What’s the Real Value of a Human Soul? Luke 23:33-43
Intro: Has it ever occurred to you that everything has some potential value. And this world is full of appraisers who will and who can tell you the value of just about anything.
I was skimming the internet a few weeks ago and I ran across an article on Fox News. Someone had recently discovered the car of my dreams. A 1969 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 428 Cobra Jet….now that is a mouthful to say but it will drop the jaw of almost any real car enthusiasts. This particular garage kept find….. was owned and perfectly preserved by a now-deceased automotive connoisseur. This exceptionally rare car came complete with a four speed manual transmission that only had 8500 actual miles on the vehicle. The spark plugs, belts, fan and hoses were all original and the only change to the car from the time it came out of the factory was the installation of new tires.
Most of you understand that finding a car like this is extremely rare and when this car was purchased in 1969, it cost a $5,425 brand new. Compared to the price of a new car today….this almost seems a bargain. But what is it worth now? This car is going to auction later this month (April 25,2014) and is expecting to bring in excess of the appraisal value of $100,000.
As I said, everything has a value. Did you know that your body has value and that you can even insure your body….piece by piece! The value of your own body parts might even surprise you. Most people recognize that the fingers of a musician, surgeon, artist or craftsman are vital to their fame and fortune. My hands at the piano are not worth much…..But the hands of Billy Joel or Elton John are worth millions. My hands connected to a paintbrush are worthless, but the hands of Picasso holding a paintbrush is priceless. But regardless of what we think our body parts are worth….. according to most insurance companies….the hands of an average person can be worth a lot more than you would ever imagine. Most companies sell insurance as units of coverage -- typically $5,000 to $20,000 per item. But how do we come up with the value of a human body part. Well……I am sure now that is a complicated formula that someone smarter than I needs to figure out.
But do you know, that there is one part of our bodies that you cannot find a value for? One that the average doctor knows is there……. but one that they cannot seem to locate. For most people, “they even know” it is there and yet they have never seen it. What is this part? It is called….”the soul”! And if everything has a value……then my question today is this…….”What is a soul worth?”
Here in our text, the Lord Jesus is preparing to answer that question through the words of a Physician. Luke was not only the writer of this gospel, but Luke was also in the medical profession…..and I am sure that prior to being called into the gospel ministry….he also knew the value of human parts. You see, there are some parts that we can live without and some we could not. I can live without a finger. I can live without an ear, an eye, a foot or even a kidney. But I cannot live without my heart….or my brain…..or even my soul. So if Luke was here today, I would ask this….Luke, even though you are a physician…….Do you know the value of a human soul?
As we come to Chapter 23 in this gospel………..we find the Lord Jesus Christ at a place called Calvary. It was here that we see three crosses on Calvary’s hill. It is here, that we find an innocent man Jesus…… dying in the middle….. between two convicted guilty thieves.
But there is something important about this scene that we all need to see. There is some real difference between these three men.
• I see one thief…….Guilty as can be….dying “in” his sin
• I see the second thief……Guilty as can be…..and he is dying “to” his sin
• And then there is Jesus…….Innocent as can be…….and He is dying “for” all sin
What a contrast there really is between these men……………….can you see that……
• Two are guilty….and the other is innocent
• Two are paying their debt to society……the other is paying OUR DEBT to release us from society
But this story…was long foretold by the prophet Isaiah.
Turn woith me to Isaiah 53:9-10
Here is an innocent man….being condemned between the wicked…..who tomb would eventually be borrowed from a rich man from Arimathea…….a perfect story unfolding……just as Isaiah said it would happen. The Roman soldiers probably intended to bury Jesus with the other thiefs….but this is not what God intended. They may have not even planned to gamble for his garments that day….but this was exactly what God intended. Pilate may have thought that by offering up Barrabas….that Jesus would not have been on that cross….but this is exactly what God had intended….and the Old Testament prophecies were coming true right in front of their own eyes….and the angry crowd was to blind to see it.
It is here as we visit this cross…….that we see the King of all kings…..the king of the Jews as He was called that day! It is here that we visit the cross…..that we see Jesus for who He really is…..and it is here….on Calvary’s Hill….that He begins to reveal the value of a soul. So what is the value of a soul? That can and will be answered only by you as we watch the story develop before our own eyes. But what we need to be aware of…….is that Satan will blind us just as he did the crowd that day….if we do not watch and listen closely!
In order to see the value of a soul…..we need to look closely at this story and
I. Notice the Compassion of Jesus – vs. 39
Compassion is something that is not always shown in words….but always effectively revealed in our deeds. Here on the cross, an innocent man is ready to die for the sins of the entire world. It was here, on the cross, that the only words that are clearly heard….are the words of a guilty man.
“39 And one of the malefactors which were hanged “railed” on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us” vs. 39
Can you hear the mockery that is taken place by the first thief on the cross? Can you hear him joining in with the angry crowd as the mocked Jesus….this one they were calling “the King of the Jews”? Can you hear the bitterness in his voice as he says…… “If thou be Christ, save thyself and us”!
But even in the midst of such anger……..and such hatred………Compassion was about to abound! Notice with me the compassion in the words of Jesus in verse 34: “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do”
Compassion is shown in consistency………..and nothing but consistency was shown throughout the entire ministry of our Lord and Savior while He walked this earth. If there is a lesson here for the child of God….it would be this………We should all be compassionate people as well! If we are to be “His” witnesses…….should compassion not also flow from us as His children? Should others not also see “His Compassion” in the things that we say or that we do?
How often I hear stories about those who claim to be Christians and about the hatred that flows from their words…..much like this thief on the cross. Church, this was not how Jesus was remembered…..and this is not how His children should ever be remembered either. If anyone man deserved to hold a grudge against another…….Jesus did! Yet, He chose to be compassionate and love others…..even those who despised Him, rejected Him, lied on Him and scourged Him. Please tell me if this is the example that Jesus let us….how so many who claim to be Christians….can walk around day after day with hatred, bitterness and anger in their hearts toward others. And can I say that resentment that I speak of is often stronger toward those in the church than any other. Everyone of us need to examine our lives closely and see if we have the compassion of Jesus…..and if not….then why not?
I would also ask you to
II. Notice the Comparison between the Two Thieves - vs. 39 – 41
“And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.
40 But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?
41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.
So what exactly do we know about these two men? What were their crimes? Let me start with what we DON’T know.
• We don’t know their names
• We don’t know their backgrounds
• We don’t really know their crimes other than they were thieves
• We don’t know their ages
• We don’t know if they were married…….or even if they even had children
But this is what we DO know……
• We do know they were guilty and the deserved to be executed.
Last week, I was asked how I knew these men were guilty……and the answer to that is that the men “themselves admitted” that they were guilty.
But it is here that the difference begins to really show between these two…….these men may have been guilty…….but they were not the same.
We see one man continuing in his mockery……..”If thou be Christ, save thyself and us”. But the second man…….oh my friend……he is having a change of heart. He begins to take a close look at this innocent man beside him. He knows that he is guilty….he knows that his past sins needed to be paid for………but hanging beside him is the only man who could take away the guilt from the things that he had done wrong. Hanging beside him was an innocent man, who did not deserve to die…….but was willing to die……and He was willing to die for the soul of this man and any person who would trust him. It is here……that we see the conviction of the heart beginning to develop…….Look with me at verses 40-42:
“ But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. 42 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom”
Here is man that understood that the “only answer”….was nailed beside him on a cross……and that this man was not dying for HIS OWN PERSONAL SINS as he was sinless……But that Jesus was dying for ALL of our sins!
• So what was it that brought conviction to this man?
o I believe this thief started comparing himself to Jesus
o Notice his words…..And we indeed justly, for we receive the due rewards of “our” deeds…..But this man hath done nothing amiss.
o Whenever a person come to this place in their own lives….we begin to see ourselves….just as we really are…..as sinners that should be condemned.
o And every TRUE child of God….has came to this place where they stood at the cross and looked at the innocent one that is paying their debt. They see Jesus for who He is…..the Son of God.
o When we stand there watching…….it convicts us. It even happened to the prophet Isaiah. Notice what Isaiah had to say when he saw the Lord for who He really is:
Isaiah 6: 1-5 “I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and w. ith two he flew. 3 And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!”And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 So I said:
“Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips;
For my eyes have seen the King,The LORD of hosts.”
T
his is what happened as the second thief examined himself against the innocent one hanging beside of him. He said “Woe is me, I am unclean…….For I have seen the King”.
One thief had not only a sight problem, but also a hearing problem. He tuned Jesus out….but the second got in tune with Jesus. What about you right now? Is God speaking to you? If so…are you tuned in to what He is telling you? Or are you trying to tune Him out?
One thief tuned out the cry of his own conscience….the other tuned into the cry. One missed the Savior…The other saw Jesus as sinless lamb of God. If you were hanging on the cross….which thief would you have been?
III. Notice the Conversion of the Penitent Thief - vs. 42-43
I may not be the smartest person to ever walk this earth….but there is one thing I can say with some surety…………Conviction ALWAYS proceeds conversion.
A man will never ask for forgiveness UNTIL HE FIRST ADMITS that he is guilty. This thief KNEW he was guilty. This thief ADMIITED he was guilty………and this thief decided to do something about it.
The evidence of God working in his heart and soul was there……. It can be seen in the fact that……..
• He admitted his sin……….and he was not ashamed to do so!
• He accepted who Christ really was……….That he was not only innocent….he really was the King of all Kings.
• He asked the Lord to forgive him from his sins
• He had never seen a miracle performed by Jesus……..But that day, He truly believed a miracle was placed beside him.
• He saw clearly for the first time……who Jesus really was……..and he called him “LORD”
• And even though he was facing death……He believed in the resurrection that was to come in Christ Jesus!
Folks….this was the first sinners prayer to ever be recorded……and I can say confidently that it was heard “loud and clear”!
This was not the last day of that thief’s life………RATHER…..It was the beginning of the one to come! How do I know that……Notice the words of Jesus in verse 43 – “TODAY….thou shalt be with me in paradise!” This was not a possibility….this was a guarantee from Jesus Himself! One thing I can say for sure…..When Jesus says it, that settles it! When that thief took his last breath…the next person he saw was Jesus. Can we be that confident that once we take our last breath….That we will see Jesus as well! If your answer was no…….It could be! And Jesus will guarantee you as well if you will let Him!
Closing…….
So back to my original question………what is the value of a soul?
Evidently Jesus thought it was worth enough to give his only life for? And the thief on the cross thought his soul was worth enough that he asked forgiveness from the only one who could forgive him by asking Jesus to be his Lord?
But what is your soul worth to you? Is your eternal future worth your willingness to admit that you are a guilty as well? Is it worth admitting that it was “You” that should have been nailed to a cross….rather than an innocent man? Is your soul worth your willingness to ask Jesus to be your Lord?
What if today was your last day like it was the thief’s that day? The Bible says that our life is but a vapor, it is here today and gone tomorrow. We are not promised a tomorrow and today could be that day! If it was to be….would Jesus be able to say to you……”Today, thou shalt be with me in paradise”. The answer to that question is entirely up to you……..and you deciding what your soul is really worth”.
Right now….Satan may be speaking to you…….he may be telling you to wait. He may be telling you that you have plenty of time? Are you sure how much time you really have? He may even be telling you that Hell is not real. But let me ask you this……..Are you willing to risk your own soul to find out if he is telling you the truth? Satan is a liar, the father of lies. But Jesus cannot lie…..so let me tell you what Jesus said:
John 6:37 “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”
John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Mark 8:34-37 34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.35 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it.36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? 37 Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
Are you willing to exchange your soul listening to the lies of the devil……….or are you willing to trust your soul to Jesus…..just as this thief did on the cross. He thought his soul had value. Jesus thought his soul had value……just as he does yours today. But the question still remains…..what is your soul…really worth to you? And want is stopping you from allowing Jesus to reveal your worth to Him?
If God is speaking you……why not exchange the fear for hope? Why not exchange the sadness for joy? Why not exchange Hell for Heaven? Why not exchange unrest for the peace that you know you want? If you are afraid to make that move…….ask the person beside of you to come with you? If you want to know the value of your soul, just look closely at what Jesus did for yours!
