Luke 23
Throughout the Bible God dealt with the problem
of sin through sacrifices. Bulls, rams,
goats, and doves were all offered on altars from the time of Adam and Eve into the
time of Jesus and beyond. Eventually, with
the construction of the Tabernacle, the sacrifices were not to be offered on
altars, but on one altar wherever the Tabernacle happened to be. Then, after the Temple of Jerusalem was
built, these sacrifices were only to be offered there. In every case the innocent died for the guilt
of the one presenting the offering.
Pilate did not want to deal with the charges
against Jesus. Herod wanted a miracle
and enjoyed mocking Jesus. Jesus was
beaten, and so weakened could not carry His own cross, so Simon of Cyrene was
conscripted. The women wept for
Jesus. Jesus prayed for those killing
him. “Forgive them.” One criminal mocked, the other
confessed. Jesus promised, “Today you
will be with me in paradise.” Finally,
with the words, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” Jesus died.
It is at this point that Luke records
something a detail the other Gospels do not.
They record a soldier stating, that Jesus was the son of God, or the son
of a god – they were probably pagans after all.
Luke records that a soldier rendered a verdict on Jesus – a verdict
offered too late – saying, “Certainly this man was innocent!”
What that soldier could not see was that,
there in Jerusalem, at the time that sacrifices were being prepared for the
Passover, this innocent man died to pay for his sin; for my sin and yours. The blood of the innocent was given to atone
for the sin of the guilty.
In 2
Corinthians 5:21 it says that for our sake God made Jesus to be sin. Even though Jesus, “knew no sin,” that is had
never sinned and was completely innocent, He bore our sin and received sin’s wages
– death – for us. And we receive the
righteousness of God through faith in Him; a gift given to you, not earned, because Jesus died … for … you.
Lord, when I survey the wondrous cross on
which the Prince of Glory died, my richest gain I count but loss and pour
contempt on all my pride. Forbid it,
Lord, that I should boast save in the death of Christ, my God; All the vain
things that charmed me most, I sacrifice them to His blood. Amen.
(Isaac Watts, When I Survey the Wondrous
Cross, Public Domain)
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