Holy Week: Friday, April 11, 32 A.D.

After Jesus and His disciples shared the Passover meal, they set out for the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. The hour had come for the Son of Man to be betrayed into the hands of sinners.

Jesus left His disciples in the garden while He went a little further to pray. He asked them to remain awake and to pray. Jesus prayed three times for God to find another way to save the world from sin. Three times God’s answer was the same: there is no other way to remove the sin of the world except by the cross of Christ. Each of those three times Jesus’ prayed, He returned to find His disciples asleep. In one sense, you couldn’t really blame them. It was very late, probably around midnight. But in another sense, as we will see shortly, Jesus’ closest friends could not stay awake for a few hours and be on alert–praying and watching–but His enemies could stay up all night to accuse Him.

The Passion of the King: The Jewish Trials

So the Roman cohort and the commander and the officers of the Jews, arrested Jesus and bound Him, and led Him to Annas first; for he was father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was the high priest that year. Now Caiaphas was the one who advised the Jews that it was expedient for one man to die on behalf of the people. –John 18:12-14.

It must have been an imposing site to see 300-600 Roman soldiers escorting a bound Jesus together with a dispatch of the temple guards. I don’t think any movie portrayal has effectively shown this scene. As a result, I think we miss what it must have looked like, this large group of soldiers with torches and lanterns marching to Annas’ house. Also, most movie depictions only focus on Caiaphas. Rarely do we ever see that Jesus stood before both Annas and Caiaphas. Typically, all of Annas’ questioning gets attributed to Caiaphas. This is Jesus’ first Jewish trial–the first of six total trials.

Simon Peter was following Jesus, and so was another disciple. Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and entered with Jesus into the court of the high priest, but Peter was standing at the door outside. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the doorkeeper, and brought in Peter. Then the slave-girl who kept the door said to Peter, “You are not also one of this man’s disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.” –John 18:15-17.

Here Peter denies Jesus for the first time. We can’t know exactly how this transpired, but from the text it would appear that Peter did not hesitate when asked by the slave-girl–a girl most likely between the ages of 10-13–if he was a disciple of Jesus. This comes within hours of him telling Jesus that he would die for him! As we said, Peter’s strong suit is usually courage. But here we see him failing miserably as being courageous.

Now the slaves and the officers were standing there, having made a charcoal fire, for it was cold and they were warming themselves; and Peter was also with them, standing and warming himself. –John 18:18.

It’s such a vivid picture. Here is Peter, just having denied His Lord and now standing apart from Him in the cold. Being away from Christ will always cause you to grow cold.

The high priest then questioned Jesus about His disciples, and about His teaching. Jesus answered him, “I have spoken openly to the world; I always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews come together; and I spoke nothing in secret. Why do you question Me? Question those who have heard what I spoke to them; these know what I said.” When He had said this, one of the officers standing nearby struck Jesus, saying, “Is that the way You answer the high priest?” Jesus answered him, “If I have spoken wrongly, testify of the wrong; but if rightly, why do you strike Me?” –John 18:19-23.

I’ve always wondered what this one officer will say to Jesus on judgment day when he stands before Him, once again, in His glory? Little did the officer know that night that he actually struck the face of the true High Priest!

Those who had seized Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were gathered together. But Peter was following Him at a distance as far as the courtyard of the high priest, and entered in, and sat down with the officers to see the outcome. Now the chief priests and the whole Council kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus, so that they might put Him to death. They did not find any, even though many false witnesses came forward. But later on two came forward, and said, “This man stated, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and to rebuild it in three days.’” –Matthew 26:57-61.

We pick up the narrative in Matthew and see Peter still following Jesus at a distance. He has already denied Him to Annas’ slave-girl. Now Jesus is before Caiaphas–Annas’ son-in-law–and so far, it’s not going well for the prosecution. They finally get two witnesses who bring a charge, that is at this point, is now three years old (John 2:19). Jesus, of course, was not speaking about the temple building, He was speaking of His own resurrection!

The high priest stood up and said to Him, “Do You not answer? What is it that these men are testifying against you?” But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest said to Him, “I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God.” Jesus said to him, “You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has blasphemed! What further need to we have of witnesses? Behold, you have now heard the blasphemy; what do you think?” They answered, “He deserves death!” –Matthew 26:62-66.

Jesus remained silent during His trial under Caiaphas:

He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth. –Isaiah 53:7.

However, the one question Jesus could not keep silent for was the response to whether He was the Christ. Jesus could not deny His divinity. In response, Caiaphas tears his robe. This was illegal under Jewish law.

“The priest who is the highest among his brothers, on whose head the anointing oil has been poured and who has been consecrated to wear the garments, shall not uncover his head nor tear his clothes.” –Leviticus 21:10.

We can gather from the text that Caiaphas was wearing his priestly garments because he was in a position to adjure Jesus under oath.

Then they spat in His face and beat Him with their fists; and others slapped Him, and said, “Prophesy to us, You Christ; who is the one who hit You?” –Matthew 26:67-68.

This is vividly depicted in Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ, and was also illegal under Jewish law. This is the end of Jesus’ second Jewish trial and the second of six total trials.

Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him “You are not also one of His disciples, are you?” He denied it, and said, “I am not.” One of the slaves of the high priest, being a relative of the one whose ear Peter cut off, said, “Did I not see you in the garden with Him?” Peter then denied it again, and immediately a rooster crowed. –John 18:25-27.

Jesus’ sorrowful prophecy concerning Peter, only hours ago, was now fulfilled. At this point, Peter runs away and weeps bitterly, which is actually the proper response to sin. As a result, Jesus willing forgives Peter and later, Jesus gives Peter a three-fold opportunity to reestablish his love for Jesus in response to his three-fold denial. It’s a beautiful picture of Jesus’ loving, gracious and abundant forgiveness.

At this point, it is most likely somewhere around 3:00 A.M. Jesus’ enemies have been up all night trying Jesus–also illegal under Jewish law.

Now when morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people conferred together against Jesus to put Him to death; and they bound Him, and led Him away and delivered Him to Pilate the governor. Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” But they said, “What is that to us? See to that yourself!” And he threw the pieces of silver into the temple sanctuary and departed; and he went away and hanged himself. –Matthew 27:1-2.

Finally, the third of Jesus’ Jewish trials concludes by the Sanhedrin formally passing sentence on Jesus: death. The Jews had no authority to execute being under the Roman government. Only the Romans had power to execute. This was prophesied about 1,800 years before by Jacob. Jacob prophesied to each of his sons about the future, each of his sons being one of the future tribes of Israel. When he came to Judah–the tribe of Jesus–he had something very provocative to say:

“The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes, and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.” –Genesis 49:10.

The Jewish Rabbis understood “the scepter” to mean the tribal identity or authority. “Shiloh” has always been understood to be the Messiah to come. The Jews, even during their Babylonian captivity, never lost their “scepter.” Part of what this meant for them is their ability to pass capital punishment or death sentences. During the time they were under Roman occupation, something that had not occurred before happened. Josephus–in his writings in Antiquities 17:13–says that some time around 6-7 A.D., Herod Archelaus, son of King Herod, was dethroned and banished. He was replaced, but not by another Jewish king. Instead, Rome put a Roman procurator (Caponius) in place and removed the Sanhedrin’s ability to pass death sentences: the scepter had been removed! The Jews wept because in their minds, the scepter had departed but the Messiah had not come. What they did not realize is that there was a little boy growing up in the town of Nazareth named Yeshua bar Yosef: Jesus son of Joseph, the Messiah. Shiloh had come!

The Passion of the King: The Roman Trials

Then they lead Jesus from Caiaphas into the Praetorium, and it was early; and they themselves did not enter into the Praetorium so that they would not be defiled, but might eat the Passover. –John 18:28.

The hypocrisy here is amazing. They were so concerned about their ritual law that they would not enter the Roman Praetorium. Yet they conducted an illegal trial on trumped up charges and were handing over one of their brothers to their hated Roman occupiers!

Therefore Pilate went out to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this Man?” They answered and said to him, “If this Man were not an evildoer, we would have not delivered Him to you.” So Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves, and judge Him according to your law.” The Jews said to him, “We are not permitted to put anyone to death,” to fulfill the word of Jesus which He spoke, signifying by what kind of death He was about to die. –John 18:29-32.

It starts off as a cat-and-mouse game. The leading officials of the Sanhedrin were often just puppets of the Roman government. This would explain their approach.

Therefore Pilate entered again into the Praetorium, and summoned Jesus and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Are you saying this on your own initiative, or did others tell you about Me?” Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests delivered You to me; what have You done?” Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.” Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews and said to them, “I find no guilt in Him” –John 18:33-38.

Effectively, this now ends Jesus’ first Roman trial. What was the verdict? Innocent! This was the fourth of six total trials. The first three Jewish trials, each verdict was guilty. At this point, under Roman law, Pilate should have released Jesus and the whole thing would have been over. However, the Jews weren’t happy with this verdict so they insist that Jesus has been stirring up problems all over Judea as far away as Galilee. This would turn on a light bulb in Pilate’s head.

But when Pilate heard it, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. And when he learned that He belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who himself also was in Jerusalem at that time. –Luke 23:6-7.

Herod turned out to be happy to see Jesus because he “had wanted to see Him for a long time, because he had been hearing about Him and was hoping to see some sign” (Luke 23:8). Herod was not interested in Jesus as Lord. He was interested in seeing Jesus perform miracles as some kind of magic worker. The whole scene ends up being a joke to Herod. As a result, he has his soldiers mock Jesus and dress Him in a purple robe as some sort of mock king and send Him back to Pilate.

This concludes Jesus’ second Roman trial. The verdict: not guilty. It’s now the fifth trial Jesus has been through.

When Jesus arrives back at the Praetorium, Pilate must have either been surprised or possibly even annoyed. He tries to get out from under this by invoking a custom of releasing a prisoner during Passover. Instead of Pilate confirming his prior sentence, he tries this plea bargain. He asks the Jews if they want him to release Jesus to them.

So they cried out again, saying, “Not this Man, but Barabbas.” Now Barabbas was a robber. –John 18:40.

Can you imagine this scene? It’s parallels can even been seen today. They were rejecting the Son of God and asking for a robber to be released!

I have to credit–again–Chuck Missler for this insight into Barabbas’ interesting and provocative name. Even with a basic knowledge of Hebrew you can glimpse into what his name means: “Bar” means “son of.” “Abbas” or “Abba” means “father.” Barabbas’ name means “son of the father.” Who’s father? If you read John 8:38 you will get your answer. Actually, all of John 8 answers that question.

Chuck also describes “The Gospel According to Barabbas.” You could call this “The Gospel According to You and Me!” From The Agony of Love:

1. Barabbas stood under the righteous condemnation of the law.
2. Barabbas knew the One who was to take his cross and take his place was innocent.
3. Barabbas knew that Jesus Christ was for him a true substitute.
4. Barabbas knew that he had done nothing to merit going free while another took his place.
5. Barabbas knew that Christ’s death was for him perfectly efficacious.

Pilate then took Jesus and scourged Him. And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and put a purple robe on Him; and they began to come up to Him and say, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and to give Him slaps in the face. –John 19:1-3.

There is no way these Roman soldiers knew that they were placing upon Jesus’ head, the symbol of the curse. When God pronounced the judgment on Adam and Eve God said:

“Cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you.” –Genesis 3:17.

Pilate, at this point, was trying to appease the people. The last thing he wanted was a riot. He figured that if he demonstrated that Jesus had suffered enough he would be able to release Him and be done with this.

Jesus then came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold, the man!” So when the chief priests and the officers saw Him, they cried out saying, “Crucify , crucify, crucify!” Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves and crucify Him, for I find no guilt in Him.” –John 19:5-6.

This would effectively conclude the third Roman trial and the sixth total. The verdict: not guilty!

At this point, the Jews told Pilate that under their law, Jesus deserves death because “He made Himself out to be the Son of God.”

Therefore, when Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid; and he entered into the Praetorium again and said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. –John 19:8-9.

When Pilate heard the Jews say that Jesus “made Himself out to be the Son of God,” you have to understand that Pilate was a pagan, Roman governor. That statement, from his reaction of being afraid, is indicative of the Roman mindset. The Romans considered their Caesars to be gods. The possibility of a god-man was very real to the mind of a Roman. That’s why when Pilate takes Jesus back in, he asks Him “Where are You from?” In other words, “Who are you, really?” This question would have already been planted by Jesus when He told Pilate earlier “My kingdom is not of this world.”

The last official testimony of Christ before being executed come in response to Pilate’s question to Jesus about his authority to release Him or have Him crucified:

Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.” –John 19:11.

Here Jesus is apparently referring to Caiaphas. Pilate seeks a way to release Jesus. It all comes down to a choice between Jesus and the world at large. Pilate chose…poorly.

The Passion of the King: The Crucifixion

The order of events that follow are outlined in Chuck Missler’s The Agony of Love:

1. Jesus carries His cross. –John 19:17.
2. Simon of Cyrene is substituted due to Jesus’ physical exhaustion. –Luke 23:26.
3. Offer of a stupefying drink to deaden the pain: refused. –Matthew 27:34.
4. Nailed between two thieves. –John 19:18-24.
5. “Father, forgive them.” –Luke 23:34.
6. Jews mock Jesus. –Matthew 27:39-43.
7. One thief rails at Jesus; the other receives salvation. –Luke 23:39-43.
8. “Today you will be with me in paradise.” –Luke 23:43.
9. “Woman, Behold thy son.” –John 19:26,27.
10. Darkness. –Matthew 27:45.
11. “My God…” –Matthew 27:46.
12. “I Thirst.” –John 19:28.
13. “It is finished.” –John 19:30.
14. “Father, into thy hands…” –Luke 23:46.
15. Our Lord dismisses His spirit. –John 19:30.

The Passion of the King: The Burial

Then the Jews, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. –John 19:31.

Part of what makes crucifixion the most painful way to die, is the constant struggle to breathe. When the body hangs on the cross, the lungs cannot exhale properly. So one would have to push up using their feet and legs–feet that are nailed to the post–to take the pressure off the lungs and arms. But then that pain becomes unbearable and the body slumps. It is literally a vicious cycle. To hasten death–as is what the Jews are requesting–the soldiers would break the legs of the victim so they could not push up, thus they would die quicker…but no less painful.

So the soldiers came, and broke the legs of the first man and of the other who was crucified with Him; but coming to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. –John 19:32-34.

This passage is interesting because the soldier did not follow the orders they were given! Here again they were acting out prophecy that they could not have known. Also, the blood and the water that flowed: this is irrefutable proof that Christ died. He died of a broken heart.

For these things came to pass to fulfill the Scripture, “Not a bone of Him shall be broken.” And again another Scripture says, “They shall look on Him whom they pierced.” After these things Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate granted permission. So he came and took away His body. Nicodemus, who had first come to Him by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. Therefore because of the Jewish day of preparation, since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there. –John 19:36-42.

Good Friday, April 11, 32 A.D., around 3:00 P.M. our sin was paid for. The veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom: no longer was there a barrier between us and the Holy of Holies. Because our sin had been dealt with at the cross, we can now enter in to a whole new relationship with God the Father, through His Beloved Son, Jesus the Christ! Our true High Priest!

Take time today and spend it meditating on how much God loves you. He willing went through the events of this day 2,000 years ago because He wants to spend eternity with you and me! Tomorrow we’ll take a look at Psalm 22 as we wait to celebrate Jesus’ glorious resurrection on Sunday.

Tetelestai!

May He Increase!