Why Did Jesus Death Have to be so Gross?

I have not done this ever before, but I have given you the entire manuscript of the sermon from Sunday. Listen at www.firstagwashington.org

Preached on March 29th, 2009

Mark 15:15-39
15Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.

16The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. 17They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. 18And they began to call out to him, "Hail, king of the Jews!" 19Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. 20And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.

21A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. 22They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull). 23Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. 24And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get.
25It was the third hour when they crucified him. 26The written notice of the charge against him read: THE KING OF THE JEWS. 27They crucified two robbers with him, one on his right and one on his left.[a] 29Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, "So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, 30come down from the cross and save yourself!"
31In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. "He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! 32Let this Christ,[b] this King of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe." Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

33At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"—which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"[c]
35When some of those standing near heard this, they said, "Listen, he's calling Elijah."
36One man ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. "Now leave him alone. Let's see if Elijah comes to take him down," he said.
37With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.
38The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and[d] saw how he died, he said, "Surely this man was the Son[e] of God!"

INTRO
What is Grotesque?
The dictionary says:
Grotesque: adj.
1. Characterized by ludicrous or incongruous distortion, as of appearance or manner.
2. Outlandish or bizarre, as in character or appearance.

As many of you know, I like Sherlock Holmes mysteries. Sir Arthur Canon Doyle is the author. Here is a classic portion from the Mystery Entitled: Wisteria Lodge released in 1908. In this portion Holmes defines the term grotesque for us. The speaker in the quote, written in the first person, is Dr. Watson who is conversing with Holmes.

I find it recorded in my notebook that it was a bleak and windy day towards the end of March in the year 1895. Holmes had received a telegram whilst we sat at our lunch, and he had scribbled a reply. He made no remark, but the matter remained in his thoughts, for he stood in front of the fire afterwards with a thoughtful face, smoking his pipe, and casting an occasional glance at the message. Suddenly he turned upon me with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.
‘I suppose, Watson, we must look upon you as a man of letters,’ said he. ‘How do you define the word “grotesque”?’
‘Strange—remarkable,’ I suggested.
He shook his head at my definition.
‘There is surely something more than that,’ said he; ‘some underlying suggestion of the tragic and the terrible. If you cast your mind back to some of those narratives with which you have afflicted a long- suffering public, you will recognize how often the grotesque has deepened into the criminal. Think of that little affair of the red-headed men. That was grotesque enough in the outset, and yet it ended in a desperate attempt at robbery. Or, again, there was that most grotesque affair of the five orange pips, which led straight to a murderous conspiracy. The word puts me on the alert.’
‘Have you it there?’ I asked.
He read the telegram aloud.
‘ “Have just had most incredible and grotesque experience. May I consult you?—Scott Eccles, Post Office, Charing Cross.” ’

Grotesque is not only strange or remarkable, as Sherlock Holmes says, it has the “underlying suggestion of the tragic and the terrible.”

I am sure that if you have been a Christian for even a little while, you have asked the question,
“Why did Jesus’ death have to be so drastic?”
“Why was the crucifixion so grotesque, so tragic, so terrible, so horrible?”

If Jesus taking our sins and dying for us is God’s plan, why is God’s plan so gross, painful, and drastic?

In a setting like the one we live in today where most people are not familiar with the teachings and story of the Bible this is a legitimate question.

It was a legitimate question for Jesus who essentially asked in the garden, Lord is there a way “for this cup to pass form me?”

In the first century one of the reasons that Christians were persecuted so severely by Greeks and Romans and other cultures Christianity encountered was the story of the crucifixion of Jesus in the Gospels.

If God is all powerful, why would he allow his son to be humiliated? They saw the portions of the gospel describing Jesus’ suffering as a weakness of the Christian God.

Though they worshiped gods in paganism that were not all-powerful, they were in their opinion strong enough to protect their sons.

Similarly, today people who are not familiar with the gospel story and the nature of God described in the Bible find depictions of Jesus suffering confusing and grotesque.

--“Why are there statues of bleeding Jesus’ all over?”
--“Why make a movie like the, The Passion of the Christ, that is so gruesome?”
--“Why couldn’t God forgive us without all the pain inflicted on Jesus?”

What is the purpose of Jesus being beaten, flogged until his bones showed, his beard pulled out, a crown of mocking thorns pressed onto his head, being nailed to a cross, spit upon, verbally abused, and basically beaten to the point of bleeding to death on the cross?

Let’s try to answer this question today.

First, the grotesque nature of Jesus death,
Exposes our sinfulness and the Father’s perfection.

What is sinfulness? What is sin?

Sin is saying no to God. That does not sound so bad, so why would Jesus have to die a grotesque death because I said no to God?

Because God is perfect and made you and me to be perfect too.

If God is all knowing, all powerful, and if God is love, then why would we say no to him?

Consider these Scriptures:
Deuteronomy 32:4He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.
2 Samuel 22:31"As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.
Psalm 19:7The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.

If God’s rules, ideas and ways for us to liver are perfect, why would we say no?

Not only are his ways perfect, they are given to us out of a heart of love for us, not a vindictive or angry spirit!

Why did Jesus die such a grotesque death? Because our sinfulness is so bad in God’s perfect sight.

So, since God is perfect, how does he feel about our sins?

In Ezekiel 16 God paints a picture of how he feels about our sin.

God says that he is like a young man who finds an abandoned baby in a field lying in its mother’s afterbirth, left to die in the elements. (God found a baby abandoned in a dumpster.)

He took that baby home, washed the baby, clothed the baby and helped it to grow.

Later this young man met the baby girl he had found and she had become a beautiful young woman. They were engaged and married.

As a husband he gave her everything. He was a wealthy husband and a loving provider to her and met all her needs plus, she was lavished with gifts.

Then, in return she chooses to become a prostitute. Then she decides she likes prostitution so much that she simply stops charging her customers.

Ezekiel 16:30 and 32
30 " 'How weak-willed you are, declares the Sovereign LORD, when you do all these things, acting like a brazen prostitute! 31 When you built your mounds at the head of every street and made your lofty shrines in every public square, you were unlike a prostitute, because you scorned payment.
32 " 'You adulterous wife! You prefer strangers to your own husband!

The prophet Jeremiah makes a similar comparison of the sinners relationship to God.
Jeremiah 3:8I gave faithless Israel her certificate of divorce and sent her away because of all her adulteries. Yet I saw that her unfaithful sister Judah had no fear; she also went out and committed adultery.

How does God feel about our sin? He feels like a husband who has been cheated, disrespected by his wife who has determined to become a prostitute. God feels like the woman who’s husband has shamelessly run off with another woman and while the wife is left home lonely and sorrowful the husband is out in public with another woman.

In God’s heart our sin is grotesque. How grotesque? Like a grotesque feelings brought on by a cheating spouse.

He has offered us everything and we have walked out on him.

First, the grotesque nature of Jesus death,
Exposes our sinfulness and the Father’s perfection.

Second, the grotesque nature of Jesus death,
Equals our wrong and satisfies the Father’s justice.

In Genesis when God created man and put him in the garden he only gave him one rule that was a no-no rule.

Genesis 2:17but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."

The horrible and drastic sin that caused God to place a death sentence on Adam was breaking this rule.

Did Adam cheat on Eve? NO.
Did Adam and Eve abuse their kids? NO.
Did Adam get drunk? NO.
Did Adam and Eve use pornography? NO.
Did Adam and Eve make fun of God? NO.
Did Adam and Eve persecute believers? NO.
Did Adam and Eve worship other gods. NO.
Did Adam hate God? NO.
Did Adam reject the existence of God? NO.

Because Adam doubted God’s command,, stole something that was not given to him, tried to hide the evidence, and then blamed his wife death entered the world.

If Adam’s sin brought the death sentence, how much more does our sin bring death?
We think it common for friends to casually say, “I don’t believe in God.”
We think it common to hear God mocked on TV.
We think it common read of persecution of believers.
We find it common to encounter sin.

But to God, none of these sins are common! Has all of our sinning made God numb to sin and passive about justice!!! NO!!!

How much more do we deserve the death penalty for sin?

Now think. Jesus died for all of your sins and all the sins of the whole world.

Why was the cross so gross? Because sin is so gross and God is so just.

First, the grotesque nature of Jesus death,
Exposes our sinfulness and the Father’s perfection.

Second, the grotesque nature of Jesus death,
Equals our wrong and satisfies the Father’s justice.

Third, the grotesque nature of Jesus death,
Meets our need by displaying the Father’s grace.

Since we have cheated God, and acted in gross disobedience, Jesus died a grotesque death.

We have a debt of sin that was so huge that there was no possible way to pay it back. The death sentence on our lives is a light sentence when you consider that we really should have multiple death sentences. We are like a serial killer who has murdered scores and can only be executed once.

But, the grotesque nature of the cross proves one last thing.

The grace and mercy of God is absolutely amazing!!!

The gross nature of the cross shows the depth of God’s love for you and me.

God displayed his love for us.
Romans 5:8But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
John 15:13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
Ephesians 2:3-5
3All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.
John 3:16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

God displays his love for us.
--When the world deserved to die, God made an ark.
--When Israel worshiped a golden calf, God gave manna.
--When God’s people worshiped other gods, God gave judges to deliver them.
--When David sinned with Bathsheba, God kept his promises to Daivd’s sons.
--When Israel gave up on God, God kept his plans for them, to prosper them and not to harm them to give them a future and a hope.
--When the Samaritan woman was adulterous and worshiped what she did not know, God gave her the messiah and made her an evangelist.
--When the woman was caught in adultery, God cast the first stone at his son.
--Though we squandered his inheritance, he killed the fatted calf for us!
--When Peter denied Jesus, loved him and reinstated him.
--When Paul murdered Christians for their faith, God made him an apostle to the Gentiles.
--Though we are covered in sin, Jesus blood covers it ALL!
--Though we deserve a death sentence, Jesus died in our place!
--Though we cheated our lover, our lover calls us home!
--Though we doubt his existence, he displays his nature!
--Though we have cheated God, Jesus cheated death!

CONCLUSION:
Who needs the story of Jesus to be so gross? I need it.
Why does the story have to be so gross? Because sin is so gross!
Who needs mercy and grace? I need it.
Who needs to give God thanks for his everlasting love? I need to give him thanks!

Start song: “Who am I”