3/21,28/07 - Midweek Lent - Luke 23:32-43

IT IS HIDDEN IN OUR SAVIOR'S UNSELFISHNESS
-"Let him save himself!"
- See him save others

Tonight, we are finally at the cross itself. But its glory is still hidden. Because there’s nothing glorious about an execution. There’s nothing glorious about capital punishment. There’s nothing glorious about watching someone bleed to death. And so although we are staring right at the cross of our Savior in our text, the glory of his cross is still not clearly seen. Tonight it is hidden in our Savior’s unselfishness. Our reading is from Luke 23:32-43:
Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed.  When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left.  Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.”  The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar  and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”  There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.  One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!”  But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence?  We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”  Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Do you see how unselfish Jesus was while he hung on the cross? That is where the glory of the cross is hidden. And we are able to see it both in what was said to him and what he said to others. First of all, we see it in the words of the Jewish leaders. They had come to the crucifixion after all. They had wanted to see Jesus bleed. They had wanted to see Jesus die. They were loving the moment! They had finally arrested, tried, and sentenced this man to death who had embarrassed them and preached against them and led people away from them for years. But now they had him on the cross! They had succeeded! They had won! And so they rubbed it in. They “sneered at him” our reading says. “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.” They were saying these mocking words among themselves, probably to the crowd that was standing there, and I’m sure loud enough for Jesus himself to hear. “Let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.” Jesus could have. He could have pulled out the nails from his hands and feet. He could have came down from the cross and stood right in front of them. He could have struck them dead for sneering at the Almighty God! But he didn’t. Instead, what does Scripture say Jesus did? It doesn’t say he did anything. Jesus hung there and took it. He didn’t save himself although he very well could have. Because he didn’t want to save himself. He wanted to save the very ones who were sneering at him.
But then the Roman soldiers even joined in. “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.” The soldiers said this because they had seen the sign above Jesus’ head that said, “This is the King of the Jews,” and they thought to themselves, “King? This guy is a king? I don’t know any king like that.” The soldiers were used to kings living in palaces, clothed in flowing robes, throwing extravagant feasts, and waited on by countless servants. And so they were right. They hadn’t seen any king like Jesus before, and they never would again. Instead of being waited on by servants, Jesus was a servant himself. Instead of throwing extravagant feasts, Jesus pronounced that man didn’t live on bread alone. Instead of being clothed in ornate robes, he had been stripped of his clothing so as to be a spectacle to the onlookers. Instead of living in a palace, Jesus now hung on a cross. This was no typical king because there was no outward glory. The glory of this king lay in his unselfishness. Because once again Jesus didn’t rebuke those who mocked him. He didn’t strike him dead. He silently absorbed their hateful words even though he was the King of the Jews and even though he could have saved himself. But again, he didn’t want to. He did not want to save himself. He wanted to save those very men who were being so cruel to their Maker.
And if the words of the soldiers and the leaders wasn’t enough, one of the criminals on the cross next to him felt the need to blaspheme the Lord. “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!” You would think out of all the unbelievers on that hill of Calvary that day, a person who was hanging on a cross right next to Jesus would show at least a little sympathy. Because not only did he know the physical pain that Jesus was experiencing at the moment, he also heard the taunts and jeers that were coming from the crowd. But no, instead of being sympathetic, the criminal acted pathetic. He openly and crassly harassed a dying man - who happened to also be the living God. But isn’t it interesting what that criminal said and how Jesus could have responded? “Aren’t you the Christ?” - “Yes I am.” “Save yourself…” - “I don’t want to.” “…and us!” - “I am.” Jesus was in the middle of saving that criminal when he spoke those words, that’s the ironic thing! He was in the middle of saving the entire human race when the leaders, the soldiers, and that criminal all mockingly said the same thing: “Save yourself!” But that was why Jesus was up there on the cross in the first place - he didn’t want to save himself. He wanted to save them. He wanted to save you.
And that unselfish love is no clearer than in the words of Jesus. He spoke twice in our text for today. And both times Luke records our Savior speaking - they are words we could never even imagine being said. As Jesus was being nailed to the cross he says the first time, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Come again? Did Jesus just say what I think he said? Did he say, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing?!?” What do you mean they didn’t know? Of course they did! They had planned for years to arrest him. They looked for different ways to kill him. They paid one of his disciples to betray him. They rounded up a mob to arrest him. They had the presence of mind to set up a kangaroo court in the middle of the night. They influenced the crowds to get the crucifixion penalty. And they went out to the crucifixion itself to watch him die! How could Jesus possibly say that they didn’t know what they were doing? Well, they may have been intellectually aware of their actions, but they were still blinded by sin. They didn’t believe Jesus was their Savior. If they had, they wouldn’t be doing these awful things. And so Jesus says those incredible words, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing!” That is unselfishness to the extreme! As his hands were being gored with iron stakes, he cries out “Father, forgive them!” He wasn’t thinking about himself. He didn’t care about the pain they were inflicting, he didn’t care about the hatred they were displaying, he didn’t care about the suffering he was already enduring. He cared about them. He wanted them to come to faith. He wanted them to repent. He wanted them to be forgiven.
I see his love and his desire and his disregard for himself while he is being crucified, and I can’t even bear to look at my own life. This display of Christ’s unselfishness makes my selfishness that much more disgusting to me. I get so caught up in what I want, what I can get, what I need, what I like, what I have, what I pray for… What about what the Lord wants, what the Lord would like, what the Lord’s will is, what the Lord says in his Word? Why isn’t that my concern? Why isn’t that what I focus on? The realization of my inbred selfishness convicts me. I should be on a cross next to Jesus. I’m a criminal. I deserve death. You do too, don’t you? You’re starting to notice your selfishness too. We all are human being and so we all are selfish. And if we all are selfish we all are sinful. We all should be on a cross expecting to die for who we are.
But if we were on a cross next to Christ, I would hope that we wouldn’t speak the words of that first criminal, but the words of the second. I would hope that we would admit our sinfulness as that second criminal did and say, “We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve.” But I would also hope that we would then turn to our Savior and say with that criminal, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Because that is faith. That is trusting in the Savior. That is remembering what Jesus said before, “Father, forgive them,” and knowing that those words are for you! And that is really the hidden glory of the cross. Not an outward display of majesty, but the ultimate display of unselfishness and love and forgiveness. That’s the glory that was won on that cross. That’s the glory that is promised to us because of it.
There are few words more glorious than the words Jesus spoke to that criminal. There are few stories in Scripture more touching than the story of the thief on the cross. Not only because of the scene and the moment, but because you can just as easily put yourself in that criminal’s place. And one day you will be. You may not be hanging on a cross, but you will one day be on your own deathbed. Guilty of sin and facing death. But when you are. When you are on the verge of leaving this life I want you to remember these unselfish and completely comforting words from Jesus to that criminal, and from Jesus to you: “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” Remember these words when you near death. Remember that Jesus said this on the cross because of the cross. And because of the glory it will bring. “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” I can’t wait for Jesus to say those words to me. I can’t wait for Jesus to say those words to you. And so for all of us I hope that “today” comes soon.
Amen.

“The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.” - Romans 16:20