Series: THE KING WHO WAITS GOOD FRIDAY. April 18, 2014 THE CRIES OF THREE DYING MEN Luke 23:32-43 Speaker: Ken Davis 1. Last week I watched the final interview that serial killer, Ted Bundy, gave just hours before his execution. To everyone s surprise, he asked James Dobson to conduct the interview when hundreds of other reporters were hoping for that chance. His reasoning was that he had an important message to convey about the impact of pornography on the path he took and knew these words would be his last. -A few hours after that interview, Ted Bundy was strapped in an electric chair. His head was shaved and covered with conductive jelly. Then a small metal cap connected to thousands of volts of electricity was placed on that cap. Moments later Ted Bundy was dead. -A bizarre kind of party took place outside; people sent up balloons, cheered, ate popcorn and high-fived each other glad that he would never hurt another woman. -One thing that hit me as I watched this interview; Ted Bundy looks so normal! No long slimy hair; no swastikas tattooed on his forehead. The thought crossed my mind, That could be me sitting there--if not for that stuff other crimes I am capable of! Don t worry I don t have a hidden past. -One other thing. As he speaks you re convinced that he s telling the truth. See, when your death is imminent, there s no reason to lie. 2. We ve gathered today to remember a 2000 year old government execution. People have been executed in many different ways by beheading, poison, snakebite, hanging, firing squads, lethal injection and gas chambers to name a few. -The Greeks and Romans in an attempt to discourage crime and insurrection sought out and perfected the most painful and humiliating way to be publicly executed. They would take two large beams of wood, one horizontal, one vertical and hammer nails through the criminals wrists and feet so that they hung several feet off the ground. And they would hang there naked for hours sometimes days until they died. The term excruciating pain literally means, out of a cross.
2 -Crucifixion was reserved for the worst criminals. And it happened in public places usually along well-traveled roads so that others would be intimidated into compliance. 3. This morning I would like for us all for just a few minutes, to imagine ourselves with the crowd standing at the foot at the cross. It s on a hill outside Jerusalem know as the place of the skull Golgotha. It s still there. It s an April morning, about 9 a.m., 30 A.D. As you look around you see a sledge hammer and the ground is spattered with red; three victims have been nailed to crosses. -Your stomach heaves as these men groan and cry out with pain. All of them will hang there at least 6 more hours until they are dead. Jesus, beaten almost to death before being nailed to the cross will die first. The other two will have their legs broken by the soldiers causing them to suffocate and die within minutes. -The most disturbing part of this whole thing is the total absence of dignity and compassion. These men are already naked and in agony. But it s like that s not enough to satisfy the crowd. 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 soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself. (Luke 23:35-37 NIV) -Some of the highest religious officials in the country are still mocking the criminals and spitting on them. And it all seems to be focused on the man on the center cross Jesus of Nazareth. Others are just, well, gawking like all ambulance chasers. -What s most haunting about the horrible, bloody scene that day is what these men have to say for themselves. There s no casual conversation because to even breathe they have to push up on the nail through their feet. All of three are on crosses and all three will die before sundown from a combination of suffocation and heart failure. -But the final message each of them leaves is very different. Maybe you can identify with one of them. 4. The message from one of the criminals hanging beside Jesus was basically a message of contempt and frustration: Get me off the cross!
There was a written notice above him, which read: this is the king of the jews. One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: Aren t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us! (Luke 23:38-39 NIV) -In the middle of all the contempt being dumped on Jesus, the criminal on the neighbouring cross chimes in! You chose the life of a criminal why are you blaming Jesus? a. How many of you have ever suffered? How many of you have been calm and non-blaming in the middle of it? Most aren t. And I think this guy was just lashing out at the closest person. But I think there was more. I m always amazed at how much Jesus gets blamed for by people who don t believe in him! Have you ever thought about that? -Sometimes people also demand proof like this guy. So, Jesus you re real? Son of God? Saviour of the world? I ve heard you ve done thousands of miracles do one for me! Walk across my swimming pool. Let me win Lotto 649 THEN I ll believe! b. There seems to be this thing out there that when good things happen to me that proves how smart, gifted and worthy I am; when bad things happen that proves that God doesn t exist, or that Jesus isn t the Son of God. -Jesus was silent. What this guy had no way of knowing was that God Himself was on the cross. And it was after 3 days in a grave that everyone would have to then make a decision about what you do with a guy who gets crucified and walks out of the grave. Could it be that when we pray we are talking to Someone who understands crosses these awful, hopeless places in life where we can t move and can t breathe because He s been on one!? c. It could be, this morning, that you can identify with this guy. You re in a very painful situation and in your heart you re yelling, If you are God, why don't you help me. Get me off my cross! You're not sure that you can carry on-- make it through. And you're lashing out. It wouldn't be far from the truth to say that you're angry at God, angry at others--and when others comes close they get bitten; slashed. -Your thinking goes a little like this; "Why me? Others have made decisions just as stupid and far more corrupt. It's not fair! And maybe it isn t. But anger and hatred sure didn t help this guy in his final hours. I mean, he didn t live any longer and I doubt if it made him feel any better about how his day would end. 3
4 -The tragedy is that these words, a sneer Some Christ you are you can t even get yourself off the cross became his epitaph. d. If you're in a painful situation this morning, I want to encourage you not in your rant against how unfair God is but to look to the only One who really understands. And understand, Jesus didn t sing praise choruses from the cross. At one point He said, My God, my God why have You forsaken me? -It s not at all wrong to question God. Question! Yell if you have to. But then ask for help. See, if we learn anything from this awful scene at the cross we learn this: God can redeem anything even crosses! 5. What s strange is how the other criminal responded to Jesus: 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. Then he said, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. (Luke 23:40-42 NIV) He believed; you could summarize his response as, Please remember me after the cross! -Let me talk about the two crosses on each side of Jesus. Some of you may remember James and John coming to Jesus and asking if they could have the thrones on either side of him. Jesus said, Those places are not mine to give they ve already been assigned. If Jesus was crowned King of all on the cross then these thieves were the ones who had the thrones on either side! -They had a perspective on Jesus that no one else had. They were just a few feet away, side by side with Jesus. They felt exactly the same pain He did. They alone stayed by his side until his dying moment and saw his face, his body, his suffering. They may have heard him breath words no one else heard. But with equal information their responses were opposite--one lashed out; the other believed. a. The second thief seems to have amazing clarity on what s really happening. He tells off the other criminal says, We deserve this He doesn t! Back off! And then he turns to Jesus. Jesus was his last hope. Up to this point, he d largely wasted his life. But when he saw Jesus how He d lived, how He suffered what He said, something changed in his heart. He asks the other thief a very compelling question: In that context, he asks an astute question; "Don't you fear God?" -Whatever he did in his life, this guy is saying, "Don't you realize that this isn't the end? Yeah, we stood in front of Pilate, and even in an screwed up justice system, we pretty much got what we deserved based on what people know
5 about us. In hours we ll be standing in God's courtroom!" He knows it all and if you won t admit your guilt here what possible chance do you stand there? b. And then this nameless criminal pushed himself up on the nail through his feet and said these amazing words: "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." (Luke 23:42 NIV) -Here s what s amazing about that. Jesus had never looked less like a king. He looked more like a fake Messiah. We re used to the cross. We know what happened. In that culture no Messiah or King came into their own on crosses. At this point he had more faith than Jesus own disciples. There is no doubt that his thief believed at a very profound level. c. I want you to notice something. Jesus stayed with this criminal who believed to the very end. But He never got him off the cross. Jesus kingdom, as He said, wasn t in the world system as we understand it. If, in fact, he d gotten this guy off the cross the Romans would ve eventually put him back on it. -Here s what I want to ask you this morning. 2000 years later what we have here is a cross replica. In our world, the cross is a place of hope we wear it around our necks, have it tattooed on our bodies and put it on top of churches. We re used to it. What I want to ask you is have you ever looked at Jesus cross, understood what He did for you and believed! -Most of us, at some point, carry what feels like a cross. It s a place of physical or emotional suffering. The alternative to railing at God and ending up with a heart full of bitterness is understanding that God Himself is, in essence, with you on the cross next to yours. He may not get you off the cross in the way you d like or expect, but He does incredible work on crosses. The kingdoms of this world are corrupt. If you have enough money, you can mess with justice and sometimes get your own way. People do it all the time. But in His Kingdom? It s eternal! And we come into it through the willingness of the One who made everything to suffer on our behalf. See, deal is, Jesus was paying for that criminal's sins even as he was suffering for the consequences of his own sin! 6. If you will believe, Jesus promise from the cross belongs to you! Let me read it for you: Jesus answered him, Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise. (Luke 23:43 NIV)
-I ll tell you what s fascinating about this; this guy had no time to go out, take Bible classes, get baptized, help the poor, give money, do good or make his wrongs right. He didn t have a chance to go to the temple, offer a sacrifice, get the blessing of the priest, or do penance. Just Jesus sacrifice. Just simple faith. Just one request with very imperfect understanding. -Jesus response was, "I tell you the truth--as surely as I'm hanging, dying here beside you--i give you absolute assurance that though you will die today, you will meet me in the place you dreamed you could go but never thought you would! The place where all the righteous of the ages Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Elijah, Elisha and Jesus dwell." -And, of course, that brings us to the cry of the third man who died that day the King of all: Use me through the cross! Jesus didn t just forgive this criminal because he was scared and felt back for what he d done. Forgiveness poured from Jesus even as they were pounding nails through His wrists: Forgive them, Father, they don't know what they're doing. a. It s an amazing thought, isn t it? That while people were dumping their hatred and frustration on him in this execution, there was no, You just wait! I ll be BACK! It wasn t just blood that poured from the holes in Jesus hands and feet and side and back; it was love. -We don t get it because we re not like that. But Jesus is. And that is what is so amazing about the fact that, by going to a cross He is now king. The forces of hatred, revenge, bitterness, greed, self-interest and lust were defeated once for all! And that is what we have to look forward to only because of Jesus. b. Jesus final cry from the cross that day is quite telling. It is finished. In Greek it s the word, tetelestai. Paid in full! Everyone knew what that meant. See, it was written at the bottom of every receipt when a bill was paid. -The scene at the cross that day was the darkest in human history. It was unfair. It was full of hate and spite. It was the single biggest travesty of justice that has ever been committee and it was committed by the very ones who upheld the highest justice system and best religion the world has seen. b. And yet the irony is that it was the best day in human history. That day and from then on the people who understand the meaning catch their breath cause they realize the kind of love at the core of the universe the heart of the One who runs it all. That when you unwrap everything, there s love, grace, hope, forgiveness, humility and mercy. In choosing Jesus that s what you choose! 6
-This also says something about the suffering you are experiencing right now. God always uses suffering redemptively in the lives of those who love Him and are forgiven by Him. God can take the cruel, unfair, hate-filled actions of others that cause us suffering and ultimately use them for our good and the good of others. We are not victims. As unfair as life seems, love wins the day. c. Let me spell it out a little better. Whenever you find yourself on any cross Jesus is on the cross next to you. And the pain and suffering can take you to a point of hatred and blaming, If you re really the Messiah, GET ME OFF THIS CROSS! And even if you live through it you can become bitter and angry. The other alternative is peace. And hope. But you have to choose. -Jesus suffering made it possible for the most powerful being in the universe, the Holy Spirit, to come and live in us and give us strength to reach out to and actually forgive others when life is at it's worst. 7. When Ted Bundy stiffened, shuddered, and then slumped in that electric chair, January 24, 1989, hundreds stood outside and cheered; a monster was finally getting what he had inflicted on over 30 young women. What s strange is that those who knew him best said that this guy who d been raised in a Christian home truly found God s mercy and forgiveness. -That s quite offensive, isn t it? To think that people who have only lived to help others may have to one day live next door to Ted Bundy who caused so much sadness? But that s Who God is. That s the power of what Jesus accomplished on that dreary day, April 8, 30 AD. -Please understand, Good Friday is not about everyone feeling sorry for Jesus. Don t feel sad because Ted Bundy s list of sins was hanging over his head along with my list of sins and yours! Jesus was crowned King that day. The cross is no longer a sign of execution--it's a sign of victory Satan s reign is over! -Two criminals made opposite decisions that day. And now the question for you, me and the world is what will you do with yours? 7