3 Nails, 2 Thieves, 1 Cross
Communion Service Lakeside SDA Church 28th May, 2011 by Pastor Clive
Nash, (MA Th.), Lakeside Seventh-day Adventist Church senior pastor.
Aim: to appreciate the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross and to recall that the
Lord’s Supper reminds us of the death of Jesus and His promise to come
again.
To Begin
It was in 1968 that archaeologists discovered the remains of a Jew who had been crucified in
a Roman crucifixion. 3 nails had been used to fasten the victim to the cross – 1 nail or spike
through each wrist and one through both heels, the legs being twisted to one side.
This atrociously cruel form of execution was undoubtedly the manner in which Jesus Christ
was put to death. Such victims of crucifixion died of suffocation, sometimes lasting as long as
two or three days.
3 nails
Crucifixion was a horrible death.
John 20:25 (ESV1)
So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see
in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my
hand into his side, I will never believe."
The Greek word for “the hand” used here is ceir which primarily means “the hand.”
But, according to Hunt in his book, The Mind of Christ published in 1995 by Broadman and
Holman, the Greek word for hand also included the wrist.2
Nails through the palm of the hand would not have supported the weight of the body. While we
may not be certain just where the spikes were nailed, it is clear that the object was pain,
suffering, and a torturous death.
Yet Jesus did not die from the physical pain and suffering but He laid down His life. And He
did so on time.
The day of the crucifixion was Friday, the Biblical Preparation Day. The next day was both the
weekly Sabbath AND Passover.
John 19:31-37
Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross
on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might
be broken and that they might be taken away. [32] So the soldiers came and broke the legs of
the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him. [33] But when they came to Jesus
and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. [34] But one of the soldiers
pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. [35] He who saw it
(John) has borne witness— his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth—
that you also may believe. [36] For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled:
1
Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001
by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good New Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
2
T W Hunt, The Mind of Christ (Nashville, Tennessee, Broadman and Holman publishers, 1995) 113
1
"Not one of his bones will be broken." [37] And again another Scripture says, "They will look
on him whom they have pierced."
Three nails may have held Him to the cross but it was His unswerving purpose to save the
world – His unfailing love, as the Psalmist so often put it – that really kept Jesus on the cross.
2 thieves
Two thieves were crucified alongside Jesus.
Luke 23:39-43
One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, "Are you not the Christ? Save
yourself and us!" [40] But the other rebuked him, saying, "Do you not fear God, since you are
under the same sentence of condemnation? [41] And we indeed justly, for we are receiving
the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong." [42] And he said, "Jesus,
remember me when you come into your kingdom." [43] And he said to him, "Truly, I say to
you today, you will be with me in Paradise."
Writing in The Signs of the Times in 1905, Ellen White declared, “As Christ spoke the words of
promise, the dark cloud that seemed to enshroud the cross was pierced with a bright and
living light. To the penitent thief came the perfect peace of acceptance with God.”3
•
•
•
This is the message of the cross of Christ today to us.
We may be surrounded by dark times –
o family problems,
o health problems,
o doubts
Jesus responds to the cry of the needy heart.
We have read how the legs of the two thieves were broken to hasten death.
The Bible speaks of two deaths.
Apparently, one thief was to die twice and the other once.
• Unrepentant thief would die from crucifixion and die the second death (Revelation 20)
• The repentant thief would die once and be raised to eternal life.
Here is important symbolism of the two classes of people in the world:
1. those who accept Jesus as their Saviour and
2. those who reject Him.
We have the power of choice to accept or reject Jesus as our Saviour.
The promise of heaven is still on offer today to you and to me.
Imagine the penitent thief as he hangs on the cross. His body is in agony but his mind is
engaged in some serious thinking.
Listen to one author’s description: “When condemned for his crime, the thief had become
hopeless and despairing; but strange, tender thoughts now spring up. He calls to mind all he
has heard of Jesus, how He has healed the sick and pardoned sin. He has heard the words of
those who believed in Jesus and followed Him weeping. He has seen and read the title above
the Saviour's head. He has heard the passers-by repeat it, some with grieved, quivering lips,
3
Ellen G. White, Our Utter Need (Signs of the Times, October 25, 1905) http://www.adventistworld.org/article.php?id=117
2
others with jesting and mockery. The Holy Spirit illuminates his mind, and little by little the
chain of evidence is joined together. In Jesus, bruised, mocked, and hanging upon the cross,
he sees the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world. Hope is mingled with anguish
in his voice as the helpless, dying soul casts himself upon a dying Saviour. "Lord, remember
me," he cries, "when Thou comest into Thy kingdom."
Quickly the answer came. Soft and melodious the tone, full of love, compassion, and power
the words: Verily I say unto thee today, Thou shalt be with Me in paradise.”4
What a promise!
It has been said that “there is only one deathbed repentance in the Bible that none might
despair; and only one deathbed repentance that none might presume.”
In reality, this story reminds us that it is never too late to come to Jesus in genuine faith and
repentance.
In orthodox theology, the penitent or repentant thief is called the “wise thief.” It was a wise
decision to call out to Jesus and cast himself on the mercy of Jesus.
1 cross
Here is Saint Matthew’s description of the crucifixion.
Matt. 27:28-37, 45,46, 51-54
[28] And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, [29] and twisting together a crown
of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him,
they mocked him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" [30] And they spit on him and took the reed
and struck him on the head. [31] And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the
robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him. [32] As they went out,
they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to carry his cross.
[33] And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), [34] they
offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. [35] And
when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots. [36] Then
they sat down and kept watch over him there. [37] And over his head they put the charge
against him, which read, "This is Jesus, the King of the Jews."
[45] Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. [46]
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lema
sabachthani?" that is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
[51] And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth
shook, and the rocks were split. [52] The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the
saints who had fallen asleep were raised, [53] and coming out of the tombs after his
resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. [54] When the centurion and
those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place,
they were filled with awe and said, "Truly this was the Son of God!"
3 nails, 2 thieves, 1 cross.
Why do I say, “1 cross?” In reality, there is only one cross that matters and that is the cross of
Jesus Christ.
4
Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, (Pacific Press) 750
3
The cross itself consisted of an upright timber called the stipes. A cross piece called the
patibulum formed a kind of a Tee shape. Often there was a small kind of a seat called the
sedile.
The crucifixion of Jesus was not pretty. It was bloody and it cost the death of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ.
Right from the fall into sin described in Genesis 3, there had to be a substitutionary death.
God provided a covering of skins for Adam and Eve. That covering required shedding of blood
and the death of an animal to make atonement for sin and provide a covering.
At the infamous 1993 Re-imaging Conference in Minneapolis where the Biblical doctrine of the
atonement was ridiculed, the feminist theologian Dolores Williams from New York’s Union
Theological Seminary said, “I don’t think we need a theory of atonement at all. … Atonement
has to do so much with death. … I don’t think we need folks hanging around on crosses and
blood dripping and weird stuff. … We just need to listen to the god within.” In April of this year,
Canon Nalls described this as “easy god, feel good god, pain free god, self god.”5
A Presbyterian preacher, Chris Vogel, has said, “A weak view of sin requires a weak sacrifice.
If our sins are external to us, are minor inconveniences which I can atone for, then if we are
nice people, we will set our lives on a track of self-justification. But when we realise that the
problem of sin is far worse than we imagine, that we know that we are separated from God
and that only He can save us, then our view of sacrifice for sin radically changes.”6
Jesus was willing to be bruised for our iniquities. As the old song says, “There was One who
was willing to die in my stead.”7
For Christians, the cross has come to mean more than just some pieces of timber. It means
• the sacrifice of Jesus in our place
• redemption through His blood
• a thing of glory and not shame (God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of JC
[Gal. 6:14])
• a symbol of everything Christian
• the fulfilment of all of the Old Testament types
• an end to the Old Testament sacrificial system
• a symbol of self-denial in the disciple (“take up your cross”)
• the means to eternal life
• that Jesus is not just King of the Jews (Pilate’s notice above the head of Jesus Mt.
27:37)
• Jesus is King of Kings.
In 1921, Jennie E. Hussey wrote:
King of my life, I crown Thee now,
Thine shall the glory be;
5
Canon Nalls, The Cross and the Penitent Thief, April 22, 2011 St Albans Anglican Catholic Church, Richmond, Virginia
http://thecathedralclose.org/2011/04/22/the-cross-and-the-penitent-thief/
6
Chris Vogel, Christ the Holocaust, Leviticus 1, June 29, 1997, Cornerstone Presbyterian Church, Delafield , Wisconsin
http://my.execpc.com/~crnrstn/sermons/lev1.htm
7
Carrie E. Breck, 1899
4
Lest I forget Thy thorn crowned brow,
Lead me to Calvary.8
More recently, the Tim Hughes song, Jesus Redeemer (2001) has put it this way:
Jesus, Redeemer, Friend and King to me
My refuge, my comfort, you’re ev’rything to me,
And this heart is on fire for you, yes, this heart is on fire for you.
For you alone are wonderful, you alone are Counsellor, everlasting Father, mighty in the
heavens.
Never to forget the love you displayed upon a cross,
Son of God I thank you, Prince of Peace, I love your name.9
Finally
Why did Jesus endure the pain and agonising death on the cross? Why did he submit to the
scourging, the crown of thorns, the words of taunt and derision? After all, look at the miracles
that He did. He was both man and God. He could have done anything.
Notice this encouraging observation. “Christ could have come down from the cross. But it is
because He would not save Himself that the sinner has hope of pardon and favour with
God.”10
Jesus went through with it because of His love for us. The Communion Service reminds us of
that sacrifice.
When Jesus celebrated the Passover with his disciples, he transformed it into The Lord’s
Supper.
He took the emblems of the unleavened bread and the grape juice. These are symbols of his
broken body and shed blood – symbols of salvation from sin. They are promises of eternal life
through faith in Jesus Christ and reminders that He will come again.
3 nails – 2 thieves – 1 cross
3 nails: reminders of Jesus’ death and agony, the price He paid to save us
2 thieves: a reminder that there are only two classes in the end – those who reject Jesus and
those who accept Him
1 cross: a powerful reminder that Jesus has paid the price for sin – yours and mine.
As Isaiah said, “The iniquity of us all was laid on him.” (Isa. 53:6)
Jesus wants to be king of our lives today.
END
8
Jenny E. Hussey, Lead Me to Calvary, Copyright 1921. Renewal 1949 extended by Hope Publishing Co., Carol Stream, IL
60188. All rights reserved. Used by permission (Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal #317, Copyright © 1985 Review & Herald
Publishing Association, Printed in Australia by Signs Publishing Company, Warburton, Vic., 3799)
9
Tim Hughes, Jesus, Redeemer ©Copyright 2001 Thankyou Music/Adm. By worshiptogether.com songs excl. UK &
Europe, adm. By Kingsway Music. Used by permission.
10
Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, 749
5