Today is Palm
Sunday -- which ushers in the most important week in the Christian calendar!
Holy week! -- The most significant week
in all of history!
Beginning with
Palm Sunday -- & climaxing with Easter Sunday!
The main point
of Christ’s life is that Christ did not come into the world to live -- but to die!
And that He did! -- Upon a cruel Roman
Cross -- on the day we call Good Friday!
We call it
“Good Friday” -- but no one standing there that day would have called that
Friday “good.”
But when Jesus
died on the Cross -- He paid for the sins of all mankind!
His
substitutionary death made our redemption possible -- & that is why we call it “Good Friday.”
I suppose a
pastor could preach his entire life -- & never exhaust the unsearchable riches that surround the
Cross of Jesus Christ!
Let me share
just a part of one verse with you today -- that we might think again about the
significance of the Cross of Jesus Christ!
Luke
“There they crucified him!”
With these four
words Luke describes the death of Jesus.
How few &
simple his words -- & yet how deep & unexplorable.
Many volumes
have been written on these few words!
They speak of
suffering, shame, & sacrifice; -- & yet they speak about God, &
glory, & forgiveness; -- about hope, love, life, & salvation.
Take those four
words -- “there they crucified him”
-- & register them carefully in your heart!
Serious
meditation upon those four words can only lead to speechless wonder.
While a
sin-filled world strives to grasp the meaning of the Cross -- may your faith
lay hold -- & may the door of hope open to you today.
Four words -- “there they crucified him” -- mediate on
them -- one word at a time: --
1. “There” --
Notice the Place!
At that place
-- you have the anatomy of a crime -- the darkest, foulest, most monstrous
crime ever committed on this sin-cursed planet earth.
“When they were
come to the place, which is called Calvary...”
It was not the
result of clever political maneuvering on the part of Jewish leaders.
Nor was
Neither did it
happen because Jesus’ followers panicked & fled in a moment of crisis.
Nothing in all of history was more
deliberately planned -- or carefully approached!
For it was at
“Mercy there was great -- &
grace was free;
Pardon there was multiplied to
me;
There my burdened soul found
liberty -- At Calvary!”
But -- strange
as it may be -- the actual word --
The word “
Matthew’s Gospel
calls it “
No wonder the
song writer said my ransomed soul can only sing of
Have you come
to that place called
Whether or not
you have ever been to the
2. “They” -- Notice the People!
The pronoun
“they” -- suggest a plural responsibility for Christ’s crucifixion. -- Who
were “they”?
Who is to be
included in that word -- “they”?
Or -- a better
question is -- “who is to be excluded?”
Certainly the
Jewish religious leaders were responsible for the Cross.
Jewish rulers
planned & plotted Christ’s crucifixion in the most pains-taking &
unjust manner.
They induced
Judas to betray Jesus; -- they illegally tried & unjustly condemned Christ;
-- they produced false testimony, through bribery, against Jesus; -- they
employed political leverage; -- they excited the crowd to cry out “Crucify Him!
-- Crucify Him!”
They certainly
made their contribution to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
The political
representatives of that day -- were also responsible for the cross.
Pilate -- the
Roman governor -- must bear some of the blame.
Pilate
possessed the authority to decide the execution or acquittal of Jesus Christ.
He was in no
way ignorant -- for his own examination of the facts -- thoroughly convinced
him of the innocence of the Christ.
Added to
Pilate’s conclusion that Jesus was “a just man” -- was the solemn warning of
Pilate’s wife. -- Nor is King Herod’s record spotless.
If Herod had
chosen to speak one good word on Jesus’ behalf -- it might have given Pilate
the strength to do what he knew was right.
However --
political pressure won the day over reasoned justice -- & an innocent
victim was sacrificed to the irrational demands of an angry mob
The Roman
soldiers who participated in the punishment & death of Christ -- must also
bear responsible for the cross.
Although it may
be argued that they were merely carrying out their duty -- the mistreatment
they gave Jesus indicates a certain enjoyment on their part.
With no
interest whatsoever in justice -- the soldiers, at Pilate’s command -- marched
Jesus away in a ruthless manner to the hill called
There they
nailed His hands & His feet to the cross -- & comfortably positioned
themselves to watch Him die.
The Roman
military is guilty of crucifying the Christ!
The thoughtless
populace was also involved in the responsibility for the cross. -- The cross stood by a prominent
thoroughfare.
Looking on --
the irrational populace taunted Jesus by saying -- “Others he saved -- but
himself he could not save.”
They judged Him
-- a professed king without a kingdom -- a would-be ruler without authority to
command.
So the
indifferent populace also helped nail Christ to the cross.
But my friends
-- there is also a collective
responsibility -- involving the whole human race -- including you & me
-- involved in the deed of the cross! -- All mankind must share in the guilt!
The Apostle
Paul declared that -- “Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures.” --
His death was caused by our sin!
Christ’s death
was planned before the foundation of the world -- because of sin. --
“He was wounded for our transgressions” (Isaiah 53:5).
Our sins put
Jesus on the cross! -- We all had a part in His death!
Thus we all
stand guilty & condemned for our part in the tragedy of the Cross -- until we repent & are saved by the
Christ of the Cross.
If you were to
look at Rembrandt’s painting of The Three
Crosses -- your attention would be drawn first to the center cross on which
Jesus died.
Then as you
would look at the crowd gathered around the foot of that cross -- you’d be
impressed by the various facial expressions & actions of the people
involved in the awful crime of crucifying the Son of God.
Finally -- your
eyes would drift to the edge of the painting -- & catch sight of another
figure -- almost hidden in the shadows.
Art critics say
this is a representation of Rembrandt
himself! -- For he recognized that by his sins -- he helped nail Jesus to
the cross.
We find it easy
to blame the Roman soldiers -- or Pontius Pilate for Christ’s death -- but
actually we were all participants in His crucifixion -- because He died for our sins!
It may make us
feel better to point the finger at those who put Jesus on the cross -- but it
is a shocking thought that we can be as indifferent as Pilate -- as calloused
as the soldiers -- as ruthless as the mob -- or as cowardly as the disciples.
It isn’t just
what they did -- it was I who nailed Him to the tree!
I crucified the Christ of God! -- You crucified the Son of God!
We
are standing there at the foot of the cross -- in the shadows -- along with Rembrandt -- & all
mankind.
“He was
wounded for our transgressions” (Isaiah 53:5).
3. “Crucified” --
Notice the Price!
Crucifixion was
a horrible method of execution practiced by many ancient people.
The history of
crucifixions goes back long before Christ came.
But the
greatest use of it was by the Romans who used it on a massive scale to execute
people.
It was rationed
out for such crimes as treason, robbery, & desertion.
The victim was
fastened to a cross by cords -- or his hands were nailed -- & he was left
to die. -- It was one of the most terrible, painful ways to
die!
Today people
will do anything to avoid pain & deprivation.
That is why there
is so much alcoholism; -- & people drug themselves rather than suffer.
Jesus was
offered a drug to dull the pain -- but He suffered the terrible agony -- &
carried our sins on the cross in full consciousness.
They crucified Him! -- Jesus upon the
cross!
In that
terrible time of the agony of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross -- a shadow
came between God the Father & God the Son.
God cannot look
upon sin -- & in that moment God was laying your sins & mine --
on His Son, Jesus! -- Christ was suffering for us!
Christ was on
the cross for six hours.
The suffering
& sacrifice Jesus endured on the cross was necessary -- if He were to pay
the price for our sin -- & purchase our souls.
We may ask questions -- one after the other: --
Why did God
demand it? -- How could Jesus bear it? -- Why pay such a price? -- Why place
such a high value on the souls of mere mortals?
There is only
one answer to these questions! -- Love! Divine love!
Even such boundless love is a mystery.
It is beyond
our comprehension; -- we can never fathom it.
The price of
our salvation -- cost God the death of His only Son on the Cross of Calvary!
It was love -- not nails -- that held my Savior to the Cross!
My friends -- the cross was not a failure; -- it
was a glorious success!
The Roman cross
-- intended to be an instrument of gruel death -- instead became an instrument
of new life & hope for the human race.
God loved &
valued each one of us so highly -- that He was willing to pay the greatest
price imaginable for our salvation.
The Cross
provides forgiveness & cleansing from the cause & effect -- the root
& the fruit of sin!
4. “Him” -- Notice the Person!
No one has been
to
For other men
have died on other crosses -- on other hills!
Two other men
-- you remember -- died on crosses that same day on the same hill.
It is the fact
that Jesus was more than man -- that
He was God-man -- that makes His death on
There are many
today who see Christ as a mere man -- a “Superstar” perhaps -- but just a man.
But it is not
enough to look at the Cross & say -- “Behold the man!”
We must also be
able to say -- “Behold the Lamb of God!”
But it is not
only important to know Who it was that died on Calvary’s cross -- it is
necessary to discover, personally -- the significance of what He did there.
That great
preacher G. Campbell Morgan states: -- “If we approach the cross for examination, it will evade us. -- If we
approach it for contemplation, it
will wilder us. -- The only way to approach & under-stand the cross is by identification. -- That is my place. -- He died for me & took my place in His death.”
The death of Christ
is unparalleled by that of anyone else in all of history!
Though the
death of some great leaders has affected men for time -- only our Lord’s crucifixion is regarded as having redemptive value!
When
the Lord Jesus died on the cross -- He paid for the sins of all mankind.
Legend tells
us about a colored woman who watched the funeral procession of President
Abraham Lincoln.
As the casket
bearing
My friends --
this morning I want you to take a long look at Jesus Christ; -- see Him there
on
Alas! And did my Savior bleed,
And did my Sovereign die?
Would He devote that sacred head
For such a worm as I?
Oh, how we need
to see Christ -- & the Cross anew -- see Him suffering for the blighted world!
Oh, let us draw
near to
It is a simple
thing to say that Christ died for the sins of the world.
It is quite another thing to say that
Christ died for my sins!
Conclusion:
We do not
worship the Cross; -- we worship Christ -- Who is alive!
We were lost --
confused, without purpose & meaning -- no assurance of a future life -- but
Jesus from the cross -- reaches out by His death -- & rescues us.
The Cross is
proof that there is no length to which the love of God will refuse to go in
order to win our hearts.
The Cross is
the medium of reconciliation --
because the Cross is the final proof of the love of God.
My friends -- if you had been
the only person in the whole world -- Christ would
have died for you!
Such love as
that demands that we respond.
Have you looked
to the Christ of Calvary for pardon, peace, & power?
Only those who believe on Jesus can receive His loving
provision.
Although the
sacrifice of Christ is sufficient for all -- it is effectual only for those who place their trust in Him.
On this Palm
Sunday -- as we reflect upon
If you haven’t
trusted Him -- then do so today!
Won’t you fall
today at Jesus’ feet -- & say with whole-hearted commitment & faith --
“My Lord & my God!”
At
And my dear
friend -- there is still room at the
Cross for you!
The ground is
level at the Cross! -- Praise His Holy Name!
Yes -- there is still room at the Cross for you!
There’s room at the cross for
you;
There’s room at the cross for
you.
Tho’ millions have come --
there’s still room for one.
Yes, there’s room at the cross
for you.
Words & Music: -- Ira F.
Stanphill, 1946