Mark 15:29-32 "And they that passed
by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, thou that destroyest the
temple, and buildest it in three days, (30) Save thyself, and come
down from the cross. (31) Likewise also the chief priests mocking
said among themselves with the scribes, He saved others; himself he cannot
save. (32) Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the
cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with him
reviled him."
Come down and we will believe. Seeing is believing. Right? Isn't that what the world says? It has to be true if the world says it. Right?
Aren't you thankful that we have a better way of believing? It's called faith. When He sent His Holy Spirit into our hearts to regenerate us, God gave to us the wonderful gift of faith. He gave us the ability to see spiritual matters with our hearts that our eyes just cannot see. "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear." (Hebrews 11:3) By faith, we can take hold of Genesis 1:1 and know that before this universe was created, there was God. By faith, we can understand that God spoke this universe into existence when there was nothing else. God did not form this universe from something else, He spoke and it was created. Then He spoke and formed the world.
Why do I write of faith this morning? Those that had gathered to watch Jesus die were taunting Him to climb down from the cross. If you will perform the miracle of saving yourself, we will believe. That is wrong on so many different levels, but I want to address what I think to be the main reason Jesus did not come down from the cross. Jesus was not there to try to appease the chief priests and elders. Jesus was not hanging on the cross because they overpowered Him. He was not hanging on the cross because He was afraid of the Roman government. Jesus was on the cross because a divine appointment had been set even before the beginning of this universe. At the appointed time, Jesus was to come to this earth to give His life a ransom for His people.
In the physical sense, Jesus could have come off the cross. But we are not looking through physical eyes. It was not the nails nor the Roman soldiers that kept Jesus on the cross. A covenant had been made long before the day of which Mark is writing. A promise had been made between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to redeem the people of God. A covenant, or promised, people had been given to Jesus. Jesus had covenanted (promised) to die for them. The Holy Spirit covenanted to give them the new birth. Not one promise of God has ever failed. This promise would not fail either.
In a covenant sense, Jesus could not save Himself because He had promised to die on the cross. He would have gone against His very nature if He had come off the cross. In a covenant sense to His people, Jesus would not come off the cross. If Jesus had come off the cross, we would still be dead in trespasses and sins. We would have no hope whatsoever of heaven's glory; rather, we would all receive what we deserve - the eternal torment of hell. Because of God's amazing saving grace, we are children of God with heaven's home secured by the work of Christ Jesus. Aren't you thankful God is true to His Word?
Come down and we will believe. Seeing is believing. Right? Isn't that what the world says? It has to be true if the world says it. Right?
Aren't you thankful that we have a better way of believing? It's called faith. When He sent His Holy Spirit into our hearts to regenerate us, God gave to us the wonderful gift of faith. He gave us the ability to see spiritual matters with our hearts that our eyes just cannot see. "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear." (Hebrews 11:3) By faith, we can take hold of Genesis 1:1 and know that before this universe was created, there was God. By faith, we can understand that God spoke this universe into existence when there was nothing else. God did not form this universe from something else, He spoke and it was created. Then He spoke and formed the world.
Why do I write of faith this morning? Those that had gathered to watch Jesus die were taunting Him to climb down from the cross. If you will perform the miracle of saving yourself, we will believe. That is wrong on so many different levels, but I want to address what I think to be the main reason Jesus did not come down from the cross. Jesus was not there to try to appease the chief priests and elders. Jesus was not hanging on the cross because they overpowered Him. He was not hanging on the cross because He was afraid of the Roman government. Jesus was on the cross because a divine appointment had been set even before the beginning of this universe. At the appointed time, Jesus was to come to this earth to give His life a ransom for His people.
In the physical sense, Jesus could have come off the cross. But we are not looking through physical eyes. It was not the nails nor the Roman soldiers that kept Jesus on the cross. A covenant had been made long before the day of which Mark is writing. A promise had been made between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to redeem the people of God. A covenant, or promised, people had been given to Jesus. Jesus had covenanted (promised) to die for them. The Holy Spirit covenanted to give them the new birth. Not one promise of God has ever failed. This promise would not fail either.
In a covenant sense, Jesus could not save Himself because He had promised to die on the cross. He would have gone against His very nature if He had come off the cross. In a covenant sense to His people, Jesus would not come off the cross. If Jesus had come off the cross, we would still be dead in trespasses and sins. We would have no hope whatsoever of heaven's glory; rather, we would all receive what we deserve - the eternal torment of hell. Because of God's amazing saving grace, we are children of God with heaven's home secured by the work of Christ Jesus. Aren't you thankful God is true to His Word?