The Crucifixion Of Jesus - tracts.com crucifixion of Jesus was truly an act of God, ... was to send...

Subj: No SubjectDate: Saturday, November 11, 2006 12:15:25 PM

The Crucifixion Of Jesus

1. This is a very important subject which has been studied for centuries;yet I do not believe that we will ever, be able to truly comprehend, what allJesus went through , on this day very long ago; when He was punished for thesins of all mankind; paying the cost for every one of our sins; past, present,and future; even for those sins which we do not even realize that we commit.The crucifixion of Jesus was truly an act of God, which He knew wasabsolutely necessary, in order for mankind to ever have the opportunity tobe set free from sin forevermore. 2. Let us first take a close look, at why this awful act had to take place.Ever since Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, there has been aprice to pay, for the sins which mankind commits; yet a price which mankindcould not pay himself. Man tried for centuries, to pay his sin debt, byoffering the blood of goats, and the blood of bulls. But the blood of theseanimal sacrifices was not good enough to pay for man’s sin eternally. Weread in Lev. 16:14-16: “And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, andsprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward; and before themercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times. ! Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering that is for the people, andbring his blood within the veil, and do with that blood as he did with the bloodof the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercyseat: And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of theuncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, thatremaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness.” And in Heb. 9:11-14 we also read: “But Christ being come an high priest of good things tocome, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, thatis to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, butby his own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having obtainedeternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and theashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the

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flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternalSpirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from deadworks to serve the living God?” And Heb. 10:4 also tells us: “For it is notpossible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.” God theFather knew that the blood offerings of the Old Testament could never takeaway sins eternally. Therefore He must come up with a new plan. And theplan which He came up with, was to send his only begotten Son, to offer hisblood on the cross of Calvary; to take away the sins of the worldforevermore. We read in John 3:14-17: “And as Moses lifted up theserpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be liftedup: That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but haveeternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave his onlybegotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish,but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the worldto condemn the world; but that the world through Him might besaved.” Jesus’ blood was the only blood to ever be offered, which could takeaway sins eternally. 3. There is one thing which I would like to clear up concerning the crucifixionof Jesus. Many people have the idea, that the only reason why Jesus gave hislife for mankind, was because He had to do so; or because the HeavenlyFather made Him do so; or because He was trapped into it by the devil. Thereis no truth in these beliefs whatsoever. The Heavenly Father did not makeJesus go to the cross, and bear the sins of mankind. Neither was Jesustrapped into anything. Even though this was the only way for it to beaccomplished, the Heavenly Father allowed Jesus to make a choice; and Jesuschose to come to the earth and give his life upon the cross, because of hismagnificent love for mankind. He done it because He knew that there was noother way for mankind to be eternally set free from sin. If Jesus had notwanted to come to the earth, and give his life upon the cross, then it neverwould of happened. Jesus told us in John 10:14-18: “I am the goodshepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As theFather knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down mylife for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of thisfold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; andthere shall be one fold, and one shepherd. Therefore doth myFather love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take itagain. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. Ihave power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. Thiscommandment have I received of my Father.” Jesus is making it very


clear hear, that He is laying down his life for his sheep. When we take into consideration, this last statement of Jesus in thisscripture, “This commandment have I received of my Father,” I’m certainthat Jesus was not saying that the Heavenly Father gave Him strict ordersto come and lay down his life and be a sacrifice for our sins; and that He hadno choice but to do so. But as we said before, Jesus chose to come down tothe earth and give his life to save us from our sins. And the Heavenly Fatherloved Jesus for the choice which He made. He tells us very clearly, that noman, and certainly not the devil, was taking his life from Him. He has thepower to lay down his life, and He has the power to take it up again. I’m surethat He and the Father talked over the situation very well. I believe that theword commandment in this last sentence, could be translated as “truth.”And I am sure that if there had been another way, that the Father wouldhave carried it out. But there was no other way, and Jesus, out of his greatlove, was willing to come and give his live a ransom for all people. We read inMatt. 20:28: “Even as the Son of man came not to be ministeredunto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”Greek-lutron (loo-tron): a redemption price, to loosen (the chains of sin-thepower of death), or to destroy (the powers of darkness, or of Satan). 4. God had this plan organized, since sin was committed in the Garden. Andit was well planned by God the Father, and the Son Jesus. And even thoughmany were used in the plan, who were totally influenced by the devil, Satandid not cause it to happen. It happened because God and his only begottenSon, planned for it to happen. It may look at many times, as though the devil,and those who were his servants, caused it to happen; but they done no suchthing. They were only being used as instruments of God Almighty. Satan wasonly falling into the trap of his own eternal destruction. It only happened,because God knew that it had to happen, in order to bring salvation to theworld. Satan probably stood back and laughed; and thought that he was reallybringing an end to the life and existence of Jesus; really believing that he wasaccomplishing what he had desired to accomplish, since his fall from Heaven.But all he was doing, was being used by God to complete the plan of salvation;which would destroy and strip Satan of his power forevermore. If Satan had realized what the results of Jesus’ crucifixion on the cross were really goingto be, you can rest assured, that he would of done everything within hispower, to of prevented it from ever coming to pass. If he had ever evengiven a thought, to the fact that Jesus was going to rise from the grave, hewould of tried harder than anything else, to change the minds of those whoparticipated in the crucifixion of Jesus. Satan thought that he was truly dest


roying Jesus forevermore; but the truth was, it was only the beginning of theopportunity for mankind to have eternal life. Regardless of how Jesus may ofdreaded the awful event when it was about to come to pass, He went throughwith the crucifixion because He chose to do so; not because of any trick ofSatan, or because of any trap by Chief Priests, or anyone else. Thecrucifixion took place, only because God the Father and Jesus his Son, seenthat it was necessary to take place. They could of stopped it at any momentthey chose to do so; as we will see later in this lesson also. Do not everbelieve that Jesus was crucified because he had no choice. Always rememberthat He done it because of his great love for you and for me. ! 5. Jesus told his disciples that He had come into the world to be crucified.We read in Matt. 26:1-2: “And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished allthese sayings, He said unto his disciples, Ye know that after two days,is the Feast of the Passover, and the Son of man is betrayed tobe crucified.” The Leaders Plot To Kill Jesus 6. We also read of how the Chief Priests, the scribes, and the elders,wanted to trick Jesus, and kill Him. Matt. 26:3-5 tells us: “Then assembledtogether the Chief Priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people,unto the palace of the High Priest, who was called Caiaphas, And consultedthat they might take Jesus by subtlety, and kill Him. But they said, Not onthe feast day, lest there be an uproar among the people.” Greek-dolos (dol-os): a decoy or a trick; any dishonest or unlawful manner. Let us neverforget, that Jesus knew all along what was going on. He only submitted untothem, because He knew that there was no other way to accomplish hismission; which was to bring salvation to the world. Mark also tells us in Mark14:1-2: “And two days was the Feast of the Passover, and of UnleavenedBread: and the Chief Priests and the scribes sought how they might take Himby craft, and put Him to death.” And Luke tells us in Luke 22:1-2: “Now theFeast of Unleavened Bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover. And theChief Priests and scribes sought how they might kill Him; for they feared thepeople.” Judas Agrees To Betray Jesus7. We now come to the part, where the devil entered into Judas; and he wentto make arrangements to betray the Lord Jesus. We read in Matt. 26:14-16:“Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the Chief Priests,And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver Him unto you? Andthey covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. And from that time he


sought opportunity to betray Him.” Jesus Eats The Passover With His Disciples 8. Next was the Passover supper which Jesus ate with his disciples. Weread in Matt. 26: 17-30: Now the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Breadthe disciples came to Jesus, saying unto Him, Where wilt thou that weprepare for thee to eat the Passover? And He said, Go into the city tosuch a man, and say unto him, The master saith, My time is athand; I will keep the Passover at thy house with my disciples. Andthe disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready thePassover. Now when the even was come He sat down with the twelve. And asthey did eat, He said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shallbet ray me. And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one ofthem to say unto Him, Lord, is it I? And He answered and said, He thatdippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me.The Son of man goeth as it is written of Him: but woe unto thatman by whom the Son of man is betrayed! It had been good forthat man if he had not been born. Then Judas, which betrayed Him,answered, and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said. And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, andgave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And He tookthe cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;For this is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed formany for the remission of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drinkhenceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink itnew with you in my Father’s kingdom. And when they had sung anhymn, they went out into the Mount of Olives.” A. Unleavened-Greek-azumos (ad-zoo-mos): uncorrupted, fermented, orwithout yeast; which makes the bread to rise. B. The Passover. A meal held in remembrance of the Passover of the deathangel, which occurred in the land of Egypt, during the days of Moses. C. Jesus told the disciples, that one of them would betray Him. Greek-paradidomi (par-ad-id-o-mee): to deliver up unjustly, to blackmail, deceive, orto do wrongfully. D. They were exceedingly sorrowful. Greek-lupeo (loo-peh-o): to be in muchdistress, to be sad, grieved, or to be in heaviness. E. Jesus said that it would of been better for the one who would betray Him,if he (Judas) had never been born. Truly, Judas was just about to begin theworst days of his life. As we will see later, his misery caused by him being abetrayer of Jesus, finally drove him to go out and hang himself.


F. The bread which Jesus ate with his disciples, was to represent his body;which was about to be given as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. And thewine which they drank, was to represent the blood which he was about toshed; which also was for the sins of the whole world. G. Jesus said that He would not be drinking any of the wine with them anymore, until He drunk it with them in the Father’s kingdom; or in the kingdomof Heaven. H. After they were finished singing, Jesus led them out to the Mount ofOlives. Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial 9. We will read next, about Jesus’ words to his disciples, concerning thepromises to never forsake them. Peter stated that he would never denyJesus, and so did all the other disciples. We read in Matt. 26:31-35: “Thensaith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me thisnight: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep ofthe flock shall be scattered abroad. But after I am risen again, Iwill go before you into Galilee. Peter answered and said unto Him,Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never beoffended. Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night,before the cock crows, thou shalt deny me thrice. Peter said unto Him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee.Likewise also said all the disciples.” Greek-skandalizo (skan-dal-id-zo): to beentrapped, tripped up; to be made to feel displeasure, or enticed to sin; or tobe given an occasion to sin. What was the sin which all the disciples wereenticed to commit? It was the sin of forsaking Jesus, when He needed theirsupport most of all. We read in Matt. 26:55-56: “In that same hour saidJesus to the multitudes, Are ye come out as against a thief withswords and staves for to take me? I sat daily with you teaching inthe temple, and ye laid no hold on me. But all this was done, thatthe scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all thedisciples forsook Him, and fled.” In the eyes of God, sin is sin; regardless ofwhat the sin may be. So Peter was not the only disciple who failed Jesus. Atleast Peter had the courage to follow Jesus; and stay around until he seenwhat would become of Jesus. We read in Matt. 26:57-58: “And they that hadlaid hold on Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas the High Priest, where thescribes and the elders were assembled. But Peter followed Him afar off untothe High Priest’s palace, and went in, and sat with the servants, to see theend.” Jesus Prays In Gethsemane


10. The crucifixion which Jesus had to go through, was a horrible,tormenting situation, for anyone to have to go through. Even though Jesuswas completely willing to go through this tormenting situation, He still feltthe pain and the torture, just as any man would feel. For even though He wasthe Son of God, He humbled Himself to the same pains and sufferings whichwe all go through during our lifetime. But the pain which He had to feel, waslike no man has ever felt before, or has ever felt since. And He prayed to theHeavenly Father, that if there was any other way to pay for the sins ofmankind, than having to die on the cross, that He (the Heavenly Father)would let it be done. He prayed just as every Christian should pray; that notour will be done; but the will of the Heavenly Father. We read in Matt. 26:36-46: “Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saithunto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And He tookwith Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful andvery heavy. Then saith He unto them, My soul is exceedingly sorrowful,even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And He went alittle farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if itbe possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will,but as thou wilt. And He cometh unto the disciples, and findeth themasleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me onehour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: thespirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. He went away again thesecond time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not passaway from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. And He came andfound them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. And He left them, andwent away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. Thencometh He to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and takeyour rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man isbetrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going: behold,he is at hand that doth betray me.” This took place in the Garden ofGethsemane, which was an olive garden; where the olives were picked andpressed. It was in the late hours of the night; and they were probably seeingonly by moonlight. He took only Peter, James, and John, with Him into the Garden; a distanceahead of the other disciples. Then He left these three disciples alone, andwent further ahead Himself. Even though He had prayed together with all hisdisciples, this was one time when it was important for Him to pray alone tohis Heavenly Father; just as we all must have our own secret time of prayerwith God. Peter, James, and John, were also his witnesses to the


transfiguration. Now they would be witnesses to his agony in the Garden.Jesus was going through agony, which was not as a physical pain of any kind, but a tormenting fight in his mind; a spiritual war was going on within Himself.Satan was doing everything within his power, to make matters worse forJesus, than they already were. He already had to look forward to the painand suffering which He knew was coming soon, when He would be hung uponthe cross. We can understand the human feelings which Jesus felt at thistime. He felt just like we feel, when we know that we must pray to God with all ofour heart, and place our trust fully in Him, to give us the help which we need.Jesus felt as we do, when things seem to be so bad, that we do not believethat we can make it; when Satan is giving us all of the fear and torment thathe can possibly throw at us. Yet we always make it through the situation, forGod never will forsake us; providing we confess and repent of all sin, andcome to Him with a true heart. But as we will see later, God the Father hadno choice but to forsake his Son when He was upon the cross; because Jesushad the sins of the whole world upon Himself. But at this time, Jesus washaving an encounter with the powers of darkness. We read in Luke 22:53:“When I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched forth nohands against me: but this is your hour, and the power ofdarkness.” It was as though Satan loosed every demon spirit he had; forthis was a battle to attempt to destroy the Son of God. Even though Satanthought that the victory was already in his hands; for he knew that Jesuswas on his way to the cross; he wanted to make Jesus as miserable as hepossibly could on the way. For there is nothing but hatred, bitterness,suffering, and every describable means of torture, in the heart of Satan.But Jesus knew very well that this battle with Satan would come. He told hisdisciples of it, even though they had no idea what He was talking about, inJohn 14:30-31: “Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for theprince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me. But that theworld may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave mecommandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.” Jesus met theevil forces head on; when He went into the Garden of Gethsemane. It wasvery heavy and sorrowful for Jesus at this point. He desired to have thecompany of the three disciples, who went a little further than the others. Heprayed to the Father alone; and He fell upon his face; showing the sorrow andthe agony which He was in; humbling Himself before the Heavenly Father. Andit is even believed, that He cried out to the Heavenly Father, in such a way,that the disciples whom He left a ways back in the Garden, heard Him. We


read in Heb. 5:7: “Who in the days of his flesh, when He had offered upprayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto Him that wasable to save him from death, and was heard in that He feared.” When Jesusreturned from the Garden, and found the disciples asleep, He still spokekindly to them; even though they should of been much more alert than theywere; and of been praying as He went to do Himself. For they neededstrength from the Heavenly Father, just as Jesus Himself needed it.Although they would face no agony and torture like He faced Himself, theywould be met with fear and temptation, when the Roman soldiers came totake Him into custody. As we read earlier in Matt. 26:56, when the soldiers came to take Jesus,every one of the disciples forsook Jesus, and fled. This was truly a sign offear that was within them. Instead of falling asleep in the Garden, theyshould of been praying for God to give them courage and spiritual strength;to stand with Jesus, rather than turn and flee. We now come to the time forJesus to be betrayed. Judas Betrays The Lord 11. We now read of the awful betrayal committed by Judas. Matt. 26:47-56tells us: “And while He spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and withhim a great multitude with swords and staves, from the Chief Priests andelders of the people. Now he that betrayed Him gave them a sign, saying,Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is He: hold Him fast. And forthwith hecame to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed him. And Jesus said untohim, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid handson Jesus, and took Him. And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus(Peter) stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant ofthe High Priest’s, and smote off his ear. Then said Jesus unto him, Put upagain thy sword into his place; for all they that take the swordshall perish with the sword. Thinkest thou that I cannot now prayto my Father, and He shall presently give me more than twelvelegions of angels? But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled,that thus it must be? In that same hour said Jesus to the multitudes,Are ye come out as against a thief with swords and staves for totake me? I sat daily with you teaching in the temple, and ye laid nohold on me. But all this was done, that the scriptures of theprophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook Him, and fled.” A. Staves-Greek-xulon (xoo-lon): a wooden stick, or club. B. Judas revealed Jesus’ identity to the Roman soldiers, by walking up toJesus and kissing Him (probably on the cheek). And Judas told the soldiers to


hold Jesus fast. We are not given a definition of the word fast, from theGreek dictionary, as pertaining to this particular situation. But I believe, andthe Bible commentary also confirms, that Judas was telling the Romansoldiers to take control of Jesus firmly, or securely; as to make sure thatHe did not escape; as though Jesus could not of very easily escaped fromtheir presence, if He had so desired. C. Jesus also called Judas his friend; even though Jesus had the right to callJudas a traitor, a betrayer, a fool, or even a child of the devil. In his infinitelove, He still wanted to set an example for his other disciples, and for everyChristian, to always let love prevail; regardless of how people may treat us. D. When Peter drew his sword and cut off the soldiers ear, Jesus told himto put up his sword. He was telling Peter, that those who desire to prosperby using physical defense against others, shall also perish in the process ofdoing so. But we shall go by God’s divine leadership, in all situations. It is said in one of the Bible commentaries, that Peter was most likely aimingto cut off the soldier’s head, but missed; or that he was aiming for Judas,for the terrible betrayal of Jesus. And once more may we be reminded ofJesus’ ability to call legions of angels, if He had desired to do so, in order toescape the coming tragic events which He was about to endure. We are notsure exactly how many angels Jesus was speaking of, but the word legioncomes from a Greek word, which means regiment. Jesus could of called allthe angels of Heaven to his rescue, if He had so desired. No one made Him goto the cross, but He done it of his own free will; out of his great love formankind. And this was a great fulfillment of prophesies which were spokensince the Garden of Eden. E. The Chief Priests and elders did not have the gumption to attempt totake Jesus into custody, during the hours and the days when He sat andtaught in the temple; as well as many other places across the land. But theyhad to wait until night; when they figured it would cause the leastdisturbance among the people; like a sneaky trap. This was also just afulfillment of prophetic scriptures. Jesus Is Brought Before Caiaphas 12. Jesus was brought before the High Priest. Matt. 26:57-68 tells us:“And they that had laid hold on Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas the HighPriest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled. But Peter followedHim afar off unto the High Priest’s palace, and went in, and sat with theservants, to see the end. Now the Chief Priests, and elders, and all thecouncil, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death. But foundnone: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the


last came two false witnesses. And said, this fellow said, I am able todestroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days. And the High Priestarose, and said unto Him, Answerest thou nothing? What is it which thesewitness against thee? But Jesus held his peace. And the High Priestanswered and said unto Him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell uswhether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus saith unto him, Thouhast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see theSon of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in theclouds of heaven. Then the High Priest rent his clothes, saying, He hathspoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? Behold, now yehave heard his blasphemy. What think ye? They answered and said, He isguilty of death. Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and otherssmote Him with the palms of their hands, Saying, Prophesy unto us, thouChrist, Who is he that smote thee?” We often think that Jesus was justkindly led away from the Mount of Olives to the High Priest. But the soldiersand religious people began their physical tormenting of Jesus from the timethat they left the Mount of Olives. They spit upon Him and struck Him in theface, and treated Him awfully from the very beginning. He was bleeding verymuch before He ever reached the place of the High Priest. The eviltreatment of Jesus was far worse than we ever imagined. He was bruised,cut, and suffered much pain and suffering before He ever came beforePilate. ! ! A. This had to be a time of real humiliation for Jesus Christ our Lord. Ittook love which mankind can not even comprehend, to be able to go throughsuch sufferings which Jesus had to go through, and still stand and not speaka word in one’s own defense. For He was the Son of God; who created theheavens and the earth. And He certainly had the power to be fully deliveredfrom such an awful, embarrassing situation which He was in at this time. ButHe just kept quiet and went through it all, for you and for me. The peoplewere so filled with “garbage” which the devil had put in their minds, that theycould not even think clear enough to get their stories to match. Butevidently, they finally got two people who could lie well enough to tell thesame story. B. If you will notice, Peter sat through the whole “so-called” trial. It is veryevident that Peter had a desire down deep in his heart, to do what was right.But evidently, he did not have the courage, to overcome the fear of whatmight happen to him, if he stood up for Jesus. There is no doubt, that he


went and repented of his sin, sometime later. For he turned out to be one of the greatest evangelists of the NewTestament. We read stories all through the Book of Acts, of his courageousacts, because of his love for Jesus. C. Jesus was very patient, and just kept quiet and did not say a word in hisown defense; until the High Priest adjured Him to speak; and tell themwhether or not He was the Christ, the Son of God. Greek-exorkizo (ex-or-kid-zo): to demand to make an oath, or to positively declare something to betrue. D. Jesus told Caiaphas that he would see Him sitting on the right hand ofpower, or on the Father’s right hand; and that he would see Him coming inthe clouds of heaven. There are going to be many people, who will see Jesuscoming in the clouds, who will instantly recall the times when they weredisobedient; or times such as this; when they deliberately caused humiliationand pain for the Son of God. It will be as John tells us in Rev. 6:15-17: “Andthe kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chiefcaptains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hidthemselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to themountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him thatsitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day ofhis wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” E. It is evident, that they blindfolded Jesus first; after He had reached thepresence of the High Priest; before they continued with all the spitting, andthe buffeting and smacking with their hands. For they asked Him, “Who is it that smote thee?” Mark tells us in Chapter 14, verse 65: “And some began tospit on Him, and to cover his face, and to buffet Him, and to say unto Him,Prophesy: and the servants did strike Him with the palms of their hands.”And we also read in Luke 22:64: “And when they had blindfolded Him, theystruck Him on the face, and asked Him, saying, Prophesy, who is it thatsmote thee?”Peter Denies Jesus 13. We now come to Peter’s denial of Jesus. We read in Matt. 26:69-75:“Now Peter sat without in the palace; and a damsel came unto him, saying,Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee. But he denied before them all, saying, Iknow not what thou sayest. And when he was gone out into the porch,another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow wasalso with Jesus of Nazareth. And again he denied with an oath, I do not knowthe man. And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said toPeter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee.


Then began he to curse and swear, saying, I know not the man. Andimmediately the cock crew. And Peter remembered the Word of Jesus, whichsaid unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he wentout, and wept bitterly.” A. A damsel came before him. Greek-paidiske (pahee-dis-kay): a femaleslave or servant, or a bondswoman. B. The speech of Peter bewrayeth thee. Hebrew-nagad (naw-gad): tomanifest, or for evidence to come forth; to be declared, or reported, by themouth of a victim (Peter). The words which had been heard coming forthfrom Peter’s own mouth, gave proof that he was a disciple of Jesus. Marktells us that Jesus told Peter, that the cock would crow two times, ratherthan just one time. We read in Mark 14:30: “And Jesus saith unto him,Verily I say unto thee, That this day, even in this night, beforethe cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice.” And in Mark 14:66-72 we read: “And as Peter was beneath in the palace, there cometh one ofthe maids of the High Priest: And when she saw Peter warming himself, shelooked upon him, and said, And thou also wast with Jesus of Nazareth. But hedenied, saying, I know not, neither understand I what thou sayest. And hewent out into the porch; and the cock crew. And a maid saw him again, andbegan to say to them that stood by, This is one of them. and he denied itagain. And a little after, they that stood by said again to Peter, Surely thouart one of them: for thou art a Galilaean, and thy speech agreeth thereto.But he began to curse and to swear, saying, I know not this man of whom yespeak. And the second time the cock crew. And Peter called to mind theword that Jesus said unto him, Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt denyme thrice. And when he thought thereon, he wept.” According to Luke, Peterwas truly humiliated when the cock crew; because when this event tookplace, Jesus turned and looked Peter right in the eye. We read in Luke 22:54-62: “Then took they Him, and led Him, and brought Him into the High Priest’shouse. And Peter followed afar off. And when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall, and were set down together, Peter sat down among them.But a certain maid beheld him as he sat by the fire, and earnestly lookedupon him, and said, This man was also with Him. And he denied him, saying, Iknow Him not. And after a little while another saw him, and said, Thou artalso of them. And Peter said, Man, I am not. And about the space of one hourafter another confidently affirmed, saying, Of a truth this fellow also waswith Him: for he is a Galilaean. And Peter said, Man, I know not what thousayest. And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew. And the Lordturned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord,


how He had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny methrice. And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.” And John tells us that arelative of the soldier who’s ear Peter had cut off with his sword, in theGarden of Gethsemane, accused Peter of being in the Garden with Jesus. Weread in John 18:25-27: And Simon Peter stood and warmed himself. Theysaid therefore unto him, Art not thou also one of his disciples? He denied it,and said, I am not. One of the servants of the High Priest, being his kinsmanwhose ear Peter cut off, saith, Did not I see thee in the garden with Him?Peter then denied again: and immediately the cock crew.” Jesus Is Brought Before Pilate 14. Matt. 27:1-2 tells us: “When the morning was come, all the ChiefPriests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put Him todeath. And when they had bound Him, they led Him away, and delivered Him toPontius Pilate the governor.” Pilate the governor of Judah was said to be arough and oppressive man. Many people feared his governmental control. Butas we will later see, the fear of God came upon him when he had to questionJesus; yet he did not have the courage to do what he knew was the rightthing to do, concerning Jesus. The Death Of Judas 15. Judas, after realizing the horrible sin which he had committed againstJesus, went out and took his own life. He was terribly tormented by Satanand his demon spirits. We read in Matt. 27:3-10: “Then Judas, which hadbetrayed Him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, andbought again the thirty pieces of silver to the Chief Priests and elders.Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And theysaid, What is that to us? See thou to that. And he cast down the pieces ofsilver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself. And theChief Priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put theminto the treasury, because it is the price of blood. And they took counsel,and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in. Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day. Then was fulfilled thatwhich was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, And of him that wasvalued, whom they of the children of Israel did value; And gave them for thepotter’s field, as the Lord appointed me.” I do not believe that this scriptureis telling us that Judas repented of his sin before God, but that he was sorryfor what he had done; he highly regretted the awful thing which he had doneto Jesus. He knew that he had done wrong, and Satan would not leave himalone. He could not stand to live, knowing that he had committed such anawful act. It is not Bible fact, but it has been said, that the religious officials


who made the deal with Judas, promised him that they were not going toharm Jesus; but chose only to question Him. And this was what made Judasso mad, when he returned the money to them, and threw it down at theirfeet. I cannot say for certain, that this is true fact, but only statementswhich I have heard from others. Matthew is the only one of the four gospels,that tells us of Judas’ death. Judas, evidently, was so torn up bycondemnation, when he saw that Jesus was truly to be crucified, that hecould not stand the mental pressure. Even though Jesus had stated manytimes, that He was to be crucified, Judas still was torn up by the sin which hehad committed. Instead of repenting of his sin, and asking for God’s forgiveness, and goingback to trying to be a faithful disciple, as Peter did, Judas instead went outand ended his life. When Judas confessed his sin to the Chief Priests, theyacted like priests of the devil, rather than priests of God; speaking asthough they could care less, that Judas had betrayed the Son of the livingGod. For they were partakers in this crooked action which was about to takeplace. Even though Judas plainly confessed that it was innocent blood whichhe had betrayed, it meant absolutely nothing to them. They acted as thoughthey had no part in the ordeal; when actually, they were all as guilty as guiltycould be. They had about as much right to be standing in the place of aservant of God, as the devil himself. A real priest of God, would of beenattempting to comfort Judas; attempting to convince him to bow before God,and ask for forgiveness; not making laughing remarks which caused him togo deeper into despair. And because of all of this, Judas withdrew himself tosome solitary place, and hung himself. It is not as though God would not offorgiven Judas, for the terrible sin which he had committed. For we are toldin Mark 3:28-29: “Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgivenunto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever theyshall blaspheme: But he that shall blaspheme against the HolyGhost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternaldamnation.” God most certainly would of forgiven Judas, if he would oftaken the time to ask. But Judas was so full of guilt and despair, that he justtook the easy way out; or the fastest way to end it all. The Chief Prieststhen decided to purchase a field which they called, The Field of Blood. Theyprobably thought that this would ease their guilty consciences. This was saidto be a field where people were buried who had came to Judah from othercountries, and who were not of the Jewish sect. Jesus Questioned By Pilate 16. We now come back to the time of Jesus’ final appearance before Pilate,


and also of the general people; his last few minutes before He is condemnedto die. By this time, the soldiers had Jesus in a bloody mess. They hadalready beat Him and struck Him all over his body. We read in Matt. 26:11-14: “And Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked Him,saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, Thousayest. And when He was accused of the Chief Priests and elders, Heanswered nothing. Then said Pilate unto Him, Hearest thou not how manythings they witness against thee? And He answered him to never a word;insomuch that the governor marveled greatly.” Pilate tried every way hecould, to talk the people into letting Jesus go free, but he could not do so. Hetruly believed that Jesus was innocent of all the charges that were broughtagainst Him. His wife had even warned him to have nothing to do with Jesus.Jesus just stood silently before Pilate. It has been said, that if Jesus hadspoken a word; other than just agreeing with Pilate that He was the King ofthe Jews; that the power which proceeded from his mouth, may of destroyedPilate. For Jesus was God in the flesh. And Jesus had to be very careful whatHe spoke; not as if anyone was going to be able to do anything to Him forwhat He spoke; but simply because of the power that was in his voice. ! If you will recall in the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, inchapter 11 of St. John’s gospel, when Jesus simply spoke the words,“Lazarus come forth,” the power in the words which Jesus spoke, causedLazarus to come forth immediately from the tomb. Jesus Is Sentenced To Death, And Is Mocked By The Soldiers 17. The time of Jesus’ crucifixion is drawing near. We read in Matt. 27:15-31: “Now at that feast the governor was wont to release unto the people aprisoner, whom they would. And they had then a notable prisoner, calledBarabbas. Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said untothem, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which iscalled Christ? For he knew that for envy they had delivered Him. When hewas set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Havethou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things thisday in a dream because of Him. But the Chief Priests and elders persuadedthe multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus. Thegovernor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that Irelease unto you? They said, Barabbas. Pilate saith unto them, What shall Ido then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him becrucified. And the governor said, Why? What evil hath He done? But theycried out the more, saying, Let Him be crucified. When Pilate saw that he


could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, andwashed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood ofthis just person: see ye to it. Then answered all the people, and said, Hisblood be on us, and on our children. Then released he Barabbas unto them:and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified. We knowthat this was approximately 9:00 A.M. when Pilate released Jesus to thesoldiers to be crucified. For we read in Mark 15: 21-25: “And they compelone Simon Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father ofAlexander and Rufus, to bear his cross. And they bring Him into the placeGolgotha, which is, being interpreted, The place of the skull. And they gavehim to drink wine mingled with myrrh: but He received it not. And when theyhad crucified him, they parted his garments, casting lots upon them, whatevery man should take. And it was the third hour, and they crucified Him.”So as we will see, Jesus remained upon the cross for approximately sixhours. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall,and gathered unto Him the whole band of soldiers. And they stripped Him,and put on Him a scarlet robe. And when they had platted a crown of thorns,they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed theknee before Him, and mocked Him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! And theyspit upon Him, and took the reed, and smote Him on the head. And after thatthey had mocked Him, they took the robe off from Him, and put his ownraiment on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him.” A. The soldiers took Jesus to the whipping post, and beat Him beyondrecognition. It was a common law, that a criminal was to get thirty-ninestripes for his crime which he had committed. Jesus had committed nowrong! Yet the soldiers continued beating Him with rods, whips, and tearinghis body to pieces. He had cuts from his head to his feet. So many peoplethink of Jesus as just having a little blood coming from his hands and hisfeet, and maybe a little blood from his back. But the soldiers beat Him on his back, his stomach, his legs, his head, andeverywhere that they could get blood to come out of his body. Isaiah 53:5tells us that by his stripes we were healed; and He had stripes, bruises, cutsall over his body. We could never imagine what Jesus went through for us.May we ever be thankful unto Him! B. It is as though Pilate knew in his heart, that Jesus was guilty of no crime;and in addition to this, his own wife tried to warn him to have nothing to dowith Jesus; calling Him a just man. Evidently, God had warned Pilate’s wife ina dream; or had shown her that Jesus was guilty of nothing; perhaps makingit clear to her, that Jesus was the Messiah. But Pilate evidently, did not take


his wife’s warning very seriously. He did not have the courage, to stand up tothe people; even though he knew that Jesus was an innocent man. He wasfoolish to ever think that simply washing his hands with water, was evergoing to wash his guilt away. He was more interested in pleasing the commonpeople, than he was in pleasing God, and doing what was right. Yet we can seefrom the book of John, that Pilate had fear in his heart, when he heard thatJesus claimed to be the Son of God. John 19:7-8 tells us: “The Jewsanswered him, We have a law, and by our law He ought to die, because hemade Himself the Son of God. When Pilate therefore heard that saying, hewas the more afraid.” We are never told, whether or not Pilate ever trulyrepented of his sin. But I would say that if he did not do so, that he had muchtrouble sleeping at night. For I believe that Pilate had committed a great sin;in handing Jesus over to the soldiers, to be crucified. And man is not going tolive in perfect peace, and have a guiltless conscience, until all sin isconfessed and repented of. C. Pilate knew that they had delivered Jesus out of envy. Greek-phthonos(fthon-os): jealousy, hatred, or bitterness. D. Pilate saw that he was prevailing nothing, but that a tumult was made.Greek-thorubos (hor-oo-bos): a disturbance, uproar, rebellion, or a riot. E. One thing which I have never been able to understand, is if Pilate trulybelieved that Jesus was innocent, then first of all, why did he allow thesoldiers to take Jesus and scourge Him? And why did he turn Jesus over tothe soldiers to be crucified? Why did he take any part in Christ’s sufferingsat all? It does not make much sense, to say that a man is guilty of nothing,and then have him beaten until stripes and cuts are left all over his body. Aperson is either on God’s side, or they are on the devil’s side. They cannot beon both sides at once. Pilate was no more innocent of Jesus’ sufferings, thanthe devil himself. F. The soldiers took Jesus, and mocked Him in every way they possibly couldthink of. They put a purple robe upon Him. This was nothing but a mockery;trying to make Him look like a king, so that they could just make fun of Himthe more; not realizing that they were crucifying the King of kings, and theLord of lords. And then they platted a crown of thorns upon his head. Howpainful this must of been. The thorns which they placed upon his head, weresaid to be at least two inches long. Without a doubt, these horrible thornsstuck straight through the skin of his head; right into the skull. You know that He had to feel pain, like no man has felt before. And I’m surewithout a doubt, that these thorns brought forth much blood. His face wasprobably covered with blood. We take this story so lightly. But Jesus


suffered horribly; not only on the cross, but before He ever reached thecross. They beat and whipped Him all the way to the cross. He could barelyeven stand on his feet. They spit in his face; treating Him like a piece oftrash. They took the reed which they had placed in his hand, as another wayto mock Him, and beat Him over the head with it. Without a doubt, this justbeat the thorns that much further into his skull. We can’t even imagine thepain which Jesus went through; and it was all for you and for me.

Jesus’ Crucifixion And Death 18. We are about to read about the greatest event in the history ofmankind. For it brought about eternal salvation for all mankind; eternal life inHeaven, and the destruction of Satan’s power forevermore. As was saidbefore, if Satan had knew what this tragic event would do for mankind; andwhat destruction it would bring to his kingdom; he would of done everything within his power, to try to prevent Jesus from being crucified. He had not theslightest idea, that Jesus would ever arise from the dead; but thought that itwould be the end of Jesus forevermore. He thought that it would bring an endto all his problems. But instead, it was just the beginning of his eternaldestruction. We read in Matt. 27: 32-56: “And as they came out, they founda man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross. Andwhen they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place ofa skull, They gave Him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when He hadtasted thereof, He would not drink. And they crucified Him, and parted hisgarments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by theprophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture didthey cast lots. And sitting down they watched Him there; And set up over hishead his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS. Then werethere two thieves crucified with Him, one on the right hand, and another onthe left. And they that passed by reviled Him, wagging their heads. Andsaying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, savethyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. Likewise alsothe Chief Priests mocking Him, with the scribes and elders, said, He savedothers; Himself He cannot save. If He be the King of Israel, let Him now comedown from the cross, and we will believe Him. He trusted in God; let Himdeliver Him now, if He will have Him: for He said, I am the Son of God. Thethieves also, which were crucified with Him, cast the same in his teeth. Nowfrom the sixth hour (12:00 P.M.) there was darkness over all the land untothe ninth hour (3:00 P.M.). And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? That is to say, My God, my God,


why hast thou forsaken me? Some of them that stood there, when theyheard that, said, This man calleth for Elias. And straightway one of themran, and took a sponge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, andgave Him to drink. The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elias will come tosave Him. Jesus, when He had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up theghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top tothe bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; And the graveswere opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose. And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holycity, and appeared unto many. Now when the centurion, and they that werewith him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that weredone, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God. And manywomen were there beholding afar off, which followed Jesus from Galilee,ministering unto Him: Among which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary themother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee’s children.” A. They found a man named Simon, a man of Cyrene, to bear the cross ofJesus. Cyrene was a city on the north coast of Africa. Cyrene was a veryindustrious city at the time of Christ, but later declined to a very low-ratedcity; due to a Jewish revolt. B. They gave Him vinegar to drink, mingled with gall. This is believed to ofbeen some type of poisonous fluid, which came from a green plant. Jesusrefused to drink this horrible substance. C. They cast lots for his garments. This is believed to of been small piecesof wood or such; probably carved into squares or some similar shape; usedas we use when we throw dice, or such. What could they possibly want withJesus’ garments; other than to be able to continuously remember thishorrible day; and be able to continue to make fun of Him in their minds, orwith one another. This was prophesied in Psalm 22:18: “They part mygarments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.” D. They put the sign over his head, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS,not because they believed it was true, but only as another way of mockingHim. E. The people that passed by, as well as the Chief Priests, the scribes, andthe elders, made fun of Him in every way they could. They accused Him ofnot being able to save Himself, as He did others. They said if He be the Sonof God, to come down from the cross. How would they of felt, if He hadactually done such? For He certainly had the power to do so, if He had chosento do so. But he did not choose to do so; but rather He chose to die on thecross, for you and for me. There is a song which contains the words, “He


didn’t come down, oh no, He didn’t come down. Ten thousand angels, theystood all around. He could of called them, to set Him free. But He stayed onthe cross, for you and for me.” Let us forever be thankful, that Jesus choseto stay on the cross, to set us free from sin forevermore. F. He called for his Father, and they heard Him, and said that He called outfor Elias, or Elijah. I do not know how they thought that Elijah could save Him.Some of them, evidently, thought that Elijah might actually come, accordingto their words. It wasen’t but a few minutes later, until Jesus gave up theghost, or died. G. The veil of the temple was rent from top to bottom. This was amiraculous act of God; signifying that mankind now has a way into the mightypresence of God Himself; making the way for any person to go freely into theholy presence of God; as before only the High Priest was ever allowed to do. Let us ever be thankful to the Heavenly Father, that we may now come intohis holy presence; and talk to Him personally; about any matter which may beupon our heart. As far as the opening of the graves, and the former saintscoming forth, this was done at the time when Jesus Himself arose from thegrave, on the third day. Prior to this, their souls had been in a place whichJesus referred to as Paradise. Some wonder who exactly these resurrectedsaints were. But my personal opinion, is that it was the saints who had diedprior to Jesus’ crucifixion. I believe that it was those who had been awaitingin Paradise, for the way to be made for them to go into Heaven; to dwell withthe Heavenly Father. Evidently, at some time later, they were taken up intoHeaven; to live there forevermore. Whether or not it was at the same timeof Jesus’ ascension, we do not know.H. There was a great earthquake, which evidently, got the attention of thecenturion. For when it happened, it certainly caused him to believe in the Sonof God. 19. Luke tells us a few facts, which Matthew does not mention, concerningthe time of Jesus’ trial and crucifixion. First of all, that Jesus was also sentto Herod to be questioned. We read in Luke 23:6-12: “When Pilate heard ofGalilee, He asked whether the man was a Galilaean. And as soon as he knewthat He belonged unto Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who himselfalso was at Jerusalem at that time. And when Herod saw Jesus, he wasexceeding glad: for he was desirous to see Him of a long season, because hehad heard many things of Him; and he hoped to have seen some miracle doneof Him. Then he questioned with Him in many words; but He answerednothing. And the Chief Priests and scribes stood and vehemently accusedHim. And Herod with his men of war set Him at nought, and mocked Him, and


arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe, and sent Him again to Pilate. And in thesame day, Pilate and Herod were made friends together: for before theywere at enmity between themselves.” A. Jesus also remained quite when Herod began to question Him. But theChief Priests and scribes continued to accuse Him. B. Herod and his men of war set Him at nought. Greek-exoutheneo (ex-oo-then-eh-o): to despise, or to make fun of. C. Pilate and Herod became friends together: for before they were atenmity between themselves. Greek-echthra (ekh-thrah): hostility, opposition,or hatred. 20. Luke also tells us of the story of the two criminals who were crucifiedon each side of Jesus. We read in Luke 23:39-43: “And one of themalefactors which were hanged railed on Him, saying, If thou be Christ, savethyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thoufear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly;for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thykingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shaltthou be with me in Paradise.” One of the criminals evidently had no guiltconcerning his wrong doing at all. But the other, knew and realized that he had done wrong, and repented in hisheart; and was promised by Jesus to be with Him in Paradise. 21. We are also told in John 19:38-42: “And after this, Joseph ofArimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews,besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gavehim leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus. And there camealso Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought amixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight. Then took theythe body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as themanner of the Jews is to bury. Now in the place where He was crucified therewas a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yetlaid. There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jew’s preparation day;for the sepulchre was nigh at hand.” 22. For ages, there has been much confusion about the matter of how longJesus remained in the tomb. We are told in Matt. 12:40: “For as Jonas wasthree days and three nights in the whale’s belly, so shall the Sonof man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”We all have the idea that Jesus was crucified on Friday, and that He arosefrom the grave on Sunday morning. This would not be three days and three


nights, but only two nights and one full day. So according to God’s Word,Jesus would of had to of been taken from the Garden on Wednesday night,crucified on Thursday afternoon, and placed in the tomb on Thursdayafternoon. This would of caused Him to be in the grave for three days andnights; being as their days started at what we know as six o’clock P.M.Saturday at six o’clock P.M. would have been the beginning of the third day.Many Bible scholars agree that Friday as we know it, before what we know asEaster Sunday, was not what we refer to as “Good Friday” at all. In Mark15:42, we are told that it was the day before the Sabbath, but we are alsotold that during the days of Jesus’ crucifixion, there was more than oneSabbath day observed. So I just leave this matter for your personalthoughts. 23. There has also been a question for centuries, concerning where Jesusactually spent the three days, while his body was in the tomb. I believe wecan clear this confusion up with just a look at a few short passages ofscripture. We read first of a prophesy of David; which he made concerningthe Lord Jesus Christ. We read in Psalm 16:10: “For thou will not leave mysoul in Hell; neither will thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.” In thisscripture, David is prophesying of Jesus. We also read in Acts 2:22-27: “Yemen of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of Godamong you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by Him in themidst of you, as ye yourselves also know: Him, being delivered by thedeterminate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wickedhands have crucified and slain: Whom God hath raised up, having loosed thepains of death: because it was not possible that He should be holden of it.For David speaketh concerning Him, I foresaw the Lord always before myface, for He is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: Therefore didmy heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall restin hope: Because thou wilt not leave my soul in Hell, neither wilt thou sufferthine Holy One to see corruption.” And Paul also tells us in Acts 13:34-35: “And as concerning that He raisedHim up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, He said on thiswise, I will give you the sure mercies of David. Wherefore he saith also inanother Psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.”Many believe that Jesus died on the cross, and then He went down into Hell,and suffered in the fires of Hell for three days, and then was resurrected byGod the Father. They believe that this was part of the punishment whichJesus had to bear for mankind. But there is no truth in this fantasy at all.First of all, we can prove that Jesus did not go into Hell when He died on the


cross, but rather He went to a place called Paradise. For in Luke 23:39-43we read: “And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on Him,saying, If thou be Christ, save Thyself and us. But the other answeringrebuked him, saying, Doest not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the samecondemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of ourdeeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord,remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him,Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in Paradise.”The meaning of both the writings of David and of Paul, was referring to thefact that Jesus’ body would not see corruption, or decaying, while it was inthe tomb. When they speak of God not alloying his Holy One, or Jesus, to beleft in Hell, it was not literally speaking of the place called Hell; but wasreferring to the pains of death of the body; or the decaying of his body, as itlay in the tomb. Jesus went through enough pain and suffering, just by goingto the cross for the sins of mankind. It was plenty enough to pay for thesins of mankind forevermore; without having to burn in the fires of Hell also. 24. Now we must discuss some more of the truths concerning thecrucifixion of Jesus; as to what was truly accomplished by Him giving his lifeon the cross for us. We all; who have studied the Word of God, and who haveaccepted Jesus Christ as our personal Savior; know that Jesus was crucifiedso that we might have forgiveness for our sins. But do we truly realize whatthis really means? When Jesus was crucified on the cross, He paid our sindept in full. This means that He paid for every sin which we have evercommitted, or which we will ever commit; for as long as we shall live uponthis earth. When Jesus was placed upon the cross, He was pronounced guiltyby the judicial hand of the Heavenly Father. He was not pronounced guilty forsins which He had committed, but as we mentioned before, for the sins whichevery human being has ever committed, or ever shall commit. And as Jesusgave his life to be the everlasting sacrifice, and He suffered death for everyman, at that time the Heavenly Father pronounced every human being“Forgiven;” eternally. And the mistake which we make as children of God, isthat when we go to the Heavenly Father to pray, when we know that we havedone wrong, is continually asking Him to forgive us. As we said before, Godhas already forgiven us; eternally. Do not get the idea for a moment that Iam telling you that you do not have to go unto God and confess your sinswhen you have done wrong. What I am telling you, is that you do not have toask for his forgiveness which He has already given to you. We must confessour sins unto God the Father, through the Son Jesus, and then thank Him forthe forgiveness which He has already given unto us. It is not necessary to


ask God for something which He has already given to us. Through the crucifixion of Jesus, we are now provided with salvation, or theeternal forgiveness for our sins; we are provided with purification, whichmakes us righteous in the eyes of the Heavenly Father; and we are alsoprovided with sanctification; which is our continual growth as a Christian; foras long as we shall live.


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