The Three Crosses

The Three Crosses

Text: Luke 23:39-43.                         

“Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.” But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.”
Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

I want us to notice these three crosses that were represented at the crucifixion of Christ. In John 19:18, we are told: “They crucified him and two others with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst.”

I. We need to notice the Cross of Rejection.

In Luke 23:39, the Bible says, “Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.”  I want us to notice some things about this thief. 

A. No admission of his guilt. 

He is not interested in admitting he is wrong. He is just mad that he has gotten caught. In other words, he is not sorry that he has offended God, sinned against God. No! He is sorry that he got caught. The Bible tells us about the result of worldly sorrow.  “For the wages of sin is death” Romans 6:23.

Here is a man who is reaping what he has sown, and he does not like it. 
You see all his life this man sowed to his flesh. The Bible tells us the result of this in “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” Galatians 6:8.

B. We need to notice this thief’s unbelief. 

He says to the Lord “IF You are the Christ.” This is devil talk! In Matthew 4:3, the devil said to Jesus, “IF You are the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.” It was in the Garden of Eden, that the devil started with his “IF.”

“IF you sin you shall be like gods, and not die like God said.” Whenever you find doubt about what God has said, you will find the devil is behind it. In this case what is subject to unbelief is salvation. The devil is the author of confusion. 

The Devil wants people to doubt what the Word of God says especially about salvation. So, they will end up in the lake of fire. The Bible tells us who the father of lies is, Satan, “there is no truth in him ... he is a liar, and the father of it” John 8:44. 

C. On the cross of rejection, we need to notice lastly, The lack of humility. 

Instead of being humble and looking for mercy, we are told this thief in Luke 23:39 “Mocked” Jesus, meaning to utter reproaches; to scoff; to use rude and reproachful language. This man so desperately needed the saving grace of God. Yet, in his last breathes cursed the Son of God, the only one who could save him. 

Pride still sends a person to hell; the proud of heart still say “I do not need God. I can save myself.” This thief needed to turn to the Lord for mercy because the Bible tells us in Psalm 103:8 “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.”

Instead on this Cross of Rejection hung the unrepentant thief.  He had no guilt or shame for what he did.  He had no belief in the Son of God. He had no humility because of his mess. Ever since he breathed his last breath, he has been hoping he could have changed his mind and accepted the Saviour that he rejected on the Cross of Rejection.

2. We need to notice the Cross of Reaction, Luke 23:40-42. 

I want us to notice something about this thief that hung on the Cross of Reaction.

A.   First, he feared God. 

In Luke 23:40, we read this thief said to the thief that hung on the Cross of Rejection, “Do you not even fear God.” The Bible says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.”  He knew that God controlled his destiny. 
He knew that God was the judge of all things. 

B.   Second, he realized that he was a condemned man with no earthly way out. 

Notice his words in verse 40, seeing you are under the same condemnation?

C.   Third, he acknowledges his sin, verse 41, “And we indeed justly”

The Bible tells us that “all have sin and come short of the glory of God.” “As it is written, there is none righteous, no not one.” Acknowledgment of one’s sin is the first step of getting saved. A person must first acknowledge they are a sinner, before that they know they need a Saviour. 

If a person does not see themselves as sinner, then there is no need to be saved. 

Today, most people are trusting in something else other than the shed blood of Jesus Christ to save them. 

D.   Fourth, the thief on the cross of reaction acknowledged he deserved his sentence - verse 41, “For we receive the due reward of our deeds.”

He knew clearly that he reaped what he had sown. In other words, he said “I am guilty for what I have done and deserve to be in the fix that I am in.” He acknowledged that he deserved his death sentence. He was sorry for his sin, not because he was caught, but, because he sinned against God. 

This man was on the road to salvation, for he knew he was a sinner in need of a Saviour.

E. Lastly, this thief acknowledged that Jesus did not deserve the death sentence verse 41 “But this Man has done nothing wrong.”

He realized and acknowledged the sinlessness of the man next to him.  Concerning himself he knew and admitted that he was a sinner and deserved his sentence of death. What we see here is the steps of someone getting saved.  There was only one last thing for this man to do and praise God! And he did it.
He turned to the centre cross, the third cross, The Cross of Redemption and uttered these words verse 42 “Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”

We want to notice the thief called Jesus, Lord. This is very important because “Lord” is a title of deity. The thief realized that only the Lord Jesus Christ could save him from the situation. 

The Bible tells us “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Unlike the other thief on The Cross of Rejection, the thief on The Cross of Reaction had no doubt who Jesus was. He came to Jesus humbly, admitting his sin, accepting his sentence of death, and crying out to God for his mercy. This thief believed on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to save him. 

“But as many as received Him, to them gave the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name” John 1:12.

3. Finally, we need to notice the THIRD cross, the Cross of Redemption. 

Redeem means to “buy back.” Jesus buys back from the slave market of sin, from eternal damnation in a lake of fire all those who call upon Him to save them. 

Let us take notice how Jesus responded to thief on the Cross of Reaction verse 43 “And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” You talk about “Good News”! Where could you find any religion in the world that could tell you, “Today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

Show me one religion in this big wide world that will tell you for sure, “You are going to paradise (heaven) the bottom line is there is not any. Only Bible Christianity can make that promise, because it is based on the man on that third cross, The Cross of Redemption.

Conclusion:

Which side of that cross of redemption are you on? Your eternity is counting on it! Rejection or Reaction? Rejection will turn you away from God and heaven. Acceptance of Christ will give you a place in heaven.

The salvation of the centurion

The salvation of the centurion

Text: Matthew 27:54.             

          “So, when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

Who was the first to be converted to Christ after His death? We know that the thief on the cross was to be with Christ that day in paradise, he was the last to be converted before Jesus death, but who was the first after His death? May I say it maybe the centurion in charge of crucifying Jesus!

“Truly this was the Son of God!” Was this a full confession of Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour? Or an acknowledgment that Jesus was more than man? We cannot be sure! Yet, it does indicate a sense of awe; we dare not reduce the spiritual effect these events could have had on them. When especially this confession of faith came from a Gentile, and a Roman centurion.

This Roman centurion, who oversaw the actual crucifixion, stood beneath Christ’s cross. And what occurred now of Jesus’ death was the possibility of the conversion of the centurion charged with overseeing the crucifixion.

As Christ’s atoning work was brought to completion, it’s amazing saving power was already at work in the lives of those who were physically closest to Him.

Now when the centurion = the military superintendent of the execution.

And they that were with him watching Jesus, saw the earthquake = or felt it and witnessed its effects.

And those things that were done = reflecting upon the entire transaction.

They feared greatly = convinced of the presence of a Divine Hand.

Saying, truly this was the Son of God = this points to the claim which Jesus said He was the Son of God. The meaning, then, clearly is that He must have been what He professed to be.

1.    THE MAN.

A Roman centurion was the commander of a hundred-man division at full strength, yet most centurions commanded 83 men despite the commonly assumed 100 (or a “century”) the basic building-block of a Roman legion. The centurions were usually career officers, hardened men of war. Yet, the scenes of the cross had convinced him that Jesus was more than man.

2.    HIS MISSION.

Because this officer was with those guarding Jesus, it appears he is the very one who had been given charge of overseeing and carrying out the crucifixion of Christ and probably the crucifixions of the two thieves as well.

He and his men were close eyewitnesses to everything that had happened since Jesus was taken to the place of judgement. They had personally kept Him under guard from that point on. (It is even possible that the centurion and some of the men with him were also the same soldiers who arrested Jesus the night before. If so, they had been eyewitnesses from the very beginning of the entire ordeal.)

They had seen how Jesus held His silence while His enemies hurled accusations at Him. These same soldiers had strapped him to a post for the scourging and watched while He suffered even that horrific beating with quiet grace and majesty. They themselves had cruelly taunted Him, dressing Him in a faded soldier’s tunic, pretending it was a royal robe.

They had battered His head with a reed. These very same soldiers had also made a crown of thorns and with cruel pleasure placed it on the head of Christ. They had spat on Him and taunted Him and mistreated Him in every possible way, and they had seen Him endure all those tortures without cursing or threatening any of His tormentors.

The soldiers heard with their own ears when Pilate repeatedly declared Jesus’ innocence. They knew very well that He was guilty of no crime that made Him a threat to Rome’s interests. They must have been utterly amazed from the very beginning about how different He was from the typical criminal who was crucified.

Until now, the uniqueness of Christ had made no clear impact whatsoever on these soldiers. They were hardened men, and Jesus’ submissiveness made no difference in the way they treated Him. His clear innocence had not gained any sympathy from them. They had showed him no mercy.

They were professional soldiers, trained to follow orders. And so, they had obediently nailed Jesus’ hands and feet to the cross. They had set the cross upright and dropped it into the hole dug for it. They had cast lots for Jesus’ garments. And then they had sat down to watch Him die.

3.    HIS MIRACLE.

But Christ’s death was unlike any other crucifixion they had ever witnessed. They heard Him pray for His killers. They saw the gracious way He suffered. They heard when He cried out to His Father. They experienced three full hours of supernatural darkness. And when that darkness was followed by an earthquake at the very moment of Christ’s death, the soldiers could no longer close their eyes to the fact that Christ was indeed the Son of God.

Mark suggests that there was something about the way Jesus cried out that struck the centurion as supernatural, perhaps the powerful volume of His cry, coming from someone in so weakened a condition. Mark writes, “And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, truly this man was the Son of God” Mark 15:39.

Matthew indicates that it was also the earthquake, coming at the exact moment of Jesus’ final outcry, that finally convinced the centurion and his soldiers that Jesus was the Son of God: “Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God” Matthew 27:54.

Notice that Matthew indicates all the soldiers had the same reaction. When the earthquake occurred, they “feared greatly.” This kind of fear was a typical reaction of people who suddenly realized the truth about who

Jesus is: “And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who this can be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!” Mark 4:41.

They were stricken with terror. It was not merely the earthquake that they were afraid of. Rather they were terrified by the sudden understanding that Jesus was INNOCENT, not merely innocent, but He WAS WHOM HE CLAIMED TO BE. They had killed the Son of God. He had heard Jesus claim to be God, and having seen these things, he rendered his own verdict on the matter: “Truly this was the Son of God!”

The words were plainly a true expression of faith. Luke says, “So when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, “Certainly this was a righteous Man!” Luke 23:47. So the centurion and his soldiers with him were the very first CONVERTS to Christ after His crucifixion, coming to faith at precisely the moment He dead.

CONCLUSION:

Christ was dead, but death had not conquered Him. On the first day of the week, He would burst forth triumphantly from the grave and show Himself alive to hundreds of eyewitnesses 1 Corinthians 15:5-8. He demonstrated His POWER over sin and death in the process. Do you know Him?

The three “I am’s” of Romans 1:14-16

The three “I am’s” of Romans 1:14-16

Text: Romans 1:14-16.

“I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the unwise.
So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and for the Greek.”

          When Paul (then called Saul) met with Jesus on the road to Damascus, he asked the Lord the two most important questions that anyone could ask:

1.    Who are You Lord? 

2.    What would You have me to do? 

Paul then spent the rest of his life discovering the answer to those two questions: Paul became then the greatest minister of the Gospel that the world has ever known. What was it that so transformed him? What was the motivation that urged him on? Maybe we can find out today, and it should work in our life also.

Paul says “I am” three times:

Verse 14, “I am a debtor.”

Verse 15, “I am ready.”

Verse 16, “I am not ashamed.”

1.    I AM A DEBTOR, VERSE 14.

“I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the unwise.”

Paul said, “I am a debtor.” Now what does that mean? A debtor is a somebody/or body that owes a debt to someone else. The body may be an individual, a firm, a government, a company or other legal person. To whom was Paul in debt? To what was Paul in debt for?

Well, number one, Paul was in debt to Christ. Go back to verse 1. “Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ.” And the word “servant” means, “A bond slave.” Paul saw himself a bond slave to the one who died for him.

Question, has Jesus died for you? Yes! Alright, Jesus with His blood at Calvary bought you. Therefore, Paul later told the Corinthians, “You are not your own. You are bought with the precious blood of Jesus Christ.” Jesus has bought me; He alone has paid the price. No wonder we sing: “Love so amazing, so divine, demands, demands my life, my soul, my all.” 

Also, Paul saw himself as a debtor to those around him. Verse 14, “I am debtor both to the Greeks and to the Barbarians.”

The Greeks, where some bodies!

The Barbarians, where the nobodies!

Paul said I am a debtor to all, for all around us need the Lord Jesus Christ and we have the message to tell them. Paul knew that he was a debtor to those around him that did not know the Lord as Saviour.

2.    I AM READY, VERSE 15.

“So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also.”

Do you know the problem with most of us today? We are inflexible. We are not ready or willing to “go” when God speaks to us. Are you flexible enough that God could step in and interrupt your so-called plans and change totally the course of your life? The question is this: are you ready to hear God speak?

Paul was ready to live for Christ. I hear people talk about the fact, “I would die for Jesus.” It is the living for Jesus that courses us to fail in. Paul was ready to live for Christ. But also, Paul was ready to die for Christ. Look at Paul’s pulpit. Made of oak, crafted by a skilled master carpenter, trimmed with gold plate. No! It was a damp hole in the ground, a prison cell that he wrote and preached his best sermons.

Here is the prison where the apostle Paul was kept until he was executed. And a guard comes for him and says, “Paul, let us go.” Paul answers, “I am ready, because I die daily, for Christ.” I believe that a man or woman is no longer afraid to die, when they are ready to live for Christ. Paul said, “I am ready.” I am going to Rome where they hate Jesus Christ, where Caesar is Emperor and I am going to preach there that Jesus is Lord! It may cost me my life. Are you ready to go? You may not need to go; God may just want you to “stay” where you are.

3.    1 AM NOT ASHAMED, VERSE 16.

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.”

Paul, a little squinty eyed, bald and hump back Jew is going to go into the city of Rome, that ruled the then known world, filled with its evil ways and false gods, and Paul is going to preach the message of another publicly executed Jew. They would laugh at him. They would persecute him. But he would say, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ.” 

Rome was a proud city. But Paul is going there with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Remember that the Christians of his day, they did not have money, status, etc. But they had the saving power of Jesus Christ. 

1.    Paul said he was not ashamed of the “Person of the Gospel.” For it is the Gospel of Christ. There are almost 7 billion people on the earth today, and about 50,000 are being added to the world’s population every day. Who will reach them if not you and me?

2.    Paul goes on to say, “I am not ashamed of the Purpose of the Gospel.” Paul said, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation.” What is the purpose of the Gospel? It is salvation! Man needs more than bread and soup. He needs salvation!

If you want an adventure, if you want to be a part of something that really counts, then pour your life into getting men and women saved! Be a winner of souls. The Bible says, “He that wins souls is wise.”

3.    Paul then says, “I am not ashamed of the Power of the Gospel.” “For it is the power of God unto salvation.” And the word “power” is the word we get our word dynamite from. I am grateful for that divine dynamite, for it blew up my sins. Many of us know the power of the Gospel in our lives.

CONCLUSION:

May we become more like Paul by saying, “I am a debtor to Christ, I am ready to go, for I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ.”