The Pivotal Moment in History
Luke 23:44-49
©Copyright
April 10, 2009 Rev.
If you are watching a good movie there will be several scenes that stand out from the others. Most of us remember Dirty Harry standing over the bad guy saying, "I know what you're thinking: 'Did he fire six shots or only five?' To tell the truth, in all the excitement, I kind of lost track myself. But being this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do you, punk?"” We may remember the moment in the movie “Big” when Tom Hanks and Robert Loggia play “Heart and Soul” on a giant keyboard with their feet. And who can forget George Baily surrounded by friends in “It’s a Wonderful Life” or Dorothy clicking her ruby slippers as she repeats “There’s no place like home”.
The Drama of the crucifixion is the centerpiece of the gospels. Jesus ministered for at least 3 years. He taught, He did miracles, He showed who He was by many different proofs. However Matthew gives 28% of his gospel to just the last week of the life of Jesus. Mark give 37% of his gospel to the last week. Luke gives 25% of his gospel to the last week and John devotes a little less than HALF of his gospel to the events leading up to the death and resurrection of Jesus.
The events that led up to the crucifixion of Jesus are filled with many stirring moments. Who will ever forget that awful scene in the movie “The Passion of the Christ” where Jesus is being scourged (or whipped)? We can picture Pilate washing his hands and the crowd choosing Barabbas over Jesus.
In Mark 15:25 we are told Jesus was crucified at the third
hour. Since the Jewish day started at 6:00 a.m. that means Jesus was crucified
at 9:00 a.m. The trials all took place during the night. Jesus had gone the
night without sleep and had been beaten by the Roman guards and possibly the
Jewish leaders. He had been whipped to the point that his skin was torn and bleeding.
He was forced to carry the crossbeam (which because of expense had probably
been used for many other crucifixions meaning it was covered with the blood and
sweat of others). Jesus was so exhausted they had to take Simon the
Tonight I want to look at three specific scenes or memorable events that take place at the cross. We find them listed in Luke 23:44 and following.
Three Great Events
Darkness
The first dramatic event in verse 44 is a period of
darkness. Luke says, It was now about
the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. Three hours into
the torture of crucifixion (around noon!) the darkness settled in until about
3:00 p.m. It was during this time the Bible indicates Jesus endured the wrath
of God for our sin.
It is impossible to know how far the darkness extended. We can imagine that
the presence of the darkness must have been eerie, if not frightening. Have you ever noticed how dark it is outside
at night when the power is off? The blackness (especially if the moon is not
reflecting the sun’s light) is oppressive.
Imagine children asking their mothers, “Mommy, why is it dark?’ The Mothers could only answer, “I don’t know” and seek to reassure their children. No one knew how long the darkness would last. Since darkness is associated with judgment, the crowd must have gotten more uncomfortable with every passing minute.
This was a supernatural event. It could not have been an eclipse
because an eclipse can only take place at the time of a new moon and there is a
full moon at the time of Passover. And even if it was a solar eclipse, the fact that it lasted for three hours is
unprecedented. The NIV simply translates this as “the sun stopped shining”.
William Barclay says it is as if the sun could not bear to watch what was
taking place.
Some may have associated the darkness with the plague of darkness during the time of the Exodus. The plague lasted for three days and immediately preceded the tenth plague, which was the Passover, when lambs were killed and their blood was applied to the doorframes of homes, so the angel of death would pass over them.
I wonder if anyone caught the parallel: the Lamb of God was crucified so that His blood might make it possible for our sin to be passed over by God’s wrath. The darkness pointed humankind to the time of its greatest deliverance.
The Tearing of the Curtain
We are told that when Jesus died the curtain in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. Because of God’s holiness and man’s sin, people were forbidden to come into the presence of God. Access to the Holy of Holies (the place where one met with God) was guarded by a curtain that was 60 feet high and 30 feet wide. Only the High Priest could go behind this curtain and only after certain sacrifices and cleansings. To walk into that area would have defiled God’s holiness and brought swift judgment.
Last year we went to
When Jesus died the barrier between us and God was removed. It was a symbol that our defilement had been cleansed and we could approach God without fear. In Romans 5 Paul wrote,
Therefore, since we have been justified
through faith, we have peace with
God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace
in which we now stand.
The death of Christ made it possible for us to have a personal relationship with God and this was illustrated by the tearing of the curtain.
The Final Declaration
The third remarkable event is stated this way: “Jesus called out
with a loud voice, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.’ When he had
said this, he breathed his last.” It is interesting that these words are a
quote from Psalm 31:5. Apparently this was a prayer that parents taught their
children to pray when they went to sleep at night. It was a cry of confidence and trust which
certainly had an impact on those who heard it.
Crucifixion was a tortuous way to die. It often took days before a
person died either of blood loss or asphyxiation caused by the sagging of the
body making it impossible to breather. People often slipped into
unconsciousness from the pain. Some would become delirious.
This account of Jesus is remarkable because he was fully conscious and
aware. He spoke seven recorded times from the cross. Just previous to his final
comment He proclaimed “It is Finished”. Then with His work on the cross
completed, Jesus essentially said, “I’m ready to go home.” And He died. This event
was extraordinary because it was so unusual.
Matthew adds that there was one more event that took place: at the
moment Jesus died there was an earthquake. No
Three Responses
Luke changes the camera angle. Instead of focusing on the cross he moves immediately to the reaction of the crowd as Jesus breathes his last. He records three different responses. The first response is from the Centurion.
The Centurion would have been the Commander over the execution detail. We can guess that he had become somewhat calloused to the gruesome executions. People who do such work have to become emotionally detached from what they are doing (like a medical examiner or CSI). I suspect the Centurion left home that day figuring it would be just another day at the office.
This day was different however. The Centurion saw that Jesus was not like all the other people he had crucified. He witnessed and felt the darkness. He heard the words of Jesus and the tone with which they were spoken. They were not the angry words of a man striking out; they were the loving words of a man reaching out. The Centurion was surely struck not only by the triumphant nature of the man’s death but also the abruptness of this death. It was almost as if He decided when He would die. And after he died the earth shook. Luke tells us the Centurion “praised God” and said, “Surely this was a righteous man”. Matthew uses stronger words, “Truly this was the Son of God”.
The Centurion recognizes what the Jewish leaders denied. Jesus was not a bad man but a righteous man. He was not a blasphemer, but actually was God in human flesh.
Don’t you wonder what happened to this soldier? What did he tell his family? After the reports of the Resurrection did he find the disciples to learn more about Jesus? Did he eventually become a believer? Or did he simply go on with his life telling anyone who would listen about the strangest crucifixion he ever oversaw?
The second response was from the crowd who had been standing around watching the crucifixion. Luke tells us that they beat their breasts and went away.
A crucifixion was a public spectacle. It was meant to be. It was designed to be a deterrent to others. It’s gruesomeness was supposed to impact the people who watched.
Thought the Chief Priests and rulers were probably unaffected because of their hard hearts. For others, this was a stirring time. Charles Simeon reflects on what may have been going on in the minds and hearts of these people,
The multitude began to consider what they
had done. The three hours of darkness had given them time for reflection: the
recollection of all that Christ had done for their nation, led them to consider
what return they had now given him for all his unparalleled kindness; and the
earthquake convinced them that they were in the hands of an angry God. Now
therefore they began to express their regret and sorrow at having lent their
aid to so cruel a deed, so wicked a conspiracy. These now wished that they had
not yielded to the instigations of their rulers, or suffered themselves to
participate in so foul a crime — — — How far their repentance was
genuine, we are not able to say: though we think it probable that numbers of
them were amongst the converts on the day of Pentecost.[1]
In other words, these people were all filled with regret. Before we can ever embrace Christ as Savior we must go through this time of regret for the sin that caused His death. Before a criminal will be paroled for their crime there must be an acknowledgement of that crime. Parole boards look for a genuine “beating of the breasts” which precedes genuine repentance. Surely some were led to faith while others may have simply convinced themselves that they were not responsible.
There is one more response listed. We are told, “But all those
who knew him, including the women who had followed him from
We don’t know how many of the disciples were near the cross. The only
disciple we are sure was there, was John because Jesus spoke to him and asked
him to take care of his mom. What we do know is that there were a number of
woman who were there. The lists of woman vary. From comparing the lists it
seems Jesus’ mom was there with her sister Salome (who may have been the mother
of the son’s of Zebedee (the disciples James and John)). We are also told Mary
Magdalene and Mary the wife of Clopas were also there.
Matthew tells us that these women had followed Jesus from
I imagine that these women stood on
These friends of Jesus stood at a distance and watched as their dreams
appeared to crumble. They were losing a very dear friend, a family member, but
more than that, they had lost their hope. They had been convinced that Jesus
was the Messiah predicted in the Old Testament. They were in shock that things
turned out the way they did.
Conclusions
Just as different people respond to the key scenes in movies
differently by laughing, crying, or just taking it all in, those scenes touch
those who see them. Sometimes such dramatic scenes even inspire people to
action.
This is the way it should be with the events on
Our challenge tonight is twofold. First, we are challenged to ask a simple question: what do all these special events mean? In other words what do the words spoken, the three hours of darkness, the earthquake and the tearing of the temple curtain (from top to bottom) tell you about who this Jesus really was?
Do you see Him as the Centurion did? Do you recognize that
the man who died on that cross was no ordinary man? Do you see that what took
place on that day was more profound than simply an execution of an innocent
man? Even if you are not convinced he was God come to man (although, the story
isn’t over yet) I hope you are convinced to think more deeply and to look more
fully at this One who died at
Is it possible that He really did suffer there for you and me? Was our sin really the precipitating cause of this tragedy? Is it possible that God cares for us this much? These are the questions I encourage you to ask yourself.
Once we have answered the first question, there is a second: What will you do in response to who He is? Will you harden your heart like the teachers of the law and simply walk away? Will you recognize and mourn over your own sin? Will you turn to Jesus and not only declare him to be the Son of God but also the only One who can bring you forgiveness?
It comes down to this: will you be inspired by His story or transformed by it? The people who are inspired may be encouraged to work a little harder and be a little nicer. They may set Jesus up as their model of what a good life should be. They might even be inspired to become involved in the church. These people can say that Jesus has changed their life.
Those who are transformed recognize that Jesus is much more than an example. He is more than a good teacher. He is the One we desperately need to rebuild our heart and life. These people want to live better lives but they know they can only do so if God first changes their heart. These people entrust themselves to Christ. They look to Him for life and for a new direction.
Think about a person who is drowning. The person who is inspired by their rescuer sees the lifeguard swimming toward them. They see the strong strokes and think, “I need to try to do what the lifeguard does and then I will not drown.” They are grateful to the lifeguard as they start trying to swim to the shore. Before long however, the person is back in trouble because nothing has really changed. No matter how inspired or well intentioned they are, they still can not make it back to shore.
The person who is transformed by the lifeguard has a different approach. They look at the lifeguard and believe that a rescuer is on the way. They rest in the lifeguard’s arms and allow him/her to take him out of danger. They entrust themselves to the one who came to save.
So which are you? Are you merely inspired or are you transformed? Are these events like a memorable scene in a movie or do they jar your being with their gritty reality? Are you looking to your own strength and resolve or are you resting in what Jesus alone can do for you? One way may be memorable, but the other will change you forever.
©Copyright
April 10, 2009 Rev.