Final Warning

Luke 23:26-43

²⁶ And as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus. ²⁷ And there followed him a great multitude of the people and of women who were mourning and lamenting for him. ²⁸ But turning to them Jesus said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. ²⁹ For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ ³⁰ Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ ³¹ For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?” ³² Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. ³³ And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. ³⁴ And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments. ³⁵ And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” ³⁶ The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine ³⁷ and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” ³⁸ There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.” ³⁹ One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” ⁴⁰ But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? ⁴¹ And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” ⁴² And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” ⁴³ And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

Luke is the only Gospel writer who not only chronicles Jesus final hours on the cross, but also His trek from the court of Pilate to Golgotha. It is from Luke alone that we learn of Simon of Cyrene, who is forced to carry Jesus’ cross to the hill. It makes sense that Jesus was physically unable to carry that cross as He had been beaten so badly. The fact that He could even make the walk was amazing. But also in Luke’s account are the words that Jesus spoke to the crowd while on that death march. The words are recorded only in Luke but are incredibly important because they are Jesus’ final plea to the people to repent and believe in Him.

Much has be taught and preached about Jesus final words from the cross but little attention is paid to these words spoken on that torturous march to Calvary. But we cannot overlook these words for they are packed with strength and truth. If you were to have only a few words left to say to your loved ones, what would they be? I once sat at the bedside of a dying friend who was surrounded by his family and I was privileged to hear what he had to say to them. “Don’t lose your faith.” He repeated these words over and over to all of them with tears in his eyes. Those were literally his last words. “Don’t lose your faith.” Jesus’ final words to the crowd are similar. In metaphorical terms He tells them to repent – the same message they had heard for thousands of years from the prophets. As His blood runs through the street He is warning the people one last time – "REPENT".

One cannot read through this story yet again without an inward look at what it means to repent. Repentance is to look at your own life and realize that there is no possible way for you to make it without a Redeemer. Repentance is to recognize that you are a sinner in need of a Savior. Yes, we repent of individual sins because that is where learning takes places and lives can change. But for each of us, our personal narrative must include the knowledge that we are born sinners and nothing short of seeing ourselves completely covered in the blood of Jesus can save us. This is what Jesus wanted the crowd to hear from His lips one last time. His words from the cross will be pointed, personal, and sometimes prayer to the Father. This last address before the nails are pounded into His hands and feet is to the people and it is of utmost importance. Repent. Don’t lose your faith.