Easter

THE CRUCIFIXION OF THE LORD

To many Christians, Easter is not about bonnets, parades, bunnies, baskets and egg hunts, but it's about the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. My purpose in this study is to point out some of the significant issues surrounding these important truths. Also, it is my purpose to inform my children, grandchildren, and any other interested brother or sister on this great subject. I have no supernatural spiritual gift to preach or teach. What I do have I am happy to share with anyone interested. What I have done in this paper is researched the doctrines surrounding the resurrection and picked the minds of some conservative Bible scholars to get a good historical background. As I find some gem that is propounded I like to pass it on to my family in order that it might help them see a little more clearly. I find it unnecessary here to try and defend what took place on Golgotha (the Hebrew word for 'skull', and is used also in Matthew 27:33; John 19:17. But in Luke 23:33 'Calvary' taken from the Latin is employed). I believe our maximum effort should be to study, trust and obey God's Holy Word not in defending it. I don't believe His Word needs defending. [*If anyone is interested in textual criticism I have added an addendum at the end of this study concerning the resurrection taken from 'The History Of The Christian Church by Philip Schaff - 8 volumes, published, 1882-1910].

I am beginning this study after Christ's arrest and betrayal (Matt. 26:47-56; Mark 14:43-50; Luke 22:47-53; John 18:3-11)."Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled," and then;

JESUS WAS BROUGHT BEFORE CAIAPHAS AND THE SANHEDRIN:

Matthew 26:57-68, "And they that had laid hold on Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled. But Peter followed Him afar off unto the high priest's [court], and went in, and sat with the [guards], to see the end. Now the chief priests, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put Him to death, but found none; yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses, and said, this fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days. And the high priest arose and said unto Him, answerest Thou nothing? What is it, which these witness against Thee? But Jesus held His peace. (Matt. 26:57-63a)."

Edersheim describes the outer court where Peter was waiting outside the palace of Caiaphas:

"What a contrast it all seemed between the purification of the temple only a few days before, when the same Jesus had overturned the trafficking tables of the High Priest, and as He now stood, a bound prisoner before him (Caiaphas), at the mercy of every menial who might carry favor by wantonly insulting Him? It was a chill night when Peter, down 'beneath' (Mark 14:66), looked up to the lighted windows. There, among the serving men in the court, he was in every sense 'without' (Matt. 26:69). He approached the group around the fire. He would hear what they had to say; besides, it was not safe to stand apart; he might be recognized as one of those who had only escaped capture in the Garden by hasty flight. And then it was chill - and not only to the body, the chill had stuck to his soul. Was he right in coming there at all? Commentators have discussed it as involving neglect of Christ's warning. As if the love of any one who was, and felt, as Peter, could have credited the possibility of what he had been warned of; and, if he had credited it, would, in the first moments of returning flood after the panic of his flight, have remembered that warning, or with cool calculation acted up to the full measure of it! To have fled to his

Home and shut the door behind him, by way of rendering it impossible to deny that he knew Christ, would not have been Peter, nor any true disciple. Nay, it would have been a worse and more cowardly denial than that of which he was actually guilty. Peter followed afar off, thinking of nothing else but his imprisoned Master, and that he would see the end, whatever it might be. But now it was chill, very chill, to body and soul, and Peter remembered it all; not, the warning, but that of which he had been warned. What good could his confession do? Perhaps much possible harm; and why was he there?"

In the book the 'Words and Works of Christ", Pentecost quotes from the Mishnah: Sanhedrin 4:1 (A collection of Jewish traditions c.a.d.200 and was made part of the Talmud; which in turn was made up of the 'Mishnah' and the 'Gemara'), noting that such a meeting of the Sanhedrin was illegal:

"Non-capital and capital cases are alike an examination and inquiry, for it is written, ye shall have one manner of law. In what do non-capital cases differ from capital cases? Non-capital cases [are decided] by three and capital cases three and twenty [judges]. Non–capital cases may begin with reasons for acquittal or for conviction, but capital cases must begin with reasons for acquittal and may not begin with reasons for conviction. In non-capital cases they may reach a verdict either of acquittal or of conviction by the decision of a majority of one, but a verdict of conviction only by the decision of a majority of two. In non-capital cases they may reverse a verdict either [from conviction] to acquittal or [from acquittal] to conviction; but in capital cases they may reverse a verdict] from conviction] to acquittal but not [from acquittal] to conviction. In non-capital cases all may argue in favor of conviction or of acquittal; but in capital cases all may argue in favor of acquittal but not in favor of conviction. In non-capital cases he that had argued in favor of conviction may afterward argue in favor of acquittal, or he that had argued in favor of acquittal may afterward argue in favor of conviction; in capital cases he that had argued in favor of conviction may afterward argue in favor of acquittal, but he that had argued in favor of acquittal cannot afterward change and argue in favor of conviction. In non-capital cases they hold the trial during the daytime and the verdict may be reached during the night; in capital cases they hold the trial during the daytime and the verdict also must be reached during the daytime. In non-capital cases a verdict, whether of acquittal or of conviction, may be reached the same day; in capital cases a verdict of acquittal may be reached on the same day, but a verdict of conviction not until the following day. Therefore trials may not be held on the eve of a Sabbath or on the eve of a Festival day."

Shepherd in his book 'The Christ' he notes other illegalities:

"The regular place for the meeting of the Sanhedrin was in the Temple, but they led Jesus away to the house of the high priest Caiaphas, situated in a place just outside the present wall of the city, where all the chief priests and elders and scribes had been summoned to meet. Nor was the legal hour of meeting for trials in the night. Other features in the illegality practiced in the trials of Jesus were: undue haste, seeking or bribing witnesses, neglecting to warn the witnesses solemnly before they should give evidence, forcing the accused to testify against Himself, judicial use of the prisoner's confession, and failure to release the prisoner when there was failure of agreement between witnesses."

JESUS INFURIATES CAIAPHAS WHEN HE DOES SPEAK:

Matthew 26:63b-66, "And the high priest answered and said unto Him, I adjure Thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God (Isn't it fascinating that people can speak of God as a creator, as a God of love, of a sustainer of this universe, as One who protects, and provides daily needs, but just mention Jesus Christ Son of That God who provides Salvation to all who will, and the reaction is that of Caiaphas). Jesus saith unto him, thou hast said; nevertheless, I say unto you, hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest [tore] His clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy. What think ye? They answered and said, he is guilty of death."

With all the questioning and false accusations the Sanhedrin could only come up with the charge of blasphemy. The trial was over with this charge that Christ claimed to be 'The Son of God.'

THE REACTION OF THE SANHEDRIN TO CHRIST'S CLAIMS:

Matthew 26:67,68, "Then they [spat] in His face, and buffeted Him; and others smote Him with the palms of their hands, saying, prophesy unto us, thou Christ, who smote Thee?"

The Greek word for buffet is kalophos, 'to beat with the fist.' This was some sport for these cowards. Isaiah prophesied this part of the Cup that Christ was to drink, "As many were [astounded] at Thee - His visage was so marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men (Isa. 52:14)." These cowards beat Christ beyond recognition. No artist has ever been able to depict the true visage of the Suffering Savior. No one was treated more inhumanely on trial before. It's very difficult to imagine how they beat him and He didn't loose consciousness. The beatings left Him so disfigured that no one could recognize Him. It wasn't enough that the Jews wanted to crucify the Lord; they displayed their hatred with beating after beating. (Luke used the word smote [derontes] a more graphic word than buffet. It means literally to beat and scourge or to flay the skin. In other words they beat Him to a literal pulp). I have seen boxers after a fight almost make you sick to see how bad their faces looked after a beating; however, it is nothing compared to what Christ endured. 'Christ was beaten as no other man'.

JESUS DELIVERED TO PILATE:

Matthew 27:12: "When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders took counsel against Jesus to put Him to death: And when they had bound Him, they led Him away, and delivered Him to Pontius Pilate, the governor."

"It matters little as regards their guilt, whether, pressing the language of St. John, "Then delivered he Him, therefore, unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led Him away"(John 19:16), we are to understand that Pilate delivered Jesus to the Jews to be crucified, or, as we rather infer, to his own soldiers. This was the common practice, and it accords both with the Governor's former taunt to the Jews "When the chief priests, therefore, and officers saw Him, they cried out, saying, crucify Him! Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify Him; for I find no fault in Him"(John 19:6), and with the after notice of the synoptists (Matthew, Mark and Luke). They, to whom he was 'delivered,' 'led Him away to be crucified:' and they who so led Him forth 'compelled' the Cyrenian Simon to bear the Cross. We can scarcely imagine, that the Jews, still less the Sanhedrists (The Saducees and the Pharisees), would have done this. But whether formally or not, the terrible crime of slaying, with wicked hands, their Messiah King rests, alas, on Israel." [The Life and Times of Jesus The Messiah - Alfred Edershiem]

Pentecost in his book 'The Words and Works of Christ states:

"Since Christ was condemned because He was a king, the soldiers contemptuously treated Him as royalty. A scarlet robe was put on Him. A king must have a crown. Since no crown was available, they fabricated one from the branches of a thorn bush and set it on his head. A king must have scepter, and so a rough staff was pressed into His hand. A king was worthy of honor, and so the soldiers knelt in mockery in front of Him and addressed Him as a king, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" (Matthew 27:29). Then they showed their loyalty to Rome and their contempt for One who would be guilty of treason against Rome. They spit on him and beat him on the head repeatedly with the staff they had taken from his hand. When the soldiers could no longer gain satisfaction from their sport, they "Led Him away to crucify him" (Matt. 27:31).

JESUS SCOURGED AND CROWNED WITH THORNS:

John 19:1-15;

Verses 1-3, "Then Pilate, therefore, took Jesus, and scourged Him. And the soldiers plaited a crown of thorns, and put it on His head, and they put on him a purple robe, And said, Hail, King of the Jews! And they smote Him with their hands."

Edersheim describes this blasphemous scene:

"The evangelists have passed as rapidly as possible over the last scenes of indignity and horror, and we are thankful to follow their example. BarAbbas was at once released. Jesus was handed over to the soldiery to be scourged and crucified, although final and formal judgment had not yet been pronounced (John 19:1, following). Indeed, Pilate seems to have hoped that the horrors of the scourging might still move the people to desist from the ferocious cry for the Cross (John 19:4, following). For the same reason we may also hope, that the scourging was not inflicted with the same ferocity as in the case of the Christian martyrs, when, with the object of eliciting the incrimination of others, or else recantation, the scourge of leather thongs was loaded with lead, or armed with spikes and bones, which lacerated back, and chest, and face, till the victim sometimes fell down before the judge a bleeding mass of torn flesh. But, however modified, and without repeating the harrowing realism of a Cicero (a first century historian), scourging was the terrible introduction to crucifixion - "the intermediate death." Stripped of His clothes, His hands tied and back bent, the victim would be bound to a column or stake of the Praetorium (the Roman judicial building). The scourging ended, the soldiery would hastily cast upon Him His upper garments, and lead Him back into the Praetorium. Here they called the whole cohort together, and the silent, faint Sufferer became the object of their ribald jesting. From His bleeding Body they tore the clothes, and in mockery arrayed Him in scarlet or purple (The sargum, or short woolen military cloak, scarlet or purple - the two colors are often confounded, fastened by a clasp on the right shoulder. It was worn by Roman generals, and sometimes - in more costly form and materials - presented to foreign kings). For a crown they wound together thorns, and for scepter placed in His Hand a reed (the Greek word for reed is kalamos, and in this context it means a staff, it can also mean a measuring rod or cane). Then alternately, in mock proclamation they hailed Him King, or worshiped Him as God, and smote Him or heaped on Him indignities."

Verse 4, "Pilate, therefore, went forth again, and saith unto them, behold, I bring Him forth to you, that you may know I find no fault in Him."

One of the main reason I believe Pilate had these feelings of guilt is that it had to be a complete rejection on the part of the Jews, or Jewish leaders, and could not be shared by the gentile populous. Christ came unto His own (the Jewish commonwealth) and was rejected.

"And by scourging and allowing the soldiers to make sport of Him, Pilate has gone as far to meet your exasperation as can be expected from a judge" [David Brown of JFB

Com.].

The Jews were expecting Pilate to use Roman law to condemn Christ, however it proved an exercise in futility, for Pilate could 'find no fault in Him'.

Verse 5, "Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man!"

David brown describes the inner turmoil of Pilate:

"There is no reason to think that contempt dictated this memorable speech ('Behold the Man!). There was clearly a struggle in the breast of this wretched man. Not only was he reluctant to surrender to mere clamor an innocent person, but a feeling of anxiety about His mysterious claims, as is plain from what follows, was beginning to rack his breast, and the object of his exclamation seems to have been to move their pity. But, be his meaning what it may, those three words have been eagerly appropriated by all Christendom, and enshrined for ever in its heart, as a sublime expression of its calm, rapt (emotional) administration of its suffering Lord."

Verse 6, "When the chief priests, therefore, and officers saw Him, they cried out, saying, Crucify Him! Pilate saith unto them, Take ye Him, and crucify Him; for I find no fault in Him."

Pilate once again knowing Christ was innocent and that they were about to crucify an innocent Man, was attempting to vindicate his actions.

Edershiem notes:

"Such a spectacle might well have disarmed enmity, and forever allayed (quiet) worldly fears. And so Pilate hoped, when, at his bidding, Jesus came forth from the Praetorium, arrayed as a mock-king, and the Governor presented Him to the populace in words which the church has ever since treasured: "Behold the Man!" But, so far from appeasing, the sight only incited the "chief priests" and their subordinates. This Man before them was the occasion, that on this Paschal Day a heathen dared in Jerusalem itself insult their deepest feelings, mocked their most cherished Messianic hopes! "Crucify!" "Crucify!" resounded from all sides. Once more Pilate appealed to them, when, unwittingly and unwillingly, it elicited this from the people, that Jesus had claimed to be the Son of God."

Verse 7, "The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law He ought to die, because He made Himself to be the Son of God."

The Jews were expecting Pilate to protect them from the insults of Christ in His claim to be equal with God. Earlier on in John 5:18 we read, "For this cause therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling His own Father, making Himself equal to God." And again in verses 57-59 of chapter eight we read, "Then said the Jews unto Him, thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was I am. Then took they up stones to cast at Him; but Jesus hid Himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by."

Verse 8, "When Pilate, therefore, heard that saying, he was the more afraid;"

David Brown reminds us of the dialogue Pilate previously had with the Son of God:

"The name 'Son of God,' the lofty sense evidently attached to it by His Jewish accusers, the dialogue he had already held with Him, and the dream of his wife (Matt:27:19,'When he was [seated] on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him saying, Have thou nothing to do with that [righteous] Man; for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of Him.') All of the past dealings of Pilate with Christ were building to a crescendo.

Verse 9, "And went again into the judgment hall, (The Praetorium) and saith unto Jesus, from whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer."

How this silence of Jesus must instill an even greater fear. This question is about His personal origin. I am not sure but that Pilate had already heard that Christ had told the Pharisees that he was from His Father, possibly by rumor or maybe directly from one of the Jews at one of the trials. Pilate was at the point of defending himself of any personal responsibility in this matter. Pilate was placing the issue of religious guilt back to the Jews, because he was completely convinced of Christ's civil innocence.

Verse 10, "Then saith Pilate unto Him, Speakest thou not unto me? Knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?"

Pilate was saying, how dare you not answer me, do you not realize how important a man I am. The emphasis here is on the me. He now is stressing the importance of his office that he is able to Crucify or set you free. Christ now speaks:

Verse 11, "Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it was given thee from above; therefore, he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin."

When its time to speak, God is clear and to the point. 'Christ speaks to the point that Pilate had much to high of a regard for his own power and authority.' (David Brown)

Bengal puts it very succinctly:

"Unless it had been' given thee from above - 'Thou thinkest too much of thy power, Pilate: against Me that power is none, save what is meted out to thee by special Divine appointment, for a special end.' Therefore he that delivered Me unto thee - to wit, Caiaphas; but he only as representing the Jewish authorities as a body hath greater sin - as having better opportunities and more knowledge of such matters."

Verse 12, "And from then on Pilate sought to release Him; but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this Man go, thou art not Ceasar's friend; whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar."

Pilate was still trying to get the approval of the Jews in order that he might release Christ.

As Webster and Wilkenson observe:

"This was equivalent to a threat of impeachment, which we know was much dreaded by such officers as the procurators, especially of the character of Pilate or Felix. It also consummates the treachery and disgrace of the Jewish rulers, who were willing, for the purpose of destroying Jesus, to affect a zeal for the supremacy of a foreign prince. The reader will do well also to observe how they go backwards and forwards in their charges. Failing in their obtaining a condemnation on the ground of treason, they had just before this fallen back in despair on the charge of blasphemy. But as they could not but see how weak that was as an argument with a mere civil governor, they avail themselves of Pilate's manifest embarrassment and vacillation (unable to make up his mind - to waver in mind) to re-urge the charge of treason, but in the form of a threat against Pilate himself, if he should dismiss the prisoner."

Verse 13, "When Pilate, therefore, heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth, and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called the pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gab'batha."

Directly in front of the Praetorium there was a raised platform (the pavement) with the judgment seat on top where the one making the judgment would sit.

Edersheim comments on this verse:

"Such danger a Pilate would never encounter. He sat down once more in the judgment seat outside the Praetorium in the place called "pavement," and, from its outlook over the city, "Gabbatha," (in Hebrew Gabbath means, 'a rounded height')".

Verse 14, "And it was preparation of the Passover, and about the sixth hour; and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King!"

It must be very important at this point for John to be so specific as to the day and hour. Edersheim remarks:

'So solemn is the transaction that the Evangelist pauses to note once more the day - nay, the very hour, when the process had commenced. It had been Friday in Passover week, and between six and seven in the morning. And at the close Pilate once more in mockery presented to them Jesus: Behold your King!'

Verse 15. "But they cried out, Away with Him, crucify Him! Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar."

Of course Pilate is mocking the Jews more than Jesus. When he remarks, Shall I crucify your King, he is responding from a previous admission from Jesus when He was asked about whether or not He was indeed King of Israel and Christ answered in the affirmative. When the Jews answered, We have no King but Caesar, they were speaking the truth, for He came unto His own and they would not receive Him.

Again on this subject Edersheim notes:

"Once more they called for His crucifixion - and, when again challenged, the chief priests burst into the cry, which preceded Pilate's final sentence, to be presently executed: We have no king but Ceasar!' With this cry Judaism was, in the person of its representatives, guilty of denial of God, of blasphemy, of apostasy. It committed suicide: and, ever since, has its dead body been carried in show from land to land, and from century to century: to be dead, and to remain dead, till He come a second time, Who is the resurrection and the Life!"

Of course Edersheim was long gone to Glory since the Jews occupied their land in 1948. However, there is a lot more work God will be doing, which is very obvious by watching the satellite news and seeing the horrible turmoil going on in Jerusalem, before the Jews will be dwelling in un-walled cities in peace and safety.

JESUS IS CRUCIFIED

Farrar in his book, Life of Christ describes the disgrace of the Cross:

"The cross was the most disgraceful and one of the cruelest instruments of death ever invented. The Romans, who borrowed it from the Carthaginians, would not allow a Roman citizen to be crucified, but reserved crucifixion for slaves and foreigners or provincials (unsophisticated). The Jews customarily used stoning and never crucifixion. It was not only the death of greatest ignominy (dishonorable or disgraceful) but of the most extreme anguish and suffering. There were five forms of the cross for this ghastly punishment: a plain stake to which the victim was nailed; the Tau cross with the transom (a cross piece) below the top - the traditional type on which Jesus was crucified; the crux commissa, or Greek cross, with four arms of equal length; and St. Andrew's cross, consisting of two beams obliquely (not perpendicular or parallel-random) crossed. The cross of Jesus was probably slightly higher than the traditional type, in the use of which the feet of the crucified were only a foot or two from the ground. The victim was usually stripped naked, the garments falling to the lot of the executioners; but in the crucifixion of Jesus, tradition says that a loincloth was used. First the upright was placed firmly in the ground and then the victim was laid down with arms extended on the crossbar to which they were fastened by cords and afterwards by nails through the palms. Then the transom was raised to its position on the upright and nailed while the body was left to swing or its weight rested on an iron saddle peg driven into the upright. Following this the feet were nailed through the instep separately, or both together with a single spike. There the body was left to hang in agony sometimes two or three days, until death from pain and starvation ensued."

CHRISTS' ARRIVAL:

Luke 23:33, "And when they were come to the place which is called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. "

The soldiers proceed with the crucifixion.

Dwight Pentecost in his Words and Works of Christ quotes Farrar from his book 'The Life of Christ' he says:

"The three crosses were laid on the ground - that of Jesus, which was doubtless taller than the other two, being placed in bitter scorn in the midst. Perhaps the crossbeam was now nailed to the upright, and certainly the title, which had either been borne by Jesus, fastened around His neck, or carried, by one of the soldiers in front of Him, was now nailed to the Cross. Then he was stripped naked of all His clothes, and then followed the most awful moment of all. He was laid upon the implement of torture. His arms were stretched along the crossbeams; and at the center of the open palms, the point of a huge iron nail was placed, which, by the blow of a mallet, was driven home into the wood. Then through either foot separately, or possibly through both together as they were placed one over the other, another huge nail tore its way through the quivering flesh. Whether the sufferer was also bound to the Cross we do not know; but, to prevent the hands and feet being torn away by the weight of the body, which could not "rest upon nothing but four great wounds," there was, about the center of the cross, a wooden projection strong enough to support at least in part, a human body which soon became a weight of agony."

Regarding the soldiers Edersheim writes:

"The terrible preparations were soon made: the hammer, the nails, the Cross, the very food for the soldiers who were to watch under each Cross. Four soldiers would be detailed for each Cross, the whole being under the command of a centurion. As always, the Cross was borne to the execution by Him Who was to suffer on it."

HE IS OFFERED GALL:

Matthew 27:34, "They gave Him vinegar to drink, mingled with gall; and when he had tasted it, He would not drink."

C.I. Scofield notes:

"Wine and myrrh mixed together composed a stupefying drink which was sometimes given to those who were in great pain in suffering such as must be endured in crucifixion."

For Christ to accept the gall would be the same as taking a drug for the pain and therefore He would not have suffered fully physically. At the end, before He gave up His Spirit, His lips were moistened with bitter wine (vinegar) making it possible for Him to utter His last words. When I say He would not have suffered fully, I am inferring that He suffered willfully and that no one took His Life, He gave it freely. Death did not seek Him, He sought Death. If it had not been for the Death of Christ, we would all likewise perish. If Christ had accepted this painkiller it would have been so illogical, for He wasn't forced to the Cross: He went to the Cross-willfully.

Edersheim gives some historical notes regarding the gall or myrrh:

"It was a merciful Jewish practice to give to those led to execution a draught of strong wine mixed with myrrh (Webster: a yellowish brown to reddish brown aromatic gum resin with a bitter slightly pungent taste obtained from a tree of east Africa and Arabia: also: a mixture of myrrh and labdanum - in other words, a painkiller) so as to deaden consciousness. This charitable office was performed at the cost of, if not by, an association of women in Jerusalem. That draught was offered to Jesus when He reached Golgotha. But having tasted it, and ascertained its character and object, He would not drink it. It was like His former refusal of the pity of the daughters of Jerusalem. No man could take His life from Him: He had power to lay it down, and take it up again. Nor could He here yield to the ordinary weakness of our human nature; nor suffer and die as if it had been a necessity, not a voluntary self-surrender. He would meet Death, even in His sternest and fiercest mood, and conquer by submitting to the full. A lesson this also, though difficult, to the Christian sufferer"

HE IS CRUCIFIED BETWEEN TWO THIEVES:

Matthew 27:35-38, "And they crucified Him, and parted His garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, 'They parted My garments among them, and upon My vesture did they cast lots.' (36) And sitting down they watched Him there, (37) and set up over His Head His accusation written, THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS. (38) Then there were two thieves crucified with Him, one on the right hand, and another on the left."

The Quote regarding the parting of His garments is a fulfillment of the prophetic Psalm, 22:18. In order to get the full inscription of verse 37: Compare Mark 15:26; Luke 23:38; John 19:19.

'These accounts supplement but do not contradict each other. No one of the evangelists quotes the entire inscription. All have "the king of the Jews," Matthew and Luke add to this the further words, "This is"; Matthew quotes the name "Jesus"; while John Gives the additional words, "of Nazareth." The narratives combined give the entire inscription: "This is [Matt, Lk.] Jesus [Matt., Jn.] of Nazareth [JN.] the King of the Jews". (Scofield reference Bible, page 1043)

The superscription that was put on the Cross-, "This is Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews," was Pilate's announcement to the world of the crime which Christ was convicted and that He be Crucified.

Pentecost Quotes Farrar in 'The Words and Works of Jesus Christ:'

'When the cross was uplifted, the leading Jews, for the first time, prominently noticed the deadly insult in which Pilate had vented his indignation. Before, in their blind rage, they had imagined that the manner of His crucifixion was an insult aimed at Jesus; but now that they saw Him hanging between two robbers, on a cross yet loftier, it suddenly flashed upon them that it was a public scorn inflicted upon them. For on the white wooden tablet smeared with gypsum, which was to be seen so conspicuously over the head of Jesus on the cross, ran, in black letters, an inscription in three civilized languages of the ancient world - the three languages of which one at least was certain to be known by every single man in that assembled multitude - in the official Latin, in the current Greek, in the vernacular Aramaic - informing all that this Man who was thus enduring a shameful, servile death - this Man thus crucified between two sicarii in the sight of the world, was:

"The King of the Jews"

THE FIRST CRY OF JESUS:

Luke 23:34, "Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted His raiment, and cast lots."

To whom He was Praying is taught by Edersheim in the chapter 'The Cross and the Crown' page 882-883, in his book 'The Life and Times of Jesus':

'It was when they thus nailed Him to the Cross, and parted His raiment, that He spake the first of the so-called 'Seven Words': "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." Even the reference in this prayer to "what they do" (not in the past, nor future) points to the soldiers as the primary, though not the sole object of the Savior's prayer. But higher thoughts also come to us. In the moment of the deepest abasement of Christ's Human nature, the Divine bursts forth most brightly. It is, as if the Savior would discard all that is merely human in His Sufferings, just as before He had discarded the Cup of stupefying wine. These soldiers were but the unconscious instruments: the form was nothing; the contest was between the Kingdom of God and that of darkness, between the Christ and Satan, and these sufferings were but the necessary path of obedience, and to victory and glory. When He is most human (in the moment of His being nailed to the Cross), then is He most Divine, in the utter discarding of the human elements of human instrumentality and of human suffering. Then also in the utter self-forgetfulness of the God-Man - which is one of the aspects of the Incarnation - does He only remember Divine mercy, and pray for them who crucify Him; and thus also does the Conquered truly conquer His conquerors by asking for them what their deed had forfeited. And lastly, in this that alike the first and the last of His Utterances begin with "Father does he show by the unbroken-ness of His faith and fellowship the real spiritual victory, which He has won. And He has won it, not only for the martyrs, who have learned from Him to pray as He did, but for everyone who, in the midst of all that seems most opposed to it, can rise, beyond mere forgetfulness of what is around, to realizing faith and fellowship with God as "the Father," who through the dark curtain of cloud can discern the bright sky, and can feel the unshaken confidence, if not the unbroken joy, of absolute trust.

This was His first utterance on the Cross - as regard them, as regarded Himself, and as regarded God. So, surely, suffered not Man. Has this prayer of Christ been answered? We dare not doubt it; nay, we perceive it in some measure in those drops of blessing which have fallen upon heathen men, and have left Israel also, even in its ignorance, a remnant according to the election of grace.' (In reference to this Augustine writes: 'The question why Christ did not Himself forgive, but to appeal for it to the Father is best answered by the consideration, that it was really a crime against the Father, and that the vindication of the Son lay with God the Father').

This first cry of Christ was a public example of His extraordinary Divine forgiveness; not that what they were doing was forgivable, but that the reason He was hanging on that Tree was so that it would be forgiven. Without the Cross of Christ no sin could be forgiven.

THE SOLDIERS PARTED HIS GARMENTS:

John 19:23, "Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also His coat. Now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout."

Regarding the parting of the raiment Edersheim states:

"But besides these four articles of dress, there was the seamless woven inner garment, by far the most valuable of all, and for which, as it could not be partitioned without being destroyed, they would specially cast lots (as John reports). Nothing in this world can be accidental, since God is not far from any of us. But in the history of the Christ the Divine purpose, which forms the subject of all prophecy, must have been constantly realized; this must have forced itself on the mind of the observer, and the more irresistibly when, as in the present instance, the outward circumstances were in such sharp contrast to the higher reality. To St. John, the loving and loved disciple, greater contrast could scarcely exist than between this rough partition by lot among the soldiery, and the character and claims of Him Whose garments they were thus apportioning, as if He had been a helpless victim in their hands. Only one explanation could here suggest itself: that there was a special Divine meaning in the permission of such an event - that it was in fulfillment of ancient prophecy, As he on the terrible scene, the words of the Psalm (They part My garments among them, and cast lots upon My vesture - Psalms 22:18) which portrayed the desertion, the sufferings, and the contempt even unto death of the Servant of the Lord, stood out in the red light of the Sun setting in Blood. They flashed upon his mind - for the first time he understood them; and the flames which played around the Sufferer were seen to be the sacrificial fire that consumed the sacrifice which He offered (here the author is making reference to the Old Testament sacrificial altar fire that consumed the lamb that had been placed on it by the Priest, looking forward to the Cross of Christ as 'The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.'). That this quotation is made in the Fourth Gospel alone, proves that its writer was an eyewitness; that it was made in the Fourth Gospel at all, that he was a Jew, deeply imbued with Jewish modes of religious thinking. And the evidence is the stronger, as we recall the comparative rareness, and the peculiarity Judaic character of the Old Testament quotations in the Fourth Gospel (Altogether there are fifteen such quotations in the Fourth Gospel)."

THE JEWS MOCK JESUS:

Matthew 27:39-44, "And they that passed by reviled Him, wagging their heads, And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save Thyself. If Thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. Likewise also the chief priests, mocking Him, with scribes and elders, said, He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He be the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now, if He will have Him; for He said, I am the Son of God. The thieves also, who were crucified with Him, cast the same in His teeth."

The word reviled in the Greek is eblasphamoun (imperfect active plural) from blasphameo (from which we get our word blasphemy); it means to treat with calumny (the act of uttering false charges or misrepresentations maliciously calculated to damage one's reputation) and contumely (stubbornly rebellious - rude language or treatment arising from haughtiness and contempt - stubborn resistance to authority - willful contempt - The Analytical Greek Lexicon). There is a lot of meaning in the little word reviled. It shows the deliberateness in the actions of the ones at the foot of the cross. To utter false charges with calculating designs proves the willful rejection of the King of King and Lord of Lords. Wagging is in the Greek, kinountes (a present act. part.) meaning to shake the head in derision - to excite or agitate. Not only did they mock Him with their blasphemies, but also they punctuated their actions with the disgusting wagging of their heads.

On the mockery of Jesus Pentecost in The Words and Works of Jesus states:

'On three occasions Christ had been subjected to mockery: first, by the Sanhedrin and their servant officer's, "And the men that held Jesus mocked Him, and smote Him. And when they had blindfolded Him, they struck Him on the face, and asked Him, saying, Prophesy, who is it that smote Thee? And many other things blasphemously (the same Greek word as in the Matthew passage above) spoke they against Him."(Luke 22:63-65); second, by Herod's soldiers, "And Herod, with his men of war, [treated Him with contempt], and mocked Him, and arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe, (the Greek word for gorgeous is 'lampros' which means bright or gaudy, which I think fits the context better than gorgeous in the fact they were mocking Him, even in the robe they put on Him, everything they did was a mockery) and sent Him again to Pilate." (Luke 23:11); and third, by Pilate's soldiers, "Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto Him the whole band of soldiers. And they stripped Him, and put on Him a scarlet robe. And when they had [plaited] a crown of thorns, they put it upon His Head, and a reed in his right Hand; and they bowed the knee before Him, and mocked Him, saying, Hail King of the Jews! And they [spat] upon Him, and took the reed, and smote Him on the Head." (Matthew 27:27-30). Now he once again was subjected to mockery by those who passed by the place of crucifixion (verses 39-44). The casual passersby mocked Him, challenging Him to come down from the cross if He were the Son of God. The chief priest, the teachers of the law, and the elders mocked Him. They also challenged Him to come down from the cross, stating that they would believe on Him as Savior and King if He would do so. The soldiers participating in the crucifixion added to the insults that were hurled at Christ "And the soldiers also mocked Him, coming to Him, and offering Him vinegar," (Luke 23:36). The robbers crucified with Him also mocked Him."

It is very important to mention on this section of mockery that we understand that it is only mockery in the human sense. God never receives mocking. When a human mocks another member of the human race it is true mocking. But human nature cannot mock the Divine nature. It was part of the sufferings of Christ's human nature to endure the human mocking of the people, however the Divine side of Christ was completely impervious to the mocking, that is, not being able to be damaged by the mocking; the same as they were unable to take the life from Christ, He gave it freely on our account. It wasn't until after Christ took the sins of the whole world upon Himself and died spiritually for all, that He dismissed His Spirit and was able to die. He gave His life 'a ransom for all,' "Be not deceived, God is not mocked, for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap" (Galatians 6:7).

THE THIEVES RAIL ON CHRIST, BUT ONE REPENTS AND BELIEVES:

Luke 23:39-43, "And one of the malefactors who were hanged railed at Him, saying, if thou be the Christ, save Thyself and us. But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we, indeed, justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds. But this Man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with Me in paradise."

"When the two malefactors were hanged beside the Lord, the one was no better than the other. Mark says, "They who were crucified with Him reviled Him" (15:32). It is only the grace of God in the cross of Christ that can instantly transform a reviling sinner into an attitude of saving faith and confession. The repentant thief began to see (1) the justice of his own punishment (vs. 41); (2) the sinless character of Christ (vs. 41); (3) the Deity of Christ (vs. 42); (4) a living Christ beyond the grave (vs. 42); and (5) a kingdom beyond the cross, with Jesus as its coming King (vs. 42)." [Scofield's notes, page 1119]

Luke's account of the two thieves gives us some very important insights as to the importance of the doctrine of Salvation; that all that is necessary for a person to be saved is for a person to 'believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shall be saved.' (Acts 16:31) It is not necessary for a person to be baptized, tell the Lord how sorry you are, go forward in a church and confess the Lord before men (although it is necessary to confess faith in the Lord to the Lord directly), join a local church, or dedicate your life to the Lord promising to serve Him the rest of your life to satisfy some local 'pastor teacher' that you are sincere and mean business for the Lord, and that your faith is genuine, that you not only accepted the Lord as your Savior, but also as Lord of your life, or make a promise that you won't participate in any of the taboo's that supposedly corrupt men (playing cards, going to movies, smoking, drinking, and last, but not least, dancing), and finally that you will go out and tell everyone you meet of your new found religion.

The repentant thief didn't have the opportunity to do any of the above, accept to confess directly to the Lord that he believed. Notice that two thieves both knew that Jesus was God, and that He had a Kingdom. They were not ignorant of the truth of who Christ was, and is, and they both knew their own fate, 'we are condemned justly'. There was no time for either one of the thieves to make restitution for their unjust deeds. They knew that Christ was going to be resurrected by the words of the repentant thief, 'when Thou comest into Thy Kingdom.' To add anything humanly necessary to be saved is to nullify the fact that it is faith plus nothing that equals salvation, and that it is a gross misunderstanding or deliberate objective to take away and add to the finished work of Christ on the cross. The more the human responsibility that is heaped upon the new converts, the more successful the ministry; by this I mean that a 'pastor teacher' needs a captive audience to see his fold grow. The more guilt people feel the bigger the church. Pastors need the people to depend on them in order to see expansion. The ploy is that on the one hand he makes them feel their guilt, and on the other hand he makes them feel good about themselves. Enough of this; this is a subject every believer needs to deal with.

THE SECOND CRY OF JESUS:

Luke 23:43, "And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with Me in paradise."

Regarding the confession of the penitent thief Christ responds with this second cry. Pentecost in the 'Words and Works of Christ's states:

"One of the criminals insulted Christ by challenging Him to save Himself and themselves. This brought a rebuke and another confession of Christ's innocence from the other criminal when he said, "We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong" (Luke 23:41). Out of the cries that ascended there came to the ears of Christ the plea of a penitent thief. The latter said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom" (vs. 42). This cry of faith in His person brought a second word from the lips of the Lord: "Today you will be with me in paradise" (vs. 43).

Edersheim notes on the second Words Of Christ and His future descent into Hades:

"This was the Second Utterance from the Cross. The first had been of utter self-forgetfulness, the second of deepest, wisest, most gracious spiritual teaching. And, had He spoken none other than these, He would have been proved to be the Son of God. Fully to understand it, we ought to realize what would be the Jewish ideas of the 'penitent thief,' and what his understanding of the words of Christ. Broadly, one would say, that as a Jew he would expect that his 'death would be the expiation (to atone for his own sins) of his sins.' Thoughts of need of forgiveness through the Messiah would not therefore come to him. But the words of Christ must have supplied all this. Again, when Christ spoke of 'Paradise,' His hearer would naturally understand that part of Hades in which the spirits of the righteous dwelt till the Resurrection. On both these points there are so many passages in rabbinic writings that it is needless to quote, and our remarks on the Parable of Lazarus and Dives (The rich man - Luke 16:19-31). Indeed, the prayer: let my death be the expiation of my own sins, is still in the Jewish office for the dying, and the underlying dogma is firmly rooted in rabbinic belief. The words of our lord, so far from encouraging this belief, would teach him that admission to paradise was to be granted by Christ. It is scarcely necessary to add, that Christ's words in no way encouraged the realistic conceptions, which Judaism attached to paradise. In Biblical Hebrew the word is used for a choice garden: in Eccl.2:5 and Nehem. 2:8. But in the Septuagint (The Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament) and the Apocrypha (The extra Biblical or non-Inspired Books) the word is already used in our sense of Paradise. Lastly, nothing which our Lord had said to the 'penitent thief' about being 'today' with him in Paradise, is in any way inconsistent with, rather confirms, the doctrine of the Descent into Hades."]

THE THIRD CRY OF JESUS:

John 19:26,27, "When Jesus, therefore, saw His mother, and the disciple standing by, whom He loved, He saith unto His mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith He to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home."

There is an explanation of the reason that the Gospel of John lacks in details of the events after Christ was nailed to the Cross up to the present, that is, after His second cry.

Edershiem explains:

"We can now in some measure realize events. When St. John had seen the Savior nailed to the Cross, he had gone to the city and brought with him for a last mournful farewell, Christ's mother, accompanied by those who, as most nearly connected with her, would naturally be with her: her own sister Salome, the sister-in-law of Joseph and wife (or more probably widow) of Clopas, and her who of all others had experienced most of His blessed power to save - Mary Magdala. Once more we reverently mark His Divine calm of utter self-forgetfulness and His human thoughtfulness for others. As they stood under the Cross, He committed His Mother to the disciple, John, whom He loved, and established a new human relationship between him and her who was nearest to Himself. And calmly, earnestly, and immediately did the disciple undertake the sacred charge, and bring her - whose soul the sword had pierced - away from the scene of unutterable woe to the shelter of his home. And this temporary absence of John from the Cross may account for the want of detail in his narrative till quite the closing scene" (John 19:28).

One may wonder why Christ leaves the care of His mother to the Apostle John and not to her other sons; Pentecost explains the situation:

"Christ's care for His mother is seen in His third word from the cross, "He said to His mother, here is your son,' and to the disciple, 'Here is your mother'''(John 19:26). Even though Jesus' brothers normally would have been responsible to care for their mother, since they were unbelievers, Christ entrusted the care of His mother to John."

THE THREE HOURS OF DARKNESS:

Mark 15:33, "And when the sixth hour (noon) was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour (3 pm.)."

There is, as I understand it, some speculation over the universality of this darkness. Some say 'darkness over the whole land' is referring to the entire earth. It seems as though what is most convincing to an 'entire earth' darkness would be passages from the Old Testament such as Joel 2:10, "The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble; the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining." Passages such as these are referring to the final judgment of the Lord on the earth, which is easy to determine by reading the following verses. However, the true significance of three hours of darkness is not lost, no matter what you believe, whether it was just over the immediate land, or over the entire earth. The true meaning is, God forsaking the Son, as 'Christ was made sin for us' (II Cor. 5:21). God cannot look at sin, and therefore, the darkness. Christ in the darkness was separated from His Father. He was alone paying the supreme price for the sins of the whole world. He lost communion with His Father this one and only time. How important it was that Christ, being the only One qualified, had to die alone without the pity or help from the ones he was dying for. The fact of being forsaken by the father will be covered in the next point. I would like to point out here that the darkness not only was caused by Christ being separated from his Father, but it served the purpose of shielding Him from the view of the world, away from derision as well as pity. When Christ died, He died alone. Christ was all alone bearing the sins of the entire world, past, present, and future ("Who, being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had By Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high."). All sins that have ever been committed, are presently committed, and will be committed in the future, Christ took upon His own Body, and died Spiritually for us that we might live.

THE FOURTH CRY OF JESUS:

Matthew 27:46-47, "And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, La'ma sabach'thani? That is to say, My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken me? Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This Man calleth for Elijah."

Psalms 22:1 is the predictive Messianic Psalms of this horrible cry, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me? Why art Thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? This cry from Christ is from the desperation of the suffering Savior sin bearer. All the human sufferings of Christ didn't bring about a cry such as this. He suffered quietly without complaint. Not one word about His terrible physical pain on the Cross. The only word from Christ regarding His suffering was at the end when He said, 'I thirst.' This question by Christ, 'Why hast Thou forsaken Me'? is answered in Psalms 22:3, "But Thou art Holy, O Thou who inhabitest the praises of Israel." God is Holy and cannot look upon sin. Christ was made 'sin' and was out of communion with the Father because of it. God had to turn away, as it were, from His only Son. Christ was crying out from a separation unknown to Him. Taking the sin of the world upon His own Body, was un-chartered waters, as it were, for Him. He 'knew no sin' and there is the suffering. Our finite minds are unable to comprehend the Spiritual suffering of our wonderful Savior. We sin and it's no big deal, as matter of fact, its quite enjoyable to us. We can't imagine why Christ felt so much pain from our sin; it didn't bother us much. The 'natural man' cannot comprehend Spiritual phenomenon 'because it is foolishness to him' (I Cor.2:14).

Believers out of fellowship with the lord think as a 'natural' man and it is impossible to comprehend the Spiritual things. If we think Spiritually, that is, from God's Divine Viewpoint we will understand grace logic; and we will understand why Christ was forsaken by God.

The word forsaken in N.T. Greek is egkatelipes, meaning, to leave behind, abandon, to desert, to forsake. This gives me a better picture of what was happening at Calvary between the Father and the Son. The Holy Father could not look at the Son at the time he was taking our filth upon Himself. To forsake isn't quite as clear in my mind as for God to desert or leave Christ behind to pay the price that He sent Him to do; to propitiate all the sins of the whole world. We are the reason that he was forsaken.

Shepherd in his book the Christ; page 570 describes the fourth words of Christ:

'These words mark the climax of the suffering of Christ for a lost world. Here He drank to the dregs (every last drop) the cup of sorrow, grief, and pain on our behalf. In these hours when the sun refused to shine upon suffering Deity, Jesus found fitting expression to His feeling of desolation in the words of the Psalmist (see 22:1 above). Isaiah had given a vivid portrayal of the suffering Servant who was to be "wounded for our transgressions." John the Baptist pointed to Jesus as "the Lamb of God that taketh away the collective sin of a world of sinners." Christ gave Himself a "ransom for many." Him, who knew no sin, God "made sin" for us. On the cross Christ became a "curse for us" and so redeemed us from the curse of the law. We are "redeemed by the precious Blood of Christ" shed on Calvary. He gave Himself a "ransom for all." The writers of the Gospels make it plain that Jesus "had a baptism to be baptized with" and "a cup to drink" Paul and the other writers of the Epistles lay out clearly the same plan of redemption. Jesus had to pay the price alone and tasted death - spiritual death - for every man. Spiritual death is broken communion. Jesus had a taste of such broken communion, the first and last He ever experienced - in those desolate hours when darkness lay upon the earth and upon His soul. That is the reason He used the words of distressed astonishment: Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani (Hebrew) - 'My God, My God, to what end or purpose hast thou forsaken me'?"

Edersheim regarding the significance of the darkness explains:

"So, also, had in those dark hours the sense of man forsakenness and of His own isolation from man; so, also, had the intense silence of God, the withdrawal of God, the sense of His God forsakenness and absolute loneliness. We dare not here speak of punitive suffering, but of forsakenness and loneliness….This sacrificial, vicarious (He died in our place, as our Substitute), expiatory (He made an end to our sin and guilt an atonement), and redemptive character of His death, if it does not explain to us, yet helps us to understand, Christ's sense of God forsakenness in the supreme moment of the Cross; if one might word it - the passive character of His activeness through the active character of His passiveness."

THE FIFTH CRY OF JESUS:

John 19:28, "After this Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst."

Psalms 22:15, is the prophetic Psalm regarding the fifth words of Christ, "My strength is dried up like a potsherd (broken pieces of pottery poor people used to write on), and My tongue cleaveth to My jaws; and thou hast brought Me into the dust of death." The plan of God is fulfilled to the letter. This is so amazing to me that David wrote this Psalm over one thousand years before Christ was born.

Pentecost writes about the fifth cry:

"Some of those standing there who heard Jesus cry misunderstood the Aramaic Eloi for the name Elijah and concluded that Jesus was appealing to the prophet for help. While Christ did not appeal to Elijah for help, He did request something to drink. The Psalmist (Psalms 22:15 - quoted above) had graphically described the thirst that came from the raging fever that coursed through Christ's body. Now, in order that Scripture might be fulfilled, Christ asked for a drink, saying, "I am thirsty" (John 19:28). This was Christ's fifth statement from the cross."

The last part of the verse, 'that the Scriptures might be fulfilled' would be better put, 'by which the Scripture was fulfilled.' You see, all things, pertaining to God's plan of salvation were completed; Christ died Spiritually in those three hours of darkness, and being Spiritually, physically drained, and incredibly dehydrated, said, 'I thirst.' "Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar; and they filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to His mouth" (John 19:29). This brings us to the sixth words of Christ on the Cross.

THE SIXTH CRY OF JESUS:

John 19:30a, "When Jesus, therefore, had received the vinegar, He said, "It is finished,"

Shepherd comments on this cry:

"Jesus received the vinegar for a purpose. His parched lips and throat would not render clear articulation until thus moistened. His senses now revived, He uttered the final redemptive words: "It is finished!" The work of redemption, which was the object of His earthly life, had been completed and the plan of salvation established. The prophecy with reference to the Messiah had been realized and the last suffering for sin endured. Nothing had been left undone or unborne. It was a shout of triumph. He cried with a loud voice, not the weakened utterance of one dying from physical exhaustion but of a conqueror in the full flush of strength and victory. His task was complete."

"It is finished" was the shout of victory:

"Jesus saith unto them, My [food] is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and finish His work (John 4:34)."

"I have glorified Thee on the earth; I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do (John 17:4)."

"For Christ is the end of the law (of Moses) for righteousness to everyone that believeth (Romans 10:4)." 'Righteousness here alludes to that righteousness of God which judicially reckoned to all who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, i.e. Christians are the righteous. The righteousness of God is all that He demands and approves, and is ultimately found in Christ Himself, who fully met in our stead every requirement of the law (of Moses). Through imputation (Christ spiritually imparted to us - that is, made us righteous) Christ made us righteous (2 Cor. 5:21).'

"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us; for it is written, cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree."

"For as many as are of the works of the law (of Moses) are under the curse; for it is written, Cursed is everyone that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident; for, the just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith, but, The man doing them shall live in them. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us; for it is written (Deut. 21:23), Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree (Gal. 3:10-13)."

THE SEVENTH CRY OF JESUS:

Luke 23:46a, "And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, He said, Father, into Thy hands I commend My Spirit,"

Pentecost comments on this final prayer of Christ:

"He uttered His final words with a loud, triumphant shout, "it is finished". Some have suggested that the cry signified the end of His sufferings. Others have suggested that this cry marked the termination of Christ's time of incarnation here on earth. Others have suggested, since Christ was so conscious of the prophetic Scriptures foretelling His death, that His statement referred to the fulfillment of all the prophecies concerning His death. While these observations are doubtless true, Christ's statement seems to have had far greater significance. The word translated "It is Finished" (tetelestai) was used in Greek commercial life. The term signified the completion of a transaction by the full payment of a price or the discharge of a debt by a completed payment. All sin incurs a debt, which the sinner owes to God. The debt must be discharged before the sinner can be accepted by God. Every animal sacrificed on the Day of Atonement throughout the Old Testament constituted a recognition of debt (Heb. 10:14). Because of the shed blood that was applied to the cover of the Ark of the Covenant, God in His grace postponed collection of the indebtedness for another twelve months. He did in anticipation of the coming of the Lamb of God put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. When Christ died, He gathered to Himself the accumulated debt of a sinful race and offered God a payment for past sins. Paul referred to this, saying, "God presented Him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in His blood. He did this to demonstrate His justice, because in His forbearance He had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished" (Rom.3:25). Christ's death paid for the total sin of the human race. Having made that payment, Christ could say, "It is finished" or "The debt has been paid in full."

"With that, He bowed His head and gave up His Spirit." In doing so Christ offered a final prayer: "Father, into Your hands I commit My Spirit." This was in keeping with Christ's own statement, "I lay down My life - only to take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from My Father" (John 10:17,18).

Christ did not die because life slowly ebbed from His veins. His life was not taken from Him. Christ died because by an act of His will He dismissed His Soul from His body. Christ was sovereign over His death as He was sovereign over His resurrection."

This final call to the Father was different from the call before Christ had atoned for all sin. Before the three hours of darkness Christ addressed the father as "My God, My God" and now after He had paid the price for all sin He says, "Father" into Thy hands I commit My Spirit. Before, Christ called out in His humanity, and now that the task was completed, He is able to say, "Father." Before the sin was paid for He addressed the just God that had to be satisfied as "My God," and now that the justice of God had been propitiated (satisfied I John 2:2) He could now respond to God as "Father." Christ, during the three hours, was separated from God, He lost fellowship, He died spiritually, and all alone paid the price for every sin ever committed by all members of the human race: from the past, the beginning of our world (the sin of Adam and Eve) to the present, on in to the future, until He returns to take all believers home to Himself. Christ now is restored to fellowship with His Father and responds with the complete satisfaction of a Perfect Redeemer, "It is finished." How wonderful it is to know that sin has no power over any of us any longer. No member of the human race has ever gone to Hell because of sin; you see, Christ paid the debt sin incurred on the human race. You may ask, if sin does not cause a person to go to Hell, what does? The answer is very simple, rejecting God's Gift of Divine Love, Christ's vicarious (penalty paid) death on the Cross. Man is unable to think of a single sin gross enough that has not been completely eliminated by Christ's substitutionary death on our behalf. So, you see, a person does not go to Hell for his or her sin, but by rejecting Christ as personal Savior, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him (John 3:36)." Remember the penitent thief, all he did was recognize Christ as his savior with the words,"remember me," and he was saved. He didn't have the time or the ability to get down off the cross and do some works to get saved; he wasn't baptized, catechized, circumcised, solemnized or absolved of his sin by some church father or elder. He wasn't a member of a church, at least, not that I know of; it was by simple faith in Christ as savior, no more, no less.

The effect sin has on believers today is that it separates us all from fellowship with the Father. Thank God He didn't leave us to our own resources to be restored to fellowship with Him; "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9)." He desires that we do not sin, however, He knows we will, and the blood of Jesus Christ keeps on cleansing us from all sin. Notice in I John 1:9 that sin is plural, sins. In verse 8 we read, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." Do we sin? Fact, yes! Are we lost when we sin? Fact, no! God desires that we walk as Christ walked, but being omniscient He knows our flesh, so He makes a provision in verse 7, "But if we walk in the light (maybe we will, maybe we won't), as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth (and keeps on cleansing for fellowship) us from all sin (even the sins we don't remember)." In the first verse of the second chapter of first John we read, "My little children (notice John is addressing believers only), these things write I unto you, that you sin not. And if (and you will) any man sin, we have an advocate (Christ by His finished work on the cross is every believers advocate) with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous (One)."

CHRIST DISMISSES HIS SPIRIT:

Matthew 27:50, "Jesus. When He had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the [spirit]."

"The Greek words used here and in John 19:30 are unique in the N.T. In fifteen other Bible verses, "gave up the spirit," or "yielded up the spirit," is used to translate a single Hebrew or Greek word meaning breathe out or expire. This is true of the description of the death of Jesus in Mark 15:37,39 and Luke 23:46. But in Matthew 27:50 and John 19:30 alone these expressions translate a Greek phrase of two words, meaning give over the spirit or deliver up the spirit. The death of Jesus was different from that of any other man. No one could take His life from Him except, as He was willing to permit it (John 10:18). Christ chose to die so that we might live." [Scofield Bible notes, page 1043]

PROPHECIES FULFILLED AFTER CHRIST DIED:

Not one of Christ's bones was to be broken:

Prophecy, "He keepeth all His bones; not one of them is broken (Psalms 34:20)."

The law concerning the O.T. Sacrifice is recorded in Exodus 12:46, "In one house shall it be eaten; thou shalt not carry forth [any] of the flesh abroad out of the house; neither shall ye break a bone of it." Again in Numbers 9:11,12, we read, "The fourteenth day of the second month at evening they shall keep it (The Passover Feast), and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. They shall leave none of it unto the morning, nor break any bone of it; according to all the ordinances of the Passover they shall keep it."

All of these Scriptures are recorded for a purpose to the nation of Israel. The laws were not given without meaning, as it is easy to see. Christ is the fulfillment of the Paschal Lamb that was slain from the foundation of the world. The O.T. was looking forward to the Cross of Christ, and the N.T. is looking back at the finished work of Christ on the Cross. The Cross of Christ is, therefore, the central theme of the entire word of God running through as a Scarlet Thread. The Blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses from all sin.

Fulfillment, "The Jews, therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain ('His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt [surely] bury him that day [for he who is hanged is accursed by God], that thy land be not defiled, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance' Deut. 21:23) upon the cross on the Sabbath day (for that Sabbath day was an high day), besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. Then came the soldiers, and broke the legs of the first, and the other who was crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus, and saw that He was dead already, they broke not His legs. (John 19:31-33)."

Regarding the Paschal Lamb Edersheim remarks:

"For when in the crucifixion the soldiers had broken the bones of the two malefactors, and then came to the Cross of Jesus, they found he was dead already, and so "a bone of Him" was "not broken." Had it been otherwise, the Scriptures concerning the Paschal Lamb, as well as that concerning the Righteous Suffering Servant of Jehovah, would have been broken. In Christ alone these two Ideas of the Paschal Lamb and the Righteous Servant of Jehovah are combined into a unity and fulfilled in their highest meaning. And when, by strange concurrence of circumstances, it "came to pass" that, contrary to what might have been expected, "a bone of Him" was "not broken," this outward fact served as the finger to point to the predictions which were fulfilled in Him."

Prophecy, "And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplications; and they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced (Zech. 12:10a)."

Fulfillment, "But one of the soldiers, with a spear, pierced His side, and [immediately] came there out blood and water. And he that saw it bore [witness], and his [witness] is true; and he knoweth the he saith true, that ye might believe. For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, a bone of Him shall not be broken. And, again another Scripture saith, They shall look on Him whom they pierced (John 19:34-37)."

Prophecy, "For Thou wilt not leave My Soul in [sheol], neither wilt Thou [permit] Thine Holy One to see corruption (Psalms 16:10)."

Fulfillment, "But one of the soldiers, with a spear, pierced His side, and [immediately] came there out blood and water (John 19:34)."

Edersheim explains how Christ didn't see corruption:

"As the soldiers pierced the side of the dead Christ, "forthwith came there out Blood and Water." It has been thought by some that there was a physical cause for this - that Christ had literally died of a broken heart, and that, when the lance pierced first the lung filled with blood and then the pericardium (the conical cone shaped sac of serous fluid, the thin watery serum membrane that encloses the heart and the roots of the great blood vessels of vertebrates) filled with serous fluid, there flowed from the wound this double stream. In such cases, the lesson would be that reproach had literally broken his heart ("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. They gave me also gall for My [food], and in My thirst they gave Me vinegar to drink" Psalms 69:20,21). But we can scarcely believe that St. John could have wished to convey this without clearly setting it forth - thus assuming on the part of his readers knowledge of an obscure, and, it must be added, a scientifically doubtful phenomenon. Accordingly, we rather believe that to St. John, as to most of us, the significance of the fact lay in this, that out of the Body of One dead had flowed Blood and Water - that corruption had not fastened on him. Then, there would be the symbolic meaning conveyed by the Water (from the pericardium) and the Blood (from the heart) - a symbolism most true, if corruption had no power nor hold on Him - if in death He was not dead, if He vanquished Death and Corruption, and in this respect also fulfilled the prophetic ideal of not seeing corruption (Psalm 16:10 above). To this symbolic bearing of the flow of Water and Blood from His pierced side, on which the Evangelist dwells in his Epistle ("This is He that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth - I John 5:6), and to its eternal expression in the symbolism of the two Sacraments, we can only point the thoughtful Christian. For, two Sacraments mean that Christ had come; that over Him, Who was crucified for us and loved us unto death with his broken heart, Death and Corruption had no power; and that He liveth for us the pardoning and cleansing power of His offered Sacrifice."

THE VEIL OF THE TEMPLE TORN IN TWO:

Matthew 27:51, "And behold, the veil of the temple was [torn in two] from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks [were split]."

Edersheim describes the veil:

'The Veils before the Most Holy Place were 40 cubits (60 feet) long, and 20 cubits (30 feet) wide, of the thickness of the palm of the hand, and wrought in 72 squares, which were joined together; and these Veils were so heavy, that, in the exaggerated language of the time, it needed 300 priests to manipulate each. If the Veil was at all such as is described in the Talmud (the authoritative body of Jewish tradition made up of the Mishna and Gemara), it could not have been rent in twain by a mere earthquake or the fall of the lintel, although its composition in squares fastened together might explain, how the rent might be as described in the Gospel.'

David Brown adds:

"This was the thick and gorgeously wrought veil which was hung between the "Holy Place" and the "Holiest of all," shutting out all access to the presence of God as manifested "from above the mercy seat and from between the Cherubim:" ("The Holy [Spirit] thus signifying that the way into the Holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while the first Tabernacle was yet standing" Heb. 9:8). Into this Holiest of all none might enter, not even the high priest, save once a year, on the great Day of Atonement, and then only the blood of atonement in his hands, which he sprinkled "upon and before the mercy seat seven times" (Lev.16:14) - to signify that access for sinners to a Holy God is only through atoning blood. But as they had only the blood of bulls and goats, which could not take away, sins ("For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sin" Heb. 10:4), during all the long ages that preceded the death of Christ, the thick veil remained; the blood of bulls and goats continued to be shed and sprinkled; and once a year access to God through an atoning sacrifice was vouchsafed (to furnish in a gracious manner) - in a picture, or rather, was dramatically represented, in those symbolical actions - nothing more. But now, the one atoning Sacrifice being provided in the precious Blood of Christ, access to this Holy God could no longer be denied; and so the moment the Victim (Christ) on the altar (the Cross), that thick veil which for so many ages had been the dreaded symbol of separation between God and guilty men was, without a hand touching it, mysteriously "rent in twain from top to bottom:" - "the Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the Holiest of all was now made manifest!" How emphatic the statement, "from top to bottom;" as if to say, Come boldly to the Throne of Grace; the veil is clean gone; the Mercy seat stands open to the gaze of sinners, and the way to it is sprinkled with the Blood of Him - "Who through the eternal Spirit hath offered Himself without spot to God"! Before, it was death to go in, and now it is death to stay out."

Thank God He has provided us 'A New and Living Way', "Since therefore, brethren, we have confidence to enter the Holy Place by the Blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a Great Priest over the House of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another: and all the more, as you see the day drawing near (Heb. 10:19-25)."

The rending of the veil happened spontaneously and instantaneously with the death of Christ. We no longer need to go to a high priest with a sin offering, nor do we need to go to a human priest with our confessions of personal sins to have them absolved. In 1st John 1:9 we read, "If we confess (to God, that is, say the same thing about our sin that our God says), He (God) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." God and God alone is the only One who can forgive sin. He has not given this over to human agency. There is not one shred of evidence in the Holy Scriptures, since the death of Christ on the Cross, that would lead any thinking individual to accurately assess that a Christian needs to go to a father, or priest, or bishop, or any other 'man of the cloth' to have His sins forgiven. I am using the term forgiven here in the sense daily cleansing, not eternal forgiveness. Christ Atoned for all sins with regard to eternity, that is, He removed the sin barrier so any one shall have eternal life that believes on Him (John 3:16). For fellowship with the Father, it is necessary to be cleansed on a daily basis, so that we leave nothing between our souls and the Father. It is impossible to fellowship with this world and our Heavenly Father at the same time. We will either serve God or serve mammon. Paul addresses this point of nonconformity to this world in Romans 12:1,2, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."

Shepherd in his book 'The Christ', page 204, notes on the earthquake after the rending of the veil:

"Following the rending of the veil came the supernatural earthquake. It is true that Palestine has experienced down through history various seismic disturbances. In 31 B.C. there was such an earthquake, and several thousand people in densely populated districts of Judea were buried beneath the ruins of their own houses. But the exact coincidence of the earthquake with the death of Jesus is hardly conceivable on mere naturalistic grounds. God's Hand was evidently in the earthquake as it was in the supernatural phenomena accompanying the birth of Jesus, and why should we not give credence to this as readily as to those? Other tokens accompanied the earthquake. The rocks were rent and the rock-hewn tombs were shaken open at the hour of His death. Saints of Jesus who had believed on Him and fallen asleep in death before His crucifixion were raised from the dead and appeared unto many of the disciples after the resurrection three days later. Such a miracle of God's grace would be useful, to show the disciples that the resurrection of Jesus was not an isolated phenomenon, but that he was only the first fruits of the victory over death."

JESUS IS BURRIED:

Matthew 27:57-61, "When the [evening] was come, there came a rich man of Arimathea, named Joseph who also himself was Jesus' disciple; He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered. And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 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 sepulcher, and departed. And there were Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulcher."

Pentecost describes the acts of Joseph of Arimathea:

"Unlike the disciples who fled for fear of the Jews, two courageous men now boldly identified themselves with Jesus. The intent of the pair was to provide a burial for His body. The first of these men was Joseph, who came from Arimathea, perhaps twenty-five miles away in the hill country of Ephraim. Joseph was a counselor, that is, a member of the Sanhedrin. He was "a prominent member of the council" (Mark 15:43). From this we know his word was held in high regard not only by the people but also by his fellow council members. That he had put faith in Christ is indicated by the disclosure that he was "waiting for the kingdom of God" (Mark 15:42). The other Gospel writers also stated that "Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews" (John 19:38; Matt. 27:57). The word translated "secretly" could be rendered: secreted," or hidden away. As has been previously noted, Christ made preparations for all events associated with his death so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled. This word may indicate that Jesus had arranged with Joseph to make arrangements for His burial to fulfill an Old Testament prophecy. By way of preparation, Joseph had obtained space in a garden adjacent to the place of crucifixion; there was a new tomb here. He had arranged with a fellow counselor, Nicodemus, to provide the spices necessary for a proper burial (John 19:39). Joseph had provided the linen cloth in which to wrap the body of Jesus (Mark 15:46). Thus before the crucifixion, all that was needed for the burial had been provided. It may well be that Joseph had hidden himself away in the recesses of the garden where he could witness the events transpiring on Golgotha without being observed. At the moment Christ cried, "It is finished" (John 19:30), and dismissed His spirit from His body, Joseph was ready to proceed with the burial. Haste was now required because it was the afternoon and the sun would bring the Sabbath."

Edersheim describes the tomb:

'The proximity of the holy Sabbath, and the need of haste, may have suggested or determined the proposal to lay the body of Jesus in his own rock hewn tomb, wherein no one had yet been laid (St. Luke). The symbolic significance of this is the more marked, that the symbolism was undersigned. These rock-hewn sepulchers, and the mode of laying the dead in them, have been very fully described in connection with the burying of Lazarus. We may therefore wholly surrender ourselves to the sacred thoughts that gather around us. The Cross was lowered and laid on the ground; the cruel nails drawn out, and the ropes unloosed. Joseph, with those who attended him, "wrapped: the Sacred Body "in a clean linen cloth," and rapidly carried It to the rock hewn tomb in the garden close by. Such a rock-hewn tomb or cave (Martha) had niches (kukkin), where the dead were laid. It will be remembered, that at the entrance to "the tomb" - there was "a court." Nine feet square, where ordinarily the bier (a stand on which a coffin or corpse is placed) was deposited, and its bearers gathered to do the last offices for the Dead. Thither we suppose Joseph to have carried the Sacred Body, and then the last scene to have taken place. For now another, kindred to Joseph in spirit, history, and position, had come. The same spiritual Law, which had brought Joseph to open confession, also constrained the profession of that other Sanhedrist, Nicodemus. We remember, how at the first he had, from fear of detection, come to Jesus by night, and with what bated breath he pleaded with his colleagues not so much the cause of Christ, as on behalf of that law of justice (John 7:50). He now came, bringing "a roll" of myrrh and aloes, in the fragrant mixture well known to the Jews for the purpose of anointing or burying.'

THE SEPLUCHER SEALED AND GUARDED:

Matthew 27:62-66, "Now the next day, that followed the day of preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate, saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while He was yet alive, after three days I will rise again. Command, therefore, that the sepulcher be made sure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night, and steal Him away, and say unto the people, he is risen from the dead; so the last error shall be worse than the first. Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch; go your way, make it as sure as ye can. So they went, and made the sepulcher sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch."

"Now the next day, that followed the day of preparation,"

that is, six p.m., on our Saturday. The crucifixion took place on Friday and was completed at sunset, when the Jewish Sabbath began. The Sabbath was over at six p.m.; then the chief priest and rulers made haste;

Plummer remarks on this verse:

"Now on the morrow, which is after the Preparation."… The Preparation had already become a name for Friday as the eve of the Sabbath. Matthew uses it without explanation, but Mark (15:42) tells his Gentile readers what it means ("And now when the [evening] was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath). It looks as if Matthew employed this circumlocution (that is, an unnecessarily large number of words to express an idea) in order to avoid using the word "Sabbath." Did he shrink from saying in so many words that this miserable act of hostility, on the part of the Jewish hierarchy against the Messiah, took place on the Sabbath? Months before this the Pharisees had been moved to take counsel to destroy Him, because He had done good on the Sabbath (Matthew 12:11-14, "And He said unto them, what man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the Sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? How much, then, is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore, it is lawful to do [good] on the Sabbath days. Then said He to the man, stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it was restored [well] like the other. Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against Him, how they might destroy Him."); and now they

do not scruple to do evil on the Sabbath. Having given no mention of the Preparation there, he names it here, and calls the Sabbath the morrow of the Preparation.'

"The chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate, saying, sir, while he was yet alive, after three days I will rise again."

These rulers understood Christ very clearly on His claims of His own resurrection. In their unbelief they did not want the disciples to continue the hoax. They were asking Pilate to have the tomb made secure.

"Command, therefore, that the sepulcher be made sure (by a Roman guard) until the third day, lest His disciples come by night, and steal Him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead;"

Plummer remarks on making the tomb secure:

"The Pharisees do not dictate to Pilate how the sepulcher is to be made secure; they leave that to him: and they find him more willing than before to accede to their wishes. He had tried to escape from their determination to have Jesus put to death, but he raises no difficulty about the guarding of His tomb. Nevertheless, they are not welcome visitors. He had seen through their malignity (viciousness) before, and no doubt he saw through it now. He dismisses them with a curt consent to their suggestion. Ye have a guard, seems clear from the fact that the only guard which they had, was the Temple police, and this they could have employed without coming to the Procurator. Evidently they want something which required his permission: and it is Roman soldiers who are set to guard the tomb (Matthew 28:12-15, "And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave [much] money unto the soldiers, saying, say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole Him away while we slept. And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will persuade him, and secure you. So they took the money, and did as they were taught; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.").'

'The sealing of the stone would seem to be the Pharisees' own idea. The hierarchy overreached themselves in these precautions. All that they accomplished was to increase the number of those who could bear witness to the Resurrection. And these additional witnesses had to be bribed to give false witness, with what result we do not know. We know that the plot failed, but we do not know how the bribed soldiers behaved. It is evident that the fact of the bribery became known, unless we assume that the whole story is a Christian invention; and it is more probable that it became known through some of the soldiers than through any of the Sanhedrin. A soldier who would confess that he had been bribed would probably tell what he knew respecting the circumstances of the Resurrection. But some of the priests who were converted after Pentecost (Acts 6:7, "And the word of God increased, and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith") may have known and disclosed the truth about this transaction."

How amazing it is to think of the testimony of these unbelieving rulers, that in their efforts to stop the resurrection in their own ignorance they only increase the faith of all Christians in all generations. Why did they go to such extremes to stop the testimony of this Christ?

David Brown answers this question very appropriately:

"How precious to Christians should be those testimonies to the reality of Christ's death which even His enemies unconsciously bore, since on this depends the reality of His resurrection, and on both of these hang all that is dear to God's children! So little did they doubt of His death, that their only fear - whether real or pretended - was that His disciples would come and steal away his dead Body, and pretend that He had risen from the dead. Then, having got what they wanted from Pilate - full power to see to the sealing of the stone and the placing of a military guard to watch it till the third day they thus themselves unconsciously attested the reality of the resurrection which, on the morning of the third day took place, when in spite of all their precautions, the sepulcher was found empty, and the grave clothes lying disposed in grand orderliness, as they had been laid calmly aside when no longer needed!"

Plummer in his commentary on Matthew adds:

"Here we have His bitter enemies pursuing Him with implacable (unable to be satisfied) hostility even beyond the shameful and cruel death to which they have subjected Him. They will not rest until they have made it impossible for His followers to turn His death into a point in favor of His cause. And it is remarkable that… while none of the disciples seem to have found any comfort in Christ's predictions that he would rise again, yet the chief priests and the Pharisees understood and remembered, and were determined that no apparent fulfillment of such predictions should be accomplished by the disciples."

THE RESURRECTION OF OUR LORD:

Matthew 28:14, "In the end of the Sabbath [after the Sabbath as it grew toward daylight] as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary [The mother of James and Joses] to see the sepulcher [with a view to the anointing of the body, for which they made all their preparations. 'And when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the Mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices that they might come and anoint Him. Mark 16:1] And behold, there was a great earthquake; for [an] angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and His raiment white as snow."

[The one, lightning, expressing His glory, the other, white as snow, the purity of the celestial abode from which he came; David brown]; and for fear of Him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men." [Is the sepulcher "sure" now, O ye chief priests? He that sits in the heavens does laugh at you David brown].

Shepherd in his book 'The Christ' describes the burial scene:

"Jesus was buried shortly before sunset on Friday afternoon, lay in the grave through Saturday, and rose from the dead sometime before sunrise on Sunday morning. The Gospels record seven times that He had said He would rise from the dead "on the third day." This could not mean after seventy-two hours. The method of calculating time among the Jews, Greeks, and Romans would make the "three days in the tomb" mean one whole central day and any part of the two other days.

For three days after the burial, the Jews had the custom of visiting the sepulcher to see if the soul - which, by popular tradition hovered about the sepulcher - had returned to the body. But the apostles wisely avoided visiting the tomb of Jesus and uselessly exposing themselves to the suspicion and fury of the determined rulers of the Jews, who would be glad to do to them what they had done to Jesus."

Matthew 28:56, "And the angel answered and said unto the women, fear not; for I know that ye seek Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here, for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay."

"Up from the grave He arose,

With a mighty triumph o'er His foes;

He arose a Victor from the dark domain,

And He lives forever with His saints to reign;

He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose!"

(Robert Lowry)

"Christ the Lord is risen today, Alleluia!

Sons of men and angels say, Alleluia!

Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!

Sing, ye heavens, and earth reply, Alleluia!

Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia!

Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia!

Once He died, our souls to save, Alleluia!

Where's thy victory, boasting grave? Alleluia!

Love's redeeming work is done, Alleluia!

Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia!

Death in vain forbids Him rise, Alleluia!

Christ hath opened Paradise, Alleluia!

Soar we now where Christ has led, Alleluia!

Following our exalted Head, Alleluia!

Made like Him, like Him we rise, Alleluia!

Ours the Cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia!"

(Charles Wesley)

After the guards were shaking in their boots for fear, the Lord sent His angel to comfort the women. These verses show the contrast of the fear of the unbeliever and that of His own.

'The "ye" here is emphatic, to contrast their case with that of the guards. "Let those puny creatures, sent to keep the Living One among the dead, for fear of Me shake and become as dead men (verse 4); but ye that have come hither on another errand, fear not ye (David Brown)."

Matthew 28:78, "And go quickly, and tell His disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee. There shall ye see Him; lo, I have told you.

And they departed quickly from the sepulcher with fear and great joy, and did run to bring His disciples word."

Pentecost in 'The Words and Works of Christ' uses the other Gospels to describe the visit of the women:

"The women carried to the tomb the spices that they had prepared to anoint the body of Jesus. They were concerned about how they could enter the tomb, knowing that the doorway had been closed with a huge stone. They were incapable of moving the stone themselves and were discussing where they might find help (Mark 16:1). When they arrived at the tomb "just after sunrise" (Vs. 2), they saw that the very large stone had already been rolled away. They fearlessly entered the tomb. In doing so "they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side" (Vs.5). He was one of two (Luke 24:4). The clothing of the two men "gleamed like lightning." The description of these two is identical to the parallel description of an "angel of the Lord" (Matthew 28:2). Thus it is evident they were angels. The two approached the women and "stood beside them" (Luke 24:4). As a result the women were terrified and bowed themselves with their faces to the ground before these heavenly visitors. The women's response was essentially the same as that of the guards who watched an angel of the Lord come and roll away the stone (Matthew 28:24). The angels dispelled the women's fear, saying,

"Don't be alarmed...You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified" (Mark 16:6). "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen!" (Luke 24:56). The angels reminded the women that when Jesus was with them in Galilee, He had predicted not only His betrayal and crucifixion but His resurrection on the third day as well (Vs.7). While the women remembered Christ's words, they did not understand the significance of them or the meaning of the empty tomb. One of the angels commanded them to go and announce to the disciples and to Peter that Christ had been resurrected and would meet them in Galilee (Mark 16:7). The women left the tomb "trembling and bewildered" (Vs.8). They were stunned into silence, for the enormity of the event had overwhelmed them."

I bring this paper to a close by quoting a few remarks of David Brown in his commentary on Matthew:

"If the Crucifixion and Burial of the Son of God were the most stupendous manifestations of self-sacrifice, His Resurrection was no less grand a vindication of His character and claims - rolling away the reproach of the Cross, revealing His Personal dignity, and putting the crown upon His whole claims. (See Romans 1:4). As His own Self bare our sins in His own body on the tree (I Peter 2:24), and so was "made a curse for us" (Galatians 3:13), His resurrection was a public proclamation that He had now made an end of sin, and brought everlasting righteousness (Daniel 9:24). And how august (magnificent) was this proclamation! While His enemies were watching the hours, in hope that the third day might see Him still in the tomb, and His loving disciples were almost in despair of ever beholding Him again, Lo! The ground heaves sublime, an angel, bright as lightning and clad in raiment of snowy white, descend from heaven, rolls the huge stone from the sepulcher, and takes his seat upon it as a guard of honor from heaven; while the keepers for fear of him are shaking and crouching as dead men. What then took place, none of the Four sacred Narrators has dared to describe, or rather, none of them knew. All that we need to know they do record - that when the women arrived, the grave was empty, and speedily Jesus Himself stood before them in resurrection life and love! What a glorious Gospel voice issues from these facts! O, if even the guiltiest sinner on the face of the earth would but draw near, might he not hear a voice saying to him, "He is not here; for He has risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay;" and as he looks into this open grave, shall he not hear the Risen One Himself whispering to him, "Peace be unto thee," and as He says this "showing him His hands and His side," in evidence of the price paid for the remission of sin?"

[The marks left by the crucifixion only show part of the price He paid. The supreme price paid was the separation the lord experienced in His Spiritual separation from his Father, which could not be shown or demonstrated, except by His cry from the cross, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me."]

The life of Christ on earth ended as miraculously as His Life began. He was born of a virgin, conceived by the Holy Spirit, and was dedicated to the will of His Father to die for the sins of the whole world. He was obedient unto death, that is, His death on Calvary, and now He is seated at the right hand of the Father, making intercession for all believers. What wonderful comfort we have as believers in the Word Of God, "My little children (all believers), these things write I unto you, that ye sin not [but you will]. And if [when] any man sin, we have an advocate [One who restores to fellowship] with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous [One]; And He is the propitiation [satisfaction of sin payment to the Just Judge] for our sins, and not ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world" (I John 2:1,2).

*Addendum:

'The resurrection of Christ from the dead is reported by the four Gospels, taught in the Epistles, believed throughout Christendom, and celebrated on every "Lord's Day," as an historical fact, as the crowning miracle and divine seal of His whole work, as the foundation of the hopes of believers, as the pledge of their own resurrection. It is represented in the New Testament both as an act of the Almighty Father who raised His Son from the dead [Acts 2:24,32; Rom. 6:4; 10:9; ICor. 15:15; Eph. 1:20; I Pet. 1:21], and as an act of Christ Himself, who had the power to lay down His Life and to take it again [John 2:19; 10:17,18. In like manner the first advent of the Lord is represented as His own voluntary act and as a mission from the Father, John 8:42: "Jesus said unto them, 'If God were your Father, ye would love Me; for I proceed forth and came from God; neither came I of Myself, but he sent me.']. The ascension was the proper conclusion of the resurrection: the risen life of the Lord, who is "the Resurrection and the Life," could not end in another death on earth, but must continue in eternal glory in heaven. Hence St. Paul says, "Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death no more hath dominion over Him. For the death that He died He died unto sin once: but the life He liveth, He liveth unto God." [Rom. 6:9,10]

The Christian church rests on the resurrection of its Founder. Without this fact the church could never have been born, or if born, it would have died a natural death. The miracle of the resurrection and the existence of Christianity are so closely connected that they stand or fall together. If Christ was raised from the dead, then all His other miracles are sure, and our faith is impregnable; if He was not raised, He died in vain, and our faith is vain. It was only His resurrection that made His death available for our atonement, justification and salvation; without the resurrection, His death would be the grave of our hopes; we should be still unredeemed and under the power of our sins. A gospel of a dead Savior would be a contradiction and wretched delusion. This is the reasoning of St. Paul, and its force is irresistible [I Cor. 15:1319; comp. Rom. 4:25, where Paul represents Christ's death and resurrection in inseparable connection, as the sum and substance of the whole Gospel].

The resurrection of Christ is therefore emphatically a test question upon which depends the truth or falsehood of the Christian religion. It is either the greatest miracle or the greatest delusion which history records [Ewald makes the striking remark (VI= 90) that the resurrection is "the culmination of all the miraculous events which are conceivable from the beginning of history to its close."].

Christ had predicted both his crucifixion and His resurrection, but the former was a stumbling block to the disciples, the latter a mystery which they could not understand till after the event [Matt. 16:2123; 17:9,22,23; 20:1720; Mark 8:31; 9:9,10, 31, 32 ("they understood not that saying, and were afraid to ask Him"); Luke 9:22, 44, 45; 18:313-4; 24:68; John 2:21, 22; 3:14; 8:28; 10:17,18; 12:32]. They no doubt expected that He would soon establish His Messianic Kingdom on earth. Hence their utter disappointment and downheartedness after the crucifixion. The treason of one of their own number, the triumph of the hierarchy, the fickleness of the people, the death and burial of the beloved Master, had in a few hours rudely blasted their messianic hopes and exposed them to the contempt and ridicule of their enemies. For two days they were trembling on the brink of despair. But on the third day, behold, the same disciples underwent a complete revolution from despondency to hope, from timidity to courage, from doubt to faith, and began to proclaim the gospel of the resurrection in the face of an unbelieving world and at the peril of their lives. This revolution was not isolated, but general among them; It was not the result of an easy credulity [an undue readiness to believe something], but brought about in spite of doubt and hesitation [the devoted women went to the sepulcher on the first Christian Sabbath, not to see it empty but to embalm the body with spices for its long rest, Mark 16:1; Luke 23:56; and when they told the eleven what they saw, their words seemed to them "as idle talk," and "they disbelieved them," Luke 24:11. Comp. Matt. 28:17 ("some doubted"); Mark 16:8 ("they were afraid"); John 20:25.] ; It was not superficial and momentary, but radical and lasting; it affected not only the apostles, but also the whole history of the world. It reached even the leader of the persecution, Saul of Tarsus, one of the clearest and strongest intellects, and converted him into the most devoted and faithful champion of this very Gospel to the hour of his martyrdom.

This is a fact patent to every reader of the closing chapters of the Gospels, and is freely admitted even by the most advanced skeptics.

The question now rises whether this inner evolution in the life of the disciples, with its incalculable effects upon the fortunes of mankind, can be rationally explained without a corresponding outward revolution in the history of Christ; in other words, whether the professed faith of the disciples in the risen Christ was true and real, or a hypocritical lie, or an honest self-delusion.

There are four possible theories, which have been tried again and again, and defended, with as much learning and ingenuity as can be summoned to their aid. Historical questions are not like mathematical problems. No argument in favor of the resurrection will avail with those critics who start with the philosophical assumption that miracles are impossible, and still less with those who deny not only the resurrection of the body, but even the immortality of the soul. But facts are stubborn, and if a critical hypothesis can be proven to be psychologically and historically impossible and unreasonable, the result is fatal to the philosophy, which underlies the critical hypothesis. It is not the business of the historian to construct a history from the preconceived notions and to adjust it to his own liking, but to reproduce it from the best evidence and to let it speak for itself.

1. The HISTORICAL VIEW presented by the Gospels and believed in the Christian church of every denomination and sect. The resurrection of Christ was an actual though miraculous event, in harmony with His previous history and character, and in fulfillment of His own prediction. It was a reanimation of the dead body of Jesus by a return of His soul from the spirit world, and a rising of body and soul from the grave to a new life, which after repeated manifestations to believers during a short period of forty days entered into glory by the ascension to heaven. The object of the manifestations was not only to convince the apostles personally of the resurrection, but also to make them witnesses of the resurrection and heralds of salvation to all the world [Matt. 28:1820; Mark 16:15,16; Luke 24:46-48; John 20:21-23; Acts 1:8.].

Truth compels us to admit that there are serious difficulties in harmonizing the accounts of the evangelists, and in forming a consistent conception of the nature of Christ's resurrection body, hovering as it were between heaven and earth, and oscillating for forty days between a natural and a supernatural state, of a body clothed with flesh and blood and bearing the wound prints, and yet so spiritual as to appear and disappear through closed doors and to ascend visibly to heaven. But these difficulties are not so great as those, which are created by a denial of the fact itself. The former can be measurably solved, the latter cannot. We do not know all the details and circumstances, which might enable us to clearly trace the order of events. But among all the variations the great central fact of the resurrection itself and its principal features "stand out all the more sure (So Meyer says, who is one of the fairest as well as most careful exegetes - Com. On John. 5th German ed., p. 643)." [I will add the observation of Canon Farrar - Life of Christ, vol. II p. 432 - "The lacunae (missing part or blank spaces), the compressions, the variations, the actual differences, the subjectivity of the narrators as affected by spiritual revelations, render all harmonies at the best uncertain. Our belief in the resurrection, as an historic fact, as absolutely well attested to us by subsequent and contemporary circumstances as any other event in history, rests on grounds far deeper, wider, more spiritual, more eternal, than can be shaken by divergence of which we can only say that they are not necessarily contradictions, but of which the true solution is no longer attainable. Hence the 'ten discrepancies', which have been dwelt on since the days of Celsus [a Grecian philosopher who wrote direct assaults directed against the Christian Church, during the middle of the second century, and not much more is known about him], have never for one hour shaken the faith of Christendom. The phenomena presented by the narratives are exactly such as we should expect, derived as they are from different witnesses, preserved at first in oral tradition only, and written 1,800 years ago at a period when minute circumstantial accuracy, as distinguished from perfect truthfulness, was little regarded. St. Paul, surely no imbecile or credulous enthusiast, vouches, both for the reality of the appearances, and also for the fact that the vision by which he was himself converted came, at a long interval after the rest, to him as to the 'abortive born' of the apostolic family (I Cor. 15:48). If the narrative of Christ's appearance to His disciples were inventions, how came they to posses the severe and simple character which shows no tinge of religious excitement? If those appearances were purely subjective, how can we account for their sudden, rapid, and total cessation? As Lange finely says, the great fugue (a musical term used of intermittent voices repeating one theme) of the first Easter tidings has not come to us as a 'monotonous chorale,' and mere boyish verbal criticism cannot understand the common feeling and harmony which inspire the individual vibrations of those enthusiastic and multitudinous voices (vol V. 61). Professor Westcot, with his usual profundity and insight, points out the differences of purpose in the narrative of the four Evangelists. St Matthew dwells chiefly on the majesty and glory of the Resurrection; St. Mark, both in the original part and in the addition (Mark 16:920), insists upon fact; St. Luke, as a spiritual necessity; St. John, as a touchstone of character.'

The period of the forty days is in the nature of the case the most mysterious in the life of Christ, and transcends all ordinary Christian experience. The Christophanies (supernatural appearances of Christ) resemble in some respects the Theophanies (appearance of a Deity) of the Old Testament, which were granted only to few believers, yet for the general benefit. At all events the fact of the resurrection furnishes the only key for the solution of the psychological problem of the sudden, radical, and permanent change in the mind and conduct of the disciples; it is the necessary link in the chain, which connects their history before and after that event. Their faith in the resurrection was too clear, and too strong, too steady, too effective to be explained in any other way. They showed the strength and boldness of their conviction by soon returning to Jerusalem, the post of danger, and founding there, in the very face of the hostile Sanhedrin, the mother church of Christendom.

2. The THEORY OF FRAUD. The apostles stole and hid the body of Jesus, and deceived the world. The Jewish priests who crucified the Lord, and knew it to be false invented this theory, Matt. 27:62-66; 28:12-15. The lie was repeated and believed, like many other lies, by credulous (gullible) infidels, first by malignant Jews at the time of Justin Martyr, then by Celsus, who learned it from them, but wavered between it and the vision theory, and was renewed in the eighteenth century by Reimarus in the Wolfenbuttel Fragments. Salvador, a French Jew, has again revived and modified it (according to Hase, Geshicte Jesu, p.132) that Jesus was justly crucified, and was saved by the wife of Pilate through Joseph of Arimathea or some Galilean women; that He retired among the Essenes [a brotherhood of Jews from the 2nd century B.C. to the 2nd century A.D. that were monastic living in seclusion, living on birdseed and lettuce leaves] and appeared secretly to a few of His disciples. Strauss formerly defended the vision hypothesis, but at the close of his life, when he exchanged his idealism and pantheism for materialism and atheism, he seems to have relapsed into this disgraceful theory of fraud; for in his old and New faith (1873) he was not ashamed to call the resurrection of Christ "a world historical humbug." Truth or falsehood: there is no middle ground.

This infamous lie carries its refutation on its face: for if the Roman soldiers who watched the grave at the express request of the priests and Pharisees, were asleep, they could not see the thieves, nor would they have proclaimed their military crime; if they, or only some of them, were awake, they would have prevented the theft. As to the disciples, they were too timid and desponding at the time to venture on such a daring act, and too honest to cheat the world. And finally a self-invented falsehood could not give them the courage and constancy of faith for the proclamation of the resurrection at the peril of their lives. The whole theory is a wicked absurdity, an insult to the common sense and honor of mankind.

3. The SWOON-THEORY. The physical life of Jesus was not extinct, but only exhausted, and was restored by the tender care of His friends and disciples, or (as some absurdly add) by His own medical skill; and after a brief period He quietly died a natural death.

Josephus, Valerius Maximus, psychological and medical authorities have been searched and appealed to for examples of such apparent resurrections from a trance or asphyxy, especially on the third day, which is supposed to be a critical turning point for life or putrefaction.

But besides insuperable difficulties - as the wounds and loss of blood from the very heart pierced by the spear of the Roman soldier - this theory utterly fails to account for the moral effect. A brief sickly existence of Jesus in need of medical care, and terminating in His natural death and final burial, without even the glory of martyrdom, which attended the crucifixion, far from restoring the faith of the apostles, would have only in the end deepened their gloom and driven them to utter despair

4. The VISION-THEORY. Christ rose merely in the imagination of His friends, who mistook a subjective vision or dream for actual reality, and were thereby encouraged to proclaim their faith in the resurrection at the risk of death. Their wish was father to the belief, their belief was father to the fact, and the belief, once started, spread with the power of a religious epidemic from person to person and from place to place. The Christian society wrought the miracle by its intense love for Christ. Accordingly the resurrection does not belong to the history of Christ at all, but to the inner life of His disciples. It is merely the embodiment of their reviving faith.

This hypothesis was invented by a heathen adversary in the second century and soon buried out of sight, but rose to new life in the nineteenth, and spread with epidemic rapidity among skeptical critics in Germany, France, Holland and England. The vision hypothesis was first suggested by the heathen Celsus, and in a more respectful form by the Jewish philosopher Spinoza, and elaborately carried out by Straus and Renan, with the characteristic difference, however, that Straus traces the resurrection dream to the apostles in Galilee. Renan (after Celsus) to Mary Magdalene in Jerusalem, saying, in his Life of Jesus (almost blasphemously), "the passion of a hallucinated women gave to the world a risen God!"

The advocates of this hypothesis appeal first and chiefly to the vision of St. Paul on the way to Damascus, which occurred several years later, and is nevertheless put on a level with the former appearances to the older apostles (I Cor. 15:8); next to supposed analogies in the history of religious enthusiasm and mysticism, such as the individual visions of St. Francis of Assisi, the Maid of Orleans, St. Theresa (who believed that she had seen Jesus in person with the eyes of the soul more distinctly than she could have seen Him with the eyes of the body), Swedenborg (Emanuel Swedenborg founder of the Church of the New Jerusalem), even Mohammed, and the collective visions of the Montanists in Asia Minor (Monks who practiced ecstatic simplicity in secluded monasteries), the Camisards in France (the camisards were protestant rebels during the French Revolution that boasted of an army of 25,000 men and were finally defeated in 1709. these camisards were persecuted by the Roman Catholic Church for pulling away from the Church. They were radical charismatic protestants that were looking for the second coming of Christ, by misinterpreting the book of revelation), the spectral resurrection (imagined) of the martyred Thomas A Becket of Canterbury and Savonarola of Florence (Savonarola was elected Prior of St. Marks Cathedral in 1491 and was murdered by the Catholic Church by using a secular mob to hang him and then burn him and throw his ashes in the Arno river so their would be no trace of him. The reason he was murdered was because the Church said that he claimed to foretell the future, which he never did. The real reason they wanted him killed was that he preached against materialism, a very unpopular subject with the rich Catholic Church.), in the excited imagination of their admirers, and the apparitions of the Immaculate Virgin at Lourdes. The author of Supernatural Religion (III. 530), calls to aid even Luther's vision of the devil on the Wartburg, and especially the apparition of Lord Byron after his death to Sir Walter Scott in clear moonshine; and he fancies that in the first century it would have been mistaken for reality.

Nobody will deny that subjective fancies and impressions are often mistaken for objective realities. But, with the exception of the case of St. Paul - which we shall consider in its proper place, and which turns out to be, even according to the administration of the leaders of skeptical criticism, a powerful argument against the mythical or visionary theory - these supposed analogies are entirely irrelevant; for, not to speak of other differences, they were isolated and passing phenomena which left no mark on history; while the faith in the resurrection of Christ has revolutionized the whole world. It must therefore be treated on its own merits as an altogether unique case.

(a) The first insuperable argument against the visionary nature, and in favor of the objective reality, of the resurrection is the empty tomb of Christ. If He did not rise, His body must either have been removed, or remained in the tomb. If removed by the disciples, they were guilty of a deliberate falsehood in preaching the resurrection, and then the vision-hypothesis gives way to the exploded theory of fraud. If removed by the enemies, then these enemies had the best evidence against the resurrection, and would not have failed to produce it and thus to expose the baseless-ness of the vision. The same is true, of course, if the body remained in the tomb. The murderers of Christ would certainly not have missed such an opportunity to destroy the very foundation of the hated sect.

To escape this difficulty, Strauss removes the origin of the illusion away off to Galilee, whither the disciples fled; but this does not help the matter, for they returned in a few weeks to Jerusalem, where we find them all assembled on the day of Pentecost.

This argument is fatal even to the highest form of the vision hypothesis, which admits a spiritual manifestation of Christ from heaven, but denies the resurrection of His body.

(b) If Christ did not really rise, then the words that He spoke to Mary Magdalene, to the disciples of Emmaus, to doubting Thomas, to Peter on the lake of Tiberias, to all the disciples on Mount Olivet, were likewise pious fictions. But who can believe that words of such dignity and majesty, so befitting the solemn moment of the departure to the Throne of Glory, as the commandment to preach the Gospel to every creature, to baptize the nations in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and the promise to be with His disciples always to the end of the world - a promise abundantly verified in the daily experience of the church - could proceed from dreamy and self-deluded enthusiasts or crazy fanatics any more than the Sermon on the Mount or the Sacerdotal Prayer!

(c) If the visions of the resurrection were the product of an excited imagination, it is unaccountable that they should suddenly have ceased on the fortieth day (Acts 1:15), and not have occurred to any disciples afterwards, with the single exception of Paul, who expressly represents his vision of Christ as "the last." Even on the day of Pentecost Christ did not appear to them, but according to His promise, "the other Paraclete" descended upon them; and Stephen saw Christ in heaven, not on earth. It is utterly baseless when Ewald and Renan extend these visions of Christ for months and years.

(d) The chief objection to the vision-hypothesis is its intrinsic impossibility (that is, it is impossible within its own claims). It makes the most exorbitant claim upon our credulity. It requires us to believe that many persons, singly and collectively, at different times, and in different places, from Jerusalem to Demascus, had the same vision and dreamed the same dream; that the women at the open sepulcher early in the morning, Peter and John soon afterwards, two disciples journeying to Emmaus on the afternoon of the resurrection day, the assembled apostles on the evening in the absence of Thomas, and again on the next Lord's Day in the presence of the skeptical Thomas, seven apostles at the Lake of Tiberias, on one occasion five hundred brethren at once most of whom were still alive when Paul reported the fact, then James, the brother of the Lord, who formerly did not believe in Him, again all the apostles on Mount Olivet at the ascension, and at last the clearheaded, strong-minded persecutor on the way to Damascus - that all these men and women on these different occasions vainly imagined they saw and heard the self-same Jesus in bodily shape and form; and that they were by this baseless vision raised all at once from the deepest gloom in which the crucifixion of their Lord had left them, to the boldest faith and strongest hope which impelled them to proclaim the Gospel of the resurrection from Jerusalem to Rome to the end of their lives! And this illusion of the early disciples created the greatest revolution not only in their own views and conduct, but also among Jews and gentiles and in the subsequent history of mankind! This illusion, we are expected to believe by these unbelievers, gave birth to the most real and most mighty of all facts, the Christian Church which has lasted these eighteen hundred years and is now spread all over the civilized world, embracing more members than ever and exercising more moral power than all the kingdoms and all the religions combined! [This may have been true in 1882 when Schaff wrote this, but in our modern society we would have to say the 'Fullness of Time" is upon us]

The vision-hypothesis, instead of getting rid of the miracle, only shifts it from fact to fiction; it makes an empty delusion more powerful than the truth, or turns all history itself at last into a delusion. Before we can reason the resurrection of Christ out of history we must reason the apostles and Christianity itself out of existence. We must either admit the miracle, or frankly confess that we stand here before an inexplicable mystery.'

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