A Day of Surprises

Series: Preacher: Date: April 9, 2006 Scripture Reference: Luke 23: 26-49

Luke 23:26 -As they led Him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.

27 – A large number of people followed Him, including women who mourned and wailed for Him.

28 – Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me; weep for yourselves and for your children.

29 – For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’

30 – Then “‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!”‘ 31 – For if men do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”

32 – Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with Him to be executed.

33 – When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified Him, along with the criminals-one on His right, the other on His left.

34 – Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up His clothes by casting lots.

38 – There was a written notice above Him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

39 – One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at Him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save Yourself and us!”

40 – But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence?

41 – We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this Man has done nothing wrong.”

42 – Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into Your kingdom.'” 43 – Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with Me in paradise.”

44 – It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, 45 – for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 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.

47 – The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.”

This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

I may be mistaken but I believe one of the most popular shows on TV these days is the UPN network’s 24 which stars Keifer Sutherland. I for one have never seen the show, but apparently everyone else has, because whenever I’m talking to someone on the phone or whenever I’m at a meeting on Monday night people frequently mention they need to end the call or leave the meeting in time to tune in. Before they hang up or head out they comment that the show is exciting because it deals with some sort of anti-terrorism task force, but then they go on to tell me that the thing that makes the show uniquely entertaining is the fact that each season is made up of twenty-four one-hour episodes; real-time episodes that combine to represent one actual day, 24 hours in the life of Sutherland’s character. Apparently he never sleeps! And I guess one subtle point the show tries to make is that a lot can happen in 24 hours, enough to fill 24 action-packed episodes of prime-time television!

Well, the producers and writers are correct–a lot can happen in one day. And, the perfect illustration of this “timely” principle is holy week. This week is set apart from all others precisely because it contains two days that have changed all of history: the day Jesus Christ died on that old rugged cross and the day He rose triumphantly from the tomb He had borrowed from Joseph of Arimathea.

Well, this year on the two Sundays that bracket Holy Week I want us to examine in detail both of those days–those two 24-hour periods that have impacted all others. And on this Palm Sunday we begin with a close look at what happened on that first Good Friday, the day that Jesus Christ died on a Roman cross for the sins of all mankind.

Now please understand, to the typical Jerusalem resident the day Jesus was crucified began in a way that was not all that different from any other because back in that day and age the Romans were always crucifying someone. John MacArthur writes,

“By the time of Christ, Rome had already crucified more than thirty thousand victims in and around Judea. So crosses with dead or dying men hanging on them were a common sight around Jerusalem, and a constant reminder of Roman brutality.” But the Gospel accounts show that to those who witnessed what happened this day was anything but routine. There was nothing commonplace about this day.”

(1) As Leith Anderson points out in his message on this text, it was a day of surprises. Things happened on that day that shocked people–things that got their attention and made them think.

A. Perhaps the best example of this fact is seen in the experience of a man named Simon.

Dr. Luke tells us he was from Cyrene, a city in North Africa in the region of Lybia, more specifically, modern day Tripoli. There was a large Jewish community in Tripoli back then and Simon had no doubt come to Jerusalem as a pilgrim, a pilgrim on the journey of a lifetime. I imagine he had saved his money for years in order to be able to afford to travel all the way to the Holy City to observe Passover. I also think the event in our text happened right after Simon arrived in Jerusalem. In my mind he was a tourist, right off the caravan, just beginning to explore the Holy City that he had heard about all his life. So, I’m certain he was surprised when he stumbled across a crucifixion parade on those unfamiliar streets. And then, what normally would have been a brief delay as he waited for the procession to pass by, turned into so much more.

Now as I said, crucifixions were normal back then and here’s what this normal procedure looked like. After a man was tried, convicted, and condemned, he would be forced to carry his own cross as he was escorted to the place of his crucifixion by four Roman soldiers. The Romans always intentionally took the longest possible route from the courtroom to the place of execution in those cruel parades, hoping to cross the paths of as many people as possible. You see, they wanted their subjects to have a vivid reminder that the penalty for breaking their laws was certain, brutal, and extreme. That was the purpose of this grotesque parade.

Well, as I said, this should have just been a brief delay for Simon; just a few minutes, enough time the three victims and their guards to go by. But a surprising thing happened. Jesus crumbled under the weight of His cross right at Simon’s feet! You may remember that the day of Jesus’ arrest had been a tiring one, so tiring that His disciples couldn’t keep their eyes open while Jesus prayed that night in the Garden of Gethsemane. Then, after His arrest an already exhausted Jesus had been beaten literally within an inch of His life. And so it is understandable that His remaining strength would give out. And as I said it did, but right as He crossed Simon-the-pilgrim/tourist’s path.

Now, as an occupied city, Roman law gave its soldiers the right of conscription. In other words, they could draft anyone they wanted to do their bidding at a moment’s notice. The custom was for a soldier to take the flat part of his spear blade and put it on the shoulder of any person anywhere, and that person was immediately brought into the service of Rome. Well, with Jesus and His cross on the ground, one of the Roman soldiers realized Jesus could go no further so he exercised this right. He took his spear and put the blade on the shoulder of the closest able-bodied man, who turned out to be this Simon from Tripoli. Thus conscripted, poor Simon was forced to pick up Jesus’ cross and carry it. I’m sure he was not only surprised but also embarrassed and even angry at the Romans. Luke doesn’t tell us anything else about Simon. But this man from Cyrene does appear at least two more times in the New Testament: in Matthew 27:32, and in Mark 15:21. The fact that Simon is mentioned in all three synoptic gospels suggests that his later history was known to each of the gospel writers, which would indicate that he became a Christian.

Another thing we should note is that in his account of this incident Mark expands on that of Luke and tells us that Simon was the father of Alexander and Rufus. And I’m sure you’d agree that it’s an unusual thing for a father to be identified by his children, unless of course the children were famous, well-known. So, we can assume that by the time Mark’s gospel was circulated, two of the most famous Christians in the empire were Simon’s boys, Alexander and Rufus. I mean, the only reason Mark would have mentioned them by name would be because he knew his readers would know who he was talking about. Later in Romans 16:13, we find Rufus mentioned again, described as the son of a woman whom the Apostle Paul considered his surrogate mother. Now, as I said a moment ago, if you put the pieces together, it becomes obvious that Simon became a Christian. His surprising forced conscription to carry Jesus’ cross became a doorway to eternal life for him.

I think we can also deduce that when he returned home to Tripoli, Simon told the story of the Christ and the crucifixion to his wife, who not only became a Christian herself, but also a substitute mother to the famous apostle Paul. Simon shared his faith with his sons Alexander and Rufus as well, who became two of the greatest Christians in the church. So what started out as a frustrating surprise and an embarrassment turned out to be a wonderful serendipitous event for Simon and for his entire family. In fact, I’m sure he would tell you that his “chance” encounter with Jesus was the best thing that ever happened to him! I mean the purpose of a pilgrimage is to get closer to God, and Simon met God in the flesh!

But, before we move on in our review of this day of days, let’s ponder Simon’s experience a bit. Think with me–Simon came to Jerusalem out of religious duty, but met and decided to follow Jesus Christ. And you know, maybe that’s your perspective this morning. Maybe you’re here on this Palm Sunday out of religious duty to make your wife or your parents or even God happy. Maybe someone said, “Hey, it’s Palm Sunday. You should go to church.” And you came, reluctantly, but you came.

Well, that’s okay. The point is you’re here. So hear this: you can never tell what might happen to you as you’re worshiping here this morning. You might run into Jesus. I mean, this could be a turning point in your life. It certainly was for Simon! So, even if you’re here this morning against your will, even if you’d rather be sleeping in or reading the Sunday paper, open your eyes and ears, open your heart, because something surprising could happen to you–something life changing, eternity impacting! In fact, if you are here and are not a Christian, then I believe that right now you have encountered our Savior. I believe that right now He’s knocking on your heart’s door. Your life as it is feels uncomfortable, you yearn for more, you see the need to have Jesus in your life and, if that describes you, follow Simon’s example and invite Jesus in!

B. The events of that day also led to a surprise encounter for some women on the Via Dolorosa; women standing on the route Jesus’ crucifixion parade took.

Luke tells us that after Jesus was released from the weight of the Cross, He continued the journey to the place that in Latin is called, “Calvary,” or in English “the Skull.” And en route, He passed a group of women who were crying and mourning. In fact, they were screaming out, not because they knew Jesus, because in all probability they had never met Him. So, think of these women as kind of “professional mourners.” Of course that doesn’t mean they were unsympathetic. They were women who dared to come out when men were crucified; when the families come and cry over their deaths.

Well, I’m sure they were surprised that day because never before, in all their tears, in all their wailing, in all of their journeys to all of their crosses, never before had they had a man do what Jesus did. He actually turned and expressed sympathy for them! He said He anticipated difficult days for their future and for the future of their children. He told them He was sorry and that they ought to wail for themselves–not for Him.

Now, as I said, I don’t think they knew Jesus. But if they had, they wouldn’t have been surprised, because they would have quickly realized that this was just like Him. I mean, Jesus’ concern was never about His own problems or His own pain. No. Jesus always focused on the problems and pain of others.

And hear me on this. It may surprise you to know that on that day, on that first Good Friday 2000 some odd years ago, it may surprise you to realize that even then, as Jesus walked behind Simon, even then, He was thinking of Your pain and suffering as well. You see, Jesus Christ, omniscient God in the flesh, was dying for You and me. That’s why He was there that day. And even then, even back in that ancient instant, Jesus knew that. His all-knowing mind knew that His suffering and death was for our sin and rebellion-yours and mine! His death was payment for every sin you and I and every human being ever born would commit. And I believe each of those infractions, sinful thoughts, words, deeds, omissions–all of our sin–each of our sins–was on Jesus’ mind that day. Let me put it this way, as those women were shocked to see, Jesus wasn’t focused on His agony and the further agony that waited Him on Golgotha, but rather on your agony and mine.

How does that make you feel? I mean, we talk about the cross so much that we kind of become as desensitized as those Roman soldiers but the fact is that was God carrying that cross! And God is all-knowing and completely loving. So way back then on that day of days, His heart of love was breaking for you and me! He was knowingly, willfully dying for our sin!

You know, when a criminal was put to death on a Roman cross, the soldiers scrawled out the nature of his crime on a sign that was hung around His neck, so that onlookers could see the offense that led to his crucifixion. Well, in Colossians 2:13-14 Paul says that Jesus took our guilt and nailed it to His cross. He took our sins, yours and mine, the charges that were against us, the handwritten death sentences that belonged around our necks, and carried them with Him as He was nailed to the cross. The only Son of God died conscious of the fact that He was doing so for every sin that you and I commit. In his book, He Chose the Nails, Max Lucado writes,

“Between Jesus’ hand and the wood of the cross there was a list, long list, list of our mistakes: our lusts and lies and greedy moments and prodigal years, list of our specific sins. Dangling from the cross was an itemized catalog of your sins, he bad decisions from last year, the bad attitudes from last week. There in broad daylight for all of heaven to see, was a list of your mistakes. Jesus knew the price of those sins was His death. And since He couldn’t bear the thought of eternity without you, He chose those nails.The hand squeezing the hammer was not a Roman infantryman. The force behind the hammer was not an angry mob. The verdict behind the death was not decided by jealous Jews. Jesus Himself chose the nails.”

Jesus didn’t just die impersonally for all humanity lumped together. No. He died personally for you and me. Does that surprise you? Does it shock you, humble you, convict you, to know that on that day Jesus’ mind and heart was focused on you? It was!!!

C. This reminds me of another group of surprised people-Jesus’ executioners.

In fact I think the biggest surprise that day came to these tough, veteran soldiers who so many times before had crucified other men by nailing them to wooden Roman crosses, and then watched them writhe in pain for hours or even days before death mercifully came.

As the condemned men screamed and suffered, these soldiers would sit at the feet of the crosses and play games. I remember seeing one of their game boards carved into the stone pavement floor of what would have been the Antonia fortress in Jerusalem back in 1994. Playing games like that at the foot of a man writing in agony may seem callous. But as I said, their cruel duty repeated so many hundreds of times had desensitized them to the curses, and to the pleas, and to the threats. I mean, these guys were men who just were not caught by surprise. Nothing shocked them! They had seen and heard it all, every curse word and phrase conceived of by the depraved minds of tortured men, yet never before had any of these hardened soldiers heard what Jesus said that day. For, as His hands were nailed to the cross and the nail was driven through his feet and the cross was lifted upright and dropped into its socket in the ground, instead of cursing them, Jesus prayed audibly for them saying not once but over and over and over again, “Father, forgive them, because they don’t know what they’re doing.”

I like J. C. Ryle’s insights on this text. He wrote, “It is worthy of remark that as soon as the blood of the Great Sacrifice began to flow, [Jesus]-the Great High Priest began to intercede.”

Think of it, while others were mocking Him, in fact, just as their taunting reached a fever pitch, Jesus responded in precisely the opposite way most men would have. Instead of threatening, lashing back, or cursing his executioners, Jesus prayed to God on their behalf. Even at the height of His agony, compassion was what filled His heart, compassion even for His cruel executioners, the men who had mocked Him, the men who had beat the flesh of His back into the consistency of hamburger, the men who had nailed His hands and feet to that rough cross. He had compassion on them! And this unheard of response was enough to shock the toughest of soldiers! So it’s no wonder that when the centurion made his final inspection after Jesus’ death, he paused long enough at the cross to say, “Now this one, this one was a righteous man.” (Luke 23:47) “Surely, this was the Son of God!” (Matthew 27:54)

The forgiveness of Jesus was a surprise then, but you know, it is a surprise today as well. I don’t know about you but I’m still shocked at His forgiveness. I mean, Jesus knows our worst sins so well. He knows not only our sinful action and inaction, but also our adulterous and hateful and even murderous thoughts. But when we ask, He still forgives.

Now, the Bible clearly teaches that all sin is against God. And I know that when we are wronged our response is to get back at the person who wronged us. I mean when people trespass against us our first response is to want to trespass against them! So, I for one am surprised that no matter what our sin, no matter how disobedient and rebellious we are when it comes to God’s loving law, no matter what we’ve done or what we do, Jesus’ heart still seeks to forgive.

About a month ago, Sue and I went to see The End of the Spear, a movie that tells the true story of those five missionaries who were speared to death by the Auca Indians back in the 1950’s. The amazing thing, the surprising thing, is that these men’s widows responded to the Auca people not with thoughts of revenge or hatred but with Godly love and compassion. Two of the wives even took their small children and moved in to the jungle to live with the same Aucas who had martyred their husbands. These Christian women spent years caring for the sick and teaching the Auca children. They told them all about God’s love in sending Jesus. This shocked these people who were so used to revenge killings. It made them open to hearing these women tell them of Jesus, Who was “…oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth…” (Isaiah 53:7) It made them listen as these women taught them that God “…so loved the world that He gave His only Son…that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life and that He did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world but so that the world might be saved through Him.” (John 3:16-17) The compassion and forgiveness of these women made it possible for these people to learn that God, “…is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)

Listen people, God still longs to forgive! No matter what our sin He yearns for us to repent and turn to Him so that we can receive the forgiveness He freely offers through Jesus Christ His Son.

D. Now, please understand-the surprises on the day Jesus died were not just for those on the Via Dolorosa or those clustered around the cross.

I say this because at noon, a most extraordinary thing happened. It became dark as if it were night. There are some today, who dismiss this astronomical miracle as an eclipse. But it could not have been an eclipse because remember, the moon is full at Passover time. No, this was a miracle. And I’m inclined to believe that it was not limited to Jerusalem. As verses 44 and 45 say, “The sun stopped shining over the whole land.” In other words midnight came at midday, and it was a deep darkness, darker than even the darkest night. I don’t think you could see your hand in front of your face. I don’t think the stars or the moon were visible. It was as if the Light of the World had gone out! I imagine the soldiers scrambled to find torches to enable them to see so they could complete their gruesome duty. It was that dark! In fact I would say that darkness like this had not been seen in the world since the primeval day when Genesis says, “The earth was without form and void and darkness was upon the fact of the earth.”

Well, this thick, eerie darkness lasted from noon until 3:00PM. Dr. R. G. Lee once commented on this by saying,

“Usually a day has but one noon, one sundown, one night. But there came a day when dreadful things took place dreadful happenings which made it a day whose darkness excelled all the darkness of all the dark days the world has ever known-a dread day with two nights.”

This day should not have surprised the Jewish religious leaders. After all, the prophet Amos had written hundreds of years earlier and said, “And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord God, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon and I will darken the earth on a clear day.”

Well, I think it would be an understatement to say that the people living on this first Friday were surprised when this happened. They knew without a shadow of a doubt that God was doing something special; that in those 3 hours from noon until three o’clock in the afternoon, something unprecedented had occurred. And it did because in that time period the wrath of God against the sin of all mankind was poured out on Jesus Christ. As John MacArthur puts it, “It was a punishment so severe that a mortal man could spend all eternity in the torments of Hell, and still he would not have begun to exhaust the divine wrath that was heaped on Christ at the cross.”

As 2nd Corinthians 5:21 says, on that day “Jesus, Who knew no sin, was made sin for us.”

No wonder it was dark! It would have been incredibly inappropriate for the sun or any other light in the heavens to shine in the face of such horror.

E. This leads me to point out the fifth surprise on the day Christ died. It affected only a few, but their surprise must have been profound.

It occurred at the temple in Jerusalem, the center of Jewish life and worship. If you remember your Sunday School lessons then you know that the outer courts of the temple were open to just about everyone. Then each inner court became increasingly exclusive, just for Jews, just for men, etc. And in the center of the temple was one small place, the holiest place. God resided there, and this place was accessible only to the high priest and only once in each year on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. On that day, the high priest would reverently, cautiously go behind this huge curtain and see something no one else could ever see–that secret place–the residence of God on earth. Then he would offer to God a sacrifice, seeking forgiveness for the entire nation of Israel. He must have been scared whenever he did this annual duty, for God had actually allowed people to die in that holy of holies, die just from the awe of coming into His presence! They even had a custom of tying a rope around the ankle of the high priest before he went in so that if he died they could pull his body out without having to risk their own lives to go in and get it. It was a truly awesome place–an awesome thing to be in the presence of God.

So, try to imagine the surprise of those few on duty in the temple that day–a day in which the sky so dark that they had to light all the candles in order to see. Imagine their surprise when at the precise moment that Jesus uttered His last words and died, this thick curtain, a curtain that was 60 feet tall and 30 feet high and several inches thick, this curtain surrounding the Holy of Holies was torn in two from top to bottom. (Matthew 27:51) and opened wide so they could all see into where they never thought they would see. These priests realized that something amazing had happened. God had opened up His presence to everyone. Never again would there be a curtain that would keep God at a distance. Never again would a priest who would represent everyone else be necessary. Now all of us have direct access to our Holy God. Last year, Denise Bradley, who, as you know, worked on Laura Bush’s staff, arranged for Sue and me to take a tour of the White House. About halfway through she said, “If we cut the tour short now we can go outside to the Rose Garden and see the President. He’s about to board the helicopter.” So we hurriedly exited the White House and sure enough, we watched as George W. Bush himself left the oval office and headed for his helicopter, just like on the nightly news. He waved at us, and after taking a few moments to play with his dogs, he boarded the chopper. Once the helicopter flew away, we started to leave but Denise said, “Wait. Watch.” And as we did, we saw dozens of secret service agents drop out of trees and come from behind bushes carrying the biggest rifles I have ever seen. They were hidden, but had we tried to approach the president, I’m sure they would have made their presence known and used all necessary force to subdue us. In my mind, these guards were like this curtain in the temple in that they separated our chief executive from everyone else.

Max Lucado talks about this barrier that surrounds the president and the frustration of an individual not being able to see him. He says,

[If you tried to see the president] “you’d leave the White House with nothing more than a hard lesson learned. You see, you just don’t have access to the president. Your chat with the commander in chief? It’s not going to happen. You’ll have to take your problems elsewhere. That is, unless he takes the initiative. Unless, he, spotting you in the Rose Garden, takes pity on your plight and says to his chief of staff, ‘See that bald pastor standing next to his incredibly beautiful wife? Go tell him I’d like to talk with him for a minute.’ If he gives such a command, all the barriers will drop. The Oval Office will call the head of security. The head of security will call the guard, and the guard will call your name. And the door to the Oval Office will be wide open.”

Well, when it comes to God, this is exactly what has happened that first Good Friday. I mean the events of this day aren’t a fanciful story because God has spotted you. He has heard you, and He has invited you. You see, when Jesus died, when He allowed His sinless flesh to be torn by those nails on the cross, the veil in the temple was torn as well. This thick curtain that separated us from God was no more. What once separated you has been removed. Ephesians 2:13 says, “Now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away from God are brought near.”

Ephesians 2:18 says, “For through Him, Jesus, we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.”

Hebrews 10:9-10 says, “Brothers and sisters, we are completely free to enter the Most Holy Place without fear because of the blood of Jesus’ death. We can enter through a new and living way that Jesus opened for us. It leads through the curtain-[that is] Christ’s body.”

Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in our time of need.”

And this leads me to point out that not only was that first Good Friday a day of surprises.

(2) It was also a day of salvation.

Verse 40 tells us that one of the criminals crucified with Jesus rebuked his partner in crime who was hurling insults at our Lord and said, “Don’t you fear God?” Then He asked Jesus to remember him when He came into His kingdom and Jesus promised him much more than that. He said, “Today you will be with Me in paradise!” So the day of this criminal’s crucifixion became the day of his salvation! And, we refer to this dark day as GOOD Friday because it has become the day of salvation for billions of others who have put their faith in Jesus Christ just as this repentant thief did.

Let me ask you a question: What do you do with this day in history, this day of surprises? What do you do with its claims? If it really happened, if God really did commandeer His own crucifixion, if His Son really did die on the cross out of love for each of us, if He really did die for our sins, if He really did this so that we could be forgiven and have access to God, well then the message of that day is something we each must hear and consider!

And, as you consider, it I want you to note something: sooner or later the question this thief asked is one we must all answer. We may live a lifetime thinking and behaving as if we have everything together and we have nothing to fear. But eventually death comes to all of us, and when it does, we are forced to face the reality of our own sinfulness and the reality of the fact that it separates us from our Holy God. In that moment, all people realize that it is God Who judges our eternal destiny. It is God Who sets the rules and not us. It’s a time to fear God. Unless we act on the events of this day of surprises, unless we claim the forgiveness that Jesus offers, the death we are all going to face sooner or later is indeed a thing to dread!

Late in the 19th century Albert Simpson wrote a hymn that addresses this issue. It’s chorus goes like this:

“What will you do with Jesus? Neutral you cannot be.
One day your heart will be asking, ‘What will He do with me?'”

And the last verse says,

“Jesus, I give Thee my heart today! Jesus, I’ll follow Thee all the way,
Gladly obeying Thee!” Will you say: “This I will do with Jesus!”

Will you say that? Will you give your heart to Jesus today? If you want this to be the day of your salvation, if you want to follow Jesus as Savior and Lord come forward as we sing and I’ll answer your questions and we’ll pray together. If you have other decisions to make public such as joining this church come. Come as God leads.

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