Why Did Jesus Christ Die? — Peter Brandon

The Cross as the Power and Wisdom of God

Now my reading tonight comes from 1 Corinthians chapter 1 and we're going to read from verse 18. 1 Corinthians chapter 1. Reading from verse 18. For the preaching of the cross is for them that perish foolishness.

But unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it is written I will destroy the wisdom of the wise. I will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise where is the scribe where is the disputer of this world.

Have not God made foolish the wisdom of this world. For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom you not God it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them to believe for the Jews require a sign and Greeks seek after wisdom.

But we preach Christ crucified unto the Jews a stumbling block unto the Greeks foolishness but unto them which are called both Jews and Greeks Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

For you see your calling brethren how that not many wise men after the flesh not many mighty not many noble are called but God have chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. And God have chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty and base things of the world.

And the things which are despised have God chosen yet things which are not to bring to naught things that are that no flesh should glory in his presence but of him are ye in Christ Jesus who have God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption that according as it is written he that glorieth let him glory in the Lord.

And I brethren when I came to you came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom declaring unto you the testimony of God. But I determined not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and him crucified.

I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. And my speech of my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom but in the demonstration of the Spirit and of power. That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

And we all know that God will bless the reading of the Bible. One very religious lady after hearing the message on the cross stay behind and she had a problem. She said that she belonged to a particular church and the name of it I will not mention but she said I could never understand why Jesus said on the cross my God my God why has thou forsaken.

Then she turned to me and said would you forsake your son when he was dying. I said definitely not. Why did God forsake his son when he was hanging on the cross. I could never understand. Now my dear friends with that in mind I want to preach on the cross tonight and answer that question.

The way I'm going to deal with the subject will be quite simple. First of all I want to show you how he died. Then I want to get a little closer to the cross who died the dignity of the cross. Then we will get right to the heart of that question the profundity of the cross.

The Cross Was Foretold Before Creation

Why did he say my God my God why has thou forsaken then. And then we're going to finish by asking the question the mystery of the cross for whom he died first of all then how he died. Now if we imagine that the Lord Jesus died just as a martyr may I say kindly we have misunderstood the cross.

Peter tells us in his first letter that he was a lamb slain before the foundation of the earth. That meant before God created anything right in heaven on its blueprint was the cross of Christ. And therefore the cross was always in the mind of God.

It's central in the economy of God. Immediately sin found its birth in the human heart. God actually predicted the cross 4 ,000 years before he came in the presence of Adam and Eve. And Satan himself.

He said something like this. I will put enmity between thee and the woman between thy seed and her seed. It shall bruise thy head thou shall bruise his heel. In other words through a woman a man child would be born that would bruise the head of Satan.

And whilst bruising the head of Satan he too would be wounded. And that was made 4 ,000 years before he came. An old man was climbing Mount Moriah with his son and they were going to the peak for the purpose of worship.

When they almost got to the summit of the mount. The son who was about 21 looked and said father you've got the bowl of fire and the sacrificial knife. I've got the wood. But where's the lamb for a burnt offering.

That old man stood on his toes and looked toward Calvary and he prophesied. He said my son God will provide himself a lamb. Now those who know your Bible know it was a ram for Isaac. But he was speaking of the lamb of God about a thousand years before Jesus ever came into this world a king.

A king was writing probably on a primitive form of skin and he wrote words that were so amazing. I don't think he fully understood the details of the words that he was writing. He was writing under divine inspiration.

And this is what he wrote. My God my God why hast thou forsaken me. In other words he was actually prophesying the very words that the Messiah would say after he had completed being the great sin offering.

A thousand years before he came roughly about 800 years before the Lord Jesus came a man by the name of Isaiah one of the world's greatest poets received a mighty revelation of Calvary and right in the midst of a wonderful sonnet on the passions of Christ he wrote these amazing words.

He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities and the chastisement of our peace was upon him. And with his stripes we are healed. 800 years before he came. Zechariah was perhaps the last man who predicted the cross almost 480 years before the cross actually took place.

And as he saw Calvary he wrote these amazing words. Awake oh sword against thy shepherd against the man that is thy associate. Smite the shepherd and the sheep shall be scattered. Speaking of Jesus Christ as the slain ship then there came into this world.

And how I praise God for him. A man who was made of steel. John the Baptist the greatest of all prophets. And he was telling the Jewish nation that they had to repent because of their evil ways. For the Messiah was going to come.

And obviously some of them were mocking saying John they told us that years ago. But he hasn't come. And one day and I like to think with tears in his eyes he saw the Messiah and he introduced him to the world.

And what did he say. Behold the King no behold the Lamb of God that beareth away the sin of the world. And immediately Jesus Christ commenced his ministry. He was heard to say as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.

Now can you see 4000 years of prophecy 99 direct prophecies found in the Old Testament concerning the cross. Now I want to challenge you. Do you know of any other person in history that was prophesied to die like that.

And this makes Jesus Christ totally unique. But his death was painful. I believe personally that the Lord Jesus suffered physically more than any other man. I cannot go into his spiritual sufferings. Nor could I go into his mental sufferings.

The Physical Sufferings of Jesus

But I'm thinking now of his physical sufferings. He was buffeted. We don't use that word today. It means punished. And if you read the narrative carefully you will find this. He was assorted by herald soldiers by the temple police and by the Roman soldiers.

And probably 39 men walked forward all weighing over 14 stone and heaped upon the face of the Lord Jesus their heaviest pun. And the word said his face was marred more than any man. Secondly after the buffeting he was scourged.

I wish really I had a scourge here at least a Roman scourge and you could see a long piece of leather studded with lead. And if I brought that scourge across this platform it would splinter in all directions.

The Lord Jesus was tied to a whipping post and soldier after soldier heaped again their heaviest whipping mark on his back until his back was like a plowed field. And after the buffeting after the awful scourging they crucify him.

Now all I'm going to say about crucifixion is this. It was the worst form of torture that man has ever invented. It defies description. And the one that made heaven and earth was the one that was suspended between heaven and earth in total disgrace for that was the meaning of crucifixion.

The man was not fit for heaven the man was not fit for earth. So they suspended a man between heaven and earth. And they did that to the creator his physical self. But we must never imagine that the cross of the Lord Jesus was marked by defeat.

When he had been on that cross for six hours suffering before men. And then those three awful hours when he suffered before God there were three outstanding miracles. The first was this he bowed his head.

Now I'm quoting from Mr. Vine. And Mr. Vine makes it very clear that the word bow there in the Greek doesn't mean that he dropped his head. Now I do not want to have humor in this meeting tonight. But if you did fall asleep in this meeting because your back is in an upright position your head would drop.

When normally a man died on the cross his head would drop lifelessly. The Lord Jesus actually bent his head right back. When you go to sleep tonight on your bed you don't drop your head. The day is finished the work is done.

You pillow your head. And when the Lord Jesus had finished the work of redemption hallelujah he put his head back. He finished the work. What a savior. And then he cried with a loud voice. Now we all know that when a person is dying and if the death has been painful and it's been prolonged if he can whisper it's a miracle.

When the Lord Jesus came to the ninth hour the hour of his death he was able to say with a very loud voice my God my God why has thou forsaken me. And immediately following one word finished done to completion and that is totally miraculous.

And then he was able to do something that none of us can do. Human beings can die through natural causes that we call death or foolishly they can die by suicide. The Lord Jesus did not die by natural causes.

He certainly didn't die by suicide. But when his work was done his own life's force was given back to God. Father into thy hands. I commend my spirit. He said. I have power to lay it down. I have power to take it again.

The Dignity of the Crucified Christ

This commandment have I received from my father. No wonder we as Christians were singing hallelujah what a savior. Let's get nearer to the cross who died. You know dear friends the more I look at the cross and the more I see the dignity of the cross the more broken I get.

I want to say it casually but I want you to grip it. The man the being the creator that made this mighty universe was the one that hung on that cross. Lightfoot put it beautifully. It was not God who died but he who died was God.

And three men gave witness to it or two men and the divine person gave witness to it. One was a malefactor and I want you to note his position. His hands his extremities were all crucified. His feet were locked together pierced by a single spike.

Every movement of his body exaggerated the pain. His body by this time would be swollen twice its normal size because it was gangrene or gangrene. Probably at this time he would have bronchopneumonia and would be gasping for breath.

His head would be literally spinning right in the midst of all those terrible pains. He gets a revelation. That's a miracle. When pain is in wits around he listens to his friend blaspheming the Lord Jesus.

And then he looks at the Lord Jesus. And a wonderful revelation came to him that the man that was dying there was God. The whole scene was one of irreverence. But suddenly this man was ushered into the sanctuary of God.

And he turned to his friend and said something like this. Does thou not fear God seeing you're in the same judgment. He saw that in Christ. Everyone in the Old Testament that realized that he was in the presence of God abhorred himself in dust and ash.

This man now in the presence of God said we indeed justly the due rewards of our disease we deserve to be judged. Then he looked again and saw something that was beautiful. He looked at Christ. He heard that prayer.

Father forgive them. They know not what they do. And the spirit must have said the man's perfect. And he said this. This man hath done nothing amiss. Then he must have understood a little that Christ was dying for his sins.

But more than that somehow the Holy Spirit revealed to him that the Lord Jesus was going to be raised from the dead. And would you believe it. They had crowned him with thorns that he could see the moment when God would crown him with glory and great honor.

And then he let out a wonderful prayer. Look hands pierced feet pierced couldn't be baptized couldn't take the communion. All he had free was his heart and his lips. And this is what he said. Lord remember me when you come into your kingdom.

And the Lord met him immediately. And this is what he said today. What prompted you thou shalt be with me. What companionship in paradise. What bliss a dying malefactor. There was another witness and I love this.

The Centurion Recognizes the Son of God

It was the centurion. Let me give you his background. He had been before the great Caesar. And like all centurions in his passing I'm afraid he would climb the steps of the Imperial Palace on his knees.

Then he would kiss the toe of Caesar. Then he would kiss the scepter by the side of Caesar. And then he would swear blasphemy that I can't do on this platform because no one must speak disparagingly of the Almighty God.

All I can say is this that he called Caesar the Almighty God. Now note this. If any centurion swore his allegiance to another deity he was sacked immediately. This man watched all the details of Jesus on the cross.

He saw the supernatural darkness. He heard the forgiving prayer. He heard the forsaking prayer. He drew near and in the gloom saw the head going back. And he heard the mighty word finished. He saw him giving back his life to God.

The Resurrection Confirms the Cross

And he threw his job to the wind smote upon his breast and said truly this man son of God. The first man to be saved was a Jew the second a Gentile. But there's another witness. God watched two men taking the body of the Lord Jesus from the cross and he respected them.

He saw them laying the Lord Jesus his son in a rich man's tomb according to the prophecy of Isaiah 53 he waited one day two days. He moved into the third day. And then he and the Holy Spirit did something that's indisputable.

They went into that sepulcher and they raised the Lord Jesus from the dead never to die again. And when God raised him from the dead he was saying this to our world. I'm confirming all that Jesus Christ said.

I'm confirming all that he taught. I'm confirming all that he did on the cross. I'm confirming that he is the Savior and Lord and the coming King. And he confirmed it by raising him from the dead. And tomorrow night that's my subject the evidence of the resurrection of Christ.

And what a wonderful Savior that the man who hung on that Roman gibbet was the mighty son of God. But now I close. Why did he say on the cross in a loud voice so that all could hear my God my God why hast thou forsaken me.

If he had said it with a low apprehensive voice my God my God why hast thou forsaken me. There would be difficulty. But no it was loud it was clear it was plain for all to see my God my God why hast thou forsaken me.

Human Sin and the Need for Judgment

Now we shall never understand that cry until we understand our plight. Every little baby that's born into the world it doesn't matter what color or what class every single baby that's born into this world has within that body the potential to sin.

And therefore in the very conception of that child Psalm 51 makes it quite clear that child was conceived in sin. And it doesn't matter how cultured the mother might be there is no mother no matter where she is in a palace or a prison who will stop that child from sinning.

And no one can deny that fact. Secondly God has given the human race 10 simple commands and there has never lived a human being apart from the Lord Jesus that's kept them. And every time we break one of those commandments we sin.

And the average person violates the 10 commandments no less than 1 million times. When Adam sinned once and God said to him the day that thou eatest thou shalt surely die. The moment he disobeyed God death came.

So one sin must be punished. The wages of sin is there. Therefore this is what the Bible says. The law was given that every mouth may be stopped and that the whole world might become guilty before God.

Now friends this is the thing that frightens me in the flat where we're staying that almost pulverized me today I looked across the sea and saw hundreds of people enjoying themselves. And this is what I said.

Every single one of those dear people have been born in sin. They've broken the law of God and they're guilty before God but they don't know it. Dear friends can I say something that's hard. But indeed love because you were born in sin and you've broken the law of God you're guilty.

And oh dear friends if you die with that guilt you will be eternally separated from God. Now immediately we are aware of our personal guilt. Then the cross will bloom with new meaning. Why did he say my God my God why hast thou forsaken me.

Christ Bore Sin and Judgment for Us

My dear friends when he hung upon the cross the almighty God for the first time brought the sin of the world together. None of us can measure. Then meticulously he measured its judgment. That's totally out of our depth.

And then not as a whipping man or an angry God. God was in Christ. They were both together in it. He brought sin and judgment upon his son and for three hours he went right to the depth. None of us can fully understand it.

But this is what the book says. He who knew no sin was made sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. This is what the apostle Peter says. He bare our sins in his own body on the train.

And when the Lord Jesus had exhausted all the judgment of God he let out that great cry. My God my God why hast thou forsaken me. Do you know why. Dear friends. Because he loved you he loved you and was prepared to take your sin and judgment.

Then he cried that amazing word and the whole of heaven must have gone into jubilation. I can almost imagine the almighty God saying we have traced it all the way through the centuries. And now he's done it.

It's finished. I can now come to the human race and forgive them on a just basis. The work was done and that's why he raised him from the dead. That's why he set him at his own right hand. And through that lovely man the Lord Jesus we can experience forgiveness.

The Gospel Must Become Personal

Now a preacher can say no more than that. You see my dear friends all I can say is this when we preach the gospel we must bring the people to the cross. And we must tell them that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures.

That's all we can say. But something else has to take place. That's beyond the preacher. You see Paul kept on using the word called called. I can't call you. You know in my. And I'm foolish. I wish I could.

But I can't. The spirit of God has to know. And you say well what happens when the spirit of God moves. And we get the call. The cross becomes personal. You don't see Christ dying for the world. You don't see him dying for that select group of people called the church.

There's the cross there's the savior. And there's you. And you say this with the apostle Paul. He loved me gave himself for me. Don't wonder. I can't do that only the spirit of God. And when you say that my dear friends you get a terrible shock.

You say something like this Lord Jesus as you hang on that cross bearing judgment. Are you bearing the judgment for my bad temper my lies my lust my jealousy my deceit my selfishness. Yes but more. Are you suffering there because I've got this evil nature.

Yes. And you're bearing my judgment. When that hits you friends something like this will take place. You will turn right away from a sinning life and say I'm finished with it. And you will turn to God in real repentance.

And then you'll look again and say this Lord forgive my crudeness forgive my reverence. But are you saying on the cross that you love me. And you're dying for me. I am. And then you see the utter reality of God's love.

There isn't a tinge of hypocrisy in it and he loves you unto death. And when you've gripped that you'll soon be on your knees saying like one did in the new testament God on the grounds of shed blood.

Receiving Forgiveness Through Christ's Blood

Be merciful to me a sinner. We were having meetings in Glasgow. I shall never forget this in a huddle and a sister had invited all her neighbours who were members of the Church of Scotland. And may I say this.

They were delightful people. And there would be in this room about 15 ladies and about five men and I took them through the gospel. Every Wednesday morning we were having a month's meeting. Then on one occasion the elder of this particular church and his wife stayed behind and I could see he was greatly moved.

And after some conversation he said this Mr Brandon I've been helping the minister for nearly 30 years as an elder to take the communion. I've taught boys and girls for about 15 years that scripture Christ died for our sins.

And then he stopped and he swallowed and he turned his face from me and his eyes went all misty and he couldn't say a word. And then when he composed himself he said but I never knew he died for my sins.

I said do you know that now. He said yes. And what have you done. He says I've knelt down and received that forgiveness through the blood. And what's happened. He says I've got paid and his wife butted in and she said that's happened to me too.

That was divine revelation accepted but it can be rejected. May it be tonight as you sit there and I'm praying this. I'm not preaching this friends. I'm praying that God will give you a revelation so that you'll be able to say tonight and receive it that Christ died for my sins according to the scripture.