My apologies for basically ditching the reading plan. I really want to think my way through these events as thoroughly and chronologically as possible. Here’s my plan for this week:
Monday – Luke 23, The Crucifixion
Tuesday – John 19, The Burial
Wednesday – Mt 28, Mk 16, Resurrection AM
Thursday – Luke 24, Resurrection PM
Friday – John 20-21, Post-Resurrection
Saturday – Acts 1-2, Ascension & Pentecost
🗓️
So, here we go. We’re going to go moment by moment through the entire crucifixion.
Top off your coffee and settle in.
This one is epic.
PASSION WEEK – Friday
The Crucifixion
Jesus reached the end of the road. He was nailed to the cross and lifted into place.
Because of artwork, we tend to think of the cross as being super high up. Like this:
And I suppose the Romans could’ve used a pulley system to hoist a person up that high, but historical evidence points to something much closer to the ground.
The Romans had several different methods of crucifixion.
Skeletons have been found by archaeologists with the nail still stuck in the bones of the feet.
The text doesn’t specify exactly what type of cross or method was used on Jesus, but we can be reasonably sure it was not a tree and not just a pole because the Gospels record Jesus carrying his cross. Historically, victims did not carry the stipes (the vertical stake). That was permanently set in place. They carried only the patibulum (the horizontal beam).
The weight of the victim was suspended on the nails and in “short” crucifixions, (ones that didn’t last for 1-3 days), the victim could be pinned on the cross in such a way as to make it nearly impossible to breathe.
For an article on the medical aspects of the crucifixion, click here. If you’d like to dig even deeper, there is a classic book by Dr. Pierre Barbet called A Doctor At Calvary.
Jesus is crucified at “the third hour” (Mk 15:25). This is the Jewish method of counting hours as opposed to the Roman method in John 19:14. It is shortly after 9AM. He will hang on the cross for 6 agonizing hours. He will speak 7 times and several distinct things will happen. We’re going to look at them in sequence, but I will group all 7 sayings together.
THE INSCRIPTION
Criminals would have their crime(s) posted on a sign above them. It was Rome’s idea of a crime deterrent. People coming into town would see a man dying on a road-side cross and everyone could read “robbery” or “armed assault.” And they would probably be a lot less inclined to commit those crimes. This was not a new idea and it continued long after Rome. Even the kings of England as late as the 1600s would sometimes display the severed heads of traitors on iron spikes at the gate of London Bridge as a deterrent to treason.
Jesus’ “crime” was literally being “The King of the Jews.” This was written in all 3 local languages, Aramaic, Greek and Latin.
“Then the leading priests objected and said to Pilate, “Change it from ‘The King of the Jews’ to ‘He said, I am King of the Jews.’” Pilate replied, “No, what I have written, I have written.””
John 19:21-22 NLT
WINE & MYRRH
Jesus has already been through more than many people could survive. Matthew and Mark record that Jesus was offered wine mixed with “myrrh” or “gall.” Myrrh was a tree resin used medicinally as an antiseptic and mild pain reliever. And Jesus wouldn’t drink it. He refused what basically amounts to a couple of Aspirin to take the edge off the pain. He did not back away from the suffering. Not even a little.
Myrrh was very bitter and was synonymous with bitter life experiences. It’s the name that Naomi gave herself after all of her bitter losses. Mara, (Ruth 1:20). Myrrh was also one of the gifts given to Jesus at His birth.
Whoever offered Jesus this bitter wine cocktail had no idea he was fulfilling prophecy. David wrote this under inspiration:
“They also gave me gall for food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.”
Psalms 69:21 LEB
PARTING OF HIS GARMENTS
The Romans stripped their victims naked. It was part of the psychological manipulation they used to intimidate and dominate through fear. It was meant to be degrading. Artists have historically depicted Jesus with a loincloth for modesty and probably to avoid being railed on as “indecent,” but our Savior bore the shame of complete public exposure so we could be covered. He can identify with those who have been sexually exploited, abused, and exposed against their will because He most certainly was. It’s not something we talk about in the church but people who have been victimized need to know that our Savior was degraded too.
John has the most detail. He records that Jesus’ clothing was divided into “four parts, to every soldier a part,” which tells us that the execution squad was a 4-man unit. But John also mentions Jesus’ seamless coat. They gambled to see who would get what fulfilling another prophecy…
“They divide my garments among themselves and throw dice for my clothing.”
Psalms 22:18 NLT
THE TWO THIEVES
Two thieves were crucified with Jesus. One on each side. At first they both harassed Jesus (Mt. 27:44, Mk 15:32). It was only after some time that one of them has a change of heart. Which goes to show that even in the final moments of death, a person can repent and be received by Christ.
The thieves also fulfill prophecy, (Mk.15:27-28).
“Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.”
Isaiah 53:12 ESV
MOCKERY OF THE CROWD
Psalm 22 comes up a lot in the crucifixion. It’s the Mount Calvary Psalm.
Oh… and it’s CAL-va-ry not CAV-al-ry.
CALvary is where Jesus was crucified.
A CAValry is this…
I recently helped a young man at the library who was into Civil War reenactment. And he kept saying he was most interested in the “CAL-very.” I didn’t correct him but I made it a point to pronounce CAValry correctly myself. After several repetitions of him saying “CAL-very” instead of CAV-al-ry, I thought to myself, “I wish you were here for a book about the CALvary.”
In the Mount CALvary Psalm, we read…
“All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads; “He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!””
Psalm 22:7-8 ESV
Did none of these Jewish mockers pick up on the fact they were literally quoting Psalm 22 in their jests?
I suspect that it wasn’t only the humans mocking and taunting Jesus. Psalm 22 makes a mysterious reference to other things that can’t keep their mouths shut…
“Many bulls have surrounded me; Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me. They open their mouths wide at me, As a ravening and roaring lion.”
Psalm 22:12-13 NASB2020
I think this suggests demonic entities. Bashan was one of the last kingdoms of the giant clans. King Og of Bashan was one of the last of the giants himself. And Bashan was the region around Mount Hermon where the Watchers descended. The Book of Enoch is one of the few ancient texts that explain the origin of demons. It says that demons are the disembodied spirits of dead Nephilim.
You know how Elisha could see things in the spiritual realm (2 Kgs. 6:17)? I’m pretty sure Jesus could see into that realm as well. Baal, Molech, and Apis were all bull-headed gods. I wonder if, while hanging on the cross, Jesus saw and heard not only the jeering crowd, but also entities like this…
Or this…
Imagine those things circling and taunting.
You don’t think the infernal realm just stayed home while the Son of God was dying, do you? Of course they were surrounding Him. Like vultures. Watching to see what would happen.
DARKNESS
Half way through the 6-hour execution, the sky went dark from noon to 3pm. If this was some kind of eclipse it was a supernatural one. I got to stand in the dead center of the path of totality for the 2024 North American eclipse. It was amazing.
But the real darkness of totality (where we could even see stars!) only lasted for 8 minutes. I think the darkness at the crucifixion was more like the plague of darkness in Egypt. Or it could’ve been a cloud like the one that made darkness for the army of Pharaoh, (Ex. 14:19-20). Either way, it was supernatural.
THE SEVEN SAYINGS FROM THE CROSS
Jesus spoke seven times from the cross. You have to put all the Gospel accounts together to get them all. Breathing and speaking were a great and painful effort so every one of these is significant.
“Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” Luke 23:34
Jesus said this at the first, probably right after being lifted up on the cross.
After more than two hours of mockery, the penitent thief asks Jesus to remember him. And Jesus’ second utterance is to him:
“Today you will be with me in Paradise” Luke 23:43
Just before the sky goes dark at noon, Mary and John come close enough for Jesus to speak to them. The third thing He says:
To MARY: “Woman, behold your son.”
To JOHN: “Behold, your mother.”
As the firstborn son, Jesus was responsible for His mother’s care. Usually, upon the death of the eldest son, then next eldest would be charged to take care of his mother. But Jesus entrusts Mary to John. And church history says that John did stay with Mary for the rest of her life. She moved with him to Ephesus where she died.
For the next 3 hours of darkness, Jesus says nothing. It is only just before He dies that He utters the last four sayings. The fourth is:
“My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?” Matthew 27:46
This is of course a quotation of Psalm 22:1.
Hold on to Psalm 22. We’ll come back to it.
The fifth saying from the cross was simply:
“I am thirsty.” John 19:28
There are seven “I Am” statements in the Gospel of John.
- I am the bread of life. (6:35)
- I am the light of the world. (8:12)
- I am the door. (10:7)
- I am the good shepherd (10:11)
- I am the resurrection and the life. (11:25)
- I am the way, the truth, and the life. (14:6)
- I am the true vine. (15:1)
They are all powerful and profound. Here, the Great I Am… is thirsty.
If you haven’t heard the song I Thirst (written by Beverly Lowery, mother of Mark Lowery), it captures the profound irony in the One Who made water itself being thirsty.
Jesus is offered sour wine. This was a common drink of Roman soldiers so it probably came from one of their lunches. It was water mixed with wine vinegar, optionally flavored with herbs like coriander and salt for electrolytes. In Latin it was called Posca. (And if you have 20min to watch a video about Roman soldier rations including Posca, click the link.) Posca was basically like ancient Gatorade. And the wine/vinegar probably helped kill water-born pathogens. If you want to really experience the Bible, you could make some and see what Jesus tasted on the cross. If you have kids, this would be a fantastic object lesson.
I find it ironic that just before He died, Jesus drank a mixture of water and wine. When His side is pierced, what flows out? And the red liquid was in a sponge on a hyssop branch and pressed against His mouth.
Y’all that is a literal reenactment of Passover. God told Moses to take hyssop branches and dip them in the blood of the Passover lamb and swipe it on the lintel and doorposts.
Jesus said, “I Am the door.”
And they took the hyssop, dipped it into red liquid, and swiped it on The Door.
And that Roman soldier had NO idea…
The sixth saying from the cross was…
“It is finished.” Or, more accurately just…
“FINISHED!”
Let’s pick back up with Psalm 22.
I have long wondered if Jesus didn’t recite all of Psalm 22 to Himself in His mind while on the cross. We know He quoted the opening line “My God, My God why have you forsaken me?” But I wonder if when He said “Finished!” He might be quoting the last word of Psalm 22. Look at it:
“They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.”
Psalm 22:31 KJV
I use the KJV because its use of italics indicates a word added for clarity. Meaning, the word “this” is added for clarity. In Heberew it says “He has DONE.” It’s one word: asah. The last word in Psalm 22 is “done.”
In the Greek, “It is finished” is also one word.
Tetelestai. Finished. Done.
There’s nothing left for anyone to do. The work of making us right with God is finished. And HE has done it.
The seventh and final saying from the cross was “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” And “He bowed His head and gave up the ghost,” Jn. 19:30.
Jesus CHOSE to die. He gave up His spirit.
The final two sayings make me think of this:
“And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.”
Genesis 2:2 ESV
VEIL OF THE TEMPLE TORN
The Second Temple is described by Josephus as having huge golden doors that separated the inner portion of the temple from the outer portion and that before these doors was a curtain of the same tremendous size; approximately 60-80 feet tall, 30 feet wide and 4 inches thick. They would take it out to clean it before Yom Kippur and it took 300 priests to handle the thing. He says that it was woven by a team of 82 young women. Its colors and symbols of cherubim represented all of creation; both the earth and heavens.
It was torn from the top down.
“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh,”
Hebrews 10:19-20 ESV
Jesus IS the temple; the dwelling place of God. As His flesh is torn open, the door is opened for us to access the Father.
EARTHQUAKE & GRAVES OPENED
“And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.”
Matthew 27:51-53 ESV
I have NO IDEA what to do with these verses.
Matthew just gonna casually mention a resurrection like it’s no big deal. What’s up with that?
Matthew… Bro… you can’t be doin’ that!
Did the resurrected people just go back to living a normal life like Lazarus?
Who were these people?! They’re called “saints.” Are they like… Old Testament prophets?
How many is “many”? Are we talkin’ a dozen? A hundred? A thousand?
Did no one think to interview them and write it down?
If they did and that text is hidden somewhere, I’m gonna pray it gets found.
I don’t think they were resurrected in the same sense as Jesus or “glorified” saints because Jesus must be “the firstfruits from the dead.” (1 Cor. 15:20-23, Col. 1:18, Rev. 1:5)
Did they ascend to heaven with Jesus? Or did they die again later?
Sheesh… SO many questions!!
For the love of Pete! Why didn’t someone track them down and get names and take a statement?
CONFESSION OF THE CENTURION
The Romans believe in the divine; in gods and goddesses. That’s not myth to them. It’s real. They worship the emperor – a human. So they already have a grid for thinking of a human as also being divine.
Romans also know what death looks like. You don’t become a centurion without having killed your fair share of men. The centurion has seen brave men and cowards die. But this is the first time he’s ever seen a Divine Man die. And it’s different.
The sky has been supernaturally dark for the past 3 hours. The man on the middle cross isn’t guilty of any crime. The crowd whispered about lame people healed and dead people raised by this man. When He does speak from the cross, He calls the Almighty His Father. And at the moment He dies, the planet shudders. No wonder he said,
“Truly, this was the Son of God!”
RESPONSE OF THE CROWD
I expect that the mockers tucked tail and went home at noon when it got dark. The people who stayed until the end… they saw what the centurion saw.
“And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts.”
Luke 23:48 ESV
CONFIRMATION OF DEATH
The way a crucified person breathes is by pushing against the nail/nails in the feet in order to straighten the abdominal area enough to inhale and exhale. If the victim’s legs are broken they cannot do that and they suffocate within minutes.
The Roman squad – probably using the same hammer used to drive the nails – breaks the legs of the two thieves.
Jesus is already dead.
“But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water.”
John 19:34 ESV
If you read the article I linked above about the medical aspects of the crucifixion, you know that the blood and water prove that Jesus did not die of asphyxiation. He died of a broken heart.
Next to John 19:34 I have written in my Bible, “Gen. 2:21-22.” It’s the bit about God making Eve.
The First Adam’s side was opened in “a deep sleep” and from that opening God took part of him and made his counterpart; his bride.
The Second Adam’s side was opened in “a deep sleep” and from that opening God took part of Him and made His counterpart; His Bride.
We will stop here for today, with Jesus suspended between earth and a sky just beginning to brighten at three in the afternoon.
If you’d like a song to help you reflect, I would like to recommend this one…
