“STANDING AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS”

Introduction: A. Today Imagine That You Were In On The Day That Was Crucified 2,000 Years Ago.

B. (Slide #2) You Know About The Frustrating Events The Night Before. 1. (►) Jesus arrested by hundreds of soldiers! Mt. 26:47-56

2. The mockery of trials that He endured: a. (►) -- the High Priest emeritus Jn. 18:13 (During this event Peter denied Him the first time. Jn. 18:15-17) b. (►) -- the ruling High Priest Jn. 18:24 (During this event Peter denied Him two more times. Jn. 18:25,26)

C. (Slide #3) Events The Morning Of The : 1. (►) Pilate -- the Roman governor Jn. 18:28,29; Lk. 23:1-4

2. (►) -- the tetrarch of Lk. 23:5-10

3. (►) Pilate. Lk. 23:11-25 a. Scourged by a Roman lictor, a professional torturer! Mt. 27:26 b. Surrounded by a whole garrison of soldiers, they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on him, placed a reed in His right hand, and shoved a crown of thorns on His head. Then they mockingly bowed before Him saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” After spitting on Him, and hitting Him in the head with the reed that He had held. Then they put His own clothes back on Him and sent Him to be crucified. Mt. 27:27-31

4. (►) He was led through the streets of Jerusalem; falling under the weight of the patibulum, was compelled to carry it to the place of crucifixion.

5. (►) He was taken outside of the city to or Golgotha (“The Place of the Skull)! Mt. 27:31; Mk. 15:22; Lk. 23:33; Jn. 19:17

1 6. (►) He was nailed to the cross; above Him was the accusation: “This Is Jesus The King Of The Jews!” Mt. 27:35; Mk. 15:26; Lk. 23:38; Jn. 19:19. It was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. Jn. 19:20

D. (Slide #4) Events You See As You “Stand At The Foot Of The Cross.” 1. (►) Roman executioners just “doing their ” on another crucifixion day! a. Two robbers were crucified to His right and left. Mt. 27:38; Mk. 15:27; Lk. 23:33; Jn. 19:18 b. Jesus’ amazing statement: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” Lk. 23:34

2. (►) Unbelievers blaspheming Him, wagging their heads, and saying, “You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” Mt. 27:39,40; Mk. 15:29,30

3. (►) Religious leaders, chief priests, scribes, and elders mocking: “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of , let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. 43He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” Mt. 27:42,43; Mk. 15:31,32; Lk. 23:35

4. (►) Roman soldiers mocked Him. Lk. 23:37 “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself.” They also cast lots for His tunic. Jn. 19:23,24

5. (►) Agonizing robbers who were crucified on both sides of Him reviled Him! Mt. 27:44; Mk. 15:32 a. One of the criminal blasphemed Him: “If You are the , save Yourself and us.” Lk. 23:39 b. The other criminal rebuked the blasphemer: “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? 41And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” Lk. 23:40,41 c. The penitent thief said to Jesus: “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” Lk. 23:42 d. Jesus’ response to the penitent thief: “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in .” Lk. 23:43

6. (Slide #5) Beginning at 9 AM, God the Father brought about supernatural events that shook observers to the core of their hearts! a. (►) From 9 AM to Noon -- Total darkness over all the land. Mt. 27:45; Mk. 15:33; Lk. 23:44 b. (►) The veil of the Temple was rent from top to bottom, (►) an earthquake occurred that caused rocks to split apart, and (►) graves were opened and dead were resurrected! Mt. 27:51,52; Mk. 15:38; Lk. 23:45

2 7. (Slide #6) Reactions to all these events! a. (►) These events caused one of the Roman soldiers to declare: “Oh My! Truly this was the Son of God!” Mt. 27:54; Mk. 15:39 and again, “Certainly this was a righteous Man!” Lk. 23:47 b. (►) The whole crowd began to beat their breasts!!! Lk. 23:48 c. (►) You hear Jesus speak on the Cross: 1. “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Mt. 27:46; Mk. 15:34 2. “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.” Lk. 23:46 3. He showed His concern for His mother as He asked John to care for her. Jn. 19:26,27 4. “It is finished.” Jn. 19:30 d. (►) You see His mother, , Mary the mother of James and , and ’s wife who was the mother of James and John all standing at a distance observing! Mt. 27:55,56; Lk. 43:49; Jn. 19:25. Also, . Mk. 15:40 e. (Slide #7) You observe the hypocrisy of the Jewish leaders who asked Pilate to break the legs of those crucified so they would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath! Jn. 19:31 And you see the soldiers break the legs of the thieves but when they came to Jesus, they realized that He was already dead; they broke none of His bones. Jn. 19:32,33 You see a soldier pierce His side and blood and water poured out! Jn. 19:34-37 f. (►) The solemn tribute of of Arimathea who secretly gets permission from Pilate to remove His Body and to bury it. Mk. 15:42- 43. Pilate marveled that He was already dead; He summoned a centurion to affirm that He was truly dead! Mk. 15:44. Joseph then was given the body of Jesus to bury; he buried it in a never used tomb. Mt. 27:57-60; Mk. 15:45-46; Lk. 23:50-53; Jn. 19:38,41. helped prepare the body for burial. Jn. 19:39,40

E. (Slide #8) What Do You See As You Stand At The Foot Of The Cross? 1. Hymn: “Have You Seen Jesus My Lord?”

Verse 3:

Have you ever looked at the cross, with a man hanging in pain And the look of love in his eyes? Then I say You’ve seen Jesus my Lord. (refrain)

Chorus:

Have you seen Jesus my Lord? He’s here in plainview. Take a look, open your eyes, 3 He’ll show it to you.

-- Words and Music by John Fischer, 1970

2. What do YOU see as you stand at the foot of the Cross?

I. (Slide #9) You See The SUFFERING Of Jesus! A. You See His Mental Anguish In The Garden BEFORE The Arrest! 1. Mt. 26:38 “Then He said to them, ‘My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.’”

2. Mt. 26:39 “He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, ‘O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.’”

3. Lk. 22:44 “And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”

B. “See The Man Hanging In Pain!”

C. No Wonder: 1. The emotional weight of humiliation and hate railed against Him.

2. The torture of scourging!

3. The agony of crucifixion.

4. The lack of sleep.

D. Does It Deeply Touch Your Heart To See Jesus Suffering? 1. A Member Of The Godhead! a. “the Word was God!” Jn. 1:1 b. “Immanuel” which being translated is “God with us!” Mt. 1:23

2. The Creator Of This Universe! a. Jn. 1:3 “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” b. Jn. 1:11 “He came to His own [Greek neuter plural -- “own things”!], and His own [Greek masculine plural -- “his own people”!] did not receive Him.”

4 E. You See His Mental Anguish As He Dies: Mt 27:46 “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

F. And You Remind Yourself, “This Was A Perfect And An INNOCENT Man! 1. As Judas remorsefully cried as he threw the 30 pieces of silver in the floor of the Temple: “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” Mt. 27:3-5

2. As Pilate said when Jesus was brought to him the first time: “I find no fault in this Man.’ Lk. 23:4; Jn. 18:38

3. And as Pilate affirmed during the second trial: a. “You have brought this Man to me, as one who misleads the people. And indeed, having examined Him in your presence, I have found no fault in this Man concerning those things of which you accuse Him; 15no, neither did Herod, for I sent you back to him; and indeed nothing deserving of death has been done by Him.” Lk. 23:14,15 b. And after scourging Jesus, Pilate said, “Why, what evil has He done? I have found no reason for death in Him. I will therefore chastise Him and let Him go.” Lk. 23:22

II. (Slide #10) You See The DETERMINATION Of Jesus! A. He Knew He Came Here To Die For Sinner’s Sins! 1. Jn. 10:10 “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

2. Jn. 12:27 “Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour.”

3. John 17:4 “I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.”

4. “It is finished!” Jn. 19:30

B. I Tim. 1:15 “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.”

C. Lk. 19:10 “for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

5 D. He Has Done EVERYTHING POSSIBLE For You And Me To Be Saved! Now It Is Up To Us -- Will We Respond In Gratitude? In Faith? In Love? Will We Obey Him So We Can Have His Promise Of Forgiveness?

III. (Slide #11) You See The COMPASSION Of Jesus! A. The Concern For Sinners! 1. His heart was SO EASILY MOVED for those with need -- the sick, the afflicted, the widows, the orphans, the hungry, the hurting, and the bereaved.

2. His heart was SO EASILY MOVED for those who were like sheep having no shepherd -- they had no true purpose in life and no focus in life. Mt. 9:36

3. II Cor. 8:9 “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.”

B. The Concern For His Grieving Mother. 1. Imagine His agony in heart as amidst His own agonizing suffering He saw Mary in agony!

2. John 19:25-27 “Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of , and Mary Magdalene. 26When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the whom He loved [John] standing by, He said to His mother, ‘Woman, behold your son!’ 27Then He said to the disciple, ‘Behold your mother!"’ And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home.” a. He sought to comfort her aching heart. b. He knew she would be so lonely. c. He commended her care to John; He knew John would care for her!

IV. (Slide #12) You See The LOVE Of Jesus! A. His Love For You And Me! 1. WHAT COULD POSSIBLE cause one to endure what He endured in leaving Heaven and coming to this earth, being despised and rejected, being scourged, and being crucified?

2. ONLY LOVE!

B. I Jn. 3:16 “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” 6 C. And OH HOW THAT LOVE SHOULD MOTIVATE US!!! 1. II Cor. 5:14,15 “For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; 15and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.”

2. Eph. 5:2 “And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.”

Conclusion: A. We Have Talked About What YOU See Standing At The Foot Of The Cross.

B. What Did Jesus See FROM The Cross? 1. Soldiers just doing their job.

2. Unbelievers laughing, blaspheming, and scoffing!

3. Religious leaders mocking and ridiculing.

4. Two thieves reviling.

5. Believers broken-hearted.

6. His mother agonizing!

C. What Does The Resurrected And Ascended Jesus See In Your Life Today? 1. Scoffing?

2. Ridicule?

3. Betrayal?

4. Crucifying Him Again? a. Hymn: “Shall I Crucify My Savior?”

“Shall I crucify my Savior? Crucify my Lord again? Once, oh once, I crucified Him: Shall I crucify again?”

b. Paul describes those who denounce Jesus [deny that He IS the Savior and Messiah] after having come to faith, in Heb. 6:6 “they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.” 7 5. A BROKEN HEART for your sins that put Him on the Cross? Tears of sorrow and broken-heartedness?

6. Love, adoration, and faith to live for Him as long as you live?

D. Will You “Kneel At The Cross?” Christ Will Meet You There!

E. Will You “Come To Jesus?” He Will Save You!

Verse 1:

“Come to Jesus! He will save you, Tho’ your sins as crimson glow; If you give your heart to Jesus, He will make it white as snow.

Chorus:

“Come to Jesus! Come to Jesus! Come to Jesus! Come today! “Come to Jesus! Come to Jesus! Come to Jesus! Come, come today!

-- Words by: Eden Reeder Latta, 1878 -- Music by: John Harrison Tenney, 1878

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