Stations of the Cross, Pt. 6: "Pure and Holy Son of God"

PURE AND HOLY SON OF GOD (MATTTHEW 27:39-44, LUKE 23:39-44)
Three pastors went to the pastor's convention and were all sharing one room. The first pastor said, “Let's confess our secret vices one to another. I'll start - my secret vice is I just love to gamble. When I go out of town, it's cha-ching cha-ching, let the machines ring!”

The second pastor said, “My secret vice is that I just love to drink. When I go out of town, I like to take a little nip of something.”

The third pastor said, “My secret vice is gossiping and I can't wait to get out of this room!”

I am sure all of us had our fair share of being disrupted, disparaged or discouraged by rude behavior such as insults, curses, or gossip.

Jesus Christ’s harshest critics appeared near the end of his life, shortly after the soldiers had nailed Jesus on the cross. While Jesus hung on literally for his life on the cross, one group after another made fun of him. At the cross vehement words like poison poured from three sources: the passersby that added insult to injury; followed by the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders that added insincerity to incivility; and finally the thief on the cross that added inspiration to insight.

Could Jesus save himself? Could God the Father save the God the Son? How did Jesus respond to his tormentors, followers and defenders? What did he accomplish on the cross for the very people who treated him so?

The Son of God Forgives Those Who Hurt the Father
38 Two robbers were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. 39 Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads 40 and saying, "You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!" (Matt 27:39-40)
32 Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. 33 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. 34 Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
35 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." 36 The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 37 and said, "If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself." 38 There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. 39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!" (Luke 23:32-39)

One of the most powerful prayers uncovered in the midst of suffering was from the ravages of Ravensbruck. Ravensbruck was a concentration camp built in 1939 for women. Over 90,000 women and children perished in Ravensbruck, murdered and exterminated by the Nazis. Corrie Ten Boom, the author of “The Hiding Place,” was imprisoned there once, too. The prayer, found in the clothing of a dead child, says: “O Lord, remember not only the men and women of good will, but also those of ill will. But do not remember all of the suffering they have inflicted upon us: Instead remember the fruits we have borne because of this suffering, our fellowship, our loyalty to one another, our humility, our courage, our generosity, the greatness of heart that has grown from this trouble. When our persecutors come to be judged by you, let all of these fruits that we have borne be their forgiveness.” http://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/f/forgiveness.htm

The people who mocked Jesus on the cross did not surprise, sadden or shake Jesus one bit. You are only surprised, sadden or shaken if you were unaware, unprepared or undermined. As Charlie Brown would say defiantly to his critics: “I don’t care if you can argue better than I can! You just sound right!”

The book of Luke tells us that before the soldiers divided up his clothes and the people and the rulers poured scorn on him, Jesus uttered his first words on the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34-43)

Jesus prayed for the forgiveness of those who hurled abuse at him, piled insults on him and laughed at his expense. We know from experience that bitterness and retaliation cannot rid the pain of suffering at people’s hands; only love and forgiveness can relieve, remove and reverse the anguish.

The passersby were badly mistaken. Coming down from the cross, putting on a show of force and fooling them at the very last second were not Jesus’ intentions or in his plans. The most compelling proof of his power was not to cheat or escape death, but to forgive those who plot, relish or scorn his death.

Jesus’ forgiveness was amazing. Up to this point, he had been falsely accused, repeatedly misrepresented and unfairly tried, but the first thing on Jesus' mind, the first prayer on the cross, the first words the crowd heard was not vengeance, disgust or hate, but forgiveness. He did not say he was wronged and he did not take their hurtful words personally. The people’s insults were directed at God the Father and Jesus' petition to the Father was for His mercy upon them, and not judgment upon them or punishment for them.

Jesus did not just teach forgiveness; he modeled forgiveness. For Jesus, the passersby were his attackers and assailants, but never his antagonists or adversaries.

The Son of God Frustrates Those Who Harden Themselves
41 In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. 42 "He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! He's the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, 'I am the Son of God.'" (Matt 27:41-43)

The Daily Bread (4/28/97) records the story of a judge who was constantly annoyed by the sneering remarks and abusive language of an attorney. Instead of cracking down on the lawyer and silencing him, the judge would only smile and chew on his pencil. People wondered how he could be so patient.

At a dinner party someone asked him, “Why don't you do something about that wise-guy lawyer?” The judge laid down his fork, and resting his chin on his hands said, “Up in our town there lives a widow who has a dog. Whenever there is a full moon, that dog barks and barks all night.” Then the judge quietly resumed his eating. One person asked, “But Judge, what about the dog and the moon?” He replied, “Well, the moon just keeps right on shining!” http://www.rbc.org/odb/odb-04-28-97.shtml

Abraham Lincoln once said, “If I were to try to read, much less answer, all the attacks made on me, this shop might as well be closed for any other business. I do the very best I know how -– the very best I can; and I mean to keep doing so until the end. If the end brings me out all right, what is said to me won’t amount to anything. If the end brings me out wrong, ten angels swearing I was right will make no difference.” (The Wit and Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln, NY: Barnes and Noble Books, 1994, p. 188)

Who were the ones who hardened themselves?

The chief priests, the teachers of the law and the leaders, who were as sarcastic and as sincere as the devil himself, so Jesus treated these religious leaders with his last breath the same way he treated the devil and evil spirits all through his ministry. What do I mean?

The religious leaders mocked him as king, provoked him to act and presented the same offer the devil outlined in his first appearance, temptation and words to Jesus - in the wilderness: “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Another temptation from the highest point of the temple was: “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down.” But Jesus answered, “It is written: `Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God'“ and then “It is also written: `Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'“ (Matt 4:2-7).

Later, the gospels of Mark and Luke noted that when the demons and evil spirits that came out of many people at the sight and in the presence of Jesus, they fell down before Jesus, as recorded by both writers, and cried out the same words: “You are the Son of God.” Though the demons and evil spirits knew he was the Christ, acknowledged His name and obeyed His command, Jesus Christ still rebuked them, forbade them to speak and gave them strict orders not to reveal who he was (Mark 3:10-12, Luke 4:41) Two violent demon-possessed men also met their doom even though they, too, politely called Jesus the Son of God (Matt 8:28-29).

In the same way, the religious leaders who mocked Jesus’ name and requested a miracle “so that they might believe” (Matt 27:47, Mark 15:32) had hardened their unbelieving hearts and sealed their own fate despite their double talk, justifying what Jesus had predicted in the gospel of John: “The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:25-27)

The Son of God Favors Those Who Honor Him
44 In the same way the robbers who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him. (Matt 27:44)
39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!" 40 But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong." 42 Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."
43 Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise." (Luke 23:39-43)

Peanuts cartoonist Charles M. Schulz did some of his best work with poor Charlie Brown lying on his bed, talking to himself. Here are a few monologues:
“Sometimes I lie awake at night, and I ask myself, ‘Why me?’ Then a voice answers, ‘Nothing personal. Your name just happened to come up.’”
“Sometimes I lie awake at night and I ask myself, 'Where did it all go wrong?' And then a voice comes to me that says: ‘This is going to take more than one night.’”
“Sometimes I lie awake at night in bed and I ask, ‘Is it all worth it?’ And then a voice says, ‘Who are you talking to?’ And another voice says, ‘You mean: to whom are you talking?’” Finally, Charlie Brown says, “No wonder I lie awake at night.”
“Sometimes I lie awake at night and I ask, ‘Why am I here?’ And a voice says, ‘Where are you?’” “Here,” Charlie Brown says. “Where’s here?” says the voice. “Wave your hand so I can see you.” Charlie Brown says, “The nights are getting longer.”
“Sometimes I lie awake at night, and I ask, ‘Is life a multiple choice test or is it a true or false test?’ Then a voice comes out of the dark, and says: ‘We hate to tell you this, but life is a thousand word essay.’”
“Sometimes I lie awake at night, and I ask, ‘Who, Why, What and Where?’ Then a voice comes back to me that says, ‘Wait a minute...I think you’ve lost me.’”

Losing out in the end in the game of life is very painful. Someone captured the day’s outcome for the sneering criminal, the dying Savior and the confessing criminal who were hanging on the cross this way: “One died in sin, one died for sin and one died to sin.” The criminal who died in sin squandered his time in life and in death, occupied valuable space by the Savior for nothing and failed to value and seize present opportunity and future outcome. Unlike the repentant criminal, he did not speak to Jesus, with or for Him, but only speak of, about and against Him. When the occasion presenting itself, the thief, with his hardened stance and harsh tone, did nothing to help his own cause or plead his own case.

The story of the repentant criminal who died to sin was about one who had a keen ear, an independent mind, a sincere heart and a confessing mouth. He had heard with his ears Jesus’ prayer of forgiveness, decided not to join in the herd mentality, used his mouth with passion to defend Jesus and believed in his heart Jesus’ offer of salvation.

The Son of God honored those who call on His name, come to saving faith and confess Him before men. He never turned away a lost sinner or one last confession. The repentant criminal was not the only one saved at the cross; the centurion made his opportunity at the cross count, too. The scared but sincere centurion confessed, “Surely he was the Son of God!” (Matt 27:54). Such people never come away empty from the cross.

Conclusion: Jesus is the Son of God on His own terms (Mark 1:1). He was not anyone’s Pied Piper or Circus Clown. Jesus came so that the dead who hear the voice of the Son of God will live (John 5:25) and that those who believe the Son of God may have life in his name (John 20:31). The first thing on Jesus’ mind was not to settle the score, silence his critics or strike them down. He was more than able to take care of himself, but he considered saving others his mission. Shortly before his death, he offered salvation to the repentant thief, the believing centurion and the like-minded guards (Matt 27:54). John 3:17 says, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” Have you come to the cross for personal salvation, God’s forgiveness and life transformation? Do not wait or wonder anymore. He is ever present, willing and beckoning to forgive and save.