The Middle Man

I’m thankful to have this opportunity to share God‘s Word, with God‘s people, in God’s house here at Love Fellowship Baptist Church. I also thank my friend Pastor Gerald O’Guinn for this opportunity to share with his congregation. I have known Pastor O’Guinn for about 25 years or so. At one point we were coworkers here in town, and I think I probably first met him on the basketball court in our work basketball league. And for the past 20 or so years that I’ve known him, he has been a man of single focus. He is focused on Jesus Christ and preaching His Word.

It is good to see other friends of mine here: The Scotts, Hardaways, the Lowes, the Beasleys, etc.…….

This sermon comes out of a conversation that I had with a Christian friend a while back. We disagreed on what someone had to know about Jesus in order to be saved. Have you ever thought about that? What does someone need to know to be saved?

Church, let me share something with you. There are a lot of religions that use Christian terminology, but it means something totally different than what we believe. For instance:

They use the name Jesus, but to them, He is someone totally different than what the Bible describes. He is not the Son of God, or the Word that became flesh and dwelt among us.

They say that we are saved by grace, and to them grace means something that you actually have to work for, and not the free gift of God that the Bible describes.

That is why you need to be somewhere like Love Fellowship where the Bible is being taught, where you have a Pastor that rightly divides the Word of Truth. Amen?

Now my Christian friend met a very devout Mormon (well they don’t like to be called that anymore) a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints that said he believes Jesus saves us from our sins, so my friend thought he was a Christian. I said to my friend, “You do know that they believe that Jesus and Satan are spiritual brothers, don’t you?” He was not aware of that, or some of the other bizarre teachings of that church that do not align with the Bible, but he held on to the belief that this man was a Christian.

Somehow, some way, some of us have come to believe that as long as someone says the name Jesus, they are talking about the same Jesus the Bible describes, and they are a Christian, right?…Not so fast. In order to be a Christian, you have to believe in the Jesus Christ the Bible describes....not one you have made up in your head, or one some other religion has made up.

Well my friend used as an example, the thief on the cross, as someone that was saved that really did not know much about Jesus.  I disagreed with my friend, but I was not satisfied with the answer I gave my friend. I've studied the verses I’m going to use for my text today and others, so that I would have a better answer. What exactly did that thief know or believe about Jesus?

At this time I ask that you open your Bibles to Luke 23:32-43. I will be reading from the New King James Version of God’s Holy Word. Luke 23:32–43 (NKJV)

32 There were also two others, criminals, led with Him to be put to death. 33 And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left. 34 Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”

And they divided His garments and cast lots. 35 And the people stood looking on. But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God.”

36 The soldiers also mocked Him, coming and offering Him sour wine, 37 and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself.”

38 And an inscription also was written over Him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew:

THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS

39 Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.”

40 But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” 42 Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”

43 And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

Amen. You may be seated. I have entitled this message, "The Middle Man" Even though there are only a few verses in this gospel account of the crucifixion, there is a whole lot going on.  More than meets the eye, and more than we can explore this morning. However. the point of this message this morning is clear:

Jesus can save you by faith, but it has to be faith in the real Jesus that the Bible describes.

Let’s look at the text. Verse 32 says: 32 There were also two others, criminals, led with Him to be put to death.

The 2 thieves on the left and right are called Malefactors - criminals, lawbreakers.

The Gospels of Matthew and Mark call them thieves or robbers - This word denotes a rebel and brigand who plunders as he steals. Mere thieves were not usually crucified because that is not considered a capital offense under Roman law. These were probably cohorts of Barabbas. They used force and violence in their looting and thievery.  These were some bad guys.

They were on death row, and I imagine they might have been under the sentence of death for a while. That Friday was to be the day of their execution....they would be walking the green mile. The other prisoners would be chanting “Dead Man Walking”.  There was probably a story in the "Jerusalem TimesFreePress" that these men along with the notorious murderer and insurrectionist, the rebel, Barabbas, were all going to be crucified.  A public execution on Friday. These guys were the "worst of the worst." I'm sure when they went to bed on Thursday, they figured that tomorrow would be their last day.  They would be crucified.  They wake up the next morning and to their surprise, Jesus of Nazareth, the one they call the Christ was going to be executed with them.  He wasn’t even in jail with them yesterday. What happened in the middle of the night that this man would end up condemned with them? It was a longstanding Jewish custom, that was traditionally honored by the Romans, to release a prisoner during the Passover.  Somehow the people chose the murderer Barabbas to be set free, and replace him with Jesus.

Verse 33 says: 33 And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left.

So they came to the small hill outside of Jerusalem called Calvary where they were crucified. Jesus was even placed on the cross in the center, so as to associate him with the thieves, as if he were the worst of the bunch.

The something amazing happens. In verse 34 Jesus says: 34 Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”

They could hear Jesus actually asking God to forgive His executioners. He says they are doing it out of ignorance....they do not know what they do.”

Then this ugly exceution scene gets even worse if that is possible.

In verse 34 the soldiers are gambling for His clothes.

In verse 35 the crowd is mocking Him. Telling Him to save Himself if He is really God’s Chosen One…the Messiah….

In verses 36-38 the soldiers joined in on the mockery. Even hanging a sign above Jesus’s cross in 3 languages…so everyone passing by could read it.

THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS

Then in verse 39, the attention turns from what is happening around the crosses to what is happening on the crosses.

I want to take a look at these 2 men first. The ones on the left and right of Jesus.

One went to eternal paradise.

The other went to eternal punishment.

One went to heaven.

The other went to hell.

One went to eternal rest.

The other went to eternal torment.

3 men

3 crosses

3 very different lives

3 different destinies

So we will examine:

The Left Man (The 1st Thief)

The Right Man (The 2nd Thief)

The Middle Man (Jesus)

Let's examine the left man first.

1.The Left Man. (The 1st Thief)

i. He wanted temporary relief, not permanent renewal.

39 Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.” In other words, get us off these crosses right now. That word blasphemed is translated scoffed, or railed in some other translations and it means to verbally abuse, insult, to rage against, criticize severely, to condemn, to oppose strongly.....it expresses reproach. Get us off these crosses right now!  Have you ever railed against God? Have you been mad a God for something He did or did not do? This left man was angry , furious…he was mad. This man wanted some relief, but you see, permanent security is with Jesus!  I’m sure he heard people mocking Him calling Him the Christ. So he says, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.” Quit wasting time. We’re suffering here. Do something, if you are the Christ! He wanted what Jesus could give him, but he did not want Jesus.  He wanted the gift, but not the gift giver. He wanted his life, but he did not want the life giver. He wanted to be rescued, but he did not want a relationship.

ii. He was not concerned about judgement.

Think about this. He was in the middle of his own execution.  He was dying. He was at death's door, but he still refused to repent.  He did not care about the judgement of God.  The man wasn’t thinking about dying. He was thinking about living! He wanted to continue on in his life of sin. Save us! Get us down from these crosses! He was not changed. He was not reformed. Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. (This man had no fear of God.  Even the other thief in verse 40 rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?) I heard a story once about a preacher that was preaching the Gospel to some young people. One boy asked him, "Why in the world would I want to follow, Jesus? That would be a boring life. I want to live the way I want to live, and at the end of my life accept Jesus like that thief did."  The preacher thought for a second, and told the boy, "Remember, there were 2 thieves." Church, there are 2 thieves, and this one got left behind. Some of us think we can follow the Devil our whole lives, and we won’t follow him straight into the pit of hell when we die.

iii. Refused to recognize his sin.

Some of us refuse to recognize our sin. We spend our lives comparing ourselves to others. We think, “Well at least I’m not as bad as so-and-so.” But so-and-so n't the standard...Jesus is! It is a wonder that God would use any of us. Noah was a drinker. Moses was a murderer. Samson was a womanizer and a drinker.

David was a murderer and adulterer.

Solomon let his wives turn his heart away from God when he got old.

James and John were prideful and argued over who was going to be the greatest in God's kingdom.

Peter denied that he even knew the Lord Jesus three times.

Paul said that he was the chief of sinners and he persecuted the church.

Church, do you know why the Lord uses sinners?......because that is all He's got to work with.  Romans 3:23 says that all have sinned and fallen short of God's standard.  But you know what....God does not leave us that way.  He wants to save and sanctify us....and sanctification is a process that starts when you repent and accept Christ, but it does not end until we die and are glorified with Him.

But this man, the left man would not, could not recognize or confess his sin to the only person that could do something about his condition.

He is called the left man because he was left in his sins.

He was left off, left back, left over .......left out of God's kingdom.

Sometimes I think we believe we can distance ourselves from the people in the Bible because these events happened so long ago. But I want you to realize that he was a real flesh and blood man, like us.... that committed real sin, that was judged by a real God, and even now....2000 years later, he is still left suffering in a very real hell.

That's the left man. He was left behind. Nothing good comes from being the man on the left.  The left man gets left! You don't want to be the left man!

Now let's look at the right man, the 2nd thief.

2.The Right Man. (The 2nd Thief)

i. He started out blaspheming too.

Mark and Matthews Gospel accounts report that they both mocked Jesus. In Matthews account of the crucifixion in:

Matthew 27:39-44 - 39 And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads 40 and saying, “You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.”

41 Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, 42 “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. 43 He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ”

44 Even the robbers who were crucified with Him reviled Him with the same thing. The left man and the right man were both going off on Jesus like everyone else. Mocking Him, jeering Him, criticizing him, attacking him. But at some point, something happened to the right man.

ii. He feared the judgement of God.

The right man started out blaspheming, but he ended up rebuking! In verse 40 he rebuked the left man, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? We said the fear of God is the beginning of what?  Wisdom. Something happened to this man, that changed him.  He was thinking differently. What else does he do....

iii. He confessed his sin.

Look at the text: Verse 40 But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds;

In other words, we are getting what we deserve! This man confessed his sin.  The right man knew he had done wrong, and he knew he was reaping what he sowed.  He was getting what he deserved. The Bible says in Galatians 6:7-8 “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.”

iv. He knew Jesus was innocent.

At the end of verse 41 he says: but this Man has done nothing wrong.” And do you know what, Pilate and Herod knew Jesus was innocent too. They were going to release Jesus after roughing him up, but the Jewish religious leaders would have none of it.  They wanted Him dead! They wanted Jesus crucified!

v. He recognized Jesus as Lord.

42 Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” NKJV has the Greek word kyrios after Jesus. It refers to master, lord, owner, it is a title of the one in control. He believed that Jesus was in control of the situation...even in crucifixion. In Matthew 26:53, when Jesus was being arrested, He told Peter: Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?  Jesus was in control of the situation and this man knew it.

vi. He knew Jesus had a kingdom that He was going to.

42 Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”

What is he talking about?! He believed in an existence beyond death!

Colossians 1:16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible....

2 Corinthians 4:18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

This filthy, thief dying on a cross realized there there was something beyond what he could see. Something invisible and eternal.....Jesus’s kingdom.

vii. He believed that Jesus had authority in that kingdom.

In making a request, he recognized Jesus's authority to do something about his condition. Jesus was going to a kingdom where He would rule.

Jesus told Pilate in:

John 18:36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.”

viii. He was humble.

42 Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”

He did not ask for a high place, or a preferred place, or an honored place, or a place of authority in the kingdom....like Jesus’s disciples were arguing over in Matthew chapter 20. He just wanted a place.  He wanted to be remembered. He had faith that Jesus could grant his request.  He was appealing to Jesus's mercy.

ix. He had faith that Jesus could grant his request.

He had faith that Jesus could grant his request.  He was appealing to Jesus's mercy. So to sum it up. The right man knew he had broken God's law and he feared God's judgement, he confessed he was a sinner, he knew was getting what he deserved, he knew that Jesus was innocent, he called Jesus Lord, he knew that Jesus had a kingdom and had authority to let him into that kingdom.  He believed that it existed in some form even beyond death. He asked Jesus for mercy. Folks, all of this demonstrates true faith on the part of the dying thief, the right man.....and Christ graciously affirmed the man’s salvation. Verse 43 And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” He did not have to wait to get baptized, he didn't have to shake the preacher's hand, he did not have to go to the local church, he did not have the right hand of fellowship or new member's class, he didn't even have the Lord's Supper, he did not have to go to purgatory to have his sins purged, he did not have to pay any money, he did not have to get off the cross and do some good deed or serve in a charity, he didn't even have to pass go and collect $200. JESUS SAID TODAY YOU WILL BE WITH ME IN PARADISE!

So to sum it up. In these few verses, we see that the right man knew he had broken God's law and he feared God's judgement, he confessed he was a sinner, he knew was getting what he deserved, he knew that Jesus was innocent, he called Jesus Lord, he knew that Jesus had a kingdom and had authority to let him into that kingdom.  He believed that it existed in some form even beyond death. He asked Jesus for mercy. Folks, all of this demonstrates true faith on the part of the dying thief, the right man.....and Christ graciously affirmed the man’s salvation. Verse 43 And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” He did not have to wait to get baptized, he didn't have to shake the preacher's hand, he did not have to go to the local church, he did not have the right hand of fellowship or new member's class, he didn't even have the Lord's Supper, he did not have to go to purgatory to have his sins purged, he did not have to pay any money, he did not have to get off the cross and do some good deed or serve in a charity, he didn't even have to pass go and collect $200. JESUS SAID TODAY YOU WILL BE WITH ME IN PARADISE!

** Flesh and blood did not reveal this to the right man.

When Jesus asked his disciples who they thought He was and Peter said you are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.  Jesus said that flesh and blood did not reveal that to Peter. Jesus said that God revealed it to him. God revealed it to the right man also. He will reveal it to you too!

He is called the right man because he chose the right man! He is called the right man because he made the right decision, at the right time...and now he has a right to the tree of life. His soul went right off that cross and right into paradise, and he is still right there, right now with Jesus!  Good God Almighty! He went the right way! He went right through the narrow gate.

Matthew 7:13-14 ““Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

In these two thieves (the left man and and the right man) we see our whole world, and the reason for Jesus’ sufferings. For those who take the step of faith, and call on Jesus as did the dying thief, seeing in the crucified Jesus the coming King, there is the promise of paradise. Right now! Today!

You want to be the right man, but to be the right man, you need to know the Middle Man!

3.The Middle Man. (Jesus)

i. Jesus came to be the Middle Man

While He was being crucified, in verse 34 Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”

He was stepping in on our behalf. What is interesting is that He was the only one that was there in the crowd or on a cross not guilty of anything.  But it was for this reason, that He even came into the world....to be the Middle Man!

Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.””

Luke 19:10 “for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.””

John 6:38 “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”

John 12:46 “I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.”

And the Apostle Paul said in:

1 Timothy 1:15 “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.”

ii. Jesus is our Mediator

You see, Jesus is our mediator! Our Middle Man!

1 Timothy 2:5 “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,”

A mediator is a sort of go-between that assists with communication and negotiation between two or more different parties. So we have a Holy God on one side and sinful man that is in rebellion against this Holy God on the other side. Jesus, the mediator, is in the Middle. He can represent both parties because He is 100% man and 100% God. He takes the punishment that is due us from this Holy God and makes peace between us and God.

Jesus created the bridge between sinful man and a Holy God.

That’s why the Bible says in Romans 5:1 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,”

The right man found peace with God through the Middle Man.  Verse 43 43 And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” The Middle Man  was even mediating while He was on the cross!

iii. We need the Middle Man

We all need the Middle Man.

It's interesting. In the corporate world, in business, we always try to eliminate the Middle Man.  When you are buying products or getting services, we want to deal directly with the manufacturer or the main man or woman. If you deal with the Middle Man it costs more and slows down the process, it’s inefficient, so we try to eliminate the Middle Man.

But with this Middle Man, it does not work that way.  This middle man, Jesus, said that there is only one way to get to the main man....you have to come through the middle man.

John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

Acts 4:12 “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.””

2 Corinthians 5:21 “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

2 Timothy 1:9 For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus.

Church, we all start out as the left man, so pray that the Main Man, reveals to you your need for the Middle Man, so you can become the right man!

Let me say that again!

Church, we all start out as the left man (sinners), so pray that the Main Man (God the Father), reveals to you your need for the Middle Man (Jesus Christ), so that we can become the right man (saved by grace).

Let me close with this story:

Charles Spurgeon and Joseph Parker both had churches in London, England in the 1800s.  Charles Spurgeon also had an orphanage.  On one occasion, Parker commented on the poor condition of children admitted to Spurgeon's orphanage. Somehow the story got twisted, and it was reported to Spurgeon that Parker had criticized the orphanage itself!

Spurgeon blasted Parker the next week from the pulpit. The attack was printed in the newspapers and became the talk of the town. People flocked to Parker's church the next Sunday to hear his rebuttal.

The next Sunday, Parker said, "I understand Dr. Spurgeon is not in his pulpit today, and this is the Sunday they use to take an offering for the orphanage. I suggest we take a love offering here instead." The crowd was delighted. The ushers had to empty the collection plates three times!

Later that week there was a knock at Parker's study. It was Spurgeon. He said, "You know Parker, you have practiced grace on me. You have given me not what I deserved; you have given me what I needed."

Church, that is what God has done for us. He did not give us what we deserved. He gave us what we needed. He gave us the Middle Man. We need the know the Middle Man that the Bible describes to be saved. That Middle Man is Jesus, and He can take us from being the left man to the right man.

Why don't you give your life to Him today?

Just like the thief on the right, Paradise awaits!

Amen.