Devotional Thoughts: Crucifixion

Matthew 27:45-61.

The heart of Christianity is Crucifixion and Resurrection.

Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour.

That would be from noon to 3 PM.

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" that is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

Jesus recites Psalm 22. Be sure to read beyond verse 1 which Jesus directly quotes. The Psalm was written by David and describes considerable despair yet retains hope. It is very interesting that there are some parallels to the life of Jesus in that Psalm.

And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, "This man is calling Elijah." And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, "Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him." And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, "Truly this was the Son of God!"

For a medical description of crucifixion go here.

Suffice to say, it is a terrible way to die. In Christian faith, there is a reason for it. It is payment for sin. Thus, the death Jesus bore was more than a physical one.

The fact that Jesus died is a reasonable assertion of history and there is some evidence for it. However, the assertion that Jesus died as payment for our sin is a statement of faith and beyond the reach of evidence. An interesting discussion of the roles of evidence and reason in the Christian faith can be found in this blog post by Mark D. Roberts. Excerpt:

Faith includes accepting as true that which we cannot definitively prove. I cannot prove, for example, that Jesus died on the cross for my sins, though I certainly believe it. From a historical point of view it's highly likely that Jesus was crucified, but the "for my sins" part obviously goes beyond the historical facts, even though there are plenty of biblically-based arguments for the atoning significance of Jesus's death.

Here we see a good example of the nature of Christian faith. It is based on the facts, but goes beyond them. It is not believing fabrications, however. If it turned out that Jesus really didn't die on a cross, and that this had been made up by the early Christians for some crazy reason, then Christian faith would be in vain. No matter how much allegory or metaphor might be present in the crucifixion of Jesus, if it didn't actually happen, then we are still in our sins.

There were also many women there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him, among whom were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of the sons of Zebedee. When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

One of many things the Christian Scriptures shares with the Hebrew Scriptures is brutal honesty.

The Hebrew Scriptures often painted the Children of Israel in a poor light. The icons of faith in Genesis are terribly flawed people. The tribes of Israel blunder around for a very long time in the wilderness and once they arrive in the promise land are hardly on high speed elevator to greatness.

In the time of Jesus most dire situation, who steps up to the plate?

It is the women who are there. It is Joseph of Arimathea who offers steps forward to insure a proper burial.

Not a peep from the original disciples!

Thank you Lord that you gave your life for us on the Cross that we might live. Thank you that you transform lives. The women disciples were faithfully ministering to you in life and in death. Joseph made his faith known by his actions. Help me to be your follower live in such a way that others can see you in me. Amen.