Gimme A Sign

[Slide #1] Sermon Title: Gimme a sign! (Sign=Reminder)

Sermon Text: Mark 15:29-31

²⁹ And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, ³⁰ Save thyself, and come down from the cross. ³¹ Likewise also the chief priests mocking said among themselves with the scribes, He saved others; himself he cannot save. Mark 15:29-31(KJV)

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[Slide #2] ☞The Story of the Exodus:

• Israel had gone into to Egypt on good terms: Joseph was 2nd in command to Pharaoh
• Jacob’s son
• Isaac’s grandson
• Abraham’s great grand son

• Israel became too populated and hence a threat to Egyptians. Pharaoh decreed a genocide against Hebrew boys.

• Roughly 400 years of life in Egypt had taken place & God planned to rescue His people from the bondage of slavery and farce of polytheism.

• Moses, a foreshadow of Christ, left the riches of Egyptian blue-bloodedness, denounced his right to Pharaoh’s throne, and sided with Pharaoh’s enemy/servants: The Hebrews.

• Although Moses left the household of Pharaoh, he didn’t leave all his training as a member of Egypt’s First Family: Military training, training in business/economics, philosophy and leadership development.

[Slide #3] ☞The Sign of Passover:

• After many warnings, pharaoh still refused to release the Hebrews
• God sent plaques, the last of which was death upon the first born of Egypt. Pharaoh was defeated and deflated and released the Hebrews.

• God, clearly aware of who His enemies were and who His chosen people were, still required a sign...

• A sign which reminded the chosen of their chosenness
• This sign wasn’t merely a precaution against Israel’s forgetfulness
• Yahweh-God wasn’t merely reminding Hebrews of Who saved them
• Yahweh wanted them to remember Who Loved them! They were loved!
• Israel was instructed to sacrifice a lamb and put some of it’s blood on the door for protection from The Angel-of-Death’s assignment.

• Interestingly enough, the very firstborn sons who were spared, were required to be presented before The Lord annually.

• It wasn’t a matter of being presented to God repeatedly
• It was a matter of being reminded repeated that God presented them BACK to their parents.

[Slide #4] ☞Our Sign of the Cross

• A reminder of a monstrous corporal punishment tool which was once outlawed due to its inhumane cruelty to convicted individuals.

• It, rather than a manger, a fish, a saw or carpenter’s belt, a loaf of bread, a lamb, a light, a shepherd’s staff, 

• When we remember Christ’s crucifixion and how he was handed over for judgement...we ought to remember that we were not.

• The cross isn’t merely a reminder of how much God loved us.
• The cross is a reminder of how much God still loves us

• The cross is also a reminder that in losing our lives (not via martyrdom, but via service)...We show the deep gratitude for our faith, our freedom and our Savior’s amazing grace & love towards us.

☞ This is interesting because the goal of crucifixion isn’t death, it is dissuasion.

• I am not dissuaded from following God’s love and Christ’s example of selfless love. (It was gruesome, humiliating and slow)

[Slide #5] Questions & Challenges:

• Will our new sign lie?
• Will our street sign say that we meet on Saturdays if we meet on Sundays.
• Will the sign of the cross betray our cross-less lifestyles?
• How will your new perception of the Image of the Cross cause you to live differently. 

²⁴ Then after Moses grew up, his faith made him refuse to be called Pharaoh’s grandson. ²⁵ He chose to be mistreated with God’s people instead of having the good time that sin could bring for a little while. ²⁶ Moses knew that the treasures of Egypt were not as wonderful as what he would receive from suffering for the Messiah, and he looked forward to his reward. (Hebrews 11:24-26)

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