The Crucifixion of Jesus – Part 4
Luke 23:32-49 (44-46)
February 21, 2021
As you know, we have been the last few weeks
Looking at the cross of Jesus Christ.
It is THE event of all history.
Romans 5:6 “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.”
This event was THE planned event of all eternity.
Every other event in history has been sovereignly orchestrated
Around this one moment.
The death of Christ is the pinnacle.
• Everything before it flows toward it.
• Everything after it flows from it.
No other event compares.
We have been looking at it and thus far we’ve seen 3 main points.
#1 THE SCENE OF THE CRUCIFIXION
Luke 23:32-35a
• We saw IDENTIFICATION as Jesus was identifying with sinners.
• We saw INTERCESSION as Jesus was praying for sinners.
• We saw IGNORANCE as the crowd was oblivious to what was occurring there.
It is the biggest event of all eternity and the crowd was clueless.
#2 THE SCORN OF THE MOB
Luke 23:35b-39
John MacArthur referred to this as “The Comedy of the Cross”
It sounds like a horrible way to describe the crucifixion,
But that’s exactly what the crowd tried to turn it in to.
They tried to turn this event into an amusing story and
Christ was their laughingstock.
• The elders scorned Him…
• The soldiers toyed with Him…
• The criminal blasphemed Him…
Ultimately we saw that they were rejecting Christ
BECAUSE OF HIS CLAIMS TO BE KING.
They had no interest in Christ reigning over them,
And when they got their chance to mock Him for it, they took it.
#3 THE SALVATION OF A SINNER
Luke 23:40-43
We actually marveled that at this event
• There was one who stood against the mob
• One who determined to confess Christ as Lord in front of everyone,
• That was the second thief.
He had participated earlier in the mocking,
But at some point God had opened his eyes
To what was actually occurring here and he was saved.
We looked at the steps that occurred in his salvation
Because they are identical steps for anyone and everyone
Who will ever be saved.
We saw FEAR OF GOD
• As this man contemplated that in a moment he would stand before the Righteous Judge.
We saw HUMILITY
• Where he confessed that his death was justified and deserved.
We saw THE GOSPEL
• Where this man recognized the innocence of Jesus,
• And no doubt had believed the claims spoken about Jesus at the cross.
• Things like “He saved others” and “He is the King” and even Jesus praying for forgiveness.
We saw FAITH
• Expressed in his request to be remembered when Christ entered His kingdom.
• The only person at the crucifixion who thought Christ would still reign on a throne was this man.
• He had a conviction and assurance of faith.
And so we saw SALVATION
• As Jesus told this man “today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
It was a wonderful picture of what we might call the steps of salvation.
So in effect, we have looked at the cross FROM EVERY EARTHLY ANGLE.
• We’ve seen the Savior identifying and interceding
• We’ve seen the Scoffers attack and blaspheming
• We’ve seen the Sinner repentant and saved
But this morning we turn to the most sacred view of the cross.
In our text this morning:
WE SEE THE SOVEREIGN ARRIVE TO APPEASE HIS WRATH.
In short, this morning, God shows up.
(Not to say He hasn’t always been present)
But God begins to perform His work of saving sinners through Christ.
This morning we look at our fourth point
#4 THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE CROSS
Luke 23:44-46
Here we begin to understand the great work that was occurring here.
All the other things we’ve seen are certainly terrible and undeserved, but now we get to the saving part.
Here is where we begin to see THE ACTUAL SAVING WORK of Christ
And THE EFFECTIVENESS of that work.
As we have done, I want to break this point down a little further as well.
I want us to see the remarkable things that are occurring here.
We’ll look at 4 of them.
1) THICK DARKNESS (44-45a)
“It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour, because the sun was obscured;”
This is actually a remarkable scene which occurred here.
• “the sixth hour” was noon
• “the ninth hour” was 3pm
So for the brightest part of the day “darkness fell over the whole land”
Luke says it was “because the sun was obscured”
• This has led some to believe it was an eclipse.
• But the timing of the Passover makes a regular eclipse impossible.
• Furthermore no natural eclipse ever lasted for 3 hours.
This is not a natural act, this is a supernatural act.
The question is: WHY DID GOD SEND DARKNESS UPON THE LAND?
The Old Testament, and the Jewish audience, understand this very well.
This was a picture of the wrath of God.
Do you remember when God descended upon SINAI?
Exodus 19:16 “So it came about on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunder and lightning flashes and a thick cloud upon the mountain and a very loud trumpet sound, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled.”
When the writer of Hebrews described the scene
He used words like “darkness and gloom and whirlwind” (Heb 12:18)
It was a picture of God’s unapproachable terror and of His mighty power.
What is more throughout the Old Testament
The people anticipated the day when
God would finally come forth and judge His enemies.
We think of that day as “The Second Coming”
But Jews thought of it differently.
To them, the day when God would come and judge all His enemies
Was known as “The Day of the LORD”
It is the day God breaks forth in justice and judgment.
And that day is described as a day of thick darkness.
Isaiah 13:10-11 “For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not flash forth their light; The sun will be dark when it rises And the moon will not shed its light. Thus I will punish the world for its evil And the wicked for their iniquity; I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud And abase the haughtiness of the ruthless.”
Joel 2:1-2 “Blow a trumpet in Zion, And sound an alarm on My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, For the day of the LORD is coming; Surely it is near, A day of darkness and gloom, A day of clouds and thick darkness. As the dawn is spread over the mountains, So there is a great and mighty people; There has never been anything like it, Nor will there be again after it To the years of many generations.”
Joel 2:10 “Before them the earth quakes, The heavens tremble, The sun and the moon grow dark And the stars lose their brightness.”
Joel 2:30-31 “I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth, Blood, fire and columns of smoke. “The sun will be turned into darkness And the moon into blood Before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.”
Amos 5:20 “Will not the day of the LORD be darkness instead of light, Even gloom with no brightness in it?”
Zephaniah 1:14-15 “Near is the great day of the LORD, Near and coming very quickly; Listen, the day of the LORD! In it the warrior cries out bitterly. A day of wrath is that day, A day of trouble and distress, A day of destruction and desolation, A day of darkness and gloom, A day of clouds and thick darkness,”
The day when God breaks forth in His mighty and terrible wrath
It will be day of thick darkness.
That is what we see here on the cross.
• This is also why in verse 48 you’ll see that these crowds who were just a moment ago laughing and mocking become terrified: “And all the crowds who came together for this spectacle, when they observed what had happened, began to return, beating their breasts.”
For 3 hours God’s wrath has broken out!
For 3 hours God’s fury is on display.
But it is also vitally important that you UNDERSTAND WHY.
It is clear that God’s wrath has come.
I suppose the next question would be: WHO IS THE FOCUS OF THAT WRATH?
Many have assumed that God is breaking forth in wrath
Because He is angry about the way the crowd is treating His Son.
They assume that God is terrifying these people
Who would do such an awful thing.
Well, it is awful and the day of their terror is surely coming,
But that is NOT what is happening here.
For these 3 hours the wrath of God is surely being poured out,
But it is being poured out on Jesus.
Matthew gives us the clearest evidence of this.
Matthew 27:45-46 “Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?” that is, “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?”
Jesus was the recipient of God’s terrible wrath on the cross.
And this is remarkable to us.
• On the cross Jesus IS NOT dying as a martyr…
• On the cross Jesus IS dying as a sinner.
God is treating Christ like a sinful man.
And His wrath is being poured out upon Him.
Now we know that Jesus was not sinful, so did God.
In fact in 3 days God will prove that by raising Him from the dead.
So if God knew Jesus was sinless,
Then why is God treating Jesus as a sinner?
And the answer is: IMPUTATION
Isaiah 53:4-6 “Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.”
Again later:
Isaiah 53:10-11 “But the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities.”
1 Peter 2:24 “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.”
This is what is occurring.
2 Corinthians 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
It has quickly become a favorite verse.
• We talk about not only Jesus identifying as a sinner,
• But God actually treating Jesus as a sinner.
On the cross Jesus is dying as a sinner.
God is treating Christ as a sinner.
“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf,”
It is called IMPUTATION
Our sin was literally and actually imputed to Christ’s account
And God punished Him for it as though it were His own.
He was crushed by God as though He did the things I had done.
It is ghastly to comprehend.
And yet at the same time it is GLORIOUS to comprehend
Because when we understand that God imputed my sin to Christ
Then we can understand the second part of Paul’s tremendous statement.
“so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
Salvation hangs upon the belief that God justifies sinners.
• Namely that God imputes righteousness to sinful men.
• It is not a righteousness which they have earned or naturally possess.
• It is what Luther called an “alien” righteousness.
• It is a righteousness not their own.
But one of the reasons we believe
In such a miraculous thing as imputation
Is because we clearly see that God did that to Christ.
God treated Christ as though He lived my life,
Therefore it is certainly conceivable that
God would treat me as though I lived Christ’s life.
WELL HERE WE SEE CLEARLY
Our sin on Christ and God treating Him accordingly.
Christ is bearing the wrath of God on sinners.
Another word that is important here is: PROPITIATION
1 John 2:1-2 “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.
John there calls Jesus “the propitiation for our sins”
It is a strong word and it means
“appeasement” or “satisfaction” or “placation”.
It is also what we might call a THOROUGH word.
• It has no room for anything partial or merely potential.
• It speaks of total satisfaction or total appeasement.
Christ either appeased all of God’s wrath or He appeased none of it.
Christ either satisfied all God’s fury or He satisfied none of it.
John says He did.
His death totally satisfied all God’s wrath on all those who would believe.
It’s why Paul could say:
Romans 8:1 “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
It’s why we sing:
“I will not fear Your judgment, For me no wrath I dread
For it was spent on Jesus, Poured out upon His head
When Satan’s accusations. Make my poor heart afraid
I hear my King declaring “Father, that debt is paid!”
Christ totally satisfied God’s holy wrath.
Christ appeased Him.
Romans 3:23-26 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”
AND THIS IS WHAT IS OCCURRING HERE.
For 3 hours man has done their worst to torture and humiliate and kill Jesus.
But at noon, the land went dark and God dealt with sin.
• He crushed Christ.
• He poured out the full fury of His wrath on Christ.
• Jesus drank the bitter cup of God’s full condemnation.
Jesus endured the day of the LORD and all the wrath associated with it.
This is the ONLY WAY that sinners can be saved.
• Sin must be atoned for, and Christ is here atoning for it.
• He is being beaten by God in the stead of the sinners who deserve it.
Thick Darkness
2) TORN VEIL (45b)
“and the veil of the temple was torn in two.”
This is another enormous event!
Matthew adds:
Matthew 27:51-53 “And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many.”
This veil was torn as Matthew said “from top to bottom”.
That is to say, “God tore it!”
Why does this matter?
TURN TO: HEBREWS 9
(In Hebrews 9 we are told exactly what the Holy Spirit wants you to know about the presence of the veil)
(READ 1-8)
“The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed while the outer tabernacle is still standing,”
What is the point of the veil?
• You can’t get to God.
• There is NOT peace with God.
• There is NOT reconciliation.
That veil meant to the Jews the same thing a slammed door means when your teenager walks out of the room. It means YOU ARE NOT WELCOME.
No one was.
There was enmity between God and man.
Not since the garden had God walked among men.
Not since the garden had there been total peace.
God was off limits.
FURTHERMORE, that veil was a reminder that NOT A SINGLE SACRIFICE had ever actually worked.
Hebrews 10:1-4 “For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins? But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”
Regardless of all the religious ritual, God was never satisfied,
Man was never atoned for, and there was no reconciliation.
THE VEIL REMAINED
UNTIL THIS MOMENT
• On this day and at this moment,
• Once God’s wrath had been fully propitiated,
• And sinners had been fully atoned for,
• Access to God was granted.
And God tore the veil.
Hebrews 9:11-12 “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.”
Christ appeased God’s wrath forever.
And that is why the writer of Hebrews would go on to make
One of the most UNTHINKABLE STATEMENTS.
Hebrews 10:19-22 “Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”
That writer told those believers in Jesus
That they were now welcome to walk right in through the veil.
They could now draw near to God through Jesus.
No Jew would have ever considered entering that veil,
But now because of the atonement of Christ,
We can draw near to God.
• Now there is RECONCILIATION
• Now there is FORGIVENESS
• Now there is ACCESS
Romans 5:1-2 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.”
That is what happened on the cross.
• Jesus bore our sin and received God’s wrath.
• God accepted that payment and removed our guilt
• And God welcomed us to Himself because of Christ.
IF you come through Christ
IF you are clothed in Christ’s righteousness
You are welcome to draw right up near to God
Thick Darkness, Torn Veil
3) TRUSTING CRY (46a)
“And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, INTO YOUR HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT.”
Peter said:
1 Peter 2:23 “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 that is what He is doing here.
It is one of 7 statements made by Jesus on the cross.
• You already know about His request that the Father forgive them.
• You already know about His promise to save the thief next to Him.
• We read earlier from Matthew His cry “My God, My God why have You
forsaken Me?”
John’s gospel adds the other 3
• When Jesus told John that he was to consider Mary as his own mother
• When He said “I thirst”
• When He said “It is finished!”
This statement here in Luke’s gospel is the last of the 7.
It is clear that communion with the Father has now been restored.
He HAS finished bearing God’s wrath.
He HAS paid the debt in full.
And now, as He dies, He PROCLAIMS HIS OWN INNOCENCE
By saying “INTO YOUR HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT”
Psalms 16:8-10 “I have set the LORD continually before me; Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will dwell securely. For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.”
• Jesus knew He was righteous…
• Jesus knew He would be vindicated…
• Jesus knew God would vindicate Him…
He had come to bear the sin of many and having done that
He now expected to be glorified by the Father.
WHY IS THIS STATEMENT SIGNIFICANT TO US AND TO LUKE?
Because it adds again to the reality of the success of the cross.
Jesus knew why He was dying. Jesus knew He was successful.
God was just to punish Him for bearing our sin,
And God is just to vindicate Him for being righteous.
It assures us that Jesus was not dying for anything He had done.
I KNOW IN THE MOVIES we like to glamorize this type of action figure or super hero that no matter how much you torture them they will never talk.
• In reality, everyone can be made to talk.
• In reality, no one can endure forever.
And in those cases we’re just talking about the wrath of man.
Jesus has just endured 3 hours
Of the most imaginative death mankind could concoct
And He has endured 3 hours of the full fury of the wrath of God.
If there was sin, He would have confessed it by now.
But as it was, Jesus was entrusting Himself to the righteous Judge
FOR HE KNEW HE WAS INNOCENT.
And this righteousness which Jesus possessed
IS THE VERY RIGHTEOUSNESS HE CLOTHES US IN.
The confidence Jesus had before the Father
Is the confidence we can have before the Father
Because just as our sin was imputed to Him,
So His righteousness is imputed to us.
We boldly go before God just as Jesus did.
That is why Paul could say:
2 Timothy 1:12 “For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.”
Or again:
2 Timothy 4:8 “in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”
How could Paul have such confidence?
• Well it wasn’t confidence in his own goodness I can promise you that.
• Paul’s confidence was in Christ’s goodness.
Those who are in Christ needn’t fear standing before God
For Christ is totally acceptable to the Father.
We see that there with His Trusting Cry
Thick Darkness, Torn Veil, Trusting Cry
4) TRIUMPHANT DEATH (46b)
“Having said this, He breathed His last.”
Christ died.
Why?
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death…”
Often we hear talked about the blood of Jesus, but you understand that is because the life in the blood.
• Jesus didn’t just give blood to save you.
• Jesus had to die to save you.
His death was the payment.
He had to offer to God a payment of death for sinners.
AND HE DIED.
If you’re into forensic proof that He actually died, John adds:
John 19:31-34 “Then the Jews, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. So the soldiers came, and broke the legs of the first man and of the other who was crucified with Him; but coming to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.”
HE DIED.
If you want to know where He went.
1 Peter 3:18-20 “For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water.”
Christ went into death.
While He was there, He made proclamation of victory!
He declared Himself sovereign over death.
When John saw Him in the Revelation…
Revelation 1:17-18 “When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.”
Jesus stole the keys of death and of Hades.
That is why the writer of Hebrews wrote:
Hebrews 2:14-15 “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.”
He died to conquer death.
Hebrews 9:15 “For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.”
He paid off the debt of that old covenant (which was death)
And He instituted His new covenant.
Jesus paid it all.
And this is the SIGNIFICANCE OF THE CROSS.
• It wasn’t about the fury and shame men hurled upon Him.
• It was about the fact that on the cross Jesus bore the full wrath of God.
• On the cross Jesus paid in full the debt for all those who believe.
• Jesus satisfied God’s righteous requirement.
• Jesus reconciled man and God.
Without the cross man and God are never reconciled
And all sinners have to look forward to is the fury of God and eternal hell.
But praise God Jesus died!
This morning we come to the Lord’s Supper to remember that.
We partake of this cracker
• Symbolizing His body and the righteousness He earned in that body.
• This is the righteousness that is imputed to us.
We partake of this juice
• Symbolizing His blood and the death where He atoned for our sin.
• This is the sin imputed to Him where He atoned for us.
We eat them
• Symbolizing our understanding that what He did He did for us.
• We eat it in faith that Christ’s righteous life and atoning death are all that are required to reconcile us to God and allow us to draw near to God.
And so we partake in the same attitudes of that thief on the cross.
• We come with a fear of God that leads to humility.
• We have a humility that causes us to hear the gospel.
• We believe the gospel by faith.
• And thus we are saved.
This morning we rejoice in the Savior.
