Luke's last look at Christ: Luke 23:1-49

Now, as you would know, tonight we're reading in the Gospel of Luke in chapter number 23, Luke's Gospel, chapter 23. We have a lengthy portion to read, precious and familiar to us. Luke 23 and verse number one.

The whole multitude of them arose and led him on to Pilate and began to accuse him, saying, We found this fellow perverting the nation, forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying he himself is Christ, a king. So we have the three charges. They are leveling against the Lord Jesus.

Pilate asked him, saying, Art thou the king of the Jews? And he answered him and said, Thou sayest it. Then said Pilate to the chief priest of the people, I find no fault in this man. But they were the more fierce, saying, He stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all Jewry, beginning from Galilee to this place.

When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked whether the man were a Galilean. And as soon as he knew he belonged on to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who himself also was at Jerusalem at that time. When Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad for he was desirous to see him of a long season because he had heard many things of him, hoped to have seen some miracle or sign done by him.

Then he questioned him in many words, but he answered him nothing. And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused him. Herod with his men of war said him not, mocked and arrayed him in a gorgeous robe and sent him again to Pilate.

And the same day, Pilate and Herod were made friends together, for before they were an enmity between themselves. And Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests and rulers in the people, said unto them, Ye have brought this man unto me as one that perverted the people. Behold, I, having examined him before you, have found no fault in this man.

Touching those things whereof ye accuse him, nor yet Herod, for I sent you to him alone. Nothing worthy of death has done unto him. I will therefore chastise him and release him, for of necessity he must release one unto them at the feast.

And they cried all at once, saying away with this man. Release unto us Barabbas, who for sedition made in a city and for murder was cast into prison. Pilate, therefore, willing to release Jesus, speak again to them.

But they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. He said unto them the third time, What evil hath he done? I have found no cause of death in him. I will therefore chastise him and let him go.

So that's the third time that Pilate has attested to his innocence. And they were instant with loud voices requiring that he might be crucified. And the voices of them and of the chief priests prevailed.

And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required. He released unto them him that for sedition and murder was cast into prison, whom they had desired. But he delivered Jesus to their will.

And they let him away. I'm sorry. And as they let him away, they laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenean coming out of the country.

On him they laid the cross. He might bear it after Jesus. And there followed him a great company of people and of women, which also bewailed and lamented him.

But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me. Weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, the wombs that never bear and paps which never gave suck.

Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us and to the hills, cover us. For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry? And there were also two others, malefactors, led with and be put to death. When they were come to the place which is called Calvary, there they crucified him.

And the malefactors, one on the right hand and the other on the left. Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. And they parted his garment, remit and cast lot.

And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also with them derided him, saying, He saved others. Let him save himself if he be Christ, the chosen of God.

And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him and offering him vinegar and saying, If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself. And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek and Latin and Hebrew. This is the king of the Jews.

And one of the malefactors, which were hanged, railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answer rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? We indeed justly, we receive the due reward of our deeds. But this man hath done nothing amiss.

A better translation is this man hath done not one thing out of place. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest in my kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily, I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.

And it was about the sixth hour and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. And the sun was darkened and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. And when Jesus had cried to the loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands, I commend my spirit.

And having said thus, he gave up the ghost. And when the centurion saw that what was done, he glorified God, saying, Certainly, this was a righteous man. And all the people that came together to that site, beholding the things which were done, smote their breasts and returned.

And all his acquaintance and women that followed him from Galilee stood afar off, beholding these things. Now, we do know that God will add his blessing to this very, very well-known, but yet very precious portion of the word of God. Back in July 1969, when Apollo 11 had returned from its mission to the moon, then President Nixon, as he met, I think actually the astronauts, the three astronauts were in quarantine.

But as he met them and spoke to them across the glass enclosure, he announced to the nation that this was the greatest week in history since the week of creation. Now, with all due apologies and respects to President Nixon, we appreciate that he valued creation. But this was the greatest week in history, the week we've been looking at, the week that began with the Lord Jesus Christ entering into Jerusalem and culminated in his resurrection on the following Lord's Day, the following Sunday, the greatest week of history.

We are reading of the greatest event in history, the cross of Christ and all that it entailed and all that it has accomplished. It is the central point, the pivotal point of all of eternity. It is the pivotal point of each of our destinies.

It is the seminal event of all of history, the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. I think you have just because of the sake of time, we'll just leave it. You have some of the characteristics of Luke's gospel in your outline that are unique to Luke.

And I'll just let you look at that. Just point out one that perhaps may be a little bit new to your thinking, and that is the proportion of the word of the New Testament written by Luke. If I were to ask in a Bible reading who wrote most of the New Testament, you would either likely say the Apostle Paul or the Apostle John.

In point of truth, Luke wrote more of the New Testament than any other writer. 27 percent in terms of its words and chapters, 27 percent of the New Testament was penned by Dr. Luke in his gospel and in his account in the book of the Acts. So he is unique.

He is the only Gentile writer we know of who penned any part of the word of God. And yet he has the privilege of having penned more of the New Testament than any other single writer. And as well, it's interesting, you can link and put side by side the gospel of Luke and the book of the Acts.

In the gospel of Luke, there's the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. In Acts, there's the birth of the church. In Luke, there is the growth of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In Acts, there is the growth of the church. In the gospel, there is the baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the book of the Acts, we have the church baptized in the Holy Spirit.

We have the initial favor of the Lord Jesus Christ as he grew in wisdom, stature and favor with God and men. In the book of the Acts, we have the church having favor with all the people. And then, of course, we have the opposition beginning in the gospel of Luke to the Lord Jesus.

And we have the opposition and persecution beginning in the book of the Acts to the church. And of course, the gospel ends with the Lord Jesus Christ imprisoned and crucified. And Acts ends with Paul imprisoned and the intention of the Jews to put him to death.

So there's a parallelism between the two books. One detailing the events in the life of the Lord Jesus and the other the events in the life of the church in the book of the Acts. If we were looking at this in a Bible reading setting, we would talk about the will of the people.

We would talk about the way to the cross. We would talk about the words from the cross. We would talk about the welcome at the cross.

And we would talk about the witnesses to the cross. But we're going to just look at it in two broad, general ways this evening. Going to look at it at the courts and the cross.

What occurred in the courts of men and what occurred at the cross of Christ. And we'll consider together some of the events that are so significant for us. So come with me then, if you will, to the first half of the chapter and consider the courts of men.

He was in the courts of the Jews. He was in the courts of Pilate. He was in the courts of Herod and so on.

Now, of course, Luke is giving us a condensed account. In fact, we'd have to go to John to find out that Pilate must have shuttled back and forth because the the leaders would not come in to the judgment hall with Pilate. You recall, lest they be defiled that they might eat the Passover.

Incredibly, they're concerned with being defiled by being in Pilate's court. But lies and bribery and murder, all of that doesn't seem to bother them. But they didn't want to defile themselves by contact with a Gentile and being in the court.

So Pilate is shuttling back and forth to all of the accounts we have here that Luke doesn't really tell us in detail. So he's condensed for us probably hours of interrogation and hours of interview on the part of Pilate with the Lord Jesus. You'll notice the accusation, the threefold accusation.

He was a perverter of the people. That would be the idea that he was he was turning the people away and that he was guilty as well of telling them not to give tribute to Caesar, claiming his own kingship. And of course, we know that all of these were fabricated.

In fact, they were the exact opposite. Aside from his kingship, the exact opposite of what had marked the Lord Jesus. Imagine imagine the son of God.

Being called a perverter of people, imagine how he must have felt when he was accused of turning people away from God and causing people to rebel against authority and leading the people astray. The son of God, just just the accusations of men must have pierced him like arrows in his sensitive, holy soul. For men to accuse him of what they did, the the accusations, and of course, he is not the the last.

Of those who are the people of God who have had to be who have known what it is to be falsely accused and accused of the exact opposite of what was true. We have the have the accusations. We see how adamant the people are.

The words are are filled with malice and hostility. They were instant with loud voices. They vehemently accused him and so on.

You gather something of the of the hatred they had towards the Lord Jesus and how intent they were that he must be put to death. They had charges relative to their law that they could that they had trumped up. But now they needed a charge that would stand in the court of Rome.

They needed something that would stand and bring him to death under the Roman law. They could have stoned him. But of course, prophecy said he had to be crucified.

And so he's being delivered now to the Gentiles to be crucified. And we see the the adamancy with which they are trying to do away with him. And of course, in contrast to to their intensity, there is Pilate's attempt to somehow avoid avoid all responsibility.

Now, taking all the Gospels together, Pilate did a number of things to try to avoid responsibility for his decision. You recall that he appealed to national custom. I have to release one on to you at the Passover.

He appealed to their custom. He appealed to their compassion. He brought the Lord Jesus Christ forth and had them look upon him as he was beaten and bruised and scourged.

And he thought certainly he'll be satisfied that he suffered enough. He appealed to compassion, but that didn't move them. So custom didn't affect them.

Compassion didn't move them. He washed his hands. He tried to detach himself from the decision.

He tried to give him over to her jurisdiction. He tries all of these different ploys to somehow avoid responsibility. And sinners have done that ever since.

Try to avoid responsibility for having to face Christ and what they will do with him. Pilate is just trying to get out of a very, very difficult situation. He's trying to work it if he can.

And of course, he then brings him into Herod and we move now from accusation to humiliation. Herod, we read here that Herod was desirous to see him of a long season. He had heard many things.

And we went back in the Gospel of Luke. Herod wondered who he was. Is this John the Baptist whom I beheaded? And so in Herod's mind, there's working this tremendous curiosity and a bit of fear and a bit of concern about the Lord Jesus, who he was.

And he was hoping to see some sign done by him. The Lord Jesus Christ did not come to entertain men. Or satisfy their curiosity.

Lots of people have lots of questions about Christ and about the gospel, and they ask out of curiosity, not out of interest. God is not concerned with satisfying men's curiosity. God is concerned with addressing men's consciences and bringing them to Christ.

Here's a man and he's just curious and he just wants to be entertained. And we read that the soldiers, men who knew every blasphemous word. I mean, I'm not demeaning soldiers, but you can appreciate men of war.

They would know every blasphemous word. They would know every form of torture and humiliation. Herod, with his men of war, said it not.

Now, what that really means is they dealt with him as though he were nothing. They treated the son of God as though he were nothing. This is perhaps the lowest point of humiliation the Lord Jesus Christ had to endure.

They arrayed him in a gorgeous robe and sent him again to Pilate. You notice the Lord Jesus Christ did not answer Herod a word. You know why? Do you know why the Lord Jesus did not respond to anything Herod had to say just a little time before this, Herod had silenced the voice of God.

John the Baptist had spoken to him and instead of bowing to what John the Baptist had to say, he took off his head. God was done speaking. It's a solemn thing.

It's a solemn thing when God is done speaking to a person. Herod had silenced God's voice. And now the Lord Jesus has nothing to say.

The Lord Jesus only was silent on two occasions in the gospel. The other time was earlier in the Gospel of Luke, when the Syrophoenician woman cried out, Son of David, have mercy on me, heal my daughter. And the Lord Jesus answered her not a word.

She was coming in the wrong way. She was coming as though she were a Jew with a claim upon him as a son of David. And he answered her not a word.

Here again, eventually he did answer her when she took the low place and spoke about the even the little dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the master's table. He did then reply to her. Here he is silent and Herod will not hear a word from the Son of God.

And I think tragically. Herod must have left that that scene with a sense of vindication, with a sense of super confidence. He really was nothing.

I had nothing to worry about. Why was I concerned about this itinerant preacher from Galilee? He's just a weakling. He just stood there and took all that we could heap upon him.

And he he treated them as though he was just an animal that they had caught in their trap and they toyed with him and they they taunted him. And the Lord Jesus, with dignity and with majesty. Stood in Herod's Hall and endure the very worst they could heap upon him, silent and majestic.

The Lord Jesus Christ speaks five times in the chapters in this chapter. We've read of one of them with Herod. He'll speak to the women.

He'll speak three times from the cross. The Lord Jesus knew in the words of Ecclesiastes, a time to speak and a time to refrain from speaking. Every word was always in season.

The perfect servant, Isaiah, chapter 50, his ear was open that he might know how to speak a word in season. But there were times of silence as well. Solemn to think of the Lord Jesus being silent.

To a man going out into eternity, Herod was an Edomite, if you will, and like the first Edomite, like Esau, he is making a horrible mistake in how he treats the Lord Jesus. Esau despised his birthright. This Edomite despised Christ.

And both lost everything as a result. I don't know if there's any unsaved in the gathering tonight. Never silence the voice of God.

Because a day may come when he is silent to you. So we're reminded here of the interrogation back to Pilate and repudiation, and we're reminded here three times over, Pilate declares his innocence. It is interesting.

There are six of the most unlikely people that God commandeers to come and attest to the innocence of Christ. Pilate does it. Herod does it.

A thief on the cross does it. Judas has to do it. Pilate's wife does it.

And finally, a centurion does it. Interesting that none of them were disciples. None of them were his followers.

It's as though God wrenched people from their normal walks of life and said, I want to make sure that everyone knows that my son is absolutely free of all the charges laid against him. So three times over, Pilate attests to his innocence. Herod has to say nothing worthy of death in him.

Judas says, I betrayed innocent blood. Pilate's wife says, have nothing to do with this just man. Centurion says, as we'll see in the end, surely this is a righteous man.

And the thief on the cross could say this man had done not one thing out of place. Six testimonies to the innocence of the Lord Jesus, the righteousness of the Lord Jesus. But we're reminded here, then, of the demand for Barbarabas.

Now, Luke tells us he was a murderer. We read the same thing in the book of the Acts, he desired a murder to be granted unto you and he denied the prince of life. So you see the contrast, the prince of life given up to death, a murderer who took life, given life.

John tells us he was a robber. Only John tells us he was a robber. In fact, it's interesting.

John is unique because only John tells us that Judas was a thief. Only John, only John tells us that Barabbas was a robber. Only John tells us that they said we have no king but Caesar.

Now, you say, what's the significance of that? You've got the thief, you've got the robber and you've got the stranger. That's John 10, isn't it? And they rejected the shepherd. Of John 10, they chose the thief and the robber and the stranger.

Over the shepherd. But Luke tells us they chose the one who took life over the one who gives life, he was a murderer. And so we have the the demand of the people and the declaration of his innocence.

The decision that is made, contrary to all the evidence, contrary to examination, contrary to integrity, contrary to law, and we have him delivered to their will. This is your hour and the power of darkness. So we close the book on the courts of of earth.

We see injustice. We see the hatred of men, the heart of men revealed in how they dealt with the Lord Jesus. But then we come to I know we're just skimming through this.

I want to come to a cross and we'll look at the Lord Jesus Christ let out the Lord Jesus Christ lifted up the Lord Jesus Christ linked with thieves. The Lord Jesus Christ left alone on Calvary. There is a man who was conscripted to follow the cross.

One Simon forsook him. Another Simon was commandeered. Verse number 26, Simon a Cyrenian coming out of the country.

They commandeered him to bear the cross. Now, you remember, don't you, that earlier in Luke, one of the instructions that Luke gave to those who are coming confessing their sins was whoever compels you to go a mile, go with him two miles. The Romans could conscript a Jew to carry their burden for a mile.

The Lord Jesus Christ said, if they do that, you carry it two miles here. They're conscripting a Jew to carry the cross out to Skull Hill. And Simon is given the privilege, the honor of bearing the cross of the Lord Jesus behind him in the streets are the compassionate women who are weeping.

Now, they are not weeping out of an appreciation for all that Christ is and all the Christ was going to endure. They're likely weeping because of natural sympathy that a Jewish man was being crucified by by Romans. They would have natural sympathy.

You remember, it says in Psalm 69, I look for some to take pity and there was none. No one really appreciated what even those women that looked on at the cross, no one could appreciate genuinely what he was passing through to be able to sympathize, to be able to show empathy or pity. You have to know what a person is passing through.

You have to be able to identify in some way with their grief. No one could. He looked for some to take pity and there was none for comforters.

He found none. Here are women and he is going out to die. And they are weeping natural compassion.

What a contrast the Lord Jesus Christ is concerned for them, not for himself. The Lord Jesus Christ is not speaking here in a in a tone that is spiteful. Wait till you get yours.

That's how we would act. You wait till you get yours. I'm getting mine now, but you're going to get yours someday.

Not at all. He's speaking compassion. If they're doing this now to me in the green tree, if Rome is doing this to me, Rome is going to do far.

Now, it isn't as though there's no suffering to compare to the Lord Jesus, but the extent of their devastation. The entire nation devastated 8070 by Rome when it came in and leveled the city, destroyed the people. They do these things in the green tree, what will be done in the dry? Now, I want you to notice something that is very, very touching.

We'll deal with some of these things a bit more detail. We remember that last night they mocked the Lord Jesus Christ. We read last night they mocked the Lord.

They blindfolded him prophesy. Who is he that smote thee? Go ahead, prophesy, who hit you right now? They mocked him as a prophet. We're going to read that they mocked him as a as a king.

If thou be the king of the Jews, come down from the cross, save thyself. They mocked him as a priest, he saved others himself, he cannot save. How did the Lord Jesus Christ respond to their taunt of being a prophet? Of being a king, of being a priest, he dealt with the taunt of prophecy, not by prophesying when they wanted him to prophesy.

He does it here with the women. To warn them of what is coming in compassion. How did you deal with the taunt of being a priest? He prayed, Father, forgive them.

They know not what they do. How did you deal with the taunt of being a king? If you're a king, save yourself. He opened paradise to a thief as king.

So all that they did in mockery, he turned around, never used it for himself, used it for others. I think it's not just touching, it's absolutely humbling to see the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. When men were doing their absolute worst, when men were saying the absolute worst that they could possibly say, he was always doing the best he could for others.

Caring for the women. Praying. For the soldiers, for the people, saving a thief, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, caring for others.

When his claims were being all denied by all around, let out, lifted up, lifted up. I think there is likely no more incongruous statement that we could ever read in all of literature than the words we have read, there they crucified him. There, Jerusalem, the city of the great king, the place that should have honored him, the place that should have exalted him, there, they, his own people, his own nation, rejecting him, handing him over to Gentiles, crucified.

Crucified, the most barbarous, the most torturous form of death invented by Rome for its enemies, him, him there, him at Skull Hill. You all know that this word Calvary is only mentioned once in our Bible, here in the Gospel of Luke, unique to Luke, there are many, many words and many expressions. But Calvary there, they crucified him.

And we have his supplication, remarkable that verse 34, then said Jesus, when they crucified him, then said Jesus, it must have been with amazement, soldiers gathered around. They must have been absolutely stunned that someone crucified was actually praying for those who are putting him to death. They had heard screams and yells and curses and promises of vindication from those who are being crucified.

Yet here was one so unique and so different, so absolutely. Set apart from everyone else. Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them.

Now, I think that really what he is doing here, you may say, well, does that mean that everyone around the cross was forgiven? I don't think so. I think what the Lord Jesus Christ is doing is this. The emphasis is upon they know not what they do.

Sins of ignorance in the Old Testament. It opened up the cities of refuge so that people could be saved. Had the Lord Jesus Christ not prayed, I wonder if God's wrath would have descended upon them right there.

Their crime, their sin, their deed was so heinous that the wrath of God would have possibly descended upon them had he not prayed and interceded. You recall that when Peter is preaching in the book of the Acts, he says, I know that through ignorance she did it and he offers salvation, offers a possibility of forgiveness to them. So I think what the Lord Jesus is doing here is, if you will allow me to put it this way, changing the crime from first degree murder to manslaughter.

And he's making it possible for them to be saved by interceding for them and by dealing with them as he does. But again, he's thinking of them, not of himself. That's the that's the wonderful, amazing thing.

He's thinking of others, not of himself. Then we're reminded of the of the stares of the people, the rude and vulgar stares as they gaze upon him at Calvary, the people stood beholding. When we come later on to the in verse number 48 about the people that came together to the site, the word there really is, again, a word that only Luke uses one time.

And the word is a spectacle. It was like spectator sport. To watch a man crucified upon a cross, the people stood beholding, it was an afternoon's entertainment to watch Christ on the cross.

They're rude, they're vulgar, they're they're awful stares. The Lord Jesus spoke of it prophetically, they look and stare upon me. They esteem them stricken, smitten of God and afflicted.

And so we see them staring at him and the sneers and the slanders of the rulers, you'll notice three times over the same, the same words are expressed, save yourself, save yourself. You notice that we have it in verse number. Thirty five, if he be Christ, let him save himself, have it in verse number thirty seven, save yourself.

We have it in verse number thirty nine, save thyself and us. There were the malicious temptations of Satan in the wilderness at the beginning of the ministry of the Lord Jesus. One of them was cast yourself down.

Let everyone see who you are, cast yourself down from the pinnacle of the temple, let everyone see who you are. Another one was save yourself. I'll give you the kingdoms and you don't need to go to the cross.

Save yourself the the suffering, the pain, the shame of a cross. I'll give you the kingdoms in a moment of time. Those very same temptations occurred at Calvary.

Come down, we'll believe you save yourself. So we are reminded that Satan is a relentless foe. The temptations you face one day in life and you feel you've conquered them and you've gotten past them.

He'll come at you again and again, sometimes through the lips of evil men, sometimes through the lips of friends. You remember that Peter said, spare yourself, Lord, when the Lord Jesus told him he was going to Calvary. Lord, spare yourself.

This is far from the lips of our friends, the lips of enemies, the lips of Satan himself. A relentless, inveterate foe who continues to the very last moment of life to attack. Even upon deathbeds, he attacks with malicious ferocity.

If he can just bring people down, shake their confidence in God, shake their faith in God's word, he'll seek at every opportunity to do so. So we have here the sneers and stares of the people. Save yourself.

We read here that the soldiers came offering him vinegar. Now, you've got to read the word of God carefully. And when you do, you realize there were three times that he was offered something to drink.

When they came to the cross, they offered him that stupefying drink. The wine mingled with myrrh, the gall, something to ease the pain, and he refused it. John tells us that there was near the end of the cross, he said, I thirst, and one dipped the sponge in vinegar and gave him to drink.

But here you read how that they came, they mocked him coming and offering vinegar. So this is offering not in mercy, as they did at the beginning. Not to fulfill the word of God, as they did at the end.

This was mockery. What were they doing? They would lift the liquid close to his lips, knowing how parched, how dehydrated a man would be upon a cross. They would be taunting him, playing with him, just putting it close enough, but not to his lips.

In mockery, they were offering him vinegar. The evil of our hearts is so manifest here. They they came, they offered him vinegar.

And then we are reminded of the superscription. This is the king of the Jews. Now, the word is not the same.

So you'll have to just give me a little bit of liberty here. But Luke chapter two, you recall that we're reminded there that Caesar Augustus made a decree that all the world should be taxed and everyone up to their city to be taxed. And Mary and Joseph went up to Bethlehem to be taxed.

That word really is not taxed. It's in our authorized version, it says taxed. But if you have a marginal reading or perhaps another reading, you'll read the word enrolled in a census.

He was taking a census and everyone had to go back to their hometown for their name to be inscribed in their hometown. And so Joseph goes back to Bethlehem to have his name enrolled. While there, the Lord Jesus Christ is born and his name is enrolled in a census on earth.

That word is only used one other time. It's used in Hebrews chapter 12, it speaks about the church of the firstborn who are written in heaven. We are written in the census book of heaven.

So if you'll just allow me, his name was written on a census book down here. That your name and mine might be written in a census book up there, but his name was written in one other place on earth. Not I know it's not the same word.

But it was written on a cross. This is Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews, his name on a cross. Let me hurriedly come to the thieves.

Not now just let out, not now just lifted up, but now linked with two thieves, given given a central place as though everyone would know he is the most guilty, he is the most vile of all three. So he's given that central place, two malefactors, each one on each side. And he has given that place there in the center.

One of the thieves turns to the Lord Jesus Christ in repentance. Remember me when I'll come to my kingdom, the Lord Jesus Christ is today, shall I be with me in paradise? So that in the final hour, again, the Lord Jesus Christ is not thinking of himself and thinking of a thief. Now, you remember that is Luke's gospel and Luke's gospel alone that tells us a parable about a shepherd who takes a sheep on his shoulders, carries him home, rejoicing here, the shepherd finds a sheep, puts him on his shoulder and takes him home, rejoicing.

I think that's lovely. The last hour of his life, he saves a thief and carries him home, rejoicing. The certainty of it verily I say unto thee, the immediacy of it today.

The intimacy of it with me, the superiority of it, paradise. Now, you'll have to look at it yourself, but just think of the at least there are at least four expressions used for for heaven, maybe five in our Bible, spoken of as being the father's house, speaking of it as at home with the Lord, speaks of it as paradise. It speaks of it as the excellent glory.

And of course, we have the the holy city, New Jerusalem, and all of those remind us of the contrast with earth. The idea of paradise is a royal garden, the king's garden with all of its delights. And the Lord Jesus Christ is saying not a future kingdom.

But a present enjoyment. In the paradise of God, I'm opening to you that the king's garden with all that it can offer and all that can satisfy in that wonderful place. Now, you can work out the other mentions, the other allusions to heaven, the father's house, the many mansions, the being at home with the Lord, the excellent glory, the new the holy city and so on.

All of those give us glimpses of something of what heaven will be like. But I want you to think of the reverse for just a moment. We we always think of what what the Lord Jesus Christ did for this thief.

Would you allow me just to think with you for a moment of what this thief? Did for the Lord Jesus, you may say a thief doing something for the Lord Jesus. Now, you have to keep in your mind that Luke's gospel is the gospel of the dependent man. Of manhood, as God intended man to live and God intended man to live in absolute dependence upon him for everything.

So now it's the darkest hour. All of his claims are being repudiated. He is being denied that he is a king.

He is being denied that he is a savior. He is being denied that he is a prophet. Everything is being denied.

God brings a man next to him. Who makes the greatest confession to Christ. That anyone made during his life.

I want you to think of what this what this man was saying to a man who was being crucified next to him. Everyone else was counting him as a loser. Everyone else is writing him off as done.

Everyone else was thinking of him as being absolutely stricken of God. We esteemed him. You know, all that Isaiah 53 says, all the Psalm 22 says, and there is a man that God brings next to the Lord Jesus Christ, who says, Lord.

Lord. He says, not only are you, Lord. But I know that you're going to rise again from the dead.

Because you're coming back. Remember me when you come back and set up your kingdom. So he was acknowledging he was Lord.

He was acknowledging he was going to be resurrected, he was acknowledging he was king, he was acknowledging he was going to have a kingdom. That's more than anyone else ever confessed of the Lord Jesus Christ in his life. So that God brought the greatest confession.

At the very final, darkest moment in the life of the Lord Jesus. To encourage him again, a dependent man looking to his God for all that he needs in life and at the darkest hour, God sends a thief of all people, not a not a Peter, not a John, not a James, not an Andrew, since a thief to make the greatest confession. Now, I know that after his resurrection, Thomas says, my Lord and my but we're talking at the darkest hour.

He is confessing. All the Christ is and all the Christ will ever do. He is giving expression to it when he says, Lord, remember me when you come back in your kingdom.

Yes, you are a king. Yes, you are coming back. Yes, you will set up a kingdom.

Yes, all that that the Jews have done, all that Rome is doing will never frustrate your purposes. Lord, remember me when you come back in your kingdom. We are reminded of how gracious, how gracious God is in his dealings with all of us.

There's also a lovely contrast here. I know we're coming at this from a number of different angles. You'll forgive me.

There's so much here. But you remember that Joseph was between two malefactors, two men who had incurred the displeasure of Pharaoh, the butler and the baker. And Joseph was a was a help to those men.

You recall that he was able to tell the butler his dream and that he would be brought back to his place of usefulness and exalted again. And of course, the baker would lose his life. But Joseph, between those two men, turned to the butler, the butler and said, remember me when it's well with you.

So Joseph asks the butler to remember him. The Lord Jesus Christ doesn't ask anyone to remember him. He will remember the thief.

He will take care of the thief. Now, that's not a defect in Joseph. Always remember, the Lord Jesus Christ was greater than the greatest of men.

But not only was he greater than the greatest of men, he was greater than the greatest of men at their greatest moments. No matter how high, no matter how superlative an act of one of the worthies of the Old Testament could be. The Lord Jesus Christ was greater even at that moment.

You see that with Moses, faithful in all his house. But the Lord Jesus Christ, his son, and we could go through that many, many different ways. But the Lord Jesus Christ seen here in contrast with Joseph, between the two.

And then, of course, we have just have to mention these. He's left alone. We have the signs, a sign in the sky, a sign in the sanctuary, a sign to speak to all men, a sign to speak to the nation.

And only Luke tells us of the veil being read. The other gospels have his death first and then the veil being rent. Luke has the two signs together as though God is in such a hurry, is so anxious to get out to men and declare the way of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And then we have the Lord Jesus Christ in absolute perfect dependence, commending his spirit back to God into thy hands. I commend my spirit dependent in death. Lovely to see how perfect he is as a man.

You all know the differences in the four gospels of the words that are used concerning the Lord Jesus, handing over, giving back, giving out, expiring and so on. Here we're reminded that he's in perfect control. He just commends his spirit back to God.

The word that is used in John is he hands it over as one in perfect control as well. So we have the sign, we have the soldier, we have the spectators. We'll have to leave all of that for now.

We have the centurion, the crowd, the companions all witnessing his death at Calvary. Just mention one thing. We possibly may get to this tomorrow night in more detail.

Matthew and Mark, they tell us the centurion said, truly, this is the son of God. That's not what Luke says. Luke says the centurion also said, this is a righteous man.

See, the charges against the Lord Jesus Christ were that he was unrighteous. He's a perverter of the people. In John's gospel, it's all about him claiming to be king, but here in Luke, it's all about him being a perverter of the people.

God says, no, I want to set the record straight before the gospel closes. And I'm going to bring a centurion not only to say that he is the son of God, but I'm going to bring the centurion to say that he was a righteous man. A righteous man.

God protecting the integrity and the testimony of his son. Now, forgive me. We have gone through that in a very, very hurried way.

The lines of truth that can be followed are precious and many. And I trust God will add his blessing to his word and warm our hearts to the loveliness of our Lord Jesus.