The Christ is Crucified
Notes
Transcript
Scripture Reading
Scripture Reading
32 Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. 33 When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
35 The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.”
36 The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 37 and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”
38 There was a written notice above him, which read: this is the king of the jews.
39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!”
40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
43 Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”
44 It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, 45 for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.
47 The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” 48 When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. 49 But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.
Introduction
Introduction
On this past Sunday, we saw the various legal trials that Jesus went through, and how He was essentially declared innocent by any court that had any meaningful say in terms of carrying out justice. But the Sanhedrin, the Jewish leaders, were determined to have Jesus put to death, no matter what. Eventually, Pilate had granted them their request. This was not at all because of any wrong that Jesus had committed, but rather in order to maintain peace and stability, and probably to protect his political career and interests.
At this point, Jesus is going to be taken away and crucified. It was the religious leaders who desired his death, and they were thrilled that they were having their way.
1 The Cross (vv.32-43)
1 The Cross (vv.32-43)
There are a number of details that Luke brings through in his description of what takes place at the cross. We’ll work through them briefly.
1.1 The Criminals (vv.32-33)
1.1 The Criminals (vv.32-33)
Verses 32-33 tells us…
32 Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. 33 When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left.
Here was Jesus, the righteous and perfect Son of God, the one who lived a holy life before God, and He was led out of the city alongside criminals. According to the other Gospel accounts, these men were robbers, those who break in and steal.
In John 10:10 Jesus contrasted himself with the thief:
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
What a visual contrast this was then at the cross. To people whose life work was to steal and kill and destroy, hung up next to the one that gives life.
Another glorious point through this scene was that Jesus came to give life to those who deserved death. The very fact that He was hung here in between “sinners” was once again a testimony of the work that He came to do.
Although He was righteous in every respect, holy before God, He hung there among sinners, because he was taking the place of sinners, paying the debt that was due to God.
Christ was crucified among sinners where you and I deserved to be!
1.2 Christ’s Prayer (v.34a)
1.2 Christ’s Prayer (v.34a)
As Christ continues to face his suffering and humiliation at the cross, we continue to see his care, concern and compassion for those around Him, through a prayer that He prayed on behalf of those afflicting Him.
Luke 23:34 (NIV84)
34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
Rather than demonstrating any measure of animosity or hostility towards those involved in His crucifixion, Jesus demonstrated concern for them, and even a desire for God’s grace to be extended to them. There was a deep humility in Him.
We find Jesus appealing here to His Father in heaven. He asks God to forgive them, literally, to blot out their transgressions.
We need to place Christ’s prayer within the broader context of the Scriptures and the Gospel. The word is clear that in order for there to be forgiveness, there is a need for repentance and faith. In other words, what Jesus would effectively be asking here is that God, in His great mercy, would grant them faith that leads to repentance so that they would be fully pardoned!
His prayer is motivated by the fact that those who are crucifying Him do not know what they are doing. In one sense, this was true of the Roman soldiers. They did not have an understanding of even the basic Jewish background and God’s promises of the Messiah.
But I would suggest that Jesus was praying here also for the Sanhedrin, and for the Jewish people in general. In their own minds they were fully justifying their decision to put Jesus to death. They were so blinded by their hardened hearts that they not only missed the fact that they were putting an innocent man to death, but they were putting the Son of God, the exact image and perfect representation of the God they claimed to worship, to death!!!
They did not know, did not perceive, what they were doing.
Jesus prayed for them, even for God’s forgiveness to be granted.
Did not God use this prayer to convert multitudes at the time of Pentecost?
41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
4 But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand.
7 So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.
There were a great deal of conversions as these who were opposed to Jesus were radically converted by the power of the Gospel!
Next, we see…
1.3 Casting Lots (v.34b)
1.3 Casting Lots (v.34b)
In the second half of verse 34 we read…
Luke 23:34 (NIV84)
34 ...And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
This was the custom of the soldiers of the day. As a person was being crucified, the soldiers in charge would cast lots for the clothing of the person crucified. There would usually have been four pieces of clothing: headgear; sandals; belt; outer garment. According to John 19:23, there were four soldiers involved here, so they would have each obtained a piece of Jesus’ clothing.
We need to recognise that this was in fulfillment of prophecy.
18 They divide my garments among them
and cast lots for my clothing.
However, the sad reality is that this is all that the soldiers took away from the cross that day. I appreciate the words and exhortation of William Hendriksen here:
Luke 23:26–43 Calvary: The Crucifixion of Jesus
Poor, poor soldiers! How much did they take home from Calvary? A few pieces of clothing! No truly penitent hearts, no renewed visions, no changed lives, no Savior? Even today, how much—or how little—do some people carry home with them from the church service, the Bible class, the hymn sing, the revival meeting? Each individual should answer this question for himself.
Let me ask the question this morning… what will you take home with you today? A nice Bible story about a man who died?
If you have not repented of sin, confessed Christ as Lord, will today be the day that you do that?
If you are living in selfishness and pride, or if you are living with known sin, will you allow the Word do its work to move you to renewed submission to Christ as Lord?
Will the Word do it’s work to lead you to deeper joy and greater delight in Christ, as your heart is moved to worship and praise Him?
1.4 The Insults (vv.35-37)
1.4 The Insults (vv.35-37)
In these next few verses, we find the slew of further insults that were brought against Jesus.
35 The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.”
36 The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 37 and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”
A number of groups are mentioned here.
Crowds
Firstly are the general crowds. They simply stand watching. Keep in mind that this is the time of the Passover Feast, where many Jewish people have gathered together in order to observe the Passover Feast. No doubt, an exceedingly large group of them had come out in order to witness the execution of these men. The vast majority of them knew about Jesus, knew about His teaching. They had seen him in the temple courts, and along the roads. Now, they simply stand there watching while he is crucified. We must not think that they were opposed to what was taking place.
Rulers
Then we have the rulers. This refers to the Jewish leaders in their various offices. They were not simply going to leave it at the fact that they had managed to persuade Pilate to hand Jesus over to be crucified, they now wanted to rub salt in the wounds. They were sneering at and mocking him. They were gloating over the fact that he now appeared helpless!!
They teased Him here about the fact that he had saved others. Keep in mind, they’ve been witnesses to the healings of Jesus. They acknowledge that Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. Jesus has been talking about this salvation that comes… and their mockery is, if he’s saved others, surely he can save himself?! If he’s truly the Messiah, the chosen King of God, then surely he must be able to save himself. What good is a leader who cannot look after himself!?
The reality was, of course, that Christ had more than sufficient power to save His own life, if He so chose. He could have called down legions of angels to His defense. But, he had clearly stated that he had come to do the will of His Father. He said…
18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”
The reason that Christ would not save his life in this moment was not for want of power or authority. It was because of His great love for sinners. Because He knew that the only hope of their salvation, the only hope of them being reconciled with God, and obtaining an eternal inheritance with God, was his own death.
He willingly subjected himself to death, in order that we may have life.
Soldiers
The final group that is mentioned here is the soldiers. They also joined in the chorus and cries of insults. They not only mocked him, but joined in the mockery of the Jewish leaders, by saying to Jesus that if he was a king, he should come down and save himself.
I think the important thing for us to note over here is the extent of the hatred and the animosity towards Jesus at this point.
Hebrews 1:3 (NIV84)
3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being...
John 14:9 (NIV84)
9 ...Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
Jesus was the full revelation of God in this world, and yet he was being rejected, despised, mocked, ridiculed, scorned… Here was an outright rejection of God Almighty.
And to think that God patiently endured. Even this was part of His gracious, merciful plan of salvation. And so, Jesus endured the suffering and the shame.
1.5 The Inscription (v.38)
1.5 The Inscription (v.38)
Very briefly we see that Luke records the inscription above Jesus on the cross.
38 There was a written notice above him, which read: this is the king of the jews.
The religious leaders didn’t like the idea that this stated that Jesus was in fact “king of the Jews.” They wanted it changed to read that Jesus “claimed to be” the “king of the Jews.”
But Pilate told them that it is written as it is written.
In keeping it as it was, with the inscription that Jesus was King of the Jews, God used this as a declaration of the true identity of Jesus. He was indeed the King of the Jews. He was indeed the promised descendant who would sit on the throne of David forever, as promised.
What we should not gloss over here is the fact that this King came to die for His subjects. This King, the King of kings, was prepared to lay down his own life in order to save those who were rebelling against Him; those who were subverting His rule and reign. Those who were insurrectionists!!
It’s fascinating that… the Jewish leaders were accusing Jesus of being an insurrectionist, trying to subvert the rule of Rome (although they were more concerned about their own rule over the Israelites).
But here they are, in outright rebellion against the King of the universe, their true king!! What they attempted to portray Jesus as guilty of, they themselves were guilty of!!
Next, we find in our text…
1.6 The Salvation (vv.39-43)
1.6 The Salvation (vv.39-43)
This is a wonderful and powerful encouragement to us… that Jesus would be prepared to offer salvation at his own deathbed, to a man that had lived a life marked by rebellion!! In those dying moments - salvation freely given.
39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!”
This criminal joins in the cries of the religious leaders and the soldiers. He himself was a criminal. He deserved to be dying. He deserved the punishment that was brought against him!
All he can think of in his own last dying moments is to hurl insults at another man crucified next to him. The heart of man can be profoundly wicked!!
But notice how the other criminal responds...
40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
Now, there is more to this than what meets the eye from Luke’s account.
We need to keep in mind that this second criminal had previously joined in the abuse of Jesus. You see that in the parallel accounts.
Both of these men had been at a point of mocking and scoffing at Jesus. But God had changed the heart of this second criminal.
Various factors could have influenced this man, by God’s grace. Perhaps it was the prayer of Jesus to deal mercifully with the people crucifying him. Perhaps it was that Jesus had asked John to care for his mother. Perhaps it was the fact that he remained silent and kind in the face of ill treatment. What we do know is that God transformed this man’s heart radically, right as he was about to be put to death himself.
He suddenly turns and says to his co-accused… “Don’t you fear God? You’re under the same sentence.” But notice that he then acknowledges that they are being punished justly. They are getting precisely what they deserve. They are getting the just reward for their criminal actions.
Was this not a conviction of his own sin, and words flowing out of a deep conviction that he was deserving of his punishment.
But in his case, it didn’t lead to sinful responses, but to a godly response!
42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
We need to see that this was an amazing declaration of faith in the person of Jesus Christ.
The religious leaders, the soldiers, probably many, if not most of the crowds, the criminal on the other cross - they all mocked Jesus because of this claim to be the Messiah, the king upon David’s throne.
This man, by his statement, acknowledges that Jesus truly is the king, and he is simply awaiting the time of coming into his kingdom.
In all likelihood, this man had in mind the final consummation of the kingdom of Christ, when the final rule and reign of Christ would be instituted. I don’t know that they he had a clear picture of when this would actually be. I don’t think any of the disciples had a clear picture.
There must have been so many unknowns for this man. One thing was known, however, and that was the fact that Jesus was the king that he was claiming to be, and that His kingdom rule would be established. He confessed this while Jesus was hanging beaten and bloodied and feeble on the cross. This was a declaration of faith in Jesus Christ.
His request is, please remember me. Please don’t turn me away from you as King.
And then the response from Jesus…
43 Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”
What words of comfort from Jesus towards this man. He had simply asked Jesus to remember him in (probably) some distant future day where Jesus would be the king who ruled. Jesus assures him that this very day, he will be with Jesus in paradise!
Next we must consider…
2 The Death (vv.44-46)
2 The Death (vv.44-46)
This really is the climactic point through this narrative, where Jesus gives up His life, and the wrath of God has its effect on Jesus, His own Son.
2.1 The Darkness (vv.44-45a)
2.1 The Darkness (vv.44-45a)
The first thing that Luke records for us is the extent and the duration of the darkness...
Luke 23:44–45 (NIV84)
44 It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, 45 for the sun stopped shining.
There are all kinds of questions about this verse, in terms of how this came about. What caused the darkness. Some translations state that the sun was eclipsed. That’s a possible translation, but unlikely the cause. I won’t focus on the unknowns at this stage. I will simply say that in the powerful working of God, He caused a darkness to come over the Rather, I want us to consider the significance of the darkness.
We need to realise that darkness in the Scripture in general, and darkness over this period of time during the crucifixion of Jesus is a picture of the Divine judgment of God. Some Biblical examples of this are as follows:
30 In that day they will roar over it
like the roaring of the sea.
And if one looks at the land,
he will see darkness and distress;
even the light will be darkened by the clouds.
18 Woe to you who long
for the day of the Lord!
Why do you long for the day of the Lord?
That day will be darkness, not light.
20 Will not the day of the Lord be darkness, not light—
pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness?
In the context of Christ’s crucifixion, this was a demonstration and picture of the divine wrath of God being poured out upon His Son Jesus Christ, this in order to bring punishment for our sins.
It was in these hours that Christ was experiencing and bearing the full weight of the wrath of God upon Him, experiencing the torment and suffering that comes about when God’s judgment is poured out against sin.
Very often people look at the physical sufferings of Christ, and think that this is really the extent of His sufferings on our behalf. We should not think this!! The spiritual / emotional torment of Jesus as He faced the wrath of His Father upon himself would have far eclipsed the physical suffering that He was enduring!
At the end of this period, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me!!”
Christ, who had lived in all eternity with the Father in glory, living in perfect love, the perfect relationship of love, in this moment experienced the perfect divine wrath of His father!!
We must also look at what is said about the veil
2.2 The Veil (v.45b)
2.2 The Veil (v.45b)
In verse 45b we read…
Luke 23:45 (NIV84)
45 ...And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.
The curtain that is referred to here is the inner curtain that was situated between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies!
What was happening here? The purpose of this curtain was to prevent any person from entering into that Most Holy Place. Keep in mind that the Most Holy Place we the place where God dwelt most fully. Only the High Priest was permitted to enter there, and that only once a year, under strict directions in order to make atonement for the sins of the people.
Access to the presence of God was restricted. You had to go behind this curtain. If you went behind the curtain outside of the parameters that God had instituted, you would be put to death instantly! No one ventured there.
But here, the curtain was ripped in two from top to bottom. This was a thick curtain, that suddenly tore all the way in an instant. The priests would have been going about their business in the temple. It must have been frightening for them!
But the curtain being torn demonstrated that now, through the death of Jesus Christ (for this is when the curtain was torn) a way was opened up for people to enter into the presence of God.
Through the death of Jesus, we obtained a mediator, a great High Priest, who would allow us to approach God with a confidence because we had been cleansed of our sins.
19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.
And what is the call then to us who are sinners? To us who do not deserve God’s grace and mercy and kindness? To us who actually deserve the full wrath of God being poured out upon us?
We because Jesus took that wrath upon Himself, and because he died in our place, our sins are forgiven by His blood. We have been made pure and holy in the sight of God, if we are in Christ, and we can come before God, and can present ourselves to Him with gratitude!
16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
If you are trusting in Christ and what He has done on the cross, then you have the freedom to approach God with confidence in order to receive mercy and find grace to help you!
The next aspect that Luke records at the death of Jesus is…
2.3 The Cry (v.46)
2.3 The Cry (v.46)
We read in verse 46…
46 Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.
As the life of Jesus drew to a close in this world, having lived His life in perfect obedience to His Father, carrying out the will of His Father perfectly at every point, He continues to demonstrate perfect, humble submission and trust in His Father, right until the end!
The cry from his lips is, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” The bulk of that cry is a quotation from Psalm 31:5, which reads…
5 Into your hands I commit my spirit;
redeem me, O Lord, the God of truth.
But notice some differences as Jesus quotes these words.
Firstly, He address his father! He doesn’t refer to God, or LORD, as the Psalmist does. He is speaking to His heavenly Father.
Secondly, notice that he omits the part of the verse that calls for redemption (or acknowledges that God has redeemed). Christ has no need of redemption. Rather, He is the redeemer of the word! It is through this very act that Jesus is bringing about the redemption of man!
As the Psalmist entrusted the care of his soul into the hands of God, so Jesus now entrusts the care of his soul into the hands of His Father. He knows that His Father will not reject Him, will not forsake Him utterly.
He entrusts himself into the care of His father.
It’s striking that throughout the life and ministry of Jesus, in all that He endured, He never once wavered in His absolute trust and faith in His father! He remained steadfast in entrusting himself to His Father’s care!
This leads us then to consider the responses to the events that unfolded here.
3 The Responses (vv.47-49)
3 The Responses (vv.47-49)
Luke records three different responses, or at least the responses of three different groups of people.
3.1 The Centurion (v.47)
3.1 The Centurion (v.47)
We see the response of the Centurion in verse 47…
47 The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.”
Think about this for a moment. Here is a Roman centurion, a decorated soldier in the Roman army. He’s not a Jew. He doesn’t hold to the Jewish religion.
But as he’s carrying out the sentence, and ensuring that everything goes according to how it should, he’s witnessing the responses of Jesus.
He hears the shouts of the crowds, and sees the insults and the mockery. He’s aware of the floggings and beatings that Jesus has endured, and the weakness of Jesus as he carried the cross (at least for a part of the way) towards Calvary).
And then he sees the manner in which Jesus prays for his enemies that are taunting him. He hears Jesus asking God to forgive them.
He listens as the criminal next to Jesus changes his demeanor, and instead of mocking Jesus, now speaks to Jesus, and expresses trust in Jesus, and asks Jesus to remember him when he comes in his kingdom.
And the Centurion sees that Jesus responds, not with a vindictive spirit or arrogance against the criminal that was still abusing him, but with a quiet and gracious response that this man will today be with him in paradise.
Not only this, but he sees the signs that unfold in this moment. The darkness of that whole region for 3 hours! He feels the earth shaking with the earthquake. He sees the rocks splitting apart, and the opening of the tombs. He doesn’t have the hardness of heart that the Jewish religious leaders had.
And so, instead of rejection, he processes what is taking place, and says that this is not normal! Something supernatural is taking place here. This man is different in his responses, in his conduct, in his life, and the signs at the time of his death confirm that He is unique.
How does he respond? He praises God! This Roman centurion, who according to the Jewish mindset was darkened in his understanding, gives praise to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He does this by confessing that Jesus was righteous! This man was innocent (that’s another translation). In the parallel accounts in the other Gospels, this same man cries out, “Surely this was the Son of God!”
This is not a matter of choosing which words were correct. He would have spoken both in that same instant, which each author being selective in the words that they recorded.
Secondly, we look at the response of the crowds.
3.2 The Crowds (v.48)
3.2 The Crowds (v.48)
Their response is recorded for us in verse 48, and it is somewhat strange in a sense.
48 When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away.
Notice that their response comes after they “saw what took place.” They have been looking on at what has happened, similar to what the Centurion was doing. They have seen the responses of Jesus, they’ve witnessed the signs that unfolded at the death of Jesus. Now their response is to beat their breasts.
That response is one that demonstrates self-reproach. Listen to how it comes across in Luke 18:13
13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
He beat his breast in the recognition of his own unworthiness before God. This was surely something of the response of the people. It has been suggested that they were aware of the fact that they were in fact the ones that had played a part in bringing this man Jesus to the cross.
We must think of the change in opinions and perspectives on the part of the crowd. Many had followed Jesus all over the place, believing that indeed, he was either a prophet, or some great teacher. They had cheered Jesus into Jerusalem, singing His praises, treating Him as a king, as they laid down the branches, and sang His praises. This was just days prior to what was unfolding at Calvary.
Then they had been stirred up by the religious leaders to turn against Jesus, to demand His crucifixion at the hands of the Romans. But now, they saw something further of His glory, as these final events unfolded!
In response, they beat their breasts.
One commentator writes: “They came to witness a show; they left with feelings of woe.” (Lenski)
One must wonder if this was not the initiating point at which the Lord began to work in the consciences such that when Pentecost arrived, they would end up confessing their sin, repenting, and turning to the Lord! No less than three thousand conversions at Pentecost!
Thirdly, we must look at the response of the disciples…
3.3. The Disciples (v.49)
3.3. The Disciples (v.49)
Verse 49 tells us what happened…
49 But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.
I won’t delve into too much detail here. The fact is that there were a number of disciples around. There were probably the 11, along with some others perhaps, like Joseph of Arimathea who would bury Jesus. There were the women that had followed Jesus from Galilee, who also formed part of this crowd (a number of their names are recorded in various places in Scripture).
The important point to note about them is the fact that they were watching and observing. John’s Gospel seems to indicate that there was a time when they stood nearby to the cross - near enough for conversations to be held with Jesus as he hung there.
At this point, Luke records that they were standing somewhere far off. The important point to note, however, is the fact that they were witness of what unfolded. These witnesses would also witness the burial of Jesus in due course, which we now will consider briefly.
The Burial
The Burial
But Sunday morning was coming!
The Lessons
The Lessons