Today is the day that everything has been walking towards. We have seen where JESUS never missed a beat in continuing to teach HIS disciples. There is NO pity party for HIMSELF, there is NO hesitation to go and do what HE knows needs to be done. HIS work is not yet finished and HE has much physically to go through, but that is not what causes HIM dread. There is another part of HIS work, that HE has never gone through, and it will nearly crush HIS SPIRIT to go through it; and only for US would HE do it. Today we will see the LORD's betrayer, we will see the LORD's tenderness in healing a severed ear, Peter's denial of HIM, false witnesses paid to lie about the LORD, HIS trials, beatings and mockings.
This day will try even the LORD, but there is a Scripture verse in Hebrews 12:2-3a that sums up why the LORD allowed sinful man to do to HIM what was more horrific than we as finite humans can even fathom. Hebrews 12:2-3a says, " looking unto JESUS, the author and finisher of our faith, WHO for the JOY that was set before HIM endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of GOD. For consider HIM WHO endured such hostility from sinners against HIMSELF..." We'll pick up right where we left off in Luke.
Luke 22:48-53 BUT JESUS said to him, " Judas, are you betraying the SON of MAN with a kiss ?" When those around HIM saw what was going to happen, they said to HIM, " LORD, shall we strike with the sword ?" And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear. But JESUS answered and said, " Permit even this. " And HE touched his ear and healed him. Then JESUS said to the chief priests, captains of the temple, and the elders who had come to HIM, " Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs ? When I was with you daily in the temple, you did not try to seize ME. But this is your hour and the power of darkness."
The Roman soldiers and religious rulers and elders took JESUS to Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was High Priest that year. We will now go over to John 18 and pick up there the LORD's first Jewish trial before Annas.
John 18:12-23 Then the detachment of troops and the captain and the officers of the Jews arrested JESUS and bound HIM. And they led HIM away to Annas first, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas who was high priest that year. Now it was Caiaphas who gave counsel to the Jews that it was expedient that ONE MAN should die for the people. And Simon Peter followed JESUS, and so did another disciple(John). Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and went with JESUS into the courtyard of the high priest. But Peter stood at the door outside. The the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to her who kept the door, and brought Peter in. Then the servant girl who kept the door said to Peter, " You are not also one of this MAN's disciples, are you ?" He said, " I am not." And the servants and officers who had made a fire of coals stood there, for it was cold, and they warmed themselves. And Peter stood with them and warmed himself.
The high priest then asked JESUS about HIS disciples and HIS doctrine. JESUS answered him, " I spoke openly to the world. I always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where the Jews always meet, and in secret I have said nothing. Why do you ask ME ? Ask those who have heard ME what I said to them. Indeed they know what I said." And when HE had said these things, one of the officers who stood by struck JESUS with the palm of his hand saying, " Do YOU answer the high priest like that ?" JESUS answered him, " If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil, but if well, why do you strike ME ?"
Luke 22:58-71 And after a little while another saw him and said, " You also are of them." But Peter said, " Man, I am not !" Then after about an hour had passed, another confidently affirmed, saying, " Surely this fellow also was with HIM, for he is a Galilean." But Peter said, " Man, I do not know what you are saying !" And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. And the LORD turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the WORD of the LORD, how HE has said to him, " Before the rooster crows, you will deny ME three times." Then Peter went out and wept bitterly.
Now the men, who held JESUS mocked HIM and beat HIM, and having blindfolded HIM, they struck HIM on the face and asked HIM, saying, " Prophesy ! Who is it that struck YOU ?" And many other things they blasphemously spoke against HIM.
As soon as it was day, the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, came together and led HIM into their council, saying, " If YOU are the CHRIST, tell us." But HE said to them, " If I tell you, you will by no means believe, and if I also ask you, you will by no means answer ME or let ME go. Hereafter the SON of MAN will sit on the right hand of the power of GOD." Then they all said, " Are YOU then the SON of GOD ?" And HE said to them, " You rightly say that I AM." And they said, " What further testimony do we need ? For we have heard it ourselves from HIS own mouth !"
The Jews made a mockery of their 2 trials against CHRIST because they had already condemned HIM not only physically but in their hearts and minds. This is why the LORD said in John 1:11 " HE came to HIS own and HIS own did not receive HIM." Now we are not going to go deeply into the first trial of Pilate or the first trial of Herod. We will pick up the narration at Pilate's second trial of the LORD. Needless to say, HE has been treated very badly, physically and in every other way. Beatings, mockings, scourgings, plucking out HIS beard, the crown of thorns. All kinds of physical and mental torment was laid on CHRIST and in the mist of all that was going on with HIM, there was a little footnote in Matthew 27:3-10 about what Judas, the LORD's betrayer was doing.
Now I am not going to waste much time about Judas, but he realized that what he had done was going to result in the LORD's death, so he tried to give back the 30 pcs.of silver to the religious rulers, but they could not take back, " blood money " into the treasury, so Judas threw it down and ran out an hanged himself, and the money was used to buy a field to bury strangers. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, " And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of HIM WHO was priced, whom they of the children of Israel priced, and gave them for the potter's field, as the LORD directed me." Matthew 27:9-10
Now JESUS' final examination before HIS crucifixion is before Pilate. He tries everything to get JESUS released but the religious rulers had paid men to get the crowd in an uproar and also many in the crowd had thought that the LORD may have been the one to come and take down the Romans rule over them, so they were angry at HIM for not doing what they thought HE came to do. Pilate's wife even warned him not to have anything to do with this JUST MAN. So Pilate thought that he could get JESUS released through a tradition of releasing one prisoner during Passover, as a kindness. Now Pilate thought surely they would call for JESUS, a JUST MAN to be released because the other choice was a murderer and a notorious criminal named Barabbas. So Pilate brought, the beaten and tortured JESUS before the people and Barabbas, and left it up to them who they would have released. And nearly with one accord, they screamed for Barabbas to be released and Pilate asked what he was to do with JESUS and again they screamed, " CRUCIFY HIM, CRUCIFY HIM !" We are going to look at just a few verses before the LORD walks to HIS cross.
Matthew 27:22-31 Pilate said to them, " What then shall I do with JESUS WHO is called CHRIST ?" They all said to him, " LET HIM BE CRUCIFIED !"
When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, " I am innocent of the blood of this just PERSON. You see to it." And all the people answered and said, " HIS blood be on us and on our children."
Then he released Barabbas to them; and when he had scourged JESUS he delivered HIM to be crucified. Then the soldiers of the governor took JESUS into the Praetorium and gathered the whole garrison around HIM. And they stripped HIM and put a scarlet robe on HIM.
When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on HIS head, and a reed in HIS right hand. And they bowed the knee before HIM and mocked HIM, saying, " Hail, KING of the Jews !" Then they spat on HIM, and took the reed and struck HIM on the head. Then when they had mocked HIM, they took the robe off HIM, put HIS own clothes on HIM and led HIM away to be crucified.
JESUS was so badly beaten and scourged that HE was unable to carry HIS cross alone so the soldiers compelled a man from Cyrene whose name was Simon. They walked the path to Golgotha, known as the place of the skull, they gave HIM sour wine mingled with gall to drink but HE would not take of it. They striped HIM and divided HIS garments among themselves and laid HIM out on the cross and put large spikes through each of HIS hands and put HIS feet, one on top of the other and put a spike through them into the cross. The solders put a sign over HIS head saying: THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS and they sat at HIS feet casting lots for HIS garment which fulfilled the Scripture in Psalm 22:18 which says: " They divided MY garments among them, and for MY clothing they cast lots."
We are also told that there were 2 thieves crucified at the same time, with HIM, one on HIS left and one on HIS right sides; which fulfills another prophesy of Isaiah 53:12 which states " And HE was numbered with the transgressors." One of them cursed and mocked HIM, and said, " if YOU are the CHRIST, save YOURSELF and us." The other thief said, " Do you not even fear GOD, seeing you are under the same condemnation ? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this MAN has done nothing wrong. Then he said to JESUS, ' LORD remember me when YOU come into YOUR kingdom.' " And JESUS said to him, " Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with ME in Paradise." Luke 23:39b-43.
There were 7 sayings of CHRIST while HE was on the cross:
1.) Luke 23:34 Then JESUS said, " FATHER forgive them for they know not what they do." And they divided HIS garments and cast lots.
2.) Mark 15:33-34 Now when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour JESUS cried out with a loud voice, saying, " Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani ? " which is translated, " MY GOD, MY GOD, why have YOU forsaken ME ? "
3.) John 19:26 When JESUS therefore saw HIS mother,and the disciple who HE loved(John)standing by, HE said to HIS mother, " Women, behold your son !"
4.) John 19:27 Then HE said to the disciple, " Behold, your mother !"
5.) John 19:28 " I thirst !"
6.) Luke 23:46 " FATHER, ' into YOUR hands I commend MY spirit.' "
7.) John 19:30 " It is finished !"
Now I promised to give you a little insight into what one of the LORD's sayings really encompassed. This was the one point, of HIS walk to the cross and HIS death, that brought out the " sweat as great drops of blood " and also made HIM ask the FATHER, " if this cup could pass from HIM ?" HE knew that the cup had to be taken. This was not a cup in the physical sense of something that we drink out of, but the cup HE was talking about was saying # 2 above, " MY GOD, MY GOD why has though forsaken ME !" I have prayed and tried to come up with something, in human terms, that would describe in the most graphic detail of what was happening to the LORD at this moment.
GOD the FATHER, spiritually laid on JESUS the sin of us all. The sin of Hitler, the sin of Jack the Ripper, the sin of Nero, the sin of all the Ceasers', the sin of Stalin, the sin of Henry the 8th, and your sin and mine. GOD the FATHER cannot look at or be part of sin, so when all the sin of every man, woman and child to every occupy a soul, was laid on our SAVIOR's shoulders, the FATHER had to look away, or for a brief time, detach HIMSELF from HIS SON. This had never happened before, the FATHER and the SON being separated. I told you that I had a really hard time trying to come up with a situation that would even share a tiny glimpse of what happened in those moments. The LORD gave me this human analogy, grip a section of your skin and start taring it off your flesh, no anesthesia. Spiritually speaking the LORD was torn from the FATHER because of our sin that was laid on HIM. The LORD did not want to be separated from the FATHER, that was the cup that HE wanted taken from HIM, but HE knew that this was the only way of Salvation for us. HE DID IT ALL FOR US !!!
Now because it was Preparation day, none of the bodies were allowed to hang on the crosses, so they broke the legs of the thieves so that they would suffocate and die quicker. When they came to JESUS they saw that HE was already dead, so to make sure they pierced HIS side with a spear which was also a prophesy of Zechariah 12:10 "They shall look on HIM WHOM they had pierced." And about HIM not having any broken bones, Psalm 34:20 states, " Not one of HIS bones shall be broken,"
John 19:38-42 After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of JESUS, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of JESUS; and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took the body of JESUS. And Nicodemus, who at first came to JESUS by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. Then they took the body of JESUS, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury.
Now in the place where HE was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. (This was Joseph of Arimathea's unused tomb) So there they laid JESUS, because of the Jews' Preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby.
Now a large rock was laid against the opening of the tomb so that nothing and no one could disturb the LORD's body. As the LORD said, "It is finished !"
HIS work on the cross, for redemption of mankind, was finished. There was one thing yet that had to be done. Would HIS sacrifice be enough to redeem us from our sin ? What would be the final sign that would show that HIS sacrifice was perfect and was accepted by the FATHER ? We will see the answer to these questions on Resurrection Sunday. I will do a short post of what occurred on that Saturday before HE arose.
Your servant in CHRIST,
Julie
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