You Get What You Deserve (Easter 2019) - Things Jesus Never Said Part 4 | Pastor Craig Groeschel

From Guilt to Grace: Jesus Makes Dead People Alive

Scripture References

• Luke 23
• Psalm 103
• Ephesians 2

Overview

Craig Groeschel closed the series “Things Jesus Never Said” on Easter by contrasting what Jesus could have said about our guilt with what He actually did say. Centering on Luke 23, he traced the scene of three crosses to show that Jesus offers total forgiveness—even to someone who can do absolutely nothing to earn it. The message exposed common forms of guilt, highlighted Jesus’ finished work, and invited hearers to move from feeling spiritually dead to living gratefully alive in Christ.

Context

Life.Church gathered across 33 locations and 261 services on Easter weekend. Craig framed the talk with light-hearted Easter “non-quotes” from Jesus and personal stories of feeling inadequate—even as a pastor—to set up the larger issue of lingering guilt.

Main Points

1. Everyday Guilt Is Universal

• Research shows 29 % of what people eat triggers “food guilt”; men feel it for about 20 minutes, women longer.
• Mom guilt, saying yes too often, spiritual guilt over imperfect disciplines—all illustrate how consistently we fall short.
• Story: Craig’s “pastor guilt” peaked when lingering guests overheard his frustrated rant through a baby monitor.

2. The Cross: Three Men, Two Responses, One Savior

• Crucifixion was the most excruciating and shame-filled execution method—reserved for serious criminals.
• On Golgotha, three hung on crosses: Jesus in the middle, one criminal hurling insults, the other admitting, “We’re getting what we deserve.”

• “Father, please forgive them, because they don’t even know what they’re doing.”

• The repentant thief asked Jesus to remember him; though he could offer no good works, Jesus answered, > “Today you will be with Me in paradise.”

3. Grace Means We Don’t Get What We Deserve

• Our reflex sayings (“What goes around comes around”) reveal a secret pleasure in others “getting theirs,” yet none of us wants full justice for our own sins.
• Craig recounted his lying, cheating, stealing, and partying before Christ: “I was dead on the inside.”
• Story: A Gideon handed him a green New Testament. Reading to Ephesians 2 exposed his condition and God’s mercy.

4. Dead to Alive—Not Bad to Good

• “Jesus did not come just to make bad people good. Jesus came to make dead people alive.”

• Ephesians 2 declares we are “by nature deserving of wrath,” but God, “rich in mercy,” makes us alive with Christ.
• Psalm 103 celebrates a God who removes our sins “as far…as the east is from the west.”

5. The Completeness of Christ’s Work (“Three”)

• Craig outlined biblical patterns of the number three—Father, Son, Spirit; body, soul, spirit; Jesus’ three words at 3 p.m.: “It is finished.”
• The third-day resurrection proves the work is complete; therefore forgiveness is certain for all who believe.

Key Truths

• We all carry guilt, but none of us can erase it through self-effort.
• Jesus forgives anyone who turns to Him—even at their last breath.
• Grace is a gift, “not by works, so that no one can boast.”
• Christ’s resurrection confirms that sin’s debt is fully paid.
• Remembering what Jesus did births a life of daily gratitude and devotion.

Response

• Acknowledge specific areas where you feel guilty and confess them to Jesus.
• Receive His undeserved grace instead of trying to earn approval.
• Reflect daily on the cross and resurrection to keep gratitude fresh.
• Extend the same grace to others who “don’t deserve it.”
• Live a life that openly honors the One who died and rose for you.

Closing

Craig urged listeners who felt spiritually dead to call on Jesus for life. The innocent One took the guilty place, so no sin has to define us anymore.

“Because Jesus is risen, you are not here by accident—you are here to experience His grace.”

Prayer

He led the congregation in a salvation prayer:

“Heavenly Father, I surrender my life completely to You.
Jesus, save me, forgive my sins, make me brand-new.
Fill me with Your Spirit so I can show Your love in all I do.
My life is not my own—I give it to You. In Jesus’ name, amen.”