Playing Games At The Foot of the Cross Message 3 of 5: The Road to Calvary Sermon Series JOHN 19: I N T R O D U C T I O N

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1 MESSAGE FOR SUNDAY MORNING, MARCH 28, 2010 MESSAGE 3 OF 5: The Road to Calvary series Christian Hope Church of Christ, Plymouth, North Carolina by Reggie A. Braziel Read Scripture Text P R A Y E R Playing Games At The Foot of the Cross Message 3 of 5: The Road to Calvary Sermon Series JOHN 19: I N T R O D U C T I O N The cross is probably the most recognizable symbol in the world. -We see crosses on the top of Church steeples throughout the world. -Millions wear cross jewelry around their necks, including entertainers and sports celebrities whose lifestyles blatantly contradict the precious meaning of the symbol they wear. -Go to Arlington National Cemetary and you will see thousands upon thousands of white crosses in uniform rows marking the graves of the brave men and women who gave their lives for this country in war. -Its also not uncommon to see a cross along a roadside marking the site where someone lost their life in an accident. But while the CROSS is a very familiar and recognizable symbol I doubt that very many truly understand the meaning of the cross.

2 Oh sure we all know THE CROSS is what JESUS died on to save us from our sins, but because none of us has ever witnessed a real, live crucifixion, I m not sure we grasps just what all Jesus endured on that cross. What Did the Cross Mean to Jesus? A. For Jesus The Cross Meant A Curse Moses spoke of this in Deuteronomy 21:22-23, listen carefully. 22 If a man has committed a sin deserving of death, and he is put to death and you hang him on a tree, 23 his body shall not remain overnight on the tree, but you shall surely bury him that day so that you do not defile the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance; for he who is hanged is accursed of God. In GENESIS 3 we read about the terrible curse that came upon all of humanity because of man s sin in the Garden of Eden. That curse brought pain and suffering and sickness and disease and ultimately death upon man. For Jesus to go to the cross of Calvary meant He Himself had to come under THE CURSE that was placed upon man. II Corinthians 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

3 B. For Jesus, The Cross Also Meant Shame Matthew 27:31 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. Shame is what we feel when our sins or our failures have been brought to light and made public. Shame causes us to lose our dignity. Shame brings embarrassment upon us. Jesus was without sin and failure, so how did the cross cause Him to experience shame? (1) For one thing there was the shame of the public beatings. Illustration: I can remember a paddling I got when I was in the third grade. Getting paddled was one thing, but getting paddled right in front of my whole class brought me tremendous shame and embarrassment. Imagine the shame Jesus felt as he was beaten before a gawking public. (2) There was also the shame of the identification placard and carrying His own cross. It was customary in ancient times for those who were to be crucified to wear a placard around their neck stating their name and the crime for which they were being executed. What was written on the placard of Jesus? Matthew 27:37 tells us: This is Jesus, the King of the Jews. And John 19:17 tells us Jesus had to carry His own cross. Imagine after being nearly beaten to death by the Roman soldiers the SHAME of having to carry His own cross of execution to be put to death between two common criminals.

4 (3) There was also the shame of public indecency or nakedness. In Christ s time it was not uncommon for the Roman soldiers to remove all the clothing of a man before crucifying him to add to his public shame and humiliation. This is why women and children were often not permitted near a crucifixion site. Was Jesus crucified in complete nakedness? The scriptures don t tell us. But John 19:25 does tell us several women stood near the cross, including Jesus own mother. While this likely tells us Jesus was not completely naked, it is safe to assume Jesus had on a bare minimal amount of clothing. This only added to His shame. For Jesus, the cross meant A CURSE. For Jesus, the cross meant SHAME C. And of course, For Jesus the Cross Meant Pain Jewish historian, Josephus, records that at the time of Jesus crucifixion the Romans had already crucified more than 30,000 people in and around the region of Judea. They had executed so many people there was not even enough wood left in Judea to make crosses and no place to put new crosses. So crosses with dead or dying men hanging on them were a common sight all around Jerusalem. Although the gospels don t give us a lot of details regarding the actual crucifixion itself, we are given enough information to give us a small taste of the TERRIBLE AGONY AND PAIN Jesus must have experienced.

5 -In John 20:25, Thomas remarks to the other disciples after the resurrection that he wouldn t believe Jesus was alive unless he could see the nail prints in his hands and place his finger in them. This tells us Jesus wasn t bound to the cross by ropes as some have suggested, but rather that he was nailed through his hands and feet. Though having nails driven through the hands and feet would not have caused death..they would have caused Jesus to be in excruciating pain throughout his duration on the cross. Of course once JESUS was nailed to the cross, the Roman soldiers then hoisted the cross into the air and dropped it into a one or two foot deep hole in the ground..sending a jolting pain throughout Jesus body. The Romans knew how to draw out Jesus suffering in order to maximize his pain. While on the cross, Jesus would have experienced terrible nausea, high fever, intense thirsts, relentless cramping and throbbing pain throughout his entire body. His profuse bleeding attracted gnats and flies and it was very common for birds to lite upon the victim and pick at his flesh. The only way Jesus could inhale and exhale was to push his body upward with his cramped legs and feet just long enough to take in or blow out air. After several excruciating hours on the cross, maneuvering himself into position to take a breath, breathing became harder and harder causing carbon dioxide to build up in Jesus lungs. His lungs also filled with pericardial fluids which put his heart under an immense strain. JESUS WAS LITERALLY DROWNING IN HIS OWN FLUIDS. OWN FLUIDS. IN JUST A SHORT TIME JESUS WOULD DIE OF SUFFOCATION.

6 It is hard to believe that the whole time all this was going on the crowd of people that had gathered on Calvary s hill that day were standing around laughing and mocking and jeering at Jesus Even more unbelievable was what the Roman Soldiers were doing. Read: JOHN 19:23,24 There JESUS hung writhing in excruciating pain CRYING SWEATING.BLEEDING DYING GASPING FOR EVERY BREATH..and there were the Roman soldiers playing games at the foot of the cross. How cruel How cold...how heartless! Assuming Jesus wore the typical garments of any Jewish man, his wardrobe would have consisted of FIVE pieces of clothing. An outer robe A headpiece A Tunic or Seamless undergarment A Belt And sandals Crucifixions were customarily carried out by what is called a QUATERNION of soldiers.which is FOUR SOLDIERS. If there were 5 ITEMS and 4 SOLDIERS, that meant each soldier would get one piece each..and gamble for the one remaining item.

7 vs. 23 tells us IT WAS THE TUNIC or undergarment which the soldiers gambled for. When we think of an undergarment we think of underwear. But the undergarment in the Jewish wardrobe was not underwear, but rather a long, seamless robe worn under the outer robe. The undergarment was the finest and most expensive garment of the five pieces. Oh Christian..take a good, hard look at the cross. There hangs Jesus, the One and only Son of God the kindest, dearest, most loving, most innocent man who ever lived DYING FOR YOU..DYING FOR ME and there at the FOOT OF THE CROSS are four, cold-hearted, calloused soldiers, playing a game of chance to see who wins a piece of his clothing. (pause! ) Sometimes I wonder if many of us aren t guilty of PLAYING GAMES AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS. How many of us walked down the aisle to make that great confession of faith and were baptized..but have never really gotten serious about LIVING FOR CHRIST. We say WE BELIEVE IN THE BIBLE but how many of us neglect to read it and study it?

8 We say WE BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF PRAYER..but how many of us never spend any time in prayer, perhaps not even praying before we eat a meal? We proudly display our RELIGIOUS BUMPER STICKERS and A FISH SYMBOLS on our vehicles.. yet how often do our actions and attitudes totally contradict what those symbols stand for? We claim that GOING TO CHURCH IS VERY IMPORTANT, yet how many times do we allow worldly activities to keep us out of the Lord s House on the Lord s day? We claim to REALLY LOVE JESUS..and yet so many Christians also have a love affair with money and material things. We say we have CHANGED SINCE BECOMING A CHRISTIAN..and yet how many of us still have the same old sinful habits we had before we accepted Christ? Christian ARE YOU PLAYING GAMES AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS? (P A U S E)

9 Like the Roman Soldiers, is it possible many of us just want a piece of Jesus garment? We want the robe of salvation, but we don t want the commitment..and the dedication.and the discipline that it takes to live for Christ each and every day? I ask you again, Are you playing games at the foot of the cross? ( P A U S E ) Illustration: When I was young, my brother Rick, my sister, Sher, and I used to play church. Rick would get a song book and pretend to be the song leader. Sher would get a book or a cardboard box and pretend to be the pianist. And I would get a Bible and pretend to be the preacher. After we would play church for awhile..we would go back to fussing and fighting like all brothers and sisters do. Nothing had changed! Nothing was different!

10 CHRISTIANS.ITS TIME THAT WE STOPPED PLAYING GAMES AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS AND GOT SERIOUS ABOUT LIVING FOR JESUS CHRIST! I GAVE MY LIFE FOR THEE I gave My life for thee, My precious blood I shed. That thou mightst ransomed be, and quickened from the dead. I gave, I gave My life for thee, what hast thou given for Me? I gave, I gave My life for thee, what hast thou given for Me? I suffered much for thee, more than thy tongue can tell. Of bitterest agony, to rescue you from Hell. I ve borne, I ve borne it all for thee, what hast thou borne for me? I ve borne, I ve borne it all for thee, what hast thou borne for me? And I have brought to thee, down from My home above. Salvation full and free, My pardon and my love. I bring, I bring rich gifts to thee, what hast thou brought to Me? I bring, I bring rich gifts to thee, what hast thou brought to Me? Christian..will you decide today to stop playing games at the foot of the cross?

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