#250: Jesus' Crucifixion

Hello and welcome to the True Seekers Podcast.

The True Seeker is someone who wants to know the truth.

They search for what's true and they won't rest until they find it.

I am a True Seeker, and if you are too, then you come to the right place where we will

search for truth each week in the stories of the Bible.

Well, hello and welcome back to the True Seekers Podcast.

In today's episode, we have made it to the moment of Jesus' death on the cross.

But True Seekers, this moment was not a surprise to God.

From before time began, God the Father had a plan, and He knew that Jesus would be the

one who would come and give his life for our sins.

There are many clues that God gave us throughout the Old Testament that point to what Jesus

would do.

Thousands of years before Jesus was born, the prophet wrote in the book of Isaiah about

a servant who would be pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our sins.

Isaiah 53 talks about the servant who would do this.

He was pointing to Jesus.

That means God told his people ahead of time that someone would suffer, not for his own

wrongs, but for ours.

That someone would be Jesus.

In the book of Psalms, Psalm 22 describes hands and feet being pierced and soldiers

dividing garments, details that you will see match what happened at the cross.

Psalm 69 even mentions giving vinegar to someone who is thirsty, just like what Jesus was

offered while He was on the cross.

God also gave His people pictures, real life object lessons.

In the book of Exodus, the Passover Lamb had to be without blemish and none of its bones

were to be broken.

In the book of Leviticus, on the day of atonement, a sacrifice was to be made so that people's

sins could be covered.

And in the book of Genesis 22, when Abraham was asked to offer his son Isaac, God provided

a substitute.

All of these clues were like bright arrows pointing forward in time.

They were whispers of a promise that God would send a Savior, a perfect sacrifice, a lamb,

a perfect spotless lamb, who would take away sin once and for all.

So as we talk about the crucifixion today, remember, this was not the end of a sad story.

It was the fulfillment of a plan, a promise, a rescue mission that God had been revealing

from the very beginning.

We last left Jesus in front of the crowd before Pontius Pilate.

After Pontius Pilate had left Jesus, the governor's soldiers took Jesus into the

Praetorian and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him.

They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of

thorns and set it on his head.

They put a staff in his right hand, then they knelt in front of him and mocked him.

Hail, King of the Jews, they said.

They spit on him and took the staff and struck him on the head.

After they had mocked him, they took the robe off and put his own clothes on, then they

led him away to crucify him.

As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene named Simon, and they forced him to carry

the cross for Jesus.

They came to a place called Golgotha, and there they offered Jesus wine to drink mixed with

Golgotha.

But after tasting it, he refused to drink it.

When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots, and sitting

down, they kept watch over him there as he hung on the cross.

Above his head, they placed a handwritten sign of the charge against him, saying, this

is Jesus, the King of the Jews.

Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and 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.

In the same way, the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders mocked him.

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.

He trusts in God, let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, I am the Son

of God.

In the same way, the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

Now two seekers, let's zoom in on this one incredible moment that happened right there

on the cross.

Jesus wasn't crucified alone.

There were two criminals nailed to crosses beside him, one on his right and one on his left.

One of the criminals kept insulting Jesus.

Aren't you the Messiah?

Give yourself and us, but the other criminal rebuked him, saying, don't you fear God?

We are punished justly, but this man has done nothing wrong.

Imagine that moment, a guilty man admitting his guilt, a dying man recognizing innocence,

he could see what others could not, that Jesus did not deserve the cross.

Then he turned to Jesus and said something simple and powerful.

Jesus, he said, remember me when you come into your kingdom.

He didn't have time to do good deeds, he didn't have time to fix his mistakes, he couldn't

undo his past, all he could do in that moment was believe.

And Jesus answered him with one of the most hope-filled promises in all of scripture.

He said to the man, truly, I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.

Out there in the middle of pain and blood and darkness, forgiveness was given.

This man is often called the thief on the cross, or the repentant thief.

We don't even know his name, we don't know his full story, but we know this.

He trusted Jesus in his final moments, and Jesus welcomed him into his kingdom.

From noon until three in the afternoon, darkness came over all the land.

Three in the afternoon, Jesus cried out from the cross in a loud voice,

Ila, Ila, Lamasabakhni, which means, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

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

Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge.

He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink.

The rest of the people said, now leave him alone, let's see if Elijah comes to save him.

While Jesus was hanging on the cross, there in front of him was his mother Mary,

and beside her the disciple John.

Jesus looked down, and he said to his mother, woman, behold your son.

And to John the disciple he said, behold, your mother, and from that time on,

John took Mary into his home.

Even while bearing the weight of sin, Jesus made sure his mother would be cared for,

since Jesus was her oldest son, and Joseph is not mentioned, it would have been his responsibility

to provide for her. Jesus was making sure that even after his death, his mother, Mary,

would be taken care of. And then Jesus cried out again and a loud voice saying,

father, into your hands, I commit my spirit, it is finished.

And when Jesus had said this, he breathed his last.

At that moment, the curtain of the temple was torn into from top to bottom.

The earth shook, the rocks split, and the tombs broke open.

When the Centurion and those with him who regarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had

happened, they were terrified and exclaimed, surely he really was the son of God.

Many women were there watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for

his needs. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of

Zebedee's sons. As evening approach, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph,

who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body,

and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,

and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front

of the entrance to the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there

opposite the tomb. The next day, the one after a preparation day, the cheap priest and the Pharisees

went to Pilate. Sir, they said, we remember that while he was still alive, he said, after three

days, I will rise again. So please give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day.

Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised

from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first. So Pilate answered, take a guard,

go, make the tomb as secure as you know how. So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal

on the stone and posting the guards in front of the tomb. Dear true seekers, take a deep breath with

me. What we just heard is one of the most important moments in all of history. When Jesus was nailed

to the cross, it may have looked like weakness. People mocked him. They said, he saved others,

but he can't save himself. But here's the truth. He could have saved himself. He chose not to. Why?

Because he was saving us. Remember those Old Testament clues we talked about? This is where they come

together. When darkness covered the land, it wasn't just a strange weather event. It was a sign

that something heavy and holy was happening. Jesus cried out words from Psalm 22, words written

hundreds of years earlier in the book of Psalms. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? He was

carrying the weight of sin, our sin on himself. Jesus knew separation from God, so we wouldn't have to.

Jesus knew what it felt like to be alienated from his father so that we would never have to know

that feeling. Sin separates us from God. Jesus took that sin on himself so that we would never have

to know separation from God as long as we put our faith and our trust in Jesus. He took the weight

of our sin upon himself. The Bible says he gave up his spirit. No one took his life from him.

Jesus laid it down. And then something incredible happened. The curtain of the temple was torn

into from top to bottom. True Seekers, this wasn't just any curtain. Inside the temple was a

special place called the most holy place. It was separated by a thick veil. Only the high priest

could go behind it and only once a year to offer a sacrifice for the sins of the people.

Just like we read about in the book of Leviticus on the day of Atonement, that curtain was like a

giant keep-out sign. It reminded everyone that sin separates us from a holy God. But when Jesus

died, the true and perfect sacrifice, the veil, that curtain tore from top to bottom. Not bottom to

top like a person could reach and rip it up. No, from top to bottom. God tore it. It was his

way of saying the way is open. Because of Jesus' death, we don't need an animal sacrifice anymore.

We don't need a priest to stand between us and God. We don't need a curtain to separate us from

the holiness of God because Jesus came and He is our holiness. We received His holiness and so

we can now stand before God. Jesus became our perfect high priest and our perfect lamb, just like

the Passover lamb in the book of Exodus. Remember how its bones were not to be broken? Jesus

fulfilled that too. The Bible says that Jesus' bones were not broken while he was on the cross.

The earth shook, rock split, even a Roman centurion, a soldier who had probably seen many crucifixions,

looked at Jesus and said, surely he was the son of God. Do you see it, true seekers?

The people who knew the scriptures missed it. The religious leaders mocked him, but his

soldiers standing at the foot of the cross saw what was really happening. And then there's the

tomb, a stone, a seal, guards. It looked final. It looked secure. It looked like the end of the story.

But remember what we know? God had been whispering this plan since the beginning. From Abraham

and Isaac in the book of Genesis to the suffering servant in the book of Isaiah to the pierced one

in the book of Zachariah, the cross was not an accident. The torn veil was not random. The sealed

tomb was not the end. It was all part of the rescue. And next time, true seekers, we'll see what

happens when a stone can't hold back the power of God. If you'd like to read today's story in

your Bible, you can find it in Matthew, chapter 27. Let me pray with you before we go.

Oh, dear Jesus, we just come before you right now thanking you for giving your life,

for choosing to lay your life down in our place. We thank you, Jesus, that you took the punishment

that was meant for us. For the wages of sin is death. And we all have sinned and fall short of the

glory of God. But Jesus, you took that death upon you. You took our sins upon you. And Jesus,

we're so grateful for now. We can come to you and ask for your forgiveness and know that you

offer forgiveness freely, that you wash us clean, why does snow, and you give us your holiness

in exchange for our sin. So we can stand before a holy God. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you for making

a way possible for us to once again enter the presence of God to be able to talk to you and share

our heart with you and our thoughts with you to have a relationship with you, to be close to you,

to know you and to know your love over us. What a beautiful and wonderful gift and we will not

take it for granted. In your name we pray, amen. Before we go, I do want to give a shout out to

Angelin Hepsuba. She says, Hi, I just wanted to leave a review. My son and I are listening from

India. True seekers has been my seven year old son's Jethro's night time comfort. Thank you so

much for the wonderful interpretation of Bible for kids and the praying the Bible series. A time

has been really wonderful to listen to as an adult also. Thank you for the good work. Thank you

both for listening. I'm so glad you found the podcast. Thank you so much for that review and

Jethro's. I just pray that it continues to be a comfort to you at night as you go to sleep.

All right everyone. Thank you so much for listening and I look forward to our time together next week.

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