Who Are You?
(A Message to the Multitude)
(Preached Sunday Morning, March 29, 2020)
“And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also with them derided him, saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God.”
(Luke 23:35)
The idea for this sermon was given, we believe, by God, directly through a note from Dr. C. I. Scofield on Luke 23:35, which reads as follows.
“Jesus crucified is the true touchstone revealing what the world is:
- ‘The people stood beholding’ in stolid indifference;
- the rulers, who wanted religion, but without a divine Christ crucified for their sins, ‘reviled’;
- the brutal amongst them mocked or railed;
- the conscious sinner prayed;
- the covetous sat down before the cross and played their sordid game.
“The cross is the judgment of this world. (Jn 12:31).”
(Scofield, C. I., editor. “Note on Luke 23:35.” The Scofield Study Bible, Oxford University Press, 1996, p. 1110.)
Who are you? Which group is yours? Which one are you?
As Dr. Scofield put it, “Jesus crucified is the true touchstone revealing what the world is.” Yes, revealing… who you are!
As the crucifixion of Christ touches each of our lives; as each of us encounter Him; as we are each of us in our mind’s eye, in our conscience, in our individualized journey towards eternity; as we are brought, each one of us to stand here at the foot of the Cross, looking up towards him, considering Him… dying there, sacrificed by God, paying for our sins (“the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world”): Who are we? Ye, pointedly, who are you revealed to be, here at this all-important-stop on the way into the depths of eternity.
Who… are… you? Your reaction to Jesus dying here, in front of you on the cross, reveals that
I. You are a rude guest
A. Your job is more important than what Jesus is doing for you, here!
“And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.” (Luke 23:33)
B. Your fun is more important than what Jesus is doing for you, here!
“And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.” (Luke 23:34b)
C. Your chill is more important than what Jesus is doing for you, here!
“And the people stood beholding.” (Luke 23:35a)
Who… are… you? Your reaction to Jesus dying here, in front of you on the cross, reveals that
II. You are a ruler of religion
A. You conspire against Him, right here (with the people)!
“And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also with them derided him, saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God.” (Luke 23:35)
B. You compromise against Him, right here (with the authorities)!
“And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also with them derided him, saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God. And the soldiers…” (Luke 23:35-36a)
C. You combat against Him, right here and always (with your father, the Devil)!
“Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate, saying, ‘Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first.” (Matthew 27:62-64)
“Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do.” (John 8:44)
Who… are… you? Your reaction to Jesus dying here, in front of you on the cross, reveals that
III. You are a railing enemy of God
“And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, and offering him vinegar, and saying, If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself.” (Luke 23:36-37)
A. You mock against the Son of Man!
“And the soldiers also mocked him.” (Luke 23:36a)
B. You mock against the Son of God!
“…Coming to him, and offering him vinegar.” (Luke 23:36b)
C. You mock against the Savior of the World!
“And saying, ‘If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself.” (Luke 23:37)
Who… are… you? Your reaction to Jesus dying here, in front of you on the cross, reveals that
IV. You are a rare exception among people
A. Everyone else rejects his mission to save them from their sin!
“And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, This Is The King Of The Jews.” (Luke 23:38)
B. Everyone else rephrases his mission to be a failure to have saved himself from death!
“And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.” (Luke 23:39)
C. But you, you are that one rare exception out of the midst of them all!
“But the other answering rebuked him, saying, ‘Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.’
“And he said unto Jesus, ‘Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.’
“And Jesus said unto him, ‘Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.” (Luke 40-43)
OUTLINE:
Who Are You?
- You are a rude guest (Luke 23:33-35a)
- You are a ruler of religion (Luke 23:35-36a)
- You are a railing enemy of God (Luke 23:36-37)
- You are a rare exception among people (Luke 23:38-43)