CXXXIII.
THE CRUCIFIXION.
Subdivision B.
JESUS CRUCIFIED AND REVILED. HIS THREE
SAYINGS DURING FIRST THREE HOURS.
(Friday morning from 9 o'clock till noon.)
aMATT. XXVII. 35-44; bMARK
XV. 24-32; cLUKE XXIII. 33-43; dJOHN
XIX. 18-27.
b25 And it was the third
hour, and cthere
{d18 where} cthey crucified him.
b27 And a38 Then
are there crucified {bthey crucify} awith him dtwo
others, cthe malefactors, arobbers, one on the right
hand, and one {cthe other} on the {bhis} left. don
either side one, and Jesus in the midst. [These were doubtless robbers
of the class of Barabbas. They were those who, led on by fanatical patriotism,
had become insurrectionists and then outlaws. Large numbers of them were
crucified during the Jewish wars (Jos. Wars, xiii. 2. 3). These two may
have been crucified at this time for convenience' sake, but the fact that
Jesus was placed between them suggests that they were crucified with him
to heighten his shame and indignity. For, though Pilate had no personal
ill will toward Jesus, he wished to show contempt for Judah's King.]
c34 And Jesus said, Father, forgive them; for they know not
what they do. [Our Lord's prayer here reminds us of the word at Isa.
liii. 12. It accords with his own teachings (Matt. v. 44), and it was echoed
by Stephen (Acts vii. 59, 60). Peter and Paul both speak of the Jewish
ignorance (Acts iii. 17; I. Cor. ii. 8). Ignorance mitigates, but does
not excuse, crime.] b24
And they crucify him, d23
The soldiers therefore, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments
and made four parts, to every soldier a part [A quaternion or band
of four soldiers did the work of the actual crucifixion. The Roman law
awarded them the garments of the condemned as their perquisites];
band part {aparted cparting} bhis
garments among them, casting {cthey cast} lots. [725] bupon
them, what each should take. [The sandals, girdle, outer robe, head-dress,
etc., of Jesus were divided into four parts and lots were cast of the parts.]
dand also the coat: now the coat was without seam, woven
from the top throughout. [This was the tunic or undergarment. It reached
from the shoulders to the knees. Ordinarily it was in two pieces, which
were fastened at the shoulders by clasps; but Josephus tells us that the
tunic of the high priest was an exception to this rule, being woven without
seam (Ant. iii. 7. 4). Thus in dividing the Lord's garments, they found
a suggestion of his high priesthood.]
24 They said therefore one to another, Let us not rend it, but cast lots
for it, whose it shall be: that the scripture might be fulfilled, which
saith, They parted my garments among them, And upon my vesture did they
cast lots. [See Ps. xxii. 18.]
25 These things therefore the soldiers did. [Even their small part
was the subject of minute prophecy.]
a36 and they sat and watched him there. [They were on guard
to prevent any attempt at rescue.]
d19 And Pilate wrote a title also, and put it on the cross.
cover him,
a37 And they set up over his head bthe {ca}
superscription bof his accusation written, aAnd there
was written, cTHIS IS aJESUS dOF NAZARETH,
bTHE KING OF THE JEWS. [It was a well-established Roman
custom to thus place a writing above the heads of the crucified to indicate
the cause for which they died. Pilate writes the accusation so as to clear
his own skirts before Cæsar and so as to show his contempt for the
Jewish people. They had forced him to crucify an innocent man, and he retaliates
by giving to that man the title which his enemies accused him of professing.]
d20 This title therefore read many of the Jews, for the place
where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city; and it was written in Hebrew,
and in Latin, and in Greek. [These three languages were
respectively those of religion, law and philosophy; but Pilate made use
of them because all three were spoken by people then in Jerusalem.]
21 The chief priests of the Jews therefore said to [726] Pilate,
Write not, The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am King of the Jews.
22 Pilate answered, What I have written I have written. [The rulers
smarted under this title which Pilate had tauntingly written. They had
insisted that Jesus' kingship was dangerous enough to justify his crucifixion;
but now (if politically and temporally interpreted) they admit that his
kingship was an idle claim, a mere matter of words.] c35
And the people stood beholding. [The scene had an awful fascination
which they could not resist.]
a39 And they that passed by [Jesus was evidently crucified
near the highway] railed on him, wagging their heads,
40 and saying, bHa! Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest
it in three days, 30 save thyself, aif
thou art the Son of God, band come down from the cross.
31 In like manner also the chief priests cAnd the rulers also
scoffed at him, bmocking him among themselves with the
scribes aand elders, said, {csaying,}
He saved others; bhimself he cannot save. clet him
save himself, if this is the Christ of God, his chosen. aHe
is the King of Israel; let him now come down from the cross, and we will
believe on him. b32 Let the
Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, that we may see
and believe. a43 He trusteth
on God; let him deliver him now, if he desireth him: for he said, I am
the Son of God. c36 And the soldiers
also mocked him, coming to him, offering him vinegar,
37 and saying, If thou art the King of the Jews, save thyself. [Thus
one and all unite in mocking Jesus, using both word and gesture. They bring
forth echoes from the trial of Jesus and take other incidents from his
life, little dreaming the deep significance of what they utter. They reminded
Jesus of his words about destroying the temple, when they were committing
that very act. They speak of his building it again when Jesus was about
to die that he might rise. They taunt him with saving others, yet being
unable to save himself, which is the great truth of the atonement which
the Lord [727] was then making. They promised
to believe if he will come down from the cross, yet his being lifted upon
the cross was the very act which would convince them--John viii. 28.]
a44 And the robbers also that were crucified with him breproached
him. acast upon him the same reproach.
c39 And one of the malefactors that were hanged railed on him,
saying, Art not thou the Christ? save thyself and us.
40 But the other answered, and rebuking him said, Dost thou not even fear
God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?
41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but
this man hath done nothing amiss. 42
And he said, Jesus, remember me when thou comest in thy kingdom.
43 And he said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To-day shalt thou be with
me in Paradise. [It seems that at first both robbers reviled Christ,
but one repenting spoke in his favor and prayed to him. It is not likely
that this robber had any conception of the spiritual kingdom of Jesus,
but he somehow arrived at the conclusion that Jesus was the Messiah, and
would come into his kingdom despite his crucifixion. Jesus answered his
prayer by a solemn promise that they would, that day, be together in that
portion of the invisible world where those who are accepted of God await
the resurrection. Many thoughtlessly make this dying robber the model of
death-bed repentance, arguing that others may also be saved in this irregular
manner. But Christ had not yet died, and the new testament or covenant
was not sealed. Jesus then could change its terms to suit the occasion.
It is therefore no evidence whatever that after his death and in his present
glorified state our Lord will in any way change the covenant so as to do
away with a single one of the terms required for obtaining remission of
sins (Heb. ix. 15-18). Moreover, the example of the penitent robber is
a difficult one to follow; he professed faith in Christ and his kingdom
when there was no other voice in the whole wide world willing to do such
a thing. Any one having such a faith in Christ will not put off his confession
until the hour of [728] death.] dBut
there were standing by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's
sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. [For comment
on these four women, see note on p.
225.] 26 When Jesus therefore
saw his mother, and the disciple standing by whom he loved, he saith unto
his mother, Woman, behold thy son! 27
Then saith he to the disciple, Behold, thy mother! And from that hour the
disciple took her unto his own home. [By using the title "woman"
Jesus addressed his mother at the end of his ministry with the same word
which he had used at its beginning (John ii. 4). Thus he cut her off from
all parental authority over him. In this last hour our Lord bestows upon
his helpless mother the disciple whom he loved, who was then in the flower
of his manhood. All of Christ's disciples are thus appointed by him protectors
of the helpless, but few recognize the behest as John did.]
[FFG 725-729]
