Preached by Gregory W. Lee
24 February 2008
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Luke 23:31
31. For if men do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?"
-- this morning, we are going to begin our final preparations for the celebration of Easter on March 23rd, just four weeks away -- as you know, we are in the middle of Lent, the 40-day season of preparation during which the church has traditionally prayed and fasted and repented of their sins in anticipation for the glorious resurrection of Christ
-- this was also a time when converts to Christianity would be taught the basics -- the foundation of their faith -- to prepare them for baptism on Easter morning
-- it is a time of reflection -- of remembering -- and of repenting -- it is a time when we are called to reflect on who we are -- to remember the depths of our sins -- and to repent of our sins and to draw closer to God through the acts of fasting, prayer, and penance as we seek again the forgiveness of the One who died on the cross for us and who rose from the dead on the third day
-- so this morning, with these three areas in mind, I want us to look at a passage from Luke that talks about the crucifixion of Christ
-- before we do that, let me remind you of the context of this passage -- the events of this passage take place on the Friday of Holy Week -- Good Friday -- as you remember, Jesus had celebrated the Passover with His disciples in the Upper Room on Thursday night and had then gone to the Garden of Gethsemene to pray, where He had been betrayed into the hands of the priests by Judas
-- the temple guards took Jesus to the temple, where He was tried before Annas and Caiaphas, and they decided He should be killed -- so they took Him to Pilate, the Roman Governor, to get Pilate to order Jesus' execution
-- Pilate did everything he could to release Jesus and turn Him free -- Pilate sent Jesus to Herod, hoping that Herod would deal with Him -- but Herod sent Jesus back to Pilate
-- Pilate had Jesus flogged and hoped that would satisfy the Jews, but it didn't
-- then Pilate tried to get the Jews to pick Jesus over Barabbas -- the notorious murderer -- but the crowd chose Barabbas as the one to be freed
-- so, finally, with no other choice, Pilate condemned Jesus to death
-- if you would, turn with me now to Luke 23, and let's look at this passage in some detail as we remember, reflect, and repent
II. Scripture Lesson
-- verse 24
24. So Pilate decided to grant their demand.
25. He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will.
26. As they led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.
27. A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him.
28. Jesus turned and said to them, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children.
29. For the time will come when you will say, `Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!'
30. Then "`they will say to the mountains, "Fall on us!" and to the hills, "Cover us!" '
31. For if men do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?"
-- this passage is a pivotal passage in Scripture -- it calls to mind our sin -- the cross that Jesus bore to Calvary -- but it also is a call for action -- for decision -- on our part
-- in a very real sense, these verses are a call for repentance -- I think the key verse in this passage is verse 31, where Jesus asks the question, "For if men do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?"
-- by asking this question, Jesus is asking us to make a decision -- will we be a green tree or will we be a dry tree?
-- in order to answer this question, we have to know what the difference is
-- a green tree is a tree that is alive -- a tree that is growing -- a tree that is capable of bearing fruit -- in spiritual terms, a green tree is a person who has a living faith in Jesus -- who is "in" Christ -- who is connected to Jesus
-- a dry tree, then, is a tree that is not alive -- a tree that is receiving no nourishment -- a tree that is dead and lifeless and barren -- in spiritual terms, a dry tree is a person who is still living apart from Jesus
-- you would think it would be easy to tell the difference between a tree that is green and alive and a tree that is dead and dry, wouldn't you? -- but sometimes it's not easy to tell the difference
-- Christ's call for us is to be people that are always green -- always alive in Him -- we have trees down here that are evergreens -- pine trees -- live oaks -- magnolias -- you can look at them, even in the dead of winter, and tell that they are alive
-- but we also have trees down here that are deciduous -- that lose their leaves when it starts to get cold -- when the winter storms hit -- when things get rough -- these tree are still green, but it's just not evident
-- the other day, we were looking at some of the trees on the base and trying to decide whether they needed to be cut down or not -- and just looking at them, we couldn't tell if they were alive or if they were dead -- we had to go over to them and scratch their bark to see if they were green underneath -- we had to check to see if they were alive
-- Jesus doesn't want us to be trees that someone has to check to see if they are alive -- Jesus wants us to be evergreens for Him -- He wants us to be people that others can look at and know that we are alive -- He wants us to be people who are always growing -- always green -- always connected to Him
-- but what if you're not? -- what if you look at yourself and realize that you have allowed sin to creep into your life -- what if you look at yourself and realize that your faith has faltered during the winter storms -- what if you look at yourself and realize you have never known the saving grace that comes through confession, repentance, and forgiveness -- what then?
-- that's who this passage is for -- that's who the cross is for -- that's who Easter is for
-- this passage shows us how to go from being dry trees or being green trees that look dry to being evergreens for Christ -- we do that through confession and repentance and turning in faith to Christ -- in other words, we do that by dealing with our sin
-- look back at verse 26
26. As they led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.
27. A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him.
-- repentance and confessing involves mourning and weeping over our sins -- this means that we recognize who we are -- namely, that we are sinners and have disobeyed God's holy commandments -- as it says in Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God"
-- the path to repentance requires us to take ownership for our sins -- to agree with God that we have disobeyed Him -- a lot of the problems and issues that we are having in society today is our refusal to name sin for what it is, namely, an act of willful disobedience against God -- instead, we use euphemisms to hide our sins and to cover them -- calling adultery, an "affair" -- abortion, the "right to choose" -- homosexuality, a "life choice"
-- even in the church, we have this problem -- we think nothing of telling a white lie from time to time -- of gossiping in the name of sharing prayer concerns -- of judging others by our actions and our inactions
-- in order to become truly alive for Christ -- in order to become evergreens -- we first must recognize and admit our sins to God
-- that is the first step in repentance -- in the Bible, the idea of repentance is represented by two verbs -- the first verb means that you feel sorrow -- that you mourn and weep over your sins
-- the second verb means that you return -- you return to God -- you leave your sins behind and you turn to Christ for forgiveness and atonement
-- we see a great picture of leaving sins behind in this passage -- Luke tells us in verse 26 that Jesus was led away -- in John 19:17, we are told that Jesus "went out to the place of the Skull" -- to Golgotha or Calvary
-- in other words, Jesus took our sin upon Himself and carried it away
-- have you ever wondered why Jesus was crucified at Golgotha? -- well, the easy answer is that, by law, executions could not be held inside the city -- but there is also a deeper, spiritual answer -- it goes back to the Old Testament law that God gave to Moses and the Israelites -- to the rituals and sacrifices that He gave them so that they might receive temporary cleansing and forgiveness of their sins
-- in Leviticus 16:5-28, we read of the sacrifices that were made on Yom Kippur -- the Day of Atonement -- it was on this day that the sins of Israel were removed by God as the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies and made a sacrifice before the very presence of God -- it was the only day of the year that anyone could enter the Holy of Holies
-- the ceremony started by selecting two goats that were acceptable to God -- once the goats were selected, lots were cast to determine which goat would be killed and which goat would be spared
-- the goat that was selected to be killed was sacrificed in the temple -- its blood was collected and was sprinkled on and before the mercy seat -- the place between the two cherubs on the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies -- and then it was sprinkled on the altar of sacrifice
-- the fat from the goat and some of its organs were burned on the altar as an offering to God -- but the rest of the animal -- its hide and its meat were carried outside the camp and burned away from the people and away from the presence of God
-- the second goat was presented alive to God -- this was the scapegoat -- the priest would lay his hands on the head of this goat, and the sins and the guilt of the nation of Israel would be confessed and put on this goat -- this goat was carried out into the wilderness and turned loose -- traditionally, they would carry this goat out at least 6-1/2 miles from Jerusalem to make sure it would never come back again
-- in this ritual, the goats represented the two ways that God dealt with the sin of the Israelites -- first, He forgave their sin through the sacrifice and offering of the first goat -- next, He removed their guilt through the scapegoat
-- through this ritual, the sins of Israel were taken away, both physically and spiritually -- the goats were representative of the repentance of the Jews -- their sins, having been confessed and atoned for through the blood sacrifice, were carried away and the Jews turned away from them and turned to God
-- in the same way, Jesus bore our sins away, outside the City of Jerusalem, to Golgotha -- away from the presence of God and away from the presence of the people -- our sins were completely taken care of by the cross and we are supposed to bear them no more -- we are supposed to turn from them and leave them outside our camp -- outside our lives -- and turn to God
-- the path to becoming a green tree, then, lies through repentance -- as it says is Hebrews 10:11-13: "The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. -- And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. -- Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore"
-- so what comes after repentance? -- look at verse 32
32. Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed.
33. When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals--one on his right, the other on his left.
34. Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
-- after we repent of our sins -- after we have mourned and wept over our disobedience -- after we have confessed our sins to God and turned from our sin and left it behind -- God offers us His forgiveness
-- in His first words from the cross, Jesus prays a prayer of forgiveness for us -- the cross is the place where our sins were removed -- the cross was the place where the perfect blood sacrifice was made as an atonement for our sins -- the cross was the place where forgiveness was given -- where we can be made holy and clean in God's eyes
-- in order to have our sins forgiven -- in order to be made evergreens for Christ -- we must come to the cross in repentance -- but we have to do more than that
-- there were many people at the cross that day, but not all received forgiveness -- verse 35
35. The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One."
36. The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar
37. and said, "If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself."
38. There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
39. One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!"
40. But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence?
41. We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong."
42. Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. "
43. Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."
-- Luke tells us in verse 35 that many people stood watching as Jesus died on the cross -- the rulers and the leaders of the Jewish people were there -- the soldiers were there -- the two criminals were there
-- but out of all mentioned in this passage, only one received forgiveness for their sins -- the one thief who turned to Jesus in faith and in trust
III. Closing
-- salvation -- the forgiveness of our sins and the promise of eternal life with Christ -- comes only through repentance and faith
-- it comes only when we honestly recognize the sin in our life and call it what it is -- when we realize that we have sinned against God and disobeyed His holy word -- when we mourn over our sin and repent from it -- when we turn away from our sin and turn to God instead
-- it comes only when we turn to Jesus and receive His offer of forgiveness and new life in faith -- trusting only in Him and His finished work on the cross -- knowing that the only path to heaven is through Jesus alone
-- as I close this morning, I want to invite you to take a look at your life -- are you a green tree -- an evergreen -- living with God and for God -- with the fruits of the Spirit evident in your life
-- or are you dry -- standing barren and leafless before the sky? -- if so, then Jesus is calling you today to come home to Him -- to return to Him and to leave your sins behind
-- Jesus promises that we can all be green and fruitful trees through Him -- all we need to do is to confess and repent of our sins and turn to Him for forgiveness in faith
-- there aren't any magic words that you need to say to make it happen -- there just needs to be a heart-felt prayer between you and God as you put your faith and trust in Jesus, believing that He has paid the price for your sin debt on the cross with His own body and blood
-- as we close in prayer, I want to invite you to respond to God's word as you feel led -- the altar is always open, and if you want me to pray with you, then I will be happy to do so
-- let us pray
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