The Crucifixion
Notes
Transcript
As the soldiers led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the childless women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ Then
“ ‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!”
and to the hills, “Cover us!” ’
For if people do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”
Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”
The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”
There was a written notice above him, which read: this is the king of the jews.
One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”
But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.
The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.
Let’s pray.
Jesus was on his way to the cross.
The religious leaders had convicted him.
Now, Jesus was going to face capital punishment.
Jesus was carrying what would soon kill him--
Jesus was carrying his cross to the mountain.
The soldiers had put the cross on Jesus and made him carry it.
A cross was two sticks that made a literal cross.
The Romans made it a widely used form of execution for criminals.
The Romans used crosses to warn the public about crimes,
and shame the people, cause great pains, and slowly kill the criminal.
The cross was so heavy that the soldiers seized Simon from Cyrene,
and had him help Jesus by carrying the cross from behind.
Jesus had a crowd following him, as he went to face his death.
The crowd that followed him had women who mourned and wailed for him.
It was truly a sad day.
It’s amazing to see that at least the women were aware of what was happening.
Then, Jesus turned to the women.
And he told them not to weep for him.
Instead, they should cry for themselves and for their children.
Not for Jesus.
Yes, it’s sad.
The one who brought healing is dying.
But Jesus did not think that it was fitting for the Daughters of Jerusalem to cry.
Jesus saw that his death would accomplish something—something good.
This does look sad, however.
But Jesus believed that what would take place with the women of Jerusalem and their children is sadder.
Jesus said that there will be a time,
when the mothers of Israel will say,
Blessed are the childless, the wombs that never bore and the breast that never nursed.
--
Having children and childrearing could be one of the greatest blessings a woman, or a man, could ever experience.
Children could be a handful, but I think most parents are eternally grateful for their children.
Yet, Jesus is saying that there will be a time when mothers would have wished that they didn’t have children.
Blessed are the childless women.
It’s crazy to hear this today, but it was even crazier to hear this during Jesus’ day,
when women were seen as just people who gave birth to children.
But still,
Jesus said,
a time is coming when women will say,
blessed are the childless women.
Scholar Joel Green said,
Children are generally seen as expressions of divine favor, but in the coming catastrophe it is better to be barren.
There is a time coming when children--
sons and daughters
when they are going to do horrendous things--
suffer horrendous things
things so horrendous that
mothers would say,
Blessed are the childless women,
and they would say
to the mountains, “Fall on us!”
And to the hill, “Cover us!”
This is a quote from Hosea 10:8.
The women who followed Jesus were crying,
but a day is coming,
when they will suffer horrible things.
They will tell the mountains to fall on them.
Why would the women say to the mountains to fall on them?
Obviously, it was a figure of speech.
It is signifying that the pain that they would suffer would make them want to die.
But why would they experience this type of pain?
Well, it’s as Jesus said.
If people kill Jesus, sentence him to death, when things are good,
when the tree is green,
if people are bad in good times,
what will happen when the tree is dry,
when things are bad?
Jesus was healing people.
Jesus was delivering people from their pain.
Jesus was restoring broken people.
Jesus was preaching Good News.
Preaching deliverance and freedom.
But still, the sons of Israel,
they conspired to kill Jesus.
Jesus is saying,
don’t cry for me.
Instead, cry over the fact that your children sentenced me to death.
Cry over the evil hearts of the people and the subsequent destruction they will face.
New Testament scholar Fred B. Craddock said,
Luke On the Way to the Crucifixion (23:26–32; Matthew 27:32; Mark 15:21)
Jesus tells them that the greater cause for tears is unbelieving Jerusalem
People are faulty.
We saw it with Peter.
We saw it with Judas.
And we see it today.
People are sinful in good and bad times.
Sin is horrible.
It’s crazy to think that humans are capable of killing Jesus,
an innocent man.
This day, which is the Sunday before Resurrection Sunday,
we will remember the cross,
as we should remember it on Good Friday and remember it everyday.
But as we remember the cross,
focus on what Jesus said as he went to the cross.
People killed him when he was doing miracles.
That’s something to fast about.
That’s something to cry about.
Something to mourn about.
There were two other men with Jesus.
These men were criminals.
They weren’t innocent like Jesus.
But they were being executed like Jesus.
They went to a mountain called the Skull,
or Golgotha.
This mountain probably got its name by what happens at its peak—people are crucified.
Then, Jesus said something quite shocking.
He said a quote that we probably all know.
It’s quite iconic in western culture.
Jesus said,
Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.
Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.
Crazy stuff here.
Jesus had just explained how people are supposed to cry over the sinfulness of humans.
He turned our eyes on the sins of people.
We are to weep over the sins of people.
And we weep because we know how serious sin is.
It’s so serious that it led Jesus, the Son of God, to the cross.
Our attention is on the sinfulness of humanity.
But Jesus’ attitude over the sins of people--
His attitude in verse 34 is an attitude of mercy and forgiveness.
As he was dying on the cross,
Jesus prayed what he taught us, his disciples, to pray.
He prayed that God would forgive those who have sinned against him.
That God would forgive those who were murdering him.
Jesus was trying to understand those sinful people who were killing him.
In fact, Jesus concluded that these murderers didn’t understand what they were doing.
That’s kinda crazy.
This type of forgiveness is crazy, weird, and it just doesn’t feel right.
Like,
a victim is not supposed to pray for his or her perpetrator and say,
Father forgive them, for they do not know what they do.
No, the victim should vindictive.
The victim shouldn’t show grace or understanding.
But yet, that’s exactly what Jesus does.
He prays over his murderers.
While Jesus was praying, his murderers didn’t care.
They divided up his clothes by casting lots,
Just like Ps. 22:18 predicted.
They are saying, “Who wants this dead man’s clothes?”
Being stripped of one’s clothing signified the loss of personal identity.
And people just stood there watching.
And rulers even sneered at him.
They saw Jesus,
the one who was supposedly the Son of God.
They saw and maybe thought,
“Is this the Son of God?
This man who is being crucified is the Messiah, our savior?
Yeah, right.”
They saw Jesus in this place of weakness.
They couldn’t conceive that their king would be in suffering.
Be shamed on the cross.
They said to each other,
“This guy said that he could save others.
But if he really is the Chosen One,
The Messiah,
then he should save himself.”
The soldiers also joined the fun by mocking Jesus.
They said, if you are the king of the Jews, as the sign above Jesus read,
Save yourself then.
Evil and sin blinded the people.
One criminal on the cross next to Jesus joined the masses.
He insulted Jesus by saying,
“Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”
The religious rulers, the soldiers, and one of the criminals were all in the same boat.
They were all mocking Jesus.
Everyone was united—even, enemies were united—they were united in ridiculing Jesus.
They all missed the point
They missed that Jesus’ suffering was necessary to royal identity and salvation.
They saw his suffering from the cross and his death as a sign that Jesus wasn’t the son of God.
Jews and Gentiles,
Judeans and Romans,
all insulting Jesus.
But there was an unexpected one--
somebody who no one expected,
this person did something different.
It wasn’t a ruler,
a religious scholar,
or a thought leader.
It was an outsider.
It was a criminal.
A good-for-nothing
evildoer...
A criminal went against the crowd,
When he said,
Don’t you fear God.
The criminal saw that all of this was wrong.
Instead of fearing God, people were maligning God’s instrument of salvation.
Jesus was the Son of God.
And what happened is not because of the weakness of the Son of God,
But rather, what happened demonstrated the depths of the sinfulness of humans.
The criminal recognized that he deserved the cross.
He was a criminal.
He told the other criminal,
“we deserve the cross,
we are getting what our deeds deserve.”
But Jesus,
he has done nothing wrong.
With the cross, we see the worst of humanity.
Humans are capable of killing Jesus, the Son of God.
But even amid this disgusting scene,
there is goodness.
An outsider recognizes the truth--
evil people deserve the cross;
Jesus does not deserve the cross.
And the criminal recognized that Jesus would still have his kingdom.
Therefore, he asked Jesus to remember him in the kingdom.
Jesus answered the criminal who deserved the cross,
He looked at his confession,
and said that the criminal, who lived a sinful life, would be with him in paradise that day.
Wow, crazy.
There are horrible people in this world.
But you who recognize Jesus,
even if you were a criminal or a marginalized person,
guilty of sin,
We deserve the cross,
Not Jesus.
Ask him, asked the one who suffered on your behalf,
ask him to bless you
you can break with the crowd,
I am guilty, not Jesus.
And then you tell Jesus, remember me!
And Jesus responds,
I will remember you, and you will be with me in paradise—God’s garden.
If Jesus could do that with the criminal, he could do that with you.
After Jesus answered the criminal,
the land became dark.
The sun stopped shining.
And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.
God’s kingdom,
God’s glory,
the king’s glory was enclosed in the Temple,
but now since the curtain of the temple was torn,
God’s glory could be experienced by all.
Jesus then called out,
Father,
into your hands I commit my spirit.
He was a purposeful man.
He wasn’t a helpless victim.
He is in control, and he trusts in God.
In fact, Jesus’ trust in God never wavers.
In his last words, Jesus firmly gave his life away.
And then he breathed his last.
The Son of God has died.
It’s crazy.
The king of the eternal kingdom dying on a shameful cross.
Crazy.
But Jesus knew that through this, the kingdom would come.
In the midst of the darkness, there is light—God is still present.
Once Jesus died, a bystander, an unexpected bystander,
a centurion, a soldier,
he praised God and said,
Surely this was a righteous man.
Jesus’ submission,
Jesus’ forgiveness,
Jesus’ obedience,
caused a centurion to worship God.
This centurion was amazed that Jesus,
through all the assaults and insults,
Jesus never doubted that this was the will of God.
On the cross, Jesus continued to call God Father,
He knew that he was still his Son.
He remained steadfast and gave his spirit to God upon death.
Further, Jesus looked at his accusers and forgave them.
Yes, Jesus was dying,
but how a person dies can really reveal what type of person he or she is.
As Jesus died, the centurion observed that this man was a righteous man.
He saw the truth.
He saw Jesus’ true identity and realized in Jesus’ presence—Jesus’ dying presence—he realized the presence of God.
A centurion and a criminal broke with the crowd.
They saw the truths.
The crowd beat their breasts
Maybe they were sad.
And went on with their lives.
Those who said that they would die for Jesus, those who gave up everything to follow him,
stood at a distance, watching these things.
That’s the story of the cross.
It’s crazy to think that this brief record in Luke,
more than any other event,
has stirred the mind, heart, and soul of the church.
It’s a straightforward report of what happened to Jesus.
But yet, it has inspired poetry, music, and sermons.
How do we respond to the death of Jesus?
We respond by doing what the centurion and criminal did.
The criminal acknowledged Jesus’ innocence as his own need for Jesus’ blessing.
The Gentile centurion affirmed the faithfulness of Jesus as the Suffering Righteousness.
We must likewise be sympathetic towards him.
Through suffering, Jesus has fulfilled his divine purpose.
From the cross, Jesus asks God to extend forgiveness,
at that time, he extended forgiveness to those responsible for his crucifixion.
If he can offer forgiveness to them, he can certainly forgive us.
Jesus is the King who died on the cross because of humans,
and from the cross, he offers forgiveness.
The cross is not a sign of defeat,
but a sign of forgiveness.
Through it, Jesus offers forgiveness.
The cross seals the identity of Jesus as the Messiah and king who accomplishes the divine purpose as the suffering one.
I close with the words of Augustine.
I really love what he said here:
New Testament III: Luke Christ’s Healing Blood
AUGUSTINE: You are a Christian. You carry the cross of Christ on your forehead. The mark stamped on you teaches you what you should profess. He was hanging on the cross, which you carry on your forehead. Do not delight in the sign of the wood but in the sign of the one hanging on it. When he was hanging on the cross, he was looking around at the people raving against him, putting up with their insults and praying for his enemies. While they were killing him, the doctor was curing the sick with his blood. He said, “Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing.” These words were not futile or without effect. Later, thousands of those people believed in the one they murdered, so that they learned how to suffer for him who had suffered for them and at their hands.
Brothers and sisters, we should understand this from this sign, from this stamp that Christians receive even when they become catechumens. From this, we should understand why we are Christians.
Let’s pray.
Something to note, we shouldn’t just see the cross by itself.
It should always be connected to the Resurrection.
Return next week as we finish our study in Luke and celebrate Easter.