10. The Crucifixion.
Pilate gives in to their Will
Luk 23:21 But they cried, saying, Crucify! Crucify Him!
Luk 23:22 And he said to them the third time, Why? What evil has He done? I have found no cause of death in Him, therefore I will chastise Him and let Him go.
Luk 23:23 But they pressed on him, with loud voices, requesting that He might be crucified. And their voices and those of the chief priests prevailed.
Luk 23:24 And Pilate gave judgment that their request should be granted.
Luk 23:25 And he released to them the one who had been thrown into prison for sedition and murder, for whom they had asked. But he delivered up Jesus to their will.
Notes
1. The Jews continued to shout, Crucify ! Crucify Him!
They were fierce and furious, more noisy and clamorous, the more they perceived Pilate was for saving him; and they were more desirous to have him crucified, and more impatient until it was done, as the repetition of the word shows.J.G
But they shouted, "Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!" "Shall I crucify your king?" Pilate asked. "We have no king but Caesar," the chief priests answered.
Luk 23:23 But they pressed on Pilate, with loud voices, requesting that He might be crucified. And their voices and those of the chief priests prevailed.
requiring him, that he might be crucified: desiring it in the most importunate manner; signifying, that it must be, that nothing else would content them:
and the voices of them, and the chief priests, prevailed; upon Pilate to grant their request, contrary to the dictates of his own conscience, the conduct of Herod, and the message of his wife; the people being set on by the chief priests, and the chief priests joining with them, their numbers were so great, and their requests were pressed with so much force, and violence, and importunity, that Pilate could not withstand them.
What has been the Consequences for the Jews over the years since 33 AD? Their house has been left to them desolate. They were murdered and chased from their homeland by the Roman legions. Their Temple was sacked and their Holy Place desecrated. For two thousand years they have been chased and persecuted all over the world. Pogroms, the Holocaust, mass evacuations and refugees by the hundreds of thousands has been their disastrous lot. They cried 'His Blood be upon our heads and those of our children'. What a disaster. I guess many of my ancestors experienced this ostracism and murder.
JESUS WAS LEAD AWAY TO BE CRUCIFIED
SIMON THE CYRENEAN
Who was Simon of Cyrene?
Answer:Simon of Cyrene is mentioned in three of the four Gospels as the man impelled by the Roman soldiers to carry Jesus’ cross out of Jerusalem. His place of origin has led many to wonder if he was of African descent (and therefore black), or if he was simply born there as were many others of Greek, Roman, and Jewish descent.
Cyrene was situated in modern-day Libya, on the northern coast of the African continent. Settled by the Greeks in 630 B.C. and later infused with a significant Jewish population, Cyrene was the capital of the Roman district of Cyrenaica at the time of Jesus’ crucifixion. By then, Cyrene was home to a large number of Greek-speaking, or Hellenistic, Jews.
Many Jews from Cyrene had returned to their native Israel and were part of a community in Jerusalem called the Synagogue of the Freedmen comprising Jews from many other provinces including Alexandria (Egypt), Cilicia and Asia (Acts 6:9). Luke records men from Cyrene being among those converted at Pentecost (Acts 2:10). After the martyrdom of Stephen (Acts 7), believers from Cyrene were among the first to be scattered by the persecution in Jerusalem; arriving in Antioch, they preached to the Gentiles there (Acts 11:20). These believers were instrumental in the formation of the church at Antioch, where, for the first time, “the disciples were called Christians” (Acts 11:26).
Simon of Cyrene is mentioned in Matthew, Mark and Luke. Matthew only records his name and place of origin (27:32), but Mark and Luke say that he was “on his way in from the country” (Luke 23:26). Mark, uncharacteristically, provides the most information about Simon, adding that he was “the father of Alexander and Rufus” (Mark 15:21), men obviously well known to Mark’s readers. It is speculated that the Rufus mentioned here may be the same man Paul greets in his letter to Rome, whom he calls “chosen in the Lord” and whose mother “has been a mother to me, too” (Romans 16:13). Paul’s knowledge of Rufus’s family indicates that at some point they lived further east.
So does any of this indicate whether Simon was black? Ultimately, we don’t know for sure. There is always the possibility that Simon was an African who converted to Judaism, or that he was of mixed descent. However, considering that people of Jewish lineage lived throughout the Roman Empire, it is also possible that Simon of Cyrene was olive-skinned.
Jesus and the Women of Jerusalem on His Way to be Crucified
Luk 23:27 And a great multitude of the people followed Him, and women who also were mourning and lamenting Him.
Luk 23:28 But Jesus, turning to them, said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.
Luk 23:29 For behold, the days are coming in which they will say, 'Blessed are the barren, and the wombs which did not give birth, and breasts which did not nurse!'
Luk 23:30 Then they will begin 'to say to the mountains, "Fall on us!" and to the hills, "Cover us!" '
Luk 23:31 For if they do these things in the green tree, what will happen in the dry?"
The Women Bewailed.
Bewailed (ekoptonto). Imperfect middle of koptō, to cut, smite, old and common verb. Direct middle, they were smiting themselves on the breast. “In the Gospels there is no instance of a woman being hostile to Christ” (Plummer). Luke’s Gospel is appropriately called the Gospel of Womanhood (1:39-56; Luk_2:36-38; Luk_7:11-15, Luk_7:37-50; Luk_8:1-3; Luk_10:38-42; Luk_11:27; Luk_13:11-16).
Lamented (ethrēnoun). Imperfect active of thrēneō, old verb from threomai, to cry aloud, lament.
Jesus Addresses the DAUGHTERS OF JERUSALEM
"Do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children".
He knew what was coming in AD 70 and foretold the Destruction of Jerusalem.
2. The Prophesy to ‘Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me..’ v28 compare Lk 19 :41-43
This was fulfilled in AD 70. See Jewish - Roman wars AD 70 and onwards. Wikipedia.
Last Days of Jerusalem - Alfred J. Church <Heritage History>
11. Jesus’ Death.
Luk 23:32 They brought also two others, criminals, to put them to death with Him.
Luk 23:33 When they reached the place called 'The Skull,' there they nailed Him to the cross, and the criminals also, one at His right hand and one at His left.
That he was crucified at a place called Calvary, Kranion, the Greek name for Golgotha - the place of a skull: an ignominious place, to add to the reproach of his sufferings, but significant, for there he triumphed over death as it were upon his own dunghill. He was crucified. His hands and feet were nailed to the cross as it lay upon the ground, and it was then lifted up, and fastened into the earth, or into some socket made to receive it. This was a painful and shameful death above any other. 3. That he was crucified in the midst between two thieves, as if he had been the worst of the three. Thus he was not only treated as a transgressor, but numbered with them, the worst of them. 4. That the soldiers who were employed in the execution seized his garments as their fee, and divided them among themselves by lot: They parted his raiment, and cast lots; it was worth so little that, if divided, it would come to next to nothing, and therefore they cast lots for it. Matthew Henry
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| The Place of the SKULL recommended by General Gordon |
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| The Garden Tomb nearby |
The Two Criminals who were Crucified with Jesus
Luk 23:39 Now one of the criminals who had been crucified insulted Him, saying, "Are not you the Christ? Save yourself and us."
Luk 23:40 But the other, answering, reproved him. "Do you also not fear God," he said, "when you are actually suffering the same punishment?
Luk 23:41 And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving due requital for what we have done. But He has done nothing amiss."
Luk 23:42 And he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come in your Kingdom."
Luk 23:43 "I tell you in solemn truth," replied Jesus, "that this very day you shall be with me in Paradise."
Notes:
The First Thief - An Insulter
Luk 23:39 Now one of the criminals who had been crucified insulted Him, saying, "Are not you the Christ? Save yourself and us." His body wracked with pain and misery, all he could think of was Himself and how he could escape death.
The Second thief reproved him.Luk 23:40 But the other, answering, reproved him. "Do you also not fear God," he said, "when you are actually suffering the same punishment?
The Second Thief is a TRUE PENITENT.
Adam Clark comments “Dost not thou fear God - The sufferings of this person had been sanctified to him, so that his heart was open to receive help from the hand of the Lord: he is a genuine penitent, and gives the fullest proof he can give of it, viz. the acknowledgment of the justice of his sentence. He had sinned, and he acknowledges his sin; his heart believes unto righteousness, and with his tongue he makes confession unto salvation.
While he condemns himself he bears testimony that Jesus was innocent. Bishop Pearce supposes that these were not robbers in the common sense of the word, but Jews who took up arms on the principle that the Romans were not to be submitted to, and that their levies of tribute money were oppressive; and therefore they had no fear to rob all the Romans they met with. These Jews Josephus calls λῃσται, robbers, the same term used by the evangelists. This opinion gains some strength from the penitent thief’s confession:
We receive the reward of our deeds - we rose up against the government, and committed depredations in the country; but this man hath done nothing amiss - ατοπον, out of place, disorderly, - nothing calculated to raise sedition or insurrection; nor inconsistent with his declarations of peace and good will towards all men, nor with the nature of that spiritual kingdom which he came to establish among men; though he is now crucified under the pretense of disaffection to the Roman government.
Luk 23:42 And he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come in your Kingdom."
Luk 23:43 "I tell you in solemn truth," replied Jesus, "that this very day you shall be with me in Paradise."
This very day [Today .].. - It is not probable that the dying thief expected that his prayer would be so soon answered. It is rather to be supposed that he looked to some “future” period when the Messiah would rise or would return; but Jesus told him that his prayer would be answered that very day, implying, evidently, that it would be “immediately” at death. This is the more remarkable, as those who were crucified commonly lingered for several days on the cross before they died; but Jesus foresaw that measures would be taken to “hasten” their death, and assured him that “that” day he should receive an answer to his prayer and be with him in his kingdom.
Paradise - This is a word of “Persian” origin, and means “a garden,” particularly a garden of pleasure, filled with trees, and shrubs, and fountains, and flowers. In hot climates such gardens were especially pleasant, and hence, they were attached to the mansions of the rich and to the palaces of princes. The word came thus to denote any place of happiness, and was used particularly to denote the abodes of the blessed in another world.
The Romans spoke of their Elysium, and the Greeks of the gardens of Hesperides, where the trees bore golden fruit. The garden of Eden means, also, the garden of “pleasure,” and in
Gen_2:8 the Septuagint renders the word “Eden by Paradise.” Hence, this name in the Scriptures comes to denote the abodes of the blessed in the other world. See the notes at 2Co_12:4. The Jews supposed that the souls of the righteous would be received into such a place, and those of the wicked cast down to Gehenna until the time of the judgment. They had many fables about this state which it is unnecessary to repeat. The plain meaning of the passage is, “Today thou shalt be made happy, or be received to a state of blessedness with me after death.” It is to be remarked that Christ says nothing about the “place where” it should be, nor of the condition of those there, excepting that it is a place of blessedness, and that its happiness is to commence immediately after death (see also Phi_1:23); but from the narrative we may learn:
1. That the soul will exist separately from the body; for, while the thief and the Saviour would be in Paradise, their “bodies” would be on the cross or in the grave.
2. That immediately after death - the same day - the souls of the righteous will be made happy. They will feel that they are secure; they will be received among the just; and they will have the assurance of a glorious immortality.
3. That state will differ from the condition of the wicked. The promise was made to but one on the cross, and there is no evidence whatever that the other entered there. See also the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, Luk_16:19-31.
4. It is the chief glory of this state and of heaven to be permitted to see Jesus Christ and to be with him: “Thou shalt be with me.” “I desire to depart and to be with Christ,” Phi_1:23. See also Rev_21:23; Rev_5:9-14.Barnes Notes
Jesus Yields Up His Spirit and Dies.
Luk 23:44 It was now about noon, and a darkness came over the whole country till three o'clock in the afternoon.
Luk 23:45 The sun was darkened, and the curtain of the Sanctuary was torn down the middle,
Luk 23:46 and Jesus cried out in a loud voice, and said, "Father, to Thy hands I entrust my spirit." And after uttering these words He yielded up His spirit.
Notes:
1. Darkness came over the whole Country.
http://creation.com/darkness-at-the-crucifixion-metaphor-or-real-history
Luk 23:48 And all the crowds that had come together to this sight, after seeing all that had occurred, returned to the city beating their breasts.
Annular (ring) eclipse. An eclipse could NOT have caused darkness at the crucifixion because they don’t occur during the full moon. Passover was at Full Moon. Creation.com
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12. Jesus’ Burial.
Luk 23:50 There was a member of the Council of the name of Joseph, a kind-hearted and upright man,
Luk 23:51 who came from the Jewish town of Arimathaea and was awaiting the coming of the Kingdom of God. He had not concurred in the design or action of the Council,
Luk 23:52 and now he went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.
Luk 23:53 Then, taking it down, he wrapped it in a linen sheet and laid it in a tomb in the rock, where no one else had yet been put.
Luk 23:54 It was the Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was near at hand.
Luk 23:55 The women--those who had come with Jesus from Galilee--followed close behind, and saw the tomb and how His body was placed.
Luk 23:56 Then they returned, and prepared spices and perfumes. On the Sabbath they rested in obedience to the Commandment.
Joseph of Arimathea was, according to the Gospels, the man who donated his own prepared tomb for the burial of Jesus after Jesus' crucifixion. He is mentioned in all four canonical Gospels, which give differing accounts of him. According to Mark 15:43, he was an "honourable counsellor (bouleutēs), meaning a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin, who waited (or "was searching") for the kingdom of God". In Matthew 27:57, he is not described as a counsellor, but as a rich man and a disciple of Jesus. In John 19:38, he was secretly a disciple of Jesus: as soon as he heard the news of Jesus' death, he "went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus". Wikipedia.
Characteristics of Joseph who loaned Jesus his tomb.
1. v.50 He was a kind-hearted and upright man.
Kind-hearted [good man] ἀγαθός agathos
Thayer Definition: 1) of good constitution or nature 2) useful, salutary 3) good, pleasant, agreeable, joyful, happy 4) excellent, distinguished 5) upright, honourable
Upright dikaios Thayer Definition: 1) righteous, observing divine laws
1a) in a wide sense, upright, righteous, virtuous, keeping the commands of God
So here we have a good man who was kind and righteous.
2. What the Bible says about Joseph of Arimathea
When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus; then Pilate ordered it to be given to him.
So Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock. He then rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb and went away.
Matthew 27:57-60
When evening had come, and since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.
Then Pilate wondered if he were already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he had been dead for some time. When he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the body to Joseph.
Then Joseph bought a linen cloth, and taking down the body, wrapped it in the linen cloth, and laid it in a tomb that had been hewn out of the rock. He then rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. Mark 15:42-64
3. He did not consent to The Sanhedrin’s Decision and Action v.51
He was not an Hypocrite. He was not with them but opposed to the decision to murder Jesus. Matthew says He had become a disciple of Jesus. Matt 27:57
4. He was waiting for the Kingdom of God.
Waited for, or expected, the coming of the Messiah. But this expression means more than an “indefinite” expectation that the Messiah “would” come, for all the Jews expected that. It implies that he believed “Jesus” to be the Messiah, and that he had “waited” for Him to build up the kingdom of God; and this agrees with what John says Joh_19:38, that he was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews. He had retained his “secret” belief, in the hope that Jesus would be proclaimed and treated as the Messiah, and then he probably proposed openly to acknowledge his attachment to him. But God called him to a public profession of attachment in a different manner, and gave this distinguished man grace to evince it. So men often delay a profession of attachment to Christ. They cherish a secret love, they indulge a hope in the mercy of God, but they conceal it for fear of man; whereas God requires that the attachment should be made known. Barnes
5. He went to Pilate to ask for Jesus’ Body
What he did towards the burying of him. 1. He went to Pilate, the judge that condemned him, and begged the body of Jesus, for it was at his disposal; and, though he might have raised a party sufficient to have carried off the body by violence, yet he would take the regular course, and do it peaceably.
2. He took it down, it should seem, with his own hands, and wrapped it in linen. They tell us that it was the manner of the Jews to roll the bodies of the dead, as we do little children in their swaddling-clothes, and that the word here used signifies as much; so that the piece of fine linen, which he bought whole, he cut into many pieces for this purpose. It is said of Lazarus, He was bound hand and foot, Joh_11:44. Grave-clothes are to the saints as swaddling-clothes, which they shall out-grow and put off, when they come to the perfect man.
3. Where he was buried. In a new sepulchre that was hewn in stone, that the prison of the grave might be made strong. But it was a sepulchre in which never man before was laid, for he was buried on such an account as never anyone before him was buried, only in order to his rising again the third day by his own power; and he was to triumph over the grave as never any man did. Matthew Henry.
5. It was the day of Preparation before the Sabbath. ch23v.54
The word occurs with technical significance (“the Preparation”) in the gospel narratives of the crucifixion, translating the Greek παρασκευή, paraskeuḗ (Mat_27:62; Mar_15:42; Luk_23:54; Joh_19:14, Joh_19:31, Joh_19:42). It is used as a technical term indicating the day of the preparation for the Sabbath, that is, the evening of Friday.
The addition of the phrase τοῦ πάσχα, tou páscha, “of the passover,” in Joh_19:14, and of the phrase “for the day of that sabbath was a high day,” in Joh_19:31, seems to indicate that the author of the Fourth Gospel regarded the Passover as occurring on the Sabbath in the year of the crucifixion. This is clearly the natural interpretation of the words of John's Gospel, ISBE. Preparation
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