The Strange Attraction of the Cross

spread throughout the ancient world, Christians were consistently mocked. And they were mocked

in particular for worshiping a crucified man. The earliest known visual depiction of Jesus on the

cross is not a piece of Christian artwork. It's a crude piece of graffiti from about 200 AD in the

city of Rome. To the left is a man raising his hand in worship or prayer. To his right is a man hanging

from a cross depicted with the head of a donkey. The inscription says, Alex Aminos worships his God.

It's a cartoon scrawled on a wall ridiculing Christians and the cross. Lucian, a second-century

writer called the early Christians misguided creatures. They worship a man to this day,

the distinguished personality who introduced their novel rites and was crucified on that account.

They worship the crucified sage and live after his laws. Even in the New Testament, the Apostle Paul

acknowledged that the message of the cross of Jesus was a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness

to Greeks. In other words, every culture in one way or another finds the cross of Jesus to be

offensive, distasteful, or even ridiculous. And yet today, over two billion people throughout the world

profess Christianity. And the cross is the most prominent and universally recognized symbol

of the Christian faith. And this weekend, Christians throughout the world gather

to declare that Jesus died on the cross for our sins. How and why did that ever happen?

Tim Keller once observed that every other founder of a major religion died in peace, old, and successful.

Moses lived over 100 years, having brought the children of Israel out of slavery in Egypt and to the edge of

the Promised Land. The Buddha lived 80. Having achieved enlightenment, he died surrounded by his disciples.

Muhammad lived into his 60s. He died in his home, having united Arabia into one Islamic kingdom.

Jesus died at age 33. He was betrayed, abandoned, mocked, beaten, and finally crucified.

Why would anyone look at this man and say, he's the one I want to follow? That's the faith for me.

Especially when Jesus had also said, if anyone wants to come after me, he must deny himself

and take up his own cross and follow after me. What was and still is so strangely attractive

about this crucified man? That's the question I want to address tonight.

Tonight we've read Luke's account of how Jesus' life ended.

Earlier in the part before we read, Jesus was betrayed by one of his followers, repeatedly denied by another.

We read of his trial before Jewish leaders and before Roman authorities.

And despite two official not guilty verdicts, he was sentenced to death and handed over to a hostile crowd.

He was led outside the gate of the city to a place called the skull.

And Luke simply says in verse 33, there they crucified him.

He doesn't give us the gory details.

But everyone in the ancient world knew that crucifixion was both excruciatingly painful and exceedingly shameful.

I think we often think about how painful it would have been for Jesus.

If you even try to hold your arms out for 10 minutes straight, you start to feel it.

How painful it would have been to have nails driven through his wrists and his feet,

to be holding himself up by his arms for six hours,

gasping for every breath after having been beaten to a pulp and weakened by the loss of blood.

And that's all true.

But in the ancient world, it was the shame of crucifixion that distinguished it even more than the pain.

Pain and suffering were everywhere and mostly unavoidable in the ancient world.

But crucifixion was the most humiliating and imaginable.

Crucifixion was reserved for non-citizens of the Roman Empire,

for slaves, for violent criminals, and for prisoners of war.

The victim would be stripped naked, except perhaps for a loincloth,

suspended just above eye level of a crowd, poked and prodded, mocked and jeered.

Crucifixion was a public spectacle.

The Roman authorities intentionally located crucifixions just outside the main gate of a city,

in a most heavily trafficked area,

because everyone knew it wasn't really justice in any real sense of the word.

What it was, was a deterrent.

To remind everyone who was in charge,

and to warn anyone who wanted to follow a similar path.

That's how Jesus' life ended.

In humiliation, in pain, and in disgrace.

In Luke's narrative of the crucifixion, Luke shows us how several different people reacted

and responded to Jesus on the cross.

If you look in verses 35 to 39,

there are three groups of people who all cast their verdict on Jesus.

First, in verse 35, we see the ones he calls the rulers,

that is, the Jewish authorities.

They scoffed at him.

He saved others.

Let him save himself,

if he really is the Christ of God, his chosen one.

Interestingly, the Jewish leaders did acknowledge Jesus' power.

He saved others.

Now, that word saved can mean delivered, healed, or made whole.

Most likely, they were referring to Jesus' well-known works of healing people from sicknesses

and delivering them from evil spirits.

They acknowledged Jesus' power.

The second group of people is the Roman soldiers,

the executioners who mocked him.

In verse 34, they gamble for his clothing.

Verse 36, one of them pretends to be a cupbearer,

offering this king cheap, sour wine.

They were the ones who posted the inscription in verse 38.

The inscription above the cross,

which declared the legal charge against the one being crucified.

It was treason, for he had claimed to be a king.

And so, they wrote, the king of the Jews.

And they mocked him.

If you really are the king of the Jews, save yourself.

Finally, in fiercest of all, in verse 39,

one of the criminals hanging there next to him railed at him.

Aren't you the Messiah?

Save yourself and us.

Rescue us all now.

Then I'll believe in you.

The taunting went from bad to worse.

And in each case, the refrain was,

save yourself.

Now, if you've read the whole Gospel of Luke,

you might recognize the echo of another voice

that spoke to Jesus three times.

Back in the desert.

If you really are the Son of God,

why don't you take an easier way?

And yet, all of these voices

were operating on a very common human assumption.

Their assumption was this.

If Jesus really was the king of Israel,

if he really was God's anointed king,

if he really was God's chosen servant,

his life should be ending in honor and triumph

rather than in shame and defeat.

Now, we might not want to identify ourselves

with the scoffers and the mockers

and the blasphemer,

but their working assumption

is a very widespread human assumption

that appears throughout the world

and even in many religions.

You could call it the law of karma.

Whatever you do,

for good or for evil,

it'll come back to you someday.

Or you could put it this way.

God preserves the honor

of his faithful servants and prophets.

That's what God should do, right?

Or you could say,

because I'm a good person,

God should make me happy.

However we put it,

that's how we usually think

God should run the world.

God should run the world

if he's really good

and if he's really in charge.

He should make us happy if we're good.

He should deal well

with his faithful servants.

And he should pay us back.

He should...

You get what you give.

And when the world doesn't seem to work

according to that principle,

that's when we often question

the character

or the reality

or the active involvement of God

in the world in which we live.

Nobody in the ancient world

expected God's chosen one,

God's righteous servant,

God's anointed king,

his own son,

to be brutally tortured

and humiliated and killed

and strung up on a cross.

No one expected it.

And so most people looked at Jesus

being crucified

and concluded that he was not

any of those things.

There's only one person

in Luke's narrative

who presents

a dissenting voice

in favor of Jesus.

Now, there are others

in the story

who express sympathy for

or even, we could say,

solidarity with Jesus.

There's Simon of Cyrene

in the posture

of a true disciple

carrying the cross

behind Jesus

in verse 26.

There's the women of Jerusalem

who sympathetically mourn

for him

in verse 27.

There's the people

who simply stand there

watching

in verse 35.

And later on,

after Jesus dies,

in verse 47,

a Roman centurion

will praise God

and declare

that Jesus was truly

a righteous man.

But while Jesus

is hanging there

on the cross,

there's only one person

in Luke's narrative

that says anything

positive about him.

It's the second criminal

hanging next to him

on a cross.

Luke doesn't tell us

much about these

two criminals.

We don't know

their names.

We don't know

their backgrounds.

We don't know

the details

of their crimes.

They seem to have

had no prior

acquaintance with Jesus.

Luke refers to them

simply as criminals.

The word could also

be translated

evildoers,

bad characters.

The gospel of Mark

calls them robbers,

indicating that their

crimes involved violence.

The same word

was used for revolutionaries

like Barabbas

who had led

violent uprisings.

Mark also tells us

that those who were

crucified with him

also reviled him

in Mark 15, 32.

In other words,

at the start of the day,

both criminals

were hostile

to Jesus

on both

sides of him.

But somehow,

in the course

of the day,

one of them

switched

sides.

Now, perhaps

the second criminal

was troubled

by the bitterness

and irrationality

of the first criminal's

attack on Jesus.

verse 40 says

he rebuked him.

In other words,

he told him off.

He might have used

some choice words

that Luke perhaps

may or may not

have preserved

exactly.

Don't you fear

God at all?

Don't you realize

we deserve

what we're getting here?

We both know

we've done

some pretty bad things.

how can you demand

that he rescue

himself

and us?

You've gone

way too far.

But he doesn't

just tell off

his fellow

criminal.

He defends

Jesus.

He says,

this man

has done

nothing wrong.

And then finally

he makes

a simple plea.

Jesus,

remember me

when you come

into your kingdom.

What was so

strangely attractive

about Jesus

to this

crucified

criminal?

What made

him switch

sides?

Like most

of the biblical

authors,

Luke very

rarely makes

explicit statements

about people's

motives

and inner

thoughts.

But he gives

us one

strong

hint

in verse

34.

There they

crucified him

and the criminals,

one on his right

and one on his left,

and Jesus said,

Father,

forgive them.

for they know

not what they

do.

That's the

one word

of Jesus

that the

criminal

most certainly

heard.

And it's a

word that

absolutely

sets Jesus

apart.

It is

unique,

and it was

completely

unprecedented.

Throughout

history,

many presidents

and kings

have extended

pardons.

But almost

always,

they pardon

people

who have

shown loyalty

to them,

or who have

many powerful

and persistent

advocates,

or who they

judge to have

received unfairly

harsh sentences

for relatively

minor crimes,

or people who've

spent most of

their lives in

jail,

and now they're

very old and

relatively and

probably harmless.

many people

have faced

unjust trials

and have

even faced

death with

calmness.

You might

think of

Socrates

in Greece

who faced

his death

with relative

calmness

and stoicness.

but he

said nothing

about the

jury that

had convicted

him.

Even the

greatest heroes

of the faith

before Jesus

did not pray

that their

enemies would

be pardoned.

Probably the

most famous

group of

martyrs at

the time of

Jesus were

the Maccabean

martyrs.

some Jewish

men and

women in

the second

century BC

who had

died for

their faith

under a

brutal Roman

tyrant.

They maintained

their faith in

God even to

the point of

death.

But they

also cried

out for

vengeance

and threatened

their persecutors

with judgment.

Very

understandably,

King David

even in

Psalm 69

prayed that

his betrayers

be cursed,

blotted out

of the book

of life and

not listed

with the

righteous.

There's

something even

right about

the desire

for justice.

I'm not

saying that's

a wrong

thing.

You find it

throughout the

Bible.

But no

martyr before

Jesus prayed

that his

tormentors

would find

forgiveness.

Of course,

those were the

heroes of the

faith,

the martyrs.

How many

of us

have cursed

others in our

hearts,

told people to

go to hell,

cut people out

of our lives

with no

possibility of

future reconciliation

for far

less than

Jesus endured?

There's a

children's song

that puts it

very simply.

It says this,

it says,

tell me,

would you say

what Jesus

said if they

did those mean

things to you?

Sometimes children's

songs can get

right to the

point.

Would any

of us

spontaneously

and freely

pray such

a prayer

without having

first seen

and been

deeply

transformed

by Jesus

himself?

What

great

mercy!

What

marvelous

patience!

love!

What

unselfish

love!

Who is

this man?

More

concerned

for his

tormentors

than for

himself?

No

wonder

the criminal

concluded,

this man

has done

nothing

wrong.

There's

no one

else

like him.

but

there's

one more

thing

that the

criminal

must

have

seen.

Not

only

Jesus'

absolute

uniqueness

but also

his

amazing

openness.

Who

was

Jesus

praying

for

in

verse

34?

Father,

forgive

them

for

they

know

not

what

they

do.

Was

he

praying

for

the

soldiers?

They're

the

ones

who

in the

second

half

of the

verse

cast

lots

to

divide

his

garments.

They're

the

ones

who

would

have

nailed

him

up

on

the

cross.

Was

he

praying

for

them,

the

execution

squad

who

were

simply

doing

their

jobs

and

had

no

idea

who

he

really

was?

Or

was

he

also

praying

for

the

religious

leaders

who

also

didn't

recognize

him

for

who

he

really

was?

But

really

Jesus'

prayer

in

verse

34

cannot

be

limited

to

just

one

group

of

people.

Charles

Spurgeon

said,

I love

this

prayer

prayer

of

Jesus

because

of

the

indistinctness

of

it.

Father,

forgive

them.

He

does

not

say,

Father,

forgive

the

soldiers

who

have

nailed

me

here.

He

includes

them.

Neither

does

he say,

Father,

forgive

sinners

in

ages

to

come

who

will

sin

against

me,

but

he

means

them.

Father,

forgive

them.

them.

Now,

into that

pronoun

them,

I feel

that I

can

crawl.

It is

like a

chariot

of

mercy

that has

come

down to

earth

into

which a

man may

step

and it

shall

bear him

up

to

heaven.

Father,

forgive

them.

the

criminal

heard

that

prayer.

Perhaps

he

thought

something

like,

if this

Jesus

is

praying

for

mercy

for

his

tormentors,

perhaps

he

has

mercy

for

me

as

well.

Jesus,

he

says,

remember

me

when

you

come

into

your

kingdom.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

There's a

similar prayer

in Psalm 106,

Psalms 106:4

verse 4.

The psalmist

prays,

Remember me,

O Lord,

when you

show favor

to your

people.

Help

me

when you

save

them.

It's

purely

and simply

a plea

for mercy.

with nothing else attached. The criminal doesn't boast

of any personal merit, of any good works, of any moral achievements. He doesn't attempt to

impress Jesus with his religious knowledge. He makes no claim to deserve anything good.

He only expresses simple trust in a bold prayer, Jesus, remember me with mercy when you finally

become king. He looks at Jesus, the man who had saved others but wouldn't save himself, and he sees

the one who was prophesied by the prophet Isaiah hundreds of years beforehand.

Isaiah wrote this,

The righteous one, my servant, shall make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their

iniquities.

The righteous one poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors.

Yet he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.

The criminal looks at the man rejected and despised and mocked and condemned and says,

That's my king. And Jesus turns to him and gives him the most amazing promise.

Truly, I say to you, today, you'll be with me in paradise.

One person wrote, Whatever the criminal expected when he made his request, the promise of Jesus is

vastly out of proportion to it.

It's not simply a hope of some indeterminate future day.

It's a promise today.

It's not you may be.

It's not you can be.

It's not you might be.

It's truly, I say to you, you will be with me in paradise, in the presence of God himself,

in the place of eternal joy.

Amen.

How could Jesus make such a promise?

According to the Bible, paradise had been lost long ago.

Adam and Eve had once lived in paradise.

They had once dwelt in the garden of God.

But then they decided that they wanted a world without God in charge.

They desecrated God's temple.

They spoiled the garden, and so they were exiled.

And we've continued to spoil and pollute the world and take advantage of one another

and mess up the good gifts God has given us ever since.

When they left paradise, Genesis says God placed warrior angels, cherubim, with a flaming sword

flashing back and forth to prevent anyone from ever accessing the tree of life again.

You see, we're all born in exile.

We're all born far away from our true home.

Every religion tries to tell us how we can get back home, how we can find our way back to paradise.

But only Christianity says that God Himself came to us and opened the way Himself in the person of Jesus.

You see, when Jesus died on the cross, and when He experienced all the humiliation and shame

and took upon Himself the sin of the world, He went under that flaming sword,

flashing back and forth, the sword of divine justice.

He paid the price that we could never pay.

He endured what we could never endure,

so that we might have a way in to God's presence,

so that we might be able to enter into paradise simply on the basis of what He accomplished for us.

period.

John Christostom, the fourth century Egyptian preacher, put it this way,

the criminal made his way into paradise with a mere word on the basis of faith alone.

It was not so much a case of His sound values prevailing

as the Lord's loving kindness being completely responsible.

What did the criminal say?

What did he do?

Did he fast?

Did he weep?

Did he tear his garments?

Not at all.

On the cross itself, He won salvation.

He went from cross to heaven, from condemnation to salvation.

That's the amazing grace that Jesus offers.

Forgiveness of sins.

Assurance of eternal life in His kingdom, a life that begins today.

For anyone who acknowledges Him as King and cries out to Him for mercy.

You see, what's so humbling about Christianity

is that the only way you can come to Jesus and enter into His kingdom

is to come behind this repentant criminal.

Many people wouldn't have wanted to walk into the same room as that guy.

The only way in is to come right alongside every other undeserving sinner

who acknowledges Jesus' kingly authority and cries out to Him for mercy.

But you see, if he can call out to Jesus and be received into His kingdom,

a criminal, an evildoer, a man who just moments ago had been cursing Jesus

along with everyone else, anyone can come and be received by Jesus today.

Father, forgive them.

Do you see that in the person of this criminal, God was answering Jesus' prayer?

And God has been answering Jesus' prayer ever since.

God has been answering Jesus' prayer ever since.

If you're a follower of Jesus, would you come and worship at His feet

and give Him eternal thanks.

Let us pray.

Let us pray.

Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.