THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
Luke 23:1-49.
LUKE 23:1-12. The Jewish authorities had no power to put Jesus to death. The sceptre had at last departed from Judah (Genesis 49:10) and, far from raising a mob to seize it back as they accused Him (Luke 23:5), Jesus willingly allowed Himself to be handed over into the hands of the Gentiles (cf. Luke 18:32-33). The accusations made against Jesus were ludicrous, and to say that He was “forbidding to give tribute to Caesar” (Luke 23:2) was the very opposite of the truth (see Luke 20:25)!
Pilate asked, “Are you the king of the Jews?” To which Jesus answered, in effect, “It is as you say.” Then Pilate declared, “I find no fault in this man” (Luke 23:3-4). At this point you would expect a just judge would have released Jesus, but Pilate noticed that Jesus was a Galilean, and sent Him to King Herod Antipas, the murderer of John the Baptist.
Now Herod had for a long time desired to see Jesus (cf. Luke 9:7-9), and hoped to see Him perform a miracle (Luke 23:8). Jesus had been warned that Herod wanted to kill Him (cf. Luke 13:31), but just like Pilate, Herod found “nothing worthy of death” in Jesus (cf. Luke 23:15). After mocking Jesus, and arraying Him in a gorgeous robe, Herod and his men sent Jesus back to Pilate.
Having formerly been at enmity with each other, Pilate and Herod now made common cause against Jesus, and became friends (Luke 23:12). Both declared Jesus innocent - in Pilate’s case, repeatedly - and both condemned an innocent man to die! Thus we see that our Passover lamb is ‘without blemish and without spot’ (1 Peter 1:19); and, in doing so, they were unwittingly fulfilling God’s plan of redemption (cf. Acts 2:23).
So who was responsible for the death of Jesus? First, there was the love of God. Then, the malice of Satan. Then there was the avarice of Judas Iscariot; the blindness of the religious leaders; the mocking of His captors; the denial of Peter; the injustice of Pilate; the ridicule of Herod. It was Adam’s sin, and the sins of us all; it was my sin, and your sin that nailed Jesus to that Cross and kept Him there. This was the only possible way of our salvation (cf. Luke 22:42).
LUKE 23:13-25. “I have found no fault in this man,” Pilate told Jesus’ accusers. “No, nor yet Herod.” “Nothing worthy of death” (Luke 23:14-15). “I have found no cause of death in Him” (Luke 23:22b). Thus we see that our Passover lamb is ‘without blemish and without spot’ (1 Peter 1:19).
Twice Pilate told the accusers of Jesus, “I will chastise Him and release Him / let Him go” (Luke 23:16; Luke 23:22c). “Away with this - Release unto us Barabbas,” cried the crowd (Luke 23:18). “Crucify, crucify Him” (Luke 23:21). “Why, what evil has He done?” pleaded Pilate (Luke 23:22a).
But the voices of the crowd, and of the chief priests, prevailed. Somewhat ironically, given the nature of the accusations against Jesus, Pilate released one who was guilty of sedition, and delivered Jesus over to their will.
LUKE 23:26-34. The compelling of Simon of Cyrene to carry the cross behind Jesus (Luke 23:26) is a picture of our own duty: to deny ourselves, and take up our cross daily, and follow Jesus (cf. Luke 9:23).
Certainly, there were plenty of people following Jesus that day, each with their own reasons for doing so. Among them were some women who bewailed and lamented Him. Jesus turned to these and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children” (Luke 23:28).
Jesus then repeated His prophecy concerning the fall of Jerusalem (Luke 23:29-30; cf. Luke 21:20-24). The punchline is: “For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?” (Luke 23:31). In other words, if the Roman justice system is condemning an innocent man to death, what will they do to a rebellious city like Jerusalem? (cf. Romans 13:3-4).
Two other men were led to be put to death with Jesus, both of them guilty. When they came to the place called Calvary, there Jesus was crucified, and the criminals also, one on the right hand, and one on the left. The soldiers parted Jesus’ raiment, and cast lots.
Jesus prayed, “Father forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). This prayer remains efficacious for ALL who will recognise that it is OUR sins that nailed Jesus to the Cross (cf. 1 Peter 2:24; 2 Corinthians 5:21).
LUKE 23:35-43. The people looked on. The leaders derided Jesus. The soldiers taunted: “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself” (Luke 23:37). Pilate’s judgment on this issue was published for all to see, written in three languages upon the Cross: “This is the King of the Jews” (Luke 23:38).
One of the evil-workers “blasphemed Him” (Luke 23:39). Yet the testimony that stands out above all is that of the other condemned criminal. Even before conversion, this man was already beginning to be an evangelist, showing concern for his similarly condemned fellow-conspirator. This was, perhaps, an early indication of God’s work in his heart.
Whatever else this second evil-worker saw, he at least recognised the justice of his condemnation - unlike that of Jesus. The prayer of this man was necessarily short, but to the point: “Remember me, Lord, when you come into your kingdom” (Luke 23:42). It is as if he had said: ‘My sins and faults of youth do thou, O Lord forget: After thy mercy think on me, and for thy goodness great’ (Psalm 25:7, Scottish metrical version).
Furthermore, he had faith to believe that Jesus still had a kingdom to inherit. The man believed in the power of a crucified Christ to save him, and to usher him into that kingdom. Something in that moment had enlightened this man to the reality of Jesus’ claims, and laid open to him the way of salvation even in the midst of that very darkest of all hours. And in that moment, he was saved.
LUKE 23:44-49. Passover is always held on a full moon day. A solar eclipse happens only at new moon. So the darkening of the sun at midday on Good Friday was nothing less than miraculous (Luke 23:44-45). The rending of the curtain in the Temple (which was incidentally ‘from the top to the bottom’ so could not have been caused by the earthquake of Matthew 27:51) signified the opening of the way into the Holy Place for all true believers (Hebrews 10:19-22).
Jesus cried out in a loud voice. This was not a cry of defeat, but of victory. Then He said, “Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46; cf. Psalm 31:5). Jesus trusted His Father to His very last breath (cf. Acts 7:59; 2 Timothy 1:12).
When the centurion saw the dignity with which Jesus died, he praised God, and pronounced his judgment: “Certainly this was a righteous man” (Luke 23:47). The other people around the cross dispersed, their consciences somewhat disturbed by what had just happened. Meanwhile, all Jesus’ acquaintance, and the women who had followed Him from Galilee, stood afar off, beholding these things.
