His Crucifixion
TRANSLATION
(26) As the soldiers led Jesus away, they commandeered Simon of Cyrene who was coming in from the country and laid the cross on him, forcing him to carry it behind Jesus. (27) And a crowd of people followed including women who mourned and wailed for him. (28) Jesus turned and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me. Rather weep for yourselves and for your children, (29) for a time is coming when you will say, ‘Blessed are the childless, the wombs that never gave birth and the breasts that never nursed.’ (30) Then they will say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us!’ (31) For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?”
(32) Two other men, both criminals, were also led along with him to be executed. (33) And when they came to the place called the “Skull,” they crucified him as well as the criminals, one on his right hand and the other on his left. (34) Jesus then said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And the soldiers cast lots to divide up his clothing. (35) The people stood by watching while the rulers scoffed at him saying, “He saved others. Let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, his chosen one.” (36) The soldiers also came up and mocked him, offering him sour wine (37) and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself.” (38) And there was an inscription placed over him (that read), “This is the King of the Jews.”
OBSERVATIONS
The crucifixion of Jesus has always been one of the most difficult scenes for believers to contemplate. Repeated words in these two paragraphs included “weep” (twice in vs. 28), “criminals” (vss. 32 & 33), “save(d)” (three times in vss. 35 & 37), and the phrase “the King of the Jews” (vss. 37 & 38). Luke focused first on what Jesus said while being led to the place of execution and then on what took place while he suffered on the cross. In each segment, his words were memorable, testimonies to his divine authority. In the first instance, he spoke to those grieving over his death, warning them of the judgment about to fall on Jerusalem. In the second, he prayed to the Father, graciously asking him to forgive those who had condemned him to death.
OUTLINE
I. On the way to the cross, Jesus warned of the judgment about to fall on Jerusalem. (26-31)
Ii. While on the cross, Jesus prayed for his Father to forgive his executioners. (32-38)
IDEA STATEMENT
Throughout the ordeal of his crucifixion, Jesus’ focus remained on those for whom he was dying.
APPLICATION
Was Jesus’ prayer, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do,” ever answered? If so, how did that come about? We find a clue to the answer in Luke’s statement, “The people stood by watching while the rulers scoffed at him” (vs. 35). The crowd that had shouted, “Hosannah! Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord” during his Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem (Lk. 19:35) was the same multitude clamoring four days later for his crucifixion (Lk. 23:18-23).
We need to remember that it was the Jewish leaders who had cleverly manipulated the crowd’s disappointment in Jesus for failing to live up to their expectations for a deliverer from Rome. They were the ones who incited the crowd to shout for his death. Jesus’ prayer for the Father’s forgiveness was specifically directed at those who did not really know what they were doing but who were simply caught up in the passion of the moment. The priests and rulers of the people, namely, the Sanhedrin, knew precisely what they were doing in calling for Jesus’ crucifixion. In this way they were ridding themselves of the one who threatened to undermine and discredit their positions of authority. But many in the crowd were merely participants in the frenzy, not grasping what their calls for Jesus’ death really meant for their nation.
While Jesus’ prayer for forgiveness was not answered immediately, it was not many days later on the Day of Pentecost when Peter preached his powerful sermon that God moved in a mighty way. Luke recorded for us in his Acts of the Apostles what took place: “So those who received (Peter’s) word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.” (Acts 2:41) Not many days later, the number had grown to well over five thousand (Acts 4:4). It is not unreasonable to assume that many among this multitude of believers in Jerusalem had been part of the crowd that had earlier clamored for Jesus’ death. The exponential growth of the early church was likely due in part to the effectiveness of Jesus’ prayer that the Father forgive those who had been manipulated into shouting, “Crucify him,” not really knowing the long-term implications of what they were doing.