Rob was brought up in Kenya. On one occasion, a bunch of Brits went out visit Rob so he took them off on safari for a few days. One of the places they went to was on the edge of Lake Victoria in western Kenya - crocodile territory so he warned them to stay alert, keep their eyes on the water and shout if they saw anything. Crocodiles still kill hundreds of people each year.
All was safe and well until it came time to leave. Rob told everyone to get back into the trucks, but one guy had his flip-flopped feet in the edge of the water. As they walked back to the truck, Tim noticed, and spotted just 30 metres away in the water an adult crocodile.
At that point, Rob – an otherwise mild mannered polite, level headed man, screamed at him – using words he had never used previously or since – shocking everyone – but particularly the guy at the waters edge to flee for his life.
Do you think the guy was upset and offended at being shouted at? I don’t think so. I suspect he was relieved that someone had thought it more important to tell him the blatant, honest truth than be polite and nice.
Sometimes telling people the message of Jesus can feel a little like that - telling people the truth that they might not want to hear - but being honest becasue it is for their good. So here goes...
Why did Jesus die?
It is an important question shown by the fact that approximately a third of each of the eyewitness, gospel accounts are speaking about Jesus death.
Why do Christians worldwide carry an image of an instrument of torture around their necks, have them on their walls. It is odd because above all the cross was a shameful way to die.
The ancient Roman historian Cicero wrote this about crucifixion.
“But the executioner, the veil that covers the condemned man’s head, the cross of crucifixion, these are horrors which ought to be far removed not only from the person of a Roman citizen, but even from his thoughts and his gaze and his hearing. It is utterly wrong that a Roman citizen, a free man, would ever be compelled to endure or tolerate such dreadful things”
So why did this horrendous punishment become the universal symbol of Christianity? Why does the Christian faith, unlike any other religion celebrate ultimately the DEATH of it’s founder?
Look at how Paul put it when writing to about his time in the church in Corinth -
“For I resolved to know nothing whilst I was with you except Jesus Christ and him Crucified.”1 Cor 2:2
The problem
In Mark 2:1-7 we are confronted with what at first looks like a ridiculous story. Jesus is confronted with a man who is obvioulsy paralysed and has come to him to be healed - yet Jesus tells him his sin is forgiven. Doesn’t Jesus know what the mans problem is – isn’t it obvious?
Why does Jesus deal with his sin rather than his paralysis?
Because Jesus knows what this mans biggest problem is his sin- his rebellion against God, rather than his paralysis.
Sin is popular - most people hear the word when thinking about eating chocolate, or having too many calories. But when the Bible speaks of sin it is speaking of rebellion against God - the King of the universe. It is about people showing by the way they live that they think of themselves as mini-Kings in a univers of other mini-Kings, rather than serving the one true King. Sound familiar?
And if 'sin' is Jesus diagnosis of the paralysed man's real problem, he isn't too optimistic about us either! We are all sinners
Romans 3:23
“For all have sinned, and fallen short of the Glory of God”
And just to make certain, look back at v10-11
“There is no one righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, no-one who seeks God.”
The question is, if we are all in the same boat, does it really matter? The answer is obvious. Does it really matter that the lad stood in the water on the lakes edge? Yes – because the consequences are huge.
Pollution of sin
Read Mark 7:21-23. Jesus speaks of things making us unclean. We respond – yeh, but I’m alright!
The Bible tells us that if we break any part of God’s law, we are guilty of breaking all of it. Like a driving license – you either have a clean driving license or an unclean one. It is not ‘partially clean’! One offence makes our lives unclean – and just a quick measure of our lives doesn’t make optimistic viewing when measured up against the standard.
Power of sin
“Everyone who sins is a slave to sin.” John 8:34
We all know, there are things about ourselves, things we say, think or do that we don’t like. We feel like slaves to certain ways of behaving. The power of sin is powerful!
Separation of sin
“But there is a problem – your sins have cut you off from God. Because of your sin, he has turned away and will not listen any more.” Isaiah 59:2
Our sin means God gives us what we are asking for - a life without him. We place a barrier in the way, separating us from him. And that barrier is our sin.
But all the consequences culminate in this - the Penalty of sin
Jesus tells us our situation is deadly serious because our sin is deadly serious. How serious?
“If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to lose part of your body and live for ever than to have two hands and go to hell”
Paul makes clear that the "wages of sin is death" - permanent punishment and separation from God. Just what we deserve.
The Solution
Christianity is good news. Good news because the story doesn’t end here. Peter, one of Jesus closest friends wrote this.
“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree…by his wounds you have been healed.” 1 Peter 2:24
Ever watched 24 - the American TV show starring Keifer Sutherland? In the second series, America is under attack with nuclear warheads. The authorities have found the biggest bomb, but cannot defuse it. They must explode it in the middle of the desert where the nearest people are more than 30 miles away. The problem is, time is short and they need someone to land the plane, or more accurately to crash the plane into exactly the right spot – in so doing saving the lives of hundreds of thousands, but losing there own.
That is what Jesus, through the agony of the cross has done. He has acted as a substitute, taking the punishment that should have been ours on himself.
The result
The first Christians used a number of other analogies when they tried to explain the complexity of the cross. And they used them again and again.
Firstly, they used the image of sacrifice in the temple – just as the Jewish community went to the temple to offered sacrifices for the forgiveness of sins, Jesus offered his blood for the forgiveness of, not just one person, but everyone who looks to him for forgiveness. Jesus death was a sacrifice for sin.
“God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood” Romans 3:25
And so the pollution of sin is removed.
The second image was taken from the market place , and more specifically, the slave market. If you had the money, you could go to the market and but a slave for any reason. If you felt like it, you could by a slave for the specific purpose of setting them free.
“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45
The power of sin is broken.
The third image is the image of a family. God the father, welcoming home with open arms his rebellious estranged child who has run away, but comes home deserving nothing but his Fathers anger, but is reconciled instead.
The separation of sin is repaired.
The fourth image they used pictured us in a court of law, facing judgment from God the judge. I deserve to die for what I have done, but Jesus steps in to take my sentence himself. I am given undeserved freedom because Jesus takes my punishment – he dies instead of me.
We have been “justified freely by his grace”. The penalty of sin is paid.
And all this has been made possible by Jesus death on the cross
Conclusion
God loves us so much that even knowing what we are like and how we would try to live without him, he still sent his Son into the world to die so that he might have relationship with us.
If I were God, knowing the cost, I would not have done that. But he did.
Paul says “The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20
Once we see the cross in these personal terms, our lives will be transformed as we see what Jesus has done for us.
This talk is based on the outline provided in the Alpha manual. For more info head to the Alpha website - alpha.org