[0:00] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia. It is our prayer that you will be blessed by the preaching of God's Word.
[0:15] All right, take your Bibles if you would and go with me to Matthew chapter 27. Truly, He was and is the Son of God.
[0:28] But everything in the Bible and everything in world history points to this day. It points to the day that Jesus died for us. The songs that Stephen chose for you to sing today, the verses that you study in your Bible, the Old Testament studies, and every lamb that was crucified, and every animal, every bull, and every goat that died, everything points to the day Jesus died on the cross for us.
[0:53] And that's what the passage of Scripture is about today. And this is kind of a hard Scripture because we see what He went through because He loved us. I want you to read with me.
[1:05] I want you to go back through the passage of Scripture, and I just want you to let this sink in. First thing I want you to see is Jesus did not defend Himself. He doesn't try to get out of dying at this time.
[1:17] Look if you would in chapter 27 and verse 11. He knew who He was. He was convinced, perfectly sure, that He was indeed the King of the Jews, the Son of God, God come in human flesh.
[1:31] He knew why He was on the earth. He knew what His purpose was. And He comes to this time, and now He's being put on trial, and He knows who He is. And the governor said in verse 11, This wasn't a time for discussion of that with Pilate.
[1:55] It was time to die. So Pilate asking Him that question, three and a half years He's been around, but it's time to die now. Jesus doesn't answer the question.
[2:07] He's not afraid to die. He's not begging to live. He has come to pay the price of our sins, no matter how much it cost Him. That's why He has come to this point.
[2:18] I want you to know that what you're about to read isn't the story of a poor, innocent man who was going about doing good and who got caught and dragged into court and falsely accused and placed on trial and found guilty and crucified.
[2:35] That's not the story. This is the story of God loving you. This is the story of God on purpose coming to die for us and pay our sin debt.
[2:46] Jesus let Pilate make the declaration and He didn't deny it. Jesus wasn't questioning who He was, but Pilate was. And Pilate needed to be questioning who He was.
[2:57] That's the biggest question everybody ought to ask. Are you really who you say you are? Are you for sure the very Son of God? The religious crowd was attacking Him and they wanted to argue.
[3:10] In chapter 27 and verse 12, they accused Him. When He was accused of the chief priests and elders, He answered nothing. Nothing else needs to be said. They know the truth.
[3:21] They wanted to argue with Him and He could have easily handled them. Just remember every time they've ever had a confrontation, He won. We've read through Matthew. They come. They send. They plot.
[3:33] They get over in the back corner somewhere and they say, team number one, play number one, go try to attack Jesus and confuse Him. They come. He wins. So then they send play number two in, then number three.
[3:44] And every time Jesus wins, this just isn't the time. And Pilate knows there's something very different about Jesus. You can imagine Pilate's seen a lot of men die.
[3:55] Pilate has condemned a lot of people to die. But in chapter 27 and verse 13, the Bible says, Pilate said to them, are you hearing everything they're saying against you? And it says in verse 14, but Jesus answered him, never a word.
[4:10] In so much that the governor marveled greatly. Isn't this time for Jesus to beg for his life? Isn't this time for Jesus to say, how about a last minute stay of execution?
[4:22] Isn't this a time to say maybe the drug mix isn't right? Maybe the nails aren't clean? Isn't there any way we could put this off? But Pilate could tell Jesus was different.
[4:33] He knew something different was going on this day. I want you to realize something different's going on. Jesus came to die. Jesus came to die.
[4:45] You have to understand that. Every movie you read is going to make you feel sorry. Every movie you watch, every book you read about this, unless it's a gospel book, is going to make you feel sorry for this poor nice guy who got caught up in the society and drug off to die.
[5:01] And they're going to make it a picture of a great guy, a Martin Luther King. They're going to make it an Abraham Lincoln. They're going to make it a great man doing a great thing who gets killed by these horrible people.
[5:15] That's not the story here. I need you to understand that. The Bible needs you to understand that. This is a story of God taking on human flesh and coming to earth to intentionally, on purpose, die.
[5:31] I want you to go with me, if you would, now to verse 15. And I want you to notice the term they're going to use. Save Barabbas. Destroy Jesus.
[5:42] That's the word that Matthew writes down for us to know about this story. As we get down, you'll see that in just a second. In verse 15, it was the custom to let somebody go.
[5:53] So the governor, because he's dealing with Israel and there's always insurrection and problems, he has the custom to let somebody go. It's a gesture of kindness, like the spirit of the season.
[6:05] It's similar. Their feast is going on. Their Passover feast, big time in their year. It's like Christmas in our year. And Pilate's going to say, hey, I'm such a good guy.
[6:16] And this is a given time. And this is a kind time. And this is a sweet time. I think I'll let one person go. I do it all the time. And so I'm going to let somebody go. And he mentions two people.
[6:27] And Barabbas is a very well-known guy. If you've got your Bible open in verse 16, he's a notable prisoner. That means he's been in the news. He's been on the evening news.
[6:38] CNN's been talking about him. The New York Times has been writing about him. He had led an insurrection. He had murdered somebody in a rebellion against Rome.
[6:49] Mark chapter 15 and verse 7. The Bible said there was one named Barabbas which lay bound with him that had made insurrection with him who had committed murder in the insurrection.
[7:00] He was a robber. The Bible says in John 18, 40, now Barabbas was a robber. Now, what's a robber? You know, I don't even know these terms since I don't really know these terms.
[7:12] So I looked it up. You know what a robbery? There's a difference in robbery and theft. Theft, they take it when you're not looking. Robbery, they stick a gun in your face. Or in his day and time, a sword in your face. There was a threat, a physical force.
[7:24] There was fear. It was personal. It was up close. It was bold. This Barabbas guy, he is a thug. I mean, he's a thug. He's an out-and-out thug.
[7:34] He's a murderer. In Acts chapter 3 and verse 14, he was a murderer, the Bible says. And Pilate gives the people a choice. Y'all can have Barabbas or Jesus.
[7:46] Verse 17. Therefore, when they were gathered together, Pilate said to them, Well, who do y'all want me to let go? Barabbas or Jesus? The one that's called the Christ. Just a handful of days.
[7:58] Please remember, on Sunday of this week, they have sang songs to him and honored him and thrown down their clothes in his pathway and cut off palm branches and laid them there.
[8:11] And they have given him the royal treatment. They have accepted him like the Savior and the Messiah coming in. Now they have before them Jesus, who only went about doing good, and Barabbas.
[8:23] A robber, a murderer, a criminal, a rebel. They have to choose between a kind and gentle man, which only thought about their well-being, and a selfish, cruel man, who only thought about himself.
[8:37] Pilate knew. There's only one reason Jesus is here. Now he knows it from the personal standpoint. He doesn't understand the heavenly standpoint, but he knows. They've turned Jesus in because they're jealous of him.
[8:48] The religious leaders need to get rid of this guy because the people know there's something different about Jesus. In verse 18, it said he knew that for envy they had delivered him. The religious crowd knew that the people loved and respected Jesus more than them.
[9:03] They've got to get rid of him. Can you not see it now? Pilate's sitting there, and he's about to make judgment, and his wife sends a message. In verse 19, and she said, Honey, he's a just man.
[9:16] You should underline that in your Bible. He's a just man. He is not a criminal. He's not just a criminal. He's a good man. He's a right man. He's right with God. He's a right man. He's a just man.
[9:27] That's the word that's used for people that are like us, Christians, born-again people. He's a just man. He is not guilty of anything. He's not just a regular guy. He's a good guy, and I've been dreaming about him.
[9:39] Please, don't mess with him. Don't mess with him. You're going to know that in history as a bad guy. She knows. They don't just want to crucify Jesus.
[9:52] They don't want to just let Barabbas go. They want to destroy Jesus. Look at 2720. And the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and underline this, and destroy Jesus.
[10:09] Maybe we could just let Jesus off in a corner somewhere and not kill him. Maybe we could let Barabbas go, and we could not. No, that's not what they want. The religious leaders say, let him let the criminal go and ask them to crush, to cruelly, horribly mistreat and destroy.
[10:30] Ruin his reputation. Destroy Jesus. Destroy Jesus. They chose Barabbas to go free. They wanted Jesus to be crucified.
[10:43] Verse 22. Pilate said to them, well, what shall I do with Jesus, which is called Christ? Christ. Because in verse 21, he'd ask them, who did he let go? And they said, Barabbas. And they all said to him, let him be crucified.
[10:54] You know, the death penalty is a horrible thing, no matter who you are. I mean, I don't think any of us are looking for a way to die.
[11:05] To be put to death by lethal injection, at least, you know, you're like the most painless way. If you've got to go, you've got to go. If you've been under for surgery, I mean, it's the best way to go. Get your head chopped off.
[11:17] That's pretty bad while you're thinking about it, but it's over real quick. Jesus will hang on a cross for six hours. Jesus will hang on a cross with a placard above his name that's supposed to read of the accusations.
[11:34] They want him crucified. But he wasn't guilty of anything. I want you to understand there was no legal grounds for Jesus' death that day.
[11:47] In chapter 27 and verse 23, the governor said, why? What evil has he done? But they cried out the more, saying, let him be crucified.
[11:58] Pilate knows it's only for envy in verse 18. Pilate's wife knows he's a just man. But they choose Barabbas. They choose the wicked guy.
[12:10] They choose the rebellious guy. They choose the guy that will rebel against the system. They turn so quickly from the guy they liked on Sunday. On Sunday, on the first day, they were so happy to see him come into town.
[12:23] And now they are ready for him to die. Oh, Pilate, typical politician. Major coward.
[12:34] No decision. Any way I can get out of this, I will. So in verse 24, he washes his hands in front of everybody. And he says, I'm innocent. I'm innocent.
[12:44] I'm not the one that's going to be guilty. I'm not the one doing anything wrong here. He's a just person. You need to underline that in that verse. He's a just person. In fact, there's a good little study. I don't have time to lead you through everything.
[12:56] It would be to find out how many times he's just in this message. He's a just person. He's an honest person. He hasn't committed any crime. He has had false witnesses called against him. He's a just person.
[13:07] There is no reason for him to die. Pilate knows Jesus hasn't done anything wrong. He knows he shouldn't die. He washes his hand in a show of protest.
[13:19] He's not really innocent because he did allow it to happen. But the Jewish people and leaders, they're willing to accept the responsibility. In my opinion, one of the saddest verses in this whole passage is verse 25.
[13:36] I really wish you'd look at it with me. It's a horrifically sad passage because I'm a dad and a granddad. I kind of understand that. Verse 25, it said, then answer to all the people and said, well, let his blood be on us.
[13:49] Let us be responsible for what happened to him. Pilate, you can be innocent and we'll be guilty. We're fine with that. I could go that far. I can understand that. They're a mob. They're not thinking.
[14:00] They're foolish. And they're saying, oh, that's okay. No problem. Pilate, you can back out. You can figure a way out not to feel guilty about it. Let it be us. But then they say this, and our children.
[14:11] Look at the verse. And on our children. I cannot think of anything I would like to say. Well, give me a speeding ticket and throw one to my kids while you're at it.
[14:25] Put me in jail and grab my kids while you're at it. Let me make a decision that would condemn my kids while I'm at it. That's exactly what they said. They are so cold, so hardened.
[14:37] So bitter. So fickle. I can think of nothing more horrific to say than this. Let my children pay for my sin.
[14:51] But can I remind you this morning? They do in many ways. I don't try to be mean or ugly to you. But do you do realize your children are deciding how important Jesus is by watching you?
[15:05] They're deciding how important going to the house of God is by watching you. They're learning how to handle their money by watching you. They're learning how to deal with sin by watching you.
[15:17] They're learning how to love God by watching you. And these people in this story, I think, make the most horrible statement. I have four children. And I've done a lot of stuff wrong. And I'm a stupid guy.
[15:28] But I don't want my kids paying for my mistakes. I'd like to pay for my own mistakes. And please let them not have to pay for my mistakes. The drunkard's son will probably be affected by his dad's drunkenness.
[15:43] You can't deny that. The drunkard comes in. His dad, the dad of the boy, and the boy has to pay for his dad being drunk, watch his dad do foolish stuff, turn the refrigerator over, punch his mother, lose their money, lose their home.
[15:58] Yeah, he does pay for it. But can I just remind you of all of us in this room that more than just my own personal walk with God, I am influencing a whole generation of kids that follow me.
[16:13] You as a mom and you as a dad. I got a video last night, my wife videoed my son with his little, I guess she's a four-year-old, five-year-old daughter, Chloe, and they were singing a song in Spanish.
[16:33] And Chloe was standing there singing with him. And, man, daddy's heart got very excited. And I wrote and I said, I love you, Chloe, and I hope you'll always love Jesus.
[16:45] Man, I want my kids to go to heaven. I want my grandkids to go to heaven. I really believe this is true. I really believe this is, I'm not just doing this because it's customer habit.
[16:59] I'm not just doing this because it's what we do on Sunday morning. I believe this. And I want you to know that your kids know whether or not you do. That doesn't mean your kids always do right, but they will determine this was really important to mom and dad.
[17:16] And while they might not listen for a certain length of time, there will come a time when they'll say, this is what dad would have done. And this is what mom would have done. And it'll start coming back to them.
[17:27] I challenge you to be very careful. Can you see the coldness? Are you with me? Are you not understanding this? Jesus is up there. The crowd's standing around. And Pilate's up on the platform.
[17:38] And Pilate's looking out and said, well, what do y'all want me to do? Y'all want Barabbas? Or do you want Jesus that is called the Christ? We want Barabbas. And Pilate says, well, what do you want me to do with Jesus?
[17:51] And they said, crucify him. Pilate said, whoa, he didn't do anything wrong. And they said, crucify him. And Pilate gets nervous and he walks back, starts washing his hands and says, I am innocent of the blood of this man.
[18:04] And the people chant back, we don't mind. We'll be guilty. Let anybody blame it on us. And on our children.
[18:17] Hold my soul. And on our children. And I would just like to say, as we pass through this passage of Scripture, today you are influencing generations to come.
[18:30] Betty and I now have 19 grandchildren. I want them to love Jesus. When they lay me in a casket someday, my grandkids would say, one thing about it, the old man loved Jesus.
[18:42] And he lived for Jesus. And it might not be real, but it was real to him. I hope that's what they'll say someday. Pilate then scourges Jesus.
[18:54] I love that. I'm innocent of this man, but let me give him one good beating before I let him go. Look at chapter 27 and verse 26. He discouraged Jesus. He beat him. And then he delivered him to be crucified.
[19:06] And they move into preparation mode now. They're on their way. In just a little while, he'll be crucified. There's no last meal here. There's no dignity before he dies.
[19:17] There's nothing like what would happen in the United States of America if you happened to get the death penalty. Pilate has said, he's not guilty, but I'll beat him one good time before I let him go. And then as he lets him go, he turns him over to his guys.
[19:30] And in verse 27, the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall and they gathered all the other guys. Hey guys, come on in here. We got a guy we're about to kill. Let's have some fun.
[19:42] Let's have some fun. Verse 28, they stripped him and they put on him a scarlet robe, a mock robe to treat him like he was a king. They made him a crown of thorns in verse 29 and they began to mock him and to laugh at him and to go, oh hell, king of the Jews.
[19:59] Woo! Woo! You're the big man, aren't you? I don't know if you can imagine the restraint our Savior had to have who created the world with a word.
[20:10] Who said, let there be light and bam, there was light. Who could open the Red Sea and take the children of Israel through it. Who could walk on water and who could feed 5,000 people with all of that he had.
[20:21] Who's speaking the word. People fell back when they came to capture him. And speaking the word, he could have saved himself and they mocked him and they bowed down and they called him names.
[20:33] He's their prisoner and they treat him like a king but making fun of him, they spit on him and they hit him on the head where a crown of thorns they plaited together and put on him.
[20:44] In verse 30, they spit on him and they strike him on the head. And in verse 31, they finally got tired. They've had enough fun at his expense.
[20:57] Bullying. You really want to talk about bullying? This is bullying to the nth degree. Verse 31, and after they had mocked him, they took the robe off and put on his own raiment and they led him out to crucify him.
[21:13] We can't find anything wrong with you, Jesus. My wife knows there's nothing wrong with you. I know there's nothing wrong with you. The religious leaders know there's nothing wrong with you. They had to get false witnesses to get you.
[21:24] I've washed my hands and said I'm not guilty. We have now beaten you. We've now put a crown of thorns on your head. We have pounded on you and humiliated you and beaten you. And in a few minutes, we'll hang you on a cross and watch you die.
[21:39] And as they stepped out, they got a man named Simeon and they made him carry his cross to a place called Golgotha, a place of the skull. On the way, in verse 34, they offered Jesus something that would have probably eased some of the pain, but he refused it.
[21:55] He wouldn't take it. Now they crucify him in verse 35. And I just want you to remember when I told you and over and over, you're a Bible study in church and you've been going through the Bible.
[22:07] It's all happening exactly like God said. This isn't, this isn't history run amok. This isn't some Adolf Hitler going crazy.
[22:20] This isn't some Saddam Hussein doing something stupid. It's on purpose. Verse 35, you need to underline this. And they crucified him. They nailed him to the cross.
[22:33] And they parted his garments, casting lots. They're down at the foot of the cross as he's hanging on the cross after they mocked him and spit on him and everything else. They're gambling over his clothes.
[22:45] But I want you to underline that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet. Jesus already knew. And any Bible speaking, any Bible studying scholar knew by that time.
[23:02] They knew. People are watching. I can't imagine. Why would you want to watch this?
[23:16] People gathered around in verse 36. They sat down and they're watching. When they were nailing accusations on top of their cross to say what everybody done wrong, they usually would put thief, robber, murderer, whatever it is you've done.
[23:32] They had nothing to put on the side of Jesus' cross but the verse 37, but this is Jesus, the king of the Jews. And the people began to walk by.
[23:43] In verse 38, there were two thieves on the cross beside him and in verse 39, the people are walking by and they're cursing him and they're mocking him and they're shaking their heads and they're saying, oh, you did destroy the temple and in three days, you will, why don't you save yourself?
[24:02] You said you could rebuild the temple in three days. Number one, he never said he would destroy the temple. He said, you will. Talking about himself. They said, oh, if you're such a big guy, why don't you save yourself?
[24:14] And then if you got your Bible open, you should underline in the next few verses, put a circle around, if, make it big and bold on your page, if you be the son of God, if you're really who you claim you are, come down from the cross.
[24:29] They mocked him. It's just passerbys, just people walking by. And then the religious leaders come and they mock him. Verse 41, the chief priest, the guys who are supposed to know God, the guys who are supposed to bring God to man and man to God, the guy who's kind of like the in-between man, said, he saved others, himself he cannot save, if he be the king of Israel, let him come down from the cross and we'll believe him.
[25:01] Oh, yeah. If you really are, why don't you come down? He trusted in God, let him deliver him, if he will have him, for he said, I'm the son of God.
[25:12] They're just making fun of Jesus. And finally, what's really sad is the guys who are being crucified with him join the chorus.
[25:24] In verse 24, the crooks, the criminals, the liars, reminds me of a guy in Morocco named Saeed who was put in prison, in jail, for having Bibles and witnessing.
[25:42] And when they were all in the jail cell talking and there were thieves and robbers and murderers and other drunkards and everybody else in the room and when they found out what he had done, they were like, you did the worst.
[25:53] At least we're good Muslims. Now everybody's in the room going, you're the bad guy. And they're all making fun of him. Now in verse 45 and 46, the weight of our sin is laid on him.
[26:09] Darkness comes over the whole land. God puts an eclipse and turns the sun dark and into the ninth hour, about three o'clock in the afternoon, Jesus cries out with a loud voice saying, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
[26:29] Let me remind you what's going on. Isaiah chapter 53 and verse 6, the Bible says, all we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
[26:45] Hanging there on that cross, God reached out and took all of Austin's dirty, filthy sin from the past, the present, and the future and placed it on Jesus and he laid your sins on him.
[26:57] His name above his cross is king of the Jews, no sin, but at that moment our sins are laid on Jesus and he is paying our sin debt.
[27:09] In 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 21, the Bible says that God made him to be sin for us who knew no sin so that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
[27:20] You know what happened on the cross? Jesus took our sin. He became sin for us. He had never ever sinned before but now he takes sin on himself so that we could be made the very righteousness of God in him.
[27:41] And then just for sake of time, go on to verse 50, he yielded up the ghost. Nobody took it. He didn't kill him.
[27:52] He didn't have to die. He could have called the angels. He could have gotten off the cross. He could have made the world anew again right there. He could have done anything he wanted because he was almighty God.
[28:07] But in the agony of suffering on the cross, he cries out with a loud voice and he yielded up the ghost. He said, I will let myself die now. And he let his human body die.
[28:19] And he was dead. He was truly dead. He was as dead as anybody else you've ever known to be dead. My dad died.
[28:31] We were there and the death rattle was ringing through his, the house as he breathed. And all of a sudden we noticed the death rattle stopped and my daughter said, Dad, I don't think he's breathing anymore.
[28:43] And we ran over just in time to hear him go, and it was over. Really a sad feeling. Really hard. Watch that happen with your dad.
[28:56] And Jesus on the cross goes, in another passage he says, it's finished. But he gives up his ghost. So that's it. I've done the job. I've taken care of everything they need to be saved.
[29:10] I've taken their sins on me. From now on forward, the gospel message will be, he paid it all. From now on the message will be, you don't have to be baptized and you don't have to do good works and you don't have to do anything.
[29:26] You accept a free gift. You trust God and what Jesus did on the cross. So salvation's done now. It's taken care of. And in verse 51, one of the greatest verses in the Bible, you need to underline it.
[29:40] You see, there was a veil between the regular part of the temple. See, when you got to the temple, there was a court of the Gentiles where people like us could go, pagans, men and women that weren't Jewish. And then past that there was a temple, there was a court of the Jewish women.
[29:54] And so men and women could go there that were Jewish. We couldn't even get that far. And then past that there was another place for Jewish men. And then past that there was another place for the priest. but past that there was a place where only one guy went in once a year.
[30:07] But Jesus tore that apart and opened the door so that all of us have direct access to the Father. He is the way, the truth, and the life.
[30:20] He is our high priest. And the temple, the veil of the temple was written in two, torn in two, from the top to the bottom. And the earth quakes and the rocks are torn.
[30:33] The way is open now to get into the Holy of Holies. The blocker division is down. Women could go in. Men could go in. Gentiles could go in through the blood of Jesus Christ.
[30:45] It's such a crazy thing going on. Maybe you never paid attention to this, but when he dies and the earthquake happens, graves open up and dead people come alive. Because he's life.
[30:57] His death brought life. And right there on the cross at Calvary 1, 52, the graves were open and the bodies of the saints which slept arose. God's people, some of them, came back to life.
[31:08] And they came out of the graves after his resurrection too. He dies and he's buried after his resurrection. They went out and they went out into the holy city and appeared unto many. Everyone was thinking, what's happening?
[31:22] I mean, can you imagine sitting here and somebody we just buried comes walking in? I mean, they were dead. We saw them dead. We saw them in their casket. They were dead two weeks ago and here they come. That'd be a shocker.
[31:33] The earthquake has happened. The veil in the temple has been torn. Everything is happening. And now the centurion makes the declaration of all declarations. In verse 54, the centurion saw, and when the centurion and they that were with him watching Jesus saw the earthquake and those things which were done, they saw all this happening.
[31:53] They feared greatly saying, truly, this really was the son of God. And that's where you need to get to this morning. I believe with all my heart that God in human flesh died on the cross for our sin.
[32:14] And what I stand and preach to you today is this. The Baptist church has no answers for you. No religion has any answers for you. Nobody has any answers.
[32:24] Only Jesus has answers. Psychology doesn't have answers. Jesus has answers. Mary didn't die on a cross for you. No pastor died on a cross for you.
[32:35] No religion died on a cross for you, but Jesus did. And that Roman soldier who helped nail him to a cross and probably gambled over his clothes said, man, he is really who he said he was.
[32:46] It's all true. You've been coming to church all this time. You treat it almost like a fairy tale. You treat it almost like a story we tell a few times a year.
[32:59] This is the Easter story, awesome. This is Christmas, you're confused. We tell this one at Easter. When we tell the bunny story, we tell the resurrection story. At Christmas, we tell the Santa Claus story, we tell Jesus being born.
[33:12] No, it's a truth that shakes your world. It shakes your family. God of heaven died on a cross for us.
[33:25] And that's what we believe. And that's what we preach. That's what's real. That's what's real. As you leave today and celebrate Christmas, let me remind you, you'll talk about him being born.
[33:37] You just remember he was born for this. You just remember while he was laying in that little manger, the shadow of a cross lay across his little face. as a small little baby.
[33:49] He came to die. And I am so glad he did. Now hang around. He'll be dead for three days and three nights.
[34:01] The world will even begin to think he is really dead forever. He is dead. He is totally completely dead. Physically dead. Emotionally dead. Spiritually dead in the sense of not being a he's not floating in the sky.
[34:15] None of that junk you see on TV. He's dead. But three days from now, he's coming back alive with the keys of death and hell. He is God, our Savior.
[34:27] If you don't know him, today's the day to know him. And if you do know him, worship him. When they open the songbooks and sing these songs, they sang like a special. Or when they sing these other songs, let it come out of the bottom of your heart.
[34:40] I can't sing, but man, he's my God. He paid it all. He is real. When we sing amazing grace and I come from our hearts, it is amazing grace. It is amazing grace that Jesus would die for us.
[34:53] All those songs are so real. And I'll tell you why they're real. Because Jesus, the Son of God, God in human flesh, died on the cross and he truly is, was and is.
[35:06] Jesus is real. Jesus is real. This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia. For more information, log on to www.visionbaptist.com where you can find our service times, location, contact information, and more audio and video recordings.
[35:27] Thanks.