Category Archives: Death of Christ

Mt 27:45/Mk 15:33/Lk 23:44f – Three hours of darkness

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Mt 27:45 Now from noon until three, darkness came over all the land.

Mk 15:33 Now when it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.

Lk 23:44 It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, 23:45 because the sun’s light failed.

Leaving aside, for the moment, the significance of this event, what can we say about what actually happened?

Frst. a couple of notes about the text itself.…

The Crucified God

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[Based on an article by Donald MacLeod in The Monthly Record, March, 1982]

This title, and the contents, of a book by Jurgen Moltmann are worth pondering, even though ‘Moltmann could not satisfy Karl Barth as to his orthodoxy and can hardly expect, in the circumstances, to be endorsed by The Monthly Record (assuming he reads it).’

The sufferings the crucified God experienced were:

1. Physical

His body, like ours, was limited in its powers of endurance and highly sensitive to pain.…

Mt 26:39/Mk 14:36/Lk 22:42 – “Let this cup pass from me!”

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Mt 26:39 Going a little farther, he threw himself down with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if possible, let this cup pass from me! Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

Mk 14:36 He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Take this cup away from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

Lk 22:42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me.…

Rev 19:13 – ‘He is dressed in clothing dipped in blood’

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Rev 19:11 Then I saw heaven opened and here came a white horse! The one riding it was called “Faithful” and “True,” and with justice he judges and goes to war. 19:12 His eyes are like a fiery flame and there are many diadem crowns on his head. He has a name written that no one knows except himself. 19:13 He is dressed in clothing dipped in blood, and he is called the Word of God.…

The honour and shame of the cross

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We are often told that ancient societies, such as Israel, were ‘honour-shame’ cultures.

How does the relate to the crucifixion of Jesus?

To be sure, crucifixion was not only a terribly painful death, but also a shameful one.

We see something of the humiliation of Jesus’ death in Mark’s Gospel.  Abandoned by his friends, tortured, and hung up (probably naked) to endure a lingering death in full public view.  And yet Mark communicates a certain honour to that which most would have found utterly shameful. …

Good Friday

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I confess that I struggle a bit with attending church on Good Friday.  In my experience, we come into church with long faces because we remember that this was the day on which our Lord suffered and died, and then return, two days later, full of smiles because – surprise, suprise! – he’s not dead, but alive!

It’s not a great idea to separate Good Friday from Easter Sunday in this way, as though Friday is ‘bad’ and Sunday is ‘good’? …

Christ’s prayer for his people

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A summary of ch. 20 of John Flavel’s The Fountain of Life.

“And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to you. Holy Father, keep through your own name those whom you have given me, that they may be one, as we are.” John 17:11

This scripture contains the first preparative of Christ for death, whereby he sets his house in order, prays for his people, and blesses them before he dies.…

The nature of Christ’s death

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A summary of ch. 26 of John Flavel’s The Fountain of Life.

“Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.” Acts 2:23

In this text, we have an account of

1. The nature of the death Christ died, which is here described more generally, as a violent death, You have slain him: and more particularly, as a most ignominious, cursed, dishonorable death; you have crucified him.…

Meditating on Christ’s sufferings

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Given the reticence and reserve with which the NT dwells on the physical aspects of Christ’s sufferings, it is certainly possible for Christians themselves to dwell too much on them.

F.F. Bruce comments on this subject in his fascinating book, Answers To Questions (p249f).

He contrasts this, by Charles Wesley…

1. O Love divine, what has thou done!
The immortal God hath died for me!
The Father’s coeternal Son
bore all my sins upon the tree.…

Discussion Starters, Lk 22:39-23:55

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(a) In what ways are we sometimes like Peter (Luke 22:54-62), denying Jesus rather than acknowledging him? What can we do when that happens?

(b) Why do you think that Luke describes the events surrounding Jesus’ death in such detail?

(c) Looking through this passage as a whole, what aspects of Jesus death are ‘ordinary’ (similar to other deaths), and what aspects are ‘extraordinary’ (unlike other deaths)? What (again trying to pick up clues from this passage) makes Jesus’ death significant for us today?…