It Wasn't Nails That Held Him | Sunday Message

Feeling a bit disconnected in your walk with Christ?

Well, Pastor Greg Laurie has a great new book called What Every Growing Christian Needs to Know that'll help. Let's say you're feeling lethargic and tired. You know, if you have a diet of social media and you don't take time for the Word of God, this is going to have a damaging effect.

So this is just one of the things we talk about in this new book called What Every Growing Christian Needs to Know. Available at harvest.org. Hey there, thanks for listening to the Greg Laurie Podcast, a ministry supported by Harvest Partners. I'm Greg Laurie, encouraging you. If you want to find out more about Harvest Ministries and learn more about how to become a Harvest Partner, just go to harvest.org.

We're still in the Gospel of Luke that we're calling the Gospel for everyone. We're getting close to the end of it. The crescendo, it's all building, and we're going to look today at. The death of Jesus, the title of my message is, it wasn't the nails that held him. And I want you to turn to Luke chapter 23.

Luke chapter 23.

So I heard about a woman. Who walked into a jewelry store? In Denver, Colorado. And she wanted to buy a cross.

So she was looking at. All the crosses and the display cases, crucifixes, ornate crosses, plain crosses, and after looking at a lot of them, she finally said to the man behind the counter. Do you have any crosses without that little man on them? See, that's what people want. They want a cross.

without Jesus. I'm reminded of a story I heard about Elvis Presley. And as the story is told, Elvis was wearing a cross and a star of David. And other religious symbols. And someone asked Elvis, Elvis, why are you wearing all of those symbols at the same time?

And Elvis responded by saying, I don't wanna miss getting into heaven on a technicality. Or he probably said it more like, I don't want to miss getting in the heavens technology. Thank you very much. Oh. Yeah.

But Thank you. You know, that's a funny line, but it really brings up something. Because there are people that literally think that way. We have taken the cross and we've sanitized it. We've turned it into a piece of jewelry.

It's something we get tatted on our arm. It's a fashion accessory. But the cross in the day of Jesus was far from that. In fact, it was scandalous, one of the most horrifying symbols imaginable. Because it was one of the worst ways that a person could die.

If you walked down a street in Rome and you saw a cross with a man hanging on it, trust me, you would turn away. In disgust. and horror. And yet that horror, that death, Sets at the very center Of our faith as Christians. The crucifixion of Jesus Christ, next only to his birth in Bethlehem, is the most important event in all of human history.

So, why is the cross so important? If you're taking notes, here's number one. At the cross, God and man were reconciled. At the cross, God and man were reconciled. God's righteous demands were satisfied.

That which was lost in the Garden of Eden by our first parents, Adam and Eve, was regained again. A crushing, decisive blow was dealt to Satan and his kingdom, and our salvation was purchased in full.

So we cannot exhaust this subject. We can't talk about it too much. We can't sing about it too much because it's at the very center of everything that we believe. In fact, in the Lord's Supper, also called communion, which we will observe together at the end of this message, Jesus said, Do this in remembrance of me. He gave a cup.

And he drank from the cup with the disciples in the upper room. He took also of the bread and he broke it. Why? He says, I want you to think about this over and over again. It could better be translated, constantly be remembering me.

And never let this get out of your thinking what Jesus accomplished for us at the cross. It's such an important thing, and that's why we need reminding. Paul told us in 1 Corinthians 15: if Christ is not raised, our preaching is useless. And your trust in God is also useless. And we apostles, we've all been lying about God, for we said God raised him from the grave.

But that can't be true if there's no resurrection of the dead. And if there's no resurrection of the dead and Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you're under condemnation for your sins.

Okay. If it's not true, but the good news is it is true. He was crucified. He rose again from the dead. And that's at the very foundation of everything that we believe.

This is what sets the Christian faith apart from every other belief system out there. You can go. To the tomb of Muhammad. You can go to the tomb of Buddha and pay your respects. You can go to the tombs of other religious leaders.

But if you go to the tomb of Jesus, it's empty because he's risen again. There's a story told about a man who wanted to start a new religion. Problem was, he wasn't being very successful. He had no converts at all.

So he went to the great French statesman Telley and he asked him, what do you suggest I do? Tilly Rand said, well, I should recommend you get yourself crucified. Then die and be sure to rise again on the third day. I mean, so it's at the foundation of all that we believe.

So, number two, the cross was not an accident. It was part of a plan. God's plan. The cross was not an accident. It was part of a plan, God's plan.

Acts 2:23, Peter speaking of the crucifixion. Said, God knew this would happen in his prearranged plan, which was carried out when Jesus was betrayed. And then he said to the crowd, You nailed him to a cross and killed him. And I bring this up because sometimes people think that perhaps the cross was an interruption. to another plan.

That Jesus was going to come and bring world peace and everything was going to be wonderful, and the Roman government would be overthrown. But he came to this earth with the express purpose of dying on the cross, fulfilling all of those Old Testament types and sacrifices that pointed to him, the Lamb of God, who would take away the sin of the world.

So it was all part of God's plan. After his birth, remember those wise men came from the east, and what were the gifts that they brought him? gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Gold because he was a king, frankincense used in the offerings in the temple because he would be our high priest. Myrrh, an embalming element, because he was coming to die for our sins.

So, before there was a Bethlehem, before there was a Calvary, before there was a crown of thorns, a decision was made in the councils of eternity that the Son of God would leave heaven and come to this earth and die for all of us. That's what the Bible says: He's the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. The Bible says, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. And Jesus said, no one takes my life, but I lay it down of my own accord.

So, this is something that the scripture reinforces again and again.

So, let's sort of pick up where we left off last time with Jonathan and. What he was sharing with us, of course, Jesus appears before Pontius Pilate. They have an extended conversation. He is then sent to Herod. And they have no conversation.

Jesus said absolutely nothing to this man. Then he said back to Pilate. Pilate, hoping to elicit sympathy from the crowd, has Jesus scourged, which was brutal in and of itself. And in fact, there were many men that did not survive the scourging or the whipping. The Romans were barbaric in what they did.

They would use tools that were designed to rip flesh off the back, even cutting into the skeletal tissue and exposing vital organs. And Jesus took 39 lashes on his back. causing Pilate to bring Christ out before the people and say, behold the man. In other words, have you had enough? Are you satisfied?

Pilate really didn't want to send him to the cross. But he was going to ultimately capitulate to the wishes of the crowd. And the people said, Crucify him and let his blood be on us and upon our children.

So that's where we pick the story up. They're leading Jesus.

Now to the crucifixion, Luke 23, verse 26. As they led Jesus away, A man named Simeon, who was from Cyrene, happened to be coming in from the countryside. The soldiers seized him and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. Drop down to verse 32. Two other criminals.

were left to were let out to be executed with him. And when they came to the place called the skull, they nailed him to the cross, and the criminals were also crucified, one on the right. and one on the left.

So here is Jesus now being taken to be crucified. The fact that he could even carry uh that cross or at least the cross beam is an Believable because of the weight of it.

Now, Jesus, I believe, was a very strong man physically. You know, he was a carpenter by trade. He would chop trees down. He would build homes. He would build furniture.

He put his back to the task. He walked everywhere, no Uber back in that day, right? You walk everywhere. And so we see a man who would be at the peak of his physical ability, age 33, very strong. And it's amazing he could even carry this cross and this guy.

Simon from Cyrene is just grabbed from the crowd.

So that makes me think he was probably a pretty big dude, right? I mean, whoa, this thing's so heavy. Grab that big guy over there, pick that thing up. And Simon's now carrying the cross behind Jesus for him. And Christ is surrounded by what is called a garrison of Roman soldiers.

Now, by the way, a garrison. These were the elite Roman legionnaires, kind of the cream of the crop of the Roman military. Of the Green Berets, the Delta Force, the Army Rangers of their day. You would think that they would have a certain decorum. a respect for Christ, but they behaved like animals and treated him horribly.

They made a reed as a mock scepter and they used it to beat him as if to say, well, where's your royal army now, Jesus? Why don't you get yourself out of the mess you find yourself in? But here is the reality. Jesus could have got out of this so easily. Because actually, after Peter took out the sword and tried to protect Christ and actually made things worse, Jesus turned to Peter in Matthew 26 and said, Don't you think I could call on my Father and he would at once put at my disposal 12 legions of angels?

Now he's using military terms. A Roman legion was made up of 6,000 men.

So Jesus is basically saying, Peter, put the sword away. I could snap my fingers and have 70,000 angels on command ready to get me out of this mess, right? But I have not exercised that authority. Because I must go through with this. But we know in the Old Testament a single angel wiped out 185,000 enemy soldiers.

Oh, so if that's true, and it is true, of course, then what could 70,000 angels do? But here's where you see Christ was in command. When they came to arrest him in John's Gospel, we read that he turned to the crowd and said, First of all, who are you seeking? They said, Jesus of Nazareth. Nazareth and he said I am.

It just I am.

Now in the translation it says I am he. But the word he is not in the original language, so he literally said, I am. Yeah. Where have we heard that before? When Moses is at the burning bush, he says, Who has sent me?

Who shall I say has sent me? And God says, I am that I am. And when Christ said, I am, the Bible says all fell backwards, maybe hundreds of them, all falling backwards, shields and swords and torches. There's collapsing one on top of another. He could have said, I am.

And you were by. The end. But of course he Did not get himself out of this. He had to go. Through with it.

and we see him making this great sacrifice. And this guy, Simon, coming back to him, what an interesting character. We don't read that he was specifically converted. But later we have the Apostle Paul writing to the church in Rome, and he says, send greetings to Rufus, whom the Lord picked out to be his very own, and his dear mother, who was a mother to me, Rufus and Alexander, who were the sons of Simon.

So I think we can piece these things together and say, Simon became a believer that day. How could he not become a believer? to look into the face of Christ. I mean, what a testimony he would have. Today we're going to have Simon who carried the cross for Jesus.

What a testimony that would have been to hear.

So clearly, he was changed. He raised his sons in the way of the Lord, and they were believers as well.

So now we come to the actual. Crucifixion moment, Luke 23, verse 33, when they came to a place called the skull. Why do they call it the skull? Because in the rock is what appears to be the face of a skull. There is a place in Israel today, and we're going to Israel next year, by the way.

Maybe you'd be interested in joining us. But we go to this place called the Place of the Skull. where they have a tomb that they found nearby. And they think this could be the actual place where Christ was crucified. You can sort of see that face of the skull.

It's changed a lot over the years, but this is a well-known location, the place of the skull. And they nailed him. to the cross.

Now I have a reproduction here of a nail. About the size of the nail that would have been. Pressed into the hands of Jesus. You can imagine the pain, something like this. would cause.

So they nailed him to the cross. The criminals were also crucified, one to the right, the other to the left. And Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they're doing. And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice. The crowds watched, and the leaders scored.

scoffed. He saved others. Let him save himself if he's really God's Messiah, the chosen one. The soldiers mocked him too by offering him a drink of sour wine and calling out to him, if you're the king of the Jews, save yourself. A sign was fastened.

Above the cross, with these words, this is the king of the Jews. One of the criminals hanging beside him scoffed.

So you're the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself and us too while you're at it. But the other criminal protested. Don't you fear God? Even when you have been sentenced to die, we deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn't done anything wrong.

And then he turns to Jesus and says, Remember me when you come into your kingdom. And Jesus said, I assure you today, you will be with me in paradise. I'll stop there.

So the Romans did not invent crucifixion, but they did take it to another level. Crucifixion has roots in the ancient Near East. The Persians and others used it centuries before it reached Rome, but we might say, in a way, Rome perfected it in quotes. into a science of suffering. It was a punishment designed to bring a slow death.

There were far more efficient ways to kill a man like Behe. But crucifixion Was designed to prolong the process of pain. And the Romans crucified thousands of people. There was the rebellion of a slave named Spartacus. And 6,000 slaves joined him, and Rome crucified all of them.

6,000 men were crucified along the Appian Way there in Rome.

So you would walk down this Roman road, and on your right and on your left would be crucified man after crucified man.

So people were very familiar with crucifixion. crucifixion in this time, in this area. And so Jesus now is laid down on the cross. And by the way, not every man who was crucified had been scourged first.

So this was unique to Christ. But God allowed this because there was a purpose in it. Why? Because Isaiah 53 says: by his stripes we are healed. The Bible prophesied that Messiah would not only be crucified, Psalm 22, verse 1, they pierced my hands and my feet.

By the way, that was spoken hundreds of years before crucifixion existed, but also Isaiah reminds us that Messiah would be scourged or whipped. And so, The torn open back of Jesus is laid against The rough wood, his feet have been crossed. and pinned through with a spike. Bringing me to point number four: crucifixion was actually death by suffocation. A crucified person could actually live For hours, even days, after they nailed him to the cross.

It was suffocation because there was a little base at the foot of the cross where one would push themselves up to get a gulp of air.

So you're not. dying from the wounds in your hands and your feet. You're dying from your inability to draw a breath. in your lungs.

So these precious Hands. that had been used by God to heal people to Be put on the head of a child and bless them. These precious feet that carried him from place to place were now. pierce through. with these spikes and Jesus gives Seven statements from the cross.

These are very important because we always talk about people's last words. What were their last words? These effectively were the last words of Jesus before he died. Seven statements. Here they are on the screen in their correct order, drawing from all of the Gospels.

His first statement from the cross was, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. Then he said, Today you will be with me in paradise. Then looking at his mother, Mary, who stood at the foot of the cross, he said, Woman, behold your son. Looking then at the Apostle John, he said, Behold your mother, effectively entrusting the care of his mother. to the Apostle John.

Then he cries out, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? It's believed by many scholars. That is the moment when the sin of the world was placed upon Christ. Then he says, I thirst. Then he says to Telestai, one word, translated, it is finished.

In his final statement, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.

So, statement number one: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. It would have made more sense to us, perhaps, if his first statement was. I thirst. Or perhaps My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? But his first statement.

was a prayer. It was a prayer for the people that had done this evil act against him. Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. He was living out what he always taught. After all, on a different day.

At the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, Love your enemies. Bless those that curse you, do good to those that hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you. That's exactly what Jesus was doing. He was praying for those who were mistreating him. As he hung there on the cross.

Next point: our sins. Put Jesus on the cross. Our sins put Jesus on the cross. Later, Simon Peter of the day of Pentecost in Acts chapter 2. speaks to a crowd that has gathered.

Some of the people present actually played a hand in the crucifixion of Christ. And he says to them, God has made this Jesus whom you crucified. And I wonder. If Peter actually looked at someone in that crowd and said, whom you I remember you. You did it.

You did it too. I remember you as well. You were there. Wow. Whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.

And I'm sorry if I traumatized anyone I just pointed to. It wasn't me. I didn't do it actually. You did do it. You're all responsible.

We're all responsible. Our sins put Christ on the cross. That's the truth of the matter. Oh, people say, well, the Romans did it.

Well, certainly in a technical sense, the Romans did it. Others, trying to justify their evil anti-Semitism, would say, the Jews did it.

Well, the Jewish leaders did play a role in this as well. But the Jews didn't send Christ to the cross. The Romans didn't send Christ to the cross. Our sins sent Christ to the cross. That's why He died there for each of us.

He voluntarily went. And it is said in scripture: it pleased the Father to bruise him. How can an act this horrific? possibly please God. It pleased the Father to bruise him, meaning God was pleased by the result of what it accomplished.

which was the purchase of your salvation. in mind. But I love what Jesus said there. When he says Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. Bringing me to my next point: no one is beyond the reach of prayer.

Can you think of somebody right now you cannot imagine? Ever becoming a Christian, or maybe you have a prodigal son or daughter. or husband or wife. Or friend Or somebody else that you know, and you've been sharing the gospel with them for years, you've been praying them, it seems like forever, and they just don't respond. Seems like they'll never come around.

Well, this shows us no one is beyond the reach of prayer. Here's Jesus hanging there. On each side of him is, we call them the thieves on the cross. And I'll continue to call them that because that's how we know them. But they were guilty of a far worse crime than mere theft.

They were probably revolutionaries, murderers, but guilty of capital crimes.

So we have these two hardened criminals on each side of Christ. They were there because of what they had done. Jesus was there because of what we had done. They could not have escaped their crosses. He could have with a single word to heaven.

And initially, both of these criminals joined the crowd in mocking Christ. Hey. You saved others, save yourself if you're really the Son of God. But something happened that changed the heart of one of those men, and that something was statement number one from Calvary: which was: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. And right there he believes.

He believes right there because a moment later he says, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. Lord, what do you mean, Lord? You were just mocking him.

Now you're calling him Lord? And what does that tell us? It tells us conversion doesn't take years, it doesn't take months, it doesn't take weeks, it doesn't take hours, it can happen just like that. In a flash, boom, just like that. We all remember the day we believed in Jesus, not for some, it is a Happens over a period of time and they slowly begin to understand.

But for others, it's just like boom. And that's how it was for me. I don't know about you. But I went to this little Christian meeting. I've told you this story like one million times, but.

There's a million and one. And the last thing I intended on doing was becoming a Christian. I didn't get up that morning. I think that I'll become a Christian today. Completely change the course of my life, and one day I might even become a preacher and lose all of my hair.

That's my planet. That's the last thing that 17-year-old Greg Laurie was thinking on the day that Christ came into my life. And I saw these Christians on the front lawn of my high school, and I sat there, like initially laughing inside at them. Look at these pathetic people. Look at these stupid smiles on their face.

Look at. How happy they are. And then I thought, Just this thought came to me: what if it's true? I thought it can't be true. No way is it true.

But I thought again, but what if it's true? No way could it be true. And if it was true, it would never be true for me, maybe for them, but I'm not the religious type. I'm too cynical, I'm too hard. It's not true.

But what if it's true? And then. You know, Lonnie. Frisbee, the guy who got up and preached, I don't remember his sermon. One statement stuck with me.

Jesus said, You're for me, you're against me. And I looked at the Christians and I thought, I'm not one of them. Does that mean I'm against them? I don't want to be against them. And right there, I believed.

Just boom, in a flash. I believed. And next thing I knew, he calls people up to pray.

Next thing I know, I'm standing there. How did I even get here? I don't even remember walking to here. But there I was. That's how it can happen for some people.

And that's what happened to the thief on the cross. It's interesting, both. Thieves heard the same words, but one hardened his heart, and the other opened his heart. and believed right there on the spot. even correcting the other thief.

saying, don't you fear God, saying we're under the same judgment. But I love this statement. Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. Jesus was going to answer that prayer far beyond his expectations. He just said, Hey, when you get to your kingdom.

Remember, he didn't say, take me to heaven. Hey, when you get to your kingdom, wherever that is. whatever that is. Just remember me. That's all he asked.

Just remember me. And then Jesus said, Today You will be with me in paradise. I love this because It reminds us that God is able to do exceedingly above and beyond that which we could ask or think. God can do more than you even pray for.

So pray for big things. Pray big. Pray boldly. Lord. Would you do this?

He may say no. He may say yes. He may then say, I'm going to do that and do a bunch of other things on top of that. This guy, just remember me when you go to your kingdom. Today, you'll be with me in paradise.

And by the way, this man was not baptized. And I bring this up because some people say you have to be baptized to be a Christian. No, he wasn't baptized. Lord, remember even when you come into your kingdom, buddy, we have a problem.

Somehow you have to get down off this cross and go find a body of water and get immersed in it. Today, and this is the thing also we must learn from the statement of Christ. Today, when a Christian dies, they go immediately into the presence of God. immediately. The Bible says to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.

Paul said, I have a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.

Well, wait, what about the bodily resurrection? That happens later. It happens at the rapture. Your body, if you died, is in the grave. Your spirit, your soul, goes into God's presence.

Well, do we have another body up there? The Bible doesn't tell us, so we don't know. But we're in heaven. And then when Christ comes for his church, the dead in Christ rise. There's a bodily resurrection.

And that's when we get our new bodies, okay? But when you die, when a Christian dies, they go straight to heaven. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. You know what that's a reference to? Monopoly.

Okay. So this man Here's these beautiful words. Man, talk about being at the right place at the right time. What a wonderful day that was for him.

Now it's in I'm going to come back to Simon for a moment. The guy who carried the cross of Jesus. You know, I want you to think about this for a moment. If you could Trade places with anyone in history for one day. Who would it be and why?

Who who would you like to trade places with? Be them for a day. And I've thought about that and I don't know. I've had different answers that have come into my mind, but when I was. Studying this, I thought maybe it'd be Simon.

I mean, it'd be a horrible day. You have to carry the cross. But wow, what a privilege. What a privilege to momentarily alleviate the suffering of Jesus in a small way as you carry the cross of Christ. You say, yeah, would you have done it?

If you were Simon, they said, pick the cross up. Would you have said okay or would you have ran?

Well, in a way, we're all called to pick the cross up, aren't we? Jesus said, if any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. What does that even mean? Oh, you know, take up the cross and follow Jesus. Great.

What does it mean? A lot of people don't know.

Sometimes people misuse that idea and they'll say, my cross to carry is my mother-in-law. And your mother-in-law says, Why Cross to carry is my son-in-law? Or, my cross to carry is this problem, or my cross to carry is something else.

Now, I'll tell you what it means to carry the cross because it's the same for every person. It means to die to yourself. You say, Well, I don't know what that means, it means resisting. What everyone around you perhaps would say is normal. Example, it means being faithful to your spouse that you're married to.

for a lifetime. It means forgiving people who have genuinely wronged you. It means asking forgiveness from people that you have wronged. It means leaving your comfort zone long enough to tell somebody about Jesus Christ. It means doing what God wants over what you want every single day.

Take up the cross. That's what it means. And a lot more. Right? He said, That sounds like a depressing life.

A contraire. which is French for Snails with garlic. No, that's Escargot.

Okay, I'll contraire. To the contrary. To take up the cross is the most life-giving thing you can do. Because Paul said, I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me.

Now, Jesus continues on: take up your cross daily and follow me. And then he says in Luke 9:24. Whoever wants to save their life will lose it. Whoever loses their life for my sake will find it. Ah, how different that is from culture.

Culture says find yourself. Love yourself. Protect your peace. Follow your heart. Live your truth.

Your happiness comes First. Main character energy. And one of the big ones, you do you. And to that I say, oh, shut up. Just shut up.

Seriously? You do you. You do you. It's not all about you. It's all about him.

The very opposite. The world says find yourself. Jesus says love yourself. The world says you do you. Jesus says you follow me.

But here's the cool thing. When you lose yourself, you actually find yourself. Losing your life for his sake isn't the loss of everything. It's the discovery of everything that actually matters. Let me say that again.

Losing your life. Is not the loss of everything, it's the discovery of everything. It actually. matters.

Now to conclude.

Now to conclude, were you clapping when I said to conclude? Is that what that applause is? Finally, it's over.

Now to conclude, yeah, amen. And sadly it's my wife. I don't know why. Why? Why did this have to happen?

Wasn't there another way? God could have accomplished. His plan. I mean, to see his own suffer son suffer and die like this. Why?

Well, as I said, it was all part of God's big plan. And here's why it happened: Jesus died. to show his love for us. Jesus died. To show his love for us, Jesus said.

We know this verse well. Let's say it together. For God so loved the world that That he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Paul said in the book of Ephesians, Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. Paul said, he loved me.

And he gave himself for me.

So if you're ever tempted to doubt God's love, take a long look at the cross. And think about what Jesus went through there. And remember this: it wasn't nails that held him to the cross, it was his love for you. That's why he did it, to prove God's love. Jesus also died to absorb the wrath of God.

You see, God plays by his own roles. And he has said, the soul that sins shall surely die. And he has also said, without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins. God is holy. His holy demands must be satisfied.

You, I, us, we have all sinned against God.

So, There has to be a sacrifice.

So God sent His Son to be that sacrifice, and Christ absorbed the wrath of God, coming back to that moment when He said, Eli, Eli, Lama Sabaktani, or my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? It is believed by many that at that moment the Father turned his face away from the Son as Christ bore all the sin of the world and absorbed the wrath of God. And as I pointed out earlier, that is what Christ was recoiling from, in my opinion, in the Garden of Gethsemane, causing him to literally sweat blood. As horrible as it was, I don't think it was the foreknowledge of. The torturous things he would have to endure, including the scourging and the crucifixion.

I think the thing he recoiled from causing him to say, Father, if there's any other way, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will. The thing he was recoiling from was absorbing God's wrath. Of being separated from the Father as he bore the sin of the world. But he did it.

He died to absorb the wrath. of God.

So, and this is because all the good works in the world will not get you to heaven. The story is told of a man who died and went to heaven. Peter met him at the Pearly Gates, said, Okay, buddy, this is how it works. You need a thousand points to get into heaven. This is a true story.

Guy said okay, a thousand points. All right, so If you did good things, you get points for every good thing you did. The guy says, Oh, really?

Okay. Well, I've been married to this same wife for 50 years. Peter said, That's good. Three points. Wait.

How many points do I need to get in? A thousand. Three points. The guy says, I went to church every Sunday. I never missed.

And we tithe faithfully. Uh To the church. Oh, that's good. That's worth it. Two points.

Two wait, two points? The guy says, Well, I opened up a soup kitchen and helped the homeless out. That's good for two more points. You know, exasperated, the guy says, This is insane. The only way I'm going to get into heaven is by the grace of God.

Peter says, That's worth a thousand points. Come on, Nancy.

Now that's a silly illustration, but it makes a point. We're not going to get into heaven by our good works. That's why Christ had to die. There had to be a sacrifice, and he was that sacrifice. Jesus suffered and died to provide your forgiveness and justification.

Now, listen. Forgiveness is when God removes your sin. Justification is when God puts his righteousness into your spiritual bank account. The Bible says we've been justified by his blood. One way to translate the word justify is just as if it never had happened.

So It's great to know my sin is forgiven, but God has wiped the record clean. He's cast your sins as far away from you as the East is from the West. And so He died for your forgiveness and your justification. And this is important to remember because, you know, I don't know if you're aware of this, but we sin all the time. And we need forgiveness.

And when we repent of our sin and ask God to forgive us, and we apply the blood of Jesus in our life, You need to know that you are forgiven. And you need to live that way, because sometimes we beat ourselves up.

Okay, you should not choose to remember what God has chosen to forget. Right? So God says, their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. That doesn't mean God has a lapse in memory like you and I do. Oh, what was that?

Who is that? No, no. He chooses to not remember, or another way to put it, he chooses to not hold it against you.

Sometimes you got in an argument with your spouse, and they'll bring up something. I won't say if it's a man or a woman, woman. Fifteen years ago, you said this to me. You're like, what? Yes, I remember 15 years ago you Literally, you're remembering.

What I said 15 years Sorry girls, they'll throw you under the bus here, but... I guess there's guys that do it too, maybe one somewhere. No, I'm kidding. I know guys do it as well, but the point is. God would never do that.

I remember when you did that. He's chosen to not remember your sin. That's a beautiful thing. You know, people love to say all the religions of the world teach the same thing, which is another way of saying. I don't know what I'm talking about.

Right? And have I had other religious leaders here to Join me. We would all agree in this one point. All of our religions do not teach the same thing. If you were to sum up all the religions of the world, you could sum it up in a simple word, do.

You must do this. Do this. And you'll go to heaven, maybe. Maybe. Do that, and you'll reach Nirvana.

Do this other thing, and you'll find inner peace. Christianity, summed up in one word, is done. Done, paid for by the Son of God on the cross.

So, the title of this message is: It wasn't the nails that held him. Again, it was his love for you and me.

Now. Here's my choice. What am I going to do with that? It's like getting a call on your smartphone. Call comes up.

I don't know about you, but I get spam calls all the time. And now on my phone, it tells me if it's a spam call. And I answer sometimes on purpose for my own entertainment. I answer with a weird voice. I prolong the conversation.

And every time they hang up on me, I guess it's my personal way of spamming the spammers. Who knows? I'm probably just talking to some AI bot anyway, but...

So you get a call.

Okay, so I have a call and I have a choice. I can accept or decline.

Now, let's all be honest: there are times someone will call us. And we don't accept it because we don't have an hour. These are the one hour people. You know who you are. You're one.

Yeah. The lady that's laughing, you're the one. No, I joke. I don't even. We haven't even met, but you know, they're great people.

But they talk long. And they don't get to the point. One hour. Oh, don't have an hour. I'll call him when I'm driving somewhere, you know.

So you decline, you don't accept. Or I'll get a call from my wife. Whenever Kathy Laurie calls, I answer. I'm not so sure whenever Greg Laurie calls her, she answers. But I I answer, oh, it's my wife got answer.

Imagine for a moment you get a call on your phone, Jesus Christ. Whoa. Yeah. And what are you going to do? You're going to accept or decline.

You can ignore it, which is decline. Or you're going to say yes, open it and talk to him. Jesus, that's exactly what's before us. He did all of this for us on the cross. Here's your choice.

Accept or decline. Believe or reject.

Well, I don't like those choices. I'm passive. I'm neutral. No, you can't be neutral about Christ. As I said, the thing that changed my life Is when I heard that statement of Christ, when He said, You're for me or against me.

So I want to close now in prayer. And ask anyone who has joined us here: if you have never asked Christ to come into your life. You can do it right here, right now, and everything can change for you right now. Just pray, Lord Jesus. I know that I'm a sinner.

But I believe you are the Savior who died on the cross for my sin. I turn from my sin now. And I choose to believe in you. Thank you for hearing this prayer. in answering this prayer.

In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Hey everybody, thanks for listening to this podcast. To learn more about Harvest Ministries, follow this show and consider supporting it, just go to harvest.org. And to find out how to know God personally, go to harvest.org and click on know God.

Mm.