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The Passion and Crucifixion of Jesus Christ
God said sin must be punished by death. We have all sinned, (Romans 3:23, 6:23) therefore we needed someone to die in our place. Jesus Christ, the central figure of Christianity, died for our sins by crucifixion on what is known as a Roman cross as stated in Matthew 27:27-56, Mark 15:21-38, Luke 23:26-49, and John 19:16-37.
Five main events took place during the time immediately surrounding the crucifixion: Jesus going into Jerusalem; Jesus in the Temple; the Last Supper; The Arrest of Jesus; and Jesus’ Interrogation and Crucifixion. The suffering of Jesus between the Last Supper and the Crucifixion is called the Passion of Christ.
First Event: Jesus journeyed to Jerusalem on a donkey. Upon his arrival he received a huge welcome with people shouting, “Hosanna! Belssed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” The people shouting, “King.” He went to Jerusalem to observe the Jewish holy day of the Passover. This event fulfilled a prophecy in Zechariah, a book in the Bible’s Old Testament.
Second Event: & Jesus went to the Temple. It was full of tables of merchants and money changers. Jesus said, “My house shall be called a house of prayer” (Isaiah 56:7), “but you have made it a den for robbers.” (Jeremiah 7:11) Jesus found the Gentiles in the temple making a large profit. He then forced them to leave. In a sense, Jesus felt that trade in the temple was dishonest and felt that it should not occur because it robbed the temple of its sanctity. The result of this visit to the Temple was that the chief priests and the teachers of the Jewish law began looking for a way to kill Jesus.
Jesus then told his disciples that Passover was in two days and he was going to be handed over to the people and crucified. The chief priests and elders plotted to arrest and kill Jesus in a way that would not create turmoil among the people. Judas, one of the disciples, asked the chief priests how much he could get for handing over Jesus. They told him 30 silver coins. From this point on Judas watched for an opportunity to betray Jesus.
Third Event: The Last Supper. This was the day of the Passover and the Last Meal. Jesus decided to celebrate the Passover with his disciples. At the Last Supper, Jesus explains that it would have been better if the disciple that was going to betray Jesus was never born. Judas asked if it was him and Jesus answered yes. He prophesied that he would be executed. He took bread and wine in his hand and said, “this is my body which is given for you,” and then, “this cup which is poured out for you is the New Covenant in my blood.” He told his disciples to, “do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:7-20).
He predicted that Peter would deny him three times before the rooster crowed. They sung a hymn and left the upper room. Later, Jesus prayed in Gethsemane and began to sweat blood, while the disciplines slept.
Fourth Event: Jesus was soon to go before Pontias Pilate. Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss and the chief priests and Pharisees came to arrest Him. Simon Peter drew a knife and cut off the servant’s ear. Jesus healed it and told Simon Peter that was not the right thing to do. He said that he must do what he was destined to do. (John 18) The sufferings of Jesus intensified as he drew near to the cross. (Matt. 26:38)
The high priest’s guards arrested Jesus and took him before the high priest and his council. He was being accused of having threatened to destroy the Temple. Some say he predicted the destruction of the temple and also told his disciples about future events, including his own return. However, Jesus did admit that he was “Christ” and the “Son of God.” He was then convicted of blasphemy. There are a couple of other theories for why Jesus was arrested. The first one is that he was misunderstood. Caiaphas and Pilate had him executed as a rebel because they thought he had in mind a kingdom of this world, and that his followers were going to attack the Roman army. It is very unlikely however, that Caiaphas and Pilate really thought that Jesus led an armed force and had planned a military take over. If they had really believed this, they would have arrested and executed his followers. He had the power to command the attention of a crowd and they knew Jesus and his followers too well. Another viewpoint of this situation is the theological differences with the Jews, who were led by the Pharisees. Jesus believed in love and compassion. These were two ideas that the Pharisees did not comprehend. The Pharisees and Jesus basically had opposite ideas, for Jesus believed in love and compassion while the Pharisees were all about legalism and ritualism. This was, at that time, the way of the Old Law, or the Old Testament.
The last event was when his captors sent Jesus to Pilate. While at this “trial,” the high priests and elders asked Jesus, "Are you the Son of God? " and he replied, "You are right in saying I am." They condemned Jesus for blasphemy (Luke 22:70–71). The priests sent him next to the Roman procurator Pontius Pilate for claiming to be King of the Jews.
When Jesus appeared in front of Pilate, Pilate asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?" and he then replied, "It is as you say." The Gospels tell that Pilate, himself, felt that Jesus was not guilty of doing anything against the Romans. It was then the custom for the Roman governor to let one prisoner free at the time of Passover, Pilate offered the crowd a choice between Jesus of Nazareth and another accused, named Barabbas. The crowd picked Barabbas freed and Jesus to be crucified. Pilate symbolically washed his hands to show that he was not part of the injustice of the decision (Matthew 27:11–26).
Jesus was ordered to be crucified. He believed Jesus was usurping the title of the king of the Jews and he posed a threat to law and order. There was no “separation of church and state” at that time and place. If someone was speaking against the Jews, or assuming power over the Jews, he was a traitor and a very serious threat to the rulers. Pilate consulted with many other people, such as, his wife, who told him to do nothing. The final decision was based on the crowd. They were shouting “Crucify him!” Jesus was ordered to be executed almost immediately following his interrogation by Pilate. There were no witnesses present and there was no trial procedure.
The Jesus was condemned to carry his own cross to The Place of Skull, where he was to be crucified. On that same day, two criminals were also taken to the Place of Skull to be executed. One of the criminals mocked and cursed Jesus saying “Aren’t you Christ? Save yourself and us!” (Luke 23:39) The other criminal was asking Jesus if he feared God. Then he said, “Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:42-43) Jesus died just before nightfall and just before the Sabbath began.
Crucifixion was a very ancient Roman method of execution where the condemned person’s hands and feet were tied and nailed to a wooden cross. Not only was it the most painful, but the most disgraceful way to die. The unfortunate people who died this way were first beaten and tortured and had to carry their own cross to where they were to die. .
This type of killing was not mentioned, and probably not used by people in the Old Testament by the Jewish people, because they regarded it as a horrible, cursed way to die (Deuteronomy 21:23). In New Testament Bible times, the Romans did execute people this way as a means of showing their authority and control over the people.
A mixture of vinegar, gall, and myrrh was often given to the victim to help curb some of the victim's suffering. Wood boards usually fastened to the vertical stake as a foothold or seat, allowing the victim to rest his weight and lift himself for a breath, thereby making his dying take much longer. Once in a while, the executioners broke the victim’s legs causing him to die faster. These executions were done in full view of the public to show what happens to law breakers.
When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, divided most of them up between the four of them. with the seamless undergarment not yet given out. The guards gambled to see who would “win” this piece of clothing.
And the scripture was fulfilled which said, “they divided my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.” (John 19:23-24) “With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.” (Mark 15:37) “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” (Luke 23:46) These are the last words of Jesus as recorded in the Bible.
According to the Gospels, Jesus died before late afternoon at Calvary, sometimes called Golgotha. Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy member of the Sanhedrin according to Mark and Luke’s writings, obtained permission to bury Jesus’ body in a tomb. According to John, Joseph was aided by Nicodemus, who helped to bury Jesus. (John 19:38)
It was the tradition in those times that the curtain in the the Temple separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the Temple. Only the high priest could enter there, through the curtain, into the very holy place, once a year. He took with him the sacrifices and offerings for the sins of the people. When Christ died, the curtain between the two parts of the Temple had torn from top to bottom, this symbolized the destruction of the barrier between God and man. The way was forged for us through Christ's sacrifice on the cross. His death provided the complete sacrifice for sin so that now all people, through Christ are saved and can go to heaven, free from the earthly sin.
I have been reading about Christ’s crucifixion since I was a child. It became just another part of the Bible that we read in catechism class. Sometimes we read about the “loaves and the fishes”, sometimes the “sermon on the mount”, and oftentimes the “crucifixion”. I am not saying it did not mean anything, but it did not stand out as one of the most important parts of my faith. Not until I got older. I think perhaps when children read the bible and learn in catechism or Bible school, the teachers or adults in charge forget that children can understand more than they realize.
I am an ardent Christian and I read the Bible and believe in the principles and the teachings. I also believe that Jesus was a real person who lived here on earth and died for our sins, just as it says. But, I am “cursed” with a mind that wants everything to be logical on some level. So, I struggle with the belief that every single word in the Bible is true as written. For instance, Noah and the Ark, from the Old Testament seems like it is a story of representation, rather than exact details. Could Noah and his family actually have gathered up two of every single animal on earth and kept them on that boat for 40 days? I have doubts. I think Noah existed but perhaps the amount of water, and animals he saved have been exaggerated over the centuries by the telling. Not that I am contending that the Bible stories are all fiction. I definitely do not believe that is true. Many stories from the bible make me wonder, not of the lessons learned, but exactly what did happen? Are the details factual historically? Did some people really live to be 900 years old then? Did a crippled man really lay by a pool for 40 years because no one would help him get in? These things again, might be exaggerated, yet I know that the Bible is meant as a teaching and inspirational tool. And I tend to believe that the New Testament more accurately relates the truth of the life of Christ and his followers. Maybe it is because it is closer in time than the Old Testament.
I have never put on paper, or even verbalized, these feelings before. It always seemed that by doing so, I would be rejecting Jesus Christ and his teachings, which I am definitely not doing. That leaves me with a couple of choices. I can just doubt and wonder and deny that the stories in the Bible, notably the crucifixion and resurrection ever really happened, but that would be denying that we are saved by the sacrifice of God’s only son. Or I can choose to just have faith; the faith that puts all those doubts to the back of my mind. I have realized that I do not need to know everything. That is not our job as children of God. We must trust and believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins, and embrace that, putting aside those doubts and demands on logic.