Who protested the death of Christ? Who spoke out against this injustice? Who came to His defense? The answer is no one. He was only a young man in His early 30's when He died. though He had done no wrong; no one spoke up for Jesus. We want to savor all God has for each of us this morning.
Justice is hard to come by in this world. Courts do make mistakes and sometimes innocent people suffer for crimes they did not commit. That’s what happened to Jesus. He died a criminal’s death. this was Jesus, no one spoke up for Him. Though He had done no wrong, uttered no threats, committed no crime, and had hurt no one, the powers that be decided that He had to die. So, they trumped up charges against Him, shuffled Him from one hearing to another, and in the end, they got what they wanted.
Sometimes courts make mistakes, He died a criminal’s death, hanging between two thieves. He was only a young man in His early 30s when He died. No one spoke up for Jesus. Jesus finished all He came to do. Only one person in history never left behind any unfinished business. His name is Jesus Christ. He is the only person who could come to the end of His life and say—with absolute and total truthfulness— “I have finished everything I set out to do.”
Extraordinary events marked the death of Jesus. The sky was completely dark for three hours as Jesus hung on the cross. Now of his last breath, the earth shook, the temple curtain split from top to bottom, and the tombs of saints opened, and their bodies raised from the dead.
No one spoke up for Jesus because no one could speak up. The Jewish leaders were so enraged with Jesus that they were determined to kill him. Fueled by fear and jealousy over a Galilean rabbi they could not control and did not understand, they paid off Judas, arrested Jesus at night, put him through six hearings before morning, and then stood by as the Romans put him to death. He was cut off, Isaiah says. He died before his time.
He was only a young man, in his early 30s when he died. No one spoke up for Jesus. When a man dies young, we think of all he might have accomplished, the songs that might have been composed, books that might have been written, and amazing discoveries that might have been made. “He might have won a Nobel Prize.” “She might have been our first female president.” “He might have won an Oscar.” “She might have been a superstar.” And on goes the sad speculation about what might have been. That may be our worst fear . . . that we will die before our time. We die too young. Or we die too soon . . . Or we die with our work unfinished . . . Or we die with our dreams unfulfilled. You can’t say that about Jesus. What else did he have left to accomplish? He was put to death for the transgression of his own people.
The Only Righteous Man. All of this happened even though Jesus was innocent. He had done no violence. He committed no sin. He told no lies. It’s hard for us to grasp how amazing this is because we have nothing to compare to it. That is, we don’t exactly know what being “sinless” is because all of us are sinners. He was pure, holy, and perfect in every way. He never sinned, not even one time. Though he was severely tempted, he never gave in. All the rest of us fall so far short that we cannot begin to be compared to him. He is the only righteous man ever to walk this earth. And we crucified him. His reward for doing God’s will was a bloody Roman cross. Here is the wonder of grace at work. From the murder of a perfect man came God’s plan to rescue humanity. Christ died for us while we were still” sinners.
Jesus finished all He came to do. Only one person in history never left behind any unfinished business. His name is Jesus. Christ. He is the only person who could come to the end of his life and say—with absolute and total truthfulness— “I have finished everything I set out to do.” Just before Jesus died, he cried out, “It is finished” (John 19:30). Note that he did not say, “I am finished,” for that would imply that he died defeated. Rather, he cried out “It is finished,” meaning “I successfully completed the work I came to do.” It is the Savior’s cry of victory.
Who Will Take the Son: A Poignant Story, Yet Inspiring!
A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael. They would often sit together and admire the great works of art.
One day the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in battle while saving another soldier. The father was notified and grieved deeply for his only child.
About a month later, there was a knock at the door. A young man stood there with a large package in his hands. He said, “Sir, you don’t know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart, and he died instantly. He often talked about you and your love of art.” The young man held out his package. “I know this isn’t much. I’m not a great artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to have this.”
The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by the young man. The father stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the personality of his son in the painting. The father was so drawn to the eyes that his own eyes welled up with tears. He thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the pictures. “Oh, no, sir. I could never repay what your son did for me. It is a gift.”
The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came to his home; he took them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected.
The man died a few months later. There was to be a great auction of his paintings. Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing the great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for their collection. On the platform sat the painting of the man’s son. The auctioneer pounded the gavel. “We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who will bid for this picture?” There was silence. Then a voice in the back of the room shouted, “We want to see the famous paintings. Skip that one.” But the auctioneer persisted. “Will someone bid for this painting? Who will start the bidding? $100. $200?”
Another voice shouted angrily. “We didn’t come to see this painting. We came to see the Van Goughs, the Rembrandts. Get on with the real bids.” But still the auctioneer continued. “The son! Who will take the son?”
Finally, a voice came from the back of the room. It was the longtime gardener of the man and his son. “I’ll give $10 for the painting.” Being a poor man, it was all he could afford. “We have $10, who will bid $20?”
“Give it to him for $10! Let’s see the masters.” But the auctioneer continued. “$10 is the bid, won’t someone bid $20?” The crowd was becoming angry. They didn’t want the picture of the son. They wanted the more “worthy” investments for their collections. The auctioneer pounded the gavel. “Going once, twice, SOLD for $10!”
A man sitting on the second row shouted, “Now let’s get on with the collection!” But the auctioneer laid down his gavel. “I’m sorry, the auction is over.”
“What about the paintings?”
“I am sorry. When I was called to conduct the auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the will. I was not allowed to reveal that stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate, including the paintings. The man who took the son gets everything.”
God gave his son over 2000 years ago to die on a cruel cross. Much like the auctioneer, His message today is, “The Son, the Son, who will take the Son?” Because, you see, whoever takes the Son gets everything!”
Blessings
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