Lesson 73L The Actual Crucifixion Luke 23:32- 43

At The Place of the Skull: 23:32- 38

The Lexham English Bible Chapter 23

32 And two other criminals were also led away to be executed with him. 33 And when they came to the place that is called “The Skull,” there they crucified him, and the criminals, the one on his right and the other on his left. 34 ⟦But Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”⟧ And they cast lots to divide his clothes. 35 And the people stood there watching, but the rulers also ridiculed him,* saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if this man is the Christ of God, the Chosen One!” 36 And the soldiers also mocked him, coming up and* offering him sour wine 37 and saying, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself!” 38 And there was also an inscription over him, “This is the king of the Jews.”

This unsettling scene has moved to the hill of Golgotha. Golgotha is a Hebrew word that is translated “to kranion” in the Greek, or our Calvary. It is the place of “the Skull”, simply because if you stood and looked at it, you would get a vision of a head with no skin. It was not a pretty place and it still isn’t. It is a half mile from the city proper and the place where the vilest offenders were taken to be executed to rid society of the most wretched criminals. But now, the Son of God is nailed high on the middle cross, innocent but carrying the sins of all mankind. On either side of Jesus are two criminals: one repentant and the other is not.

Verse 34, where we see the words “Father for give them for they know not what they are doing” is not in all of the oldest manuscripts. But the fact that the phrase is purely Jesus makes us accepting of it, especially since He said it in fulfillment of Isaiah 53:12 “He made intercession for the transgressors!” The prayer was not just for His counterparts on the crosses, but for those who were putting Him to death and torturing all the while. The people who were doing it from the religious side of things knew what they were doing, but most of the Romans probably did not realize what they had done until they saw what was happening on the cross. Hence, the Roman soldier makes the Son of God confession. They had killed for expediency and by command of Pilate. Even Pilate’s guilty conscience could not be washed away as he dipped his hands into the bowl of necessity.

The Jews have executed their own Messiah. They have rushed to judgment an innocent, Holy Man of God. It is bad enough if he were only innocent, but here was the man sent to save them from themselves. But their envy had really taken hold and secured in the bonds of entrapment the Only Begotten Son of God. They held Him forth in the middle as the worst one of the lot.

Over the centuries since then, many have looked at the scene in this glorious passage and have said why would they do such a thing. For those of us who are saved look at the place in this glorious fashion as the place where our sins where paid for and forgiven. Around the time of the Civil War, British preacher Charles Spurgeon said this:

The Spurgeon Study Bible: Notes Chapter 23

And they divided his clothes and cast lots.” He does not utter a single word of upbraiding. He does not say, “Why do you do this? Why pierce the hands that fed you? Why nail the feet that followed after you in mercy? Why mock the man who loved to bless you?” No, not a word even of gentle upbraiding, much less anything like a curse. You notice Jesus does not say, “I forgive them,” but you may read that between the lines. He says that all the more because he does not say it in words. But he had laid aside his majesty and is fastened to the cross and takes the humble position of a pleading rather than the more lofty place of one who had power to forgive.

He added to that “Blessed be His name!

It is interesting that He did not say “I forgive them” but rather “Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.” The Father forgives, but Jesus will be taking His blood into the Holy place and placing it on the altar Himself as the One slain for mankind. The sacrifice will be accepted as it satisfies the payment requirement for the sins of all time: past, present, and future. And while The Father is turning His back on the Son, the soldiers are casting lots for the seamless robe of Jesus. Nobody says who won that. But the people around the cross are probably hysterical in their grief and at the same time, the synagogue rulers and the soldiers who were experts in their mockery, pressed in even harder:

English Standard Version Chapter 23

He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” 36 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine 37 and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!”

This is a mockery or scoffing at Jesus as to His role as the Messiah. Surely some of them had to eat their words. Let Him save Himself. That has a cruel ring to it. It means they are not picking up a finger to help. It is a rejection of the Christ (anointed) of God, the Chosen one. Notice how easy it is for them to continue the hatred even as Jesus is dying. Men who cannot fight back are easy targets for an increase of assault. In fact, they had not used these terms as religious men before. The were confirming what had been said about Jesus, that He was the Messiah, the Anointed One, and the Chosen One. It was safe to say it now because they seemed to have the upper hand. Remember what we studied last week in Psalm 22:7, 8, all of this was prophesied:

King James Version Psalm 22

7  All they that see me laugh me to scorn:

They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,

8  †He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him:

Let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.

The abuse is legendary. I can’t help but think that they pulled some of the people from the 21st century to be as cruel and antagonistic as can be. The inscription that hung over Jesus as he was pinned there on that wooden cross between Earth and his heaven was meant to be insulting but instead it became His headstone of prophetic truth: This is the King of the Jews.

The Others who were Crucified with Jesus 23:39- 43

English Standard Version Chapter 23

39 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “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 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 And he said to him, “

One of the criminals was a really bad dude in his death. The word “railed” has with it a definitions of insulting, blasphemy, scoffing and slander. Whew! Tough stuff! Apparently the weight of the words at this moment in time even angered the the third man on the hill. He took time in his own pain and suffering to rebuke the badness of a fellow criminal. Jesus responded to the kindness with His promise of seeing the man yet that day in Paradise. It is with intrigue we mention that this exchange between the malefactors is only found in Luke.

It is with this profound sense of guilt represented here with the criminals, the soldiers, and the temple religious leaders that no manner of their banter could exchange their guilt for anybody else. They call that transference or a projection of your own guilt on someone else. You can scream and cry, insult and blaspheme, but in the hour of this deepest gloom, their sin remains. But Jesus offers hope. The Christ is promising this one man hanging high with Him that he is going to Paradise and they will see each other. Nobody there can offer what Jesus did. Not then and not even now. Jesus is still the only name under heaven given among men, whereby you must be saved. You must be saved to go to heaven. It is what Jesus has taught all along:

King James Version Chapter 3

11

The cross was a terrible instrument of death but a wonderful altar of for everlasting life in Jesus.