To Seek And To Save

Why The Cross?

Luke 23.13-26

 ["There is a great difference between your religion and mine," said a Christian to his neighbor.

"Indeed!" was the reply. "What is that?"

"It is this: Yours has only two letters in it, while mine has four."

"What do you mean?" said he.

"Well, yours has 'DO'. Mine has 'DONE.'"]

A.  The Necessity of the Cross (vs 18,21,23; Rom 3.21-27; John 10.17-18; 19.10-11) [- The Necessity of The Cross.  The principle of the cross.] 

• [Hear The Voices of This Blood Thirsty crowd!] 

[Luke 23:18 And they cried out all at once, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas: ] 

[Luke 23:21 But they cried, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. ] 

[Luke 23:23 And they were instant with loud voices, requiring that he might be crucified. And the voices of them and of the chief priests prevailed. ] 

• [Hear The Voice Of The Innocent Victim Of Sin!]

[John 10:17-18 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. 18No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. ] 

[John 19:10-11 Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee? 11Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin. ] 

• [Jesus Laid His life down for you and I.  He died that we might live!  The question is, why did Jesus have to die on that cross?]

[Romans 3:21-27 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; 22Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: 23For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 26To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. 27Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. ] 

The Cross Was Necessary Because Of: 

1.   The Sinfulness of Man (Rom 3.23; 6.23; Gen 2.16-17; Ezek 18.20; Jer 17.9; Rom 6.23; Gen 2.16-17; Ezek 18.20; Rev 20.14-15) [- Mankind's need.] 

[a.  Humans beings are sinful] 

[Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; ] 

[God has declared that the heart is desperately wicked and needs to be transformed.] 

[Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? ] 

[The Sinfulness Of Mankind is demonstrated in this passage through:] 

[1.  The False Accusations Of The Jews (vs 2,5) 

[Luke 23:2 ² And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ a King. ]

[Luke 23:5 ⁵ And they were the more fierce, saying, He stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all Jewry, beginning from Galilee to this place. ]

[2. The False Conviction Of Pilate (vs 4,14-15, 24) 

[Luke 23:4 ⁴ Then said Pilate to the chief priests and to the people, I find no fault in this man. ]

[Luke 23:14-15 ¹⁴ Said unto them, Ye have brought this man unto me, as one that perverteth the people: and, behold, I, having examined him before you, have found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse him: ¹⁵ No, nor yet Herod: for I sent you to him; and, lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto him.]

[Luke 23:24 ²⁴ And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required.]

[3. The False Demands Of The Blood Thirsty Crowd (vs 21,23) 

[Luke 23:21 ²¹ But they cried, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. ]

[Luke 23:23 ²³ And they were instant with loud voices, requiring that he might be crucified. And the voices of them and of the chief priests prevailed. ]

[b.  The Cost of Sin - There is an eternally declared cost for sin.] 

[1)  The Cost of a single sin.] 

[Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. ] 

[2)  The absolute guarantee of such payment.] 

[Genesis 2:16-17 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. ] 

[Ezekiel 18:20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. ] 

[3)  The eternal nature of this death - The second death, an eternity in torment.] 

[Rev. 20:14-15 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. ]

[Those who are born once must die twice, those who are born twice will only dies once.] 

2.   The Sinlessness of God (Rom 6.24-26; Hab 1.13; 1 Pet 1.15-16; Psalm 89.14) - [God's Character] 

[Romans 3:24-26 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 26To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. ] 

[a.  God is Holy - In His holiness God can not just look over sin.  That would have made Him less than holy.] 

[Habakkuk 1:13 Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: . . .  ] 

[1)  God is holy and calls you to be holy as well.] 

[1 Peter 1:15-16 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; 16Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. ] 

[b.  God is Just - In His justice God can not just look over sin, that would have made Him less than just.] 

[Psalm 89:14 Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face. ] 

[1)  In His holiness and Justice God must require that the penalty of sin be paid.  Somebody must pay the price required!  God cannot just overlook sin and still be holy and just.] 

3.   The Singleness of God (Rom 3.24; 5.19; 2 Pet 3.9; 1 John 3.5) [- God's compassion and purpose.] 

[a.  God's purpose is that you might be Justified (Rom 3.24)] 

[Romans 3:24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: ] 

[1)  In justification you are declared righteous, even though you do not deserve it.] 

[Romans 5:19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. ] 

[2)  You are Justified Freely - It is a free gift.] 

[Romans 6:23 . . . but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. ] 

[3)  A gift is not personal until it is appropriated - You must take the gift.] 

[b.  God's single purpose in the cross is that you might be saved.] 

[2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. ] 

[1 John 3:5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. ] 

4.   The Satisfaction of God (Rom 3.25; 1 John 3.4-5; 4.9-10) [- Vicarious Atonement, Substitutionary Atonement.] 

[Romans 3:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; ] 

[a.  The Propitiation] 

[1)  Propitiation - hilasterion hil-as-tay'-ree-on (gk) - The word satisfaction is often used to define this word.] 

[a)  Relating to an appeasing or expiating, having placating or expiating force, expiatory; a means of appeasing or expiating, a propitiation.  To expiate is to bring to an end.] 

[b) Illustrate: The difference between propitiation and expiation is not always easy to understand, even though we all experience it.] 

[Consider the case of a certain factory worker who was seriously injured on the job. After the doctors had done all they could, he was still left partially paralyzed. An investigation revealed that the company was at fault because it did not provide a safe workplace or the proper safety equipment for its employees.] 

[Thus, it was liable for the dangerous conditions that resulted in this man's injury and permanent paralysis. And the court will probably award the injured man a great sum of money for his pain, suffering, and permanent injury.] 

[But once the company pays the judgment against it, it has expiated its wrongdoings. The demands of justice have been satisfied. The company no longer has any responsibility toward the injured man. That is expiation.] 

[But we have not dealt with how the injured man feels toward the company. He may be filled with resentment, bitterness, even hatred. He may spend the rest of his life abhorring the name of that company, even though it has been directed to give him all the money he could possibly use.] 

[The debt that the wrong incurred has been expiated or paid for, but the wrath that the wrong incurred has not been propitiated.] 

[When Christ died, he not only paid the debt for our sins but reconciled us to God by satisfying the Father's wrath. He was both an expiation (The Legal Cost)  and a propitiation (The Emotional Cost) for our sins.] 

[b.  The Substitution] 

[1)  Jesus, in willingly and sinlessly giving himself on Calvary's Cross to pay the penalty you and I owed took away our sins.] 

[1 John 3:4-5 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. 5And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. ] 

[2)  Someone must pay the penalty for your sins.  Jesus died on the cross to do that for you.] 

[1 John 4:9-10 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 10Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation [satisfaction]  for our sins. ] 

["Jesus hung himself on Calvary's Cross in order to pay the penalty you owed for you sin."] 

["Jesus took your place and died for you!"] 

[c.  The Appropriation.] 

[1)  It is an horrible tragedy for any lost man, woman, or child to spend an eternity in the torments of hell, when Christ has all ready suffered in their place.] 

[2)  Multitudes die daily, and must pay for their own sins, because they have never appropriated the gift of God for themselves.] 

[John 8:21 Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come. ] 

[John 8:24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins. ] 

[3)  All you must do in order to be justified by the Blood of Christ is accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior.] 

[Romans 10:9-10 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. ] 

[Rev. 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. ] 

[In Dickens' novel A Tale of Two Cities, a young French aristocrat was condemned to die by the guillotine during the bloody French Revolution. His punishment was based solely on his forefathers' crimes against the peasantry. The hour before his execution he was visited by a young English friend who could have passed for his twin.

            After the guard had left, the friend overpowered the doomed man with an anesthetic and exchanged clothes with him. Then, pretending to be the one condemned to die, he called the jailer and asked that his unconscious "visitor," supposedly overcome with grief, be removed and returned to his home. The nobleman was thus saved from death.

            On his way to the guillotine, the young Englishman spoke these final words: "It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done...." And he comforted himself with these words: "I am the Resurrection and the Life, he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live." (John 11:25)] 

CrossRoads Baptist Church, Mar 09, 2008