LIFE OF JESUS OVERVIEW – 2 (DEATH & RESURRECTION)
(This blog is a word-for-word transcript of what I teach to the pastors in India about the death & resurrection of Jesus.)
God Himself came to earth as a baby named Jesus. He was perfect man while also being 100% God. He lived a sinless life, telling everyone He was the promised Messiah come to pay for the sins of the world. Then one day everything changed. The Jews were celebrating the Passover. Every year Jesus went to Jerusalem and celebrated the Passover. They didn’t use lamb’s blood, instead they used the juice of the grape. It was a picture of the Passover Lamb that died when the left Egypt. They also ate unleavened bread, just like the night they left Egypt. Leaven is a picture of sin so this bread is a picture of something without sin. When Jesus took it that night He fulfilled the meaning. He said this is no longer a picture of the lamb’s blood it is a picture of My blood. This is no longer a picture of unleavened bread it is a picture of My sinless body. After doing this Jesus went from the Upper Room to Gethsemane. There He was arrested and taken before the religious leaders. They took Him before Pilate and Herod.
He was badly mocked and beaten. They made a crown of thorns and pushed it down on His head. They were mocking Him as a king and beat Him. They blindfolded Him and hit Him as hard as they could. They would pull out handfuls of His beard and spit on Him. They striped Him naked and hung Him up to whip Him.
They whipped Him until there was no flesh left on His back. You could see the bones and the nerves. Then they put a big wooden cross on His back for Him to carry up the hill. When He got to the top of the hill they threw Him down on top of the wood. They got big nails and put them through His wrists. Then they bent His knees and nailed His feet together on the cross. Then they picked up the cross and dropped it into a hole in the ground.
Crucifixion was the cruelest death man could invent. People would stay alive for days until they died. They would die because they could no longer breathe. When they were hanging on the cross their shoulders pushed into their lungs so they couldn’t breathe. That’s why they bent their knees when they nailed them to the cross. Then they could push up and make their legs straight. That way the pressure would be off their shoulders and they could breathe. But the pain would be so great that they would have to go back down again. Can you imagine how it felt for the rough wood to rub against His raw back? That’s why Jesus didn’t talk much while on the cross.
During all this time He was being attacked by Satan and all his demons. They were doing all they could to destroy Him. If they could get Him to quit or to die then they would win. And if they didn’t they would spend eternity in Hell. They were doing their very best to torment Him. He had to endure all that Satan and his demons could bring.
Jesus said, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” He always had perfect fellowship with the Father and the Spirit. This is the first time He was separated from them. We know what it is like to be separated from God because we have sinned many times in our life, But Jesus had never done that before. Now He is feeling the guilt and shame for every sin that was ever committed. In order to pay for our sins, He had to suffer for every one of them. He was our substitute. Every sin was put on Him. He would suffer all of this at one time.
When Jesus suffered He suffered for each one of us individually. There was a time when He was hanging on the cross that He thought of your name and saw your face. He had to decide if He would die for your sins. When He saw you and knew your name He said, “Yes”. If you had been the only one who ever sinned He would have done it for you.
He had all this oppression from Satan and his demons. He was feeling all our guilt and shame. God had withdrawn His presence and God’s judgment was on Him. He stayed there for three hours. Why did He do it? Why did He stay on that cross?
Was it the nails that held Him there? He did it because He loves us. That is the only reason He did it . The Creator of the Universe, the King of Kings, left His throne in heaven to die for you.
Can you imagine anyone loving you that much? Don’t ever think He doesn’t love you. Don’t ever think you are alone. Sometimes things happen and God seems far away. When you remember the cross you know His love for you. We don’t understand all He does out of love for us.
After the last sin was paid for Jesus said, “It is finished.” That was the word they would write when somebody paid something. It means “Paid in full” because the debt is paid. Every sin was paid for. After all sins were paid for He didn’t have to hang there in shame & pain any longer. The Bible says He gave up His Spirit. Because the price was paid He could go to heaven and be with God.
They took His body off the cross and buried it. It was three in the afternoon when they took His body down. That is the very time when the Passover lamb was being killed in the Temple for the whole nation. While the priests were doing that the veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom. God was showing we don’t have to be separated from God’s presence because it was finished and sin was paid for.
There were three men on the cross that day. It was Jesus and two thieves. They all died and they were all put in tombs. One of the thieves had put his faith in Jesus. Jesus said to him, “Today you will be with Me in paradise.” he other thief had rejected Jesus so he spent eternity in hell. So, who does that leave in the tomb? Jesus? He’s not there He has risen!
God has shown that He is victorious. That He conquered sin. The cross was God’s judgment on sin. It was what He foretold from the beginning. Genesis 3:15 was fulfilled. Satan gave Jesus a painful wound on the cross. But Jesus defeated Him and crushed his power. It was the worst judgment ever but sin was paid for because of what Jesus did.
He came back to life. The stone is away from the opening . They didn’t move the stone to let Jesus out. Jesus was already out. They moved the stone to let people in to see inside. He appeared to over 500 people for 40 days. It was God’s visual proof to all that Redemption is provided for everyone.
Then He ascended back to heaven. That’s where He is now, leading the church and answering the prayers of His people. One day He will return in glory to remove sin and set up His eternal Kingdom. Until then it is our responsibility and privilege to tell this wonderful story to others.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Ask God to put someone in your life today whom you can tell about Jesus. Be alert for any and every opportunity.
cto Rev. Dr. JERRY SCHMOYER
Christian Training Organization
Jerry@ChristianTrainingOrganization.org
(India Outreach, Spiritual Warfare, Family Ministries, Counseling)
Copyright © 2024