The Passion of Christ
God Showed His Love For Us
When He Died for Our Sins
April 4, 2004
Genesis 1:1; Revelation 21:5-7
In the 1700’s revivals were breaking out in America, and an elderly man in New England
prayed and asked the Lord, "Don’t pass us by." On July 8, 1741 in Enfield, Connecticut
the history books tell us that Jonathan Edwards had gone to a meeting where multitudes
of people were gathered. He was looking forward to an evening of Christian fellowship
and listening to some good Gospel preaching. But as the song service continued he
noticed that the one that was to speak that evening, wasn’t on the platform, and it
soon became obvious that they were stalling for time. Then all of a sudden the man that
was in charge bent over and tapped him on the shoulder, telling him that the speaker
wasn’t there, and would he mind preaching a message to them. He told him that he had
just finished preparing a sermon, and had it with him, and he would be glad to preach.
He stepped up to the pulpit, opened his Bible, and took out his manuscript, offered a
prayer unto the Lord and began to preach. Jonathan Edwards was a Spirit filled man. He
walked in the Spirit, lived in the Spirit, and preached in the Spirit. As he preached,
the fire of the Lord fell upon the people. They were under such conviction of sin that
some even wrapped their arms around the pillars that supported the roof. Some cried out
to him to stop preaching, lest they fall into hell at that very moment. A fellow
minister who was seated in the pulpit cried out "Mr. Edwards, Mr. Edwards, Is not God
merciful too?" When the sermon was over and the invitation was given over 500 people
came forward to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as their very own personal Lord and
Saviour. Hundreds of Christians fell on their faces, weeping under the power of the
Holy Spirit, and at that very hour great revival broke out in America. Within a few
short months thousands were born into the family of God. Surely you must have heard
about it. It was given the term "The Great Awakening."
Jonathan Edwards has been recognized by many as the most intellectual man that America
ever produced. The sermon he preached that night, "Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry
God," is considered by many to be the greatest sermon that was ever preached in
America. Today, on that spot, is a large stone, and chiseled upon it is the story of
"The Great Awakening" in America. Surely, every Christian should read and meditate upon
that great sermon. Yes, there are still copies of it around today.
Seemingly, a large majority of the preachers in this day that we live concentrate upon
"The Love Of God" and that’s wonderful, God is a loving God! We have seen this truth in
the previous sermons in this series, and certainly we will see it again in the rest of
the messages. The eternal God of the universe is without question a loving God! Even
our children can quote that wonderful verse in John 3:16 "For God so loved the world,
that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish,
but have everlasting life."
Think with me, if you will. Adam and Eve had sinned against God and plunged the entire
human race into sin, leaving us without any hope in this world or in the world to come.
If there was to be any hope God himself would have to offer it to us, and offer it he
did, when he sent his precious Son into this sin cursed world. The great prophet Isaiah
tells us in Isaiah 9:6 "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the
government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful,
Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." The prophet
Micah even told us where he was to be born in Micah 5:2 "But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah,
though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth
unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from
everlasting."
We mentioned in an earlier message that there are well over 300 prophecies in the Old
Testament that tell us about his first coming to this earth and how they were perfectly
fulfilled. Wouldn’t you think that with all the prophecies that God had given mankind
and the blessings that awaited them, if they received his promises, they would have
welcomed the Son of God into the world? But that was not to be the case was it?
The Devil would have destroyed him if he could even before he was ever born. Herod was
so angry that he slew all the young children in the entire area just to try and make
sure that he killed the Lord. Everywhere Jesus went, everything he did, everything he
said, there were always people that tried to turn others against him. For the most
part, the religious as well as the political leaders despised him. Many of the common
people wouldn’t have anything to do with him. Even his own disciples were known to doze
off at the wrong times and even flee when he needed them the most. Look with me in Mark
14:27 "And Jesus saith unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night:
for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered. But
after that I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee. But Peter said unto him,
Although all shall be offended, yet will not I. And Jesus saith unto him, Verily I say
unto thee, That this day, even in this night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt
deny me thrice. But he spake the more vehemently, If I should die with thee, I will not
deny thee in any wise. Likewise also said they all. And they came to a place which was
named Gethsemane: and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray. And
he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be
very heavy; And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye
here, and watch. And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that,
if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, Abba, Father, all
things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I
will, but what thou wilt. And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto
Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour? Watch ye and pray, lest
ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak. And again
he went away, and prayed, and spake the same words. And when he returned, he found them
asleep again, for their eyes were heavy, neither wist they what to answer him. And he
cometh the third time, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: it is
enough, the hour is come; behold, the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
Rise up, let us go; lo, he that betrayeth me is at hand. And immediately, while he yet
spake, cometh Judas, one of the twelve, and with him a great multitude with swords and
staves, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. And he that betrayed him
had given them a token, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he; take him, and
lead him away safely. And as soon as he was come, he goeth straightway to him, and
saith, Master, master; and kissed him. And they laid their hands on him, and took him.
And one of them that stood by drew a sword, and smote a servant of the high priest, and
cut off his ear. And Jesus answered and said unto them, Are ye come out, as against a
thief, with swords and with staves to take me? I was daily with you in the temple
teaching, and ye took me not: but the scriptures must be fulfilled. And they all
forsook him, and fled."
People want to talk about The Passion Or The Suffering Of Christ. My friend Jesus
suffered in a multitude of ways. As horrible as it was for the religious world, the
political world, and the demonic world to be against him, who would ever expect his own
disciples would treat him the way that they treated him?
Oh yes, what Jonathan Edwards said was true. There will come a time when all the lost
sinners of this world will be in the hands of an angry God. But at that very moment in
time, the situation was reversed. We see The Holy God of the heavens and the earth in
the hands of the most vile and wicked of sinners. Now they would have a golden
opportunity to spew their wicked venom upon the pure, the spotless, the sinless, the
holy, the perfect, the almighty, the all knowing, and the all wise God of the universe.
And as you well know, they took every advantage of their opportunity.
In the ancient days of the Old Testament, when wickedness would totally get out of
hand, God would move in great and mighty ways. We read in Genesis 6:5 "And God saw that
the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the
thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had
made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the LORD said, I will
destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and
the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made
them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD." Even in Noah’s day when the
ungodly had gone so far that the Lord was sorry that he had created them, he allowed
everyone to be destroyed but one family so they could start all over again.
In the days of Abraham, I’m sure you remember that there was a wicked and ungodly city
by the name of Sodom. Let’s read a verse that tells us about it in Genesis 13:13 "But
the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly." But in spite of
their wickedness, God heard Abraham’s prayer, and although he destroyed the city, he
took Lot and his two daughters out to safety.
Time and time again we see how that the Lord stood between his people and the
multitudes of evil that were constantly trying to destroy them. Surely then, as much as
he had loved his chosen people and protected and rescued them time and time again,
shouldn’t we expect him to stand between His Only Begotten Son and the enemies of hell
that were encamped all around him? After all, he spoke from the heavens when Jesus was
baptized and proclaimed for the entire world to hear "This is my beloved Son, in whom I
am well pleased." In fact, similar words are used by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Peter.
(Matthew 3:17; Matthew 17:5; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22; II Peter 1:17)
If He was the God of the entire universe,
If He was all knowing,
If He was all wise,
If He was all powerful,
Shouldn’t we expect to see him do something, anything, whatever it would take, to spare
his only precious Son?
Oh no my friend, this time the eternal God of the heavens and the earth must be true to
his word and allow this ungodliness and wickedness to be carried out.
He must allow him to be:
Taken
Lied about
Mistreated
Mocked
Beaten beyond recognition
Despised
Rejected
Wounded
Bruised
And yes, even smitten of God and afflicted.
I know we read several of these verses in some earlier messages, but look with me again
at Isaiah 52:13 "Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and
extolled, and be very high. As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred
more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men: So shall he sprinkle many
nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told
them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider."
We continue to read in Isaiah 53:1 "Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the
arm of the LORD revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a
root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him,
there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man
of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was
despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our
sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was
wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of
our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed."
We see the very same picture in the New Testament that the Holy Spirit had moved upon
the heart of Isaiah to write some 700 years before it even happened.
The exact prophesied moment had come. Everything was in perfect place. Now the eternal
God of the universe must allow his Son to fulfill all the prophecies that were given
about him. Jesus himself said in John 5:30 "I seek not mine own will, but the will of
the Father which hath sent me." So yes, God the Father would watch as the world poured
out its worst upon his precious Son. But not only was God the Father watching, but
people were watching also.
I want to share with you some of the things about the death that our Lord Jesus Christ
voluntarily endured. Things that, over the course of history, medical experts,
historians, archaeologists, writers, and preachers alike have closely examined.
Of course, there are some disagreements, but everyone seems to agree that he suffered
one of the most grueling and painful forms of capital punishment ever devised by man.
We know from the Bible, along with history, archaeology, and medicine, that there was
tremendous stress in the final hours before our Lord’s death. Even before the
crucifixion began, he clearly had physical symptoms associated with severe stress. The
night before his crucifixion, his disciples saw him in great "agony" in the garden of
Gethsemane. He didn’t sleep that night and he was sweating profusely. Some Doctors
believe that the stress was so great that the tiny blood vessels were rupturing in his
sweat glands and causing great drops of red liquid to fall to the ground. Notice
carefully what Luke tells us in Luke 22:44 "And being in an agony he prayed more
earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the
ground."
Then there were the horrible tortures that were inflicted upon the precious Son of God.
His Disciples, being the brave souls that they were, forsook him and fled. The Jewish
leaders tried him and pronounced Him worthy of death. We read in Matthew 26:65 "Then
the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need
have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy. What think ye? They
answered and said, He is guilty of death. Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted
him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands, Saying, Prophesy unto us, thou
Christ, Who is he that smote thee?"
But not only was he hated, despised, rejected, and tortured by his own people, but then
it was the Romans' turn. The beatings administered by Roman soldiers are well known to
be very bloody, leaving lacerations all over the body. Their whips were made in such a
way as to cut the flesh on their victims' bodies and were very painful and extreme,
causing a fluid build up around the lungs. Some were made like “A cat of nine tails,”
with stones or metal or different kinds of objects that would cut and slice to the
point that many died at the hands of the soldiers that beat them so horribly. Not only
was that true, but in addition to that, a crown of thorns was forced into his scalp,
which was capable of severely irritating major nerves in his head, causing increasingly
excruciating pain as hour after horrible hour drug by.
In Christ's physically stressed condition, the beatings alone were easily enough to
kill him. His body was horribly bruised, cut with open wounds, and bleeding profusely.
He had gone without food for many hours and had lost a great amount of body fluids
through his tremendous sweating and bleeding. He was now dehydrated and could have
easily gone into shock and died. On top of that, he was forced to carry at least the
wooden crossbeam of the cross, and some believe, even the entire cross.
We can’t imagine being in such a weaken condition and then having to carry the heavy
weight of the cross. We can’t image.
We can’t imagine:
Being hung naked before the crowd in open shame
How the positioning of the body on a cross was designed to make it extremely difficult
to breathe
Having huge nails piercing through the flesh, veins, and nerves of his hands and feet
One writer said it this way. "For indeed a death by crucifixion seems to include all
that pain and death can have; horrible and ghastly dizziness, cramps, thirst,
starvation, sleeplessness, traumatic fever, tetanus, shame, publicity of shame, long
continuance of torment, horror of anticipation, mortification of untended wounds, all
intensified just up to the point at which they can be endured, but stopping just short
of the point which would give to the suffer the relief of unconsciousness." (Frederick
Farrar) In other words, torture the person to the very edge of death, but stop just
short of letting them succumb to it. One doctor has called it "a symphony of pain"
produced by every movement, with every breath. Even a slight breeze on his skin could
bring screaming pain at this point. One Medical examiner believes that Christ died from
shock due to loss of blood and fluid, plus traumatic shock from his injuries, plus
cardiogenic shock causing his heart to fail. (Dr. Frederick Zugibe)
But whatever we may say or think, it was the eternal God of the heaven and the earth
that was in 100% total control, just as he had always been, just as he is now, and just
as he will be throughout all eternity.
Oh yes my friend, Jesus suffered as no other man has ever suffered. Yes, many have been
crucified and been killed by many other means, but no one has ever suffered like our
precious Lord and Saviour.
What made Jesus’ death so different?
What made it so different was that he wasn’t dying for the wrongs he had done because,
he had done no wrong. He wasn’t dying for the sins he had committed, because he had
never committed even one sin. He wasn’t dying for a cause or a political movement. He
was dying to pay the penalty for your sins and for mine.
But Pastor, why did Jesus continue to hang on to life. Wouldn’t it have been better for
him to just go ahead and die?
Oh yes, it would have been a lot better for him physically, but it would have been an
eternal disaster for us Spiritually. Jesus came to this earth to fulfill his Father’s
will and to do everything that was necessary to purchase our redemption. And yes, he
knew full well that:
When every last slander had been hurled
When every last lick had been administered
When every last laughter had been heard
When every last drop of blood had flowed from his veins
When every last mockery had been made
When every last word had been spoken
When every last prophecy was fulfilled in complete detail
Then, and only then, it would be time for him to lay down his life for sinners like you
and me.
Time was slipping away and the priests were preparing to make the evening sacrifice.
Notice carefully with me the verses in Luke 23:39 "And one of the malefactors which
were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the
other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the
same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds:
but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when
thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day
shalt thou be with me in paradise. And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a
darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. And the sun was darkened, and the
veil of the temple was rent in the midst." Mark tells us in Mark 15:34 "And at the
ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which
is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Then Luke tells us
again in Luke 23:46 "And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into
thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost."
What a wonderful Saviour we have. With all the horrible things he was suffering because
of sinners like us, and yes, the thieves that hung beside him, He would tell that one
poor seeking soul, "To day shalt thou be with me in paradise." And beloved, I would say
to everyone today, God loved each and every one of us just as much as he loved that
dying thief. That’s the reason that he had his beloved Disciple write in John 3:16 "For
God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in
him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the
world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that
believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already,
because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
If you haven’t received Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour, will you
receive him today?
Christian, will you commit yourself to love him more, and tell others how he suffered
and died for them so that they can receive him as their Lord and Saviour?
Let’s share The Gospel with others so they won’t have to end up as "A Sinner In The
Hands Of An Angry God."
Copyright © 2004 by Dr. Kennith Atkison
This material is provided for personal study or for use in preparation of sermons,
Sunday school classes, or other oral communication. This material may be quoted in
written form with appropriate credit and may be copied or reprinted for distribution
as long as it is given away and no charge is made for copies, shipping or handling.
It may not be reprinted for commercial publication.
