The Cross: It Was…It Is…It Will Always Be, Part 3

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Visit AwakeAmerica.com today. Thank you for making time for Leading the Way with pastor and internationally known Bible teacher, Dr. Michael Yusuf. Beloved, don't ever let the Lord suffer. Become a mere formality or a ritual or a habit or tradition. And that is why Jesus said, Remember my body. Remember my blood. Remember my body. Remember my blood.

Remember that my body was torn for you. As Jesus and the disciples gathered in the upper room for Passover, many probably thought it would be like any other Passover. Jesus, however, knew that the next hours would bring betrayal from his friends, torture beyond imagination, agony from being separated from his Heavenly Father, and, of course, victory. Welcome to Leading the Way with Dr. Michael Yusuf. Today, in light of Easter weekend quickly approaching, Dr. Yusuf takes you to the hours before the cross, a time when Jesus pointed his disciples and us to the kingdom of heaven.

Luke chapter 22 is the source for Dr. Yusuf's teaching, so listen with me as he begins this episode of Leading the Way. Today I want to conclude this series of messages about the cross. And the title did deliberately this way that the cross was and the cross is and the cross always will be. The cross was, the cross is, and the cross will always be that God's plan for humanity, God's payment of the death of sin in our lives. First we saw how the cross was back from Genesis 3 when God himself slain a lamb and then put the skin covering to cover Adam and Eve's shame and sin and disobedience. The cross was every time they offered an animal sacrifice, every time they celebrated Passover. It was a foreshadowing of the cross.

It is the prefiguring of the cross. Then we saw how the cross is. The cross not only satisfied the justice of God the Father, but the cross redeemed, justified, and reconciled us to God the Father. And today I'm going to show you how the cross will always be, how the cross will find its ultimate fulfillment in the marriage supper of the Lamb in heaven. How the cross itself will find its complete fulfillment, its total fulfillment when the believers are gathered from every tribe and every nation and every people and every tongue around the throne room of the Lamb of God, praising him, adoring him, and worshiping him at that great banquet feast. How the cross will find its ultimate fulfillment as we gather in that place where there will be no more pain, no more tears, no more suffering, no more diseases, and glory to God there will be no more sin. Now I want to draw your attention to the words of the Lord Jesus Christ. In Luke chapter 22 verses 14, 15, and 16, when the hour came, you remember throughout his earthly ministry Jesus said the hour is not yet, the hour is not yet, the hour is not yet.

Here it comes in and says when the hour came, he came for that hour. Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table and he said to them, I have eagerly desired to eat this last Passover with you before I suffer, for I tell you that I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God. The question is why was Jesus anxious or eager or in the old translations said earnestly desired to have this meal with you, this last Passover meal before I suffer, for I tell you that I will not eat it again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God. There are four reasons as why he was anxious to eat this last Passover meal. First because Passover ended with the cross and secondly to prepare the disciples for his suffering on the cross and thirdly to establish the Lord's supper for time and eternity as a memorial for the cross of Jesus Christ and fourthly to look forward to the ultimate fulfillment of the cross in heaven.

Let's look at these four very quickly. Jesus wanted them and us to know that the Old Testament sacrifices found their complete fulfillment in the cross. That the Old Testament animal blood found its fulfillment in his precious blood.

That the Old Testament animal sacrifice which could only temporarily remove sin or forgive sin has found its permanent solution in his blood that is permanently give his disciples power over sin. Now a lot of people are confused about Passover and the cross. Back in the book of Exodus you remember when God told his people to slay a lamb and put the blood on the door posts. In that first Passover they ceased to be the slaves of Pharaoh and became the servants of the living God.

But in the last Passover on the cross the Lord Jesus Christ took the servants of the living God and he made them sons and daughters of the living God. On the first Passover the blood of the lamb was sprinkled on the door posts on the homes of God's people. But in the last Passover on the cross the lamb of God sprinkled his own blood on the door posts of our hearts and the hearts of all who put their trust in him. In the first Passover the angel of death came and he passed over. That's what Passover comes from.

He passed over and they escaped physical death. But in the last Passover on the cross of Calvary the angel of death will come to those who are washed in the blood of the lamb and he cannot touch us. For death found his death on that cross. On the first Passover God's people had to offer sacrifices whether they can afford it or not. But on the last Passover on the cross the lamb of God paid it all so that we can have freedom today. I have eagerly desired to eat this last Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it again until it found its fulfillment in the kingdom of God.

The second reason why Jesus was eager to eat this last Passover meal with him was because he wanted to prepare them for the cross. Now this part of this passage just gets to me. It gets me by the throat. It gets to me in a way that I cannot explain in words but I'm going to try. Because I know and I know you know how we all when we're going through suffering and when we're going through pain and when we're going through tough circumstances how we all are prone to self pity. How we all are prone to feeling sorry for ourselves.

How we're all prone to think of how is that going to affect me, mine and myself. But not Jesus. Not Jesus. He thinks of them. He's the one who's going to suffer the horrors of the cross. He's the one who's going to suffer the violence of the cross but he thinks of them. He's concerned about them.

He is concerned about their confusion and discouragement and anxiety that they're going to face. I have eagerly desired to eat this last Passover with you before I suffer. Before the darkness fell on him, he wanted to give them some light. Before the pain be felt by him in a way that we will never understand, he wanted to strengthen them. Before fear filled their hearts, he wanted to give them courage to stand. Before anxiety hits them hard, he wanted to give them the assurance I have eagerly desired to eat this last Passover with you before I suffer.

I suffer. The third reason why he wanted to have this last Passover with him, in order to establish the memorial of the cross for time and eternity. Establish the Lord's Supper. Please listen to me very carefully because I know and you know how lots of people within the different churches, they have confused ideas of the Lord's Supper. There are some people who kind of view it as a habitual ritual. Some people treat it like a mystical thing, a magical thing. There are some who see it as an occasional service that kind of gets in the way of the superstar preachers who want to be the center, not Jesus.

Others see it as unnecessary at all and they don't even celebrate it. But the Lord's intention was to establish it as a reminder of the cross. And that is why we must always, always approach the Lord's table with stricken hearts, remembering the enormity of our sin and the awesomeness of his grace and forgiveness and the colossal price that he paid for our sin. For the real purpose of observing the Lord's Supper is to evoke in our minds the real meaning of it, not just to go through it. And I imagine how the disciples, they've never celebrated the Lord's Supper again for the rest of their lives until they died.

Some lived long time like John, others died early. But I am convinced that in their lifetime they have never celebrated the Lord's Supper without having these words ringing in their ears. I have eagerly desired to have this last Passover meal with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds its fulfillment in the Kingdom of God. Beloved, don't ever let the Lord's Supper become a mere formality or a ritual or a habit or tradition. And that is why Jesus said, remember my body, remember my blood, remember my body, remember my blood, remember that my body was torn for you. And just a few hours after that last Passover meal, just a few hours later, every one of his disciples, all of them, fled and forsook him.

Every one of them. And beloved, I want to confess to you that this should be a mirror to every one of us when we fail our Lord. The cowardly act in failing him is a mirror to reflect our failing of him.

In it we see our own self-focus. We see our own self-pity in ignoring his purpose for us in life. Judas betrayed him. Peter denied him. Thomas doubted him. And the Bible said every one of them fled and forsook him.

But here's something I don't want you to ever forget. It is of uttermost importance because if you're truthful with yourself, we all have failed the Lord at some point. But remember this, all the disciples failed him. And all of them were restored except one, Judas. And you have to ask yourself the question why I have seen it over and over and over again, the attitude of Judas in many professing Christians. Judas had guilt without repentance. Judas had conviction without confession. Judas had remorse without surrender. And that is why he was the only one who was lost eternally. Every one of them repented and turned to the Lord and the Lord forgave them and he restored them and sent them into the whole mission to turn the world upside down.

I don't know about you. You maybe feel that you have failed the Lord or you might feel that you failed your family. Maybe you feel you failed your friends or you failed your spouse or you failed your employer or you failed yourself. The answer is not for more conviction and remorse. The answer is confession and repentance.

Amen belongs here. Before I get to the fourth reason for Jesus wanting to have this last Passover meal with him, I want to point out to you the root cause of their failure. Luke 22 verse 24. It tells you the root cause for why they failed Jesus and I can tell you before God it's the root cause every time I fail Jesus. Here it is.

A dispute arose among them as to which of them was considered to be the greatest. Oh my goodness. The root cause for our failure is always self. The root cause for failure is pride.

Always. The root cause for the heartache that we bring upon ourself is because we want a crown without a cross. We want success without suffering.

We want glory without Gethsemane. And that is why today there are many people removing the crosses from public life. Many at church removing the crosses from their buildings. Do you know why?

Do you know why? Because the cross humbles us. The cross breaks down our ego. The cross stings our pride. The cross sand papers our arrogance.

So we move it away. I want you to just think with me. Jesus had just finished talking to them about his deep pathos. He just finished talking to them about his upcoming suffering and the violence of the cross. He had just finished talking to them about why he was anxious to eat this last passover meal with them before he suffers.

And all they can think of what? Who's going to be the star of the show? Who's going to be adored by people?

Who's going to be the guest on popular television program? Sadly there are many church folks instead of focusing on the gospel and the cross and lost people they complain and murmur and criticize and dwell on trivialities. Here he is at the eve of his crucifixion. Here he is at the eve of the day that would change history. Here he is at the eve of the day that changed the world.

Here he is at the eve of the day where eternal destinies of millions of people hangs on the balance. And all they wanted to know who's going to get the Oscar? Who's going to get the Grammy? Who's going to get the corner office?

Who's going to get the promotion? Can you see the irony? And Jesus turned and said to them, now this is a very use of interpretation.

Verse 27 he said, well it doesn't say that. Well, I'm telling you now. True greatness is not who is the slickest speaker. True greatness is not who is the most eloquent. True greatness is not who is the most gifted. True greatness is not who is the most talented. True greatness is not who is liked by the society page. True greatness is not who sits where at the table.

True greatness of all is the one who serves the table. The fourth reason, which is implied in this verse. Implied in the word, I'll eat it again only when it's fulfilled in the kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven.

Sometimes they use it interchangeably. The fourth reason why he wanted to have this last Passover meal with him. Jesus refers to the fact that he will not have another Passover meal until it finds complete fulfillment in the kingdom of God. As I told you, Passover found its complete fulfillment in the cross. And the cross will find its complete fulfillment in the marriage supper of the lamb. In fact, even while Jesus was sweating blood in Gethsemane, crying to the father if there be some other way that this cup will pass.

And he was not shrinking of the physical pain as much as he was shrinking from knowing that the moment when he carries your sin and mine on that cross he's going to experience momentary separation from the father, which never happened since before eternity. Despite of that, he was ecstatic. He was ecstatic at the thought of the marriage supper of the lamb. His heart swelled with unspeakable joy at the thought of the next time he will eat. He will be eating this with his bride, the church. His heart traveled beyond the sorrow and the pain and the suffering and the death of the cross to the reunion with his sense at the lavish banquet in heaven. In fact, there's more. The anticipated joy of that heavenly reunion sustained him through the most crushing hour.

Say, Michael, how do you know that? Hebrews 12, 2 says of Jesus, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame. Beloved, I know some of you are going through some pain. Some of you are experiencing suffering.

Some of you are giving up and tired. But remember this, look to the day just like Jesus did. Look to the day of that great marriage supper of the lamb. Look to the day when you will be glorified around the throne room of God, praising the Lord Jesus Christ. Look forward to that day when there will be no more pain, where there will be no more suffering, where there will be no more tears, where there will be joy unspeakable.

Look forward to that day just like Jesus did. He was anxious to eat this last Passover meal because of its picture of the marriage supper of the lamb. Often you hear me say, there are three things when you come to the Lord's table that you must remember. The fact that he died on that cross and the fact that he is present with you today and the fact that you will be with him in the marriage supper of the lamb. Jesus was longing for the Father's messianic banquet, so much so that he endured all of the unbelievable and the inexplicable suffering. And the book of Revelation tells us about that banquet, tells us about this marriage supper of the lamb. Chapter 19 beginning at verse 6, I heard what sound like a great multitude, like the roar of a rushing waters and like a loud the peals of thunder shouting, hallelujah for our Lord God almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory for the wedding of the lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen and bright and clean were given to her to wear.

Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints. Then the angel said to me, right, blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the lamb. And he added, these are the true words of God.

No suffering you can experience on this earth can be compared to that moment. The question is, are you absolutely ready to be at the marriage supper of the lamb? If you say I hope so, if you say I'm doing my best, then you're not ready because you cannot get to that marriage supper of the lamb without going through the cross. And the one who shed his blood said, whoever comes to me, I will never reject.

No one can take them out of my father's hand. You are listening to leading the way and the final message in Dr. Yusef's Easter series, the cross. It was, it is, it always will be. Since the Lord's first called leading the way into being, he has sustained it through the support of faithful ministry partners like you. And that is why with deep gratitude, I invite you to join our community of frontline mission partners, generous mission-minded believers who support leading the way through monthly giving. It is an exciting time in history to partner with God's work around the world. Thank you for joining us on the frontline of ministry. Remember that you can learn all about leading the way and Dr. Michael Yusef when you call us 866-626-4356 and online at ltw.org. Dr. Yusef is back next time with a powerful message he's called the resurrection and the judgment on leading the way audio. This program is furnished by leading the way with Dr. Michael Yusef passionately proclaiming uncompromising truth around the world. Connect further with audio and video content at ltw.org.