The Death of Jesus - SERMON NOTES

Below are Pastor Ben's sermon notes from this past Sunday, in case they may be helpful for further study. To listen to the sermon, click the link above.

Intro: (1) facebook ad, trauma faced by Jesus (2) four truths about the cross

It demonstrates who God is (31-32):
(1) recap of “glorify” (2) “glory” in John 1:14 (cf. becoming an ant) (3) the place where we best see/experience God is in Jesus’ death on the cross (4) “Son of Man” → Daniel 7:13, Mark 8:31 (cf. Isaiah 53:4-6, 9-11) (5) experiencing God is grounded in receiving what Christ
has accomplished for us on the cross

It declares our guilt before God (33):
(1) “dear children” → term of endearment linked to no longer being in their presence (cf. dad’s letters) (2) “the Jews” (cf. 8:21-22) → Jesus’ death unlike any before or since (3) significance of Jesus’ death is his perfect righteousness that qualifies him as perfect
substitutionary sacrifice for our sins (cf. Ps. 15:1-2, 24:3-4) (4) Rom. 3:22-25a

It displays God’s offer of love (34-35):
(1) these verses point to the “new” way in which people will “follow” Jesus (2) how is it new → the love toward others only available to us through Christ (cf. cup under faucet, 1 John 4:9-11, Rom. 5:8) (3) love displayed by value of something given connected to how much recipient deserves it (cf. Jean Valjean) (4) God’s love never fades (cf. Rom. 8:38-39)

It destroys our self-centered pride (36-38):
(1) Peter goes back to v.33 (2) Peter cannot follow him now (cf. point #2), but will later (i.e. HS, future martyrdom) (3) Peter foolishly demands to follow now (cf. boy scout swimming) (4) Jesus breaks his pride by foretelling his failure (5) Jesus’ sacrifice pierces our deepest presumptions and our worst failures (6) restoration at daybreak

Conclusion: set up time of written confession and communion

“We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Jesus Christ when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood.”