Luke 23:44-49. 3/21/13. JESUS’ DEATH – my devotional

Luke 23:44-49                                                                                        Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF

Key Verse: 23:46                                                                                    3-21-13

“Jesus called out with a loud voice, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.’ When he had said this, he breathed his last.”

    Dear Lord Jesus Christ, thank you that you suffered and died on the cross of for our many sins. Thank you, that in light of Jesus’ death, we can be forgiven. We can be made new. That we can have strength to move ahead. That we can have absolute reason to go and sin no more. The death of Jesus is the starting point of all things new. Please open my mind, heart and spirit to the meaning of Jesus’ death and be able to share it with others in a meaningful way. Illumine my heart. I thank you and I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Part 1: The Hour of Darkness (44-46)

Verses 44-46, “It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, ⁴⁵ for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. ⁴⁶ Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.”

Jesus was left hanging there, nailed to a cruel Roman cross, hanging in between heaven and hell. At the age of 33, Jesus was condemned and forced to endure the “worst” death devised by man. Only the worst criminals were condemned to be crucified.

Jesus had incurred a dizzying array of bodily wounds as he made his way from the Pilates palace, just before he stumbled along “Via Delarosa”, the road to suffering. He was whipped and beaten.  The whipping was so severe that it tore the flesh from his body. He carried his own cross for almost 1 ½ miles while the crowd spat in his face and threw stones thinking of him as a criminal. It was a humiliating experience. The cross-beam of the cross weighed about 70 pounds. It rubbed into his shoulders, causing chaffing, bleeding and stinging pain. When placed on the cross by the Roman soldiers, the eight inch nails wounded his hands and his feet. The nails were driven into his wrist so that his hands wouldn’t tear away. He was lifted high on the cross, naked, which humiliated further. The tendon in the wrist was broken from the nailing, forcing Jesus to use his back muscles to support himself to breathe. His feet were nailed together, making him support himself on a single nail. Jesus could not support himself with his legs because of the pain, and so he alternated between arching his back and then using his legs just to continue breathing. The crown of thorns cut deeply into his scalp. Imagine the struggle, the pain, the suffering, and yet…the courage.

Jesus endured this reality for over three hours.  Most people would have never survived this kind of torture for even a fraction of the time. A few minutes before he died, Jesus stopped bleeding.  He was now pouring water from his wounds. Jesus had no more blood to bleed out, only water. And there is hung, dying on the cross.

Jesus is not the victim here. He knew exactly what he was getting into all along. When Jesus began his earthly ministry, he was baptized by John. As he approached John, John cried out, “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” (Jn 1:29) Jesus knew that he was sent to this world by the Father, to be the sacrificial Lamb, whose shed blood had power to procure the complete forgiveness of our sins. Jesus knew that, to be our Pascal Lamb, it would all come to this. He even told his disciples, on numerous occasions that the Son of Man must suffer at the hands of sinful men, die and then be raised to life. Jesus accepted the Father’s plan upon his life. He fully submitted himself to this type of suffering and death for the Father’s glory and for our sake.

All of creation mourned the death of Jesus. Look at verses 44-45a, ““It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, ⁴⁵ for the sun stopped shining….” Why was the most glorious, illustrious item in all of creation suddenly refusing it shine? The darkened sun is both literal and symbolic. It represented what was going on in God’s heart. Darkness represents a lament (Amos 8:9–10) and divine judgment (Ex. 10:21–23). It signifies Jesus completely bearing God’s wrath for his people. It also symbolizes God’s lament over humanity’s unjust treatment of his Son. Sure it was the Father’s will to cause Jesus to suffer, but it was our sin that made it necessary for Jesus to endure such suffering. Our sin makes God lament.

Jesus had to endure this experience, so that we can have free access to the Father.  Look at verse 45b, “…And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.” So that our sins could be “washed” away. The curtain leading from the Holy Place into the Most Holy Place. The curtain that shut sinful men out from the presence of the Holy God was torn in two. Jesus’ shed blood opened the way for sinners to go to God, be forgiven and be born again into his family.
Though Jesus suffered intensely, he did not doubt his Father’s love even in the darkest hour. Look at verse 46, “ Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.” His intent was to maintain his close relationship with the Father, even at the last moments of his life in this world. He committed his spirit to his Father God and breathed his last. Jesus’ own human spirit returned to the presence of God the Father. He did not doubt his Father’s love even in the darkest hour.

Part 2: The Witnesses (47-49)

There were more witnesses to Jesus suffering and death. They were the centurion, the people witnessing the sight, those who knew him and the women. Look at verses 47-49, “The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” ⁴⁸ When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. ⁴⁹ But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.”

First, lets think about the centurion. Look at verse 47, ““The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.”  A centurion is a Roman officer in charge of a hundred men. To get to this position one needs to be a very strong, aggressive leader who is able to witness all kids of atrocities in war and in implementing Roman control on the populace. He must have witnessed thousands of crucifixions. (In one event the Romans crucified 200 members of a revolting road crew along a road in Palestine.) I don’t know about you, but if I see a movie trailer of movie about a psychotic criminal, I can’t sleep well for two days. He saw it all. He must have seen thousands of men begging for mercy, or cursing out their executioners, as they breathed their last.

What he saw when Jesus died, moved his heart. The things he saw included: Jesus’ behavior toward his enemies. He forgave them. The words spoken to the repentant criminal. He accepted him and gave him hope. He witnessed the supernatural darkness showing that all of creation was responding to Jesus’ death. He heard Jesus’ prayer to his Father, never doubting God’s love. And he saw Jesus giving up his life, not groveling in self pity, but with a deep sense of victory and accomplishment. The way Jesus died certainly moved his heart. He knew that Jesus was a righteous man. In Mark 15:39  we read, “And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died,he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!” Jesus is not just some holy religious leader being persecuted for his beliefs. Jesus is not like any ordinary man. He lived as a man, but died as God. His death revealed his divine nature. His death revealed God.

      In verse 48 we see the reaction of the people, “ When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away.” Beating their breasts is symbolic of grief and repentance. We wonder why they did nothing as they witnessed the unjust treatment of Jesus. Maybe they thought Jesus was a common criminal, an instigator as the Romans and the religious leader implied. Maybe they were part of the mob that was chanting, “Crucify him! crucify him!” How blind and destructive they were! There is a saying that says, “All that is necessary for evil to win the world is for good men to do nothing.” Edmund Burke. But now their eyes were suddenly opened witnessing the suffering and death of Jesus. They were cut to the heart and convicted of their sins standing before the crucified Christ. May our eyes be opened to our spiritual condition, as we behold Jesus on the cross.

There were those who knew him. Look at verse 49, “But all those who knew him,…”  This could be referring to his disciples.  There was Peter who denied Jesus three times the previous night. There was John who stood with Mary at the foot of the cross. There were the other disciples who fled, two of which were walking down the road to Emmaus. Some secret disciples, like Nicodemus and Joseph were watching at a distance. Their hearts were churning within them, urging them to come out of the closet in regards to their faith. They didn’t know what to do at the sight of dying Lord. It was only after Jesus’ resurrection that all of this made sense.

And then there were the women. Look at verse 49, “But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.” The women were in awe of Jesus. How Jesus treated women was revolutionary in that legalistic society. Jesus respected them, honored them loved and served them during his 3 ½ year ministry. They were so sad at how their beloved Jesus was treated. Women’s hearts have always been moved by Jesus. Today, 80% of church choirs are women. Most Christian women in their 40’s have a main prayer topic. Do you know what that is? It is that their husbands may meet Jesus personally. Women are the backbone of most Christian churches and ministries. Women’s hearts are moved by Jesus’ love. Men need to learn their hearts and learn to simply stand there and gaze at Jesus on the cross.

Jesus’ death on the cross revealed many things to us…God’s heart of love, the way to heaven, the way to salvation, proclaims to the whole world that Jesus is the Son of God

First, Jesus’ death on the cross revealed the heart of God. God is love. The cross is where the justice of God and the mercy of God meet. God is all together holy. He is altogether righteous. Human beings are sinners. We have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God. People do terrible sins. Like those who actually tortured and killed Jesus. Like those who cursed at and spat upon a righteous man. Like those who sat by and did nothing as evil reigned. Like the self righteous who only wanted to see Jesus eliminated. Like the religious who were there to worship and yet oblivious to the God who was about to die to save them. All of these sins grieve the heart of God. They all are enough to bring about God’s judgment. Actually there are over 600 laws in the Old Testament, breaking any one of them, or the spirit of them, is enough to get one condemned by the holy God. But Jesus suffered and died on the cross as the Lamb of God.  His shed blood takes away the sins of the world. All of the punishment that is due us for our sin was poured out on Jesus. Now, by the grace of God, the demands of sin are pain in full. Now the righteous and holy God can say, “I completely forgive you of your sins. The debt was paid by the suffering and death of my Son, Jesus. Enter into my presence.” The righteous requirements of the law are paid in full. We are completely forgiven of our sins when we come to Jesus with repentance and faith.

In this, we can see the significance of the curtain of the temple being torn in two from top to bottom. Look at verse 45b. “…And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.” The Jews felt that God dwelled in the Holy of Holies. The place behind the temple was a sacred place where only a specially chosen, consecrated priest could enter once a year to offer up prayers for the people. The priest would have to go through an elaborate cleansing ceremony before he could enter. The other Jewish people would gather outside the inner sanctuary. And the gentile believers would gather in a courtyard further away, not able to get any closer baring the threat of death. But through Jesus’ death, the dividing wall, which kept people separated from the most holy God is no longer there. It means, based on Jesus’ death, we are free to enter into the presence of the Holy God. The holy God can also come and dwell in the heart of forgiven sinners. There is nothing separating us from the Father any longer.  The love of God, ripe with mercy and forgiveness, is revealed through Jesus’ death on the cross.

Second, Jesus died for us to open the way to heaven for all who repent and believe. Who would die for you? Not many would. Sometimes I can’t even get people to give me ride somewhere. Would I die for someone? Not likely. Would I donate a kidney? Not likely either. I am so far from Jesus. But Jesus died for us so that we can be saved and have eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven.

The death of Jesus proclaims to the whole world that Jesus is the Son of God. He is the Messiah. What other religious leader submits themselves to such suffering and death? No one suffered and died like Jesus, selflessly offering up his life for others and even caring for others while he died on the cross, without even opening his mouth. (Is  53) Nobody did this except for Jesus. That is why the Roman soldier declared “Surely this man is the Son of God!” We need to come and behold Jesus on the cross and meditate on his suffering and death and we will confess from our hearts that Jesus is the Son of God, the Savior of the World.

How does witnessing the death of Jesus work salvation in our hearts?  The death of Jesus convicts us our sins and moves our hearts to repent, give us an absolute reason to sin no more, makes us long to be reconciled with God, reconciles us to one another, making us long for the salvation of others.

The death of Jesus convicts us our sins and moves our hearts to repent before God. When we look at Jesus, we should see ourselves in all of our selfishness and self preserving ways. We should see our cold and proud hearts. We should ask ourselves, “How could I have allowed my sins to be a reason for Jesus to suffer so much?” Jesus had to go through all of this for me?

The death of Jesus should give us an absolute reason to go ahead and sin no more. If my sins contributed to Jesus’ suffering so much, how can I sin more? Sin should now become utterly sinful.

The death of Jesus makes us long to be reconciled with God. This is God’s heart. He really wants to be reconciled to his people. His love caused him to go to this extreme, to the suffering and death of Jesus. He loves us so much. He wants to be reconciled to us so much. How can we not be moved by this and long to be reconciled with God also?

The death of Jesus reconciles us to one another. The cross has one long beam and a cross beam. The long beam represents our being reconciled to our Father in heaven. The cross beam represents being reconciled to one another.

The death of Jesus should make us long for the salvation of others. God went through this much to see others being saved? He cares about the salvation of sinners that much! I should be concerned about their salvation too.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for Jesus who shed his blood on the cross so that the way into your presence might be opened for me and for all sinners.

One Word: Jesus died for me