Words from the Cross (2)

	Jesus looks down from the cross.  "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing," He requests in Luke 23:34. The Master is willing to forgive.
	"And one of the criminals who were hanged {there} was hurling abuse at Him," Luke 23:39-43 records, "saying, 'Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!'  But the other answered, and rebuking him said, 'Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?  And we indeed justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.'  And he was saying, 'Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!'  And He said to him, 'Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.'"
	"Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise," Jesus promises from the cross.  He offers words of salvation.
	The first thing that we should note about Jesus' words of salvation is that He is abused and rejected by almost all of those who hear this statement.  Last time we read the account in Luke 23:35-38 of the treatment of Jesus by the crowd.
	"And the people stood by, looking on," this passage notes. "And even the rulers were sneering at Him, saying, 'He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One.'  And the soldiers also mocked Him, coming up to Him, offering Him sour wine, and saying, 'If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself!'  Now there was also an inscription above Him, 'THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.'"
	Jesus is on the cross, offering salvation.  But nearly all of the people respond by mocking and mistreating the Master.  This is really no great surprise, since Isaiah has prophesied this reaction hundreds of years before.
	"He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief," we read in Isaiah 53:3-6; "and like one from whom men hide their face, He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.  Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.  But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being {fell} upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed.  All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him."
	Jesus offers salvation, but He is abused and rejected by most.  In fact, only one expresses a desire to receive what Jesus has to offer.  This willingness is the result of the fact that the one thief is the only person to realize his condition.
	"And we indeed justly," he comments to the other thief in Luke 23:41, "for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong." 
	Being open to salvation requires that we first recognize our lost condition.
	"But He gives a greater grace," James 4:6-10 notes.  "Therefore {it} says, 'God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.'  Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.  Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.  Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy to gloom.  Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you."
	Jesus offers salvation.  The reaction of most involves abuse and rejection.  But one realizes his condition and turns to Jesus.  The same is true today.  Although Jesus offers salvation to all people, most respond with abuse and rejection.  Very few benefit from the offer, because very few realize where they are.
	Another thing we notice about Jesus' statement from the cross is the completeness of salvation.  Note the assurance of His words. "Truly," He says, "today you shall be with me in Paradise."
	"For this reason I also suffer these things," Paul observes in 2 Timothy 1:12, "but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day."
	Jesus offers salvation.  He is abused and rejected by most.  Only one recognizes his lost condition and turns to the Lord.  The promise of Jesus is sure.  There is no doubt in His voice.
	We should make one final observation about these words of salvation from the cross.  The thief is perhaps the very last person to obtain salvation under the Old Law.  As soon as Jesus dies, the Old Law ends and a new system takes effect.
	"And it was now about the sixth hour," Luke 23:44-45 records, "and darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour, the sun being obscured; and the veil of the temple was torn in two."
	The veil is torn in two, symbolizing the end of this separation between God and mankind.
	"And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh," Colossians 2:13-14 explains, "He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us {and} which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross."
	"And for this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant," Hebrews 9:15-17 points out, "in order that since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were {committed} under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.  For where a covenant is, there must of necessity be the death of the one who made it.  For a covenant is valid {only} when men are dead, for it is never in force while the one who made it lives."
	Jesus looks down at us from the cross.  Through His death, He finishes the Old Law and opens for us the avenue of salvation. How are we going to respond to this offer?  Are we, like the majority, going to abuse and reject the Lord?  Or are we, like the single thief, going to recognize our lost condition and turn to Jesus?
	"And working together {with Him,} we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain--," Paul admonishes in 2 Corinthians 6:1-2, "for He says, 'At the acceptable time I listened to you, and on the day of salvation I helped you'; behold, now is 'the acceptable time,' behold, now is 'the day of salvation.'"

	"When Jesus therefore saw His mother," we read in John 19:26-27, "and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, 'Woman, behold, your son!'  Then He said to the disciple, 'Behold, your mother!' And from that hour the disciple took her into his own {household.}"
	Here we have Jesus' third statement from the cross.  These are words of concern.  Even while He is suffering an agonizing death on the cross, Jesus is concerned about those around Him.  This is no surprise, since the Lord demonstrates great concern throughout His ministry.  He demonstrates concern for the physical well-being of others.
	"And when He went ashore," Mark 6:34-36 states, "He saw a great multitude, and He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things.  And when it was already quite late, His disciples came up to Him and {began} saying, "The place is desolate and it is already quite late; send them away so that they may go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat."
	Jesus is concerned that the people are like sheep without a shepherd.  He is concerned for their physical well-being.
	"Now when Jesus heard {it,} He withdrew from there in a boat, to a lonely place by Himself," we read in Matthew 14:13-16; "and when the multitudes heard {of this,} they followed Him on foot from the cities.  And when He went ashore, He saw a great multitude, and felt compassion for them, and healed their sick. And when it was evening, the disciples came to Him, saying, 'The place is desolate, and the time is already past; so send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.'  But Jesus said to them, 'They do not need to go away; you give them {something} to eat!"'
	Not only is Jesus concerned about food for this crowd, but His is also concerned about their health.
	"And as they were going out from Jericho," we find in Matthew 20:29-34, "a great multitude followed Him.  And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, hearing that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, 'Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!' And the multitude sternly told them to be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, 'Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!' And Jesus stopped and called them, and said, 'What do you want Me to do for you?'  They said to Him, 'Lord, {we want} our eyes to be opened.'  And moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him." 
	Jesus is concerned about the physical well-being of others.  He is also concerned about their emotional well-being.
	"When Jesus therefore saw her weeping," John 11:33-35 says, "and the Jews who came with her, {also} weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit, and was troubled, and said, 'Where have you laid him'" They said to Him, 'Lord, come and see.' Jesus wept."
	"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest," Jesus promises in Matthew 11:28-30. "Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy, and My load is light." 
	"And Jesus was going about all the cities and the villages," Matthew 9:35-38 observes, "teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.  And seeing the multitudes, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and downcast like sheep without a shepherd.  Then He said to His disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.  Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.'" 
	Once again, Jesus sees the people as sheep without a shepherd.  But, this time, He is demonstrating a concern for their emotional well-being.  He sees that they are distressed and downcast.
	Jesus is concerned about our physical well-being.  He is concerned about our emotional well-being.  And, most of all, He is concerned about our spiritual well-being.
	"And when He approached," we read in Luke 19:41-46, "He saw the city and wept over it, saying, 'If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes.  For the days shall come upon you when your enemies will throw up a bank before you, and surround you, and hem you in on every side, and will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.'  And He entered the temple and began to cast out those who were selling, saying to them, 'It is written, "And My house shall be a house of prayer," but you have made it a robbers' den.'"
	"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem," the Lord laments in Luke 13:34-35, "{the city} that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen {gathers} her brood under her wings, and you would not {have it!}  Behold, your house is left to you {desolate;} and I say to you, you shall not see Me until {the time} comes when you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!'" 
	"A certain man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard," Jesus says in a parable recorded in Luke 13:6-9; "and he came looking for fruit on it, and did not find any.  And he said to the vineyard-keeper, 'Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?'  And he answered and said to him, 'Let it alone, sir, for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer; and if it bears fruit next year, {fine;} but if not, cut it down.'"
	Jesus is concerned about us.  He is concerned about our physical and emotional well-being.  And, most of all, He is concerned about our spiritual well-being.  He wants us to obey the truth so that we may be set free.

Unless otherwise noted, "Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE(R), (C) Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977. Used by permission."