CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST

Background

Jesus had been betrayed by one of His disciples. He had been abandoned by the rest of them. He had been denied 3 times by Peter. He had been falsely accused and brought before both Pilot and Herod. Neither one found anything that He had done wrong. And although Pilate tried to release Him, the religious leaders stirred up the crowd to ask for Barabbas instead, who was an insurrectionist, a murderer, and a robber. Then they scourged Jesus. The soldiers stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on him. Then they put a crown of thorns on His head and a reed in His hand. They bowed down before Him to mock Him. They spit on Him and took the reed and hit Him in the head. Then they put His own clothes back on Him and led Him away to be crucified. By this point, He was so weak that they had to get Simon of Cyrene to carry His cross for Him. As He was crucified, the people, religious leaders, soldiers, and even the two criminals mocked Him.

Mocking and Mercy

The suffering and mocking He endured didn’t deter Jesus from His saving mission.

See Matthew 27:38-44...

See Luke 23:34...

1 Timothy 1:15 “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.”

It wasn’t inability to come down that kept Him on the cross, it was love for us.

See Romans 5:6-8...

The High Priest’s Prayer is Answered

The Lord brought about a great change in the heart of one of the thieves.

John 6:44 “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.”

2 Corinthians 4:6 “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

See Matthew 16:15-17...

A Sinner’s Prayer

When the Lord opened the sinner’s eyes, he saw 3 things.

He saw the holiness of Christ.

He saw his own sin and how he deserved punishment.

He saw that Christ was his only hope of salvation.

John 3:14–16 “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Mark 1:15 “and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.””

Because of his repentance and faith in Christ, the thief was forgiven and guaranteed a home in heaven.

John 6:37 “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.”

2 Corinthians 5:21 “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

We are just like the thief. We can’t earn our salvation. It must be freely given by grace through faith.

See Titus 3:3-5...

Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”