Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Luke 23:33
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.
33 – 38. The Crucifixion and Mockery. The Title.
33. the place, which is called Calvary ] It is nowhere in Scripture called ‘a hill,’ and it was certainly not in any sense a steep or lofty hill. The only grounds for speaking of it as a hill are (1) tradition; and (2) the name. Calvary is the Latin form of Golgotha, and means ‘a skull’ (as the same Greek word kranion is rendered in Mat 27:33). Like the French Chaumont, this name might describe a low rounded hill. Ewald identifies it with Gareb (Jer 31:39), and Kraft accordingly derives Golgotha from , ‘hill,’ and , ‘death.’ The name has led to the legend about Adam’s skull lying at the foot of the Cross, which is so often introduced into pictures.
Luk 23:33
There they crucified Him
The crucifixion
THE PLACE WHERE OUR LORD SUFFERED. Calvary, or Golgotha: a small eminence, half a mile from Jerusalem; the common place of execution, where the vilest offenders were put to death.
1. The place where Jesus suffered marks the malignant design of His enemies.
2. The place as mentioned by the evangelist marks His strong affection.
3. We may also add that this directs us to the place where we must look for mercy.
1. The death of the cross, though selected by Jewish malignity, would be the fulfilment of prophecy.
2. In our Lords suffering the death of the cross there was something analogous to what we as sinners had deserved; and probably it was with a view to represent this that the Jews were suffered to crucify Him.
1. A lingering death.
2. A most painful death.
3. A death attended with reproach and infamy.
4. The death of the cross was an accursed death, both in the esteem of God and man (Gal 3:13).
1. On the part of His enemies this was designed to render His death still more ignominious and shameful, and was no doubt contrived between Pilate and the chief priests.
2. But on the part of God we may see something of the wisdom of this appointment. Prophecy was hereby fulfilled, which said that He should be numbered with transgressors (Isa 53:11; Mar 15:27-28). (Theological Sketch-book.)
The cross a revelation of human sinfulness
There is a picture I have seen somewhere, painted by a celebrated artist, in which one aspect of the crucifixion is very significantly represented, or rather suggested. It is intended to bring before the mind the after scenes and the after hours of that memorable day, when the crowd had gone back again to pursue its wonted business in Jerusalem, when the thick gloom had been dispelled, and the clear light shone once more on that fatal spot called Calvary. The body of the Master had been conveyed to the sepulchre, the cross itself lies extended on the ground, and a band of little children, bright with the glow of childhoods innocence, led thither by curiosity or accident, are represented as bending over the signs left around of the bloody deed which has that day been accomplished. One of the children holds in his hand a nail, but a short time ago piercing the hand or the foot of the patient Sufferer, and stands, spell-bound with horror, gazing at it. And upon every face the painter has plainly depicted the verdict which innocence must ever give with regard to that dreadful tragedy. It is so we would desire to consider the subject and the scene. The heart, conceiving aright the amazing impiety culminating at the cross, may well take this attitude of wonder, surprise, horror. The cross comes to be Gods great indictment against man.
Christ lifted up
1. Men offered it to Him (Joh 6:15; Joh 12:13).
2. The devil offered to make Him a king also (Mat 4:9).
3. Jesus has been offered the true dominion of the whole world in this showy sort of way, over and over again in human history since.
1. Consider the spectacle which is proposed for our imagination. Let us seem to see the Saviour already nailed in crucifixion. Christ was lifted up as an object of scorn and contumely (see Luk 10:35-36). Christ was lifted up as an object of pity and love. At the foot of the cross a faithful few still lingered: men and women who believed in Him, and clung to Him even in these fallen fortunes to the very last.
2. Consider, once more, the force exerted by this spectacle. In the announcement of our Lord already quoted, He says that if He be lifted up He will draw all men unto Him; but in our version the single word men is printed in italics. Some have wasted time in asserting that Jesus meant what they name as the elect; some have said that He meant all Jews; and others have declared that He intended to include all things whatsoever, as well as men, unto His uses and His sovereignty. He would gather all money; He would collect all commerce; He would subjugate all power; He would attract all art; He would receive the trophies of all science; He would bring in to Himself the gains of all enterprise. In a word, the kingdoms of a united world should become the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ.
1. God raised Him up from the grave, having loosed the pains of death. This was the great argument of Simon Peter on the day of Pentecost. The raising of Jesus from the grave was the pledge of His exaltation to the throne of heaven (see Act 2:30-32).
2. The Lord has lifted Christ up to a place at His right hand (see Php 2:9-11). Satans kingdom is to be subdued (see Rev 12:10). All the realms of this world are to give their tribute to that of Christ (see Rev 11:15). The kings of the earth are to bring their honour in to beautify His capital city. The Church is to be the Lambs wife. The Kings daughter is all glorious within.
3. Believers must lift Him up as the one Saviour of lost souls. It is just Christ crucified who is the only Saviour. (C. S. Robinson, D. D.)
The crucifixion of Christ
1. It will be observed that the place at which He suffered deserves our notice: The place which is called Calvary. This place appointed for the death of Jesus, to use the language of Bishop Taylor, was a place eminent for the publication of shame, a hill of death and of dead bones, polluted and impure. Nor must we account it to be a trifling, insignificant circumstance in the Redeemers humiliation that this was the spot upon which we find He passed His last moments, and that He was to bow the bead, and to give up the ghost.
2. You will observe that the mode of death which the Lord Jesus Christ endured at this place also deserves our notice: When they were come to the place which is called Calvary, there they crucified Him.
(1) A most painful death.
(2) An exceedingly ignominious death.
3. It must also be observed that the society in which our Redeemer at this place suffered deserves notice.
4. The conduct of the spectators who witnessed the sufferings of our Saviour also demands our notice.
1. The crucifixion of the Lord Jesus was the special result of the Divine foreknowledge and determination.
2. And more particularly, The crucifixion of our Lord Jesus, was a perfect and efficacious atonement for human sin.
3. The crucifixion of our Lord Jesus being clearly the result of the Divine foreknowledge and determination, and being a proper and efficacious atonement for human sin, it was at the foundation of the mighty mediatorial empire.
1. We shall contemplate it as affording the most affecting exhibition of the exceeding sinfulness of sin.
2. We must contemplate our Lords crucifixion as being an astonishing display of the riches of Divine love.
3. We must contemplate the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus, as furnishing the grand theme for ministerial proclamation. (J. Parsons.)
Emphasis
Scripture depends more upon the power of facts than of figures and illustrations. In human literature big words are used to overlay small ideas.; verbiage is laid on as paint; the theme is smothered under the gaudy clothing; and sense is rendered tributary to sound. Not so here. When the sacred writers have anything to describe, they depend upon the force of the thing itself, and not upon the manner of its telling. All they seem to strive at is plainness; simply to chronicle the event, and let it speak for itself.
The death of Jesus, and its effects
1. Jesus dies with a sense of inward freedom. The Bible speaks of the bondage of death. What a tad impression does a death-bed give of the bondage of man, how painfully does it bring home to us the fact that man is not free, that he is in servitude to death! Hence men have given Death a sceptre and a sword, have put a scythe into his hand and a crown upon his head. But in the death of our Lord we see nothing of all this. Very different is His death from ours. When death comes upon us, it generally takes us by surprise, and herein too does it prove its might, in that it makes men its captives and its prey, before ever they are aware of its approach. In most cases, Death administers a sleeping-draught before he deals the final blow; and it is in a state of sleep and of dreaminess that by far the greater proportion of the dying go their way into that long slumber. But when death came to Jesus, it found Him waking. How regal is the impression it conveys! And let me here remind you, to what an apparent chance it is we owe it, that we see Jesus die in such a kingly way.
2. Christ dies with the clearest consciousness. Would that the experience of each of you in that hour may be, that when all earthly lights have faded from your view, God, as a great sun, will fill the eye of your soul! What a genial warmth would then be shed upon the cold last hour! how would the thought of God bridge the gulf which separates time from eternity! Even Christ had thoughts of His own in the closing hours of His life; He thought on His people; He thought on all the past of His earthly history. But when the last moment came, the thought with which He bowed His head was the thought of God. He died with a clear consciousness of what lay before Him.
3. He dies with the fullest assurance. This is testified by His dying cry. He knows that it is into the hands of the Father that He is giving up His Spirit. We are not, God be praised! without instances of blessed death-beds among ourselves.
The Passion of our Lord
The crucifixion
1. This is seen in the central act of this awful tragedy.
(1) The most painful of all forms of punishment.
(2) The most degrading. Not a Jewish, but heathen, punishment, and that on the worst of criminals.
2. This is shown in the scene.
(1) The place (Heb 13:11-13).
(2) The companionship.
(3) The insulting taunts.
1. AS seen in the infinite contrast between Christ and His taunting murderers.
(1) The nature of the contrast.
(2) The elevation and matchlessness of the spirit of this conquest of love.
2. As seen in Christs readiness and ability to save.
(1) The contrast in the spirit of the two thieves.
(2) The contrast in the eternal destiny of the thieves.
(3) The condition on which their respective destiny hung.
1. The illustration which the darkness furnishes in respect to the changes which this earth is to undergo.
(1) The greatness of the change (2Pe 3:8-12).
(2) The purpose of the change (2Pe 3:13; Rom 8:19-22).
2. The illustration which the rending of the temples veil furnishes in respect to present salvation (Heb 10:19-20).
Lessons:
1. The ignorance of sinners of the possibilities of the evil nature within them.
2. The ignorance of sinners of the real enormity of their sins.
3. The ignorance of sinners of what God is doing for them, even when they are hating Him. (D. C. Hughes, M. A.)
A look at the three crosses
Just look at the one on the right. Its victim dies scoffing. More tremendous than his physical anguish is his scorn and hatred of Him on the middle cross. If the scoffer could get one hand loose, and lie were within reach, he would smite the middle sufferer in the face lie hates Him with a perfect hatred. I think he wishes he were down on the ground, that he might spear Him. He envies the mechanics who, with their nails, have nailed Him fast. It was in some such hate that Voltaire, in his death hour, because he thought he saw Christ in his bedroom, got up on his elbow, and cried out: Crush that wretch! What had the middle cross done to arouse up this right-hand cross? Nothing. Oh, the enmity of the natural heart against Christ! The world likes a sentimental Christ or a philanthropic Christ; but a Christ who comes to snatch men from their sins, away with Hirer Men say: Back with Him from the heart. I will not let Him take my sins. If He will die, let Him die for Himself, not for me. The Cross
(1) This form of punishment was most painful, lingering, ignominious.
(2) In the case of our Lord, in every sense, unjust, unpardonable, and an exhibition of frenzied selfishness and cruelty.
2. The prophetic place–Calvary.
(1) Outside the city (Heb 13:11-12; Lev 16:27).
3. The wonderful prayer.
(1) The lovingness of its plea.
(2) The strength of its argument.
(3) A model for all Christians.
(4) A proof of Christs interest in all sinners.
4. The meanness of human nature (Luk 23:35-37; Luk 23:39).
5. The significant superscription.
(1) Significant in the title given to Jesus.
(2) Significant in the languages in which it was written.
1. The crucifixion of Christ reveals the fearful prerogative of free agency.
2. The unfathomable depths of human depravity.
3. What horrible crimes may be perpetrated in name of holiest principles.
4. How Gods most gracious purposes may be wrought out by mans most heinous malevolence. (D. C. Hughes, M. A.)
Who crucified Jesus?
He that says he did not crucify Christ is His greatest crucifier; he that will confess that they were his blasphemies which spat upon His face, his briberies that nailed His hands to the cross, his gluttony and drunkenness that gave Him gall to drink, his wrath and malice that pierced Him in the side, his disobedience against magistrates that bruised Him in the head, his wanton apparel that stripped Him of His robe, he that will not only die with Christ in his arms, as old Simeon did, but acknowledge that Christ died by his arms, he shall find peace at the last, and righteousness with the God of his salvation. What became of our Saviours reed, and of His robe, we find in holy Scripture–they were taken from Him by the soldiers; but it is not written whether any man took up the crown of thorns, as if that were our share, or any mans else who is goaded with true compunction. And to say truth, all the sins which we do commit, let us make the best of them, are but thorns and briers; but if we confess them in humility, and ask pardon in tears and contrition, then they are corona spinea, a crown of thorns. (Bishop Hacket.)
Verse 33. The place – called Calvary] See Clarke on Mt 27:33. They crucified him] See the nature of this punishment explained Mt 27:35. And when they were come to the place which was called Calvary,…. Or Cranion, which signifies a skull; so called from the skulls of persons that lay about, who were executed. It is a tradition of the ancients y, that Adam was buried in this place where Christ was crucified, and that his skull lay here. It was usual to crucify on high places, and on mountains, such an one as this was z:
there they crucified him, and the malefactors; the two thieves;
one on the right hand, and the other on the left; and so fulfilled the prophecy in Isa 53:12.
y Cyprian de Resurrectione Christi, p. 479. Hieron. Tom. 1. fol. 42. Bar Bahluli apud Castell. Lex. Polyglott. col. 3466. z Lipsius de Cruce, l. 3. c. 13.
The skull ( ). Probably because it looked like a skull. See on Matt 27:33; Mark 15:22. There they crucified him ( ). There between the two robbers and on the very cross on which Barabbas, the leader of the robber band, was to have been crucified. One ( ), the other ( ). Common idiom of contrast with this old demonstrative and and . Calvary [] . The Greek word is the translation of the Hebrew Golgotha. See on Mt 27:33. 35 – 43. Compare Mt 27:39 – 44; Mr 14:29 – 32.
1) “And when they were come to the place,” (kai hote elthon epi ton topon) “And when they came upon the place,” to the top of the hill, outside the city of Jerusalem, Mat 27:33; Mar 15:22; Joh 19:17.
2) “Which is called Calvary,” (ton kaloumenon Kranion) “Which is called (known as) Calvary,” also called Golgatha, meaning “a cranium or a skull, the place of a skull or a cranium,” simply because of the physical form of the hill or knoll. Jews buried their dead, did not let skulls and skeletons lay around.
3) “There they crucified him, and the malefactors,” (ekei estautosan auton kai tous kakourgous) “Out there they crucified him and the (two) criminals,” Mat 27:35; Mar 15:27. Luke alone of the Gospel writers (writing for Gentiles) did not use the term “Golgotha,” (Heb meaning Calvary) to describe the place of crucifixion.
4) “One on the right hand, and the other on the left.” (hon men ek deksion hon de eks aristeron) “One out on or at the right, then one out on or at the left,” of Jesus, Mat 27:35; Joh 19:18.
SERMON NO. EIGHTEEN
BEHOLDING THE CRUCIFIED ONE
Luk. 23:33-35 a
Introduction
I. SPECTACLE OF THE CRUCIFIXION OF CHRIST. After the betrayal and arrest come the trials. He was shamed by His own (high priest). Herod plays with Him like a cat would a mouse. He mocks Him and allows Him to be smitten in the mouth. Then Jesus is returned to Pilate a second time. Pilate has Him scourged with a whip made of leather and bone until His back is a bleeding mass of raw flesh. Pilate wants to release Him. But the Jews cry Crucify Him, his blood be upon us and upon our children . . . Release unto us Barabbas the murderer. And, for political reasons, Pilate releases Him to be crucified.
And so the humiliated, tortured, betrayed, exhausted Son of God goes out bearing a 300 pound cross of wood. Through the streets of the city He goes, stumbling, dragging this cross along as the throngs cast stones and spit upon him. Up the long hill of Golgotha. There He is grabbed roughly by the soldiers and laid down upon the cross, BUT HE OFFERS NO RESISTANCE. The steel spikes are brutally driven into the quivering flesh of His hands and then His feet. The excruciating pain is relayed from the nerves to His brain. And what comes from his mouth? Agony and screams? NO! Hate and curses? NO! Wonder of wonders, His lips part to speak a blessingFather forgive them, for they know not what they do.
II. AND THE PEOPLE STOOD BEHOLDING . . . What did they behold in the crucified One? What did those around the cross see? They saw much the same thing as men and women see in the Crucifixion today. THE CRUCIFIXION WAS NECESSARY. IT WAS IN GODS PLAN FOR JESUS CONTINUALLY TAUGHT I MUST DIE . . . IT WAS A SPECTACLE OF LOVE FOR MAN TO BEHOLD. IT WAS A PLANNED SPECTACLE FOR IT WAS PROPHECIED. Luk. 2:1-52.
Discussion
I.
THE ROMANS. They beheld Him through eyes of Indifference. Pilate made two tries to release Him and saw that politics demanded His death so he washed his hands of the whole matter. WHAT WAS ONE MORE DEAD JEW?? AFTER ALL PEOPLE DIE EVERY DAY. He had many responsibilities of more importance than the squabbles of the Jews. HE JUST HAD OTHER THINGS TO DO MORE IMPORTANT THAN LISTENING TO THIS NAZARENES CLAIMS OR BEING TOUCHED BY HIS INNOCENCE. Notice the calloused indifference of the soldiers who methodically nailed him to the cross and then sat down to gamble over his garments. There are multitudes today who look at the Crucified One through eyes of indifference. THEY COULDNT CARE LESS THAT A MAN DIED SOME 2000 YEARS AGO. THEY ARE TOO BUSY WITH MORE IMPORTANT THINGS SUCH AS POLITICS, PTA, KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES. THEY HAVE SO CALLOUSED THEIR HEARTS AND THEIR EMOTIONS THAT THEY ARE NO LONGER TOUCHED WITH THE LOVE SHOWN IN THE CROSS.
They thought they saw Weakness. Pilate said, Dont you know I have the power of life and death over you . . . and still you say nothing in your own defense? This Nazarene had even taught the doctrines of weaklings according to them. WHO EVER HEARD OF TURNING THE OTHER CHEEK? GOING THE SECOND MILE? RETURNING GOOD FOR EVIL? BUT A LOOK AT ALL THE CIRCUMSTANCES SHOWS THIS TO BE THE GREATEST ACT OF COURAGE HISTORY HAS EVER WITNESSED. MY LORD WAS NO WEAKLING NOR COWARD! HE WAS A MAN OF ALL MEN. THOSE WHO STOOD WATCHING HIM WERE THE WEAK, SPINELESS, GROVELING COWARDS. THESE WERE AFRAID TO FACE UP TO THE DEMANDS AND CONSEQUENCES OF HIS TEACHINGS. THE WEAKLINGS CANNOT TURN THE OTHER CHEEK, AND WILL NOT GO THE OTHER MILE.
They thought they saw Foolishness. He claimed to be a King, but where was His kingdom? They scoffed at Him as a religious crackpot. He had claimed to be a God . . . but none of their gods had ever acted like He didHOW FOOLISH! WITH THEIR GODS IT WAS OPPOSITEMEN DIED FOR THEIR GODS. He claimed to be dying in the place of men. This the wise heathen philosophers could not accept as sensible. The Greek philosophers at Athens scoffed at Pauls preaching the gospel of the cross and resurrection. (Act. 17:1-34).
HEAR WHAT MODERN UNBELIEVERS HAVE TO SAY . . . Dressed in the pious robes of ecclesiastical finery, giving the unsuspecting world the impression he is a follower of Christ, Bishop G. Bromley Oxnam, former head of the World Council of Churches says, We hear much of the substitutionary theory of the atonement. This theory to me is immoral. If Jesus paid it all or if He is the substitute for me, or if He is the sacrifice for all the sin of the world, then why discuss forgiveness? The books are closed. Another has paid the debt, borne the penalty, I owe nothing. I am absolved. I cannot see forgiveness as predicted upon the act of someone else. It is my sin. I must atone. II.
WHAT DID THE JEWS SEE AS THEY BEHELD HIM? To them His crucifixion was a stumbling block. What did they cry as they circled the cross? If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross . . . He saved others, himself he cannot save . . . THEY STUMBLED AT THE IDEA OF A CRUCIFIED AND HUMILIATED JEWISH MESSIAH. They had made up their minds ages ago just what type of Saviour they would accept. THEY WANTED A SOCIAL REFORMER, A POLITICAL LIBERATOR WHO WOULD LEAVE THE RELIGIOUS STATUS QUO ALONE. NEEDLESS TO SAY THERE ARE MULTITUDES OF PEOPLE TODAY WHO STUMBLE AT THE SAME THING. THEY LOOK AT THE CHURCH AS A FAILURE! THEY HAVE TRIED TO USE AND ABUSE THE CHURCH AS A SOCIAL REFORM MOVEMENT, TO LIBERATE AND CONTROL POLITICS, BUT THEY WONT HAVE IT TO HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE SOULS OF MEN!
They stumbled at His claims to be divine. I believe Jesus could have gotten by and perhaps even have been honored if He had claimed to be just another prophet. Many would allow Him this much today. But when He claimed to: forgive sins, come before Abraham, be the Messiah, and demanded rule over their hearts THEY CRIED BLASPHEMY . . . THEY COULD NOT ACCEPT ANY TEACHING THAT ASSOCIATED HIM WITH GOD.
MODERN THEOLOGIANS REBEL AT THE IDEA THAT GOD HAS ASSOCIATED HIMSELF WITH MAN OR HAS COME INTO THE REALM OF HISTORY. THEY SAY HE MUST BE WHOLLY TRANSCENDENTWHOLLY OTHER. THEY SAY WE LIMIT GODS POWER AND HOLINESS WHEN WE SAY THAT HE CAME IN THE FORM OF FLESH. TO THE CONTRARY, TO RELEGATE GOD ONLY TO THE REALM OF THE WHOLLY OTHER LIMITS HIS POWER AND HOLINESS. HOW COULD A GOD WHO HAD NO DESIRE TO BE TOUCHED WITH OUR INFIRMITIES, TO REVEAL HIMSELF TO US IN HISTORY, BE RIGHTEOUS AND HOLY AND LOVING??? They saw in the Crucified One their scapegoat. Their High Priest had said, It is expedient that one should die for the nation, lest the Romans come and take away our nation and our place. IS HE NOT BEING USED AS A SCAPEGOAT TODAY? SOME HAVE ACCEPTED CHRIST BUT, UPON FINDING THEY CANT HAVE HIM AND THE WORLD TOO, THEY FALL AWAY AND CRUCIFY AFRESH THE SON OF GOD, BY COUNTING THE BLOOD OF THE COVENANT WHEREWITH THEY WERE SANCTIFIED AN UNHOLY THING. cf. also Heb. 6:1-6. AND THEN WHAT DO THEY DO? THEY USE HIS CHURCH AND HIS SAINTS AS THEIR EXCUSE FOR BACKSLIDING. THEY HARP ON THE HYPOCRITES . . . OR THEY HARP ON THE IDEA THAT CHRISTIANS ARE TOO UNCOMPROMISING, TOO INTOLERANT, FORGETTING JESUS HIMSELF SAID THERE ARE ONLY TWO WAYSTWO CLASSES OF HUMANITY, SAVED AND LOST. WHERE DO YOU STAND TODAY AND BEHOLD THE CRUCIFIED ONE? ARE YOU WITH THE JEWS? IF YOU ARE A BACKSLIDER, YOU ARE WITH THEM.
III.
WHAT DO BELIEVERS BEHOLD? One of the thieves beheld the Son of God and in faith and trust committed His soul to Him. We see sin condemned in the flesh. Jesus came in the flesh and lived a sinless life in the flesh, tempted in all points like as we are and WON THE VICTORY OVER SIN AND BECAME THE ONLY ACCEPTABLE SACRIFICE FOR OUR SINS! He fulfilled the requirements of the law of God, even the sentence and penalty of the law which says, The soul that sinneth it shall die . . .
We see there the propitiation for our sin. WE BEHOLD JESUS AS HE SUFFERED THE AGONY OF THE SECOND DEATH FOR US. AND THEN WE READ AS HE HIMSELF REVEALS FROM HEAVEN TO JOHN IN THE BOOK OF REVELATIONTHAT SUCH AS ARE BELIEVERS, OVER THEM THE SECOND DEATH HATH NO POWER.
We see God manifesting Himself as being Just and the Justifier. God decreed in His law that sin must be punished. If He went back on His word, He would be a powerless, unjust God. BUT HOW CAN HE HAVE LOVE AND SAVE MEN AND STILL PUNISH SIN? HE ACCOMPLISHED IT ALL IN THE CROSS OF CALVARY WHERE HE PUNISHED SIN AND SAVED MAN THROUGH JESUS CHRIST!
We see sin as it was never shown before in all of its evilness. As a sinner man is a slave who must be redeemed, an enemy who must be reconciled, a dead corpse which must be resurrected and given new life, a captive whose powerful oppressors must be overthrown and a criminal who must be justified. WE SEE THE HOLY AND PERFECT HATE WHICH GOD HAS FOR SIN IN THE GIVING OF THE LIFE OF HIS SON.
We see the love and power of God manifested. The word of the cross may be foolishness to some. BUT TO THOSE WHO ARE BEING SAVED IT IS BOTH THE POWER AND THE WISDOM OF GOD . . . GODS INFINITE WISDOM KNEW THAT THE CROSS WOULD BE THE ONLY WAY TO DRAW MEN UNTO HIM IN SINCERE FAITH. And I, if I will be lifted up, will draw all men unto me. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man should lay down his life for his friend. For the love of God hath been shed abroad in our hearts . . . for while we were yet weak, in due season Christ died for the ungodly . . . A man may decide many things in this life simply by human reason and knowledge. BUT WHEN IT COMES TO THE SALVATION OF HIS SOUL, HE MUST HAVE A POWER THAT IS BEYOND HUMAN REASON. THAT POWER IS PROVIDED IN THE DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation. IT IS GODS DIVINE SEAL. GOD, DESIRING TO SWEAR WITH AN OATH, COULD SWEAR BY NONE GREATER THAN HIMSELF, SO HE SEALED HIS PROMISE BY SIGNING HIS OATH IN HIS OWN BLOOD . . . THE BLOOD OF HIS SON UPON THE CROSS . . .
Conclusion
YOU SAY, I WANT SOME ASSURANCE . . . I WANT SOME AUTHORITY . . . I WANT SOME POWER BEHIND ANY PROMISES OF SALVATION. THERE IT IS IN THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST. His death was sufficient for your sins. His resurrection is power for your new life. The entire New Testament says it is so. YOU MAY BECOME A NEW CREATURE . . . YOU MAY HAVE YOUR SINS BLOTTED OUT. YOU MAY HAVE THE HOLY SPIRIT COME AND LIVE WITH YOU.
HOW DO YOU CONTACT THIS DEATH? By faith? YES, BUT MORE! For contacting His death comprehends all of our obedience. By simply repenting? YES, BUT MORE! By prayer? YES, BUT MORE! By making public confession of faith? YES, BUT MORE. IT IS FULL AND COMPLETE OBEDIENCE. Rom. 6:1-23 . . . We are baptized into his death; planted together with Him . . . Col. 2:1-23 . . . We are buried with Him in baptism. IT IS HERE THAT THE FINAL ACT IN OUR CONTACTING THE DEATH TAKES PLACE.
HOW DO YOU LOOK UPON THE CRUCIFIED ONE THIS EVENING? I pray with all my soul that you look with faith trusting and seeking to obey Him in all things. He has become the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him. Remember what He told Nicodemus. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up; that whosoever believeth may in him have eternal life. Joh. 3:13
YOU KNOW THE ACCOUNT OF THE ISRAELITES AND THE SERPENT OF BRONZE ON THE STAFF . . . THOSE BITTEN OF THE FIERY SERPENTS WERE CURED WHEN THEY LOOKED, IN FAITH AND OBEDIENCE, UPON THE BRONZE SERPENT LIFTED UP THERE IN THE WILDERNESS. BUT IF THEY DELAYED . . . PROCRASTINATED IN UNBELIEF, THEY DIED! (33) The place, which is called Calvary.On the place and name, see Note on Mat. 27:33. As a matter of translation, it would clearly have been better either to give the Greek form (Cranion), or its meaning (= skull) in English. The Vulgate, however, had given Calvarium, and that word had taken so strong a hold on mens minds, that it was apparently thought better, as in all the English versions, to retain it here. It is not without interest to note that the name which more than any other is associated with Protestant hymns and meditations on the atonement, should come to us from the Vulgate of the Latin Church.
141. TRANSACTIONS WHILE JESUS WAS ON THE CROSS UNTIL HE EXPIRED, Luk 23:33-46 .
See notes on Mat 27:35-50; Mar 15:24-37; Joh 19:18-30.
34. Said Jesus, Father The sacrifice is commenced, and at the same time the great INTERCESSION is inaugurated. The former renders the latter possible, and gives it prevalence. And the intercession is the voice which expresses the force and power of the
sacrifice. Father It is as Son he both atones and intercedes with the Father.
Forgive For the sacrifice which makes forgiveness possible is now being made.
For He is about to give the reason why the forgiveness now made possible should be bestowed. It is not that the sinner is innocent; for then no forgiveness would be needed: but it is, that such is the palliation, that their sin is within the range of pardon. They know not what they do Just in that proportion that this is the fact their case either reaches innocence, and so needs no pardon, or approaches it, and so is in reach of pardon. If a case exists, as, for instance, Caiaphas, of one who knows, without any ignorance, this is no prayer for him. If, like Pilate, any one knows not that he is killing the prince of life, but knows he is slaying an innocent man, his guilt, proportioned to his knowledge, is heinous but not beyond pardon upon repentance. And so they all perhaps knew not what they did to the full extent; but they knew too well what they did to some extent. The very crowd that cried Crucify him, and the soldiers that drove the nail, knew not all, but knew too much for their own innocence or for their own good.
And ignorance, to be an excuse, must be sincere and unavoidable; and it must be the ignorance of a will that would have done right had it known the truth. Error must not only be honest but honestly come by. And from all this we may well conclude, that our ignorance is so precarious an excuse that we do well not to look to our innocence for justification, but fling ourselves for pardon on the great sacrifice for sin.
It was argued by an acute Jew, that if Christ was truly Son of God his prayer would have been heard, and the Jews would not have been, as Christians admit they have been, punished for their sin. But this, like every other prayer, is offered on condition that its answer and fulfilment be in accordance with the divine order. (See notes on Mat 26:39; Mat 26:42.) It presents the sinner to God the Father as within the reach of pardon in view of Christ’s great sacrifice; it proffers that sacrifice in his death, and asks that pardon may be granted, in the resulting conditions of pardon. In order to that pardon, the sacrifice, the intercession, the Spirit of grace, and the sinner’s repentance and accepting faith, must all concur.
And this prayer from the human Jesus attains the utmost height of the moral sublime. If God were to become man, what could he do more godlike? If God were to blend in nature with man, to what purer, holier, higher manhood could he exalt our nature? Well did the French infidel, Rousseau, declare, “Socrates died like a philosopher, but Jesus Christ died like a God.”
33. Place called Calvary See note on Mat 27:33.
‘And when they came to the place which is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the evildoers, one on the right hand and the other on the left.’
And finally they reached a place, aptly named The Skull, where the soldiers placed the crosspiece on the ground nailed Jesus to it by His hands and feet (Joh 20:25; Col 2:14, and see Luk 24:40) and then attached the crosspiece crosswise over a longer beam and nailed them together. After that they lifted up the whole and dropped it with a thud into a hole in the ground, regardless of the consequences for the victim, or for the effects on His hands and feet. The same process would also be carried out on behalf of the two insurrectionists. The description stresses His reckoning with the transgressors. Then they would be left to a slow, lingering death, a spectacle for all to see, bearing the shame of being accursed by hanging on a tree (Deu 21:22-23; Gal 3:13). For the Jew it was the most dreadful of deaths both physically, and even moreso spiritually.
‘Called The Skull’. Matthew and Mark cite the Hebrew name, Golgotha. The Skull was probably the Greek name, possibly based on the shape of a hill or a mound in the vicinity. In a multi-lingual society different names would be given to places in a number of languages.
So Luke has traced the story of Jesus through from the moment of the announcing of the birth of John the Baptiser to the final crucifixion of Jesus, and it has now reached its lowest ebb. And in most life stories that would be the end. But for Jesus in His representative Manhood it was only the beginning. For Luke now closes off his Gospel with a message of hope, springing from the cross, expressed in the form of a final chiasmus, a chiasmus which leads from death to life, and which will result in the glorious triumphs of Acts. In the words of Jesus Himself, ‘Except a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides by itself alone, but if it die it brings forth much fruit’ (Joh 12:24).
Luk 23:33-34 . ] A Greek translation of , a skull , so named from its form . See on Mat 27:33 , and Ewald, Gesch. Chr. p. 485, who discovers in the name Golgotha the hill named Gareb in Jer 31:39 .
Luk 23:34 . In Jesus refers to His enemies , who indeed were the sinning subjects, not to the Roman soldiers (Michaelis, Paulus, Kuinoel, Ewald, Wittichen, following older commentators, and as early as in Euthymius Zigabenus), who discharged the office of executioners only involuntarily and morally uninterested therein; so that in their case there could be no allusion either to imputation or to forgiveness. The mockery of the soldiers (Paulus, Kuinoel, Bleek also) is in respect of the crucifixion purely an invention. But in respect of the crucifixion ( ) is the prayer uttered in which from the innermost heart of Jesus breathes the deepest love which regards the crime in the mildest light, not indeed removing, but extenuating [264] the guilt, as a result of the want of knowledge of the nature of the deed (for they were slaying the Messiah of the people, whom they, however, had not recognised as such), and consequently the deed was capable of forgiveness. Even this prayer is a relic of the Crucified One, which Luke alone has preserved for us from a written or oral source. In Act 3:17 ; Act 7:60 , its echo is heard. Comp. 1Co 2:8 , and the same prayer of the dying James in Eusebius, Luk 2:23 .
.] at the division.
(see the critical remarks): lots. Comp. on Mar 15:24 .
[264] Comp. J. Mller, v. d. Snde , I. p. 285; Schleiermacher, L. J. p. 453 f. Against the opinion of Buttmann in the Stud. u. Krit. 1860, p. 353, see Graf in the same, 1861, p. 749 ff.
33 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.
Ver. 33. Which is called Calvary ] As sad a sight to our Saviour, as the bodies of his slain wife and children were to Mauricius the emperor, who was soon after to be slain also by the command of the traitor Phocas. Let us learn to consider the tyranny and deformity of sin as often as we pass through churchyards and charnelhouses. Historians tell us that the way whereby Christ went bearing his cross to Calvary is to this day called The Dolorous Way.
There they crucified him ] Christ’s cross, with his naked and bloody body, being lift up on high, was let fall with violence into a mortise, that his joints were dissolved, said Origen to Alexander Severus the emperor.
33 49. ] THE CRUCIFIXION, MOCKING, LAST WORDS, AND DEATH OF JESUS. Mat 27:35-50 . Mar 15:24-37 . Joh 19:18-30 ; with however some particulars inserted which appear later in the other Gospels.
Luk 23:33-38 . Crucifixion (Mat 27:35-38 , Mar 15:24-27 ). , a skull, for the Hebrew in Mt. and Mk.
Luke
WORDS FROM THE CROSS
Luk 23:33 – Luk 23:46 The calm tone of all the narratives of the Crucifixion is very remarkable. Each Evangelist limits himself to the bare recording of facts, without a trace of emotion. They felt too deeply to show feeling. It was fitting that the story which, till the end of time, was to move hearts to a passion of love and devotion, should be told without any colouring. Let us beware of reading it coldly! This passage is more adapted to be pondered in solitude, with the thought, ‘All this was borne for me,’ than to be commented on. But a reverent word or two is permissible.
Luke’s account is noticeably independent of the other three. The three sayings of Christ’s, round which his narrative is grouped, are preserved by him alone. We shall best grasp the dominant impression which the Evangelist unconsciously had himself received, and sought to convey, by gathering the whole round these three words from the Cross.
I. The first word sets Jesus forth as the all-merciful Intercessor and patient friend of sinners.
Luke gathers all the details together in summary fashion, and piles them on one another without enlarging on any. The effect produced is like that of a succession of breakers beating on some lonely rock, or of blows struck by a battering-ram on a fortress.
‘They crucified Him,’-there is no need to say who ‘they’ were. Others than the soldiers, who did the work, did the deed. Contempt gave Him two malefactors for companions and hung the King of the Jews in the place of honour in the midst. Did John remember what his brother and he had asked? Matter-of-fact indifference as to a piece of military duty, and shameless greed, impelled the legionaries to cast lots for the clothes stripped from a living man. What did the crucifying of another Jew or two matter to them? Gaping curiosity, and the strange love of the horrible, so strong in the vulgar mind, led the people, who had been shouting Hosanna! less than a week ago, to stand gazing on the sight without pity but in a few hearts.
The bitter hatred of the rulers, and their inhuman glee at getting rid of a heretic, gave them bad preeminence in sin. Their scoff acknowledged that He had ‘saved others,’ and their hate had so blinded their eyes that they could not see how manifestly His refusal to use His power to save Himself proved Him the Son of God. He could not save Himself, just because He would save these scoffing Rabbis and all the world. The rough soldiers knew little about Him, but they followed suit, and thought it an excellent jest to bring the ‘vinegar,’ provided in kindness, to Jesus with a mockery of reverence as to a king. The gibe was double-barrelled, like the inscription over the Cross; for it was meant to hit both this Pretender to royalty and His alleged subjects.
And to all this Christ’s sole answer was the ever-memorable prayer. One of the women who bravely stood at the Cross must have caught the perhaps low-voiced supplication, and it breathed so much of the aspect of Christ’s character in which Luke especially delights that he could not leave it out. It opens many large questions which cannot be dealt with here. All sin has in it an element of ignorance, but it is not wholly ignorance as some modern teachers affirm. If the ignorance were complete, the sin would be nonexistent. The persons covered by the ample folds of this prayer were ignorant in very different degrees, and had had very different opportunities of changing ignorance for knowledge. The soldiers and the rulers were in different positions in that respect. But none were so entirely blind that they had no sin, and none were so entirely seeing that they were beyond the reach of Christ’s pity or the power of His intercession. In that prayer we learn, not only His infinite forgivingness for insults and unbelief levelled at Himself, but His exaltation as the Intercessor, whom the Father heareth always. The dying Christ prayed for His enemies; the glorified Christ lives to make intercession for us.
II. In the second saying Christ is revealed as having the keys of Hades, the invisible world of the dead.
At that moment the dying thief had clearer faith in Christ’s coming in His kingdom than any of the disciples had. Their hopes were crumbling as they watched Him hanging unresisting and gradually dying. But this man looked beyond the death so near for both Jesus and himself, and believed that, after it, He would come to reign. We may call him the only disciple that Christ then had.
How pathetic is that petition, ‘Remember me’! It builds the hope of sharing in Christ’s royalty on the fact of having shared in His Cross. ‘Thou wilt not forget Thy companion in that black hour, which will then lie behind us.’ Such trust and clinging, joined with such penitence and submission, could not go unrewarded.
From His Cross Jesus speaks in royal style, as monarch of that dim world. His promise is sealed with His own sign-manual, ‘Verily, I say.’ It claims to have not only the clear vision of, but the authority to determine, the future. It declares the unbroken continuance of personal existence, and the reality of a state of conscious blessedness, in which men are aware of their union with Him, the Lord of the realm and the Life of its inhabitants. It graciously accepts the penitent’s petition, and assures him that the companionship, begun on the Cross, will be continued there. ‘With Me’ makes ‘Paradise’ wherever a soul is.
III. The third word from the Cross, as recorded by Luke, reveals Jesus as, in the act of dying, the Master of death, and its Transformer for all who trust Him into a peaceful surrender of themselves into the Father’s hands.
But the centre-point of the section is the last cry which, in its loudness, indicated physical strength quite incompatible with the exhaustion to which death by crucifixion was generally due. It thus confirms the view which sees, both in the words of Jesus and in the Evangelist’s expression for His death, clear indications that He died, not because His physical powers were unable to live longer, but by the exercise of His own volition. He died because He chose, and He chose because He loved and would save. As St. Bernard says, ‘Who is He who thus easily falls asleep when He wills? To die is indeed great weakness, but to die thus is immeasurable power. Truly the weakness of God is stronger than men.’
Nor let us forget that, in thus dying, Jesus gave us an imitable example, as well as revealed inimitable power. For, if we trust ourselves, living and dying, to Him, we shall not be dragged reluctantly, by an overmastering grasp against which we vainly struggle, out of a world where we would fain stay, but we may yield ourselves willingly, as to a Father’s hand, which draws His children gently to His own side, and blesses them, when there, with His fuller presence.
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Luk 23:33-38
33When they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left. 34But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves. 35And the people stood by, looking on. And even the rulers were sneering at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One.” 36The soldiers also mocked Him, coming up to Him, offering Him sour wine, 37and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself!” 38Now there was also an inscription above Him, “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”
Luk 23:33
NASB, NRSV,
TEV, NJB,
NIV”The Skull”
NKJV”Calvary”
In Greek and English this is called “the cranium”; in Aramaic, “Golgatha”; in Latin, “calvaria.” The exact location and topological description of this site is uncertain. The term does not refer to the full skull, but just the forehead. It seems to be a low, bald hill located on at least one or possibly two major roads entering Jerusalem. Remember the purpose of capital punishment was the deterrence of further rebellion.
“there they crucified Him” The accounts of the crucifixion are not meant to solicit our sympathy, for the horror of Calvary was not in the physical pain, but in the spiritual rebellion of humanity that made it necessary (cf. Gen 3:15; Mar 10:45; 2Co 5:21).
Luk 23:34 The first part of Luk 23:34, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing,” is found in the Greek manuscripts cf8 i*,2, A, C, D2, L, and 0250. It is also found in the Greek manuscripts used by Marcion, the Diatessaron, Justin, Irenaeus, Clement, Origen, Eusebius, Chrysostoma, Jerome (Vulgate), and Augustine. It is omitted in P75, cf8 i1, B, D*, W, and 070. The UBS4 (1993) rates its omission as “A” (certain). The UBS3 (1975) rates its omission as “C” (difficulty in deciding). There is no parallel in the other Gospels. It is similar to Stephen’s last words in Act 7:60, which may be an allusion to these words of Jesus.
“And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves” This was the reward for the Roman soldiers. All of the condemned criminal’s belongings belonged to those who crucified them. It seems to fulfill the prophecy of Psa 22:18 (cf. Mat 27:35; Joh 19:24).
Luk 23:35 “even the rulers were sneering at Him” This also seems to be a fulfillment of Psa 22:6-8.
“He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One” We must remember that crucifixion, as viewed by First Century Judaism, was a curse from God (cf. Deut. 21:33). This is exactly why the Sanhedrin wanted Him crucified as a Messianic pretender.
“if” This is a First class conditional sentence, which is normally a way of asserting the truth of an assertion, but here it is used in sarcasm! All first class conditional sentences are not true to reality, but true from the author’s perspective or, as here, for the speakers’ (the rulers) purposes (mockery).
Luk 23:36 “offering Him sour wine” Jesus originally refused the drugged wine from the soldiers (cf. Mat 27:34; Mar 15:23), but later He accepted the sour cheap wine (oxos, cf. Joh 19:29). This was not a gesture of compassion from the soldiers, but a way to extend the agony of crucifixion and thereby amplify its deterrent effect. This is a fulfillment from the LXX of Psa 69:21, which also used oxos. I believe Jesus was so thirsty that He could not speak His last words for us to hear and, therefore, accepted the liquid. This is recorded in all four Gospels.
Luk 23:37 “if” This is another first class conditional used in mockery (cf. Luk 23:35).
Luk 23:38 “Now there was also an inscription above Him, ‘THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS'” John tells us it was in three languages (cf. Joh 19:20). Apparently Pilate did this to goad the Jewish leaders (cf. Joh 19:19-21). Usually the crime for which the person was being crucified was displayed above the head on the cross.
Some early Greek manuscripts add “written in three languages,” after “above Him” which comes from Joh 19:20. This phrase is omitted in P75, cf8 i1, B, L, and 070. The UBS4 committee rank its omission as “A” (certain).
to. Greek. epi. App-104.
Calvary is the Greek for the Hebrew Golgotha = a skull. Now called “a hill”. But see Conder’s Jerusalem, p. 80.
crucified. See App-162.
on = at. Greek. ek. App-104.
and the other = and one.
left. Greek. aristeros. Only here, Mat 6:3. 2Co 6:7. Not the same word as in Mat 27:38.
33-49.] THE CRUCIFIXION, MOCKING, LAST WORDS, AND DEATH OF JESUS. Mat 27:35-50. Mar 15:24-37. Joh 19:18-30; with however some particulars inserted which appear later in the other Gospels.
We have often read the story of our Saviours sufferings; but we cannot read it too often. Let us, therefore, once again repair to the place which is called Calvary. As we just now sang,
Come, let us stand beneath the cross;
So may the blood from out his side Fall gently on us drop by drop;
Jesus, our Lord is crucified.
We will read, first, Lukes account of our Lords crucifixion and death.
Luk 23:33. And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one of the right hand, and the other on the left.
They gave Jesus the place of dishonour. Reckoning him to be the worst criminal of the three, they put him between the other two. They heaped upon him the utmost scorn which they could give to a malefactor; and in so doing they unconsciously honoured him. Jesus always deserves the chief place wherever he is. In all things he must have the pre-eminence. He is King of sufferers as well as King of saints.
Luk 23:34. Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.
How startled they must have been to hear such words from one who was about to be put to death for a supposed crime! The men that drove the nails, the men that lifted up the tree, must have been started back with amazement when they heard Jesus talk to God as his Father, and pray for them: Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. Did ever Roman legionary hear such words before? I should say not. They were so distinctly and diametrically opposed to the whole spirit of Rome. There is was blow for blow; only in the case of Jesus they gave blows where none had been received. The crushing cruelty of the Roman must have been startled indeed at such words as these, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.
Luk 23:34. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots. And the people stood beholding.
The gambling soldiers little dreamed that they were fulfilling Scriptures while they were raffling for the raiment of the illustrious Sufferer on the cross; yet so it was. In the twenty-second Psalm, which so fully sets forth our Saviours sufferings, and which he probably repeated while he hung on the tree, David wrote, They parted my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture. And the people stood beholding, gazing, looking on the cruel spectacle. You and I would not have done that; there is a public sentiment which has trained us to hate the sight of cruelty, especially of deadly cruelty to one of our own race; but these people thought that they did no harm when they stood beholding. They also were thus fulfilling the Scriptures; for the seventeenth verse of the twenty-second Psalm says, They look and stare upon me.
Luk 23:35. And the rulers also with them derided him,
Laughed at him, made him the object of course jests.
Luk 23:35. Saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God. And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, and offering him vinegar.
In mockery, not giving it to him, as they did later in mercy; but in mockery, pretending to present him with weak wine, such as they drank.
Luk 23:37. And saying, If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself.
I fancy the scorn that they threw into their taunt: If thou be the king of the Jews; that was a bit of their own. Save thyself; that they borrowed from the rulers. Sometimes a scoffer or a mocker cannot exhibit all the bitterness that is in his heart except by using borrowed terms, as these soldiers did.
Luk 23:38. And a superscription also was written over him in the letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
John tells us that Pilate wrote this title, and that the chief priests tried in vain to get him to alter it. It was written in the three current languages of the time, so that the Greek, the Roman, and the Jew might alike understand who he was who was thus put to death. Pilate did not know as much about Christ as we do, or he might have written, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS, and OF THE GENTILES, TOO.
Luk 23:39. And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.
He, too, borrows this speech from the rulers who derided Christ, only putting the words and us as a bit of originality. If thou be the Christ, save thyself and us.
Luk 23:40. But the other answering rebuked him saying, Dost thou not fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.
A fine testimony to Christ: This man hath done nothing amiss; nothing unbecoming, nothing out of order, nothing criminal, certainly; but nothing even amiss. This testimony was well spoken by this dying thief.
Luk 23:42. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily, I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise. And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up his ghost.
He yielded his life. He did not die, as we have to do, because our appointed time has come, but willingly the great Sacrifice parted with his life: He gave up the ghost. He was a willing sacrifice for guilty men. Now let us see what John says concerning these hours of agony, these hours of triumph.
This exposition consisted of readings from Luk 23:33-46; Joh 19:25-30
Luk 23:33. , Calvary [the place of a skull]) In topographies the nomenclature is often derived from the parts of the human body.
And when
For order of events at the crucifixion, (See Scofield “Mat 26:20”) See Scofield “Mat 27:33”
The first note refers to the events of the night preceding; the second, the day of the event.
when: Mat 27:33, Mat 27:34, Mar 15:22, Mar 15:23, Joh 19:17, Joh 19:18, Heb 13:12, Heb 13:13
Calvary: or, the place of a skull
they crucified: Luk 24:7, Deu 21:23, Psa 22:16, Zec 12:10, Mat 20:19, Mat 26:2, Mar 10:33, Mar 10:34, Joh 3:14, Joh 12:33, Joh 12:34, Joh 18:32, Act 2:23, Act 5:30, Act 13:29, Gal 3:13, 1Pe 2:24
Reciprocal: Deu 11:29 – General Deu 21:22 – thou hang Isa 53:12 – and he was Mat 27:38 – General Mar 15:27 – General
THE GREEN HILL FAR AWAY
There they crucified Him.
Luk 23:33
There is a green hill far away, Without a city wall. Yes; such a spot there is, at a little distance from the northern wall of Jerusalem. It is a hill, low and broad, but with a steep face towards the city, and conspicuous by its position. It is a green hill, at least during the months when the former and latter rains gladden the Judean highlands; and it is kept green, kept free from the invasion of buildings, secular or ecclesiastical, by the simple but effectual defence of a sprinkling of Moslem tombs over the summit.
Here it is at least abundantly possible that the dear Lord was crucified, Who died to save us all.
I. A great spiritual force can be conveyed, by the grace of the Spirit, through a very simple and prosaic recollection of locality and fact.Let just that reflection possess you for the moment: they crucified Him here. Somewhere in this hard mass was cut the place for the Cross. Somewhere on this firm ground was our Lord Jesus Christ extended along the wood, and fastened down upon it with huge nails, limb by limb, and then the whole ponderous structure with its Burden was heaved into position. This air, so quiet now, was busy once with the hum and with the harsh insults of the bystanders. Over this area once came down that deepest darkness, far deeper than Egyptian, that has ever loaded earth. Out of the midst of it, here, came once the most mysteriously dreadful cry that man has ever listened tothose four Aramaic words, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani. Here resounded the loud voice, Tetelestai,It is finished. Here the Son of God and Man passed through the act of death, saw death, tasted death. It was even here.
II. Let us carry our theology of salvation then to this site. Let it be, by the grace of God, a full theology. Let nothing of the massive grandeur of our fathers faith be left out. Let ours be no vague tenet of salvation by Incarnation only, or of an agony which has little to do but to effect (who shall say how?) the suasion of the human will. Let us confess the old faith of Christ Crucified; the faith of Sacrifice, Oblation, and Satisfaction; the redemption of our guilty persons from the curse of a broken law by the Lord Christs being made a curse for us. Let us go deep, by His grace, into the awfulness of the truths which gather round Atonement; let us ponder the dread greatness of the need, the exceeding sinfulness of sin in view of the commandment; the unspeakable guiltiness of our I will not, if even once only it had contradicted Gods Thou oughtest; the incalculable retribution called down, drawn down, upon the sinners head by that contradiction. Let us pray and cry for conviction of sin as guilt, and let us dwell deep in that solemn experience, so far as we can bear it.
III. And then let us go high, by the grace of God, into the radiant gifts and promises which make the eternal rainbow round the Cross.Let us honour the Lamb of the Sacrifice, not by fearing and shrinking to take the hard-won cup of blessings which He brings us, but by taking it without hesitation and delay, by clasping it with hands which are bold to know that it is indeed within them, and by drinking it heartily, praising God, and keeping the feast with thanksgivings every day. Let us take the Lords death here and now for our emancipation, ease, joy, and victory. Let us see in it no mere example, nor let us (with a mistake more subtle, because yet more closely akin to great and elevating truths) misread it as if it were endured only that we might somehow be enabled (by sympathy? by assimilation?) to agonise for others. Let us exult in it as the propitiation for our sins, the repose of our consciences, the opening of our prison, the death of our fears, the unlocking for us now of the gates of a present Paradise and a coming glory. Let it prepare us to serve and suffer for others, first and most by assuring us that for us, in Christ Jesus, there is no condemnation; all our suffering, as due to sinners at the bar, is put away, annulled, exhausted, for He has taken our load off upon His sacred head; by His stripes we are healed.
Let this be our faith, our teaching, as it was that of Paul, and Augustine, and Anselm, and Bernard, and Huss, and Luther, and Hooker, and Bunyan before us. Substitutes for this are poor things, however subtle in thought, however eloquent in presentation. They may sound loud, but it is a loud falsetto, to ears that have heard indeed the voice of the old truth, The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all; By grace ye have been saved; Worthy is the Lamb that was slain.
Bishop H. C. G. Moule.
Illustrations
(1) A few years ago some people held an open-air service on a village green in a remote corner of Cambridgeshire, a hamlet where, as it happened, the peasants had been left for a very long time without religious ministry. One of the evangelists had recently visited Palestine; he mentioned, in the course of an earnest address on the Lords saving work, that a few weeks back he had stood upon the probable place of the Crucifixion. That open-air was permitted, in the mercy of God, to produce a great spiritual impression on the people. And it transpired afterwards that nothing had so arrested and stirred the hearts of the ploughboys and shepherds as this allusion to Calvary as to a real place, which people might really visita bit of this solid earth, quite as concrete as their own: village green. They felt, with a strange movement of the soul, that this made salvation no longer mere talk to them, but fact.
(2) The late Dr. John Duncan, of Edinburgh, who, near the close of his remarkable career, passed from traditional orthodoxy down to pantheism, and up again (through conviction of sin) to an orthodoxy full of the living God, lamented that he had not studied the gospel narratives with quite the same care which he had eagerly spent upon the developed revelation of the epistles. I ought to have thought more, he said, or said words to that effect, about His decease which He accomplished at Jerusalem. He was conscious that he had run a certain risk, even in the glad and worshipping study of the truths of salvation, by not sufficiently keeping them in vital cohesion with the facts of the saving work. He had been in danger of letting them rise and float too far above him, like glorious clouds, by not continually remembering that there they crucified Him.
The Crucifixion
Luk 23:33-46
INTRODUCTORY WORDS
We feel it would not be fitting for us to study the scenes of the Cross itself, without spending a few moments in considering Christ’s Gethsemane experience, and the trial before Pilate; therefore we are speaking on these things as the approach to the study proper,
1. In agony He prayed. Can we consider the experience of Christ, as He entered the garden of Gethsemane and agonized in prayer, without being moved in our souls?
Into the garden He went, bowed down with sorrow, forespent. He went, carrying our sorrows and sins; He went, soon to pour out His soul unto death. He knew that the powers of hell were taking hold upon Him; He knew that He was about to pay the price of our redemption. Thus, He sought the Father’s face, and thus He prayed.
2. In sorrow the three disciples slept. What strange forebodings cast their gloom upon the erstwhile faithful three! They would have watched while their Master prayed, but their flesh gave way. They became heavy with sleep. Sorrow weakened their resistance.
Peter, but a while before, had boasted his unyielding fidelity. The Lord now, with tenderness, reproved him, saying, “Could ye not watch with me one hour?” We must not unkindly criticise those who slept while Christ prayed on. We are too prone ourselves to sleep. There is, to be sure, a time for rest; but that time is not in the hour of supreme testing, when the enemy is fast hemming us in for the conflict.
3. In folly Judas kissed his Lord. Judas was of that wicked one; he was a devil; however, not one of the Twelve supposed him so. Perhaps Judas did not himself know the depths of his own villainy. He was about to discover the utter depravity of his own self-centered, money-loving soul.
As Judas did his shameful deed, and as he heard the words of Christ, “Judas, betrayest thou the Son of Man with a kiss?” a sense of the heinousness of his heart overwhelmed him. He went to cast the ill-obtained silver at the feet of the rulers, and then he went and hanged himself.
4. In madness the leaders of the Jews led Christ to the judgment. As Christ stood before those who sought to apprehend Him, He berated them thus: “Be ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and staves?”
What consummate madness! Shall men fight God? Shall the created, contemn the Creator? Shall the one formed, raise up his heel against the One who formed him?
It is still true that no work against the Lord can prosper. God will have ultimate triumph; Satan will ultimately be put down and cut off.
As it was, Christ arose on the third day a Victor over all His foes. He is now seated, exalted, far above all principalities and powers.
I. THE PLACE CALLED CALVARY (Luk 23:33)
The Lord Jesus, according to verse thirty-three, was taken to a place called Calvary, where they crucified Him. The word “Calvary,” was a word of odium. It stood for a place of dead men’s bones (Golgotha). Christ came along, touched the hill; spilled His Blood upon its crest, and now the word “Calvary,” stands for all that is dearest to the Christian’s heart. Where is he who does not love to sing of “Calvary, blest Calvary; ’twas there my Saviour died for me”?
1. Calvary was a place of dead men’s bones. This is most significant. It implies that Christ took the sinner’s punishment, died in the sinner’s stead. That upon Him all of the ignominy and the shame of our iniquity was placed. He was made sin for us, who knew no sin. God laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
2. Calvary became a place of life to every believing soul. It was the touch of His Blood, His death, that quickened us. He was raised up on the hill of Calvary, as the serpent was raised upon the pole. It is to Him that we look and are saved.
II. CRUCIFIED BETWEEN THE THIEVES (Luk 23:33, l.c.)
1. Christ in the midst of the thieves. Between two thieves they nailed the Lord of Glory. “He was numbered with the transgressors.”
Our mind goes back to the birth of Christ: “And she brought forth her firstborn Son, * * and laid Him in a manger.” There He lay, the Son of God, in the midst of the cattle: a seeming prophecy that He was to lie, in death, in the midst of the scum of men.
2. Christ in the midst of the disciples. The same One who hung between two thieves, “in the midst,” after His resurrection stood “in the midst” of the disciples as they were gathered together in the upper room. What a change! From the midst of the dying, from the midst of those who circled His Cross wagging their heads against Him, and railing upon Him like ravening wolves, Jesus passed to the midst of the Eleven, who loved Him and trusted Him.
He who was in the midst of the wicked saving, and bearing the sinners’ sins, now stood in the midst of the disciples, a risen and glorified Lord, comforting, and encouraging them.
3. Christ in the midst of His churches. The One who was in the midst on the Cross, and in the midst in His resurrection glory, is now in the midst of His Churches. This time, according to Rev 1:1-20, He is in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, clothed with priestly raiment, and girt about the breasts ready for service. It is still true that where two or three are gathered together in His Name, He is in the midst.
4. Christ in the midst of the throne. How vast the change from the midst of the crosses, where they crucified Him! We shall yet behold Him in the midst of the throne, being worshiped, and honored by the four living ones, the four and twenty elders, and the innumerable host of angels. And what is the theme of their praise as Christ stands in the midst? They are praising the Lamb who was slain. Thus it is that the picture of Christ in the midst of the thieves, and of the mocking populace, is changed to Christ in the midst of the Heavenly host.
III. THEY STOOD BEHOLDING (Luk 23:35)
Verse thirty-five is most significant: “And the people stood beholding.” Some were there who beheld with a look of tender love, mixed with dark forebodings. Others were there wagging their heads, and crying out against the suffering Saviour. All stood beholding.
1. The ones who look on that sight with the eye of faith.
The eye of faith sees in the Cross a substitutionary sacrifice. It sees that Christ’s death was not the same as that of the ones who died along with Him. Both of the thieves had sin in them, and were paying the wages of transgressors. But there was no one who found any sin against Christ. He knew no sin, and did no sin. For whose sins then did He die? God laid on Him the iniquity of us all. It was our transgressions which He bore.
2. Those who look on that sight with the eye of ridicule. Here is one who cries out: “The Blood of Jesus Christ has no more value than the blood of cock robin.” He acknowledges the Son of God as no more than a martyr. He claims that He died a helpless victim to high ideals. He may admire the courage of Christ, but He denies and ridicules the saving efficacy of His Blood. Let us ask each one, What is the meaning of the Cross to you? Do you see upon Calvary a Saviour, or do you repudiate the redemptive work of the Son of God?
IV. THE SUPERSCRIPTION (Luk 23:38)
Over the Lord’s head were written the words: “This is the King of the Jews.” The rulers of the Jews asked Pilate to change the writing to “He said, I am King of the Jews.” However Pilate demurred, saying, “What I have written I have written.” Pilate’s convictions seemed to give credence to the fact that Christ was indeed King, although a King rejected. We tarry only to remind you that Christ shall yet be crowned King of the Jews. He who wore the crown of thorns shall yet wear the crown of David’s kingdom.
1. The superscription signified Israel’s rejection of Christ as King. The fact is that when the rulers of the Jews asked Pilate to change the writing, they insinuated that Christ’s Kingship was a false claim.
Christ, who was, and is the destined King of Israel, was crucified as King of the Jews.
2. The superscription portrayed the most tremendous fact relative to Israel’s national hope. He who was crucified King of the Jews will come again; not only as King of the Jews, but as King of kings.
V. THE CRY OF THE THIEVES (Luk 23:39-43)
1. The personal plea of the second thief. At first both thieves maligned Him; afterward one of them prayed that the Lord might remember him, when He came into His Kingdom.
The Lord Jesus said to the second thief, “To day shalt thou be with me in Paradise.” This scene carries with it. two great lessons. First, the value of short prayers. Second, the willingness of the Saviour to save the vilest of the vile, under the most trying circumstances.
2. The far-reaching meaning of the joint plea of the thieves. Luke tells us that one of the thieves cried: “If thou be Christ, save Thyself and us.” At the first, however, both of the thieves made this same plea.
Had He come down from the Cross, He might physically have brought the two thieves down with Him; but He could not have done what they asked in its deeper meaning. They said, “Save Thyself and us.” If He had saved Himself there would have been no basis upon which He could have saved us. Our salvation is wholly dependent upon His death on the Cross.
VI. THE DARKNESS OF THE CROSS (Luk 23:44-45)
We read that from the sixth unto the ninth hour, there was darkness over all the land. That darkness bespeaks our light. It also bespeaks the eternal sorrow, sadness, and sighing, that shall come to those who spurn the Lord Jesus and turn away from the Light of Life. To the wicked there is reserved “the blackness of darkness forever.” Let us note these two things, one at a time.
1. The darkness of the cross ensures our light. The Bible says, “The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.” Then we read: “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.”
With the fiat of His lips God commanded the darkness to disappear and the light to shine.
Quite another story, however, follows the darkness which sin brought upon the earth, and into the hearts of men.
The first chapter of John speaks of spiritual darkness, and of the light that shone in the darkness. That Jesus Christ was the Light we know; that sinners dwell in darkness we know. Could Christ the Light, then, by the fiat of His mouth, say, “Let there be light,” and thus, apart from His dying, how saved the sinners from their present darkness, and the darkness that is reserved unto the damned forever? This was impossible.
In order to bring light, Christ Himself had to enter into the darkness. Therefore, as He hung upon the Tree, God hid His face, and darkness shrouded the land. As that darkness passed away, and once more the Lord Jesus saw His Father’s face, He led us with Him in the train of His triumph.
We, too, have passed by faith, with Him, from darkness into light. We are bound for a city whose darkness shall never come.
2. The darkness of the Cross bespeaks the eternal darkness which awaits those who reject the calvary work of Christ. To the wicked is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. Whatever hell may be, and whatever the lake of fire may hold, this much is true: if Christ, as He bore our place and suffered in our stead, passed into darkness; then, those who reject that Christ will never know the light.
He who spared not His Son, but freely delivered Him up for us all, that we might have light and life, will of a certainty not spare the sinner who rejects the Saviour.
VII. THE SAVIOUR’S CRY (Luk 23:46)
The last verse tells us that when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, He said, “Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit: and having said thus, He gave up the ghost.”
This last cry of our Lord’s was a cry of an accomplished task, and of a victorious consummation. This last cry demonstrated that the Father who had hid His face from the Son, had not turned from Him forever, but had received Him and accepted His Calvary work.
1. The accomplished task. Finished-what was finished?
(1) Redemption was finished. All was done that had to be done to insure a possible salvation. There is nothing left for the sinner to do. If ought had been left undone, the lost would still be hopeless, and helpless in their lost estate.
The sinner may come and accept a completed Calvary work.
(2) Christ’s agony was finished. He offered one sacrifice, in the end of the age. He has forever passed the plane of suffering for sin, and in the sinner’s behalf.
Christ will come back to earth again; but He will come apart from sin, apart from any sacrifice for sin. He will come to reign.
2. An accepted sacrifice. Jesus commended His spirit unto the Father. After His resurrection He ascended to the Father. Now He sits exalted at the right hand of the Father.
What does all of this mean to us? It means that we have, in Calvary, a God-approved and a God-acknowledged redemption.
AN ILLUSTRATION
With tears in her eyes, a woman beckoned to a worker, and as he came near she requested the singing of the hymn, “There Is Power in the Blood.” It was no easy task for her to make herself understood, for she had not fully recovered from a goitre operation. “Our singers have passed on to another ward, but I’ll sing it for you,” replied the worker, and in a subdued baritone voice he sang it.
Her lips formed the words, but produced no sound. The lines of anguish that had disfigured and marred her, disappeared and her face became beautiful. It shone and gave expression to indescribable joy and peace that reflected her heart’s contentment and her reposal in the Crucified One, the Lover of her soul. Heaven’s benediction that shone forth in her face should have been a sufficient reply to the question that the worker asked her.
“Do you believe that the Blood of Jesus Christ cleanses you from all sin, and that it is well with your soul?”
Smilingly and audibly she said, “I do believe.”
Evidently she had considered, discovered and appropriated the truth contained in Paul’s statement: “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Rom 8:18).-Ernest A. Eggers.
3
Calvary is explained at length at Mat 27:33.
Luk 23:33. Skull. Comp. the Hebrew Golgotha (Matthew, Mark, and John), which also means this. Calvary is of kindred meaning, but taken from the Latin version. The name probably arose from a resemblance to a skull in the shape of the slight elevation where the crosses were placed. Mount Calvary is an erroneous expression. It could scarcely have been the usual place of execution (see on Mat 27:33). There is even now no special place of execution in Jerusalem.
2 d. Luk 23:33-38. Is the spot where Jesus was crucified that which is shown for it at the present day in the enclosure of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre? The question does not seem yet decided. Though this place is now within the city enclosure, it might not have been so then.
The name place of the skull (skull, in Hebrew , H1653, in Aramaic , from , H1670, to roll) does not come from the skulls of the condemned which remained lying there; this would require the plural: the place of skulls; besides, unburied bones would not have been left there. The name is rather to be traced to the bare rounded form of the hill.
Matthew and Mark relate here that Jesus refused the stupifying draught which was offered Him. According to Mark, it was aromatic wine; according to Matthew, vinegar mingled with gall.
Of the seven sayings which Jesus uttered on the cross, the first three refer to the persons surrounding Him
His enemies, His companion in punishment, and those whom He loves most tenderly, His mother and His friend; they are, as it were, His will. The three which follow: My God, my God,…; I thirst; it is finished, refer to His sufferings and the work which is being finished; the first two, to the sufferings of His soul and of His body; the third, to the result gained by this complete sacrifice. Finally, the seventh and last: Father, into Thy hands…, is the cry of perfect confidence from His expiring heart in its utmost weakness. Three of those seven sayings, all three words of grace and faith, are related by Luke, and by him only.
The prayer of Luk 23:34 is wanting in some MSS. This omission is probably the result of accident; for the oldest translations, as well as the great majority of MSS., guarantee its authenticity; and the appeal of the thief for the grace of Jesus, a few moments later, cannot be well explained, except by the impression produced on him by the hearing of this filial invocation.
The persons for whom this prayer is offered cannot be the Roman soldiers, who are blindly executing the orders which they have received; it is certainly the Jews, who, by rejecting and slaying their Messiah, are smiting themselves with a mortal blow (Joh 2:19). It is therefore literally true, that in acting thus they know not what they do. The prayer of Jesus was granted in the forty years’ respite during which they were permitted, before perishing, to hear the apostolic preaching. The wrath of God might have been discharged upon them at the very moment.
The casting of the lot for the garments of Jesus (Luk 23:34) belongs to the same class of derisiv actions as those related Luk 23:35 et seq. By this act the prisoner became the sport of his executioners. The garment of the cruciarii belonged to them, according to the Roman law. Every cross was kept by a detachment of four soldiers, a (Act 12:4). The plural , lots, is taken from the parallels. The lot was twice drawn, first for the division of the four nearly equal parts into which the garments of Jesus were divided (cloak, cap, girdle, sandals), then for His robe or tunic, which was too valuable to be put into one of the four lots.
The word , beholding (Luk 23:35), does not seem to indicate a malevolent feeling; it rather forms a contrast with what follows. The words , with them, must be rejected from the text. The meaning of the term, the chosen of God, is, that the Christ is He on whose election rests that of the entire people.
The mockeries of the soldiers apply to Jewish royalty in itself, more than to Jesus personally (Joh 19:5; Joh 19:14-15). It has often been thought that the wine which the soldiers offered to Jesus was that which had been prepared for themselves (, a common wine); but the sponge and the rod of hyssop which are on the spot leave no doubt that it was intended to allay the sufferings of the prisoners. It was perhaps the same draught which had been offered to them at the beginning of the crucifixion. The soldiers pretend to treat Jesus as a king, to whom the festive cup is presented. Thus this derisive homage is connected with the ironical inscription (not in regard to Jesus, but in regard to the people) placed on the cross (Luk 23:38). It is this connection of ideas which is expressed by the , there also was. By this inscription, so humbling to the Jews, Pilate took vengeance for the degrading constraint to which they had subjected him by forcing him to execute an innocent man. The mention of the three languages is an interpolation taken from John.
THE CRUCIFIXION
Mat 27:35-38; Luk 23:33-38; Joh 19:18-24; Mar 15:24-28. And it was the third hour, and they crucified Him. Here you see the bloody work of death began at 9 A.M., and they remained on the cross till 3 P.M. And they crucify along with Him two thieves; the one on His fight, and the one on His left. And the Scripture was fulfilled, saying, He was numbered with the transgressors. Thus the high priests maneuvered to do their utmost to cover Him with ineffaceable disgrace, having Him crucified between two robbers. N.B. If you would follow Him up to heaven, you must go with Him to Gethsemane, and there give up all the world, your will sinking away into the Divine. Then you must go with Him to Calvary, and be crucified between two robbers; i. e., if you would get sanctified, you may expect the people to pronounce you a thief robber, or some other vile reprobate. They will so misunderstand and misjudge you as to identify you with the worst people. All this you must bear patiently and unmurmuringly, like Jesus, if you are going up to live with Him in heaven.
Luk 23:34. And Jesus said, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they are doing. How true! If those preachers had known that they were killing their own Christ, they would not have done it for a million of worlds. They were so blinded by the devil that they did not know what they were doing. So have the people claiming to be Gods elect slaughtered about two hundred millions of Gods people. They killed them all under criminal charges, believing them to be bad people. What is the solution of this wonderful mystery? Satan, as in the case of the Jews when they crucified Jesus, had so deluded them as to make them follow him, thinking he is God. Amid these delusions, are the people inculpatory? Certainly they are. Having rejected the light and believed Satans lies, they have drifted into the awful dilemma where they call evil good, and good evil.
Joh 19:23-24. Then the soldiers, when they crucified Jesus, took His garments, and divided them into four parts, a part for each soldier; also His tunic. For the tunic was seamless, woven from the top throughout. Then they said to one another, Let us not tear it, but gamble for it, whose it shall be; in order that the Scriptures may be fulfilled, saying, They parted My garments among themselves, and upon My vesture they did cast the lot. Indeed, then, the soldiers did these things. Roman law gave the garments of the crucified to the quaternion, consisting of four soldiers, who took charge of each criminal and executed the bloody work. In that day, when there were no factories, clothing was not only very valuable, but quite scarce. The vesture or tunic was the inner garment, and, as you see here, it was seamless throughout, beautifully illustrating the absolute unity of the true Church, the body of Christ, the divisions all having been made by Satan, and, so far as they go, represent the Satanic phase of the true Church. The soldiers having divided all of His other garments, now recognized this seamless vesture, and concluded that it will spoil it to tear it into pieces; consequently they agreed to settle the ownership by a game of dice. O that all religious people could only have the gumption of these heathen barbarians, and see that they can not divide up the Church of Christ without serious detriment! Luk 23:38 : And the superscription was written over Him in Greek, Roman, and Hebrew letters, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. Roman law claimed pre-eminent justice in all things. Consequently the crime for which every culprit was crucified was written on the cross over his head, so the multitudes could all read it and know the reason why he suffered this awful death. Though the Jews had condemned Him for blasphemy, they could not use that charge against Him under Roman administration, as their law knew no such a crime. Though both Pilate and Herod had positively vetoed the charge of treason against Caesar which the Jews tried so hard to get them to recognize, yet in the finale, Pilate had it written over Him simply to fill a vacancy, as he had nothing else. As you pass by Roman Catholic cemeteries and churches, you frequently see a cross, superscribed I.N.R.I. This is an abbreviation of Jesus Nasarenus Rex Judaeorum, Jesus of Nazereth, King of the Jews.
These are the very words which were superscribed on the cross above the head of Jesus, in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, the language of religion, learning, and law, for the convenience of all the multitudes, as they could all find it out from these three languages.
Joh 19:20-21. Then many of the Jews read this title; because the place was near the city where Jesus was crucified. Calvary overlooks the city, the prominence rising only about one hundred yards from the north wall, the Jericho road running between, and then the hill about one hundred yards more to its summit, which is somewhat level on top, uniformly and gradually descending, actually resembling a human, skull, for which it is named, and is the most conspicuous place about Jerusalem, lying in the angle of the two most important roads i. e., those leading to Damascus and Jericho in harmony with the Roman policy of crucifying criminals in the most conspicuous places. I emphasize these, specifications because the Greek, Roman, and all other Oriental Churches, locate Calvary some distance within the present wall of the city, where there is no mountain, but rather a subsidence, between Zion and Akra, within the great Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which has stood there since the days of Constantine, the most magnetic pilgrim-resort in all the Holy Land, as they believe that Jesus there laid down His life to save a guilty world. I believe they are mistaken as to the location of Calvary; and this lonely hill, outside of the wall, for more than a thousand years a Moslem cemetery, is, beyond doubt, the true Calvary. You remember that the Romans utterly destroyed the city, A. D. 73, verifying the prophecy of Jesus, leaving it utterly desolate fifty years. Then the Emperor Adrian went there, and founded a Roman colony, using the ruins to rebuild the city, calling it Elia Capitolina, thus even burying the name Jerusalem in (as they supposed). hopeless oblivion. So two hundred years rolled away during the nonexistence of Jerusalem, this Roman city occupying the site. When the Emperor Constantine was converted to Christianity, A. D. 325, he and his royal mother, Queen Helena, came to this sacred spot, revived and rebuilt the city, and restored the heaven-born name, Jerusalem. During these three hundred years there were no people there who knew the sacred places. Hence the confusion with reference to the locations. For an exhaustive elucidation of this matter, see Footprints of Jesus.
Then the high priest of the Jews said to Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews; but that He said, I am the King of the Jews. Pilate responded, What I have written, I have written. In Oriental dialect, this is the very strongest negative, bluntly and stubbornly muttered out by the impatient proconsul. The truth of the matter is, they had browbeaten Pilate from the beginning, and run over him like a dog. Fearful of official depreciation, deposition, arraignment before the emperor, and untold humiliation, with which the high priests and elders threatened him, despite all his protestation of the innocence of Jesus, and the diversity of stratagems to which he resorted for His release, they treated all his efforts with utter contempt; having yielded to their imperious clamors again and again, and finally, though with the utmost reluctance, signed His death-warrant, and, pursuant to the Roman custom, superscribed the only accusation they had brought against Him on the cross above His head, Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews, and still they are dissatisfied and clamored for a change, his patience broke down, and he positively and abruptly refused. No wonder Pilate refused to change that writing. He could not change it; Jesus is King of tile Jews, and will be forever. In coming eternity, as well as through the bright millennial centuries, when God will honor the patriarch and prophets, the elect custodians of His Revealed Oracles, amid a world of darkness and sin, Jesus will be King of the Jews forever, encumbering and honoring the Theocratic throne of David.
Luk 23:33-43. The Crucifixion (Mar 15:22-32*, Mat 27:33-44*).
Luk 23:34. Though not found in the best MSS. (cf. Luk 22:43 f.), this may be a piece of genuine Gospel tradition, and certainly represents the spirit of Jesus. Cf. p. 669 and Act 7:60. The prayer includes Romans and Jews alike.
Luk 23:36 seems to combine Mar 15:23 and Mar 15:36. The discrimination between the two criminals (Dysmas and Gestus according to the Latin Acts of Pilate) executed with Jesus is peculiar to Lk.
Luk 23:40. Does not even fear (of God, before whom you and He are about to appear) hold you back from this new sin of mocking Gods anointed?
Luk 23:42. in thy kingdom, or with thy kingdom, i.e. when Thou comest to reign.
Luk 23:43. Paradise, lit. a garden with fruit trees, e.g. Eden; hence a region of heaven regarded by the later Jews as in or just above the third heaven (2Co 12:2; 2Co 12:4). The suppliant receives more than he asks; this very day he shall have the society of Jesus in a realm of joy and peace.
23:33 {9} 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.
(9) Christ became accursed for us upon the cross, suffering the punishment which the ones who would belong to God deserved.
2. Jesus’ death 23:33-49
The parts of this section of Luke’s Gospel that are unique are Jesus’ prayer for His enemies (Luk 23:34), the dialogue with the criminals (Luk 23:39-43), and Jesus’ prayer of self-sacrifice to the Father (Luk 23:46). Thus Luke presented Jesus as the forgiving Savior even in His death.
The mockery of Jesus’ crucifixion 23:33-38 (cf. Matthew 27:33-43; Mark 15:22-32; John 19:18-24)
Luke alone called the site of Jesus’ crucifixion "the place called the skull" (Gr. kranion) rather than referring to it by its Aramaic name, Golgotha, and then translating it. This was undoubtedly an accommodation to his Gentile readers. The name of the place was obviously appropriate to the occasion.
"This name was probably taken from the fact that this was the place where people were killed in public execution rather than from the skull-like appearance on the side of the hill on which He was crucified." [Note: M. Bailey, p. 150.]
Jesus’ central position among the three symbolized His centrality in the event and His proximity to all sinners.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
I.
II. THE NATURE OF CHRISTS SUFFERINGS–THEY CRUCIFIED HIM.
III. THE COMPANY IN WHICH HE SUFFERED: THEY CRUCIFIED WITH HIM TWO MALEFACTORS, ONE ON THE RIGHT HAND, AND THE OTHER ON THE LEFT.
I. The first word of the text may be looked upon as furnishing us with the first count of this indictment against man. IT SUPPLIES LOCALITY, FIXES THE SCENE OF THE DREADFUL TRAGEDY AS HERE UPON EARTH. There they crucified Him. The place where the commonest criminals were led out to die a lingering death. Earth has her mysteries, and this is one of them. The mystery of iniquity culminates here. It has lifted up its impious hands against God.
II. The second word of the text furnishes us with a further point in the indictment, as indicating HUMAN AGENCY. There they crucified Him. The actors in this eventful drama were men, those among whom Christ had wrought His miracles and exercised His pure and beneficent ministry.. And it was a typical act–such an act as man perpetrates every day. Envy, hatred, indifference, nailed Christ to the tree; and while these exist in the heart, what spirit shall stand excused?
III. The third word of the text may be looked upon as enforcing the indictment, since it implies A DEFINITE AND DELIBERATE ACT. There they crucified Him. What hardness and callousness of heart was exhibited here! It was necessary that sin should show its exceeding sinfulness, once and for all, truly detestable that it might be detested, heinous and black as perdition, that even our sinful spirits might shrink back in awe and trembling. For this is what all sin is tending to: contempt and callousness at the sight of suffering worth, scorn of innocence, hatred of a purity which condemns our darker deeds, rejection of God Himself if His claims interfere with our selfish schemes.
IV. The final and hopeful word of the text sheds a light upon this indictment, as indicating A DIVINE REDEEMER WORKING AMID ALL. There they crucified Him. Strangely enough, it is the Victim Himself who invests all else with worth, and makes the contemplation of such a deed alone profitable to us. When Socrates entered into prison, they said of it that it was a prison no longer; the dishonour and the infamy had passed away in the presence of such resplendent worth. So, but more memorably, it is at the cross. The place is nothing; the actors sink into insignificance; and of the act itself we care nothing, save as it stands associated with Him. There is a law of compensation in all things. Bend the bough of the giant oak for a moment, and it springs back with a momentum proportionate to its strength. And so it is with this Divine One who has bent before the strong blast of the adversary, for of Him it is written, I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto Me. (Walter Baxendale.)
I. Remember that JESUS HAD THE CHANCE OF BEING LIFTED UP AS A MONARCH ALREADY, AND HAD DECLINED IT.
II. Understand that JESUS WAS TO BE LIFTED UP AS A SACRIFICE FOR SIN; hence, lifted on a cross, not on a throne.
III. Recollect that THE FINAL GLORY OF JESUS CHRIST WILL BE TO BE LIFTED UP AS THE SON OF GOD AND THE PRINCE OF LIFE.
I. WE PROPOSE TO NOTICE THE CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER WHICH THE CRUCIFIXION OF OUR LORD JESUS WAS PERFORMED.
II. THE CONNECTION WHICH THE CRUCIFIXION OF THE LORD JESUS HAS WITH THE COUNSELS OF DIVINE MERCY AND THE WELFARE OF THE HUMAN RACE. Here there are three important facts to be noticed.
III. THE PRACTICAL VIEWS IN WHICH THE CRUCIFIXION OF OUR LORD JESUS SHOULD BE CONTEMPLATED.
I. THERE they crucified Him. Where? What land contracted the disgrace of such an act as crucifying the Lord of glory? Surely some land where He had not become known; some foreign country where His holy words bad never fallen on the peoples ears; some distant principality where the music of His voice had never touched the echoes into sympathy. It must have been in some uncultured territory where no temples were erected; where civilization left no footprint, and where no god was known. Was it in some savage wild where barbarism revelled? and where untrained passion clamoured for a holocaust, and for drink-offerings of blood? No; it was not in such a land that they crucified Him. It was in the laud where He was best known–the land He had hallowed by His advent, and blessed with His ministry; the land of His labours, where His mightiest miracles had been done, and His tenderest teachings had been uttered. Not in a godless realm without a temple or a shrine; but where they bowed the knee, and built the altar, and burned the sacrifice. A realm where they cried, Lord, Lord; where, with broad phylactery, the Pharisee rehearsed the law; and where the temple lifted its golden vanes beneath the sky, as the tribes went up with offerings to the Lord. It was in no barbarous seclusion, but in a region where the borrowed arts of tutored Rome flourished, and where the legacies of Solomon were respected and enshrined. It was in Galilee, on whose soil He made His first alighting, and whose fields and lanes, gardens and mountain groves, He had hallowed with His public ministries and His private communions. In Jewry, whose coasts were consecrated by His labours, THERE. they crucified Him!
II. There THEY crucified Him. Who are they? Who did this deed? What wicked hands were red with this precious blood? Were they those of some hireling assassins from afar, who were running riot in Jerusalem for a time?. Had violence got the upper hand of law and order, and was Jesus the victim of a turbulent incursion of foreign marauders? Or had the Roman tyrant despatched some myrmidon to put to death a teacher of doctrines which wrapped up liberty in their articles, lest men should grow too free in mind to brook subserviency as citizens? No; neither hypothesis is right. The execution bore the imprimatur of the government. It was a State transaction. Preceded by a trial, and surrounded with all the pomps and formulas of law. It was the act of the people. What people? The Jews. The very men whom He had chosen as His own peculiar and anointed ones.
III. There they CRUCIFIED Him. Look at the deed. Crucified Him! In a place which should have for ever resounded with the praises of His name; and by a people who should have enshrined Him in their hearts, and handed down His worship to their childrens children, He was crucified. They did not decorate the land with sculptured memorials of His fame; they did not build altars to His praise; they did not wait upon Him, adore Him, love Him., No; they crucified Him.
IV. Once more we shift the emphasis from the deed to the victim. There they crucified HIM. O look at Him–Him who is thus pierced; look at Him, and mourn! Whom did they crucify? It was customary to wreak this punishment upon their greatest criminals. But here is Barabbas walking free; the notable robber, suspected of crimes untold, loose on the pavements of Jerusalem. Yet, He, this Jesus, is handed over to be crucified. What! then is He a greater robber than Barabbas, that He is to be crucified? Is this why He may not be released? He has stolen away that which Barabbas could not touch. He has taken from the law its curse. He has torn from death its sting. He has despoiled the grave of its terror and its victory. Is not this a notable robber? But, O unnatural retribution which clamours for the cross, for such an One as this! Yet so it is. They crucified Him–Him, the Lord of life and glory. The meek, the kind, the gentle, Man of Nazareth; they crucified Him–who goes about teaching good, spreading good, doing good; lifting the fallen, helping the needy, lighting the dark; they crucify Him. And, alas! brethren, Calvary is not merely at Jerusalem; the place of a skull is not only at Golgotha. Look over the arena you have crossed during the last week of your life, and you will traverse a Calvary there. You may see the place where the cross has been reared afresh there. You may trace the details of the drama there. Oh! think not, ye daily triflers with the grace of the loving God, that there is no place near you where Jesus is not crucified. Every spot you stain by sin; everywhere where you have trampled on the fair commands of God; everywhere where the Spirit has been quenched, and the restraint neglected–is a Calvary; and THERE, in that unwilling and listless heart of yours–THERE you crucify afresh the Lord of glory, and put Him to an open shame. (A. Mursell.)
I. In meditating upon these words, I would direct your attention, first, to the MANNER of Jesus death, and then to its EFFECTS.
II. Such a death cannot be without effect upon those who witness it. It will quicken the pious and susceptible; it will awe the hard-hearted and ungodly. When the centurion of the Roman guard saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, Truly this was a righteous man, or Truly this was the Son of God. To die with perfect consciousness, like Jesus, is, indeed, a privilege which is not granted to every child of God; and it is this that makes death so sad, if not to him who suffers, at least to the relatives and friends who stand by. To witness a Christian die fully conscious and self-possessed, is such a sublime and elevating scene! And the full assurance on a bed of death with which Christ commended His spirit to His Father, He grants in mercy to His children too. (A. Tholuck.)
I. We should notice that these sufferings of our blessed Lord were most REAL; that He did indeed suffer all this, most truly; that in that body which was prepared for Him, He did bear every possible sting of physical agony; that He was held up in this fierce strife with pain, until He had explored all its secrets. His mind and human spirit were really the seat of every storm of deepest sorrow which the heart of man could know.
II. Next to it we should ever bear in mind, beneath the Cross, that all these sufferings were–FOR US. We must look on Him whom we have pierced.
III. That these sufferings were NEEDFUL. It becomes us to speak with the deepest reverence when we say that anything is rendered needful by the character of God. Rather is it the truest reverence to see that thus it must have been, if man wore to be redeemed at all; that there was, in the very perfection of Gods character–the one fixed centre of all being–a necessity for this infinite suffering; that the nature which had sinned must pay the price of sinning, must bear the wrath it had deserved; that without it there could not be, in the world of Gods holy and righteous love, forgiveness and restoration for the fallen and the separated; that Christ must needs have suffered. (Bishop Samuel Wilberforce.)
I. THE CRUCIFIXION OF CHRIST, AS ILLUSTRATING THE FEARFUL POSSIBILITIES OF THE HATRED OF MAN.
II. THE CRUCIFIXION OF CHRIST, AS ILLUSTRATING HIS ALL-POWERFUL LOVE.
III. THE CRUCIFIXION OF CHRIST, AS ILLUSTRATED IN ITS BEARING ON THE MATERIAL DESTINY OF THIS GLOBE, AND ON THE PRESENT SALVATION OF MEN.
There has always been a war between this right hand cross and the middle cross, and wherever there is an unbelieving heart, there the fight goes on. Here from the right-hand cross I go to the left. Pass clear to the other side. That victim also twists himself upon the nails to look at the centre cross–yet not to scoff. It is to worship. He, too, would like to get his hand loose, not to smite, but to deliver the sufferer of the middle cross. He cries to the railer cursing on the other side: Silence! between us is innocence in agony. We suffer for our crimes. Silence ! Gather around this left-hand cross. O! ye people, be not afraid. Bitter herbs are sometimes a tonic for the body, and the bitter aloes that grow on this tree shall give strength and life to thy soul. This left-hand cross is a repenting cross. Likewise must we repent. You say: I have stolen nothing. I reply: We have all been guilty of the mightiest felony of the universe, for we have robbed God–robbed Him of our time, robbed Him of our talents, robbed Him of our services. This left-hand cross was a believing cross. There was no guess-work in that prayer; no if in that supplication. The left-hand cross flung itself at the foot of the middle cross, expecting mercy. Faith is only just opening the hand to take what Christ offers us. Tap not at the door of Gods mercy with the tip of your fingers, but as a warrior, with gauntleted fists, beats at the castle gate, so, with all the aroused energies of our souls, let us pound at the gate of heaven. That gate is locked. You go to it with a bunch of keys. You try philosophy: that will not open it. You try good works: that will not open it. A large door generally has a ponderous key. I take the Cross and place the foot of it in the socket of the lock, and by the two arms of the Cross I turn the lock and the door opens. Now come to the middle cross. We stood at the one and found it yielded poison. We stood at the other and found it yielded bitter aloes. Come now to the middle cross, and shake down apples of love. You never saw so tender a scene as this. You may have seen father, or mother, or companion, or child die, but never so affecting a scene as this. It was a suffering cross. It was a vicarious cross–the right-hand cross suffered for itself; the left-hand cross for itself; butthe middle cross for you. My hand is free now, because Christs was crushed. My brow is painless now, because Christs was torn. My soul escapes, because Christs was bound. When the Swiss were, many years ago, contending against their enemies they saw these enemies standing in solid phalanx, and knew not how to break their ranks; but one of their heroes rushed out in front of his regiment and shouted–Make way for liberty! The weapons of the enemy were plunged into his heart, but while they were slaying him of course their ranks were broken, and through that gap in the ranks the Swiss marched to victory. Christ saw all the powers of darkness assailing men. He cried out: Make way for the redemption of the world. All the weapons of infernal wrath struck Him, but as they struck Him our race marched out free. To this middle cross, my dying hearers, look, that your souls may live. (Dr. Talmage.)
I. THE CRUCIFIXION. The horrible fact.
II. LESSONS.
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
The theologians today do not see Jesus dying for our sins. They see him merely dying a tragic death for his misguided conviction that he had a special mission. IT WAS NO ACCIDENT IT WAS PLANNED BY GODREAD THE PROPHETS, AND SEE HOW GOD MOVES IN AND THOUGH ALL OF HISTORY!
If a prince or a king, passing by an execution, should take the condemned mans place and suffer in his place the deed would ring through all history, and be quoted as an amazing instance of heroic pity; and well deserved would be all the words of praise and admiration which would record and eulogize it. Yet, our Lord Jesus did this, and infinitely more for those who were not merely criminals, but enemies to His own throne and person. This is a wonder of wonders. But it meets with small praise. The most of men around us have heard of it, and treated it as of little import; as an idle tale; as a pious legend; as a venerable fable; as an unpractical myth. Even those who know, believe and admire are cold in their emotions with regard to the story of the atonement. Herein is love which ought to set our hearts on fire, and yet we scarcely maintain a smoldering spark of enthusiasm. So said Spurgeon.
We preach Christ crucified, unto Jews a stumbling block and unto Gentiles foolishness . . . For the word of the cross is to them that perish foolishness . . . DO YOU STAND WITH THE GENTILES AS YOU BEHOLD THE CROSS???
They felt they were rid of One whose righteousness they could not stand. As long as He was alive, they could not live with themselves, their consciences cried out against them, AND MEN AND WOMEN TODAY REJECT JESUS IN ORDER THAT THEY MAY BE ABLE TO DO AS THEY PLEASE, HAVING PUT BLINDERS UPON THEIR OWN CONSCIENCES. NO ONE WANTS TO MEASURE HIMSELF BY THE PERFECT STANDARD . . . JESUS CHRIST. WHEN HIS PERFECT RIGHTEOUSNESS SHOWS US OUR UNRIGHTEOUSNESS, WE TRY TO HIDE OURSELVES IN SOME WAY OR ANOTHER. USUALLY BY COMPARING OURSELVES WITH OURSELVES.
There was an old man converted at the age of 68. One day he sat crying as the minister was preaching on the text, No man liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. Later, with tears streaming down his cheeks, he approached the preacher. The preacher asked him what was the matter . . . Oh, sir that textit is true! he replied.
I did not know the Lord until I was 68. I stopped at my sons home this morning and said, Come on son, and go with me to church this morning . . . and he laughed as he replied, No, Dad, Ive got plenty of time; Ill wait until I am 68 to get religion, like you did.
I walked on down the street until I came upon my grandchildren playing and said, Come on kids, lets go down to Bible School this morning. No, they replied, we are busy, Grandpa; we will wait until we are old to start going to Sunday School and church like you did.
Sir, he said to the preacher, I would give my right arm if I could live my life over.
Napoleon, the little general, paced the floor of his tent. Half of his troops had been destroyed and the battle yet raged. A messenger rushed in with the shout, Tidings, sire, You have won the victory.
Yes, replied Napoleon quietly, I have won the victory but another such victory would cost me my kingdom. YOU MAY HAVE WON THE VICTORY OVER THE SERMON: YOU MAY HAVE WON THE VICTORY OVER CONSCIENCE, OVER PRAYERS OF MOTHER, OVER PLEADINGS OF YOUR WIFE, BUT ANOTHER SUCH VICTORY MAY COST YOU YOUR ETERNAL SOUL!
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Fuente: Spurgeon’s Verse Expositions of the Bible
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Fuente: Neighbour’s Wells of Living Water
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)