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The Book of Luke, Christ On The Cross - Lesson 240
Today as we continue our study of the Gospel of Luke we have come to the greatest event that has ever taken place in history. We have come to the time where our Lord is bound to a cruel cross with Roman spikes, suffering on that cross for six hours and finely giving up the ghost and dying. Without this event the Bible would be of little value to us for without the death of Christ there would be no satisfaction of the Father for the sins of this world. We would all die in our sins and be separated from God for all eternity. Without this event there would be no hope, all would be lost, there would be no remnant, no church, no rapture, no kingdom, no eternal city. There would be eternity, but that eternity would be spent in a lake of fire, made by God for his rebellious angels. The death of Christ on the cross and the shedding of his precious blood is the greatest gift that God the Father has given to man. There is no other gift now and forever which will exceed this gift. Consider what you would feel toward a stranger who rescued you from a burning building and in the rescue gave up his own life for you. My, how you would be filled with gratitude for that stranger. But what if you showed no gratitude for that brave act on the part of that stranger. I can assure you that that stranger’s father would be less than pleased and may instead have a great desire to take your life from you, a life it appears was saved simply to continue a heart of ingratitude. The value that God the Father places on the death and shed blood of his son, and the gift of eternal life that that death brings, mandates, it degrees, it even shouts for a lake of fire for those who show no gratitude for that magnificent gift. That gift is so great that if refused, can only result in total separation from the bearer of the gift. Anyone going to the lake of fire is testimony to how great God values that gift. Any lesser result than the lake of fire would not measure up to the greatness of the gift of salvation that God gives to those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Any lesser result would lessen the value of that gift and God will not do that. Let us look at how awfully that gift was received at a place called Calvary. Luke 23:33-42, And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. 34Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots. 35And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also with them derided him, saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God. 36And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, and offering him vinegar, 37And saying, If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself. 38And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. 39And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. 40But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? 41And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. 42And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. 43And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise. Jesus’ painful journey through the city is over and Simon the Cyrenian has laid down the cross that he has carried for Christ in order for the Romans to use it for crucifixion. The weeping and wailing women have been warned of the terrible days that are to come for them and others who will face the coming destruction of Jerusalem. For Christ has told them not to weep for Him but to weep for themselves and their children. He has told them that if this cruelty that he has experienced can be brought to bear upon the innocent what could they expect it to be upon the guilty, for if the Romans do these things in a green tree what shall be done in the dry? So three crosses with three men were hoisted in the sight of a mixed multitude. The people stood beholding Him, the rulers derided him, the soldiers mocked him and even one of the malefactors who was suffering in like manner, railed on Him. Even Pilate, who was not there joined in the ridicule by insisting that above his head be placed a sign in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew which said "This is the king of the Jews, as if to say this is what happens to one who pretends to be a king, challenging the authority of Caesar. But Jesus was now in the right place at the right time according to the Father’s calendar. The women who were weeping would not have thought so but this is what Jesus came to this earth for. Jesus was in the place called Calvary. It was a place outside the walls of Jerusalem. It was a place appropriate for our Lord for it was outside the camp. The book of Hebrews tells us to go forth unto him without the camp bearing his reproach and here at Calvary we see our Lord doing what we are called upon to do. We are not to look to Jerusalem for our continuing city but to seek as Abraham sought, a city whose builder and maker is God. Jesus made that realization possible at Calvary. The name Calvary derives from the Latin Calvaria which was used as a translation of the Greek word Kranion, by which the Hebrew word Gulgoleth was interpreted, "the place of a skull." So the names Calvary and Golgotha are interchangeable. Why it was called the place of a skull we do not fully know but many believe that it took its name from its shape. Perhaps it was a plot of ground where a hill or hillock took the form of a human skull but we know that Rome’s place for executions was a place of death and death is many times symbolized by the human skull. As we saw last week the way to the cross was a time of contrast. God’s kindness and compassion were contrasted with man’s evil and cruelty. This contrast between the goodness of God and the evil of man continues with Christ on the cross for even in this place of unimaginable pain and suffering, God’s compassion faileth not. In our passage today Luke begins with the compassion of our Lord. He tells us the first of seven sayings of Christ while on the cross Luke 23:34, Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. How great is God’s compassion for it extends to the very ones who placed him upon this cruel cross. It is that which was foretold by Isaiah in chapter 53 where we are told he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. He made intercession for the transgressors even from the cruel cross. But that intercession was not just for those who berated him on that day but was for you, and it was for me. Should we expect any less from the one who told his disciples in Luke 6:27,28? But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, 28Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. Christ told his disciples this and when it came time to live this command out He did not fail them. Stephen called upon this grace when he said, upon being stoned by the Jews, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. The example we are given by our Lord is to pray for forgiveness of those who persecute us even to the death. Jesus had come to die for the sins of the world, so that the sins of men would be forgiven, but here Jesus is praying for a specific forgiveness. He is praying that those who were participants in His rejection and death be forgiven of this specific sin, the sin of crucifying the very Son of God. The reason, Jesus said, was because of their ignorance. They were ignorant of who He was. They knew that He claimed to be the Messiah, the Son of God, but they did not believe Him. This prayer of Christ shows his heart and the heart of His Father toward sinners, whom he came to seek and to save. It is a heart of great compassion. There is no doubt that this request of Jesus Christ on the cross spared the city of Jerusalem from immediate destruction. This prayer restrained the Father who saw His Son in great jeopardy. What would you feel toward those who took your son and were so cruel to him as were the Jews and the Roman’s to God’s Son? Jesus was challenged to come down from the cross and save himself. God the Father restrained himself from coming down and that restraint was requested by the Son in this prayer of intercession for the transgressors. This was the same Father who had told Moses to get out of His way so that he could destroy the stiff-necked people of Israel. Exodus 32:9, And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: 10Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation. Had it not been for Moses’ intercession God would have started over with another special race. And had it not been for this prayer of intercession God would have destroyed Jerusalem that very instant instead of giving a long grace period that the Jews might come to Him in repentance. If God the Father wished to destroy the nation Israel for their idolatry in Moses day, what do you suppose that this same Father would have liked to have done to these Israelites and Gentiles who were mocking His Son and who were putting Him to death? Jesus’ prayer, no doubt, spared the lives of these people and delayed the wrath of God until after His resurrection. God extended his grace to them until the gospel was preached to them so that they would no longer be ignorant of His identity, and repent and be saved from the destruction of their own generation. For a period of about forty years after the crucifixion, the gospel of salvation was proclaimed to the Jews. We can read in the book of Acts that this delay in judgment allowed many to be saved but it also allowed many to condemn themselves for refusing to repent in spite of the light that was shed upon them. On the day of Pentecost three thousand were converted, a little later than that additional thousands were saved. Even a large number of priests became obedient to the faith. The whole of Israel had been given great opportunity to repent and be saved. By the time the destruction came in 70 AD there was no excuse for being ignorant of Christ’s identity with the Father. And so we see this example of the great compassion of Christ and of the Father. But contrast this with the cruelty of men. What were the soldiers doing during this, the greatest of events the world has ever known? They heard not his words nor did they think this execution was any thing special. Just another execution to be done as ordered. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots. The soldiers, who saw this task as routine, became hardened in their work and to the suffering it caused. There Jesus was, the innocent, righteous Son of God, hanging from a cross, His blood being shed for our sins. And there they were, on the ground below, rolling the dice to distribute the clothes that Jesus wore. They were only interested in the material gain they would receive from Jesus’ death, but they were not interested in His suffering and sorrow. They isolated themselves from His agony and pain as they did all the others that they crucified. They were seeking personal gain, while He was suffering and giving up His life for these very soldiers. Later they would add to their cruelty by mocking Jesus and offering Him wine vinegar: Luke 23:36-37, And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, and offering him vinegar, 37And saying, If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself. Kings were served wine but only the best. What was offered to Jesus was the "dregs," the cheapest form possible. It was an act of mockery as Luke tells us. Jesus was mocked by being given a mock scepter, a symbol of royal rule. He was given a mock royal robe, a mock crown composed of thorns and mock worship. And then there was the mocking of the religious leaders. We would expect those of religion to be a comfort to those who are being put to death. Nearly always, at executions, a minister is present, and their aim is to minister to the one being put to death. But that was not the case of those standing beneath the cross of Christ. They, instead of being a blessing, chose to be a curse for they exercised extreme cruelty as they railed at Jesus, mocking Him, and daring Him to come down. They were adding to His suffering, not seeking to minister to him. Every rejection of Jesus was cruel. They rejected Him for being who he was, the Messiah of Israel. He was not guilty of deception, however he came as Messiah in such as way as to not meet their expectations. They looked for a leader who would deliver them from their present circumstances, not a man who would humble himself before their enemies. They looked for a Messiah who would come down from the cross and save himself. One who would lead them on to victory over the Romans and save their place in Israel. What they did not grasp was that the only way He could save others was not by saving Himself, but by giving up His life, as the once-for-all sacrifice for the sins of men. He was the ultimate example of what he told us when he said: 25For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. Jesus operates in the eternal, men operate in the temporal. Therefore his mission was to die in the sinner’s place, so that the sinner might be forgiven. Jesus did not come to meet men’s expectations or demands, but He came in the only way possible to save sinners, by His substitutionary death, in the place of the sinner, bearing his, or her, punishment. Why then was Christ placed on the cross? Of what was he guilty? He was not guilty of cruelty; the people were guilty of this. Jesus was only guilty of compassion. From the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, one of the first and strongest protests against His practice and preaching was that it was marked by compassion. He came to seek and to save sinners, and the "righteous" did not like it at all for sinners were not worthy of salvation. He associated with the unworthy, and the "worthy" did not appreciate it. In the final analysis, men reject Jesus because He is good, because He is kind and compassionate, and because men are evil and cruel. The cross of Christ revealed this about man and about God: Men are incredibly cruel; God is compassionate without end. There is no getting around this truth and this condition. Man cannot do otherwise on his own. He must have a savior. Satan blinds men and it is only God that can take the scales off the eyes. It is only as the Spirit of God enlightens the minds of lost men, and as He quickens them to repent of their sin and to believe on the sinless Son of God and to accept His compassion, that men can be saved. |