Bible Study 9: His Cross

9.1 Key themes⤒🔗

The Jewish leaders could find no guilt in Jesus.
Pontius Pilate, the Roman ruler, could find no guilt in Jesus.
In this way God showed to the whole world that Jesus is innocent.
The Jewish leaders, Pontius Pilate, and we are guilty of Jesus’ death.
On the cross Jesus went through the pain of hell:
- God’s curse came down on him.
- In his soul he felt God’s holy anger against the sins of the whole world.
Before Jesus died, he said, “It is completed.” These words mean that:
- His work of suffering was done.
- He has taken God’s curse and wrath away from us forever.

9.2 Deuteronomy 21:22-23←⤒🔗

^22. If a person commits a sin punishable by death and is executed, and you hang the corpse on a tree,

^23. his body must not remain all night on the tree; instead you must make certain you bury him that same day, for the one who is left exposed on a tree is cursed by God. You must not defile your land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance .

9.3 Mark 15:12-15, 33-39←⤒🔗

^12. So Pilate spoke to them again, 'Then what do you want me to do with the one you call king of the Jews?'

^13. They shouted back, 'Crucify him!'

^14. Pilate asked them, 'Why? What has he done wrong?' But they shouted more insistently, 'Crucify him!'

^15. Because he wanted to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas for them. Then, after he had Jesus flogged, he handed him over to be crucified.

…

^33. Now when it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.

^34. Around three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, 'Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?' which means, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'

^35. When some of the bystanders heard it they said, 'Listen, he is calling for Elijah!'

^36. Then someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, 'Leave him alone! Let’s see if Elijah will come to take him down!'

^37. But Jesus cried out with a loud voice and breathed his last.

^38. And the temple curtain was torn in two, from top to bottom.

^39. Now when the centurion, who stood in front of him, saw how he died, he said, 'Truly this man was God’s Son!'

9.4 The unfair trial←⤒🔗

The Jewish leaders were jealous of Jesus. They knew that his power came from God. Deep in their hearts, they hated God (Matthew 23:27-28; Matthew 27:18).

These leaders tried everything to get Jesus into trouble. They asked him many questions, trying to get him to say something wrong. But he always answered with wisdom (Matthew 22). Finally, they made a secret plan to kill him. They paid his own disciple, Judas, to help them (Luke 22:1-6).

Jesus was arrested at night, in secret. He was taken to the Jewish court. (This court was called the Sanhedrin.) At the Sanhedrin many people came to tell false stories about Jesus. The Sanhedrin probably paid them to do this (Matthew 26:59-60).

The problem was that the false stories did not agree with each other. It was clear to everyone that these people were false witnesses. At last, the high priest stood up and asked the big question: “tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God” (Matthew 26:63).

Jesus answered that he was. That was enough for the Sanhedrin. They all said, “He is guilty and deserves death” (Matthew 26:66).

9.5 His innocence clearly shown←⤒🔗

But now there was another problem. The Jews were not a free nation. They were ruled by the Romans. Because of this, the Jewish leaders could not punish a person with death. Only the Roman rulers could punish someone with death.

This is why the Jewish leaders took Jesus to Pontius Pilate. Pilate was the Roman ruler of Judea. The Jewish leaders told him that Jesus was pretending to be the king of the Jews (Luke 23:2). In this way they made Jesus look like a political rebel. Yet, when Pilate asked Jesus questions, he could not find any guilt in Jesus (Luke 23:4, Luke 23:22).

Pilate did not want trouble with the Jews. The Jews kept shouting, “Crucify him!” So, to satisfy them, Pilate said that Jesus must be crucified (Mark 15:12-15).

With everything that happened on that morning, God had a purpose. God was showing to the world that Jesus is innocent. Jesus would die, but it was not because he deserved to die. The Jewish leaders could not find any guilt in Jesus. Pontius Pilate could also not find any guilt in him.

Jesus was innocent, but he died as a criminal. Was it the fault of Pontius Pilate? Yes. Was it the fault of the Jewish leaders? Yes. But do not forget: You and I are just as guilty as they! It is because of our sin that Jesus died.

9.6 Death on the cross←⤒🔗

To die on a cross was the worst punishment that could be given to a criminal. It was a slow and very painful death. But it was also a shameful death. The cross was a sign of God’s curse. Already in the Old Testament, God had said, “the one who is left exposed on a tree is cursed by God” (Deuteronomy 21:23).

Before Jesus was arrested, he prayed in the garden of Gethsemane. He knew that the cross was waiting for him. This made him so afraid that his sweat became like drops of blood (Luke 22:44).

Why was Jesus so afraid? It was not only because of the pain that his body would suffer. It was because of the pain that his soul would suffer. When the church speaks about Jesus’ death on the cross, we often use these words: “He descended to hell.” Why do we say this? It is because Jesus went through the pain of hell.

Hell is the place where a sinner experiences God’s curse and God’s wrath. That is what Jesus experienced on the cross. God’s curse came down on him. That is why it became dark for three hours (Mark 15:34). At the end of the three hours, Jesus’ heart was so full of fear and pain that he cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34).

Jesus felt God’s holy anger in his soul. It was not God’s anger at his own sin that he felt. He had no sin! But he felt God’s anger against the sins of the whole world.

9.7 It is completed←⤒🔗

Jesus’ whole life was full of suffering (Lesson 8). But the greatest suffering came when he died on the cross. We cannot imagine the pain that Jesus experienced in those hours. He felt God’s wrath in his body and in his soul.

Just before Jesus died, he said, “It is completed” (John 19:30). His work of suffering was done. He had taken God’s curse and wrath away from us forever (Galatians 3:13).

After Jesus’ death a miracle happened. The curtain of the temple was torn from top to bottom (Mark 15:38). Behind this curtain was God’s Most Holy Place. The Most Holy Place was the place of God’s presence.

Before Jesus’ death no one could enter the Most Holy Place. Only the high priest could enter it once a year, to bring a sacrifice for the people’s sin. But Jesus had brought the final sacrifice! That is why the curtain was torn in two. In this way God showed that he is not separated from his people anymore. We are welcome in his presence. Our sins have been forgiven. It is completed!