PENALTY TO PARDON: THE HEART OF THE GOSPEL
Luke 23:33-46: LIFEWAY SPRING QUARTERLY 2021 SESSION 11
One of the jobs I had out of College I liked the least was “debt collections”. I wasn’t any good at it and fortunately I only had to work there a month till Carri and I were settled in our new home and I was able to find better employment. There was a gigantic sign (floor to ceiling) at the national call center for Great Lakes Collections seeable from every place in the room that had only 3 words- and they were not “I love you…” They were: “YOU MUST PAY!” Our lesson this week examines the heart of Luke’s Gospel and it answers this imperative statement with a profound statement of grace through the crucifixion and death of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
So let’s start with that question: “Who pays?” because the Law of God says that payment must be made. The PENALTY of Sin cannot go unpunished; sin cannot be permitted to exist “before the face” of a righteous and holy God. So, who pays? Who pays the penalty of OUR SIN? Who pays the penalty of MY SIN? The answer varies depending upon whom or what is being asked and consulted. The state of the fallen natural world in which we live Paul pinpoints spiritually with the Holy Spirit’s Words: “For the wages of sin is death…” (Romans 6:23a)- There must be, there will be complete payment and that payment is high and the penalty is severe. The “injustices” in our world tell us that others (those innocent or not at fault for particular sins) pay unwillingly and unwittingly for the sins committed by another and though payment is made it is not enough and the penalty remains and so do the consequences because justice demands that WE each pay for our OWN sins (see the 1st and 2nd Commandments Ex. 20:3-5).
There is a reason that the flames of hell are eternal and the worm is never satisfied because justice demands full payment for all unrighteousness and in and of ourselves we are completely incapable of meeting the payment it would take more than an eternity (and I am not speaking figuratively). The penalty for our sin is impossible for us and we are helpless. But GRACE’s answer to who pays is completely different –Jesus paid for it all on the cross, and our debt, our penalty is paid in full and we are forgiven, alive, and free when we put our faith in Him. The second half of Romans 6:23 says: “but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The second part of that verse is only possible because of the full payment of the first- Jesus paid OUR “wages of sin” through “DEATH” on the cross (Romans 5:8). Grace’s answer (the free gift of eternal life) is made possible by Jesus’ sacrifice- His payment of our sin penalty through the perfection of His obedience as the innocent Son of Man and by the worthiness of His sacrifice and identity as the sovereign Son of God- Messiah. As Luke puts it Jesus of Nazareth- King of the Jews has become the risen King of King’s whose gift of salvation is sufficient for all mankind and anyone who believes in Him through the sacrifice of the cross.
Luke’s Gospel gives us the full context of Paul’s doctrine and the theology behind Roman’s 6:23. When we interpret and exposit scripture we must take it within its immediate and far context, and the best and only context for understanding the doctrine of soteriology (salvation) is through the lens and context of the story of the Gospel(s) for it is God’s ordained story confirmed by eyewitnesses and through faith in Christ by the Holy Spirit it becomes our story and the foundation of all of our life. So, let’s remember our framework as we examine Jesus’ death on the cross: Jesus and the Gospel are a gift from Heaven, Jesus and the Gospel are a gift received and Jesus and the Gospel are a gift proclaimed! Our eternal future and hope rests in our faith in Jesus’ full and appropriate substitutionary atonement (one’s full payment and worthily approved reprieve of someone else’s debt ) for our sins on the cross where He willingly gave His life for you and me and all who will believe in Him. Let’s take a look!
Verse 33 begins the story of the crucifixion, the trials and kangaroo courts that sealed Jesus’ execution Luke has shown us to be both the evil schemes of Jesus’ enemies and the spiritual powers of Satan and his dark minions working through the enslaved and ignorant sinful fallen nature of man condemning and despising an innocent man yet at the same time ironically accomplishing God’s designed providence and Jesus being exalted and His Kingdom revealed over being shamed and forgotten. All four of the Gospels reveal the greatest irony that in the shame of the cross of Christ God’s infinite glory, power, holiness and love is fully revealed to all of mankind to any who will listen and respond to Jesus in faith. The place of Jesus’ crucifixion has one name but as believers we know it in 4 languages (denoting that the Gospel is meant for all people, ethnicities, nations, and creeds). The Place of the Skull in our English is known in Greek- Kranion (where we get the word “cranium” skull from), Aramaic- Golgotha, and in Latin- Calvary.
Jesus is given the most shameful and despised method of execution known to man. Crucifixion is actually a slow form of impalement with impalement being used in ancient times then perfected by the Romans. Impalement was used up to the time of Oliver Cromwell and the English Civil War with the Puritans and Cavaliers sticking the heads of their enemies on pikes. The Roman cross was designed socially to intimidate and illustrate publicly to show Rome’s power, and completely despise her enemies. Roman citizens could not be crucified, and only insurrectionist, murderers, and slaves (the other gospels tell us the criminals crucified by Jesus were thieves but there were probably other heinous crimes associated with them) could be crucified. Again the intentions of Jesus’ enemies were not just to kill Him but to humiliate Him, prove His Kingdom and teachings a sham, and make the world forget Him. By the testimony of the Gospel and the New Testament and Church History, did they succeed? Will they succeed today, tomorrow or for eternity (look up what scripture says) and what role will each of us play and should we play in their frustration and the ongoing revelation of the Truth of Jesus as Savior and Lord?
Verse 34 shows Jesus forgiving His executioners and putting into practice His own teachings of love for one’s enemies. Jesus even advocates for them before the Father pleading their ignorance and spiritual blindness to their enslavement and actions. The Bible tells us that Jesus is at the right hand of Father God interceding for us (Romans 8:34). If Jesus advocated for His enemies as He died for them how much more will He intercede for us who believe in Him, follow Him, and are now His friends by His grace? We could not carry the Cross that Jesus carried, but by His intercession and His presence through the Spirit we CAN carry the crosses He has now given us. We can love our enemies, we can pray for those who persecute us, we can proclaim the Truth of the Gospel while the world spouts lies, we can live with the supernatural difficulties of a cross that humbly proclaims and exalts instead of proudly demands and dethrones. We can live as those poor in spirit, who mourn, are meek, who hunger and thirst for the righteousness of God, the mercy, purity and peace of His holiness in a world that despises and persecutes us (see Matt 5). We can do it because the Kingdom of Heaven is ours- by the sacrifice and example of Christ Jesus our Lord on His cross!
There is a spiritual battle going on during the crucifixion and Luke wants his hearers to recognize it. We see it in verses 35-39 with the “scoffing” of the religious leaders, the soldiers, and one of the criminals. “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” (v. 37). The crowd’s scoffing proved their spiritual blindness, it proved they completely missed the point of why Jesus came and the Son of Man’s mission “to seek and save that which was lost” (Lk 19:10). If Jesus came off the cross there would be no payment for our sin- the sacrifice of Jesus’ death is what brought and bought us eternal life! We can never separate in the Gospel Jesus’ intertwined role of Son of God and Son of Man like the scoffers did. For them, the King of the Jews would save through the power of His might not by the humility and sacrifice of His love even though the Suffering Servant songs of Isaiah clearly displayed this and Jesus testified to it himself throughout the Gospels. Nor did they recognize that it was the sovereignty and power of Christ as the Son of God that allowed Him to stay the course and be the only worthy sacrifice. Luke takes his listeners back to Luke 4:3 and Satan’s temptation of Jesus: “IF you are the Son of God then…” We have opportunities everyday to be “faithful” or “faithless” in the way we live. We can only be faithful when he hear the Word, when we recognize the Truth of Jesus identity and the command of His sacrificial mission as shown in the Gospel (Romans 10:17) and “faithfully obey” His Lordship or in pride and our own understanding we can be “faithless” and demand a sign for our allegiance like the scoffers. Which do we want more to be SEEN by others as right or live as righteous? Jesus lived, died, and rose again as righteous in order that all may see Him in His glory than allow others to dictate, and patronize His mission. Luke gives us a great example by the contrast between the two criminals and what it means to have faith in Jesus.
Imagine being in “dire straits” a desperate situation (hanging and dying on a cross- justly) all as a result of your own doing, poor decisions and acting on evil desires. Right next to you is Jesus (hanging on a cross- unjustly and not as a victim but a willing sacrifice). The answer to your failures and your salvation is right next to you… That is what these two criminals (“the worst of sinners”) had next to them the presence of the loving, holy Son of God in the same circumstance and in their presence- the holy in the presence of the ungodly and heinous because of grace. There are no pretentions, hypocrisy, or polite words while dying on a cross just facts and belief and decisions to be made. Jesus is either Messiah or He is not. One criminal refuses to accept Jesus as Messiah and scoffs alongside the very same people that are executing him as Hal Lane states concerning the first criminal: “(he is) departing this life in anger and resistance to man’s Law as well as God’s.” Do you know “angry” resistive people? Were you one of them at a time? Sin makes us angry and divisive it robs us of peace and makes us restless wanderers upon the earth with our hand as enemies against God and one another (see Genesis 3:16b-19, 4:6-15, 23-24) a far cry from Christ’s promises and commands to His followers (see John 15:9-17). Sin puts up the veil between the holy God and rebellious man; a veil Jesus tore (v. 44). Both criminals were there- close but separate from Jesus and so were we. But look at the second criminal’s response to Jesus’ presence and sacrifice… There is confession of his sins and Jesus’ innocence: “Don’t you fear God? Since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve but this man has done nothing wrong.” How did he know that Jesus was innocent? Possibly the Spirit revealed it to Him, maybe he was watching, listening, and seeking for forgiveness and redemption (hence “finding”) while the other railed and scoffed alongside the others, he also might have known Jesus or interacted with him before because he knew His name. Either way, he makes his good confession and then he trusts and believes: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom” belief and faith, hope, and trust, proclamation aloud to all present from the “worst of sinners, while the self-righteous, cowardly, and proud raged, scoffed and were faithless and ignorant at the foot of the cross with spiritually hardened and enslaved hearts and deaf ears. AND as a result for his faith: REDEMPTION from Jesus Himself and the paradise of Heaven is given: “Truly I tell you today you will be with me in paradise.”
Darkness descends upon the land as the holiness and love of God pays out the penalty for sin upon His own Son for our sakes and the people take notice (v.47-49). Jesus pays the penalty in full! He is innocent but no victim; He is sovereign but no proud survivor (as the people demanded of a “earthly messiah”). Jesus is the perfect lamb of God our sacrifice! Instead of speaking in a pained and natural whisper from His wounds and life’s blood being shed away He calls out His final obedience and victory with a shout and dies! And as John 19:30 records: “It is finished!” Luke’s Gospel leaves the final scene of the crucifixion with this mixed group of people looking on (v.47-49)… What will they do with the crucified Lord? How will He be received, and how will He be proclaimed? The Gospel asks us the same question today… What is your answer? Have faith, know Him and live it out this week! Love to you all! And all the Best! Darrin.
