This year we have been covering The Gospel According to Matthew. We have covered the first twenty-seven chapters of Matthew. The last four months have each resulted in a record high number of visits to this blog. Again, thank you to all who have contributed to the discussion in the comments section making this blog unique!
Before we look at a very brief summary of Matthew chapter 27, let's put this chapter in context...
We have seen one way to look at Matthew is according to the five-fold ministry...
Matthew chapters 1-4 showed Jesus as the Ultimate Apostle. He began the Ultimate Ministry.
Matthew chapters 5-7 showed Jesus as the Ultimate Teacher. We have seen Jesus did NOT stray from the blatant doctrine He presented during these three chapters.
Matthew chapters 8-15 showed Jesus as the Ultimate Evangelist. The masses were drawn to Him.
Matthew chapters 16-25 showed Jesus as the Ultimate Prophet. He prepared His disciples for His departure.
Matthew chapter 26 showed Jesus as the Ultimate Pastor. He had taken care of His Flock and they were ready to become pastors themselves.
From the beginning of this year's Series, we stated EVERYONE referred to Jesus as Rabbi. He was training twelve students to become Rabbi's. Matthew chapter 26 documented the beginning of Jesus' suffering...which means the time when the disciples would "graduate" was also nearing.
Matthew chapter 27 documented Jesus' suffering through His death. We used the other gospel accounts to piece together the timeline and possible PERSPECTIVES on the events that occurred at that time. Specifically, we used Mark chapter 15, Luke chapter 23, and John chapters 18 and 19.
We found the events fulfilled several prophecies including prophecies from:
Zechariah chapters 11 and 12
Isaiah chapters 52 and 53
Psalms 22, 31, 34, and 69
Matthew chapters 12, 16, and 20
John chapter 2
SUMMARY MATTHEW CHAPTER 27
The rough outline of Matthew chapter 27 is:
Jesus was brought to Pilate
Jesus did NOT defend Himself
Pilate repeatedly attempted to NOT crucify Jesus
Jesus' suffering began with mocking and scourging
Jesus and Simon carry His cross
People railed at Jesus while He was on the cross
A Malefactor crucified with Jesus asks for mercy
Jesus died on the cross
Jesus was buried in haste because of the High Sabbaths
In the previous post, we saw that Jesus was buried for three days and three nights. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus buried Jesus in haste. The women were going to complete the burial but had to wait for the two High Sabbath days and the weekly sabbath. The women had to wait three days and three nights...
Tomorrow, we will begin the final chapter of The Gospel According to Matthew...
Next Post
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Monday, November 29, 2010
Matthew 27:62-66
This year we have been covering The Gospel According to Matthew. In the previous post, we covered Matthew 27:55-61. Here is the summary:
I believe Jesus was crucified on Wednesday. I believe He died at sundown...which is Thursday. This would fulfill Jesus' prophecy (from Matthew 12:39-40) of being in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.
Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus were members of the Sanhedrin and secret disciples of Jesus who did NOT consent to His death. They buried Jesus' body in haste.
I believe He was buried in haste because of the High Sabbath. I believe the women were not allowed to complete His burial for THREE DAYS because of the Law.
Today, we will finish Matthew chapter 27...
MATTHEW 27:62-66
"62 Now on the morrow, which is the day after the Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees were gathered together unto Pilate,
63 saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said while he was yet alive, After three days I rise again.
64 Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest haply his disciples come and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: and the last error will be worse than the first.
65 Pilate said unto them, Ye have a guard: go, make it as sure as ye can.
66 So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, the guard being with them."
(The day after Jesus' crucifixion, the Pharisees asked Pilate to put guards around the sepulchre for THREE DAYS. The reason? The Pharisees remembered that Jesus stated He would rise again in three days. This brings up an interesting point? Why didn't the disciples remember this DURING that same moment?)
(I believe the Pharisees remembered it out of fear. They didn't want the already bad situation to get worse. The disciples would have had to remember it out of hope...out of faith. However, we have seen the difference between experiential faith and understanding faith.)
(Experential faith is easy to get...and easy to lose. The disciples had faith as long as Jesus was NOT in trouble. However, when Jesus was crucified, it appeared FROM EXPERIENCE, that Jesus was NOT the Son of God. Everyone going by experiential faith, NOW had faith Jesus was gone for good. Everyone who had faith based on understanding LOOKED FORWARD to Jesus' resurrection.)
(Notice, even though the Pharisees understood Jesus stated He would rise again, the Pharisees did NOT have faith in Jesus' resurrection. First, they didn't LOOK FORWARD to Jesus' resurrection...they feared it. Second, they didn't believe Jesus would rise again...they believed the disciples would FAKE Jesus' resurrection.)
(Again, this passage showed the Jews understood that Jesus would rise after three days and three nights. Jesus' crucifixion was not on a Friday.)
(Notice, Pilate didn't take responsibility. He gave the Pharisees a guard and gave them permission to do whatever they wanted. This was totally consistent with what we've seen from Pilate.)
(A guard in this context was also referred to as a watch. It consisted of four soldiers which were changed every three hours.)
(The cave was sealed with a cord stretched over the stone and an official seal in clay was fastened to each end of the cord so any break in the sepulchre would have been detected.)
(The other gospel accounts added nothing to today's passage from Matthew's gospel account.)
SUMMARY
The Pharisees remembered Jesus' claim to rise three days later. The disciples did not.
The Pharisees remembered this out of fear. They did not want an already bad situation to become worse. Pilate did not want to take responsibility. He gave the Pharisees a guard and told them to do whatever they wanted.
We have completed Matthew chapter 27, Mark chapter 15, Luke chapter 23, and John chapter 19.
Tomorrow, we will summarize these chapters...
Next Post
I believe Jesus was crucified on Wednesday. I believe He died at sundown...which is Thursday. This would fulfill Jesus' prophecy (from Matthew 12:39-40) of being in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.
Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus were members of the Sanhedrin and secret disciples of Jesus who did NOT consent to His death. They buried Jesus' body in haste.
I believe He was buried in haste because of the High Sabbath. I believe the women were not allowed to complete His burial for THREE DAYS because of the Law.
Today, we will finish Matthew chapter 27...
MATTHEW 27:62-66
"62 Now on the morrow, which is the day after the Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees were gathered together unto Pilate,
63 saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said while he was yet alive, After three days I rise again.
64 Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest haply his disciples come and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: and the last error will be worse than the first.
65 Pilate said unto them, Ye have a guard: go, make it as sure as ye can.
66 So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, the guard being with them."
(The day after Jesus' crucifixion, the Pharisees asked Pilate to put guards around the sepulchre for THREE DAYS. The reason? The Pharisees remembered that Jesus stated He would rise again in three days. This brings up an interesting point? Why didn't the disciples remember this DURING that same moment?)
(I believe the Pharisees remembered it out of fear. They didn't want the already bad situation to get worse. The disciples would have had to remember it out of hope...out of faith. However, we have seen the difference between experiential faith and understanding faith.)
(Experential faith is easy to get...and easy to lose. The disciples had faith as long as Jesus was NOT in trouble. However, when Jesus was crucified, it appeared FROM EXPERIENCE, that Jesus was NOT the Son of God. Everyone going by experiential faith, NOW had faith Jesus was gone for good. Everyone who had faith based on understanding LOOKED FORWARD to Jesus' resurrection.)
(Notice, even though the Pharisees understood Jesus stated He would rise again, the Pharisees did NOT have faith in Jesus' resurrection. First, they didn't LOOK FORWARD to Jesus' resurrection...they feared it. Second, they didn't believe Jesus would rise again...they believed the disciples would FAKE Jesus' resurrection.)
(Again, this passage showed the Jews understood that Jesus would rise after three days and three nights. Jesus' crucifixion was not on a Friday.)
(Notice, Pilate didn't take responsibility. He gave the Pharisees a guard and gave them permission to do whatever they wanted. This was totally consistent with what we've seen from Pilate.)
(A guard in this context was also referred to as a watch. It consisted of four soldiers which were changed every three hours.)
(The cave was sealed with a cord stretched over the stone and an official seal in clay was fastened to each end of the cord so any break in the sepulchre would have been detected.)
(The other gospel accounts added nothing to today's passage from Matthew's gospel account.)
SUMMARY
The Pharisees remembered Jesus' claim to rise three days later. The disciples did not.
The Pharisees remembered this out of fear. They did not want an already bad situation to become worse. Pilate did not want to take responsibility. He gave the Pharisees a guard and told them to do whatever they wanted.
We have completed Matthew chapter 27, Mark chapter 15, Luke chapter 23, and John chapter 19.
Tomorrow, we will summarize these chapters...
Next Post
Friday, November 26, 2010
Matthew 27:55-61
This year we have been covering The Gospel According to Matthew. In the previous post, we covered Matthew 27:51-54. Here is the summary:
Jesus' death broke down the spiritual barrier between Jews and Gentiles.
Jesus' death provided infinite value through Justice which pays for our Salvation.
Everyone present at the crucifixion realized immediately after Jesus' death that the ultimate injustice had occurred.
Today, we will continue looking at Matthew chapter 27...
MATTHEW 27:55-61
"55 And many women were there beholding from afar, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto him:
56 among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.
57 And when even was come, there came a rich man from Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple:
58 this man went to Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded it to be given up.
59 And Joseph took the body, and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,
60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb, and departed.
61 And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre.”
(Matthew stated many women were there and among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.)
(Notice, the second woman is Jesus' mother. Remember this passage?
"55 Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joseph, and Simon, and Judas?" Matthew 13:55)
(The mother of the sons of Zebedee made a famous request of Jesus that proved her faith. Notice, her question came after Jesus prophesied about the event being covered in today's passage:
"17 And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples apart, and on the way he said unto them,
18 Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests and scribes; and they shall condemn him to death,
19 and shall deliver him unto the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify: and the third day he shall be raised up.
20 Then came to him the mother of the sons of Zebedee with her sons, worshipping him, and asking a certain thing of him.
21 And he said unto her, What wouldest thou? She saith unto him, Command that these my two sons may sit, one on thy right hand, and one on thy left hand, in thy kingdom." Matthew 20:17-21)
(Joseph of Arimathea's request for Jesus' body also fulfilled prophecy:
"9 And they made his grave with the wicked, and with a rich man in his death; although he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth." Isaiah 53:9)
(We will learn more about Joseph of Arimathea from the other gospel accounts.)
OTHER ACCOUNTS
"40 And there were also women beholding from afar: among whom were both Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome;
41 who, when he was in Galilee, followed him, and ministered unto him; and many other women that came up with him unto Jerusalem.
42 And when even was now come, because it was the Preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath,
43 there came Joseph of Arimathaea, a councillor of honorable estate, who also himself was looking for the kingdom of God; and he boldly went in unto Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus.
44 And Pilate marvelled if he were already dead: and calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead.
45 And when he learned it of the centurion, he granted the corpse to Joseph.
46 And he bought a linen cloth, and taking him down, wound him in the linen cloth, and laid him in a tomb which had been hewn out of a rock; and he rolled a stone against the door of the tomb.
47 And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses beheld where he was laid." Mark 15:40-47
First, we learned the name of the third woman: Salome.
Next, we see the women stayed around about six hours. They were able to see where Jesus was buried. The women did this because they were excellent and they were going to take responsibility for the preparation of Jesus' body...which raises a controversial point.
There are two PERSPECTIVES on the chronology of these events.
1. Traditional - Jesus was crucified on Friday. Since He rose on Sunday, He would have been dead for two nights.
2. Unconventional - Jesus was crucified on Wednesday and died on Thursday (sundown Wednesday). He would have been dead for three WHOLE days and nights.
In Mark's gospel account, Verse 42 is the source of the confusion. If this meant the regular sabbath (Saturday), then the Traditional PERSPECTIVE would be accurate. However, I believe this was a "High Sabbath" related to the Feast of Passover.
The Preparation was the day the lambs were killed for the passover...which was the day before the High Sabbath of the feast. Jesus ate the passover early with his disciples. The Law allowed for the individual to eat the passover in another place...which would also allow for the individual to eat the passover early. Some people claim Jesus didn't keep the passover because He ate it early. We saw that Jesus stated He did keep the passover.
Jesus ate the passover early so He could keep it AND be HIMSELF the passover Lamb for Israel by dying on the day of Preparation.
KEY POINT: Passover was on the fourteenth day of the first month (Nissan)...regardless of whether this fell on a regular sabbath or not.
The following excerpt comes from a chapter that we covered extensively in the post "God's Seven Feasts".
"1 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, The set feasts of Jehovah, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my set feasts.
3 Six days shall work be done: but on the seventh day is a sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation; ye shall do no manner of work: it is a sabbath unto Jehovah in all your dwellings."
(These first three verses point to a weekly sabbath feast. No work is to be done on these and all other sabbaths.)
"4 These are the set feasts of Jehovah, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their appointed season.
5 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, is Jehovah's passover.
6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto Jehovah: seven days ye shall eat unleavened bread.
7 In the first day ye shall have a holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work.
8 But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto Jehovah seven days: in the seventh day is a holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work." Leviticus 23:1-8
The passover feast is on a specific day. The feast of unleavened bread is on a specific day...the day after the passover. NO WORK is to be done on either day. These are High Sabbaths.
However, the women and disciples had another issue with the Law:
"22 And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he 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 surely bury him the same day; for he that is hanged is accursed of God; that thou defile not thy land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee for an inheritance." Deuteronomy 21:22-23
It would seem Jesus' body needed to be taken down immediately and buried immediately...which left no time for a proper burial.
Joseph of Arimathea did not have a lot of time. In fact,verse 45 implied Pilate gave the body of Jesus to Joseph as a gift! Let's look at Luke's gospel account for more information on Joseph of Arimathea...
"49 And all his acquaintance, and the women that followed with him from Galilee, stood afar off, seeing these things.
50 And behold, a man named Joseph, who was a councillor, a good and righteous man
51 (he had not consented to their counsel and deed), a man of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews, who was looking for the kingdom of God:
52 this man went to Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus.
53 And he took it down, and wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid him in a tomb that was hewn in stone, where never man had yet lain.
54 And it was the day of the Preparation, and the sabbath drew on.
55 And the women, who had come with him out of Galilee, followed after, and beheld the tomb, and how his body was laid.
56 And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments. And on the sabbath they rested according to the commandment." Luke 23:49-56
Joseph was a councillor. This means he was on the Sanhedrin! In fact, if you have doubts about that, look at verse 51. Joseph had NOT consented to their counsel and deed! This meant Joseph was present when Jesus was condemned to die, yet he did NOT give his consent...he didn't vote for Jesus' death.
The passage also stated Joseph was a good and righteous man who was looking for the kingdom of God.
Finally, this passage stated the women saw where and how Jesus was laid to rest...and then went home to prepare the spices and ointments. They were required to rest for THREE DAYS according to the Law. They would have rested Thursday and Friday because of the High Sabbaths. There would have rested Saturday because of the weekly sabbath. The women were prevented from finishing the burial of Jesus' body until Sunday morning.
Believing that Jesus died on Friday would only result in Him being dead TWO nights. Remember this passage from Matthew 12?
"39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given it but the sign of Jonah the prophet:
40 for as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." Matthew 12:39-40
Jesus HIMSELF stated He would be in the heart of the earth for three days and THREE NIGHTS.
If you have any doubts about this, look at the first verse from John's gospel account covering today's passage:
"31 The Jews therefore, because it was the Preparation, that the bodies should not remain on the cross upon the sabbath (for the day of that sabbath was a high day), asked of Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.
32 The soldiers therefore came, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other that was crucified with him:
33 but when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs:
34 howbeit one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and straightway there came out blood and water.
35 And he that hath seen hath borne witness, and his witness is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye also may believe.
36 For these things came to pass, that the scripture might be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken.
37 And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced.
38 And after these things Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked of Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took away his body.
39 And there came also Nicodemus, he who at the first came to him by night, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds.
40 So they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury.
41 Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new tomb wherein was never man yet laid.
42 There then because of the Jews' Preparation (for the tomb was nigh at hand) they laid Jesus." John 19:31-42
First, this was NOT Saturday. If it was, John would not have needed anything more than it was the weekly sabbath. However, he felt the need to explain why the bodies needed to be taken down even though it wasn't the weekly sabbath.
Second, Joseph of Arimathea was a secret disciple of Jesus...along with Nicodemus! Joseph and Nicodemus began the preparation of Jesus' body by covering Him in a mixture of myrrh and aloes in a cloth. They couldn't do more than this because it was a High Sabbath. Their burial was in haste.
John mentioned two prophecies...
1. None of His bones were broken
"46 In one house shall it be eaten; thou shalt not carry forth aught of the flesh abroad out of the house; neither shall ye break a bone thereof." Exodus 12:46
"11 In the second month on the fourteenth day at even they shall keep it; they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs:
12 they shall leave none of it unto the morning, nor break a bone thereof: according to all the statute of the passover they shall keep it." Numbers 9:12
"20 He keepeth all his bones: Not one of them is broken." Psalm 34:20
"16 For dogs have compassed me: A company of evil-doers have inclosed me; They pierced my hands and my feet.
17 I may count all my bones; They look and stare upon me." Psalm 22:16
2. They pierced His side
"10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication; and they shall look unto me whom they have pierced; and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his first-born." Zechariah 12:10
"7 Behold, he cometh with the clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they that pierced him; and all the tribes of the earth shall mourn over him. Even so, Amen." Revelation 1:7
SUMMARY
I believe Jesus was crucified on Wednesday. I believe He died at sundown...which is Thursday. This would fulfill Jesus' prophecy (from Matthew 12:39-40) of being in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.
Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus were members of the Sanhedrin and secret disciples of Jesus who did NOT consent to His death. They buried Jesus' body in haste.
I believe He was buried in haste because of the High Sabbath. I believe the women were not allowed to complete His burial for THREE DAYS because of the Law.
On Monday, we will finish Matthew chapter 27...
Next Post
Jesus' death broke down the spiritual barrier between Jews and Gentiles.
Jesus' death provided infinite value through Justice which pays for our Salvation.
Everyone present at the crucifixion realized immediately after Jesus' death that the ultimate injustice had occurred.
Today, we will continue looking at Matthew chapter 27...
MATTHEW 27:55-61
"55 And many women were there beholding from afar, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto him:
56 among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.
57 And when even was come, there came a rich man from Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple:
58 this man went to Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded it to be given up.
59 And Joseph took the body, and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,
60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb, and departed.
61 And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre.”
(Matthew stated many women were there and among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.)
(Notice, the second woman is Jesus' mother. Remember this passage?
"55 Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joseph, and Simon, and Judas?" Matthew 13:55)
(The mother of the sons of Zebedee made a famous request of Jesus that proved her faith. Notice, her question came after Jesus prophesied about the event being covered in today's passage:
"17 And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples apart, and on the way he said unto them,
18 Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests and scribes; and they shall condemn him to death,
19 and shall deliver him unto the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify: and the third day he shall be raised up.
20 Then came to him the mother of the sons of Zebedee with her sons, worshipping him, and asking a certain thing of him.
21 And he said unto her, What wouldest thou? She saith unto him, Command that these my two sons may sit, one on thy right hand, and one on thy left hand, in thy kingdom." Matthew 20:17-21)
(Joseph of Arimathea's request for Jesus' body also fulfilled prophecy:
"9 And they made his grave with the wicked, and with a rich man in his death; although he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth." Isaiah 53:9)
(We will learn more about Joseph of Arimathea from the other gospel accounts.)
OTHER ACCOUNTS
"40 And there were also women beholding from afar: among whom were both Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome;
41 who, when he was in Galilee, followed him, and ministered unto him; and many other women that came up with him unto Jerusalem.
42 And when even was now come, because it was the Preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath,
43 there came Joseph of Arimathaea, a councillor of honorable estate, who also himself was looking for the kingdom of God; and he boldly went in unto Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus.
44 And Pilate marvelled if he were already dead: and calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead.
45 And when he learned it of the centurion, he granted the corpse to Joseph.
46 And he bought a linen cloth, and taking him down, wound him in the linen cloth, and laid him in a tomb which had been hewn out of a rock; and he rolled a stone against the door of the tomb.
47 And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses beheld where he was laid." Mark 15:40-47
First, we learned the name of the third woman: Salome.
Next, we see the women stayed around about six hours. They were able to see where Jesus was buried. The women did this because they were excellent and they were going to take responsibility for the preparation of Jesus' body...which raises a controversial point.
There are two PERSPECTIVES on the chronology of these events.
1. Traditional - Jesus was crucified on Friday. Since He rose on Sunday, He would have been dead for two nights.
2. Unconventional - Jesus was crucified on Wednesday and died on Thursday (sundown Wednesday). He would have been dead for three WHOLE days and nights.
In Mark's gospel account, Verse 42 is the source of the confusion. If this meant the regular sabbath (Saturday), then the Traditional PERSPECTIVE would be accurate. However, I believe this was a "High Sabbath" related to the Feast of Passover.
The Preparation was the day the lambs were killed for the passover...which was the day before the High Sabbath of the feast. Jesus ate the passover early with his disciples. The Law allowed for the individual to eat the passover in another place...which would also allow for the individual to eat the passover early. Some people claim Jesus didn't keep the passover because He ate it early. We saw that Jesus stated He did keep the passover.
Jesus ate the passover early so He could keep it AND be HIMSELF the passover Lamb for Israel by dying on the day of Preparation.
KEY POINT: Passover was on the fourteenth day of the first month (Nissan)...regardless of whether this fell on a regular sabbath or not.
The following excerpt comes from a chapter that we covered extensively in the post "God's Seven Feasts".
"1 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, The set feasts of Jehovah, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my set feasts.
3 Six days shall work be done: but on the seventh day is a sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation; ye shall do no manner of work: it is a sabbath unto Jehovah in all your dwellings."
(These first three verses point to a weekly sabbath feast. No work is to be done on these and all other sabbaths.)
"4 These are the set feasts of Jehovah, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their appointed season.
5 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, is Jehovah's passover.
6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto Jehovah: seven days ye shall eat unleavened bread.
7 In the first day ye shall have a holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work.
8 But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto Jehovah seven days: in the seventh day is a holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work." Leviticus 23:1-8
The passover feast is on a specific day. The feast of unleavened bread is on a specific day...the day after the passover. NO WORK is to be done on either day. These are High Sabbaths.
However, the women and disciples had another issue with the Law:
"22 And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he 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 surely bury him the same day; for he that is hanged is accursed of God; that thou defile not thy land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee for an inheritance." Deuteronomy 21:22-23
It would seem Jesus' body needed to be taken down immediately and buried immediately...which left no time for a proper burial.
Joseph of Arimathea did not have a lot of time. In fact,verse 45 implied Pilate gave the body of Jesus to Joseph as a gift! Let's look at Luke's gospel account for more information on Joseph of Arimathea...
"49 And all his acquaintance, and the women that followed with him from Galilee, stood afar off, seeing these things.
50 And behold, a man named Joseph, who was a councillor, a good and righteous man
51 (he had not consented to their counsel and deed), a man of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews, who was looking for the kingdom of God:
52 this man went to Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus.
53 And he took it down, and wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid him in a tomb that was hewn in stone, where never man had yet lain.
54 And it was the day of the Preparation, and the sabbath drew on.
55 And the women, who had come with him out of Galilee, followed after, and beheld the tomb, and how his body was laid.
56 And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments. And on the sabbath they rested according to the commandment." Luke 23:49-56
Joseph was a councillor. This means he was on the Sanhedrin! In fact, if you have doubts about that, look at verse 51. Joseph had NOT consented to their counsel and deed! This meant Joseph was present when Jesus was condemned to die, yet he did NOT give his consent...he didn't vote for Jesus' death.
The passage also stated Joseph was a good and righteous man who was looking for the kingdom of God.
Finally, this passage stated the women saw where and how Jesus was laid to rest...and then went home to prepare the spices and ointments. They were required to rest for THREE DAYS according to the Law. They would have rested Thursday and Friday because of the High Sabbaths. There would have rested Saturday because of the weekly sabbath. The women were prevented from finishing the burial of Jesus' body until Sunday morning.
Believing that Jesus died on Friday would only result in Him being dead TWO nights. Remember this passage from Matthew 12?
"39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given it but the sign of Jonah the prophet:
40 for as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." Matthew 12:39-40
Jesus HIMSELF stated He would be in the heart of the earth for three days and THREE NIGHTS.
If you have any doubts about this, look at the first verse from John's gospel account covering today's passage:
"31 The Jews therefore, because it was the Preparation, that the bodies should not remain on the cross upon the sabbath (for the day of that sabbath was a high day), asked of Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.
32 The soldiers therefore came, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other that was crucified with him:
33 but when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs:
34 howbeit one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and straightway there came out blood and water.
35 And he that hath seen hath borne witness, and his witness is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye also may believe.
36 For these things came to pass, that the scripture might be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken.
37 And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced.
38 And after these things Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked of Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took away his body.
39 And there came also Nicodemus, he who at the first came to him by night, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds.
40 So they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury.
41 Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new tomb wherein was never man yet laid.
42 There then because of the Jews' Preparation (for the tomb was nigh at hand) they laid Jesus." John 19:31-42
First, this was NOT Saturday. If it was, John would not have needed anything more than it was the weekly sabbath. However, he felt the need to explain why the bodies needed to be taken down even though it wasn't the weekly sabbath.
Second, Joseph of Arimathea was a secret disciple of Jesus...along with Nicodemus! Joseph and Nicodemus began the preparation of Jesus' body by covering Him in a mixture of myrrh and aloes in a cloth. They couldn't do more than this because it was a High Sabbath. Their burial was in haste.
John mentioned two prophecies...
1. None of His bones were broken
"46 In one house shall it be eaten; thou shalt not carry forth aught of the flesh abroad out of the house; neither shall ye break a bone thereof." Exodus 12:46
"11 In the second month on the fourteenth day at even they shall keep it; they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs:
12 they shall leave none of it unto the morning, nor break a bone thereof: according to all the statute of the passover they shall keep it." Numbers 9:12
"20 He keepeth all his bones: Not one of them is broken." Psalm 34:20
"16 For dogs have compassed me: A company of evil-doers have inclosed me; They pierced my hands and my feet.
17 I may count all my bones; They look and stare upon me." Psalm 22:16
2. They pierced His side
"10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication; and they shall look unto me whom they have pierced; and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his first-born." Zechariah 12:10
"7 Behold, he cometh with the clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they that pierced him; and all the tribes of the earth shall mourn over him. Even so, Amen." Revelation 1:7
SUMMARY
I believe Jesus was crucified on Wednesday. I believe He died at sundown...which is Thursday. This would fulfill Jesus' prophecy (from Matthew 12:39-40) of being in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.
Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus were members of the Sanhedrin and secret disciples of Jesus who did NOT consent to His death. They buried Jesus' body in haste.
I believe He was buried in haste because of the High Sabbath. I believe the women were not allowed to complete His burial for THREE DAYS because of the Law.
On Monday, we will finish Matthew chapter 27...
Next Post
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Matthew 27:51-54
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
This year we have been covering The Gospel According to Matthew. In the previous post, we covered Matthew 27:46-50. Here is the summary:
Jesus fulfilled prophecy and finished His life without sinning. Jesus ALWAYS COMPLETELY trusted God...even to the last intentional act of His time on earth.
This meant Jesus was intentional throughout His entire life.
Jesus intentionally died at sundown to fulfill prophecy and point God's people to the fact He was the Messiah.
Today, we will continue looking at Matthew chapter 27...
MATTHEW 27:51-54
"51 And behold, the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake; and the rocks were rent;
52 and the tombs were opened; and many bodies of the saints that had fallen asleep were raised;
53 and coming forth out of the tombs after his resurrection they entered into the holy city and appeared unto many.
54 Now the centurion, and they that were with him watching Jesus, when they saw the earthquake, and the things that were done, feared exceedingly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God."
(Here is what Dake wrote about the "veil of the temple":
"There were two veils: one at the entrance of the Holy Place and the other between this and the Holy of Holies, into which the high priest alone went once a year to atone for the sins of the people (Heb. 9:2-9). They were 60 ft. high from the ceiling to the floor. The rending of the veil signified that the middel wall of partition between Jews and Gentiles was broken down (Eph. 2:14-18) and that the believer now could have personal access to God. (Heb. 9:8; 10:19-23; Eph. 2:14-18)")
(Here are the passages referenced by Dake:
"2 For there was a tabernacle prepared, the first, wherein were the candlestick, and the table, and the showbread; which is called the Holy place.
3 And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holy of holies;
4 having a golden altar of incense, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was a golden pot holding the manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant;
5 and above it cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy-seat; of which things we cannot now speak severally.
6 Now these things having been thus prepared, the priests go in continually into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the services;
7 but into the second the high priest alone, once in the year, not without blood, which he offereth for himself, and for the errors of the people:
8 the Holy Spirit this signifying, that the way into the holy place hath not yet been made manifest, while the first tabernacle is yet standing;
9 which is a figure for the time present; according to which are offered both gifts and sacrifices that cannot, as touching the conscience, make the worshipper perfect," Hebrews 9:2-9)
("19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holy place by the blood of Jesus,
20 by the way which he dedicated for us, a new and living way, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
21 and having a great priest over the house of God;
22 let us draw near with a true heart in fulness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience: and having our body washed with pure water,
23 let us hold fast the confession of our hope that it waver not; for he is faithful that promised:" Hebrews 10:19-23)
("14 For he is our peace, who made both one, and brake down the middle wall of partition,
15 having abolished in the flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; that he might create in himself of the two one new man, so making peace;
16 and might reconcile them both in one body unto God through the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
17 and he came and preached peace to you that were far off, and peace to them that were nigh:
18 for through him we both have our access in one Spirit unto the Father." Ephesians 2:14-18)
(Jesus' death broke down the barrier between the Jews and the Gentiles.)
(The saints that walked around that day were Believers who had died and occupied Abraham's Bosom. There are three compartments of Hades. One compartment holds fallen angels (II Peter 2:4). One compartment holds Unbelievers (humans). The final compartment held Believers who died prior to Jesus. The value they needed to get to Heaven had not been created yet, so they legally couldn't go to Heaven.)
(Jesus' death created infinite value through Justice.)
(DISCLAIMER: This is an analogy. IF you are unable to understand the difference between analogies and reality, please go to the next paragraph now. Analogy: I look at the people that occupied Abraham's Bosom as having a check that paid for their ability to get out of hell. However, the bank account the check was written from had no funds. So, these people had to wait for that bank account to get the funds. Jesus' death filled that bank account. Once Jesus died, these people cashed their checks and got out of hell.)
(Verse 53 jumped ahead of the story! These people could NOT be resurrected before Jesus. Jesus was the First Fruits. So, these people were resurrected AFTER Jesus was resurrected.)
(When the centurion and they that were with him saw the physical signs, it was enough to put them in fear AND convince them Jesus was THE Son of God. They confessed this with their mouths. Notice, they didn't state Jesus was A Son of God. Jesus was THE ONE AND ONLY Son of God.)
(Let's look at the other gospel accounts...)
OTHER ACCOUNTS
"38 And the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom.
39 And when the centurion, who stood by over against him, saw that he so gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God." Mark 15:38-39
Mark's gospel account gave less details than Matthew's gospel account because Mark did NOT jump ahead in the story.
"44 And it was now about the sixth hour, and a darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour,
45 the sun's light failing: and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst.
46 And Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said this, he gave up the ghost.
47 And when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous man.
48 And all the multitudes that came together to this sight, when they beheld the things that were done, returned smiting their breasts." Luke 23:44-48
Luke's gospel account stated people realized what they did and felt guilty about it to the point that they "returned smiting their breasts". It was immediately obvious to everyone at the crucifixion that a great injustice had occurred.
John's gospel account did not include any events similar to today's passage from Matthew's gospel account.
SUMMARY
Jesus' death broke down the spiritual barrier between Jews and Gentiles.
Jesus' death provided infinite value through Justice which pays for our Salvation.
Everyone present at the crucifixion realized immediately after Jesus' death that the ultimate injustice had occurred.
Tomorrow, we will continue looking at Matthew chapter 27...
Next Post
This year we have been covering The Gospel According to Matthew. In the previous post, we covered Matthew 27:46-50. Here is the summary:
Jesus fulfilled prophecy and finished His life without sinning. Jesus ALWAYS COMPLETELY trusted God...even to the last intentional act of His time on earth.
This meant Jesus was intentional throughout His entire life.
Jesus intentionally died at sundown to fulfill prophecy and point God's people to the fact He was the Messiah.
Today, we will continue looking at Matthew chapter 27...
MATTHEW 27:51-54
"51 And behold, the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake; and the rocks were rent;
52 and the tombs were opened; and many bodies of the saints that had fallen asleep were raised;
53 and coming forth out of the tombs after his resurrection they entered into the holy city and appeared unto many.
54 Now the centurion, and they that were with him watching Jesus, when they saw the earthquake, and the things that were done, feared exceedingly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God."
(Here is what Dake wrote about the "veil of the temple":
"There were two veils: one at the entrance of the Holy Place and the other between this and the Holy of Holies, into which the high priest alone went once a year to atone for the sins of the people (Heb. 9:2-9). They were 60 ft. high from the ceiling to the floor. The rending of the veil signified that the middel wall of partition between Jews and Gentiles was broken down (Eph. 2:14-18) and that the believer now could have personal access to God. (Heb. 9:8; 10:19-23; Eph. 2:14-18)")
(Here are the passages referenced by Dake:
"2 For there was a tabernacle prepared, the first, wherein were the candlestick, and the table, and the showbread; which is called the Holy place.
3 And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holy of holies;
4 having a golden altar of incense, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was a golden pot holding the manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant;
5 and above it cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy-seat; of which things we cannot now speak severally.
6 Now these things having been thus prepared, the priests go in continually into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the services;
7 but into the second the high priest alone, once in the year, not without blood, which he offereth for himself, and for the errors of the people:
8 the Holy Spirit this signifying, that the way into the holy place hath not yet been made manifest, while the first tabernacle is yet standing;
9 which is a figure for the time present; according to which are offered both gifts and sacrifices that cannot, as touching the conscience, make the worshipper perfect," Hebrews 9:2-9)
("19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holy place by the blood of Jesus,
20 by the way which he dedicated for us, a new and living way, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
21 and having a great priest over the house of God;
22 let us draw near with a true heart in fulness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience: and having our body washed with pure water,
23 let us hold fast the confession of our hope that it waver not; for he is faithful that promised:" Hebrews 10:19-23)
("14 For he is our peace, who made both one, and brake down the middle wall of partition,
15 having abolished in the flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; that he might create in himself of the two one new man, so making peace;
16 and might reconcile them both in one body unto God through the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
17 and he came and preached peace to you that were far off, and peace to them that were nigh:
18 for through him we both have our access in one Spirit unto the Father." Ephesians 2:14-18)
(Jesus' death broke down the barrier between the Jews and the Gentiles.)
(The saints that walked around that day were Believers who had died and occupied Abraham's Bosom. There are three compartments of Hades. One compartment holds fallen angels (II Peter 2:4). One compartment holds Unbelievers (humans). The final compartment held Believers who died prior to Jesus. The value they needed to get to Heaven had not been created yet, so they legally couldn't go to Heaven.)
(Jesus' death created infinite value through Justice.)
(DISCLAIMER: This is an analogy. IF you are unable to understand the difference between analogies and reality, please go to the next paragraph now. Analogy: I look at the people that occupied Abraham's Bosom as having a check that paid for their ability to get out of hell. However, the bank account the check was written from had no funds. So, these people had to wait for that bank account to get the funds. Jesus' death filled that bank account. Once Jesus died, these people cashed their checks and got out of hell.)
(Verse 53 jumped ahead of the story! These people could NOT be resurrected before Jesus. Jesus was the First Fruits. So, these people were resurrected AFTER Jesus was resurrected.)
(When the centurion and they that were with him saw the physical signs, it was enough to put them in fear AND convince them Jesus was THE Son of God. They confessed this with their mouths. Notice, they didn't state Jesus was A Son of God. Jesus was THE ONE AND ONLY Son of God.)
(Let's look at the other gospel accounts...)
OTHER ACCOUNTS
"38 And the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom.
39 And when the centurion, who stood by over against him, saw that he so gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God." Mark 15:38-39
Mark's gospel account gave less details than Matthew's gospel account because Mark did NOT jump ahead in the story.
"44 And it was now about the sixth hour, and a darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour,
45 the sun's light failing: and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst.
46 And Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said this, he gave up the ghost.
47 And when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous man.
48 And all the multitudes that came together to this sight, when they beheld the things that were done, returned smiting their breasts." Luke 23:44-48
Luke's gospel account stated people realized what they did and felt guilty about it to the point that they "returned smiting their breasts". It was immediately obvious to everyone at the crucifixion that a great injustice had occurred.
John's gospel account did not include any events similar to today's passage from Matthew's gospel account.
SUMMARY
Jesus' death broke down the spiritual barrier between Jews and Gentiles.
Jesus' death provided infinite value through Justice which pays for our Salvation.
Everyone present at the crucifixion realized immediately after Jesus' death that the ultimate injustice had occurred.
Tomorrow, we will continue looking at Matthew chapter 27...
Next Post
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Matthew 27:46-50
This year we have been covering The Gospel According to Matthew. In the previous post, we covered Matthew 27:44-45. Here is the summary:
One person crucified with Jesus attained Salvation without Baptism...and despite being evil their entire life.
Today, we will continue covering Matthew 27...
MATTHEW 27:46-50
"46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
47 And some of them stood there, when they heard it, said, This man calleth Elijah."
(Jesus dies about the ninth hour He died...6 PM. This is when the passover lambs were offered in temple. Jesus timed His death to fulfill prophecy and point God's people to the Messiah.)
(Jesus stated with a loud voice the opening line of Psalm 22...a psalm that we have seen is filled with prophecy about the Messiah's death:
"1 My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning?" Psalm 22:1)
(Jesus was forsaken of God at His death because He took on the sin of the world. This broke Fellowship with God because God cannot be in Fellowship with sin. God is ALWAYS, COMPLETELY Right and Just. This was the ultimate test of Jesus' faith/trust in God.)
(Some of the people were confused when Jesus spoke Aramaic because "Eli" meant "My God"...but some of the Jewish people thought He was calling Elijah.)
"48 And straightway one of them ran, and took a sponge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink."
(Remember, Jesus was offered three drinks while He was on the cross. The first drink was wine mixed with gall/myrrh...which He refused. The second drink was vinegar before the malefactor asked for mercy (Luke 23:36)...which He also refused. The third drink was again vinegar just before He died...which he drank. The importance is that this also fulfilled prophecy...)
("20 Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: And I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; And for comforters, but I found none.
21 They gave me also gall for my food; And in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink." Psalm 69:20-21)
"49 And the rest said, Let be; let us see whether Elijah cometh to save him.
50 And Jesus cried again with a loud voice, and yielded up his spirit."
(Notice, Jesus cried again with a loud voice just before He died. This showed Jesus was intentional until the end. What did He say? Let's look at the other gospel accounts to find out...)
OTHER ACCOUNTS
"34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
35 And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calleth Elijah.
36 And one ran, and filling a sponge full of vinegar, put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let be; let us see whether Elijah cometh to take him down.
37 And Jesus uttered a loud voice, and gave up the ghost." Mark 15:34-37
Mark's gospel account added nothing more to Matthew's gospel account.
"44 And it was now about the sixth hour, and a darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour,
45 the sun's light failing: and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst.
46 And Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said this, he gave up the ghost." Luke 23:44-46
Luke's gospel account stated the light was failing (sundown) when Jesus died. This was when the passover lamb was offered in the temple. Luke mentioned the veil of the temple was torn. We will cover this tomorrow...
Luke also presented Jesus' final words. Again, this was prophetic. Again, it was from Psalms...
"5 Into thy hand I commend my spirit: Thou hast redeemed me, O Jehovah, thou God of truth." Psalm 31:5
We have seen throughout this Series that when Jesus quoted a verse from scripture, He was also pointing people to the rest of the passage. It was an act of the individual's will to choose to learn ALL of what Jesus was saying. Before we cover John's gospel account, here is Psalm 31. Notice, the entire psalm concerned completely trusting in God despite horrendous circumstances:
"1 In thee, O Jehovah, do I take refuge; Let me never be put to shame: Deliver me in thy righteousness.
2 Bow down thine ear unto me; deliver me speedily: Be thou to me a strong rock, A house of defence to save me.
3 For thou art my rock and my fortress; Therefore for thy name's sake lead me and guide me.
4 Pluck me out of the net that they have laid privily for me; For thou art my stronghold.
5 Into thy hand I commend my spirit: Thou hast redeemed me, O Jehovah, thou God of truth.
6 I hate them that regard lying vanities; But I trust in Jehovah.
7 I will be glad and rejoice in thy lovingkindness; For thou hast seen my affliction: Thou hast known my soul in adversities;
8 And thou hast not shut me up into the hand of the enemy; Thou hast set my feet in a large place.
9 Have mercy upon me, O Jehovah, for I am in distress: Mine eye wasteth away with grief, yea, my soul and my body.
10 For my life is spent with sorrow, And my years with sighing: My strength faileth because of mine iniquity, And my bones are wasted away.
11 Because of all mine adversaries I am become a reproach, Yea, unto my neighbors exceedingly, And a fear to mine acquaintance: They that did see me without fled from me.
12 I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind: I am like a broken vessel.
13 For I have heard the defaming of many, Terror on every side: While they took counsel together against me, They devised to take away my life.
14 But I trusted in thee, O Jehovah: I said, Thou art my God.
15 My times are in thy hand: Deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me.
16 Make thy face to shine upon thy servant: Save me in thy lovingkindness.
17 Let me not be put to shame, O Jehovah; for I have called upon thee: Let the wicked be put to shame, let them be silent in Sheol.
18 Let the lying lips be dumb, Which speak against the righteous insolently, With pride and contempt.
19 Oh how great is thy goodness, Which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee, Which thou hast wrought for them that take refuge in thee, Before the sons of men!
20 In the covert of thy presence wilt thou hide them from the plottings of man: Thou wilt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.
21 Blessed be Jehovah; For he hath showed me his marvellous lovingkindness in a strong city.
22 As for me, I said in my haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes: Nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplications When I cried unto thee.
23 Oh love Jehovah, all ye his saints: Jehovah preserveth the faithful, And plentifully rewardeth him that dealeth proudly.
24 Be strong, and let your heart take courage, All ye that hope in Jehovah." Psalm 31
I believe Jesus quoted this verse from Psalm 31 to prove that He NEVER sinned. Jesus, right up to His last breath, completely trusted God. He let God direct all of His actions...which is GRACE.
"25 These things therefore the soldiers did. But there were standing by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.
26 When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing 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 the disciple took her unto his own home.
28 After this Jesus, knowing that all things are now finished, that the scripture might be accomplished, saith, I thirst.
29 There was set there a vessel full of vinegar: so they put a sponge full of the vinegar upon hyssop, and brought it to his mouth.
30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up his spirit." John 19
During this Series, we saw that all the boys in Israel memorized the first five books of the Old Testament (Torah) from the age of 5 to 12 years old. We also saw all the girls in Israel memorized the Psalms and Proverbs. Notice, EVERYTHING Jesus quoted on the cross was from Psalms. EVERYTHING Jesus quoted on the cross was to women. (We have seen there are ten Bible proofs that Women are more excellent than Men.)
Now, we see that there were several WOMEN standing by Jesus' cross during His death. In John's gospel account, he stated that Jesus told John (the disciple Jesus loved) to take care of His mom. This is yet another proof that Joseph was not alive during Jesus' Ministry.
Verse 28 indicated Jesus knew He had completed His Ministry and intentionally fulfilled the last prophecy that concerned His time on earth. He stated He thirsted. They gave Him vinegar (which was really a drink made from sour grapes). Jesus drank in order to fulfill the prophecy and then intentionally died. It now looks like the second time Jesus was offered a drink (vinegar from the soldiers before the Second Malefactor asked for mercy) was another attempt by the world to get Jesus to fulfill prophecy out of order.
Notice, Jesus stated He had finished His Ministry and then intentionally bowed His head so He couldn't take a breath...and intentionally gave up His Spirit. Jesus did this so He would die at sundown...when the passover lamb was offered in the temple.
SUMMARY
Jesus fulfilled prophecy and finished His life without sinning. Jesus ALWAYS COMPLETELY trusted God...even to the last intentional act of His time on earth.
This meant Jesus was intentional throughout His entire life.
Jesus intentionally died at sundown to fulfill prophecy and point God's people to the fact He was the Messiah.
Tomorrow, we will continue looking at Matthew chapter 27...
Next Post
One person crucified with Jesus attained Salvation without Baptism...and despite being evil their entire life.
Today, we will continue covering Matthew 27...
MATTHEW 27:46-50
"46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
47 And some of them stood there, when they heard it, said, This man calleth Elijah."
(Jesus dies about the ninth hour He died...6 PM. This is when the passover lambs were offered in temple. Jesus timed His death to fulfill prophecy and point God's people to the Messiah.)
(Jesus stated with a loud voice the opening line of Psalm 22...a psalm that we have seen is filled with prophecy about the Messiah's death:
"1 My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning?" Psalm 22:1)
(Jesus was forsaken of God at His death because He took on the sin of the world. This broke Fellowship with God because God cannot be in Fellowship with sin. God is ALWAYS, COMPLETELY Right and Just. This was the ultimate test of Jesus' faith/trust in God.)
(Some of the people were confused when Jesus spoke Aramaic because "Eli" meant "My God"...but some of the Jewish people thought He was calling Elijah.)
"48 And straightway one of them ran, and took a sponge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink."
(Remember, Jesus was offered three drinks while He was on the cross. The first drink was wine mixed with gall/myrrh...which He refused. The second drink was vinegar before the malefactor asked for mercy (Luke 23:36)...which He also refused. The third drink was again vinegar just before He died...which he drank. The importance is that this also fulfilled prophecy...)
("20 Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: And I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; And for comforters, but I found none.
21 They gave me also gall for my food; And in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink." Psalm 69:20-21)
"49 And the rest said, Let be; let us see whether Elijah cometh to save him.
50 And Jesus cried again with a loud voice, and yielded up his spirit."
(Notice, Jesus cried again with a loud voice just before He died. This showed Jesus was intentional until the end. What did He say? Let's look at the other gospel accounts to find out...)
OTHER ACCOUNTS
"34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
35 And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calleth Elijah.
36 And one ran, and filling a sponge full of vinegar, put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let be; let us see whether Elijah cometh to take him down.
37 And Jesus uttered a loud voice, and gave up the ghost." Mark 15:34-37
Mark's gospel account added nothing more to Matthew's gospel account.
"44 And it was now about the sixth hour, and a darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour,
45 the sun's light failing: and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst.
46 And Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said this, he gave up the ghost." Luke 23:44-46
Luke's gospel account stated the light was failing (sundown) when Jesus died. This was when the passover lamb was offered in the temple. Luke mentioned the veil of the temple was torn. We will cover this tomorrow...
Luke also presented Jesus' final words. Again, this was prophetic. Again, it was from Psalms...
"5 Into thy hand I commend my spirit: Thou hast redeemed me, O Jehovah, thou God of truth." Psalm 31:5
We have seen throughout this Series that when Jesus quoted a verse from scripture, He was also pointing people to the rest of the passage. It was an act of the individual's will to choose to learn ALL of what Jesus was saying. Before we cover John's gospel account, here is Psalm 31. Notice, the entire psalm concerned completely trusting in God despite horrendous circumstances:
"1 In thee, O Jehovah, do I take refuge; Let me never be put to shame: Deliver me in thy righteousness.
2 Bow down thine ear unto me; deliver me speedily: Be thou to me a strong rock, A house of defence to save me.
3 For thou art my rock and my fortress; Therefore for thy name's sake lead me and guide me.
4 Pluck me out of the net that they have laid privily for me; For thou art my stronghold.
5 Into thy hand I commend my spirit: Thou hast redeemed me, O Jehovah, thou God of truth.
6 I hate them that regard lying vanities; But I trust in Jehovah.
7 I will be glad and rejoice in thy lovingkindness; For thou hast seen my affliction: Thou hast known my soul in adversities;
8 And thou hast not shut me up into the hand of the enemy; Thou hast set my feet in a large place.
9 Have mercy upon me, O Jehovah, for I am in distress: Mine eye wasteth away with grief, yea, my soul and my body.
10 For my life is spent with sorrow, And my years with sighing: My strength faileth because of mine iniquity, And my bones are wasted away.
11 Because of all mine adversaries I am become a reproach, Yea, unto my neighbors exceedingly, And a fear to mine acquaintance: They that did see me without fled from me.
12 I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind: I am like a broken vessel.
13 For I have heard the defaming of many, Terror on every side: While they took counsel together against me, They devised to take away my life.
14 But I trusted in thee, O Jehovah: I said, Thou art my God.
15 My times are in thy hand: Deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me.
16 Make thy face to shine upon thy servant: Save me in thy lovingkindness.
17 Let me not be put to shame, O Jehovah; for I have called upon thee: Let the wicked be put to shame, let them be silent in Sheol.
18 Let the lying lips be dumb, Which speak against the righteous insolently, With pride and contempt.
19 Oh how great is thy goodness, Which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee, Which thou hast wrought for them that take refuge in thee, Before the sons of men!
20 In the covert of thy presence wilt thou hide them from the plottings of man: Thou wilt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.
21 Blessed be Jehovah; For he hath showed me his marvellous lovingkindness in a strong city.
22 As for me, I said in my haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes: Nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplications When I cried unto thee.
23 Oh love Jehovah, all ye his saints: Jehovah preserveth the faithful, And plentifully rewardeth him that dealeth proudly.
24 Be strong, and let your heart take courage, All ye that hope in Jehovah." Psalm 31
I believe Jesus quoted this verse from Psalm 31 to prove that He NEVER sinned. Jesus, right up to His last breath, completely trusted God. He let God direct all of His actions...which is GRACE.
"25 These things therefore the soldiers did. But there were standing by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.
26 When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing 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 the disciple took her unto his own home.
28 After this Jesus, knowing that all things are now finished, that the scripture might be accomplished, saith, I thirst.
29 There was set there a vessel full of vinegar: so they put a sponge full of the vinegar upon hyssop, and brought it to his mouth.
30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up his spirit." John 19
During this Series, we saw that all the boys in Israel memorized the first five books of the Old Testament (Torah) from the age of 5 to 12 years old. We also saw all the girls in Israel memorized the Psalms and Proverbs. Notice, EVERYTHING Jesus quoted on the cross was from Psalms. EVERYTHING Jesus quoted on the cross was to women. (We have seen there are ten Bible proofs that Women are more excellent than Men.)
Now, we see that there were several WOMEN standing by Jesus' cross during His death. In John's gospel account, he stated that Jesus told John (the disciple Jesus loved) to take care of His mom. This is yet another proof that Joseph was not alive during Jesus' Ministry.
Verse 28 indicated Jesus knew He had completed His Ministry and intentionally fulfilled the last prophecy that concerned His time on earth. He stated He thirsted. They gave Him vinegar (which was really a drink made from sour grapes). Jesus drank in order to fulfill the prophecy and then intentionally died. It now looks like the second time Jesus was offered a drink (vinegar from the soldiers before the Second Malefactor asked for mercy) was another attempt by the world to get Jesus to fulfill prophecy out of order.
Notice, Jesus stated He had finished His Ministry and then intentionally bowed His head so He couldn't take a breath...and intentionally gave up His Spirit. Jesus did this so He would die at sundown...when the passover lamb was offered in the temple.
SUMMARY
Jesus fulfilled prophecy and finished His life without sinning. Jesus ALWAYS COMPLETELY trusted God...even to the last intentional act of His time on earth.
This meant Jesus was intentional throughout His entire life.
Jesus intentionally died at sundown to fulfill prophecy and point God's people to the fact He was the Messiah.
Tomorrow, we will continue looking at Matthew chapter 27...
Next Post
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Matthew 27:44-45
This year we have been covering The Gospel According to Matthew. In the previous post, we covered Matthew 27:41-43. Here is the summary:
The religious leaders, like the common man, made two IF/THEN Statements concerning Jesus' Divinity that closely resembled the devil's two IF/THEN Statements concerning Jesus' Divinity during Jesus' temptation in the desert.
The religious leaders PROVED they were losing their minds because they did not know the Scriptures well enough to know Jesus was the Messiah...AND the religious leaders also railed against the government and God with their two IF/THEN Statements.
The religious leaders stated they would believe Jesus was the Son of God if He came down from the cross. Rising from the grave is harder than coming down from the cross. What would happen to these religious leaders if they didn't believe in Jesus after He rose from the grave?
Today, we will cover the most confusing portion of Jesus' time on the cross...
MATTHEW 27:44-45
"44 And the robbers also that were crucified with him cast upon him the same reproach.
45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour."
(We saw that Matthew's and Mark's account referred to two of the people crucified with Jesus as robbers. Luke's account referred to two of the people crucified with Jesus as malefactors.)
(In today's passage, Matthew said they cast upon Jesus the same reproach as what we saw from the common man and the religious leaders.)
(Verse 45 stated from the sixth hour (noon) to the ninth hour (3 PM) there was darkness. It looked as if the robbers from Matthew's account casted upon Jesus their reproach before the sixth hour.)
(Let's look at the other gospel accounts...)
OTHER ACCOUNTS
"31 In like manner also the chief priests mocking him among themselves with the scribes said, He saved others; himself he cannot save.
32 Let the Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with him reproached him.
33 And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour." Mark 15:31-33
Mark's gospel account agreed with Matthew's. The robbers crucified with Jesus reproached Jesus before the sixth hour.
John has no mention of any of the people crucified with Jesus saying anything to Jesus.
The confusion comes with Luke's gospel account...
"39 And one of the malefactors that were hanged railed on him, saying, Art not thou the Christ? save thyself and us.
40 But the other answered, and rebuking him said, Dost thou not even fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?
41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.
42 And he said, Jesus, remember me when thou comest in thy kingdom.
43 And he said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To-day shalt thou be with me in Paradise.
44 And it was now about the sixth hour, and a darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour," Luke 23:39-44
One malefactor railed on Jesus like the robbers in Matthew's and Mark's gospel accounts. However, the other malefactor defended Jesus. His reason? In verse 40, the second malefactor is pointing out the hypocrisy of the first malefactor. Basically, how can you accuse someone else when you are guilty yourself? However, the second malefactor when further...
The second malefactor referenced Justice! He stated both malefactors deserved their punishment, but Jesus didn't. Did the comments by the common men and the religious leaders make him aware of this? I don't know.
The second malefactor stated his will and showed his faith when he asked Jesus to remember him when He came into His Kingdom. This must have been enough for Salvation, because Jesus stated the second malefactor would be with Jesus in paradise that day.
This story from Luke has a TON of Doctrine in it. Let's look at it more closely...
DOCTRINE
1. It is possible to be evil your ENTIRE life and then make a sincere deathbed confession minutes before you die that results in Salvation.
There is some discussion what Jesus meant by "paradise". Some people believe Jesus meant the malefactor would be in Heaven that day. Others, believe Jesus meant the malefactor would be in Abraham's Bosom that day instead of Hades. We will see later this month some verses that may shed light on the answer to this question...
2. You do NOT need to be Baptized to attain Salvation.
The malefactor on the cross did not get baptized...there was no time. Some people try to say that it rained so that was his baptism. Others will even say Jesus may have spit on him. These are comparative arguments made by people who want to make Baptism a requirement...and essentially a work...for Salvation.
3. This malefactor did the minimum requirements for Salvation.
This story is an excellent story for Modeling. We know this malefactor made it to Heaven with the minimum requirements. Everything other than what this malefactor did is NOT required for Salvation. While this may sound easy, let's look at what the malefactor did...
The malefactor:
-feared God
-rebuked another for not fearing God
-acknowledged his own sinfulness
-acknowledged justice for his sins
-confessed faith in a sinless Jesus
-confessed Jesus as Lord
-confessed faith in Jesus' eventual reign
-asked for mercy and forgiveness
What more do you think this required for Salvation?
Have you done all of the things the second malefactor did?
Are you willing to do all of the things the second malefactor did?
The confusion is: Why do Mark's and Matthew's account appear to contradict Luke's account?
There are two PERSPECTIVES:
1. The malefactors were the robbers. The second malefactor (robber) railed against Jesus BEFORE the sixth hour, then realized he was wrong around the sixth hour and defended Jesus. Luke's account appeared to state the exchange between the second malefactor and Jesus occurred about the sixth hour...which would have been after he railed against Jesus...which would show you truly can be completely evil (railing against Jesus) your entire life and achieve Salvation minutes before you die.
2. The malefactors were different than the robbers. There were at least five people crucified with Jesus. A robber and malefactor on His right and a robber and malefactor on His left.
I can't prove either PERSPECTIVE. You ought to state which one you believe and WHY...then let God work on you through the Holy Spirit.
I believe the first PERSPECTIVE because they timing works out and it shows EVEN MORE how much you can be forgiven if you are humble and completely confess and repent.
SUMMARY
One person crucified with Jesus attained Salvation without Baptism...and despite being evil their entire life.
Tomorrow we will continue covering Matthew 27...
Next Post
The religious leaders, like the common man, made two IF/THEN Statements concerning Jesus' Divinity that closely resembled the devil's two IF/THEN Statements concerning Jesus' Divinity during Jesus' temptation in the desert.
The religious leaders PROVED they were losing their minds because they did not know the Scriptures well enough to know Jesus was the Messiah...AND the religious leaders also railed against the government and God with their two IF/THEN Statements.
The religious leaders stated they would believe Jesus was the Son of God if He came down from the cross. Rising from the grave is harder than coming down from the cross. What would happen to these religious leaders if they didn't believe in Jesus after He rose from the grave?
Today, we will cover the most confusing portion of Jesus' time on the cross...
MATTHEW 27:44-45
"44 And the robbers also that were crucified with him cast upon him the same reproach.
45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour."
(We saw that Matthew's and Mark's account referred to two of the people crucified with Jesus as robbers. Luke's account referred to two of the people crucified with Jesus as malefactors.)
(In today's passage, Matthew said they cast upon Jesus the same reproach as what we saw from the common man and the religious leaders.)
(Verse 45 stated from the sixth hour (noon) to the ninth hour (3 PM) there was darkness. It looked as if the robbers from Matthew's account casted upon Jesus their reproach before the sixth hour.)
(Let's look at the other gospel accounts...)
OTHER ACCOUNTS
"31 In like manner also the chief priests mocking him among themselves with the scribes said, He saved others; himself he cannot save.
32 Let the Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with him reproached him.
33 And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour." Mark 15:31-33
Mark's gospel account agreed with Matthew's. The robbers crucified with Jesus reproached Jesus before the sixth hour.
John has no mention of any of the people crucified with Jesus saying anything to Jesus.
The confusion comes with Luke's gospel account...
"39 And one of the malefactors that were hanged railed on him, saying, Art not thou the Christ? save thyself and us.
40 But the other answered, and rebuking him said, Dost thou not even fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?
41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.
42 And he said, Jesus, remember me when thou comest in thy kingdom.
43 And he said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To-day shalt thou be with me in Paradise.
44 And it was now about the sixth hour, and a darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour," Luke 23:39-44
One malefactor railed on Jesus like the robbers in Matthew's and Mark's gospel accounts. However, the other malefactor defended Jesus. His reason? In verse 40, the second malefactor is pointing out the hypocrisy of the first malefactor. Basically, how can you accuse someone else when you are guilty yourself? However, the second malefactor when further...
The second malefactor referenced Justice! He stated both malefactors deserved their punishment, but Jesus didn't. Did the comments by the common men and the religious leaders make him aware of this? I don't know.
The second malefactor stated his will and showed his faith when he asked Jesus to remember him when He came into His Kingdom. This must have been enough for Salvation, because Jesus stated the second malefactor would be with Jesus in paradise that day.
This story from Luke has a TON of Doctrine in it. Let's look at it more closely...
DOCTRINE
1. It is possible to be evil your ENTIRE life and then make a sincere deathbed confession minutes before you die that results in Salvation.
There is some discussion what Jesus meant by "paradise". Some people believe Jesus meant the malefactor would be in Heaven that day. Others, believe Jesus meant the malefactor would be in Abraham's Bosom that day instead of Hades. We will see later this month some verses that may shed light on the answer to this question...
2. You do NOT need to be Baptized to attain Salvation.
The malefactor on the cross did not get baptized...there was no time. Some people try to say that it rained so that was his baptism. Others will even say Jesus may have spit on him. These are comparative arguments made by people who want to make Baptism a requirement...and essentially a work...for Salvation.
3. This malefactor did the minimum requirements for Salvation.
This story is an excellent story for Modeling. We know this malefactor made it to Heaven with the minimum requirements. Everything other than what this malefactor did is NOT required for Salvation. While this may sound easy, let's look at what the malefactor did...
The malefactor:
-feared God
-rebuked another for not fearing God
-acknowledged his own sinfulness
-acknowledged justice for his sins
-confessed faith in a sinless Jesus
-confessed Jesus as Lord
-confessed faith in Jesus' eventual reign
-asked for mercy and forgiveness
What more do you think this required for Salvation?
Have you done all of the things the second malefactor did?
Are you willing to do all of the things the second malefactor did?
The confusion is: Why do Mark's and Matthew's account appear to contradict Luke's account?
There are two PERSPECTIVES:
1. The malefactors were the robbers. The second malefactor (robber) railed against Jesus BEFORE the sixth hour, then realized he was wrong around the sixth hour and defended Jesus. Luke's account appeared to state the exchange between the second malefactor and Jesus occurred about the sixth hour...which would have been after he railed against Jesus...which would show you truly can be completely evil (railing against Jesus) your entire life and achieve Salvation minutes before you die.
2. The malefactors were different than the robbers. There were at least five people crucified with Jesus. A robber and malefactor on His right and a robber and malefactor on His left.
I can't prove either PERSPECTIVE. You ought to state which one you believe and WHY...then let God work on you through the Holy Spirit.
I believe the first PERSPECTIVE because they timing works out and it shows EVEN MORE how much you can be forgiven if you are humble and completely confess and repent.
SUMMARY
One person crucified with Jesus attained Salvation without Baptism...and despite being evil their entire life.
Tomorrow we will continue covering Matthew 27...
Next Post
Monday, November 22, 2010
Matthew 27:41-43
This year we have been covering The Gospel According to Matthew. In the previous post, we covered Matthew 27:39-40. Here is the summary:
The common man misquoted Jesus and made an IF/THEN Statement concerning Jesus' Divinity that closely resembled the devil's two IF/THEN Statements concerning Jesus' Divinity during Jesus' temptation in the desert.
Jesus was fulfilling ALL of WHAT the common man was requesting.
The reason the common man didn't realize it was because even though they had the Right WHAT, they had the Wrong HOW/WHY.
Today, we will continue looking at Matthew chapter 27...
MATTHEW 27:41-43
"41 In like manner also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said,
42 He saved others; himself he cannot save. He is the King of Israel; let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe on him.
43 He trusteth on God; let him deliver him now, if he desireth him: for he said, I am the Son of God."
(KJV of verse 42 stated "If he be the King of Israel..." Whether it is BLATANTLY stated or not, verse 42 is an IF/THEN Statement.)
(There are basically two IF/THEN Statements made by the religious leaders:
1. The chief priests with the Torah teachers and the elders stated Jesus had saved others but was unable to save Himself. They stated their will they would believe in Jesus if He came down from the cross.
2. The religious leaders stated that if God desired Jesus, God would deliver Jesus NOW. The religious leaders turned their mocking to God!)
(Yesterday, we saw the common man made two IF/THEN Statements concerning Jesus' Divinity. Both of these Statements were made toward Jesus. We saw the reason their Statements were wrong, and sounded a lot like the devil's two IF/THEN Statements to Jesus during His temptation in the desert, was because they had the Wrong HOW/WHY. Likewise, the religious leaders made two misguided IF/THEN Statements concerning Jesus' Divinity because they had the Wrong HOW/WHY.)
(Their first IF/THEN Statement focused on Jesus' inability to save Himself. This is a Wrong HOW/WHY. If Jesus had saved Himself, He couldn't save others. Here's a passage we covered from Matthew chapter 16:
"22 And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall never be unto thee.
23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art a stumbling-block unto me: for thou mindest not the things of God, but the things of men.
24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
25 For whosoever would save his life shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake shall find it.
26 For what shall a man be profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and forfeit his life? or what shall a man give in exchange for his life?
27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then shall he render unto every man according to his deeds." Matthew 16:22-27)
(As for the second IF/THEN Statement, it fulfilled prophecy!
"7 All they that see me laugh me to scorn: They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
8 Commit thyself unto Jehovah; Let him deliver him: Let him rescue him, seeing he delighteth in him." Psalm 22:7-8)
(If the religious leaders had known the Scriptures, they would have known Jesus was the Messiah. Not only knowing Psalm 22 would have helped them, but knowing The GREATEST PROPHECY in the Bible would have PROVED to them Jesus was the Messiah.)
(From what we have learned about Thought Processes, we can see the religious leaders of Jesus' time were very brain damaged. Look at who they were actually railing against in their two IF/THEN Statements:
1. Government - It was Pilate who pronounced Jesus AS the King of the Jews. The religious leaders were actually denouncing Pilate.
2. God - The religious leaders TEMPTED God with an IF/THEN Statement to save Jesus.
Clearly, these people had lost their minds...)
(One final point, the religious leaders were probably being fueled by pride and jealousy. Jealousy over what? Notice what epitaph the religious leaders pronounced over Jesus:
"He is a man who saved others and trusted God")
(We should all be so fortunate that even our enemies could state about us that we were focused on helping others and trusting God...)
(Let's look at the other gospel accounts...)
OTHER ACCOUNTS
"31 In like manner also the chief priests mocking him among themselves with the scribes said, He saved others; himself he cannot save.
32 Let the Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, that we may see and believe. ..."
Mark 15:31-32a
Mark's account only recorded the first IF/THEN Statement: The religious leaders would believe in Jesus if He came down from the cross. this was a Statement of their will.
Notice, Jesus rose from the grave.
Which is harder to do?
-physically come down from the cross
-rise from the grave
If these religious leaders stated they would believe in Jesus if He came down from the cross, what would happen to them if they didn't believe in Jesus after He rose from the grave?
Luke's and John's gospel accounts did not record the religious leaders railing against Jesus while He was on the cross.
SUMMARY
The religious leaders, like the common man, made two IF/THEN Statements concerning Jesus' Divinity that closely resembled the devil's two IF/THEN Statements concerning Jesus' Divinity during Jesus' temptation in the desert.
The religious leaders PROVED they were losing their minds because they did not know the Scriptures well enough to know Jesus was the Messiah...AND the religious leaders also railed against the government and God with their two IF/THEN Statements.
The religious leaders stated they would believe Jesus was the Son of God if He came down from the cross. Rising from the grave is harder than coming down from the cross. What would happen to these religious leaders if they didn't believe in Jesus after He rose from the grave?
Tomorrow, we will cover the most confusing portion of Jesus' time on the cross...
Next Post
The common man misquoted Jesus and made an IF/THEN Statement concerning Jesus' Divinity that closely resembled the devil's two IF/THEN Statements concerning Jesus' Divinity during Jesus' temptation in the desert.
Jesus was fulfilling ALL of WHAT the common man was requesting.
The reason the common man didn't realize it was because even though they had the Right WHAT, they had the Wrong HOW/WHY.
Today, we will continue looking at Matthew chapter 27...
MATTHEW 27:41-43
"41 In like manner also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said,
42 He saved others; himself he cannot save. He is the King of Israel; let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe on him.
43 He trusteth on God; let him deliver him now, if he desireth him: for he said, I am the Son of God."
(KJV of verse 42 stated "If he be the King of Israel..." Whether it is BLATANTLY stated or not, verse 42 is an IF/THEN Statement.)
(There are basically two IF/THEN Statements made by the religious leaders:
1. The chief priests with the Torah teachers and the elders stated Jesus had saved others but was unable to save Himself. They stated their will they would believe in Jesus if He came down from the cross.
2. The religious leaders stated that if God desired Jesus, God would deliver Jesus NOW. The religious leaders turned their mocking to God!)
(Yesterday, we saw the common man made two IF/THEN Statements concerning Jesus' Divinity. Both of these Statements were made toward Jesus. We saw the reason their Statements were wrong, and sounded a lot like the devil's two IF/THEN Statements to Jesus during His temptation in the desert, was because they had the Wrong HOW/WHY. Likewise, the religious leaders made two misguided IF/THEN Statements concerning Jesus' Divinity because they had the Wrong HOW/WHY.)
(Their first IF/THEN Statement focused on Jesus' inability to save Himself. This is a Wrong HOW/WHY. If Jesus had saved Himself, He couldn't save others. Here's a passage we covered from Matthew chapter 16:
"22 And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall never be unto thee.
23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art a stumbling-block unto me: for thou mindest not the things of God, but the things of men.
24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
25 For whosoever would save his life shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake shall find it.
26 For what shall a man be profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and forfeit his life? or what shall a man give in exchange for his life?
27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then shall he render unto every man according to his deeds." Matthew 16:22-27)
(As for the second IF/THEN Statement, it fulfilled prophecy!
"7 All they that see me laugh me to scorn: They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
8 Commit thyself unto Jehovah; Let him deliver him: Let him rescue him, seeing he delighteth in him." Psalm 22:7-8)
(If the religious leaders had known the Scriptures, they would have known Jesus was the Messiah. Not only knowing Psalm 22 would have helped them, but knowing The GREATEST PROPHECY in the Bible would have PROVED to them Jesus was the Messiah.)
(From what we have learned about Thought Processes, we can see the religious leaders of Jesus' time were very brain damaged. Look at who they were actually railing against in their two IF/THEN Statements:
1. Government - It was Pilate who pronounced Jesus AS the King of the Jews. The religious leaders were actually denouncing Pilate.
2. God - The religious leaders TEMPTED God with an IF/THEN Statement to save Jesus.
Clearly, these people had lost their minds...)
(One final point, the religious leaders were probably being fueled by pride and jealousy. Jealousy over what? Notice what epitaph the religious leaders pronounced over Jesus:
"He is a man who saved others and trusted God")
(We should all be so fortunate that even our enemies could state about us that we were focused on helping others and trusting God...)
(Let's look at the other gospel accounts...)
OTHER ACCOUNTS
"31 In like manner also the chief priests mocking him among themselves with the scribes said, He saved others; himself he cannot save.
32 Let the Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, that we may see and believe. ..."
Mark 15:31-32a
Mark's account only recorded the first IF/THEN Statement: The religious leaders would believe in Jesus if He came down from the cross. this was a Statement of their will.
Notice, Jesus rose from the grave.
Which is harder to do?
-physically come down from the cross
-rise from the grave
If these religious leaders stated they would believe in Jesus if He came down from the cross, what would happen to them if they didn't believe in Jesus after He rose from the grave?
Luke's and John's gospel accounts did not record the religious leaders railing against Jesus while He was on the cross.
SUMMARY
The religious leaders, like the common man, made two IF/THEN Statements concerning Jesus' Divinity that closely resembled the devil's two IF/THEN Statements concerning Jesus' Divinity during Jesus' temptation in the desert.
The religious leaders PROVED they were losing their minds because they did not know the Scriptures well enough to know Jesus was the Messiah...AND the religious leaders also railed against the government and God with their two IF/THEN Statements.
The religious leaders stated they would believe Jesus was the Son of God if He came down from the cross. Rising from the grave is harder than coming down from the cross. What would happen to these religious leaders if they didn't believe in Jesus after He rose from the grave?
Tomorrow, we will cover the most confusing portion of Jesus' time on the cross...
Next Post
Friday, November 19, 2010
Matthew 27:39-40
This year we have been covering The Gospel According to Matthew. In the previous post, we covered Matthew 27:38. Here is the summary:
Jesus being crucified with others fulfilled prophecy from Isaiah 53:12.
There are two PERSPECTIVES concerning the others that were crucified with Jesus:
1. Jesus was crucified with ONLY two other people.
2. Jesus was crucified with at least four other people. Two were specifically robbers. The other two were malefactors.
The robbers will be mentioned again in verse 44. When we cover Matthew 27:44, we will look closely at each PERSPECTIVE.
Today, we will continue looking at Matthew chapter 27...
MATTHEW 27:39-40
"39 And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads,
40 and saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself: if thou art the Son of God, come down from the cross."
(Today's passage dealt ONLY with the common person railing at Jesus. The common person attempted to quote Jesus back to Himself. Here is the actual quote from John's gospel account:
"19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." John 2:19)
(Jesus told THEM to destroy the temple and He would raise it up. Look at the next two verses from John's gospel account:
"20 The Jews therefore said, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou raise it up in three days?
21 But he spake of the temple of his body." John 2:19-21)
(I believe Jesus ONLY spoke of His Body.)
(I believe Jesus referred to His Body as the temple...in effect He said to the Jews (common man), "Destroy My Body and I will raise up My Body in three days".)
(Brief historical background: Herod the Great tore down Zerubbabel's temple in order to make it larger. This was NOT the same temple Zerubbabel built that began the countdown to the end of the dispensation of the Law.)
(When the common man stated Herod's temple took forty-six years to create and asked Jesus a question...Jesus did NOT answer. The common man asked a question about something different than what Jesus spoke about.)
(During Jesus' crucifixion, the common man misstated the claim Jesus had made concerning His own Body. Actually, Jesus was fulfilling His claim while the common man railed at Him for NOT fulfilling His claim.)
(Notice, the claim was stated by the common man so he could set up an IF/THEN Statement concerning Jesus' Divinity. Where have we seen this before?)
(We saw in Matthew chapter 4, the devil tempted Jesus' with IF/THEN Statements concerning Jesus' Divinity!)
(The devil's IF/THEN Statements concerning Jesus' Divinity:
"If thou art the Son of God, command that these stones become bread."
"If thou art the Son of God, cast thyself down")
(Today's passage: "if thou art the Son of God, come down from the cross.")
(Again, the PROOF Jesus was the Son of God is that He did NOT come down from the cross. The common man completely misunderstood Jesus. Jesus was fulfilling WHAT the common man was requesting. The reason the common man didn't understand this was because they had a Wrong HOW/WHY.)
(The common man thought Jesus being the Son of God would mean He would fight and be victorious physically in the short-term. They thought the temple was the physical man-made structure. They thought being the Son of God meant immediately ruling over the physical.)
(Instead, Jesus would humble Himself in order to become spiritually victorious in the Long Term. Jesus would create a spiritual temple so He could eventually rule for eternity.)
(Let's look at the other gospel accounts...)
OTHER ACCOUNTS
"29 And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ha! Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days,
30 save thyself, and come down from the cross." Mark 15:29-30
Mark had essentially the same passage as what we saw from Matthew today.
Luke did not record what the common said. Luke recorded what the rulers said...which we will cover on Monday.
John recorded nothing about the people or the rulers.
SUMMARY
The common man misquoted Jesus and made an IF/THEN Statement concerning Jesus' Divinity that closely resembled the devil's two IF/THEN Statements concerning Jesus' Divinity during Jesus' temptation in the desert.
Jesus was fulfilling ALL of WHAT the common man was requesting.
The reason the common man didn't realize it was because even though they had the Right WHAT, they had the Wrong HOW/WHY.
On Monday, we will continue looking at Matthew chapter 27...
Next Post
Jesus being crucified with others fulfilled prophecy from Isaiah 53:12.
There are two PERSPECTIVES concerning the others that were crucified with Jesus:
1. Jesus was crucified with ONLY two other people.
2. Jesus was crucified with at least four other people. Two were specifically robbers. The other two were malefactors.
The robbers will be mentioned again in verse 44. When we cover Matthew 27:44, we will look closely at each PERSPECTIVE.
Today, we will continue looking at Matthew chapter 27...
MATTHEW 27:39-40
"39 And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads,
40 and saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself: if thou art the Son of God, come down from the cross."
(Today's passage dealt ONLY with the common person railing at Jesus. The common person attempted to quote Jesus back to Himself. Here is the actual quote from John's gospel account:
"19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." John 2:19)
(Jesus told THEM to destroy the temple and He would raise it up. Look at the next two verses from John's gospel account:
"20 The Jews therefore said, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou raise it up in three days?
21 But he spake of the temple of his body." John 2:19-21)
(I believe Jesus ONLY spoke of His Body.)
(I believe Jesus referred to His Body as the temple...in effect He said to the Jews (common man), "Destroy My Body and I will raise up My Body in three days".)
(Brief historical background: Herod the Great tore down Zerubbabel's temple in order to make it larger. This was NOT the same temple Zerubbabel built that began the countdown to the end of the dispensation of the Law.)
(When the common man stated Herod's temple took forty-six years to create and asked Jesus a question...Jesus did NOT answer. The common man asked a question about something different than what Jesus spoke about.)
(During Jesus' crucifixion, the common man misstated the claim Jesus had made concerning His own Body. Actually, Jesus was fulfilling His claim while the common man railed at Him for NOT fulfilling His claim.)
(Notice, the claim was stated by the common man so he could set up an IF/THEN Statement concerning Jesus' Divinity. Where have we seen this before?)
(We saw in Matthew chapter 4, the devil tempted Jesus' with IF/THEN Statements concerning Jesus' Divinity!)
(The devil's IF/THEN Statements concerning Jesus' Divinity:
"If thou art the Son of God, command that these stones become bread."
"If thou art the Son of God, cast thyself down")
(Today's passage: "if thou art the Son of God, come down from the cross.")
(Again, the PROOF Jesus was the Son of God is that He did NOT come down from the cross. The common man completely misunderstood Jesus. Jesus was fulfilling WHAT the common man was requesting. The reason the common man didn't understand this was because they had a Wrong HOW/WHY.)
(The common man thought Jesus being the Son of God would mean He would fight and be victorious physically in the short-term. They thought the temple was the physical man-made structure. They thought being the Son of God meant immediately ruling over the physical.)
(Instead, Jesus would humble Himself in order to become spiritually victorious in the Long Term. Jesus would create a spiritual temple so He could eventually rule for eternity.)
(Let's look at the other gospel accounts...)
OTHER ACCOUNTS
"29 And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ha! Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days,
30 save thyself, and come down from the cross." Mark 15:29-30
Mark had essentially the same passage as what we saw from Matthew today.
Luke did not record what the common said. Luke recorded what the rulers said...which we will cover on Monday.
John recorded nothing about the people or the rulers.
SUMMARY
The common man misquoted Jesus and made an IF/THEN Statement concerning Jesus' Divinity that closely resembled the devil's two IF/THEN Statements concerning Jesus' Divinity during Jesus' temptation in the desert.
Jesus was fulfilling ALL of WHAT the common man was requesting.
The reason the common man didn't realize it was because even though they had the Right WHAT, they had the Wrong HOW/WHY.
On Monday, we will continue looking at Matthew chapter 27...
Next Post
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Matthew 27:38
This year we have been covering The Gospel According to Matthew. In the previous post, we covered Matthew 27:35-37. Here is the summary:
When Jesus was put on the cross, He fulfilled prophecy from Psalm 22.
-He was surrounded by Gentiles
-His bones were not broken
-The soldiers casted lots for His garments
The official legal reason WHY Jesus was crucified was because He was the King of the Jews.
Today, we will begin looking at a complicated portion of Matthew chapter 27...
MATTHEW 27:38
"38 Then are there crucified with him two robbers, one on the right hand and one on the left."
(First, the robbers will be mentioned again in verse 44. For today's post, I want to introduce the possibility there are two PERSPECTIVES concerning the people crucified with Jesus. When we cover Matthew 27:44, we will look closely at each PERSPECTIVE.)
(Second, robbers is Strong's #3027 lestes - "from leizomai (to plunder); a brigand:-robber, thief." Matthew stated there were two robbers crucified with Jesus.)
(Let's look at the other gospel accounts...)
OTHER ACCOUNTS
"27 And with him they crucify two robbers; one on his right hand, and one on his left.
28 And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, And he was reckoned with transgressors." Mark 15:27-28
Mark used the same word (robbers/lestes) as Matthew.
Mark also referenced prophecy: Isaiah chapter 53. We've already looked at the entire chapter in a previous post. Here is the last verse of the chapter from Isaiah:
"12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out his soul unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors: yet he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors." Isaiah 53:12
In Isaiah, transgressors is Strong's #6586 pasa - "to break away (from just authority), i.e. trespass, apostatize, quarrel:- offend, rebel, revolt, transgress, transgression, transgressor."
In Mark, transgressors is Strong's #459 anomos - "lawless, i.e. (negatively) not subject to (the Jewish) law; (by implication a Gentile), or (positively) wicked:- without law, lawless, transgressor, unlawful, wicked."
The implication of the prophecy was the Messiah would be killed with Gentiles...NOT according to Jewish Law, but according to Gentile law. That kind of prophecy must have seemed highly unlikely during Isaiah's time...
"32 And there were also two others, malefactors, led with him to be put to death.
33 And when they came unto the place which is called The skull, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand and the other on the left." Luke 23:32-33
malefactors is Strong's #2557 kakourgos - "a wrong-doer, i.e. criminal:- evil-doer, malefactor."
Here are the two PERSPECTIVES:
1. Jesus was crucified with ONLY two other people.
2. Jesus was crucified with at least four other people. Two were specifically robbers. The other two were malefactors.
This year's Series follows Matthew's account. Luke's presentation had a slightly different order. Consequently, yesterday's post covered Luke 23:34 and Luke 23:38...which coincided with Matthew 23:35-37.
Likewise, John's presentation has a slightly different order. Yesterday, we covered John 19:19-24. Two days ago, we covered John 19:17 and the first half of John 19:18. Today, we can cover all of John 19:18...
"17 They took Jesus therefore: and he went out, bearing the cross for himself, unto the place called The place of a skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha:
18 where they crucified him, and with him two others, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst." John 19:17-18
John mentioned others being crucified with Jesus...
SUMMARY
Jesus being crucified with others fulfilled prophecy from Isaiah 53:12.
There are two PERSPECTIVES concerning the others that were crucified with Jesus:
1. Jesus was crucified with ONLY two other people.
2. Jesus was crucified with at least four other people. Two were specifically robbers. The other two were malefactors.
The robbers will be mentioned again in verse 44. When we cover Matthew 27:44, we will look closely at each PERSPECTIVE.
Tomorrow, we will continue looking at Matthew chapter 27...
Next Post
When Jesus was put on the cross, He fulfilled prophecy from Psalm 22.
-He was surrounded by Gentiles
-His bones were not broken
-The soldiers casted lots for His garments
The official legal reason WHY Jesus was crucified was because He was the King of the Jews.
Today, we will begin looking at a complicated portion of Matthew chapter 27...
MATTHEW 27:38
"38 Then are there crucified with him two robbers, one on the right hand and one on the left."
(First, the robbers will be mentioned again in verse 44. For today's post, I want to introduce the possibility there are two PERSPECTIVES concerning the people crucified with Jesus. When we cover Matthew 27:44, we will look closely at each PERSPECTIVE.)
(Second, robbers is Strong's #3027 lestes - "from leizomai (to plunder); a brigand:-robber, thief." Matthew stated there were two robbers crucified with Jesus.)
(Let's look at the other gospel accounts...)
OTHER ACCOUNTS
"27 And with him they crucify two robbers; one on his right hand, and one on his left.
28 And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, And he was reckoned with transgressors." Mark 15:27-28
Mark used the same word (robbers/lestes) as Matthew.
Mark also referenced prophecy: Isaiah chapter 53. We've already looked at the entire chapter in a previous post. Here is the last verse of the chapter from Isaiah:
"12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out his soul unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors: yet he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors." Isaiah 53:12
In Isaiah, transgressors is Strong's #6586 pasa - "to break away (from just authority), i.e. trespass, apostatize, quarrel:- offend, rebel, revolt, transgress, transgression, transgressor."
In Mark, transgressors is Strong's #459 anomos - "lawless, i.e. (negatively) not subject to (the Jewish) law; (by implication a Gentile), or (positively) wicked:- without law, lawless, transgressor, unlawful, wicked."
The implication of the prophecy was the Messiah would be killed with Gentiles...NOT according to Jewish Law, but according to Gentile law. That kind of prophecy must have seemed highly unlikely during Isaiah's time...
"32 And there were also two others, malefactors, led with him to be put to death.
33 And when they came unto the place which is called The skull, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand and the other on the left." Luke 23:32-33
malefactors is Strong's #2557 kakourgos - "a wrong-doer, i.e. criminal:- evil-doer, malefactor."
Here are the two PERSPECTIVES:
1. Jesus was crucified with ONLY two other people.
2. Jesus was crucified with at least four other people. Two were specifically robbers. The other two were malefactors.
This year's Series follows Matthew's account. Luke's presentation had a slightly different order. Consequently, yesterday's post covered Luke 23:34 and Luke 23:38...which coincided with Matthew 23:35-37.
Likewise, John's presentation has a slightly different order. Yesterday, we covered John 19:19-24. Two days ago, we covered John 19:17 and the first half of John 19:18. Today, we can cover all of John 19:18...
"17 They took Jesus therefore: and he went out, bearing the cross for himself, unto the place called The place of a skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha:
18 where they crucified him, and with him two others, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst." John 19:17-18
John mentioned others being crucified with Jesus...
SUMMARY
Jesus being crucified with others fulfilled prophecy from Isaiah 53:12.
There are two PERSPECTIVES concerning the others that were crucified with Jesus:
1. Jesus was crucified with ONLY two other people.
2. Jesus was crucified with at least four other people. Two were specifically robbers. The other two were malefactors.
The robbers will be mentioned again in verse 44. When we cover Matthew 27:44, we will look closely at each PERSPECTIVE.
Tomorrow, we will continue looking at Matthew chapter 27...
Next Post
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Matthew 27:35-37
This year we have been covering The Gospel According to Matthew. In the previous post, we covered Matthew 27:33-34. Here is the summary:
Jesus was given wine mixed with gall (specfically myrrh) at the beginning of His crucifixion. Jesus refused this first drink intended to help ease His pain so that He:
-experienced the full extent of His unjust punishment
-was fully aware for the rest of the events of His crucifixion
Today, we will continue with Matthew chapter 27...
MATTHEW 27:35-37
"35 And when they had crucified him, they parted his garments among them, casting lots;
36 and they sat and watched him there.
37 And they set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS."
(The soldiers put Jesus on the cross and then fought over His garments. They casted lots (like rolling dice) to determine who got His garment. This was prophesied in Psalm 22:
"16 For dogs have compassed me: A company of evil-doers have inclosed me; They pierced my hands and my feet.
17 I may count all my bones; They look and stare upon me.
18 They part my garments among them, And upon my vesture do they cast lots." Psalm 22:18)
(Remember, dogs are Gentiles. The Gentile surrounded Jesus and watched Him to make sure no one rescued Him.)
(The prophecy mentioned the Messiah's hands and feet being pierced. It also mentioned the Messiah being able to count all His bones. This referred to the fact that none of the Messiah's bones were broken after He died. It was the custom to break the crucified person's legs so they would die quicker...they wouldn't be able to push up and take a breath as they begin cramping from the carbon dioxide. If Jesus' legs had been broken, He wouldn't have been able to take in enough breath to say anything while He was on the cross...)
(Over Jesus' head, the accusation was written. It was Roman Law to write the crime the person was being punished for so everyone would be discouraged from doing the same thing. Jesus was crucified BECAUSE He was the King of the Jews...BECAUSE He was the Son of God.)
(There are more details in the other gospel accounts relative to Jesus' garment not being divided and what was written over Jesus' head. Let's look at the other gospel accounts...)
OTHER ACCOUNTS
"24 And they crucify him, and part his garments among them, casting lots upon them, what each should take.
25 And it was the third hour, and they crucified him.
26 And the superscription of his accusation was written over, THE KING OF THE JEWS." Mark 15:24-26
Mark's gospel account stated the time Jesus was first placed on the cross was the third hour...about 9 AM. Mark's account of the accusation left off "THIS IS JESUS".
"34 And Jesus said, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And parting his garments among them, they cast lots." Luke 23:34
"38 And there was also a superscription over him, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS." Luke 23:38
Luke stated Jesus asked that God would forgive the people who crucified Him. There were some powerful implications...
1. Jesus Prayed
Jesus wouldn't have been able to speak if His legs were broken. Yesterday, we saw that Jesus turned down the wine mingled with myrrh so that He could be intentional during His crucifixion. Jesus intentionally requested to God that He forgive these people for what they did BECAUSE they didn't know what they did. Did Jesus excuse away the sin of these people BECAUSE they didn't know what they were doing? There is a lot of Doctrine here because the first half of verse 34 dealt with Prayer and Sin! Remember, sins against God are Second Dimensional Sins, are measured according to Righteous, and affect Salvation.
2. Jesus didn't sin
If Jesus hadn't prayed, people could say that perhaps Jesus was so angry with the soldiers and the injustice of His treatment that He harbored bitterness and sinned. However, BECAUSE Jesus prayed for these people, we KNOW Jesus NEVER sinned.
3. Jesus forgave
Remember, this is Luke's gospel account. We also saw in Luke's account a statement from Jesus' Mouth that confuses most believers: Luke 17:3
"Take heed to yourselves: if thy brother sin, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him."
We saw that forgiving a person allows Justice to equal everything out. Remember, First Dimensional Sins are committed against people, are measured according to Justice, and affect Reward. Jesus would have been clearing the way for God to take Spiritual value from these people AND give Jesus Spiritual value.
As for the accusation, this blog uses the American Standard Version (ASV). Luke 23:38 reads this was in the King James Version:
"38 And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS."
(We will see John's account according to the ASV agreed with Luke's account according to the KJV.)
"19 And Pilate wrote a title also, and put it on the cross. And there was written, JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
20 This title therefore read many of the Jews, for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city; and it was written in Hebrew, and in Latin, and in Greek.
21 The chief priests of the Jews therefore said to Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am King of the Jews.
22 Pilate answered, What I have written I have written.
23 The soldiers therefore, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also the coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout.
24 They said therefore one to another, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my garments among them, And upon my vesture did they cast lots." John 19:19-24
John's account gave the most details...
1. Pilate wrote the accusation. Remember, John's account focused on the numerous times Pilate attempted to avoid:
-killing Jesus and
-being responsible for killing Jesus
2. The accusation was written in three languages. This could be why Matthew's account differed from Luke's and John's. Each could have been translating from a different language or given their composite translation of all the languages. Mark's account may have just left off "THIS IS JESUS" from Matthew's account.
3. John referred to the religious leaders as the "chief priests of the Jews"...NOT the chief priests of God! At this point, these religious leaders were NOT representing God...they were representing the people...the current culture. They were NOT living God's Doctrine. They were living man's tradition and culture as doctrine.
4. There was a dispute about the accusation
The religious leaders wanted the crime to be changed from Jesus BEING the King of the Jews to Jesus SAYING He was the King of the Jews. We saw Jesus didn't defend Himself...and He didn't testify against Himself. Here is yet another reason WHY Jesus didn't respond. There was NO WAY for the Jews to convince Pilate about changing the accusation when Jesus didn't defend Himself. Furthermore, the religious leaders wouldn't have been able to get the crowd riled up and the government to crucify Jesus if He was NOT the King of the Jews. If He ONLY said He was the King of the Jews, they could have locked Him up for being crazy. The religious leaders had stated their will and Pilate made sure they lived with the consequences.
5. It took four soldiers to put Jesus on the cross
All four soldiers wanted Jesus' garment...but there was no way to divide it because it was seamless. Dividing it would have made all four pieces useless. The solution? "Winner take all". All four cast lots to see who among them would get the entire garment.
SUMMARY
When Jesus was put on the cross, He fulfilled prophecy from Psalm 22.
-He was surrounded by Gentiles
-His bones were not broken
-The soldiers casted lots for His garments
The official legal reason WHY Jesus was crucified was because He was the King of the Jews.
Tomorrow, we will begin looking at a complicated portion of Matthew chapter 27...
Next Post
Jesus was given wine mixed with gall (specfically myrrh) at the beginning of His crucifixion. Jesus refused this first drink intended to help ease His pain so that He:
-experienced the full extent of His unjust punishment
-was fully aware for the rest of the events of His crucifixion
Today, we will continue with Matthew chapter 27...
MATTHEW 27:35-37
"35 And when they had crucified him, they parted his garments among them, casting lots;
36 and they sat and watched him there.
37 And they set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS."
(The soldiers put Jesus on the cross and then fought over His garments. They casted lots (like rolling dice) to determine who got His garment. This was prophesied in Psalm 22:
"16 For dogs have compassed me: A company of evil-doers have inclosed me; They pierced my hands and my feet.
17 I may count all my bones; They look and stare upon me.
18 They part my garments among them, And upon my vesture do they cast lots." Psalm 22:18)
(Remember, dogs are Gentiles. The Gentile surrounded Jesus and watched Him to make sure no one rescued Him.)
(The prophecy mentioned the Messiah's hands and feet being pierced. It also mentioned the Messiah being able to count all His bones. This referred to the fact that none of the Messiah's bones were broken after He died. It was the custom to break the crucified person's legs so they would die quicker...they wouldn't be able to push up and take a breath as they begin cramping from the carbon dioxide. If Jesus' legs had been broken, He wouldn't have been able to take in enough breath to say anything while He was on the cross...)
(Over Jesus' head, the accusation was written. It was Roman Law to write the crime the person was being punished for so everyone would be discouraged from doing the same thing. Jesus was crucified BECAUSE He was the King of the Jews...BECAUSE He was the Son of God.)
(There are more details in the other gospel accounts relative to Jesus' garment not being divided and what was written over Jesus' head. Let's look at the other gospel accounts...)
OTHER ACCOUNTS
"24 And they crucify him, and part his garments among them, casting lots upon them, what each should take.
25 And it was the third hour, and they crucified him.
26 And the superscription of his accusation was written over, THE KING OF THE JEWS." Mark 15:24-26
Mark's gospel account stated the time Jesus was first placed on the cross was the third hour...about 9 AM. Mark's account of the accusation left off "THIS IS JESUS".
"34 And Jesus said, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And parting his garments among them, they cast lots." Luke 23:34
"38 And there was also a superscription over him, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS." Luke 23:38
Luke stated Jesus asked that God would forgive the people who crucified Him. There were some powerful implications...
1. Jesus Prayed
Jesus wouldn't have been able to speak if His legs were broken. Yesterday, we saw that Jesus turned down the wine mingled with myrrh so that He could be intentional during His crucifixion. Jesus intentionally requested to God that He forgive these people for what they did BECAUSE they didn't know what they did. Did Jesus excuse away the sin of these people BECAUSE they didn't know what they were doing? There is a lot of Doctrine here because the first half of verse 34 dealt with Prayer and Sin! Remember, sins against God are Second Dimensional Sins, are measured according to Righteous, and affect Salvation.
2. Jesus didn't sin
If Jesus hadn't prayed, people could say that perhaps Jesus was so angry with the soldiers and the injustice of His treatment that He harbored bitterness and sinned. However, BECAUSE Jesus prayed for these people, we KNOW Jesus NEVER sinned.
3. Jesus forgave
Remember, this is Luke's gospel account. We also saw in Luke's account a statement from Jesus' Mouth that confuses most believers: Luke 17:3
"Take heed to yourselves: if thy brother sin, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him."
We saw that forgiving a person allows Justice to equal everything out. Remember, First Dimensional Sins are committed against people, are measured according to Justice, and affect Reward. Jesus would have been clearing the way for God to take Spiritual value from these people AND give Jesus Spiritual value.
As for the accusation, this blog uses the American Standard Version (ASV). Luke 23:38 reads this was in the King James Version:
"38 And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS."
(We will see John's account according to the ASV agreed with Luke's account according to the KJV.)
"19 And Pilate wrote a title also, and put it on the cross. And there was written, JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
20 This title therefore read many of the Jews, for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city; and it was written in Hebrew, and in Latin, and in Greek.
21 The chief priests of the Jews therefore said to Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am King of the Jews.
22 Pilate answered, What I have written I have written.
23 The soldiers therefore, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also the coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout.
24 They said therefore one to another, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my garments among them, And upon my vesture did they cast lots." John 19:19-24
John's account gave the most details...
1. Pilate wrote the accusation. Remember, John's account focused on the numerous times Pilate attempted to avoid:
-killing Jesus and
-being responsible for killing Jesus
2. The accusation was written in three languages. This could be why Matthew's account differed from Luke's and John's. Each could have been translating from a different language or given their composite translation of all the languages. Mark's account may have just left off "THIS IS JESUS" from Matthew's account.
3. John referred to the religious leaders as the "chief priests of the Jews"...NOT the chief priests of God! At this point, these religious leaders were NOT representing God...they were representing the people...the current culture. They were NOT living God's Doctrine. They were living man's tradition and culture as doctrine.
4. There was a dispute about the accusation
The religious leaders wanted the crime to be changed from Jesus BEING the King of the Jews to Jesus SAYING He was the King of the Jews. We saw Jesus didn't defend Himself...and He didn't testify against Himself. Here is yet another reason WHY Jesus didn't respond. There was NO WAY for the Jews to convince Pilate about changing the accusation when Jesus didn't defend Himself. Furthermore, the religious leaders wouldn't have been able to get the crowd riled up and the government to crucify Jesus if He was NOT the King of the Jews. If He ONLY said He was the King of the Jews, they could have locked Him up for being crazy. The religious leaders had stated their will and Pilate made sure they lived with the consequences.
5. It took four soldiers to put Jesus on the cross
All four soldiers wanted Jesus' garment...but there was no way to divide it because it was seamless. Dividing it would have made all four pieces useless. The solution? "Winner take all". All four cast lots to see who among them would get the entire garment.
SUMMARY
When Jesus was put on the cross, He fulfilled prophecy from Psalm 22.
-He was surrounded by Gentiles
-His bones were not broken
-The soldiers casted lots for His garments
The official legal reason WHY Jesus was crucified was because He was the King of the Jews.
Tomorrow, we will begin looking at a complicated portion of Matthew chapter 27...
Next Post
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Matthew 27:33-34
This year we have been covering The Gospel According to Matthew. In the previous post, we covered Matthew 27:32. Here is the summary:
Simon of Cyrene was compelled to accompany the procession so he could carry Jesus' cross.
Today, we will continue looking at Matthew 27...
Matthew 27:33-34
“33 And they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, The place of a skull,
34 they gave him wine to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted it, he would not drink.”
(The location of Jesus’ crucifixion was called Golgotha (Hebrew) or Calvaria (Latin). It was a place outside Jerusalem. The location got its name from a traditional belief that Adam was buried in this area and his skull was found. Remember, Jesus was the Second Adam, that undid Adam's failings during His temptation in the desert.)
(Matthew stated they gave Jesus wine mingled with gall. We will see three drinks were offered to Jesus during His crucifixion…)
(This first drink was offered was an anesthetizing drink intended to help alleviate the pain of the suffering person. Jesus turned down this option so He could experience the full measure of pain willfully, sober…and so that ALL of His actions from this point on came from a person His right Mind.)
(Before we look at the other gospel accounts, let's look at a prophet passage covering Jesus' crucifixion:
"19 Thou knowest my reproach, and my shame, and my dishonor: Mine adversaries are all before thee.
20 Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: And I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; And for comforters, but I found none.
21 They gave me also gall for my food; And in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink." Psalm 69:19-21)
(Notice, Psalm listed ten sufferings of the Messiah:
1. Reproach
2. Shame
3. Dishonor
4. Adversaries
5. Broken heart
6. Full of heaviness
7. No one to pity
8. No one to comfort
9. Gall for food
10. Vinegar to drink)
(Again, later this month we will cover when Jesus was offered vinegar.)
(Let's look at the other gospel accounts...)
OTHER ACCOUNTS
“22 And they bring him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, The place of a skull.
23 And they offered him wine mingled with myrrh: but he received it not.” Mark 15:22-23
Gall is a general term for anything that is bitter. Myrrh is a gum-like resin from the Commiphora species of trees. Myrrh is produced by the tree in response to a cut made into the bark. It is bitter and the name myrrh comes from Aramaic meaning bitter.
"33 And when they came unto the place which is called The skull, there they crucified him,…” Luke 23:33
There's more to this verse from Luke, but we are only covering the beginning of the verse...which adds nothing new to today's passage from Matthew's account.
“17 They took Jesus therefore: and he went out, bearing the cross for himself, unto the place called The place of a skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha:
18 where they crucified him,…” John 19:17-18
Again, there's more to verse 18 from John chapter 19, but we are only covering the portion that is similar to today's passage from Matthew's account. Again, this passage adds nothing new to today's passage from Matthew's account.
SUMMARY
Jesus was given wine mixed with gall (specfically myrrh) at the beginning of His crucifixion. Jesus refused this first drink intended to help ease His pain so that He:
-experienced the full extent of His unjust punishment
-was fully aware for the rest of the events of His crucifixion
Tomorrow, we will continue with Matthew chapter 27...
Next Post
Simon of Cyrene was compelled to accompany the procession so he could carry Jesus' cross.
Today, we will continue looking at Matthew 27...
Matthew 27:33-34
“33 And they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, The place of a skull,
34 they gave him wine to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted it, he would not drink.”
(The location of Jesus’ crucifixion was called Golgotha (Hebrew) or Calvaria (Latin). It was a place outside Jerusalem. The location got its name from a traditional belief that Adam was buried in this area and his skull was found. Remember, Jesus was the Second Adam, that undid Adam's failings during His temptation in the desert.)
(Matthew stated they gave Jesus wine mingled with gall. We will see three drinks were offered to Jesus during His crucifixion…)
(This first drink was offered was an anesthetizing drink intended to help alleviate the pain of the suffering person. Jesus turned down this option so He could experience the full measure of pain willfully, sober…and so that ALL of His actions from this point on came from a person His right Mind.)
(Before we look at the other gospel accounts, let's look at a prophet passage covering Jesus' crucifixion:
"19 Thou knowest my reproach, and my shame, and my dishonor: Mine adversaries are all before thee.
20 Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: And I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; And for comforters, but I found none.
21 They gave me also gall for my food; And in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink." Psalm 69:19-21)
(Notice, Psalm listed ten sufferings of the Messiah:
1. Reproach
2. Shame
3. Dishonor
4. Adversaries
5. Broken heart
6. Full of heaviness
7. No one to pity
8. No one to comfort
9. Gall for food
10. Vinegar to drink)
(Again, later this month we will cover when Jesus was offered vinegar.)
(Let's look at the other gospel accounts...)
OTHER ACCOUNTS
“22 And they bring him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, The place of a skull.
23 And they offered him wine mingled with myrrh: but he received it not.” Mark 15:22-23
Gall is a general term for anything that is bitter. Myrrh is a gum-like resin from the Commiphora species of trees. Myrrh is produced by the tree in response to a cut made into the bark. It is bitter and the name myrrh comes from Aramaic meaning bitter.
"33 And when they came unto the place which is called The skull, there they crucified him,…” Luke 23:33
There's more to this verse from Luke, but we are only covering the beginning of the verse...which adds nothing new to today's passage from Matthew's account.
“17 They took Jesus therefore: and he went out, bearing the cross for himself, unto the place called The place of a skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha:
18 where they crucified him,…” John 19:17-18
Again, there's more to verse 18 from John chapter 19, but we are only covering the portion that is similar to today's passage from Matthew's account. Again, this passage adds nothing new to today's passage from Matthew's account.
SUMMARY
Jesus was given wine mixed with gall (specfically myrrh) at the beginning of His crucifixion. Jesus refused this first drink intended to help ease His pain so that He:
-experienced the full extent of His unjust punishment
-was fully aware for the rest of the events of His crucifixion
Tomorrow, we will continue with Matthew chapter 27...
Next Post
Monday, November 15, 2010
Matthew 27:32
This year we have been covering The Gospel According to Matthew. In the previous post, we covered Matthew 27:27-31. Here is the summary:
The Roman soldiers knelt before Jesus and proclaimed, "Hail, King of the Jews!"
This was a Right WHAT.
However, they did this with a Wrong HOW and a Wrong WHY.
HOW: mockingly
WHY: to humiliate and Abuse Jesus
If anyone thinks the WHAT is more important than the HOW/WHY, they believe these Roman soldiers did a good thing.
John's account presented several more attempts by Pilate to avoid crucifying Jesus. Jesus stated Pilate's sin wasn't as great as the sin of those who delivered Him to Pilate.
Today, we will continue looking at Matthew chapter 27...
MATTHEW 27:32
"32 And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to go with them, that he might bear his cross."
(Cyrene was the capital of Libya in North Africa...approximately eleven miles in land from the Mediterranean Sea. Jesus carried His cross until they found a man named Simon to go with them so that he would eventually carry Jesus' cross.)
(We are only covering one verse from Matthew today in order to allow the other accounts to "catch up". Let's look at the other gospel accounts...)
OTHER ACCOUNTS
"21 And they compel one passing by, Simon of Cyrene, coming from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to go with them, that he might bear his cross." Mark 15:21
Some commentaries believe this may possibly be Alexander and Rufus mentioned in other New Testament passages.
"33 And they brought Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander beckoned with the hand, and would have made a defense unto the people.
34 But when they perceived that he was a Jew, all with one voice about the space of two hours cried out, Great is Diana of the Ephesians." Acts 19:33-34
"13 Salute Rufus the chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine." Romans 16:13
"26 And when they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon of Cyrene, coming from the country, and laid on him the cross, to bear it after Jesus.
27 And there followed him a great multitude of the people, and of women who bewailed and lamented him.
28 But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.
29 For behold, the days are coming, in which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the breasts that never gave suck.
30 Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us.
31 For if they do these things in the green tree, what shall be done in the dry?" Luke 23:26-31
Luke recorded that Jesus prophesied to the women while Simon was bearing His cross. The prophecy concerned the fall of Jerusalem that was to occur in 70 AD. The atrocities would be so great, mothers would wish their children hadn't been born.
Verse 31 mentioned "the green tree". This was Jesus. A dry tree is every other human other than Jesus. Jesus humanity compared to ours is like a growing green tree as contrasted with a dead dry tree.
As for John's gospel account, we will look at the first half of the verse at this time:
"17 They took Jesus therefore: and he went out, bearing the cross for himself..." John 19:17
There is still one more account we can look at...
ISAIAH 53
Isaiah chapter 53 presented prophesy related to Jesus' suffering. Since we have covered everything prior to Jesus' actual crucifixion, this is a good place to get an overview on what we have read. Here is the entire chapter.
“1 Who hath believed our message? and to whom hath the arm of Jehovah been revealed?
2 For he grew up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He was despised, and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and as one from whom men hide their face he was despised; and we esteemed him not.
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 chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and Jehovah hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, yet when he was afflicted he opened not his mouth; as a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep that before its shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who among them considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression of my people to whom the stroke was due?
9 And they made his grave with the wicked, and with a rich man in his death; although he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it pleased Jehovah to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of Jehovah shall prosper in his hand.
11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by the knowledge of himself shall my righteous servant justify many; and he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out his soul unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors: yet he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”
Verse 2 referenced the tender root (green tree).
Verse 5 referenced the stripes Jesus received during His scourging.
Verse 6 showed Jesus bore EVERYONE'S sin.
Verse 7 referenced Jesus NEVER defending Himself.
We will see verse 9 referenced Jesus being crucified with guilty men.
Verse 10 showed Jesus and Jehovah were separate Entities...and that Jehovah WANTED Jesus to die SO THAT He could make intercession for US! (verse 12)
Some people want to use Isaiah 53:10 to support Calvinism...that God made Jesus die AGAINST JESUS' WILL. We saw in the garden of Gethsemane that Jesus chose to follow God's Will even thought He didn't want to.
Also, look at this passage from John 10:
"17 Therefore doth the Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again.
18 No one taketh it away 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 received I from my Father." John 10:17-18
Jesus stated He gave His life and no one took it from Him.
SUMMARY
Simon of Cyrene was compelled to accompany the procession so he could carry Jesus' cross.
Tomorrow, we will continue looking at Matthew 27...
Next Post
The Roman soldiers knelt before Jesus and proclaimed, "Hail, King of the Jews!"
This was a Right WHAT.
However, they did this with a Wrong HOW and a Wrong WHY.
HOW: mockingly
WHY: to humiliate and Abuse Jesus
If anyone thinks the WHAT is more important than the HOW/WHY, they believe these Roman soldiers did a good thing.
John's account presented several more attempts by Pilate to avoid crucifying Jesus. Jesus stated Pilate's sin wasn't as great as the sin of those who delivered Him to Pilate.
Today, we will continue looking at Matthew chapter 27...
MATTHEW 27:32
"32 And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to go with them, that he might bear his cross."
(Cyrene was the capital of Libya in North Africa...approximately eleven miles in land from the Mediterranean Sea. Jesus carried His cross until they found a man named Simon to go with them so that he would eventually carry Jesus' cross.)
(We are only covering one verse from Matthew today in order to allow the other accounts to "catch up". Let's look at the other gospel accounts...)
OTHER ACCOUNTS
"21 And they compel one passing by, Simon of Cyrene, coming from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to go with them, that he might bear his cross." Mark 15:21
Some commentaries believe this may possibly be Alexander and Rufus mentioned in other New Testament passages.
"33 And they brought Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander beckoned with the hand, and would have made a defense unto the people.
34 But when they perceived that he was a Jew, all with one voice about the space of two hours cried out, Great is Diana of the Ephesians." Acts 19:33-34
"13 Salute Rufus the chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine." Romans 16:13
"26 And when they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon of Cyrene, coming from the country, and laid on him the cross, to bear it after Jesus.
27 And there followed him a great multitude of the people, and of women who bewailed and lamented him.
28 But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.
29 For behold, the days are coming, in which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the breasts that never gave suck.
30 Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us.
31 For if they do these things in the green tree, what shall be done in the dry?" Luke 23:26-31
Luke recorded that Jesus prophesied to the women while Simon was bearing His cross. The prophecy concerned the fall of Jerusalem that was to occur in 70 AD. The atrocities would be so great, mothers would wish their children hadn't been born.
Verse 31 mentioned "the green tree". This was Jesus. A dry tree is every other human other than Jesus. Jesus humanity compared to ours is like a growing green tree as contrasted with a dead dry tree.
As for John's gospel account, we will look at the first half of the verse at this time:
"17 They took Jesus therefore: and he went out, bearing the cross for himself..." John 19:17
There is still one more account we can look at...
ISAIAH 53
Isaiah chapter 53 presented prophesy related to Jesus' suffering. Since we have covered everything prior to Jesus' actual crucifixion, this is a good place to get an overview on what we have read. Here is the entire chapter.
“1 Who hath believed our message? and to whom hath the arm of Jehovah been revealed?
2 For he grew up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He was despised, and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and as one from whom men hide their face he was despised; and we esteemed him not.
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 chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and Jehovah hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, yet when he was afflicted he opened not his mouth; as a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep that before its shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who among them considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression of my people to whom the stroke was due?
9 And they made his grave with the wicked, and with a rich man in his death; although he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it pleased Jehovah to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of Jehovah shall prosper in his hand.
11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by the knowledge of himself shall my righteous servant justify many; and he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out his soul unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors: yet he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”
Verse 2 referenced the tender root (green tree).
Verse 5 referenced the stripes Jesus received during His scourging.
Verse 6 showed Jesus bore EVERYONE'S sin.
Verse 7 referenced Jesus NEVER defending Himself.
We will see verse 9 referenced Jesus being crucified with guilty men.
Verse 10 showed Jesus and Jehovah were separate Entities...and that Jehovah WANTED Jesus to die SO THAT He could make intercession for US! (verse 12)
Some people want to use Isaiah 53:10 to support Calvinism...that God made Jesus die AGAINST JESUS' WILL. We saw in the garden of Gethsemane that Jesus chose to follow God's Will even thought He didn't want to.
Also, look at this passage from John 10:
"17 Therefore doth the Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again.
18 No one taketh it away 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 received I from my Father." John 10:17-18
Jesus stated He gave His life and no one took it from Him.
SUMMARY
Simon of Cyrene was compelled to accompany the procession so he could carry Jesus' cross.
Tomorrow, we will continue looking at Matthew 27...
Next Post
Friday, November 12, 2010
Matthew 27:27-31
This year we have been covering The Gospel According to Matthew. In the previous post, we covered Matthew 27:24-26. Here is the summary:
Pilate attempted to avoid being blamed for condemning Jesus by publicly:
-stating Jesus was a Righteous man
-washing his hands
However, these statements did NOT remove Pilate’s responsibility for his actions…just as “Christians” today do NOT remove the responsibility for their actions by SAYING the opposite. Pilate’s SAY and DO did NOT match…which made him a hypocrite.
Today, we will continue looking at Matthew 27…
MATTHEW 27:27-31
What would you say if I told you that during Jesus' suffering there was an instance where some of the unlikeliest people knelt before Jesus and proclaimed, "Hail, King of the Jews!"?
Clearly, that was a Right WHAT.
What would you say?
Let's look at the passage...
"27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium, and gathered unto him the whole band.
28 And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe.
29 And they platted a crown of thorns and put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand; and they kneeled down before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!
30 And they spat upon him, and took the reed and smote him on the head.
31 And when they had mocked him, they took off from him the robe, and put on him his garments, and led him away to crucify him."
(The Roman soldiers did a Right WHAT! They knelt before Jesus and proclaimed, "Hail, King of the Jews!")
(However, their HOW and WHY were Wrong!)
(HOW: Mockingly
WHY: To humiliate and Abuse Jesus)
(If you had any doubts the Bible valued the HOW/WHY over the WHAT, this passage ought to have settled the issue...unless you think what the Roman soldiers did was a good thing.)
(Everything in this story was done in a mocking fashion. The reed represented a sceptor...which they eventually used to beat Him. The crown of thorns represented a kingly crown...which caused another instance of Jesus bleeding. The robe, which was stripped off of Him, represented His royal attire.)
(Remember, we saw Jesus prophesied these events:
“17 And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples apart, and on the way he said unto them,
18 Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests and scribes; and they shall condemn him to death,
19 and shall deliver him unto the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify: and the third day he shall be raised up.” Matthew 20:17-19)
(Let's look at the other gospel accounts...)
OTHER ACCOUNTS
“16 And the soldiers led him away within the court, which is the Praetorium; and they call together the whole band.
17 And they clothe him with purple, and platting a crown of thorns, they put it on him;
18 and they began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews!” Mark 15:16-18
There is no corresponding passage in Luke's gospel account.
John's account had many more details...
“2 And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and arrayed him in a purple garment;
3 and they came unto him, and said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they struck him with their hands.
4 And Pilate went out again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him out to you, that ye may know that I find no crime in him.
5 Jesus therefore came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple garment. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold, the man!"
John's account showed Pilate still hadn't given up trying to avoid killing Jesus.
"6 When therefore the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him! Pilate saith unto them, Take him yourselves, and crucify him: for I find no crime in him."
Then John stated Pilate attempted to get the people to crucify Jesus.
"7 The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by that law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God."
Pilate ought to responded that the chief priests ought to have Jesus stoned according to their Law...if Pilate knew their Law.
"8 When Pilate therefore heard this saying, he was the more afraid;
9 and he entered into the Praetorium again, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer."
Pilate became afraid and Jesus remained silent when He was questioned.
"10 Pilate therefore saith unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? Knowest thou not that I have power to release thee, and have power to crucify thee?
11 Jesus answered him, Thou wouldest have no power against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath greater sin."
Notice, Jesus did NOT say Pilate was without sin in this instance. Jesus stated those who delivered Jesus to Pilate had greater sin. There are greater and lesser sins! (For more explanation, check out the post titled, "Doctrine of Sin (Overview)" for more details.)
"12 Upon this Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou release this man, thou art not Caesar's friend: every one that maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar."
John stated Pilate again looked for a way to release Jesus! However, he was controlled through his political nature. The people stated they would claim Pilate was NOT Caesar's friend if he released Jesus. As we saw in yesterday's post, politicians (kings) are the easiest to control...
"13 When Pilate therefore heard these words, he brought Jesus out, and sat down on the judgment-seat at a place called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha.
14 Now it was the Preparation of the passover: it was about the sixth hour. And he saith unto the Jews, Behold, your King!
15 They therefore cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him! Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.
16 Then therefore he delivered him unto them to be crucified.” John 19:2-16
SUMMARY
The Roman soldiers knelt before Jesus and proclaimed, "Hail, King of the Jews!"
This was a Right WHAT.
However, they did this with a Wrong HOW and a Wrong WHY.
HOW: mockingly
WHY: to humiliate and Abuse Jesus
If anyone thinks the WHAT is more important than the HOW/WHY, they believe these Roman soldiers did a good thing.
John's account presented several more attempts by Pilate to avoid crucifying Jesus. Jesus stated Pilate's sin wasn't as great as the sin of those who delivered Him to Pilate.
On Monday, we will continue looking at Matthew chapter 27...
Next Post
Pilate attempted to avoid being blamed for condemning Jesus by publicly:
-stating Jesus was a Righteous man
-washing his hands
However, these statements did NOT remove Pilate’s responsibility for his actions…just as “Christians” today do NOT remove the responsibility for their actions by SAYING the opposite. Pilate’s SAY and DO did NOT match…which made him a hypocrite.
Today, we will continue looking at Matthew 27…
MATTHEW 27:27-31
What would you say if I told you that during Jesus' suffering there was an instance where some of the unlikeliest people knelt before Jesus and proclaimed, "Hail, King of the Jews!"?
Clearly, that was a Right WHAT.
What would you say?
Let's look at the passage...
"27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium, and gathered unto him the whole band.
28 And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe.
29 And they platted a crown of thorns and put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand; and they kneeled down before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!
30 And they spat upon him, and took the reed and smote him on the head.
31 And when they had mocked him, they took off from him the robe, and put on him his garments, and led him away to crucify him."
(The Roman soldiers did a Right WHAT! They knelt before Jesus and proclaimed, "Hail, King of the Jews!")
(However, their HOW and WHY were Wrong!)
(HOW: Mockingly
WHY: To humiliate and Abuse Jesus)
(If you had any doubts the Bible valued the HOW/WHY over the WHAT, this passage ought to have settled the issue...unless you think what the Roman soldiers did was a good thing.)
(Everything in this story was done in a mocking fashion. The reed represented a sceptor...which they eventually used to beat Him. The crown of thorns represented a kingly crown...which caused another instance of Jesus bleeding. The robe, which was stripped off of Him, represented His royal attire.)
(Remember, we saw Jesus prophesied these events:
“17 And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples apart, and on the way he said unto them,
18 Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests and scribes; and they shall condemn him to death,
19 and shall deliver him unto the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify: and the third day he shall be raised up.” Matthew 20:17-19)
(Let's look at the other gospel accounts...)
OTHER ACCOUNTS
“16 And the soldiers led him away within the court, which is the Praetorium; and they call together the whole band.
17 And they clothe him with purple, and platting a crown of thorns, they put it on him;
18 and they began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews!” Mark 15:16-18
There is no corresponding passage in Luke's gospel account.
John's account had many more details...
“2 And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and arrayed him in a purple garment;
3 and they came unto him, and said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they struck him with their hands.
4 And Pilate went out again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him out to you, that ye may know that I find no crime in him.
5 Jesus therefore came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple garment. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold, the man!"
John's account showed Pilate still hadn't given up trying to avoid killing Jesus.
"6 When therefore the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him! Pilate saith unto them, Take him yourselves, and crucify him: for I find no crime in him."
Then John stated Pilate attempted to get the people to crucify Jesus.
"7 The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by that law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God."
Pilate ought to responded that the chief priests ought to have Jesus stoned according to their Law...if Pilate knew their Law.
"8 When Pilate therefore heard this saying, he was the more afraid;
9 and he entered into the Praetorium again, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer."
Pilate became afraid and Jesus remained silent when He was questioned.
"10 Pilate therefore saith unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? Knowest thou not that I have power to release thee, and have power to crucify thee?
11 Jesus answered him, Thou wouldest have no power against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath greater sin."
Notice, Jesus did NOT say Pilate was without sin in this instance. Jesus stated those who delivered Jesus to Pilate had greater sin. There are greater and lesser sins! (For more explanation, check out the post titled, "Doctrine of Sin (Overview)" for more details.)
"12 Upon this Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou release this man, thou art not Caesar's friend: every one that maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar."
John stated Pilate again looked for a way to release Jesus! However, he was controlled through his political nature. The people stated they would claim Pilate was NOT Caesar's friend if he released Jesus. As we saw in yesterday's post, politicians (kings) are the easiest to control...
"13 When Pilate therefore heard these words, he brought Jesus out, and sat down on the judgment-seat at a place called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha.
14 Now it was the Preparation of the passover: it was about the sixth hour. And he saith unto the Jews, Behold, your King!
15 They therefore cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him! Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.
16 Then therefore he delivered him unto them to be crucified.” John 19:2-16
SUMMARY
The Roman soldiers knelt before Jesus and proclaimed, "Hail, King of the Jews!"
This was a Right WHAT.
However, they did this with a Wrong HOW and a Wrong WHY.
HOW: mockingly
WHY: to humiliate and Abuse Jesus
If anyone thinks the WHAT is more important than the HOW/WHY, they believe these Roman soldiers did a good thing.
John's account presented several more attempts by Pilate to avoid crucifying Jesus. Jesus stated Pilate's sin wasn't as great as the sin of those who delivered Him to Pilate.
On Monday, we will continue looking at Matthew chapter 27...
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Thursday, November 11, 2010
Matthew 27:24-26
This year we have been covering The Gospel According to Matthew. In the previous post, we covered Matthew 27:22-23. Here is the summary:
The people asked for Jesus to be crucified…NOT stoned. The people asked for Jesus to be killed because He had upset the government.
Barabbas did participate in an insurrection and a murder, but the people wanted him released.
Jesus did NOT participate in an insurrection nor a murder, but the people wanted Him treated as if He had.
Pilate repeatedly attempted to avoid condemning Jesus, however, the people eventually wore him down.
However, Pilate still did not give up his goal of avoiding being blamed for condemning Jesus…
Today, we will see how Pilate attempted to achieve this goal…
MATTHEW 27:24-26
“24 So when Pilate saw that he prevailed nothing, but rather that a tumult was arising, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this righteous man; see ye to it.”
(Pilate attempted to avoid being blamed for condemning Jesus by stating Jesus’ was a righteous man AND publicly washing his hands before the multitude.)
(However, this did NOT make Pilate blameless. He could have avoided condemning Jesus. Pilate was a politician…like a king. The Bible states God can turn the heart of a king however He wants. The Bible does NOT say He can do that with a person who is NOT a king.)
(“1 The king's heart is in the hand of Jehovah as the watercourses: He turneth it whithersoever he will.” Proverbs 21:1)
(We make the mistake of seeing kings as more excellent than people who aren’t kings. That is NOT how God sees these people. Remember, God did NOT want kings…)
(We have seen that kings are ACTUALLY the EASIEST people for God to “control”. Because the king (politician) is completely focused on staying in power, their actions are COMPLETELY predictable. God is all powerful over everything that does not have a will. For example, God has complete control over the weather. God can make natural disasters happen. While the politicians have the freedom to respond however they choose, they are going to choose the action that keeps them in power…which is the short-term comfortable option. Also, politicians can be unjust…which would allow God to RESPOND THROUGH JUSTICE with Judgment.)
(Verse 24 PROVES politicians are the easiest people for God to direct from the outside. Pilate’s response was COMPLETELY predictable…EVEN THOUGH Pilate knew Jesus was Righteous! It was prophesied hundreds of years before that the Messiah would experience an unjust death.)
(Pilate attempted to avoid blame by telling the people to see to the matter. What was the response of the people?)
"25 And all the people answered and said, His blood be on us, and on our children."
(The people stated their will that the Judgment ought to fall on them and their children…the next generation. In the Bible, a righteous generation is seventy years. An unrighteous generation is forty years. Roughly forty years after these people asked for Judgment on the next unrighteous generation, Jerusalem was overthrown and the temple was destroyed!)
"26 Then released he unto them Barabbas; but Jesus he scourged and delivered to be crucified."
(Pilate released Barabbas and had Jesus scourged. Scourging was according to Roman Law. A scourge consisted of a handle with numerous (around a dozen) leather cords each of which had jagged pieces of bone or metal at the end of each cord. The victim was tied to a post and blows were delivered. Roman Law did not have a limit to the number of blows.)
(According to Deuteronomy 25, Jewish Law limited the number of blows to forty:
“1 If there be a controversy between men, and they come unto judgment, and the judges judge them; then they shall justify the righteous, and condemn the wicked;
2 and it shall be, if the wicked man be worthy to be beaten, that the judge shall cause him to lie down, and to be beaten before his face, according to his wickedness, by number.
3 Forty stripes he may give him, he shall not exceed; lest, if he should exceed, and beat him above these with many stripes, then thy brother should seem vile unto thee.” Deuteronomy 25:1-3)
(It appeared Jews reduced this to thirty-nine blows after Jesus' death...when it came to Paul:
“24 Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.” II Corinthians 11:24)
(There is no way to know the number of cords on the scourge and the number of blows to Christ, however, a scourge with a dozen cords would result in 480 stripes from forty blows. That many blows to Christ could result in Him being completely unrecognizable…which was prophesied by Isaiah.)
(“14 Like as many were astonished at thee (his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men),
15 so shall he sprinkle many nations; kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they understand.” Isaiah 52:14-15)
(Let’s look at the other gospel accounts…)
OTHER ACCOUNTS
“15 And Pilate, wishing to content the multitude, released unto them Barabbas, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified.” Mark 15:15
“24 And Pilate gave sentence that what they asked for should be done.
25 And he released him that for insurrection and murder had been cast into prison, whom they asked for; but Jesus he delivered up to their will.” Luke 23:24-25
“1 Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him.” John 19:1
None of the other accounts added more to today’s passage from Matthew.
SUMMARY
Pilate attempted to avoid being blamed for condemning Jesus by publicly:
-stating Jesus was a Righteous man
-washing his hands
However, these statements did NOT remove Pilate’s responsibility for his actions…just as “Christians” today do NOT remove the responsibility for their actions by SAYING the opposite. Pilate’s SAY and DO did NOT match…which made him a hypocrite.
Tomorrow, we will continue looking at Matthew 27…
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The people asked for Jesus to be crucified…NOT stoned. The people asked for Jesus to be killed because He had upset the government.
Barabbas did participate in an insurrection and a murder, but the people wanted him released.
Jesus did NOT participate in an insurrection nor a murder, but the people wanted Him treated as if He had.
Pilate repeatedly attempted to avoid condemning Jesus, however, the people eventually wore him down.
However, Pilate still did not give up his goal of avoiding being blamed for condemning Jesus…
Today, we will see how Pilate attempted to achieve this goal…
MATTHEW 27:24-26
“24 So when Pilate saw that he prevailed nothing, but rather that a tumult was arising, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this righteous man; see ye to it.”
(Pilate attempted to avoid being blamed for condemning Jesus by stating Jesus’ was a righteous man AND publicly washing his hands before the multitude.)
(However, this did NOT make Pilate blameless. He could have avoided condemning Jesus. Pilate was a politician…like a king. The Bible states God can turn the heart of a king however He wants. The Bible does NOT say He can do that with a person who is NOT a king.)
(“1 The king's heart is in the hand of Jehovah as the watercourses: He turneth it whithersoever he will.” Proverbs 21:1)
(We make the mistake of seeing kings as more excellent than people who aren’t kings. That is NOT how God sees these people. Remember, God did NOT want kings…)
(We have seen that kings are ACTUALLY the EASIEST people for God to “control”. Because the king (politician) is completely focused on staying in power, their actions are COMPLETELY predictable. God is all powerful over everything that does not have a will. For example, God has complete control over the weather. God can make natural disasters happen. While the politicians have the freedom to respond however they choose, they are going to choose the action that keeps them in power…which is the short-term comfortable option. Also, politicians can be unjust…which would allow God to RESPOND THROUGH JUSTICE with Judgment.)
(Verse 24 PROVES politicians are the easiest people for God to direct from the outside. Pilate’s response was COMPLETELY predictable…EVEN THOUGH Pilate knew Jesus was Righteous! It was prophesied hundreds of years before that the Messiah would experience an unjust death.)
(Pilate attempted to avoid blame by telling the people to see to the matter. What was the response of the people?)
"25 And all the people answered and said, His blood be on us, and on our children."
(The people stated their will that the Judgment ought to fall on them and their children…the next generation. In the Bible, a righteous generation is seventy years. An unrighteous generation is forty years. Roughly forty years after these people asked for Judgment on the next unrighteous generation, Jerusalem was overthrown and the temple was destroyed!)
"26 Then released he unto them Barabbas; but Jesus he scourged and delivered to be crucified."
(Pilate released Barabbas and had Jesus scourged. Scourging was according to Roman Law. A scourge consisted of a handle with numerous (around a dozen) leather cords each of which had jagged pieces of bone or metal at the end of each cord. The victim was tied to a post and blows were delivered. Roman Law did not have a limit to the number of blows.)
(According to Deuteronomy 25, Jewish Law limited the number of blows to forty:
“1 If there be a controversy between men, and they come unto judgment, and the judges judge them; then they shall justify the righteous, and condemn the wicked;
2 and it shall be, if the wicked man be worthy to be beaten, that the judge shall cause him to lie down, and to be beaten before his face, according to his wickedness, by number.
3 Forty stripes he may give him, he shall not exceed; lest, if he should exceed, and beat him above these with many stripes, then thy brother should seem vile unto thee.” Deuteronomy 25:1-3)
(It appeared Jews reduced this to thirty-nine blows after Jesus' death...when it came to Paul:
“24 Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.” II Corinthians 11:24)
(There is no way to know the number of cords on the scourge and the number of blows to Christ, however, a scourge with a dozen cords would result in 480 stripes from forty blows. That many blows to Christ could result in Him being completely unrecognizable…which was prophesied by Isaiah.)
(“14 Like as many were astonished at thee (his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men),
15 so shall he sprinkle many nations; kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they understand.” Isaiah 52:14-15)
(Let’s look at the other gospel accounts…)
OTHER ACCOUNTS
“15 And Pilate, wishing to content the multitude, released unto them Barabbas, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified.” Mark 15:15
“24 And Pilate gave sentence that what they asked for should be done.
25 And he released him that for insurrection and murder had been cast into prison, whom they asked for; but Jesus he delivered up to their will.” Luke 23:24-25
“1 Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him.” John 19:1
None of the other accounts added more to today’s passage from Matthew.
SUMMARY
Pilate attempted to avoid being blamed for condemning Jesus by publicly:
-stating Jesus was a Righteous man
-washing his hands
However, these statements did NOT remove Pilate’s responsibility for his actions…just as “Christians” today do NOT remove the responsibility for their actions by SAYING the opposite. Pilate’s SAY and DO did NOT match…which made him a hypocrite.
Tomorrow, we will continue looking at Matthew 27…
Next Post
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