Read the crucifixion passages of the four gospels and compare the events in each one:
(Matthew 27:26-66, Mark 15:16-47, Luke 23:26-56, John 19:1-42)
Note these events:
Pay special attention to the places where He calls God, ‘Father’ or just 'God'
Crucifixion time – 9am to 3pm*
Darkness over the land
Vinegar given to him for the 1st time (refused) and 2nd time (accepted)
What He said right before He ‘shouted out loud and died’
Context:
Gnostics and New Agers often think that reality is divided into two sections. The physical realm and the spiritual realm. This division came from the philosopher Plato. They thought that the physical realm was 'less than', 'outright inferior to' or 'bad' compared to the spiritual realm. They thought that Jesus did the real ‘spiritual’ work after the cross in the land of the dead for 3 days. But Christian thought understands that the physical AND spiritual work was done in those 6 hours on the cross…not before and not after. Jesus destroyed sin before He died on the cross. Scripture is clear about this. John 19:30 says, “Jesus said, ‘It is Finished.’ With that, he bowed His head and gave up His spirit.” Derek Morphew, in a book on Gnosticism says, “Tetelestai (John 19:30) means ‘it is accomplished’ or ‘it is consummated.’ Christ was declaring His sacrificial work to be completed”
The Central Point:
During the 6 hours on the cross Jesus offered Himself as a sacrifice to atone for the sins of the world. He destroys the separation that sin caused between God and man. After accomplishing this He died.
The guards have beat him, spit on him, mocked him with sarcastic worship, put a crown of thorns on His head and hit him on the head with a rod to drive them in, forced him to walk to Golgotha part of the time carrying His cross, then they crucified Him. He hangs on the cross suffering for the world. Somewhere during the second 3 hours (between 12:00 noon and 3 pm) Jesus experiences absolute separation from His loving, protecting and nurturing Father. That is why He cries out, ” My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?” (Matt 27: 46) The separation is evident from the fact that this is the first and only time Jesus calls His Father, ”God.” There is the loss of His personal relationship with God. He is cut off so that we can be brought into relationship with God, His Father. Darkness covers the land from noon to 3 pm. After this Matthew says that the guards give Jesus vine vinegar to drink for the second time and he receives it (This helps us mark the passage of time). Then, afterward, He dies. Luke 23:46 shows that right before Jesus dies He has overcome the separation and is intimate with His Father again, “Jesus called out with a loud voice, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.’ He once again relates to God as "Father". Sin has been forgiven and that the way for humans to reconnect with God in relationship has been opened. Jesus' relationship with God is also restored. When He has said this, he breathed His last.” And John 19:28-30 confirms this also: “Later, knowing that all was now completed….. Jesus said, ‘It is finished.’ With that, He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.” Right before the very end He knows His Father’s presence and He knows that EVERYTHING has been finished.
Two more things are not worthy:
Matthew (27:51-54) notes that as soon as Jesus died something happens: “And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up His spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in tow from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus’ resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.” Matthew says many of these ‘holy people’ were seen in Jerusalem after Jesus’ resurrection.
Several things happened the moment after He died:
The curtain in the temple was torn in two
An Earthquake occurred
Tombs broke open
These also point to the fact that the work was done and finished right before Jesus died. Not after. Derek Morphew says, “Paul explains that Jesus triumphed over the powers of darkness, ‘by the cross’ (Colossians 2:15). It was not after the cross that He defeated them, but by the cross, on the cross, before he said, ‘it is finished.’
The second thing to note is Jesus’ words on the cross to the criminal being crucified next to Him:
Luke 23:42 “Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ Jesus answered him, ‘I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.’ “
Since Jesus knew the work would be done shortly, before He died, He could promise the thief on the cross that TODAY you will be with me in paradise. If it would take some ‘spiritual’ work after His descent into the region of the dead (during Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday morning) Jesus could not have told the thief that TODAY he would be with Jesus in Paradise!
There is power and authority in knowing what Jesus did on that cross. Not before it or after. And being clear on the details will help us accept and feel exactly what He did in those 6 hours. It is Finished!
* Some translations of the bible say the 3rd Hr to 9th Hr. Subtract 6 hours from each to get 9am to 3pm. (3 pm-6 = 9am and 9pm-6 = 3pm)
** Note the 7 individual things Jesus says while suffering on the cross – it is a good meditation.
Further Thoughts by John Stott: (God on the Gallows)
"I could never myself believe in God, if it were not for the Cross. In the real world of pain, how could one worship a God who was immune to it? I have entered many Buddhist temples in different Asian countries and stood respectfully before the statue of the Buddha, his legs crossed, arms folded, eyes closed, the ghost of a smile playing round his mouth, a remote look on his face, detached from the agonies of the world. But each time, after awhile I have had to turn away. And in imagination I have turned instead to that lonely, twisted, tortured figure on the cross, nails through hands and feet, back lacerated, limbs wretched, brow bleeding from thorn pricks, mouth dry and intolerably thirsty, plunged in God-forsaken darkness. That is the God for me! He laid aside His immunity to pain. He entered our world of flesh and blood, tears and death. He suffered for us. Our sufferings become more manageable in the light of His. There is still a question mark against human suffering, but over it we boldly stamp another mark, the cross of Christ... is God's only self-justification in such a world" as our. (Stott 1987)
