The Gospels | Episode 16 | TBN
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The Gospels | Episode 16

Watch The Gospels | Episode 16
Drive Thru History: The Gospels
March 21, 2016
27:29

Drive Thru History: The Gospels

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The Gospels | Episode 16

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  • Dave Stotts: Throughout this series of "Drive Thru History,"
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  • we've done our best to paint an accurate portrait of the man
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  • known as Jesus of Nazareth.
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  • We've looked at his humble beginnings
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  • in Bethlehem and Nazareth.
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  • We've experienced his radical teachings in Galilee and Judea.
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  • We've witnessed his love for those that everyone else
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  • considered unlovely.
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  • We've talked about his ability to act outside the forces of
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  • nature, to control the weather, to instantly heal those who
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  • were blind, diseased, and paralyzed, and how he
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  • even brought the dead back to life.
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  • But what happened next was not as much about the things that
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  • Jesus did as it was about who he claimed to be.
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  • Jesus claimed to be the Son of God, the long-awaited Messiah.
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  • And because of this, the Jewish authorities, as well as an angry
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  • mob, rejected him, and sought to put him to death.
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  • [music]
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  • [music]
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  • [music]
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  • [music]
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  • [music]
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  • Dave: In the last episode of "Drive Thru History," Jesus was
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  • betrayed, arrested, and brought before the political and
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  • religious authorities here in Jerusalem.
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  • In the end, he was convicted of the crime of blasphemy,
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  • and sentenced to death by crucifixion.
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  • Cicero, a great Roman lawyer and historian, described crucifixion
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  • as the most cruel and disgusting punishment.
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  • He said, "The very mention of the cross should be far removed
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  • not only from a Roman citizen's body, but from his mind,
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  • his eyes, his ears."
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  • As inhuman a torture as it was, the cries, "Crucify!"
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  • from the angry mob rang throughout
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  • Pontius Pilate's headquarters.
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  • "Then, the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the
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  • Praetorium, and they gathered the whole battalion before him.
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  • And they stripped him, and put a scarlet robe on him.
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  • And twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head,
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  • and put a reed in his right hand.
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  • And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying,
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  • 'Hail, king of the Jews!'
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  • And they spit on him, and took the reed and
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  • struck him on the head.
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  • And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe,
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  • and put his own clothes on him, and led him
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  • away to crucify him."
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  • Matthew 27:27-31.
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  • The gospel texts refer to the place where Romans carried out
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  • crucifixions as Golgotha, or in Latin, Calvary.
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  • Now, Golgotha means the place of the skull.
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  • It was identified in ancient writings with a hill resembling
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  • a skullcap, or the upper part of the skull, rather than
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  • the face of the skull.
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  • Additionally, all four gospels refer to the hill with the Greek
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  • word "cranion," meaning cranium, or the upper part of the skull.
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  • Therefore, it was probably a rounded hill.
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  • Mistaken representations of Golgotha as a face of
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  • a skull have led to many misidentifications
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  • over the centuries.
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  • Dave: The site that most archaeologists, historians, and
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  • ancient pilgrims to Jerusalem consider to be the authentic
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  • Golgotha lies inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
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  • This location, which lies outside the walls of the
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  • Jerusalem of Jesus' time, has been embraced by Christians
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  • as Golgotha, or Calvary, dating back to at least
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  • the fourth century AD.
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  • According to the New Testament of the Bible, the crucifixion
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  • took place near the city, but outside the city walls,
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  • outside the gate.
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  • It was a location that was accessible to people walking by
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  • on a road, and it could be seen from far away.
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  • The traditional location of the crucifixion was marked here,
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  • when Helena of Constantinople came to Jerusalem in the fourth
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  • century AD, and with information from the locals, who stated that
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  • the crucifixion had occurred on a specific hill, which was
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  • supposedly about a stone's throw from where
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  • the tomb of Jesus was situated.
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  • As we'll explore later in "Drive Thru History," the Church of the
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  • Holy Sepulcher was built over the tomb of Jesus.
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  • And later, the complex was expanded to include
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  • the traditional hill of Golgotha.
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  • Archaeological investigations show that this church lies to
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  • the north and outside the city walls of Jerusalem
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  • from the time of Jesus.
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  • Excavations have also revealed that the traditional site for
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  • Golgotha was also outside the walls of Jerusalem
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  • from the time of Christ.
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  • And multiple tombs from the first century BC to the first
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  • century AD had been discovered in the area.
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  • The Church of the Holy Sepulcher, a truly amazing
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  • and powerful place that has drawn Christian
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  • pilgrims for centuries.
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  • Millions of Christians believe it to be the holiest place on
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  • earth, containing both the Aedicule, a small chapel
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  • containing what is believed to be the Holy Sepulcher, or the
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  • empty tomb of Christ; and the altar of the crucifixion, which
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  • covers the rock of Calvary, or Golgotha,
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  • the location of Jesus' crucifixion.
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  • If you are ever one of the four million annual visitors
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  • to the church, spend time here.
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  • You too may describe it as an experience that leaves you
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  • profoundly different from when you came in.
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  • Crucifixion was a feared form of punishment
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  • throughout the Roman world.
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  • It typically began with a scourging or a flogging
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  • of the victim's back.
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  • The Romans used a whip, called a flagrum.
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  • It looked just like this, consisted of small bits of bone
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  • or metal attached to a number of leather strands.
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  • The flagrum was a brutal instrument, designed to tear the
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  • skin and severely bruise muscle with every blow.
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  • It was an instrument of torture, a design perfected by the Romans
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  • to expose the nerves and produce as much pain as possible.
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  • During a scourging, a person's skin was torn from the back and
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  • sides, exposing tissue, muscle, and even bone.
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  • This severe beating caused extreme blood loss, and the
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  • shock that followed often caused unconsciousness
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  • and sometimes death.
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  • In addition to the flogging, the gospels tell us that Jesus faced
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  • severe beating and torment by the Roman soldiers, including
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  • the plucking of his beard, and the piercing of his scalp
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  • by a crown of thorns.
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  • After the flogging, the victim was often forced to carry his
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  • own crossbar, a large wooden beam called a patibulum,
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  • to the execution site.
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  • This rough, wooden beam could weigh up to 100 pounds, and
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  • would be pressing and rubbing, and directly into the places
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  • where Jesus was scourged.
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  • This would have reopened his wounds,
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  • causing a new cycle of horrific pain.
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  • In the case of Jesus, the gospels tell us that he would
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  • have carried his own patibulum the length
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  • of two football fields.
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  • In his weak and tormented state, it's no wonder
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  • that Jesus needed assistance.
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  • "And as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who
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  • was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross
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  • to carry it behind Jesus.
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  • And there followed him a great multitude of the people, and
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  • of women who were mourning and lamenting for him."
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  • Luke 23:26-27.
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  • Jesus struggled to the place of execution, which was a bare hill
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  • outside the city walls known as Golgotha,
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  • the place of the skull.
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  • As he reached the summit of Golgotha, Jesus probably had
  • 00:09:50.130 --> 00:09:53.090
  • a view of the city that he had wept over, but whose residents
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  • had just rejected him.
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  • He also saw two other men who would be executed
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  • alongside him that morning.
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  • Jesus was stripped of his clothes,
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  • and knocked to the dirt.
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  • According to Roman custom, once Jesus arrived at the execution
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  • site, the patibulum would be put on the ground,
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  • and he would be forced to lie on it.
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  • Spikes about seven inches long and three-eighths
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  • of an inch in diameter would be driven into his wrists.
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  • The spikes likely hit the area of the median nerve, causing
  • 00:10:28.080 --> 00:10:32.040
  • shocks of pain up Jesus' arms to his shoulders and neck.
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  • Already at the crucifixion site would be the tall
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  • upright posts called a stipes.
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  • In the center of the stipes was often a crude wooden seat
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  • that offered minimal support.
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  • The patibulum would be attached to the stipes to form a cross,
  • 00:10:51.090 --> 00:10:56.040
  • and Jesus' body would be awkwardly turned on the seat
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  • so his feet could be nailed below.
  • 00:10:59.250 --> 00:11:05.090
  • At this point in the crucifixion, Jesus was
  • 00:11:06.280 --> 00:11:09.170
  • experiencing tremendous strain put on his wrists, arms, and
  • 00:11:09.180 --> 00:11:13.250
  • shoulders, probably resulting in dislocation
  • 00:11:13.260 --> 00:11:17.150
  • of the shoulder and elbow joints.
  • 00:11:17.160 --> 00:11:20.130
  • The pain and suffering associated with this kind
  • 00:11:20.140 --> 00:11:23.140
  • of torture are unimaginable.
  • 00:11:23.150 --> 00:11:26.200
  • The Romans had designed this form of capital punishment to
  • 00:11:26.210 --> 00:11:29.260
  • inflict the maximum amount of suffering just short of death.
  • 00:11:29.270 --> 00:11:34.250
  • In this way, horrific pain would be inflicted on Jesus
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  • as long as possible.
  • 00:11:38.240 --> 00:11:42.060
  • Above Jesus' head was attached the titulus, a sign proclaiming
  • 00:11:42.200 --> 00:11:46.130
  • the victim's name and crime.
  • 00:11:46.140 --> 00:11:49.000
  • In Jesus' case, Pilate mocked his Jewish subjects when he put
  • 00:11:49.010 --> 00:11:53.010
  • up a sign that read, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews."
  • 00:11:53.020 --> 00:11:57.260
  • The Jewish priests objected, saying that the inscription
  • 00:11:57.270 --> 00:12:01.030
  • should say only that Jesus claims to be king.
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  • Pilate didn't change it.
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  • He responded, "What I have written, I have written."
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  • According to the Gospel of Mark, Jesus began his torturous ordeal
  • 00:12:11.160 --> 00:12:15.260
  • about the third hour of the day, that is 9 a.m.
  • 00:12:15.270 --> 00:12:20.030
  • The position of his nailed body likely held his ribcage in a
  • 00:12:20.040 --> 00:12:24.030
  • fixed position, which made it extremely difficult to exhale,
  • 00:12:24.040 --> 00:12:28.220
  • and impossible to take a full breath.
  • 00:12:28.230 --> 00:12:31.270
  • Having suffered from the scourging, the beatings, and the
  • 00:12:31.280 --> 00:12:34.290
  • brutal walk to the execution site, Jesus would have been
  • 00:12:35.000 --> 00:12:38.120
  • extremely weak, dehydrated, and suffering from blood loss.
  • 00:12:38.130 --> 00:12:43.100
  • As time passed, the loss of blood and the lack of oxygen
  • 00:12:43.110 --> 00:12:47.010
  • likely caused severe cramps and muscle spasms.
  • 00:12:47.020 --> 00:12:52.170
  • As Jesus hung on the cross, some members
  • 00:12:52.180 --> 00:12:55.160
  • of the aristocracy came and ridiculed him.
  • 00:12:55.170 --> 00:12:58.260
  • Roman soldiers who had taken his clothes were gambling for them.
  • 00:12:58.270 --> 00:13:03.280
  • They taunted Jesus by saying, "If you are the king of the
  • 00:13:03.290 --> 00:13:07.180
  • Jews, save yourself."
  • 00:13:07.190 --> 00:13:10.170
  • For many shocked and grieved locals,
  • 00:13:10.180 --> 00:13:13.110
  • their dreams were dashed.
  • 00:13:13.120 --> 00:13:16.150
  • To them, their hopes for a conquering Messiah who would
  • 00:13:16.160 --> 00:13:20.000
  • free them from Roman oppression were dying on a cross.
  • 00:13:20.010 --> 00:13:25.270
  • The cause of death in crucifixion was usually
  • 00:13:31.270 --> 00:13:34.210
  • suffocation, which provided an additional torment.
  • 00:13:34.220 --> 00:13:38.220
  • To breathe, the victim had to push up on his feet to allow
  • 00:13:38.230 --> 00:13:43.050
  • for inflation of his lungs.
  • 00:13:43.060 --> 00:13:45.260
  • This caused excruciating pain, especially where the nails
  • 00:13:45.270 --> 00:13:49.130
  • scraped against the nerve.
  • 00:13:49.140 --> 00:13:51.260
  • As the body weakened, and pain in the legs and feet became
  • 00:13:51.270 --> 00:13:56.010
  • unbearable, the victim's body would collapse.
  • 00:13:56.020 --> 00:13:59.260
  • For Jesus, this cycle of exchanging extreme pain for a
  • 00:13:59.270 --> 00:14:05.020
  • small breath of air would continue for hours.
  • 00:14:05.030 --> 00:14:09.070
  • Eventually, Jesus would become utterly exhausted so that he
  • 00:14:09.080 --> 00:14:13.180
  • could no longer lift his body and inflate his lungs.
  • 00:14:13.190 --> 00:14:18.290
  • And when the sixth hour had come, that is noon, there was
  • 00:14:19.000 --> 00:14:22.150
  • darkness over the whole land until the
  • 00:14:22.160 --> 00:14:24.280
  • ninth hour, that is three.
  • 00:14:24.290 --> 00:14:27.230
  • And at the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice,
  • 00:14:27.240 --> 00:14:31.060
  • "Eloi, eloi, lema sabachthani?"
  • 00:14:31.070 --> 00:14:34.280
  • which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
  • 00:14:34.290 --> 00:14:39.170
  • When Jesus cried this phrase from the cross, some Jewish
  • 00:14:39.180 --> 00:14:42.170
  • onlookers realized he was quoting a 1000-year-old prophecy
  • 00:14:42.180 --> 00:14:46.200
  • from the book of Psalms.
  • 00:14:46.210 --> 00:14:48.150
  • He was pointing to the entirety of Psalm 22 and the picture
  • 00:14:48.160 --> 00:14:52.270
  • of a suffering Messiah.
  • 00:14:52.280 --> 00:14:55.180
  • "I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint.
  • 00:14:55.190 --> 00:15:00.050
  • My heart has turned to wax, it has melted away within me.
  • 00:15:00.060 --> 00:15:04.140
  • My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks
  • 00:15:04.150 --> 00:15:08.240
  • to the roof of my mouth.
  • 00:15:08.250 --> 00:15:10.280
  • You lay me in the dust of death.
  • 00:15:10.290 --> 00:15:13.100
  • Dogs have surrounded me, a band of evil men has encircled me.
  • 00:15:13.110 --> 00:15:17.290
  • They have pierced my hands and my feet."
  • 00:15:18.000 --> 00:15:25.200
  • "After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said to
  • 00:15:25.210 --> 00:15:30.100
  • fulfill the Scripture, 'I thirst.'
  • 00:15:30.110 --> 00:15:33.280
  • A jar full of sour wine stood there.
  • 00:15:33.290 --> 00:15:36.130
  • So they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch
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  • and held it to his mouth.
  • 00:15:41.040 --> 00:15:43.110
  • When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, 'It is finished.'
  • 00:15:43.120 --> 00:15:48.170
  • And he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
  • 00:15:48.180 --> 00:15:56.070
  • Since it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies
  • 00:15:56.080 --> 00:15:59.010
  • would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath, the Jews asked
  • 00:15:59.020 --> 00:16:02.270
  • Pilate that their legs might be broken,
  • 00:16:02.280 --> 00:16:06.000
  • that they might be taken away.
  • 00:16:06.010 --> 00:16:08.040
  • So, the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the
  • 00:16:08.050 --> 00:16:11.190
  • other who had been crucified with him.
  • 00:16:11.200 --> 00:16:14.160
  • But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was already dead,
  • 00:16:14.170 --> 00:16:18.030
  • they did not break his legs.
  • 00:16:18.040 --> 00:16:20.240
  • But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at
  • 00:16:20.250 --> 00:16:25.010
  • once there came out blood and water.
  • 00:16:25.020 --> 00:16:29.190
  • He who saw it has borne witness, his testimony is true, and he
  • 00:16:29.200 --> 00:16:33.200
  • knows that he is telling the truth, that you may believe.
  • 00:16:33.210 --> 00:16:37.000
  • For these things took place that the Scripture might be
  • 00:16:37.010 --> 00:16:40.150
  • fulfilled, 'Not one of his bones will be broken.'
  • 00:16:40.160 --> 00:16:44.230
  • And again, another Scripture says, 'They will look
  • 00:16:44.240 --> 00:16:47.260
  • on him whom they have pierced.'"
  • 00:16:47.270 --> 00:16:50.160
  • John 19:28-37.
  • 00:16:50.170 --> 00:16:55.200
  • The crucifixion accounts of Jesus fulfill a number of
  • 00:16:55.210 --> 00:16:59.090
  • messianic prophecies in the Hebrew Bible.
  • 00:16:59.100 --> 00:17:02.210
  • The crucifixion accounts are also in entire agreement with
  • 00:17:02.220 --> 00:17:06.130
  • the customs of the Romans during that period.
  • 00:17:06.140 --> 00:17:09.220
  • The evidence for Jesus' horrible and painful death is
  • 00:17:09.230 --> 00:17:13.020
  • unquestioned by today's mainstream scholars.
  • 00:17:13.030 --> 00:17:16.260
  • However, even with all the pain, all the torment, Jesus thought
  • 00:17:16.270 --> 00:17:22.080
  • of others rather than himself.
  • 00:17:22.090 --> 00:17:25.190
  • His first words from the cross were, "Father, forgive them,
  • 00:17:25.200 --> 00:17:29.120
  • for they know not what they do."
  • 00:17:29.130 --> 00:17:31.090
  • He thought of his mother, who stood by the cross weeping,
  • 00:17:34.020 --> 00:17:36.270
  • and asked his disciple John to take care of her.
  • 00:17:36.280 --> 00:17:40.280
  • On either side of him were two thieves,
  • 00:17:40.290 --> 00:17:43.030
  • executed at the same time.
  • 00:17:43.040 --> 00:17:45.040
  • When one of them said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into
  • 00:17:45.050 --> 00:17:48.100
  • your kingdom," Jesus said to him, "Today,
  • 00:17:48.110 --> 00:17:51.180
  • you will be with me in paradise."
  • 00:17:51.190 --> 00:17:54.220
  • And finally, Jesus expressed his complete surrender to the will
  • 00:17:54.230 --> 00:17:59.120
  • of God when he said, "It is finished."
  • 00:17:59.130 --> 00:18:03.140
  • And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle,
  • 00:18:07.020 --> 00:18:09.230
  • when they saw what had taken place, returned home,
  • 00:18:09.240 --> 00:18:13.020
  • beating their breasts.
  • 00:18:13.030 --> 00:18:15.180
  • And all his acquaintances, and the women who had followed him
  • 00:18:15.190 --> 00:18:18.160
  • from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.
  • 00:18:18.170 --> 00:18:24.050
  • And when the centurion who stood facing him saw that in this way,
  • 00:18:24.060 --> 00:18:28.270
  • he breathed his last, he said,
  • 00:18:28.280 --> 00:18:31.280
  • "Truly this man was the Son of God."
  • 00:18:31.290 --> 00:18:35.190
  • The gospels tell us that at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, when
  • 00:18:39.110 --> 00:18:43.020
  • Jesus died, the earth shook, and the curtain of the temple was,
  • 00:18:43.030 --> 00:18:48.070
  • quote, "Torn in two from top to bottom."
  • 00:18:48.080 --> 00:18:52.010
  • To the grieving onlookers at Golgotha, the promise of Jesus'
  • 00:18:52.020 --> 00:18:57.140
  • life and ministry had ended in shame and horror.
  • 00:18:57.150 --> 00:19:02.290
  • Although many followers knew that something significant had
  • 00:19:03.000 --> 00:19:06.070
  • happened when Jesus died, they did not know
  • 00:19:06.080 --> 00:19:08.120
  • what to make of it yet.
  • 00:19:08.130 --> 00:19:11.120
  • It was the day of preparation for Passover.
  • 00:19:11.130 --> 00:19:14.040
  • According to religious law, all bodies had
  • 00:19:14.050 --> 00:19:17.140
  • to be removed before sundown.
  • 00:19:17.150 --> 00:19:20.280
  • "Joseph of Arimathea, a rich landowner and a secret disciple
  • 00:19:20.290 --> 00:19:25.020
  • of Jesus, asked Pilate for the body of Jesus.
  • 00:19:25.030 --> 00:19:29.090
  • Pilate gave him permission, and Joseph laid the body of Jesus
  • 00:19:29.100 --> 00:19:32.280
  • in a family tomb.
  • 00:19:32.290 --> 00:19:36.140
  • Now, in the place where he was crucified, there was a garden,
  • 00:19:36.150 --> 00:19:39.050
  • and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.
  • 00:19:39.060 --> 00:19:43.130
  • So, because of the Jewish day of preparation, since the tomb was
  • 00:19:43.140 --> 00:19:47.280
  • close at hand, they laid Jesus there."
  • 00:19:47.290 --> 00:19:51.140
  • John 19:41-42.
  • 00:19:51.150 --> 00:19:56.170
  • While the followers of Jesus mourned,
  • 00:19:56.180 --> 00:19:58.220
  • the religious establishment in Jerusalem had an
  • 00:19:58.230 --> 00:20:02.050
  • entirely different frame of mind.
  • 00:20:02.060 --> 00:20:04.260
  • They thought that they had finally rid themselves of Jesus.
  • 00:20:04.270 --> 00:20:08.120
  • They had manipulated the Roman leadership in order to obtain a
  • 00:20:08.130 --> 00:20:12.220
  • death sentence, and now they would leave nothing to chance.
  • 00:20:12.230 --> 00:20:17.140
  • They approached Pilate to demand security at the tomb
  • 00:20:17.150 --> 00:20:21.060
  • of Joseph of Arimathea.
  • 00:20:21.070 --> 00:20:24.060
  • "Sir, we remember how that impostor said while he was still
  • 00:20:25.200 --> 00:20:29.000
  • alive, 'After three days I will rise.'
  • 00:20:29.010 --> 00:20:32.110
  • Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day,
  • 00:20:32.120 --> 00:20:36.150
  • lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell
  • 00:20:36.160 --> 00:20:39.100
  • the people, 'He has risen from the dead,'
  • 00:20:39.110 --> 00:20:42.020
  • and the last fraud will be worse than the first.
  • 00:20:42.030 --> 00:20:46.070
  • Pilate said to them, 'You have a guard of soldiers.
  • 00:20:46.080 --> 00:20:49.120
  • Go, make it as secure as you can.'
  • 00:20:49.130 --> 00:20:52.150
  • So they went and made the
  • 00:20:52.160 --> 00:20:54.080
  • tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard."
  • 00:20:54.090 --> 00:20:57.270
  • Matthew 27:63-66.
  • 00:20:57.280 --> 00:21:01.190
  • According to the gospels, there were a couple of levels
  • 00:21:01.200 --> 00:21:04.040
  • of security at the tomb.
  • 00:21:04.050 --> 00:21:06.130
  • The first was a huge rolling stone that blocked the entrance.
  • 00:21:06.140 --> 00:21:10.090
  • Here, you can see an authentic first century tomb in Jerusalem,
  • 00:21:10.100 --> 00:21:14.230
  • where the stone rolled on a track cut into the rock.
  • 00:21:14.240 --> 00:21:18.190
  • These stones were very heavy and needed several
  • 00:21:18.200 --> 00:21:22.060
  • people to manage them.
  • 00:21:22.070 --> 00:21:27.040
  • The next level of security at the tomb involved guards.
  • 00:21:27.050 --> 00:21:30.060
  • The gospels state that Pilate authorized a watch to be placed
  • 00:21:30.070 --> 00:21:34.190
  • at the tomb, most likely a contingent of Roman guards,
  • 00:21:34.200 --> 00:21:38.210
  • although some argue that Pilate simply allowed the Jewish
  • 00:21:38.220 --> 00:21:42.060
  • authorities to use their own temple guards.
  • 00:21:42.070 --> 00:21:44.200
  • Either way, the gospels tell us that guards were placed at the
  • 00:21:44.210 --> 00:21:47.280
  • tomb for the sole purpose of making sure that nobody
  • 00:21:47.290 --> 00:21:50.170
  • tampered with the body.
  • 00:21:50.180 --> 00:21:53.000
  • So, Joseph of Arimathea had control over the body of Jesus.
  • 00:21:53.010 --> 00:21:57.050
  • Not only was he a follower of Jesus, but he was also a wealthy
  • 00:21:57.060 --> 00:22:01.220
  • and powerful member of the Sanhedrin, with connections in
  • 00:22:01.230 --> 00:22:05.040
  • the Roman machine.
  • 00:22:05.050 --> 00:22:07.180
  • The chief priests smelled a rat, and they would do anything to
  • 00:22:07.190 --> 00:22:11.170
  • crush a plot to steal the body.
  • 00:22:11.180 --> 00:22:15.090
  • In the first century Jewish context, the task of preparing
  • 00:22:15.100 --> 00:22:19.020
  • a body for burial fell to family and friends.
  • 00:22:19.030 --> 00:22:23.200
  • Joseph of Arimathea was a friend.
  • 00:22:23.210 --> 00:22:27.030
  • Although a prominent member of the Jewish Sanhedrin,
  • 00:22:27.040 --> 00:22:30.060
  • he had not voted for the conviction of Jesus.
  • 00:22:30.070 --> 00:22:33.260
  • He was also a wealthy landowner.
  • 00:22:33.270 --> 00:22:36.080
  • Perhaps it was his great wealth that gave him access to Pilate.
  • 00:22:36.090 --> 00:22:42.200
  • "After these things, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of
  • 00:22:43.060 --> 00:22:46.230
  • Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he
  • 00:22:46.240 --> 00:22:51.200
  • might take away the body of Jesus,
  • 00:22:51.210 --> 00:22:54.000
  • and Pilate gave him permission.
  • 00:22:54.010 --> 00:22:55.260
  • So he came and took away his body.
  • 00:22:55.270 --> 00:22:58.050
  • Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night,
  • 00:22:58.060 --> 00:23:02.130
  • came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes,
  • 00:23:02.140 --> 00:23:05.230
  • about 75 pounds in weight.
  • 00:23:05.240 --> 00:23:08.200
  • So they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in linen cloths
  • 00:23:08.210 --> 00:23:11.210
  • with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews."
  • 00:23:11.220 --> 00:23:16.060
  • John 19:38-40.
  • 00:23:16.070 --> 00:23:19.120
  • John recorded that Nicodemus was also there.
  • 00:23:19.130 --> 00:23:22.220
  • If you recall, he was a Pharisee and ruler of the Judeans, who
  • 00:23:22.230 --> 00:23:26.260
  • sought out Jesus one night in Jerusalem
  • 00:23:26.270 --> 00:23:29.160
  • a couple of years earlier.
  • 00:23:29.170 --> 00:23:31.280
  • Like Joseph of Arimathea, he too was a secret follower of Jesus
  • 00:23:31.290 --> 00:23:36.060
  • within the formal religious structure.
  • 00:23:36.070 --> 00:23:39.010
  • It was to Nicodemus that Jesus spoke the verse in John 3:16,
  • 00:23:39.020 --> 00:23:44.110
  • "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,
  • 00:23:44.120 --> 00:23:48.010
  • that whoever believes in him shall not perish
  • 00:23:48.020 --> 00:23:50.290
  • but have eternal life."
  • 00:23:51.000 --> 00:23:53.080
  • Perhaps Nicodemus was now beginning to understand the
  • 00:23:53.090 --> 00:23:56.150
  • meaning of this teaching.
  • 00:23:56.160 --> 00:24:00.050
  • It's interesting to me that these two men here mentioned as
  • 00:24:00.060 --> 00:24:03.140
  • helping prepare Jesus' body for burial, Joseph and Nicodemus,
  • 00:24:03.150 --> 00:24:08.050
  • were both part of the so-called religious establishment, the
  • 00:24:08.060 --> 00:24:12.040
  • very religious establishment that Jesus spoke out against
  • 00:24:12.050 --> 00:24:15.270
  • when he was alive.
  • 00:24:15.280 --> 00:24:17.290
  • Jesus had obviously made quite an impact on these two men.
  • 00:24:18.000 --> 00:24:21.260
  • They were willing to risk the wrath of their peers on the very
  • 00:24:21.270 --> 00:24:25.100
  • day that their peers had manipulated the system in order
  • 00:24:25.110 --> 00:24:29.000
  • to put Jesus to death.
  • 00:24:29.010 --> 00:24:31.040
  • [music]
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  • [music]
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  • [music]
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  • [music]
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  • Dave: The family tomb of Joseph of Arimathea probably
  • 00:24:53.290 --> 00:24:56.140
  • looked like this one.
  • 00:24:56.150 --> 00:24:58.110
  • A few examples of first century tombs, like this here in a local
  • 00:24:58.120 --> 00:25:01.280
  • Jerusalem park, can be found in the area.
  • 00:25:01.290 --> 00:25:05.040
  • Now, the tomb described in the gospels was a single chamber,
  • 00:25:05.050 --> 00:25:08.220
  • rock-hewn tomb with a bench carved into the wall.
  • 00:25:08.230 --> 00:25:12.260
  • The body would be placed on to the bench for preparations
  • 00:25:12.270 --> 00:25:16.050
  • with oils, spices, and linens.
  • 00:25:16.060 --> 00:25:20.120
  • So, what was this very long and horrific day like for the people
  • 00:25:20.130 --> 00:25:24.100
  • who loved and followed Jesus?
  • 00:25:24.110 --> 00:25:27.040
  • This man, who promised victory, appeared defeated.
  • 00:25:27.050 --> 00:25:30.100
  • He had been tried, tortured, and executed.
  • 00:25:30.110 --> 00:25:33.210
  • Jesus of Nazareth was dead.
  • 00:25:33.220 --> 00:25:38.210
  • His body was prepared for burial and laid
  • 00:25:38.220 --> 00:25:41.040
  • in a sealed and guarded tomb.
  • 00:25:41.050 --> 00:25:45.010
  • On these historical facts, there is very little disagreement,
  • 00:25:45.020 --> 00:25:48.200
  • even among the most skeptical opponents of the Bible.
  • 00:25:48.210 --> 00:25:52.120
  • Where was the hopeful ending?
  • 00:25:52.130 --> 00:25:54.220
  • The disciples thought Jesus could be the Messiah.
  • 00:25:54.230 --> 00:25:57.210
  • Now, he was lying lifeless in a tomb.
  • 00:25:57.220 --> 00:26:00.230
  • And they were scattered, hiding, and heartbroken.
  • 00:26:00.240 --> 00:26:05.080
  • But the story doesn't end here.
  • 00:26:05.090 --> 00:26:08.280
  • And what happened next would change everything.
  • 00:26:08.290 --> 00:26:14.290
  • [music]
  • 00:26:18.280 --> 00:26:33.220
  • [music]
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  • [music]
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  • [music]
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  • [music]
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  • [music]
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  • [music]
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