Luke 23:1-49: the Passion of Our
Lord; the Trial and Death of Jesus
Seminarian Alex Ogden
Grace, mercy, and peace from God
the Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Introduction: Imagine
a scene with me for a second. It’s well past the midnight, the day before was
full of festivities, and you’ve probably been awake for a day. To rest, you
come to a place that you’re used to. It provides solace and safety. Then out of
the darkness, a dear friend of yours comes. But they’re followed closely behind
by police and the local authorities. Yet, the friend hugs you as he hands you
over to the group of brigands. Some of your friends try to put a fight but it
is squelched, and they disperse into the night. From there, you are brought to
holding center. Guards taunt, mocking you for what you’ve said and done. Then
to add injury to insult, these guards begin to beat you viciously, cackling at
your pain. The day begins to break, and you’re brought before a kangaroo court.
With little defense, they condemn you, licking their lips with devilish joy at
their own crude form of justice. But to solidify this judgement they bring you
before the authority, appointed by the State for further trial. You change
hands for a little while as the authorities bicker about whose responsibility
it is to deal with your crimes. Eventually, one of them takes the judgement
seat. A crowd develops into a vicious mob with a hellish roar for your death. This
governor says he will have you tortured, but not grant capital punishment. This
does not satisfy the mob, so the ruler grants the democracy of the crowd to
win. And he sentences you to an excruciating, public death.
This is probably not unlike what
the two thieves experienced in the days or hours leading up to their verdicts.
Yet, while we can speculate about how those men got to their sentence – this is
exactly what happened to Jesus.
This Palm Sunday, our appointed text
is Luke’s account of the Passion of our Lord. Quite contrary to where we are,
technically, in Holy Week today. Here, we only see a gross miscarriage of
justice and death to follow. However, the brutal, tortuous, and gruesome image
of the sufferings and death of Jesus is exactly where we begin to see the Triumphal
Entry. Through Christ’s death, He is able to defeat sin, death, and the Devil.
Through His seeming defeat, we can see the triumph of Christ’s Cross.
We are able to sing our song of
love unknown, because of Jesus’ triumphant death!
I.
(Jesus,
“Stricken, Smitten, and Afflicted”…For Sinners)
A.
The
popular song, “Were You There (When They Crucified My Lord)” is an easy enough
question to answer. No, neither you nor I were. But, with the plethora of
Passion plays, the bevy of Christian artistic depictions of the Crucifixion,
and the massively viewed Mel Gibson film, The Passion, it’s not too
difficult imagine the scene. They may give us the gory insight of the visceral
horrors our Lord suffered. But they all fail to really communicate what it
would have been like to be there. To feel the hatred the growing heat of the
day. The deafening shouts of death, murder, and wailing. The claustrophobia of
the crowd pressing against our Lord. Wherever we befell in the mob processing
up to Calvary, it’s most likely that we would have been apart of the murderous
crowd. The very same, who that Sunday before were shouting “Hosanna! Blessed is
He who comes in the name of the Lord,” and is now breathing murder with every
gasp. At best, we may have been the silent observers who saw the innocent Jesus
walk by with His back in ribbons, His eyelids half shut from beatings, and
groaning under the weight of the cross. Either way, we are but passive
bystanders, who can do more than watch on.
B.
In
the events leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion, we see the malice, evil, and
despicable sinful nature of men. Be it by ignorance or envy, the crowd wanted
Him dead. So, ever patiently and lowly Jesus, allowed Himself to be stricken,
smitten and afflicted. Yes, the very Lamb of God, this crowd cheered for, now
jeers at as He ascends up the mount. Yet, the Pascal Lamb goes forth
uncomplaining. And He does so for you and me. He presses onward towards
triumph, for ingrateful sinners all around. When all rightfully deserve death
for sin, He endured it, taking out place; bruised, broken, dejected, naked, cold,
and alone.
II.
(“O’
Sacred Head Now Wounded!”)
A.
As
the crown of thorns is placed upon Jesus, we see the “sacred head now wounded.”
The ram who God the Father offered Abraham upon the mountain in place of his
son, Isaac, make a reappearance. Yes, this ram caught in the thicket we read
about in Genesis, is now replaced by Jesus who wears the crown of thorns, He
becomes our sacrificial scapegoat. Bearing all injuries, of both His body and
our sins, Jesus is raised before the whole world to see. All the while, sinful
men spit out “He saved others; let Him save Himself, if He is the Christ of
God, His Chosen One!” Likewise, the criminal, who joined in the macabre mockery
of Jesus. This condemned man echoes what all Christians pray, “Save us!” Yet
the thief’s prayer included blasphemy and a lack of recognition, as it he
denies Christ’s divinity, and doubts Christ’s salvific power. Assaulted by
physical injury, Christ hangs from the tree, “cursed,” and is subjected and
endures verbal violence.
B.
This
Sacred Head, which once nestled in slumber in Mary’s arms, now hangs low, as
blood pours down. And all we need and do is look at any crucifix and see this
display. Christ’s head is always pointed to His right. And if we understand the
separation of the sheep and the goats, as found in Matthew’s Gospel, Christ
will have mercy on those on His right side. But woe to you who are on His left,
who join the impenitent thief, the religious leaders, and the criminals! Christ
has no place for you in paradise if you do not repent and believe the Gospel,
here upon the cross in full display. The paradox seen here in Christ’s death,
the silence of God, the judgement, the wages of sin, the punishment under the
Law. And every man who is born, is subject to the Law, its judgement, and the
punishment of death. Both you and I. No man can stand before God and live.
III.
(“Alas,
and Did My Savior Bleed?” For My Sake?)
A.
Now
you see, the men who shout out blasphemy, don’t realize the mercy on display,
the saving act playing out in real time. It is precisely because Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of God, the Father’s Chosen One that He allows this to happen.
He affirms this in this gruesome display of divine love. Because Jesus takes
our place. He bears the full brunt and weight of the Father for sin. It was for
this purpose that Christ came into this world. The King of Creation bears the
punishment of His creation’s insurrection. Alas! Our Savior did blees, and He
did devote that sacred head for such worms as we! He did so for the our lives,
offering up His to death on the cross. Through His blood we are saved, and by
His wounds we are healed.
B.
So,
now I turn to the Confirmands present. Now while I am going to address you all
personally, this also applies to your parents and the congregation at large. In
a few weeks, you
will make a public declaration of your beliefs. You will confirm the action
that took place at your Holy Baptisms. Know that what you are about to affirm
is your complete, utter, and sole dependence on Jesus Christ. On His life,
sufferings, and death. This salvific event that I have just been going on and
on about, this is the basis of your faith. And while you make this confession
before the congregation, your parents, and pastor… Know that most importantly,
you are doing it before Jesus Himself.
Conclusion: And
now back to the rest of you. (You didn’t think you’d get off that easily, did
you?) As Jesus goes up the mount to Calvary, stumbles, falls, and eventually
makes it to the place of the Skull. This too is where you find your hope,
comfort, faith, and salvation. It is because the Lamb went forth uncomplaining
that we achieve victory, through Christ’s victory over sin, death, and the
Devil. And as Jesus raised His voice at the sixth hour, crying out in a loud
voice, “Father, into Your hands I commend My spirit,” and dies, God the Father
has mercy on all of us, granting us Paradise when we too die. When Jesus dies,
He opens the path for our triumphal entry into heaven. Through His death, He
defeats sin, death, and the Devil, giving victory to all believers.
I
bring this to you all in Christ Jesus, the Crucified’s name.
Amen.
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