 22, And he, God, put all things under his, Jesus' feet. And he gave him to be head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. You see, we're Gentiles. We're not Jews. And thank God that we've been allowed by God to be a part of that body, the church that Jesus purchased with his own blood. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1, 23 through 25 in the American standard, Paul said, But we preach Christ crucified. To the Jews, it's a stumbling block. But to the Gentiles, it's foolish. But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God, because of the foolishness of God, is wiser than men. You know, the Jews said, Oh, this is foolishness. I mean the Gentiles. The Jews said it's a stumbling block. Let's look a few moments at some of the paradoxes of this cross. You know, differences. Opposite, light and darkness. The word paradox, according to Webster's dictionary, is a statement that is seemingly contradictory or opposed to common sense, and yet perhaps it's true. The cross of Jesus was the most tragic event in the history of man. But to we that are Christian, it was the most wonderful event in the history of man. The cross of Jesus was the saddest spectacle man has ever beheld. Yet it came out of the greatest joy. Isaiah 53 in verse 10. It pleased the Father for Jesus to go to the cross. And it pleased and gave Jesus joy to go there, as we read in Hebrews chapter 12 in verse 2. The cross of Jesus seemed to be Satan's greatest victory. But it was his greatest defeat. Now he understands Genesis 3 15. Satan understands Genesis 3 15 now. When God was speaking to Satan, he said, he said, You'll bruise his heel, but he'll bruise your head. The bruising of the heel is the crucifixion, but the bruising of the head is Jesus going to the cross and God raising him from the dead. That's a crushing blow upon the head of Satan. Jesus surrendered all and he expects us to surrender all. Jesus said in Matthew 11 28 and 29. It tells us, well let's just read that. In Matthew chapter 11 28 and 29. Notice what a Savior we have. He said, Come to me all you who labor and heavy laden. And I'll give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your soul. Take my yoke, it is easy, and my burden is light. I tell you how you can judge what hell will be like. If the Lord himself went to the cross, the cruelest way to be put to death, and he did it for us, can't we imagine what hell would be like? From what he went through for us? The cross was God's greatest manifestation of how God hates sin. And yet the cross was God's supreme proof of how much he loves us. The cross was the darkest hour in man's history and yet it was the time for the greatest light to come upon the earth. In Matthew 27 and verse 45 the New American Standard Now from the sixth hour, high noon, to the ninth hour, three in the afternoon, darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour. Matthew 27 and verse 45, New American Standard In the cross we see human vengeance as they cried out and mourned with blood, didn't they? They didn't want to stone him to death, they wanted him crucified. They cried out for his blood and yet we see the divine forgiveness of sin when Jesus hung on the cross those Roman soldiers you know they cast lots for one garment divided one into four parts and he said, Father, forgive them for they do know not what they do. Luke 23 and verse 34 verse in the New American Standard In the cross it portrays man's sinfulness and God's holiness. The cross signifies human weakness and divine strength. It is not surprising to have as we sing the song when I survey the wondrous cross. The wonder of the victim, Jesus of the cross. He's man's best friend, isn't he? In Matthew chapter 15 and verse 13 Jesus said, Greater love has no one than this and he wins. Life and in death Jesus was the perfect demonstration of unselfishness, wasn't he? John 17 and verse 5 He gave up the glory to heaven. Jesus is a great example for us. In 1 Peter 2 and verse 21 the New American Standard Since Christ also suffered for you Peter said He said to those pilgrims of the dispersion, verse 1 Since Christ suffered for you Peter said in 1 Peter 2 and verse 21 Leaving you an example for you to follow his steps. Truly Jesus esteemed us better than himself, didn't he? Isn't that what Paul taught in Philippians chapter 2 3 through 8? Esteem others better than yourself? We have an example by Jesus Christ himself. The wonder of the victim of the cross. We put a lot of emphasis on stuff, don't we? Stuff They took his clothes off of him. In Matthew 8 and verse 20 Jesus said the foxes have clothes and the birds of air have nests but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. Adam and Eve, you remember, lived in the Garden Garden of Eden prior to sin and it was a perfect environment wasn't it? You know what messed it up? Sin. Adam sinned and Jesus didn't. Jesus had his priorities in the right place, didn't he? He came here to do the Father's will, didn't he? Do we have our priorities in the right place? Are we here to do God's will? Jesus told his apostles in Matthew and John 15 and verse 10 if you keep my commandments you will abide in my love just as I have kept my Father's commandments and I abide in his love. What kept Jesus on the cross? You knew? Didn't they walk by him and mock him? Oh, if you believe the Son of God come down off that cross and we'll believe you. Didn't they say that? What kept him on the cross? You and I kept him on the cross. God answers prayers. I believe yes, no, and not now. When Jesus was praying in the garden of Gethsemane didn't he say Father if it's your will let this cup pass from me. Not my will but your will. And what did God say? No. But it was for us. Sometimes God says no to us. I know he has to me. I've asked for something like a job. A year later I didn't get the job and I thank God that I didn't because he gave me something better. What a Savior. God is love and he made that love known through the cross. God is just and he's a justifier of those who believe in him. In Romans 3 and verse 26 of here speaking of God's righteousness at the present time so that he, speaking of God, would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. We could just continue talking about the cross because that's the center of preaching. Isn't it such a wonderful blessing that we can become Christians? Isn't it a blessing that if we mess up he can straighten it up if we repent? How could something so ugly like a cross be so attractive? The cross symbolizes life to a Christian even though it was death for Jesus. The cross points towards the most beautiful character, speaking of Jesus, that's ever been portrayed. In John 21 and verse 25 and there are also many other things which Jesus did which if they were written in detail I suppose, John said, that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written. The cross is the greatest exhibition of love. So, people that don't take advantage of the cross and take advantage of obeying the gospel of Jesus, what is their excuse? If you're here this morning and you're not a Christian, we beseech you to come this morning and if you're here and you approach upon the church, if you approach upon the Lord and you want to be known that you've changed, if you let cross, you can do it. And that's what he wants us to do.