Luke 23:33-49 “What did Jesus Accomplish on the Cross?”
33 “And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.
34 And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments.
35 And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!”
36 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine
37 and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!”
38 There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.”
39 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!”
40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?
41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.”
42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
44 It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour,
45 while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last.
47 Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent!”
48 And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts.
49 And all his acquaintances and the women who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance watching these things.”
These are the Words of the LORD.
The vast majority of people in America (and a lot of other places in the world) are very familiar with the details of the crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The majority of them do not believe these events – especially the resurrection – but, they do at least know the basic story.
Certainly, almost all (if not all) of us here today are familiar with these events. As I pointed out last Sunday in relation to my sermon on The Triumphal Entry, this is the 10th time I have stood before this church to preach an Easter Message.
After a while, it seems that one has said all there is to say on a subject – but that is not true of this subject! Thousands of sermons could not exhaust all that God wants us to understand from these events.
In these past nine sermons, I have gone over the events; the evidences of the events; the eyewitnesses to the events; the meaning of the events; and, why these events matter to us today.
This morning, as the LORD allows, I want to focus our attention on what exactly did Jesus accomplish on the cross? Sure, one could simply HE died for sinners and let it go at that; but, the obvious truth is that HE accomplished much more than that.
Please do not let me scare you so badly that you will not attend this Easter; but, I have chosen to speak about TWELVE THINGS JESUS ACCOMPLISHED ON THE CROSS!
Twelve! Yes, that is right – twelve!
Don’t panic… my daughter is cooking dinner for all of us so I will keep this sermon as short as possible.
As “possible”… ;>)
To help you think this through and prepare your mind and spirit to hear God’s Word this coming Sunday, let me point you to some key passages of Scripture and give you a few questions to help you see where I am going with this sermon:
- John 3:16 is not only the best known verse in the Bible it is the best known sentence in the English Language! What do you think this verse tells us about what Jesus accomplished on the cross?
- Romans 1:18 and Jude 14-15 are also well known if not really appreciated. What do you think these verses tell us about what Jesus accomplished on the cross?
- Isaiah 53 is one of the best known of the “prophetic” passages about the sufferings of Jesus. What do you think verses 4-6 teach us about what Jesus accomplished on the cross?
- Jesus fulfilled dozens of prophecies while HE was on the cross. What does this fact tell you about what HE accomplished while HE was on the cross?
- What do you think we learn about what Jesus accomplished on the cross by thinking about the seven Old Testament Feasts of Jehovah and the Five Tabernacle/Temple Offerings which HE fulfilled?
- What does Ezekiel 18:4 and James 2:10 teach us about why Jesus had to go to the cross and what HE accomplished there?
- What does 1st John 2:1-2 and Isaiah 53:10-11 teach us about Jesus being the “propitiation” for our sins? What does that mean? Is that what HE did on the cross?
- What does 2nd Corinthians 5:21 teach us about what Jesus accomplished on the cross? BTW: 2nd Corinthians 5:21 may be the most important verse in Scripture regarding the doctrine of salvation!
- Romans 3:23-26 is a very controversial verse to a lot of religious people; and especially to unsaved religious people. What does this verse teach us about what Jesus accomplished on the cross?
- In Luke 19:10 we are told that Jesus came “to seek and to save the lost.” What does Luke 23:39-43 teach us about that purpose for Jesus coming to the cross?
- In John 19:26-27 we see that Jesus took time to provide for the care of HIS mother. Are you surprised that HE would be thinking about that while HE was on the cross?
- Skeptics love to deny the physical and bodily resurrection of Jesus from the grave! What do you think HE accomplished on the cross that proves beyond any doubt that HE was literally and physically raised from the dead?
WOW! That IS a lot! I hope that you will not be overwhelmed by all of this information; but, you must know that this is the most important topic of all and it must be worth a serious investment of time and effort to fully understand WHAT JESUS ACCOMPLISHED ON THE CROSS
I hope to see you Sunday with a smile on your face, your Bible in your hand, and your family and friends by your side
REMEMBER: Worship is at 10:00am and the Breakfast is FREE at 8:30am Easter Sunday Morning!
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