23 On The Crucifixion
King David, who reigned in Judah from about 1010 to 1003 BC and then combined his kingdom with Israel till his death in 970 BC, about a millennium before Christ’s death, wrote of His crucifixion in the 22nd Psalm. It is curious to note that capital punishment in Israel was administered by stoning. Crucifixion was invented by the Persians 400 to 500 years after David’s reign. Ahasuerus, Xerxes to the Greeks, reigned in Persia from 485 to 464 BC. During this span, the Jews’ enemy, Haman, was hanged per Esther 7:10 on a gallows 50 cubits (about 75 feet) high, but actually he was impaled.
Psalm 22:1 “My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me? Matthew 27:46 Why are You so far from helping Me, And from the words of My groaning? 2 O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear; And in the night season and am not silent.
3 But You are holy, Enthroned in the praises of Israel. 4 Our fathers trusted in You; They trusted, and You delivered them.
5 They cried to You, and were delivered;
They trusted in You, and were not ashamed.
6 But I am a worm and no man;
A reproach of men, and despised by the people
7 All those who see Me ridicule Me;
They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, Matthew 27:39
8 “He trusted in the LORD, let Him rescue Him; Matthew 27:43
Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!”
9 But You are He who took Me out of the womb;
You made Me trust while on My mother’s breasts.
10 I was cast upon You from birth.
From My mother’s womb
You have been My God.
11 Be not far from Me,
For trouble is near;
For there is none to help.
12 Many bulls have surrounded Me;
Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled Me.
13 They gape at Me with their mouths.
Like a raging and roaring lion. (Bashan referred to the Golan Heights noted for their cattle, but also a stronghold of the Nephilim, the mighty men or giants of Genesis 6:1- 4, the offspring of the sons of God, i.e. fallen angels who had intercourse with earthly women. The Nephilim were killed by Noah’s flood. They became disembodied spirits or demons, the lowest level of Satan’s supernatural army. Of course, they seek embodiment. On the cross, Christ could discern His supposed victors, leering at Him from the world of the spirits.)
14 I am poured out like water,
And all my bones are out of joint;
My heart is like wax.
It has melted within Me.
15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
And My tongue clings to My jaws;
You have brought Me to the dust of death. (NOTE: The Passover Lamb had to be drained of blood, and Christ describes His hypovolemic shock and thirst following His scourging by the Romans. The flagellum used in the whipping by the soldiers had three leather straps with bone or metal at the ends designed to tear and rip the flesh.)
16 For dogs have surrounded Me; (NOTE: Dogs was the term the Jews used for the Gentiles. I suspect here it refers to Christ’s view of the self-righteous priests who surrounded Him and jeered at Him on the cross, the true dogs in this case.) The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me.
They pierced My hands and My feet.
17 I can count all my bones.
They look and stare at Me.
18 They divide My garments among them Matthew 27:35
And for My clothing they cast lots.
19 But You, O LORD, do not be far from Me;
O My Strength, hasten to help Me!
20 Deliver Me from the sword,
My precious life from the power of the dog. (Again the self-righteous priests)
21 Save Me from the lion’s mouth
And from the horns of the wild oxen.
You have answered Me.
22 I will declare Your name to My brethren;
In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.
23 You who fear the LORD, praise Him!
All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him.
And fear Him, all you offspring of Israel!
24 For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted;
Nor has He hidden His face from Him;
But when He cried to Him, He heard.
25 My praise shall be of You in the great assembly;
I will pay My vows before those who fear Him.
26 The poor shall eat and be satisfied;
Those who seek Him shall praise the LORD.
27 All the ends of the world
Shall remember and turn to the LORD, And all the families of the nations
Shall worship before You.
28 For the kingdom is the LORD’s,
And He rules over the nations.
29 All the prosperous of the earth
Shall eat and worship;
All those who go down to the dust
Shall bow before Him,
Even he who cannot keep himself alive.
30 A posterity shall serve Him.
It will be recounted of the LORD to the next generation.
31 They will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born (NOTE: the church),
That He has done this.
The prophet Daniel was given the seventy weeks prophecy in Daniel 9:24-27. This gave the precise day the LORD would come to the Jewish nation.
24 Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city,
To finish the transgression,
To make an end of sins,
To make reconciliation for iniquity (the crucifixion),
To bring in everlasting righteousness (the return of Christ to reign),
To seal up vision and prophecy,
And to anoint the Most Holy (I had thought this was the crowning of Messiah, but the experts say this refers to the Temple being dedicated).
25 Know therefore and understand
That from the going forth of the command
To restore and rebuild Jerusalem
Until Messiah the Prince,
There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks;
The street shall be built again and the wall,
Even in troublesome times.
26 And after the sixty-two weeks
Messiah shall be cut off (NOTE: killed),
But not for Himself;
And the people of the prince who is to come
Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.
The end of it shall be with a flood,
And till the end of the war desolations are determined.
Now the Jews had returned to rebuild the Temple around 536 BC. From the above verses, it is clear that the Messiah will come 69 weeks (69 X 7 = 483 years) after the order goes out to rebuild the ruined city of Jerusalem. Nehemiah was the cupbearer to the Persian king, Artaxerxes. Per Nehemiah 2:1
And it came to pass in the month of Nisan (March- April), in the 20th year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, that I (Nehemiah) took the wine and gave it to him. Now I had never been sad in his presence before. (NOTE: Small wonder as it was a capital crime.) 2 Therefore the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing but sorrow of heart.” So I became dreadfully afraid 3 and said to the king, “May the king liver forever! Why should my face not be sad, when the city the place of my fathers’ tombs, lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire?” 4 Then the king said to me, “What is your request?” So I prayed to the God of Heaven. 5 And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it.” 6 Then the king said to me (the queen also sitting beside him), “How long will your journey be? And when will you return? So it pleased the king to send me, and I set him a time.
The above sets the date for the beginning of the 483 years. It began in the month of Nisan which is usually in March to April. However, the phrasing of the letter indicates it was on the first day of Nisan, i.e. the date is specific. It was in the 20th year of the reign of the Persian king, Artaxerxes. Apparently, there is an argument on when this was- either 444 or 445 BC. When a king assumed his throne in the ancient world, some dated their reign to the first day as king, whereas others to the first year, regardless of the day of the year when they assumed office. Others dated it to the first full year. For example, if America was a kingdom, and the king assumed office with our calendar on 2 January, 2020, his reign would begin his first full year of 2021. In any event, when Christ came, it was the Messianic Age. The Jews were eagerly awaiting their Messiah. If we assume, the date began in the year 444 BC, then it would end in 40 Anno Domini, Latin for in the year of our LORD. Now, the colleges have replaced AD with CE for the Common Era, and BC being Before Christ with BCE, Before the Common Era. If the order to rebuild Jerusalem went out in 445 BC, then it would end on 39 AD. Remember, the year after 1 BC is 1 AD, i.e. there is no year zero. So the Jews fully expected their Messiah to come in the year 39 or 40 AD, but God threw them a curve, and they missed it.
Genesis 7:11 In the 600th year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
Genesis 7:24 And the waters prevailed on the earth one hundred and fifty days.
Genesis 8:4 Then the ark rested in the seventh month, the seventeenth day of the month on the mountains of Ararat.
These verses suggest that the original calendar could have been 30 days per month, or 5 months giving us 150 days. The present calendar would only work from February to June for 150 days assuming no leap year. But the calendar of the Bible beginning in the second month would begin in October or November. Of course, in Exodus 12:2 circa 1446 BC, God changed the order of the months, i.e. the first month became the seventh month and the seventh month became the first. It is interesting to note that the ark rested on what likely became the annual Feast of Firstfruits per Genesis 8:4 above, after the Exodus circa 1446 BC.
Do we have any evidence to support this? We have ancient calendars from Japan, China, India, Babylon, Assyria, Israel, Egypt, Greece, Rome, and the Yucatan. They all had calendars of 12 months and 30 days per month. Likely, this means the moon revolved around the earth in 30 days rather than the present 29.53 days per Google. The Jews have a very peculiar calendar at present. As the moon revolves around the earth in about 29 and a half days, they alternate months of 29 and 30 days in their year. They do this because the Feasts of the LORD given to Moses all require full moons save one- the Feast of Trumpets on the present seventh month of Tishri on day 1. To do this, they must have a calendar based on the phases of the moon and the cycle of the sun. Hence, after 12 months, they only have 354 days. To compensate for the fewer days, they have a 19 year cycle in which they add a day to the twelfth month of Adar plus a 29 day month called Second Adar on the third, sixth, eighth, eleventh, fourteenth, seventeenth, and nineteenth years of the cycle. They also add a few other days from time to time. Also, of interest, a Jewish day goes from sunset to sunset. Hence, the Jewish Sabbath or Shabbat, begins at sunset on Friday and ends on sunset on Saturday.
Is there any other evidence of this calendar? How many degrees are there in a circle? 360. This probably predates the change in the calendar from 360 day years to the present 365.2422. When Mohammed captured Mecca circa 630 AD, he destroyed 360 stone idols that surrounded the Ka’aba, the black stone. The Arabians likely had an idol for every day of the old calendar.
There is also evidence for this in the Bible in that twice in Daniel the Bible refers to time, times, and half a time with times in the original language referring to two times, not indefinite plural (Daniel 7:25 and 12:7, and also Revelation 12:14). Revelation refers to 42 months in Revelation 11:2 and again in 13:5. 1260 days are noted in Revelation 12:6. Of course, 360 times 3 ½ equals 1260 days as does 42 months of 30 days each.
I have read that the calendars changed around 701 BC, the same year an angel of the LORD killed 185,000 Assyrians outside the walls of Jerusalem. I have also read that Hezekiah, the king at the time, was the author of the new calendar.
In any event, the current thoughts are that the LORD was crucified in either 32 or 33 AD. From my readings, 1 Nisan in 445 BC was on March 14. 483 years times 360 days/year equal 173,880 days. The Messiah should have come on 6 April, 32 AD. This falls on the tenth of Nisan, the day per Exodus 12:3 when the man of the household took a lamb for the Feast of Passover on 14 Nisan. It was presented to the priests to make sure it was perfect for the Feast. The whole carcass had to be roasted attached or tied to a pole per Exodus 12:8,9, just as Christ was attached to the cross. On this day, Christ rode the donkey’s colt into Jerusalem. If we use 1 Nisan in 444 BC, it falls on 5 March. 69 Biblical years later falls on 30 March, 33 AD, which is also 10 Nisan, a difference of 7 days between the two dates. If there were two 354 day years back to back, as is often the case in the Jewish cycle of 19 years, then the difference would be eleven days, but on certain years, an additional day is added to certain Jewish months. It is very close. I suspect one of these two dates is accurate to the day, i.e. Christ presented Himself to the priests on 10 Nisan as a fit sacrifice for the sins of mankind, but the Jews missed it. They thought the Messiah would come in another seven to nine years based on the 365 ¼ day calendar year. Christ was too early, or so they thought, but imagine the power of God who changed the calendar year from 360 to 365.2422 days, and the cycle of the moon from 30 days to 29.53
circa 701 BC.
On to Matthew 21:1 – 11
1 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me.
3 “And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The LORD has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.”
4 All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:”
5 “Tell the daughter of Zion
Behold, your King is coming to you,
Lowly, and sitting on a donkey,
A colt, the foal of a donkey.”’
6 So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them.
7 They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them.
8 And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
9 Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:
“Hosanna to the Son of David!
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD! (per Psalm 118:26)
Hosanna in the highest!”
10 And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?”
11 So the multitudes said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.”
NOTE: The King or Messiah was expected to enter Jerusalem on a donkey’s colt per Zechariah 9:9.
On to Luke 19:28-44
19 When He had said this, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.
29 And it came to pass when He drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain called Olivet, that He sent two of His disciples,
30 saying, “Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Loose it and bring it here.
NOTE: For a holy purpose, it was important that no one had ever sat on the colt before.
31 “And if anyone asks you, ‘Why are you loosing it?’ thus you shall say to him, “Because the LORD has need of it." 32 So those who were sent went their way and found it just as he had said to them.
33 But as they were loosing the colt, the owners of it said to them, “Why are you loosing the colt?”
34 And they said, “The LORD has need of him.”
35 Then they brought him to Jesus.
And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him.
36 And as He went, many spread their clothes on the road.
37 Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen,
38 saying;
“’Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD!’
”Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
39 And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.”:
NOTE: The Pharisees knew that by riding the donkey’s colt into Jerusalem, He was proclaiming Himself to be the Messiah. The people were greeting Him in a manner that He was clearly the Messiah, and the Pharisees were mortified. It could not be Him- this illegitimate, itinerant prophet from the Galilee!
40 But He answered and said to them, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.”
NOTE: Several times before this, he had been asked to answer if He were the Messiah, but He had declined to answer, because He awaited this time, the end of the 69 weeks prophecy to the day. Only then could He declare Himself to be the Messiah in accordance with the Scriptures. And He did! And if the crowd had not acknowledged Him as the Messiah, I believe the stones would indeed have cried out!
41 Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it.
42 saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace? But now they are hidden from your eyes.
43. “For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you, and close you in on every side.
44 “and level you, and your children within you to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”
NOTE: The people and their priests were to be held accountable for not knowing the end of the 69 weeks prophecy. And the price would be the siege and destruction of Jerusalem ending in 70 AD or 38 years after His crucifixion when the Jews would be scattered to the four winds in the Diaspora.
On to Matthew 26:1
1 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, that He said to His disciples,
2 “You know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified."
3 Then the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people assembled at the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas
4 and plotted to take Jesus by trickery and kill Him.
5 But they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people.
(NOTE: The priests meant to kill Jesus, but they feared they could not control the mob at Passover. After all, they had acknowledged Jesus as the Messiah, when He entered Jerusalem. The mob might turn on them.)
On to John 13:21-30
21 When Jesus had said these things, He was troubled in spirit, and testified and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.”
22 Then the disciples looked at one another, perplexed about whom He spoke.
23 Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved (John).
24 Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask who it was of whom He spoke.
25 Then, leaning back on Jesus’ breast, he said to Him, “LORD, who is it?”
26 Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I shall give a piece of bread when I have dipped it.’ And having dipped the bread, He gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.
27 Now after the piece of bread. Satan entered him. Then Jesus said to him, “What you do, do quickly.”
(NOTE: Jesus is in control. The priests had ruled out taking him during the feast, but He forced Judas’ hand. Judas had to fish or cut bait, so the LORD became the Passover Lamb through events He controlled, not Judas or the priests.)
28 But no one at the table knew for what reason He said this to him.
29 For some thought because Judas had the money box, that Jesus had said to him, “Buy those things we need for the feast.” or that he should give something to the poor.
30 Having received the piece of bread, he then went out immediately. And it was night.
On to Matthew 27:32-54 as Christ carries His cross
32 Now as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. Him they compelled to bear His cross.
33 And when they had come to a place called Golgotha, that is to say Place of the Skull.
(NOTE: Perry Stone has an interesting take on this. He says Golgotha represents Goliath of Gath per 1 Samuel 17:4. This was where David apparently buried the giant’s head near Jerusalem after he decapitated him per 1 Samuel 17:54. This is curious as it was a Jebusite city, that David did not take till about 1003 BC, or about 20 years after killing the giant. If one goes to the temple mount, the legend is that this is where Abraham offered Isaac, the site of which is inside the Muslim Dome of the Rock. Some Muslims believe it is where Abraham offered Ishmael, though most believe this was in Mecca. The mosque is supposedly the one from which Mohammed ascended to heaven on his horse Barak in a night journey though the Islamics did not take Jerusalem till two years after Mohammed’s death.
However, this is part of a ridge, and the ridge goes higher outside the city wall. In 1883, the British general, Charles “Chinese” Gordon, a noted Christian, went to Jerusalem. He noted the ridge went higher outside the city at a place that from the city looked like a skull from a distance. Many believe this higher place outside the city wall was where Christ was crucified. A nearby empty garden tomb was to many where Christ was buried, though an expert in our time noted it was constructed in the 6th century BC, not the newly cut tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. Before Gordon, Christ’s crucifixion and burial sites were believed to be in what became the Church of the Holy Sepulcher within Jerusalem.
General Gordon was immortalized by Charlton Heston in the 1966 historical movie epic Khartoum. From Jerusalem, Gordon went to the Sudan circa 1884. Years earlier, he had crushed the black slave trade by the northern Arabs. They were incensed over this and rose up to regain the trade after he left. Gordon reached Khartoum and hoped the British would send an army to rescue him from the besieging Mahdi, the Muslim savior of the day. Gordon was beheaded when the Mahdi captured the city circa 1885, a few days before a British relief column arrived.)
34 They gave Him sour wine mingled with gall to drink. But when He had tasted it. He would not drink.
35 Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments casting lots that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet: “They divided My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.”
36 Sitting down, they kept watch over Him there.
37 And they put up over His head the accusation written against Him:
This is Jesus
The King of the Jews
38. Then two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and another on the left.
39 And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads
40 and saying, “You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.”
41 Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said,
42 “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him.
43 “He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, “I am the Son of God.”’
NOTE: Could the university professors who have said, “Christ never said He was the Son of God,” possibly be wrong? John 4:25-26; Matthew 26:63-64; Mark 14:61-62; and Luke 22:70.
44 Even the robbers who were crucified with Him reviled Him with the same thing.
NOTE: Both the robbers reviled Him.
45 Now from the sixth hour (noon) until the ninth hour (3 pm) there was darkness over all the land.
(NOTE: This seems too long for a solar eclipse, and one cannot get a solar eclipse when the moon is full, a requirement for Passover. Ken Johnson Th.D. wrote that three Roman historians recorded a day of darkness during the reign of Tiberius Caesar. Two of the three commented that it could not be a solar eclipse because it occurred at the time of a full moon (Robert Cornuke, Golgotha: Searching for the True Location of Christ’s Crucifixion, 2016, 46) Mark Biltz in his 2014 book Blood Moons noted there was a total lunar eclipse on Passover in 32 AD and a partial lunar eclipse in 33 AD. In a total lunar eclipse the moon turns red and is referred to as a blood moon. Lunar eclipses are bad omens for Israel, whereas solar eclipses are bad for the Gentiles. Remember, this darkness from noon to 3 pm was too long for a solar eclipse.)
46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Elli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
(NOTE: With crucifixion, He had taken on all the sins of the world that would ever be. His eternal fellowship with the Father, whom before He had always called Abba (Father) had to be broken for the first and only time. He was in our place. Hence, He called out “My God, My God,…” in our place. And the only thing that held Him to that cross was His love for us. Socrates was reported to have said, “It may be Deity can forgive sin, but I don’t see how!” Christ in the crucifixion illustrated how.)
47 Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, “This Man is calling for Elijah!”
48 Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filed it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink. 49 The rest said, “Let Him alone, let us see if Elijah will come to save Him.”
50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. 51 Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom (NOTE: I presume someone must have been in the temple at the time and that the tearing was slow for otherwise how would you know?) and the earth quaked and the rocks were split, 52 and the graves were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised (NOTE: I had presumed this would be Elisha, Jeremiah, Isaiah, and such, but what about John the Baptist? His appearance would have created quite a stir, and since anyone who goes to heaven is a saint, there could have been many who had recently died, and who would have been well known to the public. I suspect the graves were opened by the earthquake, but the saints did not come out till Christ’s resurrection on the Feast of Firstfruits within the one-week Feast of Unleavened Bread, always from Saturday at sunset to Sunday at sunset per Leviticus. Christ was the Firstfruit of the grave, but it is plural, so the saints also came forth, whose tombs were opened by the earthquake at His death.)
53 and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.
54 So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God!”
On to Luke 23:26-54
26 Now as they led Him away, they laid hold of a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, who was coming from the country, and on him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus.
27 And a great multitude of the people followed Him, and women who also mourned and lamented Him. 28 Jesus, turning to them, said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me , but weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 “For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, wombs that never bore, and breasts which never nursed!’
30 “Then they will begin to say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!”
31 For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry!”
32 There were also two others, criminals, led with Him to be put to death.
33 And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left.
34 Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” And they divided His garments and cast lots.
35 And the people stood looking on. But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God.”
36 The soldiers also mocked Him, coming and offering Him sour wine,
37 and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save Yourself.” 38 And an inscription also was written over Him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. 39 Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ , save Yourself and us."
40 But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation?
41 "And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” 42 Then he said to Jesus, “LORD, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”
NOTE: Remember per Matthew 24:44, initially both reviled Him, but then one had a change of heart.
43 And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
44 Now it was about the sixth hour (noon), and there was darkness over the earth until the ninth hour (3 pm) (NOTE: We are not told what the darkness was. It is too long for a solar eclipse, and solar eclipses cannot occur during a full moon. Passover always has a full moon.)
45 Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two. (NOTE: Per Josephus, the temple veil was so thick that no one man could possibly tear it, other than, perhaps, Samson.)
46 And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, into your hands I commit My spirit.” Having said this, He breathed His last.
47 So when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, “Certainly this was a righteous Man!” 48 And the whole crowd who came together to that sight, seeing what had been done, beat their breasts and returned.
49 But all His acquaintances, and the women who followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things. 50 Now behold, there was a man named Joseph, a council member, a good and just man.
51 He had not consented to their decision and deed. He was from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who himself was also waiting for the kingdom of God.
52 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.
53 Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a tomb that was hewn out of the rock, where no one had ever lain before.
54 That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near.
On to John 19:16-37,
16 Then he (Pilate) delivered Him to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus and led Him away.
17 And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha, 18 where they crucified Him, and two others with Him, one on either side, and Jesus in the center.
19 Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was:
JESUS OF NAZARETH
THE KING OF THE JEWS
20 Then many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.
21 Therefore the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The king of the Jews,’ but ‘He said, “I am the King of the Jews.”’
(NOTE: Now, why on earth would this upset the priests, so much that they would return to the city to see Pilate and complain about this? Because they were into acrostics like Psalm 119. They were trained to look at the first letter of any group of words and string them together. In this case the first letters would have spelled YHWH, the tetragrammaton, the name of God Almighty to Moses from the burning bush. You can bet they were furious at Pilate for writing this in Hebrew. Pilate had tried to free Jesus unsuccessfully, and this was his payback to the priests, who had thwarted his efforts.)
22 Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”
23 Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and also the tunic. Now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top in one piece.
24 They said therefore among themselves, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be.” That the Scripture might be fulfilled which says: They divided My garments among them. And for My clothing they cast lots.” (Psalm 22:18) Therefore the soldiers did these things.
25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.
26 When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved (John), standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!”
27 Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” and from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.
(NOTE: This is rather curious because we know Jesus had four half-brothers, at least two of whom became His followers- “old camel knees” James and Jude, plus Joses and Simon and at least two sisters per Mark 6:3, so why is he transferring her care to John? I suspect because he knew great persecution would be coming to Jerusalem and its environs, and he wished her to be safe. Supposedly, she died in Ephesus with John, the only one of His disciples to die a natural death.)
28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst!”
29 Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there, and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth. 30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit (NOTE: Tetelestai is what Christ said in the Greek. It can also be translated as “Paid in full!” and was said when a debt had been discharged. So when He took on Himself all the sins of the world past, present and future, He could say, “Paid in full!”)
31 Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken. (NOTE: Crucifixion was an agonizing death. From it, we get the word excruciating. If, when standing, you put your arms out to the side parallel to the ground and then raise them a bit, it locks your rib cage. The only way you can breathe on the cross is to use your legs to push yourself up and then down to get air into and out of your chest. Of course, Christ’s back was already a bloody mess, adding even more pain to the never-ending up and down motion till fatigue led to His death. If the legs were broken, you could not raise yourself up and you were asphyxiated.
The Sabbath about to begin at sunset was a high day. What does this mean? Passover was on Nisan 14 followed immediately by the one-week Feast of Unleavened Bread on Nisan 15- 21. The first and last or seventh day of Unleavened Bread were considered high Sabbaths, i.e. they were considered Sabbath days regardless of the day of the week. Curiously, the foundation of all the feasts, Passover, was not a high Sabbath. Hence, Christ was crucified on Passover, Nisan 14, and they wished to bury His body before sundown began the high Sabbath of Nisan 15. In Christianity, we have Palm Sunday followed by Good Friday when He was sacrificed for us. If true, Palm Sunday would have been Nisan 10, followed by Passover on Friday, Nisan 15, but Passover is Nissan 14, so something is wrong. Per Matthew 28:1 Now after the Sabbath as the first day of the week (Saturday sunset to Sunday sunset) began to dawn, May Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. But this is not the Greek translation which has Sabbaths, i.e. it is plural. Hence, Christ was crucified not on Friday, but Thursday, or perhaps Wednesday with the in-between day, Thursday, to prepare the spices. It is quite clear that the tomb was empty with the stone rolled away on the first day of the week, i.e. Sunday from the verse in Matthew above, but also Mark 16:2, Luke 24:1, and John 20:1. Christ was the Firstfruit of the grave, which is always on Saturday sunset to Sunday sunset, the day after the Sabbath per Leviticus 23:11. Fifty days later was the Feast of Weeks, Pentecost, also always on a Saturday sunset to Sunday sunset, when the church was born per Acts 2:1- 4. Christians worship on Sunday because of His resurrection and the birth of the church on this day of the week. One source noted the Jews changed Firstfruits from the day after the regular Jewish Sabbath to the day after the first high Sabbath, which would be Nisan 15 in the first century AD. In other words, the feasts worked like this- Nisan 14 – Passover, followed by Nisan 15- the first day and high Sabbath of the first day of Unleavened Bread’s week, followed by Nisan 16- Firstfruits. If Christ were crucified on Friday, then it would be hard for him to be resurrected the third day by this new way of doing things. To me, Leviticus 23:11 refers to Firstfruits as the day after the regular Jewish Sabbath within the one-week Feast of Unleavened Bread.
Some experts have written that the Jews considered parts of the day a full day. Hence, if crucified on Friday, He was put on the cross at 9 am, the third hour per Mark 15:25, the time of the morning sacrifice, and He died at about 3 pm, the ninth hour per Mark 15:34,37; Matthew 27:46, 48; and Luke 23:44- 46, the time of the evening sacrifice- just one long six hour sacrifice on Passover. His tomb was nearby, but they had to get him off the cross and into the tomb before sunset. So they had a few hours at most for the first day. Friday sunset to Saturday sunset was day 2. And He was resurrected between Saturday sunset and the dawn of Sunday, again another part of a day, or one full day and two parts equaling three. The timing seems much better for a Thursday or even a Wednesday crucifixion with the in-between day to prepare the spices for the latter.)
Back to John 19:32
32 Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him.
33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.
34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.
35 And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe.
36 For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, “not one of His bones shall be broken (NOTE: Referring to the Passover lamb of Exodus 12:46)
37 And again another Scripture says, “They shall look on Him whom they pierced.” (per Zechariah 12:10)
Mark has an interesting account of resurrection Sunday morning per chapter 16; 1 Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome bought spices that they might come and anoint Him. 2 Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. 3 And they said among themselves, “Who will roll away the stone from the door of tomb for us?” (Remember in Matthew 27:66 the tomb had been sealed by the Romans. Anyone who broke that seal incurred the wrath of Rome. Yet they went anyway. Perhaps they did not know.) 4 But when they looked up, they saw the stone had been rolled away- for it was very large. 5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. 6 But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. 7 “But go, tell His disciples- and Peter- that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you.” (NOTE: Wasn’t Peter one of the disciples? Apparently, Peter was distinctive from them for the night when he had denied Him three times. The above words would have special significance in this gospel. Though written by Mark, it is thought to be the account of Peter. He would find these words unbearable since it indicated he had lost his discipleship, till the LORD restored him in John 21:15 when He asked Peter three times if he loved Him.
The earliest prophecy of the Bible, the protoevangelicum, gave a hint of the crucifixion. Per Genesis 3:15 (God speaking to Satan)
And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her Seed.
He shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel.
The woman does not have seed. She is the field. The man’s sperm is the seed normally. However, this refers to a virgin birth without the woman requiring a man for this Child. Of interest, Satan will also have seed- the anti-Christ most likely, but were there others such as Hitler, Stalin, Genghis Khan, etc.?
I have seen paintings of the crucifixion. Usually one forefoot is placed over the other and a nail driven down to secure both, but this would require a small stand and likely another nail to secure the stand to the cross. Nails were expensive, and, likely, removed after a crucifixion. In 1968, the bones of only one person who had been crucified were discovered. A nail was driven through the heel bone from the side, but the bone was not broken. Hence, no stand was needed. The nail was left in the heel because it hit a knot and was bent . It could no longer be removed easily from the body, so it was left in rather than damage the body further.
One of the so-called discrepancies of the Bible is noted in the Synoptic or first three gospels when compared to John. Matthew 27: 45, 46 note darkness over the land from the 6th (noon) to the 9th hour (3 pm) with His death thereafter. Mark 15:25 notes He was crucified at the 3rd hour (9 am); 15:33, 34; darkness from 6th to 9th hour with death at the ninth hour. Luke 23:44 notes darkness 6th to 9th hour and death. But then John 19:14 notes Pilate saying at the 6th hour to the mob, “Behold your king!” How can this be?
It is thought the gospel of Matthew was written in the late 50s to early 60s AD; Mark, mid to late 50s to mid to late 60s; Luke before 65 AD. John was written between 70 and 100 AD. Some scholars say it was written after Revelation which is usually dated to the 90s AD. The first three gospels used Jewish time. John was written much later, and likely he had a Gentile congregation. Hence, John would use Roman time with the 6th hour here being 6 am.
In John 20:11-17, Mary Magdalene, a fervent follower of Christ, goes to the open tomb and speaks with an angel. She then fails to recognize Jesus outside the tomb, until He spoke her name in verse 16. Why did she fail to recognize Him? Perhaps Isaiah 50:6 explains it.
Isaiah 50:6 I gave My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting. Apparently, they plucked out His beard before the crucifixion.
Christ had said about the Temple in Luke 21:6 that “not one stone would be left upon another that shall not be thrown down.” Why would the Romans go to such trouble? Because the Temple had a gold dome and when a torch ignited the flammable portions of the Temple, the gold melted and ran between the stones.
In 2016, Robert Cornuke published Golgotha: Searching for the True Location of Christ’s Crucifixion. He makes a persuasive case that Golgotha was east of the Temple, and that the Temple was completely destroyed by the Romans, even the foundation. The temple mount with its wailing wall was not where the Temple was located. Instead it was the home of the local Roman legion of 6,000 with 4,000 supporting personnel. He elaborated on Matthew 27:51- 53 that at Christ’s death when the earth quaked and the graves were opened, that the earth in front of the crucifixion site fell away, opening the graves from which the saints came out at Christ’s resurrection. His book had pictures of the open tombs still visible after almost 2,000 years. Cornuke then published in 2017 Temple: Amazing New Discoveries that Change Everything About the Location of Solomon’s Temple. Records show that Solomon’s Temple had a water source to wash away the blood of the sacrifices, but water was brought in by aqueduct to the temple mount. Apparently, in 1517, the Ottoman Turks took over Jerusalem. The sultan, Suleiman the Magnificent, had a dream that he would be devoured by lions if he did not build the walls of Jerusalem. Consequently, he built them with one gate known as the lion gate. He also fulfilled Isaiah 60:10 The sons of foreigners shall build up your walls... Apparently, when Jerusalem was rebuilt, they left out a portion of the city, a projection from the main city with its walls very close together, to save money. This was the original city of David where the Temple had been located allowing the prophecy of Micah 4:12 … Zion shall be plowed like a field… to come true. If Cornuke is correct, the Israelis could rebuild the Temple, and leave the Dome of the Rock standing.
-Gentry