The Thief On The Cross Series

October 31, 2020

Last week’s sermon on Zacchaeus was to be the last in this series until my friend and I read the book, “Surprised by Love” by Elizabeth Viera Talbot on a recent vacation {thoughts on this sermon come from the chapter, “The Assurance”}.

To what lengths would you go to ransom your precious child from the Kidnapper of Soul’s? That is the theme of this book. Powerful!!

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As the book says, Jesus was having a horrible, no good, very bad day ---- In the last 12 hours:

• He had been arrested.

• His disciples had deserted Him.

• He had been falsely accused in front of Caiaphas, Pilate, Herod and then back to Pilate.

• He had been punched, spit on and flogged.

• He had been condemned to die.

• He was too weak to carry his own cross = Simon of Cyrene was recruited.

Luke 23:33-34 - And when they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him {see Ps 22:16} and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left. 34 But Jesus was saying, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing….. Meanwhile:

• The Roman soldiers gambled for his clothing {Ps 22:18}

• The Jews and Romans surrounding the cross mocked him and dared him to save himself, “If you are….” {Ps 22:7-8 and Luke 23:35-38 also see Matthew 4:1-11 – Satan uses the same wording, “If you are….”, while tempting Jesus}.

The people Jesus had left the splendor of Heaven for had succeeded beyond their wildest dreams and now He was close to death, but He was not alone, 2 others were dying with him that day. Both convicted criminals. Both deserving of the punishment of the cross. In this too, prophecy was fulfilled:

• Isaiah 53:12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong, because He poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

One of the criminals began to mock Jesus: "Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!" {Luke 23:39}

This is the genius of Luke’s story. Those mocking Jesus, “If you are…..” believed that the proof of His identity as “The King of the Jews” lay in His ability to save Himself, but in reality, the exact opposite was true. It was through His suffering that His identity as King and Savior was revealed:

• Philippians 2:8-11 - And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

• Revelation 5:5-14 - But one of the twenty-four elders said to me, "Stop weeping! Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the heir to David's throne, has conquered. He is worthy to open the scroll and break its seven seals." 6 I looked and I saw a Lamb that had been killed but was now standing between the throne and the four living beings and among the twenty-four elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God that are sent out into every part of the earth. 7 He stepped forward and took the scroll from the right hand of the one sitting on the throne. 8 And as he took the scroll, the four living beings and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp, and they held gold bowls filled with incense-- the prayers of God's people! 9 And they sang a new song with these words: "You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals and open it. For you were killed, and your blood has ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. 10 And you have caused them to become God's Kingdom and his priests. And they will reign on the earth." 11 Then I looked again, and I heard the singing of thousands and millions of angels around the throne and the living beings and the elders. 12 And they sang in a mighty chorus: "The Lamb is worthy-- the Lamb who was killed. He is worthy to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing." 13 And then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea. They also sang: "Blessing and honor and glory and power belong to the one sitting on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever." 14 And the four living beings said, "Amen!" And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped God and the Lamb.