This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on February 25th 2024 by James Moses. For the audio & video please click here. For the worship please click here. Perfect Love - Perfect Sacrifice
When
the sixth hour (noon) came, darkness covered the whole land until the ninth
hour (3:00 p.m.). 34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a
loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama
sabachthani?”—which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” 35 Some of the bystanders heard
Him and said, “Look! He is calling for [j]Elijah!” 36 Someone ran and filled a sponge
with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave Him a drink, saying, “Let us see
whether Elijah is coming to take Him down.” 37 But Jesus uttered a loud cry,
and breathed out His last [voluntarily, sovereignly dismissing and releasing
His spirit from His body in submission to His Father’s plan]. 38 And the veil [of the Holy of
Holies] of the temple was torn in two from [k]top to bottom. 39 When the centurion, who was
standing opposite Him, saw the way He breathed His last [being fully in
control], he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” – Mark 15:33-39
The whole instance and time during which Jesus was on the Cross brings our attention to what exactly Jesus went through on the Cross.
It is very
important to keep our minds on the cross. We can never move away from what
happened on the Cross. Something amazing and highly impactful happened on the Cross. It was something that changed the history.
Why did Jesus go on that Cross?
God created man in His image to enjoy fellowship with
him. Adam could enjoy God’s presence. But Adam and Eve sinned and got separated
from God. Their sin led to destruction and destruction led to separation. Thus,
the ground was cursed and man had to work hard to sustain. Humans started to
live in sin and bondage.
Because God is righteous, every sin must be punished.
since all have
sinned and continually fall short of the glory of God, -
Romans 3:23
For the wages of
sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in[b] Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 6:23
Whether we like it or not,
we deserve death.
Let us look at God’s
characteristics –
1. Immense
Love
2. Holy
God’s desire is that none of us would go to hell. But He’s
holy too. He will not tolerate sin. He’s a God of justice. He cannot go against
His character.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal
life. – John 3:16
God brought both love and
justice together and fulfilled it on the cross.
We were supposed to receive punishment
for all our sins. But Jesus chose to cover us. He took all our sin and
punishment on his own self.
Then he said to
them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of
death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” – Matthew 26:38
4 things
happened on the cross:
1. Physical
intense pain
Crucifixion is the most terrible
punishment anyone ever could receive. It is given to the vicious criminals.
It is a slow death with increased pain and bones are out of joint.
I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
it has melted within me. – Psalm 22:14
Jesus was in intense pain on that cross for 6 hours, only because He loves you and me. We are so precious to Him that He took our place, went through our pain, and died our death.
2. Pain
of bearing sin
He bore the guilt for the sins He never
committed. We can’t even bear it if someone lies to us. But Jesus bore the sins of
the whole world because of His love for His Father and us.
But he was
pierced for our transgressions,
he
was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and
by his wounds, we are healed. We all, like sheep,
have gone astray,
each
of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has
laid on him
the
iniquity of us all. – Isaiah 53:5-6
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! – John 1:29
3. Abandonment
Jesus was left alone. It was not just
the physical pain and the pain of bearing others’ sin, but he faced everything
and went through all of it all by himself, all alone.
His deepest joy in life was His Father.
As long as He was on the Earth, He was in a constant relationship with the
Father, listening to him and doing His will.
This relationship was broken on that
cross.
Mark 15:34 - And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).[a]
4. Bearing
the wrath of God
The fury of God fell on Jesus. The wrath
of God, the righteous anger of God which was there from the beginning , fell on
Jesus.
God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement,[i] through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. – Romans 3:25-26
Jesus was made an atonement for the sins of all the people.
When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. – John 19:30
Jesus had
completed the will of His Father.
What should be our response to Jesus for what he went
through and for what He has done?
1. Thankfulness
–
We must be thankful to Jesus for what He has done. Because of His sacrifice, we
can freely enter His presence and worship Him
1 Praise the Lord, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise
the Lord, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
3 who
forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases, - Psalm
103:105
2. Do
not take His sacrifice for granted.
13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you[d] alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having cancelled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. – Colossians 2:13-15
3. Live
not as slaves to sin but to righteousness.
You are no more under the bondage of
sin.
Even when you sin, come to Jesus
quickly.
For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with,[a] that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin – Romans 6:6
You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. – Romans 6:18
4. Share
the gospel news with everyone.
And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. – Matthew 24:14
We must partner with God and sow seeds everywhere. We must be intentional in sharing the Good News with our friends and neighbours.
Reflect and see if there is any area in your life where you’re struggling. By faith receive freedom. No sin has any power to keep you away from the love of God.
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