The Uniqueness of Jesus' Death on the Cross

Do have your Bibles open at Luke chapter 23, and we're going to look at these few verses that Abi read to us just a few moments ago. I read something this week that I didn't know, and it's that the Persians crucified people. They crucified quite a number of people, and the Romans saw what they did and perfected the practice. From ancient literary sources, we know that tens of thousands of people were crucified in the Roman Empire. In Palestine, the figure ran to thousands. Of course, here in Luke 23, we read about two criminals crucified either side of the Lord Jesus, and church tradition tells us that the Apostle Peter was crucified upside down, and the reason he wanted to be crucified upside down was because he didn't consider himself worthy to be crucified in exactly the same way as the Lord Jesus. Whether that's true or not, I can't say. But even today, in countries such as Saudi Arabia and Yemen, there are rare cases of people being crucified for severe crimes, more so in Saudi Arabia than in Yemen.

And the point I'm making is this, that there is nothing unusual about crucifixion. Yet the death of Jesus Christ on the cross was unique. His death was like none other, and the events that took place at the time of Jesus' crucifixion emphasised this. The ground shook and split. There was an earthquake. Darkness covered the land for three hours. In the early afternoon, tombs broke open. People were raised to life, and they appeared to many in the holy city of Jerusalem.

The great curtain in the temple tore in two. And it was as if God was telling the world that Jesus' death on the cross was an event like none other. There are three things in these verses that we're looking at this morning that emphasise the uniqueness of Jesus' death on the cross, and I want us to focus on them. So three things.

Firstly, the darkness which covered the whole land. Secondly, the tearing of the temple curtain.

And thirdly, the final words of Jesus before he died. Firstly, the darkness which covered the whole land.

Jesus was nailed to his cross at nine o'clock in the morning. At noon, that is at 12 p. m., darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. Verse 44 tells us that the sun stopped shining.

And as you can imagine, there has been over the centuries lots of conjecture as to what caused this. Well, we can quickly dismiss any notion of it being an eclipse of the sun.

This was the time of the Passover, which meant there would have been a full moon, and I'm told that it is impossible for there to be an eclipse of the sun when there is a full moon. Some have suggested a Sirocco storm from the desert, but I'm told that these are generally not known to cause darkness.

Others have suggested a thunderstorm, but Luke tells us, doesn't he, that the darkness lasted for three hours, and thunderstorms don't tend to last for that long. Moreover, they tend to be localised, and Luke tells us that the darkness covered the whole land. I think we would do well not to speculate. I also think we would do well to say that this, whatever it was, was something brought about by almighty God to emphasise something important. You see, this darkness said something. So what did the darkness speak of?

I think the answer is this, the judgment of God. In the Bible, you see, darkness is often a symbol of judgment. For example, in the book of Exodus, we read about the judgments that came upon the land of Egypt at the time of Moses, and one of those judgments was. So what did the darkness speak of?

I think the answer is this, the judgment of God. In the Bible, you see, darkness is often a symbol of judgment. For example, in the book of Exodus, we read about the judgments that came upon the land of Egypt at the time of Moses, and one of those judgments was darkness. Interestingly, this judgment came upon the land immediately prior to the death of the firstborn sons and the sacrificing of the Passover lamb. That's something I think that we might want to talk about after the sermon or the service this morning. So what is happening?

What is happening is this, that God is judging Jesus. His wrath is being poured out upon Him. And someone might say, well, how come?

Because in this gospel, we have so clearly seen that Jesus was innocent of all the charges that were brought against Him. Elsewhere in the Scriptures, we're taught, aren't we, that Jesus lived a sinless life. So why is He being judged by God?

For the simple reason that the sins of His people have been laid on Him. Isaiah puts it this way, we all like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity, the sin of us all. I think the Old Testament provides us with a helpful illustration. On the Day of Atonement, the high priest went and put both his hands on what was called the scapegoat. And that symbolised the transferring of Israel's guilt or Israel's sin onto the scapegoat. In 2 Corinthians 5, in verse 21, Paul puts it this way, God made Him, that is Jesus, who had no sin to be sin for us.

On the cross, Jesus became sin and bore the penalty for the sin of all His people. But actually, we probably need to go on and say a little bit more.

I don't want to simply quote part of 2 Corinthians 5, in verse 21, let me read on. God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. In life and in death, Jesus earned a righteousness, which He imputes, which He lays on or gives to all those who repent and believe. So there is this double transaction when we repent and believe.

God counts all our sins as having been laid on Jesus and the price paid for them in full, and He counts Jesus' perfect obedience, His righteousness, as ours, as belonging to us. So we can stand before God, pure, holy, righteous.

And I would say to all of you this morning, please learn to know Christ and Him crucified. Learn to sing to Him and say, Lord Jesus, You are my righteousness, I am Your sin. You have taken upon Yourself what is mine and given me what is Yours. You have become what You were not so that I might become what I was not. What an event. Darkness came over the whole land for three hours, symbolising the fact that Jesus was paying the price for His people's sin upon the cross. But secondly this morning, the tearing of the temple curtain.

Look at verse 45. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Matthew in his gospel account tells us that this happened in conjunction with Jesus dying on the cross. Let me read to you what it says in Matthew 27, verses 51 and 52.

And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, He gave up His spirit. At that moment, at that moment, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. Now we do need to ask the question, what curtain is being referred to?

You see, in the temple there was an inner curtain and there was an outer curtain. Now there was an outer curtain that separated the holy place from the rest of the temple, the courtyard and so on.

Then there was an inner curtain which separated the holy place from the most holy place. Sometimes it's referred to as the holy.

You see in the temple there was an inner curtain and there was an outer curtain. There was an outer curtain that separated the holy place from the rest of the temple, the courtyard and so on. Then there was an inner curtain which separated the holy place from the most holy place. Sometimes it's referred to as the holy of holies.

I think it's most natural to think that reference is being made to the inner curtain. That is the curtain that separated the most holy place where God was said to dwell amongst his people in his Shekinah glory and the holy place where the priests performed their duties on behalf of the people before the Lord. Now this curtain was impressive, very impressive.

I'm told that it was about four inches thick, definitely thicker than the curtains that we have at home and that it was made of fine linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn with cherubim embroidered on it. You see these cherubim, they guarded the way into God's presence. You may remember that Adam and Eve, because they sinned in the garden, were put out of the garden and cherubim blocked their way. These cherubim guarded entrance into paradise where God's presence could be known and enjoyed. Now Matthew and Mark tell us that the curtain was torn not from bottom to top but from top to bottom.

If the tearing had been done by a human being then it would surely have been torn from bottom to top. But no, it was torn from top to bottom, which suggests, does it not, that it was God who tore the curtain from heaven.

I was talking a little bit about this last Sunday evening, but I would love to have seen the reaction of the priests serving in the temple on this particular day. You see, no one ever went beyond the inner curtain other than the high priest. And even he only entered once a year on the Day of Atonement, and before he entered the most holy place he would have gone through various rituals and made atonement for himself, and as he went beyond that curtain he would have done so with fear and trembling. You see, God is a consuming fire, but no sinner can stand in God's holy presence. I'm told that they used to tie a rope to the high priest so that if he died in the most holy place they could pull him out without having to enter themselves. What a fearful thing, you see, to enter into the presence of Almighty God. I imagine the priests, I could be wrong, this is only me just sort of surmising, but I imagine the priests when they saw the curtain tearing in two, rushing out of the temple and perhaps even diving through the outer curtain in order to escape for their lives. This tearing of the curtain symbolised something really important.

It symbolised that Jesus by his death had opened up the way into the very presence of Almighty God. That he had done so for all, both Jew and Greeks, who would repent of their sin and trust in Jesus as their Savior. You know, the writer of Hebrews explains the significance of the tearing of the curtain so well when he writes, Hebrews 10 verses 19 to 21, Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence, some translations use the word boldness, therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence or boldness to enter the most holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened up for us through the curtain, that is his body, and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God. Jesus Christ on the cross opened the door, as it were, so that all who trust in him might enjoy company, the fellowship of Almighty God. We can enjoy God's presence now by faith and like the thief on the cross, we can go to paradise when we die. Jesus' death on the cross truly was a unique. But thirdly and lastly this morning I want us to focus on the final words of Jesus before he died.

Look at verse 46. Jesus called out with a loud voice, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. And when he had said this he breathed his last. First of all I want us to take note of the fact that Jesus cried out in a loud voice. Normally people when they died on the cross were exhausted and they kind of slumped to their deaths. But here we find Jesus, tired, exhausted, no doubt, cried out in a loud voice, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.

And it seems that his words were full of confidence as opposed to despair. Why do I say this? Well because Jesus was praying the words of Psalm 31 and verse 5.

It was King David who first prayed these words. Let me read to you exactly what David prayed.

Into your hands I commit my spirit. Deliver me, Lord, my faithful God. David prayed this prayer many years before Jesus came into the world as a righteous sufferer. And as he prayed this prayer, his hope was that God would be faithful to him and deliver him from his enemies. Jesus too prayed these words as a righteous sufferer. And he prayed them confident that God would deliver him from his great enemy, namely death, and gloriously resurrect his body unto life everlasting. And Christian friends, those of us who believe on the Lord Jesus, I want to say that when we find ourselves on our deathbed, we too can pray such a confident prayer. You know the reality of life is that every single one of us is going to die sometime or another, unless of course Jesus comes before then.

But how wonderful it will be to confidently entrust ourselves to God's care. Confident that one day when Jesus returns he will raise our lowly bodies so that they become like his glorious body, reunite them with our souls so that we might dwell with him forever in a renewed universe. In one of his lighter moments, Benjamin Franklin penned his own epitaph. He didn't profess to be a born again Christian, but it seems he must have been influenced by Paul's teaching of the resurrection of the body. Here's what he wrote. The body of B. Franklin, printer-like, the cover of an old book, its contents torn out and stripped of its lettering and gilding, lies here food for the worms. But the work shall not be wholly lost, for it will, as he believed, appear once more in a new and more perfect edition, corrected and amended by the author.

There is care for the soul and there is the resurrection of the body for those who are in Christ Jesus. We can die confidently as Jesus died confidently upon the cross all those years ago. What a unique death Jesus' death was. He died, not despairing, but confident of being delivered from death and being given a gloriously resurrected body. Now, by way of conclusion, what was the reaction to the death of Jesus on the part of those who witnessed it?

In verses 47 to 49 we're given three responses. Let's look briefly at these three responses. Firstly, the response of the Roman centurion.

This man was almost certainly the one in charge of Jesus' crucifixion. I wonder, did he hear his boss, namely Pontius Pilate, declaring Jesus to be innocent of all the charges? It seems to me that it was very likely. I suspect he did. was almost certainly the one in charge of Jesus's crucifixion. I wonder, did he hear his boss, namely Pontius Pilate, declaring Jesus to be innocent of all the charges? It seems to me that it was very likely. I suspect he did. Then at the cross, he heard Jesus praying for the forgiveness of all those involved in crucifying him.

Then he heard Jesus promise paradise to the repentant criminal. And then he heard Jesus commit himself, his spirit, to his father. Is it any wonder, then, that when Jesus breathed his last and died, that this centurion said, verse 47, surely this was a righteous man? In other gospel accounts, we learn that he exclaimed that Jesus was surely the son of God. Now, I don't know whether this man trusted in Jesus and found forgiveness of sins in him, but I do want to say that this man clearly came to an understanding of who Jesus was and is.

I think I can confidently say as well that he became a likely candidate for finding forgiveness in Jesus, and I hope and pray that he did. The second response is that of the people who gathered.

Many of these people were probably among those who shouted, crucify him, crucify him. And what did they do when they see the events that took place at the cross? They beat their breasts and they go away, which suggests that they felt a sense of guilt and shame, for they had played a part in the crucifixion. Of this innocent man, maybe, maybe some of them would be those who cried out on the day of Pentecost, what must I do to be saved and find salvation, find forgiveness in Jesus? And then thirdly, there was the response of those who knew him along with the women who had followed him from Galilee. Here I think we're probably talking about people like the Apostle John and Mary, the mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene and others. What was their response? Well, we don't know, we're not told.

All we're told is that they stood at a distance watching these things. But I suspect that they were sad and confused.

You see, at this time, the death of Jesus, one whom they loved, made no sense to them. If you were to look at Rembrandt's painting of the three crosses, your attention would be drawn first to the centre cross on which Jesus died. Then, as you would look at the crowd gathered around the foot of the cross, you'd be impressed by the various facial expressions and actions of the people involved in the awful crime of crucifying the Son of God. Finally, your eyes would drift to the edge of the painting and catch sight of another figure almost hidden in the shadows.

Art critics say this is a representation of Rembrandt himself, for he recognised that by his sins he helped nail Jesus to the cross. In time, those who knew him and loved him, like Rembrandt many years later, would come to see that by their sins they helped nail him to the cross. And they would forever thank him for dying for their sins. Friends, Jesus' death on the cross was no ordinary death. He died to pay the price for sin and to open wide the door that leads to God, that leads to paradise. And I simply want to finish this morning by asking a question and the question is this, what is your response to Jesus and his death on the cross? What does Jesus and his death mean for you? Let's pray together.

Our loving God and heavenly Father, we thank you for these few words that we've been able to focus our thoughts on this morning. To Jesus and his death on the cross. What does Jesus and his death mean for you? Let's pray together. Our loving God and Heavenly Father, we thank you for these few words that we've been able to focus our thoughts on this morning. The scriptures are so rich. There are so many precious gems for us to take a hold of. And Lord, it seems that your word has sought to impress upon us the uniqueness of the death of Jesus Christ upon the cross.

Help us to understand why he died. Help us to take it in. And help us too to be lost in wonder as we realise that he died in our place so that we might be reconciled to you, a holy God, and enjoy fellowship with you for all eternity. Hear our prayer. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, our last hymn this morning is going to take us to the cross, as you might expect.

Oh, to see the dawn of the darkest day. Christ on the road to Calvary, tried by sinful men, torn and beaten, then nailed to a cross of wood. This, the power of the cross. Christ became sin for us, took the blame, bore the wrath. We stand forgiven at the cross. Let's stand and sing. Christ the King, sin for us, took the blame, bore the wrath. We stand forgiven at the cross.

To see the way, praise the Lord your grace, bearing the awesome weight of sin. Every little thought, every little deed, bowing your blood to the grave. This, the power of the cross. Christ the King, sin for us, took the blame, bore the wrath. We stand forgiven at the cross. To see the key, how the crown be, raised as its maker, now to take. Earth is joys to you, then our ways to rise, finish the day to be done. This, the power of the cross.

Christ the King, sin for us, took the blame, bore the wrath. We stand forgiven at the cross. To see the way, praise the Lord your grace, bearing the awesome weight of sin. My hand free, death is judged today, life is mine today. Born through your selfless love, this the power of the cross. Son of God, sin for us, what a love, what a lost beast and forgiven to lose.

And now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.