Christ Crucified

Series on Luke

VI The Invincibility of the Kingdom

G The Tree

Text: 23:26-49

Introduction

All of the gospels present the crucifixion of Christ, but each presents a unique account of this event. Of the words spoken by Jesus on the cross, three are mentioned only by John, three are mentioned only by Luke, and one is mentioned only by Matthew and Mark. No word from the cross is mentioned by all four evangelists. We have four unique accounts consistent with the prevailing theme of each writer. Luke’s picture of Christ corresponds to the Greek conception of the ideal man. His gospel begins by tracing Christ’s genealogy back to Adam the first man, and now today we see the last Adam, Christ, as the perfect prophet priest and king. The first Adam was to be a prophet speaking God’s words after him, a priest offering up his life to God in service, and a king ruling over God’s creation. When sin entered the world. man suppressed God’s truth, selfishly grabbed his own life and stupidly destroyed God’s creation. Down through the centuries there were many prophets, priests and kings, some good, some bad, but none of them came close to being what Adam was supposed to be, until Christ. and now we see him, the last Adam, our perfect prophet, priest and king.

I The Prophet and the Tears

Christ approaches the cross. Jesus has prophesied the destruction of his people. Like the prophets of the Old Testament one of his primary functions is to warn of the judgment to come. He warns both of the impending judgment on Jerusalem and the covenant people, and of the final judgment at the end of the world. So awful will that near judgment be that they will wish that their children had never been born. They will experience a foretaste of the final judgment in which men will call out to the mountains and hills fall on us and cover us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the lamb. What makes this prophet perfect is that he is totally and absolutely committed to the word of God. He says no tears for me, cry for yourselves. I see Jonah sulking outside of Ninevah, isaiah crying i am a man of unclean lips, weeping Jeremiah fearfully declaring, i am only a child, the apostle John eating the book of prophecy and though it is sweet as honey in his mouth it turns his stomach sour. They all have great difficulty in declaring the Word of the Lord. Ezekiel also, but he becomes a type of Christ. In Ezekiel 24 his wife dies and God says do not shed any tears. The true prophet sheds no tears for Himself. He cries only for you. This is Jesus the perfect prophet. We read in verse 28, Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ Then ”‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!”’ Earlier in Luke 13:34, He mourns over Jerusalem, O Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone them sent to you, how often I would have gathered you as a hen gathers her chicks but you were not willing. He has no tears for Himself, only for you.

II The Priest and the Thief

We next see Christ upon the cross in verses 36-43, The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.” There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke alone records the full story of those that were crucified with him, one hard and impenitent, the other pleading for mercy. He pleads because he sees the innocence of Christ. It is that very sinlessness which makes this offering perfect. Here is the high priest of our profession offering up his perfect life to redeem us from our sins. To the penitent thief He says, Today you will be with me in paradise. The reason He can say this is because He offers the perfect sacrifice. There is no question about this man’s salvation. The priest has procured it. It is summed up in Miriam Crouses’s poem, “Three men shared death upon a hill, but only one man died; the other two, a thief and God himself-made rendezvous. Three crosses still are borne up Calvary’s hill, where sin still lifts them high; upon the one sag broken men who, cursing, die; another holds the praying thief, or those who penitent as he, still find the Christ beside them on the tree.” But Luke alone records another word of Jesus from the cross in verse 34, Father forgive them for they know not what they do. Men have speculated for centuries on who it is that Jesus is forgiving: His own people the Jews, the Romans, the whole world, and what is he forgiving? I think these speculations are often beside the point. Do you remember that 12,000 angels are poised at the portal of heaven to rush to his rescue. Do you recall that in the days of Noah God said that every inclination of the thoughts of man’s heart is evil, i am sorry i made him, and he wiped mankind from the face of the earth, excepting Noah’s family. Also at Sodom and Gomorrah the Lord said that the outcry against them is so great and their sin so grievous I will destroy them. If Jesus does not speak these words, it’s over. That’s what I think. He intercedes not only for the thief but for the world. If he does not, the stars leave their courses, the heavens melt, and the earth is dissolved in fervent heat. But because He is a merciful and faithful high priest He preserves the cosmos that his disciples may go forth and declare his mercy. You heard the gospel and you’re hearing it today because Jesus said, Father forgive them for they know not what they do. He is a perfect prophet and priest, and also a perfect king.

III The Potentate and the Temple

All the gospel writers mention Jesus giving up his spirit. Two of them say he did it with a loud cry, but only Luke tells us the very words He spoke, Father into your hands I commit my spirit. We are so apt to interpret those as words of surrender, but they are a cry of victory. According to John’s account Jesus has just said it is finished. What is finished is his atoning work and the giving up of His spirit is a triumphant and kingly act. It is a royal prerogative exercised by the king over death. All of us must die whether we like it or not, and death for us is passive. Jesus dies because he chooses to die. For Him death is active. At this point Luke records not only the darkness which covered the land as the Savior suffered separation from the Father for our sin, but he records another important event in verse 45, And the curtain in the temple was torn in two. Then immediately he says Jesus cried with a loud voice. You see it is at this instant that Jesus says it is finished and conveys his spirit to God. The opening of the holiest place which was forbidden to sinful man is now open. The curtain is torn. The veil which hid the presence of God is violently torn asunder as if by the very hand of the Almighty signifying that the way is forever open. It means the price has been paid and this is a shout of victory. Jesus said with a loud voice father into your hands i commit my spirit. He leaves to enter that holiest place with His atoning blood. That shout was heard in heaven, and simultaneously with no break in the rhythm of eternity numberless angels broke into triumphant song, hallelujah, the Lord God omnipotent reigns. The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdom of our God and of his Christ, and He shall reign forever.

Conclusion

And so I give you Christ crucified. a singular prophet who weeps not for Himself but for you; a unique priest whose perfect sacrifice saves the greatest sinner and preserves the world that it may hear his message of love; a triumphant king who passes through the tattered curtain of the holiest place. The last Adam has won. And if he is not your Savior today be warned, be warned, be warned, for there is no other.