Luke 23

Jesus the Messiah, was, in fact, the King of the Jews. He was the One that God had promised so long ago to David, who was not merely a royal descendant, like Solomon or Hezekiah. He was the eternal King over God’s chosen people, not only on the earth but in heaven. To state it this way is the same thing as saying that Jesus Christ was the Head of the church. The elect church is the worship gathering of the Israel of God, so the One who is the ultimate King of the Jews must also be the Ruler over all those who through Him are adopted into the family and household of God.

This promised Son of David was not merely rejected by the leaders of the Jews in His day; they led Him off to the Roman governor with false accusations that He was misleading the nation and moving others toward a tax revolt. While these charges were lies, their final claim was true, in a way. Jesus was saying that He Himself was the Christ, a King, yet this is something that His own disciples could not yet really understand. Certainly Pilate could not have rightly understood these words. Despite His confusion concerning the Man who was before him, the Roman governor did correctly see and contend for what he discovered through his own examination of the Accused, “I find no guilt in this Man.”

The governor did not know what to do with Jesus. Neither did Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at the time. Herod had long been curious about Jesus, and wanted to see him perform a great sign, but Jesus had nothing to say to him when this Herod, called by the title of “king,” addressed Him. On this day, when the real King of the Jews, who was also the King over a new creation, would go to the cross to die for sinners, two important men, Pilate and Herod, would become friends with one another. They were suddenly drawn together in their strange predicament of having the power to order the death of a man who they knew to be innocent of the charges against him, and who did nothing to defend himself. The actual determination of what to do was Pilate’s, and his first decision was to release Him.

By this time the crowd had been stirred up as weapon of influence against Pilate. They demanded the freeing of an insurrectionist, Barabbas, and the crucifixion of Jesus. While Pilate attempted to resist their force for a time, he soon gave in to them, though he knew that Christ had no civil guilt according to Roman law that would have justified a capital penalty. Through all of this there was one silent Man who was actually in charge. He was not changed in His course by the shouts of the crowds, by the plots of the religious leaders, by the words and actions of Pilate or Herod, by the mocking or cruelty of anyone there that day. Though Pilate delivered this true King over to the will of those who would kill Him, it was Jesus Christ who was doing what He Himself came to do, to express the love of God for the elect, not through words, but through the only action that could accomplish our eternal redemption. This Jesus, who appeared to be so powerless, was in control.

This Jesus spoke, not to try to secure a last minute pardon, but to warn the daughters of Jerusalem concerning a day of trial that will be coming upon them. He was going down this road of suffering as the Head of the church and a Husband of a bride. Others would follow in the way of the cross, though they could atone for no man’s sins. They would suffer as a testimony of their faith in Him, and some would see trouble coming upon them as a result of the end of the Old Covenant era, in the destruction of Jerusalem.

The Lord of glory was put on a cross, and the details of Psalm 22, Psalm 69, and Isaiah 53 were happening before His holy eyes. They cast lots to divide His garments, they offered Him a bitter drink, and He was numbered with transgressors in His death when two thieves were crucified with Him, one on His right and the other on His left. Though soldiers and rulers mocked and scoffed, one of those two thieves was quite suddenly granted a gift of repentance and faith. He saw Jesus as the One who was coming into a heavenly kingdom, and he wanted the King to remember him. This request was granted in such a way that we now understand that the life of Christ went to this paradise while His body rested in the grave. He said, “Today you will be with Me in paradise.”

And then, He died. In the midst of a deep darkness over the whole land, a light of heaven, as it were, came shining through the veil of death and misery that had come upon creation so long ago in man’s first representative. When Adam sinned, a veil of anguish came upon the earth; when Jesus died the curtain in the temple was torn in two, and a sure way to the Father of lights was made through the blood of the perfect Lamb of God. Jesus did not have His life grabbed from Him; He yielded His life to the Father, and then His body was dead; and He was buried in the tomb of a rich man, a man who was looking for the kingdom of God.

Did that man understand that he was a witness of the dead body of the One who was King over the kingdom of heaven? The centurion was given eyes to see that Jesus was an innocent man. The crowds were able to see the horror of the death of the righteous One, for they went home, not celebrating, but beating their breasts in heartache. No one was yet able to see that Jesus was the victorious King of the kingdom, and the Head of a worldwide gathering of worshippers that He had called His church. Many would see this in just a few days, since, as He promised, the body of our Lord would not be in the tomb for very long.