And then, after Jesus retrieved his cross from Simon the Cyrene [John 19:17a], they led him on to Golgotha (which means Place of the Skull).  And once they arrived there, they offered him sour wine mixed with gall, and he did taste its bitterness, but would not drink it down. And then they offered him wine sweetened with myrrh, but he would not drink of it at all.  And then they crucified him alongside two accused robbers, one to his left and one to his right [Matthew 27:38, Mark 15:27-28, Luke 23:33b & John 19:18].

 

And there was a sign over his head that read “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews” – with the former title written somewhat illegibly, and the latter title written in Aramaic & Greek & Latin & Hebrew.* [Matthew 27:37, Mark 15:26, Luke 23:38 & John 19:19-20]  And the soldiers continued to offer him the sour wine, and they mocked him, saying, “If you are truly the King of the Jews, save yourself!”  [Matthew 27:33-34, Mark 15:22-23, Luke 23:33a+36-37 & John 19:17]  And as they were doing so, Jesus looked heavenward and said, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they are doing.” [Luke 23:34a]

* The chief priests had objected to the wording of the sign, and yet to no avail, with Pilate dismissing them their complaints with a curt, “What I have written I have written.” [John 19:21-22]

 

And immediately after crucifying him – at about nine o’clock in the morning, the four soldiers divided his clothes into four parts, one for each solider.  They also took his tunic, which was seamless and woven in one piece from top to bottom, and said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but rather cast lots to see who will get it.”  And they did so, fulfilling what the scripture says: “They divided my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots.” And after this was done, the soldiers sat down nearby and kept watch over him. [Matthew 27:35-36, Mark 15:24-25, Luke 23:34b & John 19:23-24]

 

And many stood by, watching, and some who passed by derided Jesus, shaking their heads and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are truly the Son of God, come down from the cross.”  And the elders scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is indeed the Messiah of God; His chosen one!” [Matthew 27:39-40, Mark 15:29-30 & Luke 23:35]

In the same way the chief priests and the scribes were mocking him, saying, “He saved others; yet he cannot save himself.  If he is the King of Israel – if he is the Messiah, then let him come down from the cross now, that we may see and believe in him. He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he wants to; for indeed he said, ‘I am God’s Son.’” [Matthew 27:41-43 & Mark 15:31-32a]

And the bandits who were crucified with him also initially taunted him in the same way.  [Matthew 27:44 & Mark 15:32b] And yet then, after the first bandit continued to deriding Jesus, saying, “Are you not the Messiah?  Save yourself — and us!”. the other bandit finally rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he looked at Jesus and said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.” And Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, now you will be with me in the Garden.” [Luke 23:39-43]

 

Now also standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” And then to the disciple he said, “And here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home. [John 19:25-27]

 

 

 

Then, from roughly noon until about three in the afternoon, darkness descended over the land. [Matthew 27:45, Mark 15:33 & Luke 23:44-45a]  And just after three o’clock, Jesus called out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli!  Lema sabachthani?” – which means “My God, my God!  Why have you forsaken me?” [Matthew 27:46 & Mark 15:34]  Some of the bystanders who heard this mistakenly thought that Jesus was calling out for Elijah [when in reality he was only announcing his deep loyalty to God by reciting the first verse of the 22^nd Psalm], and one of them ran and retrieved a sponge filled with sour wine and raised it up to Jesus on a hyssop stick to give him a drink.  The mistaken bystanders saw this and said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will indeed come to save him.”  And yet Jesus, who knew that all had been completed, once again fulfilled scripture by saying, “I am thirsty.”  And at that moment, they refilled the sponge with a different wine and raised it back up to his mouth to let him drink. [Matthew 27:47-49, Mark 15:35-36 & John 19:28-29]  When Jesus had drunk the wine, he whispered, “It is accomplished.” [John 19:30a], and then he cried out in a loud voice [Matthew 27:50a & Mark 15:37a] and said, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” [Luke 23:46a]  And having said this, he bowed his head, breathed his last, and yielded up his Spirit. [Matthew 27:50b, Mark 15:37b, Luke 23:46b & John 19:30b]

 

At that moment, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. [Matthew 27:51, Mark 15:38 & Luke 23:45b] And the earth shook*, and rocks were split, and the centurion (alongside those who were with him; those who had been keeping watch over Jesus) saw what had taken place, he stood in awe and said, “Certainly this man was innocent.  Surely, this man was a Son of God!” [Matthew 27:54, Mark 15:39 & Luke 23:47]

*It was also reported that many tombs were opened, and that the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised and exited their graves  – and that they thereafter entered the holy city, appearing to many. [Matthew 27:52-53]
And when the crowds who had gathered there for this spectacle saw what had taken place, they returned home, beating their breasts. [Luke 23:48]  And yet all of Jesus’ acquaintances, including many of the women who had followed him from Galilee and provided for him (including Mary Magdalene, Mary — the mother of James & Joses, and Salome — the mother of the sons of Zebedee), remained there, watching at a distance. [Matthew 27:55-56, Mark 15:40-41 & Luke 23:49]

 

Filed under: Exhuming Easter by Scaughdt