"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" (Matt. 27:27-30).

Jesus being delivered by the governor to the soldiers, they removed His own garments and placed upon Him a scarlet robe, platted a crown of thorns, placed it upon His head, put a reed in His right hand, and finally knelt before Him in mockery saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" After this insulting treatment, they spit upon Him, took the reed from His hand, and smote Him on the head. Finally, they removed the princely robe and put His own garments upon Him.
 

"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. 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.

33 And when 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 (vss. 31-34).

After all these insults and indignities had been heaped upon Him, Jesus was rushed on to Golgotha. He started out bearing His cross, but it seems that it was so very heavy that He became exhausted under it. A certain Cyrenian, Simon by name, was compelled by the officers to bear Christ's cross behind Him. They led Him out to "Golgotha, that is to say, The place of a skull," which is about two city blocks northeast of the present Damascus Gate, that is in the central part of the north wall of Jerusalem. There can be no reasonable doubt about this place's being the one where our Lord was crucified.

In preparation for the actual crucifixion those executing Him attempted to give Him wine, mingled with gall. But He simply tasted it and refused to drink. There is a statement in the Babylonian Talmud, according to Lightfoot, that wine mingled with a bit of frankincense was given to criminals just before their execution in order to stupefy them and lessen the pain. This is probably correct. It is quite likely that friends provided this drink in their love and consideration for Him.

"35 And when they had crucified him, they parted his garments among them, casting lot; 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. 38 Then are there crucified with him two robbers, one on the right hand and one on the left. 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. 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 trusted on God; let him deliver him now, if he desireth him: for he said, I am the Son of God. 44 And the robbers also that were crucified with him cast upon him the same reproach" (vss. 35-44).

According to different accounts the victim was usually nailed to his cross, while it was lying on the ground, and then it was reared in an upright position.

What type of cross was used? The one with which we are familiar? This cannot be ascertained with our present knowledge. When our Lord was crucified, the soldiers cast lots for His garments and then sat down to view the situation.

According to verse 37 this inscription was written over Jesus: "THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS." Mark says that the inscription was: "THE KING OF THE JEWS" (Mark 15:26). Luke gives the accusation as, "THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS" (Luke 23:38). John gives it exactly as does Mark (John 19:21). Matthew and Luke seem to have quoted it verbatim. Mark and John give the gist of it. There is perfect harmony between all their statements.

With Jesus were crucified two thieves. Both of these at first began to rail at Him and to taunt Him. Finally one of them saw his sinfulness and recognized in Jesus the Saviour of the world. He therefore reprimanded his fellow in crime for his mockery. Then, turning to Jesus, he pleaded to be remembered by Him. In answer our Lord gave him this promise: "Verily I say unto thee, To-day shall thou be with me in Paradise" (Luke 23:43). Thus in answer to the thief's plea for mercy and salvation, our Lord redeemed his soul and assured him that he would be with Him in Paradise that day. The Lord will accept anyone who will come to Him in simple faith and true repentance, doubting nothing, and trusting Him for salvation.

Those who passed by kept wagging their heads in mockery 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" (vs. 39). The chief priests, scribes, and elders joined in this chorus of insults and blasphemies. Thus they said: "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. He trusteth on God; let him deliver him now, if he desireth him: for he said, I am the Son of God." For the first three hours of the crucifixion insult after insult, and blasphemy after blasphemy were hurled, against Him by those poor, blind, prejudiced people who had rejected the light of God's eternal truth—to their own condemnation throughout all eternity.

"45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. 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 that stood there, when they heard it, said, This man calleth 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. 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" (vss. 45-50).

At the sixth hour, twelve o'clock noon, there came a sudden change—darkness; crept over all the land until the ninth hour. What was the cause of this phenomenon? Was it an eclipse of the sun? No, this could not have been; for our Lord was crucified at the passover which was in the middle of the month, that began with the new moon. The moon therefore was full, that is, it was on the opposite side of the earth from the sun. But some have thought from Luke's statement, "The sun's light failing," that he considered it an eclipse of the sun. This is an unwarranted inference. Luke simply means that the usual light from the sun was cut off from the earth. There is but one conclusion to which we can come and that is that this darkness was caused by the direct intervention of God.

About the ninth hour Jesus cried out to God in terms of Psalm 22, which is a messianic passage of scripture: "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Jesus was man; He was God; He was the God-man. During His entire career God was with Him in a special and unique manner. It was by the finger of God that He accomplished all of His marvelous works. The Almighty had thus accompanied Him in this unique manner up to the moment of this darkness. From this time on the Father withdrew. Jesus had to tread the rest of the way alone, enduring untold agonies for the last three hours of the crucifixion, had to go down to Hades to grapple with Satan and the powers of the unseen world, and to come forth a triumphant Conqueror over the powers of Satan and his hosts. The loneliness of our Lord is inexpressible. We doubtless can never know the darkness and the terror of the valley of the shadow of death through which He passed in working out our redemption for us. It was therefore natural that He should cry out to God in such a time and ask why He had forsaken Him. According to Isaiah, chapter 50, Messiah-Jesus set His face like a flint to do the will of God irrespective of all circumstances. His path, in redeeming humanity, led through death and Hades. He therefore unflinchingly went forward. Man, by disobedience and by pitting his will against God, fell and brought ruin upon all. Man, must pass out of this life, through death and go down to Hades, the place of departed Spirits. The entire human family, from Adam to the resurrection of Christ—with the exception of Enoch and Elijah—was forced to tread the path of life, to pass out through the portal of death, and to go down into Hades, where all had been confined up till the resurrection of our Lord. By man (the first Adam) ruin and death came to the human family; by man (the second Adam) came life and immortality. It was necessary that our Lord should do as He did in redeeming mankind, because we are living in a moral universe. Man is given the power of free choice. It was upon the basis of the exercise of the will of man against that of God that ruin came. His loss could be retrieved only in a moral universe, by a man who set His face like a flint to do the will of God and did it absolutely and perfectly in order that sin and death might not have any claim upon Him. Thus Our Lord, the God-man, was free from sin—sin apart. Since He had no sin, He was in a position to redeem man. He therefore lived as man during His life, went out of life by way of the portal of death, as all other men do, went down to Hades, won the victory over Satan and the powers of the unseen world, grasped the keys of death and Hades, and came forth the triumphant Conqueror, bringing life and immortality to light through the gospel. When He Came forth from the grave, He released some—if not all—of the saved who had been held as captives by Satan. "Wherefore he saith, When he ascended on high, he led captivity captive, And gave gifts unto men. (Now this, He ascended, what is it but that he also descended into the lower parts of the earth?" (Eph. 5:8,9). Those who came forth at the time of His resurrection, as we shall presently see, went to glory when He ascended. Since our Lord's triumph, all who die in Christ go immediately into the presence of God, for to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (II Cor. 5:6-8).

When Jesus therefore cried aloud, certain ones standing by thought that He was calling for Elijah. One immediately got a sponge, filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed and placed it at the Saviour's mouth. We cannot be absolutely sure whether or not our Lord even tasted this. When Jesus, according to John 19:30ff received the vinegar, He said: "It is finished." At this time He yielded up His Spirit.

The Four Gospels must be studied in order to understand the "seven sayings" of our Lord upon the cross, all of which are most marvelous and wonderful.

"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. 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" (vss. 51-56).

When Jesus expired, the veil in the Temple separating the most holy place from the holy place was rent from top to bottom. This miracle is interpreted by the writer of Hebrews as signifying that the way into the most holy place in heaven was now opened up by the veil of our Lord's flesh (Heb. 10:19-26). Both the Tabernacle and the Temple were typical of our Lord.

At the time of Christ's death there was a great earthquake which rent the rocks in the vicinity of Jerusalem and opened up many of the graves of the saints. On the western slopes of the Mount of Olives is a very extensive Jewish graveyard. But of course this is not the only burial place around Jerusalem. Many of those graves were opened at that time in conjunction with the earthquake. The bodies of those in the tombs did not come forth until after our Lord was raised from the dead. Those coming forth appeared to many with Jesus in Jerusalem during the forty days of His stay after the resurrection.

When the Centurion who was watching Jesus felt the earthquake and saw its effects and the things that were done, he feared exceedingly and said, "Truly this was the Son of God." This Gentile, like Cornelius, was not prejudiced; but was open to conviction and came to faith in Jesus as the Son of God. Standing and observing that which was transpiring were many women who had followed Jesus and ministered unto Him as He was engaged in the great Galilaean ministry. When the Lord came to Jerusalem to observe the passover, they likewise came. They therefore followed Him to the last and watched from a distance.

After the death of Jesus Joseph of Arimathaea went to Pilate and asked for the body, which was granted to him (vss. 57,58). Nicodemus came and brought a hundred pounds of spices to anoint the body of Jesus and assisted Joseph in taking the body and placing it in the latter's own new tomb. The part which Nicodemus played in the burial of Jesus is set forth in John 19:34-42. Mary Magdelene, as we learn in Matthew 27:61, with the other Mary was sitting over against the sepulchre where Jesus was buried.

"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" (vss. 57-61).

"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" (vss. 62-66).

On the day after the Preparation, which was the sabbath, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered together to Pilate and asked that he have the tomb of Jesus "made sure." The reason for their doing this was that, as they said, they remembered how Christ had foretold that He would be raised after three days. They asserted that they feared the disciples would steal the body of Jesus and claim that He was raised from the dead. In reply Pilate told them that they had a guard, and that they should seal the tomb and make it as sure as they could, which thing they did. But, as we shall see in our next study, nothing that man was able to do could in anywise prevent His coming back to life. He was and is the life of the world; He was and is the light of the world. He is the Lord of creation and the Lord, Master, and Saviour of all who come to Him and trust Him.