WEBVTT

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As they returned, my food is to do the will of

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him who sent me. And then in Jerusalem, he said

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to those who were listening, in John 5, 30, I

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seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father.

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And then again in chapter 8 of John, verses 28

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and 29, I do nothing on my own initiative, but

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I speak these things as the Father taught me.

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I always do the things that are pleasing to him.

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And so the Lord Jesus Christ carefully, purposefully,

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systematically, conscientiously saw that the

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scripture was fulfilled in his life, including

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his offering at the cross. The cross was the

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focal point. It was the climax, the purpose.

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of the Father's will in his coming. We see that

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in Luke chapter 22 when Jesus in the garden prays

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and he says, Not my will but thine be done. The

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cross was the will of his Father. The cross was

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not an act of fate. Jesus did not look upon this

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as something that had to take place so let's

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get it over with. Nor was the cross an accident.

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something that got out of control and ended up

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in a sad death. But rather the cross was that

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which he pursued. He set his face as flint to

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go to Jerusalem, there to offer up himself for

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sin. This was the will of the Father from before

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creation. It says again in Luke chapter 22, Jesus

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says, The Son of Man is going as it has been

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determined. And Peter gives us further insight.

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in chapter 1 of his first epistle, when he says,

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after talking about the blood of Christ offered

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as a lamb, for he was foreknown before the foundation

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of the world. And that word foreknown implies

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chosen, selected, elected. And that's why, again,

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in his sermon on the day of Pentecost, Peter

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said, this man delivered up by the determined

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plan and foreknowledge of God. And so when we

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think about the cross of Jesus Christ, let's

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not think about something that was out of hand,

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an accident, nor let us think of it as simply

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fate playing out what had to be done. But rather

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it was the determined will of God that Jesus

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Christ, God the Son come in the flesh, should

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go to the cross and there bear your sins and

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mine. And so what was the cross to the Lord Jesus?

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It was the fulfilling. of his Father's will.

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That was always his chief concern, that the will

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of the Father be done. Secondly, for Jesus, the

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cross was paying the price for sinners. He himself

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said, regarding the Son of Man's coming, that

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it was to give his life a ransom for many, Mark

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10, 45. A ransom is a price. that is paid to

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recover a personal thing from one who is detaining

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it or him. For example, in South America at the

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present time, the last I've heard, there is still

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a businessman who has been kidnapped by terrorists,

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and there are negotiations taking place between

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that band of terrorists and the man's family

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for his release. They are trying to work out

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the ransom, the price that must be paid. are

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detained by sin. We are captured by it. We are

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in bondage to it. We are slaves to sin. And the

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Lord Jesus Christ on the cross paid the price.

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He paid the ransom for our release. His atonement

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provides payment for the sins of all men. There

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is merit in his death for every man who has ever

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lived or ever will live on the face of the earth.

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We can perhaps illustrate the merit of his death

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by this illustration. If a general is captured

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by the enemy army, it may be that that country

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would be willing to give a thousand soldiers

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for his release. Why is that so? Because of the

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worth, the merit of that general. The Lord Jesus

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Christ died upon the cross, and he died for all

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men, and so great is his worth. So infinite is

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the merit of his death that it provides for the

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salvation of all men. It's sufficient for all,

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but it's efficient or applied only to those who

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personally trust him. as Savior and Lord. So

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as Jesus looked at the cross, it was with this

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attitude. He was paying the price for sinners.

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But folks, let's keep in mind that it was more

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than a legal transaction. It was an act of supreme

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love. It was not something mechanical that he

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did, but rather it was a voluntary sacrifice

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because he so desperately loves every one of

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us. The third attitude that Jesus had toward

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the cross is that of providing the basis for

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the new covenant. God always deals with mankind

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on the basis of a covenant. He always has and

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he always will. Jesus said at that last supper

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with his disciples, this cup is the new covenant.

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In my blood, that is established on my blood.

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He says, as Matthew records it, this is my blood

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of the covenant. Up to that time, mankind was

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related to God or could be related to God through

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the old covenant, as we call it now. That was

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the covenant of the law. And that covenant said,

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do this and you will live. The only problem is

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that Mankind cannot do it. They can't obey the

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law. But that was the basis of the law. Do this

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and live. God has provided something better for

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us now, and that is the new covenant. It is a

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covenant established by grace. It is a covenant

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that provides free forgiveness of sins. And instead

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of saying do and live, It says, believe and live.

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In the first, God said essentially, if you will

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do this, then I will do that. In the second covenant,

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God says, I have done this. Now will you receive

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it? This new covenant is enforced today, and

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there's never going to be another covenant. It

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is the final covenant of God with mankind. It

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is the consummating covenant. This new covenant

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established in Christ's blood assures the complete

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forgiveness and removal of sin. It is but ours

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to accept and receive this new covenant so that

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it can be made personally applicable to us. And

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so as Jesus died upon the cross, As he hung there

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in suffering and shame. It was so that he could

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provide the basis for the new covenant. So that's

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how Jesus saw his death. It was the fulfillment

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of the Father's will. It was the ransom price

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for sinners. It was the basis for the new covenant.

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And so we have seen how the Jews looked at it.

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How the Romans saw it. How Pilate saw it. We've

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seen how the disciples looked at it. And how

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Jesus looked at it. I guess the final question

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is, how do you see it? What does it mean to you

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personally? Is it an unfortunate event in history

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as far as you're concerned? That is, you have

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sympathy for Jesus and what happened. You're

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sorry that it took place. But that's all. Or

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do you look upon it as an insignificant event

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really, one that has no real relevance to you?

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Or perhaps do you see it as something for religious

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people to consider, but a matter that you have

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no time or interest in? The way that we must

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see it, if we would be saved, is that it is the

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sacrifice of the Son of God. for the sin of each

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of us. And going one step further, we must see

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it in terms of a personal faith. For it's insufficient

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to say, Jesus died for me. We must therefore

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say, I receive him as my Savior and Lord. The

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cross is the focal point of all history and of

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your personal destiny. I suppose the final question

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that we would ask might be phrased as the songwriter

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did. What will you do with Jesus? Neutral you

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cannot be. Someday your heart will be asking,

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what will he do with me? Let's pray. Father,

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I pray that we may be able to see Calvary as

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you see it. I pray that in our minds we will

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be led to Calvary today. And may our response

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be one of surrender, one of love, one of faith,

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as we recognize the supreme act of love which

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the Lord Jesus Christ demonstrated to us and

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for us. In his name we pray. Amen. Let's close

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by singing one verse of number two.