To The Metal

Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, ^[a]and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. ² But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. ³ Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴ And it happened, as they were ^[b]greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. ⁵ Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? ⁶ He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, ⁷ saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’ ”

⁸ And they remembered His words. ⁹ Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. ¹⁰ It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles. ¹¹ And their words seemed to them like ^[c]idle tales, and they did not believe them. ¹² But Peter arose and ran to the tomb; and stooping down, he saw the linen cloths ^[d]lying by themselves; and he departed, marveling to himself at what had happened.

Luke 24:1-12

He is risen, hallelujah!  As the women returned to the tomb to apply the oils and spices to the Lord’s body, they discovered an open and empty tomb.  Waiting there were two men, perhaps angels, who asked why they sought the living amongst the dead?  The women were reminded of Christ’s prophecy of all that just happened.

The women returned to the apostles, shared what they saw, and were greeted mainly by disbelief.  Now Peter (and John, who in some accounts ran faster and got there first) ran to the tomb, discovered the truth of what the women said, and marveled that Jesus had risen.  Such pain on Friday to such joy on Sunday.

As Christ was delivered from death to life, so were His apostles delivered from doubt to faith.

⁵⁰ Now behold, there was a man named Joseph, a council member, a good and just man. ⁵¹ He had not consented to their decision and deed. He was from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who^[a] himself was also waiting for the kingdom of God. ⁵² This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. ⁵³ Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a tomb that was hewn out of the rock, where no one had ever lain before. ⁵⁴ That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near.

⁵⁵ And the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed after, and they observed the tomb and how His body was laid. ⁵⁶ Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.

Luke 23:50-56

Jesus buried in Joseph’s tomb.  After His physical death, Jesus’s body was retrieved with permission of Pilate by a man named Joseph.  It is stated in Matthew 27:57 that Joseph was a believer, a disciple of Christ.  

⁵⁷ Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus.

Matthew 27:57

After wrapping the body in linen (and 75lbs of spices/aloes provided by the Pharisee Nicodemus per John 19:39-40) – he placed Jesus’s body in the tomb and rolled the stone across the entrance to seal it.  The women (Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James), who followed Jesus also prepared spices and oils to anoint His body per Jewish tradition ahead of the Sabbath.

³⁹ And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. ⁴⁰ Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury.

John 19:39-40

They all planned to return on Sunday to complete the task.  Friday had gone, but Sunday was coming.  I cannot imagine the conviction and sorrow many would feel on that Sabbath.  Jesus did make it clear in John 2:19-21 “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”  However it was also clear that much of his prophecy remained a mystery to those that heard.  

¹⁹ Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”

²⁰ Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?”

²¹ But He was speaking of the temple of His body. ²² Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this ^[d]to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.

John 2:19-21

But after He rose, they would remember what He said and believe.

⁴⁴ Now it ^[a]was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. ⁴⁵ Then the sun was ^[b]darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in ^[c]two. ⁴⁶ And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ ” Having said this, He breathed His last.

⁴⁷ So when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, “Certainly this was a righteous Man!”

⁴⁸ And the whole crowd who came together to that sight, seeing what had been done, beat their breasts and returned. ⁴⁹ But all His acquaintances, and the women who followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.

Luke 23:44-49

Jesus dies on the cross.  Darkness covered the earth from noon until 3pm, which generally should have been the brightest part of the day.  At 3pm the sun darkened, the veil in the temple, standing 60 feet tall by 30 feet wide by 4 inches thick was torn in two.  

With the veil torn it represented that there was nothing standing between God and man other than sin, no more intermediaries were required.  The only way to the Father was Christ.  At the same moment, Jesus called out “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit,” and breathed his last.  

The centurion, a servant of Rome and oppressor of Jerusalem began to glorify God, recognizing Christ as a righteous man.  The crowd who bore witness beat their breast out of guilt for what they had allowed if not encouraged, and left while His followers who were present simply observed all that was transpiring.

³⁹ Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, ^[a]“If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.”

⁴⁰ But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? ⁴¹ And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” ⁴² Then he said ^[b]to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”

⁴³ And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

Luke 23:39-43

“If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.”  The criminal who blasphemed our Lord here was so close to salvation but simply could not see past his own pain and anger.  Jesus IS the Christ, and He was sacrificing Himself to save everyone, which He demonstrates in the following verses of this chapter.

After the outburst from the first criminal, the “thief on the cross” revealed the conviction within himself by acknowledging who Jesus is.  The thief confessed that he was worthy of this punishment, but that Jesus was innocent.  He then made a simple request of Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”

While we still have breath, we still have time to turn to Jesus.  The thief on the cross, who we all were before we accepted Jesus into our hearts, was faced in that moment with his mortality.  He saw both an eternity apart from God, and an eternity in the presence of God before him.  He chose to humble himself, exalt Christ, and physically turn to Jesus through the pain of the cross.

By making that decision in his final moments, he was guaranteed salvation and eternal life.  “Assuredly I say to you, today you will be with Me in paradise.”  Praise the Lord!

^34 [a]Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”

And they divided His garments and cast lots. ³⁵ 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.”

³⁶ The soldiers also mocked Him, coming and offering Him sour wine, ³⁷ and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself.”

³⁸ And an inscription also was ^[b]written over Him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew:

THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

Luke 23:34-38

Much of Psalm 22 plays out here, as prophetic as ever through the suffering and mocking of our Lord.  “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS” said the inscription over His head.  Written in Latin for the Romans, Hebrew for the Jews, and Greek for everyone else.  The inscription made sure all knew who the Romans were crucifying that day.

Where were the Jews who had been blessing “He who comes in the name of the Lord” just days earlier?  Now they stood aside and ridiculed Him.  “He trusted in the Lord, let Him rescue Him” – Psalm 22:8.  They cast lots for His clothes, mocked Him, spat upon Him.  They ridiculed the very King of The Universe who they would praise on the Sabbath.

They sat back in fear of man, pride, and darkness as the sin of the world was poured out upon He who was blameless and knew no sin.  They truly did not know what they were doing… This society who had prayed and looked forward to the Messiah’s arrival now let Him bleed out and suffocate on a cross amongst criminals.

⁶ But I am a worm, and no man;
A reproach of men, and despised by the people.
⁷ All those who see Me ridicule Me;
They ^[b]shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
⁸ “He ^[c]trusted in the Lord, let Him rescue Him;
Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!”

⁹ But You are He who took Me out of the womb;
You made Me trust while on My mother’s breasts.
¹⁰ I was cast upon You from birth.
From My mother’s womb
You have been My God.
¹¹ Be not far from Me,
For trouble is near;
For there is none to help.

¹² Many bulls have surrounded Me;
Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled Me.
¹³ They ^[d]gape at Me with their mouths,
Like a raging and roaring lion.

¹⁴ I am poured out like water,
And all My bones are out of joint;
My heart is like wax;
It has melted ^[e]within Me.
¹⁵ My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
And My tongue clings to My jaws;
You have brought Me to the dust of death.

¹⁶ For dogs have surrounded Me;
The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me.
They^[f] pierced My hands and My feet;
¹⁷ I can count all My bones.
They look and stare at Me.
¹⁸ They divide My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots.

Psalm 22:6-18

32 There were also two others, criminals, led with Him to be put to death. 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. 34 [a]Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”

Luke 23:32-34

Jesus is crucified with two criminals, accepting the punishment for all of our sin at once. Even from the cross on that day upon Calvary, he continued to lead us. Back in Luke 6:27-28, Jesus taught us to love our enemies, do good for those who hate us, bless those who curse us, and pray for those who spitefully use us.

27 “But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.

Luke 6:27-28

Even on this day He taught. “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” He openly asked God to forgive everyone responsible for where He was there and then, as he took on all of our sin. He loved us, did good for us, blessed us, and prayed for us. He was dying to save the very souls that hung Him on the cross and none of them even knew it.

Within all that pain and torture, He remained focused on the Father, and because of that we have salvation through Him.

²⁶ Now as they led Him away, they laid hold of a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, who was coming from the country, and on him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus.

²⁷ And a great multitude of the people followed Him, and women who also mourned and lamented Him. ²⁸ But Jesus, turning to them, said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. ²⁹ For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, wombs that never bore, and breasts which never nursed!’ ³⁰ Then they will begin ‘to say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!” ’ ³¹ For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry?”

Luke 23:26-31

After the mocking, beating, and scourging, a bloodied and physically broken Jesus makes His way to Calvary for crucifixion.  The Romans called upon Simon of Cyrene to aid Christ in carrying the cross.  I see Matthew 11:28-30 here, a physical cross likely was not a light burden, but God always provides when we need Him and Jesus certainly needed the Father at this time.

²⁸ Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am ^[a]gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Matthew 11:28-30

It was also a clear representation of what it truly means to bear your cross and follow Christ.

As the crowd followed, a group of women grieved for Him, mourning and lamenting.  Here Jesus broke the silence that had persisted until now.  I can take His statement two ways, first being a prophetic view of our modern world where in fact women are prided on not bearing children, focusing on career instead of family, and elevated for supporting the murder of offspring.

A mountain falling upon us all would be a mercy for what our society has allowed.

The second way I see it was also prophetic but focused on Israel.  Jesus Christ was walking the earth, the Messiah had come to Jerusalem.  The kingdom was at hand, the wood was green, times were good – then still the Romans and the Sanhedrin crucified the Messiah in these good times.  In the years ahead, the children of that generation would suffer greatly, so much so they might consider those women who never bore children to see them suffer – blessed.

A mountain falling upon them would have been a mercy.

So He said “do not weep” for Him, weep for those subject to the darkness that would be coming for Israel in the years ahead, when the wood is dry. I also wonder if “the wood” here was a literal reference to the wood of the cross he bore.

¹³ Then Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, ¹⁴ said to them, “You have brought this Man to me, as one who misleads the people. And indeed, having examined Him in your presence, I have found no fault in this Man concerning those things of which you accuse Him; ¹⁵ no, neither did Herod, for ^[a]I sent you back to him; and indeed nothing deserving of death has been done by Him. ¹⁶ I will therefore chastise Him and release Him” ¹⁷ (for^[b] it was necessary for him to release one to them at the feast).

¹⁸ And they all cried out at once, saying, “Away with this Man, and release to us Barabbas”— ¹⁹ who had been thrown into prison for a certain rebellion made in the city, and for murder.

²⁰ Pilate, therefore, wishing to release Jesus, again called out to them. ²¹ But they shouted, saying, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!”

²² Then he said to them the third time, “Why, what evil has He done? I have found no reason for death in Him. I will therefore chastise Him and let Him go.”

²³ But they were insistent, demanding with loud voices that He be crucified. And the voices of these men ^[c]and of the chief priests prevailed. ²⁴ So Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they requested. ²⁵ And he released ^[d]to them the one they requested, who for rebellion and murder had been thrown into prison; but he delivered Jesus to their will.

Luke 23:13-25

Taking the place of Barabbas.  Jesus was returned to Pilate, who saw now fault in Him, no crime worthy of death.  Three times Pilate offered to chastise and release Jesus, and each time the crowd refused and became more fervent in their desire to see Him crucified.

In modern definitions, to chastise is a severe rebuke or reprimand.  In the days where Jesus walked the earth, it was a severe punishment by beating, whipping, scourging.  Led by the Sanhedrin and  people present, chastisement simply wasn’t enough to satisfy their bloodlust.  They wanted Christ crucified so badly, they chose to free a murderer in his place, Barabbas.

This made me think of the thief on the cross, later in this very chapter.  If not for Christ taking the place of Barabbas, if not for the crowd unknowingly fulfilling prophecy by setting a murderer free and crucifying Jesus – that thief would have been damned along with the rest of us. 

Instead he would be joining Jesus in paradise after his final breath because in his final moments, he turned to Christ.