Luke 23:26-49

Butler's Comments

SECTION 2

Impaled (Luke 23:26-49)

26 And as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus. 27And there followed him a great multitude of the people, and of women who bewailed and lamented him. 28But Jesus turning to them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. 29For behold, the days are coming when they will say, -Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never gave suck!-' 30Then they will begin to say to the mountains, -Fall on us-'; and to the hills, -Cover us.-' 31For if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?

32 Two others also, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. 33And when they came to the place which is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on the right and one on the left. 34And Jesus said, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they cast lots to divide his garments. 35And the people stood by, watching; but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One! 36The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him vinegar, 37and saying, If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself! 38There was also an inscription over him, This is the King of the Jews.

39 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us! 40But the other rebuked him, saying, Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41And we indeed justly; for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong. 42And he said, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. 43And he said to him, Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.

44 It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour,45while the sun's light failed; and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit! And having said this he breathed his last. 47Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, and said, Certainly this man was innocent! 48And all the multitudes who assembled to see the sight, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts.49And all his acquaintances and the women who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance and saw these things.

Luke 23:26-31 Empathy: As soon as Pilate turned Jesus over to the Jews with an official edict to have Him crucified, Pilate's soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium, called the small band on duty together, stripped His clothes off, put a scarlet robe on him, jammed a plaited crown of thorns down on His head, put a reed in His right hand, and kneeled before Him, mocking Him with the words, Hail, King of the Jews (Matthew 27:27-31; Mark 15:16-20). They spat upon Him and struck Him in the head with a reed. Spitting in a person's face indicated gross contempt (Numbers 12:14; Deuteronomy 25:9; Job 30:10; Isaiah 50:6; Matthew 26:67; Matthew 27:30), and when performed by an unclean person it produced defilement (Leviticus 15:8). This psychologically demeaning and abusive experience; following the mock trials and the scourging constituted a terrible prelude to the excruciating spiritual struggle and physical torture of the cross.

As they led Him away to be crucified, they seized a bystander by the name of Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country and laid on him the cross to carry it behind Jesus. Jesus probably bore the cross Himself until they neared the gate in the northern wall of the city. It was Roman practice to make the accused bear a 300 pound cross to the place of execution. The accused usually wore a sign announcing his crime. As the accused proceeded through the city bearing his cross he was often flogged by Roman whips and pelted with rocks and other missiles from the gaping multitudes along the way to execution. Apparently Jesus was going too slowly or He may have fallen under its weight. The latter would be more likely when one considers the devastating tortures He endured for hours and hours prior to this experience. The man pressed into service to carry His cross was from North Africa (Cyrene) but he was evidently a Jew (named, Simon). Alexander and Rufus were his sons and probably Christians (Romans 16:13). Simon may have later become a Christian himself. A scene as this would call forth the natural tender-sympathies of women.

These were women of Judea or Jerusalemnot of Galilee. They were wailing out of pure feminine pity and empathy for Him. The wells of human pity almost always overflow the feminine heart in the presence of suffering. But, almost incredibly, Jesus warned them, Do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and your children. He was not spitefully slighting their sympathy but He knew that His death was going to result in something even more terrible for Jerusalem and its inhabitants (cf. Luke 19:41-44; Luke 21:3-32). He is repeating, in capsule form, what He had already announcedthe doom of Jerusalem and Judaism. The Romans will crucify Jesus (at the insistence of the Jews) who is The Green Wood but which will not be consumed because there is no real crime in Him. The Romans will destroy the Jewish nation which is The Dry Wood because it is guilty of killing the Son of God. The time will come to these wailing Jewish women when they will wish they had not borne any children.

Evidently these Jewish women were not believersonly sympathizers. They wailed because they took pity on His fleshly torture. His physical weakness is all they saw, however. They had not seen His deity. May we suggest that we too may be overly inclined to show pity only for the physical torture Jesus had to endure and may miss focusing our contrition in the right place. What we should lament is our sin and the injustice of the perfect Son of man having to be made sin on our behalf. If we come to the cross and pity His physical suffering primarily, we have not really grasped the deepest truth concerning His sorrow. As G. Campbell Morgan said: In the last analysis, Jesus is never an object of pity on the part of sinful, condemned humanity. He is the Object of wonder and of true worship, as He is seen moving in regal splendor towards His Cross. It is nothing short of awesome that Jesus, in these hours of severest psychological and physical torture, could take time to show concern and deep sympathy for the Jewish nation and warn them once more of the heinousness of their evil. These are the only words He spoke between Pilate's judgment and the cross!

Luke 23:32-34 Execution: Now Luke tells the story of the crucifixion. Along with the other gospel writers he states the facts with incredible brevity! This brevity is for a purpose. Had the gospel writers gone into great detail about the physical aspects of the crucifixion, it would only have intensified the human inclination to concentrate on the physical and miss the spiritual.

They took Jesus out, His only companions were two criminals (Gr. kakourgos, lit. evil-workers), and proceeded to a place called, The Skull. Matthew and Mark call it in Greek, Golgothan, (Matthew 27:33; Mark 15:22) which is a transliteration of the Hebrew word, gulegoleth. The Hebrew word means, bald, round, skull-like mound or hill. Luke calls it in Greek, kranion, which is simply, Skull. The KJV in Luke 23:33 follows the Latin Vulgate and translates, Calvary. The Latin word calvaria is a rendering of the Greek kranion, both of which mean skull. A fourth century tradition says Golgotha was where the Church of The Holy Sepulchre now stands (within the city walls at Jerusalem). The more likely site is Gordon's Calvary discovered in 1849, a few hundred feet northeast of the Damascus Gatesometimes known as the Green Hill (outside the ancient walls of Jerusalem). Hebrews 13:12 may indicate (unless it is to be interpreted symbolically) Jesus was put to death outside the city. The traditional site for Golgotha was for many years associated with the Church of the Holy Sepulchre marking the spot where Constantine, in dismantling a pagan temple, allegedly found the sepulchre where Christ had been buried. Constantine's mother, Queen Helena built a Christian church there in 326-330 A.D, Recently, Miss Kenyon, an archaeologist, discovered the ruins of an ancient stone quarry near the Church. The quarry could be dated from 700 B.C. to sometime after 70 A.D. Some have theorized, that a quarry would necessarily be outside the ancient city walls and, therefore, the location of ancient Golgotha may very well have been near where the Church is now (see map on page 471). We prefer Gordon's Calvary because of the following reasons:

a.

The place of executing, both with the Romans and the Jews was customarily outside the city or camp (Palutius, a Roman general wrote of this in his Military Glories, 2:4:6; see also Deuteronomy 17:5; 1 Kings 21:13; Acts 7:58; Hebrews 13:12; Leviticus 24:14; Numbers 15:36).

b.

John 19:20 says the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city. and apparently where passers-by would be able to see clearly the spectacle. even those afar off (Mark 15:40).

c.

Gordon's Calvary is only a few hundred feet northeast of the Damascus Gate.

d.

Prevailing archaeological opinion is that the wall of Jerusalem is now just where it was in Jesus-' day.

e.

There is only one place around Jerusalem which has borne, and still bears, the name Skull Hill, that is Gordon's Calvary.

f.

Gordon's Calvary is near where the Tower of Antonia was (Pilate's judgment hall) and Gordon's Calvary would appear to be the most readily accessible place (away from crowded streets of the city) to carry on the act of crucifixion.

The origin of crucifixion as a method of execution may be traced to the Phoenician, Carthaginean, Persian and Median civilizations. Syrians and Greeks also used this barbaric instrument of death. The Romans adopted the practice because of the unparalleled suffering it inflicted and the spectacle it presented. It was inflicted on vicious criminals and slaves. It proved to be an effective deterrent to widespread crime or sedition. A Roman citizen could choose execution other than by crucifixion. The Jews would impale a dead man to signify a curse upon him (Galatians 3:13; Deuteronomy 21:22-23) but never would they execute anyone by crucifixion. Their profound hatred of Jesus is intensely revealed in their cry, Crucify him! An article in Time magazine, January 18, 1971, brought to light some new and important information on the method of crucifixion by the Romans. In June 1968, thirty-five human skeletons were found by archaeologists in Israel dating back to the first century A.D. near the old Damascus Gate of Jerusalem. Among them the skeleton of a young adult male whose name, Yehohanan (John, in Aramaic), was inscribed on a burial ossuary. The man's heel bones were penetrated by the rusty remains of a seven-inch long nail. The nail had been bent by trying to force it into a knot. The only way to get the body down from its cross was to cut its feet off and remove the entire complexpiece of wood, nail, feet and the rest of the bodyfor burial. This is the first firm physical evidence of an actual crucifixion in the ancient Mediterranean world. It is very significant because: It tends to revise classical artist's concepts of the manner of crucifixion.

See article Where Did Jesus Die? by Wm. Palmer in Christian Standard 3-19-78.

The crucified Jesus is usually shown in an erect position, fastened to the cross by nails driven through hands and feet. To some scholars, that interpretation seemed highly implausible. With the bulk of the victim's weight suspended from his hands, his body would sag; it would become extremely difficult for the breathing muscles to operate, and death would follow rapidly. The delicacy of the hand-structure would also tend to tear and come loose from the nails supporting all the body weight.

According to a reconstruction of Yehohanan's crucifixion by Nicu Haas, anatomist and archaeologist, the nails were driven through the forearms to provide greater support. The victim's legs were twisted to one side and folded up, then a nail and a piece of wood forming a cleat were nailed into his feet near the heel bone. This unnatural position served the purpose of the executioners very well: it would have prolonged both the victim's life and his agony. Incidentally, Yehohanan's skeleton gave evidence that the traditional coup de grace (a blow breaking both legs to hasten the victim's death by hemorrhage and shock) had been administered.

Usually an anesthesia was given to the victim of crucifixion, a mixture of wine and myrrh (Gr. smurna, a gum-resin from a tree which grows in Yemenan astringent, antiseptic and stimulant) and also mixed in with this was gall (Gr. chole, which some think may have been a small dosage of reptilian venom). But Jesus refused to be anesthetized! He was determined to drink the cup of God's wrath upon sin to the full, (see Matthew 27:34; Mark 15:23).

With cold-blooded detachment the Romans would securely fasten the mutilated body to the cross. The ringing hammer against nail, mingled with shrieks of pain (from many other victims) produced a chilling sensation in the bystanders. With a dull thud and more screams from the victim the cross would be dropped into a hole with the victim nailed to the wood, suspended between earth and sky. All that remained was the wait for death. The pain of tearing flesh and muscle cramps became unbearable. Many victims fainted, revived, and fainted again, often, before death. Severe inflammation of open wounds from scourging and the nails occurred. Exposure to the elements of heat and cold (at night); rain and sunshine; insects and birds pecking at the helpless victims, created agony beyond comprehension. The arteries of the head and stomach were surcharged with blood creating excruciating headaches and stomach cramps plus psychological trauma, Tetanus with attendant convulsions often set in. Death rarely came before thirty-six hours elapsed. Nine days is the longest record of torturous endurance on a cross. This form of execution engulfed the victim not only with pain, but with moral reproach and public humiliation!

It was 9:00 a.m. in the morning (Mark 15:25 calls it the third hour) when Jesus was nailed to the cross. Placing Jesus between two thieves was intended to humiliate Him further. All manner of derisive, abusive and mocking taunts were probably being hurled at Jesus as He was being nailed to the timbers. There was not one sympathetic, helpful word or touch until the word of one of the thieves. Of course, His mother, other women and John the apostle were there, but they were not allowed near Him. And what was Jesus doing as the Roman soldiers were driving the spikes into His hands and feet? He was praying for the forgiveness of His executioners. The Greek verb aphes is in the imperfect tense meaning Jesus kept on saying, Father suffer them (or, wait for them) for they know not what they are doing Luke 23:34. This is the first word from the crossthere will be six others. Luke records three of the seven words from the cross, John records three, and Matthew and Mark record the other one. These words are precious revelations of what was passing through the mind of our Savior in these final hours.

The Greek word aphes (forgive) is the same word used in Matthew 19:14, aphete, where it is translated suffer or allow, and in Matthew 27:49 where it is translated wait. Jesus was not asking God for blanket forgiveness here, nor was He praying for the immediate forgiveness of His executioners without their repentance. No where in the scriptures is such a doctrine taught. What Jesus was praying was that God would wait with divine forebearance, put off His wrath upon these who were unaware of their heinous crime, until they might have an opportunity to respond to a better knowledge of what they had done. These Roman soldiers were under military orders, carrying out an assignment given them by their superiors. They would assume Jesus to be guilty, unless they were privy to Pilate's statements to the Jews. Paul says if the rulers had known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory (1 Corinthians 2:8). Peter said the same thing in Acts 3:17. But now God commands all men everywhere to repentand He has given assurance by raising Jesus from the dead (Acts 17:30-31), After Jesus-' resurrection these executioners, and all men everywhere (Colossians 1:23), did have an opportunity to know for Paul said the gospel was preached to the whole world in his lifetime. At that time they must respond in repentance and obedience to covenant terms (immersion in water) to have the forgiveness Christ prayed they might have opportunity to choose. No man should take sin lightly. Jesus was not praying for indiscriminate forgiveness or universal salvation. Jesus was pleading for time for men who had no opportunity to know of Him as the vindicated, validated Lord of glory.

Pilate had written a placard with the title, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews, (cf. John 19:18-22). It was written in the three main languages spoken or read then, Hebrew, Latin and Greek. Pilate probably did it more to express his contempt and spite toward the Jewish rulers than for anything else. It may have been for the sake of the Roman official records since blasphemy of a foreign god would not be a capital crime by Roman law. The Jews objected but Pilate said it would remain that way, so the soldiers nailed the sign to the cross. Next, the soldiers divided His garments (plural). He probably wore a turban, a cape or cloak, a girdle or belt, sandals and the under-garments. They divided these among themselves and decided to cast lots for the seamless tunic (cf. John 19:23-25) which was of extra-ordinary workmanship. This action was foreknown by God and predicted about a thousand years before it occurred (cf. Psalms 22:18).

Luke 23:35-39 Excoriation: The people stood by watching. The extreme cruelty of crucifixion often left those who witnessed it in speechless shock. The Jewish rulers, however, were so filled with raging malice they were impervious to the inhumanity of it all and scoffed as they heaped verbal abuses upon Jesus. Matthew says they cried blasphemous words (Gr. eblasphemoun, derided) at Jesus (Matthew 27:39), wagging their heads or nodding in the direction of the cross as if sneering at this end for the alleged Messiah. Their taunt, He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One, was a verbal reinforcement of their disbelief and maliciousness. The soldiers mocked (Gr. enepaizon, to play like a child, to sport or jest with) Jesus and so did the Jewish rulers (Matthew 27:41; Mark 15:31). The rulers affirmed their opinion that God wanted nothing to do with Jesus by saying, He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him; for he said, I am the Son of God (Matthew 27:43). One of the saddest spectacles about Jesus-' crucifixion was the conduct of those around the cross. Rather than sit in silence and think or observe, they circled and paced about, spilling out venomous spite and hate like wild animals (bulls, Psalms 22:12) circling around a wounded and dying prey. Note the admission of the rulers in their statement, He saved others. that Jesus had done miracles. Perhaps they were remembering the resurrection of Lazarus. Would they have believed had Jesus come down from the cross? Did they believe the miracles they admitted He did? Did they believe after He arose from the dead? Some did (Acts 6:7)!

Matthew and Mark indicate that both the thieves started reviling Jesus (Matthew 27:44; Mark 15:32). Luke mentions the one because the other repented. Perhaps the thieves felt they were dying before their time and Jesus was the causethey were undoubtedly crucified with Jesus to bring additional shame upon Him. The one thief said much the same as the rulers, If you are the Christ as you allege, save yourself and us from this excruciating death. His concept of the Christ was carnal too. Luke uses the Greek word eblasphemei to describe the thief's railing at Jesus, Luke 23:39.

Luke 23:40-43 Exaltation: Suddenly, one of the thieves began to rebuke the other, Do you not fear God! Then he began to confess his sin, ... we indeed justly; for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds.. He then added his belief of Jesus-' innocence, saying, but this man has done nothing wrong. He repented, or changed his mind and actions, from that of blaspheming Jesus to asking for His help. The thief believed Jesus was going to somehow fulfill His claim of Messiahship and come into His kingdom. He surely did not think Jesus would survive death on the cross, so he must have believed in some kind of spiritual or other-worldly kingdom. Jesus would have welcomed such faith in the multitudes to whom He preached so often and so intently. But how could this thief have come to such conclusions about Jesus?

a.

John the Baptist's preaching was widely known and heard.

b.

Jesus-' teachings and miracles were even more widely known and talked about.

c.

If the thief was a Jew, he probably knew something of Old Testament prophecies and rabbinic traditions.

d.

Both these thieves may have heard about the things said at Jesus-' trials, or they may have been onlookers at the trials.

e.

The one thief was impressed with the divine behavior of Jesus at His crucifixion like the Roman soldier was.

At that moment Jesus spoke His second utterance from the cross: Today, you will be with me in Paradise (Luke 23:43). The word paradeiso is the Greek translation of a Persian word which originally meant garden or park. It is found only three times in the New Testament (Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 12:4; Revelation 2:7). There is a Hebrew word, parades, in Song of Solomon 4:13; Nehemiah 2:8; Ecclesiastes 2:5 translated forest or orchard. In Jewish Apocrypha the word is used extensively to denote the place of happiness to be inherited by the righteous. Jesus used the word only once. When Jesus spoke to the thief it was no time to use theological words so He used a word of the vernacular, Paradise. No human being knows the location of Paradisebut wherever Jesus went that very day, this thief was with Him, (cf. also Philippians 1:21-23; Luke 16:19-31). The question arises, how could this thief be saved without being baptized?

a.

Obviously Jesus could give salvation to anyone on any terms He wished so long as His last will and testament had not been probated by His death (cf. Hebrews 9:16).

b.

While a man still lives he has the right to dispense his possessions as he may see fit (cf. Matthew 9:2-8; Luke 7:48). But after his death, his property must be dispensed according to the terms of his will (cf. Hebrews 9:15-28).

c.

Christ's last will and testament was probated (from Latin, probare; to prove or establish) on the Day of Pentecost, A.D. 30, when its divine authority was attested to by His resurrection and subsequent miracles of the Holy Spirit. On that day the Lord's executors gave the terms of Christ's willrepent and be immersed, everyone of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of your sins. (Acts 2:38).

d.

Since that time, everyone who wishes to be in Paradise with Christ must obey the terms of His probated will!

Luke 23:44-49 Exclamation: John records the third utterance from the cross: Woman, behold your son! (the apostle, John); and, Behold your mother! (John 19:25-27). Four women; Mary, Jesus-' mother; Mary Magdalene; Mary, mother of James and Joseph (also wife of Clopas); and Salome, mother of the sons of Zebedee (James and John) (also Jesus-' aunt); and John, the beloved apostle, stood with the crowd around the cross. It was blazing noon-day (Luke calls it, the sixth hour); Jesus had been on the cross three hours. Now is fulfilled Simeon's prediction (Luke 2:35), a sword will pierce your (Mary, the mother) heart also. Jesus is Mary's Lord, to be sure, but just now He is her son, the baby who lay upon her breast long ago, the lad of Nazareth, the good, true, holy boy who grew into manhood under her loving eyes. From that hour John the apostle took Mary into his home (John 19:27).

Luke (as well as Matthew and Mark) document for us the fact that there was an unnatural darkness, at midday, over the whole land, which lasted for three hours. Luke, according to the Nestle text, used the Greek word, eklipontos, from which the English word eclipse comes, to describe this darkness. It was, however, no natural eclipse because it was full-moon time (being Passover time). This was a miraculous darkness (Gr. skotos, the word which all three of the Synoptics use to describe the phenomenon). The darkness probably did not cover the whole earth. One pagan historian, however, does discuss it. Phlegon, Roman astronomer, speaking of the fourteenth year of the reign of Tiberius (29-30 A.D.) says, ... the greatest eclipse of the sun that was ever known happened then, for the day was so turned into night that the stars appeared.

The supernatural rending of the veil of the Temple is recorded by Luke (Luke 23:45) here. Matthew and Mark (Matthew 27:51; Mark 15:38) place it at the moment of Christ's death. A careful examination of Luke's account indicates he is making a summarization for he says that the darkness and the rending of the veil took place sometime, and Luke is not intending to be exact, during the three hours from the sixth hour (noon) until the ninth hour (3:00 p.m.), The veil was apparently torn in two (from top to bottom, Matthew 27:51; Mark 15:38) at the ninth hour when Jesus breathed his last (Matthew 27:50; Mark 15:37; Luke 23:46). This incident was very evidently a miracle. It was not caused by the earthquake because Matthew says that happened after the veil was rent (Matthew 27:51-53). Edersheim says this veil was 60 ft. long (that is six stories), 30 ft. wide, and the thickness of the palm of a man's hand (about 4-5 inches). It was a composite of 72 equal squares of material and took scores of priests to manipulate. Rabbinical literature tells of two veils in Herod's Temple, one before the doors into the Holy Place, and one before the entrance to the Holy of Holies. The one torn in two was undoubtedly the veil before the Holy of Holies. Hebrews 9:1-28 is clearly a reference to this historic event as symbolizing the spiritual reality that was accomplished at the death of Christ. This miracle, witnessed no doubt by many priests, may be part of the reason many priests became followers of Christ later (see Acts 6:7).

Between noon and 3:00 p.m. Jesus made four more utterances from the cross:

a.

Eli, Eli, lama sa-bach-thani? this is Aramaic meaning, My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me? (cf. Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34).

1.

It is the cry of God, Himself, on the cross coming into identification of Himself with the issue of the sin of man.

2.

God interposed Himself with an oath (Hebrews 6:17) at the cross, and took man's place.

3.

It is God-man entering into the experience of both at the point where reconciliation must be achieved.

4.

It is the Incarnate God becoming His own curse upon sin and sinners (Galatians 3:13).

5.

It is Him who knew no sin, being made to be sin on our behalf (2 Corinthians 5:21).

6.

It is God being both Just and the Justifier of those who believe in Jesus Christ (Romans 3:26).

7.

It is the cry of a soul at the uttermost of sinseparating the soul from its Creator. It is the cry of the agony of absolute estrangement from God and all its consequences.

8.

It is the cry of a soul at the uttermost of sorrowsorrowing over its loss of identity because forsaken by God, the soul is lost even to itself!

9.

It is the cry of the soul in the presence of the Divine silence. God withdrawsdarkness and silence like no one has ever experienced. It is the silence and withdrawal of Hell!

10.

It is a word from the lips of God. God is expressing from the human lips of His Son the fact that the pains and penalties of human sin were HisHe took them for us!

11.

It was all the cries of all the doubts of all humanity at the seeming injustices and incongruities of life and death. My God, why?. Is there any answer? Yes! If Calvary raises these questions, Easter morning answers them! God has not forsaken man!

b.

I thirst. (John 19:28)

1.

Six hours of physical and psychological torture more severe than any person has ever known is what Jesus has endured thus far.

2.

His tongue probably was swollen, his lips parched and cracked, and his every nerve crying out for the relief of a cooling drink.

3.

Soldiers say that on the battlefield all other agony of torn bodies and severed limbs is forgotten in the agony that exceeds them allthat of thirst.

4.

And someone gave Him vinegar on a sponge, attached to a reed or a limb off an hyssop shrub.

5.

How could Jesus drink the wine-vinegar now after refusing the wine and myrrh at first. Vinegar alone (soured wine) has no anesthetic value, and, now He has tasted to the full His primary cup and it is now finished.

6.

He who is the Water of Life drank the bitter cup of sin for the whole world there so those who believe and obey Him may drink the sweet wine of victory and forgiveness.

c.

It is finished (John 19:30).

1.

He cried it with a loud voice. It was a shout of triumph, not of defeat.

2.

The Greek word is tetelestai, a perfect tense verb meaning, It has been brought to fulfillment with a continuing result of fulfillment. In other words, what Jesus completed on the cross will continue to stand as completed. It will never need to be completed again! (cf. Hebrews 9:25-28; Hebrews 10:12-14, etc.).

3.

The word of God for the redemption of mankindso far as the Son's part was concernedwas completed.

4.

All the types, symbols and prophecies of the Old Testament pointed to this moment (Daniel 9:24-27; Isaiah 53:1-12; Zechariah 13:1 ff)FINISHED!

Luke alone records the last utterance from the cross (Luke 23:46): Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit! The Greek verb, parathesomai, is the same word as its noun form in 2 Timothy 1:12 where Paul says he is persuaded God is able to keep that which he has committed to Him. It is a word which means deposited with or entrusted with. Matthew says Jesus cried again with a loud voice and yielded up His spirit. Matthew uses apheken, a Greek word which means Jesus released, delivered, dismissed or yielded up or let go His spirit. Jesus finished His work in the earthly body given Him (see Hebrews 10:5-10), dismissed His spirit, and deposited it, along with His redemptive work, with the Father for safekeeping and use as the Father intended it. Jesus was in control all the way. He did not release His spirit until it was finished. He was King. No man took His lifeHe gave it! Matthew records (Matthew 27:51-53) that when Jesus breathed His last, the veil of the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom; the earth shook, and the rocks were split; the tombs were opened and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they went into Jerusalem and appeared to many.

The centurion (Matthew adds, and those assigned with him) and all the multitudes assembled to see the sight of the crucifixion, saw sights they had not expected. Darkness for three hours, earthquake and other phenomena (about which they all heard) were things which flooded their minds with awe and agitated anxiety (Gr. sphodra, violent restlessness). The women stood at a distance and saw these things (Matthew 27:55-56). The on-lookers returned home beating their chests (Gr. stethe, chestis the word from which the medical term, stethoscope, comes). It was customary to display publicly such emotions as grief, anguish, remorse or shock (see Luke 18:13). It is still a custom of the people of the Middle East. Perhaps some of the on-lookers, having had time to be away from the mobs shouting, Crucify Him, and having seen His divine behavior, had begun to realize Who this was and what they had done! Luke says the centurion praised God and said, Certainly this man was innocent. Matthew and Mark report that the centurion said, Truly, this man was a Son of God! The Greek phrase in Matthew and Mark is alethos theou huios en houtos. Literally that would be translated: Truly, of a god, a son was this man. The absence of the definite article in Greek constitutes, where the context indicates, the equivalent of the indefinite article in English. We believe the context indicates that here. Furthermore, in Greek, the noun with the definite article identifies, but the noun without the definite article qualifies. In this phrase we have the noun (theos) without the definite article. This centurion was a pagan and probably had no concept of monotheism. Romans often made their emperors and other famous men gods and worshiped them. Especially did the Romans idolize stoic endurance of suffering. The centurion was honest-hearted enough to recognize Jesus-' innocence (Gr. dikaios, justness). So what he is exclaiming is that Jesus-' behavior, and the signs he had seen, indicated to him Jesus was probably a son of a god! He knew Jesus was different from any other human beings he had ever known.

John notes that it was the day of Preparation (Gr. paraskeue, Friday), Mark expressly says Preparation was the day before the Sabbath (Mark 15:42), and the Jews, meticulously careful that no bodies be left hanging after sundown Friday (which would be the beginning of Sabbath), encouraged Pilate to speed up the execution (John 19:31-37). Romans employed a very grim method of hastening execution by crucifixionthey smashed the legs of the victim with an iron hammer. This kept the victim from being able to support himself so his body sagged and cut off his breathing and he suffocated. Also, the utter shock of such treatment usually precipitated immediate death. John emphatically states as an eyewitness that Jesus was dead. John notes that the soldiers did not break the legs of Jesus because He was already dead, (John 19:33). One of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear (John 19:34) and at once there came out blood and water. It is very important that we mention John's eyewitnessed testimony here, for if Jesus did not really die, He was not really raised from the dead. In fact, that is the primary thesis of Dr. Hugh Schonfield's celebrated book, The Passover Plot. He theorizes that Jesus did not really die on the cross but He had plotted earlier with some of His friends that they should drug Him while He was being crucified. Then when He appeared dead, they should ask for His body and put Him in a tomb so that He might later come out and appear to have risen from the dead. We prefer to accept the testimony of an eyewitness, John, rather than the theory of someone writing two thousand years removed from the actual event.

Applebury's Comments

The Crucifixion of Jesus
Scripture

Luke 23:26-49 And when they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon of Cyrene, coming from the country, and laid on him the cross, to bear it after Jesus.

27 And there followed him a great multitude of the people, and of women who bewailed and lamented him. 28 But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children. 29 For behold, the days are coming, in which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the breasts that never gave suck. 30 Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us. 31 For if they do these things in the green tree, what shall be done in the dry?
32 And there were also two others, malefactors, led with him to be put to death.
33 And when they came unto the place which is called The skull, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand and the other on the left. 34 And Jesus said, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And parting his garments among them, they cast lots. 35 And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also scoffed at him, saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if this is the Christ of God, his chosen. 36 And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, offering him vinegar, 37 and saying, If thou art the King of the Jews, save thyself. 38 And there was also a superscription over him, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

39 And one of the malefactors that were hanged railed on him, saying, Art not thou the Christ? save thyself and us. 40 But the other answered, and rebuking him said, Dost thou not even fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss, 42 And he said, Jesus, remember me when thou comest in thy kingdom, 43 And he said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in Paradise.
44 And it was now about the sixth hour, and a darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, 45 the sun's light failing: and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. 46 And Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit; and having said this, he gave up the ghost, 47 And when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, certainly this was a righteous man. 48 And all the multitudes that came together to this sight, when they beheld the things that were done, returned smiting their breasts, 49 And all his acquaintance, and the women that followed with him from Galilee, stood afar off, seeing these things.

Comments

Simon of Cyrene.John says that Jesus went out, bearing His own cross; that is, He started to the place of the crucifixion carrying the cross (John 19:17). His agony in Gethsemane and the ordeal of the trial could easily have been the cause of His needing help to bear the heavy burden of the cross. Simon of CyreneCyrene was a country in north Africawas compelled to bear it after Jesus.

Must Jesus bear the cross alone,
And all the world go free?
No; there's a cross for everyone,
And there's a cross for me.

Daughters of Jerusalem.Jesus spoke to the women who were following Him, trying to comfort them in this hour of His ordeal. He reminded them, however, that they were also facing an ordeal that would come at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem. The suffering of that day would cause some of them to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us. What they were suffering was likened to the green tree; He asked, What shall be done in the dry?

The place called The Skull,The other writers use the Aramaic name Golgotha, which means skull or, when translated into Latin, Calvary.

And Jesus said.Luke gives three of the words Jesus spoke from the cross. The first is found in Luke 23:34, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.

The context seems to suggest that He was speaking of those who were actually nailing Him to the cross. The rulers and others were also there, but He had already indicated on several occasions that nothing but doom awaited them because their rejection of Him was final, and no repentance was to be expected. But, of the crowds who had become involved in their sins, many would reverse their decision and find forgiveness through repentance and baptism in the name of the one who prayed Father, forgive them.

The second, given in Luke 23:43, is, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in Paradise.

According to Acts 2:27, which is a quotation from Psalms 16:10, Jesus was in Hades while his body lay in the tomb. Paul speaks of Paradise_ and identifies it with the third heaven (2 Corinthians 12:4). He also suggests that being absent from the body means being present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:6-9). Jesus had indicated that Hades is the place where both the good and the bad are to be found after death. (Luke 16:23).

It is correct, then, to say: (1) That Paradise is the place where the righteous dead await the resurrection, and (2) that the dying thief was told that he would be there with Jesus.

The third statement, found in Luke 23:46, is, Into thy hands I commend my spirit (Luke 23:46).

He had come from the Father. As He prayed in the shadow of the cross He said, Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was (John 17:5). See also Philippians 2:5-11.

Matthew and Mark mention only one saying of Jesus from the cross: My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34).

This is a quotation from Psalms 22:1. It reveals the real meaning of the death of Christ. It was more than physical death; it was separation from the Father. The answer to the cry of Jesus is found in Paul's statement, Him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; that we might become the righteousness of God in him (2 Corinthians 5:21). As Son of ManHe was also Son of GodGod made Him represent sin. The death that He died, He died unto sin once for all (Romans 6:10). There will never be another sacrifice for sin (Hebrews 10:14; Hebrews 10:18).

The cross, then, is not only the symbol of God's love, it is also the symbol of God's punishment for sin, Let those who would know the meaning of hell look at the death of Him who was made sin on our behalf.

John records three of the sayings of Jesus on the cross. The first, found in John 19:26-27, is: Woman, behold thy son. Jesus committed His mother to the care of John. Then He said to John, Behold thy mother. There is reason to believe that John may have been her nephew. Just why Jesus put His mother in John's care rather than one of her own sons is not stated.

The second saying is: I thirst (John 19:28). This indicates something of the torture Jesus was suffering as He was dying on the cross.

The third is: It is finished (John 19:30). In His prayer before going to the cross, He had said, I glorified thee on earth, having accomplished the work thou hast given me to do (John 17:4). That work was finished at the cross. The final sacrifice was made. The new and living way into the refuge which He prepared was opened (Hebrews 6:19-20; Hebrews 10:19-22).

He saved others.Although they spoke out of malicious wickedness, they spoke the truth. He had saved others, and His death would save the multitude that no man can number of those who wash their robes and make them white in the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 7:9-14). But He had to die in order to do it. In His death, He brought to nought him who has power of death, that is, the devil.

THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.John says that the sign over the cross was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. Pilate wanted everyone to read the sign and know that Rome had thus disposed of the one who, the Jews said, made himself a king. He refused to change the wording of the sign so as to relieve the Jews of the ignominy of having their king die on a Roman cross. See John 19:19-22.

And one of the malefactors.Two robbers were put to death at the time Jesus was crucified. Three crosses were planted on Calvary. The death of Jesus provided the only possible way of escape from eternal punishment (Acts 4:12). Calvary's crosses dramatize this gospel truth.

he gave up the ghost.that is, He died. The evidence is conclusive: (1) The darkness and the earthquake provided the setting; (2) the temple veil was rent from the top to the bottom, suggesting that something unusual had happened that it should be torn in this manner; (3) the expression of the centurion who saw Him die (Mark 15:39). A Roman soldier knew death when he saw it. He said, Truly this man was the Son of God. (4) The soldier pierced the side of Jesus-' body from which there came blood and water. It was the soldiers-' judgment that He was already dead, but this was done to make sure of it (John 19:33). (5) The enemies of Jesus were concerned only that the body be kept safely in the tomb; they did not question the fact of Jesus-' death.

And when the centurion.Soldiering was never considered a soft business. Execution of criminalsand, no doubt, many innocent peoplewas all in a day's work for Roman soldiers. But there was something different about the death of Jesus of Nazareth. When the centurion heard Him say, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit, and saw all the things that were happening, he glorified God and said, Certainly this was a righteous man. Thus he concurred in the judgment of both Pilate and Herod that this man had done nothing worthy of death; He was innocent.

According to Matthew, the centurion said, Truly this was God's Son (Matthew 27:54). In doing so, he recognized the deity of Jesus.

Some have assumed that a pagan soldier could not mean by this remark that He was anything other than a son of the godspagan gods. But what about the centurion who loved the Jewish nation and built their synagogue? Jesus commended his faith which was unlike anything He had found in all Israel. Cornelius was another exception. God heard the prayers of this devout, God-fearing man even though he was a Gentile (Acts 10:1-4).

There is no good reason to question the meaning of the centurion's confession. He believed that Jesus was God's Son. The resurrection of Our Lord proved him right (Romans 1:3-4).