The King of Justice
Notes
Transcript
Remembrance
Remembrance
As we gather this evening it is for the purpose to remember what Jesus Christ did…
As we gather together we remember Him as we come to the Lord’s table, an sacrament instituted by the Lord Himself…
The night that He would be betrayed… Jesus did something unique with His followers
The Bread… “My body”
The Cup… “My blood”
Just hours later the angry mob would arrest Him
False accusations would fly
A mock trial would ensue
He would stand before Pilate and Pilate would declare… John 18:37-38
Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews and said to them, “I find no guilt in Him.
After mocking Jesus, having him beaten, whipped, and placing a crown of thorns on His head Pilate would stand Jesus before the crowd and declare John 19:14
Now it was the day of preparation for the Passover; it was about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, “Behold, your King!”
[blank crosses]
Jesus… would be sentenced to DEATH… death on a Cross! (Capital Punishment / Torture)
Jesus Christ… THE KING would hang on a cross between to criminals…with no guilt: INNOCENT!!!
Tonight I want us to look at God’s Truth and look at this Just King…
A Capital Offense
A Capital Offense
capital offense... any criminal charge or wrong doing which is punishable by the death penalty
In Genesis we see God give man a command and declares the consequence… Genesis 2:16-17
The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”
Sin is missing the mark established by a Holy & Righteous God! When we alter from His standard … we SIN… and it is a capital offense towards a Holy God, … its consequence is DEATH!
Leviticus 19:2 God declares to the people: "You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.”
God set forth His standard, (Perfection / Holiness)He gave us His law, and man continued in sin… we were its captive.
Sin’s Atonement
Sin’s Atonement
Our sin separates us from this Holy God… yet God’s desire is still for us!
He wants relationship… we were created for relationship with God Almighty.
Mankind would sin… God offered a way of atonement (reconciling man to God)
Justice had to occur & be met… sin is a capital offense… deserving DEATH
The prophet Isaiah 30:18 would write…
Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you, And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; How blessed are all those who long for Him.
God extended grace… He provided a way ( a substitute)
A LAMB… the blood of a spotless pure lamb would be shed in man’s place
This would cover man’s sin temporarily… it was not fully sufficient
Sacrifice after sacrifice… mankind gives lip service to God. Lost and captive in our sin we needed more than a lamb.
Our sin has a high cost… the DEBT was more than we could ever cover! The blood of a lamb was not fully sufficient…
Man cried out to God… in Malachi 2:17-3:2 God replies to the people…
Malachi 2:17–3:2 (NASB95)
You have wearied the Lord with your words. Yet you say, “How have we wearied Him?” … or, “Where is the God of justice?” “Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the Lord of hosts. “But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire ...”
HE WAS COMING… THE JUST KING LIKE A REFINER’S FIRE!!!
We needed an Atonement: reconciliation between God and man… we needed a Redeemer… One to come and free us from the power of sin, to pay the debt owed!
I love the statement of John the Baptist when he sees Jesus coming… “Behold (look) The Lamb of God who comes to take away the sin of the world!”
A Just King
A Just King
As Jesus hung on the cross He was NOT just a king… He was THE JUST KING!!!
Peter would declare to the churches… 1 Peter 3:18
For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;
Interestingly enough, a few weeks earlier Caiaphas the High Priest would make an interesting statement… John 11:47-52
Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council, and were saying, “What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs. “If we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all, nor do you take into account that it is expedient for you that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish.” Now he did not say this on his own initiative, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but in order that He might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.
Oh how true those words were… One dying for the people, One Just King would die for the people He had created, the people He loved, the people who needed freed from their sin…
John 19:18-19 tells us:
There they crucified Him, and with Him two other men, one on either side, and Jesus in between. Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It was written, “JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS.”
[blank crosses]
The Just King… Innocent, no guilt found, now hung between two criminals…
Surrounded by corrupt sinners
The corruption of the world would look upon the Just King, the very Son of God
There He hung taking the very consequence He put in place
There He hung paying your debt… was the only One who could
[Crosses with wording]
The imagery of the cross demonstrates two choices we have:
At the center we have the Savior… bringing redemption to mankind
On one side we see the sinner… rejecting the gift and grace of salvation
YET… on the other side we see one who will be called a Saint… receiving the gift, understanding his need!
It Is Finished!
It Is Finished!
The final words Jesus would declare from the cross were… IT IS FINISHED! … Paid in full /
REDEEMED: released from the debt owed, to free one from the consequence by taking it on oneself, satisfying the cost!
Only a Just King, Only God could do this!
Watching Jesus die on the cross for your sin and mine we see The Just King…
Stoop and extend to humanity such AMAZING GRACE...