The Cross and the Kingdom

Easter Sunday is the most important day of the year for followers of Christ

Today is the day that we celebrate the resurrection of Christ from the dead

Without the resurrection of Jesus we would not be here today

If Jesus had stayed in the grave this church, or any Christian church for that matter, would not exist

The Apostle Paul put it this way

1 Corinthians 15:17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.

Easter Sunday is a HUGE deal for us!

And let me get this out of the way right now – Easter is not about the bunny!

There’s nothing wrong with the bunny and candy and egg hunts – it’s all a lot of fun if you ask me

But that is not what Easter is about, it’s about Jesus who was crucified and then 3 days later came back to life!

It’s about Jesus’ victory over sin and death

It’s about Him redeeming us through His shed blood

Our entire faith boils down to this one event – yes, this is a huge day for us!

As huge as it is for us, have you ever thought about how it must have been for the followers of Jesus who experienced it first hand?

His original disciples that lived through it?

We have the benefit of hindsight so we know how the story ends

However, the original disciples would have had a very different experience living through the events of Easter

What I want to do today is take a look at these events through their eyes

They had been following Jesus around for 3 years

For this entire time they had heard Jesus talking about the fact that the Kingdom of God was near

We have been looking at the topic of the kingdom of God, but remember that our interpretation of the Kingdom of God is very different today than it would have been for the disciples that were following Jesus during his time of ministry

There were many prophecies about the Kingdom of God in the Hebrew Scriptures and these prophecies were fairly well known among the people

To sum up the general opinion of the day, first century Jews believed that someone they called the Messiah would arrive on the scene with great fanfare, lead a rebellion against the Roman Empire, drive the enemy out of the land, and establish the everlasting Kingdom of God

Every time Jesus used the phrase “Kingdom of God” or “Kingdom of Heaven” this is what His audience thought of

I find it interesting, however, that Jesus often corrected this way of thinking

There are many times where we see Jesus give a parable that starts off with the phrase “The Kingdom of God is like this …”

Jesus then goes on to speak about something that goes directly against the popular interpretation of the Kingdom of God

Suffice it to say that many of the people were so sure about what Jesus meant by “Kingdom of God” that they didn’t listen to what He was really saying

So, in light of this put yourself in the shoes of Jesus’ disciples as they experience the events leading up to the crucifixion

They see Jesus ride into Jerusalem on what we now call Palm Sunday in a way that showed everyone that He was the long awaited Messiah

The people even proclaimed Jesus’ identity by referring to Him as the “son of David” – a clear reference to the Messiah

I’m sure that Jesus’ disciples were expecting Him to begin the rebellion against Rome at any time!

Can you imagine how excited they must have been?

For hundreds and hundreds of years people had been waiting for the Messiah, and He was finally there!

Not only that, as His disciples they would surely play a big role in the coming Kingdom!

They knew who Jesus was and were anxiously awaiting for Rome to get what was coming to them!

Jesus had been giving hints all along that things were not going to go as they expected they would

He even told them straight out on more than one occasion that He would be killed, but then would come back to life 3 days later

Yet still they did not pay attention

The disciples were so focused on their pre-conceived notions that they ignored what Jesus was saying

Let’s fast forward a couple of days to the night of what we know as the Last Supper

Jesus and the disciples had just finished their meal and were soon going to go to the Garden of Gethsemane

But before they leave Jesus says this

Matthew 26:31-35 Then Jesus told them, "This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written: "'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.' ³²  But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee." ³³  Peter replied, "Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will." ³⁴  "I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times." ³⁵  But Peter declared, "Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you." And all the other disciples said the same.

 Peter meant every word – there was no way he could conceive of denying or deserting Jesus

Remember that Peter, along with the rest of the disciples, was still convinced that Jesus was about to establish His kingdom on earth

Certainly Peter could never desert or deny Jesus right before His moment of triumph!

Then we get to the garden of Gethsemane

Jesus is praying:

Matthew 26:39 … "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."

 Jesus knew what was coming

 He knew the anguish and the torment He was about to go through

 After Jesus was done praying Judas led the soldiers into the garden to arrest Jesus

Luke 22:49-51 When Jesus' followers saw what was going to happen, they said, "Lord, should we strike with our swords?" ⁵⁰  And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear. ⁵¹  But Jesus answered, "No more of this!" And he touched the man's ear and healed him.

 The disciple that cut off the servant’s ear was Peter

 I can only imagine what was going through Peter’s mind at that moment

 He was still utterly convinced that Jesus was the long awaited Messiah and that He was about to bring in the long awaited kingdom of God

 I don’t know if Peter, when he saw the soldiers trying to arrest Jesus, was thinking “over my dead body” and was trying to defend Jesus – or perhaps Peter was thinking “It’s finally beginning” and wanted to get in the first blow

 Imagine Peter’s surprise when Jesus tells him to stop and then heals the servant’s ear!

 I’m sure Peter, along with th rest of the disciples, were kind of confused at this

 After all, the Messiah was supposed to defeat Israel’s enemies, and you cannot do that without a little bloodshed

 Yet Jesus told them to stop and let Himself be arrested and taken away

 I can imagine that the disciples were a little confused and unsure about what to do at this point

 Jesus was taken before the Sanhedrin on charges of heresy

 Peter, John, and some of the female disciples followed and watched from a distance

 They all knew that the penalty for heresy was death

 It was one thing to have Rome arrest and accuse Jesus – Rome was the enemy and it was easy to hate them and fight against them

 But this wasn’t a Roman court that Jesus was standing before, this was the Sanhedrin – the Jewish ruling council

 These were the political and spiritual leaders of the Jewish people – they were supposed to be the good guys!

 What was a follower of the Messiah supposed to do in a situation like this?

 Couldn’t the Sanhedrin see that Jesus was the Messiah?

 I can’t even imagine all the emotions going through the disciples at that moment

 In fact, I am convinced that it was because of these emotions that Peter made his big blunder

 Matthew 26:69-75 Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. "You also were with Jesus of Galilee," she said. ⁷⁰  But he denied it before them all. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said. ⁷¹  Then he went out to the gateway, where another girl saw him and said to the people there, "This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth." ⁷²  He denied it again, with an oath: "I don't know the man!" ⁷³  After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, "Surely you are one of them, for your accent gives you away." ⁷⁴  Then he began to call down curses on himself and he swore to them, "I don't know the man!" Immediately a rooster crowed. ⁷⁵  Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: "Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times." And he went outside and wept bitterly.

 The world of Peter and the rest of the disciples was crumbling down

 Nothing was going the way it should be going

 Jesus is condemned to death by the Sanhedrin, He is taken before Pilate, then on to Herod, then back to Pilate and eventually is sentenced to death by crucifixion

 Put yourself in the place of the disciples at this moment – what were they thinking?

 This can’t be happening!

 It’s over!

What are we going to do?

Dreams were shattered, hopes were crushed

To say that they were in despair would be a huge understatement

They watch from a distance as Jesus is beaten beyond recognition

They see the Roman soldiers nail him to a cross

They witness the excruciating pain coursing through Jesus’ body

They listen to the sneers and verbal abuse of the crowd

I’m sure they were wondering why God didn’t intervene

After all, it was so clear that Jesus was the Messiah

No one could do the things that Jesus did unless God was with them, yet as they stared at the broken and bleeding body of Jesus hanging on the cross I’m sure they were wondering

They were questioning their faith and their beliefs

Finally, after six hours of hanging on the cross, Jesus speaks His last words – “it is finished” and then dying

The disciples were utterly crushed

All their hope was gone

Their dreams and their faith were shattered

From what I read in Scripture it seems that the disciples went back to Jerusalem and gathered there

Can you imagine how depressed, angry, and scared they must have been?

Depressed and angry because things did not go the way they were supposed to go

Scared because it was not unusual for the followers of an executed man to be hunted down and executed themselves

After His death Scripture tells us that a man by the name of Joseph from the country of Arimithea, who was a secret follower of Jesus, asked the Roman governor if he could take care of the body of Jesus

Joseph, along with Nicodemus – the same Nicodemus that met with Jesus at night in John chapter 3 – took Jesus’ body down from the cross, wrapped it in burial cloths and put it in a new tomb that was nearby

We are told that Jesus’ mother Mary, along with Mary Magdalene observed this whole process and saw where Jesus’ body was laid to rest

3 days later something amazing happens

Mark 16:1-7 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus' body. ²  Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb ³  and they asked each other, "Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?" ⁴  But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. ⁵  As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. ⁶  "Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. ⁷  But go, tell his disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.'"

I find it interesting that God chose to first announce the resurrection of Jesus to a group of women

 Can you imagine what the disciples must have thought when the women announced what they had seen and heard?

“Is this some kind of sick joke?”

“Are you on drugs or just psycho?”

“You’re talking nonsense!”

  John 20:3-9 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. ⁴  Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. ⁵  He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. ⁶  Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, ⁷  as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. ⁸  Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. ⁹  (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)

It was at that moment that the disciples knew their hope had returned

Jesus was alive!

John 20:19-20 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" ²⁰  After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

There was hope where once there was none

Life where once there was death

The Kingdom was not lost, it just took a different form than they expected

They did not realize that before the Kingdom could come the cross must take place

Why?

I will be explaining in detail next week

But suffice it to say that the cross happened so that ALL could enter the Kingdom!

 Now we get to the “so what” portion of the message

What is it that I want you to take home today?

Isaiah 55:8-9 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. ⁹  "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Our plans vs. Gods plans

We can be hopeless, but the cross brings hope

We can see death, but the cross brings life

Things may not go the way we want them to, they way we think they should, or the way we’ve been taught that they should

But if we put our trust and our hope in Jesus

If we just believe in what He did for us on the cross and receive the forgiveness He has to offer the Kingdom can be ours!