The Road To Easter
Pt. 5 - Memory Lane
I. Introduction
We are almost there. One more exit and we arrive. We just need to taxi to the gate. Anticipation is coursing through our veins. We lean forward, we gather our belongings, we prepare to jump up and exit the plane. We can't wait to unbuckle the seat belt and bail out of the plane/car even before it stops. The last few miles and last few minutes seem to take the longest. We long for the final destination. But in this journey we can't afford to miss the stops along the way. Jesus' journey to Easter is our focus. The destination holds so much meaning and hope for us that if we aren't careful our drive for that day causes us to miss important moments along the way. We are attempting to pause and reflect on the road Jesus took to get to the empty tomb. What happened on the Tuesday or Thursday before He is raised from the dead? Do you know? Does it matter? Let's walk this road together and see as we head to the Disneyland of our faith . . . Easter!
(SLIDE 2) We have reviewed Palm Sunday and the Triumphal Entry. We talked about Jesus' Monday when He cleansed the temple. We discussed Tuesday. It was the day Jesus hands out hope. On Wednesday we don't really know. On Thursday, He communes with His loved ones.
It is now Friday. Jesus has dreaded this moment. He prays and asks His Father for a different way. His body, so repulsed by what He is about to endure, bursts until His sweat is blood. His prayer time produces a man so bloody and disfigured that He is almost unrecognizable. Fulfilling Isaiah 54:12 which says, "His appearance was beyond recognition as being a man." Judas' betrayal is complete. Delivered with a kiss. Peter has denied Christ. Fake trials have been held. Repeated opportunities for the religious to wake up and recognize Jesus as The Son of God have been tossed aside. A common and convicted criminal by the name of Barabbas is chosen. Jesus is crowned with thorns. Healing stripes have been viciously applied to His back. The heavy crossbeam of His cross has been carried. And all before 9am. We call it "Good Friday!"
Here is what happens:
4:00 to 6:00a.m. - Jesus’ trial before Annas and Caiaphas.
6:00 to 8:00a.m. - Jesus’ trial before Pontius Pilate and Herod. Jesus appears before Pilate, is sent over to Herod, and then back to Pilate where he is sentenced to be crucified.
8:00 to 8:30a.m. - Jesus carries his cross, with Simon of Cyrene’s help, to Golgotha.
9:00a.m. - Jesus is crucified.
9:00 to 9:30a.m. - The soldiers divide Jesus’ clothing. He prays for them.
9:30 to 11:00a.m. - The soldiers watch over the crucifixion and mock Jesus: “He can’t save himself. Come down from there, Son of God.”
11:00a.m. to Noon - Jesus speaks from the cross to the thieves on either side. And to his mother, Mary, and to John, Jesus says, “Woman, here is your son. . . . John, here is your mother.’”
Noon - A three-hour darkness descends upon the land.
Noon to 3:00p.m. - The earth quakes, the temple curtain is torn, and Jesus thirsts but refuses to drink the wine mixed with gall. This would have numbed His senses. A pain killer. He chooses to feel the full effect of what we feel.
3:00p.m. - Jesus dies: “At the ninth hour, Jesus cried out, ‘My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?’” “Jesus said, ‘It is finished,’ and he gave up his spirit.”
Good Friday. Good for who? Us? Without a doubt. Good for Jesus? Not even close! Friday is terrible and beautiful at the same time.
On Friday, you would think we would write down on our card the word - crucified. It is the highlight of the day. It is the highlight of history. It is this singular act of complete and total submission and surrender that is accepted by the Father as the sacrifice for every sin committed or that would be committed including ours. It is His cross that makes it possible for us to find life. If it wasn't for Friday there would be no hope for Sunday. There is not and cannot be a bloodless Gospel. It has been written that "without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins."
What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus! What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. I am responsible for His cross. I am thankful for the cross. I am humbled by His cross. It was His blood shed on the cross that causes the veil of separation to be torn so that I can have access to the Father! Separation is separated.
However, we are slowing down and trying to examine the scenes, moments and sights that are often overlooked. I don't want us to rush past the fact that Jesus dies, but I do want us to examine a moment while He is dying that has implications for us.
Friday - Remembers
Text: Luke 23:39-43 (MSG)
One of the criminals hanging alongside cursed him: “Some Messiah you are! Save yourself! Save us!” But the other one made him shut up: “Have you no fear of God? You’re getting the same as him. We deserve this, but not him—he did nothing to deserve this.”
Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you enter your kingdom.” He said, “Don’t worry, I will. Today you will join me in paradise.”
Two hours into crucifixion and in unfathomable pain. Each breath increasingly more difficult to take. Strength failing. 60 minutes of life left. Final rejection weighing down His soul. Sins of the world being carried and felt. And He remembers. I don't like the fact that He remembers this guy. A criminal. A nobody. A sinner. No chance to act like a Christian. No way to make amends. No way to right his wrongs. I want to view this scene and yell, "Don't waste your breath on him Jesus. Surely with the little energy you have left you could share some incredibly profound, life altering, destiny altering words." And He does! I submit to you that when Jesus struggles to form the words "Don’t worry, I will" that He is making one of His most profound statements from the cross and to us.
Jesus' ability to remember needs to be remembered. ?He hasn't forgotten you. We should be forgotten. We did this to ourselves. We made the choices. In the middle of our most painful moment. We should be forgotten we can't do anything to right this, fix this, correct this. But He remembers us. In the middle of what may feel like torture. Suffering consequences of our own mistake. He remembers us. In the middle of what may feel like your last breath. He remembers you. Even when you can't muster up any strength. When you can't serve. When you can't lift a finger. When you can't do any work towards a solution. Can’t worship. He remembers you. When you think you are too far gone and can't make it right. He remembers you!
Crucifixion lifts the burden of our sin. His ability to remember us lifts the burden of perfection. ?
His ability to remember us lifts the crushing weight of earning righteousness. His ability to remember helps us to remember that salvation is not obtained by works lest any man should boast. His ability to remember shakes loose the chains of living up to a level of goodness to get His attention and His acceptance. This simple statement . . . "He remembers us" is the death of effort. The death of works. The death of earning it. Jesus remembers a criminal that could do nothing to be saved except believe.
The good news of the cross is not just that He saves us. The good news of the cross that we need to slow down long enough to celebrate is His ability to see us! I think so many, perhaps too many of us, who have viewed crucifixion so many times only focus on His salvation and we fail to remember His memory! HE REMEMBERS US! Rest easy today. He remembers you. Rest in His ability to remember.
You may ask why knowing about His ability to remember us is so important? I want you to notice one other thing from this scene.
Jesus doesn't rescue this man. He doesn't miraculously intervene so that this man is pulled off of the cross by a legion of angels. He could have. One word would have done the job. One nod of His thorn crowned head and angels would have swooped in and broken the nails that held the criminal to the cross like toothpicks. But that doesn't happen and because it doesn't there is a truth we don't like but we need to know.
Even if we aren't rescued, we are remembered! We need to know this because when we embrace this truth we discover that we can endure the cross of consequences. We can endure the cross of sickness. We can endure the cross of suffering because we know that the King of Kings remembers us. We need to remember that He remembers. He sees us. He is with us. The criminal makes a simple request . . . “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” Notice, he addresses Jesus as Lord. This is why we talk about accepting Christ as more than a savior. We must make Him Lord. It is only those who submit to Him as Lord who are able to hang on regardless of rescue. It is when we make Him Lord that we can rest in His assurances and promises! Those who only know Him as savior will become angry when He chooses not to rescue. Those who know Him as Lord surrender to His memory being enough. When He is recognized as Lord we learn to submit to His choices over our preferences!
"Lord." It was the thief. His face swollen, his eyes dark and vision blurred, every breath a struggle. Certainly these would be among the last words the thief would be able to utter. The tone in his voice was different. "I ask one thing of you, Lord. Is it possible, in that moment of your triumph, when you enter into your kingdom, is it possible that You might . . . remember me?"
It isn't recorded like this but I can hear Jesus' response. "Remember you?" "How can I possibly forget you. You are the first of my salvation. You are my first conquest over death. You, above all others, are the first evidence of my redemption. How can I forget you?"
“Jesus, remember me when you enter your kingdom.” He said, “Don’t worry, I will.” This exchange gives us a glimpse into the ultimate depth of grace.
Jesus cannot and will not forget you. He gave His life for you! He is mind full of you at every moment. He is constantly praying for you! Remember you? How could He possibly forget you? He did what He did on Friday. He endured what He did on Friday for you! Rest in His ability to remember. Some of you who have trusted His blood need to learn to trust His memory!
