"THE JOY OF THE CROSS"

April 11, 2020         “The Joy of the Cross”  

Good morning from Pastor Glen Brock, Baptist Tabernacle Church, Wendell, North Carolina!
looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Hebrews 12:2 NKJV
We have heard many sermons on the sufferings of Christ on the cross. Words do not have the capacity to communicate the suffering Christ experienced as he died for our sins.
The loneliness of the cross was terrible. Jesus was forsaken by his friends. In the midst of his agony, he felt forsaken by God and cried out, “My God, my God, why have thou forsaken me?” The shame of the cross is frequently forgotten by modern-day Christians. Crucifixion was the ultimate in insult and public contempt for a criminal. It is impossible for us even to begin to understand the horror of the cross to the sinless soul of the innocent divine Son of God. Our Lord’s motive for enduring the agony of the cross was for “the joy that was set before him.” Is it possible that one could endure such agony, such loneliness, such shame, such horror, and yet experience joy in doing so? YES…. There were at least three joys that led Jesus Christ to the cross. The first JOY was The Joy of Glorifying God: In his great prayer, Jesus prayed, “Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee” (John 17:1). To glorify means to “make known.” Jesus came to the earth to make known the nature, character, and the very purpose of God. In this petition he prays that God might reveal the nature and the divine purpose of Jesus of Nazareth who was to be manifested as the Son of God in the miracle of resurrection. What is God like? He is the eternal creator. He is the almighty Sovereign. He is the majestic and holy God. He is the God who is both righteousness and just. The Supreme revelation of the love, mercy, and grace of God is to be revealed in the display of his immeasurable love by the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ on the cross. By his death on the cross, Jesus glorifies God, makes him known, and introduces him as the God of love and mercy and grace. The Second JOY was The Joy of the highest possible personal achievement. Could Jesus have escaped the cross?  This question is idle speculation, but it is evident that Satan thought that he could avoid the cross. Satan offered him the kingdom of this world if he would but fall down and worship him. The heart of this temptation was a suggested escape from the cross and a convenient, inexpensive way to win the kingdoms of this world for God. Jesus rejected this suggestion and endured the cross because there was no other way to save people. In doing so, he was to achieve the highest possible destiny for his life. Apart from the sufferings of the cross, there could be no resurrection form the tomb and demonstration of the reality of eternal life. Apart from the suffering of the cross, there could be no crusade of love by gospel teams carrying the message of redemption to a lost world. Apart from the sufferings of the cross, there could be for Jesus no divine approval & exaltation at the end of the way. Jesus’ 1st recorded words were, “Wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?” From the cross, he cried, “It is finished.” This was not the last gasp of a defeated idealist. It was the shout of triumph of one who had fully achieved his unique & divinely ordained destiny.  It was, in a profoundly sober way, a shout of joy!! The third and final JOY was The Joy of saving souls. Jesus endured the cross to experience the joy of saving you and me from sin. We were slaves, and he came to set us free. We were guilty, and he came to cleanse us. We were helpless, and he came to rescue us. We were in a hopeless condition, and he came and gave us life. He died for our sins. He makes forgiveness possible. He gives new life, eternal life, spiritual life, and divine life. Was the death of Christ on the cross a waste as far as you are concerned? If you have rejected him, then as far as you are concerned, he died in vain. Let his death on the cross be your death to sin. Let the life he revealed on the first Easter morn be your life. Let his example challenge you to give your life completely to the divine plan. Determine to live so as to glorify God in your daily life that others might come to your Savior and be saved by his death on the cross and be transformed by his living presence.   Stay Strong, Stay Focused…Remember, THE BEST IS YET TO BE!!

NOTE: Tomorrow, I will be celebrating communion, at 10:00 am, so have your juice and bread ready as we participate in this virtual reality!