Question 230: Who were the guiltier of Moshiach’s death, the Jews or the Romans?

Answer:

Both were guilty, although the onus of the malevolent persecution of Moshiach rests with the Jews. When they brought Him before Pilate and that official, although representing the power of Rome and even admitting that he could "find no fault" in Yeshua weakly yielded to the fanatical clamour for the sacrifice, he became a principal with a full share of responsibility for the tragedy that followed. A stronger man, backed by the Roman authority and convinced of the injustice of the mob's demand, would have resolutely refused to permit the innocent to suffer. History is full of passages recording the nobility and justice of men whose firmness checked the commission of crimes in the name of law.
Roman justice even in that day, was proverbial. It was therefore the duty of Pilate to have executed justice as Governor of Judea. When he had examined Moshiach and declared that he "found no fault in Him" (John 19:6) and again when he declined to acknowledge responsibility for the "blood of this just Person," he was pledged by his judicial oaths to execute not injustice in obedience to clamour, but justice, even in the face of the whole Jewish nation. Roman laws governed Judea; the native laws, secular and ecclesiastical, could only be recognized and enforced where they did not conflict with those of Rome. Pilate stifled the voice of conscience, set aside the result of his judicial inquiry, disregarded the warning of his wife and basely consented to a murder in obedience to Jewish clamour. The priests, it is true never wavered in their demand for the Saviour’s death and even warned Pilate that if he refused to order the execution, he would not be Caesar's friend. This touched the Governor's weak point: his ambition. To stand well with Caesar he gratified the populace and ordered his troops to carry out their wishes.

Question 229: Was Yeshua happy?

Answer:

We cannot suppose so, although some have held that, because He was doing the Father's will, therefore He must have been happy even in the midst of suffering. But in the narratives of the evangelists, we find only the impression that He was filled with sorrow. From the time of the agony in the garden (see Matthew 26:37) until the last cry on the cross, this cloud was not lifted. On the way to Calvary, together with His sorrow for the people who "knew not what they did" - who were now as ready to mock and revile Him as they were only a short time before to joyfully acclaim him - there must have been a deeper burden of sadness for His base betrayal and for His utter desertion by all of His panic-stricken disciples, even by Peter that weighed down at every step. Yet, wounded, bleeding and subjected to the worst indignities, He bore it all without a murmur even while His heart was breaking. He was sustained by the sense of His high mission and bore His suffering with such fortitude that even His enemies remarked it (Luke 23:47). Thus, to the last moments of His earthly life, He was "a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief."

Question 228: At what hour did the crucifixion take place?

Answer:

Mark says (15:25) it was about the third hour or, as we should say, nine o'clock. Again, the sixth hour is referred to by three of the evangelists (Matthew 27:45; Mark 15:33; Luke 23:44), when Yeshua had apparently been three hours on the cross. In the next verses in all three cases, the ninth hour is mentioned as the time of death, which would be three o'clock. The statement of John (19:14) is believed to be due to a copyist's error or to his using the Roman method of reckoning.

Question 227: How many hours was Yeshua on the cross?

Answer:

It is uncertain how long Yeshua lived after He was nailed to the cross. At the longest it could not have been more than six hours. Mark says (15:25), "It was the third hour (or nine o'clock) and they crucified Him" and again (15:34), "And at the ninth hour (3 p.m.), Yeshua cried," etc. John on the other hand, describing the proceedings before Pilate (19:14), says: "It was about the sixth hour." But John was probably reckoning the hours by the Roman method from midnight, which allowing for the subsequent judicial farce and the journey to Golgotha, would bring him into accord with Mark. Matthew also (27:46), represents Yeshua as being alive at the ninth hour (three o'clock). Matthew, Mark and Luke, referring to the darkness, say that it lasted from the sixth hour (noon), until the ninth hour (3 p.m.), but it does not appear to have begun until Yeshua had been some time on the cross. The ancients had not the means that we have of accurately reckoning time; so that we cannot be certain of the hour and it may have been later than nine when Yeshua was nailed to the cross. He evidently did not live long after three, probably not many minutes.

Frequently asked questions and answers:

Question 226: Why was the inscription used on the cross “The King of the Jews”?

Answer:

From the fact that the evangelists give as three different forms for the inscription over the cross it has been argued that they were not accurate in their portrayal of things and events. There is however nothing here to disturb anyone. Matthew 27:37 has it, "This is Yeshua the King of the Jews," using probably the Greek form; Mark 25:26, "The King of the Jews" and Luke 23:38, "This is the King of the Jews," availed themselves of the Roman form and John 19:19, "Yeshua the Nazarene, the King of the Jews," probably employed the Hebrew form. Since the four accounts of the inscription do not differ in import the exact language of the insulting designation is of little or no consequence.

Question 225: Was the pain the Saviour suffered on Calvary, physical or mental?

Answer:

Pain is a difficult thing to measure. The sorrow of Yeshua will always be one of the awe-inspiring, baffling events of the world story. It is impossible to read the Bible deeply, particularly after one has become personally acquainted with Yeshua and observed the amazing power that the facts of His suffering and death possess over human souls, without realizing that there must have been far deeper anguish than can be accounted for by the mere facts of His humiliation, rejection, torture and death. If we consider the merely physical pain, we must acknowledge that others have apparently borne as much, though we must also acknowledge that there are almost infinite degrees of susceptibility to pain. A wound which will cause little pain to a man of a certain temperament and organization may be excruciating to one of finer and more acute sensitiveness. But the real agony of Yeshua must have been different from either physical or mental. There is a sane note, a moral note in His suffering that puts it altogether beyond our comprehension. Matthew, Mark and Luke all record the fact that as He died, He cried out with a loud voice. That seems strange from what we know of the dauntless courage of Yeshua. Some immeasurable, inconceivable suffering must lie back of that cry. So also, His appeal in the garden for deliverance at the last hour. There must have been an infinite anguish ahead to compel Him to ask for another way. We get the clearest hint in the grievous prayer from the cross: "My YHVH, My YHVH, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" There must have been some definite, conscious, agonizing break in the eternal love which had bound the Father and the Son together. Perhaps there was deeper truth than the ancient formulators of the creed knew in those strange words: "He descended into hell." No - of all the grief in the world that of Yeshua while He was on the cross and while His body lay in the grave, is unique. Its depth, its duration, none can know. They counted the hours He spent on the cross and the hours in the grave. But what eternities of spirit anguish He underwent we may never know. But, praise YHVH! They were enough to shock every penitent soul that hears of it into a new life, a life in which sin is hated and righteousness loved, a life of which the crucified and risen Saviour is the eternal Light and the never-failing hope and joy.

Question 224: Who was the “certain young man” of Mark 14:51?

Answer:

There has been much speculation as to who this young man was. It has been suggested by some commentators, perhaps rightly that inasmuch as he is mentioned only by Mark, he was Mark, the evangelist; himself. Mark's family was prominently connected with incidents of Elohiym's last days and following the resurrection. Thus the "upper room" where the Last Supper was eaten and which later witnessed the descent of Ruach HaKodesh was in the ownership of that family and Mark's mother was the sister of Barnabas, a wealthy Levite of Cypress.

Question 223: How did the sleeping disciples know what Word did Yeshua uttered in the garden?

Answer:

One of the functions of Ruach HaKodesh was to bring all things to the remembrance or knowledge of the Apostles. Though the Evangelists record most fully the events they witnessed, they record other matters of which they could have had no knowledge except by revelation. This may have been one of them. But it is not stated that they slept all the time they were with Moshiach in the Garden. The account rather implies men struggling to keep awake. Moshiach said of them that their spirit was willing. They may have heard the few words they record, though missing the remainder of what may have been and probably was, a long prayer.

Question 222: What was the value of the thirty pieces of silver that Judas received?

Answer:

The pieces of silver were probably shekels. It would be about the average pay for four months of work. Zechariah had predicted the whole transaction (see Zechariah 2:12, 13): "They weighed for My price thirty pieces of silver and Elohiym said cast it unto the potter," etc. It is not likely that Judas acted from avarice only, though he was fond of money. He probably meant to force Moshiach's hand. He may have thought him backward in claiming the Kingdom and supposed that if He was driven to bay, He would deliver Himself by a miracle and declare Himself King. That theory is confirmed by his committing suicide when he discovered the consequences of his act.

Frequently asked questions and answers:

Question 221: Was Judas at the institution of Elohiym’s Supper?

Answer:

It is doubtful whether Judas was present at the institution of Elohiym's Supper. He was present at the foot-washing and at the early part of the feast, but he could not remain after Moshiach spoke of His imminent betrayal and showed His knowledge of the identity of the guilty man. Then Judas went out, but we do not know whether the breaking of the bread and the blessing of the cup had already taken place: from Luke's narrative it would appear that they had; Matthew and Mark however, mention the ceremony after the conversation about the betrayal, which would imply that Judas was not present at the ceremony. The Evangelists were concerned more about the spiritual significance of the events of that agitating night than about presenting those events in consecutive order.