LESSON 9: Jesus’ crucifixion
April 19, 2010
Reading for today:
Matthew 27:32-66
Mark 15:22-47
Luke 23:26-56
John 19:17-42
Some of the prophecies fulfilled:
Psalm 22:1, 18
Isaiah 53:12
Psalm 34:20
Zechariah 12:10
Today is April 19. First and foremost it is my eldest daughter’s birthday! Happy 39th Birthday, Lynley. What wonderful memories thinking about her life elicits. In addition to all of the memories of having her as a daughter, the miracle of her coming to full term is one that has an eternal effect for me.
I recommitted my life to the Lord in the fall of 1970, after 2 years away from Him. I returned to Him because I was at risk for my body aborting that pregnancy. I was bleeding, and I prayed and said, “God, if you are real – and if you are there – if you will save this baby, I will recommit my life to you.” He was there. He saved the baby. And He ‘saved’ me!”
Another April 19 was the day Lynley was baptized. It was Easter Sunday – and her 16th birthday. Since we were in the Presbyterian Church at that time, and they didn’t have a baptistry to do immersion baptisms, we arranged to use the one at the Church of God that afternoon for a special service. Pastor Al DeHaven was the one who baptized her. She had accepted Jesus as her Savior as a young girl, but the day she publicly professed her faith was a very special day.
April 19 is also a date tinged with sorrow. Fifteen years ago on April 19, our nation was shocked with the bombing of the Federal Building in Oklahoma City. Because it was Lynley’s birthday, the date stuck in my mind. It was horrific. I didn’t know anyone who was affected personally until just a couple of years ago – but it was incomprehensible to me that hatred could be vented against so many innocent people. I cannot write today without extending my sympathy to those still grieving.
It would be easy today to be swallowed up by the sorrow side of life.
I didn’t sleep well last night – and am starting the day with a heavy heart. It’s legitimate. We live our lives intertwined – and with the best of intentions, sometimes hurt those we love. I inadvertently did that yesterday afternoon. The reality is, even in being very intentional about walking faithfully, seeking to do what is right in God’s sight, I know I can and have disappointed others – even though the ‘hurt’ was unintentional. In our human state we do not have the luxury of seeing through another’s eyes to help us avert unintended hurts.
And I ache for others’ loss of one they loved so dearly. Some people never experience that depth of love. It is a love many would love to experience. But such a love lost is a grief beyond expression.
And so, with the reality of a mixture of joys and sorrows, I come to today in my ‘catching up’ and the texts recording the events surrounding Jesus crucifixion. But before I get into that, this morning’s loose ends include a bit left over from the last time I wrote. I wonder about Barabbas – wonder how being the one who was saved might have affected him later on….
And I lament Judas Iscariot’s rejection of Jesus. He had a choice – and he made the wrong one. And by the time he recognized it, it was too late. The thing is – I have made bad choices in the past, and God redeemed them. The reality is, God looks on the heart. He knew my heart, knows my heart now – that I long to live a life that honors Him. We do not walk this journey of life alone. Often our intentions are misconstrued or misunderstood. We just have to keep walking – living out our faith, and knowing He is the One who will judge men’s hearts. And – He will judge fairly! That gives me comfort…but I know today will be a grappling day.
I don’t recall ever paying such close attention to the discrepancies in the gospel reports. But the key elements are there. John tells us that Jesus carried his own cross. Matthew says that as they were going out they drafted Simon of Cyrene to carry the cross. If Simon did, I wonder what effect it had on him long term…. There is so much we do not know.
What we do know is enough. Jesus was nailed to a cross – a cruel, cruel cross. To fulfill prophecy, the promised coming of the Messiah had to fall within the span of years where crucifixion was the form used to kill criminals. It did.
He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities….
The sign above his head proclaimed KING OF THE JEWS. They meant it to be ludicrous – but it was true. He was hung on the cross at about 9 a m. At noon, the sky turned dark and remained dark until 3 p m, when Jesus proclaimed, “It is finished” and breathed his final breath. And at his death, the veil in the temple – a woven veil that was about 4 inches thick, was torn in two – from the top to the bottom. There was an earthquake, too, but it wasn’t the earthquake that tore the veil. It was God. Jesus’ death on the cross paid the price for sin forever. The wall that Adam built between man and God with original Sin, was now paid for – paid in full…by the second Adam from above.
It seems to me that the most awful thing Jesus endured in all of that process was when He could no longer feel God’s presence. From birth, He had always known God’s presence with Him, through every trial and temptation. At the moment that He became Sin for us, and became the sacrificial lamb, it appears God the Father could not look upon that sin, for Jesus cries out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me.” It begs the question of ‘Did God actually forsake Jesus?’ or did it just feel that way? Feeling that way certainly felt real – and for the first time in His life, an utter, empty loneliness….
When we truly walk in His footsteps we walk by faith, not by sight – and certainly not by feeling. Sometimes, we, too, feel God has abandoned us. As long as we, by our choice, remain ‘in the vine’ we are never left alone. That was Jesus promise.
What He did for us on the cross is too amazing to understand completely – but we do know that when God looks at us, He sees us through the filter of Jesus’ blood shed for Sin. The splotching of sin is hidden by Jesus’ cleansing blood. An object lesson I thought up one time – but never have used – was one using a piece of red cellophane…. I intended to experiment to see if I were to make red marks with an opaque red ink marker on a piece of paper – or piece of clear glass – and then placed a red piece of cellophane in front of it – would I still be able to see the red marks.
In principle, they wouldn’t be visible, though they’d be there. In principle the object lesson serves me well as an example for what Jesus does for us. When we come to Jesus, ask His forgiveness and accept Him as our Savior, he washes the slate clean – but as we go through life we still get some blotches – but God doesn’t see them, since He sees us through his Son – and His Son is perfect! I really do need to try that and see if it works…. Of course, it loses a little of the reality, since we keep coming to Jesus and asking forgiveness for ‘new’ sins that pop up as part of being human and living in a fallen world. But – we do come freely – all because of what He did on the cross. The veil represented that. It was torn in two from top to bottom. The Most Holy place – the Holy of Holies was suddenly accessible to man. What was only accessed by one priest once a year on the Day of Atonement suddenly became available to all just for entering. And the only way we can have that access is because God sees us through Jesus….
Now we can call him Abba – Daddy. God is no longer the unspeakable name – one so fearful that we cannot approach Him. We should not lose the respect of who He is - but we should be very grateful that instead of being accessible to only a few – we can be in intimate relationship with Him – the very God who created heaven and earth…. How amazing. What amazing love that God should love one such as I, leave His home in glory, be brutalized by the created, and die for mankind.
Once they killed Jesus, many realized that He was indeed the Son of God.
After Jesus died, Joseph of Arimathea went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. He and Nicodemus, both behind-the-scenes believers, took Jesus and laid him in a borrowed grave. John tells us that they used 75 pounds of burial spices – and they wrapped him in a linen cloth. By 6 p m – before the Day of Preparation for this very special Sabbath ended – the stone had been rolled into place. The two Mary’s saw where he had been laid before they left.
The next day, on the Sabbath, the chief priests and Pharisees who had heard his prophecies about rising again from the dead went to the authorities and asked if a guard could be posted until after the third day…just to be sure no one came and stole his body and then claimed he had risen again. Pilate accommodated their request – but later, when Jesus went missing, he didn’t execute the guards…. After what Pilate experienced personally with Jesus, did he hope the prophecy was true?
To be continued….
Gotta’run!
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