Jesus Dies on Calvary
Picture: Jesus Dies on Calvary3TC 441.1
“And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him.”3TC 441.2
The news of Christ’s condemnation had spread, and people of all classes and ranks flocked toward the place of crucifixion. The priests and rulers had been bound by a promise not to trouble Christ’s followers if He Himself were delivered to them, and the disciples and believers joined the crowd.3TC 441.3
The cross that had been prepared for Barabbas was placed on Jesus’ bleeding shoulders. Two companions of Barabbas were to die at the same time, and crosses were placed on them also. Since the Passover supper with His disciples, Jesus had taken neither food nor drink. He had endured the anguish of betrayal and had seen His disciples forsake Him. He had been taken to Annas, to Caiaphas, to Pilate, to Herod, then again to Pilate. All that night, there had been scene after scene to test a person to the utmost. Christ had not failed. He had borne Himself with dignity. But when after the second scourging the cross was laid on Him, human nature could bear no more. He fell fainting beneath the burden.3TC 441.4
The crowd showed no compassion. They taunted Him because He could not carry the heavy cross. Again the soldiers placed the burden on Him, and again He fell. His persecutors saw that it was impossible for Him to carry His burden further. Who would bear the humiliating load? The Jews could not, because the defilement would prevent them from keeping the Passover.3TC 441.5
At this time a stranger, Simon from Cyrene, coming in from the country, met the crowd. He stopped in astonishment at the scene, and as he expressed compassion, they took hold of him and placed the cross on his shoulders.3TC 441.6
Simon’s sons were believers in the Savior, but he himself was not. Carrying the cross to Calvary was a blessing to Simon. It led him later to take the cross of Christ from choice and from then on cheerfully to stand beneath its burden.3TC 441.7
Many women were in the crowd that followed the Uncondemned to His cruel death. Some had brought Him their sick and suffering ones. Some had themselves been healed. They were amazed at the hatred of the crowd toward Him. And despite the angry words of priests and rulers, as Jesus fell beneath the cross these women broke out in wailing. This attracted Christ’s attention. He knew that they were not mourning for Him as one sent from God, but He did not scorn their sympathy. It awakened in His heart a deeper sympathy for them. “Daughters of Jerusalem,” He said, “do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.” Christ looked ahead to the time of Jerusalem’s destruction when many who were now weeping for Him would die with their children.3TC 441.8
A Wider Judgment
Jesus’ thoughts turned from the fall of Jerusalem to a wider judgment. In the unrepentant city’s destruction He saw a symbol of the final destruction to come on the world. “‘Then they will begin “to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us!’” For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry?’” The green wood or tree represented Himself, the innocent Redeemer. God’s wrath against transgression fell on His beloved Son. What suffering, then, would the sinner bear who continued in sin? The unrepentant would know a sorrow that language would fail to express.3TC 442.1
Many in the crowd that followed the Savior to Calvary had accompanied Him with hosannas and palm branches as He rode triumphantly into Jerusalem. Many people who had then shouted His praise because it was popular, now swelled the cry, “Crucify Him!” When Christ rode into Jerusalem, the disciples pressed in close around Him, feeling that it was a high honor to be connected with Him. Now in His humiliation they followed Him at a distance.3TC 442.2
The Agony of Christ’s Mother
At the place of execution, the two thieves wrestled in the hands of those who placed them on the cross, but Jesus did not resist. His mother, supported by John, had followed her Son’s steps to Calvary. She had longed to place a supporting hand beneath His wounded head. But she was not permitted this sad privilege. She still cherished the hope that Jesus would deliver Himself from His enemies. Again her heart would sink as she recalled how He had foretold the very scenes then taking place.3TC 442.3
As the thieves were bound to the cross, she looked on with agonizing suspense. Would He who had given life to the dead allow Himself to be crucified? Must she give up her faith that He was the Messiah? She saw His hands stretched on the cross. The soldiers brought the hammer and nails, and as they drove the spikes through the tender flesh, the disciples bore the fainting form of the mother of Jesus away from the cruel scene.3TC 442.4
The Savior made no complaint, but great drops of sweat stood on His brow. There was no pitying hand to wipe the death dew from His face, no words of sympathy and loyalty to encourage His human heart. While the soldiers were doing their fearful work, Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” His mind passed from His own suffering to the terrible retribution that would be theirs. He did not call down any curses on the soldiers who were handling Him so roughly. He invoked no vengeance on the priests and rulers. He breathed only a plea for their forgiveness—“they do not know what they do.”3TC 442.5
But their ignorance did not remove their guilt, for it was their privilege to know and accept Jesus as their Savior. Some would yet see their sin and would repent and be converted. Some by refusing to repent would make it impossible for the prayer of Christ to be answered for them. Yet just the same, God’s purpose was reaching its fulfillment. Jesus was earning the right to become the One who pleads our case in the Father’s presence.3TC 443.1
That prayer of Christ for His enemies took in every sinner from the beginning of the world to the end of time. The guilt of crucifying the Son of God rests on us all. To all, Jesus freely offers forgiveness.3TC 443.2
As soon as Jesus was nailed to the cross, strong men lifted it and thrust it violently into the place prepared for it. This caused intense agony. Pilate then wrote an inscription in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin and placed it on the cross above Jesus’ head. It read, “JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.” This irritated the Jews. They had shouted, “We have no king but Caesar.” They had declared that whoever should acknowledge any other king was a traitor. Pilate wrote what they had expressed. No offense was mentioned, except that Jesus was the King of the Jews, a virtual acknowledgment of the allegiance of the Jews to Rome. It declared that whoever might claim to be the King of Israel they would judge as worthy of death. In order to destroy Christ, the priests had been ready to sacrifice even their national existence.3TC 443.3
The priests asked Pilate to change the inscription. “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but, ‘He said, “I am the King of the Jews.”’” But Pilate, angry with himself, replied coldly, “What I have written, I have written.”3TC 443.4
In the outworking of God’s plans, that inscription was to awaken investigation of the Scriptures. People from all lands were at Jerusalem then, and the inscription declaring Jesus the Messiah would come to their attention. God had guided its writing.3TC 443.5
The sufferings of Christ on the cross fulfilled prophecy. The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me.
They pierced My hands and My feet. ...
They divide My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots.
Psalm 22:16-18 His clothing was given to the soldiers. His tunic was woven without seam, and they said, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be.”3TC 443.6
In another prophecy the Savior declared, I looked for someone to take pity, but there was none;
And for comforters, but I found none.
They also gave me gall for my food,
And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
Psalm 69:20, 21 To those who were put to death on the cross, it was permitted to give a stupefying drug to deaden the pain. But when Jesus had tasted it, He refused it. His faith must keep hold on God, His only strength. To cloud His senses would give Satan an advantage.3TC 443.7
Priests, rulers, and scribes joined the mob in mocking the dying Savior. The Father’s voice from heaven had earlier witnessed to Christ’s divinity. Now it was silent. No testimony was heard in His favor. He suffered alone.3TC 444.1
“If You are the Son of God,” they said, “come down from the cross.” “Let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God.” Satan and his angels, in human form, were present at the cross, cooperating with the priests and rulers who were joined in a satanic frenzy.3TC 444.2
Jesus heard the priests declare, “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Christ could have come down from the cross. But because He refused to save Himself, the sinner has hope of pardon and favor with God.3TC 444.3
One Crucified Thief Believes
One gleam of comfort came to Jesus on the cross—the prayer of the repentant thief. Both men crucified with Jesus taunted Him at first, and one only became more desperate and defiant in his suffering. But his companion was not a hardened criminal; he was less guilty than many who stood beside the cross insulting the Savior. He had seen and heard Jesus but had been turned away from Him by the priests and rulers. In trying to stifle conviction, he had plunged into sin, until he was arrested and condemned.3TC 444.4
On the cross he saw the great religious leaders ridicule Jesus. He heard his companion in guilt take up the abusive speech: “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.” But among the passersby he heard many repeating Jesus’ words and telling of His works. The conviction came back that this was the Christ. Turning to his fellow criminal, he said, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation?” The dying thieves no longer had anything to fear from human sources. But the conviction pressed in on one of them that there is a God to fear, a future to cause him to tremble. And now his life history was about to close. “And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.”3TC 444.5
When condemned for his crime, the thief had sunk into despair, but strange, tender thoughts now sprang up. The Holy Spirit illuminated his mind, and little by little the chain of evidence joined together. In Jesus, mocked and hanging on the cross, he saw the Lamb of God. Hope mingled with anguish in his voice as the dying man threw himself on a dying Savior. “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”3TC 444.6
Quickly the answer came, the tone soft and melodious, the words full of love and power: “Assuredly, I say to you today, you will be with Me in Paradise.” With longing heart Jesus had listened for some expression of faith from His disciples. He had heard only the mournful words, “We were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel.” Luke 24:21. How welcome then to the Savior was this statement of faith and love from the dying thief! While even the disciples doubted, the poor thief called Jesus “Lord.” No one acknowledged Him on the cross except the repentant thief, saved at the last moment.3TC 444.7
The tone of the repentant man caught the attention of bystanders. Those who had been quarreling over Christ’s garments stopped to listen and waited for the response from Christ’s dying lips.3TC 445.1
As He spoke the words of promise, a living light pierced the dark cloud that seemed to enshroud the cross. Christ in His humiliation was glorified. He who in all other eyes appeared conquered, was Conqueror. He had been acknowledged as the Sin Bearer. They could strip His clothing from Him, but they could not rob Him of His power to forgive sins. It is His royal right to save all who come to God by Him!3TC 445.2
“I say to you today, You will be with Me in Paradise.” Christ did not promise that the thief would be with Him in Paradise that day. He Himself did not go to Paradise that day. He slept in the tomb, and on the morning of the resurrection He said, “I have not yet ascended to My Father.” John 20:17. But Jesus gave the promise on the day of apparent defeat. “Today” while dying on the cross as a criminal, Christ assured the sinner, “You will be with Me in Paradise.”3TC 445.3
Christ’s placement “in the center” between the thieves was done by direction of the priests and rulers to indicate that He was the greatest criminal of the three. But as Jesus was placed “in the center,” so His cross was placed in the center of a dying world lying in sin. And the words of pardon that He spoke to the repentant thief kindled a light that will shine to earth’s farthest limits. In His humiliation, Jesus as a Prophet had addressed the daughters of Jerusalem; as Priest and Advocate He had pleaded with the Father to forgive His murderers; as Savior He had forgiven the sins of the repentant thief.3TC 445.4
At the foot of the cross stood His mother, supported by John. She could not endure to remain away from her Son, and John, knowing that the end was near, had brought her again. Looking into her grief-stricken face, He said to her, “Woman, behold your son!” then to John, “Behold your mother!” John understood and accepted the trust. From that hour onward he cared for Mary tenderly. The Savior had no money with which to provide for His mother, but He provided what she needed most—the tender sympathy of one who loved her because she loved Jesus. And John received a great blessing—she was a constant reminder of his beloved Master.3TC 445.5
For nearly thirty years, by His daily labor Jesus had helped bear the burdens of the home. And now, even in His last agony, He provided for His sorrowing, widowed mother. Those who follow Christ will respect and provide for their parents. From the heart that cherishes His love, father and mother will never fail to receive thoughtful care and tender sympathy.3TC 446.1
And now the Lord of glory was dying. All He could see was oppressive gloom. It was not the dread of death nor the pain of the cross that caused Christ’s agony. His suffering came from a sense of the terrible evil of sin. Christ saw how few would be willing to break from its power. Without help from God, humanity must die, and He saw great numbers dying within reach of help.3TC 446.2
The Terrible Weight That Christ Bore
The iniquity of us all was laid on Christ as our Substitute and Security. The guilt of every descendant of Adam was pressing on His heart. All His life Christ had been proclaiming the good news of the Father’s pardoning love, but now with the terrible weight of guilt upon Him He could not see the Father’s forgiving face. This pierced His heart with a sorrow that no human can ever fully understand. This agony was so great that He hardly felt His physical pain.3TC 446.3
Satan wrung the heart of Jesus with fierce temptations. Hope did not tell Him that He would come out from the grave a conqueror, nor did it tell Him that the Father accepted His sacrifice. Christ felt the anguish the sinner will feel when mercy will no longer plead for the guilty race. It was the sense of sin, bringing the Father’s wrath on Him as our Substitute, that broke the heart of the Son of God.3TC 446.4
Angels hid their faces from the fearful sight. The sun refused to look on the awful scene. Its full, bright rays were illuminating the earth at midday, when suddenly it seemed to be blotted out. Complete darkness surrounded the cross. “Until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land.” There was no natural cause for this darkness, which was as deep as midnight without moon or stars. It was a miraculous God-given testimony that would confirm the faith of later generations.3TC 446.5
In that thick darkness God hid His presence. God and holy angels were beside the cross. The Father was with His Son. Yet He did not reveal His presence. In that dreadful hour Christ was not to be comforted with the Father’s presence.3TC 446.6
In the thick darkness, God veiled the last human agony of His Son. All who had seen Christ in His suffering had been convicted that He was divine. Through long hours of agony He had been open to the view of the jeering multitude. Now He was mercifully hidden by the mantle of God.3TC 446.7
A nameless terror held the crowd gathered around the cross. Cursing and insults stopped. Vivid lightning occasionally flashed from the cloud and revealed the crucified Redeemer. Priests, rulers, executioners, the mob, all thought their time to be punished had come. Some whispered that Jesus would now come down from the cross.3TC 446.8
At the ninth hour, the darkness lifted from the people but still enclosed the Savior. No eye could penetrate the deep gloom that enshrouded Christ’s suffering. Then “Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’” Many voices exclaimed, “The vengeance of heaven is upon Him because He claimed to be the Son of God!” Many who believed on Him heard His cry of despair. Hope left them. If God had forsaken Jesus, in what could His followers trust?3TC 447.1
Last Chance to Show Human Pity
When the darkness lifted, Christ became aware again of His physical suffering and said, “I thirst!” One of the Roman soldiers, touched with pity, took a sponge, dipped it in vinegar, and offered it to Him. But the priests mocked His agony. His words, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” they misinterpreted. They said, “This Man is calling for Elijah!” They refused the last opportunity to relieve His sufferings. “Let Him alone,” they said, “let us see if Elijah will come to save Him.”3TC 447.2
The spotless Son of God hung upon the cross, His flesh lacerated with stripes, His hands nailed to the wooden bars, His feet spiked to the tree, His royal head pierced by thorns. And all that He endured—the agony that racked His body, and the unutterable anguish that filled His soul at the hiding of His Father’s face—speaks to each child of humanity, declaring, For you the Son of God consents to bear this burden of guilt; for you He plunders the domain of death; for you He opens the gates of Paradise; for you He offers Himself as a sacrifice—from love to you.3TC 447.3
Christ Dies Triumphant
Suddenly the gloom lifted from the cross. In trumpetlike tones that seemed to echo throughout creation, Jesus cried, “It is finished!” “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’” A light encircled the cross, and the face of the Savior was radiant with a glory like the sun. He then bowed His head and died.3TC 447.4
Amid the awful darkness, Christ had drained the last drops in the cup of human woe. In those dreadful hours He had relied on the evidence of His Father’s acceptance given Him earlier. He knew His Father’s character, and by faith He rested in Him, the One He had always found joy in obeying. And as He committed Himself to God, the sense of having lost His Father’s favor was withdrawn. By faith, Christ was victor.3TC 447.5
Again darkness settled on the earth, and there was a violent earthquake. Wild confusion followed. In the surrounding mountains, rocks were torn apart and went crashing into the plains. Tombs broke open, and the dead were thrown out. Priests, soldiers, executioners, and people lay face down on the ground.3TC 447.6
When the loud cry, “It is finished!” came from the lips of Christ, it was the hour of the evening sacrifice. The lamb representing Christ had been brought to be killed. The priest stood with the knife lifted, the people looking on. But the earth trembled, for the Lord Himself drew near. With a ripping noise the inner veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom by an unseen hand, throwing open to the gaze of the crowd a place once filled with the presence of God. The Most Holy Place of the earthly sanctuary was no longer sacred.3TC 447.7
Terror and confusion were everywhere. The priest was about to sacrifice the victim, but the knife dropped from his unnerved hand, and the lamb escaped. Symbol had met fulfillment. The great sacrifice had been made. A new and living way was prepared for all. Afterward the Savior was to officiate as Priest and Advocate in the heaven of heavens. “He entered once for all into the Holy Place ... with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.” Hebrews 9:12, NRSV.3TC 448.1
