Luke 23: The End

Imagine if the story of Jesus ended abruptly here, with Luke 23.  We know it didn't, of course.  But the same could not be said for His contemporaries.  When they went through it nearly 2000 years ago, they were watching the story unfold for the very first time.  They weren't expecting a resurrection  They had never seen someone come back from a crucifixion before.  Quite naturally, everyone supposed the cross would be the end of Jesus.

One fruitful method of Bible study that I think works quite well in Luke 23 is to ask the question, "Who are you in this passage of scripture?"  Which character would you be?  Who can you relate to?  What would you have done had you been there?

There are many good candidates to choose from:

• Pilate.  A case could be made that Pilate truly tried to spare Jesus.  He appeared to have nothing against Him.  But, in the end, Pilate chose what was popular and politically correct rather than what was right, and it cost him dearly.  He signed the death warrent for the Son of God.  Are we guilty of such tragic failures and misjudgments in our treatment of Jesus Christ?
• Herod.  Herod - the same one who ordered John the Baptist's execution - was at first eager and excited to see Jesus.  He hoped to witness a miracle and be dazzled.  But Jesus wouldn't indulge him and do his bidding to perform tricks.  Herod must have concluded that Jesus' reluctance was due to His inability, so he rejected the Messiah and refused to believe in Him.  I know some who have made the same mistake when Jesus did not do as they expected or hoped in their life.
• Barabbas.  Barabbas was someone who deserved the fate that Jesus got.  If anyone should have been hanging on a cross that day, it was Barabbas.  But as the very first person to benefit from substitutionary atonement, Barabbas was set free and Jesus died in his place.  That was the physical case, but what of the spiritual?  We don't know what happened to Barabbas after this moment, but we do have a say in how WE will respond after accepting God's amazing grace for us in the cross of Christ.
• Simon of Cyrene.  Simon was a victim of coincidence, apparently plucked out of the crowd at random by a Roman soldier and pressed into the unfortunate service of carrying a cross for a condemned man.  What was it like for Simon to play such an unexpected role in the most important moment of history?  Did it change him?  In what ways are we asked to bear a burden or take up our cross to follow Jesus?
• The thieves on the cross.  You have your choice here.  Luke tells us that one joined in the mocking of the soldiers and the leaders, while the second thief rebuked the first one and instead honored Jesus, asking to be remembered in the day of His kingdom.  Jesus had words of grace and acceptance for this man beside Him, dying on a cross just like He was, only [presumably] deservedly so.  Which thief are you most like?  What's your real attitude toward Jesus?
• The centurion.  Speaking of attitudes, consider that of the centurion.  What started out as a day's task for him turned into a spiritual drama that unfolded before his eyes.  As he carefully weighed everything that was happening and considered Jesus' words and actions, he concluded - after the death of his prisoner - that this man truly was who He said He was: the Son of God!  When we sift through the evidence surrounding Jesus, do we blurt out the same conclusion?  Do we testify of it to our family and friends?

There are even more potential candidates in this chapter to consider - the viewpoints of the religious authorities, the women in Jerusalem, the Roman soldiers, even Joseph of Arimathea, who bequeathed mercy upon the dead Lord.  When you put yourself in the story, who are you?

Of course, all of these comparisons and analogies eventually break down.  YOU are not any of them, really.  But the question still remains - What about YOU today?  What will you do with Jesus of Nazareth?  The answer is up to YOU!