WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.360 He takes delight. 00:00:11.359 --> 00:00:20.240 So if you have your Bibles open at Matthew chapter 27, we come to that section of the 00:00:20.240 --> 00:00:27.219 Creed where we confess Jesus who suffered under Pontius Pilate was crucified, died, 00:00:27.219 --> 00:00:31.099 and was buried, He descended into hell. 00:00:32.039 --> 00:00:35.179 We'll begin with a basic question. 00:00:35.359 --> 00:00:39.719 Why is the cross the center of our faith? 00:00:41.420 --> 00:00:47.099 Unique to Christianity, other religions have a moral code, the significance of a holy place, 00:00:47.659 --> 00:00:55.280 perhaps a particular teacher or prophet, but for Christianity, we have the old rugged cross. 00:00:55.280 --> 00:01:02.140 I think about how different things would have been, you know, if Paul had resolved to know 00:01:02.140 --> 00:01:12.219 nothing except Jesus Christ, the wise teacher, or Jesus Christ, the worker of great miracles 00:01:12.219 --> 00:01:18.540 of mercy, or Jesus Christ and His miraculous and humble birth. 00:01:18.540 --> 00:01:26.080 But instead, remember Paul's words, I resolved to know nothing except Jesus Christ and Him 00:01:26.080 --> 00:01:27.260 crucified. 00:01:29.760 --> 00:01:33.860 Last week was the miracle of the incarnation. 00:01:35.120 --> 00:01:39.200 This week is the reason for the incarnation. 00:01:39.200 --> 00:01:43.340 The reason Jesus came was to die. 00:01:44.180 --> 00:01:48.180 His suffering and death explain His coming. 00:01:48.879 --> 00:01:56.079 And the Creed can help us to reflect on why the cross is and must always be central to our 00:01:56.079 --> 00:02:04.659 faith, even when it remains a stumbling block and folly to people in the 21st century just 00:02:04.659 --> 00:02:07.060 as much as it was in the 1st century. 00:02:09.900 --> 00:02:12.979 To think again about that hymn, The Old Rugged Cross. 00:02:12.979 --> 00:02:19.599 It speaks of the cross as an emblem, a badge, a marker of suffering and shame. 00:02:20.659 --> 00:02:28.060 We have read Isaiah 53 and sung Psalm 22, and that resonates, doesn't it? 00:02:28.060 --> 00:02:30.520 But how can we glory in that? 00:02:31.620 --> 00:02:33.900 Why do we call it good news? 00:02:35.300 --> 00:02:42.560 Why do we call it good news when, for so many people, it is a mark of derision? 00:02:43.420 --> 00:02:49.159 Up on the screen there, there's some ancient 2nd century graffiti, Roman graffiti. 00:02:49.599 --> 00:02:51.099 It's hard to make out the details. 00:02:51.699 --> 00:02:55.300 It's called, Alexa Menos Worships His God. 00:02:55.300 --> 00:03:03.439 And what we have there from the 2nd century is a very basic cross with a human figure, 00:03:03.960 --> 00:03:05.420 but with a donkey's head. 00:03:06.380 --> 00:03:10.939 That's what they thought of the God that Alexa Menos worshipped. 00:03:12.120 --> 00:03:19.740 That was the 2nd century, 21st century, two days ago, a post on Twitter, X, whatever you 00:03:19.740 --> 00:03:25.280 call it, however you slice it, the post said, evangelical Christianity is un-carned. 00:03:25.300 --> 00:03:29.820 It's unreformable because it believes child sacrifice saved the world. 00:03:30.900 --> 00:03:37.060 So there's still that mockery, that derision, that just disgust and distaste towards the cross. 00:03:37.140 --> 00:03:42.740 How can we celebrate it as an act of love and a demonstration of grace? 00:03:42.740 --> 00:03:50.020 We're going to stand together at the foot of the cross in Matthew 27 with a hope and a prayer 00:03:50.020 --> 00:03:54.439 that for those of us who are believers, it will strengthen our faith. 00:03:56.040 --> 00:04:00.660 And perhaps it will give answers when those questions come, when those challenges come. 00:04:02.860 --> 00:04:06.000 Some different themes for us to pursue this evening briefly. 00:04:06.000 --> 00:04:10.819 The first is the theme of suffering and solution. 00:04:12.460 --> 00:04:18.759 But before we get into our text, there was a couple of times where the disciples found 00:04:18.759 --> 00:04:23.180 themselves asking a question of Jesus, Lord, don't you care? 00:04:24.540 --> 00:04:25.800 We recognize that. 00:04:25.920 --> 00:04:27.360 Fearful Christians. 00:04:27.540 --> 00:04:31.600 Perhaps we have some of those same thoughts and questions with the circumstances that come. 00:04:31.600 --> 00:04:37.379 We know that trouble and suffering, like waves, can crash and can rock us. 00:04:38.879 --> 00:04:40.780 Why is it good news that Jesus suffered? 00:04:42.220 --> 00:04:44.080 It's going to help us to answer the question. 00:04:45.160 --> 00:04:46.900 We're going to think about Pontius Pilate. 00:04:47.860 --> 00:04:49.780 Pontius Pilate, who's mentioned in our creed. 00:04:49.860 --> 00:04:50.820 Why is he in our creed? 00:04:51.500 --> 00:04:57.560 He's in our creed because it reminds us that Jesus' suffering and death is history and not myth. 00:04:57.560 --> 00:05:04.379 The way that Matthew reports it makes it clear that these are historical events. 00:05:04.939 --> 00:05:09.480 So we read about in verse 11 that Pilate is the governor. 00:05:10.040 --> 00:05:15.899 We learn in verse 15 about the governor's custom to release a prisoner. 00:05:17.180 --> 00:05:20.180 We find in verse 19 Pilate sitting on the judge's seat. 00:05:20.300 --> 00:05:23.279 This is history and not myth. 00:05:23.279 --> 00:05:34.000 But Pontius Pilate and his actions in the suffering and death of Jesus also speak to us of that conspiracy. 00:05:35.579 --> 00:05:46.339 It's called a conspiracy of evil where we find two normally enemies, Jews and Romans, coming together to have Jesus executed. 00:05:46.339 --> 00:05:53.619 The Jewish leaders know that they want Jesus condemned as a blasphemer, claiming to be God, and they decided he wasn't. 00:05:54.239 --> 00:05:54.839 He was. 00:05:56.299 --> 00:05:59.239 And so they take him to the Roman authorities. 00:06:01.219 --> 00:06:04.339 And we see them whipping up the crowd in verse 20. 00:06:05.539 --> 00:06:10.339 The chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed. 00:06:10.339 --> 00:06:20.079 They pressurize Pilate, who can't find that Jesus has done anything wrong, nothing worthy of death. 00:06:20.299 --> 00:06:24.759 But in the end, he caves to public pressure. 00:06:25.519 --> 00:06:32.699 And so Pilate is responsible in part for the greatest injustice in human history. 00:06:32.699 --> 00:06:43.620 But Pilate also has a part to play in a conversation that Matthew doesn't record, but John does. 00:06:44.279 --> 00:06:46.300 Speaking to a greater authority. 00:06:48.180 --> 00:06:52.279 The world of Jesus' day, Rome was the great authority on earth. 00:06:53.240 --> 00:06:56.959 But Jesus, when he was being tried by Pilate, could turn to him and say, 00:06:56.959 --> 00:07:02.500 You would have no power over me if it were not given you from above. 00:07:02.699 --> 00:07:05.240 Jesus' point is clear. 00:07:06.539 --> 00:07:10.099 God the Father is directing events and not Pilate. 00:07:10.579 --> 00:07:13.219 This is God's plan for his suffering servant. 00:07:13.360 --> 00:07:16.800 As we read in Isaiah 53 verse 10, 00:07:17.379 --> 00:07:22.919 It was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer. 00:07:22.920 --> 00:07:34.319 So the suffering of Christ is at the same time a fact of history and a great injustice and an act that accomplishes the plan and purpose of God for salvation. 00:07:35.680 --> 00:07:39.360 Why is it good news that Jesus suffered? 00:07:39.360 --> 00:07:48.540 Think about suffering as one of the universal human problems. 00:07:48.540 --> 00:07:49.920 We turn on our news. 00:07:50.060 --> 00:07:51.500 We read our histories. 00:07:51.980 --> 00:07:55.080 We just look into our own family stories. 00:07:55.680 --> 00:07:58.939 And we recognize suffering on every page. 00:07:58.939 --> 00:08:04.459 And what the Bible does for us is it traces suffering back to root cause. 00:08:05.000 --> 00:08:09.519 And reminds us that suffering springs from human sin. 00:08:10.360 --> 00:08:12.500 Human rebellion from God. 00:08:12.620 --> 00:08:18.879 There in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve turned their back on God, everything begins to unravel. 00:08:18.879 --> 00:08:23.079 We have this fall into sin and suffering that comes. 00:08:23.079 --> 00:08:25.339 So that's the great human problem. 00:08:27.240 --> 00:08:28.599 And we have the gospel. 00:08:29.439 --> 00:08:34.840 We have the suffering Son of God as God's great solution. 00:08:35.840 --> 00:08:49.419 That by God's grace, this principle was established of the sacrifice of a substitute to atone for sin. 00:08:49.419 --> 00:08:57.519 So when Adam and Eve were feeling their sense of guilt and shame and were trying to hide from God and they tried their own covering which didn't work, 00:08:57.939 --> 00:09:03.120 God made a sacrifice and covered them with animal clothing. 00:09:03.740 --> 00:09:08.500 The Old Testament sacrificial system was built on this reality. 00:09:09.000 --> 00:09:17.620 God, by His grace, has made a way for sin to be dealt with by way of a substitute. 00:09:17.620 --> 00:09:27.679 And that climax is in the sending of Jesus, who John the Baptist recognizes as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. 00:09:28.799 --> 00:09:40.320 And so when we come to the cross, what we find is Jesus, the Son of God, solving the problem of sin and the suffering it brings by taking it into Himself. 00:09:40.320 --> 00:09:46.520 In the Old Testament, we have that picture of the cup of God's wrath. 00:09:47.900 --> 00:09:53.500 God's just anger against sin and unrighteousness. 00:09:53.500 --> 00:10:06.879 And we have this amazing grace in that Jesus is the one who takes the wrath of God, who drinks that cup down to the dregs, 00:10:06.879 --> 00:10:13.519 so that when our faith is in Jesus, there is no judgment left for us. 00:10:14.259 --> 00:10:20.000 That in His sacrifice is our forgiveness, is our salvation. 00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:24.940 We return to our question, 00:10:25.120 --> 00:10:27.559 Lord, don't you care? 00:10:29.379 --> 00:10:30.419 Where do we go with that? 00:10:30.480 --> 00:10:31.600 We go to the cross. 00:10:32.120 --> 00:10:37.000 When we go to the cross, we know that God absolutely does care about suffering, 00:10:37.159 --> 00:10:39.200 and He does care about sin, 00:10:39.539 --> 00:10:42.440 and God demonstrates His love for us in this. 00:10:43.440 --> 00:10:44.940 While we were still sinners, 00:10:46.519 --> 00:10:48.000 Christ died for us. 00:10:48.000 --> 00:10:54.759 So the cross speaks to us of sin and suffering and God's solution. 00:10:55.460 --> 00:11:01.980 Another theme, another contrast to think about is that of abandoned and welcomed. 00:11:03.679 --> 00:11:07.360 One effect of our own experience of suffering 00:11:07.360 --> 00:11:11.740 is that we can often feel forgotten. 00:11:12.659 --> 00:11:16.419 We can feel abandoned, perhaps even by God. 00:11:16.419 --> 00:11:20.259 We can find it hard to see past our circumstances. 00:11:20.439 --> 00:11:22.759 They can loom so large on our horizon. 00:11:23.139 --> 00:11:27.159 It's like we can't see beyond them, and all we have is darkness. 00:11:27.159 --> 00:11:37.339 I think part of the beauty of the Psalms is that they give voice to our distresses when they come. 00:11:38.139 --> 00:11:42.480 Whether that's grief or fear or loneliness or sorrow or doubt or confusion, 00:11:42.620 --> 00:11:44.779 we find them there. 00:11:45.600 --> 00:11:48.959 And they give us words to bring to our God. 00:11:48.960 --> 00:11:51.840 It's amazing, isn't it? 00:11:51.840 --> 00:11:54.580 That's true in Jesus' experience also. 00:11:55.460 --> 00:12:00.960 In His experience of grief on the cross, He turns to Psalm 22. 00:12:03.220 --> 00:12:05.180 Let's read again, verse 45. 00:12:05.179 --> 00:12:24.399 Remember in the Exodus story, the darkness representing the plague of God's judgment. 00:12:24.399 --> 00:12:28.879 Well, now here, the judgment is falling on Jesus, the sinless Son of God. 00:12:29.039 --> 00:12:35.939 Here is His moment of greatest suffering as He is loaded up with sin and experiencing its penalty. 00:12:36.299 --> 00:12:42.360 And as He looks for His Father, He finds no comfort. 00:12:43.299 --> 00:12:50.399 And so He cries this prayer of Psalm 22, this prayer of the righteous sufferer. 00:12:50.399 --> 00:12:57.519 Because here, in these moments, as Jesus becomes the sin-bearer of the world, 00:12:57.740 --> 00:13:02.500 He is treated by His Father as if Jesus were the worst sinner who ever lived. 00:13:04.639 --> 00:13:06.419 The Son of God. 00:13:07.319 --> 00:13:13.860 We find Him the one who enjoyed unbroken, eternal, loving fellowship with His Father. 00:13:14.600 --> 00:13:19.899 Now as the God-man, just as in Gethsemane, now here at Calvary, 00:13:19.899 --> 00:13:23.840 He loses that sense of the sunshine of God's love. 00:13:24.500 --> 00:13:26.419 And all He experiences is darkness. 00:13:27.419 --> 00:13:32.819 As the dark storm clouds of God's judgment break over Him, 00:13:33.179 --> 00:13:37.740 He loses that sense of the light of His Father's love. 00:13:40.819 --> 00:13:42.779 And the question we need to ask is why? 00:13:42.779 --> 00:13:48.799 And we need to ask why is His being forsaken good news for us? 00:13:49.480 --> 00:13:53.360 How can this darkness bring us light? 00:13:54.799 --> 00:13:57.419 Again, let's go back to Isaiah 53. 00:13:57.620 --> 00:14:03.379 Let me read again Isaiah 53 and verse 4 and 5. 00:14:03.379 --> 00:14:09.179 Surely, He took up our pain and bore our suffering, 00:14:09.720 --> 00:14:13.299 yet we consider Him punished by God, stricken by Him and afflicted. 00:14:13.659 --> 00:14:16.659 But He was pierced for our transgressions. 00:14:16.899 --> 00:14:19.679 He was crushed for our iniquities. 00:14:19.899 --> 00:14:22.919 The punishment that brought us peace was on Him, 00:14:23.279 --> 00:14:26.779 and by His wounds we are healed. 00:14:26.779 --> 00:14:28.620 There's the good news. 00:14:29.399 --> 00:14:36.740 It's Jesus taking my penalty, my sin, my guilt, my condemnation 00:14:36.740 --> 00:14:40.600 as a perfect, willing, loving substitute. 00:14:43.159 --> 00:14:48.120 And the outcome of that, Peter records it for us, 00:14:48.199 --> 00:14:53.860 Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust. 00:14:53.860 --> 00:14:54.620 Why? 00:14:55.759 --> 00:14:57.300 To bring you to God. 00:14:58.960 --> 00:15:00.139 To bring you to God. 00:15:00.220 --> 00:15:01.019 There's the light. 00:15:03.080 --> 00:15:05.620 Jesus feels abandoned 00:15:05.620 --> 00:15:12.620 so that by faith in Him we might be eternally welcomed. 00:15:14.200 --> 00:15:19.379 Any sense that we have of feeling forgotten or abandoned by God, 00:15:19.379 --> 00:15:24.939 it is only temporary, and there's always a greater truth and reality 00:15:24.939 --> 00:15:27.700 that we are loved by God in Christ. 00:15:28.019 --> 00:15:29.460 We belong to Him. 00:15:29.799 --> 00:15:31.860 We will never be apart from Him. 00:15:34.659 --> 00:15:38.740 Jesus is abandoned, forsaken, 00:15:39.939 --> 00:15:44.360 so that we can enjoy a true eternal home with a loving Father, 00:15:44.360 --> 00:15:46.580 and all because of His grace. 00:15:49.940 --> 00:15:53.840 Here's another theme to consider at the foot of the cross. 00:15:53.840 --> 00:15:59.680 It's the contrast, again, between curse and blessing. 00:15:59.679 --> 00:16:06.419 Again, to think widely about our experience and humanity's experience of suffering. 00:16:07.079 --> 00:16:10.419 Typically, if we think about God at all, 00:16:10.559 --> 00:16:12.819 suffering will do one of two things to us. 00:16:12.839 --> 00:16:16.500 It will either drive us away from God in bitterness and resentment. 00:16:16.639 --> 00:16:18.639 How did you allow this to happen to me? 00:16:19.559 --> 00:16:21.699 Or it will drive us towards God. 00:16:22.120 --> 00:16:23.459 Where else can we go? 00:16:25.519 --> 00:16:27.659 Independence as children looking for mercy. 00:16:27.659 --> 00:16:31.799 Perhaps we remember a number of years ago now 00:16:31.799 --> 00:16:35.639 when one of the Amish communities in America shocked the world. 00:16:36.819 --> 00:16:40.679 There was that awful scene where a gunman entered their community 00:16:40.679 --> 00:16:42.819 and killed so many innocent people, 00:16:43.559 --> 00:16:47.779 and yet their response was to forgive 00:16:47.779 --> 00:16:55.220 and to shield and to support the family of the gunman 00:16:55.220 --> 00:16:58.060 and to choose love over hate. 00:16:58.139 --> 00:16:59.740 And the media was so full of questions. 00:17:00.620 --> 00:17:01.720 How could they do that? 00:17:02.779 --> 00:17:04.039 Why would they do that? 00:17:05.319 --> 00:17:08.900 The answer lies in the cross and the gospel. 00:17:10.360 --> 00:17:12.799 Lies in a Jesus who loves His enemies. 00:17:14.400 --> 00:17:18.480 And Jesus who takes God's curse to give us God's blessing 00:17:18.480 --> 00:17:23.079 and to understand that is where the power to love and forgive comes from. 00:17:26.019 --> 00:17:30.779 Matthew recognizes the most Jewish gospel, 00:17:31.940 --> 00:17:34.500 and so we understand that the people he writes to 00:17:34.500 --> 00:17:35.940 as he writes about the cross, 00:17:36.259 --> 00:17:37.360 they know their Old Testament. 00:17:38.480 --> 00:17:40.960 And they know one verse in particular from the Old Testament, 00:17:41.160 --> 00:17:43.220 Deuteronomy 21, 23, 00:17:43.220 --> 00:17:47.779 cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree. 00:17:48.980 --> 00:17:54.039 And as Matthew records the details of Jesus' suffering and death on the cross, 00:17:54.559 --> 00:18:01.140 they show us that Jesus stands, hangs under God's covenant curse. 00:18:03.140 --> 00:18:07.960 As our representative and as our substitute, 00:18:07.960 --> 00:18:12.840 we see Jesus treated as if He had broken the law, 00:18:13.120 --> 00:18:16.360 as if He had been unfaithful within the covenant. 00:18:17.100 --> 00:18:18.579 He's doing that for a lawbreaker. 00:18:21.579 --> 00:18:22.840 Verse 33, 00:18:25.360 --> 00:18:29.700 Jesus is crucified at a place called Golgotha, 00:18:30.340 --> 00:18:32.559 which means the place of the skull. 00:18:34.240 --> 00:18:36.400 Located outside the city, 00:18:36.400 --> 00:18:40.019 Jesus is killed outside the camp. 00:18:41.300 --> 00:18:43.900 This is an unclean place. 00:18:44.320 --> 00:18:47.460 Jesus is treated as an unclean one. 00:18:49.420 --> 00:18:51.120 He's under the curse of the covenant. 00:18:52.860 --> 00:18:54.100 Verse 38, 00:18:55.100 --> 00:18:57.540 two rebels were crucified with Him, 00:18:57.920 --> 00:19:01.780 one on His right and one on His left. 00:19:01.779 --> 00:19:05.819 Jesus is quite literally in the midst, 00:19:06.599 --> 00:19:09.200 in the place of sinners. 00:19:12.000 --> 00:19:14.879 Shame, suffering, curse, 00:19:15.279 --> 00:19:17.440 all represented here. 00:19:20.240 --> 00:19:21.700 And as He hangs, 00:19:22.619 --> 00:19:26.559 we hear and we see Him despised by all. 00:19:26.559 --> 00:19:28.419 Verse 39, 00:19:28.619 --> 00:19:30.700 the people passing by, 00:19:30.779 --> 00:19:31.519 the crowds, 00:19:32.639 --> 00:19:34.419 they hurled insults at Him. 00:19:35.819 --> 00:19:36.740 In verse 41, 00:19:36.960 --> 00:19:37.839 the religious leaders, 00:19:38.019 --> 00:19:38.779 the chief priests, 00:19:38.899 --> 00:19:39.759 the teachers of the law, 00:19:39.839 --> 00:19:41.200 and the elders mocked Him. 00:19:42.639 --> 00:19:43.740 Even the other criminals, 00:19:44.740 --> 00:19:46.700 the rebels who were crucified with Him, 00:19:46.740 --> 00:19:48.379 also heaped insults on Him. 00:19:48.539 --> 00:19:50.419 He saved others He can't save Himself. 00:19:51.339 --> 00:19:53.019 They don't understand God's way. 00:19:53.019 --> 00:19:55.299 The only way Jesus can save others 00:19:55.299 --> 00:19:57.660 is by not saving Himself. 00:19:59.759 --> 00:20:02.500 Now, here is God's Son. 00:20:02.920 --> 00:20:05.940 Here is God's promised Savior. 00:20:06.400 --> 00:20:08.379 And now He is dying in shame 00:20:08.379 --> 00:20:09.720 and humiliation, 00:20:10.299 --> 00:20:11.839 standing under God's curse. 00:20:11.960 --> 00:20:13.079 Why is this our symbol? 00:20:14.079 --> 00:20:15.819 Why is the cross good news? 00:20:17.940 --> 00:20:20.379 We turn to Galatians 3.13, 00:20:21.220 --> 00:20:22.779 and we find an answer there. 00:20:23.019 --> 00:20:25.299 Christ redeemed us 00:20:25.299 --> 00:20:27.779 from the curse of the law 00:20:27.779 --> 00:20:33.339 by becoming a curse for us. 00:20:33.799 --> 00:20:35.859 What Paul celebrates 00:20:35.859 --> 00:20:39.000 is the truth that what Jesus experiences 00:20:39.000 --> 00:20:40.099 on the cross 00:20:40.099 --> 00:20:44.339 should be the experience of us all. 00:20:45.700 --> 00:20:49.299 We should know the darkness descend. 00:20:49.500 --> 00:20:52.379 We should know the punishment of God. 00:20:52.380 --> 00:20:56.340 Because we have all broken God's law. 00:20:56.980 --> 00:21:00.780 But by God's grace and through faith in Jesus, 00:21:00.920 --> 00:21:02.580 our substitute, our Savior, 00:21:03.300 --> 00:21:05.040 that won't be our experience. 00:21:05.220 --> 00:21:07.620 In fact, we will have the exact opposite experience 00:21:07.620 --> 00:21:09.920 because we will enjoy blessing, 00:21:10.660 --> 00:21:14.560 treated as if we had never broken any of God's laws, 00:21:14.559 --> 00:21:19.279 as Jesus' righteousness is credited to us. 00:21:21.419 --> 00:21:22.940 One way we see this 00:21:22.940 --> 00:21:25.539 is that as Luke has his record 00:21:25.539 --> 00:21:26.940 of what happens on the cross 00:21:26.940 --> 00:21:27.779 in Luke 23, 00:21:28.299 --> 00:21:30.159 from verse 40 to 43, 00:21:30.159 --> 00:21:32.399 we discover that sometime after this, 00:21:32.759 --> 00:21:33.659 the two criminals 00:21:33.659 --> 00:21:35.659 who had been hurling insults at Jesus, 00:21:35.779 --> 00:21:37.159 one of them has a change of heart. 00:21:37.160 --> 00:21:40.519 Was it the way Jesus prayed? 00:21:41.759 --> 00:21:43.800 Was it the way he refused to retaliate? 00:21:43.860 --> 00:21:44.500 We don't know. 00:21:44.880 --> 00:21:45.700 But at some point, 00:21:45.779 --> 00:21:48.200 he recognizes Jesus as a king with a kingdom, 00:21:48.279 --> 00:21:48.700 and he says, 00:21:48.779 --> 00:21:51.480 remember me when you come into your kingdom. 00:21:51.620 --> 00:21:52.640 And Jesus responds, 00:21:54.320 --> 00:21:56.740 today, paradise. 00:21:56.740 --> 00:22:00.120 Because Jesus, in dying, 00:22:00.559 --> 00:22:01.900 took that man's curse 00:22:01.900 --> 00:22:04.880 so he could give him God's blessing. 00:22:05.559 --> 00:22:07.980 That's what Jesus would do for each one of us 00:22:07.980 --> 00:22:10.380 when our faith is in him. 00:22:13.059 --> 00:22:14.259 One last theme. 00:22:15.519 --> 00:22:19.740 It's the theme of punishment and reward. 00:22:21.200 --> 00:22:23.599 Again, to think about the suffering of Christ 00:22:23.599 --> 00:22:25.259 and how it can help us, 00:22:25.259 --> 00:22:26.440 it can help us to answer 00:22:26.440 --> 00:22:27.799 some of the great fears 00:22:27.799 --> 00:22:29.400 that we experience, 00:22:29.500 --> 00:22:30.940 great fears that others experience. 00:22:31.019 --> 00:22:32.879 What will happen when we die? 00:22:33.920 --> 00:22:36.299 What will the verdict be on my life 00:22:36.299 --> 00:22:37.779 if we're sensitive and reflective? 00:22:38.039 --> 00:22:41.339 Perhaps there can be worry and concern. 00:22:43.960 --> 00:22:46.740 This perhaps takes us to the difficult phrase 00:22:46.740 --> 00:22:48.500 within the creed. 00:22:49.140 --> 00:22:51.220 He descended into hell. 00:22:52.220 --> 00:22:53.500 Maybe you asked yourself the question, 00:22:53.500 --> 00:22:55.339 why is that in our creed? 00:22:55.420 --> 00:22:57.980 Why do we speak like that? 00:22:59.859 --> 00:23:01.720 Well, I hope we'll see why it has its place 00:23:01.720 --> 00:23:02.759 and why it can give comfort. 00:23:02.880 --> 00:23:05.380 There's two ways that people have thought about that. 00:23:06.519 --> 00:23:07.539 At first, originally, 00:23:07.660 --> 00:23:08.799 the idea of descending into hell 00:23:08.799 --> 00:23:11.079 was the idea of descent to Hades. 00:23:12.039 --> 00:23:13.519 Hades, the place of death, 00:23:14.220 --> 00:23:17.240 the place of separation of body and soul. 00:23:17.240 --> 00:23:19.539 The creed is reminding us 00:23:19.539 --> 00:23:21.960 Jesus really went there. 00:23:22.620 --> 00:23:24.500 As the suffering servant, 00:23:24.920 --> 00:23:28.480 he really died to become our Savior. 00:23:30.019 --> 00:23:33.559 But another way that people have found it helpful 00:23:33.559 --> 00:23:36.380 to reflect upon this imagery 00:23:36.380 --> 00:23:39.539 is to think about Jesus' spiritual descent. 00:23:40.900 --> 00:23:43.599 You know, Philippians 2 speaks about the humility, 00:23:43.599 --> 00:23:45.579 the humiliation of the Lord Jesus, 00:23:45.699 --> 00:23:48.459 leaving the glory of heaven to become one of us, 00:23:49.259 --> 00:23:51.359 ultimately to go to the cross for us. 00:23:52.019 --> 00:23:54.779 And there, as Jesus humbles himself 00:23:54.779 --> 00:23:57.980 to become the suffering servant, 00:23:58.059 --> 00:23:59.240 to die on the cross, 00:23:59.439 --> 00:24:04.839 Jesus experiences hell in concentrated form. 00:24:04.839 --> 00:24:09.939 If you remember when we looked at the parable 00:24:09.939 --> 00:24:11.659 of the rich man and Lazarus, 00:24:12.119 --> 00:24:14.539 story formed but revealed realities 00:24:14.539 --> 00:24:16.179 about what hell is, 00:24:16.799 --> 00:24:17.799 a place of agony, 00:24:18.859 --> 00:24:19.919 a place of punishment, 00:24:20.939 --> 00:24:22.079 a place of separation. 00:24:24.159 --> 00:24:25.579 Jesus went there. 00:24:26.259 --> 00:24:28.740 Jesus experienced all of those dimensions 00:24:28.740 --> 00:24:32.339 of suffering there on the cross. 00:24:32.339 --> 00:24:40.779 We know that Jesus didn't literally go to hell. 00:24:42.519 --> 00:24:43.859 He could say to the man, 00:24:44.220 --> 00:24:45.139 the thief on the cross today, 00:24:45.179 --> 00:24:46.139 he'll be with me in paradise. 00:24:47.899 --> 00:24:49.159 He said to his father, 00:24:49.359 --> 00:24:51.179 Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. 00:24:52.899 --> 00:24:54.839 But this was a real spiritual descent 00:24:54.839 --> 00:24:59.419 to experience the agonies of hell for us. 00:25:00.199 --> 00:25:02.119 Why is this part of the faith that we confess? 00:25:02.339 --> 00:25:02.539 Yes. 00:25:04.379 --> 00:25:07.559 Again, think about Paul's reminder to us, 00:25:07.639 --> 00:25:10.899 the wages of sin is death. 00:25:13.119 --> 00:25:17.539 Jesus is taking the wages of sin for his people. 00:25:17.799 --> 00:25:21.259 But the gift of God is eternal life 00:25:21.259 --> 00:25:23.799 in Christ Jesus our Lord. 00:25:24.259 --> 00:25:25.279 A great exchange. 00:25:26.359 --> 00:25:27.980 We see something of that here. 00:25:28.439 --> 00:25:30.639 Matthew 27, verse 51. 00:25:30.640 --> 00:25:31.480 What's happening? 00:25:31.480 --> 00:25:32.960 At that moment, 00:25:34.000 --> 00:25:36.420 the curtain of the temple was torn in two 00:25:36.420 --> 00:25:37.500 from top to bottom. 00:25:38.460 --> 00:25:40.580 That great curtain in the garden, 00:25:41.180 --> 00:25:44.140 that no entry sign to the Holy of Holies. 00:25:44.940 --> 00:25:48.480 Now the way of access to God is open to us all 00:25:48.480 --> 00:25:50.640 through the Lord Jesus, 00:25:51.140 --> 00:25:52.259 by faith in him. 00:25:53.740 --> 00:25:55.780 And that wasn't all that was torn open. 00:25:55.779 --> 00:25:56.680 In verse 52, 00:25:56.680 --> 00:25:58.379 the tombs broke open. 00:25:59.000 --> 00:26:00.680 The bodies of many holy people who died 00:26:00.680 --> 00:26:01.859 were raised to life. 00:26:04.220 --> 00:26:06.379 The promise of resurrection life 00:26:06.379 --> 00:26:09.619 comes because the Jesus who died 00:26:09.619 --> 00:26:12.359 will be risen again. 00:26:14.279 --> 00:26:17.079 Think about the details of his burial also. 00:26:17.079 --> 00:26:22.480 He dies as if he were a common criminal. 00:26:23.919 --> 00:26:25.059 But that's not how he's buried. 00:26:26.460 --> 00:26:28.199 We discover a rich man, 00:26:28.679 --> 00:26:29.059 Joseph, 00:26:29.879 --> 00:26:31.179 come to take his body 00:26:31.179 --> 00:26:34.359 and to place it in his own tomb. 00:26:35.539 --> 00:26:38.039 He is buried with honor. 00:26:38.939 --> 00:26:39.399 And again, 00:26:39.500 --> 00:26:41.139 that little detail was recorded 00:26:41.139 --> 00:26:42.879 in Isaiah 53. 00:26:42.880 --> 00:26:45.420 He was assigned a grave with the wicked 00:26:45.420 --> 00:26:47.140 and with the rich 00:26:47.140 --> 00:26:48.760 in his death. 00:26:50.740 --> 00:26:52.080 Jesus' burial with honor, 00:26:52.200 --> 00:26:52.400 I think, 00:26:52.460 --> 00:26:53.280 is the first hint 00:26:53.280 --> 00:26:54.920 of his great exaltation. 00:26:56.300 --> 00:26:57.400 Death is not the end. 00:26:57.500 --> 00:26:58.780 We'll get there next week 00:26:58.780 --> 00:26:59.980 when we think about the resurrection. 00:27:01.400 --> 00:27:03.020 But this makes Christ our hope 00:27:03.020 --> 00:27:04.280 in life and in death. 00:27:04.840 --> 00:27:06.140 Makes it good news. 00:27:06.580 --> 00:27:08.860 Jesus really went to death 00:27:08.860 --> 00:27:10.920 and he came out the other side. 00:27:10.920 --> 00:27:14.960 That's why we need to be united to him. 00:27:16.700 --> 00:27:17.980 Someone has used the image 00:27:17.980 --> 00:27:19.420 of a sewing needle 00:27:19.420 --> 00:27:21.539 passing through a cloth. 00:27:22.480 --> 00:27:25.340 And as the needle goes through, 00:27:25.980 --> 00:27:27.140 so too does the thread. 00:27:27.360 --> 00:27:28.180 Where the needle goes, 00:27:28.240 --> 00:27:29.640 the thread goes too. 00:27:29.800 --> 00:27:32.960 If we are united to the Lord Jesus 00:27:32.960 --> 00:27:34.180 where he has gone, 00:27:34.539 --> 00:27:35.940 we will follow. 00:27:36.240 --> 00:27:38.259 We too will be taken through 00:27:38.259 --> 00:27:39.660 the place of death 00:27:39.660 --> 00:27:42.019 and brought home to glory. 00:27:42.900 --> 00:27:43.600 And even now, 00:27:43.660 --> 00:27:44.680 we can reckon ourselves 00:27:44.680 --> 00:27:45.380 dead to sin 00:27:45.380 --> 00:27:46.600 and alive in Christ. 00:27:48.580 --> 00:27:49.100 And again, 00:27:49.180 --> 00:27:49.900 to just remember 00:27:49.900 --> 00:27:51.060 that great exchange, 00:27:51.220 --> 00:27:52.400 Jesus really experienced 00:27:52.400 --> 00:27:53.560 the agonies of hell 00:27:53.560 --> 00:27:55.000 so that he could give 00:27:55.000 --> 00:27:56.240 you and I 00:27:56.240 --> 00:27:57.279 the joys 00:27:57.279 --> 00:27:59.040 of his heaven. 00:28:00.620 --> 00:28:01.700 Trusting in him, 00:28:02.220 --> 00:28:03.340 we can live without 00:28:03.340 --> 00:28:04.560 being overwhelmed 00:28:04.560 --> 00:28:06.500 by the fear of death 00:28:06.500 --> 00:28:07.880 because we rest 00:28:07.880 --> 00:28:08.779 in the victory 00:28:08.779 --> 00:28:10.220 of the Lord Jesus 00:28:10.220 --> 00:28:11.460 over death 00:28:11.460 --> 00:28:13.559 for us. 00:28:16.839 --> 00:28:18.359 Do we see why the cross 00:28:18.359 --> 00:28:19.640 must always be 00:28:19.640 --> 00:28:20.779 the center? 00:28:21.779 --> 00:28:22.500 When the cross 00:28:22.500 --> 00:28:23.319 offends some 00:28:23.319 --> 00:28:24.640 and confuses others, 00:28:24.839 --> 00:28:25.799 to the believers, 00:28:26.059 --> 00:28:26.640 we say, 00:28:26.779 --> 00:28:28.319 to us who are being saved, 00:28:29.059 --> 00:28:30.319 it's the power of God. 00:28:30.319 --> 00:28:33.220 Three words 00:28:33.220 --> 00:28:34.599 to take away. 00:28:35.740 --> 00:28:36.379 The first word 00:28:36.379 --> 00:28:37.079 is grace. 00:28:37.919 --> 00:28:38.319 Christianity 00:28:38.319 --> 00:28:39.439 is uniquely 00:28:39.439 --> 00:28:40.319 and unashamedly 00:28:41.460 --> 00:28:43.460 a rescue religion. 00:28:44.679 --> 00:28:45.319 We celebrate 00:28:45.879 --> 00:28:47.099 God's initiative 00:28:47.099 --> 00:28:48.059 in sending 00:28:48.059 --> 00:28:48.740 his Son 00:28:48.740 --> 00:28:49.939 in a seeking 00:28:49.939 --> 00:28:50.659 and finding 00:28:50.659 --> 00:28:51.259 Savior 00:28:51.259 --> 00:28:52.639 in salvation 00:28:52.639 --> 00:28:54.159 through a substitute. 00:28:54.160 --> 00:28:58.460 And because of grace, 00:28:59.240 --> 00:29:00.279 we can rest. 00:29:01.220 --> 00:29:02.100 Not bearing 00:29:02.100 --> 00:29:02.680 the burden 00:29:02.680 --> 00:29:03.120 of trying 00:29:03.120 --> 00:29:03.779 to save 00:29:03.779 --> 00:29:04.500 ourselves, 00:29:04.960 --> 00:29:05.779 not needing 00:29:05.779 --> 00:29:06.440 to carry 00:29:06.440 --> 00:29:07.100 the burden 00:29:07.100 --> 00:29:07.700 of guilt 00:29:07.700 --> 00:29:08.480 and shame 00:29:08.480 --> 00:29:09.519 because Jesus 00:29:09.519 --> 00:29:10.420 at the cross 00:29:10.420 --> 00:29:12.120 bore the burden, 00:29:12.540 --> 00:29:13.759 paid the penalty 00:29:13.759 --> 00:29:15.320 in full. 00:29:16.700 --> 00:29:18.200 Because we deserve it, 00:29:18.240 --> 00:29:19.279 but because of 00:29:19.279 --> 00:29:19.800 sheer, 00:29:20.240 --> 00:29:21.620 amazing grace. 00:29:21.619 --> 00:29:23.979 we think 00:29:23.979 --> 00:29:24.519 of the cross, 00:29:24.599 --> 00:29:24.919 we think 00:29:24.919 --> 00:29:25.539 of forgiveness. 00:29:26.779 --> 00:29:27.459 The cross 00:29:27.459 --> 00:29:28.639 is a decisive 00:29:28.639 --> 00:29:29.899 moment, 00:29:30.759 --> 00:29:32.000 a moment 00:29:32.000 --> 00:29:32.879 of full 00:29:32.879 --> 00:29:33.699 and complete 00:29:33.699 --> 00:29:34.439 forgiveness 00:29:34.439 --> 00:29:35.579 for those 00:29:35.579 --> 00:29:36.299 who are trusting 00:29:36.299 --> 00:29:36.919 in Christ 00:29:36.919 --> 00:29:37.679 and united 00:29:37.679 --> 00:29:38.239 to him. 00:29:38.559 --> 00:29:39.879 It's by faith 00:29:39.879 --> 00:29:40.599 in Jesus 00:29:40.599 --> 00:29:42.019 we know 00:29:42.019 --> 00:29:42.979 that we can 00:29:42.979 --> 00:29:43.579 stand 00:29:43.579 --> 00:29:45.279 before God 00:29:45.279 --> 00:29:46.759 and not be 00:29:46.759 --> 00:29:47.239 condemned, 00:29:48.139 --> 00:29:48.719 but rather 00:29:48.719 --> 00:29:49.579 be received 00:29:49.579 --> 00:29:50.439 into his kingdom. 00:29:51.619 --> 00:29:52.399 And that gives 00:29:52.399 --> 00:29:53.019 us freedom. 00:29:54.299 --> 00:29:55.179 We got the freedom 00:29:55.179 --> 00:29:55.839 from the ups 00:29:55.839 --> 00:29:56.339 and downs 00:29:56.339 --> 00:29:56.839 that come 00:29:56.839 --> 00:29:57.119 when we're 00:29:57.119 --> 00:29:57.579 trying to 00:29:57.579 --> 00:29:58.419 prove ourselves 00:29:58.419 --> 00:29:59.639 or trying 00:29:59.639 --> 00:30:00.199 to base 00:30:00.199 --> 00:30:01.379 our confidence 00:30:01.379 --> 00:30:02.039 in how we're 00:30:02.039 --> 00:30:02.719 getting on 00:30:02.719 --> 00:30:04.119 in the Christian 00:30:04.119 --> 00:30:04.679 life rather 00:30:04.679 --> 00:30:05.579 than leaning 00:30:05.579 --> 00:30:06.239 on Christ. 00:30:06.439 --> 00:30:06.819 We can have 00:30:06.819 --> 00:30:07.500 freedom by 00:30:07.500 --> 00:30:08.439 clinging to him. 00:30:10.119 --> 00:30:11.139 We also have 00:30:11.139 --> 00:30:11.859 freedom to be 00:30:11.859 --> 00:30:12.339 honest, 00:30:13.019 --> 00:30:13.759 to be honest 00:30:13.759 --> 00:30:14.619 about our sin, 00:30:15.339 --> 00:30:16.199 to honestly 00:30:16.199 --> 00:30:17.039 confess, 00:30:17.039 --> 00:30:18.740 because we 00:30:18.740 --> 00:30:19.420 know 00:30:19.420 --> 00:30:20.440 there is 00:30:20.440 --> 00:30:20.899 forgiveness 00:30:20.899 --> 00:30:21.720 at the cross. 00:30:23.159 --> 00:30:23.899 And there's 00:30:23.899 --> 00:30:24.319 also the 00:30:24.319 --> 00:30:24.940 freedom to 00:30:24.940 --> 00:30:26.279 forgive others. 00:30:27.500 --> 00:30:27.859 Forgiven 00:30:27.859 --> 00:30:28.879 people forgive 00:30:28.879 --> 00:30:29.659 others. 00:30:31.059 --> 00:30:31.639 And the 00:30:31.639 --> 00:30:32.379 last word 00:30:32.379 --> 00:30:33.119 is love. 00:30:34.019 --> 00:30:34.339 It was 00:30:34.339 --> 00:30:35.000 Jesus who 00:30:35.000 --> 00:30:35.659 said, 00:30:36.259 --> 00:30:37.000 greater love 00:30:37.000 --> 00:30:37.700 has no one 00:30:37.700 --> 00:30:38.460 than this, 00:30:39.159 --> 00:30:39.740 that he lay 00:30:39.740 --> 00:30:40.259 down his 00:30:40.259 --> 00:30:41.599 life for 00:30:41.599 --> 00:30:42.319 his friends. 00:30:42.319 --> 00:30:44.539 the cross 00:30:44.539 --> 00:30:45.679 is the 00:30:45.679 --> 00:30:46.619 greatest 00:30:46.619 --> 00:30:47.799 act of 00:30:47.799 --> 00:30:49.159 self-sacrificial, 00:30:49.539 --> 00:30:50.679 self-giving 00:30:50.679 --> 00:30:51.319 love. 00:30:51.659 --> 00:30:52.339 And not even 00:30:52.339 --> 00:30:53.000 at that stage 00:30:53.000 --> 00:30:53.740 for friends, 00:30:54.119 --> 00:30:54.639 Jesus is 00:30:54.639 --> 00:30:55.419 turning enemies 00:30:55.419 --> 00:30:56.700 into friends 00:30:56.700 --> 00:30:58.000 by his work 00:30:58.000 --> 00:30:58.579 on the cross. 00:31:00.159 --> 00:31:01.059 When we 00:31:01.059 --> 00:31:01.799 live under 00:31:01.799 --> 00:31:02.539 the shadow 00:31:02.539 --> 00:31:03.799 of the cross, 00:31:04.480 --> 00:31:05.460 we have that 00:31:05.460 --> 00:31:06.399 assurance that 00:31:06.399 --> 00:31:07.039 God is 00:31:07.039 --> 00:31:07.839 eternally 00:31:07.839 --> 00:31:09.240 for us 00:31:09.240 --> 00:31:10.379 in love. 00:31:10.380 --> 00:31:11.880 so we 00:31:11.880 --> 00:31:12.680 can testify 00:31:12.680 --> 00:31:14.400 with Paul 00:31:14.400 --> 00:31:15.260 at the 00:31:15.260 --> 00:31:16.060 end of 00:31:16.060 --> 00:31:16.620 Romans 00:31:16.620 --> 00:31:18.100 chapter 8. 00:31:18.900 --> 00:31:19.440 Who shall 00:31:19.440 --> 00:31:20.220 separate us 00:31:20.220 --> 00:31:20.520 from the 00:31:20.520 --> 00:31:20.900 love of 00:31:20.900 --> 00:31:21.160 Christ? 00:31:21.240 --> 00:31:21.540 Think of 00:31:21.540 --> 00:31:22.140 the suffering 00:31:22.140 --> 00:31:22.460 that we 00:31:22.460 --> 00:31:23.020 experience. 00:31:23.400 --> 00:31:23.560 Shall 00:31:23.560 --> 00:31:24.280 trouble or 00:31:24.280 --> 00:31:24.980 hardship or 00:31:24.980 --> 00:31:25.920 persecution or 00:31:25.920 --> 00:31:26.520 famine or 00:31:26.520 --> 00:31:27.220 nakedness or 00:31:27.220 --> 00:31:27.840 danger or 00:31:27.840 --> 00:31:28.120 sword? 00:31:28.500 --> 00:31:28.800 No, 00:31:29.420 --> 00:31:30.160 in all these 00:31:30.160 --> 00:31:30.600 things we 00:31:30.600 --> 00:31:31.160 are more 00:31:31.160 --> 00:31:32.160 than conquerors 00:31:32.160 --> 00:31:33.680 through him 00:31:33.680 --> 00:31:35.000 who loved 00:31:35.000 --> 00:31:35.360 us. 00:31:36.040 --> 00:31:36.480 And that 00:31:36.480 --> 00:31:37.200 love that 00:31:37.200 --> 00:31:38.300 we receive 00:31:38.300 --> 00:31:39.240 at the 00:31:39.240 --> 00:31:39.620 cross, 00:31:39.740 --> 00:31:40.360 that becomes 00:31:40.380 --> 00:31:41.160 the fuel 00:31:41.160 --> 00:31:42.120 that drives 00:31:42.120 --> 00:31:42.680 the engine 00:31:42.680 --> 00:31:43.220 of faith. 00:31:44.540 --> 00:31:45.300 It fuels 00:31:45.300 --> 00:31:45.920 our worship. 00:31:46.040 --> 00:31:46.580 We worship 00:31:46.580 --> 00:31:47.380 God for the 00:31:47.380 --> 00:31:47.820 cross of 00:31:47.820 --> 00:31:48.340 Christ as we 00:31:48.340 --> 00:31:48.800 have done 00:31:48.800 --> 00:31:49.380 this evening. 00:31:50.340 --> 00:31:51.160 We're ready 00:31:51.160 --> 00:31:51.820 to obey 00:31:51.820 --> 00:31:52.720 and to serve 00:31:52.720 --> 00:31:53.520 and to suffer 00:31:53.520 --> 00:31:54.460 for the sake 00:31:54.460 --> 00:31:54.940 of Christ 00:31:54.940 --> 00:31:55.380 Jesus, 00:31:55.500 --> 00:31:55.820 the one who 00:31:55.820 --> 00:31:56.580 loved me 00:31:56.580 --> 00:31:57.960 and gave 00:31:57.960 --> 00:31:58.760 himself for 00:31:58.760 --> 00:31:59.000 me. 00:32:00.240 --> 00:32:00.900 So truly 00:32:00.900 --> 00:32:01.420 the cross 00:32:01.420 --> 00:32:02.120 is the 00:32:02.120 --> 00:32:02.580 center. 00:32:03.720 --> 00:32:04.300 The cross 00:32:04.300 --> 00:32:05.100 really does 00:32:05.100 --> 00:32:05.800 change 00:32:05.800 --> 00:32:06.980 everything. 00:32:08.280 --> 00:32:08.940 Let's pray 00:32:08.940 --> 00:32:09.340 briefly.