1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:04,280 So we’ve arrived at the beginning of Holy Week. 2 00:00:05,100 –> 00:00:07,620 And in a sense, we’ve been following the story 3 00:00:07,620 –> 00:00:10,360 of Holy Week from the beginning of the year 4 00:00:10,360 –> 00:00:11,440 on Sunday mornings. 5 00:00:11,440 –> 00:00:15,900 We saw that Mark devotes no less than six chapters 6 00:00:15,900 –> 00:00:16,760 of his gospel. 7 00:00:16,760 –> 00:00:20,820 Chapter 11 through to chapter 16 is all a description 8 00:00:20,820 –> 00:00:24,240 of the events of Holy Week and, as we’ve been studying that 9 00:00:24,240 –> 00:00:25,959 since the beginning of the year, 10 00:00:25,959 –> 00:00:28,260 I think it would be good for us as we move through 11 00:00:28,480 –> 00:00:31,040 this week, beginning from today, 12 00:00:31,040 –> 00:00:33,919 for us to remember well the events that took place 13 00:00:33,919 –> 00:00:35,680 that we’ve learned from the gospel. 14 00:00:35,680 –> 00:00:38,639 Sunday, Palm Sunday that we celebrate today, 15 00:00:38,639 –> 00:00:41,400 the Lord Jesus Christ comes into Jerusalem 16 00:00:41,400 –> 00:00:43,540 riding on a donkey. 17 00:00:43,540 –> 00:00:46,279 Monday, he goes into the temple, 18 00:00:46,279 –> 00:00:49,080 and he clears out the moneychangers opening up 19 00:00:49,080 –> 00:00:50,820 the court of the Gentiles 20 00:00:50,820 –> 00:00:53,759 so that people from all nations can worship 21 00:00:53,759 –> 00:00:55,799 the living God. 22 00:00:55,860 –> 00:00:59,720 Tuesday, questions and answers, debates in the temple, 23 00:00:59,720 –> 00:01:01,459 and at the end of Tuesday, 24 00:01:01,459 –> 00:01:03,860 Jesus teaches his disciples on the top 25 00:01:03,860 –> 00:01:05,519 of the Mount of Olives, 26 00:01:05,519 –> 00:01:08,239 the glorious hope of his return, 27 00:01:08,239 –> 00:01:11,080 the great day when Jesus will come in power 28 00:01:11,080 –> 00:01:12,879 and in glory. 29 00:01:12,879 –> 00:01:15,199 Wednesday, nothing recorded that we know of. 30 00:01:15,199 –> 00:01:18,360 We must assume, in the silence of scripture, 31 00:01:18,360 –> 00:01:21,120 that Wednesday was used as a day of rest 32 00:01:21,120 –> 00:01:22,720 in which our Lord Jesus Christ 33 00:01:22,720 –> 00:01:25,480 prepared for the terrible ordeal 34 00:01:25,599 –> 00:01:26,739 that was to come. 35 00:01:27,839 –> 00:01:31,760 Thursday, the day of the last supper, 36 00:01:31,760 –> 00:01:34,360 the day of the Garden of Gethsemane 37 00:01:34,360 –> 00:01:37,040 and the night of his arrest 38 00:01:37,040 –> 00:01:39,099 and the beginning of his sufferings. 39 00:01:39,099 –> 00:01:41,360 We’ve seen that the suffering of the Lord Jesus 40 00:01:41,360 –> 00:01:45,639 comes in three very distinct phases, as it were, 41 00:01:45,639 –> 00:01:47,139 or stages. 42 00:01:47,139 –> 00:01:50,760 His suffering begins at the hands of his friends. 43 00:01:50,760 –> 00:01:53,000 Judas betrays him, Peter denies him. 44 00:01:53,000 –> 00:01:54,959 All of the disciples forsake him. 45 00:01:55,300 –> 00:01:58,099 They run away, fear gets the better of faith. 46 00:01:58,099 –> 00:02:00,019 Begins at the hands of his friends. 47 00:02:00,019 –> 00:02:03,239 It intensifies, as we saw last time, 48 00:02:03,239 –> 00:02:04,879 at the hands of his enemies. 49 00:02:04,879 –> 00:02:08,600 Jesus was bound, he was falsely accused, 50 00:02:08,600 –> 00:02:13,600 he was flogged, and then he was ridiculed. 51 00:02:14,279 –> 00:02:17,639 So we’ve looked at these first two stages 52 00:02:17,639 –> 00:02:19,520 of the sufferings of the Lord Jesus, 53 00:02:19,520 –> 00:02:23,839 as Mark describes them, at the hands of his friends. 54 00:02:23,839 –> 00:02:28,839 It begins at the hands of his enemies, it intensifies. 55 00:02:30,160 –> 00:02:33,240 Today as we come to Mark’s gospel in chapter 15, 56 00:02:33,240 –> 00:02:35,919 we’re going to look at the deepest levels 57 00:02:35,919 –> 00:02:38,600 of the suffering of our Lord Jesus Christ, 58 00:02:38,600 –> 00:02:39,860 and our title today is 59 00:02:39,860 –> 00:02:44,860 that Jesus suffered under the judgment of God. 60 00:02:47,720 –> 00:02:49,899 He suffered under the judgment of God. 61 00:02:51,600 –> 00:02:53,639 Now, it’s good for us to grasp 62 00:02:53,639 –> 00:02:57,559 that the New Testament gives us both a description 63 00:02:57,559 –> 00:03:02,559 and an explanation of the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. 64 00:03:03,059 –> 00:03:04,779 Let’s just look through the description 65 00:03:04,779 –> 00:03:07,779 as we have it here in Mark, in chapter 15. 66 00:03:07,779 –> 00:03:09,740 If you had been there, 67 00:03:09,740 –> 00:03:13,720 you would have seen precisely what Mark records. 68 00:03:13,720 –> 00:03:18,559 Verse 24, the soldiers divided Jesus’s clothing by lots. 69 00:03:18,559 –> 00:03:21,520 If you’d been there, you would have seen them do that. 70 00:03:21,520 –> 00:03:23,220 A verse 26, if you’d been there, 71 00:03:23,300 –> 00:03:24,539 you would have seen the notice 72 00:03:24,539 –> 00:03:27,580 that was fixed above Jesus’s head on the cross 73 00:03:27,580 –> 00:03:30,979 saying that he is the king of the Jews. 74 00:03:30,979 –> 00:03:32,539 If you’d been there, verse 27, 75 00:03:32,539 –> 00:03:34,179 you would have seen two robbers 76 00:03:34,179 –> 00:03:36,940 who were crucified on either side of him, 77 00:03:36,940 –> 00:03:40,100 reminding us that crucifixion was not unusual 78 00:03:40,100 –> 00:03:43,860 during the days of the Roman Empire, 79 00:03:43,860 –> 00:03:48,860 it was their ultimate means of preserving public order. 80 00:03:49,179 –> 00:03:50,839 If you had been there, verse 29, 81 00:03:50,860 –> 00:03:54,039 you would have heard people shouting insults at Jesus 82 00:03:54,039 –> 00:03:58,639 as they walked by on the road beside the cross. 83 00:03:58,639 –> 00:04:01,160 And you would have experienced if you had been there 84 00:04:01,160 –> 00:04:06,160 the eerie darkness that came over the whole land at noon, 85 00:04:07,139 –> 00:04:11,479 that is the sixth hour which is midday, verse 33. 86 00:04:12,419 –> 00:04:14,139 Three hours later if you had been there, 87 00:04:14,139 –> 00:04:17,640 you would have heard Jesus cry out with a loud voice. 88 00:04:17,640 –> 00:04:20,720 Notice the vividness of the direct witness 89 00:04:20,799 –> 00:04:23,720 description, he cried out with a loud voice. 90 00:04:23,720 –> 00:04:25,739 Eloi, eloi la lamenta. 91 00:04:25,739 –> 00:04:29,420 Which means my God, my God, why have you forsaken me. 92 00:04:29,420 –> 00:04:31,399 And if you had been there a short time later 93 00:04:31,399 –> 00:04:35,200 you would have heard Jesus make a loud cry 94 00:04:35,200 –> 00:04:40,179 as He took verse 37, His last breath and He died. 95 00:04:41,480 –> 00:04:43,079 Now that’s what happened. 96 00:04:43,079 –> 00:04:47,359 That’s what the folks there heard and saw. 97 00:04:47,359 –> 00:04:49,739 And if you had been there on that day, 98 00:04:49,760 –> 00:04:52,220 on that good Friday when Jesus was crucified, 99 00:04:52,220 –> 00:04:53,980 that is what you would have heard 100 00:04:53,980 –> 00:04:56,700 and that is what you would have seen. 101 00:04:57,959 –> 00:05:02,220 That’s the description, but what does it mean? 102 00:05:03,899 –> 00:05:06,320 What does it have to do with us today? 103 00:05:08,140 –> 00:05:10,019 Now you see, that is why it’s important 104 00:05:10,019 –> 00:05:13,100 that alongside the description the Bible 105 00:05:13,100 –> 00:05:17,059 also gives us an explanation of the cross. 106 00:05:17,059 –> 00:05:19,320 These two are important and we have to keep 107 00:05:19,320 –> 00:05:21,019 these two together. 108 00:05:22,119 –> 00:05:24,519 God tells us what the cross means 109 00:05:24,519 –> 00:05:28,119 and he tells us again and again in the Bible. 110 00:05:28,119 –> 00:05:32,440 I want to give just seven examples of scripture 111 00:05:32,440 –> 00:05:37,440 where God clearly reveals what he was doing at the cross, 112 00:05:37,839 –> 00:05:41,559 what was taking place in these great events. 113 00:05:41,559 –> 00:05:44,279 You may like to note these down for future reference. 114 00:05:44,279 –> 00:05:46,940 I’m going to move through them very quickly. 115 00:05:46,980 –> 00:05:51,079 First, 1 Corinthians chapter 15 and verse three, 116 00:05:51,079 –> 00:05:52,880 here’s what was happening at the cross. 117 00:05:52,880 –> 00:05:57,880 Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. 118 00:06:00,079 –> 00:06:01,640 Now understand this is something 119 00:06:01,640 –> 00:06:05,160 that could only have been revealed by God. 120 00:06:05,160 –> 00:06:07,640 If you had walked past Calvary on the day 121 00:06:07,640 –> 00:06:09,799 when Jesus was fixed to the cross, 122 00:06:09,799 –> 00:06:11,239 you would have no way of knowing 123 00:06:11,239 –> 00:06:14,640 that this man was dying for our sins. 124 00:06:14,640 –> 00:06:16,239 You would not have known that 125 00:06:16,239 –> 00:06:18,480 unless God had told you 126 00:06:18,480 –> 00:06:20,700 and yet this is what God has revealed 127 00:06:20,700 –> 00:06:23,739 in his explanation of the cross 128 00:06:23,739 –> 00:06:26,839 that is given to us again and again in the Scriptures. 129 00:06:26,839 –> 00:06:28,100 What was happening there? 130 00:06:28,100 –> 00:06:31,679 Christ died for our sins, that is the explanation. 131 00:06:31,679 –> 00:06:35,339 Second, 1 Peter chapter two and verse 24. 132 00:06:36,619 –> 00:06:41,079 Jesus himself, he himself bore our sins 133 00:06:41,079 –> 00:06:45,200 in his body on the tree. 134 00:06:45,220 –> 00:06:47,299 Now, you see what the New Testament is telling us, 135 00:06:47,299 –> 00:06:49,720 what God is telling us here. 136 00:06:49,720 –> 00:06:54,140 Our sins were transferred to Jesus. 137 00:06:54,140 –> 00:06:57,559 He bore them, notice the language. 138 00:06:57,559 –> 00:07:01,160 They were imputed to him. 139 00:07:01,160 –> 00:07:03,279 To put that another way, they were counted. 140 00:07:03,279 –> 00:07:07,760 Your sins were counted as if they were his. 141 00:07:07,760 –> 00:07:09,480 The Old Testament has a vivid picture 142 00:07:09,480 –> 00:07:11,480 that helps us to understand this. 143 00:07:11,480 –> 00:07:14,940 Leviticus chapter 16, the day of Atonement. 144 00:07:14,940 –> 00:07:17,940 The high priest was to say a prayer of confession, 145 00:07:17,940 –> 00:07:20,200 confessing the sins of the Israelites, 146 00:07:20,200 –> 00:07:23,260 while he held on to a goat’s head. 147 00:07:23,260 –> 00:07:27,799 And the Lord says in Leviticus chapter 16 and verse 22, 148 00:07:27,799 –> 00:07:31,179 that in this prayer, there was to be a transfer of guilt 149 00:07:31,179 –> 00:07:33,500 that the high priest was to put 150 00:07:33,500 –> 00:07:36,500 the sins of the people on the goat’s head. 151 00:07:36,500 –> 00:07:38,940 And then the goat was to be taken through the camp 152 00:07:38,940 –> 00:07:43,700 and out of sight beyond the range of the people of Israel. 153 00:07:43,700 –> 00:07:45,940 In other words, guilt was in some way 154 00:07:45,940 –> 00:07:48,940 going to be transferred onto another. 155 00:07:48,940 –> 00:07:51,760 And in 1 Peter 2 and verse 24, 156 00:07:51,760 –> 00:07:53,940 God is telling us that this is what happened 157 00:07:53,940 –> 00:07:58,700 when Jesus died, He bore our sins Himself 158 00:07:58,700 –> 00:08:02,420 in His body on the tree, that is on the cross, 159 00:08:02,420 –> 00:08:04,820 the wood to which He was fixed. 160 00:08:04,820 –> 00:08:09,480 Number three, 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 21. 161 00:08:10,420 –> 00:08:14,700 God made Him, that is Jesus, who had no sin 162 00:08:14,700 –> 00:08:19,040 to be sin for us, so that in him 163 00:08:19,040 –> 00:08:23,059 we might become the righteousness of God. 164 00:08:23,059 –> 00:08:25,019 Now again, notice what God is telling us 165 00:08:25,019 –> 00:08:28,260 about His own action, God is doing this. 166 00:08:28,260 –> 00:08:30,940 God is active, God is taking the initiative, 167 00:08:30,940 –> 00:08:35,940 God made Him, Jesus, who had no sin to be sin for us. 168 00:08:37,539 –> 00:08:38,700 This is explanation. 169 00:08:38,739 –> 00:08:41,239 This is saying, when you read about the cross, 170 00:08:41,239 –> 00:08:44,640 this is what I, God, was doing. 171 00:08:44,640 –> 00:08:49,640 I was making Jesus, who had no sin to be sin for you, 172 00:08:51,179 –> 00:08:53,780 and you need to understand that. 173 00:08:53,780 –> 00:08:57,200 The same thing is stated and taught in the Old Testament 174 00:08:57,200 –> 00:08:59,960 Isaiah 53 and verse six. 175 00:09:00,780 –> 00:09:05,780 The Lord has laid on Him the iniquities of us all. 176 00:09:06,520 –> 00:09:08,840 Again, notice the language. 177 00:09:08,840 –> 00:09:13,419 Here is Almighty God taking the initiative 178 00:09:13,419 –> 00:09:18,419 to move human guilt onto one who will be a sacrifice, 179 00:09:19,840 –> 00:09:23,119 to move iniquity onto another person, 180 00:09:23,119 –> 00:09:27,419 and when Christ bears our sin, the language of one Peter, 181 00:09:27,419 –> 00:09:30,960 where our iniquity, the language of Isaiah, 182 00:09:30,960 –> 00:09:34,900 is laid on Him, inevitably what this means 183 00:09:35,000 –> 00:09:38,500 is that the transfer of guilt must bring with it 184 00:09:38,500 –> 00:09:42,039 a transfer of punishment, culpability, 185 00:09:43,099 –> 00:09:44,880 and Isaiah teaches this also. 186 00:09:44,880 –> 00:09:47,979 Here’s our fifth quotation from the Scripture. 187 00:09:47,979 –> 00:09:52,020 He was pierced for our transgressions, 188 00:09:52,020 –> 00:09:55,900 He was crushed for our iniquities. 189 00:09:55,900 –> 00:09:58,580 The punishment, notice that word, 190 00:09:58,580 –> 00:10:02,880 that brought us peace, was upon Him. 191 00:10:02,919 –> 00:10:05,280 So again, God is explaining in the Scriptures 192 00:10:05,280 –> 00:10:07,940 what happened at the cross, and here it is. 193 00:10:07,940 –> 00:10:12,799 Jesus endured the punishment that rightly belonged to us. 194 00:10:12,799 –> 00:10:16,320 He endured it on the cross, that is where He was pierced 195 00:10:16,320 –> 00:10:18,700 and His enduring of our punishment 196 00:10:18,700 –> 00:10:23,159 is the thing that brings us peace with God. 197 00:10:23,159 –> 00:10:26,679 That is why our title today for this sermon is 198 00:10:26,679 –> 00:10:31,679 that Jesus suffered under the judgment of God. 199 00:10:33,159 –> 00:10:34,580 Because the Bible makes it clear 200 00:10:34,580 –> 00:10:39,080 that this is precisely what was happening at the cross. 201 00:10:40,340 –> 00:10:44,159 Now you say, well, did Jesus ever speak about this Himself? 202 00:10:44,159 –> 00:10:46,539 Yes He did, we’ve already seen it 203 00:10:46,539 –> 00:10:48,919 in Mark chapter 10 in verse 45. 204 00:10:49,979 –> 00:10:51,799 “‘The Son of man did not come 205 00:10:51,799 –> 00:10:55,440 “‘into the world to be served, but He came to serve, 206 00:10:55,440 –> 00:11:00,440 “‘and He came to give His life as a ransom for many.’” 207 00:11:01,320 –> 00:11:05,679 And we saw already that the ransom meant paying a price, 208 00:11:05,679 –> 00:11:09,280 that in His death, the Lord Jesus Christ paid a price 209 00:11:09,280 –> 00:11:13,159 in order to set us free, free from what? 210 00:11:13,159 –> 00:11:16,119 Well, free from the awful judgment of God 211 00:11:16,119 –> 00:11:20,599 that was coming to us on account of our sins. 212 00:11:21,580 –> 00:11:26,099 And here’s number seven, Romans 3, in verse 25, 213 00:11:26,239 –> 00:11:29,380 God presented Him, that is Jesus, 214 00:11:29,380 –> 00:11:34,380 as a sacrifice of atonement through faith in His blood. 215 00:11:35,380 –> 00:11:36,580 Now, remember the Old Testament, 216 00:11:36,580 –> 00:11:38,780 and the Old Testament God had given 217 00:11:38,780 –> 00:11:42,200 a system of sacrifices that were offered 218 00:11:42,200 –> 00:11:45,059 by the priest on behalf of the people. 219 00:11:45,059 –> 00:11:49,099 The sacrificed animal died in place of the people 220 00:11:49,099 –> 00:11:51,799 to whom God had made His promise. 221 00:11:51,799 –> 00:11:53,320 And the whole point of this was really 222 00:11:53,440 –> 00:11:56,559 to set up a way of understanding 223 00:11:56,559 –> 00:11:59,979 what would happen when Jesus went to the cross 224 00:11:59,979 –> 00:12:02,099 and gave His life for us. 225 00:12:02,099 –> 00:12:03,400 What was happening was this, 226 00:12:03,400 –> 00:12:07,400 God was presenting Him as the sacrifice, 227 00:12:07,400 –> 00:12:09,599 making atonement, that is, 228 00:12:09,599 –> 00:12:13,239 making peace between man and God through His blood. 229 00:12:13,239 –> 00:12:14,940 And notice how this atonement, 230 00:12:14,940 –> 00:12:19,000 this sacrifice becomes effective for you or for me. 231 00:12:19,099 –> 00:12:23,640 It is through faith in His blood 232 00:12:23,640 –> 00:12:26,979 that the sacrifice He made 2000 years ago 233 00:12:26,979 –> 00:12:30,359 becomes effective in regard to your life, 234 00:12:30,359 –> 00:12:34,380 effective in covering your sin today. 235 00:12:35,479 –> 00:12:37,640 So, very simply from the Scripture, 236 00:12:37,640 –> 00:12:40,700 I’ve wanted to demonstrate as we begin Holy Week 237 00:12:41,679 –> 00:12:46,280 that God has given us not only a description of the cross, 238 00:12:46,280 –> 00:12:50,900 but He has also given us an explanation of the cross. 239 00:12:50,900 –> 00:12:53,719 And that explanation is consistent, 240 00:12:53,719 –> 00:12:55,020 it’s in the teaching of Jesus, 241 00:12:55,020 –> 00:12:57,159 it’s in the Old Testament, it’s in the New Testament, 242 00:12:57,159 –> 00:12:59,359 it’s in Peter and it’s in Paul. 243 00:12:59,359 –> 00:13:03,140 It is that Christ bore our sin, 244 00:13:03,140 –> 00:13:06,359 that He took our punishment, 245 00:13:06,359 –> 00:13:08,719 that He died our death, 246 00:13:08,719 –> 00:13:12,479 that He became the sacrifice for our sins. 247 00:13:12,479 –> 00:13:15,619 The explanation of what is going on at the cross 248 00:13:15,659 –> 00:13:19,640 is that Jesus suffered under the judgment of God. 249 00:13:19,640 –> 00:13:21,039 He, to put it another way, 250 00:13:21,039 –> 00:13:26,039 endured all the dimensions of hell on the cross for us. 251 00:13:26,799 –> 00:13:30,340 And He did this because He is our sin bearer, 252 00:13:30,340 –> 00:13:34,280 He is our substitute, He is our sacrifice, 253 00:13:34,280 –> 00:13:37,520 and He is our Savior. 254 00:13:41,119 –> 00:13:42,559 Now you need to know 255 00:13:43,559 –> 00:13:47,460 that there are a growing number 256 00:13:47,460 –> 00:13:50,979 of teachers in the church today 257 00:13:50,979 –> 00:13:55,780 who deny these most precious truths. 258 00:13:55,780 –> 00:14:00,940 These folks think that it is unworthy 259 00:14:00,940 –> 00:14:05,479 to speak about God’s wrath or about His judgment. 260 00:14:05,479 –> 00:14:09,080 And of course, if you don’t believe 261 00:14:10,080 –> 00:14:13,659 that there is any wrath or judgment from God 262 00:14:13,659 –> 00:14:17,619 on account of human sin, if you don’t believe that, 263 00:14:17,619 –> 00:14:19,500 then, of course, there is no reason to think 264 00:14:19,500 –> 00:14:22,159 that Jesus should have endured these things 265 00:14:22,159 –> 00:14:23,780 on the cross. 266 00:14:25,179 –> 00:14:27,099 But I want us as a congregation 267 00:14:27,099 –> 00:14:30,020 at the beginning of this Holy Week 268 00:14:30,020 –> 00:14:33,260 to see and to understand beyond all question 269 00:14:34,539 –> 00:14:38,580 that the substitutionary atonement, 270 00:14:38,619 –> 00:14:42,659 that is Christ bearing our sin, 271 00:14:42,659 –> 00:14:45,820 taking our place under the judgment of God, 272 00:14:45,820 –> 00:14:48,400 offering himself as our sacrifice, 273 00:14:48,400 –> 00:14:52,340 becoming our substitute in the judgment of God, 274 00:14:52,340 –> 00:14:55,299 that this is clearly taught in the Bible 275 00:14:55,299 –> 00:14:58,099 and that it is the center 276 00:14:58,099 –> 00:15:03,099 of Christ’s glorious accomplishment for us on the cross. 277 00:15:04,020 –> 00:15:09,020 This is glorious truth of what God has done for you 278 00:15:14,700 –> 00:15:17,640 and for me in Jesus Christ, 279 00:15:17,640 –> 00:15:21,179 and we should treasure it at the very center 280 00:15:21,179 –> 00:15:24,739 of our worship and of our lives. 281 00:15:27,359 –> 00:15:29,880 Now you say, okay, I hear what you say. 282 00:15:29,880 –> 00:15:32,020 There’s description and there’s explanation 283 00:15:32,020 –> 00:15:34,940 and you’ve brought an explanation from all over the Bible. 284 00:15:36,280 –> 00:15:41,280 But is there any evidence of the substitutionary atonement 285 00:15:42,359 –> 00:15:44,099 in Mark 15? 286 00:15:46,559 –> 00:15:48,599 I want to say to you, yes, there is, 287 00:15:48,599 –> 00:15:51,599 and that is precisely what I want us to see today 288 00:15:51,599 –> 00:15:55,840 so that we will bathe ourselves 289 00:15:55,840 –> 00:16:00,679 in the deepest and greatest truths of the Gospel. 290 00:16:02,020 –> 00:16:05,840 I expect a good number of us 291 00:16:05,840 –> 00:16:08,280 enjoy to read now and again a detective novel. 292 00:16:08,280 –> 00:16:09,500 You like a detective novel, 293 00:16:09,500 –> 00:16:12,700 you like to watch a good murder mystery now and again, 294 00:16:12,700 –> 00:16:16,440 and you know what the formula for these things is. 295 00:16:16,440 –> 00:16:18,260 You watch a good murder mystery, 296 00:16:18,260 –> 00:16:21,900 right up front in the different eyewitness accounts 297 00:16:21,900 –> 00:16:23,140 there are all the clues, 298 00:16:23,140 –> 00:16:24,619 you know, why did the light go off 299 00:16:24,619 –> 00:16:25,900 when she came into the room 300 00:16:25,900 –> 00:16:28,520 and why was the bicycle outside the shed 301 00:16:28,520 –> 00:16:30,440 when it would normally have been inside and so forth, 302 00:16:30,440 –> 00:16:31,280 and all these things, 303 00:16:31,320 –> 00:16:33,299 when you’re like me they kind of blow past you 304 00:16:33,299 –> 00:16:36,679 until eventually you find the explanation 305 00:16:36,679 –> 00:16:39,640 or Poirot or Miss Marple, or whoever it is 306 00:16:39,640 –> 00:16:44,020 works it all out and you say ah, there, you see. 307 00:16:44,020 –> 00:16:45,880 Then if you read the novel again, 308 00:16:45,880 –> 00:16:48,179 or if you watch the film again, 309 00:16:48,179 –> 00:16:49,320 there’s a certain pleasure 310 00:16:49,320 –> 00:16:51,659 in saying well I know how this one ends 311 00:16:51,659 –> 00:16:54,460 and so when you know the explanation 312 00:16:54,460 –> 00:16:58,780 you then see all kinds of things in the description 313 00:16:58,780 –> 00:17:00,659 in the eyewitness accounts, and so forth, 314 00:17:00,700 –> 00:17:02,059 that you never saw before. 315 00:17:02,059 –> 00:17:03,719 You’re familiar with this, aren’t you? 316 00:17:03,719 –> 00:17:05,959 Some of us have watched a detective mystery 317 00:17:05,959 –> 00:17:08,920 more than once and gained much greater pleasure 318 00:17:08,920 –> 00:17:10,959 the second time around. 319 00:17:11,880 –> 00:17:15,119 Now it’s rather like that with the story of the cross. 320 00:17:16,079 –> 00:17:18,839 You could read through Mark’s gospel in chapter 15 321 00:17:18,839 –> 00:17:21,260 and see nothing more here 322 00:17:21,260 –> 00:17:23,979 than the terrible suffering of an innocent man. 323 00:17:24,819 –> 00:17:27,819 And some of us, that’s been what we’ve done, 324 00:17:27,819 –> 00:17:29,280 you know, at Easter we come to church 325 00:17:29,380 –> 00:17:32,640 and we’ve seen that, and that’s what we’ve understood. 326 00:17:32,640 –> 00:17:35,439 But when you know the Bible’s explanation, 327 00:17:35,439 –> 00:17:38,400 when you know what was really happening here, 328 00:17:38,400 –> 00:17:40,640 then when you come back to Mark in chapter 15 329 00:17:40,640 –> 00:17:41,859 and you read the story again, 330 00:17:41,859 –> 00:17:44,680 you pick up in the eyewitness accounts 331 00:17:44,680 –> 00:17:46,780 things that have significance 332 00:17:46,780 –> 00:17:50,339 you did not realize before 333 00:17:50,339 –> 00:17:54,800 and you say, ah, now I see that that was really important. 334 00:17:55,719 –> 00:17:56,920 Never knew that before. 335 00:17:57,819 –> 00:17:59,479 Now, that’s what I want us to do today. 336 00:17:59,479 –> 00:18:02,040 Having looked at the explanation, 337 00:18:02,040 –> 00:18:03,920 we now come back to the description 338 00:18:03,920 –> 00:18:06,260 so we will see the significance of things 339 00:18:06,260 –> 00:18:08,079 that otherwise, we would have missed. 340 00:18:08,079 –> 00:18:10,300 That is a perfectly valid way 341 00:18:10,300 –> 00:18:12,400 to approach the study of the Scriptures 342 00:18:12,400 –> 00:18:14,859 which is one word and one revelation 343 00:18:14,859 –> 00:18:16,199 that comes from God. 344 00:18:16,199 –> 00:18:19,140 We do it all the time with murder mystery. 345 00:18:19,140 –> 00:18:22,099 Let’s come back to Mark in chapter 15 346 00:18:22,099 –> 00:18:26,479 and look at the story again to see what Jesus accomplished. 347 00:18:26,479 –> 00:18:28,400 I’m gonna pick it up at verse 22. 348 00:18:30,119 –> 00:18:32,619 They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha 349 00:18:32,619 –> 00:18:36,160 which means the place of the skull. 350 00:18:36,160 –> 00:18:40,599 And then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh 351 00:18:41,479 –> 00:18:43,939 but he did not take it. 352 00:18:45,400 –> 00:18:47,660 Now, the wine mixed with myrrh 353 00:18:48,680 –> 00:18:51,439 had the effect of a mild sedative. 354 00:18:52,640 –> 00:18:55,920 Crucifixion of course, was so barbaric 355 00:18:55,920 –> 00:18:57,939 and the pain involved so horrific 356 00:18:57,939 –> 00:19:00,520 that at least according to tradition, 357 00:19:00,520 –> 00:19:03,000 some relief was offered to the victim 358 00:19:03,000 –> 00:19:07,520 often, just before he was nailed to the cross. 359 00:19:07,520 –> 00:19:09,660 And Mark records that this was precisely 360 00:19:09,660 –> 00:19:12,459 what happened in the case of Jesus. 361 00:19:12,459 –> 00:19:16,619 We don’t know who offered this drink to Jesus, 362 00:19:16,619 –> 00:19:18,180 most likely it was the women 363 00:19:18,180 –> 00:19:22,459 who followed him all the way to the cross. 364 00:19:22,459 –> 00:19:27,459 But here in this primitive, sedative drink, 365 00:19:28,400 –> 00:19:32,699 there was at least the possibility of some relief 366 00:19:32,699 –> 00:19:37,699 from the awful pain that Christ was about to endure. 367 00:19:37,739 –> 00:19:41,020 He had the opportunity here for at least some 368 00:19:41,020 –> 00:19:44,540 dulling of his senses as he faced 369 00:19:44,540 –> 00:19:46,760 the ultimate horror of crucifixion. 370 00:19:48,020 –> 00:19:50,979 The pain, of course, of crucifixion is so awful 371 00:19:50,979 –> 00:19:55,939 that it underlies our English word that we still use. 372 00:19:55,939 –> 00:19:56,800 Have you thought about this? 373 00:19:56,800 –> 00:19:59,439 The word excruciating. 374 00:20:00,699 –> 00:20:01,979 Now, where does that word come from? 375 00:20:01,979 –> 00:20:06,880 Excruciating, pain that comes out of the cross. 376 00:20:06,880 –> 00:20:11,660 Excruc, out of the cross, excruciating. 377 00:20:12,760 –> 00:20:16,880 And anyone who had any compassion at all 378 00:20:16,880 –> 00:20:19,619 would say at this point, as Jesus comes 379 00:20:19,680 –> 00:20:22,119 to be nailed to the cross, drink! 380 00:20:24,000 –> 00:20:26,599 Take this small opportunity of relief. 381 00:20:26,599 –> 00:20:30,260 Let the sedative, at least in some limited degree, 382 00:20:30,260 –> 00:20:33,119 dull your mind to the nailing and the searing pain 383 00:20:33,119 –> 00:20:34,979 that is about to come upon your body. 384 00:20:34,979 –> 00:20:37,260 And I want you to notice what Mark says. 385 00:20:37,260 –> 00:20:40,280 They offered Him wine mixed with myrrh, 386 00:20:40,280 –> 00:20:43,660 but He did not take it. 387 00:20:46,479 –> 00:20:49,199 That tells us that our Lord, Jesus Christ 388 00:20:50,260 –> 00:20:55,260 was fully conscious throughout his suffering. 389 00:20:55,260 –> 00:20:56,219 No sedation. 390 00:20:58,479 –> 00:21:01,160 By the way, I think the thief on the cross 391 00:21:01,160 –> 00:21:04,640 who called out to Jesus in his last moment 392 00:21:04,640 –> 00:21:07,040 must’ve been so thankful that he wasn’t speaking 393 00:21:07,040 –> 00:21:09,079 to a sedated Christ, don’t you? 394 00:21:10,880 –> 00:21:13,199 And you know when you call out to the Lord Jesus Christ, 395 00:21:13,199 –> 00:21:15,560 there will never be a time when he’s somehow dulled 396 00:21:15,560 –> 00:21:17,180 to hearing your cry. 397 00:21:17,699 –> 00:21:20,079 He’s there to save. 398 00:21:21,979 –> 00:21:25,099 But when you understand the New Testament’s teaching 399 00:21:25,099 –> 00:21:26,520 about what was happening on the cross, 400 00:21:26,520 –> 00:21:28,579 you’ll understand why Christ could not 401 00:21:28,579 –> 00:21:30,339 have taken any sedative, 402 00:21:30,339 –> 00:21:32,719 because he’s not only there to save, 403 00:21:32,719 –> 00:21:35,859 he is there to suffer. 404 00:21:35,859 –> 00:21:40,859 He is enduring all the dimensions of hell on the cross, 405 00:21:42,060 –> 00:21:46,760 and hell is conscious punishment. 406 00:21:48,040 –> 00:21:52,099 And he really took the punishment, 407 00:21:53,939 –> 00:21:56,239 felt every bit of it. 408 00:21:57,800 –> 00:22:00,180 The punishment that was due to you, 409 00:22:01,319 –> 00:22:04,719 and the punishment that was due to me. 410 00:22:06,099 –> 00:22:07,479 Now, I want us to look together 411 00:22:07,479 –> 00:22:09,640 at what it was that Christ endured. 412 00:22:11,000 –> 00:22:14,239 Verse 24, a simple sentence, 413 00:22:14,319 –> 00:22:17,560 but it is full of significance, 414 00:22:18,800 –> 00:22:23,160 and they crucified him. 415 00:22:25,000 –> 00:22:27,839 Now, have you ever asked this question, why crucifixion? 416 00:22:29,040 –> 00:22:32,680 As opposed to any other form of execution. 417 00:22:32,680 –> 00:22:35,599 Why did Jesus suffer and die in this way 418 00:22:35,599 –> 00:22:36,619 rather than any other? 419 00:22:36,619 –> 00:22:40,359 Especially when you consider that in the Old Testament, 420 00:22:40,359 –> 00:22:43,520 capital punishment was administered not by crucifixion, 421 00:22:43,540 –> 00:22:46,199 there’s never crucifixion in the Old Testament, 422 00:22:46,199 –> 00:22:48,140 capital punishment among the Jews 423 00:22:48,140 –> 00:22:51,140 according to Old Testament law was administered by stoning? 424 00:22:52,760 –> 00:22:55,079 Crucifixion was a Roman idea 425 00:22:55,079 –> 00:22:58,040 brought in by the secular imperial state 426 00:22:58,040 –> 00:23:00,739 that had come at that particular time 427 00:23:00,739 –> 00:23:04,260 in God’s amazing plan to Israel. 428 00:23:06,680 –> 00:23:07,900 But I want us to see today 429 00:23:07,900 –> 00:23:10,699 that the Old Testament had one right 430 00:23:10,699 –> 00:23:12,180 that was very significant 431 00:23:12,180 –> 00:23:15,739 for understanding the crucifixion of Jesus. 432 00:23:15,739 –> 00:23:17,859 And you’ll find it in the book of Deuteronomy 433 00:23:17,859 –> 00:23:22,180 chapter 21 in verse 23, where we read these words, 434 00:23:23,680 –> 00:23:27,619 anyone who is hung on a tree 435 00:23:28,680 –> 00:23:30,880 is under God’s curse. 436 00:23:30,880 –> 00:23:34,079 That’s Deuteronomy 21 in verse 23. 437 00:23:34,079 –> 00:23:37,680 Anyone who is hung on a tree 438 00:23:37,680 –> 00:23:41,579 is under God’s curse, 439 00:23:41,579 –> 00:23:43,180 and that’s the important thing. 440 00:23:44,099 –> 00:23:45,680 Now, you say, wait a minute, 441 00:23:45,680 –> 00:23:48,119 if execution, capital punishment, 442 00:23:48,119 –> 00:23:51,619 in the Old Testament was by stoning, 443 00:23:51,619 –> 00:23:56,660 why in all the world would anyone ever be hung on a tree? 444 00:23:56,719 –> 00:23:59,319 And William Lane gives us the explanation. 445 00:23:59,319 –> 00:24:01,459 He says this. 446 00:24:01,459 –> 00:24:03,959 The hanging on a gibbett 447 00:24:03,959 –> 00:24:06,079 that was prescribed for idolaters 448 00:24:06,079 –> 00:24:09,579 and blasphemers who had been stoned, 449 00:24:09,619 –> 00:24:11,819 it wasn’t a form of capital punishment, 450 00:24:11,819 –> 00:24:16,420 but it was a humiliation since it followed death. 451 00:24:16,420 –> 00:24:19,760 The public exposure of an executed person 452 00:24:19,760 –> 00:24:24,760 branded him as one who was cursed by God. 453 00:24:25,640 –> 00:24:27,900 So, here’s what the Jews did in a situation 454 00:24:27,900 –> 00:24:29,219 where there had been a great crime 455 00:24:29,219 –> 00:24:31,540 and capital punishment was called for. 456 00:24:31,540 –> 00:24:35,119 They brought about the condemnation of death by stoning, 457 00:24:35,119 –> 00:24:37,479 but after the criminal had died, 458 00:24:37,479 –> 00:24:39,660 after the punishment had been carried out, 459 00:24:39,660 –> 00:24:43,979 then after death, the body was hung upon a gibbet 460 00:24:43,979 –> 00:24:46,420 as a way of expressing to the whole community, 461 00:24:46,420 –> 00:24:48,160 not only is this person come under 462 00:24:48,160 –> 00:24:50,180 the condemnation of the community, 463 00:24:50,180 –> 00:24:53,839 but now this person, in eternity, is under the curse of God. 464 00:24:56,260 –> 00:24:58,300 Now, when you turn to the New Testament 465 00:24:58,300 –> 00:25:00,619 in Galatians 3 and verse 13, 466 00:25:00,619 –> 00:25:03,520 you’ll see that the New Testament takes this up 467 00:25:03,520 –> 00:25:07,140 in relation to Jesus because it’s very important. 468 00:25:07,140 –> 00:25:08,500 Galatians 3, 13. 469 00:25:10,000 –> 00:25:15,000 Christ redeemed us, from the curse of the law, 470 00:25:15,040 –> 00:25:18,619 by becoming a curse for us. 471 00:25:18,619 –> 00:25:19,619 For it is written, 472 00:25:19,619 –> 00:25:22,719 and here’s the quotation from Deuteronomy 21-23. 473 00:25:22,719 –> 00:25:26,739 It’s written, cursed is anyone or everyone 474 00:25:26,739 –> 00:25:29,640 who is hung on a tree. 475 00:25:30,560 –> 00:25:33,939 Now, when Mark says and they crucified him, 476 00:25:34,859 –> 00:25:37,640 any person who knew the Old Testament teaching 477 00:25:37,640 –> 00:25:40,859 would immediately understand the significance of this. 478 00:25:41,719 –> 00:25:44,459 That means he comes under the curse of God, 479 00:25:44,459 –> 00:25:46,520 that’s what the Old Testament says. 480 00:25:47,319 –> 00:25:49,660 The Jewish practice as everyone knew, 481 00:25:49,660 –> 00:25:52,260 was that a condemned man would be put to death 482 00:25:52,260 –> 00:25:54,280 and then hanged on a tree. 483 00:25:54,280 –> 00:25:55,579 But in the case of Jesus, 484 00:25:55,579 –> 00:25:57,979 he is hanged on the tree before his death 485 00:25:57,979 –> 00:25:59,760 and as a means of his death. 486 00:25:59,760 –> 00:26:03,540 In other words, he is consciously, publicly 487 00:26:03,540 –> 00:26:08,540 knowingly under the curse of God on the cross. 488 00:26:08,839 –> 00:26:12,839 And he did this, he went under the curse, 489 00:26:12,839 –> 00:26:17,099 he became cursed for us. 490 00:26:18,199 –> 00:26:21,619 Now you say, why would Jesus come under the curse of God, 491 00:26:21,619 –> 00:26:24,400 he never sinned in the whole of his life, 492 00:26:24,400 –> 00:26:27,380 he was the perfectly faithful son to his father. 493 00:26:27,380 –> 00:26:29,160 And of course, the Bible gives us the answer 494 00:26:29,160 –> 00:26:30,280 as we’ve already seen. 495 00:26:30,280 –> 00:26:33,439 He was bearing our sins. 496 00:26:33,479 –> 00:26:38,479 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us. 497 00:26:39,719 –> 00:26:42,719 What happened when Jesus died? 498 00:26:42,719 –> 00:26:47,520 He came under the curse. 499 00:26:47,520 –> 00:26:52,180 He was nailed to the tree, to the wood, 500 00:26:52,180 –> 00:26:56,280 they crucified him. 501 00:26:58,359 –> 00:27:00,640 Now not only by being crucified, 502 00:27:00,660 –> 00:27:03,819 as opposed to death by any other means, 503 00:27:03,819 –> 00:27:06,160 did Jesus come under the curse. 504 00:27:07,699 –> 00:27:12,699 But Mark tells us also, right here in the description, 505 00:27:12,920 –> 00:27:16,199 that Jesus entered the darkness 506 00:27:16,199 –> 00:27:18,400 and I want us to see that he entered the darkness 507 00:27:18,400 –> 00:27:19,640 for us also. 508 00:27:19,640 –> 00:27:21,719 Verse 33. 509 00:27:21,719 –> 00:27:26,719 At the sixth hour, that’s midday at noon, 510 00:27:26,839 –> 00:27:29,880 darkness came over the whole land 511 00:27:31,000 –> 00:27:33,020 until the ninth hour. 512 00:27:34,619 –> 00:27:38,680 It’s a remarkable thing that when the Lord Jesus Christ 513 00:27:38,680 –> 00:27:41,880 was born, when he came into the world, 514 00:27:41,880 –> 00:27:43,719 he welcomed the church at Christmas 515 00:27:43,719 –> 00:27:46,300 and we know these verses well. 516 00:27:46,300 –> 00:27:49,359 There were shepherds abiding in the fields 517 00:27:49,359 –> 00:27:51,640 and they were keeping watch over their flock 518 00:27:51,640 –> 00:27:55,079 when at night and what happened? 519 00:27:55,079 –> 00:27:57,079 The angel of the Lord appeared 520 00:27:57,079 –> 00:27:59,260 and the glory of the Lord shone around them. 521 00:27:59,260 –> 00:28:03,660 There was light in the sky at midnight 522 00:28:03,660 –> 00:28:07,699 when Jesus was born and when Jesus was crucified, 523 00:28:07,699 –> 00:28:12,420 there is darkness covering the land at noon. 524 00:28:13,579 –> 00:28:15,660 Now whenever you come across something unusual 525 00:28:15,660 –> 00:28:18,040 and clearly darkness covering over the whole land 526 00:28:18,040 –> 00:28:21,099 at midday is highly unusual. 527 00:28:21,099 –> 00:28:22,979 It’s always a good thing as we’ve seen 528 00:28:22,979 –> 00:28:24,520 to look back in the Bible and say, 529 00:28:24,520 –> 00:28:27,400 where have we seen something like this before? 530 00:28:28,359 –> 00:28:29,920 Can you think of a place in the Bible 531 00:28:29,920 –> 00:28:34,920 where darkness suddenly comes over a whole land? 532 00:28:35,479 –> 00:28:39,680 Well it happened in Egypt when Pharaoh 533 00:28:39,680 –> 00:28:43,359 had refused the commandment of God to let his people go 534 00:28:43,359 –> 00:28:48,359 and you remember that God sent 10 plagues of judgment 535 00:28:49,400 –> 00:28:52,920 because of Pharaoh’s hardness of heart 536 00:28:52,920 –> 00:28:55,300 and you remember the last plague 537 00:28:55,400 –> 00:28:58,680 involved the death of a firstborn son 538 00:28:59,859 –> 00:29:03,540 and the one before the last plague was what? 539 00:29:03,540 –> 00:29:06,680 Darkness covered the whole land of Egypt 540 00:29:06,680 –> 00:29:08,979 and it covered the land for three days. 541 00:29:08,979 –> 00:29:12,339 You can read about it in Exodus chapter 10 in verse 21. 542 00:29:12,339 –> 00:29:13,619 The Lord said to Moses, 543 00:29:13,619 –> 00:29:16,300 stretch out your hand toward the sky 544 00:29:16,300 –> 00:29:19,420 so that darkness will spread over Egypt 545 00:29:19,420 –> 00:29:21,900 and I love this little phrase in Exodus. 546 00:29:22,140 –> 00:29:26,400 God says it will be darkness that can be felt, 547 00:29:27,819 –> 00:29:29,800 darkness that can be felt. 548 00:29:31,780 –> 00:29:35,319 Now, when darkness comes over the whole land, 549 00:29:35,319 –> 00:29:37,819 it is a sign in the Old Testament 550 00:29:37,819 –> 00:29:41,060 that the judgment of God is being poured out. 551 00:29:41,060 –> 00:29:42,939 That’s what it is in the plagues 552 00:29:44,839 –> 00:29:47,140 and that is precisely what happens here. 553 00:29:47,400 –> 00:29:52,739 The judgment of God is being poured out 554 00:29:52,739 –> 00:29:55,439 and it is being poured out on Jesus 555 00:29:55,439 –> 00:29:59,140 who is at the center in this darkness 556 00:29:59,140 –> 00:30:01,520 that comes over the whole land. 557 00:30:02,920 –> 00:30:05,599 Remember of course that the Bible speaks about Hell 558 00:30:05,599 –> 00:30:08,500 many times as a place of darkness. 559 00:30:09,540 –> 00:30:11,780 Second Peter chapter two in verse 17 560 00:30:11,780 –> 00:30:15,140 tells us about false teachers who corrupt the church 561 00:30:15,140 –> 00:30:17,939 and it has these solemn words of warning. 562 00:30:17,939 –> 00:30:22,400 It says that blackest darkness is reserved for them. 563 00:30:25,579 –> 00:30:29,699 So we’re learning Christ suffered under the judgment of God 564 00:30:29,699 –> 00:30:32,760 and that is not only taught explicitly in the Bible 565 00:30:32,760 –> 00:30:35,900 but it is pointed to clearly in the description 566 00:30:35,900 –> 00:30:37,300 we have in the gospel 567 00:30:37,300 –> 00:30:39,300 when we’re told that he’s crucified 568 00:30:39,300 –> 00:30:41,979 that tells us that he came under the curse of God 569 00:30:42,900 –> 00:30:46,040 and Mark tells us that he was surrounded by darkness. 570 00:30:48,660 –> 00:30:52,060 He enters the very darkness of hell 571 00:30:52,060 –> 00:30:55,219 and he does that for us. 572 00:30:55,219 –> 00:30:59,739 Now here’s the third dimension of Jesus suffering 573 00:30:59,739 –> 00:31:00,760 the judgment of God. 574 00:31:00,760 –> 00:31:03,079 He comes under the curse, he enters the darkness 575 00:31:03,079 –> 00:31:07,540 and thirdly he is forsaken by the father. 576 00:31:07,540 –> 00:31:09,699 Verse 34, at the ninth hour, 577 00:31:10,420 –> 00:31:13,380 Jesus cried out in a loud voice, 578 00:31:13,380 –> 00:31:15,260 L-O-I, L-O-I, 579 00:31:15,260 –> 00:31:18,099 Lama Sabachthani which means 580 00:31:18,099 –> 00:31:20,420 my God my God, 581 00:31:21,500 –> 00:31:23,380 why have you forsaken me. 582 00:31:26,339 –> 00:31:30,479 Now here we come to the deepest suffering 583 00:31:30,479 –> 00:31:32,619 of our Lord Jesus Christ, 584 00:31:33,619 –> 00:31:35,060 who will never be able to take in 585 00:31:35,060 –> 00:31:38,680 what this meant for Jesus. 586 00:31:40,300 –> 00:31:42,020 The Father delights in the Son, 587 00:31:42,020 –> 00:31:44,060 the Son delights in the Father. 588 00:31:45,060 –> 00:31:46,619 The love of the Son for the Father, 589 00:31:46,619 –> 00:31:48,859 the love of the Father for the Son 590 00:31:48,859 –> 00:31:51,180 was their joy before the creation of the world 591 00:31:51,180 –> 00:31:52,939 and it will be for all eternity. 592 00:31:54,719 –> 00:31:56,599 When Jesus prayed for his disciples 593 00:31:56,599 –> 00:31:58,280 this was the highest prayer. 594 00:31:58,280 –> 00:32:00,160 He said I’m praying Father 595 00:32:00,160 –> 00:32:04,199 that they will be one as we are one. 596 00:32:04,319 –> 00:32:09,319 Now from all eternity past and into all eternity future 597 00:32:10,239 –> 00:32:12,420 the Father and the Son have one life, 598 00:32:12,420 –> 00:32:15,619 one love, one joy, one purpose, one will. 599 00:32:17,819 –> 00:32:18,739 But now 600 00:32:20,000 –> 00:32:22,959 the Son becomes the sin bearer 601 00:32:25,439 –> 00:32:30,439 and the stench of our sin and guilt is upon him 602 00:32:30,859 –> 00:32:35,859 and our holy Father turns away. 603 00:32:41,140 –> 00:32:45,300 Here is Christ under the curse 604 00:32:46,439 –> 00:32:50,560 in the darkness, forsaken by the Father. 605 00:32:51,959 –> 00:32:53,400 He’s bearing our guilt. 606 00:32:53,400 –> 00:32:56,839 He’s enduring the punishment that would bring us peace. 607 00:32:56,839 –> 00:33:01,300 Our Jesus is under the judgment of God. 608 00:33:02,380 –> 00:33:06,939 He is enduring all the dimensions of hell on the cross. 609 00:33:08,079 –> 00:33:10,280 This is hell. 610 00:33:10,280 –> 00:33:13,260 To be under the curse, to be in the darkness, 611 00:33:13,260 –> 00:33:17,520 to be forsaken by God and to endure that consciously 612 00:33:17,520 –> 00:33:22,520 and Jesus endured it for you and for me. 613 00:33:23,119 –> 00:33:23,719 today. 614 00:33:26,239 –> 00:33:27,880 Now, here’s the big question. 615 00:33:29,420 –> 00:33:31,439 Jesus endured all that, 616 00:33:31,439 –> 00:33:34,780 now what does it have to do with us today? 617 00:33:36,180 –> 00:33:38,319 What’s it really have to do with your life 618 00:33:39,319 –> 00:33:40,160 and with mine? 619 00:33:41,060 –> 00:33:42,219 Let me put it this way. 620 00:33:44,140 –> 00:33:48,400 Jesus endured all this on the cross 621 00:33:50,099 –> 00:33:52,479 so that you should never what it is like. 622 00:33:52,520 –> 00:33:57,140 He came under the curse 623 00:33:57,140 –> 00:34:00,939 so that you should never be under the curse of God. 624 00:34:02,619 –> 00:34:04,199 He went into the darkness 625 00:34:04,199 –> 00:34:08,300 so that you should never see or know hell from the inside. 626 00:34:10,419 –> 00:34:12,620 He was forsaken by the father 627 00:34:14,179 –> 00:34:17,500 so that the father could say to you in Christ, 628 00:34:17,500 –> 00:34:20,139 I will never leave you. 629 00:34:20,139 –> 00:34:25,139 I will never forsake you. 630 00:34:27,179 –> 00:34:30,979 Christ suffered under the judgment of God 631 00:34:30,979 –> 00:34:34,879 so that in him you would be saved 632 00:34:34,879 –> 00:34:38,600 from the judgment of God. 633 00:34:38,600 –> 00:34:43,600 It has everything to do with you today. 634 00:34:46,580 –> 00:34:49,159 Let’s try and think about it 635 00:34:49,199 –> 00:34:50,840 just a little more clearly. 636 00:34:52,959 –> 00:34:54,879 There’s a film that’s been around for a while 637 00:34:54,879 –> 00:34:57,620 and you may have seen this one. 638 00:34:57,620 –> 00:35:00,679 It’s called Double Jeopardy, seen that? 639 00:35:01,820 –> 00:35:04,939 A man fakes his own death 640 00:35:04,939 –> 00:35:09,820 and then frames his wife for his murder. 641 00:35:09,820 –> 00:35:13,139 She is convicted and she is sentenced to prison. 642 00:35:14,639 –> 00:35:19,000 While she’s in prison by chance she discovers 643 00:35:19,000 –> 00:35:21,600 that her husband is not dead, 644 00:35:21,600 –> 00:35:23,239 in fact, he’s very much alive 645 00:35:23,239 –> 00:35:24,879 and living with their young son 646 00:35:24,879 –> 00:35:27,919 and another woman in California. 647 00:35:29,080 –> 00:35:30,399 She is enraged. 648 00:35:32,120 –> 00:35:35,620 At this point she learns about double jeopardy. 649 00:35:36,459 –> 00:35:41,080 That is the principle that the law cannot convict 650 00:35:41,080 –> 00:35:44,840 the same person twice for the same crime. 651 00:35:45,820 –> 00:35:49,639 And since she is in prison already convicted 652 00:35:49,639 –> 00:35:51,540 for her husband’s murder, 653 00:35:52,419 –> 00:35:57,419 this means that she can bring him justice with impunity. 654 00:35:58,060 –> 00:36:01,560 But you can see how the story is going to develop. 655 00:36:01,560 –> 00:36:03,159 Now, I want you to think about 656 00:36:03,159 –> 00:36:05,979 the principle of double jeopardy. 657 00:36:07,159 –> 00:36:08,639 Here’s the principle, 658 00:36:08,639 –> 00:36:12,959 the law cannot convict the same person twice 659 00:36:12,959 –> 00:36:14,459 for the same crime. 660 00:36:15,000 –> 00:36:16,060 You see that together with me. 661 00:36:16,060 –> 00:36:18,520 I want us to get this principle in our minds. 662 00:36:18,520 –> 00:36:20,419 What’s the principle of double jeopardy? 663 00:36:20,419 –> 00:36:24,520 The law cannot convict the same person twice 664 00:36:24,520 –> 00:36:26,739 for the same crime. 665 00:36:27,639 –> 00:36:29,879 Now, think about this. 666 00:36:29,879 –> 00:36:34,879 When you come in repentance and faith to Jesus Christ, 667 00:36:35,479 –> 00:36:39,439 the Bible says that you are in Christ. 668 00:36:39,439 –> 00:36:40,520 In fact, that’s how the Bible 669 00:36:40,520 –> 00:36:43,179 most frequently describes a Christian. 670 00:36:43,179 –> 00:36:45,419 You are a person who is in Christ. 671 00:36:45,419 –> 00:36:50,100 In other words, God does not view you alone or in isolation. 672 00:36:50,100 –> 00:36:55,020 He sees you as so identified with his son, Jesus Christ, 673 00:36:55,020 –> 00:36:57,280 as to be inseparable from Him. 674 00:36:57,280 –> 00:37:00,780 You are in Christ. 675 00:37:00,780 –> 00:37:05,139 Now, Christ died for your sins. 676 00:37:05,139 –> 00:37:07,639 That’s what we’ve been learning today. 677 00:37:07,639 –> 00:37:12,639 And if you are in Him, inseparable from Him, 678 00:37:12,959 –> 00:37:16,419 no further charge can be brought against you. 679 00:37:16,419 –> 00:37:19,060 Because that would be double jeopardy, right? 680 00:37:19,060 –> 00:37:23,860 God can not condemn you for your sins if you are in Christ. 681 00:37:23,860 –> 00:37:26,340 Because Christ has paid for these sins. 682 00:37:26,340 –> 00:37:29,040 Sentence has already been passed on them. 683 00:37:29,040 –> 00:37:32,000 And the principle of double jeopardy is, say it with me, 684 00:37:32,000 –> 00:37:35,600 the law cannot convict the same person twice 685 00:37:35,600 –> 00:37:37,860 for the same crime. 686 00:37:37,860 –> 00:37:40,239 A poet has put it beautifully this way. 687 00:37:40,260 –> 00:37:44,780 Payment God cannot twice demand, 688 00:37:44,780 –> 00:37:47,919 first from my bleeding Savior’s hand, 689 00:37:47,919 –> 00:37:50,840 and then again from mine. 690 00:37:52,500 –> 00:37:55,100 Now, you might say at this point, now, wait a minute. 691 00:37:56,360 –> 00:37:58,100 Wouldn’t that then mean 692 00:37:59,580 –> 00:38:04,580 that we could go and live as we like 693 00:38:05,340 –> 00:38:09,860 and commit any sin that we want to and get away with it? 694 00:38:11,239 –> 00:38:14,879 And if you’re asking that question right now, 695 00:38:14,879 –> 00:38:16,800 I just want to say, good, 696 00:38:18,080 –> 00:38:21,439 because what it means is you’ve understood the gospel. 697 00:38:21,439 –> 00:38:25,159 If you’ve got to that question, you’ve really got it, 698 00:38:25,159 –> 00:38:27,620 you’ve understood it, you’ve grasped it, 699 00:38:27,620 –> 00:38:29,760 you’ve got light, you’re on the right track 700 00:38:29,760 –> 00:38:32,020 if you’re asking that question. 701 00:38:32,020 –> 00:38:33,719 And I’ll tell you why I say that. 702 00:38:34,679 –> 00:38:37,620 Because when Paul in Romans chapter five 703 00:38:37,659 –> 00:38:40,280 lays out the clearest explanation of the gospel 704 00:38:40,280 –> 00:38:42,699 perhaps that you’ll find anywhere in the New Testament, 705 00:38:42,699 –> 00:38:44,260 in Romans chapter five, 706 00:38:45,919 –> 00:38:48,860 when he gets to chapter six he raises the one question 707 00:38:48,860 –> 00:38:50,659 that always naturally arises 708 00:38:50,659 –> 00:38:52,580 from a clear understanding of the gospel, 709 00:38:52,580 –> 00:38:55,860 which is Romans chapter six in verse one. 710 00:38:55,860 –> 00:38:57,439 What shall we say then? 711 00:38:57,439 –> 00:39:00,459 Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 712 00:39:00,459 –> 00:39:02,899 So if you’re asking that question, 713 00:39:02,899 –> 00:39:04,520 you’re on the right lines. 714 00:39:04,520 –> 00:39:06,100 You’ve understood the gospel. 715 00:39:06,120 –> 00:39:08,020 Because that is of course the question 716 00:39:08,020 –> 00:39:11,620 that always arises whenever someone really gets it 717 00:39:11,620 –> 00:39:14,659 and grasps free grace 718 00:39:14,659 –> 00:39:17,780 that comes to us in Jesus Christ. 719 00:39:17,780 –> 00:39:22,780 I’m really pleased if that’s where your mind is taking you. 720 00:39:23,080 –> 00:39:24,719 You’ve got it. 721 00:39:24,719 –> 00:39:25,560 You’ve got it. 722 00:39:26,639 –> 00:39:27,780 Of course you do also need an answer 723 00:39:27,780 –> 00:39:29,939 to that question don’t you? 724 00:39:29,939 –> 00:39:33,060 And of course Paul gives it in Romans in chapter six 725 00:39:33,320 –> 00:39:36,320 and I think we can put it very simply this way. 726 00:39:36,320 –> 00:39:38,479 The free grace of the Lord Jesus Christ 727 00:39:38,479 –> 00:39:40,979 will not lead you into a life of sin 728 00:39:40,979 –> 00:39:45,979 because if anyone is in Christ, 729 00:39:46,120 –> 00:39:48,120 he is what? 730 00:39:48,120 –> 00:39:49,459 A new creation. 731 00:39:50,520 –> 00:39:52,719 The old has gone. 732 00:39:52,719 –> 00:39:55,360 The new has come. 733 00:39:55,360 –> 00:39:59,060 And when you come to Jesus in repentance and faith, 734 00:39:59,060 –> 00:40:01,600 the Bible says he’ll make you his own. 735 00:40:01,620 –> 00:40:03,659 He’ll give you his spirit. 736 00:40:03,659 –> 00:40:05,520 He’ll put his life in you. 737 00:40:05,520 –> 00:40:07,760 He’ll put new desires within you. 738 00:40:07,760 –> 00:40:10,080 He will make you a new person. 739 00:40:10,080 –> 00:40:13,520 He will give you a new life when you’re in Christ. 740 00:40:13,520 –> 00:40:15,379 You really want to please him. 741 00:40:15,379 –> 00:40:17,479 Now, you may fail in this a thousand times. 742 00:40:17,479 –> 00:40:20,060 You may fall short of your goal, 743 00:40:20,060 –> 00:40:23,520 but if you’re a Christian you love Christ 744 00:40:23,520 –> 00:40:27,399 and you see what he has done as having supreme value, 745 00:40:27,399 –> 00:40:29,540 you feel at the deepest level of your being. 746 00:40:29,540 –> 00:40:30,959 You can no longer live 747 00:40:30,959 –> 00:40:32,340 as you used to live. 748 00:40:32,340 –> 00:40:34,959 You see that he has poured out his life for you, 749 00:40:34,959 –> 00:40:37,219 and now the greatest desire of your life 750 00:40:37,219 –> 00:40:39,320 is that you should pour out your life for him, 751 00:40:39,320 –> 00:40:41,340 to live in a way that brings him joy 752 00:40:41,340 –> 00:40:44,580 and to be in a way that brings him honor. 753 00:40:44,580 –> 00:40:46,899 If you are in Christ 754 00:40:46,899 –> 00:40:51,439 and Christ has been crucified for your sins 755 00:40:51,439 –> 00:40:56,060 you cannot be charged, convicted, 756 00:40:56,060 –> 00:40:58,280 or condemned before the judgment of God. 757 00:40:58,280 –> 00:40:59,379 It is impossible. 758 00:40:59,379 –> 00:41:00,800 That is why Paul says, 759 00:41:00,800 –> 00:41:05,800 there is therefore now no condemnation, for who? 760 00:41:06,040 –> 00:41:09,600 For those who are in Christ Jesus. 761 00:41:09,600 –> 00:41:11,840 That’s why Paul says in Romans chapter eight, 762 00:41:11,840 –> 00:41:14,639 who’s going to be able to bring any charge 763 00:41:14,639 –> 00:41:18,800 against those whom God has justified. 764 00:41:18,800 –> 00:41:21,159 That is the assurance of the gospel. 765 00:41:21,159 –> 00:41:23,760 When you understand what Jesus has accomplished 766 00:41:23,760 –> 00:41:24,600 on the cross, 767 00:41:24,600 –> 00:41:26,500 and you realize that to put your faith in him 768 00:41:26,500 –> 00:41:28,439 means that you are in Christ, 769 00:41:28,800 –> 00:41:31,360 you will have freedom and you will have joy 770 00:41:31,360 –> 00:41:32,679 in the presence of God, 771 00:41:32,679 –> 00:41:37,040 and it will transform your life. 772 00:41:37,040 –> 00:41:38,179 Now, one more thing. 773 00:41:40,679 –> 00:41:43,340 If you are not in Christ, 774 00:41:45,459 –> 00:41:49,239 the charges, convictions, 775 00:41:50,139 –> 00:41:55,139 and condemnation of your sin remains stored up for you. 776 00:41:59,080 –> 00:42:04,080 But you can come to this risen Lord Jesus Christ today. 777 00:42:06,899 –> 00:42:10,840 Listen, he was crucified for you. 778 00:42:12,399 –> 00:42:13,899 He bore the curse. 779 00:42:15,280 –> 00:42:16,600 He entered the darkness. 780 00:42:16,600 –> 00:42:19,340 He was forsaken by the father for you. 781 00:42:20,919 –> 00:42:24,979 And his sacrifice and his shed blood 782 00:42:25,000 –> 00:42:29,020 are sufficient to save you. 783 00:42:30,800 –> 00:42:35,800 So, you come in repentance and faith to Jesus Christ today. 784 00:42:37,419 –> 00:42:38,600 On the authority of the Bible, 785 00:42:38,600 –> 00:42:40,959 I promise you, he will not turn you away. 786 00:42:42,699 –> 00:42:43,959 He will welcome you. 787 00:42:45,620 –> 00:42:49,760 You will become a new person in Christ, 788 00:42:49,760 –> 00:42:52,560 now and forever. 789 00:42:53,360 –> 00:42:55,939 Let’s bow in God’s presence together. 790 00:42:57,179 –> 00:43:00,540 Father, for the glory of the gospel, 791 00:43:02,280 –> 00:43:06,540 for the accomplishment of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross 792 00:43:08,159 –> 00:43:11,560 for what it means for us who know you and love you 793 00:43:11,560 –> 00:43:15,340 to be in Christ for time and for eternity, 794 00:43:16,820 –> 00:43:18,739 we give you our thanks, 795 00:43:19,520 –> 00:43:21,280 and our praise, 796 00:43:22,800 –> 00:43:24,300 in Jesus’ name, 797 00:43:25,139 –> 00:43:26,899 God’s people said. 798 00:43:26,899 –> 00:43:28,159 Amen.