Pain came early for Jesus. Shortly after His arrest in the garden he was taken to the home of the high priest (Luke 22:54). It was perhaps sometime after midnight of what we would call Friday morning. Luke tells us it was there that Jesus began to suffer, “Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking Him and beating Him, and they blindfolded Him and were asking Him, saying, "Prophesy, who is the one who hit You?" And they were saying many other things against Him, blaspheming” (Luke 22:63-65, NASU).

It’s interesting to note that the full leadership of the Jews was not present; they would arrive at day break, perhaps as early as 6:00 AM (Luke 22:66). Before this gathering, those who had Jesus abused Him. When the full council or Sanhedrin arrived they quickly determined to seek permission from the Roman authorities to put Jesus to death.

From the Jewish perspective, they wanted Jesus dead because He claimed to be the Messiah, the Son of God (vss. 67-71). But this would not be sufficient to gain permission from the Roman governor to have Jesus executed. So, when they brought Jesus to the Roman governor the charge focused on the idea of the Messiah as a king, treason against Caesar. “Then the whole body of them got up and brought Him before Pilate. And they began to accuse Him, saying, "We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying that He Himself is Christ, a King." So Pilate asked Him, saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?" And He answered him and said, "It is as you say"” (Luke 23:1-3, NASU).

 

Pilate, learning Jesus was raised in Galilee sent Jesus to Herod Antipas who reigned as tetrarch over Galilee and Perea. Herod found nothing worthy of execution. He sent Jesus back to Pilate but only after his men mistreated Jesus. “And Herod with his soldiers, after treating Him with contempt and mocking Him, dressed Him in a gorgeous robe and sent Him back to Pilate” (Luke 23:11, NASU ).

Pilate tells the Jews he is content to have Jesus “punished” (23:16), likely a reference to scourging. The Jewish leadership is not happy with this and demands He be crucified instead (v. 21). Crucifixion was a punishment generally reserved for criminals for in the non-provincial territories of the Empire. It was often used as a statement to those would rebel against the authority of Rome. It was designed to bring a person close to death but prolong the physical agony until death’s final moment.

 

Pilate consents to Jesus’ crucifixion (23:23); the Gospel of Mark records it was the third hour of the day or 9:00 AM. In the span of perhaps 8 hours, Jesus has been arrested, beaten, mocked, dragged off to three different hearings, and now He will be crucified. The Gospel of Matthew records that as part of the crucifixion process, Jesus is scourged (Matthew 27:26). Matthew also records that after scourging Jesus, the soldiers mocked Him by placing a crown of thorns on His head and a reed in His hand. They then beat the head of Jesus with the reed (Mt. 27:30). Can you imagine the thorns piercing His scalp as the reed pounds the thorns into His skin?

Jesus is crucified. Nails pierce His wrists and feet. He is hung between two thieves, one of whom mocks

Jesus. It is now the sixth hour of the day, or noon. It has been twelve excruciating hours for Jesus. Jesus will hang there for three more hours, gasping for air as his scourged back rubs up and down on the wooden cross. It is now the ninth hour of the day or 3:00 PM. Jesus takes his last breath (Luke 23:44-46).

For roughly 15 hours Jesus has endured all sorts of verbal, emotional, and physical abuse. At any point Jesus could have begged out of this torture. He could have called on God the Father to rescue Him (see Matthew 26:53). But He did not. He chose to suffer. He suffered in order carry the punishment for my sins and your sins and the sins of those who would follow Him. Let me ask myself, am I willing to follow the teachings of Jesus? Am I living my life in appreciation and love of Jesus? What will you do with Jesus? If you would like to explore with us the significance of Jesus death for your life please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. me.

 

www.benbrookchurchofchrist.com