The Crucifixion

INTRODUCTION

We have a large chunk of Scripture to work through today. It was tempting to try and break it up.

Why look at verses 32-56 in one day? There have been times in Luke where we spent entire Sundays on two verses.

Why look at 24 verses in one shot?

Well, I really want us to take in the scene of the Cross in one day.

I want us to see it all. I want to place us there at Golgotha and as the hymn says, “Behold the man upon the Cross...”

And I felt that handling it in one shot—in one 30-40 minute time span, would be the best way for us to feel the weight of the crucifixion and to have our affections stirred for the Savior who laid down His life for us.

For the sake of context, let’s just remember where we are as we read:

Jesus has been betrayed and arrested

He has stood religious and political trials

He has been beaten and mocked and spit on

He was so weakened by the suffering that He could not carry the crossbeam to the place of execution

Simon of Cyrene was involuntarily selected for the task

Simon carried Jesus’ cross

But Simon’s part is over now. It is time for Jesus to die.

I will read the passage this morning and then we will work through it by taking the scene and dividing all of the elements up into four categories:

The Murder of Christ

The Mockery of Christ

The Mercy of Christ

The Messiahship of Christ

In the process, may our affections be stirred and our hearts be reminded once again of who Jesus is and what He has done for us by looking at Him through the lens of His death on the Cross.

Let’s pray now, to that end:

Gracious God, we do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from your mouth. Make us hungry for this heavenly food, that it may nourish us today in ways of eternal life; through Jesus Christ, the bread of heaven. Amen. (John Calvin, Prayer of Illumination)

READ Luke 23:32-56

Luke 23:32–56 ESV

Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments. And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.” One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent!” And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts. And all his acquaintances and the women who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance watching these things. Now there was a man named Joseph, from the Jewish town of Arimathea. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man, who had not consented to their decision and action; and he was looking for the kingdom of God. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud and laid him in a tomb cut in stone, where no one had ever yet been laid. It was the day of Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning. The women who had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid. Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.

THE MURDER OF CHRIST (v. 32-33)

The Gospel writers use very few words when describing the crucifixion of Jesus to us. Luke tells us that two criminals are going to be put to death with Him.

We will come back to the significance of that, in terms of prophecy.

It is another reminder to us that what is happening is scandalous.

Jesus, the innocent Son of God, is going to be put to death in the company of criminals.

Like He is one of them. Just another transgressor who fell to the Roman sword.

Jesus and the criminals are led to the “place that is called The Skull.”

In Aramaic, it is called Golgotha.

In Latin, it is called Calvaria.

There are two main sites that historians point to as being the place where Jesus is crucified.

One of them now has a Roman Catholic Church built on it. That is the traditional site of the crucifixion.

The other has been more recently proposed.

It might not have happened at either place.

Honestly, the location is not so important. The event is important.

And in verse 33, Luke uses just three Greek words and four English words the actual event of the crucifixion of Jesus.

“…there they crucified him...”

It is a bit surprising that the crucifixion of Christ, which the salvation of the world hinges on, is described in just three Greek words.

But the horrors of crucifixion were so understood by the culture that Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are writing in, that is was unnecessary to say more.

If I tell you that someone dies of cancer, I don’t need to explain to you the process of cells growing uncontrollably and spreading to other parts of the body.

I don’t need to get in the weeds of the science. You live in a culture where everyone pretty much understand what cancer is. The word speaks for itself.

“Crucified” was a similar word in the first-century

Lexham Theological Wordbook σταυρόω

σταυρόω (stauroō). vb. to crucify. To kill a person by crucifixion, or to hang a person.

The word speaks for itself.

But for our purposes this morning, let’s spend some time talking about crucifixion because outside of Jesus’ cross, it is not a mode of death that has a place in our vocabulary.

One of the most important studies ever done on crucifixion was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 1986.

An in-depth study was done to find out what actually happened to the human body during crucifixion.

Crucifixion as a form of execution began in the 6th century BC. It was invented by the Persians. King Darius reportedly crucified 3,000 Babylonians.

From there, it was used by peoples like the Greeks and the Hasmoneans.

But what the Persians invented, the Romans perfected.

They had mastered the art of a publicly humiliating, slow, agonizing death that served to punish criminals and warn the innocent to keep in line.

According to that 1986 study, everyone who was crucified was first beaten.

The victim’s arms were tied to a pole and the a leather whip, with bone and metal woven into it, was used for the lashing.

Two attendants of the Roman government would take turns inflicting the blows.

The bone and the metal would tear into the skin and cause deep bruises and lacerations.

Pain and blood loss would lead to circulatory shock where there would be a weak pulse, rapid breathing and sweating.

All three of the men we are reading about would have been scourged that day—Jesus and the two criminals with him.

But in Jesus case, the soldiers had thrown a robe of mockery on Him that would have been abrasive to His open wounds.

They placed a crown of thorns on His head and they beat on Him with a stick. They spit on Him.

At some point, they tore the robe off of Him, which would have inflicted more damage.

On top of that, our Lord had not slept. And He has not eaten or drank anything, as far as we know.

Once they got to the place of crucifixion, the prisoners would be offered some sedation, but Jesus refuses it in Matthew 27:34

Matthew 27:34 ESV

they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it.

After that, victims would be thrown to the ground on their backs and the crossbeam would be placed under their shoulders.

At that point, five to seven inch long iron spikes were driven into the wrists, which would hold the body on the Cross.

Then the victim was lifted up and the cross beam was attached to the upright post. The feet were nailed with one spike. The knees were bent so the victim could push up in order to draw a breath.

If the soldiers wanted a quicker death, they could break the legs, which is why John 19:31-32 says

John 19:31–32 ESV

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. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him.

In order for the crucified to breathe, they had to push themselves up, causing the wounds on their back from the scourging to rub against the wood of the Cross.

The nails in the wrists and feet would send lightning bolts of pain throughout the body.

When highest word we have in the English language to describe pain is excruciating.

It comes from a Latin word which means, “Out of the cross.”

Therefore, the highest level of language we have to describe pain is a word that was born out of our understanding of death on a cross.

It is pretty much impossible for us to articulate how horrible it would be to go through all of this. But the best word we can use is a word that literally exists because of the Cross.

When death finally came, the soldiers would pierce the victim with a spear. If there was a flow of blood and water, they knew the victim was dead. This is why John 19:34 says:

John 19:34 ESV

But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water.

All of that is there in those three Greek words. Those four English words.

There they crucified Him...

Packed into those words is the murder of God’s Son.

Killed by human hands in one of the most evil manners of death that humans have schemed up in their sin and depravity.

It is true blasphemy on display.

An anonymous 8th century poet captured the scene in Dream of the Rood—a poem from the perspective of the Cross itself:

It was long ago—I still remember it--

that I was cut down from the edge of the forest,

ripped up by my roots. Strong enemies seized me there,

made me their spectacle, forced me to bear criminals....

I was raised as a cross; I lifted up a mighty King,

the Lord of heaven; I did not dare to bend.

They pierced me with dark nails; I bear the scars,

the open wounds of hatred...

They mocked us both together. I was drenched with blood

that flowed from that man’s side after he had sent forth his spirit...

THE MOCKERY OF CHRIST (v. 34-39)

We now go from the murder of Christ to the mockery of Christ, as the people around Jesus hurl insults at Him as He hangs.

As Jesus is praying for forgiveness for the people, they are arrogantly making fun of Him. Specifically, they are making fun of His seeming lack of power.

The people are watching--

These are the common people. The ones who have been manipulated into being a part of this terrible scene. There must have been a lot of emotions in that crowd as they watched what was playing out before their eyes.

But in the religious leadership of Israel, there was mostly just hatred and derision.

Verse 35 says the rulers scoffed at Him and they make fun of the idea that Jesus could supposedly be a Messiah to Israel and save others, but He is unable to save Himself from death.

If He is the Messiah, let Him save Himself—this is their blasphemous pun that they surely think is so clever.

The soldiers join in with the mockery in verse 36.

They offer Him sour wine as they make fun of the idea that He is a King.

This is not an act of mercy from them.

By offering the wine while laughing at Jesus’ claims to be King, they are acting as if they are servants in His court.

The servants of a king would commonly bring him good wine.

They are offering up this sour wine in an act of ridicule.

“Here is your wine, O King...” That is the tone of this.

They also say that if He is King, He should save Himself.

In verse 38, we see that there is a placard above Jesus’ head with an inscription on it. It says, “This is the King of the Jews.” If you combine all of the Gospel accounts, it reads: “This is Jesus of Nazareth; King of the Jews.”

This was the work of Pilate. He did it to exact a bit of revenge on the Jewish leaders:

John 19:19–22 ESV

Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but rather, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.’ ” Pilate answered, “What I have written I have written.”

The leaders wanted no confusion about whether or not Jesus was the Messiah, but Pilate loved that they hated this. They forced his hand in crucifying Jesus and he is turning the screw on them a bit.

But what he has done is unknowingly confirmed the truth about Jesus.

That being said, mockery stills lies at the heart of this.

It is the Roman statement of Jesus’ crime.

But He is innocent.

It is a mockery of justice and the character of Christ to lay any charge on Him because He is utterly sinless. He is pure. He is the essence of innocence and perfection.

And then the final bit of mockery comes from one of the criminals who is hanging with Him. That criminal says, “Are you not Christ? Save yourself and us!”

In the end, all of the mockery Jesus gets from the leaders, the soldiers and the criminal comes down to one thing:

If you are the Messiah, then You should be able to save yourself.

The great irony is that His being the Messiah is the reason He is not saving Himself.

His mission is not to save Himself—it is to save His people.

And to do that, He has to die.

The Jewish people didn’t understand that because they expected the Messiah to be crowned in coronation, not crucified.

They thought He would come and overthrow Rome and take David’s throne in Jerusalem

Not that He would be crucified at the hands of the Romans outside the city

They did not understand that the Messiah had to die.

Here is RC Sproul on this:

Who is this being crucified? He is the God-man. He is God-incarnate, not the impotent God-incarnate, but the omnipotent, almighty God incarnate. According to His human nature, while He was hanging on the cross, Jesus was physically helpless and unable to save Himself. That human nature was still perfectly united with the divine nature. According to His divine nature, Jesus only had to say a single word to stop this travesty. As Scripture says, “He utters His voice, the earth melts.” He could have saved Himself in a heartbeat. The reason He didn’t save Himself was not because He could not but because He would not. That makes all the difference in the world. And the reason He would not is the covenant of redemption.

To fulfill the New Covenant, Christ had to die.

He could have saved Himself, but He wouldn’t do it for the sake of the Church.

He wouldn’t because of my sin and your sin. If it were to be paid for by anyone but us, it had to be Him.

It remind me of the words of the 17th century poet, Jacobus Revius

No, it was not the Jews who crucified, Nor who betrayed you in the judgment place, Nor who, Lord Jesus, spat into your face, Nor who with buffets struck you as you died. No, it was not the soldiers fisted bold Who lifted up the hammer and the nail, Or raised the cursed cross on Calvary’s hill, Or, gambling, tossed the dice to win your robe. I am the one, O Lord, who brought you there, I am the heavy cross you had to bear, I am the rope that bound you to the tree, The whip, the nail, the hammer, and the spear, The blood-stained crown of thorns you had to wear: It was my sin, alas, it was for me. (He Bore Our Griefs, Jacobus Revius)

THE MERCY OF CHRIST (v. 34; 40-43)

We have seen the Murder of Christ and the Mockery of Christ, but now we turn our attention the heart of the man on the Cross. We see the Mercy of Christ.

Theologically, we can define mercy as God compassionately not giving us the divine wrath and punishment we deserve.

And if that is the case, then we should see this entire scene as the ultimate display of God’s mercy because we have Jesus receiving our sin punishment so that we would not. He is our merciful Substitute.

But while that is the big picture, we can comb through the scene of the persecution and find two beautiful pictures of Jesus’ mercy in the midst of the big picture.

The first comes in His prayer on the Cross:

Luke 23:34 “And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

We do not see Christ on the Cross, answering the sneers of the crowd with threats of, “Just you wait until I return to this earth and burn this place down one day!”

No—instead, He is praying to the Father and asking God to be merciful on the people by forgiving them for what they are doing.

Some have suggested that Jesus is sovereignly praying for the elect in the crowd—those who would come to know Him one day.

But I think it is more general than that—I believe Jesus is simply asking God to be merciful to sinful Israel.

This is astounding mercy. Many of us are tempted to seek vengeance over the smallest of sins and yet here is Jesus, the innocent Son suffering for the sin of the world and He is not venting anger.

He is asking for mercy.

The basis for this mercy is that the people do not grasp the depths of the sin they are committing. There was no way to comprehend the full weight of their iniquity.

1 Corinthians 2:7–8 ESV

But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

God does not judge Israel for this sin until 70 AD when He uses the Romans as a tool of judgment against His people for crucifying the Lord of glory.

How much sooner would the Father have planned to judge, had Jesus not prayed?

How much worse would the Father have planned His wrath to be, has Jesus not prayed?

We don’t know, but to hear this prayer from the Son of God for Israel, as He is being killed, shines a light on the great mercy in the heart of Jesus.

The second picture of mercy we see is found in the grace He shows to the thief.

We already saw one of the thieves mock Jesus.

Now we see other thief rebuke the mocker.

English Standard Version Chapter 23

“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

This thief is convicted by the Holy Spirit of his own sin and he realizes that while it is just for him and this other criminal to die on crosses, it is not just that Jesus would die on the Cross.

He makes a declaration about sinlessness of Christ and the sinfulness of his own heart right there on the Cross.

And then he asks that Jesus would remember him in His Kingdom and Jesus responds by saying, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

So now, he is not just confessing his sinfulness and Christ’s perfection, he is asking for forgiveness and salvation.

And Jesus, mercifully, grants this request by promising that on that very day, the thief would be with Him in heaven.

So Jesus promises the man that his sin would be forgiven as He is literally doing the atoning work of dying for the man’s sin.

This is mercy in action.

While this man is feeling the earthly consequences for his sin by dying on a Cross, God is diverting all of the spiritual consequences for his sin on Christ, who is dying next to him.

It is an awesome picture of God’s love and how He is filled with second chances for sinners.

It led the hymn-writer William Cowper to pen these words:

The dying thief rejoiced to see, that fountain in his day

And there may I, though vile as He, wash all my sins away (There is a Fountain, 1772)

THE MESSIAHSHIP OF CHRIST (v. 33-34; 44-47; 50-56)

We have seen the Murder of Christ, the Mockery of Christ and Mercy of Christ.

The mercy of Christ showed us Christ’s heart.

Now we close by seeing the Messiahship of Christ and looking at the identity of Jesus.

Because this passage about the crucifixion is soaked with the fulfillment of ancient prophecy uttered by God’s Old Testament preachers and proofs that Jesus is the Anointed One sent by the Father.

I want to go through them in order.

First of all, we have Christ being crucified with two criminals (v. 32-33), which fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah 53:12

Isaiah 53:12 ESV

Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.

You will notice the last line of Isaiah 53:12.

The Messiah is not just numbered with the transgressors, He “…makes intercession for the transgressors.”

This portion of the prophecy is fulfilled in verse 34 when Jesus prays for the people to be forgiven.

Then, in verse 34, you see lots being cast for His garments. The casting of lots was like the first-century rolling of dice. This is a gambling game for Jesus’ clothes.

David predicted this in Psalm 22—a messianic Psalm that is packed with prophecy about the crucifixion.

Psalm 22:18 “they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.”

If you move down to verses 44-47, we see prophecy fulfilled in the supernatural events surrounding the death of Christ.

To start, we have darkness enveloping the landscape as Jesus is crucified.

Darkness is a sign of God’s judgment.

Amos 8:9 ESV

“And on that day,” declares the Lord God, “I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight.

Similarly, we see darkness covering Egypt as one of God’s plagues of judgment for Pharaoh’s enslavement of His people

The darkness at Golgotha proves that judgment has come—but not on the people. On the Son of God.

All of the wrath that God’s people deserved is placed on the shoulders of God’s Son.

God’s righteousness makes Him hate sin.

God’s wrath is the punishment He pours out on sin.

God’s love led Him to send His Son to die for our sin.

And since the human Son of God was also completely divine in His nature, He was able to absorb an eternity’s worth of Hell on the Cross in six hours for every sinner who would ever repent and trust in Him.

The darkness is proof that Isaiah 53:10 has come to pass:

Isaiah 53:10 “Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief...

In verse 45, Luke tells us that another supernatural event occurs—the curtain that separates the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple is torn in two.

The curtain wasn’t like your bedroom curtain. It was long and thick and it would take a divine act to tear it in half.

And that is exactly what happens.

This was God’s way of letting Israel know that the New Covenant has come. The Old Covenant, the priesthood, the sacrificial system—it was all over now.

The way has been opened for anyone who repents of sin and trusts in God’s Son to be forgiven and have full access to God.

This event proves the Messiahship of Christ because if Jesus had not truly been the Messiah, God would not have responded to His death by tearing down the barrier between God and man. But because the task was finished, the curtain was torn.

Matthew’s Gospel records another supernatural event that came along with the darkness and the temple curtain being torn—an earthquake that resulted in tombs being opened and Old Testament saints resurrecting.

Matthew 27:51-53 “And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.”

We know it is truly the Messiah who has died because His death shakes the very earth and opens graves.

The Old Testament believers who resurrect appear after Jesus’ resurrection as the firstfruits of the firstfruits.

They were an immediate witness of the power of Jesus’ death and its impact on sin and the grave.

In verse 46, Jesus commits His spirit into the Father’s hands.

The work of redemption was done. Jesus’ fellowship with the Father is restored.

Yet another proof that Jesus is the Messiah and He had faithfully done the work of the Suffering Servant by receiving the wrath for our sin at Calvary.

And then in verse 47, one of the Roman centurions that was watching the scene praises God and declares the innocence of Christ—the 4th different declaration in Luke 23.

This Gentile pagan’s praise of God and theologically accurate declaration about God’s Son is another miraculous moment that proves this was the death of no mere man. This was the Lord of the Universe in human skin dying on a Roman instrument of torture.

And to some in the crowd, that became incredibly clear.

The rest of the narrative looks like this:

The people go home beating their breasts over the horror of what they have seen. They participated in it. They were a part of it. And yet, they cannot deny the grief and guilt and fear that grips their soul as they leave the Place of the Skull. (v. 48)

His friends and the women who followed Him stand at a distance watching as Jesus’ life ends. At some point, the horror was too much and they had to move away. (v. 49)

John 19:25–27 ESV

but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.

At some point between John 19:27 and Luke 23:49, the crowd of Jesus’ friends needed to get some distance from the scene of the crime.

Joseph and Nicodemus care for Jesus’ body in verses 50-53.

Joseph of Arimathea is described as a member of the council, meaning the Sanhedrin. He was good and righteous and did not approve of the kangaroo court and their actions against Christ. He is looking for the Kingdom of God.

This is a believer.

Matthew 27:57 says, “When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus.”

Joseph’s wealth is an important detail because it shows we have another prophecy fulfilled and more proof of the Messiahship of Christ.

Isaiah 53:9 “And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.”

The other man is Nicodemus. The same Pharisee who came to Jesus by night in John 3 to find out how someone goes about being born again.

John 19:39 “Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight.”

They wrap Jesus’ body in a linen shroud and lay Him in a virgin tomb that had never held another body.

Matthew 27 tells us this was going to be Joseph’s own grave, but he is giving it to Jesus.

Importantly, Matthew adds this detail:

Matthew 27:60 “and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away.”

There is a great rock in front of the tomb. No one is stealing with body without a planned, concerted effort.

Jesus has been sealed away.

Finally, the devotion of the women around Jesus is sweet. They make note of where Jesus’ body is, dispelling an early criticism of the faith that suggested Jesus’ followers went to the wrong tomb on Easter morning.

Then they go home to prepare spices and perfumes that will be used to anoint Jesus’ body on Sunday morning, after they have rested on the Sabbath

The devotion of these women all the way to the end should stand out to us as an exclamation point on Jesus’ life and His relationship with females.

He doesn’t exchange harsh words with women in the Gospels.

He has no truly negative interactions with them.

And in a culture that did not value women, Jesus raises their worth to the place it should be as daughters made in the image of God.

CONCLUSION

What can we say in closing? How can we sum up this moment in history that changed the eternal destiny of every man and woman who has placed faith in Jesus?

Paul said that for the Jewish people, the cross was a stumbling block.

The Law said that anyone hung on a tree is cursed.

They could not fathom that the Messiah of David’s line would die in this way.

For the Gentiles, the cross was a joke.

This is your God? Dead on a Roman Cross? Hung there like a common criminal? This is the One in whom we live and move and have our being?

It was folly. It was laughable.

But for us, the Cross is no point of offense and it is no punchline.

Because we are sheep, we see the death of our Shepherd.

We see Him laying His life down for the flock.

We see love in His murder.

We see glory in His mockery.

We see relief in His mercy.

We see salvation in our Messiah.

We weep. We rejoice. We know it should have been us. We lay all our devotion on the altar because it was Him.

For whatever the Cross meant before our Lord died on it, it is, as Charles Spurgeon said, now the world’s one and only remedy.

And for the church, it is our great hope.

Let us cling to it and proclaim it for the glory of the One who died on it.