A Few People Meet the Savior
We’ve been walking to the cross over the last three Sundays now we’re finally there. Watching some clips from the Jesus video has helped us, and we’re going to watch another one tonight.
Clip #1: The Reality of Christ’s Death
The first clip we’re going to look at is the Reality of Christ’s Death. It’s now Thursday night. Jesus has just finished having dinner with his closest followers. The camera zooms in to capture the resolve on the face of Jesus and the look of fear and confusion on the faces of his disciples. Jesus announces that one of his dinner guests, one of his closest friends, is about to betray Him. The camera follows Jesus now as He goes into a garden to pray. He’s praying fervently as He sweats drops of blood on the rocks in front of Him. When He’s done, He looks up to see a crowd armed with swords and clubs coming to arrest Him.
The camera now starts to bounce up and down in the commotion. Jesus is rushed to a makeshift trial and condemned to die. Some begin to spit on Him. Others blindfold Him and hit Him with their fists; asking Jesus to guess who it is that is hitting Him. The guards then take Him and beat Him some more.
Early on Friday morning, the religious leaders reach a decision to send Jesus to a governor named Pilate. Pilate is hesitant to do anything to Jesus, but gives in to the clamor of the crowd. The camera again shows the mob of people, now agitated and screaming, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”
Jesus is then taken by the soldiers, stripped of His clothes, and tied to a wooden pole where he is beaten with a whip -- sharp jagged pieces of bone and lead come crashing down on Jesus with every stroke. The soldiers take turns lashing his bare back with the whip, tearing into the flesh with every hit.
Jesus is now bleeding profusely with multiple lacerations exposing muscles, ligaments, and blood vessels. One of the soldiers takes off his purple cloak and puts it over Jesus’ shoulders. Another quickly puts together a crown of sharp thorns to mimic the wreath that Caesar wore and jams it onto his head -- the thorns are as sharp and as sturdy as spikes. The camera graphically shows the blood running down his head to mingle with the blood that already covers the rest of His body.
But, the soldiers aren’t finished yet. Next they place a reed in his right hand to look like a scepter and even kneel down before Him to mock Him as king -- as they get up from kneeling, they spit at Him in His face. Someone then grabs the scepter and begins to beat Him on the head; others beat Him in the face with their fists.
All this took place before 8:00 Friday morning! But, things were going to get much worse. It was customary to make a prisoner carry his own crossbar to the place of execution. But, since Jesus is so weak from the terrible beating, the soldiers grab someone out of the crowd to carry the 100 pound piece of timber the 1/2 mile or so to the execution site.
The guy running the camera is out in front of the crowd so he can capture the processional as they make their way to a hill outside Jerusalem. It’s a grim scene. Jesus is bloody and exhausted as he stumbles along the rough cobblestone.
They finally arrive at a place called Golgotha. The soldiers take off Jesus’ clothes and offer him something to numb the pain but he refuses. He’s fully conscious as they throw Him to the ground and position Him on the cross. A 5-7” spike is nailed through each of his wrists -- the man running the camera has to turn away. His feet are then crossed and a spike is driven through them. The cross is raised by at least 4 soldiers and positioned in the right place.
The callous soldiers sit down, indifferent to what is going on -- they had seen all this before. They throw some dice to see who gets to keep Jesus’ clothes. This first clip ends as the camera records people insulting Christ and making fun of Him while He hangs on the cross.
Clip #2: The Results of His Death
The first clip depicts the Reality of His death. The second clip shows two Results of His death.
The Bible records two incidents that happened when Jesus died. The first is a sound bite that Jesus utters from the cross. He’s been on the cross for about six hours now. The soldiers have been assigned to keep watch. Just before Jesus dies, He cries out in John 19:30, “It is Finished!”
What is finished? What does this mean? The term Jesus used was a common phrase from the world of finance and banking. When someone would borrow some money and then pay it back, the banker would use this term to declare that the debt had been paid off. Literally, it means, “Paid in Full.” The payment had been made.
When Jesus died on the cross, He paid the price for us. Jesus took our moral liabilities and stamped “Paid in Full” across the ledger sheet of our life. Our sin debt has been forgiven. Because of our moral failures and patterns of sin, each of us deserves to be sentenced for our cosmic crimes against a holy God. Someone needs to pay the price for our sin. The Bible makes it clear that either we pay it -- or someone else needs to.
You see, each one of us have violated God’s standards. Because He is a just God, a penalty has to be paid. God sent His son Jesus to be that payment for each one of us. Jesus died on the cross as our substitute. He paid the price with His life and God accepted His death as full payment for all of our sins.
Result #1 is that we are acquitted -- our debt has been paid in full. The Bible says that Jesus shouted loudly right before He died. It was like a victory shout. The sacrifice had been made. His final cry from the cross was not a cry of despair. No. It was a cry of completion, of fulfillment -- this is why He had come to earth. It’s now over. If His hands were not nailed to the cross, He would have thrust a triumphant fist into the air. He then took His last breath.
Matthew 27:51 tells us “At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.” Let me explain. The temple is where people used to go to pray and offer animal sacrifices to God.
There were different parts to the temple. The most holy place was called the holy of holies. A thick curtain separated this inner sanctuary from the outer area. This curtain was not an ordinary curtain -- it was 60 feet long and 30 feet high and about two inches thick. It was said that it took 300 priests just to install it.
Only one person, the high priest, was allowed to even go into this area of the temple -- and then only one time a year to offer a major sacrifice for his people. The whole structure emphasized the remoteness of God and the difficulty of gaining access to Him.
Hold on now -- stay with me. When Jesus died, this 60 x 30 foot curtain was torn in two -- from top to bottom, signifying that it was God Himself who tore it in half. Now, instead of just one person having access to God once a year, the way to God stands wide open to everyone, on every day of the year.
Result #1 is our acquittal. Result #2 is open access to God. Everything has been paid in full -- we have been declared free and forgiven. And, we now have an open avenue to God -- we can access Him at any time. Friends, all this is possible now through the death of Christ!
The Reality of the death of Christ is that it really happened. There are at least two Results of his death -- acquittal and open access. Now, let’s take a look at 4 different Responses to the death of Christ. These responses are evident in the various people who witnessed Jesus die that Friday afternoon.
Clip #3: The Responses to the Death of Christ
1 - The Scoffers
The Scoffers make up group #1. Luke 23:35 records that they said things like, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.” They were indignant. They wanted to give Jesus a hard time -- now was their chance while he was hanging on the cross.
Peter, who had denied Jesus just hours before, wrote about this scene in 1 Peter 2:23: “When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats. Instead, He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly.” These scoffers launched a verbal assault. They strung their bows with self-righteousness and launched stinging arrows of pure poison.
Jesus could have retaliated by saying, “Come up here and say that to my face,” or, “Just wait till after the Resurrection, buddy! I’m coming back for you.” He didn’t do that. His body was wracked with pain, his eyes blinded by his own blood, his lungs gasping for air and yet, amazingly, He prayed in Luke 23:24, “Father, forgive them for they don’t know what they’re doing.” If ever a person deserved a shot at revenge, Jesus did. But He didn’t take a shot at the scoffers -- instead, He died for them.
2 - The Spectators
In Group #2 we find the Spectators. These people were attracted to the execution. As they walked past the scene, they saw the “gaper’s block” and pulled over. Just like we slow down to take a look at an accident when we’re driving, this group of people was content to just watch, but they were indifferent to what was going on -- at least when they first came on the scene.
The Bible says that as they watched, they began to drift away, one by one. Luke 23:48: “When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and walked away.” When someone beat their breast in the first century, it was a sign of guilt and remorse. Their indifference had been replaced with feelings of guilt. As they watched what Jesus went through, maybe they began to realize their role in putting Him on the cross. They came to witness a show, but they left with feelings of woe.
3 - The Seekers
There weren’t many people in group #3 -- I call them the Seekers. In fact, we know from reading the different Gospel reports that really only 2 people fit in this category -- one was a thief who was nailed to the cross next to Jesus. The other was the captain of the soldiers. He was called a centurion, meaning that he was in command of up to 100 Roman soldiers.
The centurion witnessed the scourging, the mocking, the spitting, the crucifixion, the indignant scoffers, and the indifferent spectators. He heard everything that Jesus said on the Cross, heard His last cry, and watched Him die. He was deeply impressed. He had never seen anything like this before! He was moved and drawn to the Savior.
He was intrigued by what He saw. You see, he started out viewing Jesus as an ordinary criminal. But, he watched and listened. He investigated. His closed mind was starting to open. He began to seek, to question, to wonder. And, as he processed everything, he changed his mind on the basis of some new evidence. Jesus was no ordinary criminal -- He died as a triumphant hero.
Mark 15:39 records the response of this battle-scarred soldier: “And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how He died, he said, ‘Surely, this man was the Son of God!’”
Max Lucado wrote a book called Six Hours One Friday. Listen to how he captures what may have been going on inside the centurion that afternoon:
He was uneasy. He had been since noon. It wasn’t the deaths that troubled him...he’d mastered the art of numbing his heart. But this crucifixion plagued him. Half the crowd taunted, half cried. The soldiers griped. As the hours wore on, the centurion found himself looking more and more at the one on the center cross. He didn’t know what to do with [his] silence or with his kindness. Suddenly the center head ceased to bob. It yanked itself erect. It’s eyes opened in a flash of white. A roar sliced the silence."It is finished.”It wasn’t a yell. It wasn’t a scream. It was a roar...a lion’s roar. He looked up into the face of the one near death. The King looked down at the crusty old centurion. Jesus’ hands were fastened -- they couldn’t reach out. His feet were nailed to timber -- they couldn’t walk toward him. His head was heavy with pain, he could scarcely move it. But his eyes...they were afire. They were unquenchable. They were the eyes of God. Perhaps that’s what made the centurion say what he said. He had seen the eyes of God. (167-170)
Instead of being an indignant scoffer who walked away unchanged or an indifferent spectator who walked away with some guilt, the centurion was a seeker who was intrigued by Jesus. He hung around long enough to reach a conclusion about who Jesus was -- and when he reached his conclusion, he wasn’t afraid to shout it out: Jesus was the Son of God!
4 - The Saved
There was a fourth group present the day Jesus died -- they were the Saved. They were the friends and followers of Jesus. They were probably scared when they first got there so the camera shows them watching from a distance. But, as time goes on, the camera shows them moving closer to the Cross. As they understood more of what was happening, I’m sure some of them realized that this was exactly what Jesus had predicted would take place.
They began to see it clearly now. He had to die in order for them to be acquitted from their sins. He had to die in order to give them access to God the Father. They were now intent to take it all in.
He’s Dying to Reach You
Friend, which group best describes where you’re at in your spiritual journey this evening? Are you an indignant scoffer? Are you determined to launch a volley of attacks at the Savior? Do you have something against Him?
Are you an indifferent spectator? Are you just kind of hanging around? Then, when you feel some guilt, will you just walk away?
Are you an intrigued seeker? Are you interested in Jesus? Do you find yourself drawn to Him?
Or, are you in the camp of the intently saved? Are you a follower of Christ but have grown distant from Him? What will it take to move you closer to Christ?
That’s really the question for each of us tonight. What will it take to move us closer to Christ? The centurion started out as an indignant scoffer who became an indifferent spectator. As he watched, he became an intrigued seeker. By his bold confession, he may have become a recipient of salvation that afternoon. In other words, because of the reality of the death of Christ, and his declaration of faith in Jesus as the Son of God, he may have activated his acquittal and access to God.
Friend, you can’t be passive about this one. There’s something about the Crucifixion of Christ that made every witness either step toward the cross or move away from it. It compelled some and repelled others. The scoffers and spectators walked away from the Cross. The seekers and the saved took a step closer.
Don’t remain in neutral this evening. A choice is required. The Cross won’t allow you to sit on the fence. You’ll either walk away or take a step closer. What’s it going to be? Jesus is dying to reach you -- do you have the courage to change your mind like the centurion did? Jesus is reaching out to you -- if you’ll listen, you’ll hear Him call your name.
Someone told me about a billboard they saw recently. On it was a picture of Jesus on the Cross, His head bowed. In big, bold letters, the caption read: “IT’S YOUR MOVE!”
Friends, He’s done it all for you -- it’s now your move. Why don’t you move one step closer to the Cross right now?
If you’re a scoffer, why don’t you take a step closer and become a spectator?
If you’re a spectator, why don’t you take a step closer and become a seeker?
If you’re a seeker, maybe it’s time for you to become saved.
If you’re saved, it’s time for you to come closer to the cross and surrender.
We’re going to walk to the Cross right now. You’ve been given a spike and a piece of paper with the words, “My Sins” on it. We’re going to walk up to the cross and, using the nail you received and the hammers down on the floor, we’re going to nail “our sins” to the Cross right now.
