OUR SAVIOR ON DISPLAY

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on March 16, 2022 under AM Bible Study |

AM Bible Study Group: March 16, 2022 from Luke 23:33-38

Theme: Our Savior’s crucifixion bore witness to who He is—even through those who crucified Him.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

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This morning, in our study of the Gospel of Luke, we come to a very sobering passage. It’s the passage that describes to us the event of our Lord’s crucifixion.

Luke doesn’t tell us anything about the act of crucifixion itself. None of the Gospel writers give us a detailed description of it. Perhaps it’s not our place to know those physical details. Perhaps if we did, we’d focus too much on those details—and not enough on the Person who suffered them. Perhaps we’d fail to appreciate the spiritual suffering He underwent as He bore the guilt of the sins of all of humanity upon Himself, and experienced separation from the Father on our behalf.

But Luke does give us some details that tell us about Jesus Himself—and that helps us to understand and appreciate Who it was that suffered the crucifixion in our place. After describing the journey that Jesus made to Calvary as He carried the cross, Luke tells us;

And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left. Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” And they divided His garments and cast lots. And the people stood looking on. But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God.” The soldiers also mocked Him, coming and offering Him sour wine, and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself.” And an inscription also was written over Him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew:

THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS (Luke 23:33-38).

Luke only tells us that “there they crucified Him …” Those are all the words that he uses. But He then went on to tell us much about the One who was crucified.

* * * * * * * * * *

Think back for a moment to how this Gospel was begun. In Luke 1:1-4, Luke explained that there had been many who had “taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us” (v. 1). These writings were reliable; because they had been based on eyewitness accounts. And it seemed good to Luke to also write an orderly account. He was qualified to do so; because he had “perfect understanding” of the events from the very beginning. And so; he wrote his account so that the reader could know the certainty of the things that had been taught about Jesus.

Luke—a wise scholar, and an outstanding historian—wrote in order to present what we might call “an apologetic defense” of the gospel. He made careful selection of the events that occurred in order to make a case for ‘certainty’ about the good news of Jesus. This means that, with respect to our passage this morning, Luke didn’t tell us every detail of all that happened at the cross. We find many more of those details in the other Gospels. Rather, Luke told us what we needed to know to have a trustworthy faith in Jesus for the salvation of our souls.

As we look at this morning’s passage, we find that the things that Luke tells us highlight the identity of the One who hung on the cross for us. As this passage shows us, our Savior’s crucifixion bore witness to who He is—even through those who crucified Him.

Luke gives us seven clear “markers” that reveal Jesus’ identity to us. Notice first that His crucifixion bore witness to Him as …

1. THE MESSIAH WHO SUFFERS WITH US (v. 33).

Luke began in verse 33 by telling us, “And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him …” The name “Calvary”, by the way, comes from the Latin version of the Bible. But in the language in which Luke wrote, the name is Kranion, which means “Skull”. The Hebrew word for “skull” is gulgōleṯ; from which we get the name “Golgotha”. In Mark 15:22, we’re told that they brought Him “to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull” (Kraniou Topos). There is a hill north of the old wall of the city of Jerusalem that is believed to be this place … and it does, indeed, have the look of a skull.

It was at “Place of a Skull” that our Lord was crucified. We’re told nothing of the crucifixion itself; but we’re told “and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left.” These were the two who were led along with Him to the place—carrying their crosses also.

And this identifies our Lord as “the Suffering Messiah” promised in the Old Testament prophecy of Isaiah. 750 years before Jesus’ time, Isaiah 53 spoke of how the promised Messiah would be wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities; and of how the Lord would lay upon Him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53:9 says that “they made His grave with the wicked”; and verse 12 says that “He was numbered with the transgressors”.

What a vivid picture this is then! Just as He was crucified by Pilate as a common criminal—and just as He hung in the midst of common criminals—He counted Himself among sinners like us. He suffered with us … and for us.

Notice next that His crucifixion bore witness to Him as …

2. THE INTERCESSOR FOR US SINNERS (v. 34a).

In verse 34, we read these words, “Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.’” A footnote to this passage—as it’s found in many modern English translations—states that these words are set apart in most reliable Greek texts of the New Testament as something that may have been added later. The first half of verse 34 is not found in some of the oldest copies of Luke’s Gospel. But it is found in many other ancient copies of Luke; and it is included in the text of almost all modern translations. It’s very possible that these are words that the Lord actually spoke and that were preserved as part of His traditional sayings; and that were later copied into the text by accident. And if these were words that our Lord actually spoke from the cross, then it might be why Stephen the Martyr—in Acts 7:60—prayed a similar prayer when he was stoned to death by his fellow Jews; saying, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin”. It might be because he had been taught that Jesus Himself gave us this example of prayer. Many believing men and women who have given their lives for the Lord Jesus have prayed a similar prayer since that time, and throughout the centuries.

And if these words are the authentic words of our Lord, then His crucifixion tells us something else about Him. He is the intercessor for sinners. As it says in Isaiah 53:12; “And He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:12). Even still, He sits at the Father’s right hand—interceding on behalf of those for whom He died (Romans 8:34).

Luke goes on to tell us that Jesus’ crucifixion bears witness to Him as …

3. THE FORSAKEN OF GOD ON OUR BEHALF (vv. 34b-35a).

Luke tells us in verse 34, “And they divided His garments and cast lots” (v. 34a). In mentioning this, Luke is pointing our attention back to Psalm 22. That was the psalm in which King David prophetically uttered the words, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Psalm 22:1). It’s an amazing psalm that describes in vivid detail—ten centuries before our Lord’s time—the very things that Jesus would later suffer on the cross. Luke also tells us in verse 35, “And the people stood looking on” (v. 35a). The word that is used describes an intense gaze—an act of staring intensely at what was happening. And this too points us to Psalm 22 and to the Messiah who was ‘forsaken’ by God for a time. It says;

Many bulls have surrounded Me;
Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled Me.
They gape at Me with their mouths,
Like a raging and roaring lion (Psalm 22:12-13).
For dogs have surrounded Me;
The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me.
They pierced My hands and My feet;
I can count all My bones.
They look and stare at Me.
They divide My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots (vv. 16-18).

This is identifying Jesus to us as the One who bore our sins—and who, as a result, suffered the terrible experience of having His Father turn from Him. He was forsaken for us!

We see more. Luke then goes on to show how the crucifixion bore witness to Jesus as …

4. THE REJECTED CHRIST (v. 35b).

Remarkably, we hear this testimony to His identity from the lips of the very Jewish leaders who sought to have Him crucified. We’re told in verse 35 that He was shown no mercy; “But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, ‘He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God’” (v. 35b). To ‘sneer’ at Him was—in the original language—to ‘turn up the nose’ at Him. And notice the way that they mocked Him. They showed that they knew what He had said about Himself—and even what His works testified of Him; that He was the Christ—the promised Messiah—“the chosen of God”. And what’s more, they knew that the testimony about Him was that He saved others.

In Psalm 118:22-23, we find these words:

The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone.
This was the Lord’s doing;
It is marvelous in our eyes (Psalm 118:22-23).

Those words were speaking of the Messiah—the Christ. And in His confrontations with the religious leaders of Israel, Jesus quoted this very passage as applying to Himself (Matthew 21:42; Mark 12:10; Luke 20:17). The apostles also later applied it to Him (Acts 4:11; 1 Peter 2:6-7). So, just think of what an amazing ridicule this was that was coming from the lips of the Jewish rulers as they stood before His cross! They were bearing witness to the truth about Him … even as they mocked Him. This was how they rejected the One who had clearly proven to be the Christ—the promised Messiah! He suffered this for us!

Another way Luke shows us that the crucifixion bore witness of Him is as …

5. THE BEARER OF OUR REPROACH (v. 36).

The rulers of the people of Israel were not the only ones who were ridiculing Him. Verse 36 tells us, “The soldiers also mocked Him, coming and offering Him sour wine …” (v. 36). There may have been some who had pity upon Him and came to offer Him a drink. But that was not what these soldiers were doing. We’re plainly told that they were mocking Him; and the word used for “mock” meant that they were playing games with Him and were toying with Him. They offered Him bitter wine on the pretense of showing mercy to Him; which, when He tasted, irritated His mouth and throat, and sickened Him, and caused Him to suffer even more. It was a cruel act. And what a laugh they had because of it!

Our Lord’s suffering was not only physical. He also suffered the shame of someone who bore our sins on our behalf. He bore our reproach; as it says in the prayer found in Psalm 69;

You know my reproach, my shame, and my dishonor;
My adversaries are all before You.
Reproach has broken my heart,
And I am full of heaviness;
I looked for someone to take pity, but there was none;
And for comforters, but I found none.
They also gave me gall for my food,
And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink (Psalm 69:19-21).

Yet another way that Luke shows us how the crucifixion bore witness of Jesus is as …

6. THE WILLING SUBSTITUTE FOR OUR PUNISHMENT (v. 37).

Luke goes on to tell us in verse 37 that, just as the rulers of the Jewish people had mocked Jesus, the Roman soldiers also were saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself.” The Bible clearly teaches us that He could have. Jesus Himself said in the Garden of Gethsemane that, at any time, He could have asked the Father; and the Father would have sent an angelic army to His aid. But even though He could have done so as the God-sent King of the Jews, He didn’t spare Himself from the shame and suffering of the cross. He was a willing Substitute for us—as evidenced by the fact that He continued to hang on the cross. He was behaving as it says in Isaiah 53:7;

He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He opened not His mouth;
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth (Isaiah 53:7).

In one of the other Gospels, we’re told that the chief priests said, “He saved others; Himself He cannot save” (Mark 15:31). The mock of the Roman soldiers was similar to theirs. And yet some have pointed out that these words were far more true than those who spoke them realized. If our Lord had saved Himself from the suffering of the cross (which He surely could have), then He could not have been able to save us. He stayed upon the cross, and meekly suffered rejection as the Christ; and bore our sins on our behalf; and all so that He could save you and me.

He truly saved others—and so, could not save Himself. What love!

Even the Roman soldiers spoke of Him as a king. And that leads us to one more thing that the crucifixion bears witness of; that He is …

7. THE KING OF THE JEWS (v. 38).

Could it have been made more clear? Luke tells us in verse 38 that—so all could read it—“And an inscription also was written over Him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew:

THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS”

The Messiah who suffers with us; the Intercessor for us sinners; the Forsaken of God on our behalf; the rejected Christ; the Bearer of our reproach; the willing Substitute for our punishment … He was, the whole time long, none other than the King of the Jews.

What a perfect Redeemer! What great things they are that were clearly declared about Him as He hung upon the cross for us!—our Savior on display! Have you believed on Him for who the cross has shown Him to be? Do you trust Him for the salvation of your soul?

AE