A Life of All Power - Christ at the Cross!

                             

  

 

A LIFE OF ALL POWER

 

      Sometimes we read so quickly that we lose the significance of what really happened to Jesus Christ beginning in the garden of Gethsemane. Let's examine Christ's own words as He entered the garden of Gethsemane the night before His death.

 

     Mark writes that "He began to be deeply distressed and troubled. Christ said, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death." People can get sad at the drop of a hat, but not Christ.  He was usually cheerful, but not on this night--on the eve before His death on the cross. Mark 14:33, 34.NKJV.  People can get sad at the drop of a hat, but not Christ.  He was usually cheerful, but not on this night--on the eve before His death on the cross.   

 

 Jesus Christ said, I am "overwhelmed with sorrow!"

 

       In the garden of Gethsemane that evening Jesus was deeply troubled, suffering pain, stress, and agony. There are different types of trouble and different degrees of pain. This was the worst trouble, the worst pain, the worst agony any person in history has ever faced. It was so bad that words cannot describe it. Notice how the Bible writer tries to describe it.  Mark wrote, "He was troubled and deeply distressed." How deep was His stress? So deep that it forced blood vessels in His face to rupture. He experienced a deeper stress, a deeper agony than any person had ever before experienced or ever could experience.

      Jesus, himself, said that He was "exceedingly sorrowful even to death." Mark 13:34.  Jesus, the Eternal One, left the throne of glory as the King of kings and Lord of lords for the very purpose of coming into this world to carry the weight of the sins of the world--yours and mine. The result was that He went through a suffering that no one had ever gone through before or afterward.

      Jesus was "exceedingly sorrowful even to death."  He was full of sorrow, full of sadness, full of pain. He was not just full.  He was "exceedingly" full, "even to death."  He was so full of sorrow, sadness, pain, and agony that it was killing Him.  He was dying  in the garden of Gethsemane. What happened to Jesus Christ after the Last Supper with His disciples?  What happened when He went to the garden to pray on the night before His death on the cross? What can we learn from the biblical account of Christ's last 18 hours of life?

      Christ went to pray that night in the garden where so often before, He had prayed. But this night, He felt a pain, a sorrow, He had never felt before. The guilt and weight of the sins of every person who had ever lived, or ever would live, were heaped upon Christ--a weight so great He would not survive it.

        

                       Jesus came to give us abundant life and peace of mind!

  

      All the emotional garbage and mental pain of every sin ever committed by each of the billions of people whoever would live, through all human history, was compressed together and heaped upon Jesus Christ as He prayed there in the garden of Gethsemane. The crushing weight caused Him to stagger and forced Him into the earth in prayer. The weight was so great that it ruptured small blood vessels in His face and forced drops of blood to run down his face and moisten the ground beneath Him in the garden where He prayed. He would have died right there on the spot in the garden, sweating great drops of blood, if an angel had not been sent to give Him the strength to delay His death until He reached the cross.

      Later, when He was crucified, two thieves were also crucified--one on each side of Christ. The religious leaders wanted everyone off their crosses before sundown. The two thieves were still living, so their legs were broken before being removed. But Christ was dead already, so His legs were not broken. People usually survived the slow torture of the cross for days before finally dying. Why did Christ die so quickly?

   

                 It was not the nails through His hands and feet that killed Christ.

                  It was the crushing weight of your sins and mine that killed Him.

     

      It was not the nails through His hands and feet that killed Christ. it was not the Roman soldiers who killed Christ. It was not the religious leaders who killed Christ.  It was your sins and mine that killed Him. You and I are responsible for the death of Jesus Christ. Everyone who has ever lived is responsible. It was our sins that caused His suffering and death. Jesus loves you so awesomely much that He was willing to take on Himself the death you deserve so that you can have the life He deserves! Jesus loves you that much! 

      Jesus had not been arrested yet.  He had not been whipped yet. He had not been nailed to the cross yet.  No one had touched Him yet, but He was suffering so much that blood was forced out of His face and fell in drops to the ground. You see, the death of Christ was not caused by the Jews, and it was not caused by the Romans.  The actual cause of His death was the crushing wight of the sins of the world--your sins and my sins.  We are guilty of His death.  It was for us that He prayed, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing"--as well as for the Roman soldiers and the religious leaders who wanted Him dead.  The mental anguish, the mental pain that Christ endured was so much greater than the physical pain that He cried out, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?"

     Sin had brought death and He, the Eternal One, choose to enter this world as a little baby boy, live a sinless life, and die in place of guilty sinners, such you and me.When morning came, the chief priests, and elders, and scribes, and the whole council tied Christ's hands and led Him to Governor Pilate's palace.  "Are you king of the Jews?" Pilate asked. "Yes, I am," Jesus replied. Pilate said to the chief priest and to the crowd, "I find no fault in this man." But the chief priests and elders shouted "He stirs up the people teaching throughout all Judea and Galilee." When Pilate heard of Galilee he asked if Jesus were a Galilean. As soon as he knew that Jesus belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod who was visiting Jerusalem at that time.  The sun was shining at its brightest. It was 12:00 noon. One of the criminals who was dying on a cross next to Jesus said, "If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us."  The other said, Do you not even fear God?"  He turned his head toward Jesus and said, Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom."  And Jesus said to him, "I say to you today, you will be with Me in Paradise."  Notice the paradox. Here was a man that was helplessly dying.  He could do absolutely nothing except to speak a few words before dying.  Yet this man found the secret to a life of ALL POWER.  And that secret removed his fear of death and filled him with a new freedom that he never thought he would ever find in a million years.

                 He could have wiped the great drops of blood from His forehead,

                               and left us to die. He could have gone free! 

In the garden of Gethsemane, Christ could have even then refused to die in our place. It was not yet too late. He could have wiped the great drops of blood from His forehead, and left us to die. He could have gone free. He could have said, "Let the guilty sinners receive the penalty of their own sin, and I will go back to My Father." He had that choice. He was innocent. He was sinless. He did not have to die. It was entirely His choice. He thought of you and me and made His final choice. He chose, if necessary, to be forever separated from God the Father. He made that choice for one reason and one alone. God loves you! It was love for those He made that guided His final decision.

     Sin had brought death, and He, the Eternal One, chose to enter this world as a little baby boy, live a sinless life, and die in place of guilty sinners such as you and me. 

 

           His final decision is made. He will accept the baptism of blood and spit and sweat and tears and shame. He will save you at any cost to Himself. In submission he trembles and prays, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done."

"And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly.  Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.  O My Father, if it is possible let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will. . . O My Father, if this cup annot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done."  Luke 22;44, Matthew 26:42.

      Soldiers, and religious officers from the chief priests and Pharisees came to the garden with lanterns and weapons. Jesus asked, "who are you looking for?" They said, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus said to them, "I am He," and an invisible angel pushed the troops back, forcing them to the ground. They looked up at Christ as he asked again,"who are you looking for?" and they answered again, "Jesus of Nazareth."

      "I have told you that I am He," Jesus replied, "so let my friends go free." Peter drew his sword and cut off the ear of a servant. Jesus reached up and touched the servant's ear and the blood stopped running down and the ear was healed.  "Do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will send Me more than twelve legions of angels?" Jesus asked Peter.

      Christ was first taken to Annas, Caiaphas's father-in-law, and then to Caiaphas, the high priest. Annas questioned Christ about His teachings. But Christ told him, "I spoke openly to the world. Why do you ask Me? Ask those who have heard me. They know what I said." When Jesus had said this, one of the officers standing by hit Jesus with his hand and demanded, "Do You answer the high priest like that?"

      Next Jesus was taken to the palace of Caiaphas, the high priest. The chief priests and all the council tried to find people to testify against Jesus so they could have an excuse for condemning Him to death. Several spoke, but their stories did not agree. Through all of this, Jesus kept silent. The high priest tried to get Christ to condemn himself. He asked Him the all-important question, "Are You the Messiah, the Son of God?" In answering, Christ knew He was sealing His own death sentence, but He answered, "I am, and you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven."

      The high priest tore his clothing in mock shock, shouting, "Blasphemy--what do you think?"  And they condemned Jesus to death. They blindfolded Him so he couldn't see, and then spat in His face and beat Him. Others struck Him with the palms of their hands, saying, "Prophesy to us, Christ! Who is the one who struck You?"

                    Peter, not infallible and never a pope, denied knowing Jesus

                        on three different occasions with cursing and swearing

      Herod was exceptionally happy to see Jesus, thinking that He would work some miracles for him.  He asked Jesus many, many questions, but Jesus didn't answer any of them.  The chief priest and scribes stood there shouting that Jesus deserved to die.

      Herod felt very angry that Jesus would not answer any of his questions and would not perform miracles for him. He thought that Christ would do anything to obtain His freedom. He was hopeful that Christ would entertain him by performing miracles like a magician or a clown at a birthday party. But Christ had nothing to say to the man who'd had John the Baptist beheaded. The very silence of Christ was the greatest rebuke that could have been given. Herod and his soldiers mocked Christ, dressing him in one of Herod's old kingly robes and sent Him back to Pilate.

      Pilate said, "Neither I nor Herod find any reason to put Him to death, I will therefore punish Jesus and release Him." It was a custom that one prisoner should be pardoned during Passover time. Pilate tried to take advantage of that custom and spoke to the crowd. "I have two prisoners and I will release one of them and let him go free. I will give you a choice between Christ, your king, and Barabbas, the murderer." Which one should I set free?" They all cried, "Barabbas!  Set Barabbas free and crucify Christ."

      Then Pilate's soldiers took Jesus into a building. They made a circle around Him and took off all His clothes. There He stood, completely naked. The soldiers took their whip, with pieces of metal embedded in it, and lashed His back until the blood flowed freely. Then they put a purple robe on Him. They twisted a crown of long, sharp thorns and jammed it down on His head--and placed a stick as a mock scepter in His right hand. They bowed their knees and mockingly worshiped Him, shouting, "all honor to you, King of the Jews!" Then they spit on Him and took the stick and struck Him on the head, driving the long sharp thorns into His head, causing blood to run down His face and beard. Then they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified.

      The soldiers stripped Him of His clothing again and, after crucifying Him, divided up His clothing among themselves. Christ lay down naked on the wooden cross. The soldiers drove nails through His hands and feet and then lifted the torture device, the cross, and let it fall into the hole prepared for it. This caused the most extreme pain to the Savior of the world.

                The wounds made by the nails tore the flesh in His hands and His feet 

 

       The wounds made by the nails tore the flesh in His hands and His feet as the cross thudded to the bottom of the hole prepared for it. The nail wounds gaped, and blood drops landed on the earth beneath the cross.  Christ prayed "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do."

      Rulers, religious leaders, people and soldiers passed by the cross, mocking Him and saying, "If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross. You trusted in God--so let Him deliver Him now if He will save Him, for He said I am the Son of God."  Even the robbers who were crucified with Him said the same thing. "If you are the King of the Jews, save Yourself."

      A sign was placed over Him--written in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew--that said: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

                  A dying thief found the key, the secret to a life of ALL POWER!

       All of a sudden the sun seemed to be blotted out of the sky. From noon until 3:00 p.m. there was a strange darkness over all the Land. And about 3:00 p.m. Jesus cried out with a loud voice saying "My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?" Psalm 22:1. Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, "Father into Your hands I commit My spirit." And then He breathed His last. Immediately, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom by the unseen hands of an angel.

      The leader of the soldier guard had heard Christ speak to the dying thief. He had watched as the sun was blotted out for three hours.  He had just felt the earthquake that had thrown him to the ground, and he knew that this was truly the death of the King of kings.  He felt he must share these feelings as he said, "This was truly the Son of God."

      Christ's last cry on the cross revealed the real cause of His death. The mental pain of being separated from God, the Father and carrying the mental and emotional pain of all the billions of people who would ever live was so much greater than His physical pain that it killed Him. He was killed by the weight of your sins and mine. The sins of the entire human race crushed out His Life. He died of a broken heart and, without the additional strength from the angel in the garden, would have lost His life before reaching the Cross. He would have been crushed by sin while He was still in the garden of Gethsemane sweating "great drops of blood." Christ took your pain that you might have His victory. He wants you to share His throne with Him forever. He "who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne." Revelation 3:21.

  

      Why did the King of the universe leave His home to come to Planet Earth?  Why did He choose to become a human--a little baby boy--and then grow up with the religious leaders hating Him? Why did He allow His enemy, Lucifer, to bring Him pain and suffering? Why did He allow those He made to spit on Him without retaliation? Why did He suffer the ultimate humiliation of dying naked on two pieces of wood--on "The old rugged cross"--hanging between heaven and earth?  It was out of love for you.  And it was out of love for me.  If you had been the only sinner who needed a bridge over "the valley of death," God would have done it for you alone.

      What would it be worth to you to have Jesus Christ in your home today?  I mean to have Him really come walking up to your door and knock on it.

     What would you do if Jesus Christ, who loves you personally so incredibly much, walked up to your door and offered you a crown?  What if He said  "_____________," (and imagine your name in the blank--because He knows you by name!)  "I just stopped by to bring you this crown.  It is a much finer crown than has ever been worn by any king.  Also I am inviting you to come to my house--to My mansion. I have a special place of honor for you."

      "To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne." Revelation 3:21. "In My Father's house are many mansions." John 14:2, KJV.

      What would you do?  I know what I would do--I would shout with joy!  I would be excited!  If you accept Jesus as your bridge over "the valley of death," He will one day be just that physically close.  The Bible, God's Word, says that every person is a sinner. It says that sin is disobedience to God's Ten Commandment law. It also says that everyone must die because the just penalty for sin is death. There is a law that says that weight keeps an object on the ground. That law is the law of gravity. Yet we have discovered another law, the law of aerodynamics, which overcomes the law of gravity and allows very heavy objects, like airplanes, to fly through the sky.

                The power that overcomes gravity is the power of aerodynamics.                           

The only power that overcomes sin is Jesus Christ!

      People are trying every other option. Many of the other attempts to overcome sin have good sounding religious names. But the only problem is they don't work. The only one that works is Jesus Christ.

      It was Jesus who said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me." If you want to go to California or Florida, you had better get on the right highway. If you want to get eternal life, Jesus Christ is that highway.  If it is truth you are after, you will find truth when you choose Christ. If it is life that you want, you will find that in knowing Christ. It is Christ who says "I am the way, the truth and the life." John 14:6.

      Jesus says, "For God so loved_______________(say your name here) that He gave His one and only Son, that (by believing) in Him you should not die but have eternal life." John 3:16

                                  Prayer is just talking to God as to a friend. 

      When anyone offers you a gift, you have a choice. You can either take it or reject it. The thief on the cross chose to accept it. He asked Jesus to give him the gift of eternal life. If you have never asked for the gift of eternal life and want this wonderful gift, all you have to do is ask Jesus for it in prayer. Prayer is just talking to God as to a friend. God wants you to talk to Him every day. He wants to be your friend every day. To begin your friendship with God, you must invite Jesus Christ to be your Savior from sin. You must ask Him for forgiveness for your past sin. He says, "Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool." "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Isaiah 1:18; 1 John 1:9.

       God offers us abundant life and a new beginning.  

Pray this prayer--and eternal life begins right now! 

     Dear Father, forgive me for my life of sin. I invite Jesus into my heart to be my Savior from sin. You promised that when I do this that you make me 'clean' I believe You, and thank Jesus for cleaning my life and coming into my life right now. In Jesus name Amen."

If you prayed that prayer, and meant it, you have just become a "born again" child of God--you are accepted as a part of the family of God. (SEE LUKE 15:21, 24) Now continue choosing Christ to be your daily Friend and Strength and you will grow in strength, in knowledge, in peace, and in joy! Jesus tells us that, "no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." John 3:3.

Now that you have been "born again," let Jesus write His law in your heart. Hebrews 8:10.

Continue following Him, and you will one day sit with Christ on His throne. Revelation 3:21. You have just begun a life of ALL POWER!

To maintain your life of ALL POWER you must:

1. Let Jesus talk to you through daily Bible Study.

2. Pray--talk to God, as to a friend, regularly throughout the day.

3. Help others find what you have found--a life of ALL POWER with Jesus Christ, the King of kings. Begin sharing your new faith today.  One good way to do that is to purchase extra copies of Prophecy Made Easy for family, friends, and others. "The seed is the word of God" Luke 8:11. This little book is like a little acorn. There is an oak tree inside every little acorn.  Plant this little book in the minds of your family and friends by faith, and be amazed at the power you have released into their lives.  Also see SEVEN STEPS TO A LIFE OF ALL POWER in section 34 of  this internet version of Prophecy Made Easy.  http://www.prophecymadeeasy.com/chapter34.htm.  Section 34 is not an original section of Prophecy Made Easy but has been added on the internet to help many with more questions about how to follow Jesus in "A Life of All Power."

 

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