JESUS’ CROSS-Driven CONCERNS-II
Lk. 23:33-49; Jn. 19:17-30; Mat. 27:33-54; Mk. 15:21-39
OR--CONCERNS From The CROSS
Attention:
We can give generously to national missions thru the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering.
We can ensure that our missionaries are correctly trained for their purpose.
Thru the AAEO, we can make sure that they lack nothing in regard to sharing their ministries in North America.
We can ‘give till it hurts,’ while missing the very reason for giving... that there are literally millions of people who do not know of Jesus!
We can totally miss the BIG news!
Likewise, we can be so caught up in the gruesome brutality of the Crucifixion of Christ, that we miss the Cross-work of Christ!
Jesus’ 7 Words From the Cross:
“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”—Luke 23:34
“Today you will be with me in paradise.”—Luke 23:43
“Behold your son...”: “behold your mother.”—Jn. 19:26-27
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”—Mat. 27:45; Mk. 15:33-34
“I thirst”—Jn. 19:28-29
“It is finished”—Jn. 19:30
“Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”— Lk. 23:44; Mat. 27:50; Mk. 15:36-38
Need:
To recognize those things which are of greatest significance to our lives & the lives of others.
We have found that A Cross-driven Concern of Jesus is...
1. Your FORGIVENESS(Lk. 23:34)
2—A Cross-driven Concern of Jesus is...
Your DESTINY/Future/Eternity(Lk. 23:43)
Explanation: (Lk. 23:43)
Lk. 23:32—“There were also two others, criminals, led with him to be put to death.”
:33—“And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, & the criminals, one on the right hand & the other on the left.”
:39—“Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself & us.”
:40—“But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation?
This other of the two criminals indeed at least recognized the reality of God. He rebuked his fellow crucified, recognizing that he was hypocritically insulting an innocent person as he was rightly condemned & Jesus was not. The criminal would appear before God & would, in the presence of such perfection, be directly answerable for his sins. Such knowledge should bring a person to “fear God.”
“Both of you will soon appear before God. Jesus has nothing to answer for & you have added this to your other sins.”—RWP
:41—“And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.”
:42—“Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”
This criminal had undoubtedly heard, seen &/or experienced the power of Jesus prior to the crucifixion. This man evidently accepted Jesus as Messiah, making his decision while on a cross himself, being faced with the reality & certainty of death. He asked Jesus to remember him in His kingdom. He did not approach Jesus as a lunatic or liar but as Lord.
Although probably not grasping the fullness of Jesus’ Kingdom he grasped it with a trusting heart, much unlike the leaders & crowd which sent Him to the cross & taunted Him.
The criminal recognized that Jesus’ kingdom was not of this earth. He also recognized that Jesus was King in said Kingdom. He also understood enough to know that he needed Jesus’ Kingdom & that he needed Jesus in order to be part of it.
Heb. 4:1-2—“Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.” *:43—“And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.””
Jesus responds positively to the criminal’s request. Jesus assures him that he will this very day(upon his death) be with Him in the place He refers to as “Paradise.”
This word gives us a picture of the serenity one experiences upon death—IF they die Christ.
It is, at once, a picture of a planted protected garden, reminiscent of or in actuality, Eden(Gen. 2:8-10, 15-17).
2Cor. 12:1-4—“It is doubtless not profitable for me to boast. I will come to visions & revelations of the Lord: I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago--whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows--such a one was caught up to the third heaven. And I know such a man--whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows-- how he was caught up into Paradise & heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.”
Rev. 2:7—[to the Ephesian church]—“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.”’
The term “Paradise” equates to Abraham’s bosom’ where the righteous dead dwell, but in it’s other 2 uses(2Cor. 12:4 & Rev. 2:7) leave no question that ‘Paradise’ alludes to the Kingdom or realm of heaven in it’s fullness!
Jesus, the Messiah & Son of God, would very soon be “in Paradise.” The former criminal(on earth) but now repentant, would also be with Him there.
What a blessing to know that regardless of poor choices made in the flesh of our past, God accepts us upon our turning to Him thru Christ & away from flesh.
“Assuredly”—amhn—1) Firm—1a) metaph. Faithful; 2) Verily, amen, 2a) At the beginning of a discourse - Surely, truly, of a truth.
“Paradise”—paradeisov—1) Among the Persians a grand enclosure or preserve, hunting ground, park, shady & well watered, in which wild animals, were kept for the hunt; it was enclosed by walls & furnished with towers for the hunters; 2) A garden, pleasure ground—2a) Grove, park; 3) The part of Hades which was thought by the later Jews to be the abode of the souls of pious until the resurrection: but some understand this to be a heavenly paradise; 4) The upper regions of the heavens. According to the early church Fathers, the paradise in which our first parents dwelt before the fall still exists, neither on the earth or in the heavens, but above & beyond the world; 5) Heaven. Strong—of Oriental origin [compare odrp pardec; of foreign origin; a park:-- forest, orchard.]; A park, i.e. specifically--An Eden(place of future happiness, "paradise"). Used 3X.
“The word occurs in two other passages in the N.T. (2Cor. 12:4; Rev. 2:7), in both of which the reference is plainly to heaven. Some Jews did use the word for the abode of the pious dead till the resurrection, interpreting "Abraham's bosom" (Lk. 16:22f) in this sense also. But the evidence for such an intermediate state is too weak to warrant belief in it.”—RWP
Argumentation:
We are called upon, thru our own salvation, to open our hearts & God’s truth, to others.
Ps. 33:10-11—“The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect. The counsel of the LORD stands forever, The plans of His heart to all generations.”
Jer. 29:11-13-(NASB)-—“‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare & not for calamity to give you a future & a hope. Then you will call upon Me & come & pray to Me, & I will listen to you. And you will seek Me & find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.’”
Rev. 3:4-6 ““You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; & they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. “He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, & I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father & before His angels. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”’”
Will your name remain in the Lamb’s Book of Life?...or is it Destined to be “blotted out”?
Will your name be confessed before God Almighty & His holy angels as one belonging to Him?
Many people with whom I speak have neither clue nor clarity about their Destiny. They just assume they’re okay!
Jn. 3:17-18—“For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
These take no consideration for their spiritual Destiny/Future. Yet they expend tremendous effort conducting their physical Destiny/Future—Education, Career, Spouse, Home, Children, Retirement & even great care for their Funeral—at which they won’t even be present!...They have their only reward here & now!
Mat. 6:1-5—“Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues & in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; & your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly. And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues & on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.”
1Cor. 15:19—“If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.”
Mat. 23:23—““Woe to you, scribes & Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint & anise & cumin, & have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice & mercy & faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.”
Illustration:
Recycling plastics/Either tossed on the road or in the dump—either way destiny is unfulfilled/Recycle it, it can be used multiple times in innumerable ways—as containers for: water, soft drinks, laundry detergent, etc.—One’s DESTINY/Future is at stake
Picture frame/Belonged in great-great-grandmother’s house/It has a known history in that it came over from Europe with your relatives who immigrated to the US/Kept in pristine condition/One’s DESTINY/Future
Application:
?How does Your DESTINY/Future/Eternity answer Jesus’ Cross-driven Concern?
?How have You acted on those matters of great significance to Jesus?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
Giving while missing the very reason for giving.
Action:
Cross-driven Concerns of Jesus are...
2. Your DESTINY/Future/Eternity(Lk. 23:43)
1. Your FORGIVENESS(Lk. 23:34)
Pt. 2 only! Presented 04/02/2017pm to:
FBC of Carrabelle
206 Storrs Ave. SW(SE Ave. ‘A’)
Carrabelle, FL 32322
Pts. 1-3 Presented 04/17/2011am to:
Needmore Baptist Church
1620 Mt. Vernon Rd.
Woodleaf, NC 27054
