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Weekly Message | March 28th, 2010
Passage: Luke 23:35-56
Key Verse(s): 46
Good morning! I want to thank you for inviting and welcoming us to this wonderful conference! My name is Brian Karcher. I began Bible study in 1987 at Toledo UBF. I am now married to a beautiful, intelligent, and faithful wife, Mary Karcher. We have four children. In 2004, our family was sent from Toledo UBF to Detroit, as a pioneering house church. My oldest daughter Ruth Barry Karcher did not hesitate to come to this conference, because she heard it was in Michindoh. So far we have heard the wonderful words of God through the conference messengers. We thank and praise God for the clear special testimony sharers on Friday and Saturday evening. God was happy to see the HBF skit last night as well. And for the first time in my life, I heard Christian Korean Rap Worship Music.
In order to prepare myself for today’s message about the cross of Jesus, I decided to watch Mel Gibson’s movie, the Passion of Christ, for the first time. I have avoided watching this movie up to now because I didn’t want to see the gory details of Jesus on the cross. However, after preparing this message, I learned that it is quite good for our spirit to see the reality of Jesus’ crucifixion from time to time. Although we cannot imagine exactly what happened that day more than 2,000 years ago, we know it was a day of extreme torture and brutal human anger. Such vivid images were burned into the hearts and minds of the first century Christians. The image of the cross is not pretty, it is not glorious, and it is not pleasant. Yet it is the cross, a symbol of shame, that has remained to this day as the primary symbol of Christianity. It is because Jesus’ death is neither a sad story nor a story of darkness. The death of Jesus on the cross is powerful because it is life-giving.
Today we will examine the last six hours of Jesus’ earthly life more closely. I pray that the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ may change you.
First, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.” (35-43)
As we heard in Nick Muehling’s message yesterday, Jesus was falsely accused, beaten, and mocked. At the third hour, about nine o’clock in the morning, Jesus was nailed to the cross and hung up high in between two criminals. (Mark 15:25) Today’s passage begins here, with Jesus’ beaten body hanging on the cross in between two crucified criminals. I’d like to ask each of you to look up at the ceiling above me. Imagine three tall wooden crosses, with Jesus in the middle. Imagine that we are the crowd standing beneath the cross of Jesus.
“The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, ‘He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.’ The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, ‘If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.’” (35-37) As Jesus hung on the cross in silence, people began taunting him. “Save yourself,” they said. Above Jesus’ head was a notice which read: “This is the king of the Jews.” (38) So the people mocked Jesus, pretending to bow down to a king.
As the hours passed, one of the criminals who hung there with Jesus spoke up. He began hurling insults like daggers at Jesus, yelling, “Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!” (39) To these insults, Jesus again remained silent. Jesus spoke nothing to this criminal. But the second criminal began rebuking the first. “’Don't you fear God,’ he said, ‘since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.’ Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’” (40-42)
For these first three hours on the cross, Jesus hung there in magnificent silence. His body grew heavier and heavier. The pain intensified as each hour passed. But when Jesus heard the second criminal’s words of rebuke and repentance, his eyes opened wide. He mustered enough strength to turn his head and speak a wonderful promise. Let’s read verse 43: “Jesus answered him, ‘I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.’” Today you will be with me in paradise. These words give us a marvelous glimpse into the mind and heart of Jesus on the cross. Jesus was enduring what some have called the most excruciating, humiliating, and gruesome method of execution ever invented. Yet the mind of Jesus was focused on paradise! Jesus was thinking about returning to glory with his heavenly Father! Jesus’ heart was not sorrowful, but full of joy over one sinner who repented! The mind of Jesus was on the truth. The heart of Jesus was full of a shepherd’s love to justify dying sinners.
From Luke’s account of Jesus’ first three hours on the cross, we see a clear theme: save yourself or sacrifice yourself. This is a great question each Christian must answer. We must know when to save ourselves and when to sacrifice ourselves. To know how to do this, we can look at Jesus. During Jesus’ life, he did indeed save himself several times. For example, one time a crowd became so riled up and angry at Jesus’ teachings that they drove him to the edge of a cliff, to throw him off. But Jesus saved himself. Jesus powerfully walked right through the crowd and went on his way. (Luke 4:28-30) Another time the religious leaders tried to trap Jesus by using a man with a shriveled hand in the synagogue. When Jesus thwarted their trap by healing the man and rebuking them, the religious leaders plotted how they might kill Jesus. But Jesus saved himself. Jesus withdrew from that place. (Matthew 12:9-16) During Jesus’ ministry, the religious leaders became more and more furious with Jesus. They were constantly looking for ways to accuse and kill Jesus. (Matthew 26:4; Luke 6:7, 11) But each time they thought they had Jesus trapped, Jesus shrewdly escaped. The evil plots of powerful men were no match for the wisdom, power, and love of Jesus! Jesus saved himself and his disciples until just the right moment. After praying intensely in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus knew the time had come to sacrifice himself according to God’s will. (Mark 14:32-36) Jesus could have escaped the Roman soldiers who came to arrest him, but instead Jesus did not resist them. (John 18:11-14) Jesus could have rebuked the sneering religious leaders, who called a hasty night-time trial to accuse him. But instead, Jesus did not retaliate. (Matthew 27:12) Jesus could have called on his Father and had twelve legions of angels at his disposal to rescue him from the cross. (Matthew 26:53-54) But instead, Jesus remained on the cross, fully experiencing the intense pain and fulfilling the Scriptures.
How do we know when to save ourselves and do the work of God boldly, and when to sacrifice ourselves and trust God by faith? We must live for the glory of God, with God’s vision of paradise. (1 Corinthians 10:31) Christ set the example. The Holy Spirit is our guide. Christians are to be powerful and peaceful, shrewd and wise, humble and bold, faithful and sacrificial—all these things together. May we repent and imitate Jesus Christ our Lord who sacrificed himself at the right moment in order to give life to others.
Second, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” (44-46)
“It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining.” (44-45a) For the first three hours on the cross, Jesus had to endure the mocking and insults of people around him. But for the last three hours, the sun stopped shining. It seems that God had enough of the incessant jeers from sinners. God silenced everyone by striking fear in their hearts through darkness.
At this time, Jesus surely felt the depths of despair. On the cross, God abandoned Jesus for the sins of the world. Jesus became the Lamb of God. According to Mark’s gospel, sometime during this darkness, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” -- which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34) Jesus did not cry out to God because he was questioning God. Rather Jesus revealed his utmost agonies to God. Jesus was rejected. Jesus was forsaken. Jesus cried to God in utter loneliness.
Let’s read Jesus’ final words on the cross in verse 46: “Jesus called out with a loud voice, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.’ When he had said this, he breathed his last.” Jesus the Son of God, died. Jesus’ last words come from Psalm 31:5 “Into your hands I commit my spirit; redeem me, O LORD, the God of truth.” Jesus personalized these words saying, “Father into your hands I commit my spirit.” Although earlier Jesus cried out in agony, at the moment of death, Jesus’ heart was open to God the Father. Jesus committed all things to God. Jesus died with prayer on his lips. Jesus died with the Scriptures on his mind. Jesus died with a shout of victory. Most importantly, Jesus died full of commitment to God.
How could Jesus have such clear and powerful words at the time of death? Jesus was ready to die. Throughout his life, Jesus responsibly took care of all his work. He faithfully fulfilled the Law and the Prophets. Once when a woman poured perfume on him, Jesus said she did this “to prepare my body for burial.” (Matthew 26:12) On the cross Jesus said “It is finished” because he took time to finish God’s work responsibly. Jesus was prepared to die, so he could commit to God in peace. Many of us are college students, so death seems far away. Yet some of us are getting older. Whether we are young or old, we need to consider our commitment to God as we approach the day of our death. Young people have a great opportunity to prepare responsibly for their future. Personally I am encouraged by M. Sarah Barry, who is in her 80’s. At the end of her life, she is not bitter. She is not a grumpy old woman. It is because she has lived with faith in the cross of Jesus. She is prepared to die for God’s glory. She has committed her life to God.
What about me? What is my commitment to God? Over the past 20 years I have gradually committed my time, my possessions, my marriage, and my children to God. But in one respect, I have been rather reckless with the preparation and planning before some key decisions, especially in regard to finances. I do not regret any decision because “whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ…” (Philippians 3:7-8). At the same time, I recognize that I have not prepared for some key decisions in the best way. For example, as a young man in my late twenties, I was full of excitement for God’s world mission work. Not long after getting married, I convinced my wife to sell our new house for a $20,000 loss and buy another house. A few years later I convinced her to sell that house for another loss and move to Detroit. In addition to these decisions I have struggled to find a stable job. I’ve had six jobs in six years in Detroit. On top of all this, we have faced debts related to our son John’s medical condition, a lawsuit by one landlord and growing student loans. Our financial obligations have snowballed into a desperate situation. I now have an ironic agony. Even though I have a very good income as a senior computer programmer, I often don’t have enough money to by food and clothes for our children.
So finally in 2010, I decided that I’ve had enough. I prepared an eleven page resume listing all of my 151 technical skills, and began submitting it all over the country. I didn’t care if we stayed in Detroit. I didn’t care if there was a university nearby. I really didn’t even care if we continued on in UBF campus pioneering or not. I just wanted to buy food for my children on a regular basis. Soon I received numerous responses to my resume, for several high-paying jobs. I thought this was good, but then, something strange started happening. Just as I as about to go to an interview in San Francisco, the brother of the person who was going to interview me, died suddenly. Just as I was about to go to an interview in New Jersey, they called me to cancel the interview, because their entire office building was flooded. This was so unusual that I decided to discuss these things with my two daughters. I didn’t expect much, but Ruth Karcher immediately told me: “This is a sign from God! Dad, you are moving too quickly! Slow down!” Anna Karcher then said: “Dad, I think God is eliminating all the wrong places. Just wait and you will find the right place.” I was amazed! These words from my two daughters, age 15 and 12, brought me back to my senses. I felt like God was speaking to me through my two daughters.
After this, I cancelled all the interviews and began to focus on preparing the message on the cross of Jesus. Then last Friday, I received a call to have an interview in Cleveland. Within 4 days they hired me for a large salary increase for a 6 month contract position there. After meditating about Jesus on the cross, I have decided to commit my job and my family to God. I will take responsible steps to prepare well. My new plan is to take the next one to two years and prepare responsibly for God’s future mission. S. Mary will prepare a quality PhD thesis without working. In the meantime, I will work at several contract positions, all located within the Great Lakes Region, to prepare our finances well. You have heard that we pray to cowork with Sh. Tom Kalapos in Pittsburgh. We do pray for this, but I will not just pack up and move quickly. We will take time to prepare responsibly. Perhaps God will send us to one coworking family. Perhaps God will send one coworking family to us in Detroit. Either way we will stay in Detroit for now and prepare responsibly so that we may commit our spirits fully to God at the right time. Please pray for our family to remain part of God’s campus pioneering work in the Great Lakes Region. So each week I will work in Cleveland and come back to Detroit every weekend. I plan to visit either Akron or Cleveland or Toledo or Bowling Green along the way.
Third, “Surely this was a righteous man.” (47-56)
As soon as Jesus died on the cross, people around Jesus began to be changed. Look at verse 47: “The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, ‘Surely this was a righteous man.’” This centurion was a hardened Roman soldier; a leader of other solders. He must have seen many men die. Usually the men hung on crosses died blaming others. They died with fear and terror on their faces. But Jesus was different. Jesus died victoriously. Jesus revealed God’s glory through his death. The centurion saw God in Jesus. So he praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” Jesus' death did not overshadow the centurion with the darkness of death. Rather, bright sunlight of Jesus came into his heart. So this soldier became the first Roman to offer a confession of faith.
The crowds of people were also changed, but not in such a positive way. Earlier the crowds mocked Jesus openly. But now, at the sight of Jesus’ death on the cross, the crowds were filled with anguish. They beat their breasts and went away (48).
The death of Jesus also deeply changed one religious leader. Joseph, a member of the Jewish ruling Council, was “a good an upright man.” Joseph did not agree with the Council’s self-serving actions and decision to hand Jesus over to be crucified. (50-51) But Joseph was more than a good and just man, Joseph was “waiting for the kingdom of God.” (51) “Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin.” (52-53) In this way, Jesus died and was buried, and the stage was set for Jesus’ glorious work.
Luke concludes this passage by remembering the faithful women who had followed Jesus to the end. They now followed Joseph to the tomb. They saw exactly how and where Jesus’ body was placed. Although they were full of sorrow over Jesus’ death, they prepared for the anointing of Jesus’ body faithfully. (55) Then they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to God’s commands. (56) How important it is for faithful women to be part of God’s ministry! Soon these women would be changed into joyful witnesses of God’s wonderful work. Soon it would become evident that the cross of Jesus deeply and personally affected these women. They became wonderful servants of God and prayer mothers in the early church.
As we survey the wondrous cross of Jesus, we are left with a challenge. How will you respond to the death of Jesus? Will you be changed? When Jesus committed his spirit to God on the cross, he inspired one criminal to seek the kingdom of God. Jesus’ death melted the heart of a soldier who praised God. And Jesus’ death gave courage to a secret disciple named Joseph. I pray that each of us live for the glory of God and commit our spirit to God. Jesus did not save himself, but committed himself to God so that sinners might be changed.
Let’s repeat Jesus prayer one more time: “Father into your hands I commit my spirit.”
Spring Bible Conference, March 28, 2010; Brian Karcher; Detroit, UBF
Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
