Grace Chapel Bible Ministries
Worship Call 1107 the Road to Calvary - 2024/07/08
[MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] >> Welcome to worship call with Bible teacher Buzz Lullbeck. Buzz is the pastor of Grace Chapel Bible Ministries located in Duncan, South Carolina. This ministry is dedicated to the verse by verse teaching of God's word and discipleship programs aimed at strengthening the faith of God's people. Now here's today's message. >> We'll start this morning with the message from George Whitten, who will be with us first tonight. And I believe it's applicable or keeping with today's lesson because it's about love. And George writes as his verse is Psalm 51 17, the sacrifice of God or broken spirit. A broken in a contrite heart. Oh God thou will not despise. The word contrite in the Hebrew is daha, which means one that is crushed to pieces. Paul wrote of being a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. Being a living sacrifice means we often can walk off the altar. To be continual living sacrifices we need to renew our minds day today. Let your mind be renewed. Off the things which are worldly and onto things which are godly. When our minds are focused on those things above on his holiness, his righteousness, his grace, his mercy, we realize that we can always be closer to him. We understand that Isaiah met what he met when he said our righteousness are nothing but filthy rags before the Lord. When God sacrificed for himself, when God provided for himself the perfect sacrifice, his son 2000 years ago, his heart busted, bursted. His heart was cut through, cut through you. God desires you to be a living sacrifice and a necessary ingredient is a heart that has been cut through by God's sharp knife. When you allow your heart to be continually cut through by God's spirit, then your life will be a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable before him. It's wonderful what God can do with a broken heart, especially when we give him all the pieces. And that is from George Whitten. And this is the second day of the week in God's created order. The eighth day of the seventh month, 2000, 24th year of our Lord. And this is another fine day in the Lord and Father in heaven. We thank you for this opportunity of fellowshipping in your word this morning. We pray heaven and Father, that God, the Holy Spirit, will open our hearts to the things that we continue to study. This so important sacrifice that we're learning today, and we pray heaven and Father, that everything that we do, everything that we say, will be focused upon that one focal point. Our Lord, Jesus Christ, we pray these things in Christ's name. Amen. And yes, it's another fine week in the Lord. I hope you have another wonderful week in this, a week of worship, and certainly I woke up motivated on this second day of the week. And we will continue with our study in John. I will go to be with John. This is the crucifixion, maybe we'll recap just a little bit. And this is about this story. We think of the tragedy. We think of all the things, but do we ever think about the love? I like what George wrote this morning about the cutting of the heart. There's two sacrifices here, really. There's a sacrifice of the son who goes to the cross, who is cut through, who take it to his all the way to death. But there's also the Father, the sacrifice of the Father, of God in heaven. How dare we think that God is an unlovable and merciless God who sits in the heaven, who's just waiting to drop down lightning bolts on the first person who pleases them. Amazing grace is certainly there. So here you have the two sacrifices. You have the two broken hearts, crushed hearts. And it is in John 3 16 that God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. John, 1914 through 15, Jesus is speaking, he says, now, it was the day of preparation or pass over. It was about the six hour and he said to the Jews, behold, that's not the one I want it. Sorry. Excuse me for that one. No, no, there he is. John 15 13, greater love has no love than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. And truly so let's come on back to John 19. You got your Bible that's open up. We're going to stick with the, we're going to open up the Bible this morning. And here, let's go back to the throne story. We're on the crucifixion now and bring out some details. I don't think I'm going to bring out every detail, but it won't bring up enough. And we're going to stick with John this morning. Pilate then took Jesus and scourged him. See, Jesus is in, or a pilot is, is being cornered. He's cornered by the Romans. He has to keep, he has to keep Rome happy. He has to play politics with the religious groups, the Pharisees, the priests. Because if they, if they're not happy, they're going to go to Rome and they're going to, they're experts and manipulators and they'll look to get pilot fired. There, he's also, he's also cornered by his wife and his wife's dream since he says, "Have nothing to do with this righteous or innocent man. Have nothing to do." And that, I think that's heard just right there, "Have nothing to do with this innocent man." He doesn't. He wants to wash his hands of this. He wishes he could just send Jesus upon his way and reason with, with the Jews and be done with it and get this matter off. When he washes his hands, he just took it, just, just, I'm done with it. And, you know, very superstitious man. So, I think the, so he's got all these things, and he's cornered with it. So, he said, "Okay, maybe we'll just go ahead and have him scourged, and we'll, we'll go ahead and have him beat, and have him prepared for the cross." And, and this, and, and it says, "Pilot then took Jesus and scourged him. This is on his way to the cross. This is preparation for the cross." And at this point, he said, "Well, if we can just get it to this point, the people will change his mind, change their mind." Remember, he's been beaten, he's been scourged, he's abused it every way. And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and put a purple robe on him, private a purple robe. And what they scourged him was, they would time to a post. And this, again, this would be the preparation for the, for the cross itself. And the Roman, and the way they do, they'd have the one soldier or guard, I, once specifically trained and skilled to do this. It wasn't just, "Hey, you go to beat him." No, this is, this guy knew what he was doing. He knew how to inflict the pain. He knew that he was, he was muscular, he was, because he had to also be tough. He didn't put no weaning out there to do the beating. This guy was a, a powerhouse as far as what he would do. And he would, so first of all, the guy would be trained and skilled at doing this. They'd take a whip, a, a, and this was a, a, had a handle and it had six, or five or six straps on it. Ropes, and these ropes would be intertwined with, with spurs, like, like sharp stones or glass or whatever it was that, that could, could, could, it wouldn't wove in what it would be, it would be close. And that's what it would be. It would be claws that was written into this, this rope. That was designed to, when it struck, it would, it would grab onto the skin. And when that play drum was pulled off, it would pull off skin, layers of skin. Another thing that was also incorporated in this was little balls on little metal balls. And what they would do with, they would, they would bounce off the, the skin off flesh. And that would bring the nerve endings up to Romans, Romans were an expert of this. They, they worked. The evil can, but these balls, what they would do, it would strike the, the muscle and would bring the nerve endings up for excruciating pain. The, the beating would be so severe, and it would strike, it would strike, it would add, the, the, the skin would be literally ripped off the back. And, and there were times when it was, there has been events that, where the, the, the beating for so severe that the, the one beat beat would be disemboweled. There were those who, who would die before they would even get to being nailed to the, the cross. And, but Jesus also another note to me. Remember that Isaiah 53 tells us that Jesus was like Flynn. He didn't say, he was silent. He was, he didn't say a word and, and what would, what would that do? That would infuriate the one who was beating him. Because he would think, I'm not, I'm not hurting him hard enough. And he would beat Jesus harder and harder. And finally after, after it was over, then they, they mocking would continue. The guards would place, they placed a thorn in the crowns and no storms. And if you ever seen one, it would probably bring tears to your eyes to think about this. Those thorns were just, I think, a couple of inches long. The thorns, what shepherds would use to use as barbed wire to keep your sheep in, within a little corral where he was sleeping, that they wouldn't jump out. But these thorns, they were terrible. And so they, I don't know how they, how they managed to make this reef for his head, but they, they put it around and they, they jammed it upon his head. So then that, that caused the bleeding out from the street. So by time he was brought back to the crowds. He was a hideous mess. But unrecognizable, just, just a pulp of human flesh at that point where he stared, where he was presented. And what Pilate was hoping no to do was to stare, was to bring at least some kind of pity or that the people would might change their mind at that point. So verse two and the soldiers twist together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and put a purple robe on him. And they began to come up to him and say, "Hey, I came of the Jews and gave him slaps on the face." And Pilate came out again and said, "Behold, I'm bringing him out to you so that you may know that I find no guilt in him. I find him no guilt." I don't know, again, I don't think Pilate cared one way or another. I don't think that he had any compassion one way or another. Maybe he did in the sense that he spoke and he interrogated with Jesus. And so if there was any sense of honor with him, and he saw him as a man of peace. And again, considering what his wife said, I don't think he wanted any part of this. Verse five, "Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns in a purple robe." Pilate said to them, "Behold the man." So when the chief priest and the officer saw him, they cried out saying, "Crucify, crucify." And remember, look at this, they specifically, the chief priest, the leadership, the Jewish leadership. And when John, when we're reading in John, when he says the Jews, he generally means that the leadership. Pilate said to them, "Take him yourself. It crucify him. For I find, again, here's the repeat. Well, I know, find no guilt in him." The Jews answered, "We have a law. By that law, he ought to die because he made himself out to be the Son of God." Therefore, when Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid. Remember, so add this, the second witness, his wife, his wife said it, that he was innocent, that had nothing to do with this righteous man. And now the second witness, he is the Son of God. And so there is a lot spiritually going on with Pilate, and he's terrified. And he entered into the Proctorium again and said to Jesus, "Where are you from? Here is yet another interrogation." But Jesus gave him no answer, so Pilate said to him, "Do you not speak to me? Do you not know that I have the authority to release you and I have the authority to crucify you?" And Jesus answered, "You have no authority over me unless it had been given you from above, and I want to stop right there." With all the belly aching, and you need to take this application from now on if you haven't already brought it up to this date. We have a lot of, we do a lot of belly aching about the leadership of this world, the leadership of this, even this own land. And I'll throw out the name. We're outraged by Biden and his cronies and everything else. And that's a challenge. We are, and the things that he does and the things that he said, or probably him not, but let's just say the leadership that we have. Listen, what does the Bible say to do about it, to pray for them? And I, Pilate, he was put in place by, our scripture tells us that no authority, there is no authority apart what God has placed. And he places that for a reason. Pilate was in the exact place where he was, and he was supposed to be. All right, for this reason, he who delivered me to you has the greater sin. And that was parisparacies, that was chief priests. They are the ones who committed the unpardonable sin. They are the ones who called him, called the Spirit, the Holy Spirit that the bells about, because they told Jesus that he did it under that power. And as a result of this, Pilate made efforts to release him. But the Jews cried out saying, "If you release this man, you are no friend of Caesar." This is another fear, because that threat was going to get back to Caesar. Everyone who makes himself out to be king of Moses Caesar. Okay, so they are sitting Jesus up as a rebellious. Therefore, Pilate heard the words. He brought Jesus out and sat down at the judgment seat, the bema, at the place called the payment, but in the Jews, Gabatha. Now, it was the day of preparation for the Passover. And where I stand, that this was a Wednesday. This was a preparation Wednesday at the sundown. And wherever it was on the sundown of the 14th, or at the sundown, it would be where they do the sacrifice. Everything's in line for this, because Jesus is the Passover lamb. It was about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, "Behold your king coming up to nine o'clock in the morning." So they cried out, "Away with him, away with him, crucify him." Pilate said to them, "Shall I crucify your king?" And the chief priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar, and they are absolutely right. They have no king but grace, because this was not their Messiah. They have rejected them, and they will pay eternally for their decision." So we come on into verse 16, the crucifixion. So then he was handed over to them to be crucified. They took Jesus, therefore, and took him, bearing his own cross. We can state, he's humanity. Listen, he's humanity. You might say, "Well, I think he was a powerful man to be able to take all he's taken so far." But Pilate also was right when he said, "Behold the man, because the man was tortured." You see, Pilate couldn't do anything to God. Pilate could not even touch God, but the humanity he could, and what he did, and Jesus felt every whip he felt, every humiliation he felt at all, because of human. Remember, Kenosas, he freely sits aside, his divine attributes. He takes on a former man. And so they took Jesus, therefore, and he went out, bearing his own cross to the place called the skull. It was in Hebrews called Galgata. And he could only go so far and was another who would bear his cross, Simon, that would, that guards pulled out of the crowd to get him to rest the way up to the hill. And they crucified him. And crucified him. There were those that say that crucifixion was a Roman invention, but it actually went on prior to this. Some say that. And I don't know, do your own research, but I believe a red somewhere like Persia actually works crucifying people. It's just that Rome, Rome just improved on it, if you want to call it that. There's different ways, crucifixion could be on a post, just on one pole. It could be an X shape, crucifixion, it could a X. I think they call that Andrew's cross, because that's the way Andrew was crucified. There was a Y type cross, where rather than a T, it would go up. And this cross became the altar. It would be the ultimate of sacrifices. You see, Jesus is the high priest. He's also the Lamb of God. And that one cross, remember what John the Baptist said? He said, "Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world." Hebrews tells us that we do have a high priest. And this altar, so he's going to hang upon this altar and we often think of the nailing of the hands. It's not going to be. If the hands would pull away, the hand in the Greek would be all from the tip of the middle finger all the way to the elbow. And that would all be considered to hand. So when the nails were driven and when the sticks were driven in, it was driven in to his wrist and to his feet. And then the victim on the cross would not die of bleeding to death. That's another bad doctrine that Jesus bled to death. Jesus did not bleed to death. You'll hear also that underneath that place of skull was the altar, was the ark of the covenant. And when Jesus' blood dripped down upon the hill, it went into the ground and dripped on blood. He ever heard that and it dripped on. That's preposterous. And that's also bad doctrine. His blood was applied in heaven, that heavenly tabernacle. And so you get all these crazy things that people want to make YouTube videos and books. He didn't bleed to death, ladies and gentlemen. He died of suffocation. And it was horrible. Sometimes people would be on the cross for a week for days before they would die suffering day after day after day. But this was Passover and he couldn't stay on there all day. So he goes to the cross about nine in the morning. And so as he's hanging there, his arms would be dislocating from his shoulders and his body would be, his internal organs would be pressing down and he would have to die. He would have to press up to get a breath of air. His skin has been ripped off his back. So he's pressing up against the pole creating and recreating more anguish and suffering. And then finally, what would happen is that if they wanted to speed up the death, because once again, if we pass over, they would break their legs and that would prevent the one being crucified from lifting up anymore and they would quickly die from suffocation. So they handed over him over to them for crucifixion and they took Jesus. And therefore, he went out bearing his own cross to the place called the Place of Skull, which is called Gaga, and it crucified him with two other men on the other side and Jesus in between. We have in one reading, and I believe, okay, I should have looked this up and I'll get it for you tomorrow, but you can look it up and do research. I think it's Matthew and Luke between Matthew and Luke. You have one where you have both criminals shouting insults back and forth at Jesus. And in their anger, in their hatred, in their anger, and lashing out at everyone. It was also as Jesus. Not only is Jesus being mocked by those on the ground, he's also being mocked by those on the cross. And then finally, it is the cross. Let's go to Matthew. I think actually Matthew brings this out of the two. Well, no, he does. Let's see on which side. Matthew 26, 27. All right. And let's look at Matthew 27.41. In the same way, the chief priests also along with the scribes and elders were mocking him saying he saved others. He cannot save himself. He is the king of Israel. Let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now. If he delights in him, for he said, I am the son of God. The robbers who had been crucified with him were also insulting him with the same words. Now, from the six hour and that's getting on to it. There's something else we'll want to get to. We only got a couple of minutes left. Where are we back in John 19? Yeah. All right. They took Jesus therefore, and he went bearing his own cross and Pilate called the place to the place called the place of skull, which gal gotha. There they crucified him to other men on either side, Jesus in between. Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It was written, Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews. Therefore, many of the Jews, once again the leadership, read the inscription for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city. It was written in Hebrew. He wanted to make sure that he covered every language, Hebrew, every major language, Hebrew, Latin, and in Greek, the king of the Jews. So the chief priests, the Jews were saying to Pilate, do not write that. Take that down and the king of the Jews, but as he said, I am king of the Jews. And Pilate, Pilate who is now fed up with them, and he's probably just about ready to hang these chief priests up on there too, but just fed up with them. What I have written, I have written, it's going to stand. He is the king of the Jews, and certainly he is the king. And when he does return, and that when he does come in his return, they're going to see the one whom they have pierced, and they were mourned. Let's close it out for our Father in Heaven. Thank you for this time this morning. And the things that we've gone over this morning is not about hatred. It's not about torture. It's not about the worst that man can do. It's not about that. Surprisingly, it is about love, because it is what Jesus did. It is what the Father did by sending his son in. It's about what the son did, and it was all about love. Heavenly Father, we've been tested, and we've been tried, and not even unto death yet, as Jesus had been. But we get so wrapped up in insults and justices, we were hurt to the quick, and if there's opportunity to get back at our persecutors, we certainly will. But Heavenly Father, we need to recognize that no injustice leveled against us personally has ever outdid what injustice that was sent at the perfect Son of Man. And we must remember that. We must remember that we are here not to get back at our enemies, but to love our enemies, and to pray for them. That's the mandate, and Jesus sets the precedence. So I pray, Heavenly Father, that we recognize that we are all loved, and that proof of the love of Christ and the love of God took place on cavalry that day. I pray, Heavenly Father, let us lift up our hearts, roll our shoulders back, and lift our heads high knowing that we are loved by the King. And may our reverence bring us to our knees and to our faces, and praise and glorification to our Lord. We pray these things in Christ's name, amen. All right, it's another fine day in the Lord. Keep your armor on, keep fighting a good fight of faith. Lord, will the Spirit God, not repenting. We'll be back here at the end. See ya. Okay, I hate to change one these days. All right, remember, our website is www.grchappell.org. There you can get your notes, and look at archives and all that, so there you go. [BLANK_AUDIO]