Sunday 12th January 2014 - The Three Crosses - Martin Kedian

KLC SUNDAY 12/1/2014 Title . THE THREE CROSSES Calvary was the place of three Crosses : of Rebellion of Repentance of Redemption and today the choice is ours The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ is the corner stone of our faith It is the chosen symbol of the Christian faith Thank God we see it now as an empty cross Because this seeming tragedy for good and apparent victory for evil Was overturned by the power and purposes of God Into the the triumph of the resurrection of Jesus But what does this mean to us The cross is more than some ornament The cross is Gods final word regarding the character and consequence of human sin It shouts of and proclaims the wonder and sacrifice of divine love Jesus went to the cross so that we through his death and resurrection might have a personal relationship with God The cross is Gods declaration of love Here full atonement for sin was made It's Jesus stretched out between heaven and earth suffering more than anyone has ever suffered for you and for me The cross is Jesus as our Saviour The cross is most holy place we can come to The cross the place where heavens love and justice meet As Jesus hung upon that cross he made seven great statements treasured by believers for millennia It is significant that seven is Gods perfect number These words cover the basic needs of mankind Lets meditate on them together The testament of Jesus to a world wrecked by sin So Seven words from the cross The first word Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing Luke 23:24 Forgive them said Jesus who was he addressing There were many groups around the cross nearest to him would have been the execution party Roman soldiers men of discipline and cruelty They had the unspeakable task of hammering in the nails But perhaps they were the least guilty of all parties gathered to witness the putting to death of an innocent man They were under orders failure to obey would mean instant death Yet they were involved they crucified The Lord of glory As Jesus prayed his unselfish prayer of forgiveness his eyes would have taken in other groups each with there own agenda The teachers who hated him The priests who brought him with silver The traitor who sold him to them The crowd who cried crucify him at the farce of his trial And in the distance Pilate washing his hands and shifting the blame in his palace But here was Jesus encompassing a wider body included were the band of disciples his constant companions for three years who stood by not lifting a finger They failed to make even a token protest against the terrible atrocity being committed What does this tell us All of those gathered either passively of actively helped to crucify The Lord of glory They were however only representatives of a wider number who crucified Christ Because the message of the bible is it was the sin of the world that nailed Jesus to the cross I will tell you who crucified him I did and you did and the groups around the cross did The old Negro spiritual asked the question Where you there when they crucified my Lord They crucified The Lord It would be truer to say we crucified The Lord Every one of us is equally guilty They do not know what they do said Jesus What a perceptive word this is Mankind so blinded by evil So corrupted by sin that it reacted violently to the purity and holiness of Christ These representatives of mankind swept along by the power of satan in seeking to destroy The Lord of Glory They do not know what they do But they did it all the same The wonder of the cross is that there is forgiveness For the disciples who forsake Jesus and fled in the night Forgiveness for the evil ones who drove him to the cross Forgiveness for the soldiers with the nails Forgiveness for the teachers and priests Forgiveness for every one who has ever made a mistake Forgiveness for you and for me It is forgiveness that needs to be received by each one personally Years later John restated this truth when he wrote If we confess our sins he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness 1John 1:9 Forgiveness is the hallmark of Christianity Christ exampled forgiveness we to need to. men and women of forgiveness The second word Today you will be with me in paradise. Luke 23:43 In his first word Jesus embraced all mankind in an act of forgiveness offered to all who will receive The potential of forgiveness to all His second word narrows its focus to one single needy sinner God not only sees the whole world but sees it made up of individual races and families and then each individual On the most pivotal day in the history of humanity It happened that there were two thieves who were crucified alongside Jesus They were not there to make the numbers up or the story more rounded and interesting Here was Jesus numbered with the transgressors One thief was convicted of his own vileness when contrasted with the righteousness of Jesus This righteousness visible for all who had eyes to see He realised he was witness to something not of this earth It seems he knew of Jesus for when the other thief was casting abuse at Jesus he rebuked him They were Receiving their just reward Jesus had done nothing amiss He feared God and that was the beginning of his repentance No man is beyond redemption in whose soul still lingers some fear of God As he spoke faith rose in his soul and he blurted out his appeal Jesus remember me when you come into your Kingdom It was a plea that did not fall on deaf ears The response was immediate Today you will be with me in paradise This word from the cross teaches us that the way of salvation is simple This man was saved simply because he asked This word from the cross reminds us that the worst sinner can be saved He was a criminal had broken the law but the measure of his sin didn't alter his chance of being saved one bit Let no one despair none to bad As the hymn writer put it The vilest offender who truly believes that moment from Jesus a pardon receives This word from the cross reminds us that salvation doesn't depend on religious ceremonies good deeds or any contribution from man No time for any of these A personal encounter and conversation with Jesus is all that is required Salvation is free yet costly One further point Two thieves were crucified one repented one didn't The time of decision came for both Rebellion or Repentance it was now or never There is a duel tug The eternal pull of evil and the eternal pull of Gods Spirit Thank God for conscience Lord remember me There is salvation in the cross The third word Jesus said to his mother Dear woman here is your son And to the disciple Here is your mother John 19 26:27 When Mary kissed her little baby she was not just kissing another baby She was kissing the face of God The baby boy she had delivered on that first Christmas was now on a cross delivering her This third word introduces to us the wider implications of this great salvation It shows us relationships as seen through the cross of Jesus especially that of love Psychologists say there are two things men want power and love At the very heart of our wanting is the love of Jesus given at the cross For God so loved the world that he gave his only son So here stands Mary among the crowd I wonder if she remembers the word spoken at the temple This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be spoken against so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed And a sword will pierce your own soul too This was the moment when the sword was thrust into her It was yet more pain and suffering for Jesus to view his mother in the crowd He is touched with his mothers suffering but refers to her as woman not mother It would have seemed more tender and loving to have called her mother The more she thinks of him as son the greater the pain Mary must now begin to think upon Jesus as her Lord Mary's emotional suffering must be replaced by adoration Jesus pain and agony is redemptive in its purpose Mary to would minister to the broken hearted It shows that in the cross all barriers have been broken Mary represents the women of the world all to often treated as inferior She represents those getting on in years At the cross there's no age barrier no sex barrier for all who come to Jesus are part of his household This word tells us that there is love at the cross for us which having been received is to be shared The fourth word My God my God why have you forsaken me Mat 27:46 There is such a heart wrenching in this cry such a depth of human emotion matched only by the darkness which draped itself around the cross How could the sun shine The darkness lasted for three hours symbolic of the darkness that wrapped itself around the soul of Jesus Wave upon wave of evil swept over his consciousness all the sin of the world All of the awful legacy of the fall of mankind was laid upon Jesus That he who knew no sin was made to be sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him How Jesus felt as his loud cry broke into the dreadful silence of the moment of destiny we cannot know Never before had he stood alone separated from his father Bearing the sin of the world alone He who was made sin for us was feeling the punishment of the sinner It could be said that Christ's self emptying was not a single act or bereavement but a growing poorer and poorer until nothing was left to him but a piece of ground where he could weep and a cross where he could die The fifth word I thirst John 19:28 The hours of torture took a tremendous toll on the body of Jesus execution by crucifixion was not a sudden death It was long painful and drawn out underneath a baking sun His wounds in his hand and feet would soon be infected leading to fever and dehydration Jesus was divine but truly man he felt all the emotions and pain as we feel them My Saviours sufferings were real He earlier refused a drink of drugged wine designed to alleviate some of the pain Now his mission almost complete his cry of thirst could be met with from a sponge dipped in vinegar His lips need to be moistened for he still had two momentous words to utter which the world must hear clearly The fifth word tells us that there is suffering in the cross The sixth word It is finished. John 19;30 This was the loud cry that rang over the ghastly scene What was finished Was he referring to his suffering to his life's work. Certainly both of those Jesus cry was proclaiming victory over the evil one In the gigantic struggle between good and evil the son of man had suffered grievously but had finished the work of redemption He didn't say I am finished He said it is finished It was a shout of victory over sin death and hell Nothing left for man to to but enter into the results of Christ's finished work The price has been paid a full a perfect and sufficient sacrifice The seventh word Father into your hands I commit my spirit. Luke 23:46 The father receives the sin offering made by Jesus as would soon be demonstrated by the resurrection Jesus laid down his life he gave it it didn't just ebb away Jesus consciously gave his life he laid it upon the alter Jesus said father into your hands I commend my spirit He spoke of his confidence in God his Father The first martyr left this world with the same security Lord Jesus he said receive my spirit There is security in knowing him For I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed to him against that day Allow these words to speak to you 1/. Father forgive them There's forgiveness at the cross 2/ Today you will be with me There's salvation for you at the cross 3/ woman here is your Son There is love for you at the cross 4/ my God my God why have you forsaken me There's atonement for you at the cross 5/ I thirst. Jesus suffered for you at the cross 6/ it is finished Jesus was the victor over sin for you at the cross 7/ Father into your hands I commit my spirit There is eternal security for you at the cross May the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ be our source of inspiration and our entrance into the family of GOD