That day approached him menacingly.

For Him is was black Friday.

The crown of thorns, the cruel scourge.

The fatal cup, the cursed tree.

A day of death.

For us it is white and glorious and good.

In Jerusalem it was a day of activity.

Be yet day there was much buzzing among the people.

The supreme court of Israel had been up all night.

Their proceedings a sham. 48 crimes

35 violations of Jewish law. 13 violations of Roman law.

Judicial murder

Forgiveness –

In Ernest Gordon’s Miracle on the River Kwai. The Scottish soldiers,

forced by their Japanese captors to labor on a jungle railroad, had

degenerated to barbarous behavior,

But one afternoon something happened. A shovel was missing. The officer in charge became enraged. He demanded that the missing shovel be produced, or else. When nobody in the squadron budged, the officer got his gun and threatened to kill them all on the spot . . .

It was obvious the officer meant what he had said. Then, finally, one man stepped forward. The officer put away his gun, picked up a shovel, and beat the man to death.

When it was over, the survivors picked up the bloody corpse and carried it with them to the second tool check. This time, no shovel was missing. Indeed, there had been a miscount at the first check point.

The word spread like wildfire through the whole camp. An innocent man had been willing to die to save the others! . . . The incident had a profound effect. . . The men began to treat each other like brothers.

When the victorious Allies swept in, the survivors, human skeletons, lined up in front of their captors (and instead of attacking their captors) insisted: “No more hatred. No more killing. Now what we need is forgiveness.” Sacrificial love has transforming power. Don Ratzlaff, The Christian Leader

What Did He Purchase For Us That Day? He purchased

I. Forgiveness

1 Corinthians 15:3 ” I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me—that Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said.” NLT

Isaiah 53:5 ” But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.” NIV

1 Peter 1:18-19; 2:24 ” knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ…..and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. ”

Hebrews 1:3 ” The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” NIV

“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us” Galatians 3:13

How much is your car worth?

How much is your house worth? What someone is willing to pay for it.

How much is forgiveness worth? It cost Him his life!

We all like have a gift or two in our closet someone gave us but we found little use for. The gift is paid for but is not used.

Story of graduating senior. Wanted a car for graduation, even looked at them with his father. Graduation came and the son had his heart set on a car. But his Christian father gave him a new Bible instead.

The son was mad. Wanted nothing to do with Christ or the Bible. Left home. Left the church. No time for Christ. One day years later his father died. Looking through the odds and ends of his youth left in his father’s home he came across that Bible. He opened it and began to casually page through its pages. And there, in the middle of the Bible was the title to the brand new car his father had purchased as a graduation gift.

Have you ever asked why God’s forgiveness is of any value?

It is possible to want forgiveness for reasons that prove you don’t have it at all.

You might want forgiveness because you are miserable with guilt and you want relief. Do you think God gives forgiveness to those who use it only to get his gift and not himself?

What did Jesus purchase for us on the cross?

II. Relationship

John 17:1-3 ” Jesus lifting up His eyes to heaven said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life. “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”

Piper: What do we hope for through forgiveness? That matters!

Forgiveness is precious because it enables us to have a relationship with God.

It is possible to fool ourselves that we are Christians if we want the gracious gift of forgiveness or any other thing more than we want a friendship and relationship with God. Having a relationship with God is the treasure purchased by Christ on the cross.

Forgiveness: to become a Christian and day by day. –

Dr. Glenn Tinder, Prof of Political Science @ U of Mass, Boston

“God does not forgive us just for grave misdeeds, long repented of, such as those I committed in Manila Bay (during WWII shoot two unarmed enemy soldiers). He forgives us, I believe, minuet by minuet, in response to the continuing stream of minor and not-so-minor misdeeds that, for most of us, mark the course of our fallen lives. Hence in spite of my inadequate performance of family duties I continued to be carried ahead on the raft of divine grace.”

Resurrection, Gospel of

In a Lecture Series given by D. T. Niles, he finished by saying, “Let me conclude with a story told by a famous French bishop to his congregation.

Three university students of Paris were walking along the road one Good Friday afternoon. They noticed crowds of people going to the churches to make their confession. The students began to discuss this custom of the ‘unenlightened,’ and talked in rather cynical terms about the survival of religion which they described as superstition.

Suddenly two of the students turned to the third, who was the leader among them, and said to him, ‘Will you go into this church and tell the priest there what we have been saying to each other?’ ‘Sure, I will,’ he said, and went in.

He stood in the same line of those who were going to their confession, and when his turn came, he looked at the priest and said, ‘Father, I have come here merely to tell you that Christianity is a dying institution and that religion is a superstition.’

The priest looked at the young man keenly and said, ‘Why did you come here, my son, to tell me this?’ And the student told him of his conversation with his friends.

The priest listened carefully and then said: ‘All right, I want you to do one thing for me before you go. You accepted the challenge of your friends and came here; now accept my challenge to you. Walk up to the chancel and you will find there a large wooden cross and on it fhe figure of Jesus crucified. I want you to stand before that cross and say these words: ‘Jesus died for me and I don’t care a damn.’

The student looked defiant but, to save face, agreed. He went up and stood before that cross and said it: ‘Jesus died for me and I don’t care a damn.’

He came back to he priest and said, ‘I have done it.’ ‘Do it once more,’ said the priest; ‘after all, it means nothing to you.’ The student went back and looked at the cross for some time and the figure on it, and then he stammered it out: ‘Jesus died for me and I don’t care a damn.’ He returned to the priest and said, ‘I have done it; I am going now.’

The priest stopped him. ‘Once more,’ he said, just once more and you can go. The young man walked up to the chancel and looked at that cross again, and at the Crucified. He stood there for a long time. Then he came back to the priest and said, ‘Father, can I make my confession now?’ The bishop concluded the story with these words: ‘And, my dear people, that young man was me.’”

D. T. Niles, Preaching the Gospel of the Resurrection.

III. A future

Parable of Christ’s Sacrifice

References: Jn 3:16; Rom 5:6-8; 6:23; 2 Cor 5:21; 8:9; 1 Jn 3:16

The mother of a nine-year-old boy named Mark received a phone call in the middle of the afternoon. It was the teacher from her son’s school.

“Mrs. Smith, something unusual happened today in your son’s third grade class. Your son did something that surprised me so much that I thought you should know about it immediately.” The mother began to grow worried.

The teacher continued, “Nothing like this has happened in all my years of teaching. This morning I was teaching a lesson on creative writing. And as I always do, I tell the story of the ant and the grasshopper:

“The ant works hard all summer and stores up plenty of food. But the grasshopper plays all summer and does no work.

“Then winter comes. The grasshopper begins to starve because he has no food. So he begins to beg, ‘Please Mr. Ant, you have much food. Please let me eat, too.’” Then I said, “Boys and girls, your job is to write the ending to the story.” “Your son, Mark, raised his hand. ‘Teacher, may I draw a picture?’

“‘Well, yes, Mark, if you like, you may draw a picture. But first you must write the ending to the story.’

“As in all the years past, most of the students said the ant shared his food through the winter, and both the ant and the grasshopper lived. A few children wrote, ‘No, Mr. Grasshopper. You should have worked in the summer. Now, I have just enough food for myself.’ So the ant lived and the grasshopper died.

“But your son ended the story in a way different from any other child, ever. He wrote, ‘So the ant gave all of his food to the grasshopper; the grasshopper lived through the winter. But the ant died.’

“And the picture? At the bottom of the page, Mark had drawn three crosses.”

Citation: Brad Walden, senior minister with the Tates Creek Christian Church, Lexington, KY; true story told by Mark’s grandfather at Westwood Cheviot Church of Christ, Cincinnati, OH

Redemption:

True story about a young girl named Eleanor. Growing up in Wisconsin on a dairy farm. Father also raised a few pigs. One litter of 6 were born very little. In fact, the farmer thought they were dead so he threw them out on the manure pile.

Young Eleanor came along and found them. She picked them up out of the manure pile, washed them off and low and behold, they weren’t dead. She nursed them back to health and in a sense gave them new life.

Through the process of “imprinting” they learned to recognize her voice and they followed her wherever she went.

Many of us too where thrown on the manure pile of life. The gentle shepherd came along, picked us up out of the manure pile, washed us off and gave us new life. Of course, when we hear his voice we follow Him.

The Bridge of Life – a true story

John Griffeth lived in the western part of the United States during the depression years of dustbowls, dryness and drought. Married in 1929, the Griffeths watched their farming dreams blow into dust. Finally, they gathered their little son with their meager belongings and moved east.

There John landed a job at the Mississippi River tending a drawbridge. One summer day in 1937, he took his son to spend the day with him. Wide-eyed and full of questions, Greg watched his father as he raised the bridge to let the ships pass, then lowered it for the great trains to roar across the river.

About noon, John put up the bridge and sat with Greg on an observation platform to eat their lunches. They enjoyed the activity on the waterfront. John dreamed about traveling so he told Greg stories about the ships and where they were headed. He was so caught up in the stories that he lost consciousness of time. Suddenly he was awakened by the shrill whistle of a locomotive. He glanced at his watch, noting that it was nearly time for the Memphis Express.

John made his way to the gear-room, sat on the stool and took the lever in hand. He looked up the river and back down to see if any ships were coming. Then he glanced below … Wait! No! No! This can’t be! Terror gripped him as his heart leaped into his throat and his blood froze in his veins! Evidently, Greg tried to follow his father, slipped off the catwalk and fell into the massive gears below. His leg was caught and as sure as the sun rises in the morning, if the bridge was lowered six tons of revolving metal would grind him to death!

Mind spinning, John frantically sought for answers! He thought, “I’ll run back, tie a rope, let myself down…” — but, no! There was not a third of the needed time.

John moaned! He was trembling and perspiring as his eyes brimmed with tears. The shrill cry of the train whistle was alarmingly close. More than anything, he wanted to spare his son; but if he did many would die! There was no other way to spare their lives! Stricken and overwhelmed with grief, John bowed his quivering head, covered his eyes, and released the lever. The gear room shook as the wheels turned and the great bridge settled down into place. In moments it was over and the Memphis Express came roaring past.

John lifted his head and looked in the train. There a man read the morning news, the conductor was looking at his watch, and a woman in the dining car was feeding her little girl with a long spoon. No one noticed the heart-broken Griffeth. No one was aware of the grieving father or the newly torn body of his dear son. Choking with passion John called out, “What’s the matter with you people? I just GAVE MY SON for you! Don’t you even care?” Nobody heard; nobody looked; nobody knew and no one responded as the train disappeared across the river.

The heavenly Father watches our own eternity-bound generation as we speed down the rails of life. Without Jesus we too are hopeless and headed for destruction. Our sovereign God “sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him” (1 John 4:9). What an amazing sacrifice as God “spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all” (Rom. 8:32).

Friend, do you sometimes wonder if God loves you? God’s good news to man is this: that question has been settled forever! He points you to “the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Heb. 10:10). God very definitely established the fact of His love! “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). Do you understand, my friend? It required the life of the Son of God to save us! We would hopelessly smash right into eternal destruction without the blood of Jesus! “Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him” (Rom. 5:9).

Sixty years ago, John Griffeth’s heart was broken by pain and tragedy! He gave his son to save 400 lives. 2,000 years ago, God gave His own Son to spare millions! “Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many” (Heb. 9:28). We may ask, why not “all”? Many attempt to cross that river-of-no-return while rejecting the sufficiency of God’s precious Son! Proudly refusing the Son is to say to the Father, “He’s not good enough for me!” Why cling to sin rather than allowing the Lord Jesus to bear it? These reject “him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood” (Rev. 1:5). Didn’t Jesus warn that the majority will end in the rubble of destruction and few will cross to the wonder of eternal life! (Matt. 7:13-14).

I wonder, friend, are you perhaps as the man totally intent with the news down here – or as the lady with the long spoon oblivious to the danger? Knowing of the sacrifice, will you ignore the crucified Son? We must not insult the One who gave His all! Today we travel the rails of life and the assurance for a safe arrival is free, but the cost is infinite! Jesus paid for our passage through the “sacrifice of himself” (Heb. 9:26). God is so concerned about saving you from the ruins of hell that He gave His “own blood” (Acts 20:28). As Griffeth brokenly cried, “Don’t you even care?”

Would you be willing to sit on that train, trusting your own activity to save you apart from the son, or would you confess the son paid it all? Life was not granted because the man paid for his newspaper instead of stealing it that day. Obeying commandments and human acts of love never saved any one. We all fail! Jesus said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24). Will you cross that bridge from death unto life? We must never depend upon good works or church ceremonies to escape condemnation. Trust the Lord alone!

Greg was born to enjoy life; Jesus was born to die! His work on the cross is our own bridge to safety! Jesus said, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved” (John 3:16-17). Trust Him and be saved!

What is your decision? Would you follow a holy hunch, your church and religious traditions, or will you believe the Lord? No decision is a crisis, like a car stalled on the tracks as the train is coming! “The power of God” to save is through the cross! (1 Cor. 1:18). True ministers preach “Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2). We gain “peace through the blood of his cross” (Col. 1:20). “Without shedding of blood is no remission,” meaning forgiveness. (Heb. 9:22). So “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Gal. 6:14). We draw near to God through “the blood of Christ” (Eph. 2:13). Why not pray,

“God, I do not want to perish! I receive your Son to save me from my destruction in hell! Jesus bore my sin on the cross and I believe He died and rose again! I accept His substitutionary death in my behalf! Thank you for eternal life!”

I hope, dear one, that you will take God at His Word! Eternal life is exclusively through Jesus Christ, the Son of God! “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). – Chuck Brocka

AFTER A FEW OF THE USUAL SUNDAY EVENING HYMNS, THE CHURCH’S PASTOR SLOWLY STOOD UP, WALKED OVER TO THE PULPIT AND, BEFORE HE GAVE HIS SERMON FOR THE EVENING, BRIEFLY INTRODUCED A GUEST MINISTER WHO WAS IN THE SERVICE THAT EVENING. IN THE INTRODUCTION, THE PASTOR TOLD THE CONGREGATION THAT THE GUEST MINISTER WAS ONE OF HIS DEAREST CHILDHOOD FRIENDS AND THAT HE WANTED HIM TO HAVE A FEW MOMENTS TO GREET THE CHURCH AND SHARE WHATEVER HE FELT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE FOR THE SERVICE.

WITH THAT, AN ELDERLY MAN STEPPED UP TO THE PULPIT AND BEGAN TO SPEAK. “A FATHER, HIS SON, AND A FRIEND OF HIS SON WERE SAILING OFF THE PACIFIC COAST, ” HE BEGAN, “WHEN A FAST APPROACHING STORM BLOCKED ANY ATTEMPT TO GET BACK TO THE SHORE. THE WAVES WERE SO HIGH, THAT EVEN THOUGH THE FATHER WAS AN EXPERIENCED SAILOR, HE COULD NOT KEEP THE BOAT UPRIGHT AND THE THREE WERE SWEPT INTO THE OCEAN AS THE BOAT CAPSIZED.”

THE OLD MAN HESITATED FOR A MOMENT, MAKING EYE CONTACT WITH TWO TEENAGERS WHO WERE, FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE THE SERVICE BEGAN, LOOKING SOMEWHAT INTERESTED IN HIS STORY. THE AGED MINISTER CONTINUED WITH HIS STORY, “GRABBING A RESCUE LINE, THE FATHER HAD TO MAKE THE MOST EXCRUCIATING DECISION OF HIS LIFE: TO WHICH BOY HE WOULD THROW THE OTHER END OF THE LIFE LINE. HE ONLY HAD SECONDS TO MAKE THE DECISION. THE FATHER KNEW THAT HIS SON WAS A CHRISTIAN AND HE ALSO KNEW THAT HIS SON’S FRIEND WAS NOT. THE AGONY OF HIS DECISION COULD NOT BE MATCHED BY THE TORRENT OF WAVES. AS THE FATHER YELLED OUT, ‘I LOVE YOU, SON!’ HE THREW OUT THE LIFE LINE TO HIS SON’S FRIEND. BY THE TIME THE FATHER HAD PULLED THE FRIEND BACK TO THE CAPSIZED BOAT, HIS SON HAD DISAPPEARED BENEATH THE RAGING SWELLS INTO THE BLACK OF NIGHT. HIS BODY WAS NEVER RECOVERED.”

BY THIS TIME, THE TWO TEENAGERS WERE SITTING UP STRAIGHT IN THE PEW, ANXIOUSLY WAITING FOR THE NEXT WORDS TO COME OUT OF THE OLD MINISTER’S MOUTH. “THE FATHER,” HE CONTINUED, “KNEW HIS SON WOULD STEP INTO ETERNITY WITH JESUS AND HE COULD NOT BEAR THE THOUGHT OF HIS SON’S FRIEND STEPPING INTO AN ETERNITY WITHOUT JESUS. THEREFORE, HE SACRIFICED HIS SON TO SAVE THE SON’S FRIEND. HOW GREAT IS THE LOVE OF GOD THAT HE SHOULD DO THE SAME FOR US. OUR HEAVENLY FATHER SACRIFICED HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON THAT WE COULD BE SAVED. I URGE YOU TO ACCEPT HIS OFFER TO RESCUE YOU AND TAKE A HOLD OF THE LIFE LINE HE IS THROWING OUT TO YOU IN THIS SERVICE.”

WITH THAT, THE OLD MAN TURNED AND SAT BACK DOWN IN HIS CHAIR AS SILENCE FILLED THE ROOM. THE PASTOR AGAIN WALKED SLOWLY TO THE PULPIT AND DELIVERED A BRIEF SERMON WITH AN INVITATION AT THE END. HOWEVER, NO ONE RESPONDED TO THE APPEAL.

WITHIN MINUTES AFTER THE SERVICE ENDED, THE TWO TEENAGERS WERE AT THE OLD MAN’S SIDE. “THAT WAS A NICE STORY,” POLITELY STATED ONE OF THE BOYS, “BUT I DON’T THINK IT WAS VERY REALISTIC FOR A FATHER TO GIVE UP HIS ONLY SON’S LIFE IN HOPES THAT THE OTHER BOY WOULD BECOME A CHRISTIAN.”

“WELL, YOU’VE GOT A POINT THERE,” THE OLD MAN REPLIED, GLANCING DOWN AT HIS WORN BIBLE. A BIG SMILE BROADENED HIS NARROW FACE, HE ONCE AGAIN LOOKED UP AT THE BOYS AND SAID, “IT SURE ISN’T VERY REALISTIC, IS IT? BUT I’M STANDING HERE TODAY TO TELL YOU THAT STORY GIVES ME A GLIMPSE OF WHAT IT MUST HAVE BEEN LIKE FOR GOD TO GIVE UP HIS SON FOR ME. YOU SEE — I WAS THAT FATHER AND YOUR PASTOR IS MY SON’S FRIEND.”

MrWilcox