11 September, 2016

Jesus saves us from death (Luke 23)

Friends, a few years ago 33 miners in Chile were trapped underground. These 33 men were
stuck inside one of the most unsafe underground mines in the world. They were 700m
below the surface. All the tunnels were blocked with rock & the tunnels were unstable. It
was very hot, incredibly humid, & so there was little hope for their survival. They had no way
of talking with the outside world, they had almost no food, air was running out, & there were 33 of them:
waiting, thinking, breathing. Friends, these men were as good as dead. I mean, no one had ever saved
miners who were trapped this far below the surface before. So could it be done? Could these men be
saved from a slow, horrible death? Well incredibly, 69 days after they were first trapped, all 33 men were
pulled to the surface - safe. And they were reunited with their wives, their children, their girlfriends, their
neighbours, & in the case of one man - he was reunited with his wife & his girlfriend- at the same time
when the reached the surface-oops-I wonder what happened to him? But its an amazing story, isnt it?
These men were saved from death & they their lives will never be the same again. But whats really
amazing about this story is the amount of work it took to save these 33 men. You see, engineers & mining
experts from all over the world to help save these men. Experts came from U.S., Canada, Australia, Sth
Africa. Even NASA sent a team of experts. And the rescue teams had 3 huge drills slowly digging: 24 hours
a day, 7 days a week-they drilled & drilled & drilled. And on the day these men were finally lifted to
freedom almost 1 billion people around the world watched it live on TV. Friends, this rescue mission cost
millions of dollars, it captured the hearts of the people of Chile for almost 3 months, & it seemed the
whole world watched. And all this to save just 33 men from death. You see, if you think about it, its very
easy to kill people, isnt it? I mean, to bring death is easy, but to bring life is very hard. You see, to save
people, to save life, that takes effort, that takes perseverance, & that takes great love. And the more
people you are trying to save, the more effort you will need & the more love you will need.
Well, friends, let me ask you: what would it take to save the whole world from death? You
know, what would it take to save all 7.2 billion people from death? How much effort would it
take? How much perseverance would it take? And how much love would it take? Well, over
the last 2 weeks I really have been depressing you, havent I? And I have been depressing you
because we have been talking about death. And last week we saw that the Bible says humans are living
in death- right now. You know, were like these beautiful flowers that are so colourful, so bright, & yet
these flowers are dead because they have been cut off from the plant that gives them life. And just like
these flowers, we humans have been cut off from life because we have been cut off from the person
who gives us His life God. Now sure, were still breathing & sure, we have our good moments, dont we?
but because we all say No! to the good God who gives us His life, God has said No to us, & he has
taken his perfect life (of complete joy & happiness) away from us, & so we are cut off from the God of life
& so now we live in death, each day. And as we saw last week, today, we humans all live with death in
our lives. And really, you can see the symptoms of death very clearly, everyday. I mean, whenever we
experience fear, shame & guilt, whenever we have difficult relationships, whenever we blame each
other. Whenever we are frustrated by work (especially on a Monday morning), whenever women suffer
pain when a baby is born, & whenever husband & wife struggle with each other for control in their
relationship this is all evidence of the death that is in our lives. And this living death continues until one
day our bodies just stop & then we enter into a new eternal death where we are separated from God
forever. Friends, the Bible says, ever since Adam & Eve, all humans live like this - all humans live in this
death. So, let me ask you a question: how much work do you think it will take to save all 7.2 Billion people
from the death we now live in? And how much effort will it take? How much perseverance? & how much
love is needed to save us from death? Well, the Bible says it took the great, infinite love & power of God
-the father, who sent his innocent son Jesus, so we could be rescued from death. Look at what Jesus did
to save us from death.
1 The Jewish leaders took Jesus to Governor Pilate... 14 (but after questioning him) Pilate told the leaders and
the people, You brought Jesus to me & said he was a troublemaker. But Ive questioned him here in front of
you, and I havent found him guilty of anything that you say he has done15 This man does not deserve to
be put to death!

Friends, Jesus was taken to a man called Pilate. Pilate was a governor, a bit like the premier of NSW, Mr
Bruce Baird, & his job was to be ruler, policeman, & judge- all in one man. So this man, Pilate, had
power to punish the guilty & to save the innocent. And what does this man say about Jesus?...He says
Jesus is innocent. Jesus is not guilty, Jesus deserves to be set free. And in case we havent understood
this, this man Pilate says it again & again. Look at verse 22.

Pilate then spoke to them a third time. But what crime has he done? I havent found him guilty of
anything for which he should be put to death. Ill have him beaten and then set free.
22

Friends, do you think God wants to teach us something about Jesus here? Absolutely! God wants to show
us that Jesus is innocent. Jesus is not guilty. Jesus has done nothing wrong. And if you go home today &
read the Bible for yourself, you will see that Jesus never ever did anything wrong. Jesus never disobeyed
God. Jesus was perfect in heart & mind. Jesus lived in constant, intimate friendship with God-his father &
Jesus loved all people & did good to everyone. Yes, Pilate was absolutely right, Jesus was innocent. And
yet, Jesus experienced death. Look at what happened. Look at verse 32
Two other men, both of them criminals, were also led out to be put to death with Jesus. When they came
to the place called The Skull, they nailed Jesus to a cross, along with the criminals, one on his left - the other
on his right.

32

You see, on that Friday morning 2000 years ago there were three crosses on that hill. The three crosses
were reserved for three criminals. Three men would be punished with death for their wrong things they
had done. But there was only one problem, one of the men was innocent. The one in the middle- was
innocent- Jesus. You see, this story is trying to show us that Jesus didnt deserve to die, but still Jesus
experienced death. But why?... I mean, death is what God gives when we say No, thank you God, I
want to be the boss of my life And Jesus never ever did that. No!..Jesus always obeyed God. Jesus is
Gods perfect son. So did Jesus experience death? Look at verse 34.
34 As

Jesus was dying he said, Father, forgive them, they do not know what they are doing.

You see, Jesus died to bring us forgiveness thats what his death is all about father, forgive them!
Jesus died so his father could forgive us. Jesus died so we could be freed from death. So we could be
brought back to God again, so we could be friends with God, again. So we could live with God, again.
And really, Jesus died to wipe our slate clean- so God could be our God, again. Now friends, some
people say well, why cant God just forgive us like that? You know, why cant God just forget about it?
After all hes God Well friends, God is a God of justice. God is perfectly pure, God is perfectly pure &
good & so God cannot live with evil. And so the truth is that God will punish the guilty always. Indeed,
God must punish the guilty otherwise hes not being fair. I mean, can you imagine living in a world
where evil people are not punished for the bad things they do? I mean, can you imagine God speaking
to Adolf Hitler & saying: Hmm, Adolf, it says here in your records that you killed over 9 million Jewish
people during World War II but tell you what, dont worry about it, lets just forget about it & be friends.
Or can you imagine God talking to the Russian leader Stalin who forced 20 million of his own people to
starve to death, or Pol Pot who killed 5 million people in Cambodia, & saying Dont worry about it,
friend. You see, the truth is we couldnt live in a world where evil is not punished & where there is no
justice. No!...we need a God who is fair & just. We need a God who will punish the bad & who will reward
the good. You see. for our world to work properly justice must be done human sin & evil must be
punished. And this includes big sinners like Hitler & Stalin, & it includes small sinners - like you & me.
But the wonderful news is that God is not only perfectly just & fair - God is also perfectly merciful. You see,
God loves to forgive people- he really does! God loves to bring His peace into human life & God loves to
restore our broken relationship with him. And this is what Jesus death makes possible. You see, Jesus
came, & lived & died, & rose again to life so we could receive forgiveness, so we could escape death,
& so we could enter into Gods life, again. Now friends, some people think that this is unfair of God. I
mean, how is it fair that Jesus has to experience death when I should experience death. I mean, thats
not fair, is it? Well, we must remember that Jesus is God. And really, thats what Jesus said so many times.
For example: Jesus said, I & the father are one. And Jesus said When you see me, you are looking into
the face of God. And so when God-the father brought death to his son, Jesus, on the cross - God was
actually bringing death upon himself. You see, God was experiencing the death we deserve. Now
friends, let me give you an example that I hope will help. Imagine I am driving home after church today
& I hit Georges car. Now imagine that I have no insurance & I have caused $10 000 to Georges car.
Now its 100% my fault, I hit Georges car. Sorry George! Now, let me ask you a question: Who should
pay to fix the damage on Georges car? Well I should, shouldnt I? And that would be justice, wouldnt
it? That would be fair & right. But friends, who else can pay to fix the damage on Georges car?...well,
George can! And if George pays the $10000 then he would be one of the most merciful & generous men
in the whole world. Thank you George! You see, the $10000 has to be paid by someone. And if I pay it thats called justice. But of George pays it, so I dont have to that's is called mercy. That is called

kindness, that is called generosity. And friends, that is what God for us when he sent his son Jesus into the
world to die on the cross. Jesus Christ came into the world & Jesus died for us, he experienced death for
us so we no longer have to experience death. And that is loving & kind & powerful & generous that is
mercy!
Friends, the 33 Chilean miners were rescued from death & now they are now back with their wives, &
their children, & they have started their lives again. But the truth is that without Jesus these men are still
living in death. Because without Jesus in their life they are cut off from God - who gives life. And without
Jesus they will continue to experience all the symptoms of death like shame, fear, frustrating work, blame,
guilt, difficult relationships, & then one day they will physically die. You see, these men need forgiveness,
these men need Jesus to save them from death. They need Jesus to bring them back into a living
relationship with God. And friends we need Jesus too. Lets finish with these words from 1 Peter 3:18 18 Jesus
Christ died once for our sins. An innocent person died for those who are guilty. Jesus did this to bring you back to God.