Crucified

One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!” But the other answered, and rebuking him said, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”  (Luke 23:39-43, NASB)

And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split.  (Matthew 27:50-51,  NASB)

As Thursday night turned into Friday, Jesus found Himself bound and beaten by the officers of the temple.  He would be taken to be interrogated by the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, then to Herod (who had jurisdiction over Galilee, where Jesus resided), then back to Pilate.  All the while, He was beaten and mocked by the Roman soldiers.  They placed a crown of thorns on His head.  These thorns were middle eastern thorns, long and sharp.  They didn’t just “place” it on His head, they jammed it down, so the blood ran down His face.  Jesus endured all this willingly, and He did so for you and for me.

Then they scourged Jesus.  The whips they used had jagged pieces of metal embedded in the cords.  When the whip made contact, the metal would tear into the flesh, often exposing the internal organs (” . . . and by His stripes we are healed.”).  Often the criminal going through this torture would die from the organ exposure.  Jesus endured all this willingly, and He did so for you and for me. 

Next, Jesus was forced to lug the cross to the place of His execution.  When they arrived at Golgotha, He was nailed to the cross.  He endured more mocking and scorn from the chief priests and passersby.  And the two thieves on either side of Him, also being crucified, joined in.  Jesus endured all this willingly, and He did so for you and for me. 

In Dr. Luke’s account above, one of the thieves had a change of heart.  I think this was the first-ever recorded “death bed conversion.”  The thief scolded his counterpart, and acknowledged Jesus is God.  Then he asked Jesus to “remember me when You come in Your kingdom.”  Jesus replied that they would be together that day “in Paradise.”

Jesus was crucified at about 9 o’clock in the morning.  At around noon, the sky became as dark as night (God was not pleased at what was going on).  At about 3 o’clock in the afternoon, per Matthew’s account above, “Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.”  At the same time, an earthquake occurred (God continued to show His displeasure), so powerful it split the rocks.  Also, Matthew reported, “the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.”

The tearing of the veil is significant on two points:  First, Matthew emphasizes that the tear was from top to bottom.  It was impossible for men to do this.  God had to have done this, and He did it using the earthquake.  Second, the veil separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the inner sanctuary.  Only the High Priest was allowed access, once a year, bringing blood from a sacrificed animal to atone for the sins of himself and the people.  God tore the veil to say that Jesus’ sacrifice was sufficient for repentance of sins and there was no longer need to separate God from man.  As the author of Hebrews said, “we [now] have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh.”  (Hebrews 10:19-20)

Good Friday was a momentous day.  Our Lord, the Messiah, was brutally tortured and executed by the authorities, who as Jesus said in an act of forgiveness, didn’t know what they were doing.  We see the death bed conversion of a thief who acknowledged Jesus as God, and asked His forgiveness.  We also see an act of God, the tearing of the veil, that told the world that the way to salvation and forgiveness of sins is through His Son, Jesus Christ.  Jesus’ mission coming to earth was to die as an acceptable sacrifice to the Father God.  As we used to say in the Air Force, “mission complete!”  Jesus made the sacrifice, it’s up to us to acknowledge it, confess our sins, and ask Jesus to be the Lord of our life.  Jesus Christ did His part (He endured all this willingly, and He did so for you and for me).  Have you done yours? 

As Friday wound down, as sunset approached and the Sabbath with it, Jesus was taken down from the cross and placed in a tomb.  His disciples were distraught, and went home defeated.  Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Jesus, also eye witnesses to the whole spectacle, noted where Jesus was lain, went home to mix spices to prepare the body for a proper burial, then observed the Sabbath.  Jesus was dead.  All seemed hopeless.  But then there was Sunday . . .