1 00:00:04,530 --> 00:00:08,610 Speaker: I remember one of the first jobs that I had, I believe I was the 2 00:00:08,610 --> 00:00:14,730 ripe age of 16 or 17 years old, uh, was in the archives of an X-ray department. 3 00:00:14,730 --> 00:00:17,850 My mom was a, a doctor, so thanks to nepotism, I got a job down there. 4 00:00:18,540 --> 00:00:20,730 And, uh, this was before everything was digitized. 5 00:00:20,730 --> 00:00:23,550 And so if a doctor needed an x-ray, they would call down to us 6 00:00:23,550 --> 00:00:24,630 and we would go to the archives. 7 00:00:24,630 --> 00:00:26,820 We would pull the x-ray, we would send it up to where the doctor is. 8 00:00:26,820 --> 00:00:29,400 But I worked with this young man who was older than me, but 9 00:00:29,400 --> 00:00:31,290 still young, um, in his twenties. 10 00:00:31,290 --> 00:00:34,500 And at one point in time he pulled me aside to share some of his worldly wisdom 11 00:00:34,500 --> 00:00:37,590 with me, and he said, pj, if you wanna succeed in life, here's what you do. 12 00:00:37,590 --> 00:00:40,019 He said, you get a credit card and you max it out. 13 00:00:40,019 --> 00:00:42,420 So you can tell this is gonna be good advice immediately. 14 00:00:43,065 --> 00:00:47,114 He said, you max out the credit card, and then after that bill comes, you just open 15 00:00:47,114 --> 00:00:51,074 up another credit card and you max that one out and, and you just keep doing this. 16 00:00:52,305 --> 00:00:53,865 And, and you, you get by in life. 17 00:00:53,895 --> 00:00:55,485 I, I don't know where he is. 18 00:00:55,485 --> 00:00:58,275 I have guesses to where he is right now, but I, I don't know. 19 00:00:58,665 --> 00:01:02,475 Um, because that is obviously not good wisdom kiddos in 20 00:01:02,475 --> 00:01:04,065 the room, uh, don't do that. 21 00:01:04,125 --> 00:01:04,394 Okay? 22 00:01:04,394 --> 00:01:07,545 That is not good wisdom as far as how to succeed in life. 23 00:01:07,605 --> 00:01:11,745 And the reason is, is because at the end of the, the day, in fact, at 24 00:01:11,745 --> 00:01:15,075 the end of the month, what's gonna happen, all of those bills are gonna 25 00:01:15,075 --> 00:01:16,635 come and land right in your lap. 26 00:01:16,890 --> 00:01:18,690 And they're all gonna say payment due. 27 00:01:19,380 --> 00:01:22,800 And if you've got about spending money that you don't have, if you've got about 28 00:01:22,800 --> 00:01:26,910 maxing out your credit cards, if you've got about incurring debt that you have 29 00:01:26,910 --> 00:01:30,300 no business incurring, then at the end of the day you're gonna be sitting there 30 00:01:30,300 --> 00:01:37,050 saying, I can't pay this spiritually speaking every time you and I sin. 31 00:01:37,530 --> 00:01:39,479 It's like we're maxing out a credit card with God. 32 00:01:40,620 --> 00:01:45,030 It's like we're taking out and borrowing against credit that, that we can't pay. 33 00:01:46,110 --> 00:01:48,479 And someday the the bill is gonna come due. 34 00:01:49,050 --> 00:01:52,770 We're gonna stand before a holy creator, and he's gonna say, why 35 00:01:52,770 --> 00:01:54,119 should I let you into my heaven? 36 00:01:54,600 --> 00:01:59,009 My standard is absolutely perfection and you owe me an infinite penalty because 37 00:01:59,009 --> 00:02:00,360 you have fallen short of my standard. 38 00:02:01,590 --> 00:02:04,289 And he's going to look at us and, and there's not gonna be a, a 39 00:02:04,289 --> 00:02:05,699 payment plan for us to get on. 40 00:02:06,179 --> 00:02:09,478 There's not gonna be a, a debt forgiveness plan that we can appeal to at that point. 41 00:02:09,840 --> 00:02:12,300 There's not gonna be a, a spiritual bankruptcy that we can file 42 00:02:12,300 --> 00:02:13,740 and just walk away from it all. 43 00:02:13,740 --> 00:02:14,820 Like nothing really happened. 44 00:02:16,695 --> 00:02:18,674 See, that's the bad news for all mankind. 45 00:02:19,245 --> 00:02:22,125 For every single person who has ever lived from your sweet grandmother, 46 00:02:22,125 --> 00:02:25,005 even to the most evil, desperate in the world, everyone has amassed a 47 00:02:25,005 --> 00:02:30,225 spiritual debt that they can never repay God, and that's the plight that 48 00:02:30,495 --> 00:02:32,364 God chose to address at the cross. 49 00:02:34,020 --> 00:02:37,079 That's the plight that we come to think about this evening together as we 50 00:02:37,079 --> 00:02:39,600 look to Romans chapter four verse 25. 51 00:02:39,600 --> 00:02:42,060 So if you have your Bibles, please make your way over to 52 00:02:42,060 --> 00:02:44,130 Romans chapter four, verse 25. 53 00:02:44,490 --> 00:02:46,079 We're gonna break this into two parts. 54 00:02:46,740 --> 00:02:48,060 We're gonna cover part one tonight. 55 00:02:48,780 --> 00:02:50,340 We're gonna cover part two on Sunday morning. 56 00:02:50,880 --> 00:02:53,490 So hopefully you'll be hooked tonight to find out what happened. 57 00:02:53,490 --> 00:02:55,620 Spoiler alert, Jesus rises from the dead. 58 00:02:57,030 --> 00:02:59,220 Other words, otherwise we wouldn't be here. 59 00:02:59,550 --> 00:03:01,140 We wouldn't be spending our time doing this. 60 00:03:01,950 --> 00:03:03,990 But we're gonna focus on the resurrection Sunday morning. 61 00:03:03,990 --> 00:03:06,660 But right now, I want us to focus on the first half of Romans 4 25, 62 00:03:06,660 --> 00:03:09,570 and just look at it on the page there, it just says this, who was 63 00:03:09,570 --> 00:03:11,850 delivered up for our trespasses? 64 00:03:12,390 --> 00:03:12,900 That's it. 65 00:03:13,320 --> 00:03:13,860 Simple. 66 00:03:14,670 --> 00:03:17,760 If you've read the book of Romans before, your eyes have crossed over this verse, 67 00:03:17,760 --> 00:03:20,400 maybe it hasn't even really jumped off the page all that much to you. 68 00:03:21,180 --> 00:03:22,380 Paul's developing his argument. 69 00:03:22,380 --> 00:03:25,829 He's getting us to the place of saying justification comes by faith in Jesus. 70 00:03:25,829 --> 00:03:29,280 And so he is talking about all these things in this short, succinct 71 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:33,270 statement, who is delivered up for our trespasses to be delivered up is, is 72 00:03:33,270 --> 00:03:36,120 to be handed over, to be handed over. 73 00:03:37,590 --> 00:03:40,530 And so all this introduces some questions to us that I want us 74 00:03:40,530 --> 00:03:41,850 to walk through together tonight. 75 00:03:41,850 --> 00:03:44,880 And the first question that it introduces is, who did this? 76 00:03:45,570 --> 00:03:46,710 Who delivered Jesus? 77 00:03:47,790 --> 00:03:51,180 The text says there in Romans 4 25, who was delivered up. 78 00:03:51,180 --> 00:03:52,200 That's in the passive tense. 79 00:03:52,740 --> 00:03:56,880 In fact, Jesus himself even says in Matthew 1722, as they were gathering in 80 00:03:56,880 --> 00:04:00,960 Galilee, Jesus said to them, the son of man that's a reference to himself is about 81 00:04:00,960 --> 00:04:03,000 to be delivered into the hands of men. 82 00:04:03,840 --> 00:04:04,680 So this is passive. 83 00:04:04,680 --> 00:04:07,200 In other words, Jesus isn't the actor of the action of the verb here. 84 00:04:07,620 --> 00:04:09,330 Somebody is delivering Jesus. 85 00:04:09,840 --> 00:04:14,160 And so the question for us to begin with tonight is, who delivered Jesus? 86 00:04:14,370 --> 00:04:15,250 Who handed Jesus over? 87 00:04:16,665 --> 00:04:19,185 If you've been around the church for some time, maybe your mind is thinking 88 00:04:19,185 --> 00:04:23,325 of the one who betrayed him so long ago in the garden, Judas Iscariot. 89 00:04:23,955 --> 00:04:28,215 In fact, we read in Matthew 26, 14 through 16, this, then one of the 90 00:04:28,215 --> 00:04:32,295 12, whose name was Judas, went to the chief priests and said, what will you 91 00:04:32,295 --> 00:04:34,784 give me if I deliver him over to you? 92 00:04:35,355 --> 00:04:37,605 That's the same word that we find there in Romans 4 25. 93 00:04:37,605 --> 00:04:41,295 If I hand him over to you and they paid him 30 pieces of silver, and 94 00:04:41,295 --> 00:04:43,845 from that moment on, he sought an opportunity to betray him. 95 00:04:45,165 --> 00:04:48,765 So maybe you think, okay, yeah, Judas, Judas delivered Jesus. 96 00:04:48,915 --> 00:04:51,225 And yes, Judas delivered Jesus. 97 00:04:52,515 --> 00:04:56,445 But from that point in time, some other actors stepped on to the scene 98 00:04:56,860 --> 00:04:58,545 and, and that is the Jewish leaders. 99 00:04:58,965 --> 00:05:02,835 See, as Judas was delivering Jesus, what Judas was doing was delivering Jesus 100 00:05:02,835 --> 00:05:07,275 over, ultimately to the scribes and the Pharisees for step one of the mock trial 101 00:05:07,275 --> 00:05:11,895 and the, uh, the, the, the arrest and the beating and the eventual crucifixion. 102 00:05:12,495 --> 00:05:15,225 In fact, we read about them here in Matthew 27 2. 103 00:05:15,225 --> 00:05:18,555 And, and so in a sense, when we ask the question who delivered Jesus, we could 104 00:05:18,555 --> 00:05:22,425 say, well, the, the Jewish leaders did the scribes and the Pharisees, his opponents, 105 00:05:22,425 --> 00:05:26,505 the Sadducees, they handed Jesus over, and that's what we read in Matthew 27, 2. 106 00:05:26,505 --> 00:05:30,225 They bound him and led him away and delivered him over. 107 00:05:30,225 --> 00:05:32,235 It's the same word again from Romans 4 25. 108 00:05:32,235 --> 00:05:33,345 They handed him over. 109 00:05:34,080 --> 00:05:35,430 To Pilate, the governor. 110 00:05:36,090 --> 00:05:38,970 And so the religious leaders of the Jews, those opponents, those people 111 00:05:38,970 --> 00:05:41,010 that Jesus had been going toe to toe with throughout his earthly 112 00:05:41,010 --> 00:05:43,920 ministry, they delivered Jesus. 113 00:05:46,200 --> 00:05:49,530 But notice they delivered Jesus to Pilate, and that's the third 114 00:05:49,530 --> 00:05:50,700 person for us to consider tonight. 115 00:05:51,690 --> 00:05:53,220 Did Pilate deliver Jesus? 116 00:05:53,580 --> 00:05:54,570 Well, in a sense, yes. 117 00:05:55,260 --> 00:05:59,250 Pils, uh, an unexpected actor in all of this from the outside because 118 00:05:59,250 --> 00:06:00,885 Pils just this, this Roman official. 119 00:06:01,725 --> 00:06:04,275 And he is governing over the region here, and he has his position there 120 00:06:04,275 --> 00:06:06,885 and he's got some clout that's been entrusted to him by the Roman authorities. 121 00:06:07,230 --> 00:06:11,145 And, and so Pilate, all of a sudden is inserted into the storyline in 122 00:06:11,145 --> 00:06:14,955 one of the most significant moments in world history when Jesus appears 123 00:06:14,955 --> 00:06:16,455 before his court in his tribunal. 124 00:06:16,605 --> 00:06:19,395 And Pilate has to make a decision, what am I gonna do with Jesus? 125 00:06:20,250 --> 00:06:24,360 Well, we read about this in Matthew 27, 6, after some negotiating with 126 00:06:24,360 --> 00:06:26,070 the Jews that failed, uh, Pilate. 127 00:06:26,070 --> 00:06:28,980 Then it says, released for them Barabbas. 128 00:06:28,980 --> 00:06:30,600 When it says he there, it's referring to Pilate. 129 00:06:30,810 --> 00:06:31,980 He, they released for them. 130 00:06:31,980 --> 00:06:32,580 Barabbas. 131 00:06:32,940 --> 00:06:34,890 Uh, an insurrectionist, a murderer. 132 00:06:35,245 --> 00:06:35,365 A. 133 00:06:35,700 --> 00:06:36,060 A felon. 134 00:06:37,425 --> 00:06:40,185 And having Jesus scoured delivered him. 135 00:06:40,185 --> 00:06:44,565 There's our word again, Sam Word is Romans 4 25 delivered him to be crucified. 136 00:06:44,565 --> 00:06:47,205 So Pilate delivered Jesus to be crucified. 137 00:06:47,295 --> 00:06:50,115 So you've got a lot of different people that we could say, these people deliver. 138 00:06:50,115 --> 00:06:50,655 Jesus. 139 00:06:50,985 --> 00:06:52,335 Judas delivered Jesus. 140 00:06:52,455 --> 00:06:53,295 The Jews delivered. 141 00:06:53,295 --> 00:06:55,215 Jesus Pilate delivered Jesus. 142 00:06:56,145 --> 00:06:56,925 But there's one more. 143 00:06:57,885 --> 00:06:58,965 There's one more person. 144 00:06:59,025 --> 00:07:03,915 One more being that we need to consider as far as the one who delivered Jesus. 145 00:07:04,650 --> 00:07:07,349 And this is the being that's active here in Romans 4 25. 146 00:07:07,979 --> 00:07:11,430 And this is the one that makes all of the difference for us, because 147 00:07:11,430 --> 00:07:15,150 if it's only Judas and the Jews and Pilate acting in all of this, then 148 00:07:15,690 --> 00:07:16,890 there's not really much going on here. 149 00:07:16,890 --> 00:07:19,650 This is just a, a, a headline in first Century Israel, and then 150 00:07:19,650 --> 00:07:20,969 it's gonna fade from existence. 151 00:07:22,049 --> 00:07:24,450 But as it is, there's somebody else who delivered Jesus, and that's 152 00:07:24,450 --> 00:07:28,560 the one who's the most significant actor of all, and that's the father. 153 00:07:29,880 --> 00:07:35,010 Romans Chapter eight, verse 32 says this, he the father, this is God, 154 00:07:35,010 --> 00:07:36,150 the first person in the Trinity. 155 00:07:36,359 --> 00:07:40,440 He who did not spare his own son, but gave him up. 156 00:07:40,440 --> 00:07:42,989 That's a different translation, but the same Greek word there. 157 00:07:42,989 --> 00:07:44,159 That's in Romans 4 25. 158 00:07:44,640 --> 00:07:45,719 He gave him up. 159 00:07:45,719 --> 00:07:47,789 He delivered him up for us all. 160 00:07:47,909 --> 00:07:52,140 How will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 161 00:07:53,760 --> 00:07:57,299 Who delivered Jesus did Judas? 162 00:07:57,299 --> 00:07:57,840 Yes. 163 00:07:58,305 --> 00:07:58,935 Did the Jews? 164 00:07:58,995 --> 00:07:59,534 Yes. 165 00:07:59,655 --> 00:08:00,855 Did Pilate, yes. 166 00:08:00,885 --> 00:08:06,405 But most significantly of all the father delivered Jesus for our trespasses. 167 00:08:06,855 --> 00:08:09,795 In fact, acts chapter two verses 22 through 23. 168 00:08:09,795 --> 00:08:11,835 Peter makes this point explicitly again here. 169 00:08:12,105 --> 00:08:13,305 Uh, as Peter's preaching. 170 00:08:13,365 --> 00:08:15,705 He's preaching to Jewish people here and he says this, men 171 00:08:15,705 --> 00:08:16,995 of Israel hear these words. 172 00:08:17,505 --> 00:08:21,645 Jesus of Nazareth, A man attested to you by God with mighty works 173 00:08:21,645 --> 00:08:25,425 and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you 174 00:08:25,425 --> 00:08:31,185 yourselves know this, Jesus delivered up according to the definite plan and 175 00:08:31,185 --> 00:08:36,044 foreknowledge of God you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 176 00:08:36,585 --> 00:08:42,525 Notice who is in full control here in Acts chapter two verses 23 or 22 and 23. 177 00:08:43,470 --> 00:08:44,190 The father is. 178 00:08:44,580 --> 00:08:46,440 The father is the one who's acting. 179 00:08:46,440 --> 00:08:49,230 The father is the one whose planet was the definite plan and 180 00:08:49,230 --> 00:08:51,000 foreknowledge of God see the cross. 181 00:08:51,000 --> 00:08:54,240 What we're celebrating tonight, what we're remembering tonight was never plan 182 00:08:54,240 --> 00:08:56,490 B, but always plan A in God's design. 183 00:08:57,420 --> 00:09:00,420 It was always gonna be that you and I were going to fall, always gonna 184 00:09:00,420 --> 00:09:04,470 be that we were going to sin against a holy God and need the payment made 185 00:09:04,470 --> 00:09:07,380 because we were gonna max out our spiritual credit cards and have no 186 00:09:07,380 --> 00:09:08,850 resources to pay the debt that we owe. 187 00:09:10,230 --> 00:09:11,670 So it was always gonna be the cross. 188 00:09:12,810 --> 00:09:14,280 And so who delivered Jesus. 189 00:09:15,150 --> 00:09:17,700 Most importantly, God delivered Jesus. 190 00:09:18,810 --> 00:09:21,210 But that inter introduces a second question for us. 191 00:09:21,930 --> 00:09:24,360 Not only who delivered Jesus, but why was Jesus delivered? 192 00:09:25,290 --> 00:09:29,160 Why was he handed over what was behind all this? 193 00:09:29,940 --> 00:09:31,380 Well, let's go back to Judas for a second. 194 00:09:31,380 --> 00:09:31,800 Judas. 195 00:09:32,040 --> 00:09:35,160 We made track with that and understand, well, here's why Judas delivered Jesus. 196 00:09:35,160 --> 00:09:37,590 Okay, I I can follow that line of reasoning. 197 00:09:38,400 --> 00:09:41,670 A Judas had grown disenchanted with with Jesus. 198 00:09:41,699 --> 00:09:43,739 Jesus was not the Messiah, Judas thought he was gonna be. 199 00:09:44,790 --> 00:09:46,500 Judas was looking for a political messiah. 200 00:09:46,739 --> 00:09:48,329 He was looking for a military messiah. 201 00:09:48,660 --> 00:09:52,079 Judas was looking to ride the coattails of fame and riches into Jerusalem to 202 00:09:52,079 --> 00:09:55,170 drive out the Romans and to see Jesus become the next Solomon, the next 203 00:09:55,170 --> 00:09:58,709 David and Judas was gonna be right there to ride all the glory behind him. 204 00:09:59,714 --> 00:10:04,814 We see that because right before Judas agrees to go betray Jesus, to deliver 205 00:10:04,814 --> 00:10:08,805 him, Jesus is in the home of of a, a man. 206 00:10:08,805 --> 00:10:13,605 In Be Theda, you know, a woman we believe to be Mary Magdalene comes and anoints 207 00:10:13,605 --> 00:10:18,105 Jesus with a, a, a flask of perfume that was insanely expensive, would've 208 00:10:18,135 --> 00:10:19,990 cost a year's salary to buy this. 209 00:10:21,329 --> 00:10:25,319 And she anoints Jesus, and Judas is there, and Judas is singled out. 210 00:10:25,349 --> 00:10:28,290 There's more than just Judas upset with this, but Judas in 211 00:10:28,290 --> 00:10:30,689 specific says, what are you doing? 212 00:10:31,349 --> 00:10:33,060 Why wasn't this perfume sold? 213 00:10:33,479 --> 00:10:35,130 And then we could have given the money to the poor? 214 00:10:36,030 --> 00:10:39,569 Seems like a noble suggestion other than the fact that we know that Judas used 215 00:10:39,569 --> 00:10:41,489 to skim from the top of the money bag. 216 00:10:43,380 --> 00:10:48,030 See, Judas was after his own glory, his own fame, his own. 217 00:10:48,675 --> 00:10:51,645 Idea of what Jesus should be, and when Jesus didn't measure up, 218 00:10:51,855 --> 00:10:53,475 Judas was gonna deliver Jesus over. 219 00:10:53,595 --> 00:10:54,315 That makes sense. 220 00:10:55,065 --> 00:10:55,725 How about the Jews? 221 00:10:56,445 --> 00:10:57,465 Well, we can track there too. 222 00:10:58,065 --> 00:11:01,665 For three years, the Jews had been defeated and befuddled and even 223 00:11:01,665 --> 00:11:05,985 humiliated by Jesus as Jesus had gone toe to toe with them in different 224 00:11:05,985 --> 00:11:09,675 context, from the Temple Mount to Galilee, to everywhere else in between. 225 00:11:10,425 --> 00:11:12,105 And he had had conversations with them. 226 00:11:12,165 --> 00:11:13,185 He'd even confronted them. 227 00:11:13,185 --> 00:11:15,405 He'd even cursed them by calling out. 228 00:11:15,405 --> 00:11:17,535 Woe to you scribes and Pharisees. 229 00:11:18,465 --> 00:11:19,485 Cursed are you? 230 00:11:19,995 --> 00:11:20,445 Why? 231 00:11:20,895 --> 00:11:22,455 Because you're like whitewashed tombs. 232 00:11:22,935 --> 00:11:25,365 You look great on the outside, but you guys are just hypocrites. 233 00:11:26,565 --> 00:11:26,835 Okay. 234 00:11:26,835 --> 00:11:30,225 We can track why the, the Jewish leaders would've said, yeah, let's deliver Jesus. 235 00:11:30,225 --> 00:11:31,065 Let's hand him over. 236 00:11:31,905 --> 00:11:34,035 Let's get rid of this guy, Pilate. 237 00:11:34,545 --> 00:11:35,835 Yeah, we can understand Pilate too. 238 00:11:36,825 --> 00:11:38,565 Pilate was again, a Roman official. 239 00:11:39,015 --> 00:11:41,625 And, and he wasn't super high up the ladder. 240 00:11:41,775 --> 00:11:44,475 He was in this obscure area that, that wasn't really super 241 00:11:44,475 --> 00:11:45,495 close to Rome at this point. 242 00:11:45,495 --> 00:11:48,495 So Pilate at this time is, is trying to hold on to things. 243 00:11:48,645 --> 00:11:51,345 He's got political ambitions, he's got a career in mind. 244 00:11:51,824 --> 00:11:55,395 And so when the Jewish people bring this, this rabbi to him initially, 245 00:11:55,395 --> 00:11:56,265 he's like, what are you doing? 246 00:11:56,265 --> 00:11:57,464 Why is this guy here? 247 00:11:57,735 --> 00:11:58,905 I see nothing wrong with him. 248 00:11:58,905 --> 00:12:00,584 Why don't you take him and deal with him yourselves? 249 00:12:01,395 --> 00:12:03,584 But then they say something that stops him dead in his tracks when 250 00:12:03,584 --> 00:12:05,115 they say You're no friend of Caesar. 251 00:12:05,939 --> 00:12:08,040 If you don't do what we're asking you to do, because this man 252 00:12:08,040 --> 00:12:09,240 makes himself out to be a king. 253 00:12:09,839 --> 00:12:11,699 Emergency breaks go off in Pilate's mind. 254 00:12:12,959 --> 00:12:16,170 If Pilate allows an insurrection under his watch, if Pilate allows 255 00:12:16,170 --> 00:12:19,319 riots under his watch, it's not gonna look good for him with the 256 00:12:19,319 --> 00:12:20,699 Roman officials that he reports to. 257 00:12:21,329 --> 00:12:25,230 So Pilate, being a selfish and ambitious man, we understand why Pilate would've 258 00:12:25,230 --> 00:12:26,579 delivered Jesus over to be crucified. 259 00:12:26,579 --> 00:12:27,569 Lemme just get rid of this guy. 260 00:12:28,020 --> 00:12:28,709 It's not gonna matter. 261 00:12:30,300 --> 00:12:32,280 Judas the Jews, Pilate, we get it. 262 00:12:33,480 --> 00:12:34,680 But why God? 263 00:12:35,655 --> 00:12:36,555 Why the father? 264 00:12:37,425 --> 00:12:38,655 Why his father? 265 00:12:40,275 --> 00:12:44,625 Why the first member of the Trinity, with whom Jesus the Son had endured 266 00:12:44,625 --> 00:12:49,155 and or experienced and enjoyed perfect and intimate communion and 267 00:12:49,155 --> 00:12:53,685 fellowship for all of eternity to this point, what would cause the 268 00:12:53,685 --> 00:12:58,395 father to send his son for our sins? 269 00:13:00,225 --> 00:13:02,175 Well, it's that. 270 00:13:03,510 --> 00:13:09,030 As Paul puts it, our trespasses, the sins that you and I committed. 271 00:13:10,410 --> 00:13:12,750 See that those sins put us in a predicament of 272 00:13:12,780 --> 00:13:14,400 insurmountable depth to the Lord. 273 00:13:15,210 --> 00:13:16,980 His standard is absolute perfection. 274 00:13:17,850 --> 00:13:19,530 You shall be holy for I the Lord your God. 275 00:13:19,530 --> 00:13:23,975 Him holy God being holy, cannot tolerate any sin, no matter how small it is. 276 00:13:25,380 --> 00:13:30,780 And so because we by nature even are prone to sin and our sinners, we have created 277 00:13:30,780 --> 00:13:34,680 an infinite chasm that we even sang about earlier this evening between us and God. 278 00:13:34,765 --> 00:13:38,430 And, and the problem that you and I face tonight is we can't cross it. 279 00:13:39,900 --> 00:13:41,790 Have you ever heard the world say something like, you got 280 00:13:41,790 --> 00:13:42,750 yourself into this mess. 281 00:13:42,810 --> 00:13:44,099 You can get yourself out of it. 282 00:13:45,420 --> 00:13:47,099 And thank God that he didn't say that to us. 283 00:13:48,689 --> 00:13:51,000 That may work in the world in some instances, but it doesn't work when 284 00:13:51,000 --> 00:13:52,349 it comes to your sin and the holy God. 285 00:13:53,520 --> 00:13:56,250 There's nothing you can do to get yourself outta the mess 286 00:13:56,250 --> 00:13:57,120 that you've made in your sin. 287 00:13:59,189 --> 00:14:00,870 Or maybe sometimes you've, you've heard the world say, 288 00:14:00,870 --> 00:14:01,890 you know what you're saying? 289 00:14:01,890 --> 00:14:03,390 It's, it's not that big of a deal. 290 00:14:03,449 --> 00:14:05,130 A after all, nobody's, nobody's perfect. 291 00:14:05,969 --> 00:14:06,390 And you know what? 292 00:14:06,390 --> 00:14:08,880 Yeah, you, you sin, but you're not as bad as this person over 293 00:14:08,880 --> 00:14:11,040 here, so don't beat yourself up. 294 00:14:11,130 --> 00:14:11,520 You're fine. 295 00:14:11,520 --> 00:14:11,910 You're good. 296 00:14:11,910 --> 00:14:12,780 You're, you're a good person. 297 00:14:12,780 --> 00:14:13,439 God's fine with you. 298 00:14:13,439 --> 00:14:13,860 I'm sure. 299 00:14:15,780 --> 00:14:19,439 Again, thank God that's not his approach either, because 300 00:14:19,439 --> 00:14:20,850 that's just a self-deceived lie. 301 00:14:22,350 --> 00:14:27,600 I can't be a good enough person to be holy after I've fallen short of holiness. 302 00:14:28,800 --> 00:14:33,570 See, the, the problem is this holiness is, it's a one and done shot. 303 00:14:34,500 --> 00:14:37,650 As soon as you aren't holy, you aren't holy forever. 304 00:14:39,300 --> 00:14:42,960 To have any imperfection is to blow it completely. 305 00:14:44,490 --> 00:14:48,390 And so whenever your first cognizant sin was. 306 00:14:48,975 --> 00:14:52,395 We'll even just start there, let alone the fact that you have a sin nature 307 00:14:52,395 --> 00:14:55,755 handed down from you, from Adam from the very beginning, but from the very 308 00:14:55,755 --> 00:14:59,265 moment that you punched your brother because he took a toy from you, or from 309 00:14:59,265 --> 00:15:02,235 the very moment that you screamed at your mom because you didn't like what 310 00:15:02,235 --> 00:15:06,405 she served you for lunch, you have an infinite chasm between you and God that 311 00:15:06,735 --> 00:15:08,505 can't be mended, can't be repaired. 312 00:15:11,655 --> 00:15:16,575 It's that that prompted God to deliver Jesus. 313 00:15:17,625 --> 00:15:18,885 For our trespasses. 314 00:15:20,925 --> 00:15:24,464 See, if you're here tonight and you think to yourself, and you're in 315 00:15:24,464 --> 00:15:27,375 the camp, that would say, yeah, but surely if I'm a good person, then 316 00:15:27,375 --> 00:15:28,814 it doesn't really matter, right? 317 00:15:29,865 --> 00:15:33,135 As long as I'm a good enough person, I've done some things in my past, but as 318 00:15:33,135 --> 00:15:37,125 long as I'm a good enough person, then God's gonna be fine with me in the end. 319 00:15:38,895 --> 00:15:40,515 'cause my good will make up for my bad. 320 00:15:42,735 --> 00:15:43,844 I want you to think about it this way. 321 00:15:44,474 --> 00:15:46,275 If you're out on Preston Road and you're driving north. 322 00:15:46,695 --> 00:15:49,845 Preston Road speed limit 55, at least in the good parts of Preston Road. 323 00:15:50,865 --> 00:15:52,845 But let's say you're late and you're flowing it, you're going 324 00:15:52,845 --> 00:15:57,525 75 and a 55, and here come the, the red and blues in your mirror. 325 00:15:58,275 --> 00:16:03,105 You're getting pulled over and when you pulled, get pulled over, the cop comes 326 00:16:03,105 --> 00:16:06,075 up, you roll down your window, you've got your license and registration ready for 327 00:16:06,075 --> 00:16:10,275 'em, and you say, officer, I just want you to know that I'm a really good driver. 328 00:16:11,415 --> 00:16:13,665 I, I, this is not like me at all. 329 00:16:14,250 --> 00:16:17,760 My track record before this, I, I, I really don't speed, or at least 330 00:16:17,760 --> 00:16:21,210 I'm not caught speeding, you know, but we're all like that, aren't we? 331 00:16:21,210 --> 00:16:25,110 We all are a little lead footed, but I, I normally drive very safely, 332 00:16:25,170 --> 00:16:28,530 and I'll tell you what, officer, if you'll just forgive me this offense, 333 00:16:29,130 --> 00:16:32,550 I promise you that I will obey the speed limit for the rest of my life. 334 00:16:33,720 --> 00:16:34,770 What's the problem with that? 335 00:16:35,430 --> 00:16:37,290 Number one, you're lying, right. 336 00:16:38,310 --> 00:16:40,950 Number two, the problem is this, you're supposed to obey the speed limit. 337 00:16:42,105 --> 00:16:45,345 You are not doing him any favors by doing what the law says you should do. 338 00:16:46,750 --> 00:16:50,235 I, if you're out there, depending on good works to make you right before God, guess 339 00:16:50,235 --> 00:16:53,295 what y'all, you're just doing what God created you to do in the first place. 340 00:16:54,465 --> 00:16:56,265 God's not gonna be impressed with your track record. 341 00:16:57,225 --> 00:16:59,325 God's not gonna be impressed that you're not a molester. 342 00:16:59,325 --> 00:17:01,125 God's not gonna be impressed that you're not Hitler. 343 00:17:02,925 --> 00:17:05,473 You're just doing what he created you to do by doing good. 344 00:17:06,795 --> 00:17:09,915 And so you can't make up for the bad that you've done by just 345 00:17:09,915 --> 00:17:11,055 doing what you're supposed to do. 346 00:17:12,555 --> 00:17:15,315 You see how that logic of saying, well, if I do enough good, 347 00:17:15,315 --> 00:17:16,605 then God will be okay with me. 348 00:17:17,925 --> 00:17:21,405 It doesn't address the fact that God's not okay with us because of 349 00:17:21,405 --> 00:17:26,505 our sin, and so we are left saying, I'm on this side of the infant chasm. 350 00:17:26,505 --> 00:17:28,875 He's on that side of the infinite chasm, and I can't bridge it. 351 00:17:29,835 --> 00:17:30,705 I can't get there. 352 00:17:32,730 --> 00:17:38,220 That's why God delivered Jesus for your trespasses. 353 00:17:40,345 --> 00:17:43,440 And, and, and here's the thing we have to remember, church, we put 354 00:17:43,440 --> 00:17:44,730 ourselves in that predicament. 355 00:17:46,380 --> 00:17:50,250 Sometimes you'll hear about the cross as a ransom that a payment's 356 00:17:50,250 --> 00:17:52,560 being made and, and that that's true. 357 00:17:53,310 --> 00:17:54,270 A payment was made. 358 00:17:54,270 --> 00:17:55,620 That's what I'm talking about tonight. 359 00:17:55,620 --> 00:17:58,469 You have a debt that you can't pay, and a payment was made on your 360 00:17:58,469 --> 00:18:02,489 behalf to ransom you from your sin and, and from the wrath of God. 361 00:18:03,209 --> 00:18:05,520 But here's the thing, sometimes when we think of ransom, we 362 00:18:05,520 --> 00:18:08,699 wrongly associate ourselves with an innocent victim in all of this. 363 00:18:10,260 --> 00:18:13,260 See, when you hear about a ransom, you think of somebody that was kidnapped or, 364 00:18:13,260 --> 00:18:15,479 or taken, and a ransom is paid to free. 365 00:18:15,479 --> 00:18:18,719 That person, that person, we all, our heart goes out to them. 366 00:18:18,719 --> 00:18:22,169 We feel bad for them, and we're like, they're, they're the victim in all this. 367 00:18:23,895 --> 00:18:25,815 You and I aren't victims of our sin. 368 00:18:26,925 --> 00:18:30,345 We are willing captives, willing slaves to our sin. 369 00:18:31,395 --> 00:18:33,764 We, in fact, by nature love our sin. 370 00:18:35,264 --> 00:18:38,955 And so we have submitted ourselves to that which has divided us 371 00:18:38,955 --> 00:18:40,514 from God by this infinite chasm. 372 00:18:40,514 --> 00:18:44,385 And now we are on the other side meeting rescue when we're the ones that put 373 00:18:44,385 --> 00:18:45,885 ourselves there in the first place. 374 00:18:48,855 --> 00:18:49,665 That's why. 375 00:18:50,835 --> 00:18:52,605 He was delivered up for your trespasses. 376 00:18:54,975 --> 00:18:58,035 That's why God gave his son, and, and, and that's what makes 377 00:18:58,035 --> 00:18:59,955 the cross all the more amazing. 378 00:19:00,015 --> 00:19:00,525 In the end. 379 00:19:02,805 --> 00:19:06,435 We didn't receive the, the mercy and grace and love of God 380 00:19:06,435 --> 00:19:07,800 because we were worthy of it. 381 00:19:09,555 --> 00:19:11,865 We didn't receive it because we deserved it. 382 00:19:13,185 --> 00:19:16,345 We didn't catch God's eye with how nice and kind and good we are. 383 00:19:18,285 --> 00:19:23,865 We received it in spite of how fall, how far short we fall of his perfect standard. 384 00:19:25,035 --> 00:19:27,615 And that's what makes the cross so amazing. 385 00:19:27,765 --> 00:19:29,115 That's what makes grace. 386 00:19:29,295 --> 00:19:33,615 Grace, is we had put ourselves into captivity under the enslavement 387 00:19:33,615 --> 00:19:37,785 of sin and that's when God came forth and that's why Christ was 388 00:19:37,785 --> 00:19:40,065 delivered up for our trespasses. 389 00:19:40,875 --> 00:19:43,095 Because our trespasses were those spiritual credit cards 390 00:19:43,095 --> 00:19:44,175 that all of us had maxed out. 391 00:19:45,435 --> 00:19:47,085 And we owed the debt that we couldn't pay. 392 00:19:48,254 --> 00:19:51,345 And so for that debt, for those sins, for those trespasses, 393 00:19:51,345 --> 00:19:53,235 Christ had to be handed over. 394 00:19:53,745 --> 00:19:56,175 But that introduces one final question for us tonight, and that's this. 395 00:19:56,175 --> 00:19:57,524 What was Jesus delivered to? 396 00:19:59,385 --> 00:20:01,155 We've seen who delivered him, the Father did. 397 00:20:01,574 --> 00:20:04,245 We've seen why he was delivered because of our trespasses. 398 00:20:05,235 --> 00:20:07,425 But finally, we need to ask ourselves what was he delivered to? 399 00:20:08,715 --> 00:20:12,030 And the answer we find in Colossians chapter two verses 13 through 14. 400 00:20:14,415 --> 00:20:17,535 You who were dead in your trespasses, in the uncircumcision of your flesh, 401 00:20:17,535 --> 00:20:22,005 God made alive together with him having forgiven us all our trespasses. 402 00:20:22,005 --> 00:20:23,445 There's our word trespasses. 403 00:20:23,445 --> 00:20:24,045 Sins. 404 00:20:24,525 --> 00:20:28,455 By canceling the record of debt that stood against us with his legal demands. 405 00:20:28,695 --> 00:20:29,505 How did he do it? 406 00:20:29,625 --> 00:20:33,795 This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 407 00:20:35,460 --> 00:20:37,140 See, this is why this is necessary. 408 00:20:37,170 --> 00:20:40,320 He was delivered over to the death on the cross. 409 00:20:40,320 --> 00:20:44,040 He was delivered over to be your substitute to bear the wrath of 410 00:20:44,040 --> 00:20:45,540 God against your sin on the cross. 411 00:20:45,540 --> 00:20:46,410 He's not just that. 412 00:20:46,410 --> 00:20:50,070 He tasted death for the wages of sin is death. 413 00:20:50,070 --> 00:20:51,990 Yes, he died for us. 414 00:20:52,320 --> 00:20:56,490 But more than that, what he did on the cross was he absorbed all 415 00:20:56,490 --> 00:20:59,565 of hell so that the Christian won't absorb a single drop of it. 416 00:21:02,010 --> 00:21:07,890 Consider that for a moment hell is the existence under the just and righteous 417 00:21:07,950 --> 00:21:10,740 anger and wrath of God against your sin. 418 00:21:10,995 --> 00:21:13,770 I, I was thinking about, how do I understand that this week, and the 419 00:21:13,770 --> 00:21:18,120 closest I got to it is this, as a father, if somebody was threatening 420 00:21:18,120 --> 00:21:22,470 my child, you would see my righteous anger being unleashed on that person. 421 00:21:23,640 --> 00:21:26,610 As a husband, if somebody was threatening my wife, you would know my 422 00:21:26,610 --> 00:21:31,740 righteous anger unleashed on them, and nobody watching that would say, well, 423 00:21:31,740 --> 00:21:34,680 that's, that's extreme, that's harsh. 424 00:21:36,270 --> 00:21:38,850 That's unjust for him to treat that person that way. 425 00:21:41,370 --> 00:21:49,620 You, you see, when we, someone we love is threatened, then our righteous 426 00:21:49,620 --> 00:21:51,720 indignation and anger shows up. 427 00:21:52,230 --> 00:21:54,030 In a theory that's unmatched. 428 00:21:56,430 --> 00:22:02,399 God being God loves himself with a perfect love, which is right. 429 00:22:03,240 --> 00:22:04,710 He loves his holiness. 430 00:22:04,920 --> 00:22:06,629 He loves his justice. 431 00:22:07,620 --> 00:22:13,410 And when His holiness and his justice, our threatened by our sin, what he 432 00:22:13,410 --> 00:22:18,270 responds with is that same righteous anger and indignation and fury and wrath. 433 00:22:20,205 --> 00:22:23,565 And that's what Jesus took when he absorbed it on the cross for us. 434 00:22:25,665 --> 00:22:27,255 God was that angry with you 435 00:22:30,675 --> 00:22:31,245 and with me, 436 00:22:33,495 --> 00:22:38,745 and then he poured out that anger and that fury on his son instead of you. 437 00:22:42,135 --> 00:22:45,225 He was delivered over for our trespasses to the cross. 438 00:22:46,425 --> 00:22:51,465 So that that wrath could be satisfied so that we don't have to fear hell anymore. 439 00:22:51,465 --> 00:22:52,545 If you are in Christ. 440 00:22:52,545 --> 00:22:54,675 That is, you don't have to fear hell. 441 00:22:54,675 --> 00:23:00,225 You don't have to fear the wrath because the father bore it or poured it 442 00:23:00,225 --> 00:23:05,175 out rather on the son who bore it for you, and we didn't deserve any of it. 443 00:23:06,915 --> 00:23:07,905 Not an ounce of it. 444 00:23:10,215 --> 00:23:14,295 That's what's so amazing about grace. 445 00:23:15,150 --> 00:23:18,060 Grace is unmerited favor getting that which you don't deserve, 446 00:23:19,260 --> 00:23:20,760 receiving the forgiveness of God. 447 00:23:20,760 --> 00:23:21,630 None of us deserve it. 448 00:23:22,470 --> 00:23:25,710 He didn't decide to forgive you because you had done enough good that he was 449 00:23:25,710 --> 00:23:27,180 like, okay, you've come far enough along. 450 00:23:27,270 --> 00:23:28,830 Well, let me help you the rest of the way. 451 00:23:29,010 --> 00:23:30,120 That's a false gospel. 452 00:23:32,100 --> 00:23:32,550 He doesn't. 453 00:23:32,610 --> 00:23:36,240 He doesn't forgive you because he's looked at you and gone, okay, you finally did it. 454 00:23:36,270 --> 00:23:38,220 You did enough good works to outweigh your bad works. 455 00:23:38,220 --> 00:23:38,820 So congrats. 456 00:23:38,820 --> 00:23:39,750 Here's your ticket to heaven. 457 00:23:39,870 --> 00:23:40,890 That's a false gospel. 458 00:23:42,720 --> 00:23:45,720 He didn't forgive you because he looked at you and, and thought, well, you're, 459 00:23:45,720 --> 00:23:49,080 you're a, a good investment because you know a lot about the Bible and you've 460 00:23:49,080 --> 00:23:51,660 gone to church your whole life, and you got the Awano Award when you were 461 00:23:51,660 --> 00:23:53,670 little and you read commentaries for fun. 462 00:23:54,060 --> 00:23:54,840 He didn't do that. 463 00:23:54,870 --> 00:23:56,310 He didn't forgive you for those reasons. 464 00:23:56,430 --> 00:23:57,660 That's a false gospel. 465 00:23:59,550 --> 00:24:03,270 The only reason he forgave you is because of the unmerited favor 466 00:24:03,270 --> 00:24:07,470 in which he poured it upon you by his own prerogative, his own will. 467 00:24:07,560 --> 00:24:09,600 And if you say, why join the club? 468 00:24:11,970 --> 00:24:12,960 But that's grace 469 00:24:16,260 --> 00:24:17,040 and that's mercy. 470 00:24:17,159 --> 00:24:18,929 Mercy is not getting what you do deserve. 471 00:24:19,919 --> 00:24:21,300 We deserve the anger of God. 472 00:24:21,300 --> 00:24:22,470 We deserve the wrath of God. 473 00:24:22,470 --> 00:24:24,000 We deserve his righteous indignation. 474 00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:26,639 Instead, what we got is his forgiveness 475 00:24:29,909 --> 00:24:30,659 and that the love 476 00:24:32,790 --> 00:24:36,270 the Father coming after us, moving towards us, giving his son for us when 477 00:24:36,270 --> 00:24:37,500 not a single one of us deserved it. 478 00:24:41,010 --> 00:24:43,139 It is good for us to think about the the cross. 479 00:24:44,340 --> 00:24:47,820 I know there may be some unbelievers in the room this evening, but I 480 00:24:47,820 --> 00:24:50,820 trust a lot of you in the room would profess at least to be Christians. 481 00:24:53,429 --> 00:24:57,480 It's so good for us to be ever mindful of the cross. 482 00:24:59,700 --> 00:25:04,200 If you think about it, back to that debt analogy, when God forgave you, 483 00:25:05,070 --> 00:25:06,780 when you came to faith in Jesus Christ. 484 00:25:07,830 --> 00:25:10,530 It's not that he took you back to just a blank slate. 485 00:25:11,880 --> 00:25:14,190 It's not that he took you back to just square. 486 00:25:14,580 --> 00:25:16,110 Everything's good now. 487 00:25:16,110 --> 00:25:20,190 Go and try not to, to mess this up anymore and praise God. 488 00:25:20,190 --> 00:25:21,600 He didn't do that because guess what? 489 00:25:21,900 --> 00:25:24,780 How many of you in the room have stopped sinning since you came to faith in Jesus, 490 00:25:27,210 --> 00:25:27,570 right? 491 00:25:30,090 --> 00:25:30,930 Instead, what did he do? 492 00:25:30,930 --> 00:25:33,570 Well, he forgave you, and then he filled up your bank account with the 493 00:25:33,570 --> 00:25:36,960 perfect and infinite righteousness of Jesus that can never be exhausted. 494 00:25:36,960 --> 00:25:39,180 It, but church, don't try it. 495 00:25:40,920 --> 00:25:41,280 Right? 496 00:25:42,240 --> 00:25:45,660 One of the, the byproducts of thinking about the cross of a service, like a good 497 00:25:45,660 --> 00:25:47,040 Friday, why don't we just skip to Easter? 498 00:25:47,040 --> 00:25:48,750 Let's just, pastor, let's just celebrate the resurrection. 499 00:25:48,750 --> 00:25:49,500 That's the good news. 500 00:25:49,770 --> 00:25:53,460 He's a resurrected savior, interceding for before us, for us, before the father. 501 00:25:53,640 --> 00:25:54,690 Let's just focus on that. 502 00:25:54,690 --> 00:25:55,770 That makes me feel better. 503 00:25:56,700 --> 00:25:57,000 Amen. 504 00:25:57,000 --> 00:25:57,600 It does. 505 00:25:58,050 --> 00:25:59,535 But this is good for us to think about. 506 00:26:00,600 --> 00:26:02,790 Because this should have a sanctifying effect on our lives. 507 00:26:03,209 --> 00:26:06,750 If we understand what Jesus did for us on the cross, if we understand the wrath 508 00:26:06,750 --> 00:26:11,340 that he bore against our sin, then who are we to go back out and to trifle with the 509 00:26:11,340 --> 00:26:12,929 pleasures and sinful things in this world. 510 00:26:18,149 --> 00:26:23,310 So it's good for us to remember how much was born for us and how much 511 00:26:23,310 --> 00:26:28,620 was paid for us when he was delivered over for our trespasses to the cross. 512 00:26:29,820 --> 00:26:33,810 That's what bridges that infinite chasm, and that's the only thing 513 00:26:33,810 --> 00:26:34,890 that bridges the infinite chasm. 514 00:26:36,720 --> 00:26:38,520 Jesus told a parable in Luke chapter seven. 515 00:26:38,520 --> 00:26:40,530 If you've got your Bibles, flip over there real quick with me. 516 00:26:41,760 --> 00:26:42,750 Luke chapter seven. 517 00:26:44,040 --> 00:26:45,150 Just to set the stage here. 518 00:26:45,150 --> 00:26:50,370 Jesus is dining in the house of a Pharisee, one of the, the Jews that would 519 00:26:50,370 --> 00:26:53,250 ultimately, well, I don't know if this one did particularly, but wouldn't be 520 00:26:53,250 --> 00:26:55,950 surprised, deliver him over to Pilate. 521 00:26:58,620 --> 00:27:00,330 In Luke chapter seven, here's what happens. 522 00:27:00,330 --> 00:27:04,110 He, he's there, he's gone into the house and, and here comes a, a woman. 523 00:27:04,110 --> 00:27:06,990 It's described in verse 37, a woman of the city who was a is 524 00:27:06,990 --> 00:27:09,360 sinner, a woman of ill repute. 525 00:27:09,360 --> 00:27:15,300 She comes in and, and she begins to weep at the feet of Jesus. 526 00:27:15,330 --> 00:27:18,899 Verse 38, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the 527 00:27:18,899 --> 00:27:21,870 hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. 528 00:27:22,889 --> 00:27:25,680 Now, the Pharisee, who had invited him saw this and said to himself, 529 00:27:25,680 --> 00:27:26,970 well, if this man were a prophet. 530 00:27:27,524 --> 00:27:30,675 He would've known who and what sort of woman this is, who's 531 00:27:30,675 --> 00:27:32,895 touching him for She is a sinner. 532 00:27:33,915 --> 00:27:39,075 And Jesus answering him said to him, Simon, I have something to say to you. 533 00:27:39,855 --> 00:27:43,514 And he answered, say it, teacher, A certain money lender had two 534 00:27:43,514 --> 00:27:49,065 debtors, one owed 500 denar, and the other 50 when they could not 535 00:27:49,065 --> 00:27:51,645 pay, he canceled the debt of both. 536 00:27:51,735 --> 00:27:55,065 Now, which of them will love him more? 537 00:27:56,040 --> 00:28:00,360 Simon answered the one I suppose for whom he canceled the larger debt, and 538 00:28:00,360 --> 00:28:02,760 he said to him, you have judged rightly. 539 00:28:03,420 --> 00:28:07,110 Then turning toward the woman, he said, Simon, do you see this woman? 540 00:28:07,530 --> 00:28:10,530 I entered your house and you gave me no water for my feet, but she 541 00:28:10,530 --> 00:28:13,410 has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 542 00:28:13,830 --> 00:28:14,850 You gave me no kiss. 543 00:28:14,850 --> 00:28:17,400 But from the time I came in, she has not ceased to kiss my feet. 544 00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:21,600 You didn't anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 545 00:28:21,840 --> 00:28:27,900 Therefore, I tell you her sins, which are many, they are many are forgiven for. 546 00:28:27,900 --> 00:28:30,810 She loved much, but he was forgiven. 547 00:28:30,810 --> 00:28:34,710 Little loves little lest. 548 00:28:34,710 --> 00:28:35,715 We undo what we're talking about here. 549 00:28:36,420 --> 00:28:41,640 It's not her actions that lead to her forgiveness, it's her actions 550 00:28:41,640 --> 00:28:43,590 that reveal her forgiveness. 551 00:28:44,655 --> 00:28:48,585 It is her actions that show how much she loves Jesus because she 552 00:28:48,585 --> 00:28:53,775 was aware of how much she had been forgiven in that parable. 553 00:28:53,775 --> 00:28:59,835 She's the one who had the 500 denary eye debt, overwhelmed by that. 554 00:29:00,195 --> 00:29:05,025 She can't help but fall at the feet of Jesus and wet his feet 555 00:29:05,025 --> 00:29:08,115 and wipe his feet with her hair and kiss his feet and anoint him. 556 00:29:09,135 --> 00:29:13,365 Expressions of love and gratitude and hospitality and compassion. 557 00:29:14,190 --> 00:29:17,430 None of which this Pharisee had done for Jesus though culturally, 558 00:29:17,430 --> 00:29:18,300 he should have done all of it. 559 00:29:20,820 --> 00:29:22,500 So Jesus simply asked the question, 560 00:29:24,600 --> 00:29:26,190 who will love him more? 561 00:29:28,770 --> 00:29:34,200 Church, the question I want us to resonate on tonight is, do you love him much 562 00:29:36,330 --> 00:29:39,245 in light of what he's done, in light of the cross? 563 00:29:41,160 --> 00:29:43,620 Do you love Christ much 564 00:29:47,100 --> 00:29:49,110 Sunday, we're gonna gather and celebrate his resurrection. 565 00:29:50,190 --> 00:29:52,590 The reality is, if he's not risen, none of this matters. 566 00:29:53,280 --> 00:29:54,540 And so we'll talk about that on Sunday. 567 00:29:54,540 --> 00:29:55,950 I hope you'll come back and join us for that. 568 00:29:55,950 --> 00:29:58,020 But tonight I want us to contemplate the cross. 569 00:29:59,640 --> 00:30:01,680 It's more than jewelry or wall art, 570 00:30:05,100 --> 00:30:07,110 what this represents for us. 571 00:30:07,754 --> 00:30:11,774 When we think back to this idea that Jesus was the one who was delivered up 572 00:30:12,104 --> 00:30:18,735 for our trespasses, I want us to spend time tonight contemplating this, thinking 573 00:30:18,735 --> 00:30:22,754 about it and thinking about in its impact and its meaning for our own lives. 574 00:30:23,655 --> 00:30:27,614 We're gonna do that as we transition here to communion, and as I often do 575 00:30:27,614 --> 00:30:31,784 with communion, I, I want to, uh, give our, our warnings and, and, and maybe the 576 00:30:31,784 --> 00:30:34,034 fall fresh tonight in a different way. 577 00:30:34,034 --> 00:30:37,004 And the first is that we need to be aware of a lack of, of conversion. 578 00:30:37,815 --> 00:30:41,085 That what we're doing here is remembering the cross of Christ 579 00:30:41,115 --> 00:30:44,415 and the cross of Christ is only significant if you are in Christ. 580 00:30:45,495 --> 00:30:48,165 And so I, I want to plead with you tonight, if you're in the room and you 581 00:30:48,165 --> 00:30:51,225 would say, I'm not a Christian, that tonight can be the night of salvation. 582 00:30:51,405 --> 00:30:53,985 There is no prerequisite to coming to faith in Jesus. 583 00:30:54,735 --> 00:30:56,955 You don't have to go get your affairs in order at your house. 584 00:30:56,955 --> 00:30:59,145 You don't have to clean yourself up so that you're more holy 585 00:30:59,145 --> 00:31:00,225 next week when you come back. 586 00:31:00,525 --> 00:31:03,855 You don't have to, to jump through hoops or buy a certain type of 587 00:31:03,855 --> 00:31:07,275 Bible or do any of the, tonight can be the night of salvation. 588 00:31:08,655 --> 00:31:11,895 And so don't leave without getting right with the Lord tonight. 589 00:31:13,155 --> 00:31:14,385 The offer is here tonight. 590 00:31:14,655 --> 00:31:16,155 Salvation is free for you. 591 00:31:17,324 --> 00:31:20,774 Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins so that you can be forgiven. 592 00:31:20,834 --> 00:31:22,695 He died for your trespasses. 593 00:31:22,695 --> 00:31:25,574 He was delivered over to the cross for your trespasses tonight. 594 00:31:26,084 --> 00:31:28,725 And there's not a single thing that you've done in your life that's 595 00:31:28,725 --> 00:31:30,254 beyond the scope of his forgiveness. 596 00:31:30,854 --> 00:31:31,784 Not a single thing. 597 00:31:32,534 --> 00:31:36,435 There's nothing that excludes you from coming to faith in Jesus tonight, 598 00:31:36,435 --> 00:31:37,455 that you've done in your past. 599 00:31:38,415 --> 00:31:41,594 And so come and trust in Jesus' death for your sins and his 600 00:31:41,594 --> 00:31:42,810 resurrection for your eternal life. 601 00:31:44,280 --> 00:31:45,990 That's what we're gonna talk about on Sunday, that he didn't 602 00:31:45,990 --> 00:31:47,010 stay dead, but he rose again. 603 00:31:47,010 --> 00:31:48,540 So that one day you will live with him forever. 604 00:31:48,540 --> 00:31:50,520 So communion is for the Christian. 605 00:31:50,520 --> 00:31:53,610 If you are not a Christian, please let these elements pass by parents. 606 00:31:53,610 --> 00:31:56,669 I would ask you help your kids to, to learn and understand that this is 607 00:31:56,669 --> 00:31:58,350 something that is, is for believers. 608 00:31:58,350 --> 00:32:01,500 It's okay if they go home saying, I wish I could have taken communion. 609 00:32:01,500 --> 00:32:02,129 That's a good thing. 610 00:32:02,129 --> 00:32:04,649 They should want to be a part of the body of Christ, and 611 00:32:04,649 --> 00:32:05,820 we desire that for them too. 612 00:32:06,090 --> 00:32:09,479 But tonight it's, it's okay for you to, to pass the elements over them. 613 00:32:11,355 --> 00:32:14,655 The second is thing is beware of a lack of confession. 614 00:32:16,215 --> 00:32:18,495 It's good for you and I to keep short accounts with God. 615 00:32:19,995 --> 00:32:22,755 Remember, as believers, we, we need to be cautious about flirting with sin, 616 00:32:22,755 --> 00:32:25,545 about venturing into that which put him on the cross in the first place. 617 00:32:25,995 --> 00:32:29,115 And so as we take communion and the elements are past here momentarily, 618 00:32:29,265 --> 00:32:33,075 you're gonna have time to clear the slate, so to speak, before the Lord. 619 00:32:34,125 --> 00:32:36,405 To say, Lord, here's the sins that I'm aware of, that I know 620 00:32:36,405 --> 00:32:38,504 that I need to confess, that I need to bring to the light, that I 621 00:32:38,504 --> 00:32:39,795 need to admit that I need to say. 622 00:32:39,795 --> 00:32:40,335 I'm sorry. 623 00:32:40,335 --> 00:32:41,175 Will you forgive me? 624 00:32:42,615 --> 00:32:44,355 And you can lay them at the foot of the cross tonight and 625 00:32:44,355 --> 00:32:45,345 know that they are forgiven. 626 00:32:46,935 --> 00:32:49,004 And then the third thing I would encourage you and warn you with tonight 627 00:32:49,004 --> 00:32:50,535 is beware of a lack of concentration. 628 00:32:52,605 --> 00:32:58,515 We can do this so flippantly that we neglect to feel the weight of what 629 00:32:58,515 --> 00:32:59,685 it is that we're remembering tonight. 630 00:33:01,470 --> 00:33:05,100 And that's kind of the whole point of tonight's message, that we would 631 00:33:05,100 --> 00:33:09,150 contemplate the cross, that we would feel the weight of it, and that we would 632 00:33:09,150 --> 00:33:13,500 rejoice knowing that Jesus was indeed delivered over for our trespasses so 633 00:33:13,500 --> 00:33:17,820 that infinite chasm might be bridged and we might be brought close to God. 634 00:33:19,379 --> 00:33:22,379 So the elements are gonna be passed as the music plays, and then we will come back up 635 00:33:22,379 --> 00:33:28,470 and take them together In some of the more liturgical churches, sometimes you'll see 636 00:33:28,470 --> 00:33:30,449 people make the sign of the, the cross. 637 00:33:31,230 --> 00:33:34,409 It's become more just habitual and rote than anything else today. 638 00:33:34,409 --> 00:33:37,320 And it's not something that you'll see us do a lot around here. 639 00:33:37,320 --> 00:33:40,379 But the reason, and, and what that started as is they always wanted to, 640 00:33:40,379 --> 00:33:43,679 to remind themselves of the of, of the cross, the cross going in front 641 00:33:43,679 --> 00:33:45,270 of them, the cross going before them. 642 00:33:46,860 --> 00:33:48,480 It's a little bit of what we're doing here tonight. 643 00:33:50,400 --> 00:33:53,580 If you wear a cross necklace, I would encourage you every time 644 00:33:53,580 --> 00:33:56,910 you put that on, to think about the significance of what that was, 645 00:33:57,630 --> 00:33:59,790 what that means, why you do that. 646 00:34:00,690 --> 00:34:05,400 If you got cross wall art at home, I want you to think about it. 647 00:34:05,400 --> 00:34:07,890 When you look at the cross, I want you to do your best to remember. 648 00:34:08,070 --> 00:34:09,659 That's what that represents. 649 00:34:11,820 --> 00:34:12,840 Think about the cross. 650 00:34:13,230 --> 00:34:14,370 Remember the cross? 651 00:34:15,360 --> 00:34:17,610 In fact that's, that's what we're doing right now. 652 00:34:18,870 --> 00:34:22,469 There's, there's, you've heard me say this before, if you attend our church there, 653 00:34:22,469 --> 00:34:25,949 there's nothing magical that's taken place in you receiving these elements. 654 00:34:27,690 --> 00:34:30,060 It's, it's still the mats of bread from Kroger and the 655 00:34:30,060 --> 00:34:31,139 grape juice from Kroger too. 656 00:34:32,520 --> 00:34:33,750 Nothing is transformed about it. 657 00:34:34,895 --> 00:34:36,449 Uh, it's, it's not going to, 658 00:34:38,550 --> 00:34:40,469 that's not what Jesus gave it for. 659 00:34:42,210 --> 00:34:44,820 In fact we, we read that and, and this is what it says, and 660 00:34:44,820 --> 00:34:46,139 we'll take it together this way. 661 00:34:46,440 --> 00:34:49,170 Uh, Paul said, I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you. 662 00:34:49,170 --> 00:34:53,550 That the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed, took bread and when 663 00:34:53,550 --> 00:34:57,150 he had given things, he broke it and said, this is my body, which is for you. 664 00:34:57,540 --> 00:34:59,700 Do this in remembrance of me. 665 00:35:00,690 --> 00:35:03,570 And so in remembrance of the cross and remembrance of the broken body of 666 00:35:03,570 --> 00:35:05,040 Christ, let's take and eat together. 667 00:35:16,005 --> 00:35:16,545 In the same way. 668 00:35:16,545 --> 00:35:21,225 Also, he took the cup after supper saying, this cup is the new covenant in my blood. 669 00:35:21,645 --> 00:35:24,825 Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. 670 00:35:25,125 --> 00:35:26,415 Let's drink in remembrance of him. 671 00:35:34,154 --> 00:35:38,084 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim 672 00:35:38,084 --> 00:35:40,544 the Lord's death until he comes. 673 00:35:41,564 --> 00:35:45,075 You remember the cross until he comes back. 674 00:35:47,174 --> 00:35:50,774 On your way out this evening, I, I'd love for you to, to stop by those 675 00:35:50,865 --> 00:35:53,564 three white baskets on the back table there if, if you'd like to, 676 00:35:54,435 --> 00:35:56,145 and inside the basket is a stamp. 677 00:35:57,165 --> 00:35:58,004 It's just a normal stamp. 678 00:35:58,440 --> 00:35:59,640 It's got the American flag on it. 679 00:35:59,640 --> 00:36:00,750 Don't read too much into that. 680 00:36:00,750 --> 00:36:02,549 This is just the stamps that we're able to find. 681 00:36:04,529 --> 00:36:08,430 But if you wanna take this stamp as just a, a, a token to remember 682 00:36:08,819 --> 00:36:10,830 the idea of being delivered over. 683 00:36:11,970 --> 00:36:13,410 'cause you put a stamp on a letter to do what? 684 00:36:13,920 --> 00:36:14,940 Deliver the letter, right? 685 00:36:16,080 --> 00:36:18,810 So maybe you can take a stamp, you can slip it in your notes, you can slip 686 00:36:18,810 --> 00:36:22,290 it in your Bible and just have that as that reminder to you again, that Jesus 687 00:36:22,290 --> 00:36:24,779 was delivered over for your trespasses. 688 00:36:25,920 --> 00:36:27,359 Lemme pray for us and then we'll be done. 689 00:36:31,110 --> 00:36:35,070 Lord God, we thank you so much for this glorious reality that we've just 690 00:36:35,130 --> 00:36:41,070 studied and talked about and unpacked tonight that you indeed did deliver Jesus 691 00:36:41,070 --> 00:36:43,710 over for us that we might be forgiven. 692 00:36:44,535 --> 00:36:47,895 Well, not because we inherently are, are worthy of it. 693 00:36:47,895 --> 00:36:49,485 In fact, it's quite the opposite. 694 00:36:49,485 --> 00:36:51,435 Your word tells us that we are depraved. 695 00:36:51,435 --> 00:36:54,615 Your word tells us that we are not worthy, but that's what 696 00:36:54,615 --> 00:36:56,265 makes grace, grace, and mercy. 697 00:36:56,265 --> 00:37:01,755 Mercy, and we are so amazingly overwhelmed and thankful for that. 698 00:37:02,415 --> 00:37:03,375 Lord, do you love us? 699 00:37:03,585 --> 00:37:04,425 You've saved us. 700 00:37:04,425 --> 00:37:05,265 You've redeemed us. 701 00:37:05,265 --> 00:37:10,365 You've given us your spirit now to live in a, a life faithful and obedient to you, 702 00:37:10,365 --> 00:37:12,165 even as we go forward from this place. 703 00:37:12,165 --> 00:37:15,645 And so I pray that we would reflect on the cross and set ourselves even the 704 00:37:15,645 --> 00:37:19,215 rest of this evening to think about these things and to live in a way that 705 00:37:19,215 --> 00:37:23,355 would please and honor you as the one who has done so much on our behalf. 706 00:37:24,000 --> 00:37:25,080 So we thank you for Jesus. 707 00:37:25,080 --> 00:37:26,250 We thank you for salvation. 708 00:37:26,250 --> 00:37:28,290 We praise you for all this in Jesus name. 709 00:37:28,860 --> 00:37:29,370 Amen.