Thematic Bible: Crucified (just outside jerusalem)


Thematic Bible



And after they had crucified Him, the soldiers divided His clothing among themselves by gambling for them. Then they just sat there and watched Him [die]. They attached over His head [i.e., to the upright portion of the cross] the charge made against Him, which read, "This is Jesus, the king of the Jews." read more.
They [also] crucified two thieves with Him, one at His right side and one at His left. And those who passed by [the cross] shouted abuse at Him and shook their heads [in derision], saying, "You who [said you] would destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself [from dying]; if you [really] are the Son of God, come down from the cross." In the same way the leading priests, experts in the law of Moses and [Jewish] elders also mocked Him, saying, "He saved other people, [but] he cannot [even] save himself [i.e., from dying]. He is 'the king of Israel;' let him now come down from the cross and then we will believe in him. He trusted in God; now let God deliver him, if He wants [to save him from dying], for he said, 'I am the Son of God.'" And the thieves who were crucified with Him also heaped the same abuse on Him. Now from noon until three o'clock in the afternoon there was darkness over all the land. Then about three in the afternoon Jesus called out in a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama, sabachthani? [Note: These words were spoken in the commonly used Aramaic language], which mean, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? And when some of those standing there heard this, they said, "This man is calling for Elijah." And immediately one of them ran and got a sponge, soaked it in sour wine and, attaching it to a stick, [lifted it up] and offered Jesus a drink. But the rest of them said, "Let him alone; let us see if Elijah [really] comes to save him." Then Jesus called out again with a loud voice and [finally] gave up His spirit [to God. See Luke 23:46]. Just then the Temple curtain was torn in two from top to bottom, the ground shook, and rocks were split open. Graves opened up and the bodies of many dead saints [i.e., God's holy people] were raised up [from the dead]. They came out of their graves after Jesus' resurrection and entered the holy city [i.e., Jerusalem] where they appeared to many people. Now when the military man in charge, and those with him who were watching Jesus, saw [and felt] the earthquake and the [other] things that happened, they became extremely fearful, saying, "Truly this was the Son of God." And many women, who had followed Jesus from Galilee and had ministered to His needs, were watching [all this] from a distance. Among them were Mary from Magdala; Mary, the mother of James and Joseph [i.e., probably the wife of Clopas. See John 19:25]; and the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee [i.e., Salome. Mark 15:40].

So, they crucified Him and divided His clothing by gambling for them to decide what each soldier would get. It was nine o'clock in the morning and they crucified Him. [Note: John 19:14 indicates that the crucifixion took place about noon. This can be harmonized if we take Mark's account to mean when the entire process began]. The inscription, stating the charge against Him, was attached above His head [i.e., to the upright portion of the cross]. It read, "The king of the Jews." read more.
And they also crucified two thieves with Him, one at His right side and one at His left. {{Some ancient manuscripts add verse "And the Scripture was fulfilled, which said, 'He was counted with the lawbreakers.'"}} And those who passed by the cross shouted abuse at Him and shook their heads [in derision], saying, "Ha, you who said you would destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself [from dying] and come down from the cross." In the same way, the leading priests also mocked Him among themselves, along with the experts in the law of Moses, saying, "He saved other people, now he cannot even save himself. This 'Christ, the king of Israel,' let him now come down from the cross so we can see it and believe in him." And the thieves who were being crucified with Him also spoke abusively to Him. And when it became noon there was darkness over the entire land until three o'clock in the afternoon. Then at three o'clock Jesus shouted in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama, sabachthani?" [Note: These words were in the commonly spoken Aramaic language], which being interpreted, means "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" And when some of those standing there heard this, they said, "Look, he is calling for Elijah." Then one of the soldiers ran and filled a sponge full of sour wine, put it on a stick and gave it to Him to drink, saying, "Let him alone; let us see if Elijah comes to take him down [from the cross]." Then Jesus spoke in a loud voice and gave up His spirit [to God. See Luke 23:46]. Then the Temple curtain was torn in two from top to bottom. And when the military officer in charge of one hundred men, who was standing in front of Jesus, saw Him die like that, he said, "Truly this man was the Son of God." And there were also some women watching all this from a distance. Among them were Mary from Magdala; Mary the mother of the younger James and [his brother] Joseph [i.e., probably the wife of Clopas. See John 19:25]; and Salome [i.e., the mother of James and John and wife of Zebedee. See Matt. 27:56]. These women had ministered to Jesus' needs when they followed Him from Galilee. Others watching were many women who had come up to Jerusalem with Him.

And when they came to the place called "The Skull" [Note: The Latin word for this place is "Calvary"], they crucified Him there, along with the criminals, one at His right side and one at His left. Then Jesus called out, "Father, forgive these people [i.e., the ones responsible for crucifying Him], for they do not know [i.e., realize] what they are doing." Then the soldiers [See John 19:23] divided Jesus' clothing among them by gambling for them. People stood [around] watching [all this], while the leaders even sneered at Him, saying, "He saved other people; [now] let him save himself [i.e., from dying] if he [really] is the Christ, God's specially chosen one." read more.
The soldiers also mocked Him; they came to Him, offering Him sour wine [to drink], saying, "If you [really] are the King of the Jews, save yourself." There was an inscription above Him [i.e., on the upright portion of the cross], stating, "This is the king of the Jews." Then one of the criminals, who was hanging [on a cross also] spoke abusively to Him, saying, "Are you not the Christ [i.e., God's specially chosen one]? [If you are], then save yourself and us." But the other criminal spoke harshly to the first one, saying, "Do you not even have any fear of God [left], since you [too] are experiencing the same sentence of condemnation? And for us it is truly a just sentence, for we are getting back what we deserve for our actions, but this man has not done anything wrong." Then he said, "Jesus, remember [to be merciful to] me when you come into your kingdom." Then Jesus said to him, "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise [Note: This is a place in God's presence, referred to as "the third heaven" (II Cor. 12:2-4), and where overcomers will be able to eat from "the tree of life" (Rev. 2:7)]." Now when it was about twelve o'clock noon, darkness came over all the land until three o'clock in the afternoon, for the sun's light failed to shine. Then the Temple curtain became torn down the middle. Jesus called out in a loud voice, "Father, I commit my spirit into your hands." And after He said this, He gave up His spirit [i.e., to God in death]. And when the military officer in charge of one hundred men saw what had happened, he honored God [by] saying, "Certainly this man had [always] done what was right." And after the crowds that had gathered to witness this sight saw what had happened they left, beating their chests [i.e., as an expression of anguish over witnessing Jesus' death]. And all of those who knew Him, as well as the women who had followed Him from Galilee [See Matt. 27:55-56], watched all this from a distance.

There they crucified Him, along with two other men, one on each side with Jesus in the middle. Then Pilate had an inscription written and placed on the cross [i.e., on the upright portion, above His head]. It read, "Jesus from Nazareth, the King of the Jews." Many of the Jews read this notice, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city [of Jerusalem]. It was written in the Hebrew, Latin and Greek languages. read more.
But the Jewish leading priests said to Pilate, "Do not write 'The King of the Jews,' but 'He said, I am the King of the Jews.'" Pilate replied, "What I have written I have written." [i.e., "I am not going to change it."] So, when the [Roman] soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took His clothing and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took His seamless coat [i.e., which was left over], woven from top [to bottom] in one piece, and said to one another, "Let us not tear it [i.e., because of its great value], but gamble to see who gets it." [This was] so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, which said [Psa. 22:18], "They divided my clothing between themselves, and they gambled for my clothing." So, this is what the soldiers did. Now standing near Jesus' cross were His mother; His mother's sister [i.e., Salome, the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee. See Matt. 27:55; Mark 15:40]; Mary the wife of Clopas [i.e., the mother of James and Joseph. See Matt. 27:55]; and Mary, from Magdala. So, when Jesus saw His mother standing beside the disciple He loved [i.e., probably the apostle John], He said to her, "[My dear] woman, look, [here is] your son!" Then He said to the disciple, "Look, [here is] your mother!" And from that time onward, this disciple took Jesus' mother to [live in] his own home. Now Jesus knew that everything had been completed [i.e., relating to His crucifixion], so then He said, in order to fulfill Scripture [Psa. 69:21], "I am thirsty." A bottle full of sour wine was sitting nearby so someone put a sponge full of the wine on a hyssop plant stalk and lifted it up to Jesus' mouth. After drinking some of the sour wine, Jesus said, "It is completed," [i.e., His work of dying for the sins of mankind] and gave up His spirit [i.e., to God. See Luke 23:46].