WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.020 Matthew 27, starting at verse 27. 00:00:05.820 --> 00:00:11.359 After I read this passage, I'll say the word of God for the people of God, and we respond thanks be to God. 00:00:11.359 --> 00:00:15.080 Matthew 27, 27. 00:00:41.359 --> 00:00:47.780 Then they spat on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. 00:00:49.100 --> 00:00:57.280 And when they had mocked him, they took the robe off him and put his own clothes on him and led him away to be crucified. 00:00:58.980 --> 00:01:04.280 Now as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. 00:01:05.340 --> 00:01:07.539 Him they compelled to bear his cross. 00:01:07.540 --> 00:01:16.680 And when they had come to a place called Golgotha, that is to say the place of a skull, they gave him sour wine mingled with gall to drink. 00:01:17.980 --> 00:01:20.719 But when he had tasted it, he would not drink. 00:01:22.160 --> 00:01:31.360 Then they crucified him and divided his garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet. 00:01:31.520 --> 00:01:35.680 They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. 00:01:35.680 --> 00:01:44.580 Sitting down, they kept watch over him there, and they put over his head the accusation written against him, 00:01:44.960 --> 00:01:47.680 This is Jesus, the King of the Jews. 00:01:48.920 --> 00:01:54.360 Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and another on the left. 00:01:55.200 --> 00:01:59.800 And those who passed by blasphemed him, wagging their heads and saying, 00:01:59.799 --> 00:02:04.899 You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself. 00:02:06.179 --> 00:02:08.960 If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross. 00:02:10.479 --> 00:02:15.680 Likewise, the chief priests, also mocking with the scribes and elders, said, 00:02:16.079 --> 00:02:17.479 He saved others. 00:02:18.379 --> 00:02:20.099 Himself he cannot save. 00:02:20.759 --> 00:02:26.919 If he is the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. 00:02:26.919 --> 00:02:29.699 He trusted in God. 00:02:30.259 --> 00:02:33.799 Let him deliver him now, if you will save him. 00:02:34.699 --> 00:02:36.459 For he said, I am the Son of God. 00:02:37.699 --> 00:02:43.479 Even the robbers who were crucified with him reviled him with the same thing. 00:02:44.599 --> 00:02:46.560 The word of God for the people of God. 00:02:48.019 --> 00:02:48.959 Thanks be to God. 00:02:49.079 --> 00:02:49.699 Please be seated. 00:02:49.699 --> 00:02:52.539 Well, hey, it's great to be here. 00:02:53.339 --> 00:02:57.039 I'm certainly thankful for Jason for the invitation to be with you all again. 00:02:57.519 --> 00:03:01.959 Again, my name is Asher Griffin, the lead pastor, and one of the elders at Crosspoint Church in Enid, Oklahoma. 00:03:02.479 --> 00:03:04.979 My wife and I are thankful to be with you all this morning. 00:03:05.639 --> 00:03:12.459 I don't know if I'm in a stage of joy and ecstasy or in a state of PTSD, 00:03:12.460 --> 00:03:14.980 because my mom was a gym teacher for 45 years. 00:03:15.360 --> 00:03:17.300 So I grew up in a room like this. 00:03:17.879 --> 00:03:20.320 Carpet, courts, crash pads. 00:03:20.879 --> 00:03:23.360 If I see scooters, I may run away as far as you can see. 00:03:23.879 --> 00:03:24.980 But it's great to be here. 00:03:25.100 --> 00:03:27.920 And I love whoever, Jason says, one of you guys made the pulpit. 00:03:28.300 --> 00:03:31.080 Love how you made the pulpit in this way to where I can hold the word. 00:03:31.980 --> 00:03:33.939 A phrase that I borrow from a friend. 00:03:33.939 --> 00:03:40.639 And he says the word is between you and me because it mediates God's word between you and me and us and him. 00:03:41.120 --> 00:03:42.240 And so it's a great picture. 00:03:42.840 --> 00:03:46.000 It's not just there for formality or for me to have a quick look at it. 00:03:46.359 --> 00:03:49.859 But it actually serves as a great picture of what we're doing here in this moment. 00:03:50.659 --> 00:03:54.020 Now, if you think about whether you grew up in church, whether you're new to Christianity, 00:03:54.020 --> 00:03:57.719 whether you're here today and you're thinking about it, or maybe you're in a state of doubt, 00:03:58.079 --> 00:04:02.300 I wonder how you think, how you normally respond to Jesus Christ. 00:04:02.300 --> 00:04:05.219 So how do you normally respond to Jesus? 00:04:06.240 --> 00:04:08.219 You remember the parable of the four soils? 00:04:08.500 --> 00:04:12.340 I'd imagine some of you have read that in some of the Gospels, the parable of the four soils, 00:04:12.740 --> 00:04:18.080 where Jesus described four kinds of people, not by their background or by their behavior, 00:04:18.560 --> 00:04:22.480 but by their response in receiving the word that was planted. 00:04:23.840 --> 00:04:26.879 Some hearts are hardened where the word never sinks in. 00:04:26.980 --> 00:04:28.139 You remember that illustration. 00:04:28.960 --> 00:04:31.840 Some are shallow where they spring up really quickly. 00:04:32.300 --> 00:04:33.720 But then they wither away. 00:04:34.620 --> 00:04:35.860 Others are crowded out. 00:04:36.000 --> 00:04:38.900 They're choked out by distraction or worldliness. 00:04:39.100 --> 00:04:42.500 It's presented there in the parable as rocks really choking them out. 00:04:42.980 --> 00:04:47.220 Or then there's the fourth group where it's the good soil, where the word takes root. 00:04:47.860 --> 00:04:50.879 It bears fruit and it endures to the end. 00:04:50.879 --> 00:04:58.159 Now, here in our passage, Matthew 27, if you don't know the Bible, the parable of the four soils is previously in the book of Matthew. 00:04:58.620 --> 00:05:03.120 But in Matthew 27, the word of God is no longer just heard, but amazingly seen. 00:05:03.779 --> 00:05:07.939 Where God in Christ is the word himself and he's being seen. 00:05:08.040 --> 00:05:09.899 Where the word has become flesh. 00:05:10.500 --> 00:05:13.399 But in our passage, the word that's become flesh has been beaten. 00:05:14.459 --> 00:05:15.459 He's been stripped. 00:05:15.659 --> 00:05:16.819 He's been mocked. 00:05:16.819 --> 00:05:17.959 He's been nailed to a tree. 00:05:17.959 --> 00:05:22.899 He's been lifted up for the world to behold in a state of mockery and despair. 00:05:23.180 --> 00:05:29.439 And the world, we're going to see in this passage, the world actually responds to him in a couple of different ways. 00:05:30.560 --> 00:05:36.800 And I'd imagine you read the parable of the soils and you would see yourself, hopefully, as the fourth soil. 00:05:37.480 --> 00:05:40.420 The one who receives the word, grows in faith, endures to the end. 00:05:40.420 --> 00:05:43.920 None of you would ever look at yourself and go, yeah, I'm probably the first. 00:05:44.379 --> 00:05:45.000 Or the second. 00:05:45.100 --> 00:05:48.180 You always go, the first kind of reminds me of that guy from college. 00:05:48.560 --> 00:05:50.480 Or the third one, my aunt. 00:05:50.759 --> 00:05:53.040 Or the second one, totally mother-in-law. 00:05:53.180 --> 00:05:55.879 You know, those kind of, you always look at and think of other people. 00:05:56.360 --> 00:06:00.600 But how do you respond to Christ revealed to you in person in this passage? 00:06:01.379 --> 00:06:04.520 Our passage gives us a scene thick with humanity. 00:06:04.519 --> 00:06:10.539 There's soldiers, rulers, passerbys, all there, all responding to Jesus, even the religious there. 00:06:10.859 --> 00:06:15.839 I mean, this is a VBS play or a Christmas play that is perfectly aligned for us to behold. 00:06:16.680 --> 00:06:21.839 But amazingly, in this passage, none of those characters, none of those characters have faith. 00:06:22.719 --> 00:06:26.159 None of them are the parable, in the parable of the soils, the fourth soil. 00:06:26.160 --> 00:06:32.860 It's as if the soils have come to life with their hard hearts and shallow hearts and crowded hearts. 00:06:33.580 --> 00:06:36.200 And the good soil in this passage is painfully absent. 00:06:37.400 --> 00:06:39.000 And they all saw Jesus, though. 00:06:40.620 --> 00:06:42.840 Everyone at the cross has a reaction to Jesus. 00:06:43.760 --> 00:06:50.140 And what you see in verses 27 to 44 is not just a historical account of something that really did happen. 00:06:50.460 --> 00:06:54.320 But it serves us as a mirror of our own lives. 00:06:54.319 --> 00:06:57.659 Don't just look through it like a window and see what's there. 00:06:57.860 --> 00:06:58.459 Certainly do. 00:06:58.819 --> 00:07:01.519 You know, pick it apart, look at it, unravel it. 00:07:01.639 --> 00:07:07.180 But also let it serve you like a mirror where it's actually examining your own heart, showing you what's truly there. 00:07:09.659 --> 00:07:13.860 Jesus wants us to see that these people are not just part of an ancient scene, 00:07:14.039 --> 00:07:19.899 but they actually represent the same kinds of people we find in every culture, in every congregation, 00:07:20.899 --> 00:07:23.560 and possibly even for some of you, even in your own hearts. 00:07:24.319 --> 00:07:27.540 Now, I'm approaching this text in one of two ways. 00:07:27.899 --> 00:07:31.779 So I think there's a right way to interpret every text of Scripture, but hopefully I'm not wrong. 00:07:32.139 --> 00:07:36.360 But when I did this passage in my church a couple of months ago, I came at it twice. 00:07:36.480 --> 00:07:41.659 So I preached the same passage twice, not because I wanted less to do on the second week and more time to play golf. 00:07:41.660 --> 00:07:49.240 But I want you to see this as like an arena where I'm preaching to you from the perspective of the spectators in the arena. 00:07:49.460 --> 00:07:55.140 And if I were here next week, like I was in the second week of my own church, we would actually then focus at the character on the field. 00:07:55.660 --> 00:07:58.800 So I'm going to try to unravel this by looking at the characters there. 00:07:58.879 --> 00:08:02.980 There's certainly a lot for you to look at in what is actually being done to Christ himself. 00:08:02.980 --> 00:08:07.720 But we're going to see what's being done to him through the lens of the people who are actually there. 00:08:08.140 --> 00:08:16.439 And Matthew's concern is not just a response to Christ, but it's also to show the sheer wickedness of those who do respond to Christ. 00:08:16.540 --> 00:08:21.020 And this passage actually reaches, I think, the apex of human depravity, 00:08:21.019 --> 00:08:29.319 where the sin that had been growing ever since Eden, I think now comes to full maturity as the Son of God is truly and actually crucified. 00:08:29.659 --> 00:08:32.980 Where wickedness doesn't just kill Jesus, it mocks him. 00:08:33.419 --> 00:08:34.480 It torments him. 00:08:34.879 --> 00:08:35.899 It spits on him. 00:08:36.019 --> 00:08:39.539 It sneers at him all while he's suffering unto his death. 00:08:39.860 --> 00:08:44.679 Where wickedness doesn't just want to silence Jesus, it wants to humiliate him. 00:08:45.799 --> 00:08:49.679 So here at the cross, wickedness has finally matured. 00:08:49.679 --> 00:08:51.839 And it appears like a monster. 00:08:52.979 --> 00:08:56.459 This is the fulfillment of all that began in the wickedness of the garden. 00:08:56.679 --> 00:08:59.259 The worst act in human history is committed. 00:08:59.659 --> 00:09:02.019 The murder of the sinless Son of God. 00:09:03.120 --> 00:09:07.159 And I think Matthew wants you to see the cruelty in the blindness of humanity, 00:09:07.159 --> 00:09:10.559 where he shows us the magnitude of Christ's suffering. 00:09:10.719 --> 00:09:14.479 Not just the physical agony, it's the weight of temptation. 00:09:14.959 --> 00:09:16.219 It's the weight of rejection. 00:09:16.539 --> 00:09:17.740 It's a demonic attack. 00:09:17.740 --> 00:09:21.700 It's divine wrath and the sorrow of bearing our own sin. 00:09:22.480 --> 00:09:31.500 You've heard it said in Isaiah, where this man was to be a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief and never was as truer than here. 00:09:31.500 --> 00:09:35.519 So what you're going to find at the cross this morning is nothing that is neutral. 00:09:36.500 --> 00:09:37.740 Nobody that is indifferent. 00:09:38.519 --> 00:09:40.399 You have to choose something. 00:09:40.519 --> 00:09:41.779 You have to respond in some way. 00:09:42.100 --> 00:09:43.620 And here you're going to see a couple of responses. 00:09:44.940 --> 00:09:50.919 We find blasphemy, mockery, rage, and a suffering Savior silently enduring it all. 00:09:51.539 --> 00:09:54.740 To where the question is, how do you respond to Jesus? 00:09:54.740 --> 00:09:57.139 How do you respond to the Christ? 00:09:58.180 --> 00:10:02.039 So I want this passage to press in close to your soul. 00:10:02.659 --> 00:10:05.000 Let it shred away at your own illusions. 00:10:05.980 --> 00:10:08.759 And as we see these verses, we're not merely analyzing others. 00:10:09.620 --> 00:10:10.399 Examine yourself. 00:10:11.240 --> 00:10:15.279 What is your reaction to Christ, to his cross, his suffering, his kingship, 00:10:15.279 --> 00:10:17.740 actually reveal about the soil of your own heart? 00:10:18.740 --> 00:10:19.939 Now, I don't know if you have an outline. 00:10:20.179 --> 00:10:22.659 I think I gave it to you like last night or something like that. 00:10:22.899 --> 00:10:24.159 But I'm going to make it very obvious. 00:10:24.179 --> 00:10:24.899 Oh, they do have an outline. 00:10:25.199 --> 00:10:27.699 Okay, I'm going to make it very obvious in case you didn't pick an outline up. 00:10:27.959 --> 00:10:32.539 I've got four points here because I think there are four groups in this passage that are responding to Christ. 00:10:32.879 --> 00:10:38.179 And the first one, this first category of group I want you to see is the empty-minded people. 00:10:38.259 --> 00:10:39.259 The empty-minded people. 00:10:39.860 --> 00:10:41.679 Those who are mocking without meaning. 00:10:41.679 --> 00:10:47.139 And I think you see that in verses 27 to 31, where this first group gathered around the crucifixion of Jesus. 00:10:47.719 --> 00:10:49.979 They could be described as being ignorant and wicked. 00:10:50.699 --> 00:10:57.079 Men who mocked Jesus, but they mocked him without understanding who he was or what he was doing. 00:10:57.479 --> 00:10:59.819 They were empty-minded, shallow, and careless. 00:11:00.359 --> 00:11:02.699 Now, to put this really lightly, it would be like me. 00:11:02.979 --> 00:11:03.919 So I'm thinking of me, not you. 00:11:04.120 --> 00:11:09.179 It'd be like me watching professional soccer and mocking some of the players playing professional soccer. 00:11:09.179 --> 00:11:13.259 When in reality, you would be right to look at me and go, you actually don't know what you're talking about. 00:11:13.539 --> 00:11:14.519 And that's totally true. 00:11:14.819 --> 00:11:17.859 I don't know why the count of the clock happens in a certain way. 00:11:18.199 --> 00:11:19.239 Why is the field so big? 00:11:19.459 --> 00:11:20.839 Why are people walking half the time? 00:11:21.199 --> 00:11:24.719 Why is everyone so good at kicking a ball and they can throw it as well? 00:11:24.939 --> 00:11:27.059 And I might mock them and you go, you don't know what you're talking about. 00:11:27.639 --> 00:11:28.639 That's the light version. 00:11:29.459 --> 00:11:33.019 The kind of mockery that these people were doing was a crucifixion. 00:11:33.019 --> 00:11:36.319 Yet it's almost like they don't know what they're doing in the midst of it. 00:11:37.079 --> 00:11:39.179 They were mocking, but without even meaning. 00:11:39.379 --> 00:11:41.539 Where he introduces you to this in verse 27. 00:11:41.679 --> 00:11:42.480 Look there with your eyes. 00:11:42.980 --> 00:11:43.319 It says, 00:11:43.579 --> 00:11:49.299 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor's headquarters and they gathered the whole battalion before him. 00:11:50.019 --> 00:11:52.240 So they were Roman legionnaires. 00:11:53.100 --> 00:11:54.799 And by that, I mean they were trained killers. 00:11:55.960 --> 00:11:56.620 It's amazing. 00:11:56.759 --> 00:11:59.279 The wedding that I'm going to do tonight down in Colorado Springs. 00:11:59.799 --> 00:12:01.480 All the people there are air force. 00:12:01.480 --> 00:12:04.580 And air force people, I'm sure, are good at a lot of things. 00:12:04.800 --> 00:12:06.340 Hopefully, especially flying airplanes. 00:12:06.899 --> 00:12:13.600 But some of the air force guys at the end of the wedding are going to have raised swords that the bride and the groom are going to go out of. 00:12:13.940 --> 00:12:15.019 And I just think that's really cool. 00:12:15.300 --> 00:12:17.680 Except it was amazing to watch these guys practice yesterday. 00:12:18.019 --> 00:12:19.759 These guys are not trained killers with swords. 00:12:20.060 --> 00:12:21.159 It's just part of their uniform. 00:12:21.659 --> 00:12:24.740 Now you go to someone like an army ranger or a navy seal. 00:12:25.360 --> 00:12:27.759 That's the kind of people who we're talking about in this passage. 00:12:27.759 --> 00:12:34.600 They were really good at doing what they were called to do, which in many ways was to crucify someone and kill someone. 00:12:35.740 --> 00:12:37.299 They were stationed in Jerusalem. 00:12:38.059 --> 00:12:41.720 And to them, Jesus was just another rebel, another convict. 00:12:42.080 --> 00:12:43.659 He was another body to brutalize. 00:12:43.799 --> 00:12:50.279 He just would have had, in a figurative way, just another number on his chest next to other people with a number on his chest. 00:12:50.480 --> 00:12:54.200 It was his turn to die in the rotation of this. 00:12:54.200 --> 00:12:56.720 So to them, Jesus was just another guy. 00:12:56.860 --> 00:13:00.020 But even in their ignorance, their mockery was actually grotesque. 00:13:00.120 --> 00:13:01.620 Look at how they dress him up. 00:13:02.040 --> 00:13:04.000 This is a pure parody of a king. 00:13:04.960 --> 00:13:05.840 There's a scarlet robe. 00:13:05.920 --> 00:13:08.120 This is all in 28 and 29. 00:13:08.440 --> 00:13:09.560 There's a scarlet robe. 00:13:10.140 --> 00:13:10.840 That's intentional. 00:13:11.740 --> 00:13:13.300 A twisted crown of thorns. 00:13:14.259 --> 00:13:16.259 A reed for a scepter. 00:13:16.259 --> 00:13:19.480 Then they kneel before him, laughing. 00:13:20.480 --> 00:13:22.019 Hail, king of the Jews. 00:13:23.360 --> 00:13:27.159 They spit on him, where you can imagine spit running down his face. 00:13:27.259 --> 00:13:29.620 You could see blood pouring out from his brow. 00:13:29.779 --> 00:13:35.840 The reed once placed in his hand is snatched away and then used to beat the thorns deeper into his skull. 00:13:35.939 --> 00:13:36.679 They give him a reed. 00:13:36.799 --> 00:13:37.759 Then they take it away. 00:13:38.019 --> 00:13:38.939 They beat him with it. 00:13:39.899 --> 00:13:40.939 And then they punch him. 00:13:41.439 --> 00:13:42.279 And they slap him. 00:13:42.319 --> 00:13:42.819 And they laugh. 00:13:42.820 --> 00:13:47.400 And to them, he's a clown, a fool, a pathetic, would-be loser king. 00:13:48.040 --> 00:13:52.240 But they have no idea, I think, that they are beating the actual son of God. 00:13:52.320 --> 00:14:00.440 No clue that the only one they humiliate now will one day return to judge them and all the living and the dead. 00:14:01.560 --> 00:14:04.340 They think they are playing a game, but their game is damnable. 00:14:05.180 --> 00:14:07.280 Their mocking is not harmless. 00:14:07.440 --> 00:14:08.720 It actually is sin. 00:14:08.720 --> 00:14:12.260 And sin, even when it's ignorant, it actually damns the soul. 00:14:12.820 --> 00:14:15.180 So these men are not violent because they're informed. 00:14:15.280 --> 00:14:17.680 They're actually cruel because they're indifferent. 00:14:18.160 --> 00:14:20.160 And you think about the tension within that. 00:14:20.280 --> 00:14:24.379 And their indifference, they represent a large swath of humanity today. 00:14:24.500 --> 00:14:26.920 You can see this in modern parallels all around. 00:14:27.520 --> 00:14:33.060 You can think of the nominal Christian who shows up to church but remains spiritually disengaged. 00:14:33.800 --> 00:14:37.120 Physically present but actually heartlessly indifferent. 00:14:37.120 --> 00:14:40.259 Or you can think of the cultural Christian. 00:14:40.799 --> 00:14:42.480 So the nominal Christian, the cultural Christian. 00:14:42.879 --> 00:14:44.980 Cultural Christian is one who wears the name of Jesus. 00:14:45.399 --> 00:14:52.899 But they're more shaped by politics or the culture around them or even a family tradition than the actual gospel. 00:14:52.899 --> 00:14:56.740 They look like Christians but without the heart. 00:14:57.360 --> 00:15:02.100 Whereas the other one, they act like Christians but without the heart. 00:15:02.759 --> 00:15:08.699 Or you can think of churches that try to make their whole gathering a form of entertainment. 00:15:08.699 --> 00:15:14.559 Where they replace reverence with spectacle and treat Jesus more like a mascot than a lord. 00:15:14.559 --> 00:15:24.419 Or skeptics and scoffers who laugh at Christianity without ever taking the time to thoroughly consider who Jesus is. 00:15:25.139 --> 00:15:27.839 If you know what a meme is, then follow along. 00:15:27.959 --> 00:15:29.679 If you don't, come back in one minute. 00:15:30.079 --> 00:15:34.500 I love this meme where it talks about this atheist who goes to a Christian and says, 00:15:34.879 --> 00:15:38.139 I've read all the Bible and I think it's all baloney and it's all made up. 00:15:38.619 --> 00:15:41.859 And the Christian responds, I guarantee you haven't read the entire Bible. 00:15:41.860 --> 00:15:47.300 And that's often what scoffers and skeptics tend to do. 00:15:48.000 --> 00:15:50.980 They want to tear something down without fully knowing it. 00:15:51.940 --> 00:15:55.539 So if you're here today and you're not a Christian, you need to know that Christians don't think you're dumb. 00:15:56.360 --> 00:15:59.019 We don't think that you don't have a mind. 00:15:59.659 --> 00:16:03.300 We just think that you haven't truly looked at Christ for who he is. 00:16:03.960 --> 00:16:05.500 We want you to look more at him. 00:16:05.620 --> 00:16:06.860 We want to read the Bible with you. 00:16:07.120 --> 00:16:08.899 We want to talk about Jesus with you. 00:16:08.899 --> 00:16:15.259 Because we think if you can taste and see that the Lord is good, you'll respond not like this first category of people. 00:16:16.620 --> 00:16:19.720 Now these people may not seem hostile, all those groups that I kind of mentioned. 00:16:20.019 --> 00:16:20.939 But they are indifferent. 00:16:21.299 --> 00:16:22.860 And that indifference is actually deadly. 00:16:23.059 --> 00:16:24.879 Like soldiers, they mock without meaning. 00:16:25.000 --> 00:16:31.139 But make no mistake, mocking the king, even in ignorance, is still a treasonous, rebellious act. 00:16:32.000 --> 00:16:35.079 And what does Jesus do in the face of this? 00:16:36.079 --> 00:16:36.620 I mean, look there. 00:16:36.740 --> 00:16:37.600 What does he do? 00:16:37.600 --> 00:16:39.840 He's completely silent. 00:16:41.740 --> 00:16:43.060 He doesn't lash out. 00:16:44.019 --> 00:16:45.659 He doesn't return mockery for mockery. 00:16:46.120 --> 00:16:47.460 But rather he endures. 00:16:48.540 --> 00:16:53.080 Because even for mockers, the cross is God's mercy on display. 00:16:54.060 --> 00:17:02.340 It's like this moment of patience where he's allowing them to see what they're doing so that they may fully understand it on the other side. 00:17:02.340 --> 00:17:06.920 Where even the most shallow scoffer can be saved if they repent. 00:17:06.920 --> 00:17:11.640 And so you've got to ask yourself, are you more moved by the wounds of Christ? 00:17:12.380 --> 00:17:15.340 Or are you more unmoved by the wounds of Christ? 00:17:16.200 --> 00:17:17.000 Do you laugh at? 00:17:17.080 --> 00:17:17.920 Do you scoff at? 00:17:18.060 --> 00:17:20.480 Or do you simply shrug at Jesus? 00:17:21.380 --> 00:17:26.120 Where the world is full of those who reject Jesus out of thoughtlessness. 00:17:26.119 --> 00:17:28.699 But thoughtlessness, rejection is still rejection. 00:17:28.919 --> 00:17:33.839 And hell will not be filled only with violently hostile people. 00:17:33.959 --> 00:17:36.179 It will also be filled with casually indifferent people. 00:17:37.179 --> 00:17:40.199 Those who knew enough yet did so much more. 00:17:40.200 --> 00:17:43.140 They're the people in your pew. 00:17:43.819 --> 00:17:44.580 In your family. 00:17:45.319 --> 00:17:46.519 Friend, maybe even you in the mirror. 00:17:47.559 --> 00:17:49.660 Where they scoff at Jesus but barely consider. 00:17:50.960 --> 00:17:54.400 But then the second group here, you see in the text in verses 38 and 44. 00:17:55.319 --> 00:17:56.340 They know who he is. 00:17:57.240 --> 00:17:59.340 They know who he is and then they reject him anyway. 00:17:59.720 --> 00:18:00.440 Look at the second group. 00:18:00.440 --> 00:18:02.480 Those who have hardened hearts. 00:18:03.080 --> 00:18:04.960 They are guilty but still unrepentant. 00:18:05.100 --> 00:18:05.680 Hardened hearts. 00:18:06.120 --> 00:18:07.580 Guilty but still unrepentant. 00:18:07.940 --> 00:18:09.880 Where the first group mocked without meaning. 00:18:10.200 --> 00:18:12.080 Soldiers indifferent to the man they tortured. 00:18:12.200 --> 00:18:14.160 The second group is actually worse. 00:18:14.340 --> 00:18:17.539 These men know something of Jesus but still reject him. 00:18:17.600 --> 00:18:18.900 Where their hearts are not ignorant. 00:18:19.420 --> 00:18:20.019 They're hardened. 00:18:20.340 --> 00:18:21.740 Their rebellion is deliberate. 00:18:22.980 --> 00:18:23.779 Look at verse 38. 00:18:25.059 --> 00:18:26.880 Then two robbers were crucified with him. 00:18:27.279 --> 00:18:28.660 One on the right and one on the left. 00:18:28.660 --> 00:18:30.920 This was no accident. 00:18:31.100 --> 00:18:33.740 It was actually an intentional act of dishonor. 00:18:33.880 --> 00:18:37.140 By placing Jesus between two violent criminals. 00:18:37.140 --> 00:18:40.340 The authorities aim to shame him. 00:18:40.780 --> 00:18:41.700 To mock him. 00:18:41.960 --> 00:18:43.380 As the worst of the three. 00:18:44.980 --> 00:18:48.259 Isaiah 53 says that he was numbered with the transgressors. 00:18:48.480 --> 00:18:49.660 But not just numbered with them. 00:18:49.720 --> 00:18:50.800 He was placed in the very middle. 00:18:51.040 --> 00:18:53.660 If you were to think of the two worst people in world history. 00:18:54.960 --> 00:18:56.600 You know what would those answers be? 00:18:56.599 --> 00:18:59.759 And what this group did at that time. 00:18:59.759 --> 00:19:02.259 Is they say okay we'll take bad guy number one. 00:19:02.339 --> 00:19:03.539 And bad guy number two. 00:19:03.839 --> 00:19:05.659 And we're going to put Jesus in the middle of it. 00:19:06.439 --> 00:19:08.699 Not to ward those people off from one another. 00:19:09.219 --> 00:19:10.740 But to say he's the worst. 00:19:12.659 --> 00:19:14.279 The Greek word for robbers here. 00:19:14.379 --> 00:19:16.219 If you see that in your text. 00:19:16.279 --> 00:19:17.179 If your text says robbers. 00:19:17.339 --> 00:19:18.759 The Greek word for robbers here. 00:19:19.019 --> 00:19:20.939 Is not a word that means a petty thief. 00:19:20.940 --> 00:19:23.620 But actually a dangerous bandit. 00:19:24.440 --> 00:19:26.120 These were hardened criminals. 00:19:26.279 --> 00:19:28.220 Likely violent insurrectionists. 00:19:28.420 --> 00:19:30.680 Perhaps even associates of Barabbas. 00:19:30.779 --> 00:19:31.860 They weren't stealing bread. 00:19:32.480 --> 00:19:33.920 They were killing for gain. 00:19:35.380 --> 00:19:36.680 And as they hung beside Jesus. 00:19:36.900 --> 00:19:38.759 They joined the chorus of mockery. 00:19:38.900 --> 00:19:39.720 Look at verse 44. 00:19:40.360 --> 00:19:41.660 Kind of skipped over a couple verses. 00:19:41.900 --> 00:19:42.480 Verse 44. 00:19:42.480 --> 00:19:44.440 And the robbers who were crucified with him. 00:19:44.500 --> 00:19:45.640 Those on the right and the left. 00:19:46.339 --> 00:19:48.120 Reviled him in the same way. 00:19:49.180 --> 00:19:51.799 Where they echoed the insults of the Jewish leaders. 00:19:52.319 --> 00:19:53.500 You who destroy the temple. 00:19:53.640 --> 00:19:54.539 If you are the son of God. 00:19:54.880 --> 00:19:56.420 Come down from the cross. 00:19:56.700 --> 00:19:57.360 And then it says. 00:19:57.700 --> 00:20:00.140 And the robbers reviled him in the same way. 00:20:01.480 --> 00:20:01.980 And this is. 00:20:02.120 --> 00:20:03.819 I think this is staggering and astonishing. 00:20:04.360 --> 00:20:05.420 These men are dying. 00:20:05.680 --> 00:20:06.860 They're dying on their own. 00:20:07.160 --> 00:20:07.860 They're bloodied. 00:20:08.000 --> 00:20:09.299 They're gasping for breath. 00:20:09.539 --> 00:20:11.200 They're going to die by suffocation. 00:20:11.200 --> 00:20:12.620 Seconds from eternity. 00:20:12.920 --> 00:20:14.360 And even then at that moment. 00:20:14.460 --> 00:20:15.019 What do they do? 00:20:16.380 --> 00:20:18.580 They mock the guy on their right. 00:20:18.680 --> 00:20:19.700 Or the guy on their left. 00:20:20.960 --> 00:20:22.039 Isn't that incredible? 00:20:23.059 --> 00:20:24.660 The depravity of their own heart. 00:20:25.120 --> 00:20:25.700 They're dying. 00:20:26.480 --> 00:20:27.539 And they still hate him. 00:20:27.600 --> 00:20:28.360 And revile him. 00:20:29.360 --> 00:20:30.460 They know who he is. 00:20:30.740 --> 00:20:31.420 Not in full. 00:20:31.559 --> 00:20:32.160 But enough. 00:20:32.279 --> 00:20:33.900 Enough to know what he claimed. 00:20:34.039 --> 00:20:35.160 Enough to know his name. 00:20:35.559 --> 00:20:36.299 His miracles. 00:20:36.660 --> 00:20:37.279 His reputation. 00:20:38.000 --> 00:20:39.279 They likely heard him preach. 00:20:39.279 --> 00:20:41.259 They would have seen his power. 00:20:41.399 --> 00:20:42.500 And still they reject him. 00:20:42.779 --> 00:20:44.279 You see that in verse 44. 00:20:45.160 --> 00:20:47.119 The robbers also who were crucified with him. 00:20:48.160 --> 00:20:51.559 The King James Version says that they cast the same in his teeth. 00:20:52.639 --> 00:20:53.099 And they actually. 00:20:53.220 --> 00:20:54.160 The text says. 00:20:54.539 --> 00:20:56.099 They heaped insults at him. 00:20:56.379 --> 00:20:58.220 They heaped the same insults at him. 00:20:58.299 --> 00:21:01.180 The same insults that they were hearing from Jewish leaders. 00:21:01.339 --> 00:21:02.240 Who were saying. 00:21:02.519 --> 00:21:03.399 If you're the king of Israel. 00:21:03.759 --> 00:21:04.339 Come down. 00:21:04.559 --> 00:21:05.579 If you trust in God. 00:21:05.720 --> 00:21:06.779 Let him deliver you. 00:21:06.779 --> 00:21:08.460 You said you were the son of God. 00:21:08.579 --> 00:21:09.460 So on and so forth. 00:21:09.799 --> 00:21:11.460 They knew some of the claims of Jesus. 00:21:13.160 --> 00:21:14.619 And this is what hardened hearts do. 00:21:14.799 --> 00:21:16.119 It sins against knowledge. 00:21:16.759 --> 00:21:18.139 Hardened hearts sin against knowledge. 00:21:18.980 --> 00:21:21.799 The rejection of Jesus as a savior isn't. 00:21:21.799 --> 00:21:23.379 Isn't an intellectual rejection. 00:21:24.500 --> 00:21:24.680 You know. 00:21:24.740 --> 00:21:25.619 I just saw on. 00:21:26.619 --> 00:21:27.059 Twitter. 00:21:27.599 --> 00:21:28.240 A couple of months ago. 00:21:28.680 --> 00:21:29.180 That apparently. 00:21:29.579 --> 00:21:30.720 The smartest man in the world. 00:21:31.139 --> 00:21:32.399 The man with the highest IQ. 00:21:33.460 --> 00:21:34.619 Has become a Christian. 00:21:34.839 --> 00:21:35.700 And embraced Christ. 00:21:35.700 --> 00:21:35.779 Christ. 00:21:36.400 --> 00:21:37.279 And you need to know. 00:21:37.519 --> 00:21:38.220 That's not because. 00:21:38.380 --> 00:21:39.259 He has the highest IQ. 00:21:39.660 --> 00:21:40.519 How do you even measure that? 00:21:41.019 --> 00:21:41.180 But. 00:21:41.340 --> 00:21:42.799 Is there like a school that you go to? 00:21:42.900 --> 00:21:43.519 And I don't know. 00:21:43.600 --> 00:21:45.019 But it's not because he was a genius. 00:21:45.860 --> 00:21:47.059 It's also not because. 00:21:47.279 --> 00:21:47.700 You're a genius. 00:21:47.700 --> 00:21:48.860 That you would reject Christ. 00:21:49.440 --> 00:21:50.480 But rejection of Jesus. 00:21:50.799 --> 00:21:51.799 Is one out of morality. 00:21:52.779 --> 00:21:53.700 It's one out of morality. 00:21:54.500 --> 00:21:55.259 Of seeing the world. 00:21:55.380 --> 00:21:56.460 As it's rightly created. 00:21:56.580 --> 00:21:57.740 It was rightly created good. 00:21:58.279 --> 00:22:00.080 And then it just disassembled from there. 00:22:00.140 --> 00:22:01.120 Because of man's sin. 00:22:02.259 --> 00:22:03.960 To where we have these hardened hearts. 00:22:03.960 --> 00:22:06.000 And this is what hardened hearts do. 00:22:06.960 --> 00:22:08.440 They have enough light to repent. 00:22:09.100 --> 00:22:10.380 But instead they curse it. 00:22:11.059 --> 00:22:11.860 They hate Jesus. 00:22:12.180 --> 00:22:13.440 Not just out of confusion. 00:22:13.720 --> 00:22:14.960 But actually out of conviction. 00:22:15.340 --> 00:22:16.600 Where the presence of righteousness. 00:22:17.039 --> 00:22:18.380 Exposes the darkness to them. 00:22:18.620 --> 00:22:20.039 And they hate the light for it. 00:22:20.079 --> 00:22:20.640 You see how these. 00:22:20.960 --> 00:22:22.620 The second group is different than the first group. 00:22:24.400 --> 00:22:25.980 And you can see how this sounds familiar. 00:22:25.980 --> 00:22:26.559 Even today. 00:22:26.559 --> 00:22:30.000 These men are not ancient exceptions. 00:22:31.480 --> 00:22:33.460 They're the people who are raised in church. 00:22:33.519 --> 00:22:34.259 Who now attack it. 00:22:34.359 --> 00:22:35.960 Because of previous pain. 00:22:37.539 --> 00:22:38.679 They're former believers. 00:22:38.679 --> 00:22:40.139 Who once confessed Christ. 00:22:40.259 --> 00:22:42.419 But now use their deconstruction. 00:22:42.839 --> 00:22:44.519 As a platform for mockery. 00:22:45.399 --> 00:22:47.000 These are now called people like. 00:22:47.000 --> 00:22:48.539 Post evangelicals. 00:22:48.659 --> 00:22:50.179 Who claim to reject. 00:22:50.339 --> 00:22:51.859 What they view as legalism. 00:22:51.980 --> 00:22:52.599 But have instead. 00:22:52.740 --> 00:22:54.000 Actually rejected the Lord. 00:22:54.000 --> 00:22:56.740 These are now online influencers. 00:22:57.619 --> 00:22:58.960 All over the algorithms. 00:22:59.740 --> 00:23:01.160 Who spend their lives. 00:23:01.279 --> 00:23:02.460 Tearing down the very gospel. 00:23:02.900 --> 00:23:04.279 They once claimed to believe. 00:23:04.400 --> 00:23:05.640 And because so many people watch them. 00:23:05.859 --> 00:23:07.240 They actually make money from it. 00:23:08.299 --> 00:23:09.539 These are not passive doubters. 00:23:09.680 --> 00:23:10.460 They're guilty. 00:23:10.619 --> 00:23:11.500 And they're unrepentant. 00:23:11.799 --> 00:23:12.720 Their rejection flows. 00:23:12.900 --> 00:23:13.599 Not from misunderstanding. 00:23:14.160 --> 00:23:15.500 But from a love of sin. 00:23:15.799 --> 00:23:17.099 And a bitterness of the soul. 00:23:17.259 --> 00:23:17.640 And yet. 00:23:18.160 --> 00:23:18.700 Hear this. 00:23:18.819 --> 00:23:19.940 There's a glimmer here. 00:23:20.019 --> 00:23:21.339 Even in our account. 00:23:21.420 --> 00:23:22.099 Not just in our account. 00:23:22.160 --> 00:23:22.579 But in others. 00:23:22.579 --> 00:23:23.779 There's a glimmer here. 00:23:23.779 --> 00:23:24.920 Even hardened hearts. 00:23:25.440 --> 00:23:26.779 Are not beyond hope. 00:23:27.660 --> 00:23:29.220 You think of these two people at the cross. 00:23:29.799 --> 00:23:31.240 Where if you go over to Luke's gospel. 00:23:31.399 --> 00:23:34.339 So just imagine reading all of the gospel of Matthew. 00:23:34.799 --> 00:23:35.539 And going man. 00:23:35.700 --> 00:23:37.720 That got really intense at the end. 00:23:38.059 --> 00:23:39.700 And then you read a different account. 00:23:39.899 --> 00:23:41.079 Of the same events that happen. 00:23:41.339 --> 00:23:42.160 In the book of Luke. 00:23:42.220 --> 00:23:42.940 In Luke's gospel. 00:23:43.440 --> 00:23:44.960 And Luke's gospel tells us. 00:23:45.220 --> 00:23:46.420 That one of these two criminals. 00:23:46.660 --> 00:23:47.899 At the 11th hour. 00:23:48.379 --> 00:23:49.700 Actually had a change of heart. 00:23:49.700 --> 00:23:51.720 As the hours passed. 00:23:51.819 --> 00:23:53.440 Something broke open. 00:23:53.720 --> 00:23:56.600 Post his mocking of the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:23:57.039 --> 00:23:59.140 Where he actually rebuked the other thief. 00:24:00.039 --> 00:24:01.160 He confessed his guilt. 00:24:02.100 --> 00:24:03.360 And he turned to Jesus. 00:24:03.580 --> 00:24:03.960 And said. 00:24:04.360 --> 00:24:06.160 Remember me when you come into your kingdom. 00:24:06.160 --> 00:24:08.600 Now these are guys. 00:24:08.600 --> 00:24:09.740 Who had just been mocking Jesus. 00:24:10.080 --> 00:24:11.120 In this other account in Luke. 00:24:11.240 --> 00:24:12.800 And what did Jesus do then? 00:24:13.740 --> 00:24:14.720 So to the first group. 00:24:14.800 --> 00:24:15.259 He was silent. 00:24:15.400 --> 00:24:16.460 But to the second group. 00:24:16.540 --> 00:24:17.920 When this person did repent. 00:24:18.040 --> 00:24:19.240 How did Jesus respond there? 00:24:19.300 --> 00:24:19.960 In Luke 23. 00:24:20.820 --> 00:24:22.140 Truly I say to you today. 00:24:22.540 --> 00:24:23.779 You'll be with me in paradise. 00:24:24.779 --> 00:24:25.140 Friend. 00:24:25.140 --> 00:24:25.180 Friend. 00:24:25.180 --> 00:24:26.060 If you hate the Lord. 00:24:27.000 --> 00:24:28.180 And you hate Jesus. 00:24:28.960 --> 00:24:30.580 And it's not just out of apathy. 00:24:30.700 --> 00:24:31.600 But it's out of intent. 00:24:32.100 --> 00:24:33.100 You need to know. 00:24:33.380 --> 00:24:35.080 That you can turn to him right now. 00:24:35.860 --> 00:24:37.820 And he will absolutely accept you. 00:24:39.240 --> 00:24:40.120 You can see. 00:24:40.300 --> 00:24:41.259 You can see. 00:24:42.540 --> 00:24:43.600 A son or a daughter. 00:24:43.759 --> 00:24:44.700 Finally going home. 00:24:45.600 --> 00:24:46.900 To a bad dad. 00:24:47.820 --> 00:24:48.860 And the bad dad. 00:24:48.960 --> 00:24:50.520 Finally got enough guts. 00:24:50.520 --> 00:24:51.640 Courage or redemption. 00:24:52.220 --> 00:24:52.620 To say. 00:24:53.040 --> 00:24:53.759 I'm really sorry. 00:24:54.599 --> 00:24:55.420 Will you forgive me? 00:24:56.339 --> 00:24:57.799 And you see the beautiful. 00:24:58.000 --> 00:24:58.740 Hallmark movie. 00:24:59.220 --> 00:25:00.420 Where the child says. 00:25:00.900 --> 00:25:01.339 Absolutely. 00:25:02.720 --> 00:25:02.940 Friend. 00:25:03.000 --> 00:25:04.019 You're not far off. 00:25:04.200 --> 00:25:05.119 Even though you think. 00:25:05.160 --> 00:25:06.079 You're really deep in the mud. 00:25:07.240 --> 00:25:08.099 So if that's you. 00:25:08.319 --> 00:25:09.400 If you carry wounds. 00:25:09.640 --> 00:25:10.339 Or guilt. 00:25:10.539 --> 00:25:11.640 Or anger towards God. 00:25:11.720 --> 00:25:12.079 Know this. 00:25:12.140 --> 00:25:12.619 Your story. 00:25:12.819 --> 00:25:14.279 It doesn't have to end that way. 00:25:14.480 --> 00:25:15.200 You don't have to spend. 00:25:15.279 --> 00:25:16.079 The rest of your life. 00:25:16.339 --> 00:25:17.579 Being so mad at him. 00:25:19.099 --> 00:25:20.319 You may be moments away. 00:25:20.319 --> 00:25:21.019 From eternity. 00:25:21.160 --> 00:25:21.640 But even now. 00:25:21.700 --> 00:25:22.019 Jesus. 00:25:22.480 --> 00:25:23.720 Saves those who turn to him. 00:25:24.759 --> 00:25:25.900 What it looks like. 00:25:25.940 --> 00:25:26.900 Is something that is called. 00:25:27.379 --> 00:25:27.819 Repentance. 00:25:28.480 --> 00:25:29.200 In a helpful way. 00:25:29.339 --> 00:25:30.559 That the reformers. 00:25:30.940 --> 00:25:31.960 500 so years ago. 00:25:32.420 --> 00:25:33.140 Kind of helped us. 00:25:33.420 --> 00:25:33.900 Understand. 00:25:34.059 --> 00:25:34.480 What does. 00:25:34.900 --> 00:25:35.619 What does true. 00:25:35.720 --> 00:25:36.480 Biblical repentance. 00:25:36.480 --> 00:25:36.960 Look like. 00:25:37.039 --> 00:25:37.240 What is. 00:25:37.500 --> 00:25:38.599 What is faith in Jesus. 00:25:38.599 --> 00:25:39.140 Looks like. 00:25:39.339 --> 00:25:40.220 It looks like. 00:25:40.420 --> 00:25:40.940 Knowing him. 00:25:41.500 --> 00:25:42.299 It looks like. 00:25:42.460 --> 00:25:43.180 Going to him. 00:25:43.200 --> 00:25:43.720 Or they would say. 00:25:43.799 --> 00:25:44.440 Ascend to him. 00:25:44.779 --> 00:25:44.940 So. 00:25:45.359 --> 00:25:45.640 K. 00:25:46.180 --> 00:25:46.579 Ascend. 00:25:46.759 --> 00:25:47.019 A. 00:25:47.279 --> 00:25:48.059 And then finally. 00:25:48.220 --> 00:25:48.859 Trusting him. 00:25:49.240 --> 00:25:49.619 So T. 00:25:49.939 --> 00:25:50.679 It's the wrong way. 00:25:50.679 --> 00:25:51.279 To spell cat. 00:25:51.479 --> 00:25:52.419 But it's very helpful. 00:25:52.419 --> 00:25:52.859 To think through. 00:25:52.959 --> 00:25:53.319 What does it mean. 00:25:53.319 --> 00:25:54.240 To have faith in Christ. 00:25:54.240 --> 00:25:54.919 What does it mean. 00:25:54.919 --> 00:25:55.759 To truly repent. 00:25:55.759 --> 00:25:56.339 Of your sins. 00:25:56.339 --> 00:25:57.839 It means to know the Lord. 00:25:58.139 --> 00:25:58.839 To go to him. 00:25:59.139 --> 00:25:59.839 And to trust him. 00:25:59.939 --> 00:26:00.699 With all of your heart. 00:26:00.819 --> 00:26:01.000 Friend. 00:26:01.259 --> 00:26:02.559 If you're the angry guy. 00:26:02.819 --> 00:26:03.779 In this passage. 00:26:04.639 --> 00:26:05.679 Turn to the Lord. 00:26:06.079 --> 00:26:06.779 And trust him. 00:26:06.959 --> 00:26:07.879 With your whole heart. 00:26:08.619 --> 00:26:09.579 Where you see this group. 00:26:09.639 --> 00:26:10.479 Reviling Jesus. 00:26:11.039 --> 00:26:12.419 From a place of guilt and pride. 00:26:12.500 --> 00:26:12.960 But then you see. 00:26:13.220 --> 00:26:13.920 This third group. 00:26:14.680 --> 00:26:15.220 I'm going to call them. 00:26:15.279 --> 00:26:16.300 Jaded mockers. 00:26:16.400 --> 00:26:17.140 Jaded mockers. 00:26:17.680 --> 00:26:19.080 Those who are disillusioned. 00:26:19.360 --> 00:26:20.600 And those who are dismissive. 00:26:20.640 --> 00:26:22.100 You see this in 39 through 40. 00:26:23.600 --> 00:26:24.380 In some ways. 00:26:24.480 --> 00:26:24.660 This. 00:26:25.160 --> 00:26:25.720 This is not. 00:26:26.259 --> 00:26:27.019 More intense. 00:26:27.140 --> 00:26:27.539 But it is. 00:26:27.640 --> 00:26:28.539 A little bit more tragic. 00:26:29.080 --> 00:26:30.140 Where these aren't soldiers. 00:26:30.140 --> 00:26:30.820 Or thieves. 00:26:31.519 --> 00:26:32.860 They aren't hardened criminals. 00:26:33.820 --> 00:26:35.380 They're just ordinary people. 00:26:36.300 --> 00:26:37.519 Isn't that what we all want to be? 00:26:37.640 --> 00:26:38.620 Just a normal guy. 00:26:38.740 --> 00:26:39.779 You want to walk into a room. 00:26:39.880 --> 00:26:40.740 Filled with normal people. 00:26:41.140 --> 00:26:41.880 And you want to fit in. 00:26:42.420 --> 00:26:44.080 And they're just passerbys. 00:26:45.039 --> 00:26:46.120 They're religious pilgrims. 00:26:46.120 --> 00:26:46.860 On their way. 00:26:46.960 --> 00:26:47.620 To keep the Passover. 00:26:47.800 --> 00:26:48.660 That's the context of. 00:26:48.860 --> 00:26:50.600 Of why they're passing by this event. 00:26:50.740 --> 00:26:51.740 They're on their way. 00:26:51.820 --> 00:26:52.560 To keep the Passover. 00:26:52.700 --> 00:26:53.340 In verse 39. 00:26:53.340 --> 00:26:53.759 It says. 00:26:53.759 --> 00:26:55.400 And those who passed by. 00:26:55.580 --> 00:26:56.360 Derided him. 00:26:56.880 --> 00:26:57.900 Wagging their heads. 00:26:59.240 --> 00:27:00.300 You can imagine them being jaded. 00:27:01.039 --> 00:27:03.380 People who once had some form of interest in Jesus. 00:27:03.620 --> 00:27:05.060 They're doing the religious thing. 00:27:05.740 --> 00:27:07.500 But now they're disappointed. 00:27:07.779 --> 00:27:08.660 And delusioned. 00:27:09.080 --> 00:27:11.200 They turn on him in mockery. 00:27:12.059 --> 00:27:12.900 This road. 00:27:12.900 --> 00:27:14.180 Just outside Jerusalem. 00:27:14.299 --> 00:27:14.799 The city gate. 00:27:15.120 --> 00:27:16.360 Would have been crowded that day. 00:27:16.460 --> 00:27:17.080 Where the Passover. 00:27:17.299 --> 00:27:18.940 Had swelled the city with travelers. 00:27:19.140 --> 00:27:20.299 And they passed by Golgotha. 00:27:20.559 --> 00:27:21.860 And they don't ignore the scene. 00:27:21.960 --> 00:27:23.019 They actually engage it. 00:27:23.100 --> 00:27:24.080 Like going by a crash. 00:27:24.220 --> 00:27:24.900 On the highway. 00:27:25.360 --> 00:27:26.100 They all look. 00:27:26.840 --> 00:27:27.660 But in this case. 00:27:27.900 --> 00:27:28.779 They don't look in horror. 00:27:28.900 --> 00:27:29.539 They look with pity. 00:27:29.920 --> 00:27:30.539 Or not with pity. 00:27:30.620 --> 00:27:31.340 They look with scorn. 00:27:31.880 --> 00:27:32.960 Where they wag their heads. 00:27:33.019 --> 00:27:33.400 It says. 00:27:33.819 --> 00:27:35.000 A physical expression. 00:27:35.000 --> 00:27:35.880 Of disgust. 00:27:35.980 --> 00:27:36.620 And contempt. 00:27:36.619 --> 00:27:38.479 We've all had this from mom. 00:27:38.539 --> 00:27:38.919 Haven't we? 00:27:40.119 --> 00:27:40.899 Where you come home. 00:27:41.079 --> 00:27:43.079 And she looks at you in a certain way. 00:27:43.379 --> 00:27:44.379 And she's not going. 00:27:44.619 --> 00:27:45.159 Oh man. 00:27:45.319 --> 00:27:46.239 Next time kid. 00:27:46.979 --> 00:27:47.639 But she goes. 00:27:47.939 --> 00:27:48.719 You knew better. 00:27:48.839 --> 00:27:49.459 What are you doing? 00:27:50.799 --> 00:27:51.599 Matthew uses. 00:27:52.259 --> 00:27:54.139 Something that's called the imperfect tense. 00:27:54.519 --> 00:27:55.379 In this verb. 00:27:55.539 --> 00:27:56.519 A way to show. 00:27:56.719 --> 00:27:58.099 That as they were wagging their head. 00:27:58.339 --> 00:28:00.719 It means they were continually wagging their head. 00:28:00.799 --> 00:28:01.500 They didn't stop. 00:28:01.500 --> 00:28:03.599 They just couldn't stop wagging their head. 00:28:03.599 --> 00:28:05.399 But listen to the words of verse 40. 00:28:05.980 --> 00:28:07.059 You who would destroy the temple. 00:28:07.419 --> 00:28:08.219 And rebuild it. 00:28:09.799 --> 00:28:10.699 In three days. 00:28:10.819 --> 00:28:11.399 Save yourself. 00:28:12.339 --> 00:28:13.459 If you're the son of God. 00:28:13.559 --> 00:28:14.539 Come down from the cross. 00:28:14.980 --> 00:28:16.000 That's what they were saying. 00:28:16.419 --> 00:28:17.480 Now you have to ask yourself. 00:28:18.199 --> 00:28:19.199 Where did they get that? 00:28:20.179 --> 00:28:21.000 That phrase. 00:28:21.439 --> 00:28:22.019 Is that just something. 00:28:22.139 --> 00:28:23.399 That they were all naturally born with. 00:28:23.439 --> 00:28:23.799 To say. 00:28:24.059 --> 00:28:25.500 To someone who was dying on the cross. 00:28:25.919 --> 00:28:27.059 You who would destroy the temple. 00:28:27.139 --> 00:28:28.059 And rebuild it in three days. 00:28:28.139 --> 00:28:28.740 Save yourself. 00:28:29.099 --> 00:28:30.000 If you're the son of God. 00:28:30.000 --> 00:28:31.099 Come down from the cross. 00:28:31.099 --> 00:28:34.539 It's as if they had heard the charges before. 00:28:36.059 --> 00:28:37.419 They had heard the claims. 00:28:38.599 --> 00:28:40.519 Maybe even they had once shouted at the gates. 00:28:40.899 --> 00:28:41.259 Hosanna. 00:28:41.379 --> 00:28:42.019 The son of David. 00:28:43.179 --> 00:28:45.000 They'd lined the roads with palm branches. 00:28:45.199 --> 00:28:45.539 They had hoped. 00:28:45.659 --> 00:28:47.539 That Jesus was the one who would deliver them. 00:28:47.639 --> 00:28:48.859 From Roman oppression. 00:28:49.039 --> 00:28:49.439 But Jesus. 00:28:49.799 --> 00:28:51.019 Had disappointed them. 00:28:52.240 --> 00:28:53.119 He didn't attack. 00:28:53.439 --> 00:28:54.919 Their Roman foes. 00:28:55.579 --> 00:28:56.939 He attacked the temple instead. 00:28:57.740 --> 00:28:59.439 He didn't overthrow their enemies. 00:28:59.440 --> 00:29:01.240 But instead he kept walking around. 00:29:01.320 --> 00:29:03.039 And preaching against their own sin. 00:29:03.500 --> 00:29:04.779 And now he was hanging. 00:29:05.180 --> 00:29:05.580 Bloodied. 00:29:06.100 --> 00:29:06.539 Powerless. 00:29:07.840 --> 00:29:09.860 This wasn't the kind of Messiah that they wanted. 00:29:10.000 --> 00:29:10.860 So they turned on him. 00:29:10.960 --> 00:29:12.720 Their expectations had died. 00:29:12.840 --> 00:29:14.860 And so their reverence of him did too. 00:29:14.980 --> 00:29:17.640 And this is a tragedy of shallow belief. 00:29:18.460 --> 00:29:20.120 Where they liked Jesus for a while. 00:29:20.180 --> 00:29:22.460 As long as he did what they wanted him to do. 00:29:22.559 --> 00:29:24.140 But when he didn't meet their expectations. 00:29:24.519 --> 00:29:26.360 They then just began to dismiss him. 00:29:27.320 --> 00:29:28.759 And the same thing happens today. 00:29:28.759 --> 00:29:31.680 These are people who once sang in church. 00:29:32.379 --> 00:29:33.460 Maybe they were baptized. 00:29:34.559 --> 00:29:35.940 Maybe they prayed for healing. 00:29:36.579 --> 00:29:37.819 They hoped for a blessing. 00:29:38.660 --> 00:29:39.920 But then the suffering came. 00:29:41.440 --> 00:29:43.059 They were told about a promise. 00:29:43.839 --> 00:29:45.099 They were told about their purpose. 00:29:45.980 --> 00:29:47.000 And then the suffering came. 00:29:48.099 --> 00:29:48.759 A prayer went unanswered. 00:29:49.879 --> 00:29:52.180 Or even disappointment with other Christians. 00:29:53.039 --> 00:29:54.379 Suddenly seeped to the top. 00:29:54.539 --> 00:29:58.140 And by that point the Messiah was no longer useful to them. 00:29:58.140 --> 00:30:01.400 If you were told that if you just come and do certain things. 00:30:01.520 --> 00:30:04.020 Then you'll receive certain things on this side of life. 00:30:04.060 --> 00:30:05.120 And then those things don't happen. 00:30:05.460 --> 00:30:06.920 Why would you ever keep coming? 00:30:06.920 --> 00:30:10.740 These are the church hoppers. 00:30:10.740 --> 00:30:13.620 Always searching for a fresh emotional high. 00:30:13.840 --> 00:30:15.560 But unwilling to endure hardship. 00:30:16.600 --> 00:30:17.940 These are prosperity Christians. 00:30:18.300 --> 00:30:20.740 Who walk away when health and wealth don't come. 00:30:21.420 --> 00:30:23.220 These are progressive Christians. 00:30:23.539 --> 00:30:27.019 Who once believed but now mock the church that they used to love. 00:30:27.100 --> 00:30:29.039 These are called deconstructors. 00:30:29.039 --> 00:30:32.660 Who use personal pain to justify theological rebellion. 00:30:32.660 --> 00:30:35.779 They may seem thoughtful. 00:30:36.340 --> 00:30:38.340 But they are no different than this crowd. 00:30:39.259 --> 00:30:40.200 Wagging their heads. 00:30:40.360 --> 00:30:41.580 Quoting half-truths. 00:30:42.180 --> 00:30:45.000 Scorning the suffering Savior who failed to be what they wanted. 00:30:45.259 --> 00:30:46.340 But hear this clearly. 00:30:46.720 --> 00:30:50.519 Their Jesus failed because their Jesus wasn't real. 00:30:50.519 --> 00:30:54.819 They never knew the Christ of the cross. 00:30:55.720 --> 00:30:59.039 They followed a version of Jesus shaped by convenience and comfort. 00:30:59.200 --> 00:31:01.879 Not the crucified risen Lord of the scriptures. 00:31:03.079 --> 00:31:05.779 Now I think pastorally this group needs more than arguments. 00:31:05.779 --> 00:31:08.119 To counter whatever they might toss on the table. 00:31:08.480 --> 00:31:10.799 What they really need is they really need to meet Jesus. 00:31:11.180 --> 00:31:12.440 And encounter him spiritually. 00:31:13.440 --> 00:31:15.900 They need to be reintroduced to the suffering servant. 00:31:15.900 --> 00:31:18.200 Who was pierced for our transgressions. 00:31:18.519 --> 00:31:20.400 And was crushed for our iniquities. 00:31:20.860 --> 00:31:21.940 And many of us know them. 00:31:23.560 --> 00:31:24.680 They're your adult children. 00:31:25.640 --> 00:31:26.960 Your former students. 00:31:27.180 --> 00:31:28.700 Your once faithful friend. 00:31:29.480 --> 00:31:31.300 Where they walked with Jesus for a time. 00:31:31.380 --> 00:31:33.759 But now walk away wagging their heads. 00:31:33.920 --> 00:31:35.360 Which brings us to the fourth group. 00:31:35.440 --> 00:31:37.759 Perhaps the most chilling of them all. 00:31:38.480 --> 00:31:39.860 Where these aren't careless or jaded. 00:31:40.019 --> 00:31:41.980 But they're actually religious people. 00:31:42.940 --> 00:31:44.080 They would know the scriptures. 00:31:44.820 --> 00:31:46.900 And they would be in a position of leading people. 00:31:47.640 --> 00:31:48.640 But they are blind. 00:31:48.640 --> 00:31:51.420 So I want you to see the blinded leaders. 00:31:51.420 --> 00:31:54.300 And their religious but resistant people. 00:31:54.800 --> 00:31:55.960 In verses 41 to 43. 00:31:56.120 --> 00:31:57.780 The final I think and most sobering group. 00:31:58.280 --> 00:31:59.280 You encounter at the cross. 00:31:59.520 --> 00:32:01.160 Is not made up of criminals or crowds. 00:32:01.720 --> 00:32:03.100 They're not soldiers or skeptics. 00:32:03.460 --> 00:32:04.960 But they are religious leaders. 00:32:05.100 --> 00:32:05.820 The chief priests. 00:32:05.980 --> 00:32:06.560 The scribes. 00:32:06.920 --> 00:32:07.920 The elders of Israel. 00:32:08.140 --> 00:32:10.280 And the ones who claim to know God best. 00:32:11.120 --> 00:32:12.360 Yet they're the most blind of all. 00:32:12.520 --> 00:32:13.020 Look at 41. 00:32:13.019 --> 00:32:16.160 So also chief priests with the scribes and elders mocked him. 00:32:16.299 --> 00:32:19.279 Saying these were the most respected and most learned. 00:32:20.759 --> 00:32:22.579 The most publicly righteous men of Israel. 00:32:22.980 --> 00:32:24.920 Where together they made up what is called the Sanhedrin. 00:32:25.400 --> 00:32:27.379 The highest religious authority in the land. 00:32:27.519 --> 00:32:29.680 Where if anyone would have to recognize the Messiah. 00:32:30.019 --> 00:32:30.819 It should have been them. 00:32:30.900 --> 00:32:31.759 But instead of worship. 00:32:31.920 --> 00:32:33.180 They offer mockery. 00:32:33.299 --> 00:32:33.720 But notice. 00:32:34.079 --> 00:32:35.319 Notice how they talk. 00:32:36.000 --> 00:32:36.440 Here. 00:32:36.579 --> 00:32:37.460 Look at the language there. 00:32:37.799 --> 00:32:38.599 How they talk. 00:32:38.700 --> 00:32:40.379 They didn't speak to Jesus. 00:32:40.380 --> 00:32:42.940 But they spoke about him. 00:32:44.180 --> 00:32:45.300 As if he's not even worthy. 00:32:45.780 --> 00:32:47.480 The dignity of a direct address. 00:32:47.920 --> 00:32:49.320 Their contempt runs so deep. 00:32:49.420 --> 00:32:49.900 Look at 42. 00:32:50.240 --> 00:32:51.200 They attack his power. 00:32:51.900 --> 00:32:53.020 They're not talking to him. 00:32:53.120 --> 00:32:53.740 They're talking to others. 00:32:53.960 --> 00:32:54.660 He saved others. 00:32:54.760 --> 00:32:55.880 He cannot even save himself. 00:32:57.020 --> 00:32:58.320 They admit he worked miracles. 00:32:58.980 --> 00:33:01.700 But they don't deny his healing ministry. 00:33:02.520 --> 00:33:03.600 As they twist it. 00:33:04.700 --> 00:33:05.380 He helped others. 00:33:05.480 --> 00:33:06.340 But now look at him. 00:33:06.440 --> 00:33:06.920 He's helpless. 00:33:07.780 --> 00:33:08.980 They see his suffering. 00:33:08.980 --> 00:33:10.040 Not as a sacrifice. 00:33:10.440 --> 00:33:12.159 But as a proof that he's actually a fraud. 00:33:12.859 --> 00:33:13.460 And they continue. 00:33:14.159 --> 00:33:15.079 He's the king of Israel. 00:33:16.159 --> 00:33:17.539 Let him come down now from the cross. 00:33:17.579 --> 00:33:18.319 And we'll believe in him. 00:33:19.220 --> 00:33:20.039 But they wouldn't. 00:33:20.259 --> 00:33:21.079 They wouldn't believe in him. 00:33:21.180 --> 00:33:23.420 These men had seen more signs than anyone. 00:33:23.559 --> 00:33:25.740 They had more evidence of who he was than anyone there. 00:33:26.220 --> 00:33:28.220 They'd watch Lazarus be raised from the dead. 00:33:28.319 --> 00:33:30.480 They debated Jesus' authority firsthand. 00:33:30.740 --> 00:33:32.579 Their issue wasn't a lack of evidence. 00:33:32.700 --> 00:33:33.899 It was actually hardened pride. 00:33:34.659 --> 00:33:35.420 And then in 43. 00:33:35.559 --> 00:33:36.599 They go for the deepest cut. 00:33:36.599 --> 00:33:38.159 He trusts in God. 00:33:38.160 --> 00:33:40.600 Let God deliver him now if he desires. 00:33:41.480 --> 00:33:41.980 For he said, 00:33:42.200 --> 00:33:44.500 I am the son of God. 00:33:45.779 --> 00:33:47.160 Where there they scorn his identity. 00:33:48.380 --> 00:33:49.920 His trust in the father. 00:33:50.860 --> 00:33:52.640 His claim to divine sonship. 00:33:52.840 --> 00:33:57.019 They quote almost word for word the mockery predicted in Psalm 22. 00:33:58.180 --> 00:33:59.759 Unknowingly fulfilling prophecy. 00:34:00.200 --> 00:34:01.480 Even as they ridicule him. 00:34:01.480 --> 00:34:03.620 This is the most dangerous form of rejection. 00:34:03.860 --> 00:34:06.200 Where it's religion without repentance. 00:34:07.440 --> 00:34:09.539 Where these men had scripture status. 00:34:10.019 --> 00:34:10.840 Spiritual vocabulary. 00:34:11.579 --> 00:34:12.500 But they hated him. 00:34:12.619 --> 00:34:13.760 They were polished. 00:34:13.900 --> 00:34:15.179 But they were poisoned with pride. 00:34:16.460 --> 00:34:18.300 And this still exists today. 00:34:19.360 --> 00:34:20.659 You can see mainline churches. 00:34:21.940 --> 00:34:22.920 Mocking the gospel. 00:34:23.760 --> 00:34:25.579 By having crosses on their wall. 00:34:25.579 --> 00:34:28.500 But no gospel in their pulpit. 00:34:29.639 --> 00:34:31.639 You can see moralistic sermons. 00:34:32.340 --> 00:34:34.259 About values and virtue. 00:34:34.819 --> 00:34:36.199 But nothing about sin. 00:34:36.579 --> 00:34:37.219 Or atonement. 00:34:37.420 --> 00:34:37.860 Or repentance. 00:34:38.860 --> 00:34:40.759 You can see highly involved churchgoers. 00:34:41.759 --> 00:34:42.380 Hear this. 00:34:42.980 --> 00:34:44.259 Highly involved churchgoers. 00:34:45.119 --> 00:34:46.380 Who know the system. 00:34:47.259 --> 00:34:49.079 They know the way it works in this church. 00:34:49.699 --> 00:34:50.799 They run the committees. 00:34:51.759 --> 00:34:52.759 They quote scripture. 00:34:52.760 --> 00:34:56.580 But inwardly they resist Jesus as their Lord. 00:34:57.880 --> 00:35:00.060 Pastors who build platforms and ministries. 00:35:00.200 --> 00:35:01.960 But have no cross in their message. 00:35:02.060 --> 00:35:03.460 No Christ in their hearts. 00:35:03.480 --> 00:35:04.420 Or even parents. 00:35:06.080 --> 00:35:08.680 Parents who are so pumped about what their kids do. 00:35:09.540 --> 00:35:10.640 And their kids involvement. 00:35:11.720 --> 00:35:12.440 But to them. 00:35:13.000 --> 00:35:15.000 Church is just a place to drop their kid off. 00:35:16.100 --> 00:35:17.480 It's great that the kid does that. 00:35:17.720 --> 00:35:18.660 It's great they run the camera. 00:35:18.820 --> 00:35:19.780 It's great they work the sound. 00:35:20.060 --> 00:35:22.640 It's great they work as a greeter at the door. 00:35:23.600 --> 00:35:25.780 But man what an indictment to that Christian parent. 00:35:26.920 --> 00:35:27.900 Were they the first one. 00:35:28.060 --> 00:35:28.960 At least emotionally. 00:35:29.460 --> 00:35:30.120 Out the door. 00:35:31.720 --> 00:35:33.540 Religious unbelief is the hardest to reach. 00:35:33.640 --> 00:35:35.260 Because it feels so holy. 00:35:35.580 --> 00:35:36.020 They're there. 00:35:36.360 --> 00:35:37.000 They're doing it. 00:35:37.280 --> 00:35:37.940 They're quoted it. 00:35:38.140 --> 00:35:38.720 They know it. 00:35:39.360 --> 00:35:40.280 They're fifth generation. 00:35:41.640 --> 00:35:43.780 These leaders didn't think they needed saving though. 00:35:43.900 --> 00:35:44.700 They were too respectable. 00:35:45.240 --> 00:35:46.220 They were too established. 00:35:46.360 --> 00:35:47.640 They were too blind to see their guilt. 00:35:47.640 --> 00:35:49.360 But even here among the Sanhedrin. 00:35:49.460 --> 00:35:51.200 The gospel's reach is not powerless. 00:35:51.199 --> 00:35:54.139 It would be Nicodemus who came by night. 00:35:54.919 --> 00:35:59.219 It would be Joseph of Arimathea who asked for Jesus' body. 00:35:59.899 --> 00:36:02.559 Where God is able to break through even the hardest hearts. 00:36:03.980 --> 00:36:05.099 So you've seen them all. 00:36:05.659 --> 00:36:06.299 Soldiers mocking. 00:36:06.960 --> 00:36:07.639 Criminals guilty. 00:36:08.199 --> 00:36:09.480 Passers by dismissive. 00:36:10.539 --> 00:36:12.699 Leaders who are religious but resistant. 00:36:13.079 --> 00:36:14.779 Where each group is there at the cross. 00:36:15.159 --> 00:36:17.539 Each group still here is here with us today. 00:36:17.539 --> 00:36:22.340 But the good news is that Jesus was crucified in the middle of all of them. 00:36:23.320 --> 00:36:24.159 That's the good news. 00:36:24.559 --> 00:36:27.159 That in the midst of this arena of poor saints. 00:36:27.719 --> 00:36:29.880 It was Jesus who was crucified in the middle of it. 00:36:29.960 --> 00:36:31.940 He was pierced for soldiers. 00:36:32.159 --> 00:36:32.659 For thieves. 00:36:32.920 --> 00:36:33.639 For wanders. 00:36:33.800 --> 00:36:34.400 For hypocrites. 00:36:34.880 --> 00:36:37.800 And he still calls each of them to himself today. 00:36:38.719 --> 00:36:42.219 Where the heart is often seen as too far off. 00:36:42.219 --> 00:36:46.419 But we have to realize that not even these kinds of people are too far away. 00:36:47.619 --> 00:36:48.639 Some mocked without meaning. 00:36:48.859 --> 00:36:51.000 Some rejected him with a hardened heart. 00:36:51.139 --> 00:36:52.699 Some walked away jaded and delusion. 00:36:52.899 --> 00:36:55.119 Some resisted him under the banner of religion. 00:36:55.259 --> 00:36:56.739 But none of those responses are new. 00:36:56.859 --> 00:36:59.619 And none of them are beyond the reach of God's grace. 00:37:00.719 --> 00:37:03.899 The mockers and the murderers at the cross weren't just historical characters. 00:37:04.039 --> 00:37:06.379 They actually represent the people still among us. 00:37:06.599 --> 00:37:08.899 And amazingly the staggering truth of the gospel is this. 00:37:09.419 --> 00:37:11.019 Jesus died among them. 00:37:11.019 --> 00:37:13.679 He was crucified not above them. 00:37:14.039 --> 00:37:15.380 Not removed from them. 00:37:15.759 --> 00:37:17.039 But right in the middle of them. 00:37:17.139 --> 00:37:18.780 Where he turns that mockery around. 00:37:20.039 --> 00:37:20.500 The ignorant. 00:37:20.820 --> 00:37:21.239 The hostile. 00:37:21.519 --> 00:37:22.239 The disillusioned. 00:37:22.519 --> 00:37:23.280 The self-righteous. 00:37:23.739 --> 00:37:24.900 They're all gathered at his feet. 00:37:25.019 --> 00:37:26.920 And still he did not come down. 00:37:27.079 --> 00:37:27.900 Not because he couldn't. 00:37:28.139 --> 00:37:29.079 But because he wouldn't. 00:37:29.199 --> 00:37:30.420 He stayed out of love. 00:37:30.559 --> 00:37:31.900 He stayed to save. 00:37:32.139 --> 00:37:33.259 And remarkably. 00:37:34.119 --> 00:37:36.440 Some of these people at this encounter. 00:37:36.719 --> 00:37:38.460 In this context of this passage. 00:37:38.759 --> 00:37:40.019 Some of them were saved. 00:37:41.019 --> 00:37:44.159 So don't just jump ahead to 2025. 00:37:44.800 --> 00:37:46.739 Just think about a couple of days later. 00:37:48.340 --> 00:37:49.320 One of the hardened thieves. 00:37:49.880 --> 00:37:50.659 Moments earlier. 00:37:50.920 --> 00:37:51.800 Full of blasphemy. 00:37:51.940 --> 00:37:52.860 Cried out. 00:37:52.980 --> 00:37:53.920 Lord remember me. 00:37:54.880 --> 00:37:57.059 And Jesus said today you'll be with me in paradise. 00:37:57.940 --> 00:37:59.500 That man didn't bring a clean record. 00:37:59.599 --> 00:38:00.360 He brought repentance. 00:38:01.519 --> 00:38:02.980 That's all Jesus asked for. 00:38:03.079 --> 00:38:04.079 Is not perfection. 00:38:04.280 --> 00:38:05.239 But absolute surrender. 00:38:05.239 --> 00:38:07.159 And one of the Roman soldiers. 00:38:07.859 --> 00:38:09.199 Blood still on his hands. 00:38:09.839 --> 00:38:10.839 Looked up and said. 00:38:11.519 --> 00:38:12.819 You see this at the end of Mark. 00:38:13.379 --> 00:38:13.659 Truly. 00:38:14.099 --> 00:38:15.139 This was the son of God. 00:38:16.139 --> 00:38:17.279 And he glorified God there. 00:38:17.399 --> 00:38:18.719 A Gentile executioner. 00:38:19.000 --> 00:38:19.839 Became a worshiper. 00:38:20.079 --> 00:38:21.099 Right there at the cross. 00:38:21.959 --> 00:38:22.619 Or in Acts 2. 00:38:23.179 --> 00:38:24.939 Peter preached to a crowd in Jerusalem. 00:38:25.099 --> 00:38:26.939 The very same people who had shouted. 00:38:27.479 --> 00:38:28.219 Crucify him. 00:38:28.219 --> 00:38:30.519 They were cut to the heart. 00:38:31.519 --> 00:38:32.519 By the word going out. 00:38:33.219 --> 00:38:34.419 To where they cried out to Peter. 00:38:34.779 --> 00:38:35.199 They said. 00:38:35.679 --> 00:38:36.459 What must we do? 00:38:37.279 --> 00:38:38.299 And Peter said repent. 00:38:39.500 --> 00:38:40.239 And what happened? 00:38:41.139 --> 00:38:42.839 3,000 people of them did. 00:38:44.039 --> 00:38:44.699 Even the priests. 00:38:45.319 --> 00:38:46.519 The very leaders who had sneered. 00:38:46.839 --> 00:38:47.659 At the foot of the cross. 00:38:47.819 --> 00:38:48.579 Would later be counted. 00:38:48.899 --> 00:38:49.679 Among the church. 00:38:49.779 --> 00:38:50.719 Where in Acts chapter 6. 00:38:50.819 --> 00:38:51.079 It says. 00:38:51.459 --> 00:38:52.619 A great many of the priests. 00:38:52.859 --> 00:38:54.099 Became obedient to the faith. 00:38:55.219 --> 00:38:56.079 That's the grace of God. 00:38:56.159 --> 00:38:56.779 Where he is still. 00:38:56.779 --> 00:38:57.919 The friend of sinners. 00:38:57.920 --> 00:38:59.539 Even those who once mocked him. 00:39:00.420 --> 00:39:01.079 And that means. 00:39:01.159 --> 00:39:02.440 No matter where you are today. 00:39:02.860 --> 00:39:03.659 In your seat. 00:39:04.860 --> 00:39:05.860 Whether you're ignorant. 00:39:06.099 --> 00:39:06.440 Hardened. 00:39:06.700 --> 00:39:06.960 Jaded. 00:39:07.079 --> 00:39:07.539 Or religious. 00:39:08.460 --> 00:39:10.039 The Savior still calls for you. 00:39:10.260 --> 00:39:11.420 In blood. 00:39:11.920 --> 00:39:12.780 He still pleads. 00:39:13.720 --> 00:39:14.380 In mercy. 00:39:15.440 --> 00:39:16.380 Is open wide. 00:39:16.440 --> 00:39:17.639 His arms to gather you in. 00:39:18.579 --> 00:39:19.559 But make no mistake. 00:39:19.639 --> 00:39:19.780 Friend. 00:39:19.840 --> 00:39:20.980 There is no neutral ground. 00:39:21.480 --> 00:39:22.360 At the cross. 00:39:23.220 --> 00:39:24.200 Hebrews chapter 6. 00:39:24.200 --> 00:39:25.880 Says that to reject Christ. 00:39:26.400 --> 00:39:27.360 Is to crucify him. 00:39:27.360 --> 00:39:27.920 Again. 00:39:28.640 --> 00:39:29.620 And to hold him up. 00:39:29.820 --> 00:39:30.519 To public shame. 00:39:30.900 --> 00:39:31.900 Where you either stand. 00:39:31.960 --> 00:39:32.920 With the one crucified. 00:39:33.300 --> 00:39:34.800 Or you stand among those. 00:39:35.160 --> 00:39:35.960 Who crucified him. 00:39:36.039 --> 00:39:36.620 So the question. 00:39:37.160 --> 00:39:37.840 Is not. 00:39:38.460 --> 00:39:39.720 What did they do back then? 00:39:40.180 --> 00:39:40.820 But the question. 00:39:40.980 --> 00:39:41.800 For you and I today. 00:39:42.519 --> 00:39:43.579 Is what do you do. 00:39:43.640 --> 00:39:44.320 With Jesus now? 00:39:45.240 --> 00:39:45.760 Let's pray. 00:39:46.880 --> 00:39:47.240 Our gracious. 00:39:47.480 --> 00:39:48.099 And heavenly father. 00:39:48.099 --> 00:39:48.620 We thank you. 00:39:48.740 --> 00:39:49.920 For what your word says. 00:39:49.980 --> 00:39:50.579 About you. 00:39:51.380 --> 00:39:52.200 And makes true. 00:39:52.360 --> 00:39:53.200 About who you are. 00:39:53.240 --> 00:39:53.880 And what you've done. 00:39:53.880 --> 00:39:56.099 And who your son. 00:39:56.200 --> 00:39:56.599 Did it for. 00:39:57.460 --> 00:39:58.380 We praise you. 00:39:58.480 --> 00:39:59.360 For the grace. 00:39:59.840 --> 00:40:00.619 And the mercy. 00:40:00.619 --> 00:40:01.760 Of bringing clarity. 00:40:01.960 --> 00:40:02.820 Amongst these people. 00:40:03.119 --> 00:40:04.019 In your text. 00:40:04.140 --> 00:40:05.240 To where we can evaluate. 00:40:06.200 --> 00:40:07.019 Who we are. 00:40:07.079 --> 00:40:07.800 Before your throne. 00:40:09.340 --> 00:40:09.740 God. 00:40:09.800 --> 00:40:10.440 May you have us. 00:40:10.519 --> 00:40:11.200 Keep our eyes. 00:40:11.260 --> 00:40:12.240 Continually on you. 00:40:13.039 --> 00:40:13.660 Worshiping you. 00:40:14.000 --> 00:40:14.740 We know you will. 00:40:14.820 --> 00:40:15.340 But we pray. 00:40:15.440 --> 00:40:15.780 That you would. 00:40:16.019 --> 00:40:16.579 Make this. 00:40:16.940 --> 00:40:17.340 Not a burden. 00:40:17.440 --> 00:40:17.960 But a joy. 00:40:17.960 --> 00:40:20.480 Where we cling to your cross. 00:40:21.400 --> 00:40:22.199 Obey your son. 00:40:22.920 --> 00:40:23.920 And enjoy the fruit. 00:40:24.039 --> 00:40:24.519 Of his labor. 00:40:25.119 --> 00:40:26.059 Pray this in Jesus name. 00:40:26.440 --> 00:40:26.619 Amen. 00:40:26.619 --> 00:40:26.720 Amen.