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Introductory Messages
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MESSAGE: AR173
Preached: 10 Mar 96 ▪ Edited: 15 Jun 01
Introduction | A pathetic picture | Before the Jewish supreme court | Before Pilate, the Roman governer | The darkest hour | Forsaken by God the Father? | The hope of the disciples of the Lord Jesus crushed | The promised Messiah | The King of the Jews mocked | Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews | In reality, the greatest triumph | The Lord's view of the crucifixion | The Apostle Peter's proclamation | The Apostle Paul's declaration | The Cross in the Old Testament - The perfect sacrifice | Concluding remarks
What appears to be can be very different from reality because realities
in God's kingdom are often not obvious, even to believers. They are not
visible to the physical eye nor felt by our other senses. Besides, the
realities in God's kingdom are also very different from the aspirations,
perceptions and perspective of the fallen world, and admittedly, the
fallen world has a very strong influence on us.
While there are many subjects we can dwell upon to aid us in our
Christian journey, none is more helpful than contemplation on the person
of the Lord Jesus Christ, His being, the circumstances surrounding His
birth, His life, His conduct, His teaching and His approach to various
issues of life. The fact that His life and teaching are full of
paradoxes makes it all the more interesting and enriching. Engaging in a
careful study on His life and ministry will certainly yield immeasurable
benefits for our own spiritual life. This we had sought to do in the
preceding messages AR118 to 172.
We now want to go on to consider the most important and significant
aspect of the life and accomplishment of the Lord Jesus Christ: His
death on the Cross. This is the first in a series of reflections on the
death of the Lord Jesus Christ, the circumstances surrounding His death
and the major issues that flow forth from it.
When Christ died on the cross, all appeared lost, but in reality it is
the crowning event in His life. It is also the pivotal, most important
and crucial event in the history of mankind and in the fulfilment of
God's purposes. Upon it hinges the primary issues pertaining to the most
important aspects of life and the salvation and well-being of man. It
opens up the way for:
It seems to me fitting to conclude our consideration of the Lord Jesus
Christ and the whole series of messages on Appearance and Reality by
reflecting on the death of Christ.
A careful consideration of the death of the Lord Jesus Christ would
involve much doctrinal content, deep truths and profound spiritual
realities. There are significant and far-reaching implications that are
difficult to fathom. As such, our understanding and appreciation of this
subject can at best be limited. It is therefore with a degree of
hesitation and a sense of inadequacy that I am considering this
important and profound subject with you. Let us look to the Lord to help
us appreciate and understand as much as we can, and grant us true
insight. We should guard against merely accumulating ideas and concepts.
Scriptural passages on the death of the Lord Jesus Christ are very
familiar to believers. This sense of familiarity can hinder us from
plumbing the deep truths that can be found in them.
At this point in time, let us try to view the event of His death from
the standpoint of those who were present at the scene, looking at it
through the eyes of the onlookers and His disciples.
The first passage we will look at is Mark 15:1-37.
Mark 15:1-37
1 Early in the morning the chief priests with the elders and scribes and
the whole Council, immediately held a consultation; and binding Jesus,
they led Him away and delivered Him to Pilate.
2 Pilate questioned Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?" And He answered
him, "It is as you say."
3 The chief priests began to accuse Him harshly.
4 Then Pilate questioned Him again, saying, "Do You not answer? See how
many charges they bring against You!"
5 But Jesus made no further answer; so Pilate was amazed.
6 Now at the feast he used to release for them any one prisoner whom
they requested.
7 The man named Barabbas had been imprisoned with the insurrectionists
who had committed murder in the insurrection.
8 The crowd went up and began asking him to do as he had been accustomed
to do for them.
9 Pilate answered them, saying, "Do you want me to release for you the
King of the Jews?"
10 For he was aware that the chief priests had handed Him over because
of envy.
11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to ask him to release
Barabbas for them instead.
12 Answering again, Pilate said to them, "Then what shall I do with Him
whom you call the King of the Jews?"
13 They shouted back, "Crucify Him!"
14 But Pilate said to them, "Why, what evil has He done?" But they
shouted all the more, "Crucify Him!"
15 Wishing to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas for them, and
after having Jesus scourged, he handed Him over to be crucified.
16 The soldiers took Him away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium),
and they called together the whole Roman cohort.
17 They dressed Him up in purple, and after twisting a crown of thorns,
they put it on Him;
18 and they began to acclaim Him, "Hail, King of the Jews!"
19 They kept beating His head with a reed, and spitting on Him, and
kneeling and bowing before Him.
20 After they had mocked Him, they took the purple robe off Him and put
His own garments on Him. And they led Him out to crucify Him.
21 They pressed into service a passer-by coming from the country, Simon
of Cyrene (the father of Alexander and Rufus), to bear His cross.
22 Then they brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated,
Place of a Skull.
23 They tried to give Him wine mixed with myrrh; but He did not take it.
24 And they crucified Him, and divided up His garments among themselves,
casting lots for them to decide what each man should take.
25 It was the third hour when they crucified Him.
26 The inscription of the charge against Him read, "THE KING OF THE
JEWS."
27 They crucified two robbers with Him, one on His right and one on His
left.
28 [And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "And He was numbered
with transgressors."]
29 Those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads, and
saying, "Ha! You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in
three days,
30 save Yourself, and come down from the cross!"
31 In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes, were
mocking Him among themselves and saying, "He saved others; He cannot
save Himself.
32 "Let this Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross,
so that we may see and believe!" Those who were crucified with Him were
also insulting Him.
33 When the sixth hour came, darkness fell over the whole land until the
ninth hour.
34 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 When some of the bystanders heard it, they began saying, "Behold, He
is calling for 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 will come to take
Him down."
37 And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed His last.
From the angle of those who witnessed His death, the picture was
pathetic, one of abject failure. There was nothing much to show at the
end of the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus. His followers deserted
Him and fled; and like a lamb led to the slaughter, He was abused,
mocked at, spat on, scourged and finally He died the most painful,
humiliating and agonising death, being crucified on the cross. And even
while He hung on the cross, the abuse and the mocking continued unabated
and He appeared a picture of one who was weak and helpless.
A question that could easily come to the minds of people would be, “How
could this be the conclusion of the life and ministry of the Son of God
and one who claimed to be the Saviour of mankind?”
Little wonder then that the apostle Paul noted that the preaching of
Christ crucified is to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles,
foolishness. The Jews were looking forward to the coming Messiah, the
One promised by God to be a deliverer and here He was dying such a
terrible and humiliating death on the cross. To proclaim this Jesus who
died such a pathetic death as the Christ, the One specially anointed by
God to be the Saviour of the world, is sheer foolishness to the
Gentiles.
There are several other issues we can ponder over. Consider the issue of
justice. Justice seemed to be nowhere in sight because here was the
purest, the noblest life that ever lived. He is the sinless One. The
Scriptures records that He was “tempted in all things yet without sin”
(Heb. 4:15) and that He “knew no sin” (2 Cor. 5:21). And yet the Lord
Jesus, the sinless One, was crucified as a criminal next to two other
criminals. To add to the irony, He was crucified after having appeared
before and been condemned by the Jewish Supreme Court, the Sanhedrin, a
gathering of the rulers and religious leaders of God's chosen people!
These people were the ones who had the laws of God; and the Sanhedrin
was supposed to be administering God's law. If one were to expect
justice, surely this would be the place to find it.
Mark 14: 53, 55 and 56 tell us about Jesus before the Sanhedrin:
Mark 14:53, 55, 56
53 They led Jesus away to the high priest; and all the chief priests and
the elders and the scribes gathered together.
55 Now the chief priests and the whole Council (in the margin “the
Sanhedrin”) kept trying to obtain testimony against Jesus to put Him
to death, and they were not finding any.
56 For many were giving false testimony against Him, but their testimony
was not consistent.
The Sanhedrin made desperate attempts to find some grounds to charge the
Lord Jesus and put Him to death. Though many people were called to give
false testimony against Him, none of the testimony could be used in
convicting Him as they were inconsistent.
They then questioned Him about His claim to be the Christ.
Mark 14:61-64
61 But He kept silent and did not answer. Again the high priest was
questioning Him, and saying to Him, "Are You the Christ, the Son of the
Blessed One?"
62 And Jesus said, "I am; and you shall see the Son of Man sitting at
the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven."
63 Tearing his clothes, the high priest said, "What further need do we
have of witnesses?
64 "You have heard the blasphemy; how does it seem to you?" And they all
condemned Him to be deserving of death.
When questioned, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” the
Lord Jesus answered, “I am; and you shall see the Son of Man sitting at
the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” At this,
they all condemned Him to be deserving of death. For what did they
condemn Him? For blasphemy. But in reality, He was testifying to the
truth. The Jewish supreme court condemned the righteous Son of God to
death for testifying to the truth!
After having condemned Him, they presented Him before the Roman governor
Pilate.
Pilate was aware that it was out of envy that the chief priests wanted
the Lord Jesus dead. (Mark 15:9, 10). He preferred to release Him
because he felt that the Lord Jesus had not done anything deserving of
death. When the crowd under the instigation of the chief priests
shouted, “Crucify Him!”, Pilate asked them, "Why, what evil has He
done?" (Mark 15:13)
A parallel passage in Luke 23:13-15 reads:
Luke 23:13-15
13 Pilate summoned the chief priests and the rulers and the people,
14 and said to them, "You brought this man to me as one who incites the
people to rebellion, and behold, having examined Him before you, I have
found no guilt in this man regarding the charges which you make against
Him.
15 "No, nor has Herod, for he sent Him back to us; and behold, nothing
deserving death has been done by Him.
Having examined the Lord Jesus, Pilate found no guilt in Him regarding
the charges that were levied against Him. This was the pronouncement
from Pilate's own lips. Yet, wishing to satisfy the multitude, he had
the Lord Jesus scourged and delivered to be crucified (Mark 15:15).
In the history of mankind, Rome was noted for its laws, the due process
of law and justice. And yet here was the Lord Jesus before the Roman
governor Pilate, who though finding the Lord Jesus not guilty of death,
yielded to the clamouring of the multitude and delivered the Lord Jesus
to be crucified. What travesty of justice we see before our eyes!
Beyond all these, the Lord Jesus had Himself declared that God the
Father has given all judgement to the Son (John 5:22) and has given Him
authority to execute judgement (John 5:27). And yet, in this instance,
the Lord Jesus, the judge of all the earth was being judged and
delivered over to be crucified!
We may wonder where was justice and how could there be hope for justice
when such gross injustice was inflicted not only on someone who was
innocent, but on someone totally sinless and the judge of all the earth!
If the judge of all the earth did not receive justice, what hope do we
have?
Others may wonder, “Could He be the judge of all the earth if He Himself
suffered such gross injustice? Could He indeed be the righteous Son of
God He claims to be?”
The circumstances surrounding the death of the Lord Jesus may appear to
be the darkest hour of human history. In a sense, it is true. In the
crucifixion, we witness not only the greatest injustice done to man, but
also the most terrible sin and evil being manifested against the Son of
God who had come to save all men. Beyond the issue of injustice
perpetrated by the Jewish supreme court and condoned by Pilate who
represented Roman justice, we can say that the crucifixion of the
sinless Saviour of mankind is the climax, the most terrible
manifestation and consequence of evil and darkness in the heart of man.
It would appear that not only was there triumph of evil at the human
level, but also the greatest triumph of evil in the spiritual realm,
that is, the triumph of Satan and the powers of darkness. They were
clearly at work, stirring up and promoting evil. Satan, the adversary,
is always actively at work, opposing and seeking to frustrate the
fulfilment of God's purposes.
In the early history of mankind, there was the prophecy about the enmity
between the woman and the serpent, between the seed of the serpent and
the seed of the woman (Gen. 3:15). The words of the Lord to the serpent,
“He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel”
have been generally regarded as prophetic of what would take place at
the cross.
Clearly the powers of darkness were actively stirring up the people
against the Lord Jesus. In John 13:27, we see Satan himself working
through Judas in an unusually powerful way, that is, Satan entered him.
This was a gross manifestation of man in bondage to sin and the powers
of darkness.
The evil one and the powers of darkness appeared to have triumphed over
the Son of God, the Messiah sent by God. In His death, the Lord Jesus
appeared to be a helpless victim of sin and the power of sin, the victim
of Satan and the powers of darkness.
Even the whole land was covered with darkness. Mark 15:33 tells us that
“When the sixth hour came, darkness fell over the whole land until the
ninth hour.” It is clear from the context that the darkness was unusual.
It was a darkness that had significance in the spiritual realm and had a
bearing on what was taking place.
As we contemplate on what appeared to be the darkest hour in human
history, bear in mind that the Lord Jesus had declared again and again,
“I am the Light of the world,” for example in John 8:12 and John 9:5
Likewise in John 12:46, the Lord Jesus had said, "I have come as Light
into the world.” The apostle John had also testified of the Lord Jesus
as the true Light which, coming into the world, “enlightens every man”
(John 1:9).
Bearing in mind these words of the Lord Jesus, the thoughts that may
come to the minds of those present could be, “How can it be that the
Lord of all be overcome by Satan and the powers of darkness? How can the
True Light be overcome by darkness?” The True Light, the Light of the
world, appeared to have been snuffed out by the powerful darkness!
Beyond all these, even more striking, is the fact that God the Father appeared to have forsaken the Lord Jesus at the moment of His greatest need:
Mark 15:34
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?"
The Lord Jesus cried out in anguish. This appears to be a cry of
desperation, despair, helplessness and hopelessness. Even God the Father
did not seem to be present at the scene and did not seem to care. Do we
at times feel this way? Prayerfully pondering over what took place at
the cross and what the Lord Jesus went through can help us go through
such times meaningfully.
What took place may give rise to the questions, “Did God the Father
forsake His only begotten Son whom He had declared He was well-pleased
with when John the Baptist baptised the Lord Jesus (Matt. 3:17)? How
could it be? (And yet the words of the Lord Jesus in Mark 15:34 seem to
indicate that.) What do these words of the Lord Jesus mean? How could
God the Father allow His only begotten Son to die such a death?”
Did not the Lord Jesus testify that He was always doing what was
pleasing to God the Father (John 8:29)? All that was happening then
would have seemed so incongruous to His disciples. Do we go through
situations of life that do not seem to fit our understanding of who God
is and what ought to be in our walk with God? Knowing the disciples
ought to persevere in their faith even though they were perplexed drives
home the point that we need to respond in like manner.
To the Lord's disciples, His death might have appeared to be a crushing
of their hopes for they had pinned their hopes on Him as the promised
Messiah, the coming King and the Deliverer of Israel. Luke 24:15-21 give
a record of two disciples of the Lord who seemed to be expressing such a
sentiment. And they were expressing that sentiment to the risen Lord
whom they did not recognise at that moment in time!
In verse 15, we see the Lord Jesus Himself approached and travelled with
them. And the Lord Jesus asked them, "What are these words that you are
exchanging with one another as you are walking?" They stood still,
looking sad (v.17). To these two disciples, what took place at the cross
was not something they could rejoice in but something that saddened
their hearts. Here was the exchange that followed:
Luke 24:18-21
18 One of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him, "Are You the
only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have
happened here in these days?"`
19 And He said to them, "What things?" And they said to Him, "The things
about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word in
the sight the people,
20 and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to the
sentence of death, and crucified Him.
21 "But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel.”
In verse 18, Cleopas, one of the two disciples, in response to the
question of the Lord Jesus, remarked, “Are You the only one visiting
Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these
days?” Mark the irony of the question. He was speaking to the risen
Lord, the only one who truly understood all that had taken place. None
of the others really understood the meaning and true implications of His
death on the cross.
These two disciples had a certain degree of knowledge of the Lord Jesus
and faith in Him as the mighty Prophet promised by God in the Old
Testament (v. 19). They were looking forward to the coming of this
Messiah. In their own words, they said, “But we were hoping that it was
He who was going to redeem Israel.” “We were hoping!” - this expresses
the sentiment that their hopes were dashed when they witnessed the Lord
being crucified in such a dreadful way. Like them, many of the people of
Israel were looking forward to the coming Messiah to redeem the nation.
Several passages in the Old Testament prophesied the coming of the Messiah. Let us look at two such passages, one in Micah and the other in Zechariah.
Micah 5:2, 4
2"But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Too little to be among the clans of Judah,
From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel.
His goings forth are from long ago,
From the days of eternity."
4 And He will arise and shepherd His flock
In the strength of the Lord,
In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God.
And they will remain,
Because at that time He will be great
To the ends of the earth.
This One will be our peace.”
This passage from Micah tells us that there will come forth from
Bethlehem one who will be a ruler in Israel. He will not be an ordinary
king. The statement, “His goings forth are from long ago, from the days
of eternity” (v. 2), is an indication of His divinity.
Micah further tells us that He will be a mighty deliverer, that He will
“shepherd His flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the
name of the Lord His God…” (v. 4).
Under His reign, Israel “will remain”. In the NASB margin, we see the
word “remain” can also be translated as “live in safety”. So Israel
could look forward to this mighty deliverer, the King of Israel promised
by God, and they could dwell in safety because He would be great to the
ends of the earth. He would be their peace, their well-being. He would
be a King not just of Israel, but His dominion would stretch to the ends
of the earth. A similar prophecy is also recorded in Zechariah.
Zechariah 9:9, 10
9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
He is just and endowed with salvation,
Humble, and mounted on a donkey,
Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
And the horse from Jerusalem;
And the bow of war will be cut off.
And He will speak peace to the nations;
And His dominion will be from sea to sea,
And from the River to the ends of the earth.
This prophecy is addressed to Israel: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of
Zion! O daughter of Jerusalem!” It describes the coming King as one who
is “just and endowed with salvation”. In the NASB margin, it is
indicated that this phrase can also be rendered “vindicated and
victorious”, that is, He is a victorious King, the Deliverer and Saviour
of Israel. And His power extends to the ends of the earth (v. 10).
The Lord Jesus Himself also affirmed that indeed He had come as the King
of Israel. We read this in Mark 15:2 and John 18:37.
Mark 15:2
Pilate questioned Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?" And He answered
him, “It is as you say."
John 18:37
Therefore Pilate said to Him, "So You are a king?" Jesus answered, "You
say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this
I have come into the world.
When questioned by Pilate about His claim to kingship, the Lord Jesus
acknowledged, “Yes, I am the King of the Jews” and “You say correctly I
am a king.”
If the coming of the Lord Jesus is the fulfilment of the prophecies in
Micah 5 and Zechariah 9, how could He then, the victorious coming King
of Israel, the Deliverer whose dominion is to extend to the ends of the
earth, be crucified, hanging there dead on the cross? The irony of it
all was that not only did Israel remain under Roman rule but the Lord
Jesus Himself died under the authority of the Roman governor Pilate!
With this background, we can better understand why the soldiers in the Praetorium (the palace or court) taunted and mocked Him. With a touch of sarcasm, they dressed Him up as royalty, placed a crown (a crown of thorns!) on His head, and feigned obeisance to Him, kneeling and bowing before Him, even as they kept beating His head with a reed and spitting at Him. We read this in Mark 15:17-19.
Mark 15:17-19
17 They dressed Him up in purple, and after twisting a crown of thorns,
they put it on Him;
18 and they began to acclaim Him, "Hail, King of the Jews!"
19 They kept beating His head with a reed, and spitting on Him, and
kneeling and bowing before Him.
On the cross there was an inscription of the charge against Him that
read, “THE KING OF THE JEWS” (Mark 15:26). It was meant to be a mockery
of His claim.
To the onlookers, it seemed so ridiculous. They would be wondering, “How
could it be that He who claimed to be the Saviour of mankind could not
even save Himself? He appeared so helpless and weak.” We read this in
Mark 15:29-31.
Mark 15:29-31
29 Those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads, and
saying, "Ha! You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in
three days,
30 save Yourself, and come down from the cross!"
31 In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes, were
mocking Him among themselves and saying, "He saved others; He cannot
save Himself.”
The people who hurled abuse at Him, including the chief priests and the
scribes, were in effect saying that, since He could not even save
Himself, He could not be the Messiah, the Saviour. However, the truth of
the matter is that it is precisely because the Lord Jesus is the Saviour
of mankind that He had to be crucified on the cross and could not come
down from it and save Himself. Our hearts are filled with gratitude to
the Lord that He did not.
In Galatians 3:13, the apostle Paul quoted Deuteronomy 21:23: “Cursed is
everyone who hangs on a tree.” In the NASB margin of Galatians 3:13, it
is mentioned that the word “tree”, or literally “wood”, can be a
reference to the cross. The chief priests and the scribes, who were
teachers of the Scriptures, would likely have understood Deuteronomy
21:23 in that sense. To them, how could the One hanging on the cross be
someone whom God was pleased with since He was cursed of God? That was
why they mocked and insulted Him.
Mark 15:32
"Let this Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, so
that we may see and believe!" Those who were crucified with Him were
also insulting Him.
Matthew 27:43 reveals further the line of thinking of the Jews:
Matthew 27:43
"He trusts in God; let God rescue Him now, if He delights in Him; for He
said, 'I am the Son of God.'"
To their minds, if the Lord Jesus was indeed the Son of God in whom God the Father was well-pleased, surely the Father would deliver Him and not allow Him to die such a death. Yet God did not seem to be delivering Him. Their conclusion, which to them would seem a reasonable one, was that He could not be the Son of God whom He claimed to be.
The failure of the Jews to understand the meaning and significance of
the Cross prompted the apostle Paul to say in 1 Corinthians 1:23 that
“we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block
and to Gentiles foolishness.” The Jews could not overcome the hurdle
that someone who claimed to be the Messiah could be so weak and come to
such a dismal end. Ponder over the words “Christ crucified”. These two
words seemed to be an anomaly because the word “Christ" means the
Messiah, the Deliverer, the Saviour, the Anointed One and "Christ
crucified” seems a contradiction in terms. How could the Christ be
crucified? And yet Christ was crucified!
As the Lord Jesus Christ hung there on the cross, it would appear to be
the ultimate triumph of death. The whole scene smelt of death. Death,
evil, sin and darkness. Where was truth, light, goodness, love,
righteousness, justice and life? They all seemed absent. Death seemed to
pervade the atmosphere, and the One who claimed to be the Way, the Truth
and the Life (John 14:6) appeared to have been vanquished.
John the apostle had also testified, “In Him was life, and the life was
the Light of men.” (John 1:4). He is the source of life, eternal life (1
John 5:11,12). If death triumphed even over Him, did it not seem that
death was the ultimate victor? How could death be overcome if the Lord
Jesus was Himself overcome by death?
We have tried to identify with those who were present at the
crucifixion, who did not have the advantage of hindsight and the
Scriptures as we have it today, and who were not appreciating the death
of the Lord Jesus from a Christian perspective - what could have been in
their minds as they witnessed the scene at the Cross.
We can say that the death of Christ and the surrounding circumstances
speak most powerfully that appearance can be very different from
reality.
What was the reality? The Scriptures clearly teaches us that the death of
Christ was in reality the climax of the fulfilment of His mission on
earth and the climax of a fruitful ministry of the perfect Teacher and
Preacher. He had a definite purpose in coming to this earth and His
death was the climax, resulting in the most important accomplishments in
the spiritual realm. His death was the greatest triumph of good over
evil, not just for that moment but also with far-reaching and continuous
implications in the lives of men.
This is the reason why I mentioned at the beginning of the message that
the Cross is the pivotal, most important and crucial event in the
fulfilment of God's purposes. On the basis of the Cross, many
fundamental issues pertaining to the fulfilment of God's purposes flow
forth. These are issues that we shall reflect on in subsequent messages.
Let us turn to John 12 to appreciate the Lord Jesus' view of the crucifixion. He had told His disciples repeatedly about His impending death.
John 12:23-27
23 And Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come for the Son of
Man to be glorified.”
24 "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the
earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
25 "He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this
world will keep it to life eternal.”
26 "If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My
servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.”
27 “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 23, the Lord Jesus said that the hour had come for Him to be
glorified. On the one hand the crucifixion was terrible suffering and
humiliation; yet it was also a time when He was being glorified. The
resurrection, the ascension and even the outpouring of the Holy Spirit
were all vitally linked to the death of the Lord Jesus, for it was His
death that led to all these glorious events.
In verse 24, the Lord Jesus spoke of a grain of wheat that falls into
the earth and dies, bearing much fruit. This is a reference to His death
on the cross and how it will result in much fruitfulness. In verses 25
and 26, He invites us to join Him in embracing that kind of spirit and
attitude: to live by the principle of the Cross.
The Lord carried on in verse 27, indicating that what would take place
at the cross would be a very difficult and agonizing time for Him. He
said, “My soul has become troubled.” It is not possible for us to fully
comprehend and identify with the magnitude and the intensity of His
sufferings on the cross. If it were possible, He would rather not go
through it (Matt. 26:39), that is, if there were any other suitable
alternative. But He knew that the Cross was imperative for the
fulfilment of God's purposes. On this point, He said, “For this purpose
I came to this hour”, meaning that the Cross was the primary purpose for
His coming to this earth.
We can say then that the primary purpose of the Lord Jesus in coming to
this earth was to die on the cross - not merely to preach, to teach and
to testify to the truth - though these aspects of His ministry were
important. The purposes of God could not be fulfilled without the death
of Christ on the cross.
Hear the words of the apostle Peter soon after the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost:
Acts 2:22, 23
22 "Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man
attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God
performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know -
23 this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge
of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to
death.
The apostle Peter knew that many did not appreciate the meaning and
implications of what took place at the cross, just as he himself and the
other disciples could not quite appreciate them at the time when the
event occurred. But now Peter understood, and, filled with the Spirit,
he was preaching the truth to the hearers who were primarily the people
of Israel.
The apostle Peter proclaimed that the Lord Jesus was specially chosen
and attested by God with miracles, signs and wonders and yet godless
people nailed him to the cross. What they had done to Him was evil and
they were responsible for His death. However, at a higher level, there
was the sovereignty of God at work when Christ was delivered up.
The apostle Peter emphasised that the Lord Jesus was delivered up by the
predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God. It was not that God's plan
had gone wrong. On the contrary, the death of the Lord Jesus on the
cross was at the heart of God's plan. It was God's intention from the
beginning, for it fulfilled a vital purpose.
The death of the Lord Jesus is so central to the fulfilment of God's
purposes and is such a glorious triumph and has such far-reaching and
wide-ranging implications for every aspect of life that the apostle Paul
declared in 1 Corinthians 2:2, “For I determined to know nothing among
you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.” These are very rich
words worth pondering over. “Christ crucified”, which was a stumbling
block to Jews, became very much a mainstay in the apostle Paul's
vocabulary.
At first sight it may seem difficult to understand why the apostle said
these words in 1 Corinthians 2:2. Surely he had taught the Christians
many important things. Besides teaching them about church life, body
life and the purposes of God, he also taught them how they should live
their lives, honour God, turn away from sin and live a life of holiness.
Why then did he seem to limit the scope to “Jesus Christ, and Him
crucified”?
There is in reality no inconsistency between what he said and what he
did. All that the apostle Paul wanted to help them understand and enter
into are centred on the Lord Jesus Christ. At the heart of it all was
the death of the Lord Jesus - the Cross -and what was accomplished
there. That was the critical issue and it was on that basis that all
else flowed forth and could be worked out.
The Cross has implications for every aspect of our lives. It is the
basis on which we live out our lives everyday and every moment. It is on
the basis of our union with the Lord Jesus and what He has accomplished
on the cross that we can now, in Him and through Him, be overcomers
instead of being overcome.
The apostle Paul spoke further on this truth in the book of Galatians.
Galatians 6:14
But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord
Jesus Christ…
These are strong words, but there is no exaggeration in them. The
apostle Paul says that if there is anything to boast about, it is not in
any other thing except the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Cross may
seem such a terrible thing but the apostle Paul says that this is
something to boast about, to glory in, to exalt over because, contrary
to what it appears to be, it is in reality the greatest triumph, a
triumph over the powers of darkness, a triumph of good over evil and it
lays the foundational basis for the accomplishment of God's purposes.
We can say that the Cross and the implications following forth from the
Cross is a central theme of the Scriptures.
In many different ways, even the Old Testament points to the Cross. For
example, the Cross is prefigured in the Old Testament system of
sacrifice, a major aspect of the lives of the Israelites. Of it, the
apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 5:7 says, “Christ our Passover has been
sacrificed.” The Passover is a very important part of the Old Testament
sacrificial system and a very important event in the lives of the
Israelites. During this event, a very central aspect is the sacrifice of
the lamb and participation in fellowship in eating, after sacrificing
the lamb. When the apostle Paul says “Christ our Passover”, he is saying
that Christ is the Passover lamb and His death on the cross is the
sacrifice that is the fulfilment of the Old Testament observance of the
Passover.
Hebrews 10 can help us to appreciate the relationship between the Old
Testament and the New Testament and what took place at the cross. The
focus of this chapter is on the death of the Lord Jesus and the Old
Testament sacrificial system.
Hebrews 10:1-4
1 For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and
not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which
they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near.
2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the
worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had
consciousness of sins?
3 But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year.
4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away
sins.
In verse 1, the writer to the Hebrews refers to the Law as a “shadow of
the good things to come”. This means that the Law, the sacrificial
system and many other practices in the Old Testament were only a shadow,
yet a shadow of something positive that is to come, as the term “good
things” suggests.
Verse 4 tells us that it is not possible for the blood of bulls and
goats to take away sins. It is only a shadow - not the very form of
things that can take away our sins. Without the coming of the Lord
Jesus, the shedding of the blood of bulls and goats cannot take away
sins. The Israelites could be forgiven only because of the anticipation
of the coming Messiah who was going to die for the sins of the whole
world. The blood of bulls and goats that was shed was only a picture, a
shadow of the substance that was yet to come as Paul tells us in
Colossians - the substance belongs to Christ or is fulfilled in Christ
(Col. 2:17).
Hebrews 10:5-8
5 Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, "Sacrifice and
offering You have not desired, But a body You have prepared for Me;
6 In whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You have taken no
pleasure.
7 "Then I said, 'Behold, I have come (In the scroll of the book it is
written of Me) To do Your will, O God.'"
8 After saying above, "Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt
offerings and sacrifices for sin You have not desired, nor have You
taken pleasure in them" (which are offered according to the Law),
Verses 5 and 6 tell us that God does not desire sacrifice and burnt
offering. This does not seem to tally with what we read in the Old
Testament. Surely the offerings in the Old Testament were commanded by
God. How then can we explain this apparent contradiction?
From time to time the Scriptures communicates in this form when comparing
two things - one that has much lesser significance with one that has
much more, one that God really desires. Sacrifice and offering were not
contrary to the will of God as verse 8 tells us, for they were “offered
according to the Law”. But ultimately, God does not truly desire them
for they could not fulfil God's purpose. They had a proper place in the
Old Testament times but they were only a shadow. The substance had yet
to come. The true fulfilment of what the sacrifice and offering
prefigure is in the offering up of the body of the Lord Jesus as a
sacrifice for us as we read in verses 9 and 10:
Hebrews 10:9, 10
9 then He said, "Behold, I have come to do Your will." He takes away the
first in order to establish the second.
10 By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body
of Jesus Christ once for all.
These two verses tell us that the Lord Jesus came to fulfil the will of God the Father and that was accomplished through the offering of His body as the true sacrifice once for all. Verse 14 of the same chapter states that by that one offering, “He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.”
We can therefore say that the Cross and the surrounding circumstances of the cross offer the most striking, profound and helpful illustrations of the contrast between appearance and reality. There is much that we can learn for our own lives, the way we view things, how we go through situations and what we must be prepared to go through in our walk with God as we fix our eyes on the Lord Jesus, our perfect example. There is much that we need to ponder over for our own lives as we meditate on what our Lord has gone through, culminating at the cross.
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