Bible Study -Encounter (5) - JESUS Died for Me - April 2, 2023

 

Bible Study – Encounter (5) -JESUS Died for Me – April 2, 2023

This is lesson five (5) from our series entitled, “My Encounter with JESUS.”

Our focus scripture is John 19:16-19, 28-30 and 38-42.

JESUS’S death on the cross made forgiveness possible for me.

Why did JESUS have to die? It is to remind all people that HE was 100% human, yet 100% GOD. As a human, JESUS, had to remain sinless in order to be the perfect sacrifice, required by GOD, to atone for all sin. HE was tempted in all ways as humans are tempted, yet without sin. HIS sinless blood had to be shed to fulfill the Law. Why? We read in Hebrews 9:22 - ²² According to the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. (For sin)

It all began in the Garden of Eden. GOD gave Adam specific instructions about living in the Garden. There was only one tree in the Garden that Adam or his wife must not eat its fruit, as we read in Genesis 2:15-17: ¹⁵ The Lord God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden to work it and watch over it. ¹⁶ And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree of the garden, ¹⁷ but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.” 

GOD made the man to be responsible and accountable for watching over the Garden and all that went on in it. Later, GOD made woman from a body part of Adam, thus both were made to live eternally as long as they obeyed GOD’S instructions by not eating the forbidden fruit. GOD made them with the freedom to choose. GOD did not make them robots. They both disobeyed GOD by eating the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and true to GOD’S Word, “for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.”  There were other fruit bearing trees to eat from. Do you think the forbidden tree was put there to test Adam and Eve?

GOD made the first Adam and Eve. GOD instructed them to be fruitful and multiply. Thus, Adam’s union with Eve was the beginning of the human race upon earth.

JESUS, the SON of GOD and part of the Holy Trinity, willingly left HIS home in Glory and HIS Glory, to come to earth, to be born the flesh and blood son of the Virgin Mary and live a sinless human life. Why?

Because GOD is all knowing, HE knew that HIS creation would fail the test and would have to be redeemed from losing eternal life and having eternal life restored through faith in JESUS.

But GOD is GOD and HE had a plan. In order for mankind to be fully redeemed from the consequence of sin which is eternal death, GOD required a perfect, sinless sacrifice. This perfect sacrifice had to be fully human with flesh, blood, bones, freedom to choose, sinless but fully capable of sinning.

The scripture reveals that JESUS was tested in all ways that humans are tested, yet without sin. Hebrews 4:15: ¹⁵ For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin.

Here, I pause to tell you of a precious incident I had when teaching vacation Bible school (VBS) in Poland. I had a translator. There was a group of teens from a school for gifted students. This was a week-long VBS and I told them at the beginning of the week, they could ask me a Bible question each day. We got to the last day and there was a group of these students, all girls, in the back of the room that were giggling. I thought to myself, they are going to have a tough question for me today and they did.

So, I asked them for their question. Their question was, “why didn’t GOD send a woman to redeem the human race from sin rather than a man?” WOW! I had not pondered such a question. At that moment, I went into my closet, so-to-speak. It was me and GOD and I asked for HIS help and help came. It was direct and straight forward and straight out of Genesis 2:15-17: ¹⁵ The Lord God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden to work it and watch over it. ¹⁶ And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree of the garden, ¹⁷ but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.” 

YES, GOD had made Adam responsible for the garden and what went on in the Garden. Adam was accountable to GOD. Adam had the responsibility and authority to stop Eve from eating the forbidden fruit. But for whatever reason, he just stood beside his wife and let her take a bite and Adam in turn took a bit. When they took a bite, they both realized that they were naked. Sin had entered the world and they lost their eternal life for themselves and their off spring. That is why GOD sent HIS only SON, JESUS, a male, to redeem all who will place their faith in JESUS.

They said, we accept that. I breathed a sigh of relief.

Adam was standing next to Eve and rather than stopping her, he joined her. Judgement came to both of them and the human race lost eternal life. So, GOD sent HIS only SON to redeem all who will place their faith in HIM from eternal death and to receive eternal life, while still in a human body.

Those who have been born-again by the Spirit will never be found naked before GOD but will eternally be clothed.

JESUS willingly left HIS home in Heaven to come to earth to be that perfect sacrifice. Just for you. Now that is personal How do you know that? Simply, GOD’S redemptive plan covers all who place their faith in JESUS and trust in HIM. If you were the only person to ever receive JESUS as your Savior, He would have given HIS sinless life just for you. That simple action triggers the miracle of a person being Spiritually born into GOD’S Family, never to be Spiritually unborn.

GOD’S redemptive plan had to be executed because of Adam and Eve’s original sin of disobedience. Accepting JESUS as your Savior restores eternal life and makes you an eternal Child of GOD.  

Redemption was and is a process which cost JESUS an agonizing death upon the cross and HIS blood shed to pay for sin in full. Some may say, well “if sin is paid in full, then all people are saved!” NO! Each person must accept JESUS as his or her Savior by asking JESUS to come into his or her heart to be Spiritually born into GOD’S Family.

What did JESUS tell Nicodemus in John 3:1-3:

There was a man from the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. ² This man came to him at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one could perform these signs you do unless God were with him.”

³ Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born again,^[a] he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Let’s read John 19:12-19:

¹² From that moment Pilate kept trying^[b] to release him. But the Jews shouted, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend. Anyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar!”

¹³ When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus outside. He sat down on the judge’s seat in a place called the Stone Pavement (but in Aramaic,^[c] Gabbatha). ¹⁴ It was the preparation day for the Passover, and it was about noon.^[d] Then he told the Jews, “Here is your king!”

¹⁵ They shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!”

Pilate said to them, “Should I crucify your king?”

“We have no king but Caesar!” the chief priests answered.

¹⁶ Then he handed him over to be crucified.

The Crucifixion – Only the Romans had the authority to crucify.

Then they took Jesus away.^[e] 17 Carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called Place of the Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. ¹⁸ There they crucified him and two others with him, one on either side, with Jesus in the middle. ¹⁹ Pilate also had a sign made and put on the cross. It said: Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. 

²⁰ Many of the Jews read this sign, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, Latin, and Greek. ²¹ So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Don’t write, ‘The king of the Jews,’ but that he said, ‘I am the king of the Jews.’”

²² Pilate replied, “What I have written, I have written.”

I have thought that Pilate saw JESUS as the Messiah.

²³ When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, a part for each soldier. They also took the tunic, which was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. ²⁴ So they said to one another, “Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it, to see who gets it.” This happened that the Scripture might be fulfilled that says: They divided my clothes among themselves, and they cast lots for my clothing.^[f] This is what the soldiers did.

JESUS’ Provision for His Mother

²⁵ Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. ²⁶ When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple he loved (John) standing there, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” ²⁷ Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.

Let’s read John 19:28-30:

The Finished Work of Jesus

²⁸ After this, when Jesus knew that everything was now finished that the Scripture might be fulfilled, he said, “I’m thirsty.” ²⁹ A jar full of sour wine was sitting there; so, they fixed a sponge full of sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it up to his mouth.

³⁰ When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished.” Then bowing his head, he gave up his spirit.

JESUS endured agony until HE knew “it is finished.” JESUS knew what had to be accomplished for GOD to restore eternal life to all people who place their faith in HIM from the consequence of sin.

Notice - HE gave up His spirit. JESUS had to trust HIS FATHER, GOD and HE did. In Acts 2: ³² “God has raised this Jesus; we are all witnesses of this. 

JESUS took no short cuts! HE trusted HIS FATHER to resurrect HIM. We, in-turn, can trust both GOD our FATHER and JESUS our SAVIOR.

There is no other way to be redeemed from Hell, except by placing one’s faith in JESUS.

Was JESUS really dead? Let’s read on ----

Let’s read John 19:31-42:

Jesus’s Side Pierced

³¹ Since it was the preparation day, the Jews did not want the bodies to remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a special^[g] day). They requested that Pilate have the men’s legs broken and that their bodies be taken away. ³² So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man and of the other one who had been crucified with him. ³³ When they came to Jesus, they did not break his legs since they saw that he was already dead. ³⁴ But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out. ³⁵ He who saw this has testified so that you also may believe. His testimony is true, and he knows he is telling the truth. ³⁶ For these things happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled: Not one of his bones will be broken.^[h] 37 Also, another Scripture says: They will look at the one they pierced.^[i]

Jesus’s Burial

³⁸ After this, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus—but secretly because of his fear of the Jews—asked Pilate that he might remove Jesus’s body. Pilate gave him permission; so, he came and took his body away. ³⁹ Nicodemus (who had previously come to him at night) also came, bringing a mixture of about seventy-five pounds^[j] of myrrh and aloes. ⁴⁰ They took Jesus’s body and wrapped it in linen cloths with the fragrant spices, according to the burial custom of the Jews. ⁴¹ There was a garden in the place where he was crucified. A new tomb was in the garden; no one had yet been placed in it. ⁴² They placed Jesus there because of the Jewish day of preparation and since the tomb was nearby.

JESUS, GOD’S only SON, willingly left HIS home in Heaven and came to earth to redeem all who place their faith in HIM from eternal death and be Spirit-born into the family of GOD. He did this just for you. Will you accept JESUS as your Savior now? The decision is yours to make and it is eternal.

Dear JESUS, I ask YOU to forgive me for all my sins. I believe YOU gave YOUR sinless life upon the cross to pay for my sins in full. I ask YOU, JESUS to come into my heart so that I may be Spirit-born and become an eternal Child of GOD. Amen and Thank YOU

If you prayed this prayer or something like it, then, welcome into the Family of GOD.

2 Corinthians 5:21: ²¹ He (GOD) made the one who did not know sin (JESUS) to be sin^[e] for us, so that in him (JESUS) we might become the righteousness of God.

GOD is GOD and HE declares all who place their faith in JESUS to be righteous and to be Spiritually and eternally born into HIS Family.

Plus, those Spirit-born have a special calling as we read in 2 Corinthians 20: ²⁰ Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God.” Through faith in JESUS!!! Blessings!!!