The Resurrected King
It’s Friday
Imagine you were there some 2000 years ago.
It’s Friday. You are on your way to Jerusalem. You’ve got people to see. Things to do. As far as you know, this is like any other Friday. You’ve made this trip before. It’s not your first time to Jerusalem. You’re hoping to get in, do what you came to do, and after a few days, head back home to be with your family. You’re walking along the dusty roads headed into town, and you realize something’s happening. There’s a commotion.
It’s Friday. This is different than the normal commotion that fills the city streets of Jerusalem on a Friday. It’s not unusual to see the city streets filled with vendors. People buying and selling things. From food to clothing to everything in between. But this isn’t like that. Something is happening. There are Roman soldiers everywhere. They look like they are on high alert. You can hear women crying, men shouting, and mothers trying to hide the eyes of their children and protect them from seeing something they know they will never be able to unsee.
It’s Friday. You realize, you may not be able to do what you came to do today. Whatever is happening in this city, it’s affecting everything. People are scrambling. Crowds are gathering. The streets are flooded with people. You knew the city was going to be busy, it is Passover after all. There are people from all over here this weekend. You hear languages and see people from all over. You think to yourself, Jerusalem, that literally means, City of Peace, but this city is anything but peaceful. You try to get closer to where you think the action is, just so you can know what’s going on.
It’s Friday. You finally find someone who seems like they know what’s going on, so you ask them. They say, “Come and see.” You ask, “See what?” They say, “See the man they call the King of the Jews. They’re going to crucify him!” “Crucify him? Why?” Your new friend looks at you with pure confusion and asks, “Where have you been? Have you not heard about him?” “Who?”
It’s Friday. Before your new friend can answer, you get caught up in a wave of people, and now you’re separated. But you find yourself at the street corner, and now there is a Roman soldier coming through shouting, “Make way!” You step to the side, lining the streets with all the others, when you see him. You still don’t know who He is, but you see him. He looks like he’s been beaten within an inch of his life. His back has been lacerated a thousand times. You didn’t see it, but you’ve seen this before. You know what happened. They flogged this man, whoever he is, with a cat of nine tails. A whip with pieces of bone and metal on the ends. They no doubt gave him 39 lashes. You wonder, is there anything more painful? He’s got a crown of thorns on his head. And a cross on his shoulders. They are making him carry his own cross. You are in shock and horror.
It’s Friday. And the only question on your mind in this moment is, “Who is this man?”
Who Is This Man?
A week ago the crowd was singing “Hosanna, Hosanna, Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” But something happened. Those who worshiped Him last Sunday decided not to follow Him.
Did you know, you could worship Him but not choose to follow Him? You could sing His praise on a Sunday and go your own way on a Monday?
The ones who sang, Hosanna, Hosanna, a few days later cried out, Crucify Him! Crucify Him.
Who is this man who is worthy of worship on one day, then is turned on the very next? Who is this man that people praise in one moment, then walk away from the next?
Who is this man?
The Man on the Middle Cross
You follow the man, the soldiers, and the crowds. They make their way to a hill outside the city. And then, they crucify him. But not just him, there are two others. One on his right and one on his left. There’s a sign they put above his head, the man on the middle cross, the sign says, “King of the Jews.”
Who is the man on the middle cross?
Soldiers at the foot of the cross are casting lots for his clothes. That’s strange. Women at the foot of the cross are crying. That’s normal. People passing by are shouting at him, mocking him. That’s different. They say:
“…if you are the Son of God, save yourself and come down from the cross!” (Matthew 27:40)
And you wonder, Who is the man on the middle cross?
But then, something happens that you can’t explain. It’s noon. Twelve o’clock. The sun is straight overhead. But then, everything goes dark. And, it stays dark. For the next three hours. Total darkness. And you wonder, Who is the man on the middle cross?
You hear the man on the middle cross shout, “It is finished,” then the earth quakes. After that, you hear a Roman officer standing by the cross say, “This man truly was the Son of God!”
Who is the man on the middle cross? Is He the Son of God?
That was Friday. They took his body down from that old rugged cross. They laid his body in a borrowed tomb. The city that had been in an uproar all day fell quiet. But that question is still stuck in your head: Who was that man on the middle cross? Was he the Son of God?
Saturday: Searching for Answers
Saturday comes. There’s only one thing you’re interested in now. You want to find out who was the man on the middle cross? You start making your way around the city, asking everyone you meet about him.
It doesn’t take long to learn His name. The first person you ask tells you, “His name was Jesus, from Nazareth.”
Jesus. You know that name. You even know what it means. It means, “Yahweh Saves.” You hold onto that thought and keep working the streets, asking people for more information.
Someone else tells you they had heard He was a “Son of David.” That’s something. That’s significant. If Jesus is the Son of David, if He is a part of King David’s family tree, that means something. That’s a Messianic title. That means He might well have been the King of the Jews, or at least an heir to David’s throne!
Someone else tells you that He claimed to be the “Son of God.” You’ve got questions about that. But the more people you talk to, the more you learn that over and over again over the past three years, Jesus was called the Son of God! But He was also called the Son of Man. Both of these titles are significant. If Jesus is the Son of God and the Son of Man, then He was fully God and fully human.
But then you learn that He was also called the Christ! That means He was Messiah, the Anointed One. The One the prophets said would come from God to deliver His people. But how can that be true, you wonder. They crucified Him on Friday. You witnessed it with your own eyes.
You keep working the streets, asking people questions. You find out that many people called Him Rabbi, Teacher. Some called Him Lord. And you find out that He always talked about His Kingdom, the Kingdom of Heaven. So maybe He was a King. Or thought of Himself as a King. They did hang a sign above His head that said, “King of the Jews.”
Saturday comes to an end. You started with the question, Who was the man on the middle cross? Now you know. He was Jesus, the Son of David, the Son of God, the Son of Man, the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One, the King of the Jews. But if all that’s true, why did He die? How did He die?
Your head hits the pillow, your mind still spinning with questions and curiosity. Who was the man on the middle cross?
Sunday Morning
Next thing you know, it’s Sunday morning. You walk out to the streets of Jerusalem, and you see a few people running around. There are Roman guards running one direction. Then some other guys are running in the other direction. You’ve got no interest in following those Roman guards, so you turn to follow the other guys. They’re running out of the city, and you recognize the direction they’re heading. This is the way to the tomb. They are way ahead of you, but you can see them. Then you see the tomb. The stone that was out in front has been moved. You’re wondering the same thing those other guys are wondering: How did that happen?
One of the guys goes into the tomb, then comes out. And now you’re close enough, you can hear what he says. He says, He’s not here. He has risen!
Who was the man on the middle cross? It’s Sunday. And now you know. He is Jesus, the Son of David, the Son of God, the Son of Man, the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One, the King of the Jews. And He has RISEN!
Over the next 40 days, Jesus was seen by more than 500 people. And you got to be one of those people. You got to see Him.
And now you know who the man on the middle cross is. He is Jesus, the Resurrected King!
The Question You Have to Answer
That was 2000 years ago. And today, the question remains: “Who is the man on the middle cross?”
It is THE question that everyone has to answer.
Immediately after the resurrection, there were two different responses to that question:
Faith
Some people, as soon as they saw the empty tomb, heard the Good News from the angel, “He is not here, He has risen,” they believed! Some of you, when you hear the Good News about the great love of God revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord at the cross, you, too, believe. You are moved to faith.
Doubt
Others had doubt. The religious leaders didn’t believe it, even when they heard about it directly from the Roman guards who had no reason to make this up or lie about it. In fact, they faced the death sentence since they were there to guard the tomb and make sure that the body of Jesus stayed in the tomb, but it was clearly no longer in the tomb! Some of the disciples didn’t even believe it, at least not at first, even though they were looking at him. As crazy as that sounds, you have to remember, no one comes back from crucifixion. So, if you’ve got doubts, you’re in good company. Lots of people had doubts. Even those who had been with Jesus every step of the way for three years had doubts.
But what about you? What do you say about the man on the middle cross? How will you respond to Him today?
Why This Is Good News
You may wonder why we call this story Good. How is this a Good News story? A story all about death, dying, and crucifixion? Even if you decided to believe it’s true, that the man on the middle cross rose from the dead. Why should that matter to you?
There are so many reasons this is so important and that this should matter to you, but let me give you just one. And I think it’s the most important one. We could talk about a long list of reasons why this story is the greatest story ever told, and how for 2000 years, this story has continued to reverberate throughout history, even though people have tried to discredit it and people have tried to disprove it. This story about the resurrection of the man who died on the middle cross matters for so many reasons, but let me give you the greatest reason.
It’s Love. It’s the full-on love of God! But, it came at a great price! It came at a great price because sin is serious, and the justice and wrath of God had to be satisfied. But that wasn’t something we could do.
You might wonder, how can a story about death, dying, crucifixion, sin, wrath, and justice be a story about love? That doesn’t make any sense! But it does.
Scripture says that:
“While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)
Jesus himself said:
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son. Whoever puts his trust in God’s Son will not be lost but will have life that lasts forever.” (John 3:16)
You see, the wages of sin is death. That’s what Scripture says in Romans 6:23. In other words, because of your sin, because of my sin, there is a penalty to be paid, a price to be paid, and that price is death. Just like when Adam and Eve ate from the fruit of the Tree in the Garden of Eden, there was a consequence, a price to be paid; they had to leave the Garden, and they would die. The wages of sin is death. In the Bible, death is more than just dying. We all die. Our physical bodies aren’t going to live forever. In the Bible, death is more than dying; death is separation from God. The wages of sin is eternal separation from God. But here’s the Good News about Romans 6:23. After it says, “For the wages of sin is death,” there isn’t a period. There is a comma. And if you have ever loved a comma, this is a comma to love. Here’s the rest of that verse:
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23, NIV)
The man on the middle cross through His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension, has offered you the free gift of eternal life!
What This Means for Us
Jesus said after his resurrection:
“…go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19–20)
Then the Apostle Paul, in the same chapter where he talks about the wages of sin is death, says this:
“…have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.” (Romans 6:3b–4, NLT)
We are all sinners. But here’s the Good News of Easter Sunday: we have a great Savior!
He is Jesus, the Son of David, the Son of God, the Son of Man, the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords. The One Who was, Who is, and Who is to come!
Jesus is the Resurrected King!
How Will You Respond?
Imagine you were there, 2000 years ago, on Sunday. You hear this news. He is risen. What do you do? How will you respond? Faith? Doubt?
You know how a few people responded when they learned of the resurrection? Worship! In fact, by the end of the story, even some of those who had doubts responded in worship.
- Matthew 28:9: The women at the tomb, when they saw Jesus, they “ran to him, grasped his feet, and worshiped him.”
- Matthew 28:17: The disciples, before they received the Great Commission… “When they saw him, they worshiped him…”
- John 20:28: Thomas, who had his doubts, exclaimed: “My Lord and my God!”
- Luke 24:52: And then, as He ascended to Heaven, His disciples “worshiped him and then returned to Jerusalem filled with great joy.”
So who is the man on the middle cross? And how will you respond to Him today?
One day, Scripture says that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that the man on the middle cross is Jesus Christ the Lord to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:10–11)
John the Revelater tells us that He wears a robe that bears this title:
“King of all kings and Lord of all lords.” (Revelation 19:16)
Who’s the man on the middle cross? Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, King of all kings, Lord of all lords, Messiah, and Savior.
Behold, the King.
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