My Blood for the Remission of Sins - Jesus' Most Outrageous Sayings Part 3

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Well, you know, the year was 1497.
That's five years after Columbussailed the ocean blue and on the
walls of the Santa Mariamonastery in Milan, Italy,
Leonardo DaVinci painted what isconsidered today.
One of the greatest works of artin Western civilization, it's
called the last supper.

(00:21):
That is, there was a depictionof the last meal that Jesus ate
with his disciples before hewent to the cross.
Now, we want to talk about thelast supper today, because it
was at this meal that Jesus saidone of the most outrageous
things that anyone has eversaid.
Remember that we're in a studyhere, a series called Jesus's

(00:43):
most outrageous sayings.
What we're doing is looking at12 of the most radical things
that Jesus ever said while hewas here on earth and we're
taking a week on each one ofthose sayings.
And we're asking the question,well, what did he mean?
And so what for our lives nowwe've already done two of these
and you can get the tape for theCD in our bookstore today.

(01:05):
We're ready for outrageoussaying number three.
And so if you brought a Bible,I'd like to ask you to turn to
Matthew chapter 26, the firstbook in the new Testament,
Matthew 26.
And if you're here in our mainauditorium and you don't have a
Bible reach under the arm restright next to your chair, and
you'll find the Bible we'regoing to be on page 7 0 3 and

(01:27):
our copy of the Bible page 7 0 3in our coffee, Matthew 26 in
your copy.
And in his painting, the scenethat Leonardo DaVinci was trying
to depict for us is found herein Matthew 26, beginning at
verse 17.
So let's look at it together.
And I'm reading from verse 17.
The disciples came to Jesus andasked, where do you want us to

(01:51):
prepare for you to eat thePassover?
So the disciples did as Jesusdirected them and prepare the
Passover.
And when evening had come, Jesuswas reclining at the table with
the 12 disciples.
Now friends, there's only oneproblem with Leonardo's
painting.
And that is it's historicallyinaccurate.

(02:14):
You see this was a Passovermeal, it was a Passover Seder.
And we know from Jewish writingsat the time of Christ, number
one, that people at a PassoverSeder did not sit on chairs as
in Leonardo's painting.
But actually as the verse inMatthew 26 says they reclined on

(02:35):
the floor, leaning on a pillowwith their left elbow and eating
with their right hand.
We also know number two, thatthe table was not long and
straight as in Leonardo'spainting, it was actually shaped
in a U shape, like a horseshoe.
Third.
We know that Jesus would nothave sat at the middle of the
table as in the painting, butrather would have sat on the

(02:58):
right side of the horseshoe isyou're looking at it.
And finally, we know that thedisciples and Jesus would have
been eating unleavened breadmatzah, and not the little
things that look like Dunkindonuts that are on the table
there in Leonardo's painting.
It was a good try though, byLeonardo, it was a good try.

(03:19):
Now it was here at the Passovermeal that Jesus said one of the
most outrageous things that hehas ever said, look at verse 28
with me, then Jesus took thecup, gave thanks and said, this
cup represents my blood, whichis shed on behalf of many for

(03:39):
the remission of sins.
The word here translatedremission literally means for
the cancellation of sins for therelease of sins, for the pardon
of sins.
So what is Jesus really claiminghere at the last supper?
Well, he's claiming that hisblood soon to be shed on the
cross would provide the way forpeople like you and me to have

(04:02):
our sins pardoned, to have ourguilt released and to have the
penalty for our sin canceled inthe sight of a holy God.
Now I don't know about you, butI think that's a pretty
outrageous thing to claim.
And yet that's exactly whatJesus claim you said.
Well, Lorna, I don't understandhow does the blood of Jesus

(04:24):
Christ shed on the cross createa way for all of this to happen
for me?
Well, that's a great question.
And so let's answer it friends.
It's no accident that Jesus saidthese words in the middle of
celebrating the Jewish feast ofPassover.
Because when we understand theevents of Passover that happened

(04:45):
in Egypt, 3,500 years ago, weimmediately understand the
dynamics of what Jesus said hereat the last supper.
So let's look back at thePassover back in Egypt when the
Israelites of course were stillslaves before Moses led them
out.
And when we look at the eventsof the Passover, we find three
spiritual truths that are beingtaught there that Jesus refers

(05:09):
to with the last supper truth.
Number one is that God is a Godof justice and he demands a
penalty for sin.
You know, the Egyptians haddisregarded God.
They had resisted him anddisobeyed him.
When he said, let my people go,God had been very patient with
them, but his patients had runout.
And now here in the Passover, heis about to exact a terrible

(05:33):
penalty for their sinfulrebellion, Exodus chapter 11,
verse one.
Now the Lord said to Moses, Iwill bring one more plague on
Pharaoh and on Egypt aboutmidnight, I will go through
Egypt and every firstborn son inEgypt will die from the first
born son of Pharaoh who sits onthe throne to the firstborn son

(05:56):
of the slave and her hand millfriends.
The first thing that we need tounderstand is that God is the
same today.
As he was back there in Egypt,he is still a God of justice who
judges sin and the people who doit.
Now, the second spiritual truthwe learned from the Passover is

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that God is also a God of mercybecause as such, God made a way
of deliverance from this penaltyback there in Egypt.
And this truth is still alsovalid today.
God is still a God of mercy whooffers a way out of this
judgment for sin to you, to me,and to every person alive on

(06:37):
this earth.
And the third spiritual truththat we learned in the Passover
is that God's way of deliveranceis based always on a blood
covering Exodus chapter 12.
Listen, each man God said is totake a lamb.
You are to slaughter that lambat Twilight.
Then you shall take his flawedand put it on the sides.

(06:59):
And top of the doorframe of yourhouse, verse 12 of that chapter.
And on that same night, I willpass through Egypt and I will
strike down every firstborn, butthis flood will be a sign on the
houses that you are in.
And when I see the blood, I willhere comes the name of the

(07:19):
feast.
I will pass over you.
No destructive plague will touchyou.
When I execute judgment onEgypt, you see the Passover
lamb, the blood of the Passoverlamb on the doorpost of those
houses served as a covering.
It served as a protectiveshield.

(07:40):
If you will, against thejudgment of God against this
10th plague in Egypt.
And remember what God's promisewas God's promise was when I see
you hiding behind the blood, notwhen I see that your Israelites
or when I see that yoursynagogue members are that
you've been bar mitzvah'd orthat you're trying hard to be

(08:00):
good people.
God's deliverance that night inEgypt had nothing to do with
race, creed, nationality, oreducation.
It had nothing to do with goodworks, religious activity,
socioeconomic standing, orkeeping the 10 commandments,
which, oh, by the way, weren'teven written yet.
But if they hadn't been written,it wouldn't have had a thing to

(08:21):
do with that.
The issue simply is who wascovered by the blood of the
Passover lamb, who was hidingbehind the blood of the Passover
lamb.
Now, do we all see that?
Do we all see that?
Do I need to go back and say allthat again?
No.
Good.
Okay.
Cause I don't have enough time.
We all understand that.

(08:42):
Now.
How does that all that relate toJesus and what he said at the
last suffer?
Well, the new Testament saysfirst Corinthians chapter five,
verse seven, that Christ ourPassover lamb has sacrificed for
us.
And what the Bible is telling usis that when we, as sinful human
beings today take refuge behindJesus Christ, blood just as

(09:07):
those Hebrews hid behind theblood of the Passover lamb that
night in Egypt.
So long ago, the Bible says thatwe are protected from God's
judgment against our sin in thesame way that those Hebrews were
protected.
Except that now the blood thatwe're talking about is not the
blood of some literal physicalPassover lamb, but it is the

(09:31):
blood of the ultimate Passoverlamb, the Messiah, the Lord,
Jesus Christ himself.
And this is what Jesus wastalking about at the last
supper.
This is why John the Baptistpointed to him and said, behold,
the Passover lamb of God whotakes away the sin of the world,

(09:52):
you said lawn, are you sureyou're not reading too much into
this?
You know, I mean, all this bloodthing sounds a little gruesome
to me, friends, the blood ofJesus is not gruesome.
The blood of Jesus is wonderful.
And let me tell you why, becausethe Bible says first John, one
seven, the blood of Jesus Christcleanses us from all sin.
The Bible says Hebrews nine,verse 12, by his own blood.

(10:15):
He, Jesus obtained eternalredemption for us.
The Bible says first Peterchapter one verse 18 for you
were not redeemed from yourworthless way of life with
perishable things like silver orgold, but with the precious
blood of Christ, a lamb withoutblemish or defect, the Bible

(10:37):
says Colossians one, verse 14 inJesus Christ.
We have redemption through hisblood, the forgiveness of sins,
revelation chapter five, versenine, calls Jesus.
The one who loved us and hasredeemed us to God by his blood
Romans chapter five, verse nine,we have been justified.

(10:58):
The Bible says by Jesus's bloodRomans chapter three, verse 25
says we get atonement for oursins through faith in reliance,
on Jesus's blood.
And finally, there are manymore, but one more that I'll
just point out to you.
Revelation seven verse 14 saysthat the people who are in
heaven are those who have washedtheir robes and made them white

(11:22):
in the blood of the lamb.
You see folks, every oldTestament, Jewish feast was
intended by God to be symbolic.
It was intended by God to teachus some facet regarding the life
in the work of the Messiah.
And Passover was designed toteach us about God's plan of

(11:42):
salvation God's plan ofdeliverance.
Salvation is simply a matter ofabandoning.
Every other remedy imaginable topay for our before a holy God
and hiding instead behind theblood of Jesus Christ, like the
Hebrews hid behind the blood ofthe Passover lamb 3,500 years

(12:03):
ago with the confidence thatGod's promise is as good today
as it was 3,500 years ago.
And what was his promise?
When I see you hiding behind theblood, I will pass over you in
judgment.
I will not exact the penalty forsin from you that my justice

(12:27):
demands.
I exact from everybody else whois not hiding behind the blood.
That's the lesson of Passover.
And that's what Jesus wastalking about at the last
supper.
Now that's, as far as we want togo in our passage, because it's
time for us to ask our mostimportant question and we all
know what that is true.
Okay.

(12:47):
Are you ready?
Okay, nice and loud here.
Come on now.
1, 2, 3.
Hi.
Yeah.
Say lawn SOA.
Say that's great.
Good preaching man.
Way to go.
But what difference does thatmake in my life?
Well, let's talk about that.
You know, there are some wordsin life that I would call life
altering words.

(13:09):
Let me give you a couple ofthem.
Marriage to life, altering word,pregnant life, altering word,
homeowner, life, altering, word,bootcamp, life altering word
there, retirement, um,scholarship.

(13:29):
We parents love that lifealtering word.
Now I've got one more that Iwant to share with you.
This is a spiritually as well ashumanly life altering word.
And it was a word that wasactually used in one of the
verses that I read to you aboutthe blood of Jesus Christ.
It's a word that represents theculmination, the Zenith of

(13:50):
everything that Jesus Christcame to earth to do for you and
me.
The word is the word justify.
Listen to it.
I'm gonna go back and repeat theverse.
Romans five nine says that tothose of us who believed in
Jesus, we have now beenjustified by Jesus's blood and
having been justified by hisblood.

(14:12):
We shall be delivered from God'swrath against sin through him.
Romans 3 24 says as followers ofChrist, we are justified freely
by faith in his blood.
Now, what exactly does it meanthat as believers in Jesus
Christ, we are justified.
If you're going to appreciatethis life altering word, we got

(14:35):
to make sure we all know what itmeans.
Well, the word justified comesfrom a Greek word, the word
justification.
That is a legal word.
It is a forensic word.
It is a courtroom word.
If you will.
And the word literally means tobe acquitted.
It literally means to bepronounced, not guilty.
It literally means to beregarded by the legal system as

(14:59):
innocent and in this legalimagery that this word conjures
up, God is the judge.
You and I are the defendants ontrial for every wrong thing
we've ever said done or thought.
And God's justice has us dead torights.
However, when we offered to Godas our defense, not our good

(15:21):
works, not our religiousactivity, not our trying to keep
the 10 commandments, not ourbeing a nice person.
But when we offer to God as ourdefense, the blood of Jesus
Christ shed on the cross for ourwrongdoing, God bangs his
heavenly gavel and says, you noware justified.
He grants us the legal status ofbeing acquitted.

(15:44):
The legal status of being notguilty, the legal status of
being absolved, pardoned andrighteous in his sight.
Now friends, the truth is we arenot righteous.
We are not, not guilty, but allmighty God legally declares us
not guilty.
Anyway, he legally declares usjustified anyway, all because

(16:07):
we've taken refuge behind theblood of Jesus Christ and he
refuses to see through the bloodof Jesus Christ legally to see
what we really are.
That's the beauty of the bloodcovering.
How many of you guys, you know,I used to rush home from school,
uh, when I was younger and, um,flip on the television in
elementary school to watch oneof my very favorite programs

(16:30):
every day after school Superman.
I love Superman.
Now.
I used to watch the oldSuperman.
If you remember the old Superman, uh, his name was Christopher,
was George Reeves.
There he is.
Now some of you remember the newSuperman Christopher Reeve, but
it doesn't matter which Supermanyou remember you'll know that
Superman had x-ray vision.

(16:52):
He was also faster than aspeeding bullet, more powerful
than a locomotive, able to leaptall buildings with a simple
bound.
You remember Superman and he hadx-ray vision.
There was only one thing thatSuperman's x-ray vision could
not see through.
What was it kryptonite?
No, no, it wasn't kryptonite.

(17:14):
Kryptonite.
What killed him?
You y'all need to brush up onyour Superman trivia out there.
No, it was led that's right.
He couldn't see through led and,and friends.
What the Bible is telling us isthat when it comes to our sin,
God may have x-ray vision, butthe blood of Jesus Christ is

(17:34):
like heavenly land.
You understand what we'resaying?
And when we hide behind theblood of Jesus Christ, God,
doesn't see through that to seeour sins anymore, which is why
he can pronounce this righteousin his sight.
Why he can pronounce thisjustified in his sight and
friends.
Once the judge of heaven, bangshis gavel and declares you not

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guilty in his sight, there isnot one force in the universe
that can change that decree, noteven the devil himself, Romans
chapter eight, verse 33, Paulsays who will bring any legal
charges against us.
It is God who justifies there'sour word.
And when he does, Paul says, noone can condemn.

(18:21):
This is why Hebrews 10 says, andthis is the covenant.
This is the legal agreement Iwill make with you.
God says, when you trust Christyour sins and your wrongdoings,
I will remember no more andfriends.
There's not a person in theuniverse that can change God's
mind and make him remember themlegally anymore.

(18:44):
You know, about two years beforeI came to McLean, Bible church
is your pastor.
So about 27 years ago, I was asitting one morning in
Montgomery county traffic court.
I had a, I was an invited guest,if you understand what I'm
saying.
And so, as I was sitting therewaiting for my turn, I was
watching with interest, all thecases that were going on in

(19:06):
front of me.
And there was a very interestingcase a man would got up and the
judge said to him, now you'reaccused of doing 75 miles an
hour in the Mormon temple loopfor the beltway.
How do you plead?
And he said, I pleadexplanation, your honor.
I didn't know that was a plea,but the judge said, all right,
so what do you have to say foryourself?
He said, well, judge, you know,I was coming through that curvy

(19:28):
section of the beltway there.
And there was a fellow in thelane next to me who kept
drifting over into my lane andalmost forcing me off the road.
He said, I beat the horn at himonce, twice, he didn't change.
He was working all overeverywhere.
So he said, what I did is assoon as I got the opportunity, I
mashed the accelerator, thefloor and flew by him to get in
front of him for my own safety.
And right at that moment, wecame flying around the curve and

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there was the cop with theradar.
And he said, I tried to explainto him what was really going on,
but he wasn't able to see itbecause we were on the other
side of the curve when it wasall happening.
But judge, I'm an innocent man.
And I sat there and thought crap, it's a nice try fellow, nice
dry fella.
There is no way in the world.
He's going to believe that.

(20:11):
Do you know that judge sat therefor a minute?
And after he did, when poom hithis gobble and said, all charges
dismissed, I find you not guiltyfriends.
I about choked on my summonssitting there.
I'm like, oh my gosh, I cannotbelieve that.
I would bet you my retirementfund, that guy was guilty as sin
of speeding through the beltwaythere.
But you know what?

(20:32):
He walked by the clerk by thebailiff, by the guard and out
the door.
Scot-free why, because when ajudge declares you not guilty,
then as far as the legal systemis concerned, you not guilty
regardless of what the realtruth may be.
You are not guilty in the eyesof the legal system of America.

(20:55):
And this is exactly the same asthe jurisprudence of heaven.
It operates the same way.
When all mighty God declares usjustified when almighty God
declares us not guilty becausewe're hiding behind the blood of
Christ, then folks, it doesn'treally matter what the real
truth is.
What matters is that the God ofheaven pronounced us not guilty

(21:19):
pardoned, and that will neverchange forever period, period,
period.
And this is what Jesus meantwhen he said it.
The last supper, this is myblood, which is shed on behalf
of many, for the remission, forthe cancellation, for the
pardoning of sins.
This is what he was talkingabout.

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Now, if you're here today andyou've never trusted Jesus in a
real and personal way, you knowwhat we want you to be part of
the many that Jesus refers to inthis verse, we want you to join
that group of the many and theway you do that is very simple.
You simply give up every otherremedy that you're depending on
to cover your sin in the sightof a holy God, you reject your

(22:04):
good works, your religiousactivity.
You're trying to be a niceperson.
And instead you take thecovering that God provided for
you, which is the blood of Jesusshed on the cross.
That becomes your only defensein the eyes of a holy God.
And I got great news for you.
Not only is that your onlydefense, but friends, that's the
only defense you need because itworks.

(22:25):
It's the way God made to dothis.
And if you're here today andyou've never trusted the blood
of Jesus to be your covering inbetween you and a holy God in
his judgment than friends, I'msaying to you, what are you
waiting for?
What are you waiting for?
It's free and it's yours if youwant it.
And I hope you'll reach outtoday and grab it because I

(22:46):
can't think of a single reasonwhy you would well, let's
conclude Joe 14 verse one, man,born of woman is a few days.
Job says and full of trouble.
Now I don't know about you, butthat verse definitely applies to
me.
I got trouble.
I got troubled today with myeyes.

(23:07):
I've got trouble with my back.
I've got trouble with my leftknee.
I've got two canker sores in mymouth and I've got a stiff neck.
I got in trouble with mycomputer printer.
I got trouble with my washingmachine.
I got trouble with my toiletdownstairs and I have a tree
last week that fell over into myneighbor's yard and did damage.

(23:27):
And I've got to pay for all ofthat.
I got trouble.
Maybe you got trouble.
Maybe you don't have the sametrouble as I got, but I
guarantee you, you got troublebecause Joe says, that's the way
life is friends.
I got to tell you though, witheverything else that can go
wrong in life with all thetrouble that we can have in
life.
As a follower of Jesus Christ.

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It is wonderful to know thatthere is one thing in this life
I will never have trouble with.
There is one thing in this lifethat will never, ever fail me.
And that is the blood coveringthat Jesus provided for me by
his death on the cross.
No matter what else happens,that will always be right.
That will always be operative.

(24:09):
And there will never be aproblem with that whatsoever.
This is one thing I can alwaysfall back on when everything
else around me seems to becrumbling.
As the Bible says, it is ananchor for the soul and his
followers of Christ.
I'm here to challenge you and meto use it that way, to go back
to that, to sort back to thatwhen troubles going on in our

(24:32):
life and be able to say, well,you know what?
Everything else may be fallingapart, but there's one piece of
good news I've still got.
And that is the blood coveringof Jesus is still working for me
today.
And you know, friends when allthe dust clears in heaven,
that's the only thing that'sreally going to matter anyway,
is that the blood coveringworked for you and me.
I love the hymn by WilliamColeman.

(24:53):
Here's what he said.
He said, will there be twothrongs and heaven standing at
the throne of God, one arrayedin their own merits, one washed
in precious blood.
Will there be two songs inheaven, wringing through the
realms above one to boast man'svirtues one to praise, redeeming

(25:17):
love nay.
He said one throng, one song,one voice in endless strain
show, bless God who gave his sonfor sinners Christ.
Our only righteousness, Jesusshed his blood on the cross.
My friends to provide arighteous covering for you and

(25:39):
me in the sight of all mightyGod through which the justice of
God agrees not to see whichresults in God pronouncing us
justified, not guilty, acquittedand innocent in his holy site.
Now it don't get no better thanthat.
It just don't get no better thanthat.

(26:01):
And I'm here to challenge you.
Let that be an anchor for yoursoul when everything else is
going wrong, learn to sort backto it and say, well, Lord, you
know what?
I still got the blood of Jesusand it's still covering me
today.
Just like it always has.
And you know what?
I can rejoice.
Even if things aren't goinggood.
Cause I got one thing that'llnever let me down justify.

(26:22):
And remember what Paul said whenwe are justified, there is no
one, no one who can bring acharge judicially against God's
people.
What a wonderful thing.
The blooded Lord of the LordJesus did for us.
And I hope today.
You'll understand now why Jesussaid this is my blood.
And it's going to bringremission

Speaker 2 (26:42):
Cancellation of sin in the sight of God for you.
Let's pray.
Lord Jesus.
Thank you so much for what youdid for us on the cross.
I'm sure we don't.
We don't appreciate even a tinypart of it.
God, really?
But the little bit we doappreciate overwhelms us that

(27:06):
you would go to the cross to dosomething for us.
We could never do for ourselves.
Provide a way for us to beright, not guilty and acquitted
in the sight of a holy God, thatyou would love us that much,
that you would be willing to paythat cost for us, that your
mercy for us runs that deep.

(27:29):
Well, Lord, it's a staggeringthoughts and I'm here today on
behalf of all of us in the roomto say, we thank you for doing
that for us, Lord.
We thank you that even thoughwe're not really righteous,
we're not really not guilty.
That you've made a way for us tohave that standing in the

(27:51):
courtroom of heaven.
And Lord, may we show you ourappreciation by the, our love,
our devotion, our loyalty andour service to Jesus Christ in
our lives down here, father, theBible tells us we love you
because you first loved us anddemonstrated that love on the

(28:12):
cross.
Thank you God so much for yourmercy.
May we revel in it today?
May it be an anchor for oursoul?
And we pray this in Jesus nameand God's people said, amen,