The King on a Cross (Luke 23: 26-43)

This study covers the events when Jesus was on the cross – between the thieves, talking to the spectators and God.

Luke 23: 26-43

Summary and introduction

The NKJV entitles the passage we are studying tonight The King on a Cross. Here we see Jesus making His way through the streets of Jerusalem to the hill called Calvary, where He will be crucified. Jesus is so weak at this point that the Roman troops forcibly recruit Simon, a passerby, to help carry the cross.

Many people, especially women, follow Jesus, lamenting His fate. Jesus turns to them warning them of even more difficult time to come. He is nailed to the cross in the company of two thieves. As He hangs on the cross, Jesus asks His Father to forgive those who have done this to Him.

The soldiers, rulers of the Jews, and eventually even one of the crucified thieves mock Jesus. But the other thief rebukes him and asks Jesus to remember him when He comes into His kingdom. Jesus assures him that today he will be with Jesus in Paradise.

Discipleship: Bearing the cross of Jesus

As Jesus carries His cross through Jerusalem on His way to Calvary (Luke 23:26), where He will be crucified, the exhaustion from lack of food and sleep, the beatings, and the scourging take their toll on Him. Jesus begins to labor under the weight of the wooden cross He is carrying. Seeking to keep things moving, the Roman soldiers who were leading Jesus conscript Simon of Cyrene, who ”was coming out of the country and passing by”, to carry His cross. ( see Mark 15:21)

I believe that this incident completes the picture of discipleship which Luke gives us in this chapter. The picture begins with Barabbas, a sinner worthy of death whose place on the cross Jesus takes, and ends with Simon, who carried the cross of Jesus. This ought to be after all a description of each of us. We were sinners worthy of death, whose debt was paid by Jesus on the cross. And now we have been called upon by God to follow in Jesus’ footsteps up Calvary, bearing our own cross, to die to self so that Christ might live in us.

The analogy is not perfect since Simon was probably forced by the Romans at pain of death to bear the cross of Christ. God does not force us to pick up our own cross but allows us to free choose. However Jesus does plainly tell His would-be disciples on two occasions that if we desire to be worthy of Him, we must pick up their own cross and follow Him. (Matthew 10:38-39, Matthew 16:24)

“Daughters of Jerusalem…”

As Jesus made His way slowly to Calvary, Luke tells us that a great multitude, including many women, followed Him, beating their breasts from grief and mourning. Jesus spoke to these women, telling them not to mourn for Him but for themselves and their children.( Luke 23:27-31)

Jesus warns them that hard days are coming in which those women who had never had children will be called blessed. In those difficult times people will cry out to the mountains to fall on them and to the hills to cover them. Jesus tells them, “For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry?” (Luke 23:31)

The Old Testament verse which Jesus quotes in verse 30 is Hosea 10:8, where the prophet is speaking of the sin of Israel and God’s chastening of her by captivity:

As God’s wrath is poured out on His people for her sins, Israel seeks to hide or be removed by death, because what is occurring seems to them to be too terrible to endure.

Scripture tells us that the Day of the Lord, when God pours out His wrath upon the earth, will be a time when people will seek to remove themselves in any way from what is occurring. Isaiah 2:19 tells us that on the Day of the Lord:

19 They shall go into the holes of the rocks,
And into the caves of the earth,
From the terror of the Lord
And the glory of His majesty,
When He arises to shake the earth mightily.

And again in Revelation 6:12-17, as John recounts the opening of the seven seals and the pouring out of God’s wrath upon the earth, we read:

12 I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. 13 And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. 14 Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. 15 And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, 16 and said to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?"

For the people of Jerusalem in Jesus’ time, such a time occurred in 70 AD when the Romans destroyed the temple, killed over one million Jews, and led nearly 100,00 more into captivity. Again in 135 AD, the Romans sacked the city and leveled it to the ground. But I believe that Jesus was also warning the people that there would come a time when not only the inhabitants of Jerusalem but the people living on the earth will be unable to endure the wrath that God pours out. These warnings, I believe, were intended to provoke His audience to repentance, to help them to understand the holiness of God, the terribleness of His wrath, and their need for a Savior.

Verse 31 – ”For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry?"-  seems to me to be a proverb which lends itself to several interpretations. It seems likely that Jesus is referring to Himself as the green tree, one that is alive and bearing fruit, and the people of Jerusalem as the dry, one that is dead and fruitless. Under such an interpretation Jesus seems to be saying if “they,” the Romans or the world in general, will do such things to a green tree, if they will abuse, scourge, and crucify an innocent man, then what will “they” do to a dry tree, such as the people of Jerusalem?

Charles Spurgeon in his devotional Our Daily Bread, offers a variation on that interpretation that I would like to share. Spurgeon writes:

Among other interpretations of this suggestive question, the following is full of teaching: "If the innocent substitute for sinners, suffer thus, what will be done when the sinner himself —the dry tree—shall fall into the hands of an angry God?" When God saw Jesus in the sinner's place, He did not spare Him; and when He finds the unregenerate without Christ, He will not spare them. O sinner, Jesus was led away by His enemies: so shall you be dragged away by fiends to the place appointed for you. Jesus was deserted of God; and if He, who was only imputedly a sinner, was deserted, how much more shall you be? "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" what an awful shriek! But what shall be your cry when you shall say, "O God! O God! why hast Thou forsaken me?" and the answer shall come back, "Because ye have set at nought all My counsel, and would none of My reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh." If God spared not His own Son, how much less will He spare you! What whips of burning wire will be yours when conscience shall smite you with all its terrors. Ye richest, ye merriest, ye most self-righteous sinners—who would stand in your place when God shall say, "Awake, O sword, against the man that rejected Me; smite him, and let him feel the smart for ever"? Jesus was spit upon: sinner, what shame will be yours! We cannot sum up in one word all the mass of sorrows which met upon the head of Jesus who died for us, therefore it is impossible for us to tell you what streams, what oceans of grief must roll over your spirit if you die as you now are. You may die so, you may die now. By the agonies of Christ, by His wounds and by His blood, do not bring upon yourselves the wrath to come! Trust in the Son of God, and you shall never die.

No wonder Hebrews 10:31 tells us that “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God”!

Christ on the cross (Luke 23:32-43)

Having reached the place called Calvary (derived from the Latin calvarius which means “skull.”), also called Golgotha, or Place of a Skull (Matthew 27:33), Jesus, together with the two thieves who had also been sentenced to death, were crucified. Luke records that Jesus then called out to God, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.” A sign proclaiming “This is the King of the Jews” was placed upon the cross above His head. The elders of the Jews, together with the Roman soldiers, continued to mock Him, calling upon Jesus to save Himself, if He is indeed the Messiah. Even one of the crucified thieves joined in the blasphemy, saying, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.“ The other thief, however, rebuked him and said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when you come into Your kingdom.” Jesus assured him that he would be with Him in Paradise that very day.

Fulfillment of Messianic prophesies

In earlier studies we have mentioned how Jesus has been fulfilling Messianic prophecies as me made His way towards Jerusalem and during the days leading up to His Passion. This trend continues in verses 32-43, where Luke records events which fulfill six different Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah:

1. He would crucified among criminals (Isaiah 53:12)
2. And made intercession for the transgressors. (Psalm 109:4)
3. His hands and feet would be pierced (Psalm 22:16; Zechariah 12:10)
4. He would given vinegar to drink (Psalm 69:21)
5. He would be mocked and ridiculed (Psalm 22:7-8)
6. Soldiers would divide up his garments and gamble for His clothes (Psalm 22:18)

Some critics assert that Jesus intentionally created situations that fulfilled these Old Testament prophesies, in order that He would seem to be the Messiah. Certainly Jesus was aware of these prophesies, and the need for them to be fulfilled. He regularly told His disciples beforehand what was going to happen to Him. In Luke 24:25-26, we will read how the resurrected Jesus told the two disciples on the road to Emmaus,

"O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!  26 Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?"

And a few verses later, in Luke 24:44-45, after these same two disciples had hurried back to Jerusalem and excitedly told the eleven about what they had experienced, we will see how the resurrected Jesus appeared in their midst and reminded them,

"These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me."

Yet although Jesus was certainly aware of the Messianic prophecies, at the same time we have seen that there were some prophecies, such as the abuse, beatings, scourging, and crucifixion, that Jesus prayed to His Father in the Garden of Gethsemane to avoid fulfilling, if there was any other way (Luke 22:41-43). Furthermore, there are other prophecies over which Jesus seemingly had no control. How, for example, could Jesus have compelled to the Roman soldiers to gamble for His clothes? And could He have controlled what things were done to His body after His death, for example, having His side pierced but His bones not broken, and being buried in a rich man’s tomb? I realize that in almost every case a skeptical person might to construct a scenario in which Jesus could have arranged beforehand that His side would be pieced, that His bones were not broken, and that His body should be handed over to Joseph of Arimathea, but the sheer volume of prophecies Jesus fulfilled, and the accuracy with which He fulfilled them, make this a highly unlikely and contrived explanation.

The Patient forgiveness of Christ

In our passage tonight we see Jesus modelling patient forgiveness for all to see. It is one thing to forgive someone who has insulted you and something else altogether to forgive those who have abused or even literally crucified you. As metal spikes were painfully driven through His hands and feet (or wrists and ankles) securing Him to the cross, it is not recorded that Jesus cried out in pain or begged for mercy. In Isaiah 53:10 it had been prophesied that He would be silent before His accuser. Indeed our passage from Luke 23 tells us that after He had been fastened to the cross and lifted up, then Jesus prayed for forgiveness for those who had just crucified Him. As He hung on the cross in agony, Jesus never responded to the taunts thrown at Him by the rulers, the soldiers, or the one thief is recorded. Jesus refused to answer evil with evil, because Scripture (Romans 12:17-18, 1 Thessalonians 5:15) tells us that we should not do so. At the same time, when every breath and word would have been painful, He took the time to assure the other believing thief that he would be with Jesus in Paradise that very day.

Aspects of discipleship: the thief on the cross

The salvation of the thief on the cross is often pointed to as proof that it faith which saves us, not works. This incident offers hope for those who come to Lord on their deathbed, as well as for those believers who have unbelieving loved ones who have not yet made their peace with God. Certainly the importance of faith in being a disciple of Christ is critical and central. It is by grace through faith that we are saved.( Ephesians 2:8-9)  

Yet the thief on the cross is also an excellent example of how those who would be Jesus’ disciples need to put aside their pride and die to themselves, admitting what desperate wretches in need of a savior we are. In one of the thieves on the cross we see an attitude of brokenness and humility; but in the other we do not. The other thief continues to rail and blaspheme, even as death is at hand. But the one thief understands a little of what death means. Notice his question to his fellow thief – “Do you not even fear God…?” And he realizes that they (the two thieves) are receiving the due reward for their deeds while Jesus is completely innocent. He turns to Jesus and says, Lord, remember me when You come into your kingdom.” The thief understands that Jesus’ death is imminent. And he realizes that Jesus’ kingdom is not here on the earth but rather in heaven and that Jesus is going there soon. The thief does not ask for salvation because he knows what a sinful man he is. Instead he merely asks to be remembered by King Jesus in His heavenly kingdom.

But by believing that Jesus is not a mere man but something more, perhaps the Messiah, perhaps the Son of God, or perhaps just a righteous man Whom God was working through, the thief does not say exactly, by calling Jesus his Lord, he gains by grace the very thing that he could never earn, his salvation. I believe that each one of us needs to take to heart the fact that we need to humble ourselves before our God. He loves us, He died for us, but He does not need us, and we are at best unworthy servants, who have only done what we ought to have done (Luke 17:7-10)., unworthy of the least of His mercies (Genesis 32:10-11) Father God, help us not to be proud, help us to be wise enough to understand that we cannot stand or fall on the basis of our own merits, help us to die to ourselves so that as we decrease, it would be Jesus Christ, the hope of glory, Who lives in us. #