WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.919 So our theme for Passion Week this year, as you 00:00:01.919 --> 00:00:05.839 know, comes from John 14, 6, where Jesus famously 00:00:05.839 --> 00:00:09.660 said to his disciples, I am the way, and I am 00:00:09.660 --> 00:00:13.199 the truth, and I am the life. No one comes to 00:00:13.199 --> 00:00:16.359 the Father but through me. This is one of seven 00:00:16.359 --> 00:00:19.239 I am declarations that Jesus makes in John's 00:00:19.239 --> 00:00:23.039 Gospel. Seven statements where Jesus takes the 00:00:23.039 --> 00:00:26.199 divine name from Exodus chapter 3 and claims 00:00:26.199 --> 00:00:30.089 it for himself. You might recall when Moses asked 00:00:30.089 --> 00:00:32.909 the Lord about his personal name, God responded 00:00:32.909 --> 00:00:37.289 to him, I am who I am. Tell them that I am sent 00:00:37.289 --> 00:00:40.270 you. And then in John's gospel, Jesus, while 00:00:40.270 --> 00:00:42.950 in the flesh, picks up that divine name and says, 00:00:42.990 --> 00:00:50.369 I am the truth. Now, has Jesus taught us truth? 00:00:50.969 --> 00:00:55.060 Yes. Has he shown us truth? Of course. Has he 00:00:55.060 --> 00:00:57.520 testified to the truth? Yes, he said that to 00:00:57.520 --> 00:01:01.159 Pilate. But in John 14, 6, there's even more 00:01:01.159 --> 00:01:04.939 meaning built into Jesus' declaration. He is 00:01:04.939 --> 00:01:09.120 the present tense, continuous embodiment of truth. 00:01:10.540 --> 00:01:14.760 So catch this. Truth is not just a list of propositions 00:01:14.760 --> 00:01:17.780 as we often think of truth. Ultimately, truth 00:01:17.780 --> 00:01:21.299 is embodied in the person of Jesus Christ because 00:01:21.299 --> 00:01:24.900 he has revealed to us who God is, and what God 00:01:24.900 --> 00:01:29.260 is like. Jesus was in John's day and still is 00:01:29.260 --> 00:01:32.340 today the physical manifestation of the eternal 00:01:32.340 --> 00:01:37.500 God who in himself is truth. And this is not 00:01:37.500 --> 00:01:39.959 just a New Testament thing. God the Son is the 00:01:39.959 --> 00:01:42.459 truth of the entire Old Testament as well. He 00:01:42.459 --> 00:01:45.299 is the wisdom. He is the knowledge of Proverbs, 00:01:45.299 --> 00:01:48.560 of the Psalms, of all the prophets. In fact, 00:01:48.579 --> 00:01:53.280 Paul says as much in Colossians 2. He says, All, 00:01:53.280 --> 00:01:58.299 all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. And 00:01:58.299 --> 00:02:00.120 think of this connection for a moment. In John 00:02:00.120 --> 00:02:03.299 1, we all know Jesus is identified as the logos, 00:02:03.659 --> 00:02:06.700 right? In Greek, it's the word. And we're told 00:02:06.700 --> 00:02:09.520 that he existed in eternity past with God, that 00:02:09.520 --> 00:02:12.639 he is God, and that all created things. came 00:02:12.639 --> 00:02:15.580 into being through him. So he is the very word 00:02:15.580 --> 00:02:19.580 of God. And then later in John 17, Jesus is praying 00:02:19.580 --> 00:02:23.080 to his father and he asks, sanctify my followers 00:02:23.080 --> 00:02:27.060 in the truth. Your word, me, your word is truth. 00:02:29.259 --> 00:02:32.319 It's another way of saying, I am the father's 00:02:32.319 --> 00:02:36.400 truth. And if Jesus is that word, then truth 00:02:36.400 --> 00:02:40.080 is personal. It's found in the person of Christ. 00:02:40.240 --> 00:02:43.259 He is the standard by which all truth is known 00:02:43.259 --> 00:02:47.099 by creatures like you and like me. He embodies 00:02:47.099 --> 00:02:49.680 all the truth that any man needs for life, for 00:02:49.680 --> 00:02:52.939 salvation, for godliness. And that's because 00:02:52.939 --> 00:02:56.400 He has revealed to us not just who God is, He's 00:02:56.400 --> 00:02:58.620 revealed to us what righteousness looks like. 00:02:59.020 --> 00:03:03.120 He has revealed to us how sin causes us to fall 00:03:03.120 --> 00:03:06.680 short of His glory. And best of all, he is the 00:03:06.680 --> 00:03:09.599 truth because he leads us to the only way out 00:03:09.599 --> 00:03:12.639 of slavery and death and into freedom and life 00:03:12.639 --> 00:03:16.960 eternal. As he promised and confirmed to Pilate, 00:03:16.979 --> 00:03:20.560 everyone who is of the truth hears my voice. 00:03:20.620 --> 00:03:22.479 And that is my prayer for all of you tonight, 00:03:22.580 --> 00:03:25.740 that you hear the good shepherd's voice because 00:03:25.740 --> 00:03:30.289 you are of the truth. Now, for our purposes tonight, 00:03:30.430 --> 00:03:32.889 I want to talk about the truth as it relates 00:03:32.889 --> 00:03:35.849 to one particular aspect of Good Friday, and 00:03:35.849 --> 00:03:37.949 we'll do this fairly quickly, but I want to talk 00:03:37.949 --> 00:03:42.370 about blood sacrifice and atonement. The question 00:03:42.370 --> 00:03:44.610 is often asked by unbelievers and people who 00:03:44.610 --> 00:03:47.569 are unfamiliar with Christian theology, and it's 00:03:47.569 --> 00:03:50.669 a fair question. Why the agony of the cross? 00:03:52.939 --> 00:03:55.159 why would god who could have used any number 00:03:55.159 --> 00:03:58.460 of ways to satisfy his own justice why would 00:03:58.460 --> 00:04:01.020 he put his one and only son through that kind 00:04:01.020 --> 00:04:05.240 of suffering and agony going a step further why 00:04:05.240 --> 00:04:07.580 the hostility and the rejection from his own 00:04:07.580 --> 00:04:10.860 people the jews why the mocking and the cruelty 00:04:10.860 --> 00:04:13.379 at the hands of the gentile romans could there 00:04:13.379 --> 00:04:17.810 not have been a better way The answer to these 00:04:17.810 --> 00:04:19.949 questions goes back to two things. First of all, 00:04:20.009 --> 00:04:22.790 God's sovereignty over all things. And second, 00:04:22.970 --> 00:04:26.769 His own consistency when it comes to the standards 00:04:26.769 --> 00:04:30.769 of debt and satisfaction. The first of those 00:04:30.769 --> 00:04:33.170 two reasons is very simple. All things are put 00:04:33.170 --> 00:04:35.769 in motion by the Creator. All things are upheld 00:04:35.769 --> 00:04:39.230 by the Creator. So He makes the rules. Right? 00:04:40.389 --> 00:04:43.189 And he judges according to his perfect, infinite 00:04:43.189 --> 00:04:46.810 wisdom. So if God says this is how sin must be 00:04:46.810 --> 00:04:49.509 dealt with, guess what? That's how sin has to 00:04:49.509 --> 00:04:52.649 be dealt with. And if he proclaims there's only 00:04:52.649 --> 00:04:55.389 one way to eternal life, guess what? That is 00:04:55.389 --> 00:04:58.230 the only way to eternal life. Mankind can object, 00:04:58.589 --> 00:05:00.889 they can complain, they can whine about that 00:05:00.889 --> 00:05:03.290 all they want, but they have no standing before 00:05:03.290 --> 00:05:07.230 Almighty God. As Paul puts it in Romans 9, who 00:05:07.230 --> 00:05:11.920 are you, O man, to answer back? To God. So the 00:05:11.920 --> 00:05:13.759 creator and the sovereign of the universe sets 00:05:13.759 --> 00:05:16.139 the ground rules. That's the first reason for 00:05:16.139 --> 00:05:19.139 why the cross had to happen as it did because 00:05:19.139 --> 00:05:24.579 God decreed it to be so. Then we come to the 00:05:24.579 --> 00:05:27.100 second reason. The reason behind the rejection 00:05:27.100 --> 00:05:29.399 of humanity, all the suffering, the shedding 00:05:29.399 --> 00:05:32.000 of blood and death, the basis of which goes all 00:05:32.000 --> 00:05:34.079 the way back to the very beginning, to the garden, 00:05:34.220 --> 00:05:38.019 to the fall of mankind. How did God deal with 00:05:38.019 --> 00:05:40.500 that first devastating sin committed by Adam 00:05:40.500 --> 00:05:44.300 and Eve? Genesis 3 .21 says that animals were 00:05:44.300 --> 00:05:47.220 sacrificed so that God could clothe Adam and 00:05:47.220 --> 00:05:50.279 Eve with garments of skin. So right out of the 00:05:50.279 --> 00:05:52.480 gate, we come to this understanding that if you 00:05:52.480 --> 00:05:55.319 violate God's commands, it requires a covering, 00:05:55.399 --> 00:06:00.980 and that covering requires a loss of life. All 00:06:00.980 --> 00:06:04.220 the way back in Genesis 3, that truth is proclaimed. 00:06:05.280 --> 00:06:08.079 Now why is that? Well, in the logic of God's 00:06:08.079 --> 00:06:10.779 created order, a sacrifice of blood is required 00:06:10.779 --> 00:06:14.519 because sin brings death. Sin brings death. And 00:06:14.519 --> 00:06:17.720 that logic began right there in the garden. Listen 00:06:17.720 --> 00:06:19.740 to God's fundamental command to Adam and Eve. 00:06:19.879 --> 00:06:22.259 From any tree of the garden you may eat freely, 00:06:22.500 --> 00:06:24.800 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and 00:06:24.800 --> 00:06:30.339 evil you shall not eat. Was that clear? For in 00:06:30.339 --> 00:06:32.060 the day that you eat from it, you will surely 00:06:32.060 --> 00:06:37.620 what? You will surely die. God was very clear. 00:06:38.600 --> 00:06:40.819 Now there's a dual meaning there. Spiritual death 00:06:40.819 --> 00:06:43.860 was immediate, right? The relationship that Adam 00:06:43.860 --> 00:06:46.339 and Eve had with the Creator was fractured immediately. 00:06:46.699 --> 00:06:48.740 There was a loss of innocence. There was a loss 00:06:48.740 --> 00:06:51.660 of fellowship with Him. And from that time forward, 00:06:51.720 --> 00:06:55.379 then physical death became inevitable. It was 00:06:55.379 --> 00:06:59.079 just a slow march to the end. And so sin brought 00:06:59.079 --> 00:07:01.720 death into the created order. Even today, sin 00:07:01.720 --> 00:07:05.500 brings about death, both spiritually and physically. 00:07:05.540 --> 00:07:08.100 Right now, listen to this, friends. Right now, 00:07:08.100 --> 00:07:10.620 there are billions of people walking the earth 00:07:10.620 --> 00:07:13.860 today who are spiritually dead in their sin. 00:07:14.819 --> 00:07:17.639 And they are on that slow march to physical death 00:07:17.639 --> 00:07:21.899 as well. Billions of people. And so the remedy 00:07:21.899 --> 00:07:24.339 is important, is it not? That's a real problem. 00:07:24.439 --> 00:07:26.939 What's the remedy? Only one thing. The precious 00:07:26.939 --> 00:07:29.959 blood of Christ shed on the cross. The reason 00:07:29.959 --> 00:07:34.399 for Good Friday. See, in the logic of Scripture, 00:07:34.579 --> 00:07:38.199 the blood equals life. Leviticus 16 tells us 00:07:38.199 --> 00:07:40.680 that the life of the flesh is in the blood. So 00:07:40.680 --> 00:07:44.040 when sin needs to be covered, it costs a life. 00:07:45.519 --> 00:07:47.699 And that means the shedding of blood. And it's 00:07:47.699 --> 00:07:50.480 the blood that God has declared is the means 00:07:50.480 --> 00:07:54.360 of atonement for sin. In fact, later on in the 00:07:54.360 --> 00:07:56.839 book of Hebrews, we're told explicitly, without 00:07:56.839 --> 00:07:59.740 the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. 00:08:01.399 --> 00:08:04.879 None. That's how the Lord designed and structured 00:08:04.879 --> 00:08:07.680 things to work within His creation. Again, you 00:08:07.680 --> 00:08:10.459 can complain all you want, you can whine about 00:08:10.459 --> 00:08:13.120 it, but those are the ground rules. When you 00:08:13.120 --> 00:08:18.360 or I sin, we deserve death. We deserve death. 00:08:19.100 --> 00:08:21.540 Our sin is serious business, and the guilt that 00:08:21.540 --> 00:08:24.360 we bear because of it, God can't just ignore 00:08:24.360 --> 00:08:27.360 it or just brush it away. It has to be dealt 00:08:27.360 --> 00:08:32.580 with. Otherwise, God is not just. And that's 00:08:32.580 --> 00:08:35.000 what the sacrificial system under the Old Covenant 00:08:35.000 --> 00:08:37.720 revealed to the people of Israel, right? And 00:08:37.720 --> 00:08:40.279 in very graphic ways, every time an animal was 00:08:40.279 --> 00:08:42.940 slaughtered, which was constantly, the message 00:08:42.940 --> 00:08:47.740 was very clear, sin is costly. It brings pain. 00:08:47.799 --> 00:08:50.460 It brings suffering. It brings loss. And it requires 00:08:50.460 --> 00:08:53.440 more than just an apology. It requires blood. 00:08:53.860 --> 00:08:57.580 And it requires death. But there was also one 00:08:57.580 --> 00:08:59.960 very important thing also revealed in that same 00:08:59.960 --> 00:09:02.879 system at the altar in Israel. You ready for 00:09:02.879 --> 00:09:06.299 this? That a life could be substituted in the 00:09:06.299 --> 00:09:10.879 place of the sinner. A life could be substituted 00:09:10.879 --> 00:09:13.490 in the sinner's place. And so the Israelites 00:09:13.490 --> 00:09:15.669 brought regular offerings, right? Sin offerings, 00:09:15.929 --> 00:09:18.230 guilt offerings, burnt offerings. And then once 00:09:18.230 --> 00:09:23.090 a year, they had this big, big day on their church 00:09:23.090 --> 00:09:26.990 calendar, right? The Day of Atonement. And on 00:09:26.990 --> 00:09:29.049 that day, the high priest offered a bull for 00:09:29.049 --> 00:09:32.330 himself and two goats for the people as the price 00:09:32.330 --> 00:09:34.610 of atonement. And what happened to that first 00:09:34.610 --> 00:09:37.870 goat? It was sacrificed. Blood was shed. It was 00:09:37.870 --> 00:09:40.389 slaughtered. And on the other goat, the sins 00:09:40.389 --> 00:09:44.129 of the people were put on its head. And then 00:09:44.129 --> 00:09:47.289 it was sent out, out of the camp, into the wilderness, 00:09:47.610 --> 00:09:51.190 with the sins of the people. And it's called 00:09:51.190 --> 00:09:56.409 what? The scapegoat. And the sparing of his life 00:09:56.409 --> 00:09:59.429 represented the removal of Israel's sin, Israel's 00:09:59.429 --> 00:10:02.169 uncleanness. It was taken away from God's presence. 00:10:03.049 --> 00:10:05.610 So two things were present there. There was a 00:10:05.610 --> 00:10:09.720 bloody death. For sin, that had to happen. But 00:10:09.720 --> 00:10:12.960 there was grace extended to the people, symbolized 00:10:12.960 --> 00:10:15.720 by the scapegoat taking their sins and running 00:10:15.720 --> 00:10:18.940 off into the wilderness. Does that sound familiar 00:10:18.940 --> 00:10:24.440 to us? All of this was to foreshadow the new 00:10:24.440 --> 00:10:27.679 covenant. This was all temporary. We're told 00:10:27.679 --> 00:10:29.399 in the book of Hebrews, the blood of goats and 00:10:29.399 --> 00:10:32.399 bills could never fully and finally remove the 00:10:32.399 --> 00:10:35.220 penalty for a man's sin. It could only be a temporary 00:10:35.220 --> 00:10:38.440 covering. We're told that the sacrificial system 00:10:38.440 --> 00:10:41.460 was only a shadow of something far greater, something 00:10:41.460 --> 00:10:44.399 more effectual, something that no human mind 00:10:44.399 --> 00:10:49.399 would ever conceive of. One final, bloody, sacrificial 00:10:49.399 --> 00:10:52.879 death for the sins of all mankind in every single 00:10:52.879 --> 00:10:57.740 age. Can you imagine? Just one. Just one. Which 00:10:57.740 --> 00:11:00.759 would require a lamb greater than any lamb the 00:11:00.759 --> 00:11:03.320 world has ever known. A lamb whose death would 00:11:03.320 --> 00:11:07.139 be capable of forever satisfying God's divine 00:11:07.139 --> 00:11:10.480 justice for mankind. Where do you find such a 00:11:10.480 --> 00:11:14.120 lamb? Do you see the beauty of God's picture? 00:11:14.539 --> 00:11:18.759 From Genesis to Israel to the new covenant. The 00:11:18.759 --> 00:11:22.080 way God has laid this before his people. What 00:11:22.080 --> 00:11:25.320 a beautiful story. It all brings us to Good Friday. 00:11:26.190 --> 00:11:29.149 That hallowed day almost 2 ,000 years ago when 00:11:29.149 --> 00:11:31.970 Jesus laid down his life for the sins of mankind 00:11:31.970 --> 00:11:37.730 as the Lamb of God. And not just as a unique 00:11:37.730 --> 00:11:41.090 man, but as true God incarnated in the flesh. 00:11:41.309 --> 00:11:45.649 See, his identity as the eternal son is the only 00:11:45.649 --> 00:11:49.049 reason why he's able to satisfy an eternal debt. 00:11:49.250 --> 00:11:52.039 Do you hear that? Because of who he is, that's 00:11:52.039 --> 00:11:55.700 the only reason why he can satisfy God's justice 00:11:55.700 --> 00:11:59.379 eternally. In the book of Hebrews, we're told 00:11:59.379 --> 00:12:02.980 that Jesus entered into a much greater tabernacle 00:12:02.980 --> 00:12:06.600 than any earthly sanctuary. He entered into the 00:12:06.600 --> 00:12:08.779 true tabernacle, which is up in the heavenly 00:12:08.779 --> 00:12:12.120 realms. And he didn't come in with the blood 00:12:12.120 --> 00:12:15.279 of animals, right? The blood of goats or bulls. 00:12:15.279 --> 00:12:19.159 He came by his own. precious blood into that 00:12:19.159 --> 00:12:23.179 heavenly tabernacle the only blood capable of 00:12:23.179 --> 00:12:25.480 forever washing away sins remember what he said 00:12:25.480 --> 00:12:28.799 in the upper room we talk about it every month 00:12:28.799 --> 00:12:31.259 but remember what he said when he looked at the 00:12:31.259 --> 00:12:35.000 cup he said this is my blood of the covenant 00:12:35.000 --> 00:12:39.220 my blood which is poured out for many for the 00:12:39.220 --> 00:12:43.399 forgiveness of sins and so friends tonight on 00:12:43.399 --> 00:12:46.399 good friday the cross is the greatest example 00:12:46.399 --> 00:12:50.200 of love the world has ever known. It is the greatest 00:12:50.200 --> 00:12:53.620 moment of sacrifice the world could ever conceive 00:12:53.620 --> 00:12:58.720 of, but it's even more. Yes, it's love. Yes, 00:12:58.759 --> 00:13:03.120 it's sacrifice, but it's effectual, meaning the 00:13:03.120 --> 00:13:07.259 price was paid. The debt was satisfied. The judgment 00:13:07.259 --> 00:13:12.789 we deserved has been taken out of the camp. Forgiveness 00:13:12.789 --> 00:13:16.450 has been secured, adoption is confirmed, and 00:13:16.450 --> 00:13:22.990 eternal life is guaranteed by faith in the one 00:13:22.990 --> 00:13:26.769 and only Son of God. All we have to do is believe, 00:13:27.070 --> 00:13:34.149 repent of our sins, and follow after Him. Lord 00:13:34.149 --> 00:13:39.549 Jesus, how can finite creatures like us thank 00:13:39.549 --> 00:13:43.590 You enough for who You are? Thank you enough 00:13:43.590 --> 00:13:45.649 for what you've done on our behalf. Only this, 00:13:45.750 --> 00:13:49.169 Lord, take our lives and consecrate them for 00:13:49.169 --> 00:13:53.409 your glory and for your kingdom we ask. Amen.