This week we were saturated with thousands of powerful images. These are images that promise to stand the test of time and evoke the deepest of emotions. In this photo Iraqi men are taking turns swinging a sledgehammer at the base of a statue of Saddam Hussein. The man in this picture was later quoted as saying, "I'm 49, but I never lived a single day. Only now will I start living." Moments later, with the help of American soldiers, this formidable statue was toppled and its head was forcibly decapitated. Then with the eyes of the world watching, the Iraqis dragged his head throughout the city, disgracing Saddam's face with the heels of their shoes.
We saw the jubilant celebration of a people who were once under oppression and tyranny being liberated. They were set free from fear and defeat. And who will forget the images of the grateful Iraqi people dancing in the streets, smiling from ear to ear, kissing our soldiers, and tossing flowers? We have enjoyed freedom for so long that we sometimes forget how great a privilege it is to dance in the streets, to gather at will, to worship as we choose, to speak and vote freely, to choose a better destiny for ourselves, and to have bright future.
The cost of freedom.
But there were other images this week, sobering images, images that remind us that our freedom comes at a great price. Throughout all of human history the cost of freedom has remained constant. The triumph of good over evil can only achieved through the laying down of innocence, the breaking of the body, through the shedding of blood.
The Iraqis and the people of Afghanistan have witnessed this truth first hand. But they aren't alone. Our national freedom has been purchased in this same way. We are the beneficiaries of our forefathers who made the ultimate sacrifice from the time of the Revolutionary War to the present. Like the Iraqi people, we are filled with gratitude and celebrate our freedom as we remember the price our loved ones paid on our behalf.
This Sunday is Palm Sunday. It commemorates the day that Jesus Christ triumphantly entered Jerusalem and was enthusiastically embraced by the oppressed Jewish people. With great anticipation the people danced in the streets. They smiled from ear to ear. They were eager to be set free from the tyrannical Roman regime, from their past sins, to be set free, and to live a new life. But instead of tossing flowers, they laid down palm branches which symbolized the peace that Jesus Christ would establish.
But as we know, their celebration was premature because the cost of peace has always been the shedding of blood. Jesus Christ had not yet given his life for the freedom of his people! That wouldn't come until Good Friday, five days later, when Jesus would lay down his life and suffer a brutal crucifixion before the eyes of a watching world.
And that is precisely what Jesus did. He laid down his life for our freedom. Ironically, at Lakeside this Palm Sunday is also Friend Day. In John 15:13 (NIV) we read, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." Speaking of powerful images, think of the image of Jesus Christ, our friend, the Son of God, purchasing our freedom by laying down his life and making the ultimate, unforgettable sacrifice of his broken body and shed blood. This Sunday we celebrate the cross of Jesus Christ, not because we are masochists or revel in bloodletting or take pleasure in tragedy, but because we are eternally grateful lovers of freedom.
In Hebrews 9 we find three statements describing the benefits of Christ's shed blood.
Christ's shed blood provides forgiveness.
Hebrews 9:22 (NIV) says, "without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness." Hebrews 9:26-28 (NIV) says, "Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him."
When I was in grade school my parents sent me off to church camp every summer. They needed a mini-vacation from me and camp was a lot of fun. It was a win/win situation for both of us.On one particular summer I met a camp counselor from Lincoln Christian College. All the grade schoolers in my dorm had an instant crush on her, including me. Throughout the week we competed with each other for that girl's attention. But what's a grade schooler to do to get the attention of a college girl? My strategy was quite effective.
One evening after a chapel service or something, I began talking with her. Not wanting our conversation to fizzle, I began to fabricate a family problem. Her heart went out to meant she wanted to help. She prayed with me. We read scripture together. We talked the rest of the week! She did all these wonderful things for me, but I was living a lie! As the week progressed I only felt more guilty and miserable. It wasn't worth it!
Later that summer she wrote me a detailed letter following up on our conversation. I was so embarrassed! For weeks I hid the letter under some loose carpeting in the corner of my bedroom, praying that no one else would discover my sin. My worst fear was the thought of having that sin uncovered and exposed or having my brothers or sister or parents read that letter. Deep down, I knew that sin had to be dealt with! I had to clean my room. I eventually wrote the girl back and told her to forget everything I'd said, but then I took that letter out to our garden and burned it until it was ashes. As the letter burned I prayed for God to forgive my sin, my lies, my deceit, and my foolish behavior. Only after that did I find peace.
I tell you that story to illustrate a very important point about Christ's shed blood. Hebrews 9:28 (NIV) says that Christ's blood was shed to, "take away the sins of many people." There is an enormous difference between merely concealing or covering our sins under carpet or wherever else, and having our sins taken away forever. When we try to cover our sins it's like a dark cloud is hanging over us. It's like we're having to bear this enormous, crushing burden alone. No matter how hard we try, we cannot shake it. It haunts us day after day, night after night. It follows us to work, to church, at home at night, and on vacations. There is absolutely no peace in covering our sins. Sin must be dealt with.
Jesus Christ's shed blood enables us to deal with sin. It allows our sins to be totally forgiven and taken away, never to be used against us for all eternity. On the cross Jesus Christ paid the ultimate price to set us free from our past sins. There is no greater price that can be paid than Christ's shed blood! Jesus Christ's broken body and shed blood is the ultimate sacrifice that satisfied God. Christ's sacrifice is sufficient for all of our sin. Nothing measures up with Christ's sacrifice. Not your life, not my life, and not anything we can do or say. Christ's sacrifice pays the penalty for our sin once and for all, so that our sins will never return to haunt us and weigh us down or be held against us.
Christ's shed blood provides forgiveness.
Christ's shed blood purchases freedom.
Take a second look at Hebrews 9:26 and Hebrews 9:28. Christ has appeared once for all. Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people.
We just spoke about how Jesus Christ's shed blood secures forgiveness for our past sins. But what about the sins we will commit today, tomorrow, and every day? A lot of people believe that receiving Christ's forgiveness is a lot like washing your car. No sooner do you go through all that trouble, and then your car needs to be cleansed again. These verses have as much to say about our present sins as about our past sins.
Through Jesus Christ we are as free from our present sins as we are from our past sins. Notice that Christ appeared and sacrificed for our sins, once and for all. His shed blood gets the job done once and for all. For all people, for all ages, for all times. Once we receive Christ's forgiveness that same forgiveness follows the person of faith day after day, week after week, year after year, into eternity. Christ's sacrifice is sufficient once and for all. Although we must continually confess our sins for a lifetime, we must never doubt the reality of our forgiveness.
This is quite a contrast from what occurred in Old Testament times. In the Old Testament the priests had to keep offering sacrifices for sins year after year, first for their own sins, but also for the sins of the people. No one sacrifice could provide sustained forgiveness over time. Each sacrifice could only offer temporary peace. They had to be repeated time and again.
In Christ we gain the assurance of continued, ongoing forgiveness. We can know that we are forgiven even when we fail and sin and displease God. In Christ the pressure of trying to earn our salvation, of trying to be obedient enough, of trying to obey the law perfectly, has been lifted. We have been forgiven. We will continue to be forgiven. Christ's sacrifice frees us to live for and serve God from the heart instead of living out of a constant, paralyzing fear of impending judgment.
Hebrews 9:14 (NIV) says, "How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!"
Let me summarize these two points. There is no peace in trying to cover our past sins. Christ's shed blood provides forgiveness once and for all. His shed blood takes away our guilt. There is no peace in always wondering whether our present sins are forgiven. Our past sins are forgiven. Our present sins are forgiven. In Christ we have been set free from fear of judgment. We are free to live and serve God from the heart.
Christ's shed blood promises an inheritance.
Hebrews 9:15 (NIV) says, "For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance— now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant."
Through Christ's shed blood we have been promised an eternal inheritance. Hebrews 9:28 (NIV) tells us that Christ will, "bring salvation to those who are waiting for him." Christ's shed blood reminds us that we have a bright future in store for us. This means that there is something more in store for us than what we presently know. I am going to talk more about these things next week.
But so many of us are looking for eternal satisfaction and salvation in this present life. We silently hope that our health will sustain us and our strength will never fade. We hope that our loved ones will live forever, that we will always have work, and money enough, and peace, and prosperity, and homeland security. Friends, a news flash! This life is not our destiny and this world is not our home. Through Christ's shed blood we have a promised eternal inheritance. Christ's death frees us to claim that inheritance for ourselves, for eternity.
In conclusion, I will leave you with some powerful images. Christ shed his blood to purchase your freedom, to free your from sin in order to give you a promised inheritance. What's left is for you to embrace this freedom. It is to make good on the sacrifice of the one who willingly offered his life to set you free. You no longer have to live in fear. You no longer have to face the power of evil alone with mere human instruments. The past is history. You have been forgiven and set free to live a new life. You have been given complete victory over the past, present, and future.
You have been set free to live from the heart with gratitude, with hope, to dream of a brighter future with Christ in his kingdom. You are free! But this Palm Sunday don't forget the cost of your freedom. Remember John 15:13 (NIV). "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."
Christ shed his blood for you.