Luke 23:32-46 – The Day Jesus Died – Bible study

Luke 23:32-46 The Day Jesus Died The day I want to consider this evening is the hinge upon which mans history turns. Everything before this day only has significance as it pointed forward to this day. Everything after this day only has significance as it points backwards to this day. It is the day that Jesus died. As important as this day is, do we understand what really happened that day? Yes, we who are believers know that Jesus, our sin-Bearer, died that day. That we know because it bears directly on our eternity. But much more happened. On that day, even the infinite, unseen beings watched with interest and concerned what happened. So what did happen on the day when Jesus died? I. God put another mark of sadness on the earth. Luke 23:44 And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. 45 And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. A. \#45\ Notice that the sun was darkened. B. From the 6th hour (noon) to 9th hour (3 PM). C. Although the darkness is recorded in both Matthew and Mark too, none of the Bible references tell us WHY the sun went dark. D. My guess is that the crime being committed by mankind was too evil for the sun to shine upon it. 1. Creation refused to glorify the act by lighting it. 2. Now I know that creation is not a living thing, but the Bible does speak of nature in a personified sense. Rom 8:22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. 3. Every time we speak of Mother Nature, we personify creation. 4. Creation and nature are not living beings so when the Bible says that all of creation groans, it is saying that God put into creation a groan, a groan of sadness because sin had entered into. 5. I believe the earth has groaned with sadness since man introduced sin to it. 6. The 3 hours of darkness was another of Gods marks of sadness on this earth. 7. God would not dignify what man was doing by putting the light He had created upon it. E. I think there may be a third mark of sadness that God left on creation after sin contaminated it. 1. Sometime back, I read where a writer said all of creation sings and speaks in the minor keys. a. I dont know whether that is true or not. I have no ear for notes. b. But he said when the wind whistles through the trees, it will always be in a minor key. c. When the bird sings his songs, it will be in a minor key. d. When you hold a sea shell to your ear, the roar that you hear will be in a minor key. e. When the thunder sounds, the roaster crows, the dog barks, the cat meows, the cow lowers, the horse neighs, or the crickets chirp, they will always do so in a minor key. 2. This was another of Gods ways of marking creation with a sadness from sin. II. Satan presumed victory. A. I do not think it is much of a leap to speculate that once Jesus died on the cross, Satan presumed that he had won! B. From the beginning, Satan had wanted Jesus dead. 1. \#Matt 2:16\ The babies at Nazareth 2. The many attempts to kill Jesus before the cross. a. \#Matt 4:6\ Tempt Jesus to jump off the temple b. \#Luke 4.29\ Nazareth, cast Jesus headfirst off a cliff c. \#John 8:59, 10:31\ Two attempts to stone Jesus 3. Each attempt failed. C. But when Judas came to betray Jesus \#John 13:2\, Satan must have thought that he finally had the upper hand! 1. It was that Satan-filled Judas who rallied the scribes and Pharisees, brought them to one of Jesus quiet prayer spots, marked Jesus with a kiss. 2. Satan did all of these things, thinking that if Jesus died, he would win the victory! D. Yet, everything was moving according to Gods plan too! 1. It was not JUST the devil who wanted Jesus to die on the cross. a. God did too. Isa 53:10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. b. It pleased God to hurt Jesus. c. Not in some maniacal way, but so that Jesus could be our "offering for sin." d. The Bible goes further to say that this had been Gods plan since before the world was created! 1Co 2:7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: 2. So both God wanted and Satan wanted the crucifixion but for two totally different reasons and to two totally different ends. a. God wanted it for mans salvation. b. Satan wanted it, thinking it would somehow stop mans salvation. 3. How could Satan, knowing the prophecies of Jesus, be so blind to the cross? a. I dont know. b. The prophecies were difficult to understand BEFORE they happened. (Just ask the Jews!) c. Some how, I think God blinded the eyes of Satan and the powers of this world for they did not completely understand who Jesus was or what He had come to do. 1Cor 2:7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: 8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. d. And God did appear to be working against Satans planmaybe that confused Satan! (1) God sent messages to many of the key people in the crucifixion, warning them of their involvement. (a) God sent word to Peter. (b) God used Pilates wife to sent word to him. (c) God used the ungodly High Priest to warn all of the Sanhedrin. (d) And Jesus constantly warned the disciples. (2) Perhaps this should serve as a warning to sinners every where. "When you think you are winning, you really are losing!" III. God abandoned God. Mark 15:34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? A. The word "forsake" means to desert, to leave, to abandon. B. God the Father and the Holy Spirit abandoned Jesus while He died on the cross. 1. I have know that truth for many years now, but I have never understood it. 2. I understand WHY God abandoned God. It was because Jesus had become sinour sinand the Holy God could no longer have fellowship with sin. 3. What I dont understand relates to the nature of God for God is a triune Being, all three Persons being unique but all three Persons being one. Deut 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: C. How does God abandon Himself? I do not know the answer to that truth, but on the day that Jesus died, it happened. IV. The angels looked on while mankind mocked. A The angels have always been curious about salvation. 1Peter 1:12 Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into. B. Without doubt, they were at the crucifixion, armed and ready to obliterate the Lords enemy. Matthew 26:53 Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? C. While the angels curiously, diligently, earnestly looked on, mankind paid little attention to Jesus at all. 1. The majority of mankind knew nothing more or less about Jesus or the cross. 2. Jesus disciples had fled, with only two following from a distance. 3. Peter, their spokesman, denied knowing Jesusthree times. 4. The Jewish religious of the day had arranged and approved the cross. On the day of Jesus death, they stood and daunted their Victim. 5. Roman soldiers knelt off to the side, gambling for Jesus clothing. 6. Pilate had vainly scrubbed his hands, trying to wash them clean of the innocent Mans blood. 7. A thief on one side prayed for forgiveness while another on the other side used his last hours to laugh at Jesus. D. I worked on a message to preach tonight but it would not come together entitled, "Too Late." 1. You are too late, Judas, you could have believed on Him. 2. You are too late, Peter, you could have stood with Him. 3. You are too late, Pilate, you have accepted Him. 4. You are too late, Joseph of Arimathaea, you could have stood for Him. 5. You are too late, disciples, you could have prayed for Him. 6. I noticed, it was all the men in Jesus life that let Him down, but the women continued to stand with Him. a. It was the women who wept for Jesus on the road to Calvary. b. It was the women who stood at the cross. c. It was the women who followed to see where he was laid. d. It was the women who arrived at daybreak on Sunday morning. E. What a sad day in human history when the unsaveable angels are more concerned about mans Savior than man is! 1. It demonstrates how amazing ignorant and cruel mankind can be! 2. But at the same time, it gives me some hope. If man could be that wicked and survive, there is some hope that God may yet effect a revival in our world today. V. Abrahams Bosom was closed; Hell was expanded. Luke 23:43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise. A. Notice, Jesus did not say "Abrahams Bosom" but "paradise." 1. I have always assumed those two places were the same, then I looked it up. 2. Paradise is mentioned here, \#2Cor 12:4, Re 2:7\. 3. It is also called "the third heaven" \#2Cor 12:2\. 4. It is the reward for the saved. 5. I believe paradise is somewhere in heaven or another name for heaven. B. Hell is and always has been a very real place. 1. We do not know WHEN hell was created, but probably before man for the Bible says it hosts some every evil demons. 2Pe 2:4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; 2. We know that it was created for the demons who disobeyed God. Mt 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 3. The Old Testament tells us that God expanded hells size due to the increasing number of PEOPLE that have gone there. Isaiah 5:14 Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: a. Notice the verb tenses in that verse – past. b. Hell was originally created only for the demons. c. Although God knew mankind was going to go there too, he had not made his choice yet. God did not expand hell until he did. d. When Adam sinned, God expanded (past tense) hell. C. Abrahams Bosom was the place where the Old Testament saints went when they died. 1. What we know about Abrahams Bosom, we learn from \#Luke 16:19-31\ a. And we know that at one time, hell and Abrahams Bosom were close together. b. From hell, the beggar could see "Abraham afar off" \#Luke 16:23\. c. Luke referred to the place where Abraham was as "Abrahams bosom" \#Luke 16:22\. d. \#Luke 16:26\ Of course, there was an impassable gulf between the place of the wicked and the righteous. 2. So there were apparently two chambers, side-by-side; one where the wicked went (hell) and the other where the redeemed went (Abrahams Bosom). D. Paul wrote, quoting \#Ps 68:18\ that Jesus descended before He ascended, leading captivity captive Eph 4:8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. 9 (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? 1. To lead "captivity captive" means he lead those who were prisons somewhere else. Typically, it means someone was lead to freedom. In this case, I believe it means that Jesus lead them to heaven. 2. So what happened to the compartment that was called Abrahams Bosom. My belief is that hell expanded to make room for the many who would reject Jesus Christ during the church age. VI. The Holiest of All was opened. A. \#Luke 23:45\ Veil was rent into two pieces. B. Over the years, we have noted many times that the earthly tabernacle is but a replica of the heavenly temple. 1. \#Ex 25:9\ Build it "after the pattern that I shew thee." a. The word "after" is italicized indicating that it was added for our understanding. b. It makes the verse read that what Moses saw was a pattern to follow but \#Heb 8:5\ makes it clear that the earthly was a pattern of the heavenly. 2. \#He 8:5\ The writer said the earthly was a "shadow of heavenly things." C. The renting of the earthly veil meant that the wall which had kept man out of the Gods presence was being torn down. 1. The wall was sin. 2. What removes sin? BLOOD. Heb 9:22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. 3. The heavenly temple had been in existence since the days of Moses (or before) but it had never been used. Why? a. There was no High Priest who was worthy to enter. b. There was no blood that could actually remove sin. 4. But once Jesus died, He became our High Priest and gathered His own blood, taking it to the heavenly temple. Heb 9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. 13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: 14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? Heb 10:19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; D. We have cause for celebration! 1. On the day of Jesus death, the heavenly temple was opened and the eternal blood of Jesus Christ was applied for our sins. 2. Paradise was shut down and all the saved from all the ages were gathered to Gods presence and the wall of sin that had kept us locked out for so many years was torn down!