What a joy to worship, to celebrate. Just want to also welcome you, so glad that we can be together here in the auditorium to see more faces is delightful. In the other parts of our building, outside and online, we're so grateful that we can gather and worship the Lord. Have you ever thought how strange it is that an ancient Roman torture tool would be used as a fashion symbol around the world? What's that all about? What sort of things would need to happen for a torture tool to become a piece of jewelry? How do you convert an instrument of ruthless death into a decoration? And I suppose one element required is that there need to be a special association between that tool and someone of unparalleled status. We're talking way more than a rock star, way better than a super athlete. And the fact is, It was a man from Galilee named Jesus who has come to have that global status. But imagine a quiet man, a Middle Eastern carpenter who became a traveling teacher and a miracle worker. And when he spoke, there was such authority that people were hushed. And his miracles were so undeniable that those who opposed him realized that the only way they could stop him was to figure out a way to kill him. But even more, somehow that death device would need to be given a whole new meaning. Rather than being seen as an instrument of cruel punishment, there would need to be a significance, a radical new significance that changed the way we saw that tool, which is exactly what happened at Jesus' crucifixion. This morning, we'll continue to follow in Luke's account and we will focus as he does on how Jesus' death gives new meaning to this cruel Roman cross. You remember the night he was betrayed, he told his followers that they would celebrate his death with bread and with wine. And we'll do that today after this message. But over and over again, they would commemorate His death. And you can just imagine how strange that would seem to His disciples. How unbelievable. Why, oh why, would we celebrate the death? of our master, our hero, our friend. At that time, those realities were just beyond their sight. But from today, from the vantage point we have now, we can look and realize that the cross is our glory. We remember what God did and we're moved to worship and to thanksgiving. And so we celebrate his death until he comes. And we remember that at his table. So I'd like, if you would please, to join me. Let's open our Bibles. We'll be reading in Luke chapter 23, verse 44 through 56. Luke 23, verse 44 through 56. Read along as I read Luke's account of the crucifixion. It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun's light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. And having said this, he breathed his last. Now, when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, certainly this man was innocent. And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts. And all his acquaintances and the women who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance watching these things. Now there was a man named Joseph from the Jewish town of Arimathea. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man who had not consented to their decision and action. And he was looking for the kingdom of God. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then he took it down. and wrapped it in a linen shroud and laid him in a tomb cut in stone where no one had ever yet been laid. It was the day of preparation and the Sabbath was beginning. The woman who had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid. Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath, they rested according to the commandment. Let's pray. Father, holy ground to think that your son would suffer so for us. We pray that you would take These words and write them on our hearts. You would take my words and use them to bless and build your body. Strengthen us, teach us, correct us, encourage us as we behold the cross of Jesus. We pray with thanksgiving in his name. Amen. Luke shows us several responses to Jesus' death. We'll first see God's response, second, Jesus' own response in that moment, then the centurion and Joseph's, and lastly, the crowd and the women's response. So let's begin considering God's response. Again, in verse 44 of Luke 23, it was now about the sixth hour. And there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun's light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. God the Father placed the sin of all the world on his beloved son, and darkness fell. He had nature reflect how our sin and shame covered the holy light of his son. In those dark, terrible hours, Jesus drank the bitter cup of God's wrath. The sin of all the world was laid on the only holy man to ever live. God's salvation plan was unfolding just as foreordained. This was no gloomy day, but the thick darkness of a moonless night. Darkness at midday underscored the cosmic event unfolding. The sinless lamb of God became sin for us. The innocent son of man took our guilt and shame upon himself. and the father turned his back on his beloved son. For those hours, it seemed as if the darkness of evil would overcome the beauty of God's light. Some say darkness was the only cloak that Jesus wore to cover the shame of being made sin on our behalf. God's Son there on the cross entered our lot, felt our pain, endured our shame, bore our guilt, suffered our loss. The highest majesty of heaven became the lowest vilest criminal of hell. Never in all eternity has there been such an exchange. Never in all eternity has there either been such a demonstration of love, perfect love. The father giving his son, the son stepping into our places, those who rightfully deserve to be condemned. A great shift took place in my soul as I understood the personal nature of Christ's death. I had understood that Jesus died for the sins of all the world, but somehow that didn't impact my heart. But when I came face to face with the fact that it was my sin that nailed him there, that left him hanging in darkness, then my heart began to soften to his love. When I realized he died for the time I took advantage of a friend, when I deceived my parents, when I speak harshly with my wife, when I respond with coldness or with anger. Christ died for my sin. It was my sin that nailed him there. Jesus didn't die by swallowing some global evil pill, but rather for each one of our rebellious deeds, thoughts, and words. Every loose word, my bitterness, my envy, my pride, my lust, my greed, Jesus died for me. And Jesus died for you. Either a person receives salvation by faith in this perfect gift, or they bear the consequences of their rebellion themselves. This is the essence of hell, an eternal separation from God, which comes by receiving the consequences of a life of rebellion and independence from God. It is but two options that God gives us, faith in Christ, or the consequences of a rebellion. What's more, beholding the cross of Christ gives birth to endurance and to perseverance. When we suffer what seems like unbearable pain, let's remember Jesus. When we feel totally alone and rejected, let's remember Jesus there, alone in the darkness. When we think there's no worse hardship than ours, we remember Him on the cross. That's one of the reasons, even as today, we celebrate our Lord's Supper, because we need to remember the cross of Christ. Jesus took our place and endured God's wrath for us. He knows all about our struggles, which is why we can come to Him. We may be tempted to blame God for our struggles in time of great adversity. Some people curse God as if he were the author of our struggle and even of the sin within us or around us. But as we look again to Jesus hanging there in darkness, we remember it was he who took our sin. And so, it is we who struggle for the consequences of Adam's sin and all of his sinful race. Looking into that darkness also helps remind us of our selfish pride. When I give excuses, blame others, minimize my sin, the cross shows me how inexcusable is my selfish pride. Jesus' death proves that our sin is neither harmless nor benign. The darkness in which he hung shows us the severity of our sinful condition. Jesus would have never died a horrible death had there been any other way to free us from the consequences of our rebellion, from the stranglehold of sin. The cross confirms that the wage of sin truly is death and destruction, which is why Jesus died and the Father cast darkness over all the land. John Stott, in his classic book, The Cross of Christ, comments, quote, it's impossible for us to face Christ's cross with integrity and not feel ashamed of ourselves. Apathy, selfishness, and complacency blossom everywhere in the world, except at the cross. The thick darkness lasted from noon until three in the afternoon. But after three hours of pitch black night at midday, Luke records a change. Light began to return first almost imperceptibly like that tiny glow in the east as sunrise approaches. And then the light returned and it was day once again. We don't know the exact timing, but as darkness lifted, Jesus was nearing the end. With our sin on the sun, God cast darkness over the land, but his payment was made. He lifted the darkness and the light shone once again. in some mysterious way during those hours on the cross, the perfect Lamb of God paid an infinite price for the infinite sin of all mankind. He died not only for my sin and for yours, but for the sin of all the world. It is only by a perfect man that God, that redemption could be offered for Adam's race. And only Almighty God could pay an infinite price of infinite holiness to redeem us. And thus Jesus, the perfect God man, made the perfect sacrifice in our place. Jesus' death on the cross allows us to experience God's infinite love, which is why when we consider that the Almighty God was willing to step in our place and endure holy wrath, we recognize there could never be a greater love. That love, that profound, perfect, intimate, eternal, infinite love He's just speechless. This new chapter of experiencing God's love began by God's second response here recorded by Luke. The temple curtain was torn in two. Both Matthew and Mark remind us that that veil was ripped from top to bottom and demonstrating it was God himself who tore apart that veil. The veil that kept them from entering into God's holy presence was torn apart. You remember, it was behind that veil, the inner veil to the Holy of Holies that God ordered that only once a year, only the high priest could enter into that holy place and only with the blood of sacrificed animals. that high priest before entering would tie a rope around his waist and leave that long rope outside lest in the presence of God, he were struck dead. You see, the other priest could pull him out with that rope if he were dead and lifeless, but not even might a priest enter in to retrieve the body of the dead high priest. And so that rope was a reminder. of the danger in which he entered. And the high priest well was aware of the numerous events in the Old Testament where examples of those who were struck dead by inappropriately approaching God's holiness. But at Jesus' death, the veil was torn in two. It was ripped apart to declare that now the way to the presence of God was free because of the perfect sacrifice of Christ. There was no more need for animal sacrifice because the Lamb of God had paid for all our sins. So when we receive Jesus as Lord, His payment for sin was credited to our account, and the Holy Spirit cleansed us from all sin. By the way, do you know today is Pentecost? And we remember that God, in faithfulness to His promise, sent the Holy Spirit. and began the church age. And because of what Jesus did, now we have been cleansed, renewed, restored, made alive, and adopted into the family of God. And so rather than entering with fear into the holy place, we come boldly into the throne of grace to receive mercy and grace to help in our every time of need. We come as his children. to delight in His presence, to sing His praise, to celebrate the intimacy that is available by the perfect work of Christ. There is no longer need for sacrifice, no longer need for penance or our effort at self-justification when we sin. Christ, our Lamb, has been sacrificed. gives for another colossal change. For centuries, the temple was the true place of worship, but when God tore that curtain, a whole new era began, when now men everywhere can know and experience God's love through faith in the King of Kings. We don't need to go to Jerusalem to worship because the perfect sacrifice has been made. This new covenant reality changes the very nature of our worship. It's not about holy buildings anymore or this mountain or that city because now God has made us new. That's one of the reasons I don't call this room the sanctuary. It's because you are the sanctuary. God has made us to be the dwelling place where the Spirit of God dwells in holiness. We, the people of God, are the temple of the living God. And so, it's not that I'm against, I mean, I love stained glass windows and cathedrals. I've seen quite a few of them in my day, but what we need to realize is that the space inside a cathedral is no more holy than the space around your dining room table, or the space where you work, or the mountains where you hike, or the place where you do business, or the place where we meet for community group, or even this building. It's not about a place that is holy. It is about the posture of our heart, whereby the perfect work of Christ, we are made clean and we commune with him in the innermost parts of our soul. What a joy to have access to God. And so now, it's not like we wait till Sunday to worship God. Every day, every moment is an opportunity to have communion with God by faith in the work of Christ. And so we celebrate, we sing His praise. You know, one of the reasons we sing, and I was so thankful for our songs this morning, is because we want you to sing those songs all week long, beneath the cross of Jesus. tomorrow and the next day and rejoice in the work that God has done. And so our lives are to be given in praise and moment by moment, enjoying the presence of God made available through the perfect work of Christ. And yet how foolish when we let whole days pass and we don't pause to remember, to celebrate, to praise our King. Our daughter, Sarah, and son-in-law, Ed, live just two miles from SeaWorld. And because Ed's in the military, they get a special discount. He has, and the whole family, season passes to SeaWorld. Now, let me just ask you a couple questions. Number one, do you know how many times you can enter into SeaWorld with a season pass? Unlimited, you can go like multiple times every day you can go. As a matter of fact, in the heat of summer, they have like these water rides and so they'll like after work, hey guys, we're going to SeaWorld and kind of down the flume and it's just so refreshing. They enjoy the privilege to enter in. But do you know the minimum number of times you've got to enter in with a season pass to SeaWorld? The minimum number, zero. And I've understood that there are people that have season passes, and they, like, let months go by, and they don't take advantage of all the fun. But in the same way, there are believers who let days go by, and they don't enter in in worship and praise to enjoy communion. with the God who loves us, when we think of the price that was paid to give us entrance into the holy place, and we don't enter in for days, how short-sighted and how ungrateful for the work, the perfect work that Christ has done. So what will encourage us to grow in our communion with God by faith in the perfect work of Christ on the cross. What will motivate us? Now, you know, when there's a crisis or a problem, oh, we're the first to run in and try to get God to fix our problems, but how easy to let days go by and not enjoy intimacy with a God who made us. A couple suggestions. First, let's realize there's not a minute that we don't need to be connected with our Lord. Every moment of every day, God would ordain that we would live dependent on him, receiving strength for the spiritual battle, receiving joy in a difficult life, receiving love to get our eyes off of self and to truly care for those around us, power to share the good news with those yet in darkness. We need to be connected to Christ. As Jesus reminded us in John 15, like a branch that's cut off from the vine, we'll never produce anything of eternal value unless we're connected in worship to Christ through faith. Secondly, may we simply want more of our Lord. His greatest commandment is to love Him with our whole heart, soul, strength, and mind. And yet how often, how easy for our hearts to grow lukewarm or even cold toward our Lord. I would ask you to ask Him to stir your love. We would love Him because He first loved us. And looking to the cross of Jesus, it is there we see His infinite affection, and that would warm us to want once again to sit at His feet, to dine at His table, to sing His praise. Here's how the author of Hebrews puts it in chapter 10, verse 19 through 22. Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is through his flesh. And since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart and full assurance of faith with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Next, look at Jesus' final response. Luke recounts his words in verse 46. Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. And having said this, he breathed his last. Not long before, in unmatched agony, Jesus cried out, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? And yet hear the change. Once again, he calls to his father. There's been a shift. The chasm has been spanned. Payment made. Intimacy is being restored. Jesus remains fully in control, he declared. that he would lay down his own life. No one takes it away. He gave up his spirit into the father's hand, not with a feeble last breath, but with a loud cry. And he entrusted his spirit into the father's hands. The payment was made in full. Hallelujah. Then, like a skilled cinematographer, Luke zooms in on the people at the foot of the cross. He begins with the centurion. When darkness fell, all the scoffers and the evil rulers scurried away to their own homes. They needed to busy themselves in preparation for the Passover. They had intentionally put to death an innocent man, and yet they go home and they do their little rituals thinking that thereby they would be cleansed to celebrate the Passover. How good we are at self-deception. Yet we see the centurion, a man that all the Jews saw as worse than hateful. Here's a man that sees the death of Christ and he praises God, and he recounts the innocence of Christ. This man likely had experienced dozens of Roman executions, and yet when Jesus died, he praises God. Does that seem normal to you? Many are taught in our culture that we are so advanced, we realize that there's nothing supernatural in the world, and that all of us are merely the product of random chance over approximately 13.4 billion years. And of course, we can't believe any of this, but we have to understand back in those days, everyone was very religious. And so they just, they could see God everywhere. And yet, let's not paint the centurion with those stripes. Although the Roman culture was polytheistic, there were many that were coldly secular. It's not typical for Roman military leaders to praise the God of Israel. And yet, by experiencing Jesus, and particularly His crucifixion, He declares His innocence. Just think. What guilty criminal would ask forgiveness for those who drove large nails through his hands and feet? What felon would pull against those nails to gather breath to provide for his mother? What evil man would promise paradise to another criminal hanging beside him? And what sort of man would have his agony shrouded by thick black darkness at midday for hours while he hung on the cross? And what did he mean when he shouted, it is finished? That Roman centurion simply put the pieces together. Having presided over many last breaths, he was a sufficient student of human nature to realize that this was no mere mortal death. As executor of Rome's fiercest cruelty, he realized this was the greatest injustice he had ever witnessed. And he responds by praising God. Do you wonder why? It's because Jesus came to save sinners. The influence of Jesus' life is to reconcile men to God. And so this centurion, known as a cruel oppressor, was, I'm convinced, in that moment, forgiven. and saved by his belief in Christ who died on the cross. Many actually think Luke interviewed later on the centurion when he was gathering information for the document we now study. Further back, Luke pans out and we see the crowd that's there. Verse 48, and all the crowd that had assembled for the spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts. The physician realized that in moments of deep emotional anguish, people often prefer physical pain, and so we inflict pain on ourselves. The pain of beating their chest distracted them from the emotional misery of their dashed hopes and dreams. Verse 49, and all these acquaintances and the women who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance watching these things. Still, in horror, grief, sorrow, confusion, fear, disdain, loss, and powerlessness, they stood watching." Again, Luke highlights the faithful women. Except for John, the disciples had fled. And here they watch the death of their Lord. Next, we see Joseph of Arimathea, a faithful man, a member of the Jewish ruling council. And unlike his power-hungry peers, he did not consent to killing Jesus. He was looking for God's kingdom, a man of highest authority looking for God's kingdom. And I think that's helpful for us to remember. Many times we think that those people that have comfortable, wealthy lives have no interest in spiritual things. But here's a man of highest authority in the Jewish culture, and he was looking for the kingdom of God. And so it is even today, there are people who are looking in every walk of life, looking for the kingdom of God. We need to reach them. And so mustering up courage, Joseph goes to Pilate, requesting the body of Jesus, which was granted to him. So with the help of Nicodemus, they take down the body. Hastily, they cleanse the corpse. With a few spices, they wrap him in burial cloth and transport his body to Joseph's own newly carved tomb, cut into a hillside just outside Jerusalem. They laid the body to rest and rolled a large stone across the entrance. Little did Joseph know how strategic his deeds would prove to be. As Joseph and Nicodemus walked away, Luke shows us the women gathered there. They had followed their Lord's body and saw where his body lay. They knew how hastily the two men had done the burial preparations, and so they returned and prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath day, they rested according to the command. Note their response to Jesus' death. convinced they would never again follow him, they demonstrated their love by following his lifeless body to the tomb. They loved him in life. They would love him in death. These women had been with him from Galilee. They had seen the miracles. They were there when Jesus multiplied the loaves and fishes. They partook of such a blessing. They were likely there when that man dropped down through the ceiling, was forgiven of his sins, and he stood up, and he was leaping, and he walked out carrying his own pallet. They were there. They knew their Master, and they loved Him. But I want you to catch Luke's undercurrent here, and I don't know if you've seen it yet, and that is this. his closest friends, his dearest followers, never expected resurrection. No one spends a lot of money getting more spices and ointments for a body they suspect will be in the tomb for roughly three days. No one, no one expected resurrection. And yet, resurrection is God's great surprise. It is that revelation that changed the cross from a cruel Roman torture tool into a symbol of Jesus' victory over sin and death and hell. It is because of the resurrection that we, why, oh why would we celebrate someone's death unless he were alive. And it is because of the resurrection that we today celebrate with bread and with juice the fact, oh yes, Jesus died. He died for our sins. He paid in full the penalty that we rightly deserve to bear, but he paid it in full. And he was raised from the dead. The father declared the satisfaction of all his wrath by raising Christ from the dead, which is why we celebrate the table of the Lord. You know, we do this every Sunday at nine o'clock, and I hope you'll start coming because at least I know I need a reminder more than, you know, however many times we celebrate. Every week is not enough, but come and celebrate. Come and remember that Christ is risen from the dead. You know, we have this little window. Jesus says we'll remember him at the table until he comes again. And so, from that first meal, the transformation of the Passover to the table of the Lord, we celebrate until he comes. And when he comes again, we'll not celebrate in the same way. We'll celebrate in far greater ways at the wedding feast of the Lamb. So, if Christ is in you, if he is your Lord, you're invited to celebrate. And in all our different venues here, if you're at home, please get bread, get juice, and celebrate with us. But Paul reminds us, before we do, let us examine ourselves that we might partake in a worthy fashion, remembering the body and blood of Christ. Let's take a moment and reflect on our hearts.