Writer of Fancy: The Playful Piety of Jane Austen

Solomon Among the Postmoderns

The Baptized Body

1 & 2 Kings
Brazos Theological Commentary

The Promise Of His Appearing: An Exposition Of Second Peter

A Great Mystery: Fourteen Wedding Sermons

Deep Comedy: Trinity, Tragedy, And Hope In Western Literature

Miniatures & Morals: The Christian Novels of Jane Austen

The Priesthood of the Plebs: A Theology of Baptism

A Son To Me: An Exposition of 1 & 2 Samuel

Against Christianity

From Silence to Song: The Davidic Liturgical Revolution

Ascent to Love: A Guide to Dante's Divine Comedy

Blessed Are the Hungry: Meditations on the Lord's Supper

A House For My Name: A Survey of the Old Testament

Heroes of the City of Man: A Christian Guide to Select Ancient Literature

Brightest Heaven of Invention: A Christian Guide To Six Shakespeare Plays

Wise Words: Family Stories That Bring the Proverbs to Life

The Kingdom and the Power: Rediscovering the Centrality of the Church

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Bible - NT - Luke: Spirit of promise

In Luke 24:49, Jesus says that the disciples should expect the coming of the promise of the Father.  This is clearly a reference to the Holy Spirit, but the terminology is interesting.  Augustine said that the Spirit is both “Gift” and “Love,” and Luke 24 adds “Promise.”  And since it’s the Spirit as Gift and Love that binds the Father and Son, so it is the Spirit of promise who maintains the Father and Son in covenant loyalty.

And since the Father-Son relation is the model of the relation of God to man, we can say that God is bound to man by the Spirit, who comes to us as Gift, Love, Promise.

Bible - NT - Luke: Sermon Notes, Second Sunday of Advent

INTRODUCTION
Jesus’ birth was announced by angelic choirs. It was also greeted by shepherds, to whom the angels first announced the birth of the Christ. Why would the news go to shepherds first?

THE TEXT
“And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. . . .” (Luke 2:1-20).

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Bible - NT - Luke: Sermon Outline, Fourth Advent

INTRODUCTION
One of the earliest Christological controversies in the church was provoked by Nestorius, who denied that Mary was the “God-bearer” (Greek, theotokos). The controversy was not about Mary, but about the nature of Christ: Was the eternal Son of God born as a baby? Unbelievable as it was, the orthodox answered Yes. God didn’t merely become “man” or “flesh”; God became a baby.

THE TEXT
“And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. . . .” (Luke 2:1-52).

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Bible - NT - Luke: Eucharistic meditation, Third Advent

Luke 1:53: He has filled the hungry with good things.

Luke’s gospel is a gospel of reversals. God chooses a humble young woman on the margins of Israel to be the mother of the Savior. While Augustus Caesar is reigning in Rome, Jesus is born on the outskirts of empire, in Bethlehem of Judea, laid in a manger, attended by shepherds from the surrounding hill country. Jesus comes proclaiming release to captives and redemption for those who are downtrodden. Through Jesus, God turns the world upside down, but since it was already upside down he is really turning it rightside up.

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Bible - NT - Luke: Exhortation, Third Advent

Mothering an infant is a thankless task. First, you have to carry a large, heavy pouch wherever you go for a number of months. Then comes the agony of labor. The momentary joy of birth is immediately followed by the prolonged inconvenience of nursing, changing diapers, comforting an infant at all hours day and night. Your child may feel gratitude, and feel it deeply, but he can’t tell you, and by the time he’s able to speak he has forgotten everything you did for him. Mothering an infant is literally a thankless vocation.

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Bible - NT - Luke: Sermon Outline, Third Advent

INTRODUCTION
The Roman Catholic church teaches many false things about Mary the mother of Jesus, but in reaction Protestants have sometimes simply ignored her. Like Joseph, she is a model of discipleship; and she is a living portrait of the church, the people in whom Christ takes shape (cf. Galatians 4:19-20). Everything this text teaches us about Mary is true, in an analogous way, of the church.

THE TEXT
“Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, ‘Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!’ . . .” (Luke 1:26-56).

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Bible - NT - Luke: Mary and Martha

Mary and Martha form a double Israel, two women living in the same house. One spends her time housekeeping, ignoring Jesus because she has too much to do in her little home temple and grumbling (like the older brother in the Prodigal Son) that she is not appreciated. Mary gives attention to Jesus, and thereby chooses the better part.

Bible - NT - Luke: Covenant: Legal or Filial?

Is the covenant between God and His people more or less strictly legal, a contractual relationship of Lord to servant? Or does it describe an ordered relationship of filial love, a relationship of Father and Son? The parable of the “prodigal son” sheds some light. Brendan Byrne points out that the older brother sees himself as a servant in the house, working like a slave, rather than as a son: “He thinks that such work should have earned a decent reward; he is in a ‘contract’ relationship with his father. He disowns his brother as brother, referring to him simply as ‘your son’ (his father, too, he bluntly addresses as ‘you’). What he resents particularly is that his brother has ‘devoured’ the family property, lessening the amount that will eventually fall to himself.” Of course, the older brother of the parable represents the scribes and Pharisees who have been complaining about Jesus’ generosity to publicans and sinners. They are apparently the ones who are treating the covenant relation of Yahweh and Israel as legal-contractual, master-slave. Just as clearly, that is not how the father of the parable nor how Jesus conceives of the relationship. For Jesus, the covenant relation of Yahweh and Israel is filial.
On a somewhat different, but related note, Byrne points out that the parable raises questions about the overly tolerant nature of God, and poses these questions to a reader: “Can you cope with a God imaged by the father in this parable? Do you find in yourself some stirrings of the (understandable) resistance of the older brother? Can you be part of a family whose hospitality is so extravagant, so uncalculating, so indulgent of human failing as this?”

Bible - NT - Luke: Sermon Outline, First Sunday in Advent

INTRODUCTION
Advent (the word means ?coming?E focuses our attention on the incarnation of the Son of God, but the incarnation of the Son of God not only tells us about the Son. The Son became incarnate so that He could reveal God to us, all of God, Father, Son and Spirit. This Advent, we will be exploring how the incarnation of the Son reveals the Trinity, and what the Trinity means for us.

THE TEXT
?Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin?s name was Mary. . . .?E(Luke 1:26-38).

NEW CREATION
Before looking at this passage for what it teaches us about the Trinity, and our life in the Trinity, we should note a number of biblical allusions in the passage. First, the story begins with the angel Gabriel being sent to Mary, as he was to Zacharias (1:11, 19). The only time the angel Gabriel appears in the OT is in the book of Daniel (Daniel 8:15ff; 9:20ff). He appears again to Zacharias and Mary to announce the fulfillment of the visions and prophecies that He delivered in Daniel?s day. The ?seventy weeks?Eor the ?times of the Gentiles?Eare coming to a close, and a new age is coming.

Second, Gabriel says that Mary will be ?overshadowed?Eby the Holy Spirit, who will form the ?Son of the Most High?Ein her womb (Luke 1:32, 35). Two OT passages are in the background here. In the original act of creation, the Spirit ?hovered?Eover the waters in order to order the watery darkness (Genesis 1:2). Now the Spirit again hovers, this time over the womb of Mary where a new creation is taking shape. This gives us an insight into the point of the virgin birth: It shows that the new creation does not come through human effort or human creativity. The new creation, like the old, comes through a sovereign act of the Spirit.

This ?overshadowing?Ealso alludes back to Exodus 40:34: ?Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of Yahweh filled the tabernacle.?E By overshadowing the tent, the glory-Spirit of Yahweh consecrated the tent as a holy place, just as the Spirit?s overshadowing of Mary produced a ?holy thing begotten?E(Luke 1:35). Luke, like John, believes that Jesus is the tabernacle, the earthly dwelling and location of the glory of God (cf. John 1:14).

Third, Mary also fulfills all the types and shadows of barren women in the OT. Through the miracle-motherhood of Sarah and Rebekah and Rachel and Hannah, the Lord foreshadowed the eventual fulfillment of the promise of Genesis 3:15 in the miracle-motherhood of Mary. The connection of Mary?s pregnancy with Genesis 3:15 is underscored by Elizabeth?s later greeting to Mary, ?Blessed among women are you?E(Luke 1:42), which echoes Deborah?s song: ?Most blessed of women is Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, most blessed is she of women in the tent?E(Judges 5:24). Jael is blessed, of course, because she smashed a tent peg through Sisera?s skull. Through her Son, Mary does the same.

THE FATHER?S SPIRIT OF SONSHIP
From a Trinitarian perspective, the ?oddity?Eof Luke 1 is that the Son comes from the Father through the Spirit. Our creeds, growing out of Matthew 28:18-20 and other biblical texts, speak of the order of the Trinity as ?Father, Son, Spirit,?Ebut Luke 1 suggests that it is equally biblical to say ?Father, Spirit, Son.?E Jesus?Ebaptism (Luke 3:21-22) points to the same conclusion, especially the fact that the Father?s words allude to Psalm 2 (?Today I have begotten You?E at the same time that Jesus receives the Spirit. This doesn?t mean that Jesus was not God the Son prior to His baptism; but the public declaration of His Sonship occurs at His baptism, when He receives the Spirit. And some of Paul?s statements about the resurrection show that the Father raises the Son from the dead through the Spirit (Romans 1:4; 8:11). In John?s gospel, Jesus is the one ?born of the Spirit,?Ewhose voice is heard but whose origins and destiny are unknown (John 3:5-8).

Since God reveals His inner life in the economy of redemption, these events give us some insight into the inner life of God. The Father, according to Scripture and the creeds, eternally begets the Son; the Son is the ?only-begotten of the Father?E(John 1:14). But if the incarnation reveals the relation of the Father and Son, we can say that the Father eternally begets the Son through the Spirit. The Spirit is the Love by which the Father begets the Son, and the Love through which the Son loves the Father. Since the Father is the Father only because He has a Son, we might even say that the Spirit through whom the Father begets the Son makes the Father the Father, even as, being the agent of begetting, He makes the Son the Son.

SO WHAT?
What does it matter? We can answer that question by noting the similarity between this Trinitarian pattern (the Father begets the Son through the Spirit) and the pattern of our redemption. Paul frequently teaches that we have received the Spirit so that we can be conformed to Christ the Son. Through Jesus, God has delivered us from the flesh and from death, to live in the Spirit (Romans 8:9). The Father raised us through the Spirit to a new life (Romans 7:6; 1 Thessalonians 4:7-8). The Spirit is the ?spirit of Sonship?Ethat enables us to join in Jesus?Eaddress to His ?Abba?Eand conforms us to the life of the Son (Galatians 4:4-8). Through the Spirit, we are made sons, and if sons, then heirs. Through the Spirit, we are brought into the Triune community as sons, or, to change the image, as the bride of the Son.

In short, the order of the Trinity is revealed not only in the interrelations of the Persons, but in our redemption. The Father who eternally begot the Son through the Spirit now begets sons from sinners through the same Spirit. The incarnation is the presupposition and revelation of this pattern of redemption, and it shows that our salvation is not accidental or arbitrary, but is rooted in the very life of the Triune fellowship.

Bible - NT - Luke: Jesus and Postmodernism

Jesus predicted the rise of postmodernism. In Luke 21:27, He says that after the tribulation there will be “distress of nations, with APORIA.” Derrida didn’t catch Jesus by surprise. Nossir. But this does put dispensational premils at a disadvantage, since it implies that Derrida’s parousia (or, better, non-parousia) is a sign that the tribulation has already happened.

Bible - NT - Luke: Herod and Pilate

As a student, Erin Linton, pointed out to me, Herod and Pilate are typical pagan enemies: Their enmity is skin deep, and liable to change to alliance and friendship when it is to their advantage. When faced with a scapegoat, the mimetic rivals become friends. (Just so, the windy plains of Troy are spotted with small reunions: Greek and Trojan fight without resolution, and decide to exchange gifts and become friends.) Meanwhile, the Jews’ implacable hatred for Jesus and Jesus’ enmity with Satan move toward the cross. Christian enmity is far deeper and more permanent than the enmity of classical antiquity.

Bible - NT - Luke: Cool Stuff in Luke

Victor M. Wilson’s book, Divine Symmetries, studies literary and numerological patterns in the Bible. He has a chapter on Luke-Acts, and includes some fairly standard material about the structural parallels between the two books, but draws some interesting conclusions. Here is a reproduction of his page summarizing the parallel plot of Luke and Acts:

Luke Introduction and Preparation Acts

1:1-4 preface, with dedication to Theophilus 1:1-5
1:5-3:21 time of preparation 1:6-26
3:22 baptism with HS 2:1-4
4:16-30 inaugural sermon 2:14-40

Local Ministry

4:31-8:56 Galilee/Jerusalem 2:41-8:3
5:17-25 Lame man healed 3:1-10
5:29-6:11 conflicts with leaders 4:1-8:3
9:9 martyr: John and Stephen 7:54-8:1
7:1-10 centurion sends for Jesus/apostle 10:1-48
7:11-17 widow?s son and resurrection 9:36-43

Journey

9:51-53 resolve to journey to Jerusalem 19:21
9:51-19:27 missionary journey 13:1
9:31, 51; 12:50 passion journey 20:3, 22-24
9:45; 18:34 friends and disciples 21:4, 12-13
13:22 ready to die in Jerusalem 21:13

Jerusalem, Arrest, Trial
19:37 joyously received in Jerusalem 21:17-21
19:45-48 visit to the temple 21:26
20:27-39 dispute re resurrection 23:6-9
22:14-38 farewell address 20:17-38
22:14-20 last meal 27:33-38
22:47-54 seizure by a mob 21:30
22:63-64 slap before high priest 23:2
22-23 four trials bfore 3 courts 24-26
23:4, 14, 22 declarations of innocence 23:9; 25:25; 26:31
23:6-12 sent to Herod for questioning 25:13-26:32
23:16, 22 opportunity for release 26:32
23:18 ?away with this man?E 21:36
23:47 centurion with a favorable opinion 27:3, 43
24 fulfillment of Scripture 28
24:46-49 to nations/Gentiles 28:28

The most interesting thing that Wilson makes of this structure comes out in his interpretation of the shipwreck in Acts 27. He raises the question that many commentators on Acts have raised: Why does the book end before Paul’s trial and death, when the whole narrative trajectory is leading in that direction? He suggests that the shipwreck of Paul, parallel to the passion of Jesus, is in fact a death and resurrection experience, a Jonah experience. Paul “dies” in the water (Rom 6) and is raised up to eat a meal on the shore of Malta on the next day. As Wilson says, ?With this interpretation, for which the text offers some intriguing support, the troublesome ending of Acts is stripped of many of the problems that have plagued it. The parallel events of Luke?s Gospel and Acts and the interpretation thus laid upon the storm scene tell us that Paul?s ?death?Ehas already passed. The early morning gathering on the Maltese shore has the feel of a resurrection morning. The old has passed away; the new has come.?E

Another section of this chapter provides a chiastic outline of the Lukan journey narrative, chapters 9-19.

Structure of Luke?s Journey Narrative

A. 9:51-56: Departure/rejection
B. 9:57-10:24: following Jesus
C. 10:25-42: way to eternal life
D. 11:1-13: Prayer
E. 11:14-28: Signs of kingdom
F. 11:29-36: faith among foreigners
G. 11:37-12:3: stumbling blocks
H. 12:4-34: True riches, the Spirit
I. 12:35-39: Master returns
J. 13:1-9: cost of discipleship
K. 13:10-30: exiled home
L. 13:31-35: Jerusalem, Jerusalem
K?E 14:1-24: exiled home
J?E 14:25-35: cost of discipleship
I?E 15:1-32: Lost returned
H?E 16:1-31: false riches
G?E 17:1-10: stumbling blocks
F?E 17:11-19: faith among foreigners
E?E 17:20-37: signs of kingdom
D?E 18:1-14: Prayer
C?E 18:15-34: way to eternal life
B’. 18:35-19:27: following Jesus
A?E 19:28-40: arrival and acceptance

Bible - NT - Luke: Sermon Outline, April 11

The Word, the Bread, and the Nations, Luke 24:1-53

INTRODUCTION
Jesus was condemned to death, but throughout Luke?s account various people declare that Jesus is innocent. Seven times, someone states that he is righteous or treats Him as not guilty (Luke 23:4, 14, 15, 22, 41, 47, 51). On the day after the Sabbath, the first day of the week, the ?eighth day,?EJesus receives an eighth verdict, the most important of all: God the Father declares Jesus ?righteous?Eby raising Him from the dead.

THE TEXT
?Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. . . .?E(Luke 24:1-53).

HE IS RISEN
Easter is a surprise. It was a surprise for the first witnesses to the resurrection, but not because they thought resurrections were impossible. Jews were hoping for resurrection, which would mean the full restoration of Israel. At the resurrection, all Israel from every time would be joined in fellowship: Abraham would sit with Nehemiah at table, a happy Jeremiah would be chatting with Noah in another corner of the room, while David and Ehud would be laughing over war stories. What was surprising for the women who came to the tomb was the fact that resurrection had already happened. They did not understand that the resurrection would come in two stages ?Efirst the head, and then the body. They were surprised that one Man would be raised, while everything else remained the same and everyone else stayed in their tombs.

Many modern Christians speak the language of resurrection, but don?t believe that Jesus?Ebody was actually raised. ?The resurrection was not a conjuring trick with bones,?Esaid a former Anglican Bishop of Durham. But Luke is at pains to show that Jesus?Ebody was raised. The women do not find a body in the tomb (v. 3), and later Jesus eats broiled fish with His disciples to demonstrate that He is not a spirit (vv. 38-42). Jesus is transformed, for sure; He has a body that is equally at home in heaven and on earth. But He has a body, and it is, in an important way, the same body that died on the cross (v. 40). Luke shows that the Christian hope is not ?life after death.?E The Christian hope is ?life after life after death.?E

ROAD TO EMMAEUS
The bulk of Luke?s resurrection story is taken up with Jesus?Eappearance to two disciples who are fleeing from Jerusalem toward Emmaus. In this story, Luke shows us some fundamental aspects of the life of the early church.

They seem to have good reason to flee. Not uncommonly, the Romans suppressed troublesome movements by slaughtering both the leader and all the followers. Then Jesus joins them. When He asks them about their conversation, they explain that their expectations about Jesus have been destroyed. He was a great prophet, and they were hoping that Jesus was in fact the greater Moses, the promised prophet who would redeem Israel in a new exodus (vv. 18-21; Deuteronomy 18:17-19). In response to their puzzlement, Jesus leads a Bible study, explaining the things concerning Himself in the Scriptures (vv. 26-27). This incident dramatically illustrates how important the Old Testament is for Christians, and how important it is to understand the Old Testament typologically. The two disciples know the entire story of Jesus, His miraculous life, His crucifixion, even His resurrection (vv. 18-24), but they know nothing until they see that these events form the climax to the story of the Old Testament. Is it any wonder that the contemporary church, with its colossal ignorance of the Old Testament, is as confused as the two disciples? We must see Jesus?Erebuke addressed to us: ?O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!?E(v. 25). Typological interpretation may seem quaint or even pointless; in fact, it is essential to the well-being of the church because it is essential if we are to know Jesus.

But Word by itself is not enough. Even after Jesus has explained everything about Himself in the Scriptures, the two disciples still don?t recognize Him. That occurs only when He breaks bread with them (vv. 30-31). It is the same for the church throughout the ages: The Word without the Bread is merely intellectual, detached from the things of real life; the Bread without the Word turns into a magic act. When the Scriptures are taught and the Bread is broken, then Jesus can be known.

Once the disciples recognize Jesus at the table, they immediately return to Jerusalem. They had been fleeing from danger; now they return to danger. They had been confused about the reports of the women; now they become witnesses of the resurrection. Their encounter with Jesus in Word and Bread equips them for mission.

ASCENDING TO THE FATHER
Luke describes Jesus?Ejourney toward Jerusalem as an ?ascension?E(9:51), since the ultimate goal of the journey is for Jesus to return to His Father (24:50-51). His ascension is the prerequisite for the coming of the Spirit, the ?power from on high?E(24:49). Through the Spirit, the disciples will carry on the mission that had been prophesied in the Scriptures, to proclaim ?repentance for forgiveness of sins?Eto the nations (v. 47).

?Repentance?Eis of course a personal obligation. Every sinner, confronted by the claims of Jesus, must turn from sin and unbelief toward God in faith and obedience. But we should not lose the political dimension of what Jesus says. Through Jesus, God is fulfilling the promise to Abraham that his seed would bring blessing to all nations. And part of that blessing is the proclamation of national and international repentance and reconciliation. In a world where nations are locked in seemingly interminable conflict, the only hope is through their union in Christ.

As the Church knows the Jesus the Risen Lord in the Word and Bread, she is prepared for the mission of preaching repentance and forgiveness of sins to the nations.

CLOSING THE CIRCLE
Luke?s gospel is a large circle. It begins in the temple, with the angel?s announcement to Zecharias that he would be the father of John the Baptist, and it ends in the temple, with the disciples of Jesus continually praising God. The gospel begins with the songs of Mary and Zecharias, and ends with the great joy of the disciples. Near the beginning of the gospel, Jesus is lost for three days and is found by his parents; he explains by saying ?Did you not know that I had to be in My Father?s house??E(2:49). Here at the end Jesus is found on the third day, and has to explain again that He had to be about His Father?s business.

But the circle that Luke closes here is actually much bigger. At the beginning of human history, man fell into sin by eating fruit from a forbidden tree. Once Adam and Eve had eaten the fruit, ?the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked?E(Genesis 3:7). Luke gives us a similar scene: Jesus breaks bread with the two disciples ?and their eyes were opened and they recognized Him?E(Luke 24:31). It is the first day of a new creation, a renewal accomplished in the resurrection of Jesus. On the first Easter, the Father not only says ?This is My Son, the Righteous One.?E He also declares, ?Behold I make all things new.?E

Bible - NT - Luke: Resurrection and Mission

Robert C. Tannehill points out that the resurrection narrative in Luke 24 has a generally chiastic structure. First, there is an inclusio with the idea of “return” (23:56; 24:52), and the emphasis on the fact that Jesus’ disciples are observant Jews (23:56b; 24:53). Second, within that, there is a chiastic structure:

A. Angels announce that Jesus is risen
B. Jesus instructs the two disciples on the road to Emmaeus
C. Jesus breaks bread with the two disciples
D. The disciples return to Jerusalem and announce that Jesus is risen
C’. Jesus eats a meal with the 11
B’. Jesus instructs the 11
A’. Jesus departs from the 11

This is a classic case of what John Breck calls a rhetorical helix. The chiasm is not so much a “balanced” structure, as a dynamic one, with an important turning point at the center. Note especially the DIFFERENCE between Jesus’ instruction to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus and His teaching of the 11: The first time, He explains that the OT teaches about Christ’s suffering and glory; the second period of instruction has added a key feature: “repentance for release of sins should be procalimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” These two additional points (mission to the nations; Jerusalem’s centrality) are the key themes of the central D section of the passage: The two disciples return to Jerusalem, and they become witnesses of the things they have seen (cf. v 48). The text moves from B to B’ by collecting the thematic content of the D section.

Practically, of course, the point of the structure is to highlight the mission that the disciples are being given. Through an encounter with the Risen Jesus in Word and Meal, the two disciples go back to the base of operations in Jerusalem and are transformed into witnesses.

Bible - NT - Luke: Acceptance and Apocalypse

As I’ve suggested in several recent posts, the turning point of Luke’s crucifixion narrative is the “conversion” of the criminal on the cross, and Jesus’ acceptance of Him into His kingdom. Jews and Romans had joined in mockery of Jesus’ claims to be “savior” and “king,” but the criminal entrusts himself to Jesus for his salvation and Jesus promises to bring him into His “kingdom,” His royal “Paradise.”

In Luke’s account, this exchange is immediately followed by a description of the darkening of the sky, the eclipse of the sun, and the rending of the temple veil. Within Luke 23, these events surrounding the crucifixion are structurally parallel to Jesus’ warning to the women about the coming destruction of the city, and thus have an “apocalyptic” character to them; darkness and the rending of the veil are proleptic signs of the coming destruction. And these occur after Jesus has accepted the criminal into His kingdom.

How are we to understand this sequence? Here are some possibilities: 1) Jesus’ acceptance of the criminal foreshadows the open acceptance of Gentiles and other “outcasts” into the church, and that is a prelude to the destruction of the temple. 2) When Jesus accepts the criminal, the temple is somehow rendered redundant or unusable. 3) Jesus’ acceptance of the criminal is a sign against the Jews, who have refused to accept the outcasts that Jesus has been dining with throughout His life. Thus, it is followed by signs of the doom of Israel. 4) Jesus’ acceptance of the criminal is a kind of “provocation to jealousy” of the Jews and Romans.

I’m sure there are other, more plausible explanations.

Bible - NT - Luke: Exhortation, April 4

This is repetitive, but here goes:

Luke?s account of Jesus?Ecrucifixion ends on a note of triumph. After Jesus breathes His last breath, the Roman centurion confesses that Jesus was ?righteous?Eand begins to praise God. The crowds of people who had come out for the spectacle go home beating their breasts in repentance. And suddenly a man emerges from the faceless mass of the Jewish Sanhedrin, is given a name, Joseph, and is ensuring that Jesus?Ebody is honorably buried. Jesus is no sooner dead than Gentiles and Jews are acknowledging Jesus as Savior.

Though not everyone changes their attitude toward Jesus, the shift is remarkable and profound. During Jesus?Ecrucifixion, the Jewish rulers, apparently operating as a homogenous unit, were mocking Jesus, and the Roman soldiers had done the same. Even one of the criminals dying with Jesus joined in on the fun, asking Jesus with thick sarcasm to save himself ?and us.?E In Luke, the story of the cross moves from mockery to praise, from scoffing to honor, from rejection to acceptance.

What has happened? Why does everyone suddenly begin to confess Jesus? Why does at least one Roman begin to praise God for Jesus? What changes the crowd?s mockery to penitence? How does it happen that one of the Sanhedrin offers his tomb to Jesus? The passage highlights two things in particular: Jesus?E?martyrdom?Eand Jesus?Ereception of the criminal.

The word ?martyr?Ecomes from a Greek word that originally meant ?witness.?E It is the word Jesus used when He said that everything should be established by ?two or three witnesses?E(Mat 18), and the word the Jewish leaders used when they decided they needed no more witnesses to decide that Jesus was guilty (Mk 14). A witness is one who testifies to the truth of something. But when a witness becomes a martyr, he does not stop being a witness. Martyrs are martyrs in order to testify. For a martyr, testimony is not so much in word as in action. Jesus is silent before the scoffers, and speaks only to ask forgiveness for the ones who murder Him and to reassure the repentant thief that he is forgiven and will enter the Paradise of God. Jesus doesn?t ?evangelize?Ethe Roman centurion; His patient endurance, His martyrdom, is an act of witness, and an effective one.

And so it is today. When arguments fail and reason can?t make a dent, how can we get through to unbelievers? How can we penetrate their defenses? Not with a better argument; not even with more reliable testimony, as important as that is. The evangelism and witness that Jesus leaves us is always martyrdom. It always means giving ourselves in service, pouring out our lives for Jesus and for one another: When we do that, we can expect the Gentiles to praise God.

The other thing that turns mockery to praise occurs in Jesus?Eexchange with the second criminal. Up to that point, everyone is mocking and rejecting Jesus. But then the second criminal begins to speak, rebukes the first criminal, defends Jesus?Einnocence, and appeals to Jesus for salvation. And Jesus receives him, and promises him a place in his kingdom.

Jesus?Ereception of an outcast into His paradise, His kingdom, begins to undo the opposition. Jesus reception of the criminal, and the confession of the Gentile centurion are ?provocations to jealousy?Eof the Jews and their rulers. Jesus?Ereception of the criminal replicate His actions in the whole course of His ministry: He has been receiving outcasts and Gentiles from the beginning, while the Jews have been slow to receive Him.

The pattern holds for the church as well. What undoes opposition to the gospel is not apologetics, political activism, or good organization. Mockery turns to martyrdom when the church embraces the outcast.

Bible - NT - Luke: Another Chiasm in Luke 23

There is another chiastic pattern running in Luke’s account of the crucifixion. If we focus attention on the people mocking Jesus, we have this pattern:

Jewish rulers (v 35)
Roman soldiers (vv 36-37)
Criminal (v 39)

But when the second criminal addresses Jesus, things begin to reverse and unravel. Someone in each of the three categories that hurled mockery at Jesus now confesses Jesus in some fashion:

Criminal (vv 40-43)
Centurion (v 47)
Jewish ruler ?EJoseph of Arimethea (vv 50-53).

Jesus reception of an outcast into His paradise, His kingdom, begins to undo the opposition. Then the sequence of confession is: Gentile, Jewish crowds, Jewish ruler. Jesus reception of the criminal, and the confession of the Gentile centurion are “provocations to jealousy” of the Jews and their rulers. Moreover, Jesus’ actions on the cross exactly replicate His actions in the whole course of His ministry: He has been receiving outcasts and Gentiles from the beginning, while the Jews have been slow to receive Him. This will continue into the book of Acts.

Rich Bledsoe, pastor of Tree of Life Presbyterian Church in Boulder, Colorado, would say that the pattern holds for the church as well. What begins to unravel opposition to the gospel is not apologetics, political activism, or good organization. Mockers within and outside the covenant are turned inside out when the church embraces the outcast.

Bible - NT - Luke: Chiasm of Luke’s Crucifixion Account

Luke’s account of the crucifixion is organized in a neatly chiastic form:

A. Simon of Cyrene carries Jesus’ cross, 23:26
B. Women follow Jesus, beating their breasts, 23:27-31
C. Criminals crucified with Jesus, 23:32-33
D. Jesus forgives mockery and abuse, 23:34-38
C’. One criminal mocks Jesus, the other believes, 23:39-43
B’. Events of Jesus’ death lead crowd to beat their breasts; women stand at a distance, 23:44-49
A’. Joseph of Arimethea puts Jesus in his own tomb, 23:50-56

Several things emerge from the parallels here. First, the whole scene is framed by brief views of two men who do not go along with the people who have agreed to put Jesus to death. Simon and Joseph are both from outside Jerusalem, and both display a remarkable degree of devotion to Jesus. Simon’s devotion is more symbolic than intentional; there is no sign that he’s a real disciple, but he’s the only one in the book of Luke who actually does what Jesus exhorts His disciples to do ?Etaking up the cross. Joseph is a pious Jew, like Elizabeth, Zecharias, Simeon, and Anna in the “infancy narratives,” one who is waiting for the kingdom and apparently associates Jesus with the coming of the kingdom.

Second, the B sections help to frame the account with references to people mourning over what is happening to Jesus. The women’s mourning in vv 27-31 foreshadows the mourning of the people after the death of Jesus, and both together forshadow the great act of repentance at Pentecost in Acts 2. The parallel between Jesus’ warning about the coming destruction of the city (v 29) and the circumstances surrounding the crucifixion (vv 44ff) suggest that the darkness and veil-rending at the time of the crucifixion is a foreshadowing of AD 70, or that the death of Jesus is in fact the destruction of the true temple -
“destroy this temple.”

Finally, the center of the whole passage focuses on Jesus’ forgiveness and the mockery of Jesus by the Jews and Romans. Intriguingly, Jesus extends forgiveness for “what they do” before we KNOW “what they do.” The mockery is recorded after the forgiveness. This sets the mockery in the context of a kind of pre-emptive divine forgiveness. Within the context of the whole passage, the forgiveness points to two things: first, a delay in the final destruction of the city (the B sections) and, second, the reality of a remnant of faithful Jews (the A sections). These are the results of the forgiveness extended by Jesus, results that become more evident in Acts.

Bible - NT - Luke: Sermon Outline, April 4

Luke 23:26-56

INTRODUCTION
When Christians think of Jesus?Ecrucifixion, we often focus attention on the intense physical suffering that Jesus endured. There is no doubt that He was in anguish. During crucifixion, the victim would have his body torn with nails and his limbs stretched and contorted, as he slowly suffocated. But the text of Scripture pays very little attention to the physical pain of the cross. Luke in particular draws our attention to Jesus?Ewords, the mockery of the Jewish leaders, and the effects of Jesus?Edeath.

THE TEXT
?Now as they led Him away, they laid hold of a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, who was coming from the country, and on him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus?E(Luke 23:26-56).

JUDGMENT TO COME
As Jesus is lead away to the place of crucifixion, the Romans enlist Simon of Cyrene to carry His cross. This reenacts a scene that has occurred frequently in the gospel: People following behind Jesus. It is a picture of discipleship. Finally, someone does what Jesus has told all His disciples to do. This hitherto unknown man has become a model disciple, one who has ?taken up his cross?Eand ?followed Jesus?E(Luke 9:23).

Women have played a very prominent role in Luke?s gospel. As Jesus goes to the cross, the women are still with Him (cf. 8:1-3), wailing and beating their breasts. In response, Jesus reiterates the prophecy of doom he has been preaching throughout His ministry. He addresses the women as ?Daughters of Jerusalem,?Ea phrase that is reminiscent of the prophets?Edescription of ?Daughter Jerusalem?Eand ?Daughter Zion?E(e.g., Micah 1:13). Daughter Jerusalem will one day have greater reason to mourn, when Roman armies come to destroy the city that destroyed Jesus. In that day, everything will be turned upside down: Barren women, usually considered cursed, will be considered blessed because they don?t have to see their children slaughtered (v. 29). The inhabitants of Jerusalem will long to be buried alive (v. 30; cf. Hosea 10:8; Revelation 6:16). Jesus is a green tree. He is not a revolutionary, and it takes a great deal of doing to start a fire with Him. But the Jews produce lots of tinder, and eventually they will go up in flames.

For the time being, though, Israel?s sin in killing Jesus is forgiven. Jesus asks His Father to forgive them because of their ignorance (Luke 23:34), and the apostles repeat this assessment (Acts 3:17). When the Jews turn against the church, however, their sin is not forgiven; blasphemy against the Son of Man is forgiven, but not blasphemy of the Spirit who inhabits the church.

ISRAEL DIVIDED
Luke?s account of the crucifixion highlights the continuing mockery on the part of the Jewish leaders and Roman soldiers. They mock Him for His inability to save Himself (v. 35). The Romans sneer at Jesus?Eroyal claims. If He is a king, he should be able to save Himself (v. 37). Like servants at a king?s table, they pretend to be cup-bearers, but offer Jesus the sour wine of the poor rather than the sweet wine of kings (v. 36). Pilate puts an inscription over His head, like a royal banner (v. 38). Pilate surely means it as mockery, and perhaps also as a warning to anyone who might want to become king of the Jews in the future. Meanwhile, the people ?stood by, looking on?E(v. 35). Though the Jewish leaders had been able to stir them up to seek Jesus?Edeath (23:13), they are no longer active participants, but only observers.

The division within Israel is neatly symbolized by the response of the two criminals who are crucified with Jesus. One joins in the mockery, repeating the Jewish leaders?Ecomplaint that Jesus has done nothing to save Himself (v. 39). The other, however, recognizes his own guilt and Jesus?Einnocence (v. 41). Jesus promises that this repentant criminal will join Jesus in ?Paradise,?Ea word that normally refers to Eden (cf. Revelation 2:7; Septuagint of Genesis 13:10; Number 24:6) and which could be applied to restored Israel (cf. Septuagint of Isaiah 51:3; Ezekiel 31:8-9). The Jewish leaders who reject Jesus have no place in the restored people of God; but criminals who confess and seek the mercy of Jesus enter the Kingdom.

THE EFFECTS OF JESUS?EDEATH
Jesus had predicted during the last days of His life that there would soon be great signs and disturbances in the heavens (21:25-26). In anticipation of that, an eclipse blocks the sun during three hours of His crucifixion (23:44-45). Already, Israel?s lights are going out. Further, as Jesus dies at the ninth hour (3 PM), the veil of the temple is torn, just at the time of the afternoon/evening sacrifice. The destruction of the temple has already begun, and the temple has been rendered redundant by the final sacrifice.

In quick succession, Luke shows us four vignettes of the effects of Jesus?Edeath. First, the centurion, following Pilate?s lead, declares Jesus ?righteous,?Eand glorifies God (v. 47). Though the Jewish leaders don?t respond in praise for Jesus, Gentiles do. Second, the crowd, having seen the spectacle of Jesus?Edeath, goes home repentant. They ?turn back?Efrom their earlier hostility to Jesus, and ?beat their breasts?Elike the publican in Jesus?Eparable. These same people will later be baptized at Pentecost, so that many in Israel too are saved by the Messiah who did not save Himself. Third, the women who have been following Jesus continue to stay close, and act as witnesses of all that had happened, as well as preparing Jesus for burial. Finally, even a member of the Sanhedrin, Joseph of Arimethea, shows his devotion to Jesus by offering his tomb.

Catechism for Little Saints

What does Simon of Cyrene teach us?
That Jesus?Edisciples must take up their crosses and follow Jesus.

What did the Jews and Romans do while Jesus died on the cross?
They mocked Him.

What happened when Jesus died?
Many of the people were sorry for their sins, the veil of the temple was torn, and some Gentiles believed in Jesus.

For Further Study

1.When Jesus warns the women of the coming destruction of Jerusalem, he quotes from Hosea 10:8. How does this prophecy of Hosea shed light on the situation of Jerusalem?

2. Read Luke 23:37 and Luke 4:3, 9. Are they similar? What does this tell you?

Bible - NT - Luke: Ironies of Jesus’ Trial

Some thoughts inspired by Joel Green’s commentary on Luke 22-23:

Luke stuffs his account of Jesus’ trials with understated ironies. The soldiers mock Jesus’ prophetic claims by blindfolding and beating Him; but this is just what Jesus said was going to happen to Him. Jesus tells the Jewish leaders that they won’t believe He’s the Christ even if he tells them, and when He tells them ?Esurprise! ?Ethey don’t believe Him. They hear Jesus condemn Himself from His own mouth; but they have condemned themselves, because their unbelief confirms that Jesus is the Christ, since it is necessary for the Christ to suffer and enter into His glory.

The ironies continue in the trial before Pilate. The Jews accuse Jesus of stirring up the people, and to make sure their point sticks they stir up the people into a riotous frenzy that pushes Pilate over the edge. They claim that Jesus threatens to cause insurrection, but they accept Barabbas, a convicted revolutionary, back into their community.

Herod’s actions are similarly ironic. He mocks Jesus, as the Jews and Pilate have done, and adds one key element: He “dressed Him in a gorgeous robe and sent Him back to Pilate” (23:11). The “brilliant” robe (sometimes a textual variant is accepted that makes the translation “robes of light”) reminds us of the flashing robes of Jesus at the mount of transfiguration. The transfiguration is a proleptic revelation of the future glory of the Son of Man, and Jesus has just told the Sanhedrin that He will one day come into that glory. Herod confirms Jesus’ prediction, giving Him the robe of exaltation in the midst of His humiliation.

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