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Jesus'
death
Jesus had allowed himself to be taken captive; he was led to a
middle-of-the-night trial before the Jewish religious leaders. The charge?
That Jesus claimed to be the Son of God. Jesus' answer? "Yes, it is as
you say," (Matthew 26:64) The "charge" was true! And certainly
all the miracles Jesus had done gave plenty of proof of it.
Unfortunately, the religious leaders - in general - had rejected Jesus. So
instead of eagerly welcoming Jesus as the promised Savior, they saw him as a
threat, wanted to get rid of him. So the religious leaders condemned Jesus,
said he was worthy of death. Why? Because he claimed to be the Son of God!
How ironic!
Since Judea was then under the domination of the Romans, the Jews didn't have
the right to execute people. Instead, they had to take Jesus to Pontius
Pilate, the Roman official in charge of Judea. The religious leaders accused
Jesus of insurrection, of claiming to be a king. The Roman government
official wasn't going to care if Jesus claimed to be the Son of God so they
came up with a charge he would care about! Pilate recognized the charges were
bogus, but bent to the pressure; he ordered that Jesus be crucified.
Through it all, Jesus never argued, never "pleaded his case". He
didn't want to be set free. Instead, he was willing to die. Why? Because
"the wages of sin is death" Romans 6:23. The only way our sins
could be paid for was if Jesus were to die. So instead of fighting the
charges, Jesus bowed to them.
So he was nailed to the cross, being crucified between two thieves. During
his time on the cross - 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. - Jesus made seven statements, each giving us
a look into God's heart. From noon until 3:00 p.m. darkness covered the
world; Jesus was suffering the punishment which we deserved. When the time
was exactly right, when the bill for our sins had been paid in full, Jesus
cried out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit My
spirit." (Luke 23:46) Then he died.
When Jesus died, there was an earthquake, a number of believers rose from the
dead, and, most importantly, the curtain in the temple was torn into two.
That curtain had symbolically separated us sinful humans from the holy God.
Because the full payment for sin had been made, the curtain was no longer
necessary, so God tore that curtain down. We now stand at one with God, our
sins paid for in full.
But can you imagine? The best was yet to come! Keep reading!
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