Twelve years ago, I preached the message below in a state prison on Resurrection Sunday (some call this Easter Sunday). I have updated it a little, but most of it is exactly what I said that day. I pray that you would appreciate everything that Jesus did to save you some two thousand years ago, and more importantly, that you would be willing to receive His free gift of eternal salvation.
Resurrection Sunday:
We are going to talk about the three most important days in all of history. Each one of these days has a special significance for each one of you here today. Your eternal destiny hinges upon each of these three days. There is no other thing in all your life that matters more than what happened on these three days.
Day one:
This coming Friday, we will celebrate one of these days. It is called Good Friday. It celebrates the day that Jesus was brutally tortured and shamefully hung on a Cross to die. So why do they call that day Good Friday, since what happened was so bad? Because of the incredible good that it meant to you.
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23 NKJV).
From the beginning of time, God knew that His Son Jesus was going to have to suffer and die to save you. Each one of you. All of Scripture points to this very fact. And Jesus did this willingly. “…who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross…” (Hebrews 12:2 NKJV).
Love is not shaped like a heart, but a Cross.
He went to the cross because He loved you. He loved you before you loved Him. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8 NKJV).
You see, God demands justice. A payment must be paid for your sin. You cannot pay the price.
You cannot earn your way to heaven because the only currency God will accept is the blood of His Son, Jesus. You can’t save yourself. “…having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved…” (Romans 5:9 NKJV).
The prophet Isaiah spoke of what would happen over 700 years in advance: “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:5-6 NKJV).
People say they are saved. They may ask you, “Are you saved?” Saved from what? Saved from the wrath of God. And the only way to be saved from God is by God, through His Son. Jesus died for you on the cross. On Good Friday. He was the only way. There was no other way.
You cannot make peace with God; God makes peace with you. The only way was for Jesus to take your punishment upon Himself. “…The chastisement for our peace was upon Him…” (Isaiah 53:5 NKJV). Never minimize the cost of reconciling with God. Peace does not cost you anything, but costs Him everything.
Jesus hung on the Cross because God gave His life to save our lives. That’s what John 3:16 talks about: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16 NKJV).
Do you think God would really accept you? After everything you have said and done? All I know is that He said “…whosoever…” in John 3:16. I am a “whosoever”. So are you. God loves you so much.
When Jesus approached this day, the day God would pour His wrath on Him, punishing Him for our sin, there was one word spoken by Him that changed everything. The one word “nevertheless” spoken by Jesus is the pivotal point in all history that brought us salvation through His crucifixion. “And He [Jesus]said, ‘Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.’” (Mark 14:36 NKJV).
Your worth is measured by the price Jesus paid for you on the Cross. Accept this truth to know your value. Accept this truth as you value others.
Jesus died for you. His last words were: “It is finished!…” (John 19:30 NKJV). It is finished, which means you don’t have to do anything more, because it is finished. Accept His free gift; He paid the price, you can’t do it without Him.
The greatest love story did not end with Christ on the Cross; it began with Christ on the Cross. Never underestimate the cost of your salvation. “…you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold… but with the precious blood of Christ…” (1 Peter 1:18-19 NKJV).
Day 1 was over
Day 2:
This was Saturday. This was the last day of the week. This is the Sabbath day, set apart from the beginning of time. The day of rest. A holy day set apart by God to observe the day of rest He took on the seventh day, after creating all of creation. “Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made” (Genesis 2:3 NKJV).
The day of rest, the Sabbath, the seventh day in creation, points to the single day in history that the body of Jesus would rest in the tomb. The holiest of days that existed between the Crucifixion and the Resurrection.
Moses said, “Six days you shall gather it [manna, the bread from heaven], but on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, there will be none [no bread, no manna]” (Exodus 16:26 NKJV). Jesus said, “I am the living bread which came down from heaven…” (John 6:51 NKJV).
That Bread [Jesus] was not available on the seventh day, that Sabbath day, He lay in the tomb. But He rose from the tomb! He is here now, alive, to those who would gather the Living Bread, Jesus, to themselves.
All of creation pointed to Jesus. On the sixth day of creation, man was created. And on the sixth day of the week, Jesus died to save man.
The seventh day of creation, God rested from His work of creation. On the seventh day of the week, Jesus rested from His work on the Cross.
The Third day:
The first day, Jesus died for you.
The second day, Jesus lay resting in the tomb.
But then there was the third day!
Jesus accurately and prophetically told of His own resurrection, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up…He was speaking of the temple of His body” (John 2:19-20 NKJV).
The resurrection of Jesus: “Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men. But the angel answered and said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.’” (Matthew 28:1-6 NKJV).
The third day, Jesus rose and appeared in the sight of people. “Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes. And let them be ready for the third day. For on the third day the LORD will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people’” (Exodus 19:10-11 NKJV). Are you ready for the third day?
God had planned for the third day from the beginning of history. That Jesus would be the risen Lord, the Living Son of God, the Savior of you. He is here with us right now.
He knows you.
He died for you.
He was buried for you.
And He was risen from the tomb to come save you.
“…on the third day He will raise us up so we can live in His presence” (Hosea 6:2 HCSB).
Jesus has a calling on your life. Answer the call, and you will have the adventure of an eternal life.
Your actions do not determine God’s love for you; they reflect your love for Him. You cannot earn His love; you can only return it.
He loves you, period.
Do you love Him?
The greatest three days in history, pointed to from the beginning.
Day one, the 6th day of the week, God created man, and then Jesus died to save man.
Day two, 7th day of the week, God rested from His work, and Jesus rested on the Sabbath from His work on the Cross.
Day three, 8th day, now into a new week, a new covenant, there was the Third Day!
On the Eighth Day, into a new week, the Father will now accept you because of what Jesus did for you. “When these days are over it shall be, on the eighth day and thereafter…I will accept you,’ says the Lord GOD” (Ezekiel 43:27 NKJV).
He will accept you, so will you go to Him?
Communion
(At the prison service, I did communion at the end of the message, shown below. Some of you may not do communion regularly, and perhaps your church does not either. The Bible says to do it often, so do it, get your own communion cups and bread.)
We are all sinners who fall short of the glory of God. None of us can pay the price for the sins we have committed. But Jesus came to pay the price for us. He was broken bread and poured out wine, His body broken and His precious blood spilled, that we could be forgiven.
Jesus came to die for you. He gave His body for you. He gave up His life willingly for you.
Before we take communion, let us come before God and silently confess our sins before Him. Look to Jesus in your heart, ask for the Holy Spirit to lead you in your confession to the Father.
Corporate prayer
Jesus said, “I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world” (John 6:51 NKJV).
“And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me’” (Luke 22:19 NKJV).
Take the bread.
“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7 NKJV).
“Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you’” (Luke 22:20 NKJV).
Take the cup.
And that was the end of the message. I’m sure I did an altar call after that, as whenever I preached in prison, I wanted to give opportunity, to open the door, to encourage everyone to go to the Lord Jesus and receive their free gift of eternal salvation. How about you? Are you really saved? Get that right today.
Blessings to you always,
Paul Balius