Easter Friday, April 18th, 2025
What Calvary Means to Me
SERMON TITLE:
SCRIPTURES:
đź•Š Old Testament Prophecies
These foretold the suffering and purpose of the Messiah’s death:
- Isaiah 53:3–7 (NKJV)
He is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief…
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. - Psalm 22:16–18 (ESV)
For dogs encompass me;
a company of evildoers encircles me;
they have pierced my hands and feet—
I can count all my bones—
they stare and gloat over me;
they divide my garments among them,
and for my clothing they cast lots.
✝️ Gospels – The Crucifixion Narrative
- Luke 23:44–46 (NIV)
It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last. - John 19:30 (ESV)
When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
🔥 Significance
- Romans 5:8 (NLT)
But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. - 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV)
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. - 1 Peter 2:24 (CSB)
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
🌅 Hope Beyond the Cross
- Hebrews 12:2 (NKJV)
Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. - Colossians 2:14–15 (NLT)
He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities.
QUOTES:
12 Divine healing lays in Calvary. And the only thing that you can do is point to Calvary. And there’s where your salvation lays. You wasn’t saved just five years ago, ten years ago, or twenty years ago, or how long it was. You wasn’t saved then. See? You were saved nineteen hundred years ago. When Jesus died at Calvary, He took the sins of the world away. You just accepted your salvation so many years ago. But everything that God can do for both sickness and sin has already been appropriated in Calvary. And the only thing that a minister can do, is to point you to where…what God has already did for you in Christ. Do you understand it?
A man could come to the altar; he could pray all night. He could cry, he could beg, he could plead, walk up-and-down the floors, make restitutions. But until he believed and accepted, he’d still be a sinner. For Hebrews 3 said, “Jesus Christ is the High Priest of our confession,” profession, the same translation is confession. He’s the High Priest of our confession, therefore, He can’t do nothing for us, until first, we confess that He has done it. And then He goes to work as a high Priest, making good what we profess, that He has done. What…And He will make good anything that He included in His atonement. And there He was: “Wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquity, the chastisement of our peace upon Him; with His stripes we were healed.”
Not, we will be, or we ought to have been, but we were, passed tense, already healed. God did it back there in Calvary, and the only thing we do, is reach up and receive it by faith, and believe it, confess it.
13 And now, your pastor here, can here point you to Calvary; that’s all he can do. Now, God, after the pastors, He has set in the Church different gifts, and sign, they minister, gifts that he can point to the people by different ways. But there’s nothing in an individual that could heal another one. There’s nothing in me; there’s nothing in any other man.
Now, I want you to notice: I believe that God is just as tangible in this room tonight, as the light is on my hands. Do you believe that? Now, notice; get the fundamental foundation first, that Divine healing is in Christ. And He is as present, and just as close to you as the light that’s shining on you now. That’s the…He’s infinite. He’s—He’s forever and forever. He knowed the beginning; He…[Blank spot on tape—Ed.]
53-0506 – “Jesus Christ The Same Yesterday, Today, And Forever”
Rev. William Marrion Branham
MAIN POINT:
“What Calvary Means to Me”
Isaiah 53:4-6; John 19:16-30; Revelation 13:8
Introduction:
Easter is not just about the resurrection—it’s about the price that preceded the power. Calvary, the hill where Jesus was crucified, is not just a location—it is the crossroads of justice and mercy, of prophecy and fulfillment, of wrath and redemption. Today, we reflect on what Calvary means to me—and to every believer who has been touched by the transforming power of the cross.
1. Calvary Was Foretold—The Lamb Was Always the Plan
Revelation 13:8 – “The Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”
From the very beginning, before Adam took his first breath, God had already prepared a solution to sin. Calvary wasn’t a reaction to man’s failure—it was a revelation of God’s eternal love and foresight.
Old Testament Foreshadows:
- Genesis 22 – Abraham and Isaac: A father willing to sacrifice his son, but God provides a ram caught in the thicket.
- Exodus 12 – The Passover lamb: Blood on the doorposts spared the Israelites from death.
- Leviticus 16 – The Day of Atonement: A scapegoat carried the sins of the people into the wilderness.
- Isaiah 53:5-7 – “He was wounded for our transgressions… like a lamb led to the slaughter.”
These weren’t random events—they were prophetic pictures pointing to the ultimate sacrifice: Jesus, the Lamb of God (John 1:29), who takes away the sin of the world.
2. Calvary Was Necessary—Why Did Jesus Have to Die?
Romans 6:23 – “The wages of sin is death…”
Hebrews 9:22 – “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”
God is holy. Sin must be judged. But God is also love. He doesn’t want anyone to perish. The only way to satisfy justice and express mercy was through substitution—someone had to take our place. But not just anyone—only a perfect, sinless sacrifice would suffice.
Why Jesus?
- Fully God – So He could bear the full weight of divine wrath.
- Fully Man – So He could represent humanity as the second Adam.
- Sinless – So His blood could cleanse us, not His own guilt.
Jesus didn’t just die for us—He died as us.
3. Calvary Was the Turning Point—The Power of the Cross
Colossians 2:14-15 – “Having canceled the record of debt… He nailed it to the cross… triumphing over them.”
At Calvary:
- Our debt was canceled.
- Satan’s power was broken.
- The veil was torn—we now have direct access to God.
- Grace was unleashed in full.
The cross didn’t just pay our bill—it changed the entire economy of redemption.
4. Calvary Is Personal—What It Means to Me
To me, Calvary means:
- I’m Forgiven. The shame, the guilt, the debt—it’s gone.
- I’m Free. Sin no longer has dominion over me.
- I’m Loved. God didn’t just tell me He loves me—He proved it in blood.
- I’m His. I belong to the One who died and rose again.
Galatians 2:20 – “I have been crucified with Christ… the life I now live I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
What does Calvary mean to you?
It means love beyond comprehension, grace beyond measure, and a hope beyond the grave. The cross wasn’t the end—it was the gateway to glory. Because of Calvary, Sunday came. The tomb is empty, and our hearts are full.
References:
1. Betrayed by a close friend
- Prophecy: Psalm 41:9 — “Even my close friend, someone I trusted, one who shared my bread, has turned against me.”
- Fulfillment: John 13:18, 26-27 — Judas betrays Jesus after sharing a meal.
2. Sold for thirty pieces of silver
- Prophecy: Zechariah 11:12 — “So they paid me thirty pieces of silver.”
- Fulfillment: Matthew 26:14-15 — Judas agrees to betray Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.
3. Money used to buy potter’s field
- Prophecy: Zechariah 11:13 — “So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the Lord.”
- Fulfillment: Matthew 27:5-7 — The money was used to buy the potter’s field.
4. Silent before His accusers
- Prophecy: Isaiah 53:7 — “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth…”
- Fulfillment: Matthew 27:12-14 — Jesus remained silent before Pilate.
5. Beaten and spat upon
- Prophecy: Isaiah 50:6 — “I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard…”
- Fulfillment: Matthew 26:67 — Jesus was spat on and struck.
6. Mocked and insulted
- Prophecy: Psalm 22:7-8 — “All who see me mock me; they hurl insults…”
- Fulfillment: Matthew 27:39-43 — Bystanders mocked Jesus as He was crucified.
7. Hands and feet pierced
- Prophecy: Psalm 22:16 — “…they pierce my hands and my feet.”
- Fulfillment: John 20:25-27 — Jesus shows His pierced hands and side to Thomas.
8. Crucified with criminals
- Prophecy: Isaiah 53:12 — “…he was numbered with the transgressors.”
- Fulfillment: Luke 23:32-33 — Jesus is crucified between two criminals.
9. Given vinegar to drink
- Prophecy: Psalm 69:21 — “They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst.”
- Fulfillment: Matthew 27:34, 48 — Jesus is offered sour wine (vinegar).
10. Lots cast for His clothing
- Prophecy: Psalm 22:18 — “They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.”
- Fulfillment: John 19:23-24 — Soldiers cast lots for Jesus’ seamless robe.
11. No bones broken
- Prophecy: Psalm 34:20 — “He protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken.”
- Fulfillment: John 19:33-36 — Soldiers did not break Jesus’ legs, fulfilling Scripture.
12. Pierced side
- Prophecy: Zechariah 12:10 — “…They will look on me, the one they have pierced…”
- Fulfillment: John 19:34-37 — A soldier pierces Jesus’ side with a spear.
13. Buried in a rich man’s tomb
- Prophecy: Isaiah 53:9 — “He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death…”
- Fulfillment: Matthew 27:57-60 — Jesus buried in Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb, a rich man.
14. Darkness over the land
- Prophecy: Amos 8:9 — “In that day… I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight.”
- Fulfillment: Matthew 27:45 — Darkness over the land from noon to 3pm during Jesus’ crucifixion.