Luke 23:13-46
JUST FOR YOU!
Intro: When we read the account of the death of Jesus on the cross, there
is always a question that forms in my mind: that question is, Why? Why did
Jesus leave Heaven to be born in Bethlehem? Why did the Creator come
in the image of the creature, live in poverty, be rejected by those He came
to save and then die a cruel death on the cross? Why?
Well, Jesus Himself answered that question the night before He died.
If there had ever been any doubt as to why He came to this world, it was
dispelled forever as He and His disciples observed the Passover together
in the upper room. Look in Luke 22:19-20. There we find two small,
seemingly insignificant words that solve the riddle as to why He came to die.
Those words are: "for you". Jesus came for you. Jesus died for you and
Jesus rose again for you. That is why He did what He did: just for you!
With that in mind, let's look into our text today and consider what He did just for you.
I. 23:13-24, 34-43 LOOK AT HIS CONDEMNATION - JUST FOR YOU
A. V. 18-23 See Him Rejected - (Ill. John 19:4-7; 34-43) The very
people He came to redeem and deliver from their sin and bondage
were the ones who turned their backs upon Him, fully and finally, John 1:11.
B. V. 35-39 See Him Ridiculed - (Matt. 27: 39-44) With one accord,
His enemies mocked and ridiculed the King of Kings. Yet, He did
not revile them! He endured their cruel mockeries because that was
part of the price He was destined to pay for you and me, 1 Pet. 2:23;
Isa. 53:7. (Note: It is interesting to recall what the Lord said about
those who sinned against Him, Psa. 2:4; Pro. 1:26. The Lord
promised to mock and laugh at those who sided with sin against
Him. However, as part of the plan to redeem the lost, Jesus became
a laughing stock before those He came to redeem! What irony!
What utter depravity that would laugh at the Creator as He died for
the creature.)
C. V. 34, 40-43 See Him Respond - When the Lord did open His
mouth on the cross, it was not to condemn or to revile His enemies.
When He spoke, He did so with compassion and love. He opened
His mouth to pray for His attackers. He opened His mouth to
salvation to a lost soul. He spoke to give comfort to a tormented
mother. He spoke to give peace to fallen me. (Note: One word from
His lips had brought light into being. One word from that cross could
have abolished every molecule in the universe from existence. Yet,
He responded in love! What grace! Grace that continues to this
very day, Rom. 5:20!)
II. 23:33 LOOK AT HIS CRUCIFIXION - JUST FOR YOU
A. See His Crown - (Matt. 27:27-31) Never did a King wear such a
cruel crown of mockery and infamy! Yet, He allowed Himself to
be crowned as an amusement to the soldiers, because He was in
fact a King! A King Who one day would wear many crowns upon His
lovely head, Rev. 19:12. (Note: Those thorns were emblems of the
curse that had come upon this world because of sin. As such they
were symbolic of that for which He was dying on the cross. He died
to remove the curse of sin from man and from the entire universe.
He wore that thorny crown that day so that He might wear a royal
crown in the future. He wore that crown for you and for me!)
B. See His Cross - (John 19:16-17) Never did a King occupy such
a gruesome throne as He occupied that day! To die on the cross
was to die the death of One cursed, Gal. 3:13. It was to die the
most painful of deaths. It was to writhe in agony one a rough piece
of wood, after having been beaten with a scourge, after having been
tried and convicted, after having been beaten by the soldiers, after
having been mocked and made to bear your cross to the place of
your execution. It was a horrible death! Yet, it was this death that
He was destined to die. Isaiah the prophet wrote of His death, Isa.
53:4-6. David the Psalmist wrote of His death, Psa. 22:1-18. It was
a death reserved for Him before the world was ever framed together, Rev. 13:8. It was a death that He went to willingly, humbly and
expectantly, John 18:37; Mark 10:45; Phil. 2:5-8. He occupied that
throne for you!
C. See His Cause - (Luke 22:19-20; Rom. 5:8) Never did a King
have such a noble cause as did Jesus when He set out on His
crusade against sin. He went to the cross for others! Not people
like, but for sinners! Not people who could repay Him, but for those
to whom He could offer salvation freely, Isa. 55:1; Rev. 22:17. Not
for the righteous, but for the dregs of humanity, Luke 5:32. He
did what He did for people who were His sworn enemies! He did what He did for
you and for me! He did what He did so that we might be able to come to an
old-fashioned altar, fall on our knees, confess and repent of our sins and
receive Him into our lives as our Savior. He died to open the door of salvation
wide for you and for me.
III. 23:44-46 LOOK AT HIS CONQUEST - JUST FOR YOU
A. See Him Redeeming - Matt. 27:45-46 As Jesus hung on the cross,
something mysterious and divine took place. The sky was darkened
and the precious Lamb of God literally became the sin of the entire
world, 2 Cor. 5:21. He did not just take our sins upon Himself, He
literally became our sin on that cross! God judged Jesus as if He
were the literal sins that you and I were born in and commit day after
day. God saw His Son as if He were my wretched sins and He was
subjected to the wrath of God on the cross. His work on the cross
opened the way to God, Matt. 27:51, (Ill. The veil in the Temple had
stood as a barrier between God and man for centuries, Heb. 9:7,
Lev. 16:2. Jesus removed all the barriers!) His work on the cross
extinguished the wrath of God toward the sins of the elect and now
those who are in Jesus are forever free from the threat and dread of
an eternity in Hell fire! All because He won our victory on the cross.
B. See Him Rejoicing - John 19 30 You might not think of the cross as
a place of rejoicing, but if you had been there that day, you would
have listened as Jesus made seven utterances from the cross.
Each time He moved His parched lips and breathed out the words
He endured pain and deepened His agony. However, near the end
of His time of the cross, when He knew that the way to God had
been opened by the payment of the redemption price, He opened
His mouth and spoke three simple words that still echo throughout
the halls of eternity. He said: "It is finished!" As I have mentioned
before, this was not the cry of a defeated Man! He did not say "I am
finished!" This was not the cry of One Who had given up short of
His goal of redeeming the human race. He did not say, "You are
finished!" This was the cry of One Who had achieved true victory!
He said, "It is finished!" When He did, it was the cry of a
Champion! Just as a mighty lion will roar after he has made a kill,
the Lion of the Tribe of Judah roared His great cry of victory so that
you and I might know that there is hope! (Note: I have shared with
you what this word means in the original and how it was used. But,
if you will allow me, I want to share it again, because it is so precious
and rich in its meaning to all believers.
1. A Servant's Word - Used when a task had been completed.
2. A Priest's Word - Used when a sacrificial animal was found to
be worthy.
3. A Farmer's Word - Used when a perfect specimen had been
born into the flock.
4. An Artist's Word - Used when the final touches had been
applied to a masterpiece.
5. A Merchant's Word - Used when a deal had been struck and all
the haggling had ended. Its usage meant that both parties were
satisfied.
You see, the cross for Jesus wasn't a time of defeat and doom.
It was a time of joy and anticipation, Heb. 12:2. He rejoiced when
the battle was won, let us never be ashamed of what He
accomplished on the cross! Let us rather glory in the cross of Jesus
and bless His holy Name that He loved sinners to that depth and
degree, Gal. 6:14.)
C. See Him Resurrecting - Matt. 28:1-6 Thank God His story does
not end with Him hanging dead on a cross! No, three days after His
death, He arose from the dead to become the first fruits, 1 Cor.
15:20, from the dead for you and me. He is the promise of eternal
life for all who trust in Him.
D. See His Reigning - After He arose, He ascended back to Heaven
and sat down at the right hand of His Father in glory, Acts 1:9-11;
Heb. 10:12. There He lives today as out Intercessor with the Father, Heb. 7:25. From there, He will return some day to receive His bride
unto Himself and take her home to Heaven, John 14:1-3. From
there, He will return to establish His kingdom upon this earth, Rev.
19:11-21. (Note: What I am trying to say is that the same Jesus
Who came from Heaven to this earth to die on the cross, is the same
Jesus Who sits in Heaven today awaiting that moment when He will
return to claim His people. He is the same One Who offers salvation
to all who will come to Him by faith. He is the One Who died for you
and if you will come to Him, He will save you by His grace and give
you eternal life in Heaven!)
Conc: Just for you! That is why the King of Glory left Heaven, was born in
Bethlehem, lived in poverty, died in shame and agony and arose in victory.
He did it just for you! He did all that He did so that you might simply call on
Him by faith and be saved by His grace. He did what He did just for you so
that you might miss Hell and enter Heaven.
In fact, what He did provided the only way that anyone has or ever will
be saved. What He did for you open an exclusive way into a saving
relationship with God, John 14:6; Acts 4:12.
He did all that He did just for you. What have you done about in your
own life? Have you trusted Jesus as your Savior? If not, you can by
coming to Him by faith right now. If you have, then how long has it been
since you said "Thank You!"?
