At The Cross

As we look at our text this morning, we see Mary, the mother of Jesus, is no longer the adolescent who gave birth in a manger that was filled with hay. She is now 33 and 1/2 years removed from that scenario. And at this juncture in time the average age of those who lived in that day was approximately 50-55, therefore, she is advanced in age and her appearance is noticeably changed.

However, regardless of how she looks and who her son is this is the day of her son’s public execution, and the crowd has determined that her son, the one birthed from her womb, should face the humiliation of execution by the Roman Cross, hung between two thieves.

Now this is not a trio of thieves, nor is it a trio of lawbreakers. They do not have a common denominator in crime – but they have a common denominator in crucifixion. This is an unrelated group of men who are dying for three separate reasons.

One thief is on the left hand. If you will allow me to portray him, expose him and reveal to you who he is, I will tell you that his crime against the state is of such horrific nature that his execution is necessary.

He is not a model prisoner, nor is his crime worthy of exoneration or forgiveness by the State, he must die. He obviously has offended the decorum of the day. He is already been deemed without excuse and has been punished by the loss of losing his life. He is even hostile to the point of his death as he has turned his inner anguish into a barrage against his fellow prisoners - accusing one of being unusually gifted to command angels at His word.

The other thief is on the right hand of this triad. He too is guilty of some crime which has required his immediate dismissal from the walk of life. He is guilty without a doubt. And he is now realizes that his life ebbs way as a result of his crime.

He realizes that it is now too late to get to the church house. It is now too late to get to the doors of the Temple at Jerusalem. However, he has found clemency, and he found mercy, and he finds compassion of his sinful soul by seeking remembrance from a fellow death row inmate.

But the there is Jesus who unlike either of these thieves. He is not guilty of any moral lapse, ethical error, or civil disobedience. As a matter of fact, if our neighborhoods were populated with more people like him, our neighborhoods would be safer, our churches would be happier and our cities would be flourishing with health and prosperity. His only misdemeanor crime could be that he has chosen to operate without a license:

He healed the sick without the benefit of the Medical Board Exams.

He raised the dead without the benefit of an Undertaker’s License.

He restored fractured fellowships without the benefit of a degree in Psychotherapy.

He walked on water without the benefit of Newton’s Law of Physics.

He gathered large crowds together without a Permit for a Lawful Assembly.

He fed large crowds without training in an Institution of Culinary Arts.

He opened blind eyes without the benefits of an Opthamology Degree with a specialization of Laser Eye Care.

He provided liquid refreshment at a wedding ceremony, when the wine ran out without the benefit of training in the study of water and the study of grapes.

Unlike the others prisoners who has no name mention, this Prisoner has many names -

Some call him:

Emmanuel

Wonderful Counselor

Almighty God

The Prince of Peace

The Everlasting Father

The King of Glory

The Shepherd

But I simply call him Jesus

Unlike the other two that is hanging in the cross - his mother is recorded as being present on this dreadful day.

This day of public humiliation is not only for the prisoner, but the family of the prisoner. When most families would have been at home, dressed in their mourner’s black, and locked into their homes with the curtains drawn and the doors shut, to block the scorning and ridicule of their neighbors. Mary is present.

This is a mystery, a testimony and a confirmation to what my own mother once told me and what my grandmother told me and what their mothers told them as well, and that is a mother loves her children all the time:

She loves them if they are:

The President of the United States - mother loves him.

Governor of the State - mother loves him.

Mayor of the City - mother loves him.

Called by God to preach - mother loves him.