“And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”’—which means, “‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”’”
~ Mark 15:34
Hi James and Ellen,
Do you know who killed Jesus? Do you know who Jesus was/is? Jesus is God – as God the Son. God had His Son be born on planet Earth as an incarnated guy. Do you know how Jesus died? Jesus was crucified on a cross. Do you know why Jesus was crucified on a cross? Your grandpaa’s sins, your grandmaa’s sins, your sins, the sins of every guy, gal and kid led to Jesus needing to be sacrificed/crucified on a cross so that when your grandpaa, your grandmaa, you and every guy, gal or kid who is led by God – as God the Spirit, to make a decision of faith to believe in why Jesus had to be crucified on a cross, will already have their sins redeemed or cancelled by Jesus’ death on the cross. Do you like to read the Bible? Do you like to have your dad and/or ma read the Bible to you? What has the Bible taught you? Do you think of the Bible as being a happy book? The Bible has true stories that give hope to the guys, gals and kids who believe that the Bible is a Living Book and that as a Living Book, the words in the Bible are infallible. The Bible also has true stories about good guys being killed. Mark – in Mark 15, recounts Jesus’ death. Jesus was probably in His early thirties when He was crucified on a cross. Do you know what it was like to be nailed to a cross to die? Being nailed to a cross was how a guy was crucified. To be nailed to a cross to die, a guy would have to be convicted of doing something really despicably horrible. Only the very worst, basest criminals – who were not Romans, were nailed to a cross to die. Do you know of anything that Jesus did that was so base or despicable that He had to die nailed to a cross? Some of God’s specially chosen guys had gotten to where they really did not want Jesus around anymore. Most of the Jewish leaders over the Jewish people group’s guys, gals and kids did not like it that Jesus had guys and gals listening to Him instead of to them. Most of the Jewish leaders did not agree with what Jesus was teaching. Jesus did not accept the laws that the Jewish leaders had made and which they expected all the guys and gals who were Jews to obey. Do you know how a guy was nailed to a cross? After a couple of crude planks of wood were laid crossed on the ground with the guy who was going to be nailed to the crude wood planks lying on top of the planks, iron nails were pounded through both wrist bones and through both ankle bones of the guy to the crossed crude wood planks. The cross made from crossed wood planks was then stood up. Stones were then piled around the base of the cross to hold the cross upright with the guy attached only by the iron nails to the cross. A guy would sometimes live for two or three days nailed to and hanging on a cross before he would finally die. To die on a cross was a very disgraceful death that was very painful and agonizing.
In order for Jesus to be crucified, a Roman official had to pronounce a death sentence on Jesus. Pilate was the Roman imperial magistrate who pronounced Jesus’ death sentence. To pronounce something is to say that what was said would take place. The Jewish chief priests, elders and teachers of the law along with the entire Sanhedrin made the accusation that Jesus be executed by the Romans by having him nailed to and hung on a cross. When the Jewish leaders were unable to convince Pilate to put Jesus to death, Pilate told the Jewish guys and gals to choose between freeing Jesus or Barabbas – a murderer, thinking that they would choose Barabbas. Because the Jewish chief priests had by now convinced the crowd of Jewish guys and gals who were watching what was happening that Jesus really did deserve to die, Pilate had to let Barabbas go after all the Jewish guys and gals kept yelling for Jesus to be the one to be crucified on a cross. Before turning Jesus over to Roman soldiers for them to do the dirty work of nailing Jesus to a couple of crossed crude wood planks and . . . Pilate had Jesus flogged. The whip used for flogging was made from leather straps that had been cut into strips at one end – with bits of bone and lead embedded into the ends of the cut strips of leather. No guy was to receive more than forty flogs at one time but . . . sometimes a guy would die from being flogged. The Roman soldiers mocked Jesus when Jesus was handed over to them. The Roman soldiers put on Jesus what was probably an old purple military coat. Purple was what kings wore. The Roman soldiers also made a halo like crown out of prickly briers that they put on Jesus’ head. The Roman soldiers also kept on saying to Jesus ‘Hail, king of the Jews’ – which was like saying ‘hail, Caesar’. Caesar was Rome’s king. Still another way that the Roman soldiers kept mocking Jesus was by spitting on Him. Jesus would be crucified and die on a Friday.
Jesus was mocked and abused horribly before He had to suffer the disgrace, pain and agony of being nailed to and hung on a cross to die. Would you be willing to suffer and die as Jesus died? Do you think that Jesus was really ready to die as He died? Do you think that Jesus was really ready to go through what He knew that He was going to go through when it started to get light that Friday morning when Jesus was nailed to and hung on a cross? The Friday when Jesus was crucified would be a day that no one who was alive about 1970 years ago, would ever forget. At noon on the Friday when Jesus was crucified, it became pitch black dark. It stayed totally dark for three hours. At three in the afternoon – on the Friday that Jesus was crucified, daylight returned. When it became light again, Jesus spoke to God – His Father God. Mark reports in verse 34, “And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”’—which means, “‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”’” After Jesus said what He said to God – His Father God, Jesus died. Did Jesus die for you? If you know that He did, the painful, agonizing death that Jesus suffered while He was hanging nailed to a wood plank cross totally took away your sins.
Mark 15 (250)