Shownotes
Welcome to Day 2184 of Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.
This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom
The Gospel of John – 39 – Death On A Cross – Daily Wisdom
Putnam Church Message – 11/13/2022The Gospel of John – Part 5: Vindication of the Word – Death on a Cross
Today we continue our series on the Good News according to John the Apostle. Last week, we focused on the three trials before the Roman officials, as Jesus was turned over for crucifixion by the High Priest and Sanhedrin. The Roman officials know that Jesus is not guilty of any crimes, and certainly of the death penalty, but they cave to the political pressures in a “Rush To Judgment.” Our scripture for today is John 19:17-37, starting on page 1684 in the Pew Bible. After a mockery of the six illegal trials, Jesus was turned over for crucifixion. Today’s message will focus on what crucifixion entails. Follow along as I read beginning in 19-17. The Crucifixion of Jesus So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. 17 Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). 18 There they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle. 19 Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the jews. 20 Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. 21 The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.” 22 Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.” 23 When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. 24 “Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.” This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled that said, “They divided my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment." Psalm 22:18 So this is what the soldiers did. 25 Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son," 27 and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home. The Death of Jesus 28 Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” 29 A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. 30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. 31 Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. 32 The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. 33 But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34 Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. 35 The man (John) who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. 36 These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,"37 and as another scripture says, "They will look on the one they have pierced." Zech 12:10. Regardless of one’s position on the merits or morality of execution as a form of justice, everyone should agree there is nothing pleasant or attractive about putting someone to death. All instruments of death are ugly and brutal by their very nature, and trying to make them less horrific would be absurd. Nevertheless, execution has come a long way since the days of Christ; even the last one hundred years have seen significant changes. Modern methods of capital punishment differ from ancient methods in two significant ways. First, modern executions are done privately, keeping the witnesses’ gallery as small as possible. Ancient executions were public spectacles with an almost carnival-like atmosphere. The express purpose of a public execution was its perceived value as a deterrent to similar crimes. Second, modern executions are designed to bring on death as swiftly and painlessly as possible. Ancient methods were painstakingly crafted to extend the dying process as long as possible, while maximizing agony. Of all methods of execution, whether ancient or modern, none rival the practice of crucifixion in terms of cruelty. The ancient orator Cicero described crucifixion as “the worst extreme of the tortures inflicted upon slaves.” Tacitus called it a “despicable death.” According to the Greek historian Herodotus, the Persians invented the practice after experimenting with other means of delaying death, such as stoning, drowning, burning, boiling in oil, strangulation, and flaying. Eventually, the Persians began impaling particularly detestable criminals or enemies to keep them from defiling the ground, which their god, Ormuzd, had made sacred. Alexander the Great adopted crucifixion, which influenced the four generals who succeeded him, and passed it to the Carthaginians. The Romans inherited the practice from the Carthaginians and found new ways to extend death and maximize pain. Crucifixion combined four qualities the Romans prized most in an execution: unrelenting agony, protracted death, public spectacle, and utter humiliation. The victim typically endured scourging before the crucifixion. The lictor could affect how long a person would survive on a cross by adjusting the degree to which he injured the victim. If the executioner wanted the victim to die quickly, a scourge with jagged bits of sheep bone braided into the tails would rapidly cause shock so that death occurred swiftly. On the other hand, a lighter scourging with simple leather straps could result in the person lasting as long as a week on the cross. Merrill Unger states there are “instances on record of persons surviving for nine days.” This was the physical character of crucifixion that Jesus faced. The spiritual dimensions of His suffering are unimaginable. In taking my place on the cross, He bore the penalty of my sin,/ which is eternity in torment. He also suffered your penalty, which is also eternity in torment. This penalty, compounded by the sin of countless billions of individuals, poured out on the Son as He hung on the cross. By this act of sacrifice, Christ confronted evil on a cosmic level and, through His suffering, ensured its defeat. But we should not cling to the notion that Jesus was a helpless victim of a failed plan. Jesus did not die a martyr’s death, nor did He die before completing His intended mission. On the contrary, while Pilate deluded himself with the notion that he wielded the power of life and death over Jesus, he had none. He handed the death sentence obediently to his inescapable compulsions and perfect harmony with God’s sovereign plan (Ps. 22; Isa. 53; Acts 2:22–23; 3:18). Jesus began His lonely march toward His destined glory at the appointed hour. But before entering the light of the resurrection, He had to travel through darkness and suffering. 19:17 None of the Gospels mention much about the Lord’s procession to the place of crucifixion, probably because it was a familiar sight to first-century readers all across the empire—as common as a funeral procession. The victim stood at the center of an imaginary square, with a soldier posted at each corner and the commander of the detail in the lead. The execution detail was called a quarter/nio, which served under the command of an exactor mortis. Recent historical and archeological findings have shed more insight into the practice of crucifixion. The victim was typically forced—if he was physically able after scourging—to carry the crossbeam (called the patibulum) to the waiting vertical post (called the stipes). A sign called a titulus hung around the victim’s neck, bearing his name and a list of his crimes. The sign was nailed above the victim’s head so that everyone would know why he was hung to die once he was lifted up on the cross. The Romans had designated a place outside Jerusalem to crucify criminals. The locals nicknamed it “the place of the skull,” perhaps because an outcropping of rock looked like a skull, or merely because it was a place of death. Three had been sentenced to die that day. Undoubtedly, more would suffer there within the next week. 19:18 John’s readers needed no more description of Jesus’ mode of execution than the short phrase, “they crucified Him.” The details of the method were indelibly etched on their minds. However, twenty-first-century Westerners need historians and scientists’ help to understand this terrible ordeal’s nature. The execution detail laid the patibulum on the ground and attached it to the top of the stipes, using a mortise and tenon joint to form a giant capital T. The victim was stripped naked and placed against the wood, and attached to the cross with his arms outstretched and feet flat against the face of the stipes. The victim was usually tied to the cross rather than nailed. Nails were expensive, and the Romans wanted to extend the process of dying, which took much longer when suspended with rope instead of nails. Sometimes, to delay death and to prolong the victim’s agony, the executioner attached a sedile (seat) between the victim’s legs. If, however, the executioner wanted to hasten death, he nailed the victim to the cross through the base of the palms and the tops of the feet. Simulations and close examination of historical records reveal that death usually came from exposure, dehydration, starvation, or fatigue asphyxia. In the case of asphyxia, the victim became too exhausted, dehydrated, and malnourished to pull in his next breath, which led to suffocation. A victim nailed to a cross, like someone tied in place, /also had to keep his body in constant motion to relieve the pain in his arms, chest, and legs, which only agitated the damaged nerves in the nail wounds. Unless the guards broke the legs of the victim, the primary causes of death for nailed victims were likely hypo/vo/lemic shock (excessive blood loss), traumatic shock, or cardiac and respiratory arrest. We know Jesus was nailed to the cross because, later in John’s Gospel, the disciple Thomas refers to the imprint of the nails in Jesus’ hands (20:25–27). Furthermore, the Romans remained sensitive to Jewish sensibilities, so they hastened death to ensure the men would not be left hanging on their crosses during a very special Sabbath. 19:19–22 Pilate ordered the titulus prepared for Jesus to list His “crime” as the King of the Jews, enraged the temple officials, whom John refers to as “the chief priests of the Jews.” Ordinarily, he called them “chief priests” or “Jews”—never both. In this case, he retained “of the Jews” to stress the irony of Jesus’ title, “King of the Jews.” The temple officials had earlier clarified their allegiance—“We have no king but Caesar” (19:15)—so, they demanded the titulus be altered. However, Pilate had grown sick of their demands. He had set truth and justice aside to retain their political favor and to avoid the wrath of Tiberius, so he refused to back down on this one detail. Clearly, Pilate had been impacted by his encounter with Jesus and saw some credence in His claims. However, we have credible evidence Pilate later clashed with the Samaritans and was recalled to Rome, where he was banished to Gaul and died by his hand. 19:23–24 Before being nailed to the cross, Jesus was stripped naked, as were all victims of this humiliating death. Jews typically wore a chiton (undergarment against the skin) and at least one layer of himation (robe or cloak). Because cloth was a valuable commodity, His outer garments were ripped apart at the seams and divided among the quarter/nio. However, His seamless undergarment would have been far less valuable if torn. John includes this detail to demonstrate the remarkable level of detail with which Jesus’ crucifixion fulfilled a prophecy given almost a thousand years before. David envisioned these details of the Messiah’s crucifixion centuries before the method had been invented (Ps. 22). 19:25–30 John includes his eyewitness account of an intimate exchange between Jesus and His mother at the base of the cross. As a final detail of life, Jesus placed His mother in John’s care and then asked for something to drink. According to John, He did this in fulfillment of Scripture (Ps. 22:15 or 69:21 is likely). Someone nearby placed a sponge at the end of a hyssop branch, (branch and sponge), which tied in with the imagery of Passover. Later that evening, Jews would dip hyssop branches in the blood of their sacrificed lamb and then apply it to their doorposts and lintels (Exod. 12:22). The “wine vinegar” was commonly given with meals to soldiers and workers as an aid in reducing fever and providing refreshment. After drinking the wine, Jesus drew in one last breath and cried, “Tetelestai!” (It is finished!) John chose this Greek term to translate Jesus’ Aramaic. Archeologists have found papyrus tax receipts with Tetelestai written across them, meaning “paid in full.” With Jesus’ last breath on the cross, He declared the debt of all sin canceled, completely satisfied, and paid in full. Then—as John declares emphatically—Jesus willingly gave over His spirit in death. No one took Jesus’ life (John 10:17–18). 19:31–34 Jesus’ death came relatively quickly. The combination of the “halfway death” scourging that He endured earlier, the blood loss and shock from the nails, and sheer exhaustion from the sleepless night before were enough to kill any man swiftly. However, taking the phrase “gave up His spirit” (19:30) at face value is best. His life ended by choice. His life was not taken from Him. Jews considered it an abomination to leave a corpse hanging overnight (Deut. 21:22–23), especially on the Sabbath and a feast day, so they requested the men’s legs be broken to bring about death before nightfall. Some scientists have suggested the victims would quickly suffocate without the ability to push up with their legs. However, more recent research by a forensic pathologist offers a more plausible explanation. A single closed femoral (thigh bone) fracture may result in the loss of 2 liters of blood, and up to 4 liters of blood may be lost with fractures of both femoral bones.… (SledgeHammer) The significant bleeding from the breaking of the legs and the severe pain would deepen the level of hypo/volemic and traumatic shock, with a consequent drop in blood pressure and rapid development of congestion in the lower extremities, resulting in unconsciousness, coma, and death. Having taken a heavy maul (Sledge Hammer) to the legs of the other two victims, the soldiers found Jesus already dead. To be certain of death, one soldier took a short spear and rammed it into Jesus’ body, probably through the rib cage, piercing the pericardial sac. He found what he was looking for. Blood mixed with clear fluid was an unmistakable sign of death. 19:35–37 John breaks his narrative with an extended parenthetical aside. John offers eyewitness testimony that Jesus did die. More than sixty years later, when John wrote this Good News, several heresies would infect the communities of believers. Ironically, few false teachers in John’s day doubted Christ's deity; they challenged His humanity's reality! One heresy, called “Docetism,” claimed that Jesus seemed human, but was instead a divine apparition that could be seen and touched. Some of the so-called “Gnostic gospels” spin fanciful stories of Jesus appearing to eat without actually consuming food and never needing to get rid of waste. Some ancient critics may have claimed that Jesus didn’t actually die, that he merely “swooned”; however, this was not likely John’s chief concern. He fought hard against the notion that the Son of God was not fully human. John’s detailed account of the physical evidence proved that Jesus inhabited a body like ours and died just as certainly as all humans will. This will bear witness to the literal bodily resurrection later in his narrative. John augments his eyewitness testimony with Passover imagery (Exod. 12:46; Num. 9:12) and biblical prophecy (Ps. 34:20; Zech. 12:10). I have often wondered what Barabbas later thought of the gift he received from a man he never knew. Did Barabbas want to know who endured his scourging, who carried his cross to the outskirts of town, who endured the gruesome, shameful death he had earned? Barabbas undoubtedly felt overwhelmingly relieved to avoid the cross, but did he ever...Transcripts
This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom
The Gospel of John – 39 – Death On A Cross – Daily Wisdom
/:The Gospel of John – Part 5: Vindication Of The Word – Death on a Cross
Today we continue our series on the Good News according to John the Apostle. Last week, we focused on the three trials before the Roman officials, as Jesus was turned over for crucifixion by the High Priest and Sanhedrin. The Roman officials know that Jesus is not guilty of any crimes, and certainly of the death penalty, but they cave to the political pressures in a “Rush To Judgment.”
r scripture for today is John:The Crucifixion of Jesus
So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. 17 Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). 18 There they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.
19 Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the jews. 20 Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. 21 The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.”
22 Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”
23 When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.
24 “Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.”
This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled that said,
“They divided my clothes among them
ts for my garment.”[a] PS:So this is what the soldiers did.
25 Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman,[b] here is your son,” 27 and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.
The Death of Jesus
28 Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” 29 A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. 30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
bones will be broken,”[c]PS:Regardless of one’s position on the merits or morality of execution as a form of justice, everyone should agree there is nothing pleasant or attractive about putting someone to death. All instruments of death are ugly and brutal by their very nature, and trying to make them less horrific would be absurd. Nevertheless, execution has come a long way since the days of Christ; even the last one hundred years have seen significant changes.
Modern methods of capital punishment differ from ancient methods in two significant ways. First, modern executions are done privately, keeping the witnesses’ gallery as small as possible. Ancient executions were public spectacles with an almost carnival-like atmosphere. The express purpose of a public execution was its perceived value as a deterrent to similar crimes. Second, modern executions are designed to bring on death as swiftly and painlessly as possible. Ancient methods were painstakingly crafted to extend the dying process as long as possible, while maximizing agony.
(Bulletin Insert)
Of all methods of execution, whether ancient or modern, none rival the practice of crucifixion in terms of cruelty. The ancient orator Cicero described crucifixion as “the worst extreme of the tortures inflicted upon slaves.” Tacitus called it a “despicable death.”
According to the Greek historian Herodotus, the Persians invented the practice after experimenting with other means of delaying death, such as stoning, drowning, burning, boiling in oil, strangulation, and flaying. Eventually, the Persians began impaling particularly detestable criminals or enemies to keep them from defiling the ground, which their god, Ormuzd, had made sacred. Alexander the Great adopted crucifixion, which influenced the four generals who succeeded him, and passed it to the Car/tha/ginians. The Romans inherited the practice from the Car/tha/ginians and found new ways to extend death and maximize pain.
Crucifixion combined four qualities the Romans prized most in an execution: unrelenting agony, protracted death, public spectacle, and utter humiliation.
The victim typically endured scourging before the crucifixion. The lictor could affect how long a person would survive on a cross by adjusting the degree to which he injured the victim. If the executioner wanted the victim to die quickly, a scourge with jagged bits of sheep bone braided into the tails would rapidly cause shock so that death occurred swiftly. On the other hand, a lighter scourging with simple leather straps could result in the person lasting as long as a week on the cross. Merrill Unger states there are “instances on record of persons surviving for nine days.”
This was the physical character of crucifixion that Jesus faced. The spiritual dimensions of His suffering are unimaginable./ In taking my place on the cross, He bore the penalty of my sin,/ which is eternity in torment. /He also suffered your penalty, which is also eternity in torment. This penalty, compounded by the sin of countless billions of individuals, poured out on the Son as He hung on the cross. By this act of sacrifice, Christ confronted evil on a cosmic level and, through His suffering, ensured its defeat. But we should not cling to the notion that Jesus was a helpless victim of a failed plan. Jesus did not die a martyr’s death, nor did He die before completing His intended mission. On the contrary, while Pilate deluded himself with the notion that he wielded the power of life and death over Jesus, he had none. He handed the death sentence obediently to his inescapable compulsions and perfect harmony with God’s sovereign plan (Ps. 22; Isa. 53; Acts 2:22–23; 3:18).
Jesus began His lonely march toward His destined glory at the appointed hour. But before entering the light of the resurrection, He had to travel through darkness and suffering.
—:None of the Gospels mention much about the Lord’s procession to the place of crucifixion, probably because it was a familiar sight to first-century readers all across the empire—as common as a funeral procession. The victim stood at the center of an imaginary square, with a soldier posted at each corner and the commander of the detail in the lead. The execution detail was called a quarter/nio, which served under the command of an exactor mortis.
Recent historical and archeological findings have shed more insight into the practice of crucifixion. (board with Cross) The victim was typically forced—if he was physically able after scourging—to carry the crossbeam (called the patibulum) to the waiting vertical post (called the stipes). (Crude Sign) A sign called a titulus hung around the victim’s neck, bearing his name and a list of his crimes. The sign was nailed above the victim’s head so that everyone would know why he was hung to die once he was lifted up on the cross.
The Romans had designated a place outside Jerusalem to crucify criminals. The locals nicknamed it “the place of the skull,” perhaps because an outcropping of rock looked like a skull, or merely because it was a place of death. Three had been sentenced to die that day. Undoubtedly, more would suffer there within the next week.
—:John’s readers needed no more description of Jesus’ mode of execution than the short phrase, “they crucified Him.” The details of the method were indelibly etched on their minds. However, twenty-first-century Westerners need historians and scientists’ help to understand this terrible ordeal’s nature.
The execution detail laid the patibulum on the ground and attached it to the top of the stipes, using a mortise and tenon joint to form a giant capital T. (Sign hung) The victim was stripped naked and placed against the wood, and attached to the cross with his arms outstretched and feet flat against the face of the stipes. The victim was usually tied to the cross rather than nailed. Nails were expensive, and the Romans wanted to extend the process of dying, which took much longer when suspended with rope instead of nails. Sometimes, to delay death and to prolong the victim’s agony, the executioner attached a sedile (seat) between the victim’s legs.
If, however, the executioner wanted to hasten death, he nailed the victim to the cross through the base of the palms and the tops of the feet. Simulations and close examination of historical records reveal that death usually came from exposure, dehydration, starvation, or fatigue asphyxia. In the case of asphyxia, the victim became too exhausted, dehydrated, and malnourished to pull in his next breath, which led to suffocation.
A victim nailed to a cross,/ like someone tied in place, /also had to keep his body in constant motion to relieve the pain in his arms, chest, and legs, which only agitated the damaged nerves in the nail wounds. Unless the guards broke the legs of the victim, the primary causes of death for nailed victims were likely hypo/vo/lemic shock (excessive blood loss), traumatic shock, or cardiac and respiratory arrest.
the nails in Jesus’ hands (: —: e have no king but Caesar” (:Clearly, Pilate had been impacted by his encounter with Jesus and saw some credence in His claims. However, we have credible evidence Pilate later clashed with the Samaritans and was recalled to Rome, where he was banished to Gaul and died by his hand. (suicide)
—:Before being nailed to the cross, Jesus was stripped naked, as were all victims of this humiliating death. Jews typically wore a chiton (undergarment against the skin) and at least one layer of himation (robe or cloak). Because cloth was a valuable commodity, His outer garments were ripped apart at the seams and divided among the quarter/nio. However, His seamless undergarment would have been far less valuable if torn.
John includes this detail to demonstrate the remarkable level of detail with which Jesus’ crucifixion fulfilled a prophecy given almost a thousand years before. David envisioned these details of the Messiah’s crucifixion centuries before the method had been invented (Ps. 22).
—: fulfillment of Scripture (Ps.: doorposts and lintels (Exod.: one took Jesus’ life (John: —: ase “gave up His spirit” (: rpse hanging overnight (Deut.:A single closed femoral (thigh bone) fracture may result in the loss of 2 liters of blood, and up to 4 liters of blood may be lost with fractures of both femoral bones.… (SledgeHammer) The significant bleeding from the breaking of the legs and the severe pain would deepen the level of hypo/volemic and traumatic shock, with a consequent drop in blood pressure and rapid development of congestion in the lower extremities, resulting in unconsciousness, coma, and death.
Having taken a heavy maul (Sledge Hammer) to the legs of the other two victims, the soldiers found Jesus already dead. To be certain of death, one soldier took a short spear and rammed it into Jesus’ body, probably through the rib cage, piercing the peri/car/dial sac. He found what he was looking for. Blood mixed with clear fluid was an unmistakable sign of death.
—:John breaks his narrative with an extended parenthetical aside. John offers eyewitness testimony that Jesus did die. More than sixty years later, when John wrote this Good News, several heresies would infect the communities of believers. Ironically, few false teachers in John’s day doubted Christ's deity; they challenged His humanity's reality! One heresy, called “Docetism,” claimed that Jesus seemed human, but was instead a divine apparition that could be seen and touched. Some of the so-called “Gnostic gospels” spin fanciful stories of Jesus appearing to eat without actually consuming food and never needing to get rid of waste.
Some ancient critics may have claimed that Jesus didn’t actually die, that he merely “swooned”; however, this was not likely John’s chief concern. He fought hard against the notion that the Son of God was not fully human. John’s detailed account of the physical evidence proved that Jesus inhabited a body like ours and died just as certainly as all humans will. This will bear witness to the literal bodily resurrection later in his narrative.
with Passover imagery (Exod.:I have often wondered what Barabbas later thought of the gift he received from a man he never knew. Did Barabbas want to know who endured his scourging, who carried his cross to the outskirts of town, who endured the gruesome, shameful death he had earned? Barabbas undoubtedly felt overwhelmingly relieved to avoid the cross, but did he ever understand that Jesus suffered death on behalf of all sinners—including him?
Make no mistake; we are guilty of sin, and deserve to suffer death as the just penalty for rebellion against our Creator. Justice cannot be set aside. This rebellion demands a penalty, which is eternal separation from God in a place of torment. Nevertheless, our Judge has delayed His final verdict. “For this is how God loved the world: He gave[a] his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16).
Jesus, though absolutely innocent,/ took the place of another man,/ a hopeless sinner, on the cross. Yes, Barabbas went free, but his unmerited freedom is merely a metaphor for a greater, more personal truth: It was your place on the cross He took. Jesus died for you!
APPLICATION: JOHN:
A Fate Worse than Death on a Cross
In the quest to devise the most painful mode of execution possible, no one exceeded the Romans’ capacity for cruelty in their particular variation on crucifixion. The Romans reserved crucifixion for slaves, deserters, revolutionaries, and the worst criminals—people considered less than human. Cicero wrote, “To bind a Roman citizen is a crime, to flog him is an abomination, to slay him is almost an act of murder: to crucify him is—what? There is no fitting word that could describe a horrible deed.”
Crucifixion gave the Romans an extraordinary opportunity to inflict agony along with humiliation. Therefore, it became “one of the strongest means of maintaining order and security. Governors imposed this servile punishment, especially on freedom fighters who tried to escape Roman rule.”
nd on our children!” (Matt.:Upon hearing the guards approach his cell, Barabbas must have been overcome with dread. I can only imagine his amazement at feeling his shackles fall from his hands. The relief he felt must have been overwhelming as he was led to the end of the cell block and out into the light of day. His just punishment had been passed over. He was free!
I sometimes wonder, What if Barabbas had said, “Freedom? I appreciate the offer, but I’d rather suffer the most excruciating death imaginable.” No one in their right mind would decline the offer to avoid death on a cross. So, why do people reject the opportunity to avoid a much worse fate: eternal torment in a place of eternal death? Why would anyone refuse to accept the free gift of eternal life, purchased for them by the suffering and death of Jesus Christ in their place? There is so much rich imagery in Christ's crucifixion. He was Barabbus ‘Passover sacrifice). As he is ours, if we choose to accept it. As John the Baptizer declared, so should we declare: “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
What has been your response to the offer of grace?
rrection, so please read John: