Hey, stay away from the crowds, okay?

Steve Brown:
Hey, stay away from the crowds, okay? Let’s talk on Key Life.

Matthew Porter:
Key Life is a radio program for struggling believers, sick of phony religion and pious cliches. Our host and teacher is seminary professor Steve Brown. He teaches that radical freedom leads to infectious joy and surprising faithfulness.

Steve Brown:
Thank you Matthew. We’re taking some time, at least, the first part of the week. On Friday, we’re gonna, it’s gonna turn up. We’re going to talk about the Resurrection. This is Holy Week. And, this is the time when we focus on that strange Rabbi, who hung spread Eagle on the town garbage heap, between two thieves. And we’ve been looking at the different people, who were involved in that particular incident. And then on Friday, we’re going to talk about the resurrection. I mean, crucifixions are all the world knows, it’s dark, so they go to movies. It’s dark, so they have a party. It’s dark, so the choice is pot and booze. It’s dark, got nothing but sex and forget it a while. But for Christians, there is a Friday, but as my friend Tony Campolo says, Sunday is coming. So we’re going to spend Friday talking about the Resurrection. But right now we’re talking about the people that were there, on the cross. We looked at Simon, the guy who is called to, this is by the way from the 23rd chapter of Luke. And I’m referencing some other passages, as we go along. But we looked at Simon who in one second, found his life changed. He was doing nothing, but having a good day, when they grabbed him and made him carry the cross of Jesus. And after that, he was different. That can happen to you. It can happen to an unbeliever, but it can happen to a believer too. Don’t get discouraged and depressed, because God’s in charge of circumstances and momentary events that change everything. And then we took some time to look at the soldiers, just doing their job, finding it, can you imagine being told by a commanding officer to nail a man tour a cross? Now, they had done that hundreds of times, but this one was different. And we saw how one of the soldiers said when he looked.

Truly, this was the son of God.

Sometimes the normal becomes the extraordinary and that can happen in your life too. Then we took some time to look at the robbers. There were two of them, one God gave us in the text so that we wouldn’t be arrogant or presumptuous or self-righteous, but the other, he gave us, so we should never despair. Man, if there was ever anybody who had a reason, he’s dying, to despair, it would be that robber. And yet, he turned to Jesus and said,

Jesus, remember me, when you get into your Kingdom.

And Jesus said, today, we’re going to party in paradise together. It’s just that, you know, we overlay our relationships with Jesus, with all kinds of religious words and prayers and theologies. When in fact, the only requirement, for having Jesus meet you and your need, is a simple statement.

Jesus, remember me.

And he always does. And then there’s the crowd. Oh my, joining in, mocking Jesus. And I don’t know if they were such bad people, you know, they were just caught up in the crowd and you got to stay away from the crowd. I have an authority problem and I have never allowed a unanimous vote in any meeting, I have ever been to, to take place. Even if I wanted to vote with the crowd. I vote against it, just so one person will stand against the crowd, no matter what. You say, Steve that’s neurotic. I know, and I repent of it, but, but that’s been a good thing for me, over the years, because I didn’t like it when everybody agreed on everything and I was at a graduate school of theology in Boston. And I was there, because they were wacko liberal and I was too theologically. But my authority problem kicked in and who knows, I maybe would have never found Jesus, if I hadn’t had that authority problem. When the crowds start speaking and I don’t care whether that’s politically. I don’t care whether it’s religiously are socially, you’ve got to be very, very careful. I heard Gloria Gaither say one time.

The most dangerous thing going around, is to want to be with a cool kids.

It happens all the time. I’ve always felt on the outside and I’ve always wanted to be a part of the cool kids, except for my authority problem, which is a gift from God. And he gave it to you too. Sometimes you got to stand against the crowd. Sometimes you got to say to the crowd, I’m not going there and I’m not going to do that. And I don’t believe the things that you’re saying, because everybody is saying it. And that includes politically and religiously and socially. And so, the crowd was there. I have a question that we’re going to do some questions in just a minute, but one of them asks, how do we know it was the same crowd that shouted hallelujah. And days later shouted crucify. We don’t, maybe they were different, but I suspect they were the same, because the people, because people go with the crowd. And I think this text is put here, to say to us, before you want to be a part of the cool kids, listen to what the cool kids are saying, look at where the cool kids are going, examine what the cool kids are thinking and saying, and then say, no way. You think about that. Amen. Well, it’s Wednesday. And sometimes on Wednesdays, I have a little extra time, and that’s even in this series on Holy Week. And I thought I’d look at some of the questions that you guys have submitted, that relate to the Cross or the Resurrection of Christ. I won’t have much time, but I’ll get to a one or two. And we love getting your questions, by the way. You can ask a question by calling 1-800-KEY-LIFE, 24 seven, recording it, and sometimes we put you on the air asking the question, or you can send your questions to

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Or you can e-mail us it’s [email protected]. And those are the places where, if after you pray about it, you feel called to stand with us financially, a large gift, or if you’re really rich, you could send a really big gift and I wouldn’t have to talk about it on this broadcast, but I promise we’ll be faithful with any way that you could help us. And we understand when you can’t help us also. But do, if you can. By the way, if you want to give this way, you can give on your phone, you can text Key Life at 28950 and just follow the instructions. If you can thank you, if you can’t, we understand, and we will be faithful. Let’s turn to one or two of these questions. I get this one, pretty often. Did Jesus commit suicide since he, as God took his own life? No, he didn’t. The only commonality between Jesus’ crucifixion and suicide is death. He died, but he didn’t have his life taken from him. He gave it, in fact, Jesus was born to die. And in the incarnation when God entered time and space, that was planned from the foundation. I mean that wasn’t a last minute thought, we got to do something with these horrible sinners. Let’s vote on it. From the very beginning, in the Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve messed it up, God planned for crucifixion, for the death. So it was planned and suicides are sometimes planned and sometimes not, but the only commonality, is the commonality of death. The death of a suicide, that causes problems you wouldn’t believe. And I can’t tell you how many times I’ve dealt with it over the years, but the death of Christ solved the problems. We’re forgiven, we’re loved and we’re gonna live for forever. Where was Jesus for the three days when he was dead? Where did he go? Well, if you’ll read I Peter 3, he gives us some evidence that he went and preached to the prisoners in prison. What does that mean? I have no idea. And anybody who says they’re sure they know. And then in the next chapter, Peter repeats it about the gospel being preached to the dead. I don’t know what that means. I have no idea, but whatever it was, when we get home, we’ll ask Jesus. Hey, what were you doing after the crucifixion man? That was three days, that you were doing something. And he’ll explain what that means. I one time, said in a pulpit, it went out and tapes all over the country, that I had no idea of what that was about. So, I was going to go to the next verse, and I got letters from all over the country telling me exactly what that meant. And we’re not sure, there’s some who says that Jesus went to hell and got everybody out with his grace. That he preached life. But whatever, he was dead, but he wasn’t, and he got up from the grave. What age should we teach our children about crucifixion? You start with love and then very gently, and in a childlike way, you explain what happened in the crucifixion. And that starts young. I used to say it shouldn’t, until one of our daughters, when she was six understood, and became a Christian, and is walking with Jesus today. So, I repented of my ideas. Do it carefully, and love them. Got to go. Key Life is a listener supported production of Key Life Network.