Three Men Were On Their Way To Hell
Easter 4/30/2000 Luke 23:32-43 Matthew 28:1-15
Their mothers had told them time and time again, "Child if you don’t change, you’re heading for a world of trouble. There is no such thing as easy money." No doubt when the two guys got together they laughed and made fun of the narrow views of their parents. Why should they have to work an 8 to 5 when they could get money the old fashioned easy way. They simply beat up somebody and took it. They were too good to get caught.
One of the most painful experiences a loving parent endures is watching their children make mistake after mistake heading in the wrong direction. When your child is suspended from school it hurts. When your child is sent to the juvenile detention center, it hurts. When your child is sent off to prison it hurts. When your child’s marriage falls apart it hurts. When your child is hooked on drugs it hurts. The greatest risk of being a parent is the unknown pain a child will bring into your life.
But the flip side of it is that a child can bring a tremendous amount of joy and celebration as well. It feels good when a teacher tells you what a blessing it is to have your child in the classroom. It feels good when your child is making some good decisions for his or her life. It feels good when your child lands that first good full time job. It feels good to be able to go to sleep at night knowing that all is well with your child, whether they are 8, 38, 48, 58 or even 68 years old. Your child is always your child.
God knows what its like to be in a good relationship with His children and He knows what its like to have children who are wild and disobedient. As we look around us today, and we see a host of beautiful faces dressed in beautiful clothing, some of us are smart and honest enough to admit, we are not nearly as beautiful on the inside as we are on the outside. We are here at church, not because of our perfection or even our desire to be perfect. We are here at church because we recognize, we have failed God, we have failed each other, and we have even failed ourselves in the standards set before us.
Easter is not about the beauty and perfection of the saints, but rather about the love and the mercy of God. God tells us that every one of us has made the decision to reject His plan for our lives in order to do our own thing. Sometimes we know the right thing to do, but that often is not enough to make us do it. We like to think of doing our own thing as an expression of our freedom. True freedom is not doing whatever you want to do. True freedom is knowing how to make the most of the situation with the rules in place.
For instance, if you’re in one of those big airplanes, you are free to do all kinds of things as long as you follow the rules. Now you can say, this airplane is to confining, I want to be free. Let me go out and sit on the wing and express myself. Well you’re going to find out that when you open that door to get out to go on the wing, the air pressure will suck you out of the plane and grant you freedom to fly through the air until you hit the ground. There is a price to pay for the wrong kind of freedom.
There is a price to pay spiritually when we choose the wrong kind of freedom. People like to talk about how God loves everybody. That’s true, God does love everybody. You can be the politest, kind hearted, and most loving person known to anybody, and God loves you. You can be strung out on drugs and robbing people left and right to pay for your habit, and God loves you. You can be sitting on death row for committing some of the more horrendous crimes imaginable, and God loves you.
But the fact that God loves us not enough. The message of Easter can be summed up in about 4 verses. It is John 3:16-19 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.
Jesus is the Only Son God has who could save me and can save you. This passage lets us know that all the people that God loves, the good, the bad and the in between are already condemned to death and destruction. The key to escape the spiritual consequences of choosing to do our own thing, is not found in trying to be a better person, but rather in knowing who Jesus is and believing on Him. One of the things that separates Jesus from all other people is that Jesus never did anything wrong. He was human, but keep in mind God was His Father. Jesus never did anything except what His heavenly Father wanted Him to do.
All wrong doing has the penalty of physical and spiritual death attached to it. The only way to pay the price for death was to have someone who had never sinned offer their life as a sacrifice of holiness to God. You see even though God loves us, because God is holy, God cannot simply look the other way when we stand in His presence. Without Jesus Christ standing on our behalf, we will be condemned not by God but by our own lives.
Our past will testify against us that we chose to do our own thing over being obedient to God. If you’re alive today, the question is not will you be condemned. For we are all already condemned. The question is will we accept God’s way out of the mess we are in. If not we are headed for the lake of fire which was originally prepared for the devil and his angels. But all of us who insist on doing our own thing, will eventually inherit this place of torment and pain, because our names will not be written in the book of life.
Remember those fellows who would not listen to their mothers. Who felt it was good to get money the old fashioned way. Well I can imagine that when Palm Sunday came, they must have been impressed with all the people who were lining the streets to see Jesus. One probably said to the other, "man this is the opportunity of a life time. Look at all these people going after Jesus. Do you know what this means."
"The other one smiled and said, "yes, let’s get going. We can probably hit a number of houses with all these people gone. We can get us enough loot to retire on thanks to good ole Jesus." They probably went from house to house collecting stuff. Only at one house, they thought was empty that probably wasn’t. "A voice calls out, Hey what are you doing in my house." One of the robbers, smacks the home owner from behind with a large bowl. The guy falls to the floor unconscious. The two robbers run from the scene of the crime, but not before somebody coming back from the Psalm Sunday crowd see them running.
People come back to their homes and again and again you hear the words. "hey I’ve been robbed." Now the thieves were sure they had gotten away with their plan. Boy did they owe a lot to Jesus for getting people out of their homes. But before they got to enjoy their stash, the man who had been knocked unconscious came to and was able to talk with the guy who had seen the robbers running. Well it was not long before they put 2 and 2 together and the roman soldiers came and arrested them.
The trial was over after the testimony of the people who had been robbed, the account of the man knocked unconscious, and the man who saw them running. Other people who had been robbed and beaten by this dynamic duo in the past probably also came and gave testimony. The judge had no mercy or sympathy whatsoever. They were condemned to be executed on the following day by crucifixion. Their mother’s prophecies had come true. Their easy money had finally caught up with them.
Crucifixion was a form of punishment reserved by the Romans for criminals of the worst type; it was exceptionally shameful and painful, and represented the most disgraceful death anyone could die. A whole would be dug into the ground for a cross to be placed in. Some say the cross was placed flat on the ground; that the prisoner was nailed before it was dropped into the hole prepared to receive it. The sudden jarring to every nerve and sinew in the body made it necessary for a small footrest to be attached to the main step of the cross.
“The crucified usually lived twelve hours, sometimes even until the second or third day. The fever which soon set in produced a burning thirst. The increasing inflammation of the wounds in the back, hands, and feet; the congestion of the blood in the head, lungs, and heart; the swelling of every vein, an indescribable oppression, racking pains in the head; the stiffening of the limbs, caused by the unnatural position of the body-these all united to make the punishment”
When the excruciating agony of a body tearing on the nails made the pain unbearable, the crucified could ease the strain momentarily by pressing, as best he could, on the small ledge beneath his feet. They came with an iron bar to smash the legs of the crucified, and thereby making it impossible for any alleviation of agony. Thus death was hastened, and the removal of the bodies before sunset made possible.
That morning if you had been there, you would have seen three men being led out to be crucified. I can imagine a father wanting to keep his son from choosing the wrong path may have said to his son, "Now son, there goes three men on their way to hell. You do not want to end up like that."
That father would have been correct, "There were on that Good Friday some 2000 years ago, three men on there way to hell.. We are here today though because only two of three actually made it to hell. Who were three. All we know is that one was named Jesus, and the other two were convicted criminal number 1 and convicted criminal number 2.
Now convicted criminal number one had on thing in mind as he was suffering the pain on the cross. He wanted to get down from there no matter what. Now he recognized Jesus hanging there on the cross. He may have been thinking, if only Jesus had of held service a little longer on Palm Sunday I never would have gotten caught. You ever met anybody like him. Nothing was ever their fault. If only somebody else had of done this or done that, they would not be in this predicament. This man is on his way to hell and does not even recognize it.
He looked at Jesus and said, "Brother what is your problem. Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and get us down from here too while you’re at it." Notice there is no desire to follow Jesus or his teachings. All he wants to do is to save His skin. When he sees he’s not going to get any help from Jesus to keep on doing his thing, he turns against Jesus and joins in with the crowd. Who knows, if he can insult Jesus enough and get enough laughs out of crowd, maybe somebody in the crowd will take him down from the cross.
He died with his fist in the face of a loving God. Basically he was saying, "I’ll do what I want to do to the very end, and there’s nothing you can do about it." You know he was right, God could not do a thing about it. The moment he died, he went to hell for all eternity. Even now he knows the pain and agony of the flames. . It didn’t have a thing to do with how much God loved him because God loved him just as much as God loves us. It was based on his choice to reject the plan God had for him to escape.
Criminal number two, at first he too made some insults at Jesus. But the longer he looked at Jesus, the more there was a change taking place inside of Him. When he heard Jesus say, "Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing." He began to think how two people with so very different lifestyles could end up on the same hill being crucified together. He must have heard Jesus preaching before and for the first time its all coming together. Jesus is not on this cross because of the wrong that Jesus did. Jesus is on the cross because of the wrong I and others like myself had done.
He told criminal number 1, "Hey man, don’t you realize how close we are to dying and you’re getting an attitude. Aren’t you the least bit afraid of God especially since we both know this is it. We are going to die. Now you and I both know we’re guilty of our crimes and we’re getting exactly what our deeds deserve. But this man had done no wrong.
I can imagine the other robber shouting back, "Aw man I don’t want to hear that. If he can’t get me down from this cross, there’s nothing he can do for me." Criminal number 2 lasts words to Jesus was, remember me when you come into your kingdom. Jesus told him, "you don’t have a thing to worry about it, today you will be with me in paradise.
I want you to notice something about criminal #2. First of all he admitted that he had done wrong and was not paying the price for his wrongdoing. Sometimes we are going to get caught and pay a price for it in this life. The second thing about criminal #2 was he recognized there was still yet another price he was going to have to pay before God. He had the wisdom to recognize he could not pay it on his own. He didn’t say, "well I’m being crucified just like Jesus. God I offer up to you my life as a sacrifice for the wrong I have done." He understood, that he was spiritually condemned already and his only hope was to put his faith and his confidence in Jesus.
There was nothing he could offer to God to earn his salvation or to bribe God by promising to do good if God would do this for him. God loved this criminal just as much as He loved the first one. When this criminal died asking God for mercy, God’s Hands were tied. There was nothing God could do but receive Him, because God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. God had committed himself to giving eternal life to those who would receive Jesus
Jesus told him, today you will be with me in paradise. This means even though criminal #2 was on his way to hell, He never made it. He left this world not as criminal #2 but as 1st Child Of God converted by Christ while hanging on a cross.
The third person on a cross that afternoon on his way to hell was Jesus of Nazareth. Just before Jesus died, from 12:00 to 3:00 in the afternoon the sun stopped shining, then the temple curtain ripped, and the earth started to shake and rocks started coming up out of the ground. Jesus cried with a loud voice "It is Finished, Father Into Thy Hands I Commit My Spirit." When Jesus died, he died and He went to hell to pay the penalty necessary to release us from being condemned. Peter tells us that Jesus preached to the spirits of those who hell was holding in prison from the time of Noah.
Jesus had the keys to Death and Hell. I believe there was a cell that had my name on it with the door opened waiting for my arrival somewhere in the 21st century. There was a probably a list of my sins there underneath my name. But, but Jesus went over took the list and tore it ups saying, I’m paying this thing in full. And then Jesus took the keys and locked the door to let them know I wouldn’t be coming to this cell after all.
Jesus served notice on hell that he was locking a whole lot of doors, and taking the names off the cells and ripping up at lot more lists. wall because there were a lot of people who would not be showing up. He let Death and Hell know "just because they use to be adulterers or thieves, or pimps, or prostitutes, or liars, or cheaters, or gossipers, or backbiters, or disobedient to parents, or full of evil thoughts, or out there just doing their own thing don’t count on them showing up down here. Just as I saved that guy on the cross, I’m going to rise from the dead and go save a whole lot more. I’m going to establish my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it."
Just before Jesus was resurrected from the dead, the scripture says there was an earthquake. I kind of think that earthquake may be have been caused by Jesus slamming and locking hells doors as He boldly declared, I am leaving this place of the dead and rising back to life. I will not be back here again. I’ am serviving notice that not a single person My Father gives to me will end up this place.
We celebrate Easter not because Jesus simply died and went to hell, but after he got there, he turned that place upside down to make sure we could be able to live right side up. That’s why when the women looked into the tomb they found it empty. Jesus had gone into hell into a spiritual body, but he when He rose from the dead, he picked up his natural body and transformed it into something altogether new.
Jesus’ resurrection is proof that not only does God love us, God is willing to give us the power to live differently from what we have been living. Your marriage does not have to fall to pieces. You do not have to keep getting in trouble at school You can have a better relationship with your parents or with your kids. You don’t have stay hooked on drugs. You can be set free from whatever addiction you may have. You can set some high goals for your life and reach them. You can become far more than you thought possible. You can have God working on your behalf to reach your potential. But its going to be up to you in your decision of what it is that you are going to do with this one who is called Jesus. He makes a difference on both sides of the grave. Three men were on their way to hell one Good Friday afternoon, one made it and stayed. One never reached it. One made it, but marched away victoriously so that all of us could have a choice. Which choice will you make for yourself.
Two others, both criminals, were led out to be executed with him. Finally, they came to a place called The Skull. All three were crucified there—Jesus on the center cross, and the two criminals on either side. Jesus said, "Father, forgive these people, because they don’t know what they are doing." And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice. The crowd watched, and the leaders laughed and scoffed. "He saved others," they said, "let him save himself if he is really God’s Chosen One, the Messiah." The soldiers mocked him, too, by offering him a drink of sour wine. They called out to him, "If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!" A signboard was nailed to the cross above him with these words: "This is the King of the Jews." One of the criminals hanging beside him scoffed, "So you’re the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself—and us, too, while you’re at it!" But the other criminal protested, "Don’t you fear God even when you are dying? We deserve to die for our evil deeds, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom." And Jesus replied, "I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise."
Luke 23:32-43 New Living Translation
Sermon Outline--Pastor Rick
Three Men Were On Their Way To Hell
Easter 4/23/2000 Luke 23:32-43 Matt 28:1-15
I. Sometimes Life Hurts
A. Child If You Don’t Change
B. Making Money The Old Fashioned Way
C. The Ways A Child Can Hurt
D. The Joys Of A Parent
II . The Truth About Us All
A. God And His Children
B. Beauty On The Outside
C. Easter & Perfection
D. Freedom--Rules
E. A Short Airplane Experience
III. The Price Of Spiritual Freedom
A. God Loves All In Between
B. John 3:16-19 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him8 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.
C. Jesus Was Unique
D. The Holiness Of God
E. Who’s Been Condemned
IV. The Crime Takes Place
A. A Palm Sunday Opportunity
B. Two Robbers Go To Work To Work
C. An Unexpected Guess
D. An Arrest, Trial & Sentence
E. The Method Of Crucifixion
F. A Slow Painful Death
V. Three Men Led Away
A. A Father’s Observation
B. Three Men On The Way To Hell
C. Criminal Number One
1) Its Not My Fault
2) Save Yourself & Us
3) I’m Switching Sides
4) Nothing You Can Do
5) Release Into Hell
D. Criminal Number 2
1) Insults At First
2) Something Is Different
3) Now I Understand
4) Getting What I Deserve
5) A Strong Rebuke
6) Admitted His Wrong
7) Knew There Was More
8) His Crucifixion No Help
9) Nothing To Offer
E. God’s Heart Is Opened
1) Jesus Makes A Promise
2) Never Made It To Hell
F. Jesus On The Cross
1) 12-3 Darkness
1) Earthquake & Rocks
2) Into Thy Hands
4) 1 Pet 3:18-19a For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison
1 Pet 3:20 who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built.
G. Jesus Goes To Hell
1) Keys To Death And Hell
2) Our Cell Blocks With Our Sins
3) Don’t Count On They Showing Up
4) The Gates Of Hell Shall Not Prevail
H. Jesus’ Resurrection
1) Turn Things Right Side Up
2) A New Body
I. Things Do Not Have To Be The Same Again
J. Changes Are Possible
K. The Decision Is Up To You
How To Be Saved
Admit You Have Done Wrong
Ask God To Forgive You
Ask Jesus To Come Into Your Life And Pledge To Live By His Rules For Your Life
Thank God For Saving You.
