Chapter 2.8
Way of the Cross
Via Dolorosa – Our Lords fateful walk on Good
Friday
The Passover Supper – The Garden of Gethsemane
The Trial – The Crucifixion
First Word
Via
Dolorosa is Latin for Way of Sorrows or Way of Pain.
While this term does not appear in
scripture, it is the traditional pilgrimage route commemorating our Lord’s
fateful Good
Friday journey from Pilate’s
Judgment Hall to Golgotha. Christians
from all over the world go to Jerusalem and every Friday walk along the route
where Christ took His exhaustive journey.
It is almost impossible to determine the exact route, because after the
first and second revolts all landmarks were destroyed or buried deep under
rubble. This devotional practice representing the gospel story is by the
Traditional FOURTEEN events or “Stations” of remembrance as fixed in the 18th
century.
Passover
- The Paschal Lamb
Originally: Passover;
connected to the paschal lamb and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were two distinct, but consecutive festivals. Later they were celebrated as one event. Preparations
began on the 10th day of Nisan; an unblemished male yearling lamb
was selected and kept under special care till the 14th day of Nisan when it would be killed before sunset. On the 15th
of Nisan, The Passover meal with
the roasted lamb would be eaten with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. (No bones could be broken) Friday the day before the Sabbath, was known as The Day of Preparation. The feast of unleavened bread would continue through the 21st
of Nisan.
The
Paschal Lamb is a foreshadow of “The Lamb of God”
Time Line - Arise the third day
The
time is Passover Week. The entire
festival was called Passover.
Thursday evening, the 14TH day of Nisan, Jesus and
the disciples prepare and partake in the “chagigah meal” before sunset. This was a meal before the Passover feast
which would occur on the 15th of Nisan; where the feast
of unleavened bread would continuing on for seven more days till the 21st
of Nisan. This would actually become
Christ’s Passover meal. (There is much controversy over which meal and
which day. But this is my take.)
Nisan is
their first month of the year and is a spring month
of 30 days usually falling in March–April on the Gregorian calendar.
NOTE: Jesus said He wanted to eat the actual Passover meal with them, but would not.
Friday evening,
the 15 day of Nisan, the actual Passover meal would have been eaten, but Jesus
would already be dead; He would become the Passover lamb.
Time Line: The sixth hour is twelve noon; ninth
hour is three pm; 6pm or sunset begins a new day.
Thursday at
sunset/Friday; they go to the garden of Gethsemane.
Friday very, very
early, He is arrested in the garden and tried by the Sanhedrin.
Friday about 7 am He
is taken to Pilate; then to Herod, then back to Pilate
Friday around 9 am
Jesus is crucified.
Friday between 12 noon &
3 pm,
Jesus has been on the cross for six hours & subsequently dies.[1]
The Grave, Hades or Hell is divided into
two compartments; Torment and Paradise with a gulf separating them. Jesus spiritually descends into Hades to
preach the Gospel to those in Abraham’s bosom or paradise; then He takes
Paradise and all those in it to Heaven where it is located now. (I know this is heavy) Now when we die we are immediately taken
to Paradise in Heaven. In Jewish
theology, the “Blessed
Souls” or those in the “Friendship” of God await in a compartment of
Hell that is called Paradise or Abraham’s bosom.[2] When Paradise was relocated to heaven, Hell
was enlarged to receive the multitudes that will reject God.
Friday between 3 pm and 6pm sunset, His body is taken down
from the cross and is being prepared for buried in the tomb. This is the same hour of the ritual slaughter of
the lambs for the Passover. Jesus becomes the
Passover lamb.
Three days in the grave. A part of a day was counted as a complete day
Friday before sunset Day One in the grave; the day of preparation for the Sabbath
Friday sunset/Saturday
Day Two in the grave; the Sabbath
Saturday sunset/Sunday Day Three in
the grave; the first day of the week.
Sunday just after
sunrise Mary is at the tomb; Christ has physically already risen.
My problem with the time line is that I
want to force Jesus to be in the grave three full days and three full
nights, but that is just not what the scriptures validate. A new day started at sunset. His physical body was in the grave maybe only
two hours on Friday just before sunset, all day on Saturday the Sabbath, and
maybe only a half day on Sunday, the first day of the week around sunrise.
Some
commentaries and students of the Word think that this His death happened on
Thursday and not on Friday which would give another 24 hours in the grave... If
that’s the case, I can then only pre-suppose that Mary could not go to the
grave the next day to anoint Him with perfumes because she would have become
ceremonially unclean and could not partake of the Passover; (that’s
just my far out thoughts).
Some students of the Word believe that
they were using two different calendars to report the days.
The Solar Calendar tracks the time required for the earth to
rotate around the sun in one solar year
It is a measurement of time between the two vernal equinoxes which is
365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 46 seconds.
The vertical equinox is referred to as the first day of spring.
The Lunar Calendar tracks the phases of the moon as it moves from
new moon to new moon during a single month.
It is based on the moon’s orbit around the Earth which takes 29.530
days.
There is an 11 day difference between the Solar and Lunar year. In the Solar Calendar we
add a leap day to the month of February every four years; and to the Lunar Calendar we insert a 13th month into it every
three years.
In the finality of things, I have to go
with what I find within the scripture of the four gospels which is that of; one
full day and two partial days counting as two full days.
A
little background
The
Pharisees and other religious leaders were extremely bothered that
Jesus had gathered such a large following that had accepted Him as the Messiah which “to them” was blasphemy and they were
losing control over the Jews. Unable to
cope with this, they decided the best way to handle this blasphemy was to kill
Him…
I want to jump in here to say that the
Jews took YHWH; the God of
Israel, very seriously. They would not even utter His name and for someone to
claim that they were the son of God was BLASPHEMY and worthy of death.
Besides that, “Elijah”
would come first, then the Messiah. They did not recognize that the “Spirit of
Elijah” had already come in John the Baptist.[3]
Gethsemane: Hebrew; gat se mani meaning “press of oils”; a garden located on
the lower slopes of the Mount of Olives where olive trees and olive presses
were located and frequented by Jesus and His inner circle of the twelve
Disciples.
THURSDAY night/FRIDAY morning; the stage is set. Jesus and the Disciples have finished “their”
Passover Supper and have left the city and now the eleven have gone to the
Garden of Gethsemane. It was the Jewish
custom after the Passover meal to spend the night in prayer and meditation. It is quite possible that they were also camped
out there because of lack of rooms in the city during Passover as well as
because of finances. They are mentioned
in scripture as being there often.
Jesus is in prayer waiting for the
betrayal of Judas’ to unfold; in anguish He calls out “Abba Father” Abba
in Aramaic means “Daddy”.
Jesus
had taken aside with Him; Peter, James and John who were supposed to be
watching, but fell asleep. A little
later as He is addressing the eleven disciples, the mob quickly appeared
lighting their torches even though it was a full moon. They brought clubs to take care of any
resistance; and in their mist was Judas leading the way as he knew the place quite
well. This was not a surprise, it was an expectation. I can almost see them crouched down secretly advancing
to snare Him.
When the solders asked for Jesus, He
voluntarily stepped forward and said twice, “I AM HE”. Notice the Devine name “I AM” the name of Jehovah. Already identified, there was no reason for
Judas to identify him in a full moon with a kiss, but he did anyway. Judas probably just wanted to “make good” on
his right to the 30 pieces of silver.[4] Jesus called Judas “FRIEND” which is not what it means today; then a friend was someone you were in a “Blood Covenant” with. Someone in the “Friendship of God” was in
Covenant with Him; God called Abraham His Friend.[5]
The
presence of the Holy Spirit: The Soldiers
upon hearing the words; “I AM HE”, became what
the Pentecostals refer to as, “Slain in the Spirit”; BAM they fell down briefly as if
dead men.[6] This certainly demonstrated the power Jesus
had over His enemies and His freedom to willingly choose to go with them. After they got themselves up off the ground,
Jesus asked again “whom do you seek?” You
would think at this point they would have taken off running in all directions
at just the thought of the answer; “I AM HE”
Peter
thought Malchus; the servant of the high priest needed a haircut and sought to
part his hair with his sword, but only just shaved off his ear a little and Jesus
fixed it back on him.[7] Then
He went peaceably with them, fulfilling the prophecy that none of the disciples
would be killed.
The arrogant religious leaders had waited
for the secrecy of the cover of
night when most folks were home with their family. Herod held his court very early in the
morning and the city folk would wake up to an already done deal with Jesus
condemned.
The
mob,
including a detachment of 600 Roman soldiers and temple police took Jesus
prisoner in the Garden of Gethsemane. Both Jews and Gentiles had a hand in this. They took him to the house of the “deposed”
but influential high priest Anna for trial along with the active high priest
Caiaphas who turns out to be Anna’s son-in-law.
(Annas
was the Elder Statesman, the power behind the throne so to speak.) This was a preliminary hearing to get
evidence.
The Priest Anna had several sons
that succeeded him giving him a monopoly on the High Priesthood for over 50
years. Jewish sources list his regime as
corrupt; they secretly had already
called an illegal assembly of the Jewish Sanhedrin court; some 70 of them were
waiting for Him. The Chief Priests; the Scribes and the
Elders were the three groups that
made up the Sanhedrin.
False
witnesses were already present. There were no witnesses for the defense; Pilate’s company of 600 solders was already
being secretly assembled.;
Smells like a “SET UP” to me. The charges before the Sanhedrin were; 1) Threatening to
destroy the temple and 2) Blasphemy.
Jesus was made sport of; He was “hoodwinked” and they struck him with His face
covered. (“rapisma”; with a blow of a rod
or a slap with the palm of the hand) Then they asked Him to tell who had struck Him; they
were mocking His prophetic office and then as was prophesied they pulled out
His beard.
FRIDAY morning the Sanhedrin high council continued court
and just after sunrise, about seven or eight in the morning they had in short order condemned Jesus to death. It was illegal to sentence someone to death at
night; they must have two trials a day apart, thus the daybreak session for
“the appearance” of legality.
His trial was in two stages
First Stage: 1) The hearing before Annas. 2) The trial before
Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin. 3) The continuance of the same trial at daybreak and
what they were going to tell Pilate.
Second Stage: 1) The trial before Pilate. 2) The trial before Herod. 3) The trial before Pilate again and the sentencing.
NOTE:
It was not against Roman law for someone to claim that they were god; so
before Pilate, they changed the charges against Jesus to indicate that 1) He was subverting the Jewish nation. 2) He opposed
paying taxes to Rome. 3) That of Sedition; stirring up the people, and. 4) He claims to be Christ, a King. This would be HIGH
TREASON;
Death.
The term “King” was a political title
that Herod enjoyed.
Executions were
restricted to Roman authorities only. Since they had no authority to invoke the
death sentence, they sent Jesus to Pontius Pilate, the Roman procurator who was
thought to be at the Antonia Fortress. Stoning
was the Jewish method of capital
punishment; Crucifixion
was the Roman method.
FRIDAY
morning: Pilate was frightened about
the situation and didn’t want to sentence Jesus to death and sent Him to Herod Antipas, the Tetrarch of Galilee
who was probably at his palace. Jesus came from Galilee and Herod had
jurisdiction over Galilee. Herod; being
a nominal Jew, was under obligation to attend the Passover and maybe he would
find favor for Jesus; this action might also give Pilate a friendship and a
political advantage. Herod’s curiosity
wanted Jesus to provide a SIGN or a miracle
show; Jesus wouldn’t do it. Jesus would
do a miracle for a beggar, but not to provide entertainment for a great
Potentate. Jesus would NOT cheapen His
omnipotence with a sideshow.
Herod didn’t
want to sentence Jesus either and sent Him back to Pilate where under pressure;
Pilate offers to release a prisoner to the mob.
At some point both Pilate and Herod have
now become witnesses for the defense. They
both found Jesus to be “NOT GUILTY” of any crime. But the people would not hear of it. Interestingly; there was a custom of amnesty
at the Passover feast to release one prisoner each year. Instead of Jesus, they shouted to release Barabbas the notorious ZEALOT, a murderer and an insurrectionist.[8]
A Zealot deeply resented the Romans occupation
of Palestine. Any insurrectionist against the Romans was considered a HERO. The crowd had assembled to obtain the release
of an insurrectionist; Jesus was just collateral damage.
Scripture seems to indicate that the crowd
does not take a stand against Jesus, but are more like spectators; passive
rather than hostile, till they are stirred up.
PONDER THIS: Many students of the word think that the
Zealot Barabbas was also named “Jesus” which was a common name, and to make
sure that Pilate did not misunderstand who they were talking about, they used
the word “Barabbas”. Bar
means
Pilate
condemns Jesus to death. Pilate’s
action was not prompted by the desire for justice, but by political and moral
cowardice. Barabbas was released and
saved from crucifixion. Jesus took his
place. It had been less than
a week since Jesus was HONORED with His
triumphal entry into the city and now they were shouting to CRUCIFY HIM.
This begins the “Way of the Cross,” Via Dolorosa, The Way of Sorrow
Via
Dolorosa – The Tour
In the actual tour of the Via Dolorosa in
Jerusalem, there are FOURTEEN
STATIONS making
up the tour; some are not found in scripture, and are preserved only in
tradition.
Station
# 1 – The place where Jesus was condemned
Jesus is condemned by Pilate, the Roman
Governor and handed over to his Soldiers; Jesus is flogged. Under Jewish Law, the number of lashes was
determined by the crime, but no more than forty. Tradition has it that they always stopped at
thirty nine just in case they had lost count.
NOTE: The Romans however
were not limited by the Hebrew laws.
The subjects were beaten with elm or birch
rods or whipped with the dreaded flagellum (The cat of nine tails) a short handled leather whip with many
leather lashes that had pieces of bone
and lead plaited into its thongs that were meant to rip the victims flesh. Out of an abundance of caution, some used a
whip with 13
strands that had metal and bone imbedded in them, striking the person just 3 times
giving a count of 39.
Jesus was
flogged BEFORE the verdict. Traditionally He would have been stripped and
tied to a low pillar so that His back was bent upward. Two men would stand on opposite sides bringing
down the whip on the shoulders, back and legs. The skin on the back is left hanging down in
ribbons. This left Jesus a bloody pulp
with deep gashes probably exposing His bones and entrails. The Romans had no limit to the lashes. Most victims did not survive this cruel
punishment.
The Book says; we
are healed because He took the stripes on His back.
This is where Pilate uttered the words “BEHOLD THE
The Praetorian was
originally the military general’s headquarters along with that of the soldiers;
the Praetorian Guard. The Book uses
the word Praetorian
as the place where Pilate was located or was his residence; anyway, this was the Judgment Hall. The Jews would not go inside because they
would have been ceremonially defiled and could not eat the Passover supper that
night; so for sure; this is Friday the 15th of Nisan.[10]
Then they twisted thorns together to form
a crown and then forced it down on His head and then they gave Him a reed staff
in His right hand for a scepter to add to their mockery.[11]
Two
kinds of thorny shrubs; the “Christ Thorn” shrub grows to about 12 feet and
has sharp thorns on the bottom of its leaves.
There is another plant which is similar in name growing to about 8 feet also
found around Golgotha; it is smaller and would be easier to weave into a crown
of thorns.
They proceeded to mockingly kneel down
before Him, calling Him the “King of the Jews”.
Then they snatched the reed staff out of
His hand and beat Him over the head, smacking down on the crown of thorns; over
and over again and spiting upon Him. Their abuse continued as they took turns until
they wearied of their sport.
Pilate brought Jesus out and said, BEHOLD THE
Jesus is condemned to death by crucifixion;
He is left extremely weak which
contributes to His early death.
Station # 2 – The place where Jesus receives the cross
Jesus is stripped of the
scarlet robe and His clothes are put back on Him and then He is led
away carrying His own cross through the streets to expose Him to more contempt.[14] At this stage, normally only the horizontal
transverse bar of the Roman cross was carried strapped across the shoulders,
about 30 to 40 pounds. We don’t know if
it was this bar or the whole cross that Jesus labored under. Normally
a prisoner went naked to his place of execution dragging the cross piece and
was flogged along the way, but Jesus had already been flogged.
Station #3 – The
place where Jesus stumbles under the weight
This
station is preserved only in tradition marking the first stumble or
fall of Jesus while carrying the cross.
Station #4 – The place where Jesus speaks to his
afflicted mother
Jesus sees his mother Mary
and tells her that from hence forth that the disciple John is to be her son and
she is to be his mother; He says that John will take care of her; and he does.[15] Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the
less and Salome the mother of brothers James and John were also present. “The less” means either he was less known or
was the younger, or was shorter.
Station #5 – The place Simon the Cyrenian is forced to
bear the cross
Jewish tradition has
it that Jesus stumbled under the weight of the cross, and as some suggests, a black Jew from an old Greek
settlement on the coast of North Africa,
named Simon from Cyrene, was forced to carry the cross for Jesus. This was not done out of compassion for
Jesus; but was done to expedite the process; Get’er done. Later Simon’s
wife became a well-known Christian along with his two sons, Alexander and
Rufus. It is thought that Simon was
already a disciple and that they selected him to bear the cross as a reprisal;
to set an example
to others who might be thinking about discipleship[16]
To Simon, this troublesome unwieldy load of the cross came out of
nowhere. Now Simon’s name will be remembered and
honored where ever the Gospel is preached as a memorial. This story is not about the load that came
out of nowhere; it’s
a story about us carrying OUR load.
Station #6 - The place where Veronica wipes the face of Jesus.
While I do not find this in
scripture, this is the spot where tradition says Veronica wiped blood, sweat, and dust off the face of Jesus.
I cannot find her name mentioned
anywhere in scripture; again this account is preserved only in tradition.
Station #7 - The place where Jesus stumbles or falls a second
time
This
second fall is preserved only in tradition
Station
#8 - The place
where Jesus speaks to the women.
A group of women
followed Jesus, mourning, weeping and wailing, when Jesus turns and speaks to
them. He foretells the sad times coming
upon the city, the destruction of Jerusalem.
He says, “Don’t weep for me; weep for yourselves and your children, they
will say to the mountains to fall on them and cover them.” Jesus is referring to the Great
Tribulation a horrific time when
they would wish the mountains would cover them and protect them; a time that it
would have been better if they had not brought children into the world. He does not want our sympathy, but for FAITH.
Luke 23:27-30 –
Jesus speaks to the women
27 A large number of people followed him,
including women who mourned and wailed for him.
28 Jesus turned and said to them,
"DAUGHTERS
OF JERUSALEM,
DO NOT WEEP FOR
ME;
WEEP FOR
YOURSELVES AND FOR YOUR CHILDREN.
30 Then they will say to the mountains, "Fall on
us!" and to the hills,
"Cover
us!" NIV
Station #9 -
The place of Jesus’ third fall or stumble.
This third fall is preserved
only in tradition.
NOTE: I can’t find recorded in scripture anywhere
that Jesus fell, staggered or stumbled although I believed He often did.
Station #10 - The place where Jesus was stripped of His
clothes.
Jesus was stripped of His
clothes; There was probably only five articles of clothing; a headdress (turban), an outer garment (cloak), an under garment (tunic), a belt (girdle)
and of course sandals; the soldiers divided up the garments among the
four of them, but they cast lots for His undergarment; the “inner tunic” because it was
seamless.[17] Did you see it? Jesus is naked on the cross; no
underwear.
NOTE: A seamless
undergarment was designated to be worn by the high priest. In all probability this was a gift from His
mother
John
23 When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took
his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the UNDERGARMENT remaining. This garment was seamless,
WOVEN IN
ONE PIECE.
24 from top to bottom "Let's not tear
it," they said to one another.
"LET'S
DECIDE BY LOT WHO WILL GET IT." NIV
Station #11 -
He is nailed to the cross
Station #12 -
He dies
Anyone who hangs on a tree
is under the curse of God – Jesus took our curse removing the curse from us;
fulfilling scripture. Jesus is led to a
place just outside the city called Golgotha which means “The Place of the Skull”.[18] This
place overlooked a public highway; and it is there where Jesus is nailed to a
cross between two rebel criminals so that everyone who passed by could see Him. The most common conjecture for the name
Golgotha is; that the place looked like a skull.[19]
Interestingly, there were three crosses
already prepared for the rebels, which included Barabbas the insurrectionist. Now Jesus is nailed to one of them. Jesus took the rebellious Barabbas’ place; and
He took ours. Selah; ponder that.
Another interesting Note: One of the two criminals asked Jesus
to remember him when he came into His kingdom.[20] This was a shadow of Prophecy; “One will be taken and the other left”.[21] This sinner was saved without being
baptized; baptism in water does not save. If you come to Christ, He will in no way cast
you out.[22]
It’s in
the Book.
Webster: Calvary: Latin Calvaria
meaning skull; the place near Jerusalem where the crucifixion of Jesus took
place. Golgotha
in Hebrew means; a skull like mound or hill that is barren. Roman crucifixion included nailing the criminal to the cross;
although the nailing is NOT found in
scripture, Jesus shows his disciples the hard evidence of the holes in his
hands and tells them to quit doubting.
Technically, the nails were put into the wrist; the reference to hands
would include the wrist as well.
Webster: Crucify; to put to death by nailing; binding to a
cross; leaving to die of exposure; to be very cruel; to torment.
NAILS: Remains have been
found of victims that had been crucified with nails through the wrist between
the Ulna and the radius to prevent the flesh from tearing loose from the nails.[23] The feet were turned at a right angle with a
single spike of hard Olive wood driven through both the right side of the right
heel and the right side of the left heel and then into the cross; The angle
making it harder to push up to breath. A
rope was put across the chest to prevent them from falling forward. The
scourging had already left Jesus very weak. To breathe He had to push up with His legs and
pull up with His arms; collapsing back down in exhaustion; enduring horrible
pain from His ripped up back and legs and the nails that suspended Him.
The Book records the four stinging words; “And They Crucified
Him”.[24]
CONTEMPT: While many
today use the middle finger to show contempt; they WAGGED their heads, jeered and
hurled insults at Him as they passed by. “He saved others, let Him save Himself,” “Come down and we will believe”.
Jesus is offered “Soldiers Wine,” probably by the women, mixed
with the stupefying myrrh drug to deaden the pain, but He refuses it,
choosing to experience the full brunt of the pain with all His senses intact to
the very end.
Jesus asks God to forgive them, because they don’t have any idea what
they are doing. God separates Himself
from Christ for some three hours and allows His only begotten Son to experience
spiritual death in the place of sinful man.
That’s when
Jesus cries out; My God, My God, Why hast thou forsaken me.[25]
Jesus dies; it was a bloody,
painful, shameful and cursed death. Jesus spoke His last words in a loud voice; in
full strength; and in triumph, “IT IS FINISHED;” “the Plan is finished”,[26] the
plan that was put into effect before the foundations of the earth.
Normally the execution team would smash the legs of the victim so they
could not push up to breath and the shock and suffocation would bring death on
pretty quick. Since Jesus had already
died they did not break his legs fulfilling scripture.[27] NOTE: Traditionally the Passover lamb cannot have a bone in its body broken; Jesus became
our Passover Lamb.
Wanting to be sure He was dead; a soldier named by “tradition” as Longinus thrusts his spear into the side
of Jesus and blood and water came out fulfilling prophecy.[28] Then Pilate
prepares a sign in three languages; Aramaic, Latin and Greek.
It was customary to parade the sign around for all to see, then to hang
it on the neck of the victim or places it on top of the cross. The superscription over His head set forth the
crime; Jesus
of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.[29] Pilate meant it for ridicule, but God
meant it for a declaration.
He was put to death because He said He was the King of the Jews.
The serpent has bruised the heel of Jesus, but Jesus has crushed the
head of the serpent[30]
The
Seven Last Words of Christ
1)
Father forgive
them; for they know not what they do. A
prayer for those who are nailing Him to the Cross.
2)
Verily I say
unto thee, today shalt
thou be with Me in Paradise. This opens the Kingdom of God to even the
vilest of penitent sinners.
3)
Woman behold thy
son; behold thy
Mother.
Those of His; with needful care will be
provided for.
4)
Eli, Eli, Lama
Sabachthani Translated; My God, My God, Why hast thou forsaken me? Jesus who knew
no sin had taken on all our sin and felt the presence of God step back from
Him. The weight of sin was intense, He
was abandoned, deserted, and alone, separated for the first time from the
presence of God. Did you
see it?
The Unbeliever and Make-believer will be abandoned, deserted and
separated from the presence of God FOREVER.
5)
I Thirst. He had been
offered wine mixed with myrrh, a narcotic to dull His senses to the pain, but
He refused it, taking in the full brunt of the agony into His full senses.
6)
It is finished: The prophetic utterance that the Plan of
Salvation has been completed.
7)
Father, into thy
hands I commend My Spirit: Jesus
bowed His head and willingly gave up His Spirit. He becomes the firstborn among many who will
defeat the last enemy; DEATH.
Seven is the number for completeness.
It is remarkable for someone when crucified to be able to speak near
their death, as they are already gasping for air; they can inhale, but it is
extremely hard to exhale, let alone speak. Jesus spoke in a loud voice.
Station #13 - His body is taken down
Station #14 - He is laid in the tomb
There were two kinds of tombs; a natural cave
and a very expensive one hewn out of rock. Jewish tradition indicates that a
groove or channel is cut flat in the rock on an incline for a cut disk stone to
roll easily down to seal the entrance of the tomb; but would take several men
to roll it back to open it. This was to
prevent animals and grave robbers from entering. The entrance was low requiring stooping over
before entering.[31]
NOTE: There are two
places only a few hundred feet apart where they think the tomb is located. One is called The Garden Tomb near Gordon’s Calvary and the other belief is
that Jesus’ tomb and Calvary is buried under The Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
Tradition has it that the hill (Golgotha - Calvary) was removed after the crucifixion. At that time, this site was located outside
the walls of Jerusalem, but it is now inside. The Garden tomb has been discounted by
virtually all scientific scholarship, but I
still prefer it.
In 1883, near to
the Damascus Gate, General Gordon
found a rocky escarpment (now situated just behind a bus station), which from
several angles resembled the face of a skull; since
then it has been referred to a Gordon’s Calvary. Prior to Gordon, this possible site had
also been suggested by Colonel Conder in 1870.
Joseph of Arimathea; was a man that
was “waiting
for the Kingdom of God”. He
was a member of the Jewish Council or Sanhedrin; a VERY rich man who
was also a secret disciple of Jesus. Joseph BEGGED permission from
Pilate to bury Jesus in his own tomb. The tomb was not in a public cemetery, but was
in a private garden.[32]
NOTE: Joseph was not present with the assembly when
they condemned Jesus to death. Permission
to bury was granted only by the
imperial magistrate. Such
permission was granted only to special friends or relatives of the deceased. Some commentaries indicate that Joseph was the
Uncle
of Mary; the mother of Jesus, therefore he was A
KINSMAN REDEEMER.
While I DO find references
in “The
Church of Glastonbury,” I am unable to totally validate this. However permission was NEVER granted in the case of High Treason. The Romans often left the dead on the cross for
several days to rot.
By Jewish Law, the body could not remain
on the cross overnight.[33] The Romans didn’t care. Jewish tradition has it, that bodies should
be buried on the day of their death and Joseph took this command seriously. It is believed that this was an Extra Tomb for
Joseph, as an executed criminal could not be placed in a family tomb. Prophecy fulfilled; He would be buried with
the rich.[34]
It’s FRIDAY just before sunset; Saturday,
starts at sundown Friday; they had to hurry to finish the burial before the
tradition of sundown ended the day. This
Saturday was the High Sabbath; the first day of the ‘Feast of unleavened bread‘. Joseph took the body down with the help of Nicodemus
was also a wealthy member of the Sanhedrin; quickly they embalmed it with
seventy five pounds of Myrrh and aloes, which was a rich amount fit for
royalty, and then wrapped the body in a fine linen cloth and placed it in
Joseph’s new tomb which had just been hewed out of rock.[35]
With limited time of washing and preparation it is thought that their
servants also probably helped. They planned to finish the process after the
Sabbath; Mary Magdalene also had some spices with which to anoint and perfume
the body as an act of love and devotion.[36]
The actual anointing of perfume for the burial of Jesus had already taken
place sometime before in Bethany by an unnamed woman.[37] Myrrh is a sticky oily substance that
solidifies quickly; it is mixed with aloes and applied over the embalming
cloths. They treated the body of Jesus
as a treasure of great worth.[38] None
of the inner circle of the twelve Disciples were present.
Arise in Three
Days
Jesus the Christ has predicted
three times that He will rise again in three days.[39] The stone is rolled in its slot to seal the
tomb. A wax seal is placed and guards
are posted. It’s Good Friday, but EASTER is about to EXPLODE.
From a Virgin Womb to a Virgin Tomb; It’s Friday; but Sundays’ coming.
Garden
Three important Garden
events
1)
Sin entered into man in the Garden of Eden
2)
Jesus accepted the fact of his death in the Garden of
Gethsemane,
3)
Jesus was put in the Garden Tomb and rose again.
Christ has
risen
THE
FOURTEEN STATIONS
of
the Via Dolorosa has finished, but
the story continues with the resurrection of Christ. Who
rolled the stone away? The stone is
rolled away not to let Jesus out, but to let His followers in, so that they
could see that He had risen. If Christ
has not risen from the dead, then our Faith is in vain. But He did and the guards validated that it
happened.[40]
Easter Sunday on the day of His resurrection, Christ appears bearing the
horrendous marks of the scourging, plus the nail holes in His hands and feet; (The Greek word hand can also mean wrist.) His presence is marred; He first
appears in a tangible body to Mary Magdalene who did not recognize Him.[41] She became the first missionary; she is sent to
the eleven disciples. He has risen as He
said. With this, Mary starts the “Women of the
Church” movement; the WOC.
Jewish Culture disregarded the testimony of women as worthless; but
where were the men? The scriptures
comments with four words, “For they were
afraid”.[42]
Witnesses:
Then He appeared to TWO
MEN,
(Simon and Anna) walking along
the road who were two of His disciples, but not of the inner circle of the
remaining Eleven. At first they did not
recognize Him. OT scripture requires:
“in the mouth of TWO or three
witness (men) is a thing established”.[43]
My reading of the scripture suggest perhaps the appearance of Christ’s
was at first with a marred countenance that was under a progressive
glorification over the forty days before
He went back to the Father as He was before. (God
hid and revealed His identity)
Jesus appears to the eleven Disciples. They are given the great commission. Go and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father, the son and the Holy Spirit.[44] Scripture says Judas “WENT TO HIS OWN PLACE”. Did you see it? Since Judas
was predestined in his role, scripture DID NOT say he went to hell.[45] SELAH;
ponder that.
Further evidence of His resurrected physical presence is that He ate
physical food, not of necessity, but for their conviction and Thomas touched
the physical nail wounds in His hands or wrist.
They have been given both the
ocular and tangible proof of His resurrection.[46]
More Witnesses: Then He bodily
appeared to 500 witnesses all at the same time, and to many others over a
period of forty days after His resurrection.[47] Our Lord is able.[48]
We have the eye witnesses, the Thing has been established; He has
risen as He said.
- HE IS NOT HERE; HE
[1] Luke 22:15-16 – I will
not eat the actual Passover meal with you -- Mark 15:25 – The third hour was
nine in the morning when they crucified Jesus -- Luke 23:44-46 – The sixth hour
is noon darkness came over the land -- Matt 27:46-50 – The ninth hour; about
three pm Jesus dies -- Matt 12:40 – Jesus would be Three days in the heart of
the earth
[2] Matt 12:40 – Jesus would
be Three days in the heart of the earth -- Luke 16:22 – Those in the Friendship
of God were held in paradise -- Luke 23:43 – Jesus went to paradise at His
death -- Ephesians 4:8-9 – He took the captives in paradise, those in the
friendship of God, to Heaven -- Matthew 16:21 – Prophecy – Jesus will rise on
the third day -- 2 Corinthians’ 5:8 – When we are absent from our body we are
present with the Lord
[3] Matthew 11:13-14 – John
had the spirit of Elijah, but didn’t know it
[4] John 18:2 – Judas knew
exactly where Jesus would be.
[5] James 2:23 – God called Abraham His covenant FRIEND
[6] John 18:4-9 – Jesus
identifies Himself as God; I AM He who you seek. -- John 18:6 – The soldiers were “slain in the Spirit”
and fell to the ground -- Matthew 28:4 – The power of the Holy Spirit
knocked the guards to the ground
[7] John 18:9 – Peter thought
the High Priest Servant needed a haircut and cut off his ear -- Luke 22:51 –
Jesus healed the man’s ear out of compassion --
[8] Matthew 27:21 – Which of
the Two do you want to be released? BARABBAS -- John 18:40 – No not
Jesus! Release Barabbas our Hero --
Matthew 27:20 – Release Barabbas and execute Jesus in his place -- Luke
23:18-19 – Barabbas was an insurrectionist; A Hero
[9] Pilate said, I find no
fault in this man.
[10] John 18:28 – The Jews did
not want to be ceremonial unclean for the Passover did not enter the palace
John 19:6
[11] Matthew 27:26-30 – Jesus
is stripped, mocked; given the crown of thorns and struck on the head again and
again. -- Isaiah 53:5 – He was pierced, crushed and punished; we are healed by
the stripes on His back.
[12] John 19:5 – Jesus is
presented in a purple robe with a crown of thorns; BEHOLD THE MAN
[13] Luke 23:20-21 – They
shouted; Crucify Him, Crucify Him -- John 19:15 – The Chief Priest said; we
have no king but Caesar.
[14] Matthew 27:31 – They led
Him away with the cross
[15] John 19:25-27 – Jesus
speaks to his mother Mary near the cross
[16] Luke 23:26 - Jesus
stumbles again and Simon is forced to carry the cross -- Mark 15:21 – Simon was
the father of Alexander and Rufus -- Romans 16:13 – Rufus and his mother are
Christians.
[17] Psalms
[18] Matthew 27:33 – Golgotha
- The place of the skull – Crucified
[19] John
[20] Luke
[21] Matthew 24:40-41 – One is
taken and the other left
[22] John
[23] John
[24] Mark 15:23 – The four
words – AND THEY CRUCIFIED HIM
[25] Luke
[26] John
[27] John
[28] John
[29] John 19:19-20 Pilate
makes a sign in three languages; Jesus of Nazareth, the
king of the Jews. He was under
God’s curse for us.
[30] Genesis
[31] John
[32] Luke 23:50-53 – Joseph of
Arimathea buries Jesus in His private tomb
[33] Deuteronomy 21:22-23 –
The Hebrew Law; bury the criminal the day he dies.
[34] Isaiah 53:9 – Prophecy – He will be buried with the rich at His death.
[35] John 19:39-41 – Nicodemus
helped Joseph bury Jesus in the Garden Tomb
[36] Luke 24:1 – The Women
came on Sunday Morning to finish with spices
[37] Mark 14:3-9 – Jesus was
anointed for burial in advance by a woman
[38] Matthew
[39] Matthew 27:66 – Secured
the tomb with a seal on the stone and posting guards -- Luke
[40] Matthew 28:2 – An angel
rolled the giant stone away -- Matthew 28:11 – The guards validated everything
that had happened -- 1 Corinthians
[41] -- John 20:15 – Mary Magdalene did not recognize Him -- Luke 24:13-16
– Jesus looked different and was not recognized --
John
[42] Mark 16:8 – The disciples
were amazed, they trembled and were afraid
[43] Deuteronomy
[44] Matthew 28:19-20 - Jesus
gives the Great Commission to go and preach
[45] Acts
[46] Luke 24:39 – Handle me; See my flesh; Touch me, I am not a ghost --
Luke 24:41-43 – He ate not of necessity but for their conviction
[47] Acts 1:3 – Christ revealed Himself to His followers for over 40 days
--1 Corinthians 15:4-8 – Jesus appeared
bodily to five hundred
[48] 2 Timothy
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