CHRIST AND THE CROSS

The account of Good Friday is more than the Redemption of Mankind. It contrasts the fallen depraved nature of humankind with beauty, stark accuracy and the Promise of God’s Word - The Bible.

TEXTS USED: VARIOUS....(INCLUDING):

Isaiah 53 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

53 Who has believed our message?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 For He grew up before Him like a tender [a]shoot,
And like a root out of parched ground;
He has no stately form or majesty
That we should look upon Him,
Nor appearance that we should [b]be attracted to Him.
3 He was despised and forsaken of men,
A man of [c]sorrows and acquainted with [d]grief;
And like one from whom men hide their face
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

4 Surely our [e]griefs He Himself bore,
And our [f]sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
[g]Smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But He was [h]pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our [i]well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
6 All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us allTo [j]fall on Him.

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New American Standard Bible (NASB)Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman FoundationCLICK HERE FOR REST OF THE PASSAGE

HOLY WEEK - FRIDAY: "WHAT REALLY HAPPENED ON THE CROSS"

The final hours of the Lord Jesus Christ, during His brief thirty three (33) years on earth were some of the most horrible any human being could ever face, far less the sinless Son of God! There were six, yes 6, illegal trials conducted against God Himself in the flesh, by sinful men in the ultimate act of false arrest, malfeasance, corruption and more. Due to the distasteful nature of these acts, speedy "justice" was the order of the night.

CLICK HERE TO READ MY ANALYSIS OF THE SIX ILLEGAL TRIALS OF THE MESSIAH

The reason the religious and political leaders of Jerusalem moved so fast to frame, condemn and execute Jesus in such a short period of time was multi-fold. They had already come to the conclusion after Palm Sunday that many of their own people or "the world", as they said, "had gone after Him". They recognized the popularity of the loveable, kind and powerful Prophet Jesus and dared not risk prolonging their persecution of Him. What they had to do, in addition to the betrayal by Jesus, was do their dirty deeds quickly and in secret.

This was also their only opportunity to take down this Man, Who had threatened their world order. Jesus had basically gone after their rackets, which they had going INSIDE the Temple compounds. Every high temple official associated with two  main families, dealt super dishonestly with the unsuspecting millions their fellow citizens who were just obeying God by showing up in Jerusalem for the Passover! They would make both the New York and Chicago mobs green with envy, because this same religious hierarchy owned the franchises which gouged temple worshipers at the money changer tables AND were skimming money off the top. Each one of them, from the former High Priest Annas to the current one, Caiaphas, had their hands in the cookie jar. They were the Jerusalem deep state and the Roman Prefect Pontius Pilate was their accomplice.

It is with this in mind, we come to the actual result of the Six Illegal Trials and the decision to both release Barabbas and replace him on the Cross with Jesus. The Old Testament describes to the finest detail, the results of the beatings of the Lord to His final Words on the Cross. We know His Seven Statements from the Cross from the Gospels. What most Christians are not aware of, is that Holy Spirit Himself had two men of God, write those same words, for the most part, down in the Scriptures!  Without further comment, the Prophesy concerning the Suffering Savior is now presented in brief. We do this so that the world may know that while evil men thought they were getting one over on folks by secretly framing and killing the Messiah, what they actually did was fulfill Prophesy!  

God Himself prophesied what was going to happen to Jesus after the flogging.
a. He was unrecognizable:
ISAIAH 52:13-15 (written 700 plus years before it happened!)
13   Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently; He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high.
14   Just as many were astonished at you, so His visage was marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men;
15   So shall He sprinkle  many nations. Kings shall shut their mouths at Him; for what had not been told them they shall see, and what they had not heard they shall consider.

God Himself told us why He sent God the Son, to be the Passover Lamb for all the sins, of all mankind, for all time
b. He was the Sacrifice:
ISAIAH 53:1-9a (written 700 plus years before it occurred in Jerusalem)
1   Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2   For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground.
He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him.
3   He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
4   Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.

5   But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.
6   All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
7   He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,  so He opened not His mouth.
8 He was taken from prison and from judgment,  and who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgressions of My people He was stricken.
9 And they made His grave with the wicked - but with the rich at His death.

c.  What He actually did and said on the Cross:
PSALM 22:1-2 and PSALM 22: 6-18 - all written by King David over 1000 years earlier, the EXACT WORDS OF CHRIST FROM THE CROSS:
Psalm 22:1-2
1   My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, and from the words of My groaning?
2   O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear;  and in the night season, and am not silent.

Psalm 22:6-18:
6   But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised by the people.
7   All those who see Me ridicule Me; they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,  He trusted in the Lord, let Him rescue Him; l us help Him past. deliver Him, since He delights in House !”
9   But You are He who took Me out of the womb; You made Me trust while on My mother’s breasts.
10  I was cast upon You from birth. From My mother’s womb You have been My God.
11  Be not far from Me, for trouble is near; for there is none to help.
12  Many bulls have surrounded Me; Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled Me.

13  They gape at Me with their mouths, Like a raging and roaring lion. AND I am poured out like water, and all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; it has melted within Me.
15  My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and My tongue clings to My jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death.
16  For dogs have surrounded Me; the congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet;
17  I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me.
18 They divide My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots.

The vivid descriptions of the physical trauma which the Lord went through is stunning. Psalm 22 represents a view of the events recorded in the Gospels, down to the mocking by the pharisees etc. in accurate detail....all written 1000 years before it occurred! What a mighty God we serve.

As we read these relevant portions of Psalm 22 and the Isaiah 52-53 chapters, may we be fully aware of what our Lord had to endure, so that you and I may have eternal life. This should be a prime cause of celebration, to the Praise and Glory of His Name. amen. 

THE DECK WAS STACKED - 6 ILLEGAL TRIALS IN 6 HOURS

Everything done in western courtrooms had its origins in the Bible.  The system of Justice practiced in most civilized countries of the West for almost 2000 years, came from the Book of Deuteronomy and the Ten Commandments from Exodus 20. From the swearing on the Bible to the calling of witnesses- all were given by God for our current Judeo/Christian paradigm.

Still when the religious authorities, who were persecuting Jesus for allegedly violating the same Law (Torah) that HE gave, brought Him up on the night before they killed Him, they violated every single letter of the Law they claimed to uphold! In less than 24 hours, there were, therefore, six (6) illegal trials conducting against the Messiah by evil men, bent on temporarily getting rid of the Man Who had threatened their corrupt lifestyle.

The deck was stacked against Jesus. Although He went willingly to the Cross to pay the penalty of sin for us, was nonetheless, railroad through a corrupt system. There were six illegal trials under both Jewish and Roman law:

RELIGIOUS TRIALS (BEFORE TEMPLE PRIESTS):
Illegal Religious Trial #1: TRIALS WERE ILLEGAL (AT NIGHT/NO CHARGES): Jesus was arrested at night after being betrayed by Judas and immediately taken to trial in front of a man who had no legal right to question anybody, far less some arrested by the official Temple Guard. Annas was the former high priest with no legal standing AND he was also questioning a man, under this illegal authority, who was not charged with anything.

Illegal Religious Trial #2: FALSE WITNESSES: The second trial, less than two hours after the first corrupt one in front of Annas, was before the real Jewish High Priest - Caiaphas, who was appointed by his father-in-law Annas. It is against ANY law to have false witnesses (Commandment #9). We know from John 8:6 that the religious authorities were looking for something they could use against Jesus to bring a charge against Him. Still the Gospels showed that many of their pharisee priests lied openly about Jesus' teaching even though He did so openly in the Temple for three years.

Illegal Religious Trial #3: PASSOVER: Apart from the fact that the "trials" were conducted at 2 am (night) with no charges and false witnesses, it was against the Law of the Hebrews to conduct a trial on a Feast Day! To wit, it was Passover, the most sacred of days on the Jewish Calendar and which God had instituted into perpetuity for them.  But powerful men, full of hate and acting irrationally, cared nothing about breaking the same Law they claimed to be standing up for.

SECULAR (ROMAN) TRIALS BEFORE PILATE:
Illegal Roman Trial #1:  CHARGES CHANGED: When the Temple priests brought Jesus to Pilate the first time, they had by that time "cooked the books" and changed the charge from "Blasphemy" against God to "treason" because they knew Pilate would not prosecute a religious charge which he knew or cared nothing about.
Illegal Roman Trial #2: FALSE IMPRISONMENT: Pilate violated supposedly civilized European (Roman) law when he kept Jesus under arrest, knowing he was innocent. Jesus did not absolve him of that sin, in fact He told Pilate that those who handed Him over to Pilate had the greater sin. This too will be closed one day, on Judgment Day before the Great White Throne of Judgment when death and hades will be cast into hell forever.
Illegal Roman Trial #3: KANGAROO COURT JUSTICE: This final one was the kicker. Pilate knowingly let an innocent Man be killed. He could wash his hands with all the water in all the oceans, the Blood stains will never come off as the stain was on his soul. He did the bidding of evil "religious" men to save his own temporary powerful status and lost his soul. There was no proof of anything, no evidence presented and still, Pilate allowed Jesus to be sent to the Cross to die. The thing is - He knew the Truth and put it in writing at the top of the Cross for all History to note "Jesus, King of the Jews". What Pilate meant for mocking, God used for the facts of the matter.

VERDICT OF ALL SIX ILLEGAL TRIALS: GUILTY 
Even the verdict was illegal (apart from Pilate's) for the following reasons:
- The Law said the Sanhedrin council should have been polled (like a real jury). This did not happen.
- The Law said that Jesus was supposed to have a defense counsel. None was allowed.
- The Law said there should have been 24 hours before any verdict and sentence and that if the sentence was execution, there was to be a period of waiting of three (3) days before execution, so that the Sanhedrin- the Jewish religious "supreme court" could pray and fast to see if they made the right decision! NONE OF THIS WAS DONE!

Jesus was rushed through this ENTIRE six trial process in less than six hours and was executed by the priests and Pilate in less than 12 hours. But He turned those three (3) days of waiting upside down on its head. He rose from the Dead on the Third Day and has been turning this world upside down for almost 2000 years now!!! As for these illegal trials, all of this will be addressed in God's Courtroom on Judgment Day when the Chief Judge of the Universe will be the same Jesus Whom they did all this to, on that fateful day for Mankind, on Passover, 33 AD.

THANKS BE TO GOD FOR HIS INDESCRIBABLE GIFT.

GOSPEL REFERENCES FOR THE SIX ILLEGAL TRIALS OF CHRIST:

"Judge"	Matthew	Mark	Luke	John
1.     Annas	Matt 26:57-58	Mark 14:53-54	Luke 22:54-55	John 18:12-23
2. Caiaphas	Matt 26:59-75	Mark 14:55-65	Luke 22:56-65	John 18:24
3. Sanhedrin	Matt 27:1	Mark 15:1	Luke 22:66-71
4.     Pilate	Matt 27:2-14	Mark 15:2-5	Luke 23:1-6	John 18:28-38
5.     Herod			Luke 23:7-12
6.     Pilate	Matt 27:15-26	Mark 15:6-15	Luke 23:13-25	John 18:39/19:16

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