“Which Side of the Cross Are You On?”
Luke 23:32-33
OPENING JOKE: Can’t Take That Chance
During a holiday to Israel, a man’s mother-in-law died. She was in Israel with the family, so there was the difficulty of making funeral arrangements for her in a foreign country. The Israeli morgue explained that the body can be sent back to Australia, at a cost of $10,000, or she can be buried in an Israeli cemetery for just $200. The son-in-law quickly decides to have his mother-in-law shopped home. "yes sir, but are you sure?" asks the morgue official. "It is very expensive". "I know" says the son-in-law. "But 2000 years ago they buried a guy here and three days later he rose from the dead. I just can’t take that chance!"
INTRODUCTION: Welcome to ‘Resurrection Sunday’ morning service
This morning we are going to talk about the two men who were crucified along side of Jesus. We are going to talk about
- What they did to get put on the cross
- What they said while they were on the cross
- What happened to their souls after they died on the cross.
These men had received the death penalty for breaking man’s law
- Both of these men were condemned to death because the Scripture says they were ‘robbers’
- Ordinary thieves were not usually crucified
- The word ‘robbers’ actually denotes a ‘rebel and brigand (thug) who plunders as he steals’ (J. Macarthur)
- These men were probably the cohorts of Barabbas, who is called a ‘notorious’ criminal (Matthew 27: 16)
Quote: They hung on their crosses, convicted of a crime they had committed, and received the penalty from the law that they had incurred
***This morning I want us to study the minds of these two men and to meditate on what was going on in their heads as they inched closer toward the horrible death of suffocation and asphyxiation that the cross brings.
And I want us to relate their experience to our own in this life, asking ourselves, “Which side of the cross am I on?”
I. They Both Started the Day in the Same Condition
a. In the beginning they both rejected Christ
i. Matthew 27: 44 “Even the robbers who were crucified with Him reviled Him....”
ii. Their legal condemnation of death on the cross caused their already rebellious hearts to become even more enraged
1. Mark 15:25 tells us that the crucifixion started at about the 3rd hour, or around 9:00 am
2. At this point both men were ‘reviling’ Jesus which means they were ‘insulting and berating’ Him
iii. Likewise, before coming to Christ, we all were in a state of rebellion
iv. The Bible says that we rebel so much against the Gospel that if God did not put it in our hearts the desire for Christ, we would never even seek Him
v. John 6:44 “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.”
1. Look at the wording there, it doesn’t say, ‘no man WILL come’ it says that ‘no man CAN come’
2. Our rebellious nature toward God is so powerful that we could not come to Jesus unless God draws us in
vi. Quote: At some point we have all been right where these men were: Face to face with Jesus rejecting Him as Lord
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But then a miracle happened…One of the men changed
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II. They Became Separated Because of Their Convictions
a. The Gospel of Luke tells us that before the 6th hour something happened to one of the robbers and He saw Jesus for who He really is
i. Luke 23:39-41 “Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, "If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us." But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, "Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong."”
ii. Now we have two men, one on either side of Christ, with two totally different point of view about the man in the center
b. [1] One was mocking Christ’s Character
i. He was saying things like, ‘if you are the king, get down off the cross’
ii. But he also did not forget his own plight because he added, ‘get us down as well’
1. He didn’t see that he needed forgiveness
2. He probably didn’t even think that what he had done to warranted his execution
3. He didn’t think that he deserved the cross, and if Jesus got down, then he ought to get down too
iii. His own impending death and spirit of rebellion blinded his eyes toward who Jesus was and what He was doing
c. [2] The other was moved by Christ’s Countenance
i. I believe He looked at Jesus and saw in Him exactly what He needed to see – forgiveness
1. I can attest from personal experience that when I have done wrong in my life the most powerful love I have felt is when a person forgave me for it
2. When this man looked over into the forgiving eyes of Jesus, He knew that He was the Savior
ii. Think about what must have been going through his mind before looking into Jesus’ face from that cross
1. He was probably fathoming many different thoughts about his own life choices:
a. “What if I’d not gotten caught?”
b. “What if I’d chosen a different path?”
c. “What if I’d just been a fisherman instead of a thief?”
2. Then He caught them – Jesus’ eyes
a. It has been said that the ‘eyes are the windows of the soul’
i. The Bible tells us that Jesus had no ‘form of comeliness… that we should desire Him’ (Isaiah 53:2)
ii. This basically means that He had no real outward appeal that would cause people to follow Him
iii. But I believe His eyes were special
iv. I believe His eyes were full of love, compassion, mercy and grace even when they were blood shot and tired from the pain of His crucifixion
b. When this man caught Jesus’ eyes and felt the forgiveness radiating from His Spirit he knew that this was no ordinary man
3. He knew that death was coming quickly, and it was a death he deserved
a. He didn’t try to coerce Jesus to take him off the cross – he understood that he had committed the crime and was now suffering the punishment
b. All he said was, “remember me”
c. No sweeter words have ever been spoken in a prayer of repentance
4. He didn’t say:
a. Save me, have mercy on me, take me to Heaven with you
b. He simply said, ‘remember me’
iii. And Jesus, with those forgiving eyes, looked upon him and said, “Today you will be with me in paradise”
1. Can you imagine the overflow of calm that must have befell his spirit
2. His body still tore in anguish, but his soul was at peace
iv. Quote: He, who once feared death’s sting, could then look forward to it’s reprieve because he had assurance of his place in paradise by the mouth of Jesus Himself
III. They Both Secured Their Destiny by Their Choices
a. The one who had rejected Christ looked to death as his final destination, not really knowing of the torment that was yet to come
i. He probably thought that the pain of the cross was the worst he would ever feel and it would be the finality of his existence
ii. But Jesus taught that death is not final for anyone
1. Death is simply a door to eternity
2. And this man, having rejected Christ, sadly received the punishment spoken of by Jesus in Mark 9:44, “where ’Their worm does not die, And the fire is not quenched”
iii. This was his destiny because he stepped into eternity without the forgiveness that was offered for His sins through Jesus Christ
b. The one who had received Christ looked to his death as not the end of existence, but the end of suffering in this life
i. He knew that his present suffering would be over soon and when it was he would stand next to Jesus in paradise
ii. Not because of any good thing He did
iii. Think about it:
1. He didn’t have time to do any good deeds
2. He didn’t have time to be baptized
3. He didn’t have tome to become a member of a local church
4. He didn’t have time to pay tithes
iv. All he had time to do was repent of his sin and say, “remember me” and his destiny was secure
1. Some have said, “I don’t believe in ‘death bed repentance’
2. Whether you believe in it or not, the Word says it right here
3. This man is proof positive that we are saved by grace apart from our good works
4. And you know I have never met a Christian who I believe love Jesus more than this robber did at the moment he was converted
5. He is the epitome of Romans 5:20 which says “where sin abounded, grace abounded much more”
CONCLUSION: The two men in today’s story both had the same physical perspective of Jesus
They had both been condemned to death, both nailed to a cross and both were crying out there last words on earth
But even though the physical points of view were equal, the spiritual points of view were drastically different
From one side of the cross Jesus shown brightly like the sun in the eyes of the man that He saved
Looking at Jesus was liking gazing at the road to Heaven and preparing to walk it
From this point of view death was something that could be conquered by faith and forgiveness
From the other side of the cross Jesus must have looked very dim in the eyes of the man who rejected Him
Looking at Jesus dying was not convicting to his spirit – To him, Jesus was just another criminal
He was only concerned with saving his own life
Today many people find themselves on one side of the cross or the other
From the side of those who have received His forgiveness in faith, Jesus shines as our only hope, our wonderful assurance and our blessed redeemer
But from the side of those who have never received that hope, Jesus is just a religion among religions, not essential for salvation, not assurance of heaven and not redeemer of sins
The questions we should be pondering today are:
(1) Have I realized my sin before God and fallen with my arms clinched around a blood stained cross knowing that only by the way of the cross can I receive forgiveness?
(2) Or have I hardened my heart to the gospel and made the decision that I would rather die in my sin than call upon Jesus for forgiveness?
Basically we should ask ourselves:
Which side of the cross am I on?
(Let us pray)
