They That Passed By | Pastor Jeff Williams

The Open Door Church 337

Message: Intro [A personal story reflecting on a lesson in learning to drive in a bottleneck with rubberneckers] We can rubberneck scripture, passing it by without understanding it. The scripture passage is Jesus on the cross being mocked by passerby's for not using his power to save Himself.

There are three groups of passerby's: 1) the casual people who have heard His claims to be the Son of God without any understanding. 2) the scribes and elders who examined Him and knew His works. They represented Jerusalem, the center of power and faith. 3) the thieves who were in the same state of judgement and affliction. The three represented the whole world during a dangerous and politically charged time of Passover. There were thousands, some scholars estimate millions, gathered to see the Savior, the Passover Lamb and the Messiah. They mocked from a refusal to believe and trust God for themselves. They mocked Him to save Himself, but it was because He didn't, we are saved. This was the peak of God's love, to endure the cross for our salvation, but it was also the summit of man's hatred of God. Don't take a careless stance of Jesus Christ in your life. Today with all the endless suffering of society, we can become insensitive and lose compassion

[25:26-27:30, Testimony of driving in the snowmegeddon of Texas]

Allow yourself to be crucified to the old self and let Christ come in, this is faith. The magnitude of His love is not a fleeting passerby, but an intentional, caring, protecting and covenantal love as prophesied in Ezekiel 16:4-8. He is a God with a plan and a purpose of atonement which leaves us speechless against Him. How often do we pass by what God is doing? Never forget how God rescued us and when we see Him doing it for someone else, rejoice.

Let us proclaim Him as the Son of God, keeping our eyes fixed upon Him as we encounter the world, becoming sensitive to God's work and having an answer from faith of Christ who lives in us.

Scripture: Matthew 27:39-44 "And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, “You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.”

Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ”

Even the robbers who were crucified with Him reviled Him with the same thing." - NKJV