So Great a Price

Here are the completed notes from the Sunday Morning Worship service March 20, 2016:

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20
Supporting Scripture: Hebrews 10:5; Philippians 2:6-8; John 1:1-3, 14

1. Departure from Heaven

  • Hebrews 10:5
  • Philippians 2:7 – “Took upon Him the form of a servant”

2. Born as a Man – Philippians 2:7, 8

  • John 1:1-3, 14

3. Took upon Himself the Human Experience

A. “Jesus wept” – John 11:35
B. Hunger – Matthew 4:2b
C. Tiredness – John 4:6
D. Thirst – John 19:28
E. Death – Philippians 2:8

4. Ultimate Self-denial

A. Born in a stable – Luke 2:7
B. No reputation – Philippians 2:7
C. Humbled Himself – Philippians 2:8; John 13:

5. Experienced Adversity

A. Rejection – John 1:11
B. Betrayal – Mark 14:44-46
C. Abandonment – Mark 14:50
D. False accusations –Mark 14:55, 56; John 8:41
E. Denial – Mark 14:66-72

6. Direct Attacks by Satan

Luke 4:1-13
See verse 13 “He (the devil) departed from Him for a season”

7. The Agony of Gethsemane

  • Mt. of Olives is located East of Jerusalem
  • Garden of Gethsemane is located on the Western slope of the Mt. of Olives
  • A grove of olive trees
  • Mark 14:32-41
    He began to be sore amazed, and very heavy (vs.33)
    “Sore amazed” Distressed – to be alarmed, “to be struck with terror”
    “Very heavy” Troubled – extreme anguish, ill at ease, filled with unrest, uncomfortable within
    “My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death” (vs.34)
    His soul (his inner self-conscious life) was sorrowful (deeply grieved) even unto death
  • Luke 22:39-46
  • Being in agony (vs.44)
  • “Agony” (Word appears only here in the NT) Points to the intensity of Jesus struggle
    His sweat was as it were great drops of blood (vs.44)
    Bloody sweat – a rare physiological phenomenon

    • A rare but documented occurrence that happens under heavy emotional distress, Capillaries burst under stress and blood mingles with one’s perspiration, exiting through the sweat glands
    • Speaks of the intense spiritual agony Jesus was under
  • Luke 22:42 – “This cup”
  • In the OT God’s wrath and judgment are often pictured as a cup to be drunk – Isaiah 51:17; Jeremiah 49:12
  • The cup of being made to be sin for us – 2 Corinthians 5:21
  • That He might be spared the separation from His Father that being made sin would entail – Psalm 22:1
    • The prospect of alienation from His Father – the loss of His presence
    • Perfect communion with the Father broken for the first and only time
    • God’s wrath against all the sin and rebellion of all the men and women through all ages being poured upon Him
  • When Jesus went to the cross He bore both aspects of death for sinners
  • Christ experienced physical death – Matthew 27:50
    • Jesus endured spiritual death on the cross, that is separation of His soul from the Father
    • The evidence is seen in His cry, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” – Matthew 27:45
  • The penalty for sin is eternal separation from God. This eternal separation is called “the second death” (Revelation 20:14)

8. Physical Abuse, Crucifixion, Mocking and Separation

A. Physical Abuse

1- Abuse by the Religious Leaders
Abuse began before His being handed over to Rome – Matthew 26:67, 68

2- Scourged – Matthew 27:26 (Approx. 8AM)
OT Prophecy NT Fulfillment
Isaiah 50:6 Be scourged Matthew 27:26

  • A Roman scourge was a short wooden handle with numerous long lashes of leather attached to it
  • Each leather strip had a sharp piece of glass, metal, bone or other hard object attached to the end of it
  • The victim would be striped of clothing and tied to a post by His wrists with his hands high over his head
  • Lashes would be delivered across the back and buttocks with extreme force
  • The skin would literally be torn away, and often muscles were deeply lacerated
  • Scourging would leave a back a mass of bleeding wounds and quivering muscles
  • Scourging alone was sometime fatal (some would die of shock)

3- Crowned with thorns – Matthew 27:29

4- Spit on and struck on the head (after being crowned with thorns) – vs. 30
OT Prophecy NT Fulfillment
Isaiah 50:6 Be spit upon Matthew 27:39-44

B. Crucifixion – Matthew 27:35 (Approx. 9AM)

  • In Jesus’ day, the cross was a concrete and vivid reality.
  • It was an instrument of execution reserved for Rome’s worst enemies.
  • It has been estimated that some 30,000 crucifixions occurred under Roman authority during the lifetime of Christ
  • Crucifixion occurred in a public location (made a public spectacle)
  • Nailed to the cross – nail used were similar to a railroad spike but much sharper

OT Prophecy NT Fulfillment
Psalm 22:16 Piercing of hands and feet Mark 15:25

  • As the cross was dropped into the ground, the victim would experience wrenching pain throughout the body, as major joints were suddenly twisted out of their natural position (See Psalm 22:14)
  • Waves of nausea, fever, intense thirst, constant cramps, throbbing pain
  • Death normally came through slow suffocation
  • The victim’s body would hang in such a way that the diaphragm was severely constricted
  • In order to exhale, he would have to push up and he would die from lack of oxygen
  • Searing pain as tissue is torn from his lacerated back as He pushes up and comes down against the timber of the cross

C. Mocking

A. Prior to the cross – Matthew 27:27-31
B. While hanging on the cross – Matthew 27:39-44
OT Prophecy NT Fulfillment
Psalm 22:7, 8 Be mocked Matthew 27:39-44

Additional Information:

  • Marred more than any man – Isaiah 52:14
    Isaiah 52:14 – As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:
    Paraphrase from the Living Bible . . . “They shall see My servant beaten and bloodied, so disfigured one would scarcely know it was a person standing there.”
  • Beard plucked from His face – Isaiah 50:6
    Isaiah 50:6 – I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.

D. Separation – “ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI”

Scripture: Matthew 27:46 (Anguished cry)
See Psalm 22:1, 14-18 (Psalm 22 offers a vivid account of Jesus death, centuries before He went to the cross)
“ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI” – Aramaic (Possibly used because our Saviors birth language captures our attention and comes closet to representing the deepest sense of Jesus’ anguish of soul.
“My God” – Only time Jesus referred to the Father as God

  • Outpouring of Divine wrath upon Him – Forsaken, deserted, abandon, alienated
    Why did the Father forsake Jesus?
    God the Father forsook His Son then, so that He might never have to forsake us now
  • See 2 Corinthians 5:21 – At this moment, God the Father poured on Christ all the sins of mankind, from the beginning of time to the ending of time. Romans 5:8, 9
    God is holy – separate from sin, absolutely pure
  • The weight of our sin was borne all alone by Christ, separated from the presence of the Father
    Romans 3:23; James 2:10; John 3:36

9. So Great a Price, Since He had a Choice

Matthew 26:51-54 “Twelve legions of angels”
Applications:

  • Greater understanding of the magnitude of God’s love for you – John 3:16
  • Since so a great price has been paid for your forgiveness, receive Him today as your Lord and Savior
  • Believers Specifically
    • You are no longer your own, you are bought with a price – 1 Corinthians 6:19b
    • Glorify God in your body and in your spirit and in whatsoever you do – 1 Corinthians 6:20; 10:3