MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER
RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK
TEXT: Luke 23:13-24; John 12:12-29
ILL. On the southern border of the Persian empire of Cyrus the Great, who had already conquered the Babylonians, there lived a powerful chieftain named Cagular who had defeated every attempt by Cyrus to subdue him.
Finally Cyrus amassed a mighty army, marched South, surrounded & over-whelmed Cagular's forces, capturing Cagular & his wife, & brought them back to his capitol for execution.
On the day set for their execution, Cagular & his wife were brought into Cyrus’ throne room. Cagular was a magnificent specimen of a man more than 6 feet tall with a noble manner about him.
Cyrus was so impressed with Cagular’s appearance that he said to him, "What would you do should I spare your life?"
"Your Majesty, if you spared my life, I would return to my home & remain your obedient servant as long as I lived."
"What would you do if I spared the life of your wife?"
"Your Majesty, if you spared the life of my wife, I would die for you."
So moved was Cyrus by Cagular's words & attitude that he freed them both & returned Cagular to his homeland to serve as its governor under Cyrus.
Upon arriving home, Cagular reminisced about the experience with his wife. "Did you notice the marble at the entrance of his palace? Did you see the tapestry on the walls as we went down the corridor into the throne room? And did you see the throne on which he sat? It must have been made of pure gold."
His wife replied: "I really don’t remember any of that."
"Well," said Cagular in amazement, "What do you remember?"
His wife looked at him & said, "I remember only the face of the man who said he would die for me."
(Adapted from the sermon "The Love of God" by John Redpath, Abingdon Press, 1979)
And this morning I want to talk to you about the one who did die for us.
A. Today is celebrated throughout Christianity as "Palm Sunday," the day on which Jesus' made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
John 12:12-13 tells us that a "great crowd" came out to meet Him, waving palm branches, shouting, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the King of Israel!" Oh, it was a spectacular day!
His arrival set off such a celebration that the leading Pharisees of Jerusalem exclaimed, "Look how the whole world has gone after him!" (John 12:19)
Because of this, for the next few days the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Herodians, & the chief priests tried again & again to trap Jesus with trick questions hoping to turn the people against Him. But failing to do that, they decided that Jesus had to die.
Bribing Judas to betray Him, late at night he led the Temple Guards to the Garden at Gethsemane where Jesus had gone to pray. Offering no resistance, Jesus surrendered Himself to them & was taken first to the house of Annas, the old High Priest, & then to the home of Caiaphas, the new High Priest, where members of the Sanhedrin had gathered to put Jesus on trial.
Despite the fact that holding a trial at night was illegal under Jewish law, for the rest of that night Jesus had to endure scorn & abuse heaped upon Him during the illegal trial before the Jewish Sanhedrin.
The false witnesses testifying against Jesus didn't agree, but Caiaphas, the High Priest, was so full of hatred that he declared they didn’t need witnesses because Jesus had incriminated himself by calling himself the Son of God.
But since only Roman authorities could order the death penalty, shortly after daybreak they took Him to the Roman governor, Pilate, accusing Jesus of seeking to incite the people to rebellion. But Pilate wasn’t fooled by their accusations.
B. Luke 23:13 24 tells us: "Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers & the people, & said to them, 'You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebel¬lion. I have examined Him in your presence & have found no basis for your charges against Him.
“Neither has Herod, for he sent Him back to us; as you can see, He has done nothing to deserve death. Therefore, I will punish Him & then release Him.'
"With one voice they cried out, 'Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!' (Barabbas had been thrown into prison for an insurrection in the city, & for murder.)
"Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. But they kept shouting, 'Crucify Him! Crucify Him!'
"For the third time he spoke to them: 'Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in Him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have Him punished & then release Him.'
"But with loud shouts they insistently demanded that He be crucified, & their shouts prevailed. So Pilate decided to grant their demand. He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection & murder, the one they asked for, & surrendered Jesus to their will"
ILL A poet once wrote, "Of all the words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these, 'It might have been.'" If that is true, then one of the most tragic words in human language must be the word "almost."
"Almost" speaks of aborted opportunities & missed chances. And I'm sure that as long as this world exists, "almost" will dot the pages of human history. "I almost climbed the mountain." "We almost reached our goal." "I almost closed the deal." "We almost got there in time." We have all had those "almost" experiences.
C. I suppose that the most infamous "almoster" in history would have to be Pilate who almost released Jesus. He almost banged the gavel & said, "I dismiss the charges because this man is innocent." He almost set Him free.
He had the authority to do it. He wore the signet ring that proclaimed he had the power to do it. All he had to do was speak decisively, & Jesus would have been free.
What a change that would have made in our perception of Pilate. Why, we might be calling him "St. Pilate" today. He almost did it, you see. But he didn't. Yet he could have, & that is his tragedy.
D. Verse 23 says, "But with loud shouts they insistently demanded that He be crucified, & their shouts prevailed. So Pilate decided to grant their demand." He listened to their voices. We could say that he listened to the voice of Satan.
We've heard such voices, too, voices saying, "Go on - do it! No one will ever know!" Satan beckons us into paths we should not go.
E. But Pilate didn't have to listen to those voices. There were other voices he could have listened to.
1. He could have listened to his wife who sent a note that said, "Don't have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of Him" (Matthew 27:19). He could have listened to her voice. And he almost did.
2. He could have listened to his own conscience. Pilate was no dummy. He knew what was going on. He knew that Annas & Caiaphas, the chief priests, were corrupt & greedy. He knew they were lying about Jesus. He could have listened to his own conscience. He almost did, but then he didn't.
APPL. Pilate is not the only one who has played the game of "almost." Some of us have played that game, too. "Preacher, I almost made the decision today, I almost accepted Christ today." "I almost said, 'Here I am, Lord, use me.'"
But the Bible clearly teaches that there are no "almosts" with God. There is no "almost" heaven, no "almost" place where we can go. It is either heaven or hell. And Pilate's tragedy could be our tragedy too.
I. "JESUS, KING OF THE JEWS!"
So when we open our Bible & continue reading about Jesus, we read about a crucifixion. Even though Pilate came close to freeing Jesus, he didn't do it.
So, as we view that scene we see soldiers going about their tasks. They were used to crucifying people. They had done it many times before.
First, they laid the crosses down upon the ground. Then they placed Jesus & the two thieves upon them, driving sharp spikes through their hands & feet. Then they hoisted the rough wooden crosses into the air & dropped them into the holes that had held crosses before.
B. You would think that by now the chief priests Annas & Caiaphas would have been satisfied. But there was something about the sign placed on the cross that angered them. It read, "Jesus, King of the Jews."
Once again they rushed into the presence of Pilate, protesting the wording of the sign. But this time Pilate refuses their request, saying, "What I have written, I have written. The sign stays. 'Jesus, King of the Jews.'"
C. So Jesus hangs between heaven & earth. Looking through tears & blood He could see the faces of the people who had gathered around Him. It was an unusually large crowd, perhaps, for there were no football games or soccer matches to watch in that day. So some went to watch the crucifixions.
And as we view that scene we look for a friendly face, someone we might recognize. Where was Peter? Surely Peter would be there, but Peter is not there, nor James nor Andrew nor Bartholomew.
The Roman soldiers whose job it was to crucify the prisoners were there just in case someone tried to interfere, but their attention was focused on casting lots to see who would get His robe.
II. "FATHER, FORGIVE THEM!"
A. The gospels tell us that Jesus spoke 7 times on the cross. Three times he spoke before the darkness came beginning with, "Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34)
"Father, forgive the soldier who drove the nails into my hands & feet. Forgive Pilate who found me innocent, but sentenced me to die anyway. Forgive Annas & Caiaphas & the Sanhedrin. Yes Father, forgive them all."
I don't know if we could ever pray that kind of prayer. Sometimes we have a hard time getting along with our neighbors. Sometimes we even have a hard time forgiving our spouses, or our children.
But Jesus taught us to pray, "Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us." (Matthew 6:12)
Then He responded to one of the thieves & said, "Today you shall be with me in Paradise." (Luke 23:43) He also looked at Mary, His mother, & John, the apostle, & said, "'Dear woman, here is your son,' & to the disciple, 'Here is your mother." (John 19:26-27)
B. Suddenly darkness covered the earth. The winds started to blow. Light¬ning & thunder rolled across the sky, & even the ground began to shake. And when the storm was at its height, Jesus cried out, "Eloi, eloi, lama sabachthini?" (Matt. 27:46)
Those who were closest heard what He said. "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" "Why have you left me alone?" At that moment the sins of this world your sins & mine caused God the Father to turn His face from His Son.
C. Then the darkness lifted, & 3 more cries came from His lips, "I thirst," "It is finished," & "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." (Luke 23:46) Then it is all over.
The greatest victory had been won. On a hill that looked like a skull, outside of Jerusalem, everything God had worked for & planned was finally realized in the death & burial &, three days later, in the resurrection of Jesus.
III. THE MESSAGE OF CALVARY
A. You know, there is probably nothing more consistent about life than its inconsistencies.
ILL. The world says: "Life is like a tossed salad. You stick in your fork & you never know for sure what you're going to get."
The world says: "Life is like a roller coaster with its ups & downs & twists & turns, & you never really know what will happen next."
B. But if there is one very strong message that comes to us from Calvary, it is that God is able to take all the inconsist¬encies, all the fragments & pieces of our life & weave them together into a beautiful tapestry, just as He planned.
And that is a message we need to hear. Because one day the sun shines, & the next it rains. One day we think everything is going our way, & the next our world comes crashing down. One moment we're young & healthy, & the next the doctor tells us that he has some bad news for us.
Yet, Jesus says, "It doesn't matter because if you have really committed yourself to Me you will find righteousness, & goodness, & victory - not defeat. You'll find despair replaced with eternal life, because God’s love is the message of Calvary." God’s love for you & for me!
