If you really want to get a reaction on something from somebody-mention the cross of Jesus Christ. From the recent Mel Gibson movie The Passion of the Christ, right on back through the generations and millennia-mentioning the cross instantly puts people into several camps and creates a response from apathy to anger. That was also true for those who witnessed the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in person.
Today as we look at the account I want to focus on the reactions and interactions between the players, and hopefully get a sense of how they felt and how we feel when we think about the cross. I know for myself, whenever this section of the gospels comes along my stomach tightens and I feel anxious. Anger wells up in me as I think about what they did to my Lord and for some reason I start wanting Pilate to have some backbone and stand up to the crowds and let Jesus go.
But then I have to balance those feelings with the knowledge that once it was time, Jesus very very carefully said and did just exactly what was needed to be crucified. Allowing it is one thing, but to purposefully orchestrate things so that it happened-all the while being completely innocent-boggles the mind.
Verses 1 - 5
Notice how the Jews tailored their argument so that a gentile ruler might take notice: "forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar." It was untrue, but the seriousness of the accusation trumped the evidence of the truth. Remember Jesus said "give unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s and unto God what it God’s" (Luke 20:25)
Pilate really didn’t care if someone declared themselves to be king of the Jews. As long as Roman rule was secure. Here is the first time Pilate declares Jesus to be innocent. He’ll do it twice more before condemning him to the cross.
When their arguments of 1: he is misleading, 2: he tells us not to pay taxes, and 3: he is a king-don’t work, they resort to an argument they think will: that he is fomenting rebellion and rioting, something the Romans hated.
Verses 6 - 12
As is often the case-when someone doesn’t want to take responsibility for something, they pawn it off on another authority. Pilate figured this was a Jewish matter so cart Jesus off to Herod, whom Pilate disliked anyway.
Herod really wanted to see Jesus, but not to hear the gospel or to worship Him but to see Him perform a trick. Jesus didn’t grant Herod anything, not even one word. Herod is the only one to whom Jesus said nothing. John the Baptist had already said things to Herod, whose heart was hard, so Jesus had nothing to add.
So in front of Herod the chief priests and scribes "vehemently accused" Jesus. It probably means they were shouting angrily at Him. In verse :35 they will "scoff" at Him. For his part, Herod goes from longing to see Jesus to "contempt" and "mocking." "Contempt" means to look down upon or "to treat shamefully."
There is this odd little thing that Luke adds-that Pilate and Herod became friends that day. Pilate and Herod were uneasy rivals: Part Jewish Herod ruled over Galilee Perea, while Roman Pilate ruled over Judea and Samaria in place of Herod’s half brother Archelaus, who was removed by Rome. When Pilate acknowledged Herod’s authority and when neither could figure out what to do with Jesus, the rivalry between them faded.
Its interesting how dismissing the gospel can bring rivals together.
Verses 13 - 25
While Pilate didn’t know what to make of Jesus, he did know one thing: Jesus was innocent. We know that the voices of the rulers of the people were joined by the crowd. This was their last chance and when they couldn’t win on principal they won by shear determination and threatening to do the one thing that would get Pilate into personal trouble: start a riot. Pilate had been in trouble for this before from Rome and if it happened again he might be removed from his position as governor.
It says "their voices prevailed" which uses a Greek idiom that means to be forced to obey something whether right or wrong. Notice that Pilate released a man convicted of insurrection and murder. Who else does that remind you of? Satan, who Jesus said was a "murderer from the beginning" and who sinned against God by rebelling against His authority. So man has allied himself with Satan from the garden and now chooses a man like Satan over a man like God.
Verses 26 - 31
Cyrene was in Northern Africa.
Not everyone wanted Jesus to be killed. But even in this hour of His suffering Jesus is thinking about others-in this case the fact that the present situation for these women and the people of Jerusalem was nothing in comparison for what would come just forty years from then-the destruction of Jerusalem.
Verses 32 - 43
We don’t see in Luke the scourging of Jesus, where a leather cord embedded with bits of glass and metal was repeatedly lashed against the prisoner.
Executions in the U.S. are designed to be "humane" and as least painful as possible. Crucifixion was created by the Persians but perfected by the Romans as a way to provide maximum pain and torture in death. The cross used in Jesus’ time was about 7 feet high and in the shape of a capital T rather than the Latin "t" that we think of. The cross beam was laid on top of the post. 7" x 3/8" nails were put through the nerve in the wrist, causing waves of pain through the body.
The position of the body made exhaling difficult, which may explain Jesus’ short statements on the cross. Eventually, a prisoner died of suffocation.
" Shallowness of breathing causes small areas of lung collapse.
" Decreased oxygen and increased carbon dioxide causes acidic conditions in the tissues.
" Fluid builds up in the lungs. Makes situation in step 2 worse.
" Heart is stressed and eventually fails.
What Luke focuses on here, though is the attitude of Jesus ("Father forgive them") and the reaction and interaction with the two others crucified with him.
Both asked for salvation. One wanted to avoid punishment for sin without repentance; the other recognized Jesus’ innocence and that he deserved punishment-he wanted mercy through Jesus. That is the chief difference between the saved and unsaved: recognition of sin, repentance, and a cry for God’s mercy.
The background of all this was the soldiers, busy gambling over his clothing, and the religious leaders who had come to crow over their "victory." Jesus refused the drugged wine earlier, but here, just before He died, he accepted it. "Cheap wine" could be another way of putting it. What we don’t see are the spiritual forces of darkness that are also celebrating in the unseen spirit world (Psalm 22 "bulls of Bashan").
The signboard was supposed to list the person’s crimes. John tells us that Pilate had it written in Aramaic, Latin, and Greek.
Verses 44 - 49
Jesus went on the cross at 9:00am. From noon till three somehow the sun was darkened-not an eclipse (full moon at Passover).
What happened on the cross? Deuteronomy 22:3 says that anyone who is hanged on a tree is cursed. God the Father cursed His own innocent Son by hanging Him on a tree. He placed on Him the sins of all of us on Jesus (Isaiah 53:5 "He was wounded for our transgressions"). God judged Jesus so He didn’t have to judge anyone who would look to Jesus for healing from sin. God the Father actually separated Himself from the Son as the sin of man was placed on Him. Now the only sin that remains unforgivable is the one that turns away from this free gift.
I think the veil being torn in two is one of the most significant events of the crucifixion. The veil separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies in the Temple. It signified the separation of man from God. If someone went in through the veil and was not the High Priest on the Day of Atonement having already had sacrifices done for him-he would die. But here that separation has been torn in two by Jesus. (For more see Hebrews 9:1-4 and 10:19-22)
I love the little bit about the Centurion here. He called Jesus "innocent" or "righteous." This was a hardened Gentile soldier who had put many men to death. But there was something different about Jesus and the circumstances in which He died that led him to be the first to proclaim Jesus the Son of God after His death (in Matthew’s gospel).
The crowds, perhaps hoping Jesus would perform a miracle and come down from the cross, went home slowly, the Greek suggests, in deep sorrow.
Verses 50 - 56
Joseph of Arimathea-like the Centurion-did not acknowledge Jesus until He gave his life. The Centurion was the first gentile, Joseph the first Jew to openly associate with Jesus after his death.
Didn’t consent to the rulers decision or action :51 but couldn’t stop them
Went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body-took courage
Thought he wouldn’t stand by Jesus in his life, Joseph stood by and cared for Jesus in his death
Conclusions:
There are several levels of those involved in the crucifixion.
Men of power who didn’t want to be involved: Pilate bowed before the crowd to political expediency; Joseph had not agreed but had done nothing to stop the evil plot. He would not stand up for Jesus until after his death, but then made a conscious, life changing, decision.
Men of authority: the soldiers apparently thought their authority allowed them to mock openly with impunity. But one soldier realized this man was different from all others. He had seen men stripped of everything, but saw at Jesus’ deepest levels the innocence of divinity.
The crowds: some in the crowd openly salivated over Jesus’ demise, while others showed open sorrow or quiet desperation.
The Two Criminals: angry accusations or confessions and pleas. Each man was guilty, only one was forgiven.
Where are you? Are you a person who thinks they don’t need to deal with Jesus’ death? Are you one who is inclined to follow him but are perhaps afraid of what your peers might say? Maybe you have "seen it all" and life experience has jaded your opinion. Maybe you should be more like the Centurion who watched carefully, then praised openly. Or perhaps you are in the crowd-which will you do: follow the crowd to do evil, or mourn over your own sin? Finally we are all like one criminal or the other. Which one will you be?
Let’s also tune into our own emotions when thinking about the cross. Do you get angry, sad, mournful, still? Explore them with the Lord and let Him bring you to a new appreciation for what Jesus did for you personally on the cross. You may find that there is something deeper for you to experience with Him who died for you.
Philippians 3:10-11
10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings , becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. ESV
Reference: http://www.new-life.net/crucify1.htm
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