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Last century
Henry Thoreau said that the majority of men
lead lives of quiet desperation
it's much more true in the twentieth century
at the beginning of this century, the proportion of Atheist's in the world was
very tiny
now is probably the greater a part of 50% of the world
professes Atheism
but Alexander Solzhenitsyn said
the trouble is secularism is it's so horribly pessimistic
it's not very encouraging to get up in the morning
and look in the mirror
and truthfully say hi
you meaningless clott (stupid or retarded person)
of coincidental molecules
it doesn't move you for the day
to believe there is no meaning
no significance
no value than anything
for if there is a zero at the end of life
everything along way is a zero
the love of spouse for spouse,
parents for children,
lovers for their lover,
it's all meaningless
unless there's a heavenly Father
who will someday ransom us
from death
so Solzhenitsyn was right secularism
is so horribly pessimistic
the poet's have seen it
one poet put it like this, things fall apart
the center
cannot hold
the best lack all conviction
and the worst are filled with passionate intensity
we live in a century
where the government
has killed more than a 100 million people
the governments of earth
Solzhenitsyn believed that Stalin was responsible for more than 50
million deaths
there have been more martyr's for Christ
in our century
than in all the other
centuries put together
Dostoevsky was right when he said if there's no God
everything is permitted
I fear that man most that fears God least
murdered makes sense if there is no God whoever gets in the way get rid of them
but there comes a lonely hours
the approach of death
and people have second thoughts
they want to know what to believe
one poet said if we need a theme?
then let that be our theme.
that we poor grovelers, between faith and doubt
the sun and north star lost, the compass out
the hearts weak engine, almost stopped
time, timelessness chaos of our wills
that we need a theme?
something to think?
something to say between dawn and dusk?
something to hold to?
something to believe?
you see the death of hope, leads to the hope for death
one edition of Encyclopedia Britannica this century
by accident left out hope
thereby it mirrored the 20th century
because if there is no God,
and if there is no Christ,
if the bible is not true, there is no hope
there is no meaning
we are just meaningless clott's
we are just animated mud
but if the bible is true
and Christ is God, we have infinite significance
and we can anticipate a life
that will measure with the life of God himself
how much
would millions in the world give for a key
to life and death
how much would they give for a solution to guilt
sorrow
and mortality
how much would they give for an answer
to the mysteries of life and death
well we are going to
look at that key this morning
if we lift this key
it will lift us
if we take it to our *** (heart)
it will draw us to the *** (heart) of God
I refer to the key of the cross
the greatest event of time
and eternity
was when we tucked God
into the bed of the cross
and nailed his hands and feet
and opened his side
his arms spread in invitation to his crucifiers
giving away heaven to a penitent thief
that was the greatest hour of the universe
and without it the universe would have broken out in anarchy
that God should have permitted sin and do nothing about it
but he did something about it
so we are going to consider what he did
in the cross
to take the cross from the Christian would be
like blotting the sun out of the sky
kneeling at the foot of the cross
we've reached the highest price we can attain
it's the sweetest melody of human lips to talk about the cross
is the one interest that should swallow up every other
too many people across is just an ornament to wear around the neck
to architects
it's a symbol to hang on a church
to atheist's it is a superstition
to scholars it's a subject for research
to preachers
it's a text for a sermon
to Constantine it was a sign of victory
to the pagan Romans as a whole it was just uh...
an object of execration
a means of execution
horrid and terrible
and feared
to Paul
it was a sign of glory that pointed to heaven
to Mary a memory of agony
to two thieves it was different
to one thief it was a door to perdition
to the other it was a gateway to paradise to Christ the cross was a coffin
and a throne
to multiplied millions
the cross is an anchor
that offers a refuge and a haven
to storm tossed souls
the cross was the sermon on the mount enacted
it was the 10 commandments demonstrated
it was 1 Corinthians 13 exemplified
the cross was the fruit of the spirit
in full harvest
it justified God
it ransomed the world
it consolidated heaven
it shook hell
it condemned the devil
it brought in everlasting righteousness
it satisfied justice
it magnified the law
it delighted God the Father
it glorified God the Son
and it brought down
God the Holy Spirit
it confirmed the everlasting covenant
it opened heaven
for all who would believe
that's the cross of Christ
we are going to consider it
we are going to look at the last
24 hours
of our Lord's life
as he dealt with sin
you know if sin is a trifle
righteousness will only be a trifle
we need to recognize in sin that thing that's broken hearts and
blighted homes
robbed heaven
and made hell the high capital of the universe
we need to recognize in sin the most devastating fact
in the universe
sin is a madness in the brain
it's a poison in the heart
sin is
like a guillotine cutting off the head
it is like
a lightning streak heading to earth
it is like a lion looking for its prey
sin is a
tornado on the loose
it is a volcano
gone wild
sin is the most terrible
of all terrors
because of sin every
stream
of human life is polluted
every breeze is corrupt
every pathway of life is dangerous with pitfalls
every voyage of life
has perilous shoals
sin destroys happiness
it darkens the intellect
it seized the conscience
it promises velvet
and gives a shroud
it offers liberty and brings bondage
it promises nectar and gives gall
it promises silk and gives sackcloth
sin is the most awful deception
It's a funny thing about sin
when you're tempted
the reward looks so wonderful sin never comes with a bare hook it's got to look good
and what it promises always looks huge and wonderful
whereas sin itself was so slight
that's before but after it's the opposite
if we yield to temptation
then the reward suddenly crumbles away
the manna turns to worms
nectar the turns to gall
now the act of sin is huge
and the reward is slight
because sin is a cheat sin is a cheat
I want you to consider
how much
space
the bible has given to the central theme of the cross
only 42 days of our Lord's life are alluded to
in the New Testament only 42 days
that's approximately
1 day in every 350
and yet approximately 30 verses
out of 89
in the gospels
revolve around passion week
and about 1/2 of those
are about the last 24 hours
if the whole bible
was dedicated to just the life of Christ
giving each day
as much
space
as it now gives
to his last day
we would have a bible
approximately two
hundred thousand pages
so that gives some idea
of the importance of the cross event
and the mark of true religion
and true Christianity
is always to give the same sense of proportion
to the cross as God has done
that is why Paul could say we preach not ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord
I determined to know nothing among you
he said but Christ
and him crucified
we're going to look
at the commencement
of the end
we're going to look
at the story first of Gethsemane
we're going to see how God intervened and what he did
and how it works I am reading to you from Matthew
the 26th chapter
and beginning at verse 36
then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane
he said to his disciples sit here
while I go yonder (over there)
and pray
and taking with him Peter
and the two sons of Zebedee and he began to be sorrowful and troubled
Mark's gospel says he was greatly distressed
the Greek expression
gives the idea of someone that has seen a specter (haunts or disturbs the mind)
greatly distressed
he says my soul is very sorrowful even to death
remain here and watch with me
and going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed
my Father if it be possible
let this cup pass from me, never the less not as I will, but as Thou wilt
and he came to the disciples he found them sleeping
he said to Peter so could you not watch with me one hour?
watch and pray
that you may not enter into temptation
the Spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak
this is one of the most mysterious pictures all of
history and biography
you know when Socrates died he was very calm
He said to one of his disciples now remember I owe a
chicken
to somebody, pay my debt
Socrates was calm as on a
summers day taking a stroll
why is Jesus so upset is he more cowardly than Socrates?
the only answer
is that the weight of the sin of the world
is now resting upon Christ
he had sung a hymn
just an hour, or so, before
with the disciples he had joyously led out of the great
Hallel from the book of Psalms
as he enters Gethsemane
a mysterious weight
begins to fall upon him
I can imagine him stumbling in those last steps
then he says my soul is exceedingly sorrowful
and as Mark says he's greatly distressed and as Luke says he sweat drops
of blood
can you imagine the pressure that leads a person to sweat drops of blood?
so the difference between Christ and Socrates is that
Christ has now become as
sin incarnate
and God is treating him as though he is dealing with
the sinful world
he is there as our substitute
he endured what we deserve
that's the only thing that can explain
the mysterious agony of Gethsemane
and the cry of dereliction on the cross
my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? it only makes sense if he represents me
there
if he's suffering
what I should have suffered
indeed he's being treated as the devil
there is a fascinating story in 2 Samuel you remember it
that when that beautiful boy Absalom
rebelled against the king
he ended up suspended between heaven and earth on a tree
it tells about it in 2 Samuel 18
here is Absalom
without spot or blemish
but proud
and rebels against the one who gave him life
he's a figure of Satan, Lucifer,
who was once
without a spot or blemish
but who was very proud
and he rebelled against the God who gave him life
and when you read in 2 Samuel
Chapter 18
about Absalom being caught
and suspended on the tree between heaven and earth,
that is a preview of when
the son of David, another son of David would come
Absalom you remember was David's son
another son (of Absalom..) of David would come
and be suspended between heaven and earth
in order to atone
for the sins
of the rebels of the world. he would take the place of
Satan himself
the cross was an inverted sword that pierced Satan
and destroyed him
so the Old Testament picture of Absalom suspended between
heaven and earth,
Absalom the figure of Lucifer
because he was so
beautiful
and yet so proud
and rebelled.
it's interesting it tells us
in 2 Samuel that
David and his men
went over the brook Kedron
into Gethsemane
I'm reading from 2 Samuel 15:23
and all the country wept aloud
as all the people
passed by and the king crossed the brook Kedron
and all the people passed on toward the wilderness
now to see the significance of that passage in 2 Samuel 15
please look at John
and Chapter 18
John and Chapter 18
at the very beginning when Jesus had spoken these words
he went forth with his disciples across the Kidron valley
so where David went
when his rebel son rebelled
Jesus went.
when David's
own child
rebelled against him,
David and his disciples
went out of Jerusalem
crossed the brook Kedron
went through Gethsemane
and went up the Mount of Olives.
so the son of David
is now retracing
the steps of David because of the rebellion of the Jewish nation
his own children
the name Kedron is interesting it means dark waters
and it's important to know
that all the names in the gospel record have meaning
Jerusalem means foundations of peace because that's where the prince of peace
will come
offering an olive branch
of peace between God and man.
Gethsemane means the oil press
here Christ would be pressed
down
under the terrible weight
of the sins of the world
he was born in Bethlehem which means the place of bread
he was the bread of life
he was brought up in Nazareth which means the place of the branch
because one of his names in the Old Testament is
the branch
of the Lord.
he did much of his ministry in Capernaum
which means
the place of consolation.
he had wonderful fellowship
in Bethany with the sisters
Mary and Martha. Bethany means a place of sweetness,
the place of dates,
palm dates
Calvary means the price of the skull
Golgotha
and Calvary one in the Hebrew, Aramaic,
and one in the Greek both mean the place of the skull
because of sin the world will become a cemetery
a place of skulls
here we do a little business
indulge a little pleasure
and then we lie down beside the dead
in many places the dust on which we walk
has been man.
and so God himself comes down to the cemetery of earth
to the place of the skull
and he will reverse the tide of death
there in John 19:41 it says that in the place
here Jesus was crucified there was a garden
he begins his walk to death in a garden Gethsemane
he finishes it in a garden because a garden is a place of life and death
a garden is a place where seeds are sown and they decay and they die
and low and behold they spring up again
a symbol of resurrection
Christ
began in a garden
it's a replay of Genesis
in Genesis you meet the first Adam
and everything's delightful
now in Gethsemane and in Calvary
you meet the last Adam and everything's terrible
there's a conflict in Eden but it was by day
there's a conflict in Gethsemane
is by night
in the garden in Eden the first Adam was overcome
in the garden of Gethsemane
the last Adam overcomes
Gethsemane becomes the rehearsal for Calvary
it's the anticipation
Calvary accomplishment
here we see the will
to suffer
Calvary we see the work
but you must see the connection with the first Adam
in Eden
the garden there the first Adam sinned
here the Savior suffers
in Eden
the first Adam
fell before Satan
in Gethsemane the soldiers fall before Christ
in Eden the first Adam parlayed (gambled) with the devil
Adam and Eve
but this last Adam
talks to his father
in Eden
Adam hid
where art thou? I was afraid. I hid myself.
sin makes us cowards
but in Gethsemane the last Adam shows himself
in the garden of Eden
the Father comes looking
for his rebel boy
God is looking for him
but in this garden of Gethsemane
the last Adam is looking for God
my Father
my Father
from the first garden
Adam was driven
from the garden of Gethsemane Christ was led
they couldn't drive him remember they all fell
(when he stood...) when he showed himself
hundreds of soldiers fell to the ground
so he was led with dignity
the sword was unsheathed in Eden
it kept the way to the tree of life
in Gethsemane
Christ told Peter to sheath his sword put it back in its scabbard
because he was going to die on the cross
so the sword of wrath against evil
would go back into the scabbard of heaven
so we're meant to compare
the two gardens
the delightful, the terrible, the night, the day, the defeat, the victory
the place where Adam took the fruit
and the place where the second Adam takes the cup
the cup of God's wrath
and drains it
for us
Gethsemane
begins the replay of the marks of the curse
there is seven marks of the curse in Eden
there is nakedness
there is thorns
there is sweat
there is sorrow
there is separation
there's the sword
all the marks of the curse that we find in Eden
are replayed
in Gethsemane and Calvary
so we read in the Gethsemane record
and he sweat as it were
great drops of blood
he's put naked
on the cross like Adam was naked
the sword is unsheathed and
opens his side
he becomes a man of sorrows
he separated from God my God my God why?
he becomes a curse for us
all seven marks
of the curse
are fulfilled and exemplified
in Gethsemane
and Calvary
when you look at the story you should be reminded of the transfiguration
there are many parallels between Gethsemane
and the transfiguration
in both occasions Christ is praying
in both occasions he receives a message from heaven
Luke tells us an angel comes to him to strengthen him
on transfiguration Moses and Elijah came
to strengthen him
as he talks about his death
so we have the Christ praying in each place and he takes the same three disciples
each time
and both occasions they are
puzzled
and when Christ comes and talks to them it says in each case
transfiguration and Gethsemane they wist (know) not what thou say
they did not know how to answer him
but in the transfiguration
Christ was glorified
in Gethsemane
he becomes a man of horror
and endures the terrors of the damned
so to the transfiguration was the high point
the zenith
where as this story
is the nadir
the lowest point
and we are meant to compare them
because you see the transfiguration followed Christ's announcement to the disciples
I am about to go to be crucified
he'd asked them the question, who do men say I am?
and he got finally the answer thou art the Christ
he said yes
but now let me tell you about the cross
it is easy to remember
what happened on the eve of the transfiguration
and cast light on the Gethsemane
there in Matthew 16 and 17 you have the story
of Caesarea Philippi Peter replied the great confession
thou art the Christ
and we have the word about the church on this rock I will build my church
then he talks about the cross the son of man is going
to be crucified
then he talks about the coming
that cruisifiction won't be the end
you know the story of the
old southern preacher
he described all the terrors of the cross that is Friday but Sunday is coming
it is always good remember
when it is dark
when it's gloomy
when you are hated, and despised, and depressed, when you get bad news, that's Friday
but Sunday's coming
and so Christ not only spoke about
himself as the Christ, the church he would build.
the crucifixion was coming, but the return of
Christ, the coming.
all true Christian preaching will include those things,
the Christ
the church, all who believe
not denominationalism.
Christ, the church, the cross
and the coming.
so when you compare the transfiguration
with Gethsemane
each helps to unlock the other
there can only be the glory of the transfiguration which one day will be ours!
when this mortal puts on immortality
when this corruptible
puts on incorruption
that can only be because of what Christ suffered in Gethsemane
no suffering,
no atonement.
it's important we remember
that the cross is about the holiness of God
it is about the love of God in a wonderful way
but the love is part of his holiness
God's holiness is a circle
and in it all his other attributes
there are some today who make popular a moral influence theory
that says the cross
wasn't really necessary it was just a gesture to show that God loves you.
oh, my friends, that is not true!
without the shedding of blood there's no remission of sins
the cross shows that the law is sacred
nothing can destroy it
if it could have been changed Christ need not die
the cross is the monument to the perpetuity of the moral law of God
it also reveals
that the God
who in the beginning threatened the penalty of death to law breakers
in order to safeguard the universe
but he loves the lawbreakers!
the wonderful messages of the cross
is that despite what we are,
God loves us still!
no one can ever love God
until convinced that God loves them.
if the argument of the suffering and dying Savior
doesn't move men and women,
there is nothing on earth that can move them
the cross tells us
that God so loved the world
that he gave his only begotten Son and with him himself
and with him his Spirit
and with the trinity, all the angels of heaven.
he gave them all
that whoever believeth
might not parish but have
everlasting life! Amen!