Notes

As we continue our road to the cross

This morning we will be walking though

Jesus’ crucifixion

which occured on that Friday

Good Friday as it is called

and really, the road to the cross

ends here

and while our journey ends here

the story of redemption

is only at its beginning

as you are finding your place

lets look at our journey thus far

so far we have learned

that Jesus rode in peacefully

and humbly on a donkey

ushering in his messiahship

only for it to be misunderstood

see He rode in on that Palm Sunday

the messiah, but not the messiah they expected

they expected a warrior and political overthrow

Instead,

He rode in in order to give us a peace

a peace beyond

any understanding

a peace that can only be found in Him

then we learned he taught in the temple

was betrayed

and with the weight of all

the upcoming rejection,

abandonment, and betrayal

he fell to his knees in prayer

before the father

as he was contemplating

this fact that he must

take on our sin

that he must become sin

for us

to save us

his prayer was that his father

take this cup of wrath

this cup of judgement

this cup of unrighteousness from

him

but God said no to that request

in order to say yes to us

Jesus understanding the will

of the father

relinquished to His

fathers will and turned

that cup of wrath into a

cup of salvation for

all of us who believe in him

Jesus taught us how to pray in that garden

with the right attitude, attention, and aguish

even during times of great temptation, rejection,

and worry

after those prayers Jesus rose to his feet

having overcome the mental anguish awaiting him at the cross

it was not time to meet the physical anguish of the cross

He met his betrayer at the gate

who came with a mob outfitted with

torches, armor, and weapons

only to see Jesus peacefully

heal the servants ear that

Peter cut off

and go quietly into the night with is accusers

alone, abandoned, and betrayed

Now we enter into Friday

as the Pray in the Garden we

discussed last week

occured on Thursday and late into the night

So, in the early hours of Friday morning

As Jesus was led away

as a criminal arrested illegally

now I must warn you

Things are about to go from

bad to worse

Because before we can have the good news

we must know the bad news

as I will describe just what happened

to our Lord and Savior that morning

as he was being led away by the mob

mixed with soldiers and

religious leaders

he was bound

and we see the back alley

unlawful trial begin

as Jesus is led to the religious leaders home

and there, at the hands of the religious leaders

Jesus was beaten

it says he was blindfolded

spit upon, slapped

and taunted even as he withstood

a series of blows that he could not see coming

when they declared him guilty of blasphemy

that is, admitting he is God

in this

kangaroo court

He was then transferred from this

“religious trial” to a political

trial under Pilate

where Pilate found him innocent

He was then sent to King Herod who just happened to be in town due to the passover

and again, he was found innocent

and he was sent back

They then gathered before the crowd

and Pilate asked to who they would like to

release as per their custom on the passover

Jesus, whom had already been declared

innocent by Roman accounts

Or, Barrabas

whom we know was a robber and a man in prison

due to starting an insurrection, robbery, and

committing murder

The crowd quickly picked Barrabas

as they yelled

Crucify Him, Crucify Him

due to the overwhelming pressure

of the religious leaders

Now, in order to made sure the Jews knew

that he found him innocent

and that He found no wrong in Jesus

he washed his hands of this

Now, during this episode

the second round of Jesus’ beatings

we are probably about mid morning by now

Pilate gave Jesus over to the crowds

and ruled to execute him

Now, before His execution we read

that the Romans then had their way with Him

remember, his accusation was the he was a king

the king of the Jews if you will

so, they made him a mock kingship

They fitted him with a crown of thorns

which they pushed so deep into his

skull his eyebrows began to bleed

and if that wasn’t enough

they used clubs to ensure it was of proper fit

they then made him a purple robe

and led him to be flogged

now, if you aren’t aware of flogging

it is where the roman guards,

typically a pair would

tie the prisoner to a post

then they would use a form of

punishment that is barbaric

and most dreaded

what this was was a whip

with bits of lead and stone

sharpened to the likeness of blades

tied within the whip

and they would beat Him with this

instrument of hate

they would beat him on his back until his

flesh was unrecognizable

at which point they would move to his legs

then more than likely to his front torso

Now, there is a Jewish law that a man can only receive 39 lashes, because 40 is too much

but! Jesus was now in the Romans hands

and they had no such law

so the amount of lashing he recieved

was tremendous

after all, this lashing was intended

for Barrabas, who led a insurrection and no

doubt possibly killed or harmed some roman soldiers

and this pair of roman soldiers wanted their revenge

Now the brutalized, beaten Jesus

was then led to cross beam of the cross

Now, this occured not as we commonly see in

the movies

as the criminals would only carry the crossbeam of their

cross and this cross beam weighing upwards of

100 pounds

was set on his beaten, bloody, and bruised

shoulders

as he was led in a long walk of shame

through the streets of Jerusalem

and outside the gates to Golgatha

Jesus, so weak from the breathing's

lack of food, water, and sleep

could not complete

the task

and a man named Simon of Cyrene was then tasked with

feat of carrying the condemned man’s

cross