So today, I’m going to talk about the Easter story. And you may be thinking that you know this already. You might hear this every year. So do I. Yes, Jesus died on a cross. That is a fact. You can know that. But knowing this story personally can change you. There is a great deal of difference between knowing that you can be forgiven and knowing that you are forgiven.
On that first Easter Friday, Jesus, along with two other criminals, was led out of the town to be executed. Just before that, Jesus was run through a fake trial, and in the end, the powers-to-be found this King guilty of treason. Jesus was whipped and beaten and then nailed on a cross between two other criminals.
And so what was His response? What did He have to say through all this? I wonder what you would have said if you were arrested for things you didn’t do and were beaten up for no reason. What would your response be?
We are told in sentence 34, (its on our sheet in front of us.)
And in the rest of our passage, we see who was there and what they said to Jesus. The rulers sneered, the soldiers mocked, and one of the criminals also insulted Jesus.
The rulers were getting what they wanted. They were gloating that Jesus was caught and dying.
The soldiers were in it for a laugh. They thought it was funny to execute someone who thought they were a king.
And the dying man next to Jesus insultingly tested Him. If Jesus is really who He said He is, then prove it by doing what he says he should do.
And it was to those that Jesus said, “Father, forgive them”. Those who thought Jesus was a loser, those who didn’t take anything too seriously, and those who put conditions on God, Jesus says, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing”.
It is easy to sneer, mock and insult Jesus. Because that way, you don’t have to think too hard about Him. It is like a defence mechanism. It’s easy to hold Jesus at arm's length and to not really engage with Him. You can think Christianity is on a sinking ship, or that those who follow Jesus are silly for their misguided ways. You can put conditions on God, saying you will only believe in Him if he jumps through your hoops and follows your terms and conditions. It is less scary to think you are somehow entitled to put the ball in God’s court than to realise He has already acted, and the ball is in yours. You just have to respond, repent and go to Him.
To all who sneer and mock and insult, Jesus still offers forgiveness. Even today. His arms are out wide to welcome you. They are literally nailed there for you to come to Him, because He loves you, and God wants to be with you. The offer of forgiveness is there, but those who don’t see it will go home not knowing what they have done.
But maybe that is not you, you who comes to an Easter service. You don’t sneer or mock or insult Jesus. You might even know that you are in trouble. You know you have done wrong. You have hurt people with your deeds. You may think that the consequences of your life has brought you to a dead end. You may think you don’t even deserve forgiveness. Why would God accept you after all that you have done?
To those who think forgiveness is not open to them, look at the other criminal on the cross. In sentence 41 he says
And seeing Jesus’ innocence, the criminal turns to Jesus and asks to be remembered. He wants to enter in to Jesus’ kingdom. Which means he thinks Jesus really is a king. You can’t have a kingdom without a king.
And Jesus says to this dying criminal who deserves death, “Yes, salvation can come to you this day.” He was forgiven and will be let into God’s kingdom. There was nothing else this guy could do besides asking Jesus to remember him.
All those who think they don't deserve forgiveness can come to Jesus and receive it. You are probably worse than you think you are, but you are loved by God more than you know. Jesus sees you fully, knows you completely, and still moves toward you with forgiveness. That is why He came, to forgive you for all your wrongs.
Jesus cries out for forgiveness on the cross for all who put Him there, and we all put Him there. We live in God’s good creation and ignore Him and His desires for us. We live our own ways, ignoring Him. All our wrong doings, all our hurtful words and actions, mean we are storing up offences to God. And one day we will give an account for what we have done.
And so Jesus came to deal with our offences, so that we don’t have to. He endured the punishment our deeds deserved on that Easter cross. It was there He said, “Father, forgive them”. All of them. The leaders, the soldiers, the criminals and us. All of us who were responsible for His death on the cross.
And the forgiveness Jesus offers means we can be with God. The second criminal on the cross wanted to be remembered by Jesus and to be in His kingdom. He wanted to be known by God and to be with God. The final aim of our forgiveness is that we get God. He dwells with us now, and we will dwell with Him forever.
You know, Calwell, the suburb? It is named after Arthur Calwell. He was the leader of the Labor Party in the 1960s. On the 21st of June 1966, after a speech in Mosman, Calwell got into his car to leave, Peter Kocan walked up to his window, pointed a sawed-off .22 rifle at him and fired it. Calwell survived with a few scratches from the glass, and with the bullet was lodged in the lapel of his coat. Peter, the shooter, was immediately arrested and later sentenced to life imprisonment. He ended up in a psychiatric hospital for the criminally insane. While there, Arthur Calwell forgave Peter for trying to kill him. And, Calwell didn’t just say this from afar, but went and visited Peter, and the two exchanged letters. Calwell even said, if there was some way for him to be helpful in reducing his sentence, he would. And Peter Kocan would be released 10 years later.
Arthur Calwell was a Christian. Calwell was able to forgive the person who tried to kill him, and be willing to be with him because he was copying, in a small way, his King. Jesus, after all, while on the cross, forgave the people who were killing him. Every time you go to Calwell, remember he was the guy who forgave the man who tried to kill him, mimicking Jesus who forgave all those who killed Him.
Jesus is really the king who comes and offers forgiveness to you. So the important question is, what do you do with Him? This Easter, will you know about this forgiveness or will you personally know this forgiveness?
To receive this forgiveness from God, you can pray something simple, like the guy on the cross did. You could say: ‘Jesus, remember me. Forgive me. Bring me into Your kingdom.’ And Jesus, as we have seen, is happy to answer that prayer.
A song is going to be played now, to give you some time to think and reflect. This song is about the love of God, and how Jesus was willing to be forsaken so that you could be forgiven.
And so what was His response? What did He have to say through all this? I wonder what you would have said if you were arrested for things you didn’t do and were beaten up for no reason. What would your response be?
We are told in sentence 34, (its on our sheet in front of us.)
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)Lifted up and dying, arms stretched out wide, Jesus on the cross asks God to forgive the people who are killing Him. He is crying out, not insults or curses, but forgiveness for those who have put Him on the cross.
And in the rest of our passage, we see who was there and what they said to Jesus. The rulers sneered, the soldiers mocked, and one of the criminals also insulted Jesus.
The rulers were getting what they wanted. They were gloating that Jesus was caught and dying.
The soldiers were in it for a laugh. They thought it was funny to execute someone who thought they were a king.
And the dying man next to Jesus insultingly tested Him. If Jesus is really who He said He is, then prove it by doing what he says he should do.
And it was to those that Jesus said, “Father, forgive them”. Those who thought Jesus was a loser, those who didn’t take anything too seriously, and those who put conditions on God, Jesus says, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing”.
It is easy to sneer, mock and insult Jesus. Because that way, you don’t have to think too hard about Him. It is like a defence mechanism. It’s easy to hold Jesus at arm's length and to not really engage with Him. You can think Christianity is on a sinking ship, or that those who follow Jesus are silly for their misguided ways. You can put conditions on God, saying you will only believe in Him if he jumps through your hoops and follows your terms and conditions. It is less scary to think you are somehow entitled to put the ball in God’s court than to realise He has already acted, and the ball is in yours. You just have to respond, repent and go to Him.
To all who sneer and mock and insult, Jesus still offers forgiveness. Even today. His arms are out wide to welcome you. They are literally nailed there for you to come to Him, because He loves you, and God wants to be with you. The offer of forgiveness is there, but those who don’t see it will go home not knowing what they have done.
But maybe that is not you, you who comes to an Easter service. You don’t sneer or mock or insult Jesus. You might even know that you are in trouble. You know you have done wrong. You have hurt people with your deeds. You may think that the consequences of your life has brought you to a dead end. You may think you don’t even deserve forgiveness. Why would God accept you after all that you have done?
To those who think forgiveness is not open to them, look at the other criminal on the cross. In sentence 41 he says
We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” (Luke 23:41)We aren’t told what this criminal had done. But whatever it was, he thinks it is fair and just that he should get the death penalty. He knows he has done wrong and is deserving of death. He knows his life choices have brought him to this dead end. There is nothing left for him on earth to do but to die.
And seeing Jesus’ innocence, the criminal turns to Jesus and asks to be remembered. He wants to enter in to Jesus’ kingdom. Which means he thinks Jesus really is a king. You can’t have a kingdom without a king.
And Jesus says to this dying criminal who deserves death, “Yes, salvation can come to you this day.” He was forgiven and will be let into God’s kingdom. There was nothing else this guy could do besides asking Jesus to remember him.
All those who think they don't deserve forgiveness can come to Jesus and receive it. You are probably worse than you think you are, but you are loved by God more than you know. Jesus sees you fully, knows you completely, and still moves toward you with forgiveness. That is why He came, to forgive you for all your wrongs.
Jesus cries out for forgiveness on the cross for all who put Him there, and we all put Him there. We live in God’s good creation and ignore Him and His desires for us. We live our own ways, ignoring Him. All our wrong doings, all our hurtful words and actions, mean we are storing up offences to God. And one day we will give an account for what we have done.
And so Jesus came to deal with our offences, so that we don’t have to. He endured the punishment our deeds deserved on that Easter cross. It was there He said, “Father, forgive them”. All of them. The leaders, the soldiers, the criminals and us. All of us who were responsible for His death on the cross.
And the forgiveness Jesus offers means we can be with God. The second criminal on the cross wanted to be remembered by Jesus and to be in His kingdom. He wanted to be known by God and to be with God. The final aim of our forgiveness is that we get God. He dwells with us now, and we will dwell with Him forever.
Arthur Calwell was a Christian. Calwell was able to forgive the person who tried to kill him, and be willing to be with him because he was copying, in a small way, his King. Jesus, after all, while on the cross, forgave the people who were killing him. Every time you go to Calwell, remember he was the guy who forgave the man who tried to kill him, mimicking Jesus who forgave all those who killed Him.
Jesus is really the king who comes and offers forgiveness to you. So the important question is, what do you do with Him? This Easter, will you know about this forgiveness or will you personally know this forgiveness?
To receive this forgiveness from God, you can pray something simple, like the guy on the cross did. You could say: ‘Jesus, remember me. Forgive me. Bring me into Your kingdom.’ And Jesus, as we have seen, is happy to answer that prayer.
A song is going to be played now, to give you some time to think and reflect. This song is about the love of God, and how Jesus was willing to be forsaken so that you could be forgiven.
(I’m going to be around for this whole festival, so please come up to me, anytime if you want to talk more about this. I would gladly hear you out.)
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