The Crux of the Cross

Often times we talk about getting down to the heart of the matter. Sometimes we can have superficial discussions about things, but there are times that you need to quit scratching around the surface and get down to business. Crux is a word we use at times for this reason. The crux of any issue is what really matters. If you look it up on thesaurus.com it will give you other terms that are synonymous, such as meat and potatoes, nitty gritty, core, essence, bottom line (http://www.thesaurus.com/browse/crux?s=t).

Did you know the cross of Jesus Christ has a crux? Yeah, we know that people wear one around their neck, we talk about carrying our own cross daily, and maybe even referencing it as a historical event. However, when it comes right down to it, the crux of the cross is of the utmost importance. This morning I want us to look at the crux of the cross from three perspectives.

For the Savior, the crux of the cross was His curse. 

God made man and something went haywire, because sin entered the world. Not to worry though because long before sin appeared on the scene, God had already put a plan in motion. He would send His Son to remedy this problem. Paul says “…He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world…” (Gal. 1:3). Peter in referring to the work of Christ as the sacrificial lamb of God says “…He was foreknown before the foundation of the world…” (1 Pet. 1:20). God was going to send His Son down to this earth to take care of the sin problem. How was He going to do that?

In Gen. 3:15 it was prophesied that the serpent would bruise His heel. Moses talked about the person being hung on a tree being cursed (Deut. 21:23). We can read about the suffering the Savior would endure as depicted in Isaiah chapters 52 & 53. Jesus was going to have to suffer in order to take away the sin of the world. In order to crush sin, the Savior must be crushed (Is. 53:10).

Paul said that Jesus in going to the cross became a curse for us (Gal. 3:13). In doing so, Paul also said this is where He became sin on our behalf (2 Cor. 5:21). This doesn’t mean that Christ literally became sin; rather it’s that He became the sacrifice for sin, evidenced by the use of propitiation by Paul in Rom. 4:25. The cross was something that He had to endure alone; no other person could take this away from Him. God Himself didn’t even intervene with this divine plan, as Jesus cried out “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?”  (Mt. 27:46). The crux of the cross for the Savior was His curse.

For the Saint, the crux of the cross is his cure. 

We know that the cross stands for salvation for those who believe. Paul said in speaking of the cross, “…to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Cor. 1:18). There was a time God brought about a pandemic of death among the Israelites when He caused fiery serpents to bite them because they became impatient and complained. Moses approached the Lord after the people came to him so he could intercede for them to God to have the serpents taken away. Because of this, God had Moses make a bronze serpent and set it on a pole so that the people would look at it when they were bitten and live (Num. 21:4-9). In His conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus said “’…as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; that whoever believes may in Him have eternal life’” (Jn. 3:14-15).

The incident in Numbers 21 served as a type of what was to come with Christ being lifted up on the cross. It would serve as salvation to those who believed. Paul said that Christ’s death on the cross served as the peacemaker: “…having made peace through the blood of His cross…” (Col. 1:20). Those of us who have taken advantage of the cross of Christ have taken hold of the antidote for sin.

In the movie Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Dr. Jones drank some poison without realizing it. The individual who poisoned him showed him the antidote from across the table. There was a mad scamper after everyone heard a gunshot where he was trying to get to the antidote which was at that point rolling around on the floor (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, 1984). If you knew that somebody had a cure for the poison inside of you, I would dare say you would do everything in your power to get it. Those of you who are Christians have not only been provided the antidote for sin, but you have taken it when you obeyed the gospel.

For the Sinner, the crux of the cross is his crisis. 

When Paul was speaking of the reactions of those who didn’t obey when Christ was preached as crucified, he said “…to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles foolishness” (1 Cor. 1:23). People who don’t obey the message of the cross are perishing (1 Cor. 1:18). People who are perishing for the most part don’t know they have a crisis. It’s like a person getting a diagnosis they have a fatal disease but they refuse to believe the doctors; and imagine the doctor has the cure to the disease, but the patient not believing there is a crisis don’t take the cure that is offered.

What types of spiritual crises are there? There are people who don’t care anything about God, about the church, about salvation; they have no interest in spiritual matters. They, like the Gentiles described in Romans chapter one, ignore the evidence. There are people who would be what we consider religious, yet they think they are saved. We’ve all known people like this. They believe they are saved because they said the sinner’s prayer. They believe they are saved because they did what the preacher told them to do. They believe they are saved because they have faith, and they don’t need to be baptized. The disciples at Ephesus were confronted by Paul with the news that they needed to obey properly because the baptism of John was no longer valid to be administered after the establishment of the church, thus they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus (Acts 19:5).

However, did you realize concerning the cross there can be a crisis for those who have already obeyed the gospel? The writer of Hebrews talks about Christians who have fallen away, as he says “…it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God, and put Him to open shame” (Heb. 6:6).

The cross forces someone to make a decision. This morning some of you are standing at the crossroads. You either choose to be cured by the cross or remain in crisis. Interestingly enough, the Greek word for preacher looks real similar to the English word crux that we have used this morning. The connection for us this morning is the cross. What I have preached to you is the cross of Jesus Christ. The choice is yours. The crux of the cross is either your cure or your crisis. Let the Bible be your guide to see if you are in crisis or not. The Bible tells us to repent of our sins and be baptized into Christ Jesus (Acts 2:38). If you have done this, you are cured. If you haven’t, please come this morning and respond to the cross of Christ. If you need prayers of the church because you are in crisis for falling away, we would be glad to pray with you and for you.

Peter: A Rock or A Roadblock?

Simon Peter is probably apostle with whom most of us could relate. I can definitely say that for several reasons: I have spoken without thinking, I have acted rashly, I have let the Lord down on more than one occasion and I’m sure there are multiple times I’ve been carried away in hypocrisy. On one occasion we see Peter go from saying something great to laying a spiritual egg. One of the monumental occasions in his life was when he lived up to the new name Jesus had given him. He made the great confession that Jesus was the Son of God (Mt. 16:16). As Jesus used the play on words by stating that He would build His church on this rock, we know that Peter was a small stone that would be part of a bigger rock, the confession that he made. It was upon this confession that Christ would use to build His church which would not be stopped by His death (Mt. 16:18). In order to carry out this plan, Jesus looks into His crystal ball to show them what lay ahead with His upcoming passion. 

Our text for this morning will be Matthew 16:21-28. It reads:

From that time Jesus Christ began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.” But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.” Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it. For what will a man be profited, if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and will then recompense every man according to His deeds. Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who shall not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”

Using this exchange between Jesus and Peter, let us consider in this instance whether Peter was a rock or a roadblock.

Jesus had a road to travel

In Luke 9 Jesus talked on the Mount of Transfiguration with Moses and Elijah about his upcoming departure which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem (31). Later in the chapter Jesus resolutely set His face to go to Jerusalem (51). Jesus had to go to Jerusalem and fulfill the role of the suffering servant prophesied in Isaiah 52 & 53. Jesus knew how He was going to die, and He had to reveal this to His disciples.

In order for Jesus to travel that road, God was paving the way for His Son. If God had a paving business, it could be called Providential Paving Company. God was working out the details of how His Son, Jesus Christ would save people from their sins. Paul says “…at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly” (Rom. 5:6). This plan was set in motion before the foundation of the world (1 Pet. 1:20), proclaimed by the prophets (Deut. 18:15), preached by John the Baptizer (Jn. 1:29), but it wouldn’t be finished until Jesus died on the cross (Jn. 19:30). God’s providence is evident throughout the whole process of the plan of salvation. Jesus had a road that He must travel, and He proclaimed it to His disciples.

Peter attempted to block that road

Sometimes we think we are doing the right thing, but then we find out that we didn’t know best. Peter might have thought he was trying to protect Jesus; that wasn’t what was needed to be done, and this was man’s interests talking instead of God’s interests. Jesus actually called Peter Satan in this text. It wasn’t that Peter was Satan, but Peter was acting in a manner opposite God’s interest, which is what Satan does. Peter was acting in a selfish manner. Consider what James says about this: “…if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth…where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing” (3:14,16). We know these things are tied with Satan, and Peter was definitely not acting in accord with God at that moment.

It is possible that Peter acted this way because he knew if Jesus was killed then the earthly kingdom would not be. The selfish side of Peter would want Him to stay and establish that kingdom. Of course we know that is not the type of kingdom that Jesus would establish. After feeding the multitudes, He perceived the people wanted to come and take Him by force and make Him king, so He withdrew to the mountain by Himself (Jn. 6:15). However you view this passage, Jesus said that Peter was a stumbling block.

We can be like Peter and be guilty of attempting to get in the way of the Lord’s plans. Think about an opportunity you had to tell someone about the Lord, but you stayed silent. Imagine someone who the Lord has enabled to be qualified to serve as an elder in the Lord’s church, but they don’t accept the nomination because they want to travel more. Sometimes people don’t want to teach a Bible class because they don’t want to make the effort. There are ways that we can attempt to get in the Lord’s way. The great thing about God is that He will get His way regardless. Peter was trying to stand in the way of the cross. Don’t be like Peter who attempted to block that road.

All disciples must travel that road

In order to be a follower of Jesus, He says we need to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him (Mt. 16:24). Luke’s account adds the word “daily” to the taking up of our cross (9:23). Christians can’t be like the Christ they claim to follow without taking up the cross daily that He died on. I have discussed this before with people that it is not simply a burden as some have phrased it. The cross was a symbol of death. When we deny ourselves and die to ourselves, we are focusing on what He wants and not what we want. Is your fulfillment a priority, or are you wanting to please the Lord? Jesus said “…I always do the things that are pleasing to Him” (Jn. 8:29).

Are you taking up your cross each and every day? What have you done recently where you put your own interests to the side and focused on God’s interest? Jesus gets right to the heart of people when He addresses the things of this life that we want to pursue, instead of pursuing what God wants us to pursue. If we are going to be a disciple of Jesus we’re either on His road or we’re on our road. You can’t serve God and mammon (Mt. 6:24). When our possessions are controlling our lives, it can force us to turn back from following the Lord like the rich young ruler (Mt. 19:22).

There are things in this life which can keep us from traveling the road that Jesus talks about. It has been said by some in offering options, “it’s my way or the highway.” In Disney’s movie The Pacifier, the character played by Vin Diesel narrowed that down by saying “my way, no highway option.” Let’s remember that Jesus said “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no man comes to the Father, but through Me” (Jn. 14:6). Jesus did travel that road. He went to the cross for you and me. We can’t be guilty of trying to keep Jesus from the cross like Peter, but we can be guilty of being a roadblock by following our own will instead of His. Bounty paper towels claim to the quicker picker upper; we as Christians need to be the cross taker uppers. Can you accept this challenge?

Turnovers are Terrible

Recently during the Super Bowl the New England Patriots were leading by four points, but the Seattle Seahawks had the ball at the one yard line with around thirty seconds left in the game. It appeared for all practical purposes that they would be able to score by running their stud of a running back, Marshawn Lynch into the endzone and claim victory in Super Bowl XLIX. As life shows us at times, things don’t always turn out like we think. Instead of them putting the ball in the hands of their running back, the call was made to attempt a pass at the goal line, which was intercepted by New England. The game was essentially over for Seattle at that point, because they couldn’t get the ball back with the limited time on the clock. Oh, to be so close, but yet so far. We know that turnovers are terrible and can cost a team the football game.

Football games are not that important in the grand scheme of things, and we know there is a type of turnover which is much worse. People can turnover their salvation at any given moment, and they are at risk of spending an eternity in Hell where the worm doesn’t die and the fire is not quenched (Mk. 9:44); where they are away from God’s presence (2 Thess. 1:9); where the Devil and his angels are (Mt. 25:41).

There are seven congregations listed in the opening chapters of the book of Revelation: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. These seven are representative of all the churches in Asia Minor during the reign of the Roman Empire. Five of the seven are found to be in need of repentance. If the Lord were to come back before they had remedied their spiritual slackness, they would be dealt with accordingly. A very valuable lesson we can learn from that is to make sure we are maintaining our salvation. Don’t throw it away. Don’t turn it over.

The Seahawks will have another chance at competing for more Super Bowls. Though it will hurt them severely as a football team for a while, it’s not the same as someone losing their salvation. Don’t be like Judas who turned aside to go to his own place (Acts 1:25). That kind of turnover can cost you for eternity!

Lone Survivor

There is a book titled Lone Survivor which is an eyewitness account by Marcus Luttrell, who was part of the lone survivor of a team of four Navy Seals sent to Afghanistan in June of 2005 on a mission to take out a certain Taliban leader. Operation Redwing wound up being a failed mission as the team was surrounded by Taliban fighters and Luttrell was the only one who survived the ordeal. It was later made into a movie with the same title in 2013. We understand that our military are combating forces of evil in lands abroad. Satan is working hard through these forces, as we see evidence of it every day on the news. However, we also need to understand that we are having to combat evil on another level here on our home soil against the one that Jesus refers to as the ruler of this world (Jn. 12:31).

The Apostle Paul says “…our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12). The temptations of Satan are one of the ways we are combated each day that is even more personal for us. Willard Collins, former president of Lipscomb University used to talk about the three bullets of Satan as the Apostle John details: “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world” (1 Jn. 2:16).

While we know we can’t be perfect because we all sin (Rom. 3:23), there is recorded in Scripture a lone survivor who successfully combated Satan and came out unscathed in His temptations: Jesus, the Son of God. The writer of Hebrews says Jesus was without sin even though He was tempted in all things as we are (Heb. 4:15). Preston Riley had asked if I would preach on the temptations of Christ, so I’m going to oblige him this morning by doing just that. Our passage this morning comes from Luke 4:1-13.

Jesus Survived the Lust of the Flesh

When we are brought to the scene of the temptations in the wilderness, Jesus had been there forty days and had nothing to eat. Fasting involves abstaining from food, but water is going to be necessary to hydrate the body. When studying for this, I happened to remember that Moses was up on the mountain forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water when he was receiving the two tablets of testimony from God, the Ten Commandments (Ex. 34:28). In this case it had to be divine intervention, for Moses could not have survived this. In the case of Jesus, we are not told the specifics, but if it was as Moses, perhaps that meant the fasting of Moses was a type of the fasting of Christ in the wilderness as He was being tempted.

Water or no water, Jesus was hungry. The last time I checked, there was no Jana’s Jumbo House in the Judean wilderness (local burger and chicken joint in Columbia, TN – yum yum)! Satan hit Jesus with a temptation that would have hit him hard, being hungry. If it was not appealing to Jesus, it wouldn’t have been a temptation. I would have caved, because anybody that knows me knows I like food. Jesus withstood Satan’s temptation by quoting Deut. 8:3 when He said “man shall not live on bread alone (Lk. 4:4). Matthew’s account continues with the words “…but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Mt. 4:4).

Later on Jesus had finished talking with the woman at the well in Sychar, and His disciples were trying to get Him to eat. He told them He had food they did not know about; “’My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to accomplish His work’” (Jn. 4:34). Jesus survived the temptation against the flesh by focusing on what His true food was, focusing on His Father’s Word and will.

Satan tempts us with the lust of the flesh. We are constantly bombarded with sexual temptations, be it through television, internet, other forms of entertainment. Anything that pertains to gratification of the body would classify as lust of the flesh, not just sexual temptations.

Jesus Survived the Lust of the Eyes

When Satan showed Jesus the kingdoms of the world, think about what might make that look appealing to Jesus. From one aspect there is the appeal of riches and glory and honor. Jesus came to earth as someone who did not live a luxurious lifestyle. He was not a rich individual from a financial perspective. In fact, when He began His ministry He didn’t even have a home (Mt. 8:20). From another aspect, perhaps Satan was trying to appeal to the advantages of having an earthly kingdom. However, that wasn’t why Jesus was here. John’s gospel records that when the Jews tried to take Him by force and make Him king, He withdrew to the mountain alone (Jn. 6:15).

Satan said Jesus could have all of this if He would worship him (Lk. 4:7). God and Satan both want our worship, but for different reasons (McGarvey 99). Satan had an alterior motive attached to this invitation to worship. Again, if you say that this was not appealing to Jesus, it wouldn’t have been a temptation. Jesus withstood Satan by quoting Deut. 6:13 & 10:20: “’You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only’” (Lk. 4:8).

Are there things that appeal to our eyes in life that are not what we need? You better believe it. There is a reason so many things in life look good, as Satan knows how to dress things up so we will be attracted to them. We need to avoid being like King David who laid his eyes on Bathsheba from his rooftop. If we dwell too long on what we see, we can end up succumbing to the lust of the eyes.

Jesus Survived the Boastful Pride of Life

Satan tried to get Jesus to throw Himself off of the pinnacle of the temple just to show that the angels would protect Him. I mean, come on, He could be proud of the fact that He was the Son of God and that God, His Father would send angels to protect Him. Wait a minute, back up the temptation train. Did Satan just use Scripture? Yes, he quoted from Ps. 91:11-12. As J.W. McGarvey says, “the devil’s head is full of Scripture, but to no profit, for his heart is empty of it” (95).

Jesus responded by quoting Deut. 6:16: “’…you shall not put the Lord your God to the test’” (Lk. 4:12). Keep in mind that Jesus knew what Satan said was true. Jesus stated later when Peter cut off the ear of Malchus in the Garden of Gethsemane during His arrest: “’…do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?’” (Mt. 26:53). The devil was twisting the Scriptures to try to use them against Jesus in this instance as He appeals to the boastful pride of life.

Satan uses pride against us. Think about some ways he does this. When someone gets a job promotion, there is the chance for someone to gloat and rub it in someone else’s face who was not on the receiving end of something like this. Just the other day the kids were watching the old Flintstones movie where Fred got a promotion and he was letting it go to his head by belittling those under him, including his best friend, Barney. What about the church? I’ve seen it firsthand where people will use their talents, abilities and positions to belittle others. There is no place for this in God’s kingdom. The list could go on and on: athletics, school, etc. Pride is the downfall of many people (Prov. 16:18).

These weren’t the only temptations by Satan to Christ, as Luke records Jesus was there forty days being tempted by the devil when we see these three appear. On top of that, Luke records in verse thirteen that Satan departed until an opportune time after these were finished. Jesus was impelled (some versions say driven) or led by the Spirit into the wilderness for this purpose in preparation for His ministry. Let us not forget that even though Mark’s account does not give the details of the temptations, he does record that Jesus was with wild beasts and ministered unto by angels (Mk. 1:13). Evidently in the Judean wilderness, it is documented that lions, wolves, leopards and serpents could be found there (McGarvey 90-91).

Jesus was truly the lone survivor when it comes to being able to perfectly combat the temptations of Satan; He was the only one who did not become a casualty of the devil’s warfare. When it comes to temptation, we need to remember there is no “easy button.” However, we do have the promise from Scripture that will help us through them. Paul says “no temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Cor. 10:13).

Our country is confident that we can be victorious against those who Satan uses as forces of his evil in countries abroad, especially those of the Muslim faith. We can be even more confident that we are victorious against Satan because in Rev. 12:11 the church overcame him by the blood of the Lamb. While we ourselves may not be in combat with our military, we as members of the Lord’s army are in combat with that same source of evil being tempted by Satan every day.

Pertaining to temptation, there was a lone survivor, Jesus Christ. Pertaining to salvation, in the Father’s house are many dwelling places (Jn. 14:2). It is my prayer that those who read this will obey the gospel before it is too late. You will not survive if you have not obeyed the gospel, for when Jesus comes back he will be dealing retribution “…to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus” (2 Thess. 1:8). Study your Bibles and see that you need to believe in Jesus as the Son of God (Acts 8:37). You need to repent of your sins, turning from your previous ways (Acts 2:38). You need to confess Jesus before men (Mt. 10:32). You need to be baptized for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38; 1 Pet. 3:21). The Bible holds the keys to our spiritual survival. Are you prepared?