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Jesus Crucifixion
What makes Jesus crucifixion so horrible? Was it that he, unlike most others who was crucified, was nailed
to the cross? Was it because he was pure and innocent? Was it because he could
not imagine doing evil to anyone? Or was it because a great, loud mob mocked
him at his worst hour?
Perhaps those things
were hard to bear, but they must have been small in comparison to the fact that
he was, even prior to Jesus crucifixion, carrying all the sins, all the guilt,
all the shame, all the suffering, sickness, and all manner of illness that will
ever appear upon the face of this planet.
Take that pain, and
add a crown of thorns pressed down on your head with a plank. Then great spikes drove through your palms, wrists and feet. Then, add
your body-weight pulling on all those wounds, at the same time as people spit
at you, hit you, and mock you. Let us be with Jesus for a moment, and try to
imagine what he went through that Easter, not so long
ago. We start when Pilate releases Barabbas,
whose’ name means: The father’s son, or the son of
god.
26 Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus,
he delivered him to be crucified.
27 Then the soldiers
of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the
whole band of soldiers.
28 And they stripped
him, and put on him a scarlet robe.
29 And when they had
platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right
hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of
the Jews!
30 And they spit
upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head.
31 And after that
they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment
on him, and led him away to crucify him.
32 And as they came
out, they found a man of Cyrene,
Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross.
33 And when they
were come unto a place called Golgotha,
that is to say, a place of a skull,
34 They gave him
vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would
not drink.
35 And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting
lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them,
and upon my vesture did they cast lots. (Matthew 27:26-35)
“And they crucified him”. They lay the cross on
the ground, and placed Jesus on top. He did not struggle. He had asked Peter
earlier that evening, as he was taken and bound:
“Shall I not empty the cup that the Father has given me”? If he were to escape,
there would be no salvation for man. So, if escaping wasn’t an option, for the
perfect man, neither was resisting. So, when they pulled out his arms on the
beam, he did not pull back, which would have made the work of nailing him to
the cross physically easier, but emotionally unbearable. And then, after
nailing his feet to the bar, they lifted him up, and with a thud, the cross
slid down into its hole in the hill. As he was raised, and as the cross found its place there were
cheering and clapping of hands.
They expected some kind of reaction from Jesus; they always got reactions from those
being crucified; they would mock back, spit, swear and curse, cry and even
repent. This is what they expected and hoped for also at Jesus crucifixion.
When they got none, the mocking grew to a storm, for Jesus was a high profile
figure, and he had to be brought low! But Jesus of Nazareth, the carpenter,
would not stoop to that. But filled with compassion, in midst of all his
suffering he said heavenward, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they
do. Some became angrier still. Others amazed. There was a centurion there. He
was responsible for Jesus crucifixion. He saw and heard all that happened.
27 And with him they
crucify two thieves; the one on his right hand, and the other on his left.
28 And the scripture
was fulfilled, which saith,
And he was numbered with the
transgressors. (Mark 15:27-28)
19 And Pilate wrote a title, and put [it] on the cross.
And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH
THE KING OF THE JEWS.
20 This title then read many of the Jews: for the place
where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city: and it was written in Hebrew,
[and] Greek, [and] Latin.
21 Then said the chief priests of the Jews to Pilate,
Write not, The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am King of the Jews.
22 Pilate answered, What I have written I have written.
(John 19:19-22)
Isn’t it amazing
that the chief priests did not want the sign to say that Jesus was the King of
the Jews? Why? Anyone, yes, everyone, except the guilty, would understand the
sign to be ironic, not a statement of a fact. But it is obvious that to the
chief priest it was the truth. They knew it, and they did not want the world to
know it. They could not see that anyone could understand the sign to ironic,
because they could only read with guilty eyes.
39 And they that
passed by reviled him, wagging their heads,
40 And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save
thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.
41 Likewise also the
chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said,
42 He saved others;
himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from
the cross, and we will believe him.
43 He trusted in
God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of
God. (Mathew 27: 39-43)
One might wonder
if Lucifer came during Jesus crucifixion, tempting Jesus with the same words.
“You are without sin. Your salvation is
sure, but look at that riff-raff! Look at them! See how they
treat you! Look at that high priest. He spits and mocks and you know that he
knows! They deserve the shock of their life! Just step down now! You can step back up again. Just show
them. You are the King”! Would you be able to stay on
the cross, and save those who torture you, mock you and spit at you, while you
are in the very process of saving them?
39 And one of the
malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.
40 But the other
answering rebuked him, saying, Dost
not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?
41 And we indeed
justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done
nothing amiss.
42 And he said unto
Jesus, Lord, remember me when
thou comest into thy
kingdom.
43 And Jesus said
unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To
day shalt thou be with me
in paradise.
44 And it was about
the sixth hour, and there was a darkness
over all the earth until the ninth hour. (Luke 23:39-44)
What a promise Jesus gave to the malefactor on the cross even
during the crucifixion:” To day shalt
thou be with me in paradise”. Of cause, Paradise is not the same as the Kingdom
of God,
but still, being invited to paradise shows that this man will have his chance
to prepare to receive the greatest blessings of the Lord. Jesus looked into his
heart, not to his actions. Not far away stood a centurion
and he heard it…
25 Now there stood
by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.
26 When Jesus
therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman,
behold thy son!
27 Then saith he to the disciple, Behold
thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own [home].
(John 19: 25-27)
At the peek of
suffering Jesus sees the need of his persecutors, his malefactors’ need, the
need of his mother, perhaps the need of his disciple, and the need of every
living soul. There was a centurion really close who heard it…
46 And about the
ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me?
47 Some of them that
stood there, when they heard that, said, This
man calleth for Elias.
48 And straightway
one of them ran, and took a spunge,
and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink.
49 The rest said,
Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him. (Mathew 27:46-49)
At
this hour Jesus was the sinner-by-proxy for all men
(note that Jesus himself was absolutely pure and innocent). Therefore, since he
bore all the sins of the world, the Father could no longer be near him, and
Jesus suffered a spiritual death, the death that is signified by being cut out
from the presence of God. Therefore he cries out: “My God, my God, why hast
thou forsaken me”? Jesus knew!
This was not an
accusation towards his Father. Neither was it
a complaint. No, it was a teaching of us all, that he, in order to restore us
from our spiritual death, and let us enter into the presence of the Father, he
had to be the first to break the bands of death. So he died the spiritual
death, and was cut out from the presence of his father, and from that moment we
wait for a proof that he has entered back into that presence. There was a
centurion close by…A couple of hours went by and..
Jesus knew that all was accomplished. What was accomplished? Certainly
not all. So what all is he talking about. He had now done
everything that he needed to be alive to accomplish! And what was that? To
suffer for the sins of all men! It was over! It was accomplished! There was no
more suffering to be made! The cup was empty! When all that emotional suffering
was over, he could notice things like thirst. There was no longer a reason to
keep life in the body that for hours has been spent. “It is finished”. In the
account of Saint Luke we read:
39 And when the
centurion, which stood over
against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly
this man was the Son of God. (Mark 15:15:39)
51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain
from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;
54 Now when the centurion, and they that were with him,
watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they
feared greatly, saying, Truly
this was the Son of God. (Mathew 27:51, 54)
"And the
veil of the temple was rent in twain". This
was the sign from on high that the temple at Jerusalem
and the officers therein, no longer had the credentials of God. From that
moment, the law and the prophets were fulfilled in Christ, and whomsoever
desired to find God, would have to do so through the officers of the Church of
the Firstborn. The Jewish church was now a church in apostasy, since they did
not recognise their Messiah, and changed their ordinances accordingly. If they
would have been responsive unto Christ, the veil of the temple would not have
rent in twain, and people would go there to seek salvation.
31 The Jews
therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain
upon the cross on the sabbath
day, (for that sabbath day
was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and [that]
they might be taken away.
32 Then came the
soldiers, and brake the legs
of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him.
33 But when they
came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs:
34 But one of the
soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and
water.
35 And he that saw
[it] bare record, and his
record is true: and he knoweth
that he saith true, that ye
might believe.
36 For these things
were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken.
37 And again another
scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they
pierced. (John 19:31-37)
44 And Pilate marveled if he were already dead: and
calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while
dead. (Mark 15:44)
Now, this is
interesting. Pilate was surprised that Jesus was dead already, since those crucified could linger on the cross for days, sometimes.
But not only was he dead, he also appeared to have been dead for a while! Well,
Pilate did not know that Jesus kept a spent body going, in order to receive
endless pain and suffering in order to save him and us. And as Jesus gave up
the ghost, the spent body was further gone than most recently deceased bodies.
55 And many women
were there beholding afar off, which followed Jesus from Galilee,
ministering unto him:
56 Among which was
Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's children.
57 When the even was
come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea,
named Joseph, who also himself
was Jesus' disciple:
58 He went to
Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be
delivered.
59 And when Joseph had
taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,
60 And laid it in
his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great
stone to the door of the sepulcher, and departed. (Mathew 27:55-60)
This account of Jesus crucifixion was made with a free use of the
four gospels, since all four of them focus on their own separate things, and it
is only as they are put together as a more complete picture of that sad day can
be seen. And even as we say “sad day”, and as our hearts are broken as we
relive the sadness, the treachery, the cruelty, the unfairness of that day, it
must be understood that Jesus crucifixion was necessary for our deliverance.
That does not forgive Judas Iscariot, Pontus Pilate, the Chief Priests and all
the rest. Their treason, torture, murder, cowardice, taunting, spitting, etc,
was still their own, and Jesus crucifixion was still murder and the shedding of
innocent blood.
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