Introduction
Many years ago, scholar Frederic Farrar wrote The Life of Christ (N.Y.: A.L. Burt, 1874). In it he said this:
A death by crucifixion seems to include all that pain and death can have of horrible and ghastly–dizziness, cramp, thirst, starvation, sleeplessness, traumatic fever, tetanus, shame, publicity of shame, long continuance of torment, horror of anticipation, mortification of untended wounds–all intensified just up to the point at which they can be endured at all, but all stopping just short of the point which would give to the sufferer the relief of unconsciousness.
The unnatural position made every movement painful; the lacerated veins and crushed tendons throbbed with incessant anguish; the wounds, inflamed by exposure, gradually gangrened; the arteries– especially of the head and stomach–became swollen and oppressed with surcharged blood; and while each variety of misery went on gradually increasing, there was added to them the intolerable pang of burning and raging thirst, and all these physical complications caused an internal excitement and anxiety, which made the prospect of death itself–of death, the awful unknown enemy, at whose approach man usually shudders most–bear the aspect of a delicious and exquisite release (p. 499).
One thing is clear: first century executions were not like modern ones. The authorities did not seek a quick, painless death to preserve a small measure of dignity for the criminal. On the contrary, they sought an agonizing torture to completely humiliate him. Such was the torture that our Lord Jesus Christ endured for us.
The crucifixion of Christ is the climax of redemptive history. God’s plan of salvation culminates in the cross, as the Lord bears the sins of the world and provides salvation for all who believe in Him.
A. The Viewpoint of John
The cross demonstrates the grace, mercy, goodness, kindness, and love of God like no other event in history ever can. We could go to Scripture and focus entirely on God’s self-revelation of love and grace in the cross. That is, for the most part, the intention of the gospel of John. He looked at the cross from the viewpoint of God. He revealed that it is the fulfillment of prophecy–that God’s plan is on schedule. As you read John’s record of the crucifixion, you cannot help but be in awe at the wonder of God’s glory, grace, and love in the death of Jesus Christ.
B. The Viewpoint of Matthew
Matthew approaches the cross from the opposite perspective. He showed how the death of Jesus Christ demonstrated the wickedness of the human heart.
When Peter preached his sermon on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2:22-23, he said that God had ordained Christ’s death, but that the wicked hands of the people brought it to pass. Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.” If ever there was a place where we could see that verse proven, it is at the crucifixion of Christ.
1. The triumph of wickedness
It is not as if wickedness had not appeared previously in the life of Christ. It tried to kill Him at birth. It tried to discredit His teaching and stop His miracles. Wickedness secured His condemnation by violating every standard of justice in the Jewish and Gentile world. It betrayed Him by the kiss of a hypocrite. It had Him arrested. It framed Him, slapped His face, punched Him, spit on Him, scourged Him, and mocked Him. Yet before it is through, wickedness will kill Him.
2. The torment of wickedness
However, even death itself wasn’t enough to satiate its evil desire–it had to torment Him as well. It had to mock, scorn, and reproach Him until He breathed His last. Christ’s enemies were so filled with wickedness that His death seemed to be a disappointment to them. They would have wished to prolong it so they could continue spewing their venom on Him. The heartless intensity of the words and deeds of all who surrounded the cross beg language to describe them.
Matthew described four groups of wicked people at the cross: the ignorant wicked, the knowing wicked, the fickle wicked, and the religious wicked.
I. THE IGNORANT WICKED–The Callous Soldiers (vv. 27-37)
A. The Mockery of Jesus (vv. 27-30)
1. The guilt of Pilate (v. 27)
“Then the soldiers of the governor [Pilate] took Jesus into the common hall [praetorium], and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers.”
a) The sin of Pilate
Pilate had already violated justice, conscience, conviction, truth, integrity, and character. He sold his soul for popularity and security. When he was cornered by the Jewish population, the security of his position was in jeopardy. He was fearful that another insurrection from the Jews would result in the loss of his job and reputation. He felt forced into doing things to Jesus he knew weren’t just. Instead of releasing Jesus, whom he pronounced repeatedly as innocent, he tried to satiate the mob’s thirst for blood by scourging and mocking Him. He then tried to present Christ as a pathetic individual who couldn’t possibly be a threat to Rome or Israel. He hoped this strategy would cause the crowd to stop short of forcing him to execute an innocent man.
b) The soldiers of Pilate
As we begin our study, Jesus had already endured the scourging (Matt. 27:26; see pp. xx-xx). Following the scourging but before the crucifixion, the scene in verse 27 took place. Jesus was taken to the common hall, and the whole band was gathered around Him. The Greek word translated “whole band” is speira, and refers to six hundred soldiers.
(1) Their identification
These soldiers were Roman legionnaires who, for the most part, were not Italian. Acts 10:1 says Cornelius was in the Italian band, but that was not the norm. Rome generally conscripted soldiers out of the countries it occupied. The Romans frequently used Syrian soldiers in Israel because they could speak Aramaic, which was the common language of Israel. The majority of Rome’s soldiers were not necessarily Roman, but they reflected Roman military power and presence. The Jews were exempt from service in the Roman military, and they wouldn’t have served even if they could.
(2) Their ignorance
This particular band that surrounded Christ was under Pilate, whose headquarters were at Caesarea on the seacoast, about 60 miles west of Jerusalem. They were probably not familiar with Jerusalem and its religion. They certainly didn’t understand much about Jesus, if they even understood anything at all. So what they did was out of ignorance. He was just a prisoner to them, and a very curious one at that. It wasn’t often that they got to meet prisoners who claimed to be King.
The soldiers would have seen Jesus as a strange and pathetic figure. His face had been slapped and punched until it was swollen and bruised. He had been spit on. His body had been lacerated, and He was bleeding profusely from the shoulders down. They knew He claimed to be a King from what the people screamed about Him. They also knew the people wanted Him dead. So they saw Him as a fake and a fraud, perhaps even mentally deranged, worthy of their mockery. Yet throughout His encounter with them, Jesus never said a thing. The soldiers treated Him like a clown as they would with a poor idiot boy in the street. They were cold, indifferent, and ignorant.
“This article originally appeared here at Bible Bulletin Board.”
