"The Death of Jesus"
THE DEATH OF JESUS
Tonight, Wednesday, June 3, at 7:00 p.m., join your Calvary Chapel family for coffee at 6:00 p.m., followed by the service at 7:00 p.m. in the Holy Ground Café or online via our website (www.calvaryinv.com
Facebook, and YouTube (Calvary Inverness). We will continue our journey through the New Testament in the Gospel of Matthew (27:1-66).
Death. The very thought can send shivers down the spine. Always present in the back of the mind, it is thrust to the forefront of our minds and hearts like a thermonuclear warhead when one dies, through the normal seasons of life.
Jesus had come from Heaven, knowing when, why, and how He would die. It cast a lingering shadow over His ministry. He didn’t shy away from it or dread it. He knew what had to be done. And, in His infinite love for His disciples, He would sit them down and explain what was coming. To His credit, He told them only what they could handle.
Nowhere in the four Gospel accounts of Jesus’ life can one find a gruesome, gory account of His death—the why and when are vastly more important than the how. Therefore, whenever Jesus spoke of His death, He would always add that He would rise again, which is something else of the utmost importance for one to know.
The Apostle Paul explained it best when he wrote to the Romans, “He was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised up because of justification” (Romans 4:25). In other words, Jesus’ death is only part of God’s plan. As the spotless Lamb of God, Jesus shed His blood and died on a cross to pay the penalty for our sins.
And when He came out from among the dead to never die again, it was through His resurrection that one is justified before God the Father as if one had never sinned. Paul, in another letter to the Corinthians, writes, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; behold, all things become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
What is hardest for one to reconcile in their mind when presented with Jesus’ death, even when they believe He was raised from the dead, is why He would willingly offer Himself as a sacrifice. To the one who is born again, the thought of what He has done fills the mind and heart with eternal gratitude, much like the blind man who, when questioned about how he received his sight upon encountering Jesus, replied, “One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see” (John 9:25).
It was God’s infinite and unconditional love for sinful man that sent His only begotten Son as a substitute to take their place. On the night Judas would betray Him, Jesus told His disciples, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” The Apostle Paul then explains when Jesus first began to love His friends. “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
As one goes through the sixty-six verses of chapter twenty-seven, it is good and proper to mourn and grieve over what was done to Jesus. Recognize that He did it for you, even though you or anyone else was not deserving of it. But understand that God’s love and plan for your life doesn’t end with the chapter. There is another chapter in the Gospel of Matthew’s account. Jesus was raised to life!
I’m excited to continue this journey with you through the twenty-seven books of the New Testament, trusting that none of us will remain unchanged as we grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Please pray for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the entire Calvary Chapel family.
In His Strong Love,
Pastor
Tonight, Wednesday, June 3, at 7:00 p.m., join your Calvary Chapel family for coffee at 6:00 p.m., followed by the service at 7:00 p.m. in the Holy Ground Café or online via our website (www.calvaryinv.com
Death. The very thought can send shivers down the spine. Always present in the back of the mind, it is thrust to the forefront of our minds and hearts like a thermonuclear warhead when one dies, through the normal seasons of life.
Jesus had come from Heaven, knowing when, why, and how He would die. It cast a lingering shadow over His ministry. He didn’t shy away from it or dread it. He knew what had to be done. And, in His infinite love for His disciples, He would sit them down and explain what was coming. To His credit, He told them only what they could handle.
Nowhere in the four Gospel accounts of Jesus’ life can one find a gruesome, gory account of His death—the why and when are vastly more important than the how. Therefore, whenever Jesus spoke of His death, He would always add that He would rise again, which is something else of the utmost importance for one to know.
The Apostle Paul explained it best when he wrote to the Romans, “He was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised up because of justification” (Romans 4:25). In other words, Jesus’ death is only part of God’s plan. As the spotless Lamb of God, Jesus shed His blood and died on a cross to pay the penalty for our sins.
And when He came out from among the dead to never die again, it was through His resurrection that one is justified before God the Father as if one had never sinned. Paul, in another letter to the Corinthians, writes, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; behold, all things become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
What is hardest for one to reconcile in their mind when presented with Jesus’ death, even when they believe He was raised from the dead, is why He would willingly offer Himself as a sacrifice. To the one who is born again, the thought of what He has done fills the mind and heart with eternal gratitude, much like the blind man who, when questioned about how he received his sight upon encountering Jesus, replied, “One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see” (John 9:25).
It was God’s infinite and unconditional love for sinful man that sent His only begotten Son as a substitute to take their place. On the night Judas would betray Him, Jesus told His disciples, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” The Apostle Paul then explains when Jesus first began to love His friends. “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
As one goes through the sixty-six verses of chapter twenty-seven, it is good and proper to mourn and grieve over what was done to Jesus. Recognize that He did it for you, even though you or anyone else was not deserving of it. But understand that God’s love and plan for your life doesn’t end with the chapter. There is another chapter in the Gospel of Matthew’s account. Jesus was raised to life!
I’m excited to continue this journey with you through the twenty-seven books of the New Testament, trusting that none of us will remain unchanged as we grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Please pray for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the entire Calvary Chapel family.
In His Strong Love,
Pastor
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