Sunday 25 October 2015

Matthew 27 : 32 - 56 The Crucifixion of Our Lord Jesus Christ

The Man of Cyrene named Simon forced to carry His Cross to Golgotha, the Place of the Skull.
Mat 27:32  Going out they met a Cyrenaean named Simon; whom they compelled to carry His cross,
Mat 27:33  and so they came to a place called Golgotha, which means 'Skull-ground.'
Mat 27:34  Here they gave Him a mixture of wine and gall to drink, but having tasted it He refused to drink it.
Mat 27:35  After crucifying Him, they divided His garments among them by lot,
Mat 27:36  and sat down there on guard.
Mat 27:37  Over His head they placed a written statement of the charge against Him: THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

Introduction

After scourging and mocking Jesus at Pontius Pilate’s Palace by the Roman Battalion now it was time for Jesus to be taken to Mt. Calvary to be crucified. He went out carrying His own cross but was to weakened by the brutal treatment he had received. To follow Jesus on the Calvary Road is very difficult but He calls us to take our own cross and to follow him. Have you laid all your own ambition and pride down and picked up that Heavy cross which is yours alone.

Here is Matthew's Factual Account of what happened with no strings attached.

Mat 27:32  Going out they met a Cyrenaean named Simon; whom they compelled to carry His cross,
Notes,
The Military personnel charged with the execution found Simon from Cyrene and they forced him into carry the Cross for Jesus.
His home town, Cyrene, Libya, was located in northern Africa. Cyrene, a Greek colony, also had a Jewish community where 100,000Judean Jews had been forced to settle during the reign of Ptolemy Soter (323–285 BC) and was an early center of Christianity.Wikipedia.com
After all that Jesus had been through that night from the Garden of Gethsemane being up all night as He was brutally charged before the Sanhedrin and Pilate then the scourging and mockery by the soldiers. Jesus was completely exhausted. The Roman detachment compelled the passerby, Simon, to carry the heavy Cross for Jesus. Mark’s Gospel tells us that this man was the father of Alexander and Rufus, who probably were followers of Messiah.  Did what Simon saw and heard that day cause him to become a follower of Jesus the Messiah? He could have been a Gentile but more likely he was a Jew of the Diaspora in Jerusalem for the Passover Feast.
Mat 27:33  and so they came to a place called Golgotha, which means 'Skull-ground.'
Notes.
Calvary, also Golgotha /ˈɡɒlɡəθə/, was, according to the Gospels, a site immediately outside Jerusalem's walls where Jesus was crucified.Wikipedia.com
Golgotha - This is a Hebrew word, signifying the place of a skull. This is the word which in Luke is called “Calvary.” The original Greek, there, also means a skull. The word “calvary” is a Latin word meaning “skull,” or place of “skulls.” It is not known certainly why this name was given to this place. Some have supposed that it was because the mount resembled in shape a human skull. The most probable opinion, however, is that it was a place of execution; that malefactors were beheaded there or otherwise put to death, and that their bones remained unburied or unburned. Golgotha, or Calvary, was probably a small eminence on the northwest of Jerusalem, without the walls of the city, but at a short distance. Jesus was put to death out of the city, because capital punishments were not allowed within the walls. Barnes

Mat 27:34  Here they gave Him a mixture of wine and gall to drink, but having tasted it He refused to drink it.
Notes
They gave him vinegar - mingled with gall - Perhaps χολη, commonly translated gall, signifies no more than bitters of any kind. It was a common custom to administer a stupefying potion compounded of sour wine, which is the same as vinegar, from the French vinaigre, frankincense, and myrrh, to condemned persons, to help to alleviate their sufferings, or so disturb their intellect that they might not be sensible of them. The rabbins say that they put a grain of frankincense into a cup of strong wine; and they ground this on Pro_31:6 : Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, i.e. who is condemned to death. Some person, out of kindness, appears to have administered this to our blessed Lord; but he, as in all other cases, determining to endure the fullness of pain, refused to take what was thus offered to him, choosing to tread the winepress alone.
Mat 27:35  After crucifying Him, they divided His garments among them by lot,


Mat 27:36  and sat down there on guard. A.Clark
Mat 27:37  Over His head they placed a written statement of the charge against Him: THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

Notes

And set up over his head his accusation written,.... The Evangelist John calls it a "title", Joh_19:19, and Luke, a "superscription", Luk_23:38, and Mark, the "superscription of his accusation", Mar_15:26, it was what contained the sum and substance of what he was accused, and for which he was condemned, and suffered. The Syriac and Persic versions here render it, "the cause of his death". It was written by Pilate in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, that all might read it; and by his orders it was put upon the cross, and over the head of Jesus by the soldiers. J.Gill

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