When Jesus Won
Text: Luke 23:33-46 - And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots. And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also with them derided him, saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God. And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, and offering him vinegar, And saying, If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself. And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise. And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.
Introduction : Today I want to talk about -- thank you ushers, you may be seated -- I want to talk about "When Jesus Won". The American Standard Bible says of this text " And when they came unto the place which is called The skull, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand and the other on the left. And Jesus said, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And parting his garments among them, they cast lots. And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also scoffed at him, saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if this is the Christ of God, his chosen. And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, offering him vinegar, and saying, If thou art the King of the Jews, save thyself. And there was also a superscription over him, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. And one of the malefactors that were hanged railed on him, saying, Art not thou the Christ? save thyself and us. But the other answered, and rebuking him said, Dost thou not even fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said, Jesus, remember me when thou comest in thy kingdom. And he said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, to-day shalt thou be with me in Paradise. And it was now about the sixth hour, and a darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, the sun’s light failing: and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. And Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said this, he gave up the ghost. " When Jesus Won.
My brothers and sisters, saints and sinners, bond and free, children of the most high, and of you that love the Lord. I greet you in the powerful matchless name of Jesus. As we uncover the mystery of this text, I pray that you will with open hearts, with open spirits, ,with open minds and listen with me as the Lord dialog with us a word from the heaven. The word is rich with instruction, wisdom encouragement, enlightenment, and correction. There is a word from the Lord. Let us look as this text.
What an excruciating time for our Lord as he anticipated His crucifixion. His experience in the garden presents to us a picture of a man prepared to face His ultimate test.
Jesus’ Father placed upon His shoulder the sins of the world and under its weight He yet pressed on to accomplish what only God could do: save the world from itself.
To think that Jesus, God incarnate, died on the cross of Calvary goes beyond comprehension. He suffered, brutality, torture, and pain in order to buy you and I from Satan and his devilish plan. Nothing would, more less nothing could stop Him or hinder the path in which he walk. He had no choice but to do it. The only way men would know how much He cared for them, was through the love he showed through giving Himself.
I. The first five verses of this text reveals to us the CHARACTERS ON THE SCENE. Our Savior, the main character of this specific point of time, suffered in the face of those who did not care how much pain he endured. The most vital fact is the one that they did not realize. They did not realize that the man that they were killing was no ordinary man; He was God incarnate. A view of the people at the cross presents to us a panorama or a scene of humanity. On both sides of Jesus were what the traditional King James Version calls malefactors more commonly called today, criminals, crooks, scoundrels, villains, felons, gangsters, thugs, lawbreakers, outlaws. Not only were they criminals, but there was Roman soldiers there at the foot of the cross, bargaining for the Master’s robes. John 19 :23 speaks of how they marveled at its seamless one price design . The psalmists declared "They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture." (Ps. 22:18). They ridiculed Him as they offered Him cheap wine and nailed to His cross an inscription above His head that mocked him as the "KING OF THE JEWS". The religious leaders who were indirectly responsible for this act against an innocent man were there at the foot of the cross. They joked at his ability to rescue himself. But what they didn’t know was that Jesus had a legion of angels at his disposal to use however he saw fit whether to destroy them so they would die with him, rescue him and let the people die or to let him die so that we might live. These people mocked him and yet he died so that we might live. These people mocked him and yet he did not grumble, mumble or complain, but He did it in a loving forgiving pure spirit. How could Jesus love such hatred? How could he forgive such heartless rebellion? What could he see that deserved forgiveness? In the statement : "Father forgive them for they know not what they do," there is a great gem that Christians must realize. Jesus forgave on account of their ignorance.
II. After showing us those around the cross, Luke shows us TWO THIEVES WHO HUNG ON THEIR CRISS FOR THEIR WRONGS. This draws our attention back to the gruesome scene of Calvary. We can’t forget that there are two on either side of Jesus. Both convicts, both legally and justly condemned to death, both harsh and cruel, deserving recipients of their fate. But there is a difference in the two. As one joined in with those who mocked Jesus and challenged him to deliver all of the other in some way realized the true identity of Jesus. And yet, while hanging upon his curse, standing on thresh-holes of eternity he understood Jesus was going into his own paradise. His plea was not for another chance, another opportunity, but just to be remembered. And at the last moment his faith was rewarded there in paradise, in the bosom of Abraham, the lodging place of God Almighty.
III. Finally Luke shows us THE RELATIONSHIP OF JESUS AND THE FATHER. Until now, each and every cry from the cross that were uttered by Christ concerned the needs of others. As the day progressed and became darkened, Jesus looked to His Father and commended to Him His spirit. As life left His feeble body, nature responded to her master’s death with the sun shined darkness in mid-day to mourn his death, the moon dripped blood, the stars fell from their socket, the elements went crazy to mourn the passing of their Lord. At the temple the veil that separated you and I from a most high God, was torn from top to bottom. The Hebrew writer penned "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." One of the centurions and many standing by after witnessing the events of the crucifixion and nature’s from the norm, rcognized that they had crucified an innocent man.
Conclusion : That my friend is when Jesus won!
