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November 19, 2006 Mural Worthey What They Wrote About the Cross Introduction a.
The cross of Jesus Christ and his
life is the central message of the Bible.
All else revolves around this story.
(1 Cor. 2:2.) b.
Both our messages today will be on
this theme. I believe that it is
beneficial to stop often and consider the cross. c.
Tracing the story through the
Bible, what did the Bible writers have to say about it? What
the Law of Moses Said Our redemption
was no after-thought in the mind of God, contrary to what Protestant promoters
of One such
reference pointed to the Law of Moses.
This is what the Law said about the cross: “Cursed is everyone that hangs on
a tree.” (Deut. 21:23, quoted in
Gal. 3:13.) The Law of Moses was talking
about criminal offenses and their punishments.
The Law commanded them to take the body of the criminal down before
night-fall and bury him the same day of the execution. If he remains overnight on the tree, the land
would be defiled because “he that is hanged on a tree is accursed of God.” This passage spoke of all criminals who were
executed by tying them to a tree for public shame. It did not speak just about Jesus, but it was
applied to him. There were 4
methods of execution in use among the ancient Jews: stoning (Ex. 17:4), burning
(Lev. 20:14), the sword (Ex. 32:27), and strangulation. The last one is not mentioned in Scripture,
but the rabbis regarded this one as the most common form and the one adopted if
no other was expressly enjoined by the Law.
Usually suspension from a tree was added after someone was already put
to death by one of the other means of death as an enhancement of punishment. (Bible Commentary on the Old Testament,
Barnes’ Notes, Exodus-Ruth, 312.)
Crucifixion was a cruel method of execution developed by the Persians
and perfected by the Romans. The victim
was put to death by scourging him and then by nailing him alive to a cross or
tree. This is, of course, what happened
to Jesus. But there is
another curse before this one in the Law.
It read: “Cursed is he that confirms not all the words of the Law to do them.” (Deut. 27:26, Gal. 3:10.) “You shall therefore keep my statutes and my
judgments which if a man do, he shall live in them.” (Lev. 18:5.)
This is the great problem of law and salvation. In order to be justified by law, one must
keep all the deeds of that law. If you
broke one precept, you were guilty of all. (James 2:10.) So, no flesh was ever justified by law. We should not be surprised since this is the
demand of law. The just shall live by
faith. (Gal. 3:11.) Since we all have sinned against God, we all
are under the curse of the Law. But the Good
News of the Gospel is that Jesus became a curse for us by his death on the
cross. He bore the curse in our
place. What did the Law say about the
cross? It laid down the curses and
blessings of God. It said meaningfully,
“Cursed is everyone that hangs on a tree.”
Jesus bore much more than these words ever intended. What
the Writings Said The Old
Testament was divided into three parts: the Law, the prophets and the
writings. These are listed in order of
importance, but in order of time the writings came after the Law. The writings included all the books not a part
of the Law or the Prophets. Jesus
referred to what was said about Him in the Law, in the prophets and in the
psalms. (Luke 24:44.) The Psalms
often spoke of Jesus Christ and the cross.
Psalm 16 is quoted by Peter on Pentecost about God not allowing his Holy
One to see corruption. But Psalm 22 has
become known as the “Passion Psalm,” one that pictures the pain and rejection
of Jesus as he suffers on the cross. The
first 21 verses are a lament of suffering; verses 22-31 are expressions of
thanksgiving and praise to God. Psalm 22
is the most quoted psalm in the NT. The
first verse contains one of the seven sayings of Jesus on the cross. One of the big
questions on Psalm 22 is: “How are we to understand these words?” Do they represent David’s experience, the
Lord’s, or both? David was persecuted
unjustly by King Saul. But these words
seem to go far beyond what David experienced.
David is writing by the Holy Spirit and his words reach forward to the
suffering of Jesus. This is a part of the
genius of inspiration and revelation—it combines the present with the future in
such a way that it is not fully known until the event itself occurs. When we read Psalm 22 today, we see in it
more of Jesus’ experience on the cross and less of what David experienced. What happened to David pales and fades into
insignificance compared to the sufferings of Jesus. From this
Passion Psalm, I want to note these words: “My God, my God, why have you
forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my
groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but
you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest?” (22:1-2)
Jesus repeated the first part on the cross. (Matt. 27:46.) These words are
so important because they have been repeated by others like David who have
suffered unjustly. They waited on God
day and night for a response and none came.
We can now answer many of life’s baffling questions since Jesus died
painfully and unjustly. First, God did
not forsake David in his distress. God
removed wicked Saul in time and put David in his office. God did not really forsake Jesus on the
cross. In about 30 hours after his
death, Jesus was victoriously raised from the dead. Secondly, difficulties help us to trust in
God more. There are blessings in disguise
in suffering. Do not miss them by
complaining about how you do not deserve what is happening. Did Jesus deserve his experiences? The greatest good came from the most
excruciating experience. Remember the
second half of the psalm. It is one of praise
and blessing. In addition, note Psalms
22, 23 and 24. Psalm 22: a lament and
praise; Psalm 23: the Lord is my Shepherd; yea though I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death; Psalm 24: a picture of Jesus ascending into heaven. The difficulty
of these words expressed by Jesus is that this was really experienced by
him. His own Jewish people had rejected
him (John 1:11); mankind is really sinful and wicked. We killed the Son of God. Peter denied knowing Jesus; Judas sold him
for thirty pieces of silver. The
apostles fled in the night. “Then all
the disciples forsook him and fled.” (Matt. 26:56.) But beyond all these, Jesus felt that God,
his Father, had forsaken him.
Intellectually, he knew better, but emotionally he felt rejected. Then the psalmist wrote: “They pierced my
hands and feet.” (22:16) This did not happen to David, but it did
happen by the form of crucifixion devised by the Romans. The soldiers cast lots to determine who would
get his garments. He was poured out like
water. His heart melted like wax in his
breast. This is, in part, what the
Psalmist said about the cross. What
the Prophets Said There are so
many references to choose from the words of the major and minor prophets. They wrote often about the coming suffering
of Christ and the glory that would follow.
They searched their own writings trying to understand the full
implications. But they wrote for us, not
for themselves. (1 Peter 1:9-12.) Micah asked a
series of powerful questions about our salvation. He asked, “With what shall I come before the
Lord and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of
rams? Or with ten thousands of rivers of
oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my
transgressions, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” (Micah 6:6-7.) The Gentiles
did offer their children in sacrifice to their gods. We recoil at such a practice, and God never
approved of such sacrifices. But there
was sound reasoning behind their thinking.
Will animals and the blood of bulls and goats atone for man’s sins? Will burning oil do it? Maybe we need something more innocent? The Gentiles, or pagans, came up with the
idea that a virgin born god would have to come down and die for the sins of
mankind. How did they reach this
conclusion? By the same reasoning of
Micah, the prophet. It is the next
logical step beyond offering innocent children.
The pagans were right. In fact,
the Jewish Scriptures presented this as the means of our redemption 750 years
before Jesus came to earth. Isaiah
explained, “He had done no violence, neither was there deceit in his
mouth.” (Isa. 53:9.) Isaiah called him “the righteous servant who
would make many righteous by bearing their iniquities.” (53:11.)
“The Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (53:6.) If Jesus had
sins of his own, how could he atone for us?
He would have to be at least as innocent as little children who are
without sin. It makes no sense if a
sinner is offered for other sinners, but it does satisfy the conscience to hear
that the Son of God himself died for sinful man. The prophets
explained that Jesus was sinless and therefore able to remove our sins. They also made it clear why Jesus died. He did not die by mistake. It was not because I
dreamed I stood at And saw three crosses there On
left and right were nailed two thieves The
cross between was bare A
soldier took his sword in hand Then
pointing it at me, He said You
there, prepare to die That
cross is meant for thee I
quickly fell upon my knees For
mercy did I cry As
strong hands grabbed my hands and feet I
shouted, Why, oh why? And
then a voice both soft and sweet Was
heard above the din Let
this one go, take me instead I’ll
pay his debt of sin With
his body torn and bleeding And
thorn marks ‘round his head With
face bruised where they beat him He
stepped into my stead Unknown author Another poet wrote: To
have been the cup His
lips touched and blessed To
have been the bread Which
he broke To
have been the cloth He
held as He served Or
water He poured As
he spoke To
have been the road He
walked on the way To
have been his print In
the sand To
have been the door That
opened the tomb But
I was a nail In
his hand! (“Remorse,” Sue
Fife, Christianity Today (April 1, 1966), 17.) |