26 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. 27 And there followed him a great multitude of the people and of women who were mourning and lamenting for him. 28 But turning to them Jesus said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 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!’ 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 when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?”
Luke 23:1-25
32 Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. 33 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. 34 And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments. 35 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!” 36 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine 37 and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” 38 There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.”
39 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
The Crucifixion
Barabbas was free and Jesus was condemned. They wasted no time after the sentence was given and marched Jesus off to be crucified. Luke doesn’t mention it, but Jesus had been scourged earlier, a horrific punishment that Romans would inflict on criminals. It was a whip with many lashes, embedded with glass and metal shards and rocks designed to rip the skin off your back. Jesus by this point would have shreds of skin hanging and was expected to carry this large piece of timber all the way up a steep hill.
The Romans enjoyed this spectacle, marching a man up to his own execution and mocking and ridiculing him the whole way. However, Jesus was seriously injured, and would have had serious blood loss. He needed help to get up there.
The guards must have started to get impatient at how slow Jesus was going, so they grab a man from the crowd. Now this man is named in each account. Simon of Cyrene. He was a Jewish man from North Africa in modern-day Libya who had travelled over two thousand kilometres to attend the festival of Passover and Pentecost. This journey would have taken weeks, if not months, and here he is, completely unknowingly, helping the Son of God carry a cross. The Gospel of Mark notes that Simon of Cyrene is the father of Alexander and Rufus, perhaps the same Rufus in Romans 16:13. If this is true, then Simon became a Christian at some point after the resurrection.
Jesus was not entirely alone. The women that followed Jesus had by this point rallied in support and were following Him on His way. They were understandably devastated, waking up to hear that Jesus was to be condemned. They were mourning and lamenting as they watched their Lord being mocked and scorned by the Romans. They knew what was about to happen. Jesus addresses them in their distress, commanding them not to weep for Him, but weep for themselves and their children. They should know that what Jesus is doing is necessary from all He has taught. The reason why they should weep for themselves is puzzling at first. He says, ‘Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ What is He referring to? Something He has been talking about a lot recently. He reminds the women of the impending destruction of Jerusalem.
Hundreds of thousands of Jews, men, women and children, were slaughtered from 66 to 70AD in all 985 towns in Israel. Women that had no children were to be considered blessed, because they did not have to witness and endure the deaths of their children. People in those days will want the mountains and caves to fall on them to hide them from the wrath of God’s judgment at the hands of the Romans.
Jesus speaks a common proverb, ‘for if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?” This basically means, if things are going poorly when the tree is flourishing, how much more will it go badly when its dry and dead? If bad things are happening now, such as Jesus’ crucifixion and the current state of Israel, just wait until the tree has completely died. Things will be much worse then.
Jesus is led away to be crucified alongside two criminals. They walk up the hill, each carrying their cross to Golgotha, a small hill meaning the Skull in Aramaic. There they nailed their arms into the wood, likely between the two wrist bones near the hand. They also nailed both feet to the wood below, some historians think between the Achilles heel tendon. This was a long and excruciating way to die. The weight of your body asphyxiates you, and the only way to breath is to push up with your feet to gasp in short, haggard breaths. Jesus is crucified among the criminals, one on His left and right. To the bystander walking by, Jesus was nothing more than a common thief or murderer.
It is in that moment when Jesus shows His great love and mercy, for He says, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’ What amazing grace to show to those who had so viciously beaten, mocked and attacked Him. What amazing love to show to His executioners. Did they care? Not really. They had taken His last possession, His robe, and started to cast lots to see who would get it. People came to watch Him to see what would happen. The chief priests and scribes also came and mocked Him, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” They all taunt Him to save Himself. They all throw the temptation He faced in the garden at Him. He didn’t have to stay there and die for those taunting Him. But He did. Simply amazing love.
They wrote an inscription, written in three languages so that all could read it, ‘This is the King of the Jews.’ One last parting message to leave. It was the Romans opportunity to mock the Jewish community. There was their king. Pathetic, defeated, hung on a cross. It was a shameful thing for the whole community.
One of the criminals join in on the mocking. He wants to get out of his sentence, he wants Jesus to come down and let them both go. The other thief was different. This interaction is simply astounding. He recognises that God is worthy to fear, and that great reverence is to placed on Jesus. He also recognises that he is a sinner who deserves to be put to death. He also recognises that Jesus really is the Messiah and will return again one day. From this position of knowing his sin, and knowing Jesus’ real identity, he asks for mercy. He asks for Jesus to remember him.
‘Today you will be with me in paradise.’ The thief, by trusting in Jesus, was saved from his sins and granted eternal life. That day he went to be with Christ in glory. The thief on the cross is an example of a believer. A person who recognises that they deserve the death that Jesus died. A person who knows that Jesus was innocent, and they were guilty. A believer who recognises that they need Jesus’ forgiveness and grace. This thief knew precious little about the Gospel, but he knew enough. It doesn’t take gifted theologians to find salvation, but humble, child-like faith in Jesus Christ.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, you have made all things and by your will all things hold together. You fashioned me in my mother’s womb and granted me new life even though I was far from you and did not deserve it. Help me Lord to take this message to those around me. In Jesus Name, amen.