How Was Jesus Buried and When?

from Google Images

A man named Joseph took upon himself the responsibility to bury Jesus (Luke 23:50-53). He went to Pilate and all three Synoptics declare he asked, perhaps begged for Jesus’ body, that it would be given him for burial (Luke 23:52; cf. Matthew 27:57-58; Mark 15:43-45). According to the Gospel of John, Joseph had been a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one, who came to Jesus at night (John 19:38). It is interesting that none of the Synoptics tell us that his relationship with Jesus was a secret one. They say only that Joseph was a righteous man (Luke 23:50, a rich man and a disciple (Matthew 27:57), and that he waited for the Kingdom of God (Mark 15:43). It is almost as though the author of the Gospel of John makes a confession about himself.

 

The Rending of the Veil

from Google Images

I wonder how one would explain the fact that, if Jesus’ crucifixion took place at either of the two most popular locations, how any of the Gospel writers could know that the veil of the Temple was torn from the top to the bottom. If the writers of the Gospel wrote only what they witnessed or what other disciples witnessed (cf. Luke 1:1-3), how was it known how the veil of the Temple was torn or even when it occurred on that day? After all, both popular crucifixion sites are found on the other side of the city and behind the Temple. The only possible location for the crucifixion to have taken place, and for the disciples to actually see what occurred in the Temple was east of the city on the top of Mount Olivet!

 

Did God Forsake or Desert Jesus?

from Google Images

Some believe toward the end of Jesus’ crucifixion, Jesus began to buckle under the wrath of God. They conclude that his humanity cried out, as he felt so utterly alone, believing that even his Father had abandoned him. Others conclude that the Father did actually abandon Jesus, his Son, as the full weight of humanity’s sin was placed upon him on the cross. They say, “Separation from the Father must have been the worst part of the Cross for Jesus who had never before experienced anything but intimate fellowship with his Father.”[1]

 

The Good Thief

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Luke mentions that one of the criminals taunted Jesus, demanding him to save himself and them who were crucified with him (Luke 23:39). The second criminal, however, rebuked the first, telling him he had no fear of God, before whom they both were coming to be judged (Luke 23:40). The second man admitted to his guilt, saying that both his and the other man’s judgment fit the crimes they committed (Luke 23:41).

 

Unbelief and Mocking Jesus

from Google Images

For practical purposes the Romans needed an accusation to charge Jesus in order to crucify him, because such a thing would become a matter of public record. In the second century AD Justin Martyr, while addressing the Emperor, Pius, mentioned that proof of what he said could be obtained from the Acts of Pilate,^[1] something that hardly could be so, if Pilate wasn’t required to record the reasons for the executions he commanded. Therefore, Pilate’s official verdict was: Jesus of Nazareth was the King of the Jews—a political crime, something for which he had earlier found him innocent. Nevertheless, he could hardly mention in a public record that he had executed Jesus for claiming to be the Son of God, a religious crime, according to the Jews (John 19:7, 13-16), but a matter of harmless superstition, according to Rome (cf. Acts 25:18-20).

 

The Crucifixion and the Temple of God

from Google Images

The Genesis account of the Garden of Eden, and the activity of Cain and Able portray an interesting comparison to the divisions of the Tabernacle in the wilderness and the Temple of of God at Jerusalem. For example, the Most Holy Place is equivalent to the place in the Garden where Adam and Eve met with the Lord (cf. Genesis 3:8), while the rest of the Garden, where Adam and Eve interacted with one another and satisfied themselves with the fruits thereof, would be equivalent to the Holy Place within the Tabernacle or the Temple. Outside the Garden was the Land of Eden, for the Garden was planted within Eden (Genesis 2:8).

 

Where is Golgotha?

from Google Images

Probably, most folks who study the Bible believe the place where Jesus was crucified is one of two locations. The first is the traditional place inside Jerusalem’s city walls, which had been identified as the place where Jesus was crucified by Helena, Constantine’s mother, in 333 AD. The second location was proposed by German theologian, Otto Thenius, in 1842, and it can be found just outside and north of the Damascus Gate along the western city wall. The latter was proposed because of two cavities in the rocks of the hill, which cause it to resemble the eyes of a skull to some people. However, I hesitate to believe folks would see the resemblance, if they didn’t know Jesus was crucified at a place called the “skull”. The immediate problem with both of the locations is that they were identified as such through subjective reasoning, the first by premonition and the second by appearance. Nevertheless, there is absolutely no objective evidence from the Biblical record to support either point of view.

 

Did God Hear Jesus’ Prayer?

from Google Images

Jesus was led to a place called Calvary, with two others who were condemned to be crucified (Luke 23:32-33). The word Calvary actually comes to us from the Vulgate translation of the Greek, kranion (G2898), at Luke 23:33. The verse should read “the Scull” or “the Head” as Young’s Literal Version and our modern translations do. Calvary is the English translation of the Latin calvariae, which means head or skull.

 

Warning of Coming Judgment

from Google Images

Often folks object about how a matter is handled, because of the innocent who suffer. What about the innocent suffering due to the judgment of God? How can we account for the love of God in such a thing? I don’t know why, but we seem to place the judgment of God on a different plane than the judgments we make about things. For example, The atomic bombs dropped on Japan during World War II killed thousands of innocent people, but doing so probably saved millions of the Allied military, to say nothing of the casualties Japan would have incurred. Similarly, the innocent of the Jewish nation suffered, because they placed their trust in their leaders—the mountains and hills they hoped would cover them (Luke 23:30).

 

Simon of Cyrene

from Google Images

I wonder if it is possible to know a story so well that one simply misses many of the details? I know I often come to see things differently even after many sessions of reading, discussion and study. Similar things are done inadvertently during ordinary conversation. We may be speaking with someone, but, without waiting for the full story, we jump to the wrong conclusion, only to be corrected by the speaker. Understanding becomes even more problematic when someone we trust tells us of his conclusion about what another friend has said, so, when speaking with the second friend, the blurred truth becomes even more difficult to correct. I believe this sort of thing often occurs when we read and discuss the Bible. We, no doubt, get the gist of the account, but the details that get us there are often taken for granted and obscured.

 

Pilate’s Verdict of Crucifixion

from Google Images

It is reasonable that Pilate would assume the chief priests and the people would desire Jesus’ release instead of Barabbas, because the latter was really guilty of the charges the authorities levied falsely against Jesus. Pilate knew the high priests understood Jesus wasn’t really guilty of the charges they made against him, so why wouldn’t they reject one who was really guilty of the accusations they made against Jesus?

 

Jesus Before Pilate

Given that the religious leaders of the day found Jesus guilty of blasphemy, this was nothing to Pilate. So, we must ask: for what charge was Jesus crucified? What did the Jewish authorities say to the Roman governor? First of all, they were vague. They wanted Pilate to kill Jesus just because they found him guilty in the Sanhedrin. They desired the Roman governor to rubber stamp their decision (John 18:29-30), but this didn’t work. Pilate told them to punish him themselves, but they wanted the death penalty, which only Pilate had authority to administer (John 18:31-32). But, before Pilate could leave they began shouting accusations of insurrection. Notice:

 

Who Is Barabbas?

from Google Images

The practice of Roman governors releasing Jewish criminals is never mentioned in ancient books, except in the New Testament. Moreover, many ancient manuscripts don’t have it mentioned in Luke, but this is of no real import, because, even if Luke doesn’t mention it in Luke 23:17, it is mentioned in all three of the other Gospel narratives (Matthew 27:15; Mark 15:6; John 18:39). Moreover, the fact that there is no mention of the practice in Jewish literature is no reason to conclude that the Gospel narratives are wrong, because many ancient records would have been destroyed in the Roman-Jewish War  in 66-70 AD. The fact is that Rome did practice such a custom in other countries of the Empire, where it is recorded that Roman governors released local prisoners during a lectisternium, festivals of the local gods. If this was introduced by Pilate to compensate for the cruelty, for which he at times treated the Jews, it would fit the context of the Passover—an event commemorating the release of Jews from captivity in Egypt (cf. John 18:39).