Anchor My Faith

Previous Lesson
Next Lesson
Author: Stephen Weller
554 words, 3 minutes read time

Crucify Jesus

Scripture: Mark 15:15, 20; Luke 23:24-25; John 19:16

In the previous lesson the drama continued on to the point of bringing Jesus to the judgment seat to receive the sentence of crucifixion. In this lesson Barabbas will be released and Jesus will be sent off to be crucified.

^{Mk 15:15} So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, ^{Lk 23:24} decided that their demand should be granted. ²⁵ He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, for whom they asked, but he delivered Jesus over ^{Jn 19:16} to them to be crucified. So, they took Jesus, ^{Mk 15:20} and stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. And they led him out to crucify him.

Because the Jews had worked up the crowd to such a frenzy that they were close to a riot, Pilate chose to satisfy the crowd and grant their demand and release Barabbas, who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, and to deliver Jesus up to be crucified.

Looking at John 19:1, Pilate had Jesus flogged before he had condemned him to be crucified. In Matthew 27:26 after Jesus was given over to be crucified he was scourged and delivered to be crucified. The harmonization narrative sees this as one event, but it appears to be two. The flogging was done before Jesus was sentenced to be crucified as punishment for minor crimes he might have committed. At this time Pilate was still trying to release Jesus and would not have had him scourged, which can be so severe that some die, for a crime he hasn’t been convicted of yet. The flogging in John 19:1 would have been the lightest version administered for minor crimes.

After Pilate passes judgment to be crucified, Jesus is then taken again to the governor’s headquarters and this time, according to Matthew 27:26 and Mark 15:15, he was scourged. I believe two floggings to be the more accurate account; the first as light as punishment for possible minor crimes and the second as severe punishment after sentencing Jesus to be crucified.

We are not really sure about the details, so we leave it as reported and move on to the event when they stripped Jesus of the purple cloak he was wearing, as they mocked him for claiming to be a king, and put his own clothes on him and led him out to be crucified.

Conclusion

After writing 24 lessons, we finally arrive at the point where the Jews have gotten their desire to have a perfectly innocent person, who was actually their Messiah, the Son of God, condemned to be crucified. They, the crowd, the devil and his demons all believe they have won and are rejoicing, but little do they know that they just completed a major step in God’s plan that will provide our salvation and victory over sin and death. The death they sought will in three days and three nights (that is what Jesus said) explode into resurrected life and the formation of Christianity. Pray for me that God will bless me in my old age that I would have the health to write lesson about this over the next six or so years.