Life of Christ: Good Friday
Notes
Transcript
The Triumphal Entry
The Triumphal Entry
A Roman tradition for a victorious General or Emperor
Would start amongst the Praetorians (royal soldiers)
Proceed through the streets of Rome
Displaying captives and looted treasure
The crowds would cheer sometimes shouting “σωτήρ” or savior
The procession would end at the temple of Jupiter
The honoree would lead a sacrifice up the steps
The sacrifice would be killed so the Emperor could rise as a deity
It was not unheard of for political prisoners to go through a mock procession upon capture
Mark presents Jesus’ final moments as an anti-triumph
Jesus is Mocked
Jesus is Mocked
And the soldiers led him away inside the palace (that is, the governor’s headquarters), and they called together the whole battalion. And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him. And they began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling down in homage to him. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. And they led him out to crucify him.
Jesus is brought before the battalion for the beginning of his procession
He receives the “praises” of the soldiers
The cloak, reed, and crown are an important part of the triumph
only the equestrian rank could wear purple
a laurel wreath crown was customary
Just a few days before, Jesus was being led by shouts of Hosanna
Jesus is Led to His Ceremony
Jesus is Led to His Ceremony
And they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross. And they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull). And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. And they crucified him and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take. And it was the third hour when they crucified him. And the inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.”
Simon was compelled to carry the cross
The sacrifice is being led by the implement of His execution
Golgotha - place of the head or bald head
The temple of Jupiter was located on the Capitolium of Rome
Jesus rejects the wine with Myrrh
The honoree of a triumph would reject wine at the point of sacrifice
The bull dies and the victor is deified
Jesus is “Glorified” with His Viceroys
Jesus is “Glorified” with His Viceroys
And with him they crucified two robbers, one on his right and one on his left. And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross!” So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also reviled him.
Fulfillment of prophecy
Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,
because he poured out his soul to death
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and makes intercession for the transgressors.
But also similar to the Roman triumph
The triumphator would be escorted by his regents into the seat of honor
The Ceremony is Complete
The Ceremony is Complete
And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.” And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
There were also women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. When he was in Galilee, they followed him and ministered to him, and there were also many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem.
Jesus has completed the procession
The “king of the Jews” has been recognized by the Gentile
He has removed the barrier to God
Jesus Has Achieved the Most Important Victory in History
Jesus Has Achieved the Most Important Victory in History
God shows His power by overcoming man’s greatest foe with the most humiliating act
For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
What is preventing you from giving Him everything as a result
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?