 that said we're going to be looking today at Mark chapter 15 verses 27 through 32 and I'll begin reading to you at verse 27 read to verse 32 and we'll get into our study Mark chapter 15 beginning at verse 27 with him they also crucified two robbers one on his right and the other on his left so the scripture was fulfilled which says and he was numbered with the transgressors and those who pass by blasphemed him wagging their heads and saying aha you who destroy the temple and build it in three days save yourself and come down from the cross likewise the chief priests also mocking among themselves with the scribe said he saved others himself he cannot save let the Christ the king of Israel descend now from the cross that we may see and believe even those who were crucified with him reviled him and so again according to the way I normally teach I'll give you a few things to remind you and then we'll move into the the passage before us we know that Jesus has been taken from before the Roman governor a man by the name of Pontius Pilate and he's been led to Calvary and has been crucified there was a night of abuse there was a night of torture he was weakened by the beatings and the scourging that he had endured and as his body had finally given out he couldn't bear the weight of the cross I mentioned to you that the estimate of the weight was somewhere around 350 pounds and he couldn't bear the weight of the cross and as he was carrying it he had come to the Damascus gate and he had to exit that gate and he was going to go off a little to the east to the Mount Calvary but he couldn't carry the cross any further he began to stumble into the weight and so there was a man his name is Simon he was from a place called Cyrene he was passing by and and he saw what was happening he was a Jew he had come to celebrate the Passover more than likely he was unable to find accommodations in the city because the city would have been filled with pilgrims so he had to go out to the countryside and and now it's early in the morning he's coming into the city and as he does so he's uh he's coming past the the gate there and and he sees this uh this group of angry soldiers and and he sees a prisoner that they have with them it's probable that as he saw this it slowed down his pace as he was passing by he would have thought this is a criminal he's on his way to execution but at that moment there was a a soldier who saw him and he roughly ordered him to come and the soldier told him you need to help this prisoner to bear that cross well it would have been like I was sharing with you last time at this time that he was drawn to put his faith in Jesus Christ I mentioned that it was a humiliating thing for a Jew to be forced to carry somebody else's burden but it was through this act that he came to trust in the Lord and as I was looking at this rethinking it and preparing my introduction for today's study I thought it's very interesting how the timing of this event was so precise had he passed by a minute earlier or a minute later this would not have happened somebody else would have been forced to bear the cross with Jesus but instead he was there at the precise moment and and his his life was totally changed he was forced to carry the cross along with Jesus on Jesus's death march it wasn't a decision that Simon had volunteered for but he was forced to do this and being forced to do it was something that humiliated him again the Jewish people hated the fact that they were forced to do such things ordinarily Simon would not have volunteered to do this but he had to so it seems to me that God's timing is perfect this wasn't a coincidence God was opening up the opportunity for Simon to come to faith in Jesus Christ the psalmist in Psalm 37 23 says this the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord and he delights in his way when he says the steps of a good man are ordered that word ordered there in the Hebrew it means they're actually directed by the Lord the steps of a good man are directed by the Lord so concerning this scripture one commentator said this he said the the idea is all that pertains to the journey of a good man through his life is directed ordered fitted or arranged by the Lord his course of life is under God's divine guidance and control so what seemed at first to be humiliating and inconvenience had blessed results Simon carried the cross with Jesus and in doing so Simon came to faith in him and not only did he come to faith in Christ but his wife and his sons did also again this has been called a divine appointment like when Jesus was going to Galilee but he needed to pass through Samaria he needed needed to go through this area called Samaria because there was a woman at a well that he had an appointment with see the Jews would normally bypass Samaria if you were to look at a map of Israel and and it's very similar to a map of California just reduced in size then you have northern california central california southern california Jerusalem is in south in the south Samaria is in the central Galilee is in the north and so when the Jews would travel from the north to the south or the south to the north they didn't want to go through the region of Samaria because the Jews had no dealings with Samaritans the Samaritans were what we would refer to or was referred to in the earlier days as as a mixed group of people they were actually not Jewish they during the the Assyrians the Assyrians had entered in and had taken and forcibly removed Jews and had replaced them with several different peoples and so there was a a peoples group that was now mixed with the Jewish group they had created what some have referred to as kind of a hybrid in that there was mixed they were not pure Jews anymore but they were mixture and because they had other gods that had been introduced and they worshiped in a different way and had set up an alternative temple the Jews had no dealings with Samaritans but Jesus was going to go through and as he began to go through there's a reason because he had needs he said I have need to go through Samaria and so when he went through Samaria he had that need because there was a Samaritan woman who was going to be there at the well and as you've looked at John chapter 4 and as you've seen the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman you know that Jesus went in he sat next to a well his men went off in order that they might find some food for him and at that time at noon a woman came and she was carrying a water jug and she was about to draw water for her day now normally the woman would come in the morning or a woman would come at night the reason being because that region is very hot and so the women had the assignment of drawing water for the family oh what a beautiful thought but anyway the women had the assignment of doing that and so as the men were gone this woman comes but John makes a pointed reference to the fact that she came at noon when it's hottest in that culture the women would gather at the at the well together and they would talk they would visit they would exchange stories they talk about their families and the things that are going on that was where the women would have a common place to meet and visit but at noon nobody would be there except for this woman so that gives us insight that this woman who was there at at noon was outcast she was somebody that the women in that village would not have anything to do with and so as Jesus is there seated and she comes with the water jug he says give me something to drink and she looks at him in a kind of a shocked manner even a rude one she says how is it that you being a Jew ask a drink of me being a woman of Samaria and then that's when John says for the Jews have no dealings with Samaritans Jesus begins to have a conversation I'll paraphrase he basically says if you knew who it was who's speaking to you who's asking for a drink calling for your service if you would understand who is speaking to you you'd ask me to give you living water you never have to come back and draw again well where are you going to get this living water from I see that you have nothing to store the water in and she has a conversations with him and she has a conversation with him he finally says to her and go get your husband and bring him back I have no husband she says in this he said you have spoken truly you've had five and the man you're living with right now is not your husband now she instead of saying how is it that you being a Jew and then how is it that you being sir because that's how the conversation goes now she says to him sir I perceive that you're a prophet so as the conversation is proceeding and the men come back and what are you doing talking to this woman and all of that this woman receives the living water Jesus was offering her and she goes and tells the men because the women won't listen to her but she goes and tells the men come and see a man who's spoken to me and told me all things I ever did can this be Messiah see Jesus has divine appointments moments in our lives that sometimes we would consider interruptions inconveniences Simon would have at first considered this an inconvenience but God has perfect timing again they're divine appointments God has divine appointments with us it always amazes me that had he arrived one minute earlier and passed by or one minute later he would not have had this appointment met Simon would not have had that specific opportunity for his life to be changed I would ask you for just a moment to consider how the divine moments and appointments how they transpired in your own life I was sharing I've shared this with John many times I've mentioned this here in our church my brother gets saved he needs a Bible study I began to drive from Norwap to Ontario where he was living I began to teach Bible study to him for a few months and then one day I still remember it I'll always remember it it's one of my special memories one day the door opens I'm sitting in this chair in this apartment front room that may have been 150 square feet at the most just a tiny little room there and the door is on my right side maybe two feet from where I'm seated the door swings open here comes my brother as he opens the door here comes this young woman walking into the room and in a second my life was changed in a second one second this young man from Norwalk driving to Ontario one second when my brother I still hear his voice in my ear I still hear him saying David this is Marie and in one second my life was forever changed because that's how I met my wife one second how many seconds in your life when you didn't and now you do that's God's timing he brings you from here and somebody else from here and somehow he brings that together and now you're one in him or that's how he got how he got to you that's how he you got saved in that one moment you were in rebellion against him and the next moment you're hearing a message that has changed your life forever that's what happened in the life of Simon inconvenience turned into opportunity he bore the cross next to Christ he saw what took place he came to faith he led his wife to Jesus and his two sons were well known in the church of Rome this is a divine appointment well when Jesus arrived at Calvary he was brutally nailed to a cross we saw that he was offered a mild narcotic but he refused to drink it it would have dulled his senses from the full experience so he wouldn't drink he was crucified at 9 a.m. and the soldiers had finished their part of the task but they still had something they needed to do Matthew 27 36 reads sitting down speaking of the soldiers they kept watch over him there so their task wasn't complete they had to keep watch on him why is that because they had to watch to make sure he was not taken down and rescued again that's one of the pieces of evidence that proves the reality of the death of Jesus Christ now the person being crucified would normally have the charges written out they would be written on a tablet placed above the head and in his case it simply says king of the king of the Jews in John 19 20 through 22 it says many of the Jews read this sign for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city and the sign was written in Aramaic Latin and Greek the chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate do not write the king of the Jews but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews and Pilate answered what I have written I have written they would put the prisoners that they were killing in an open place where people would pass by so that all could see the death of this criminal and would be frightened would be warned that this can be your future too if you rebel against Rome and so Jesus was crucified on a busy place where people were coming by and the people are beginning to mock him and speak to him so notice what it says in verse 27 with him they also crucified two robbers one on his right and the other on his left so he didn't die alone he died between two robbers the word robber speaks of a violent man who is capable of murder now Barabbas was considered a hero for his fight against the government you see people have a tendency of celebrating this kind of man and these two men were more than likely a part of the group that followed after Barabbas he was a hero he fought against the government these men most likely had been arrested along with him that will explain to you by the way why Jesus was mocked but these men weren't they were regarded as freedom fighters they were fighting for justice so we will honor men like this even to this day we continue doing that it says in verse 28 so the scripture was fulfilled which says he was numbered with the transgressors now that's a quotation from the Old Testament book of the prophet Isaiah that is found in Isaiah chapter 53 verse 12 you see at the Passover Jesus had quoted this verse and applied it to himself Luke tells us in chapter 22 verse 37 it is written and he was numbered with the transgressors and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me yes what is written about me is reaching its fulfillment he was numbered with the transgressors the word transgressor speaks of a rebel somebody who is revolting against authority he was numbered with the rebels the word numbered means considered or judged accounted as numbered refers to that which is reality it speaks of facts and not suppositions in other words they totally considered Jesus as a transgressor among other transgressors in their mind Jesus was a sinner amongst other sinners that didn't bother him by the way he had made a habit of being around sinners that's one of the things that his enemies had problems with when it came to Jesus Christ in Luke 7 34 it says the son of man speaking of Jesus the son of man came eating and drinking and you say here's a glutton and a drunkard a friend of tax collectors and sinners Jesus had a habit of being with sinners in Matthew 9 verses 10 through 13 Matthew says it happened as Jesus sat at the table in the house that behold many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples when the Pharisees saw it they said to his disciples why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners when Jesus heard that he said to them those who are well have no need of a physician but those who are sick but go and learn what this means I desire mercy and not sacrifice for I did not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance he made a habit of that when he was entering into the city of Jericho there was a small man by the name of Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus was greatly hated by the Jews because he was a very rich tax collector he had made his money off of the Jewish misery and when Jesus said I need to go to your house today there were people there who heard him say that and they began to complain speaking of Jesus they said he's gone to be the guest of a man who's a sinner and then Jesus gave the reason why he entered Zacchaeus's house in Luke 19 verse 10 he said the son of man has come to seek and save that which was lost I didn't come to call the well I came to call the sick I came to save that which is lost Jesus didn't come for perfect people there are no such things as perfect people what he came for is us first for we are sinners and he said I am willing to have suffer with you I'm willing to be with you sometimes when we think of those kinds of things we don't realize why they would be so mad when they said this man is eating with these people but all you need to do is just bring that up to the 21st century into our day and you'll understand it a little bit better many of you will go out to eat lunch after church looking out at the congregation I bet many of you will go to Mexican restaurants and so all of us do so you go to the restaurant and they bring a bowl of salsa they bring the chips and what do you do well you eat your salsa and your chips if you like it I do and you may have a person in your life like my Marie who will say don't double dip but anyway and you're eating of the salsa and you're dipping but you're dipping in the salsa with your friends or your family so you run out of the salsa you don't look to the table next to you and see that they have it and go and take theirs and put it in yours why don't you do that well because you probably don't know them and I'm very picky who I dip my chip with it's just the way it is right you don't take strangers we used to calling it call it this is chorus that probably shouldn't say it swapping spit we used to call it that not anymore that's improper but you know what I mean during the time of Christ to share the bowl with somebody was actually more than just eating it was fellowship it was speaking of us having something in common enjoying each other's company that that is why they would say he eats with publicans and sinners meaning he's just like them because birds of a feather flock together because you usually have friends who are like you and these are sinners therefore he's a sinner that's why they were upset and that's why he said the son of man has come to seek and to save the lost that includes us that is me that is you we we are lost and and it's like we were like the kids were there and he sees I must come to your house today it's a divine situation it's that moment that God looks and sees you and says I want you to follow me he went in to save somebody you see by nature all of us are sinners anyway all of us break God's law we do what is natural for us like it says in Ephesians 2 verse 3 that we are by nature children of wrath the psalmist said in Psalm 51 5 surely I was sinful at birth sinful from the time my mother conceived me so we're we're lost we're sinners and God wants to intervene he wants to have that moment where we see him for who he is well by his death Jesus ransomed ransomed us he purchased us and the purchase price was his blood in 1 Peter 1 18 and 19 for you for you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers but with the precious blood of Christ a lamb without blemish or defect now Luke's timeline of these events records that Jesus prayed after being crucified Luke 23 34 Jesus said father forgive them for they know not what they do he was acting as high priest and he was praying on the behalf of those that had crucified him in the midst of all of this mockery in the midst of all of this cruelty Jesus prayed that he's in excruciating pain but he's praying for those who harmed him and in pain surrounded by heartless and evil people he's praying now he wasn't praying for Judas by the way he wasn't praying for the priests and he wasn't praying for Pontius Pilate they they all had different amounts of information concerning him they knew what they were doing he was praying for the soldiers who were carrying out their duties he was praying for the men who are dying next to him he was praying for those who were watching him as he died he could have asked for justice he could have asked for retribution but instead he prayed for mercy he didn't absolve them of their sin but he made it possible for them to be forgiven one commentator said the dying Christ prayed for his enemies the glorified Christ lives to make intercession for us so as this is taking place verse 29 those who passed by blasphemed him wagging their heads and saying aha you who destroy the temple building in three days save yourself and come down from the cross again Jesus is outside of the city gates it's in a place that is filled with traffic people are passing by they're mocking him and they say aha mocking him you who destroy the temple and build it in three days the false charges that had been lodged against him have been spread and the lies repeated until they became fact they're saying you who claim to have such power you're not so powerful now save yourself verse 30 come down from the cross now this mocking fulfilled prophecy concerning how he was treated in Psalm 22 verses 6 through 8 the psalmist said this he said but I am a worm and no man a reproach of men and despised by people all those who see me ridicule me they shoot out the lip they shake the head saying he trusted in the Lord let him rescue him let him deliver him since he delights in him well here in Psalm 22 it's called a messianic psalm the Messiah Christ is presented as saying I'm a worm and no man now the Hebrew word speaks of a particular worm that is called the scarlet worm it also is a word that is used to speak of crimson there's a writer by the name of Henry Morris and he wrote the biblical basis for modern science and Henry Morris said this he said when the female of the scarlet worm species was ready to give birth to her young she would attach her body to the trunk of a tree fixing herself so firmly and permanently that she would never leave again the eggs deposited beneath her body were in this manner protected until the larvae were hatched and able to enter their own life cycle as the mother died the crimson fluid stained her body and the surrounding wood from the dead bodies of such female scarlet worms the commercial scarlet dyes of antiquity were extracted he went on to write what a picture this gives of Christ dying on the tree shedding his precious blood that he might bring many sons into glory he died for us that we might live through him he's pouring out his blood now as this takes place verse 31 likewise the chief priests also mocking among themselves with the scribe said he saved others himself he cannot save let the Christ the king of Israel descend now from the cross that we may see and believe even those who were crucified with him reviled him so not only are those passing by mocking him so are the chief priests these are above all the most wicked these people knew better and they did this to him when you look at this you need to know that the priests were those who led worship services the priests were the ones who taught people how to serve God the priests were intended to serve God and man they offered sacrifices for the people they spiritually cared for them they also were instructed to teach the people God's word in the Old Testament book of Leviticus speaking of the priests in chapter 10 verse 11 he says that you may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord has spoken to them by the hand of Moses your responsibility is to teach them how to worship God to love God with all of their heart and to love man you're supposed to teach them to have compassion and concern you're you're supposed to teach them what mercy is like you're supposed to be a living emblem of what has said what the compassionate graceful love of God is that's what you're supposed to do but instead these are the worst because they were the ones who are the religious leaders and yet they were the ones who are mocking him in front of the others setting that example to the others and giving permission for them to speak in that way against Christ and there they are mocking a man dying on a cross notice what they say in verse 32 let the Christ descend from the cross that we may see and believe from the beginning they've been asking him once he began to reveal himself to Israel to show them a miracle in Matthew 12 38 and 39 some of the scribes and Pharisees answered saying teacher we want to see a sign from you but he answered and said to them an evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah Jonah was in the belly of the great fish three days and nights he said even so the son of man will be in the earth he's speaking of his resurrection his crucifixion and resurrection you want to sign this will be your sign but they say in verse 32 let them descend from the cross that we may see that we may believe if you are really christ the israel's king come down we want to see if your messiah shows your power descend from the cross jesus wouldn't do it he had come to earth with the purpose of giving up his life son of man didn't come to be served but to serve he said and to give his life ransom for many in first john 3 8 second portion of that scripture it says the son of god appeared for this purpose to destroy the works of the devil jesus had come that he might voluntarily lay his life down to redeem us first timothy chapter 2 verse 6 says that he gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time now verse 32 again those who were crucified with him reviled him at first the two thieves began to join in with the others who are mocking him eventually one of them begins to have second thoughts you see he had he had heard jesus pray he was there listening in the midst of all the pain and the agony and the suffering all of what they were enduring he heard them pray father forgive them for they know not what they do and that may have caused something to go off in his head yes there was a divine moment when simon was there to help carry the cross of christ and there's another divine moment where a man is next to him listening and watching him as he's about to die and he hears him as he's speaking and he heard him as he said father forgive them and it causes him to awaken to something god forgives sin it's god's desire to forgive sin like it says in the old testament book of ezekiel 1832 i take no pleasure in the death of anyone declares the lord repent and live it's like what it says in john 3 17 god did not send his son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved as this is going on it's nearing three hours one of the thieves who are on the cross begins to get angry he begins to lash out luke 2339 says one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed him saying if you're the christ save yourself in us he had no fear of god he had no sorrow he had no sense of repentance for his evil life he wouldn't confess he deserved punishment he had no desire to repent he said to jesus save yourself in us but there's another thief another thief that's watching christ and as he's watching him he has a different reaction luke tells us in chapter 23 verses 40 and 41 the other answering rebuked him saying do you not even fear god seeing you are under the same condemnation we indeed justly for we receive the due reward of our deeds but this man has done nothing wrong conviction in the fear of the coming judgment begins to overwhelm him this man was a real sinner i mean he was an evil man he again he had joined with barabas more than likely barabas had been set free by the demand of the crowd but these others were not the barabas we are told is one who had in insurrection had committed murder these men could very well have been men who had done such themselves they're called robbers and the word robbers speaks of somebody who does evil including something like murder so these people who are next to christ they deserve the punishment that they're getting robbers was guilty but was set free these people were guilty but they were punished and so as he's rebuking his companion in verse 42 of luke chapter 23 he said to jesus now this is very touching to me he said lord remember me when you come into your kingdom and jesus said to him assuredly i say to you today you will be with me in paradise this thief being touched reveals to us it's never too late god's plan of salvation unfolds while this man is hanging there on a tree on a cross he recognizes his sin he recognizes coming judgment why because he said to the other do you not fear god you see the fear of the of god is the beginning of knowledge heverse 1031 says it's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living god one commentator said wisdom comes from understanding the holy and righteous nature of god without this knowledge we can't truly reverence god jesus in luke 12 5 said this he said i will show you whom you should fear fear the one who after you have been killed has authority to throw you into hell yes i tell you fear him so this man says do you not even fear you don't fear you should be afraid you're about to enter into judgment and then he recognizes the innocence of christ in his own sinful guilt he had said in luke 2341 we justly we received the due reward of our deeds he was aware of his sin and he confessed that he was sinful roman's 310 says it like this there's none righteous no not one he recognizes who this man is and then he recognizes who he is in comparison he is innocent we are guilty he shouldn't be judged and we deserve judgment because he's aware of his sin and then finally he says to him remember me lord the bible says in roman's 10 9 and 10 if you confess with your mouth the lord jesus believe in your heart that god has raised him from the dead you'll be saved for with the heart one believes into righteousness with the mouth confession is made into salvation what he was doing is he's asking for forgiveness he had heard jesus pray father forgive them they know not what they do so he's simply saying would you apply that prayer to me don't forget me now the words remember me when he says remember me he's saying i've become one of yours he's implying that he had come to trust in jesus christ lord he's saying don't forget me remember the one who once hung by your side never let me escape your awareness jesus i'm asking you to remember me forever and remembering me i plead that you will forgive me remember me don't forget me i always get touched by that i always do don't forget me in my life everybody has there's a reason this guy became what he became he wasn't simply born to kill and steal he became that way there were things within his life kind of led him in the direction of that way of life probably would have continued on like the other thief the other thief wasn't showing any regret or repentance at all just get me off the cross but this man knew that there's no way out of this he knew this is the end of the road for me don't you fear god seeing that you're into the same condemnation and we well justly we we get what we deserve this man has done nothing he saw this he heard Jesus when jesus had prayed father forgive them they know know what they do in the midst of his pain and his agony and when he was going through the pain he's enduring he's praying for others and he sees this men very often when they're about to die when they die and in pain they're doing anything but praying for those who put him to death and this man's watching that it's possible he had heard some things of this man from galilee it's possible he was aware of some of the things that people said jesus did and now he's watching him his eyes upon him he's there dying next to him he realizes he's about to enter into eternity and he says remember me never forget me for with god he never forgets so don't forget me don't forget me don't forget what i went through next to you and jesus looking at him says today you will be with me in paradise i promise you i will never forget you isaia 49 15 can a mother forget the baby baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she is born though she may forget i will not forget you can a mama who's held her baby nursed her baby sung to her baby loved and kissed her baby as she's nursing that baby can she forget that baby god says yes it's possible that she will forget that baby but i will never forget you i remember you i will always remember you lord remember me when you remember me when you enter into your kingdom i say into you today you shall be with me in paradise i will never forget you you're going to be with me because you've become aware of who you are what you've done and who i am and what i'm doing and through this i will usher you into paradise paradise is a word that origin spoke of a private garden it was a place where a king would where a king would invite a favored subject for fellowship it became a way of speaking of what is called eternal blessedness it was another word for heaven it's used various times in the scriptures sang us songs and ecclesiasties neomyogenesis second Corinthians the book of revelation used the word paradise and speaking of this and he's saying to him i won't forget you because today you will be with me you will be with me i've seen people and i'll say at this say this quickly i have i have seen people who just days before they entered into eternity i've seen people who are not perhaps as evil as this as this man this thief on the cross but they had their last moment where they said god be merciful unto me i am a sinner and i need you i've seen that i've ministered to those who have actually done that god forgive me and you can say to them absolutely because when you turn to christ even at the last moment his blood has the capacity of cleansing you from all sin and his holy spirit will dwell within you you will be born again and though you may close your eyes here you'll be seeing him face to face because you've made this confession and that's what this man did remember me never forget me how today you shall be with me in paradise there isn't a sin that jesus christ cannot forgive if you truly repent and ask and you'll say home it's my pleasure to do that even on the cross when he was going through as much agony as he was he was still ministering to people praying for them and bringing them into his kingdom that's the god that you serve loving and caring had he remained in the grave his promise would have been a lie but romans one verse four says jesus was declared with power to be the son of god by his resurrection from the dead jesus christ our lord bless you lord jesus christ