To The Cross

Jesus knows. Not in a vague, distant way, but in the gritty, lived way that meets you in the middle of pain, pressure, and the stuff you haven’t told anyone. With Easter two weeks away, we wrestle with a surprising challenge: what if God wants to do something today, not just on the “big” Sunday? We open with prayer for the hurting, then turn to Matthew 20 where Jesus tells His disciples exactly what’s coming: betrayal, suffering, the cross, and resurrection on the third day.

From there, we zoom out to the mission Jesus gives His church. We talk discipleship, the Great Commission, and why following Jesus is more than a private faith. Then we step onto the Mount of Transfiguration in Matthew 17, where the disciples want to stay in the glory, but the Father’s words cut through everything: “Listen to Him.” That moment becomes a mirror for us. We can’t camp out in spiritual highs. We’re called to walk back down the mountain with His presence, His peace, and His purpose in our everyday lives.

The message builds to the road to the cross where “Jesus knows” becomes personal. He knows the shame, the loneliness, the injustice, and the cost, yet He keeps moving because He loves us. And we don’t stop at the grave. We declare the best news straight: Jesus is alive, and His sacrifice covers our sin and brings real freedom. We close with a clear invitation to surrender your life to Christ, prepare your heart for communion, and take a practical next step in community. If this encouraged you, subscribe, share it with a friend who needs hope, and leave a review so more people can find it.

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Transcript

Opening Prayer For The Hurting

Jason Brown 0:27

He knows exactly what you're going through. He knows exactly what you're going through. Friends, he's here for you today. He's here for you today. I just want to start out with a prayer this morning. I just feel it so much upon my heart. For those that are hurting, for those that are in a place where that's tension in their heart and their life, for those that are going through it and they're not saying anything about it. And Jesus knows. Lord, we just lift up our hearts to you today. Lord, our faces, our hands, Lord, we lift them to you. Lord is the God who is there, who is the one who meets us in our time of need, who never forsakes us, who never leaves us. Lord, you are with us in the middle of everything. Lord, we are not alone. Lord, in our brokenness and our pain and our shortcomings, Lord, in all of those things, you are with us. Lord, in our sorrow and our brokenness, Lord, in our suffering, you are not leaving us alone, you know. You are for us, and you are the God who walks with us in the valley of the shadow of death. But Lord, you don't keep us there, but you lead us to green pastures, to places of rest, to places of restoration, to places, Lord, where it is your provision for our lives. And so, Lord, we say thank you. We say thank you for wherever we are today in the middle of it. We say the Lord be praised, Lord, that in all things we give you thanks. We say thanks be to God, who is more than enough for me. Lord, that I am not alone in my circumstance, Lord, that every one here under the sound of my voice, that you are with us. And that you know exactly where we are. We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ. And the church says, Amen. Well, today's an interesting one because we're only two weeks away from Easter. Can you believe it? Two weeks away from Easter. I feel like it just started this year. In fact, I kind of feel like it's still in the 1900s, and I'm still young, but it's not real. So we're here we are, and we're only two weeks away from Easter. And man, I was praying just headed up to this day, and I'm like, Lord, what would you want me to say? And it doesn't feel very special, right? We're two weeks away from something magical. We're we're just one week away from what we did in Kingdom Builders, and I'm like, man, what Lord, what what do you have for this week? It's not Palm Sunday, that's next week. So we're two weeks away from something great. And God was kind of challenging me on that idea. And I'm saying, Lord, there's no bunnies, there are no eggs, there's no candy, I don't get an Easter fit today. You know what I mean? I didn't feel like it was special. And he started to challenge me on this idea. Saying, Jay, this is the day I want to do something. I want to do something today. Not just in two weeks, not just in a week, not last week. I want to do something today. And so I received that. I'm gonna ask you to open your Bible, your tablet, your phone this morning. We're gonna look to the Word of God and see what the Lord is saying to us. Matthew 20, verse 17. We pick up here with Jesus. And it says, and as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside. On the way, he said to them, Seer, we are going to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes. They will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. And he will be raised on the third day. Would you say amen to that? Here's what hit me is that Jesus knows. Jesus knows. See, he's in process here. He's explaining to the people who've been walking with him, these men who've left everything, they're walking with him, they're learning these life lessons, they're in process, and Jesus knows what he's headed to do. Jesus knows. Jesus knows that the conversation they're gonna be squabbling about is who is greatest of his followers. Jesus knows. He knows they're gonna be caught up in this thing that doesn't matter. And all the while he knows that the Passover meal he's headed to, this last supper will be his last supper with them in this way until glory. Jesus knows. Even there, there's someone who will betray him in Judas. He knows. And still he heads to the cross. Friends, Jesus headed to the cross because he loves you and I so very much. He did it because it wasn't gonna stop him no matter what was going on. That's how much he loves you, that's how much he cares. He abandoned heaven and everything else just so you could have an active and living relationship with the most holy God. Friends, Jesus knows, and because of it, he took everything and all of our brokenness to the cross. Jesus knows. Want to welcome you today. If you are a guest of ours to Cornerstone, God bless you. My name is Jay, and Celeste and I have an opportunity to lead here at Cornerstone. It's a blessing to do so. We talk about often how none of us have arrived, not one of us is perfect, starting with me. And I can tell you that it means that we need to continue in our journey of following Jesus. That's why we use this imagery of Christ walking with his disciples because that's how we are. We are like his disciples, and we are his disciples, and that we're following him where he's leading us to go. It's our ambition, both personally and then corporately, together as a collective of his church, to be more like Jesus. Say it with me: be more like Jesus. This last week we talked about our global impact and how we want to be those that love God and make disciples and reach the world. Friends, God is not done with us. He wants to do something in and through us. And we challenged us this last week to be those that are doing that, that are taking the word of God to the world. In Matthew 28, it says, And Jesus came and said to them, All authority on heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all I have commanded you. Behold, I am with you always until the end of the age. This last few weeks, you've been talking about how God set us on this mission to be those that aren't just doing that locally in our sphere of influence, yes, but also globally to the world. We talked about how Jesus out of John 20, he says, This, I, peace be with you, as the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you. Today we continue on this thought by looking to the very thing that enabled us to be those that draw near to him, which is the cross. And as we head towards Easter, that we prepare our hearts for what God wants to do in us. Amen. If you have your Bibles, we're going to be moving back to Matthew this time into chapter 17. Picks up here in verse one, and this is talking about this idea of where Jesus is taking a few of his inner circle with him to the Mount of Transfiguration. It says, After six days, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, his brother, and he led them up a high mountain by themselves, and he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. In verse 5, it says, He was still speaking with them when, behold, a bright a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, This is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him. And when the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. Today, as we look to this preparation for Easter and this idea of the journey to the cross, we understand that Jesus, even here at the Mount of Transfiguration, was preparing for the things that he needed to go and do. And the preparation of that whole process was this moment where he's being transfigured into this thing and having this correlation with the Father and connecting and talking, and Elijah is there and his disciples, they're beside themselves. They're like, wow, this is it. We have arrived. We are not leaving this place. Let's set up shop right here. And you'd want to, wouldn't you? I mean, the glory of the Lord is everywhere. It's this thing that you're like, man, I've been seeking this very moment. You hear about it, you read about it. They knew the story of Moses going to the mountain, there meeting with God in the cloud. They know the story, and now they're living it. And everything inside them says, Don't leave this moment, stay right here. Set up camp right here. But that's not what Jesus had intended for them to do. No, what he intended for them to do is to hear the words from the Father. Which says what? It says, Listen to Jesus and do what he says. Listen to Jesus and do what he says. And what Jesus had told them to do is to go and make disciples. What Jesus told him to do is that you go and do these things and follow me. But Jesus came on the scene and said, if you read it from the very beginning, he says, repent, for the kingdom of God is here. And so, friends, if that's true then, then it's definitely true today. That we need to be those that are ready for what God wants to do, and we just can't camp out in his presence. We have to be activated to do something with his presence. We need to be those full of the Holy Spirit so that whenever we walk into our workplace, someone takes note of what's going on in our life. And we can be those that says that we are walking, that we have the armor of God on, that our feet are shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. What does that mean? You've been spending time with God, and he, by his spirit, is walking, washing over you despite where you are, because you need armor to be there. His peace is with you. Friends, that is what it means when he says that I'm preparing a way for you. It's that the battle is gonna be there, but he is with you all the way, and in the end we win, anyways. That he's preparing us. See, Jesus knows. He knows what's gonna happen. He knows that the miracles that they have set the scene, the miracles still won't open the hearts of everyone, and they still will turn against him even in the end moments. Jesus knows. He knows that they needed the touch, he knows that they need the miracle, he's willing to do it. But he knows the real miracle is whenever you give your life to him and have an active relationship with the living God for eternity, not just get fixed for now. He knows. He knows that there in just a little bit, there's gonna be all these circumstances set up so he'll have this amazing entry into the city. We're gonna talk about it next week, and it's this amazing moment where the power of God is there and showing his humility of who he is as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, not coming in on a conquering way, but coming in as the humble Lamb of God. He knows. Jesus knows. Jesus knows that he's gonna be the one that needs to go and in righteous anger, cleans the temple out of all the people that were taking spaces from people coming to make their sacrifice, and he'll clean the temple out, saying, We're not making this a den of thieves. He knows what he's set about to do. Jesus knows. Jesus knows that he'll have to eventually go to the garden. He'll have to go there and he'll plead with the Father in preparation for the thing he has to do. But Jesus knows that it will not be taken from him, that he will have to go to the cross for us. He knows. Jesus knows. Jesus knows that that inner circle, that one of the people that he spent his life with, someone that they trusted the money bag to, he will walk up and kiss him on the face and make accusations against him, and he will be blameless, but they will drag him away, anyways. Accused for something he did not do, Jesus knows. Jesus knows the shame that's gonna be there as they strip his clothes off of him. He knows what it's gonna be like to be humiliated in front of the largest crowd in that day as everybody comes in for Passover. Jesus knows. He knows that everyone will leave him. He'll be alone as they walk up to his face. He knows that he's getting quick. It's not for his mistakes, it's for mine. It's for yours. He knows that they're gonna force him to pick up a cross and carry it up a hill, and he won't have the strength to fulfill it. He knows he's headed to his death. He knows it! His death will be given not for what he did, but for what I did. He knows. Jesus knows it's gonna cost him his life. The very creator of life, the one that breathed pneuma and breath and life into us. That you read from the beginning of Genesis and the beginning of John, as it says that he was in the beginning, he's the one that breathed life. He knows that life will be taken from him for me. Jesus knows. He knows that he will go to the grave and return back to the soil that he breathed life into. He knows that's where they're gonna put him is in the rock. Jesus knows. Friends, I got great news for you, and great news for me, and that he is not dead, but he is alive. And so Jesus knows, Jesus knows exactly what's going on, and he knows that despite the shame, despite the sin, despite all of the people turning against him, despite being alone, he knows that he will have to go and be flogged and beaten and made mockery of. He knows he will give his life, but in the end, he is not dead, he is alive. Jesus knows. And so, because of all of these things, yes, we're two weeks away, but friends, we're not because Jesus is alive. He has already done these things for us, he is already the one who is victorious. We are his sons and daughters, he is the one who gives us that. It's not by our doing, we can't earn it, we can't buy our way in. He gives it to us and calls us his child. He is alive. Wherever you're at, whatever you're going through, Jesus knows where you are. And friends, the thing that you think will kill you, the thing you think will be the end of everything. It will not. Because you are victorious already. And even if we pass from this earth and go into eternity, we've already won because he is alive and we are with him. And so we walk in the peace of God, in the presence of God of the Almighty God. We draw near to the creator, God, not by our own holiness, but by his holiness for us. And as we pass through that door called death, we don't get seen for our mistakes and our frailty and our sin and our shame. No, Jesus is in front of us, and it's his sacrifice, his purity that covers us, that we are made a new creation and we're free from sin and death and hell and the grave, all those things because Jesus is alive. When we look back to the scripture, when we see what it says to us, it challenges us because it says what he's gonna go and do, it says what's gonna happen to him, it says as he's telling his disciples these things will happen, they don't know what to do with it. And friends, that's us today as well. Sometimes we're juggling all these things, we don't know what to do with it. But I can tell you this that as we walk connected to him, as we walk in trust in Jesus, as we walk hand in hand with him, and this prophecy that he's talking about, as he's about to walk these things out, as he went and did these things for you. Friends, he did it because he loved you so very much. He did it because well, he knows. Jesus knows. And the reason he knows about your circumstances, because he's been with you the whole time. He hasn't let you go, he hasn't let go of you. Even as the Holy Spirit calls you to himself, as you run away from him, he calls you back to himself. Friend, that the prodigal would come home to Jesus today, no other day today, that you would come and say, Lord, I'm so sorry. I know what's keeping me separated from you. Forgive me and recommit your life to God today. Get involved in what he says to you today. Don't think I have more time. Friends, you do not have guaranteed moments after this moment right now. Give your heart and life to Christ. Do not make a mistake. Friends, no matter your circumstance, as we head into the holy weeks ahead, remembering the great sacrifice, as we come to the communion table today, we do so with reflection on our own hearts, reflection on our own story. In any area that we would, we know, we know. We want to keep Jesus out of that area. Friend, if that's true, then you need to ask Jesus to forgive you of that area. If you have built up something in your heart of unforgiveness or some kind of anger or malice or hurt, friends, don't suffer with that anymore. That's with something that Jesus paid for on the cross. And we're gonna take that to the cross today. We're gonna say, Lord, as I come to you, Lord, I ask you to forgive me of all of these things. Every area where I fall short, Lord, that you it would be yours. I hand it over to you. As we come to his communion table, we would come with open hands, clean hands, a clean heart before the Lord. We would do so because we have taken everything to the cross. Friends, today, as we Prepare for that communion table. We're gonna have a song where you can come and you can just make an altar with God. And I'll encourage you to do so because it's a powerful thing. Whenever you come and you make an altar with God because you're meeting him, you're taking an action step. And you say, Pastor, is there something magical about the front? No, there's not. But I tell you this, in taking that action step, you are reinforcing the commitment you're making to the Lord. You are reinforcing the step that said, This is why I'm taking a step forward, Lord, that you see I'm taking action upon this thing. And the Lord, He knows where you're at. He knows what you're going through. He knows what He has plans for you to do. And He's not finished with you yet. So, friends, today as we come to this communion table, we prepare our hearts for Him, and we do so, understanding that He has already paid for it all. He's already understood exactly what we're going through. Because Jesus knows, friends. So we can be those that trust Him with everything. Today, as we come to the altar, there's an opportunity for you, friend. Maybe you're here and you've never made a decision to follow Jesus. That question for you is here have you embraced Jesus? See, no one can make a decision for you. It's your decision to make. No one can make these steps. It doesn't matter if it's your spouse or your grandma or whoever's around you, they can't do it for you. You need a living relationship with the most high God. Whenever we look to this, we see the symbol of the cross. And as we've been talking about today, the symbol of the cross is one of freedom for a Christ follower. Because it's the symbol of the place of death for Jesus. It's where he took all of our sin and all of our shame and all of our mistakes. He took all of that to the cross. And as he paid with his life for our sin, it actually made us in right standing with God because of what Jesus did on our behalf. Because Jesus was the holy sacrifice needed for a holy God. We, as sinful, broken people, there was no way for us to approach him. So Jesus came all the way to us so we could be connected to him. In Scripture, the Apostle Paul, the wretched of the church at Rome, he says this, because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, with the mouth one confesses and is saved. Friends, today is your day. It's your opportunity to say yes to Jesus, to invite him into your heart and life. I'm asking if you're here in the room, if you just stand to your feet right where you're at, and as people bow their heads, as Christians are praying. Friends online, wherever you are, take a moment for what God wants to do in and through your life today. Friend, maybe you're here and that's you. You need to make that decision to follow Jesus today as people are praying here in the room for you. If that's you, you say, Pastor, I just want to be included in that prayer. I want to make a commitment to give my heart, my life to Jesus. If that's you today, if you just raise your hand right where you're at, I just want to acknowledge you that you're making a decision to follow Jesus today, that you want to invite him into your heart and life. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord, as people making decisions today. Thank you, God. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. Friends online, you as well, wherever you are, that you're making a decision to follow Jesus today. Thank you, Lord. I'm gonna ask if you would, if everyone would just pray this prayer out loud after me. Lord, thank you for loving me. Thank you for sending Jesus. I believe Jesus died on the cross for my sins. I believe he rose again. Forgive me of my sins. I surrender my life to you. In Christ's name I pray. Amen. Amen. Friends, we rejoice with those, make a decision, follow Jesus today. Wow. Praise the Lord. Hey, if that was you, take a moment, take a snapshot of this QR code. We want to put some resources into your hands so that you can be uh victorious and living after Jesus. Friends, for all of us, as we come back to come and take communion together, the first thing we want to do is just come to the altar with God. Maybe you just need more of his presence. Maybe you need some wisdom, maybe you need provision, maybe you just want to draw near to him today. I would encourage every person to come and make an altar with God today and prepare your heart for the communion that we'll take together afterwards as we'll come and we'll pray over the elements and take them together. But let's first come to this altar and ask the Lord to meet us. Lord, we're so thankful. Lord, for your word which speaks to us. In Jesus, we thank you. Lord, for meeting us today, right here. Lord, as we come to your altar, we do so, Lord, drawing near to you. Lord, we want an impartation of your spirit. Lord, we know that you are with us. Lord, that you haven't forsaken us. Lord, that you're with us in the middle of every circumstance. And so, Lord, if we seek and we lack knowledge, Lord, we're going to come today and ask for knowledge. Lord, if we need wisdom, if we need provision, whatever it is, we come to you with all that we have. Lord, if we need to ask forgiveness, Lord, that we would come and ask forgiveness so we would come to your table with clean hands and a clean heart. We pray all this in the powerful name that is Jesus Christ. Amen.

Celeste Brown 27:53

Yes, and I want to honor my husband as he celebrates his birthday this Tuesday, and we thank you for your leadership and your love. Everything that he does that you do not see behind the scenes. We are grateful for you, and I love you very much. Um, we are having a missions fundraiser is the last one that we're gonna do. And so we are sending a team to Iceland next month, and we are sending some young people overseas uh this summer. And so we're doing burritos, they're amazing. If you haven't had breakfast, we have chediso and egg out there, um, and we have some green chili ones and um some chicken ones, and so I know I'm already making you hungry. Uh just go through the line, it supports missions, and we are super grateful for all of you for participating in that.

Jason Brown 28:34

We do have some special events coming up, as you saw in the announcements. Child dedication is happening next week. Following after Easter, we'll be baptizing folks, so don't miss out. Make sure you sign up and be a part of those high moments for us as a church body. Amen? Before we go, I'm gonna pray this blessing over us. The Lord bless you and keep you. Lord, make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. Lord, lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Lord, I pray a blessing upon your church or people. Lord, that you empower us by your spirit to live your love out to those around us. Pray all this in the powerful name that is Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen. Know this, we love you very much. You're a cornerstone. God bless you, and have a great week.