CONDEMNED

“One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him [Jesus]: ‘Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” But the other criminal rebuked him. ‘Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.’ Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ Jesus answered him, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise'” (Luke 29:39-43).

The above-mentioned encounter with Jesus falls in stark contrast to the moral compass of our society. One of the ugliest and cruelest moral stances of our culture these days is to label and CONDEMN people. Whether it be athletes, talk-show hosts, politicians, actors, pastors, and anyone else: An accusation or past mistake resurfaces and suddenly they are banned from their professions and critically judged by society. It could be as slight as a verbal statement or as deep as abusive allegations. What they did or didn’t do may warrant investigation, charges, and certainly an apology if proven true. Yet, is redemption a thing of the past, only applicable to certain types of sins? It would seem so.

THAT is what happened to the SAVIOR of the world. His crime? Claiming to be the Son of God but more specifically taking the limelight away from the religious leaders of the day. Mens’ pride and self-righteousness were behind it all. Isn’t that what happens to the onlookers once others are condemned? They glare at those now despised by society, feeling much better about themselves only because THEIR own skeletons have not yet been publicized or discovered.

Christ turned the tables upside down, offering restoration to ANY who might humbly come before Him needing to be forgiven, needing a SAVIOR. HIS forgiveness has NO limits and MAXIMUM potential! The mistakes of the past can result in consequences to be sure, but they will ALWAYS be covered under His blood if true repentance has taken place. A FRESH START is only a prayer away when that person has sincerely confessed to God!

Some of the greatest “heroes” of The Bible had the biggest struggles with all types of sins, which would result in MAJOR condemnation today. To name a few:

1. David (shepherd boy from the Old Testament) He fearlessly saved the Israelites from their Philistine enemies by conquering Goliath and became the King of Israel years later. As king he committed adultery with a married woman in addition to planning her then husband’s death.
2. Solomon (King David’s son) He built the temple for God but married so many women from other nations and began worshipping their gods.
3. Peter (one of Jesus’ faithful disciples) He promised he would die for Jesus before he denied Jesus; Peter denied Jesus three times the day He was crucified.
4. Zacchaeus (a tax collector) He was known to be extremely wealthy as a result of stealing people’s money while collecting taxes.
5. Paul (the writer of the majority of the New Testament) He was famously known for killing and torturing Christians for their faith in Christ before he himself believed.

Out of all five of the previous examples listed, only Solomon was one in which The Bible doesn’t specifically record if He came back to full faith in God. All of the others, who would be considered lost causes, were completely transformed by God and lived the rest of their days in close communion with Him.

I was reading the story of Zacchaeus to my kids this week and it struck me again: here was a man who was condemned by the crowd. Everyone knew tax collectors were rich cheaters, and Zacchaeus was no exception to the rule. It came as an offensive shock to the people when Jesus looked into Zacchaeus’ eyes and announced he would be coming over to his house that day. In Luke chapter 19 verse 7, the people responded by muttering to each other, “’He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.’” They didn’t get it. Jesus, just a few verses later reiterates, “For the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost” (Luke 19:10). Jesus doesn’t boycott people, He forgives them; furthermore, He came looking for THEM specifically! After having visited Zacchaeus it is recorded that he repented, gave half of his possessions to the poor, and paid back four times the amount that he stole from everyone! Conversion was and is possible if Our God is behind it! In this case, Zacchaeus was READY and WILILNG for the DRASTIC metamorphosis of his life, and he became a NEW creature.

It can’t be taken lightly: Jesus, the perfect God-man, was condemned to death after providing precious hope, healing and love to countless persons. He was bloodily beaten, spat on, gawked at, stripped naked, and then nailed to a wooden cross. On Good Friday my daughter wrote, “He broke his body for us and this is God’s love.” His many miracles included: raising the dead to life and healing the sick, blind, lame and needy from their chains. But, when it came to forgiving sins, only God does that and He was not (or so the religious leaders claimed). To this day the debate continues as to who Jesus really was. Suffice it to say here: Jesus either WAS God or He was a liar. I highly recommend the informative book More Than a Carpenter by Josh McDowell if you want to know more. There can be no in-between as many religions would have you to believe. It is black and white; otherwise, you are adding unwritten lines to historically recorded documents.

Not mentioned in the examples above was the ultimate betrayal of one of Jesus’ closest friends, one of the twelve disciples: Judas Iscariot. Judas intimately watched Jesus live a perfect life. In the end, The Bible records that he allowed Satan to enter in, handing Jesus over for thirty pieces of silver which, in that day, was the going price of a SLAVE. The clincher is what happened afterwards: once Judas realized Jesus had been sentenced to DEATH on a cross he was filled with remorse and even returned the “blood money.” After that he tragically took his own life. He was on his way towards being forgiven but stopped at the crucial point: taking his sin to JESUS and being WASHED CLEAN. Forgiveness was something Judas had seen Jesus offer to countless others, but was unwilling to seek for himself.

As we celebrate Easter, may this be a time of reflection for all of us. The Son of God understood what it meant to be UNFAIRLY condemned, and He paid the ultimate price for it. His love was and is so great that even on the cross His last words uttered were, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing” (Luke 23:24). The most rejected one was, is and will always be the most FORGIVING one! Our Savior is the KING of the upside down kingdom, where His love for US trumps our love for Him every time (1 John 4:19)! THIS is the best news ever, the miracle of all miracles birthed on Easter morn: WE ARE COMPLETELY FORGIVEN if we but ASK HIM! NO ONE is condemned, NO sin is too grave and NO life is too undone! We can get excited about a lot of things, but THIS NEWS is worthy of screaming and dancing from the rooftops! May we share it!

Those who don’t believe Jesus can or should do this mighty work for everyone have put a cap on God’s mercy and a spotlight on human nature. If we believe there is no hope for certain people we are undermining the very death and resurrection of JESUS. Let us stop following the lead of our culture and START believing in God’s limitless ABILITY to FORGIVE and TRANSFORM, making us more into His image than we ever imagined!

Have you ever felt condemned in some form? Or, is it easier for you TO condemn and gossip about others? Ouch: I am convicted. The sting of being cast aside can haunt us to the core and leave us feeling downcast and alone. In those moments in our lives, and in the lives of others around us, let us be swift to remember the suffering, sinless Lamb of God. His selfless and undeserved condemnation provided our greatest hope and VICTORY over death! The words from Romans 8:1 are loud and clear: “Therefore there is NO condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!”

Thankfully, there will always be a remnant of those who don’t follow “the crowd.” The Bible records this as Jesus was carrying the cross on his way to crucifixion: “A large number of people followed him [Jesus], including women who mourned and wailed for him” (Luke 23:27). There WERE those who knew the truth about Jesus, and stood against his unjust condemnation.

Paul, the former persecutor and killer of Christians stated, “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost [he had murdered many Christians]. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life”(1 Timothy 1:15-16). God saved Paul as an example that no one is too far gone to be redeemed. Do you believe that? God Himself was rejected so you would NEVER have to be. As Christian author Phillip Keller puts it, “This process of gradually allowing God to govern my life, permitting Christ to control my conduct, coming gently under the absolute sovereignty of His gracious Spirit is to enter into the remarkable and restful salvation He provides for His people.”

Dear ones, Happy Easter because HE IS RISEN! Celebrate the FREEDOM we have knowing that ALL of us can be FULLY FORGIVEN thanks to Christs’ death AND resurrection! Have you experienced His forgiveness in your life? Once you do you will begin to FORGIVE as HE so freely has forgiven you! Listen to the worship song above; it’s the same one I used last year at this time because it’s just that POWERFUL! Trees of hope, for Our RESURRECTED KING!!! Love to you ALL!