Jesus is Crucified (Around 9:00 AM)

Jesus is Crucified (Around 9:00 AM)

✅ Common Elements Shared by All Accounts

1. Jesus is crucified at a place called Golgotha ("Place of the Skull").
2. Two others are crucified with Him (implied or stated).
3. A written inscription is placed over Him: “King of the Jews.”
4. His garments are divided among the soldiers—either by casting lots or some other method.
5. All accounts agree this is a public spectacle, with bystanders and mockers present.

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🔍 Differences Between the Gospel Accounts

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Gospel	Unique Features
Mark 15:22–26	Jesus refuses wine mixed with myrrh. They crucify Him and cast lots for His garments. The inscription reads “The King of the Jews.”
Matthew 27:33–37	Mentions gall, not myrrh. Jesus tastes but doesn’t drink. The soldiers sit down to keep watch, and the inscription is called "His charge".
Luke 23:33–38	Jesus says, “Father, forgive them.” The criminals are clearly mentioned. The inscription is said to be written in three languages.
John 19:17–24	Jesus carries His own cross (no Simon mentioned). The inscription is emphasized as written by Pilate. The casting of lots for His tunic fulfills Scripture (Psalm 22).

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⏳ How the Gaps in Authorship Explain the Differences

• Mark tells the story from the early apostolic tradition. Jesus is crucified, the title is posted, and garments divided. The emphasis is on mockery and suffering.
• Matthew, writing with greater insight into prophetic fulfillment, notes gall (bitterness) and the watching soldiers, reflecting fulfillment of messianic suffering (Psalm 69).
• Luke adds Jesus’ prayer of forgiveness, indicating His role as High Priest even in death. He includes three languages, showing the universal message of the cross.
• John presents Jesus as in control, carrying His own cross, and fulfilling specific Scripture. The casting of lots and the title controversy between Pilate and the Jews show a deep irony—Christ is glorified in His humiliation.

Over time, the authors increasingly recognize that this moment is not just historical but cosmic, symbolic, and prophetic.

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✨ Unique Ideas of the Gospel Authors

• Mark: Focuses on Jesus' rejection, fulfilling the Suffering Servant theme. The title "King" is meant mockingly but reveals truth.
• Matthew: Highlights the bitterness of the cup (gall), fulfillment of Psalm 69, and God’s hidden kingship revealed to those with eyes to see.
• Luke: Emphasizes universal forgiveness, Jesus’ priestly role, and the trilingual inscription, showing the cross is a message to all nations.
• John: Highlights Jesus as the sovereign Son, orchestrating every detail—even what clothes are taken. The inscription is unalterable truth: “What I have written, I have written.”

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📜 OT Scriptures That May Have Reminded Matthew

• Psalm 69:21 – “They gave me gall for my food…” → Jesus is offered gall but refuses it—He must fully bear the pain.
• Isaiah 53 – The Suffering Servant “bore our griefs” and was “numbered with transgressors.”
• Psalm 22 – “They divide my garments among them…” → Fulfilled in the soldiers’ actions.

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🌄 Genesis Scriptures That May Have Reminded Luke

• Genesis 3:15 – The Seed is bruised by the serpent, yet He crushes its head. → The cross is the serpent’s strike, and the beginning of its defeat.
• Genesis 11 (Tower of Babel) – Multiple languages and nations in confusion. → The three-language inscription on the cross unites them under one King.
• Genesis 22 – Isaac is laid on the wood as a sacrifice. → Jesus is the true Isaac, willingly offered.

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🧠 Unique Ideas of the Author (You)

• You see Jesus crowned with love (thorns), and now enthroned in mockery—lifted up as King, just as the serpent was lifted in the wilderness.
• The three-language inscription is the voice of the Father, speaking to Jew, Greek, and Roman—to reveal the Son through every culture.

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✍️ Group Study Questions with Hints

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1. What does the title “King of the Jews” really mean?

Hint: Is it mockery or truth? Who declared it?

✱ Pilate meant it politically, but it accidentally reveals spiritual truth.

✱ Jesus is King of the Jews, but also King of all.

✱ Why does John emphasize that Pilate wouldn’t change it?

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2. Why is it significant that the inscription was written in three languages?

Hint: Could this point beyond the crowd present?

✱ Hebrew, Latin, Greek = religion, empire, philosophy.

✱ Jesus is proclaimed King to every realm of man.

✱ Could this be undoing the division at Babel?

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3. Why does Jesus refuse the wine or gall?

Hint: In Mark and Matthew, He is offered it and refuses.

✱ Does this show willing submission to judgment?

✱ He won’t take relief from pain—He drinks the full cup.

✱ Does this relate to the cup of wrath in Gethsemane?

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4. Why are His garments divided? What do they symbolize?

Hint: This is a fulfillment of Psalm 22, but what’s the deeper meaning?

✱ Garments often symbolize works or teachings.

✱ Are the soldiers trying to take His covering for themselves?

✱ Is this a picture of how the world mishandles His righteousness?

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5. Where is the bride in this scene?

Hint: In SP, all women = bride, but here there are few literal women.

✱ The mockers, soldiers, and passersby may represent the bride in flesh, rejecting Him.

✱ Is the garment-taking the bride trying to possess Him without knowing Him?

✱ Does the multilingual title show the bride among all nations, not yet united?

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6. What does Golgotha symbolize—“The Place of the Skull”?

Hint: This is more than just a location.

✱ Could the skull represent the mind of man, or fleshly understanding?

✱ Is Jesus crucified at the center of our thinking, to transform it?

✱ Is this where man's wisdom dies, and God’s wisdom begins?

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7. How is Jesus already reigning from the cross?

Hint: Each Gospel treats the inscription differently—what do they reveal?

✱ John emphasizes that the title is unchangeable.

✱ Luke shows the message in every language.

✱ Could this be the moment of true coronation

Sensus plenior