Luke 23:1-56 - The Innocent and Crucified King

Today's sermon will be the entire chapter of Luke 23. 

I have a saying: guilt and blame are not the same. Imagine with me for a moment a prosecutor accusing a philanthropist of theft. Despite the accusation, the philanthropist's record is completely spotless, only filled with acts of kindness and giving large sums of money away. Wouldn't it be ironic if this prosecutor used those charges to seek the death penalty? This image is a fitting picture of what happens in our story today. 

We are nearing the end of the book of Luke and the story of Jesus' life on earth. Jesus and the disciples have just celebrated the Passover. Jesus and all but one of his disciples head to the garden of Gethsemane where Jesus prays. During this time, the hour of the power of darkness has come. Judas has executed his plot to betray Jesus to have him arrested by the religious leaders, beaten by the guards, and tried by the Sanhedrin. Now, they have taken Jesus to the civil authorities to have him put to death for a trumped-up charge of claiming to be king and stirring up an insurrection against Rome. 

In this chapter, he will be mocked by the religious leaders, abandoned to injustice by the political leaders, mocked and mistreated by the soldiers, and mocked by a criminal despite his innocence and his being the true king. 

If we think about ourselves, we are guilty of similar things. We often dishonor Jesus by living as if he is not our true king. We dishonor him by not aligning with him when expediency or our own advantage requires. We dishonor him by rejecting the suffering that he, as our sovereign king, brings us. All of this puts us in the place of condemnation and exclusion from God's kingdom. 

But what if, instead of being excluded from God's kingdom because of our own injustice, we could live in the king's righteousness as we live justly and long for his coming kingdom? Imagine feeling free from guilt and shame and living in the joy of gratitude. This is the opportunity before us today.

Let's listen with expectation to the word of the Lord from Luke  23.

Luke 23 ESV

Then the whole company of them arose and brought him before Pilate. And they began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king.” And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.” Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no guilt in this man.” But they were urgent, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee even to this place.” When Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. And when he learned that he belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him over to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time. When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see him, because he had heard about him, and he was hoping to see some sign done by him. So he questioned him at some length, but he made no answer. The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him. And Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him. Then, arraying him in splendid clothing, he sent him back to Pilate. And Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day, for before this they had been at enmity with each other. Pilate then called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was misleading the people. And after examining him before you, behold, I did not find this man guilty of any of your charges against him. Neither did Herod, for he sent him back to us. Look, nothing deserving death has been done by him. I will therefore punish and release him.” But they all cried out together, “Away with this man, and release to us Barabbas”— a man who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection started in the city and for murder. Pilate addressed them once more, desiring to release Jesus, but they kept shouting, “Crucify, crucify him!” A third time he said to them, “Why? What evil has he done? I have found in him no guilt deserving death. I will therefore punish and release him.” But they were urgent, demanding with loud cries that he should be crucified. And their voices prevailed. So Pilate decided that their demand should be granted. He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, for whom they asked, but he delivered Jesus over to their will. And 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 the 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?” 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 on his right and one on his left. And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments. And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers 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 are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.” One of the criminals who were 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 said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent!” And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts. And all his acquaintances and the women who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance watching these things. Now there was a man named Joseph, from the Jewish town of Arimathea. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man, who had not consented to their decision and action; and he was looking for the kingdom of God. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud and laid him in a tomb cut in stone, where no one had ever yet been laid. It was the day of Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning. The women who had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid. Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.

One thing we see clearly in this passage is that…

We must be innocent to justly enter the King’s kingdom

To frame this for us, imagine with me a perfect society where only those who are completely blameless can enter. Absolute innocence is the requirement to be a citizen of this particular kingdom. This is the reality of God's kingdom seen throughout Scripture. 

In our text today, we can see this when we look at verses 28 to 31. Here we see that when Jesus is suffering—being so weak that he cannot carry the cross, having Simon of Cyrene carry it for him, while the multitude of people and women are mourning and lamenting for him—he gives a warning. He says that rather than weeping for him, they should be weeping for themselves and their children. Soon, a judgment so terrible will come upon Jerusalem and the temple that they would rather have the mountains fall on them. 

Jesus sees Jerusalem's coming judgment as a terrifying thing. This demonstrates that guilt before God for rejecting the king brings condemnation. It does not bring entrance into the kingdom; it brings judgment and condemnation. We see in these verses an implied judgment: you cannot enter the kingdom while being guilty. It is implied in the judgment upon Jerusalem. 

We also see this in verse 34, implied by Jesus's own prayer for forgiveness. As Jesus is hanging upon the cross with two other criminals, while people are mocking him and doing all manner of things against him, he cries out, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." Jesus prays to the Father for this forgiveness, showing that in order to enter into the kingdom the Father will give him, human guilt must be removed through God's forgiveness—which comes through Jesus himself. 

We see this very clearly in the thief's remarks to the other mocking criminal in verses 40 to 43. The criminal who was mocking Jesus says, "Jesus, you should get us down from here if you're really the Christ." The other criminal rebukes him, saying, "Don't you fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? We indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong." Then he asks Jesus to remember him when he comes into his kingdom, and Jesus promises he will be with him in paradise. 

This shows us that those who are guilty and not innocent should fear God because they will receive justice for their wrongdoing. That justice will exclude them from God's kingdom, meaning they need someone to bring them in.

Hearing that we must be innocent to justly enter the king's kingdom wouldn't be such a big deal, except…

We are guilty of unjustly dishonoring our innocent King

Why would our lack of innocence exclude us from the king's kingdom? Imagine a perfect society where everyone loves one another and no one does anything wrong. Picture a person with a criminal rap sheet a mile long who deserves a death sentence. This person is completely unfit for that perfect society; they would ruin it. It is the same way with God's kingdom. Honestly, when we look at ourselves, each one of us has a rap sheet a mile long. When we look at the people in this chapter, I hope that, like me, you can see yourself. 

Like the religious leaders, we can be guilty of unjustly dishonoring the innocent king (vv. 1-2, 5, 10, 18-19, 21, 23, 25, 35). The religious leaders dishonor the innocent king by rejecting him as the true king and falsely accusing him of insurrection. They call for his crucifixion and mock him because he cannot save himself. They ask, "If he's truly the Christ and the king, why wouldn't he save himself?" The ultimate irony is that his death is the only true source of the religion these men are supposed to be proponents of. You and I do not honestly reject him explicitly, but we often dishonor him by living as if he is not our true king. We live for what we think, feel, and want out of our king. 

When we look at the civil leaders, we can also see that we are guilty of unjustly dishonoring the innocent king (vv. 3, 6-12, 13-16, 20, 22-25). Pilate declares Jesus innocent three times, and Herod does not charge him, yet Herod mocks him and treats him with contempt as a false king by putting splendid garments on him—probably white robes representing royalty. Both are unjust civil leaders because they allow an innocent man, whom they know has done nothing wrong, to die for their own political expediency. Though we do not condemn Christ to die through injustice, have the civil authority to do so, or let an insurrectionist go free, we often dishonor the king by not aligning with him, supporting him, or taking his side when expediency for our own advantage requires. We deny him when we should speak for him, even while saying he is our king. 

Like the soldiers and the thief on the cross, we mock Jesus by not trusting him as sovereign king (vv. 11, 16, 34-36). The soldiers and the thief mock Jesus because they reject a king who would suffer to accomplish salvation. They did not understand that this suffering was God's will to pay for us who are guilty of rejecting the king and rejecting God. We often dishonor Jesus when we reject the suffering he brings into our lives because we expect a different kind of king and a different kind of kingdom—one that doesn't cost us or cause us to suffer. 

Because we have to be innocent to justly enter the king's kingdom, and because we are guilty of unjustly dishonoring our innocent king, we are in a precarious spot. By nature and by practice, we have dishonored our innocent king and are excluded from his perfect kingdom. If the story ended there, it would be a terrible story, but it doesn't…

The innocent King was crucified for the guilty so that we might justly enter his kingdom

This sounds a little too good to be true, doesn't it? Imagine that even though that philanthropist is innocent and has nothing but good deeds and kindness on his record, he sees us with the rap sheet of a guilty criminal and a death sentence upon us. He voluntarily takes that death sentence upon himself, being judged as a guilty criminal so that we can freely enter into that perfect society and share in his wealth as his family. That is what Jesus did for us. He is the philanthropist extraordinaire. Let's look at him for a few minutes in worship. 

What we see in verses 4, 13-16, 20-23, 38, 40-41, and 47 is that Jesus is the innocent king. Notice how Jesus is blamed by the religious leaders yet is not guilty. It is ironic that Pilate declares Jesus innocent of the insurrection he was blamed for three different times, and notes that Herod declared the same. Pilate inscribes over him "This is the King of the Jews," probably to mock and incite the religious leaders. When they ask him not to write it, he says, "What I have written, I have written." Notice that even a criminal declares Jesus to be the king and to be innocent, and a centurion declares Jesus to be innocent, showing he was not guilty. The criminal shows Jesus is king by asking, "Will you let me into your kingdom?" Who can let someone into a kingdom except the king of that kingdom? The centurion praises God upon seeing this innocent man crucified. This shows us that not only is Jesus the king, but Jesus is innocent. 

In verses 18 to 25, verse 34, and 40 to 42, we see that Jesus was crucified for the guilty to allow them to justly enter his kingdom. Notice how Jesus was crucified to atone for our sins, to take our sins upon himself, and to release us from the judgment and condemnation those sins deserve. You can see this by looking at Barabbas. He is an insurrectionist and a murderer, yet he is released at Jesus' expense. It is no accident that this is brought into the Gospel story. Jesus dies the death of a murderer so that those who are guilty of murdering, even in our own hearts, can be set free to live with God eternally. 

Jesus's own prayer for forgiveness for those who don't understand what they are doing shows he was crucified for the guilty so they might have a clean record to enter God's kingdom. Imagine him hanging on the cross, seeing people mock and blaspheme him, and he cries out to his Father, "Father, forgive them; they know not what they do." You see this in Jesus's declaration to the criminal who confessed he deserved judgment and asked for mercy. Jesus grants him that forgiveness by saying, "Today you will be with me in paradise." The innocent King Jesus was crucified for the guilty so that they might enter his kingdom. 

In verses 42, 46, and 50 to 53, we see that Jesus' innocence and the Father's plan for our redemption guarantees our justly entering his kingdom. Notice how Jesus commits his spirit into the Father's hands. He does this in complete trust that the Father's redemptive purpose—the reason he came to earth—would be accomplished. It doesn't end there. His honorable burial by Joseph of Arimathea demonstrates that his death was not the end of God's plan. Though he was put to death with sinners, he was buried in the tomb of a rich man. This burial showed that the innocent king entrusted himself to the Father, and being in this tomb showed he was royalty who died innocently so that those who trust in him might enter his kingdom in union with him. He was put in a tomb where the stone would be rolled away, and those who are united with him will rise with him and enter his kingdom when their life is done. 

Jesus is the innocent king who bore our guilt on the cross so that we who were guilty might justly enter into the paradise of God's kingdom by his own kingly authority. The true King of the universe endured the ultimate shame of being stripped of his clothes, having people gamble for them by casting lots, and being executed outside of the city gate so that we, who deserve the shame of exile outside the gates, can be clothed in the sparkling white robes of his own righteousness, which was prefigured when he was mocked by Herod.

It gets better than this. Because the king did not stay in Joseph's tomb and rose out of that tomb on the third day, he has poured out his Spirit to rewrite our present reality so that…

We are enabled to live in the King’s righteousness as we live justly and long for his kingdom

Imagine one more time if you were that criminal condemned to death, excluded from that perfect society, and now the king of that society had died on your behalf. He gave you the privilege of being named his son or daughter and gave you the power, authority, and right to live in that perfect society. How would you be living while you waited to be transferred to that society? Wouldn't it be with gratitude and longing for that kingdom to which you now belong? 

If we look at our text, we can see what the Spirit can do in us. In verse 34, we see that we can trust in Christ's righteousness. The Spirit enables us to trust in the forgiveness that Christ accomplished and prayed for, which comes through the cross and the righteousness he provides through it. 

In verses 40 to 43, we see that, like the second criminal, we can live honestly before the king. By the Spirit of God who lives in us, we fear and reverence God. We recognize his perfection, our own lack of it, and our guilt. We confess Christ's innocence, rely upon him for our salvation, and long to be with him in his kingdom. 

In verse 47, like the centurion, we praise God and proclaim his innocence. By the Spirit, we praise God for our redemption in Christ Jesus and proclaim that Jesus is the innocent king to all the world. 

In verses 50 to 53, like Joseph, we honor the king and await his vindication. By the Spirit, we honor Christ as our king. We live in hope, knowing that his burial anticipated the vindication of the resurrection and the coming of his kingdom. His resurrection shows our own future resurrection and life in his kingdom. 

Because the Spirit forms the life of the innocent king in us, and because we are clothed with Christ's innocence and perfection, we know that the Spirit's testimony of our belonging to that kingdom is true. We feel free from the guilt and the shame of the many ways that we dishonored the king, maybe even this morning. Because it all happened through the king's sacrifice of his innocent self, we live in the joy of that gratitude. 

How does this impact our daily life? The Spirit's testimony that you have been forgiven by Jesus and will be with him in his kingdom in paradise after you die causes you to stop trying to get rid of your guilt and shame by either beating yourself up when you do wrong or trying to do enough good works to outweigh your bad. You are reminded that it is Jesus's innocence that you are found in. You have been clothed in his righteousness. You, like the criminal on the cross, take your guilt and your shame and hand it to Jesus, simply admitting and trusting that he will take you to paradise on his perfect record, not yours. 

When you are feeling more like the other criminal who railed at Jesus, the Spirit reminds you that you now have direct access to the Father because the temple veil has been torn. Jesus has been judged on your behalf, and now you can come boldly into the presence of God. You can cling to the righteousness of Christ and be found in his sparkling white robes of perfection. You can rest confidently in what Christ did for you and live in joyful gratitude, obeying God because the law is written on your heart and the life of Christ is in you because of God's Son who was given up for you. 

Here is my question for you today: Who are you in the story? 

I can tell you that I am just as guilty as Barabbas or the two other criminals. But I have admitted to Jesus that I am that, and I have trusted in him to remember me in his kingdom. By the Spirit, I have heard his words: "Soon you will be with me in paradise." 

If you haven't heard those words by the Spirit, I beg you to admit your guilt and receive his righteousness, so you too can hear that voice say, "Soon you will be with me in paradise." 

If you have heard that voice, and you know that you will soon be with Jesus in paradise because of the Spirit's cry of "Abba, Father!" in your heart—because of his testimony that you are God's child—then know without a doubt that you are free from guilt and shame. In the power of the Holy Spirit, you can live in the joy of gratitude, knowing that soon you will be with Jesus in his kingdom in paradise. In the power of the Spirit, we can praise the Father for our innocent king who was crucified to bring us into his kingdom, and now live in gratitude.