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The sermon centers on Christ’s humiliation, especially His false accusations, mockery as King and Savior, and shameful crucifixion. Spurgeon presents Christ’s endurance as motivated by the joy of saving sinners, fulfilling the Father’s will, and entering glory. The cross is therefore both the supreme revelation of divine love and the foundation for Christian perseverance. Believers are called to follow Christ without shame, accepting loss or reproach and devoting their lives wholly to Him.
Theological center: The crucified Christ, sinless yet humiliated, endured the cross in loving obedience to the Father to accomplish salvation for sinners.
Applications: Bear reproach for Christ · Give yourself wholly to Christ · Consider Christ’s unfathomable love · Contemplate the cost of the cross
Primary texts: Hebrews 12:2
“Who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is now set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2 “OH what shall I do, my Savior to praise?” Where shall language be found which shall describe His matchless, His unparalleled love towards the children of men. Upon any ordinary subject one may find liberty of speech and fullness of utterance, but this subject lies out of the line of all oratory, and eloquence cannot attain unto it. This is one of the unutterable things—unutterable because it surpasses thought, and defies the power of words. How then, can we deal with that which is unutterable? I am conscious that all I can say concerning the sufferings of Jesus this morning will be but as a drop in the bucket. None of us know the half of the agony which He endured, none of us have ever fully comprehended the love of Christ which passeth knowledge. Philosophers have probed the earth to its very center, threaded the spheres, measured the skies, weighed the hills—nay, weighed the world itself, but this is one of those vast, boundless things, which to measure does surpass all but the Infinite itself. As the swallow but skims the water, and dives not into its depths, so all the descriptions of the preacher but skim the surface, while depths immeasurable must lie far beneath our observation. Well might a poet say— “O love, thou fathomless abyss!” for this love of Christ is indeed measureless and fathomless. None of us can attain unto it. In speaking thereof, we feel our own weakness, we cast ourselves upon the strength of the Spirit, but even then we feel that we can never attain unto the majesty of this subject. Before we can ever get a right idea of the love of Jesus, we must understand His previous glory in its height of majesty, and His incarnation upon the earth in all its depths of shame. Now, who can tell us the majesty of Christ? When He was enthroned in the highest heavens He was very God of very God, by Him were the heavens made, and all the hosts thereof; by His power He hanged the earth upon nothing, his own almighty arm upheld the spheres, the pillars of the heavens rested upon Him, the praises of angels, archangels, cherubim, and seraphim, perpetually surrounded Him, the full chorus of the Hallelujahs of the universe unceasingly flowed to the foot of His throne, He reigned supreme above all His creatures, God over all, blessed forever. Who can tell His height then? And yet this must be attained before we can measure the length of that mighty stoop which He took when He came to earth to redeem…