LESSON X.—SUNDAY, JUNE 4, 1899.
17 "They took Jesus therefore; and He went out, bearing the cross for Himself, unto the place called The place of a skull, 18 which is called in Hebrew Golgotha; where they crucified Him, and with Him two others, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst. And Pilate wrote a title also, and put it on the cross. And there was written, JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE 20 KING OF THE JEWS. This title therefore read many of the Jews; for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city; and it was written in Hebrew, and in Latin, and in 21 Greek. The chief priests of the Jews therefore said to Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews; but, that He said, I am King 22 of the Jews. Pilate answered, What I have written I have written.
23 "The soldiers therefore, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also the coat; now the coat was without seam, woven 24 from the top throughout. They said therefore one to another, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be; that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith,
They parted My garments among them,
And upon My vesture did they cast lots.
25 These things therefore the soldiers did. But there were standing by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When 26 Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple standing by, whom He loved, He saith unto His mother, Woman, behold, 27 thy son! Then saith He to the disciple, Behold, thy mother! And from that hour the disciple took her unto his own home.
28 "After this Jesus, knowing that all things are now finished, 29 that the Scripture might be accomplished, saith, I thirst. There was set there a vessel full of vinegar; so they put a sponge full of the vinegar upon hyssop, and brought it to His 30 mouth. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, He said, It is finished; and He bowed His head, and gave up His spirit." Golden Text: "The Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me." Gal. 2:20. (1) In what manner did Jesus finally go forth from Pilate's palace? To what place did He go? V. 17. Note 1. (2) What was done with Him there? Who else were also crucified? V. 18. Note 2. (3) What then did Pilate do? What was the writing? V. 19. (4) What especially enabled many to read the title? V. 20. (5) What protest did the chief priests make to Pilate? V. 21. (6) What was Pilate's reply? V. 22. Note 3. (7) What was done with the garments of Jesus? How was the coat made? V. 23. (8) How did the soldiers dispose of this particular garment? In this action what scripture was fulfilled? V. 24. Note 4. (9) What close friends of Jesus stood by the cross? V. 25. (10) Whom did Jesus particularly notice? Then what did He say to His mother? V. 26. (11) What did He say to the disciple of whom He had spoken? What then did that disciple do? V. 27. (12) After this, what did Jesus know and say? V. 28. (13) What was done in response to this expression? V. 29. (14) When Jesus had received the vinegar, what did He say? Then what followed? V. 30. Note 5. 1. "Bearing the cross."—It was the custom for those who were crucified to suffer the added indignity of bearing their own crosses to the place of execution. No doubt the two malefactors who were crucified with Jesus also bore their crosses, and He, in the role of a condemned criminal, must not be spared any of the cruelty or the disgrace. But His cross could not be measured by the wooden crucifix. His cross included a life of sorrow and acquaintance with grief; it included the humiliation of a perfect Creator to the likeness of sinful flesh; it included the suffering of the just for the unjust; it included the ingratitude of His own people, with whom He had kept covenant for thousands of years that He might exalt them through His humiliation. Cruel as was the infliction at the moment, after hours of personal insult and abuse, the bearing of the instrument of death was but an incident in His cross-bearing, as with it He also bore the sins of the world. All this was borne that sinners, under penalty of death for violation of God's holy law, might have eternal life. Such is Christ, and such a spirit of self-denial is true Christianity. 2. "They crucified Him."—"Death by crucifixion seems to include all that pain and death can have of the horrible and ghastly,—dizziness, cramp, thirst, starvation, sleeplessness, publicity of shame, long continuance of torment, horror of anticipation, mortification of untended wounds,—all intensified just up to the point at which they can be endured at all, but all stopping just short of the point which would give to the sufferer the relief of unconsciousness. Such was the death to which Christ was doomed."—Farrar. "And two others."—These were men who had been previously convicted of crime, and in executing Jesus with them the scripture was fulfilled which says, "He was numbered with the transgressors." (Isa. 53:12.) 3. The protest of the priests.—The Jews felt the sting of the inscription, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews;" but it was the truth. No doubt Pilate meant it as a bitter sarcasm, as he had no love for the Jews, and was disgusted with their action; yet he unwittingly and providentially wrote the truth. Had he shown the same degree of independence before giving Jesus into the hands of His enemies that he did in refusing to alter the inscription, he might have saved himself the sin and disgrace of authorizing the death of One whom he had pronounced innocent. 4. The scripture fulfilled.—The fulfilment of the prophecy of David (Ps. 22:18) concerning the disposition of Christ's raiment is only one of many apparently small details mentioned in the Scriptures, testifying to the identity of Jesus of Nazareth as the true Messiah. The aggregate of such prophecies minutely fulfilled forms an irrefutable voucher not only for the genuineness of His claim, but for the truthfulness of the Scriptures. See, also, verse 28. 5. "Gave up His spirit."—That is, His life; He died. The record of the trial and crucifixion of Christ, as given by John, is very brief. To get a more comprehensive idea of the whole circumstance, it is necessary to read the records of other evangelists. The fact that He died so soon upon the cross was not due to the ordinary effect of the punishment but to the terrible anguish of heart. Literally, He died of a broken heart. He bore all without a cry until the Father's face was hidden from Him. He bore the sins of the whole world, and this was part of the awful penalty. "The wages of sin is death" (Rom. 6:23), and death implies the wrath of God (John 3:36). Jesus deeply realized this fact as He came face to face with death; He realized it as no other ever could. Hence His agonizing cry, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" Mark 15:34. And all this was suffered that we might have hope in the hour of death.