GOSPEL OF LUKE: Chapter 23

Luke 23:1-12    Jesus Before Pilate and Herod
Then they all took Jesus to Pilate and began to bring up charges against him.  They said, 'We found this man undermining our law and order, forbidding taxes to be paid to Caesar, setting himself up as Messiah-King."   Pilate asked him, 'Is this true that you're King of the Jews?'  'Those are your words, not mine,' Jesus replied.  Pilate told the high priests and the crowd, 'I find nothing wrong here.  He seems harmless enough to me."  (MSG:1-4)
     Pilate consistently wanted to acquit Jesus.  He 'washes his hands' of the matter,.  Herod is more curious about the man he has heard stories of, but Jesus refused to respond to Herod.  The soldiers are quick to mock, dressing Jesus up as a 'King', but ultimately it is the crowd and the threat of insurrection and revolt by the people who sway the verdict to crucifixion.  The Romans didn't really crucify Christ....his own Jewish followers cast the guilty verdict.  


Luke 23:13-25   The Crowd Condemns Jesus
Pilate said to them the third time, 'But what crime has he committed?  I cannot find anything he has done to deserve death!  I will have him whipped and set him free.'  But they kept on shouting at the top of their voices that Jesus should be crucified, and finally their shouting succeeded.  So Pilate passed the sentence on Jesus that they were asking for.  He set free the man they wanted, the one who had been put in prison for riot and murder, and he handed Jesus over for them to do as they wished. (GNT:22-25)
From The Voice Commentary:
Crucifixion is a favorite Roman punishment for insurrectionists, slaves, and prisoners of war.  Anyone daring to defy the power and authority of Caesar is executed in this public and humiliating way.  Jesus indeed is a revolutionary.  He doesn't come to proclaim a new religion, but a new kingdom - a new way of life.  He is indeed a threat to Caesar's way of doing things, a way that co-opts the religious leaders.  
     Jesus' revolution is a peaceful one.  He doesn't advocate the use of violence. He doesn't support the regime of Caesar or follow the usual violent path of revolution: He leads a revolutionary revolution - in a path of love, healing, justice and reconciliation.  
     How can I lead a revolutionary revolution?  What a concept!

Luke 23:33-49   The Crucifixion   

When they got to the place called Skull Hill, they crucified him, along with the criminals, one on his right, the other on his left.  Jesus prayed, 'Father, forgive them; they don't know what they're doing.'  Dividing up his clothes, they threw dice for them.  The people stood there staring at Jesus and the ringleaders made faces, taunting, 'He saved others.  Let's see him save himself!  The Messiah of God-ha!  The Chosen - ha!"  (MSG: 33-35)
Also from The Voice:
Jesus appropriates and transforms the symbol of Roman power into a symbol of His greater power.  He makes the cross not the icon of violent domination, but the reverse.  By hanging on the cross and speaking of forgiveness, Jesus shows that there is a greater power at work in the world than the power of domination: it's the power of God's saving and reconciling love.
     One of Jesus' last acts is to bless and forgive, even as he hangs on the cross.  One of the criminals is blessed for his faith, the people are forgiven.  Could we do the same in similar circumstances?  Do we act with forgiveness and love in much easier circumstances?

Luke 23:44-47  
The Death of Jesus 
By now it was noon.  The whole earth became dark, the darkness lasting three hours - a total blackout.  The Temple curtain split right down the middle.  Jesus called loudly, 'Father, I place my life in your hands!'  Then he breathed his last.     When the captain there saw what happened, he honored God: 'This man was innocent!  A good man, innocent!" (MSG:44-47)
     Jesus cries out to God, 'Why have you left me?'  Just as he voiced, 'I thirst', Jesus reacts with the most human of responses to the crucifixion.  If the Son of God, God himself, can feel abandoned, we need not feel like we are spiritually lacking if we sometimes doubt or ask God the same question.  It is a very human response!  David certainly pulled no punches with God in many of his psalms.  But God was and is present.  Crucifixion was usually a slow, painful, drawn-out death.  Pilate was surprised that Jesus died so quickly.  Perhaps God was at work to make this unbearable situation a bit more tolerable.  Perhaps he is at work in hidden areas of our lives today when we least expect it.....or assume we have been abandoned. 

Luke 23:50-54       Joseph Buries Jesus  
There was a man named Joseph from Arimathea, a town in Judea.  He was a good and honorable man, who was waiting for the coming of the Kingdom of God.  Although he was a member of the Council, he had not agreed with their decision and action.  He went into the presence of Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.  Then he took the body down, wrapped it in a linen sheet, and placed it in a tomb which had been dug out of solid rock and which had never been used.  It was Friday, and the Sabbath was about to begin. 

The account of Joseph of Arimathea taking down the now dead body of Christ is found in all four of the gospels.  Joseph is a very rich, highly respected member of the Sanhedrin, and, like Nicodemus, a secret follower of Christ.  But, also like Nicodemus, perhaps yet unwilling to openly reveal his allegiance.  Joseph shows courage in approaching Pilate for the body. 
     Who was Joseph of Arimathea?  What thoughts were in his mind?  Was he chastising himself for not speaking up?  What was it like to take the body down from the cross?  I envision a slow, loving wrapping of the shroud.  Does Joseph have any grain of expectation in his heart that this isn't the end, but the beginning?
     We must bury the human Jesus to allow the divine Christ to rise again.  But have we buried Christ too deeply?  Have we rolled the stone too tightly, and failed to realize that God has rolled it away and is expectantly waiting for us to notice?