Chapter BY Chapter

Let’s see how the crucifixion of Jesus turns out.

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Verses 45-56,

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Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour.  And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.”  And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink.  But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.”  And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.

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And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.  The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.  When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

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There were also many women there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him, among whom were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

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What is the significance of Jesus saying, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”

1. People even mocked Jesus for saying this.

2. God had separated himself from Jesus.He had laid on Jesus our sins to punish our sins on Jesus.

3. Jesus was quoting Psalm 22.

 

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

    Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?

O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,

    and by night, but I find no rest.

Yet you are holy,

    enthroned on the praises of Israel.

In you our fathers trusted;

    they trusted, and you delivered them.

To you they cried and were rescued;

    in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

But I am a worm and not a man,

    scorned by mankind and despised by the people.

All who see me mock me;

    they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;

“He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him;

    let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”

Yet you are he who took me from the womb;

    you made me trust you at my mother's breasts.

On you was I cast from my birth,

    and from my mother's womb you have been my God.

Be not far from me,

    for trouble is near,

    and there is none to help.

Many bulls encompass me;

    strong bulls of Bashan surround me;

they open wide their mouths at me,

    like a ravening and roaring lion.

I am poured out like water,

    and all my bones are out of joint;

my heart is like wax;

    it is melted within my breast;

my strength is dried up like a potsherd,

    and my tongue sticks to my jaws;

    you lay me in the dust of death.

For dogs encompass me;

    a company of evildoers encircles me;

they have pierced my hands and feet-

I can count all my bones—

they stare and gloat over me;

they divide my garments among them,

    and for my clothing they cast lots.

But you, O Lord, do not be far off!

    O you my help, come quickly to my aid!

Deliver my soul from the sword,

    my precious life from the power of the dog!

Save me from the mouth of the lion!

You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen!

I will tell of your name to my brothers;

    in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:

You who fear the Lord, praise him!

    All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him,

    and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!

For he has not despised or abhorred

    the affliction of the afflicted,

and he has not hidden his face from him,

    but has heard, when he cried to him.

From you comes my praise in the great congregation;

    my vows I will perform before those who fear him.

The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied;

    those who seek him shall praise the Lord!

    May your hearts live forever!

All the ends of the earth shall remember

    and turn to the Lord,

and all the families of the nations

    shall worship before you.

For kingship belongs to the Lord,

    and he rules over the nations.

All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship;

    before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,

    even the one who could not keep himself alive.

Posterity shall serve him;

    it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation;

they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn,

    that he has done it.

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Notice that Psalm 22 ends with great promises of hope.  It also elucidates on some of the things that are happening to him.  People are dividing his clothes.  People are mocking him.  Psalm 22 even tells exactly how people will be mocking Jesus.  The feelings of death are described as “poured out like water,” “pierced hands and feet,” and a “heart like wax.”  This is how it would have felt and even how it looked as Jesus was pierced.

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So there were 3 hours of darkness.  This would have been considered a bad omen.  When Jesus died, there was an earthquake that made the rocks split.  Historical and geological studies have identified an earthquake at that time that was centered 13 miles away in the Dead Sea (https://www.livescience.com/20605-jesus-crucifixion.html).  Apparently, this earthquake made some tombs open up and some saints resurrected, went into the city and appeared to many people.  Not only did the earthquake affect the tombs, but the curtain of the temple was torn from top to bottom.

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What is the significance of the temple curtain being torn from top to bottom?

1. The way to God is now open to everyone.

2. Everyone has access to what is in the holy of holies and what was in the ark.

   • Communication to God.

   • Aaron’s rod with the bud in it – life from death.

   • The mana – everlasting bread, everlasting life.

   • The Word of God – God’s revelation.

 

What happened to the soldiers that were watching over Jesus?

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“When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

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The soldiers became believers.

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Who witnessed this?

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3 mothers at least.  This is important because whenever anyone says that the gospels are fabricated, you should ask them, “What eye-witnesses do you have that witnessed otherwise?”  The gospels are based on eye-witness accounts.  No 1st century writing or claim exists to counter the claims of the gospels – nada, none, zippo, zero.  The Catholic church did not exist for another 300 years, so these accounts could not have been protected by the Catholic Church either.  The Christians were mostly persecuted for the first 300 years.  The gospels stood the test of time because they were written in the 1st century and backed up by eye-witnesses that were still alive at the time they were written.  The Talmud, the religious book of the Jews gives a different account of the death of Jesus and subsequent events.  There are two big problems with that.  First, it was written 400 years after the events.  Second, it gives no eye-witnesses.

So many women are there looking on, Jesus dies, and now they will bury him.

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Verses 57-61,

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When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus.  He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him.  And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock.  And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away.  Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

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The Romans typically left the corpses on the crosses to rot and be taken away by animals.  Why do you think that Pilate allowed Joseph to bury the body of Jesus?  Pilate was sympathetic to Jesus.

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What do we know about the tomb?

1. It was a new tomb – so there were no other bodies there.

2. Jesus was laid in the tomb.

3. Jesus was wrapped in a clean linen shroud.

4. A great stone was rolled over the tomb.

5. The two Marys were sitting opposite the tomb.

 

What is the significance of each of these facts?

 

A new tomb – This is significant because you cannot mistake other bodies for the body of Jesus.

 

Jesus was laid in the tomb – This is significant because it was acknowledged that Jesus was dead.  Some people have a big problem with this part.  They say that Jesus did not fulfill many of the prophesies, such as Isaiah 2:2-4,

 

It shall come to pass in the latter days

    that the mountain of the house of the Lord

shall be established as the highest of the mountains,

    and shall be lifted up above the hills;

and all the nations shall flow to it,

     and many peoples shall come, and say:

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,

    to the house of the God of Jacob,

that he may teach us his ways

    and that we may walk in his paths.”

For out of Zion shall go forth the law,

    and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

He shall judge between the nations,

    and shall decide disputes for many peoples;

and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,

    and their spears into pruning hooks;

nation shall not lift up sword against nation,

    neither shall they learn war anymore.

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The disciples must have been wondering what was going on with his death.  They must have been wondering, “How could Jesus be the Messiah?”  However, as we shall see later on, this is also part of God’s plan.

 

Jesus was wrapped in a clean linen shroud – This is part of the Jewish burial customs.  Later in time this becomes even more significant that ever thought by the gospel writers.

 

A great stone was rolled over the tomb – This wasn’t just any small stone.  Joseph was a rich man, and he had this tomb dug out for his family.  A great stone would have been preferred to deter any grave robbers.

 

The two Marys were sitting opposite the tomb – This is significant because there were eye-witnesses.  No person that holds a theory contrary to Jesus’ resurrection claims that they have eye-witnesses.  It is certain that Jesus’ dead body was in the tomb when the great stone was rolled in place.  Now there have been several theories submitted that Jesus’ body was substituted sometime between this time and when the guard was placed.  However, if a live person had replaced Jesus’ body, it would have suffered carbon dioxide poisoning by the third day.  If Jesus’ body had come up missing at this point, the chief priests could immediately accuse that Jesus’ body was stolen, and that would be the end of the story.  He wasn’t supposed to rise from the dead till the 3rd day.  Let’s see what happens next.

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Verses 62-66,

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The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’  Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.”  Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers.  Go, make it as secure as you can.”  So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.

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When it mentions a guard here, it is not talking about a rent-a-pig.  The word here for guard is the latin “custodian.”  This is not like the custodian janitor of a building either.  A Roman custodian was a group of elite soldiers tasked to protect an important person such as the emperor, governor, or diplomat.  These were often called Praetorium guards.  Sometimes they were a legion sized force – 1,000 men.  During this time they were always Italian born Romans, received more in depth training, and their pay was triple what the regular soldiers received (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Roman_army#Praetorian_Guard).

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Now how many soldiers were there?  In chapter 18, verse 11, some of them go to tell the chief priests what happened.  If they abandoned to post completely, they could be executed.  Also, they would never leave one soldier alone.  So we can deduce that there were at least 4 soldiers – some to go and some to stay.  Most likely there was more than that.  The chief priests had 1,000 Roman soldiers at their command.  They took a crowd with them to arrest Jesus, and it is likely that they wanted a similar crowd guarding the tomb at this time.  John 19:23 records that 4 soldiers divided Jesus’ garments, so the guard at the tomb must have been at least similar to the guard at his crucifixion.  Pilate tells them to make the tomb as secure as they know how.  Knowing that Jesus had 11 close disciples, it would be ludicrous to guard the tomb with less than 12 soldiers.  In Acts 12:4, Herod dispatched 16 soldiers to guard Peter in prison.  So, it follows that even more soldiers would have guarded Jesus.  Jesus was enemy number one to the chief priests.  They chose Barabbas, a thief, murderer, and rebel, over Jesus.  Jesus stopped their profiteering in the Temple.  They were very angry about that.  Furthermore, just a few days before this, Jesus was led into the city with thousands of followers saying “Hosanna!”  Most likely there were at least several dozen soldiers, if not a few hundred (http://sntjohnny.com/front/how-many-guards-at-the-tomb-of-jesus/485.html).  If you were Caiaphas, how many soldiers would you send to guard the tomb of Jesus?

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The story that the Jews circulated at least confirms that there were soldiers guarding the tomb of Jesus.  Their story is that while the guard was sleeping, they witnessed Jesus’ body being stolen by his disciples.

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Let’s examine the idea of the guards falling asleep while the disciples stole the body.  It is obvious that if they were sleeping, they would have heard the stone rolling away.  That would have made a lot of noise.  If a guard member fell asleep, he was beaten and burned with his own clothes. But he was not the only one executed; the entire sixteen-man guard unit was executed if only one of the members fell asleep while on duty.  Now, if the guards were asleep, how did they know that it was Jesus’ disciples that stole his body?

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Let’s examine how they might have secured the tomb.  The very first thing they would do to secure the tomb, since they were worried that the disciples would steal the body, was that they would make sure the body is still there & that it was Jesus’ body.  Then there was the seal.  The connotation here is not as though there is a superficial designation on the stone.  The Greek word here is “sphragisantes.”  Rather than an identification seal, the whole stone is sealed shut.  This same word is used for describing how that the believers are sealed with the Holy Spirit, in Ephesians 1:13, once and for all, unchangeable, permanent, and unbreakable.  Not only would they hear the stone roll away, but the stone had been sealed.  So someone would have had to chisel the seal off.  That would make a lot of noise. Finally, they would secure the tomb with the Roman guard.

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There are a number of objections that some people have relating to believing that Jesus is the Messiah.

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One argument is that the Messiah would appear just as God appeared in the time of Moses.  He would not appear as a human as Jesus did and tell people to worship him instead of God.   First of all, did God always appear as a burning bush?  In Exodus 24:10, it says, “they saw the God of Israel. There was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone.”  So, when God met with the elders, it was in a humanoid form.  He had feet!  In Exodus 13:21, it says, “And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night.”  So God was in the form of a pillar of cloud, and also in the form of a pillar of fire.  God appeared to Sarah as an angel.  In Genesis 16:11-13, it says, “And the angel of the Lord said to her, “Behold, you are pregnant and shall bear a son…. So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing.”  God also appeared to Abraham differently.  In Genesis 18:1-2, God appears to Abraham as three men.  “And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day.  He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him.”  Furthermore, God says in Zechariah 12:10, “They will look on me whom they have pierced.”  How can God be pierced unless he appears in the flesh?

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Another argument is that the signature deed of the Messiah in Old Testament Scriptures is that the Messiah would establish his kingdom and his rule.  Jesus did not do this, so he could not be the Messiah.  The idea that this is the main work of the Messiah is wrong.  Only 16 out of 369 Messianic passages are about his rule as the head of a kingdom.  There is no Old Testament Scripture that says he must accomplish all of his deeds at once.  353 Messianic passages are about his work to rid the world of sin.  The very first Messianic passage in the Old Testament is about defeating sin.  Speaking to Satan God says in Genesis 3:15, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”  In Jeremiah 31:33, God says how he will implement his law by saying, “I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts.”  That is expressly what we find Jesus doing when he went around preaching, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near.”  He taught that we should do more than obey the commandment not to kill, but we should not be angry at our brothers.  He taught that we should not only not commit adultery, but we should not even lust.  Jesus taught us how to put God’s law in our heart.  Jesus taught that he would return in the future to claim his kingdom and judge the world.  Matthew 25:31, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.”  In Numbers 13, twelve spies are sent out to scout the land that God promised the Israelites.  Ten of them did not believe that God would deliver the land to them, so they did not receive God’s promises.  Only Caleb and Joshua believed God and only Caleb and Joshua entered the promised land.  In the same way, refusing to believe in God’s promises when they come, and refusing to accept his gifts when He gives them, keeps you out of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Yet another claim by some people is that the idea that the Messiah would die and rise again is not in Old Testament Scriptures.  Several Scripture passages that say the Messiah must die and rise again.  So, this is simply untrue, and in fact, this was a clear teaching among Jews just prior to Jesus’ time.

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The Gabriel stone is a 1st century B.C. tablet found by the Dead Sea that predicts a Messiah that will die and rise from the dead on the 3rd day (https://www.timesofisrael.com/jerusalem-unveils-mysterious-hebrew-tablet/).  Daniel 9:24-27 puts the time of the Messiah at the time of Jesus.  There is no reason to look for a different Messiah other than Jesus, the one that God told us would come (http://jesusplusnothing.com/messiah/messiah.htm). This is also hinted at in Hosea 6:1-2,

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“Come, let us return to the Lord;

    for he has torn us, that he may heal us;

    he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.

After two days he will revive us;

    on the third day he will raise us up,

    that we may live before him.

Isaiah 53:4-5 and 10-11 says that the Messiah would experience a substitutionary death, then experience a resurrection.

Surely he has borne our griefs

    and carried our sorrows;

yet we esteemed him stricken,

    smitten by God, and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our transgressions;

    he was crushed for our iniquities;

upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,

    and with his wounds we are healed.

Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;

    he has put him to grief;

when his soul makes an offering for guilt,

    he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;

the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.

Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;

by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,

    make many to be accounted righteous,

    and he shall bear their iniquities.

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When you talk to a Jew, they might say that believing in Jesus is believing in a different god.  They will refer to Deuteronomy 13:1-3, “If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams.”  In Exodus 20, God speaks from the cloud above Mount Sinai.  In Matthew 3:17, God speaks from heaven, and “behold, a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.’”  So, it is not about a person that is merely human that tells people to worship himself.  God is speaking from heaven as he did before telling us that this is his Son, his anointed one that he told us to worship according to Scriptures.  The Scriptures also tell us that the Messiah would be a stumbling block.  Isaiah 8:14, “And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.”  So the fact that some refuse to believe that Jesus is the Messiah fulfills this Messianic prophesy.

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It comes down to this.  If you refuse to believe the promises God made, you believe in a different god.

So, where is the tomb where Jesus was laid?  Some people say that it is under the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.  It is becoming increasingly accepted that it was in the Garden Tomb.  The tomb in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was opened recently, and they encountered a layer of debris.  The two locations are shown on the map below.