Good Friday - Jesus is Crucified!

So Pilate ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip then turned Him over to the Roman soldiers to crucify Him. They dressed Him in a purple robe and made a crown of long, sharp thorns and put it on His head. Then they saluted, yelling, “Hail! King of the Jews!” And they beat Him on the head with a stick, spit on Him and dropped to their knees in mock worship. When they were finally tired of mocking Him, they took off the purple robe and put His own clothes on Him again.

Then they led Him away to be crucified. A man named Simon was forced to carry Jesus’ cross. And they brought Jesus to a place called Golgotha (which means Skull Hill). They nailed Him to the cross. They gambled for His clothes, throwing dice to decide who would get them.

It was nine o’clock in the morning when the crucifixion took place. A signboard was fastened to the cross above Jesus’ head, announcing the charge against Him. It read: “The King of the Jews.” Two criminals were crucified with Him, their crosses on either side of His. And the people passing by shouted abuse, shaking their heads in mockery. ”Ha! Look at you now!” they yelled at Him. “You can destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days, can you? Well then, save yourself and come down from the cross!”

The leading priests and teachers of religious law also mocked Jesus. “He saved others,” they scoffed, “but He can’t save himself! Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down from the cross so we can see it and believe Him!”

At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. Then, at that time Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?” Some of the bystanders misunderstood and thought He was calling for the prophet Elijah. One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, holding it up to Him on a stick so he could drink. Another said, ”leave Him alone, let’s see whether Elijah will come and take Him down!” Then Jesus uttered another loud cry and breathed His last breath. When the Roman officer who stood facing Him saw how He had died, he exclaimed, “Truly, this was the Son of God!”

Some women were there, watching from a distance, including Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph, and Salome. They had been followers of Jesus and had cared for Him while He was in Galilee. They and many other women had come with Jesus to Jerusalem.

As evening approached, an honored member of the high council, Joseph gathered his courage and went to Pilate to ask for Jesus’ body. Pilate couldn’t believe that Jesus was already dead, so he called for the Roman military officer in charge and asked him. The officer confirmed the fact, and Pilate told Joseph he could have the body. Joseph bought a long sheet of linen cloth, and taking Jesus’ body down from the cross, he wrapped it in the cloth and laid it in a tomb that had been carved out of the rock. Then Pilate had his men stand guard and roll a stone in front of the entrance of Jesus' tomb.
to be continued...