Audacity
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
In 2003, a woman by the name of Elizabeth Holmes founded a medical company called Theranos. Holmes claimed that she had developed the technology that would speed up blood tests, make them cheaper, and more accessible. None of that was true, but she was able to convince so many people that she raised about $1 billion from investors and had a valuation of $9 billion for Theranos. In 2015, an investigation into the company was started and by 2018, its CEO was arrested on fraud charges. In the end, investors lost millions, but worse still: patients received wrong test-results.
We hear that kind of story and we can’t help but think who does she think she is?! The audacity of someone misleading the sick so she could get rich. It’s amazing how audacious people can be given the right circumstances or with the right temptations.
This morning, we are looking at Jesus’s crucifixion as he is hanged between two thieves and there are some quite audacious moments as we read. In fact, there are three audacious moments that help us to understand the reprobate, the religious, and the repentant as they relate to Jesus. These moments come as a result of the audacity of the Romans, the rulers, and the robbers.
The Audacity of the Romans
The Audacity of the Rulers
The Audacity of the Robbers
Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him.
And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.
And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments.
And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!”
The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine
and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!”
There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.”
One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!”
But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?
And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.”
And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Audacity of the Romans
Audacity of the Romans
The first audacious moment comes at the hands of the Romans. In fact, there are two moments that we could attribute to these soldiers. The first time comes when we see them gambling for Jesus’s robe. There is Jesus hanging on a cross. Now let’s say for a moment that Jesus was not the Savior of the world dying for the sins of all who would believe. Let’s say that he is some regular guy on a cross because that’s what the soldiers would have thought. Here before them is a man hanging naked on a cross—shamed, beaten, and bleeding. The one thing that could have covered his nakedness was gambled over for personal gain and use. How callous must one be to do such a thing in front of the victim?
But how audacious it is that when Adam and Eve were naked and ashamed, God clothed them, but when God the Son was naked and ashamed, humanity kept his clothing for themselves. But how fitting that once again, God provided a garment for sinful man even if it was taken by lot. We are told that when we put our faith in Jesus Christ, we are covered in his righteousness. There is no gamble with that. We don’t cast lots, we don’t have to hope the dice rolls our way. We are guaranteed to be clothed with the righteousness of Jesus.
The soldiers gambled on Jesus’s clothes. On top of this, these Romans could not let Jesus die in peace.
The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine
and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!”
Again, think through the audacity of these Roman soldiers. They nailed Jesus to a cross at which time
And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments.
They go from hearing a prayer on their behalf to having the audacity to gamble for his robe to mocking him on the cross. It was as if his offer of forgiveness had no effect upon their hardened hearts, and it only made them go harder after him. In reality, that forgiveness simply juxtaposes how hard their hearts already were.
When we stand before the Son of God and hear his merciful words and see his gracious acts, our darkened, foolish hearts and ways are on display more than ever! And that grace and mercy is more glorious as a result. It is like sparkling diamonds on the backdrop of black velvet. We not only notice how brilliant those gems are, but how dark the background truly is.
Audacity of the Rulers
Audacity of the Rulers
But it was not only the Romans that were audacious, the Rulers of the Jews were just as audacious.
And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!”
Have you ever been a part of something that turned out not to be exactly as you expected? It was much worse than you thought it would be. Maybe you were part of a prank that went sideways and you ended up wishing you were never part of it. That’s the way it seems with the people in Jerusalem. Again, we shouldn’t expect that all the people in Jerusalem had called for Jesus’s crucifixion. At the same time, there were quite a few in the crowd that did. They seem to have gotten caught up in the moment. They were following the lead of their rulers. At some point, it seems they thought things had gone too far. Maybe it was after Jesus’s scourging—as if they agreed with Pilate that it was enough. Maybe it was watching him as he was too weak to carry his own crossbeam. At any rate, the crowd was no longer taking an active roll in the violence against Jesus. As Pastor Drew said last week, they were following, but they were mourning and weeping. They’ve gone from crying for his death to crying over his death.
But the rulers remained unscathed by what they’d witnessed. It wasn’t enough to lie about him. It wasn’t enough to demand his death and win. Now that he was dying, they had to rub salt in the wound. The audacity of it all!
But even beyond this, notice what the rulers mocked with. “He saved others; let him save himself.” There was no denying the good that Jesus had done. He saved others! They readily acknowledged that Jesus had helped his fellow man. He saved others! You may remember that when we saw Jesus healing people, it told us without hesitation that this was what he did.
The demon-possessed man whose demons went into the pigs: Luke 8:36 “And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed.”
The woman with the blood issue: Luke 8:48 “And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”
Jairus, whose daughter had died: Luke 8:50 “But Jesus on hearing this answered him, “Do not fear; only believe, and she will be well.”
Each of those words (healed in 8:36, well in 8:48, and well in 8:50) are derived from the same Greek word that these rulers used to mock Jesus: to save or deliver. And so we find that these rulers don’t deny but actually acknowledge all that Jesus had done and they use it to mock him. Of course, he resisted the temptation to prove himself to be the Christ of God and come down from the cross. Despite his good works being thrown in his face and the rulers demanding he prove himself, he stayed the course of God’s plan.
Beloved, it is so easy to hold up Jesus’s good works and throw them back in his face, just as these rulers did. We take his works while on earth and his works while ascended and throw them back in his face when we don’t understand what he’s doing. He healed the woman with the blood issue, but he didn’t heal my dad no matter how much I begged. He raised the widow’s son, but he hasn’t delivered my child from ___________________ and I’ve been praying for years. He healed the demon-possessed from their affliction but no matter how many times I’ve asked, I am not released from my depression. And we demand action from Jesus, and we don’t understand that Jesus is sticking to the plan that God has designed by his perfect will.
Audacity of the Robbers
Audacity of the Robbers
But it is not only the audacity of the Romans on display, not only the audacity of the rulers on display; it is also the audacity of the Robbers that we find here. This may be the most audacious moment of the entire scene.
First we find that one of the robbers mocking Jesus right along with the Romans and the rulers else.
One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!”
Here is the thing about these robbers, these criminals as Luke calls them. Luke never states their crime, but Matthew and Mark do. The word that Matthew and Mark used for these two men is the same word that John used for Barabbas. These aren’t your run-of-the-mill burglars. The term that Matthew, Mark, and John used have a much more sinister idea behind them. There was more to their crimes than petty-thief. These robbers were likely a part of an insurrection against Rome. Their thievery was likely not about just taking what someone else had, but taking in order to fund their work of the zealots. And while it is somewhat speculation, it is likely that Barabbas and these two robbers would have known one another. It may be that Barabbas was part of the group and was the guy who ended up having killed someone during the small riot against Rome that was possibly funded by the items stolen by these two men. It is almost without a doubt that all of these men were part of the zealots, the same sect that Simon had been part of before surrendering his life to Jesus.
So we have Simon saved from a life of fighting by the sword, Barabbas saved from death by a cross. And these two men now crucified on each side of Jesus. And initially, according to Matthew, both robbers mocked him. One, in his mockery, asked Jesus to save himself and them. That’s not that audacious. I think we can understand why this crucified robber would want to come off the cross, and the only way for Jesus to make that possible would be to save himself. But it is mockery. He did not believe that Jesus was able to do such a thing anyway.
The second thief somehow came to his senses. We aren’t told how or why. Maybe he saw Barabbas in the crowd. Maybe he remembered something Simon told him when he left. Maybe. Maybe not. Perhaps, like Peter flesh and blood did not reveal this to him, but the Father.
But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?
And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.”
There is still nothing too audacious here. It’s a bit weird that a criminal confesses his crime and admits that its punishment is just, but I wouldn’t say that it is audacious. It’s not even audacious that he turns on his partner in crime. There is no honor among thieves, you know. His audacity is shown in the next words he spoke:
And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
Who does he think that he is? The audacity to think that Jesus would be willing to receive this robber, this insurrectionist, this person who readily admits that he had done things worthy of crucifixion into his kingdom!
But here’s the thing that this man realized that no one else did. This was the reason Jesus was on the cross. He’s the only one to get it.
He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, he Chosen One.
If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself.
Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us.
Did you notice the audacity of those statements? They are all the same. Save yourself. Only the repentant robber understood Jesus wasn’t coming down from the cross—not because he could not, but because he would not. He wasn’t there to prove himself to be God’s Anointed. He wasn’t there to prove himself to be King of the Jews. He was there to save those who repented and believed. And only the robber understood. He confessed his sin, acknowledged the punishment he deserved, begged for grace: “remember me when you come into your kingdom.” It was too late for him in this world, but not in the next. And so, with all the audacity he could muster, he begged for grace.
And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
If a man who committed crimes worthy of crucifixion could find grace, why would we be denied? Beloved: be audacious in your asking for grace and mercy. There are some here who do not believe that you are worthy of salvation. Congratulations! You are right where you need to be. All you need to do now is believe that Jesus is willing to receive you into his kingdom just as much as he was this robber.
In case that is not enough, Paul points to himself as an example as well.
though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief,
and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.
The reason Paul mentions he was the foremost of sinners was because he was. He was a blasphemer, a persecutor of the church—having them stoned or thrown in jail. He was contemptuous toward Jesus and his people. And yet, he received mercy and grace. Why? Because that kind of person is exactly the person Jesus came to save.
Conclusion
Conclusion
As we close out this section of Luke, we have seen some of the most audacious moments in the crucifixion story: the audacity of the Romans, the rulers, and the robbers. We see that God even allowed these audacious moments to help us understand the reprobate, the religious, and the repentant all the better. The Roman soldiers reveal the heart of the reprobate. It is dark even in the midst of being offered grace and mercy. The rulers showed that even we who are religious may not understand God’s plan so that we throw his good works in his face. The robber showed us that all we need do is repent and believe Jesus is who he said he is and he will receive us gladly.
So which one are you? Do you scoff at the offer of mercy and grace? Some people do. They are not amazed by grace but angered by grace; the darkness is all too real. Do you throw Christ’s good work back in his face because he has not done what you’ve asked—no!—required of him? Are you one who willingly sees your sin for what it is and that it deserves the justice that is headed your way, and so turn to Jesus asking him to receive you into his kingdom?
To all three, Jesus graciously has extended his arm of grace.
Our heavenly Father,
Let us be humble when coming before you with our prayers—even prayers that are prayed a million times over. Strengthen us so that we do not demand action when we want action, but willing go along with your plan and your timing. Make us men, women, and children who come to you with all our sin, all our wrongdoings and audaciously seek your mercy and grace. And then, Father, reassure us that you have received us and have welcomed us with open arms.
In Jesus’s name we pray. Amen.
