Forgiveness
Notes
Transcript
Forgiveness
Forgiveness
Good morning Church! Today is my favorite day of the whole year, and I hope it becomes yours as well. Let me tell you why. There is a verse in the book of Acts, it is actually a quote of the Apostle Paul, but it is an echo of my heart. Check it out with me...
24 But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.
That Good News is the Gospel of Jesus Christ! If you want to follow along with us this morning in your Bibles, we are going to bounce around a bit, as I want to paint a picture of that first Resurrection Day and the events that lead up to it. But the majority of our reading will be from the Gospel of Luke, chapters 22,23, and 24. Last week our focus was the Words of Jesus on the Cross, the impact, meaning and purpose of those last words. We will focus on one of those a little bit later this morning.
So lets pray for our service, and then we will jump in. Father…in Jesus name amen.
1 Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover.
2 And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people.
3 Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve.
4 So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them.
5 And they were glad, and agreed to give him money.
6 So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.
7 Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed.
8 And He sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat.”
Verse 14
14 When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him.
15 Then He said to them, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer;
16 for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”
17 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves;
18 for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
19 And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
20 Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.
21 But behold, the hand of My betrayer is with Me on the table.
Verse 31
31 And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat.
32 But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”
33 But he said to Him, “Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death.”
34 Then He said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny three times that you know Me.”
Verse 41
41 And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed,
42 saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.”
43 Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him.
44 And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
45 Then He came to His disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.
46 Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand.”
47 And while He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and elders of the people.
48 Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him.”
49 Immediately he went up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed Him.
50 But Jesus said to him, “Friend, why have you come?” Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took Him.
51 And suddenly, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.
52 But Jesus said to him, “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.
53 Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?
54 How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?”
55 In that hour Jesus said to the multitudes, “Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me? I sat daily with you, teaching in the temple, and you did not seize Me.
56 But all this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled.
Verse 59
59 Now the chief priests, the elders, and all the council sought false testimony against Jesus to put Him to death,
60 but found none. Even though many false witnesses came forward, they found none. But at last two false witnesses came forward
61 and said, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.’ ”
62 And the high priest arose and said to Him, “Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?”
63 But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest answered and said to Him, “I put You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!”
64 Jesus said to him, “It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
65 Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, “He has spoken blasphemy! What further need do we have of witnesses? Look, now you have heard His blasphemy!
66 What do you think?” They answered and said, “He is deserving of death.”
67 Then they spat in His face and beat Him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hands,
He was tried, He was scourged with whips tearing His flesh, and He was wrongfully convicted. Back in Luke in the 23rd chapter
13 Then Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people,
14 said to them, “You have brought this Man to me, as one who misleads the people. And indeed, having examined Him in your presence, I have found no fault in this Man concerning those things of which you accuse Him;
15 no, neither did Herod, for I sent you back to him; and indeed nothing deserving of death has been done by Him.
16 I will therefore chastise Him and release Him”
17 (for it was necessary for him to release one to them at the feast).
18 And they all cried out at once, saying, “Away with this Man, and release to us Barabbas”—
19 who had been thrown into prison for a certain rebellion made in the city, and for murder.
20 Pilate, therefore, wishing to release Jesus, again called out to them.
21 But they shouted, saying, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!”
22 Then he said to them the third time, “Why, what evil has He done? I have found no reason for death in Him. I will therefore chastise Him and let Him go.”
23 But they were insistent, demanding with loud voices that He be crucified. And the voices of these men and of the chief priests prevailed.
26 Then he released Barabbas to them; and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified.
27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole garrison around Him.
28 And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him.
29 When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on 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!”
30 Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head.
31 And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified.
Again in Luke 23, Verse 32
32 There were also two others, criminals, led with Him to be put to death.
33 And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left.
Matthew tells us...
38 Then two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and another on the left.
Then the crowds mocked and blasphemed Him. The religious leaders, the very ones who should be proclaiming His name, Jesus the Messiah, and leading others in worship, ...they too mocked.
41 Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said,
42 “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him.
43 He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ”
The guilty men, crucified next to the innocent joining the others .
44 Even the robbers who were crucified with Him reviled Him with the same thing.
From the Gospel of Luke…chapter 23, beginning in the 32nd verse...
32 There were also two others, criminals, led with Him to be put to death.
33 And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left.
34 Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” And they divided His garments and cast lots.
35 And the people stood looking on. But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God.”
36 The soldiers also mocked Him, coming and offering Him sour wine,
37 and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself.”
38 And an inscription also was written over Him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS
39 Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.”
40 But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation?
41 And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.”
42 Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”
43 And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
44 Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.
45 Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two.
46 And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ ” Having said this, He breathed His last.
47 So when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, “Certainly this was a righteous Man!”
Matthew says...
54 So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God!”
Continuing on in Luke...
48 And the whole crowd who came together to that sight, seeing what had been done, beat their breasts and returned.
49 But all His acquaintances, and the women who followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.
50 Now behold, there was a man named Joseph, a council member, a good and just man.
51 He had not consented to their decision and deed. He was from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who himself was also waiting for the kingdom of God.
52 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.
53 Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a tomb that was hewn out of the rock, where no one had ever lain before.
54 That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near.
55 And the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed after, and they observed the tomb and how His body was laid.
56 Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.
Chapter 24...
1 Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared.
2 But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.
3 Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
4 And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments.
5 Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?
6 He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee,
7 saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’ ”
It is this that separates Christianity from every other religion in the world. Past, present, and future. We worship The Living God! Jesus is Risen! He is alive and at the right hand of the Father and not just sitting there. But rather just as He did on the cross that day, He is there interceding for us as our advocate with the Father…that is the part I want to focus on this morning.
I want you to consider with me the account that we just read. The history that has been recorded is His Story! Its all about Jesus. Jesus who humbled Himself and became a man. Lived a life without sin, so that He could take our sin upon Himself to pay the price for that. He literally was born, that He might die,... for the wages of sin is death.
You would think that such a one would be greatly exulted, would be praised, would be popular among the people, celebrated as a hero! But let’s consider again His story as I just read it…The friend that had pledged loyalty to Him even to the point of death, denied even knowing Him. Another, who’s feet He had washed betrayed Him with a kiss.
He was arrested and then all His disciples forsook Him and fled. The chief priests, the elders, and all the council sought false testimony against Jesus to put Him to death. THEY accused Him of blasphemy! They spit in His face and beat Him. The crowds that had followed Him now shouted, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”
He was scourged, stripped, and mocked. The soldiers also spit in his face, beat His head with a reed, and drove a crown of thorns into His head. The guilty to His left and His right as they hung for their crimes He hung for their sins, as well as for yours, and for mine. They reviled Him.
Yet in that moment He didn’t cry out, Father if there is any other way, not my will be done, but your will be done. No, that had already been said in the garden. But there was no other way. No other way for me to be forgiven, no other way for you to be set free from sin, for the wages of sin is death, and only one who had never sinned could pay that price for someone else.
Rather than cry for mercy, rather than complain about the pain, the betrayal, and abandonment. With all of those things considered, He was advocating for others. He said...
34 Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” And they divided His garments and cast lots.
That plea was actually a prayer. A prayer that did not go unanswered that day. One of the men hanging next to Him heard those words and was changed in a moment. Changed in a moment, but the change was eternal. Forever. He believed. The truth was revealed to Him, and He did something about it. He didn’t make a grand donation to try to buy his way into heaven. He wasn’t baptised, no it was too late for any works, or any attempts to earn what he never could, he simply cried out to Jesus, and Jesus heard Him and made a promise to him.
43 And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
Another answer to prayer that day was the Centurion soldier. This was a man that had a command, had authority over others. The centurion would have been the one supervising the other soldiers there that day. Who knows how many other crucifixions he had witnessed as he climbed to that position of power. How many he had participated. How many nails he had pounded before he was given the authority to make sure others were doing it right, that death and suffering would be assured. What ever that number was, he never witnessed one like this.
Perhaps in the past he had heard begging, maybe others tried to bribe him to let them go. But this one was different from anything he had ever seen, and those words different than any he had heard. Now he was different, everything was different, for on that day the prayer that Jesus cried out was answered again as that Centurion realized who Jesus was and cried out, truly this was the Son of God.
This morning you have heard His story. The story of Jesus coming to save. Dying on the cross for sins that were not His, and then defeating death when He rose from the grave three days later just like He said that He would do.
Him advocating for the lost, the broken, even those that have for their whole lives rejected Him, didn’t end with those words on the cross. The bible tells us that He is still advocating. See an advocate is one who comes alongside another, that is in need of support, strength, counsel, intersession. An advocate is one who acts on behalf of another. Pleads their case before a judge. You might not agree with everything you’ve heard about God, or maybe you would do things differently than God does, but you are not the judge, He is. And the Righteous judge cannot look upon sin, can’t be in the presence of sin because He is Holy.
We are not holy. You and I are born sinners, and then we confirm it by our thoughts, our intents, and our actions. But Jesus came, so that those that would call on Him, place their faith in Him, trust in Him, could have an advocate and be forgiven,... we can be saved. We can be set free from the bonds of sin, and the wages of sin! Because we have an advocate. He advocated for others while hanging on that cross and He died. But then was resurrected and continues to advocate today.
25 Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
You and I have a sin problem, but Jesus went to the cross. In 1 John we read this, and I’ll close with this...
1 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.
But, like the criminal that hung next to Him, we must ask, believe, and we must receive. Now, over my many years as a Christian now I’ve seen many that have responded to an invitation. They have said a little prayer and then, maybe not that day, or the next, but in short order continued to live like Hell. And because some Christian led them in a prayer that was simply words resulting in no change, they have an assurance that is false, in a salvation that they do not have.
See John continues in this passage and says there is a way for you to know. Not for me to know, but so that you can have assurance of salvation. That what you believe is true. He says this beginning in verse 3.
3 Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.
4 He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.
Now we have been sitting for awhile, and I said I was closing with this…so I’m going to ask that we all stand together and I will close us in prayer. But I can’t leave here this morning without offering you an opportunity to receive the forgiveness that He paid for on that cross when He shed His blood for us. Was sacrificed for us.
As I close us in prayer, if you have never asked God to forgive you for your sin, please do that today. Again, there are no magic words that can buy your way to Heaven. As we close, I say a prayer that you can pray with me in your head or quietly where you stand. But in doing so, you are acknowledging that you are a sinner. That you need forgiveness of those sins because the cost to you is an eternity, forever separated from God in a place called Hell.
You are asking the Judge, to transfer that debt that you rightly owe to the account of Jesus who paid in full on the cross. You are asking Jesus to be your advocate. To be your Savior and to be the Lord of your life, or the Boss of your life, that your life would change. That He would lead you and direct you and become know to you, to be your friend. And then you need to live for Him. You that haven’t done that need to make a choice and that choice is to accept Him, or to reject Him. Let’s pray.
Father in Heaven, I thank you for the time we’ve had together today. The celebration that we’ve had today. That we got to share breakfast together. Share in worship together, and to be reminded that by the blood of Jesus we can be saved. If you are here with us this morning, or you’ve joined us on-line and you have never done that, today is the day of salvation. As I pray these words, you can pray these words, or your own words as you confess your sins and place your trust in Him for salvation.
“Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner. Thank you for dying for my sins. Please forgive me for my sins. Jesus, will You please be my Savior, my Lord, my advocate, and my friend. Thank you for saving me, now please change my life as I turn away from my sin and turn to you.”
Lord bless the rest of our fellowship together this morning, in Jesus name, amen. Listen, if you prayed that prayer this morning, please let someone know. It is important to be encouraged in your faith, to continue to learn about being a Christian and we want to give you a new believers bible. It is written so it is understandable and answers a ton of questions. If you need prayer this morning, pastors elders and their wives will be up front here to pray with you.
Grace and peace.