48 Hours and 7 Words
Thursday, April 14, 30 AD (6pm-11:30pm) - Last
supper with disciples - Passover meal
LUKE 22 14 When the hour came,
Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. 15 And
he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I
suffer. 16 For I tell you, I will
not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.” 17 After
taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide
it among you. 18 For
I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom
of God comes.” 19 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them,
saying, “This
is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 20 In the same way, after
the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is
poured out for you.[a] 21 But the hand of him who
is going to betray me is with mine on the table. 22 The Son of Man will go as it has been
decreed. But
woe to that man who betrays him!” 23 They
began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this.
Thursday, April 14, 30
AD 11:30 pm) – Friday, April 15 (1:00 am) - Garden of Gethsemane - Jesus waits
for his arrest
LUKE 22 9 Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of
Olives, and
his disciples followed him. 40 On
reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” 41 He withdrew about a
stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, 42 “Father,
if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” 43 An angel from heaven
appeared to him and strengthened him.44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and
his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.[c]45 When
he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep,
exhausted from sorrow. 46 “Why
are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”
1:00am-1:30am -
Confrontation in Garden and Jesus' Arrest
1:30am-3:00am
Trial 1: Annas, former Jewish High Priest for 16 years - Jesus receives initial
physical abuse
LUKE
22:63 The men
who were guarding Jesus began mocking and beating him. 64 They blindfolded him and demanded, “Prophesy! Who
hit you?” 65 And they said many other
insulting things to him.
Trial 2: Current
Jewish High Priest, Caiaphas, and the Sanhedrin Court – Jesus bloodied by abuse
John 1812 Then the detachment of soldiers [“cohort” meaning 200
but likely 600 soldiers] with its commander and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus. They bound him 13 and brought him first to Annas, who was the
father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. 14 Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jewish
leaders that it would be good if one man died for the people.
betrayal of a very
close friend
John 18 25 Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they
said to him, “You are not also one of His disciples, are you?” He denied it, and said, “I am not.” 26 One of the slaves of the high priest, being a relative
of the one whose ear Peter cut off, *said, “Did I not see you in the garden with Him?”27 Peter then denied it again, and immediately a rooster crowed.
3:00am-5:00am -
Imprisonment at Caiaphas' palace
5:00am-6:00am
Trial 3: All the
Jewish elders, including the High Priest, scribes and whole Sanhedrin. They
decide to ask the Roman government to kill Jesus
6:00am-7:00am
Trial 4: Hearing
before Roman governor Pilate
LUKE 23 6 On
hearing this, Pilate asked if the man was a Galilean. 7 When he learned that Jesus was under Herod’s
jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that
time.
7:00-7:30am
Trial 5: Hearing
before Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the Great, who had jurisdiction over
Galilee. Jesus refused to answer any questions so Herod returned him quickly to
Pilate
LUKE 23:8 When
Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been
wanting to see him. From
what he had heard about him, he hoped to see him perform a sign of some sort. 9 He
plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer. 10 The
chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there, vehemently
accusing him. 11 Then Herod and his soldiers
ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate. 12 That
day Herod and Pilate became friends—before this they had been enemies.
7:30am-8:30am–
Trial 6: Pilate repeatedly tried to release Jesus
but the Jewish leaders continued to object. Pilate physically tortured and beat
Jesus beyond recognition seeking to satisfy the Jewish leaders. However the
Jews demanded that Jesus be crucified. Pilate resisted but eventually gave the
order to execute Jesus
john 19 Then
Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. 2 The
soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They
clothed him in a purple robe 3 and went up to him again and
again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they slapped him in the face.
Pilate's Roman soldiers take Jesus into the court
("Praetorium") and enjoy mockery and continued torture, including
driving thorns into his skull
8:30 AM Jesus forced to carry his own cross, then
They then handed Jesus his cross, which likely
weighed over 100 pounds. It was not a new cross. It was a recycled cross. Wood
was so rare that each man didn’t get his own death on his own cross. That would
be too dignified. This cross was already covered with the blood of other men,
already had nail holes in it from other executions. They handed it to Jesus,
and they laid it across his bloodied, raw, open back. It was a rugged cross
with splinters deeply penetrating into what was left of his back and legs. They
told him to carry it to his own place of execution. Jesus was so traumatized,
so tired, so beaten, so bloodied that he could not carry it on his own despite
his health and his youth and his strength. So they appointed a gentleman named
Simon from the town Cyrene to assist him.
The ancient Jewish historian Josephus calls it “the
most wretched of deaths.” In speaking of crucifixion, it was Cicero who
declared that Roman citizens should not think of the cross, should not speak of
the cross because it was too altogether horrifying for decent Roman citizens to
even contemplate or utter.
Crucifixion began roughly 500 years before the
birth of Jesus with the Persians, and it continued for some 900 years until 300
years after the death of Jesus when the Roman Emperor Constantine, who was the
first professing Christian Roman emperor forbade it and put an end to
crucifixion.
It was the Persians who invented it, but it was the
Romans who perfected it. They reserved it for the lower classes, for slaves,
for foreigners, and only very rarely would Roman citizens be crucified. They
would have to do something as awful as high treason to receive that kind of penalty
and punishment.
When Jesus got to his place of crucifixion, they
ripped out his beard. They spit on him. They mocked him. They took spikes
between five and seven inches long, and they literally nailed him to a wooden
cross through his hands, which included the wrists, and his feet, the most
sensitive nerve centers of your body, to where every breath and every movement
would be most excruciating.
A death by crucifixion was often slow, agonizing,
horrifying death by asphyxiation in a public manner. This was not done in
obscurity. This was something that would be done outside of the Fred Meyer down
the street. This is something that would be done in front of Westlake Mall
downtown or in Belltown or down on First Hill or somewhere down by Safeco Field
or down in Freemont.
This was done openly and publicly, and the death
could sometimes take days as people literally wilted under the heat of the sun,
as they were mocked and jeered at, as people threw stones at them and laughed
at them, as the slowed into that state of deep and hard and labored breathing,
as they died by asphyxiation because as they would hang, their lungs would have
a hard time taking in and sending out precious air, and it could take days for
someone to die.
To prolong the death, particularly of the men, they
would put a small seat or a ledge underneath the buttocks of the men to keep
him up so that he couldn’t slouch down and suffocate to death. They knew they
were going to die. They wanted to die as quickly as possible, and their
executioners, in an effort to prolong their torment, would provide this seat
under their buttocks. And what they found is that men would lift themselves off
the seat, fall down and suffocate to death, thereby ending their torment. So in
an effort to ensure that they didn’t get off that seat, they would take the
man’s penis, and they would nail it to the cross with a seven-inch spike.
Literally, excruciating pain. They were not given a
common decent burial. The body would die on the cross, and it would be left
there for birds and vultures. Pieces would fall to the ground. It was reported
that occasionally a dog would return home with a hand or a foot as a chew toy.
Whatever was left would be thrown into the dump
Mark
15: 25 - It was the third hour when they
crucified him. (NIV).
The third hour in Jewish time would have been 9 a.m.
Luke
23:34 - Jesus said, "Father, forgive
them, for they do not know what they are doing." (NIV)
First word: Lk.23:32-38
"Father, forgive
them; for they do not know what they are doing."
Luke alone, of the Gospel writers, mentions the
criminals in advance of Jesus’ conversation with them. The effect is that his
humiliation is underlined – he voluntarily identified with sinners in life, and
is now identified with them in death as well.
And it is only Luke who records Jesus’ prayer
for his executors. This fits in well with Luke’s interests, for throughout his
Gospel he portrays Jesus as offering God’s grace and forgiveness to sinners.
In Lk.6:27-28, Luke records Jesus’ teaching on
love for one’s enemies and on praying for those who hate you and mistreat you.
Among the passages that are found only in Luke, we have the narrative in
Lk.7:36-50, where Jesus is anointed by a woman who had once been a notorious
person, and he explains that her overflowing affection is an expression of her
gratitude that she has been forgiven.
And, of course, we have in Lk. 15:11-32, Jesus’
unforgettable picture of God as the father of the prodigal son, who is prepared
to forgive his penitent son, with no questions asked and no conditions laid
down.
So here in Lk.23:32-38 we read that in the midst
of all his pain and suffering, Jesus prayed for those who were participating in
putting him to death. The basis for the prayer is that they do not know what
they are doing – that is, they do not realize the wrong that they are
perpetrating.
In the Jewish cult, sin that is committed
unintentionally brings guilt, but there is provision in the cult for making an
offering and being forgiven or absolved. In Leviticus 4-5 we have clear
directions regarding the sacrifices that need to be made in different cases.
However, there is no provision for forgiveness and absolution for those who sin
deliberately or with a high hand.
It is against this background that we can
understand the basis for Jesus’ prayer. They are acting in ignorance.
Therefore, forgive them.
Jesus’ willingness to pray for forgiveness for
his enemies challenges our contemporary world. Today, the widely held
assumption is that revenge and retaliation is fully justified. This hold true
whether we are speaking of relations at the international, national or personal
levels. But if we take our discipleship seriously, we must follow Jesus’
example.
9 AM TO NOON
Matthew 27:39-40 - And
the people passing by shouted abuse, shaking their heads in mockery. "So!
You can destroy the Temple and build it again in three days, can you? Well
then, if you are the Son of God, save yourself and come down from the
cross!" (NLT)
LUKE 2335 The
people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He
saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen
One.” 36 The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They
offered him wine vinegar 37 and
said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”
Second word: Lk.23:39-43
"Truly I tell
you, today you will be with me in Paradise."
This conversation underlines two important
points: one, the innocence of Jesus, and two, the immediate realization of
God’s saving grace through Christ.
In Luke’s passion narrative, the point is
repeatedly made that Jesus was perceived by many to be innocent. Just before
this passage, in vs.22, we have Pilate for the third time insisting that he
found no grounds for the death penalty.
In this passage, witness to Jesus’ innocence
comes from an unexpected quarter – one of the criminals that was being executed
at the same time. In Mt.27:44 and Mk.15:32 both the criminals insult Jesus, but
Luke focuses on one of them. Aren’t you the Messiah? is bitterly sarcastic. It
is a taunt that refuses to take Jesus’ powers seriously.
But the other criminal recognizes that Jesus is
no mere pretender and is appalled that he is being treated in the same way as
they were. They deserved their punishment, but the same could not be said of
Jesus.
He also recognizes that he will reign as king
and asks him to remember him when he comes into his kingdom. Several details of
interpretation are uncertain here, but it appears that the criminal expected
that Jesus would assume his reign immediately. Only so can we understand his
request. Jesus responds that he does not need to wait for any future event but
that he will immediately enjoy fellowship with him in paradise. The word
paradise is a Persian word meaning park or garden and is used in Gen.2:8 to
refer to the garden of Eden. Elsewhere it symbolizes the future bliss (e.g.
Isa.51:3; Rev.2:7).
The language here is close to that of Paul in
Phil.1:19-26, where he is considering the possibility of his being sentenced to
death. He tells the Philippians that he is not afraid of such a prospect for
that would only mean that he would depart and be with Christ (vs.23). Using the
principle of interpreting the unclear passages of Scripture by those that are
clear, we would have to conclude that these passages are implying that
immediately after death, believers experience the presence of Christ in some
anticipatory way. The fullness of the experience lies beyond the Parousia and
Consummation.
Third word: Jn.19:25b-27
"Jesus said to his mother, ‘Woman, here is your son.’ Then he said
to the disciple, ‘Here is your
mother’."
In the previous two words, Jesus is mindful of
others, and this one is no different. Although the Gospel writers are very
sensitive in the way they describe Jesus’ sufferings, the horror of the
experience nevertheless comes through. And yet, in the midst of all the pain
and suffering, Jesus is mindful of others.
Mary, the mother of Jesus, does not play a very
prominent role in the Gospel tradition, except in the birth narratives. In the
Synoptics, she does make an occasional appearance. For example, in
Mk.3:20-21,31-35, she and other members of the family are concerned that Jesus
is so busy in his ministry that he is neglecting himself. And in John’s gospel,
she is with Jesus at the wedding in Cana, when Jesus changed water into wine at
her request to help out in the rather embarrassing situation.
Nevertheless, in the birth narratives Mary is
portrayed as a pensive, God-fearing person, who takes in all that is said in
the context of the extraordinary birth of her firstborn son. In the short span
of two chapters, Luke refers twice (2:19 and 2:51) to Mary treasuring all these
things in her heart and pondering over them.
Among the things that were said were the words
of Simeon addressed to Mary: A sword will pierce your own soul too (Lk.2:35).
We do not know how much of all this Mary shared with Jesus as he grew up, but
there is no reason to hold that she did not share anything at all. In any case,
from the scanty data that is available, it is clear that Jesus showed Mary the
deference and respect that was her due.
If Mary had been a widow for some time – Joseph
is not mentioned outside the birth narratives – and Jesus was her eldest son,
one can appreciate his concern for her at this point. It was important for her
to be taken care of, and Jesus does what he can under the circumstances. But Jesus must have been concerned for he knew
that his suffering would have its own impact on his mother, and it was
important for there to be some support available as she grieved.
Honor and respect for parents is basic to the
Biblical faith. This may work out in different ways in different contexts and
cultures. We must beware of being legalistic. But the obligation remains.
12:00 noon - 3:00pm) - Momentous final 3 hours on the cross
LUKE
23 44 It was now about
noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, 45 for the sun stopped shining.
shortly
before 3 pm = 9th hour
Matthew 27:46 - And
about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama
sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (NKJV)
Fourth word: Mt.27:45-49
"My God, my God,
why have you forsaken me?"
We call these words the cry of dereliction. They
are a citation from Psa.22:1, and raise an important question:
What does the psalm quotation signify?
In recent times, there have been several who
have suggested that the citation must be understood against the entire psalm.
The psalm begins with this sense of desolation but ends with the triumphant
vindication of the righteous sufferer. Therefore, it is held, that Jesus’ cry
reflects full confidence and not mere despair.
But if the citation is taken on its own, it is a
cry of despair alone and it appears unacceptable to use the context of the
entire psalm to nullify the meaning of the actual quotation. It is better to
take the words at face value and conclude that Jesus was conscious of being
abandoned by the Father.
In Gospel research, it has long been held that
Jesus’ self-understanding was based on his being the Son of God. In the
Synoptics, in both the related narratives of the baptism and testing of Jesus,
it is the son ship of Jesus that is a central theme. Similarly, in John’s
Gospel, Jesus is the Son who has been sent from the Father with a very specific
mission and the necessary authority to fulfill it.
It is in the light of this intimacy between
Father and Son that we begin to understand the cry of dereliction. If Jesus was
dying the death that is the penalty of sin, that was an experience that was
totally new for the one who was without sin. Perhaps Paul’s statement in 2
Cor.5:21 throws some light on the matter: He made him who had no sin to be sin
for us.
“The depths of the saying are too deep to be
plumbed, but the least inadequate interpretations are those that find in it a
sense of desolation in which Jesus felt the horror of sin so deeply that for a
time the closeness of His communion with the Father was obscured.”
As such, the cry underlines the cost that was
paid for our ransom and reconciliation. Grace is free; but grace is not cheap.
And that is why the writer to the Hebrews tells his readers in 6:4ff. that
those who spurn the grace of God, are crucifying the Son of God all over again
and subjecting him to public disgrace.
FIFTH WORD John 19:28-30- Jesus
knew that everything was now finished, and to fulfill the Scriptures he said,
"I am thirsty." A jar
of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a
hyssop branch, and held it up to his lips.
John’s Gospel begins with the
words,
In the beginning was the Word. Through him all
things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
And it is in John’s account of the passion that
we read that, a little before he died, Jesus said, I am thirsty. Here was the
one through whom creation had come into being, and yet, he was brought so low
that he had to ask for a drink to quench his thirst.
Jesus as the agent of creation is a familiar
theme that is developed in the NT writings. In the Christ-hymn in Col.1:15ff.
Paul says, By him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth,
visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all
things were created by him and for him. Indeed, he is first described as the
firstborn of all creation before being described as the head of the new
creation, the church.
Besides, there are several texts that indicate
that creation finds its cohesive principle in Christ. Here in Col.1:17 we read
: all things were created by him and for him. Creation derives its meaning from
him.
Against this background, the words, I am
thirsty, sound shocking. And the only way to make sense of them, and of the
desperate plight that Jesus found himself in is to put them in the context of
what the incarnation meant for him. There are two texts that bring this out. In
2 Cor.8:9 we read, For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ , that
though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his
poverty might become rich. Now there is no evidence that the earthly Jesus was
at one point rich, but gave up his riches and embraced poverty. Quite clearly,
the Apostle is speaking figuratively of the incarnation.
In the Christ-hymn in Phil.2:5-11, we read that
Christ did not use his equality with God to his advantage, but made himself nothing,
and became obedient, even to the point of becoming a human being and dying on a
cross. So the limitation that Jesus submitted to was part of his submission to
the saving purpose of God that involved his becoming one of us, with all that
that entailed.
When Jesus had tasted it, he said, "It is
finished!" (NLT)
LUKE 23: And the curtain of
the temple was torn in two. 46 Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit
my spirit.”[e] When he had said
this, he breathed his last. 47 The centurion, seeing
what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.”48 When all the people who
had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. 49 But all those who knew him, including the women who
had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these
things.
John 19:34 Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’
side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.
Sixth word: Jn.19:29-30
"It is finished."
It would be all too easy to understand these
words as words of relief that Jesus’ ordeal had finally come to an end. But
that would be to misunderstand them, for in the context of the Gospel, it is
clear that they are in fact a cry of victory – a victorious exclamation that he
had successfully completed the mission that he had been sent on.
It is true that from the preaching of the early
Church and on through the rest of the NT writings, the resurrection is seen as
the undoing of the great injustice that had been perpetrated when Jesus was put
to death. In that sense, the resurrection and the exaltation to the right hand
of God formed the final act. For example, in Acts 2:36, Peter says, Therefore
let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified,
both Lord and Christ. And in the great resurrection chapter, 1 Cor.15, Paul
says in verse 20, Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits
of those who have fallen asleep. Christ the first fruits, then, when he comes,
those who belong to him. And so on.
Nevertheless, in John’s Gospel, the perspective
on the cross appears to be different. Let us confine ourselves to just one line
of thinking. John uses an important word in the Gospel to refer to Jesus’ death
on a cross – the word translated lifted up. The first occurrence is in 3:14,
where the analogy is the serpent of brass that Moses put up on a pole on God’s
instructions. All those who looked at the serpent recovered and did not die
from snake bite.
However, there are other passages. In 8:28, the
reference to his death is implied, but in 13:32ff. the word appears again. This
time, John makes a clarification that he was speaking about his death on a
cross.
The significance of this word is that it is
ambiguous, for it can mean literally lifted up, but it can also mean exalted,
glorified. That Jesus’ death was seen as the means whereby he was glorified, is
confirmed by another set of texts where this connection is made more
explicitly.
In 7:39 the reference may not be to his death
alone, but to the subsequent exaltation as well. But in 12:23ff. the reference
to his coming death appears to be more explicit.
In other words, although, the more common
interpretation is to interpret the cross in the light of the resurrection, in John’s gospel, the cross itself is
the means whereby Christ is lifted up and glorified. There is an incidental
confirmation of this understanding of the cross in Col.2:15 where Paul speaks
of Christ triumphing over the evil powers by the cross.
Therefore, in the context of John’s gospel, the
words ‘It is finished is a triumphant cry that the mission that was his has
been successfully completed.’
Seventh word: Lk.23:44-49
"Father, into your hands I
commend my spirit."
These are Jesus’ final words recorded. The
Synoptics agree that there was darkness for about three hours, but they do not
tell us what the significance of this darkness is. They also record that the
curtain in the Temple, between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place, was rent
in two. In Hebrews 10:19-22 the writer sees the significance of this as access
into God’s presence being now opened to all through the death of Christ.
Jesus’ last words are from Psalm 31:5, which was
used by the Jews as an evening prayer. In the light of the fact that Jesus’
death was a voluntary act, these words are strikingly appropriate. The task has
been completed. He is at peace with himself and with the Father. And he commits
himself into his hands.
Friday, April 15, 30 AD - Burial
Rev. Juliet Schimpf
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