Luke 23:32-43

I wonder what your memories are of that day ten years ago.

Let me share one person's memories.

! I was unable to take my usual route because of the signal failure on the Northern Line.

!

I've always hated circle line trains, but I remember rushing down the escalator at Moorgate just as one pulled in and thinking, what a result!

I jumped on the first carriage I got to.

I opened my newspaper and was just reading about the Olympics thinking, I've got to get tickets for this.

Just as the bomb went off.

Those are the memories of Martine Wright, published last week in The Observer.

Later in hospital, she had both her legs amputated as a result of that explosion.

I'm sure we've all read or heard stories like that in the last few days.

Maybe we know friends who were personally affected by the events of that day.

A friend of mine was one of the first ambulance drivers on the scene at King's Cross.

We still weren't entirely sure what had happened.

It was a day of suffering that changed the lives of many people, wasn't it?

And in such a sharp contrast, the previous day.

The previous day was such a day of joy for the city.

It was the day, the 6th of July, when London was awarded the 2012 Olympics.

Yet so quickly joy turned to grief as those bombs hit.

And when people suffer pain such as that, it raises so many questions, doesn't it?

Martine Wright said that when she was in hospital, she thought,

Why me?

Why am I one of the worst injured?

Why have I lost both my legs above the knee?

The why question was a big thing for me in the first year, she said.

And as well as the why question, there's also the where question that people ask, isn't there?

Why did this happen and where is God in the midst of it?

If God is supposed to be all-powerful and good, then where is he when tragedy strikes?

It's not just the July 7th bombings that raise that for us, is it?

Just a couple of weeks ago, we had that massacre on the beach in Tunisia.

Just in the last two weeks, we had a tragedy of the double suicide at Ealing Broadway.

And no doubt in our own lives, we all have personal experiences of hurt, suffering, injustice.

So the question comes, doesn't it, if God is so good,

if God is all-powerful as Christianity teaches,

then where is God when it hurts?

Why is there so much evil in the world?

Of course, that is a deeply personal question, can be a deeply personal question.

In a forum like this, it's hard to address it personally.

So we have to look a little bit at the philosophical side of that question, if you like.

But it's in no means to denigrate the importance of that personal question.

As I said earlier, I'd love to talk to you further, if you're willing,

if you'd like to see that more.

But I want us to notice that this is only a question for Christianity.

It's only a question for Christianity.

No other religion will tell you that God is good and all-powerful.

It's not a question for atheism.

For atheism, everything is just chance.

So when cancer strikes or the bomb goes off,

everything is just dancing to the tune of its DNA,

to borrow a phrase from Richard Dawkins.

Neither is it a question for Hinduism,

where everything that happens is just a result of karma.

What goes around comes around.

We get what we deserve.

Nor is it a question for Buddhism,

which essentially doesn't have a God.

It believes that suffering is a kind of illusion generated by our desires.

It's not really a problem for Islam in the same way either,

where Allah's will is just by definition good and to be submitted to.

So it's only Christianity,

with its insistence on a personal, powerful, loving God,

that really has to face up to this question.

And for some people, events like 7-7 show that

if there is a God, he doesn't care.

If he did, surely he'd put an end to the pain.

For others, events like 7-7 are proof that God is not powerful.

Or the idea of God, or God that he exists,

may provide some comfort,

but clearly has no power to stop evil things happening.

And for others, pain and suffering just destroy any sort of belief in God.

On Sunday night, the BBC had a drama called A Song for Jenny,

which is adapted from a book by Julie Nicholson.

Julie was a Church of England vicar in Bristol

when her 24-year-old daughter Jenny

was killed on the bomb on the Edgware Road train.

In the TV programme, she says at one point,

I can't believe in anything anymore.

I can't believe in anything anymore.

And certainly in real life,

Julie Nicholson resigned her place as an Anglican clergyman.

She left her parish.

She felt unable to forgive.

And I'm sure we can all understand that.

It must be hard to forgive someone

who'd blown your daughter apart.

Now this is a big question.

Big questions can't be answered simply in 15 minutes.

But what I want to do is focus on one little event

in the life of Jesus of Nazareth,

which I hope will give us a way of thinking

about this question.

Where is God when it hurts?

There's this event which I just read,

which is on the paper in front of you.

This record is written for us by a guy called Luke.

Luke, at the start of his account of Jesus' life,

tells us he went back to eyewitnesses to write it,

so that the reader could be sure of the certainty

concerning the things he'd been taught.

And in the first 22 chapters of this book,

Luke has produced plenty of evidence

to back up Christianity's claim

that Jesus is God on earth.

that Jesus was God in human form.

And three times at least by this stage,

Jesus had told his disciples

that he had come to go to Jerusalem

to suffer, to die, and to rise again.

Now we reach the climax of that story.

Jesus has been betrayed as predicted,

been tried in a sham trial.

The official verdict of the Romans

was that he's done nothing to deserve death,

but he's given to be killed anyway.

You see, the crowd, whipped up by the religious leaders,

demand Jesus should be crucified.

Modern commentators would say

that these are religious fundamentalists

who whip up crowds to join their extremism.

Well, let's look at what happens to Jesus

as we work through this story.

Let me tell you three things about Jesus, first of all.

The first one's obvious, isn't it?

He suffers injustice himself.

Look at verse 32.

Two others who were criminals

were led away to be put to death with him.

He suffered injustice.

Ten years ago today,

many people suffered a grave injustice, didn't they?

In trying to get to work,

their lives were destroyed,

either completely in death

or changed forever

by the injuries and psychological scars.

But this Jesus,

who'd been declared innocent,

suffered injustice,

killed with criminals.

The second thing you've noticed,

although the Bible doesn't make much of it,

is that he suffered terrible pain.

Look at the next verse,

verse 33.

Second line down.

When they came to the place called the skull,

there they crucified him

and the criminals.

Crucifixion was one of the worst forms of execution ever invented.

Under Roman law,

Roman citizens couldn't be crucified.

It was kept for the lowest of the low.

Escaped slaves and such like.

Ultimately,

what killed the victims in crucifixion

was actually asphyxiation.

They would suffocate

because every time they tried to breathe,

they'd have to pull themselves up

with the nails through their wrists,

push down with the nails through their feet,

and dislocate their shoulders

to be able to breathe.

Jesus suffered injustice.

Jesus suffered terrible physical pain.

Never mind the emotional and spiritual pain

which he also suffered.

The third thing to notice is

look how Jesus responds.

Look at verse 34.

Jesus said,

Father, forgive them,

that is the Roman soldiers,

for they know not what they do.

See, Jesus forgives those

who nail him to the cross.

Forgiveness is absolutely central

to what Jesus came to do.

It's absolutely central

to Christian teaching.

It's one reason

that Julie Nicholson felt

she had to leave her place

as an Anglican vicar.

She didn't feel she could forgive.

And yet,

history is littered with examples

of Christians

who,

having experienced

God's forgiveness themselves,

with Christ's help,

are able to follow Jesus' footsteps

and forgive those

who've hurt them.

We saw that just a few weeks ago,

didn't we,

with the shooting in Charleston.

Many of the families

forgave Dylan Roof,

the alleged killer.

For example,

Martine Collier,

whose 70-year-old mother,

Ethel Lance,

was shot dead

by the killer,

said to him in court

over a satellite link,

I forgive you.

You took something

very precious for me.

I will never talk to her again.

I will never hold her again.

But I forgive you.

An extraordinary act

that is not humanly possible,

is it?

And yet,

this woman

who experienced

God's forgiveness

offers that forgiveness

to others,

just as Jesus did

on the cross.

So,

looking at what Jesus

experienced,

what can we say?

Can we say

God doesn't care

about human suffering?

Surely,

we can't say that.

Jesus repeatedly said

he'd come to suffer.

He'd come to die.

Jesus suffered

with us,

suffered for us,

as we'll see later.

Can we say

God doesn't understand

our suffering?

I don't think

we can say that,

can we?

If Jesus Christ

really is

God on earth,

and he experienced

suffering

firsthand,

firsthand.

Not just as something

he knew about

because he knows everything,

but something he experienced

in his own flesh.

Well,

having looked at what

happened to Jesus,

let's look at how people

react to Jesus.

We see three different

responses here.

First,

we get the religious leaders

in verse 35.

In their pride,

they scoff.

People stood by,

watching,

but the rulers

scoffed at him,

saying,

he saved others,

let him save himself

if he is the Christ of God,

his chosen one.

See,

they thought they knew

everything.

They thought they were

in the right.

They thought it was up

to Jesus to demonstrate

that he was God

by doing something

miraculous,

getting himself

off the cross.

Little did they

understand that Jesus

stayed on the cross

to save others,

not himself.

Well,

as the proud

scoffers

but secondly,

we see the cynical

criminal.

Look at verse 39.

One of the criminals

who were hanged

railed at him,

saying,

are you not the Christ?

Save yourself

and us.

It's deeply cynical,

isn't it?

Here's a man who

presumably has ignored

God all his life,

brought up in Israel,

probably taught

the Jewish faith

from birth,

yet rejects God,

gets into a life

of crime,

gets the punishment

he deserves.

And it's only at that

point he says,

well, come on,

Jesus,

if you're God,

save me.

It's deeply cynical.

He wants Jesus

to be good to him,

but he doesn't want

to take responsibility

for his own actions.

It's like the cynic

today who asks

mockingly,

where is God

when it hurts?

Where is God

when I need him?

Having ignored God

studiously all his life.

But there's a third

response.

as well as the

proud scoffers,

as well as the

cynical criminal.

They've got the

humble criminal.

Look at verse 40.

The other criminal

rebukes him,

saying,

Do you not fear God,

since you're under

the same sentence

of condemnation?

And we indeed

justly,

for we are receiving

the due reward

of our deeds.

But this man

has done nothing wrong.

It's an incredible

thing,

but in his pain,

hanging on the cross,

this criminal

sees three things

very clearly.

First of all,

he sees his own guilt.

We are receiving

the reward of our

deeds,

he says.

But secondly,

he sees Jesus'

innocence.

Verse 41,

This man has done

nothing.

But most amazingly,

he sees through

the circumstances

and sees something

of Jesus'

true identity.

Look at verse

32.

He sees Jesus

is God's king.

He said,

Jesus,

remember me

when you come

into your kingdom.

Now it's here

in that brief

interaction between

Jesus and the

humble criminal

that we get a

glimpse into the

heart of the

Christian message

and a glimpse

into why Christians

can keep believing

in a good,

powerful,

personal God

in a world

where there is

so much pain

and so much evil.

Now why is that?

Well,

first of all,

what is Jesus'

kingdom?

Jesus'

kingdom

is the world

we all want

to live in.

Let me unpack

that a bit.

The Bible begins

by telling us

that God

created the world

and that we

human beings

are made

in God's image.

That's why

we can love

others.

That's why

we have an

inbuilt sense

of justice

and right and wrong.

It's why we

can work

and make

great creative

things.

But instead

of the perfect

world God

made,

we now live

in a world

that is

scarred

and confused

and marked

by death,

disease,

terrorist

attacks,

injustice,

illness.

And we feel

things are not

right,

don't we?

We feel

things are not

the way

they should be.

That's why

we cry out

why

when bombs

go off

and loved

ones are

torn apart.

So we cry

out why

when the

diagnosis

comes through.

We know

something is

wrong.

We know

deep down

the world

is not the

way it is

supposed to

be.

So what

went wrong?

Why do we

not have the

perfect world

God made?

Well the

Bible's answer

is that what

went wrong

is us.

We went

wrong.

As a race

we turned

against this

good God

who had

given us

all we

needed.

He's the

rightful

ruler.

He's the

giver of

life.

And yet

we rejected

his rule

and went

our own

way.

We do

that in

all sorts

of ways.

We do

it by

ignoring

God.

We do

it by

using

God.

We do

it by

following

our own

idea about

what God

is like.

Now how

do you feel

when people

use you

or ignore

you or

just make

up their

own idea

about who

the real

you is?

We don't

like it

do we?

And yet

that's how

we treat

God.

And in

the process

we diminish

ourselves,

we damage

other people

and we

damage God's

world.

The just

punishment for

this, the

just punishment

from turning

from the

God who is

the giver of

life is

death.

So what's the

solution?

Well God

could destroy

any one of us,

all of us,

whenever he

wants.

He loves the

world he

made, he

loves the

people he

made.

And so

when we

hurt other

people, he

wants justice

for those

people.

And that

means we

are in the

firing line

deserving punishment

as well.

See, God

couldn't just

ignore the

damage we've

done because

he loves,

because he's

committed to

what he made,

to the world

he made.

God has to

punish, and

yet God

wants to show

love.

God

is to

send his

own son,

Jesus

Christ, to

live the

perfect life

we should

have lived.

Jesus then

died the

death we

should have

died, as

our substitute

in our

place, taking

our punishment.

And God

raised him to

life again.

If you read

all in the

story, you'll

see that's

what happens

next.

On the

third day,

as he

promised,

Jesus rose

from the

dead.

And that

resurrection

demonstrates

that Jesus

is God's

king,

and it

guarantees

that that

kingdom is

coming one

day when

Jesus comes

back.

That kingdom

will be

physically

established.

And in

Jesus'

kingdom, there

will be no

more hurt,

no more

evil, no

more fear,

no more

death, no

more illness.

Isn't that

the world we

all want?

A world

where we're

reconnected to

the God who

made us?

Now how

do I get

there from

what we've

read here?

Well look

at verse

43.

Look what

Jesus says.

Jesus said

to him,

this humble

criminal,

truly I

say to

you,

today you

will be

with me

in paradise.

The first

installment,

if you like,

of that

kingdom.

So this

criminal knew

he deserved

death.

He knew

Jesus deserved

to be king.

He knew

he had

nothing to

offer Jesus.

But Jesus

had everything

to offer

him.

And so

Jesus promised

him paradise.

paradise.

Paradise does

not come

by strapping

explosives to

yourself and

blowing yourself

up.

It comes

through trusting

in Jesus

forgiveness,

seeking Jesus

forgiveness.

So can you

see how this

little exchange

hints at how

Christians can

believe in a

good God

in a messed

up world?

God?

Let me sum

it up in

three little

statements.

We cannot

say God

doesn't

understand our

suffering.

In Jesus,

God the

Son, God

in human

flesh, God

has first-hand

experience of

pain and

injustice.

Furthermore,

God the

Father gave

up his own

beloved Son,

Jesus, to

win people for

himself.

That must be

some comfort for

those who've

lost children.

We cannot

say God

doesn't

understand.

We cannot

say God

doesn't care

about our

hurt and

our injustice.

The fact

that Jesus

came to

suffer so

that his

kingdom, his

perfect kingdom

could come,

shows us God

does care.

God has

gone to

great lengths.

Let me put

it like this.

Jesus died so

that God could

put an end to

hurt and

suffering and

evil without

putting an

end to me or

you.

God will

put an

end to

hurt and

suffering without

putting an

end to us

because Jesus

died.

We cannot

say God

doesn't

understand,

we cannot

say he

doesn't care,

and we

cannot say

God is not

powerful enough

to deal with

the hurt and

the evil and

suffering.

Jesus'

resurrection shows

us that he

is.

That promise

today you will

be with me in

paradise is a

little hint that

God is

powerful enough.

And if you

read on to

the end of

the Bible

story, you'll

see the very

good ending

that waits for

everyone who

trusts in

Jesus as

God's king and

seeks Jesus'

forgiveness.

Here's how the

story ends,

Revelation 21

Revelation 21:4

verse 4.

It's in a

renewed physical

world that is

better than we

could ever dream

of.

God himself

will wipe away

every tear from

their eyes and

death shall be

no more.

Neither shall

there be mourning

nor crying

nor pain

anymore.

For the

former things

have passed

away.

Where is

God when it

hurts?

In Christ God

has demonstrated

his love for

a hurting,

broken world.

In Christ God

invites us to

a pain-free,

fear-free,

physical paradise.

In Christ we

can be forgiven

and come home to

the God who

made us and

find the comfort

that is only

available in

him.

The question

is,

do we

believe it?

Let me pray

for us.

Let me pray for

us.