Fully Devoted: JesusSample

Killed on a Cross

It’s Good Friday. But nothing about this day feels good. Jesus, that wannabe Messiah from Nazareth, was arrested in the middle of the night. His disciples ran like cowards. He was taken to the home of Caiaphas, the high priest, where He was put on trial and found guilty. He was then taken by the chief priests and the elders of the people to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, so that He could be executed. They accused Jesus of being an enemy of the emperor and attempting to start a revolution. 

Pilate seems unconvinced. He plans to have Jesus punished and then released. But the chief priests intervene. There’s another man also named Jesus awaiting his trial. This other Jesus is Jesus Barabbas, a revolutionary who murdered someone in a recent insurrection. 

So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” For he knew it was out of self-interest that they had handed Jesus over to him. … But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed. Matthew 27:17-18, 20 NIV

When Pilate asks the crowd who should be released, they answer, “Barabbas.” When Pilate asks what should be done with Jesus, they roar, “Crucify Him!” The murderer is released and the Messiah will be crucified. And this is the day we call Good Friday. 

Jesus is led by Roman soldiers into the palace. They put a purple robe around His shoulders, a crown of thorns on His head, and a staff in His hand. They kneel in front of Him and mock Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” They spit on Him. Rip the staff from His hands. Beat Him over the head. Take off His robes. And lead Him away to be crucified. 

On the way, they force a man named Simon to carry Jesus’ rugged wooden cross to the place where He will die. A hill called Golgotha. There, He is offered wine, but He refuses to drink it. Then, they crucify Him. Jesus, the Son of God, is hanging on a cross with a sign above His head proclaiming, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” 

As people walk by, seeing Him there, they hurl insults at Him. Then, around three in the afternoon, Jesus dies. And the hope of His Kingdom dies with Him. Good Friday, the day hope died. 

Could this really be the Son of God? Killed at the hands of a pagan empire? Dying the death of a slave? If Jesus really is the Messiah, then why in the world would God let this happen? If Jesus really is God, then why in the world would He let this happen? 

The Apostle Paul, recognizing how backwards and unsettling this moment is, describes the crucifixion of Jesus as “a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles.” Why did he say that? Because Paul understood that Jesus’ crucifixion was His coronation. 

Coronation is the moment when a monarch is crowned. And Jesus’ crowning moment was His death on the cross. Somehow and some way, Jesus being executed on this cross was the moment when He was exalted to His throne. 

Look at what led to this moment! Every step of the way, the Roman soldiers were leading Jesus through the process of a Roman emperor ascending to their throne. Being led into the palace by the Roman soldiers, having a robe placed on his shoulders, a crown on his head, a staff in his hand, bowing before him and hailing him as King! 

They did all this to mock and ridicule Jesus. Not realizing that His execution would be His exaltation, and His crucifixion would be His coronation. Jesus’ crowning moment as King of all creation came through His death on that rugged wooden cross. 

It is at the foot of the cross that the Kingdom of God is revealed most clearly. A kingdom that rejects the way of violent oppression and embraces the way of peaceful submission. A kingdom ruled by a King willing to die for the salvation of the world. And it was this display that so provoked an agent of Rome and a subject of Caesar to proclaim that Jesus was no ordinary man. 

And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!” Mark 15:39 NIV 

Journaling Questions

• What verse or passage stands out to you the most from today’s reading? Write it in your journal.
• What does it mean to you that God allowed Himself to be killed on a cross? Why is that significant? Why would that have been so shocking to the disciples? 
• Who can you think of who loves others sacrificially? How does their example impact you?