THE CROSS OF CHRIST

THE CROSS OF CHRIST

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BIBLICAL PRINCIPLES FOR LIVING SERIES

OUTLINE:

1.THE PLAN OF THE CROSS2.THE PREPARATIONS OF THE

CROSS3.THE PERVERSIONS OF THE

CROSS4.THE PROPHECIES OF THE CROSS5.THE PERSON OF THE CROSS

5. THE PAIN OF THE CROSS6. THE PERMANENCE OF THE

CROSS7. THE PRINCIPLES OF THE CROSS8. THE PATTERN OF THE CROSS9. THE PREACHING OF THE CROSS

INTRODUCTION:

• GOD HAS NOTHING FOR YOU APART FROM THE CROSS;

• BUT HE HAS EVERYTHING FOR YOU THROUGH THE CROSS;

• EVERY BLESSING AND BENEFIT FROM GOD COMES TO US THROUGH THE CROSS OF CHRIST.

“PRAISE BE TO THE GOD AND FATHER OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST WHO HAS BLESSED US IN THE HEAVENLY REALMS WITH EVERY SPIRITUAL BLESSING IN CHRIST…IN HIM WE HAVE REDEMPTION THROUGH HIS BLOOD, THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS, IN ACCOR-DANCE WITH THE RICHES OF GOD’S GRACE THAT HE LAVISHED ON US… WHICH HE PURPOSED IN CHRIST… TO BRING ALL THINGS IN HEAVEN AND ON EARTH TO-GETHER UNDER ONE HEAD, EVEN CHRIST.” (EPH. 1:3-10)

1. THE PLAN OF THE CROSS

• The crucifixion of Christ was not an isolated event that took place in a historical vacuum.

• It was the saving event of human history that God had prepared from the eons of past eternity.

• Before God spoke the world into existence – He planned the cross!

• That’s why the Apostle John called Jesus: “…the Lamb that was slain from the creation

of the world” (Revelation 13:8; c.f. 17:18).

• “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will – to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that He lavishes on us…” (Eph. 1:3-8)

• “God has saved us and called us…not because of anything we have done, but because of His own purposes and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus…” (II Tim. 1:10).

• “Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God’s elect…a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, and at His appointed season He brought His word to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior” (Titus 1:1-3).

• “From the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our Gospel that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (II Thess. 2:13-14).

JESUS SAID:

(Separation & Reward of Sheep & Goats):

• “…take your inheritance, the Kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world” (Matt. 25:34).

• Jesus Christ: “…the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world” (Rev. 13:8).

2. THE PREPARATION OF THE CROSS:

Therefore, every animal sacrifice in the Old Testament pointed toward the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.

This is especially significant because of the defining role that the shedding of blood played in every animal sacrifice.

QUALIFICATIONS FOR SACRIFICES

• Every sacrifice was to be perfect and precious – so they were costly.

• Each one was precisely prepared in every detail according to God’s instructions.

• In each animal sacrifice, there was a loss of life.

• Central to every sacrifice was an altar upon which an innocent animal was slain.

• Most importantly, the shedding of blood was the very heart of every sacrifice.

• All of these annual sacrifices from the Old Covenant were foreshadows of the perfect and final sacrifice of Christ that was the basis for the New Covenant.

HEBREWS SAYS:• (As our High Priest who died once):

“…He entered heaven itself…to appear for us in God’s presence. Nor did He enter heaven to offer Himself again and again, the way the high priests enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now He has appeared once for all…to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself…so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people…” (Heb. 9:22-28).

3. THE PERVERSION OF THE CROSS

• Religion = Man-made salvation

• After Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, they felt naked and ashamed before each other and before God.

• So they did what many people do, they “got religion!” But “no sacrifice”

• “…they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves” (Gen. 3:7).

• In doing so, they performed the very first religious act in history. “Cheap Grace!”

• This was man’s first attempt to deal with his own sin through the work of his hands.

• That’s why the central practice in every religion is some form of works righteousness.

• Religion is an attempt in some way to “cover up” your own sin by the work of your own hands.

• The Biblical word for “covering” is the word atonement.

• It is used some 150 times in the Old Testament.

• It means “to cover or conceal.”

• Atonement is always associated with two things:

–Forgiveness of sins;

–Reconciliation with God.

• So atonement means: “A covering that conceals a person’s sin and makes it possible for him to approach God.”

• So after Adam and Eve sinned, they “got religion” and tried to “…sew fig leaves together to cover themselves.”

• Mankind has been “sewing” and “covering” themselves ever since through religion – even in the church!

• But God told them that the gravity of their sin and disobedience was too great to be cheaply covered by “fig leaves.”

• God had previously warned the man and woman that if they disobeyed Him “…they would surely die.”

• Regardless of His love for them, God could not and would not lay aside His holiness and justice.

• A punishment unto death would have to take place, or God would compromise His holiness in the face of their rebellion and sin.

• Either they would be put to death – or something else living would be put to death in their place. A substitute would have to be found!

• So, we read these words: “The Lord God

made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them” (Genesis 3:21).

• This was the first death and act of grace in human history!

• This was the first case of “substitutionary atonement” where something innocent was put to death in place of someone guilty.

• And this atonement could not take place without the “shedding of blood.”

ABLE’S SACRIFICE• The second sacrifice in the Bible:

“Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. In the course of time Cain brought some of the

fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering He did not look with favor” (Genesis 4:2-5).

Principle: “Faith” brings “favor.”

• “By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks even though he is dead” (Hebrews 11:4).

• Note: Abel is first man in “Faith Hall of Fame.”

• So while Cain came to God on the basis of his works, Abel came on the basis of faith –

• “And without faith it is impossible to please God…” (Hebrews 11:6).

ABRAHAM’S SACRIFICE

• “Take your son, your only son, Isaac (“son of promise”), whom you love and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about”

(Genesis 22:2).

• Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place, ‘The Lord will Provide’ (“Jehovah-Jireh”) (Genesis 22:1-14).

“By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, ‘It is through Isaac that your offspring will be called.’ Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death” (Heb. 11:17-19; c.f. Rom. 4:1-25).

THE PASSOVER SACRIFICE “The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt. ‘This

month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household…The animals you chose must be year-old males without defect…Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the people of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs…

…That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread without yeast…This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the Lord’s Passover. On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn – both men and animals – and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.” (Ex. 12:1-13)

4. THE PROPHECIES OF THE CROSS:

• Fulfilled prophecies are some of the greatest proofs for the divine inspiration of the Bible.

• Fulfilled Prophecy is also one of the greatest proofs that Jesus was just who He claimed to be – God’s Messiah, the Savior of the world.

• No other religion in the world has such a wealth of fulfilled prophecy as does Christianity

• No other world religious leader’s coming was foretold hundreds of years in advance in such minute detail as was Christ’s!

•The Old Testament was written over an approximate 1,500 years and contains several hundred prophecies and references to the coming of Christ the Messiah.

• These prophecies can be divided into two types: prophecies of a Kingly Messiah and prophecies of a Suffering Messiah. Jesus Christ fulfilled both.

•

• Around 30 prophecies specifically related to the circumstances surrounding Christ’s crucifixion on the cross.

• Many of the prophecies that were fulfilled by Christ were completely outside of His control or human manipulation – especially events related to His birth and death.

• Specific events that Jesus could not have in any way manipulated:

• The place of His birth (Micah 5:2)• The time of His birth (Daniel 9:25)• The manner of His birth (Isaiah 7:14)• The details of His betrayal (Psalm

41:9)• The way He would be put to death

(Psalm 22:1)• The circumstances of His burial

(Isaiah 53:9)

PROPHECIES: (O.T. REFERENCE & N.T. FULFILLMENT)

• He would triumphantly enter Jerusalem (Zech. 9:9; LK. 19:28-44);

• He would be a “stumbling stone” to Jews (Ps. 118:22; Rom. 9:32-33);

• He would be rejected by His own people (Ps. 69:8; Matt. 21:42-43);

• He would be hated without cause (Isa. 49:7; Jn.; 15:25);

•

PROPHECIES•He would be betrayed by a close friend (Ps. 41:9; Jn. 13:21);

• He would be sold for 30 pieces of silver (Zech. 11:12; Matt. 26:15);

• The money would be thrown into the temple (Zech. 11:13; Matt. 27:5);

• Money used to buy the Potter’s Field (Zech. 11:13; Matt. 27:7);

PROPHECIES:

• He would be forsaken by His disciples (Zech. 13:7; Matt. 26:31-32);• He would be accused by false witnesses (Ps. 35:11; Matt. 26:59-61)• He would be silent before His accusers (Isa. 53:7; Matt. 27:12-19)• He would be wounded and bruised (Isa. 53:5; Matt. 27:26)• He would be smitten and spit upon (Isa 50:6; Matt. 26:67)• He would be mocked (Ps. 22:7-8; Matt. 27:31)

PROPHECIES

• He would fall beneath the cross (Ps. 109:24-25; Lk. 23:26)• His hands and feet would be pierced (Ps. 22:16; Lk. 23:33)• He would be crucified between thieves (Isa. 53:12; Mk. 15:27-28)• He would pray for His persecutors (Isa. 53:12; Lk. 23:34)

PROPHECIES• His friends would stand afar off (Ps. 38:11; LK. 23:49)• He would be stared at on the cross (Ps. 22:17; Lk. 23:35)• His garments would be gambled for (Ps. 22:18; Jn. 19:23-24)• He would suffer thirst on the cross (Ps. 22:15; Jn. 19:28)• Gall and vinegar would be offered Him (Ps. 69:21; Matt. 27:34)• He would cry out a forsaken cry (Ps. 22:1; Matt. 27:46)

PROPHECIES • He would commit Himself to God (Ps. 31:5; LK. 23:46)• None of His bones would be broken (Ps. 34:20; Jn. 19:34)• His side would be pierced (Zech. 12:10; Jn. 19:34)• Darkness would cover the land (Amos 8:9; Matt. 27:49)• He would be buried in a rich man’s tomb (Isa. 53:9; Matt. 27:57-60)• He would be resurrected from the dead (Ps. 16:10; Matt 28:6)

PROPHECIES:

(Peter’s Sermon to Jews): “You killed the author of life, but God raised Him from the dead. We are witnesses of this…Now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. But this is how God fulfilled what He had foretold through all the prophets, saying that His Christ would suffer…Indeed, all the prophets from Samuel on, as many as have spoken, have foretold these days. And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers” (Acts 3:17-25).

3 SPECIFIC PROPHECIES ABOUT THE DEATH OF CHRIST:

PROPHECY ONE:

“The Lord God said to the serpent: ‘Because you have done this, ‘Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and hers; He will crush your head and you will strike His heel” (Genesis 3:14-15).

PROPHECY TWO:

“Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, ‘We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us.’ So Moses prayed for the people. The Lord said to Moses, ‘Make a snake and put it up on a pole, anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.’ So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked (faith!) at the bronze snake, he lived” (Num. 21:4-9).

Jesus to Nichodemus:

“Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert…so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that every-one who believes in Him may have eternal life.”

“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.”

“For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him” (John 3:14-17).

PROPHECY THREE:

“Christ redeemed us (literally means: ‘to buy out of slavery’) from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree’ (Note: OT background of this in Deut. 21:22-23). He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus… (Gal. 3:13)

CONCLUSIONS

“Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

(I Peter 1:19-21).

5. THE PERSON OF THE CROSS:

“He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering…Surely He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered Him stricken by God, smitten by Him, and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities, the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him and by His wounds we are healed…the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all…He was like a lamb to the slaughter…He will bear their iniquities…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 53:3-12)

• “…carrying His own cross, He went out to the place called the skull. Here they crucified Him, and with two others, one on each side and Jesus in the middle” (Jn. 19:17-18).

• (Peter’s sermon; Day of Pentecost): “Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through Him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge, and you, with the help of wicked men, put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross…” (Acts 2:22-23)

• (Paul to saints at Corinth” “…root out leaven of immorality”): “For Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth.”

(I Cor. 5:6-8).

• “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Eph. 5:1-2).

• “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit…” (I Pet. 3:18).

• “…Jesus Christ, Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross!” (Phil. 2:5-8)

“…Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. As it is written: ‘There is no one righteous, not even one…All have turned away…there is no one who does good, not even one’…Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in His sight by observing the law…But now a righteousness from God, apart from the law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in His blood. He did this to demonstrate His justice, because in His forbearance He had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished – He did it to demonstrate His justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.” (Romans 3:9 – 26).

“Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant…because Jesus lives forever, He has a permanent priesthood. Therefore, He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them…such a high priest meets our need – one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, He does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for His own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when He offered Himself.”

(Hebrews 7:22-27).

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched – this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; and we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ…God is light, in Him there is no darkness at all…if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin…If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness…My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have One who speaks to the Father in our defense – Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for our sins but also for the sins of the whole world”

(I John 1:1- 2:2).

“Dear friends, let us love one another,

for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed His love among us; He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love; not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (I John 4:7-10).

JESUS SAID:

“I am the good shepherd…I lay down my life for the sheep…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. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from My Father” (John 10:14-18).

PRAYER

6. THE PAIN OF THE CROSS:• History teaches us that crucifixion as a means of

execution was first used by the Phoenicians. It was also adopted by the Carthaginians, Egyptians and Romans.

• But it was the Romans who perfected this diabolical means of capital punishment – especially for the execution of rebellious slaves, disobedient foreigners and the lowest criminal classes.

• In the four Gospels there is not a lot of specific physical details of the crucifixion. They simply recount that Pilate “…had Jesus flogged, and handed Him over to be crucified” (Matt. 27:26).

• So the writers simply and succinctly summarize Christ’s execution with three words: “…they crucified Him” (John 19:18).

“He might hang for days in the heat of the midday

sun and the cold of night, tortured by thirst, tortured by the gnats and the flies in the wounds of his torn back from the scourging. Often men died raving mad on their crosses. Neither did the Romans bury the bodies of crucified criminals. They simply took them down and threw them away and let the vultures and the crows and the dogs feed upon them” (William Barclay, The Gospel of John)

• Died of asphyxiation

THE HELL OF THE CROSS

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me…I am a worm…scorned by men and despised by people. All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads…I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaves to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death…they have pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing” (Ps. 22:1-18).

• “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”

(II Cor. 5:21)

• “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich yet for your sakes He became poor so that you through His poverty might become rich.” (II Cor. 8:9)

7. THE PERMANENCE OF THE CROSS

(THE BLOOD OF CHRIST)1. PRINCIPLE OF THE BLOOD:• “For the life of a creature is

in the is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.” (Lev. 17:11)

• (Passover): “The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.” (Ex. 12:13)

• (Day of Atonement): “Aaron is to make atone-ment for himself…his household…and the whole community of Israel.” (Lev. 16)

• “In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shed-ding of blood there is no forgiveness.” (Heb. 9:22)

2. POWER OF THE BLOOD:• Redemption: “In Him we have redemption

through His blood, the forgiveness of sins…” (Eph. 1:7)

• “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ…”

(I Pet. 1:18)• “To Him who loves us and has freed us from

our sins by His blood, and made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve His God and Father…” (Rev. 1:5)

• Justification: “Since we have been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!” (Rom. 5:9)

3. PEACE OF THE BLOOD:

• “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.” (Eph. 2:13)

• “And through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross.” (Col. 1:20)

4. PERMANANCE OF THE BLOOD: “Eternal Redemption”

• “…He entered the most Holy Place once for all by His own blood having obtained eternal redemption.”

(Heb. 9:12)

– “…eternal salvation…” (Heb. 5:11)– “…eternal redemption…” (Heb. 9:12)– “…eternal inheritance…” (Heb. 9:15)– “…made perfect forever…” (Heb. 10:14)– “…through the blood of the eternal

covenant…” (13:20)

5. PURPOSE OF THE BLOOD: • “And they sang a new song: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because You were slain, and with Your blood You purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.” (Rev. 5:9)

6. PROTECTION OF THE BLOOD:

“They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.” (Rev. 12:11)

COMMUNION: “Jesus took bread, gave thanks and

broke it … saying: Take and eat; this is My Body.”

Then He took the cup, gave thanks … saying,

“Drink from it, all of you. This My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”

(Matt. 26:26-28)

8. THE PRINCIPLES OF THE CROSS:• (Greeks came to seek Jesus): “Jesus replied, ‘The hour has come for

the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the grown and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves Me must follow Me…’” (Jn. 12:23-25)

Now My heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name.’

Then a voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.”

The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to Him.

Jesus said, ‘This voice was for your benefit, not mine. Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.’

He said this to show the kind of death He was going to die” (Jn. 12:27-33).

• “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him…When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code with its regulations, that were against us and that stood opposed to us; He took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” (Col. 2:6-15).

9. THE PATTERN OF THE CROSS:

• “Anyone who does not take his cross and follow Me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds His life will lose it, and whoever loses His life for My sake will find it” (Matt. 10:38-39; Mk. 8:34; Lk. 9:23)

• “Anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me, cannot be my disciple” (Lk. 14:27).

• “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loves me and gave Himself for me” (Gal. 2:20)

• “We were buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. If we have been united with Him like this in His death, we will certainly also be united with Him in His resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin – because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him…The death He died, He died to sin, once for all, but the life He lives, He lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus”

(Rom. 6:3-11)

• “Since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him! For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life!” (Rom. 5:9-10)

• “Therefore…let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorniung its shame…Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lost heart…” (Heb. 12:1-3)

10. THE PREACHING OF THE CROSS:• “For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to

preach the Gospel – not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (I Cor. 1:17-18)

• (Circumcision): “If I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished…May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Gal. 5:11; 6:12-14).

• “Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomachs, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body” (Phil. 3:17-21)

3 CROSSES

Unrepentant Thief……Jesus.....Repentant Thief

“Died IN Sin” “Died FOR Sin” “Died TO Sin”

PRINCIPLE• God has nothing for you apart from the

Cross of Christ;

• But He has everything for you through the Cross of Christ;

• All the blessings and the benefits of God’s “…great salvation” (Heb. 3:3) come to us through the Cross of Christ;

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world…to be adopted as His sons…In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgive-ness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that He lavished on us…in Christ…to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ” (Eph. 1:3-10)

HOLY SPIRIT

• “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” By this He meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified” (Jn. 7:37-39)

• “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever…He lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you…On that day (Pentecost) you will realize that I am in My Father, and you are in Me and I am in you…We will come and make our home with Him…All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My Name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (Jn. 14:16-26).

• “It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you…But when He, the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears…He will bring glory to Me by taking from what is Mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is Mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is Mine and make it known to you” (Jn. 16:7-17).

HEALING

• “…many who were demon-possessed were brought to Him and He drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: ‘He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases’” (Matt. 8:16-17; Isa. 53:4).

• “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed” (I Pet. 2:24)