*What did you learn about Jesus’ trial we talked about last week? It was unfair; the Jewish leaders lied to get him arrested.
(Better if Teacher does all the reading)
Read John 18:38-40
38 “What is truth?” Pilate asked. Then he went out again to the people and told them, “He is not guilty of any crime.
39 But you have a custom of asking me to release one prisoner each year at Passover. Would you like me to release this ‘King of the Jews’?”
40 But they shouted back, “No! Not this man. We want Barabbas!” (Barabbas was a revolutionary.)
*What did Barabbas do? Barabbas actually did what the Jews accused Jesus of doing. He stirred up trouble for Rome, told people to stop paying their taxes, he even killed people.
Read John 19:1-3
1 Then Pilate had Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip.
2 The soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they put a purple robe on him.
3 “Hail! King of the Jews!” they mocked, as they slapped him across the face.
*What does it mean to be flogged? Roman whips had 3 prongs or hooks at the end. The hook would go into flesh and tear the skin off. They whipped people 39 times, 40 could kill a man. Then they put a crown of thorns on his head. They slapped Jesus, spit on him. It said in Psalms that he was not even recognizable as a man. People imagine Jesus with just blood dripping down his head, but you need to imagine a man bloody all over, bruised, swollen. That is what Jesus went through for us.
Read John 19:4&5
4 Pilate went outside again and said to the people, “I am going to bring him out to you now, but understand clearly that I find him not guilty.”
5 Then Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said, “Look, here is the man!”
*Isn’t that enough to be beaten to almost death and humiliated? Pilate himself found Jesus not guilty of death.
John 19:6-8
6When they saw him, the leading priests and Temple guards began shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” “Take him yourselves and crucify him,” Pilate said. “I find him not guilty.”
7 The Jewish leaders replied, “By our law he ought to die because he called himself the Son of God.”
8 When Pilate heard this, he was more frightened than ever.
*Why was Pilate frightened? Do you think Jesus behaved different than any other man on trial?
Truth finally came out. Jesus was not being crucified for causing a Revolution to Rome; he was being crucified because they did not want to believe him to be their king. Why?
They wanted Jesus to be more like Barabbas. They wanted a king that would free them from Rome; they did not want a king that would expose their sins.
Read John 19:9-11
9 He took Jesus back into the headquarters again and asked him, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave no answer.
10 “Why don’t you talk to me?” Pilate demanded. “Don’t you realize that I have the power to release you or crucify you?”
11 Then Jesus said, “You would have no power over me at all unless it were given to you from above. So the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin.”
*Do you think if Jesus would have argued and demanded to be free Pilate would have freed him? Jesus willfully died. He willfully died for our sins.
Read John 19:12-16
12 Then Pilate tried to release him, but the Jewish leaders shouted, “If you release this man, you are no ‘friend of Caesar.’ Anyone who declares himself a king is a rebel against Caesar.”
13 When they said this, Pilate brought Jesus out to them again. Then Pilate sat down on the judgment seat on the platform that is called the Stone Pavement (in Hebrew, ).
14 It was now about noon on the day of preparation for the Passover. And Pilate said to the people, “Look, here is your king!”
15 “Away with him,” they yelled. “Away with him! Crucify him!” “What? Crucify your king?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar,” the leading priests shouted back.
16 Then Pilate turned Jesus over to them to be crucified. The Crucifixion So they took Jesus away.
*When the priests said they have no king but Caesar, what commandment are they breaking? The first, have no gods before God. By saying this they are now abandoning God. All their reasoning that they are crucifying Jesus because he called himself the Son of God is rubbish; here they are basically saying they do not believe in God. This is what Jesus accused them of doing.
*If they believed in God would they do this to Jesus? No
Read John 19:17-22
17 Carrying the cross by himself, he went to the place called Place of the Skull.
18 There they nailed him to the cross. Two others were crucified with him, one on either side, with Jesus between them.
19 And Pilate posted a sign on the cross that read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”
20 The place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek, so that many people could read it.
21 Then the leading priests objected and said to Pilate, “Change it from ‘The King of the Jews’ to ‘He said, I am King of the Jews.’”
22 Pilate replied, “No, what I have written, I have written.”
*What do you think about what they said about the sign?
Read John 19:23-24
23 When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they divided his clothes among the four of them. They also took his robe, but it was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.
24 So they said, “Rather than tearing it apart, let’s throw dice for it.” This fulfilled the Scripture that says, “They divided my garments among themselves and threw dice for my clothing.” So that is what they did.
This was prophesized for in Psalms – 1000 years before this happened.
*How do people die on the cross? They would suffocate. It takes a lot of strength to pull you up to breathe. Imagine trying to breathe pulling yourself up on feet that are nailed on the cross, scraping you back each time on wood. Your back that has been beaten and skin torn off. Imagine pulling yourself up with hands that are nailed through, nerve endings exposed. Jesus did not sleep the night before, he was exhausted. You die from suffocating and not being able to pull yourself up any more to breathe. This was the most horrible way to die.
Read John 19:25-37
25 Standing near the cross were Jesus’ mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary (the wife of Clopas), and Mary Magdalene.
26 When Jesus saw his mother standing there beside the disciple he loved, he said to her, “Dear woman, here is your son.”
27 And he said to this disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from then on this disciple took her into his home.
28 Jesus knew that his mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture he said, “I am thirsty.”
29 A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to his lips.
30 When Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It is finished!” Then he bowed his head and released his spirit.
31 It was the day of preparation, and the Jewish leaders didn’t want the bodies hanging there the next day, which was the Sabbath (and a very special Sabbath, because it was the Passover). So they asked Pilate to hasten their deaths by ordering that their legs be broken. Then their bodies could be taken down.
32 So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the two men crucified with Jesus.
33 But when they came to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead, so they didn’t break his legs.
34 One of the soldiers, however, pierced his side with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out.
35(This report is from an eyewitness giving an accurate account. He speaks the truth so that you also may continue to believe. )
36 These things happened in fulfillment of the Scriptures that say, “Not one of his bones will be broken,”
37 and “They will look on the one they pierced.”
*Do you remember what else happened when Jesus died? Sky turned blood red, most likely from a lunar eclipse. An Earthquake occurred causing the dead to walk around.
The veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom. The veil was 60 feet long, 30 feet wide, and was about one inch thick. The veil was so massive and heavy that it took 300 priests to handle it. No man could simply tear the veil themselves. It would take more than human strength to tear it.
*Who tore it? God
We know the story does not end here. Next week we will study what happens after the crucifixion.