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"WHY THREE CROSSES OF CALVARY"
Scripture Luke 23:33; "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."
This morning we are going to take a look at what the Bible says about each of the 3 Crosses that stood on Golgotha's Hill.
Our Bible tells us that there were 3 men crucified that Friday morning we know that each one had to carry their own cross to Golgotha while at the "Place of the Skull" we find one who died "for sin, one died in sin and one died to sin."
This makes one of the crosses a cross of rebellion, another a cross of repentance, and the middle cross a Cross of Redemption.
Each one of these crosses have a valuable lesson for us to learn today as we prepare ourselves for Communion.
The 1st lesson for us to learn will come from the cross of redemption. The Cross Jesus died upon. Jesus did not die for His own sins! He was sinless! No - He died for the sins of the world. 2 Cor. 5:21 declares that God,
"Made Him (Jesus) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the Righteousness of Gid in Him."
Isaiah 53:6 tells us;
"The LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all."
1 Peter 2:24 adds that Jesus;
"Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed."
All of our sins were paid in full at the Cross! And it was our sins that placed Him there. Romans 6:23 states that
"The wages of sin is death."
This death Paul writes about here is eternal death. Death that you will never wake up from. It is the penalty, the punishment for sin. And Jesus loved us so much that He was willing to pay that penalty, the punishment for each of us.
The next cross to examine is the cross of rebellion. The cross, which a man died in sin. Listen to Luke 23:39;
"And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us."
No doubt this man had heard about Jesus. He may have seen Jesus perform miracles. But that "if" indicated that he had no faith in Christ. We really know nothing about this man who is crucified next to Jesus. Did he come from a respectable home? Or was he raised on the streets? Did his schoolmates lead him astray? What was his 1st crime? We know that he was a thief and robber. But what caused him to walk the road that lead him to end up in such a mess that now he finds himself being executed by the most hideous and gruesome form of execution? The Bible doesn't tell us. But the Bible does tell us that he had an opportunity to repent and he refused it! Oh he wanted Jesus to deliver him from the cross he was nailed to. But do you realize what this thief was really doing? He was seeking an easy way out. He wanted an easy religion that does not require having to carry a cross. A religion that does not call for suffering or sacrificing. A religion where one can sin and not have to pay the consequences of his sin. And because he would not accept the Cross of Redemption, he died on a cross of rebellion.
The 3rd cross we will consider is the cross of repentance. This is the cross where a man died to sin. He too was a thief and robber. He too had listen to others that lead him astray. He was a criminal, a sinner that had lived a terrible life. Now he too was paying his just dues. But there was one enormous difference between this their and the other thief. This thief knew he was a desperado. A bandit. He recognized and admitted it.
In fact he told the other thief that they were being executed justly, but Jesus had done nothing wrong that He should die with him (see Luke 23:41). This thief and sinner asked Jesus to forgive him and to remember him when Jesus should come into His Kingdom. Here we find Christ gave him a full pardon. He also gave him the assurance of Salvation. Because he believed in the Cross of Redemption, he died on a Cross of Repentance and was saved!
In the center stood the Cross of Christ. On each side rose the two crosses symbolizing the whole human race. One represented those who refuse Christ, while the other cross illustrated all those that ask the Lord for forgiveness and accept Him as their personal Saviour. They receive the promise of a home in His everlasting Kingdom.
Before we separate for the Ordinance of Humility, I would like to end with a story.
Once on a London street a little 3-year old girl was playing in the yard. The mailman accidentally left the front gate open. The little girl wandered out the gate and down the road she went. Her mother was in the house cooking supper and didn't even notice that her daughter was gone. After a while of walking, the little girl realized that she didn't recognize any of the houses or buildings around her. Then she sensed for the 1st time she was lost.
What was she to do? Well she did the only thing a little 3-year old girl knew to do when lost, she started crying. A London Bobby happened by and asked what was wrong? The girl said she was lost so the policeman asked her if she lived next to a big clock called Big Ben? Could she hear it strike every hour? She said no. So he asked her if she lived close to Lord Nelson's Monument? "Lord who" she asked? Finally after many tries, the policeman asked if she lived close to a huge white Cross? At this her little eyes opened wide and she nodded her head saying, "Yes sir, take me to the Cross and I can find my way home from there."
And so can we! From the Cross of Christ, we can get to our Heavenly home.
Today as we each take part in Communion, let us keep our eyes on the Cross of Redemption.
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