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“The Characters of Lent: Thief on the Cross & Roman Centurion
Luke 23:32-47

 

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Pastor Kevin Vogts
Trinity Lutheran Church
Paola, Kansas

Lent Service V—March 18, 2015

Following the King James Version, we traditionally refer to the malefactors crucified alongside Jesus as “thieves.”  But, the Greek word means simply a “criminal” of some sort.  The historian Josephus reports that crime was a serious problem in Jerusalem during Passover week, when criminals could find easy targets among the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims who came for the festival.  Perhaps these two “thieves” were guilty of common thievery.  In the outlying provinces of the Roman Empire, non-Romans were routinely crucified, even for minor offenses.  Or, they may have been guilty of much more serious or violent crimes.  Josephus says that gangs of thugs would commit many murders in the huge crowd gathered for the festival.

Whatever their crimes, two criminals are led out to Golgotha with Jesus and crucified with him there, “one on his right, the other on his left, and Jesus in the middle.”  This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah, “He was numbered with the transgressors.”

Matthew and Mark report that as they hung upon crosses dying, at first both of these criminals hurls insults at Jesus: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!”  Mark’s Gospel says of the centurion, “When he heard Jesus’ cry and saw how he died, he said, ‘Surely this man was the Son of God!’”  Apparently, the extraordinary experience of actually witnessing the Son of God and Savior of the world die upon the cross had that same impact upon one of the two thieves hanging beside him. 

For, Luke tells us one of the thieves had a deathbed conversion.  During those six hours they hung upon their crosses this thief was transformed, from insulting Christ, to praising him and praying to him: “But the other criminal rebuked him: ‘Don’t you fear God, since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.’” 

That criminal is called the “repentant thief” because he ultimately repents and acknowledges his guilt.  In Latin, sincere repentance was traditionally expressed with the confession, “Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa”; “My fault, my own fault, my own most grievous fault.”  We see the sincerity of the repentant thief in the words of his confession: “We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve.”  No excuses, no waffling; “My fault, my own fault, my own most grievous fault.”

Like those criminals crucified alongside Jesus, we also are guilty, and we also deserve the punishment of death—eternal death and damnation in hell.  Like the repentant thief, confess your guilt before the Lord.  And, like the repentant thief, turn to Jesus for salvation and eternal life.  

Jesus promises, “All the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them.”  We learn from the thief on the cross first of all that it’s never too late to turn and repent and be forgiven.  As 1st John says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

 “Jesus,” the repentant thief prays, “remember me when you come into your kingdom.”  Jesus answers him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”  This is the #1 place where the Bible teaches that upon death the soul departs the body, and the souls of believers go to be with Christ in paradise.  As Paul says in Philippians, “I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far.”

Paul says in Titus, “He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.”  In the Thief on the Cross we see an example that salvation is by faith alone.  He did no good works to earn his salvation.  In fact, at the very moment he was saved, he was being executed on account of his evil works.  But, through faith alone, faith in Jesus, his sins were all forgiven.  Salvation is a gift of God, and even saving faith itself is a gift of God, as Paul says in Ephesians, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this from yourselves, it is the gift of God.”

Like the Thief on the Cross, repent, turn to Jesus, trust in him as your King, your Savior, your Lord.  As Paul says in Acts, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.”  Like the Thief on the Cross, the moment you die your soul will depart your body and you will immediately be with Jesus in paradise.

That is the lesson of the Lenten story of the Thief on the Cross.  Amen.

For the Roman Centurion, Good Friday started as nothing special, just another day in the life of a Roman soldier.  Normally, a centurion was in command of 100 soldiers, hence the title centurion.  But, today he will be in charge of only five men—four other soldiers, and the victim they were crucifying.  For, there are crucifixions on the docket today, and it’s his turn as a centurion to oversee one of the crucifixion details of the three condemned men.

It all starts out very routine. The centurion selects four of his soldiers for the crucifixion detail he is commanding.  Since they will be out all day at the crucifixion sight, the soldiers get field rations for the day from the quartermaster.  This includes a flask of “posca,” the wine-vinegar that was the Roman soldier’s normal beverage ration.  A small sponge was in the top of the flask as a cork.

The centurion himself checks out from the quartermaster some very valuable army property that must be returned or his pay will be docked: large iron spikes, to drive through the victims’ hands and feet.

The docket for this Friday is a little unusual.  Two of the men are common criminals, so many of which are executed every year during the festival.  But, the third condemned man is rather famous, someone the centurion has heard a lot about, a very well-known individual named: Barabbas.

That’s when unexpected things start to happen.  Barabbas is a notorious prisoner, a terrorist who committed murder in a revolt against Rome.  But, to everyone’s surprise, the governor sets him free, and in his place the centurion will be crucifying another famous person he has also heard so much about, a Hebrew rabbi named Jesus.

Usually, it is the centurion who prepares the wooden plaques listing the crimes of the condemned men, to be carried in front of them as they bear their own crosses out to the place of execution, and then posted above them on their crosses.  But, for Jesus, the governor himself has a very unusual notice specially prepared.  It reads, in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek: “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”

As is customary, the soldiers severely flog all three prisoners before leading them out to be crucified.  Since crucifixion is such a slow, painful way to die, it is actually considered humane to weaken them first so that they will die more quickly.

Since most of the common soldiers under the centurion are actually local recruits from nearby Syria, bitter enemies of the Jews, in addition to flogging the Hebrew rabbi Jesus, they also brutally mock and make fun of him as the King of the Jews, dressing him up like a king in a purple robe, a crown of thorns, and a wooden staff like a scepter, then mockingly paying him homage, spitting on him, and savagely beating with the staff.

Out at the execution place, the place the Hebrews call Golgotha, the soldiers nail the three victims to their crosses.  So many times the centurion has heard crucifixion victims either proclaiming their innocence or cursing their torturers.  But, he never imagined he would hear a man cry out as he was being nailed to the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

All three victims are offered wine mixed with gall or myrrh, a mild narcotic to help deaden the pain.  But Jesus refuses to take it.

The four soldiers who crucify Jesus divide up his clothing, the customary bonus for soldiers assigned to the dreaded crucifixion detail.  But, the undergarment is seamless, woven in one piece.  Such large pieces of cloth were rare and valuable.  Roman soldiers often gambled and played games of chance, perhaps they even brought some dice or other games along with them that day to pass the time.  And so they fulfill the prophecy in the Psalms, “They divided my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.”

It is the third hour, 9:00am, when they crucify Jesus.  Darkness comes over the whole land from the sixth hour to the ninth hour, noon to 3:00pm.  The classical Greek author Phlegon wrote a book about unexplained natural phenomena, titled, “Questions of Nature.”  He reports: “In the spring of the 4th year of the 202nd Olympiad there was a great eclipse of the sun, greater than had ever been known before.  For at the sixth hour the day was changed into night, and the stars were seen in the heavens.”  The 202nd Olympiad is equal to the year 33 A.D.!

At the ninth hour, 3:00pm, Jesus cries out in Aramaic, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  Those standing around the cross watching Jesus die don’t realize he is quoting from Psalm 22 with this cry, and instead think he is calling out for Elijah.

Because Elijah had been taken away in a chariot into heaven, it was popular Jewish folklore that at the time of death Elijah would come, like a friendly “grim reaper,” to take you to heaven in his fiery chariot, like the old spiritual, “Swing low, sweet chariot, coming for to carry me home.”  So, when those around the cross mishear Jesus’ cry, and say, “Listen, he’s calling for Elijah,” what they mistakenly think is that Jesus in his agony is begging to die.

Because the most gruesome part of crucifixion detail is taking the victims down from the cross after the crucifixion and extracting the nails, the soldiers respond sarcastically, “Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down.”

When Jesus says “I thirst,” one of the soldiers takes the sponge out of the mouth of their beverage flask, soaks it in the wine-vinegar, and lifts it to Jesus’ lips.  Then Jesus cries out, “It if finished.  Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”

What effect do all these events have on the Roman centurion?  The Gospels report, “He PRAISED God and said, ‘Surely this was a righteous man.  Surely this man was the Son of God!’”

Isaiah says, “We observed him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.  He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.”  As you ponder the events of Good Friday, like the Roman centurion praise God that his righteous Son died for your salvation. 

That is the lesson of the Lenten story of the Roman Centurion.  Amen.

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