Calvary from the eyes of Luke
Text: Luke 23:44 – 49
So we’ve been looking at some of things that have been taking place during the last week of Jesus’ life while He was here on earth. We started out by looking at how Jesus made intercession for Peter, so that he would repent after he had been tripped up by Satan. And how Jesus is alive and seated at the right hand of God making intercession for us today. Then last Sunday we talked about Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, and how that prayer was brought on because Jesus fully understood the reality of what was going to take place on the cross… that God’s wrath was going to be poured out on Him for our sake. And today, we’re going to continue looking at the death of Jesus.
Jesus’ death is so important for us to understand if we are going to live the Christian life with confidence, and if we’re going to enjoy fellowship and relationship with God. We need to have a good, working understanding of why Jesus did what He did, and what He accomplished.
That’s where we’re going this morning… with that in mind, take your Bibles open them to the Gospel of Luke and follow along as I read Luke 23:44 – 49 (READ).
Now Luke’s description of the crucifixion focuses in not so much on what was happening physically, but what Jesus was accomplishing during the crucifixion. Back up in verse 34 he tells us that the first thing Jesus did was pray, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Which show us that the very purpose for Jesus dying on the cross was to gain forgiveness for us. We actually see that played out a little bit later in verses 42 and 43 when Jesus forgives the repentant thief who was crucified next to Him. And then we come to our text for this morning.
And it begins by telling us that it was the 6th hour and darkness came over the whole land. So it was the 6th hour… that’s 12:00, high noon. And there’s darkness over the whole land until the 9th hour… that’s 3 hours. From noon until 3:00 PM.
Now scientists will try to tell you that this might have been a solar eclipse or something that can be scientifically explained. And it might have been, but the fact of the matter is that there is a spiritual reality behind the darkness. This darkness is a physical display of a spiritual reality that’s taking place. We could say that the darkness was a physical manifestation of Jesus absorbing the righteous judgment of God that was being poured out on Him for our sin. Now where do I get that from? Well… from the Bible. In Exodus chapter 10:22 – 23 when God brings judgment upon Egypt He sends darkness over the whole land… it was a symbol of His judgment. Turn with me to Amos 8:7 – 9 and look at this…
(READ).
That darkness there is a picture of God’s judgment against sin. And we’re seeing the same sort of thing take place here in Luke, but the amazing thing here is that it isn’t coming on sinful, wicked rebellious people… it’s coming on God’s only begotten Son. God’s wrath is righteous, and we deserve it. But Jesus takes it instead. Let me try to give you a mental picture of what’s happening here. God’s wrath… His anger and fury against all our sin is coming down from heaven. But Jesus; willing goes to the cross and is lifted up, so that He absorbs it before it comes to us. That’s the idea that Luke is trying to get across here. Luke is telling us right here, this is what the cross if for… this is what the cross does… this is what Jesus was doing as He was hanging up there. He was taking the punishment for our sins, dying in our place, absorbing the just and righteous wrath of our Holy God.
So Jesus takes our place… but that’s not all. In verse 45 he tells us that the curtain in the temple was torn in two. This is significant! You see; in the Temple there was what was called the “Holy Place” and only those who were in covenantal relationship with God could go there, then there was what was called the Holy of Holies… and it was blocked off by this huge curtain. And in the Holy of Holies was the presence and glory and majesty of God. And the Holy of Holies could only be accessed by the High Priest as he went in there to make sacrifices for the sins of the people of God. But that was only after he had purified himself. But this curtain being torn, from top to bottom was God’s way of showing us that Jesus’ death has opened the way up to God.
The death of Jesus makes it possible for us to approach God now. That’s what Hebrews 10:19 – 22 says: “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that He opened for us through the curtain, that is, through His flesh, and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”
What Luke is saying here is that the death of Jesus is the beginning of the restoration and reconciliation of all things back to God… Do you remember… way back in Genesis we learned that God would come to Adam and Eve and He would walk with them, and fellowship with them. But then they rebelled against God, and that fellowship, and relationship, and friendship was broken, and they were cast out of the Garden. But through His death, Jesus has opened the way back into the presence and fellowship with God.
So Luke has told us about the judgment of God, coming on Jesus for the sins of man… and Jesus paid for our sins, and by His death, Jesus has opened the way up for man to again approach God, and then Luke tells us something really interesting. Verse 46… He tells us that Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Father, into Your hands I commit my spirit.” You know… an interesting study for us is to look at the words of Jesus from the cross. He goes from, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” To, “Today you will be with me in Paradise” and He says that to the thief next to Him. Then He says, “Behold your son, behold your mother” To John. And then, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” That’s when the sins of the world were being laid upon Him… Then He said, “I thirst.” And then finally, “It is finished,” meaning that He had accomplished the work He was sent to do, and then He said, “Father, into your hands, I commit my spirit” which is what Luke records for us here in our text. And remember; Luke’s focus in his Gospel account is to show us what Jesus has accomplished on the cross. Luke doesn’t record for us all seven phrases of Jesus on the cross. He just tells us the first one, “Father forgive them…” The middle one, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me.” And the last one, “Father into your hands I commit my spirit.”
Luke’s goal is to show us Jesus, in perfect unity and fellowship with God, interceding on the behalf of sinners. Then to show us Jesus dying in the place of those sinners, bearing our punishment and the wrath of God against our sins, for our sake, and then to show us that His work has been accomplished and His fellowship with God has been restored.
There’s one more thing we need to look at here, because there’s something else Jesus’ death on the cross has accomplished. It’s in verses 47 – 49 (READ).
First of all – the Roman Centurion in verse 47. A Centurion was sort of like a first sergeant in todays military. He would’ve had roughly 100 men under his command. He’s probably seen his fair share of combat, and violence and bloodshed. And Matthew and Mark both tell us that the Centurion said, “Surely this was the Son of God,” but Luke is telling us something else he said… He said, “This man was innocent.” And if you read through Luke, you’ll see that Pilate has declared Jesus to be innocent, Herod has said Jesus was innocent, the thief on the cross said Jesus was innocent, and now this Centurion is saying it. What do you think Luke is trying to get across to us here? He’s letting us know that Jesus went to that cross not because of anything He did. He’s saying that Jesus didn’t deserve to be on that cross. WE DESERVED IT. But look again at verse 47 – the Centurion didn’t just say, “Jesus was innocent.” Verse 47 says the Centurion praised God! Later on in the Book of Acts, Luke is going to tell us about other Roman soldiers coming to faith in Christ. So… this man… this grizzled veteran, has been in charge of this crucifixion… and he’s watched Jesus on the cross… he’s watched how Jesus has conducted Himself. He’s heard the things Jesus was saying, and it’s profoundly affected him. He’s standing there and he can’t keep quite anymore. He says, “This innocent man is the Son of God!” He’s basically become the first evangelist!
And we need to see this… when we look at the cross, how can we keep quiet? How can this not change everything? I’ve never understood how a Christian cannot tell others about the Christ he serves.
Verse 48 – the crowds… the crowds returned to their homes, beating their breasts… This is basically the Jewish way of mourning… It’s almost like they’re saying “Oh my, what have we done here?” It’s a sense of guilt and shame, and conviction taking place. It’s the feeling that each and every one of us should have when we come to truly understand that it should’ve been us hanging on that cross.
That’s what Luke is saying here… Jesus was innocent. This isn’t what He deserved. What we see take place on the cross is the punishment we owed. It was the punishment for OUR sin.
But he’s also saying, “Look at how God has dealt with our sin. He didn’t marginalize it. He can’t ignore it. It has to be punished, but rather than pouring it out on us, instead Jesus says ‘I’ll take it for them Father. I’ll bear your wrath and judgment in their place.’”
And in doing that, Jesus makes it possible for God to exert justice. And with His justice being satisfied and our sins being forgiven, that curtain that separated us from God has been torn in two, and we can come to our heavenly Father as His children.
It’s not in trying harder, or trying to be good enough, or in trying to make up for what we’ve done. Jesus already did all that. He’s already paid for it.
IT IS FINISHED!
I’ll close with this… I think all of us, like the crowd standing near the cross, recognize that it should’ve been us (at least I hope we realize this). But I also hope that all of us understand that Jesus took care of that. That He took our punishment, and that He did everything that was necessary to bring us back into a right relationship and right standing with God. You see; because not only was our sin laid upon Him… and not only did He endure the wrath of God for our sin… but also… of His righteousness was credited to our account. I mean… let’s think about this in the terms of debt. It would be like you owed God $50 trillion (that’s trillion with a “T”). You could never pay that off… no matter how hard you worked, no matter what you did… you could never pay it. But Jesus comes and He pays it… He settles your tab. But that’s not all. He pays off your debt, but then He makes a $500 Trillion dollar deposit into your account.
Isn’t God amazing?
Now you might be sitting here, listening to me and asking yourself… “What do I have to do in order to get in on this?” Well it’s pretty simple really… you have to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior by faith.
So this morning… if God has given you the grace to believe, I want to visit with you. I want to talk to you. And we want to celebrate with you, what God has done.
Let's pray.
