Luke 23:33-43
33 When they came to the place that is called The Skull,
they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his
left. 34 [Then
Jesus said, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are
doing."] And they cast lots to divide his clothing. 35 And
the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, "He
saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen
one!" 36 The
soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, 37 and
saying, "If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!" 38 There
was also an inscription over him, "This is the King of the Jews." 39 One
of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, "Are
you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!" 40 But
the other rebuked him, saying, "Do you not fear God, since you are under
the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And
we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for
our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong." 42 Then
he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." 43 He
replied, "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise."
There was also an inscription over
him, "This is the King of the Jews."
§ The last place we think of looking for Jesus as King and
the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation would
probably be the cross on Golgotha. On that day, in that place, Jesus is mocked,
tortured, stripped, and executed as a political criminal in the company of two
criminals whose crimes Luke did not explain. Even the placard atop the cross
was a mockery, telling what the Roman Empire thought of both this man and the
people of Israel as a whole.
§ This tragic scene is chosen as the illustration of Jesus Christ as
our king. This same reading is used for Passion Sunday every third year.
§ One thing is for sure: the idea of Jesus as King and the image of
the cross are intimately related.
§ We hear today of Jesus coming to Golgotha and receiving mockery
from those who opposed him in the area of religion, from the crucifying detail
of soldiers, and from one of the criminals crucified with him. Each of the
mockers use one of Jesus’ titles to ridicule him, and in that, ironically
proclaim him to be both the long-awaited Messiah, the chosen one of God, and the
King of the Jews.
§ Jesus is ridiculed by those who perceive themselves to be
righteous, by those who perceive themselves to be powerful, and by one who
perceives himself to be without hope. All of them use titles of power and
majesty in the hope of denying his claims and destroying his vision of the
kingdom.
§ There is one who does not do this – the second criminal crucified
at the same time as Jesus. He acknowledges his guilt and makes the request that
he might be remembered when Jesus comes into his kingdom. He actually defends
Jesus from the accusations and mockery of the first criminal, makes a simple
request, calling Jesus by name, a fairly intimate thing. In return, he is
assured of Paradise, the place where the fullness of God’s presence is known.
Jesus tell him that this will be done “today”, a word Luke uses whenever Jesus
preaches the imminence and immediate presence of the Kingdom of God.
§ The entire scene does not say royalty, power, and glory to us… and
it should not say those things. If we think it does, we’re misreading the
situation. Jesus is humiliated and killed in one of the most gruesome
executions imaginable. Because this sort of punishment was so common and well
know at the time, Luke does not need to describe it or comment on it. The
horror of it all would’ve been well known to the first readers of Luke’s
Gospel.
§ Despite all the humiliation and mockery the story contains, Jesus
takes it all on. He even assures the one criminal something that appears beyond
him: Truly I tell you, today you
will be with me in Paradise. He still decides and is merciful, even
to the point of praying for his executioners while they gamble for his
discarded clothing. He does not listen to the calls to save himself, whether as
ridicule or real concern. Instead he goes to his death with his mission and
kingdom in mind.
§ Jesus Christ is the king, the king whose majesty is hidden in his
humanity. His glory is laid aside in the ordinary and is further submerged in
his death.
§ Can we see the presence of righteousness, the glory, and the power
in the figure of Jesus crucified? It is there but it is not seen
there. We cannot see through the horror of crucifixion as if that were a dirty
window, simply obscuring what is beyond it. From any angle, the cross looks
like defeat.
§ Faith knows different. Faith comes to know that the salvation
Jesus offers comes through the cross, and never apart from it. It is through
the cross that he comes into his kingdom and in that kingdom, those who are
seen as unrighteous and undeserving share in the salvation promised to the
righteous. As Paul said in his letter to the Colossians: through
him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in
heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.
§ Through the Cross, Christ’s kingdom is proclaimed, not in power
and glory, but in suffering and mercy. To be part of the kingdom of God, there
is no escaping the Cross of Jesus. In fact, there is no other way to the
kingdom. In the Cross, there is mercy and redemption for all, in particular for
those who do not deserve it.
§ In his First Letter to the Corinthians, Paul put it this way: For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are
perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (1 Cor. 1:18)
§ The message of the cross is the power of God and it is the
proclamation of the Kingdom of God. Our faith tells us so, even if our thoughts
– and the thinking of a skeptical world - might tell us otherwise.
§ The one man crucified with Jesus asked to be remembered when he
would come into his kingdom. And he was. And so will we.
Truly I tell you, today you will be
with me in Paradise.
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