Saturday 3 August
On the opening night of New Horizon 2024, Dr Peter J Williams brought a message from Luke chapter 23, looking at our extraordinary Saviour. Here the NH Media Team bring you a summary of what he had to say.
Dr Peter J. Williams is the Principal and CEO of Tyndale House, Cambridge. He was educated at the University of Cambridge, where he received his MA, MPhil, and PhD in the study of ancient languages related to the Bible. He has been leading Tyndale House since 2007 and is also an Affiliated Lecturer in the Faculty of Divinity in the University of Cambridge, Chair of the International Greek New Testament Project and a member of the Translation Oversight Committee of the English Standard Version of the Bible.
It is such a privilege to be with you and to be looking at God’s word together.
Reading from Luke 23: 26 – 46 (ESV)
Have you been following the Olympics. They are a celebration of extraordinary people. Did anyone see the finale of the 10,000 metre triathlon with that incredible final sprint? Sometimes you get people who excel at many different things. When I was younger, Sebastian Coe was a runner and then went into politics. There was an actor in Ukraine who then became Prime Minister.
But when we look at Jesus, every single thing He does is extraordinary. He made the world and then He became a man. He was born in Bethlehem and happened to die just outside Jerusalem on the eve of Passover when the Jews celebrated their greatest deliverance (from Egypt). And then there was the empty tomb and so many people saw Him risen from the dead. Today, two billion people say they follow Him. This week, we will be looking at His stories which are embedded in His story.
In Genesis chapter 3, death comes into the world as Adam and Eve eat from the wrong tree. We come to the life of Jesus and the climactic scene we have read tonight is His death on a tree. But what I want to look at here is the remarkable way that Jesus brings us salvation. We see that Jesus is utterly incomparable.
An Extraordinary Scandal
This is the greatest miscarriage of justice in history. We get angry when we see miscarriages of justice. But what goes on with Jesus Christ is on a bigger scale than that. This is a miscarriage of justice by the top religious people and the academics of Jesus’ day. Then we find that He is condemned by the Roman ruler (Pilate) who knows that Jesus is innocent and also by king Herod.
We also see the mob calling for Jesus to be crucified. The elites of the Jews, the leaders of the Gentiles and the ordinary people all condemned Jesus. Instead, they released a murderer and insurrectionist. Jesus who is completely innocent is condemned and one who is completely guilty is released.
Extraordinary Suffering
Luke 23 at no point tells us that Jesus suffered. It tells us that He was crucified and that implies suffering. Look back at Luke 22:43-44 – rather than talking about Jesus’ pain on the cross, Luke gives us an insight into His pain in the garden of Gethsemane.
I’m not a medic but if you do searching on the internet you can find out about people sweating blood. It has only occurred a few documented times in the last century. It only happens under extreme stress. When Jesus contemplated the cross, He sweated blood. We cannot grasp the sufferings of Christ but even the shadow of the suffering as He contemplated before it took place caused such a strong reaction. There has never been more extraordinary suffering.
Extraordinary Shame
I cannot imagine what it is like to be crucified but when that happens, people are also publicly shamed and mocked. That is what happened in this passage. Three different groups mock Him. Firstly the rulers, then the soldiers and then one of the criminals. They all ask why He does not save Himself.
The rulers expected that the Messiah would save them from the Roman occupation but here He was dying on a cross. The Gentile soldiers just see a condemned man dying at their hands.
And the first criminal has all the evidence before him of his own guilt and the reality of the Saviour in front of him but he still mocks.
An Extraordinary Saviour
The second criminal says, “Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Isn’t that bizarre? He sees someone about to receive His kingdom – even though humanly speaking He has failed to establish an earthly kingdom.
People are saying to Jesus , “Save yourself.” But this man knows that Jesus is the Saviour and king.
Rulers mocked. Soldiers mocked. A criminal mocked. But this one says, “This is the king of the Jews.” He recognises who Jesus is.
Normally, when we are looking for extraordinary people, we are looking for superpowers. What is so extraordinary about the king of kings is that He shows His glory and He saves people in the greatest possible weakness on the cross.
Here is the one who is most powerful becoming weak for us. He turns to this man and says, “I promise you, today you will be with me in paradise.” How does that work? There are a number of times in Luke’s gospel where you here the word “Today”.
“Today in David’s town, a Saviour has been born”- at the birth of Jesus. “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your presence” – at the start of His ministry. “Today salvation has come to this house,” – in Zacchaeus’ house.
When Christ died, He did not cease to exist. He is assuring this man that he will be in paradise – a place of bliss, the absence of pain and the presence of God. That is what this man who is in excruciating pain has been promised by Jesus.
Whatever your pain, His promise is extraordinary. What a promise to hold on to.
Suddenly, here is transformational hope that makes all the difference for His future. That short time he had remaining on the cross would pale into insignificance compared to the promise of paradise.
Often our situation can be like that. We are in a situation of pain and we have the assurance of God’s presence. Does that lessen the pain? No. But the assurance of God’s presence makes the difference.
The leaders said, “The one thing we know about the Messiah is that the he saves – so you cannot be the Christ because you are being crucified.” Yet Jesus was making salvation possible for everyone. When He died the veil of the temple was torn in two. That holy of holies is like paradise (the presence of God) and He was ripping it open. He is opening up the possibility of paradise for everyone through His death. This is incredible.
He is an incredible saviour who you might mistake for a loser. But if we look at Him, not in mockery but in humility, then He saves.
God shows Himself most clearly on the cross. People want God on their own terms. But God has chosen to reveal His power through weakness. He is showing His justice through injustice. You need to see with spiritual eyes.
Where are you at today? Can you see how extraordinary Jesus is? Using the metrics of the world, He doesn’t seem like a winner. But Jesus says, “those who follow me, need to take up their cross and follow me”. What if God is calling us to go a different way? Our Saviour is showing the love of God in weakness.
We have the most extraordinary person ever to have walked the planet and He comes to us in weakness. That criminal was a sinner but he was forgiven instantly. He didn’t do any good works. He didn’t get baptised. God doesn’t need you to earn any favour with Him. He is a God who delights in saving and you cannot earn His mercy. Outside of Christ, we are just as guilty as that criminal. But when we come to the cross, all our sins are washed away so that we are utterly pure in His sight.
In this passage, six times Jesus is declared to be innocent. But when God looks at us in Christ, then we appear innocent. His track record is conferred to us and He takes away our sin.
Luke 24 is the story of the resurrection that had been predicted long ago through the Old Testament prophets. This was the plan all along and it is all in the scriptures. Jesus looked defeated at the cross. But He rose victorious and He lives in greater power than we can imagine. Why? It was God’s plan all along to appoint His son as the King of Kings. God is demonstrating Christ’s rulership. The real king comes to us with a crown of thorns.
I hope at this time you will come to Christ afresh and recognise that He has chosen to reveal Himself in weakness.