Saturday, April 04, 2009

Jesus' suffering and death

24 hours that changed history. Jesus began those 24 hours in the upper room, serving His disciples the Last Supper on Thursday evening. Jesus ended those 24 hours on the cross, where He died late in the afternoon on Friday. 24 hours—just a single day, but the most important day in all of history.

The last 24 hours of Jesus’ life on earth began at the dinner table. He was celebrating the Passover feast with His disciples. Passover was a yearly commemoration of God’s power and mercy shown to the Israelites. They had been slaves in Egypt until God heard their cries and sent Moses to free them. But the king of Egypt was a hard man, and even though God cursed the nation with one disaster after another, the king refused to release the slaves who were the backbone of his economy. It was the tenth and final plague that finally turned things around. God told every Israelite family to sacrifice a spotless lamb, smear the blood on their doorposts, and eat the lamb roasted in bitter herbs. That night, God sent the Angel of Death to Egypt, and he killed every first born son in the country. However, if the angel found a house marked by lamb’s blood, he passed over that home, sparing those inside. Every Egyptian family suffered tragic loss; even the king lost his first born son. This tragedy moved the king to release the Israelites, and they have celebrated the miracle of the Passover ever since.

On Thursday night, Jesus and His followers celebrated the Passover. But this Passover was different. Within the next 24 hours, Jesus would become the Passover lamb, the Lamb whose blood protects us from God’s anger. Jesus showed that He was the new Passover lamb when He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body." Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" (Matthew 26:26-28). Jesus is our Passover Lamb, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). Through the bread and wine of Communion, Jesus gives us access to His body and blood which was sacrificed on the cross to save us.

After a time of teaching, Jesus led the group out to a secluded garden in an olive grove. He knew what was going to happen. He was about to shoulder the burden of every sin committed throughout all of history; Jesus was going to suffer God’s punishment for every hateful word, every wasted moment, every misspent dollar. Jesus was going to face unimaginable pain and humiliation, and He was going to do it alone. This was a tough job, even for God’s own Son. So Jesus wanted time for prayer. He needed to share His concerns with God. He wanted strength and reassurance from His Father, so He could meet the challenges that lay ahead and successfully overcome them. Jesus turned to our heavenly Father for help, so that He would not give in to temptation, fear, or despair. Hours went by as He prayed, but He did not lose focus; being in anguish, he prayed even harder, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground (Luke 22:44). Yet through it all, He always deferred to God’s plans; Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done (Luke 22:42).

It was close to midnight when torches broke through the darkness of the garden. Leaders of the Jews had sent agents to arrest Jesus under the cover of night. They were jealous of His popularity. They were angered that He did not respect their authority as experts on religious law. But they were afraid to arrest Jesus in broad daylight; the Lord had too many supporters. So they were delighted when Judas, one of Jesus’ disciples, came to them with an offer—pay him money, and he would help them arrest Jesus when no one would notice.

Why did Judas betray Jesus? He left himself open to the devil’s control. Judas loved money; John tells us that he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it (John 12:6). But Jesus warns, You cannot serve both God and Money (Matthew 6:24). Judas loved money more than anything else, and this gave Satan the opening that he needed. Then Satan entered Judas…And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus (Luke 22:3).

So it was Judas, one of Jesus’ inner circle, who arranged the ambush. But the betrayals did not end there. As soon as things looked hopeless, all the disciples deserted him and fled (Matthew 26:56). Jesus was left alone in the hands of those who hated Him.

Jesus was taken in for a private trial, even though Jewish law required all trials to be held during the daytime and never in secret. Of course, the trial was a sham—there was no evidence to present because Jesus had done nothing wrong. After much wasted time, the chief priest finally laid it on the line: I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God (Matthew 26:63). Jesus never lies or talks around the truth; "Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied (Matthew 26:64). With that admission of truth, the court found Him guilty of blasphemy—they believed that Jesus was the worst kind of liar, one who uses God to back up His claims. Since God says we are not to misuse His name, the Jews decided that Jesus must be punished with death.

While Jesus spoke the truth at the cost of His life, Peter was doing just the opposite. Ashamed of leaving Jesus in His hour of need, Peter has slunk into the courtyard to see how the trial was going. But when the people there recognized him as a follower of Jesus, Peter was seized with fear. Three times he denied knowing Jesus—the third time he even swore it on God’s name. Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: "Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times." And he went outside and wept bitterly (Luke 22:60-62).

The Jewish leaders wanted to execute Jesus, but they did not have the authority. The country was occupied by Roman soldiers and was forced to obey Roman law. So at daybreak, they took Jesus to the palace of the Roman governor. Governor Pilate was a man with problems. The Jews were always quick to riot, and he had a city overflowing with visitors for the Passover celebration. Because he had trouble keeping control over civil unrest, his superiors had a low opinion of his abilities. Pilate was a weak man, and the Jews knew just how to push his buttons. They claimed that Jesus was a political threat, a man who wanted to stir up rebellion among the people. As such, Jesus should be executed immediately.

But Pilate was no fool. He interviewed Jesus, and quickly realized what was going on—the Jews wanted to use him to get rid of a hated rival. Pilate did not want to play their game. Over and over he told them, "I find no basis for a charge against him". But the Jewish leaders rounded up a crowd of demonstrators that demanded Jesus’ death. The last thing Pilate needed was a riot, but that was what the Jews threatened him with. Pilate tried to weasel his way out of the situation. First, he sent Jesus to Herod, the puppet king that Rome tolerated as a powerless figurehead for the people. But when Jesus would not entertain him, Herod sent Jesus back to Plate. Then Pilate had Jesus whipped and humiliated to try and create sympathy for Him. But when Jesus was displayed to the people, bloody and crowned with thorns, the crowd shouted, Crucify! Crucify! (John 19:6) Pilate even offered to set one prisoner free for the Passover celebration; he gave a choice between Jesus and Barabbas, a convicted murderer. But the crowd chose a hardened killer over the Son of God. Finally, Pilate caved in. He took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. "I am innocent of this man's blood," he said. "It is your responsibility!" All the people answered, "Let his blood be on us and on our children!" Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified (Matthew 27:24-26).

Crucifixion is a horrible way to die. Nails driven through your hands and feet. The cross lifted upright, so you either hang from the nails in your hands or push up on the nails in your feet. Hung in this awful position, it’s a struggle just to breathe. You are weakened by the loss of blood. Death can take days to come, leaving you hungry and thirsty, sweating in the heat of the sun and shivering in the cold of the night. Worst of all is the treatment you get from others. Crucifixion was a method of execution reserved for the worst scum of the earth. You are crucified in public, so people can make fun of you or spit on you. The list of your crimes is posted over your head as a warning to other would-be lawbreakers.

Jesus died like a criminal. Yet the charge posted above His head revealed the truth: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS (Matthew 27:37). Jesus was made to suffer because He is our King. The job of a king is to protect his people. Jesus protected us by suffering for our sins so we can be spared from hell. Jesus died because we love money, like Judas. Jesus died because we want to be the center of attention, like the Jewish leaders. Jesus died because we are afraid to stand up for Him, like Peter. Jesus died because we let other people push us into doing the wrong thing, like Pilate. Jesus died so that we could have access to His holy blood, the blood of a new covenant with God that takes away our sins.

At the moment when Jesus died, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51). The Temple consisted of two main rooms. The large outer room was the place where priests did most of their work. The small inner room was set aside for God alone, and was hidden from view by a large heavy curtain. That curtain reminded everyone of Isaiah’s words: your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you (Isaiah 59:2). But when Jesus died, the curtain was ripped open. Because of Jesus, we are brought close to God; there is no curtain separating us any longer.

24 hours, from Thursday evening to Friday afternoon. 24 hours that have changed everything. During those 24 hours, Jesus became our Passover lamb, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. During those 24 hours, Jesus suffered the hell we had coming, the hell we deserve for being sinners. During those 24 hours, Jesus tore away the curtain that separated us from God, so we can be sure of His loving presence in our lives. What a difference a day makes.

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