Daily Devotions
Luke
Luke 23: 32-34; John 19:17-24; Matthew 27:32-34; Mark 15:22-24 "CRUCIFIED AT CALVARY WITH TWO CRIMINALS"
Day 320 – Luke 23
Text: Luke 23: 32-34; John 19:17-24; Matthew 27:32-34; Mark 15:22-24
CRUCIFIED AT CALVARY WITH TWO CRIMINALS
All the Gospels paid close attention to the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. Each Gospel writer provided different details, and thus we would need to look at these details and piece them together so that we would be able to obtain a complete picture of what really happened when Jesus was crucified at Calvary. (Luke used the word “Calvary” taken from the Latin Calvaria, which translates the Aramaic word, “Golgotha” which means “skull.” Matthew 27:33; Mark 15:22).
Luke noted that Jesus was crucified with two others. His account of the crucifixion began thus,
“There were also two others, criminals,
led with Him to be put to death.
And when they had come to the place called Calvary,
There they crucified Him, and the criminals,
One on the right hand and the other on the left.”
Luke 23:32-33
More humiliation! Jesus was placed between two criminals. The passer-by who did not know the true story could easily conclude that Jesus must have been a criminal too!
DIVIDING OF THE GARMENTS OF JESUS
Crucifixion was intended to be a slow and lingering death. It was also intended to humiliate the condemned. The actual work of crucifying a person belonged to the Roman soldiers. They would have to stand guard during the entire crucifixion to quell any possible riots.
The condemned person is stripped off His garments. These became spoils given to the soldiers. Matthew and John noted that this fulfilled yet another prophetic word.
“Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments,
casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken
by the prophet (David – Cf. Psalm 22:18)
‘They divided My garments among them,
and for My clothing they cast lots.’
Sitting down, they kept watch over Him there.”
Matthew 27:35-36
David wrote a good number of psalms. These were mostly hymns and prayers offered to God. They were later used for worship purposes. Among the many psalms that David wrote, there were some that may be rightly called “Messianic Psalms”. These were psalms that had prophetic elements. Most of these elements were with reference to the Messiah, God’s Anointed One, hence they were called Messianic Psalms.
Psalm 22 was clearly Messianic. This particular Psalm contained a number of references to the suffering of the Messiah. One of them included the death scene, where reference to the division of garments was made.
John noted a further detail as to why the soldiers cast lots for the garments of Jesus.
“Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus,
took His garments and made four parts,
to each soldier a part, and also the tunic.
Now the tunic was without seam,
Woven from the top in one piece.
They said therefore among themselves,
‘Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it,
whose it shall be.’
That the Scriptures might be fulfilled which says,
‘They divided My garments among them,
and for my clothing they cast lots.’
Therefore the soldiers did these things.”
John 19:23-24
What were the four parts made up of? The usual pieces of clothing worn by a person would consist of the headpiece, the outer garments, the belt, and the sandals. A tunic is sometimes worn as an extra piece over the usual garments.
Callously, the quaternion of soldiers divided their spoils. They must have been so used to crucifixion that the death of Jesus and two others meant very little to them. They were gambling (casting lots) away the clothing of Jesus while He hung on the cross!
REFUSING TO LESSEN THE PAIN OF THE CROSS
Matthew and Mark noted that Jesus was offered a drink when He was crucified. Let us take a look at what they wrote.
“They gave Him sour wine mingled with gall to drink.
But when He had tasted it, He would not drink.”
Matthew 27:34
“Then they gave Him wine mingled with myrrh to drink,
but He did not take it.”
Mark 15:23
Matthew used the word “gall” to refer to the taste of the wine. The drink given to Jesus was thus very bitter. Mark explained that the bitter taste was caused by myrrh, and this was something designed to dull the pain of the person suffering on the cross.
Jesus refused to accept the drink that was supposed to function as a narcotic. His work was not yet done. He would need His full senses still. Thus with a supreme effort He refused to drink the drugged wine. How tempting it must have been to drink deeply from the wine mixed with myrrh, and then slip into a drugged state of mind!