Discover The Word

Monday, February 9, 2009, Part 4

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, 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, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1-3).

IDEA: Jesus’ death on the cross proclaims to us what nothing less could.

PURPOSE: To help listeners realize why Jesus died on a vile instrument of execution.

A friend of mine who works in television did a program about Chuck Colson. It involved a discussion about the cross. Some of the executives wanted to delete that discussion because they saw nothing uplifting about it and it would offend the tastes of some viewers.

If Jesus wanted to win people to Himself, why did He have to die on a cross?

I. The cross shows the enormity of our sin by what it took for God to forgive it.

Do you think we take sin seriously? If not, why not?

If God had to allow His Son to die on a cross, do you think that was an overstatement on the only way in which He could deal with our sin?

II. The cross was the instrument by which Christ took our curse on Himself because the Old Testament had declared, “Cursed is everyone who hangs upon a tree” (Galatians 3:13).

He endured the cross, scorning its shame.

Criminals were sentenced to die on a Roman execution rack, but Jesus chose to die that death reserved for common criminals.

When Jesus in the Gospels said He could call legions of angels to deliver Him (Matthew 26:53), why do you think that was significant?

III. The cross also shows the enormity of God’s love for us in the length He would go to bring us to himself.

John 3:16—God SO LOVED the world that He gave His only son. He gave Him to do what?

We are awed by someone who would give his life for a friend. We’re even more awed by someone who would give his life for a stranger. But God gave His Son for those who were his enemies. To do that, He had to send His son to a cross.

Gabriel in Green Pastures: “Why did it have to be your son?”

IV. The cross makes plain the invaluable price of our redemption.

Often it’s later in life that we come to value what parents or grandparents have sacrificed for us.

Often it’s only later in life that we begin to appreciate in even a small way how much it cost God to bring us to Himself.