He Saved Others

“If God can do anything… why doesn’t He?” That question isn’t new. It was asked at the cross.

As Jesus hung there, the crowd mocked Him with words they didn’t fully understand: “He saved others, but He can’t save Himself.” What looked like weakness was actually the greatest display of love the world has ever seen.

In this episode of the Dirt Path Sermon Podcast, Pastor Jason Barnett walks through Matthew 27:32–44 and unpacks the paradox of the cross—how Jesus refusing to save Himself is exactly how He saved us.

If you’ve ever wrestled with unanswered prayers, wondered where God is in your pain, or questioned why He doesn’t step in when He could, this message is for you.

What looked like weakness… was love refusing to give up on you.

Linkoln shares his story on why he started coming to Ravenna Church of the Nazarene and shares why you should consider doing the same.

Ravenna Church of the Nazarene
530 Main Street, Ravenna, KY 40472

Transcript

PARADOX

#5 HE SAVED OTHERS

     If we see a fire happening, our first instinct is to put it out. And if it is too big for us to handle, we call the fire department. But did you know that sometimes firefighters don’t do put the fire out right away?

     It is because they do not care. It is not because they can’t put the fire out. It is because they know that if they rush in too soon or put the wrong part of the fire out immediately, it will actually cause more damage. They will let a fire burn on purpose.

     We all have had moments like that in life. Moments where something has happened, and we know God could step in, but then He doesn’t. The question that sits in our minds is: “If God can, why doesn’t He?”

     This is not a new question. People were asking it at the cross. As Jesus is hanging there, people are watching. They are mocking and waiting, all thinking, “If He is really the Son of God, why doesn’t he come down?” Let’s jump into Matthew 27.

Matthew 27:32-44 (CEB)

32 As they were going out, they found Simon, a man from Cyrene. They forced him to carry his cross. 33 When they came to a place called Golgotha, which means the Skull Place, 34 they gave Jesus wine mixed with vinegar to drink. But after tasting it, he didn’t want to drink it. 35 After they crucified him, they divided up his clothes among them by drawing lots. 36 They sat there, guarding him. 37 They placed above his head the charge against him. It read, “This is Jesus, the king of the Jews.” 38 They crucified with him two outlaws, one on his right and one on his left.

39 Those who were walking by insulted Jesus, shaking their heads 40 and saying, “So you were going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, where you? Save yourself! If you are God’s Son, come down from the cross.”

41 In the same way, the chief priests, along with the legal experts and the elders, were making fun of him, saying, 42 “He saved others, but He can’t save himself. He’s the king of Israel, so let him come down from the cross now. Then we’ll believe him. 43 He trusts in God, so let God deliver him now if wants to. He said, ‘I’m God’s Son.’” 44 The outlaws who were crucified with him insulted him in the same way. 

This is the word of God

For the people of God

Thanks be to God

     For Lent, the period between Ash Wednesday and Easter, we have been walking through a series called “Paradox.” In this series, we have been looking at moments in the passion story where what seems true on the surface is not the full story. Where things look one way, but God is doing something deeper underneath. And today might be the clearest paradox of them all.

     While there is a lot in the story of Simon from Cyrene, we are going to verse 35. It starts with, “After they crucified him.” Matthew does not give us details for that process. For the original readers of this gospel, details were not needed. Everyone knew how terrible crucifixion was.

     The verse continues, “They divided up His clothes among them by casting lots.” Matthew loves to connect the story of Jesus to Scripture, and this wording is found in Psalm 22:18. The soldiers valued Jesus’ clothes more than His life. Jesus valued their lives more than His own.

     When we study this story, we often picture a big service with everyone standing on a hillside watching the crucifixion take place. But verse 39 says, “Those who were walking by insulted Jesus.” Crucified victims were hung along public roadways like we see electrical poles. People going about their daily business would be walking by them. So the folks insulting Jesus were not bad people. They were everyday people just walking by. Most likely, with no real knowledge of what had taken place, they just knew Jesus was hanging on a cross. He must be wrong, they thought.

     There was a group that should have known better. The chief priests, legal experts, and elders were the respected religious voices of the time. Their lives were spent studying the Law and understanding how to apply it. These are the ones who should have recognized Jesus. But they didn’t. They say in verse 42, “He saved others, but He can’t save Himself. He’s the king of Israel, so let him come down from the cross now. Then we will believe Him. He trusts in God, so let God deliver Him now if He wants to.” The ones who should have recognized Jesus rejected Him the loudest. When the respected religious voices get it wrong, how can the others expect to get it right?

     There are a few paradoxes in this passage, but our focus is on the paradox revealed in verse 42. The religious elite thought that if Jesus could save Himself, that was proof of His power. They had so misread the prophecies, implementing their own desires into them, that there was no way the Messiah would be hanging on a cross. 

     They called down for Jesus to save Himself to prove Himself to them. But refusing to save Himself was proof of Jesus’ love. Jesus didn’t come down because He couldn’t, but because He wouldn’t. It was not that Jesus lacked the power or that God couldn’t save Him; it was that this fire needed to burn with the flames of God’s sacrificial love. His holiness on display.

     The crazy part about this narrative is no matter which group we identify with in this story, we are one of these people. We are in the story. The soldiers were distracted by Jesus’ clothes, valuing the wrong things. The passersby were not villains; they were soccer moms and baseball dads going about their day, simply going along with the culture that taunted criminals along the roadway. The religious leaders were confident in their wrong understanding. Even the criminals who deserved to be there were lashing out. All of them rejected Jesus. Matthew intentionally paints a word picture of Jesus hanging there all alone.

     Despite everyone rejecting Him, mocking Him, and blaspheming Him, Jesus stays on the cross anyway. He loves anyway. He saves anyway. While they mocked Him, Jesus was saving them. And if that is how Jesus loved them, that is how He loves you and me.

     The reason God does not always put our fires out immediately, the reason He does not always do the things for us that we know that He can, is because God does not need to prove Himself to us. He already has! He proved Himself on the cross! Every time we see it, talk about it, or sing songs about it, that is our proof of how much God loves us. We have to lay down our expectations and carry His cross. We have to stay with Him when it is hard because Jesus did not quit on us. We have to love Him and others when it costs us because Jesus paid it all!

     What looks like weakness is actually God at work. What looked like weakness to the soldiers, the religious leaders, the passersby, and the outlaws was love refusing to give up. And that same love is refusing to give up on you.

     Where in your life are you saying to Jesus, “If you would just come down, I would believe in you”? He stayed on the cross for you to demonstrate how much He loved you. Jesus didn’t stay because He had to, but because He was willing to die for you sin and give His life so you could find life. What looked like weaknes was love refusing to give up on you. So do not give up on Him.