REFLECTION ON THE CROSS
Each year we come together on Good Friday to praise God and to recall again the wonderful gift of salvation which God wrought fro us through the death of His only begotten Son. This year more people are talking about Easter and about the cross of Christ because of Mel Gibson’s film The Passion of the Christ. Having watched the film I want to say it is gruesome and I found myself moved to tears on several occasions. The film is not 100% biblical but then no film could be. The film tells us how Christ died not why. The Bible tells us why He died and as to the how simply states that He was crucified. This evening I want to spend just a few moments reflecting on the responses of those involved in the crucifixion and then I want to leave time for you to respond to the crucifixion.
SET THE SCENE – the betrayal in the garden, the trial, the denial and the rejection by the people in favour of Barabbas. Christ has been flogged by Pilate and at the behest of the people is now given over to the soldiers to be crucified.
Turn with me to Luke 23 verses 26-49.
The first person we encounter is Simon of Cyrene. Cyrene was some 800 miles from Jerusalem. Simon had travelled a long distance in order to celebrate the Passover there. Now here he is, forced by Roman soldiers to carry the cross of a condemned man. The very fact that Christ’s blood would have fallen on to Simon as they, together, carried the cross meant Simon would become ceremonially unclean. He had travelled 800 miles to celebrate the Passover and now would be unable to do so. Let me read a verse to you from Mark 15.21 read. Whoever Rufus and Alexander were they must have been known to the early believers if Mark includes their names when identifying Simon. It is just possible that Simon of Cyrene was converted and his family because of this incident. Isn’t it ironic that according to the Law Simon would become unclean because of the blood of Christ and yet that same blood would save sinners from their sins.
RESPONSE OF SORROW (VERSES 27-31). Some of the women responded to the sight of Christ with tears of sorrow. Yet look at the response of Christ to their tears – compassion. Here he is weighed down with the burden of the cross and the burden of sin and his thought is not for himself but compassion for those who mourn. Blessed are they who mourn for they shall be comforted. Yet what has Christ to say to them. He turns their sorrow away from his impending death to their own perilous situation. He wants to open their eyes to the fact that if this is how the innocent are treated how much greater will be the punishment of the guilty. He wants them to mourn for themselves – but in doing so to be lead to repentance.
This evening maybe someone here needs to respond by mourning and repenting of their perilous situation before God.
Response of Indifference (v34). I think this must be one of the saddest pictures around the cross of Christ. Callous indifference to the suffering of a fellow man. Callous indifference to the death of another human being. These soldiers were so hardened to death and death by crucifixion that their only concern was material gain. ‘What is there for me?’ that was their heart’s focus. How truly awful to be indifferent to the death of Christ. They gambled for his clothes whilst he died for their sins. They simply marked time till he had died. They were too involved in their daily lives to notice Christ’s death. They may have gained materially but they were impoverished spiritually. They responded to the death of Christ with indifference. Now you and I can say I am not indifferent to the death of Christ – after all I am here this evening. But, I wonder how often we are indifferent to his death. Indifferent when we return to the same sin time and time again. Indifferent when we take forgiveness for granted and never notice the cost. Indifferent when we grow materially wealthy whilst spiritually we become more and more impoverished.
Maybe tonight some need to repent from a response of indifference to the cross of Christ.
RESPONSE OF MOCKERY. There were many who mocked Christ that day. Verse 35 the rulers mocked him as he was hung on the cross. They hurled insults at him – ‘you saved others, save yourself.’ The other gospels tell us that they even offered to believe in him if he came down from the cross. They thought it weakness that he could not save himself from crucifixion. They thought it rejection by God that he was hung on a tree. After all the Law said ‘cursed is anyone hung on a tree.’ It was not weakness but the power of His Father’s love and His love which held him on that cross. He was indeed cursed by God – but not because of anything he had done, but because of their sin. He could not save them and himself. What mockery – by not saving himself he was in fact opening the way for their salvation.
Verses 36-7 we read that soldiers mocked him also. They mocked his kingship and challenged him to save himself. They had mocked him before he came to the place of Calvary and now they continue in their mocking. It should be no surprise that they mocked so. Indifference to his death leads naturally to mocking him in his death.
Verse 38 Pilate mocks him with the sign declaring ‘This is the king of the Jews.’ John tells us that the religious leaders objected to Pilate about this but Pilate simply responded ‘What I have written I have written.’ Pilate mocked him in death. He mocked Christ’s kingship.
Verse 39 the thieves mocked him. Matthew and Mark tell us that initially, at least, the thieves mocked Christ. Luke here tells us of one of the thieves mocking Christ and demanding that he save himself and them. This thief’s focus is still on his earthly life. Even here in the face of imminent death his heart remains unchanged and his thoughts are still on the temporal. He had and has no sense of right or wrong. There is no sense of guilt for what he has done. There is no thought for anyone but himself.
So there was the response of mockery to the cross of Christ. We mock the cross of Christ when we disregard the cost of our salvation. We mock the cross of Christ when we deliberately and consciously walk into sin and sinful situations. We mock the cross of Christ when we come before him without reverence and with no fear. We mock the cross of Christ when we do not yield our lives to him. So this evening there is a challenge to us all to repent of the mocking voices of our hearts and lives.
RESPONSE OF FAITH – VERSES 41-43. Here we see a man in the throes of death who thinks of his eternal destiny and who by the grace of God is saved from hell. The second thief sees a man like himself, bleeding, naked and dying. When Christ had entered Jerusalem five days before we know the whole city had been stirred – this man no doubt knew about Jesus and the commotion caused by his arrival. He had listened to the words of Christ spoken from the cross to and for those who mocked him, who had beaten and crucified him. How those words must have moved his heart, stirred his soul and brought the light of Christ to his dark soul. In the words of Christ he heard the voice of God declaring mercy and forgiveness to sinners. Sinners just like him. The Holy Spirit took those words and applied them to the heart of this man. The light of Christ penetrated his darkness. He rebukes the other thief for his words. This man admits his guilt. He confesses that his punishment is just. There is no blaming others, no excuses just a confession of his sin. He prays a simple and short prayer – there was no time and no need for eloquence – read verse 42. He acknowledges Christ as king. He acknowledges his need of Christ. He requests Christ to remember him and what a gracious and grace filled response he receives – read verse 43. Paradise – speaks of heaven but much more is conveyed in these words than heaven. At that time ‘Paradise’ was also used of a private garden of the king. The king had a great honour called ‘companion of the garden’ which was in his favour to bestow upon people. Such honoured people were invited to walk with the king in his private garden. It spoke of a close personal relationship and of honour. Jesus says to this dying man – today you will be my companion of the garden. Today you will walk beside me in paradise. What a wonderful picture of eternity with Christ in heaven. This man responded with great courage and faith. Courage because he put his faith in a man dying on a cross. Faith because he believed in Christ for salvation after death. There was no doubt Christ was going to die – so his hope and trust was by faith in a dying man.
RESPONSE OF DARKNESS AND FORGIVENESS
Verses 44-49 show God’s response to the cross of Christ. His first response is for darkness to fall upon the earth. Isn’t it amazing that the first act of God in creation is to bring light and now he brings darkness upon creation. He brings darkness because sin is being atoned for. It is during this period that God the Father responds to the cross of Christ by turning his back on his Son and abandoning him to all the horrors of sin and his wrath poured out upon it. But thankfully that was not his last response to the cross of Christ. When Christ cries ‘it is finished’ and voluntarily lays down his life to the Father’s will the Father responds by tearing the veil in the temple in two from top to bottom. The veil which symbolically separated man from God was torn in two – showing that access to God which had been denied was now freely available to all – but only if they came via the cross of Christ. God the Father declared it is accepted and the way is open for all who would come. He responded with forgiveness for lost sinners.
Your response – we are going to take a few moments for our own responses to the cross of Christ.
AMEN.
