Sermons
THE GLORY OF HIS CROSS
Series: The Glory of ChristTHE GLORY OF HIS CROSS
Pt.13 - “The Glory Of Christ”
Sermon Outline By Terry Siverd
Cortland Church of Christ / April 26, 2015
It sounds like the ultimate contradiction, doesn’t it -- to speak of the GLORY of the CROSS?
In almost every way imaginable, to think of the cross of crucifixion is to focus the ugly.
It was a horrendous form of execution, designed to be excruciatingly painful.
It was a horribly cruel infliction of both agony and shame.
Had crucifixions taken place in a dark corner it would still have been dreadful event, but to add insult to
injury they was performed in the public arena - - where the crucified were made a spectacle for all to witness.
There really is no glory in being crucified on a wooden cross.
The only exception is when the One crucified is there because of His great love for us.
It is only when we comprehend ATONEMENT that the cross takes on this GLORIOUS element.
Without the cross of Christ we would have no redemption, no hope, no promise of life beyond the grave.
This is what moved Paul to declare (Gal.6:14):
“May it never be that I should glory, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,
through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”
Earlier in his letter to the churches in Galatia Paul wrote (Gal.2:20):
“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which
I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me.”
In his book, The Glory Of Christ, R. C. Sproul, from whom I have borrowed much for this sermon) writes (pg.149):
To search for glory in the cross of Christ is to turn the values of man upside down.
Yet in this darkest hour of human history we see light piercing the shadows,
a beam that beckons us to look beyond the obvious, to peer above the shadow to the glory beyond.
For us who are disciples of Christ, the cross is the zenith of Divine glory.
Yet it is an event that is filled with all manner of contradictions.
It is tragedy and triumph … scandal and honor … defeat and victory … shame and esteem.
This morning I want us to peer deeply into the theology of the cross.
Far too often our reflections on the cross of Jesus fail to penetrate these great truths.
Quite often the focus of our gatherings around the Table of the Lord are on the physical aspects of the cross.
The physical suffering was there, but the horror of the cross was not the physical pain.
The suffering that Jesus experienced on the cross far transcended the physical pain.
Christ death was an atonement FOR SIN. On the cross Christ became the sacrificial Lamb of God.
In His death on the cross, Christ bore our sins and thereby bore the weight of Divine displeasure.
On the cross Jesus tasted the wrath of God poured out against sin.
The real horror of the cross was not that Christ was executed by men but that He was forsaken by God.
In the events of the passion of our Lord, we see rays of glory that break forth from a cloud of humiliation.
Sometimes we find these “revelations of His glory” in the most unexpected places.
Jesus is betrayed by Judas with a kiss (Lk.22:48). How ironic is that?
A strange phenomena takes places when the soldiers come to arrest Jesus.
John’s gospel tells that when Jesus asked them, “Whom do you seek?”, they answered “Jesus of Nazareth”.
When Jesus revealed, “I AM HE”, they drew back and fell to the ground (Jn.18:6)
The soldiers arrested and bound Jesus and led Him to Annas.
Annas was the father-in-law of Caiaphas who was the high priest that year.
Jn.18:14 notes that CAIAPHAS had earlier advised the Jews saying,
“it is expedient for one man to die on behalf of the people”.
Caiaphas was the ultimate politician. His goal was to keep the Romans placated.
He was more than willing to sacrifice one man if it would maintain political stability and keep Rome happy.
Yet in his crass political judgment, Caiaphas unwittingly uttered the very intent of Jehovah God.
The death of Jesus was not to pacify an angry Roman emperor, but to satisfy the just wrath of God almighty.
The death of Christ was a both a propitiation of sin and an expiation of sin.
Propitiation refers to “turning away the wrath of God”.
Expiation speaks of “the covering of sins”.
The atonement satisfies both the demands of the Father and the needs of the people.
Three other “rays of glory” come from PILATE the Roman governor of Judea.
Three times Pilate declares, “I find no basis for a charge against Him” (Jn.18:38; 19:4 & 19:6).
Some translations render this, “I find no fault/guilt”.
More truthful words were never spoken.
We will never fully grasp the cross of Christ if we fail to understand “the faultlessness of Jesus”.
Jesus was guiltless - - without sin. This is what qualified Him to be a sacrifice for us.
Had Jesus not lived a sinless life His death on the cross would have failed to satisfy the holy justice of God.
Jn.19:8-11 tells of an exchange between Jesus and Pilate that provides another unexpected revelation.
Read Jn.19:8-11 - - Jesus reply is filling with deep meaning.
It is important that we realize that the death of Jesus was VOLUNTARY.
Jesus’ death on the cross was the result of active obedience on the part of Jesus.
Jesus stated (Jn.10:15) 4 “I lay down My life for the sheep.”
A third revelation is seen in Pilate’s dealing with Jesus.
Read from Jn.19:19-22.
Pilate orders a placard be nailed to the cross declaring: “Jesus of Nazareth, The King of the Jews.”
Pilate was most likely protecting himself. Under Roman law, the only legal justification for execution was sedition.
If he was ever questioned by Rome, he would simply argue, “He was claiming to be a king…”.
Nevertheless what Pilate had written was the truth.
I want to conclude this morning’s sermon by going back to where we started.
As ghastly as the pain of the crucifixion was, we know that hundreds and thousands of people were crucified.
So what is it that makes the cross of Christ different - - what makes His cross GLORIOUS?
For Jesus …
The physical pain of the cross of Christ was dwarfed by the anguish inflicted by the wrath and judgment of His Father.
The cry of Christ on the cross was not from pain - - it was a cry of dereliction (abandonment).
“Jesus cried out with a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lami sabachthani’ - - ‘My God, My God, why have you forsaken me.”
Jesus did not speak these words (Mt.27:45) just to fulfill prophecy (Psalm 22).
Jesus wasn’t just feeling forsaken by God, HE WAS FORSAKEN!!
The songwriter (‘Tis Midnight, And On Olive’s Brow / #334) got this point wrong.
‘Tis midnight, and for other’s guilt The man of sorrows weeps in blood;
Yet He that hath in anguish knelt Is not forsaken by His God.
Jesus was forsaken by God. As Paul notes in Gal.3:13 4 “Christ became a CURSE for us.”
The Jews understood clearly (and rightly) that to be cursed of God was “to be cut off from the presence of God”.
In the Old Testament (Lev.16:21f), the scapegoat had the sins of the people symbolically transferred upon it.
And then the scapegoat was driven outside the camp, outside the presence of God, to be abandoned in the wilderness.
This OT type comes to it fulfillment in the death of Jesus.
Heb.13:12 notes 4 “Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify
the people through His own blood, suffered OUTSIDE THE CAMP.”
When the sin of man is transferred upon Jesus on the cross,
He who was always previously a delight to the Father became odious to the Father.
“On the cross becomes in the sight of God the most grotesque display of ugliness imaginable.
He is now polluted with the cumulative filth of the sin He bears for His sheep.
Now the Father breaks fellowship with Him; He averts His Divine glance;
Jesus as the very incarnation of sin is consigned to outer darkness.” / Sproul, pg.160
This glorious transaction for our sin was noted by a cosmic disturbance.
Mt.27:45 states 4 “now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth” (Noon-3pm).
Christ is forsaken by God. He has become a curse for us. He bears the penalty for the sin of mankind.
He becomes SIN on our behalf. Christ is separated from the Father and experiences the wrath of God.
} Thankfully this judgment was not long-lasting (“just” three long hours). The moment follows when the curse is lifted.
In Jn.19:30 Jesus declares4 “It is finished!”
This is a word (tetelestai) comes from the world of commerce, that simply means “paid in full”
Jesus’ last words on the cross are then spoken (Lk.23:46) 4 “Father, into your hands I commit My spirit.”
This is an added revelation that all is well with Christ and His Father. The debt has been paid.
And then there occurs three final “revelations of Christ’ glory”, one right after the other.
Mt.27:51b / “Behold the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom”.
Ex.26:31-33 describes this multiplayer curtain that could not be torn with hands.
Where once sinful man war barred from God’s presence, access was now possible because of His cross. cf. Rom.5:1-2
Mt.27:51b-53 / The earth shook … the rock were split … the tombs were opened & the saints were raised
Mt.27:54 / the Roman centurion’s proclamation4 “Truly this was the SON OF GOD.”
The cross was hellish for Jesus, but for us it becomes the grandest expression of God’s grace & mercy.
May it never be that we glory or boast, except in the cross of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
