The Centurion at the Cross | Centurion (Part 1)

[00:00:03] Speaker B: You're listening to the Travis Rutland Podcast. Travis Rutland is a spirit filled pastor and ministry leader who has been featured on International Christian Television. He serves as lead pastor of Liberty Square Church in Cartersville, Georgia and as president of Global Servants. His sermons focus on clear biblical teaching, practical truth and encouragement for everyday life. Each message is designed to strengthen your faith and draw you deeper into God's word. This podcast is brought to you to you by Global Servants. For more information about Global servants, please visit globalservants.org now here's Travis Rutland. [00:00:43] Speaker C: Now this morning we're beginning a new series. I'm beginning a new series called Centurion. And we're just simply going to look at different centurions in the Bible, specifically centurions in the New Testament. No centurions existed in the Old Testament, of course, so this will be a New Testament series on centurions in the Bible. [00:01:00] Speaker A: This morning I want to look at [00:01:01] Speaker C: the centurion at the cross. Now we're going to go a little out of order because it's Easter. So I want to read those passages and then we're going to go back to this interaction between Jesus and the centurion during the crucifixion. So turn, if you will to Luke chapter 23, and we're going to begin reading with verse 50, Luke 23 and 50. For those of you who are here for our Good Friday service, we're going to pick up these verses. We'll pick up right where we left off Friday. So Luke the 23rd chapter and verse 50. Now behold, there was a man named Joseph, a council member, a good and just man. He had not consented to their decision and deed, that is, the decision to crucify Jesus. He was from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, for himself was also waiting for the kingdom of God. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a tomb that was hewn out of the rock where no one had ever laid before. That day was the preparation, and the Sabbath drew near. And the women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed after, and they observed the tomb and how his body was laid. Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils, and they rested on the Sabbath according to the Commandment chapter 24. Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they and certain other women with them came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. And it happened as they were greatly perplexed about this, that, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen. Let's pray. God, we thank you on this Easter Sunday for your risen son, the. The risen and resurrected son, that same power flowing out to us. God, we thank you for Easter and all that it means for each of us. We love you and we worship you. Speak to us this morning. We want to hear your words. For each of us, myself included, speak to us. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Making a decision is based on all kinds of factors that go into the decision. The more complicated the decision, the more factors that you have to consider. For example, if you go to the sandwich place and you order a sandwich and they say, chips come with that. Do you want regular barbecue? You don't have to go through a lengthy list of pros and cons. You know what I'm saying? You don't have to make a list. Barbecue on one side, and what do you like about it, what you don't like about it. You just decide, regular or barbecue, it's not that complicated. But when you go to making more complicated decisions, you factor in all kinds of factors. There's all kinds of things. If you decide to buy a house, there's all kinds of stuff about a house. Do you want to buy a house that's in a neighborhood or out in the country? If you want a house in a neighborhood, do you want one with an HOA or one that doesn't have an hoa? Do you want to have bedrooms upstairs or downstairs? Do you want to not have an upstairs at all? Because you don't want to go up and down the stairs. [00:04:15] Speaker A: And. [00:04:15] Speaker C: And of course, the most important thing that comes into buying a house is price. Because if you make $35,000 a year, you can't be looking at $1.2 million houses. [00:04:26] Speaker A: They're out of your price range, no [00:04:27] Speaker C: matter how great it is. [00:04:29] Speaker A: And the thing is, with a house, [00:04:30] Speaker C: you're never going to find everything that's got everything. So what you do is you say, well, we wanted a bigger yard, but we like everything else, so we're going to buy this. So there's all kinds of factors that go into that or anything where. [00:04:41] Speaker A: What kind of a job? [00:04:42] Speaker C: Well, do I want to take this job or stay with the Job I'm at or with relationships. Do I want to marry this person? If you make a pros and cons list, do not show it to the other person. [00:04:54] Speaker A: I'm just going to tell you that right now. [00:04:56] Speaker C: I've been married a long time and [00:04:58] Speaker A: he or she does not want to [00:05:00] Speaker C: see your con list for marrying them. [00:05:01] Speaker A: Okay? [00:05:02] Speaker C: So don't make a pros and cons list. [00:05:04] Speaker A: But there's all kinds of stuff. Do I want to spend the rest [00:05:06] Speaker C: of my life with this person? There's all kinds of things that go into that. The centurion that oversees the crucifixion of Jesus is a fascinating character. Now, a couple of things I want to mention here as we begin the series. Not all Roman soldiers are centurions. Centurions are, for lack of a better word, officers. They are responsible for 100 men, what the Romans called a century, therefore a centurion. So not all of them are centurions. So centurions are leaders of a hundred lower ranking soldiers. So they're in leadership and they would be given these types of assignments. They would be given stuff that's important, things that require additional leadership. In particular, one of the things the centurions oversaw was executions, of which this is happening here on this hill outside of Jerusalem. So this centurion story, this tiny little minute thing that happens during the crucifixion of Jesus is recorded in three different gospels. Matthew, Mark and Luke. I believe that they talk to the people after these things happened. Matthew wanted to know, what were you thinking? What were you feeling? Luke does the same thing. Remember, Luke is not a disciple, he's a later convert. And so he's writing the story of Jesus and he wants to gather the facts and he wants to interview people. Each of them records the centurion at the cross when Jesus dies. Matthew, Mark, and Luke. But each of them records it slightly differently. Slightly differently. And I believe that as he told his story, all three of these men picked out particular things that resonated with them and recorded it in their gospel, giving us a more complete understanding and picture of what the centurion was thinking [00:06:58] Speaker A: and how he made his decision. [00:07:01] Speaker C: We know what happens. We've read the crucifixion story, but I want to have all three in front of us. So we'll go through one at a time. Turn, if you will, to the Gospel of Mark. We're going to start there. Mark, chapter 15 and verse 39. [00:07:20] Speaker B: If you'd like to stay connected with what God is doing through global servants, we'd Love for you to check out our free We Serve magazine. Each issue shares stories, ministry updates and photography from our work across West Africa and through our House of Grace girls homes in Thailand and Ghana. It's a closer look at the lives being impacted and the work taking place through Global Servants. We publish new editions throughout the year along with our annual report each fall, so you can stay connected with the ministry year round. If you live in the US you can sign up to receive a free copy by mail and for Those outside the US digital editions are available online. Sign up today at globalservants.org weserve-magazine. [00:08:06] Speaker C: Mark 15 and 39 so when the centurion who stood opposite Jesus saw that, he cried out like this and breathed his last. He said, truly this man was the Son of God. That's all Mark tells us. Now I imagine this centurion, when you sign up, when you they are citizen soldiers. When you sign up to be a soldier in the Roman army, you think now when you join the military here in America, you might sign up for a two year or a four year stint or something like that. When you signed up to be a soldier in the Roman army at that time, you signed up for 25 years. 25 years right off the bat. So this guy's been around for a while. He's been in the army for a while. He's worked his way up to centurion. This is not his first crucifixion. He has seen men die in every corner of the Roman empire since his 25 year stint began. And now on this lonely hill outside of Jerusalem, he and a handful of his soldiers lead three criminals up to the top of this hill. They lay them down on the cross, they pound nails into their wrists and into their ankles. They lift them up and then once you've done that, there's nothing left to do except wait for him to die. And I can imagine this centurion standing over to the side, not particularly interested in anything that is happening. His whole life and career is surrounded by death. He's seen people die and killed people in every corner of the Empire for Rome eternal. And he stands, leaned up against his shield, waiting for these guys to die so he can pull their bodies down and throw them in an unknown grave. The two guys on either side, there's three. The guys on either side respond just like everybody has always responded at every crucifixion he's ever been to. They scream and they curse. They curse the people. They curse the centurion himself. They yell At Rome and the people that betrayed them. He's heard it all before, hundreds and hundreds of times. The man in the middle strangely stays quiet. And then, as the two on either side wind themselves down, the man in the middle looks at the crowd that is assembled. And a crowd has assembled now, out of nowhere. Jewish religious leaders have come to this crucifixion. This guy's been in Israel for a long time, but he's never seen that. Pharisees and Sadducees never come out to watch executed men die. But somehow, for some reason, they show up here. And inexplicably, they make their way to the man in the middle, and they begin to mock him. [00:11:03] Speaker A: They say, well, just come down and [00:11:04] Speaker C: we'll believe in you. [00:11:06] Speaker A: You're supposed to be our king. Just come off the cross and we'll worship you. [00:11:10] Speaker C: And the centurion is perplexed by what is happening in this moment. They scream at the man in the middle. He watches quietly, making sure nobody gets out of line. Then all of a sudden, the man in the middle raises his eyes and looks at these religious leaders that are mocking him. Then he looks out at the rest of the crowd. And then he turns and locks eyes with the centurion. And then he raises his face towards heaven, and he says, father, forgive them. They don't know what they're doing. And a bolt of electricity ricochets through the centurion's body. [00:11:56] Speaker A: He's heard him curse and scream and curse Rome and curse him and accuse [00:12:01] Speaker C: everybody in the world. [00:12:02] Speaker A: But he's seen hundreds of men die on crosses in his life, and nobody [00:12:06] Speaker C: has ever said, forgive him, Forgive me [00:12:09] Speaker A: what he's doing to me. [00:12:11] Speaker C: And the centurion thinks to himself, something is very different about this guy. A little crowd of women, just a handful of women, make their way to the cross, weeping one woman that's older. And as he looks at the woman, he realizes very quickly that it's the man's mother. She makes her way to the cross in the middle. She reaches out with trembling hands and touches the bloody feet. He's watched it a hundred times before. Almost every single time, the men on the cross scream at their parents, why did you abandon me? The one on the cross, blaming the one on the ground for the predicament that they are in, and the ones [00:12:57] Speaker A: on the ground often insulting the one [00:12:59] Speaker C: on the cross for the decisions that they had made. Instead, this man in the middle looks down and says, woman, behold your son speaking to the only man that is there with these women. And Then he says, son, this is your mother. And the centurion thinks, what kind of a person is this? [00:13:26] Speaker A: In the very moments, the last few breaths he's ever going to take on Earth. And he is concerned and making sure [00:13:34] Speaker C: that his mother is taken care of. [00:13:36] Speaker A: He's seen men crucified, curse their mother and father for even bringing them into the world. And this man. This man says, take care of my mom when I'm gone. [00:13:49] Speaker C: And the centurion thinks something is very different here. Finally, the man in the middle is fading quicker than the others. His breath becomes shorter. Crucifixion is an awful way to die. It's not blood loss. It's suffocation. The centurion knows that the Romans that he serves are masters of torture. And the body falls down on itself and they cannot breathe and they suffocate to death. He's seen it dozens and dozens and dozens of times. And he knows what's coming. The man in the middle begins to take those short breaths, pushes himself up with his legs, but that's a temporary reprieve. And the breaths become shorter. And the centurion knows it's over for him. And then, with the last few gasps of air, the man in the middle raises again, his face to the heaven. And he says, father, into your hands I commit my spirit. And the centurion says, what is happening here? [00:15:12] Speaker A: The centurion knows about the gods, Zeus and Apollos and Aphrodite, but he speaks to the gods as if he is a son. He's never heard or seen anything like it in his life. And he watches that man die with that final phrase on his lips. [00:15:32] Speaker C: Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. And the centurion throws the shield down, kneels down at the foot of that cross and says, surely this man was the Son of God. Now, what is happening at that crucifixion is what has happened in the life and ministry of Jesus for the entire three years. And it is this. Jesus was different in his actions. Jesus was different in his actions. He didn't look like there were all kind of rabbis. [00:16:10] Speaker A: There were all kind of rabbis floating [00:16:12] Speaker C: around Israel at the time. [00:16:13] Speaker A: There's all kind of teachers. And to be honest, there were all kinds of people claiming to be Messiah [00:16:18] Speaker C: at the same time that Jesus was there. [00:16:21] Speaker A: But nobody acted like Jesus acted. Peter said, should I forgive the people [00:16:26] Speaker C: that sin against me? And Jesus said, yes, forgive them all these other times. [00:16:32] Speaker A: Don't forgive them once or twice or [00:16:34] Speaker C: five or 10, but 70 times seven. [00:16:39] Speaker A: They say to Jesus what happens if somebody strikes me on the cheek? He says, turn the other cheek. He says, what if a centurion makes me carry his armor for a mile? Jesus says, carry it for two miles. Everything about Jesus was different than any man or woman who had ever lived [00:16:59] Speaker C: on the face of the earth. [00:17:01] Speaker A: The centurion, in a few hours, understands what Judas Iscariot could never get. Jesus is different. His actions are different. He indicates something different to us. He said, there's something about this guy, a few hours on a lonely hill watching a crucifixion that he's watched hundreds of times before. And he said to himself, after just [00:17:28] Speaker C: hours, this guy is different. He is the Son of God. Jesus is different in his actions. He offers grace. He offers love. He offers forgiveness. As we said in the very moment of crucifixion, he is offering his forgiveness to those who placed him on the cross. Jesus was totally different in everything that he said and did. But that's not the end of it. Now look, if you will, at Matthew, chapter 27. It's the same thing, but Matthew focuses on another aspect of what the Centurion describes. Matthew 27 and 51. Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And the earthquaked and the rocks were split and the graves were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. And coming out of the graves after his resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. So when the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, truly, this was the Son of God. Now something totally different is happening. The centurion is noticing other things as [00:19:00] Speaker A: well as he describes his encounter with [00:19:02] Speaker C: Jesus on that hill. [00:19:04] Speaker A: Yes, Jesus was different in his response, in his action, in how he behaved on the cross. [00:19:09] Speaker C: And the centurion noticed that. [00:19:11] Speaker A: But what the centurion understands, what he [00:19:13] Speaker C: understands better than anybody in the world, [00:19:15] Speaker A: is the idea of power. [00:19:18] Speaker C: The centurion understands power because Rome has [00:19:21] Speaker A: conquered the entire known world at the [00:19:23] Speaker C: end of a sword. And the centurion understands power. [00:19:28] Speaker A: He snaps his finger and a hundred [00:19:30] Speaker C: soldiers do exactly what he tells them to do. [00:19:33] Speaker A: That centurion serves Caesar and Caesar only. [00:19:36] Speaker C: And they have conquered the known world from Gaul to Italy to North Africa to Israel. They have conquered the Mediterranean seaboard. And the centurion understands power. But in that moment where Jesus breathes his last breath and the sun turns dark and the earth quakes and the graves are opened, the centurion says to himself, this is a totally different type of power. [00:20:10] Speaker A: Jesus different in his actions, but also different in his power. What was the power of Jesus? It was not. The power of Jesus was not at the end of a sword. [00:20:22] Speaker C: He did not come with an army. [00:20:25] Speaker A: What was the power of Jesus? His power was power to heal, power to restore, power to forgive sin, your sins are forgiven. How many times did he say it? Power to raise the dead. [00:20:36] Speaker C: Over and over again. [00:20:37] Speaker A: He raised the dead in his own ministry. His power was different. It wasn't power like we think of [00:20:44] Speaker C: power with a sword and conquering. [00:20:47] Speaker A: It was a power that resurrects people. It was a power that heals withered hands. It's a power that makes lame feet walk. And it's a power that raises the dead. And the centurion saw that power, the earthquake and the sky turns black. [00:21:03] Speaker C: And he said, surely this is the Son of God. Now, of all the things that happen there, I want us to look at one of them in particular, because it is the exact thing that is the power of Jesus. [00:21:17] Speaker A: It says that the earthquake. [00:21:19] Speaker C: And look, if you will, at verse 52. And bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. Stop right there. I want to make clear what's happening, because you need to understand it, to understand who Jesus is and who we are in Jesus. The earthquakes. And I believe because of those earthquakes, the tombs are busted open and you [00:21:44] Speaker A: are able to see those bodies. [00:21:47] Speaker C: You can see bodies in the ground, [00:21:50] Speaker A: or the earth shakes so much that [00:21:51] Speaker C: bodies are raised up out of the ground so that they are visible. So the cemeteries, they're not under the ground anymore. [00:21:58] Speaker A: They're not in a. [00:21:59] Speaker C: A mausoleum or a tomb. They are visible. But that's all that happened on that Good Friday. But look at the next verse 53. And coming out of the graves after his resurrection. [00:22:16] Speaker A: Oh, man, that's so good. The earthquaked and the bodies were visible, but once Jesus was raised from the dead, his resurrection power went off in Jerusalem like a hydrogen bomb. And people who had previously were raised to life again. Just as we can be raised out of our sin, out of our death, out of our darkness, out of our chains, out of our bondage. The same power, the same spirit. They were. The graves were visible, but they weren't alive until Jesus returned from the dead. Do you see this? And after his resurrection, that's for us. Look at what it says. [00:22:59] Speaker C: Look at what Paul says in Colossians chapter 1, Colossians 1 and 18. Paul is writing about Jesus and he says, and Jesus Is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead. [00:23:13] Speaker A: So we know that those people could not have been resurrected on Good Friday because nobody was resurrected before Jesus was. But once Jesus was resurrected, his resurrection power permeated out and it raised those people who had passed away to life again. What does Paul say? Firstborn from the dead. Firstborn from the dead. [00:23:35] Speaker C: I am firstborn of Mark and Alison Rutland. I am firstborn, but I have younger siblings. So I am not only born. I am simply firstborn. What does Paul tell us? [00:23:53] Speaker A: He does not say jesus the only born from the dead. He says, jesus, firstborn from the dead. Because Paul is calling all of us to follow in Jesus example and be raised out of the tomb that we are in. To be raised out of death, to be raised out of sin, to be raised out of bondage and chains and follow in his resurrection power. He is firstborn, meaning that there's second born and third born. And that every human who has ever lived can follow in his example and rise from the sin and the pain and the chains that we have put ourselves in. He is firstborn. He says follow in his example. [00:24:32] Speaker C: Look at what Paul says to Romans. Romans 8 and 11. I've already quoted it because I started preaching while I was taking up the offering. [00:24:43] Speaker A: But I'm going to give it to you again. [00:24:45] Speaker C: Romans 8, 11. [00:24:47] Speaker A: But if the spirit of him who [00:24:48] Speaker C: raised Jesus from the dead dwells in [00:24:51] Speaker A: you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies. The same spirit. Now imagine that. [00:25:01] Speaker C: I want you to think about it. [00:25:03] Speaker A: What is harder to do? [00:25:04] Speaker C: Break the chain of addiction or raise a dead body? Raise a dead body. [00:25:11] Speaker A: That's the hardest thing to do. So think about what Paul is telling us. He says the spirit that raised a dead body is the same spirit that you have access to to break the chains of addiction and habit and sin off of your life. The same spirit that raised a dead body is a spirit that can raise you into new life spiritually. You can be raised from the dead this morning. You can have the chains broken off. You can have the addiction taken away, the bondages. You don't have to walk out of here with the same stuff you dragged in here. Think about that. God is able to raise a dead body. [00:25:50] Speaker C: He can break the chains that are on your life. Because Jesus is different in actions, but he is also different in power. No one is offering to you the power that Jesus offers, which is a power of resurrection. Now, the final description is found in Luke we're going to go back where we started. Look at Luke chapter 23. We read what came right after. But now we're going to read what came right before. Look at Luke 23 and 47. [00:26:29] Speaker A: So when the centurion saw what had [00:26:32] Speaker C: happened, he glorified God, saying, certainly this was a righteous man. Now, in this, Luke tells us that the centurion said something very different in the first two tellings. In Matthew and Mark, he says, surely this was the Son of God. But in this one, the centurion says, surely, surely this was a righteous man. Now let's go back to the centurion for a moment. He no longer has any illusions about the glory that is Rome. He's a centurion. He sat in backroom deals and watched over politicians and. And senators. He has seen witnesses paid off, and he's seen governors bribed. And he knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that he has nailed innocent men to crosses all over the empire. He has no illusions about the splendor that is Rome. He knows that Rome is decaying from the inside. And he knows that he personally has put innocent men to death on crosses. And yet in this moment, the centurion looks at that cross and says, surely this was a righteous man. I want to give this to you. Not trying to pick a fight. When it comes to translations of the Bible, everybody needs to read the translation that works best for you. You have verbiage. There's ways that your brain thinks that connects with a certain translation. But I just want to tell you this in passing. The word is righteous. If you have a translation of the Bible that says, surely this man was innocent, I want you to take your pen and write righteous right above it. Because that's important, and it's an important difference. [00:28:28] Speaker A: You can be innocent of something without being righteous, but you cannot be righteous and not be innocent. There's a difference. There's a difference. [00:28:40] Speaker C: I've never done anything that deserves the death penalty. You know my past. [00:28:45] Speaker A: I've made no bones about my testimony. I've done a lot of bad stuff, [00:28:49] Speaker C: but I've never done anything that warrants the death penalty. [00:28:52] Speaker A: So someone says he deserves the death penalty, I'm going to say I'm innocent. But if somebody asks me, travis, are you righteous? [00:28:59] Speaker C: I'm going to say no. [00:29:03] Speaker A: And somebody says, is there anybody in here righteous? And I'm going to say no. And they're going to say, are they innocent? And I'm going to say, well, they're innocent of some stuff. [00:29:10] Speaker C: I've Done a lot of counseling, but [00:29:15] Speaker A: they're going to say, are they innocent? And I'm going to say, yes, they're innocent of this. And then they say, are they righteous? And I say, no, because you can be innocent and not be righteous. The centurion is making a wonderful, masterful theological point. He says, surely this man is righteous. He's crucified innocent people before, but he's never hung anybody righteous on a tree. And he says, this man is righteous because Jesus is different in his actions. He's different in his power, but he is different in his righteousness. He is different in his righteousness. He lives a sinless life. He lives a righteous life. He does not live an innocent life. He is innocent, but the life he lives is not innocent. We don't want an innocent Messiah. We must have a righteous messiah. You understand what I'm saying? How many of you overseen old TV show about cops? [00:30:10] Speaker C: There'll be some kind of not cops, but a TV show about police officers. Inevitably, there will be a episode where they're investigating an old crime and they realize that the original detective that investigated the crime lied about the evidence or he planted evidence. [00:30:29] Speaker A: And so they go to the old [00:30:30] Speaker C: retired detective and they go, hey, man, this doesn't make sense. Did you plant evidence? [00:30:37] Speaker A: And what is it? [00:30:37] Speaker C: They're so formulaic, right in their writing. So formulaic. What does that old detective always say? Well, he might not have done this, but he was guilty of something, right? [00:30:49] Speaker A: He was guilty of something. Everybody is guilty of something except Christ Jesus, who is our righteous lamb before the Father. That's what we got to hold on to. He is different. He is not innocent. We don't need or want or have any desire for an innocent messiah. What we must have is a righteous messiah who lived a righteous, sinless life. And righteous is the thing. What does it say? Jesus Christ the righteous one of Israel. [00:31:20] Speaker C: Look at what John says in his letter. Look at 1 John 2 and 1, 1 John 2 and 1. My little children, these things I write to you so that you may not sin. [00:31:30] Speaker A: And if anyone sins, we have an [00:31:32] Speaker C: advocate with the Father. [00:31:34] Speaker A: Christ Jesus the righteous, not Christ Jesus the innocent. Christ Jesus the righteous. He says, if you sin, you can ask for forgiveness from the Father because the Son is making intercession from you. And the Son has never sinned. And if he's never sinned, then he is Christ Jesus the righteous. And therefore we have access to the. To all of the forgiveness that comes with that. Confess your sin. And he is faithful and just to forgive you of all unrighteousness. How can we access the forgiveness of God? [00:32:10] Speaker C: I know this is simplistic, but it needs to be made clear. On Easter, we can access the forgiveness of God because Christ Jesus was righteous. He was innocent. But glory to God, much more than just innocent. [00:32:27] Speaker A: He was righteous. Therefore his righteous blood on the mercy seat forgives me and you and all of us of our sin. What does Hebrews say? Our High priest, Jesus made a sacrifice of his own. [00:32:45] Speaker C: What? [00:32:45] Speaker A: His own righteous body. [00:32:47] Speaker C: Once and for all. Once and for all. [00:32:53] Speaker A: Innocent men have been killed by governments [00:32:56] Speaker C: for thousands of years. Only one righteous man has ever been killed by a government, and that is my Messiah. [00:33:04] Speaker A: And we have access to his righteousness, which means that we can find forgiveness for our sins. He is different in actions, different in power, but glory to God. [00:33:18] Speaker C: He is different in righteousness. So let me close with this. One of my favorite authors, maybe not my favorite, but one of the best ones out there, is a great thinker and author. Incredibly talented, creative guy and very extremely prolific. Wrote and wrote and wrote. One of the greatest Christian authors of the 20th century is C.S. lewis. And C.S. lewis is from England and wrote all just his entire life. Incredibly prolific, incredibly creative. He's most famous probably for the Chronicles of Narnia, the young adult book series. But he wrote all kinds of Christian theology, apologetics, how we think about things, other novels. In one of his books, he's talking about Jesus himself and he says this. [00:34:13] Speaker A: He says, when it comes to our [00:34:15] Speaker C: understanding of who Jesus is, we only have three options. He said Jesus can only be one of three things. He said the first option we have is that Jesus is a lunatic. He said that Jesus was insane and [00:34:31] Speaker A: that not only did was he insane that he invented all the stuff that [00:34:35] Speaker C: he was saying that he was the Son, that he was in connection with the Father. He said that's the first option, that Jesus was a lunatic. He said, the second option you have is that Jesus was a liar, that he knew he wasn't the Son, he knew he had no connection to the [00:34:52] Speaker A: Father, and he was just purposely deceiving [00:34:54] Speaker C: the people that were in his life. [00:34:57] Speaker A: He said, but if you don't think [00:34:59] Speaker C: he was a lunatic and you don't think he was a liar, then you only have one option left. And that's Lord. He said, that's Lord. [00:35:08] Speaker A: CS Lewis said, you have three options [00:35:10] Speaker C: when it comes to Jesus. Lunatic, liar. Lord Centurion watched that man in the middle die. He did not think he was crazy. He did not think he was lying. He Said to himself, surely this is the Son of God. He said, surely he is Lord. Lord. Now, I want you to think about what happened on that hill. The centurion is in charge of 100 Roman soldiers. [00:35:43] Speaker A: He works for Rome and Rome alone. [00:35:46] Speaker C: His whole career, his whole life is wrapped up in that moment of what he does. And there's no early retirement. You signed up for 25 years. You do every bit of 25 years. And he drops to his knees and says, surely this man, now dead on the cross, surely this man was the Son of God. And he made a clear public confession of who he thought Jesus was. He didn't think it in his mind. He didn't look around at all of [00:36:15] Speaker A: his soldiers that work for him, that [00:36:17] Speaker C: follow him, that he leads. He didn't look around and mumble it into his hand. Surely he's the Son of God. We just. We just crucified a righteous man. [00:36:28] Speaker A: No, he said it loud enough. Where all three of those guys listed [00:36:31] Speaker C: in their story of the crucifixion, clear public announcement. [00:36:38] Speaker A: This is the Son of God. [00:36:42] Speaker C: Now, here's how we're going to end. I thought about this for a long time leading up to this. It is unfortunate aspect and component of Easter is that preachers obsess about numbers when it comes to Easter. How many folks we got at church, [00:36:59] Speaker A: how many things we did that, how [00:37:00] Speaker C: many things we did this. I just got to tell you, I have all kind of problems. I have checked out of that entirely. I no longer care about those things because that is not what the Kingdom of God looks like. Having said that, I'm not going to make it easy for you today, because, see, I could say, all right, everybody close their eyes and then raise your hand. And then somebody comes to me later and says, how many people got saved on Easter? And I say, 500, right? Because I'm the only one with my eyes open. I'm the only one counting hands. [00:37:31] Speaker A: How many people raise their hand? Every person in the whole room raised their hand. [00:37:34] Speaker C: Glory to God. A thousand people got saved on Easter. [00:37:40] Speaker A: You can do that. And I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that. And I reserve the right to do that in the future, okay? So I'm not knocking anybody. So you go home, watch somebody. Preacher said you can't. No, I'm not saying that. I'm saying this morning, like the centurion, we're going to be clear with our confession and our witness, surely this man is the Son of God. [00:38:01] Speaker C: So I'm not going to make it Easy on you. We talked about it as a staff and we decided. I decided we're just not going to make it easy. [00:38:07] Speaker A: In just a moment, I'm going to pray. [00:38:09] Speaker C: The staff is going to come up here. The elders are going to come to the front. Just a moment. I'm going to pray and they're going to stand here. And I'm begging you, if you don't [00:38:20] Speaker A: know for sure whether Jesus is your [00:38:22] Speaker C: Lord and Savior, come to the front and settle it today. [00:38:27] Speaker A: This is the moment. What a great moment. What a great Sunday. To get saved on it is Resurrection Sunday. He died for your sins. You can have his resurrection power. You can be set free. You can be transformed. You can walk out of the grave of your past and your pain and your depression and your anxiety and your chains and your addiction and your habits. You can walk into freedom and newness of life. The other thing is we want to celebrate with you. Now you say, well, I don't want to walk. Look how many people are in here. [00:38:59] Speaker C: I'm going to be honest, there's a bunch of people in here. [00:39:02] Speaker A: There is. And you go, well, I'm sitting way [00:39:03] Speaker C: up in the balcony. [00:39:04] Speaker A: We'll wait for you. My faraway vision is terrible. [00:39:08] Speaker C: I can't see anybody up there. [00:39:10] Speaker A: But we'll wait for you. You see, we're going to celebrate with you. There is no condemnation here. There is no pointing fingers here. This is your resurrection Sunday. This is your moment. And it's clear and it's easy. You go, well, I've been going to church for a long time. I'm not asking if you go to church. I'm not asking if you're a member here. I'm not asking if you're the Church of God. I'm not asking any of those questions. Is he your Lord? Is he your Lord this morning? That's the only thing that matters. It's the only thing that counts. The centurion on the hill said, this is the righteous son of God, and this is your moment to say the same thing. And we want to celebrate with you and we want to pray over you and we want to settle it. And you can walk out of here with the same spirit that raised Christ Jesus from the dead operating inside of you. You walked in here in a tomb and you can walk out born again, free and transformed. [00:40:15] Speaker C: So I am going to make it a little easy. I don't want you have to push through people that are sitting down. So here's what we're going to do. I'm going to invite everybody in the room to stand up. We're going to sing in just a moment, but everybody in the room to stand. I'm going to invite the staff now to make their way to the front. Elders of the church, they're going to be here at the front and they're [00:40:35] Speaker A: going to pray with you. A simple salvation prayer. [00:40:41] Speaker C: A simple salvation prayer. [00:40:44] Speaker A: As C.S. lewis told us, you have three options. [00:40:49] Speaker C: Liar, lunatic or Lord. [00:40:55] Speaker A: Liar, lunatic or Lord. As the band is going to play, [00:41:00] Speaker C: these altars are going to be open. I'm going to come down here, right here and stand between Chris and my dad. [00:41:07] Speaker A: If you want to make him Lord [00:41:09] Speaker C: this morning, come to the front. I'm begging you to do it. I'm begging you to do it. [00:41:16] Speaker A: He sets us free. He transforms us. I remember who I used to be. I remember the pain and the chains I used to have. And I'm begging you to come forward. This is your moment. This is your resurrection Sunday. The same spirit that called him out of the grave can set you free. Don't do it because you're embarrassed. Don't do it because there's too many people here. Don't do it because it's up in the balcony. Put all that stuff aside. You got to let it go like the centurion. The centurion said, I don't care who knows. This is the Son of God. This is your moment. This is your moment. This is your moment. This is your resurrection Sunday. It's yours. God's calling you. The Holy Spirit's moving, and we want to pray with you. When I say amen to this prayer, [00:42:07] Speaker C: I'm begging you to come to the front and make him your Lord this morning. It's so simple. Make him your Lord this morning. Let's pray. [00:42:16] Speaker A: God, I ask that you finish this [00:42:17] Speaker C: sermon in the hearts of every person here. [00:42:19] Speaker A: I thank you, God, for what you're [00:42:21] Speaker C: doing in this place and how you're moving. [00:42:22] Speaker A: Let your Holy Spirit continue to move [00:42:24] Speaker C: right now from the back of the [00:42:26] Speaker A: balcony to the front row. Let your Holy Spirit move right now. God wants to set you free. He wants to give you his resurrection power. You can be resurrected this morning. I am begging you, come to the front and make him Lord of your life. Make him Lord this morning. [00:42:46] Speaker C: We want to celebrate with you. Make him your Lord on this resurrection Sunday, in Jesus name we pray. Amen. [00:42:57] Speaker B: Thank you for listening to the Travis Rutland Podcast. If you enjoyed this message and you're in the Cartersville, Georgia area, we invite you you to join us at Liberty Square Church. You can also watch online and connect with us on Facebook and YouTube. We'll see you next week for another message from Travis Rutland.