• 1c. whole pecans
• 1 tsp. vinegar
• 3 egg whites
• pinch salt
• 1c. sugar
• zipper baggie
• wooden spoon
• tape
• Bible

Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.

Place pecans in zipper baggie and let children beat them
with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces.
Explain that after Jesus was arrested
He was beaten by the Roman soldiers.  Read John 19:1-3.

Let each child smell the vinegar. Put 1 tsp. vinegar into mixing bowl.
Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross he was given vinegar to drink.  Read John 19:28-30.

Add egg whites to vinegar.  Eggs represent life.
Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life. Read John 10:10-11.

Sprinkle a little salt into each child’s hand.
Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl.
Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus’ followers, and the bitterness of our own sin. Read Luke 23:27.

So far the ingredients are not very appetizing.

Add 1c. sugar.
Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us.  He wants us to know and belong to Him.
Read Psalm 34:8 and John 3:16.

Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed.

Explain that the color white represents the purity in God’s eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus. Read Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3.

Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper covered cookie
sheet.
Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus’ body was laid.  Read Matthew 27:57-60.

Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF.
Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door.
Explain that Jesus’ tomb was sealed.  Read Matthew 27:65-66.

GO TO BED!
Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight.
Jesus’ followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed.
Read John 16:20 and 22.

On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie.
Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. The cookies are hollow!
On the first Easter Jesus’ followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty.   Read Matthew 28:1-9

If the resurrection was not an actual event in history, but a fabricated story, then there would be no surface differences. A fabricated story would be told from the perspective of the same people and pretty much in the same words and order. That is not what we find in the resurrection accounts. We see the resurrection from the perspective of different eye witnesses with lists of different people (called by different names) approaching the tomb, different numbers of angels, and different individuals seeing Jesus at different times. This is actually a mark of authenticity.

As Tim Keller (author of The Reason for God) writes: “In modern novels, details are added to create the aura of realism, but that was never the case in ancient fiction…. The only explanation for why an ancient writer would mention the cushion, the 153 fish, and the doodling in the dust is because the details had been retained in the eyewitnesses’ memory.”

In other words, New Testament writers would have had to be brilliant enough to create not only an entirely different way of understanding resurrection, but also to create a new literary genre, the modern novel, at least 1,700 years before it came into existence!

We have five (possibly six) different accounts of the resurrection and there are differences in these accounts. But the differences are only apparent, not real. If we judge ancient literature according to the standards of its own time – for example, allowing one author to mention only the main speaker and another author to mention the exact number – then a careful reading of all of the accounts provides a fairly clear picture of what happened during those final 40 days of Jesus’ time on earth.

Here is a harmony of the resurrection accounts found in the gospels and the epistles. Since we weren’t present during those 40 days, any harmony has to be tentative. Other harmonies are certainly possible, but this harmony makes sense of all of the testimony and fits together chronologically.

1. Jesus is raised from the dead by the power of the Spirit of God (Romans 1:4). Perhaps the moment of Christ’s resurrection coincided with the “severe earthquake” (Matthew 28:2).

2. An earthquake occurred before dawn, an angel rolled away the stone from the entrance of the tomb to the show that the tomb was empty and to allow the women to enter when they arrive. The guards trembled and fled (Matthew 28:2-4,11).

3. As Sunday morning was dawning, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome (mother of the apostles John & James) approach the tomb, intending to embalm Jesus (Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:1-2; John 20:1), but to their amazement they find the stone already rolled away (Mark 16:3-4; Luke 24:2; John 20:1).

4. Mary Magdalene immediately returns to tell Peter and John (John 20:1-2) that the body of the Lord is missing.

5. Mary (the mother of James) and Salome enter the tomb and see an angel (= a young man) who announces the resurrection and directs the women to tell the disciples that Jesus will meet them in Galilee (Matthew 28:5-7; Mark 16:5-7).

6. These two women return to the city, but at first do not report the news of the angelic vision and message, because of their awe and fright (Matthew 28:8; Mark 16:8).

7. Certain women from Galilee, along with Joanna (cf. Luke 8:3), go to the tomb, also planning to embalm the body of Jesus (Luke 24:1). They meet two angels (Luke 24:4-8) and then return to report the resurrection “to the eleven and to all the rest.” The disciples had scattered when Jesus was arrested (see Matthew 26:56). They have evidently now gathered together again (Luke 24:9).

8. Informed by Mary Magdalene, Peter and John run to the tomb (without meeting Mary the mother of James and Salome), observe the grave clothes, and return home (John 20:3-10; Luke 24:12).

9. Mary Magdalene follows Peter and John to the tomb, sees two angels inside, and then meets Jesus (John 20:11-17; cf. Mark 16:9).

10. Mary Magdalene returns to inform the disciples that Jesus is risen (John 20:18; cf. Mark 16:10f.).

11. Mary the mother of James and Salome haven’t said anything about the angel’s message yet. Jesus meets Mary the mother of James (and perhaps Salome and others) and directs them to tell his brethren to go to Galilee (Matthew 28:9f.).

12. The disciples have now had reports of the resurrection from three sources (Mary Magdalene; Joanna and the women from Galilee; Mary the mother of James (and perhaps Salome and others)), but they refuse to believe the reports (Luke 12:10f.; cf. Mark 16:11), until Peter and John confirm it (cf. John 20:10).

13. Later in the morning Peter sees Jesus (Luke 24:34; 1 Corinthians 15:5), perhaps while visiting the tomb again.

14. During the afternoon Jesus appears to two disciples on the way to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35; cf. Mark 16:12-13.).

15. That evening, Jesus appears to the Ten, Thomas being absent (Luke 24:33-49; John 20:19-23; 1 Corinthians 15:5).

16. One week later Jesus appears to the Eleven, Thomas being present (John 20:26-29; cf. Mark 16:14).

17. Seven disciples have an encounter with Jesus by the Sea of Tiberias in Galilee (John 21:1-23).

18. The Eleven and others see Jesus on a mountain in Galilee (Matthew 28:16-18).

19. Jesus appears to some five hundred brethren (1 Corinthians 15:6).

20. Jesus appears to James, his half-brother (1 Corinthians 15:7).

21. Immediately before his ascension, Jesus appears to the Eleven near Bethany (Luke 24:50-52; Acts 1:6-11; 1 Corinthians 15:7; cf. Mark 16:19).

On this tentative reconstruction of events:

(i) the women go to the tomb (#3, 7) during that brief period in the early morning that may be called “semi-darkness” (in relation to the night that is ending -thus John) or “semi-light” (in relation to the day that is dawning [thus Matthew and Luke] or has just dawned [thus Mark]).

(ii) Mary Magdalene makes two visits to the tomb; on the second she sees two angels and then Jesus.

(iii) Mary the mother of James and Salome see one angel, and later Mary the mother of James (and possibly Salome) see Jesus.

(iv) Joanna and the women from Galilee make one visit, see two angels, but not Jesus.

(v) Peter makes one visit and later (possibly on a second visit) sees Jesus, but no angel.

Easter is not a secular holiday that revolves around a mythical bunny that hides eggs in the houses of children around the world. While some Christian households do have an Easter egg hunt, we need to make sure that our children have no confusion between the secular meaning (the Easter bunny) and the real meaning of Easter, the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Easter is also not about getting a pretty Spring outfit to wear at church on Sunday morning. These are ways that Satan tries to deflect our focus from the true meaning of Easter.

What Easter is

Easter is the most important event in the history of mankind, and it is a celebration of the defining moment of the Christian faith. Easter is the day we celebrate the fact that Jesus rose from the death that he suffered on the cross, in fulfillment of the Scriptures, and paid in full the penalty of our sins. Easter proves that everything that Jesus said about the cross is true!

Being a “Christian” is not about just going to church or trying to live a good life. While important, they do not result in our eternal salvation. These actions seem (unfortunately) to be the extent of the Christian life for millions of men and women, yet they can be pursued without any true spiritual connection to Jesus Christ.

Being a Christian means trusting in what Jesus did for us by dying on the cross and rising again on the third day. It means that we are really willing to deny our fleshly ways and will follow Him and His teachings. If you are not sure about what I have said here, then follow this link to find out more about the good news of Jesus Christ. The old saying “good little boys go to Heaven and bad little boys go to Hell,” could not be further from the truth. The ones that get to heaven are the bad boys who realize that they are bad and that the only way that they will get there is if Christ helps them. Sadly, many of the good boys trust in what they have done in order to gain admittance to heaven.

(1 Corinthians 15:4)

Our belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ is strengthened by the fact that it was predicted many centuries before the prophets, as well as by Christ Himself before His death. Show me anyone who can make such a prophecy beforehand and then fulfill it, and I will believe all other claims he may make and follow him to the death.

The Lord referred to Himself when He said, “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the fish’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40).

This expression, “three days and three nights,” brings up a problem of chronology. How could the Lord Jesus have said that He would remain in the grave “three days and three nights,” when He actually spent only a fraction of three days and only part of two nights in the grave? Some people think the difficulty can be solved by setting Wednesday or Thursday as the day of crucifixion, instead of Friday, but this radical solution isn’t necessary at all and only creates other problems with the chronology of Holy Week.

This point may seem of minor consequence, but its implications can become a serious concern. The truthfulness and verifiability of our Lord’s word hinge upon it. I remember once that I was not able to lead a young man to place his faith in Christ until I had straightened out this point of Bible chronology for him. For that reason I am going into the matter in some detail here.

The question as to how long Jesus remained in the tomb would likely never have arisen had not some modern readers misunderstood the common ancient method of counting time called “inclusive reckoning.” By this method, any fraction of a day or year at the beginning or end of a given period was included as a whole day or year. A classic Biblical example of this is found in 2 Kings 18:9,10 in which a war was dated as beginning and ending during certain years of the reign of Hezekiah, King of Judah, and Hosea, King of Israel. These verses say that the war began in the 4th year of Hezekiah’s reign and the 7th year of Hosea’s, and ended in the 6th year of Hezekiah and the 9th year of Hosea. How long would you reckon that this war lasted? You would simply subtract four from six, or seven from nine and say that the war lasted two years. The Bible, however, describes the closing date of this war as “at the end of three years.” The writer evidently counted the 4th to the 6th year of Hezekiah’s reign as “four, five, six,” and the 7th to the 9th of Hosea’s as “seven, eight, nine” — three years inclusively. (Remember, these kings ruled simultaneously, but over two different kingdoms.)

The modern western method of reckoning a person’s age is to say that a child is not one year old until he has lived twelve months from the date of his birth, and he remains one year old all through his second year until his next birthday, when he becomes two. This was not the Biblical method of reckoning. In Genesis 7:6,11, we find that Noah was considered 600 years old in the 600th year of his life, while according to our reckoning he was still only 599. Japanese people up until recently called a child one year old on January first who had been born at any time during the preceding twelve months. Thus even a baby born in December was called a year old on January first. The Chinese still follow this method.

Getting back to the question of what Christ meant by the three days that He prophesied, the Bible lists several periods of “three days” that ended during, not at the close of, the third day, and thus covered less than 72 hours:

1. “And Joseph put his brothers in custody for three days. On the third day, Joseph said to them…” and released his brothers. See Genesis 42:17-19.
2. When Israel asked King Rehoboam to lighten their burdens, he said: “Go away for three days and then come back to me.” The context subsequently says that they returned “on the third day” (1 Kings 12:5,12; also 2 Chronicles 10:5,12.)

This method of inclusive reckoning was common in ancient Egypt and Semitic countries and is still found in the Far East today.

But we are not left with a mere obvious deduction as to what Jesus meant and understood by “third day.” We have evidence from His own lips that He did indeed reckon time according to inclusive reckoning. In speaking of Herod on one occasion, He said, “Go tell that fox, ‘I will drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and the third day I will reach my goal.’ In any case I must keep going today and tomorrow and the day following — for surely no prophet can die outside of Jerusalem” (Luke 13:32,33). Jesus equated the third day with the day after tomorrow, the third day counted inclusively.

But what about Jesus’ statement that He would be in the tomb three nights? “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40).

The usual formula that our Lord used in speaking of His resurrection was that “He should rise on the third day.” This is the formula we find twelve times in the gospels: Matthew 16:21; 17:23; 20:19; Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:34; Luke 9:22; 13:32; 18:33; 24:7,46; John 2:19. The expression “three days and three nights” was used only by Jesus in Matthew 12:40. Since Jesus was using Jonah as an example of His resurrection, the phrase “three days and three nights” was meant to tie in with the Scripture from the book of Jonah: “But the LORD provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights” (Jonah 1:17).

Doesn’t this mean that Jesus had to be in the tomb for three nights? It would appear that way to English readers. But the Hebrew expression for three days and three nights was also used generally and indefinitely for three days simply. It was a Jewish idiom for any part of three days. How do we know this?

In the Jerusalem Talmud (a collection of writings by the rabbis living near Jerusalem), it is written “that a day and a night together make up an ōnah (nuchtheemeron in Greek), meaning “night” and “day”, and that any part of such a period is counted as a whole.” (See The Greek Testament, by Henry Alford, D.D., Vol. I, Chicago: Moody Press, p. 133 or Kommentar zum Neuen Testament aus Talmud und Midrasch, by Strack and Billerbeck, 1:649.)

Matthew is a gospel written to Jews who would have understood this idiom. It is interesting that Luke (who wrote to Gentiles, not Jews) does not record this part of Jesus’ speech – probably to avoid confusion to Gentile readers who would see a conflict with the length of time Jesus was actually in the tomb. See Luke 11:30.

We have exactly the same situation in Esther. When Esther was willing to risk entering the king’s throne room, she requested her fellow Jews to neither “eat nor drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king” (Esther 4:16). So when did Esther go to the king? Esther 5:1 says: “On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the palace, in front of the king’s hall.” Not on the fourth day, but on the third day.

If the Jewish people counted inclusively and “day and night” was an idiom for any part of a 24 hour day, why do we feel that we have to interpret Jesus’ words according to the Western method of reckoning, allowing 24 full hours to a day? Jesus was speaking to people who thoroughly understood that any part of a 24 hour day was counted as a unit in reckoning time? By common usage His hearers would count the three days inclusively as Day 1, the day of crucifixion (Friday); Day 2, the day after that event (Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath); and Day 3, the third day after (or Sunday), though by modern count this would be the second day after.

We cannot insist that, because Jesus said that He would rise after three days (Mark 8:31), He therefore meant, in modern fashion, after the end of the third full day, or 72 hours, for that would be equivalent to “on the fourth day,” in Jewish usage used at that time.

This is in exact agreement with the request by the religious leaders to Pilate: “This deceiver said while he was yet alive, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ Command therefore, that the sepulcher be made sure until the third day” (Mt. 27:63-64). If Jesus had died on Thursday instead of Friday, Pilate would have secured the tomb until the fourth day, not the third.

This is also in exact accord with Luke’s statement that the women left the embalming unfinished on the day of preparation as the Sabbath drew on, and rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment before returning on the first day of the week. If Christ had been crucified on Wednesday or Thursday, the women would hardly have waited several days to return.

To understand the way of salvation and how to live the Christian life, we can rely on our English translations of the Bible as being fully comprehensible and sufficient. But to understand many disputed points, it is necessary to examine the historical background and the original Hebrew or Greek of the Bible to determine just what was in the minds of the various authors, as they wrote under divine inspiration. To try to understand some of these disputed points by using our modern Western culture, language, and customs as a point of reference is to confuse rather than to clarify the issue.

Did Jesus actually die? During the Jewish Feast of Passover, Jesus was swept away by an angry crowd into a Roman hall of justice. As He stood before Pilate, the governor of Judea, religious leaders accused Jesus of claiming to be the king of the Jews. The crowd demanded His death. Jesus was beaten, whipped, and sentenced to a public execution. On a hill outside of Jerusalem along a public road, He was crucified between two criminals. Brokenhearted friends and mocking enemies shared in watching His death. In the four gospel accounts of Jesus’ crucifixion, Jesus’ death is clearly stated. In Matthew 27:50 and in John 19:30, the writers said He “yielded” or “gave up” His spirit. The other two accounts record that He “breathed His last” (Mark 15:37; Luke 23:46).

As the Sabbath evening neared, Roman soldiers who were experts in crucifixion were sent to finish the execution. To quicken death, they broke the legs of the two criminals. But when they came to Jesus they did not break His legs, because they “saw that He was already dead” (John 19:33). As a final precaution, however, they thrust a spear into His side. The soldiers plunged a spear into Jesus’ side, and from it came both water and blood (John 19:34). Medical experts say that if He were not already dead, this in itself would have killed Him. Others have concluded that the pouring out of water and blood from His side was proof that Jesus was no longer alive.

When Joseph of Arimathea asked for the body of Christ so he and Nicodemus could bury Him, Pontius Pilate ordered a centurion to verify that Jesus was dead (Mark 15:43-45). The Roman governor would not release the body to Joseph until the centurion was certain that all signs of life were gone. You can be sure that an officer in the Roman army would not make a mistake about an important matter like this in his report to such a high official as Pilate.

As a matter of fact, Justin Martyr, a Christian debater in the second century, said that the record of Jesus’ crucifixion was sent to Rome and stored in the Roman archives and was available for anyone to see as a matter of public record. Jesus was killed by the Romans. It would take more than resuscitation for Jesus to ever trouble them again.

2. High Officials Secured the Gravesite

The next day, religious leaders again met with Pilate. They said Jesus had predicted He would rise in three days. To assure that the disciples could not conspire in a resurrection hoax, Pilate ordered the official seal of Rome to be attached to the tomb to put grave robbers on notice. To enforce the order, soldiers stood guard (Matthew 27:62-66). Any disciple who wanted to tamper with the body would have had to get by them, which wouldn’t have been easy. The Roman guards had good reason for staying alert–the penalty for falling asleep while on watch was death.

3. The Grave Was Found Empty

Surely the authorities of Jesus’ day wanted nothing more than to have Jesus stay where Joseph had put Him. The mere fact that they sealed the tomb and placed guards to protect it–a highly unusual act–indicated that they were determined to keep the body behind that stone barrier. Suppose they had been able to do that. You can be sure the Sanhedrin and other officials would have been the first to use the knowledge of an occupied tomb as evidence when the disciples began to announce to everyone that they had seen Jesus alive. Yet no historical evidence exists to suggest that those officials knew where the body was. “The resurrection proclamation could not have been maintained in Jerusalem for a single day, for a single hour, if the emptiness of the tomb had not been established as a fact” –Paul Althus.

Second, there is something even more conclusive than the officials’ inaction–the actions of several eyewitnesses. The first to see and report the empty tomb were the women with the spices (Mark 16:5-6). John and Peter were the next to see that Jesus was gone. When they heard the unbelievably good news from Mary and the other women, they raced to the gravesite. John, it should be noted, is the one who wrote this account as recorded in chapter chapter 20 of his Gospel. If you need an eyewitness to convince you that the tomb was empty, you have one in the apostle John. He was there, and he wrote down what he saw. That is solid historical evidence in anyone’s book.

A third strong piece of evidence that the tomb was empty is the reaction of the authorities when the guards reported the events in the garden. They wanted to destroy the credibility and influence of Jesus. Therefore, they would surely have been foolish to spread the rumor that the disciples had stolen the body–if Jesus were still in the tomb. Their collusion with the guards is solid proof that there was no body in the tomb.

We are faced with two facts. (1) Jesus died and was buried. (2) In a short time, His tomb became empty.

4. Many People Claimed to Have Seen Him Alive

About AD 55, the apostle Paul wrote that the resurrected Christ had been seen by Peter, the 12 apostles, more than 500 people (many of whom were still alive at the time of his writing), James, and himself (1 Corinthians 15:5-8). By making such a public statement, he gave critics a chance to check out his claims for themselves. In addition, the New Testament in other places records the following witnesses to the resurrection: Mary Magdalene (John 20:11-18), several women near the tomb (Matthew 28:9-10), two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-32), Peter (Luke 24:33-35), ten disciples in the upper room (Luke 24:36-43), eleven disciples in the upper room (John 20:26-31), seven men at the Sea of Galilee (John 21:1-25), eleven disciples on a mountain (Matthew 28:16-20), and an undisclosed amount of disciples near Bethany (Acts 1:9-12; Luke 24:52). The book of Acts begins its history of the followers of Christ by saying that Jesus “presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by [the apostles] during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3).

5. His Apostles Were Dramatically Changed

When one of Jesus’ inner circle defected and betrayed Him, the other apostles ran for their lives. Even Peter, who earlier had insisted that he was ready to die for his teacher, lost heart and denied that he even knew Jesus. But the apostles went through a dramatic change. Within a few weeks, they were standing face to face with the ones who had crucified their leader. Their spirit was like iron. They became unstoppable in their determination to sacrifice everything for the one they called Savior and Lord. Even after they were imprisoned, threatened, and forbidden to speak in the name of Jesus, the apostles said to the Jewish leaders, “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). After they were beaten for disobeying the orders of the Jewish council, these once-cowardly apostles “did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ” (Acts 5:42).

Some would say that the disciples had nothing stronger to spur them on than a story they had made up. But can you imagine what it would take to believe this? Just picture Peter standing up before the disciples, who had remained safely hidden behind locked doors after Jesus’ death for fear of their lives, and saying, “Well, the entire weight of the Jewish religious community and the Roman government was just used to put Jesus to death by crucifixion. Even though we know that He is still dead, we are going to start a rumor that He isn’t. We are going to say that He rose from the tomb and that we all saw Him.”

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“Nothing less than a witness as awesome as the resurrected Christ could have caused those men to maintain to their dying whispers that Jesus is alive.” –Charles Colson

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A fictional story can’t possibly account for the changes in the disciples.

6. Witnesses Were Willing to Die For Their Claims

While many will die for what they believe to be the truth, few if any will die for what they know to be a lie. That psychological fact is important because the disciples of Christ did not die for deeply held beliefs about which they could have been honestly mistaken. They died for their claims to have seen Jesus alive and well after His resurrection. They died for their claim that Jesus Christ had not only died for their sins but that He had risen bodily from the dead to show that He was like no other spiritual leader who had ever lived.

Peter would never have been hanged upside down for a trumped-up story. Mark would not have been dragged through the streets to his death if he had been defending fiction. James would not have been beheaded for a falsehood. Thomas wouldn’t have been pierced with a lance for a lie. Yet tradition says that these men died the horrible deaths just described. What a testimony to the truth of their claims! They were willing to die for the One who overcame death for them–and for us!

7. Jesus’ Death and Resurrection was Clearly Predicted

The Messiah’s death and resurrection was predicted in the Old Testament and by Jesus Himself. Isaiah predicted a suffering servant who would be rejected by his people (Isaiah 53:3), crucified with thieves (Isaiah 53:12), bear the sins of Israel (Isaiah 53:4-6), die between thieves (Isaiah 53:12), before God “prolonged His days” (Isaiah 53:10). Psalm 22 predicted an afflicted one who would die a humiliating death by piercing of his hands and feet (Psalm 22:16; also Zechariah 12:10).

Jesus Himself kept saying over and over that it was necessary for Him to go to Jerusalem to die and be resurrected from the dead on the third day (Matthew 9:15; 12:40; 16:21-23; 17:22-23; 20:17-19). Of course, the apostles minds were so fixed on the coming of a messianic political kingdom that they didn’t believe Jesus would literally die. They probably thought Christ was speaking in symbolic language, since He was one who often spoke in parables. But Jesus clearly predicted His death — which is not too difficult to do — and Jesus clearly predicted His resurrection — which is a VERY difficult thing to do unless the predictor is God Himself.

So Why Should You Believe That Jesus Rose from the Dead?

• Because His death is confirmed by many sources.
• Because a high official secured the gravesite.
• Because there was no body in the grave.
• Because many people claimed to see Him alive.
• Because the apostles changed from confused wimps to courageous proclaimers.
• Because witnesses of the resurrection were willing to die for their claims.
• Because the Bible and Jesus clearly predicted the resurrection of Christ.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of the Christian faith. Without it the believer has no hope for this life or for the life to come. The apostle Paul wrote, “And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is worthless” (1 Corinthians 15:17 ). Our belief in this great teaching is not based upon some religious feeling or upon an unfounded idea about what may have happened in the past. Nor are we talking about an isolated rumor, but about a historical fact with solid evidence to support it.

In the early part of this century, a group of lawyers met in England to discuss the biblical accounts of Jesus’ resurrection. They wanted to see if sufficient information was available to make a case that would hold up in an English court of law. When their study was completed, they published the results of their investigation. They concluded that Christ’s resurrection was “one of the most well- established facts of history!”

In his little book, Countdown, G. B. Hardy has given us some thought-provoking questions about how to choose a religion. He says: “There are but two essential requirements when evaluating religions: 1. Has anyone cheated death and proved it? 2. Is it available to me? Here is the complete record: Confucius’ tomb — occupied. Buddha’s tomb — occupied. Mohammed’s tomb — occupied. Jesus’ tomb — empty! Argue as you will, there is no point in following a loser.”

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is a reality. It’s based on solid historical evidence. Jesus is alive! It’s a fact — not a fable! God dipped His finger into the pool of history and the ripples of Jesus’ resurrection effect all of time and space, including your life.

Compiled by David Terasaka, M.D. ©1996. All Rights Reserved, David Terasaka, M.D. However, permission is hereby granted to copy and distribute free of charge for non-commercial purposes only.

Hebrews 12:2 – “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

In the last few hours of Jesus’ life what did He endure, and what shame did He suffer?

EXCRUCIATE: to cause great agony, torment

Latin : ex : out of, from cruciate : cross

“from the cross”

The tone of this presentation can best be summarized in the word “excruciate”, (the root of the word “excruciating”) which refers to something which causes great agony or torment. The Latin roots of the word are :“ex”, meaning from or out of, and “cruciate”, meaning cross. The word “excruciate” comes from the Latin for “from, or out of, the cross” (Webster’s).

GENERAL OVERVIEW

Jesus spent the last hours before the crucifixion at several places in Jerusalem. He started the evening in the Upper Room, in southwest Jerusalem. At the Last Supper, He told the disciples that His body and His blood were to be given for them (Matthew 26: 26-29). He went outside of the city to the Garden of Gethsemane. He was then arrested and brought back to the to the palace of the High Priest. where He was questioned by Annas, a former High Priest, and Caiaphas, Annas’ son in law . Afterwards, He was tried by the Sanhedrin, and found to be guilty of blasphemy by proclaiming Himself the Son of God. He was sentenced to the death penalty. Since only the Romans were able to execute criminals, He was sent to Pontius Pilate at the Antonia Fortress. Pilate, not finding anything wrong, sent Him to King Herod , who returned Him back to Pilate. Pilate, submitting to the pressure of the crowd, then ordered that Jesus be flogged and crucified. He was finally led out of the city walls to be crucified at Calvary.

THE HEALTH OF JESUS AND DEMANDS OF THE ORDEAL

It is reasonable to assume that Jesus was in good health prior to the ordeal that He faced in the hours before His death. Having been a carpenter and traveling throughout the land during His ministry would have required that He would be in good physical condition. Before the crucifixion, however, He was forced to walk 2.5 miles over a sleepless night, during which He suffered great anguish through His six trials, was mocked, ridiculed and severely beaten, and was abandoned by His friends and Father. (Edwards)

THE UPPER ROOM OR CENACULUM

The ordeal began in an upper room of a house at what we now call the Last Supper, where Jesus, in giving the first communion, predicted that His body and blood would be given (Matthew 26:17-29). Today in Jerusalem, one can visit the Cenacle or Cenaculum (Latin for dining hall), a room which is built over what is believed to be the site of the Upper Room, (Kollek) which was located on the southwestern aspect of the old city.

GETHSEMANE : oil press

Luke 22:44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

“the Spirit of God ….crushed”

From the upper room, Jesus went outside of the city walls where he spent time in prayer at the Garden of Gethsemane. The garden has many ancient olive trees today, some of which may have grown from the roots of the trees that were present in Jesus’ time. (All trees in and around Jerusalem were cut down when the Romans conquered the city in 70 A.D. Olive trees can regenerate from their roots and live for thousands of years.) The name “Gethsemane”, comes from the Hebrew Gat Shmanim, meaning “oil press” (Kollek). Since “oil” is used in the Bible to symbolize the Holy Spirit, it may be said that the garden is where “the Spirit of God was crushed” (Missler). It was here that Jesus agonized in prayer over what was to occur. It is significant that this is the only place in the KJV where the word “agony” is mentioned (Strong’s concordance). The Greek word for agony means to be “engaged in combat” (Pink) Jesus agonizes over what He is to go through, feeling that He is at the point of death.(Mark14:34) Yet He prays, “Not my will, but thine be done.”

Of medical significance is that Luke mentions Him as having sweat like blood. The medical term for this, “hemohidrosis” or “hematidrosis” has been seen in patients who have experienced, extreme stress or shock to their systems. (Edwards) The capillaries around the sweat pores become fragile and leak blood into the sweat. A case history is recorded in which a young girl who had a fear of air raids in WW1 developed the condition after a gas explosion occurred in the house next door (Scott). Another report mentions a nun who, as she was threatened with death by the swords of the enemy soldiers,” was so terrified that she bled from every part of her body and died of hemorrhage in the sight of her assailants” (Grafenberg). As a memorial to Jesus’ ordeal, a church which now stands in Gethsemane is known as the Church of the Agony — also called the Church of the Nations because many nations donated money to its construction (Kollek).

ABANDONED BY MAN

Matthew 26:56: “Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.”

Psalm 22:11: “Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help.”

While in Gethsemane, Jesus is betrayed by Judas and arrested by the Jews. His disciples all desert Him, even at the expense of running away naked (Mark 14:51-52). He is bound (John 18:12) then brought back to the city to the court of the High Priest, which is located near the Upper room.

ILLEGAL ASPECTS OF THE TRIAL OF JESUS

Following are some of the illegal aspects of the trial of Jesus:

• Trials could occur only in the regular meeting places of the Sanhedrin (not in the palace of the High Priest)
• Trials could not occur on the eve of the Sabbath or Feast Days or at night
• A sentence of ‘guilty’ might only be pronounced on the day following the trial

THE ISSUE OF WITNESSES

Deuteronomy 19:15: “One witness is not enough to convict a man accused of any crime or offense he may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.”

Deuteronomy 17:6: “On the testimony of two or three witnesses a man shall be put to death, but no one shall be put to death on the testimony of only one witness.”

Mark 14:56: “Many testified falsely against him, but their statements did not agree.”

While in the court of the High Priest, He was questioned by Annas (John 18:13) and struck by a soldier (John 18: 22). He was then brought to Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin. who sought to put Jesus to death by the false testimony of many witnesses. The witnesses brought against Him did not agree. By the law, no one could be put to death without the agreement of two or three witnesses. Although the witnesses did not agree, He was found guilty of blasphemy when He told them of His identity as the Son of God. He was sentenced to death. Jesus suffered ridicule from the palace guards, who spat on Him, beat Him and slapped Him on the face (Mark 14:65.) During the trial, Peter denies Him three times. The proceedings of Jesus’ trial violated many of the laws of His society. Among some of the other broken laws were (Bucklin):

1. Any arrest could not be made at night.
2. The time and date of the trial were illegal because it took place at night and on the eve of the Sabbath. This time precluded any chance for the required adjournment to the next day in the event of a conviction.
3. The Sanhedrin was without authority to instigate charges. It was only supposed to investigate charges brought before it. In Jesus’ trial, the court itself formulated the charges.
4. The charges against Jesus were changed during the trial. He was initially charged with blasphemy based upon His statement that He would be able to destroy and rebuild the Temple of God within three days, as well as His claim to be the Son of God. When He was brought before Pilate, the charge was that Jesus was a King and did not advocate paying taxes to the Romans.
5. As stated above, the requirement of two witnesses in agreement to merit the death penalty was not met.
6. The court did not meet in the regular meeting place of the Sanhedrin, as required by Jewish law.
7. Christ was not permitted a defense. Under Jewish law, an exhaustive search into the facts presented by the witnesses should have occurred.
8. The Sanhedrin pronounced the death sentence. Under law, the Sanhedrin were not allowed to convict and put the death sentence into effect. (John 18:31)

Today, one can visit the palace of the High Priest. where one can stand in the midst of the ruins of the courtyard. A model of the structure in Jesus’ time is available for viewing.

PILATE’S VERDICT

Mark 15:15 – “Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.”

The Sanhedrin met early the next morning and sentenced Him to death. (Matthew 27:1) Because the Jews were not, and the Romans were, able to carry out an execution, Jesus was brought before Pilate. The charge was now changed to an allegation that Jesus claimed to be King and forbade the nation to pay taxes to Caesar. (Luke 23:5) In spite of all the charges, Pilate finds nothing wrong. He sends Jesus to Herod. Jesus is speechless before Herod, except to affirm that He is King of the Jews. Herod sends Him back to Pilate. Pilate is unable to convince the crowds of Jesus’ innocence and orders Jesus to be put to death. Some sources state that it was Roman law that a criminal that was to be crucified had to be flogged first (McDowell). Others believe that Jesus was flogged first by Pilate in the hope of getting Him off with a lighter punishment (Davis). In spite of his efforts, the Jews allow Barabbas to be released and demand that Jesus be crucified, even crying that ,“His blood be on us and on our children!” (Matthew 27:25) Pilate hands Jesus over to be flogged and crucified.

It is at this point that Jesus suffers a severe physical beating. (Edwards) During a flogging, a victim was tied to a post, leaving his back entirely exposed. The Romans used a whip, called a flagrum or flagellum which consisted of small pieces of bone and metal attached to a number of leather strands. The number of strikes is not recorded in the gospels. The number of blows in Jewish law was set in Deuteronomy 25:3 at forty, but later reduced to 39 to prevent excessive blows by a counting error (Holmans). The victim often died from the beating. (39 hits were believed to bring the criminal to “one from death”.) Roman law did not put any limits on the number of blows given. (McDowell) During the flogging, the skin was stripped from the back, exposing a bloody mass of muscle and bone (“hamburger “: Metherall). Extreme blood loss occurred from this beating, weakening the victim. perhaps to the point of being unconscious.

ROMAN SOLDIERS MOCK AND BEAT JESUS

Matthew 27:28-30 (The soldiers) stripped him and put a scarlet robe  on him and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. Jesus was then beaten by the Roman soldiers. In mockery, they dressed Him in what was probably the cloak of a Roman officer, which was colored dark purple or scarlet .(Amplified Bible) He also wore the crown of thorns. Unlike the traditional crown which is depicted by an open ring, the actual crown of thorns may have covered the entire scalp (Lumpkin). The thorns may have been 1 to 2 inches long. The gospels state that the Roman soldiers continued to beat Jesus on the head. The blows would drive the thorns into the scalp (one of the most vascular areas of the body) and forehead, causing severe bleeding.

THE CROWN OF THORNS AND THE ROBE

Genesis 3:17-18: “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.”

Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”

The significance of the scarlet robe and crown of thorns is to emphasize Jesus’ taking the sins of the world upon His body. The Bible describes sin by the color of scarlet (Isaiah 1:18) and that thorns first appeared after the fall, as a sign of the curse. Thus, the articles that He wore are symbols to show that Jesus took on the sins (and the curse) of the world upon Himself. It is not clear that He wore the crown of thorns on the cross. Matthew describes that the Romans removed His clothes after the beating, and that they put His own clothes back on Him. (Matthew 27:31)

THE SEVERITY OF THE BEATING

Isaiah 50:6:

“I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting.”

Isaiah 52:14: “….. Just as there were many who were appalled at him — his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness–”

The severity of the beating is not detailed in the gospels. However, in the book of Isaiah, it suggests that the Romans pulled out His beard (Isaiah 50:8). It is also mentions that Jesus was beaten so severely that His form did not look like that of “a son of a man” i.e. that of a human being. The literal translation of the verse reads, “So marred from the form of man was His aspect, that His appearance was not as that of a son of a man.” People were appalled to look at Him (Isaiah 52:13). His disfigurement may explain why He was not easily recognized in His post resurrection appearances (Missler). Today, one can visit a site known as the Lithostrotos, traditionally believed to be the floor of the Antonio Fortress (although recent excavations may cast doubt on this theory (Gonen)). The floor is marked for games once played by the Roman soldiers.

From the beating, Jesus walked on a path, now known as the Via Dolorosa or the “way of suffering“, to be crucified at Golgotha. The total distance has been estimated at 650 yards. (Edwards). A narrow street of stone, it was probably surrounded by markets in Jesus’ time. He was led through the crowded streets carrying the crossbar of the cross (called a patibulum) across His shoulders. The crossbar probably weighed between 80 to 110 pounds. He was surrounded by a guard of Roman soldiers, one of which carried a titulus, a sign which announced His crime of being “the King of the Jews” in Hebrew, Latin and Greek. On the way, He was unable to carry the cross. Some theorize that he may have fallen while going down the steps of the Antonio Fortress. A fall with the heavy patibulum on His back may have led to a contusion of the heart, predisposing His heart to rupture on the cross. (Ball) Simon of Cyrene (currently North Africa (Tripoli)), who apparently was affected by these events, was summoned to help.

The present Via Dolorosa was marked in the 16th century as the route over which Christ was led to His crucifixion (Magi). As is the location of Calvary, the true location of the Via Dolorosa is disputed. Much tradition as to what happened to Jesus is encountered on the Via Dolorosa today. There are 14 stations of ‘events’ that occurred and 9 churches on the way today. The stations of the cross were established in the 1800’s (Magi). Today, there is one section of the path where one can walk on the stones which were used during Jesus time.

Continue to Part 2

Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me.”

The crucifixion event is prophesied in several places throughout the Old   Testament. One of the most striking is recorded in Isaiah 52:13 ,where it says that, “My servant will act wisely (or prosper). He will be raised and lifted up and greatly exalted.” In John 3, Jesus talks about His fulfillment of that prophecy when He says, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.” He refers to the events recorded in Numbers 21:6-9. The Lord had sent a plague of fiery serpents on the people of Israel and they bit the people so that many of the people died. After the people confessed their sin to Moses, the Lord for gave them by having a bronze serpent made. Bronze is a symbol for judgment and the serpent is a symbol of the curse. Whoever was bitten by a serpent and then looked at the bronze serpent, was saved from death.. These verses are prophecies that point to the crucifixion, in the Jesus would be (lifted up ) on the cross for the judgment of sin, so that whoever believed in Him should not die (an eternal death), but live an eternal life. 2 Corinthians 5 :21 amplifies this point, in that “He (the Father) made Him who knew no sin (the Son) to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (Pink). It is interesting that the sign of Aesculapius which is the symbol of the medical profession today, had its roots from the making of the bronze serpent (Metherall). Indeed, Jesus is the healer of all! Jesus is led to the place of the skull (Latin: Calvary; Aramaic: Golgotha) to be crucified. The actual location of Calvary is also in dispute. At the end of the Via Dolorosa, there is a “T intersection”. If one turns left, we go to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. If one turns to the right, one goes to Gordon’s Calvary. The Church of the Holy sepulcher has long been believed to be the traditional site of the crucifixion.

Gordon’s Calvary has a possible prophetic reason for being the actual site of the crucifixion .In Genesis 22, Abraham is tested by God to sacrifice Isaac on the top of a mountain. Realizing that he is acting out a prophecy, that “God Himself will provide a Lamb”, Abraham calls the place of the event “Jehovah Jireh”, meaning “In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen.” If we take this as a prophetic event of Jesus’ death, then Jesus’ died on the high ground of Jerusalem. Gordon’s Calvary is the highest point of Jerusalem, 777 meters above sea level (Missler: Map from Israel tour book). Today, at Gordon’s Calvary, caves in the rock are situated which give the site the appearance of a skull.

Jesus was then crucified. Crucifixion was a practice that originated with the Persians and was later passed on to the Carthaginians and the Phoenicians. The Romans perfected it as a method of execution which caused maximal pain and suffering over a period of time. Those crucified included slaves, provincials and the lowest types of criminals. Roman citizens, except perhaps for soldiers who deserted, were not subjected to this treatment (McDowell).

The crucifixion site “was purposely chosen to be outside the city walls because the Law forbade such within the city walls…for sanitary reasons … the crucified body was sometimes left to rot on the cross and serve as a disgrace, a convincing warning and deterrent to passers by.” (Johnson) Sometimes, the subject was eaten while alive and still on the cross by wild beasts (Lipsius).

The procedure of crucifixion may be summarized as follows. The patibulum was put on the ground and the victim laid upon it. Nails, about 7 inches long and with a diameter of 1 cm ( roughly 3/8 of an inch) were driven in the wrists . The points would go into the vicinity of the median nerve, causing shocks of pain to radiate through the arms. It was possible to place the nails between the bones so that no fractures (or broken bones) occurred. Studies have shown that nails were probably driven through the small bones of the wrist, since nails in the palms of the hand would not support the weight of a body. In ancient terminology, the wrist was considered to be part of the hand. (Davis) Standing at the crucifixion sites would be upright posts, called stipes, standing about 7 feet high (Edwards). In the center of the stipes was a crude seat, called a sedile or sedulum, which served a support for the victim. The patibulum was then lifted on to the stipes. The feet were then nailed to the stipes. To allow for this, the knees had to be bent and rotated laterally, being left in a very uncomfortable position. The titulus was hung above the victim’s head.

There were several different types of crosses used during crucifixion. In Jesus’ time, it was most likely that the cross used was a T shaped (or tau cross,), not the popular Latin, or t shaped cross which is accepted today (Lumpkin).

PHYSICAL SUFFERING ON THE CROSS

“I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death.”

Having suffered from the beatings and flogging, Jesus suffered from severe hypovolemia from the loss of blood. The verses above describe His dehydrated state and loss of His strength.

When the cross was erected upright, there was tremendous strain put on the wrists, arms and shoulders, resulting in a dislocation of the shoulder and elbow joints (Metherall). The arms, being held up and outward, held the rib cage in a fixed end inspiratory position which made it extremely difficult to exhale, and impossible to take a full breath. The victim would only be able to take very shallow breaths. (This may explain why Jesus made very short statements while on the cross). As time passed, the muscles, from the loss of blood, last of oxygen and the fixed position of the body, would undergo severe cramps and spasmodic contractions

ABANDONED BY GOD — SPIRITUAL DEATH

Matthew 27:46:
“About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?’–which means, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

With the sin of the world upon Him, Jesus suffered spiritual death (separation from the Father ). Isaiah 59:2 says that sins cause a separation from God, and that He hides His face from you so that He does not hear. The Father must turn away from His Beloved Son on the cross. For the first time, Jesus does not address God as His Father (Courson).

DEATH BY CRUCIFIXION : SLOW SUFFOCATION

1. Shallowness of breathing causes small areas of lung collapse.
2. Decreased oxygen and increased carbon dioxide causes acidic conditions in the tissues.
3. Fluid builds up in the lungs. Makes situation in step 2 worse.
4. Heart is stressed and eventually fails.

The slow process of suffering and resulting death during a crucifixion may be summarized as follows:

“…it appears likely that the mechanism of death in crucifixion was suffocation. The chain of events which ultimately led to suffocation are as follows: With the weight of the body being supported by the sedulum, the arms were pulled upward. This caused the intercostal and pectoral muscles to be stretched. Furthermore, movement of these muscles was opposed by the weight of the body. With the muscles of respiration thus stretched, the respiratory bellows became relatively fixed. As dyspnea developed and pain in the wrists and arms increased, the victim was forced to raise the body off the sedulum, thereby transferring the weight of the body to the feet. Respirations became easier, but with the weight of the body being exerted on the feet, pain in the feet and legs mounted. When the pain became unbearable, the victim again slumped down on the sedulum with the weight of the body pulling on the wrists and again stretching the intercostal muscles. Thus, the victim alternated between lifting his body off the sedulum in order to breathe and slumping down on the sedulum to relieve pain in the feet. Eventually , he became exhausted or lapsed into unconsciousness so that he could no longer lift his body off the sedulum. In this position, with the respiratory muscles essentially paralyzed, the victim suffocated and died. (DePasquale and Burch) Due to the shallow breathing, the victim’s lungs begin to collapse in small areas causing hypoxia and hypercarbia. A respiratory acidosis, with lack of compensation by the kidneys due to the loss of blood from the numerous beatings, resulted in an increased strain on the heart, which beats faster to compensate. Fluid builds up in the lungs. . Under the stress of hypoxia and acidosis the heart eventually fails. There are several different theories on the actual cause of death. One theory states that there was a filling of the pericardium with fluid, which put a fatal strain on the ability of the heart to pump blood (Lumpkin). Another theory states that Jesus died of cardiac rupture” (Bergsma). Another says the cause of Jesus’ death “may have been multifactorial and related primarily to hypovolemic shock, exhaustion asphyxia and perhaps acute heart failure” (Edwards). A fatal cardiac arrhythmia may have caused the final terminal event (Johnson, Edwards).

These are all medical theories and don’t take into account Scriptures which give us a clear statement of how Jesus died. For the actual cause of Jesus’ death see below.

A LAST DRINK OF WINE VINEGAR

John 19:29-30: “A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips.” When he had received the drink, Jesus said, ‘It is finished’. “With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”

Having suffered severe blood losses from His numerous beatings and thus in a dehydrated state, Jesus, in one of His final statements, said “I thirst.” He was offered 2 drinks on the cross. The first, which He refused, was a drugged wine (mixed with myrrh). He chose to face death without a clouded mind.

Edersheim writes: “It was a merciful Jewish practice to give to those led to execution a draught of strong wine mixed with myrrh so as to deaden consciousness” (Mass Sem 2.9; Bemid. R. 10). This charitable office was performed at the cost of, if not by, an association of women in Jerusalem (Sanh. 43a). The draught was offered to Jesus when He reached Golgotha. But having tasted it….He would not drink it. ….He would meet Death, even in his sternest and fiercest mood, and conquer by submitting to the full….(p.880).

The second drink, which He accepts moments before His death, is described as a wine vinegar. Two points are important to note. The drink was given on the “stalk of a hyssop plant”. Remember that these events occurred at the Feast of the Passover. During this feast, (Exodus 12:22) hyssop was used to apply the blood of the Passover lamb to the wooden doorposts of the Jews. It is interesting the end of this hyssop stalk pointed to the blood of the Perfect Lamb which was applied to the wooden cross for the salvation of all mankind. (Barclay) In addition, the wine vinegar is a product of fermentation, which is made from grape juice and yeast. The word literally means “that which is soured” and is related to the Hebrew term for “that which is leavened” (Holmans). Yeast or leaven, is a Biblical symbol of sin. When Jesus took this drink, (i.e. a drink which was “leavened”) it is thus symbolic of His taking the sins of the world into His body.

CELEBRATION OF THE OPPOSITION SPIRITUAL WARFARE

Psalm 22:12-13: “Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me. Roaring lions tearing their prey open their mouths wide against me.”

While He was on the cross, darkness covered the land (noon to three p.m.). Jesus, in Luke 22:53, associates those who arrested Him with the power of darkness. Where were the evil forces while Jesus was on the cross? The verses above from Psalm 22 seem out of place when first read. There seems to be no mention of “bulls” and “lions” around the cross. The verses, however, have a deeper meaning (Courson). Bashan was an area to the east of the Jordan River which was famous for its fertility. Cattle were raised there which grew to enormous sizes. The people there worshipped demon spirits (associated with Baal) within the cattle. In 1 Peter 5:8, Satan is described as “a roaring lion…seeking those who he may devour” These verses are thus suggestive of the spiritual activity of Satan and his demons, celebrating as Jesus was suffering on the cross.

JESUS LAID DOWN HIS LIFE

John 10:17-18: “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life–only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

Luke 23:46: “Jesus called out with a loud voice, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit’.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.

The average time of suffering before death by crucifixion is stated to be about 2-4 days (Tenney). There are even reported cases where the victims lived for 9 days (Lipsius). Jesus died a relatively quick physical death. In fact, Pilate was surprised that He had died so soon (Mark 15:44). While many of the physical signs preceding death were present, Jesus did not die from physical causes.

Jesus gave up His life of His own accord. All of the final statements that Jesus makes on the cross leave one with the impression that Jesus chose His time to die. His last statement, “Into your hands I commit my Spirit” shows that Jesus’ death occurred by giving Himself up. John’s gospel records Jesus’ death in this way: “With that He bowed His head and gave up His spirit” (John 19:30b). Matthew writes: “And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, He gave up His spirit” (Matthew 27:50).

Earlier in Jesus’ ministry, Jesus made it clear that only He has the power to lay down His life (John 10:17-18). He proved His power over death by His resurrection. Jesus gave up His life of His own accord.

DEATH BY CRUCIFIXION:

HASTENED by the breaking of the legs, so that the victim could not push up to take a good breath.

John 19:32-33: The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs.

CONFIRMED by a spear thrust into the right side of the heart.

John 19:34: Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. Death in crucifixion was hastened by the breaking of the legs of the victim. This procedure, called crurifracture, prevented the ability of the victim to take in a good breath. Death would quickly occur from suffocation. In Jesus’ case, He died quickly and did not have His legs broken. Jesus fulfills one of the prophetic requirements of the Passover Lamb, that not a bone shall be broken (Exodus 12:46, John 19:36).

To confirm that a victim was dead, the Romans inflicted a spear wound through the right side of the heart. When pierced, a sudden flow of blood and water came from Jesus’ body . The medical significance of the blood and water has been a matter of debate. One theory states that Jesus died of a massive myocardial infarction, in which the heart ruptured (Bergsma) which may have resulted from His falling while carrying the cross (Ball). Another theory states that Jesus’ heart was surrounded by fluid in the pericardium, which constricted the heart and caused death (Davis). The physical stresses of crucifixion may have produced a fatal cardiac arrhythmia (Johnson).

The stated order of “blood and water” may not necessarily indicate the order of appearance, but rather the relative prominence of each fluid. In this case, a spear through the right side of the heart would allow the pleural fluid (fluid built up in the lungs) to escape first, followed by a flow of blood from the wall of the right ventricle (Edwards). The important fact is that the medical evidence supports that Jesus did die a physical death.

The story, of course, does not end here. The greatest event that separates Jesus from all others is the fact that He rose again and lives today. He intercedes for those who follow Him at the right hand of the Father (Hebrews 7:25).

APPEARANCE IN HEAVEN

Revelation 5:6: Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders.

In eternity, Jesus will bear the marks of His crucifixion. Revelation 5:6 suggests that He appears in heaven with the marks as a Lamb “looking as if it had been slain.” We know that when He appeared to Thomas that He bore the scars of the nails and the spear in His side (John 20:26-28). It is also worth considering reasons as to why He was not immediately recognized after His resurrection. In John 21:12, it is stated that the disciples did “not dare to ask Him His identity, because they knew that it was the Lord.” It is possible that His resurrection body still has the marks of His beatings. “The body of His glorification will be the body of His humiliation” (Missler).

Are we ready to meet Him? What have we done with what He has given to us?. Today, He encourages us to consider the cost of the cross and to apply it to our own lives.

FOLLOWING JESUS CHRIST

Luke 9:23: Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

When He was on earth, Jesus stated that , “If any man would come after me, let him take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23) As we have seen, in Jesus’ time it meant going to your death, giving up and separating yourself from all that you had…….your rights, your friends, your body and blood and even your “god”, to follow Him.

We are challenged by the example of Simon of Cyrene. Scripture mentions Him as being the father of Alexander and Rufus (Mark 15:21). Rufus (“a choice man in the Lord”) and Simon’s wife were both addressed by Paul in his letter to the Roman church (Romans 16:13). Here was a man, who indeed carried the cross…and made an impact for Christ in eternity. What commitment are you willing to make to Him now?

The Bible, God’s Word (2 Timothy 3:16-17), relates how God once had a personal relationship with man. God would talk and relate to man, just as you might relate to your best friend. God created man to give him a meaningful and purposeful life.

Man chose to go his own way by disobeying God. (This applies to all men as in Romans 3:23.) This disobedience, called sin, caused a break in the relationship between man and God. If a man casually seeks a relationship with God by his own efforts (religion), he will find nothing, because sin has broken the communication (Isaiah 59:2).

Christianity is the story of God sacrificing His Son to restore a relationship that was broken. As stated in the above text, Jesus gave up His life to pay for the sins of mankind and take the punishment for the sin upon Himself. On the cross a divine transaction took place. He received all of our sin. But there is a second part to the transaction. When we trust our lives to Jesus, we receive all of His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). Because He gave His life on the cross, any one who believes in Him will have a restoration of a personal relationship with God. Jesus Himself claimed to be the only way to God (John 14:6) and only by the knowledge of God through Jesus Christ can man have a meaningful and purposeful life (John 10:10).

God desires that all men come to know Him in a personal way. If you have never received Jesus’ gift of Himself for your sins , or have any doubts to how you can have a meaningful and purposeful life by the knowledge of God through Jesus Christ, you can start by praying a simple prayer, such as:

Dear Lord Jesus. Thank you for dying on the cross for me. I confess that I am a sinner before God. I acknowledge that by your death and sacrifice that you have paid the penalty of my sins for me. Please come into my heart and become the Lord of my life. As you gave your life, I give my life to you. I will take up my cross and follow you, not as I will, but to follow Your perfect will for my life. In Jesus Name, Amen.

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Compiled by David Terasaka, M.D. ©1996. All Rights Reserved, David Terasaka, M.D. However, permission is hereby granted to copy and distribute free of charge for non-commercial purposes only.