PowerPoint

Jack Graham: Christianity is all about the cross. The cross is central to our faith. It is core to our belief. Why? Because the cross defines the central truths of our faith.

Guest (Female): On today's PowerPoint, Dr. Graham brings a message about the real good news behind why Christ died. Now, here's Dr. Graham with his message: "Who Really Killed Jesus?"

Jack Graham: In the second chapter of the book of Acts, we see a sermon. In fact, it is the first sermon delivered by the newborn church on the day of Pentecost. And as typical in the gospels and as well in the book of Acts and throughout the New Testament, the major theme is the gospel, which is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

In his passion, and because of his purpose, Jesus suffered and died. He was impaled upon an instrument of torture known as the cross. It was the cruelest and most violent death imaginable. So I'm preaching on the subject from Acts chapter 2: "Who Really Killed Jesus?" Why did he die?

Because Christianity is all about the cross. The cross is central to our faith. It is core to our belief. When you dig back into the history of the Christian church and of our faith, you will discover even in caves where Christians hid in the ancient times, or in old churches, archaic churches, in the ruins of those churches, you will find at the very outset etched in the walls the symbols of crosses.

Why? Because the cross defines the central truths of our faith. And so after the Holy Spirit had come and ignited the church with holy fire, Peter stood up in the midst and began preaching. He explained initially in verses 14 to 20 what was happening in the coming of the Holy Spirit. And then full of the Holy Spirit, he begins to preach this first message.

There are 19 sermons in the book of Acts. Delivered by Peter, delivered by Paul, and one powerful sermon delivered by a layman, a deacon by the name of Stephen. But verse 21, Peter says, "And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." And here's how: Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves also know.

Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified and put to death; whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that he should be held by it. If we're going to answer the question, "Who really killed Jesus?" we need to think initially about the pathway of the cross. What I'm calling the pathway of the cross.

When you visit the city of Jerusalem to this day, you as a believer will be taken down to the inner city of old Jerusalem and there you will see jagged lanes and streets weaving their way through where marketeers are still selling and practicing their wares there. And at a particular route, you will encounter the Via Dolorosa. It's a beautiful name, isn't it? It's lyrical. We sing the Via Dolorosa.

It means the way of suffering. And there you can walk even to this day the way of suffering, the way of Christ as he carried the cross outside the city gates to the place called Calvary, Skull Hill, and you can walk where Jesus walked when he carried the cross. The Via Dolorosa is 1.1 miles. But the way of suffering, the pathway of the cross, is much longer than 1.1 miles.

For it began in eternity past in the heart of God, in the predetermined counsels of eternity, the foreknowledge, the prognosis of God. That's why when Peter began preaching, when he spoke of who killed Jesus, he said in verse 23, "He was delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God." Do you see that? That God delivered him.

You see, the cross was in the heart, the mind of God in eternity past before time began, before you were born. God loved you. Before man ever sinned and caused the predicament that the wages of sin is death, the great problem that we have with sin and sorrow and death, before any of that happened in the Garden of Eden and the subsequent fall and failure of mankind, God had a plan.

And that plan is revealed here and also in Revelation chapter 13 and verse 8 when the Bible says the Lamb is slain from the foundation of the world. The Lamb of God, Jesus, was slain, crucified even in eternity, and he would come to be butchered like a lamb in order that man could be saved. And though he was executed in time, the plan was in the eternal counsels of God.

So the death of Jesus, you see, is not an accident. It is an appointment. The Bible says it is appointed unto man once to die, and then the judgment. There is a sense of destiny, an appointment. We have a date with death. But in a unique way, in the most unusual way imaginable, Jesus was prepared and born to die.

You see, God not only permitted the crucifixion and the death of the Lord Jesus Christ, he planned it. He purposed it. Some have suggested that Jesus was murdered as a helpless victim or as a hero of faith. Others suggest that Jesus may have miscalculated. It was a kind of Passover plot, they suggest, in which Jesus was forcing the hand of the people that they would somehow rise up and make him king. And yet they crucified him.

No, the cross was no mistake. The death of Jesus was no miscalculation, but rather according to the determined will and plan of God, according to the prognosis and forecast of God. You see, the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ proves that God's plans are always good. The cross, wouldn't you agree, the cross is the most evil deed that ever was committed on this planet.

Wicked men took Jesus and crucified him. The pure, perfect, spotless Lamb of God was crucified by these wicked men. Could there be anything more wicked than the crucifixion of Jesus? But at the same time, his death was the best thing that ever happened on this planet. And I like to say when man did his worst, God did his best.

When man did his worst, God did his best, because the cross brings salvation and eternal life to all who believe. That's why the scripture says, "Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." He delivers, God delivers the greatest good out of the greatest evil. That's the nature and character of God. And what is true in Jesus is true of you.

The same God can transform the worst of your life into the best of your life. When you look at your world and you may see tragedy and you may see testings and trials in your life and you're wondering, "God, where are you? God, are you ever going to come through in my life? God, what's going to happen? Why am I suffering? Why am I hurting? Why is such evil surrounding me?"

You can be sure that the same God who delivered Jesus from evil will deliver you from evil. Not always by helping you to escape evil, but by transforming evil into good. The cross into an Easter. That's why we say, "Hallelujah, I'm saved!" He has a plan for your life and the scripture says the way of the Lord is perfect. God's plan for your life is perfect.

The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. He loves you now and he loves you eternally—past, present, and future.

Guest (Female): You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message: "Who Really Killed Jesus?" Easter is just around the corner and we want to help you prepare your heart for the season. When you sign up, we will send you a video devotional every day until Easter to remind you of the sacrifice Jesus made so that we can be forgiven of our sins and reconciled to God.

Dr. Graham will share a short devotional about the final words that Jesus spoke from the cross and what they mean to us today. To sign up, just text CROSS to 59789. Again, text CROSS to 59789. Right now you have the incredible opportunity to help others experience the unshakable hope and abundant life found only in Jesus Christ.

Your support of PowerPoint Ministries makes a real and lasting difference, changing lives for eternity as people encounter God's Word. And because your partnership matters so deeply, we'd love to send you Dr. Graham's new book, *Living Hope in a Hostile World*, as our thanks for your gift of $10 or more. This book explores the bold truths of First Peter and offers strength, courage, and hope for whatever you may face.

To give your gift, text FEB to 59789. Text F-E-B to 59789. Now let's get back to today's message: "Who Really Killed Jesus?"

Jack Graham: In the third chapter of Acts, another message that's being delivered by Simon Peter in verse 18. He speaks of this history and this pathway of the cross through history. He said, "But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all of his prophets, that the Christ would suffer, he has thus fulfilled." The death of Jesus, the cross, was prophesied in history.

The Old Testament is full of the cross. Began in the Garden of Eden when man sinned and God took the skins of animals and the blood was spilled there in the garden from those animals as a sacrifice to cover the sinful man and woman. That blood began to flow from the Garden of Eden all the way to Mount Moriah when Abraham willingly offered his son Isaac, and yet he was delivered and a ram was caught in the thicket as a substitute, demonstrating as a precursor the drama of redemption, of salvation, of one who would come as a sacrifice for the sins of the world.

Throughout the pages of scripture, this scarlet thread of redemption, this red river of redemption flows. The words of the prophets, as Peter said. The testimony of believers throughout the ages. These all point to the cross of Christ. And then when Jesus came, Jesus the Nazarene, according to verse 22, was a man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know.

Christ was born of a virgin so that he could be the sinless sacrifice. Mary's little lamb was born in order to die. Now everyone save the second coming of Jesus Christ will meet death. But Jesus, in a way unlike any other, was born to die. He was on a mission from the Father, a rescue mission to the world, to redeem the world, to forgive.

And so the blood of Christ, the pathway of the cross, continues through history. And then this pathway is dominant in theology. The message of the cross and of his cross and of the power of his resurrection. There's no way to God apart from Christ and his cross. That's the pathway of the cross. But then if we're going to answer the question, "Who really killed Jesus?" we need to think about the passion of the cross, the pain of the cross.

The word passion, as used here, is that of suffering and agony and pain. Began with physical torture. In the Garden of Gethsemane, as he prays in agony, blood pops from the pores of his skin as he surrenders his will to the will of the Father. And then he was taken, and after a series of mock and phony trials, he was taken by Roman soldiers and cruelly beaten.

The whipping that Jesus took was not the whipping of the Jews, which was 40 stripes less one, 39 stripes according to the law. The Jews when they disciplined or punished someone, it was always to be with 39 stripes. But the Romans had no such law. The soldier who beat Jesus was trained for this bloody task and he used a whip that was called the flagellum.

And this instrument of torture was about 12 to 18 inches long, a circular handle, and protruding from the handle of this whip were long thongs or leather straps. And sewn in or beaten into the straps were pieces of bone and metal and glass. And in the hand of a trained professional killer and Roman torturer, it became an instrument of death, a powerful monster whipping through the air.

And Jesus is beaten to within an inch of his life as he is tortured by the hands of cruel men. They take Jesus to the Praetorium. Jesus was kept there and once again he was mocked and beaten and his beard was plucked from his face and he was spit upon and laughed at and mocked. And then carried once again before Pilate, where the crowd screamed for his blood. So he let him go to be crucified and Jesus began carrying the cross.

He carried it to the place called Calvary. There Roman soldiers delivered the spikes into his wrist, his hands, and his feet. The cross is lifted up, dropped into a jagged hole in the ground with a thud. His body is disjointed, it is racked with pain and agony. He hangs between heaven and earth as if he is fit for neither. And there he begins this long, slow, and torturous death—basically a death by suffocation.

But the physical pain was just the beginning of his sorrows because there was the psychic pain, the emotional pain that Jesus experienced that day. The emotional pain of shame. Imagine dying without dignity, dying in disgrace, naked and abused. The crowd mocking him and jeering him: "If you are the Son of God, come down off of the cross."

The pain of his disciples—all but John, who stands at the foot of the cross, but the rest having fled away. And the pain of seeing his mother, his blessed mother at the cross. But greater still in his suffering, in his passion beyond physical and emotional pain, was that of his spiritual passion. As he neared the end, he cried out, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" which in Aramaic means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

The Bible tells us clearly what was happening in that moment: that God made him who knew no sin to become sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God. God made him, the perfect one, sin for us, the sinful one. So to answer the question, "Who really killed Jesus?" it wasn't the angry mob, the brutal soldiers, it wasn't the Romans or the Jews per se, for God turned Jesus over to them and with wicked hands, human hands, they crucified him.

But the real answer is that God crucified Jesus. God sacrificed his own dear and darling son. And that is the passion, that is the pain. We have been saved by the passion of Christ. But there's one final word because we don't leave it there. Peter was sure to tell the crowd that day at Pentecost, for he says in verse 24, "Whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that he should be held by it."

Jesus was raised from the dead and by the power of his resurrection, we now can know the life and the love of the cross. And that brings me to the final word: if you really want to know who killed Jesus, look at the power of the cross. Death was defeated that day. Death was powerless against the power of the cross and the resurrection.

Listen to Hebrews chapter 2 and verse 14: "That through death he might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is the devil." We are made for eternity and that makes it impossible for God to quit on us even at the cross. And because of the cross and the resurrection, the cross is no longer a symbol of the brutal death of a victim, but it is the powerful testimony and the promise of eternal life and salvation.

Who killed Jesus? We all are accountable. We all are responsible because of our sin. All of us because of the enormity of human sin put Jesus, nailed Jesus to the cross. But ultimately it is God himself who gave this wonderful sacrifice. When you understand who really killed Jesus—that God in his love and his grace, because of your sin and mine, put Jesus on the cross—when you understand that, you are convicted, you are cut to the heart, you are broken even as these were broken. They came running and said, "What shall we do?" And Peter said, "Repent," which means to turn from your sin and to trust in Christ. Repent and receive the Holy Ghost, the gift of God's Spirit.

Guest (Female): You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message: "Who Really Killed Jesus?" Your support of PowerPoint Ministries makes a profound impact, helping more people discover the truth and hope of Jesus Christ. And to thank you for your generous gift today, we'd love to send you Dr. Jack Graham's new book, *Living Hope in a Hostile World*. It's a timely resource that reminds you how to stand firm in faith, cling to God's grace, and live with courage even in your most challenging times.

As you grow in your walk with the Lord through this resource, may you be encouraged to know that your generous support is helping others do the same. Text FEB to 59789. Again, text FEB as in February to 59789. Easter is just around the corner and we want to help you prepare your heart for the season. When you sign up, we will send you a video devotional every day until Easter to remind you of the sacrifice Jesus made so that we can be forgiven of our sins and reconciled to God.

Dr. Graham will share a short devotional about the final words that Jesus spoke from the cross and what they mean to us today. To sign up, just text CROSS to 59789. Again, text CROSS to 59789. Pastor, what is your PowerPoint for today?

Jack Graham: You know, we've been asking and answering the question today: "Who killed Jesus?" But before you ask the question, "Who killed Jesus?" you have to really ask yourself: Who was he? Who is Jesus? And why did he die on the cross for our sins? Well, some people say, "I believe Jesus was a good teacher, but I just don't believe that he was God."

But Jesus clearly said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except through me." When it comes to the life, the person of Jesus Christ, there are only three options that you can believe. Josh McDowell reminded us of this in his powerful book, *Evidence That Demands a Verdict*. You can believe he was a liar, he was a lunatic, or he was who he claimed to be: the Lord of life.

The only correct response is that Jesus is the Savior, the Son of God, the Messiah, the one promised in the Bible who would come and save people from their sins. He is the God-man, totally God and totally man. Just as much God as if he were not man at all, and just as much man as if he were not God at all. As man, he was the perfect sacrifice; as God, he is the Savior of the world.

And you have to decide: Who is this Jesus? And did his death mean anything for me? Does his resurrection apply to me? Is it relevant in my life? If you believe that Jesus is Lord, then trust him as your Savior by turning from your sin—that's what the Bible calls repentance. To repent means to change your mind, to change your heart, to change your attitude.

And when you turn from your sin, God will begin changing your heart, and he will forgive your sin as you trust in him. Give him all your life. Put your faith in him. And with all your heart, invite him to be your Lord and your Savior. I love that great classic hymn, "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross." The fourth verse says it most beautifully:

Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were a present far too small. Love so amazing, so divine, demands my life, my soul, my all. It was your sins and my sins that nailed Jesus to the painful death on the cross. And his sacrifice demands your response of faith and repentance today.

He rose again on the third day, and we don't serve a dead, crucified Savior, but a living Lord. Give him your soul. Give him your heart, your life, and your all.

Guest (Female): And that is today's PowerPoint. Remember, when you give a gift of $10 or more to PowerPoint, we will send you Dr. Graham's book, *Living Hope in a Hostile World*. Just text FEB to 59789. And join us again next time as Dr. Graham brings a message about how you can live courageously for Christ today. That's next time on PowerPoint with Jack Graham. PowerPoint with Jack Graham is sponsored by PowerPoint Ministries.