COLERAINE EVANGELICAL CHURCH
SERMON NOTES SUNDAY 8 MARCH 2026 pm –
MR JASON CRUISE
READING; Luke chapter 23
"And the whole multitude of them arose and led him unto Pilate. They began to accuse him, saying, we found this fellow perverting the nation and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ a king." And Pilate asked him, saying, "Art thou the king of the Jews?" And he answered him and said, "Thou sayest it." Then said Pilate to the chief priests and to the people, "I find no fault in this man."
Verse 20. “Pilate therefore willing to release Jesus spake again to them. But they cried, saying, "Crucify him! Crucify him." And he said unto them the third time, "Why? What evil hath he done? I have found no cause of death in him. I will therefore chastise him and let him go. And they were instant with loud voices requiring that he might be crucified. And the voices of them and of the chief priests prevailed. And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required. And he released unto them him that for sedition and murder was cast into prison whom they had desired. But he delivered Jesus to their will.”
Verse 32. “And there were also two other malefactors led with him to be put to death. And when they were come to the place which is called Calvary, there they crucified him. And the malefactors, one on the right hand and the other on the left. Then said Jesus, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." And they parted his raiment and cast lots. The people stood beholding, and the rulers also with him with them derided him, saying, "He saved others, let him save himself. If he be Christ, the chosen of God." The soldiers also mocked him, coming to him and offering him vinegar, and saying, "If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself." The superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek and Latin and Hebrew. This is the king of the Jews. And one of the malefactors which were hanged reeled on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us? But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dust not thou fear God, seeing, thou art in the same condemnation? and we indeed justly for we receive the due reward of our deeds but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, verily I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in paradise. And it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. And the sun was darkened and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, "Father, into thy hands I command my spirit." And having said thus, he gave up the ghost.”
Tonight we are coming to Calvary, to consider three men, three crosses, and three choices. You can picture the scene just outside Jerusalem. Three crosses stand that morning. There was nothing really unusual about that. Many people had been crucified there at Calvary just outside the city walls. That day really was no different. One by one, each of these men were led out to Golgotha's hell. Many people as they entered the city and as they left the city would have looked on. Many would have mocked. Many would have scorned. Many would have derided these men as they hung for all to see. But I want us tonight to consider these three men. We will indeed see that there is a great difference in their character, a great difference in their behaviour and in their attitude in the face of death. As we consider these three men we will indeed see that two of these men are hung upon the cross guilty as charged. But there is indeed another man, the man on the centre cross, the eternal son of God. And he is a man that is innocent. A man that has committed absolutely no sin and no wrong. For 33 and a half years, this man has walked this earth absolutely perfect and pure before man and before God. The Roman governor who has condemned this man to the death of the cross has himself had to acknowledge that this man indeed is innocent. He has said those words, “I find no fault in this man.” The man on the centre cross is absolutely sinless, absolutely pure and absolutely perfect. You see the one on the centre cross is the son of God and God the son and he hangs there on that centre cross for the sin of all humanity. He hangs there for the sin of the man on either side of him. And he hangs there for the sin of all humanity. That includes the preacher and that includes you. The eternal son of God laid down his life at that place called Calvary for you. He laid down his life for you so that you indeed could have eternal life and know that assurance of sins forgiven. All four of the gospel writers make mention of these two thieves. But it is only Luke's gospel that tells us about the conversation that took place that day. Let us consider tonight this conversation that took place. These two men that hang upon the cross either side of the Lord Jesus are there because of the consequences of their sin. Maybe you are shouting back at the preacher and you're saying, "Preacher, I have never done anything as bad as those men." And that may well be true. You are maybe shouting back at the preacher and you are saying, "Well, I'm a perfectly good person." And that's probably right. Can I remind you that you're not good enough to enter heaven in and of yourself. Those men that hung either side of the Savior that day were there because of their sin. Their sin had caught up with them. Each and every one of us fall short, we are sinners in the sight of God. Romans chapter 3 verse 23, “for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Paul reminds us there in Galatians chapter 3 verse 22 “But the scripture hath concluded all under sin.” There are 8.3 billion people in the world today. Each and every one is born affected by sin. Each and every one of us fail tonight to meet the standard that heaven requires. Heaven is a place that you will never be because of your sin unless you come and put your faith and your trust in the risen Lord Jesus. Unless you come as a repentant sinner and come and accept him as the only Savior. Romans chapter 5 verse 12 “wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world and death by sin and so death has passed upon all men for that all have sinned.” Each and every one of us are affected by sin and so we must come and put our faith and our trust in the risen Lord Jesus.
The first thief that we read about in verse 39. I've written over this man the cross of rebellion. “And one of the malefactors which were hanged reeled on him, saying, "If thou be Christ, save thyself and us." This man makes mention of the name of Christ. That would tell me that I would believe that this man knew that there was a promised Messiah. He makes mention of the name of Christ. Maybe this man was brought up in a home where the Torah and the books of the prophets were read. He perhaps knew something of the Old Testament scriptures. But here this man because of his sin now hangs upon a cross outside the city. This man perhaps had a privileged upbringing perhaps, brought up in a religious home. Have you had a privileged upbringing? I wonder, can you look back to times whenever you grew up in a Christian home? Perhaps you had Christian parents, Christian grandparents, and from your earliest days, you heard the word of God. You were taken along to Sunday school. You were brought along to the gospel meetings and you know the word of God, but you do not know the God of the word. And tonight you are still in rebellion towards the Lord. You are on that broad and crowded road out to a lost and a Christless eternity. There are only two destinations – it is either heaven with the Lord or it is indeed hell without the Lord and eternally separated from the love of God. Notice here what this man says "Save thyself and us." This man's not interested in salvation. He's simply interested in getting back down from the cross. He's interested in getting away with his sin and getting away with his crimes. Maybe that's just like you this evening. You are just interested in enjoying your sin and getting away with your crime. And tonight you are shouting “I will get saved just some other time. I get saved some time, just a little longer. I want to linger in my sin. That's the man here upon the first cross. I have called it the cross of rebellion.
But then I want us to think about this second cross. And I have written over this cross the cross of repentance. The cross of repentance. Look at verses 40 and 41 ”But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dust not thou fear God, seeing, thou art in the same condemnation, and we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds. But this man have done nothing amiss.” Just like the first man, he has lived a life of sin and his sin has caught up with him and now this man is condemned to the death of the cross. And here as this man hangs upon the cross, he begins to think about what is taking place. I believe that this man now begins to think about eternity. This man started out just the same as the first man. Mark chapter 15 verse 32 “and there and they that were crucified with him reviled him.” Matthew tells us in chapter 27 verse 44 “the thieves also which were crucified with him cast the same in his teeth.” You see this man on the second cross, he has started out exactly the same as the man on the first cross, he has had exactly the same attitude. But I believe that this man now realizes that he is on his way out in to eternity. There is a change that begins to take place in this man. This man says “we receive the due reward of our deeds.” Here's a man and he's condemned. But I believe that now he becomes convicted of his sin and he realizes the life that he has lived and he acknowledges that what he has done was wrong. He says we receive the due reward of our deeds. This man begins to realize that he is indeed a sinner and that he is lost. If you are ever going to be saved, you are going to have to realize that you are a sinner and that you are lost. No one can ever be saved until they realize that they're lost. Here's a man now as he hangs upon that cross, as he awaits his time of death, as he is about to go out into God's great eternity, this man realizes that he can do absolutely nothing in order to save himself. But he has indeed come to realize that the only one who can save him, the only one who can help him, the only one who can meet his need as he goes out into eternity is the one who is hanging upon the centre cross. It is still the same today. The only one who can meet your need as you look out into eternity is the one who was nailed to the centre cross at Calvary. The only one who can meet your need is the eternal son of God, the Lord Jesus. Acts chapter 4 verse 12. “Neither is there salvation and any other for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.” He is the only Savior of sinners. Through love he was willing to be nailed to that old rugged cross. Through love he laid down his life so that tonight that you could be saved. Queen Victoria was once at Balmoral and before Queen Victoria left Scotland again for London, she told her horseman that she wanted to visit one of the elderly ladies that lived near the estate. Queen Victoria got into the carriage and the horseman made his way to the home of the elderly lady that lived in a cottage just around the corner from the estate. Queen Victoria went in to visit that elderly lady. Queen Victoria had this fashion where she would often read the Bible to those that she visited. She read the Bible to this elderly lady. And whenever the time come for her to leave again, the elderly lady said to Queen Victoria, "Ma’m, whenever you come back to Balmoral again, I may not be here.” This elderly lady wasn't too well, and she believed that very soon that she would be passing away." She said to Queen Victoria, "If you return and I'm not here, will I see you in heaven?" Queen Victoria said to that elderly lady, "Yes, you will, but only because of the precious blood of Jesus." If you ever want to be in God's heaven, it'll only be because of the precious blood of the Lord Jesus. If you come and put your faith and your trust in him, you can be saved. We are thankful that we set forth tonight a God who is forgiving. You can be born again of the spirit of God. Notice the conversation between this dying thief and the Savior - verses 42 and 43. “And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, "Verily I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in paradise." Notice that this thief whenever he comes to the Lord in repentance, the Lord answers him immediately. He didn't answer the first thief whenever he reeled on Christ. He got no reaction from the Saviour and he got no answer. But this thief whenever he cries out to the Lord in repentance immediately the Lord answers. If you were to cry out tonight in repentance to the Lord in an instant the Lord will answer you. The Savior gives to this penitent thief a great comfort. He says there to the penitent thief, "Today shalt thou be with me in paradise." There is no halfway house. There is no holding place. There is no purgatory. The Savior gives this man great assurance. If you ever want to be in God's heaven, you are going to have to come as this penitent thief and you are going to have to come and cry out to the Savior, and you can be saved in an instant. The Apostle Paul reminds us that “whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” This man, he couldn't send for a preacher. He couldn't send for a pastor. He couldn't send for an elder. This man couldn't go home and tidy up his life. This man couldn't even bow his knees to pray. But here upon that cross, he has come to put his faith and his trust in Christ and he knows the assurance of sins forgiven. This man has faith in the Lord. That's how you and I get saved. We get saved by faith. Ephesians chapter 2 verses 8 and 9. “For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.” Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. If you're trusting in anything other than the Savior tonight, can I tell you it is futile and it will take you down into the caverns of the damned in hell with absolutely no way back. Absolutely no second chance and absolutely no rerun. We have thought about the first thief and we see there the cross of rebellion. We have thought about this man here on the second cross and we have written over him the cross of repentance.
I want us to think finally about the man on the centre cross. And I have written over him the cross of redemption. Verses 44 to verse 46. “And it was about the sixth hour. And there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit." And having said thus, he gave up the ghost.” You can picture the scene here in your mind's eye. When the sun should have shone at its brightest, the Father hid this earth in darkness and there his son upon that centre cross bore all your load of guilt, bore all your sin and your shame. We think of how the prophet Isaiah was able to say, "But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him. And with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” There upon that centre cross the Lord Jesus, the one who was absolutely pure, absolutely perfect, absolutely sinless, the one who the writer to the Hebrews could say was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners, bore all your sin. There in the darkness, he underwent the divine judgment of a holy God. And we're thankful tonight that we can tell you that the divine justice of God has indeed been satisfied. The price is paid and victory has been declared over death's dark sway. And tonight, if you would only come to him, if you would only come to the Lord tonight in repentance, you'll be forgiven in an instant. and know your name recorded in the roll book of heaven, the lamb's book of life. And you can say like the hymnwriter,
I hear the accuser roar of ills that I have done,
I know them well, and thousands more.
Praise God. Jehovah findeth none.
There upon that centre cross at Calvary that day, love for humanity was indeed displayed because through love the Lord Jesus laid down his life for you and for me. The Apostle Paul reminds us, "But God commendeth his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." It is often said that one of these men died in sin, one of these men died to sin and the one in the centre cross died for sin. But I have to remind you this evening that this conversion of the thief upon the cross, the one that we would refer to as the penitent thief, is the only deathbed conversion that we read of in our Bible. Do not take it for granted that you will get a deathbed. There are very few deathbeds today. There were many people awoke this morning and they had great plans for this evening. There will be many people who will go to bed tonight and they have great plans for tomorrow. And just in the twinkling of an eye, ushered into God's great eternity. no deathbed. Don't take it for granted that you will get a deathbed. Maybe tonight you are saying, "I will not get saved in this gospel meeting. I will get saved at a later date. I'll get saved at the gospel meeting next Sunday night. Or I'll get saved at the gospel meeting in the summertime. Or I'll get saved at the gospel campaign in such and such a town." Don't take it for granted. The Bible tells us in Proverbs 27 verse one, “boast not thyself of tomorrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.” Don't leave the gospel meeting tonight still tramping the broad and the crowded road. But come and put your faith and your trust in the risen Lord Jesus. come tonight and close in with the message of the gospel and come to know Christ whom to know is life eternal. John chapter 1 verse 12 “but as many as receive him to them give he power to become the sons of God even to them that believe on his name.” We read also “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.” It doesn't say you might be saved. It doesn't say there's a possibility you'll be saved. It doesn't say if you're a better person you'll be saved. No it says, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." It's sure and certain. Salvation is available for you tonight.



