Reactions to the Crucifixion of Jesus

So, here on this hill. When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, Saw the earthquake. And what took place, they were filled with awe and said, Truly, this was the son of God, did you catch that not only the centurion, But these four soldiers under his command who'd been given this gruesome task. of crucifying Jesus and the two thieves. All five of these men.

come to the same conclusion. His deity. He is the son. of God. How did people react to the crucifixion of Jesus?

Well, some responded with relief, thinking that they've silenced him forever. Others felt regret, realizing too late what they've done.

Some experienced deep remorse, unsure of what to believe. But a few, like a Roman centurion, responded with reverence. He declared Jesus is the Son of God. This is Wisdom for the Heart. Today, Stephen Davey concludes a series called The Lamb's Last Words.

Stay tuned as Stephen explores these timeless responses to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Let's get started. In 1927, I have read that the poet T.S. Eliot, Tom Eliot, became a Christian. And that uh shocked and surprised his friends and associates He embraced the deity of Christ, the gospel of grace, and would become one of the most influential.

believing poets in the last century. He would go on to courageously write of um his opinion that secular societies. Demise was the result of a loss of faith in Christ, which led to cultural decline and moral decay. That was his opinion, and it's interesting, his opinion now is a hundred years old when he wrote that.

Now, prior to his conversion, he belonged to an informal group of intellectuals, authors, artists who would gather somewhat regularly. But when the news kind of hit the fan, they wanted nothing to do with him now that he'd become a Christian. And one article I read said that they were faithful. filled with disgust. and shock over his conversion.

Virginia Wolfe, you may recognize her name, was a famous writer as well, sort of the de facto leader of this group of intellectuals who would meet in their hometown of London. At any rate, she went by to see Elliot to hear from him, you know, what had happened to him. And They sat by his fireplace as he Told her. uh his change of heart and his belief in Christ. Instead of being moved or interested.

in what he had to say, she would later write this to a friend, quote I have had the most shameful and distressing meeting with Tom Elliott. He may now be considered dead to us all from this day forward. He has become a believer in God. And he now goes to church. I was shocked.

And she writes this, I mean, there is something obscene. in a person sitting by a fireplace, who actually believes in God. End quote. She was shocked. It was shameful.

It was even Obscene. You need to go out there in the world around you and you can talk about God. In generic terms, and they'll leave you alone, you'll be fine, you'll just sort of melt into culture. But you start talking about Jesus Christ. The Son of God, who died on a cross for sinners, who built the only bridge from earth to heaven, and you're simply strained.

The cross of Christ I believe is designed. to create a reaction. I have been Fascinated in my study of the account of the crucifixion of Christ and thought we'd be done by now. I'm going to. Take this morning to give you what I've observed as four reactions.

Two. The death of Christ.

So, before we leave the scene, let me point them out for you. Four reactions at Mount Calvary as Jesus dies.

Now, the first one is implied. It comes from putting the clues together. From the gospel accounts, and in a word, it would be simply this. Relief. Relief.

The Jewish leaders are relieved. They wanted him dead. The high priests, the elders, and scribes, almost everybody on the Sanhedrin, not quite everybody, but almost everybody, voted to put him to death, get rid of him. And the news had quickly traveled down this hill into Jerusalem, reaching the ears of the Jewish leaders. And I can tell you, what you would have heard is a big sigh of relief.

Finally. They would think that that whip swinger, that temple cleanser, that tradition breaker. That crowd mesmerizer, that miracle worker, he's finally God We're rid of them. I think if you could have interviewed the high priest, you would have said something like, We are rid of that distraction, now we can get back to life. as the way it ought to be.

Relief. There's another reaction here in a word more explicitly given to us in Scripture, and that would be regret. Luke's account now records for us in chapter 23. And verse 4. 48 were told And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, I love that word, this show, they'd come to see a show.

when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts. They now know enough to know they've been involved in the death of an innocent man. They're overcome with regret. They had taunted him. They had mocked him.

As a mob they had in unison cried, crucify him. They had come to that hill to watch a show. They knew something unusual had happened. In fact, Luke says here, this was the result of all they saw. The original word for to see, the verb to see here is theoreo.

He gives us our word. To theorize or theory. It means to see something that provokes in your mind a theory. You're trying to figure out What just happened? What you just saw?

So what happens here is the crowd is leaving the scene. They're engrossed in debates. They're talking to one another about the events they have seen and they're coming up with their theories.

Well, I think it meant this. Or I think it means this. I think this about him.

Well, he was obviously a good teacher. He's a rather mysterious man. I kind of think he's a prophet, maybe. Everybody had a theory. They didn't know exactly But what they did know was that Jesus did not prove.

Who he said he was. He did not come down from that cross to prove he was the king of anything. Certainly the Messiah of nothing. Why?

Well, they saw with their own eyes. He died. End of story. Jesus might not be the Messiah. But they're theorizing What they do know, they are struck with, is the fact that he was innocent.

And they were part of it. They'd call called for it. The next reaction I want to point out. is, in a word, remorse. Look right now in verse 49, and all his acquaintances.

And the women, this is the band of disciples. Who'd followed him from Galilee stood at a distance watching these things? At a distance. That seems to imply they're afraid, they don't want to get too close, too connected, they're confused. Many of them are going to slip away into the night, they're going to return to the light they'd left behind.

You can't imagine a more pitiful.

Sorrowful. Crushed? Remorseful. Group of people. Then these.

They're not only crushed, they are. Confused. They had envisioned the kingdom. They were expecting that. James and John had already put in a reservation for thrones on either side of Jesus.

They had professed their undying faith, and our faith in you will never die, and then he dies. They knew who he was. At least they thought they knew. Even among the original. twelve one will express his doubts.

Their teacher, their guide, their hoped-for Messiah. Can you believe it? He's dead. For one man The most unlikely. Mayon.

The reaction is not remorse, but in a word, Reverence. Luke records back in verse 47: Now, when the centurion saw what had taken place. He praised God, saying, Certainly this man was Innocent. Notice he praised God. The word depraised is doxadzo.

It gives us our word doxology, which means to revere the reputation, to rehearse the character of another. In our case, we sing the doxology to God. We sing the praise in our heart to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit. The centurion is praising God. Why?

Well, who tells us? He prays God that Jesus is an innocent man. Man, literally, Jesus is righteous. is the word. Jesus is the righteous One.

Now, later in the book of Acts, this actually becomes a favorite messianic title for Jesus. In Acts chapter 3 and verse 14, he's called the righteous one. In Acts chapter 7, before Stephen is martyred, he preaches a sermon where he calls Jesus, the same thing, the righteous. One. Later in Acts chapter 22, Paul is converted.

He's on the road to Damascus, sees the resurrected Lord, the brilliant light, blinds him. He later meets with Ananias, and Ananias confirms Paul's testimony of what he's seen. And Ananias says to him, Indeed, you have seen the righteous one. There's only one righteous man who's ever lived. And that man is Jesus.

So get this. The very first Praise service you have after the death of Jesus doesn't take place in the temple, doesn't take place in the synagogue, it takes place at the foot of the cross from the mouth of a Gentile. A Gentile soldier. Who makes this incredible confession?

Now what led him? To this point.

Well, Luke puts it this way: again in verse 47.

Now, when the centurion saw. What had taken place. He praised God. I mentioned earlier that the crowd saw. certain things and that verb is They they theorized, they came up with a theory, but here Luke changes the verb in verse 47 to see.

Now is a word that means to perceive with the mind. to interpret correctly what has been seen. David Garland describes it in his exegetical commentary on this text that he saw something beneath the surface, something beyond the surface, appearances. We would We would call it spiritual insight. He's gaining spiritual insight.

It's like you, at the moment of your conversion. The Spirit enables you, by means of his gift of faith, to open your eyes and suddenly you see it. Jesus is indeed the Son of God. A sinless man. We would say today We take that word, that verb.

And we would say, well, he connected the dots. He put the clues together. The same verb is used to communicate the same discernment over in Matthew chapter 5, verse 16, where Jesus tells his followers, Let your light shine.

So shine before others that they may see, there it is, your good works. And what are they going to do? Praise you? Give you glory? No, they're going to put the clues together, which happens to be your good works, and say it must be God enabling you to do that, and they will praise God.

For what they see in your life. A life of good works.

So here on this hill You have a centurion connecting the dots. Putting the clues together, and he begins to glorify God by acknowledging the righteous character. of Jesus. This is a confession. Of faith.

But that's not all the centurion is praising God about here in this scene. You know, we've learned in our study through the Gospel by Luke. That by combining the gospel accounts, you get all the clues put together and you get the fullest. Accounting.

So if you want to flip back over to Matthew, his gospel account in chapter 27 and verse 54 says this. When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake. And what took place, they were filled with awe and said, Truly, this was the Son of God. Did you catch that? Not only the centurion.

But these four soldiers under his command who'd been given this gruesome task. of crucifying Jesus and the two thieves. All five of these men. Come to the same conclusion. Yeah.

He isn't just a righteous man. His deity He is the son of God.

So, in our vernacular, the very first revival after the death of Christ takes place among the Roman. Military. By the way, centurion comes from the Latin word for 100. A Roman centurion, gives us our word century, then was commanding 100 men. He had earned this right.

Maybe later on in life, he's going to be promoted to the next level, which was the equestrian level. But where he stood, was was the result of dedication. to the Roman Empire. But what he just said would be considered. Trees are nuts.

This anonymous centurion had been given One of the most challenging assignments. If you think about it, his assignment was to oversee The crucifixion. of Jesus and these others in this incredibly volatile environment. Jerusalem is in an uproar. The centurion doesn't know if the mob's going to kill Jesus before they ever reach the hill or not.

To make matters even more complicated, he knows Jesus can't carry the cross beam. And so he compels a a bystander who's come to celebrate the Passover to carry it, which would have been an incredible insult, infuriating even further this Jewish mob. The streets are lined with people shouting. Skull Hill is packed with spectators who've come to watch the show. To mock this man while he dies, to watch his last moments alive.

This is something the centurion more than likely had never seen before. We know from history, nobody went to the site of a crucifixion. It's incredibly gruesome. A Roman citizen was guaranteed to never die this way. They never even used the word.

Crucified. He knows this is Strange. Matthew writes that after what this centurion and his soldiers had seen, There's that verb again. They connected the dots. They end up declaring The deity of Christ.

The first evangelists. are Roman soldiers. You gotta love this.

Now what have they seen? Or were they connecting? They saw Jesus standing before Pilate. They heard Pilate declare that he's an innocent man, but yet go ahead and crucify him. That's strange.

These men were defenders of Roman law. What's Pilate doing? Then they saw devout women in Jerusalem weeping as Jesus walked by, and Jesus said, Don't weep for me, weep for the nation. What victim doesn't evoke pity and want it? They saw Jesus.

On top of that hill, just before being nailed with spikes, refused the narcotic, that wine mixed with myrrh to deaden the pain. Every other victim that centurion had seen would gulp down as much as they would give him. They saw him with compassion responding while they're nailing him. They hear him say Jesus, Jesus say to his father, Father, forgive them. They don't know what they're doing.

This had to be the very first victim the centurion had ever had at a crucifixion site. praying for him. They saw the placard. announcing his royalty. They saw Jesus have a brief conversation with one of the dying thieves, promising him that before this day was over, they'd both be walking in the garden of the king.

Oh, really? What a promise. They would see Jesus place the care of his mother into the hands of John, the only disciple to show up, who would care about family and. The law At a time like this, Then the centurions see the sky grow supernaturally Dark. Even though it's high noon.

They know something is at work, then they hear and see Jesus cry out. over his abandonment from God he calls his His God Changing from his Father to his God. He knows there's something going on in an unseen world. We know it's the sin-saturated Son, separated for the first time in eternity, passed from God the Father and God the Spirit. Then Matthew tells us that they They keep watch over him.

Same expression with the shepherds keeping watch over their flock. They get close during the darkness, Matthew says in verse 44, as if to make sure nothing happens to Jesus. In the darkness. Then, after three hours of darkness, it begins to lift. They see Jesus stir, his lips move.

I thirst. They rushed to give him some of their own sour wine, the drink of the common Roman soldier there at the crucifixion side. They had their own canteens. Here they gave it to him. Then they hear Jesus clear his throat and triumphantly shout, I've paid for everything.

And then Father. Into your hands I commit my spirit. His control of the afterlife. Then the earth begins to shake. You've got this massive earthquake that rips the granite foundations, rocks apart.

Jew and Gentile knew, they believed that earthquakes signified the presence and power of divinity. After that. That's what they saw. The centurion, the spokesman of this converted band of soldiers, says, Truly, this man. was the Son of God.

No wonder the compassion The dignity The forgiveness Yeah. the promise of a kingdom Relationship with an unseen father. The darkness. An earthquake. Come on.

Connect the dots. This was the sun. Yeah. Now unfortunately My study notes At the bottom of the page, it suggests that the definite article is lacking, and therefore the centurion might have merely said, truly, this was a son of a god, some god out there. Any god.

I'm angered by even the suggestion, especially in an evangelical text. Makes me mad. I'm angered because the lack of a definite article with the title Son of God does not question its meaning contextually, grammatically. Luke often used this phrase. And he used it not to de-emphasize it, but emphasize it.

The Jehovah's Witnesses who show up on your doorstep will say, Well, you know, there's a definite article lacking in John chapter 1, verse 1.

So it simply says that, you know, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a God, any God. There's a Hebrew word for that. It's pronounced balone.

Okay, so let me just take you here for just a moment because it so bothers me. Luke does this often in Luke chapter 1. Verse 35, an angel comes to Mary and says, You're going to have a son. He explains it to her, and he says, The child shall be called the Son of God. Same expression.

No definite article. And by the way, no mention in the flawed Footnotes Which are not inspired, by the way, in your Bible, anything below the line. Be skeptical. In Matthew's gospel, when Jesus walked on water in the middle of the storm, this massive storm, the disciples think they're going to die. They're giving each other the last rights, I imagine.

And he comes in with one word, settles it all. It's hushed. And they say, truly, you are the Son of God. Same expression. No mention in my footnotes, flawed, foolish footnotes.

He's not saying Well, he must be the son of a God out there. This is the exact same construction. coming from the lips of a centurion. Truly, this was the son of God. God.

Son of God. What a confession. And for the centurion It's going to be a life-changing confession. Dangerous confession. It's going to create a crisis in his life, like your confession of Christ.

has created a crisis in your life. For him. It was terribly dangerous. Caesar was considered divine. He was considered a son of a God.

It was imprinted on the coins. Announcing his deity. Once a year, every citizen had to go to the temple and offer a pinch of incense and say, Caesar is Kurios, God. Caesar is God, Lord. And then the priest would give You a receipt?

Proving you done that. Imagine What the centurion might lose. What have you lost? Can it compare to what he Games. What have you gained?

as a follower of Christ. I read some time ago of a pastor who Recalled a mission trip to Malaysia, and while there he served in a church, and at one of their worship services, a teenage girl shared her testimony, just like we had the joy of listening to. Ella give her testimony and her brother. Then they celebrated her faith in Christ here in this church in Malaysia. She was baptized.

Public profession of fame. Pastor Who was on this trip noticed back by the door of this little sanctuary were two old suitcases leaning against the wall, and he asked the pastor why the luggage was there. And the pastor pointed to this teenage girl and said, Well, her father told her that if she became a Christian and was baptized publicly as a Christian, she could never come home again, so she's brought her luggage. Imagine what she lost. Imagine what she gained.

Church tradition tells us the centurion's name was Longinus. Tells us that he would later join the church that's Created in Acts chapter 2 in Jerusalem. that he would be called into court. to testify And deny? the miraculous events that he had witnessed and he refused.

To deny it? And he was put to death. One of the earliest anonymous Martyrs. in church history. The man who held The first worship service.

after the death of Christ. Which is the foundation of our doxology, our faith. Our gospel, what is it? Jesus is a righteous man. Sinless.

Sinless. Jesus. is the sun. of God. He's suffering.

Yeah. With this message, Stephen concludes a series on Jesus' crucifixion called The Lamb's Last Words. Since this is the last day of this series, it's also your last opportunity. opportunity to get the C D set at 50% off. You'll find information on our website, Visit wisdomonline.org.

That's wisdomonline.org. We can also assist you over the phone if you'd like help personally. Our number is 866-48-BIBLE. When we come back next time, Stephen begins a series on the church and how God wants churches to be led and organized. And that's next time here on Wisdom for the Heart.