The Joy Set Before Him

Topical - 4.15.07 - Calvary Laguna, Sunday Morning Service

Intro.

- In the last several weeks my mind was continually drawn to a verse that captivated me.

- It is found in the book of Hebrews.

▪ Hebrews 12:1,2 : “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

- Jesus, being the example of one who suffered, continued on course, because of the joy that was set before Him.

- Certainly, the actual event of crucifixion was not a joyful one for Christ, as we even view Him in the Garden of Gethsemene in great pain and sorrow.

- Indeed it was not the event, but the result of the event that caused great joy in the heart of Christ, and that propelled Him to endure the cross.

- Before I pose the question of what was accomplished, let me take you to another verse that began to minister to my heart before celebrating the week of the Passion.

- It is a passage known to students everywhere as the “High Priestly” prayer of Christ.

- It is called such because it is Christ, praying on our behalf to the Father.

▪ John 17:20-22 : “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:”

- Jesus He intercedes and prays that we will be one, unified so that the world may believe.

- How did He accomplish this and what was the joy that was set before Him?

- I ask you to follow me to one last verse, where we will meditate and find the connection for these thoughts.

▪ Luke 23:33,34 : “And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left. Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.’ And they divided His garments and cast lots.”

- Let me suggest three points that bring joy to the heart of Jesus.

Text

I. The Cross Ended The Hostility Between God & Man

- When Christ was raised up on the cross, an action of justice was taking place.

- God was pouring out His Holy wrath upon sin, out upon Christ.

- It is propitiation, satisfaction of wrath. Substitution was a familiar concept to the Israeli people.

- The Jewish faithful were celebrating Passover during that week.

- Friday was when the sacrifices of the lambs would be taking place, the priests slaying the animals themselves.

- And here in this moment, our High Priest, becomes the very sacrifice for the sins of His people, delivering them from the slavery of death and hell and into the hope of forgiveness and eternal life.

- The cross put an end to the hostility between God and Man.

- Here we see the plea from the High Priest Jesus Himself, saying on their behalf, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”

- This is the first statement made by Jesus upon the cross, and it’s no accident that it coincides with the Priestly duty of carrying the sin of man before the Father to be forgiven.

- Notice that even in this position of torture and suffering Jesus is others-centered.

- His cry unto the Father is on the behalf of the people there at that moment, but also for every believer in the history of Mankind who would put their trust in Christ.

- “Forgive them...” Jesus uses the very familiar “aphiemi” which means to “send away.”

- The Greek word is loaded, as it refers to the releasing of a person from a justly appropriated burden. In other words it sent away the stain of guilt from the deserving party.

- “Father, forgive them...” Who? The people who were crucifying Him? Definitely and the one’s responsible for His action, namely every sinner who would ever live and trust in Christ.

- The divine initiative of Jesus to forgive those who are not asking for mercy or expecting any good thing from Him is inspiring and instructive.

- Jesus says on their behalf and on ours, “Father forgive them.”

° “I feel as though I could better kneel before my Lord’s cross at this moment than stand in this pulpit to talk to you. I want to adore Him, I worship Him in heart for that prayer; if I knew nothing else of Him but this one prayer, I must adore Him, for that one matchless plea for mercy convinces me most overwhelmingly of the deity of Him who offered it, and fills my heart with reverent affection.” Charles Spurgeon

- The joy set before Christ then, primarily, was to put us into a right position before God.

- The curse was ending, the separation between God and man about to be bridged in this very moment of time.

- This was the thrust of Apostolic preaching through the first century, as the Apostle Paul would succinctly say in his letter to the Roman church.

▪ Romans 5:6-8 : “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

I. The Cross Ended The Hostility Between God & Man

II. The Cross Ends The Hostility Between Man & Man

- When Jesus says, “Father, forgive them” He is ending the hostility between Man and Man, providing the example that we are to follow when we are derided, insulted and hated for every good thing.
- He is the template, the example for how we are to handle such offenses.

- Forgiveness of one another is a tricky concept.

- One will say, “Am I supposed to forgive when the wrong has not been confessed?”

- I will answer like this: Jesus forgave when He was not asked! His action paid for any penalty that was rightly placed upon myself. How does that work out practically?

- It begins with the heart, a willingness to enter into a right relationship to our brothers and sisters in the faith.

- “God, I don’t want to harbor un-forgiveness and bitterness in my heart. I want to be free.”

- In that case, God will begin to empower you to forgive as He does.

- Being God, He cannot truly forget anything. It’s frustrating because He cannot learn anything new, nor forget anything old! He’s perfect.

- But unlike you and I, God chooses to forget, in that, He chooses not to allow whatever offense has previously been committed and confessed, to be a part of the present relationship.

- The problem though is not our ability to forgive, but rather, our willingness to forgive!

- He speaks to us today who would hold offenses over another person who has not asked for forgiveness, nor sought our understanding.

- Jesus says, “Father, forgive them.” I might say, “Lord, go get them!”

- In my heart of hearts, if I am going to be a brother and have brothers and sisters for that matter, in my life, then I need to be a man of forgiveness, for there will be many offenses.

- Let’s start our hearts right, as we consider this admonition from Paul to the Ephesians.

▪ Ephesians 4:30-32 : “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”

- How can I call myself a person who has given myself to Christ, and not daily desire to be right with my brother?

- How can I, in good conscience, pay all attention to the first and greatest commandment, “You shall love the Lord your God,” while at the same time, shun the second, of equal value, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself?”

- The answer is that I cannot! If my sin has been forgiven, I must, not optional, choose to forgive my brother.

- Jesus was asked by Peter once, how many times one was compelled to forgive a brother for the same offence. Peter offered, quite graciously in His mind, to forgive 7 times.

- As he looked around to gauge the other disciples incredulity, Jesus turned and said, “I say not 7 times, but 70 times 7!”

- As Peter tried to mathematically figure out how much that was, Jesus began to tell a story of a man who owed a debt of millions of dollars and was forgiven and set free.

- Upon being freed, that same man found a man who owed him money for a sandwich.

- Without any mercy, the man who had been forgiven so much, threw the man who offended him into prison.

- The person who had originally forgiven the first man was so angry at hearing this, that he sent him to prison until he could repay the debt. Then Jesus added this ominous warning:

▪ Matthew 18:35 : “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”

- Is unforgiveness the unforgiveable sin? Not at all, but one who has been forgiven of sin that affects eternity, will have no trouble forgiving a sin, which at it’s worst, will last a lifetime!

I. The Cross Ended The Hostility Between God & Man

II. The Cross Ends The Hostility Between Man & Man

III. The Cross Begins The Priestly Ministry Of Believers

- He has propitiated God's wrath on our behalf, He has provided a means by which we can have peace with one another and now, in this third point, He gives us purpose in this world.

- What a joy it was for Jesus to forgive and see how that transformed a life. It must have been a tremendous joy to see a man like Matthew, a hated tax collector, come to know the life of God.

- How about the other Apostles? What a joy it was to see them commissioned and sent out with the mission of proclaiming the Kingdom of God!

- "Forgive them, for they know not what they do." We can forget often who Jesus is talking about, but we can't miss how they are described.

- They are ignorant, they know not what they do. This does not mean that they did not understand that they were crucifying a person.

- It does mean that they did not know WHO they were crucifying, WHO they were blaspheming.

- They were living in ignorance. But wait! That was us! We were the ones He was forgiving while we were yet still in a sinful condition.

- In fact, the New Testament writers use the word "ignorance" to describe people who are without Christ, as they are still in Spiritual Darkness.

- Listen to Paul's words in his letter to the Ephesians.

▪ Ephesians 4:17,18 : " This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart;"

- This was our testimony, and is the testimony of those around us without Christ.

- Jesus calls us to be priests which represent the heart of God to the people around us.

▪ I Peter 2:9 : "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;"

- Notice: “that You may proclaim the praises of Him who called you OUT OF DARKNESS.”

- And let me bring one more verse to bear upon us as we come toward communion.

▪ II Corinthians 5:20,21 : "Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."

Conclusion

- Jesus has taken our wrath, made us one in Him and given us purpose in the World.

- As we move toward communion, ask yourself if you are in line with these principles. Are you paid for? Has Christ taken your sins or are you still trusting in yourself?

- As far as you know, is there any bitterness that you are harboring?

- Finally, are you living out His purpose for you in this world?

- Before you come, dwell on these thoughts and then come.