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T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
May, 1936
JUNE 14, 1936 JESUS CRUCIFIED L uke , C hapter 23
death. No man took His life from Him; He laid it down of His own volition (cf. Gal. 1:4; John 10:11). He deliberately and calmly gave His life for the sin of the world. Second, it was a substitutionary death. Christ died, not for His own sin, but for the sin of others. Death never could have touched that sacred body had Christ not consciously and willingly stood in the place and stead of others and as sumed their sin and its penalty (cf. 1 Pet. 3:18; Gal. 2:20). Third, it was a satisfac tory death. The death of Christ not only satisfied the eternal justice and holiness of God, but it also did far more. In ful fillment of the types mentioned in Levit icus, Christ was both the sin-offering, which satisfied justice, and the sweet savor offering, which satisfied the love of God. Every sinner may find heart satisfaction in the sufficiency of Christ’s death (cf. Heb. 9:8-10; 10:12). Finally, the death of Christ was penal. It paid the price of man’s debt caused by sin. “Christ . . . suf fered for sins” (1 Pet. 3:18). He could say to God concerning every soul who would believe in Him, “If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee aught, put that on mine account*', . . I will repay it” (cf. Philem. 18, 19). There remains no more for the believing sinner to pay, for Jesus paid it all. Points and Problems When the two thieves were nailed to their respective crosses, they were both ex actly alike. Mark tells us that both “re viled" the Lord of Glory who hung be tween them (Mk. 15:32). Yet before he died, the one had reached heights of spiritual faith and vision unparalleled in all of history. Notice what he saw in those few moments of torture: 1. He saw his own sin and the justice of its punishment. To his companion in c r i me , he s a y s : “We indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds” (Lk. 23:41). This is the first condition of salvation. It is not enough to say, We have sinned. We must go on and say, We deserve to suffer for our sins. 2. He saw the spotless character of our Lord Jesus Christ. “This man,” declares the dying thief, “hath done nothing amiss.” Certainly it was a bold thing to say. Had not the highest court pronounced Him a blasphemer and worthy of death? Yet this poor criminal dares to reverse the ver dict and pronounce Him guiltless. To see his own sin and the sinlessness of Christ will bring any man close to the kingdom: 3. He saw the deity of our Lord. How do we know ? The answer is that he called Him “Lord" (v. 42). The Greek word is “kurios," a word used often in the Septua- gint to translate the Hebrew name “Je hovah." This thief must have been a Jew, for no Gentile could have talked so famil iarly about a coming kingdom, and as a Jew he must have known what he was do ing when he looked into the face of Christ and said, “Lord.” Paul declares that the day is coming when the entire universe will acknowledge that Jesus is “the Lord.” The dying thief holds the proud distinction of being the first to look upon the crucified Christ and pronounce Him to be the Lord. 4. He saw the resurrection of Christ. Beyond the grave he saw a living Christ, and as he looked he saw the possibility of life for himself. As a result, we have his words, “Remember me when.. . . ” 5. He saw a kingdom beyond the cross. He saw Jesus coming as the King of that kingdom—“when thou comest into thy kingdom.”
Lesson Text: Lk. 23:33-46. Golden Text: “God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). Outline and Exposition I. T he P lace and C ompanions (33). F ollowing H is experience in Gethsem- ane, there came our Lord’s betrayal and arrest, and then His twofold trial: the ecclesiastical trial, with the charge of blasphemy (Lk. 22:66-71); and the civil trial (Lk. 23:1-24), with the charge of re bellion. Finally our Lord was led forth to the place of His crucifixion—“Calvary” (the Greek name), or “Golgotha” (the Hebrew name). He was crucified with two malefactors, and in this circumstance there was the fufillment of such prophecies as Isaiah 53:12: “He was numbered with the trans gressors.” II. T he E nemies at C alvary (34-42). 1. They were mentioned in prayer (v. 34). “Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” This prayer was heard on behalf of those who crucified the Lord. Later, when Peter in his sermon accused men of their partici pation in the death of Christ (Acts 3:17), and when he declared that even to them salvation was extended, the thought ex pressed in the Saviour’s dying utterance was repeated. Peter said:,j..“I wot that through ignorance ye did it.” In man’s eyes, the most terrible sin is the crime that man committed in connection with the shameful death of Christ, but in God’s eyes, another sin is greater. The greatest offense—the sin in which all other sins are involved—is the sin of unbelief (cf. John 16:7-9; 1 John 3:23; Heb. 11:6; 2 Thess. 1 : 8 ) . 2. They were scornful (vs. 35-39). First, the religious leaders derided Christ, saying: “Let him save himself, if he be Christ.” Thus, in failing to acknowl edge deity, they committed a crime against God. Second , the soldiers mocked Him,, saying: “If thou be the King of the Jews, save thyself.” They committed a crime against man, because, by the soldiers’ own confession, Jesus was unjustly accused and unlawfully condemned. Third, one of the malefactors railed upon Christ, saying: “If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.’t He committed a crime against both God and man. But Jesus could not save Him self, because His death was to be in ful fillment of the Scriptures (cf. Lk. 24:25- 27), because His mission must be accom plished (cf. Matt. 20:28), and because His nature, which is love, found expres sion in the redemption of ruined man (cf. Eph. 5 :25; John 3 :16). 3. They were condemned (vs. 40-42). The condemnation was uttered by the saved thief. First, he condemned his fel low thief: “Dost not thou fear God, see ing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly . . .” (vs. 40, 41). He acknowledged his own guilt, but he added: “This man [Christ Jesus] hath done nothing amiss.” If that statement is true—and it is—the death of Jesus Christ was unlike any other death. Others die “justly,” because all the members of a
fallen race have sinned (cf. Rom. 5:12; 6:23). They die as the ultimate result of sin; if sin were not present, death could not occur. It is a great thing when a man acknowledges sin—the cause of death. Second, indirectly, he condemned the Ro man authorities. “He said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom" (v. 42), If the Roman authorities could not, or would not, recog nize the royalty of the One who hung on the central cross, the poor thief could and did see in that One the coming monarch who would rule over the future kingdom— the kingdom of God which would destroy the proud Roman Empire and every other boasted form of human government. Third, he condemned the religious leaders who were gathered at the scene, although we do not read that he addressed any comment to them. Seemingly, they preferred to see Truth on the cross and human error conj tinuing to live, rather than to accept Christ, the Truth, and forego,their error. The re pentant thief was gloriously unlike them. 4. There was a saved soul there (vs. 41-43). The thief who believed and was saved offered no excuse for his sinfulness, but he acknowledged his guilt. He made no prom ises, but simply cast himself upon the mercy and grace of Christ Jesus. At once he received assurance of his acceptance by Christ (v. 43). There was no time for him to grow into fitness for the kingdom, but he was at once “made . . . meet” to partake of “the inheritance of the saints in light” (Col. 1:12; cf. 1:13, 14). He trusted wholly in the word of the Lord. III. T he C ompletion of the S acrifice (44-46), A way into the presence of God was opened for all believers^(vs. 44, 45): Out of the darkness and gloom there came an unseen hand, and the veil of the temple was rent from top to bottom—rent by God Himself (cf. Mk. 15:38). That veil hung before the Holy of Holies, the place where in God was pleased to dwell among men during that dispensation, the place into which no man except the high priest dared to enter without penalty of death, and even the high priest could go in only once a year, and that by virtue of the blood he carried. But the veil was rent, and in that sundered veil there was a sign that the Sacrifice of Christ was accepted, and that the obstacle between God and man was re moved. That obstacle was sin, which, by the offering of the Lamb of God, had been removed (cf. John 1:29), Sinners now may draw near with full assurance in simple faith (cf. Gal. 3:13; Isa. 53:10,11; Heb., 10:19-22). The character of the death of Christ is revealed (v. 46). First, it was a voluntary BLACKBOARD LESSON
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