Luke 23:26-49 "The Coming of the Kingdom: Part Three" Psalm meditation (Psalm 79) I was going to have us sing Psalm 22 pre-eminently the Psalm of the cross but the more I worked on this passage, the more I became convinced that Luke is not interested in Psalm 22. Matthew and Mark portray Jesus' suffering and anguish in being abandoned by God, but Luke does not. Luke points out that Jesus' concern on the cross was not for himself, but for others. So instead we are singing Psalm 79 a Psalm that speaks of how the nations have defiled the temple and destroyed Jerusalem. This is a fitting response to Ezekiel 20! Ezekiel 20 has reminded us of our history. After all, we have been grafted into Israel (Romans 11), and so we need to remember that the story of Israel is our own story. Our forefathers rebelled against God, and God brought judgment against them. Psalm 79 reminds us that our only hope is if God delivers us and atones for our sins. Only then will the kingdom of God triumph over the kingdoms that do not call upon your name. For a while I was hoping to finish Luke's gospel before Advent, but then I realized that it really works very well to finish Luke in the same context that we began Luke one year ago. This is the third sermon that I have titled, "The Coming of the Kingdom." In Luke 10 we looked at "The Coming of the Kingdom and the Fall of Satan," as Jesus pointed out that the real enemy was not the Samaritans or the Gentiles but the Devil. The disciples thought that the coming of the kingdom would result in fire from heaven against their enemies, but as Jesus made clear throughout the "road to Jerusalem," fire from heaven would first come against himself and then upon Israel (upon Jerusalem). Then in Luke 17 we looked at "The Coming of the Kingdom" again, because the Pharisees asked when the kingdom would come; and Jesus answered that the coming of the Son of Man would result in judgment upon Jerusalem. Luke 23 brings all these themes to their climax. This is the moment that the entire gospel of Luke has been moving towards. Do you remember where Luke starts? Luke begins with the righteous Zechariah a priest serving in the temple and the angel Gabriel appears to him and says "your prayer has been heard." What was Zechariah's prayer? We often assume that it was that he would have a son. But that is not likely. When a priest came to the temple to offer incense, with all the multitude gathered outside praying, what would he be praying for? Israel is overrun by the Romans. There is no king in Israel. Israel's cry is the psalm of Asaph, Psalm 79, O God, the nations have come into your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple; they have laid Jerusalem in ruins. Zechariah is praying that God's kingdom would come. And because Zechariah has sought first the kingdom of God, God delights to give him what he no longer believed was possible that he and his barren wife, Elizabeth, would have a son. And when that son is born, Zechariah sings of the coming of the Kingdom: that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us. The coming of the kingdom will result in the salvation of Israel. The old man, Simeon, understood this as well. But he also understood something more. After he had blessed God for allowing him to see this child, and after he had blessed the parents (Incidentally, he doesn't bless the child no doubt because he understood full well that the lesser may not bless the greater!) he says to Mary Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed. Simeon understood that there was a dark side to the coming of the Christ. Mary and Zechariah sang about how God was delivering Israel from their enemies, but Simeon saw that the coming of the Kingdom would divide Israel. The coming of the Kingdom is the coming of the king in judgment-- and that judgment will fall first upon the Christ, and second upon Jerusalem. That theme of twofold judgment continues clearly even in Luke 23 even as Jesus himself goes to the cross. In verses 26-31 Jesus makes it clear that if this is happening to me, then Jerusalem is next! In verses 32-38 we hear that the King of the Jews will not save himself, but he will forgive others! In verses 39-43 Jesus makes it clear that there is only one way to avoid the coming judgment and that is if he remembers you! And in verses 44-49 Jesus' own death includes a symbolic judgment against the temple, as the curtain of the temple is torn in two. 1. The Coming of the Kingdom and the Daughters of Jerusalem (23:26-31) First, in verses 26-31 we hear about the coming of the Kingdom and the daughters of Jerusalem. As Simon of Cyrene carries the cross, there followed a great multitude of the people and of women who were mourning and lamenting for him. They are lamenting because they thought that this was the Christ, the anointed one who would deliver them from the Romans. They don't understand the nature of the coming of the kingdom. So Jesus says 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! Isaiah had spoken of the coming of the LORD in Isaiah 2:12-22. The LORD of Hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up and it shall be brought low; against the cedars of Lebanon, lofty and lifted up; and against all the oaks of Bashan;... And the haughtiness of man shall be humbled, and the lofty pride of men shall be brought low, and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day. And the idols shall utterly pass away. And people shall enter the caves of the rocks and the holes of the ground, from before the terror of the LORD, and from the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to terrify the earth. This is that day. This is day when the haughtiness of man will be humbled. It doesn't look like that day. It looks like the proud and lofty have triumphed once again. Yet another prophet is going down to the grave in death. But Jesus sees this differently. He is taking the fire of God's wrath upon himself but if he takes that wrath upon himself, that does not mean that no one else has to worry! No, if Jesus takes the fire of God's wrath upon himself, then beware, because that means that judgment is coming upon Jerusalem, and then upon the whole earth! Because the coming of the kingdom is the coming of the king. And when the king is seated upon his throne, he will judge the nations, beginning in Jerusalem. If this is happening to me, daughters of Jerusalem, then you are next! For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry? Brothers and sisters, the wood is dry. Peter warns us that judgment begins with the household of God. You see, Jesus is speaking to those who believe in him! He is saying that because judgment is falling upon himself, that therefore it will also fall upon them! Remember that "judgment" is not a bad thing! To come under God's wrath and curse is a bad thing! But to come under judgment is only bad for those who are not in Christ. We are called to suffer with him. Your sufferings are a gracious thing that God has sent you. For those who are in Christ, suffering is a gracious thing that God gives you to conform you to Christ. For you, whose sins are forgiven, the judgment of God results in a harvest of righteousness. Too often we look at the cross and say "because Jesus suffered, therefore I don't have to!" Jesus looks at the cross and says, if they are doing this to me, they will also do it to you. You need to learn to see Jesus in the midst of your suffering. Suffering is not something to escape. It is the place where we find Jesus. You may say to me, "But Pastor, I've been suffering, and I didn't find Jesus there!" Did you seek him? Seek and you will find. The LORD has a day to overthrow everything that is proud and haughty. Humble yourself. Fast and pray. Seek the LORD and he will be found. 2. The Coming of the Kingdom and the King of the Jews (23:32-38) In verses 32-38 we see the coming of the kingdom and the King of the Jews. They crucified Jesus between two criminals, at the place called The Skull. And Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. If God holds this sin against humanity, then no one will ever be forgiven. Because it was not only the sin of Judas and the priests and Pilate that put him there. It was my sin and yours. As the people watched, the rulers mocked, "he saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!" The soldiers followed the lead of the rulers, If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself. Notice the contrast: Save yourself? Or forgive others? Again we see that Jesus is not concerned for himself. It is interesting that this is a part of the crucifixion that Matthew and Mark leave out. They are concerned to show that Jesus was abandoned by the Father. And that is true. But it is equally true that Jesus remained fully convinced of his Father's love and care. And so in the midst of his abandonment, even as his Father forsakes him on the cross, the Son asks with full confidence, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. In your suffering, as you endure patiently the cross that God has given you, never forget that God does not cast off his Chosen One forever. Suffering does not last forever. The King of the Jews will not save himself. Instead he will save us. 3. The Coming of the Kingdom and the Two Criminals (23:39-43) But one of the criminals railed at him, Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us! If anyone could say, "I have been crucified with Christ," it was this criminal! But he entirely missed the point. He did not wish to suffer with Christ! He wanted deliverance right now! How often are we like this criminal? We do not want to suffer with Jesus. We want deliverance right now! The second criminal, though, 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. Though a criminal in life, now at the hour of his death, God has given him eyes to see clearly. And so he says the unthinkable: Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. Do you realize how utterly foolish this statement is? Even Jesus' disciples do not believe that Jesus is going to enter his kingdom. (We'll see that in the next chapter, when they say, "we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel") There is not a single human being on the face of the earth who believes this. Jesus is about to die the cursed death of the cross. The reason why the Jews wanted Jesus to be crucified was because Deuteronomy 21:22-23 says that a man who is hanged on a tree is cursed by God. There was no such thing as a crucified Jewish martyr. If a man is crucified, then he is cursed by God, and so obviously could not have been a holy man. This is Paul's point in Galatians 3. Jesus took upon himself the curse of the law by being hung on a tree. That was the only way that God could curse an innocent man. This criminal is about to die the cursed death of the cross; but he looks at the man next to him and says, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. Either he is absolutely nuts, or else he sees by faith what no man whose feet are firmly planted on the ground can yet see. And Jesus replies: Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise. We could quibble about what exactly Jesus means by this. After all, Jesus will be under the power of death for three days. Does Jesus mean this solar day, or does he mean today in the sense that the prophets spoke of the Day of the Lord? But this would miss the point. Have you done anything wrong? The wages of sin is death. So you deserve death. As you endure the cross, your only hope is that Jesus will remember you. In the midst of your suffering, cry out to the King of the Jews, Jesus, remember me! For the one whom Jesus remembers will never be forsaken. I heard a counselor on talk radio say that our loved ones live on in our memories after they die, and that the way we become immortal is for our memory to live on in our loved ones' minds. In one sense that is a pretty sorry form of immortality, after all, how many of you have any memory of your great-great-grandparents? At best you might live for 4-5 generations. But in another sense, this counselor was exactly right. If Jesus remembers you, then you will live forever! And not just as a memory, because his remembrance gives life to the dead! 4. The Coming of the Kingdom and the Death of the King (23:44-49) Then at the sixth hour at noon when the sun was at its zenith darkness fell over the whole land for three hours, while the sun's light failed. All creation is stilled as the Creator hangs on the cross. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. The barrier between God and man is torn in two, and Jesus calls out with a loud voice, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. And he breathed his last. In the beginning God had breathed the breath of life into Adam, constituting Adam his son. Now the last Adam breathes his last, and commits his spirit to his Father. Luke tells us of three responses to the death of the King: 1) the centurion says Certainly this man was innocent! 2) The crowds returned home beating their breasts. To beat one's breast was a sign of being in affliction. They recognized that something was wrong with this whole affair. 3) And all his acquaintances and the women who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance watching these things. Luke leaves all three of these responses unresolved. Jesus has proclaimed that his death is only the beginning. The kingdom has come in the death of Jesus, but as Jesus enters his kingdom, the result will be judgment upon Jerusalem, and upon all the earth. Matthew tells us that the centurion said, "Surely this was the Son of God." But Luke's centurion says only that he was innocent. Luke will tell us in Acts that it was another Roman centurion who was the first Gentile to receive the Holy Spirit. Conclusion: From Tree to Shining Tree In conclusion, I would like to draw your attention to the image of the tree. We have already seen how crucifixion was a cursed death. Indeed, the image of the tree has played a significant role in our text as Jesus speaks of the dry tree being burned in the fire. But when Jesus speaks of the dry tree, he says it with Simon of Cyrene walking behind him with a cross on his back. We are reminded that this whole story started with a tree. In the garden of Eden God had commanded Adam not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It was a tree where man first turned aside from the path of life. And so on this second tree a man will repair man's error. And in so doing, Jesus becomes the Tree of Life, and we who taste of his fruit become united to his life, grafted in to the tree, so that we partake of eternal life.