What Shall I Do With Jesus Luke 23 Lesson for May 19-20, 2012 Jon Klubnik John 3:16 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. The words of Pilate after finding Him innocent: What Shall I Do With Jesus? (Matthew 27:22). Pilate articulates the question all of us must answer. In fact, not answering the question is not an option. Eternity is not a disputable fact. Eternity will happen. For most or all of us, death will happen; it s just a matter of time. During Jesus life and through his death and resurrection, there were numerous eyewitnesses and claims by Jesus himself that He in fact was the Son of God and the Savior of the world. Such information demands a response. It is not a question to which we can pass on or answer No Comment. Eternity will happen. Relationship for eternity with the Creator of the universe is only possible by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. It is our challenge to answer for ourselves personally and to challenge those we contact with to answer the question: What Shall I Do With Jesus? Overview Following his appearance before the Sanhedrin, which was the Jewish nation s official judicial body, Jesus was taken before the Roman authorities. The council of elders had found Jesus guilty of blasphemy he had claimed to be God. There are two main points which Luke emphasizes in the events of Chapter 23. First, the Jewish leaders reveal their guilt as they frame the charges of insurrection against Jesus. Secondly, it is obvious that the responsible governmental officials find Jesus innocent of the charges against him. This is in keeping with Luke s purpose of showing that Christianity from its beginning was not to be a threat to the Roman government. Significance of the passage From a purely human perspective, the story of the Cross and of Christ s death is an ugly one. It can be hard to picture the hatred against and the cruelty toward our Savior and the Creator of the Universe. Many tend to gloss over the ugliness of the events depicted here in favor of stories of the immense love of God. However, we cannot do that. The horrible and despicable acts against Christ depicted in this chapter actually did happen. Furthermore, they happened directly because of mankind s problem with sin. It is sometimes difficult for us to come to grips that we are also guilty of these atrocities. That is what sin is. Sin is ugly and sin is something each of us is guilty of. Sin is part of who we are and it is what we have
done. However, it is not a message of hopelessness nor is it a story of our Lord as a victim. The sacrifice he made was planned before time and his gift was made willingly and because of His great love for us. Passage Context: In the previous Chapter (Luke 22), the disciples shared the Lords supper with Jesus. During this meal, Jesus announced that one of the twelve would betray him and that he would soon die. This struck a chord in the hearts and minds of the remaining eleven disciples. For the most part they had been following Jesus while not fully understanding that his kingdom was to be first a heavenly kingdom. They had pictured themselves ruling alongside Jesus and were mostly concerned for their own greatness (22:24-27). Prior to his betrayal and following his own announcement of self-sacrifice, Jesus once again used the opportunity to teach of humility. Like many of us, the disciples still didn t get it. In fact, during Jesus final hours alone with the disciples and during an intense moment of prayer, the disciples chose to take a nap! Again Jesus admonished his disciples regarding the importance of spiritual preparation prior to a period of great testing. Chapter 22 concludes with the arrest of Jesus by Jewish soldiers and his initial trial before the Sanhedrin in Luke 22:66-81. It was during this trial that once again, Jesus made the unequivocal claim to be the Son of God. So, as we begin this week s lesson, we must prepare our hearts to answer the same question that so many of those surrounding Jesus needed to answer. What Shall I Do With Jesus? Luke 23 Before Pilate (23:1-7) Jesus was falsely accused of leading the Jews away from their duty to Rome while before the body of the Sanhedrin. Furthermore, they also wrongly accused him of teaching his followers not to pay taxes. Finally, he was accused of claiming to be a king, namely the Jewish Messiah. Although he did make this claim, he was not the insurrectionist that they insinuated he was. Instead, he truly was the King of the Jews and the Savior of the world. Before Herod (23:8-12) Luke had previously mentioned Herod s curiosity in seeing Jesus. He was only interested in seeing if Jesus would perform some miracle. He was not interested in spiritual matters. It is interesting that Jesus chose not to respond to Herod because Herod was not seeking or open to Christ, but only curious. This was the same Herod who had previously decapitated John the Baptist in order to impress some friends. Jesus had nothing to say to someone like this. APPLICATION: There are many people today who are interested in seeing Jesus perform a miracle or maintain a curiosity about Him, but their hearts remain opposed to His message. Such individuals are not true believers. It is no wonder that we see God remain silent to these hardened hearts.
Before Pilate for Sentencing (23:13-25) In spite of the fact that Herod found no guilt in Jesus, he sent Him back to Pilate for sentencing. Here we witness an amazing travesty of Justice. Not only did Pilate condemn an innocent man, he set free a guilty man in Barabbas. Both Herod and Pilate were too weak to overcome the strong resolve of the Jewish leaders and thus they convicted an innocent man. Dr Constable s notes sum up the situation quite well: Luke s version of the trial has the Jewish leaders and people rejecting what was just and demanding the release of a man who was the antitheses of Jesus. Pilate had justified Jesus of the charge of leading an insurrection, but Barabbas was guilty of that crime. Jesus had gone about healing and restoring people to life, but Barabbas had murdered them. This description shows the great guilt of the Jews in demanding Jesus death. The people allowed their leaders to influence them to demand a perversion of justice. They would rather be with a well-known sinner than with the One who could forgive their sins. It is our pride that convinces us that we would rather be right than be repentant. James 4:10 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. Crucifixion of Jesus (23:26-49) Luke noted four things that occurred at the time that Jesus died. First, were two symbolic acts: 1) darkness came over the whole land for 5 hours. Jesus had told those who had arrested him that this is your hour when darkness reigns, darkness reigning because of his crucifixion. And 2) was the tearing of the curtain of the temple. This curtain separated the holy of holies from the rest of the temple. This event was symbolic because of the death of Christ and the payment that was made; the wall that separates sinful man from holy God was torn. This sacrifice enables people to have a proper relationship with God. Secondly, Luke noted that Jesus death occurred because He willed it. Breathing His Last, he voluntarily gave up His life, Third, even a Roman centurion noted that Jesus was righteous and the Son of God. He like many others in Luke s Gospel praised God following Christ s death. Fourth, the people who witnessed the death of Christ mourned. Crucifixion was a common method of carrying out a death sentence in Roman times. It was extremely cruel and painful and was reserved for the worst of criminals. By law, a Roman citizen could not be crucified. Luke emphasized the compassion and forgiveness of Christ even in death. Just one week before, the compassionate Savior had wept over the city of Jerusalem. Now, even amidst their hatred, Christ prayed forgiveness for those who had plotted against him.
But Jesus was saying, Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing. 1 Jesus was crucified alongside two criminals. Initially, both men hurled insults and abuses at Jesus. The attitudes of the two criminals represent the two attitudes that lead to condemnation and salvation and are also representative in the attitudes in the hearts of people today. A hardened heart leads to condemnation, while a soft and repentant heart, leads to salvation. There are two important lessons we can learn from the repentant criminal 1) His salvation was an act of the will in response to the offering of Grace by Jesus, The man did not get baptized, did not turn his life around and do good deeds, and did not go back and clean up his life. He never tithed! The principle is that although those things are good things to do, obedience in applying them to our lives is an act of obedience and not a condition for or proof of our salvation! 2) His salvation was totally an act of grace and the compassion of Jesus. The man merely had to be willing, and God did the rest. If you look at the life he brought to Jesus, it was exactly like the life of the man on the other side of Christ. He was not more righteous or more acceptable. The repentant thief began to see 1) the justice of his own punishment, 2, the sinless character of Christ, 3) the Deity of Christ, 4) a living Christ beyond the grave, and 5) a kingdom beyond the cross, with Jesus as it s coming King. i Result: Jesus said to him, Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise. (Verse 43) Burial of Jesus (23:50-56) All four gospels document to the burial of Jesus in order to demonstrate the he was truly dead. Contrary to some popular myths (such as the swoon theory), there is much in terms of witnesses and documentation that Jesus was physically dead. The death of the Messiah was needed or there could not or would not have been a resurrection. 2 Corinthians 5:17 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 2 Corinthians 5:21 21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. Conslusions: 1 New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995 (Lk 23:34). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
The cast of characters present during this period in the life of Christ is interesting. Some behave admirably; others make decisions by which they are identified for all of history. Many of us have had difficult situations when it seems all hope is lost and when all have forsaken us. It is during that time that it is important that we have a savior who understands what we are going through We have in God, a father who experienced the death of his son. We see in Jesus, a man wrongly accused, his reputation assaulted and deserted by every one of his disciples. Our lesson for today: Christ became flesh and dwelt among us. God hangs on a cross. This is what it means for the Word to become flesh. The cross was bare and exposed. There were no safe places to hide. There were no nice clean places to escape the filth of this situation. When we are instructed to take up our cross and follow Christ, it does not mean the petty annoyances or difficult people many of us complain about. Identification with Christ and with the Cross means getting dirty, risking abandonment from those we care about and it means totally losing a reputation which we may have spent a lifetime attempting to achieve. Jesus laid aside his glory, and came to this earth to live life as a man. Application: It would be easy and normal for God to require us to earn what Jesus gave us on the cross. This costly sacrifice is freely given. However, it does require response on our parts. Each of us must answer the question of What Shall I Do With Jesus. Not answering is still an answer! For those of us who have answered and have a relationship with Christ. We have been entrusted with a sacred treasure. How will you steward this treasure? Our works are not a condition of our salvation, they are a product of our salvation. We shall not waste the treasure to which we have been entrusted. Spiritual growth is not a condition. But it is expected. How have you responded to the gift which you have been given? i Dr. Constables Notes on Luke soniclight.org p 273