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Led Captivity Captive (Ascension Sunday 2018)

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Introduction

Today we are commemorating the Lord’s Ascension into Heaven, the time when He received universal dominion, absolute and unfettered, from the hand of His Father. But we must never forget that His Ascension is built on the bedrock of His Descent. We are told that He led captivity captive and gave gifts to men. One of those gifts is the privilege of imitating Him in this pattern—true glorification is always set on the granite foundation of sacrificial suffering.

The Text

“But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers…” (Eph. 4:7–11).

Summary of the Text

Notice what the bottom line in this passage is. We are talking about the Ascension of Christ, but this is the basis for the gift of Christ. Having ascended, He has given to each one of us grace according to the measure of His gift (v. 7). The Old Testament testifies to this (Ps. 68:18), saying that the Lord ascended on high, leading captivity captive, and gave gifts to men (v. 8). Paul reasons that if He ascended, He must first have descended (v. 9). But where? He says to the “lower parts of the earth,” which some take to mean His descent in the Incarnation. But Paul actually says “lower parts of the earth,” not “earth, the lower part of the cosmos.” Paul is arguing that the extent of the Lord’s glorification is commensurate with the depth of His humiliation, and refers to His descent into Hades, where He liberated all the Old Testament saints in His resurrection (leading captivity captive). So the one who descended is the one who ascended, in order that He might fill all things (v. 10). And when He gave gifts, what gifts did He give? He gave us men—apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor/teachers (v. 11). He gave us men who would follow the pattern set by Jesus.

Prerogatives of Power

The Lord who made Heaven and earth alone has the power to make the pathway between them. When Jacob dreamed of a great ladder to Heaven, he saw angels ascending and descending on it (Gen. 28:12). But when Jesus spoke to Nathanael, a man with less guile than Jacob apparently, He said that the angels would be ascending and descending upon the Son of man. He was the ladder, in other words (Jn. 1:51). He is the means of ascending and descending.

“Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? Who hath gathered the wind in his fists? Who hath bound the waters in a garment? Who hath established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son’s name, if thou canst tell?” (Prov. 30:4).

We worship a God who reveals Himself. When He comes down, when He descends, He then speaks. The Lord descends and the smoke ascends.

“And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly” (Ex. 19:18).

This is what happened at Sinai, when God brought the law. But this was not raw condemnation. We need to hear everything God says about His descending and ascending.

Christ is Always the Point

God came down on Mt. Sinai and delivered His law. But in that delivery, although we sometimes miss the point, God never misses the point. What is the point of the whole law? Christ is the point, purpose, or end of the law for everyone who believes.

“For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Rom. 10:4–10).

Christ can descend all by Himself. No one needs to go fetch Him, and no one could fetch Him. Christ was raised from the dead by the power of His Father and His Spirit, but He was not passive. He took His life up again (John 10:17). No one needed to go help.

Gut or Grace

Gut it out and fail, or grace it out and walk right in. The righteousness that is of the law talks this way. The man who does these things, this man is a doer of righteousness. Unfortunately, this man does not exist.

The righteousness that is of faith says that you shouldn’t and can’t go up to Heaven to get Christ. The righteousness that is of faith says that you shouldn’t and can’t go down into Hades to make Him rise from the dead. The reason is for this is that all of this has already happened. Why go do what has been done? Why go off to do what you couldn’t do anyway? The word of faith which we preach is the declaration that all of this has been done. What Christ said from the cross can also be said over every step of this glorious ladder between Heaven and earth. It is finished. That’s done. And now that. And now that. The last that is you in glory.

Christ has descended, first to earth, where He ascended the cross. Having ascended the cross, He descended to Hades. Having descended to Hades, He rose from the dead, and ascended into Heaven, where He now sits on the right hand of God the Father. This is your hope, this is your joy, this is your crown, this is your salvation. Walk in it.

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Finding Yourself (Ascension Sunday 2018)

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Ascension Sunday

The Text

21 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. 22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” 23 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. 28 Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” (Mt. 16:21-28)

Introduction

Today is celebrated as Ascension Sunday throughout the Christian Church, marking the ascension of Jesus to the right hand of the Father as Lord and King of all. In an important sense, this celebration marks the day on which all that Jesus did in this world was fulfilled. He was born as Lord, lived as Lord, died as Lord, rose as Lord, but the ascension marks His enthronement as Lord. In this sense, we can speak of Jesus arriving where His entire life was aiming toward. Or using the language of our sermon text, in the ascension, Jesus found His life.

Summary of the Text

We pick up right after Peter’s famous confession of faith, and from that point Jesus began regularly saying that He was going to Jerusalem to die and rise again (Mt. 16:21). At some point, Peter, having so recently been praised for his correct answer about Jesus, begins rebuking Jesus for talking this way (Mt. 16:22). But Jesus says that this rebuke is a satanic temptation to prefer the things of man over the things of God (Mt. 16:23). Jesus says that His mission is to gain the glory of His Father, and He invites all men to follow Him in preferring these things over his own things, his own life, or even the whole world (Mt. 16:24-26). This path will be vindicated when Jesus comes in the glory of His Father and rewards men according to their works (Mt. 16:27-28).

Finding Yourself

In our world, we are bombarded with messages and advertisements for finding yourself, for finding happiness, success, fulfillment. And in many ways, what we are talking about is glory. Glory is how the Bible describes someone really shining, doing and being what they were created to be (Ps. 8:5). And this glory really is something unique, something without comparison, something different (Prov. 30:18-19). But in a random world, success and glory are necessarily random. Finding yourself is like winning the lottery. Therefore, in a random world, the mantra: be different! really is the best advice. While the odds may not technically be in your favor, if you know that the people with glory are different and unique, then you might as well start trying now. The funny thing is that the images and suggestions given are self-contradictory: be yourself and be different and buy this Coke, wear these clothes, have this phone plan, go organic (like everyone else). Jesus is interested in answering the same question, but He is refreshingly honest and straightforward. He knows that people can never find themselves all by themselves. Finding yourself, finding what you were made for is always found through following others. The only question is who are you following? Who are you trusting?

A Bad Bargain

Jesus says that we are naturally inclined to make deals with the devil, settling for more now in exchange for less later: more life now for less life later, more profit now for less profit later, more glory now for no glory later (Mt. 16:23-26). But this is to assume that there is no ultimate justice in the universe. It is fundamentally atheistic. Notice also that the Satanic offer isn’t the offer of sin on a platter full of worms. Satan comes in this episode in the voice of a close friend, a faithful disciple, and an apostle. As Paul says elsewhere, Satan transforms himself into an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14). False apostles, deceitful workers transform themselves into apostles of Christ (2 Cor. 11:13). Satanic ministers transform themselves into “ministers of righteousness” (2 Cor. 11:15). In other words, what Satan offers is typically some good thing. The bad deal is what that other good thing is taking you away from, what you are losing in the process. Satan is the thief who comes over to give you a welcome basket only to rob you. But Jesus says that the way to true life, profit, and glory is through following Him with a cross, losing your life for His sake, and being willing to forfeit the whole world (Mt. 16:24-26). One of the ways Christians get this wrong is by assuming that the way of Jesus must be whichever way looks worse. But that isn’t what Jesus says. He says to follow Him, to lose our lives for His sake. This means fundamentally that the way to find your life is through obedience. And what this means is leaning in. The pagan instinct is to pull away, to try to be different, but the way of Jesus is to follow.

A Few Different Applications

For young people, one of the temptations is to find yourself primarily in comparison with your parents. The temptation is to carve out your own space, to try to be different from your mom or your dad. But the fifth commandment is straight forward: honor your father and mother. Lean in, follow their example. Some of you come from broken families, and of course, you must not follow sinful examples. All of us have sinful fathers and mothers, but God knew about sin when He gave us the fifth commandment. Find what there is to honor, and honor it. Let your heart be free to embrace the gifts of your family. Lean in and find yourself.

One of the ways you know Jesus and Peter were friends is by this sharp confrontation and correction. “Faithful are the wounds of a friends, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful” (Prov. 27:6). “Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you” (Prov. 9:8). “As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend” (Prov. 27:17). Not wanting to offend or not wanting to let friends down can be some of the most powerful forces in the world, and in the name of friendship and kindness great evil can creep in. Are you trying to find yourself in your friendships? Or are you committed to following Christ in obedience no matter what?

Similar temptations can creep into young families or other new ventures, like a new second service. The temptation can be to zero in on the differences. In our family, what makes us who we are is that we don’t…  (fill in the blank) like our parents. In this new service, what makes us different is … But this is to buy into the world’s way of finding glory. You don’t find your identity by highlighting your differences. You don’t find yourself by strict conformity. You find yourself by following Jesus and following those who have followed Him well (1 Cor. 4:16-17). The point is that we are following Christ, obeying Christ together, trusting that this is the best investment in the world.

How did Jesus find Himself? He obeyed His Father. He knew His duty, and He could not be distracted by the offers of the devil. How did He do this? “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12:2). He considered the joy of the glory of the Father, the fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore at His right hand (Ps. 16:11).

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Departure from Bethany (Easter 2018)

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Introduction

The message that we Christians have for the world is a message that concerns certain historical events, and we include with that message the theological import, the theological meaning, of those events. We preach and declare that Christ died and rose, and we also declare that this same Christ was the God/man, meaning that His death was a propitiation for our sins, and that His resurrection was the vindication or justification of all who believe in Him. His new life is our new life, which we possess by faith alone.

The Text

“For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time” (1 Cor. 15:3–8).

Summary of the Text

This passage from 1 Corinthians contains a wonderful summary of the contents of the objective gospel. That gospel includes in it a summary overview of some of the resurrection appearances of Jesus Christ. But first, Paul had passed on to the Corinthians what he had received (v. 3). In accordance with the Scriptures (v. 3), Christ died for our sins (v. 3). He was buried, demonstrating that the death was not play-acting, not a sham (v. 4). The third day He rose from the dead, which was the initial moment of resurrection (v. 4)—a great event that was also in accordance with the Scriptures (v. 4). But the gospel contains more than just that initial instant of resurrection. What we call the resurrection includes the 40 days between that moment and the time of His ascension into Heaven. He appeared first to Cephas (Peter), then to the twelve (v. 5), and after that to over 500 brothers at one time (v. 6). The word had gotten out over the course of those 40 days and quite a crowd had assembled. Most of those witnesses were still alive decades later when 1 Corinthians was written (c. 53-55 A.D.) Then James saw Him, and all the apostles (v. 7). After that, in a way that was a bit irregular (because it was after the Ascension), the Lord appeared also to Paul (v. 8).
Sunday Morning Chaos

In all four gospels, the women are the first at the tomb Sunday morning (Matt. 28; Mark 16; Luke 24; John 20). The stone has been rolled away, and the tomb is empty. Mary Magdalene apparently separates from the other women, and goes to find Peter and John (John 20:1-2). The other nine disciples were not with Peter (perhaps because of his shame over his denial?), and they are found by the larger group of women. Peter and John run to the tomb, and find it empty, with Mary Magdalene apparently coming along behind them. After they depart (John having believed), Mary stayed there, saw the angels, asked about the body, and then after that encountered Jesus Himself (John 20:17). So Mary was the first to see the risen Christ, and as a group the disciples generally did not believe her (Mark 16:9-11). The other women had gone into the tomb separately (Matt. 28:5-10), and were sent by the angels to tell the disciples. As they were going back to Jerusalem, Peter, John and Mary Magdalene were coming back out of Jerusalem, on the way to the tomb. After Jesus appeared to Mary, He also appeared to the women on the way back to Jerusalem, who had been too frightened to speak to anyone (Mark 16:8). But after He appeared to them, they were able to deliver the message (Luke 24:9-11).

40 Day Timeline

While it is best not to be too dogmatic about such reconstructions, here is a suggested timeline:

  1. Mary Magdalene (John 20:11-18);
    2. Salome, Joanna, the other Mary, and one other woman at least (Matt. 28:1; Mark 16:1; Luke 24:10);
    3. Simon Peter (Luke 24:34; 1 Cor. 15:5);
    4. Cleopas and companion on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35);
    5. The disciples, Thomas missing (Luke 24:36-43; John 20:19-25);
    6. The disciples, with Thomas present (John 20:26-29);
    7. Seven disciples at the Sea of Galilee (John 21:1-23);
    8. Disciples and small crowd on a mountain in Galilee (Matt. 28:16-17; 1 Cor. 15:6);
    9. James, the Lord’s brother (1 Cor. 15:7);
    10. Disciples, probably in Jerusalem, before they walked to Bethany on Mt. Olivet, where He ascended (Luke 24:49-53; Acts 1:3-11).

Please note that we are talking about a lot of people who saw the Lord, and in broad daylight.

Departure from Bethany

Bethany was a village located about a mile and a half from Jerusalem. It is the place where Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11:1-46). It is the place where the Triumphal Entry had begun (Mark 11:1; Luke 19:29). During the week that preceded His arrest, the Lord stayed in Bethany (Matt. 21:17; Mark 11:11-12). Simon the Leper lived there, and it was in his house that Mary had anointed Jesus (Matt. 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9; John 12:1-8). And Jesus led His disciples out to Bethany before He ascended into Heaven (Luke 24:50).

It is hard to escape the conclusion that Jesus went to Bethany and saw Lazarus, Martha, and Mary there. The conclusion of His resurrection appearances was not the dissolution of His friendships, but rather the eternal and everlasting ratification of them. He went to a town; He ascended into Heaven from a place. He knew people there. When He ascended, there were houses in the background, one of them being a place where He had previously stayed. In short, this last resurrection appearance was an event in history, in full color, under the same sun we have enjoyed this morning. We don’t know the precise latitude and longitude of the last place where Jesus was standing before He left, but God knows it. No doubt many an unwitting tourist has stood on the spot. There is probably a car parked there right now.

And because there is no reason a car couldn’t be parked on that very spot, your sins are forgiven. These things really happened, in other words. And by “really happened,” I mean something like actually happened. As sure as this Bible is on the pulpit, that being something that actually happened, so also Jesus walked to Bethany for His departure.

Those who want to pretend that Jesus rose, will also have to pretend to be forgiven. Those who know, as we do, that Christ is risen are also privileged to know that we also will rise. He is risen indeed.

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Cross-Shaped Lives (CCD Easter 2018)

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The Text

Therefore, since Christ suffered for us[a] in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. 3 For we have spent enough of our past lifetime[b] in doing the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. 4 In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you. 5 They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 For this reason the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit. 7 But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. 8 And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.”[c] 9 Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. 10 As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 11 If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen (1 Peter 4:1-11).

Cross-Shaped Lives

How does Easter shape your life? In this passage Peter draws application for us based on Jesus suffering on the cross, “Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh…do this in our life.” A religion that has at it’s center a crucifixion is a scary religion––for its people. We follow a crucified Christ, a suffering Savior. Because Jesus Christ has shaped you at the cross through his death and resurrection, you are to live a cross-shaped life. What does this look like? Peter shows three results in our passage in 1 Peter 4. With a cross-shaped life, you are armed to fight against sin and to live for God. With a cross-shaped life, you have hope in the resurrection and judgment. With a cross-shaped life, you love God’s people and glorify the Father.

Armed to Fight Sin (vs. 1-4)

“Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind.” Christ viewed the cross and his suffering on the cross as the means to fight against sin, and we are be armed with the same mind. Thus armed, we cease from sin. There are two ways to understand this and both are biblical and profoundly glorious. The first is we cease from sin because of our spiritual union with Jesus in baptism (Romans 6). The second way to understand this verse is more practical in that one who has committed to follow Jesus, even to the point of suffering for him, does not have the desire for sin. Sin grows bland, revolting, undesirable compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus. If you’ve armed yourself with the thought that you will suffer with Jesus, then you are ready to pile up the rubbish heap of all that keeps you from treasuring Christ.

That’s what Peter says, “For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles, acting like the world––when we walked in lewdness, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries.” Peter remembers when he walked like this––drunken nights down at the docks and the fights and the swearing, and he’s done with it! We’ve spent enough of our life chasing after sin. And you must be armed to fight first your own sin. “Now” is enough! Peter pleads with you abstain from the desires of the flesh because they war against your soul (2:11). Don’t give any more of your time to being drunk. Don’t give your strength to porn. Don’t fritter away your time in coveting. Don’t you remember that Jesus has redeemed you with his precious blood?

Arm yourself with the cross to fight your sin, and also fight against our culture’s celebration of sin, or even your friend’s. Have the backbone and gristle to be different than everyone else because you are doing the will of God. But sometimes when you live like that you get thrown into a lions den or chucked in a fiery furnace or nailed to a cross.

Judgment and Resurrection (vs. 5-6)

If your life is shaped by the cross, you have hope for the future. Even though those still running in the world will trash talk you, “they will give an account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. For this reason the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but alive according to God in the spirit.” Peter recognizes that you got enemies that malign you because you’re not running with sinners and in sin anymore. He says that those who taunt Christians, look down on Christians, persecute Christians will give an account to the Judge. So don’t worry about you giving pay back. All wrongs will be righted. God will settle accounts with all people, the living and the dead.

Fervent Love and Covering Sin (vs. 7-11)

Above all, Peter tells us that to we must love one another, and love fervently. This is the clear result of those shaped by the cross. We love because he first loved us. “By this we know love because he laid down his life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for our brethren” (1 Jn. 3:16). We are told to cultivate a fervent love, and a good place to start with with hospitality. Give yourself away and do it without grumbling, just like Jesus did. What did Jesus do before the judgment of the cross? “Here is bread, here is wine.”

When we see the people of God, we see a parade of God’s amazing grace. God’s grace is evident and working in his people––those who teach, who serve, who throw baby showers, who pray for every prayer request on the church email, who clean up the fishy crackers ground into the carpet.      

In All Things Glorified

What’s the result when Christians live cross-shaped lives? What happens when you refuse to run with the world and fight against your sin? What happens when you have the unshakable confidence that whether you live or you die, you belong to the Lord (Rom. 14:8)? What follows when you love and forgive and feast and serve and teach according to the grace that God gives you? Your cross shaped life becomes a living doxology––glory to God through Jesus Christ to him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

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Clean From Unclean (Good Friday 2018)

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Jesus is the Lord of reversals. To understand this, we have to understand the backdrop of the older covenant.

Throughout the Old Testament, if someone came into contact with an unclean body—a leper or a dead man—mere contact made him unclean himself. The disease, the death, the corruption was all contagious.

“Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Ask now the priests concerning the law, saying, If one bear holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and with his skirt do touch bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any meat, shall it be holy? And the priests answered and said, No. Then said Haggai, If one that is unclean by a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean. Then answered Haggai, and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the Lord; And so is every work of their hands; And that which they offer there is unclean” (Hagg. 2:11–14).

Under the older covenant, the unclean thing had the power to corrupt the clean thing, it had a way of spreading its qualities that a clean thing did not have. The dirty affected the clean. The clean could not transform the dirty.

But when the Lord Jesus conducted His ministry throughout the land of Israel, it did not work this way. Jesus entered into this broken and fallen world, and everywhere He went, He made things run backwards. For example, He went everywhere touching the corrupt, the diseased, and the leprous. His was a ministry of contagious cleanliness, contagious holiness. If Jesus reached out His hand and touched a leprous face, this did not make Him unclean. Rather, it made the leper clean.

“And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean. And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed” (Mark 1:40–42).

We have something remarkably similar in the death of Jesus. In fact we have the crowning instance of it. Remember that when He was nailed to the cross, this meant that He died under the curse of God.

“Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree” (Gal. 3:13).

Everlasting blessing and joy arise from the cursed thing. Jesus was lifted up like the bronze serpent was (John 3:14), and as everyone who looked in faith upon the impaled serpent was healed of the serpent’s venom, so also everyone who looks upon the poisoned cross of Christ with faith leaves all their poison there.

Not only that, but when He died, His cursed body became unclean as well. He died under the curse of God, so that He might provide propitiation for our sins, and this act of sacrifice culminated in his dead and unclean body hanging under an angry sky, threatening to contaminate the land. This is why the Jews wanted to break the Lord’s legs, so that His unclean body could be removed before it could defile their high holiday.

“The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away” (John 19:31).

But when the soldiers came to do this, they found that the Lord Jesus was already dead. Jesus was cursed, dead, and unclean. To ensure that He was really dead, one of them rammed a spear into His side, and blood and water came out (John 19:34). This is a crucial detail, as John makes plain in the next verse. “And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe” (John 19:35). John wanted us to know that blood and water came out. Why? So that you might believe.

But consider for a moment what this means. We are cleansed by the blood of Christ. We are washed by this blood and water. But this means that our cleansing comes from the blood of a dead man. His uncleanness makes us clean.

“This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth” (1 John 5:6).

His curse is our blessing. His defilement is our washing.

“How much more shall the blood of Christ [of a dead man, mind], who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Heb. 9:14).

A purged conscience is the work of the Lord’s blood.

“Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied” (1 Pet. 1:2).

Sanctified because sprinkled with an unclean thing.

“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).

The blood of a unclean dead man cleanses. Not only does it cleanse, but it cleanses us from all sin.

“And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood” (Rev. 1:5).

We are washed in an unclean thing and, stupefying as it is, this is our cleansing.

I began by saying that Jesus is the Lord of reversals. Is this not a reversal of staggering magnitude? Just as Eve was taken from Adam’s side, so also the new Eve was fashioned from the side of the second Adam. But this means the one who was to be without spot or wrinkle or any other blemish was taken from the side of a corpse.

The only reason this can work is through the process I mentioned earlier, which Scripture calls propitiation. Because Jesus, the sinless one, died under the wrath of God, this means that the uncleanness of His death was the uncleanness contributed by you and by me. The reason your diseases are left behind when you touch Him is that He obeyed His Father and identified with you completely. This means that your sin became His, and you left all of it there, and that His righteousness became yours, and you took all of it with you.

“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Bearing shame and scoffing rude,
In my place condemned He stood;
Sealed my pardon with His blood.
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

I want to conclude with a Good Friday invitation. If you are not a Christian, if you are not forgiven, if you don’t know God, then know this.

With an unclean world behind you . . .

With an unclean Hell below you . . .

With an unclean heart within you . . .

Come then, to the cross of Christ, and touch the unclean thing. And if you do, then you will come away, everlastingly and eternally pure.

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, amen.

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