Page 23 - Living Light Spring 2024

THIS WEEK’S BIBLE INSIGHTS ARE BY:
Derek Tidball and are based on Luke 23:32-46 (NIV)
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO READ MORE ON THIS WEEK’S MAJOR THEME:
Mark 15:25-41, 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 and 1 Peter 2:21-25
32Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. 33When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals – one on his right, the other on his left. 34Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.’ And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
35The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, ‘He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.’
36The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 37and said, ‘If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.’
38There was a written notice above him, which read: this is the king of the jews.
39One of the criminals who hung there hurled
insults at him: ‘Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!’
40But the other criminal rebuked him. ‘Don’t you fear God,’ he said, ‘since you are under the same sentence? 41We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.’
42Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’
43Jesus answered him, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.’
44It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, 45for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46Jesus called out with a loud voice, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.’ When he had said this, he breathed his last.
Sunday March 24 - Golgotha
When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there,
along with the criminals. Luke 23:33
Throughout this holy week, we will be standing on holy ground. Like Jesus’ female disciples (v 49) we shall reverently watch and listen as the horrendous scene of crucifixion unfolds.
Luke tells the story in a matter-of-fact way, belying its horror. Execution by crucifixion was reserved for rebels, the worst criminals, and the nobodies of the Roman world. Designed to humiliate as well as inflict pain, its victims would be paraded shamefully through the streets, after being weakened by a brutal flogging, to a very public site. There, crowds were encouraged to mock those whose life was expiring, like the jeering spectators mentioned in the gospels. It could be a slow death, sometimes taking days to reach its end. This sent out the clearest signal that you did not challenge the power of Rome.
So it was with Jesus. His death did not occur in respectful silence on a quiet altar in a church, but in a noisy, turbulent place, aptly named ‘the Skull’, because of its shape and prominence. ‘Golgotha’ is the Hebrew name for this rocky outcrop but Luke, writing to a Gentile audience, uses its Latin name. Jesus might understandably have been preoccupied with his own troubles, yet accompanied by criminals, who deserved the death sentence, he engaged compassionately with people to the very last. That’s the point: Jesus died shamefully and publicly – not only with people but for all people.
Lord Jesus, thank you for bearing my sin and shame and bestowing your grace on me. Amen.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
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