Recapitulation
We come now to the most heart-constricting pericope in the
Bible. In Matthew 27:32-54, we have the shocking account of Jesus’
crucifixion and death. If you have ever
been falsely accused and condemned you still have only a tiny inkling of the
humiliation (on top of the physical torment) that transpired during those
miserable 12 hours one bleak Friday 1,988 years ago.
In our last study, we looked at the horrible whipping Jesus
endured at the hands of Pilate’s legionnaires to weaken His ability to endure
for long on the cross. In the eyes of Rome,
this was viewed as “merciful.” After submitting
to the follow-on mockery and abuse at the hands of the bloodthirsty sadistic
soldiers, He was led away to the place of crucifixion.
Exhaustion
In verse 32, we notice another striking detail in Matthew’s
account. Normally, the condemned
prisoner was required to carry his own heavy cross (or perhaps just the cross
beam, called the patibulum) to the
place of execution. The parade route
often took a deliberately lengthy path through the town so that all might see
and be warned what Rome does to those who rebel against her. But, Jesus was too exhausted to carry the
cross and so the soldiers grabbed a strong on-looker and “compelled” (ESV) him
to carry the cross for Him. Matthew, in
looking back, knows this man as Simon from Cyrene. (Mark and Paul give us the tantalizing
information that his sons became well-known believers perhaps because of their
father’s conscription here). We know his hometown today as Tripoli in Libya,
North Africa. Simon was a devout Jew who
had just arrived for the Passover. But Rome could compel any but full citizens
to serve without notice. So, Simon came
from the shores of Tripoli and carried the cross of Another through the streets
of Jerusalem to the place of execution where he would watch the Son of God die.
The Substitute
Jesus was not being punished for His own sins. It was for Simon and every member of the
human race. If it had been you or I that
day compelled to carry the patibulum,
it would truly have been deserved. But Simon
did not die for his sins, Jesus did. But watching Simon that day makes us
realize who really belongs there carrying the cross and Who was the real
Substitute. (We who believe do not die
for our sins either, but we do carry our cross daily).
The Grim Hill
Matthew tells us that they came to a “place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull)”. Matthew translates the Aramaic word into
Greek (Kraniou). (Later Latin
translators used the word Calvary [not cavalry!] which means skull.) This was probably named for the rock
formation which looked like a skull rather than for human bones lying about
which would have offended Jewish sensibilities. The name also emphasized the grim nature of
the place. It would have been outside
the city walls as required by Jewish Law lest the city be defiled. All executions and tombs must be located
outside the city. And Rome wanted it in
a public place by the main road.
Drug Free Execution
While Matthew does not dwell on the details of the method of
crucifixion, there are certain events of this day that he does single out. He tells us that the soldiers offered Jesus wine
to drink that had been “mixed with gall.”
Mark’s account is usually translated “wine mixed with myrrh.” But the original words here had a rather broad
range of meaning like our words “drink” and “coke” do today. The words used here are an idiom that means “wine
mixed with bitter drugs.” It was wine
that had something bitter added to dull the pain. Matthew and Mark note that Jesus tasted but
would not drink it. Jesus was not taken
by surprise at the taste but when it was pressed to His lips where he would
have tasted it he refused what may have been considered another Roman
“mercy.” The important point is that He refused
to be anesthetized during this ordeal.
While some have accused Him of being drugged, Matthew and Mark point out
that He chose to remain clear-headed.
Clothing Raffle
Matthew then simply notes that “when they had crucified
Him…” they divided His clothing. The
details again are missing. Here is where
they would have nailed His wrists to the patibulum
that Simon had carried for Him. Then His
body would have been hoisted using ropes or ladders and affixed to the vertical
beam permanently standing in this grim place.
Finally, his feet would have been nailed also to this vertical
beam. But Matthew does note a further
ignominy. His clothing (except perhaps
for a loincloth required for Jewish sensibility) was divvied up by the soldiers
who “cast lots” for it. It is difficult
to imagine these men coveting the bloody clothing but perhaps they could be
cleaned and sold for a few coins. Of
what value is Jesus’ life? A few coins?!
The Ironic Title
Then Matthew notes the titulus
over Jesus’ head. It was a placard
containing the charges for which he was condemned. It would have been slung over his neck during
the parade informing the bystanders of what He had done. In this case, it read (in three languages,
according to John), “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.” Matthew mentions only the last phrase which
was particularly upsetting to the Jewish leaders. Pilate had turned the charge into a mockery
of the Jewish leaders as if this is what we think of Jewish royalty! But the crowds saw the sign and would later
ponder the hidden truth. This really was
the King of the Jews.
The Last Temptation
Jesus was crucified before noon probably around 9 or 10 AM
because of the time required for the morning trials under Caiaphas, Pilate,
Herod and back to Pilate plus the parade through town. Two convicted thieves were crucified on
either side of Him. Matthew does not
tell us about the repentance of one of them.
We just see Jesus, head bowed, taking the mockery of the Jewish leaders before
the gaping horror of the onlookers and the watchful eyes of the soldiers. Matthew tells us that these leaders, in
particular, once again asked Him to prove He was the Son of God by saving
Himself and coming down from the cross.
(Obviously they had heard His claim.)
Satan, also, had once asked Jesus to fall down before him and worship
him in exchange for the kingship of the world.
Peter, had tried to talk Jesus out of going to the cross. But, Jesus had
long ago settled that issue as was obvious in the garden the previous evening
and now on the cross where He kept His peace.
The leaders blasted Him with their blasphemy—their anger at His public condemnation
of their hearts before the people had grown into this murder just as He had
predicted.
The Father Turns Away
But at noon, the mockery was interrupted. The sky suddenly went dark. Passover takes place during the full moon so
it could not have been an eclipse of the Sun by the moon. (And eclipses only last a few minutes
anyway. This lasted for three
hours.) Everyone understood that this was
supernatural. The soldiers may have lit
a fire so they could continue their watch but this was no ordinary
darkness. This was the hand of God Who
in the beginning had created the light and separated the darkness from the
light. Even the night sky is softened by
the light of the moon and stars but this darkness indicated His judgment. After three hours of this, at 3PM, Jesus
suddenly speaks in Aramaic. “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” (A few translations change this to Hebrew: “Eli, Eli . . .”). Many bystanders were
unfamiliar with this language and misunderstood him to be praying to Elijah for
help. But the meaning was clear to those
who knew Psalm 22 which describes the torture and death of the Messiah. These are the opening words of that Psalm
which means, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”
Broken Fellowship
Much has been written of this dark saying. We know that Jesus had taken upon Himself the
weight of the sins of the world as Isaiah 53 predicted. The Father had to turn away from the horror
of this stain. From all of eternity, the
Father and the Son had never broken fellowship, but now this. But as Peter preaches a few weeks from now in
Acts 2:27, God will “not abandon my soul to hades, nor allow His Holy One to
see corruption.” In verse 31 Peter goes
on to declare that David foresaw in that quote from Psalm 16 that Christ would
not be abandoned to Hades and that He wouldn’t stay dead long enough for His
body to rot. He was forsaken temporarily
but not abandoned. The fellowship of the trinity was broken so that we might
have unbroken eternal fellowship with Him.
If Jesus could experience broken fellowship with the Father
because of our sin, imagine what our sin does to our own fellowship with
Him! Fortunately, Jesus has paid for our
sins providing forgiveness. 1 John
provides a way for those who believe to restore that fellowship by confessing
our sin. Jesus had no sin of His own to
confess so His restoration came Sunday morning when it was all over and the
angels would minister to Him.
He Gave His Life
But the crowds did not understand His words. Some bystanders sought to alleviate His
thirst and offered Him more wine. Others
who had braved the darkness wondered if Elijah was coming. But instead Jesus cried out again with a loud
voice (perhaps the wine moistened His parched vocal cords). Luke tells us that His final words were,
“Father, into Your hands I commend my spirit.”
And then He died. Life was not
taken from the Author of life—He gave it.
Three More Supernatural Events
And at that moment, there were three more supernatural
events. The veil in the temple was torn
from top to bottom. This fabric was made
from 72 thickly woven squares—more like rugs than curtains. The material was about an inch thick but it
was now just completely ripped. Its
original function was to guard against anyone from entering into the room
behind the veil called the Holy of Holies where the presence of the Lord
resided. Only on the day of atonement
could the high priest enter with blood to approach God but now there is no
longer a need for atoning sacrifices because Christ’s sacrifice fulfilled the
Law. The way to God is now open to all
through Christ our sacrifice instead of by means of an animal sacrifice. Christ is now our mediator—our High Priest.
The Father Has His Say
There were two more supernatural events at this time. A huge earthquake so shook the ground that
the rocks were split and many tombs in the area were thrown open. These were caves with huge rocks covering the
entrance that had split apart so that they could be entered. Matthew says that “many bodies of the saints
who had fallen asleep were raised.” But
the fact of their resurrection was unknown in the city until Sunday morning
when these saints started showing up all over the town. But camped out on Golgotha, the watching
soldiers saw only the eerie darkness and the frightening earthquake followed by
the abrupt end to the darkness and they were filled with dread and declared,
“Truly, this was the Son of God.” They
had heard Him mocked for claiming to be the Son of God but now these hardened Gentile
soldiers were utterly convinced. Luke
says, the centurion “praised God” and many went home “beating their
breasts.” The crowd has had their say
but now God has had His say.
The most evil and terrible event in human history has been
redeemed by God to accomplish the greatest good ever done. There is no sin too great to be
forgiven. But the freely proffered gift
of eternal life can be rejected thus forfeiting any forgiveness. But His blood was shed for all—even you and
me.
© 2018 Eric Thimell
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