Luke 23:26-56
The Crucifixion of Jesus
As they led him away, they seized a man, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming from the country, and they laid the cross on him, and made him carry it behind Jesus. A great number of the people followed him, and among them were women who were beating their breasts and wailing for him. But Jesus turned to them and said, ‘Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For the days are surely 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 this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?’
Two others also, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus
there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. [[ Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.’]]
And they cast lots to divide his clothing. And the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, ‘He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah
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 there kept deriding
him and saying, ‘Are you not the Messiah?
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 have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.’ Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into
your kingdom.’ He replied, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.’
The Death of Jesus
It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land
until three in the afternoon, while the sun’s light failed;
and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, ‘Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.’ Having said this, he breathed his last. When the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God and said, ‘Certainly this man was innocent.’
And when all the crowds who had gathered there for this spectacle saw what had taken place, they returned home, beating their breasts. But all his acquaintances, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.
The Burial of Jesus
Now there was a good and righteous man named Joseph, who, though a member of the council, had not agreed to their plan and action. He came from the Jewish town of Arimathea, and he was waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then he took it down, wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid it in a rock-hewn tomb where no one had ever been laid. It was the day of Preparation, and the sabbath was beginning.
The women who had come with him from Galilee followed, and they 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.
Much of our culture
depends on us wanting to be like those who are more famous than us.
Last weekend there was another Hollywood awards show, and I have no
doubt that countless celebrities traipsed the red carpet with
breathless onlookers commenting on their attire for the evening.
Designers count on this—they depend on people like you and me
rushing out to the store and buying similar clothes so that we might
at least look like our favorite celebrities. Often you'll see a
celebrity endorsing a product that you can be certain they have never
used—but the company depends on you believing that their word makes
the product more appealing.
In Christianity,
this takes on a bit of a different spin. There aren't, as far as I
know, reporters who announce what brand of suit Joel Osteen is
wearing, in the hopes that other Christians will rush out and buy the
same. There aren't brands of Billy Graham endorsed clothing, because
there isn't a market for people to buy similar clothing in the hopes
that it might help us become like him.
But we are guilty,
I think, of having a bit of envy for those 'super-Christians' that
are lifted up in society and in Scripture. We read the stories of
David and Gideon and Abraham and Noah and we wonder why our lives
don't more closely mimic their radical dependence on faith. In ways,
we can learn from them, and their faith can show us how to live, even
though we are separated by many years.
There's a common
story told that reflects on this common idea that we are called to
emulate the giants of the faith.
A classic story tells about the great
Chassidic Rabbi Zusha, who was found agitated and upset as he lay on
deathbed. His students asked, “Rebbe, why are you so sad? After all
the the great things you have accomplished, your place in heaven is
assured!”
“I’m afraid!” Zusha replied,
“Because when I get to heaven, God won’t ask me ‘Why weren’t
you more like Moses?’ or ‘Why weren’t you more like King
David?’ God will ask ‘Zusha, why weren’t you more like Zusha?’
And then what will I say!?”
The reality of the
Christian life is that each of us is a unique individual, made in the
image of God, but called and gifted in ways that have never been seen
before and never shall grace this earth once more. You, and you
alone, have the combination of brains and brawn for a very certain
reason—because God has called you to something unique.
Now, perhaps the
Christian church, perhaps this very church, has been guilty of trying
to prescribe a one-size-fits-all calling. And while I will say, in
our defense, that many of the attributes of our lives in faith are
held in common, our lives themselves are so unique that we could
never capture a full picture of them in the same way that you do.
You have been uniquely gifted, called and placed in your situation,
and only you can minister the way you do to the people in your life.
If I tried to minister in the same situation and way you did, it
wouldn't work, just as your gifts and callings wouldn't work in my
life. We are each differently gifted, thanks be to God. God loves
variety, and God uses us in different ways, in different places,
differently.
In today's text,
this sad, sad tale of death and despair, we come face to face with
this fact in the way only a story-teller could capture. We find
ourselves wandering the path to Golgotha, to the cross, along with
Jesus, and on the road we meet people as different as one could
imagine.
First, we meet
Simon of Cyrene, a man of mystery who appears for the purpose of
aiding Jesus on his long journey. Simon is there to carry the
cross—so he is a strong man. Perhaps he had spent his life
wondering why God made him so strong, only to discover on this day
that it was for the purpose of helping his Savior. Perhaps, after
this day, he recognized his calling as being a man of help to others
with burdens too great for one. Simon shouldered his brother's load.
Next come the
women. Now, these women probably weren't given the gift of strength
as Simon was. I don't want to say that for certain, for plenty of
women in this world are stronger than I am, but these women had a
role to play, too, but it was different than Simon's. How much worse
this story would be if everyone assumed their role was the same as
Simon's! Instead, they are called to weep, to mourn for the depth of
despair in the world, to cry for the presence of sin. And I will say
with boldness that there are people this very day who need someone to
cry with them, who need someone to sit with them in their sorrow and
discuss the deep wrongs of their lives, of the world. They don't
need someone to fix their problems, they just want someone to listen.
So the women, in their own way, wept.
Next, we come to
the soldiers, men oblivious to the fact that their gifts could be
used for God's glory. They are more concerned with enriching
themselves and being entertained by this sad scene than they are in
helping anyone. Sounds like much of the world, doesn't it? More
interested in being enriched and entertained than in growing
faith—may we be careful not to fall into this rut.
Finally, we have
the two soldiers on the cross—one is caught up in the soldiers'
mockery, but the other recognizes that he has missed his life's
calling, wasted his terrible years, and in his dismay and anger he
cries out to the Savior, desperate to hear if it is too late. The
good news for him, for me, for you, is that it isn't too late. The
Savior's arms are always open for another sinner to run home.
Even after the
death of Jesus, we see people putting their gifts to use. Joseph of
Arimithea has influence and he has wealth, and both of these he puts
at the service of God so that the body of a King may have a place to
lie. He doesn't try to carry the cross, and he doesn't come weeping,
but rather comes with the gifts that he has, that no one else has,
and does what he can. It's all Jesus asks—that we do what we can
to be faithful in our lives.
At the end of the
scene we encounter once more the women, waiting to embalm the body of
Jesus, desperate to offer one more service to their Lord. They know
that they can't do everything, but this once thing they can do, and
so they will return.
Friends, you have
each been given a unique combination of gifts for the purpose of
playing a role in God's unfolding drama of redemption. You are an
agent of hope, of light, of the Kingdom, and if you play your part to
the best of your abilities, you can trust God to do the rest. So let
us set aside our comparisons, our self-abuse, for not being someone
else, and let us discover who we are and how we are to live. Let us
do this as individuals, claiming our singular role in God's Kingdom,
and let us do this as a congregation—may we not regret that we
aren't Christ United Methodist or Rivermont Presbyterian or any of
the other mega-churches around us. We have a unique role to play as
New Hope Presbyterian Church, and we betray our true identity if we
don't live into that and trust God to do something powerful with
that. Let us claim our identity with passionate hearts and be
faithful to that call.
Each of us follows
the King in our own way, and we follow Him to the cross, where he
fulfilled his unique role as the lamb led to the slaughter, the
perfect sacrifice to atone for the sins of humanity. He laid down
his life for us, that we might have life, and so we follow him, and
in his life we have our own life, lived for his glory, so that we may
spread the message to all of humanity—Christ is Risen!
Let us pray!
