The Cross • Week 2

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Well, good morning. If you have your Bibles, and I hope you do, I want to invite you to join me in Luke

Luke 23 · chapter mention

chapter 23. We'll pick up in verse 26 here in just a moment. As you turn there, if you're a first-time

guest, I want to echo what Berger said. We are glad and pleased and honored that you were here

worshiping with us today. My wife and I will be back here to my left after the service is over with.

If you wouldn't mind stopping by so that we could greet you, we would feel extremely blessed if you

would do that. And if you do have any questions about our church, it is a wonderful place for you

to get those questions answered. And we would love to have all of you back with us and then some

next week as we celebrate our risen Savior on Easter morning. We do have two services,

eight o'clock and then our regular time at 1015. Both of those services, it's everybody. It's babies

all the way up through family service. So excited to have everybody with us. The eight o'clock will be

outdoors. The 1015 will be here. Those services will be relatively identical. The message will be

the same. We'll take the Lord's Supper together so you can pick which one that you would like to be

at. Somebody asked, would you, is it okay if we want to come to both? The answer to that question is

absolutely. The message will be the same, but you can come and celebrate both times with us. We'd love to

have you here. And then in between that, we'll have a wonderful time of breakfast and fellowship time

together and you will want to be there, all right? It's grits, bacon, eggs, all fruit for healthy

people. Then there's more bacon for those of you who are like me. And so we'd love to have you there

and join us. We'll have coffee, juice, water, all the things. So please show up and fellowship with us

as we can have a wonderful time together as a church family. And please invite someone with you,

someone who doesn't have a church home. We would love to have them join us for worship as well.

I want to read this verse to you before we pray. It's found in Luke 23, verse 46.

Luke 23:46

Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.

Would you join me in prayer? Lord, we come to you. Lord, as we look at the cross,

as we look next week in anticipation of the resurrection, Lord, we stand in a reality today

that we serve a Savior who died and who rose again. God, may our words this morning as we

talk about the truth of the gospel, may it saturate every part of our life. God, may we live today,

may we worship you today in humility that our Savior died for us and in joy that he rose again.

And Lord, that we too will. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. On my journey here this morning,

I did not expect for the car to read 38 degrees outside. All right? I thought it was springtime

in the south. Didn't know that winter was going to kick back in. But 38 degrees, I was listening to

a sports talk show on my way in. And the question was asked on the sports talk show this morning,

from a caller to the man who was talking, he says,

what is your most memorable master's experience? Now, I'm from Augusta, from Augusta, North Augusta,

lived there till I was 24 years old and got married. And then we've moved around, but largely or solely

in the state of South Carolina. And I can tell you, if you're not aware that in Augusta, Georgia,

this is Master's Week. And if you're from, there's two types of people who care that it's Master's Week.

All right? There's golfers and people who love golf and you care because it's a major, it's a big deal.

And then if you're from Augusta, it's really the only thing that we have to be proud about from being

from Augusta, right? Augusta doesn't really have anything to brag about other than the Augusta

National. And the irony of that is none of us from Augusta can actually go to the Augusta National.

But we're proud of it. And that week, that week, I was thinking through the question. There's been

opportunities that we had. I got to be there in 1986 when Jack won his last one. And I say his first

name like we're buddies, right? But I'll do this with all golfers, okay? I got to be there in 97 and

watch Tiger win his first one. And it was wonderful. And I got to be there in 2006 when I got to watch Phil

win his second. Just a wonderful time, wonderful memories. And I had a hard time thinking through

like, what was my most memorable Master's experience of the three of those? And they all rank pretty high.

But whether you care about golf or not, if you live in Augusta, Master's Week impacts you.

It changes literally the direction that you'll drive to work because of the traffic of what's there.

It changes your eating habits. Like if you go out to dinner pretty consistently, you don't that week

because the menu prices double and every restaurant is packed. You avoid Washington Road. There are even

people who move out of their homes to avoid being in Augusta or they rent out their home

so that others can come in and stay so that they can go because there's no way

that Augusta has the hotels to support the Master's experience. One of the craziest stories I ever heard

about people who are renting out their home. There were some individuals that I know, they lived in

one of the nicer neighborhoods in Augusta. They lived in a private gated community on a golf course

and they had gotten word that a golfer, and they've never shared who this golfer was,

but that there was a golfer and his wife that were going to rent their home for a week.

And they set the price tag for renting their house, this is in the 90s, they set the price tag for renting

their house for the week for $10,000. Right? And they said, absolutely.

So about a week before this golfer and his wife are supposed to come and stay at their house,

they send word through the person who's coordinating all this, the broker that's handling all of this,

that the flooring in their house would need to be replaced because this golfer's wife

only walks on white carpets.

So they said, well, you're going to pay for that.

You're going to pay for us not to live here while the carpet is being installed.

But then we don't like white carpet because we live in an area that's all red clay.

So you're going to pay to have the carpets changed out after Master's Week.

You're going to pay for us to stay somewhere else while that's happening.

And the price just went up from $10,000 to $20,000.

And that golfer said, no problem.

A little different tax bracket, I think, right?

Than what you and I are living in.

My point is, if you live in Augusta, whether you're a server at a restaurant,

whether you work at a sporting goods store like I did,

whether you're just a person living your life in the Augusta area,

like Master's Week impacts so much of your life,

whether you love golf or not.

But if you don't care about golf,

if you don't live in Augusta,

then it's just another week.

It's just another event that happened and took place,

and you don't even know who Jack, Tiger, and Phil even are,

and you don't even really care who they are.

It's just another week.

What we're looking at in our series,

as we look at the events leading up to the crucifixion this morning,

we're going to look at the crucifixion,

and then next week we're going to look at the resurrection.

Whether you care or not,

this is the most impactful event

in the history of the world.

That God

stepped out of heaven and took on flesh.

And he came

and he was tried

and he was convicted.

The only sinless person

marked guilty

and he died on the cross.

But praise God

he rose again.

And because of that,

whether you care about this story

or not,

there's a message

of hope

for you.

So last week we looked at these trials

of Jesus.

And we're working through

Luke 22,

23,

and next week we'll look at Luke 24.

But from the time of the trial

to the crucifixion

that we'll look at,

there's some events

that Luke

doesn't overly cover,

but I want to explain

what is happening to Jesus

because it matters.

The Bible tells us

that when we look

at the different gospel narratives,

what we find out

is not,

Jesus isn't just tried

and crucified

but that he's beaten,

he's whipped,

he's stripped naked,

he's mocked,

and in a severity

that I want us to get here

in just a moment,

I'll describe some of these things.

He has a crown of thorns

beaten

onto his head.

I shared this last week

and I want to make sure

that we understand

about a Roman soldier,

that Rome in their military

ruled through fear.

They had perfected punishment.

They could bring someone

through beating them

to the point of death

and then stop

and nurse them back again

so they could beat them again

to where you would be begging

for your life

to be taken

before they then led you

somewhere else

where you would be executed.

This was the process

that Jesus was taken through.

When I say that Jesus

was beaten and whipped,

there was an instrument

that was used

that I read this week

was referred to

as the instrument

of half death.

When we see imagery of it,

it looks like a whip

and from a distance

it would be that.

It was a leather

handled instrument

that from it

would be like a knot

and then somewhere

between three

and nine leather strands

would hang off of it.

But it wasn't just

for whipping.

That woven into

the leather

all the way down

would be these balls

like ball bearings

that would be placed

strategically

throughout

the straps.

And then on the very end

there would be woven

pieces of

pottery.

Sharp, jagged

pieces at the end

so that as you were

beaten

here's what would happen.

You'd have the sting

of the leather

they would beat you

they would tie you

around a post

so that your back

would be exposed

completely stripped

of all your clothing

so that every part

of you

could feel

the punishment

of what was there.

It would beat

from your back

all the way down

your legs.

As the instrument

would strike

the leather

would pierce

and sting

but that would be

secondary

compared to

everything else

that happened.

The balls

that were woven

in would

be so strong

and hard

as they hit

that they would

break bone.

And then as the

pieces of leather

would wrap around

your body

they would hook

in.

and then what

they would do

is they would

rip back

this way

so that where

it had penetrated

from shoulders

to knees

would tear

and tear

all the way

back through

your back.

And Jesus

was beaten

over and

over this way.

as he's beaten

if not for

enough

the humility

of being

exposed

in his

nakedness

of being

spit out

of having

slurs

cast

to him

psychologically

trying to

break him

down more

and more.

Eventually

they would

take

a crown

of thorns

and they

would

beat it

onto his

head.

Now

when I

think of

thorns

here

I think

of stickers

sometimes

right?

They can

cut

they can

hurt

but they're

more of an

inconvenience

than they are

anything.

If you've

traveled

anywhere in

the world

but specifically

to more

desert regions

what you'll

find is

even the

plants

there

are just

fighting to

survive.

And the

thorns

that this

crown

would have

been

made out

of

would

average

their

thorns

about

three inches

long.

Sharper

than a

needle

stronger

than a

nail.

And that

crown of

thorns

was put

on Jesus'

head

and then

the Bible

tells us

that they

grabbed

a wooden

club

they called

it like

a scepter

as to

mock him

like a

king would

hold a

scepter.

And then

they began

to beat

that

onto his

head.

So the

skull

and the

brain

of Jesus

is not

just the

thorns

that are

penetrating

but it's

blow

after blow

after blow

of what's

happening

over

and over

and over

again.

This

is what

happens to

Jesus

before the

cross.

So let's

look now

in this

encounter.

Join me

in verse

26.

As they

led him

away they

seized

one

Simon of

Cyrene who

was coming

in from

the country

and laid

on him

the cross

to carry

it behind

Jesus.

And there

followed him

a great

multitude

of people

and of

women who

were mourning

and lamenting

for him

but turning

to them

Jesus

said

daughters

of

Jerusalem

do not

weep

for me

but weep

for yourselves

and for your

children

for behold

the days are

coming when

they will

say blessed

are the

barren

and the

wombs

that never

bore

and the

breasts

that never

nursed.

Then they

will begin

to say

to the

mountains

fall on

us

and to

the hills

cover us

for if

they do

these things

when the

wood is

green

what will

happen

when it

is dry?

So here's

what's taking

place.

We're going

to look

at these

encounters

and conversations

that Jesus

has

both on

his way

to his

crucifixion

and while

on the

cross.

Jesus

is on

the verge

of death

when these

ladies

see him.

Now

we don't

know

anything

about

these

ladies

but they

see

Jesus

bloody

bruised

beaten.

He would

not have

resembled

the man

that he

once was

before all

of this

started.

It would

have been

a gory

mess

that the

greatest

of Hollywood

makeup

artists

could not

replicate.

These

ladies

see him

and the

Bible

says that

they

began

weeping

for him.

Now

why?

Why?

Well we

don't know.

We don't

know if

they were

part of

the crowd

that was

yelling

crucify him

give us

Barabbas

and they

regret their

decision.

We don't

know if

these women

are followers

or they're

like the

curious crowd

of Jesus

just kind

of wanting

to find

out more

of what

he was

about

and they're

just watching

all this

unfold.

But we

see

their

reaction

and Jesus

looks at

them

and his

words are

this

do not

weep

for me

weep

for

yourself.

That's

why would

he say

that?

It seems

like a

natural

I don't

care who

you are

you see

this

and this

wrecks you

a little bit

of what

they've

experienced

when we

see this

moment

where they're

trying to

show Jesus

some

compassion

and on

the surface

it looks

like Jesus

doesn't

accept

or receive

their

compassion

but here's

what's

actually

taking place

in the

midst of

all of

this

Jesus

is being

compassionate

toward

them.

You see

what Jesus

does is

he speaks

about the

destruction

of Jerusalem

and the

people there

which would

happen in

70 AD.

He speaks

to the

destruction

and it

takes place

it happens

it takes

place

and here's

his point

he says

do not

weep

for me

when you

need to

be weeping

for yourself

and the

condition

you find

yourself

in.

The

illustration

that Jesus

gives

for a

Jewish

woman

there

was

no

greater

honor

in

the

world

than

to

be

a

mother

and

Jesus

says

here's

how

bad

it's

going

to

be

it's

going

to

be

so

bad

that

they

will

say

blessed

are

those

whose

wounds

are

barren

and

whose

breasts

never

nurse

those

will

be

the

ones

who

blessed

because

of

how

terrible

things

will

be

Jesus

says

if

you

think

I'm

bad

if

you

think

what's

happening

to

me

is

horrific

you've

got

to

evaluate

yourself

when

we

look

at

the

work

of

the

cross

you

must

evaluate

your

spiritual

condition

you

cannot

access

the

work

Jesus

does

on

the

cross

until

you

can

take

an

inventory

of

your

life

and

the

hopeless

condition

you

find

yourself

in

in

your

sin

apart

from

Christ

the

Bible

says

that

left

in

our

sinfulness

without

Christ

that

you

are

lost

without

hope

the

object

of

God's

wrath

under

judgment

that

you're

blind

that

you

are

dead

there's

no

hope

but

Jesus

knows

what

is

waiting

him

is

the

cross

but

he

knows

after

the

cross

there's

the

resurrection

after

the

cross

there's

life

what

Jesus

knows

is

what

comes

after

the

cross

for

you

without

him

is

spiritual

death

but

the

process

to

life

is

found

in

him

when

we

admit

when

we

accept

when

we

believe

and

record

that

we

are

a

sinner

that

need

to

be

saved

and

that

it

is

better

it

is

better

to be

beaten

to be

whipped

to be

stripped

naked

to

mock

to

have

a

crown

of

thorns

beat

onto

your

skull

but

to

be

free

from

sin

than

it

is

to

be

dead

in

your

trespasses

and

sins

churches

we

look

at

the

work

of

the

cross

of

what

Jesus

would

do

on

our

behalf

what

we're

going

to

look

at

next

week

in

the

power

of

the

resurrection

and

the

hope

that

we

have

in

Christ

in

Christ

alone

is

you

have

to

evaluate

the

condition

that

you

find

yourself

in

am

I

saved

and

found

in

Christ

or

am

I

lost

without

hope

Jesus

looks at

these

women

and

he

says

do

not

weep

for

me

but

weep

for

yourself

so

we

continue

on

verse

32

it

says

the

two

others

who

were

criminals

were

led

away

to be

put

to

death

with

him

and

when

they

came

to

the

place

that

is

called

the

skull

there

they

crucified

him

and

the

criminals

one

at

his

right

and

one

at

his

left

and

Jesus

said

father

forgive

them

for

they

know

not

what

they

do

and

they

cast

lots

to

divide

his

garments

what

we

see

and

find

here

in

the

work

of

the

cross

and

in

the

character

and

nature

of

Jesus

is

the

grace

of

Jesus

the

grace

of

Jesus

do

you

know

what

happens

in

a

crucifixion

the

closest

equivalent

that you

and I

could

understand

is like

a railroad

spike

driven

through

your

wrists

and

through

your

feet

to be

able to

hold

you

onto

this

instrument

of

death

at

some

point

in

time

they

would

nail

you

to

the

cross

and

then

they

would

raise

the

cross

and

they

would

have

a

hole

dug

out

in

the

ground

and

what

would

happen

is

as

the

cross

was

placed

and

that

word

is

so

inaccurate

of

what

we

think

of

when

we

place

something

but

the

cross

would

fall

into

the

hole

so

now

after

you've

experienced

all

that

you've

experienced

by the

individuals

around

you

who

have

done

this

to

you

beaten

nailed

to

a

cross

you're

dropped

into

a

hole

and

usually

what

would

happen

when

the

weight

of

that

cross

would

hit

the

bottom

of

that

hole

is

one

or

both

of

your

shoulders

would

dislocate

I

don't

know

if

you've

ever

dislocated

anything

I

have

I've

broken

bones

I've

dislocated

things

I'm

clumsy

I'm

accident

prone

I'll

take

the

initial

pain

of

a

broken

bone

over

dislocation

any

point

in

time

in

my

life

shoulder

would

dislocate

now

think

about

this

where

you're

hanging

from

is

dislocated

the

weight

of

your

body

now

is

either

on

the

wound

in

your

wrist

which

in

Jewish

custom

in

the

time

of

Christ

we

talk

about

the

hands

the

hands

were

referred

to

the

wrist

were

considered

a

part

of

the

hand

your

weight

would

either

be

there

or

on

your

feet

and

I

don't

care

if

you're

a

man

my

size

bigger

or

smaller

it's

a lot

of

weight

it's

a lot

of

pain

it's

a lot

of

suffering

how

you

die

on

a

cross

a lot

of

people

don't

know

this

is

suffocation

you

suffocate

to

death

you

you

have

to

the

way

the

body

would

hang

down

would

create

where

you

couldn't

breathe

so

the

choice

you

make

is

do

I

push

up

on

my

feet

in

all

of

the

pain

that

would

ensue

or

do

I

hang

where

I

can

no

longer

breathe

and

you

would

bounce

back

and

forth

in

consciousness

as

your

body

would

experience

that

I

think

it's

safe

to

say

that

you

and

I

have

never

experienced

this

amount

of

pain

does

Jesus

take

a

curse

those

around

me

posture

does

Jesus

take

a

silence

and

endure

Jesus

says

father

forgive

them

for

they

know

not

what

they

do

I

read

an

author

that

said

this

one

verse

describes

at

its

core

the

very

mercy

of

God

here's

what

he is

saying

in

a

prayer

father

I

know

what

they

deserve

withhold

your

punishment

from

them

change

is the

way

that we

need to

view

retribution

what

is

deserved

versus

what

is

given

folks

this

is

grace

this

is

grace

and

this

isn't

a

moment

that

takes

place

on

the

cross

that

happens

by

chance

this

was

orchestrated

by the

very

hand

of

God

Isaiah

53

12

therefore

I

will

divide

him

a

portion

with

the

many

and

he

shall

divide

the

spoil

with

the

strong

because

he

poured

out

his

soul

to

death

and

was

numbered

with

the

transgressors

yet

he

bore

the

sin

of

many

talking

about

the

work

of

the

cross

this

is

describing

the

work

of

the

cross

the

physical

action

of

what

will

take

place

and

then

look

what

it

says

in

Isaiah

53

12

and

makes

intercession

for

the

transgressors

that

in

Isaiah

53

the

words

of

Luke

23

were

spoken

about

the

grace

of

God

for

the

thieves

on the

cross

to

the

crowd

to

the

guards

performing

the

execution

Jesus

says

father

withhold

their

punishment

and

when

you

and

I

think

about

who

we

were

before

coming

to

faith

in

Jesus

this

are

the

these

are

the

words

that

we

needed

every

day

until

we

knew

the

grace

of

God

to

have

the

mercy

of

God

hovering

over

us

withholding

the

punishment

that we

deserve

father

forgive

them

for

they

know

not

what

they

do

verse

35

and

the

people

stood

by

watching

but

the

ruler

scoffed

at

him

saying

he

saved

others

let

him

save

himself

if

he

is

the

Christ

of

God

his

chosen

one

the

soldiers

also

mocked

him

coming

up

and

offering

him

sour

wine

and

saying

if

you

were

the

king

of

Jews

of

the

Jews

save

yourself

there's

also

an

inscription

over

him

this

is

the

king

of

the

Jews

one

of

the

criminals

who

was

hanged

railed

at

him

saying

are

you

not

the

Christ

save

yourself

and

us

but

the

other

rebuked

him

saying

do

you

not

fear

God

since

you

are

under

the

same

sentence

of

condemnation

and

we

indeed

justly

for

we

are

receiving

the

due

reward

of

our

deeds

but

this

man

has

done

nothing

wrong

and

he

said

Jesus

remember

me

when

you

come

into

your

kingdom

and

he

this

is

Jesus

said

to

him

truly

I

say

to

you

today

you

will

be

with

me

in

paradise

and

it

was

now

about

the

sixth

hour

and

there