Song for the afflicted - 5b

The real discourse with pilate

John 18:33-19:15

Pilate went back into the Praetorium, summoned Jesus, and asked Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?”

“Are you saying this on your own,” Jesus asked, “or did others tell you about Me?”

“Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed You over to me. What have You done?”

Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world; if it were, My servants would fight to prevent My arrest by the Jews. But now My kingdom is not of this realm.”

“Then You are a king!” Pilate said.

“You say that I am a king,” Jesus answered. “For this reason I was born and have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to My voice.”

“What is truth?” Pilate asked.

And having said this, he went out again to the Jews and told them, “I find no basis for a charge against Him. But it is your custom that I release to you one prisoner at the Passover. So then, do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”

“Not this man,” they shouted, “but Barabbas!” (Now Barabbas was an insurrectionist.)

Then Pilate took Jesus and had Him flogged. The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns, set it on His head, and dressed Him in a purple robe. And they went up to Him again and again, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and slapping Him in the face. 

Once again Pilate came out and said to the Jews, “Look, I am bringing Him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against Him.” When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”

As soon as the chief priests and officers saw Him, they shouted, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”

“You take Him and crucify Him,” Pilate replied, “for I find no basis for a charge against Him.”

“We have a law,” answered the Jews, “and according to that law He must die, because He declared Himself to be the Son of God.”

When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid, and he went back into the Praetorium. “Where are You from?” he asked.

But Jesus gave no answer.

So Pilate said to Him, “Do You refuse to speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You and authority to crucify You?”

Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed Me over to you is guilty of greater sin.”

From then on, Pilate tried to release Him, but the Jews kept shouting, “If you release this man, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who declares himself a king is defying Caesar.”

When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat on the judgment seat at a place called the Stone Pavement, which in Hebrew is Gabbatha. It was the day of Preparation for the Passover, about the sixth hour. And Pilate said to the Jews, “Here is your King!”

At this, they shouted, “Away with Him! Away with Him! Crucify Him!”

“Shall I crucify your King?” Pilate asked.

“We have no king but Caesar,” replied the chief priests.

What’s going on?

The synoptics -

Now the synoptics do have differences, but i’m trying to be brief, difficult enough already. Their focus though is on the choice of barrabas to be spared and the bloodlust of chanting ‘crucify Him’ for the accusation of being ‘King of the jews’, or ‘Christ’, that is, the Messiah.

John -

Something else entirely is happening here. Jesus asks pilate if his question is coming from himself or if it’s prompted (by the jews).

Because pilate’s answer goes - am i a jew?

So, dear reader, are you a jew?

Do you believe Jesus is King of the jews because you believe it, or because you were told it?

You may say, i’m a christian, of course i believe it, what a question!

And i say, but why do you not follow Him then? And i ask again, are you a jew?

And that is the nitty gritty crux of the matter. Please note - i’m not saying something anti-semitic here, it’s the fourth ground.

Read carefully. Surprisingly enough, try and find in john that the jews say Jesus is not the King of the jews. In verse 19:12 where they say ‘anyone who declares himself a king is defying Caesar’ they are not denying He’s King, they are choosing the side of caesar, and in verse 19:15 where they say ‘we have no king but Caesar’, they mean king of the roman empire, not of the jews, remember the hierarchy of kingships within kingships. They’re not denying His Kingship, they’re refusing to be ruled by Him. Right from where annas the high priest examines Jesus there is no disputation around His being King of the jews. In fact, it is only when the jews say He declared Himself to be the Son of God that pilate starts to get scared and talk about his authority to crucify Him.

Getting ahead of myself slightly, note it is only here in john 19:21 that they want pilate to change the wording of the notice  posted on His cross. Surely the synoptics, with their emphasis on His being crucified because of declaring Himself King of the jews, should be where they would want the wording to be changed? They’re refusing His rule, like the parable of the ten minas in luke 19:14 says. And it’s the third ground (of israel) of luke where this parable is found because it’s the third ground jew (israelite) who refuses His rule and crucifies Him, it’s the fourth ground jerusalemite who follows He who is the Son of God.

So what i’m basically saying is in the synoptics He’s being crucified for saying He’s King of the Jews aka the Christ aka the Messiah, and they’re refusing that. and so, almost paradoxically, they don’t bother trying to have the notice changed.

And in john He’s being crucified for the ‘blasphemy’ of declaring Himself son of God and now they want it changed, just to (also) make their refusal of His rule clear.

Oof, i don’t think i’ve worded things well here, it’s so important, but please look at the texts again, carefully. Let’s continue.

The crucifixion process

Matthew 27:32-44

Along the way they found a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross of Jesus. And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means The Place of the Skull, they offered Him wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, He refused to drink it. When they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments by casting lots. And sitting down, they kept watch over Him there. Above His head they posted the written charge against Him:

THIS IS JESUS,

THE KING OF THE JEWS.

Two robbers were crucified with Him, one on His right hand and the other on His left. And those who passed by heaped abuse on Him, shaking their heads and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross!” In the same way, the chief priests, scribes, and elders mocked Him, saying, “He saved others, but He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel! Let Him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in Him. He trusts in God. Let God deliver Him now if He wants Him. For He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” In the same way, even the robbers who were crucified with Him berated Him.

Mark 15:20-32

After they had mocked Him, they removed the purple robe and put His own clothes back on Him. Then they led Him out to crucify Him. Now Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and the soldiers forced him to carry the cross of Jesus. They brought Jesus to a place called Golgotha, which means The Place of the Skull. There they offered Him wine mixed with myrrh, but He did not take it. And they crucified Him. They also divided His garments by casting lots to decide what each of them would take. It was the third hour when they crucified Him. And the charge inscribed against Him read:

THE KING OF THE JEWS.

Along with Jesus, they crucified two robbers, one on His right and one on His left.

And those who passed by heaped abuse on Him, shaking their heads and saying, “Aha! You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, come down from the cross and save Yourself!” In the same way, the chief priests and scribes mocked Him among themselves, saying, “He saved others, but He cannot save Himself! Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross, so that we may see and believe!” And even those who were crucified with Him berated Him.

Luke 23:26-43

As the soldiers led Him away, they seized Simon of Cyrene on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him to carry behind Jesus. A great number of people followed Him, including women who kept mourning and wailing for Him. 

But Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. Look, the days are coming when people will say, ‘Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore, and breasts that never nursed!’ At that time

‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!”

and to the hills, “Cover us!” ’

For if men do these things while the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”

Two others, who were criminals, were also led away to be executed with Jesus. When they came to the place called The Skull, they crucified Him there, along with the criminals, one on His right and the other on His left.

Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” 

And they divided up His garments by casting lots. The people stood watching, and the rulers sneered at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.” The soldiers also mocked Him and came up to offer Him sour wine. “If You are the King of the Jews,” they said, “save Yourself!” Above Him was posted an inscription:

THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

One of the criminals who hung there heaped abuse on Him. “Are You not the Christ?” he said. “Save Yourself and us!” But the other one rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same judgment? We are punished justly, for we are receiving what our actions deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom!”

And Jesus said to him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

John 19:16-27

Then Pilate handed Jesus over to be crucified, and the soldiers took Him away. Carrying His own cross, He went out to The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. There they crucified Him, and with Him two others, one on each side, with Jesus in the middle. Pilate also had a notice posted on the cross. It read:

JESUS OF NAZARETH,

THE KING OF THE JEWS.

Many of the Jews read this sign, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but only that He said, ‘I am the King of the Jews.’”

Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”

When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they divided His garments into four parts, one for each soldier, with the tunic remaining. It was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. So they said to one another, “Let us not tear it. Instead, let us cast lots to see who will get it.” This was to fulfill the Scripture:

“They divided My garments among them,

and cast lots for My clothing.”

So that is what the soldiers did. Near the cross of Jesus stood His mother and her sister, as well as Mary the wife of Clopas and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw His mother and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, “Woman, here is your son.” Then He said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” So from that hour, this disciple took her into his home.

Simon the helper, or not

The synoptics - 

All mention a simon, or simeon, which remember means ‘to hear’, being made to carry the cross for Jesus.

The cross is too heavy to bear alone, help is required.

John - 

It even gets specifically said, ‘carrying His own cross, He went out to the place of the skull’.

If the seed does not go into the ground and die, a plant cannot grow and bear fruit.

Each ground being traversed in a ‘day’, there are four days in which one’s cross needs to be carried, and four times one needs to crucify that self of that ground. But, being the substandard ignorant servants we are in the first three grounds, we actually get assistance, be it from Jesus Himself or from the Holy Spirit, i’m not sure, to carry that cross to where we get crucified. And it’s only when you hear with understanding, that you see who sim(e)on is who’s helping you. As it is simeon’s name, i suspect it is the Holy Spirit, He who only speaks of what He hears. 

The story is repeated four times, of course Jesus only died once, but in the path we have to take to follow Him, we need to go through four ‘deaths’. And they’re being explained in each repetition. Remember, He didn’t fall for one of the adversary’s temptations in the wilderness, ergo, He only needed to die once, we fell for them all, ergo…

That cup

Matthew -

Before crucifying Him, they offered wine mixed with gall, He tasted it, but refused to drink it.

Mark -

Before crucifying Him, they offered wine mixed with myrrh but He did not take it.

Luke -

They offer Him sour wine, but do notice that there’s no mention of Him drinking it.

john -

Does not mention the drink yet, we’ll get back to this in the death of Jesus.

The two who were crucified with Him

Matthew -

The two robbers berated him

Mark -

The two robbers berated Him

Luke -

One criminal, crime unspecified, heaped abuse on Him, the other acknowledges the justice of their punishment, decries the injustice being done to Jesus, and asks Him to remember Him, which is exactly what abigail asked of david (1 samuel 25:31).

Also, He asks the Father to forgive His persecutors, for they do not know what they do.

John -

Two others are crucified with Him, nothing further mentioned and they say nothing.

The death of Jesus

Matthew 27:45-54

From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?..” When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He is calling Elijah.” One of them quickly ran and brought a sponge. He filled it with sour wine, put it on a reed, and held it up for Jesus to drink. But the others said, “Leave Him alone. Let us see if Elijah comes to save Him.’’ When Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, He yielded up His spirit. At that moment the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked and the rocks were split. The tombs broke open, and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised. After Jesus’ resurrection, when they had come out of the tombs, they entered the holy city and appeared to many people. When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified and said, “Truly this was the Son of God.”

Mark 15:33-39

From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. At the ninth hour, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?..” When some of those standing nearby heard this, they said, “Behold, He is calling Elijah.” And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine. He put it on a reed and held it up for Jesus to drink, saying, “Leave Him alone. Let us see if Elijah comes to take Him down.” But Jesus let out a loud cry and breathed His last. And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. When the centurion standing there in front of Jesus saw how He had breathed His last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”

Luke 23:44-47

It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over all the land until the ninth hour. The sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn down the middle. Then Jesus called out in a loud voice, “Father, into Your hands I commit My Spirit..” And when He had said this, He breathed His last. When the centurion saw what had happened, he gave glory to God, saying, “Surely this was a righteous man.”

John 19:28-30

After this, knowing that everything had now been accomplished, and to fulfill the Scripture, Jesus said, “I am thirsty..” A jar of sour wine was sitting there. So they soaked a sponge in the wine, put it on a stalk of hyssop, and lifted it to His mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished.” And bowing His head, He yielded up His spirit.

The last statement

The synoptics -

Matthew and mark both have Jesus asking why the Father has forsaken Him, while luke has Him committing His Spirit into His Father’s hands. Now i do know that i spotted once why this difference is there, just can’t remember, on my to do list…

But, also, all three have the veil splitting, this is indicating ignorance being broken through, each time for each ground.

That cup again

Matthew -

One of those standing there offered a sponge soaked in sour wine on a reed for Him to drink, but others told him to leave Him alone, to see if elijah would come save Him.

mark -

One of those standing there offered a sponge soaked with sour wine on a reed for Him to drink, saying leave Him alone, let’s see if elijah comes to save Him, but Jesus breathed His last. 

Luke - 

Has no mention of a (repeat) effort to offer Jesus wine.

John -

Now we get to it.

Read how it’s said, to finish His work, this was the absolute last thing He had to do.

So Jesus drank of the cup, via hyssop, which is used to sprinkle the purification water containing the ashes of the red heifer to cleanse from sin (lev ch 19). And this is actually why i say this fourth crucifixion is the real one. How many times have we not seen israel being compared to an unfaithful wife? Because that’s what the bride is until such time as she reverts back to being faithful. From our perspective this is what it’s all about. And that statement is so wrong, because God is what it’s all about, but us reverting to back to faithfulness is also us focussing on God again, not ourselves, and that’s what it’s all about. It’s what our Husband is focussed on, after all, and we focus on Him, and on what He focusses on. The Father.

But what does a husband do when he is consumed with a spirit of jealousy? When either a wife is unfaithful or he suspects she is? That's what numbers 5:11-31 explains in the adultery test. 

At last we are ready, having worked through the three great iterations of temptation, summarised by the temptation Jesus went through in the wilderness. That of the first ground, knowledge of God, where the adversary wants us to worship him instead. That of the second ground, following the counsel of God provided, where the adversary wants us to express our unbelief by testing God. and of the third ground, of acquiring the wisdom of God, where the adversary wants us to eat anything but the hidden manna of wisdom (remember the messages to the church of pergamum - and it’s hidden in plain sight in all the Words of God).

These first three grounds are ones of ignorance, we need successive rending of the veils to shed light and bring knowledge, our first three (sabbath-breaking) ‘practise’ crucifixions, nailing that specific ignorance to the cross and killing it. 

And so now we can, without breaking the holiness of the sabbath, and having been cleansed by the hyssop, drink of the cup that tests our faithfulness and be untouched. Our merciful Father does not let us attempt to drink of it while we are not able to pass the test. And our spiritual work that we must apply to ourselves is finished at last. We are ready to look at the speck in our brother’s eye.

Let’s go to the last part of the passion comparisons, which is the first. But now i hope it can be explained more clearly.

The last supper

Matthew 26:26-29

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, spoke a blessing and broke it, and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is My body.”

Then He took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in My Father’s kingdom.”

Mark 14:22-25

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, spoke a blessing and broke it, and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take it; this is My body.”

Then He took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. He said to them, “This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly I tell you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of God.”

Luke 22:14-20

When the hour had come, Jesus reclined at the table with His apostles. And He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before My suffering. For I tell you that I will not eat it again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” After taking the cup, He gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.” And He took the bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body, given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you.”

John 13:3-17

Jesus knew that the Father had delivered all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was returning to God. So He got up from the supper, laid aside His outer garments, and wrapped a towel around His waist. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel that was around Him. He came to Simon Peter, who asked Him, “Lord, are You going to wash my feet?”

Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

“Never shall You wash my feet!” Peter told Him.

Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with Me.”

“Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not only my feet, but my hands and my head as well!”

Jesus told him, “Whoever has already bathed needs only to wash his feet, and he will be completely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.” For He knew who would betray Him. That is why He said, “Not all of you are clean.”

When Jesus had washed their feet and put on His outer garments, He reclined with them again and asked, “Do you know what I have done for you? You call Me Teacher and Lord, and rightly so, because I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example so that you should do as I have done for you. Truly, truly, I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”

The eucharist

The synoptics -

The eating and drinking to be done in remembrance is the common theme.

Now this is an entirely correct ritual to be practised while one is in the first three grounds of ignorance. Because one does not understand it is vital that one does not fall into forgetfulness. It’s the same as the feasts the Torah prescribes, they are correct while in those three grounds.

John -

There’s no talk of eating or drinking in remembrance, because, as the quote here ends, if you know these things you will be blessed if you do them.

The feet are washed, because that is all that needs to be cleaned of an already clean person before entering the sanctuary. As much as we are crucified four times, we are baptised four times, and while we dirty ourselves repeatedly again in the three grounds of ignorance, in the fourth we remain clean, and so only the dirt of the way needs to be washed off. Let me bring abigail back into the picture (1 sam 25). She offers to wash the feet of david’s servants, after hearing he wants her as his wife. What’s happening here is the sheep flock is protected all the time by david, not one sheep lost!, but the (third ground fool) nabal refused to be grateful for this, and abigail turns david’s wrath away. The comment of that criminal in luke to remember him is a hook for us to ponder abigail, in her archetypal role as the good wife. This is also what zechariah was talking about in chapter 11 where the shepherd grows impatient with his flock, and the parable of the tree for three years not giving fruit.

In all this time we are traversing the way through the first three grounds we have been protected by our Lord, while we are performing our ceremony of remembrance, but there comes the time the fourth ground is to be entered and traversed.

One does not therefore do both the eucharist and the washing of feet, that’s actually a bit nonsensical, the one is done in ignorance and the other in knowledge. In john is also where Jesus says He calls the disciples friends now, for servants serve not knowing what the Master is about, but friends know what the Master is about. 

Let’s just get back to the feasts of the Torah, are they superceded? Well, they’re actually reflections of the way itself, you’ve been acting the feasts out all along…

I’m not going to go in depth in them now, but to start off, there are seven annual feasts, aren’t there? And then it goes even further, because the seventh month feast process is really breaking things down. From the first day of the month to the eighth day of booths there are twenty two days, yup, those buds on the menorah. And it’s that 22nd day that Jesus does not condemn the woman caught in adultery, only mentioned in john…

Well, here ends my talk around the passion, as usual, there are so many more things to talk of that have been touched upon, but i hope this gets you to look just that little bit differently at the progression that’s happening all the while reading the blessed news of our gospels.