ON THE WAY TO AN EXECUTION LUKE 23:26-31

Sixth Midweek Lenten Service April 12, 2000

St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church - Watertown, WI

What a strange procession. Five days before the events that I just read about, the people of Jerusalem were throwing palm branches in front of Jesus as he rode into Jerusalem on a young donkey. Now we are watching a group of people on their way to an execution. People who have been screaming for blood are now getting what they had demanded. Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Palestine, has given in to the demands of the Jewish religious rulers and leaders. He has signed the death warrant for Jesus. From Pilate's court to the place of the skull, Golgotha or Calvary, is about one half mile. This procession is nothing like the welcome that Jesus had received when he entered Jerusalem on Sunday. Now we see a man beaten and abused, being forced to carry his own cross of torture and execution along with two other criminals who are also carrying their crosses. Following them are a group of women who are crying, wailing and weeping for these men who will soon be put to death. As we stand there observing this event we realize that we are ON THE WAY TO AN EXECUTION. As we watch what happens we see I) God Take Care Of Jesus and hear II) Jesus' Great Concern For His People.

GOD TAKES CARE OF JESUS

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me." (Psalm 23:4) If you have ever been at the deathbed of a loved one, you know how helpless you feel. There is nothing you can do but watch and pray. Through the years I have been at the bedsides of a number of our members when the Lord called them from this world to himself in glory. I can still close my eyes and picture almost everyone of them. They make a lasting impression on your mind.

I am sure for those people who saw Jesus being led out to be crucified, this made an impression on them. Here was a man who five days before had ridden into Jerusalem, healthy, vibrant and well. Now we see a man bloody, beaten and exhausted. Jesus has not had any sleep since Wednesday night. It is now early Friday morning. He has been through three trials. He had two trials before the Jewish religious leaders and another trial before the Roman governor, Pilate. He has been beaten, spit upon, scorned and mocked. Finally, he was whipped by the Roman soldiers. This was called the second death. The soldiers used a whip that had either bones or nails tied to the end of each strip of leather. This usually tore the flesh off a person's back and exposed one's internal organs. Now after all this abuse, Jesus is forced to carry his own cross. That may have been just the cross piece or the entire cross, we aren't sure. We do know it was heavy and Jesus was weak and exhausted. God does not forsake Jesus. The soldiers grab a man who has just come in from the countryside, Simon from Cyrene. Cyrene was in northern Africa and evidently Simon had come to Jerusalem for the celebration of the Passover. They force Simon to carry Jesus' cross to the place of execution.

As Jesus walked through the valley of the shadow of death, he was not alone. His heavenly Father was still there for him and provided Simon to carry our Lord's cross. It is the same way for you and me. As we walk through the valley of the shadow of death in our own personal lives, the Lord God is there for us. As David wrote, "I will fear no evil, for you are with me." Jesus knew what was coming. Remember how he had prayed just hours before in the Garden of Gethsemane, "Father, if there is any other way to save the human race, do it, yet not my will, but yours be done." God now provides Jesus with some help so that in his weakened physical condition, he does not have to carry that heavy cross alone. As we have to deal with death in our lives, remember this event and see God's great love for his Son and for us. We know that as God took care of his Son as he went to his death, so he also takes care of each of us, his chosen and special children as we go to our own deaths.

JESUS' GREAT CONCERN FOR HIS PEOPLE

There is something even more significant as we watch this procession to an execution. We see Jesus' great concern for his people.

If you ever have read about or listened to commentators report on impending executions in our country today, you usually hear all about the attempts on the part of lawyers, families and friends to have the governor of that particular state issue a stay of execution. You often hear what the accused is saying. He is pleading for his life, claiming his innocence, damning the judicial system that has condemned him to death. What do we hear from Jesus? Here is a truly innocent man. They are leading to execution the wrong man. Does Jesus criticize the kangaroo courts that have condemned him to die? Does he damn the men who have sought to take his life and put him out of the way? No. Willingly he goes to his execution, to die an innocent man for the sins of the entire human race.

As the women follow him wailing and weeping over his impending death, Jesus turns to them and shows great concern for his own people. He says to these women, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. For the time will come when you will say, "Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!" Then "they will say to the mountains, "Fall on us!" and to the hills "Cover us!"" (vv. 28-30) What's Jesus talking about? He's talking about what is going to happen to the people of Jerusalem. In the year 70 AD the Roman armies surrounded Jerusalem and starved the people out and leveled this once beautiful and splendid city. For a Jew it was considered a curse not to have any children. But Jesus said in that day you will say a person who has never had any children will be considered a happy and blessed person. Why? Because when the Romans starved the Jews out, Josephus, a Jewish historian of that period, tells us that when the people ran out of food and they had eaten all the rats and other small animals, they turned to cannibalism and ate their own children. This was a terrible time for the Jewish people. Jesus then comments, "If men do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?" (v. 31) Our Lord is referring to the fact that he is innocent. He has done nothing wrong and look what is happening to him. What will happen to those who are guilty when the judgment comes for them?

These women were not weeping over the terrible injustices that had been done. They were not crying over the sins that had been committed against Jesus. They were simply crying over the fact that Jesus was going to die.

This sight should bring tears to our eyes. Tears not of sorrow for Jesus but tears of sorrow that it was your sins and mine that put Jesus in this place. Do you think that sin is not serious? Look at this procession to an execution and say, "Oh, it's not that bad when I do something wrong." As the poet once wrote, "If you think of sin but lightly, then look at Jesus' crucifixion." Sin is serious. It brings the anger and punishment of God. We should never excuse our sins or think they are not that serious. They are. They should bring tears to our eyes. For sin brings sorrow, illness, disease and death into our lives.

Yet we do not have to weep and cry as people who have no hope. For Jesus Christ bore our sins on that cross. He removed from us the terrible cures that we deserve. He freed us from the eternal punishment that we have earned.

As we stand here watching our Lord on the way to his execution, tears come to our eyes - tears of sorrow that our sins caused this and also tears of gratitude and thanks that Jesus walked to his execution so that we never have to experience such torment and punishment.

Amen