Two sides of the Cross

Luke 23:44-48 - It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun had stopped shin-ing. And, the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out in a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit”. When he had said this, he breathed his last”… Mark 15:39 “When the centurion who stood there in front of Jesus heard his cry, and saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”… Luke 23:48 “When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away”…Matt. 27:57 “As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away.”

Comment; At this point in time and at this point in the lives of those who were there, the Cross was a symbol of death. To the disciples, the Cross was the realization of the death of their leader… To many today, the Cross is still a symbol of the death of Jesus… However, as we will see, the Cross was soon to become a symbol of life, and so, our viewpoint all depends on which side of Easter you are living on!                   

    In Matthew 19 we have the story of the rich man who came to Jesus and asked; “What must I do to get eternal life?” And Jesus replied; “Sell all that you have, give to the poor, and come follow me.” It goes on to say that the rich man “went away sad because he had great wealth”. He was unwilling to give up anything …especially his wealth…to gain salvation and eternal life. There are those today as well who stand before the Cross and are unwilling to give up anything in their lives in order to gain eternal life. Listen, If you are on the Easter side of the Cross, you don’t have to give up anything!…You get something! You get Jesus! You get your name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life! You get a new life! You get a new attitude! You get a clean slate! You get forgiveness! And, you get right with God and He will work with you to take away all those things in your life that are killing you!!! You don’t have to give up anything!

    So, anger, fear, hatred, doubt, sorrow, grief, indecision, lost hope and death… these were just a few of the emotions and actions that were on the “Good Friday” side of the Cross… I don’t have to tell you that there are many people today still living on that side of Easter. How sad it really is, if we only see the Cross as the place where Jesus died.

    Well, what about the emotions and actions after the Cross? What about the Easter side of Calvary?  “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” said the angel, “He is not here! He has risen!” … Then it says “they remembered his words, how the Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified, and on the third day be raised again”… Matthew 28 says that the women “hurried away from the tomb, filled with joy!”… John 20 says that when the Lord appeared to his disciples in the upper room, and showed them his hands and his side, “the disciples were overjoyed!”  In Acts 1 - before His ascension, Jesus gives his disciples a mission to accomplish… Only a fool would believe that they would give their lives for a lie…. Or that we would have what we have today, some 2000 years later, if it were based on a lie.

    Peter, who three times denied even knowing Christ, now stands with boldness and preaches to the people saying; “God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses to the fact…Therefore, let all Israel be assured of this, God made this Jesus whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ!…

    Paul, who was living to persecute Christians on the Good Friday side of the Cross… when he was brought to the Easter side of the Cross, said “I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes!”

    The people cried out in Acts 2:37 - “What shall we do?” “Repent and be baptized” said Peter, “in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of sins”….

    On this side of the Cross, there is forgiveness! On this side of the Cross there is victory! On this side of the Cross there is eternal life! And, death becomes nothing more than a step into glory! Because, on this side of the Cross there is LIFE! … And, finally, on this side of the Cross, there is assurance… John says “I write these things to you who believe, so that you will KNOW that you have eternal life”…”I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word, and believes in him who sent me, has eternal life, and will not be condemned; says Jesus… And, listen to this; “He has crossed over from death unto life!”  On one side of the Cross there is death… On the other side of the Cross there is life… Those who believe have “crossed over from death unto life!”

    On which side of Easter do you live? Are you living with anger, fear, grief, sorrow, sin and the consequences of sin?…With no real hope for today much less tomorrow?… To you, Jesus says “Come”…” Cross over!”

    “Come unto me all who are heavy laden, and I will give you rest”

    “Come before the throne of Grace with confidence, that we may  

      receive grace and find mercy in our time of need”.

Go to Israel My Son

A Jewish businessman in Brooklyn decided to send his son to Israel to absorb some of the culture of the homeland. When the son returned, the father asked him to tell him about his trip. The son said, "Pop, I had a great time in Israel. By the way, I converted to Christianity."

"Oh, my," said the father. What have I done?" He decided to go ask his friend Jacob what to do. Jake said, "Funny you should ask. I too sent my son to Israel, and he also came back a Christian. Perhaps we should go see the rabbi and ask him what we should do." So, they went to see the rabbi. The rabbi said, "Funny you should ask. I too sent my son to Israel. He also came back a Christian. What is happening to our young people?

Perhaps we should go talk to God and ask him what to do."

The three of them prayed and explained what had happened to their sons and asked God what to do. Suddenly a voice came loud and clear from Heaven; The Voice said, "Funny you should ask… I, too, sent my Son to Israel .....

    When we were in S.C. there was a friend whose name was Carston. He and his wife were from Australia. He preached the Sunday before me during the Lenten Sundays and  opened about six different ways for me to preach and inspired me to take a detour from the traditional Palm Ave. We enjoyed a Spirit led message on having Christ in our midst highlighted by an Australian preacher using some southern lingo! (very amusing) One of the notes I put in my Bible was how Jesus said to his disciples “They will know that you are my disciples if Christ’s love is in “all-ya-all”!

    Carston explained the difference between “having love “for” one another” and having the love of Christ “in our midst”. What a truth he proclaimed! Having the love of God, the love of Christ, permeating the midst of the body!...The way we talk, the way we walk (or our actions) the way we honor and encourage one another, choosing to use our giftedness to build one another up and build the church as we do our part to grow the Kingdom of God! That, my friends, is what Jesus wants the world to see. That’s what Jesus wanted the church to experience. And, I want to take a step in that direction today by sharing this thought; that the birth and the ministry of Jesus Christ, and the events of Passion week leading to Easter, (the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus as the final sacrifice for sin, as important and awesome as these were concerning the message of the Gospel)…that the gift of the Holy Spirit was the continuation of God’s plan and purpose in ultimately building the church and proclaiming the only way of salvation to the world.

    Just a little further in the Book of John; It was Jesus who said in John 16:7-15 “But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned… “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. (Now listen to this;) He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”

    Carston stated that this is what it means to have the “mind of Christ”… “for no one knows the mind of a man except the spirit of the man, and only the Spirit of God knows the mind and the will of God… and His Spirit speaks to our spirit concerning truth, and sin and righteousness…” The Holy Spirit is not only our comforter, He is our teacher, our leader, our enabler, our power, and it is the Holy Spirit “in our midst”…in the midst of all-ya-all…that makes us the body of Christ, the church! It’s not the building, the Eagles, the Elks, the Moose, and the Masons all have nice buildings…It’s not because we gather on Sundays to sing and listen to a sermon…We are the body of Christ because the Holy Spirit of Christ is in our midst!

    Without a doubt the most important roads Jesus walked were those during what we call “Passion week”. The Gospel writers focused more on the events of this time period than on any other portion of Jesus ministry. In fact, the biblical record seems to slow down rather than speed up as it gets to details of Holy Week. As Christians, we say that this is the most important week of our faith.

    Some of the things that took place just during that week were; the plot to betray and arrest Jesus; the triumphal entry into Jerusalem we recall today; Jesus clears the temple of the money changers; Peter’s confession of Christ; and his later denial…The Lord’s Supper takes place in the upper room; Jesus prays in the Garden of Gethsemane for himself, for His disciples, and for us, those who would come to know him through their preaching and teaching. Then, of course, his subsequent arrest by the Roman soldiers in the same Garden of Gethsemane; His appearance before the authorities and before Pontius Pilate; His crucifixion on Calvary’s hill; His death; His burial; and His resurrection; His appearances which follow His resurrection; and finally, His ascension to the Father in heaven. Wow! Do you think this was an important week in the life of Jesus?...And we think we have some busy days!

    Jesus knew all about the what, where, when, why, and how of His mission, His purpose, yet knowing that all this was to take place, and, especially knowing that just over the horizon was the cross looming like a monster ready to consume Him, Luke tells us that in spite of it all,  “As the time approached for Jesus to be taken up to heaven, He RESOLUTELY set his face to go to Jerusalem…Why?...LOVE!...It was the power of love! The love of God for His creation; the love of Jesus for His Disciples and His church, as well as the world; The power of love that Jesus told; suggested; no commanded that they have for one another! The power of love that was to be “in their midst!” and which was to be the driving force of the church; His body!

    There is no doubt that something powerful took place in the lives of the disciples over 2000 years ago that transformed and multiplied what we call the “church”.  A combustible faith was ignited and the flames of Pentecost swept like a prairie fire throughout the then known world! 

In Acts chapter 5 in reference to the disciples it says “day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news about Jesus!”  It is one thing to accept the teachings of the Bible and be a believer; it is another to be an active disciple! That person is a “doer of the Word” as James tells us. A disciple never stops learning and wanting to learn.  A disciple is always active and involved in the activities and ministries of the church; using his or her God given and Holy Spirit empowered gifts. A disciple is always teaching and telling. But, a disciple also is convinced of his faith; and a disciple is empowered by the Holy Spirit; and a disciple experiences God daily in his or her life! 

A disciple “can’t help but tell all about what he has seen, and heard, and learned, in the hope that his friend or his neighbor and yes, even his family will come to know the assurance of heaven and the transforming power of Jesus Christ which saves them from the pits of Hell!

    What was it that was drawing people into the early church? What was it that attracted them? Was it a nice building? Was it the fact that they had a program for every age group? (No) Was it the fellowship? (No, you can find fellowship in any bar in town.) It was the same thing that has always attracted people to Christ and the church…They see the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. They see a change in people that they don’t see or find in the world. They see people who are controlled by love, and joy, and have a peace in their lives that surpasses all understanding, and they see people who are patient with one another, allowing God to do His work. They see people who are faithful and steadfast in their beliefs. They see people who truly care about and carry one another’s burdens. They see people who demonstrate self-control and are willing to forgive those who lack it… You don’t find these things in the world! Many don’t find these things even in their own families;

And when they see this and feel this, it brings glory to God and lifts up the name of Jesus…who said “If I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto myself”… But, when they see the lack of these things, they only see hypocrites!  Having Christ in us changes our destination, having the Holy Spirit changes our Destiny!

“They will know that you are my disciples when the love of Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit, is in All-ya-all!”

“Before The Cross”

Matthew 16:13-21 –“When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

    From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”

    I personally like to think of the period of time that we call Lent as a “journey to the Cross.”  It begins on Ash Wednesday and takes us through Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and of course, to the destination of our journey, Easter.  It’s kind of like taking a road trip; As we drive along toward our destination, we focus on many different things and several landmarks along the way. That’s what Lent is like. It’s a time of turning our focus to the many things that took place along the way to the Cross.

    It is also a time of considering “self-sacrifice” during a time when we remember the greatest sacrifice ever given, when Jesus laid down his life as a final sacrifice - once and for all. This journey has been taken by countless thousands of people and preachers - in countless thousands of ways - yet it never loses its power to transform lives.

    Preceding these verses, Jesus had been teaching and preaching and healing and performing miracles…But, here in the 21^st. verse - which is where I really want us to focus our attention - Jesus turns his attention on his disciples and it says; “From that time on, Jesus began to explain to his disciples what must take place in the coming days”…He begins to explain what his ministry is all about…He begins to explain the “Who”, What, Where, Why, and How” of what was going to happen. In other words, he tells them a few of the landmarks they should watch for on this journey to Jerusalem.

    If you read ahead to chapter 17, it says that 6 days later Jesus took them “up a high mountain” and, we have the story of the transfiguration. Jesus takes Peter, James and John with him up a little higher, and it tells us that they witnessed Jesus in his “pre-earthly” glory. Jesus has a little rap session with Moses and Elijah; who, by the way, have been dead for a few hundred years… And then, a cloud comes down upon them, and a voice comes from out of the cloud saying; “This is my Son whom I love, with Him I am well pleased, Listen to Him!” …What would you do or say at a time like this?  It says that the disciples “fell face down to the ground, TERRIFIED!” …No kidding!  I would have been like the cowardly lion or the tin man in the Wizard of Oz…You would have heard my bones rattling from fear!  But it says that Jesus came and touched them… Now, I don’t know about you, but if someone would have touched me at such a moment, I would take off like a rocket!

    The Disciples - Peter in particular - made a confession back in verse 16 of our text, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” and, now they witness what they had confessed with their mouths. But there was a problem. In chapter 17 verse 22 it says; “When they came together in Galilee, he said to them again; “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised to life” …They didn’t get it.  In Chapter 20 verse 17 it says; “He took the 12 disciples aside and said to them; “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day, he will be raised to life” …They still didn’t get it. You see, what they had confessed with their mouths, and heard with their ears, had not yet reached their hearts! The heart is the true “seat of understanding.” They didn’t understand, because when the time came, and these things began to happen…they all ran!  And, Peter even denied knowing him at all!

    Something happened that turned their fear into boldness; Something happened that turned their grief into joy; something happened that finally sunk in and went directly to their heart! That something was the resurrection of Jesus!