The King of the Cross

Luke 23:27-43 The readings for the church year follow a logical pattern as they tell the story of Christ and his people. 

During Advent we hear the promises of the prophets who tell of a Savior to come.  During Christmas and Epiphany we hear the story of his birth and the Good News that is for all people.  During Lent we hear the story of his journey to the cross and during Easter we hear of his glorious resurrection and ascension.  During Pentecost we hear about the gift of the Holy Spirit and the growth of the church.  And in these last Sundays of the church we hear that our crucified, risen and ascended Lord will come again.

All of those stories from the Bible are familiar to us and we know how the whole story unfolds from beginning to end—from promise to fulfillment.

Which is why this scene of our Lord’s crucifixion that we have before us today in Luke’s Gospel may seem out of place on the last Sunday of the church year—that maybe it really belongs in Lent.  But these are exactly the words that we need to hear on this day.   

During the last Sundays of the church year we are reminded that this world is coming to an end—that with the same almighty power with which he called it into being, God will also bring it to its end. 

On that day the world as we know it today will cease to exist.  There will be a new heaven and a new earth.  The Lord will bring an end to evil.  And every person who has ever lived will stand before the King of kings and Lord of lords to be judged by the One who knows all things—the One who is holy and righteous—the One whose standard of judgment is himself.

For the vast majority of people that will be a day of terror and everlasting punishment.  But for all of those who have known and trusted Jesus Christ as we see him today—as the King on the cross who calls us to repentance and forgives our sins and promises us a home in heaven—it will be a day of everlasting blessedness and joy and peace.  The Bible says that:

There followed Jesus a great multitude of the people and of women who were mourning and lamenting for him. But turning to them Jesus said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?”

            In the sermon last week we heard Jesus speak about the destruction of Jerusalem—that the city and the temple would be utterly destroyed as an act of God’s judgment in time upon all f those who rejected his Son during his earthly ministry in Judea-- but also as a sign pointing to his judgment on the last day upon all of those who have rejected in the days since. 

And now as Jesus carries his cross down the Via Dolorosa—down the way of suffering—beaten and bleeding--his compassion and mercy are still directed towards the people of Jerusalem—calling them to heed his words and repent of their sins.

The eyes of our Lord Jesus Christ are not directed to his own wounds –his heart is not filled with anger at those who rejected him and misused him.  Instead, in that moment of agony and humiliation, when every step is burden, his only concern is for those people of Jerusalem who are about to experience God’s judgment, calling them to repent of their sins and believe his words before it is too late.

Jesus knows just exactly how terrible and far-reaching God’s judgment will be.  He knows that no one will be excluded.  And so even in that moment when he struggles under the burden of the cross, when he falls again and again, his only thought and concern is to call upon those who see him to repent of their sins.

So it is for us today.  Jesus knows that there is still to come upon this world a judgment that is much more far-reaching, much more all-encompassing, much more terrible than the judgment that fell upon Jerusalem—that it will not just be a city that is destroyed—that it is not just the loss of earthly life that is at stake—but that the world itself will destroyed and countless millions will hear the words:  depart from me you workers of iniquity into the fires of hell.

And so he still calls out to us as the king who walks the way of suffering to heed his words of warning and weep tears of contrition and repentance over our sins before the day of judgment falls upon us and promises forgiveness for those who do.  The Bible says:

Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, 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.” And they cast lots to divide his garments.  And the 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!” The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.”

            On the day that our Lord returns, the Bible says that everyone will see him—even those who pierced him.  The Bible says that every knee will bow and every tongue confess that he is Lord—that is, he is the true and living God. 

That day will be a day a terror for countless millions who will know and see nothing but his power and might and majesty and glory and holiness and righteousness.  The sound of a trumpet heard around the world and the presence of the heavenly armies will fill their hearts and minds with fear and trembling.  They will experience what every sinner who has ever come into the presence of the one true and living God has experienced and that is terror.  The Bible says that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God and so it is.

But it will not be that way for us for we know this same holy righteous majestic powerful God to be the King of the cross who promises forgiveness for the worst of sins and the greatest of sinners.  Just picture this scene in your mind’s eye!

Standing around this king were those religious leaders whose sole function I life was the bear faithful witness to the Messiah God sent to save them and the world and yet they rejected him every step of the way.  They plotted against him.  They said all kinds of terrible things against him.  They sentenced him to die and cried out for him to be crucified—and yet the king of the cross he loved them and forgave them.

There were soldiers there who had whipped him and beat him and spit in his face and ridiculed him and drove nails into his hands and feet and stole the few possessions he owned—and yet the king of the cross loved them and forgave them.

There were criminals dying alongside of him whose entire lives were devoted to breaking the laws of God and man, one of whom with his dying breath heaped ridicule and scorn upon him—and yet the King of the cross loved them and forgave them.

There were disciples and friends standing at a distance, men who had denied him and betrayed him and fled from him in his hour of need—and yet the king of the cross loved them and forgave them.

And so then, on this last Sunday of the church year, the question for each and every one of us is this:  do we know Jesus this way?  Do we know him as the suffering servant who glad bore our sins upon his own shoulders as he walked the way of suffering?  Do we know him as the compassionate master whose eyes are always turned towards us, calling us to turn from our sins and be saved?  Do we know him as the King of the cross who loves us and has laid down his life for us? 

And then the next question is this:  if we know him this way, what is there in our life, what failing or sin or shortcoming or missed opportunity is so great that we cannot stand there at the foot of the cross with every other sinner and hear and believe the words that he speaks to us there:  I forgive you.  What shame or guilt we feel in our hearts is more powerful than the love of the king of the cross who allowed himself to be pierced and whipped and beaten and scorned and ridiculed so that could be forgiven and made whole and live a new life?

The last day is coming.  The destruction of the world will take place.  Evil will be destroyed.  And every one of us will face a judge who is perfectly holy and righteous and just and judges us by the perfect standard of himself. 

But that day holds no fear for those who know Jesus as the King of the cross because he is the one who will judge us and he has already forgiven us and has promised us that day will be the day of our final redemption.  The Bible says:

One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!”  But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are 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.”  And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

            Last week we heard about the signs of the Last Day and they were frightening:  wars and tumults between nations—false prophets in the church who deceive even the elect unless God cuts the days short—dissension among family members—persecution of the church and terrible natural disasters.  It is a dark and dangerous world in which we live and it will continue to be so as time goes short.

So it was that day of our Lord’s crucifixion:  there were the screams of agony of those who were dying—there were the wails and groans and cries of their loved ones who looked on—there was the blood that flowed from the cross and the darkness that covered the land and the earthquake that shook the very foundations of the earth as the Lord of creation died upon the cross.  Every bit of the brokenness of creation and sorrow of the human condition was on full display.

But in the midst of all of that darkness and death—above the cries of agony and screams of pain, a promise was made—a gracious promise of eternal life in the mansions of heaven to someone who deserved only death and would be laid in an unmarked grave:  Today, you will be with me in paradise spoken by the King of the cross. 

Today you will be with me in paradise and the pain you are experiencing will be no more.  Today you will be with me in paradise and death will be finished.  Today you will be with me in paradise and this ugly place of death will be replaced by a beautiful garden.

That is what the word “paradise” means and the promise that the king of the cross makes to the thief on the cross and to us here today on the Last Day of the Church year is the promise of Eden restored:  a new heaven and a new earth; God and man in perfect fellowship; and the end of sin and sorrow and Satan.

Today you will be with me in paradise is the promise of the king of the cross to all of those sinners who have repented of their sins and believed in his sacrifice and trusted in his salvation as they draw their last breath in this life.  Today you will be with me in paradise is the promise that the King of the cross makes on the Last Day to all of those who have trusted in him as their Savior and followed him as their Lord.

On this last Sunday of the church let us hear the words of the king of the cross and repent of our sins; let us look to the king of the cross and trust his words spoke form the cross that we are forgiven of our sins; an as we live our lives in the end times and face the Last Day, let us go forth in courage knowing that we too will be with him in Paradise.  Amen.