Three Stories From Calvary

“Three Stories from Calvary!”

Luke 23:26-43

26 And as they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the country, and on him they laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus. 27 And there followed him a great company of people, and of women, which also bewailed and lamented him. 28 But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children. 29 For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck. 30 Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us. 31 For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry? 32 And there were also two other, malefactors, led with him to be put to death. 33 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. 34 Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots. 35 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. 36 And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, and offering him vinegar, 37 And saying, If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself. 38 And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. 39 And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. 40 But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. 42 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. 43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.

First: Golgotha, (Aramaic: “Skull”,) also called Calvary, (from Latin calva: “bald head,” or “skull”), skull-shaped hill in Jerusalem, the site of Jesus' crucifixion. It is referred to in all four Gospels. While the Gospels merely identify Calvary as a "place" (t?p??), Christian tradition since at least the 6th century has described the location as a "mountain" or "hill". Let’s read our text in Luke’s gospel to get some of the details of what took place “Up Calvary’s mountain,” as the hymn writer called it…and there is a story for each man on the three crosses that day. Let’s consider the story of the man on the left…

I. The Story of Rejection

a. He rejected the voice of Jesus, the offer of forgiveness – Rev. 3:20 “Father forgive them for they know not what they do. The Word

b. He rejected the virtue of Jesus – sinless, spotless lamb of God. Judas, Pilate’s wife, Pilate (seven times in the two trials), centurion,

c. He rejected the value of Jesus – He is not just an example.

A SAVIOR, NOT AN EXAMPLE

D.M. Stearns was preaching in Philadelphia. At the close of the service a stranger came up to him and said, "I don’t like the way you spoke about the cross. I think that instead of emphasizing the death of Christ, it would be far better to preach Jesus, the teacher and example."

Stearns replied, "If I presented Christ in that way, would you be willing to follow Him?"

"I certainly would," said the stranger without hesitation.

"All right then," said the preacher, "let’s take the first step. He did no sin. Can you claim that for yourself?"

The man looked confused and somewhat surprised. "Why, no," he said. "I acknowledge that I do sin."

Stearns replied, "Then your greatest need is to have a Savior, not an example!"

(From a sermon by Rick Boyne, The Righteous for the Unrighteous, 4/13/2011)

II. The Story of Reception

How many of you believe in “death bed professions of faith?” What we have here is essentially the same thing. This man will be dead in a few hours. He was a murderer more than likely. Two questions come to mind. First, should God save someone who waits till the last minute before they die to become a Christian? Secondly, this man was a great sinner. He was a murderer more than likely. Should God save someone like him?

Lloyd Prator writes, “Take Adolph Hitler or better Joseph Stalin because he killed more people. What if, at the last minute, as Stalin lay dying, he turned his heart to Jesus and confessed his sins? Suppose he repented at the last minute, repented of the 14 million Russians Stalin killed… Would he have a place in the kingdom of God? Perhaps he might. The scandal of Christianity is precisely this: no matter what we have done, how much we have stolen, how many deaths we have been responsible for, no matter if we come to the moment of our death and now it is too late to remedy any of the suffering we have caused, no matter how great our sin, we can be forgiven if we truly acknowledge what we have done.”