THE ACCUSED: A Savior who cannot save himself.

“‘He saved others’, they said, ‘but he can’t save himself! He is the king of Israel! Let him come down from the cross, and we will believe in him’”
Matthew 27:42.

Luke 19 and Matthew 21 tell of people singing “hosanna” to Jesus when he entered Jerusalem on a donkey.
Five days later, the very same crowd were chanting “crucify him!”

It was an issue of false expectations. Jesus did not deliver as the people expected. God’s greatest rescue mission was unfolding right before their very eyes but their false expectations on the Messiah blinded them from seeing this.

THE DIFFERENT CHARACTERS IN THE CRUCIFIXION OF JESUS:
(Read Luke 23:35-43, The Crucifixion of Jesus).

The Jewish Leaders.

“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’”
Luke 23:35.

The Jewish Leaders were asking a theological question: Is Jesus real? Ironically, they are the ones who knew and studied the prophesies, they knew of the virgin birth and all of what the scriptures say about the coming Messiah, and yet they missed out on the visitation of God. In the same way, we look at our circumstances and do not see God in the midst of it all.“Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts”
Hebrews 3:15.

The Roman Soldiers.

“The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, ‘If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself’”
Luke 23:36.

The Roman Soldiers were challenging Jesus’ authority, his might and his deity. Oftentimes, we ask God if He’s really in charge, or if He’s really powerful, or why He allows bad things to happen to us.

The Criminal.

“One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: ‘Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!’”
Luke 23:39.

Our attitude is sometimes like that of this criminal. We ask God: “Do you really care for me? Do you care that I’m suffering?”
We live in a fallen world and many of the painful circumstances in our lives are consequences of the sins that we committed in the past.

“She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins”
Matthew 1:21.

The Other Criminal.

“But the other criminal rebuked him, ‘Don’t you fear God,’ he said, ‘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”
Luke 23: 40-41.

The other criminal did not see a dying person in Jesus. He saw a Messiah.

ACCUSATION: Jesus cannot save himself.
VERDICT: Not Guilty.

“Do you think I cannot call on my Father and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen this way?”
Matthew 26:53.

Jesus freely gave his life so we can be saved. He was not a victim but a volunteer. He did not save himself because he chose to save us from our sins in his love for us.

JESUS’ VERY MISSION WAS TO DIE TO FOR OUR SINS.

“It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.’ When he had said this, he breathed his last”
Luke 23:44-46.