Grace, mercy, and peace be with you in the name of the Humble Servant who became a suffering Servant, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. The text for our consideration is the gospel reading from Luke. May the Holy Spirit move us to ponder, in sincerity and truth, what Christ has accomplished for each one of us.
Paradise. A place of bliss, felicity, or delight. That’s the second definition in Webster’s Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary. Paradise . . . people long for that place of bliss, that place of great happiness, where you encounter delight after delight. Commercials for the Sandals resorts . . . or the Atlantis resort on Paradise Island in the Bahamas . . . present images that evoke the feelings and desires of many if not most to just escape and go to that carefree place without worries or wants. But how much does it cost?? What’s the price of paradise? I took my family on our 25th anniversary trip to Hawaii . . . and I can tell you that it cost a lot . . . of money.
But those kinds of getaways don’t last. The trip comes to an end . . . and the return to reality in this world can be quite a stark contrast. You come home from paradise to face again the challenges of everyday life, difficulties at work (and the work which piled up while you were gone), relationship struggles, parenting challenges . . . and even the credit card bills which must be paid from overspending the budget for that getaway to paradise. It makes you wonder, what would it cost if you could just live in paradise . . . indefinitely . . . if you never had to come back to the often harsh realities of this sin-broken world.
The answer to that question is before us in the gospel reading from Luke. For you see, our Lord Jesus Christ came to restore mankind to paradise . . . and the cost would be great indeed. But before you can understand what is cost to restore paradise, you have to know what caused Paradise to be lost. Paradise was lost way back in the Garden of Eden . . . when mankind fell into sin. And the Scriptures record: “So the Lord God banished mankind from the Garden of Eden.”
Sin is a serious matter . . . and sin was the reason mankind was banished from Paradise. Sin continued to cause such problems down through holy history . . . even to our own day. The sin of Moses kept him out of the promised land of Israel . . . after leading the people for 40 long years in the wilderness. The sin of King Saul led to the loss of his kingship . . . and worse than that, the taking away of God’s Holy Spirit. The sin of the people of Israel led them into exile in the foreign land of Babylon. And the sin of Judas’ betrayal of Jesus led to his suicide . . . and a losing of paradise for all eternity.
Because of the godly discipline of parents, the sin of children leads to the loss of privileges . . . or possessions, for at least a while . . . or even simply the loss of time in a time out. Because of the righteous acts of the government, a person’s sin can lead to incarceration and imprisonment. If the evil act is bad enough . . . it can even lead to a life sentence . . . or even place a person on death row.
Of course, sin also excludes in an unrighteous way: the awkward child who nobody will play with on the playground, the parent that is given the silent treatment by a child who is upset with the discipline, the person who harbors bitterness and anger towards another person . . . and refuses to have a relationship with them. Sin leads to banishment; sin leads to punishment; sin destroys relationships; and, ultimately, sin leads to death.
In the Scripture before us today . . . we see the worst of what sin can do . . . in the arraignment, trial, conviction, and execution by crucifixion of the sinless Son of God. False charges brought against Jesus . . . He’s subverting the nation . . . He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar . . . He stirs up the people with His teaching (as though He was leading some revolt) . . . He’s worthy of crucifixion.
The Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate, not once, not twice, but three times declares Jesus to be innocent. After the first time, Pilate sends Him to Herod . . . who wants to see a miracle. When Jesus does not comply, Herod and his soldiers ridicule and mock the sinless Son of God. And people join with Herod whenever they ridicule their spouse . . . whenever they mock and make fun of their fellow man . . . whenever a sibling picks on their brother or sister . . . as sin runs rampant in the world today.
After the second time of declaring Jesus’ innocence, Pilate unjustly has Him punished, hoping to appease the mob and prevent a riot. Jesus endured the forty minus one slashes of a Roman scourge, which consisted of two or three leather strips with pieces of bone or metal attached to rip the skin open. And as Jesus endured that, we find fulfillment of the mysterious prophecy of Isaiah, “the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.” Amazingly, in the midst of this horribly sinful series of events, God is working to restore and heal.
After the third time of appealing to the crowd proclaiming Jesus’ innocence and finding the worst criminal he could round up, Pilate offers the release of either Jesus or Barabbas, hoping the crowd will pick Jesus. But to the Roman governor’s amazement, they choose Barabbas and cry out for the crucifixion of the Christ. A murderer, a man whose evil acts had led him to death row . . . is released . . . and Jesus, the sinless Son of God is lead away to Golgotha. It’s so wrong, it’s so evil, it’s so unjust . . . it’s not the way it should be! But God is actually working out our salvation . . . for as the prophet Isaiah states elsewhere, “Your ways are not my ways, declares the Lord.”
And so Jesus was led out with two criminals . . . all three walking the way of sorrows to their death. Jesus holy body was laid on the cross as nails were hammered into His holy hands and feet. Again, words from Isaiah come to mind, “Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities . . . We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
My dear friends in Christ, do you believe that?? Do you believe that Almighty God laid on Jesus Christ the sins and iniquity of us all . . . and the whole human race. Oh, our minds can’t comprehend it . . . and we’ll never know the suffering Jesus endured not only in the physical pain of His body . . . but even more so, the spiritual pain of His soul in bearing the sins of the world. Yet, even more importantly, do you believe the words Jesus spoke from the cross? For amidst the ongoing mocking, ridicule, and taunting of the religious leaders and other passersby, Jesus spoke these words, “Father, Forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
Do you believe that through the suffering and agony of the cross of Christ, you are forgiven? That’s the crucial question! For you see, sin leads to banishment; sin leads to punishment; sin destroys relationships; and, ultimately, sin leads to death. But the forgiveness of Christ frees us from sin and its consequences . . . and restores us in our relationships . . . with God and others. The criminals crucified on either side of our Lord . . . they both had much sin to account for. One believed . . . the other did not. One confessed, “We are getting what our sins deserve . . . but this man has done nothing wrong.” And then that believing sinner made a final plea from Jesus, “Lord, remember me when you come into Your kingdom.”
And Jesus responded, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” Some time later that holy day, Jesus said, “It is finished” followed by “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” And paradise was restored for all eternity. That’s the cost, the cross of Jesus Christ, the gift of forgiveness, and through faith in Him, eternal paradise is yours. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
-Pastor Bender
