[Gary Antion] Tomorrow evening is very special to us as Christians, it's the one time in the year that we have the opportunity to remember Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and what He did for us. And truly to us, He is precious.

1 Peter 2:7, 1 Peter 2:7, we read this scripture. I love it, I couldn't re-find it. I had to look at up in my… kept going past it every time because I didn't have it actually marked in my Bible. I do have it underlined, but not in red. And he says in verse 7, Peter writes, "To you therefore which believe He is precious: but to them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same has become the head of the corner." Those who didn't like Him, He still has become the head of the corner. He is the Chief Cornerstone.

Since Jesus Christ is precious to us, I want to help us all to remember Him at Passover time. When I think about Passover and I mentioned this to the Monday morning focus group at ABC… not ABC, at the Home Office on Monday. My first year in Ambassador College, I was scared to take the Passover. I was just baptized in December and come April, I was scared. I have walked down there with trepidation, because I remember the scripture in 1 Corinthians 11 that says, "If you take this unworthily, you could die." So I've never taken this before, how do I take it unworthily?

I kept worrying and I never washed anybody's feet either, that wasn't as much of a concern as it was that I'd take this worthily or in a worthy manner. I was concerned about that the whole time. And when the Passover was over and I was still alive, and was not suffering from stricken with some major illness. And on my way back to the dorm, about a mile walk from Shakespeare Club at that time, back to the campus of Pasadena, I felt a lot of relief that I wasn't zapped that night.

The Passover that night was about me. I hope the Passover for you will be about Jesus Christ. So we consider Him precious. How will you remember Him? So the title of this sermon is "Remembering Him." I'd like to take us through some examples in the life of Jesus Christ from His pre-birth to birth, all the way through just to hit some of the highlights that we might appreciate Him as we take Passover tomorrow night. This is not to help you prepare personally in a sense of coming to appreciate H im for your baptism or coming to appreciate Him for your… taking away your sins, that's not the emphasis.

The emphasis here, I just want to emphasize what Jesus Christ did, what He was like so that when we go to Passover we will be thinking about that. And most of us do read the scriptures in Isaiah 53 and we read the scriptures in Matthew 26 and 27, or the end, the last few chapters of Luke, or the last few chapters of Mark to meditate on that in between the foot washing and the bread and the wine. And when there's a lull in the service when we first come, we're usually reading about Christ and that’s as it ought to be.

But let's take a look at some of these highlights and now, you might think of some other ones, and I haven't thought of all of them, there are plenty more you could add. These are the ones I'd like to bring to our attention to help us all to remember Him.

First of all, Jesus Christ's birth was rather special, Jesus Christ was prophesied in Isaiah 7:14 to be born of a virgin. Now, how many people are born of virgins? You know, and again a virgin, not married, not married but a virgin, Isaiah 7:14. But let's look at Matthew 1 for more information about this account. And as I said, I'll just be hitting some of the highlights as we go through this.

So Matthew 1:18, Matthew 1:18. "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was this way: When as His mother Mary was espoused to Joseph," and apparently, this espoused period is like an engagement, could last almost a whole year. “Was espoused to Joseph, before they came together,” before they had consummated this relationship, wasn't yet completely married, "she was found with child of the Holy Spirit." All of a sudden, she begins to get a little bit big around the midsection, "Then Joseph her husband, being a just man,” he was a fair man “and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privately."

Deuteronomy 24:1 said, "If you find a fault in them, you can put them away.” He was going to give her a bill of divorcement and send her off, but do it privately and not publicly. So he was a just man, he was fair. Didn't want to hurt her but he said, "She's obviously been cheating on me, she's pregnant." And verse 20, "While he thought on these things,” how he is going to do it, “behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream saying, ‘Joseph, you son of David, don't be afraid to take Mary to be your wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.’” She didn't do anything wrong. She didn't fool around. She has that in her, conceived of the Holy Spirit.

A tremendous miracle for God, to just impregnate Mary, by the power of His Spirit, to give her a child who would be called Emmanuel, God with us. "And she shall bring forth a son, and you shall call His name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins.” Savior and Jesus Christ the anointed Savior.

“Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, ‘Behold, a virgin shall be with child, shall bring forth a son," that's Isaiah 7:14, "they shall call His name Emmanuel." Now, that wasn't what His name would be but that's what they would refer to Him as, which is being interpreted, God with us. Verse 24, "And Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord who had bidden him…” After all, he was a just man, he was fair, he was righteous, he was obedient. “And he took to him his wife: and he knew her not…” did not have any relations with her, sexual relations with her, that's what it means, to know her until, “…until she had brought forth her firstborn son and he called His name Jesus."

Now, let's look at Luke's account, Luke 1:26. Luke 1:26, Jesus Christ did not have an easy birth. He had an easy birth, but He didn't have an easy time afterwards. Luke 1:26. And it talks here about the sixth month in the sixth… no, this is what I want, yes, it is. "In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God into the city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph." Gives you a more complete account, "Of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary."

Probably a teenager, most accounts will reckon she was anywhere from 13 to 18, probably 14, 15, 16, somewhere in that range, maybe 17 or 18. But certainly a teenager of great character. Now think about it, if you were God, you had the opportunity to pick anyone to be the mother of your child, you wouldn't pick somebody who was flippant, who was up and down, who was emotionally unstable, whose character was somewhat devious and questionable. You would pick someone who had good character.

“The angel came to her, and said to her, ‘Hail, you are highly favored.’” God has looked down upon you, He's favored you, He's giving you grace. “The Lord is with you: blessed are you among women." What a choice God has made of you to become the woman who bears His child. No, not the Mother of God but the mother of Jesus. Now, some religions call her the Mother of God, she was not the Mother of God, God was the Father of God. She was the mother of the human side of Jesus Christ. She was His mother, to be sure, but the mother of the human side.

So he said in verse 29, "And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be." “Wow! What a greeting from an angel, to tell me I'm going to I have a child, I'm just getting married now. I'm engaged to be married.” And what might she have thought? "What's my husband going to think? What's my husband going to think?" “And the angel said to her, ‘Fear not, Mary: for you'll find favor with God.’” God highly favors you. He's blessing you with this tremendous blessing of bearing the very Savior of all mankind. He's blessing you with this, favoring you with this honor. “And behold, you shall conceive in your womb, and you shall bring forth a son, and shall call His name Jesus."

While He would be Emmanuel, God with us, His name was to be called Jesus. Old Testament, Joshua, Savior. "And He shall be great, shall be called the Son of the High… He shall be great, shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give Him the throne of His father David.” He's going to be of the lineage of David, which you are. “He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of His kingdom there shall be no end."

He was telling you all the way through what He was going to be, what He would become, “Then said Mary to the angel, ‘How shall this be? How am I going to have a child? I don't know any man. I'm a virgin. How is this going to be? I've never known a man.’" And so verse 35, "And the angel answered and said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, the power of the Highest shall overshadow you: therefore all that also, that holy thing which shall be born of you shall be called the Son of God.’"

So He's not only the Son of Man, which we'll see Him called, He's also be called the Son of God because God is the one who is causing this. And verse 36, “And, behold, your cousin Elizabeth, she also has conceived a son in her old age." Now, Mary was young, but “your cousin Elizabeth in her old age has conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her…” so John the Baptist was six months older than Jesus Christ. “…Who is called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible.”

“And Mary said, ‘Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to your word.’ And the angel departed from her.” “Okay, that's what you want to do, I accept it. I accept this pronouncement from you.” Chapter 2 verses 1-7, "And it came to pass in those days, that there went out an order, a decree from Caesar Augustus that the world should be taxed.” Or registered, registered for taxing. “(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be registered or taxed, everyone to his own city.” So you had to go back to where your family came from.

“And Joseph who also went up out of Galilee, out of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David.)” Five miles south of Jerusalem, I know that way very well. When I went over with the students in 1983, hard to believe, that many years ago, was 34 years ago. 34 years ago… 31 years ago, sorry, 31 years ago I went back and forth from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. Because in Bethlehem there was an Arabic… lot of Arabs around that, and they made hot pita bread. So every Friday night… Saturday night we'd have students over to our home.

So I would drive down there in my little Ford Fiesta and get these hot fresh pita bread, and then I would also buy baklava, or baqlāwa as Arabs would call it, and get that freshly made from the Arab store. And then I would come into that little city, I recall this is where Jesus Christ was born. I had already toured the city before that, but I drove down every week, that was like five times while we were there. So I know what that little city is like and I have a vivid picture in my mind about it.

So he had to go down there “To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.” So just like Whitney Creech is great with child, having to have it induced so she can have the labor, be able to bear it and God be with her at this time. “And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.” So after riding on that donkey all the way down there, I'm sure that kind of stirred it too.

But anyway, you know, what some husbands do, when they get tired of waiting for their wives to have the baby, they ride along the railroad tracks and they ride on the railroad ties to try to stir something if it's going too long.

Anyway, in verse 7, "And she brought forth her firstborn son, wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn." Then you know the story, the shepherds came and the wise men from the East adoring her. And Herod wanted to kill Him, but God told them, “Go into Egypt” and then He called His Son out of Egypt. So that's the birth of Jesus Christ, awesome miracle for you and me.

What did He give up to be born? Philippians 2:6-8. We already know the beginning of John, it says, "In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God and the Word was God. The Word was with God and the Word was God, and the Word became flesh." So He gave up all that He was. Philippians 2 puts it this way, verses 6-8, “Who…” speaking of Jesus Christ, “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery…” or anything to have to grasp after “…to be equal with God.” He didn't have to try to figure out any way to be equal with God, He was.

“But made Himself of no reputation.” He said, "Okay, I'll come to this earth just let me be a prince, let me be a king, let me be Raja, let me be some type of… let me be born in a rich person's home with a silver spoon in my mouth." He didn't say that. He “Made Himself of no reputation, took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.” Not only in the likeness of men, He was a man. “And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself.”

You know, imagine having the controls over the whole universe, being there when everything was made, being there when He fashioned everything to give it all up to come here, and have to slug through the life of humanity being a human being, so that He could do it just for you and me. So in verse 8, "Being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient to death, even the death of the cross." So what did He give up? He gave up being in the very family of God. And what did He get for this?

John 8:41, His birth was remembered by those who are gossips, by those who are awful people, who like to accuse. So in John 8:41 we read this, “You do the deeds of your father.” He said, “Then they said to Him, ‘We be not born of fornication.” “We are not bastards. We are not illegitimate like you." So this, no matter what, Joseph kept it private, not public, it still got out. "Mary's pregnant and Joseph and Mary are not married yet, and how did she get pregnant." So they threw it at His face and you think this is the only time they threw it in His face? "We be not born of fornication, we have one Father, even God.” “You don't. You were born illegitimately." They insulted Him, of course, they continued throughout His life to try to catch Him all the time.

Take a look at His life. Luke 2:40-42, as He grew up Jesus Christ as a little boy grew up and as I said, it must have been difficult for His brothers and sisters to live with because He was perfect. You've ever had a perfect brother or sister, I doubt that any of us have ever had a perfect brother or sister. But sometimes you have some who are more perfect than others, and it really makes the younger one or the older one, depending on which one is being so good, makes them feel bad because they aren't quite as good.

So here's somebody perfect, He never made a mistake, never was disobedient to His mother, never gave her lip, never did nothing, never dishonored her in any way. So in Luke 2:40 we read this, "Now, his parents," actually read 40, verse 40 first, "And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit,…” Jesus Christ became strong in His mind, strong in His morale, strong in His inner being, “…filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon Him.” God gave Him all kinds of favor, all kinds of blessings, all kinds of strength, and all kinds of help that He needed.

Now, verse 41, "Now His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover." So talk about Passover time. “When He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the Feast.” Like they usually did. And He was 12 years old at this time. And as you know, He was able to sit in the temple and He was able to question the doctors of the law, and fascinate them, sometimes.

Skipping down to verse 52, after He was found, His family said, “Come on, let's go back home,” and He said, “Yes, I'll be subject to you." Verse 52, "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man." So Jesus Christ had to go through life like we have to go through life, except He had God's Spirit from the time He was conceived. And He was the Son of God, so He had that extra edge. But He still had to learn, He had to grow, He had to overcome not sins, but overcome the tendencies of human nature to want to pull Him down, He had to overcome that, He had to resist it, and He had to keep it from surfacing.

Luke 3:23, across the page we read this, "And Jesus Himself began to be about thirty, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph." Now, He really wasn't the son of Joseph when they give you Joseph's genealogy, they give you Jesus, give you Mary's genealogy in another location. But sorry, so genealogy of Mary, the others in Matthew give you Joseph's genealogy. It says, “(As He was supposed) the son of Joseph," Joseph took Him in like a son, He really wasn't Joseph's son, He was God the Father's Son, in this situation.

But it was about 30 and it's interesting the Bible never tells you exactly His age. If we knew He was exactly 30, right around Passover time, you could almost pinpoint it, but you can't quite pinpoint it. All you can say is if He was about 30, was He a little bit over or was He just a little bit under? It was right around Passover time, so if you go back six months, you know, or if you figure out what his date age was about 30, then you could try to figure out when He was born, or go back nine months. But it doesn't tell you exactly, does it? Doesn't tell you exactly He was 30, about 30. So you can't really figure out when His birthday was.

Mark 1:14-15, what did Jesus do throughout that time after He began his ministry around 30? Mark 1:14, Jesus Christ preached the gospel. Jesus Christ went forth preaching a message of hope to the world. Verse 14, so what about His life? What is He doing in life? He had to grow in grace and knowledge, and wisdom. He probably took care of His mother that every instance, every commentary seems to feel that Joseph died rather young, Joseph, His dad. And Jesus Christ had to assume a lot of the responsibilities.

But in verse 14 of Mark 1, and of course, we know He became a carpenter, we'll see that in a moment. “Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God,” Jesus Christ went out and preached. Jesus Christ went out and gave hope to the world, like we're trying to do with our Beyond Today program, like we're trying to do with the Good News Magazine. We're trying to show the world hope, we're trying to show them a better way. Verse 15, "And saying, 'The time is fulfilled, the Kingdom of God is at hand.'"

“You can begin being ready for the Kingdom of God and you can believe the gospel of the good news that I'm bringing to you now.” That's what He preached. And you'll find many of these parables, the Kingdom of God was like this, the Kingdom of God is likened to this, the Kingdom of God is likened to this, that's what His message was.

Matthew 9:35, He healed many, He healed many in His ministry. Came across many sick people, Jesus Christ had compassion, He did not turn away from those. Matthew 9:35, “Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching…” So He taught and He preached, teaching and “…preaching the gospel of the Kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.” Anybody came to Him, there was nothing that He couldn't heal. “But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion on them,…”

Gives you an insight into Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ cared about people, He loved people. He had “…compassion on them because, they faded and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.” So Jesus Christ was concerned with people, He healed all manner of sickness and disease.

Now, His family didn't believe in Him, sad. Mark 6:1-6. Basically his siblings did not believe Him. Mark 6:1, "And He went out from there, and He came to His own country; and His disciples follow Him. And when the Sabbath day was come, He began to teach in the synagogue." So He's a teacher and they recognize that this guy really can teach. "And many hearing Him were astounded, astonished saying, 'From where does this man get these things?’” “Where did He learn all these? What school did He go to? Whose university did He go to? Whose seminary did He go to?” “From where do you learn these things? What wisdom is this which is given to Him that even such mighty works are worked by His hands?” He's also works miracles but look at the preaching that He's doing to us, where did He get all this?'"

In verse 3, then they kind of mitigated the situation. They know, “Wasn't this the carpenter, the son of Mary?" See, He was a carpenter during that time, followed His father's profession. "Isn't this the carpenter? Don't we know Him? I thought He made our coffee table or He helped fix one of our chairs, or He put on this fireplace," I doubt they had a fireplace. But anyway, “He put this pit, fire pit in here for us.” “And isn't He the brother of James, and Joseph, and Judas, and Simon."

Now, we don't know much about Simon or Joseph. We do know of something about Jude. The book of Jude tradition is written by the brother of Jesus and the book of James written by the brother of Jesus, who must have later come along and were converted. "And are not his sisters," Now, again, girls of that time, they didn't even write names, right? "Are not his sisters." So Jesus Christ at least had a family of seven, Himself included, children. Four brothers, two sisters, at least two sisters, could have had three sisters, could have had four or five, but at least had two because it says, "Sisters, are they not here with us?"

Well, we know His family is here, how can this guy be such a good preacher? His family's right here, He can't be that good." “But Jesus, said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honor…’” and they were offended, last part of it, they were offended at Him. "A prophet is not without honor, but in his own country, among his own kin, and in his own house." The very Son of God was with them and they didn't take advantage of it.

When my brother went to Ambassador College, He came back after his first year and had the opportunity, I was still a senior in high school, big guy on the campus. And he came back and I didn't treat him real nice but I was happy he was back, he was my brother after all, but he was a freshman, just after his freshman year. Very strict, very strict, went back through the room watching T.V. The T.V. was on the Sabbath which my parents would be watching, he went back through the room so we didn't have to see the TV.

He would eat his own brand of… we had to get Wheat Chex with honey, so he could have we Wheat Chex and honey for breakfast, that's what they served in Ambassador College, that's what he wanted to eat there. And he would disappear into his room all day long, just come down to eat and back up into his room again, hardly said anything to us all day Sabbath. Then he would come back down and he was very strict on those things. So I didn't really talk to him much about anything theologically, I was happy to have my own, go my own way and not worry about him.

But after he left and I began to get interested especially in my senior year, toward the end of my senior year and into my first year of college in another college, I really had wished I had been able to talk to him more. We didn't have cell phones or Skyping or anything like that, so to call California from Pennsylvania was indeed a huge amount of money. So I didn't make any calls to him but I said, "I sure wish he had been here, I could have asked him about this."

I began to study all the literature that he left behind, and I began to get interested, and I began to do the old correspondence courses that he left behind. And I began to work on those and I began to study the Bible but I wished that I had been able to ask him some questions about this, this and this that I didn't understand. “How do you live this way? How do you apply this? How does this work?” And I bet James and Jude could kick themselves for not having had that opportunity, and the rest of his family.

You had the Son of God living right in your home and you didn't ask Him, you didn't talk to Him, you rejected Him, you didn't give Him any honor or respect, very hard. Verse 5, the people that you would expect support and love from, they don't give it to you. “And He could there do no mighty work, save He laid His hands on a few sick folk, and healed them. And He marveled because of their unbelief. He went about, round about the villages, teaching.”

Look at John 7, it's worse than that. His brothers knew that He was a marked man, they heard the scuttlebutt about their brother Jesus Christ. But John 7:1, "After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He would not walk” in Jewry, “in Judea anymore, because the Jews sought to kill Him." But notice what His brothers say to Him.

“Now the Jews Feast of Tabernacles…” Why was it the “Jews’” Feast of Tabernacles? It's really God's Feast. The Jews were the only ones keeping it. “The Jews’ Feast of Tabernacles was at hand. And His brothers therefore said to Him, "Why don't you leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples may see the works that You do.” “Well, we don't care if You run, why don't You go show them what You can do. Go to Judea."

Now, didn't we just read, they wanted to kill Him there. "Why don't you go on down there and depart from here, they can see your works. For there is no man that does anything in secret, why don't you want to show yourself? And He Himself seeks to be known openly, if you do these things, show Yourself to the world. Well, just go down and expose yourself." “For neither did his brethren believe in Him.” His brothers did not believe in Him.

“Then Jesus said to them, ‘My time is not yet come, but your time is already. Your time is always ready. The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it and the works thereof are evil. You go up to the Feast, I don't go up yet to the Feast. My time has not yet fully come.” “I don't want to make a big splash when I go, you go up early but I'll be there. I'll be keeping it, you go up early." But they told him, "Just go up show yourself, expose yourself and be killed." So again, His family didn't believe in Him. Jesus Christ led a balanced way of life.

John 10:10, He gives us this signal in John 10:10. He said, "The thief comes not but for to steal, to kill, and to destroy. But I came, I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." He constantly showed a balanced way of life. "Is it okay to heal on the Sabbath?" "Yes." "Is it okay to do good on the Sabbath?" "Yes." "Should you work on the Sabbath?" "No." "But if you walk through the fields and you're hungry, and you grab some… what it, wild strawberries or wild grapes, is that okay to do?" "Yes, you're not reaping them, you're just taking a few to eat." His disciples were criticized for that.

Jesus Christ was constantly showing a balanced way of life, not a compromising way of life as was mentioned about God's law, but a balanced way of life. Because the Jews had taken it and had skewed it, and they added lots of do's and don'ts with God which God never added. So He lived a balanced way of life and He taught a balanced way of life.

In fact, in Luke 7:33-34, we read this account. Luke 7:33, let's see, is that the one I want? Yeah, Luke 7, not 6, no wonder. Luke 7:33. "For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine," Remember, he liked locusts. “Locusts tonight. Give me some locusts today, that's what I want, fill me up with…” "John, you're a great guy, but please brush your teeth, before you come into my house.” Okay, locusts and honey legs sticking out, it must have been kind of gooey.

But anyway, John did came and they said, "This guy John," they said, “He has a devil.” Why? He doesn't drink wine, doesn't eat bread. But then, so Jesus said, "The Son of Man came and he's eating and drinking…” He's a regular guy. He comes, He eats, has a little glass of wine here and there, drinks, eats meals, regular meals “and you say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a winebibber.’" Jesus comes, He eats, you call Him glutton. He drinks something and you call Him an excess drinker. He didn't excessively drink, if He did He would have been sinning. He didn't, but they called Him that, “a friend of publicans and sinners!” And yes He was. “But wisdom is justified of all her children.”

Look at Luke 19:1, I like this one. I'm reading through Luke as you can gather, is my preparation for Passover, reading about my Savior and your Savior Jesus Christ. But Luke 19:1, "And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho, and behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was chief among the publicans." So here he was a tax collector, hated tax collectors, they tried to extract more money than they should from people. “And he was rich.” Again, why?

Verse 3, "And he sought to see Jesus… see Jesus who He was, He wanted to see Him, and could not for the press, because he was little of stature." He's a little short guy like the person who was playing the piano over here, we looked over when Mr. VanAusdle began. He said, "Okay, it's time to begin," and we couldn't see the piano player's head. So a little over here, he was just sitting right over Mr. Pulliam and I was saying, “This little tiny piano player over there playing piano.” I know I was in the back, but anyway, a short guy.

Here was a short fellow, a little short guy, he couldn't see over the crowd. So what did he decide to do? He ran. “And ran before, and he climbed up into a sycamore tree to try to see him; for he knew He was going to pass that way.” Coming down this path, here's a sycamore tree, there was a branch that overhangs the path, “I'll go climb up there.” “And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up, and He saw him, and He said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, get down from there, make haste, and come down; for today I must abide in your house. I'd like to have dinner with you.’" A publican, yes, not a Republican but a publican, "and I'd like to have dinner with you."

"And he made haste, and he came down, and received Him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, 'That He was gone to be guest with a man who is a sinner.’” Then Jesus said that's who He came to save. So again, He led a balanced life, He came to help people. John 15:10, how balanced was He? He kept God's commandments. John 15:10, never deviated from God's way. John 15:10, He said, "If you keep My commandments, you shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's Commandments, and abide in His love." Jesus Christ kept God's commandments, but He was a balanced person in life.

Notice over in 1 Peter 2:21-22. Jesus Christ not only kept God's commandments, Jesus Christ never said anything to mislead people. Jesus Christ had no guile in His mouth, no deception, no intent to ever deceive or mislead someone by His words. 1 Peter 2:21, "For even hereunto you were called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps." That doesn't mean go out and seek to suffer, but if you do suffer as you live the Christian life, know that Jesus Christ also set that example for us, that “He suffered, setting us an example.”

But verse 22, "Who did no sin." That tells you He kept God's commandments, neither was guile, subtlety, deception, slyness, trying to connive and pull something over on someone. "Neither was guile found in His mouth," never said words to mislead people, never said words to try to deceive them, that's Jesus Christ, your Lord and my Lord.

And what did He teach them? He said, "If you will enter into life," Matthew 19:17, "Keep the commandments." You want life? Keep the Commandments. He didn't come to do away with the Commandments, He didn't come to do them for you, He came to live a perfect life so He could be a perfect sacrifice for each one of us, but He didn't keep them for you. He kept them as an example for you and me.

Now, He was betrayed and forsaken by His disciples. After all of His preaching, three and a half years came down to the end and He told them," one of you as we eat this Passover," He apparently washed the feet of Judas. Before He dipped the sop and gave it to him, and He said, "Whoever is dipping the sop with me, that's the one who's going to betray me." And they said, "Who? Is it me? Is it me? Is it me?" And they didn't realize He meant this guy that I'm giving it to right now is the one, and they didn't pick it up. He said, "Judas, whatever you do, do it quickly."

But take a look at the account in Matthew 26:47-50, and I'm not going to read every word of this section, but just try to give you the highlights and the high points that Jesus Christ, after living a beautiful life, after living a perfect life, after healing all manner of sickness and disease, after teaching and preaching good news, after being kind and loving and compassionate toward people of all kinds including Samaritans, Matthew 26:47.

Matthew 26:47, "And while He yet spoke," remember, Judas had already agreed to betray Jesus. "While He yet spoke, lo Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people. Now he that betrayed Him gave them a sign." Now Jesus wasn't so extraordinary looking, He wasn't wearing the whitest white robe, He wasn't wearing a halo over His head so that they could tell. He didn't have such long hair when everybody else, Romans people, Roman dominant, they generally had shorter hair. He didn't have some long, beautiful, flowing locks.

They could have said, "The long locks with a halo over His head, and the whiter than white outfit, go get Him." Nobody's going to be like that, especially if He's a carpenter. So they came, He had told them, "Look, here's the sign, whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is He. Hold Him fast, grab Him, He's the one." "And he went and forthwith he came to Jesus, and he said, ‘Hail, master,' and kissed him." How defeating! Of course Jesus knew, He picked one like this of dubious character to be the one who would betray Him. But still, how devastating to have one of your own group turn on you and betray you.

And Jesus said to him, "Friend, why have you come? Why have you done this?" Then they came and they laid hands on Jesus, and took Him. Verse 53, He said, “Do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?” “Right at this moment, if I want God's intervention, twelve legions of angels will show up and save me if I wanted it, but I'm willingly going, I'm giving myself up." Verse 56, "But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled." All of His support system in His time of great trial, He saw them all disappear. How sad.

Verse 67 and 68, verses 67 and 68, "Then they did spit in His face, buffet Him, and others smote Him with the palms of their hands,…” slap Him across the face “saying, 'Prophesy to us you Christ, who is He?’” “Tell me my name. Tell me where I'm from. You're such a good prophet, you're such a smart man, you're such a… claim to be so much and so great." Slap, spit in His face, nobody spit in my face before. They better not try it, spitting in people's faces does not go over well. Jesus Christ took it, complete humility. He took it, and being humiliated in front of them.

And so look at chapter 27, chapter 27 and verse 26, chapter 27 verse 26, "Then they released Barabbas," remember he asked the people, "Who do you want? Barabbas or Jesus? Do you want Jesus, do you want Barabbas?" They said, "Give us Barabbas." “He released Barabbas: and when he had scourged Jesus," very few words here. That talk about a major punishment that some people never survived. The Roman scourging was entirely different from the Jewish whipping, Jewish whipping with 40 stripes save one of those, gave 39 in case they miscounted, they wanted to be righteous even in giving out punishment, and usually directed to the buttocks, backside.

Not all over the body. And not with a cat o' nine tails whip. A whip that was a club about so big that had on it straps, strips of leather coming out from it at the end of each of those strips of leather. Leather was sewn in either bits of stone or chunks of steel, or glass, and that they would take it and hit that person real close, real close as he was bent over naked. And they could hit Him anywhere that they wanted. Face, groin, chest, anywhere. And they hit Him and that straps wrapped around and those chunks of bone or chunks of stone dug in, they would pull it back, it would rip out flesh, and that's what they did to Jesus Christ for about three minutes.

And when that happens, that person's body just goes almost into tremors and hysteria, and their breathing becomes shallow, and they could die from that. Three minutes, probably all it took for a Roman Lector stand over Him beating Him. How many lashes can you get in three minutes? A lot. And His whole body is trembling as He lies, as He's bent over that stone. So when it says they delivered Him, "When he had scourged Him, he delivered Him to be crucified." The scourging was horrible.

Isaiah 52 says, "His visage was so marred that you can't even tell it was a human being.” You can't tell who this was, His face was so messed up. Did it all for you, did it all for me. The Day Christ Died by Jim Bishop, they then delivered Him to be crucified. Let me read about crucifixion. I also checked online and Rick Warren says in one of his articles about Easter, that the crucifixion was the most brutal, how did they put it. “Crucifixion is probably the most brutal and torturous death penalty ever devised by man.”

Let me read from The Day Christ Died by Jim Bishop, page 320. It says, "The Phoenicians were the first to devise crucifixion. They had tried death by spear, by boiling in oil, by impalement, by stoning, by strangulation, by drowning, by burning — and all had been found to be too quick." They die too quickly and you got to inflict pain on these people. “They wanted a means of punishing criminals slowly and inexorably, so man devised the cross. It was almost ideal, because in its original form it was as slow and as painful,” says, “(Man often lived two or more days in the burning sun), and the condemned, at the same time, were placed fairly before the gaze of the people."

So you put them out, you embarrass them, you shame them, you have them nailed there in the burning sun. And notice what else, “Secondary consideration was nudity. This added to the shame of the evildoer and, at the same time, made him helpless before thousands of insects of the air, while the carrion birds and small animals held back until the person was dead.” The insects didn't do such a thing. So that man's lying nailed there, he can't do anything and these insects coming. Ever had something bug you and you can't get your hands free to itch it, scratch it, or shake it away, or wave it away.

Goes on to say, "In the early days of the empire, this punishment was reserved for slaves and revolutionaries." And they talked about the poll being about 6-foot high, 6-feet high, that's the upright and the other one, the parabellum that was like the cross bar is what they believe Jesus carried through the streets, the other one was already in the ground. And they carried that through the streets and He fell under it, big like a block of 2 by 4 piece of wood. And that they would put that behind His head and nail His hands.

But they knew how to do this, that upright pole is only about 6-feet high, but it didn't matter because they always bent the legs of the person, so even if they were taller than 6 feet, they always bent their legs, that made it more miserable. Imagine you're being dragged along and held either by… through your… they nailed Him through the bone, not through the bone but in between the two bones of your wrists on each side with spikes, and then they nailed their feet. So if you try to relieve the pressure on your legs if you came down like this, you could breathe in but you couldn't breathe out. So you couldn't get any… exhale, so you had to push yourself up in order to exhale then you be slumped on again, so this was what they did regularly. Up and down, up and down until they died.

Many times they came through and broke their legs just to make sure they were dead. Jesus Christ had already died when they stabbed him. Rick Warren says, “He died of a broken heart.” He didn't die of a broken heart. The Bible says His blood, His life poured out of Him, that's how He died. So that was the cruelest way they could find to kill someone, that's how they killed Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians… let's see over in Matthew 27 then. Matthew 27:45-46. "Now from the sixth hour" that's noon, that's when they did it, in the heat of the sun, "there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. In about the ninth hour” 3:00 in the afternoon, “Jesus cried with a loud voice saying, 'Eli, Eli, lama sabacthani?' That is to say, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’" Why had God forsaken Him, 2 Corinthians 5:21, 2 Corinthians 5:21, "For He has made Him” Jesus Christ, “to be sin for us, who knew no sin;” that we might be the righteousness of God in Him, let’s see… “that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him."

Christ knew no sin, but He took upon Him all of our sins. And at that moment being the embodiment of sin, God forsook Him. Remember in Isaiah, it says, "What separates between you and your God," Isaiah 59:1-2, your sins have separated. So when He became the embodiment of sins of all the world, not just those who were in times past, but those who would come in the future, God forsook Him.

Now, He did it for us. Hebrews 12:2, Hebrews 12:2, Jesus Christ did it for us. "Looking to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of God." How He do it for us? When He was there hanging, suffering, but He must have been picturing the people who would be able to be a part of His very family in His Kingdom, that's why He did it. For the joy that was set before Him, the people that He could have forgiven.

Hebrews 2:10 tells us the many sons who could be brought to salvation. Hebrews 2:10, "For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through suffering." So Jesus Christ is the author and captain of our salvation, what an awesome thing, and He lives now in heaven with God, ever lives to make intercession for you and me as our great High Priest.

Hebrews 4:15, Hebrews 4:15, "For we have not a high priest, which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” When He walked this earth. “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." So now He's in heaven at God's right hand, He knows what we go through, He knows the struggles that we face.

Hebrews 7:25, what does He do up there? "Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost," He doesn't just barely save you, He saves you by a wide margin, “…to the uttermost that come to God by Him, seeing that He ever lives to make intercession for them.” Jesus Christ ever lives to help you, to help me. He wants us to be in His family, He wants us to be in His Kingdom, He wants us to sit on His throne beside Him.

Revelation 3:21, what happens to those who overcome? They get to sit with Him on His throne to help Him rule, in other words, in the future. Now Jesus Christ is coming back, Revelation 11:14, Revelation 11:14, Jesus Christ is coming back. And you know what? You and I will have our first chance to meet Him in the resurrection. Revelation 11:15, "And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, 'The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign forever and ever.'"

The seventh trump, seventh angel sounded, He said, "Jesus Christ is coming back. He is coming back." but this time, not as the humble carpenter of Nazareth, not as one who won't even break a reed, not as one who didn't come to fight, He's coming back with power and majesty, and might. And we will get to meet Him for the first time in person.

1 Thessalonians 4, if we make it, if we stay faithful to the end, if we endure to the end, if we overcome to the end, if we are faithful to Him. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, "For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, with a trumpet of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain” whoever those we are, “shall be caught up together with Him in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."

So we're going to have a chance to meet Him personally, to welcome Him back to the earth, to bring peace to this earth. As spirit beings when we're changed, to meet Him in the air and not be like helicopters and hover around the rest of them. So shall we ever be in the air? We're just going to float around in the air the rest…? No, we're coming back to the earth, that's where Christ's feet are going to land. So we get to meet Him for the very first time.

Finally, my last scripture, 1 Corinthians 11:24-26. I hope I've given you a scan of His life, just to focus the attention on Him. Passover is about Him. Passover is about remembering Him, doing it in remembrance of Him. Yes, there are spin-offs to that, what does He mean to us? But Passover is about Him.

1 Corinthians 11:24-26, you might say it's the last word that was given. Verse 23, let’s start at verse 23, "For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus the same night in which He was betrayed took bread." So this is what I received, this is the latest word because after the Gospels, Paul then received this instruction. Here's what he says in verse 24, "And when He had given thanks, He broke it," broke the bread “and He said, ‘Take, eat:, this is my body, which is broken for you, this: do in remembrance of Me.’"

He said again in verse 25, "After the same manner also he took the cup, which He had supped, saying, 'This cup is the New Testament in My blood: this do as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.'" And verse 26, "For as oft as you drink, as oft as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you do show the Lord's death till He come."

Passover is about remembering Him, so tomorrow evening, especially and all throughout our lives, let's remember Jesus Christ: the Sacrifice, the Lamb, and our Savior.