The Cross on the Billboard of Eternity - Part B

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That's connectwithskip.com. Now, let's get started with today's message from Pastor Skip Heitzig. Here's John.

He's down at the Jordan River. He's saying, repent, and listen to his message. He quotes Isaiah chapter 4.

It's a fiery preacher. It's hell, fire, and brimstone. And all of that would be accurate at Jesus' second coming, but not his first. So here's John bringing a very denunciatory message, but then three things happen. Number one, Jesus comes to the Jordan River to be baptized.

Remember John's reaction? He goes, Lord, Lord, this is wrong. I shouldn't baptize you. You should baptize me.

You have nothing to be baptized for. But now he realizes in Jesus' baptism that Jesus has come not to yell at sinners, but to identify with them. So he gets baptized.

Blows John's mind. Second thing that happens is as he is baptizing Jesus, the heavens open and the Spirit of God comes like a what? A dove. Ever wonder why a dove? You say, sure, that's so churches in the next 2,000 years can have doves in the front of their church.

No, that's not why. To John the Baptist, who was the son of a Jewish priest, he would immediately recognize the dove as an animal of sacrifice. The lamb was the animal of sacrifice, but if you couldn't even afford a lamb, if you were the poorest of the poor, you'd bring a dove. So first, Jesus gets baptized, identifies with sinners.

Second, a dove shows up that tips him off that a sacrifice is somehow involved. The third thing is that Jesus goes away for six weeks, comes back, and the second time when John sees him coming to him, he says something very different. He says, behold the lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world.

What has happened between flee from the wrath that is to come and behold the lamb of God? Well, six weeks have happened, and I believe that during that six weeks, John went again back to the scrolls of Isaiah from which he had taken his cues. He had been quoting Isaiah throughout his early ministry. And he started reading some of the other passages in Isaiah, like Isaiah 52, Isaiah 53, which says of the Messiah, he was led as a lamb to the slaughter, as a sheep before it shears as silent, so he opened not his mouth. And it clicked.

He connected the dots. So as Jesus comes back, instead of a denunciation, it's an introduction. And he says, look, behold, the lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world. In that statement, he is announcing a sacrifice is coming. He is predicting the death, the cross of Jesus. He is the lamb of God, the animal of sacrifice whose blood will take away the sin of the world.

Now John the Baptist is discovering that this Jesus will do more than all of the proclamations and denunciations of the law of Moses. If you have never read Pilgrim's Progress, the book Pilgrim's Progress, please read it at least once before you die. It is worth the read. Charles Spurgeon read it twice a year. It's an old story written by John Bunyan. The main character of the story is Christian. He has left his hometown called the City of Destruction.

He's on his way to the Celestial City. You get the picture. It's an analogy of the Christian life. As Christian starts off, he's got a backpack on, and it burdens him.

It weighs him down, and the story relates to the backpack as his sin and added to the sin is the law telling him he's a sinner. You're bad. You're a sinner.

You're wrong. You're this and that. So the law mixed with his sins is the burden on his back. So listen to how John Bunyan puts it. And I saw in my dream that as Christian came up to the cross, the burden loosed from his shoulders and fell from his back and began to tumble until it reached the mouth of the sepulcher where it fell in, and I saw it no more. It's a picture of coming to the cross of Calvary, the burden of sin, the denunciation of the law falls off, rolls down into the tomb of Christ risen from the dead, and I saw it no more. John is waking up, John the Baptist, to that realization. So Jesus predicted the cross. The forerunner of Jesus predicted the cross. Let's go back a little bit further.

Let's see how far back the shadow goes before that. At the birth of Jesus Christ, his visitors at the birth also predicted the cross. Now would you agree that Jesus had a very unusual birth? Not just the fact that he was virgin born, but the things that were happening around him at the time? I don't know about you, but when I was born, nothing remarkable happened. Well, my mom says, you were born? That's remarkable. But really nothing great in the world. I did a little digging to find out what happened when I was born. Only two things really stand out. Number one, the President of the United States, Dwight Eisenhower.

Some of you are going, who? That's how far back it was. Dwight Eisenhower signed into law on the date of my birth that the minimum wage in America should be raised to one dollar. Epic, huh? Also, the day I was born, a World Series was going on.

And on my birthday, the Brooklyn Dodgers beat in the World Series the New York Yankees. You're clapping for that? You go to the birth of Jesus, it's a whole different scene. There's angelic visitors, the sky has been lit up to allow the magi from the east to find the birthplace or the house where Jesus resides.

But the language of these visitors is all predictive of a sacrifice. For example, what did the angel say to Joseph after he found out Mary was pregnant? He said, you will call his name Jesus because he will save his people from their sin. He will save his people from their sin. When the angels announced to the Bethlehem shepherds that Jesus was born, he said, for unto you this day in the city of David, a Savior is born who is Christ the Lord. All of that language is predictive of somebody who would come as a sacrifice, a Savior, and pay for sin. Then those three gifts that were given by the magi to the child Jesus.

Remember what they were? Gold, a gift befitting a king. Frankincense, reminiscent of the priests, that's what they used in their sacrifices.

The third is a little bit strange, myrrh. Myrrh was a gummy substance that hardened and it only gave off a beautiful scent when it was crushed. Incidentally, myrrh was used in the ancient world to embalm the dead. It was embalming fluid. I'm sure that if you were a new mom and you just had a baby and somebody gave you a gift for the baby of embalming fluid, you wouldn't be too excited.

But all of that was predictive. Why myrrh? When Jesus died, he was wrapped with myrrh, the Bible says. And myrrh was the substance that was placed around the dead person because of the smell of decay. The myrrh would offset that.

But as I mentioned, it only gave off a scent when it was crushed. What did Isaiah say? Concerning Jesus, he said, he was bruised for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon him and by his stripes we are healed.

All of that was predictive. After Jesus is born, Mary and Joseph take him to a temple, the temple in Jerusalem to be dedicated to God. As they are there, there's an old man named Simeon who lifts up his head to heaven and goes, I can die a happy man.

My eyes have seen your salvation. And then he says to Joseph and Mary, this child will be a sign that will be spoken against in Israel. And then Simeon pointed to Mary and said, and a sword is going to pierce your own soul. We'll read more next week as Mary stands at the foot of the cross.

Her heart is broken because her son is giving his life. Jesus predicted his cross. His forerunner predicted his cross.

The visitors at Jesus' birth predicted the cross. I don't know what plans you have for your kids, but every parent has some plans. Maybe my son will grow up to be this or my daughter will grow up to be that. But whatever plans you have, your ultimate plan is that they live.

Live long. Understand that the whole reason for Jesus' birth was his death. He knew that.

The Father knew that. Joseph and Mary would come to that recognition as time would go on. You're listening to Connect with Skip Heitzig, Weekend Edition. Before we get back to Skip's teaching, it's more important than ever for Christians to stand for truth in our broken culture. And in the God Speaks biblical answers for today's issues collection of booklets from Skip Heitzig, you'll get equipped to speak God's timeless truth into the big issues of our time. God Speaks biblical answers for today's issues is our thanks for your gift of at least $50 today to help share biblical teaching with more people around the world through Connect with Skip Heitzig. Go to connectwithskip.com slash offer or call 800-922-1888 and request your resources when you give $50 or more today to help reach people around the world with the good news of Jesus through Connect with Skip Heitzig.

Let's continue with today's teaching with Pastor Skip. Now, let's step back even a bit further in time from Jesus to the forerunner to the visitors that his birth all the way to the prophetic scriptures of the Old Testament. The prophets, the Old Testament writers also predicted the cross. I don't know if you know this, but there are about 330 prophecies in the Old Testament predicting what the Messiah would do and be like in the New Testament, 330.

Where he would be born, what tribe he would be from, where he would grow up, et cetera, et cetera, what he would do, details about his death, amazing. The Jewish people had always anticipated there would be a coming Messiah. One of their daily prayers was, I believe in the coming of Messiah.

And even though he tarry, yea, I will wait every coming day. But what they were waiting for, like John the Baptist and like the disciples, was a conquering Messiah, not a dying Messiah, not a dying Savior. However, the Old Testament scriptures predicted the suffering and death of a Messiah.

Now, without going back through all of them, I just want to take you to one little place. If you're in John, go back one book to the Gospel of Luke chapter 24. I want you to take a look at this, Luke 24. This is after the death of Christ and after his resurrection.

He's alive again. He's walking from Jerusalem to a little town called Emmaus because two disciples of his are also walking on that road. Verse 16 of Luke 24, But their eyes were restrained, so they did not know him.

And he said to them, What kind of conversation is that that you have with one another as you walk and are sad? Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to him, Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem? Imagine asking Jesus that question.

And have you not known the things which have happened in these days? Can you imagine asking Jesus that question? They're referring to the things that happened to him.

But look at what Jesus says. He said to them, What things? You know why he does that? He knows what things. He wants to hear them say what things.

So they talk. The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our own rulers delivered him to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we were hoping that it was he who was going to redeem Israel, indeed beside all this today is the third day since these things happened. Yes, and certain women of our company who arrived at the tomb early astonished us when they did not find his body. They came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said he was alive. And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see. Now listen to Christ. And then he said to them, O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken.

Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into his glory? And now here's a verse that I, in my spirit, drool over. And beginning in Moses and all the prophets, he expounded to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. If ever there were a conversation I wish would have been recorded, it is the one alluded to in verse 27. Beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. The first Bible study Jesus gave after he rose from the dead was an expositional prophetic Bible study. I imagine he took them back to Genesis 22, talked about Abraham and Isaac like we mentioned last week. I imagine he took them to Numbers 21 where the snakes were biting all the people and Moses lifted up a serpent on a pole and God said, look at that bronze serpent and you will live. And Jesus had said as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, the Son of Man must also be lifted up. I'm sure he took them to Isaiah chapter 52 and 53. The suffering servant passage is so clear of the suffering of the Messiah that would come. And I'm sure he took them to Psalm 22, the very Psalm we started with in our reading.

Because Psalm 22 begins and closes with two sayings that Jesus uttered while he was on the cross, including, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? And their eyes started getting open. And I go, I get it, I get it, I get it.

So here's the deal. Those soldiers who were throwing the dice and gambling for Jesus close, as hardened as they were, as self-serving as they were, what's important to understand is that God had anticipated all of that and inspired David to write in detail about it in the 22nd Psalm. That's how far the shadow goes back. Jesus predicted it. His forerunner predicted it. The visitors at his birth predicted it. The prophets predicted it.

I'm going to take you to one final place, take you all the way back to see how far that shadow goes and where it started. So turn with me to Revelation chapter 13. You go, Revelation, shouldn't it be the other direction?

No, it shouldn't. And you'll see why in a minute. Revelation chapter 13. Now, I warn you, the 13th chapter of Revelation is about a guy we call the Antichrist, not Jesus Christ, but Jesus Christ is mentioned here. You're dealing with an Antichrist who will come in the future on the world scene. The world will worship him because he's going to solve all the problems. They're going to give all of their love to, all of their allegiance to. This Antichrist is only a temporary ruler as opposed to the eternal ruler, Jesus Christ.

And so they're compared. But I want you to see something very important because if we ask the question, how long is the shadow of the cross? Did it start with the prophet Daniel in Daniel 9 when he first predicted that? Did it go all the way back to Abraham and Isaac and Mount Moriah and that whole scene? It goes back further than the birth of Christ, goes pre-Bethlehem, goes pre-prophet, pre-patriarch, goes pre-creation.

The cross was in the mind of God before the creation happened. Verse 7, Revelation 13. It was granted to him, him being the Antichrist, to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. All who dwell on the earth will worship him whose names have not been written in the book of life of the Lamb.

Listen carefully or watch carefully. The Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Before Jesus ever left heaven to come to this earth to take on a body of flesh, communing with the Father and the Spirit, the triune Godhead agreed, this is how it's going to come down. It's not like Jesus is about to leave heaven and go into the womb of a virgin, and God the Father said, oh, oh, oh, before you go, one final thing I neglected to tell you.

You're going to a cross to finish this whole thing off. It wasn't sprung on him. It was known before the foundation of the world. One of the apostles, Peter, wrote in his book 1 Peter, we were not redeemed with corruptible things, but by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, a Lamb without spot or blemish, indeed he was foreordained before the foundation of the world. That's what Peter said. So the shadow of the cross, it's a long shadow. It was in the mind and heart of the Godhead who shared that in part with Abraham and the patriarchs and the visitors at the birth of Jesus and John the Baptist, and Jesus predicted it himself, and here we read in John 19, just as David predicted and the other prophets, it happened.

Think about it. The same God who said, let us make man in our image, knew that that image would become marred by sin and would require redemption and would have to send his son to fix that. That's why Charles hadn't spurged, and you hear me quote him a lot. He said, I could sum up my entire theology in four words. He died for me. He died for me. Always a part of God's plan.

I've got to tie one more bow on this package. Do you know when God picked you to be a son or daughter? If you think, yeah, the day I was saved, no. Ephesians chapter one, verse four, you were chosen in him before the foundation of the world.

At the same point when God said, I'm going to send my son to redeem people, he knew that you would be born and chose you to be one of the redeemed ones. I sure hope the shadow of the cross has fallen upon your life, that you have basked under its dark shadow to find life. And if not, that today you will realize that God loves you, and you will realize in time and in space something that had been chosen by God years ago, as you cooperate with that choice and give your heart and life to Christ. Thanks for listening to Connect with Skip Heitzig. We hope you've been strengthened in your walk with Jesus by today's program. Before we let you go, we want to remind you about this month's resources that will help you confidently speak God's timeless truth into our culture.

Pastor Skip's God Speaks, Biblical Answers for Today's Issues collection of booklets is our thanks for your support of Connect with Skip Heitzig today. Request your copy when you give $50 or more. Call 800-922-1888.

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