GOOD FRIDAY REFLECTIONS – WHY WAS JESUS CHRIST CRUCIFIED?

 This time of year is extra special to me because it was right before Easter in 1980 that I began to read the little Catholic New Testament Bible that was given to me. As I began to read it the truth of God’s Word began to strip away the man-made doctrines of Catholicism that obscured the truth of who Jesus truly is; He is not the victim as portrayed in every Sacrifice of the Mass, but rather the Victor over sin and death, because I discovered the joyous good news of the gospel –Jesus paid the debt of my sin in full! No longer was I in bondage to a religion that provided no assurance of salvation. I was free and had a peace that went beyond all human understanding because I saw my need for a Savior and placed my trust in Jesus Christ alone and in the truth of God’s Word, and not in my good works or the unreliable words of men!

Dear reader, is your trust in a false gospel made by man? Or is it founded upon the truth as revealed in Scripture? Are you accepting a man’s interpretation of Scripture? Or are you allowing the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth to you through the Living Word of God, by letting Scripture interpret other Scriptures? Are you attempting to earn your salvation? Or have you come to the point where you see yourself as a sinner in the sight of a thrice Holy God and realize that the only way you can be forgiven is to place your trust in the death, burial, and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ, God in the flesh as the one and only way that God provided for us to become righteous in His sight?

The good news of the gospel is that He died for my sins — and for yours — if you will only choose to place your trust in Him and Him alone for your salvation.

I hope and pray that you will take the time to reflect upon these Scriptures and to watch the sermon below. Pray and ask God to reveal the truth to you as He did for me as I read His Word. You too can have the assurance of salvation and a peace that goes beyond all human understanding if you will only turn to Him while there is still time!

 

SCRIPTURES FOR YOU TO REFLECT ON

“But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

“This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him.  This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” (1 John 4:9,10)

“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.  All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts.  Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.  But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions–it is by grace you have been saved.  And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.  For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this, not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–not by works, so that no one can boast.  For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”               (Ephesians 2:1-10)

“Then said they unto Him, “What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?” Jesus answered and said unto them, “This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent.” (John 6:28,29)

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life.” (John 6:47)

“Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on Him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. Jesus cried and said, “He that believeth on Me, believeth not on Me, but on Him that sent Me. And he that seeth Me seeth Him that sent Me. I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on Me should not abide in darkness. And if any man hear My words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejecteth Me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken of Myself; but the Father which sent Me, He gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. And I know that His commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto Me, so I speak.”               (John 12:42-50)

“Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? This is He that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which He hath testified of His Son. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made Him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of His Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” (1 John 5:5-13)

“At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures.  We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.  But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of righteous things we have done, but because of His mercy.  He saved us through the washing of rebirth an renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3:3-7)

“The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:4)

“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes; first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.” (Romans 1:16)

“See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.  For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.”  (Colossians 2:8,9)

“Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked,  “Why do your disciples break the traditions of the elders?  They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”  Jesus replied,  “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?  For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’  But you say that if a man says to his father or mother,  ‘Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is a gift devoted to God,’ he is not to ‘honor his father’ with it.  Thus you nullify the Word of God for the sake of your tradition.  You hypocrites!  Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:  These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.  They worship Me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.” (Matthew 15:1-9)

“Enter through the narrow gate.  For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.  But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (Matthew 7:13,14)

“Jesus answered,  “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)

“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.” (1Timothy 2:5,6 KJV)

“When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, He went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation.  He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.  The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer  sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean.  How much more then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God.” (Hebrews 9:11-14)

“Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by His death He might break the power of him who holds the power of death–that is the devil–and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.”  (Hebrews 2:14,15)

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:1)

“For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous to bring you to God.” (1 Peter 3:18)

“I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” (Galatians 2:21)

 

In the sermon that you will find further below, Pastor Randy White gives us an understanding of why Jesus was crucified, and does so from a Jewish perspective, a gentile perspective, and from a theological perspective, as well.

Here is the video description:

“Dr. Randy White preaches about the crucifixion from Mark 14 and 15. He looks at the Jewish rationale for putting Jesus on the cross, the gentile rationale, and the theological rationale.”

 

Here are the texts that he will be preaching from:

Mark 14:53-65 and Mark 15:1-39

 ^{53 “}And they led Jesus away to the high priest: and with him were assembled all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes.

⁵⁴ And Peter followed Him afar off, even into the palace of the high priest: and he sat with the servants, and warmed himself at the fire.

⁵⁵ And the chief priests and all the council sought for witness against Jesus to put Him to death; and found none.

⁵⁶ For many bare false witness against Him, but their witness agreed not together.

⁵⁷ And there arose certain, and bare false witness against Him, saying,

⁵⁸ We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.’

⁵⁹ But neither so did their witness agree together.

⁶⁰ And the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, “Answerest thou nothing? What is it which these witness against thee?”

⁶¹ But He held His peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked Him, and said unto Him, “Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?”

⁶² And Jesus said, “I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.”

⁶³ Then the high priest rent his clothes, and saith, “What need we any further witnesses?

⁶⁴ Ye have heard the blasphemy: what think ye?” And they all condemned Him to be guilty of death.

⁶⁵ And some began to spit on Him, and to cover His face, and to buffet Him, and to say unto Him, “Prophesy.” And the servants did strike Him with the palms of their hands.

1And straightway in the morning the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council, and bound Jesus, and carried Him away, and delivered Him to Pilate.

² And Pilate asked Him, “Art thou the King of the Jews?” And He answering said unto them, “Thou sayest it.”

³ And the chief priests accused Him of many things: but He answered nothing.

⁴ And Pilate asked Him again, saying, “Answerest thou nothing? Behold how many things they witness against thee.”

⁵ But Jesus yet answered nothing; so that Pilate marvelled.

⁶ Now at that feast he released unto them one prisoner, whomsoever they desired.

⁷ And there was one named Barabbas, which lay bound with them that had made insurrection with him, who had committed murder in the insurrection.

⁸ And the multitude crying aloud began to desire him to do as he had ever done unto them.

⁹ But Pilate answered them, saying, “Will ye that I release unto you the King of the Jews?”

¹⁰ For he knew that the chief priests had delivered Him for envy.

¹¹ But the chief priests moved the people, that he should rather release Barabbas unto them.

¹² And Pilate answered and said again unto them, “What will ye then that I shall do unto Him whom ye call the King of the Jews?”

¹³ And they cried out again, “Crucify Him.”

¹⁴ Then Pilate said unto them, “Why, what evil hath He done?” And they cried out the more exceedingly, “Crucify Him.”

¹⁵ And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged Him, to be crucified.

¹⁶ And the soldiers led Him away into the hall, called Praetorium; and they call together the whole band.

¹⁷ And they clothed Him with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about His head,

¹⁸ And began to salute Him, Hail, King of the Jews!

¹⁹ And they smote H im on the head with a reed, and did spit upon Him, and bowing their knees worshipped Him.

²⁰ And when they had mocked Him, they took off the purple from Him, and put His own clothes on Him, and led Him out to crucify Him.

²¹ And they compel one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear His cross.

²² And they bring Him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, The place of a skull.

²³ And they gave Him to drink wine mingled with myrrh: but He received it not.

²⁴ And when they had crucified Him, they parted His garments, casting lots upon them, what every man should take.

²⁵ And it was the third hour, and they crucified Him.

²⁶ And the superscription of His accusation was written over, “The King Of The Jews.”

²⁷ And with Him they crucify two thieves; the one on His right hand, and the other on His left.

²⁸ And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, “And He was numbered with the transgressors.”

²⁹ And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, “Ah, thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days,

³⁰ Save thyself, and come down from the cross.”

³¹ Likewise also the chief priests mocking said among themselves with the scribes, He saved others; Himself He cannot save.

³² Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with Him reviled Him.

³³ And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.

³⁴ And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” Which is, being interpreted, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

³⁵ And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, “Behold, He calleth Elias.”

³⁶ And one ran and filled a spunge full of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave Him to drink, saying, “Let alone; let us see whether Elias will come to take Him down.”

³⁷ And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost.

³⁸ And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.

³⁹ And when the centurion, which stood over against Him, saw that He so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God.”

 

RELATED POSTS

2010 – NO GREATER LOVE

2011 – IT IS FINISHED

2012 – ONCE

2013 – I STILL STAND IN AWE

2015 – TAKE TIME TO REFLECT ON WHAT JESUS ENDURED ON OUR BEHALF

 

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FURTHER READING

THE BEREAN CALL – QUESTION: I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU BELIEVE THAT JESUS DIED ON THE CROSS ON THURSDAY, NOT GOOD FRIDAY. WHY DO YOU SAY THAT, AND DOES IT MATTER?

 

UPDATE:

Even though I have a lot of information that I want to share with you concerning what has been happening lately in the name of Christianity, I decided not to do a Mysticism Monday or a Warning You With Tears Wednesday post for you this week in order to keep the focus of this blog at this time completely on Jesus Christ alone and not on the many unbiblical things that are leading Christians astray, which is why I simply left the SERMON SUNDAY as the only post for this week, until now.

I also wanted some extra time during this season so that I would personally be able to  reflect on the high price that Jesus Christ paid when He endured such torture and ultimately gave His life in my place to pay the debt for all of my sins and guilt.

As much as I enjoy writing and sharing things with you, I want you to know that I also take blogging very seriously knowing that I will stand before God one day and answer for all that I have shared with you and what my motives were for doing so. I share that with you because as I was putting this post together for you I realized just how careful we all have to be in choosing what pastors and teachers we listen to! Originally I had chosen a sermon by the late Adrian Rogers to share with you, and I also added many more of his sermons because I thought he was still considered to be among the few  pastors and teachers left who are worthy of our trust. However, earlier today I discovered that he also slowly drifted from Biblical truth.  Lord willing, I will share what I discovered with you next week in my Warning You With Tears Wednesday post.

Thank you very much for stopping  by and taking time out of this special weekend to read some of my posts and poems. If you are a Christian then this weekend is indeed special to you. If you are not, I pray that you will consider reading the Bible for yourself and ask God to reveal the truth to you so that you too will discover the good news of the gospel! Then you will be able to rejoice in knowing that you can be released from all the sin and guilt that holds you in bondage if only you will believe and trust in what Jesus already did for you as being sufficient to pay for your sin and guilt –no matter what you may have done!

Keep in mind, though, that the Bible also says that the devil believes and he trembles! The devil knows who Jesus is, yet there must be a trust and reliance upon Jesus Christ and upon Him alone, which he will never have!   He was filled with pride and chose to rebel against God. I pray that you will not choose to do the same. Humbly bow before Him and admit your sinfulness before a completely Holy God and receive the only provision that God made for you to be forgiven and to have a relationship with Him, which is through His one and only Son –Jesus Christ, God in the flesh.

 

God Bless You

Praying For All Of You

~Mary/Living4HisGlory