Introduction
Heel
bone of Crucified man
Crown
of Thornes plant
Moasic
of Jesus Betrayal
Cross
Mt
Calvary
The account of the crucifixion
of Jesus is an essential part of the redemptive plan of God for mankind.
At the heart of this cruel torture is the salvation of mankind. The practice
of crucifixion was not permitted for Roman Citizens but reserved for criminals
or slaves. The punishment was usually accompanied by stripping the criminal
and beating them with a whip. They then were made to carry their cross
to the place of crucifixion where they would be either nailed or tied to
the crossbeam. Then they were lifted up and dropped into the hole. It was
a death of great pain and agony.
The account of the crucifixion of Christ is after
this pattern. The Gospel writers describe the scourging in Matthew
27:26 and mention the fact that Jesus was
made to carry his own cross in John 19:17.
Then at the place of crucifixion He was stripped naked and nailed to the
cross. Matthew 27:35; John 20:25; Luke 24:39
Jesus was also offered a mixture of wine and
myrrh as a kind of painkiller but Jesus refused to drink it. Mark
15:23 The fact that Jesus actually died on
the cross is supported by the fact that sometimes the soldiers would break
the criminals legs to speed up the death, but when they came to Jesus they
already recognised him as having died. John
19:33
For further study see The
Cross
Meaning of the
Crucifixion
The Gospel writers record
the accounts of the crucifixion but it is in the letters that the meaning
of the Crucifixion is set forth. The authors of the Epistles describe the
death of Christ in terms of blessing and cursing which were the stipulation
of the Covenant. Galatians 3:13
states 'Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made
a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on
a tree:' The Old Testament law required Moses to hand a criminal on
a tree to make it evident that they were under the curse of God. Deuteronomy
21:22-23 To be cursed by God means the opposite
of blessing.
Blessing
In the Old Testament the blessing of God is often
spoken of in terms of the smile or face of God. Because of the holiness
of God and the sinfulness of man, it was impossible to look into the face
of God and live. Habakkuk 1:13
'And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see
me, and live.' Exodus 33:20
Israel's great hope was to see God's face. Genesis
32:30 The great Old Testament benediction
states, 'The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto
thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.'
Numbers 6:25-26; Psalm 67:1
The same blessing is carried over into the New Testament beatitudes. 'Blessed
are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.' Matthew
5:8
Cursing
In the Old Testament to
be cursed of God meant to be cut off from God and separated from his presence
in outer darkness. This idea of cursing was tied up in the Old Testament
sacrificial system. When the High
priest made the sacrifice once a year on the Day of Atonement,
he would place his hands on the head of a goat
and confess Israel's sins over the animal, which symbolised the transference
of the sins of the people to the goat. Then the goat was led outside the
camp away from the presence of God who resided over the Ark
of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies of the Tabernacle.
Here in the wilderness the goat was to remain never to enter the camp again.
The Scapegoat was under the curse of God. Leviticus
16:8-10
Holdy Scapegoat
Jesus performed the function
of High
priest, Lamb and Goat.
Jesus was the scapegoat who was taken outside of Jerusalem to be crucified,
cursed as he hung on the tree and became the atoning sacrifice. Jesus Christ
took the curse of the law upon himself for sinners. Having no sin of his
own he took upon himself human sin, placing himself under the curse of
God and experiencing the wrath of God.
The emphasis is usually placed on the physical
sufferings of Jesus who was beaten, mocked and physically abused, however
as painful as these were it could not compare to the suffering that Jesus
Christ experienced under the wrath of His own Father for sinners. This
is what is means by Propitiation or Atoning Sacrifice. Romans
3:25 Jesus suffered the pain of being cut
off from God. This was something of the nature of the cry 'My God, my
God, why hast thou forsaken me?' Matthew
27:46
Substitutionary
Death
The crucifixion was a substitutionary
death for sinners. Jesus took the punishment that was rightly due to sinners.
Through faith in His death, burial and resurrection sinners can once more
looked unveiled into the face of God and see Him. The great hope of the
Christian is to see God face to face. The crucifixion makes that certain
for the believer. 'Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see
God.' Matthew 5:8
Copyright © 1995 David Graves
& Jane Graves, Electronic Christian Media
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