THE
CRUCIFIXION OF CHRIST
Dec 17, 2000 AM
It was the early Spring of AD 30 in
Palestine when “lawless men” crucified the Son of God. We will pick up the
incredible account of this horrible injustice as Jesus and His followers enter
Jerusalem to eat the last Passover meal. The end had come near; it was
Thursday, Jesus would die on Friday.
THE PASSOVER MEAL
- The
lamb had been prepared by Peter and John.
- Just
as the feast began, Jesus paused to wash the feet of the bickering Apostles.
- Peter:
“Lord, do you wash my feet?” “Never shall you
wash my feet!”
- Jesus:
“If I do not wash you, you have no part with
Me.”
- The
feast resumes:
- Jesus:
“Truly I say to you that one of you will
betray Me.”
- They
all begin to ask who will it be?
- It
is the one to whom Jesus would hand a morsel.
- Jesus
gives the bread to Judas.
- Judas:
“Surely it is not I Rabbi?”
- Jesus:
“You have said it yourself.” “What you do, do
quickly.”
- Judas
leaves to do his terrible deed.
THE LORD’S SUPPER
- Jesus
passes the bread saying, “Take, eat, this is my body.” Then comes the
cup, “Drink from it all of you; for this is
My blood of the covenant; which is to be shed on behalf of many for the
forgiveness of sins.”
- His
body had to be broken and His blood had to be spilled.
- They
now depart for the Mt. Of Olives.
JESUS AT THE MT. OF OLIVES
- Jesus
tells the Apostles that they will all desert Him.
- Peter:
“Even though all may fall away because of
you, I will never fall away.”
- Jesus:
“…this very night before the cock crows, you
will deny Me three times.”
- As
Jesus retires to pray in anguish, He asks Peter, James, and John to stand
watch.
- Three
times Jesus prays, “My Father, if it is
possible let this cup pass from Me, yet not as I will, but as You will.”
- After
each occasion He returns to find the three Apostles asleep.
- Jesus:
“Arise, let us be going, behold, the one who
betrays Me is at hand.”
- Judas
had betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver.
- He
will now identify Him to the mob with the kiss of a friend.
- Jesus:
“Do you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?”
- Judas
exclaims, “Hail Rabbi” and gives
the kiss.
- Jesus:
“Friend, do what you have come for.”
- A
fight erupts, but Jesus disarms His disciples and goes away with the mob.
- The
Apostles flee.
QUESTIONED BEFORE THE HIGH PRIEST AND
SANHEDRIN
- Jesus
is asked about His teachings (illegal to interview an accused before a trial).
- Jesus
declares that His teaching had been a matter of public record.
- Jesus
is struck by a soldier (another illegality).
- The
Sanhedrin would now begin a formal trial (illegal to try a case on the day
before a Sabbath, or before a feast day, or at night; trials were supposed to
be held in the temple area at the Gate of Hewn Stone).
- False
witnesses were produced (illegal to have conflicting witnesses at a trial, if
so the accused was to be released).
- Jesus
is adjured to proclaim if He is the Messiah (illegal to require the accused to
testify).
- Jesus:
“You have said it yourself.” “…hereafter you
shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming on the
clouds of Heaven.”
- Caiaphas
tore his robe and screamed “blasphemy” (illegal
for the High Priest to show emotion at a trial).
- “And then they spat in His face and beat Him with
their fists; and the others slapped Him.”
- Jesus
is blindfolded and they say, “Prophesy to us
You Christ, who is the one who hit you?”
SIMON PETER
- Peter
had been in the courtyard as Jesus was being abused.
- He
denied Jesus three times, just as had been predicted.
- At
the third denial Jesus was led past Peter. As Jesus passed, “…the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter
remembered the word of the Lord,…. And he went out and wept bitterly.”
JESUS FORMALLY CHARGED
- At
dawn the Sanhedrin officially charges Jesus with blasphemy (illegal for such
proceedings to be held in private).
- He
is again illegally asked if He is the Christ.
- Jesus:
“If I tell you, you will not believe.” “But
from now own the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of
God.”
- The
Sanhedrin: “Are you the Son of God, then?”
- Jesus:
“Yes, I Am.”
- Jesus
is found guilty (illegal to be found guilty on the day of the trial; a simultaneous
guilty verdict was also to bring acquittal; the judges were to have been
defenders as well as accusers).
- The
Jews could not carry out a death sentence so they would need the Romans.
JESUS’ FIRST APPERANCE BEFORE PILATE
- Because
the Jews did not want to become ceremonially unclean during Passover by
stepping on Roman stonework, they asked Pilate to come out to them—irony of
ironies!
- Pilate
asks the Jews for the accusation and is told that they would not have brought
Jesus to him if there had been no good reason.
- When
Pilate tries to dismiss the matter the Jews inform Him that Jesus was a traitor
against Rome.
- Pilate
summons Jesus.
- Pilate:
“Are You the King of the Jews?”
- Jesus:
“It is as you say.” “Do you say this of
yourself or do others tell it to you concerning Me?”
- Pilate:
“Am I a Jew?” “Your own nation and your chief
priests delivered you to unto me: what have you done?”
- Jesus:
“My kingdom is not of this world; if My
kingdom were of this world then would My servants fight, that I should not be
delivered up to the Jews.”
- Pilate:
“Are You a King then?”
- Jesus:
You say that I am a king. To this end I have
been born and to this end I am come into the world that I should bear witness
of this truth. Every one that is of the truth hears My voice.”
- Pilate:
“What is truth?”
- The
Jews are then told by Pilate that he can find no fault with Jesus.
- When
Pilate hears that Jesus had begun His ministry in Galilee He took advantage of
the fact that Galilee was Herod’s jurisdiction (Herod was in Jerusalem for the
Passover).
JESUS BEFORE HEROD ANTIPAS
- Herod
was glad to see Jesus thinking He might perform a miracle for him.
- Jesus,
however, did not even respond to questions.
- Herod
and the soldiers mocked Jesus and put a purple robe on Him and returned Him to
Pilate—this erased the enmity between Pilate and Herod.
JESUS BEFORE PILATE THE SECOND TIME
- Pilate
attempts to let Jesus be the prisoner he customarily would release at Passover.
- The
Jews, however, said “Give us Barabbas!”
- Having
been troubled in a dream, Pilate’s wife warns her husband to have nothing to do
with the “righteous man” Jesus.
- The
Jews only cry louder for Barabbas.
- Pilate:
“What will I do with Jesus who is called
Christ?”
- The
crowd: “Crucify Him, crucify Him.”
- Pilate:
“Why, what evil has this man done?” “I will
therefore chastise Him and release Him.”
- The
crowd: “Crucify Him, let Him be crucified.”
- Pilate
then had Jesus scourged.
THE SCOURGING OF JESUS
- Called
“halfway death.”
- It
often brought death of itself.
- Jesus
would have been stripped, tied to a short, thick column and beaten with a
many-corded, metal and glass imbedded whip until His back was raw and oozing
blood.
- The
force at times broke bones (though not true in Jesus’ case due to prophecy).
- Syrian
soldiers would have done the dirty work—they especially hated Jews because
their Sabbath beliefs kept them from army service.
- At
the end of Jesus’ scourging a crown of thorns was mockingly placed on His head,
a purple robe draped over His bloody body and a reed handed Him to serve as a
scepter.
- The
soldiers then “…came to Him and said ‘Hail,
King of the Jews!’” “And they struck Him with their hands and they took the
reed and beat Him on the head.”
JESUS BACK BEFORE PILATE
- Pilate
hopes the crowd will now pity Jesus.
- Pilate:
“Behold the Man!”
- The
crown revives its cry “Crucify Him!”
- Pilate
tells them to do it themselves.
- Pilate
is told Jesus must die because He claimed to be the Son of God.
- Pilate
becomes even more fearful.
- Pilate
takes Jesus aside to ask Him again who He is?
- Jesus
is silent.
- Pilate:
“You do not speak to me?” Do You not know
that I have authority to release you and I have authority to crucify You?”
- Jesus:
“You would have no authority over Me unless
it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me up to you
has the greater sin.”
- Pilate
again seeks to release Jesus.
- The
Jews tell him that if he did release Jesus he would not be a friend to Caesar.
- Pilate:
“Behold your King.”
- The
crowd: “Crucify Him!”
- Pilate:
“Shall I crucify your King?”
- The
crowd: “We have no king but Caesar.”
- Pilate
took water and washed his hands saying, “I am
innocent of the blood of this righteous man.”
- The
crowd: “His blood be on us and on our
children.”
- The
soldiers put the robe back on Jesus and mock and beat Him again before taking
Him to be crucified.
THE CRUCIFIXION
- Jesus’
own garments were replaced.
- He
carried a cross piece weighing about forty pounds.
- When
He fell under it, Simon of Cyrene was compelled to carry it to Calvary.
- Lamenting
women are told by Jesus to weep for themselves.
- At
the “Place of the Skull,” “Golgotha” Jesus is offered drugged wine, He refuses.
- It
is 9:00 AM Friday morning, Jesus is now
nailed to the cross.
- He
is stripped.
- His
hands are nailed at the wrists.
- The
cross piece is raised and lowered to the top of a seven foot pole.
- His
feet are positioned one over the other
and nailed to the cross at a position eventually forcing Him to push up if He
is to breathe.
- He
is between two thieves.
- Jesus:
“Father forgive them; for they know not what
they do.”
- The
soldiers gamble over His garments.
- Jesus
is mocked by the crowd: “He said He could
rebuild the temple in three days.” “He saved others, He cannot save
Himself.” “Come down from the
cross and we will believe.”
- The
robbers mock Jesus, but one repents and Jesus tells him, “This day you will be with Me in Paradise.”
- Jesus
intrusts His mother to the care of the Apostle John by telling her, “Woman behold your son,” and John, “Behold your mother.”
- At
about 12:00 noon darkness came over the land.
- At
about 3:00 pm Jesus cries out, “Eli, Eli,
lama sabchthani,” which meant, “My
God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
- Jesus:
“I thirst.” “Father, into Your hands I
commend My spirit.” “It is finished.”
- When
the Roman centurion felt the earth shake and saw the things happening around
them he said, Truly, this Man was the Son of
God!”
- Later
as the Romans broke the legs of the thieves to
hasten their death, one of the soldiers thrust a spear into Jesus side bringing
out a flow of blood and water. In this blood, gained at such a horrible price,
our hope is found!
- “Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He
carried; ….He was pierced through for our transgressions …. …and by His
scourging we are healed.”
Edwin
12/17/00
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