Luke CH 23:

Summarize Vs 1-25

Jesus was accused , ridiculed , mocked for being the (supposed King of the Jews) In vs 2

Pontius Pilate and Herod Both Had the opportunity to Make things right regarding Jesus vs 15

Pilate Himself Had 3 opportunities to get it right vs 14 , 22, and 24

He knew that Jesus Had done nothing wrong and was innocent vs 14, vs 22

But Pilate Caved to the pressure of the voices from the angry Mob vs 24

Luke 23:26 “26 Now as they led Him away, they laid hold of a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, who was coming from the country, and on him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus.”

Here in vs 26 we see that in this account of the Gospel that Jesus didn’t carry His cross

but He did

When we look into the Gospel of John we see that Jesus did carry His cross from the what they call pilates Hall (court room) to the place of the skull (aka Golgotha )

John 19:17 “17 And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha,”

Some might ask why Jesus didn’t carry His cross all the way

It was under Roman rule that a soldier could impress a (MAN) into duty by laying His sword flat on the shoulder of a Man

this meant you had to carry the soldiers burden for a mile

This is what the random man had to do, carry the burden for one mile

so a random guy walking on the street could be called by a soldier specifically a roman soldier into duty to serve them

When you look at : Matthew 5:41 “41 And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.”

Jesus is referring to this Law that we see happen here in the first few verses of this passage

this is why we see Here in Luke that a random man takes up Jesus cross and carries it for Him

So why did He help Him out ?

could possibly be because the distance He already carried it was so great , along with the weight of the cross

The roman man in charge wanted to see Jesus be crucified on the cross so he demanded that this random Man finish carrying the burden for Jesus

He may have been exhausted and couldn’t do it anymore

So this man Simon a (Cyrenian) took over and carried it for Jesus the final distance

Luke 23:27 “27 And a great multitude of the people followed Him, and women who also mourned and lamented Him.”

Luke 23:28 “28 But Jesus, turning to them, said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.”

Luke 23:29 “29 For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, wombs that never bore, and breasts which never nursed!’”

Luke 23:30 “30 Then they will begin ‘to say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!” ’”

Luke 23:31 “31 For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry?””

Jesus had a crowds where ever He went

the whole town had showed up

women mourned and lamented Jesus , but He didn’t care for it , these women are from Jerusalem probably didn’t even know Jesus

they may of had sympathy for Jesus because he was treated horribly

In Isaiah 52:14 “14 Just as many were astonished at you, So His visage was marred more than any man, And His form more than the sons of men;”

Jesus was beaten to a pulp, so bad that His face was mangled, He was un recognizable

His face was beaten with a sack over it, Like in a movie when they kidnap someone and torture them, thats what happened to Jesus

Isaiah 53:3 “3 He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.”

Jesus was beaten so bad they couldn’t even look at Him they couldn’t stand to see Him

When you guys look at a bad cut or see someone get hurt, it’ hard to see , its hard to look at, I don’t care how hardened someones heart is when you see someone hurt to that point you cant stand to look at it,

Its brutal

In verse 5 it says

Isaiah 53:5 “5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.”

Jesus did all of this for us , He was beaten and battered , and physically tortured for our iniquities , He was chastised for our peace , and by His stripes we were healed

Make no mistake Jesus did this for us that we may have life through Him

He took on the our sin to make us new

something we will never be able to fully understand or comprehend

Then Jesus goes on and responds to the weeping women

He tells the women not to weep for Him ! weep for yourself, destruction is coming to you and your children

If we take a step back and look at Zechariah Chapter 9

we see that Zechariah addresses the daughters of Jerusalem, the same daughters of Jerusalem in this chapter of Luke

Zechariah 9:9 “9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.”

there is Irony in these verses because we see that there is no rejoicing from these daughters of Jerusalem

they see Jesus torn apart and beat up , not to Mention Jerusalem is going to fall and they will not have the ability to rejoice

Zechariah was referring to the events that happened on the previous Sunday

when Jesus came riding in on a donkey ( the triumphal entry )

and then again in vs 29

during these times it’ll be better to not be pregnant , it’ll be better to not get pregnant, and it’ll be better not to nurse

it was considered in those days to be a curse if you could not get pregnant and legal grounds for divorce

Jesus is saying that it’ll be the opposite of that, they will be blessed be barren and without children

the romans were going to encircle the people and kill them , women will be eating their children and taking food from their children, total chaos was going to ensue

people would turn to cannibalism and allow their children to starve to death

It was going to get Ugly

This is what Jesus was referring to because of the things that were going to come to pass

All of this because they rejected Gods plan of Salvation through Jesus

God gave them opportunities over and over again to repent from their evil and to turn to the Living God

when we look at the evil going on today in schools, in government, in other parts of the world we see that its legitimately evil

Moral decline is High

will we be judged as well ? Like the people in Jerusalem

He says also that they will say it’ll be better for the mountains to fall on us and for the hills to cover them

Hosea 10:8 “8 Also the high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, Shall be destroyed. The thorn and thistle shall grow on their altars; They shall say to the mountains, “Cover us!” And to the hills, “Fall on us!””

they will be wishing they were dead

Revelation 6:15–16 “15 And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, 16 and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!”

there is nothing we can do, no place we can hide , to keep those who don’t know Jesus from the wrath that is coming in the end just like we see happen here in this chapter when Jesus responds to the People of Jerusalem

People will cry out to the mountains and the rocks to save them

God has planned a way of escape for His people, us His people are not subject to the wrath

Romans 5:9 “9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.”

1 Thessalonians 5:9 “9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,”

For those of us who are saved we find that we may escape the wrath of God through His son Jesus Christ

Now Jesus says in the Last verse is interesting ,

he says “ For if they do these things in green wood, what will be done in dry ?

In other words, if things are this bad for innocent men during time of peace (when the wood is green)

It will be much worst for those who deserve judgement during a time of war ( when it is dry)

If the flame of passion is consuming the green tree , imagine what it’ll be like if it was dry

When a fire is raging hot enough to consume a tree thats wet, imagine what it’ll do when the tree is try. He’s talking about the pursuit of their passion (their flesh)

Share what its Like to be on a Fire thats raging (explain it in detail)

Jesus is referring to their fleshly desire and how evil they have become

they were becoming more ripe for Judgement

Luke 23:32 “32 There were also two others, criminals, led with Him to be put to death.”

In Matthew , and Mark they tell us that both these men that were with Jesus were part of the crowd that was chanting against Jesus to be put to death

they were amongst the crowd mocking Jesus

these men spoke blasphemy against Jesus

it was also tradition to execute people during festivals, as we know this had occured Just before passover

so the crowds would be massive , this is what the Authorities of the Land wanted

they wanted to make a spectacle out of Bad men in-front of Large crowds because that was the best way to get the word out

they enjoyed making an example out of people

Again in Isaiah 53:12 “12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.” , we see that it was prophesied that Jesus wouldn’t be alone on the cross

He was going to be with two other men

Luke 23:33 “33 And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left.”

Jesus was going to the place of the skull Also known as Golgotha or Calvary

Jesus was in the middle of the two criminals

He was not a criminal but treated like one, He was unjustly treated

The criminals deserved the punishment but Jesus didn’t

and again we see the prophecy in Isaiah ch 53 being fulfilled.

Luke 23:34 “34 Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” And they divided His garments and cast lots.”

Jesus here in this verse asks God to forgive these people

they were ignorant about who Jesus truly was

They literally had no idea

they were blinded

Psalm 22:18 “18 They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.”

it was again tradition for the people to divide the dead mens clothes among the executioners and thats what they did

Luke 23:35 “35 And the people stood looking on. But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God.”

Just as satan tempted Jesus

the people again are in a way tempting Jesus and trying to test Him

If he Has all this power why doesn’t He save Himself ?

Because as we look back in chapter 22 starting in vs 39 we see Jesus getting on His knees and praying to the father

He’s going through it knowing He’s going to be a living sacrifice

and at the end of His prayer He says “nevertheless not my will, but Yours be done”.

Jesus knew the importance of why He was here on earth, He offered man Life through His death

If he was to save Himself, there would be no way for that plan to work

Jesus was Selfless !

Luke 23:36 “36 The soldiers also mocked Him, coming and offering Him sour wine,”

Luke 23:37 “37 and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself.””

Sour wine in vs 36, its talked about differently in Marks account,

Mark 15:23 “23 Then they gave Him wine mingled with myrrh to drink, but He did not take it.”

Wine mixed with myrrh acted as a form of Anastasia

a way to ease the pain Jesus was going through on the cross

crucifixion is probably one of if not the most horrendous way to die

they would make you carry the cross beam of the cross all the way to the spot you would be crucified, the longer the walk the better show it put on for those watching

once they finally reached the point where they would die they would then fix the Horizontal part of the cross to the main beam

and on the main beam they would have a tiny step just close enough to the victims feet so that when He was hanging he could push himself up just enough to take a breath

the whole body would dislocate from its joints and eventually causing the center of the body to fall in on itself and the person would suffocate

but this would go on for hours because it was a slow painful death

it was a horrific way to go

then in vs 37 again the soldiers themselves now were taunting Jesus saying if you are the king of the Jews save yourselves

Luke 23:38 “38 And an inscription also was written over Him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS”

This inscription was a bit of retaliation on Pilates part towards the people who wanted Jesus dead

Pilate even though He failed and gave in still couldn’t wrap his mind around the fact that these people wanted Jesus dead. They got what they wanted

The Jews had deep animosity toward Jesus, and the claim that He was the Messiah so He had them put THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS

They forced pilate to violate his own conscience

The people wanted it to say “He said he was the King of the Jews “

They didn’t believe who He really was

Luke 23:39 “39 Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.””

Luke 23:40 “40 But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation?”

Luke 23:41 “41 And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.””

One of the Men hanging on the cross next to Jesus again was mocking Him trying to test Him, telling Him to save Himself and them

then in vs 40 the other man on the other cross looks over for what ever reason and calls Him out

For what ever reason the one criminal Had revelation that Jesus was who he said he was

he had a last minute change of heart

Luke 23:42 “42 Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.””

The man who finally got his head on straight at the last moment possible looks over to Jesus and asks Jesus to remember Him

and What does Jesus do here in vs 43

Luke 23:43 “43 And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.””

Jesus saw the mans change of heart, he saw that even on his death bed that the mans heart was in the right place

His response was perfect

He saved the man.

Now id like to point something out here

Salvation, Its important to understand that it’s a gift

Its nothing we can do to earn

And this last verse is a perfect example of that

That man had no ability to earn anything, it was His heart that Jesus saw that saved Him

A works based faith hates reading this, to them Jesus death on the cross is not enough, but to us as believers it is

If you look at a works based faith , it always goes back to all roads lead to heaven, i’m a good person, I do good things , thats because these people don’t want to deny the life they are living to Live a life for christ

Matthew 16:24 “24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”

Jesus wants us to live our life for Him not against Him, he doesn’t want to compete with us

people have a hard time swallowing the reality of denying their flesh to follow Jesus but thats what it takes to be a follower

Remember that Jesus didn’t die on the cross for Himself

He died on the cross for you and for me and for our sins

The Paradise in vs 43 is the gift of Eternal Life ! thats Heavy !!

Luke 23:44 “44 Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.”

at 12pm noon time (6th Hour) darkness came up the earth until 3pm (9th hour)

This was a sign of divine Judgement against sin

Matthew 27:51 “51 Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split,”

Luke 23:45 “45 Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two.”

the veil or curtain that Hung between the Holy place and Holy of Holies in the temple split which was caused by a great earthquake

The torn curtain symbolized open access to God , made possible by the Death of Jesus on the cross

Luke 23:46 “46 And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ ” Having said this, He breathed His last.”

So here we see Jesus finally passes, He took His last breath, and even in His last moment he cries out a devotion to God saying into your Hands I commit my spirit

typically a crucifixion lasted several days but Jesus only lasted about 6 hours

could be because before He was even on the cross he was beaten and tortured, He already endured an insane amount of pain even before he was hung on the cross

Luke 23:47 “47 So when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, “Certainly this was a righteous Man!””

In Matthews account it says it slightly different , it says

Matthew 27:54 “54 So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God!””

Even on Jesus death bed, those around Him came to the realization that a man who would suffer and endure what He did being innocent , gave them the ability to see that Jesus truly was the Son of God

The messiah

But Not all of them

Luke 23:48 “48 And the whole crowd who came together to that sight, seeing what had been done, beat their breasts and returned.”

Luke 23:49 “49 But all His acquaintances, and the women who followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.”

These crucifixions were a show to people so again it makes sense why they would all stand off in the distance to watch

they all wanted a good view of what was happening

This is where I end , Next week we will pick up in Vs 50