A visit to Calvary
Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him away. And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha: Where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst. - John 19:16-18 KJV
I. NOTICE THE REASONS FOR THE CROSS: Matthew 16:21 Why did He use the word MUST?
A. BECAUSE OF MAN’S SIN: Romans 3:23
1. For all have sinned - And consequently we are equally helpless and guilty. In much the same way, our corrupt nature is clearly revealed when our lives are measured by the absolute standard of Divine holiness. The Bible says that “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”
B. BECAUSE OF MAN’S SEPERATION: Isaiah 59:2
1. The problem isn’t with God’s power, His knowledge, or His interest. The problem is with our iniquities. Sin has separated you from your God.
2. God is Holy and cannot look upon sin but at the cross, Jesus was bringing mankind and God together.
3. That what Jesus did on the cross, he took the hand of a loving God and the hand of sinful mankind and joined them together over his cross. And if we accept His salvation, we have peace with God.
C. BECAUSE OF MAN’S SALVATION: Romans 5:9
1. At the great cost of the Savior’s blood, shed for us at Calvary, we have been counted righteous by God.
II. NOTICE THE REALITY OF THE CROSS
A. THE SUFFERING OF THE CROSS WAS REAL: John 19:16
1. We see so much make-believe in our world today that we have lost the our sense of reality. But I want you to know that the Cross of Jesus was real.
2. When they beat him in the face, it was real. When they spit upon Him, it was real. When they whipped Him, it was real. When they nailed the nails in hands and feet it was real.
3. Jesus was made sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21) and the wrath of God we deserved was poured out upon Him: incomprehensible suffering!
B. THE SHAME OF THE CROSS WAS REAL: Matthew 27:35 They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots. He had his robe stripped off and before a hostile crowd, He bore this shame before them.
C. THE SEPERATION OF THE CROSS WAS REAL: Matthew 27:46 He had been forsaken by religious leaders, by His family, by His disciples, by His friends, and now by His Father. He wasn’t forsaken because of His sins, for he was sinless. But he was forsaken because He was taking the guilt of our sins upon Himself.
III. NOTICE THE RESULTS OF THE CROSS:
A. BY THE CROSS-HE PURCHASED OUR PARDON: Ephesians 1:7
1. Redemption always implies a price being paid for the freedom that is purchased; here the price is His blood. Jesus does not redeem us by His sinless life or His moral example, but only by His death in our place - by His blood
2. There is nothing on this earth powerful enough in itself to dispose of our guilt. We cannot fix ourselves, which is what many of us are trying to do. That which makes it possible to be forgiven, to be cleansed, to be healed, that which makes it possible for us to receive our life back again, fresh and clean and new, is the power of God’s Grace in the Cross of Jesus Christ.
B. BY THE CROSS- HE PURCHASED OUR PEACE: Romans 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
It’s Still The Cross!
God Bless You