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A Scriptural Journey From Old Testament Prophecies to Jesus' Sacrifice
Dive deep into the significance of Jesus' sacrifice and how it fulfilled ancient prophecies. Don't miss this week's enlightening episode.
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Transcript
And here I am. All right, well good morning everybody. On this muggy Sunday
Speaker:morning, I would love to let Satan have his weather back, get back to some real
Speaker:weather, but anyway. This morning we're gonna be talking about the crucifixion.
Speaker:Well, how about before I get started, let's read this. This is just the first part
Speaker:here. "So we delivered him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus and he
Speaker:went out bearing his own cross to the place called the place of a skull, which
Speaker:in Aramaic is called Golgotha. There they crucified him and with him two others,
Speaker:one on either side and Jesus between them." Let's kind of refresh ourselves as
Speaker:to who the players are. "So he, Pilate, delivered him, Jesus, over to them the
Speaker:eudioi, which are the Jewish leadership. And so they took Jesus and he went out
Speaker:bearing his own cross." Last week Will talked a lot about, you know, the trial
Speaker:before Pilate and there's a lot of details in there that that really struck
Speaker:me. When Pilate had Jesus flogged, typically when the Romans would flog
Speaker:someone, they gave them 39 lashes. 39 was the number of mercy for them. 40 was the
Speaker:number of judgment. So they gave a man 39 lashes. They referred to it as a Roman
Speaker:half-death because 39 lashes, they believed 40 would kill a man. A lot of
Speaker:men died while they were being lashed. But with each lash, the accused was to
Speaker:recite his crimes, call out what he had done wrong. And as he called these out,
Speaker:the lashes would become lighter and lighter. By the time they got to the
Speaker:39th lash, they would lay the lash on his back. Men would scream out their charges.
Speaker:They would scream in pain. Jesus said nothing. When they brought Jesus out,
Speaker:Pilate brought Jesus out and he says, "Behold the man." You have to understand,
Speaker:Pilate was, he viewed the flogging and he saw he'd never seen in all the time and
Speaker:I'm sure he must have had hundreds of men flogged. Never once did one not utter a
Speaker:sound. He just took it. He realized there was something about Jesus. The other
Speaker:thing that's in there that I think is really important to the story as to why
Speaker:Pilate turned Jesus over to be crucified was when they said, "This man claimed to
Speaker:be the Son of God." Now why should that matter to a Roman who has a pantheon of
Speaker:gods? Son of God in the Roman world was ascribed to Caesar and only Caesar. So
Speaker:them using that, see they were leveraging Pilate. They were trying to push him
Speaker:into crucifying Jesus. He didn't want to do it. He didn't see any fault in the man.
Speaker:He witnessed him taking the 39 lashes without uttering so much as a noise. In
Speaker:his heart I believe he believed he was innocent but by the Jewish leadership
Speaker:saying, "Son of God," they forced his hand because Pilate was already on the outs
Speaker:with Caesar. He'd already had his hand slapped once. A second time would
Speaker:probably mean he would lose his job or his head, one of the two. Okay so that's
Speaker:a little bit of the background on that. The crucifixion of Jesus is the
Speaker:culmination of God's plan of redemption for mankind. Everything else is dependent
Speaker:upon the cross and the sacrifice of Jesus. Saving grace, forgiveness of sin,
Speaker:resurrection to eternal life with God are all made possible only by the
Speaker:sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. He paid the penalty. That's what caused
Speaker:it to happen. I'm not going to go into all the gory details of crucifixion.
Speaker:Pastor Justin did a fantastic job of that last Easter and I would recommend
Speaker:that if you weren't there to catch it, that you look it up online. It'll be on
Speaker:YouTube. I would recommend highly that you watch that because he does
Speaker:probably one of the best, he gives probably one of the best explanations of
Speaker:the historical crucifixion. Something else to keep in mind, crucifixion was
Speaker:only for non-Romans. A Roman citizen could not be crucified. If you ever
Speaker:wondered why Paul was beheaded and Peter was crucified, Paul was beheaded because
Speaker:he was a Roman citizen. He was not crucified. Peter was not a Roman citizen,
Speaker:therefore he was crucified.
Speaker:Prophecies and foretellings. There are numerous prophecies. Scripture is replete
Speaker:with prophecies about the Messiah and what he would endure to
Speaker:bring about the salvation of man. There are 55 prophecies that speak directly to
Speaker:the Messiah, his life, his ministry, his death, and his resurrection. Some scholars
Speaker:believe there are over 300 indirect prophecies as well. On your worksheet is
Speaker:a, there's a website, a web link where you can look at all those prophecies. They
Speaker:have them all listed out. It's really, really good. 1 Peter 1 18 21, "Knowing that
Speaker:you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with
Speaker:perishable things such as gold or silver, but with the precious blood of Christ
Speaker:like that of a lamb without blemish or spot, he was foreknown before the
Speaker:foundation of the world but was made manifest in these last times for the
Speaker:sake of you through him are, for the sake of you who through him are believers in
Speaker:God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory so that your faith and
Speaker:hope are in God." I'm just going to go through some prophecies real quick about
Speaker:about Jesus. Prophecy, "The animal you choose must be year-old males without
Speaker:defect that you may take them from the sheep or the goats." What they're
Speaker:referring to right there is for the Passover sacrifice. It's Exodus 12 5.
Speaker:"How much in the fulfillment in Hebrews 9 14, how much more then will the blood of
Speaker:Christ who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God
Speaker:cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death so that we may serve the
Speaker:living God." Here's one from Psalm 46 through 8. "Sacrifice and offering you did
Speaker:not desire but my ears you have opened. Burnt offerings and sin offerings you did
Speaker:not require. Then I said, 'Here I am. I have come. It is written about me in the
Speaker:scroll. I desire to do your will my God, your laws within my heart written about
Speaker:me in the scroll.'" Judging from the time that this Psalm was written, he's more
Speaker:than likely referring to the Pentateuch, the five books of Moses, five books of
Speaker:the law. "Fulfillment, therefore," it says out of Hebrews chapter 10, "therefore when
Speaker:Christ came into the world he said, 'Sacrifice and offering you
Speaker:did not desire but a body you prepared for me. With burnt offerings and sin
Speaker:offerings you were not pleased. Then I said, 'Here I am. It is written about me in
Speaker:the scroll. I have come to do your will my God.' First he said, 'Sacrifices and
Speaker:offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were
Speaker:you pleased with them, though they were offered in accordance with the law.'" You
Speaker:have to realize that these were the official sacrifices. These were not rogue
Speaker:sacrifices like King Saul did in 1 Samuel chapter 13. "Then he said, 'Here I am. I
Speaker:have come to do your will.' He sets aside the first to establish the second." The
Speaker:first is the law, to establish the grace. "And by that will we have been made holy
Speaker:through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all." Prepared
Speaker:is the word prepared there. You have body you prepared, katartizo in Greek. This
Speaker:means to complete thoroughly. He thoroughly prepared the body to present
Speaker:him for the sacrifice. "For the life of a creature is in the blood and I've given
Speaker:it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar. It is the blood
Speaker:that makes atonement for one's life." That's out of Leviticus chapter 17. And
Speaker:Jesus said, "This is my blood of the covenant which is poured out to many for
Speaker:the forgiveness of sins." So Moses made a bronze snake and put it on a pole. Then
Speaker:when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake they lived.
Speaker:Background on the story for anybody that might not know it. The children of Israel
Speaker:sinned in the in the desert and the Lord sent snakes and people were getting bit
Speaker:by snakes and died. And God said, "Put a bronze snake up on a pole and anyone
Speaker:who's bitten and looks on that snake will be saved." Now this is an interesting
Speaker:thought in Hebrew thinking that it's that there's a rabbi that's quoted as
Speaker:saying, I think it was Rabbi Akiva, that said, "Man cuts with a knife and heals
Speaker:with a bandage." God does the same thing with the both with the same
Speaker:weapon. And here's an example. God sent the snakes but lifting a snake up on a
Speaker:pole was what healed them. He healed them with the same an image of the same thing
Speaker:that was causing them damage. Then we go on to hear about in John chapter 3, "Just
Speaker:as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be
Speaker:lifted up that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him." The penalty of
Speaker:sin is death. But God's death brought us life. Okay, so you kind of see the same
Speaker:thing happening over and over again within the Word. Another great source of
Speaker:prophecy about the crucifixion of Jesus can be found in Psalm 22. Here are some
Speaker:examples but I would invite you to read the whole Psalm for yourself many, many
Speaker:times. Psalm 22, 1, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Matthew 27, 46, and
Speaker:about the ninth hour, 3 p.m., Jesus cried out with a loud voice saying, "Elo, eloi
Speaker:lama sabachthani?" That is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Now realize
Speaker:that these prophecies were written a long time before the time of Jesus. Psalm 22,
Speaker:7, and 8, "All who see me mock me. They make mouths at me. They wag their heads. He
Speaker:trusts in the Lord. Let him deliver him. Let him rescue him, for he delights in
Speaker:him." Matthew 27, 41 through 43, "So also the chief priests with the scribes and
Speaker:elders mocked him saying, 'He saved others. He cannot save himself. He is the king of
Speaker:Israel. Let him come down from the cross and we will believe in him. He trusts in
Speaker:God. Let God deliver him now if he desires God, for he said, 'I am the Son of God.'"
Speaker:Psalm 22, 18, "They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots."
Speaker:John 19, 23 through 24, that's part of our scripture today, "When the
Speaker:soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four
Speaker:parts, one part for each soldier, also his tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven
Speaker:in one piece from top to bottom. So they said to one another, 'Let us not tear it,
Speaker:but cast lots for it, to see whose it shall be.' This was to fulfill the
Speaker:scripture which says, 'They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing
Speaker:they cast lots.' So the soldiers did these things." Okay, you can also see, bless you,
Speaker:Jesus and several of the Jewish holidays, or holy days. Verse one is the
Speaker:Passover. Now we're all pretty much familiar with Christ, our Passover
Speaker:sacrifice. You know, he was our Passover lamb. The night before the children
Speaker:of Israel were released from their bondage in Egypt, God told him to take a lamb,
Speaker:slaughter the lamb, place the blood on the doorposts and the lintels of the
Speaker:door, so that the angel of death would pass over the children. And he
Speaker:established some rules and regulations about the lamb. The lamb was
Speaker:supposed to be roasted whole. It was supposed to be eaten in one setting with
Speaker:your traveling clothes on and your staff in your hand. Nothing was to be left for
Speaker:the next day. But there are prophecies about the crucifixion in Exodus chapter
Speaker:12. "Your lamb should be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from
Speaker:the sheep or the goats." We saw that one a little earlier. 2 Corinthians 5 21, "For
Speaker:our sake, he, the Father, made him, Jesus, to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him,
Speaker:Jesus, we might become the righteousness of God. It shall be eaten in one house.
Speaker:You shall not take any of the flesh outside the house, and you shall not
Speaker:break any of its bones." I've read that verse a hundred times. And time 101, the
Speaker:Holy Spirit opened my eyes to see, "You shall not break any of his bones." Psalm 22 17,
Speaker:"I can count all my bones. They stare and gloat over me." John 19 33, "But when they
Speaker:came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs."
Speaker:Exodus 12 46, that passage there was written some 15 centuries before the
Speaker:crucifixion. That's 1,500 years. Everything funnels down to Christ.
Speaker:Everything. You can also, this is a big one here, Jesus and Yom Kippur, the Day of
Speaker:Atonement. Let me read a little bit and I'll explain. "Yom Kippur, the Day of
Speaker:Atonement, is the highest Jewish holy day of the year. It is unique in that it is the
Speaker:only Jewish holiday that is not in remembrance of a particular event in
Speaker:Jewish history. There is no feasting. It's not in remembrance of any particular
Speaker:Jewish, anything in Jewish history. The Passover, the Feast of Passover, refers to
Speaker:the actual event of Passover. Hanukkah refers to the event in the Maccabean
Speaker:kingdom when they didn't have enough oil to light the temple lamp for all eight
Speaker:days. They only had enough oil for one day and the Lord kept the lamps
Speaker:burning for eight days." Okay, all the other Jewish holidays point to specific
Speaker:events, but Yom Kippur doesn't. I believe because it points to Jesus. It points to
Speaker:the sacrifice. It is the only time of the year the Jews were
Speaker:permitted to prostrate themselves, to bow all the way to the ground. The Hebrew
Speaker:word is to become like a carpet that's laying flat down the ground, face into
Speaker:the dirt. It's the only time, and this was done when during the ceremony, the
Speaker:high priest, the Kohen Gadol, would utter aloud the tetragrammaton, the name of
Speaker:God, YHWH. He did this ten times. Now, the tetragrammaton is something that
Speaker:God said, "This is my name." If you look in your Bibles, anytime you see the word
Speaker:Lord capitalized or the word God capitalized, it is the tetragrammaton. In
Speaker:Hebrew, Yod-Heh-Vav-Heh. Those are the letters. Okay, at the time of Jesus, only
Speaker:the high priest was allowed to say the word aloud, and he did it ten times
Speaker:during the Yom Kippur celebration. At no other time was anybody else allowed to
Speaker:utter the word. In fact, by the second century, it became a capital crime. If you
Speaker:spoke the word of God out loud, that name of God, that Yod-Heh-Vav-Heh, you'd be
Speaker:stoned. The scribes so mangled the word in the scriptures that we don't know what
Speaker:that word is. We sometimes go, "Oh, it's YHWH." Well, it's great if that floats your
Speaker:boat. Fantastic. Enjoy it. It's not it. We don't know what it is. And I'll get a
Speaker:little bit more into that here in a minute, but he said this name ten times.
Speaker:Remember that during the ceremony. He said it ten times. The people upon hearing
Speaker:the tetragrammaton will reply, "Blessed be His name. The glory of
Speaker:His kingdom is forever." That's from Yomah 3.8. Now, Yomah is the fifth, this is going
Speaker:to sound really nerdy, but it's the fifth tractate of Seder Moed, order of
Speaker:festivals of the Mishnah and of the Talmud. It is concerned mainly with the
Speaker:laws of Halacha, or the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur, on which Jews atone for their
Speaker:sins from the previous year. It consists of eight chapters and has a Gemara, a
Speaker:completion from both the Jerusalem Talmud and the Babylonian Talmud. Now, I've got
Speaker:on your paper definitions of the Talmud, the Mishnah, all that. You can see that on
Speaker:the back. Kind of gives you an idea of what is the oral tradition, what is the
Speaker:written tradition. But basically, it's a how-to book on how you're supposed to
Speaker:celebrate Yom Kippur. And this is what they're supposed to say. This was the one
Speaker:time a year that the high priest was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies. He
Speaker:prepared himself in the week prior to the ceremony. The high priest would
Speaker:sacrifice a bull for his own sins and those of his household, and also for the
Speaker:priests. He would, the high priest for the week prior to Yom Kippur left his home
Speaker:and stayed in quarters in the temple. Because you have to understand that at the, in
Speaker:Jesus' time, the high priest was not a religious figure, a religious man. He was,
Speaker:he bought his high priest from the Romans. The Romans determined at that
Speaker:point who the high priest was going to be, and they would establish a high
Speaker:priest for one year. And then it was bribery, corruption, coercion. Oh, you're
Speaker:the new high priest. So when he was brought into these quarters, the priests,
Speaker:the actual priests, you know, the ones that really knew the sacrifice,
Speaker:sacrificial system, not only the daily, but all the different festivals, would
Speaker:start to grill him and teach him if necessary, so that he was well prepared
Speaker:for when he was going to do the sacrifice. Because they were afraid that
Speaker:if he did something wrong, God would kill him, and the Jews wouldn't be forgiven
Speaker:for the year. And that was, that was a big fear. So, and the last, the last night, the
Speaker:night before the ceremony, they would not allow him to sleep. They would keep him
Speaker:up all night. They would make him, if he looked like he was gonna fall asleep, take
Speaker:off your sandals, stand up on the cold floor, wake yourself up. They would keep
Speaker:him awake, because they were afraid something, he might have a dream that
Speaker:might defile him. Okay. The two goats. In this ceremony, the priest enters the,
Speaker:enters the Holy of Holies with incense first, and then he comes back out. Now, I
Speaker:know we've all heard of stories of them tying a rope to his leg or to his waist.
Speaker:Juries out on that one. It's a traditional thing that the tradition surfaced many
Speaker:years after the temple. So, don't know, but we do know that he had bells on the
Speaker:fringe of his, of his outfit. They could hear the bells tinkling as he went in,
Speaker:because he had to, the way the Holy of Holies curtain was, it was like this. And
Speaker:so you had two runs that went like this. So we'd have to go in, turn, turn. You have
Speaker:to weave himself through the curtains. They were too big to just grab and move.
Speaker:Okay. So he would go inside there first to offer incense. Okay. Now, in Solomon's day,
Speaker:you know, before the Babylonian exile, inside that Holy of Holies was the Ark
Speaker:of the Covenant and the mercy seat and the cherubim who covered their faces.
Speaker:And that's where he would sprinkle the blood. And the Shekinah glory of God would
Speaker:be above the mercy seat. Well, at this time, what the high priest really should
Speaker:have said was when he walked in there, he should have walked back out and said,
Speaker:"Ikabod, the glory is gone. There is no glory there. The Ark of the Covenant was
Speaker:gone. It disappeared during the Babylonian exile. So that was gone. The Torah scrolls
Speaker:that were kept there were gone. In fact, they've done some archaeology under
Speaker:Temple Mount and actually have found a place cut out in the stone where the Ark
Speaker:used to fit and the Torah scrolls. They actually have found that spot.
Speaker:But he would go in and offer the incense and he would come out and he would pray
Speaker:over the bull confessing his own sins and the sins of his household.
Speaker:Then he would confess the sins of the priesthood. Then he would kill the bull
Speaker:and the blood would be caught in a basin. Something to understand,
Speaker:the killing of the bull or the killing of the goat itself did not bring
Speaker:about the atonement. The atonement, the forgiveness of sin did not happen until
Speaker:the high priest sprinkled the blood on the altar. I invite you to look through
Speaker:Hebrews. You might find something interesting in there. Okay, so there were
Speaker:two goats. The high priest would draw two golden lots. On one was written for the
Speaker:Lord and on the other was written for Azazel. It was considered a good omen
Speaker:if the lot for the Lord, you know, he would just reach in and grab if he chose
Speaker:the lot for the Lord in his right hand. That was considered a good omen. Okay, the
Speaker:goat labeled for the Lord was to be sacrificed. The goat for Azazel was to be
Speaker:driven into the wilderness after the high priest confessed or placed the sins
Speaker:of Israel on it. The goat is commonly known as the scapegoat. A scarlet cord
Speaker:was tied around its horns. A portion of that cord was tied to the temple door
Speaker:and tradition had it that when the scapegoat was released into the
Speaker:wilderness, now depending on who, which rabbi you want to listen to, he was
Speaker:either released into the wilderness or he was pushed off a cliff in the
Speaker:wilderness. But at that point that he was released or pushed off the cliff, it was
Speaker:believed that the scarlet cord on the temple door would turn white, signifying
Speaker:that the sins were forgiven. Now Azazel, there's different schools of thought
Speaker:about the meaning of that. Psalm 103 verse 12 where it says, "As far as the east is
Speaker:from the west, so far does he remove the transgression from us." It's kind of like
Speaker:they're sending the sins away from Israel. They're no longer a part of us, okay?
Speaker:And in essence that's what Jesus does for us. He separates our sin, far as the east is
Speaker:from the west, all right? Some believe that the term Azazel, and this comes
Speaker:out of one of the apocryphal books, the book of Enoch, I think 8-1, Azazel is
Speaker:considered another name for Satan. It's like they were putting the sins on the
Speaker:goat and sending it back to its father, saying, "Look, you can have these back. We've
Speaker:been forgiven." The two goats were considered to be one sacrifice. Leviticus
Speaker:16 5, "And he shall take from the congregation of the people of Israel two
Speaker:male goats for a sin offering." Not for sin offerings. The Jews considered those two
Speaker:goats as one sacrifice. So the first goat would be killed, his blood
Speaker:would be drawn, and his blood would be sprinkled on the altar, and the sins will
Speaker:be cast out of the camp. That other goat would die outside the camp. According to
Speaker:the Talmud, the destruction of the temple did not come as a total surprise to the
Speaker:Jewish people. The Talmud records that four ominous events occurred
Speaker:approximately 40 years before the destruction of the temple. That's Yoma
Speaker:39a and B. Now remember, the Talmud is an oral tradition, so these were stories
Speaker:that probably had their basis in fact, as far as we can tell. And they're saying
Speaker:that some 40 years before the destruction, now the temple was
Speaker:destroyed in A.D. 70. Okay, Titus destroyed it in A.D. 70, which is roughly 40 years
Speaker:after Christ was crucified. The lot for the Lord's goat did not come up
Speaker:in the right hand of the high priest. The scarlet cord tied to the door of the
Speaker:temple on the Day of Atonement stopped turning white after the scapegoat had
Speaker:been cast over the precipice. The westernmost light of the temple candelabra
Speaker:would not burn. It is believed that this light was used to light the other lights
Speaker:of the candelabra. The temple doors would open by themselves. The rabbi saw this as
Speaker:an ominous fulfillment of Zechariah 11.1, "Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that they may
Speaker:devour thy cedars." The opening of the doors to let in the consuming fire
Speaker:foretold the destruction of the temple by fire. They saw signs. Now, they may think,
Speaker:"Well, it's just signs of the imminent destruction." That was signs that these
Speaker:sacrifices were no longer acceptable, and the temple was no longer necessary
Speaker:because the great high priest had come. He had come. He had fulfilled the law
Speaker:so as to set the sacrificial system aside. It no longer was valid.
Speaker:God never liked that. As we read from the previous scriptures about, "I didn't
Speaker:like sin offerings and burnt offerings, even though ones that were done
Speaker:completely according to the law." God never really got his enjoyment
Speaker:from that. That was a system set up in place, but I believe that all these
Speaker:systems point to Jesus. Jesus was both the goat for the Lord, in that his
Speaker:blood was shed and his life was taken, and he was for the goat, for Azizel goat,
Speaker:in that the sins of us all were placed on him and he died outside the camp.
Speaker:Now, read something here from a book called The Fall Feast of Israel.
Speaker:It says, "The two goats foreshadowed the sacrifice of Christ when the Messiah died
Speaker:on Calvary. He paid the penalty for our sins, as did the goat that was slaughtered.
Speaker:He also removed sin, but where does the New Testament teach that our sins are
Speaker:removed through the sacrifice?" John the Baptist combined the idea of the Azizel
Speaker:with the Passover lamb standing on the stones of the Jordan River. John cried,
Speaker:"Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Jesus is not only
Speaker:the slain lamb who protects us from the wrath of God, he is not merely a sheep
Speaker:led silently to the slaughter, for through his death the sins of all who
Speaker:believe are completely removed."
Speaker:Those of us who have been Christians for a long time, you may get desensitized
Speaker:sometimes to the awesome wonder that was the cross. As I've studied this,
Speaker:God has just opened my eyes to just what an absolutely, what a beautiful name it is,
Speaker:the name of Jesus, Yeshua. You know, the cross itself is just such, it's so
Speaker:mind-blowing, but we get numb to it sometimes, and I think it's good for us
Speaker:to get back to it, to really let our hearts be softened and realize once
Speaker:again the amazing sacrifice that Jesus did. There's another similarity
Speaker:between Jesus and Yom Kippur. Well, let me, here's another example of Jesus' claim
Speaker:to being uniquely the one to all things apply. There's another case that happens
Speaker:in Revelation, Revelation 5, 1 through 5. "Then I saw in the right hand of Him who
Speaker:was seated on the throne a scroll, written within and on the back, sealed
Speaker:with seven seals, and I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, 'Who is
Speaker:worthy to open and open the scroll and break its seals?' And no one in heaven or
Speaker:on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, and I
Speaker:began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to
Speaker:look into it. And one of the elders said to me, 'Weep no more. Behold, the lion of
Speaker:the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has conquered so that he can open the
Speaker:scroll and its seven seals.'" So, get back to that in a minute. So it begs the
Speaker:question, and don't anybody try to answer it just yet, I got something to say about
Speaker:it, whose cross was it? You know, so often I hear people use the term, "Oh, Jesus took
Speaker:my cross." We even sing about it, "Taking my sin, my cross, my shame, rising again, I
Speaker:bless your name, you are my all in all." I'm here to tell you right now, He did
Speaker:not take your cross. It was never your cross. You were not qualified. If they put
Speaker:me up on a Roman cross and crucified me, I'd be just another dead man, another
Speaker:victim of the Roman military machine. It was uniquely His cross. As we've seen
Speaker:from all of these prophecies, everything points to it was Jesus who was the one.
Speaker:He was the spotless lamb. He was the two goats, both for the Lord
Speaker:and for Azizel. Okay, it's just like when I hear people say the phrase,
Speaker:"Well, when I was 15, I made Jesus the Lord of my life." I understand I may be
Speaker:arguing semantics, but no, you didn't. You did not make Him the Lord of your life.
Speaker:You acknowledged His Lordship. Philippians, was it chapter 2, I believe,
Speaker:verses 5 through 11, "Have this mind in you that's also in Christ Jesus, who
Speaker:being in the very nature God did not regard equality with God as a thing to
Speaker:be grasped but emptied Himself, taking on the form of a servant and being found in
Speaker:the likeness of man, He humbled Himself further to death, even death on a cross.
Speaker:Therefore, God has highly exalted Him and given Him a name which is above all
Speaker:names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven, on earth, and
Speaker:under the earth, and every tongue should proclaim that Jesus is Lord to the glory
Speaker:of God the Father." Now you have to understand this is a picture in heaven,
Speaker:okay? Those that are bowing the knee and claiming, and saying, "Jesus is Lord,"
Speaker:you have believers and you have non-believers. It doesn't matter. His
Speaker:Lordship is not determined by your acceptance or acknowledgement of it. Just
Speaker:like God's existence does not depend on your belief in Him. You can say, "I don't
Speaker:believe in God." That's great. Fool says in his heart, "There is no God, but God is
Speaker:God, and He's not dependent on us to believe it, believe in Him." Which makes
Speaker:the cross all the more significant in that the God who doesn't require us for
Speaker:His existence chose to go to a death on a cross, a brutal Roman cross, so that He
Speaker:can reconcile us to Himself. Now if that, as I've heard Pastor Wayne say and others,
Speaker:if that doesn't light your fire, your wood's wet. I remember you singing on the
Speaker:stage once. Yeah, that's okay. Just go with me. Go with me. There you go. Hey, you know,
Speaker:I've had an out-of-the-car experience, but you know. But seriously, if
Speaker:thinking about what Jesus did on the cross doesn't light your fire,
Speaker:get your heart going, if that doesn't light your fire, then you seriously
Speaker:need to spend some time on your face before the Lord. Okay, I'm gonna move on
Speaker:so I can get done with this. John 19, 19 through 22, Pilate also wrote an
Speaker:inscription and put it on the cross. It read, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the
Speaker:Jews." Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus
Speaker:was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic and Latin and
Speaker:Greek. Now Aramaic, it was written in Hebrew and in Greek. So the chief priests
Speaker:and the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write 'The King of the Jews,' but rather, 'This
Speaker:man said I am the King of the Jews.' Pilate answers, 'What I have written, I
Speaker:have written.'" This is what he wrote. This is the Hebrew. Yeshua chanazrit umelekh
Speaker:iodin, Jesus Nazareth and King of the Jews. Now, if you take this letter, this
Speaker:letter, this letter, and this one, pull them all down, you've got Yod, Heh,
Speaker:Vav, Heh, which is, I'll turn it around in English for you, because Hebrew is right
Speaker:to left, I'll go left to right.
Speaker:It's the tetragrammaton. Pilate didn't know he was doing that, but God did. So you
Speaker:understand when Jesus was taken away to be crucified, he would have had a
Speaker:squad of four soldiers attached to him, one in front carrying that inscription
Speaker:so that all the people could see the crimes of the person, and they would take
Speaker:the longest route they could to get to the hill to crucify him, so more people
Speaker:could see him and have fear put in their heart that you don't want to rebel
Speaker:against Rome. He would have one soldier in front of him, one on either side, and
Speaker:one to the rear of him. So this was going all throughout the city. Now, the
Speaker:high priests or the priests and the scribes, they knew what this was. That's
Speaker:why they went nuts. They were, "Oh no, no, change that, change that." A pilot did it
Speaker:as a dig, because the Jews had forced him into crucifying Christ, so he's now
Speaker:digging back, but God, remember the name, the Tetragrammaton, was spoken ten times
Speaker:during the Yom Kippur sacrifice. God put his seal of approval on the sacrifice by
Speaker:putting his name on it.
Speaker:John 19, 25 through 27, "But standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and
Speaker:his mother's sister Mary, the wife of Clopas and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw
Speaker:his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his
Speaker:mother, 'Woman, behold your son.' Then he said to the disciple, 'Behold your mother.'
Speaker:And from that hour the disciple took her into his home." John records the final,
Speaker:pretty much the final act of Jesus to be an act of obedience in honoring what the
Speaker:Jews considered one of the most important of the Ten Commandments, honor
Speaker:your father and your mother. It's one of the only commandments that contains a
Speaker:promise, so that it might go well with you in the land. Okay, Jesus was
Speaker:constantly fulfilling prophecies and fulfilling the law, and the last thing he
Speaker:did before he gave up his spirit was to make sure that his mother was taken care
Speaker:of and thus honor the fifth commandment.
Speaker:John 19, 28 and 29, "After this Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said to
Speaker:fulfill the scripture, 'I thirst.' A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they
Speaker:put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth."
Speaker:Psalm 69, 21, "They gave me poison for food and for my thirst. They gave me sour wine
Speaker:to drink." 22, 15 of Psalms, "My strength is dried up like a potchard, and my tongue
Speaker:sticks to my jaws. You lay me in the dust of death." There's some Bible scholars that
Speaker:believe, well first off, the sour wine was vinegar. That's what happens when wine
Speaker:goes sour. They put it on, and it's supposed to, the thought was it will numb
Speaker:some of the pain. But several Bible scholars that I was reading
Speaker:believe that that represented, was a physical representation of the cup
Speaker:that Jesus said he had to drink. Matthew 26, 39, "And going a little
Speaker:further, he fell on his face and prayed, saying, 'My father, if it be possible, let this cup
Speaker:pass for me, nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.'" The last thing Jesus did
Speaker:was to accept the cup. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, "It is
Speaker:finished." And he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. "It is finished," in the
Speaker:Greek is the word "taleho." Taleho means complete, execute, or discharge a debt. When
Speaker:he said, "It is finished," what he was saying is, "All the requirements of the law are
Speaker:now complete. There is not one I to be dotted or T to be crossed. I have done it
Speaker:all." He's completed the sacrifice. He bowed his head and gave up, "perodytomy."
Speaker:Perodytomy means to surrender, to yield up, to entrust, like placing money on
Speaker:deposit with the idea of withdrawing it again. It echoes what Jesus said in John
Speaker:10, 17, and 18, "For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life, that
Speaker:I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own
Speaker:accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again.
Speaker:This charge I received from my Father, Jesus, nobody killed Jesus.
Speaker:You know, for years we blamed the Jews, we blamed the Romans. They were tools. They
Speaker:were used in the hand of God. Jesus was up on the cross because it was his
Speaker:decision to be on that cross, to fulfill the Father's wishes, to pay the penalty
Speaker:that we couldn't pay. That's why I keep saying it's not our cross. It was his
Speaker:cross. We could not pay the penalty. I don't buy you be you, but I can say for
Speaker:myself, I'm a sinner. I blow it daily, and it only takes one to make you, you know,
Speaker:that you've done it. You committed one sin, you have a blemish, therefore you do
Speaker:not fit the qualifications of a blemishless, spotless sacrifice.
Speaker:I'll leave you with this quote from Paul Copan, from the book "Is God a
Speaker:Moral Monster?" John's Gospel refers to Jesus being lifted up on the cross. This
Speaker:is both literal and figurative. Being lifted up is both the physical act of
Speaker:being raised up onto a cross and the figurative reference to exaltation and
Speaker:honor from God, including the drawing of the nations to salvation. Remember he
Speaker:said, "If the Son of Man be lifted up, he will draw all men unto himself." The moment
Speaker:of Christ's humiliating death is precisely when he is glorified. God's
Speaker:great moment of glory is in the experience of the greatest humiliation
Speaker:and shame. When he takes the form of a slave and suffers death on a cross for
Speaker:our sake, God's greatest moment was also the greatest moment of humiliation. That
Speaker:that that's cut me wide open. Because we think of the cross, yeah there's
Speaker:humiliation, but oh you know later on there was glory. No, there was glory in
Speaker:that, in that. God was glorified in Christ's obedience. So the greatest, the
Speaker:greatest moment of glory was tied to the greatest humiliation, being hung naked on
Speaker:a cross in front of people.
Speaker:Anybody have any questions? Go ahead. Okay. Okay. Yeah, I know where you're talking
Speaker:about. Yeah, okay. Yeah, it's the last verse, so that your faith and hope are in
Speaker:God. 1 Peter 1 18 through 21. Yeah, it'd be verse 21. Okay.
Speaker:Anybody else have anything? Go ahead. Yeah.
Speaker:Jesus and then I've been watching something else where he goes, this guy
Speaker:goes, okay, so there aren't verses in the Torah. There's scrolls, like the first scroll, second scroll, whatever. And it's like when he said, my God, my God,
Speaker:my second, he's like saying, oh chapter one of whatever, you know, the Psalm. It's like,
Speaker:like, when you call up, it's like, I said in the comments, it's like saying the first line
Speaker:to More Than a Feeling by Boston. And everybody goes, I know the Psalm, but you didn't say More Than a
Speaker:Feeling by Boston. You said the first verse. Anyway, I had the whole Psalm in my head. So when you say, my God, my God, my God, my second beat,
Speaker:you're basically going chapter boom, boom, boom. And everybody goes, ah. Yeah, or if they didn't get it, they'll get it later when they're...
Speaker:Right. Maybe after the end of the poem, the period lands, and they go, oh, do you remember that thing when he said that they can't?
Speaker:So it's kind of in history, it's not just saying God has turned back on us, right?
Speaker:Does that make sense? Do you hurt with that?
Speaker:Replay the couple sentences back, because God is the what? I couldn't, I got my hearing aids in, but I couldn't hear you.
Speaker:I'm sorry. We said, my God, my God, why does the Bible say to me, people had said that God had turned it back on.
Speaker:God, that's the thing you're referring to. But it's like if you look at it, he's quoting, is it Psalms?
Speaker:Yes, Psalm 22, verse one, that was the prophecy.
Speaker:There's no verses, but that's the first line of the chapter. And so it's called out one line, called the whole chapter.
Speaker:It's like that's the name of the chapter, in their mind.
Speaker:So when he said that, he was going, in one line, he was like, check out this whole page of prophecy.
Speaker:In one sentence, he basically went, "He's the Ringer," and then dies.
Speaker:And then everybody's going, "Oh yeah." And they come back down.
Speaker:Yeah, I mean, yeah, it makes sense. And I can see Jesus doing that, because if you look at all the things that Jesus said in his life,
Speaker:there are political references, there are references, what he references about salt in the Beatitudes.
Speaker:Little salt, if salt loses its saltiness, it's not good for anything.
Speaker:He's referencing a couple of things and he's speaking directly to some of his audience,
Speaker:because some of his audience there would have been from the town of Migdal.
Speaker:Now, just recently, what they have discovered in archaeology in Migdal are these big vats,
Speaker:where they used to brine fish in salt to preserve it.
Speaker:So he was speaking to the people and giving them something that they would know,
Speaker:just as in speaking, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
Speaker:would pull up that scripture, because remember, both Jewish boys and girls went to Hebrew school for a time.
Speaker:Then the boys would translate to a secondary, and the girls would go home to learn how to cook and clean
Speaker:and do all the things that a wife was supposed to do. That was a society, I'm not saying yea or nay to it.
Speaker:Yeah, I'm not saying yea or nay. And then when the boys finished that, then they would either go on to an apprenticeship,
Speaker:or they would study under a rabbi.
Speaker:So, all Jews had a basic working knowledge of the scriptures.
Speaker:They heard it on Sabbath. They would roll out the scroll and read from it and expound on it.
Speaker:So they had an understanding. So it would not surprise me at all that part of what Jesus did was to say that,
Speaker:to call to their mind what was actually happening.
Speaker:Go back and look, go back and look at David, go back and see what David wrote about me.
Speaker:And I'm sure that there were people who put two and two together and went, "Oh!"
Speaker:It's all over Matthew. He's like, "This was done so that..."
Speaker:Sure.
Speaker:He gets really excited about history. He's like, "Is this thing back in the thing?"
Speaker:He's like, "He's a huge Bible nurse to me."
Speaker:Yeah. Alright, anybody else? Anybody have anything else?
Speaker:Alright, well, I want to thank you all for coming.
Speaker:And let me just pray real quickly.
Speaker:Father, I thank you for who you are.
Speaker:I thank you for what you did for us in sending Jesus, in sacrificing your own son.
Speaker:The thing that you would not let Abraham do, Lord, you did.
Speaker:Lord, I thank you for Jesus. I thank you for the blood that he shed.
Speaker:I thank you for all the many prophecies you gave us to point us,
Speaker:so that we knew that the sacrifice of Jesus was the culmination of what you were doing.
Speaker:Lord, I just ask that this word would rest in each and every one of our hearts, Lord.
Speaker:Lord, my desire is that it might cause a flame to start to grow in the hearts of the people
Speaker:that have heard, Lord.
Speaker:Because, Lord, if that's not what's going to happen, then I don't ever want to teach again,
Speaker:because it would just be my words, and they'd be useless.
Speaker:So I ask you, Lord, that you would allow this word to not come back void, as your word says,
Speaker:and to accomplish all that it set out to do, in Jesus' name. Amen.
Speaker:[APPLAUSE]
