Lab Assignment 02

Luke 23:32-43

Title: Who is Jesus to you when you look at him from your cross?

Thesis [Main point]: The certainty of our salvation in Christ is found in how we see him at the cross

Outline

Introduction

Our message for today is coming from the Gospel of Luke 23:32-43.

Let’s read our passage and then we will dive into our intention for today:

Luke 23:32–43 ESV

32 Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. 33 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. 34 And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments. 35 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!” 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!” 38 There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.” 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, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

I would like to speak from the subject matter of: Who is Jesus to you when you look at him from your cross?

While the other gospel writers wrote to a wide audience Luke wrote his gospel to one person: Theophilus

And he wrote with this intention in mind:

Luke 1:3–4 “3 it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.”

Lukes objective was to give Theophilus certainty in his faith or as the greek word would mean “to know fully”

And so our objective today is for us to know fully that the certainty of our salvation in Christ is found at the cross and I would dare say on the cross

We will explore this through Luke’s account of the crucifixion as he give us different views of how people saw Jesus during the crucifixion.

Lukes perspective himself

The Jewish rulers

The Roman soldiers

The two criminals on the cross

View One: Christ is Distinct from us at the cross

Scripture Reference: Luke 23:32-33

Luke 23:32–33 ESV

32 Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. 33 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.

The first view Luke establishes is a distinct difference between Jesus and the other two men who was being crucified with him

We see this in both verses 32 and 33

In verse 32 it reads “Two others, who where criminals, were led away to be put to death with him.

In verse 33 He makes the same distinction when he writes “there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and on on his left.

Notice that Luke does not call Jesus a criminal.

This is to show us that while Jesus is walking a convicted mans road he is not to be seen as a guilty man.

Why is this so important?

Well, because of what crucifixion was for

The Lexham Theological Workbook says that crucifixion was a death reserved only for slaves and for those who had committed the most egregious crimes against the state.

The intention was to deter others from committing the same criminal act.

Jesus and his three years of earthly ministry was hanging on the cross for all to see as criminal.

So Luke gives us certainty that when we look at Jesus on the cross we first will see him not as guilty but as innocent.

But Luke is not done and presents us with one more distinction.

And this distinction is in the type of Messiah Jesus is verses what was expected.

And we find that distinction in verse 34

Luke 23:34 ESV

34 And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments.

I like what the Bible Knowledge Commentary has to say to this:

“Lukes purpose… was to show that Jesus was the forgiving Messiah even as he died”

How is this a distinction? Remember the Jewish people were looking for the Messiah to free them from Roman rule and oppression.

But Jesus did not come to fulfill any expectation outside of the will of his Father

The Holman New Testament Commentary describes the type of Christ Jesus was:

On the cross he [Jesus] practiced what he had taught. He watched those who mocked him, played games with him, scourged him, and crucified him. Then he asked the Father to forgive them. He called for forgiveness because he loved his enemies, but the explicit reason was their ignorance.“

Luke is showing us that Jesus practiced what he preached about forgiveness.

But Luke also lets us know that Jesus sees their ignorance; in that they don’t realize they are fulfilling the Father’s redemptive plan.

And so because of their ignorance he pleads even while dying that the Father not hold their actions against them

And then I love that Luke gives us a bread crumb- They casted lots to divide his garments

While this was a common custom of the executioners Luke understood it as a bread crumb from Old Testament prophecy in Psalms 22 giving us further confirmation of certainty

So, who is Jesus to you when you look at him on his cross?

I want to encourage you to see him as the Innocent Messiah Forgiving us even while dying for us

Two carried their cross for their own sins, while the One [Jesus] carried his cross for all sins!

View Two: Mockery only blinds but doesn’t change who Jesus is on the Cross

Scripture: Reference: Luke 23:35-38

Luke 23:35–38 ESV

35 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!” 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!” 38 There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.”

Now we come to it; the mocking of the lifted up Saviour

First understand who is present: the Jewish rulers and the Roman soldiers. Each camp represented the authority of the time.

The Jewish rulers representing the Chosen people of God; Israel. The Roman soldiers representing the Roman empire which represents the Gentile world collectively.

The Jewish rulers mocked Jesus for the claim of being the Christ and the Roman soldiers mocked Jesus for the claim of being a King.

These two perspectives cannot be read over in hast:

As already stated: The Jewish rulers looked for the Christ [Messiah] to free them from Roman rule and “surely restore the kingdom back to Israel.” Acts 1:6

Hosea 3:5 “5 Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God, and David their king, and they shall come in fear to the Lord and to his goodness in the latter days.”

How could the Christ hang on a cross, surely this man is not who he claims to be

For the Roman soldiers the Roman Empire was the iron fist of the world at this time. Supreme Authority & Power.

John 19:10 “10 So Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?””

How could a king on a cross break the iron fist of Rome. So even if he was a king he is a conquered king

So when they say “If you are the Christ… Save yourself” and “If you are the King of the Jews then save yourself”

What they are really saying is see here hangs a fraud who claimed to be the Christ and made claim to be a King.

But as our point puts it “Mockery Doesn’t Change Who Jesus is on the Cross?

If any thing their words of the mockery confirmed it

The Faith Life Study Bible Commentary has this to say “… this taunt from the rulers is full of irony. Had Jesus saved himself, he would not have fulfilled his mission to save humanity.”

Think about it the death of the Messiah was a part of prophetic proof that he indeed was the Messiah.

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.”

In fact, if anything happened that stayed deaths hand from Jesus dying then they would actually have a stronger case that Jesus was not the Messiah.

Who is Jesus to you when you look at him from the foot of the cross?

I want to encourage you to tune out the mocking of the world and see Jesus as Christ and King and find the certainty in that he fulfilled every prophecy written about him.

View Three: We Fully Identify with Jesus on Our Cross not just at the foot of his

Luke 23:39–42 ESV

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.”

We fully Identify with Jesus on our cross not just at the foot of his cross

The first criminal who was hanging railed at him.

That word railed, the Lexham Theological Wordbook defines it as “to blaspheme, revile, slander, malign, defame.

It goes on to say that “This word can refer to reviling a human being, but more often refers to blaspheming against God, even when God is not specified.

And so if we apply this to our text; the first criminal to speak wasn’t crying out for salvation but on the contrary he was crying out in anger that Jesus claimed to be the Christ and wouldn’t so much as lift a finger to save himself and them

The first criminal was more concerned about saving his skin, but not being saved from his sin.

Jesus spoke to this:

Luke 17:33 “33 Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it.”

Who is Jesus to you when you look at him from your cross?

Is he the Messiah that didn’t fulfill your expectations

Before you make your decision, I want to encourage us to see the Messiah from how the second criminal saw him.

The second criminal rebuked the first criminal for his railing.

And then he confessed that he was guilty of his actions and that they both were receiving the proper punishment for their actions.

And then he acknowledged that Jesus was as mentioned in our first point; not guilty.

Notice that second criminal didn’t ask to be saved from the cross. He accepted that he was guilty

Consider Romans 3:23 “23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

Not only did he accept that he was guilty but he accepted his fate when he said “we are receiving the due rewards for our deeds”. He call them a reward

Consider Romans 6:23 “23 For the wages of sin is death..”

But he did not accept his fate of death with doom and gloom in his heart.

This here is the beauty of the Gospel

But instead he boldly made one request fueled by faith.

That request was “Jesus, Remember me when you come into your kingdom”.

And Jesus, who did not speak a word to the first criminal who railed him, but he spoke to the 2nd

Luke 23:43 “43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.””

Consider Romans 6:23 “23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

So in Conclusion:

If we want to find certainty of our salvation we need to make the distinction that Jesus is the innocent and we are the guilty.

Then we tune out the mockery that would keep us from knowing that Jesus is the Forgiving Messiah even while dying for us.

And Lastly, we fully identify with Jesus when we see him from our own cross.

Application

I want to encourage you to pause for a moment look to Jesus and see that he gave his life for yours that you might have life eternal with him.

Ladies and gents that is my time the Lesson is yours.