24 Hours to Live | The Cross | Brian Myers

♪ I pray over my heart and mind ♪ ♪ I am healed by your stripes, your blood ♪ ♪ Declares that I am free in the mighty name of Jesus ♪ ♪ I pray, calling on the power of heaven ♪ ♪ I proclaim, every weapon formed again ♪ ♪ Every weapon formed against me ♪ ♪ I must pray in the mighty name of Jesus ♪ ♪ I draw a permanent boundary line ♪ ♪ The enemy has no right to come near my family, no ♪ ♪ He knows me, I'll never run to God's place ♪ ♪ No matter the circumstance, the cross has sealed my destiny ♪ ♪ In the mighty name of Jesus ♪ ♪ I pray, calling on the power of heaven ♪ ♪ I proclaim, every weapon formed again ♪ ♪ Every weapon formed against me ♪ ♪ I must pray in the mighty name of Jesus ♪ ♪ In the mighty name of Jesus ♪ ♪ I know all the power of fear and darkness in my soul ♪ ♪ There's every key to every victory ♪ ♪ Our hope is in the mighty name of Jesus ♪ ♪ I will not fear, I will not fear when the enemy comes near ♪ ♪ On the doorframe of my life is the blood of Jesus Christ ♪ ♪ I will not fear, I will not fear there's an army of angels here ♪ ♪ I'm protected on all sides by the blood of Jesus Christ ♪ ♪ And I will not fear, I will not fear when the enemy comes near ♪ ♪ On the doorframe of my life is the blood of Jesus Christ ♪ ♪ And I will not fear, I will not fear there's an army of angels here ♪ ♪ I'm protected on all sides by the blood of Jesus Christ ♪ ♪ In the mighty name of Jesus ♪ ♪ I pray, calling on the power of heaven ♪

♪ I proclaim, every weapon formed against me ♪ ♪ It must break, in the mighty name of Jesus ♪ ♪ In the mighty name of Jesus ♪ ♪ I know, all the power of fear and darkness ♪ ♪ It must go, there's every key to every victory ♪ ♪ I hope, it's in the mighty name of Jesus ♪ ♪ It's in the mighty name of Jesus ♪ ♪ It's in the mighty name of Jesus ♪ ♪ It's in the mighty name of Jesus ♪ ♪ In the darkness, we were waiting ♪ ♪ Without hope and without light ♪ ♪ Till from heaven you came running ♪ ♪ There was mercy in your eyes ♪ ♪ To fulfill the law and prophets ♪ ♪ In the way, in the way, in the way, in the way ♪ From a throne of endless glory to a cradle in a tomb Praise the Father, praise the Son Praise the Father, praise the Son Praise the Spirit, three in one God of holy majesty Praise forever to the King of kings To reveal the kingdom coming and to reconcile the lost To redeem the whole creation, you did not despise the cross For even in your suffering, you saw to the other side Knowing this was our salvation, Jesus for our sake you died Praise the Father, praise the Son Praise the Spirit, three in one God of holy majesty Praise forever to the King of kings And the morning that you rose, all of heaven held its breath

Till our souls moved for good, for the Lamb had conquered death And the dead rose from their tombs, and the angels stood in awe For the souls of all who come to the Father are restored And the church of Christ was born, and the Spirit lit the flame Now this gospel, true love, it shall not kneel, it shall not fail By His blood, in His name, in His freedom I am free For the love of Jesus Christ, who has resurrected me Oh, we give you all the praise and all the glory Praise the Father, praise the Son Praise the Spirit, three in one God of holy majesty Praise forever to our King of kings Oh, praise forever to the King of kings We're going to continue to worship the King of kings above all things And as we enter into this Easter season, we're going to sing a new song today About how Jesus took the cross for us, He took our punishment for us So with that in mind, let's sing this song together The works of God in all His innocence Here walking in the dirt with you and me He knows what living is, He's acquainted with our grief A man of sorrow, a son of suffering Blood and tears, how can it be There's a God who weeps, there's a God who bleeds Oh, praise the one who would reach for me Hallelujah to the son of suffering ♪ Some imagine You are distant and remote ♪ ♪ But You chase this down in merciful pursuit ♪ ♪ To the center You were grace ♪ ♪ And the broken You embrace ♪ ♪ And in the end the proof is in Your wounds ♪

♪ And in the end the proof is in Your wounds ♪ ♪ Blood and tears, how can it be ♪ ♪ There's a God who weeps, there's a God who bleeds ♪ ♪ Oh praise the one who would reach for me ♪ ♪ Hallelujah to the son of suffering ♪ ♪ Your cross, my freedom, Your stripes, it's my healing ♪ ♪ Oh praise King Jesus, glory to God in heaven ♪ ♪ Your love is still speaking, Your love is still reaching ♪ ♪ Oh praise King Jesus, glory to God forever ♪ ♪ Your cross, it's my freedom, Your stripes, my healing ♪ ♪ Oh praise King Jesus, glory to God in heaven ♪ ♪ Your love is still speaking, Your love is still reaching ♪ ♪ Oh praise King Jesus, glory to God forever ♪ ♪ Glory to God forever, glory to God forever ♪ ♪ Glory to God forever, glory to God forever ♪ ♪ Your cross, my freedom, Your stripes, it's my healing ♪ ♪ Oh praise King Jesus, glory to God in heaven ♪ ♪ Your love is still speaking, Your love is still reaching ♪ ♪ Oh praise King Jesus, glory to God forever ♪ ♪ Glory to God forever, glory to God forever ♪ Amen, let's give Him the glory this morning! You may be seated, thank you. ♪ bell tolling ♪ ♪ music playing ♪ ♪ music playing ♪ ♪ music playing ♪ ♪ music playing ♪ ♪ music playing ♪ Hello everybody and welcome to Compass Church where our mission is navigating people to God.

My name is Brian. I get the pleasure to be on staff here as one of the pastors at Compass Church. And we are so happy that you decided to join in with us today. I'm also our all-red campus pastor, so a big shout out to all you guys at the James V. Allred unit. I love you guys. We miss you. I can't wait to see you here in a couple of days where I'm going to bring this message to you live. So for the men inside the Allred campus, it's a big deal because it will be their decision day, a baptism day for them in Allred. And we're actually praying for you guys, everybody listening today and watching this today, that it's a decision day for you as well. In fact, I know that it will be. We're in a series called 24 Hours to Live where we're covering... Jesus' life, the last 24 hours of his life, and today we are going to cover the agonizing death of Jesus in as much detail as we can provide. So from Barabbas to Pilate to the crowds and the casting of lots and all the different decisions that are being made in those final hours leading up to the final breath of Jesus. We're going to be in Mark 15 today. If you have your Bibles, go ahead and turn to Mark 15. In the meantime, there's a former American idol artist who wrote a song called Live Like You Were Dying. And I want to read these lyrics to you, the chorus that he put together. We gotta start looking at the hands of the time we've been given. If this is all we got, then we gotta start thinking.

If every second counts on a clock that's ticking, gotta live like we're dying. We only got 86,400 seconds in a day to turn it all around or to throw it all away. We gotta tell them that we love them while we got the chance to say, gotta live like we're dying. I think those are deep. Like if you really look at that chorus, like it really stirs something in us if we're really thinking about it. And then last week, maybe just a couple of days ago, I went into a gas station and they were selling t-shirts. And I took this picture of a t-shirt. And if you can't really see it where you're at, it's two pigs. And it says this, live today like you're baking tomorrow. Now to me, that's funny. I think maybe we can go a little bit deeper than that. Let me ask you this. If you knew you had 24 hours to live, how would you spend it? Like you probably would be a little different than you are. Like if you're incarcerated right now, you probably wouldn't want to be in your cell. You probably would want to be out in the free world. My guess is that you probably wouldn't go around insulting people and bothering people and stuff like that. You wouldn't worry about that, I wouldn't think. I also don't think that you would ignore it. Like if you knew you had 24 hours to live, I don't think that you would ignore it or probably not pretend that it's not true if you really knew it. The truth is, I think you would get intentional. You'd get clear about, I think, what matters the most. And that is what today is all about. It's the final hours of Jesus's life, not imagined, not hypothetical, not, oh, only if I had another day and all that.

He knew he was going to die. And he lived his last 24 hours with purpose, with clarity, and with intentionality. Jesus didn't imagine what he might do in his final 24 hours. But instead he lived knowing that he was dying. So within the last 24 hours of Jesus's life, he and the disciples experienced what we call the last supper. And there's also a moment in the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus was arrested. And so today we turn to early that Friday morning that we refer to as Good Friday, which is honestly the day the world changed forever. So the reason that Friday is referred to as Good Friday is because it's the day that love is defined. It's the day that sin was confronted, and it's the day death was defeated. It's a day that Jesus showed us how far he'd go for you and for me. And we're going to see that that day is a decision day, which, like I said, is fitting because today is decision day inside Allred. When they get this live, it is a decision day, and for you, it's a decision day. Because we're going to see as we move through Mark 15 today that everyone in this story makes a decision about Jesus, and so do you. Let me pray. Heavenly Father, thank you so much for each and every person that is watching and listening and hearing and experiencing this message, Father God. And I pray the humanness of anything and any words that I bring fall to the ground and don't make it, because it is you, Father God, that we want to hear. Father God, speak to us. In Jesus' name, amen. Okay, so let me take you back to the beginning of that day. 15 opens with tension. Okay, the religious leaders have already condemned Jesus in their in their own council, but they're in need of Rome to be the ones to carry out the execution. So look at what Mark says in verse 1, As soon as it was morning, having held a meeting with the elders, scribes, and

whole Sanhedrin, the chief priests tied Jesus up, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate. So Pilate asked him, Are you the king of the Jews? He answered him, You say so. And the chief priests accused him of many things. Pilate questioned him again, Aren't you going to answer? Look at how many things they are accusing you of. But Jesus still did not answer, and so Pilate was amazed. Jesus' silence isn't weakness. It's surrender, and it's not surrender to Rome. It's surrendering to the will of God. And Pilate sees something in Jesus. He sees his innocence. He sees calm. He sees someone who's not fighting for his life. Like actually look at what Mark writes in verse 10, For he knew it was because of envy that the chief priests had handed him over. Pilate knew the truth. He knows Jesus doesn't deserve death, and that the crowd was being manipulated. So Pilate tries a political maneuver during the Passover festival. So what is Passover? Passover was a Jewish festival celebrating and remembering how God had delivered Israel from the slavery of Egypt. So I call that a church party. Okay, it's like a church party. Like I like parties, so it's a church party, okay? And Rome, out of a gesture of goodwill every year at the church party, they would let the people choose a prisoner to release, a prisoner they would choose. They were given a choice, and on this day it's either a criminal named Barabbas who had committed murder or Jesus. Now listen, Barabbas wasn't like misunderstood or in the wrong place at the right wrong time, and so now he's in jail. He was a murderer, okay? He was a member of a rebel group, a rebel gang. So he's guilty of the very crimes that Rome actually executes people for, and Jesus on the other hand is innocent. So Pilate says, surely they'll pick Jesus, right? But the crowd screams, give us Barabbas. So imagine being Barabbas, sitting in his cell, and the guards arrive, and you can hear like the tinkle of the keys, and they unlock his cuffs, and they fall, the chains fall to the ground, and they say, you're free. You've been pardoned. The crowd chose this man, Jesus, to take your place. What would that mean to you if you're incarcerated right now, and if someone came in and they were like, hey, this guy's gonna serve your time for you, you can go free. Think about this for

a minute. Barabbas is the first person Jesus physically dies for, and he didn't deserve it, he didn't earn it, he didn't ask for it, but he received it. And as I think about this moment, what I think we need to understand is Barabbas is us. We are the guilty ones who walk free because Jesus takes our place, and that's the first decision of this Good Friday that I want you to see. The crowd chooses guilt over innocence. So like right next to Barabbas in this story is Pilate, who is like really one of the most tragic figures in Scripture. He knows Jesus is innocent. He knows the crowd picked the wrong guy. He has the power to do the right thing, but he also knows the cost. He had to make a decision. Would he either save a man or satisfy the crowd? This kind of reminds me of a time back in 1986, okay? It was the night before the Challenger shuttle, the NASA Challenger shuttle would launch, and a group of engineers begged NASA, do not launch, do not launch. In fact, one guy said, he tried to warn him, he's like, hey, the O-rings are going to fail in the cold. He said, if we launch, we risk losing everything, not just the vehicle. on all of our equipment, but the lives of the people on board." And he was right. But NASA, under pressure, political pressure, public pressure, financial pressure, and in this moment the executives made a management decision. They chose comfort over conviction. They chose what felt safe over what was true. And the next morning, the Challenger exploded. And I remember sitting in my 7th grade class with my classmates, and we had these little TVs up in the corner, and we watched as that thing took off live and then exploded in midair. And we watched seven lives be taken away, and seven families who lost a loved one. Later, the manager admitted, we were afraid of the consequences of saying no. That's Pilate. In verse 15, so to pacify the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to be crucified. Pilate wasn't confused. He wasn't undecided. He wasn't wrestling with the truth. He knew Jesus was innocent. He knew the crowd was wrong. He knew the right thing to do, but he also knew the cost. So he chose comfort over conviction. He chose what felt safe over what was true. He chose the crowd over Christ. And I think this story with Pilate teaches us something that honestly is pretty uncomfortable. Indecision is a decision. Silence is a decision.

Comfort is a decision. And when it comes to Good Friday and Jesus, well, we've got a decision to make as well. Do we go with what culture says, or do we follow Christ? Do you follow this group of people because they protect you and make you feel good, or do you follow Jesus? Do we choose comfort over calling? It's something each of us has to wrestle with. That's just the beginning of this Friday. So Pilate hands Jesus over, and the scene shifts, like try to picture it. It turns out to like the brutality of the day. In verse 16, we read, the soldiers led him away into the palace, that is the governor's residence. They called the whole company together. They dressed him in a purple robe, twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on him. And they began to salute him, hail king of the Jews. They were hitting him on the head with a stick and spitting on him, getting down on their knees. They were paying homage to him. After they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple robe and put his clothes back on him. They led him out to crucify him. Jesus doesn't just experience physical pain, but humiliation, mockery, and shame. And I think this moment shows us something so powerful of who Jesus is for us, because before Jesus even carries the cross, he carries our shame. Every insult that you've ever absorbed, every wound that you've ever carried, every moment where you just felt worthless, Jesus carries it. So let's go on. Jesus is carrying the cross and he's being led to be crucified. And something quite unexpected happens, really. Jesus collapses under the weight of the cross beams, right? He has nothing left. He has no strength or energy available to take another step. So the soldiers, they grabbed this man named Simon of Cyrene, just an ordinary dude trying to get to the city for Passover. Simon doesn't volunteer for this. He doesn't sign up for this. He was literally just trying to get to church on time, like get to where he needed to be and do the required things of him for Passover. But in verse 21, we read, they forced a man coming in from the country who was passing by to carry Jesus's cross. He was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Jesus Christ. He was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus. He was forced. He didn't choose the cross, but the cross chose him. And this moment changes his life. We know this because early church history tells us that his sons Alexander and Rufus became leaders of the early church. And you want to know why? Because his dad had an unexpected encounter with Jesus. What we see in Simon's story is that sometimes God interrupts our plans to invite us into his purpose. And I believe that today that maybe some of you that God is wanting you to do the same thing.

I want you to look at verse 23. I don't want you to miss this part. I don't know why this is a big deal to me that I that I see this, but verse 23 says they tried to give him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. Out of compassion, someone offers this mixture to Jesus. And it's a it's a gesture of mercy, actually, myrrh and similar additives were commonly mixed with wine. And in that day, it was a common pain reliever or a sedative in the ancient world. And Jesus rejected it. And by rejecting it, he rejects comfort. He rejects the dulling of his senses. He rejects the dulling of his consciousness during his suffering, instead choosing to face his death and full pain, fully aware. So now we're at where the cross is going to rest and they place his body on the cross and the nails are being driven into his hands and into his feet. And in this moment that that is really history's greatest act of love in all of human history is being displayed. And there's there's soldiers that are doing what I think is absolutely appalling and unthinkable. In verse 24, then they crucified him and divided his clothes, casting lots for them to decide what each would get. Jesus is suffering and about to die, and they're rolling dice for his clothing. They're standing right in the middle of the savior of the world, and yet they are unmoved by the one hanging on the cross. And if we're honest. This is probably one of the most dangerous spiritual conditions that one can find themselves in indifference. Like it's not hatred. Or hostility towards Jesus, it's just apathy, just a lack of interest, a lack of enthusiasm, a lack of concern. You see, you could be close to Jesus, and if you aren't careful, you can still miss him. You can be around the things of God. And still be unaware of the heart of God. You can go to your church services every single week and read the Bible every single day and sing songs and live a good life and never surrender to him. And maybe you're hearing this right now and you're unmoved by the heart of Jesus. And the soldiers at the cross show us what it looks like to be near the cross. But far from Christ. So so picture this scene now. OK, the story is it as it shifts like you're watching a movie, maybe because the soldiers aren't the only ones making decisions in the moment. Like everybody around has decisions and their choices that they're they're making and how they're going to respond to Jesus. So some are indifferent, some mock, some are angry, some have faith and courage. And Mark doesn't rush past any of it. He wants us to see every response and every reaction, because these aren't just ancient characters in an ancient story. These are mirrors. These are our windows into the human heart. These are the same decisions people still make about Jesus today, the same decisions that you make about Jesus today.

So as Jesus hangs on the cross, like picture the scene kind of widening, the camera pulls out and now we see the crowds gathering. Right. And we see the criminals on either side. The sky is beginning to shift and and the weight of the of the moment is like pressing in. And what happens next is the world actually begins to change. In verse twenty nine, those who pass by were yelling insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, ha, the one who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days. Save yourself by coming down from the cross. They were looking for a Messiah. who would perform and not a Savior that suffers. And here's the truth, the crowd still wants that today. They want a Jesus who blesses but does not confront. They want a Jesus who comforts but doesn't command. They want a Jesus who saves but is not interested in a Jesus who leads. But Jesus doesn't come down off that cross. Even though he had all the power to save himself, he won't do it because if he saves himself, he can't save us. And that crowd that day made a decision when it came to Jesus. They chose to mock him rather than show him mercy. So not only do we see Jesus hanging, bloodied and beaten, gasping for his final breaths, but now think about those two men in that scene. The one on his right and one on his left. The two criminals in that story. Two more lives coming to an end. Two men hanging there just as close to Jesus as the crowds were in this moment. And they too have a decision to make and I don't want you to miss this. What we see in this moment is that being close to Jesus doesn't automatically change you. But it does force you to choose. Everyone around that cross that day has made a decision and now it's the the two criminals turn. And their lives are coming to a close and they don't have anything else to lose. And in verse 32, even those who are being crucified with him taunted him. At first both criminals joined the mockery. Both are angry, both suffering, both are dying. But something happens. There's a shift that breaks open in the heart of one of them. In Luke's account of this moment, he tells us that one of the criminals stopped joining the crowd. And instead he looks at Jesus. And in this moment he sees something divine. In this moment he sees a love. In this moment he sees a king. And he says, remember me when you come into your kingdom. And in Luke

23 43 we read, truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise. Two men hanging the same distance from Jesus, facing the same suffering and situation. And one accepts Jesus, the other rejects Jesus. And you know that's still true today. Like two people can be sitting in the very same room. Two people are watching this right now at the same time, feeling the same tug on their heart. And one of you will accept Jesus. And one of you will reject Jesus. Making two totally different decisions. But what this moment shows us is that no matter what you've done, no matter the wrong that you've committed, you're never too far gone. You're loved and accepted, not outcast and unwanted. But it's up to you. You get to decide. Will you receive who Jesus is? Or will you reject him? At this point in the story, everyone has made a decision about Jesus. Some have rejected. Others have received him. And in his final hours, Jesus lived knowing that he was dying. In verse 33, when it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. In the middle of the day, the sky goes completely dark. And it wasn't an eclipse or a weather pattern, okay? This was creation itself reacting to their creator's suffering. You see, in scripture, darkness represents judgment. And in this moment, the judgment of God is falling, but not on the guilty, on the innocent. And Jesus is taking this punishment for every lie, every betrayal, every secret, every addiction, every sin. He's taking the punishment for every moment of pride, and greed, and anger, and lust, and violence, and rebellion. He's taking the weight of it all. Exactly what the prophet Isaiah said. In Isaiah 53, 5 it says, but he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us like sheep have strayed away. We have left God's paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all. Jesus took on the penalty for our sins.

It was the darkest of moments. And in that darkness, Jesus feels something he has never felt before. Look at verse 34. And that three, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani, which is translated, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Think about that for a moment. This is the first time Jesus cries out. Not when he was beaten, not when he was being mocked, not when the nails were going into his hands and a sword thrust into his side. But when God the Father turns his face away, when that perfect intimacy between the Father and the Son is disrupted, at that moment, Jesus becomes sin for us. And it's then that he cries out because that moment he's experiencing the separation that we deserve. In this moment, Jesus is standing in our place, paying a debt that he didn't owe. And he's not just experiencing physical pain, but spiritual separation in that moment. He was forsaken so we could be forgiven. He was abandoned so that we can be adopted. He was condemned so we could be set free. And while it was the darkest day in history,

we call it Good Friday. And it's on this Friday that Jesus breathes his last breath and he cries out one last time. And he cries out and he breathes and something incredible happens. In Mark 15, 37, Jesus let out a cry and breathed his last. Then the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. There's significance in that moment. The curtain wasn't just like a flimsy piece of fabric like our shirts. It was 60 feet tall, 30 feet wide, about seven inches thick. And the curtain separated people from God. So it was in the temple and there was only one person, the high priest at one time a year while providing a sacrifice, he could go on the other side of the curtain and experience God. And so then Jesus dies and God tears that curtain from top to bottom, from God to man. God was making a way for us to get back to him. The curtain torn in two is a reminder that the barrier is gone. The distance is gone. The separation gone. The price has been paid and a way has been made. And this changes the world. Get this, immediately there's a response. Verse 39 says,

when the centurion who was standing opposite him saw the way he breathed his last, he said, truly this man was the son of God. A centurion was a military officer. So this Roman military officer is the first to declare that Jesus is the son of God after his death. Not one of his disciples, not a Jew, not a religious leader, not a priest, a military officer. One of the men who led the soldiers during his execution, one of the men who hammered nails into his hands, one of the men who had mocked him and beaten him just a couple of hours earlier. But then something shifts, something awakens in him and he makes a decision. He chooses to believe. And I love as I think about this moment, because again, it's a reminder, you're never too far gone. There's a place in the kingdom for you. And if God can open the eyes of a Roman executioner, he can open anybody's eyes. Mark 15 is filled with people making decisions. Pilate chose comfort over conviction. The crowd chose mockery. One criminal chose rejection. The other chose salvation. The soldiers chose indifference. The centurion chose belief. And today, you stand at the foot of that very same cross.

And there's a decision that needs to be made. You can't avoid the decision or stay neutral. You don't get to walk away unchanged. Indecision is a decision. Silence is a decision. Comfort is a decision. What will you do with Jesus right now, in this moment? Everyone has a decision to make. Will today be the day where you say, I believe that Jesus is the Christ, Son of the living God, and I choose Him now to be my Lord and my Savior? If that is you today, at the end of this video, you'll see a button that says, I accepted Christ. And you can click on that button, and Jake Bodine, founder of Gobblehound Bars, will lead you in a prayer. But right now, let me end us in prayer. Heavenly Father, thank you so much for everyone listening today. And I pray, Father God, that everyone chooses you. I pray that your nudge in their heart speaks louder than the comfort. Father God, I pray they choose you. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen.