After his prophesy concerning the impending hard times, Jesus then proceeded onto
the Road of Sorrow to where He would be crucified. With Simon following Him,
they shuffled to the place called the Skull. Luke tells us that two other
criminals were also led along with Jesus to be crucified. When they had arrived
at the Skull, Jesus, together with the two criminals were crucified. These
criminals could have been members of Barabbas' gang. One of the criminals was
placed on the right and the other on the left of Jesus. Isaiah 53:12 that said
"He was numbered among the transgressors", had come to pass.
In verse 34, we see a surprising act of Jesus. He asked, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” Whilst undergoing the tremendous agony on the Cross, Jesus still showed no anger. He could even find the grace to ask the Father to forgive His tormenters for they were ignorant of their actions. This verse also tells us that the soldiers took His seamless garment and cast lots to possess it. This suggests that Jesus was actually crucified naked on the cross. This is one of the most humiliating insults to human dignities. Think about this gracious act of Jesus. He asked that the tormentors, including the soldiers who cast lots for His garments, to be forgiven. What boundless grace! It must have impacted one of the soldiers so much that he eventually remarked, ‘Surely this was a righteous man’ (v. 47).
Through all that was happening to Him, Jesus was perfectly and tremendously
calm. He did not retaliate even though He was so cruelly treated. Many of
our so called sufferings in life would be nothing, in comparison with Christ's.
Yet we are not even half as gracious. Let's pray for grace to be more forgiving,
and gracious when wronged. This would certainly make us more like Christ. And
be an effective witness.
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