Please watch the video introduction to my message here:
(Christ Above All)
Non-believers relegate the person of Christ to a group of religious personalities; Mohammad, Confucius, Buddha, etc. In general, they believe these people are very religious and have taken upon themselves a “Savior or Prophet Complex.” They believe they are good men, just a little too extreme. However, because they lack the knowledge of Christ’s uniqueness, they do not see how He “out-proved and out-lived” every other savior/teacher. He healed every manner of disease, even to the raising of the dead (Lazarus and a little girl), cast out demons, walked on water, and in Gethsemane, when a troop of soldiers came to arrest Him, they fell (a troop is 50 to 100 soldiers) after He answered them in His Divine Name “I AM.” This culminated in the extremely painful Crucifixion and the events that led up to it. This was the reason for His life. It all accumulated at the Cross, The Lamb of God that takes away the sins of man….
John 1:28-29
These things took place in Bethany, across the Jordan, where John was baptizing. On the morrow, he sees Jesus coming to him and says, Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
Isaiah 53:4-7
Surely *he* hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; and we did regard him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was bruised (crushed) for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes, we are healed. Like sheep, we have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; Jehovah hath laid upon him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted (beaten beyond the recognition of a man, they shredded His body Isa. 52.14), but he opened not his mouth; he was led as a lamb to the slaughter and was as a sheep dumb before her shearers, and he opened not his mouth (an amazing sacrifice.)
Redeeming man from his sin by being the final sacrifice sounds offensive to our modern minds. It seems so barbaric. Because we have lost the reverence (or awe) of God’s Holiness, allowing us to excuse away and trivialize the seriousness of our sin. Just because we don’t understand or agree does not make the problem of our sin before a Very Holy God go away. In His passion (suffering), He once and for all proved His love for us. No other endured such agony as He told Peter, “Shall I not drink from the cup The Father has for me?” Man’s salvation was agreed upon between God the Father and God the Son.
Then with further evidence of the Divine having lived among us comes the Glorious Resurrection (which ends all debates and cancels any rivals). If this was not enough, there are his many appearances afterward and ultimately His ascension with over 500 witnesses.
There is no middle ground with Christ. One is forced to take a definitive stance on Christ. He is either Christ, God incarnate and deserving of our adoration. The writings and witnesses are credible, many witnesses dying for their Savior, or it’s the greatest lie ever told. People today continue to be beaten, imprisoned, and scorned for this lie, and it should be utterly rejected. However, not making a decision is equal to disbelieving the law of gravity and jumping out of a 50-story building. It is intellectually lazy and emotionally calloused and insincere to ourselves and paramount to eternal suicide.
Then 50 days later, after Christ’s ascension, we have Pentecost, with the coming of the Holy Spirit to dwell in all believers. The Spirit of Christ that ever lives in each of us, which ends all the proof we need for true believers. When all He said and all that He did is taken into account, there is not another that even comes close. From the start of His passion, He was in charge…. he allowed man to crucify Him for our salvation. Man did not take His life.
John 10:17-18
On this account, the Father loves me because I lay down my life so that I may take it (up) again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have the authority to lay it down, and I have the authority to take it again. I have received this commandment of my Father.
John 18:4-8 (in the garden of Gethsemane)
Jesus, therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth and said unto them (the soldiers) Who seek ye? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them. As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward and fell to the ground. Then asked he them again, Who seek ye? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth.
Jesus answered, I have told you that I am he: if therefore ye seek me, let these go their way (scripture says that all that the Father has given me I lost not one, except the son of perdition. John 17:22)
Matthew 27:27-31
Then the soldiers of the governor, having taken Jesus with [them] to the praetorium, gathered against him the whole band, and having taken off his garment, put on him a scarlet cloak; and having woven a crown out of thorns, they put it on his head, and a reed in his right hand; and, bowing the knee before him, they mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! And having spit upon him, they took the reed and beat [him] on his head. And when they had mocked him, they took the cloak off him, and put his own clothes on him, and led him away to crucify (this was after He was whipped).
Matthew 27:33-35
And having come to a place called Golgotha, which means place of a skull, they gave to him to drink vinegar mingled with gall; and having tasted [it], he would not drink. And having crucified him, they parted his clothes amongst [themselves], casting lots (gall was given to reduce the pain, but He did not accept it).
And despite all this, He never cried out in pain for himself until a very specific time.
Matthew 27:45-46
Now from the sixth hour, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour; but about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? That is, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? (A cry burdened by such grief, anguish, and brokenness (not from His physical pain but from the separation of His Father) that there exists not a single word to define it).
Luke 23:34
Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment and cast lots (truly only The Creator could have such love for His creation).
Carrying all of humanity’s rebellion against a Holy God, He hung on that Cross, making atonement for us; never complaining about the nails in His hands or the nail in His feet, nor his raw back from the many stripes worsened by being roughed up against a coarse and splintery Cross. Nor did He complain about the thorns that pierced His head. He said nothing about His physical pain (which is amazing in itself.) It was not till the Father separated Himself from His Son, something that had never happened nor will ever happen again. The pain, the tearing of soul so vast and deep that from His innermost being came the cry of absolute pain, abandonment, and anguish. This pain of abandonment was the precursor to His death, which is why the soldiers marveled that He died so soon. They broke the legs of the other two who were still suffering, but not Jesus’. Surprised at such an early death, the Roman soldier pierced His side with his spear (fulfilling the prophecy in Isaiah 53), and out came blood and water.
The spear pierced the pericardial sack that surrounds the heart. Medically this is called a haemothorax. In haemothorax, the blood separates into the heavier red blood cells below and the lighter watery plasma above after his death. This haemothorax undoubtedly was from His “savage flagellation” (whipping/beating), but this is not what killed Him. Christ’s testimony shows us that despite the enormous loss of blood and pain on all levels, He was still alert and spoke His final words trusting fully in His Father, “Father into your hands do I commit my spirit.”
Luke 23:44-47
The Death of Jesus (Matt. 27:45,46; Mark 15:33-41; John 19:28-30)
And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth (the Father clothing His Son with darkness) until the ninth hour.
And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst.
And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, It is finished, Father into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost (or released His Spirit).
Matthew 27:50-54
And Jesus, having again cried with a loud voice, gave up the ghost. And lo, the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom (the hands of God), and the earth was shaken, and the rocks were rent, and the tombs were opened; and many bodies of the saints fallen asleep arose, and going out of the tombs after his arising, entered into the holy city and appeared unto many. But the centurion, and they who were with him on guard over Jesus, seeing the earthquake and the things that took place, feared greatly (to be terrified) saying, Truly this man was Son of God.
When the Father pulled away from Him, He knew His work as a propitiation, a sacrifice for man was received, and man’s atonement was complete. It was over. He could release His spirit and go home to Glory, which He had with His Father.
Who is Jesus, and why should you trust Him?
John 10:11
**I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep:**
(His life and death are saturated with His love for us, will you not surrender to Him, fully and completely?)
And through this, did God remain silent? No, though it is not recorded as such, it is hidden in plain view. A simple cross-reference to Exodus 19:18-19
And the whole of mount Sinai smoked because Jehovah descended on it in fire; its smoke ascended as the smoke of a furnace; the whole mountain shook greatly. And the sound of the trumpet increased and became exceeding loud; Moses spoke, and God answered him by a voice.
The earthquake is proof of God’s presence. The tearing of the veil was evidence that the Son’s sacrifice was received. Once and for all, man’s sin was dealt with, and sin no longer could separate man from his God. It truly was finished. For the first time, a man or woman could come before God without a priest, without a sacrifice, not even a dove, the very least of all the sacrifices, and would be accepted before A Most Holy God if they (we) appropriated (trusted) in Christ’s death for ourselves.
His mission was accomplished. Through His sacrifice, He ransomed man from Hell. No longer would man be separated from God, his Creator, and Father. No longer would it be necessary to sacrifice a lamb or need a priest to intercede; Christ the final lamb and High Priest ushered in a new and permanent relationship between God and man. Now man, with the residing Holy Spirit within, would become the Holy Temple that God would dwell in (amazing). Man’s being, being Sanctified by faith in Christ Jesus, would allow the Holy Spirit to inhabit man and teach man (us) the ways of God.
My greatest fear for you and me is that we neglect or fail to appreciate such a GREAT SACRIFICE. WE TAKE IT FOR GRANTED, YET IT IS THE ONE THING IN LIFE THAT WE SHOULD DAILY BE THANKING HIM FOR. SO GREAT WAS THE COST OF OUR SALVATION. We must exert all energies to live a holy life, knowing that we will utterly be lost without Him, but by abiding in Him, we will succeed and be saved.
Romans 5:17-19
For if by the offense of the one death reigned by the one, much rather shall those who receive the abundance of grace, and of the gift of righteousness, reign in life by the one Jesus Christ: so then as [it was] by one offense towards all men to condemnation, so by one righteousness towards all men for justification of life. For as indeed by the disobedience of the one man the many have been constituted sinners, so also by the obedience of the one, the many will be constituted righteous.
John 15:1-5
Jesus Is the True Vine
I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth (prunes) it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can — do nothing.
Now maybe we can appreciate the depth and profoundness of this verse.
John 3:16-17
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believes on him may not perish, but have life eternal. For God has not sent his Son into the world that he may judge (condemn) the world, but that the world may be saved through him.
Therefore Peter asks this question;
2 Peter 3:10-11
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which, the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up ( so building our castle here makes no sense, it is intellectually foolish and emotionally futile). Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
The Cross alone proves Christ as our Savior. The miracles speak to the heart and compassion of God towards His creation. No other has done these miracles nor sacrificed so much. There is no question that He alone is our Savior and deserves our allegiance and faith. Therefore, denying His claim as our Savior is to deny a substantial weight of evidence that begs the question as to why? Is there something we are hiding or do not want to come to terms with, and is it worth it? Regardless of what we have to surrender or give up, does it matter in light of what He sacrificed? Eternity, peace with God, forgiveness, and His guidance over our lives are so valuable and precious than whatever we are seeking to hang on to here.
A wise saying, “A man or woman is no fool to give up that which he or she cannot keep, to gain what he or she cannot lose.”
Jesus says it like this;
Matthew 10:38-39
And he who does not take up his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of me. He that finds his life shall lose it, and he who has lost his life for my sake shall find it.
Also, in Luke 12:16-21
And he spoke a parable to them, saying, The land of a certain rich man brought forth abundantly. And he reasoned within himself, saying, What shall I do? For I have not [a place] where I shall lay up my fruits. And he said, This will I do: I will take away my granaries and build greater, and there I will lay up all my produce and my good things, and I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast many good things laid by for many years; repose thyself, eat, drink, be merry. But God said to him, Fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee; and whose shall be what thou hast prepared? Thus is he who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.
The bottom line and where our faith needs to take us.
Luke 12:27-32
Consider the lilies how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I say unto you, Not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed as one of these. But if God thus clothe the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is cast into [the] oven, how much rather you, O ye of little faith? And *ye*, seek not what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink, and be not in anxiety; for all these things do the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that ye have need of these things, but seek his kingdom, and [all] these things shall be added to you. Fear not, little flock, for it has been the good pleasure of your Father to give you the kingdom (especially since He gave us His Son, no greater security could one have).
Father,
The basic message of the Gospel is a profound one and one that needs repeating frequently less we become insensitive to Your Heart and ways. Help us, Father, to spend the time in study and prayer so that You can deepen our relationship with You and be a confident son or daughter and a witness to those around us.
To come to Christ, say this prayer,
Father, thank you for all you have done. I accept your love and atonement for me and ask that you would forgive me and grant unto me your Holy Spirit. Give me a strong desire to want to be close to You, and grant me the desire and wisdom to forsake all to follow You and find joy and pleasure to love the teaching of your Word, the Bible.
Thank you and Amen,
Your new son or daughter by Grace
Thank you, and Amen.
Arthur Navarrette