Less than twelve hours after Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane he was on his way to Golgotha where he was to be crucified. He was required to carry his own cross to the place of crucifixion, but he couldn’t do it.  He was weak from shock, pain and blood loss after being beaten several times and then flogged.

The Roman soldiers conscripted a man named Simon to carry Jesus’ cross for him. Simon was visitng Jerusalem from a town in North Africa called Cyrene. The Greeks had forced Jews to go and live in Cyrene three hundred years earlier, but they never forgot their ties to Jerusalem. Later Cyrene became one of the early centers of Christianity.

Crucifixion

Crucifixion was an ancient form of punishment that dated back to the Assyrian Empire, but the Romans had perfected it and used it frequently. In 4 BC the Romans crucified 2,000 Jews at once for insurrection.

The punishment Jesus received followed the pattern of Roman crucifixion. Before being crucified the victim was severely  wounded by flogging and other physical punishment at the hands of the Roman soldiers. They determined how the person was treated and what became of his belongings, which were divided as part of the soldiers’ compensation.

Before being hung on a cross the condemned were offered a mixture of wine and myrhh, a resin from Commiphora trees. It had sedative and painkilling qualities, but it was also poisonous if consumed in a large enough quantity. When Jesus recognized what it was, he refused it.

Pilate ordered an inscription nailed to the cross that read, “JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.” (John 19:19) The chief priests objected and asked Pilate to change it to say that Jesus claimed to be the king of the Jews, but, “Pilate answered, ‘What I have written, I have written.’” John 19:22

It’s a traditional belief that Jesus was crucified on the crest of a hill, but the Romans didn’t do it that way. They had crucifixion poles permanently in place along busy roads where passersby would see them. The victim carried the crosspiece to the pole where it was affixed high enough that their feet couldn’t touch the ground. People who passed by often distanced themselves from the crucified person by mocking and spitting on them. It was dangerous to show concern for a criminal hanging on a cross.

Jesus Speaks to the Women of Jerusalem

Jerusalem was full of visitors that day and a large number of women followed Jesus to the cross, mourning and wailing for him.

“Jesus turned and said to them, ‘Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children.’” Luke 23:28

Jesus had in mind the days to come when the Romans would sweep through Jerusalem and destroy the temple. The Jews would be forced to flee to the mountains to escape when that time came.

“For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the childless women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ Then ‘they will say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us! and the hills, ‘Cover us!’ For if people do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?” Luke 23:29-31

The Romans were cruelly punishing Jesus, an innocent man, in a time of relative peace. Jesus warned the women that it was going to be worse for them later, when the Romans punished the entire Jewish population.

Scripture controlled Jesus’ mind in his last hours. He quoted Hosea 10:8 to the women,”They will say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us!’” In response to their tears for him. Despite his extreme suffering, Jesus was deeply concerned for these women. He set aside his personal anguish to care for their welfare and warn them to pray about things to come.

The Man Crucified with Jesus

Two men were crucified with Jesus that day, one on each side of him. Mark and Matthew record that both of them joined the crowd in insulting Jesus. But Luke tells us that after awhile one of the men began to think about who Jesus really was.

“One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: ‘Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!’

But the other criminal rebuked him. ‘Don’t you fear God,’ he said, ‘since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.’

Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’

Jesus answered him, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.’” Luke 23:39-43

The man repented at death’s door and Jesus saved him. He was like the laborer in Jesus’ parable who came to work in the vineyard at the last hour and received the same wages as laborers who had been there all day. (Matthew 20:1-16) Jesus loved him as much as he loved everyone else who had ever come to him.

The Apostle Paul explained how this kind of faith works.

“If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, ‘Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame . . . The same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’’” Romans 10:9-13

Jesus Cares for His Mother

There was another band of women who followed Jesus to his crucifixion. They had supported him throughout his ministry and they stood with him to the end. His mother Mary was among them.

Mary could have resented the other “mothers” and “sisters” who had come into Jesus’ life, but instead she bonded with them. She had come to understand what Jesus meant when he said,

“‘Who are my mother and my brothers?’ Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.’” Mark 3:33-35

Jesus’ biological brothers were not believers yet, so when he needed someone to take care of his mother, he thought of his faithful friend John.

When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, ‘Woman, here is your son,’ and to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.” John 19:26-27

The Death of Jesus

Jesus was nailed to the cross at nine in the morning and at noon darkness descended over the land, as if a curtain was drawn over the scene of Jesus’ suffering. There are different ancient accounts of what caused this darkness, from an eclipse of the sun to a sandstorm. Luke simply said, “the sun stopped shining.” Luke 23:45

At three in the afternoon, for the first time since his suffering began, Jesus cried out about his pain. He quoted Psalm 22:1,

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Mark 15:34

Those who heard him thought he was summoning the prophet Elijah. They ran and got him a sponge soaked in vinegar to slake his thirst, then they waited to see what would happen next.

“Jesus called out with a loud voice, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.’ When he had said this, he breathed his last.” Luke 23:46

In the temple the great curtain that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies tore from top to bottom. Jesus had literally opened the way for anyone to come into God’s presence.

Matthew tells us there was a great earthquake that split rocks and shook open tombs.

“The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.” Matthew 27:53

These dead believers received life when Jesus died, then they came out of their tombs when he was resurrected. Matthew tells us there were many eye witnesses to this miracle.

Prophecy Fulfilled

The Jewish leaders wanted to hurry the process of killing Jesus so they could go home for their Sabbath. The Law of Moses forbade leaving a dead body exposed overnight. So they asked the soldiers to break the legs of the men on the cross to speed up their demise and take them down for burial.

When the soldiers came to Jesus, he was already dead so they didn’t break his legs. One of them thrust his spear into Jesus’ side and blood and water flowed out.

“These things happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled: ‘Not one of his bones will be broken.’ And as another Scripture says, ‘They will look on the one they have pierced.’” John 19:36-37

The death of Jesus was like no other. He kept a quiet, loving, and self-sacrificing spirit to the end. He offered life and salvation to whoever would receive it even when he barely had any breath left in his body. His last thoughts were of his Father whom he loved and whose presence he longed for with all his heart.

In the end all that mattered to Jesus was that his Father’s will be done. The last words the Apostle John heard him say were,

“‘It is finished.’ With that he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” John 19:30

The work of salvation – promised to Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Moses, King David, and all the prophets and believers in the Old Testament – was finished. The identity of the Messiah was finally revealed. As Jesus said in his own words:

“Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you from the beginning.” John 17:3-5