The Crucifixion

²¹A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. ²²They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull). ²³Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. ²⁴And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get.
²⁵It was the third hour when they crucified him. ²⁶The written notice of the charge against him read: THE KING OF THE JEWS. ²⁷They crucified two robbers with him, one on his right and one on his left.^{[1] 29}Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, "So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, ³⁰come down from the cross and save yourself!"
³¹In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. "He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! ³²Let this Christ,^[2] this King of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe." Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

The Roman soldiers forced this Simon (probably a Jew by his name) to carry the cross...possibly at random. Cyrene was a large city in northern Africa with many Jews. Golgotha is outside of the city gate. They offer Jesus sour wine with gall and myrrh to deaden the pain but he refuses it. It is his lot to suffer at this time. They crucify him in the third hour after dawn from what I understand. The Romans seem to be mocking him more than they would normal prisoners. This was possibly to offend the Jews because he was supposedly their king. If you try to offend the king of the Jews, you offend the Jews. It was apparently a Roman custom to put up the charges of the person being executed. All they put on his notice was, “The King of the Jews” which isn't like murder or treason or things that probably appeared above most who were executed this way. Pilate certainly offends the Jews by putting this sign over Jesus. Not only that but he is crucified between two common criminals, showing his opinion of the Jewish nation. This also fulfills prophecy that said, “he was reckoned with transgressors” in Isaiah. Then the Jewish people themselves come to mock him as well as the chief priests. They quote back to him things he said about the temple, meaning himself. They don't understand that this is actually what is happening. Even the two criminals beside him mock him, though you'd think they'd have other things on their minds. One of them later repents of this.

The Death of Jesus

³³At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. ³⁴And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"--which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"^[3]
35When some of those standing near heard this, they said, "Listen, he's calling Elijah."
³⁶One man ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. "Now leave him alone. Let's see if Elijah comes to take him down," he said.
³⁷With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.
³⁸The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. ³⁹And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and^[4] saw how he died, he said, "Surely this man was the Son^[5] of God!"
⁴⁰Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. ⁴¹In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.

So from noon to 3, darkness came over the land in the middle of the afternoon. It wouldn't have been an eclipse because the moon was always full on the first day of the passover. Jesus says Eloi Eloi, “My God, My God”. Eli is Hebrew...which is probably why they thought he was calling for the prophet, Elijah. Eloi is “My God” in Aramaic, the language of the people. But Jesus is crying out to God. Now is the worst moment for Jesus. Jesus is nearing his final moments with all the sins of the world upon him and there is no help from his father in heaven. It's crushing him. We should remember that he did this for the sins we have committed. Finally, it's over and the curtain in the temple tears from top to bottom. The curtain divides the holy and most holy places in the temple.

Heb 9

⁷But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. ⁸The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still standing.

This was symbolic of Jesus becoming the way into heaven, the most holy. It was the end of the old way and the beginning of a new way.

Even the Roman centurion admits that this was the Son of God.

The Burial of Jesus

⁴²It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, ⁴³Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body. ⁴⁴Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. ⁴⁵When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. ⁴⁶So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. ⁴⁷Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.

Jesus died on a Friday. The next day was Saturday, the Sabbath. This wealthy man, Joseph, comes to ask for his body from Pilate. This was foretold in

Isaiah 53
⁹ He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.

Pilate is surprised to hear that Jesus is already dead after only one day. Apparently, many survived much longer on the cross. Joseph wraps the body and two Marys see where Jesus was laid.

Mark 16


The Resurrection

¹When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus' body. ²Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb ³and they asked each other, "Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?"
⁴But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. ⁵As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.
⁶"Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. ⁷But go, tell his disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.' "
⁸Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

Other gospels cover this incident in more detail. These women come to Jesus' tomb and find that he's not there. There's an angel there who tells them that he's risen. It's interesting that he calls for Peter by name. Peter isn't forgotten although he had recently denied Christ three times. He can be forgiven of this. He can carry on with his work for Christ. This would probably be a relief for him to hear himself called by name. Jesus had told the disciples about all of this ahead of time that he'd meet them in Galilee. The women are amazed at all of this and they reserve the message for the apostles and don't tell anyone else.

⁹When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. ¹⁰She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping. ¹¹When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it.

¹²Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country. ¹³These returned and reported it to the rest; but they did not believe them either.
¹⁴Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.

All of this disbelief is sort of unexpected to us as we read about it. Didn't Jesus tell them that he'd come back from the dead? Didn't he perform enough miracles in front of them so they'd believe it was possible? But instead of waiting for his resurrection and expecting some news about it, they generally refuse to believe it when someone says that they've seen him. They get a lot of witnesses saying they've seen him. Even when he is in the presence of the apostles, we read elsewhere that doubting Thomas has to feel Jesus' hands and feet before he'll believe it. But nevertheless, Jesus expected more faith from the apostles, themselves.

¹⁵He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.

Here's the great commission, which, as we understand it, carries on to us today. It's unlikely that the entire world was going to come to the apostles wanting the gospel. Instead, they have to go out and teach others about it.

¹⁶Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

This baptism is a birth into Christ. In it, we take on the name of Christ. Jesus speaks pretty plainly about it here and there's no watering it down.

¹⁷And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; ¹⁸they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well."

¹⁹After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. ²⁰Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.

We read about all of these miraculous signs happening in the book of Acts. As far as casting out demons, we read about people from around Jerusalem coming and being healed and having demons cast out by the apostles in many cases. As for speaking in tongues, or other languages they didn't originally know, this happens in Acts on the day of Pentecost. They have gifts of prophecy as well. The holy spirit is just poured out upon them so that they can do all of these things. That's very important for us because these miracles prove that they were from God. Would we be as likely to believe what Paul said if he didn't perform the miracles he did to prove that God was with him? We read with amazement as a poisonous snake latches on to Paul's hand and those around him are sure he's going to die, but he just shakes it off. Without a doubt, God was with the apostles. But none of this was possible without Christ. Christ made it all possible.