Easter 2025 wk 5

The Crucifixion

This morning we are in week five of our Easter series looking at Jesus’ last moments before His crucifixion and resurrection.

We have seen Jesus pray, get betrayed and arrested, found not guilty, and last week we looked at Jesus bearing the cross.

Jesus has been through a lot during the 12 to 16 hours we have been looking at.

Jesus has dealt with physical, emotional, mental and spiritual things.

He is still going forward with the plan to bring redemption to mankind.

This morning we are going to look at four things that happened as Jesus was being crucified.

We are going to see the place that Jesus was taken and what crucifixion is, we are going to see how Jesus was mocked and how He responded.

Then we are going to see how the two criminals that were being crucified with Him acted.

Lastly we are going to look at the moments Jesus took His last breath, and what that means for us today.

Our texts this morning is Luke 23:33-49.

We are going to look at the first verse and then dig into these Scriptures.

Luke 23:33 NASB95

33 When they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left.

Pray

I. The Place

Last week we seen Jesus was bearing the cross on His way to be crucified but due to His exhaustion and physical weakness the guards called on Simon of Cyrene to help Jesus.

Jesus speaks the the women in the crowd that are weeping and mourning this event, and tells them things will get worse.

We also seen that there were two criminals being crucified with Jesus.

Jesus, followed by Simon of Cyrene is making their way to the place where Jesus will be crucified.

We are told in our text there that the place is called the Skull.

Matthew records the name of the place as Golgotha in Matthew 27:33

Matthew 27:33 NASB95

33 And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means Place of a Skull,

Golgotha may have been a skull-shaped hill, or it may have been so named because as a place of crucifixion, it accumulated skulls.

When they get to Golgotha, we are told there they crucified Him.

Crucifixion was a form of punishment that had been passed down to the Romans from the Persians, Phoenicians, and Carthaginians.

Roman executioners had perfected the art of slow torture while keeping the victim alive.

Some victims lingered for days until they were eaten alive by birds of prey or wild beast.

Most hung on the cross for days before dying of exhaustion, dehydration, traumatic fever, or - most likely - suffocation.

In 1986, The American Medical Association published an article titled “The Physical Death of Jesus Christ.”

It details the entire process of Jesus’ trial to His death on the cross.

At the time, the crucifixion was considered the worst death for the worst of criminals.

Crucifixion was not all that Jesus faced.

He endured whipping so severe that it tore the flesh from His body.

He had a crown of thorns placed on His head with 2 to 3 inch long thorns that were driven into His scalp.

Crucifixion was a process meant to instill excruciating pain, creating a slow and agonizing death.

Nails as long as 8 inches were driven into Jesus’ wrists and feet.

The Roman soldiers knew the tendon in the wrists would tear and break, forcing Jesus to use His back muscles to support Himself to breathe.

When the legs would no longer support the weight of the body, the diaphragm was constricted in a way that made breathing impossible.

That is why if they wanted to hurry things up they would break the legs which would cause death to come faster.

This was not necessary for Jesus as He died before they broke His legs, thus Him giving His life on His own account.

As Jesus hung on the cross, He was being mocked.

II. The Mocking

Luke 23:34–38 NASB95

34 But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves. 35 And the people stood by, looking on. And even the rulers were sneering at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One.” 36 The soldiers also mocked Him, coming up to Him, offering Him sour wine, 37 and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself!” 38 Now there was also an inscription above Him, “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

As Jesus is going through the torture and the mocking He calls out to God the Father.

Jesus asks the Father to forgive them, that is the tormentors, the Jews and the Romans.

Don’t miss that even as Jesus is being tortured to death, He did not forget the purpose for which He came to earth in human form.

The purpose was to open the door of divine forgiveness for all who would receive Him.

As the people mocked Jesus, He interceded for them so that they might repent and be saved.

The Jewish leaders mocked Jesus as He hung on the cross.

They encouraged Him to save Himself if He were truly God’s Messiah.

They observed that He had saved others yet was unable to do the same for Himself.

However, only by remaining on the cross and sacrificing His own life could He provide salvation.

The religious leaders celebrated in their victory, but they had failed to grasp Jesus’ mission.

Even as He hung dying, the Son of God was winning the victory for which the Father had sent Him.

Even the Roman soldiers joined in mocking Jesus.

They offered Him sour wine, Matthew shares Matthew 27:34

Matthew 27:34 NASB95

34 they gave Him wine to drink mixed with gall; and after tasting it, He was unwilling to drink.

Gall simply refers to something bitter.

Mark 15:23 NASB95

23 They tried to give Him wine mixed with myrrh; but He did not take it.

Myrrh was used to temporarily deaden the pain.

The Jews had a custom, based on Proverbs 31:6

Proverbs 31:6 NASB95

6 Give strong drink to him who is perishing, And wine to him whose life is bitter.

As Jesus tasted the wine, He recognized the taste of the myrrh in it and refused to drink it.

Jesus wanted to have His full mental faculties for the time He had remaining.

This was necessary for Him to be fully awake and conscious so He could minister toe the dying thief.

III. The Criminals

Luke 23:39–43 NASB95

39 One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!” 40 But the other answered, and rebuking him said, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 “And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” 43 And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”

When Matthew and Mark mention the two criminals they report that they both taunted Jesus.

But Luke tells us something more.

Though both criminals started down the same road that day, at some point one of them chose a different path.

Both heard and saw the same things, but they reached different conclusions.

The criminals words here reveal the differences between the men.

First, they reached different conclusions about who the man in the middle was.

The rebellious criminal joined the crowd.

He hurled insults at Jesus, ridiculing the idea that He was the Messiah.

But the repentant one recognized that Jesus was both an innocent man who had done nothing wrong and a King about to enter His heavenly kingdom.

Our eternal destiny is necessarily connect to our understanding of who Jesus is.

Second, they reached different conclusions regarding their own guilt.

The first criminal failed to come to grips with his own sinfulness.

There was no admission of blame, no fear of God.

But his companion rebuked him.

He rightly concluded that they were being punished justly for their crimes.

Without the comprehension that you are a sinner in rebellion against and separated from a holy God, you cannot be saved.

Third, the two men reached different conclusions about what they needed to be delivered from.

The unrepentant criminal simply wanted deliverance from his present earthly circumstances.

Save yourself and us, he demanded of Jesus, meaning Keep us from dying.

But the second criminal understood that there was something beyond their present trouble.

No matter how bad things were on earth, a much more serious concern awaited.

One day, we all must face eternity and the wrath of God - unless we have a mediator.

With a repentant heart this man recognized Jesus as the mediator, he needed Jesus to remember him when Jesus entered His kingdom.

Hearing Jesus call His Father to forgive His executioners was sufficient for this man to change his opinion about Jesus and place saving faith in Him.

In response to the man’s repentance and faith, Jesus told the criminal, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.

All believers are called to obey the Lord by being baptized, joining a local church, and growing spiritually.

None of these things can save a person.

Baptism, church membership, spiritual growth are acts of obedience in response to the saving work of God.

Salvation comes when we put our faith alone in Christ alone.

That is what the criminal did.

He did not have an opportunity to follow the Lord in a life of obedience.

He did exactly what was required in order to be reconciled to God.

Therefore, when he took his last breath he was in the presence of Jesus Christ in paradise.

IV. The Last Breath

Luke 23:44–49 NASB95

44 It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour, 45 because the sun was obscured; and the veil of the temple was torn in two. 46 And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.” Having said this, He breathed His last. 47 Now when the centurion saw what had happened, he began praising God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent.” 48 And all the crowds who came together for this spectacle, when they observed what had happened, began to return, beating their breasts. 49 And all His acquaintances and the women who accompanied Him from Galilee were standing at a distance, seeing these things.

The crucifixion process started at 9 a.m. and it was not the sixth hour or noon and at that time darkness fell over the whole land until 3 p.m.

This darkness could not have been caused by an eclipse as some try to say, because the Jews used a lunar calendar, and Passover always fell on the full moon, making a solar eclipse out of the question.

This was supernatural darkness caused by divine judgment.

The veil of the temple was torn in two, Matthew states this happened from top to bottom.

Matthew 27:51 NASB95

51 And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split.

The veil is the curtain that blocked the entrance to the Most Holy Place or what is referred to as the Holy of Holies.

The tearing of the veil signified that the way into God’s presence was now open to all through a new and living way.

The fact that it tore from top to bottom showed that no man had split the veil.

God did it.

While the tearing of the veil happened Jesus cried out with a loud voice, Father into your hands I commit My Spirit.

This is in reference to Psalm 31:5

Psalm 31:5 NASB95

5 Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have ransomed me, O Lord, God of truth.

As we seen in Matthew 27:51 that as the veil was torn there was a great earthquake.

There has been this overwhelming darkness for three hours, and as Jesus cries out in His last breath this great earthquake happens.

The centurion which is the Roman officer in charge of the crucifixion recognizes that Jesus was not just another person but was an innocent man.

Matthew 27:54 NASB95

54 Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

The centurion had seen many crucified victims die, but none like Jesus.

The strength Jesus possessed at His death, was seen as evidence by Jesus’ loud cry, was unheard of by victims of crucifixion.

Again victims of crucifixion had a hard time breathing, especially as they are drawling their last breaths.

This loud cry, coupled with the earthquake that coincided with Jesus’ death, convinced the centurion that Jesus was the Son of God.

Those observing these events left the crucifixion site beating their chest.

The beating of the chest was a sign of grief.

John records what happened after Jesus breathed His last breath.

John 19:31–34 NASB95

31 Then the Jews, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. 32 So the soldiers came, and broke the legs of the first man and of the other who was crucified with Him; 33 but coming to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. 34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.

The soldiers only broke the legs of the two criminals, this was to speed up the process so that they would die before sun down.

It was not necessary to break Jesus’ legs as He was already dead.

A Roman soldier pierced Jesus’ side with a spear and blood and water came out.

To the world, Christianity is as foolish as it can get.

They believe it is for the weak.

But when we are confronted by the reality of the cross, it is clearly not a pretty sight.

It is brutal and horrific.

This is the weight Jesus carried.

The weight of the sins of the world, all so that we can live.

God’s wrath is fully satisfied in Jesus.

This is what it took.

Repent and believe.

Jesus is God among us in the flesh.

Jesus is our Savior.

Jesus loved you so much that He went through this spiritual and physical punishment for our sins.