Extraordinary Love: Responding Properly to a King Who Died

- just a little over 17 years ago, my father very unexpectedly passed away…

- my dad was a very hard-working man…his parents were from SW Virginia and had experienced financial ups and downs because of the depression and the cyclical nature of coal and gas mining…

- my dad attended college for 2 years but was unable to finish because of limited finances, so he joined the army and was eventually stationed in Europe…

- during that time, my grandparents moved from VA to Gary, Indiana so my grandpa could work in the steel mills…

- he was 40 years old when they made that move…they didn’t even own a car…and the older I became, the more respect I developed for a man who would move to an entirely different part of the country and way of life…simply to put food on the table for his family…

- when my dad’s tour of duty was completed in the army, he then moved to Gary and started working as an accountant at US Steel…

- that would have been the late 1950’s, and the steel industry was booming and he was also trying to finish his college degree in the evenings and weekends…so his schedule was really tight…

- he was also extremely frugal because of his upbringing…and understandably so…

- but one week each year, he and a cousin and a close friend from the army would get together and go fishing together in Canada…

- one of those three men is still alive, Jack Cannon, and Jack has some Super-8 movies they took during those days that are astounding in terms of the size and amount of fish they would catch…

- but far more important than that was the time that gave them as friends…where they could step back from all the pressures of life and enjoy time with one another…

- what amazed me was that when I reached 10 years old, they asked if I would like to join them…

- I tried to behave…but I’m sure I was a nuisance in all sorts of ways…I would lose tackle and be in the way…but they genuinely wanted me there…

- the older I became, the more I was also impacted by the financial sacrifice my parents made to include me in those trips…

- my dad wanted me to be part of the group and was willing to pay whatever price was necessary to make that happen…

- now, I realize some listening might say – you know, my dad was like that too…maybe not with a fishing trip but in other ways…praise the Lord if you were blessed in that way…

- but I imagine some, if not many, would say – “boy, I wish I had a father like that”…

- here’s the good news this morning – in a far more important way you can…here’s the way the apostle Peter put it…1 Peter 3:18 - For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God…

- the God of heaven and earth, the heavenly Father, wants you to be with Him, and he is willing to make whatever sacrifice necessary to make that possible…

- with that in mind, let’s me invite you to open your Bible to Luke chapter 23 this morning…

- we’re stepping away from our verse-by-verse study of the book of Romans for a couple of weeks…

- that was our plan even before the COVID-19 outbreak…and we’ve decided with all the upheaval in our lives right now, it would be wise to maintain some sense of constancy in our church life…

- so passionate worship, and then a very brief study from the Word of God like we typically do, continues to be our approach…(or something like that)…

- Lord willing, we’ll be back in Romans on April 19^th…

- but today we want to study what Luke records about the crucifixion of Christ…and it’s amazing for what he says – and especially so because of all he doesn’t say…

- then Lord willing, we are going to come together in this same format on Friday at 7:00 in the evening…

- we were planning a special Good Friday service for the first time this year…and we’re going to go ahead with that plan…in fact, it may be more relevant and helpful this year than ever as a result of COVID-19…

- I would encourage you to have some crackers and juice available that evening because although we would not normally do it this way, as part of that service we plan to celebrate the Lord’s table together, electronically…

- in fact, the more I think about that experience in that particular setting, it really points us to important theological truth about Easter I’m not sure we would have contemplated otherwise…

- then we’re planning a delightful Easter service – although it will probably be the most unusual Easter we ever celebrate together…because we’ll still be doing this on-line…but if that’s what we need to do to obey our governmental leaders and serve our health-care workers and elderly and immune compromised persons around us…along with anyone else who could have serious complications because of this virus…that’s a sacrifice we’re more than willing to make…

- now, when we turn our attention to Luke 23…there’s no question that the focus is on how many in the story were specifically rejecting the idea that Jesus Christ was qualified to be their king…

- commentator John MacArthur explains it like this…

The cross, with its injustice, cruelty, and suffering, was anything but a comedy. But the people who participated in the events of that day at Calvary turned it into one. To them it was a ludicrous, farcical event, a joke, the butt of which was Jesus. They found the idea that He was the king of the Jews to be laughable; and were sneering at Him, mocked Him, and were hurling abuse at Him...

They designed and staged the execution of Jesus to be a comical satire. They enthroned Him on a cross like a king enthroned above the people. On His head they placed a crown—not a gold crown, but a crown of thorns, sending blood streaming down His face. In their diabolical comedy, they crucified one thief on the right of Jesus and one on the left in a parody of a king’s two most respected courtiers, the second and the third most honorable people in his court. Then they mockingly offered Him wine, as if doing their duty to serve the monarch’s needs.

Earlier in Pilate’s judgment hall, they had put a rough soldier’s cloak on Him as if it were a royal robe, with a reed as a royal scepter in His hand, and mockingly hailed Him as a king. Then they took the reed and beat Him in the head with it and spat on Him to show their utter disdain for the notion that He was royalty.

To the Jewish people, the idea of a crucified Messiah was absurd, ridiculous, and incomprehensible. They expected the messiah to be a conquering king, who would defeat Israel’s enemies and establish his kingdom. They were looking for a coronation, not a crucifixion; for a messiah who killed his enemies, not one who was killed by his own people. The cross was foolishness to them (1 Cor. 1:18); a massive stumbling block that they could not get past (v. 23) (John MacArthur, Romans 1-8, p. 376).

- we’re talking this am about Extraordinary Love - Responding Properly to a King who Died

- read Luke 23:33-49

- so we’re talking about Responding Properly to a King who Died…and let’s examine these verses closely to find Three appropriate responses to the death of Christ.

I. Be Sobered by the Rejection of the Suffering Messiah.

- by this point in the story, all of the trials and the beatings have been completed…

- it is likely that by now, Jesus would not even be recognizable…

- In his article, Crucifixion — The Physical Suffering of Jesus, Jeremy Myers says, “Most artists do not even come close in depicting what Jesus looked like after all of this torture. He was probably the most inhuman looking thing you’ve ever seen. The prophet Isaiah wrote of the Messiah: “They shall see the Servant of God beaten and bloodied, an object of horror; so disfigured many were astonished. His face and His whole appearance were marred more than any man’s, one would scarcely know it was a person…” (Isa 52:14) Jeremy Myers, Crucifixion — The Physical Suffering of Jesus).

- if you would like to study this in more detail than our time allows today, I would encourage you to use a Harmony of the Gospels …these are available in hard copy or as electronic resources…

- what’s so helpful is that it lays out the information from all four gospels in chronological order…there are also plenty of commentaries that discuss the details of the crucifixion…

- what’s noteworthy here – as I mentioned in the introduction, is what’s said, and what’s not…

A. As He is crucified as a common criminal

- Luke states this in about as few words as you can imagine…

- Luke 23:33 - When they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left.

- he explains the place – Golgatha, or Calvary, or a location called “the Skull”

- no one knows for sure why this place outside the city would be called that…

- perhaps it was on a hill so that all citizens could see what the Roman government was capable of doing to people they wished to punish…

- or perhaps because the skulls of those who had been previously crucified were left lying around…

- he also explains the method – crucifixion…but even though Luke was doctor, he says nothing about the physical aspects of what they were doing to Jesus…

- and he explains that two criminals were on either side…the gospels of Matthew and Mark use a word that explains these men were robbers or insurrectionists…

- all of this amazingly and perfectly fulfilling prophecies like Isaiah 53:12 - …and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He Himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors.

- now, all of us might ask – why such an economy of words?...

- historians have written about the process of crucifixion and so have medical doctors…and the process was cruel and horrifying…why wouldn’t the gospel writers have emphasized that more?...of course we don’t know for sure…

- but there are 3 possible reasons…

1. the original readers would have already been intimately familiar with that knowledge…

- just the word crucified would have made them recoil…

2. the physical pain was not the focus…the core issue was always what was being accomplished spiritually by this marvelous sacrifice…that’s what the words before and after the verse we just mentioned from Isaiah affirms -- Isaiah 53:12 - …He poured out Himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He Himself bore the sin of many…

3. It’s also possible that the Lord does not want us to respond to these events in a purely emotional fashion…

- ultimately you and I have to decide how we are going to respond to a king who died…but the focus needs to be, not that it was a horrible death, but that it was a substitutionary death…

- now who else was present in this part of the story?...

B. As He was surrounded by self-centered indifference

- Luke 23:34 - …And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves.

- here’s the promised Messiah, God’s suffering servant, the king dying for the sins of man…and some of the soldiers are most interested in who’s going to get his cloak…

- our old-time members will remember Pastor’s Goode’s sermon on this verse – where they were “gambling at the foot of the cross”…while they supervised the cruel death of an innocent king…

C. Subjected to mocking and sneering

- Luke 23:35–37 - And the people stood by, looking on. And even the rulers were sneering at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One.” The soldiers also mocked Him, coming up to Him, offering Him sour wine, and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself!”

- their message was clear – what a pathetic king…we would never want a Messiah who suffers like this…

- part of what’s amazing is that this is exactly what Scripture predicted hundreds of years before it occurred…

- Isaiah 50:6 - I gave My back to those who strike Me, and My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard; I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting.

- either the people involved were ignorant or Scripture or completely indifferent to it…

- there were also passages like this great Messianic Psalm…

- Psalm 22:6–8 - But I am a worm and not a man, a reproach of men and despised by the people. All who see me sneer at me; they separate with the lip, they wag the head, saying, “Commit yourself to the Lord; let Him deliver him; Let Him rescue him, because He delights in him.”

- it boggles the mind that those who has access to Scripture – were not connecting the dots more rapidly…

- so they even argued about the sign placed above his bloodied head…Luke simply records - Luke 23:38 - Now there was also an inscription above Him, “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

- but the other gospel writers explain that the religious leaders wanted Pilate to change it to say – he claimed to be the king of the Jews…do you remember Pilate’s response?... John 19:22 - Pilate answered, “What I have written I have written.”

- that may be the most courageous act Pilate ever performed, and the most accurate words he ever wrote…

- now, lest we become too judgmental of these various people and groups…can we think about a hard question…D. Would we have been any different?

- have you and I ever struggled to make Jesus our rightful King?...especially when His thoughts are not our thoughts, and His ways are not our ways?...

- I don’t like what Jesus says about the way I use my tongue, so he’s not going to be my king in that area of my life…I’ll be my own king…

- I don’t like what Jesus says about relationships and sexuality and marriage, so I’ll be my own king…

- I don’t like what Jesus says about humility and integrity and honesty, so I’ll be my own king…

- embracing a Messiah who suffers doesn’t come easily or automatically…following someone who is worthy of being our Lord doesn’t come easily or automatically either…

- can I ask this am – do you find these example of the rejection of God’s suffering Savior to be sobering?...

- and I realize that we have a lot of things to be sobered about in our world right now…but what is delightful about Luke’s telling of this aspect of the Easter story – is that rejection is now what’s really on display…that’s just the dark backdrop by which we can…

II. Be Amazed by the Compassion of the Suffering Messiah.

- when we pull all four gospels together – we learn that there were seven “sayings from the cross” – Luke records three of them…which shows Jesus, even as is suffering…

A. Who is focused on forgiveness

- Luke 23:34 - But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”

- an important point about all of these statements is – this is how a real king dies…

- the majesty, and self-lessness, and humility is on perfect display…

- this is what Isaiah meant in his Suffering Servant Songs…think again about the final stanza in Isa 53:12 - Isaiah 53:12 - …He poured out Himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He Himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors.

- while many in this story rejected this kind of king, we should be amazed by His compassion and grace…

- by the way, was this prayer fulfilled?...

- Christ’s petition was in one sense a general prayer, revealing that there is no sin against the Son of God so severe that it cannot be forgiven those who repent (cf. Matt. 12:31–32)…On the Day of Pentecost, three thousand Jews in Jerusalem were converted to Christ and baptized and the church was born. Within a few weeks, another five thousand or more people in Jerusalem embraced the faith of Jesus Christ. Surely many of those who came to Christ in those weeks after the resurrection were there in the crowd that day at Calvary. The church was in large measure born out of those who stood there and mocked the Son of God in answer to this prayer (John MacArthur, Romans 1-8, pp. 384-85).

- then there’s this incredible interaction with one of the two thieves…who says…

- Luke 23:42 - And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!”

- maybe this man heard what Jesus had just prayed to the father about forgiveness…

- and finally we have someone willing to accept the king on God’s terms not his own…[repeat verse]…and what did Christ say?...

B. Who is focused on redemption

- Luke 23:43 - And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”

- there’s only way that was going to be possible…if Jesus did what He was doing at that very moment…

- and by the way – it’s amazing that Jesus was saying anything to anyone…

- crucifixion was death by suffocation…and the person would go through the agonizing pain of pulling up on the spikes in his wrists and pushing on the ones in his feet in order to catch a breath…

- the last thing you would do is waste any of it…which tells us – assuring a repentant criminal of his eternal destiny wasn’t a waste of breath in the mind of our compassionate Savior…

- what a beautiful picture of 1 Peter 3:18 - For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God…

- friend, I repeat – this is how a real king dies…by actually desiring a repentant thief to be with Him…that very day…in Paradise…

- my dad and I even made a few of those fishing trips after I was married…in this particular trip we were living in NJ – and because of where our friends were coming from in VA, and where my dad was coming from in IN, and where we were heading in Canada – we decided to meet at a hotel in Toledo…

- well, I had to work the day before, so I knew I wouldn’t get there till 3 or 4 in the am…

- and this was long before cell phones and e-mail – so we just decided where we would meet…

- in my dad’s mind, that meant I would come up to their room whenever arrived and wake them up…what I assumed was that I would just fold the seat back in the car and sleep there so I didn’t bother them…

- early that morning as the sun was coming up, here’s my dad and his friend Jack walking through the parking lot looking for me…and there was this sense of incredible relief on their faces that I had made it safely…

- friends, that’s the kind of Savior we worship…one who would say to a repentant thief with His dying breath -- Luke 23:43 - And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”

- then something else happened…darkness falls over the earth…and we know from the other gospels that this when God the Father turned His back on His own Son while Jesus bore the weight and the penalty of our sin…

- that’s a very important point – ultimately the religious leaders did not kill Jesus…nor did Pilate or the soldiers…

- when we first started doing our passion plays…a Jewish rabbi contacted me and asked me to stop doing them because it would lead to anti-Semitism because people would blame Jewish persons for the death of Christ…

- and I explained to him that while I would not deny that may have occurred in other periods of time in other places…that response misses the point…

- a Christian wouldn’t blame the Jewish leaders, or the Roman leaders, or the soldiers, or anyone else for the death of Christ for at least 2 reasons…

- we believe Jesus was dying for our sin…we killed Jesus…we didn’t just need a king…we needed a Messiah willing to suffer for us…

- but there’s an answer even more profound than that one – and it gets at the very heart of the gospel…

- friend, who killed Jesus?...the answer is – the Heavenly Father…

- and to the degree to which you understand that point…to that same degree you understand the essence of the gospel…

- God is Holy, and His just wrath had to be satisfied or sinners like this thief could have never been redeemed…not truly…

- which is why we read these amazing words in Isaiah… Isaiah 53:10 - But the Lord was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering…

- this was for – using the terminology we’ve learned in our study of the book of Romans…that Romans 3:26 - for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

- this penetrating darkness that occurred at high noon, and lasted for 3 hours was not brought on by Satan…it was brought on by God Himself…and when that along with the earthquake and the other events explained in the other gospels occurred…this was a time to mock and joke no longer…and then Luke explains…- Luke 23:45 - because the sun was obscured; and the veil of the temple was torn in two.

- that my friends, is the greatest news you can imagine…because now it is possible through redemption, and propitiation, and justification…to be clothed in the righteousness of Christ…just like this repentant thief…and be brought to God…

- which is why the final words of Christ that Luke records…

C. Who is focused on completion

- Luke 23:46 - And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.” Having said this, He breathed His last.

- that’s how a king dies…this is how the majestic, regal, suffering servant prophesied by Isaiah dies…

- He completes the task that no one else can fulfill…

- friends, where does that leave us?

III. Be Missional as You Watch God Draw People to Himself

- isn’t it true that what is probably the best known verse in all the Word of God is mapped all over this passage?

- John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

- and who were some of those “whosoever’s”?...

A. The thief

- Luke tells us that Luke 23:39 - One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!”

- sadly, yet another person who wasn’t satisfied that Jesus was the kind of king he wanted, or in this case, demanded at the moment…

- but what the other says is proof of the power of the gospel…Luke 23:40–41 - But the other answered, and rebuking him said, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? “And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.”

- friends, that’s repentance…that’s acknowledging the hard truth we mentioned a moment ago?...who killed Jesus?...in a very real sense, I did, and so did you…

- then this man used his dying breath to cry out -- Luke 23:42 - And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!”

- then there was…

B. The centurion

- how long was it between when Jesus died and people were being “brought to God” just as Peter affirmed?...

- milliseconds…

- Luke 23:47 - Now when the centurion saw what had happened, he began praising God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent.”

- you talk about a dramatic conversion – this hardened soldier praising God in front of anyone willing to listen…

- friend – have you responded to the message of God’s suffering Savior in this way?...

- there are all kinds of ways to take the position that you won’t have this kind of king rule over you…many people around our world have been living that way…

- and regrettably, many of the items in which they placed their faith and trust in instead are now gone…

- what a marvelous example of God’s providential and saving work…

- [develop the gospel]…

C. The crowd

- Luke 23:48 - And all the crowds who came together for this spectacle, when they observed what had happened, began to return, beating their breasts.

- you talk about a whiplash of emotions…

- anyone who had mocked and ridiculed Christ hours before were beating themselves with guilt and remorse…which isn’t necessarily a bad thing…if it leads to repentance and faith….

D. Christ’s followers

- Luke 23:49 - And all His acquaintances and the women who accompanied Him from Galilee were standing at a distance, seeing these things.

- why was it so important for them to be there?...

- one answer is – so they could tell us…

- 2 Peter 1:16 - For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.

- and this wasn’t all they were going to see – because as one black pastor so eloquently said it – what we’ve been studying this am – this was Friday…but Sunday was coming…

- I know all of these events surrounding COVID-19 have been very unsettling…

- but if you have responded properly to the Messiah who Died – then you’re ready for whatever might come in life or death…