Passion Week – Friday

4-14-17

Let’s continue with our Passion Week series. On Friday morning, the trials continued. Jesus was taken to Pilate, who said he found no fault in Him. The people were adamant that something should be done to Jesus. When Pilate found out Jesus was from Galilee, he sent Jesus back to Herod.

Luke 23:8 says, “Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad; for he had desired for a long time to see Him, because he had heard many things about Him, and he hoped to see some miracle done by Him.” Herod questioned Jesus, but Jesus didn’t respond. The chief priests and scribes kept accusing Jesus, and then Herod started treating Him badly. They put a robe on Jesus and sent Him back to Pilate.

Pilate got the chief priests, rulers, and the people together and told them he didn’t find fault in Jesus and neither did Herod. Pilate told them he was going to chastise Jesus and let Him go, because he said He didn’t deserve to die. It was the custom of the Jews that one prisoner would be released at the feast, but they wanted Barabbas, who was a rebel and murderer. The people demanded Jesus be crucified, so Pilate let Barabbas go and let them have Jesus after He was scourged.

The soldiers put a purple robe on Jesus, a crown made of thorns on His head, and they hit Him and mocked Him. When they were finished, they took Him to be crucified. People sentenced to crucifixion had to carry their cross to the site of execution, and Jesus carried His toward Calvary. He couldn’t carry it the whole way, so a man named Simon carried it part of the way.

When Jesus was crucified, it was between two criminals. From the cross, He asked God to forgive the people because they didn’t know what they were doing. The soldiers cast lots for Jesus’ clothes while everyone stood watching. The people called Him a king in mockery, told Him if He was the Son of God to save Himself, and then divvied up his possessions while He was dying. How terrible people can be. Jesus could have stopped it at any time, but He chose not to.

One of the criminals crucified with Jesus stood up for Him and said He hadn’t done anything wrong. The man asked Jesus to remember Him, and Jesus told him that they would be in paradise together that day.

From noon until three in the afternoon, the whole earth was dark. Jesus quoted from Psalms and said, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Mark 15:34) Jesus committed His spirit to God and gave up His life. When the centurion saw how he passed, he said that Jesus was a righteous man.

The veil in the temple that separated the Most Holy Place was torn in two from top to bottom. Under Old Testament law, the veil kept everyone but the High Priest from going in to the place closest to God. When Jesus died, people no longer had to depend on someone to help them access God. Now we can reach Him individually.

One man on the Jewish council, Joseph from Arimathea, did not agree that Jesus should have been put to death. He went to Pilate for permission to bury Jesus. He took Jesus’ body to a new tomb, and the women who had followed Jesus saw His body there.

A Roman guard was set at the tomb to make sure the body was secure.

But it wouldn’t be the end.

May the Lord bless and keep you,

Heather