(A) Introduction. (Read the reference)

When I was a boy my dear father, the Baptist pastor of the little church at Brockley, would sometimes preach on the cross. He would always speak with tremendous power when the cross was his subject. After such a sermon I would say to him, "Father, why don't you speak on the cross more often?" He never had a satisfactory reply! However, I have learned as an occasional preacher that Satan hates me to preach on Christ Crucified. He would have me speak on anything rather than this. All who occupy the pulpit do well to remember Paul's words to the Corinthians: For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 1Cor2v2.

This exposition is about the cross and I hope it has some of the power of my father's sermon's on Jesus' saving work at Calvary.

Sweet the moments, rich in blessing
Which before the cross I spend.
Life and health and peace possessing
From the sinner's dying Friend.

Here (Golgotha) they crucified him, and with him two others - one on each side and Jesus in the middle. Jn19v18. On the very day the Passover lambs were slain and their blood dashed on the altar the Lamb of God shed his blood for me.

It is significant that Jesus carried his cross just as Isaac bore the wood intended for his sacrifice on Mt Moriah. Perhaps John was reminded of Abraham's reply when Isaac queried the whereabouts of the sacrificial victim: "God him self will provide the lamb for the burnt offering my son." Ex22v8.

There are three things to note about Christ's crucifixion:

(1) He died as the worst.
The best of men died as the worst of men. Crucifixion was a barbaric form of execution reserved for slaves and the worst of criminals. A Roman citizen could not be crucified and it was something very rarely done in Rome itself.

Nothing reveals more clearly the depravity and hardness of the human heart than the foul fate of the one who went about doing good. Jesus healed the sick, fed the hungry, raised the dead and reclaimed the lost and his reward was to be nailed, flayed and naked, to a cross of wood. If we think back to the original Passover lambs - they were slain because of a tyrant's hardness of heart.

(2) He died with the worst.
Jesus shared the suffering and shame of two criminals between whom he was crucified. It has helped many to know that Jesus experienced their sorrow and pain. Joni Eareckson Tada, a Christian paraplegic, wrote: I discovered that the Lord Jesus Christ could indeed empathise with my situation. On the cross for those agonising horrible hours waiting for death, he was immobilised, helpless, paralysed. Jesus did know what it was like not to be able to move - not to be able to scratch your nose, shift your weight, wipe your eyes. He was paralysed on the cross - Christ knew exactly how I felt!"

Christians who have been treated like criminals and unfairly imprisoned and tortured have been able to hold on to the fact that their living Lord has been through it all too and is not untouched with the feeling of our infirmities. AV. Heb4v15.

He died for the worst
In the ancient Passover story anyone could find refuge beneath the blood - slave and free, young and old, good and bad, Jew and non-Jew. When the Lord saw the blood he passed over all those who sheltered behind and beneath it.

We see a wonderful instance of the worst of men being saved at Calvary. One of the robbers hanging beside Jesus took advantage of his close proximity and asked: "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in Paradise. Lk23v42and43.

The words of Charles Wesley's fine hymn are true for the worst of sinners:

For what you have done His blood must atone;
The Father hath punished for you His dear Son.
The Lord in the day of his anger did lay
Your sins on the Lamb, and he bore them away.

Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: 'JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS'. Jn19v19.

What does the crucifixion tells us about Jesus the King? He was:

(1) Rejected
The chief priests objected to Pilate's notice: "Do not write: 'The King of the Jews', but that this man claimed to be King of the Jews." v21. John states at the beginning of his gospel that he came to his own and his own did not receive him. Nowhere is this more evident than at the Calvary. The chief priests, elders and lawyers gathered round the cross and sneered: "He's the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him." Mt27v42. The casual passers by and the robbers crucified with him also mocked and insulted Jesus. Never were the words of Isaiah more applicable: He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering and like one whom men hide their faces. Is53v3.

It is hard to be rejected - in love, for a job, as a teacher or a preacher. I always hated it when it was time at school for options choices. Pupils could then opt out of studying Geography further. I felt rejected by all those who chose to continue with History rather than Geography.

It is particularly irksome to be rejected for a task you feel well qualified to do. I read yesterday the obituary of Peter Osgood, the famous Chelsea footballer. During England's 1970 World Cup campaign in Mexico he was left out of important games by manager Sir Alf Ramsay despite being the First Division's top scorer. He wasn't even used as a substitute against Brazil, a match England eventually lost 1-0. Osgood was so upset he got drunk, missed training next day and didn't play for England again for four years.

Worst of all is rejection by those you love and want to help. Moses experienced this in Egypt. He was prepared to act as spokesman for his people but his help was repudiated and Moses fled to Midian to keep sheep in the wilderness. Moses was scarred by his experience and was very reluctant to return to Egypt notwithstanding God's promise to bring his people out of slavery to a land flowing with milk and honey.

How painful it must be for Jesus to still be rejected - by those who desperately need him.

Our Lord is now rejected,
And by the world disowned;
By the many still neglected,
And by the few enthroned
But soon He'll come in glory;
The hour is drawing nigh
For the crowning day is coming by and by.

The behaviour of the Roman soldiers reminds us that the vast majority of folk in England are totally indifferent to the love of Christ and what he did for them at Calvary. There are just so many other things that are more important and grab their attention.

All ye that pass by, to Jesus draw nigh:
To you is it nothing that Jesus should die?
Your ransom and peace, your surety He is
Come see if there ever was sorrow like His.

There are three things to note:

Pilate's motivation. I expect Pilate's notice was intended as a rebuke to the Jews. As far as he was concerned the Jewish leaders had hounded to death a man with no pretensions to kingship in the ordinary sense of the word. Did he look like a king hanging naked on a cross? There was no threat of an armed force coming to rescue him. There were only four soldiers on guard!!

Pilate's stand. The governor made a stand on a trivial issue. There was absolutely no way he was going to change the sign fixed to the cross of Jesus - whatever the Jews said. Yet he had vacillated and given in over an important matter of principle. Pilate handed over an innocent man to a brutal and unjust death.

There are plenty of weak men in positions of authority who are unwillingly to make a stand over what is really important but dig in their heels over things of little consequence.

Equally sad are Christians who strain at a gnat and swallow a camel. The fuss that some believers make about the graveyard, the seating plan, appropriate clothing, the version of the Bible, the hymnbook, the way communion is conducted and even 'Thee and Thou' in prayer is unbelievable. Those who get so worked up over trivialities are often unconcerned about what really counts - forgiveness, humility, kindness, integrity, generosity, faithfulness and hard work.

Pilate's publicity. Whatever his motives Pilate did publicise the claim of Jesus to be King of the Jews. His sign was written in Aramaic, Greek and Latin for the whole world to read. The governor's proclamation anticipated the spread of the gospel to the far corners of the earth. Christ crucified has been preached in almost every language known to man.

The languages used on Pilate's placard also point to the three great spheres of human life Jesus influences. Latin was the language of law, Greek of culture and Aramaic of religion. The teaching of Jesus informs the law of Christendom. Some of the world's greatest architecture, art and music has been inspired by Jesus. The Christian religion is world-wide in extent and has millions of adherents for whom Jesus is all in all.

(4) Accepted.
There was one man at the crucifixion who submitted to Jesus the King. One of the robbers said: "Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom." Lk23v42. This request raises three questions:

(a) How did the robber know that Jesus was king? Pilate's notice provided the information. So the governor inadvertently played a part in bringing a man to Christ.

(b) Why was the criminal able to plead for grace and mercy in his dying hours? Jesus was there, suffering along side him - identifying with the worst of sinners.

(c) How could the thief make such a giant leap of faith? The short answer is: I don't know! The way a person becomes a believer is complex. It isn't entirely by the Calvinist or the Arminian model. Many things prepare a man or a woman for salvation. God works through circumstances, human example, memories, a word of testimony, Christian literature - even a placard. We have our part to play. Paul makes this abundantly clear: Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? Romans10v14and15. Finally one thief, prepared though he doubtless was for salvation by many various means, had to exercise faith. He played some part in his own salvation.

(5) Revered
The King of Israel had at least 5 loyal, loving subjects around the cross. Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas and Mary Magdalene. v25. His mother's sister may have been Salome, the mother of James and John. Also present was John, the writer of the gospel. These five were grief stricken, numb with shock, totally bewildered but for all that - brave, faithful and devoted.

However low the church in England sinks, however small, unregarded and pilloried, there will remain a committed, active and admiring remnant.

One of the worst 3 months of my life was in a rough school in Haverhill where I worked as a temporary teacher. I struggled to build relationships with the pupils most of whom were unco-operative to the last. When I left at the end of the summer term I don't think anyone had any regrets! Except, that is, three small, earnest, hard-working boys. They waited behind after their last lesson with me and said, "We're sorry you are leaving Mr Reed. We shall miss you." It was a poignant moment. Those three lads wanted to learn!

Similarly, it is very poignant to witness those five people who loved Jesus standing by him at the end. They remained true in the bad times as well as the good. The four women and John were very special. They represented all those who have stood firm during times of church persecution and decline through the ages.

(D) A loving son

When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son," and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that time on this disciple took her into his home. Jn19v26.

This is a very revealing incident:

(a) Jesus speaks to his mother with affection - "Dear woman ... It is good when relationships are warm and loving - in the home, the work place and the church. The thing I missed most when I retired from teaching was the affection my pupils showed me. A church should not be cold, formal and loveless.

(b) It is not easy to think of others when suffering yourself or preoccupied with some great undertaking or coming to the end of an important work. There is a tendency for pastors who feel that their work is done in a church to get a little slapdash. Some unselfish people, like Jesus, are able to think of others in extremity. Ann was dying of cancer. She sent me a message via her mother that she was really sorry not to be able to take up my trousers in the future. That should have been the least of her worries! Ann spent the little time she had to left to live preparing her husband for life without her.

(c) Why did Jesus commend Mary into John's care? Mary had other sons and it would not be long before James was a Christian. Jesus entrusted Mary to John for her own spiritual and emotional good. John was the apostle of love. He was the disciple closest to Jesus and most like him. John, in Jesus' bodily absence, could bring the greatest comfort and blessing to Mary.

(1) Jesus cared about individuals even as he suffered for the sins of the world. Bruce Milne says that Jesus' concern for Mary teaches that he is a personal King. Jesus work on the cross was for universal redemption but he still found time for two distraught individuals. Jesus continues to meet personal needs.

Amy Carmichael's charming poem while not strictly applicable to the cross does celebrate Christ's love for us individually:

Lord of the brooding blue
Of pleasant summer skies,
Lord of each little bird that through
The clear air flies,
'Tis wonderful to me
That I am loved by Thee.

Lord of the blinding heat,
Of mighty wind and rain,
The city's crowded street,
Desert and peopled plain,
'Tis wonderful to me
That I am loved by Thee.

Lord of night's jewelled roof,
Day's various tapestry,
Lord of the warp and woof
Of all that yet shall be,
'Tis wonderful to me
That I am loved by Thee.

Lord of my merry cheers,
My grey that turns to gold,
And my most private tears
And comforts manifold,
'Tis wonderful to me
That I am loved by Thee.

Give me a faithful heart,
Likeness to Thee,
That each departing day
Henceforth may see
Some work of love begun,
Some deed of kindness done,
Some wanderer sought and won,
Something for Thee.

(E) Mankind's benefactor

I have often wondered why Jesus asked for a drink after he knew that his work was completed and just before dismissing his spirit. What was the point? The point was that Jesus wished to announce in the loudest possible voice that: "It is finished." v30. You cannot shout if your throat is parched - only croak. Jesus was not going to proclaim the completion of his redeeming work with a croak!

Jesus spoke Aramaic but the Greek word used by John, 'telestai', and translated, 'It is finished', was written on an invoice to indicate it had been paid. It means: 'Paid in full'. Jesus knew that he had paid in full the price of our salvation.

There are many wonderful characters in Dicken's novels. One of my favourites is Joe Gargery the blacksmith in 'Great Expectations'. Joe was married to Pip's sister. He brought up young Pip, who later had 'Great Expectations', like his own son.

Eventually Pip was educated as a gentleman and grew apart from, and half ashamed of, his friend and gaurdian, Joe. Little did he know that Magwitch, the convict, deported to Australia, was his sponsor! Pip behaved foolishly and was imprisoned for debt where he fell desperately ill. It was Joe who came and nursed him back to health. However, when he considered Pip had recovered, not wishing to embarrass him further, Joe slipped away. I will let Pip take up the story:

I hurried then to the breakfast-table, and on it found a letter. These were its brief contents.

Not wishful to intrude I have departured fur you are well again dear Pip and will do better without.

Enclosed in the letter was a receipt for the debt and costs on which I had been arrested. Down to that moment I had vainly supposed that my creditor had withdrawn or suspended proceedings until I should be quite recovered. I had never dreamed of Joe's having paid the money; but Joe had paid it, and the receipt was in his name.

I love that - the receipt was in his name - it reminds me of Jesus who paid the price to release me from my debt to God. The receipt is in his name and on it are written: 'Paid in full'.

I have just finished reading the biography of Alexander Fleming who discovered penicillin. It was a chance discovery and the successful use of penicillin to fight disease owed much to Howard Florey and his team of Oxford scientists. Antibiotics were a wonderful development and have saved millions upon millions of lives during the last 60 years. Fleming was certainly honoured for the work he did. He received over 200 awards: Fellow of the Royal Society, Knight Batchelor, Honorary Freeman and Liveryman, Dyers Company of the City of London, Honorary D.Sc. University of Princetown, Cameron Prize in Practical Therapeutics, University of Edinburgh, Commander of Legion d'Honneur, France, Honorary MD, University of Brussels, Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine, Medal of Merit, U.S.A. and so on and so on.

In his lifetime the Saviour of the World received no homage from the 'people who mattered'. True, Pilate put up his sign - but out of pique rather than admiration. The Jews dishonoured the Lord's anointed - great David's greater son. But Jesus is honoured - more so than Alexander Fleming or any other man. Christ's gift is not good health, longer life or a reprieve from death. He bestows eternal life on all who believe in him. He can save us from sin; the price has been paid in full; there is no debt outstanding; we have nothing left to pay.

For you and for me He prayed on the tree
The prayer is accepted, the sinner is free
The sinner am I who on Jesus rely,
And come for the pardon God cannot deny.