Luke 23:1-49
We are rapidly coming to the end of the book of Luke, which we have been going through line by line all year, and with it, we are even more rapidly coming to the end of Jesus’ life. Last week we read how Jesus was arrested in the garden at the Mount of Olives at night, betrayed by Judas. We saw Peter strike a servant’s ear with a sword, and then we saw Jesus miraculously heal him; yet, they went on with the arrest. Peter followed the group taking Jesus to the house of the chief priest, and we saw how Peter denied that he was with Jesus three times, just as Jesus had foretold. That night, Jesus was mocked and beaten by the men who were guarding Him. It says that they even blindfolded Jesus, struck Him, and then said, “Prophecy! Who struck you?”
I have been reflecting about that event this week, and I have also thought about a scene from the book of Acts (chapter 22) where the Apostle Paul is about to beaten, and then reveals that he is a Roman citizen. Everything immediately changes, because it is unlawful to do this – Roman citizens had many rights and privileges that the common person did not have.
Jesus only had to reveal who He was. He certainly could have done this! What if He had played along, so to speak, and told them who struck Him? What if He had healed Himself? What if He had made them all drop dead of heart attacks? How much more would the situation have changed than it did with Paul, if Jesus had revealed – with evidence – who He was.
Some day, these very men will come before Jesus again, and they will know who it is that they mocked and beat. What will they say? What can they say?
But then it struck me that this is how it will be for everyone. Everyone who has made a profession of faith in Jesus will come face to face with Him, and everyone who has rejected Him will do the same. Personally, I know that apart from the saving grace of God that comes through my faith in Jesus, there is really no difference between me and those guards. Every vile and blasphemous thought, every shameful act, everything, is just as fully known by Jesus as were the actions of those guards. He knows every secret.
Our passage last week ended with an interrogation the next morning by the priests, elders, and teachers of the law together. During the questioning Jesus basically admitted that He was the Son of God, although He meant it in a way that probably none there understood. But they understood just enough to believe that this was sufficient grounds for a sentence of death. We pick up the events with Luke 23:1.
Then the whole assembly rose and led Him off to Pilate. And they began to accuse Him, saying, "We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Christ, a king." So Pilate asked Jesus, "Are you the king of the Jews?" "Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied. – Luke 23:1-3
The name Pontius Pilate has been found on an inscription in Caesarea with the title Prefect of Judea. In additional to the gospels, he is mentioned in writings of Josephus, Philo, and Tacitus, all three ancient writers with access to first-hand accounts. He was appointed with the help of his mentor, Sejanus, who had recently been executed by Rome. This meant that Pilate was suddenly less politically connected than he had used to be. He had made a reputation for himself as someone who had total contempt of Jewish beliefs and practices, and with Sejanus’ death, he certainly realized that he needed to become more of a “bridge-builder” with the Jewish people than he had been. In Luke 13, some people asked Jesus about some Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. This gives you a good sense of what Pilate thought about Jewish sensibilities – nothing!
The assembly of Jewish leaders really made a three-fold accusation: Jesus was subverting the nation – in other words, they were accusing Him of causing people to depart from traditional beliefs or values. They probably had fresh in their minds the fact that Jesus had overturned the moneychangers’ tables and driven out the people. The crowds who followed Jesus saw Him as an alternative to the Temple customs (including all the sacrifices and other proscribed giving rules), and so this is probably what the leaders meant by the charge. Also, they said Jesus opposes payment of taxes to Caesar. This was clearly a false charge. Jesus said to give to God what is God’s, and to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s. And the third charge was that Jesus was the Messiah, as well as a king.
Now Luke’s account of the trial with Herod goes into far less detail than the other gospels, but it does show that Pilate is particularly interested in the third charge, because it has significant political implications. If by “king,” Jesus means that he is the leader of a military revolt against Rome, then the clear punishment would be death. So Pilate asks Jesus directly if He is king of the Jews.
Jesus’ answer is difficult to translate precisely. The King James translation is much more literal, and I believe, more accurate, when it says, “Thou sayest.” There is no “Yes” in the Greek. In John’s gospel, more detail of Jesus’ answer is given. Jesus agrees that He is a king, but not a king of this world. Jesus’ answer in Luke 23:3 is similar to His answer last week in Luke 22:70 – it is probably best translated as an admission that the questioner is technically correct, but not in the way that the question was meant.
Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, "I find no basis for a charge against this man." But they insisted, "He stirs up the people all over Judea by his teaching. He started in Galilee and has come all the way here." On hearing this, Pilate asked if the man was a Galilean. When he learned that Jesus was under Herod's jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time. – Luke 23:4-7
Why did Pilate say he found no basis for a charge? Because the complaints were primarily over religious issues, things that Rome (or Pilate) didn’t care about at all. And Pilate could tell that Jesus was not some revolutionary set out to cause people to take arms against the government. Again, you can get more insight into how Pilate thought about things by looking at the accounts in the other gospels, but we don’t have time to do this today.
After Pilate told the crowd that Jesus was guilty of nothing chargeable, the people didn’t take “no” for an answer, and they continue to try to convince Pilate that Jesus was a disturber of the peace. That is to say, the Jewish leaders themselves realized that they wouldn’t get anywhere talking about religious issues, and so they focused on the civil threat. In the ensuing talk Pilate realized that Jesus was from Galilee. Because of the Passover taking place, Herod Antipas, who was in charge of Galilee, was here in Jerusalem, and so Pilate decided to pass on the problem of what to do about Jesus to him.
When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been wanting to see Him. From what he had heard about Him, he hoped to see Him perform some miracle. He plied Him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer. The chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there, vehemently accusing Him. Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked Him. Dressing Him in an elegant robe, they sent Him back to Pilate. That day Herod and Pilate became friends—before this they had been enemies. – Luke 23:8-12
Herod Antipas had been ruler of Galilee for about 30 years. He was the son of Herod the Great, the Herod involved with slaughtering Jewish babies at the beginning of Jesus’ life. The Herod’s were not actually Jews, but Idumeans. In general, they pretended to be one with the Jews, and they gave lip service to following the Mosaic Laws, but in reality they only did so when it was politically helpful to do so. Rome did not fully trust Jews with leadership, and that is part of why Jews did not rule the Jewish areas.
Herod Antipas is the one who had John the Baptist imprisoned after he had criticized Herod for violating Mosaic Law by marrying his brother’s divorced wife. Later, while drunk, Herod made a foolish promise that resulted in him beheading John. In Luke 13, we learn that some Pharisees said that Herod also wanted to kill Jesus. Jesus responded by saying that it would only happen when the time was right, and He described Herod as a fox – someone clever, sneaky, unprincipled, without moral values.
Jesus did not even answer his questions. Why? Perhaps because He saw there was no point in dealing with such a man, and because Jesus refused to be His entertainment. It also fulfilled prophecy – Isaiah 53:7 says, “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth.”
This lack of response clearly angered Herod, and so he made fun of Jesus. Upon hearing from His accusers that He claimed to be a king, He thought it would be fun to dress Him to the part, so He took a kingly robe and put it on Him before sending Him back to Pilate. Pilate apparently thought this was such a good joke that it made the two of them become friends, even thought they had previously been enemies. It is safe to say that you don’t want friends like these!
Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people, and said to them, "You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death. Therefore, I will punish him and then release him." – Luke 23:13-17
Pilate rejects the charge of Jesus being one inciting people to rebellion, and he ignores the religious charges altogether. Now it seems wrong to us that Herod could even consider having Jesus “punished,” or flogged, before being released, but this was the usual punishment for being any sort of “nuisance.” Unless you were a Roman citizen, you could be flogged for looking at someone the wrong way, or even, really, for nothing at all. The thinking was that something must have happened for Jesus to get all these people so mad, and a flogging would teach Jesus a lesson and make Him reluctant to stir up any more trouble. Pilate believed this to be a reasonable response, and I suspect he expected it to get the accusers to be grumblingly compliant and go away.
With one voice they cried out, "Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!" (Barabbas had been thrown into prison for an insurrection in the city, and for murder.) Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. But they kept shouting, "Crucify him! Crucify him!" For the third time he spoke to them: "Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him." – Luke 23:18-22
But Pilate was wrong. The crowd was unwilling to settle – they knew that a simple flogging would not stop Jesus. Jesus was a threat to their entire way of life. He could not be allowed to live.
Matthew and Mark tell us that the custom was that a prisoner would be released every Passover. The crowd of Jewish leaders and power elite was so worked up that they began shouting continuously, a situation that probably made Pilate become quite nervous. With his shaky connections to Rome, the last thing he needed was for a full-fledged riot to break out.
How ironic that the crowd shouted for the release of Barabbas, someone who had actually caused an uprising against the civil authority, when that is the very thing they were falsely accusing Jesus of! And not only was Barabbas guilty of insurrection, but of murder! This response had to be shocking to Pilate.
But with loud shouts they insistently demanded that He be crucified, and their shouts prevailed. So Pilate decided to grant their demand. He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will. – Luke 23:23-25
To his credit, Pilate did not really want to condemn an innocent man. But he gave in, to avoid a riot. In Matthew 27:4 we read that Pilate literally washed his hands in front of the crowd, declaring his innocence in the matter, but he certainly deserves a share of the blame. His job, at that point in time, was to prevent exactly what he allowed to happen. The responsibility for the outcome was his.
As they led Him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. A large number of people followed Him, including women who mourned and wailed for Him. – Luke 23:26-27
Luke skips a number of details of what happened next, and I will generally follow his cue, but I do think it important to point out that prior to going to the cross, Jesus was flogged with a special whip designed to cause severe damage to the body. The whip was usually tipped with glass or metal. This flogging was meant to be just short of lethal; sometimes they erred and the person died before the crucifixion could be done.
After enduring the unthinkable agony of this beating, Jesus was made to drag a beam away from the city to the location they used for executions. Although Luke doesn’t state it, Jesus fell, unable to go on, and so Simon from Cyrene was grabbed – because he was the person at the wrong place and time – and made to carry Jesus’ cross. And in this public display, some of the people who knew and loved Jesus saw Him and a crowd of His supporters followed Him, including women who mourned. Unlike women who were hired as professional mourners at a death, these women mourned for real.
Jesus turned and said to them, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me; weep for yourselves and for your children. For the time will come when you will say, 'Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!' Then "'they will say to the mountains, "Fall on us!" and to the hills, "Cover us!"' For if men do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?" – Luke 23:28-31
I see no other conclusion except that once again, Jesus is talking about the coming destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, when the Romans, under the command of Titus, son of Vespian, besieged Jerusalem for six months and then attacked, destroying nearly the entire city and nearly all of its inhabitants. Jesus had talked about this a number of times, including during His triumphal entry on the colt, where He actually wept over Jerusalem.
I think we just have no idea of the depth of Jesus’ compassion, of His love and concern for others. How else can you explain Jesus thinking in such a way, saying such things? Here He is, dying from terrible wounds suffered from the scourge, on His way to be crucified, and He is still thinking about what is to befall those who live in Jerusalem!
By the way, Jesus says that to the women that they should weep now for their children, who would be adults in 70 AD, presumably because there would not be weeping then. Josephus, in describing the fall of Jerusalem, says the following:
“Nor was there any lamentations made under these calamities, nor were heard any mournful complaints, but the famine confounded all natural passions, for those who were just going to die looked upon those that were gone to rest before them with dry eyes and open mouths. A deep silence also, and a kind of deadly night, had seized upon the city.”
In other words, Jesus’ message to the weeping women was really yet another prophecy; one that, like all the others, came perfectly true. In some ways, Jesus’ words were really more for us than they were for those women, who could not really be expected to mourn for an unthinkable event still several decades away. They show us once again who Jesus is, and help us to have faith in Him and believe all the other things He says.
Now as for the “tree is green” verse, I will come back to this in just a little bit.
Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with Him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified Him, along with the criminals—one on His right, the other on His left. Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." And they divided up His clothes by casting lots. – Luke 23:32-34
We know that Jesus’ hands and feet were nailed to the cross. Although certainly intensely painful, it probably did not compare to the scourging He had already received. Once raised up, death would not normally come quickly, but only after the person became so weak that they died of asphyxiation as their abdominal muscles became too weak to continue the effort required to breathe.
As I read of the two criminals crucified on His right and His left, I think of this passage from Mark 10, describing an event during Jesus’ ministry:
Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him. "Teacher," they said, "we want You to do for us whatever we ask." "What do you want Me to do for you?" He asked. They replied, "Let one of us sit at Your right and the other at Your left in your glory." "You don't know what you are asking," Jesus said. "Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?" – Mark 10:35-38
And we see Jesus’ amazing prayer. If anyone, ever, had a good case not to forgive, it would be God the Father, watching His Son being crucified. And yet God’s heart is revealed in Jesus’ prayer – Father, provide them with forgiveness, which gets more at the Greek meaning. In other words, Jesus is saying to let it continue to the very end. Again I am brought back to my thoughts at the opening of this message – at any time, God could have stopped this. But if He had, there would be no forgiveness, for them, or for us. The cross was necessary to reconcile us with God.
And meanwhile, while Jesus is praying this incredible prayer, you see the soldiers below gambling to determine who gets Jesus’ clothing, completely oblivious to what is going on. This is also a fulfillment of prophecy. It is beyond incredible to me that Psalm 22:16-18, written before crucifixion was even invented, says:
“Dogs have surrounded Me; a band of evil men has encircled Me, they have pierced My hands and My feet. I can count all My bones; people stare and gloat over Me. They divide my garments among them and cast lots for My clothing.” – Psalm 22:16-18
I think if I had 1 minute only to share the gospel with someone, I might read this verse and explain that everyone, even the Jews, who reject the New Testament, agree that this was written centuries before the time of Jesus. I would then challenge them that now that they know this, what are they going to do about it? Pretend that nothing has changed, or explore it further?
The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at Him. They said, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One." The soldiers also came up and mocked Him. They offered Him wine vinegar and said, "If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself." There was a written notice above Him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. – Luke 23:35-38
The ironies here are almost too deep for words. You have soldiers and people in the crowds telling Jesus, mockingly, to save Himself. Yet if He had given a response, wouldn’t it have been something like this? If I save myself, I cannot save you.
And what kind of nonsensical thinking is this? Did you notice that the ruler started by saying, “He saved others.” Um, excuse me Mister Ruler, but how do you explain that? Just how did He save others, through healings, casting out demons, and even resurrection? How did He do those things? The only logical explanation for the current situation is that if He isn’t saving Himself, it is because He has chosen not to do it.
And then do you notice the similarity between what the rulers and soldiers are saying and what Satan himself said during the temptation in the desert at the start of Jesus’ ministry? It is the same thing! Do you understand that God led Jesus through that temptation in the desert – forty days without food and temptation to make the stones become bread – as preparation for this very moment? The spirit of Satan is all over this! This is Jesus’ greatest temptation – to in fact get down off that cross, to put an end to the agony. Do you think you could do it?
And then there is the irony about the sign. It was meant as a joke, actually as a final jab by Pilate at the Jewish leaders who “forced” Pilate to allow Jesus to be crucified, but it is absolutely correct. This is the King of the Jews. Not only that, but this is the King of the Gentiles. Not only that, but this is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. And He is choosing to die on that cross.
One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at Him: "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!" But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with Me in paradise." – Luke 23:39-43
I just don’t have time to do any justice to these verses. But I am struck by how both criminals are in the same situation, and yet they have completely different responses to Jesus. And one of them shows absolutely astounding faith. And again there are amazing ironies. Who has faith right now? The “religious” temple leaders? Certainly not! Jesus’ family? No. Jesus’ disciples? No. So who has faith? A convicted criminal dying on a cross! The gospel is for everyone! Never count someone out as a potential believer!
It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit." When He had said this, He breathed His last. – Luke 23:44-46
The Greek word for darkness is ekleipo from which we get the word “eclipse.” But this could not be a natural eclipse. A solar eclipse can only occur on a new moon, but because the Jewish calendar is lunar, we know that that Passover is during the time of a full moon. The darkness was supernatural. The darkened sun appears in a number of prophecies – some of these seem to relate to the end times, but some may be referring to this event as well.
The torn curtain refers to a curtain separating the Holy of Holies from the rest of the enclosure where it was located within the temple. Matthew and Mark tell us it was torn from top to bottom. This curtain was 60 feet long, 30 feet wide, as thick as a palm of a man’s hand. Mark also describes an earthquake that shakes the area, including the temple. The description of natural disaster at the temple at this time is mentioned not only in the gospels, but in Tacitus, Josephus, and even the Talmud.
What did it mean? There is no question that it symbolized a new directness in being with God. Through the Holy Spirit, a believer has access to an intimate personal connection with God. Because of Christ’s sacrifice, we can enter directly into the most holy place. This is scriptural – Hebrews 6, 9, and 10 talk about this. But it also symbolized an end to the old ways. The sacrificial system of Moses was no longer needed – Jesus was the only sacrifice now, once for all. Everything had changed, even the role of the priests and the temple. And as Jesus had foretold, in not many years hence the temple would be destroyed along with most of the rest of Jerusalem. And I believe Jesus’ comment about the green tree versus the tree that is dry pertains to this. With the death of Jesus, the Spirit of God no longer resided in the temple! The temple, and the religious system that went with it, had suddenly become a dead tree becoming more and more dry. And because of this, God would allow the temple to be destroyed.
And so we come to “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.” And with those last words, Jesus does the unthinkable: He dies. I have quoted the following verse a number of times in this series, but it has never been more appropriate:
Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient to death – even death on a cross! – Phil. 2:5-8
The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, "Surely this was a righteous man." When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. But all those who knew Him, including the women who had followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things. – Luke 23:47-49
Surely this was a righteous man, and surely this was a merciful God! There are countless applications of this passage I might give you, but I will only give you two.
(1) Quite simply, love Jesus! He did all this for you! Hopefully today’s message has reminded you of how difficult this was, how tempted He must have been, how He chose to die for you!
(2) As Jesus said, do not weep for Him. Jesus told the weeping women not to weep for Him, but to weep for those who would perish in the coming destruction of Jerusalem. To us I am sure He would say not to weep for Him, but to weep for those who will not come to a saving faith in Him. And not just to weep for them, but to pray for them and to reach out to them. We our so blessed! God has opened our eyes so that we can see and understand the most important truth in the universe: Christ has chosen to die to take away our sin, and forgiveness and eternal life are open to us if we have faith in Him.
We will have to stop here, and pick up next week with verse 50. I encourage you to read from Luke 23:50 to Luke 24:12 in preparation for our sharing time. Next week we come to the best part of all!
I have been reflecting about that event this week, and I have also thought about a scene from the book of Acts (chapter 22) where the Apostle Paul is about to beaten, and then reveals that he is a Roman citizen. Everything immediately changes, because it is unlawful to do this – Roman citizens had many rights and privileges that the common person did not have.
Jesus only had to reveal who He was. He certainly could have done this! What if He had played along, so to speak, and told them who struck Him? What if He had healed Himself? What if He had made them all drop dead of heart attacks? How much more would the situation have changed than it did with Paul, if Jesus had revealed – with evidence – who He was.
Some day, these very men will come before Jesus again, and they will know who it is that they mocked and beat. What will they say? What can they say?
But then it struck me that this is how it will be for everyone. Everyone who has made a profession of faith in Jesus will come face to face with Him, and everyone who has rejected Him will do the same. Personally, I know that apart from the saving grace of God that comes through my faith in Jesus, there is really no difference between me and those guards. Every vile and blasphemous thought, every shameful act, everything, is just as fully known by Jesus as were the actions of those guards. He knows every secret.
Our passage last week ended with an interrogation the next morning by the priests, elders, and teachers of the law together. During the questioning Jesus basically admitted that He was the Son of God, although He meant it in a way that probably none there understood. But they understood just enough to believe that this was sufficient grounds for a sentence of death. We pick up the events with Luke 23:1.
Then the whole assembly rose and led Him off to Pilate. And they began to accuse Him, saying, "We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Christ, a king." So Pilate asked Jesus, "Are you the king of the Jews?" "Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied. – Luke 23:1-3
The name Pontius Pilate has been found on an inscription in Caesarea with the title Prefect of Judea. In additional to the gospels, he is mentioned in writings of Josephus, Philo, and Tacitus, all three ancient writers with access to first-hand accounts. He was appointed with the help of his mentor, Sejanus, who had recently been executed by Rome. This meant that Pilate was suddenly less politically connected than he had used to be. He had made a reputation for himself as someone who had total contempt of Jewish beliefs and practices, and with Sejanus’ death, he certainly realized that he needed to become more of a “bridge-builder” with the Jewish people than he had been. In Luke 13, some people asked Jesus about some Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. This gives you a good sense of what Pilate thought about Jewish sensibilities – nothing!
The assembly of Jewish leaders really made a three-fold accusation: Jesus was subverting the nation – in other words, they were accusing Him of causing people to depart from traditional beliefs or values. They probably had fresh in their minds the fact that Jesus had overturned the moneychangers’ tables and driven out the people. The crowds who followed Jesus saw Him as an alternative to the Temple customs (including all the sacrifices and other proscribed giving rules), and so this is probably what the leaders meant by the charge. Also, they said Jesus opposes payment of taxes to Caesar. This was clearly a false charge. Jesus said to give to God what is God’s, and to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s. And the third charge was that Jesus was the Messiah, as well as a king.
Now Luke’s account of the trial with Herod goes into far less detail than the other gospels, but it does show that Pilate is particularly interested in the third charge, because it has significant political implications. If by “king,” Jesus means that he is the leader of a military revolt against Rome, then the clear punishment would be death. So Pilate asks Jesus directly if He is king of the Jews.
Jesus’ answer is difficult to translate precisely. The King James translation is much more literal, and I believe, more accurate, when it says, “Thou sayest.” There is no “Yes” in the Greek. In John’s gospel, more detail of Jesus’ answer is given. Jesus agrees that He is a king, but not a king of this world. Jesus’ answer in Luke 23:3 is similar to His answer last week in Luke 22:70 – it is probably best translated as an admission that the questioner is technically correct, but not in the way that the question was meant.
Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, "I find no basis for a charge against this man." But they insisted, "He stirs up the people all over Judea by his teaching. He started in Galilee and has come all the way here." On hearing this, Pilate asked if the man was a Galilean. When he learned that Jesus was under Herod's jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time. – Luke 23:4-7
Why did Pilate say he found no basis for a charge? Because the complaints were primarily over religious issues, things that Rome (or Pilate) didn’t care about at all. And Pilate could tell that Jesus was not some revolutionary set out to cause people to take arms against the government. Again, you can get more insight into how Pilate thought about things by looking at the accounts in the other gospels, but we don’t have time to do this today.
After Pilate told the crowd that Jesus was guilty of nothing chargeable, the people didn’t take “no” for an answer, and they continue to try to convince Pilate that Jesus was a disturber of the peace. That is to say, the Jewish leaders themselves realized that they wouldn’t get anywhere talking about religious issues, and so they focused on the civil threat. In the ensuing talk Pilate realized that Jesus was from Galilee. Because of the Passover taking place, Herod Antipas, who was in charge of Galilee, was here in Jerusalem, and so Pilate decided to pass on the problem of what to do about Jesus to him.
When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been wanting to see Him. From what he had heard about Him, he hoped to see Him perform some miracle. He plied Him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer. The chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there, vehemently accusing Him. Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked Him. Dressing Him in an elegant robe, they sent Him back to Pilate. That day Herod and Pilate became friends—before this they had been enemies. – Luke 23:8-12
Herod Antipas had been ruler of Galilee for about 30 years. He was the son of Herod the Great, the Herod involved with slaughtering Jewish babies at the beginning of Jesus’ life. The Herod’s were not actually Jews, but Idumeans. In general, they pretended to be one with the Jews, and they gave lip service to following the Mosaic Laws, but in reality they only did so when it was politically helpful to do so. Rome did not fully trust Jews with leadership, and that is part of why Jews did not rule the Jewish areas.
Herod Antipas is the one who had John the Baptist imprisoned after he had criticized Herod for violating Mosaic Law by marrying his brother’s divorced wife. Later, while drunk, Herod made a foolish promise that resulted in him beheading John. In Luke 13, we learn that some Pharisees said that Herod also wanted to kill Jesus. Jesus responded by saying that it would only happen when the time was right, and He described Herod as a fox – someone clever, sneaky, unprincipled, without moral values.
Jesus did not even answer his questions. Why? Perhaps because He saw there was no point in dealing with such a man, and because Jesus refused to be His entertainment. It also fulfilled prophecy – Isaiah 53:7 says, “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth.”
This lack of response clearly angered Herod, and so he made fun of Jesus. Upon hearing from His accusers that He claimed to be a king, He thought it would be fun to dress Him to the part, so He took a kingly robe and put it on Him before sending Him back to Pilate. Pilate apparently thought this was such a good joke that it made the two of them become friends, even thought they had previously been enemies. It is safe to say that you don’t want friends like these!
Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people, and said to them, "You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death. Therefore, I will punish him and then release him." – Luke 23:13-17
Pilate rejects the charge of Jesus being one inciting people to rebellion, and he ignores the religious charges altogether. Now it seems wrong to us that Herod could even consider having Jesus “punished,” or flogged, before being released, but this was the usual punishment for being any sort of “nuisance.” Unless you were a Roman citizen, you could be flogged for looking at someone the wrong way, or even, really, for nothing at all. The thinking was that something must have happened for Jesus to get all these people so mad, and a flogging would teach Jesus a lesson and make Him reluctant to stir up any more trouble. Pilate believed this to be a reasonable response, and I suspect he expected it to get the accusers to be grumblingly compliant and go away.
With one voice they cried out, "Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!" (Barabbas had been thrown into prison for an insurrection in the city, and for murder.) Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. But they kept shouting, "Crucify him! Crucify him!" For the third time he spoke to them: "Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him." – Luke 23:18-22
But Pilate was wrong. The crowd was unwilling to settle – they knew that a simple flogging would not stop Jesus. Jesus was a threat to their entire way of life. He could not be allowed to live.
Matthew and Mark tell us that the custom was that a prisoner would be released every Passover. The crowd of Jewish leaders and power elite was so worked up that they began shouting continuously, a situation that probably made Pilate become quite nervous. With his shaky connections to Rome, the last thing he needed was for a full-fledged riot to break out.
How ironic that the crowd shouted for the release of Barabbas, someone who had actually caused an uprising against the civil authority, when that is the very thing they were falsely accusing Jesus of! And not only was Barabbas guilty of insurrection, but of murder! This response had to be shocking to Pilate.
But with loud shouts they insistently demanded that He be crucified, and their shouts prevailed. So Pilate decided to grant their demand. He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will. – Luke 23:23-25
To his credit, Pilate did not really want to condemn an innocent man. But he gave in, to avoid a riot. In Matthew 27:4 we read that Pilate literally washed his hands in front of the crowd, declaring his innocence in the matter, but he certainly deserves a share of the blame. His job, at that point in time, was to prevent exactly what he allowed to happen. The responsibility for the outcome was his.
As they led Him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. A large number of people followed Him, including women who mourned and wailed for Him. – Luke 23:26-27
Luke skips a number of details of what happened next, and I will generally follow his cue, but I do think it important to point out that prior to going to the cross, Jesus was flogged with a special whip designed to cause severe damage to the body. The whip was usually tipped with glass or metal. This flogging was meant to be just short of lethal; sometimes they erred and the person died before the crucifixion could be done.
After enduring the unthinkable agony of this beating, Jesus was made to drag a beam away from the city to the location they used for executions. Although Luke doesn’t state it, Jesus fell, unable to go on, and so Simon from Cyrene was grabbed – because he was the person at the wrong place and time – and made to carry Jesus’ cross. And in this public display, some of the people who knew and loved Jesus saw Him and a crowd of His supporters followed Him, including women who mourned. Unlike women who were hired as professional mourners at a death, these women mourned for real.
Jesus turned and said to them, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me; weep for yourselves and for your children. For the time will come when you will say, 'Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!' Then "'they will say to the mountains, "Fall on us!" and to the hills, "Cover us!"' For if men do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?" – Luke 23:28-31
I see no other conclusion except that once again, Jesus is talking about the coming destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, when the Romans, under the command of Titus, son of Vespian, besieged Jerusalem for six months and then attacked, destroying nearly the entire city and nearly all of its inhabitants. Jesus had talked about this a number of times, including during His triumphal entry on the colt, where He actually wept over Jerusalem.
I think we just have no idea of the depth of Jesus’ compassion, of His love and concern for others. How else can you explain Jesus thinking in such a way, saying such things? Here He is, dying from terrible wounds suffered from the scourge, on His way to be crucified, and He is still thinking about what is to befall those who live in Jerusalem!
By the way, Jesus says that to the women that they should weep now for their children, who would be adults in 70 AD, presumably because there would not be weeping then. Josephus, in describing the fall of Jerusalem, says the following:
“Nor was there any lamentations made under these calamities, nor were heard any mournful complaints, but the famine confounded all natural passions, for those who were just going to die looked upon those that were gone to rest before them with dry eyes and open mouths. A deep silence also, and a kind of deadly night, had seized upon the city.”
In other words, Jesus’ message to the weeping women was really yet another prophecy; one that, like all the others, came perfectly true. In some ways, Jesus’ words were really more for us than they were for those women, who could not really be expected to mourn for an unthinkable event still several decades away. They show us once again who Jesus is, and help us to have faith in Him and believe all the other things He says.
Now as for the “tree is green” verse, I will come back to this in just a little bit.
Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with Him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified Him, along with the criminals—one on His right, the other on His left. Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." And they divided up His clothes by casting lots. – Luke 23:32-34
We know that Jesus’ hands and feet were nailed to the cross. Although certainly intensely painful, it probably did not compare to the scourging He had already received. Once raised up, death would not normally come quickly, but only after the person became so weak that they died of asphyxiation as their abdominal muscles became too weak to continue the effort required to breathe.
As I read of the two criminals crucified on His right and His left, I think of this passage from Mark 10, describing an event during Jesus’ ministry:
Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him. "Teacher," they said, "we want You to do for us whatever we ask." "What do you want Me to do for you?" He asked. They replied, "Let one of us sit at Your right and the other at Your left in your glory." "You don't know what you are asking," Jesus said. "Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?" – Mark 10:35-38
And we see Jesus’ amazing prayer. If anyone, ever, had a good case not to forgive, it would be God the Father, watching His Son being crucified. And yet God’s heart is revealed in Jesus’ prayer – Father, provide them with forgiveness, which gets more at the Greek meaning. In other words, Jesus is saying to let it continue to the very end. Again I am brought back to my thoughts at the opening of this message – at any time, God could have stopped this. But if He had, there would be no forgiveness, for them, or for us. The cross was necessary to reconcile us with God.
And meanwhile, while Jesus is praying this incredible prayer, you see the soldiers below gambling to determine who gets Jesus’ clothing, completely oblivious to what is going on. This is also a fulfillment of prophecy. It is beyond incredible to me that Psalm 22:16-18, written before crucifixion was even invented, says:
“Dogs have surrounded Me; a band of evil men has encircled Me, they have pierced My hands and My feet. I can count all My bones; people stare and gloat over Me. They divide my garments among them and cast lots for My clothing.” – Psalm 22:16-18
I think if I had 1 minute only to share the gospel with someone, I might read this verse and explain that everyone, even the Jews, who reject the New Testament, agree that this was written centuries before the time of Jesus. I would then challenge them that now that they know this, what are they going to do about it? Pretend that nothing has changed, or explore it further?
The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at Him. They said, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One." The soldiers also came up and mocked Him. They offered Him wine vinegar and said, "If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself." There was a written notice above Him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. – Luke 23:35-38
The ironies here are almost too deep for words. You have soldiers and people in the crowds telling Jesus, mockingly, to save Himself. Yet if He had given a response, wouldn’t it have been something like this? If I save myself, I cannot save you.
And what kind of nonsensical thinking is this? Did you notice that the ruler started by saying, “He saved others.” Um, excuse me Mister Ruler, but how do you explain that? Just how did He save others, through healings, casting out demons, and even resurrection? How did He do those things? The only logical explanation for the current situation is that if He isn’t saving Himself, it is because He has chosen not to do it.
And then do you notice the similarity between what the rulers and soldiers are saying and what Satan himself said during the temptation in the desert at the start of Jesus’ ministry? It is the same thing! Do you understand that God led Jesus through that temptation in the desert – forty days without food and temptation to make the stones become bread – as preparation for this very moment? The spirit of Satan is all over this! This is Jesus’ greatest temptation – to in fact get down off that cross, to put an end to the agony. Do you think you could do it?
And then there is the irony about the sign. It was meant as a joke, actually as a final jab by Pilate at the Jewish leaders who “forced” Pilate to allow Jesus to be crucified, but it is absolutely correct. This is the King of the Jews. Not only that, but this is the King of the Gentiles. Not only that, but this is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. And He is choosing to die on that cross.
One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at Him: "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!" But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with Me in paradise." – Luke 23:39-43
I just don’t have time to do any justice to these verses. But I am struck by how both criminals are in the same situation, and yet they have completely different responses to Jesus. And one of them shows absolutely astounding faith. And again there are amazing ironies. Who has faith right now? The “religious” temple leaders? Certainly not! Jesus’ family? No. Jesus’ disciples? No. So who has faith? A convicted criminal dying on a cross! The gospel is for everyone! Never count someone out as a potential believer!
It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit." When He had said this, He breathed His last. – Luke 23:44-46
The Greek word for darkness is ekleipo from which we get the word “eclipse.” But this could not be a natural eclipse. A solar eclipse can only occur on a new moon, but because the Jewish calendar is lunar, we know that that Passover is during the time of a full moon. The darkness was supernatural. The darkened sun appears in a number of prophecies – some of these seem to relate to the end times, but some may be referring to this event as well.
The torn curtain refers to a curtain separating the Holy of Holies from the rest of the enclosure where it was located within the temple. Matthew and Mark tell us it was torn from top to bottom. This curtain was 60 feet long, 30 feet wide, as thick as a palm of a man’s hand. Mark also describes an earthquake that shakes the area, including the temple. The description of natural disaster at the temple at this time is mentioned not only in the gospels, but in Tacitus, Josephus, and even the Talmud.
What did it mean? There is no question that it symbolized a new directness in being with God. Through the Holy Spirit, a believer has access to an intimate personal connection with God. Because of Christ’s sacrifice, we can enter directly into the most holy place. This is scriptural – Hebrews 6, 9, and 10 talk about this. But it also symbolized an end to the old ways. The sacrificial system of Moses was no longer needed – Jesus was the only sacrifice now, once for all. Everything had changed, even the role of the priests and the temple. And as Jesus had foretold, in not many years hence the temple would be destroyed along with most of the rest of Jerusalem. And I believe Jesus’ comment about the green tree versus the tree that is dry pertains to this. With the death of Jesus, the Spirit of God no longer resided in the temple! The temple, and the religious system that went with it, had suddenly become a dead tree becoming more and more dry. And because of this, God would allow the temple to be destroyed.
And so we come to “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.” And with those last words, Jesus does the unthinkable: He dies. I have quoted the following verse a number of times in this series, but it has never been more appropriate:
Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient to death – even death on a cross! – Phil. 2:5-8
The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, "Surely this was a righteous man." When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. But all those who knew Him, including the women who had followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things. – Luke 23:47-49
Surely this was a righteous man, and surely this was a merciful God! There are countless applications of this passage I might give you, but I will only give you two.
(1) Quite simply, love Jesus! He did all this for you! Hopefully today’s message has reminded you of how difficult this was, how tempted He must have been, how He chose to die for you!
(2) As Jesus said, do not weep for Him. Jesus told the weeping women not to weep for Him, but to weep for those who would perish in the coming destruction of Jerusalem. To us I am sure He would say not to weep for Him, but to weep for those who will not come to a saving faith in Him. And not just to weep for them, but to pray for them and to reach out to them. We our so blessed! God has opened our eyes so that we can see and understand the most important truth in the universe: Christ has chosen to die to take away our sin, and forgiveness and eternal life are open to us if we have faith in Him.
We will have to stop here, and pick up next week with verse 50. I encourage you to read from Luke 23:50 to Luke 24:12 in preparation for our sharing time. Next week we come to the best part of all!
No comments:
Post a Comment