(22) "And they bring Him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, The place of a skull. (23) And they offered Him wine mingled with myrrh: but He received it not. (24) And they crucify Him, and part His garments among them, casting lots upon them, what each should take. (25) And it was the third hour, and they crucified Him. (26) And the superscription of His accusation was written over, THE KING OF THE JEWS. (27) And with Him they crucified two robbers; one on His right hand, and one on His left. (29) And they that passed by railed on Him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ha! Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, (30) save Thyself, and come down from the cross. (31) In like manner also the chief priests mocking Him among themselves with the scribes said, He saved others; Himself He can not save. (32) Let the Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with Him reproached Him.
(33) "And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. (34) And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me? (35) And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, He calleth Elijah. (36) And one ran, and filling a sponge full of vinegar, put it on a reed, and gave Him to drink, saying, Let be; let us see whether Elijah cometh to take Him down. (37) And Jesus uttered a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. (38) And the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom. (39) And when the centurion, who stood by over against Him, saw that He so gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God."
Golden Text.—"Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures." 1 Cor. 15: 3.
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.
(1) After the trial before Pilate, where was Jesus taken? Verse 22. Note 1. (2) On arriving there what was offered to Him? How did He regard the offering? Verse 23. Note 2. (3) What then was done to Him? What did the soldiers do with His garments? Verse 24. Note 3. (4) What hour of the day was Jesus crucified? Verse 25. (5) What superscription was written over Him? Verse 26. (6) Who were crucified with Him? In what position? Verse 27. Note 4. (7) In what manner was Jesus treated while on the cross? What did they say to Him? Verses 29, 30. (8) What did the chief priests and scribes say to Him? Verse 31. Note 5. (9) What further insult did they offer? What did His fellow-prisoners say? Verse 32. Note 6. (10) What occurred at the sixth hour? Verse 33. (11) And at the ninth hour? Verse 34. (12) What did some of the people say when they heard this? Verse 35. Note 7. (13) What did one of them do? What did he say, as he did this? Verse 36. (14) Then what occurred? Verse 37. (15) What then took place in the temple? Verse 38. Note 8. (15) What did the centurion say when he saw that Jesus was dead? Verse 39. Note 9.
NOTES.
1. The mental and physical ordeal of the preceding night and the morning of the crucifixion are impossible of realization by the ordinary mind. Yet amidst it all, Jesus sorrowed not for Himself, but for those who were rejecting their only Saviour from sin. The whole proceeding, however, is to close with a capital execution, the most cruel that satanic ingenuity could devise. It was designed to be not only the most cruel but the most shameful of all punishments.
2. Lightfoot, an eminent English commentator, says: "It was a kindly custom of the Jewish ladies to give to those who were being crucified a stupefying draught of wine, mingled with a powerful narcotic drug, bitter, but offered as an anesthetic to stupefy and dull the sense of pain." But Jesus refused it, as He was to drink the dregs of suffering for sin. As the wrath of God is to be "poured out without mixture" upon those who receive the "mark of the beast" in the last days of human probation (Rev. 14: 9-11), so our self-denying Lord patiently accepted the full consequence of the penalty imposed upon Him by the minions of His adversary.
3. The division of the garments of Jesus shows how the prophetic Word is always fulfilled to the smallest detail. Thus is shown the full and accurate foreknowledge of God. "Thy Word is true from the beginning; and every one of Thy righteous judgments endureth forever." Ps. 119: 160.
4. In the Common Version there is added here, verse 28: "And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, And He was numbered with the transgressors."
5. A great truth was unwittingly expressed when the revilers of Christ said, "He saved others; Himself He can not save." Had He saved Himself, He could not have saved others. It was by the sacrifice of Himself that He was enabled to save others. Heb. 9: 22, 26; 1 Peter 1: 18, 19; Rev. 5: 9
6. The Lord does not permit sinners to make their own terms of believing. Men who will not believe in Christ on His conditions, would not believe under any circumstances, even if their own conditions were met. This is illustrated in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. Luke 16: 30, 31. The Jews had before asked signs of Him when He was giving them signs that would have convinced any one at all susceptible to the truth. The Word, and not signs, is the crowning evidence set before us.
7. The people evidently misunderstood the words of Christ, as is quite common with those who do not believe. A remarkable instance of misunderstanding the Word of the Lord is given in John 12: 28, 29. Jesus had addressed His Father, saying, "Father, glorify Thy name," and a voice from heaven replied, "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again." The people heard the voice, and some of them said that it thundered.
8. The rending of the veil in the temple indicated the close of the typical service in the earthly tabernacle. All the types had met their Antitype. The time had come, of which Jesus had said, "Behold your house is left unto you desolate." Matt. 23: 38. The way into the heavenly sanctuary was now to be opened, "Christ having come a high priest of the good things to come, through the greater and more perfect tabernacle."
9. "Truly this man was the Son of God."—This was the best that the poor heathen captain could say, with his limited understanding, while the yet faithless disciples were silent; and a fellow prisoner, still hanging on a cross, had been alone in a full confession of the stricken Saviour. Luke 23: 39-43. In all His bitter experience, from Gethsemane to the cross, Jesus had verily trodden the winepress alone, and there was none of the people with Him. Isa. 63: 3.
