|
When Jesus Christ was crucified, every one abandoned Him. His friends and followers were scattered and He was left alone.
The Political and Religious leaders brought a case against Him, a case which Pilot the roman governor saw through immediately.
Pilate marvelled at Jesus and remarked on His innocence. He even sought to release Him, but the mob, worked up by the Religious
leaders call for His death.
The chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to have Jesus executed. “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked.
They all answered, “Crucify him!” “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!” When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said.
Despite the love, miracles and wisdom that He had shown, they would shortly put Him to death in one of the most painful ways that history has ever seen.
His was not a normal crucifixion, in addition to the cross itself, the Lord Jesus would have to endure humiliation, severe torture,
a crown of thorns,
'Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him'.
|
|
As Jesus was being crucified there were a number of soldiers at the foot of the cross, men who had seen the terrors of the cross many times, men who had watched others die this death before.
They would be the witnesses to a darkness that shrouded the land as God laid on His only Son, His punishment for mankinds sin.
They would witness the death of the Son of God .....
'Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” From noon
until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?”
(which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.
When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God"'
|
