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*Luke 23:39-43*
*LOOKING  TO CALVARY*
*Intro*: Today, our world has its attention focused in many different places.
Many eyes are on Iraq, wondering what will happen.
Lots of people are looking toward Iran and North Korea; wondering when the hammer will fall in those far away places.
Still others are watching Wall Street and the economy, hoping there will be an upturn.
There are many places where we can focus our attention these days.
Of course, some of those places are worth some of our time and attention; while others may not be.
But, I would submit to you today that the place where all men ought to focus their attention; is the place most neglected by modern man.
Very few people ever turn their thoughts toward a place called Calvary.
But, it was there, on that little hill, where the greatest battle of the ages was waged and won.
It was Calvary where sin and Satan were vanquished and redemption and righteousness were forever claimed.
It was there that Heaven met Hell in the most spectacular battle ever fought.
It was there that Heaven claimed the eternal victory over Hell for all who will trust in Jesus.
Today, I would like to direct our thoughts, our hearts and our focus toward Calvary for a few minutes.
I want to look in on some of the events that occurred the day that Jesus went to the cross to die for you and me.
Specifically, I want to examine those three crosses and the men that hung upon them.
I would like for us to */Look To Calvary/* today and see the men who died there that day.
Why, you might ask, should we even bother to spend our time considering an event that took place more than two thousand years ago?
The answer to that question is two-fold.
First, by looking to Calvary, we can see what Jesus accomplished there for us.
Secondly, in looking to Calvary we can see the men who died there that day, and in seeing them, we might just see ourselves.
If that happens, we will be in a position to partake in what He did for us there; and, if we have already received Jesus, we can enjoy what He did for us even more.
So, let’s take a little time today to look at the three people who died at Calvary the day Jesus died.
I want to preach on the subject: */Look To Calvary/*.
I.
v.
39               *LOOK AND SEE A HARDENED SINNER*
A.  *His Deeds* – We are told that this man is a */malefactor/*.
This word means, “*/evil doer/*.”
He was a wicked man who broke the law and is paying for his crimes with his very life.
B.  *His Derision* – We are told that this man “*/railed/*” on Jesus.
This word means, “*/to speak evil of, or to blaspheme/*.”
It is also in the “*/imperfect tense/*.”
This means that “*/he kept on blaspheming/*.”
Here is a man who is dying and all he can think of as he dies is to mock, insult and blaspheme the Son of God.
What triggered this intense hatred of Jesus?
Was it the prayer Jesus prayed in *verse 34*?  Did he hear that and think, “*/What foolishness!
If this man is really the Messiah; why doesn’t He do something?/*”
Or, did he simply join in with the rest of the crowd as they mocked and ridiculed the Son of God, *v.
35-36*?
Whatever his motivation, this poor man spent the last pitiful hours of his life mocking the only One Who could have saved his soul and kept him out of Hell.
C.  *His Doubt* – This man reveals the true nature of his attitude toward Jesus when he uses the word “*/if./*”
He is saying, “*/I will believe You if You will save Yourself and us.
If You are so great, then why don’t you say us all?/*”
His words reveal a heart that is unconvinced, unconcerned and unconverted.
His words reveal the heart of a lost man!
 
(*Note*: We look at this man and say, “*/What a tragedy/*!”
But, wait a minute; this man is no different from the lost multitudes that live all around us today.
·        He is called a “*/malefactor/*”, but he could have just as easily been called drunkard, harlot, drug addict, murderer, or lost church member.
He wasn’t a sinner because he was a thief.
He was a thief because he was a sinner!
He did what he did because he was what he was!
In that lost, sinful, condemned condition, this man was no different than anyone else in this world who does not know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, *Rom.
3:10-23; Gal.
3:22; Eccl.
7:20*.
·        He spent his last moments denying that Jesus was the Messiah.
He spent his time blaspheming the name of Jesus.
Again, this man is no different than folk all around us today.
There are plenty of people who have no trouble taking the precious name of the Lord in vain.
There are many who think nothing of using the Lord’s name as a curse word or as a by-word.
There are many who ridicule the name of Jesus and mock Him, His church and His work.
There are many who do not believe that there is a God; or that man has a need for a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
By the same token, there are people in this world, maybe some in this very room, which would never use God’s name in that fashion; which would never mock Him, ridicule Him, or make fun of Him or His church.
Yet, those same people are nothing more than “*/practical atheists/*.”
They admit there is a God, but they live like He does not exist, or does not matter.
These things are just an indicator of a heard, lost heart!
·        The trait that marks so many in our day and proves them to be like this poor, dying thief, is the fact that they refuse to believe in Jesus for their soul’s salvation.
Like this man, their lives center on “*/if/*.”
When you witness to them, there is always some objection, some argument, some excuse offered as to why they cannot and will not come to faith in Jesus.
It may sound simple, but it is proof positive that they are lost and headed to Hell without God!
·        If you have seen yourself in the person of this dying thief; let me tell you a few things.
Ø      First, nothing you are living for, outside Jesus, is worth dying for, *Mark 8:35-36*.
Ø      Second, today is your wake-up call.
God is letting you know that you need to turn to Him and be saved, *2 Cor.
6:2; Isa.
55:6*.
Ø      Third, there is only one way that will ever happen: you must believe in Jesus by faith, or you will be lost forever, *John 8:24*.
Ø      Fourth, you are living on borrowed time!
The Lord will not call you forever, but has set a day when you will enter eternity lost, without Him, *Gen.
6:3; Pro.
29:1*.
Ø      If Jesus is calling you, do not delay, but come to Him and be saved right now, while there is still time!)
II.
v.
40-42        *LOOK AND SEE AN HONEST SINNER*
A.  *His Admission* – When this man begins to rebuke the other thief, he makes a stunning confession.
He says, “*/Now wait a minute!
We are guilty, and we are getting exactly what we deserve!/*” this admission reveals that this man was under conviction because of his sinful deeds.
He is an honest sinner.
By the way, that is refreshing to this preacher!
There just aren’t many sinners left in our world.
At least, that is what you would think if you listened to people tell it!
B.  *His Assessment* – His assessment of the situation is vastly different from that of the other thief.
The first man was looking for a way out.
This man was looking for a way in!
When he was first nailed to the cross, he lifted up his voice and mocked Jesus too, *Mark 15:32*.
But, something happened during those early hours on the cross.
Something caught his attention and revealed to his heart that Jesus was no ordinary man.
·        Perhaps it was His silence as they nailed Jesus to His cross – *Isa.
53:7*.
·        Perhaps it was the grace with which Jesus responded to the mockery of His enemies – *Luke 23:34*.
·        Perhaps it was the mocking sign they hung over the cross of Jesus that proclaimed Him to be King of the Jews – *Luke 23:38*.
·        It could have been any number of things that spoke to his heart.
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