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32 Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. 33 When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. 35 The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.” 36 The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 37 and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.” 38 There was a written notice above him, which read: this is the king of the jews. ~ Luke 23:32-38
In Isaiah 53:12 we learn that the Messiah would be “numbered with the transgressors.” As our text indicates in v.32, "Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed." Two criminals were crucified on each side of the Lord Jesus. These men were robbers who used violence to rob people. Again, it was not that the Lord planned it this way. He knew that these men would choose to do these things beforehand, so He told us in advance.
In v.33 we read, "When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left."
The Lord Jesus was crucified at about 9 a.m. and remained on the cross until 3 p.m. According to Mark 15:25,33, from noon to 3 p.m. there was darkness over all the land. From our comparison of the four Gospels, the Lord Jesus spoke seven times during those six terrible hours. Luke recorded only three of these seven statements, the first, the second, and the last. The Lord Jesus' prayer for His enemies, and His ministry to a repentant thief, fit in well with Luke’s purpose to show Jesus Christ as the sympathetic Son of Man who cared for the needy.
According to v.34, while they were nailing Him to the cross, He repeatedly prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Not only did He practice what He taught, but, according to Isaiah 53:12, the Lord Jesus fulfilled prophecy by making “intercession for the transgressors.”
At the end of v.34 we read, "And they divided up his clothes by casting lots." When the people at Calvary cast lots for the clothing of the Lord Jesus, they fulfilled Old Testament prophecy as noted in Psalm 22:18. In addition, when they mocked Him, Psalm 22:6–8 was fulfilled. And, when they offered Him vinegar to drink in v.36, they fulfilled Psalm 69:21. The word of God has never been proven false, in fact, every attempt to prove the Bible's veracity, it has proven to be true.
In v.35 we read, "The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One."
The people mocked the Lord Jesus for his claim to be the Messiah. Notice they don’t speak directly to the Lord Jesus. In fact, there’s no record around the cross that they ever spoke to Him. They spoke to the crowd about Him. Their intention was to stir up the crowd, so they never address the Lord Jesus for themselves. This is the tactic of the Devil himself. He has always attempted to keep us from direct conversation with the Lord Jesus. This, in fact, is the answer, a personal relationship with God.
In v.36-37 we read, "36 The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 37 and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself." Wine was offered to the Lord Jesus three separate times. The gospels indicate the first time He was offered wine it was mixed with gall. The second time Christ was mocked as a king, and the third time wine was offered to Him as sour wine. The soldiers mockingly offered this wine to the Lord Jesus making fun of His kingship.
In v.38 we read, "There was a written notice above him, which read: this is the king of the jews." Historically when criminals were crucified, their crime was posted above them. And, since the Lord Jesus committed no crime there could be no crime posted over Him. According to John 19 Pilate decided an inscription would be put above the Lord Jesus. When the narrative from Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, are combined, it actually said, “This is Jesus of Nazareth, The King of the Jews.”
Finally, at the end of v.37, the soldiers requested of the Lord Jesus to "save Himself." The Lord Jesus did not come down from the cross, because, if He had, we would have no forgiveness for sin. According to Romans 6:23, “the wages of sin is death” and, according to Hebrews 9:22, “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.”
The Lord Jesus came that He might be the atoning sacrifice for sin, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. God sent his Son into the world to be the propitiation, the satisfying sacrifice for our sins. If He had come down from the cross, we would still be under the curse and Law, and separated from God, deserving wrath for our sin against Him.
