The Crucifixion of Jesus – Part 2
Luke 23:32-49 (35b-39)
January 31, 2021
As you know, we are studying through Luke’s gospel, and as we said last week, we have been 3 ½ years preparing to get to this one point.
We are approaching the holy ground of the crucifixion.
This moment is the focal point of all eternity.
It is the biggest day of all eternity.
This day is even bigger than any of the 7 days of creation
Since this day was determined even before time began.
• Paul tells us in Titus that eternal life was promised to the elect through the
cross “before time began.”
• Paul tells us in Ephesians that we were chosen in Christ “before the
foundation of the world” (1:4)
The cross was always God’s plan to redeem His people back to Himself.
WE ARE LOOKING AT THIS UNEQUALLED DAY.
We started working through the text last week with our first point.
#1 THE SCENE OF THE CRUCIFIXION
Luke 23:32-35a
In seeing those verses again
We are drawn back into the panorama of what is going on.
We even said there are 3 major realities that Luke would have us notice.
IDENTIFICATION – Christ is clearly being treated as a criminal.
• He is in a death march
• He is headed to the place of execution
• He is being led among other criminals
Jesus was not a criminal, nor was He sinful, but He was identifying with us.
He was being treated as we deserve.
INTERCESSION – We clearly saw Christ on the cross already fulfilling His role as a great High Priest.
• He prayed, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”
IGNORANCE – most noticeably in the people who were simply “looking on” oblivious to the magnitude of the moment.
And so we discussed briefly
How important it is to remove the ignorance of the cross.
Paul told the Corinthians:
1 Corinthians 1:18 “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
So our first goal last week was simply to remove the ignorance.
We talked about what is actually occurring here.
Namely that this innocent man was bearing the wrath of God
For all the sin of everyone who would ever believe for all time.
His sacrifice on the cross.
• REACHED BACK to atone for the sin of every Old Testament believer.
• REACHED OUT to atone for the sin of every believer at that time.
• REACHED FORWARD to atone for the sin of everyone who would ever believe in the future.
Hebrews 10:14 “For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.”
I realize that this scene may look like a simple execution of Jesus by wicked men, but in reality it is so much more than that.
This is the day that changed it all for all of us.
So that was the scene of the crucifixion that we saw last week.
This morning let’s move forward in the text.
#2 THE SCORN OF THE MOB
Luke 23:35b-39
I told you last time that what you see taking place here is actually a “Mock Coronation”.
• They have already robed Him in purple
• They have already placed a crown of thorns on His head
• They have already lifted Him up on His throne
• They have placed His most fitting subjects on His right and His left (criminals)
It is a mocking scene.
And there are a few things important to see here.
First, I would simply point out to you what we might call THE PLAYERS
(or the participants)
The first player mentioned is CHRIST
We actually saw Him up in verse 34 praying for the forgiveness of His murderers.
I bring that up again because we have here
Another one of those GREAT CONTRASTS that Luke loves to use.
While the entire mob is a picture of hatred and scorn,
Jesus shines brightly to us as a model of mercy and meekness.
You can’t help but bring to mind that powerful passage that Peter gave us.
1 Peter 2:22-24 “WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.”
Christ is the exact opposite of those around Him.
He is the only One here who is NOT acting like a sinner.
And yet He is the One dying as a sinner.
We always want to recognize that.
Another player we’ve already looked at was clearly THE PEOPLE.
Luke told us that they were “looking on” sort of in ignorant oblivion.
Matthew tells us that they were also verbally abusing Jesus.
Matthew 27:39-40 “And those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads 40 and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.”
You’ll see why Luke doesn’t mention their scornful attacks in a minute.
Luke has another point to make.
But I do want you to see them by way of contrast to Jesus.
THEY ARE MOCKING, HE IS MEEK.
Another player that I want to show you that is not as easily recognizable is actually PILATE.
Now you say, where is Pilate in all this?
He’s not at the foot of the cross.
Let me show you where Pilate is.
(38) “Now there was also an inscription above Him, “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”
That is Pilate’s contribution to the scene.
However, what Pilate has written was NOT MEANT to mock Jesus.
John 19:17-22 “They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha. There they crucified Him, and with Him two other men, one on either side, and Jesus in between. Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It was written, “JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS.” Therefore many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Latin and in Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews were saying to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews’; but that He said, ‘I am King of the Jews.'” Pilate answered, “What I have written I have written.”
I want to be sure and put that picture in your mind
As we’ll come back to it later on this morning.
One of the events that took place was this PILATE,
Who knew Jesus was innocent but didn’t have courage to release Him,
ACTUALLY TESTIFIED AS TO WHO JESUS REALLY WAS.
And where it not for Pilate’s noticeable cowardice we might even be inspired by his response. “What I have written I have written”
Wow, that sounds great doesn’t it!
Yet, that is what we call too little too late.
But even though Pilate’s confession was a pitiful one
It still played a prominent role in what is occurring here.
Because there is no doubt that
THIS SIGN hanging above the head of Jesus
Greatly influenced the scorn and mocking that Jesus was receiving.
So that’s already 3 characters at the scene.
Jesus, the People, and Pilate
But there are more, and the others Luke mentions specifically,
And Luke mentions what they say.
We see THE RULERS
(35b) “And even the rulers were sneering at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One.”
The word “sneering” there is a long Greek word
That means “to deride by turning up the nose”
You’ve seen it before:
Luke 16:14 “Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and were scoffing at Him.”
So it’s not like they’re growling at Him
(Like we might be tempted to think by the word “sneering”)
Rather they are sort of laughing and scoffing at Him.
They aren’t actually daring Him to come down off the cross,
They are mocking the fact that they don’t think He can.
• “Hey miracle worker, how are those miracles working for You now!”
• “Hey Mr. Savior, what happened Your Saving potion not working?”
• “I thought you were the Mighty King? Don’t look so mighty now!”
They are scoffing and mocking Him.
This is actually infuriating to us
Because we know that the only thing keeping Him there
Was His love for us and His humble submission to the plan of God.
• He reminded Peter that God would at once put at His disposal more than 12 legions of angels if that was His desire.
• We know that if Christ had required that this cup pass, it would have since He was in fact righteous.
And are we really to assume that the One
• Who calmed the waves,
• Overturned death,
• Cleansed lepers,
• Healed paralytics,
• And overwhelmed legions of demons
Would find the nails in His hands too big of an obstacle to overcome?
Of course not.
The only reason He is there is because He chooses to be there,
And yet they scoff Him for it.
But it wasn’t just the rulers.
We also see THE SOLDIERS getting in on the fun.
(36-37) “The soldiers also mocked Him, coming up to Him, offering Him sour wine, and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself!”
“mocked” there is a Greek word that means “to play with”
Matthew 2:16 “Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged…”
When they approach Him and offer Him “sour wine”
They AREN’T concerned about His thirst,
NOR are they offering Him some sort of pain killer.
They are just joining in on the game.
• All they had was this sour wine,
• But they were pretending it was the king’s choice wine
• And they are no doubt approaching Him and bowing
• And offering Him wine as they would a noble king.
It’s a mockery.
They are toying with Him.
And then they begin to taunt Him too.
“If you are the King of the Jews, save Yourself!”
Do you remember the story of Elijah and the showdown on Mt. Carmel?
• When Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal to a showdown?
• Remember how Elijah spoke to the prophets while they tried to coerce Baal to light the sacrifice?
1 Kings 18:27 “It came about at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, “Call out with a loud voice, for he is a god; either he is occupied or gone aside, or is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and needs to be awakened.”
• We all laugh when we hear Elijah mock the utter impotence of their false deity.
• He pointed out for the whole crowd to hear how weak their god was
• And how stupid they were for following him.
Well that’s the exact same thing these soldiers are now doing to Jesus.
What’s the matter King, can’t you come down?
And you see them mockingly bow and offer Him a drink.
He the massive butt of all the jokes there at the scene.
And that’s still not all.
We also see the CRIMINALS hanging with Him getting in on the action.
(39) “One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!”
Luke’s gospel only mentions one of the criminals abusing Jesus,
But the other gospel accounts show us that for a time both were participating.
Matthew 27:44 “The robbers who had been crucified with Him were also insulting Him with the same words.”
As we will see, one of them felt remorse and changed his tune.
Clearly the louder of the two is the one Luke mentions.
And this criminal was “hurling abuse”.
That is actually the Greek word BLASPEMEO
From where we get the word “blaspheme”.
It means “to speak reproachfully, rail at, revile”
This guy isn’t necessarily mocking, this guy is mad.
He is angry that Jesus, who supposedly has all this power,
Is just taking all this abuse without doing anything about it.
See, this criminal has an ulterior motive.
He wants Jesus to get off the cross and take him too.
He’s like the other prisoner in the jail cell
Who wants Jesus to bust out so he can escape as well.
And he’s actually mad at Jesus for getting his hopes up
And then not doing anything.
His scorn must have been the most difficult to bear.
Calling Jesus names like a pathetic loser, lying sissy, and phony deceiver,
And I’d imagine he used other language not suitable for a sermon.
He was calling Jesus every name in the book.
And what you see is that Jesus is being attacked from every side.
Jesus is praying for them
They are mocking and abusing and attacking Him in every way possible.
Psalms 22:6-8 “But I am a worm and not a man, A reproach of men and despised by the people. All who see me sneer at me; They separate with the lip, they wag the head, saying, “Commit yourself to the LORD; let Him deliver him; Let Him rescue him, because He delights in him.”
Psalms 22:12-18 “Many bulls have surrounded me; Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me. They open wide their mouth at me, As a ravening and a roaring lion. I am poured out like water, And all my bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It is melted within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And my tongue cleaves to my jaws; And You lay me in the dust of death. For dogs have surrounded me; A band of evildoers has encompassed me; They pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones. They look, they stare at me; They divide my garments among them, And for my clothing they cast lots.”
It is certainly undeserved and uneducated scorn.
Jesus not only could have come down from the cross,
But He could have instantly swapped places with any man there.
• He could have turned them into salt like Lot’s wife…
• He could have consumed them with fire like Aaron’s sons…
• He could have opened up the ground and swallowed them like Korah…
• He could have sent a plague like during the wilderness…
• He could have called a she-bear out of the woods to maul them all…
• He could have had a lion approach and kill them…
All of those are ways in which God killed sinners in the Old Testament.
But Jesus just took it.
He bore the abuse. He bore our sin.
Isaiah 53:7-8 “He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth. By oppression and judgment He was taken away; And as for His generation, who considered That He was cut off out of the land of the living For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due?”
It is a striking contrast.
But beyond that, there is SOMETHING ELSE
That Luke clearly wants you and I to see in his account of the crucifixion.
He doesn’t just want you to see that the scorn happened.
He also shows us THE COMMON SUBJECT OF THE SCORN
Did you notice that everyone Luke mentioned as scorning Jesus all had the same attack?
Every one of them basically said the same thing.
“If you are the King/Christ…save Yourself”
There is a definite point to be made by Luke in all of this.
All the scorn that Jesus is receiving here
Is centered around His claim to be the King.
We can look at the reason for the cross from many different angles.
• We certainly saw last time that God’s purpose for the cross was the
redemption of humanity.
But if we look at Luke’s angle of view, the reason for crucifixion
Is rooted in a rejection of Christ as their sovereign authority.
TO PUT IT MORE SIMPLY.
These people did not want Christ to reign over them.
THEY REJECTED HIS AUTHORITY.
Now this is NOT NEW to Luke’s gospel,
He has given us subtle looks at this from time to time.
TURN BACK TO: LUKE 1:30-33
Very early in his gospel account Luke brought to the forefront that in Jesus we have the King.
“He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”
It was a clear heading very early in the gospel.
And we saw that there is an EXPECTED SUBMISSION to Him as such.
TURN TO: LUKE 9:18-26
• It is that famous call of Jesus to His disciples.
• God revealed Him to be “The Christ of God” (King)
• And the expectation was that these men would follow Him.
• They would leave their lives behind and follow Him.
TURN TO: LUKE 9:57-62
That of course was a NEGATIVE EXAMPLE of men who wanted salvation, but who were not interested in following Jesus.
• He would cost their comforts…
• He would cost their fortunes/inheritance…
• He would cost their reputations…
It was a clear call to submission and to follow Him
And many were not willing.
TURN TO: LUKE 12:41-48
Once again a reference to the necessity of doing the will of the Master.
• When His kingdom comes those who did His will would be rewarded,
• Those who did not would be punished.
There was the definite requirement of submission to the King.
TURN TO: LUKE 14:25-35
It is FAR MORE than simply “believe” and then carry on like normal.
• There is a required submission there.
• There is an understood cost in following Christ.
TURN TO: LUKE 19:11-27
Again a parable about Christ’s return
But twice in that parable we see the real root issue.
• (14) “But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’”
• (27) “But these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them in my presence.”
WHAT IS MY POINT TO ALL OF THAT?
Simply to make sure you understand that
Central to the call of Christ was submission to Him as Lord.
Look, it is absolutely true that man is justified by faith alone.
There is no merit and there are no works that you can do which aid Christ in salvation.
We are justified by faith and faith alone.
Romans 4 makes this clear.
BUT IT IS ALSO TRUE that many times
People’s understanding of this has been far too shallow.
This is why the book of James is so important.
You’ve probably recognized the SEEMING CONTRADICTION.
• Romans 3:28 “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works
of the Law.”
• James 2:24 “You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.”
Seems like someone is wrong.
No, they are both right.
Paul is revealing that FAITH ALONE JUSTIFIES.
James is revealing THE KIND OF FAITH THAT JUSTIFIES.
Luther said it like this.
“We are justified by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone.”
What is my point?
IT IS ACCURATE to say that
All a person must do to be saved is believe in Christ.
But in our day, with the rise of cheap faith which has no substance
It is necessary to explain that the faith which is required
Is far more than just some intellectual ascent to a story.
Pilate knew who Jesus was.
He even hung a sign that said it.
But Pilate was not saved.
I carried you through all those passages in Luke
Because I wanted you to see that the call of Christ was far more than for you to simply believe He was real.
• There was a definite call there to act on that belief.
• There was a definite call there to demonstrate that faith.
• There was a definite call to self-denial, cross-bearing, and following Jesus.
AND WE MIGHT SAY IT LIKE THIS.
All that is required for you to be saved is faith in Christ.
• But if that faith doesn’t lead you to submission to Christ as Lord,
• Then the faith you have is not the kind that saves.
It should be obvious to all.
Romans 10:9 “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;”
And I bring that to the forefront
Because I want you to see WHY THEY ARE EXECUTING JESUS.
They didn’t want Him to reign over them.
They didn’t want Him to be their Lord.
They didn’t want Him to be their King.
We talked last time about the IGNORANCE at the cross
Now we see the INSUBORDINATION at the cross
• They weren’t rejecting the baby in the manger…
• They weren’t rejecting a miracle worker…
• They weren’t rejecting a crowd feeder…
If He would have been willing to do those things
But still let the religious elite be in control,
They would have had no problem with Him.
They were killing Him because they resented this notion that they must bow the knee to Him as the Christ of God.
That is obvious because at the cross,
The main truth they attack is the truth that He is King.
And might I submit that
THIS IS STILL one of the main reasons why men reject Christ today.
• To be certain, there are some who resent the need even for a Savior.
• There are some who don’t want to humble themselves and admit they need saving.
But it is also true that
There are many who realize they need a Savior
But the balk at the notion of Christ also being their Lord.
Was this not the problem of the Rich Young Ruler?
(He wanted a Savior, but not a Lord)
WE SEE THAT SAME ISSUE TODAY
Our culture is fine, for the most part, with that baby in a manger on Christmas.
Our culture is fine, for the most part, with that compassionate philanthropist.
Our culture is fine, for the most part, with the healer and sympathizer.
Where our culture throws a fit is when
We suggest that Jesus is King and must be obeyed.
Think of Herod when Jesus was born.
• He had no problem with a baby until he learned that this baby was “born King of the Jews” and then Herod wanted Him dead.
NOTHING HAS CHANGED.
It was prophesied in Psalms 2
Psalms 2:1-3 “Why are the nations in an uproar And the peoples devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, “Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!”
MEN HATE THE NOTION THAT CHRIST IS KING.
BUT THIS IS THE REQUIREMENT.
• In order to be saved, you must confess what the world hates.
• You must confess Jesus Christ as Lord.
And again, as we saw last week, if you’re paying attention
This is exactly what Peter told the crowd at Pentecost
Just over a month later.
Acts 2:36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ — this Jesus whom you crucified.”
Now to that statement the Jews asked what they should do?
And I remind you again of Peter’s statement.
Acts 2:38-39 “Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. “For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”
What was Peter saying?
Many have taken that verse wrong to assume that somehow being baptized in water is the means of salvation.
IT IS NOT.
So why is Peter telling them to be baptized?
It goes back to the issue of IDENTIFICATION
Remember that Jesus identified with us
And was being treated as we deserved.
Through baptism Peter is telling these Jews
That they must identify with Christ.
Listen to this passage:
Romans 6:3 “Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?”
Galatians 3:27 “For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.”
Now listen carefully.
Neither of those passage is saying that when you get into the water that somehow you are then being united with Christ.
The baptism that unites you with Christ is a spiritual baptism.
It is a baptism performed by the Holy Spirit.
When you believe in Christ, you are identified with Him.
That is to say that before God you are identified with Him.
Paul said it like this:
Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”
Just like Christ was identified with you and suffered your fate.
By faith you are identified with Christ and share His fate.
There is a spiritual union that occurs.
Now, water baptism is an outward symbol of that spiritual reality.
In essence through baptism we are having your symbolic funeral.
• It is an announcement that you have believed in Christ.
• That you have been joined with Christ in His death.
• That you have been joined with Christ in His resurrection.
And in water baptism, you are not being saved,
But you are publicly declaring Christ as your Savior
And Christ as your Lord.
This is why Peter mentioned it at Pentecost.
Jesus had been publicly crucified
As a rejection of His sovereign authority as King.
And when the people wanted to know how to remedy their blunder,
Peter said, “Put your money where your mouth is and publicly proclaim Him as Lord.”
This is where I want to challenge you this morning.
• I realize that I could ask the question, “Do you believe in Jesus?”
• And I honestly doubt that anyone in here would say, “No.”
That is to say, YOU AGREE He lived, died, was sinless, rose from the dead,
All of that.
But there’s a bigger question to be asked.
• Have you submitted to Him as Lord?
• Have you denied yourself, taken up your cross, and followed Him?
• Have you publicly confessed Him?
• Have you been baptized?
THOSE ARE THE THINGS PEOPLE WHO REALLY BELIEVE DO.
Picture yourself standing around that cross while all of those people are hurling abuse at Jesus and mocking Him as a phony King.
• What are you doing?
• Are you mocking with them?
• Are you cowardly and quietly just sitting back letting them have at it?
THIS IS THE CALL OF CHRIST.
In a world that has rejected the authority of Christ
We are those who are called to publicly go against the grain
And confess Him as Lord.
If you have not, I call you to do that this morning.
