Last week Tuesday, our nation went to the polls to elect the next president of the United States. And when the results were announced, half of our nation went into celebration, and half went into shock. Half saw the election as a tremendous victory and half saw it as a crushing defeat. Many saw the winning candidate is the cure for what ails our country and others saw him as part of the cancer that infects our country. To some, the winning candidate is the savior; to others, he’s the Devil.
Now, you realize, all the same things would have been true if the election would have gone the other way, right? If Hillary would have won, people would have still said, “She’s the best.” “No, she’s the worse.” It kind of makes you wonder how both candidates could be seen from such polar opposite directions. How can one person be either a hero or a scoundrel, depending on who’s looking?
Actually, maybe that’s not so hard to fathom. Isn’t that how a lot of people down through the centuries have looked at Jesus? I mean, was there ever a more polarizing figure in the history of the world than the Son of Mary? Back in Jesus’ day, there were people who loved him and people who hated him. Some worshipped the ground he walked on; some couldn’t wait to see him dead and buried. It’s like they were all looking at the same person but seeing him through a drastically different set of eyes.
And mind you, that’s true of not only that people back in Jesus day. It’s true of people today. The question is not so much how does everyone else see Jesus, but rather—and this is the theme for today…
How Do You See Jesus?
In other words, what camp are you in?
- To Some, Jesus is a Fraud
- To Others, Jesus is a King
And nowhere is that more evident than in Jesus final hours on the cross—which is what our text for today records. First. To Some, Jesus is a Fraud. Isn’t that right? As the crowds came out of the city to witness the spectacle of Jesus crucifixion, what does Luke say they did? The crowds stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him (literally, they turned up their noses at Jesus). And what did they find so offensive about Jesus? They said, “He saved others, let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.” Did you catch that? What really bugged the people, especially the rulers, was that Jesus claimed to be somebody that they were all convinced he wasn’t. Do you hear how they throw all of Jesus’ titles back in his face? “If he is the Christ of God, the chosen one…” A little later, the soldiers say, “If you are the king of the Jews…” Even one of the criminals mocks Jesus with the words, “Aren’t you the Christ?” In other words, “Aren’t you the one who says he’s the Messiah?”
In each case, these people are looking at Jesus, this broken and bloody man being crucified like a common criminal, and they’re comparing that man with their idea of the promised Messiah, the one which the Bible said would rule over the House of David forever, the one who the Bible said would put his enemies under his feet and rule with an iron scepter, the one who would bring justice to the nations and proclaim his victory to the ends of the earth. The people looked at that picture of the coming Messiah and then looked at Jesus dying on a cross and said, “You, Jesus, are not that Messiah. You, Jesus, are a fraud. You are no king of Israel. At least, you’re not our king.” In fact, isn’t that exactly what the Jewish leaders said? When Pilate posted a sign over Jesus’ head that read, “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews,” what did the chief priests say? They said, “Do not write ‘The king of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be the king of the Jews.” (John 19:21) They said, “This guy is not our king!”
But, notice, it wasn’t just Jesus’ titles that the people mocked him for. They also mocked him for his actions, or in this case, or his lack of action. What did the rulers say? He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God. Or as the one criminal demanded, “Save yourself and us.” Now, I want to ask you, what do all three of those statements have in common? “He saved others. Save yourself. And save us.” It’s that word, “save,” right? But what did the people mean by that word? Are they talking about rescuing someone from Hell? Or taking a soul to Heaven? No, when they say, “Save yourself, Jesus,” what do they mean? They mean, “Jesus, get down from the cross. Get yourself out of the predicament you are in. Come on Jesus, you saved others. You saved Peter from sinking in the Sea of Galilee. You saved 5000 people from going home hungry. You even saved Lazarus after he was in the grave three days. If you really are the Son of God, you should certainly be able to save yourself from a Roman cross!” And, as the one malefactor put it, “And while you’re at it, why don’t you save me, too?”
My friends, do you see what all those statements have in common? They’re all focused on Jesus saving people from their temporary, their earthly problems. They are all saying, “Jesus, if you can’t save yourself from the cross, if you can’t save anyone else from the pain they are going through, well then, forget you, Jesus. You’re a fraud.
Now the question is, were the people of Jesus’ day the only ones who have displayed that attitude? Or are there times when you and I do exactly the same thing? Are there times when we say, “God, if you really are the all-powerful and all-loving as you claim to be, how come you didn’t get me out of this mess? How come you don’t rescue me from the pain I’m in? How come you don’t relieve me from my suffering? How come you don’t save me from this sickness I’m dealing with, or the financial crisis I’m facing, or the ridicule that’s being heaped on me? How come you don’t do something to get rid of that co-worker who’s making my life miserable? How come you don’t bring that special someone into my life? God, if you really loved me, I would think you would make my life better than it is right now.
My friends, do you see what’s wrong with that mindset? It assumes that the only purpose God has in our lives–the only value he has to us is to make our lives more comfortable on this side of the grave. “God, if you can just spare me of the pain, then I’ll believe you’re for real.” But that’s the wrong focus. That’s such a near-sighted focus. And as long as our focus is “Jesus, what have you done for me lately? What can you do for me now?” we’ll lose sight of who Jesus really is, and what he came to do. We’ll end up joining the crowds who mocked Jesus, and in our final hour, we’ll be separated from God forever, in hell!
But of course, there is another option. A different angle, if you will; a different view of Jesus. And it’s the view that the second criminal had of Jesus. You might say that: I. For Some, Jesus is a Fraud. But II. For Others, Jesus is a King. Here in our text, this man’s clear view of Jesus begins with a clear view of himself. Notice what he says to his fellow criminal. He rebukes him with the words, “Don’t you fear God, since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man [Jesus] has done nothing wrong.
In other words, this second criminal recognizes, first of all, that the crucifixion he is enduring–he had that coming. It’s what he earned for his crimes against society. But Jesus? This man confesses, Jesus has done nothing wrong. In the original language, the man says, Jesus has not done anything even out of place. By the power of the Holy Spirit, working through Jesus’ own words and actions, this man recognizes Jesus for who he really is, namely, the sinless Son of God.
And all of those titles at the people we’re throwing in Jesus face—this man realizes, “Hey, they are all true! This Jesus of Nazareth really is the Christ, the Chosen one of God. Even though Jesus doesn’t look like one, he really is what the sign says, “the King of the Jews”, and not just the King of the Jews, but the king of Creation, the King of Heaven and Earth—which is what leads this man to make one of the most beautiful confessions of faith ever recorded, namely, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
Notice two things about that statement. First, notice that this man is clearly identifying that Jesus is a king. He acknowledges that Jesus will establish a kingdom one day. And this man humbly asks that Jesus allow him to be a part of that kingdom someday. In fact, that’s the second thing I want you to notice about this man’s confession. When he says, “Jesus, remember me,” he means more than “Jesus, will you think about me again someday?” No, in the original language, that phrase, “remember me,” always has the connotation of “showing mercy to someone.” You think about how the Old Testament Scriptures tell us that “God remembered Noah,” or “God remembered his people.” In each case, God was showing his mercy to someone. That’s what this man was praying. “Jesus, please have mercy on me. I don’t deserve anything but punishment from you, but I am trusting that you will rescue me from a fate much worse than this cross.”
And what was Jesus response? Only one of the most comforting words ever heard by human ears, namely, “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” In other words, “Friend, you’re not going to have to wait long. Your soul will not be stuck in Purgatory for a few thousand years. No, today you, that is, your soul, will be with me. And wherever and whenever you are with me forever—that will be Paradise.”
My friends, do you realize that what this man experienced there on the cross is a microcosm of our own lives as Christians? We are all suffering pain to a certain extent. We’re all enduring the consequences of living as sinful people in a sinful world. We’re not going to escape that on this side of the grave. Our lives will not be easy. We’ll have to carry our crosses in one form or another.
But by the power of the gospel, God has opened our eyes to see the bigger picture. When the world looks at Jesus, it sees this loser, this guy who couldn’t even save himself. And yet, through the eyes of faith, we look at Jesus and say, “But that’s exactly what Jesus came to do. He came to be the suffering servant. He came to give his life as a ransom for many. He came to be pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities. He came so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death, that is, the devil (Hebrews 2:14). He came, so that one day we could be taken out of this vale of tears to be part of an invisible, eternal kingdom in heaven!
My friends, the world cannot see that. But by God’s grace, you can. You know who Jesus is. You know that he is the King of kings and Lord of lords. You know that God has placed everything under his feet. And that means that no matter who is in the White House, Jesus is still in control. Jesus is ruling the nations with his power. But more importantly he’s ruling in your heart with his love. Today, on this Christ the King Sunday, we give Jesus the glory that is due him. Today we crown him with many crowns. And we await that day when, in our final hour, our king will say to each one of us those precious, powerful words, “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” God keep us in his grace to that blessed, glorious day. Amen.