The Advent of Easter, Part XXI by Pamela Christian—Copyright © 2019
After Jesus’ Last Supper, Jesus retreats with His disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. He desires the company of His disciples while He prays—the same as our asking others to be in agreement with us in our prayers. Praying into the late hours of the night, Jesus realized his disciples were not able to remain awake, leaving Him to suffer all that was before Him, on his own.
Soon a crowd arrived, along with the Religious Leaders, and Judas Iscariot. Violence ensued. And Jesus said to them, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I was with you at the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But let the Scriptures be fulfilled.” (Mark 14:48-49 ESV) Jesus is led away, as a captive, and taken to Caiaphas head of the Jewish Council. The people made false testimony against Jesus and accused Him of blasphemy, seeking to have Him put to death.
In the morning, around 6:00 AM, Jesus was taken before Pilate the governor for the Roman government. With tremendous mob mentality insisting on Jesus’ death, Pilate tried to appeal to their senses. Pilate noting no clear violation of law, yet hearing the crowd yell, “Crucify him!” asks, “Why what evil has he done?” But the crowd shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!” Amidst the threat of a riot, Pilate learning Jesus as a Galilean was under Herod Antipas’ jurisdiction, he sends Jesus to Herod.
Scriptures reveal both Pilate and Herod found Jesus innocent of breaking Roman law. Pilate sought to release Jesus, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar,” (John 19:12). The Jewish leaders stated, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God,” (John 19:7). In response Pilate took water and washed his hands before the crowd saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.” At this point it is mid-morning when Jesus was sentenced to be crucified.
The inhumane treatment imposed upon Him—the tortuous beatings and more were precursors to His actual death by crucifixion. Soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on Jesus’ head. They also placed on Him a purple robe to mock the claim that He was King of the Jews. They spat on Him, struck Him with their fists, plucked out his beard all before He was nailed to the cross. On the cross Pilate had an inscription written in
Aramaic, Latin, and Greek, placed which read, “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.” The Jewish Chief Priests objected to this, but Pilate did not yield.
We learn there was darkness over the land from the sixth hour until the ninth hour, which is noon to about 3:00 PM. Around this time Jesus is heard saying aloud in anguish, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46), these being some of the most profound words in the entire Bible. In some sense, Jesus had to be cut off from the favor and fellowship wit the Father that had been His eternally, because He was bearing the sins of the people, and therefore enduring God’s wrath. This was not a cry of His own personal bewilderment, for He knew the reason of His crucifixion No, it was with a loud voice for the bystanders. By stating “My God” he expressed unwavering faith, and by revealing He was being forsaken proclaimed His work utterly for the salvation of others.
And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, stating “It is finished!” He gave up His spirit. At that moment, according to Matthew 27:50-51a, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The tearing of the veil at the moment of Jesus’ death dramatically symbolized that His sacrifice, the shedding of His own blood, was a sufficient atonement for sins. It signified the way into the Holy of Holies was now open for all people, for all time, both Jew and Gentile.
Jesus’ sacrificial death created a way for spiritual death to pass over all who will believe in and receive Him as their personal Savior.
The Feast of Unleavened Bread and the days of Jesus body in the tomb will be the focus of the next post.
For April 15-16, 2019 read and meditate on the following Scriptures:
Isaiah 50:6 and 52:14; Matthew 27; Mark 13, and 14:32-15:47; Luke 22:47 and 23;1-56; John 14-19:42.
Note: All four gospels record intense instructions given by our Lord in his final numbered hours. He taught with greater intensity, providing instructions for the ever-present current times, and about the end-times. We would benefit more to ingest His instructions with the same intensity with which He taught.
Additional Resources:
http://ad2004.com/prophecytruths/Articles/OriginalPassover.pdf
http://www.eaec.org/bibleanswers/The_Passover_Week.pdf
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