Luke 23:13-25
~19 min read
SERMON OUTLINE
TRANSCRIPT
My family and I are very glad to be with you, very thankful for your hospitality. It's good for us to be with you together, doubly good because we are here with you to celebrate and remember this Good Friday. But that, I think, brings us to consider just why we call Good Friday ‘good’. What is The Goodness of Good Friday?
Consider what we remember on this occasion. We remember the Lord Jesus hanging on the cross. We remember Him bloodied and bruised. We remember Him scourged and spat upon. We remember Him mocked and maligned. And not one of those things seems to be good. Why then do we celebrate Good Friday? Why has the cross, which after all was a symbol of shame and defeat, become such an enduring symbol of hope and joy for Christians? Why is it that the Apostle Paul, for example, could say to the Corinthians, "I determined to know nothing among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified"?
Of course, we know that the cross is a symbol of hope and joy because on that cross, the Lord Jesus accomplished the ultimate victory over sin and death. As Christians, we preach Christ and Him crucified because by that crucifixion and death, the Lord Jesus paid the penalty for our sins, suffering in our place and securing our forgiveness, securing our pardon.
But still, why the cross? Why such a shameful and bloody death? Why the horrible miscarriage of justice that led to the cross - the things that we read just now in Luke 23? There is something here of the marvelous wisdom of God displayed in the cross, which we ought to observe, which will help us as we come to remember this Good Friday.
But in order to see this, first, we must recognise the evil that is evident here. Again, in this passage that we have read, in the description of the events leading up to the crucifixion, we must see how they are shot through with human evil, depravity, and wickedness of all sorts. But then, we must recognise also, through this evil, in the midst of this evil, the hand of God working for good to accomplish a good purpose, to bring good out of evil.
I. Human Evil
So, first of all, let us go through this account and observe the evil that is evident there. And this human evil is everywhere in the account. There is a phony accusation, as we see in Luke 23:13. We see how Pilate called together the chief priests and the rulers of the people and said to them, "you have brought this man to me as one that perverteth the people: and I, having examined him before you, have found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accused him."
You say that he is someone who perverts the people or who corrupts them, leads them after something false and bad. In this case, insurrection against the Romans, that was the accusation. Verse 2 of Luke 23, they began to accuse him, saying, "We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ a King." That was the accusation. This man Jesus has urged open revolt against the Roman government. This is clearly false. And in fact, if we look at the other parallel passages dealing with this account, we read very plainly that the chief priests and the rulers were looking for false accusers. In Matthew 26, for example, Matthew 26:59, we read here “the chief priests and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death.” They were deliberately looking for a false accusation to bring against him. They wanted something that would carry the death penalty. They wanted him killed, and they were willing to lie in order to get what they wanted. And Pilate knew that these charges were false. He said, "I, having examined him before you, have found no fault in this man." (Luke 23:14). False accusation is a very terrible thing. It is a wicked thing to do. And here it is in this account, false accusation in order to put an innocent man to death.
On top of that, there is also in this account an unworthy substitution. Back in Luke 23:16, we read that Pilate made this offer to release Jesus: "I will chastise him and release him." Pilate had this custom of releasing a prisoner at this particular feast. And so, according to that custom, he offered to release Jesus. He wanted to release Jesus. Verse 20: “Pilate therefore, willing to release Jesus, spake again to them.” Pilate knew again that this accusation was false. He knew that they just wanted to get rid of this man Jesus. He knew that the chief priests, the rulers of the Jews, did not like Jesus, and Pilate did not want to be manipulated into doing their dirty work for them. He didn't want to be a puppet, an instrument in their hands. He didn't want to give them what they wanted.
Pilate didn't like the Jews either, so he wanted to release Jesus. And he made this offer. And as we look at the parallel accounts again, we find that Pilate deliberately mentioned Barabbas. And it seems that Pilate's plan was to give the Jews a choice between Jesus, who is clearly innocent of the charges brought against him, and Barabbas, who is known to be a robber, an insurrectionist, a murderer, actually guilty of the charges that were brought against Jesus, and other things besides. So, he gave them this choice. Do you want this murderer and robber back on the streets, or do you want Jesus released? And we can imagine in Pilate's mind, it's a very easy choice. Of course, we don't want this murderer on the streets. Don't release him. Release Jesus. That was Pilate's plan.
What did the people say? They said, "We want Barabbas. Crucify him - that is, Jesus. Crucify him." Verse 18: "Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas." Shocking. Why would they make that choice? Why would they substitute Barabbas for Jesus? Why prefer Barabbas rather than Jesus?
And then, as if that were not enough, on top even of that, there is a great bloodthirstiness that we see here. Bloodthirsty motivation when Pilate, again in verse 20, speaks again to them offering to release Jesus, he's innocent, they cried saying, "Crucify him, crucify him." They demand crucifixion. They want him killed. They want him killed in this way. They want him shamed. They want him hanging, bloodied and bruised for everyone to see and laugh at. It's a bloodthirstiness here. In fact, in Matthew, we read that they said to Pilate, "His blood be on us and on our children. We want him dead." (Matthew 27:24).
And finally, we see on the part of Pilate also a cowardly abdication of duty. Verse 22, Pilate made this token attempt, “Why, what evil hath he done? I have found no cause of death in him. I will therefore chastise him and let him go.” But when he saw that the people were insistent, when he saw that the people would not be persuaded, he gave in. Verse 24, "Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required."
Pilate was the governor. Pilate was responsible to see that justice was done. Pilate was afraid. Pilate was a coward. Pilate was afraid that if there was a disturbance, a riot, an uproar, he would be called to account for failing to keep the peace. He would lose his job. He might lose his head. And so, he gave in to them, and he released Barabbas. Again, it's emphasized in verse 25, the one who was released is the one who was actually guilty of sedition and murder. They desired him. The one who was delivered over to be crucified was Jesus, perfectly innocent man led to death, while the guilty murderer goes free, and the governor, the judge who is supposed to see to justice, washes his hands as if it's none of his business.
This is a sordid tale to end all sordid tales. This is wickedness and depravity through and through. This is something disturbing, even disgusting, to see, something so terrible being done. And yet, as we look at this account more closely, through the evil and injustice here, we can see, like a golden thread shining through, the divine purpose of God being worked out, even in these very things, good being brought out of evil.
II. God’s Divine Purpose
You see, in order to affect our salvation, the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ, the death of the Lord Jesus Christ, had to be an atoning death. That means He had to be a sinless sacrifice on behalf of sinners. And this is typified in the Mosaic law, in the law of Israel, the sacrifices and ceremonies. It is stipulated again and again that the one that is sacrificed, the animal that is sacrificed, must be without blemish, without spot, because the sacrifice that is offered to God must be perfect in order to be accepted. It cannot be blemished. So here, the Lord Jesus, in order to be the perfect Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, had to be sinless, had to be declared innocent. And that's what we see happening here. We see the Lord Jesus declared to be innocent, not by Himself, but by Pilate, not once, not twice, but three times. Verse 22, "He” -that is Pilate - “said unto them the third time, Why, what evil hath he done? I have found no cause of death in him.” He is guiltless. He is innocent.
Pilate is revealed here as an evil, cowardly man, self-serving, with hardly a shred of moral sensibility. And yet here, God uses him to proclaim this wonderful truth, that Jesus Christ, our substitute, is innocent, without sin. He dies the just for the unjust, sinless sacrifice to take away our sins and our penalty.
Then also, the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ, His death, had to be a bloody death. We are reminded in the book of Hebrews, "Without shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins." (Hebrews 9:22). This is again laid out in the types and ceremonies of the law of Israel. It had to be a bloody death. Blood had to be shed. And not just any bloody death, not just any death that involves the shedding of blood. The death of the Lord Jesus Christ, our substitute, was to be a shameful and a cursed kind of death because, as Paul reminds us in Galatians, "He was made a curse for us." (Galations 3:13). He took on Himself the curse and penalty, the guilt of our sins. And that's what crucifixion is. Crucifixion is a shameful and cursed death. The Law of Moses says the one who hangs on a tree is a cursed of God.
And then also, the death of the Lord Jesus was to be a public death. The Lord Himself spoke of how He would be lifted up, again fulfilling the types in the Books of Moses. We read this in John chapter 3, in John 3:14, Jesus speaking to Nicodemus, said, "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life." And in the prophets also, the prophet Isaiah, for example, it is written, "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else." (Isaiah 45:22). The death of the Lord Jesus, a public death, a lifting up for all to see, so that they might believe in Him and be saved.
This manner of death was not coincidental. Coincidental crucifixion fulfills all these requirements. It is a bloody death. It is a shameful, cursed death. It is a public death. It involves a lifting up. Of course, it's meant to be a lifting up in shame. But by the wisdom of God, by the grace and the power and the sovereignty of God, this lifting up became a lifting up of joy and victory, a lifting up of triumph.
But that's what we see here in this account. It is not Jesus choosing the manner of His death, but the people in their wickedness, the people in their bloodthirstiness, demand crucifixion. They cried out again and again, "Crucify him, crucify him." (Luke 23:21). But yet, in the wisdom of God, that wickedness, that bloodthirstiness, was fulfilling His good plan, that Jesus should die precisely the right kind of death to save us from our sins, to be seen the world over, to be preached, "Jesus Christ and Him crucified." (I Corinthians 2:2).
In fact, the Jews, we read, brought Jesus to Pilate specifically because they wanted Him to die a public and shameful death. They wanted Him to be discredited. They were not content to just get rid of Him in some dark alley somewhere. They wanted Him to be lifted up in disgrace because they hated Him. They were envious of His popularity with the people. They didn't have the power to pass a sentence of crucifixion, so they brought Him to Pilate.
John chapter 18, John 18:31, “Pilate said unto them” - to the Jews - "Take ye him and judge him according to your law. The Jews therefore said unto him, It is not lawful for us to put any man to death." They wanted Pilate to kill Him, and they knew that the Roman way of dealing with such criminals was to crucify them. So, in all of this, again, the bloodthirst, the wickedness of man, and yet it fulfills the good plan of God.
And then also, the death of the Lord Jesus, the wonder of the Gospel is that His death was a substitutionary death. He died as our substitute, in our place. He is innocent, we are guilty. He takes our guilt, He takes our penalty, He stands in for us. He is our substitute. Jesus died the just for the unjust, the sinless Lamb of God crucified so that sinners might be forgiven and released. When we come to Christ in saving faith, when we believe the gospel, that is what we trust. We trust in His substitutionary atonement. We acknowledge that He died for my sins. He had none of His own. He died in my place. That's my penalty. That's my guilt. That's what I deserve. That's the message of the gospel.
And yet, once again, we see in this account, it is not Jesus somehow scheming to bring in this concept of substitution. It is not Him trying to manipulate this situation, trying to persuade Pilate to do this or that. But it is Pilate himself, out of his own wicked and self-serving motives, who suggests this exchange, this substitution. And yet, it only serves to underscore all the more the substitutionary nature of the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is Pilate who suggests, "Let me release Him, let Barabbas be killed, let Jesus be released." (Matthew 27:15). It is Pilate who suggests this, and it is the Jews who refuse it. And it is by their wickedness that it is brought about that the innocent one goes to his death and the guilty one is set free, a picture of just what we believe in the Gospel, laid out so clearly for us.
Again, all of this is far from coincidence. And again, all of this was done, humanly speaking, out of evil motives. And yet, all of it fulfilled a wonderful plan of God. So, throughout this whole sequence of events, there is this double thread running through. We see at first nothing but the base motives and the evil acts of man. And even before this account in Luke 23, the betrayal of Judas, a wicked thing to do, motivated by base greed. John says he was a thief. The desertion of the disciples when the soldiers came in the garden, they all left Him and fled. Peter's denial, Peter so close to the Lord Jesus, three times denying, "I never knew the man, I don't know what you're talking about." The injustice of Pilate, the mocking of the soldiers, they put the crown of thorns on His head and the purple robe around Him, and bowed the knee and mocked Him. And then the mob, bloodthirsty, calling for blood. And then, as He hung on the cross, all the people wagging their heads and mocking Him, "He saved others, Himself He cannot save." All these things are so terrible. And yet, when we look at these things through the lens of Scripture, we see the hand of God working for good. We see how all this was laid out beforehand. We see how all this was part of the plan and purpose of God from the beginning.
We read just now in Isaiah 53 how He is led like a lamb to the slaughter. We read such a specific prediction, such a detailed picture of exactly what we see in the Gospel accounts in the death of the Lord Jesus. So that when we come to the crucifixion in light of all the things that have come before, in light of all the preparation that has been given to us through the Word of God, when we come to the crucifixion, we see it not merely as some act of man, but we see it as the culmination of God's plan of salvation. All these people acting in their own selfish and evil interests yet working out God's plan.
And so, when we look with spiritual eyes, we see in the cross, God's work, not coincidence, not the triumph of evil, not a defeat of what is good, but a glorious victory. We see a victory over sin and death. We see a triumph of good over evil, a victory that is won on our behalf. And that is what is good about Good Friday. Even though so many of the things that we read have happened on that day were bad, yet they were part of the good plan of God.
To us, the cross is a symbol of victory, the triumph of the Gospel, the victory won over sin and death by the Lord Jesus Christ in His sacrifice on our behalf, a victory that results not in the destruction and condemnation that we deserve but forgiveness, salvation, for Christ's sake. And it is the wisdom of God to design and execute the victory in such a way as if to show us so plainly that all the accumulated evil of man, all the accumulated power of the forces of darkness, all that gathered together, cannot thwart His plan but will only accomplish it. The worst thing that people can do will not thwart the good plan of God but will only accomplish it.
That's the power of God, nothing can stop Him from saving His people and that’s the God that we gather to worship. That’s the God that we praise and adore. The God Who has wrought our Salvation in such a way, the God Who has accomplished such a victory over sin and death. The cross is the ultimate demonstration of a solution to our greatest problem: the problem of sin and rebellion against God. It's the ultimate symbol of darkness vanquished by light. The cross, seen one way, represents the worst of men. But seen another way, it represents the best of the love of God, the wisdom, and justice and holiness and goodness of God. And that is what God does for us. That is the promise of the Gospel, that is what He will do for our hearts.
If we sit here this night distressed, perhaps by the state of the world, the evils that surround us and oppress us, not just on a large scale but even on a very personal scale, if we are troubled by Injustice and wickedness that we experience, there is refuge in the cross. If God could see, if God could use this ultimate evil act, the crucifixion of the sinless Son of God, to bring about the greatest good, the salvation of sinners, to work out His glorious purpose, then we can rest assured, indeed His promise is true.
All things work together for good to them that love God. We see it here, all these wicked men, and yet it worked out for good. We can trust in that promise, we can be assured that in our own lives also, if we love God, if we have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, we are children of God, and all things work out for our good because our God is Sovereign, our God is in control, our God is full of wisdom, wisdom and power.
If we sit here knowing the evil that is in our own heart, knowing that we are not better than these people that we read of here, knowing that we also make false accusations, that we also are filled with greed and envy and anger and bitterness, that we also are bloodthirsty in our hearts, in our desires, in our thoughts, in our designs, if we know that we cannot stand on our own before a just and a holy God, if we know that we deserve condemnation because we are guilty, and again there is refuge in the cross, there is forgiveness full and free in the Lord Jesus Christ because He has borne our guilt, He has taken all of our penalty, He has taken the worst and borne it in His own body on the tree, He has suffered the full measure of the wrath of God that we deserve, it was poured out on Him so that it need not be poured out on us.
And we see His great love, how He laid down His life willingly, He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, He made no protest, He never tried to break free, He laid down His life as the Good Shepherd laying down His life for the Sheep. How meek and how mild He was in that judgment hall, He knew what He was doing, He was doing it for us so that we might be saved, He submitted to this willingly, allowed all this to come upon Him even though He was guiltless because He knew that He was bearing our guilt and suffering in our place, He knew that this was the way to victory, to satisfy the justice of God on our behalf and to secure our pardon.
So, we can be assured, we can rejoice that there is forgiveness with God, forgiveness for all sins. “The vilest offender” as the hymn writer said, “who truly believes that moment from Jesus a pardon receives” for the most heinous of sins and crimes. Even for those who drove the nails into Him with their own hands, there is forgiveness if they will only believe. The Lord Jesus as He hung on the cross prayed, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." And if you are here tonight, unbelieving, not having put your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, not covered by His blood, there's no coincidence in that either, just as there's no coincidence in anything that happened on that occasion, so it is no coincidence that you are listening to this, that you are hearing this message, that you have read this passage of the word of God.
Whatever your motives are for coming, God is sovereign, He has worked in such a way to bring you here that you might hear this, that you might believe and be saved, that your sins might be washed away and forgiven, that is the desire of God, He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life, there is forgiveness for sins and God wants you to hear that message, God wants you to see as it were the Lord Jesus suffering and dying for you on your behalf, to bear your sins so that you might be forgiven and go free. And God calls us, all of us, God commands us to believe the gospel, to believe, believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, to trust in Him by faith, to believe that though we are sinners and guilty, He has taken our guilt and suffered in our place and satisfied the justice of God on our behalf, and that is all that God requires, faith believing in what Jesus has done for us, then there is forgiveness, then there is peace and Hope.
The Lord Jesus rose from the grave on the third day, as we remember this coming Lord's day, you rose in triumph in victory, and that victory is yours if you believe in Him, then Good Friday is really good, that's the goodness of Good Friday, the Lord Jesus came to suffer and die in our place so that we might be saved and live forever, isn't that a good message, isn't that a good and wonderful thing, all the more wonderful as we as we see our own badness, as we see our evil and wickedness, but it is a good and a gracious God whom we serve, whom we worship, whom we praise. Let's close with a word of prayer.
Our gracious Father in Heaven, how we thank you for this remembrance of the Lord Jesus and what He has done for us, His body was broken for us, His blood was shed for us, He died in our place, the death that we deserve. Lord, we pray you will help us, each one of us, to see the truth of this. For those who have not believed on the Lord, we pray you will move their hearts, that they may come to acknowledge their sin and their guilt and to see there is only one way of Salvation, they cannot save themselves, only the Lord Jesus can save them. We pray you will move them by Your mighty power to put their trust in Him, to find life and joy and peace forever and ever.
And for those who have believed, Lord, we pray you will help us to remember what the Lord Jesus has done for us, to be renewed in our commitment and consecration to live for Him, not to be allured by the things of this passing world, but to worship and serve the one living and true God who has washed us from our sins in His own blood. We pray You would strengthen and comfort us also in the remembrance of how much You have done for us, that we may be encouraged to know that God who gave His only begotten son for us will not withhold from us surely any good thing, and help us to trust in Your love for us through the Lord Jesus Christ, that we may endure the trials and difficulties of life with a great hope. So, we pray You will speak to each one of us through Your word and by Your spirit, and we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.
THE BOOK OF LUKEJoy to the WorldJoy to the WorldLuke 2:8-14
Responding to Christ's BirthResponding to Christ's BirthLuke 2:8-17
Message 4: Basic Principles on PrayerMessage 4: Basic Principles on PrayerLuke 6:12
Message 2: The Parable of the Good SamaritanMessage 2: The Parable of the Good SamaritanLuke 10:30-37
Message 3: The Pattern from the Lord’s PrayerMessage 3: The Pattern from the Lord’s PrayerLuke 11:2-4, Matthew 6:9-13
Message 3: The Parable of the Friend at MidnightMessage 3: The Parable of the Friend at MidnightLuke 11:5-13
Message 1: A Sincere PleaMessage 1: A Sincere PleaLuke 11:11
Overcoming MaterialismOvercoming MaterialismLuke 12:13-34
Message 4: The Parable of Counting the CostMessage 4: The Parable of Counting the CostLuke 14:25-35
Message 5: The Parable of the Unjust ServantMessage 5: The Parable of the Unjust ServantLuke 16:1-13
Lessons on StewardshipLessons on StewardshipLuke 16:1-13
Message 3: Praying to God to Increase our FaithMessage 3: Praying to God to Increase our FaithLuke 17:5-6
To Seek And To Save That Which Was LostTo Seek And To Save That Which Was LostLuke 19:10
Message 1: God’s Covenantal DealingsMessage 1: God’s Covenantal DealingsGenesis 17:5-7, Luke 22:2
The Goodness Of Good FridayThe Goodness Of Good FridayLuke 23:13-25
