A Real Death : Brutally Crucified

17 They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him.

20 And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.

34 And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).


37 With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.

38 The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39 And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”
Mark 15:17, 20, 34, 37-39


Study:

They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him.


And they clothe him with purple. The robe was designed to give Jesus a mock appearance of royalty, and it was likely some cast-off military coat or state garment of Pilate's.
And platting a crown of thorns, they put it on him. It is not know which one of the many thorny plants of Palestine was used to form the Lord's crown. See Mark 4:7 - Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain.. It is likely that the mock robe and crown were removed when Jesus was brought before Pilate to be sentenced  for it is highly improbable that a Roman judge would pronounce the death sentence while the prisoner was clothed in such a manner.

And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.


THE CRUCIFIXION. A. ON THE WAY TO THE CROSS. (Within and without Jerusalem. Friday morning.) 
Matthew 27:31-34 ; 
Mark 15:20-23 ; 
Luke 23:26-33 ; 
John 19:17
And when they had mocked him. This ended the mockery, which seems to have been begun in a state of levity, but which ended in gross indecency and violence. When we think of him who endured it all, we cannot contemplate the scene without a shudder. Who can measure the grace of God or the depravity of man?

And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).


And at the ninth hour. At three o'clock p.m. See Matthew 20:3 - “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing..

Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? The words of the cry are found at Psalms 22:1 - 

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? 

Why are you so far from saving me, 

so far from my cries of anguish?

 . "Eli" is Hebrew, "Eloi" is Aramaic or Syro-Chaldaic for "My God". The former would be used by Jesus if he quoted the Scripture, the latter if he spoke the language of the people.

My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? We can imagine what it would mean to a righteous man to feel that he was forsaken of God. But the more we feel and enjoy the love of another, the greater our sense of loss at being deprived of it. Considering, therefore, the near and dear relationship between the Son and Father, it is evident that we can never know or fathom the depth of anguish which this cry expressed.Suffice it to say, that this was without doubt the most excruciating o fall Christ's sufferings, and it, too, was a suffering in our stead.

With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.


And Jesus uttered a loud voice. See Luke 23:46 - Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”[a] When he had said this, he breathed his last..
And gave up the ghost. In Greek, "ekpneo", "breathed his last". None of the Evangelists speaks of Jesus as dying; for he yielded up hisspirit voluntarily ( John 10:18 - No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.” ).

The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

And the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom. The veil was the heavy curtain which hung between the holy and the most holy places in the sanctuary. By shutting out from the most holy place all persons except the high priest, who alone was permitted to pass through it, and this only once in the year, it signified that the way into the holiest--that is, into heaven--was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was standing ( Hebrews 9:7 - But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. Hebrews 9:8 - 

The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still functioning.) 

But the moment that Jesus died, thus making the way manifest, the veil was appropriately rent in twain from top to bottom, disclosing the most holy place to the priests who were at that time offering the evening incense in the holy place.

And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”

The centurion . . . said, Truly this man was the Son of God. The conduct of Jesus upon the cross and the disturbances of nature which accompanied his death ( Matthew 27:51-52 ), convinced the centurion that Jesus was a righteous man. But knowing that Jesus claimed to be the Son of God, and this claim was the real cause for which the Jews were crucifying him, he concludes, since he concedes that Jesus is righteous  that he is also all that he professed to be--the Son of God.There is no just reason for minimizing his confession, as though he had said  "A son of the gods"; for he said nothing of that kind, and those err as to the use of Scriptural language who think so. Like the centurions of Capernaum and Caesarea ( Matthew 8:10 ; Acts 10:1 Acts 10:2 ), this Romanx surpassed in faith those who had better opportunities. But in this faith he was not alone.

Help From Above : Jesus The Son Of God

1 John 4:15

15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God.

Luke 1:35

35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.

Isaiah 9:6

6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Matthew 17:5

5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”

John 9:37

37 Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”

Colossians 2:9

9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,

A Real Death : Unfairly Tried

59 The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. 60 But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward.


63 But Jesus remained silent.

The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”

64 “You have said so,” Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

65 Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. 66 What do you think?”

“He is worthy of death,” they answered.
Matthew 26:59, 60, 63-66


Study:

The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. 

All the council sought false witness - What a prostitution of justice! - they first resolve to ruin him, and then seek the proper means of effecting it: they declare him criminal, and after that do all they can to fix some crime upon him, that they may appear to have some shadow of justice on their side when they put him to death. It seems to have been a common custom of this vile court to employ false witness, on any occasion, to answer their own ends.

See this exemplified in the case of Stephen, Acts 6:11-13 - 11 Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.”

12 So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. 13 They produced false witnesses, who testified, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law.

But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward.

Though many false witnesses came - There is an unaccountable confusion in the MSS. in this verse: without stating the variations, which may be seen in Griesbach, I shall give that which I believe to be the genuine sense of the evangelist. Then the chief priests and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death; but they found it not, though many false witnesses came up. At last two false witnesses came up, saying; This man said, etc. It is the property of falsity to be ever inconsistent, and to contradict itself; therefore they could not find two consistent testimonies, without which the Jewish law did not permit any person to be put to death. However, the hand of God was in this business: for the credit of Jesus, and the honor of the Christian religion, he would not permit him to be condemned on a false accusation; and, therefore, at last they were obliged to change their ground, and, to the eternal confusion of the unrighteous council, he is condemned on the very evidence of his own innocence, purity, and truth!

But Jesus remained silent.

The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”

I adjure thee by the living God - I put thee to thy oath. To this solemn adjuration Christ immediately replies, because he is now called on, in the name of God, to bear another testimony to the truth. The authority of God in the most worthless magistrate should be properly respected. However necessary our Lord saw it to be silent, when the accusations were frivolous, and the evidence contradictory, he felt no disposition to continue this silence, when questioned concerning a truth, for which he came into the world to shed his blood.

“You have said so,” Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

Thou hast said - That is, I am the Christ, the promised Messiah, (see on Matthew 26:25 - Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, "Surely you don't mean me, Rabbi?" Jesus answered, "You have said so." ); and you and this whole nation shall shortly have the fullest proof of it: for hereafter, in a few years, ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, fully invested with absolute dominion, and coming in the clouds of heaven, to execute judgment upon this wicked race. See Matthew 24:30 - "Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. 

Our Lord appears to refer to Daniel 7:13 - "In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. : One like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, etc. This may also refer to the final judgment.

Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. 

The high priest rent his clothes - This rending of the high priest's garments was expressly contrary to the law, 
Leviticus 10:6 - Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, "Do not let your hair become unkempt and do not tear your clothes, or you will die and the LORD will be angry with the whole community. But your relatives, all the Israelites, may mourn for those the LORD has destroyed by fire.

Leviticus 21:10. - "'The high priest, the one among his brothers who has had the anointing oil poured on his head and who has been ordained to wear the priestly garments, must not let his hair become unkempt or tear his clothes.

But it was a common method of expressing violent grief, 
Genesis 37:29 - When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes.

Genesis 37:34 - Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and mourned for his son many days.

Job 1:20 - At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship

and horror at what was deemed blasphemous or impious. 
2 Kings 18:37 - Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder went to Hezekiah, with their clothes torn, and told him what the field commander had said.

2 Kings 19:1 - When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and went into the temple of the LORD.

Acts 14:14 - But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting:

All that heard a blasphemous speech were obliged to rend their clothes, and never to sew them up again.

What do you think?”

“He is worthy of death,” they answered.

He is guilty of death - Ενοχος θανατου εστι, he is liable to death. All the forms of justice are here violated. The judge becomes a party and accuser, and proceeds to the verdict without examining whether all the prophecies concerning the Messiah, and the innumerable miracles which he wrought, did not justify him. Examination and proof are the ruin of all calumnies, and of the authors of them, and therefore they take care to keep off from these two things.

Help From Above : The Deity Of Jesus Christ

1 Timothy 3:16

16 Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.

John 1:1 and 14

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Matthew 1:22-23

22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:

23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

John 10:30

30 I and the Father are one.”

John 14:9, 10a

9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

10a Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me?

Proverbs 20:22

22 Do not say, “I’ll pay you back for this wrong!”

    Wait for the Lord, and he will avenge you.

Walk With God : Meditation

Holy and frequent meditation is another blessed means of keeping up a believer's walk with God. 

"Prayer, reading, temptation, and meditation," says Luther, "makes a minister." 

And they also make and perfect a Christian. 

Meditation is to the soul what digestion is to the body. 

Holy David found it so, and therefore he was frequently employed in meditation, even in the night season. 

We read also of Isaac's going out into the fields to meditate in the evening; or, as it is in the margin, to pray. 

For meditation is a kind of silent prayer, whereby the soul is frequently (so to speak) carried out of itself to God. 

Through meditation, the soul is, in a degree, made like unto those blessed Spirits, who by a kind of intuition always behold the face of our heavenly Father. 

None but those happy souls that have been accustomed to this divine practice can tell what a blessed promoter of the divine life meditation is. 

"While I was musing," says David, "the fire kindled" 

my heart grew hot within me.

While I meditated, the fire burned;

    then I spoke with my tongue: - Ps. 39:3

And while the believer is musing on the works and word of God, he frequently feels the fire of divine love kindle, so that he is obliged to speak with his tongue and tell of the loving kindness of the Lord to his soul. 

Especially when we meditate on that work of works, that wonder of wonders, that mystery of godliness: "God manifest in the flesh," the Lamb of God slain for the sins of the world! 

Be frequent therefore in meditation, all you who desire to maintain a close and uniform walk with the most high God. 

A Real Death : Cruelly Betrayed

42 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”

Jesus Arrested

43 Just as he was speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared. With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders.

44 Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.” 45 Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Rabbi!” and kissed him. 46 The men seized Jesus and arrested him.
Mark 14:42-46


Study:



Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”

To meet the enemy and the danger; for there is no escaping;

lo, he that betrayeth me is at hand; Judas, that he had hinted at supper should betray him, was now about doing it; and was just now coming upon him, in order to deliver him into the hands of the Jews, and the Roman band of soldiers;


Just as he was speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared. With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders.

cometh Judas one of the twelve: apostles of Christ, and which was an aggravation of his wickedness; the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, Arabic, Persic, and Ethiopic, versions add, "Iscariot"; and so it is read in one of Beza's copies. The Ethiopic version reads, "one of the ten", very wrongly:

and with him a great multitude; a band of men and officers, with many of the chief priests and captains of the temple, and elders of the people, that mixed themselves with the crowd, to see how things would issue:

with swords and staves; which they intended to make use of, should any resistance be made in apprehending him, or any attempt to rescue him:

from the chief priests, and the Scribes, and the elders; from the Jewish sanhedrim, which consisted of these


Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.”

And he that betrayed him had given them a token,.... A common sign, in which they agreed; and so this same Greek word is used by the Jews

"said R. Phinehas in the name of R. Reuben, did you ever see one man go out of the north, and another from the south, and meet each other, except they made, "a common sign", between them.''

Such an one the traitor gave his company;

saying, whomsoever I shall kiss, the same is he; Jesus of Nazareth; who was to be delivered to them:

take him, and lead him away safely; with care and caution, lest he should get out of their hands, and make his escape, as he had sometimes done: the word "safely", is omitted in the Arabic, Persic, and Ethiopic versions. The Vulgate Latin renders it "cautiously", and so does the Syriac version, which joins it to the words, "take him"


Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Rabbi!” and kissed him.

To the place where Jesus was:

he goeth straightway to him; alone; as if he had nothing to do with the company behind, and as if he was his friend, and concerned for his safety:

and saith, Master, Master; expressing great affection for him, and respect to him, by repeating this word. The Ethiopic version has it but once, and so two exemplars of Beza's; and the Vulgate Latin reads, "hail, Master", as in Matthew 26:49 - Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" and kissed him.

and kissed him;


The men seized Jesus and arrested him.

And they laid hands on him, and took him. After Christ had said to Judas, "friend, wherefore art thou come?" as in Matthew; and also, "Judas, betrayest thou the son of man with a kiss?" as in Luke 22:48 - but Jesus asked him, "Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?"