Acts of Christ 3

Life of Christ Teacher’s Guide

A. The Betrayal - I spoke on this sometime ago but I did want to make a few notes concerning some of the happenings in the Garden.

Jesus prayed and was under great strain We find in Matt. 26:38 Jesus tells Peter James and John, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto death: tarry ye here and watch with me.” Luke 22:44 tells us he was in great agony as he prayed more earnestly and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

1. Jesus was in great physical and emotional stress. We find him telling them how he felt. This didn’t happen very often.

A. I think it helpful to tell our Bros. and Sis. In Christ when we are going thru hard times.

B. Jesus was facing a huge battle. We can’t even begin to comprehend what he was going thru at this time. Most of us would have probably done as those disciples did. They slept.

C. We find that he was so disturbed in his spirit that he sweat as it were great drops of blood.

1. This is an actual know rare medical condition known as, “hematidrosis“. Dr. Alexander Metherell, explains that hematidrosis is caused by severe anxiety which in turn causes the release of chemicals that break down capillaries in the sweat glands. There is then a small amount of bleeding into these glands, which causes the sweat to come out tinged with blood.

2. This would have weakened the skin for what he would face later that night and into the next day.

3. The floggings were inflicted with more than likely a leather whip with shards of bones, metal, or rock tied to the end of them. Probably struck many times. It is told that 40 stripes would prove fatal. With all of those abrasives tied to the end of the whip it would tear the skin sometimes down to the bone or even expose vital organs.

4. These were often used as forms of interrogation to sqeeze information out of people much like “water boarding” is used today.

A. Water boarding as it is currently described involves strapping a person to an inclined board, with his feet raised and his head lowered. The interrogators bind the person's arms and legs so he can't move at all, and they cover his face. In some descriptions, the person is gagged, and some sort of cloth covers his nose and mouth; in others, his face is wrapped in cellophane. The interrogator then repeatedly pours water onto the person's face. Depending on the exact setup, the water may or may not actually get into the person's mouth and nose; but the physical experience of being underneath a wave of water seems to be secondary to the psychological experience. The person's mind believes he is drowning, and his gag reflex kicks in as if he were choking on all that water falling on his face.

B. According to the sources, CIA officers who subjected themselves to the water boarding technique lasted an average of 14 seconds before caving in. They said al Qaeda's toughest prisoner, Khalid Sheik Mohammed, won the admiration of interrogators when he was able to last between two and two-and-a-half minutes before begging to confess.

2. Then came those dreaded words “crucify him”

A. Crucifixion was actually invented by a woman Semiramis, queen of Nineveh. It was used by the Egyptians, and others and was carried out different ways. It was a barbaric cruel agonizing death. Some used ropes to tie the victim to the cross or the way the Romans crucified was by nailing the victim to the cross.

B. Jesus was then hung on a cross by nails driven through his wrists, since the skin on the palms would have ripped and not been strong enough to hold him on the cross. Then a long spike driven through his feet. The cross was then lifted high which stretched out his arms pulling them out of socket. This added pressure to his diaphragm and lungs causing him to exert more strength to breath pushing up on his feet tearing the flesh and sending agonizing pain throughout his entire body, leading to a death by suffocation, as the muscles in his arms and legs would tire out from constant use. It was really a “Death by inches,” There have been cases that victims have stayed alive for a week or more. Jesus however “Gave up the ghost.” He had told us he had power to “Lay down his life.”

3. I guess the next question would be, What day was Jesus crucified?

A. We know according to Matt. 12:40 Jesus was to be three days and three nights in the tomb. If we go by tradition Jesus was crucified on a Friday, some on Thursday, and probably one of the most plausible is Wednesday.

1. If Jesus was crucified on Wed. there would have been 2 Sabbaths. Thursday (the Passover) and Saturday the Seventh Day.

A. It appears the women bought the spices after the Sabbath. Mark 16:1 Jesus rose early Sunday morning they would not have had time to buy them. They could not buy them on Saturday as that was the Sabbath. We know that Luke 23:56 tells us the Women rested on the Sabbath as God commanded. (It is possible they bought the spices the night of the crucifixion but remember it was getting close to the Sabbath that is why the took Jesus down from the cross. The women according to Luke 23:55 followed them and watched where they took Jesus and how he was laid) it would be getting awfully late to buy anything as the Sabbath was approaching.

B. One writes on this subject, “this view states, the only explanation that does not violate the biblical account of the women and the spices and holds to a literal understanding of Matthew 12:40, is that Christ was crucified on Wednesday. The Sabbath that was a high holy day (Passover) occurred on Thursday, the women purchased spices (after that) on Friday and returned and prepared the spices on the same day, they rested on Saturday which was the weekly Sabbath, then brought the spices to the tomb early Sunday. He was buried near sundown on Wednesday, which began Thursday in the Jewish calendar. Using a Jewish calendar, you have Thursday night (night one), Thursday day (day one), Friday night (night two), Friday day (day two), Saturday night (night three), Saturday day (day three). We don't know exactly when He rose, but we do know that it was before sunrise on Sunday (John 20:1, Mary Magdalene came "while it was still dark" and the stone was rolled away and she found Peter and told him that "they have taken away the Lord out of the tomb"), so He could have risen as early as just after sunset Saturday evening, which began the first day of the week to the Jews. A possible problem with the Wednesday view is that the disciples who walked with Jesus on the road to Emmaus did so on "the same day" of His resurrection (Luke 24:13). The disciples, who do not recognize Jesus, tell Him of Jesus' crucifixion (24:21) and say that "today is the third day since these things happened" (24:22). Wednesday to Sunday is four days. A possible explanation is that they may have been counting since Wednesday evening at Christ's burial, which begins the Jewish Thursday, and Thursday to Sunday could be counted as three days.”

C. At the end of the day it really isn’t important what day he was crucified what is important is the fact that He did die, that he did atone for our sins. And I’m so glad he did.