Wednesday 20 April 2011

THE CRUCIFIXION

Read Luke 22:39-54

52.  And then Jesus said to the chief priests and the officers of the Temple guard and the elders who had come there to get Him, 'Did you have to come with swords and clubs, as though I were an outlaw?'

Jesus spent His last hours before the Crucifixion at various places in Jerusalem.  He began the evening in the upper room.  While there, He and His disciples shared what is known as the Last Supper.  He announced that His body and blood would be given for them.

From the upper room, Jesus went outside the city walls and spent time in prayer at the Garden of Gethsemane.  In Luke 22:44 it is mentioned that Jesus began to sweat great drops of blood while He was praying.  This is a rare condition called hematidrosis.  Under great emotional stress, tiny capillaries in the sweat glands can break, mixing blood with sweat.

Jesus was then approached by Judas - one of His disciples - and an army of soldiers.  Judas had told the soldiers that the man he kissed would be Jesus.  Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss, and the King of kings was then arrested.  His disciples fled, and He was led out of the garden.  This arrest was illegal.  According to the laws of His society, no arrests could be made at night.

He was led away for a trial before the Sanhedrin court and Caiaphas, the High Priest.  The Sanhedrin didn't have authority to instigate charges.  This court was only supposed to investigate charges brought before it.  Yet in Jesus' trial, the Sanhedrin court itself formulated the charges.

We read in Matthew 26 that it was during the trial that his first physical trauma was inflicted.  When Caiaphas asked Jesus if he was the Messiah, he responded, 'Yes, it is as you say.'  The religous leaders then surrounded Jesus, mocking and taunting Him as they dared Him to identify His assailants as each passed by, spat on Him, and struck Him in the face.

Matt 26:28-29 "this is my blood, which seals God's covenant, my blood poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.I tell you, I will never again drink this wine until the day I drink the new wine with you in my Father's Kingdom."

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