The Crucifixion of Jesus – Part 3
Luke 23:32-49 (40-43)
February 7, 2021
This morning we return once again to the hallowed ground of the cross.
• It is the focal point of all history.
• It is the focal point of all theology.
• It is the focal point of all prophecy.
• It is certainly then the focal point of the church.
1 Corinthians 2:2 “For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.”
Galatians 6:14 “But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”
This is THE story.
Every other important act or doctrine flows from the cross.
• THE INCARNATION means nothing without the cross, for then Jesus is merely another moral example that we cannot live up to.
• THE RESURRECTION means nothing without the cross, for surely it proves Jesus to be innocent, but we remain unatoned for.
• THE ASCENSION means nothing without the cross, for what good is it for us to have a great High Priest if He has no offering to present on our behalf.
• THE SECOND COMING is actually a terrifying event without the cross since for us it would only mean judgment.
If you take away the cross, close the book and go home.
• Take every herb you can find…
• Don’t ever take any risks…
• Don’t ever put yourself in danger…
Your only hope is to live as long as you possibly can
Because without the cross this is as good as it gets.
THIS EVENT IS EVERYTHING TO US.
Thus far, we’ve looked at two aspects of this scene.
#1 THE SCENE OF THE CRUCIFIXION
Luke 23:32-35a
We simply took a panoramic look at what was occurring here
And there were some realities that really jumped out.
We saw IDENTIFICATION
• Jesus was being led with sinners, as a sinner to His execution.
• He was not sinful, but He was being treated as though He was.
We saw INTERCESSION
• While the crowd was mocking and blaspheming, He was praying
The mercy of Christ on the cross gives one of
The greatest pictures in Scripture of the depth of the mercy of God.
We saw IGNORANCE
• As Jesus was dying on the cross the crowd was simply looking on.
• They were oblivious.
• They didn’t understand what was going on here.
And so our first objective was to remove the ignorance of the cross.
• Here on the cross Jesus was bearing the full wrath of God for all the sin of all who would ever believe.
• This one sacrifice was sufficient to save everyone who would ever believe and there has never been another sacrifice like it.
• No goat, no bull, no offering of any kind ever placated the wrath of God, but on this day, at this time, Jesus did.
That was the scene of the crucifixion.
Last week we saw the second aspect of this event.
#2 THE SCORN OF THE MOB
Luke 23:35b-39
We identified all the various players at the scene.
• We have Jesus interceding
• We have the crowd oblivious
• We have Pilate with a “too little too late” sign hung above Jesus
• We have the rulers scoffing at Jesus
• We have the soldiers toying with Jesus as they mock Him
• We have one of the criminals blaspheming Him
He was truly under attack from every side.
But the most unique thing about that text is that
THEY ALL HAD THE SAME SUBJECT IN THEIR SCORN.
“If You are the King then save Yourself”
And so we talked about the INSURRECTION of the cross.
• The crucifixion was nothing short of a rejection of Jesus as King.
• They did not want Him to reign over them so they killed Him.
We talked about the necessity of submitting to Christ as Lord.
In fact, to truly believe in Christ is to confess Him as Lord.
And we talked about how
• In a little over a month, when Peter told the crowd they had killed the King
• And they asked what they should do,
• Peter told them to be baptized in the name of Jesus.
It wasn’t that baptism would save them, but Peter was calling for them to identify with Jesus the way Jesus had identified with them.
They had publicly rejected His Kingly authority.
So Peter demanded that they publicly submit to it.
This is the call for us all.
And as we finished last time
I told you to imagine this scene of scorn.
• Everyone around Jesus is mocking or abusing Him in some way or another.
• And the calling is that you, in the middle of all that scorn, would stand up and
say, “I believe Him! He’s my King!”
We are called to confess Him in a world that hates Him.
And you may wonder who in their right mind
Would have stood up at the cross, gone against the mob,
And publicly confessed Jesus as King right then?
AND YET ONE PERSON DID.
And that brings us to the third aspect of the cross we want to see.
The Scene of the Crucifixion, The Scorn of the Mob
#3 THE SALVATION OF A SINNER
Luke 23:40-43
Here’s a person who did exactly what we were talking about last week.
• In the midst of all the scorn…
• In the midst of all the mockery…
• While rulers are laughing at Jesus…
• While soldiers are pretending to bow to Him…
• While the other criminal is reviling and blaspheming Him…
This man comes forward.
• He rebukes the other criminal
• And in front of everyone he confesses Jesus as his King
• And most certainly invites the scorn of Jesus into his life as well.
Now, I do understand that in one sense someone might say, “Yes, but what did he have to lose?”
• I mean, he was already being crucified…
• He was already being ridiculed and humiliated…
• What did he have to lose by confessing Jesus here?
Perhaps we should ask the other criminal
Because he still didn’t confess Jesus.
The other thief wanted Jesus to save Himself and us.
But this thief instead submitted himself to physical death
When he confessed Christ and asked for entrance into the kingdom,
He was resigning to the fact that he would not be taken off the cross
And he likely added additional scorn and shame to his life at the present.
He came forward in the midst of this hatred and confessed Christ
And as a result he was saved.
This morning we are going to examine this man
And why he, of all the people there, was the one who was saved.
• There are several realities present in his life that are essential to salvation.
• In fact, he becomes a wonderful picture of what type of person Jesus does save.
So let’s look at what was going on in his life.
There’s actually five things here I would show you about this sinner who was saved on the cross.
1) FEAR OF GOD (40)
You are aware of the blasphemy of the first thief.
I told you last week that for a time even this criminal had hurled abuse at Jesus.
Matthew 27:42-44 “He saved others; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him. “HE TRUSTS IN GOD; LET GOD RESCUE Him now, IF HE DELIGHTS IN HIM; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.'” The robbers who had been crucified with Him were also insulting Him with the same words.”
Even this thief had originally started out mocking Jesus.
But what is clear is that at some point in the scene,
GOD OPENED this man’s eyes to see who Jesus really was,
And it must have TERRIFIED the man.
(Similar to when those at Pentecost had their eyes opened)
Because all of a sudden he changes direction
And REBUKES the other thief for blaspheming Jesus.
(40) “But the other answered, and rebuking him said, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?”
What does he mean?
He looks at the other thief and reminds him that “you are under the same sentence of condemnation”.
In other words,
• “Don’t you realize that you’re about to die?”
• “Don’t you get that in a few minutes you’re going to stand before God?”
“Do you not even fear God..?”
It is clear that what has hit this second criminal square in the jaw
Is that THERE IS A GREATER HORROR than this cross he’s on
And he is about to face it.
You may remember that I told you that
• When we look at the crucifixion of Jesus the greatest horror of the cross is
NOT what man did to Jesus on the cross.
• The greatest horror of the cross is what God did to Jesus on the cross.
In the garden when Jesus is sweating drops of blood
It is not because of the physical crucifixion that He is about to endure,
It is because He is about to endure the wrath of God.
As bad as the physical cross was (and it was bad)
It was nothing compared to the eternal judgment of Almighty God.
And this second criminal has come to grips with that.
He warns the first thief.
“You had better quit your blaspheming, you’re about to stand before God!”
Clearly there is a fear of God that has set in for this second thief.
And to that I would remind you that
Fear of the Lord is an essential prerequisite for salvation.
Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.”
Proverbs 9:10 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”
That is to say that “fear of the LORD” is first.
Every sinner who is saved
First begins with an awareness of their offense to God
And the fear of the punishment that they deserve.
In fact, one of the CHARACTERISTICS Paul listed of UNREGENERATE man is this:
Romans 3:18 “THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES.”
That’s actually one of the reasons they remain lost; they don’t fear God.
I remember talking to a man here in Spur several years ago
• We were talking about salvation and the work of Jesus.
• And one of his responses to me was, “What do you mean; ‘Saved’?”
He had no concept of needing to be saved.
As if to say, “What do I need to be saved from?”
A person with that understanding is a long way from salvation.
I’ll tell you what you need to be saved from.
YOU NEED TO BE SAVED FROM GOD.
More specifically, you need to be saved from the wrath of God
Which He has for those who rebel against Him.
I know contemporary preachers have worked tirelessly
• Trying to convince everyone that God loves everyone unconditionally.
• To try and set people’s minds at ease that God is not angry.
• People can just run up to God like a big ole teddy bear
• Because God has their picture on His refrigerator,
• And He just gushes and goo’s over their every move.
And while it is true that it is the love of God which motivated Him to send His Son as a sacrifice for our sin, do not get your wires crossed.
It is still the wrath of God that you must be saved from.
God’s word says:
Psalms 7:11-13 “God is a righteous judge, And a God who has indignation every day. If a man does not repent, He will sharpen His sword; He has bent His bow and made it ready. He has also prepared for Himself deadly weapons; He makes His arrows fiery shafts.”
The writer of Hebrews said:
Hebrews 10:30-31 “For we know Him who said, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY.” And again, “THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE.” It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
Or we could even go to the final judgment scene:
Revelation 20:11-15 “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”
Man has offended God, and God has promised that
He will judge all sinners in hell for all eternity.
The physical torment of the cross is nothing compared to eternity in hell.
AND YOU AND I NEED TO BE SAVED FROM THAT.
We need to be saved from the wrath of God.
Fortunately for us, this is exactly what Jesus came to do.
Romans 5:9 “Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.”
So you understand where this second thief is coming from.
While facing physical death he began to wonder
What was going to happen once he died?
AND IT TERRIFIED HIM.
That is the first step in salvation.
• It is an awareness that God is a righteous Judge
• Who will in fact judge sinners
• And that you need to be saved from that judgment.
Fear of God
2) HUMILITY (41a)
Humility works hand in hand with fear of God.
In fact humility is often a consequence of fear of God.
When you realize who you are
And that you are in danger of God’s judgment
The logical next step is to humble yourself and plead for mercy.
Look at this man’s humility.
“And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds;”
I’m not sure that this definition would stand up in a seminary class or a theology textbook, but I’ve often described humility to people like this.
Humility is when you believe you are who God says you are.
• It occurs when you quit arguing with the righteous Judge…
• It occurs when you submit to God’s evaluation of your life…
• When you stop being defensive…
• When you stop arguing…
• When you simply bow in honest acknowledgement that you are who God says you are.
James has a tremendous passage on this.
We see both what humility is and what it is not.
James 1:19-25 “This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God. Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.”
• Often times we hear verse 19 quoted alone
• People simply think James is talking about the evils of the human temper,
• But that misses the point.
The passage as a whole is clearly talking about
HOW YOU RESPOND TO THE WORD OF GOD.
And only two options are given.
• You will either be an “effectual doer”
• Or a “forgetful hearer”.
James said that when you look into the mirror of God’s word, and God shows you who and what you are,
• You’ll either ignore it and go about your life
• Or you’ll own up to it and do what it says.
And this is what James is talking about even at the beginning.
And James said you should be
• “quick to hear” that is eager to know what God has to say.
• “slow to speak” that means slow to argue or make excuses.
• “slow to anger” that means don’t get mad or offended, just accept it.
Now, if you are someone who is eager to hear what God has to say
And you will accept what God has to say without argument or anger,
THEN YOU HAVE HUMILITY.
That is where our thief is.
• Is not arguing.
• He is not debating that he should get to come off the cross.
• He agrees with what he is.
And this HUMILITY is also ESSENTIAL
James 4:6-10 “But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.” Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.”
Matthew 5:3-4 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
That is a man who agrees that he is spiritually bankrupt
And who hates or mourns over the sin that put him in that predicament.
ONLY those who are poor in spirit inherit the kingdom of heaven.
ONLY those who mourn over sin receive God’s comfort.
You see where this man is.
He fears God and He is humble.
3) THE GOSPEL (41b)
After announcing his own guilt the thief simply says:
“but this man has done nothing wrong.”
He hits one of the very prevalent themes of Luke;
Namely that JESUS WAS INNOCENT.
• Pilate said it over and over,
• Here the thief says it,
• Down in verse 47 the centurion will say it again.
Now clearly that’s NOT ALL this man believes about Jesus.
• He certainly believes Jesus to be sinless.
• He clearly believes Jesus to be the King since he references His kingdom.
• He also believes Jesus to be the Savior and a merciful one since in spite of his sin he asks for entrance into the kingdom.
What is clear is that while ignorance surrounded the cross,
God opened the eyes of this one man.
He could see what no one else could see.
Now what I find interesting here is where this man heard the gospel.
You might say, who preached the gospel to him?
Well let’s just look at WHAT HE HAS HEARD RECENTLY.
• He heard Jesus say: (34) “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what
they are doing.”
• Then the rulers announced: (35) “He saved others”
• The rulers also listed His assumed titles of: (35) “the Christ of God” and
“His Chosen One”
• When the soldiers came up, they called Him (37) “the King of the Jews” (as
did Pilate’s sign)
The thief heard all of this.
While these statements were being hurled at Jesus,
God opened this thief’s eyes to see that they were ALL TRUE.
• Jesus was the sinless Son of God
• Jesus was the Chosen One of God
• Jesus was the Christ
• Jesus was the King
• Jesus was the merciful Savior
That man learned it all right there.
And hearing the GOSPEL is also ESSENTIAL.
No one is saved without the gospel.
Romans 10:9-14 “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.” How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?”
There is NO SALVATION apart from the gospel.
There is NO SALVATION apart from the actual name of Jesus.
Acts 4:12 “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”
• That means that fear of the Lord alone is NOT ENOUGH to save.
• That means that humility alone is NOT ENOUGH to save.
• That means that sincerity alone is NOT ENOUGH to save.
There is only one Savior and that is Christ Jesus.
You must cry out to Him.
The gospel matters, and this man heard it on the cross.
He may have heard it before, but it is apparent that
On the cross God finally opened his ears to it.
That, incidentally, gives us our answers regarding those who trust Christ even ON THEIR DEATHBED.
• I certainly do not recommend trying to wait until you die to be saved, for who
knows when God may open your heart (the other thief was not saved),
• But I will say this, I certainly can’t think of a more pertinent time to cry out to
Jesus than when staring death in the face.
So this man had a fear of God – This man had humility – This man heard the gospel
4) FAITH (42)
You know of course that FAITH is ESSENTIAL.
Romans 3:21-22 “But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction;”
Romans 3:28 “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.”
Well look at this man’s faith, it is remarkable.
(42) “And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom.”
Take away your spiritual awareness for a moment.
(Just look at the physical scene of the cross)
What in the world would have caused anyone at the scene of the cross to think that Jesus was about to sit on a throne anywhere?
Through physical eyes that statement from the thief
Is a dumb as they come.
All the mocking around the cross was pointing out that
Jesus was no King and that apparently He had no kingdom.
But this man, goes entirely against the grain,
He rejects the logic of the day
And he confesses that Jesus does in fact have a kingdom.
And he appeals to the apparent mercy of Jesus to welcome him in
Despite the fact that he is an unworthy criminal.
• That is faith in the sovereign authority of Jesus
• That is faith in the mercy of Jesus
• That is faith in the atonement of Jesus
He cries out to Jesus.
Romans 10:13 “for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”
He has great faith.
INCIDENTALLY, THIS SAME FAITH
Is going to be put on display again a few hours later.
Luke 23:50-51 “And a man named Joseph, who was a member of the Council, a good and righteous man (he had not consented to their plan and action), a man from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who was waiting for the kingdom of God;”
Joseph was like this thief,
Waiting for a kingdom when it appeared that it was a lost cause.
This type of faith is the type of faith we hear written about
So often in the book of Hebrews.
Listen to the faith of the Patriarchs.
Hebrews 11:17-22 “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; it was he to whom it was said, “IN ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS SHALL BE CALLED.” He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type. By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even regarding things to come. By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff. By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the exodus of the sons of Israel, and gave orders concerning his bones.”
Every one of them had the same obstacle standing between them and the promise…DEATH.
• Abraham just figured God could raise the dead.
• Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau about what was coming even after death
• Jacob blessed and worshiped even while dying in Egypt
• Joseph gave orders about his bones
Every single one of those men looked like fools according to human logic.
• What kind of fool is willing to kill his own son through whom the promise is coming?
• What kind of fool still believes he’ll receive the land when neither he nor his dad had owned it?
• What kind of fool talks about their land when he isn’t even in the land anymore?
• What kind of fool talks about the land when he also is dying and even makes plans for his bones to be carried?
It’s faith that looks beyond the current situation into the future.
Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
Hebrews 11:13-16 “All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.”
That was the faith of this criminal as well.
• He was hanging on a cross next to Jesus
• But somehow believed that Jesus was still the King and that His kingdom was still coming.
• And clearly He believed that Jesus would be His means of entering that kingdom.
• He had faith in Christ.
And this also is essential for salvation.
• Fear of God
• Humility
• The Gospel
• Faith
If you don’t have those things you’ll never be saved.
And so the last reality now makes sense.
5) SALVATION (43)
(43) “And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”
Jesus promised this man eternal life in heaven with Christ.
• But he was a criminal? Didn’t matter
• But he was dying? Didn’t matter
• But Jesus was dying? Didn’t matter
The mercy and atonement of Christ was more.
If you’ve read 1 Peter 3, Jesus was about to serve as this man’s ark.
• Just as the ark carried Noah through the judgment,
• Jesus was about to carry this man through death into life.
Psalms 23:4-6 “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”
This notorious sinner, at the end of his life, was saved.
• He had a fear of God that drove him to humility.
• He had humility that opened his ears to the gospel.
• He heard a gospel that encouraged him to have faith in Jesus.
• He had faith in Jesus that brought about salvation.
He is a great blueprint, even as he died.
Now look at your life.
• Do you fear God? Do you understand the reality of judgment?
• Have you humbled yourself and do you believe you are who and what God says you are?
• Have you heard the gospel and seen that only Jesus can save you?
• Have you trusted in Christ?
• Have you publicly confessed Him as this man did?
• Have you called upon His name for mercy as this man did?
While the timing of this man’s salvation is unique,
The manner of his salvation is entirely routine.
This is how everyone is saved.
And this morning I extend that offer to you.
James 4:8-10 “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.”
Romans 10:13 “for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”
