Luke 23:26-43

Luke 23:26 – 23:43
The Characters of the Cross

Simon of Cyrene (Matthew 27:32, Mark 15:21, Luke 23:26)
1. He was from Cyrene, North Africa
2. He was almost certainly a Jew visiting for the Passover
3. He may have been a leader in the church in Antioch (Acts 13:1)
4. His family was changed by this event (Mark 15:21, Rom. 16:13)
5. We are called to carry a cross as well (Matthew 16:24)

The Weeping Women (Luke 23:27-31)
1. Jesus’ death should cause us to consider our own fate
2. The time was coming when barren women would be envied
3. The time was coming when death would be preferred to life
4. If judgment can come upon ‘the Life,’ imagine ‘the dead!’

The Man Who Missed His Cross (Luke 23:18-19)
1. He was the leader of a rebellion and a murderer
2. ‘Barabbas’ was his last name, his first name may have been Jesus
3. He probably heard the crowd shouting his name and ‘crucify him’
4. But when the guards came, they set him free
5. Jesus took the cross of Barabbas

Between 2 Thieves (Luke 23:32-43)
1. Even amidst mockers putting him to death, Jesus was forgiving
2. One thief had a hard heart, the other had a soft heart
3. As long as you are here on earth, it is never too late to be saved
4. This is the only example in Scripture of a death bed conversion