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SERMON DATE AND TITLE:20120401: "Behold the Man"This page streams the audio-only sermon, when available, in downloadable SWF flash format. It begins playing upon opening this pageWant a download or CD copy? Read this. The sermon outline is below, when available. |
B e h o l d, T h e M a n ! SERMON STARTER
When I sat at my computer to compose another Palm Sunday message, it occurred to me that this was the 37th Palm Sunday sermon I'd composed in my pastoral ministry. In this message I deal with the two faces of Jesus. The traditional view of Him at his Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem, and the non-traditional view four days later when the fickle crowd cries, "Crucify Him!" Pilate mocks the crowd and introduces the bruised, beaten and disfigured Jesus by shouting, "Behold the Man!" That's the picture with which I finish this sermon. I experienced the convicting presence of Jesus as I finished this message. Ray Boltz pretty well nails the picture in this very graphic and emotionally disturbing of the Crucifixion of Jesus. Young people are looking for something tangible to which they can dedicate their lives. A long lingering look at Jesus can change them forever. A-men! Watch the Lamb! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTsibkmAYEc
Pastor Phil <><<
April 1, 2012 / Palm Sunday Pastor Phil Roland - Sheepfold Ministries B e h o l d, T h e M a n ! John 12:12-15 – Isaiah 53:1-10
“A problem our present generation has when it comes to the Christian religion is they feel Christianity is too abstract. Young people are looking for something tangible to which they can dedicate their lives. A long lingering look at Jesus can change them forever.” Pastor Phil <><<
"But we all, with open face BEHOLDING AS IN A GLASS, the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." 2 Cor. 3:18
I. BEHOLD THE COMMONNESS OF THE MAN! Isa. 53:2b ”For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him.” A. Jesus was an Ordinary Looking Man 1. Mediterranean: Olive Skin, Round face, Curly black hair 2. Not an Anglo, White, Oval face B. Wouldn't Stand Out in a Crowd 1. It wasn’t His looks that attracted people 2. It was what Jesus SAID that drew the masses C. Palm Sunday happened when the people saw Him as a Way Out 1. He could be the Great Deliverer, like Elijah – Malachi 4:5,6 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. 6 And he will turn The hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse." 2. He could be like Moses, and lead them to the Promised Land
II. BEHOLD THE REJECTION OF THE MAN! Isa. 53:3b ”He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.” A. His Own Countrymen Rejected Him - John 1:46 ”And Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see." 1. Jesus went to His Cross alone 2. His Disciples abandoned Him 3. His friends fled for their homes B. The Law of Lepers - Lev. 11-14 1. Leviticus 11-14 was about Defilement and Abomination 2. OT Law forbade any contact / Even a Look was Forbidden 3. Jesus became sin for us - 2 Cor. 5:21 “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” BEHOLD THE MAN, cont., p.2
C. Three Kinds of Guilt 1. Genuine Guilt leads to repentance, confession, and forgiveness 2. Proud Guilt where Pride keeps the sinner from confession 3. Satanic Guilt where the sinner is accused but never finds relief
III. BEHOLD THE SORROW AND GRIEF OF THE MAN! Isa. 53:3a ”He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.” A. See Him at Lazarus' Tomb - John 11:35 “Jesus wept.” 1. Shortest verse in the Bible – Jesus Knows How to Cry 2. He Is touched by our Sorrow and Grief - John 11:35 ”Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.” B. See Him at the Garden of Gethsemane – Matthew 26:36-38 ”Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, "Sit here while I go and pray over there."37 And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. 38 Then He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me." 1. Note how ALONE he is in His Grief 2. Grief is a Private, Personal Experience 3. He doesn’t want to be alone, but His disciples Sleep, anyway 4. He understands our grief and sorrow 5. He’s been there Himself in that lonely place 6. If you ask Him, He’ll be there for and with you C. See His Humiliation and Pain - John 19:1- “So then Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him. 2 And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe.” 3 Then they said, "Hail, King of the Jews!" And they struck Him with their hands. 4 Pilate then went out again, and said to them, "Behold, I am bringing Him out to you, that you may know that I find no fault in Him." 5 Then Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, "Behold the Man!" 1. He was scourged 2. He was Crowned with Thorns 3. He was Struck With Open-Handed Blows 4. He was wrapped in the Purple Robe for Redicule 5. It was as if Pilate was mocking the crowd saying, “Here is your threat! He’s not able to do you harm! Why don’t you have mercy on Him? Hasn’t He suffered enough for your imagined crimes?”
BEHOLD THE MAN, cont., p.2
IV. BEHOLD THE CONTINUING ATONEMENT OF THE MAN v.4,5 ”Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.” A. Your sin may be PERSISTENT, but His Blood still covers it! B. Confess your sin and be forgiven - 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1. The Blood of Jesus Christ cleanses from ALL SIN – 1 Jn.1:7 “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” 2. Past, Present and Future
BEHOLD THE MAN! John 12:12-15
BEHOLD THE MAN! Isaiah 53:1-10 53:1 Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him. 3 He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. 4 Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. 8 He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. 9 And they made His grave with the wicked; But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth.
10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand.
B e h o l d, T h e M a n !
Look upon Him hanging there! Disfigured, torn and bleeding---- My God! I never dreamed blood could be so red, Flowing over pale, exposed flesh!
It's awful! I cannot look! The swelling purple and black bruises! Is it a man? I cannot tell! No man was ever disfigured as this!
I cannot look! I cannot bear the nude shame of it! But yet, the shame is mine! The guilt is mine! His head is high! Mine is low! Behold Him! Truly look upon Him! Behold the man! Behold Him and be made whole!
Phil Roland, 1997
CLOSING ILLUSTRATION
Evangelist Charles Finney preached on 1 John 1:7 "....The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin." A stranger asked him to walk home with him, and against all advice he did. Ushering Finney into the rear of a building, he locked the door and pocketed the key. "Don't be afraid, I just want to ask you some questions," said the stranger. "Do you believe what you preached tonight?" "I most certainly do," replied Finney. The stranger continued, "We're in the back of a saloon and I'm the owner. Mothers come in here, lay their babies on the counter and beg me not to sell liquor to their husbands. I turn a deaf ear to their cry. When a man leaves here we see to it that he's well under the influence. More than one man has been killed on the railway tracks after leaving here. Can God forgive a man like me?" "I have only one authority," replied Finney. "'The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.'" The stranger went on, "If a man doesn't spend all his money on liquor, we take him to our gambling hall and fleece him of his last dollar with marked cards. Can God forgive a man with a heart like that?" Finney repeated, "I have only one authority. The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.'"
The stranger had more to say, "Across the street is my wife and daughter. Neither has heard a kind word from me in five years. Their bodies bear the marks of my brutal attacks. Can God forgive a man with a heart like that?" Finney lowered his head and said, "You've painted one of the darkest pictures I've ever seen. But still I have only one authority. 'The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin'" That night, that man became a new creation in Christ.
BEHOLD THE LAMB!
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