WES HUMBLE

Jesus Died for You – True or False? Matthew 27:11-56

Obviously, most people by now have heard about Mel Gibson’s new movie The Passion of the Christ. In fact many of you have seen it. It is a beautiful yet brutal portrayal of the day Jesus was betrayed, tried, and crucified.

It is a very graphic movie. It is rated “R”. In this case the “R” shouldn’t stand for “Restricted” but for “Realistic”. If it had been rated “PG” it would have meant “Pastoral Guidance.” It is a very disturbing movie. After seeing it, you won’t read the gospels in the same way. After seeing it, you won’t take your sin lightly. I remember thinking to myself while watching it, “why did Jesus have to endure so much? Why did he have to be beaten so badly?” Then the answer quickly came to me, that’s what it took to pay for my sins.

But not everyone thinks this. Some people believe that the life of Christ is more Hollywood than history. Or they believe that his death was a mistake or a hoax. What is the truth about Jesus’ death? Today we will explore the second question in our series inspired by this movie – Did Jesus Die for You?

Let’s begin by taking the time to read about some of Jesus’ trial, torture, and His crucifixion. I am going to read some verses from the book of Matthew.

Before Pilate

11Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, "Are you theking of the Jews?" "Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied.

21"Which of the two do you want me to release to you?" asked the governor. "Barabbas," they answered.22"What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?" Pilate asked.They all answered, "Crucify him!"23"Why? What crime has he committed?" asked Pilate.But they shouted all the louder, "Crucify him!"

27Then the governor's soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. 28They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him,29and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. "Hail, king of the Jews!" they said. 30They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again.31After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

32As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. 33They came to a place called Golgotha (which means The Place

of the Skull). 34There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. 35When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. 36And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. 37Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS.38Two robbers were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. 39Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads 40and saying, "You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!"

45From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. 46About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

47When some of those standing there heard this, they said, "He's calling Elijah."48Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it ona stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. 49The rest said, "Now leave him alone. Let's see if Elijah comes to save him."50And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

51At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split..54When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, "Surely he was the Son of God!"

If you have seen the movie, many painful images spring to your mind as I read this. It is a heart-breaking scene, but it is the foundation of the Christian faith. Jesus’ cross is the crux of Christianity. But because the consequences of Jesus’ death are so profound, some false beliefs have arisen in order to explain it away so the consequences don’t have to be faced. Before we explore the truth of Jesus death, let’s take a look some of the false claims that you may have heard.

1. Jesus’ Wasn’t Supposed to Die – True or False

One false belief is that Jesus wasn’t meant to die – as a result, his death had no meaning.For example, the Unification Church – also known as “the Moonies” – claims that Jesus’ mission was not dying; rather, his mission was to get married and establish a righteous family.

In his “Divine Principle”, the Reverend Moon teaches that Jesus’ death on the cross was not an essential part of God's plan for redeeming sinful man. Rev. Moon says, we “must realize that Jesus did not come to die on the cross” (p.178). Jesus, according to Moon, was a failure, and Christ's death was without effect. He says, “The cross has been unable to establish the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth by removing our original sin.” (Rev. Moon, Divine Principle, p. 178).

Moon also believes that the death of Christ was a victory for Satan, saying"Satan thus attained what he had intended through the 4,000-year course of history, by crucifying Jesus, with the exercise of his maximum power" (Rev.Moon, Divine Principle, p. 435).

The Bible plainly states that Jesus Christ came to this earth for the specific purpose of dying for the sins of the world. Jesus said, "the Son of Man did not come to be served, butto serve, and to give His life a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:28). Jesus died so that we may have life.

2. Jesus Didn’t Die on the Cross – True or False

Another false claim regarding the death of Jesus is known at the “Swoon Theory.” The swoon theory is the theory that Jesus was crucified and came very close to death – but he didn’t die; he just swooned. The theory goes on to say that after three days the coolness of the tomb revived Him, and He managed to roll away the immense stone and appear to the disciples making them think He'd risen from the dead.

The swoon theory has been thoroughly refuted by many people and very few continue to bring it up as a possibility. If you saw the movie, you wondered how Jesus even survived long enough to be crucified. Let’s consider what he endured.Jesus was severally beaten with rods and scoured with a whip with several leather strips embedded with pieces of metal to the ends of the leather strips. Each lash was administered and pulled across the back so as to rip the back open. Often the back muscles were so badly shredded that the skeletal structure was exposed. People very often died from this punishment alone.

The torture of Jesus’ crucifixion was extreme. His arms are pulled apart and nails driven through the wrist into a cross beam which is raised in place. This dislocates the shoulders. The nails in the wrists sever the median nerve resulting in a burning pain as well as paralysis in the hand. To breathe Jesus had to press up on the nails in His feet, scraping His raw back on the wood. The body gradually drains of blood causing the heart to beat faster and faster. Dehydration is occurring. The breathing becomes more labored and intense as well as frequent adding to the agony. The blood loss results in extreme thirst as the body craves water to restore the lost blood. Jesus said, "I thirst" (John 19:28).

The heart beats so hard trying to compensate for the loss of oxygen (due to the lack of blood) in the body that it eventually ruptures. At this point the chest cavity fills with fluid.

After Jesus died, a soldier threw a spear into Jesus' side and out came blood and water, signifying that the heart had stopped beating and the blood was settling in the chest cavity. Jesus was dead.

For Jesus' burial, his body was wrapped in linen (Matt. 27:59). This wrapping was done tightly around the whole body from head to toe like a mummy. We see from the resurrection of Lazarus, that Lazarus had to be unbound (John 12:44) since help was needed to get out of the linens. The tomb was cold and Jesus laid in it for three days without medical attention.

A "large stone" had been placed over the entrance to the tomb (Matt. 27:60). UnlessJesus had some help, which isn't mentioned, He would have had to move the large stone.The stone had to be large enough to cover an entrance big enough for people to walk into. Even if they ducked to get in, the stone was large enough that it would take more than one person to move it in place.

Jesus appeared to several people after coming out of the tomb. Are we to believe thatJesus managed to walk a long distance on pierced feet and appear to the disciples as a victorious conqueror of death? It makes no sense.

One of the best replies to the swoon theory came from a lady who wrote into a question and answer forum:

Dear Sirs,

Our preacher said on Easter, that Jesus just swooned on the cross and that the disciples nursed Him back to health. What do you think?Sincerely,

Bewildered.

Dear Bewildered,

Beat your preacher with a cat-of-nine-tails with 39 heavy strokes, nail him to a cross; hang him in the sun for 6 hours; run a spear thru his side...put him in an airless tomb for 36 hours and see what happens.

Sincerely,

Charles.

3. Jesus Wasn’t Crucified – True or False?

One more false theory is that it wasn’t actually Jesus who was crucified. This is known as the “Substitution theory.” Some orthodox Muslims have proposed, "...God made someone else look like Jesus and that this person was crucified instead" (McDowell,Islam, p. 107).

The Koran (Quran) Sura 4.157 contains the following statement:They denied the truth and uttered a monstrous falsehood against Mary. They declared, “We have put to death the Messiah Jesus the son of Mary, the apostle of Allah.” They did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, but they thought they did.Those who disagreed about him were in doubt concerning his death, for what they knew about it was sheer conjecture; they were not sure they had slain him. Allah lifted him up to his presence. (See: http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/HolKora.html. Or http://www.theologywebsite.com/internet/Religions/Islam/Koran_and_Texts)

Not only does this flatly contradict the Bible, but also it leaves open some big questions that need to be explained. For example, thousands of people knew Jesus, wouldn’t someone have noticed that the wrong man was being crucified? Jesus’ mother stood at the foot of the cross (John 19:25). Obviously she would have recognized her own son! If the wrong man was crucified, wouldn’t he have been yelling, “I’m not Jesus!”? But that didn’t happen. Lastly, if Jesus wasn’t crucified, then what happened to him after 30 AD?

There is no explanation for any of these problems.

The truth about the death of Jesus is in the tag line of the movie – “Dying was his reason for living.”

4. Jesus Died for You – True or False?In the movie it was interesting to see the different reactions people had to Jesus and his crucifixion.

Most of the Pharisees and the Roman soldiers were despicable.

Barabbas was disrespectful.

Most of the disciples were fearful.

John and some of the women came close to the cross and stayed faithful. Simon, who helped carry the cross, changed from not wanting any part of it to identifying with Jesus. One criminal on the cross mocked Jesus and another repented.

But the person’s reaction that I found most fascinating was Pilate’s. Look at verse 24 again: 24When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. "I am innocent of this man's blood," he said. "It is your responsibility!"

I think Pilate’s reaction is the most common one among people today. Most people don’t hate Jesus. Most are not intentionally disrespectful. Most aren’t afraid, and many don’t repent or come close to the cross. Most people do what Pilate did – they admire Jesus, but they wash their hands clean of Jesus’ blood.

There is an intriguing phrase in the Apostles’ Creed that says Jesus “suffered underPontius Pilate.” Other than Jesus, his is the only human named in the Apostles’ Creed. It is almost as if he is being blamed for all the sufferings of Christ.

Why pick on Pilate?

It was Herod the Great who sought to slay Jesus at his birth.
It was the Pharisees who sought to trap Jesus.
It was Judas who betrayed Jesus.
It was Herod's son, Antipas, who had Jesus flogged and crowned with thorns.
It was the High Priest who arraigned him before Pilate charged with offences against Caesar.
Yet it was Pilate's decision which had to count, and Pilate put his own safety, career and reputation first.

Contrast Pilate’s response with Mel Gibson’s. As most of you know, Mel Gibson was not an actor, but the Producer of The Passion of The Christ. Gibson has taken a lot of criticism for making this movie. Some said it would end his career in movies. But Gibson said he didn’t care about that. He said, “I’m not a preacher, and I’m not a pastor. But I really feel my career was leading me to make this. The Holy Ghost was working through me on this film, and I was just directing traffic. I hope the film has the power toevangelize.” http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=33461

In the movie there is an obscure detail in the crucifixion scene that probably goes unnoticed by most people, but it is a detail that says so much. When Jesus is being placed on the cross, the camera comes close to watch as a large spike is positioned in the middle of

Jesus’ hand. Then, a mallet comes into focus, and a rugged hand swings it to drive the spike. Those are all things you expect to see.

But there is something you don’t see. You never see the face of the one who drives that nail. You never get a glimpse into the eyes, or heart of the one who so assuredly pounds away until the spike has passed through Jesus’ flesh and passes through the wood of the cross.

You might be interested to know that the person who plays that role in the movie is MelGibson. He wanted to identify himself as being guilty of putting Jesus on the cross. But why does he never show the face of the one who put Jesus on the cross?

It’s because we are all guilty of putting Jesus to death. It wasn’t just the Romans. It wasn’t just the Jews. It wasn’t just Pilate. It was our sin that nailed Jesus to the cross.

Now What? You have a choice before you.

Jesus requires a response. You can do what Pilate did. Show that you admire Jesus, but ultimately wash your hands clean of him. Or you can do what Gibson did; admit that your sins nailed Jesus to the cross. But also repent and rejoice that Jesus forgave you of your sins.

As Colossians 2:13-14 says: “You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ. He forgave all our sins. He canceled the record that contained the charges against us. He took it and destroyed it by nailing it to Christ's cross” (New Living Translation).

Shoulders hunched the man plods through life, straining with every step to carry the great burden on his back. It has been his night and day companion. Not once has he known relief from its merciless weight.

The man’s name is Christian, the central character in John Bunyan’s classic allegory The Pilgrim’s Progress. In one moving scene from the book, Christian finds the path to salvation. Up the hill he staggers until he reaches the peak. There he see a wooden cross, and just below it, an empty tomb or sepulcher. As he nears the cross, a miracle happens. The straps binding the massive weight to his shoulders loosen, and his load tumbles away into the sepulcher’s waiting mouth, never to be seen again. A delicious feeling of lightness buoys Christian’s body, and joyous tears of relief stream down his face. Three Shining Ones then approach him. The first announces, “Thy sins be forgiven thee;” the second strips away his rags and dresses him in splendid clothes; the third hands him a sealed scroll, which he is to present upon entrance to the Celestial City.

Overwhelmed by his new freedom, Christian breaks into song:

      Thus far did I come laden with my sin,
      Nor could aught ease the grief that I wan in,
      Till I came hither. What a place is this!
      Must here be the beginning of my bliss?
      Must here the burden fall off from my back?
      Must here the strings that bound it to me crack?
      Blest Cross! Blest Sepulcher, rather be
      The Man that there was put to shame for me!

In this brief scene, Bunyan has eloquently dramatized the message that we are all pilgrims, encumbered by a crushing load of sin. When we stumble to the cross, God releases our burdens, burying them forever in Christ’s own grave.

How To:

Dying was Jesus’ reason for living. He died for you so that you might be forgiven.If you want to confess that your sins helped nail Jesus to the cross, and want to be forgiven of those sins, I have a challenge for you. Each of you was given a photocopy of hand. Imagine that is Jesus’ hand. At the front of the church, there is a cross with nails and hammers next to it. As I lead in a time of prayer and music plays in the background,I’d like for you to write on the BACK of the hand what you want to be forgiven of. When you are done writing, come to the cross and nail the front of the hand to the cross. You can return to your seat when you are done.

2004/04/04

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