35 After they had nailed him to the cross, the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice.[h] 36 Then they sat around and kept guard as he hung there. 37 A sign was fastened above Jesus’ head, announcing the charge against him. It read: “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” 38 Two revolutionaries were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left.
39 The people passing by shouted abuse, shaking their heads in mockery. 40 “Look at you now!” they yelled at him. “You said you were going to destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days. Well then, if you are the Son of God, save yourself and come down from the cross!”
41 The leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the elders also mocked Jesus. 42 “He saved others,” they scoffed, “but he can’t save himself! So he is the King of Israel, is he? Let him come down from the cross right now, and we will believe in him! 43 He trusted God, so let God rescue him now if he wants him! For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” 44 Even the revolutionaries who were crucified with him ridiculed him in the same way. I have a hard time reading this. Do we not live in a world that would do the exact same thing all over again?
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John Burnett: 32 As they were coming out, they found a man of Cyrene named Simon, [a]whom they pressed into service to bear His cross.
33 And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means Place of a Skull, 34 they gave Him wine to drink mixed with gall; and after tasting it, He was unwilling to drink.
35 And when they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments among themselves by casting [b]lots. 36 And sitting down, they began to keep watch over Him there. 37 And above His head they put up the charge against Him [c]which read, “THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”
38 At that time two robbers *were crucified with Him, one on the right and one on the left. 39 And those passing by were [d]hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads 40 and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” 41 In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking Him and saying, 42 “He saved others; [e]He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him. 43 He trusts in God; let God rescue Him now, if He [f]delights in Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” 44 The robbers who had been crucified with Him were also insulting Him with the same words. Martin
Luther said that he had the nails used on Jesus in his pocket. Every
time we sin against Him is like hitting a nail. His willingness to go
through such a painful death to take the punishment for our sins but
also give us eternal life really is amazing. He gives us His
righteousness, we are co-heirs and adopted sons of God the Father, and
we get to reign with Him in His eternal kingdom. Three great promises
that were bought and paid for on that day on Calvary. Thank you, Lord
Jesus.
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Allen Michaels: Sorry this is so long but Christ’s crucifixion is so important to me and
it’s important the we are aware of the suffering that Christ endured.
Not just the physical suffering but the fact that his own people turned
against him. His death
and resurrection are the entire cornerstone for Christianity. I know Christ’s physical body died when “Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last.” (Luke 23:46).
Then the Apostle’s Creed tells us “He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to hell. The third
day he rose again from the dead.”
So was Christ alive (in Spirit) for the three days in hell? If not,
then what is the significance of descending into hell? I guess what I’m
asking is, has Christ ever really experienced
death since his human birth? Something to ponder.
32 As they were going out,
they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross.
33 They came to a place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”).
34 There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it.
When
Jesus was nailed to the cross he was already more than half-dead. The
scourging alone and the crown of thorns beaten into his skull had nearly
killed him. In such a state
it is all the more remarkable to see Jesus with a clear sound mind and a
tranquil heart. When Jesus was offered some wine mixed with myrrh to
ease his pain, he refused it. He willingly embraced suffering and death
for our sake because he knew and loved us
all when he offered his life as an atoning sacrifice on the cross (Gal. 2:20, Ephes. 5:2, 25).
Jesus shows us the depths of God's redeeming love and forgiveness. He loved his own to the end
(John 13:1).
"In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our sins"
(1 John 4:10). "For the love of Christ controls us, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died."
(2 Cor. 5:14).
35 When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
It’s important to not only know that Christ died for sins, but to also
know what he went through, even for somebody like me. The Romans
reserved crucifixion for their worst offenders. It was designed to be
the most humiliating and excruciatingly painful way
they knew for execution. The criminal was stripped and nailed to a
cross erected in a public place, usually by a roadside or highway near
the town where the criminal could be viewed by everybody who passed that
way. A healthy man could live for several days
on such a cross before he expired from hunger, thirst, exhaustion, and
madness. It was a slow agonizing death, usually as a result of
asphyxiation. The victim was hung on the cross in such a fashion that
his lungs quickly filled with fluids and he could
not breathe unless he pulled his chest upward and gasped for breath.
Every movement brought nerve-racking pain. Eventual exhaustion led to
asphyxiation. If the soldiers wanted to speed the process up, they
broke the victim's legs to prevent ease of breathing.
36 And sitting down, they kept watch over him there.
37 Above his head they placed the written charge against him:
this is jesus, the king of the jews. Pilate
publicly heralded Jesus "The King of the Jews" as he died upon the
cross, no doubt to irritate and annoy the chief priests
and Pharisees. Jesus was crucified for his claim to be King. The Jews
understood that the Messiah would come as king to establish God's reign
for them. They wanted a king who would free them from tyranny and
foreign domination. Many had high hopes that Jesus
would be the Messianic king. Little did they understand what kind of
kingship Jesus claimed to have. Jesus came to conquer hearts and souls
for an imperishable kingdom, rather than to conquer perishable lands and
entitlements. As Jesus was dying on the cross,
he was mocked for his claim to kingship. Nonetheless, he died not only
as King of the Jews, but King of the nations as well. His victory over
the power of sin, Satan, and the world was accomplished through his
death on the cross and his resurrection. Jesus
exchanged a throne of glory for a cross of shame to restore us to glory
with God as his adopted sons and daughters.
"He
humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.
Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which
is above every
other name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven
and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
(Phil. 2:8-11) In the Book of Revelations Jesus is called
King of kings and Lord and lords (Rev. 19:16). We
need to ask ourselves; do we recognize Jesus Christ as our King and Lord and do we exalt his name as holy?
38 Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left.
39 Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads
40 and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build
it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are
the Son of God!”
41 In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him.
42 “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself!
He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we
will believe in him.
43 He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”
44 In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.
Are
you prepared to die well? None of us can avoid the inevitable -- our
own death. We try to avoid it, to block it from
our minds, but the truth is we will all die sooner or later. Dying is
not easy for anyone. It involves mental and physical suffering, loss,
and separation. We can choose to live well, and we can choose to die
well. Dying well is a life-long spiritual task.
Fortunately there is something stronger than death and that is love (Song of Songs 6:8).
"For God so loved the world that he gave us his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life"
(John 3:16). Jesus embraced the cross knowing it was the Father's will and the Father's way for him to die.
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Tomorrow's Reading for Matthew 27:45-56
45 At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. 46 At about three o’clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli,[j] lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”[k]
47 Some of the bystanders misunderstood and thought he was calling for the prophet Elijah. 48 One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, holding it up to him on a reed stick so he could drink. 49 But the rest said, “Wait! Let’s see whether Elijah comes to save him.”[l]50 Then Jesus shouted out again, and he released his spirit. 51 At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart, 52 and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead. 53 They left the cemetery after Jesus’ resurrection, went into the holy city of Jerusalem, and appeared to many people.
54 The Roman officer[m] and the other soldiers at the crucifixion were terrified by the earthquake and all that had happened. They said, “This man truly was the Son of God!”
55 And many women who had come from Galilee with Jesus to care for him were watching from a distance. 56 Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary (the mother of James and Joseph), and the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee.
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