Matthew · New Testament · Matthew 27:27–56
The Crucifixion
The Story
Before leading Jesus to the cross the Roman soldiers took Him into the governor's headquarters and gathered the entire battalion around Him — stripping Him, dressing Him in a scarlet robe, pressing a crown of thorns onto His head, placing a staff in His right hand, and kneeling before Him in mocking worship, spitting on Him and striking Him repeatedly on the head before leading Him away to be crucified. As they made their way out of the city they seized a man named Simon of Cyrene and forced him to carry Jesus' cross — a detail that hints at the physical devastation Jesus had already endured from the flogging — and they arrived at a place called Golgotha, meaning Place of the Skull, where they crucified Him between two criminals with a written charge placed above His head declaring Him the King of the Jews. The crowd that passed by hurled insults and mockery at Jesus — wagging their heads and taunting Him to save Himself and come down from the cross if He truly was the Son of God — and the chief priests, teachers of the law, and elders joined in the derision, sneering that He had saved others but could not save Himself. At noon a darkness fell over the entire land and lasted three full hours — a supernatural sign of cosmic weight and mourning — and at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice the opening words of Psalm 22, asking why God had forsaken Him, before crying out again in a loud voice and giving up His spirit in death. At that moment the curtain of the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom, the earth shook, rocks split, and tombs broke open — and the Roman centurion and soldiers who had been guarding Jesus were filled with terror and declared that He truly was the Son of God, while the women who had followed Jesus from Galilee watched from a distance, faithful to the very end.
The Message
Jesus could have saved Himself from the cross at any moment — but He chose not to, because saving Himself would have meant not saving us, and the torn curtain of the Temple declared in unmistakable terms that His death had opened the way directly into the presence of God for all who believe. If you are not following along in the Bible, please make sure to read this part yourself as Christ went through a lot to give us the Grace of Salvation.