THE FACTS ABOUT CRUCIFIXION John begins by saying, And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha, where they crucified Him, and two others with Him, one on either side, and Jesus in the center (vv. 17- 18). When John says that Christ bore His cross, we might visualize, as some artists have in the past, Jesus struggling down the road bearing the complete cross on His shoulders. Thats not the way it happened. It was customary for the Romans, when executing prisoners, to prepare the vertical beam of the cross at the crucifixion site before the actual execution. The prisoner was then given the crosspiece, the horizontal beam, and required to hoist it on his shoulders and carry it to the place of execution. So before Jesus made His way from the Praetorium to the Place of a Skull, or Golgotha, outside the gates of Jerusalem, the vertical piece had already been planted in the ground, and Jesus was forced to carry the crossbeam. On many occasions, prisoners were not able to accomplish the task, depending on the severity of the scourging they had received immediately before going out to the execution site. We know from the other Gospels that Jesus was not able to carry His crossbeam the entire way, and that a passer-by, Simon of Cyrene, was commanded by the soldiers to pick up the crossbeam for Jesus and take it to the hill of execution (Matt. 27:32; Mark 15:21; Luke 23:26). Once at the execution site, the prisoner was placed flat on the ground and his arms were either nailed or tied to the crossbeam. In the case of Jesus, nails were used. We dont know whether He was pierced through the hands or through the wrists; that remains a questionable point in the historical record. Then the prisoner was hoisted up and the crossbeam was attached to the vertical beam, usually by nails. A tiny platform was affixed toward the bottom of the vertical beam as a place for the feet of the prisoner to be secured, and then the feet were nailed or tied to the vertical beam. That small platform was provided so that the prisoner could push his body up, raising his diaphragm so that he could breathe during the agony of crucifixion. At first glance, that may seem to be a drop of mercy for the condemned prisoner. On the contrary, it was done to extend the torture, because prisoners dying by this method involuntarily gasped for breath, and if they could not draw air, they would die much more quickly, usually by asphyxiation. By allowing the prisoner to push himself up, an almost involuntary action, the executioners prolonged the agony. John tells us that two criminals were crucified with Jesus, one on either side. Matthew and Mark tell us these men were robbers, but Luke tells us that one of the men repented on the cross and Jesus promised him, Today you will be with Me in Paradise (Luke 23:43). Jesus crucifixion alongside criminals happened in fulfilment of prophecy (Isa. 53:12). John then writes: Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, I thirst! Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth (vv. 28- 29). John writes, under the Spirits inspiration, that Jesus knew at this point that all things were now accomplished. Most commentators believe this statement means that Jesus substitutionary bearing of Gods wrath against sin, which was accompanied by darkness and caused Jesus to cry out, My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? (Matt. 27:46), was now behind Him. At this point, Jesus had been on the cross for hours in the middle of the hot Judean day, going through physical agony and spiritual torment. Not surprisingly, Jesus expressed the fact that He was thirsty. This, too, fulfilled prophecy (Ps. 22:15). A vessel of sour wine was there, probably for the soldiers use. The soldiers therefore filled a sponge with the wine, put it on a hyssop stick, and put it to Jesus mouth to assuage His thirst. A Work Finished, a Debt Paid in Full Then came the death of the Son of God: So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, It is finished! And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit (v. 30). When Jesus received the sour wine, His thirst had been assuaged, and He said, It is finished. The Greek word translated as finished here is tetelestai. It is in a form of the Greek that indicates an action that has been totally completed. It comes from the verb form of the Greek word telos, which is a very important word in the history of Greek thought. It is the word that means end or goal. Jesus was concerned about purpose. The significance of His entire life came down to this moment. When He said, It is finished, He was saying not just that His life was over but that His mission had been fulfilled. His purpose in coming to earth and going to the cross was accomplished. Tetelestai was also sometimes used in the commercial arena in the Greek world. It was stamped on a purchase or written on a receipt, because it meant paid in full. Jesus said: Ive done it all. Ive drunk the cup to its dregs. The sin debt of My people has been paid in full. With nothing left to do, Jesus gave up His spirit. He had said, I lay down My life that I may take it again (10:17 b). When His mission was accomplished, when the atonement was complete, Jesus made the decision to die. He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our grief He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us have turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth. By oppression and judgment He was taken away; and as for His generation, who considered That He was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due? His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a rich man in His death, Because He had done no violence, nor was there any deceit in His mouth. But the Lord was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, And He will divide the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors. Beneath the cross of Jesus I fain would take my stand— The shadow of a mighty Rock Within a weary land; A home within the wilderness, A rest upon the way, From the burning of the noontide heat, And the burden of the day. Upon the cross of Jesus Mine eye at times can see The very dying form of One Who suffered there for me: And from my stricken heart with tears Two wonders I confess— The wonders of redeeming love And my unworthiness.
Posted on: Sat, 08 Mar 2014 01:17:07 +0000
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