The Shocking Plan Behind the Cross

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Well, I invite you to take your Bibles and turn with me to Mark’s Gospel, the 9^th chapter as we continue to work our way through Mark’s account of our Lord’s life and through the wonderful record of all that He did and all that He said. One of the discussions that we had this past week as we were sitting around talking, had to do with what passages, what books we are preaching through, and we were talking about a couple of us are preaching through the Gospel of Mark and we were talking about the fact that it is so suited to the times in which we live. The Gospel of Mark was written to the Romans and working our way through this wonderful account helps me see how Roman our culture really is. We want people of action. There is very little teaching in the Gospel of Mark, like there would be in Matthew or Luke. Instead, it sort of brings together the amazing acts of Christ and yet, on occasion, there are these nuggets of teaching and when they occur you know they are important, you know they are essential to the life and ministry of our Lord. So, I invite you to look with me tonight to what I have entitled, “The Shocking Plan Behind the Cross.” And we see it in Mark chapter 9 and in just three verses beginning in verse 30:

From there they went out and began to go through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know about it. For He was teaching His disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise three days later.” But they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him.

This is the second of three great prophecies that Jesus makes to the twelve about His suffering, His death and His resurrection. The first one we saw was in chapter 8 verses 31 to 32. There is this one that we will look at tonight and then the third one is in chapter 10. I want us to look in

detail at this second prophecy of His approaching death. And notice as you look at it, it begins in verse 30 with what we could call “the context.” Jesus begins the long journey to the cross. Look at verse 30, “From there they went out and began to go through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know about it.” “From there,” that is, from Caesarea Philippi. You remember that Jesus and His disciples left Bethsaida on the Sea of Galilee and went up to Caesarea Philippi and it was there that a lot of the teaching and the interaction of the last few weeks that we’ve studied together has happened, including Mount Hermon, the Mount of Transfiguration up on the north end of this area. Now Jesus and His disciples, if you follow this red line, will come back down from Caesarea Philippi to the northwestern corner of the Sea of Galilee, verse 33 says, “They came to Capernaum.” So, they have come back down now from Gentile territory into Galilee and their immediate destination is Capernaum according to verse 33. But Jesus’ public ministry in Galilee is over. Let me remind you sort of the layout of this book. The first ten chapters are really three years of Jesus’ ministry. We have now come really to the point of three full years of Jesus’ ministry. Really three-and-a-half years by the time you get to chapter 11 verse 1 where you have the triumphal entry. And then from Mark 11 through chapter 16, is the Passion Week.

So, the passage we come to tonight is less than six months before the triumphal entry. In reality, what’s happening here is Jesus is beginning a long journey to Jerusalem and ultimately, six months later, to the cross. Now let me again orient you—this last period in Jesus’ life runs from the Passover of AD 29 to the Passover of AD 30. If you want to catch up a little bit, you can go back and listen to the series I did on An Aerial View of the New Testament in which I sort of gave a defense of the dates I am giving you and all of that, I am going to just give them to you now. But essentially, we are dealing with the last full year of Jesus’ ministry—His third full year of public ministry. If we wanted to sort of label this year, we would say the Galilean ministry ended sometime early in that year. And then there is the intense private training of the twelve. That’s what we have been walking through the last few weeks—about six months’ time. The last six months, Jesus is in and out of Jerusalem for three feasts during that time. This final year is, for the most part, a time of sinking public popularity and avoiding Jewish areas because the persecution is rising. John 7:30, I think, summarizes this time, it says, “They were seeking to seize Him; and no man laid his hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.” During these months, Jesus is in and out of Jerusalem and Judea three times—the first time, the last six months, I mean. During those last six months before His crucifixion, He goes to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles, in November of the winter. He goes to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Dedication in December, Hanukkah as we call it. And then He returns to Bethany to raise Lazarus from the dead in about February of the year of His death AD 30.

In the passage we are studying tonight, it’s the fall of AD 29. It’s really before probably He enters Judea these final three times for these feasts. He spent the last six months intensively training the twelve, most of it in Gentile areas, as we have observed. Jesus now returns to Galilee. But this is the last time Mark mentions Galilee until after Jesus’ death and resurrection. The last time they were in Galilee, you remember, a crowd followed them, Jesus fed them, and they wanted to make Him king. So now, He doesn’t want anyone to know that He is back. Why? Look at verse 31, “For”—here’s why He wanted no one to know—“For He was teaching His disciples.” From the time Jesus and His disciples left Capernaum back in chapter 7 verse 24, some six months before this, the primary focus of Jesus’ ministry has been ministering to Gentiles and private instruction of the twelve. And now as they reenter Galilee, He continues His focus on teaching the twelve, so He wants no one to know that He and the twelve have returned.

But how could Jesus who ministered in Galilee for now three years, how could He escape that kind of scrutiny? How could He be anonymous? You know, it’s fascinating, you see the mind of Jesus, you see His brilliance and one of the passages you see it in is a parallel passage, Matthew tells us, Matthew 17:22, “And while they were gathering together in Galilee.” Now there is a lot implied in that. The implication is that to keep their visit to Galilee a secret, Jesus had divided the disciples into smaller groups. And from Caesarea Philippi, He had assigned each of those smaller groups a different route. And then they reassembled in Galilee. It was when they had finally reassembled somewhere in Galilee, Jesus told them for a second time about His coming death and resurrection. But He is beginning here the long journey to the cross. So, there’s the context.

This account unfolds, we see secondly, the prophecy. Jesus identifies the person behind the cross. Look at verse 31: “For He was teaching His disciples and telling them, ‘The Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise three days later.’” Now, don’t miss the significance of what Jesus does here. He is making a prophecy about the future. Theologians often refer to Jesus as “prophet, priest and king.” He occupied all three offices. And here He is acting as a prophet. What is a prophet? Well, in both Old and New Testament, a prophet is simply one who reveals the mind of God to the people. Someone who speaks truth that God is at that time revealing. He relays revelation from God. Sometimes that revelation is, in fact, a revelation of a message confronting sin, of judgment. Sometimes, it is simply a message of restoration and repentance. But sometimes the message of a prophet involves predicting the future. That’s what Jesus is doing here. Now the verb tense of the words “teaching” and “telling” implies that this was not a one-time message of Jesus. This was an ongoing theme of His teaching to His disciples during this time. He was speaking as a prophet with a revelation from God, and in this case, He is predicting the future.

Now look back for a moment at the first such recorded prophecy, back in chapter 8 verse 31. “He began to teach them.” This is after, you remember, they arrived in Caesarea Philippi where the disciples affirmed in fact that He is the Messiah. Then verse 31 says, “He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priest and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. And He was stating the matter plainly.” This is of course when Peter rebukes Him and ends up being rebuked by our Lord. Now keep your finger there and turn back over to our text that we are looking at tonight, verse 31. What is new in this passage that isn’t back in chapter 8? It has less detail about the suffering and about the men who will be involved. But notice there is a difference. Notice verse 31 carefully: “The Son of Man,” note these words, “is to be delivered into the hands of men.” Literally, the text says, “The Son of Man is being delivered into the hands of men.” It is certain. The future course of events has already been decided and the events that will bring it to fruition are starting to happen now. The process has begun, is what Jesus literally says.

But the most interesting thing going on here is that the Greek word that is translated “to be delivered.” The Greek word simply means “to deliver up” or “to hand over.” It has the idea of total abandonment. It is handing Jesus over and walking away and washing your hands of Him entirely. Notice that it is passive. That is, the person doing the delivering is not identified. But the expression “to hand Him over” basically to “hand Him over and walk away” speaks of what? It implies betrayal. It reeks of the smell of betrayal. And throughout this gospel, this same expression is used of those human instruments behind Jesus’ death. For example, this word is used of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish religious leaders who handed Jesus over to the Romans. It is used of Pilate who handed Him over to be crucified. It’s used of Judas in many cases who betrayed Him, who handed Him over to the religious leaders of Israel. Now it is possible that Jesus here, when He says, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered over,” is alluding primarily to these human instruments, the Sanhedrin, to Judas. But I don’t think so and here’s why: notice verse 31 again, “The Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men and they will kill Him.” Now if this expression “be delivered” is a reference to Judas’ betrayal, why does Mark add that phrase “into the hands of men”? In the first prophecy, Jesus’ death is attributed to the Jewish leaders, but here it’s attributed to all of humanity. It’s as if mankind as a whole is acting. And someone is delivering Jesus, is turning Jesus over to mankind. The clear implication is that someone supernatural is handing Jesus over to the hands of men. Here we get to the shocking plan behind the cross. Because what you have to understand, is that the real perpetrator of the suffering of Jesus, of His violent death and of His resurrection is no one less than God the Father.

You see this in a couple of texts. Look at Acts chapter 2. Acts chapter 2, here you get the idea. Acts chapter 2 verse 23, Peter in his sermon on the day of Pentecost, refers to Jesus, and he says, “This Man was” here it is: “delivered over,” handed over “by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed [Him] to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.” Here you get the idea that someone greater than man is behind the death of Christ. But if that is not clear enough, turn over to Romans chapter 8 because Paul makes it crystal clear. Romans chapter 8, verse 32: speaking of God, “He who did not spare His own Son,” but here’s our Greek word: “but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things.” Amazing. The elders and the scribes and the Pharisees and Pilate and Judas all played their part and will be judged for it. But in the end, no human being, no demonic force is responsible for the suffering and death of Christ. God the Father is the One who delivered Him over into the hands of men. That is the shocking plan behind the cross.

The language here makes it clear as well. The language this word “delivered over” reflects the language of the Septuagint, the Greek translation that was common in New Testament times. It was what they used. It was their primary Bible was the Septuagint. It was a Greek translation from the Hebrew that had been made about 100 to 150 years before Jesus’ time. And in that translation, when it comes to Isaiah’s suffering servant, the Messiah, this language is used. In fact, Isaiah 53, uses this same Greek word Jesus uses twice. Let me show it to you. I am going to show you an English translation of the Septuagint. This is how it reads. Isaiah 53:6: “All we as sheep have gone astray. Everyone has gone astray in his way and the Lord”—here’s our word—“gave Him up for our sins.” Who did the “giving up” in this verse? It was God. It was the Father who gave Him up, who delivered Him over, who handed Him over to the hands of men and as it were, washed his hands of it, and walked away. “Forsook His Son.” Isaiah 53:12 makes the same point, again an English translation of the Septuagint: “Therefore, He shall inherit many, and He will divide the spoils of the mighty because His soul was delivered to death. He was numbered among the transgressors, and He bore the sins of many and”—here’s our word—“was delivered because of their iniquities.” What I want you to see is that Jesus’ point in Mark chapter 9 verse 31 when He tells His disciples that the “Son of Man will be delivered over” is that God the Father is the one behind the cross.

One of our Sunday School teachers told me this last week about a conversation she overheard between some of our four-year-old boys, maybe some of your kids. The boys had just heard a lesson about the death of Christ, and they were struck by the incredible evil of those who did these things to Jesus. One boy, the story was told to me, asked, “Can you believe they did those things to Jesus?” Another one added, “I know. They beat Him and they pulled out His beard and then they killed Him.” One of the other boys who had been quietly listening to this conversation, eventually, quietly spoke up and said this, “His Dad did it.” That was actually a profound insight into the reality behind the cross. It wasn’t the evil men who did it. It wasn’t Pilate. It wasn’t the Sanhedrin. It wasn’t some cabal that was pulled together to enact a conspiracy against Jesus. It was His Dad who did it. That was what Jesus wanted His disciples to know. That was what He was implying with the twelve. The shocking plan behind the cross was that God the Father would intentionally deliver His eternal Son over to the hands of men and they would reject Him, and they would condemn Him. They would mock Him and spit on Him. They would scourge Him and kill Him. The story doesn’t end there. Notice verse 31, and when He has been killed, He will rise three days later. He said, I lay down My life, John 10, and I will what? Take it up again. That’s the shocking plan behind the cross. It was an eternal agreement between Father and Son that the Father would hand over His Son, His only begotten Son, the Son of His love, He would hand Him over and as it were wash His hands of Him. But not just that, He would then pour out His wrath upon Him during those hours of suffering and death.

Have you ever truly contemplated that? I mean, have you ever just sat somewhere and thought about the reality that God the Father delivered His special Son, His beloved Son, the One with whom He had enjoyed an eternal relationship, He handed Him over to extreme human agony and suffering and to the violent death of a Roman cross. Why? If you are a Christian, it was for you. What more expression of God’s love could there be than that? That’s why Paul says in Romans 8, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?” How could He not meet the other spiritual needs we have? How could He not pour out His love and favor on us if He did that? What amazing love! What staggering grace!

There is a third part of this account. We will call it the veil. Jesus hides its meaning from His disciples. Look at verse 32: “But they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him.” Clearly the disciples understood at some level what Jesus was saying. They understand that He was saying that He was going to die, and that the religious leaders were going to do it. And they even understood, to some degree, that He was saying that He would rise again, although, in what way and in what form and how that would work out, I’m sure they didn’t understand. We know they understood it to some degree because you remember what happened back in chapter 8 when Jesus said, “I’m going to do this. This is going to happen to me.” What did Peter say? “Oh no, Lord! That can’t happen!” So, he understood to some degree. But as a whole, what Jesus was telling them, didn’t make sense to them. It didn’t add up. It didn’t reconcile to their ideas about the Messiah coming and setting up an earthly kingdom. And it wasn’t entirely their fault. Give these guys a break. They weren’t stupid. Luke chapter 9 says, the parable passage in Luke: “But they did not understand this statement, and it was concealed from them so that they would not perceive it.” Now why would Jesus tell them and then keep them from fully understanding it? I am not sure we can fully understand or know, but I think one commentator has a very good guess. It was to protect them. Listen to D. Edmond Hiebert and his excellent commentary on the Gospel of Mark. He says, “In the providence of God, their failure to understand was overruled to spare them the agony of the prospect of the passion.” In other words, it would have been too much if they had really understood what was coming. Their faith may very well have failed and so God in His wisdom tells them what they need to know but protects them from a full understanding because He loved them and cared for them.

Now, did you notice that both Mark and Luke say that the disciples were afraid to ask Jesus about this statement? Isn’t it interesting that they had never been afraid before; I mean, they are always asking Jesus questions in private: “What did you mean by that?” and “What about that parable?” and “Why are you using parables at all?” They had always asked questions before. Why are they afraid? Well, there are two possible reasons. Do you remember the last time Jesus made this prophecy and Peter had spoken up about it and said, “Oh, wait a minute. That can’t be.” You remember what Jesus said to him? “Get behind Me, Satan.” Probably there were no volunteers to ask this question this time. Also, I think we are reluctant to ask questions and to delve into those things that are unpleasant to us, isn’t that true? A lot of people fail to talk about things that are unpleasant in their lives. And Matthew tells us that when Jesus finished telling them this, the disciples were deeply grieved. They understood enough to know this was not good. This wasn’t in their plan. This wasn’t what they had signed on for. They were deeply grieved and so maybe they were afraid to ask because they expected that Jesus’ answer would be one they really didn’t want to hear. But Jesus tells them the cross is coming. And the shocking truth is, it’s the Father Who is behind it. And He alludes to, refers to reflects the wording of Isaiah 53 to make His point.

So, the question is, why? Why did Jesus make this prophecy? Why does God in the Scripture sometimes reveal what is coming to pass before it does? And specifically, this prophecy? Let me just give you a couple of thoughts. First of all, it is to provide hope and comfort to His people. Prophecy often does that. In Isaiah chapter 40 after all those chapters of judgment: God is going to bring judgment; God is going to bring judgment; God is going to bring judgment. If you have read through Isaiah, you would just feel weighed down by it in the first 39 chapters. And then you get to chapter 40, and it says, “Comfort My people.” And then you get in the prophecies about the Messiah and His coming and all that He is going to do. There is comfort in the knowledge of what God’s going to do, that He has a plan that there is going to be repentance, there’s going to be restoration. There is going to be good accomplished. You see the same thing in 1 Thessalonians, you remember, when Paul gives the prophecy about the rapture, and he says to comfort one another with these words. This is intended to comfort you. I think the same thing is true with this. Jesus intends it while it is unsettling for the disciples, it is comforting in that God has a plan. God always has a plan, and He is going to work it out. And so, I think as they begin that final six months and the long journey to cross, I think it is good for them to know that God has a plan, and that plan may be unpleasant, but He is in charge and it is going to work through. There is comfort in that, isn’t there?

But I think there is another reason why Jesus gave His disciples this prophecy. I think it is a divine apologetic. Let me explain what I mean by that. And I am not going to spend a lot of time here but let me just give you a little history. If you go back to the Old Testament times, there is a flurry of prophetic activity just before the northern ten tribes are captured by Syria and defeated in 722. There is also a flurry of prophetic activity just before the southern kingdom falls in 586 to the Babylonians. Prophet after prophet comes on the scene and says, “You better repent or it’s coming. You better repent or God is going to bring the Assyrians. You better repent or God’s going bring the Babylonians.” Now why is that? Well, certainly God wanted to warn them and give them a chance to repent but also in the ancient world, if one nation captured another nation, immediately the conclusion was their gods were stronger than the gods they captured. So, if your army defeated another army and another people and took them captive, the very first thought the ancient world would have had is our god is stronger than Yahweh and we have just proven it on the battlefield. So, how do you undo that? Well, God sends prophets, in some case, for hundreds of years in advance and says, “If my people don’t repent, I am going to bring this nation and that nation and they are going to come and capture them, and then I will later restore them to the land. It was an apologetic for the divine activity. It was God saying, “Listen, don’t you believe for a moment that I am too weak to protect them. Don’t you believe for a moment that this isn’t my plan. Don’t you believe for a moment that I can’t destroy these nations that I’m bringing against my people.” That is exactly, I think, what is going on when Jesus gives this prophecy. Jesus has claimed to be the Messiah. He has revealed Himself to be the Son of God. He’s been embraced as that by His disciples. And yet, what is going to happen six months from now? He’s going to be arrested. He’s going to be tried and condemned and crucified by the leaders of His own nation and by the Romans. Think about what that causes people to conclude, even Jesus’ disciples. But Jesus tells them beforehand to let them know it’s coming and that I’m in control. God is in control. This is the plan. So, when it comes, it is not Jesus being borne along by the mob. It is the Father delivering Him over to the hands of men. It’s all part of a much larger divine plan.

I think that there is a third reason that Jesus gave this prophecy. It’s a reason prophecy was often given. And that is to emphasize what is truly important. God often gives prophecy, in Old and New Testaments, to punctuate His own priorities. I think that is exactly what is happening here. These three great prophecies in Mark’s Gospel focus on the central reason behind Jesus’ coming. The central reason behind His incarnation and behind His ministry. Jesus did not come to be a great teacher. Jesus did not come to be a great physician. He did not come to be a great healer. Jesus came to die. And so, punctuating these amazing miracles, punctuating these amazing expressions of His power, you have these three prophecies that bring us back to center. That bring us back to what’s really important in His life and ministry. “I came,” He said, “to give my life as a ransom for many.” “It’s all about My death. That’s why I am here.” His suffering, His death and His resurrection are the cornerstones of human history and by these three prophecies, God is preparing us for seeing what is truly important. It’s Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross for sinners and it’s His resurrection three days later. It’s the gospel.

So, what is the chief implication for us of all of this? Of this fact that this prophecy of Jesus about the cross shows us that it’s what’s truly important. How does that implicate into our lives? For us as Christians, it is important to understand that the cross is the center of Jesus’ mission and it’s the center of the Father’s plan. The cross is the center of everything. That means that the cross is the center of our message just as it was of Jesus. He kept coming back here. This is why Paul said, turn with me over to 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 18. Paul describing his ministry, in fact, go back to verse 17, “Christ did not send me to baptize.” Baptism is important. It's commanded but that is not the cornerstone of the Christian faith. Here’s the cornerstone of the Christian faith: “I was sent to preach the gospel . . . so that the cross of Christ would not be made void.” For the message about the cross is “foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and the cleverness of the clever I will set aside.’” He says, “Indeed,” verse 22, “Jews ask for signs.” They want some sign. The Greeks want wisdom, “but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to the Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called,” as we saw this morning, those who are called by God through the preaching of the gospel to us, it is “Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God.” Listen, understand this: Jesus came to die. The center of His life and ministry was His death. For us it must be the same. Folks, the center of our lives is spreading the message of the cross. Let me just ask you pointedly, when is the last time you spoke to someone about the Christ and Him crucified? When is the last time you shared with someone that Jesus Christ suffered and died in the place of sinners who will believe? That was His central reason for being here. It was His central message and guess what? It is ours as well. That is why we are still here. Everything else that you do as a Christian, you will do better in heaven than you do it here except for sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. That’s why we are here. We can’t lose sight of that. It’s like the firehouse where they each get caught up in their assignments of cleaning the trucks and feeding the dog and shining the pole and forget they are there to put out fires. Folks, we are here to put out fires. We are here to share the message of Christ crucified. That was the center of His life, and it must be the center of our message as well.

There is a second implication, and that’s the cross work of Christ is our only hope. What Jesus did on the cross is the only hope that sinners have. Turn to Galatians chapter 6. I love this passage because in it Paul makes this so clear. Notice what he says. He’s talking in verse 13 about the Judaizers: those who claimed Christ, who claimed they were saved by Christ but added works. They added circumcision, they added keeping the Law. You had to have those in order to be saved, in order to be justified. And that caused them, verse 13: to boast in their flesh and in the flesh of others who were circumcised as well. They boasted in their obedience. They boasted in the fact that they were circumcised and that, therefore, meant they were more devoted to God. But notice Paul’s response in verse 14: “But may it never be that I would boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Notice how that verse is set against the one right before it, taken in its context. What Paul means here is that the Judaizers may boast in their efforts, in their merit, in their righteousness, but may it never be! That the strongest possible way to say that without cursing. May it never be that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. In this context, it’s really a statement about where Paul put his trust and his reliance. Paul says, “Unlike the Judaizers, I will never boast in what I am or what I have done.” Paul puts it in the negative: “May it never be that I would boast except in the cross.” But in essence he is saying the positive. Let me put it positively for you. This is what he is really saying: “I will always boast in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ alone.” That’s what he’s saying. “I will always boast in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ alone.” The Greek word for “boast” has a couple of ideas connected to it. One of them is “to be confident in something.” And the other is “to rejoice or boast about that thing.” “I’m confident about it and I rejoice and boast about it.” It’s a good or bad thing, depending on the object. To boast in the cross then, is to have your confidence in the work of Christ on the cross and therefore to boast about it. True Christians give all the credit for all they are and have to Jesus Christ and to what He accomplished for them in His finished work on the cross. True Christians boast in Jesus Christ and in Him crucified. They are Christ intoxicated and they are cross-centered. Let me say that again: they are Christ intoxicated and they are cross-centered. True Christians always are. Paul is saying that I trust in the cross. I trust in the work of Christ alone for my salvation and that’s what I boast about.

Now most of us are not so naïve as to think that our works alone will save us but let me just give you a little test: if there is anything in your mind, if there is anything you are, or anything you have done that you think contributes in the smallest degree to your acceptance before God, then Paul wants you to know you have embraced a different gospel and you are on your way to an eternal hell. If a single thread of your hope is based on something you have done, even if it is something like the Judaizers that God commanded you to do. If it is based on absolutely anything but Jesus Christ and His perfect life and His sacrificial death, then you are not in Christ. The center of Jesus’ life and ministry was the cross and His work on it. And the implication for us must not only be the center of our message but it must mean the cross is the sole object of our hope—what He did there.

Can I just ask you tonight, is that true of you? Can you honestly say as you sit here tonight that when you stand before God all you will say to Him is “God, my only hope of heaven, my only hope of entering Your presence, my only hope of not being incinerated by Your righteous presence, is Jesus Christ and His merits and what He did on the cross for my soul. If that is your testimony, then you are in Christ. If it’s not, if you have added one little thing, then you are not in Him. It has to be the cross alone.

Let’s pray together. Father, thank you for the emphasis we see in this wonderful gospel account on the cross. Thank you that it wasn’t accident. Thank you that it was not the result of some human cabal, some human conspiracy. But Father, thank You that You handed over Your own Son into the hands of men and then on top of that, You poured out Your own divine wrath on Him as if He deserved it. Father, we can’t truly understand love like that, but we say with Paul, how can You who did not spare Your own son but delivered Him over for us all, not freely also with Him give us everything else we need to complete what You have begun. Oh God, we bless You. We ask that You would open our mouths with the central message of the cross. Help us to share the truth of what Christ accomplished there with those we love and those we come in contact with. Lord, open our mouths this week and Father help us to make sure that our hope is in Christ and His cross-work alone and in nothing we are and nothing we have done. Nothing in my hand I bring simply to Your cross I cling. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen