2017-04-02: Luke-The Investigative Gospel – The Death of Jesus

Sermon Audio: The Death of Jesus
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Luke 23:44-49
Duration: 26:27
Size: 12.1 MB

Luke-The Investigative Gospel
The Death of Jesus
Luke 23:44-49

After a series of rushed civil and religious trials, Jesus was finally sentenced to death by crucifixion.

Crucifixion was a slow death, intended to inflict maximum agony and suffering.

The most extreme word in the English language to describe pain is the word “excruciating,” which comes from the Latin word excruciatus, meaning “out of the cross.”

The death of Jesus in Luke 23:44-49 shows us a number of events preceding and following his death.

I. Events Preceding Jesus’ Death (Luke 23:44-46)

A. Darkness Over the Whole Land (Luke 23:44-45a)

It was as if “a veil had been drawn over the unspeakable suffering of God’s Son.”

There was a disturbance in creation itself in order to demonstrate what Jesus was doing on the cross: suffering God’s judgment against our sin.

B. The Curtain of the Temple Was Torn in Two (Luke 23:45b)

The temple curtain being torn in two was a sign of spiritual access to God through Jesus Christ.

The tearing of the curtain in the temple teaches us that sinners no longer have to go to Jerusalem to offer a sacrifice for their sins.

C. Jesus’ Final Words from the Cross (Luke 23:46)

But what was so different about Jesus’ prayer on the cross is the addition of one word, the word “Father.”

II. Events Following Jesus’ Death (Luke 23:47-49)

A. The Conversion of the Centurion (Luke 23:47)

We don’t know what happened to the centurion, but he came to see that Jesus was indeed the Son of God and Savior of sinners.

B. The Action of the Crowds (Luke 23:48)

C. The Observation of Jesus’ Followers (Luke 23:49)

As we have looked at the death of Jesus in Luke 23:44-49, we should make sure that we have been reconciled to God through Jesus.