Jesus Is Willing to… – Resurrection Sunday (Colossians 2:11-14)

In Colossians chapter 2, verses 11 through 14, we see many things Jesus is willing to do for us. Jesus is willing to give us victory over sin: "In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ" (verse 11). Jesus is willing to be our substitute: “having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses” (verses 12 and 13). Jesus is willing to cancel our debt: “by canceling the record of debt” (verse 14a). Jesus is willing to free us from the law’s demands: “that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross” (verse 14b). https://youtu.be/gwaM4slXs6Q Colossians 2:11-14 contains many things Jesus is willing to do: give us victory, be our substitute, cancel debt, free us from the law. Table of ContentsSermon LessonsFamily Worship GuideSermon Notes for Jesus Is Willing to…Lesson one: Jesus is willing to give us victory over sin.Lesson two: Jesus is willing to be our Substitute.Lesson three: Jesus is willing to cancel our sin debt.Lesson four: Jesus is willing to free us from the law’s demands. Sermon Lessons Jesus is willing to… Lesson one: ________ ____ victory over sin (Colossians 2:11, Romans 2:29). Lesson two: ____ ______ Substitute (Romans 6:3-4, 23, Acts 2:24, Colossians 2:12-13). Lesson three: ____________ ______ debt (Colossians 2:13-14a). Lesson four: ________ ____ from the law’s demands (Colossians 2:14b, John 16:8, Romans 3:21-28). Family Worship Guide Directions: Read the verses and then answer the following questions: Day one: Colossians 2:11, Romans 2:29. What did physical circumcision always prefigure? What does it mean that Jesus died for our salvation and sanctification? What is the difference between the two? Why can’t the law produce our sanctification any more than it can produce our salvation? Day two: Romans 6:3-4, 23, Acts 2:24, Colossians 2:12-13. Why do we need a substitute? In what ways is Jesus willing to serve as our Substitute? Why couldn’t the grave hold Christ? In other words, why couldn’t He remain dead? What does baptized mean? In what ways were we baptized into Christ? What does water baptism represent? In other words, what does water baptism demonstrate about our relationships with Christ? Day three: Colossians 2:13-14, John 16:8, Romans 3:21-28. Describe the debt that we owe God. How can this debt be paid? What does it look like for us to pay it? What did it look like for Jesus to pay it? What are trespasses; how are they different than other sins? How did Jesus free us from the law’s demands and what does this mean for us? Why does the Holy Spirit convict the world of righteousness, and what does this have to do with Jesus’s ascension? How are we justified, or declared righteous? Sermon Notes for Jesus Is Willing to… Title of this morning’s sermon is, “Jesus Is Willing.” Go ahead and open your Bibles to Colossians 2: Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians. Over the last few weeks the sermons have been about baptism as we looked forward to today’s baptisms. Last week we talked about circumcision, and of course today is resurrection Sunday. So we’ve got: Baptism Circumcision And resurrection And beautifully, all three are tied together in this morning’s verses. Let’s read Colossians 2:11-14 so you can see what I mean… Colossians 2:11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. In these verses, we get to see some of the wonderful things Jesus is willing to do for us, and we’re going to talk about some of these things for the rest of the sermon. First, reread verse 11 with me… Colossians 2:11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, We talked about this verse somewhat last week… Circumcision was a sign of God’s covenant with the nation of Israel. Even though it was physical, the true and greater circumcision was spiritual: that of the heart. That’s what Paul’s talking about in this verse: He says circumcision made without hands, which means it’s spiritual not physical He says putting off the flesh, but he doesn’t mean the physical flesh, he means the spiritual flesh, which tempts us to sin. And this reveals what Jesus is willing to do for us…and brings us to Lesson 1… Lesson one: Jesus is willing to give us victory over sin. We’re told Jesus gives us this this spiritual circumcision and puts off our spiritual flesh. When Jesus died and rose from the grave, as we celebrate today, He won a complete victory over sin: He not only died for our sins, and provided for our salvation He died unto sin, and provided for our sanctification. What the law could not do, Jesus accomplished for us. Listen to the way Paul explains it in Romans… Romans 2:29 A Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, BY THE SPIRIT, NOT BY THE LETTER. When it says "not by the letter," it means "not by the law." We experience victory over sin by the Spirit through our relationship with Christ rather than through our own effort. Yes, we still sin, but we don’t need to be enslaved to its desires any longer. Sin’s power over us has been broken as we yield to Christ and walk in the power of the Spirit. Now look at verse 12 and listen to the repetition of the phrase with him… Colossians 2:12 having been buried WITH HIM in baptism, in which you were also raised WITH HIM through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13a And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together WITH HIM, These verses are filled with the language of substitution: Buried with Him… Raised with Him… Made alive together with Him… And this brings us to Lesson 2… Lesson two: Jesus is willing to be our Substitute. In verse 11 look at the words buried with Him in baptism. Like we talked about last week, the word baptized means immersed. Listen to this verse… 1 Corinthians 10:2 All [the Israelites] were baptized into Moses. The sounds odd, doesn’t it, to say the Israelites were baptized into Moses? It’s referring to their close association, or immersion in him. Spiritually we are baptized in, or immersed in, Christ. We have a close relationship with him after becoming believers. Listen to the way Paul explains it in Romans 6… Romans 6:3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. Do you hear the language of substitution again? When He died, it is as though we died When He was buried, it is as though we were buried When He was raised, it is as though we were raised And after our spiritual baptism, or immersion in Christ has taken place, then there is supposed to be the physical baptism, or immersion with water. Water baptism is an outward demonstration of what has already transpired inwardly. Another way to say it is… Water baptism is a physical picture of what has already spiritually happened in the believer’s life: We died with Christ… We were buried with Him… And we were – spiritually speaking – raised with Him. And let me explain why all of this is so significant… Earlier I said we have victory over sin, but because we have still sinned, what is required of us…what is the punishment for our sin? Death! Romans 6:23 the wages of sin is death. This is part of God’s justice: when there has been sin there must be an accompanying death. But the good news, or gospel, is this: If Jesus is our Substitute… If we have been baptized, or immersed in Him… His death can be our death He dies in our place The death that is required for our sins has taken place. Let me help you appreciate this by asking you to imagine something… Let’s say you love someone more than you can put into words: Maybe your spouse comes to mind Maybe your children come to mind If you’re a child, maybe your parents come to mind And you know this person you love is going to be punished for their sin. So picture a courtroom with God as the judge, and the verdict is read that the person is going to have to suffer terribly. You quickly jump up and scream s loudly as you can, “I will take their place. I will suffer for their sins.” In other words, “I will be their substitute.” Do you know what the judge, in this case God, is going to say to you? “Who is going to be your substitute? Who is going to take the punishment you deserve? How could you take the punishment for someone else’s sins when you have your own sins to pay for?” The only way someone could serve as a substitute is if they didn’t need a substitute. The only way someone could take the punishment for someone else’s sins, is if they didn’t have any sins that needed to be punished. Or simply put…