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Free Will Baptist Church
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Ironton, Ohio 45638

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Journey to the Cross

Wednesday Evening, March 21, 2007

Bob Bradley

_________________________ 

Psalm 23

 

Pss 23:1  A Psalm of David. The LORD [is] my shepherd; I shall not want.

Pss 23:2  He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

Pss 23:3  He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Pss 23:4  Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou [art] with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Pss 23:5  Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Pss 23:6  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

 

As we continue with our study down through the past week, we have been looking at some events that took place on Friday.  We know as we understand things, they put Jesus on the cross about nine o'clock in the morning and He died about three o'clock in the afternoon.  The events that we read this week have to do with “Good Friday.”  It was named many years and probably came from Rome, the “Holy Day” or “Holiday” of Good Friday. 

 

Why do we call that good?  What is good about it? 

 

It surely is not good all the suffering that our Savior went through as far as the suffering in itself.  It is great that the suffering that He endured allows us to have salvation today. 

 

Had He not done that, we would be lost tonight.  We would be on our way to a lake of fire.  We would have no hope whatsoever of ever escaping a lake of fire.  We are blessed.  If we could really understand what took place on Friday, then we could have a better understanding of what took place on Sunday. 

 

We want to talk about Sunday and the Resurrection.  That is fine, but if He had not died there would be no Resurrection.  The atoning came in His blood.  What we needed came on the cross when He died.  He proves that He is alive and because He is alive, we can live.  Let us not forget the magnitude of Friday when He died because what took place on that day--had it not took place on that day then all the events after that would not matter.  It took His blood shed on the cross, on that day that we might be able to be saved. 

 

I hope you understand that Jesus Christ is fulfilling Passover.  Many times, we do not see that.  Passover was the feast that the Jewish people celebrated every year to give thanks and praise for when the death angel passed over them when they were in the land of Egypt.  The instruction from God was to take a lamb, kill it, take the blood and put it on the doorposts then when the death angel comes through the land and he sees the blood, he will pass over you. 

 

This Passover, festival, holiday, has gone on for centuries.  They still yet observe it today. 

 

Jesus Christ here is dying on Passover.  He is dying as the Passover lamb.  Just as they killed a lamb in Egypt, took the blood, and it was because of the blood that people were saved from death.  Jesus Christ is our Passover lamb.  He is the One that died and because He shed His blood, we can live.

 

I hope everybody understands that.  These things all make sense.  When you look at Passover, when you look at the feast of first fruits, when you look at Pentecost, when you look at the feast of Tabernacles and all these things it all fits together.  Jesus Christ fulfilled them all.

 

We are talking about Good Friday; the day that He is going to die. 

 

Day 23 - Civil Suit: Jesus before Herod

Luke 23:8-12

 

Lk 23:8  And when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad: for he was desirous to see him of a long [season,] because he had heard many things of him; and he hoped to have seen some miracle done by him.

Lk 23:9  Then he questioned with him in many words; but he answered him nothing.

Lk 23:10  And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused him.

Lk 23:11  And Herod with his men of war set him at nought, and mocked [him,] and arrayed him in a gorgeous robe, and sent him again to Pilate.

Lk 23:12  And the same day Pilate and Herod were made friends together: for before they were at enmity between themselves.

 

Herod is talking.  As we have talked the chief priest, scribes, elders; those of the Sanhedrin that were in the governing religious counsel of Israel had their trial at night.  They had switched Jesus back and forth.  They condemned Him and said that He had spoke blasphemy.  They said that He is guilty of death. 

 

The Sanhedrin did not have the authority to put one to death.  Therefore, they had to go the Romans or to Pilate who was the Roman governor of Judea.  Herod is the governor of Galilee.  They had to go to Pilate to convince Pilate that Jesus had done something worthy of death.  The next morning after it gets daylight they bring Jesus to Pilate.

 

As we read in Matthew 27 last week, when Judas saw what he had done, he throws down the money and says that he has betrayed innocent blood. 

 

They took Jesus to Pilate.  They said that He was worthy of death.  Pilate examines Him.  He questions Jesus.  He listens to what people have to say about Jesus.  When he understands that He is from Galilee then Pilate thinks, “Here is a way for me to get out.  Here is a way for me not to do what I need to do here.  Here is a way for me to pass the buck on to Herod because Herod was also in town.” 

 

Herod and Pilate were there to keep order in and around Jerusalem because of the masses of people that were there.  Therefore, when he heard the word Galilee, Pilate automatically said, “Hey, I can get out of this mess that I am in.  Since He is from Galilee, Herod is the governor of Galilee.  I will send Him to Herod and Herod can make the determination of what he is going to do with Him so I will not have to mess with Him.” 

 

This is where Herod comes in.  This is the reason that Jesus is sent from Pilate to Herod.  They took Jesus to Herod and this pleased Herod.  Herod wanted to see Jesus do some kind of miracles. 

 

This same Herod killed John the Baptist.  He was having this big birthday party, this girl came out, and done a strip dance for him.  He got all tore up about it and he said half my kingdom, I will give it to you just ask what you want. 

 

She said, “I want the head of John the Baptist on a charger.”  Therefore, he sent and killed John the Baptist and brought his head on a plate and gave it to her.  This is the same Herod. 

 

When Jesus gets here, Herod asks some things, but Jesus did not say a thing to him.  After some things took place, they sent Him back to Pilate. 

 

As you read in our little book, they had some tremendous thoughts in some of these things. 

 

Many times in life and even in our Christian life we do not want to take responsibility for our actions.  Many times we want to blame someone else, or we want to blame someone else for our lot in life; we just don't want to stand up for what is right. 

 

Here Pilate and Herod are---Pilate knows that He is not guilty and has done nothing worthy of death--but here is the thing that I want you to know about Pilate.  He was so scared of losing his position, his governorship so for that reason Pilate is going to do what he is going to do.  He caves into pressure.  When Pilate questions Him and does all that they do, Pilate says, “Hey.  I can't find fault in this guy.”  The multitude is there and they are saying, “...then you are not a friend of Caesar.”  That really stuck home with Pilate.  Pilate was thinking, “If word gets back to Caesar that I am befriending another king and it is not Caesar, I could lose my job or be killed myself.”  Pilate caves into pressure. 

 

The longer that we live on planet earth and the closer that we get to the rapture; the more pressure that is going to be on us as Christian people to stand for what is truth.  There are going to be more and more people that may belong to churches, and/or be religious, who are going to be trying to place pressure upon us to make us conform to what they are doing. 

 

Do not ever do that. 

 

I've never been in a church before where that I have been scrutinized so much--not by you folks, not by people at Campbell Chapel--but by people that go to other churches around here. 

 

I have pastored churches for the last thirty years.  I have never been watched, scrutinized, and plots laid against me; all because of jealousy.  

 

There is nowhere to cave in.  We have the Truth.  We have the Holy Word of God.  We have the Spirit of God; we have Him in our presence.  He is leading the way.  Why would we want to compromise?  We do not have anything to go back to. 

 

The disciples--Jesus was doing some teaching one day, He made some statements, and the majority of His crowd left.  He turned and looked at the disciples and said, “Are you guys going to leave too?”  Peter said, “Lord, where are we going to go to seeing you have the Word of eternal life.” 

 

Do not ever cave in to the pressure of other church people.  I love God's people whether they belong to Baptist, Methodist, Catholic, Holy Roller; I do not care what they belong to, if they are saved, then they are God's people and I love them.  There are many Baptist people that are not going to make it to heaven.  There are many people that belong to a lot of different churches that are not going to make it because SAVED PEOPLE ARE GOING TO HEAVEN AND LOST PEOPLE ARE GOING TO HELL.  It is about being saved and on our way to heaven.  That is what is important. 

 

I was working with a man many years ago and he had a problem with that because he was watching some folks that went to church every Sunday, but they would come to work and live like the devil all week.  This old boy kept talking to me.  “Bob, I would get saved if people would just straighten up and live right.”  I said, “You can't worry about what these folks are doing.  If you are going to watch somebody, look at Jesus Christ.  Don't watch these people that are living immoral lives.”  It was not too long after that when he got saved and we took him to a big creek and baptized him there. 

 

We need to remember that people are going to try to convince us to cave in, to quit, to compromise but we cannot do that.  We have to stand for what is right.

 

Day 24 - Verdict: Pilate Delivers Jesus

Matthew 27:11-26

 

Mt 27:11  And Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, Thou sayest.

Mt 27:12  And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing.

Mt 27:13  Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee?

Mt 27:14  And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly.

Mt 27:15  Now at [that] feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom they would.

Mt 27:16  And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas.

Mt 27:17  Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ?

Mt 27:18  For he knew that for envy they had delivered him.

Mt 27:19  When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him.

Mt 27:20  But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus.

Mt 27:21  The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas.

Mt 27:22  Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? [They] all say unto him, Let him be crucified.

Mt 27:23  And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified.

Mt 27:24  When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but [that] rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed [his] hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye [to it.]

Mt 27:25  Then answered all the people, and said, His blood [be] on us, and on our children.

Mt 27:26  Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered [him] to be crucified.

 

Here is Pilate's verdict.  He has gone from Pilate to Herod and now He is back to Pilate.  Here Pilate is and he knows that Jesus is not guilty.  He knows that Jesus has done nothing worthy of death.  However, because of the pressure of the crowd, and the pressure of the Jewish Supreme Court of the Sanhedrin, Pilate caves in.  He gives the verdict.  He is going to give in.  He says, “Whatever you want to do with Him, then you just go ahead and do it.” 

 

When you and I cave in, then we are going the wrong direction.  You start down a path that if you do not change quick it is going to start snowballing.  

 

You can take a little snowball and start it rolling down a hill.  It will just barely move as it begins, but the further it rolls, the faster it gets, and the bigger it gets. 

 

When we start compromising, we will continue to compromise then we get in bad shape.

 

Sometimes, especially for young Christian people; it is hard to take a stand.  I know that we get scared sometimes.  I know that we are afraid sometimes.  As I read to you out of Psalm 23, in verse 4 it says:

 

Pss 23:4  Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou [art] with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

 

We do not stay there.  When we are in trouble, we do not stay there.  We walk “through” it.  We are going through it.  Christian people are on a mission and we are traveling.  When I compromise, then my travel stops.  My progress stops as a Christian person.  We have no reason to stop.  It says, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the 'shadow of death'...”  He does not say death; he just says that it is a shadow.

 

(Holding hand out to show a shadow on shirt...)  Can you see that shadow on my shirt?  Can that shadow hurt you?  That shadow cannot do a thing to you.  That shadow may scare you. 

 

Several times, we had to walk everywhere.  On clear nights, you could see your shadow and you could get scared.  A shadow could not hurt you.  It may scare you.  It may terrify you.  It may cause you to be startled, but a shadow cannot hurt you. 

 

Even though we are walking, just walking through this valley, that is all we are doing.  Christian people, we are on a mission.  We are moving.  We do not stop.  We are on our way.  It is just a shadow.  We do not need to let just a shadow scare us or make us compromise. 

 

He says, “...for thou art with me...”  We are walking through the valley of the shadow of death, but he says her something else.  He says, “I know that you are with me.”  We do not have anything to be afraid of at all.  

 

Even though life brings all kinds of trials, troubles and problems, we do not have anything to be afraid of because Jesus is with us.  Pilate wanted to release Jesus but because of the pressure of the people, He did not do that. 

 

Day 25 - The Flogging

Mark 15:15; Matthew 27:26; and John 19:1

 

Mk 15:15  And [so] Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged [him,] to be crucified.

 

Mt 27:26  Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered [him] to be crucified.

 

Jn 19:1  Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged [him.]

 

When the pressure came, Pilate washed his hands and said, “You guys can do with Him what you want to do with Him. I find no fault in this guy.”  They said, “Let His blood be upon us and upon our children.” 

 

I do not think that they ever really understood the magnitude of what they said that day, because of how they have been persecuted for the last 2000 years.  Not only were they guilty, but we were too.  However, they went through some terrible times. 

 

Pilate when he understood that he was not going to be able to satisfy the people, he said, “You take Him and you crucify Him then.”  The Bible says, “...when they had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.” 

 

The sentence has already been given.  He has already been sentenced to death by crucifixion.  The first thing they usually done with a criminal is that they would strip him to his waist and take him out, tie him to a pole with his hands tied up on a pole above him.  Then they would take a whip and tie bone, glass, or metal objects to the ends of the whip.  Usually the whip had more than one strand of leather.  They would hit with the whip, and the leather would wrap around the body.  Then they would jerk the whip back and the bone or glass that was on the ends of the leather would just tear big hunks of flesh off. 

 

When we read about scourging, we do not see the awful beating that He took.  Not only did they beat Him with their fists, or the reed that they had when they were mocking Him, but they also scourged Him too.  Many times people would die from the scourging alone.   It was a horrible thing. 

 

We see little pictures of Jesus hanging on a cross with a crown of thorns on His head and a few drops of blood running down His face, but He did not look like that at all.  I hope that you can picture in your mind someone whose eyes were swelled shut, blood running out of His nose and ears, and His upper torso was like raw meat because of the beating.  I know that is a gruesome story, but that should have been you there and that should have been me there.  What He is going though, He is taking the penalty, paying the price that I owed and you owed.  He did not owe that.

 

Day 26 - Crown of Thorns

Matthew 27:27-36

 

Mt 27:27  Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band [of soldiers.]

Mt 27:28  And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe.

Mt 27:29  And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put [it] upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!

Mt 27:30  And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head.

Mt 27:31  And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify [him.]

Mt 27:32  And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross.

Mt 27:33  And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull,

Mt 27:34  They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted [thereof,] he would not drink.

Mt 27:35  And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.

Mt 27:36  And sitting down they watched him there;

 

Here He is beat to a pulp.  From His waist up, there is not a spot on Him that is not bleeding and it probably looked like raw hamburger meat.  When they did that, they get a piece of purple cloth and they throw it on Him then they take the crown that they wove from thorns and put it on His head.  I could just imagine the pain of those thorns sticking in His head.   Here He is with an old purple rag laying on Him and they took a reed, put it in His hand, and put the crown of thorns upon His head.  Then they began to mock Him. 

 

Do you like to be mocked?   You would not have liked it anytime.  They are making fun of Him.  This was a horrible sight.

 

They took Him away from the crowd so that the crowd could not see what they were doing to Him and they beat, slapped and spit upon Him.  They were having just a big time.  They did not think too much about it.

 

There is going to come a day that Jesus Christ is going to come in the clouds.  I am not talking about the rapture.  I am talking about at the end of tribulation when He comes and reveals Himself unto this world.  The Bible says that every eye shall see Him, even those that pierced Him.  That means those that nailed nails in His hands, and those that stuck the spear in His side; they are going to see Him again one day. 

 

I hope it sinks down in our minds.  People may never surrender their life to Jesus Christ today.  They may mock Jesus.  They may make fun of Christianity.  I hope that people understand that life on planet earth is not all that there is.  Life on planet earth is just very short and when life on planet earth ends then there is going to be a day that you are going to be standing before this same Jesus that was crucified 2000 years ago; you are going to see Him. 

 

These people were mocking Him, making fun of Him and they were thinking that this is not a king.  They are going to bow one day.

 

The Bible says that every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.  These same guys, even though they have been dead 2000 years, these same individuals that did these things, mocking, and drove the nails in Him; the same ones that mocked Him and made fun of Him on this day will one day stand before Him and will have to proclaim that He is Lord.  They will do that.  However, it will not be for the saving of their soul; no.  It will not do them any good as far as salvation goes, but it will bring glory to God.  They will recognize one day that Jesus is Lord.  The rest of that verse says “...to the glory of God the Father.” 

 

Even though these guys have been gone 2000 years, there is going to be a day that they are going to stand before the Lord Jesus Christ. 

 

You do not get away.

 

Day 27 - Simon Carries Jesus' Cross

Mark 15:17-22

 

  Mk 15:17  And they clothed him with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about his [head,]

Mk 15:18  And began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews!

Mk 15:19  And they smote him on the head with a reed, and did spit upon him, and bowing [their] knees worshipped him.

Mk 15:20  And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him, and put his own clothes on him, and led him out to crucify him.

Mk 15:21  And they compel one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross.

Mk 15:22  And they bring him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, The place of a skull.

 

As Jesus is carrying the cross, the exhaustion, the weight of the cross, and everything that He has already went through; He just cannot carry it any farther.  A man named Simon, who has just come here to worship, sees what is going on.  The soldiers come over to him and say, “You are going to have to carry the cross for this guy.”  I do not know whether you think much about what happened here or not, but Simon carried the very cross where our Savior was crucified.  There is a wonderful lesson in that.  There are times that we all need help.  Jesus needed someone to help Him carry His cross, and that was Simon.

 

Day 28 - Jesus and the Weeping Women

Luke 23:26-31

 

Lk 23:26  And as they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the country, and on him they laid the cross, that he might bear [it] after Jesus.

Lk 23:27  And there followed him a great company of people, and of women, which also bewailed and lamented him.

Lk 23:28  But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.

Lk 23:29  For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed [are] the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck.

Lk 23:30  Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us.

Lk 23:31  For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?

 

Even though Jesus was in excruciating pain, He sees the women are weeping.  They love Jesus very much.  He sees them and says, “...weep not for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.”

 

Many times, we think that there is no one going through trials, and situations but me.  When we get sick or going through a trial in life, many times we think that there is not anybody that has problems but me.  Many folks have problems too.  We can show what kind of people we are when we can look beyond the problems that we have and see the needs of others while going through a tremendous trial ourselves.

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