Passion Week - The Crucifixion

Passion Week

Day Six - Friday

Scripture Passage: Matthew 27:32-55

Parallel Passages in other Gospels for further reading: Mark 15:16-41;

Luke 23:26-49; John 19:17-30

The Crucifixion

³²As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. ³³They came to a place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull). ³⁴There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. ³⁵When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots.^{[a] 36}And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. ³⁷Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS. ³⁸Two robbers were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. ³⁹Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads ⁴⁰and saying, "You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!" ⁴¹In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. ⁴²"He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! He's the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. ⁴³He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, 'I am the Son of God.' " ⁴⁴In the same way the robbers who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him. ⁴⁵From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. ⁴⁶About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi,^[b] lama sabachthani?"—which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"^[c]

⁴⁷When some of those standing there heard this, they said, "He's calling Elijah."

⁴⁸Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. ⁴⁹The rest said, "Now leave him alone. Let's see if Elijah comes to save him." ⁵⁰And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. ⁵¹At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. ⁵²The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. ⁵³They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

⁵⁴When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, "Surely he was the Son^[d] of God!" ⁵⁵Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs.

Thoughts from Lisa Bauer:

I can’t help it! Every time I see a play, hear a song, watch the movie, “Passion”, see the symbols of his crucifixion-the nail, the thorns, hear the message, “Jesus died for Me” I tear up and cry. For goodness sake, I’m doing it now writing this devotional as I think of Jesus, who He is, how He came, how He lived, “sinless” and all for one purpose only to sacrifice Himself in the ultimate sacrifice, to die that I might live. Whew.... simply amazing!

In reading these passages that tell us what happened that day, when “His hour had come”, I see even then, how different people who were present fully witnessing the events at hand, responded in such different ways. The random man, Simon, picked from the crowd and told to carry His cross, never refused, he willingly, quietly picked up the cross on his shoulders and carried it to Calvary. The person who saw that Jesus was thirsty, and graciously served him a drink. The soldiers who mocked him and gambled for his clothes. The robbers, hanging on a cross facing their eminent death and yet one mocked him, the other became aware of who Jesus really was and the relationship of sin in his own life compared to the One who knew no sin and asked that he be remembered. The chief priest, religious leaders, elders all who claimed to know God, yet mocked and spit, not recognizing the true God right before their eyes. Many others who quietly stood by, who knew Him, loved Him, followed Him watched their Lord, Friend, Healer, Comforter, Teacher lay Himself willingly on a cross to die, knowing He could save Himself, He could have called 10,000 angels and yet He didn’t. Why? Because He loved them, He loves me, He loves you. As the verse said, “He gave up His Spirit”, He did it, He willingly fulfilled the payment for my sin. HE sacrificed it all that I could live.

In the last year or so, my husband and I have witnessed many wonderful couples facing difficulty in their marriage for various reasons and circumstances, but troubles all the same. Each time we become aware of another rocky marriage, we realize how thankful we are for what God has given us. Recently, my husband asked the question, “Why do you think our marriage works?” Without hesitation, my immediate response to him was,” you are so unselfish, you give of yourself, even in the smallest of ways, sacrificing that me and our children can live well because you love us so much.”

Jesus gave it all, unselfishly gave His body, mind and spirit, to pay for our sins that we could live well because HE loves us so much.

Some questions to think about:

Who do you say Jesus is? Do you recognize Him for who HE really is? If you were in the crowd that day, what would you have been doing? Were you the one serving Him? Were you mocking Him? Were you quietly standing by, doing nothing? Did you carry the cross? How will you respond to Him when you’re called? Will you reject Him or will you in faithful obedience, say YES? It’s your choice.

Suggested Direction for Prayer:

Jesus, I realize who you really are, the Son of God. You came that I could know who I am and how to live. I know that I’m a sinner and that there is a debt that is owed for my sin. You died, shedding your blood that I could be forgiven. Jesus, forgive me of my sin that I may live for you. Thank you for being so unselfish, sacrificing your life so that I may live life well for your glory.