03/20/05 – “JESUS ON THE CROSS PART 2”
Holy Week…Palm Sunday to Resurrection Sunday
30 chapters in the New Testament are about this one week - Matthew 21-28, Mark 11-16, Luke 19-24, John 12-21
Palm Sunday was a great day of celebration – Many people had heard and seen the recent miracle of Lazarus being raised from the dead
The people exalted and praised Jesus - “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel.” – John 12:13
On Monday Jesus drove the merchants out of the temple - “My Father’s house shall be a house of prayer” - The temple was not to be defiled
On Tuesday He went about teaching - They challenged His authority and sought to ensnare Him in His words…BUT THEY COULD NOT
“And He was teaching daily in the temple; but the chief priests and the scribes and the leading men among the people were trying to destroy Him, and they could not find anything that they might do, for all the people were hanging upon His words.” – Luke 19:47-48
There is no record of Wednesday but Jesus was most likely with His disciples in Bethany, preparing for the Passover
Thursday…Jesus and disciples celebrate the Last Supper …Jesus ordains the New Covenant in His blood – John 14-17
After dinner went to Gethsemane, prayed and yielded Himself to the Father…He was then betrayed, arrested and led to His accusers
Friday - Six trials…Annas, Caiaphas, the Sanhedrin, Pilate, Herod, and back to Pilate –Guilty Barabbas released, guiltless Christ is condemned
Jesus, the Lamb of God, the only one who could atone for our sins, became the ultimate guilt offering as described in Isaiah 53
To the Cross on Friday…beaten, scourged, stripped, abandoned, denied, mocked, betrayed and nailed to the Cross
Seven Last Sayings…1) “Father forgive them, they don’t know what they’re doing.”( Forgiveness) 2) “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.” (Salvation) 3) “Woman, behold, your son!…Behold your mother!” (Concern for others) 4) “And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, ‘My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?’” (Cut off for us) 5) “I am thirsty.” (His humanity)
6) “It is finished!” (Mission accomplished) 7) “Father, into thy hands I commit My spirit.” (Total trust)
Jesus is dead - What happened next?
“And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and the earth shook; and the rocks were split, and the tombs were opened; and many” bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many. Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!” - Matthew 27:51-54
The veil was a heavy curtain 16 feet high and 60 feet wide and separated Sanctuary from the Ark of the Covenant
The tearing of the curtain was revealing…the lights were out in the Holy of Holies – God had departed centuries before
There was no glory within the sacred room – The glory was on Calvary…hanging on the Cross…The King of Glory
The rent veil means no longer have to be kept at a distance…every believer would have direct access to God through blood of Christ
“Since therefore, brethren, we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” – Hebrews 10:19-22
Daily sacrifices were no longer necessary – The Old Covenant replaced by a new and living way – Sacrificial system obsolete
Victory Over Darkness
“He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.” – Ephesians 4:10
If Satan thought for one moment the crucifixion was a victory for the hordes of darkness, Jesus banished all his hopes
The Cross marked Satan’s ultimate defeat and Jesus’ ultimate victory…Satan could not claim Him, touch Him, or hold Him
“It’s finished!” echoed through the caverns of hell – Satan exposed and defeatedby the Truth
“So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men.” – Romans 5:18 – Not just forgiven but justified…Just as if I had not sinned
“Justification is the declared purpose of God to regard and treat those sinners who believe in Jesus Christ as if they had not sinned on the grounds and merits of the Savior. It is not a mere pardon. Pardon is free forgiveness of past offenses. It has reference to those sins as forgiven and blotted out. Justification has respect to the law and to God’s future dealings with the sinners. It is an act by which God determines to treat them hereafter as righteous, as if they had not sinned.” - Albert Barnes
The basis of our merit is solely on the merit of Jesus Christ – We can now come boldly before the throne of God with confidence