Jesus, Betrayed and Crucified

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Gary Millar
It has been marvelous to be here over these days and to have God speak to us through His Word as the pre conference. And then the conference unfolded, I began to feel the weight of being asked to speak on Luke 2239 right through to 23 verse 49 and to speak on the death of Jesus as we move to the climax of Luke’s Gospel. However, very helpfully, yesterday, I got an email from one of our students in Brisbane who said, I just wanted to remind you, as you would any of us students, that the power of preaching and gospel transformation is not dependent on our human initiatives, but rather on the Holy Spirit working through the power of His Word with those words ringing in our ears, let’s read God’s living Word together. We’ll not read the entire passage, although I will go through it, but let’s begin reading Luke 23 from verse 26 this is the living word of God.

And as they led Jesus away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and led on him the cross to carry it behind Jesus. And there followed him a great multitude of the people and of women who were mourning and lamenting for him, but turning to them, Jesus said, Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming when they will say, Blessed are the barren and the wounds that never bore and the breasts that never nursed, then they will begin to say, to the mountains fall on us and to the hills cover us. For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry? Two others who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. And when they came to the place that is called the Skull, there, they crucified him and the criminals, one in his right and one on his left, and Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do, and they cast lots to divide his garments. And the people stood by watching, but the ruler scoffed at him, saying, He saved others. Let Him save Himself, if he is the Christ of God, His Chosen One, the soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine and saying, if you are the king of the Jews, save yourself. There was also an inscription over him, this is the king of the Jews, one of the criminals who were hanged, railed at him, saying, Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us. But the other rebuked him, saying, Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation, and we indeed justly for we are receiving the due reward of our debts. But this man has done nothing wrong, and he said, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. And Jesus said to him, Truly, I say to you today, you will be with Me in Paradise. It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun’s light failed and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, Father, into your hands. I commit my spirit. And having said this, He breathed His last. Now, when the Centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, certainly this man was innocent, and all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts, and all his acquaintances and the women who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance watching these things.

Let’s come to God together. Let’s pray using some words from Scotty Smith’s prayer yesterday, renew and intensify our thirst for you, Lord Jesus, make us so faint that unless you hydrate our hearts with the gospel, we will surely perish. Don’t let us be too easily satisfied. Give us redemptive discontent until our hearts rest again in you. Let us see and experience your power and. Glory in fresh ways, Lord Jesus, may the truth and grace of the gospel satisfy us as fat and rich food. So we pray with longing and expectant hearts. Amen.

If you have ever flown into Ireland, north or south, one thing will strike you from the air, Ireland is remarkably green. What the Tourist Board is not so quick to point out is the rather obvious cause of this, it rains all the time. I could sum up almost 45 years spent in Ireland with one word damp or or perhaps better, three words cold and damp. And then, in the providence of God, we were uprooted and taken to Queensland, Australia, where the tourist slogan is beautiful, one day perfect the next. Every day I get out of bed and thank God for the sunshine and say, Where have you been all my life? Sometimes friends ask, How do you cope with the heat? I just say, I love it. I’ve got 45 years of thankfulness stored up to draw on. It will be a long time before I ever take the weather in Brisbane for granted, but taking people for granted? Well, that’s a different matter.

Taking people for granted is easy to do. Most of us can pull it off without even thinking about it, but it’s never a good idea. In marriage, it causes hurt and tension in families, it causes damage and long term fallout in the workplace. It’s one sure way of ensuring a high staff turnover in church. It contributes to bitterness and burnout, making people feel used. Taking each other for granted is not a good thing. It’s a recipe for simmering resentment. But the consequence consequences of taking each other for granted are nothing compared to the toxic effect in our relationship with God of taking the Lord Jesus Christ for granted. I know it sounds ridiculous, but even here, it is possible, among those of us who use frequent flyer miles and spent money to be here, amongst those of us who are part of the gospel coalition, it is all too possible that many of us are taking the Lord Jesus Christ for granted right here and right now. I know that at some level, you and I are passionate about understanding and teaching the gospel, but are we passionate about the Lord Jesus Christ himself? I know we wouldn’t be here if we weren’t serious at some level about the work of the gospel, but to quote Paul Tripp’s dangerous calling. Are we more drawn to ideas than to Jesus? Are we more drawn to ministry success than personal growth? Are we more excited by the next phase of the strategic plan than the glory of God and the grandeur of His grace? Is it possible that we are here but our hearts are elsewhere. For the truth is, whether we’re on the speaker’s roster or on every bookstall or feeling a little bit overwhelmed at the back of this huge crowd, we’re all more than capable of taking Jesus for granted. For we may love theology, we may love strategizing, we may love reading, we may love discussing, we may love exegesis. We may love preaching and dreaming and encouraging. But the prior question to all this is, do we love Jesus Christ?

Are we constantly bowled over by his tenderness and his steely resolve and his incisive wit and his flawless insight and his delightful playfulness and his vibrant personality, his overwhelming personal attractiveness, his sheer God embodying beauty. If not, then we need to read the gospels, because the Gospels give us a person, as we’ll see again this morning. Of course, the Gospels are dripping with theology, but the theology is embodied. It’s incarnated in the Gospels and in Luke in particular, theology comes not so much in a creedal summary statement, but in the flesh. Passion the person of Jesus, and we must not miss Jesus who stands out so dramatically in this long section, a simple read through of the 500 words in this passage instantly creates an impression of Jesus, Christ as the one who keeps his head when everyone around is losing their Jesus stands out here first because He is in control. Look with me through the narrative. He leads the way to the Mount of Olives. In 2239 it’s Jesus who prays and tells his friends to pray in verse 40 when they’re falling apart overcome with grief. In verse 45 he says, disciplined and focused. Jesus takes the initiative with Judas in verse 48 Jesus ensures that the disciples resistance stops as soon as it starts in verse 51 in verse 53 it’s Jesus Himself who says, but this is your are and the power of darkness, Jesus is not taken he hands himself over. He’s in complete control. This is not just submission to fate. This is not just embracing the inevitable. Jesus is taking all the initiative. He is making things happen. The contrast between Jesus and Peter could hardly be more stark, despite following

Jesus in 2254 to 62 where Jesus is measured, Peter panics where Jesus speaks calmly. Peter blurts out lies when Jesus comes face to face with the high priests, not only does he refuse to be bullied by them, but he obliquely reminds them of his own authority as the Son of Man, the one who will ultimately judge them. In verse 67 he says, If I tell you who I am, you will not believe, and if I ask you, you will not answer. But from now on, the Son of man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God, there is a mind blowing sense in all this that the one who is on trial is actually orchestrating the trial. Luke portrays Jesus’ refusal to engage with Pilate too, as a calm and considered strategy in the face of ongoing injustice, Jesus himself directs the outcome. His silence in 23 verse nine is not despair or stubbornness. He stays silent in order to move things forward towards his ultimate goal. Jesus hasn’t given up. He knows exactly what he is doing. Pilate seems confused. He tries to pass the buck to Herod. Then the crowd, the religious leaders try to shout and scream in verse 10 to control the events. But the prisoner, he’s unflinching and resolute. He won’t put on a show for Herod. He won’t be drawn into defending himself in a sham trial. He is silent, and by his controlled silence, he brings his death for us one step closer by choosing not to speak, he exercises perfect control in the situation, if we need confirmation that Jesus isn’t simply in despair or being swept along helplessly by events, Luke provides it for us in verse 27 when he does speak, it’s obvious he’s holding it together. His mind is fixed firmly on what he’s come to do and how it will affect ordinary people, like those women who are so upset to see this man walking to his execution, and there followed him a great multitude of people and of women who were mourning and lamenting. But Jesus turns and says, Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me. Weep for yourselves. Even as he walks to his death, he is concerned for other people. He’s thinking about the judgment to come, both the interim judgment on Jerusalem and ultimately final judgment beyond that. He knows, according to verse 31 that things will get worse for them, for those who side with him, but he is completely collected, even when we reach the cross and Jesus is hoisted between the two criminals. Ironically, he has never been more in control as he dies to save. He is mocked for his inability to save, but when he speaks, what does he say? Father, forgive them. They don’t know what they’re doing today. You’ll be with me in paradise. This man is in control. He is even in control of the eternal destiny of those around him. This is the Judge of all the earth who is in total control of all events. It’s almost the end of overtime. It’s time for one last play.

Who do you want to have the ball? You want the calmest guy out there?Imagine the security of the nation is threatened. Threat levels have gone through the roof. Attack is imminent. Who do you want to have the nuclear codes? Who do you want making the final call on what to do or not to do? You want a guy who’s calm under pressure. Imagine we’re diagnosed with a malignant, fast growing tumor. We’re rushed to hospital for immediate surgery. Who do you want to perform the operation? I want a guy who’s calm, whose hand doesn’t shake, someone who can cope with pressure, someone who is in complete control of themselves. And that’s how Luke presents Jesus in these chapters. He’s under extreme pressure. He’s under pressure we’ll never even fathom. He’s actually sweating drops of blood. And whether that’s a metaphor or a medical condition, it is very stressful, and yet at every stage, Jesus is calm. He’s in control of himself. But that’s not all, and this is where Jesus leaves, every sports star, every politician, every surgeon, far behind. It’s not just that Jesus is in control of himself. Jesus is in control of events themselves. It’s not just that he’s able to handle his own adrenaline. He’s able to dictate the result. It’s not just he’s able to act wisely under pressure, he’s able to determine the outcome. Jesus isn’t just able to respond skillfully to what he finds. He already knows what he will find, and has already mapped out the permanent solution to the deepest human problem of all. Jesus stands out in this narrative because He is in control of the entire sweep of human history, even as he goes to his death. So at one level, yes, we must see someone who is led like a lamb to the slaughter. But Isaiah also says, Behold, my servant shall act wisely. Yes, Jesus Christ is a victim. But this narrative is so much richer and deeper and more moving than that, for the victim is utterly in control, moving powerfully and purposefully towards the completion of the mission he planned with his father from before the foundation of the world. This is God’s sovereignty in action at this point in the Gospel, the sovereignty of God has a personal face. And can you see how Jesus uses his control, how he exercises his power. He uses it for us instinctively. When you and I are given control of a situation, we use it to make life better for us and ours, we’ll think and act selfishly, but not Jesus. This is the most powerful expression of determined selflessness the world has ever seen or will ever see. He uses his authority, exercises his control, determines his destiny, for the sake of you and me.

Shouldn’t that make us marvel at him. When we say Jesus Christ is Lord, we are saying that He is in control of the history of the world. And where do we see that most clearly? We see that as Jesus walks to his own death, as he uses his power and control, not for himself but for people like us. Surely, we cannot take this Jesus for granted. But it’s not just the fact that He is in control, both of himself and of events, that makes Jesus stand out. He also stands out because Luke is at great pains to show that Jesus is completely innocent, as he’s interviewed by Annas and then Caiaphas and appears before the Sanhedrin, and then Pilate and Herod and Pilate again, Luke says over and over again, Jesus is completely innocent, back at the start of the passage, again in 2247 and 48 Luke contrast Jesus’ obvious innocence with the way in which he’s treated by the authorities. Jesus is praying. They come with armed men. They draw their swords. Jesus heals an injured slave. Jesus speaks gently and respectfully. They abuse and blaspheme him. Verses 66 to 71 when the kangaroo court is conveyed, Jesus maintains his silence, not because he is a guilty secret. His innocence is obvious, but despite the lack of evidence, they rush him to Pilate in time for the daily court hearing. Pilate. Verdict. 23, verse four, I find no guilt in this man. Herod echoes that by implication. Herod questions him at some length, but he doesn’t answer. There’s no new evidence. His innocence is just as obvious as it was before. No that doesn’t stop the chief priests and scribes abusing him and Herod and his bodyguards treating him with contempt and mocking him and dressing him up and sending him back to Pilate. Of course, he should be released at this point. He’s innocent, but he’s hated and mocked and humiliated and just so that we don’t miss this. Luke records Pilate’s own words from verse 14. You brought me this man as one who was misleading the people. After examining him before you behold, I did not find this man guilty of any of your charges against him, neither did Herod. Nothing deserving death has been done. I will therefore punish him and release him. Jesus is officially innocent. They keep pushing a third time. Verse, 22 Pilate says, why? What evil has he done? I have found in him no guilt deserving death. But their voices prevailed. But Luke makes very clear Pilate, Pilate knows he is condemning an innocent man. Luke’s less interested in Pilate’s motivation, whether it was moral cowardice or political expediency or both, and much more interested in establishing the fact, beyond all doubt, that Jesus is utterly innocent. If you need more proof of this, then just look at the closing verses of this long section. What’s the verdict of the man dying next to Jesus? We’re receiving the due reward of our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong. The centurion commanding the death squad. There’s no John Wayne moment in verse 47 for Luke, certainly this man was innocent is the key point all through these chapters, Jesus stands out because he’s innocent. This is the most appalling miscarriage of justice in all human history. Miscarriages of justice are always affecting it’s why movies like The Shawshank Redemption, the name of the Father and the fugitive and a whole host more so powerful. But this is no mere miscarriage of justice. It’s not just that Jesus was the wrong man. He is the perfect man, the Righteous One, the pure one. He stands out from everyone else in this chapter, from everyone else who has ever walked on this planet. He is the perfect, innocent human being, and we killed him. He is the Son of Man who is the Judge of all the earth, and we condemned Him. Place this man beside any of us, and He stands out in Blazing purity. The sweetest baby is exposed as a ball of snarling selfishness. The greatest humanitarian suddenly appears as a bundle of self interest, our grasping self serving, shameful black heartedness only serves to illuminate his perfect innocence. Aren’t you so glad he came at last here is a man we can count on, a man we can be proud of. Here is a man we can look up to, a hero who is worth having. Here is a man in whom there is no pride, no lies, no trickery, no spin, no wishful thinking, no dirty secrets, just innocence, holiness, God likeness, a man who is so brimming with selfless love that he dies for us at the hands of people like us, the contrast between his innocence and our wickedness is so incredibly Stark and so morally confronting. It’s exposing really, how could we take this innocent god man for granted? Looks a kind however, also highlights a third aspect of our Lord, Jesus for as well as standing out as the innocent one who’s in control, Jesus stands out as the one who trusts God in the face of the most horrific challenge ever faced by a human being. This long section is bracketed by two simple things that Jesus says, which make clear that all he says and does is underwritten by a straightforward trust in his father. Yes, he’s in control of his own emotions. Yes, at one level, he is the one who is building all the strings here, but we mustn’t miss the fact he’s also the one who trusts his father perfectly at the heart of his prayer. The garden are these words, Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me, nevertheless, not my will be yours. But done, this unfathomable act of submission flows from a flawless trust in his father. The same clear note is sounded at the end of Jesus’ earthly life as he prays in 2346 with a loud voice, Father, into your hands, I commit my spirit. This is naked trust. I suspect this is why Luke has chosen not to include every word that Jesus said during those long hours as his life ebbed away. He wanted to make sure we get the fact that this innocent man. This man who, even as those around him rage and conspire, is in complete control, is also the man who trusts God perfectly, flawlessly, unremittingly, even as he faces the wrath of the Father. There is no moment like this in all of history. There is no one else like this. There is no one else worthy of our worship, our praise and our trust, and there is no one else who can trust for us. Have you ever thought about this? Our situation is so hopeless we actually need someone to trust God for us, one of the things I love when I come to the US is seeing those four little words and coins and notes here In God we trust. However, if I may offer a tiny critique as a visitor to these shores, there is this live problem here. We don’t even the best of us can’t pull off trusting in God properly, which is why it’s such a relief that Jesus Christ even trusts God for us. Let me put it like this, my problem is not simply that I am not sufficiently trustworthy, although that may be a problem, it’s that I’m incapable of exercising trust, and the bad news is you aren’t either. We struggle to trust those in our lives who are the most trustworthy. We struggle to trust people who have lavished their love on us for years. But more than that, we struggle to trust God himself. In fact, we cannot pull off trusting God, especially not in the long haul. But at last, here in Luke’s gospel, is one who is both completely trustworthy and the one who has the ability to trust perfectly. Here is one who is in control and is perfectly innocent and trusts God perfectly for me where I cannot. I hope you can begin to see how Luke skillfully weaves these three related strands into his account of the most moving event in all history. Jesus stands out in these chapters because He is in control, even when everything else is falling apart, even when he is clearly innocent, even when those around are determined to have him condemned as guilty, because he trusts God so perfectly, even as his friends crumple and his enemies are hell bent on destroying him.

Sometimes, I suspect we take Jesus for granted simply because we don’t think enough about how awe inspiring and attractive and complex and perfect he actually is. We slip into thinking of and speaking of Our Lord as if he were one dimensional. Can a cardboard cut out, but in this passage, he is anything but that. He is the One in whom all beauty and wisdom and strength and courage come together. We need to think more about the power and beauty and majesty of Jesus Christ. I’m not sure anyone captures this incredible complexity of beauty in Jesus better than Jonathan Edwards in a sermon called the excellence excellency of Christ preached in 1734, he said this, the sermon sometimes called the admirable conjunction of diverse excellencies in Christ Jesus. But here’s what he said, and here is not only infinite strength and infinite worthiness, but infinite condescension and love and mercy as great as power and dignity. So if you are a poor, distressed sinner whose heart is ready to sink for fear that God will never have mercy on you, you need not be afraid to go to Christ for fear that he is either unwilling or unable to help you. Here is a strong foundation. And an inexhaustible treasure here is infinite grace and gentleness to invite and embolden a poor, fearful soul to come to it. If Christ accepts you, you need not fear that you will be safe, for he is a strong lion for your defense. And if you come, you need not fear but that you shall be accepted, for he is like a lamb to all that come to him and receives them with infinite grace and tenderness. It’s true, he is awful majesty. He is the great God, infinitely high above you. But there is this to encourage and embolden the poor sinner, that Christ is man as well as God. He is a creature as well as the creator, and he is the most humble and lowly in heart of any creature in heaven or earth. You need not hesitate one moment, but may run to him and cast yourself upon him. You will be graciously and meekly received by him. This is our Lord Jesus, Christ, the proper man who is also God, the only innocent one, the one who trusts God, the sovereign God in the flesh.

How can we fail to run to him? How can we take him for granted? Jesus clearly does stand out in this chapter, but not least because of the fact that as these events unfold, he is surrounded by people like us. I don’t know if you’ve picked this up as we’ve looked at this passage, but Luke includes a cast of 1000s in his account of Jesus’ betrayal and death more than the other gospel writers. Look, Luke makes a real effort to give us little pen pictures of the supporting cast or standing in the background. He wants us to know about the people who are watching Jesus and bump into Jesus and who speak to Jesus. Why does he do it? Well, Luke includes this huge cast of ordinary people to highlight the very simple fact that Jesus dies for us. This Jesus is surrounded by weak people. The disciples here are presented as men who are falling apart. 22 verse 42 Jesus finds that as he wrestles with the reality of providing atonement for people like us. His closest friends are so emotionally exhausted that they’ve fallen asleep. The primary issue here is just their weakness. Jesus’ concern for them is that they won’t be able to handle what happens next because they’re weak, which takes us straight to Peter’s weakness. You’ve got to admire Peter for following Jesus when the others disappear, but it quickly goes wrong after that. And what’s obvious, it’s his weakness. In 22 verse 56 he’s intimidated by a servant girl who simply says, This man was also with him. Now on the scale of names to be called or accusations made, that’s really fairly low down the scale. Peter says, No, I wasn’t when someone else says you were with him, Peter steps up the aggression. An hour later when someone else suggests he’s part of Jesus on the rise, Peter says, I don’t know what you’re talking about. Hours earlier, he’d said, Lord, I’m ready to go with you to prison or death. He just can’t live up to his good intentions. He’s like the rest of us. He’s weak. When he sees his weakness, he goes out and weeps bitterly. Even Jesus’ best friends are weak. He’s surrounded by weak people, people like Peter, people like you and me. He’s also surrounded by evil people. We’re given one picture of Judas. Judas performs one action with which he will forever be associated. Judas doesn’t say anything in Luke’s account, but Jesus highlights his betrayal through a kiss of death like this, Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss the evil of his companions, the chief priests and the officers of the temple and the leaders, is also exposed by Jesus verse 53 you could have taken me any time, but no, you come at night. That’s fitting. Judas, actions are evil. The leader’s actions are evil. In much the same vein, those who hold Jesus mock and beat and taunt and play cruel games. Herod and his soldiers humiliate him, treat him with contempt, dress him up. The criminal next to him rails at him. This is warped. This is evil. This is injustice at its very worst. Jesus is surrounded by evil people, people like Judas, people like Barabbas, people like you and me. But it’s quite striking that as these world changing events unfold, the narrative is actually populated by people acting with what we could only describe as complete. Self interest. Isn’t it incredible that this account of God’s outrageous self giving grace is driven along by human self interest. Whatever moral qualms Pilate may or may not have had, it’s very clear that the primary motivation for his actions is political self interest. Luke’s verdict striking. Pilate had already had his political win, already gained some credit. So what does he do now? He says it’s not worth my while pursuing justice and losing political capital. He decided their demand should be granted. He releases Barabbas, the murderer, and delivers Jesus purely out of self interest, Herod. Herod wants a magic show. The events upon which the history of the world revolved are taking place in front of his nose. Herod wants to see some tricks entertain me, and Jesus doesn’t perform for him. He turns on him, joining in the mockery of the soldiers. So childish. The criminal dying beside Jesus yells abuse at him because Jesus won’t save him. The soldiers want some extra cash for his clothes. Jesus steels himself to face the wrath of God on our behalf, people are acting selfishly all around him. In Aberdeen, in the north of Scotland, where I study theology, there’s an urban myth which claims that the local newspaper in Aberdeen ran the headline, local man lost at sea the day after the Titanic went down. It’s not actually true, but it could well be for like Herod and Pilate, we are desperately self centered. I’ve said some dumb things in my time, but I think that one of the most crass, most cringe worthy, most revealing things I ever said came when I was 17. My life was going so well, and then it all came crashing down, the ultimate humiliation for a 17 year old boy in Northern Ireland, I failed my driving test. There you go. It’s out there. My shame is now a matter of public record. I failed my driving test. I made the tragic error of arranging the test during school time so that I could walk back into school just a little bit taller, chest puffed out a little more. However, I failed the test. I could not bring myself to go back into school and face my public humiliation, so I walked home. There was no car in the driveway, but to my surprise, I discovered my father sitting in the living room looking a bit shaken. Dad was never at home during the day, and he explained that he had skittered on black ice on the way to a meeting. He’d written off the car. He’d narrowly escaped plunging down a ravine into a river. He narrowly escaped being burned alive as the petrol tank had leaked all over him and he made his dazed way away from the wreckage, that’s when I said it. Well, you think you’ve had a bad day, but I failed my driving test when my dad gently and graciously tried to point out that I may have got things a little bit out of proportion, I said, but I’ve never failed anything his fatherly wisdom had clearly survived the accident. He said, simply, well, it’s about time then I was utterly self centered like Herod and Pilate in this narrative, but Luke wants to see that Jesus dies for people like Pilate and Herod for people like you and me. But now everyone in the narrative is so obviously self centered. There are also people who are just oblivious. There are people in this narrative who have no idea of what’s going on, nor could they be expected to have much idea. The people around the fire who give Simon give Peter such a hard time, don’t know what’s happening. Simon of cyrena doesn’t really know what’s going on. The soldiers do what soldiers do trying to bring some dark humor to their grim job to pass the time with no clue of the irony of mocking Jesus as the King. Many of the crowd who look on have no idea of the significance of the events unfolding before their eyes. A few years ago, the edge you two’s guitarist took his son out trick or treating in LA both the edge and his son dressed in the edge is trademark, black beanie, black leather jacket with a guitar slung around his neck. As they walked away from one door, they heard the couple in the House say that’s a bit sad that dad doesn’t look anything like the edge. Gosh, Luke, 22 and 23 is populated by people who have no idea who’s standing in front of their eyes, people who are oblivious, who have no idea of the significance of what’s unfolding in front of them, people like the soldiers and Simon of Cyrene, just people like you and me, people who are oblivious, and people who get a little bit, but not all of it, the group of men and women in 2327 who are saddened by the obvious injustice of events, as Jesus is shipped from one from one trial to another, as he’s jeered and mocked and beaten and dressed up and abused, they look on and recoil. This can’t be right. How awful. But Jesus’ response to their grief shows they really have no more idea of what’s happening than anyone else. There are many people on the planet today who show some emotional connection to Jesus’ self sacrifice, who are moved by any representation of Jesus dying on the cross, people who know instinctively that this was a bad thing and yet who don’t quite get it, at least not yet. But Jesus dies for these women. He dies for people like you and me. What’s going on here? Why has Luke filled up these chapters with people, real people, weak people, evil people, self interested, people, oblivious people, and one or two more we’ll come to in a second. Why has he written it like this? Why isn’t there more in the theology of what’s going on? This is the theology of what’s going on. These are real people. This is real folly, real ignorance, real sin. This is fallen humanity. This is why Jesus had to die. It is this cast of 1000s that Luke is embedded in his theology of substitutionary atonement. Here is one man dying for the ungodly. Here is Jesus Christ. Luke makes it so clear that Jesus dies for people like us that becomes unmissable as he describes what happens with Barabbas. 23, verse 18, they cry. They all cry away with this Man and Release to us. Barabbas, a man who’d been thrown into prison for an insurrection and murder. Barabbas, a man named Son of the Father, is released, and the father, son who, in Pilate’s words, has done no evil, is chosen. Jesus dies. Barabbas lives a tragic mistake, no, a glorious, deliberate, eternally planned switch. Jesus takes the place of a murderer. One son of the father takes the place of others. The one rejected by the mob is the Jesus chosen by God to save His people. Jesus is dying for us. If you’ve read the book, The Hunger Games, or seen the movie, you’ll know the plot revolves around a horrible contest fought between young representatives of 12 futuristic districts. The winner of The Hunger Games is the last one standing as the contestants are forced to kill each other to stay alive. The hero of the book, Katniss Everdeen, is there because she volunteered to take the place of her younger sister who was drawn to represent her district in the games. It’s an act of extreme bravery, of selfness, selflessness, of love, but it’s utterly understandable. She does it for her little sister, admirable. Yes, the kind of thing we hope we’d all do for our younger siblings or our children or our spouses.

Yes, but Jesus’ substitution doesn’t work like that. Whose place does Jesus, the Messiah, take?

He takes the place of people like the overwrought disciples and the overreaching Peter. He takes the place of people like the scheming leaders and the spineless governor. He takes the place of people like the blood stained Barabbas and the cursing criminal. The gospel is ultimately about God and people. It’s about us, people for whom Christ died, the people are the reason that Jesus has to drink the cup of God’s wrath. We are the reason that Jesus is dying. How could we ever take this for granted? At the end of this deeply moving account, Jesus is finally recognized for most of this section. It’s obvious people really don’t get who he is, as we’ve seen, he’s not kissed in worship, but kissed in betrayal. Instead of being listened to as the ultimate Prophet, he’s told to prophesy for the amusement of the crowd. Instead of being acclaimed as the King of the universe, he’s mockingly crowned king of the Jews. But then he is recognized. First he’s recognized by a terrorist. Remember, petty felons weren’t crucified, only guys like Barabbas and these guys weren’t thieves dying on the cross beside Jesus. They were terrorists. Come from Northern Ireland, where former terrorists are now in government. That’s been hard for a nation to get its head round, but this that another terrorist is apparently the first person to recognize what’s going on at the center of history, that a terrorist is the first to receive a guaranteed invitation to join Jesus at the table of his heavenly banquet. But he is Jesus.

Remember me when you come into your kingdom. Today, you’ll be with me in paradise. This man understands. He gets Jesus’ innocence. He gets his guilt. He understands at some level that Jesus really is the king, despite the clamor of all those around him, and he does the only thing that makes any sense. He just asked Jesus to remember him. He may not even expect an instant response. It may be a long term request aiming for the day when the Messiah would set up the kingdom. But even as his friend taunts Jesus in one ear, he hears hears those words in the other.

Today, you’ll be with me in paradise. Then Jesus is recognized by the universe he created in the middle of the day, as Darrell Bock puts it, the heavens begin to comment. Everything goes dark, the earth shifts, the curtain rips. The cosmos itself recognizes Jesus and the implications of his death. And then after Jesus, using the words of Psalm 31 calls on his father to resurrect him, astonishingly, a Gentile recognizes him. Certainly this man was innocent. He realizes the ultimate switch has taken place. The innocent one has died for the guilty. Luke wants us to see that Jesus is our substitute. Luke wants us to see that Jesus is the righteous sufferer, taking the place of the unrighteous. He wants us to see that Jesus is dying there for us. It is no accident that this chapter is full of people, weak people, evil, people, self interested, people oblivious, people, sad, people. The one innocent man is dying for guilty. People like this, people like us. The one who is in control, the one who is perfect and innocent, the one who trusts God in a way we can’t, is dying for us. He suffers for us, though he is innocent and we are guilty. He trusts for us, even though we are utterly unreliable. He dies for us, even though he is the perfect Son of the Father and we are utterly undeserving. So Luke invites us to stand with these messed up people and look on Jesus Christ as he’s finally recognized by a terrorist and his Gentile executioner and by the universe itself. Luke invites us to join then Luke invites us to see and savor this Jesus, to acknowledge this Jesus as the Lord of the universe and the one to whom we owe everything to bow before this Jesus, the innocent one who takes our guilt, the Lord of the universe, Who brings about his own death that we might live.

This is the heart of the gospel. This is the center of history. This is God dying in our place.

How could we take this Jesus for granted? For while we were still weak at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly, For one will scarcely die for a righteous person, though perhaps for a good person, one would dare even to die. But God chose his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Let’s pray together.

Father, we thank you for our Lord Jesus Christ for His incredible, unfathomable mercy. We pray that You would help us, even now through the gospel to see and savor Jesus Christ, that you would bring us to tears. You would level our pride, but above all that, you would stir up our love and passion in response to this incredible grace that you’ve lavished on us in Jesus, Christ, our Lord, the one who died for us. Amen.