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Prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane

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Scripture Used in Creating the Splice “Prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane”

Matthew 26:36-46 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Matthew 26:36)

Mark 14:32-42 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Mark 14:32)

Luke 22:40-46 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Luke 22:40)

 

Need to catch up first? To read the Splice Series about The Last Supper, beginning with Part One, click here.

 

Psalm 142:1
I cry aloud with my voice to the LORD; I make supplication with my voice to the LORD.

 

THE SPLICE

When He and the disciples arrived at 1 Gethsemane, He said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and 2 pray/until I have prayed, and you pray that you may not enter into temptation”.  And taking with Him Peter, James, and John (James and John, the sons of Zebedee), He withdrew to Gethsemane from the rest of His disciples at about 3 a stone’s throw distance. 4 Jesus began to be grieved, very distressed and troubled. He said to Peter, James and John, “My soul is deeply grieved, 5 to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.” And He went a little beyond Peter, James, and John, and 6 knelt down/fell to the ground/fell on His face and began to pray that if it were possible, the hour might pass Him by; He fell on His face and prayed, saying, “Abba! My Father! All things are possible for You; if You are willing, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; remove this cup from Me; yet not 7 what I will/as I will; not My will, but Your will be done.”   When He was finished praying, 8 He approached the disciples and found them sleeping and Jesus said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; 9 the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.”

He went away again a second time and prayed, saying the same words as the first time, saying, “My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done.” When He went back, He again found the disciples sleeping; their eyes were very heavy. 10 Jesus must have asked them to account for their behavior, because they did not know what to answer Him. And He left them again, and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more. Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him. And being in 11 agony He was 12 praying very fervently; and 13 His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground. When He rose from prayer, He went to the disciples and found them sleeping again, specifically from 14 sorrow and He said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not enter into temptation.” And then perceiving (whether by sight or spirit) that the betrayer, Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, and his 15 Sanhedrin-appointed gang 16 were approaching, He then said, “It is enough; Behold, the hour is at hand and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up, let us be going; behold, the one who betrays Me is at hand!”

 

“Garden in the Morning”

 

Want to continue reading? To read the Splice “The Betrayal and Illegal Arrest of Jesus”, click here.

 

NOTES

1 Gethsemane: There are still olive trees located in the Garden of Gethsemane. Do an internet search on “how old are the olive trees in the Garden of Gethsemane” and you’ll get some fun reads on the remaining trees. Sadly, none have survived (it seems) from when Jesus walked the earth.(Back)

 

2 pray/until I have prayed: Matthew 26:36 says “and pray” and Mark 14:32 says “until I have prayed”.(Back)

 

3 a stone’s throw distance: Meaning, a short distance away. Could the other disciples still see Jesus, Peter, John and James? Since the distance was rather abbreviated, I am uncertain as to why Jesus took P, J & J with Him. He even left P, J & J off to a distance from Himself, albeit a small distance. See Matthew 26:36-39, Mark 14:32-35, Luke 22:41. (Back)

 

4 Jesus began to be grieved and very distressed and troubled: It is easy to pass over these words, glassy eyed, while we read them and say, “Yep: grieved, distressed, troubled.” The levels of grief, distress and trouble experienced by Jesus were beyond anything we have suffered in our own lives. It’s a great reminder for us on how much Jesus took upon Himself to save us. (Back)

 

5 to the point of death: It is easy to think of this as hyperbole, because it sounds like the sort of hyperbole we might use today, as in, “I could just die” when of course, we wouldn’t. Jesus is not using hyperbole here. There were times, however, Jesus did use exaggerated comparisons as relatable teaching tools, such as in Matthew 7:3. (Back)

 

6 knelt down/fell to the ground/fell on His face: Matthew 26:39 says “fell on His face”, Mark 14:35 says “fell to the ground”, and Luke 22:41 says “knelt down”.(Back)

 

7 what I will/as I will: Mark 14:36 says “what I will” and Matthew 26:39 says “as I will”.(Back)

 

8 He approached the disciples: Luke 22:45 leaves me wondering if all of the disciples had fallen asleep, due to heavy eyes of sorrow? Jesus particularly speaks to Peter during the first discovery of sleep (Matthew 26:40 and Mark 14:37), but isn’t it possible that the other disciples were close enough to P, J & J and Jesus for them to hear Him? The Bible doesn’t specify that only P, J & J are the ones sleeping, although by the way Mark worded 14:32-38, we might assume with confidence that it was P, J & J at the center of the sleeping situation. John does not mention the prayers in the garden at all, Luke does not mention that P, J & J were separated out from the other disciples or that there were 3 prayer-times/3 discoveries of sleep by Jesus. Only Mark and Matthew mention the sleeping disciples and the 3 separate prayer times. See Matthew 26:37-45 and Mark 14:33-41. (Back)

 

9 “the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak”:  says Jesus, succinctly. Paul expands on this struggle in Romans 7:15-25. (Back)

10 Jesus must have asked them to account for their behavior: See Matthew 26:43-44 and Mark 14:40 for the only mentions concerning the second discovery of sleep. Although Mark 14:40 tells us that the disciples did not know what to answer Him, we don’t know exactly what was asked. (Back)

 

11 agony: The Greek word used for agony in Luke 22:44 is agónia and it means “great fear, terror, agony”. It also means “a contest”, due to the anxiety experienced before competition. (Back)

 

12 praying very fervently: From Luke 22:44. The  Greek word used for fervently is ektenesteron and it means “more intently, more earnestly”. (Back)

 

13 His sweat became like drops of blood: This information comes from Luke 22:44. Sweating blood is a medical condition called hematidrosis. This condition is extremely rare and there are very few actual cases. The Greek word used for like in Luke 22:44 doesn’t mean “one of the same things” such as a Fuji apple and a Granny Smith apple are the same or “like” in that they are both apples. The word used in Luke 22:44 is hósei. This Greek word is more akin to “about” or “as if”, and therefore it is not a comparison of exacts, but more like an estimation. We don’t know if Jesus actually sweated drops of blood, just that His sweat became like drops of blood. The Bible states, that in any case, Jesus was under great distress. (Back)

 

14 sorrow: John 16:6 tells us that Jesus mentions their sorrow. They are filled with sorrow because of the things Jesus was telling them at the Last Supper. To read what Jesus said to them at the Last Supper, see Matthew 26:20-35; Mark 14:17-31; Luke 22:14-38; John 13:2-17:26. John gives us the most information on what Jesus said that night. (Back)

 

15 Sanhedrin-appointed gang: See Matthew 26:47; Mark 14:43; Luke 22:52; John 18:3 for the description of this rough crowd comprised of the elders, chief priests, Roman guards, Pharisees, officers of the temple, scribes and Judas, armed with torches, lanterns, clubs and swords for arresting one Man. (Back)

 

16 were approaching: See Matthew 26:45-55, Mark 14:41-46, Luke 22:46-55; John 18:3-12 to read about Jesus’s last few minutes of freedom and the transition to His unjust and illegal arrest in the night, that led to those farcical trials (Matthew 26:57-68; Mark 14:53-65; Luke 22:66-71, John 18:12-24) and ultimately, to His wrongful death (Matthew 27:11-54; Mark 15:1-39; Luke 23:1-48; John 18:28-19:30). God uses these flagrant injustices, not only with Jesus, but many of His servants in the Bible, to complete His purposes. The Book of Acts records many details of injustice and wrongful persecution that leads God’s people to the places they need to be or to start events that unfold like dominos. We can even be sure today that injustice is used by God to complete His purpose, as God remains unchanged and the same (Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 13:8). (Back)

The Resurrection of Jesus: Part Three

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Scripture Used to Create the Splice Series “The Resurrection of Jesus”

Matthew 28:1-20 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Matthew 28:1)

 Mark 16:1-20 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Mark 16:1)

Luke 24:1-53 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Luke 24:1)

John 20 (Greek Text Analysis starting with John 20:1)

John 21 (Greek Text Analysis starting with John 21:1)

Acts 1:1-14 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Acts 1:1)

 

Need to catch up first? To read the Splice “The Resurrection of Jesus: Part Two”, click here.

 

Ephesians 1:20-21
20 which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.

 

THE SPLICE

 

The 1 eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee to 2 the mountain which Jesus had designated. After these things Jesus manifested Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and when they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but 3 some were doubtful. And He manifested Himself in this way. Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee (James and John), and two others of His disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, 4 “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will also come with you.” They went out and got into the boat; and that night they caught nothing. But when the day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; 5 yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. So Jesus said to them, “Children, you do not have any fish, do you?” They answered Him, “No.” And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat and you will find a catch.” So they cast, and then they were not able to haul the net in because of the great number of fish. Therefore the 6 disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.” So when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put his outer garment on (for he was stripped for work), and threw himself into the sea. But the other disciples came in the little boat, for they were not far from the land, but about one hundred yards away, dragging the net full of fish. So when they got out on the land, they saw a charcoal fire already laid and fish placed on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish which you have now caught.”
Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples ventured to question Him, “Who are You?” knowing that it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and the fish likewise. This is now the 7 third time that Jesus was manifested to the disciples, after He was raised from the dead.

So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My lambs.”  He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Shepherd My sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Tend My sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go.” Now this He said, 8 signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me!” Peter, turning around saw the disciple whom Jesus loved 9 following them; 10 the one who also had 11 leaned back on His bosom at the supper and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?” So Peter seeing him said to Jesus, “Lord, and what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!” Therefore this saying went out among the brethren that that disciple would not die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but only, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you?” This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and wrote these things, and 12 we know that his testimony is true.

Gathering the disciples together, Jesus led them out as far as 13 Bethany and  they (the disciples) were asking Him, saying, “14 Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the 15 Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; for John baptized with water, but you will be 16 baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” And He said to them, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. And make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit teaching them to observe all that I commanded you;  He who has believed and has been 17 baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.  18 These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name  they will cast out 19 demons, they will be speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover. Go therefore and lo, I am with you always, even to the  end of the age.” And after He had said these things, He lifted up His hands and blessed them. While He was 20 blessing them, He parted from them. Jesus was lifted up while they were looking on and was carried up and received into heaven; a 21 cloud received Him out of their sight and He sat down at the right hand of God. And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.” And they, after worshipping Him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. When they had entered the city, they went up to the 22 upper room where they were staying; that is, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James. These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers; and they were continually in the temple praising God. Recorded in the book The Acts of The Apostles, written by Luke, are the results of these things: they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed and Jesus Himself sent out through them from east to west the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation.

And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, 23 John supposed in his Gospel account that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written.

We also know this happened after the Resurrection, but have no other information regarding this supernatural event:

Matthew 27:52-53

52 The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53and after His resurrection they entered the holy city and 24 appeared to many.

 

NOTES

 

1 eleven disciples: Eventually, the eleven will become twelve once again with the addition of Matthias, as described in Acts 1:23-26. Matthias and Justus/Joseph/Barsabbas are named as traveling with Jesus during His ministry in Acts 1:21-22, more proof that it wasn’t just the Twelve disciples that were involved with Jesus and following Him. (Back)

2 the mountain: We don’t know exactly which mountain in Galilee the disciples were directed to. There are websites that speculate, but the Bible does not name the mountain. (Back)

3 some were doubtful: We don’t know who was doubtful at Galilee (Matthew 28:16-17 ). It is likely that more than just the eleven disciples were in attendance at Galilee, as they had other people with them in Jerusalem, such as Mary Magdalene and Joanna (see Luke 24:9-10). We know Thomas had been doubtful of Jesus’s resurrection while the disciples were still in Jerusalem, but his doubt had been removed (John 20:24-29).  All of the other disciples seemed to believe Jesus while in Galilee and Jerusalem, except when they saw Him for the very first time, due to their joy and amazement (Luke 24:41). Jesus did rebuke the disciples, however, for doubting the people who had reported His resurrection to them before they saw Him for themselves (Mark 16:14). (Back)

4 I am going fishing: I’ve heard one pastor say that Peter went fishing because he lost faith in Jesus’s return to Galilee. It’s never ok to make the Bible say what it doesn’t say or to omit things that the Bible does say. I think it’s best to just take this sentence as it is presented. Peter went fishing, and six of the other disciples went with him. See John 21:3.  (Back)

5 yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus: Jesus manifested Himself in a form unrecognizable to the people that knew Him more than once (see John 20:14 and Luke 24:16). (Back)

6 disciple whom Jesus loved: This disciple would be John the apostle and writer of the gospel of John, the epistles 1 John, 2 John, and 3 John and the book Revelation. (Back)

7 third time that Jesus was manifested: John 21:14. The Greek word used here for manifest is phaneroó and it means “to make visible, make clear”. The first manifestation to the disciples was on Sunday night (John 20:19) when Cleopas and his traveling buddy saw Jesus and then went back to Jerusalem to tell the disciples about it (Luke 24:33-36). Jesus appeared to ten of the disciples that night, as Thomas had left at some point (John 20:24) and Judas was no longer apart of the fellowship. The second manifestation was talked about specifically in John 20:24-29, but also in Mark 16:14. That manifestation was 8 days later, when Thomas was present. The third manifestation was at the Sea of Galilee, which is also known as the Sea of Tiberias (see John 6:1). The third manifestation is talked about in Matthew 28:16-20, Mark 16:15-19, and John 21:1-14 . We don’t know how long after the second sighting of Jesus that the third happened. We only know that Jesus “presented Himself alive after His suffering” over a time span of 40 days (Acts 1:3). (Back)

8 signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God: From John 21:19. We don’t know for sure how Peter is martyred, just that he was martyred because of what Jesus had just said to him. Peter himself mentions his own death decades later saying that Jesus made his death known to him (see 2 Peter 1:14). It is possible that when John wrote his gospel account at the end of the 1st century, Peter had already been martyred; it does seem that John is writing on the other side of the event. As for the other apostles’ deaths, we know that James was murdered by the sword because of Acts 12:2. We don’t know anything about the other disciples’ deaths. There are many traditions floating around as to the “how, when and where”, but these cannot be proven and must be taken as possible events and not as facts. (Back)

9 following them: After breakfast, it seems that they were not sitting down around the fire anymore, but that they were walking. (Back)

10 the one: John the disciple. (Back)

11 leaned back on His bosom: This memory that John recalls is recorded in John 13:23-25. (Back)

12 we know that his testimony is true: This is a strangely worded phrase from John 21:24. It gives the feeling that John had written his book, and then others had circulated it or distributed it, and they themselves added this part, assuring the reader that John did write the book and they were sure of it to be true. It could be that John is reassuring the reader that his testimony is true, but if so, it is not written in standard first person singular. The Greek word for the phrase we know in John 21:24 is eidó, written in the first person plural, oidamen. (Back)

13 Bethany: The story may have made a bit of a jump in time. Either Jesus had walked back with the disciples towards Jerusalem from Galilee, which was far away but something they had done before, or they had already been back to Jerusalem and walked out to Bethany, which was not far away (John 11:18). (Back)

14 Lord, is it at this time: There are many portions of the Old Testament talking about the establishment of the kingdom that will be eternal, granted by God, such as Daniel 2:44, and also the return and restoration of the kingdom of Israel being referred to, such as Ezekiel 36. The disciples were living during the Roman occupation of Israel, and they were probably anxious, like many Jews, to have Rome out of their land. This is probably why they brought up the subject. (Back)

15 Holy Spirit: This gift was fully manifested during Pentecost. To read about Jesus’s promise concerning the Holy Spirit, see John 14:16-18, 16:5-14, 20:22. See Acts 2:1-13 to read about the day of Pentecost and the fulfillment of this promise. (Back)

16 baptized with the Holy Spirit: This baptism occurred on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-13), also known as the Feast of Weeks, which occurs on the fiftieth day after Passover. The word “Pentecost” or pentékosté in the Greek, means “fiftieth”.
To see a list in timeline form of the Jewish feasts, click here. (Back)

17 baptized shall be saved: Jesus is speaking of baptism by the Holy Spirit, which each and every believer is gifted with, and not a water baptism. He just spoke about baptism by the Holy Spirit…He is continuing the thought. Scripture is very clear that no ritual, work, or action, such as a water baptism, can save you from eternal destruction.  Only the grace of God in giving you the gift of faith in Jesus, and the gift of recognizing and repenting from sin, trusting that Jesus can forgive and remove the sin and reconcile you to God, equals salvation (Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:8-9, Titus 3:5, among other verses). This is done through the work of the Holy Spirit, and this is His baptism (for examples, see Ezekiel 36:27; John 16:8-13; Romans 5:5; Titus 3:5-7). The fruit, or result, of this baptism by the Holy Spirit is listed in Galatians 5:22-23. (Back)

18 These signs: The signs listed here were manifested in order to give people the proof that God was present and that the things talked about by the apostles were from Him (2 Corinthians 12:12). These signs were starting to phase out when Timothy was sick (see 1 Timothy 5:23) Otherwise, wouldn’t he most certainly have been miraculously healed? Wouldn’t have Paul’s ailment of the eyes been taken care of, as well (Galatians 4:13-15)? Or (a common argument) were Timothy and Paul “in sin” or was it that they “didn’t have enough faith”? God does not perform miracles based on our sinfulness or faith (see Jesus’s many healing miracles). Otherwise, our works make a difference and clearly our “works” are not even a factor in our salvation (see Romans 3:21-28). We do not need these signs or miracles anymore, because we have the Bible; the Holy Spirit is our proof (John 16:8-13). This is not to say that a miracle could not happen, just that they are most certainly not common, aren’t used as proof of God’s presence and not widely visible.  (Back)

19 demons: There seems to be confusion about what demons actually are. They are fallen angels that were holy angels. Angels were created by God (Colossians 1:16), just like all things. The Bible is silent on angel creation timelines and how God created them. Some angels, for reasons unknown, decided to believe in and side with Satan (who is a fallen angel himself) instead of God and consequently were removed from Heaven, along with Satan (Revelation 12:7-9). Demons and Satan are nothing to fear for those of us held by Christ. God has all power and control over all things, every second of every day, from and to eternity infinity, even for those people who choose to defy Him. If someone has been possessed by demons (no actual elect of God can be possessed by demons because the Holy Spirit dwells within them, see Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 3:16), God allowed that (1 Samuel 16:14-15). It is God, not Satan, demons or any human being, that is to be feared (Matthew 10:28). (Back)

20 blessing them: What does it mean to “bless” someone? The Greek word for bless is eulogeó and it means “ to speak well of, praise”. When used to describe blessing from God, it is to “to consecrate a thing with solemn prayers” and “to cause to prosper, to make happy, to bestow blessings on”. (Back)

21 cloud: The Bible does not describe the appearance of the cloud. Jesus Himself mentions the clouds in Matthew 24:30, referencing Daniel 7:13, saying that He will return with or on (Greek word epi has several words that could be used here) the clouds of the sky/heaven. Although Jesus doesn’t say that the clouds of the sky ushering in His return are different in any way, it is possible that the cloud/clouds are supernatural in structure and design, the same way that the cloud recorded in Exodus 13:21-22 is supernatural. (Back)

22 upper room: Was this upper room the same one from the Thursday night where the Last Supper was held? It is very possible, because that one was large (Luke 22:12) and it needed to hold 11 people, at the very least. Could this also be the upper room mentioned in Acts 1:13 ? That, too, could be from the Last Supper. We can’t know for sure. If it is the same, it seems that the owner might have been a believer in Jesus because of the wording of Matthew 26:18, Mark 14:14, Luke 22:11; but again, we can’t know for sure.  If the owner of the house was a believer in Jesus, it would make sense that the apostles and crew would keep staying there, rather than just because of its spaciousness. In any case, by the end of the 50 days, there were about 120 people gathering in that upper room (Acts 1:12-15). (Back)

23 John supposed: See John 21:25. (Back)

24 appeared to many: Paul gives us more information on those whom Jesus appeared to in 1 Corinthians 15:5-8.(back)

The Crucifixion: Part Two

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Scripture Used to Create the Splice Series “The Crucifixion”

Matthew 27:31-56 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Matthew 27:31)

Mark 15:20-41 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Mark 15:20)

Luke 23:25-49 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Luke 23:25)

John 19:16-30(Greek Text Analysis starting with John 19:16)

 

Need to catch up first? To read the Splice “The Crucifixion: Part One”, click here.

 

Isaiah 53:6
We all like sheep have gone astray, each one has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all.

 

THE SPLICE

And 1 the people stood by looking on. Standing by the cross of Jesus were 2 His mother Mary, and His mother’s sister Mary the wife of Clopas, John the disciple, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw His mother, and 3 John, the disciple whom He loved, standing nearby, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then He said to John, “Behold, your mother!” From  that hour John took Mary into his own household.

And those passing by were hurling abuse at Jesus, wagging and shaking their heads, mocking Him, and saying, “Ha! You who are going to 4 destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! 5 If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” In the same way the 6 Jewish rulers, the chief priests, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking Him and sneering at Him, saying, “He saved others; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and 5 we will believe in Him. 7 HE TRUSTS IN GOD; LET GOD RESCUE Him now, IF HE DELIGHTS IN HIM; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God. Let this Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, 5 so that we may see and believe!” They also said,  “He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One.”  The soldiers also mocked Him, coming up to Him, offering Him sour wine, and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself!” 8 The robbers who had been crucified with Him were also insulting Him with the same words. But at some point, 9 one of the robbers had a change of heart because when the other robber was hurling abuse at Jesus, saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!”. The other robber answered, and rebuking him said, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” And Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”

It was now about the 10 sixth hour, and 11 darkness fell over the whole land until the 12 ninth hour, because the sun was obscured; About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice saying, “ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?” that is, 13 “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?” some of those who were standing there, when they heard it, began saying, “This man is calling for Elijah.” Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, said, 14 “I am thirsty.” And the rest of the onlookers said, “Let us see whether 15 Elijah will come to save Him.” Immediately one of them ran, and taking a sponge, 16 he filled it with sour wine from a jar of sour wine that was standing there. They put the sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of 17 hyssop/reed and brought it up to His mouth and gave Him a drink, and said “Let us see whether 15 will come to take Him down.” After this when Jesus had received the sour wine, Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, uttered a loud cry and He said, 18 “FATHER, INTO YOUR HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT. 19 It is finished!” And He bowed His head and 20 gave up/yielded His spirit; 21 He breathed His last.

And behold, the 22 veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. 23 The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many. Now the centurion, who was standing right in front of Jesus, 24 saw the way He breathed His last, saw what had happened with the earthquake and the other things that were happening, began praising God, as well as becoming frightened, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent. Truly this man was the Son of God.”  And those who were keeping guard with the centurion also became frightened and 25 also said that Jesus was the Son of God.  And all the crowds who came together for this spectacle, when they observed what had happened, 26 began to return, beating their breasts. All of His acquaintances and many women who came up with Him to Jerusalem were there looking on from a distance, seeing these things. Also among them was Mary Magdalene (who had been at the foot of the cross earlier), Mary the mother of James the Less and 27 Joseph/Joses, the mother of the 28 sons of Zebedee, and Salome. When Jesus was in Galilee, they used to follow Him and minister to Him.

 

Want to continue reading? To read the Splice “The Burial of Jesus”, click here.

 

Notes

1 the people stood by looking on: The people standing around were the chief priests, the scribes, the elders/rulers, and possibly some general rubberneckers who enjoyed a gruesome scene. (Back)

2  His mother: What must have been going through Mary’s mind this entire time, while her Son was being crucified? When Jesus was a baby, Simeon told Mary that “a sword will pierce even your own soul…” and these words must have come to her mind watching Jesus suffer. See Luke 2:25-35 to learn about Simeon and his message to Mary. (Back)

3 John, the disciple whom He loved: This is John, the writer of the gospel of John, as well as the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd letters of John and the book of Revelation. After all the disciples scattered to their homes, John must have come back. Some think that he came back with Peter (John 18:15-16). But the truth is we don’t know which disciple came back with Peter; we don’t even know if it was one of the remaining 10 out of the 12 disciples (minus Peter and Judas), as anyone who was learning from Him and following Him could be a disciple. We know that the “disciple that Jesus loved” is John because of John 21:20-24, and this connects it with any other verse that states “disciple that Jesus loved”. But John 18:15-16 does not use that phrasing. It is possible it was John; it is possible it was another disciple. And, although John is mentioned at the cross (did he walk beside Jesus to Golgotha?), we do not know if he was the only disciple there. (Back)

4 destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days: This is a twisting of Jesus’s words. See John 2:18-22. Jesus said He would “raise up” the temple in three days. He uses the word egeiró to mean “raise up, arouse, to waken”. The Jews are saying rebuild in Matthew 27:40, using the Greek word oikodomeó, which means “to build, to build a house”. The difference between the two words is important. (Back)

5 If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross: Jesus performed many miracles and showed many signs that the Jews, scribes and Pharisees were witness to. They wouldn’t have believed Him to be the Messiah, even if He chose to disobey God and come down off the cross. It’s the same way with people today. We are all given enough in our lives in order to believe Him (Romans 1:18-20).  No miracle or even a visitation from the dead will change any person’s mind (see Luke 16:30-31) . I think that a person who doesn’t want to believe God would attribute such a miracle of visitation from the dead to mental hallucinations, the bad sushi they ate last night, anything but a miracle from God. For a sampling of miracles witnessed by the Jews and religious elders, see Matthew 8:1-3; 9:2-8; 12:10-15; Luke 13:10-17; 14:1-6; John 6:1-14; John 9:1-34, 11:1-46. (Back)

6 Jewish rulers: These people had been up late into the night and up in the early morning (it is possible they were up all night), arresting Jesus, trying to catch Him in some sort of blasphemy, consulting with each other, obtaining false testimonies (Matthew 26:47-68; Mark 14:43-65; Luke 22:54-71; John 18:2-13, 19-24 ) and then convincing Pilate to crucify Him (Matthew 27:1-2, 11-26; Mark 15:1-15; Luke 23:1-5, 13-24; John 18:28-40, 19:4-16). Their hate for and jealousy of Jesus never runs its course. It is still fueling them, through that day, to ridicule and mock Him. (Back)

7 HE TRUSTS IN GOD: This is in reference to Psalm 22:8. (Back)

8 The robbers who had been crucified: These robbers walked with Jesus, presumably carrying their cross beams/walking in front of a conscripted beam-bearer (Luke 23:32-33). Were they in cahoots with Barabbas, who was also a robber (but also a murderer and insurrectionist, see Mark 15:7; Luke 23:19, 25; John 18:40)? Was Barabbas supposed to be crucified with these two that very day? Very possible, but the Bible doesn’t specify. (Back)

9 one of the robbers had a change of heart: Matthew 27:44 says that both robbers were insulting Jesus, but Luke clarifies that at least one of the robbers changed his mind about Jesus after some time on the cross (Luke 23:39-43). Horrible experiences can do two things, spiritually speaking: they can drive you to Jesus or drive you away from Him. (Back)

10 sixth hour: or, 12pm. (Back)

11 darkness fell over the whole land: We can consider this darkness as a supernatural event, not a natural event such as an eclipse. It brings to mind what the Egyptians experienced as the last plague before God struck down the first born of every household. See Exodus 10:21-23. (Back)

12 ninth hour: or, 3pm. (Back)

13 MY GOD, MY GOD: Jesus is repeating Psalm 22:1. (Back)

14 “I am thirsty.”: The Scripture that was fulfilled was Psalm 69:21. (Back)

15 Elijah: Elijah was a prophet, who had a chariot of fire take him to heaven in 2 Kings 2:11. Perhaps these people think that Elijah will come back down in the chariot to take Jesus to heaven. You can read about Elijah in 1 Kings 17-19; 2 Kings 1:1-2:11. (Back)

16 he filled it with sour wine: This was a cheap wine kept for the soldiers to drink. They didn’t care if Jesus was actually thirsty; this was just a way to extend the life of the sufferer. For anyone who would take part in hammering people to crosses, it was probably amusing to them, as well. You could say that they didn’t have a choice (everyone has a choice), as they were lowly soldiers with a centurion over them (Matthew 27:54; Mark 15:39; Luke 23:47) but they seem to be gleeful as they mocked Jesus and beat on Him (Matthew 27:27-30; Mark 15:16-20; Luke 23:36) and nonchalant as they gambled for Jesus’s clothing (Matthew 27:35; Mark 15:24, Luke 23:34; John 19:23-25). And the soldier who pierced Jesus’s side didn’t have to stab Him—they could see He was already dead (John 19:33-34). (Back)

17 hyssop/reed: Matthew 27:48 and Mark 15:36 say reed, using the Greek word kalamos which means “a reed, reed staff, measuring rod, a reed pen”. John 19:29 says hyssop, using the Greek word hussópos which means “hyssop, a stalk of hyssop”. Reed is a general term and hyssop is specific. It’s a stalk/reed of hyssop. (Back)

18 FATHER, INTO YOUR HANDS: Jesus references Psalm 31:5 (Back)

19 It is finished: John 19:30. The Greek word used for finished is tetelestai and it means “to bring to an end, complete, fulfill, I pay, to discharge a debt”. (Back)

20 gave up/yielded His spirit: Matthew 27:50 uses the Greek word aphiémi for the word yielded or gave up. Luke 23:46, and John 19:30 use the same word for yielded. The Greek word they use is paratithémi and it means “to hand over, pledge, deliver, commit”. It’s important to understand that Jesus gave His life—it wasn’t taken from Him. This was all part of the work that He was born into the world to fulfill. See John 10:18; 18:37. (Back)

21 He breathed His last: He breathed His last with quite a bit of strength left, as He was using a loud voice (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34; Luke 23:46). After a scourging that left His entire back flesh-less, the loss of blood, carrying a cross beam weighing around 100lbs for about 1/2 a mile, being nailed to the cross and hanging for 6 hours in an awkward position, pushing Himself up for each breath, Jesus still had the strength for a loud voice. Most victims of crucifixion would have no strength to talk at the end of all of this trauma. Jesus could talk and could do so loudly.(Back)

22 veil of the temple was torn in two: The importance of this imagery cannot be stressed enough. The veil was the partition between the Holy Place and Holy of Holies (Exodus 26:33). The Holy of Holies was where God was present, above the mercy seat which was on the top of the Ark of the Covenant. Only the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies and only once a year on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:29-34). The veil was torn from top to bottom, as God (top) is granting freedom to people (bottom) to come into His presence through Christ. To read about the veil and mercy seat, see Exodus 26:31-34. To read about the purposes and ceremony of atonement, see Leviticus 16. The ceremony itself was quite intricate. (Back)

23 The tombs were opened: Only Matthew tells us this detail. He says that the bodies of the saints were raised, but they only came out of the tombs after Jesus’s resurrection, appearing to many in Jerusalem. See Matthew 27:52-53. (Back)

24 saw the way He breathed His last: With strength. In the modern era, we cannot appreciate what a crucifixion or flogging entailed . See Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34; Luke 23:46. (Back)

25 also said that Jesus was the Son of God: This is only the beginning of walking towards a God-gifted faith in Christ. Even the demons recognize God as God (James 2:19) and knew Jesus was the Son of God (Matthew 8:29). It’s not enough to just “know” this. God’s faith that He gives as a gift (Ephesians 2:8-9) is different than human-conjured faith. This article has a nice layout of the evidence of salvation and as does this piece. (Back)

26 began to return, beating their breasts: This is a fulfillment of Zechariah 12:10. (Back)

27 Joseph/Joses: Matthew 27:56 says Joseph, Mark 15:47 says Joses. Both names are similar, although not exactly the same. It is possible that Joseph went by the nickname Joses. It’s also possible that they are two different people. (Back)

28 sons of Zebedee, and Salome: Because we are not told specifically that Salome is the mother of James and John or the wife of Zebedee, I treat her as a separate person. Many writers and pastors insist that Salome was the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee and therefore, she was the wife of Zebedee. It’s possible, but there isn’t a shred of proof for that, in the English or the Greek. Places where James and John are mentioned as the sons of Zebedee: Matthew 4:21; 10:2; Mark 1:19; 10:35; Luke 5:10; John 21:2. Mentions of their mother: Matthew 20:20-23; Matthew 27:56. Mentions of Zebedee himself: Matthew 4:21; Mark 1:20. (Back)

The Crucifixion: Part One

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Scripture Used to Create the Splice Series “The Crucifixion”

Matthew 27:31-56 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Matthew 27:31)

Mark 15:20-41 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Mark 15:20)

Luke 23:25-49 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Luke 23:25)

John 19:16-30(Greek Text Analysis starting with John 19:16)

 

Need to catch up first? To read the Splice “Jesus Before Pilate, the Second Time” click here

 

Psalm 22:14
I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within me.

 

THE SPLICE

And Pilate released 1 Barabbas who had been thrown into 2 prison for 3 insurrection and murder, but Pilate delivered Jesus to the Jews’ will, that is, to have Him 4crucified. Pilate gave Jesus to the soldiers and 5 after they had mocked Him, they took the 6 scarlet/purple robe off Him and put His own garments back on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him. Sometime during the start of the walk to the site of the crucifixion, the soldiers seized and pressed into service, a passer-by coming into Jerusalem from the country, 7 Simon of Cyrene (the father of Alexander and Rufus), 8 to bear His cross. The soldiers put the cross on Simon so he could carry it behind Jesus.

And following Jesus was a large crowd of the people, and 9 women who were mourning and lamenting Him. But Jesus, turning to them said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, stop weeping for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming when they will say, 10 ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.’ Then they will begin 11 TO SAY TO THE MOUNTAINS, ‘FALL ON US,’ AND TO THE HILLS, ‘COVER US.’ For if they do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?” Two others, also, who were 12 criminals/robbers, were being led away to be put to death with Him.  And Jesus went out, 8 bearing His own cross, and when they came to a place called 13 Golgotha, which means Place of a Skull, the soldiers tried to give Him wine to drink mixed with 14 gall/myrrh; and after tasting it 15 He was unwilling to drink; He would not take it. And there 16 they crucified Him and the criminals/robbers, one robber on the right side of Jesus and the other robber on His left side. And by being crucified with the robbers, the Scripture was fulfilled which says,17 “And He was numbered with transgressors.”. But during this time, Jesus was saying a prayer, concerning the  soldiers carrying out this duty of crucifying Him, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross, above His head. Pilate’s inscription was the charge against Him and it said:

“THIS IS JESUS THE NAZARENE THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

Therefore many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Latin and in Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews were saying to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews’; but that He said , ‘I am King of the Jews.’ “ Pilate answered, “What I have written I have written.”

It was the 18 third hour when they crucified Him. After the soldiers had nailed Jesus to the cross, then put Pilate’s inscription above Jesus’s head, and lifted the cross up off the ground in order to stand it upright, the soldiers took Jesus’s outer garments and made four parts, a part to every soldier and also the tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece. So they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose it shall be”; this was to fulfill the Scripture: 19 “THEY DIVIDED MY OUTER GARMENTS AMONG THEM, AND FOR MY CLOTHING THEY CAST LOTS.” Therefore the soldiers did these things.

After dividing up Jesus’s clothes, they sat down, and they began to keep watch and guard over Him there.

 

 

Sketch of a branch

 

Want to continue reading? To read the Splice “The Crucifixion: Part Two” click here

 

COMMENTS

 

1 Barabbas: This is what we know about Barabbas: He was a notorious prisoner (Matthew 27:16) and he was a robber (John 18:40). Some English translations say that Barabbas was an insurrectionist in John 18:40, but the Greek word used is léstés and it means “robber, thief”. But he did also take place in an insurrection as we learn in (Luke 23:19), as well as commit at least one murder. Barabbas was in prison at this time, being jailed with other insurrectionists who had also committed murder (numbers unknown) during this uprising (Mark 15:7). Acts 3:14 confirms (through Peter’s narration) that Barabbas was a murderer. (Back)

2 prison: Prison was synonymous with misery. To read a quick run-down on prison life in ancient Rome, click here. (Back)

3 insurrection and murder: It is important to understand that during Jesus’s time, the Romans ruled quite a bit the world, including Israel. Many Jewish people were resentful over this invasion of Roman power and the polytheism they brought with them. Therefore, there were many insurrections and consequently, murders, committed by the Jewish people during this time. All this unrest eventually led up to the Siege of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. Jesus never became involved with these acts of violence and never sanctioned them. The Bible pointedly tells us to pay our taxes, pray for our government officials, obey the laws of the land (as long as they don’t conflict with God’s laws) and that any authority or ruler on earth was put into power by God. See Matthew 17:24-27, Mark 12:13-17, Romans 13:1-7, 1 Timothy 2:1-3, Titus 3:1-2, 1 Peter 2:13-15. (Back)

4  crucified: Why did God allow Jesus to be crucified? Jesus was ultimately crucified because God the Father deemed it right as the substitute payment for the sins of the elect He calls to be His own (see Galatians 4:4-5). But what about the human justification for Jesus’s crucifixion? The human reason and human method of death was political. The chief priests told Pilate that Jesus called Himself a King and Rome didn’t like self-styled kings (especially with faithful followers) or anyone else who made a move towards overthrowing the government. Therefore, even though Pilate knew Jesus to be innocent of the insurrection charges, Jesus was “officially” murdered for insurrection/conspiring to get others to take part in an insurrection. Insurrectionists/enemies of the state were crucified. (Back)

5 after they had mocked Him: See Matthew 27:27-30; Mark 15:16-19, and John 19:1-3. He had also been mocked by Herod and his soldiers when Pilate had sent Him over there (Luke 23:11). (Back)

6 scarlet/purple robe: Strong’s concordance tells us that Matthew 27:28 uses the Greek word kokkinos which means “crimson or scarlet”. Mark 15:20 uses the word porphýra which means “a purple garment”. Helps Word-studies© explains a little more in depth. There were basically three shades of purple used for this idea in the ancient world: deep violet, deep scarlet (or crimson), and deep blue. John 19:5 uses the Greek word porphyroús which means a purple (reddish-purple) cloth or dye. All three of these together tells us that the robe was a purple-scarlet color, maybe akin to red-violet or violet-red from a crayons box. We can only speculate on the exact shade of purple. (Back)

HELPS Word-studies taken from The Discovery Bible, available at discoverybible.com, copyright © 2021, HELPS Ministries Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

7 Simon of Cyrene: It is unknown if Simon was a true disciple of Jesus. Simon is mentioned in Matthew 27:32, Mark 15:21; Luke 23:26. Mark tells us that Simon was the father of Rufus and Alexander. It is possible that the Rufus mentioned in Romans 16:13 is the same person as Simon’s son, but we can’t know for sure. There are mentions of Alexander, as well, in Acts 4:6, Acts 19:33, 1 Timothy 1:20, 2 Timothy 4:14. It is unknown if any of the Alexanders mentioned in these verses are Simon’s son. (Back)

8 to bear His cross: John 19:17 says that Jesus went out bearing His own cross to Golgotha. Luke 23:26 says that when the soldiers led Him away, they conscripted Simon and Matthew 27:32 says “as they were coming out” they took hold of Simon to bear the cross for Jesus.  Mark doesn’t really clear up when Jesus carried His cross or when Simon does in Mark 15:20-21. The simplest answer is that when the soldiers were leading Jesus out, seeing Simon, they forced him to take up the cross at first, thinking Jesus would be too weak to carry it on His own. Perhaps it was just something they customarily and automatically did because victims of flogging were too weak to carry the heavy beams themselves. But Jesus was not weak; He cried out in a loud voice even at the very end of this flagrant injustice (Luke 23:46). How He took the cross back is up for grabs, (maybe He told the guards He could carry it Himself), but He definitely carried His own cross, by Himself, all the way to Golgotha, as John pointedly says. Why bring Simon into the story at all, then? I think Mark 15:21 clears that up: Simon’s sons were prominent members of the early Christian church, and people could identify with this information. It is unknown if Simon was involved with the Christian church at all.  (Back)

9 women who were mourning: We don’t know who the women are. We can guess that they were Jesus’s female followers, perhaps even His mother included, but it is only speculation. We only know from Luke 23:28-31 that Jesus spoke to them directly, with a warning. (Back)

10  Blessed are the barren: Jesus is referring to the tribulation at the very end of the current era, where He says that the blessed women would be the ones not nursing or pregnant. This is quite a change from the common view of the day that shame accompanied women who had no children (Luke 1:25). To see Jesus’s warnings concerning the end times, see Matthew 24:3-51, Mark 13:3-37, Luke 17:20-37, 21:7-36. (Back)

11  TO SAY TO THE MOUNTAINS: Jesus is quoting from Hosea 10:8. (Back)

12 Criminals/robbers: Matthew 27:38 and Mark 15:27 say “robbers” and Luke 23:32-33 says “criminals“. John 19:18 says “two others”. (Back)

13 Golgotha: There is no current-day Golgotha. It’s ancient whereabouts is speculated upon, but we don’t know exactly where it stood. (Back)

14 gall/myrrh: Matthew 27:34 says “gall” and uses the Greek word cholé which means “gall, bitter herbs”. Mark 15:23 says “myrrh” and  uses the Greek word smurnizó which means “mixed with myrrh” or “to be like myrrh” “to embitter (as a narcotic)”. This concoction of myrrh/gall was given to help deaden pain. It was made of wine (unknown what kind of wine) and then the painkiller. No drink or drug available back then (or now) would deaden that kind of pain— enduring a flogging and a crucifixion. This concoction was probably all that could be done for a crucifixion victim, other than not using such a cruel form of capital punishment. Also, since it couldn’t make much difference in the torture being inflicted, it may have been given in mockery, for the amusement of the soldiers, to see a desperate soul drinking it in hope. (Back)

15  He was unwilling to drink: Jesus refused the help of this laced wine, because drunkenness/being out of one’s senses (such as with narcotics or alcohol) is not Godly, but sound mind and soberness of mind is (see Ephesians 5:18, 1 Peter 4:7). Jesus was strong, even up to the very end (Matthew 27:50; Mark 15:37, 39;Luke 23:46), and He still had work to do on the cross, such as giving His mother over to John (John 19:26-27) and speaking to the repentant criminal (Luke 23:39-43). It would only be fitting that Jesus would face His death in all consciousness and sagacity. (Back)

16  they crucified Him: Crucifixion was the worst way to die in Roman times, and a most disgraceful curse to the Jews (see Deuteronomy 21:22-23; 1 Corinthians 1:23). What is important to know is that Jesus became the disgraceful curse in our place, by His death on the cross, in order to reconcile us with God (Galatians 3:13). To read about the horrors of crucifixion, click here. (Back)

17  And He was numbered with transgressors:  This is a reference to Isaiah 53:12. Isaiah 53 contains a lot of information about the Messiah. (Back)

18  third hour: Mark 15:25 tells us that Jesus was crucified at the third hour (9am). Matthew 27:45, Mark 15:33, Luke 23:44 says that from 12pm to 3pm there was darkness over the land and Luke 23:45 says it was because the sun was obscured. Jesus died around 3pm (Matthew 27:46-50, Mark 15:34-37; Luke 23:44-46). Darkness is symbolic of judgment from God. For a sampling of this symbolism see Isaiah 5:30; Job 5:14; Nahum 1:8; Matthew 22:13; 2 Peter 2:17 and Revelation 16:10. Also, there seems to be a discrepancy in the time keeping, as John 19:14 says it was the sixth hour while Jesus was still with Pilate. John is possibly using Roman time-keeping or keeping track of how many hours passed by since Jesus’s arrest. Matthew, Mark and Luke are using Jewish time-keeping. See this article for a great explanation. (Back)

19  “THEY DIVIDED MY OUTER GARMENTS: This is from Psalm 22:18. (Back)