61. The Death of Christ.

The Hesitant Judge

Let us take some time to meditate on the death of the Jesus Christ and to praise His Father for His love for humanity.

Then Pilate went out to them and said, What charge do you bring against this man? They answered and said to him, If he were not an evildoer, even according to their own laws they could not honestly have accused Him of any wrongdoing, then we would not have delivered him up to you. Then Pilate said to them, You take him and judge him according to your Law. Then the Jews said to him, It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death. John 18:29-31. 

Before the trial had even begun the leaders of Jerusalem had already decided that Christ was worthy of death.

Pilate tried the second time to release Christ from such an unjust death so he said to them, I find no fault in him. But you have a custom that I should release one to you at the Passover. Then do you desire that I release to you the king of the Jews? Then they all cried again, saying, Not this man, but Barabbas!  

This is an interesting name for the guilty Barabbas. "Bar" is Greek for "Son of" and "Abba" in Chaldeaic, means "father"; so here we have the guilty son of a father being released in place of the innocent Son of The Father.  

But Barabbas was a robber. John 18:38-40.  In the case of Barabbas we know from S. Mark and S. Luke that he had been guilty of insurrection and consequent bloodshed. Cambridge Commentary.

Then Pilate therefore took Jesus and flogged Him. And the soldiers plaited a crown of thorns and put it on His head. And they put a purple robe on Him, and said, Hail, King of the Jews! And they struck Him with their hands. Then Pilate went out again and said to them, Behold, I bring him out to you so that you may know that I find no fault in him. Then Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe.  

It has been suggested that this was another attempt by Pilate to release Jesus.  According to this theory, Pilate hoped that when the Jews saw Christ bloody from the lashes and the thorns on his head they would feel sorry for him and ask for His release.

They put a reed in his hand, symbol of a scepter, (one) supposes that he refused to hold it, in consequence of which they took it from him, and smote him with it. The awful indignity was a wondrous prophecy. Nay, from that very hour he began to reign. That crown of thorns has been more lasting than any royal diadem. The Pulpit Commentary. 

And Pilate said to them, Behold the man! Then when the chief priests and under-officers saw Him, they cried out, saying, Crucify! Crucify Him! Pilate said to them, You take Him and crucify Him, for I find no fault in him. The Jews answered him, We have a Law, and by our Law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God. John 19:1-7.

Then he delivered Him up to them (gave them permission) that He might be crucified. And they took Jesus and led Him away. And bearing His cross, He went out to a place called, The Place of a Skull (which is called in the Hebrew, Golgotha) where they crucified Him, and two others with Him, one on either side, and Jesus in the middle. And Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. John 19:16-19.  

Is it possible that Herod thought that the Jews, as a nation, were losers, and therefore, this seeming loser of a man, is a fit candidate as their king?

It Is Finished

Then when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, It is finished! And He bowed His head and gave up the spirit. Then the Jews, because it was Preparation, begged Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away, so that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the sabbath. For that sabbath was a high day. 

Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who was crucified with Him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a lance, and instantly there came out blood and water. John 19:30-34

And after these things, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus ... begged of Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus. And Pilate gave permission. Then he came and took the body of Jesus. 

And Nicodemus also came, ... Then they took the body of Jesus and wound it with linens with the spices, as is the custom of the Jews to bury. And in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one yet had been placed. There, then, because of the Preparation of the Jews, because the tomb was near, they laid Jesus. John 19:38-42