53 Who will believe our message
  and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
  and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
  nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men,
  a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces
  he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 Surely he took up our infirmities
  and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
  smitten by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
  he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
  and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
  each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
  the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed and afflicted.
  yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
  and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
  so he did not open his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgement he was taken away.
  And who can speak of his decendents?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
  for the transgression of my people he was stricken.
9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
  and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
  nor was any deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it was the LORD'S will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
  and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
  and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.
11 After the suffering of his soul,
  he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge he my righteous servant will justify many,
  and he will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
  and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
  and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sins of many,
  and made intercession for the transgressors.
 

1. William Wallace - Death and Glory

2. Jesus - Death or Glory?

3. Jesus - Death and Glory

Conclusion: You! ... Death or Glory?

Part of being a man is to understand the phrase 'Death or Glory!' You know what it means. In war it means- 'No Surrender!' 'Death or Victory!' On the rugby field it means- 'Playing hard!' 'Doing the hard yards.' Death or Glory is at the heart of what it means to be a man.

Today we're going to look at three men and how they measure up as men to the ideal of Death or Glory. The first man we'll think about is William Wallace- Brave Heart. The second man we'll think about is Jesus. The third man is closer to home, the third man we'll think about is you! How do you measure up as a man to the ideal of Death or Glory.

As you leave the college what impact will you have on the world? What difference will you make? Have you got a dream? Will you make it work? How will you measure up as a man? Will you find Death... or Glory?

We'll be looking at what the Bible says on this subject. The Bible is God's direct and personal word to you. Join me now in asking him to give us understanding of what he has told us.
 

At Scots, it's a safe bet that you've all seen Brave Heart. Amongst men, it's a safe bet you liked the film. Why? It's a man's movie. What makes it a man's movie? It's a man's movie because it's about Death or Glory.

We all want to be like the hero, William Wallace. We all want a cause to fight for, a side to take. We all want to put our lives on the line for something worthwhile. The trick is finding something worth dying for. Have you found something worth dying for? ... or something worth living for, for that matter? Where are you going to find Glory?

Back to Brave Heart. William Wallace found Glory. Glory lay in fighting for Scotland's freedom from English tyranny. He gathered his friends. He recruited and led many Scots to victory over the English. He smashed English armies. He defeated and humiliated the English king's homosexual son.

But where did he end up?

He was betrayed by his own people. Remember the scene? He was captured by the English. He was put on trial for rebellion. He was condemned and tortured to death. Do you remember his execution?

William Wallace didn't only find Glory. He found Death.

Was it worth it?

Death isn't glorious, it's just death. Living in people's memories isn't real living. It's still death. Scotland is ruled by the English now. William Wallace was a real man. But in the end he failed and he died. William Wallace found Glory but he found Death too- Death and Glory.
 

Let's move to point 2 on the outline. Jesus - Death or Glory?

Jesus had a lot in common with William Wallace but did he find Death? ... or Glory?

Many people have a wrong view of Jesus. A view very different to the Bible. All they see is the similarities between Jesus and men like William Wallace. They see Jesus- the great moral teacher- the man with the dream, the man with the noble vision of freedom for all men.

They see the same betrayal by friends. Just as William Wallace was betrayed, so was Jesus. They see the trial. Just as William Wallace was put on trial, Jesus was put on trial by Pontius Pilate. They see that Jesus was tortured to death. Just as William Wallace was tortured to death, so was Jesus.

What was Jesus death like? You've seen William Wallace hanged, drawn and quartered as a criminal rebel, a deliberately painful and degrading punishment and death kept for the worst criminals. Jesus death was the same. What was crucifixion like?

Let me read a dictionary article about crucifixion. The picture on the front of your outline comes from this article.

After a criminal's condemnation, it was the custom for a victim to be scourged with ..., a whip with leather thongs, which in [Jesus'] case doubtless greatly weakened him and hastened eventual death. He was then made to carry the cross-beam ... like a slave to the scene of his torture and death, ... It was this [cross-beam,] not the whole cross, which Jesus was too weak to carry, and which was borne by Simon the Cyrenian. The condemned man was stripped naked, laid on the ground with the cross-beam under his shoulders, and his arms or his hands tied or nailed (John 20:25) to it. This cross-bar was then lifted and secured to the upright post, so that the victim's feet, which were then tied or nailed, were just clear of the ground, not high up as so often depicted. The main weight of the body was usually borne by a projecting peg ..., astride which the victim sat. There the condemned man was left to die of hunger and exhaustion. Death was sometimes hastened by the ...breaking of the legs, as in the case of the two thieves, but not done in [Jesus'] case, because he was already dead.

Secular writers of the time shrink from giving detailed accounts of this most cruel and degrading of all forms of punishment. But new light has been thrown on the subject by archaeological work in [Israel.]

[T]he ... bones of a (young) crucified man, dating from probably between AD 7 and AD 66 [have been] found ...

The young man's arms (not his hands) were nailed to ... the cross-beam, ... The weight of the body was probably borne by a plank ... as a support for the buttocks. The legs had been bent at the knees and twisted back so the calves were parallel to the ... cross-bar, with the ankles under the buttocks. One iron nail ... had been driven through both his heels together, with his right foot above the left. ... His legs had both been broken, presumably by a forcible blow ...

If Jesus died in a similar fashion, then his legs were not fully extended as in traditional Christian art. His contorted leg muscles would then have probably caused severe pain with spasmodic contractions and rigid cramps. This could have contributed to the shortened time of his death in 6 hours, hastened doubtless by the earlier [whipping.]
 

The wrong view many have of Jesus sees him as a good man, a great man, a real man, like William Wallace, but in the end a failure. What's the right view of Jesus? What does the Bible say?

Luke 23:32 tells us of two criminals, executed with him. One of them sees the truth about Jesus. Look at the centre of the large block of heavy type on the right in your outline. [Quote] He knew Jesus was God's king, the ruler of life beyond death. He knew that Jesus was the king of heaven and earth. He knew that Jesus had Glory that would never die. He asked Jesus, the king to accept him into his kingdom. [Quote] Jesus promised he would do exactly that. [Quote] You see, Jesus' death is not the end of the story. Turn to the back of your outline. Just as Luke records eyewitness reports of Jesus' execution, he also includes eyewitness accounts of his life after his death. Look  at the last paragraph on the back page. What God promised in the Old Testament of the Bible came true. God is in control of his world, of course. His king came back from the dead, just like he promised. It shows us his power even over death. God and Jesus have Glory that never dies. They showed it to the people 2000 years ago and they are showing it to you as you read the Bible.

So what are you going to do about it?
What does the Bible say about your decision?
 

The Bible shows us the ultimate real man- Jesus. It gives us God's promise that all who ask to join Jesus in his kingdom will join him in his Glory and never face Death again. This is why Jesus died.

Look back at the centre of your outline, right hand side, at the beginning of the heavy type. "We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve." All of us deserve death. We deserve death because we have rebelled against the real king, God. Look back at the next sentence. "But this man has done nothing wrong." Jesus did nothing wrong, he never rebelled against God. So why did he die? Why did Jesus die if he never did any wrong? He died in our place. He took the punishment our deeds deserve.

So what will you do? You have seen, through the Bible, Jesus die and rise again. You have heard his promise that if you want to be in his kingdom you can be. What will you do?

Look back at Daniel 12, the heavy type in the first passage. There are two sides to God's promise in the Bible. Those who join Jesus in his kingdom have everlasting life- Glory. Those who continue in rebellion have everlasting contempt, shame, humiliation- Death.

We're all criminals condemned to death by God. Which of the criminals executed with Jesus will you be like? ... the one who mocked Jesus, or the one who joined him in his kingdom?

What will you choose? ... Death or Glory?

You may want more information before making a decision- you can see Mr Nixon, come to Study Camp or ask me.

Not investigating is a decision, like the crowds who watched Jesus being tortured to death and like the criminal who mocked Jesus. It is contempt for Jesus. the Bible's promise is everlasting contempt for those who make this decision.

What will you choose? ... Death or Glory?