Settling The Score
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Intro
What is the Good New of Jesus? Most simply - Jesus died for my sins. Memorize those five words and you have the message of Jesus’ life.
The Gospel is simple. Sometimes we overcomplicate it. But we can oversimplify it too. “Jesus died for my sins” is true, and a needed starting point, I want to spend some time this morning exploring the fuller message of the gospel. Not only the how and why of salvation, but the what.
And when we see better the what Jesus did, we can better understand how our relationship with God can be more full and blessed.
Pray
33 And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 35 And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.” 36 And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” 37 And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. 38 And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39 And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” 40 There were also women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. 41 When he was in Galilee, they followed him and ministered to him, and there were also many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem.
Jesus died for my sin. Because we rebel from God’s perfect plan, from His authority, from our rightful role of worshiping Him alone and bearing His image in His creation. Because we fall short of that, we have incurred a debt of guilt before God. Jesus’ death paid our penalty, offered atonement for our unrighteousness that we might be righteous again before God.
Jesus settled our score. There are two ways that score is settled in this passage. Let’s explore!
The Score of Separation.
The Score of Separation.
Separation was part of God’s original design.
1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. 6 And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7 And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. 8 And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day. 9 And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
In Creation, God separated for Himself what is good. Light from Dark, Heavenly and Earthly, Land from the chaotic seas. God always exists in the good. These first three days are the establishment of the created physical world. The next three days are filling that world with life. When God make man on the sixth day, He set us on His side of that good creation.
But we have chosen to rebel, to choose the darkness rather than light. Valued our realm over God’s realm. Chose chaos rather than God’s order. Sin is more than just guilt, it’s being opposed to God’s order and design for the universe. The solution is more than just settling a debt, but also involves addressing those cosmic riffs in God’s creation.
This is our sin.
The death of Jesus exemplifies this separation, and also shows how it is solved.
Darkness and light (V. 33)
Darkness where it ought not be - middle of the afternoon.
This is undoing the good order of creation. “And God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night.” Gen 1:4-5.
As Jesus stood in for our punishment, that order of God was perverted. This not only reveals the magnitude of our rebellion, but also lays it at Jesus’ feet.
Separation of the Son (V. 34 and V. 38)
The second element of God’s ordered creation in Genesis is separating the realms of Heaven from the earthly.
The spiritual real is different from the physical realm. But God always intended there to be a communion between Himself and the physical. He walked in the garden with Adam.
Jesus lived His entire life as that one example among men who was able to exist in both realms.
But our sin breaks that connection. So Jesus’ suffering was to endure that separation - ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’
He was separated as son that we might be reunited as heirs. Adopted in because Jesus suffered our shame.
Separation in Death (V. 37)
The third day of creation involves this separation of dry land from the waters. Those waters are ‘un-creation’ or chaos, or death.
Land was food and shelter and home.
There is a lot of imagery here about the waters. Without getting into all the details, let me say that our sin exiles us from living and into the realm or at least control of that chaotic un-creation. Out side of God’s order is death.
So - as our emissary in the divine courtroom - Jesus settles the score of our separation from life in God by suffering physical death. ‘ And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed His last.’ v. 37
Jesus’ suffering is the substance of His deliverance to us.
Jesus death highlight these separations. But they are a reality for all humanity.
Outside of being forgiving and made right in God’s sight by Jesus:
We are all separated from God’s light and in darkness.
We are all corrupt image bearers, separated from the source of our purpose.
We are all destined to separation from God in our death; physical and spiritual.
Jesus separation exemplifies ours, and settles the score of our separation. He is the answer to our dilemma.
The Score of Relation.
The Score of Relation.
Our place was to walk with God. In the garden, in communion with God. But our rebelion caused a curse. When God gave all the things we needed for a life in blessed relation with Him, Adam and Eve chose to transgress that one restrictive commandment - And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Gen 2:16-17.
There choice caused a break in relationship. To each other and to God. And it created a battle between rebellion and the created order God intended; creation against creation.
In this new relation of rebelion, we have continued. Causing and suffering the pain of hurt from each other. Striving with the creation that was meant to bless us. And being so inclined to disregard God’s order that we are separated from Him completely.
The end result of this relational corruption is a separation between what is holy and what is not. Just because humanity rebelled doesn’t mean God was through with us! He perused a people of His own choosing. He gave them promises, and precepts to follow. And He walked with them as with Adam and Eve in the garden. Even when the Israelites were wondering int he wilderness, God walked with them.
But even then, God’s glorious presence was too much for people who’s rebellion was still active. God’s holy presence must be kept separate from the people, not because He didn’t love them, but to protect them from immediate judgement.
And so the seat of God’s presence in the midst of His people was separated by a large, thick curtain. Inside - creation as it should be. Outside - creation corrupted and chaotic because of rebelion and sin.
And this is what Jesus death settled! His death opened the way for our lives to be counted clean. Jesus’ death addressed that problem of our relational separation from God.
Mark 15:38–39 “38 And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39 And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!””
That curtain was there because despite the sacrifice God required year by year as placeholders for the perfect offering, they remained separated from God.
Hebrews 9:11–12 “11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.”
The tearing or the curtain was the result of that final and perfect sacrifice. No longer was our relationship with God guarded and distant, we now have the opportunity to enter into that holy place of God’s presence.
Oh now we CAN love the Lord our God with all our hearts and mind and strength!
But there is another relationship Christ’s death addresses and restores. It is that relationship between people. See that is a roman centurion who recognizes Jesus’ identity. Outside the chosen people, outside the righteousness of the law, outside the community or Israel. But now invited in to worship God as any other.
And who is the only group of disciples to hear Jesus teach, see His crucifixion, and first see His resurrection? Women! Unvalued, no authority in society, not taken seriously in testimony or opinion. But these mattered to God! And they are foundational to the story of the death and resurrection of Jesus!
So taken together, Jesus’ death draws those on the outside in, those less than to an equal stance before Him. We can not follow Jesus without honoring and valuing those on the outside. Jesus settled the score of relationships - Love your neighbor as yourself.
Jesus - The Price of Abiding.
Jesus - The Price of Abiding.
So Jesus paid the price - settled the score. Not just to forgive our sins, thought He certainly did that. But also to restore the created order. To right the wrongs our rebellion caused. Bring us close to God and to each other.
It’s is so easy to desire God’s forgiveness of sin but not want to receive the restoration that forgiveness enables. We want a clean slate but don’t want a clean heart. Why is it SO hard to desire God’s presence? To love God and to love other?
One reason, I am convinced, is that we only embrace half of our right in salvation.
4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.
What does Jesus as us to do in this passage? Abide in Him! Yes, and so we should. We wear this out sometimes, for good reason. But I think the reason it seems so hard to abide in God is that we forget the second thing He directs us to. ‘.... and I in you.’ Do we seek God’s abiding in us? Do we settle for our hanging on, clinging to the vine, but not receiving the power He promises?
Remember it was Adam and Eve walking and talking with God. That was the plan of creation God called very good. Jesus death provides us the means to accept His forgiveness and salvation. But the Spirit of God was promised as a helper.
5 But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
Jesus was not just talking about these 12 guys receiving the Spirit who would work powerfully and purposefully in their lives and in the world. That promise if for the church! When we receive that gift of salvation - believing that Jesus died for our sins - we not only are sealed by the Spirit of God, we are promised a helper who’s presence on our lives and in the body of the church is PREFERABLE to the presence of Jesus! Brothers and sisters, I am not content to struggle achieving by myself what God intends us to do in the power of the Spirit.
If we want to see God at work in our lives, in our church, and in the world around us, we ought to be not only abiding in Christ, but expecting the Spirit to be abiding in us too! Finding ourselves restored to God’s presence is not just about being back in the place we lost, but about being seeing the relationships restored - about walking WITH God in that garden.
That is my burden, my prayer for us all. That because Jesus died for my sins, we run into His presence. Earnestly seeking His power and filling to accomplish the transforming work He purposes in us.
Pray