Sin Bearing
Luke 23:33-38
Introduction
In the previous section we saw Jesus bear the cross. Now we see Him wear the cross.
Jesus is our sin bearer. What does it mean that Jesus is our sin bearer? What does it
mean to be forgiven by Him? Sometimes it means facing contempt from others, false
charges and brutal accusations.
But it also means personal freedom from guilt, and a fresh look at forgiveness.
What does the cross mean? We could talk about the centrality of the cross as the basis
for all Christianity. We can talk about the interpretation of the cross, the preaching of the
cross; what it means to be crucified with Christ and hidden in God. We will touch on
some things, but no single message can answer the question, what does the cross mean?
We see through a glass darkly, we see only a tiny glimpse of His love.
James M. Boice wrote; “The cross means this: Jesus taking our place to satisfy the
demands of God’s justice and turning aside God’s wrath”.
Paul wrote about it this way; “And you, being dead in your trespasses and the
uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you
all trespasses” (Col.2:13) or “God forgave you all your sins”.
There is only one person God cannot forgive, will not forgive; the person who refuses to
come to him for forgiveness. Why should He forgive you?
Why should He have to take our place? Because we are guilty. Why should God’s
demands of justice be satisfied? Because He is holy. How does Christ’s death turn aside
God’s wrath or anger with sin and rebellion? Jesus’ death is the perfect punishment, the
only punishment capable of addressing the enormity of the awesome affront to God’s
majesty and perfection of holiness. We forget that an infinite being—sinned against—is
an infinite offense.
How can Jesus take my place? How can Jesus take your place? How can Jesus stand in
substitute for every human being who ever lived, in the past, in the present, in the future?
Jesus can take my place only if he is a real human being, the son of Adam, the son of
David. Jesus can only take everyone’s place if he is something more than human. Jesus
would have to have an infinite and eternal capacity to bear all sin and every sin.
Immeasurable sin requires the capacity for immeasurable punishment.
Crucified With Him (v.33)
"And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the
criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left." (Luke 23:33, NKJV).
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Sin Bearing
Luke 23:33-38
The verse contains the place “there”; the executioners-“they” the deed crucified-the
victim “Him” (W.H. Griffith Thomas Outline Studies in the Gospel of Luke; p.350).
Two criminals were crucified with Jesus, one on the right and one on the left. The Greek
word for “criminals” means one who uses violence to rob openly” (see Warren Wiersbe
TBEC; Vol. 1; p.275).
In Matthew’s gospel (27:33) it says; “Then they went out to an area known as Golgotha,
that is “Skull Hill,” where the soldiers gave him drugged wine to drink; but when he had
tasted it, he refused”(TLB). In Mark’s gospel and John’s gospel the same Greek word for
skull (kranion) is also correctly translated “skull”.
The word “Calvary” appears here as a transliteration of the Greek word for “skull”. The
word “Calvary” is a Latin transliteration (calvaria) of the Greek word kranion.
It was probably hill outside of Jerusalem along the main road. The Romans executed
people in public for maximum humiliation. Some suggest the location is at the site of the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre; others suggest Gordan’s Calvary near the Damascus Gate
(we will visit both places in Israel!).
The Romans used three types of crosses. One in the form of an “X”; one in the form of a
“T” and the most familiar used in art like “plus” sign (+). We have no real knowledge of
which was used—other than the fact the Romans placed the sign over Jesus’ head
indicating the use of the traditional cross. Sometimes people were tied to the cross and
suspended there to die of exposure and starvation. Other times nails were used, through
the feet and the wrists; with the addition of ropes. Death would come through exposure,
loss of blood, dehydration of the body; and sometimes asphyxiation.
The Romans would typically strip the victim so that crucifixion was in the nude. There is
some debate whether Jewish sensibilities would require the covering of the genitals. If
the Romans were executing the prisoner, they typically did not care about local customs
of modesty. Victims sometimes lasted for days. Jesus died in six hours. Luke’s gospel
is conspicuous by its lack of details in the physical suffering.
R. Kent Hughes rightly surmises that the presence of crosses and crucifixes has served to
cauterize and desensitize us to the horror and shock of a human being killed in such a
way. We would all be shocked and disgusted if we saw a dog or a cat killed in such a
way.
"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and
the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and
gave Himself for me." (Galatians 2:20, NKJV)
C.S. Lewis: “He creates the universe, already forseeing—or should we say “seeing”?
There are no tenses in God—the buzzing cloud of flies about the cross, the flayed back
pressed against the uneven stake, the nails driven through the medial nerves, the repeated
incipient suffocation as the body droops, the repeated torture of back and arms as it is
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Sin Bearing
Luke 23:33-38
time after time, for breath’s sake hitched up. If I may dare the biological image, God is a
“host” who deliberately creates His own parasites; causes us to be that we may exploit
and “take advantage of” Him. Herein is love. This is the diagram of Love Himself, the
inventor of all loves.”
Forgiven By Him (v.34)
In verse 34 we see the call from the cross and the clothing beneath the Cross.
The Call From the Cross
"Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” And they
divided His garments and cast lots." (Luke 23:34, NKJV).
Jesus prays to forgive the unforgivable, to excuse the inexcusable. Jesus prays “for they
do not know what they do”. In Leviticus 4:2 and Numbers 15:25-29, atonement is
possible for one who has sinned unwittingly (see C. Marvin Pate; Moody Gospel; Luke
p.454). We are left with the impression that while they were nailing Jesus to the cross he
repeatedly prayed “Father, forgive them”. Seven times in six hours Jesus will speak from
the cross. Luke records only three of the seven statements.
The cross is something unwelcome, unwanted.
Louis Evely wrote;
“If the cross suited us, it would no longer be a cross, and if we refuse those that hurt
us, we will refuse all crosses. The cross which God sends us must of necessity always
be humiliating, painful, paralyzing, difficult. The cross is precisely what hurts us in
that place where we are most disarmed and vulnerable.”
Someone once said “Every person should have a special cemetery lot in which to bury
the faults of friends and loved ones”.
In Matthew’s gospel Peter asks the question “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my
brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not
seven times, but seventy-seven times” (Matt.18:21-22).
"“Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned.
Forgive, and you will be forgiven." (Luke 6:37, NKJV)
Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does change the future.
General Oglethorpe once told John Wesley “I never forgive”. Wesley replied, “Then, sir,
I hope that you never sin.”
But we do sin.
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Sin Bearing
Luke 23:33-38
The Clothing Beneath The Cross
(v.34) “and they divided His garments and cast lots”.
Roman soldiers cast lots through dice. Another popular way to choose lots was by
placing stones in a helmet. If the criminal’s clothes had any value they would cast lots
for them.
They loved to gamble. The executed person was considered a dead man with no need for
clothes.
In Matthew’s gospel we get a little more detail (19:23); “Then the soldiers, when they
had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and
also the tunic. Now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top in one piece. They
said therefore among themselves, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall
be,” that the Scripture might be fulfilled which says; “They divided My garments among
them, And for My clothing they cast lots”. Therefore the soldiers did these things.”
Matthew’s gospel tells us the significance of the passage is that even the details
surrounding His death are the fulfillment of prophecy.
Contempt For Him (vv.35-37)
"And the people stood looking on. But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, “He
saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God.”" (Luke 23:35,
NKJV).
The people are unidentified. The expression “looking on” is intensive and carries the
idea of rubber-necking or gawking. We experience the same thing when we drive by an
automobile accident and cannot resist the temptation to stare.
No doubt it is a mixed group of family, friends and enemies. A clue is given in verse 49;
“But all His acquaintances and the women who followed Him from Galilee, stood at a
distance, watching these things”.
John’s gospel (19:25-27); “Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His
mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore
saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother,
“Woman, behold your son!” Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And
from that hour that disciple took her to his own home.”
Look carefully at the word translated “sneered” in verse 35. The Old King James
translated this word “derided” but the Greek word is very strong; it is ekmykterizo
(pronounced ek-mek-teridzo) it literally means “turn up the nose” and so sneering!
"The soldiers also mocked Him, coming and offering Him sour wine," (Luke 23:36,
NKJV)
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Sin Bearing
Luke 23:33-38
"They also gave me gall for my food, And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. "
(Psalm 69:21, NKJV)
"and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself.”" (Luke 23:37, NKJV)
The religious leaders could not believe God’s Messiah, God’s chosen One could allow
himself to bear this kind of pain, humiliation, shame.
“If he were really the Christ of God, let him convince them by saving himself from such
shame and agony. There was some theological truth to their words, but they were
unaware of it. It was true—he could not save himself; that was the “cup” which the
Father had given him. He had no choice and desired no choice but to drink it” (Ray
Summers; Commentary on Luke; p.305).
A thousand years earlier, the ancestor of Jesus—David wrote;
"But I am a worm, and no man; A reproach of men, and despised by the people. All those
ein the Lord, let Him rescue Him; Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!” "
(Psalm 22:6-8, NKJV)
The religious leaders, the mockers, the scorners admitted “He saved others”. What did
they mean? He healed a paralytic in Capernaum, He delivered a poor demoniac in the
Gadarenes, He cleansed lepers, he opened blind eyes, he raised a little girl from the dead,
and took his friend Lazarus, four days dead, and brought him back to life.
These miracles did not seem to impress them. Apparently the only thing that would
convince them of Jesus’ messianic claims was to remove the nails from his hands and
feet, and come floating down from the cross. The fact the religious leaders maneuvered
the Romans into nailing Jesus to that cross convinced them Jesus was not the Jewish
Messiah. In Deuteronomy 21:23 it says “anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s
curse. This is the cruelest, lowest form of execution. To the Jewish leaders it was
madness to think anyone crucified could possibly be God. One Bible writer made the
comment they might as well as mocked the literal lambs of the Passover—they saved
others—they could not possibly save themselves.
Charge Against Him (v.38)
"And an inscription also was written over Him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew:
THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS." (Luke 23:38, NKJV)
Why was an inscription written over Jesus? These are the formal charges against Him.
Pilate meant for the inscription to be parody, a mockery of the peasant prince of Galilee.
In John’s gospel the religious leaders push Pilate to change the reading to “He claimed to
be the king of the Jews”. Pilate refused and simply said, “What I have written, I have
written” (John 19:19-22).
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Sin Bearing
Luke 23:33-38
C. Marvin Pate in his commentary quotes Josephus who gives an interesting
interpretation of the inscription over Jesus: “At one of the gates leading into the temple
with inscriptions hung a . . .tablet with inscription in these (Greek, Roman, and Jewish)
characters, to the effect: Jesus has not reigned as king; he has been crucified by the Jews
because he proclaimed the destruction of the city and the laying waste of the temple” (see
Moody Commentary; p. 454; who apparently quotes Evans).
Each gospel gives us a slightly different inscription; Mark (15:26); THE KING OF THE
JEWS; Matthew 27:37; THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS; John 19:19; JESUS of
NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
So which is correct? Theologically all are correct. Jesus was crucified on a charge of
treason as a rival king to a Roman Emperor. This is Jesus of Nazareth The King of the
Jews.
In the end, each person must ask the question; “Will I allow this man to be the King of
life?”
Three acts have been perpetrated on Jesus; his crucifixion (v.33); his garment taken
(v.34); his dignity assaulted (vv.35-39). Three primary groups surround the cross; the
Jewish leaders (v.35); the Roman soldiers (vv.36-37); the condemned criminals (vv.3943). Three titles have been applied to Jesus; God’s Messiah (vv.35, 39); God’s Chosen
One (v.35); King of the Jews (v.38).
Paul wrote to a group of Christians living in Colosse, about 100 miles east of Ephesus.
Paul told them “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily”(2:9) and
described their former condition; “And you, being dead in your trespasses and the
uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you
all trespasses,”
"having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was
contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross."
(Colossians 2:14, NKJV)
Conclusion
Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote; “The cross is God’s truth about us, and therefore it is the
only power which can make us truthful. When we know the cross we are no longer afraid
of the truth.”
In a dream Martin Luther once had he saw a book where all his sins were written. In the
dream, the devil spoke to Luther, “Martin, here is one of your sins, here is another,”
pointing to the writing in the book. Then Luther said to the devil, “Take a pen and write,
‘The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanses us from all sin.”
If God were not willing to forgive sin, heaven would be empty.
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Sin Bearing
Luke 23:33-38
Spurgeon said, “We are certain that there is forgiveness, because there is a gospel, and
the very essence of the gospel lies in the proclamation of the pardon of sin.
“God will spare the sinner because he did not spare His Son. God can pass by your
transgressions because he laid them upon his only begotten Son nearly two thousand
years ago”.
Marlene Dietrich once said, “Once a woman has forgiven her man, she must not reheat
his sins for breakfast.”
“When a deep injury is done us, we must never recover until we forgive” (Alan Paton).
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