Jesus' Purposeful Prediction of His Death

Introduction:

The Infamous Poisonings of Rome

331 BC

Prominent men in powerful positions throughout Rome were getting sick and most of them were dying.

The loss of life throughout Rome was both baffling and alarming

As you can imagine, it was getting to the point where Roman citizens were beginning to be concerned, anxious, and unsettled.

Until one day, a slave girl approached a Roman investigator and told him that she might know why this was happening.

A team of investigators followed this slave girl’s lead. She claimed she would show them a secret alliance of upper-class women secretly preparing poisons and administering it to the men.

And that’s exactly what they found.

The accused women were dragged into the central square where they swore they were preparing medicines for the ailments the men were experiencing.

However, they were asked to prove their own innocence by drinking the very “medicines” they had prepared.

They drank the medicines and quickly died, proving their guilt.

In the weeks that followed, 170 women were found to be involved. It was a massive Roman scandal, but, in the end, the perpetrators were brought to justice.

Seems like a crazy story doesn’t it? That’s because it is!

Where do many conspiracy theories come from? Historians believe that such theories often arise when people in power seek to pacify the public during times of uncertainty. Especially when its also advantageous to vilify a perceived threat. In this case, Roman officials were often paranoid that their subordinates, whom they often mistreated, would eventually form a secret rebellion and kill them in their sleep. So it became advantageous to start a conspiracy theory that would expose and prevent that possibility. The public would have an explanation, and the women might think twice about poisoning their local governor.

The more reasonable explanation, however, is that there was a local epidemic, people started to panic, and so a conspiracy theory was spun in order to calm everyone down while creating a common enemy.

We see another example of a very similar conspiracy theory after Jesus’ resurrection in Matthew 28:11-15.

Matthew 28:11–15 NKJV

Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened. When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying, “Tell them, ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.’ And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will appease him and make you secure.” So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.

As Jesus continued to teach and prepare his disciples for what was to come, He reminds them for a third time of His impending death.

Matthew 20:17–19 NKJV

Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again.”

Transition: He wanted them to know that no matter what was said about Him or about them in the coming days, as evil as they were, they were a part of God’s redemptive plan.

God’s Plan for Jesus’ Suffering

The disciples already had a hard time imagining the idea of a suffering and dying Messiah, and it was common knowledge that the Jewish leaders sought to kill Him.

Mark 10:32 “Now they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed. And as they followed they were afraid. Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him:”

Although the disciples desired God to establish His kingdom on earth, it was pretty clear to all of them at this point that now wasn’t the time. Jesus had no army, and so to go to Jerusalem in their minds was certain death. In fact, the most positive emotion they could elicit within themselves was a heroic determination to die with Him.

John 11:16 “Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.””

In this case, the disciples were right. To go to Jerusalem was certain death for Jesus, but only because it was God’s plan all along.

Luke 18:31 “Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished.”

The details of Jesus’ death had already been laid out in God’s Word centuries before. Planned by God.

According to Zechariah, He would enter Jerusalem on a colt. Zechariah 9:9 ““Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.”

He would be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver. Zechariah 11:12 “Then I said to them, “If it is agreeable to you, give me my wages; and if not, refrain.” So they weighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver.”

He would be deserted by His friends. Zechariah 13:7 ““Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, Against the Man who is My Companion,” Says the Lord of hosts. “Strike the Shepherd, And the sheep will be scattered; Then I will turn My hand against the little ones.”

In His death, the Messiah’s bone would not be broken. Exodus 12:46 “In one house it shall be eaten; you shall not carry any of the flesh outside the house, nor shall you break one of its bones.”

According to Psalm 22:16 his hands and feet would be pierced. Psalm 22:16 “For dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet;”

According to Psalm 22:18, they would cast lots for His garment. Psalm 22:18 “They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.”

According to Psalm 69:21, He would be given vinegar to drink. Psalm 69:21 “They also gave me gall for my food, And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.”

According to Psalm 22:1, He would cry out in pain. Psalm 22:1 “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, And from the words of My groaning?”

But He would also rise from the dead. Psalm 16:10 “For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.”

And He would ascend into heaven. Psalm 110:1 “The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.””

This was the very purpose of Jesus’ life. It is no mistake that the earliest recorded words of Jesus were, “Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” and the very last before his death were, “It is finished.”

More than that, this was the entire focal point and driving force of history.

From the moment Adam and Eve sinned, a sacrifice to cover their sins was necessary.

During the great salvation story of the Old Testament, the Exodus, God commanded that an unblemished lamb be sacrificed and eaten as a symbol of what God would eventually do for them on a grander scale.

Throughout the Old Testament, sacrifice was the focal points of worship when approaching a Holy God, but none of those sacrifices were sufficient. All had to be repeated.

Until the very last Old Testament prophet, John the Baptist, made clear that the once for all sacrifice had come.

John 1:29 “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

Every Jew who was standing there that day would have made the connection with a sacrificed Lamb.

Transition: Not only was it God’s plan for Jesus to die, but it was God’s plan who would be the perpetrators of his death.

The Perpetrators of Jesus’ Suffering

Matthew 20:18–19 (NKJV)

“Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles...”

Jesus now adds his own omniscient knowledge to what the prophets had already revealed about His death.

He would be delivered to the chief priests and to the scribes

The chief priests represented the hereditary ruling religious class.

The scribes represented the academic religious class.

They had the authority to mark Jesus for death, but they did not have the authority to carry out the execution. That right was reserved for the Romans. In marking Jesus for death, they became the builders who rejected in the chief cornerstone mentioned in Psalm 118:22, and so they turned him over to the Romans.

Transition: And it was at the hand of the Gentiles that He would suffer the pain of mocking and scourging.

The Pain of Jesus’ Suffering

Matthew 20:19 (NKJV)

...to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again.”

As Jesus was held by the Romans, it was custom to mock and scourge any non-Roman citizens in their custody, and so they did to Jesus.

He was scourged with leather whips in which pieces of glass, metal, and bone were embedded, ripping off his skin.

So brutal were the Romans and so violent were the beatings that it would usually take two men to complete the beatings because the work they put into them were so exhausting.

By the end of the beatings, would have revealed muscle, bone, and internal organs.

Although crucifixion was the Romans favorite form of execution for non-Romans, it didn’t always guarantee death. The beatings were a way of guaranteeing death from extreme loss of blood.

But Jesus’ sufferings went far deeper than just the physical pain.

He suffered the pain of disloyalty.

He suffered the pain of rejection.

He suffered the pain of humiliation.

He suffered the pain of unjust guilt.

He suffered the pain of being stricken by His own Father.

Isaiah 53:10 NKJV

Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.

He suffered the pain of death.

Conclusion: It is no wonder that when He rose from the dead, those in power would spread theories discrediting what they feared the most and vilifying those who bore witness to it. Jesus is alive!