WEBVTT 00:00:01.229 --> 00:00:03.950 Welcome to Healing Scars with Pastor Burton, 00:00:04.129 --> 00:00:07.269 the official podcast of Cross Christian Fellowship, 00:00:07.290 --> 00:00:10.769 Route 66, in the heart of Albuquerque, New Mexico, 00:00:10.990 --> 00:00:14.150 where Burton is the lead pastor. We're glad you're 00:00:14.150 --> 00:00:18.390 here. Let us pray. Father, we thank you for this 00:00:18.390 --> 00:00:24.629 time in fellowship and in worship. We ask that 00:00:24.629 --> 00:00:27.010 you help us to open ourselves, actually, to... 00:00:27.480 --> 00:00:29.379 All the word that you have to speak to us today, 00:00:29.460 --> 00:00:33.420 everything that you have to teach us today, and 00:00:33.420 --> 00:00:38.619 how it applies to our lives. We ask for the knowledge 00:00:38.619 --> 00:00:44.600 and the wisdom to be able to not just accept 00:00:44.600 --> 00:00:48.759 it, but to understand it, to let it help us grow 00:00:48.759 --> 00:00:51.719 our character and our relationship with you. 00:00:53.550 --> 00:00:55.670 Not only do we ask this, but we ask for your 00:00:55.670 --> 00:00:57.189 continued hedge of protection over everybody 00:00:57.189 --> 00:01:00.530 who's traveling these next few weeks, not just 00:01:00.530 --> 00:01:02.890 here, but across the nation. We know this is 00:01:02.890 --> 00:01:05.829 a big time of travel for our country, the high 00:01:05.829 --> 00:01:08.530 schools, the colleges, and anything and everything 00:01:08.530 --> 00:01:10.269 in between. There's a lot of people that are 00:01:10.269 --> 00:01:12.709 blessed with the opportunity to take advantage 00:01:12.709 --> 00:01:14.650 of some time together and to get out and see 00:01:14.650 --> 00:01:16.829 and do something a little different. So we ask 00:01:16.829 --> 00:01:18.549 for your safety in those travels, getting them 00:01:18.549 --> 00:01:20.450 where they need to be and home again safely. 00:01:22.250 --> 00:01:26.469 And we ask all this in Jesus' name. Amen. All 00:01:26.469 --> 00:01:29.409 right. So this week, no different than the last 00:01:29.409 --> 00:01:30.569 couple weeks. You know, we're in a little bit 00:01:30.569 --> 00:01:33.329 of a series here. As Tess reminded us, we're 00:01:33.329 --> 00:01:36.769 working our way to Easter. You know, it's that 00:01:36.769 --> 00:01:38.129 time of year. A lot of churches are like, oh, 00:01:38.150 --> 00:01:39.489 we're going to focus on one thing. We're going 00:01:39.489 --> 00:01:41.489 to focus on another thing this day. And we're 00:01:41.489 --> 00:01:42.810 going to kind of break things down. And I was 00:01:42.810 --> 00:01:44.670 like, I was sitting back and I was praying and 00:01:44.670 --> 00:01:45.870 it hit me. It's like, you know, the Lord put 00:01:45.870 --> 00:01:47.310 it on me. It's like, no, we're just going to 00:01:47.310 --> 00:01:48.730 do the whole month. And we're just going to be 00:01:48.730 --> 00:01:50.170 talking about stuff leading up through Easter 00:01:50.170 --> 00:01:52.870 the whole month. That's really what this series 00:01:52.870 --> 00:01:54.569 is. It's really just to kind of give us a little 00:01:54.569 --> 00:01:59.290 bit more focus on what it's all about. And really, 00:01:59.370 --> 00:02:03.629 it's the kingship of Jesus and everything that 00:02:03.629 --> 00:02:05.689 he had to go through in order for us to have 00:02:05.689 --> 00:02:12.449 this blessing. The last couple weeks, we've looked 00:02:12.449 --> 00:02:14.930 at the fact that Jesus was the promised king. 00:02:15.490 --> 00:02:18.229 Not the king that was wanted, but the king that 00:02:18.229 --> 00:02:23.030 was needed. So he's the promised king. And then 00:02:23.030 --> 00:02:24.729 last week, of course, we looked at the fact that 00:02:24.729 --> 00:02:27.569 he wasn't just a king. He was a suffering servant, 00:02:27.830 --> 00:02:30.330 right? The warrior king, but not the warrior 00:02:30.330 --> 00:02:34.650 in a traditional aspect that people were expecting. 00:02:35.310 --> 00:02:39.750 And through his suffering for his people, we're 00:02:39.750 --> 00:02:42.949 able to have new life. That's a beautiful thing. 00:02:42.949 --> 00:02:47.500 And it's a wonderful gift. And this week, we're 00:02:47.500 --> 00:02:49.680 going to keep on going through, and we're going 00:02:49.680 --> 00:02:53.560 to look at the connection between the cross and 00:02:53.560 --> 00:03:00.060 the throne of Christ. So as we get started, I'd 00:03:00.060 --> 00:03:01.419 like to take everybody on a quick little trip 00:03:01.419 --> 00:03:07.139 down memory lane. At least a little bit. Say 00:03:07.139 --> 00:03:10.229 most of us. Maybe not all of us, but most of 00:03:10.229 --> 00:03:12.669 us the last 20 years are kind of familiar. If 00:03:12.669 --> 00:03:15.030 nothing else we've heard, there's like a million 00:03:15.030 --> 00:03:20.050 Transformer movies out there now, right? Some 00:03:20.050 --> 00:03:21.289 of you might have already picked that up on the 00:03:21.289 --> 00:03:23.349 title of today's message, More Than Meets the 00:03:23.349 --> 00:03:25.990 Eye. For some of us that are a little bit older, 00:03:26.050 --> 00:03:28.370 if we go all the way back to the early to mid 00:03:28.370 --> 00:03:32.949 80s, back when they first started. We all watched 00:03:32.949 --> 00:03:35.789 that religiously. Yes, as little kids, we watched 00:03:35.789 --> 00:03:38.870 that religiously. That was one of the big things 00:03:38.870 --> 00:03:41.669 at that time. Transformers and G .I. Joe and 00:03:41.669 --> 00:03:43.370 all that kind of stuff. And they had a theme 00:03:43.370 --> 00:03:45.169 song, just like everything else. And one of the 00:03:45.169 --> 00:03:47.169 big things that was out there was More Than Meets 00:03:47.169 --> 00:03:48.610 the Eye. That was one of the lyrics that was 00:03:48.610 --> 00:03:53.389 in there. Right? More Than Meets the Eye. You'd 00:03:53.389 --> 00:03:56.969 hear it every episode, every week. In fact... 00:03:57.340 --> 00:03:59.919 It was the overall arching theme throughout the 00:03:59.919 --> 00:04:02.680 entire series. Not everything that you see is 00:04:02.680 --> 00:04:05.419 what you think it is, which is kind of cool. 00:04:06.020 --> 00:04:10.719 It was a big thing back then because we didn't 00:04:10.719 --> 00:04:14.379 just see it in the toys. This theme was actually 00:04:14.379 --> 00:04:16.639 stamped on all the toys, the lunchboxes, the 00:04:16.639 --> 00:04:19.360 thermoses, the clothing, and anything and everything. 00:04:19.480 --> 00:04:21.759 If it was Transformers, it had Transformers there, 00:04:21.839 --> 00:04:23.579 whatever the picture was, and then somewhere 00:04:23.579 --> 00:04:25.540 on there it was going to say, more than meets 00:04:25.540 --> 00:04:29.870 the eye. It was a big thing. You know, you get 00:04:29.870 --> 00:04:31.769 the kids today, they think they're nerds and 00:04:31.769 --> 00:04:33.329 they miss that completely. They don't realize 00:04:33.329 --> 00:04:35.350 how big of a thing that was for us in the 80s. 00:04:36.069 --> 00:04:38.610 Even teenagers, it was a big thing. You know, 00:04:38.610 --> 00:04:43.250 and the fact was that even, you know, in a simple 00:04:43.250 --> 00:04:44.709 sense, you look at it, it's like, okay, you'll 00:04:44.709 --> 00:04:47.449 see a car, a truck, an airplane, whatever. But 00:04:47.449 --> 00:04:48.589 then it was more than we see because it would 00:04:48.589 --> 00:04:50.230 transform into this big robot, right? And had 00:04:50.230 --> 00:04:54.029 the story of good and evil. Well, we also see 00:04:54.029 --> 00:04:58.360 it in real life. We see things in real life all 00:04:58.360 --> 00:05:00.000 the time, and we don't always even necessarily 00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:02.439 realize that there's more than meets the eye. 00:05:04.300 --> 00:05:07.800 I've got a prime example here for you. You look 00:05:07.800 --> 00:05:11.899 at the military. And we see all these TV shows 00:05:11.899 --> 00:05:13.839 and all these movies and all this stuff about 00:05:13.839 --> 00:05:17.920 the military, right? It shows these kind of superhuman 00:05:17.920 --> 00:05:20.920 dudes, usually, doesn't it? These buff, chiseled 00:05:20.920 --> 00:05:23.420 guys, especially when it comes to a story about 00:05:23.420 --> 00:05:27.019 special forces. Special forces guy, like these 00:05:27.019 --> 00:05:30.459 guys come through, they're built like machines, 00:05:30.699 --> 00:05:32.600 right? They're the size of refrigerators. They're 00:05:32.600 --> 00:05:35.800 tall, they're huge. At least that's how it is 00:05:35.800 --> 00:05:37.600 on the screen and in the stories that are shared. 00:05:38.899 --> 00:05:41.459 Real life is a little bit different than that. 00:05:42.399 --> 00:05:45.819 The fact of the matter is, special forces are 00:05:45.819 --> 00:05:50.519 actually kind of the smallest of all of us. They 00:05:50.519 --> 00:05:52.199 do a lot of cardio, they do a lot of working 00:05:52.199 --> 00:05:54.959 out. Through their training. It's not like actually 00:05:54.959 --> 00:05:57.360 they just go out and run all the time. Some of 00:05:57.360 --> 00:05:59.000 them do. Snipers are in sniper school. They're 00:05:59.000 --> 00:06:00.680 running all the time. They're in the lunch line 00:06:00.680 --> 00:06:03.420 in the mess hall. You see them. Because that's 00:06:03.420 --> 00:06:06.899 part of their training. Which is funny. Because 00:06:06.899 --> 00:06:08.459 in their actual job, they don't move a whole 00:06:08.459 --> 00:06:10.319 lot. So I guess it's a counterbalance, right? 00:06:11.980 --> 00:06:13.939 But the fact of the matter is, like I said, when 00:06:13.939 --> 00:06:17.180 you look at these guys, they look a lot more 00:06:17.180 --> 00:06:24.709 like this guy. Mike Vining. Sergeant Major Mike 00:06:24.709 --> 00:06:27.730 Vining. Now, you look at this guy. You look at 00:06:27.730 --> 00:06:29.430 some of these pictures here. You look at him 00:06:29.430 --> 00:06:32.189 in his uniform. He kind of looks like a scrawny, 00:06:32.230 --> 00:06:34.870 nerdy guy. You look at this guy, and you think 00:06:34.870 --> 00:06:37.410 to yourself, he has like an admin job, right? 00:06:38.290 --> 00:06:41.250 Like, look at this dork. That's how people look 00:06:41.250 --> 00:06:45.170 at him. More than meets the eye. Because, ladies 00:06:45.170 --> 00:06:48.790 and gentlemen, Sergeant Major Mike Vining has 00:06:48.790 --> 00:06:53.920 one of the most lethal records in the military. 00:06:55.000 --> 00:06:58.660 Mike Vining is one of the original members. He 00:06:58.660 --> 00:07:01.220 is one of the founding members of Delta Force. 00:07:01.319 --> 00:07:04.879 Yes, the Delta Force. He has been on missions 00:07:04.879 --> 00:07:09.100 and done stuff in over three wars in time in 00:07:09.100 --> 00:07:11.560 between since. Stuff that will be classified 00:07:11.560 --> 00:07:15.500 for years to come long after everybody in this 00:07:15.500 --> 00:07:23.069 room is gone. He's a bad dude. More than meets 00:07:23.069 --> 00:07:27.370 the eye. Not what you would expect. Not by a 00:07:27.370 --> 00:07:31.250 long shot. We see stuff all the time, though. 00:07:31.250 --> 00:07:32.810 I guess this is a bit of an excessive example, 00:07:33.029 --> 00:07:36.449 but, you know, I'm a military nerd. Veterans 00:07:36.449 --> 00:07:41.870 do that. But more than meets the eye. So just 00:07:41.870 --> 00:07:43.610 something to keep in mind as we open our Bibles 00:07:43.610 --> 00:07:45.350 and our apps. Let's go ahead and do that. We're 00:07:45.350 --> 00:07:49.329 going to turn to Mark 15. So Mark 15, verses 00:07:49.329 --> 00:07:58.629 31 through 32. Mark 15, verses 31 through 32. 00:07:59.889 --> 00:08:04.790 The word says, Likewise, the chief priest also, 00:08:04.949 --> 00:08:07.470 mocking among themselves with the scribes, said, 00:08:07.529 --> 00:08:12.250 He saved others. Himself he cannot save. Let 00:08:12.250 --> 00:08:15.829 the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from 00:08:15.829 --> 00:08:19.670 the cross, that we may see and believe. Even 00:08:19.670 --> 00:08:22.290 those who were crucified with him reviled him. 00:08:22.800 --> 00:08:25.100 Jesus could have saved himself, right? We know 00:08:25.100 --> 00:08:28.740 this. He is the son of God. This is part of the 00:08:28.740 --> 00:08:31.420 Trinity, right? The triune. He had all the power. 00:08:32.419 --> 00:08:35.019 He could have wiped his mockers off the face 00:08:35.019 --> 00:08:38.220 of the planet. He could have erased him from 00:08:38.220 --> 00:08:40.779 all existence like nothing had ever happened. 00:08:40.899 --> 00:08:43.620 He could have taken himself off that cross at 00:08:43.620 --> 00:08:46.200 any time. He could have changed that narrative 00:08:46.200 --> 00:08:51.059 at any time. But instead, because his love for 00:08:51.059 --> 00:09:00.980 us, It was so great and so deep. He endured suffering 00:09:00.980 --> 00:09:05.799 for us. Suffering that most people today couldn't 00:09:05.799 --> 00:09:10.360 even imagine. And there's some people, they're 00:09:10.360 --> 00:09:12.080 suffering some pretty heinous things, right? 00:09:12.379 --> 00:09:14.539 But what our Lord and Savior went through for 00:09:14.539 --> 00:09:20.820 us makes most of that pale in comparison. From 00:09:20.820 --> 00:09:27.120 the time He entered that city knowing he was 00:09:27.120 --> 00:09:28.820 taking his final steps, that he was going to 00:09:28.820 --> 00:09:31.120 be doing all of his final stuff, his final fellowship, 00:09:31.279 --> 00:09:36.000 all, anything and everything in between. That 00:09:36.000 --> 00:09:37.340 right there, because we have to remind you, our 00:09:37.340 --> 00:09:39.460 Lord, he was fully man. Yes, he's fully God, 00:09:39.519 --> 00:09:42.200 but he was fully man. And he knew what was going 00:09:42.200 --> 00:09:45.159 to come. You think that didn't set in here just 00:09:45.159 --> 00:09:47.100 a little bit in that mind, that six inches of 00:09:47.100 --> 00:09:50.179 space between his ears? It did. I guarantee it 00:09:50.179 --> 00:09:52.309 did. Because that's part of being fully man. 00:09:54.769 --> 00:09:59.429 All the way up through his betrayal, his torture, 00:09:59.710 --> 00:10:03.750 all the way up through the cross. He loved us 00:10:03.750 --> 00:10:06.870 so much that he stayed the course and did what 00:10:06.870 --> 00:10:10.830 had to be done. Now to say that the events of 00:10:10.830 --> 00:10:14.090 that day in particular when he took the cross 00:10:14.090 --> 00:10:17.610 for us was the greatest drama in the history 00:10:17.610 --> 00:10:21.940 of man would be putting it mildly. Very mildly. 00:10:22.480 --> 00:10:25.259 It was the darkest day that's ever taken place 00:10:25.259 --> 00:10:32.820 on God's earth. Not simply because he was being 00:10:32.820 --> 00:10:36.500 put to death on the cross, but because he was 00:10:36.500 --> 00:10:42.840 taking the sin of all mankind with him. I'm not 00:10:42.840 --> 00:10:44.220 just going to say upon himself, he was taking 00:10:44.220 --> 00:10:49.320 it with him. Everyone that had been born before, 00:10:49.460 --> 00:10:51.039 everyone who was alive at a time, and everyone 00:10:51.039 --> 00:10:56.519 to be born later, you and me included. Everybody 00:10:56.519 --> 00:10:58.200 in here sinned. Everybody in here has fallen 00:10:58.200 --> 00:11:01.419 short of the glory of God. We've all messed up. 00:11:03.159 --> 00:11:05.019 Some of us may have messed up this week. Some 00:11:05.019 --> 00:11:06.360 of us might have even started off the day messing 00:11:06.360 --> 00:11:11.340 up. It happens, right? He took all that sin with 00:11:11.340 --> 00:11:15.899 him. Not only did he take it with him, but he 00:11:15.899 --> 00:11:18.230 endured. the ultimate punishment, the punishment 00:11:18.230 --> 00:11:22.230 that you and I deserve. He did that for us in 00:11:22.230 --> 00:11:27.370 his great love. In fact, we're not actually going 00:11:27.370 --> 00:11:28.970 to read through all of it for time's sake, but 00:11:28.970 --> 00:11:30.990 if we were to go back to Mark chapter 10, verses 00:11:30.990 --> 00:11:34.909 32 through 37, we see James and John begging, 00:11:35.049 --> 00:11:39.269 begging to go with them when Jesus told them 00:11:39.269 --> 00:11:41.389 what was about to come because they didn't truly 00:11:41.389 --> 00:11:43.850 understand what he was saying. They heard the 00:11:43.850 --> 00:11:46.950 words. I should say they were listening to what 00:11:46.950 --> 00:11:48.789 he was saying, but they didn't hear what he was 00:11:48.789 --> 00:11:50.350 saying. They weren't picking up what he was putting 00:11:50.350 --> 00:11:53.809 down. However, if we do turn to that next verse 00:11:53.809 --> 00:11:57.269 though, and Mark 10 verse 38 specifically. So 00:11:57.269 --> 00:12:00.330 Mark 10 verse 38, we could see what Jesus said 00:12:00.330 --> 00:12:05.870 to them. So on Mark 10 verse 38, the word says, 00:12:06.009 --> 00:12:08.809 but Jesus said to them, you do not know what 00:12:08.809 --> 00:12:13.090 you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I 00:12:13.090 --> 00:12:15.899 drink and be? baptized with the baptism that 00:12:15.899 --> 00:12:18.519 I am baptized with? In other words, he's saying, 00:12:18.620 --> 00:12:23.360 can you really do what I need to do? And they're 00:12:23.360 --> 00:12:24.460 sitting there, they're thinking of him just as 00:12:24.460 --> 00:12:26.519 another man. And so they're saying, yes. It's 00:12:26.519 --> 00:12:29.480 like, no, no, no, no. Recognize me for me. I 00:12:29.480 --> 00:12:31.639 am the Messiah and I am the son of God. You cannot 00:12:31.639 --> 00:12:34.779 do what I can do. You cannot take on what I need 00:12:34.779 --> 00:12:39.820 to take on. It wasn't just a matter of his death. 00:12:41.820 --> 00:12:45.679 As the suffering servant, he was going to take 00:12:45.679 --> 00:12:48.720 all that sin upon himself and our punishment 00:12:48.720 --> 00:12:55.019 with it. Not only that, here's some foreshadowing. 00:12:55.059 --> 00:12:57.440 Here are two of his disciples, two of his closest 00:12:57.440 --> 00:13:01.080 friends, two people he considered family. And 00:13:01.080 --> 00:13:02.340 they're wanting to go with him. He said, no, 00:13:02.419 --> 00:13:06.679 no, no, you can't. Those two positions that are 00:13:06.679 --> 00:13:09.460 going to be next to me are reserved for someone 00:13:09.460 --> 00:13:13.080 else. They're not mine to give to you. They've 00:13:13.080 --> 00:13:16.299 already been given to somebody else. Right? That's 00:13:16.299 --> 00:13:18.360 basically what he's telling them. That you can't 00:13:18.360 --> 00:13:21.940 do it. It's not on you. They had other work. 00:13:22.000 --> 00:13:27.659 They had other ministry to attend to. Those places 00:13:27.659 --> 00:13:30.100 that were next to him were going to be used as 00:13:30.100 --> 00:13:34.720 examples. Examples. It's one of those things 00:13:34.720 --> 00:13:37.240 that we commonly miss when we look at the cross 00:13:37.240 --> 00:13:39.480 and we look at the people that were next to him. 00:13:43.629 --> 00:13:48.210 The place of man had been replaced also as an 00:13:48.210 --> 00:13:51.129 example. This is one of those more than meets 00:13:51.129 --> 00:13:54.350 the eye moments. Let me paint this picture. Let's 00:13:54.350 --> 00:13:58.809 turn to Mark 15. Let's go back to Mark 15, I 00:13:58.809 --> 00:13:59.990 should say, and we're going to look at verses 00:13:59.990 --> 00:14:05.750 6 through 7. We're going to look specifically 00:14:05.750 --> 00:14:10.210 at that person. So Mark 15, verses 6 through 00:14:10.210 --> 00:14:17.440 7. Word tells us now at the feast, he was accustomed 00:14:17.440 --> 00:14:21.320 to releasing one prisoner to them, whomever they 00:14:21.320 --> 00:14:25.299 requested. And there was one named Barabbas who 00:14:25.299 --> 00:14:29.440 was chained with his fellow rebels. They had 00:14:29.440 --> 00:14:35.639 committed murder in the rebellion. People wanted 00:14:35.639 --> 00:14:39.200 rebellion. Rebellion was happening. Barabbas. 00:14:40.009 --> 00:14:42.809 He was one of the people directly involved. He'd 00:14:42.809 --> 00:14:46.269 actually been directly linked to the murder of 00:14:46.269 --> 00:14:48.289 somebody else. He was a murderer. He wasn't just 00:14:48.289 --> 00:14:52.909 a rebel. He was a murderer. A violent person, 00:14:52.970 --> 00:14:57.570 a violent man. And not only that, his punishment, 00:14:57.570 --> 00:15:00.409 of course, was to face the cross for that murder. 00:15:01.750 --> 00:15:04.590 Why? Well, the cross, I'll remind you, was reserved 00:15:04.590 --> 00:15:06.149 for the worst of the worst because this man was 00:15:06.149 --> 00:15:14.070 looked at as a threat. He was a threat. Directly 00:15:14.070 --> 00:15:17.389 to the government. He was a threat to Rome. Who 00:15:17.389 --> 00:15:18.889 was he rebelling against? Who was in control? 00:15:19.230 --> 00:15:26.070 Rome. As far as the Jews were concerned, which 00:15:26.070 --> 00:15:27.649 is why they said, hey, we want him released. 00:15:28.009 --> 00:15:34.750 He was a local hero. He was a hero. As far as 00:15:34.750 --> 00:15:37.230 they were concerned, nobody ever thinks of that. 00:15:38.739 --> 00:15:40.220 They're just like, oh, he was a rebel. He was 00:15:40.220 --> 00:15:42.960 a murderer. Yeah, but to the common man, he was 00:15:42.960 --> 00:15:47.700 one of them. So they looked at him as a hero 00:15:47.700 --> 00:15:51.960 because he was standing up to the man. Looking 00:15:51.960 --> 00:15:54.159 at the very men who were holding him down. You 00:15:54.159 --> 00:15:55.399 know, today we like to say, you know, with an 00:15:55.399 --> 00:15:57.639 iron boot, right? They didn't really have boots 00:15:57.639 --> 00:16:00.320 back then. Kind of, but not really. Not like 00:16:00.320 --> 00:16:01.840 the way you look at them today. But they were 00:16:01.840 --> 00:16:03.919 vicious in the way that they held people down. 00:16:04.139 --> 00:16:06.740 The way they enslaved people. The way they taxed 00:16:06.740 --> 00:16:13.059 people. And here he is in revolt. He's taking 00:16:13.059 --> 00:16:21.620 people out. Kind of the way we looked at people, 00:16:21.700 --> 00:16:25.539 the troops who found Saddam Hussein and took 00:16:25.539 --> 00:16:26.799 him out, right? Like, oh, look at these guys. 00:16:26.840 --> 00:16:31.100 They're heroes. They were heroes. Absolutely. 00:16:31.259 --> 00:16:33.700 Don't get that wrong. Barabbas in his own way? 00:16:33.759 --> 00:16:40.120 Yeah, he was a hero. We forget that. You know, 00:16:40.179 --> 00:16:42.539 unlike Jesus, though, he was a revolutionary 00:16:42.539 --> 00:16:49.399 hero. He was what they were expecting from Jesus. 00:16:49.820 --> 00:16:52.700 Someone who was going to come in, change things, 00:16:52.899 --> 00:16:54.899 and elevate them back to where they need to be. 00:16:54.940 --> 00:16:57.580 Who's going to come in and lead the revolt to 00:16:57.580 --> 00:17:04.019 take out the Roman leadership. Even his name 00:17:04.019 --> 00:17:09.269 carries an irony here. Barabbas. Let's look at 00:17:09.269 --> 00:17:12.630 that. It comes from the Aramaic and Hebrew words 00:17:12.630 --> 00:17:17.069 of Bar and Abba, meaning son and father. In other 00:17:17.069 --> 00:17:21.130 words, his name means son of the father, or depending 00:17:21.130 --> 00:17:24.950 on how it's translated, son of God. Who replaced 00:17:24.950 --> 00:17:27.990 his place on the cross? The son of God did. Jesus 00:17:27.990 --> 00:17:35.349 Christ did. Ooh. Foreshadowing. Even up to the 00:17:35.349 --> 00:17:41.210 last minute. We don't recognize that. People 00:17:41.210 --> 00:17:43.049 today, it's like, oh, I wonder what my name means. 00:17:43.130 --> 00:17:47.410 We'll look that up online. We study our Bible 00:17:47.410 --> 00:17:49.849 and we find out, hey, guess what? The place was 00:17:49.849 --> 00:17:53.730 always reserved for him. The Son of God. Are 00:17:53.730 --> 00:17:55.230 we seeing it yet? Are we seeing the connection 00:17:55.230 --> 00:18:00.230 starting to come into place? The man who wasn't 00:18:00.230 --> 00:18:05.869 really a threat in the big scheme of things was 00:18:05.869 --> 00:18:10.880 given reprieve. Whereas the man who came in peace 00:18:10.880 --> 00:18:15.240 and love to change the world was seen as the 00:18:15.240 --> 00:18:20.480 biggest threat and put to the cross. It shows 00:18:20.480 --> 00:18:24.279 the theological and moral turmoil that was going 00:18:24.279 --> 00:18:28.859 on in that day. We see a lot of that today, don't 00:18:28.859 --> 00:18:37.009 we? Theological and moral decay. Even the word 00:18:37.009 --> 00:18:40.289 has warned us. It's just like in those days, 00:18:40.329 --> 00:18:42.329 people are seeing bad as good and good as bad. 00:18:45.609 --> 00:18:48.529 Then we see the Roman soldiers who are mocking 00:18:48.529 --> 00:18:53.170 Jesus in verses 16 through 20, same chapters, 00:18:53.289 --> 00:18:55.589 Mark 15, 16 through 20. What were they doing? 00:18:55.609 --> 00:18:57.710 They were hitting him. They were spitting him. 00:18:57.869 --> 00:19:00.069 They were talking trash. They were dressing him 00:19:00.069 --> 00:19:03.890 up, right? Playing Barbie with him in a way. 00:19:04.190 --> 00:19:05.789 Like, oh, let's dress him up. Let's put a purple 00:19:05.789 --> 00:19:08.210 robe on him. Why purple? Oh, the color of royalty. 00:19:08.670 --> 00:19:12.109 Let's put a crown on his head. They weaved together 00:19:12.109 --> 00:19:15.349 a crown of thorns, much like what we have hanging 00:19:15.349 --> 00:19:20.529 up at the top of our cross, right? They weaved 00:19:20.529 --> 00:19:22.549 together a crown of thorns, and then they just 00:19:22.549 --> 00:19:25.130 put it on him. They pushed it down into the flesh 00:19:25.130 --> 00:19:30.490 of his scalp. Anybody in here ever picked up 00:19:30.490 --> 00:19:35.099 a rose and been cut by the thorn of a rose? What's 00:19:35.099 --> 00:19:36.859 the first thing we do? We kind of withdraw. It 00:19:36.859 --> 00:19:41.759 hurts. He wasn't able to withdraw and he had 00:19:41.759 --> 00:19:44.039 several thorns being pushed down and forced into 00:19:44.039 --> 00:19:46.420 his flesh, cut and tearing into him after he'd 00:19:46.420 --> 00:19:49.039 already been cut and torn through his torture. 00:19:50.700 --> 00:19:55.500 Let me ask you this. Why a crown of thorns? What 00:19:55.500 --> 00:19:59.980 was the purpose of the thorns? There has to be 00:19:59.980 --> 00:20:03.279 something significant here, right? And there 00:20:03.279 --> 00:20:06.440 truly was. There truly was because it actually 00:20:06.440 --> 00:20:08.940 goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden. 00:20:10.460 --> 00:20:15.000 The very first curse that God actually put on 00:20:15.000 --> 00:20:19.940 the earth. The first curse. So if we go all the 00:20:19.940 --> 00:20:24.259 way back to Genesis chapter 3. Yeah, the very 00:20:24.259 --> 00:20:26.259 beginning basically. We're going to go to Genesis 00:20:26.259 --> 00:20:32.220 3 verses 17 through 18. I'm going to give everybody 00:20:32.220 --> 00:20:33.759 a moment to go there because I know we're kind 00:20:33.759 --> 00:20:36.259 of flipping back and forth a bit today. But Genesis 00:20:36.259 --> 00:20:43.220 3, verses 17 through 18. The word states, Then 00:20:43.220 --> 00:20:45.700 to Adam he said, Because you have heeded the 00:20:45.700 --> 00:20:49.000 voice of your wife, and you have eaten from the 00:20:49.000 --> 00:20:52.099 tree of which I commanded you, saying, You shall 00:20:52.099 --> 00:20:57.380 not eat of it. Cursed is the ground for your 00:20:57.380 --> 00:21:03.470 sake. In toil you shall eat of it all the days 00:21:03.470 --> 00:21:07.890 of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall 00:21:07.890 --> 00:21:12.049 bring forth to you, and you shall eat the herb 00:21:12.049 --> 00:21:20.329 of the field. Thorns and thistles brought forth 00:21:20.329 --> 00:21:22.690 from the ground. This is actually the first place 00:21:22.690 --> 00:21:25.589 when we read the Bible that we actually see God 00:21:25.589 --> 00:21:29.230 invoking a curse. And you look at who it's for. 00:21:29.849 --> 00:21:33.289 Curse is the ground for your sake. Not for God's 00:21:33.289 --> 00:21:39.390 sake, for man's sake. Guess what they didn't 00:21:39.390 --> 00:21:44.289 have back then? How did Adam and Eve walk around 00:21:44.289 --> 00:21:46.490 the garden up until the point that they ate from 00:21:46.490 --> 00:21:51.910 the fruit? Naked, right? Nothing but their birthday 00:21:51.910 --> 00:21:54.529 suit. They didn't have shoes. They didn't have 00:21:54.529 --> 00:21:59.480 sandals. If they were lucky at that point, I 00:21:59.480 --> 00:22:01.619 don't like using the word lucky, but let's face 00:22:01.619 --> 00:22:03.980 it, I should say if they were blessed at that 00:22:03.980 --> 00:22:06.240 point, maybe they'd worked up some calluses so 00:22:06.240 --> 00:22:09.299 it wouldn't be so bad. But you know what? Even 00:22:09.299 --> 00:22:12.680 with those calluses, it was bad. Those calluses 00:22:12.680 --> 00:22:14.880 couldn't have been that great because the fact 00:22:14.880 --> 00:22:16.740 that God said, hey, there's going to be thorns 00:22:16.740 --> 00:22:19.839 and thistles coming from the ground. What did 00:22:19.839 --> 00:22:21.759 those thorns and thistles do? They cut into their 00:22:21.759 --> 00:22:26.400 flesh. A reminder, a constant reminder of their 00:22:26.400 --> 00:22:29.400 sin. They already had the constant reminder of 00:22:29.400 --> 00:22:31.740 their nakedness. It was so intense, in fact, 00:22:31.839 --> 00:22:34.339 that the Lord, after they'd already covered themselves, 00:22:34.579 --> 00:22:38.819 he actually made them clothing. Right? Vanity 00:22:38.819 --> 00:22:46.900 had already set in. You know, we think of curse 00:22:46.900 --> 00:22:50.460 and we think of sin. Sin was in the garden, yes, 00:22:50.660 --> 00:22:53.140 because of Satan. Satan had brought it into him. 00:22:53.240 --> 00:22:56.059 However, it hadn't afflicted mankind or anything 00:22:56.059 --> 00:23:00.720 yet. Matter of fact, when Eve ate from that fruit, 00:23:00.960 --> 00:23:04.539 it hadn't fully set in yet. It wasn't until Adam 00:23:04.539 --> 00:23:07.099 came after her and he partook of the fruit as 00:23:07.099 --> 00:23:10.240 well because he still had the chance. He still 00:23:10.240 --> 00:23:12.099 had that choice because God had talked to him 00:23:12.099 --> 00:23:16.140 directly and said, don't do it. Eve didn't have 00:23:16.140 --> 00:23:18.259 that conversation. She wasn't there yet, right? 00:23:20.660 --> 00:23:23.039 So it was easier for Satan, it was easier for 00:23:23.039 --> 00:23:25.339 the serpent to trick her into eating it. It's 00:23:25.339 --> 00:23:27.240 like, but did you really hear that? Or is that 00:23:27.240 --> 00:23:30.339 just what your husband said? Right? That little 00:23:30.339 --> 00:23:33.380 bit of doubt. Whereas Adam had spoken directly 00:23:33.380 --> 00:23:35.400 with him. He'd gone for a walk with the Lord. 00:23:35.500 --> 00:23:38.119 He had spoken with him. So he had that firsthand 00:23:38.119 --> 00:23:41.000 knowledge of what was actually said. And he still 00:23:41.000 --> 00:23:47.059 chose to eat anyway. That was when sin was truly 00:23:47.059 --> 00:23:51.700 loosed on the earth. The first act of rebellion 00:23:51.700 --> 00:23:59.700 of man. So man was cursed. And it was Jesus who 00:23:59.700 --> 00:24:03.539 scripture refers to as the last Adam. Let me 00:24:03.539 --> 00:24:05.420 remind you that. We have the first Adam in the 00:24:05.420 --> 00:24:09.200 garden. We have Jesus, scripture tells us, as 00:24:09.200 --> 00:24:16.460 the last Adam. So it was the first Adam who allowed 00:24:16.460 --> 00:24:19.680 sin to be loosed into the earth. It was the last 00:24:19.680 --> 00:24:22.240 Adam who was going to bring the cure for that 00:24:22.240 --> 00:24:28.940 sin, the answer for that sin. So we're going 00:24:28.940 --> 00:24:30.460 to move forward again. We're going to move forward 00:24:30.460 --> 00:24:33.279 to the upper room during the feast of the Passover, 00:24:33.519 --> 00:24:39.599 John 13. So John 13, you go ahead and get there. 00:24:39.700 --> 00:24:41.839 We'll go into that verse here in a second. But 00:24:41.839 --> 00:24:45.259 in John 13, Passover, I'll remind you, we say 00:24:45.259 --> 00:24:46.599 that a lot in church. It's become one of those 00:24:46.599 --> 00:24:51.079 words that's churchanese, right? Passover was 00:24:51.079 --> 00:24:53.660 the feast that was being held for the ceremony. 00:24:54.240 --> 00:24:57.279 It was symbolic, right? This is where the sin 00:24:57.279 --> 00:24:59.059 of man, where we would go and we would take our 00:24:59.059 --> 00:25:01.339 sin, we'd confess our sin, we'd put our hands 00:25:01.339 --> 00:25:04.180 on the sheep, and it was to transfer our sin 00:25:04.180 --> 00:25:08.650 to that lamb. That was to be sacrificed. Right? 00:25:09.609 --> 00:25:13.430 That's what the Passover was. This was that big 00:25:13.430 --> 00:25:17.049 feast that was held for our sin to be transferred, 00:25:17.150 --> 00:25:21.670 for that sacrifice to be made. Right? The sacrificial 00:25:21.670 --> 00:25:25.650 lamb. This is what that last supper was when 00:25:25.650 --> 00:25:31.109 they were all gathering. And when supper was 00:25:31.109 --> 00:25:37.799 finished, What did Jesus do? He stripped down 00:25:37.799 --> 00:25:40.940 as a servant and he began washing the disciples' 00:25:41.160 --> 00:25:44.039 feet, right? Like he took everything off. He 00:25:44.039 --> 00:25:45.980 took a towel, he draped it around his cloth or 00:25:45.980 --> 00:25:48.680 his waist. And from there, hopefully we're all 00:25:48.680 --> 00:25:50.519 already in John 13. We're going to look specifically 00:25:50.519 --> 00:25:55.680 at verses 6 -8 now. So he's down here washing 00:25:55.680 --> 00:25:59.400 everybody's feet. In John 13, verses 6 -8, the 00:25:59.400 --> 00:26:03.619 word tells us, then he came to Simon Peter. And 00:26:03.619 --> 00:26:06.680 Peter said to him, Lord, are you washing my feet? 00:26:07.859 --> 00:26:10.500 Jesus answered and said to him, what I'm doing, 00:26:10.519 --> 00:26:15.440 you do not understand now. But you will know 00:26:15.440 --> 00:26:19.000 after this. Peter said to him, you shall never 00:26:19.000 --> 00:26:22.099 wash my feet. And Jesus answered him, if I do 00:26:22.099 --> 00:26:26.559 not wash you, you have no part of me. Look at 00:26:26.559 --> 00:26:28.500 the way this is worded. This is very specific. 00:26:29.859 --> 00:26:34.460 If I do not wash. You. He's not just washing 00:26:34.460 --> 00:26:38.619 feet here. As a servant king, yes, he was serving 00:26:38.619 --> 00:26:40.940 his people. He was setting an example, right? 00:26:41.039 --> 00:26:43.660 He was already speaking of what scripture truly 00:26:43.660 --> 00:26:46.000 meant. He was putting it into context that was 00:26:46.000 --> 00:26:49.099 truly needed. But this event was much more than 00:26:49.099 --> 00:26:53.339 that. He was washing feet. What were the thorns 00:26:53.339 --> 00:26:55.740 and thistles supposed to cut into? The feet. 00:26:55.940 --> 00:26:58.640 What do we call the bottom of our feet? We called 00:26:58.640 --> 00:27:03.809 it the same thing back then. The soul, yes. What 00:27:03.809 --> 00:27:06.269 was he doing? He wasn't just cleaning the feet. 00:27:06.309 --> 00:27:08.970 Yes, he was symbolically cleaning the soul of 00:27:08.970 --> 00:27:11.089 the disciples' feet. But in going to the cross, 00:27:11.289 --> 00:27:14.529 let's put this in perspective. If I do not wash 00:27:14.529 --> 00:27:16.589 you, you will have no part in me. If we are not 00:27:16.589 --> 00:27:19.210 cleansed by the blood of the Lamb, we have no 00:27:19.210 --> 00:27:22.210 part with the Father or with the Son or with 00:27:22.210 --> 00:27:27.210 the Holy Ghost. Ah, more than meets the eye. 00:27:27.490 --> 00:27:32.599 This is not incredible. When this all came through 00:27:32.599 --> 00:27:35.279 to me, I was like, whoa, this is amazing. This 00:27:35.279 --> 00:27:37.460 is that part that most pastors miss. It's not 00:27:37.460 --> 00:27:39.960 talked about in churches. This is what this actually 00:27:39.960 --> 00:27:43.160 meant. This is what he was doing. Those thorns, 00:27:43.160 --> 00:27:46.180 those thistles, that representation of this sin 00:27:46.180 --> 00:27:50.599 loosed on the earth, a constant reminder of our 00:27:50.599 --> 00:27:53.619 sin. And what did the thorns and the thistles 00:27:53.619 --> 00:27:56.119 do? They cut into that flesh. They tear it up. 00:27:56.880 --> 00:28:00.259 What does sin do to us spiritually? It cuts into 00:28:00.259 --> 00:28:03.559 us. It tears us apart. It creates a barrier that 00:28:03.559 --> 00:28:06.400 grows up and keeps us separate from the Father. 00:28:08.660 --> 00:28:11.519 We cannot go back into the garden until we're 00:28:11.519 --> 00:28:15.299 cleansed by the Lord Jesus Christ and are welcomed 00:28:15.299 --> 00:28:21.339 back into heaven. Those thorns and thistles wiped 00:28:21.339 --> 00:28:30.289 away. The soles of our feet. Our Lord preparing 00:28:30.289 --> 00:28:36.069 cleanse our various souls to wipe out the smudge 00:28:36.069 --> 00:28:43.250 of sin on each and every single one of us. So 00:28:43.250 --> 00:28:48.869 he does this. If you don't let me do this, you'll 00:28:48.869 --> 00:28:51.049 never be with me. He was about to take his place 00:28:51.049 --> 00:28:57.930 on the throne. But in order to do that, he had 00:28:57.930 --> 00:29:01.529 to prepare his people first. People needed to 00:29:01.529 --> 00:29:07.250 be properly prepared. It was told over and over 00:29:07.250 --> 00:29:10.710 in the Old Testament. Jesus himself predicted 00:29:10.710 --> 00:29:15.049 that this is going to come. People were listening, 00:29:15.089 --> 00:29:16.509 but they weren't hearing. They weren't connecting 00:29:16.509 --> 00:29:21.430 the dots, but they were about to. So he goes 00:29:21.430 --> 00:29:23.329 to the cross. And again, even the people who 00:29:23.329 --> 00:29:28.769 were crucified to him were examples. They were 00:29:28.769 --> 00:29:36.150 examples. In Luke chapter 23, verses 32 through 00:29:36.150 --> 00:29:41.349 43, you go ahead and turn to Luke 23. Let's take 00:29:41.349 --> 00:29:43.569 a quick look at the men who are with him. I'm 00:29:43.569 --> 00:29:45.509 going to kind of go through a big part of this, 00:29:45.529 --> 00:29:48.529 you know, just for time's sake. But the men who 00:29:48.529 --> 00:29:52.980 are being crucified with him. The one, just like 00:29:52.980 --> 00:29:55.640 everybody else who was there, mocked him, ridiculed 00:29:55.640 --> 00:30:01.059 him, didn't believe in him as the king of kings 00:30:01.059 --> 00:30:03.140 and the lord of lords. Didn't see him as the 00:30:03.140 --> 00:30:05.460 messiah, just saw him as another man going to 00:30:05.460 --> 00:30:09.720 the cross. It's like, ah, they said he's a bad 00:30:09.720 --> 00:30:12.880 dude, he must be a bad dude. Let him hang. I'm 00:30:12.880 --> 00:30:14.980 hanging, let him hang with me. That's how he 00:30:14.980 --> 00:30:20.640 was looking at it. The other, knew he was a sinful 00:30:20.640 --> 00:30:24.180 man, recognized the fact that he was a sinful 00:30:24.180 --> 00:30:29.700 man, and even said, hey, this guy's innocent. 00:30:30.000 --> 00:30:31.660 It's like, we deserve what we're getting. We're 00:30:31.660 --> 00:30:33.980 sinners. We're messed up. We done did some bad 00:30:33.980 --> 00:30:39.240 stuff. We're not good hombres. But this dude, 00:30:39.380 --> 00:30:43.660 he should not be hanging here with us. He recognized 00:30:43.660 --> 00:30:51.670 Jesus as a good man, as a good shepherd. While 00:30:51.670 --> 00:30:55.410 everybody else was mocking him, the other one 00:30:55.410 --> 00:30:59.630 saw him as the blameless lamb. So we see the 00:30:59.630 --> 00:31:01.950 two things that await us in the two men that 00:31:01.950 --> 00:31:06.369 were on the cross next to Christ. One, a man 00:31:06.369 --> 00:31:11.390 who continues to mock him, turn from him, being 00:31:11.390 --> 00:31:13.589 condemned to eternal separation from the Father. 00:31:15.069 --> 00:31:18.500 And the other, a good example, confess to sin, 00:31:18.579 --> 00:31:19.660 recognize the fact that he's a sinner. It's like, 00:31:19.740 --> 00:31:22.319 yeah, I'm a sinner. I did it. I deserve to be 00:31:22.319 --> 00:31:26.539 here. What we should all be doing is like, yeah, 00:31:26.559 --> 00:31:28.799 I'm a sinner. I've done messed up. I deserve 00:31:28.799 --> 00:31:34.200 the punishment. This guy doesn't. We recognize 00:31:34.200 --> 00:31:37.359 that he's our good shepherd. We confess our sin. 00:31:37.400 --> 00:31:40.500 We confess who he is. And just like that man, 00:31:40.720 --> 00:31:44.180 we will hear Jesus say something very similar 00:31:44.180 --> 00:31:48.130 for us. In Luke 23, verse 43, what does Jesus 00:31:48.130 --> 00:31:51.410 tell him after he's confessed it and recognized 00:31:51.410 --> 00:31:57.430 that Jesus is blameless? Jesus said to him, assuredly, 00:31:57.430 --> 00:32:02.130 I say to you today, you will be with me in paradise. 00:32:05.049 --> 00:32:09.170 You recognize that I'm innocent, that I'm up 00:32:09.170 --> 00:32:11.029 here for the sin of others, and you confess the 00:32:11.029 --> 00:32:13.349 fact that you are a sinner and you have done 00:32:13.349 --> 00:32:17.690 bad. Guess what? That's all I've asked. You'll 00:32:17.690 --> 00:32:24.289 be with me in paradise. Two examples. Recognize 00:32:24.289 --> 00:32:30.549 heaven. Continue in the ways of the world. Eternal 00:32:30.549 --> 00:32:32.990 separation from the father condemned to the fiery 00:32:32.990 --> 00:32:38.339 pits of hell. That's scary. Is this why he told 00:32:38.339 --> 00:32:40.380 his disciples, you don't know what you're asking. 00:32:40.480 --> 00:32:42.420 You can't do it. It's not even my place to give 00:32:42.420 --> 00:32:44.500 you those places have already been set by the 00:32:44.500 --> 00:32:50.819 people who have earned those positions. It wasn't 00:32:50.819 --> 00:32:54.539 what was expected. It was a moment of more than 00:32:54.539 --> 00:32:58.420 meets the eye. Because in order to ascend to 00:32:58.420 --> 00:33:01.319 the throne, Jesus had to go through the cross. 00:33:01.420 --> 00:33:05.220 That was his path. That was his gateway to ascend 00:33:05.220 --> 00:33:08.440 to the throne. That was the doorway for his path. 00:33:11.019 --> 00:33:14.579 He had to go through the cross first. Because 00:33:14.579 --> 00:33:16.579 I remind you, he didn't come just to serve one 00:33:16.579 --> 00:33:18.539 people. He wasn't just the king of the Jews. 00:33:20.519 --> 00:33:23.460 He wasn't here to serve just one earthly kingdom. 00:33:25.180 --> 00:33:28.960 He was here to serve all of mankind, the Jews 00:33:28.960 --> 00:33:34.740 and the Gentiles. Yes, one kingdom, but one kingdom 00:33:34.740 --> 00:33:37.519 for them all. Right? It's kind of like Lord of 00:33:37.519 --> 00:33:38.920 the Rings, the Hawaiian ring to rule them all. 00:33:38.960 --> 00:33:42.640 One kingdom for his faithful, for those who believe 00:33:42.640 --> 00:33:44.759 in him, for those who confess him and confess 00:33:44.759 --> 00:33:49.359 their sin and follow him. God's kingdom, the 00:33:49.359 --> 00:33:54.759 heavenly kingdom. The place that we all want 00:33:54.759 --> 00:34:01.200 to be, not the other place. Came to serve us 00:34:01.200 --> 00:34:06.140 all. To all who are present. And all who were 00:34:06.140 --> 00:34:12.699 to come. Jesus was on the cross. As far as all 00:34:12.699 --> 00:34:14.739 the people who were concerned at that time, because 00:34:14.739 --> 00:34:16.380 they, like I said, they were listening, but they 00:34:16.380 --> 00:34:18.679 weren't hearing. They weren't connecting the 00:34:18.679 --> 00:34:21.940 dots yet. So as far as they were concerned, the 00:34:21.940 --> 00:34:25.679 rebellion was done. Everything was said and done. 00:34:25.760 --> 00:34:28.239 There was nowhere else to go. That's it. That 00:34:28.239 --> 00:34:31.019 was the man who was supposed to do it. And he 00:34:31.019 --> 00:34:37.360 went out like nothing. Sad day. They're depressed. 00:34:37.480 --> 00:34:39.920 They're sad. Even the disciples did what? They 00:34:39.920 --> 00:34:42.920 went in the hiding. Like, you know what? We were 00:34:42.920 --> 00:34:44.900 there. We were championing him. It's like, it's 00:34:44.900 --> 00:34:46.159 going to be worse for us when they catch us. 00:34:50.880 --> 00:34:52.880 The kingdom that they were looking for, the kingdom 00:34:52.880 --> 00:34:56.519 that they were expecting, gone without a trace. 00:34:57.199 --> 00:35:00.619 Gone before it even truly started. Because they 00:35:00.619 --> 00:35:02.300 didn't recognize what was actually happening 00:35:02.300 --> 00:35:05.769 in front of them. They didn't know the glory. 00:35:06.409 --> 00:35:08.869 They didn't know the testimony that was to come, 00:35:08.909 --> 00:35:11.150 the witness that was about to come three days 00:35:11.150 --> 00:35:13.929 later at the resurrection of Christ when the 00:35:13.929 --> 00:35:19.510 tomb was empty. Granted, nobody could see it 00:35:19.510 --> 00:35:22.969 in the future to predict that, but you know what? 00:35:23.150 --> 00:35:25.610 It was already foreshadowed. It was already told. 00:35:26.590 --> 00:35:28.289 If they'd actually paid attention to Scripture, 00:35:28.650 --> 00:35:31.510 they'd have recognized it, but we don't do that. 00:35:31.550 --> 00:35:34.039 We look for the immediate, right? Like even today, 00:35:34.159 --> 00:35:35.739 what are we looking for? That instant gratification. 00:35:36.639 --> 00:35:38.400 Okay, we're all going to be saying, okay, cool. 00:35:39.320 --> 00:35:40.960 We stopped paying attention to the rest. We got 00:35:40.960 --> 00:35:45.340 what we wanted. Boom, the rest is gone. But three 00:35:45.340 --> 00:35:47.940 days later, the tomb was empty. The return of 00:35:47.940 --> 00:35:55.000 the one true king. Witnessed by hundreds. Hundreds. 00:35:56.900 --> 00:35:58.639 And we could see that not only in the Bible. 00:35:59.469 --> 00:36:02.289 But even in pagan scripture, or I should say 00:36:02.289 --> 00:36:07.690 pagan scrolls and accounts from that time, those 00:36:07.690 --> 00:36:10.969 people, even in Rome, who didn't believe in him 00:36:10.969 --> 00:36:13.130 as the Messiah, but recognizing the fact that, 00:36:13.170 --> 00:36:19.389 hey, something big just happened. That the sky 00:36:19.389 --> 00:36:23.030 had darkened, that the earth had shook. People 00:36:23.030 --> 00:36:26.690 believed dead were back. We forget about that 00:36:26.690 --> 00:36:30.469 part of it. When Jesus left the tomb, it wasn't 00:36:30.469 --> 00:36:32.190 just him. Others were raised from the grave, 00:36:32.309 --> 00:36:39.909 just like Lazarus. Right? Big things, miracles. 00:36:41.750 --> 00:36:44.269 And he was out there to be seen so people knew 00:36:44.269 --> 00:36:51.829 it was truly him. Witness the glory of God before 00:36:51.829 --> 00:36:56.809 all man. The proof of God, the proof that he 00:36:56.809 --> 00:37:05.280 is the son. The power of God in his reign over 00:37:05.280 --> 00:37:10.079 all of creation. The hope for all of mankind. 00:37:10.280 --> 00:37:13.019 Because without him returning from the grave, 00:37:13.300 --> 00:37:15.519 we wouldn't have the hope that we have today. 00:37:15.900 --> 00:37:17.800 He would have just disappeared into the annals 00:37:17.800 --> 00:37:25.059 of history. Jesus' crown wasn't meant to be a 00:37:25.059 --> 00:37:30.139 crown of gold. He couldn't be a crown of gold 00:37:30.139 --> 00:37:34.340 because he wasn't just another king. He wasn't 00:37:34.340 --> 00:37:39.559 just from a bloodline to be royalty. He wasn't 00:37:39.559 --> 00:37:41.800 royalty elect. He was the king of kings and the 00:37:41.800 --> 00:37:44.219 lamb of lambs. His crown could not be the same 00:37:44.219 --> 00:37:46.599 as anybody else's. It had to be different. Hence, 00:37:46.659 --> 00:37:50.380 a crown of thorns going all the way back saying, 00:37:50.500 --> 00:37:52.579 hey, it's not just for you. I do this. I do this 00:37:52.579 --> 00:37:54.760 for all mankind, everyone who has come and everyone 00:37:54.760 --> 00:38:01.539 who is to come. past, present, and future. You 00:38:01.539 --> 00:38:03.059 know, we like to say the best there is, the best 00:38:03.059 --> 00:38:04.760 there was, the best there ever will be. Jesus, 00:38:04.900 --> 00:38:07.880 that's it. He did it. He lived it. He did it 00:38:07.880 --> 00:38:13.119 for us. He came to serve all people for all of 00:38:13.119 --> 00:38:22.320 time. Not just to be another king. It was a crown 00:38:22.320 --> 00:38:30.730 of pain, suffering, torment, and blood. Bloodshed 00:38:30.730 --> 00:38:36.429 and love. The key word being love. So let's look 00:38:36.429 --> 00:38:38.570 a couple, we're almost there, I promise you. 00:38:38.590 --> 00:38:42.230 We're heading for home. First one here, John 00:38:42.230 --> 00:38:45.849 3, 16, and it says what? For God so loved the 00:38:45.849 --> 00:38:49.070 world that he gave his only begotten son, that 00:38:49.070 --> 00:38:52.349 whoever believes in him should not perish, but 00:38:52.349 --> 00:38:58.420 have eternal or everlasting life, right? Love. 00:38:58.920 --> 00:39:03.940 Well, that's God's love. But if we flip back 00:39:03.940 --> 00:39:08.679 just a little bit more to John 15, verse 13, 00:39:08.960 --> 00:39:13.780 Jesus himself, he upped the ante on that because 00:39:13.780 --> 00:39:19.500 he is God, right? And he said, greater love has 00:39:19.500 --> 00:39:23.099 no one than this, than to lay down one's life 00:39:23.099 --> 00:39:28.230 for his friends. It's like, I'm here. I love 00:39:28.230 --> 00:39:31.010 you. You are my closest friends. You are my friends. 00:39:31.070 --> 00:39:33.809 You are my family. And I'm going to lay it down 00:39:33.809 --> 00:39:41.030 for you. Laying it down for you. You and you 00:39:41.030 --> 00:39:50.550 and you and you. Love. No greater love. Greg 00:39:50.550 --> 00:39:54.650 Keener once wrote, Why does Christ's crown come 00:39:54.650 --> 00:39:59.099 with suffering? Good question for all of us to 00:39:59.099 --> 00:40:01.420 reflect on. Why does the crown of Christ come 00:40:01.420 --> 00:40:07.199 with suffering? Goes on to say, he knows that 00:40:07.199 --> 00:40:10.139 the way to free humanity from sin and death is 00:40:10.139 --> 00:40:14.219 for him to take on the shame and sorrow of sin 00:40:14.219 --> 00:40:24.079 that humanity has. There it is right there. Loving 00:40:24.079 --> 00:40:30.570 God is not. It doesn't always mean that we want 00:40:30.570 --> 00:40:32.510 to face the things that God has called us to 00:40:32.510 --> 00:40:37.269 face. But what it does mean is facing those things 00:40:37.269 --> 00:40:42.889 anyway. Call it bravery. We put a lot of words 00:40:42.889 --> 00:40:46.150 to it. You know what the Bible calls it? You 00:40:46.150 --> 00:40:50.409 know what God calls it? Obedience. Obedience. 00:40:54.539 --> 00:40:56.199 And we all have those things in our life that 00:40:56.199 --> 00:41:01.719 we fight to stay away from. I'll give you a prime 00:41:01.719 --> 00:41:05.460 example from my life. I was in band for a long 00:41:05.460 --> 00:41:08.559 time. I played a lot of instruments. I started 00:41:08.559 --> 00:41:11.300 off with the flute. I went to percussion. We 00:41:11.300 --> 00:41:12.980 had a very small percussion section. Matter of 00:41:12.980 --> 00:41:14.400 fact, there were three of us, so we'd all rotate. 00:41:15.179 --> 00:41:17.380 You know, the snare, the bass, the timpani, the 00:41:17.380 --> 00:41:19.800 bells, the chimes, the xylophone, the pipes, 00:41:19.940 --> 00:41:23.679 all that stuff. The cymbals, we had a kit we'd 00:41:23.679 --> 00:41:25.780 rotate on, much like this one over here to my 00:41:25.780 --> 00:41:29.400 left, right? I'd free up the other two people 00:41:29.400 --> 00:41:30.639 so they could play the other stuff that needed 00:41:30.639 --> 00:41:34.440 to be played for a specific song. I had one bad, 00:41:34.599 --> 00:41:38.480 bad band director. He was not a good person. 00:41:39.199 --> 00:41:43.579 Not a good person at all. And because of him, 00:41:43.619 --> 00:41:46.340 I walked away from band. It didn't matter that 00:41:46.340 --> 00:41:49.349 I had even changed schools. I'd gone to a great 00:41:49.349 --> 00:41:50.949 school with a great band director. I was at the 00:41:50.949 --> 00:41:53.789 Mexico Military Institute. Great school, great 00:41:53.789 --> 00:41:56.949 band, great director, and I still refused to 00:41:56.949 --> 00:42:00.230 go back to the band. Would not do it. The only 00:42:00.230 --> 00:42:02.929 time I'd pick up an instrument and play, I was 00:42:02.929 --> 00:42:06.409 very selfish. It was at home when nobody else 00:42:06.409 --> 00:42:10.969 was there. When nobody else was there. We're 00:42:10.969 --> 00:42:13.889 talking mom and dad at work. Everybody's out 00:42:13.889 --> 00:42:16.550 of the house. It was for me and me alone. That 00:42:16.550 --> 00:42:20.639 was it. And then I left. I go in the Marine Corps 00:42:20.639 --> 00:42:23.400 and I did not take a single instrument with me. 00:42:24.019 --> 00:42:30.300 Not one. I came back and it was a very, very 00:42:30.300 --> 00:42:32.239 slow path because it was like, hey, you know 00:42:32.239 --> 00:42:33.559 what? I still want to play instruments. I want 00:42:33.559 --> 00:42:38.980 to go back to it. And then I started playing 00:42:38.980 --> 00:42:44.119 again. But same thing. It was at home. The privacy 00:42:44.119 --> 00:42:48.320 of my own home. Typically when my kids weren't 00:42:48.320 --> 00:42:52.500 even there. If they were there, I got this handy 00:42:52.500 --> 00:42:54.400 gadget that I could plug into my guitar and then 00:42:54.400 --> 00:42:56.699 I could plug headphones into it. They wouldn't 00:42:56.699 --> 00:42:58.199 hear anything. I could sit in the back playing. 00:42:58.340 --> 00:43:00.900 I could plug in my computer or my MP3 player 00:43:00.900 --> 00:43:02.659 or whatever so I had music to play with. They 00:43:02.659 --> 00:43:04.099 wouldn't hear any of it. It was all for me. It 00:43:04.099 --> 00:43:08.179 was very selfish. Then I was serving at a church. 00:43:10.199 --> 00:43:13.559 They're looking for someone to play bass. There 00:43:13.559 --> 00:43:15.800 were a few people who knew I played bass. I'm 00:43:15.800 --> 00:43:18.280 going to point at this one specifically because 00:43:18.280 --> 00:43:21.539 they're asking, they're begging, they're pleading. 00:43:21.599 --> 00:43:25.219 They need a bassist. If you're interested, come 00:43:25.219 --> 00:43:28.360 and see us after service. I wasn't interested. 00:43:28.460 --> 00:43:33.139 I had no plans. So this stinker, I love you, 00:43:33.159 --> 00:43:37.760 mom. Yes, I'm pointing the finger at her because 00:43:37.760 --> 00:43:39.719 God bless her. She listened to what the Lord 00:43:39.719 --> 00:43:43.280 put on her and she did what the Lord said. My 00:43:43.280 --> 00:43:46.940 kiddo, he's next door. He's with the kids with 00:43:46.940 --> 00:43:50.860 the kids ministry. And here I am thinking, no, 00:43:50.880 --> 00:43:52.340 she's just going over to pick him up and we're 00:43:52.340 --> 00:43:53.699 going to leave. We're going to go to lunch. No, 00:43:53.719 --> 00:43:56.139 and here she comes with Pastor Tim and she told 00:43:56.139 --> 00:44:00.659 him. And Tim comes up, he says, hey, I hear you 00:44:00.659 --> 00:44:03.480 play bass. Yeah, a little bit. I'm learning. 00:44:03.920 --> 00:44:05.340 Hey, I want to introduce you to somebody. So 00:44:05.340 --> 00:44:06.840 he takes me over and he introduces me to the 00:44:06.840 --> 00:44:08.920 music director. Oh, yeah. Hey, come and play. 00:44:09.239 --> 00:44:11.610 No, no, no. He said, OK, no pressure. Come to 00:44:11.610 --> 00:44:13.510 our rehearsal. Let's just play together a few 00:44:13.510 --> 00:44:15.110 times. We'll see how you feel about it. I went 00:44:15.110 --> 00:44:17.690 to rehearsal twice. He says, hey, you'll be here 00:44:17.690 --> 00:44:21.969 on Friday, right? What? You'll be here Friday. 00:44:23.949 --> 00:44:25.929 Try as I might, I couldn't find an excuse. I 00:44:25.929 --> 00:44:27.289 didn't have a good one. I was like, okay, fine, 00:44:27.349 --> 00:44:28.710 I'll be here. Hardly anybody's here on Friday. 00:44:28.849 --> 00:44:30.510 They'll see I'm horrible and I'll get to leave. 00:44:32.510 --> 00:44:38.289 It didn't happen. The Lord opened up a door to 00:44:38.289 --> 00:44:43.380 get through to me. He introduced me to two great 00:44:43.380 --> 00:44:47.280 musicians. Matter of fact, Pastor Mike, who was 00:44:47.280 --> 00:44:48.719 one of the people, well, who was the main person 00:44:48.719 --> 00:44:50.820 who came in to help us with revamping our system 00:44:50.820 --> 00:44:53.800 for our live music and here with our speakers 00:44:53.800 --> 00:44:56.360 and our cables and our new computer and soundboard 00:44:56.360 --> 00:45:00.059 and all that kind of stuff. God bless him. To 00:45:00.059 --> 00:45:01.559 this day, one of the best guitarists I've ever 00:45:01.559 --> 00:45:04.639 played with. And then Pastor Jonathan, who's 00:45:04.639 --> 00:45:07.659 now a lead pastor out in Phoenix. He's our keyboardist. 00:45:08.039 --> 00:45:13.550 Later on, Jason would come in the door. Phenomenal 00:45:13.550 --> 00:45:17.530 percussionist. Now the youth pastor at that same 00:45:17.530 --> 00:45:21.469 church. And they changed it. So I went in one 00:45:21.469 --> 00:45:24.170 Friday. The Lord changed my heart. He softened 00:45:24.170 --> 00:45:25.949 it and found the way to get me to be obedient. 00:45:26.269 --> 00:45:29.610 And I played every Wednesday, Friday, and twice 00:45:29.610 --> 00:45:32.989 on Sunday in addition to rehearsals on Tuesday. 00:45:33.369 --> 00:45:37.110 Four years. Not for four years, but I mean F 00:45:37.110 --> 00:45:41.269 -O -R. Four years. Now I'm going to pick on my 00:45:41.269 --> 00:45:44.329 wife a little bit. Because for the longest time, 00:45:44.369 --> 00:45:46.269 it's like, you should come and play. You should 00:45:46.269 --> 00:45:48.510 come and play. No, no, no, no. I don't do that. 00:45:51.469 --> 00:45:55.289 Look at how we're blessed today. Again, obedience 00:45:55.289 --> 00:45:59.090 to the Lord. And with obedience, she will tell 00:45:59.090 --> 00:46:00.829 you just as much as I will. When you are obedient 00:46:00.829 --> 00:46:02.809 to the Lord and you listen and you actually do 00:46:02.809 --> 00:46:04.849 what you're supposed to do, you find great joy. 00:46:04.989 --> 00:46:08.780 You enjoy doing it. She herself has even said 00:46:08.780 --> 00:46:11.019 it's changed how she's played and what she plays, 00:46:11.119 --> 00:46:13.059 as opposed to some of this music that she used 00:46:13.059 --> 00:46:17.119 to play. Now, more and more, it's the same stuff 00:46:17.119 --> 00:46:20.320 that we hear and hear. Is it not wonderful? Is 00:46:20.320 --> 00:46:24.239 it not a blessing? We enjoy it. Even when our 00:46:24.239 --> 00:46:25.659 amplifiers aren't necessarily working the way 00:46:25.659 --> 00:46:30.860 that they should. But that's obedience. That's 00:46:30.860 --> 00:46:35.230 the obedience that the Lord has asked for. You 00:46:35.230 --> 00:46:36.909 know, as I said before, it doesn't mean that 00:46:36.909 --> 00:46:39.329 we always want to face what God calls us to do, 00:46:39.409 --> 00:46:44.949 but we choose to do it anyway. So when the test 00:46:44.949 --> 00:46:51.869 arrives, Jesus summoned all of his disciples 00:46:51.869 --> 00:46:55.570 and said, hey, ready or not, here it comes. Are 00:46:55.570 --> 00:46:59.989 you going to be obedient or aren't you? When 00:46:59.989 --> 00:47:02.309 it comes to us as his believers, as his followers, 00:47:02.449 --> 00:47:06.289 he's doing the same thing. Ready or not, here 00:47:06.289 --> 00:47:09.489 it comes. Are you ready? Are you going to do 00:47:09.489 --> 00:47:13.289 it? Are you all talk or are you going to walk 00:47:13.289 --> 00:47:15.590 the walk? Because it's going to be a hard walk, 00:47:15.750 --> 00:47:18.949 but it's going to be worth it. It's going to 00:47:18.949 --> 00:47:21.070 be worth it. Because indeed, doing the right 00:47:21.070 --> 00:47:23.429 thing for the right reason isn't always easy. 00:47:24.329 --> 00:47:28.429 Sometimes the hardest thing you can do is going 00:47:28.429 --> 00:47:29.849 to be the thing that comes from that place of 00:47:29.849 --> 00:47:32.269 love. And of course, love coming from obedience 00:47:32.269 --> 00:47:36.590 to the Lord. It's the Lord's love. It's not just 00:47:36.590 --> 00:47:40.510 yours. It's him working through you. That's why 00:47:40.510 --> 00:47:49.030 we have those sayings. Love hurts. Right? And 00:47:49.030 --> 00:47:51.769 also, heavy is the head that wears the crown. 00:47:54.730 --> 00:47:56.949 Not just the crown of gold, but the crown of 00:47:56.949 --> 00:48:04.019 thorns. Heavy is the head. but with nothing but 00:48:04.019 --> 00:48:07.320 love from the heart. On that note, let's pray. 00:48:10.059 --> 00:48:13.619 Father, we thank you for sending us the king 00:48:13.619 --> 00:48:15.239 that we needed, not the one that we wanted, not 00:48:15.239 --> 00:48:18.079 the one that we were expecting, but the one that 00:48:18.079 --> 00:48:23.300 we needed. You foretold it all. You told us this 00:48:23.300 --> 00:48:26.000 is going to happen. Even in the hours leading 00:48:26.000 --> 00:48:28.800 up to it, you continue to warn us and show us. 00:48:31.690 --> 00:48:33.449 You kept telling the world, hey, this is about 00:48:33.449 --> 00:48:36.070 to happen. And you're telling us the same thing 00:48:36.070 --> 00:48:39.530 today. We don't need to just listen to you. We 00:48:39.530 --> 00:48:43.210 need to hear you and recognize. We have to know 00:48:43.210 --> 00:48:45.809 and recognize the fact that we have all sinned. 00:48:45.809 --> 00:48:48.110 We have all fallen short of the glory of God. 00:48:51.050 --> 00:48:53.230 So because of that, we confess, yeah, we've done 00:48:53.230 --> 00:48:55.190 messed up. We've fallen time and time again. 00:48:55.309 --> 00:48:57.210 We've turned our back time and time again. We 00:48:57.210 --> 00:48:59.550 have sinned when you've put it plainly in front 00:48:59.550 --> 00:49:01.469 of us and we've still chosen to do the wrong 00:49:01.469 --> 00:49:07.949 thing. Please forgive us. We ask that you keep 00:49:07.949 --> 00:49:12.389 molding us. Keep helping us to become those people 00:49:12.389 --> 00:49:17.570 that you would have us be. Use us. Point us in 00:49:17.570 --> 00:49:19.980 the way that you would have us go. to be in front 00:49:19.980 --> 00:49:21.760 of the people you'd have us in front of, to do 00:49:21.760 --> 00:49:24.980 the work that you have set for us to your glory 00:49:24.980 --> 00:49:28.619 and not our own. We ask that you continue to 00:49:28.619 --> 00:49:31.440 grant us knowledge and wisdom through our relationship 00:49:31.440 --> 00:49:33.079 with you and we recognize that those are two 00:49:33.079 --> 00:49:36.619 very, very different things. And not only that 00:49:36.619 --> 00:49:38.420 you grant us the knowledge and the wisdom, but 00:49:38.420 --> 00:49:41.260 how to apply them to our lives and to the benefit 00:49:41.260 --> 00:49:43.880 of others to shine that light to you and your 00:49:43.880 --> 00:49:50.489 glory and your kingdom. Please keep giving us 00:49:50.489 --> 00:49:55.489 that hand when we stumble, giving us that hand 00:49:55.489 --> 00:49:57.969 up. We don't ask for a hand out. We ask for that 00:49:57.969 --> 00:50:02.769 hand up. Help us to remember to never take our 00:50:02.769 --> 00:50:08.409 eyes off of you and to know and to continue to 00:50:08.409 --> 00:50:12.110 know that in all that we do and all that we see 00:50:12.110 --> 00:50:14.150 and all that we experience, that there is still 00:50:14.150 --> 00:50:18.599 so much more than meets the eye. We thank you. 00:50:18.619 --> 00:50:20.400 We love you. We pray all this in the name of 00:50:20.400 --> 00:50:24.000 your son, Jesus. People said, amen and amen. 00:50:24.099 --> 00:50:26.119 Remember, as you leave here today, you are loved 00:50:26.119 --> 00:50:29.639 and you are blessed. So go and be the church. 00:50:31.880 --> 00:50:34.840 Thank you for joining us at Healing Scars with 00:50:34.840 --> 00:50:55.710 Pastor Burton. Until next time, take care and 00:50:55.710 --> 00:50:56.349 God bless.