Jesus is sentenced to death and executed on Friday; resurrected on Sunday

Because in those days Israel was occupied by the Romans the Jews were not allowed to execute Jesus themselves. They needed the permission of the Roman governor of Judea: the Roman Pontius Pilate. On Friday morning, the fourteenth of Nisan of the year 33, His Jewish opponents took Jesus to Pilate to ask his permission to execute Him. Pilate asked the Jews what Jesus had done to deserve the death penalty, but they were not able to make their reasons clear to him. However, Pilate understood that this was a case of a serious transgression of the Jewish religious laws.

Then Pilate decided to interrogate Jesus himself. He asked Him whether He was the King of the Jews. Jesus answered him that He was, but that His Kingdom did not belong to this world: at that moment it had not been established on earth yet. If it had already been established on earth His servants would have seen to it that He could not be handed over to the Jews.

Pilate asked Him again to tell him in plain words whether He was the King of the Jews or not. Jesus answered literally: “You yourself say that I am a king. For that purpose I was born and for that purpose I have come to the world to bear testimony to the truth.” (John 18:37)

With these words Jesus confirmed what He had said many times before: He identified Himself with the Kingdom of God: in the visible form of Himself the Kingdom of God had already made its appearance among mankind: as regards the Kingdom of God He was the way, the truth and the life.

Pilate understood little of the things which the Jews accused Jesus of and He did not understand much of Jesus’ defense either. What he did understand was that it was certain that Jesus had not done anything that justified the death penalty. Therefore he tried to bring about Jesus’ release.

It was a custom that at every Passover celebration he released a prisoner for the Jews. The Jews were always allowed to choose the person they wanted released. Hoping that they would ask for the release of Jesus he asked the large crowd to make a choice: should he release Jesus or a robber named Barabbas.

The crowd, the majority of which consisted of opponents of Jesus, asked for the release of Barabbas. When Pilate found out that Jesus was a Galilean he decided to send Him to Herod, who was the governor of Galilee and happened to be in Jerusalem that day. Herod took ample time to interrogate Jesus quite thoroughly. Particularly because he hoped that Jesus would do a miracle in his presence. But Jesus did not answer him at all. Then Herod and members of his guard started to make fun of Jesus. Among other things by dressing Him in a magnificent royal garment. Then Herod sent Jesus back to Pilate.

Pilate decided to have a serious conversation with the chief priests and the scribes. In their earlier discussions with him they had not emphasized the religious accusations against Jesus, but the political ones: they had told him that Jesus wanted to persuade the people to rebel against the Romans and proclaim himself their new king. Pilate told the chief priests and the scribes in very plain words that both he and Herod considered the accusations uttered against Jesus totally unfounded. According to Pilate Jesus had not done anything that justified a death sentence. He proposed to have Jesus whipped and then to set Him free.

The leading priests, the scribes and the crowd, whom they had incited to violent emotions, reacted to Pilate’s words with fury. They shouted to Pilate that Jesus had transgressed their religious laws so terribly that there could be no doubt about it that He deserved to die.

Three times Pilate repeated that he was convinced that Jesus had done nothing that justified capital punishment, but the people only got more aggressive and rebellious. Then Pilate gave in. Though convinced of Jesus’ innocence he gave the Jews permission to execute Jesus and he handed Jesus over to them.

All this took place on Friday morning, 14 Nisan, in the year 33.

The soldiers who had to guard Jesus and take Him to the place of execution went to great lengths to humiliate Him and make fun of Him. Among other things they made a crown of thorns and put it on His head. They also greeted Him mockingly with the words: good morning, king of the Jews. In addition they beat Jesus and spat at Him and for the fun of it kneeled down before Him.

When they felt that they had laughed enough they took Jesus to a public place of execution just outside Jerusalem. The place was called Golgotha. They forced Jesus, who was already heavily wounded and weakened, to carry the wood to which they would fasten Him and on which He was to die. When Jesus was no longer able to do this carrying they forced a random passer-by to help Jesus with it.

When they had arrived at Golgotha they fastened Jesus to the torture stake, together with two other men who were executed on the same day. Pilate had seen to it that the executioners would place a written text over Jesus’ head which told the people for what reason Jesus was tortured to death. The text read: Jesus of Nazareth, king of the Jews. The text was in Latin, in Greek and in Hebrew.

On the day of His execution Jesus wore a beautiful, expensive upper garment. The soldiers who fastened Him to the torture stake decided not to tear it into pieces but to draw lots over it.

Few people were present at Jesus’ suffering and death that Friday afternoon. The Bible only mentions His mother Mary, an aunt, Mary Magdalene, and the apostle John. When He was about to die Jesus asked His mother Mary to consider John as her son after He had died and He asked John to take care of His mother.

Then Jesus cried out that He was thirsty. Someone dipped a sponge in a vessel filled with sour wine, put the sponge on the stalk of a long plant and moved the sponge towards Jesus’ mouth. A short time after this Jesus spoke His last words: “It is finished”. He bent His head and died.

The day after this Friday, 14 Nisan, would be a Sabbath. The Jews who executed Jesus did not like the idea that the three dead bodies would still be hanging on their torture stakes on the Sabbath and asked Pilate for his permission to break the arms and legs of the three executed men to hasten their death. Pilate gave them this permission. They broke the arms and legs of the two men who had been executed together with Jesus, but when they came to Him they noticed that He was already dead and did not break His arms and His legs. To be absolutely sure that Jesus was dead one of the soldiers pushed his spear into His side. At once water and blood appeared from the wound: Jesus was dead.

All these details concerning the dying of Jesus had already been foretold in the Hebrew Scriptures.

Joseph of Arimathea, a disciple of Jesus, asked Pilate permission to bury him right away. He got this permission. He and a friend wrapped the dead body in cloths which contained spices and then put it in a grave which had been carved out in a hill.

The following Saturday a number of the leading priests and scribes went to Pilate and told him that Jesus had foretold that He would be resurrected three days after His death. They told Pilate that they were afraid that Jesus’ disciples would steal the body and start spreading the story that He had indeed been resurrected. Therefore they asked Pilate if he could see to it that for three days the body would be guarded. Pilate advised them to take the necessary precautions themselves. After that the priests and the scribes sealed the big stone which blocked the entrance to the grave and placed a number of guards in front of it.

The following Sunday morning, 16 Nisan, Mary Magdalene was the first one to go to Jesus’ grave. She noticed that the big stone which blocked the entrance had been rolled away and that Jesus’ body had disappeared. Highly upset she ran away and came across Peter and John who were on their way to the grave. Both entered the grave-room and saw the cloths which had been wrapped around Jesus’ body when He was buried, but they could not find His body. Then Peter and John hurried away to tell the other apostles what they had seen. When Mary Magdalene looked into the grave-room again she saw two angels sitting there who told her that Jesus had been resurrected and was alive. When she turned around she saw a man whom she did not recognize. Supposing he was the gardener she asked him if he had perhaps taken Jesus’ body somewhere else. Then the man mentioned her name. He said: “Mary”. Then Mary Magdalene knew it was Jesus. She did not recognize His physical appearance, which testifies to the fact that He did not appear in the body He had possessed during His life. No doubt this body had been removed from the earth by JHWH, in the same way in which JHWH had earlier made the bodies of Moses and Elijah disappear.

Mary Magdalene did not recognize Jesus by His outward appearance, but by His voice and His behavior.

Jesus told her that He had not ascended to His Father yet and was going to stay on earth a little longer. He also commanded her to go and tell His apostles and His disciples that He was resurrected and alive.

That evening the disciples came together in a big room in Jerusalem. Naturally they were very happy with the good news they had heard. But they were also afraid of the Jews: they had locked the doors very carefully.

Then suddenly on that Sunday evening Jesus appeared in their midst. He wished them peace. He also told them to go to a mountain in Galilee, where He was to meet them.

In the forty days before His departure to heaven Jesus had quite a number of meetings with His disciples. During these meetings He explained many things to them which had to do with the Kingdom of God and which they did not understand so well yet. He also dealt with the question when this Kingdom would be established because many disciples thought that He would do this right away. Jesus told them that nobody knew when this Kingdom would be established, not even He Himself. Just before His ascent to heaven He commanded His disciples not to split up but to wait together in Jerusalem for what His Father had promised them and what He had told them about: the coming of the holy spirit. (people who want to read these last instructions of Jesus to His disciples in their own Bible can find them in Acts 1: 3-8).

On one occasion Jesus had breakfast with a number of His apostles and ate freshly caught fish with them near the Sea of Galilee. On that day He expressed His great admiration and love for Peter and John. (people who want to read this beautiful story about this breakfast near the lake find it in the very last chapter of the four gospels: John, chapter 21).

The last words that Jesus spoke to His apostles just before He left the earth were literally: Therefore you should go and make disciples of people from all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit. And teach them to obey all the commandments I have given you. And see! I will be with you till the end of human history. (Matthew 28:16-20).

Forty days after His resurrection Jesus ascended to heaven. Many of His disciples were present when He left the earth. While the apostles were looking into the air to see Him leave, there were suddenly two angels with them, who told them that He had not gone away for good, but that He would come back: Men of Galilee, why are you looking up into the air? This Jesus, who was taken away from you in the sky, will come back in the same way as you have seen Him leave in the air (Acts 1:9-12).

Of course it is very worthwhile to read the stories about the life and the acts of John the Baptist and of Jesus Christ in the Bible itself. They are to be found in the first four books of the holy Greek Scriptures, the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.)