Jesus On
the Cross
[Luke
chapter 23, verses 32-43]
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Last
week when we ended our ongoing study of the writings of the apostle
Luke, we left off at verse 31 of chapter 23, where Jesus was being
led off to be crucified. A crowd of people followed after him,
mourners who knew his fate and who wept and wailed at the sight of
our Lord and Savior. No wonder! By this time Jesus had been beaten
with fists and whipped with a whip with multiple cords on it for the
maximum and most gruesome effect. Jesus had been beaten so badly he
was nearly unrecognizable. And he hadn't even been crucified yet!
This week we will pick up at verse 32, Jesus is being nailed to the
cross in what has to be the saddest part of the Bible. But it's only
that way on the surface of things as they stand, because of what will
happen three days later. So let's all get started, OK?
“Two
other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed.
When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified
him 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 the Christ of God,
the Chosen One.' The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They
offered wine vinegar and said, 'If you are the King of the Jews, save
yourself.'”
(Luke 23, verses 32-37)
In
the Bible's original Hebrew-to-Greek translation that occurred about
the turn of the 2nd
century AD, the word for “the place called the Skull” is
'Golgotha', the word from which the modern term 'Gothic' has its
roots. Although I've never been there myself, I understand this place
is a hill with what appears to be the upper half of a human skull on
one side of it, with just the eyes and nose visible along with a
prominent crown. So our Lord and Savior was crucified that day in
between two criminals who had received the death penalty, presumably
for murder or attempting insurrection against the Roman Empire who
ruled the Middle East of that time with an iron hand, or some other
capital offense. They crucified Jesus Christ as a common criminal,
but he was also crucified because he was viewed as a threat to the
establishment. Although our Redeemer didn't set out to be one, Jesus
ended up receiving capital punishment for being a revolutionary. A
revolutionary for what, you ask? Jesus preached and taught all about
equality, an issue that some people are just now figuring out after
2,000 years. He taught that God had a Son who was an intermediary
between God and humankind, something previously unheard of. He
accused the religious establishment of his day of apostasy, of
misleading the people and of spiritual dereliction of duty because
they were so hypocritical. When he overturned the tables and chairs
of the money-changers in the Temple before driving them out with a
whip he had made, that was just the icing on the cake that was the
Lord's ministry – a wedding cake! This would be a wedding cake for
his Bride, who is the church. The fact that Jesus used a home made
whip to drive them out of the Temple was the primary reason Jesus was
whipped so badly on the morning of his crucifixion.
Despite
everything that was being done to him, all our Savior could say was,
“'Father forgive
them, for they do not know what they are doing.' And they divided up
his clothes by casting lots.”
OK, let's all get some perspective on this. Jesus is in the process
of being nailed to a cross. He has already been bound to the cross
with rope to hold his hands and feet down to keep them firmly in
place, so that when they drove the nails through it would be
impossible for him to move. Plus, there were soldiers there holding
Jesus' limbs in place anyhow. The pain must have been excruciating to
the point of being off the scale. Jesus had already been beaten half
to death, even to the point where someone else had to be commandeered
to carry his cross. And yet, instead of calling those who were
driving those nails every curse or swear word ever invented like any
of us would have done (including myself), or screaming out in pain,
“Why? Why?”, Jesus simply asked his Father in heaven to forgive
them. I'm sure he was crying out in pain as he did so, which makes
this all the more remarkable. Even as the Roman soldiers gambled for
his clothes – meaning Jesus was hanging on the cross in his
underwear in early to mid April in early to mid morning, with the air
temperature ranging from the upper forties to near 60 degrees
Fahrenheit – Jesus asked the Father to forgive them anyway, even
while his teeth chattered in the chilly Passover morning air that
day.
“The
people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said,
'He saved others, let him save himself....”
By “the rulers”, I'm sure the apostle Luke meant the Temple
rulers as well as the governing authorities there in Jerusalem. For
three and a half years the religious leadership of that day – the
Pharisees, Sadducee's, the Chief Priests and teachers of the Law –
had expended enormous time and resources following Jesus around,
testing him and trying every way they knew how to trip Jesus up, or
to catch him in a contradiction, or to find an angle from which to
attack him from a Biblical standpoint. Now they had Jesus right where
they wanted him – nailed to that cross ten feet up in the air, with
his fate as Lord, Eternal Savior and Kinsman Redeemer of all
humankind sealed for all eternity! This is why we go to church every
Sunday: To honor Jesus' supreme sacrifice that he made on the cross
for all of us by dying in our place for our sins against God. Whether
we intended to sin or not is besides the point – we have all still
sinned at least once in our lives. When it comes to God, even one sin
is too much because God is purity personified. Sin, on the other
hand, however innocent or harmless or fun it may have seemed at the
time, causes us to fall short of the glory of God. So although Jesus
declined to save himself when he was challenged to do so, it was
because this was destined for 3 days into the future, something no
one else understood at that time. And now let's conclude today's
study starting at verse 38.
“There
was a written notice above him which read: 'This is the King of the
Jews'. One of the criminals who hung there with him hurled insults at
him: 'Aren't you the Christ? 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, 'I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in
paradise.'”
(Luke 23, verses 38-43)
The
message in these last few verses is unmistakable! It doesn't matter
who condemns, insults or attacks you if God is still on your side. It
doesn't matter who you are, or what you have done (or not), or where
you have been – not even as a condemned criminal hanging on a cross
right next to God's promised Messiah or Anointed One, right where he
can see you. Jesus isn't interested in your background. In fact, he
really couldn't care less about that, in my estimation. What Jesus is
most interested in is your destination in eternity. Jesus isn't
interested in your past, he's focused on your future. Another thing
that stands out here is the stark contrast between the two criminals
Jesus was crucified with. One of them taunted Jesus because he hadn't
saved himself and the others. But then, “....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.” One
recognized Jesus as being not only an innocent man, but also as being
the Son of God, or the Jewish Messiah, depending on your point of
view. The other condemned man clearly did not, as you read. Prior to
this, neither had followed Jesus even though they likely had both
heard of him. But it was not until they met on the day they were
crucified that the two criminals had a decision to make – a
decision for or against Christ. Do we believe in Him or not?
“Don't
you fear God?”, asked the second condemned prisoner to the first.
He was likely quoting the Bible when he asked that question: “The
fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise
wisdom and discipline.” (Proverbs 1: 7) What followed was one
of the most memorable exchanges between Jesus and those he saved.
“Then he said, 'Jesus, remember me when you come into your
kingdom.' Jesus answered him, 'I tell you the truth, today you will
be with me in paradise.'” The man on the cross who asked Jesus
to remember him – effectively asking for his final absolution –
was the one whose soul got saved. We can safely conclude that it was
the contrite heart as well as the faith of the second man that saved
his soul. It wasn't because he led a great life, because he had not.
He was a condemned criminal. But his willingness to take
responsibility for his sins and his expressed faith in Jesus as the
man who would save his soul – that is what saved him. And that, in
the end, is all that can save our souls. Our deeds can't save us, no
matter how well intentioned and numerous they may be. Nevertheless we
are commanded by Christ to “love your neighbor as yourself”.
Moreover, a complete lack of faith will condemn us no matter how much
we may selflessly help others. Our deeds can't help us there either –
unless they are combined with unwavering faith in Jesus Christ as our
living, risen Savior. And next week we'll move on to part 4 of Luke
chapter 23.
