The Cross
Most of us have some understanding of the crucifixion as the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus as a sign of God’s love for mankind. In this study, we will walk with Jesus from the final hours of his life in the Garden of Gethsemane to his last breath in Calgary. We will put ourselves in his shoes to better understand the emotional trauma, physical suffering, and spiritual agony he endured. We will also put ourselves in the shoes of the bystanders who witnessed Jesus’ pleas for God to spare him throughout in his arrest, trial, torture, and death. In doing so, we will finally grasp the depth of God’s love for mankind, and more specifically, for you and me.
Reading Assignment
Please read the following text before contiuing on the study
Part I Walking with Jesus to the Cross
1. Gethsemane
Jesus has been preparing for his death for some time. (see Matthew 16: 21, 17:22-23, 20:17-19). Now the prophecy is about to be fulfilled. In a few hours, Jesus will be facing his final destiny. What do you notice about his emotions? Are you surprised by the deep sorrow he is experiencing? Why do you think he is so afraid? Jesus has always been so courageous and authoritative. Yet here we see a feeble and frail human being. He needs support from his friends and pleads with them to be there for him. But they all fall asleep on him. Suddenly, Jesus finds himself all alone. Can you imagine asking your best friends to be there for you as you go through difficult times in your life – surgery, divorce, job loss, death of loved ones – and they let you down – leaving you emotionally alienated to deal with your own pains?
Even without support from his friends, Jesus turns to God in prayer. In his first prayer, he first asks God to take this cup away – basically, he wants to change his mind. Whatever he is about to face is so terrifying that Jesus is now pleading with God for a Plan B. But even at this gut-wrenching moment, Jesus shows God his willingness to submit to God’s final decision. (v.39). In both his relationship with his friends and with God, Jesus shows his raw emotions. Jesus doesn’t stop at the first prayer. He persists in the second prayer - notice here how his stance softens. If it is not possible…. Perhaps the grip of fear is loosening and new courage is slowly replacing the dread.
Then comes the third prayer. And notice the change in his attitude and tone after the third prayer. Do you hear the voice of readiness and confidence after the final prayer (v45-46)? And this is exactly why we pray. Prayer has the power to change our hearts to become obedient to God – to become one with God in our hearts. Jesus shows us how he persists in prayer until he completely surrenders himself to God. (See also Hebrews 5: 7-8).
Read Matthew 26: 36-46
2. The Arrest
Jesus’ relationship with Judas
Long before the final kiss, Jesus already knew that Judas was going to betray him. Yet none of the disciples knew – because Jesus’ love for Judas had remained constant – he didn’t change how he treated Judas – even up to the last moment – he lets Judas get close enough to kiss him on the cheek. This is unimaginable love and vulnerability – for one’s enemy! Even at the moment of betrayal, Jesus calls him a friend – a sign of unconditional love and perhaps even the last plead for Judas to reconsider his action.
Power to Cancel
We saw earlier that Jesus voluntarily submits himself to God’s will – which is to go through with Plan A, to be the sacrifice on the cross. Here Jesus lets us in on a secret: God gives him the power to change his mind anytime he wants! (v .53) With a snap of a finger, God would send an army of angels to rescue Jesus and his ordeal would be over. Just like that. Now the plot thickens. Would Jesus be tempted to call it quit when it gets hard? Yes, God loves mankind and needs Jesus to be the sacrificial lamb for the plan to work. But he also gives Jesus the free will to be part of the plan, or not.
Read Matthew 26: 47-56
3. The Mock Trial
Jesus is first taken to the religious court for trial. His accusers couldn’t find any evidence of a crime or moral corruption to charge against him. Imagine if someone wants to trap you, how quickly could they come up with something you have said or done? But they could NOT find any dirt on Jesus. Nothing. Finally, they trap Jesus by his own claim: that he is the Son of God. Notice how Jesus responds to their accusation: You have said so. He neither denies nor confesses. instead, he turns the responsibility for the confession back on his accusers – you are the one who said it. As the trial ends, Jesus’ physical suffering and social disgrace begin. Jesus takes it all in – in silence. But remember, he could end his ordeal anytime as he wishes.
Read Matthew 26: 57-68
4. Regrets
Only hours before Jesus’ arrest, Peter declares his fierce loyalty to Jesus (Matthews 26: 35). He follows through with this pledge with an attempted sword fight (Matthew 26: 51), only to be stopped by Jesus. Without the strength of Jesus to lean on, Peter’s courage gives way to fear. When everything seems to be lost, he disassociates himself from Jesus by denying knowing him. Both Peter and Judas betrayed Jesus. One by denying knowing him and the other by turning him over to the enemy. Both regret their actions. But they take very different paths afterward.
Judas attempts to redeem himself by returning the money he receives from betraying Jesus. What does this say about his taking responsibility for his own actions? When the religious leaders put his guilt right back on him, he ends his own life. What does this tell you about his faith in Jesus’ wilingness to show mercy? Peter weeps bitterly. But he remains faithful and later witnesses Jesus’ resurrection and is not only forgiven of his sin but is also given the responsibility to start the church after Jesus’ resurrection. Refer to 2 Corinthians 7: 10-11 for the two types of sorrow as exemplified by Judas and Peter.
Read Matthew 26: 79 to 27:10
5. Pilate
Now Jesus is facing his second trial, this time by the Roman authority. The religious leaders incite the crowd to turn against Jesus and now everyone wants him dead. Pilate knows that Jesus is innocent and that the charges against Jesus is politically motivated. His wife’s dream only furthers his determination to release Jesus. (Luke’s account in 23: 13-25 provides more details). He thought he could save Jesus by presenting the crowd a clear choice between Jesus, the kind-hearted teacher and healer, and Barabbas, the insurrection prisoner and murderer.
Barabbas vs. Jesus
Imagine yourself as Jesus at the trial stand, looking into the crowd: these are the same people whom you may have taught and healed. They are the same people, who a week ago, just welcomed you into their city with great joy and fanfare. Now they all turn against you. Not only that, they consider your life not even worth living compared to a notorious criminal. Would you be tempted to shout at them and try to get them to come to their senses? Would you be so disappointed by their disloyalty? Would you be so wounded by such humiliation they crown you, after everything you had done for them?
Let’s bring this to our modern-day context. Imagine you have been working hard at your job and are due for a promotion. You have received excellent performance reviews, your colleagues and the upper managers speak well of you, and many thank you for how you often go out of your way to help them. Everyone expects that you will be the next Team Leader or Director. Then one day you come into the office and everything is changed. Your colleagues avoid you and you are taking off your favorite projects. Then you hear the announcement that the young graduate who joined the company seven months ago got the promotion instead of you. What? You are in shock. You know this guy well: he arrives office late, never completes his assignments, and his work is full of mistakes. And worse, no one in the office likes him. And now he is your boss? Holding back your tears, you approach your manager for an answer. He gives you straight, “We don’t believe in you anymore. It’s true that the new employee is not qualified. But we must choose a new leader. We all feel that the least qualified person would still be better than you. “ How does this make you feel? Jesus understands.
Pilate’s Choice
As the judge, Pilate had the power to save Jesus, but he didn’t, though he tried. In the end, he went along with the crowd’s demands because he was afraid of the riot that could cost him his job. Is Pilate truly innocent of his choice by washing his hand? How often are we also like Pilate – where our indecision becomes our decision? The times when we don’t stand up for Jesus, when we don’t do what is right – we are making the decision against Jesus. Silence or looking away does not make us innocent.
Read Matthew 26: 79 to 27:10
6. Roman Soldiers
Once the death sentence is pronounced on Jesus, he is treated as the worst of the criminals. Jesus must now endure a physical beating at the hands of the soldiers who not only beat him like a helplessly trapped animal, but they also mocked him, adding insult to his injury and deepening Jesus’ wounds. Imagine the legions (thousands) of angels in heaven, all watching the scene with baited breath. Ready with their sword drawn, they wonder: will the Son of God really let himself be tortured by the cruelest of humanity, or would he free himself and give up on humanity?
Refer to the Medical Account of the Cross.
Read Matthew 27:27-31
7. The Crucifixion
As if the physical and emotional traumas are not punishing enough, Jesus must continue to endure the verbal assaults and mockery from his enemies. At some point, Jesus breaks his silence and cries out: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?“ As before he bows his head and gives up his spirit, he says "It is finished,” (John 19:30)
It is finished. Mission accomplished. Suffering ended. Temptation averted. Sacrifice completed. To become a sin offering for mankind, Jesus must live his entire earthly life, up to his last breath, sinless. He knew that he could not depend on sheer willpower or the strength of the flesh to fight the temptations to sin. Hence throughout his life, he went to God in prayers, fervent cries, and tears to save him from being disobedient to God. (Hebrews 5:7-10).
In the last hours of his life, from the prayer in the Graden of Gethsemane to the cross at Golgotha, the temptations intensified as the suffering increased, The fact that he has the ability to call on God to send him a legion of angels to rescue him only begs the question of why did Jesus choose to endure the suffering?
Read Matthew 27: 32 - 50
8. Resurrection
Read Matthew 27:57-61 , 28:1-7
After his death, Jesus was buried in a tomb according to Jewish tradition. Three days later, his body was not found in the tomb because he had risen from the dead. His resurrection proves for the first time, that sin and death no longer have power over mankind. A new era is dawned.
We now return to the question of why and how Jesus endured suffering both on the way to the cross and while he was on the cross.
Complete Trust
Read 1 Peter 2:21, Roman 3:21
Jesus sets the example for us on how we can endure injustice without retaliation: by his complete trust in God. As a result, he was able to take on our sins and their punishment (the wage of sin is death) for us.
The Love for the Father
Read John 14:10 & John 15:9-10
Jesus loves God and is so deeply connected to God that he would go the distance to do God's will. The deep bond between them fuels his unwavering commitment to God by becoming the sacrifice needed to bring mankind back to God.
Jesus willingly died on the cross for us because he loved us. It is, however, his love for God that ultimately empowered him to endure the sacrifice. Similarly, we may be willing to sacrifice for our brothers, sisters, and friends out of our love for them. Yet our love alone may not be sufficient in challenging times. It is only when we are deeply connected to God and when we desire to please him, his love for us empowers us to love our fellow mankind.
God's Love for Me
Read John 3:16 and Luke 15:4-7
Jesus' death on the cross opens the door for the whole human race to have a relationship with God, This gift is offered to everyone, regardless of race, gender, education, occupation, personal righteousness, etc. Yet each of us still has to decide whether to accept his love and forgiveness. So when God gave his son to die on the cross, he took a gamble on us.
God's love for us is both universal and individual. Even if you are the one sheep who needs forgiveness, Jesus would still die on the cross for you.
Part II Love that Triumphs
Reflect on what the cross means to you.
Does the study help you to understand the heavy cost of our sins, at the same time, the deep love God has for mankind? How do you feel about the grace God is extending to you? Do you eagerly accept it? Or do you hesitate? Do you believe that Jesus cares for you personally, that he would leave the 99 sheep to look for you?
What do you think of Jesus’ humility and his submission to God? Can you see yourself surrendering your will to God completely like Jesus? If not, what is holding you back? When it comes to trusting God to provide and care for you, does Jesus' example help deepen your trust in God?
Write a love letter to God, let him know what the cross means to you, and give thanks to Jesus and God for their love for you.
Part III Self Reflection
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