Saved by a Sentence
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Intro
Intro
Saved by a Sentence. A place of death, a place of judgment, and condemnation, yet for one of the two criminals crucified with Jesus, Golgotha is transformed into a place of hope.
That very terrible sentence will lead this man to accept Jesus.
Question: Can the worst place, the most dramatic moment, the most painful circumstance, be transformed into a place of hope? This can only happen through the presence of Jesus. Jesus is the hope for all of us:
We write Jesus’ name upon our banner, for it is hell’s terror, heaven’s delight and earth’s hope.
Charles Spurgeon
This morning's story tells of the lowest point a man can reach, yet that place will be transformed into a door of hope:
There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor (truble) a door of hope. There she will respond as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt.
Crucifixion. We are reading the final minutes of Christ Jesus' earthly ministry. He is on the cross, dying.
To get an idea of what Jesus was enduring, here's what Dale Ralph Davis says about the crucifixion:
"The victim was stripped of all his clothing, which increased the public abasement. Not only does the victim suffer from excruciating pain, thirst, and the torment of insects burrowing into open wounds (which he could do nothing to prevent), but he must also endure the shame of jabs from spectators poking at his bodily parts and their mocking when he is unable to control his bodily functions."
During this torture, the story of salvation takes shape for this criminal, an individual who had hit rock bottom; he represented society's outcast. Yet, even this man, when he encounters God at the worst moment of his life, receives hope and salvation.
A salvation story in miniature. This is a salvation story in miniature: we don't have many details, we don't know his name, nor the specific crime he committed. Yet in just a few verses, everything takes shape: his condemnation, his repentance, his confession, his hope.
Sermon's outline. Regarding this miniature salvation story, I would like to consider the 4 elements that characterize it:
The Middle Cross;
Mocking the Middle Cross;
Defending the Middle Cross;
The Promise from the Middle Cross.
N.1 - The Middle Cross
N.1 - The Middle Cross
Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed.
He was a stranger. Luke introduces the Cross of Jesus by emphasizing the fact that the two other men crucified with Jesus were bandits, rebels, and not simply thieves.
Warren Wiersbe points out that the word "criminal" in the Greek language refers to "the one who uses violence to rob openly."
In this regard, several scholars agree that these two criminals were friends of Barabbas, the criminal released in Jesus' place.
So Jesus was extraneous to that context of violence, completely out of place, yet we find him placed at the center.
Application. I want to remind all of us that Jesus had no obligation to place himself at the center of my disaster, at the center of my sins, at the center of my failure, but out of love for me and for you, he placed himself at the center.
His innocence, His perfection, His holiness make Him a stranger to my sin, my transgressions, and my troubles, yet He is a stranger at the center of what I have accomplished:
Illustration. When I was expecting my son Mattia to be born, I was in the waiting room with my wife, but not near her. The reason for this distance was because I was afraid I would faint at the sight of blood. I remember that suddenly the doctor invited me to stay close to my wife, reminding you that what Michaela was experiencing was something I had caused. I wanted to distance myself from that pain, even though I was responsible for it.
Jesus, even though He was a stranger to all that evil, accepted being placed at the center:
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.
N.2 - Mocking the Middle Cross
N.2 - Mocking the Middle Cross
The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”
The truth in mockery. Once crucified, the crowd began to denigrate, insult, and attack Jesus. Initially, even the two criminals crucified with Jesus were involved in ridiculing and insulting Jesus.
Considering the crowd's attack, Dale Ralph Davis states: "The irony about this mockery is that it is true."
True accusations. Although the religious leaders' intention was to ridicule Jesus, through their words they were testifying to Jesus' power: "He saved others."
The One who was crucified between two other, saved others. If we read the Gospel of Luke, even if we are not theologians or experts in biblical doctrine, we can immediately see how Jesus saved others:
Jesus drives out an unclean spirit in the Capernaum synagogue (Luke 2:31-37);
Jesus cleanses a man with leprosy (Luke 5:12-16);
Jesus heals a paralytic lowered through the roof (Luke 5:17-26);
Jesus heals the centurion's servant (Luke 7:1-10);
Jesus raises the widow's son of Nain (Luke 7:11-17);
Jesus heals the woman with hemorrhage and raises Jairus' daughter (Luke 8:40-56).
It was all true: He saved others! For the first time, the religious leaders were right: Jesus hadn't simply encouraged the woman of Nain, nor had he simply calmed the demon-possessed man in the synagogue of Capernaum, nor had he acted superficially in Jairus' house... Jesus had saved them!
Application. The enemies of Christ are proclaiming the Gospel. Even the Pharisees are bearers of good news. This good news has reached us this morning. Throughout the centuries, this Jesus has continued to save people, heal the sick, and free men and women oppressed by demons.
Today, the message we receive is not about Jesus' intentions, nor His desires, but rather about His actions: He saves others. My prayer is that among these "others" whom Jesus has saved, you too will be included.
N.3 - Defending the Middle Cross
N.3 - Defending the Middle Cross
But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
Threefold Defense. One of the two criminals begins to defend Jesus. Regarding this defense, I would like to consider:
3A. Fear of God's judgment. The entire defense stems from the fear of God. How beneficial and healthy the fear of God is:
“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
Yet Paul states in Romans that this generation does not fear God:
“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
3B. A sense of sinfulness. This criminal realizes that it is right for him to suffer that terrible punishment, because it is what he deserves.
Only when we realize we are sinners, only when we understand that we deserve God's judgment, only then will we experience His grace.
“Martin Luther understood that truth. After his death, his friends found a scrap of paper in his pocket on which the great reformer had written in Latin and German, “Hoc est verum. Wir sind alle Bettler.” (“This is true. We are all beggars.”)” John MacArthur
3C. He proclaims Christ's innocence. It is interesting how the criminal "moves from an assessment of his sinful condition to an assessment of the Savior's character" (John MacArthur).
Not only was Jesus innocent of the crimes he was accused of, according to the criminal's defense, Jesus was sinless.
N.4 - The Promise from the Middles Cross
N.4 - The Promise from the Middles Cross
Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
The promise. Up until that moment, there was only silence on the cross in the midst: Jesus did not respond to the leaders' accusations, but He does respond to the penitent criminal.
It's a promise! Regarding this promise, I would like to point out 4 few aspects:
4A. The certainty of the promise. "Truly." It is something true, reliable, words you can count on. You are right to be wary of promises made by man, but you can rely on Jesus' words:
For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.
4B. The immediacy of the promise. "Today." Jesus' promise has a clear temporal indication: this day! Jesus does not need time, nor does He need lengthy proceedings.
This was the criminal's expectation: "when you come..." For Jesus, when it comes to salvation, time is not indefinite: today you will be with me!
4C. The promise is personal. "You will be with me!” Finally, the criminal was no longer with “other criminals," because now he was personally with Jesus.
Jesus answered to Paul’s request:
Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
4D. The promise is wonderful. "In Paradise" is a word that means "garden." From Golgotha to the garden with King Christ Jesus.
To get an idea of what the criminal experienced that day, just read Paul:
And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows—was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell.
This is the wonderful future that awaits all who accept Jesus as their Savior.
Conclusion
Conclusion
From death sentence to etarnal life. This story reminds us that it doesn't matter how low you've fallen; it doesn't matter how much pain we've caused; what matters is that all it takes is a moment for you to open your heart to the Redeemer Jesus, and He will give you new life.
