- Nobody took
His life but He gave Himself as a sacrifice for our sins
a.
“The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up
again. No one takes it from me, but I
lay it down of my own accord.” (John 10:17-18)
i.
Many times people tried to kill Him: “the
people were trying to kill him” (Luke 19:47), “For this reason they tried all
the more to kill him” (John 5:18), “the Jewish leaders there were looking for a
way to kill him” (John 7:1), “Why are you trying to kill me? ... At this they
tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet
come” (John 7:19, 30), “Yet you are looking for a way to kill me” (John 8:37),
“they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself” (John 8:59), “Again
his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him … they tried to seize him,
but he escaped their grasp” (John 10:31, 29)
ii.
If they had taken His life against His
will, it wouldn’t have been a sacrifice
iii.
They couldn’t take His life until He
allowed them to take it
b.
“He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he
did not open his mouth; he was led like
a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.” (Isaiah
53:7)
c.
“For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.” (1 Corinthians
5:7)
d.
“Christ loved us and gave himself up
for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice
to God.” (Ephesians 5:2)
e.
“And being found in appearance as a
man, he humbled himself by becoming
obedient to death—even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:8)
f.
“So
Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will
appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are
waiting for him.” (Hebrews 9:28)
g.
“He
is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for
the sins of the whole world.” (1 John 2:2)
- His arrest
in the Garden of Gethsemane
a.
“Going a little farther, he fell with
his face to the ground and prayed, ‘My
Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will,
but as you will.’” (Matthew 26:39)
b.
“Now the betrayer had arranged a signal
with them: ‘The one I kiss is the man; arrest him.’ Going at once to Jesus,
Judas said, ‘Greetings, Rabbi!’ and kissed him. Jesus replied, ‘Do what you came for, friend.’ Then
the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him.” (Matthew 26:48-50)
c.
“So Judas came to the garden, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some
officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees. They were carrying torches,
lanterns and weapons. … When Jesus said, ‘I am he,’ they drew back and fell to the ground.” (John 18:3, 6)
- Jesus set
up the leaders by giving them the very statement they would later use
against Him
a.
“Jesus answered them, ‘Destroy this temple, and I will raise it
again in three days.’ They replied, ‘It has taken forty-six years to build
this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?’ But the temple he had spoken of was his body.” (John 2:19-21)
b.
“The chief priests and the whole
Sanhedrin were looking for false
evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. But they did
not find any, though many false witnesses came forward. Finally two came
forward and declared, ‘This fellow said,
“I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.”’”
(Matthew 26:59-61)
c.
“Those who passed by hurled insults at
him, shaking their heads and saying, ‘You
who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself!
Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!’” (Matthew 27:39-40)
- His trial
was a miscarriage of justice
a.
“So Pilate came out to them and asked, ‘What
charges are you bringing against this man?’ ‘If he were not a criminal,’ they replied, ‘we would not have handed him over to you.’” (John 18:29-30)
b.
“The chief priests and the whole
Sanhedrin were looking for false
evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. But they did not
find any, though many false witnesses came forward. Finally two came
forward.” (Matthew 26:59-60)
c.
“Now it was the governor’s custom at
the festival to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. ... ‘Which of the two do you want me to release
to you?’ asked the governor. ‘Barabbas,’
they answered.” (Matthew 27:15, 21)
d.
“You handed him over to be killed, and
you disowned him before Pilate, though he
had decided to let him go. You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you.”
(Acts 3:3-14)
- Before
being crucified He was beaten, slapped, spat upon, mocked, and flogged
a.
“I offered my back to those who beat
me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from
mocking and spitting.” (Isaiah 50:6)
b.
“Then they spit in his face and struck
him with their fists. Others slapped him” (Matthew 26:67)
c.
“Again and again they struck him on the
head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to
him.” (Mark 15:19)
d.
“Then Pilate took Jesus and had him
flogged. The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his
head. They clothed him in a purple robe” (John 19:1-2)
- He was
crucified as a criminal between two thieves
a.
“Therefore I will give him a portion
among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he
poured out his life unto death, and was
numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made
intercession for the transgressors.” (Isaiah 53:12)
b.
“When they came to the place called the
Skull, they crucified him there, along
with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left.” (Luke 23:33)
- His death
on the cross paid the price for our sins
a.
“Surely he took up our pain and bore
our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and
afflicted. 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.” (Isaiah 53:4-5)
b.
“For what I received I passed on to you
as of first importance: that Christ died
for our sins according to the Scriptures.” (1 Corinthians 15:3)
c.
“‘He
himself bore our sins’ in his body on the cross, so that we might die to
sins and live for righteousness; ‘by his wounds you have been healed.’” (1
Peter 2:24)
- He was
buried in the tomb of a rich man
a.
“He was assigned a grave with the
wicked, and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.” (Isaiah 53:9)
b.
“Joseph
of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting
for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body.” (Mark
15:43)
c.
“Joseph
took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He
rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away.”
(Matthew 27:59-60)
d.
“At the place where Jesus was
crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid.” (John 19:41)
- Now is the
time to receive God’s mercy—He will show no mercy on the day of judgment
a.
He loves us so much that He willingly
allowed Himself to be beaten, His beard pulled out, spat upon, struck with
fists, hit with rods, slapped, laughed at, mocked, ridiculed, humiliated,
flogged with a whip, nails driven through His hands and feet, and finally hung
on a cross (most likely naked) until He died in agonizing pain.
b.
If you reject His sacrifice and love
for you, one day you will stand before His dreadful anger
i.
“It is you alone who are to be feared. Who can stand before you when you are
angry?” (Psalm 76:7)
ii.
“If
only we knew the power of your anger! Your wrath is as great as the fear
that is your due.” (Psalm 90:11)
iii.
“Do not be afraid of those who kill the
body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be
afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew
10:28)
iv.
“Then
they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal
life.” (Matthew 25:46)
v.
“It
is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Hebrews
10:31)
c.
“Then
I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the
heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. ... Anyone whose name was not found written in
the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:11, 15)