Unashamed with the Robertson Family - Ep 193 | Phil's Prison Ministry, What Happened to Jesus on the Cross & the 3 Darkest Days in History

Episode Date: December 7, 2020

Jase talks about a powerful and graphic sermon that details what happened to Jesus on the cross and how to truly understand what Jesus did for us. Phil, Jase, and Al discuss sin and guilt, dying without Jesus, and when God gives us a last chance. Phil recalls speaking to prisoners about sin and will never forget a man who died shortly after refusing to acknowledge his sin. And there's no doubt in Al's mind what the three darkest days in human history were. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I am unashamed. What about you? When you think, how do you know someone really? There's been a lot of movies about that. You know, how do you really know someone? I think when you think about this in the light of Jesus, since it's based on faith, and you have the red letters, which is what we're doing every week going through John,

it's hard to grasp the entire weight of who God is. He's too big. And you have these red letters and you think, well, you know, I read the book of John. I got it. But it doesn't really work that way. That's why this thing is a growing faith. And when I hear, when I saw the sermon title for Sunday morning,

Tommy Eammon, I think the title was the day God died. I thought he fixed to talk about the crucifference. fiction here. So I didn't even go duck hunting. I was prepared in my mind to hear this. And it's always, you know, when you just focus on the cross and what he did, and you've heard him do this before, I think it was 20 years ago. Yeah, I called him because I was like, you know, I plan our sermon series for me and Mike,

and then sometimes Tommy or Jace or dad or somebody else will kind of pinch you in there every once in a while. So I'm looking at the whole end of the book of John, and so I'm kind of seeing how this is going to lay out through the end of the year. And when I saw that, you know, this crucifixion text in John 19, I was like, I got Tommy's guy to preach this sermon. So I was hoping he would. So I texted him, and I said, hey, I want you to preach on the day, you know, last Sunday. And on the crucifixion, I said, you preach this sermon at White's Road to spend at least 25 years ago, and I still remember it. And the impact that it had. I was there. I remember it. he found one.

Then he said, Tommy said, what did I say? Yeah. He was 25 years ago. Probably what I would say. But he took a doctor who is a believer who knows about the human body. Because to us, and when you think about people dying on a cross, we don't do that over here. Well, it hasn't been done for, you know, thousands of years. Yeah, I don't think we've ever done that.

Right. I mean, I'm sure there's been a few. cases, but he had a medical account of actually what happened during a Roman crucifixion. So there's a lot of medical terminology, but boy, it's a graphic, it is and was a graphic depiction of each stage of John 19, of Jesus being hung on a cross or a human being, what would happen to your body? from the nails going through your hands and both feet, a nail going through both feet,

where then you would have trouble exhaling, you know, and that's why you'd have to raise yourself off the nail. When you start thinking about that, it just makes you kind of, kind of queasy. Well, when you tie in the fact that he did this for my sin, the God of the universe, it is just a sobering time.

I mean, there was a lot of sniffles. I mean, it took about five minutes, but just going through the flogging process. And so that was the basis of what he did. And at the end, which I thought what made it great, is he went through the seven statements. You can go through Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John at the end.

They all have the crucifixion. They all have the barrel. They all have the resurrection for you knew in the faith. and he took the seven statements that he made, and he said a quick little comment on each one. After he had already got the medical diagnosis for what happened during the process, and then he ended it with,

he asked four questions, and I thought they were significant. By the way, you can go to WFR church.org and look at our archive sermons and see this sermon for yourself. So that's always an option for those of you that like to go and check it out. I'm looking for these four statements. Oh, it was a simple illustration, but he said if you ask somebody,

did Jesus die for mankind, people would say, well, yeah. And then he said, take a question, are you a part of mankind? You'd say, well, yeah. So now this is after you heard this graphic depiction of the amount of parents. and suffering that went on for mankind. But then he said, so he died for my sin. He died for mankind. Yeah, I'm part of mankind.

Well, now we've gotten down to my sin, which if you start going through your mind, memory serving, the things we did so this would happen. Correct. So then his fourth question was, so did your sins kill Jesus? It was a real sobering thought, especially after you hear

how it happened, how it went down. And, you know, I'm telling me, I don't see how that doesn't move you in some way when you tie in the evidence of the guilt of our sin. Yeah. Which I've heard Phil speak many times. One of the evidence is that there is a God is why we feel guilty,

especially the first time we commit a sin. Whether you believe or not, you think, I probably shouldn't have done that. In your mind, you didn't even have to vocalize it. Once you do it a few times, the guilt starts to subside. That's why your conscience,

at first, it condemns you, then let it ride a little bit. it accuses you, then it says, well, well, everybody else is doing it. I mean, it defends you or, you see what I'm saying? Well, unless you're convicted, you're not going to do anything about it. I mean, that's always the situation. One of the things that reasons I wanted Tommy to preach that sermon, Jay, is because

Tommy spent his whole life in education, and he teaches Bible at our local Christian school. and probably one of the hardest groups to motivate day and day out of teenage people. And that's why he's very emotional. He's a good illustrator. And that's why I love his preaching when he hits it because it does. He gets to the heart of the matter. And I think it's just because he's a good experience and he's a good speaker. But what was interesting to me, we talked about this a little bit last time,

leading up to the crucifixion, is that Jesus was basically abused by every group. It started with the memory he goes for the high priest and they're slapping him in the face and hitting him and, you know, it starts there. So every stop of the way, then he goes to Pilate. And so Pilots thinking, well, if we just give him a good beating, a good Roman beating, then that should be enough for these bloodthirsty people. But of course it wasn't. Then he sends him out, ships him over to Herod. We read about that in Luke 22. And then Herod's guys put a robe on him and just beat him some more. goes back and he finally gets convicted by, you know, pilot who's trying to wash his hands and all that. This is before we get to the flogging, which he went through that, which is why

they would do the 39 or the 40 lashes minus one because they were basically had figured out a system of brutality where anything over about 39 lashes is going to kill you. So they didn't want to kill you, but they wouldn't make you feel like you were going to die. They were experts in distributing pain and suffering that led to ultimate death. Right. So they didn't want to just, you know, here we are today. You know, we look at our prison systems and say, oh, man, you know, they got TV. We're going to cut their TV off a week.

This is, think the opposite. This is, you're fixed to get beat, whooped, and we're going to take care of this. Because it's amazing that this happened over someone who's innocent. to go through this. But all that you just described, Al, and I read this while I was listening to the sermon to make sure, you know, I didn't read this out of a book or whatever. Right.

They were basically mocking and flogging and hitting him based on two questions. You claim to be a prophet. So they were like, they blindfold him, slapped him. Who hit you? Who hit you? Yeah, prophesied about that. That bothered them that you claim that you can predict something. which I think, well, that's what bothers people about Jesus today.

Whenever you bring him up as supernatural, people, like, wait a minute, they attacked that. And then they attacked him being king, which is what led to the thorns and the robe, putting a robe on him. And so I thought that was interesting. Really all the brutality in that, the mocking, the scourgion, was kind of, was coming from a disdain of you think you're a king and a prophet, we're the Roman Empire. Welcome to hell.

I mean, here's what we do. We're a king and we're a prophet. If anybody's a pro, we'll tell you what's going to happen. You're fixed to get whooped. And so that, to me, is an underlying theme in this process. Right. And, you know, Pilate, the discussion they had back and forth,

it's interesting because Jesus told Pilate, he was like, the ones who turn me over to you, they're guilty of a greater sin. which was interesting because he would like, these people should know better. They've been expecting me, but you, and then he's like,

and then when he goes in for the second interrogation, Pilate says, don't you know I have the power to crucify you or let you live? And he says, you have no power other than what's been given to you from above. In other words,

he's letting him know, you think you're in charge here, but you're not. Which I thought was really powerful because there's no way. And look, Pilate did not want to kill him. And you remember this weird thing, Pilate's wife, she sends word down to Pilate. Don't have anything to do with this man because I had a dream.

Yeah. I had a dream that has caused me great suffering, she said, concerning this man. And it was really interesting to me that, like, whatever happened in that, she had some sort of prophetic, you know, dream. Yeah, I think we talked about that the week that Zach was here, but how God would work in dreams. And even Phil and I shared some of our experiences where you wake up in the middle of night and I'm like, where's it peen? You know, I have some spiritual thought that came to me, which you got to remember, the Holy Spirit doesn't sleep. That's right. And we may be sleeping.

And even in this case. An evil one doesn't either. Well, right. And even in this case, when he said the day God died, got to remember, God is eternal. Jesus said, I am life. the whole reason he became a man to have this shell that could be tortured and persecuted and flogged and ultimately crucified, the reason he did all that is so that he could die for our sins.

And the ultimate motivation, which he really starts zero and in, you'll notice the last three or four chapters of John, you start hearing that love mentioned, which he mentioned it to Nicodemus in that famous conversation, in the middle of the night where he said for God so loved the world a few of them the roman soldiers they went from we're we're experts at dispensing pain but even some of them said at the point of him being crucified none of the rules of this age understood it this hidden secret wisdom that's been hidden

and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rudels of this age, including Pilate. Pilot wasn't sitting there out thinking, you know, there may be a chance. This guy is going to, this guy really is the one who's going to remove my sin. Right. By me having him crucify. He was not thinking like that.

No, he's thinking like a politician. That's right. He was thinking, how do I get out of this with the least amount of trouble? That's right. And ultimately. His sins going to Jesus, a really, There's no point about, you know, does all mankind sin, whether you sin, whatever. But he was sitting there.

That question never entered his mind. But you know it is interesting. He didn't, he thought, end of the line for this, whoever this is. You know, some kind of says he's a prophet. I mean, it's the same ha-ha that we see among politicians today. They don't really believe. If his wife would have whispered in his ear, he's doing this for you. Yeah.

Yeah. loves you. Yeah. He's like, he said, what? Well, look, it's the same response

that we, that when we share Jesus, especially there are some of these Hollywood types that we've had, all the people I've shared with. Yeah, it's a looking down saying, what?

What? All the people I've told about Jesus, hey, the vast majority, look, for whatever reason. Well, it's absurd. They're saying,

no. Can't happen. Let's take it. a break. But it's a replay of what we're reading here, especially people with money and power. Why they need Jesus? But it is interesting that Pilot, you know, it's not in John, one of the other gospels. He didn't seem to lack it.

He didn't. He's a politician. He's a politician now. He brings the basin out, though, and he washes his hand. It's a big deal about washing his hands like, here's the deal. This isn't on me. Yeah. Just, you all remember, I wanted to set him loose.

I see politicians do it. every day. They do these quirky illustrations of like wasn't me. That's right. And they blame the other side. And guess what? That's why nothing gets done good. It ends in trouble because he just blame

shifted and got out from under it. But when you think about the details, which is all he focused on, which was his point, which is my point. People like to distance themselves from the barbaric nature of what Jesus did on the cross because it's

uncomfortable. And he made an illustration that he said, I know Christian people who wouldn't let their kids watch the passion of the Christ because it was rated art, which I was wondering, I thought, where's it going with this? Oh, he didn't sugarcoat it. He said, you ought to be ashamed of yourself. I forced my kids to go watch it. I said the exact same thing. I argued with a sister at church. Because it was his point. And with the Romans, when they flogged somebody, they tied your hands up or tied your hands together and tied your head to a pole and the little whip they had had multiple strands of leather

and at the end of it had like bone or lead it wasn't like it was a whip that just left some red marks I mean these things were designed to take all the flesh off your body that's why in Isaiah 53 it said his body was marred beyond human appearance human likeness yeah human like

Well, it was just the most gruesome. Oh, yeah. You know, there's meat, but they want to keep you alive until the end. And so I'm trying to say that when it becomes personal, when you look at the mistakes you made, that you made. Now, you can blame the way you were raised or your environment and all these things, but there comes a time in your life where you make bad decisions. And all of a sudden, you come across a book.

that is historically accurate. And tens of thousands and thousands and thousands of people who have changed their life based on what they read here and experienced this. Four billion have read about it. That's how many bibles have been sold. 3.9 billion. Way more than any other book ever written. You see God becoming a man.

And then during that, he didn't have to. He could have literally zapped everybody. instantaneous. Plus he was predicting it over and over and over and over. This is going to happen. By the way... Which is, Phil, what I'm saying, he chose to experience that love.

This was love in action. And there's probably more gruesome ways that have been invented to die. But the point was, this was gruesome to the 10th power. But it was based on the first 18 chapters of everything he did was to try to heal relationships, to stop prejudice, to forgive, to start over, to help the sick, help the poor, to give good guidance, everything he did was to be a peacemaker.

And they slaughtered him anyway. And slaughtered him. And what's interesting is he knew, obviously, because he kept saying why he came here to die, but they could not out argue it. They had no answers for it, which is why they started hitting him in the mouth. Because none of the rules of the age understood it. If it had, they would not have crucified him, the Lord of glory. However, it is written.

Look, no eye has seen, no ear has heard. Think about it. This was a one-time unveiling. he wasn't there. Now, a lot of predictions, Jesus is coming, used old Jason's famous line, but when he finally arrived,

no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God is prepared for those who love him, but God has revealed it to us by his spirit. And for most people,

even Jesus, becoming flesh, God in flesh, dying on a cross, being buried and raised from the dead. Even that, most people, the majority of people, the parable of the sow or farmer sowed the seed, the seed is what he's going to do for mankind. You'll give him life and immortality, to move their sin and raise them from the dead.

You would think they would be running as wild people to get in on that. but why is it such a hard sale? Well, he describes why in that parable. He said the things of this life are more important to them. Some of them just, you know, as soon as they hear it, they just, you know, it snatched away. They just don't even care.

I mean, you're just not even thinking about it. Well, but people don't want to take responsibility for their actions. In our world, being held accountable, being people of integrity or honesty, I mean, it's so difficult to do anyway. Well, then when, that's why I asked that question, did you kill Jesus? Well, those people are going to say, no, I didn't have anything to do with that. By the way, Jay, why are you there? One of the things that has always been a little bit intriguing for me is that

pre-resurrection, during the crucifixion, after they got done with him, I mean, he was marred beyond human likeness. It was just a pile of shrughey, redded, beaten flesh. Correct. Three days later, they're running around. The tomb's empty. Peter and John, what in the world going on, the women?

And then no one could really recognize him. So what everybody he came forth with, they didn't say, oh, that's Jesus there. At first, they were just, and I've always wondered, but then I got to thinking about it. I said, well, you beat somebody to a pup. And then he receives a glorified body. I think this body had some bells and whistles that we're not yet familiar with.

I've always wondered. I said, what exactly did he look like after that beating? Well, and he had multiple things he looked like. I mean, remember he's walking? You could still see because he told Thomas, he said, no, look right here. Well, I think it had the capacity. to show you what he used to be. Yeah.

And what it is and what it will be. Because he was walking along talking with two of the disciples on the road to Mayas, remember Luke 24? But it said their appearance, his appearance was held from them. That's right. So they were walking along. I always wondered about that.

Because you remember they said, then all of a sudden, right before he vanishes, they see him, and they're like, I knew it had to be, you know, didn't you feel burning inside, you know, when he was talking to it? So it's like they knew it was familiar, but I mean, somehow he had.

as appearance. You know, that glorified body, I think, Jason, would I be correct in saying he was no longer, as the Bible says, flesh and blood. Something. As we understand it. Yeah. But it was flesh and blood in a sense that it was still a body. Yeah.

You know, when you go through that First Kingdom is 15, it is sown and dishonor. It is raised in glory. There's like seven itts there in First Kingdom of 15. Yeah. Which is a very convincing truth because a lot of people incorrectly, you know, we believe, teach that it's not flesh, that there's some sort of spiritual resurrection. And he did eat fish. He ordered something to eat and he ate it. Oh, that's just downright.

That's just awesome. I've said that in many a sermon. I was like, he didn't eat. Post-resurrection, he didn't eat fish because he had to. He did it because he wanted to. He could, you know. You totally changed my worldview because you've been to Israel. I have it.

When you said you saw Apalususus catfish in the sea of gal, I was like, no wonder. Loaded. And a lot of these people are not eating them because they're not kosher. That's right. Which I thought, no, that's humor. That's a God humor that only a true fisherman would get. That's right. Because now you have the greatest meal swimming around.

Jesus left your president. Not only is there a mighty thong that does not know Jesus. There is a mightier throng that does not understand the flavor and the texture of an Apollosus catfish. The Bailey made on a lot. It's a secret. It is. I agree. Let's take another break.

And that's the point. You know, how do you know, it's hard to know what you don't know, which is what this does. If you think about what happened on the cross and you looked at what everybody in the world, because we've already established the fact, this was for everybody. Every single person that ever was, that is, and that ever will be. So when you encounter the cross of Jesus, there's a courtroom that happens wherever you're at, and you have to make an announcement. Are you guilty of causing this? Because if he died for the sins of the world, that's going to come down,

into your lap here, which is, here's what's interesting about this. If you say guilty, then he's going to say not guilty. Because what I did, I'm going to deem you not guilty. But I'm saying as human beings, a lot of us will hear Jesus

or never even pursue Jesus because they say, I'm not guilty. I don't believe in that. Yep. I don't believe my sin had anything to do with this mythical creature that y'all have created named Jesus. So they say, I'm not guilty. So, you know, what we do in our Bible studies is say, well, are you guilty of anything?

Well, yeah. And so then you're going down a road where where's the justice going to be for this, even in a non-God believing world. A few soldiers. doesn't it record a few soldiers said, surely this was the son of God. Yeah, once he died, there was... Something, what have we done here?

Well, a lot happened while he was up there. Listen, this is to your point, Jay, 2 Corinthians 5, 17. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has gone, the new has come. All this is from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry

of reconciliation. that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them, which is to your point. And he has committed us to this message. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.

We're in the perfect one, and he fixed away, beginning with the cross, and once we are in Jesus, the one who was crucified for us, He's the perfect one, and we are viewed by God as perfect because we're in him, and he is in us. And the power of the cross is this next verse, which is one of my favorite in the whole Bible, verse 21, 5, 21, God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. Basically, this is what you deserve.

Right. Well, there's two points I wanted to say based on you reading that. One is I didn't come up with the guilty, not guilty. That wasn't my illustration. I got that from John 12, which we studied before in verse 31 and 32. He said, now, this is pre-crossed, but he says, now is the time for judgment on this world. What is judgment? Guilty or not guilty?

But I, verse 32, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself. Correct. And then 33 says, he said this to show the kind of death. that he was going to die. So you got judgment coming on the world, and he says, when I'm lifted up, on a cross, I'm going to draw all men to myself. Because you've got to ask yourself a question.

Are you guilty or not guilty? That's why it draws all men. Because everybody has to face that question. And everybody sins. If I get just run up on one adult who said, Nope. Not happened. I haven't run up on that.

That means they're a liar and they just sin again. Well, yeah. The other point I want to make is, Al, about the God made him who had no sin to be sin for us. I think in these seven statements, which we're not going to go through all of them in detail today. But if you introduce them, one of them, you all probably have a different opinion, the most controversial statement he made was the my God, my God, why have you for making me. That's Matthew 2746. A lot of people have trouble with that because they're like, well, what happened to this?

He knew this was going to happen. This was the plan. So my response would be, and here's what I think, based on you reading that, I was going to bring up that Serapentin's Five. I believe when he became sin for us, you have this kind of response. Because basically, what we, you know, cry out in our own sin, you know, we, we were like, well, why have you forsaken me? Well, because our sin separates us from God. So in this moment, you know, when you go back to how Jesus got here, he impugns himself, going back to what I said earlier about, the only way he could die was to become a man. And here in this moment, just in this moment, if 2nd Corinthians 5 is true, if you take it literally, it said, God made him who had no

sin to be sin for us and I think this one statement captures that moment because in that moment he became our our sin and you say well why is he saying why have you forsaken me because God is can't coexist with sin so we have a moment where part of the Godhead dies yep now it was impossible for him to stay dead, Acts 2, when Peter preached that sermon, because he's God. And he proved that what we said, when he got the spirit that raised

him from the dead, he's walking through walls, showing his scars, he's eating fish, though he don't have to, he's flying, disfiguring his appearance, he's doing all kind of stuff. And to your point, the reason we know he was proven that he died, because there's been a theory called the Swoon Theory

that's been around since the first century, that he didn't really die. He just passed out. To me, the three days of burial. That's the three days. Which is why the burial is important. The burial gets neglected. And wrongfully so. Number one, three days, because I've heard people, I've studied with people,

and I'm not making fun of them, but I kind of am. And they'll sit down and I'll share Jesus and they'll say, well, yeah, but, you know, look, I've died seven times. Well, my first thought is you're crazy or perhaps mistaken. and their religious experience is like they died on operating table seven times and I'm like all that proves to me is that you're tough or at best but one day guess what you're you're let's say you have nine do it nine times one day it's going to run out and but you see what I'm getting out by the way I've run upon one

individual one in my 45 years of following Jesus and pointing to the cross. I've run upon one of them, one human being. I've been into prisons, and I remind them, I say, do you know what brought you here? All of them? The women are over there under cyclone fence, you know, fencing. You're not climbing this fence.

The women were over all over. This is at the prison? The group on my left were all women, and the ones right in front of me were all men. I said, what brought you here is your sin? I said, is there anybody out there among you who has never sinned? If you've never sinned, because that's what got you in here, raise your hand. If you've never sinned, I'm looking at several thousand people.

I looked all around, all human beings. Not a one, raise their hands. They all pretty well said. Oh, I thought you were going to say somebody raised their hand. No, I said, if one of them. of you, just one of you had raised your hand and said, well, I've never seen. I said, you're a liar, which is a sin. I said, but fortunately for you, you spoke the truth. But the guy I ran up on Al, and he said, wait a minute, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. He said, I'm an alcoholic, and he started with that.

And I said, well, sin's a problem, man. He said, wait a minute. He said, I've never sent. I said, oh, you've sinned for 30 minutes before I told him about the cross that Jesus died on for his sin. I tried to convince him. I would just give him scriptures all of sin, following Cheryl, the glory. He said, nope, you ain't putting that on me. I don't believe it. And I tried for 30 minutes to get him to admit he had sinned. He said no.

The guy that brought him, Macmillan brought him down there, I said, well, I tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to preach the gospel to you and what Jesus did for your sins that you say you don't have. I said, you won't admit you have sins. I said, I'm going to tell you what Jesus did for the ones who will admit it. And I told him, I said, I'm going to preach the gospel anyway. Well, I did. He leaves.

He said, no, nope. He walked out the door and nope, nobody's going to tell me I'm going to sin right now. I'm going to die. He said, I'm not going to do either. Nope. So he lasted about, I'd say six weeks later, McWill and Collins said, you know the guy that said he's never sinned, he's not going to die? I said, I remember him.

I said, that's tough, tough one there. He said, he just did. I said. Sin or died? Died. He said, he just died. I said, man, that was like the last chance for him. Six weeks later, I said, how did he die?

He said, knife to death in a bar. I said, there's your sin. I tried to tell him six weeks ago. I tried to tell him. I'm going to go out on a land. True story. And say there was some sin involved that led to the knife in the bar. Yeah.

Usually you don't have fights in bar unless there's some bad behavior involved. Yeah. That's sad. And isn't that sad that he had an opportunity? I never forgot that, by the way. I said, you know what? Sometimes God gives them a last chance to say, You know.

That's what's weird. The one guy... God made him. He had no sin to be sin for it. That's weird. The one guy I studied with that said he wasn't going to die, me and a buddy. And, you know, you're immediately thinking,

what, what, you know, how do you... He's like, no, I'm not going to die. That's what he said. Well, no, I'm saying I had a different one. Oh, did you? Yeah. And weirdly enough, he died a few weeks later, also in some freak accident.

And I just thought, after hearing that, you don't want to go around saying you're not going to die. That's right. Which, by the way, just for people listening to us, because I know our audience keeps getting bigger, somebody's, I'm sure, listening that probably has not accepted Christ and become a believer. But the reason you may be listening to this podcast is because this is your opportunity to make a move. Yeah. Just like we've described with these two gentlemen that didn't.

We're giving them true stories. I mean, you know. I mean, because we can get in on this. I think what you got to remember. is that the way we started this, even the conversation in the podcast, and the way all the gospels lay out, and I mean what's known as the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, they all start with who God is in Jesus.

Now, they all end, and of course they give different accounts of things he did, and then John makes maybe a joke about this. I'm not sure if it was a joke or not, saying, we just have a few things written down. If all of them were written down, wouldn't be enough books in the world to hold them. So he obviously... He did way more.

He did amazing. You know, you want to talk about a library. Go visit the Jesus Library of unlimited books. But... He is our calendar documents that we are counting time by Jesus Christ. I don't care what anybody says. But my point is, the way he died, even though that's what we're talking about in the medical account,

is very moving. who he is is more important he is the son of god he is innocent he does love us so when they put him on a cross yes it was graphic but the reason that it moves us is because what you read heading up to the cross allows you to fall in love with him and realize that he's right about everything in life You want a secret way to a successful life. Just take everything he ever said and put it into your life. That's right. Whether you're trying to obtain salvation or heaven or God,

you just want to be more successful, try them. It's amazing how awesome it actually works. So, I mean, and some of the little details of it, I mean, I think about this prayer that he prayed right before he's arrested. I mean, you're just, he's just bearing his heart, and he starts off, which I think humorously, talking in the third person, because we always, we get annoyed about when people do that.

Well, you can talk in the third person if you are actually three people. You know, and nobody ever says that. But I'm like, yeah, well, how does he pray them? You know, they put in my Bible the heading, Jesus prays for himself. I'm like, roll my eyes. I'm like, because they're like,

we can't really understand this, So we'll just try. Yeah, he's got us speaking in the third person here. I'm like, well, he's a complicated person. Well, and he knew everything we've been talking about. He had to do. And look, I mean, even if you're God, to go through what he went through. It had all been written.

And to take that sin. So I want to mention, let's take a break. I want to mention, Jay, since you brought it up, Matthew 28, that statement he made and dive into that a little bit more because there's a couple of things that I think are important. about that. I agree with you that he had to be forsaken. In other words, he had to take home the scene. Yeah, because sin entered the arena, the payment for it. That secretary of this father is the greatest lead-in ever. Because it says he had no sin, but he became sin for it. Well, he didn't commit one. So what does he mean? But there were two, there were, he had them all on his back.

There were two practical reasons why he said it. And if you read the text that it's at, it says from the sixth hour, this is Matthew 2745, from the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land so there was a solar eclipse i guess that lasted three hours it just went dark in this moment which remember he tapped on about the light of the world the light of the world would the world just went dark in the moment and there's i think that's significant because he said he is light that's right well it got dark he said he is life right and he died so about the ninth hour jesus cries out lo i L-O-I-L-I-L-A-M-A-Sabatina, which means, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Which, by the way, is a prophetic verse that David first said way back in Psalm 22. So that was another reason why he said it, because you read Psalm 22, and the whole Psalm is a prophetic about Jesus. There's a lot of prophetic thing he does there. So he was saying that also to describe, I'm the one. I mean, so he's not just talking to God, but he's also talking to everybody else. See, that's why the prophecy was fulfilled. So there was more than just one reason why he said it.

One reason was he took on the sin of the world. Second reason is, and I can take on the sin of the world, which is in that darkness, which I thought was powerful. The qualifications to do that, nobody else is qualified. No. No. Because you'd have to be creator, sustainer, innocent. This story is so hard to wrap your head around that.

that, you know, we're having trouble with it. I mean, like, in my simple mind, it doesn't bother me when he said, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Because I'm understanding the sin angle. But you're right. But also, one of the other statements he made on the cross was, he looked over at the thief and said,

today you'll be with me in paradise. Well, I'm like, well, what happened to this? Why are you forsaken me? He knows this going to be okay. Right. Which takes me back to what happened with Lazarus and John 11. he wept when he saw everyone upset. So in the moment as a human, he was upset.

You're watching a movie, everybody's crying, or even at a funeral where someone you love, sometimes it's not what you're thinking. You just look and see somebody you love crying. Well, that makes you cry. That's right. So he had that moment, but he raised him five minutes later.

What was all this crying about? and so that's why I think him being God and human simultaneously and doing an act of love, I think this is why you get statements that seem to be in contrast with each other. But if you kind of look at it for who he is and all the details that led to this moment, it kind of makes sense. Well, and especially when you throw in this dark time, because you remember what he told him when he looked at the crowd that came to get him, he said, you know, you've been following me around for three years, you know.

And then he says, but this is your hour when darkness reigns. And so he knew in his death, it was dark. And you think about it for three days when he dies, and the last thing was it is finished, which we'll talk about next time. But when it ends, that's the three darkest days in human history was this three days. Because you think about it, God had come here and died.

I mean, think about those three days. I mean, everybody's, all his followers are huddled up and hidden, you know, thinking that they're next. And the resurrection is just around the corner, but for three days, it's darkness. I mean, like, it's... I think that perfectly represents what goes on in human beings' lives, those outside of Christ and those in. It's basically a three-day drunk or a party. Yep. That's what you get.

Yep. Compared to an eternal existence of sheer bliss, even though. though there might be some bumps along the way in this life. Because even Jesus set the precedent here. You know, Isaiah 53, right after the part we read last time, surely he took up our infirmities, he carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, afflicted. He was pierced for our transgressions.

He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought peace was upon him. and by his wounds we're healed. And all these verses you'll read later, Peter brings it up when he's talking about it, looking back. So this has all been laid out. Thousands of years before he got it.

And the arguments they keep coming up with and let no one deceive you with empty words for because of such things, God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore, do not be partners with them. far you were once darkness but now you are light in the Lord live as children of light

for the fruit of the light consists of goodness righteousness truth find out what pleases the Lord have nothing to do with these fruitless deeds of darkness you so Jesus makes a pretty good point there you know from light to dark from darkness to light that's a big event for any human being yeah and that's why experienced death and human now the one thing he is that

remain, which is why I think he said the greatest of these qualities is love is love. Love even reigned during the darkness, which is why you get to Romans 5 while we were sinners. Christ died for us. So that, because that comes back to the motivation, which, look, it's interesting. Here's this conversation with Nicodemus,

who is not this big helion that you would think of. Most time we think Jesus died for the sins of the world, we're thinking about the prisons. But here's a religious guy that he just flat out rebuked. You know, he'd come to him at night, you know, secretively, hey, you know, what do we do? Because he wanted to still try to hold his position. We've got some pilot moves going on here. You know, he don't want to get the church house upset.

That's right. But this old boy seems to have some kind of power, so let's check him out. And so Jesus tells him the last thing any of us would ever tell a church leader. You need to be born again. start over. You're going the wrong way. Come up from the fires of hell and join us. Well, you know, most church leaders,

what are they going to do if you tell them that? They're going to say, well, who are you? What are you crazy? You're out here in a tent. You don't have anything. But you notice that when Jesus died and Tommy made this point, Nicodemus was one of the two guys that they said, we want to wrap that body.

Now, there's a lot of things that is not said in between chapter 3 and chapter 19 about Nicodemus that you can go ahead and assume. That question about you need to be born again and the spirit works kind of like the wind and God so loved the world. And here's the verdict. I mean, it transformed his life. You do have one other little pop-up at the end of John 7. he sort of defends Jesus. Remember he said? Yeah, that's right.

So you're right. You were watching Nicodemus become a believer. You know, he had to be just a rock post-Jesus, you know, for the early church. Because he knew, you know. Well, think of the flak he took for going and wrapping the body. I'm like, what do you care about that joker for? He's dead. Yeah.

He was a no-law. Well, that basically, I'm sure, ended, is whatever. was before. Well, look, I've made the same argument. I'm like, whoever you are following, if he's dead, I'm not interested. Which is basically what all his other religious cohorts are now saying. Which is really interesting, Dad, to see current Marxism, Carl Marx. I mean, why you want to follow that guy? You know, he's been dead for a hundred years. I mean, like, you look at these. I've worked on my attack, but, you know, when people knock on my door. I read all of his writings and said, What did this guy do for a living?

I mean, I couldn't find anybody ever held a job. Well, no. Well, look, I used to have, when people used to knock on doors, which now they don't, but now you go get a gun, because the coronavirus, they're knocking on your door. Don't knock on my door. This guy was trying to rob me. But back when we used to answer the door, you know, these people who would share their religion, and always ask the same question.

Of course, they'd say, we know we'd like to talk to you about whatever. I was like, well, I want to talk to you about Jesus. And if there was a conflict over that statement, and I always did the same thing, which Missy would roll her eyes, because it usually turned into a two-hour discussion, you know, in a living room. But I would stop everything, because I'm like, you knocked on my door and want to talk to me about whatever,

which is fine, but I want to talk to you about Jesus because you're in my house. And I always had the same question. Because if they were bothered by that, I was like, look, If you're following someone who's dead, I'm out. I don't care what his name is. I don't care what the story is. I'm going to save you a speech.

And look, that ended some of the conversations. Of course, I would try to get Jesus in there. And the same thing with the trick-or-treating. You know, they're like trick-or-treat. And I'm like, I'm going to give you some candy. I want to tell you something better than candy. You know, give them a little Jesus sermon. Look, and if you don't like it, guess what?

next year, don't knock on my door. The parents are making a note. You're going to get some candy and he's going to tell you about Jesus. I love it. All right, so next time we're going to go through those other statements because there's some interesting things that he said. And all of them have a significant meaning before we kind of leave this concept of the cross.

This stuff. Thanks for listening to the Unashamed podcast. Help us out by rating us on iTunes. And don't miss an episode by subscribing on YouTube and be sure to click that. little bell to get notified about new episodes. And for even more content that you won't get anywhere else, subscribe to blazed TV at blazedtv.com slash unashamed.