The Cross

Its Good Friday!

Join London as she dives into the depths of what Jesus did on the cross for his children. The pain he endured on our behalf and the resurrection that came on the following Sunday

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hello everybody and welcome to Jesus Talks or welcome back if this isn't your first time listening. I'm London, your host, and I am so ready for today's episode. I first off just want to apologize for this episode coming out a little bit later. I have been dealing with a few little like personal um health issues, but everything is looking better now, and I am starting to feel better, which is great. And I just really honestly, in a funny way, feel like the Lord needed me to take off last week to be able to give you guys two episodes this week. Um, you guys are listening to this on Good Friday, and this episode is actually going to be diving into just what Jesus did for us, literally on the cross. And I feel like every single year around this time, I always get emotional just reflecting on the depth and everything that Jesus did for us. And I just really want to kind of, I guess in a way, highlight it and just go through scripture today. So I hope that you're okay just going through some scripture today and reading the Lord's word just on his crucifixion and what he did for us, because truly I would not be who I am without him. I would not be here without him, and he has completely transformed my life, and I just yeah, I just want to honor him today as we are here on Good Friday, and we are going to see his resurrection on Sunday, which is so miraculous and it's so amazing. But I really want us to just kind of sit with the torture that Jesus went through for a minute on our behalf because he saw us as worthy enough of doing this, and I just will never be able to thank him enough, I guess, because it should have been us. We should have been on that cross, and we should have never had a way to the Father because he is so good, but Jesus wanted us enough that he came here to die on a cross for us. So I just wanna highlight what he did for us just for a couple more minutes. So I pray that you guys are willing to hang in there and that the Lord just works in this time. Before we dive in, like I always do, I'm gonna start with my Jesus moment, and my Jesus moment from this week has just been witnessing the Lord work in like one of my best friends' lives, and I might be emotional this whole episode, guys. I just want to be really transparent. I'm just I've been so emotional this week, and I just can't help it. But the Lord has been working in one of my best friends' lives so much recently, and it's been so beautiful to witness, and I'm just so honored to even be a part of her life and even be able to witness what the Lord's doing. But it's also just been really cool because she was somebody that I was praying for for so long that the Lord would just impact and would consume, and it's just been so beautiful to see how the Lord is using her, and she's now inviting people to church. She's now like hosting things, like we're having a little Easter brunch on Sunday at her apartment before church, and we have such a big group coming to Easter with us because she's invited so many people, and it's just been so beautiful seeing how the Lord is just working in her life. I think that's one thing I will never get over is just the awe and the beauty of how the Lord transforms stories. Because I witnessed it firsthand in my story, but also just getting to see it in other people's stories too is so sweet and it's so special, and I just I can't believe we're his children. Like what a privilege it is to be a child of the Lord. Um, and I just feel privileged in this moment, just being able to talk freely about him and to love him and be loved by him. But that is my little Jesus moment from this past week, is just being able to witness the Lord's work in my best friend's life. It's been so sweet and so tender. I'm gonna go ahead and start us off in prayer and we will dive into scripture. We're gonna be in Matthew. I am going to be reading out of Matthew 26. We're gonna start in verse 36 and just kind of go to whenever I feel led to stop. I hope you guys are ready for this. Jesus, thank you so much for this time. Specifically, just thank you for this day. Um, Lord, we would not have access to the things that we have access to without you, Lord. We would not have healing, we would not have redemption, we would not have freedom, we wouldn't have resurrection without you, Lord. Because when we start to follow you, our life transforms, and we are able to be reborn because of you, Lord. And Jesus, I just want to thank you for that. Thank you for choosing us today, however many years ago it was. Thank you for choosing us and going on that cross for us. Jesus, we love you and we are so grateful for you, and I just pray that you would be in this moment, you wouldn't be in this time, and you would just be the one talking. Jesus, this is all for you. Our purpose is to worship and honor you, Lord, and that's just what we're here doing. So, Jesus, I hand over this time to you, and I dedicate this time to you, and yeah, we just love you. It's in Jesus' name I pray. Amen. So I'm starting in Matthew 26, 36. So this is when Jesus is in the Garden of Gethsemane, and he is getting ready to be arrested to be put on the cross. Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethime, and he said to them, Sit here while I go over there and pray. He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me. Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed. Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but yours be done. Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. Couldn't you men keep watch with me for an hour? He asked Peter, watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. He went away a second time and prayed. My father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done. When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing. He then returned to the disciples and said to them, Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us go, here comes my betrayer. While he was still sleeping, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people. Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them. The one I kiss is the man, arrest him. Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, Greetings, rabbi, and kissed him. Jesus replied, Do what you came for, friend. Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus, and arrested him. With that, one of Jesus' companions reached for his sword, drew it, and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear. Put your sword back in its place, Jesus said to him, for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Do you think I cannot call on my father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the scriptures be fulfilled that I say it must happen this way? In that hour Jesus said to the crowd, Am I leading a rebellion that you have come out with the swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I sat in the temple courts teaching, and you did not arrest me, but this has all taken place that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples deserted him and fled. I just wanted to stop here for a minute, because I think this right here opens up the heart of Jesus so much. And I already warned you guys I'm gonna be emotional this whole episode, so please hang in here with me. But the Lord is in the Garden of Gethsemane and he is praying to God, his father. Jesus is praying, Lord, if this cup, if you are willing to take this cup away, take it. But if not, not my will, but yours be done. If it is possible for this cup to be taken away, take it. But if not, your will be done, and I still trust you anyways, is what Jesus is saying right here. And I feel like so often in our life we feel like we're just praying to the Lord and we just want him to take things away. But we're asking him to take it away because we want it taken away, and we are asking for his will to be done. And this just shows the humanity of Jesus in this moment because I feel like also, yes, Jesus is the son of man, he is the son of God, but he was also human and he shows us those emotions and the feelings that he had while he was here walking on earth, and it's just so beautiful to me because it brings the humanity in it because it shows how Jesus was afraid too. The same way that we're afraid in moments. Jesus was afraid in this moment, but the difference between us and Jesus is the fact that he was afraid, but he was still saying, Father, your will be done. It doesn't matter what I want, it doesn't matter what I think, but your will be done. Another thing that really opened my eyes was when he was arrested, and he knew that Judas was going to be the one to turn him over. Judas sold him out for 30 pieces of silver, and I know in my heart, like the first time I actually like understood this scripture when Judas sells him out, I was like, wow, for 30 pieces of silver, that's crazy. I would never betray the Lord like that just for money. Yeah, I wouldn't, because I do it for free. And I don't know if y'all listened to Josiah Queen, but his song, um Oh my goodness, why I it's Judas. I'm pretty sure his song is called Judas, but it talks about how Judas betrayed him for 30 pieces of silver, but we do it for free. And that has really been hitting me because we do. I sin almost on a daily basis, whether it's like little things or it's something that I feel is bigger, it's all the same in the Lord's eyes, but I betray the Lord for free, not even for money, just because my flesh wants something. And so the Lord still, though, knew that Judas was going to betray him, and at the Last Supper he washed his feet and he honored him and served him. And still, right here, when Jesus was being arrested, he knew, like Judas is right there turning him over. Jesus is being arrested to go on the cross, and he said, Do what you came for, friend. Like still being gentle in some ways, calling him friend, knowing that this is not something a friend would do. And that just really opened my eyes there for a moment. Just Jesus' heart, Jesus never strayed, his heart never strayed, he has always stayed the same. And in this moment, he's literally still being kind. And when Peter cut the guy's ear off, Jesus said, put your sword away. Like I I'm here to do what the scriptures have said, what the prophets have said, I'm here to fulfill them. And it's just, I don't know. I'm just in awe of the Lord's heart, I think. And all through scriptures, we see Jesus' heart and we see the way that he loves us, the way that he cares for us. But I feel like these sections right here really show it to me personally, and it might be different for you guys, and that's okay. But seeing the way that he cried before going on the cross, and he was asking God to take that cup away, but his will be done no matter what, and the way that he was still kind and addressed Judas's friend and told Peter, put the sword away. Like I am here to fulfill the scriptures. He knew what he had to do, and he did it for you and I. And we are so undeserving of that. And that's why I say we are so privileged to be his children, because we don't deserve an ounce of what the Lord did for us, but he did it anyway. And I'm sure you've heard the saying or you've heard it in a song before, that Jesus went on the cross willingly, but what kept him up there was the love that he has for us, and that is so true. Because he loved us so deeply. He didn't want us to rot in the pits of hell forever. He wanted to fulfill our lives. He wanted to make a way for us to spend eternity in his kingdom, not just on this earth, and don't get me wrong, there is beautiful parts to this planet, and the Lord created it, that's why there is. But we get to live in a kingdom with him forever because of what he did on that cross. And it is we're so privileged. I just can't get that out of my mind. Like, we are so privileged to live this life for him and with him. And we have the inheritance of living in a kingdom with him forever once our physical bodies pass away. I'm gonna skip forward a little bit to the actual crucifixion. I last Easter really started studying exactly what the Lord went through because I don't think my brain had ever understood the extent of the torture that Jesus went through for us. I had heard the saying that Jesus went through the most pain that any human could ever endure, so we would never have to do that. And it's in scripture, it shows it, but the way that I'm a very visual learner on top of reading, I love reading, but I'm a very visual learner as well. So, along with reading this, I decided to watch season five of the chosen, which I am not saying that the chosen should replace your time reading the Bible, but it is a great visual representation to go along with some Bible stories. And season five is specifically like the holy week. It's Palm Sunday and the Lord in the temple flipping the tables and the whole entire week leading up to his crucifixion. Season five does not show the crucifixion, but it shows him at the Last Supper with the disciples, it shows him getting arrested. And um, to go along with that and to actually see what the Lord endured, I watched Passion of the Christ. And again, I'm not telling you that these movies or the show should replace your time with the Lord because it shouldn't, but I'm saying if you are a visual learner as well, I just want to encourage you to maybe take some time and watch that because it really, really opened my eyes to it. And I think that's just why I get emotional this time of year now, because I'm just so grateful that I will never have to go through that. But even more, it's because Jesus loves me so much that he did that for me. And it's a love that isn't just a feeling because love isn't a feeling, but it's rather actions, and it's the actions that the Lord took. Like he loved us so much that he went to die for us, the biggest sacrifice on our behalf, so he could wash us clean. So when God looks at us, he sees us as spotless, he sees us as welcomed in his kingdom, and Jesus did that for us, and I just I don't feel deserving of that at all because I make mistakes every single day, but Jesus still saw me deserving of it, and yeah, that's just why I get a missional, but it's we're gonna dive into the scripture that kind of goes over what he went through. I'm sorry guys, I had to take a step away for a second because I'm literally weeping. But praise God. I have now skipped forward to Matthew 27 verse 11, and we're just gonna read through when I kind of feel led to stop. So this is when Jesus was before Pontius Pilate, and Pilate was the governor of Rome at this time, so he was the decider of like who got crucified, what happened, and this is when Jesus is like standing before him and before like the elders and the priest and all the townspeople pretty much. Meanwhile, Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, Are you the king of the Jews? You have said so, Jesus replied. When he was accused by the chief priest and the elders, he gave no answer. Then Pilate asked him, Don't you hear the testimony they are bringing against you? But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge, to the great amazement of the governor. Now it was the governor's custom at the festival to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. At that time they had a well known prisoner whose name was Barabbas. So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, Which one do you want me to release to you, Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Messiah? For he knew it was out of self interest that they had handed Jesus over to him. When Pilate was sitting on the judge's seat, his wife sent him this message Don't have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him. But the chief priest and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed. Which of the two do you want me to release to you? asked the governor. Barabbas, they answered. What shall I do then with Jesus who is called the Messiah? Pilate asked. They all answered, Crucify him. Why? What crime has he committed? asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, crucify him. When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. I am innocent of this man's blood, he said, It is your responsibility. All the people answered, His blood is on us and on our children. Then he released Barabbas to them, and he had Jesus flogged and handed him over to be crucified. So right here I just want to pause because it says that Jesus was flogged and handed him over to be crucified, and he was flogged forty times, which is the max number that was allowed in Rome during that time, because more than that would physically kill a person. Jesus was unrecognizable by the time he was done being flogged. They had ripped skin out of his body, and his organs were hanging out, and they couldn't even tell who he was anymore. And this was before he went on the cross. This was before they even handed him the cross. In Mark 15, 15 it says Jesus was severely whipped with a scourge that had iron balls and sheep bones, tearing his skin and injuring his muscles, bearing the punishment in our place. I think this is what hit me so hard is the fact that this happened before they even handed the cross to him. I'm gonna continue to read now in verse twenty seven, and I'm in Matthew twenty seven. Then the governor's soldiers took Jesus and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. They then knelt in front of him and mocked him. Hail King of the Jews, they said. They spit on him and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him. So right here I'm gonna pause again because they just put the crown of thorns on Jesus' head, and when they first put it on, it's just resting there. And then they struck him again and again, making the thorns literally dig into Jesus' scalp. And I don't say this to be gruesome or to dwell in it because I don't dwell in the fact of like what Jesus did for us. I rejoice in the fact that he is resurrected and he's still alive. I want to bring focus to what he did for us because for me it brought more understanding, more love for Jesus. Because he did all this on my behalf and it showed me so much more how deeply he cares about me and how deeply he wanted me. So I don't say this to say like this is all I think about all the time. It's just around this time of year, especially today on Good Friday. I think about it because in order to understand Jesus' heart for us, I think we need to understand what he did for us in like the depths of that. Not just like on a cross, but the torture that he had before it. Like he was spit on, he was mocked, he was flogged, he had a crown of thorns dug into his head. And so I rejoice in the fact that I know that Jesus is wrecked resurrected and he is alive and he's living in every single one of us. I rejoice in that, but also I take recognition to the fact that like he did endure this for me, and I'm just in awe. Like what? You did this for me because you wanted a relationship with me, because you love me that much. Like my brain can't fully wrap around it. And I think that's why I take the time to just reflect on it a little bit. Now going back, we are at the part where Jesus is about to be crucified. This is verse thirty-two. As they were going out, they met a man from Cirene named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. They came to a place called Golgotha, which means the place of the skull. There they offered Jesus wine to drink mixed with gall, but after tasting it he refused to drink it. When they had crucified him, they divvied up his clothes by casting lots, and sitting down, they kept watch over him. Above his head they placed the written charge against him. This is Jesus, King of the Jews. Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right side and one on his left. Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads, and saying, You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself. Come down from the cross. If you are the Son of God, in the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders mocked him. He saved others, they said, but he can't save himself. He's the king of Israel. Let him come down from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God, let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, I am the Son of God. In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him. From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? When some of those standing there heard this, he said, He's calling Elijah. Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge, he filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. The rest said, Now leave him alone, let's see if Elijah comes to save him. And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and rocks split, and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus' resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people. When the centuron and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified and exclaimed, Surely he was the Son of God. Many women were there watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his knees. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee's sons. As evening approached, there came a rich man named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own tomb that he had cut out of rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite of the tomb. I'm gonna stop here for a second and just kind of talk about the cross in general. So we already know that Jesus was whipped or flogged to the point that he was unrecognizable. His skin was torn off of him, he had his organs and muscles hanging out, he had a crown of thorns that was put on his head, and then they gave him a cross. This cross wasn't like the ones that we have hanging in our house that are just wall decor or a cross that we wear around our necklace, but this cross was 300 pounds. It doesn't specify how heavy the cross was in the Bible, but a lot of scholars believe that it was around 300 pounds. So after Jesus was beat to the point that he was unrecognizable and he had a crown of thorns on his head, he had to carry a 300-pound cross for miles on his own. And he is walking through, his mom is there, Mary Magdalene is there, and he is walking with this cross on his back, and all he is thinking about is us. All he is thinking about while he is doing this is us. Yes, this was thousands of years ago, but he was thinking of you and I. He was thinking of me, London, he was thinking of you, whoever's listening to this, as he was doing this, he was thinking of us. And I think that's where my mind is just blown is that at any moment he could have stopped. He could have saved himself, he could have not gone through the torture anymore, but he kept going because he was thinking of us. And the resurrection that he was going to bring to our lives, the restorement that he was gonna bring to our lives to be able to be in his kingdom with him. And as he was on the cross, they were still mocking him, they were still making fun of him, saying that he wasn't real. They put that he was king of the Jews over his head. That was his trial, I guess that you could say, the reason that he was crucified. And on top of everything physically that he endured for us, on that cross, he took on the weight of every single sin that was committed and every single sin that was to come. And that is when he cries out right before he dies, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Because he is feeling the weight of every single sin that every single person that walks on this earth will ever commit. He is feeling the guilt, the shame, the heaviness that comes along with that. He endured that on top of everything physical for you and I. And I just wanted to make that apparent because I'm just in awe. I've been saying it this whole podcast episode, and I've been saying it honestly for a while, but we are just so privileged to be his children, and we are so undeserving of that in the same way. But what's even more beautiful is the fact that it didn't stop there. That three days later, he goes to this tomb and he is laying there, he's resting for three days, and on Sunday, he is resurrected, and he proves to everyone, to us, that he is alive and he has always been alive, that he is the Son of Man, He is the Holy Trinity. He is alive, and he is still alive in us today, he is still working in us today, and he is still redeeming our stories today because of what he did on that cross. He literally washed every sin clean when he took on every single sin on that cross. There is a visual that replays in my head pretty often, but especially around this time of year, because it's just remembrance of what Jesus did for us and how much he loves us. And I just have this visual of like being in a courtroom and I'm on trial. I feel like I've talked about this before, and I might have in another episode. And if I have, I'm sorry, but I'm gonna say it again. But we're in this room, this courtroom, and we're on trial, and it's like God is the judge, he's in front of us. We have our lawyers next to us, and there's a whiteboard in this room that has every single wrong that I've ever done, every single wrong that I've ever committed written down on it. And Jesus comes running in the courtroom and he stands in front of me and he puts his arms out like he is on the cross and he said, I took it all for her, I did it all for her, and by my blood she is washed clean. And that's what God sees when he looks at us when we believe in our heart and we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord. And when God looks at us now because of what Jesus did on the cross, he sees us as beautiful and perfect, and that is how he views us at as his children because of Jesus. I don't know about y'all, but I get a little geeky sometimes just in the way that I talk about the Lord. I feel like I just get so giddy and so excited, and the Bible interests me so much in like diving even deeper into it and learning about it and learning about the depths of like what Jesus did for us. Yes, it it breaks my heart, but in a good way, because I'm like, wow, like it just keeps me in awe of the Lord because he loved me so much. Like I just want that to wrap around your guys' head today that he loves you so much that he did this for you. He did this for you because of how much he loves you. And when we believe in our heart and confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord, we get the inheritance of his kingdom. We get the privilege of being his children, and we get the privilege of walking with him daily because he is alive. He resurrected from his grave, and he is alive, living in us today. Because after he was resurrected, he walked with his disciples and he left the gift of the Holy Spirit for us. The gift of the Holy Spirit that is living within us daily, that guides us, that is kind of like our walkie-talkie, how I talked about in a couple episodes back. He the Holy Spirit is our walkie-talkie that we get to talk to and talk through to the Lord, and it just interests me so much. And if me geeking out is making you guys laugh, I'm sorry, or I'm not sorry actually, because I love Jesus and I'm just here to talk about him. But I just pray that today that you see how much the Lord loves you and you just see his heart for you because he would have never done any of this and he would have never stayed on that cross if he didn't want a relationship with you and if he didn't care enough to do this for you. But he did, and he does, he still does, and he wants to continue to have that relationship with you because he loves you. I hope you guys enjoyed today's episode. I know it was kind of a little bit of a heavy one just hearing what the Lord did for us, but I don't want it to feel heavy because of the goodness that came on Sunday afterwards, but I truly pray that this episode just stood as an example to show you the depths that the Lord took for you and that his love will never compare to anything that we have on this earth, but it's not supposed to, because he is the perfect example of love. He is love. And I just pray that we're able to walk with the understanding of how gracious he is in the way that he loves us and how privileged we are as his children, that we would not walk with a boastful mentality or feeling like we are self-righteous in that way because we're his children, but that we would walk in a righteous way, praying that the Lord would teach us the right ways to walk, and that we would know that we are privileged in a way that we could never do anything to repay him, but we stay humble knowing that we are unworthy of this love, but that he still did it anyways. I love you guys, and I thank you for tuning in, and I just pray that the Lord worked through this, and I pray that you guys have an amazing good Friday, and that you're just able to spend some time with the Lord today and just let him reveal himself to you in signs and wonders or just in the little things too. And I will see you guys tomorrow for another episode of Jesus Talks.