Commentary on Calvary, Part 1

Let's pray together. Father, we are grateful for today because we gather together to celebrate the Lord's table, to celebrate the cross, to celebrate Christ. And today, Lord, in the midst of our celebration, may we always be reminded of the greatness of your sacrifice and your love for us as your children, that we might truly relish all that you are and all that you have done for the glory of your kingdom. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Today, as we prepare our heart for the Lord's table, we come once again to the section of scripture that deals with the commentary on Calvary.

That's what we've titled this section, because it truly is Luke's commentary on Mount Calvary. And we're going to examine it in great detail over the coming weeks. And as we begin our time together, I want to remind you of what we've already told you over the last several months concerning what verse 33 really is about. Because that's the only verse we're going to cover today. It says in Luke chapter 23, verse number 33, these words, And when they came to the place called the skull, there they crucified him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left.

The cross is the believer's preoccupation. We as believers are preoccupied with the cross of Christ, simply because it is our profession. We are preoccupied with the cross because it truly is our profession. The Bible says very simply in 1 Corinthians chapter 2, verse number 2, Paul says that I desire to know nothing among you, but Jesus Christ and him crucified.

Not only is it our profession, it is our passion. Paul would say in Galatians 2.20, I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me. Our preoccupation is centered around our profession and our passion and our persuasion. Because we seek to persuade men of the truth of Calvary's cross, that they must take up the cross and deny themselves and follow Jesus Christ. But our preoccupation with the cross comes way before that, because we must understand the predestination of the cross.

Revelation 13, verse number 8, he was the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world. So because of its predestination, we are preoccupied with the cross of Jesus Christ. Because of the preparation of the cross, we've told you week after week that everything in the Old Testament prepared us for Mount Calvary. All of the Levitical sacrifices and all of the the symbols of the Old Testament lead us to Mount Calvary. Whether it's Ruth and Boaz and Boaz as a kinsman redeemer, or whether it's the serpent lifted up in the wilderness, whether it's everything pertaining to the sacrificial system in the Old Testament, it was all preparing the Jewish people for the cross of Calvary.

And so we are preoccupied with the cross of Calvary, not only because of its predestination, and not only because of its preparation throughout the Old Testament, but because of all the prediction surrounding the cross. And there was prediction in the Old Testament, because we know from 1st Corinthians 15, Luke chapter 24, Acts chapter 13, that all of those writers would refer back to the Old Testament, telling us about the Christ, and how he must die, and how he will die, and how he will rise again.

Because it was all predicted in the Old Testament. Jesus himself lived his life predicting his own death. His whole life was about the centrality of the cross, and that centrality of the cross included the necessity of the cross, the certainty of the cross, the brutality of the cross, and ultimately the victory of the cross. But Christ would would predict exactly how he would die, who would crucify him, that he would truly be lifted up and crucified. And so our preoccupation with the cross centers around the predestination of the cross, the preparation for the cross, the prediction concerning the cross, at the same time the protection of Christ until he gets to the cross.

Because all throughout his life they were seeking to kill him. Herod did at the beginning when he was born, where he would slaughter all the babies two years and younger. In Luke 4, in Nazareth, they wanted to take him outside the synagogue to the cliff and throw him off the cliff to kill him because of what he had said. It says that in Luke chapter 13 that Herod was looking to kill Jesus. In John chapter 7, he was known as the man that they were seeking to kill. But the protection of Christ was predominant because he would only die on his timetable.

And that protection until the cross leads us to the precision concerning the cross. Everything about the cross was precise. Everything about the denial, everything about the betrayal, everything about the trial, everything concerning the cross was absolutely precise. Christ was on a divine timetable and everything was happening according to his schedule. Nobody else's schedule, but his. And that precision of the cross will be seen even more so today as we examine the commentary on Calvary to understand everything surrounding the elements of the cross of Calvary.

This becomes our preoccupation. Yes, it is our profession. Yes, it is our passion. And it should be. And yes, it is our persuasion. But all that because of its predestination. It was all predetermined in eternity past that Jesus would hang on a cross and die as a lamb slain before the foundation of the world. And everything in the Old Testament would lead up to that. You must see Jesus in the Old Testament. You must understand that every time you read the Bible, you must see Jesus. It's a revelation of Christ.

And if you don't see Jesus and what you read, then you've missed. You've missed the point of Scripture. Because everything is about Jesus. Everything is about his redemptive purposes. Everything is about why he came and how he lived and why he died. You must see that. And everything in the Old Testament prepared the Jewish people for that. We'll see that even more so this morning. But on top of that, it was all about the prediction, the precision of the cross, and how it all came to be. Because Christ was in charge.

Which leads us to the provision of the cross. The provision of the cross. Why is our preoccupation? Because of its provision. What does it provide? It provides salvation. It provides the forgiveness of sins. It provides the only way to heaven. And that provision is because of the propitiation of the cross, right? He is the satisfaction of his father's wrath. It's very clear. Isaiah chapter 53, verse number 10, that it pleased the Lord to crush his son. That's why everything about the cross preoccupies our life.

It does yours, doesn't it? It should. And if it doesn't, why not? The cross preoccupies our life. And we come together today to celebrate the Lord's table because we are preoccupied. You proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. This is how he wants to be remembered. He wants to be remembered because of Calvary's cross. Therefore, we're going to spend many weeks looking at the commentary on Calvary, so you know every element of the cross and all that took place on Calvary surrounding the cross. So we're going to look at the crucifixion of the Christ on Calvary.

Crucifixion on the cross. And then we're going to look at the crowds surrounding the cross and the criticism from those crowds.

And then we're going to begin to look at the conversion of a criminal and how he was saved. And then we're going to begin to look more in depth at all the surrounding consequences of this great calamity on Mount Calvary and what God was doing through all the consequences and events that took place on that day. It's a marvelous study. He hung there for six hours. And we're going to spend time looking at every single hour. That's how important it is. You might think I'm a little wacko, and maybe I am, but that's okay.

Get in line. A lot of people think I'm wacko. But you know what? You need to understand the cross. We have one symbol in our church. It's the cross. That's it. The only symbol that matters. Because it paves the way for eternal glory. But yet, in fact, everything was about the preparation for the cross up to verse 33 of Luke 23. And everything after it is about the proclamation of that cross. Notice how it's said.

It says very simply these words, And when they came to the place called the skull, there they crucified Him. Four English words, three Greek words, there they crucified Him. That is the high point. That's what everything in the Old Testament pointed to. There they crucified Him. Matthew says it, Mark says it, Luke says it, and John says it. They all say the same thing. There they crucified Him. Those four English words are the high point of redemptive history. And yet, they are so remarkably restrained.

Because the Bible nowhere describes a crucifixion. Nowhere. And on top of that, the Bible nowhere describes a scourging. And so as simply as it's stated, it is filled with absolute power. I'm gonna say something to you that you need to think about. Okay, because it's very important to their text this morning. It is not the physical suffering of Jesus that is unique to Him. It's what the physical sufferings of Jesus, along with the spiritual sufferings of Jesus, accomplished. Okay? It is not the physical suffering of Jesus that is uniquely applied and designed to Him.

Because, listen carefully, during the life of Christ, historians tell us there were some 33,000 crucifixions. Now, this is important. Because you need to know when crucifixions came on the scene. And the earliest record that historians have is somewhere around 500 BC. It was the Persians led by Darius. And there, he crucified 3,000 Babylonians. That is the first record of crucifixions that we have as we go back and look in history.

We also know that it was Alexander the Great who crucified 2,000 of the city of Tyre, simply because they rejected him. In 100 BC, Alexander Genaeus crucified 800 Pharisees while their wives and children looked on. It wasn't until 63 BC that when Rome came to power that they perfected the art of crucifixion. In other words, it was a fine art of crucifixion that they had perfected. So much so, they were the absolute experts in it. And of course, in 70 AD, when the Roman governor Titus came into Jerusalem and conquered the city, the historians tell us there was no more lumber to crucify any more Jews because they were all out of wood.

And so you need to understand that as we set the tone for understanding the crucifixion at the cross. That Jesus was not the first nor was he the last to be crucified.

Many thousands had been crucified before him and thousands would be crucified after him. You need to understand that when you read the text, because the text says these words. And when they came to the place called the skull, there they crucified him and the criminals. So listen, what they did to Jesus, they also did to the criminals. You need to get that. You need to understand that what they did to the criminals, they did to Jesus. They crucified Jesus and the criminals. So they experienced the same scourging.

They experienced the same type of crucifixion that Jesus himself experienced. Very important to understand that. Because the physical sufferings of Jesus are not unique to him, but what they accomplished is. And that's what we want you to see this morning as we look at the crucifixion at the cross.

Our first in our commentary on Calvary to understand exactly what took place. This is absolutely crucial. Listen, they came to the place called the skull. We know where that is. There's no speculation about that. It is Mount Moriah. We've gone in detail about that for you to understand why it's at Gordon's Calvary, where it's at in the city of Jerusalem or outside the city. So we know exactly the location of the crucifixion. So this is this is not something that we can guess about. It's something that we have a almost a hundred percent guarantee of the place.

Some would say it looks like a the hill looks like a skull. It does, but that's not why it was called the skull. Others say well it's the skulls of those who had been executed there that have lied there. And that's why it's called the skull. You know, we don't know that for certain. It could very well be that. But we do know this that the the Romans always crucified, listen carefully, in elevated areas. Because they wanted everybody to see what happens to those who rebelled against Rome. They had to see it.

Crucifixion was a point that was made by the Romans. Don't rebel against us. Don't cross us. So they would be crucified in an elevated place so that everybody could see them. The Bible never records a hill. Okay, the hill of Calvary or the hill of the skull. All right, so we don't know that it was definitely a hill. But we do know that it was on a major thoroughfare because Rome always crucified on major thoroughfares. So everybody could see what happens to those who rebelled against Rome. Important to understand that.

But it says, and there they crucified him. Why is it the Bible doesn't give any details about the nails that were driven in his hands, his feet? No elements surrounding the the the the putting of individuals on the cross. How come the Bible doesn't give it to us? Simply because during the time the Bible was written, everybody already knew. They already knew. That's why there's no details about the scourging. Why? Because everybody knew exactly what scourging was and everybody knew what a crucifixion was.

We just are later down the road. It wasn't to the 4th century AD that crucifixion was outlawed. And so we down the road in the year 2015 are trying to understand a crucifixion. So how do we understand that? 1986 the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, they did an extensive study on crucifixions. So people would understand exactly what would happen when someone was crucified. I want to relay the information to you this morning, so you understand exactly what took place with Christ, listen, and with the two men that were crucified with him, as well as the thousands before and the thousands that were after.

So you can begin to understand the crucifixion on the cross. The article tells us, these words, that according to this study, everyone who was crucified was first beaten.

That's very important because that means the two criminals with Jesus were scourged as Jesus was scourged. Maybe not at the same time, but they both received a scourging. That's important. It says, the victim's arms were lifted up and tied to a pole, leaving him in a slumped position. Braided leather thongs with bits of metal and bone embedded in them were used to lash the victim from the bottom of the neck down to the back of the knees. Two lictors, attendants of the Roman Magistrate, hit him with alternating blows.

There are no indications as to how many lashes the victims customarily received. That was at the discretion of the lictors. The bone and the metal would rip into the flesh, causing deep contusions and lacerations into the subcutaneous tissues and then into the fabric of the muscles. The resulting pain and blood loss would lead to circulatory shock. All three men crucified that day were scourged. But the soldiers, in their mockery of Jesus, put a robe on him made of wool that would have irritated his open wounds.

They also placed a crown of thorns on his head, beat him in the head with a stick, and spat on him. At some point, they tore the robe off him, which would have ripped open the wounds. Further, the hematidrosis, bloody sweat he experienced in the Garden of Gethsemane, made his skin hypersensitive. The Lord also suffered from lack of sleep, lack of food, as well as lack of water. Crucifixion was a slow death, intended to inflict maximum agony and suffering. The victims carried their crosses, or at least the cross piece, across the back of their necks and shoulders, with their arms tied to it.

Jesus received help from Simon Cyrene in carrying his cross, either because in his weakened condition, he could no longer carry it, or perhaps because he was not moving fast enough to suit the soldiers. Arriving at the place of crucifixion, the prisoners would be offered sedation. That's true. Remember Matthew 27? Matthew 27 says, in verse 33, And when they had come to the place called Golgotha, which means place of the skull, they gave him wine to drink mingled with gall, and after tasting it, he was unwilling to drink.

Why would they sedate them? Because there would be a natural fighting, so that you wouldn't extend your arms, or that you wouldn't bend your knees, so that the crucifixion would take place. So they would sedate the victim. But Jesus, having tasted it, did not drink it. Why? Because he would taste the fullness of suffering and death for you and me. And he would willingly offer himself up as a sacrifice. So he would willingly spread out his arms to be crucified. He would willingly do what was asked of him, because he was a lamb laid before his shearers, and he would be crucified.

Because that's why he came. He knew that this was his destiny, and so he did not take the sedation. The Bible tells us these words, or not the Bible, the article tells us these words. Arriving at the place of crucifixion, the prisoner would be offered sedation, and then they'd be thrown to the ground on their backs. The cross piece would then be pulled under their shoulders, and their arms nailed to it using tapered iron spikes, five to seven inches long. How do we know that? That's because in the first century, after all the crucifixions that had occurred, they had found in archaeological digs these spikes, and therefore they know how long they were, five to seven inches long.

And it says these words. They were driven through the wrists rather than the palms of the hands, so they could carry the full weight of the slumping body. The impaled victim was then lifted up, and the cross piece was attached to the upright post, often called stipes. The feet were then nailed with one nail. The knees bent up so that the victims could push up on the wounds in their feet, as well as pull up on the wounds in their wrists, in order to breathe. The sagging position of the body, with the knees bent, made it impossible to breathe steadily.

The soldiers could cause death in minutes by breaking the victim's legs, and you know they did that with both the criminals in John 19. Needless to say, no one ever survived a crucifixion. The agonizing pain those crucified endured is almost incomprehensible. How do we know that? Well, the most extreme word in the English language to describe pain is the word excruciating, which is a Latin word, which means out of the cross. In order to breathe, a person had to pull and push himself up, causing the wounds on his back and the scourging to rub painfully on the rough wood of the cross.

The nails in the wrists would crush or sever the long sensory radial motor median nerve, causing relentless bolts of pain. The nails in the feet would likely pierce the deep perineal and implanter nerves, causing the same results. In other words, whenever a nerve is struck, it sends all kinds of bolting pain through your body. So both nerves on both wrists were struck, as well as in the feet. So not only was that excruciating pain caused by the nails themselves, but whenever you would pull down to push up, that pain would repeat itself over and over again.

All the while, your back has completely been filleted. Being scraped up and down, the wood of the cross would embed all kinds of pieces of wood in there. Not to say all the insects that would fly around the open wounds and land in those wounds during the hours that you hung on the cross. Folks, this is important. You need to understand all of this. It says, the article does, the weight of the body on the nail wounds as the victim struggled to push and pull himself up to catch a breath, caused pain so intense that he could not survive very long.

It is likely that this form of respiration would not suffice and that hypercarbia, the presence of an abnormally high level of carbon dioxide in the blood, would soon result. The onset of muscle cramps or titanic contractions due to fatigue and hypercarbia would hinder respiration even further. When death finally merciful came, hours or days later, the Roman soldiers confirmed it by piercing the victim's chest with a spear.

The resulting flow of blood and water would indicate death. And we know from John's Gospel that they would take that lance and they would embed it in the heart of Christ and both would come forth blood and water knowing that he was dead. They knew exactly where to place the lance because they were expert executioners. They were Roman soldiers. Now, all three men experienced the exact same suffering. Jesus and the two criminals. So to say that the physical death of Jesus was not unique to him is true, but what that death accomplished is unique to him.

So turn with me to Psalm 22. Psalm 22. Remember we told you that the cross and our preoccupation of that cross centers around the predestination of the cross, the preparation of the cross, and the prediction concerning the cross, right? Because everything in the Old Testament would point to a slaughtered lamb, would point to the death of the Messiah. And yet, listen carefully, the Jews in their minds with Jesus hanging on a tree would be convinced that this is not their Messiah. Because the book of Deuteronomy says in chapter 21 that cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.

All right, so if that's the case, when they look at Jesus, they are absolutely sure in their own minds that this cannot be the Messiah of Israel.

Because if you hang on a tree, you're cursed by who? God himself. So if this is a son of God, God is cursing his son. So in their minds, this can't be their Messiah. Yet, listen to Psalm 22. Psalm 22 verse number 12. Many bulls have surrounded me, strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me. What does that have to do with the crucifixion? Bashan is a territory in the northern part of Israel. It was inhabited by the Amorites. And it was known as a lush green well-watered area. It's just south of Mount Hermon, east of the Jordan River.

And so the snow caps on Mount Hermon, because they melt every summer, spring and summer, all that water would would flow down into that region. It would be a green lush region. And according to the book of Amos, the fourth chapter, there were cows and bulls that were raised in that area. So it would signify the strong. It would signify the well-to-do. It would signify the powerful. And so the psalmist says in verse number 12, Many bulls have surrounded me, strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me.

Now listen carefully. A thousand years, a thousand years before Christ there was a prophecy about the well-to-do and the strong who surround the Messiah. A thousand years before Christ and and 500 years before any record of a crucifixion. Important to understand. Because what he does is say that the the bulls of Bashan who have surrounded him, who have encircled him, is the leaders of Israel, the well-to-do, those who are flourishing, the powerful, and the strong. How do we know that? Because he goes on to describe a crucifixion before they ever existed.

That's what it says. Verse 14, I am poured out like water and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax. It is melted within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd and my tongue cleaves to my jaws and now thus lay me in the dust of death. For dogs have surrounded me. A band of evildoers has encompassed me. They pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones. They look, they stare at me, they divide my garments among them and for my clothing they cast lots. The precision of the cross, the prediction of the cross, the preparation for the cross signifies our preoccupation with the cross.

A thousand years before Christ it was prophesied his crucifixion. Now move to 700 BC 300 years later to the prophet Isaiah, Isaiah chapter 53. Still no record in history of any crucifixion until 500 BC. This is 700 BC. Okay. Isaiah 53 verse number 5, but he was pierced through for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The chastening for our well-being fell upon him and by his scourging we are healed. Now you have the difference between Christ and the two criminals. They were pierced through for their transgressions, but Christ was pierced through for your transgressions.

That's the difference. See? Both were crucified, both were scourged, all three of them were. Everybody before them, everybody after them, they were all scourged, all crucified, all nailed to a cross, all in the same way, but he was pierced through for your transgressions. Your sin fell upon him. These men suffered because of their own sin. Jesus suffered because of your sin. He had no sin. He was a sinless, spotless lamb of God. So you turn to the book of Zechariah. Zechariah chapter 12 written in 550 BC, again before any known record of a crucifixion, which is the earliest record of 500 BC.

Zechariah says in 550 BC, these words, And I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of supplication that they will look on me whom they have pierced. Psalm 22, he was pierced. Isaiah 53, he was pierced. Zechariah 12 verse number 10, he was pierced. They will look on me whom they have pierced, meaning he has been here before. See? He's already come. He's been here. They will look on me, Zechariah speaking prophetically, into the future as to the arrival of the Messiah.

He says, They will look on me whom they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn. Wow. Now when you go to the book of Revelation, Chapter 1, verse number 7, behold, he is coming with the clouds and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him. The piercings are the mark of the Messiah, prophesied. Psalm 22, prophesied. Zechariah 12, 10, prophesied. Isaiah 53, verses 5 and 6. It was all predicted.

That's the precision of the cross. And so one day when he returns, they will look on him in whom they have pierced. Why? Because everybody will know that the slain lamb has returned. That's why when he comes again on his robe, it says faithful and true. Because he said, I am coming again. You better believe me, because I am coming again. You see, this is why we are preoccupied with the cross. This is why it consumes us. This is why it's our passion. This is why it's our persuasion. This is why it's our profession, because everything about our life centers on Calvary's cross.

This is our redemption. This is the forgiveness of sins. This is the way to heaven. This is how Christ paid for your sins and for my sins on Calvary's cross. He was that substitutionary sacrifice for you and me. He took your place on Calvary's cross. He would not take any of the bitter gall, because he would taste all of death. He would taste all of the suffering. He would taste all the physical agony. But beyond all of that, never once did Jesus ever cry out. Never once did Jesus ever scream, except, except, when he said, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

Because it was the spiritual death of Christ that fully accomplished your redemption. That's why we are preoccupied with the cross. That's why we say, and there they crucified him. Those four words are the apex of redemptive history. This is what everything in the Old Testament pointed to. This is from everything eternity past. This is what everything Jesus predicted would come about. This is why he was protected until the cross. This is why there was the precision for the cross, because at the cross there was propitiation.

At the cross there was your provision of salvation. Everything about your life centers on Calvary's cross. And that's why we gather together on the first Sunday of every month to celebrate the death of Christ.

Because we are to proclaim that death until he comes again. Let's pray together. Father, we thank you for today. We thank you for the reminder of all that you went through. We thank you, Lord, for the fact that everything was precisely accomplished as you designed it. Absolutely accurate, absolutely perfect in its finest detail. And that we come today because of your great plan of redemption. That we have come to celebrate the death of Christ and what it accomplished some 2,000 years ago. We realize, Lord, that everything about your life, your death, and your resurrection centers on the glory of your kingdom.

So we are here to give glory to you, honor to your name, for worthy art thou to receive glory, and honor, and praise forever, and ever, and ever. Pray in Jesus' name. Amen.