Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
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Who is this man?
Jesus is innocent
Luke goes out of his way to highlight, again and again, that Jesus is innocent.
Take a look at 22:52-53 (read).
Nevertheless, they seize him and beat him and mock him.
They then take him to Pilate where they have to present the false charges in a political perspective to get Pilate interested.
However, upon examining Jesus, Pilate concludes (read 23:4).
Pilate sends him to Herod, because Jesus was from Galilee which was under Herod’s jurisdiction, and yet even Herod cannot find any guilt with Jesus.
So Pilate concludes (read verses 13-15).
He wants to release Jesus but the crowds demand his death, so Pilate again reiterates Jesus’ innocence (read 23:22).
Again and again in this narrative, we see that Jesus is innocent.
He is not guilty of any of the charges.
Even the criminal being crucified next to Jesus recognizes his innocence (read verse 41).
And when Jesus dies, the Roman centurion, having taken in all that has happened, concludes (read verse 47).
Jesus was innocent.
The man who was killed was not guilty of anything.
He was righteous, he did nothing wrong, and yet he was executed.
The first thing Luke wants us to know about this man, is that he was innocent.
There is something absolutely devastating about travesties of justice.
When innocent people get punished for something we didn't do, we recognise the deep horror and injustice of it.
This was highlighted recently in the Netflix documentary of Kalief Browder.
Kalief was an African American teenager from NYC.
In 2010, at age 16 years, he was accused of stealing a backpack and put into prison.
Because of this, he spent his 17th birthday behind bars and was unable to finish grade 10.
After more than 400 days in prison, Kalief misses out on his High School graduation, while waiting for a trial.
He described life inside prison as “hell” and was beaten by both inmates and prison guards.
At the age of 19, he attempts suicide for the first (but not the last) time, whilst being held in solitary confinement.
In 2013, after 3 years behind bars, almost 2 full years in solitary confinement, Kalief is finally released—without a conviction and without an apology.
Browder never recovered from the trauma of prison, and at the age of 22, he committed suicide.
Kalief was innocent; a victim of injustice.
Good Friday begins with the recognition that Jesus was an innocent man, yet treated as though he were guilty.
But things get even more complex, because although Jesus is completely innocent, he is also in total control.
Jesus is in control
Take a look again at 22:49-51—Jesus rebukes his disciples for fighting back.
He knows that he must be taken; he allows himself to be taken.
After being beaten, he is brought before the chief priests and yet refuses to answer their questions.
He does the same with Pilate and Herod.
Instead of anxiously trying to vindicate his innocence Jesus exercises control by remaining silent.
Why does he do this?
Because the innocent man knows that he must embrace the cross.
And instead of being drawn into political or theological debates, Jesus resolutely determines to control the movement and ensure that he moves towards his death.
Jesus is utterly in control; while the disciples are overcome with fear, while Pilate is overcome with pressure, while the soldiers are overcome by their sick humour, Jesus remains in control.
Look at verse 27, where we see a group of women weeping and wailing for Jesus—he’s so in control of himself, that though he is going to his death, he comforts them (read verse 28).
Whilst being crucified, Jesus is so in control of himself that he is able to pray (read verse 34).
Jesus is so in control, that he even chooses the moment of his death (read verse 46).
Jesus voluntarily gave up his life unto death.
And so Luke confronts us with this paradox: Jesus was innocent, and yet in total control of his own crucifixion.
Jesus was a victim of injustice, but there’s more going on—he voluntarily gave up his life.
Why would he do this?
Why would an innocent person choose to die?
Well, it’s because Jesus is the Saviour.
Jesus is the Saviour
Notice the different titles that are used to refer to Jesus throughout this passage: he is, according to the disciples, the Lord (22:49), which is to say that Jesus is the Master.
He is, according to the Jewish leaders, the Messiah (22:67), which is to say that he is God’s anointed, chosen King.
He is, according to Pilate and Herod, the King of the Jews.
What happened on that first Good Friday is not just the tragic death of an innocent man.
It was, rather, the death of God.
This was not just a prophet’s death, although it was that.
This was the death of God’s Anointed, the Messiah/Christ, the King of the Jews, the Son of God, the Lord.
That’s who Jesus is.
Robert H. Stein, Luke, vol.
24, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 597.
So when we think about Jesus, who comes to mind?
A good man?
A wise prophet?
A noble teacher?
He is those things, but in a secondary way.
Primarily, Jesus is God’s Anointed Messiah.
Luke wants us to be clear that Jesus is the Saviour; the innocent Saviour who was utterly in control of his death.
Why did he die?
Because of others
Jesus died because of the sins, weaknesses, and failures of others.
Judas betrayed him
In 22:47 we see Judas betraying Jesus with a kiss—the horror of betraying a friend was dramatically heightened by using a kiss to do so.
And we know that Judas did it for money, he considered money to be more valuable than the life of the Messiah.
Jesus died because Judas betrayed him.
His friends abandoned him (Peter)
Luke particularly focuses on the way that Peter abandons Jesus.
Having followed them to the courtyard of the high priest, Peter is asked in three different ways whether he was with Jesus (22:54-61).
And three times, Peter denies it.
Having had the opportunity to identify with Jesus, Peter abandons him—just as Jesus had said.
So Judas betrayed him; Peter denied him; thirdly—the religious leaders framed him.
The Sanhedrin framed him
Jesus is brought before the Jewish leadership and questioned about being the Messiah.
Yet, we see in 22:67-68, that Jesus knew that answering their questions was useless because they had no desire to learn from him—only to condemn him.
Which is exactly what they do; they condemn him on religious grounds—for blasphemy.
But what’s so revealing about their wicked motives is that when they present Jesus to Pilate, the political ruler, they have to frame him as a political revolutionary.
Pilate used him
So after being condemned by the Jewish religious leadership, Jesus was brought before Pontius Pilate, who alone possessed the authority to execute.
But, as we saw, when Jesus is brought before Pilate the charges on which he is brought are changed from religious grounds to political grounds.
In other words, charges for which Pilate might condemn him.
But upon inspection, Pilate was convinced Jesus was innocent.
But look at 23:5 (“they insisted”)—the chief priests and the crowd want him dead.
Although Pilate will keep protesting Jesus’ innocence, it will fall on deaf ears and Pilate will have to choose between doing what is right and doing what is politically expedient.
In the end, Pilate appeases the bloodthirsty crowd by handing Jesus over.
The one human being who had the most to do with Jesus’ crucifixion was Pontius Pilate.
He had the authority to release an innocent man or crucify him.
He chose the latter to preserve his political career.
Robert H. Stein, Luke, vol.
24, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 583.
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