WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.640 Turn me to Luke 23. 00:00:02.879 --> 00:00:05.419 Luke 23, verse 26 to 56. 00:00:07.240 --> 00:00:12.560 And these verses from Luke tell us the story from that first Good Friday. 00:00:12.560 --> 00:00:19.920 ! And to a large extent, I think that they are verses most of us are pretty familiar with. 00:00:21.660 --> 00:00:24.560 ! And so I want to do something different this morning. 00:00:24.559 --> 00:00:30.140 I want to retell the story using five different voices. 00:00:32.039 --> 00:00:36.100 That is, I want to look at this first Good Friday from five different perspectives. 00:00:36.560 --> 00:00:44.619 And each time I want you to imagine a scene in which that character relays the events of the day to someone else. 00:00:46.119 --> 00:00:50.920 I'm going to speak in the third person, which might feel a little bit weird, to try and bring it to life, as it were. 00:00:51.780 --> 00:00:53.820 I'll speak to you as if I was that character. 00:00:55.340 --> 00:01:02.579 And my hope is that these five different perspectives will help sharpen your focus on the events of that day. 00:01:03.980 --> 00:01:08.480 In a way that helps you to appreciate more and more of what Jesus did and why he did it. 00:01:09.840 --> 00:01:14.620 And so this Good Friday, I'm asking you to use your imagination, and I guess bear with me while I use mine. 00:01:15.879 --> 00:01:23.300 But please keep your eyes on the Bible passage in Luke 23, and you'll see how the things that I'm recounting flow from there. 00:01:24.560 --> 00:01:31.560 And so to begin with, I want to speak from the perspective of the fellow traveler on the road with Jesus from Jerusalem. 00:01:32.500 --> 00:01:33.640 I'm talking about Simon Cyrene. 00:01:34.760 --> 00:01:36.439 He's mentioned this in verse 26. 00:01:36.439 --> 00:01:44.879 And I want to ask you to imagine the scene a couple of days later when Simon of Cyrene finally gets home to Cyrene. 00:01:46.560 --> 00:01:49.900 He walks through the front door of his house, and he starts talking to his wife. 00:01:49.959 --> 00:01:50.980 Hi, hon. I'm home. 00:01:52.620 --> 00:01:53.500 It's so good to be back. 00:01:53.500 --> 00:01:57.920 You wouldn't believe what the last few days have been like. 00:01:59.140 --> 00:02:02.180 The things that happened in Jerusalem while I was there, it's amazing. 00:02:02.180 --> 00:02:11.980 I'd almost reached Jerusalem on Friday morning after the long walk in, and I noticed a crowd on the street coming out of the city head. 00:02:13.860 --> 00:02:18.280 When they got closer, I realized it was another of the crucifixion crew. 00:02:19.140 --> 00:02:21.659 They were on their way out to Skull Hill. 00:02:23.240 --> 00:02:25.920 Even the sound of that place is so eerie, isn't it? 00:02:25.919 --> 00:02:30.000 Anyway, it looked as if there were three of them. 00:02:30.819 --> 00:02:38.939 I've no idea what they'd done, but anyway, they were being let out, and there was the usual group of tearful family members in tow. 00:02:39.639 --> 00:02:42.739 There was a group of ghoulish onlookers who didn't want to miss it. 00:02:43.879 --> 00:02:47.439 Anyway, I stopped at the side of the street to let them pass and get a bit of a look myself. 00:02:48.959 --> 00:02:52.079 When all of a sudden, one of the soldiers grabbed me by the arm, I was shocked. 00:02:52.080 --> 00:02:57.540 I was just minding my own business when suddenly the soldier was mishandling me. 00:02:58.980 --> 00:03:05.400 And he proceeded to tell me that one of the guys was too weak to carry his cross the rest of the way, and would I carry it for him? 00:03:06.300 --> 00:03:08.000 In fact, I had to carry it for him. 00:03:09.900 --> 00:03:11.800 I protested, of course, but there wasn't much point. 00:03:11.920 --> 00:03:13.580 I didn't want to end up in hot water. 00:03:14.000 --> 00:03:18.640 So I handed my bag over to the soldier, and they rigged up the cross on my back. 00:03:18.639 --> 00:03:22.379 No wonder the guy was too tired to carry it. 00:03:22.579 --> 00:03:23.239 It weighed a ton. 00:03:24.439 --> 00:03:25.759 At least it wasn't too far to go. 00:03:27.939 --> 00:03:30.799 But, you know, it wasn't just physically draining. 00:03:30.859 --> 00:03:32.339 I found it emotionally draining, too. 00:03:34.139 --> 00:03:38.039 I've only ever seen these crucifixion crews in passing. 00:03:38.039 --> 00:03:42.479 Now, never walked with one of them on their journey out of Skull Hill. 00:03:43.340 --> 00:03:50.319 There were all these women there who must have been family or friends of the guy whose cross I was carrying, and they didn't stop crying the whole way. 00:03:52.019 --> 00:03:57.120 Actually, at one point, the guy stopped walking, looked at these women in the eyes, and said some pretty strange things. 00:03:58.959 --> 00:04:01.819 I'm not really sure what he meant, but I remember what he said. 00:04:01.819 --> 00:04:06.060 He told them not to weep for him, but to weep for themselves. 00:04:08.099 --> 00:04:13.519 He said there was a time coming when they will wish that they'd never brought children into the world. 00:04:14.479 --> 00:04:20.680 He said that if they thought what was happening on that Friday was bad, then they would find that things are infinitely worse in the future. 00:04:20.680 --> 00:04:23.500 It was kind of creepy. 00:04:24.860 --> 00:04:26.819 As if he was some kind of prophet. 00:04:28.160 --> 00:04:29.680 And what he said was scary. 00:04:30.560 --> 00:04:33.519 It made me feel worried for my own kids, Rufus and Alexander. 00:04:35.439 --> 00:04:39.840 There was something about the way that he spoke that sounded like he knew what he was talking about. 00:04:40.060 --> 00:04:41.000 I can't explain why. 00:04:43.340 --> 00:04:47.960 Anyway, when we got to Skull Hill, I could finally get the cross off my back. 00:04:47.959 --> 00:04:54.560 I got my bag back from the soldier who'd carried it for me, and I hung around for a few minutes, and I watched what happened next. 00:04:54.719 --> 00:04:56.039 But I didn't stay long. 00:04:57.399 --> 00:04:58.419 I couldn't bear to watch. 00:05:00.759 --> 00:05:03.959 Crucifixion really is such a cruel way to kill a man. 00:05:06.579 --> 00:05:07.259 That's scene one. 00:05:09.459 --> 00:05:13.579 Secondly, I want to speak to you from the perspective of the Roman centurion. 00:05:13.579 --> 00:05:18.620 The soldiers, I don't know whether you picked it up, they are mentioned many times in the chapter. 00:05:19.000 --> 00:05:20.439 And the centurion is one of them. 00:05:20.579 --> 00:05:21.800 In fact, he's a leader of them. 00:05:23.060 --> 00:05:26.219 And he comes into sharp focus at the end of the story. 00:05:28.300 --> 00:05:32.439 And so I want you to imagine the scene that he's sitting around in the barracks that night, 00:05:32.699 --> 00:05:37.919 talking to a soldier who wasn't there, but someone he trusts enough to be honest with. 00:05:37.920 --> 00:05:43.040 Well, I've got to tell you, mate, it was no ordinary day. 00:05:45.280 --> 00:05:48.439 I've done plenty of these over the years, but this one was different. 00:05:51.160 --> 00:05:56.300 Normally, these don't get under my skin at all, but this guy, Jesus, was really unusual. 00:05:56.300 --> 00:06:00.759 Somehow, he just seemed really peaceful all the way through it. 00:06:02.480 --> 00:06:08.439 Normally, they're cursing and kicking and freaking out, but he didn't seem to be like that at all. 00:06:10.040 --> 00:06:11.420 It started out normally enough. 00:06:11.540 --> 00:06:13.879 We took him to Pilate's quarters along the normal route. 00:06:14.540 --> 00:06:17.040 He'd already had it from the flogging and the beating, 00:06:17.199 --> 00:06:21.840 so we dragooned some other guy to carry the cross off the way. 00:06:21.839 --> 00:06:27.719 Then we strung and nailed this Jesus up along with two other crooks. 00:06:27.879 --> 00:06:28.459 He was in the middle. 00:06:31.000 --> 00:06:33.759 And when we got there, instead of yelling stuff at us, 00:06:33.859 --> 00:06:37.919 he calmly said, Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they're doing. 00:06:39.179 --> 00:06:40.939 And he was clearly wrong about that, 00:06:41.299 --> 00:06:43.799 because we absolutely knew what we were doing. 00:06:45.559 --> 00:06:48.839 But I thought it was really weird of him to pray for our forgiveness, 00:06:48.839 --> 00:06:51.399 and calling God Father was very strange. 00:06:51.399 --> 00:06:53.439 I've never heard you do that before. 00:06:55.679 --> 00:06:57.159 Most of the people thought he was nuts. 00:06:57.419 --> 00:07:00.439 They were yelling out all the usual insulting stuff from the bottom of the hill, 00:07:00.579 --> 00:07:02.459 but there was something different about that. 00:07:04.519 --> 00:07:08.279 Some people were calling out that he claimed to be the Messiah. 00:07:09.719 --> 00:07:11.919 They were saying things about him saving people, 00:07:12.000 --> 00:07:13.279 but not being able to save himself. 00:07:15.279 --> 00:07:17.239 I asked around about that because it was so odd. 00:07:17.239 --> 00:07:19.359 Apparently, he'd been going around these last few years, 00:07:19.599 --> 00:07:20.939 and he attracted quite a following. 00:07:22.359 --> 00:07:26.060 And they reckon he'd been able to cure people from their disabilities and their sicknesses. 00:07:27.159 --> 00:07:29.620 They said he'd been casting evil spirits out of people. 00:07:30.399 --> 00:07:33.519 And one person even claimed that he'd been able to raise someone from the dead, 00:07:33.579 --> 00:07:34.679 although I can't imagine that's true. 00:07:36.060 --> 00:07:37.620 You would have to be God to do that. 00:07:37.620 --> 00:07:41.620 And I can't imagine any God would let himself be crucified. 00:07:45.199 --> 00:07:49.740 Anyway, the other guys in the Legion caught on to all this talk of Jesus saving people. 00:07:49.879 --> 00:07:51.480 They thought it was so great, they joined in too. 00:07:51.720 --> 00:07:53.620 If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself. 00:07:53.720 --> 00:07:54.879 Plenty of lines like that. 00:07:55.660 --> 00:07:57.040 And I was chuckling away as I listened. 00:07:57.040 --> 00:08:02.540 But the more I watched him, and the more I heard the things that he said, 00:08:02.620 --> 00:08:04.920 the less and less I felt like laughing. 00:08:06.760 --> 00:08:08.879 If I'm honest, I found him unnerving. 00:08:08.879 --> 00:08:15.199 And one of the criminals wanted his help and talked about his kingdom. 00:08:16.719 --> 00:08:19.259 And Jesus told him he would see him in paradise later. 00:08:19.259 --> 00:08:22.039 Which was really strange. 00:08:23.740 --> 00:08:25.199 And then it started to get dark. 00:08:25.319 --> 00:08:26.939 The sun stopped shining. 00:08:27.279 --> 00:08:28.199 I can't explain it. 00:08:29.879 --> 00:08:32.240 And by this point, everyone had stopped laughing at Jesus. 00:08:33.600 --> 00:08:34.740 A lot of people left. 00:08:35.960 --> 00:08:37.519 Those of us who were still there were pretty quiet. 00:08:38.580 --> 00:08:39.519 I don't know what happened. 00:08:40.299 --> 00:08:43.819 But it was almost as if the universe was grieving this guy's death. 00:08:46.159 --> 00:08:48.159 I heard later that during the darkness, 00:08:48.159 --> 00:08:49.719 the huge curtain that hanged in the temple, 00:08:49.879 --> 00:08:52.919 just ripped down the middle, exposing the holy place. 00:08:54.299 --> 00:08:55.620 Who knows what was going on there. 00:08:57.259 --> 00:08:59.419 And then just when everyone was really quiet, 00:09:00.059 --> 00:09:02.259 and you could barely see your hand in front of your face, 00:09:02.319 --> 00:09:02.919 he shouted. 00:09:03.059 --> 00:09:04.039 I jumped with fright. 00:09:04.980 --> 00:09:06.019 He called out of the darkness, 00:09:06.240 --> 00:09:07.939 Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. 00:09:11.179 --> 00:09:12.159 I've got to be honest with you, 00:09:12.220 --> 00:09:15.159 at this point, I found it impossible to hang on to all my skepticism. 00:09:15.159 --> 00:09:19.539 I'm still not really sure who he was. 00:09:20.779 --> 00:09:22.639 But I'm pretty sure he was no ordinary man. 00:09:24.779 --> 00:09:27.899 Maybe he was meant to be the Jews Messiah. 00:09:28.059 --> 00:09:29.559 If he was, I don't know what they'll do now, 00:09:29.719 --> 00:09:30.500 since they've killed him. 00:09:32.480 --> 00:09:34.039 I really don't know what to think, 00:09:34.120 --> 00:09:36.679 but I could tell that he was a righteous man. 00:09:36.679 --> 00:09:39.359 So I stood there. 00:09:41.059 --> 00:09:43.659 And I found myself praying a quiet prayer to God, 00:09:43.759 --> 00:09:44.939 thanking him for this man's life. 00:09:45.179 --> 00:09:47.379 People can say whatever they like about that Jesus, 00:09:47.579 --> 00:09:49.039 and everyone else has got their theories, 00:09:49.599 --> 00:09:51.239 but I know what I saw. 00:09:53.039 --> 00:09:55.799 And no one has ever died like that before, 00:09:55.919 --> 00:09:57.399 not during all my time in the army. 00:09:59.000 --> 00:10:00.839 This man was different in every way. 00:10:00.840 --> 00:10:05.399 And I'm not even sure he should have been hanging on that cross in the first place. 00:10:06.680 --> 00:10:07.240 That was seen too. 00:10:09.440 --> 00:10:13.160 Thirdly, I want to speak from the perspective of the Jewish leader. 00:10:13.500 --> 00:10:16.080 And a Jewish leader, I'm speaking here about Joseph of Arimathea. 00:10:17.440 --> 00:10:18.240 Look at verse 50. 00:10:18.580 --> 00:10:21.440 It tells us that he was a member of the Jewish elders' council. 00:10:21.620 --> 00:10:25.540 They decided to take Jesus to Pilate and seek the death penalty. 00:10:25.539 --> 00:10:32.419 And in verses 56, we hear what Joseph did after his death. 00:10:32.759 --> 00:10:37.019 And so I want you to imagine a scene on the Sunday of that first Easter. 00:10:39.059 --> 00:10:46.039 Joseph is at home talking with his son about the night before and what he was doing. 00:10:47.799 --> 00:10:49.379 Well, my boy, I was home late last night 00:10:49.379 --> 00:10:52.860 because I was taking care of something very important. 00:10:52.860 --> 00:10:56.100 I'm happy to tell you about it, 00:10:56.379 --> 00:10:59.899 but you have to promise not to mention it to your friends in school or any of your uncles. 00:11:00.180 --> 00:11:03.519 If some of them knew what daddy did last night, they'd be very, very unhappy. 00:11:06.000 --> 00:11:10.539 So do you remember on Thursday night, I was out very late again because of a council meeting. 00:11:10.659 --> 00:11:11.879 It was a really long one. 00:11:13.019 --> 00:11:15.600 And the council meeting was about what to do with this man, Jesus. 00:11:17.800 --> 00:11:19.080 We've talked about him before. 00:11:19.080 --> 00:11:25.060 He was the one going about all over Judea, teaching about God, doing some pretty amazing things. 00:11:27.240 --> 00:11:29.960 Most of the council members couldn't stand him, didn't like him. 00:11:30.680 --> 00:11:32.100 They think he's leading people astray. 00:11:32.680 --> 00:11:34.580 They actually think he's been blaspheming. 00:11:34.700 --> 00:11:35.700 Do you know what that word means? 00:11:36.720 --> 00:11:39.340 It means bringing shame to the name of God. 00:11:39.340 --> 00:11:46.320 And they think he's blaspheming because people are saying he is the Messiah, he is God's promised king. 00:11:46.680 --> 00:11:49.620 And most of the elders on the council just don't believe that. 00:11:49.740 --> 00:11:52.259 They think Jesus is a very bad influence on the people. 00:11:54.180 --> 00:11:56.620 They think he's turning people away from religion and the temple. 00:11:56.720 --> 00:11:58.220 It's a very serious charge. 00:11:58.800 --> 00:12:00.480 To be honest, I'm not really sure what I think. 00:12:03.060 --> 00:12:06.400 The scriptures tell us that definitely one day the king will come, 00:12:06.400 --> 00:12:08.519 that one day the Messiah will appear. 00:12:09.340 --> 00:12:14.660 And maybe Jesus isn't the Messiah, but between me and you, I thought he could be. 00:12:16.560 --> 00:12:19.720 After all, he speaks unlike anyone I've ever heard before. 00:12:19.820 --> 00:12:21.460 He seems to have God's power with him. 00:12:22.139 --> 00:12:23.340 He's a kind man. 00:12:23.920 --> 00:12:24.940 He's full of compassion. 00:12:25.500 --> 00:12:27.100 But he's not afraid to say what he thinks. 00:12:28.940 --> 00:12:30.980 I've heard him really stick it to some of the elders. 00:12:33.660 --> 00:12:35.240 I'm starting to think he could be the one. 00:12:35.240 --> 00:12:40.480 And that's why I was really disappointed by the decision of the council the other night. 00:12:42.600 --> 00:12:44.000 I thought we should protect Jesus. 00:12:44.320 --> 00:12:46.820 I definitely didn't think he deserved to die. 00:12:46.820 --> 00:12:53.260 So when it came to the vote, I voted not to send Jesus to Pilate, but I was outvoted. 00:12:53.460 --> 00:12:55.960 And suddenly, that's why I was so sad yesterday too. 00:12:58.160 --> 00:13:01.540 I really thought we were making a huge mistake, and now I'm just really confused. 00:13:01.539 --> 00:13:09.259 Because if he really was the Messiah, I would have expected him to use his power to kind of get out of the situation. 00:13:10.339 --> 00:13:11.240 The mess he was in. 00:13:12.199 --> 00:13:13.000 To avoid it. 00:13:13.039 --> 00:13:13.759 But he didn't do that. 00:13:16.399 --> 00:13:17.599 And so now I have my doubts. 00:13:17.719 --> 00:13:18.659 But I tell you one thing. 00:13:18.819 --> 00:13:20.740 I'm sure that the council did the wrong thing. 00:13:20.740 --> 00:13:27.960 And one of the things, son, that you need to learn about life is that sometimes you've got to stand up when people do the wrong thing. 00:13:29.220 --> 00:13:30.139 Even if it's unpopular. 00:13:30.240 --> 00:13:30.960 It's called integrity. 00:13:32.720 --> 00:13:36.560 And it's because I want to be a person of integrity that I did what I did yesterday. 00:13:38.940 --> 00:13:42.580 So I went and I asked Pilate, and I asked if I could take care of Jesus' body. 00:13:44.519 --> 00:13:50.120 He agreed, so with the help of a few others, I took Jesus' body down from the cross, and I wrapped it carefully. 00:13:51.700 --> 00:13:53.519 I placed him in our new family tomb. 00:13:55.480 --> 00:14:00.779 And some of Jesus' friends, they're all women, they came and they are going to prepare some spices to treat his body too. 00:14:01.139 --> 00:14:03.419 We wanted to handle his body with respect. 00:14:06.379 --> 00:14:07.720 I thought it was the least that I could do. 00:14:07.720 --> 00:14:08.759 That's where I was last night. 00:14:11.500 --> 00:14:16.700 I can promise you though, that though I was home late, I was resting before the Sabbath began. 00:14:18.100 --> 00:14:20.659 Because keeping God's law is an important part of integrity. 00:14:20.740 --> 00:14:23.360 Scene 3. 00:14:26.200 --> 00:14:28.879 Fourthly, I want to speak to you from the perspective of the crucified criminal. 00:14:31.460 --> 00:14:35.720 And so here I'm talking about the one who respected Jesus rather than the one who mocked Jesus. 00:14:35.720 --> 00:14:40.600 And in particular, I want to reflect on verses 38 to 43. 00:14:42.740 --> 00:14:45.279 And it's on this one where I know I'm slightly skating on thin ice. 00:14:45.420 --> 00:14:50.779 I want you to stretch your imagination just a little bit further and picture a scene at the door of heaven. 00:14:51.960 --> 00:14:52.680 Of paradise. 00:14:52.920 --> 00:14:53.980 Of the gates of heaven itself. 00:14:53.980 --> 00:14:58.600 Sometime late in the evening on that first Good Friday. 00:14:58.600 --> 00:15:06.980 I want you to imagine a conversation between that criminal and let's say the angel that's on the door. 00:15:06.980 --> 00:15:10.539 Oh, hi. 00:15:12.440 --> 00:15:14.399 I'm not really sure I'm in the right place. 00:15:14.399 --> 00:15:21.679 If you'd asked me a couple of days ago where I'd be, I definitely have not said here. 00:15:23.419 --> 00:15:24.579 This place looks amazing. 00:15:25.480 --> 00:15:26.279 I feel incredible. 00:15:26.480 --> 00:15:29.840 I feel like I've been released from not just my suffering. 00:15:29.919 --> 00:15:31.120 That crucifixion was hideous. 00:15:31.439 --> 00:15:32.559 But from the world itself. 00:15:32.559 --> 00:15:37.819 All its trouble and all its confusion and its angst. 00:15:38.079 --> 00:15:42.819 And I actually feel like I've been released from myself, if I can put it like that. 00:15:44.500 --> 00:15:45.359 My problems. 00:15:46.179 --> 00:15:47.359 My worst instincts. 00:15:48.259 --> 00:15:50.399 My emotional scars that I've had over the years. 00:15:51.259 --> 00:15:54.139 Even the blackness of my heart feels like it's gone. 00:15:56.000 --> 00:16:01.359 But at the same time, I feel like more like me than I've ever been before. 00:16:03.259 --> 00:16:04.199 It's hard to explain. 00:16:04.419 --> 00:16:05.819 I can tell you one thing though. 00:16:06.959 --> 00:16:08.419 I know exactly how it happened. 00:16:10.239 --> 00:16:13.399 It's all got to do with meeting that guy on death row this morning. 00:16:16.039 --> 00:16:17.339 I'd heard people talking about him. 00:16:18.359 --> 00:16:18.759 Rumors. 00:16:20.579 --> 00:16:23.279 That over the last couple of years, word gets around, doesn't it? 00:16:23.279 --> 00:16:25.579 So it was pretty cool to finally meet him. 00:16:26.659 --> 00:16:28.219 Though it could have been in better circumstances. 00:16:28.220 --> 00:16:33.100 There we were, both of us strung up on a cross. 00:16:33.620 --> 00:16:35.500 On Skull Hill, next to each other. 00:16:37.360 --> 00:16:38.800 I got what was coming to me. 00:16:38.940 --> 00:16:41.740 But for the life of me, I couldn't work out what he was doing there. 00:16:41.740 --> 00:16:46.659 All the stuff that I'd heard about him suggested that he was a really good bloke. 00:16:46.820 --> 00:16:50.320 He was always helping people, restoring people. 00:16:52.180 --> 00:16:54.940 I guess those really religious fellas didn't care for him. 00:16:54.940 --> 00:16:58.360 And the following that he's got. 00:17:01.200 --> 00:17:06.299 When they were hanging him, they stuck up a sign above his head which read, this is the king of the Jews. 00:17:06.420 --> 00:17:07.080 They were mocking him. 00:17:07.079 --> 00:17:10.179 It was meant as a joke, but it got me thinking. 00:17:11.439 --> 00:17:15.539 My parents and my grandparents always talked about the king that God would send. 00:17:15.639 --> 00:17:16.759 They called him the Messiah. 00:17:17.980 --> 00:17:22.039 The more religious ones said that things would be better when he came. 00:17:22.199 --> 00:17:24.179 They said that he would make everything right. 00:17:24.639 --> 00:17:26.679 When the Messiah came, God's kingdom would come. 00:17:26.980 --> 00:17:29.759 So I'm watching this bloke next to me with a sign above his head. 00:17:29.759 --> 00:17:36.440 And as they lift him up, he says something about God forgiving people for what they're doing to him. 00:17:38.059 --> 00:17:39.099 It blew me away. 00:17:39.500 --> 00:17:40.319 Who says that? 00:17:43.119 --> 00:17:45.019 People are yelling abuse at him. 00:17:45.359 --> 00:17:46.299 And he doesn't say a word. 00:17:46.400 --> 00:17:48.319 If that was me, I'd be yelling back for sure. 00:17:48.720 --> 00:17:50.900 Just giving people a full piece of my mind. 00:17:51.440 --> 00:17:52.920 What's to lose at that point? 00:17:54.099 --> 00:17:54.839 But not this guy. 00:17:56.619 --> 00:17:57.500 Not this Jesus. 00:17:57.500 --> 00:18:00.220 He's just taking it. 00:18:02.920 --> 00:18:07.240 And then the other guy who was on death row, who was crucified on the other side, he starts up as well. 00:18:07.279 --> 00:18:09.880 And he starts shouting to Jesus how lame he is. 00:18:10.240 --> 00:18:12.660 How he's meant to be the saviour of the world. 00:18:12.880 --> 00:18:14.900 But he can do jack to save us. 00:18:17.000 --> 00:18:17.960 And I don't know what happened. 00:18:18.039 --> 00:18:19.160 I kind of snapped inside. 00:18:19.359 --> 00:18:20.660 It sounded all wrong to me. 00:18:21.960 --> 00:18:23.720 And this guy, Jesus, seemed legitimate. 00:18:23.720 --> 00:18:30.920 And all of a sudden, I'm hanging there thinking, why couldn't he be the king? 00:18:31.299 --> 00:18:32.680 Who says he's not the Messiah? 00:18:32.799 --> 00:18:33.519 Maybe he is. 00:18:35.380 --> 00:18:37.420 Maybe that's why he's so different to us. 00:18:37.700 --> 00:18:41.920 And so I start yelling at the guy on the other cross, telling him to shut his mouth. 00:18:44.420 --> 00:18:47.519 I reminded him, we were both hung there because we deserved it. 00:18:47.559 --> 00:18:49.539 But the guy in the middle, he didn't deserve it at all. 00:18:49.539 --> 00:18:53.539 And I told him he was a fool for speaking like that. 00:18:55.000 --> 00:18:59.399 I mean, if Jesus really did come from God, then it would be wise to pay him some respect, right? 00:19:02.440 --> 00:19:04.519 But then I did something I could never imagine doing. 00:19:07.259 --> 00:19:12.519 I turned my head towards this Jesus, and I said, remember me when you come into your kingdom. 00:19:12.519 --> 00:19:22.400 And then he turned his head a little towards me, and with some kind of strange love in his eyes, he looked at me and he says, 00:19:22.900 --> 00:19:24.960 today you will be with me in paradise. 00:19:28.259 --> 00:19:29.500 I couldn't believe it. 00:19:31.400 --> 00:19:32.480 Part of me didn't believe it. 00:19:34.900 --> 00:19:36.480 It seemed too good to be true. 00:19:36.920 --> 00:19:40.759 I was just asking him one simple question, and here he was promising me everything. 00:19:42.519 --> 00:19:44.920 All I said was, remember me, that was it. 00:19:47.480 --> 00:19:49.400 Who would have thought it would be enough? 00:19:49.519 --> 00:19:51.799 I'd always thought that you had to be religious to get to paradise. 00:19:52.259 --> 00:19:56.240 I always thought heaven was for people who went to the synagogue or gave money to the poor, 00:19:56.700 --> 00:19:59.639 or kept the eight commandments, or however many there are. 00:20:01.339 --> 00:20:03.940 I thought heaven was for those who did a baptism, 00:20:04.500 --> 00:20:06.500 or were from a really religious family, 00:20:06.660 --> 00:20:08.960 or listened really carefully in Saturday school. 00:20:08.960 --> 00:20:12.500 I thought it was for good people. 00:20:15.579 --> 00:20:19.500 I didn't think it was for the kind of people who end up getting executed for the sort of things I've done. 00:20:22.000 --> 00:20:22.779 Maybe I was wrong. 00:20:24.440 --> 00:20:25.140 Is it possible? 00:20:27.900 --> 00:20:28.779 I'm here, aren't I? 00:20:28.779 --> 00:20:32.839 I'm still not sure I'm in the right place, but here I am. 00:20:33.059 --> 00:20:33.680 Is Jesus here? 00:20:35.160 --> 00:20:36.240 Or is he still on his way? 00:20:38.200 --> 00:20:39.579 I'd like to find him and say thank you. 00:20:42.139 --> 00:20:42.920 That was scene four. 00:20:45.819 --> 00:20:50.660 Scene five, I want to speak today from the perspective of the modern reader. 00:20:50.660 --> 00:20:56.259 I want you to think of a man that lives in West London. 00:20:57.759 --> 00:20:59.900 He lives a long way from the events of this chapter, 00:21:00.300 --> 00:21:02.920 but he's got a lifelong interest in them. 00:21:05.740 --> 00:21:08.259 He's 45 years old, though he looks a lot younger. 00:21:12.140 --> 00:21:13.460 I want to finish with my own voice. 00:21:15.040 --> 00:21:15.900 My own perspective. 00:21:15.900 --> 00:21:21.680 Because I wonder where this morning you find yourself in these verses. 00:21:24.759 --> 00:21:27.160 I wonder where you find yourself in the events of Good Friday. 00:21:30.519 --> 00:21:34.080 Do you find yourself in Simon of Cyrene's shoes, the fellow traveler, 00:21:34.320 --> 00:21:39.080 looking on these events with curiosity, but in a detached kind of way? 00:21:39.079 --> 00:21:45.480 Or do you find yourself in the centurion's shoes with his uncertainty and with his questions, 00:21:45.699 --> 00:21:49.659 with a nagging and irresistible sense that there is something to this guy, Jesus? 00:21:52.139 --> 00:21:54.399 Something that you can't quite put your finger on. 00:21:57.679 --> 00:22:00.759 Or do you find yourself in Joseph, that Jewish leader's shoes, 00:22:01.279 --> 00:22:03.559 not entirely sure who Jesus is, 00:22:03.639 --> 00:22:07.399 but doing your best to live with integrity before God and hoping that'll be enough? 00:22:09.079 --> 00:22:12.699 Or do you find yourself in the criminal? 00:22:14.919 --> 00:22:17.859 And his wide-eyed amazement and his simple trust. 00:22:17.859 --> 00:22:25.240 I don't know if this will surprise you, but I find myself mostly in the criminal. 00:22:28.319 --> 00:22:30.139 I've been around churches my whole life. 00:22:31.479 --> 00:22:33.539 I know the story of the Bible very well. 00:22:34.779 --> 00:22:36.839 I've been getting to know Jesus for 45 years. 00:22:38.500 --> 00:22:41.240 And so in those ways, the criminal and myself are nothing alike. 00:22:41.240 --> 00:22:46.700 But if reading the Bible for decades has taught me anything, 00:22:46.799 --> 00:22:52.339 it's taught me this, that I need Jesus and his forgiveness as much as anybody. 00:22:54.740 --> 00:22:56.599 And I'm like this criminal in my sin. 00:22:59.420 --> 00:23:00.579 I've murdered anyone. 00:23:01.640 --> 00:23:03.019 I haven't been to jail. 00:23:03.019 --> 00:23:08.359 But I've failed God time and again over my 45 years, 00:23:08.500 --> 00:23:09.779 in big ways and small ways. 00:23:12.420 --> 00:23:14.619 I've failed to be the person I could be. 00:23:15.960 --> 00:23:18.400 I've failed to be the person that he made me. 00:23:19.980 --> 00:23:22.940 And I've failed to be the person that in my better moments I'd like to be. 00:23:22.940 --> 00:23:28.279 I've learned that being baptized or giving to the pu'er 00:23:28.279 --> 00:23:30.279 or obeying the Ten Commandments 00:23:30.279 --> 00:23:32.980 or working for a church aren't going to cut it with him. 00:23:34.480 --> 00:23:36.100 And they are not what will see me in heaven. 00:23:38.799 --> 00:23:40.220 The only thing that will 00:23:40.220 --> 00:23:42.380 is my openness 00:23:42.380 --> 00:23:45.580 to making the same request of Jesus 00:23:45.580 --> 00:23:46.559 that the criminal did. 00:23:48.120 --> 00:23:50.299 And to bank everything on that answer. 00:23:52.940 --> 00:23:53.460 Jesus, 00:23:54.380 --> 00:23:56.240 remember me. 00:23:58.480 --> 00:23:59.320 Remember me. 00:23:59.480 --> 00:24:00.519 Those simple words. 00:24:02.440 --> 00:24:04.200 It's a straightforward request, isn't it? 00:24:04.220 --> 00:24:05.340 But it's a request that takes 00:24:05.340 --> 00:24:08.039 some divine requested humility to make. 00:24:10.380 --> 00:24:12.279 Because that criminal knew that day 00:24:12.279 --> 00:24:14.039 that he needed Jesus to be king. 00:24:16.019 --> 00:24:17.620 And his only hope was that 00:24:17.620 --> 00:24:19.480 Jesus was the one who could forgive his sins 00:24:19.480 --> 00:24:21.299 and grant him life with God forever. 00:24:21.299 --> 00:24:22.919 And that is my only hope too. 00:24:26.379 --> 00:24:28.059 And the story of that first Good Friday 00:24:28.059 --> 00:24:29.319 is a story that I cling to 00:24:29.319 --> 00:24:31.379 because it's a story that reassures me 00:24:31.379 --> 00:24:32.940 of Jesus' answer to that request. 00:24:35.680 --> 00:24:36.500 A criminal 00:24:36.500 --> 00:24:38.839 asked Jesus 00:24:38.839 --> 00:24:41.139 to remember him. 00:24:44.000 --> 00:24:44.659 Jesus said, 00:24:44.740 --> 00:24:44.980 I will. 00:24:47.259 --> 00:24:48.879 And that was all he needed to know. 00:24:48.880 --> 00:24:52.220 And this Easter, 00:24:52.380 --> 00:24:53.560 that is all I need to know too. 00:24:55.960 --> 00:24:57.300 That Jesus will remember me 00:24:57.300 --> 00:24:58.180 though I don't deserve it. 00:24:59.640 --> 00:25:01.040 That Jesus will speak to me 00:25:01.040 --> 00:25:02.000 and guarantee me 00:25:02.000 --> 00:25:02.820 a place in his kingdom. 00:25:04.560 --> 00:25:05.780 And that he will walk with me 00:25:05.780 --> 00:25:06.840 every day of my life 00:25:06.840 --> 00:25:07.780 until I get there. 00:25:10.600 --> 00:25:11.480 And this Easter, 00:25:11.580 --> 00:25:12.520 the story of Good Friday 00:25:12.520 --> 00:25:13.460 speaks to you 00:25:13.460 --> 00:25:14.580 and dares you 00:25:14.579 --> 00:25:16.779 to find the humility 00:25:16.779 --> 00:25:18.119 to bank everything 00:25:18.119 --> 00:25:18.960 on Jesus 00:25:18.960 --> 00:25:22.019 and to ask him 00:25:22.019 --> 00:25:22.839 to remember you. 00:25:25.879 --> 00:25:27.319 And the story of Good Friday 00:25:27.319 --> 00:25:28.460 also assures you 00:25:28.460 --> 00:25:29.480 that if you do that 00:25:29.480 --> 00:25:30.259 he will 00:25:30.259 --> 00:25:31.679 remember you. 00:25:35.419 --> 00:25:36.460 The criminal said, 00:25:36.579 --> 00:25:37.519 remember me 00:25:37.519 --> 00:25:40.319 when you come into your kingdom. 00:25:40.319 --> 00:25:43.720 And Jesus answered, 00:25:43.859 --> 00:25:44.079 truly, 00:25:44.579 --> 00:25:47.200 I tell you today 00:25:47.200 --> 00:25:50.019 you will be with me 00:25:50.019 --> 00:25:50.480 in paradise. 00:25:51.919 --> 00:25:52.519 Let's pray.