The sermon is offered in a full outline as well as a one page version
- Imagining opening up the book of Matthew and finding that this book is 2,000 pages long.
- We then turn to Mark we see that this account of Jesus’ life is also 2,000 pages long.
- The book of Luke is another 2,000 pages.
- Then we come to John and it is 2,400 pages long.
IT HAS BEEN ESTIMATED THAT THE FOUR RECORDS OF JESUS’ LIFE COULD EASILY EXCEED MORE THAN 8,400 PAGES.
a) About 20% of what the 4 authors of Jesus’ life said deals with the final three days of Jesus’ life.
b) If these writers had written the same amount of information about Jesus’ 3 ½ year ministry,
c) The 4 accounts of the Lord’s life would be more than 8,400 pages long.
2) Using 20% of the gospels to discuss Jesus’ final three days and this fact is significant.
3) Jesus’ final three days on the earth were a time when some of the greatest events in the world took place.
a) One of these events took place on Calvary.
b) When we think about who Jesus is we must say He was someone who was born to die.
c) In Mt. 20:28 Jesus said He came to give His life as a “ransom” for many.
d) In Mk. 9:12 Jesus said it was “written” that He was to be rejected and suffer.
4) Many times before we partake of the Lord’s Supper we read some portion of Isa. 53 read.
a) This Old Testament prophet said the Lord would be “numbered with transgressors” (Isa. 53:12).
b) Thousands of years had led up to what took place on a cross about 2000 years ago.
c) Because the cross was so central to God’s plan, Jesus’ final days make up about 1/5 of the gospels.
d) The gospels are written as we have them because man has a serious problem called sin and
e) Because Jesus is the solution to this problem.
5) In the opening chapters of the Bible we read about sin – Adam and Eve both sinned.
6) In the final chapters of the Bible we also read about sin.
7) As our English Bibles end, God says people are eternally condemned because of sin or forgiven.
8) One of God’s most popular messages to the world throughout time has involved sin sin.
9) Sin was a common subject for Old Testament prophets.
10) One of the great passages in the Old Testament is Isa. 59:1-2.
a) We heard this for our scripture reading – sin separates people from God.
b) Sin causes (figuratively speaking) God to “hide his face” from people.
11) Eph. 2:13 says sin causes people to be “afar off from God.”
Jesus was willing to go to the cross and “made peace” with His sacrifice (Eph. 2:15).
a) This “peace” is something that man really needs.
b) Judg. 16:20 says the “Lord departed from Samson.”
c) This departure was due to sin.
d) The Old Testament tells of how the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul (1 Sam. 16:14).
e) This was also due to sin.
12) In life our physical bodies can absorb some deadly items in small amounts and still be okay.
13) There are other times which will destroy us, even if the amount is very, very small.
14) Sin is so powerful that the smallest amount of it will completely destroy our eternal spirit.
a) Think of Gen. 3:6 – Eve saw the forbidden fruit and ate of it.
b) The Bible does not say this fruit was an apple – we do not know what the forbidden fruit was.
c) We can, however, know a couple of things for certain.
d) How many pieces of fruit did Eve need to eat before she was guilty of sin?
e) Most have enough sense to realize that one piece of fruit was all she needed to eat to sin.
f) Eve did not need to ingest a bushel basket full of this fruit to be affected and infected by sin.
g) If only one piece was required, did Eve need to eat the entire piece of fruit? No.
h) The first bite was all that was necessary for Eve to be permanently stung by sin.
15) Can we imagine how powerful something is that just a single taste of it destroys us?
16) This is what the Bible teaches about sin in the opening chapters of the Bible.
17) This point is not limited to Gen. 3; it is also taught in Gen. 19.
a) Gen. 19 is the place where we read about Lot and his family.
b) Heavenly beings showed up and said some cities were going to be destroyed.
c) Lot and his family needed to flee to safety.
d) Lot “lingered” (Gen. 19:16) and the Bible says the heavenly beings “laid hold on his hand.”
e) When heavenly beings say “it is time to go,” it is time to go.
f) The heavenly visitors said those leaving were not supposed to look back.
18) This point is specifically made in Gen. 19:17 – READ
19) When God says “do not do something” and people do it, they are guilty of sin (they break God’s law).
20) It does not take much effort to sin; we all break God’s laws at one time or another.
21) The people with Lot knew what was said, but Lot’s wife decided to look back – Gen. 19:26 – READ
a) How many looks did Lot’s wife need to take before she was guilty of sin? Just one.
b) Like the fruit eaten by Eve (and Adam), only the minutest amount of sin makes us guilty before God.
22) A lot of people in life think they are going to be okay because they are not murderers and bank robbers.
23) Eve and Lot’s wife were not bank robbers and murderers.
24) These two women, by our standards, were guilty of small things.
25) How could eating a piece of fruit and taking a look back at one’s home be that big of a deal?
26) The answer is that these actions were a violation of God’s will.
27) These small acts were enough to dirty their soul to the point where they needed forgiveness.
28) If they did not obtain forgiveness, they will be eternally separated from God.
29) Lest someone walk away and think I only used ladies for illustrations, let’s turn to males for a moment.
a) It is true that women have been guilty of small things that made them guilty before God.
b) Men have been and are just as guilty.
c) In 2 Sam. 6 we read of how the Ark of the Covenant was being transported.
d) 2 Sam. 6:6 says the “oxen stumbled.”
e) This is a story that we can understand without difficulty.
30) Imagine if we transporting something like a glass window.
31) The glass started to tip and we could see that it was about to fall.
32) Our natural reaction would be to reach out and try to prevent an accident.
a) Let’s suppose that we were told before we started out that we were not authorized to touch the glass.
b) Everything is going fine until right towards the last and our glass begins to fall.
c) Many would still have a natural tendency to reach out and try to prevent the accident.
33) We might act before we think about the instruction to not touch the glass.
34) Uzzah was not entitled to touch the ark, but he reached out when the oxen stumbled.
35) Today some would compliment him.
a) Some would say, “Yes, he was not authorized to touch the ark. An accident was about to happen.”
b) “Uzzah prevented the accident and his actions are commendable.”
c) This is now how this story reads – 2 Sam. 6:6-7 – READ
d) Sin comes from the smallest of things and sin is serious, serious business.
36) Men sin and women sin. In some cases husbands and wives sin together.
37) Do we remember the story about Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1-11?
a) This husband and wife were both Christians and these church members are important.
b) Some would look at the preceding references and say, “Those are all Old Testament passages.”
c) “In the New Testament we find all kinds of grace and mercy associated with God.
38) There was grace and mercy in the Old Testament and the New Testament does not excuse small sins.
a) Acts 5 says Ananias (the husband) lied about a contribution to the church.
b) His wife came in a little later; she also lied and died.
39) Our world thinks that many lies are insignificant; some think that some lies are actually good.
40) The smallest lie is enough to eternally separate us from God.
a) Teresa and I recently learned about someone who got a speeding ticket (not a member here).
b) The ticket was issued for going just 5 mph over the speed limit.
c) Some of the comments about the ticket were, “I can’t believe they issued a ticket for 5 miles over.”
41) We often have a hard time seeing “little things” (small sins) as “big things.”
42) God does not see things as we do.
43) Any sin is a “big thing” –Jesus had to go to the cross for what we think of big sins as well as small sins.
44) What the Lord did was truly spectacular.
45) Listen to 2 Cor. 8:9 – – READ
a) Through Christ we become “rich.”
b) A lot of people think of “rich” in secular terms.
c) If we have more money than we can ever spend, then some think they are rich.
46) Some would say a rich man is someone who:
47) He has 7 cars, one for every day of the week.
48) He has homes in a dozen places throughout the world.
49) He has private jets that are always at his disposal.
50) He is surrounded by personal assistants, maids, aids, and advisors.
51) This man also has more money than 100 people could spend.
52) Such a man might be regarded as rich by the world, but he is really one of the poorest men who has ever lived.
53) Unless this man has been washed in the blood of the lamb, he really has nothing.
a) Every single sin he has committed will be brought up on the day of judgment.
b) When this man’s life ends, how rich will he be? He will have lost it all.
c) I submit that people as I just described are among the poorest people in the world.
54) The person who has been cleansed from every single sin is rich beyond words, 2 Cr. 8.
55) Part of the wealth in Christ is found in the fact that God never wants to give up on people.
56) Adam and Eve broke the first rule God gave to man, but God did not quit on them.
57) Sarah laughed about the idea of having a child, but God did not turn from her.
58) Moses went into hiding for quite a while, but God didn’t forsake him.
59) David plotted against Uriah and had him killed, but God did not turn away from David.
60) The nation of Israel was destroyed, but God did not forget about the nation He had redeemed.
61) Peter denied the Lord, but Jesus did not count this sin as being too much to forgive.
62) Sin is man’s worst problem, Jesus came to cure that problem, and God is a persistent physician.
63) For thousands of years God has been in the business of curing men from sin.
64) Today as we assemble here: Have we received the proper treatment for this terrible problem?
65) The cross tells us that sin is man’s worst problem, but God has the cure for sin.
66) Sin promises liberty, but it brings slavery.
67) Sin appears to be attractive, but it is really ugly.
If you like this trimmed down outline, please check out my other materials, especially the NEW First Corinthians commentary available at www.abiblecommentary.com — this is really a GREAT commentary.
One page sermon outline:
Why Jesus went to the cross
a) When we think about who Jesus is we must say He was someone who was born to die.
b) In Mt. 20:28 Jesus said He came to give His life as a “ransom” for many.
c) In Mk. 9:12 Jesus said it was “written” that He was to be rejected and suffer.
2) Many times before we partake of the Lord’s Supper we read some portion of Isa. 53 read.
3) In the opening chapters of the Bible we read about sin – Adam and Eve both sinned.
4) One of the great passages in the Old Testament is Isa. 59:1-2.
a) Sin separates people from God.
b) Sin causes (figuratively speaking) God to “hide his face” from people.
5) Eph. 2:13 says sin causes people to be “afar off from God.”
Jesus was willing to go to the cross and “made peace” with His sacrifice (Eph. 2:15).
a) This “peace” is something that man really needs.
b) Judg. 16:20.
c) The Old Testament tells of how the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul (1 Sam. 16:14).
6) Sin is so powerful that the smallest amount of it will completely destroy our eternal spirit.
a) Think of Gen. 3:6 – Eve saw the forbidden fruit and ate of it.
b) How many pieces of fruit did Eve need to eat before she was guilty of sin?
c) Eve did not need to ingest a bushel basket full of this fruit to be affected and infected by sin.
d) The first bite was all that was necessary for Eve to be permanently stung by sin.
7) This point is not limited to Gen. 3; it is also taught in Gen. 19.
a) Lot “lingered” (Gen. 19:16) and the Bible says the heavenly beings “laid hold on his hand.”
b) The heavenly visitors said those leaving were not supposed to look back.
8) This point is specifically made in Gen. 19:17 – READ
9) When God says “do not do something” and people do it, they are guilty of sin (they break God’s law).
10) It does not take much effort to sin; we all break God’s laws at one time or another.
11) The people with Lot knew what was said, but Lot’s wife decided to look back – Gen. 19:26 – READ
a) How many looks did Lot’s wife need to take before she was guilty of sin? Just one.
12) A lot of people in life think they are going to be okay because they are not murderers and bank robbers.
13) Eve and Lot’s wife were not bank robbers and murderers.
a) Males have been and are just as guilty.
b) 2 Sam. 6:6 says the “oxen stumbled.”
14) Uzzah was not entitled to touch the ark, but he reached out when the oxen stumbled.
15) Today some would compliment him.
a) 2 Sam. 6:6-7 – READ
b) Sin comes from the smallest of things and sin is serious, serious business.
16) Men sin and women sin. In some cases husbands and wives sin together.
17) Do we remember the story about Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1-11?
18) Jesus had to go to the cross for what we think of big sins as well as small sins.
19) What the Lord did was truly spectacular. 2 Cor. 8:9 – – READ
a) Through Christ we become “rich.”
b) A lot of people think of “rich” in secular terms.
20) Sin is man’s worst problem, Jesus came to cure that problem, and God is a persistent physician.
21) For thousands of years God has been in the business of curing men from sin.
22) Today as we assemble here: Have we received the proper treatment for this terrible problem?
23) The cross tells us that sin is man’s worst problem, but God has the cure for sin.