Preaching Christ Crucified and why is the topic we started last time. And we want to continue with it, in the light of the season which we are, that is, the passion of Christ. And our text is still 1 Corinthians 1:23; 2:1-2

1 Corinthians 1:23

²³ but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness,

1 Corinthians 2:2

² For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

PRAYER:

Father, we’ve come again. We’re praying now, that the time we have to spend around your Word and in Your presence will be productive; very fruitful, for as many as are reading, in Jesus Name we pray. Amen!

Why do we preach Christ crucified and Him alone? We preach Christ crucified and that alone because of the claims of Christ and because of the clout of Christ. He saw last time that Jesus claimed to be God. He is, was and still is the I AM.

And then we went into His clout. By His clout we are talking about the things He did; what He did. And under that we talked about His incarnation, His ministration, His crucifixion, His resurrection, His salvation and His coronation. We started with His incarnation. And we said that Jesus Christ was God who came down in the form of a man; and that qualified Him to die for the sins of men. For there is no other one good enough to pay the price of sin, Cecil F Alexander said in his hymn. He only could unlock the gates of heaven and let us in. His incarnation is clearly stated in the scripture.

John 1:1,3,14

¹In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ³ All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. ¹⁴ And the Word became flesh [that is, man or humans] and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

The incarnation: God becoming man because of His love for the sinner. Apart from His incarnation, His ministration. The ministration of Christ. The four gospels, Mathew, Mark, Luke and John record the ministration of Jesus Christ prior to His coming. For four hundred years the Word of God was not heard and His Works were not seen in Israel. John the baptizer broke the silence when He introduced Jesus to the nation of Israel in the now familiar words: Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. John 1:29

John 1:34

³⁴ And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.

So, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world is the Son of God, Jesus Christ.

There are two summary statements for the ministration of Christ by Luke in Acts of the Apostles.

Acts 1:1-2; 10:36-38

Acts 1:1-2

The former account I made, O Theophilus [Luke says], of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, ² until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen…

All that Jesus began to do and to teach and that which He began to do and to teach is what He has left for His followers (those who believe in Him) to continue and to finish.

Acts 10:36-38

³⁶ The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ—He is Lord of all— ³⁷ that word you know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached: ³⁸ how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.

This is a summary, a beautiful summary of the ministration of Jesus Christ.

Now let’s go to the crucifixion of Christ.

1 Corinthians 1:23. Here the apostle Paul says, We preach Christ crucified.

1 Corinthians 2:2

² For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

That the Word of God might be fulfilled, the Jews, out of envy, arrested Jesus Christ and handed Him over to the Romans to be executed by crucifixion. In Matthew 27:15-20.

¹⁵ Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to releasing to the multitude one prisoner whom they wished. ¹⁶ And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas.¹⁷ Therefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” ¹⁸ For he knew that they had handed Him over because of envy. ¹⁹ While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, “Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him.” ²⁰ But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus

You see there was no guilt. There was no fault found in Him for the man who sentenced Him to death said so. I find no fault in this Man. The hymn writer Cecil Alexander says,

He died that we might be forgiv’n,
He died to make us good,
That we might go at last to Heav’n,
Saved by His precious blood.

Friend, if you go to hell you will have yourself to blame; for God has done all that it will take to send you to heaven. And that is, send His Son to pay for your sins.

The resurrection

Now we go to the resurrection. The empty tomb is the crux, the center, the cornerstone of the Christian faith. Without the resurrection of Christ there is no Christianity. This sets Christianity apart from all other religions. In 1 Corinthians 15:14 we read,

¹⁴ And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty.

His resurrection is proof that His sacrifice for sin and for sins was accepted by God the Father. You may say, but you said for sin and for sins. What is the difference? Singular! Plural! No not just singular or plural. Sin (singular) is the sin nature that gives rise, that produces sins: the fruit. But Jesus died for both.

Romans 4:25

²⁵ who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.

Was delivered up because of our offences and was raised because of our justification. If Jesus did not rise from the dead then we will still be in our sins. His resurrection was proof that the Father accepted His sacrifice.

The salvation of Christ.

But what have we been talking about, you may ask? All we have been talking about are the provisions for our salvation.

But in Romans 5:10,

¹⁰ For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

We are saved by the life of Christ. How? Because of His indwelling presence. For His indwelling presence gives us spiritual life by which we have a viable relationship with God. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me. We are saved by the life of Christ because of His indwelling presence; and also because of His intercessory ministry, because the risen Christ is at the right hand of the Father making intercession for us.

Hebrew 7:25

²⁵ Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

We have two other things to talk about: His glorification and His coronation.

His coronation is when He comes back, and He will reign as the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

PRAYER:

Father, we thank You for sending Jesus who has paid the penalties for our sins. He suffered the righteous for the unrighteous, the Holy for the unholy. Thank You. May the life and resurrection of Jesus of Jesus produce healing and health for soul, spirit and body for all who listen to me now, in Jesus Name. Amen!