MATTHEW 27
OPENS WITH...THE DEATH OF JUDAS AND JESUS’ TRIAL, DEATH, AND BURIAL
Verses 1-2 tells us Jesus is handed over to Pilate.
"When morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people plotted against Jesus to put Him to death. And when they had bound Him, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pontius Pilate the governor."
ALL the chief priests and elders of the people plotted against Jesus to put Him to death...
This was the official gathering of the Sanhedrin following the informal (and illegal) night session, also described in Luke 22:66-71. As Luke shows, this morning trial was essentially the same as the previous, informal ILLEGAL examination. After arresting illegally by night, when the sun rose, they openly came together again before the people, pretending to conduct the business according to the forms of law.
They led Him away and delivered Him to Pontius Pilate...
The Sanhedrin gave Jesus over to Pontius Pilate, the Roman appointed governor over Judea, because they did NOT have the authority to put Him to death.
CARSON adds, “Pilate was in fact appointed prefect or procurator by Tiberius Caesar in a.d. 26. Prefects governed small, troubled areas; and in judicial matters they possessed powers like those of the far more powerful proconsuls and imperial legates; in short, they held the power of life and death."
BRUCE adds, “The ordinary residence of procurators was Caesarea, on the sea coast, but it was their custom to be in Jerusalem at Passover time, with a detachment of soldiers, to watch over the public peace.”
The Jewish leaders had reason to expect a favorable result when they went to Pilate. Secular history shows us that Pilate was a cruel, ruthless man, almost completely insensitive to the moral feelings of others. Surely, they thought, Pilate will put this Jesus to death FOR us.
Pilate would not be interested in the charge of blasphemy against Jesus, regarding that as a religious matter of no concern to Rome. So all the chief priests and elders essentially brought Jesus to Pilate with three false accusations: that Jesus was a revolutionary; that He incited the people to not pay their taxes; and that He claimed to be a king in opposition to Caesar (Luke 23:2).
Verses 3-10 tells us Judas’ miserable end.
"Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” And they said, “What is that to us? You see to it!” Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself. But the chief priests took the silver pieces and said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, because they are the price of blood.” And they consulted together and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in. Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. 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.”
Was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver...
Judas was filled with remorse, NOT repentance. Even though he knew exactly what he did (I have sinned by betraying innocent blood), Judas was more sorry for the result of his sin than for the sin itself. There is a huge difference in being sorry about sin, and being sorry for sin.
AND INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH, DID YOU KNOW...
By throwing the money into the temple (the “naos, properly the inner sanctuary, where only the priests were allowed to go” according to France), Judas wanted to implicate the priests in his crime. It was his way of saying, “You also are guilty of this.”
It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, because they are the price of blood...
The hypocrisy of the chief priests was transparent. They didn’t want to defile themselves with the price of blood, even though it was a price that they themselves paid.
Deuteronomy 23:18, GOD had forbidden to bring the price of a *****, or a dog, into the temple; this they had interpreted of all filthy gain.
Went and hanged himself...
In his unrepentant remorse and despair, Judas committed suicide. Being the son of perdition (John 17:12), we are assured he went to eternal punishment in Hell.
DID YOU KNOW...
Some hold that Matthew’s account of Judas’ death is at variance with Acts 1:18-19, which says that Judas fell headlong into a field, burst open in the middle, and all his entrails gushed out. Most reconcile this by suggesting that Judas hanged himself, and then his body was cast down on the ground, bursting open.
CARSON reminds, “If Judas hanged himself, no Jew would want to defile himself during the Feast of Unleavened Bread by burying the corpse; and a hot sun might have brought on rapid decomposition till the body fell to the ground and burst open.”
Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet...
There has been much question about the quotation attributed to Jeremiah, because it is found in Zechariah 11:12-13. Matthew says the word was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, though we find it recorded in Zechariah.
1. Some WRONGLY TEACH it could be a copyist error. Perhaps Matthew wrote Zechariah, but an early copyist mistakenly put Jeremiah instead, and this rare mistake was repeated in subsequent copies.
2. Some think that Jeremiah spoke this prophecy and Zechariah recorded it – the word spoken by Jeremiah, but recorded by Zechariah.
3. Some think that Matthew refers to scroll of Jeremiah, which included the book of Zechariah.
Verses 11-14 tells us Jesus GREATLY impresses Pilate.
"Now Jesus stood before the governor. And the governor asked Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?” So Jesus said to him, “It is as you say.” And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He answered nothing. Then Pilate said to Him, “Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?” But He answered him not one word, so that the governor marveled greatly."
Now Jesus stood before the governor...
History shows us Pontius Pilate was a cruel and ruthless man, unkind to the Jews and contemptuous of almost everything but raw power. Here, he seems out of character in the way he treated Jesus. Jesus seems to have profoundly affected him.
Matthew condenses the full account, telling us only of the second appearance of Jesus before Pilate. The first appearance before Pilate is described in Luke 23:1-6. Hoping to avoid making a judgment about Jesus, Pilate sent Him to Herod, the sub-ruler of Galilee (Luke 23:6-12). Jesus refused to say anything to Herod, so He returned to Pilate as here described in Matthew.
Are You the King of the Jews?
When they brought Him to Pilate, the Jewish leaders accused Jesus of promoting Himself as a king in defiance of Caesar (Luke 23:2). They wanted to make Jesus seem like a dangerous revolutionary against the Roman Empire. Therefore, Pilate asked Jesus this simple question.
Of course, we can only wonder what Pilate thought when he first set eyes on Jesus, when he saw this beaten and bloodied Man before him. Jesus didn’t look especially regal or majestic or a warrior or dangerous as He stood before Pilate, so the Roman governor was probably sarcastic or ironic when he asked, “Are You the King of the Jews?”
It is as you say...
No majestic defense, no instant miracle to save His own life. Instead, Jesus gave Pilate the same simple reply He gave to the high priest (Matthew 26:64).
This amazed Pilate; he asked, “Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?” Pilate couldn’t believe that such a strong, dignified man – as beaten and bloody as He was – would stand silent at these accusations. The governor marveled greatly.
There is a time to defend one’s cause or one’s self, but those times are rare. When we rise to our own defense, we would usually be better off to keep silent and to trust God to defend us.
Verses 15-18 tells us Pilate hopes to release Jesus.
"Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to releasing to the multitude one prisoner whom they wished. And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. Therefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” For he knew that they had handed Him over because of envy."
At the feast the governor was accustomed to releasing to the multitude one prisoner whom they wished...
Judging there was something different – and innocent – about Jesus, Pilate hoped this custom of releasing a prisoner might help solve the problem.
A notorious prisoner called Barabbas...
Mark 15:7 tells us what made Barabbas notorious. He was one of several insurrectionists, who HAD committed murders in the insurrection. We would today regard a man like Barabbas as something like a revolutionary terrorist.
For he knew that they had handed Him over because of envy...
Pilate saw through the manipulative words of the religious leaders. He knew their motive was envy, not any other concern.
Because of envy...
Let it be remembered that malice as often originates from envy as it does from anger.
Verses 19-20 tells us Pilate influenced by BOTH his wife and the religious leaders.
"While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, “Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him.” But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus."
While he was sitting on the judgment seat...
As Pilate sat in judgment of Jesus, he failed to give the accused justice. Pilate had ALL the evidence he needed to do the RIGHT thing – to release Jesus.
· He saw the strength and dignity of Jesus, and he knew this was no criminal or revolutionary.
· He knew that it was no just charge that brought Jesus before his judgment seat – it was only the envy of the religious leaders.
· He saw that Jesus was a man so at peace with His God that He didn’t need to answer a single accusation.
· He already declared Jesus an innocent man (I find no fault in this Man, Luke 23:4).
His wife sent to him, saying...
In addition to all of these, Pilate also had a unique and remarkable messenger – his wife’s dream. We can only conjecture what she saw in this dream. Perhaps she saw Jesus, an innocent man, crowned with thorns and crucified. Maybe she saw Him coming in glory with the clouds of heaven. Maybe she saw Him at the Great White Throne of judgment, and she and her husband facing Jesus.
It was a remarkable occurrence. She awoke late in the morning, disturbed by the dream. She asked where her husband was, and her attendants told her that he was called away early to his business as a governor – the religious leaders of Jerusalem sent over a prisoner for judgment. Immediately, she asked a messenger to go to her husband with news of her dream.
Because of all this, there was a great urgency about her message to Pilate. She was bold to send it, and she implored him to simply having nothing to do with this man Jesus. “Let Him go. Send Him away. Don’t punish Him even a little.” It was an influence, a warning that he tragically ignored. All of this was God’s merciful message to Pilate; a merciful message that he rejected.
But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus...
The religious leaders knew the best way to influence Pilate. Not through his own judgment of Jesus, not through his wife, and not through the religious leaders themselves directly. The best way to push Pilate in a certain direction was by the voice of the multitudes.
Here is a man who knows the right thing to do – and knows it by many convincing ways. Yet he will do the wrong thing, a terrible thing, in obedience to the multitudes.
CLARKE adds, “But this it appears they did at the instigation of the chief priests. We see here how dangerous wicked priests are in the Church of Christ; when pastors are corrupt, they are capable of inducing their flock to prefer Barabbas to Jesus, the world to God, and the pleasures of sense to the salvation of their souls.”
Verses 21-23 tells us The crowd demands the release of Barabbas and the crucifixion of Jesus.
"The governor answered and said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” They said, “Barabbas!” Pilate said to them, “What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said to him, “Let Him be crucified!” Then the governor said, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they cried out all the more, saying, “Let Him be crucified!”
“Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” They said, “Barabbas!”
The voice of the crowd is not always the voice of God. The mob did not answer Pilate’s request for evidence or proof when he asked, “What evil has He done?” They only continued to shout for Jesus’ death. They called for more than His death – they called for Him to be executed by torture through crucifixion (“Let Him be crucified!“).
FRANCE adds, “The call Let him be crucified is remarkable on the lips of a Jewish crowd, for crucifixion was a Roman punishment, abhorrent to most Jews.”
They all said to him...
SPURGEON adds, “There were none in the crowd silently sympathizing with the Saviour; they all said, ‘Let him be crucified.'”
When the crowd chose Barabbas instead of Jesus, it reflected the fallen nature of all humanity. The name “Barabbas” sounds very much like son of the father. They chose a false, violent son of the father instead of the true Son of the Father. This prefigures the future embrace of the ultimate Barabbas – the one popularly called the Antichrist.
TRAPP adds, "People today still reject Jesus and choose another. Their Barabbas might be lust, it might be intoxication, it might be self and the comforts of life. “This mad choice is every day made, while men prefer the lusts of their flesh before the lives of their souls.”
They said, “Barabbas!” If anyone knew what it meant that Jesus died in his place, it was Barabbas. He was a terrorist and a murderer, yet he was set free while Jesus was crucified. The cross Jesus hung on was probably originally intended for Barabbas.
We can imagine Barabbas, in a dark prison cell with a small window, waiting to be crucified. Through the window he could hear the crowd gathered before Pilate, not far away from the Fortress Antonia where he was imprisoned. Perhaps he could not hear Pilate ask, “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” But surely he heard the crowd shout back, “Barabbas.” He probably could not hear Pilate’s one voice ask, “What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” But he certainly heard the crowd roar in response, “Let Him be crucified.” If all Barabbas heard from his cell was his name shouted by the mob, then the “Let Him be crucified,” when the soldiers came to his cell, he surely thought it was time for him to die a tortured death. But when the soldiers said, “Barabbas, you are a guilty man – but you will be released because Jesus will die in your place,” Barabbas knew the meaning of the cross better than most. We wonder if he ever took it to heart.
Verses 24-25 tells us Pilate tries to avoid responsibility for Jesus’ fate.
"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.”
When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all...
It was out of character for Pilate to bend this way to the religious leaders and the crowd. He could have chosen differently.
He took water and washed his hands before the multitude...
Pilate washed his hands saying, “It’s out of my control. Personally I wish this Jesus no harm, but these things happen.” Yet the power and responsibility of what to do with Jesus rested with him. Saying “I find no fault in Him” was not enough. Looking for a clever solution in releasing a prisoner at Passover was no solution. Washing his hands was meaningless. Therefore he could not escape responsibility, and is forever associated with the crime of sending Jesus to the cross, echoed through history in the creeds (crucified under Pontius Pilate).
I am innocent of the blood of this just Person...
Hidden in Pilate’s attempt at self-justification is a declaration of Jesus’ innocence. When he called Jesus “this just Person,” he admitted that Jesus was the innocent man – not Pilate. Just because Pilate said “I am innocent” doesn’t mean that he was innocent.
BARCLAY adds, "Strangely, in later periods of Christian anti-Semitism, some Christians tried to rehabilitate Pilate, wanting to put all the blame on the Jews. Some even falsely said that Pilate and his wife became Christians, and “to this day the Coptic Church ranks both Pilate and his wife as saints.”
His blood be on us and on our children...
They really had no understanding of what they asked for. They didn’t understand the glory of Jesus’ cleansing blood, and how wonderful it would be to have His blood…on us and on our children. They also didn’t understand the enormity of the crime of calling for the execution of the sinless Son of God, and the judgment that would be visited on their children some forty years later in the destruction of Jerusalem.
This is one of the passages wrongly used as a justification by wicked and misguided Christians who persecuted or allowed persecution of the Jews. They did not understand that even if this did put these people and their descendants under a curse, it was never the duty of the church to bring this curse to bear upon the Jews. Indeed, as God promised Abraham, I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you (Genesis 12:3). Those Christians wicked and foolish enough to curse the Jews have indeed been cursed by God in one way or another.
Verse 26 tells us The suffering of Jesus Christ. Scourging: a customary prelude to crucifixion.
"Then he released Barabbas to them; and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified."
When he had scourged Jesus...
The blows came from a whip with many leather strands, each having sharp pieces of bone or metal at the ends. It reduced the back to raw flesh, with the internal organs now visible as well the very bones and it was not unusual for a criminal to die from a scourging, even before crucifixion.
DR. WILLIAM EDWARDS, 3/1986, FROM THE JOURNAL OF AMERICAN MEDICINE GIVES US THE HORRIFIC TRUTH OF SCOURAGING AND CRUCIFIXATION. THE PEOPLE IN THAT DAY KNEW EXACTLY WHAT SCOURAGING AND CRUCIFIXION ENTAILED, BUT MODERN MAN DOES NOT.
1.) “Scourging was a legal preliminary to every Roman execution, and only women and Roman senators or soldiers (except in cases of desertion) were exempt.”
2.) "The goal of the scourging was to weaken the victim to a state just short of collapse and death. “As the Roman soldiers repeatedly struck the victim’s back with full force, the iron balls would cause deep contusions, and the leather thongs and sheep bones would cut into the skin and subcutaneous tissues. Then, as the flogging continued, the lacerations would tear into the underlying skeletal muscles and produce quivering ribbons of bleeding flesh. Pain and blood loss generally set the stage for circulatory shock. The extent of blood loss may well have determined how long the victim would survive the cross."
3.) "The severe scourging, with its intense pain and appreciable blood loss, most probably left Jesus in a pre-shock state. Moreover, hematidrosis had rendered his skin particularly tender. The physical and mental abuse meted out by the Jews and the Romans, as well as the lack of food, water, and sleep, also contributed to his generally weakened state. Therefore, even before the actual crucifixion, Jesus’ physical condition was at least serious and possibly critical.”
When he had scourged Jesus...
Commonly the blows of scourging would lessen as the criminal confessed to his crimes. Jesus remained silent, having no crimes to confess, so the blows continued with full strength.
Verses 27-31 tells us Jesus is beaten and mocked.
"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. And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified."
Gathered the whole garrison around Him...
They only needed a regular group of four soldiers – called a quaternion – to carry out the execution. Yet they gathered the whole garrison around Him. It wasn’t to prevent His escape. It wasn’t to prevent a hostile crowd from rescuing Him. It wasn’t to keep the disciples away.
FRANCE adds, “The soldiers of the governor were auxiliaries, not Roman legionaries, and would be recruited from non-Jewish inhabitants of the surrounding areas (e.g. Phoenicians, Syrians, perhaps Samaritans).”
Garrison...
The detachment is called a speira; in a full speira there were six hundred men. It is not likely that there were as many as that in Jerusalem. These soldiers were Pilate’s bodyguard who accompanied him from Caesarea, where his permanent headquarters were.
Praetorium...
Called so from the praetor, a principal magistrate among the Romans, whose business it was to administer justice in the absence of the consul. This place might be termed in English the court house, or common hall.
Mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
Everything about this was intended to humiliate Jesus. The Jewish rulers had already mocked Jesus as the Messiah (Matthew 26:67-68). Now the Roman powers mocked him as king.
1. They stripped Him...
When a prisoner was crucified, they were often nailed to the cross naked, simply to increase their humiliation. Jesus hasn’t been crucified yet, but His humiliation had begun, and He was publicly stripped naked before ALL the people.
2. Put a scarlet robe on Him...
Kings and rulers often wore scarlet, because the dyes to make fabrics that color were expensive. The scarlet robe was intended as cruel irony.
3. They had twisted a crown of thorns...
Kings wear crowns, but not crowns of torture. The specific thorn-bushes of this region have long, hard, sharp thorns. This was a crown that cut, pierced, and bloodied the head of the King who wore it.
4. A reed in His right hand...
Kings hold scepters, but glorious, ornate scepters that symbolize their power. In their mockery of Jesus, they gave Him a scepter – but a thin, weak reed.
5. They bowed the knee before Him...
Kings are honored, so they offered mocking worship to this King.
“Hail, King of the Jews!” Kings are greeted with royal titles, so in their spite they mocked Jesus with this title. It was meant to humiliate Jesus, but also the Jews – saying, “This is the best King they can bring forth.”
We might say that in contrast, Jesus says to the kings and rulers of this age that their crowns are false and their scepters are reeds.
Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head...
They now shifted from mockery to cruelty. They seized the ironic scepter, took off the mock-royal robe, and began to hurl their spit and their fists at the head of Jesus.
SPURGEON adds, "Even the hands that drove the nails into His hands unto the cross did only what they were commanded to do. Yet they spat in His face just for the pleasure of doing it. “But, my brethren bad as man is, methinks he never was so bad — or rather, his badness never came out to the full so much — as when gathering all his spite, his pride, his lust his desperate defiance, his abominable wickedness into one mouthful he spat into the face of the Son of God himself.”
Even in this, Jesus stood in the place of sinners. Rebellious man wants to be a king, yet he is a sorry kind of king. Even so, Jesus endured the mocking kind of royalty that man, left to himself, is capable of.
SPURGEON adds, "It is possible for us to mock Jesus today by the way we live. “You have mocked him by a feigned worship, and thus you have put the purple robe upon him. For that purple robe meant that they made him a nominal king, a king who was not in truth a king, but a mere show. Your Sunday religion, which has been forgotten in the week, has been a scepter of reed, a powerless ensign, a mere sham. You have mocked and insulted him even in your hymns and prayers, for your religion is a pretense, with no heart in it; you brought him an adoration that was no adoration, a confession that was no confession, and a prayer that was no prayer. Is it not so?”
And led Him away to be crucified...
The march to the place of crucifixion was useful advertising for Rome. It warned potential troublemakers that this was their fate should they challenge Rome. Normally a centurion on horseback led the procession, and a herald shouted the crime of the condemned.
The criminal was led to the scene of crucifixion by as long a route as possible, so that as many as possible might see him and take warning from the grim sight.
As Jesus was led away to be crucified, He was – like most victims of crucifixion – forced to carry the wood He would hang upon.
The weight of the entire cross was typically 300 pounds. The victim only carried the crossbar, which weighed anywhere from 75 to 125 pounds. When the victim carried the crossbar, he was usually stripped naked, and his hands were often tied to the wood.
The upright beams of a cross were usually permanently fixed in a visible place outside of the city walls, beside a major road. It is likely that on many occasions, Jesus passed by the very upright He would hang upon.
When Jesus said, If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me (Matthew 16:24), this is exactly the scene He had in mind. Everyone knew what the cross was – an unrelenting instrument of death and only death. The cross wasn’t about religious ceremonies; it wasn’t about traditions and spiritual feelings. The cross was a way to execute people. But in these twenty centuries after the death of Jesus, we have sanitized and ritualized the cross. How would we receive it if Jesus said, “Walk down death row daily and follow Me”? Taking up your cross wasn’t a journey; it was a one-way trip. There was no return ticketing; it was never a round trip.
Verses 32-34 tells us On the way to Golgotha (in Latin, Calvary).
"Now as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. Him they compelled to bear His cross. And when they had come to a place called Golgotha, that is to say, Place of a Skull, they gave Him sour wine mingled with gall to drink. But when He had tasted it, He would not drink."
A man of Cyrene, Simon by name...
This man was probably a visitor to Jerusalem, there as a faithful Jew to celebrate the Passover. Visiting Jerusalem, he was far from Cyrene in North Africa (some 800 miles/1300 kilometers away).
Him they compelled to bear His cross...
Simon knew little if anything about this Jesus, and had no desire to be associated with this Man who was condemned to die as a criminal. Yet the Romans ruled, and Simon was not given a choice. Him they compelled to bear His cross. Perhaps he was chosen because he was an obvious foreigner and more conspicuous in the crowd.
Wonderfully, we have reason to believe that Simon came to know what it really meant to take up one’s cross and follow Jesus. There is some evidence to suggest that his sons became leaders among the early Christians in Mark 15:21 and Romans 16:13.
MARK 15:21 says, "Then they compelled a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of the country and passing by, to bear His cross."
ROMANS 16:13 says, "Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine."
A place called Golgotha, that is to say, Place of a Skull...
There was a specific place outside the city walls of Jerusalem, yet still very close, where people were crucified. At this Place of a Skull Jesus died for our sins, and our salvation was accomplished.
Golgotha – in Latin, “Calvary” (Luke 23:33) means “Place of a Skull.” It was called that because it was the established place where criminals were crucified. As a place of cruel, humiliating death it was outside the city walls, yet likely on a well-established road. It may also be that the hill itself had a skull-like appearance, as is the case with the site in Jerusalem known as Gordon’s Calvary.
They gave Him sour wine mingled with gall to drink. But when He had tasted it, He would not drink...
It was customary to give those about to be crucified a pain-numbing and mind-numbing drink, to lessen their awareness of the agony awaiting them. But Jesus refused any numbing drug. He chose to face the spiritual and physical terror with His senses awake.
Verse 35a tells us Jesus is crucified.
"Then they crucified Him,"
They crucified...
TO DATE, THE PASSION OF CHRIST, BY MEL GIBSON, is the CLOSEST WE HAVE SEEN THAT DEPICTS THE VISUAL TRUTH OF THE SCOURAGING AND CRUCIFIXION OF JESUS CHRIST. BUT KNOW THIS, We have yet to see a full depiction of crucifixion in modern media. If it were ever made, JESUS WAS NOT ONLY NAKED THROUGH IT ALL, BY THE TIME HE SURVIVED THE SCOURAGING, HE WAS NOT RECOGNIZABLE AT ALL. HIS INTERNAL ORGANS WERE EXPOSED, PROTRUDING FROM THE CLAW BONES THAT TORE THROUGH MUSCLE AND PULLED OUT HIS ORGANS. HIS VERY SKELETON WAS SHOWING. HIS FACE WAS A MASSIVE BLOODY PULP. THE REAL TRUTH VISUALS OF ALL JESUS SUFFERED FOR US, IF EVER MADE INTO FILM, WOULD BE XXXX RATED AND ONLY LIMITED TO ADULT AUDIENCES, because of its intense horror and brutality.
THESE FALSE RELIGIONS THAT HAVE CARVED AND PAINTED IMAGES OF JESUS HANGING FROM THE CROSS, IN THEIR CHURCHES, WITH A TOUCH OF BLOOD AT THE TEMPLES, WRISTS AND FEET,WITH A SAD EXPRESSION ON OUR JESUS FACE ARE A LIE AND IN MY OWN OPINION AN ABOMINATION IN THE SIGHT OF ALL OF HEAVEN COMPARED TO WHAT OUR JESUS SUFFERED FOR US.
TODAY, PEOPLE RANT, RAVE, PROTEST THE INHUMANITY OF LETHAL INJECTION EXECUTION OF CONVICTED EVIL MEN AND WOMEN, WHEN IN TRUTH, EVERYTHING IS DONE FOR THESE EVIL POPLE, TO MAKE IT MORE HUMANE BY SEDATING THEM BEFORE STOPPING THEIR HEART. THEY WERE AND ARE GUILTY. THEY DID NOT OFFER THE SAME TO THEIR VICTIMS. YET, SO CALLED CHURCHES SENSATIONALIZE OUR JESUS AND DE-GORRIFY AND DE-HORRIFY THE OBSCENITY OF WHAT OUR PRECIOUS, INNOCENT, JESUS CHRIST SUFFERED FOR A WORLD THAT HATED HIM.
SOME SAY, WELL The Bible spares us the gory descriptions of Jesus’ physical agony, simply stating “then they crucified Him.” This is because everyone in Matthew’s day was well acquainted with the terror of crucifixion, but especially because the greater aspect of Jesus’ suffering was spiritual, not physical.
BARCLAY adds, “It "crucifixion" originated in Persia; and its origin came from the fact that the earth was considered to be sacred to Ormuzd the god, and the criminal was lifted up from it that he might not defile the earth, which was the god’s property.”
In 1986, Dr. William Edwards wrote some of the observations of Dr. Edwards and his associates. The quotations belong to the article, and much of the other text is paraphrased from the article.
1. “Although the Romans did not invent crucifixion, they perfected it as a form of torture and capital punishment that was designed to produce a slow death with maximum pain and suffering.”
2. The victim’s back was first torn open by the scourging, then opened again as the congealing, clotting blood came off with the clothing that was removed at the place of crucifixion. When thrown on the ground to nail the hands to the crossbeam, the wounds were again opened, deepened, and contaminated with dirt. With each breath attached to the upright cross, the painful wounds on the back scraped against the rough wood of the upright beam and were further aggravated
3. Driving the nail through the wrist severed the large median nerve. This stimulated nerve caused bolts of fiery pain in both arms, and often resulted in a claw-like grip in the victim’s hands.
4. Beyond the severe pain, the major effect of crucifixion inhibited normal breathing. The weight of the body, pulling down on the arms and shoulders, tended to lock the respiratory muscles in an inhalation state, thus hindering exhalation. The lack of adequate respiration resulted in severe muscle cramps, which hindered breathing even further. To get a good breath, one had to push against the feet and flex the elbows, pulling from the shoulders. Putting the weight of the body on the feet produced more pain, and flexing the elbows twisted the hands hanging on the nails. Liftin