Consider the Cross, Part 1A

Why are we going to spend time considering the cross? Not because Resurrection Sunday's just a few short Sundays away. That has something to do with it. But the most important reason is because the cross is that which is central To Christianity. It's that which is central to our belief, the cross of Jesus Christ. You'll notice that behind me, up on the platform, there's a cross.

It's not there to take up space. Although it does take up space. It's not there to even look good, even though it does look good. It's there because it is the central focus of what we believe. And we maintain that the cross of Jesus Christ is that one element that we will live and die for because it is so important to what we believe. It was all about the mission as to why our Lord Jesus Christ came to this ear all through the years. Throughout the history of the church, there have been all kinds of crosses that are used to depict certain eras the church, whether they're they're Greek crosses, whether they're Coptic crosses, whether they're Roman Catholic crosses, whether they're Protestant crosses.

The point being is that the cross is That's familiar to a lot of people. Unfortunately, that familiarity has bred contempt. Unfortunately, there are many people who wear a cross but have not the foggiest idea what that cross means or what it stands for. And yet we understand that the cross is that element of torture, that symbol of death, that symbol of degradation. It was, first of all, designed by the Persians, then picked up by the Romans.

And some say it is the worst instrument of torture and death known to man. It's the worst form of pain, the worst form of suffering, and the worst form of suffocation when it comes to a man su. It's also a symbol of degradation. Because when a man was lifted up on a cross, he was lifted up high on a cross. usually on a very popular road, a road that was traveled by many people, and he was hung there completely naked. Because he was to be humiliated in front of everyone. And so we understand that by looking back at church history and understanding what took place when people were actually put on the cross.

And put there as the worst of all criminals. It wasn't just a bad guy who hung on the cross, it was the worst of all the criminals that were hung. on a cross to to be humiliated. And yet that that cross, which is a symbol of torture, a symbol of suffering, a symbol of humiliation and degradation and pain, is the most Precious symbol for the Christian. Not precious because of the degradation and the humiliation and the pain, but precious because it represents the finished work of our Savior. the love of our Savior, the goodness of our God, that which was derived by man to do the worst, was designed by God to accomplish the best.

The salvation of the world. Over the next several weeks, my desire is to do what Isaac Watts wrote about when he talked about surveying the wondrous cross. We're going to spend some time looking at the cross of Christ, helping you understand the implications of that cross for your life and for mine, going through the scriptures to see what the Bible says about the cross of Christ.

How long it takes, only the Lord knows. But we want to make sure that we do as much as we possibly can to understand the theolog of the cross. It was one lady who wrote these words, May I be willing, Lord, to bear daily my cross for thee, even thy cup of grief to share, thou hast borne all for me. That's my prayer for me and for you as we take up this study on the cross of Christ. And so, what we're going to do is begin. At the beginning, that's always a good place to start. And so we're going to begin with what I've called the predestination of the cross.

You must understand the beginning of the cross. And for that, I want you to turn with me in your Bible to Acts chapter 2, just by way of introduction.

To this predestination of the cross, to see the very first Christian sermon preached by the Apostle Peter.

Acts chapter 2. Peter's sermon after the resurrection of Christ Is officially the first Christian sermon preached.

And like all good sermons, it points man to the cross. That's important to understand. Because you must understand the purpose of the cross. And Peter would do that in his sermon. And listen to what he says in verse number 22 of Acts chapter 2. He says, Men of Israel, listen to these words. Jesus of Nazarene. Man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs, which God performed through him in your midst, just as you yourselves know this man. Delivered up by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put him to de.

Peter helps these Jewish people understand that Jesus Christ was no victim. But he was on the cross, he was delivered up by God the Father as part of a plan, a predetermined plan. Centered around the foreknowledge of God Himself. That somehow what these Jewish people did, what these Roman soldiers did to Christ by putting him on a cross, was a plan designed by God. In eternity past. So, whether it was the betrayal of Judas, whether it was the Roman soldiers who took the nails and drove them into his hands, All of that was a part of the ultimate plan of God to bring about redemption for mankind.

Peter, one of these people, to understand that. It was predetermined. It was planned by God. You can read about it over in Acts chapter 4 again, when some Christians got together and began to pray, and they said in verse number 27: For truly in this city there were gathered together against the Holy servant Jesus, whom thou didst anoint, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel. To do whatever thy hand and thy purpose predestined to occur. The early church had a firm grasp on the sovereignty of God.

They understood that what was taking place in Jerusalem, what took place with their Savior, God had anointed both Herod and Pilate to do, because there was a plan. That God had enacted. You can read about it again over in Acts chapter 13. Acts chapter 13, Paul would say these words. In verse number 27, for those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, recognizing neither him nor the utterances of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled these by condemning him. In other words, the people.

Who studied the law of God, who said they knew the law of God, actually fulfilled the law of God when they condemned Jesus Christ to death. And though they found no ground for putting him to death, they asked Pilate that he be executed. And when they had carried out all that was written concerning him, they took him down from the cross and laid him in a tomb. So there evidently there was something that was already written about Christ that needed to be carried out. By those who would crucify him, those who would hang him on a tree.

All that to say. Is that it's very important that as a believer you understand the predestination of the cross? This is where you need to begin. And there are three things I want to drive home with you this morning. Three points that I think are very important. Number one, to understand the predestination of the cross, you must understand that the cross was determined in eternity.

That the cross was deline through prophecy and that the cross was demonstrated at Calvary. Those three things all come together. So let's begin by taking you all the way back to the book of Genesis. Genesis chapter 1. You want to know what it says in verse number twenty-s. Then God said. Let us make man in our image, acc to our likeness. We understand that there is a Trinitarian plan. We understand that by nature, God is in relationship with Himself. We understand that God is three in one. Let us make man in our im.

God is having a conversation with God. Now I don't understand all the implications of that, but I know what the Bible says so God is in conversation with him about making man in his image.

God by nature is very personal, and so He is going to create a personal being. And so He finds Himself intricately involved in the creation of man, unlike any other part of creation, although He was involved in it. One he is extremely involved in, and so he says, Let us make man in our image. The question com. What is it that caused God to commun and to converse with him? What was he talking about? What was he trying to accomplish through the creation of man? We know the Bible says in Revelation 13, verse number 8, that there is a book.

It's called the Lamb's Book of Life. And in that book are written the people of God before the foundation of the world. What God was doing in Genesis chapter 1 was having a conversation with him about how he was going to redeem man. And how he was going to redeem a bride for his son. How do we know that? Glad you asked. Turn back with me, if you would, to the book of Titus. The book of Titus. Titus chapter 1 Paul, bonds of God, that's verse 1. And an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth, which is according to godliness, in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised.

Long ag ag, God made a promise. Long ag ag, or literally, the text says, before time Began. Now, if you're with us in our study in Genesis chapter 1, you know that time did not begin until Genesis chapter 1, verse number 1. So before Genesis 1, verse number 1, before time began, God made a promise. Who did He make a promise to? He made a promise to Himself. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit made a promise. In long ages ago, before time. Began. We know that he didn't make this promise to man because man wasn't created till day six.

We know he didn't make this promise to angels, and although we don't know exactly what day they were created on, we can speculate as to the day. We don't know exactly what day they were created on. Angels were never designed to be redeemed, only man was. So we understand through the book of Titus in Genesis chapter 1, in Titus 1, that God made a promise before time began. Now turn with me to 2 Timothy chapter 1.

2 Timothy chapter 1, verse number 9. It says, God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works. But according to his own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity same phrase used in Titus chapter 1 verse number 2 Before time began, God made a promise to Himself before time began that He would choose and elect and redeem people. In order that he might accomplish his great and mighty purposes. Why do I tell you that? I tell you that because the cross of Jesus Christ, the cross that hangs on our church, the cross that might hang around your neck, is a cross that was determined.

In eternity past. It was all a part of the plan of God. It was not something He thought up after man sinned. No, it was all a part of the plan of God that he would redeem for him a people that would be called the bride for his son. And that would rule and reign with him throughout all eternity, and worship and praise his glorious name. That's important for us to understand: there are no accidents in the Bible. That is, no accidents in the plan of God, according to the Bible. Because God works by divine appointment.

So it was determined in eternity, and then it would be delineated in prophecy. All throughout the Bible, we're not going to cover all the prophecy concerning the cross, but if you go back to Genesis chapter 3, verse number 15, right after man's sin, God said, To the serpent, that the serpent would bruise the heel of the seed of the woman, but that seed of the woman would crush the serpent's head. In Genesis chapter 3, verse number 15, God gave the prophecy about the coming Redeemer, about the coming seed that would deal a death blow to Satan, and that would happen at the cross of Christ.

And so, right after man was created and man fell into sin, God revealed the plan that was devised in eternity past. To help Adam and Eve understand that what had taken place, because they were separated now from God because of their sin, and that sin nature now would be passed down to all men, for all have sinned. That God had a plan, and that plan would be to redeem a certain people. To provide salvation for the world through the seed, through the seed of the woman. If you go over to Genesis chapter 22, turn back there with me, if you would, for a moment, a passage of scripture that we have looked at quite frequently.

But it's important to understand this. Because remember what Jesus said in John chapter 8. In John chapter 8, verse number 56. Jesus said to the religious leaders, your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it and was glad. The question is, when did Abraham see God's day. When did Abraham see the plan of God? And what caused Abraham to rejoice? It all centers around Genesis chapter 22 when God told Abraham to go to the land of Moriah. Now, if you were with us in our study in Genesis 22, Mariah means what?

Foreseen by God. That's important to understand because the land of Moriah was a place foreseen by God. And so God tells Abraham, I want you to go to the land of Moriah, and there I want you to sacrifice your son, your only son, Isaac. And so Abraham, being obedient to God, did exactly what God had told him to do. He went up into the mountain, he took the fire, he took the knife, he took everything he needed to provide a sacrifice, and just as he got ready to Slaughter his son on the altar, God stopped him.

The angel of the Lord stopped him. Remember that as they were going up the hill, Isaac asked the question. When he said, Behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering? There is no lamb, Father. Where's the lamb? And Abraham will respond by saying, God will provide him a lamb. God will provide. And you know the story. He bound his son. He got ready to sacrifice his son. And the angel of the Lord came to him. Stomped him. And we know from the text that the angel of the Lord is God Himself.

It was the pre-incarnate Christ who would speak to Abraham. And explained to Abraham that what he had done was out of obedience to him, and that Abraham truly did fear God. And it says, Abraham raised his eyes and looked, verse 13, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of In the stead of his son, instead of his son being offered up, there was a ram that was provided. For Abraham to offer up.

And then it says, and Abraham called the name of that place Yave Yer. Your translation says, the Lord will provide, as it is to this day, in the mount of the Lord it will be Provided. Listen, Yave Yir means the Lord will see to it. What will the Lord see too? The Lord will see that on the mountain Foreseen by God that Abraham will now see the day of Jesus Christ. And therefore, Abraham would rejoice because he understood the plan of God. Because God would prophesy through an illustration, through a type.

To help him understand that his son, the Lamb, would be that substitute for the sins the world. That's why the Bible says over in Romans chapter 5 verse number 6 that Christ died for the ungodly or 1 Peter 3 18 for Christ also hath once suffered for sins the just for The unjust.

You see, Abraham was able to rejoice in this day because he saw on Mount Moriah, which means the mount foreseen by God. That the Lord will see to it that a provision, that a substitute will be made for the sins of the world. And that's why when you go to Israel today, you know that Calvary is Mount Moriah. For that mountain is the mountain where Isaac himself was offered up, and there was a substitute in Genesis 22. Just like there would be a substitute 2,000 years ago for the sins of the world when Jesus Christ would offer him up.

As an offering for sin, according to Romans chapter 8, verse number 3. He became flesh to offer him up as an offering for man's Sin. That's so important. We can go on and read Isaiah 53. And Isaiah 53 really begins in Isaiah 52, in verse number 13, speaking of the sublimation of the suffering Messiah. And then it goes. On in verse number one of chapter 53 about the separation of the Messiah, and then it talks about the substitution of the Messiah.

And listen to what it says: it says this in verse number 6. All of us, like sheep, have gone astray. Each of us has turned to his own way. But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on him. Very important to understand the Hebrew here. Because the Hebrew states it this way: all we, without exception, without exception to any man. God has laid on him the iniquity of all men. You've got to understand that. If you miss that, you're in big trouble. So, you realize that what God has done is laid on the suffering Messiah the iniquity of us all.

So, whether it's Genesis 3, or whether it's Genesis 22, or whether it's Isaiah 53, the scriptures. Is full of prophecy concerning the cross of Christ and the importance of that cross, something that was determined way in eternity past, delineated in prophecy, was demonstrated at Calvary. Th, John chapter 19, it says these words. In fact, before I go there, remember Luke 24 when Christ was talking to the two men on the Emmaus road. When he said, O foolish men, verse number 25, and slow of heart, to believe in all that the prophets have spoken, was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into his glory?

And beginning with Moses, the Pentateuch. And with all the prophets, he explained to them the things concerning himself and all the scriptures. He says, Listen, don't you realize that this is what it was all about? This is what everything in the Old Testament pointed to. It pointed to the cross. It pointed to the death of the suffering Messiah. Everything pointed to that day. And that's why Abraham would rejoice when he saw that day. Because he realized that his God would provide salvation for the world.

And then it was demonstrated on Calvary. And for that, I want you to turn to John chapter 19. And it says this in verse number 28: when Christ is on Gogatha there and outside the city gates of Jerusalem. It says, after this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, 1 number 28, in order that the scripture might be fulfilled, said, I am thirsty. A jar full of sour wine was standing there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop and brought it up. to his mouth.

When Jesus, therefore, had received the sour wine, he said, It is Finished. What was fin? Simply this: the price was paid in full. I have finished what was determined in eternity. I have finished what has been delineated in prophecy. I have finished by demonstrating on Calvary that the work of redemption, the ransom, has now been paid for the sins of the world. That is so important, and that's what Jesus Christ him did.