My Blood for the Remission of Sins - Jesus' Most Outrageous Sayings Part 3

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

Well, you know, the year was 1497. That's five years after Columbus sailed the ocean blue and on the walls of the Santa Maria monastery in Milan, Italy, Leonardo DaVinci painted what is considered today. One of the greatest works of art in Western civilization, it's called the last supper. That is, there was a depiction of the last meal that Jesus ate with his disciples before he went to the cross. Now, we want to talk about the last supper today, because it was at this meal that Jesus said one of the most outrageous things that anyone has ever said. Remember that we're in a study here, a series called Jesus's most outrageous sayings. What we're doing is looking at 12 of the most radical things that Jesus ever said while he was here on earth and we're taking a week on each one of those sayings. And we're asking the question, well, what did he mean? And so what for our lives now we've already done two of these and you can get the tape for the CD in our bookstore today. We're ready for outrageous saying number three. And so if you brought a Bible, I'd like to ask you to turn to Matthew chapter 26, the first book in the new Testament, Matthew 26. And if you're here in our main auditorium and you don't have a Bible reach under the arm rest right next to your chair, and you'll find the Bible we're going to be on page 7 0 3 and our copy of the Bible page 7 0 3 in our coffee, Matthew 26 in your copy. And in his painting, the scene that Leonardo DaVinci was trying to depict for us is found here in Matthew 26, beginning at verse 17. So let's look at it together. And I'm reading from verse 17. The disciples came to Jesus and asked, where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover? So the disciples did as Jesus directed them and prepare the Passover. And when evening had come, Jesus was reclining at the table with the 12 disciples. Now friends, there's only one problem with Leonardo's painting. And that is it's historically inaccurate. You see this was a Passover meal, it was a Passover Seder. And we know from Jewish writings at the time of Christ, number one, that people at a Passover Seder did not sit on chairs as in Leonardo's painting. But actually as the verse in Matthew 26 says they reclined on the floor, leaning on a pillow with their left elbow and eating with their right hand. We also know number two, that the table was not long and straight as in Leonardo's painting, it was actually shaped in a U shape, like a horseshoe. Third. We know that Jesus would not have sat at the middle of the table as in the painting, but rather would have sat on the right side of the horseshoe is you're looking at it. And finally, we know that the disciples and Jesus would have been eating unleavened bread matzah, and not the little things that look like Dunkin donuts that are on the table there in Leonardo's painting. It was a good try though, by Leonardo, it was a good try. Now it was here at the Passover meal that Jesus said one of the most outrageous things that he has ever said, look at verse 28 with me, then Jesus took the cup, gave thanks and said, this cup represents my blood, which is shed on behalf of many for the remission of sins. The word here translated remission literally means for the cancellation of sins for the release of sins, for the pardon of sins. So what is Jesus really claiming here at the last supper? Well, he's claiming that his blood soon to be shed on the cross would provide the way for people like you and me to have our sins pardoned, to have our guilt released and to have the penalty for our sin canceled in the sight of a holy God. Now I don't know about you, but I think that's a pretty outrageous thing to claim. And yet that's exactly what Jesus claim you said. Well, Lorna, I don't understand how does the blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cross create a way for all of this to happen for me? Well, that's a great question. And so let's answer it friends. It's no accident that Jesus said these words in the middle of celebrating the Jewish feast of Passover. Because when we understand the events of Passover that happened in Egypt, 3,500 years ago, we immediately understand the dynamics of what Jesus said here at the last supper. So let's look back at the Passover back in Egypt when the Israelites of course were still slaves before Moses led them out. And when we look at the events of the Passover, we find three spiritual truths that are being taught there that Jesus refers to with the last supper truth. Number one is that God is a God of justice and he demands a penalty for sin. You know, the Egyptians had disregarded God. They had resisted him and disobeyed him. When he said, let my people go, God had been very patient with them, but his patients had run out. And now here in the Passover, he is about to exact a terrible penalty for their sinful rebellion, Exodus chapter 11, verse one. Now the Lord said to Moses, I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt about midnight, I will go through Egypt and every firstborn son in Egypt will die from the first born son of Pharaoh who sits on the throne to the firstborn son of the slave and her hand mill friends. The first thing that we need to understand is that God is the same today. As he was back there in Egypt, he is still a God of justice who judges sin and the people who do it. Now, the second spiritual truth we learned from the Passover is that God is also a God of mercy because as such, God made a way of deliverance from this penalty back there in Egypt. And this truth is still also valid today. God is still a God of mercy who offers a way out of this judgment for sin to you, to me, and to every person alive on this earth. And the third spiritual truth that we learned in the Passover is that God's way of deliverance is based always on a blood covering Exodus chapter 12. Listen, each man God said is to take a lamb. You are to slaughter that lamb at Twilight. Then you shall take his flawed and put it on the sides. And top of the doorframe of your house, verse 12 of that chapter. And on that same night, I will pass through Egypt and I will strike down every firstborn, but this flood will be a sign on the houses that you are in. And when I see the blood, I will here comes the name of the feast. I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you. When I execute judgment on Egypt, you see the Passover lamb, the blood of the Passover lamb on the doorpost of those houses served as a covering. It served as a protective shield. If you will, against the judgment of God against this 10th plague in Egypt. And remember what God's promise was God's promise was when I see you hiding behind the blood, not when I see that your Israelites or when I see that your synagogue members are that you've been bar mitzvah'd or that you're trying hard to be good people. God's deliverance that night in Egypt had nothing to do with race, creed, nationality, or education. It had nothing to do with good works, religious activity, socioeconomic standing, or keeping the 10 commandments, which, oh, by the way, weren't even written yet. But if they hadn't been written, it wouldn't have had a thing to do with that. The issue simply is who was covered by the blood of the Passover lamb, who was hiding behind the blood of the Passover lamb. Now, do we all see that? Do we all see that? Do I need to go back and say all that again? No. Good. Okay. Cause I don't have enough time. We all understand that. Now. How does that all that relate to Jesus and what he said at the last suffer? Well, the new Testament says first Corinthians chapter five, verse seven, that Christ our Passover lamb has sacrificed for us. And what the Bible is telling us is that when we, as sinful human beings today take refuge behind Jesus Christ, blood just as those Hebrews hid behind the blood of the Passover lamb that night in Egypt. So long ago, the Bible says that we are protected from God's judgment against our sin in the same way that those Hebrews were protected. Except that now the blood that we're talking about is not the blood of some literal physical Passover lamb, but it is the blood of the ultimate Passover lamb, the Messiah, the Lord, Jesus Christ himself. And this is what Jesus was talking about at the last supper. This is why John the Baptist pointed to him and said, behold, the Passover lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, you said lawn, are you sure you're not reading too much into this? You know, I mean, all this blood thing sounds a little gruesome to me, friends, the blood of Jesus is not gruesome. The blood of Jesus is wonderful. And let me tell you why, because the Bible says first John, one seven, the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. The Bible says Hebrews nine, verse 12, by his own blood. He, Jesus obtained eternal redemption for us. The Bible says first Peter chapter one verse 18 for you were not redeemed from your worthless way of life with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect, the Bible says Colossians one, verse 14 in Jesus Christ. We have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, revelation chapter five, verse nine, calls Jesus. The one who loved us and has redeemed us to God by his blood Romans chapter five, verse nine, we have been justified. The Bible says by Jesus's blood Romans chapter three, verse 25 says we get atonement for our sins through faith in reliance, on Jesus's blood. And finally, there are many more, but one more that I'll just point out to you. Revelation seven verse 14 says that the people who are in heaven are those who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb. You see folks, every old Testament, Jewish feast was intended by God to be symbolic. It was intended by God to teach us some facet regarding the life in the work of the Messiah. And Passover was designed to teach us about God's plan of salvation God's plan of deliverance. Salvation is simply a matter of abandoning. Every other remedy imaginable to pay for our before a holy God and hiding instead behind the blood of Jesus Christ, like the Hebrews hid behind the blood of the Passover lamb 3,500 years ago with the confidence that God's promise is as good today as it was 3,500 years ago. And what was his promise? When I see you hiding behind the blood, I will pass over you in judgment. I will not exact the penalty for sin from you that my justice demands. I exact from everybody else who is not hiding behind the blood. That's the lesson of Passover. And that's what Jesus was talking about at the last supper. Now that's, as far as we want to go in our passage, because it's time for us to ask our most important question and we all know what that is true. Okay. Are you ready? Okay, nice and loud here. Come on now. 1, 2, 3. Hi. Yeah. Say lawn SOA. Say that's great. Good preaching man. Way to go. But what difference does that make in my life? Well, let's talk about that. You know, there are some words in life that I would call life altering words. Let me give you a couple of them. Marriage to life, altering word, pregnant life, altering word, homeowner, life, altering, word, bootcamp, life altering word there, retirement, um, scholarship. We parents love that life altering word. Now I've got one more that I want to share with you. This is a spiritually as well as humanly life altering word. And it was a word that was actually used in one of the verses that I read to you about the blood of Jesus Christ. It's a word that represents the culmination, the Zenith of everything that Jesus Christ came to earth to do for you and me. The word is the word justify. Listen to it. I'm gonna go back and repeat the verse. Romans five nine says that to those of us who believed in Jesus, we have now been justified by Jesus's blood and having been justified by his blood. We shall be delivered from God's wrath against sin through him. Romans 3 24 says as followers of Christ, we are justified freely by faith in his blood. Now, what exactly does it mean that as believers in Jesus Christ, we are justified. If you're going to appreciate this life altering word, we got to make sure we all know what it means. Well, the word justified comes from a Greek word, the word justification. That is a legal word. It is a forensic word. It is a courtroom word. If you will. And the word literally means to be acquitted. It literally means to be pronounced, not guilty. It literally means to be regarded by the legal system as innocent and in this legal imagery that this word conjures up, God is the judge. You and I are the defendants on trial for every wrong thing we've ever said done or thought. And God's justice has us dead to rights. However, when we offered to God as our defense, not our good works, not our religious activity, not our trying to keep the 10 commandments, not our being a nice person. But when we offer to God as our defense, the blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cross for our wrongdoing, God bangs his heavenly gavel and says, you now are justified. He grants us the legal status of being acquitted. The legal status of being not guilty, the legal status of being absolved, pardoned and righteous in his sight. Now friends, the truth is we are not righteous. We are not, not guilty, but all mighty God legally declares us not guilty. Anyway, he legally declares us justified anyway, all because we've taken refuge behind the blood of Jesus Christ and he refuses to see through the blood of Jesus Christ legally to see what we really are. That's the beauty of the blood covering. How many of you guys, you know, I used to rush home from school, uh, when I was younger and, um, flip on the television in elementary school to watch one of my very favorite programs every day after school Superman. I love Superman. Now. I used to watch the old Superman. If you remember the old Superman, uh, his name was Christopher, was George Reeves. There he is. Now some of you remember the new Superman Christopher Reeve, but it doesn't matter which Superman you remember you'll know that Superman had x-ray vision. He was also faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings with a simple bound. You remember Superman and he had x-ray vision. There was only one thing that Superman's x-ray vision could not see through. What was it kryptonite? No, no, it wasn't kryptonite. Kryptonite. What killed him? You y'all need to brush up on your Superman trivia out there. No, it was led that's right. He couldn't see through led and, and friends. What the Bible is telling us is that when it comes to our sin, God may have x-ray vision, but the blood of Jesus Christ is like heavenly land. You understand what we're saying? And when we hide behind the blood of Jesus Christ, God, doesn't see through that to see our sins anymore, which is why he can pronounce this righteous in his sight. Why he can pronounce this justified in his sight and friends. Once the judge of heaven, bangs his gavel and declares you not guilty in his sight, there is not one force in the universe that can change that decree, not even the devil himself, Romans chapter eight, verse 33, Paul says who will bring any legal charges against us. It is God who justifies there's our word. And when he does, Paul says, no one can condemn. This is why Hebrews 10 says, and this is the covenant. This is the legal agreement I will make with you. God says, when you trust Christ your sins and your wrongdoings, I will remember no more and friends. There's not a person in the universe that can change God's mind and make him remember them legally anymore. You know, about two years before I came to McLean, Bible church is your pastor. So about 27 years ago, I was a sitting one morning in Montgomery county traffic court. I had a, I was an invited guest, if you understand what I'm saying. And so, as I was sitting there waiting for my turn, I was watching with interest, all the cases that were going on in front of me. And there was a very interesting case a man would got up and the judge said to him, now you're accused of doing 75 miles an hour in the Mormon temple loop for the beltway. How do you plead? And he said, I plead explanation, your honor. I didn't know that was a plea, but the judge said, all right, so what do you have to say for yourself? He said, well, judge, you know, I was coming through that curvy section of the beltway there. And there was a fellow in the lane next to me who kept drifting over into my lane and almost forcing me off the road. He said, I beat the horn at him once, twice, he didn't change. He was working all over everywhere. So he said, what I did is as soon as I got the opportunity, I mashed the accelerator, the floor and flew by him to get in front of him for my own safety. And right at that moment, we came flying around the curve and there was the cop with the radar. And he said, I tried to explain to him what was really going on, but he wasn't able to see it because we were on the other side of the curve when it was all happening. But judge, I'm an innocent man. And I sat there and thought crap, it's a nice try fellow, nice dry fella. There is no way in the world. He's going to believe that. Do you know that judge sat there for a minute? And after he did, when poom hit his gobble and said, all charges dismissed, I find you not guilty friends. I about choked on my summons sitting there. I'm like, oh my gosh, I cannot believe that. I would bet you my retirement fund, that guy was guilty as sin of speeding through the beltway there. But you know what? He walked by the clerk by the bailiff, by the guard and out the door. Scot-free why, because when a judge declares you not guilty, then as far as the legal system is concerned, you not guilty regardless of what the real truth may be. You are not guilty in the eyes of the legal system of America. And this is exactly the same as the jurisprudence of heaven. It operates the same way. When all mighty God declares us justified when almighty God declares us not guilty because we're hiding behind the blood of Christ, then folks, it doesn't really matter what the real truth is. What matters is that the God of heaven pronounced us not guilty pardoned, and that will never change forever period, period, period. And this is what Jesus meant when he said it. The last supper, this is my blood, which is shed on behalf of many, for the remission, for the cancellation, for the pardoning of sins. This is what he was talking about. Now, if you're here today and you've never trusted Jesus in a real and personal way, you know what we want you to be part of the many that Jesus refers to in this verse, we want you to join that group of the many and the way you do that is very simple. You simply give up every other remedy that you're depending on to cover your sin in the sight of a holy God, you reject your good works, your religious activity. You're trying to be a nice person. And instead you take the covering that God provided for you, which is the blood of Jesus shed on the cross. That becomes your only defense in the eyes of a holy God. And I got great news for you. Not only is that your only defense, but friends, that's the only defense you need because it works. It's the way God made to do this. And if you're here today and you've never trusted the blood of Jesus to be your covering in between you and a holy God in his judgment than friends, I'm saying to you, what are you waiting for? What are you waiting for? It's free and it's yours if you want it. And I hope you'll reach out today and grab it because I can't think of a single reason why you would well, let's conclude Joe 14 verse one, man, born of woman is a few days. Job says and full of trouble. Now I don't know about you, but that verse definitely applies to me. I got trouble. I got troubled today with my eyes. I've got trouble with my back. I've got trouble with my left knee. I've got two canker sores in my mouth and I've got a stiff neck. I got in trouble with my computer printer. I got trouble with my washing machine. I got trouble with my toilet downstairs and I have a tree last week that fell over into my neighbor's yard and did damage. And I've got to pay for all of that. I got trouble. Maybe you got trouble. Maybe you don't have the same trouble as I got, but I guarantee you, you got trouble because Joe says, that's the way life is friends. I got to tell you though, with everything else that can go wrong in life with all the trouble that we can have in life. As a follower of Jesus Christ. It is wonderful to know that there is one thing in this life I will never have trouble with. There is one thing in this life that will never, ever fail me. And that is the blood covering that Jesus provided for me by his death on the cross. No matter what else happens, that will always be right. That will always be operative. And there will never be a problem with that whatsoever. This is one thing I can always fall back on when everything else around me seems to be crumbling. As the Bible says, it is an anchor for the soul and his followers of Christ. I'm here to challenge you and me to use it that way, to go back to that, to sort back to that when troubles going on in our life and be able to say, well, you know what? Everything else may be falling apart, but there's one piece of good news I've still got. And that is the blood covering of Jesus is still working for me today. And you know, friends when all the dust clears in heaven, that's the only thing that's really going to matter anyway, is that the blood covering worked for you and me. I love the hymn by William Coleman. Here's what he said. He said, will there be two throngs and heaven standing at the throne of God, one arrayed in their own merits, one washed in precious blood. Will there be two songs in heaven, wringing through the realms above one to boast man's virtues one to praise, redeeming love nay. He said one throng, one song, one voice in endless strain show, bless God who gave his son for sinners Christ. Our only righteousness, Jesus shed his blood on the cross. My friends to provide a righteous covering for you and me in the sight of all mighty God through which the justice of God agrees not to see which results in God pronouncing us justified, not guilty, acquitted and innocent in his holy site. Now it don't get no better than that. It just don't get no better than that. And I'm here to challenge you. Let that be an anchor for your soul when everything else is going wrong, learn to sort back to it and say, well, Lord, you know what? I still got the blood of Jesus and it's still covering me today. Just like it always has. And you know what? I can rejoice. Even if things aren't going good. Cause I got one thing that'll never let me down justify. And remember what Paul said when we are justified, there is no one, no one who can bring a charge judicially against God's people. What a wonderful thing. The blooded Lord of the Lord Jesus did for us. And I hope today. You'll understand now why Jesus said this is my blood. And it's going to bring remission

Speaker 2: 26:42

Cancellation of sin in the sight of God for you. Let's pray. Lord Jesus. Thank you so much for what you did for us on the cross. I'm sure we don't. We don't appreciate even a tiny part of it. God, really? But the little bit we do appreciate overwhelms us that you would go to the cross to do something for us. We could never do for ourselves. Provide a way for us to be right, not guilty and acquitted in the sight of a holy God, that you would love us that much, that you would be willing to pay that cost for us, that your mercy for us runs that deep. Well, Lord, it's a staggering thoughts and I'm here today on behalf of all of us in the room to say, we thank you for doing that for us, Lord. We thank you that even though we're not really righteous, we're not really not guilty. That you've made a way for us to have that standing in the courtroom of heaven. And Lord, may we show you our appreciation by the, our love, our devotion, our loyalty and our service to Jesus Christ in our lives down here, father, the Bible tells us we love you because you first loved us and demonstrated that love on the cross. Thank you God so much for your mercy. May we revel in it today? May it be an anchor for our soul? And we pray this in Jesus name and God's people said, amen,