THE GREAT DIVIDE AT CALVARY
Luke 23:32-43
There is a signpost high up in the Canadian Rockies. The board says, "The Great Divide". It’s the source of two great river systems, one flowing west into the Pacific Ocean, and the other into the Atlantic. Two raindrops can fall side by side, but will flow in opposite directions, never to meet again. How we need to think long and deep on the issues which have an eternal consequence.
2000 years ago on a hill called Golgotha a great divide was raised to the sky in the person of Jesus Christ who hung on that Old Rugged Cross.
The Bible tells us that there were two thieves who died with Him that day, however their eternal souls went in totally different directions as one rebelled against the Savior in the middle, and the other received the Savior into His heart.
Three crosses with three stories to tell to mankind, and two destinies for the eternal soul.
As we know, the cross was the most shameful of deaths of that day, and stood as a monument to the justice the Romans were so adept in meting out to the people.
Not only did the crosses serve as a way to painfully punish the criminals of that day, but it also served as a deterrent to future crimes that someone might be pondering about committing.
It was a horrible death, with the agonized bodies of the victims sagging on pierced hands and feet, the raging thirst that tortured them in the dust and heat, under the gaze of passers by. Three men, three crosses, the same death for all three, but how different they were.
Crucified Savior....
That statement sounds good to us today, but in that day if someone were to mention it, people would look at them as if they were crazy.
It is like saying something is so cold it’s hot, or if we were to call the local pizza house, and ask for a vegetarian meat lover’s pizza.
But here He was. The crucified savior of the world dying for the sins of mankind.
Here at this Great Divide would be Three Crosses...
First of all today we are going to look at:
I. THE CROSS OF REJECTION
Luke 23:39
One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!"
While hanging there before the jeering crowd feeling the pain of not only physical abuse, but also of the rejection of those at his feet one of the criminals looked with spite and hatred at Jesus, and began to hurl insults at Him, challenging Christ to get off the cross and save all of them.
Even knowing that he was about to go into Eternity in a few hours, all he could do was spit out venom of hatred and bitterness to anyone and everyone around him.
Imagine that, with the Savior of the world right beside Him, this man was going to go to an eternal hell never to receive another chance to escape.
So often we might get down about people we are unable to get through to when we share the Gospel, and become frustrated believing that somehow we are failing God.
We often hear the statement, “you can’t save the world”, and the very fact that so many rejected Christ while here on this earth, and even one criminal facing eternity rejected Him proves that we must do what we can, and leave the results with God.
Here was Jesus, the greatest person that ever lived, who was all God, and all man, yet while he was in pain was praying for his tormenters, and caring for His mother. And here was the thief that saw all of this, and the perfection of the Savior, then looked at his own pitiful life, and instead of reaching out to Christ, hated him even more.
There was a commercial that used to be on for shampoo or something, and the lady had a statement that said, “Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful”
There is a lot of truth to that statement when it comes to looking at Christ. While He was not much to look at right now after being beat up, spit upon and reviled, there was a beauty about His inner life, and who He was that was very evident in His living, and His dying!
The thief looked, saw the righteousness, and seemed to hate Christ more, as he hurled insults between the pain.
I believe today that many in the world are hurling insults at the Savior, and have no idea that the word of God says that it is appointed unto man once to die, and after that is the judgement.
His was a cross of Rejection. His own comrade said that their condemnation was fully deserved, but the rebel wouldn’t learn even with one foot in the grave.
We may not like to admit it today, but in a sense, we are all dying.
It is up to us whether we will hurl insults, or do what the other criminal did as he died on the cross of repentance:
Now we turn to look at the other side of Christ, and
II. THE CROSS OF REPENTANCE
And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. - Luke 23:42
On the other side of the Great Divide is another cross with a criminal also dying a shameful death, but who will take an entirely different course after he breathes his last.
Instead of curses from his lips, I believe tears may have been in his eyes.
He looked inside of himself, and looked at the other thief and declared that they were very deserving of what they were up against, but not the Man in the Middle.
If you have been hoping and praying that your good deeds would save you, then if you look at this thief on the cross, you begin to realize how sadly mistaken you really are.
Here was a man who may have had a few good deeds in his life, but was being crucified as a result of bad deeds, yet being told by Christ that this day he would be with Him in paradise.
We may often hear of “death bed conversions”, and without a doubt they do take place. Here is a perfect example of a man who was at the brink of death, and realizing mercy was right next to him reached out for the lifeline.
Oh, how people need to realize today that mercy is right next to them! No, not a suffering Savior dying on a cross, but a sinless Savior who not only died, but rose again, and is alive forevermore.
When we pause and take a look at the Cross of Repentance we realize the utter simplicity of salvation, and how difficult we often make it.
This man reached out to Jesus and made a plea to Him that originated from the depths of his soul, and Jesus responded with mercy. He didn’t even make him repeat a prayer after Him!
The enemy has blinded the eyes of the unsaved, and deceived them with the lie that they must somehow measure up before receiving the needed forgiveness.
Here was a man who made a simple request and was saved as a result..
Romans 10:13
for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
The Cross of repentance reminds us that the worst sinner can be saved and forgiven of their sins.
We have heard of different criminals in recent years who have given their lives to the Lord only to be met with scoffing and skepticism of the world.
People like Ted Bundy who before he was executed gave an interview to Dr. James Dobson and told of his salvation. The Son of Sam David Berkowitz who has not been put to death yet, but now is a leader of Bible studies within the prison. These are people that God’s grace can forgive, but man will always have a struggle with.
The hymn writer wrote the words, “the vilest offender who truly believes, that moment from Jesus a pardon receives”
EVERYONE who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved...
Next, we must take a look at the most important cross on Calvary, and that was
III. THE REDEMPTIVE CROSS
And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise. - Luke 23:43
Many people today are in prison, and if asked why they are in prison, they will often say they were framed, or they weren’t the trigger person, or they really didn’t do it.
Here was a man hanging on a cross who really had not done anything that would merit such a punishment, and in fact punishment should not even be in the vocabulary, let alone crucifixion.
He was followed around on all occasions by the religious crowd just waiting for Him to sin, and the words of the penitent criminal summed up what everyone really knew...”this man has done nothing wrong”
No other man who has ever lived at any time could ever have their life summed up in this manner!
The Bible says that all have sinned, and come short of the Glory of God, but here was a man who had never sinned, and even in the face of reviling and anguish of body and soul, never lashed out in bitterness, but was only concerned with forgiveness of others, and the care of His family.
His trial was a mockery as false witnesses hurled at Him moving Him closer and closer to the path to Calvary.
Why then did Jesus die? Was this all a miscarriage of justice? From our point of view there is no darker blot on history than the death of a sinless and perfect man, Jesus Christ.
However, we must also understand that this was all part of the plan of God to redeem or buy back the human race who had squandered this wonderful relationship in the Garden of Eden.
From the moment it happened, God the Father set the plan in place for man’s redemption as we read in
Genesis 3:15
And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel."
The phrase “you will strike His heel” refers to the fact that the entire time Christ was here on this earth, Satan was doing his best to trip up and defeat Christ through temptation, and especially death.
I have no doubt that on that dreadful Friday, Satan thought He had won the war, but the second part of this prophetic word from the Book of Genesis says that “He will crush your head”.
Satan, You lose at Calvary! Redemption is accomplished!
"God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself ... him who knew no sin God made to be sin, on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in him" (1 Cor 5:18-21).
The middle cross was the cross of Redemption. The death of Christ was quite different from the two other victims. They died without any choice in the matter; their lives were taken away. But it was quite different with Jesus. In advance of the crucifixion he had told his disciples,"I lay down my life that I may take it again ... I lay it down of my own accord" (John 10:17,18)
The basis for our redemption is the shedding of his blood. The sacrifices of the Old Testament pointed towards this once and for all effective sacrifice. Wicked hands took and crucified the Lord of life, but where man’s rebellion against God reached its limit, the grace of God shines through in all its splendour. Evil did its worst on Calvary, but Grace did it’s best!
Every person is typified in the crosses of Rejection and Repentance, but which cross? We have a choice between the cross of Rejection and the cross of Repentance."
It was June 18, 1815, the Battle of Waterloo. The French under the command of Napoleon were fighting the Allies (British, Dutch, and Germans) under the command of Wellington. The people of England depended on a system of signals to find out how the battle was going. One of these signal stations was on the tower of Winchester Cathedral. Late in the day it flashed the signal: "W-E-L-L-I-N-G-T-O-N- -- D-E-F-E-A-T-E-D- -."
Just at that moment one of those sudden English fog-clouds made it impossible to read the message. The news of defeat quickly spread throughout the city. The whole countryside was sad and gloomy when they heard the news that their country had lost the war.
Suddenly the fog lifted, and the remainder of the message could be read. The message had four words, not two. The complete message was: "W-E-L-L-I-N-G-T-O-N-- -D-E-F-E-A-T-E-D- - T-H-E- - -E-N-E-M-Y!" It took only a few minutes for the good news to spread. Sorrow was turned into joy, defeat was turned into victory!
So it was when Jesus was laid in the tomb on the first Good Friday afternoon. Hope had died even in the hearts of Jesus’ most loyal friends. After the frightful crucifixion the fog of disappointment and misunderstanding had steeled in on the friends of Jesus. They had "read" only part of the Divine message: "Christ defeated." But when the entire message came through, they realized and rejoiced that "Christ defeated satan at Calvary, and rose again from the dead, eternally triumphant!"
