The Passion and the Glory: Jesus Is Crucified


The gospel accounts tell us that Jesus suffered in his crucifixion.  But they don't go into the details of that suffering.  The hard to watch Mel Gibson film "The Passion of the Christ" is probably accurate in its depiction of Roman flogging and crucifixion.  It goes into graphic detail about that suffering.  But the gospel accounts don't.  Why?

There are at least a couple of possibilities.  One is that the suffering of crucifixion victims were so well known at the time, they didn't have to.  Everyone had seen crucifixions, so they knew how horrible they were.  Another is that the gospel writers want us to know that Jesus suffered, but their higher aim is for us to know the meaning of his suffering.

This is particularly evident in Matthew's description of Jesus' crucifixion (27:45-56).  Matthew wants us to focus on who was being crucified, and what his crucifixion meant.

The context shows us that who was being crucified was God's Son, the King of the Jews.  Jesus died a terrible death, but many other people were crucified, and many others have had worse deaths.  As terrible as Jesus' suffering was, Matthew doesn't suggest that Jesus suffered more than anyone ever.  Instead, he wants us to see that it was God's sinless Son, his appointed Messiah, who was suffering.  Ultimately, in the act of crucifying Jesus, humanity was rejecting God himself.

The text also shows us that what Jesus' crucifixion meant was that God had opened new and greater access to him, and that the last days had begun.  

Matthew says that at the moment Jesus died, the curtain in the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem was torn from top to bottom.  This was the curtain dividing the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.  This showed that people no longer had to approach God indirectly through priests and sacrifices, but could approach him directly through faith in Christ.

Matthew also says that the earth shook, tombs opened, and the righteous dead appeared in the area. This showed that Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection meant that the last days had come.  The resurrection at the end of the world had started!  (see 1 Corinthians 15:20).

The person present at the crucifixion who was least qualified to make a judgment about Christ appears to be the only one who understood what was going on.  He said that surely Jesus was divine.

The story of Jesus' crucifixion invites us to make the same affirmation!

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