The Crucifixion of Jesus
Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, John 19
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After the trial of Jesus, the robber Barabbas was released, and Jesus remained with Pilate. This was the time that Jesus told his disciples about, the time when he would be leaving them.
Jesus was treated very badly by Pilate's men. First he was whipped, and then the soldiers made a crown of thorns and they put it on his head, and then put a purple robe on him because purple was the color that kings wore and they were making fun of him because they did not believe that Jesus was King. And they spit on him, and pulled out his beard and they struck him. And then they took away the purple robe and gave him back his own clothes. And the high priests told Pilate that Jesus should die because he had said he was the Son of God. And Pilate was afraid, but finally he ordered Jesus to be crucified.
And so Jesus, carrying his cross, went towards a place called Golgotha, but he was very weak because of the way the soldiers treated him, and so a man named Simon was made to carry Jesus' cross the rest of the way.
Someone offered Jesus a drink which had something in it called "gall" but when Jesus tasted it, he would not drink it. and then he was nailed to the cross, and Jesus said "Father, forgive them; for they don't know what they are doing." And Pilate made a sign for the cross saying "JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. The chief priests were not very happy about that, and wanted Pilate to change it, but he ordered it to be left the way he had written it. And people passing by made fun of Jesus, and the soldiers made fun of him too.
And the soldiers took the clothing of Jesus and made it into four parts, one for each soldier, but they gambled for his coat because it was made without seams.
There were two other people crucified with Jesus, one on either side of him..and they were thieves. And one of the thieves spoke badly to Jesus, saying "If you are Christ, save yourself and us" but the other one said "Don't you fear God? We are paying the price for the things we have done wrong, but this man has done nothing wrong." And then he said "Jesus, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom." And Jesus said a wonderful thing to him "Truly I say to you, today you shall be with me in paradise." Imagine what peace that man must have known then, to know that he would always be with Jesus.
Standing at the foot of the cross was Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Mary Magdelene, and another Mary who was the sister of Jesus' mother. And when Jesus saw his disciple John, whom he loved, he said to his mother "Woman, behold your son!" And he said to John "Behold your mother!" And from that time Mary lived in the home of John. Isn't that wonderful? Jesus made sure that his mother would have a home and someone to love her.
And then there was a miracle. From noon until 3:00 in the afternoon, there came a great darkness over the land. And Jesus was heard to cry out "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" and this was the time when the Lord Jesus took upon himself the penalty of our sins, and it was dark so that no one could see it, not even God looked upon Jesus during those three hours. He was all alone.
After that Jesus grew very thirsty and said "I thirst" And he was given a sponge filled with something like vinegar...And then Jesus cried with a loud voice "Father, into your hands I give my spirit, it is finished" and he bowed his head and he died. This is very important, because Jesus chose the exact moment when he would die...and when Jesus died, there was a great earthquake.
Now because the sabbath was the next day, asked Pilate that the bodies might not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, and so they asked that the legs of Jesus and the two crucified with him be broken (so that they would die more quickly). So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first thief, and the other thief, but when they came to Jesus they saw that he was dead already so they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and out flowed blood and water. And this is the truth, that you might believe. These things were done so the scriptures should be fulfilled, "a bone of him shall not be broken" and again another scripture says "They shall look on him who they pierced." (Exodus 12:46, Psalm 34:20)
And one of the soldiers, glorified God, and said "Certainly this was a righteous man." And the other people who knew Jesus were very sad.
Then a man called Joseph of Arimathea, who was a secret disciple of Jesus, begged Pilate for Jesus body, and also Nicodemus came too, and they took his body, and wound it with linen cloths, and buried him in a tomb in a garden where no one had ever been buried.
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No questions or answers here, lets just think about this wonderful thing, that the Lord Jesus shed his precious blood, and took upon himself the penalty for our sins and then he died. And when we believe what God says, that we are all sinners in his sight, and when we ask the Lord Jesus to be our Saviour, we have his promise that we will go to heaven..What a wonderful thing.
Vicki C. Gross/Nov'02