Preacher: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday, 4.09.17 ~
“One Man’s Death Brought Salvation to All Who Would Believe in Him!”
Read Isaiah 53:3-12… Look again with me: 3 He was despised and rejected by men… 5 He was pierced for our transgressions [sins]; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 The LORD has laid on Him the iniquity [sinfulness] of us all. 7 He was oppressed and afflicted; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. 8 By oppression and judgment He was taken away. He was cut off from the land of the living [put to death]. 9 He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth. 10 Yet it was the LORD’s will to cause Him to suffer, and to make His life a guilt offering. 11 After the suffering of His soul, he will see the light [of life] [i.e., after his death he would live] 12 For He bore the sin of many, making intercession for the transgressors [sinners].
700 years before the Savior’s birth, Isaiah prophesied that He would be despised and rejected and would take upon Himself the punishment for our sins; although He was innocent of any crime, He would be put to death [His blood would be shed], yet the grave could not hold Him.
Read John 11:47-53… The major concern of the Sanhedrin (v. 48) was that people are believing in Jesus, following Him – if there is an uprising, Rome will most likely remove the Religious Leaders from their positions and do away with Judaism. Caiaphas says Jesus must be sacrificed to spare Israel, so they make plans to kill Him.
Read John 12:12-15… When Jesus entered Jerusalem the people praised Him, shouting “Hosanna” [Save us!], for He was their hope for peace with God and prosperity among men, their King and Savior had come; and yet, in just a few days the adoration of the people would turn to contempt, ultimately crying out for Jesus to be crucified!
Read John 18:12-14… Early Friday morning, Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane and taken to Annas, who had previously been High Priest for ten years. Annas’ son-in-law, Caiaphas, was the current High Priest who had earlier said it would be better for one man (Jesus) to die then for the whole nation to perish.
Over the next few hours, Jesus was subjected to several “mock” trials: First, before Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin for crimes against God and Israel; but since the Jews didn’t have authority to carryout the death penalty (under Roman rule), they took Jesus first to Pontius Pilate, the Governor; then on to Herod Antipas (he beheaded John the Baptizer), then back to Pilate; during these trials or inquisitions, Jesus was ridiculed, falsely accused, spit on, slapped, slugged, and beaten with rods; He was then flogged and turned over to the Roman soldiers for execution, by
Pilate, who finally gave in to the pressure of crowd (Mark 15:15), “after having Jesus flogged, he handed Him over to be crucified.”.
Read Mark 15:22-26… Jesus reached the place of execution: Golgotha [“skull place,” also known as Calvary, from the Latin “calvaria” which means “skull or cranium”].
Here He was crucified just outside the north gate of Jerusalem along the main road, near a place that looks like a skull, a place clearly visible, even today.
Jesus was placed on the cross as it lay flat on the ground. First one foot, then the other, was nailed to the vertical beam. Jesus’ arms were stretched across the horizontal beam and nails were driven through his hands. The cross was then dropped into a hole, causing more pain; the flesh around the nails is pulled and torn, by the weight of Jesus’ body being jerked around.
A wooden sign above Jesus’ head displays His crime (John 19:19-20), “Jesus of Nazareth, The King of the Jews.” Written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek, so that any person traveling by could read what it said.
The chief priests insisted (John 19:21-22) Pilate change the wording to say, “This man claimed to be king of the Jews,” but Pilate said, “What I have written, I have written.” The sign would remain unchanged.
Read Mark 15:27-32… Those who walked by yelled insults at Jesus; just five days before, on Sunday (see 11:8-10), the people had praised Jesus, throwing down palm branches before Him and hailing Him as the Messiah; they now mocked Him, yelling at Him to come down off the cross if He truly was the Son of God.
The leaders of Israel expressed their contempt for Christ (Mark 15:31-32), “He saved others, but He can’t save Himself! Let this Christ, this King of Israel, come down from the cross, then we will believe in Him.”
Right! These guys could witness 1000 miracles and they would still reject Jesus, their hearts were hardened as Luke recorded (Luke 16:31) “they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.”
Read Mark 15:33-36… At 12 noon, the brightest time of the day, darkness covered the land, this lasted for three hours and didn’t end until after Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
The Son was separated from the Father for the first and only time in eternity because of our sinfulness.
The Father used darkness to hide the nakedness and indignation of His beloved Son, while pouring out God’s judgment upon Him for all the sins of mankind.
Jesus took our sin penalty upon Himself, all alone, crying out to the Father. Those around Him thought He was crying out to Elijah to come and save Him.
Read Mark 15:37-39… With a loud cry [9th hour, 3 pm], Jesus gave up His spirit; the Temple curtain was ripped from top to bottom; the barrier between man and God was removed, for the curse of sin had been removed by the divine sacrifice of God’s own Son.
The centurion in charge of the crucifixion proclaimed (v. 39), “Surely this man was the Son of God!”
Jesus willingly laid down His own life for you and for me because He loves us
and because this was the only way for sin’s penalty to be satisfied, to be “Paid in
Full!”
1Peter 3:18, “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.”
The Temple was filled with priests overseeing the Feast of Passover and Unleavened Bread, tens of thousands of worshippers had come to offer sacrifices for their sins; in God’s Sovereign timing, the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, was making the once for all sacrifice of Himself, as the full and final payment for all of mankind’s sins, for all time!
The old covenant of rituals and animal sacrifices (under the Law) was nullified
and voided, more accurately, it was fulfilled by the new covenant of forgiveness
through the shed blood of God’s One and Only Son (GRACE).
Hebrews 9:22, “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”
Hebrews 10:4, “it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”
Hebrews 9:26, “He [Christ] has appeared once for all… to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself.”
Acts 2:21, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord [for forgiveness of sin] will be saved.”
Acts 4:12, “Salvation is found in no one else, there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
God’s Word declares in Romans (3:23) that everyone is a sinner – no one is acceptable to God; (6:23) the penalty for being a sinner is death, but God has granted us eternal life through Jesus Christ; in fact (5:8), Jesus took our punishment for sin, once and for all, because of His great love for us; and (8:1) therefore, there is NO condemnation for those who belong to Christ.
Jesus willingly endured a horrible, painful, and lonely death, as the Lamb of God He took sin’s penalty, He alone satisfied God’s requirement for a perfect/holy sacrifice.
He alone provided forgiveness for sins, and He alone can save us. John 14:6
says Jesus is the only way, the only truth, and the only source of eternal life; no
one goes to heaven apart from trusting and believing in him.
The Crucifixion of Jesus Christ is God’s sovereign solution for Sin, and the ultimate
expression of His Love for us.
John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His One and Only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
No wonder Jesus said (John 8:32), “then you will know the Truth and the Truth
will set you free!” Wow! forgiveness and eternal life and Jesus provides it all!
Romans 10:9-10, “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. 13 for, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’”
1Timothy 2:3-4, “This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”
2Peter 3:9, “The Lord… is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance!”
If you have repented of your sins and confessed Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior,
you are forever blessed, for you have received forgiveness for sin and eternal life.
1John 5:11-13, “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.”
If you have never trusted in Jesus Christ, asking God to forgive your sins and save your soul, please consider doing that right now, right here; there is no better time to make things right between you and God.
Admit to God that you are a sinner (we all are).
Ask God to forgive your sins (He turns no one away).
Confess Jesus as Lord – He died to pay for your sins.
Only then will you be able to genuinely understand, experience, and celebrate
the true meaning of the Cross.
One Man’s execution through crucifixion, although 2000 years ago, continues to
provide forgiveness for sins to everyone who believes in Him. Why? Because this Man was God’s Son, Jesus Christ, Lord of all, Savior to many!
Pastor Mike <‘(((><
