A Study of the Book of Luke
Sermon # 65
“Responses To The Cross”
Luke 23:26-43
In the last message (Sunday evening) we witnessed that Pilate had determined Jesus to be innocent. It was his desire to release Jesus but the crowd demanded Barabbas, a vicious criminal be pardoned and Pilate caved in to their demand. We now see Jesus as he is led away to be put to death. They lead Him through the streets of Jerusalem, along a route known as the “Via Dolorosa,”- the sorrowful way.” They are headed for a place called Calvary or Golgotha, the place of skull, the location where crucifixions were carried out.
But I don’t want you to think that Jesus as he is lead to the cross is just a helpless victim who is caught up in events he could not control. He is not just a passive victim overwhelmed by superior forces. In John’s account (19:11) Jesus told Pilate "You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above.”
When Peter had thought to defend him at his arrest Jesus had reminded him saying (Matt 26:53), “… do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?” What Jesus did, he did willingly. He died as a substitute for you and I. In 1 Peter 2:24 we find, “who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness--by whose stripes you were healed.
Luke tells the story of the crucifixion from the viewpoint of the participants in the drama. As we see the death of Jesus from their perspective we become aware of the varied responses to the cross.
It was a part of the prisoner’s humiliation to carry his cross, or at least part of it, to the place of execution. So as Jesus left Pilate’s hall he was carrying either the cross or at least the crossbeam which in it’s self would have weighted 75 to 125 lbs. (John 19:17). At some point he was unable to go on so the soldiers drafted someone to carry the cross for Him.
This is where we are introduced to the first individual’s response to the cross.
Some responded in Ignorance (vv. 25-26)
“Now as they led Him away, they laid hold of a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, who was coming from the country, and on him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus.”
When you consider all that Jesus had endured, his agonizing hours in the garden at Gethsemane and his numerous beating handed out during the night it is not difficult to imagine Him falling under the weight of the cross. As he stumbles under the load, a man coming in the opposite direction, Simon the Cyrenian was drafted for the job of carrying his cross.
He had traveled over 800 miles to celebrate the Passover and now he had been rendered ceremonially unclean. Taking the cross he had been literally covered by the blood of Jesus and therefore unable to participate in the Passover ceremony. This must have seemed to Simon a great catastrophe. It would have been tragic to the extreme to physically be covered by the blood of Jesus and yet to have died without the spiritual benefits that comes through faith.
We have good reason to believe that Simon was converted because of his encounter with Jesus. Mark identifies him as “the father of Alexander and Rufus” (15:21), two men that Luke assumes that people to whom he is writing will know. Apparently Simon and his two sons became well known in the early church. So perhaps in the very thing that he thought had brought him shame he found his Savior.
Some responded in Ignorance and …
Some Responded in Sorrow (vv. 27-31)
Jesus turns to the weeping mourners and says with compassion (v. 27) “And a great multitude of the people followed Him, and women who also mourned and lamented Him. (28) But Jesus, turning to them, said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.
The women react in a perfectly normal way as they weep over the tragedy of Jesus impending death. But as Jesus’ remarks make clear the real tragedy is to misjudge who He is. The real issue goes beyond what He will suffer to what his death will mean to those who reject him. He tells them that the more tragic plight is theirs, not His. As painful as his death will be, He knows what awaits him at resurrection. His future is secure, but unless they repent, theirs is not. The real issue moves beyond what Jesus will suffer to what His death will mean both to those who believe and to those who reject Him. Jesus wants repentance not sympathy.
He goes on in verse twenty-nine to explain,
"For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, wombs that never bore, and breasts which never nursed!’ (30) "Then they will begin ‘to say to the mountains, "Fall on us!" and to the hills, "Cover us!"‘
He tells them that it would be better to not be a mother that to be one during this impending time of unparalleled misery.
Verse thirty-one continues the warning saying, "For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry?" If the Romans treat an innocent man – one they know to be innocent – in such a way, what will they do to the guilty? If the Romans are this cruel in a time of peace what will they be capable of during a time of war?
Some Responded in Sorrow and…
Some Responded in Shameless Indifference (v. 34b)
“…And they divided His garments and cast lots.”
The soldiers who had the responsibility of
carrying out the crucifixion were simply marking
time until the execution is complete. These men
had been hardened by the very coarseness of their
lives. They had seen others die. They were not
concerned about the meaning of Christ’s death.
There was the innocent Son of God, hanging on a cross, his blood being shed for the sin’s of all mankind. And there they are on the ground rolling the dice to see who got what. They divide up his clothes among themselves by casting lots. Even in doing this they are fulfilling the prophecy of Psalm 22:18 “They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.”
They seemed interested only in the way they can get out of this experience. They forever stand as examples of those who too involved with their daily lives to worry about the significance of the cross. They were callously indifferent.
Poor, poor soldiers, what did they take home from the cross, a few pieces of clothing and nothing more. No changed hearts, no changed visions, no changed lives: no savior. Even today how much or rather how little do some take home with them from church services?
Some Responded in Indifference and…
Some Responded In Open Mockery (vv. 35-40)
“And the people stood looking on. But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, "He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God."
• The Rulers Mocked Him (v. 35)
I think that it is amazing that even as the rulers mocked Jesus at the foot of the cross, they inadvertently admitted “He saved others…..” That is an ironic admission.
By implication they are saying “he saved others… but he cannot save himself.” In a sense they are right. But they are also horribly wrong. They thought that it was weakness that held kept him nailed to the cross. Actually it was just the opposite, it was power, the power of his love. The fact was that He could not save others by saving himself, He could only save others by dying for them, sacrificing himself for their sakes.
So by refusing to save himself, he provided salvation for the world.
• The Soldiers Mock Him (vv. 36-37)
“The soldiers also mocked Him, coming and offering Him sour wine, (37) and saying, "If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself."
• Pilate Mocks Him (v. 38)
Even Pilate gets into the mockery by have a sign made to place on the cross. Verse thirty-eight declares, “And an inscription also was written over Him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”
The sign over the cross was written in the three important languages of the times, Greek the language of commerce and government, Latin, the language of education and Hebrew, the language of religion. All three proclaimed that Jesus was “King of the Jews.”
• Even the Thieves Mocked Him
(vv. 32-33, 39-41)
“ There were also two others, criminals, led with Him to be put to death. (33) And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left.”
At first both of the thieves crucified with Jesus also mocked him. Verse thirty-nine,
“Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, "If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us."
Matthew and Mark both record that in the beginning both criminals mocked Jesus. But somewhere along the way one had change of heart because in verse forty we read. “But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, "Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation?
Although Some Responded In Open Mockery…
At Least One Responded In Faith (vv. 41-43)
It is a sobering thing to know that you are dying. It was sobering enough that at least one man came to the cross and went away a changed man and he did so because;
He admitted his guilt
At some time he had awakened to his own guilt, he admitted that he was a sinner and getting just what he deserved. In verse forty-one he says, "And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong." He admitted the burden of his guilt. For you see, at death there are no atheist. He admitted the legality of his sentence, which is evidence of his true repentance. He was no longer blaming others, he was no longer making excuses!
He confessed Christ As Savior.
He not only admitted he was a sinner but he concluded that Jesus was the Messiah. In verse forty-two he declares, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom."
It is possible even in the brief time he had left that this man was mocked too, for his ridiculous faith in a dying king – “You expect Him to save you, you fool, he cannot even save himself.” Warren Weirsbe says, “It took courage for this thief to defy the influence of his friend and the mockery of the crowd, and it took faith for him to trust in a dying king! When you consider all that he had to overcome, the faith of this thief is astounding.” [Warren Weirsbe. Be Courageous. Luke 14-24. (Wheaton, Illinois; Victor Books, 1989) p. 136]
The Lord’s response to this man’s faith is very reassuring for in verse forty-two, ”Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise." The significance of this phrase is not immediately apparent. The word “Paradise” is not just another word for Heaven, but indicates a close relationship and a particular honor. The word is Persian in origin and it means a private, but lavish garden, one enclosed behind a wall, a place where a Persian king would stroll with his closest friends. Such people were even given a title; “companions of the garden.” William Barclay explains this to mean that, “It was more than immorality that Jesus promised the penitent thief. He promised him the honored place of a companion of the garden in the courts of heaven.” [William Barclay. The Gospel of Luke. (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1956) pp. 299-300]
Our Lord awarded to the repentant thief more than forgiveness and heaven, but the assurance the he will be among his closest companions in the eternal realm. The thief did not have to wait even one day to receive what Jesus promised. his faith secured him an immediate place with Jesus. Jesus told the repentant thief, “Today you will be with me – you will be with me, close by me.”
Conclusion
Christ’s promise to the thief extends to all who believe in him today. When we call on him to save us, when we acknowledge our sins, and seek his deliverance, he responds with a word for today. You, too can experience life with Christ in His kingdom today by believing in Him.
Perhaps we are caught up in sin, sin so unspeakable that we fear what others would think if they knew. We may imagine then that we are beyond the reaches of God’s love. If so we are wrong. The thief’s salvation assures us that it is never too late to turn to Christ.
