Three Crosses

Introduction

Hebrews 12:1–2 NLT

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.

One of those in the crowd of witnesses that Hebrews talks about is a man who was minding his own business one day going into Jerusalem.

It seems, according to Mark’s Gospel that his two children Alexander and Rufus may have been with him.

Maybe they were going shopping for a gift.

Maybe they were going to buy groceries.

Or maybe they were there for the Jewish Passover.

Whatever the reason, the day he was going into Jerusalem he sees a large crowd and commotion.

He sees a man carrying a cross—which meant one thing—this particular day was execution day.

The Romans had this huge empire and one of the ways they controlled the empire was to instill fear into the people they ruled.

One of these ways they instilled fear was through crucifixions.

Curiosity got the best of this man and he came closer to get a better look at what was happening.

He is with the crowd and sees Jesus—disfigured, bloodied from the thorns on His head, the beating He had gone through— which was common before a crucifixion, and He was weakened by all He had endured and was struggling to carry His cross.

Jesus couldn’t go any further, and one of the Roman soldiers looked at the bystander and grabbed him and said , “YOU carry the cross!”

This man who carried Jesus’ cross was named Simon—a man from Cyrene—northern Africa.

So Simon carried Jesus’ cross all the way to Calvary.

We don’t know how long Simon stayed there and watched this horrific execution, but it was there that Jesus was nailed to the cross along with two criminals.

Today, our journey with Jesus brings us to three crosses.

Hard Heart

Luke 23:32–33 NLT

32 Two others, both criminals, were led out to be executed with him. 33 When they came to a place called The Skull, they nailed him to the cross. And the criminals were also crucified—one on his right and one on his left.

Jesus was crucified between two other men, evidently a way of bringing out the fact that he was being executed as a criminal

For the crowd to see

The CROWD followed Jesus to His crucifixion.

The CROWD mocked Jesus. (TROLLED

In Matthew 27:40-43 the crowd was saying things like

Matthew 27:40–43 NLT

40 “Look at you now!” they yelled at him. “You said you were going to destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days. Well then, if you are the Son of God, save yourself and come down from the cross!” 41 The leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the elders also mocked Jesus. 42 “He saved others,” they scoffed, “but he can’t save himself! So he is the King of Israel, is he? Let him come down from the cross right now, and we will believe in him! 43 He trusted God, so let God rescue him now if he wants him! For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ”

Matthew 27:44 ESV

44 And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.

In fact Luke quoted one of the thieves:

Luke 23:39 NLT

39 One of the criminals hanging beside him scoffed, “So you’re the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself—and us, too, while you’re at it!”

Remember last week the thing we discovered about the crowd?

The more we distance ourselves from Jesus—the closer we get to the crowd.

The closer we get to the CROWD the more we act like the CROWD.

The more we talk/sound like the CROWD.

The more we look like the CROWD.

Because our heart becomes full of the CROWD.

Our heart becomes hardened.

The sign of a hard heart is what comes out.

Jesus Himself had said in

Matthew 12:34 NLT

34 You brood of snakes! How could evil men like you speak what is good and right? For whatever is in your heart determines what you say.

Matthew 15:19 NLT

19 For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander.

And again Jesus said in Mark 7:21

Mark 7:21 NLT

21 For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder,

Both criminals had a HARD HEART

Now there’s this cross

Between two criminals Jesus was nailed to the cross and was crucified.

SACRIFICIAL HEART

Nestled in the story in Luke’s account; between Jesus being nailed to the cross and the insults of the crowd and criminals,

we see a sentence.

Not a long sentence, only 11 words in the NLT translation 10 in others

Luke 23:34 NLT

34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice.

This Man hanging between two vile, hard hearted criminals, had done nothing wrong—ever—seeks forgiveness for them, the crowd, the soldiers.

WHY?

Could have called 10,000 angels we are told in Scripture—but He didn’t.

WHY?

Hebrews 9:22 NLT

22 In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.

Adam and Eve’s disobedience brought sin and separation from God—it damaged the pure and perfect relationship between God and mankind.

And the only way to be right with God again was through forgiveness and that could only comes through the shedding of blood.

Your blood and my blood

Hebrews 9:23–24 NLT

23 That is why the Tabernacle and everything in it, which were copies of things in heaven, had to be purified by the blood of animals. But the real things in heaven had to be purified with far better sacrifices than the blood of animals. 24 For Christ did not enter into a holy place made with human hands, which was only a copy of the true one in heaven. He entered into heaven itself to appear now before God on our behalf.

Hebrews 9:26 NLT

26 If that had been necessary, Christ would have had to die again and again, ever since the world began. But now, once for all time, he has appeared at the end of the age to remove sin by his own death as a sacrifice.

Paul so beautifully describes the love in Jesus’ actions

Philippians 2:6–8 NLT

6 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, 8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

In those words spoken by Jesus from that cross as His blood poured out—, the love, and the power, in those words demonstrated

A SACRIFICIAL HEART

Those few simple words spoken by Jesus from a SACRIFICIAL HEART ON that third cross were so powerful it touched the second criminal and brought a CHANGED HEART

CHANGED HEART

Luke 23:40–42 NLT

40 But the other criminal protested, “Don’t you fear God even when you have been sentenced to die? 41 We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.” 42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”

Luke 23:43 NLT

43 And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Now imagine with me (a Scottish preacher once said…)

What if YOU were asked this question:

If you were to die tonight and you were getting entry into Heaven What would you say?

If you answer that or I answer that in the first person , we have already gone wrong—

Because I

Because I Believe

Because I have faith

Because I am this

Because I am continuing

The only proper/correct answer is in the Third Person

Because HE

Now think about this thief on the cross next to Jesus

He may not have been one of the top 10 on your list of people to talk with in Heaven—but maybe after today—we could ask

How did that work out for you?

One minute you’re throwing insults at Him with your friend,

you’ve never been in a Bible study

You’ve never been baptized

You didn’t know a thing about church membership

And yet—you made it!!

How did you make it?

Thats what the angel might have said—WHAT ARE YOU DOIN HERE?

I don’t know

What do ya mean ya don’t know?

Well, cuz I don’t know

Well ya know ya..this.. we nee..

Let me go get my supervisor — he gets his supervisor angel

So we just have a few questions for you.

First of all —are ya clear on the doctrine of justification by faith?

Thief—I never heard of it in my life.

What about the doctrine of Scripture?

The guy is just staring

In frustration the angel asks “On what basis are you here/”

And he said “The Man on the Middle Cross said I could come.”

How can we go to heaven?

Because the One on the Middle Cross made it possible.

Jesus said, “whoever believes in Him will not die but have everlasting life.”

This thief —this criminal—went from a HARD HEART to a CHANGED HEART to a BELIEVING HEART.

See, it is written in the Bible that…

Romans 3:23 ESV

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

All of us are criminals.

We have broken God’s laws (lying, hating, selfishness, stealing, criticizinh, judging, and the list goes on and on…”

Isaiah 53:6 NLT

All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.

and

Romans 6:23 NLT

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

How?

1 John 1:7 ESV

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

Paradise—Garden of Eden—Paradise

What made it Paradise? God literally dwelt with mankind.

It is used in this way here.

Jesus assures this man of bliss in the immediate future, that bliss?

You will be with me.

That’s why Jesus did it

That’s why He had to die.

His blood—from a pure life that had never sinned had to atone for every single one of our sins so that

Revelation 21:1–5 NLT

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” 5 And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.”

God is righting what went wrong in the beginning.