10. The Death of Jesus

After three years of teaching, preaching and healing throughout Palestine, Jesus ‘made up his mind and set out on his way to Jerusalem.’ 1 That was the turning point in the life of Jesus. When he turned his face steadfastly towards Jerusalem you have the ominous feeling that, in going into the midst of his opponents, he would be marching to death.

At first his disciples did not want to go with him but, when they saw the look of resolution on his face, although afraid they followed.

The decision made

Only a strong man would have made that decision to go to Jerusalem and face those plotting his death. The opponents of Jesus had tried to trap him; they had sought to turn the crowds against him; they had even planned to infiltrate his own band of disciples.

What made it particularly hard for Jesus was that his greatest enemies came from within the religious leadership. Jerusalem was their power base.

But that was not the most difficult part. Jesus knew that, in going to Jerusalem, he would have to face the disappointment of his disciples. A brave man can face the opposition of enemies, but it takes a steadfast man to go on in spite of desertion by his friends. He had to tell them that they would be orphaned, left leaderless and alone. Further, he was going to die there:

From that time on Jesus began to say plainly to his disciples, ‘I must go to Jerusalem and suffer much from the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law. I will be put to death, but three days later I will be raised to life.’

Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. ‘God forbid it, Lord!’ he said. ‘That must never happen to you!’ 2

Jesus stressed this was a necessary part of fulfilling his messiahship.

His disciples vowed that they would be loyal to him to death. That was not to be. One denied he knew him, and the rest, after some petty resistance, ran off and hid.

But Jesus also knew that he would have to suffer. In one sense it is easy to talk about martyrdom and about the death for one’s beliefs. The actual process of dying – the physical and mental anguish involved – is another thing. For a sensitive person like Jesus, there was the anguish of knowing that ahead lay the most barbaric torture men to that time had devised.

Understanding all this, he set his face towards Jerusalem purposefully, not as a helpless victim:

The Father loves me because I am willing to give up my life, in order that I might receive it back again. No one takes my life away from me. I give it up of my own free will. I will have the right to give it up, and I have the right to take it back. This is what my Father has commanded me to do. 3

As Jesus and his disciples took the inevitable decision and started to climb up the steep road towards Jerusalem, the city of David, already the news flashed around that he was on his way to face them.

The enemies faced

It is important to consider who were these enemies so threatened by the presence and teaching of Jesus. Jesus was rejected by three groups of people.

(a) The Pharisees

The Pharisees are often portrayed as villainous and cruel men. Some were, but many were upright men, with a firm faith in God. Josephus, the Jewish historian of the time, tells us that there were about six thousand Pharisees in Jerusalem during the time of Jesus. These religious lawyers were proud of the way they kept the traditions and faith of the Old Testament. They held 613 commandments – 365 negative commandments (or one ‘don’t’ for every day of the year) and 248 positive commandments – and they observed them all.

The Pharisees rejected Jesus because they considered him to be too liberal with their law. He refused to keep all of their commandments, both negative and positive, and instead stressed a way of life lived by grace in the spirit of the law. These proud men could not accept the fact that a carpenter from Nazareth could possibly be the chosen person through whom God was rescuing the world.

Jesus was too universal in his attitude for these exclusive men. He accepted foreigners, Romans, Samaritans and Greeks, declaring that anyone was acceptable to God if they trusted in him.

Ultimately it was not their exclusive attitudes that Jesus criticised however, so much as their hypocrisy and nit-picking. With biting irony Jesus declared:

The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees are the authorised interpreters of Moses’ Law. So you must obey and follow everything they tell you too; do not, however, imitate their actions, because they don’t practise what they preach. They tie onto people’s backs loads that are heavy and hard to carry, yet they aren’t willing even to lift a finger to help them carry those loads…

How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You give to God one tenth even of the seasoning herbs, such as mint, dill and cummin, but you neglect to obey the really important teachings of the Law, such as justice and mercy and honesty. These you should practise without neglecting the others. Blind guides! You strain a fly out of your drink, but swallow a camel! 4

And knowing this, Jesus set his face steadfastly towards Jerusalem – and these six thousand of leaders of the Law.

(b) The Herodians

The second party who were opposed to Jesus was the group with whom the Pharisees started to plot to kill Jesus. 5 They were called the Herodians. We know very little about them, except they were supporters of King Herod and his dynasty.

It was to this group of unscrupulous leaders that the Pharisees went. Normally they would have nothing to do with each other, but Jesus was a common threat. Jesus was warned by some friendly Pharisees about what was happening, but he replied:

Go tell that fox: ‘I am driving out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I shall finish my work.’ Yet I must be on my way today, tomorrow, and the next day; it is not right for a prophet to be killed anywhere except in Jerusalem. 6

Herod was not amused. Jesus was a threat to his power-base.

(c) The Sadducees

The third group of opponents were led by the high priests. They were the priestly clan, the descendants of Zadok the high priest who had been responsible for worship in the Temple since the time of King Solomon.

The Sadducees were the spiritual aristocrats of their day. They held the leading places in the Sanhedrin. Although they were priests, they were extremely worldly, loving their wealth and position. Like Herod, they fought to maintain the status quo between religion and politics under the Roman law. They denied the coming of the Messiah, the resurrection of the dead and most of the laws of the Pharisees.

Jesus was totally unacceptable to them because he was a commoner. They feared that he might lead a popular movement against them and their Roman overlords. They could have no peace while Jesus was being proclaimed king by the people.

Consequently Jesus did not have a friend at court. Apart from the ordinary people who acclaimed him with enthusiasm, everyone within the power structure stood to benefit if they could rid themselves of him.

Jerusalem was the point of no return. He would not avoid its threat nor run from the hostility.

The final confrontation

After staying overnight at the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus in Bethany, Jesus climbed the summit of the Mount of Olives. From there he would have seen the magnificent sight of the Temple, glistening in the morning sun and alive with centuries of tradition.

The original Temple, designed and built by Solomon in the tenth century BC, had been destroyed by the Assyrians, but rebuilt 350 years later after the Jews had returned from the Babylonian exile. The site itself was very ancient: the hill of the Temple was the place where Abraham had built his altar to sacrifice his son Isaac. In 19 BC, Herod commenced an ambitious expansion program. Using one thousand stonemasons, he built the huge twenty-six acre platform that surrounds it. While the main part of the Temple was finished fifteen years later, the full extensions were not completed until more than sixty years later (in AD 63).

The powerful Jewish elite loved the Temple: it was the physical symbol of their power and authority. But Jesus indicated that the Temple would soon be pulled down, not one stone be left standing upon the other. This naturally infuriated them, but by AD 67 over 50,000 Roman troops were stationed in Palestine. After patiently waiting for the people of Jerusalem to surrender, the army of General Titus Flavius Vespasian attacked the walls of the city. So it would never be used for resistance.

On 5 July AD 70, Titus ordered the Temple to be completely destroyed. By 7 September over one million citizens lay dead and Herod’s Temple was demolished and pushed over the foundation wall. Over 100,000 other Jews were marched off to work in the Egyptian mines.

Today the western or ‘wailing wall’, recognised as the most holy prayer site of the Jewish faith, is but a part of the retaining wall of the platform area upon which the original Temple had stood. All that remains of its former glory now lies crushed and covered in the valley below.

To this Temple in the heart of Jerusalem Jesus came, riding on a donkey, the prophetic sign of the coming of the Messiah. The crowds quickly gathered, proclaiming him Messiah as they threw their garments on to the road and waved palm branches in the air, shouting out:

‘Praise God! God bless him who comes in the name of the Lord! God bless the coming kingdom of King David, our father! Praise be to God!’ 7

The next morning Jesus returned and strode into the Temple. He looked around with anger. Everywhere there were banking booths established, where the offerings of people had to be exchanged into coins acceptable to the priests. The exchange rate was high and the offerings of the people were devalued in the process. There was much noise and confusion in the courtyard area as animals were herded and declared that only animals owned by the system were pure enough for acceptance by God. This was financial corruption and dishonesty, which awakened Jesus’ anger.

Jesus went to the Temple and began to drive out all of those who were buying and selling. He overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the stools of those who sold pigeons, and he would not let anyone carry anything through the Temple courtyards. He then taught the people; ‘it is written in the scriptures that God said, “My Temple will be called a house of prayer for the people of all nations.” But you have turned it into a hideout for thieves!’

The chief priests and the teachers of the Law heard this, so they began looking for some way to kill Jesus. They were afraid of him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching. 8

Now the gauntlet had been thrown down. In the sacred centre of the Jewish nation, Jesus had called upon the people to purify their religion, but that meant loss of profit.

Some have noted Jesus’ controlled and selective anger. He overturned the stools of those who sold pigeons – not the cages of the pigeons themselves. He was violent to the equipment of the moneychangers, not the people themselves. This incident cannot be used as support for military aggression, physical violence or capital punishment.

Jesus spent that night in Bethany at the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus. The next morning, Tuesday, he again came back to the Temple, but this time his opponents were ready for him. With pre-arranged tactics various scribes and Pharisees, Herodians and Sadducees peppered Jesus with questions, each trying to get him to commit himself to some criminal statement or make himself liable for arrest.

Jesus parried with the best brains of his opponents. On every occasion they were left floundering by his logic, his rapier-sharp mind cutting through their argument. His use of scripture burnt like a laser through their pretences.

He immediately followed this by a penetrating parable about tenants of a vineyard. The vineyard was an Old Testament symbol of Israel. Jesus was indicating that he was the Son of God and that he could expect nothing but rejection and death from the hands of official religion:

The Jewish leaders tried to arrest Jesus because they knew that he had told this parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd, so they left him and went away. 9

Some Pharisees and Herodians returned with a trick question about paying taxes to Caesar. The motive of the Pharisees was to trap him into denying giving offerings to God, while the Herodians, ever loyal to their Roman masters, were anxious to have him encourage people not to pay taxes to Caesar.

But Jesus saw through their trick and answered, ‘Why are you trying to trap me? Bring a silver coin and let me see it…Whose face and name are these?’
‘The Emperor’s’. they answered.
So Jesus said, ‘We then, pay to the Emperor what belongs to the Emperor what belongs to the Emperor, and pay to God what belongs to God.’ 10

Heads, the Pharisees would have won and Jesus would have lost. Tails, the Herodians would have won and Jesus would have still lost. But Jesus stood the coin on its edge, so that both sides showed and declared that our tributes were to go both to God and to Caesar. What superb insight and quick thinking! He not only avoided the trap, but turned it round to reinforce his own teaching.

Preparing for the Passover

On the Wednesday morning, preparations began for the Passover feast. The Passover was the greatest of three major Jewish festivals. It began before the time of Moses in the Spring Festival, and Moses continued the practice, but gave it new meaning.

The feast of unleavened bread and of bitter herbs was combined with the nomadic custom of the feast of the first-born of the flock to celebrate the coming of new life in the Spring. The purpose of the Passover was to remind Israel of the way God had delivered them from slavery in Egypt. Each year a child would ask at the time of the Passover: ‘Why is this night different from all other nights?’ This allowed the father to retell the story of the Exodus. 11

There was great bustle and noise in the city as the festival became a peak commercial period – much like our Christmas today. The annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem brought about 100,000 pilgrims. Each had to procure a room, purchase a sheep from among those specially selected for sacrifice, buy wine and spices for the meal and exchange their own currency for special Temple money. 12

There was another side to all this. The visitors often brought with them from their homeland foreign goods for sale, farmers brought produce, wine merchants set up their street sidestalls and business boomed. Meanwhile in the Temple the great issues of God’s grace – deliverance, redemption and sacrifice – went on.

The Passover commenced with the feast of the unleavened bread. This feast started with a ceremonial search of the house and the removal of all traces of leaven (the symbol of impurity). When the ordinary bread had been removed, the unleavened bread (a tangible reminder of the hurried exit from Egypt) was baked as a wafer-biscuit. On the table were four other items: salt water to remind all present of the crossing of the Red Sea, a paste of fruit and nuts with cinnamon straws to remind them of the bricks and clay and straw their forefathers had to make in Egypt, bitter herbs such as horseradish and chicory to remind them of the bitterness of their slavery, and four cups of wine to remind them of the four promises of God who promised to free the Israelites from their burdens, free their bondage to Egypt and to redeem them and make them a people. 13

The Last Supper

In the house of John Mark’s mother, Jesus took this Jewish feast and gave it a new meaning. He was the sacrificial lamb who was slain to take away the sin of the world. 14 A new covenant had been made between God and man, sealed in Christ’s own blood. 15 Now through faith mankind could be released from the slavery of sin and redeemed from its power.

Ever since, this Last Supper has been celebrated around the world. It might be known as the breaking of the bread, the Lord’s Supper, the Eucharist (a thanksgiving to God) or Holy Communion (where we meet in fellowship with the risen Lord). It has been called a sacrament, which means a pledge of loyalty and allegiance. At this Supper, three significant events occurred.

(a) The betrayal by Judas

Judas remains one of the enigmatic figures of all history. For reasons not easily fathomed, he had gone to the high priest and offered to tell him where Jesus might be taken. For his information, Judas was paid the price of a slave. 16 He went further, identifying Jesus publicly with a kiss. 17 After Jesus was taken in custody by the soldiers, Judas returned to the priests and sought to undo the damage he had done by flinging the money at their feet. Shortly afterwards he suicided.

Why did Judas betray Jesus? Some have claimed it was due to his love of money, yet the price paid for such a betrayal was so petty that this motive can be put safely aside. Some have felt it was out of jealousy, as he was the only Judean among the disciples and he was outside of the inner circle. Some have suggested that fear was his driving ambition and that he was seeking to save his own skin at the price of his master. Others have imagined that Judas played the part of a traitor to face Jesus into revealing himself as the Messiah, thus making him the most patriotic of the disciples.

It is impossible to understand why Judas betrayed Jesus. We can only look at the mixture of motives in our own lives and determine to be closer to him without betraying him.

(b) The washing of the disciples’ feet

The second event is one of the most dramatic recorded of any leader. Jesus look a basin of water and a towel and, stooping down, washed the feet of his disciples. This was done despite their protests. 18 Having noted that after tramping the rather putrid streets none of them had received the customary foot-washing, Jesus took on the role of a humble servant. He then told them that his act of service to each of them was an example of how they should serve others.

(c) The last conversation

The third event in the upper room was the final teaching Jesus gave to his disciples. He told them he was leaving them and, in a long and serious conversation, re-emphasised the certainty that he would not leave them without sending God’s Spirit. 19

Sometimes during this talk they walked together out of the upper room, outside the city wall, across the brook Kedron and into a nearby garden called Gethsemane. Here in the darkness and the quiet of the evening hour, Jesus prayed for himself in his darkest hour, for his disciples and for all who would believe in him. 20

The trial and crucifixion

Within the next twelve hours four remarkable events were to follow in quick succession.

(a) The Garden of Gethsemane

It was here Jesus agonised over the future welfare of his disciples and his own commitment to God. Was he prepared to go ahead and drink the cup of suffering? 21 Was he prepared to be forsaken by God for the sake of his disciples? 22

It was here that the rough band of soldiers and the Temple police, together with officers sent by the politicians and priests, came to arrest him. 23

(b) Gabbatha or pavement of judgement

Although the rest of the buildings of Jerusalem were demolished by the Romans, the pavement stones were left in place. Possibly the pavement of judgement is one of the few original places where our Lord stood.

Already Jesus had been examined and cross-examined, first by Annas the ex-high priest, then by Caiaphas the current high priest and the Sanhedrin, who mocked him and disputed his claims. 24

It was outside the high priest’s residence during the series of trials that Peter in the early morning darkness denied his Lord three times. 25 Remembering the earlier prophecy of Jesus, Peter wept bitterly.

The Jewish Council, while it could condemn a man to death, under Roman law had no power to actually execute him. Thus Jesus was taken before the Roman governor, Pilate. However after examining the evidence, Pilate refused to order the death of Jesus out of his respect for Roman law. 26 So Jesus was brought hurriedly before the puppet-king Herod who, after calling for some miracles, sent him back to Pilate. Throughout this procedure, Jesus refused to lower his dignity.

In the early morning light, Jesus was dragged a second time before Pilate, who questioned him even more closely. 27 Once more his soldiers mocked him and spat upon him. Pilate, seeking to find a way out of his dilemma of condemning an innocent man, offered the people a choice. 28

It was the custom to release a prisoner during the Passover as a sign of the government’s clemency. Pilate now offered to release Jesus as that prisoner, but the crowd instead cried for a notorious revolutionary named Barabbas.

The crowd, spurred on by some paid rabble-rousers, called for the release of the murderer and the condemnation of the Master. 29

Pilate was sick of the whole matter and believing Jesus innocent, washed his hands of it all. 30 To remind them of their false accusation Pilate declared sarcastically, ‘Here is your King!’ 31

(c) Golgotha

The site of crucifixion was really part of the rubbish dump of Jerusalem. Here outside the city wall, Jesus was crucified at approximately 9.00 a.m on the first Good Friday. Above his head was fixed a notice which proclaimed in three languages that he was the King of the Jews. At his feet were a mixed collection of people. There were many passers-by, some gloating, some staring, some shouting abuse and some weeping. His mother also stood there. At a distance were his crestfallen disciples.

The Roman soldiers did their job efficiently. The nails were driven through the wrists to support the weight of the sagging body. For six hours he hung naked, covered with cuts and bruises, a crude crown of thorns spiking his head and every fibre of his body twitching in agony as his chest heaved great gulping breaths.

Seven times he spoke. His words were simple and profoundly moving:

* ‘Forgive them, Father! They do not know what they are doing.’ 32

• ‘I promise you that today you will be in Paradise with me.’ 33
• ‘He is your son. She is your mother.’ 34
• ‘My God, my God, why did you abandon me?’ 35
• ‘I thirst.’ 36
• ‘It is finished.’ 37
• ‘Father! In your hands I place my spirit!’ 38

Following these words, Jesus convulsed and died. A sharp thrust of a soldier’s spear through his left side into his heart made doubly sure he was dead.

(d) The garden tomb

After hours upon the cross, the body of Jesus was taken down, wrapped in embalming cloths and laid in Joseph’s own grave. 39 Already more than thirty ancient prophecies had been fulfilled in the past twelve hours.

A large stone was rolled across into its slot. The Roman guards marked it with their seal and then established a watch of soldiers to guard the tomb.

The meaning of Christ’s death

So ended the life of the most remarkable man on earth. If that was all, it would simply be a tragedy of man’s inhumanity to man.

But from that tomb there rose far more than had been planted. A new beginning was coming and, with the new dawn, would come life and hope for mankind. What does the death of Jesus on the cross mean to us today?

All Christians believe that mankind has become estranged from God through their rebellion towards him, but that through the death of Jesus God has opened the way back to himself. They believe that the sin we have committed require full atonement. God in Christ has himself made that atonement. Through the cross we have been freed from the bondage of sin and ransomed from the power of evil.

Christians believe that Jesus died in our place as a substitute for us, taking upon himself the punishment due to us for our disobedience to God. There was legal satisfaction because he had borne our guilt.

We cannot possibly understand the significance of the cross in all of its fullness, but we may recognise here more than just some moral influence for good. The cross reveals not only the depth of mankind’s antagonism to God, but also the extent God went to in bringing us back.

As well as its depths, the cross showed the ordinariness of sin. We know people who display the same cynical lust for power as Caiaphas, the same fear as Pilate, the same guilt as Herod, and the same disregard for the hurts of the innocent as the crowd at the foot of the cross. Those sins are our sins as well and his blood cleanses us from them.

The death of every other great man is regarded as a tragedy, but Christians who see through the sorrow glimpse the triumph of God’s purpose working through people’s sinful acts. All things, even our attitudes and cruel deeds, can ‘work together for good for those who love God – who have been called according to his purpose’ (Romans 8:28). That is why the worst day in the history of mankind is called ‘Good Friday’.

What is the meaning of the cross? We could use various theological terms like justification, redemption and propitiation. Perhaps the hymn-writer, Mrs C.F. Alexander, explained it best:

He died that we might be forgiven,
He died to make us good,
That we might go at last to heaven,
Saved by his precious blood.

Endnotes:

1. Luke 9:51
2. Matthew 16:21-22
3. John 10:17-18
4. Matthew 23:2-4 and 23-24
5. Mark 3:6
6. Luke 13:32-33
7. Mark 11:9-10
8. Mark 11:15-18
9. Mark 12:12
10. Mark 12:15-17
11. Exodus 5:1, 10:9 and 13:14-15
12. Mark 14:15
13. Exodus 6:6-7
14. John 1:29
15. 1 Corinthians 5:7b-8; 1 John 1:7; Revelation 5:9
16. Matthew 26:15
17. Matthew 26:48-49
18. John 13:2-20
19. John 14:15-17
20. John 17:6-9
21. Mark 14:32-42
22. 2 Corinthians 5:21
23. John 18:2-11
24. John 18:12-24; Mark 14:53-65
25. John 18:15-18 and 25-27
26. John 18:28-38
27. Mark 15:6-10
28. Mark 15:11-12
29. Mark 15:13-15
30. Matthew 27:24-25
31. John 19:13-14
32. Luke 23:34
33. Luke 23:43
34. John 19:26-27
35. Matthew 27:46
36. John 19:28 RSV
37. John 19:30
38. Luke 23:46
39. Luke 23:50-54

For personal reading

Theme: From Antagonism to Execution

Monday : Carping critics (Mark 3:22-35)
Tuesday : Harsh words, but true (Luke 11:37-54)
Wednesday : A pointed parable (Matthew 21:33-46)
Thursday : The path to death (Matthew 16:21-28)
Friday : God’s atonement offering (Hebrews 10:1-14)
Saturday : The suffering Servant (Isaiah 53:1-12)
Sunday : Amazing love (John 19:17-30)

For group reading

Topic: The Death of Jesus

1. Why did the greatest enemies of Jesus come from within the leadership of the religious faith of his time?

2. Why was the decision of Jesus to set his face steadfastly towards Jerusalem such a courageous one?

3. Jesus was unafraid to be angry with the hypocritical leaders of his day. Are we too reluctant to become emotionally involved in important issues?

4. ‘The only thing worse than the commercialisation of religion is the utter divorce that can occur between commerce and religion.’ Discuss

5. ‘Some who follow Christ go away sad because the price they have to pay is too high.’ What price is paid today?

6. Look at the last sentences Jesus spoke. What do they tell us about him?

7. What does the cross of Jesus achieve for us?

Monday, 10th August, 2009, 2:20 pm | Bible Studies