Bible Biology - Part 7
JESUS' DEATH: THE DYING OF THE LORD JESUS
By Walt Giddings
March 29, 2020
Scripture Reaading: 2 Corinthians 4:10 Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.
What does “always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus” mean? How do we do that? What Scriptures witness to us how to always bear about in the body “the dying of the Lord Jesus?” Did Paul explain it to the Corinthians earlier?
What was Paul’s fixed purpose? 1 Corinthians 2:2 For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
What Scriptures mention the Lord’s death? 1 Corinthians 11:26: For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.
How easy is it to “shew the Lord’s death” if we are ignorant concerning “bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus”? What if we are ignorant of the manner of His Death? Accepting the invitation to partake of Communion is critical). But, the warning is just as dire, as the invitation is ardent.
1 Corinthians 11:29: For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.
Read 1 Corinthians 11:28. What is this self examination in verse twenty eight designed to achieve?
1 Corinthians 11:31-32
31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.
If we are condemned of the world, is that prima facie evidence that we are Christian?
Is it far better to be condemned of the world than condemned with the world?
What does “not discerning the Lord’s body” mean in verse 29? Could a better understanding of the dying of the Lord Jesus help us discern the Lord’s body? Are the emblems of Communion the picture of Christ’s broken body and shed blood?
1 Corinthians 10:16: The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?
1 Corinthians 11:26 reminded us that, as we partake of Communion, “we do shew the Lord’s death till he come.” Is it manifest that the Lord’s death involves his body being broken and his blood shed?
Ignorances
For years I suffered with wrong pictures of the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ in the picture gallery of my mind. The worst picture was three Latin crosses on a hill, instead of the Tree with The Three. God wants his word to hang pictures in the picture gallery of our minds.
Was Jesus Christ convicted of our sin blasphemy? Was that trial and conviction under Roman law or under the Law of Moses? Is God’s judgment for blasphemy stoning? Did Pilate witness to Jesus’ sinless nature? “I find in him no fault at all” (John 18:38). Yet Pilate still “gave sentence that it should be as they required”! Luke 23:24
Murder
Acts 3:14-15 is Peter’s sermon delivered upon the healing of the lame man:
14 But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you;
15 And killed the Prince of Life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.
Have we testimony a murderer was set free, and an innocent man was executed in our place? Is this a Cold Case Homicide? Could we say any man, subjected to capital punishment for crime(s) he never committed, was the victim of a legal homicide? Does it wound our conscience to say the execution of a man for crimes he never committed is lawful?! In Acts 3, look again at verses 14-15. I read: (verse 14), “ ..ye ... (verse 15), ...killed the Prince of Life, whom God hath raised from the dead ...” The Apostle Peter in his second sermon, recorded in The Scriptures, connects “the Prince of Life” to “the Holy One and the Just”. How could the execution of the only man on earth who never sinned be, by any stretch, lawful?
A number of years ago I was trying to reason together with our Lord in these scriptures, and shared my struggle with some brothers. One, a Pastor, told another Pastor, about my questions. They agreed together that they would actively oppose my leading a Bible Study. On one occasion, one made that opposition public in a local coffee and bagel shop to the consternation of a number of unbelievers who could be believers. A few brothers were much kinder, and asked a helpful question: Walter, why would you say that the Death of Jesus Christ was unlawful? That stumped me.
I admit, to my shame, that it took me about a year before I realized that I did not say the Death of Jesus Christ was unlawful. I did question the execution of the only man on earth who never sinned as lawful. The death of Jesus Christ was entirely Lawful! And this common Scripture easily attests to that.
1 Corinthians 5:7... For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us.
Is Kinsman Redemption lawful under The Law of Moses? Is it lawful under Roman law? Did it put Pilate in trouble with his upline?! I began to walk, not stumble.
Meanwhile back at the ranch at Acts chapter three, I was free to pursue the question. From what we have read in Acts chapter three, is it clear that Jesus was murdered? Does verse thirteen strengthen that testimony? Verse thirteen reads, in pertinent part, “...ye delivered up, and denied Him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go.” Pilate, the Roman governor of Judaea, testified he could find no fault in Him.
Who was the greatest Prophet in the Bible? Is the Parable of the Householder and Vineyard Owner, verses thirty three to forty six, a prophecy?
Matthew 21:38-39:
38 But when the husbandmen saw the Son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill Him, and let us seize on His inheritance.
(Who is the heir? Who is the Son? (Verse 33). Who is the “certain householder who planted a vineyard”?)
39 And they caught Him, and cast Him out of the vineyard, and slew him.
Did unjust gain and usurpation of power motivate their conspiracy and murder? Was there a fulfillment of this Prophecy?
Hebrews 13:12 Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.
Compare Matt 21:39 with Heb 13:12. Was Jesus “caught” or arrested? Did they cast the Heir out of the Vineyard, or drive Him outside the gate of the City? Did they slay or murder the Son on that Tree at Calvary? Is Jesus’ Prophecy fulfilled in every respect?
If Jesus was not murdered, then why does this Scripture in Hebrews speak of him in the same with Abel?
Hebrews 12:22; 24:
22 But ye are come unto .....(and there follows an impressive list of inheritances for the children of God that ends with this in verse twenty four)
24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.
Why mention this as better things than the things of Abel, if Jesus was not, like Abel, murdered? Is Jesus’ Death an old murder case? Is this a classic cold case? Is Cain still killing Abel? Did my salvation involve Jesus’ murder? Is Judgment coming on all those involved in Jesus’ murder? Is Judgment coming on all these cold cases? Did the God of our Fathers forgive David of Uriah’s murder? Will the God of my Fathers forgive me of Jesus’ murder?
Did Stephen’s Sermon in Acts chapter seven get him killed? Did they cast him out of the city and stone him at the place of Jesus’ execution?
Acts 7:52 Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? And they have slain them which showed before of the coming of the Just One, of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers.
Do we harbor any doubt that Jesus our Saviour was murdered? Let me show you what troubled my understanding of Jesus’ Death.
What It Is (manna)
John 10:17-18
17 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.
Just when I was used to thinking of Jesus’ Death as murder, I read verse eighteen of John chapter ten: No one taketh (my life) from me, but I lay (my life) down of myself. If no one can take Jesus’ life from Him, who can kill Him outright? (Mark John 10: Back to Acts 3:14-15). If no one can kill Jesus outright, then why does Peter preach in Solomon’s porch at the Temple, .. ye ... killed the [Author] of Life ..?! (Back to Acts 7:52). If no one could kill Jesus outright, why does Stephen in the sermon that got him stoned to death accuse his hearers of murder? What are we supposed to make of this?
Houston, we have a problem.
Does God have a problem with His Word? No! We know God has no problem with His Word. God is the original Promise Keeper. God is not a man that He can lie.
Do we have a problem with His Word? Yes. Does our carnal nature hate God? Do we live in a fallen world? We live in fallen bodies. We suffer from fallen organic brains. Is our mortality an abomination to God? Is that why he has made Jesus Christ the firstfruits of the Resurrection?
When we encounter a set of Scriptures that impact our fallen minds as paradoxical, equivalent, or downright contradictory, are they paradoxical, equivalent, or even contradictory to God’s mind? Of course not! God does not have a fallen mind. We do. We have encountered Acts chapter three with supporting witnesses that Jesus Christ was murdered. We have encountered John chapter ten Jesus’ words testifying “no man taketh (my life) from me.”
What are God’s instructions?
God authored a Library of sixty six Books and had members of His Family set the Words on paper. What library in any village, county, state, or nation have we ever walked into, that failed to post a set of rules for its use? Why on earth would we ever conceive the thought that God would author a Library of Sixty Six Books and fail to post a set of rules for its use? “Let all things be done decently and in order,” 1 Corinthians 14:40.
Where in the Bible do we find posted The Rules for its use? Are the Rules the same as The Laws of witnessing for Christ? Are they The Laws of Bible Study?
Take, for example, the most obvious Law of Bible Study: Truth. The most obvious Law of Bible Study is “Thy Word is Truth.” If some tell us that the Bible was written by man or is man’s interpretation of God, or the Bible has ten (or more) great contradictions, that promptly points us to their need, and to how to witness.
How do we apply the most obvious Law of Bible Study, Truth, to our encounter with Acts chapter three and John chapter ten? Which is it? Was Jesus murdered? Or did Jesus lay down his life? As we apply the most obvious Law of Bible Study, Truth, what thought should occur to us? “Sanctify them through thy Word; thy Word is Truth” John 17:17.
Did Jesus really lay down his life like he said?
John 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
He gave up the Spirit.
Luke 23:46 And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.
What do “commend” and “gave up” mean?
Mark 15:37 And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost.
He gave up the Spirit.
Matthew 27:50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.
Why do all four Gospels say “gave up”, “commend” and “gave up”, “gave up”, and “yielded up”? Here is Jesus, impaled between heaven and earth, the Son of Man lifted up, and in utter agony from what had been done to Him, and all four Gospels state he voluntarily died.
What manner of death is this?! Is this a natural death? Is it our death? Our first earthly father’s sin subjects every member of Adam’s family to death. The first death is inescapable.
Ecclesiastes 8:8 There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death: ...
We compare verse eight of Ecclesiastes 8:8 with verse eighteen of John chapter ten, instanter.
John 10:18 No man taketh [my life] from me, but I lay it down of myself. ...
Does this seem to be in Harmony with Jesus yielding up the Spirit in all four Gospels? The Koine Greek word in this verse, translated “power” has, out of one hundred three occurrences from Matthew unto Revelation, been translated twenty nine times as “authority”. Follow along as I read the remainder of verse eighteen with this other translation to give the depth and sense of meaning.
John 10:18 ... I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it again. ...
Is this “authority” or “power” given to Adam man?
Ecclesiastes 8:8 There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit....
As direct lineal descendants of Adam, we have not this power. Should we in this fallen and dangerous world, dodge every invitation to our premature demise, we die on God’s time, not ours. Our death is evil, or ordinary and natural.
Again from John 10:18 ... This commandment have I received of my Father.
Is this then a Godly authority? Did the Father delegate this authority to the Holy One and the Just (Acts 3:14), who was at once the Son of God and the Son of Adam, “of whom ye have been now the betrayers and the murderers"? (Acts 7:52).
The word “power” in verse eight is translated twice from the same Hebrew word, having the sense of potentate, used by the Author to convey the sense of lawful rulership and matches the use of the Greek word translated power in the sense of authority in John chapter ten. The subject matter “power” is the same in both Hebrew and Greek verses.
Ecclesiastes 8:8 ... neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is nodischarge in that war; ...
God did not give the Holy Spirit to The Christ by measure. (John 3:34). If we are His, do we have the Holy Spirit by measure? (Rom 8:9). We have no authority in the day of death and we have no release in that war: is the first death inevitable?
Only Jesus in his dual nature, Very God of Very God and Very man of Very man, had power over The Spirit to retain the Spirit. Is this but one more witness to his Deity?
Back to our original question : Which is it? Was Jesus murdered? Or did Jesus voluntarily die? In applying the most obvious Law of Bible Study, Truth, what thought should occur to us?
That is correct. It is not “or”. It is “and”. Jesus was murdered and he voluntarily died. The very act of applying this most obvious Law of Bible Study, Truth, tells us both of these claims are the Truth. To understand how we can truthfully say he was murdered, when He voluntarily died, we must study the Scriptures that reveal what was done to him on that Tree at Calvary. Do we see the need for this lesson?
There is a Golgotha witness to the death of Jesus Christ. He was there on Calvary hill. In 1900 plus years his testimony has never been impeached! The base motives for lying are the same as the vulgar motives for the commission of any crime. Carnal nature is predictable. Those motives are (1) unlawful gain (2) unlawful lusts of the flesh, and (3) unlawful lust for power. This onsite witness had none of these motives. He was as disinterested as any witness could possibly be. He was above all suspicion. His calling, his position in life uniquely qualified him to give this kind of testimony. His record is unimpeachable. [Three marks].
Matthew 27:54 Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watch ing Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.
Mark 15:39 And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.
Luke 23:47 Now when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous man.
In everyone of these three accounts, the Centurion witnessed Jesus dying. Three of the four evangelists reported his testimony as a record made from first hand knowledge. He was there. He witnessed Jesus’ death. Why is the Centurion’s testimony so significant?
We examine two things: (1) the office of centurion, and (2) how a Roman soldier becomes a centurion. The term centurion comes from the same root word as century. The seminal meaning is one hundred. The office of centurion is the command of a band of 100 men: 80 Roman soldiers trained and equipped to close with and kill or capture the enemy at a moment’s command; and 20 men garrisoned for a year of training to make them trustworthy in combat and placement in one of the four phalanxes with their fellow soldiers. Combat losses meant that units were never at full strength. The design of the century under the command of the centurion taught every soldier his place and purpose.
The selection of a soldier to command 100 men in combat was brutally practical. The highest ranking soldier surviving the decimation of his century in combat was appointed the new commander of the combat unit receiving replacements. The theory is obvious: survivors train the replacements in how they survived. Their motivation is pure grief over the loss of their friends in arms.
A Roman Centurion has witnessed the death of his fellow soldiers in every way conceivable: spearing, thrusting, slicing, hacking, bludgeoning. He has witnessed the agonies of their deaths: the gasping for air, the wallowing in their blood, the contorted writhings of their unbearable pain. He has seen the look of fear or the look of resignation on their faces, companions of their stark realization that in moments they will die. Centurions carry out the commands of Executions, even the Execution of Jesus Christ the Righteous. Is the Centurion a stranger to any manner of death?!
Was this battle hardened Roman Centurion, a commander of executions, astonished at the manner of Jesus’ Death? What was so remarkable about “the dying of the Lord Jesus” that 3 Evangelists recorded his awed response? Scripture tells us that Jesus was reckoned among the transgressors. Was this just another common sentence carried out on a common malefactor, another bad guy getting his just desserts, another evil taken from our midst? Did the manner of Jesus’ Death move the Centurion to declare him a righteous man, to pronounce him the Son of God? Did he have any motive to lie? Are the three Evangelists suspects, pronounced guilty by accusation? Do the Scriptures warn against railing accusations? What possible motive did they have to lie? Shall we shortly show John was elsewhere at the moment? To understand the Centurion’s motive for amazement and awe, we must study the Passion of the Christ, the Dying of the Lord Jesus.
Jesus’ captors repeatedly spat upon Him, struck and smote Him, buffeted Him, plucked out the hairs of his beard, and scourged Him. If this had been done to us, would we say we had had a full night and day already? No one recovers from a scourging in one day. But even Bible command forbids exceeding thirty nine stripes. The purpose is discipline, not disablement. The Gospel reports that Pilate was still attempting to prevent Jesus’ execution after the scourging in John chapter nineteen. In our time, we still pay lip service to the Eighth Amendment prohibiting cruel and unusual punishment. There would be a hue and cry if someone was forced to endure what Jesus endured as a prelude to execution. The rest of us might be “not guilty”, but Christ was innocent. (Hebrews 4:15, 2 Cor 5:21.) He was the perfect neighbor. Why would the world torment and execute the perfect neighbor?
One of the two pastors I mentioned earlier, said to me with an air of great authority, “He was walking hamburger.”
The Passion on The Tree
Is there evidence that Jesus Christ was impaled hamburger? Is there evidence that Jesus was disfigured with every soft tissue injury known to man after he was crucified. Is there evidence showing his visage was marred while he hung between heaven and earth on that almond tree at Calvary? [Exodus 25:31-40].
Did the prophet Moses speak with God face to face?
Deuteronomy 21:21-23
21 And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, thathe die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.
22 And if a man have commit ted a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree:
23 His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.
Is The Law of Moses fulfilled prophecy concerning Jesus’ First Coming? (Verse 21). “And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die.” When did they stone Jesus? Did we see any stoning as part of His Suffering before they ..... crucified him .....
Matthew 27:35, Mark 15:25, Luke 23:33, John 19:20.
Is stoning usually fatal? Did Jesus die impaled on that Tree at Calvary? When then would the men of the city stone Jesus? When was there even an opportunity? Three of the four Gospels record an event, known to us as The Reviling of Jesus on The Cross, at “the place.”
Mark 27:39 And they that passed by reviled Him, wagging their heads,
Mark 15: 29 And they that passed by railed on Him, wagging their heads, .....
Luke 23: 35 And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also with themderided Him, saying .....
John 19:20 This title then read many of the Jews: for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city: and it was written in Hebrew and Greek and Latin.
Is Stoning the Judgment for Blasphemy?
John gives us no testimony of this event. Why?
John 19:25-27
25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.
26 When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple stand ing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!
27 Then saith he to the disciple Behold thy mother ! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.
There is much said here in few words. Succession of family responsibility is Jesus’ tactful announcement of, and resignation to his own death. Comparison with the other Gospels shows us that this event occurred at or shortly after the third hour of the day, the hour of His Crucifixion. The other three Gospels mention the women being at a different location. [3 Marks]
Matthew 27:55-56
55 And many women were there beholding afar off, which followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto Him:
56 Among which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee’s children.
Mark 15:40-41
40 There were also women look ing on afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome;
41 (Who also, when He was in Galilee, followed Him, and ministered unto Him;) and many other women which came up with Him unto Jerusalem.
Luke 23: 48-49
48 And all the people that came together to that sight, beholding the things which were done, smote their breasts, and returned.
49 And all his acquaintance, and the women that followed Him from Galilee, stood afar off, beholding these things.
Some suggest that John placing the women near the Cross, while three other Gospels place them “afar off”, is one of the Ten Errors of the Authorized Version 1611. Do they forget one of the major Laws of Bible Study: Harmony? Each Scripture is in perfect harmony with every other Scripture. Are the Four Evangelists suspects to be prosecuted in court? Or should we do discovery, and investigate what event, or even horror, moved these devoted women “afar off”? Was the Apostle John with Jesus’ mother? Was John a first hand witness to the reviling?
What about that long parade of the “nigh” and the “afar off” that reviled Jesus Christ from the 3rd to the 6th hour. (Isaiah 52:14). How brutal was that? How cruel was that Reviling?
Isaiah 52:14 As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any husbandman, and his form more than the sons of Adam.
How did his visage and his form become so marred?
Psalms 38:10-11
10 My heart panteth, my strength faileth me: as for the light of mine eyes, it also is gone from me.
11 My loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my sore; and my kinsmen stand afar off.
Isaiah 53:4-5
4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastise ment of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
The end of verse 6 reads: “The LORD hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” The end of verse 8 reads: “For the transgression of my people was He stricken.” The end of verse 12 reads: “And he was numbered with the transgressors; and He bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”
With the context of Isaiah 53, we have witness that the Prophet Isaiah saw Jesus on The Cross. And he saw the parade of people revile Him!
We bear in mind that the use of language changes over time. Words that had one meaning, acquire another. The English speaking people of 1611 understood their King James English. Remember “the King James Bible”, contemporary with Shakespeare, was published under the command of a direct lineal descendant of the kings of the Sceptre Tribe Judah. And it was published in the time period historians call The Flower of our Native Tongue. It is painfully obvious, we did not learn to speak and write the King James English of 1611.
To have a better opportunity to understand more fully what the parade of people reviling Christ did to Him, I am going to engage in a “rephrasing”. As clearly as I can say it, it is not my intent to substitute words for the King James text. In the words of Noah Webster, 1833, the translation is “sublime” and “poetic”. There has never been a more artistic rendering of God’s Holy Word in our native tongue. My only intent is to explore the meaning of some of the words that have altered meanings for us today. With one exception this rephrasing consists of alternate translations for the same Hebrew word found in other places in the Hebrew Scriptures. Follow with me in verses 4-5.
4 Surely he hath borne our diseases, and carried our pains: yet we did regard Him plagued, slaughtered by God, and chastized.
5 But He was polluted for our rebel lion, He was battered to pieces for our punishments: the rebuke of our peace was upon Him; and with His black and blue marks we are made whole.
What did the Revilers do to batter Jesus to pieces?
Psalms 22:14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.
Who said this? Does the Text tell us this is a Psalm of David? Is the answer in verse one? “My God, my God why has thou forsaken me ?”.....
Is this the ninth hour? Is this the Greater David speaking? Has He endured the crucifying for almost six hours? When Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required, did the Revilers stone him as a blasphemer? Impaled, He was a stationary target. He was easy to hit with small sharp cutting stones. For the first three hours did they render him nearly unrecognizable as a man?
Psalms chapter 22:15-17
15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.
16 For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me; they pierced my hands and my feet.
17 I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.
“I may tell all my bones..” can be translated: I can inventory all my bones. Why are all his bones visible through His flesh? “They pierced my hands and my feet” (v. 16) witnesses to the crucifixion of the Greater David.
Verse 15: “Thou hast brought me into the dust of death” is a terrifying Scripture.
I missed its significance for years. Are we guilty of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ?
Now at the ninth hour of the day, is He almost ready to cry aloud, “It is finished(!)?
While hanging on that Tree at Calvary between heaven and earth did “There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit: neither hath he power in the day of death,” (Ecclesiastes 8:8) apply to Him? In the light of John chapter ten, “No man taketh (my life) from me, but I lay it down of myself,” is it ludicrous to answer yes?
This raises an important question, which for years I did not know to ask: How long did our Saviour hang between heaven and earth in a torn, disfigured body that by natural means could no longer house spirit and soul? There is no record in that six hours that He was ever unconcious. His only recorded relief, prior to death, was when he said “I thirst,” and received the sour wine. Is this why “He suffered as no Adam has ever suffered?”
All three evangelists record the centurion as a witness to the manner of Jesus’ death: yielding or giving up the Spirit. Had the centurion ever seen such a death?
How long did Jesus hang on the Tree in a body void of any natural capacity to house spirit and soul?
John 19:14 And it was the preparation of the Passover and about the sixth hour: ...
Is it clear to us, the Revilers who stoned Christ on The Tree had another appointment at about the sixth hour of the day? This is our modern day twelve noon. According to the Law of Moses The Passover Lamb is killed at the ninth hour of the day, at our three o’clock in the afternoon. Those living near Jerusalem (“the nigh”) and those descendants of the House of Judah visiting Jerusalem, and the descendants of the House of Israel “scattered abroad” (the “afar off”) made haste as the Revilers of the Son of God to stone God in the flesh for blasphemy in the name of Moses. How ironic they hurried off to keep or remember The Passover?
Was Jesus impaled hamburger? When else could He have been so marred or disfigured, brought “into the dust of death”, and all his bones show through his flesh?
What is there about any manner of death a combat veteran like the Centurion would fail to understand? What would surprise him about the execution of one of three malefactors? Why was he so in awe of Jesus’ death that he would say, “Truly this man was the Son of God” and “Certainly this was a righteous man”? (John 10:18). Looking at this verse, let us answer these questions. Did the Centurion see that Jesus laid down his life, that no man took Jesus’ life from Him? Did he see Jesus’ own word, “I lay it down of myself,” fulfilled?
If you or I had to suffer like this, what kind of writhing agony would this be? In how much of this mind crippling pain would we have remained sane or even conscious? Did Stephen take this long to die of Stoning?
Maybe you think this is crazy. You have company.
John 10:20 And many of them said, He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye him?
Did they call him crazy for this prophecy? Did Jesus die “without mercy” under Moses’ Law? Did Jesus spend at least three hours or more in a physical body rendered incapable of housing spirit and soul? How tortuous would that agony be? Was the Full Wrath of God’s Judgment fallen squarely upon the Son of God who willingly took our place? Would those guilty of wrecking Jesus’ body be under Judgment? Did our Sin Debt require the murder of Jesus? Are we Guilty? Are we pardoned?
2 Corinthians 5:11 Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; ...
Did our redemption demand his murder? Are we guilty of the body and blood of the One who died in our place? (Verse 21). “For he hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin.” (Galatians 3:13). “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.” (1 Thess. 5:9-10). “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.” (1 John 3:16). “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”
If we fail of the covering of the Blood of the Everlasting Covenant .....
If we refuse him how much Wrath will the God of our Fathers pour upon us for the murder of His Son?!!!
Will we, as often as we eat this bread, and drink this cup, show the Lord’s death till He come? Will we always bear about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus?
