Why Jesus Was Condemned: The Meaning of the Crucifixion
The Sentence Passed against Jesus
A. The criminal Barabbas is released. Christ was delivered up that we might be delivered.
B. Jesus is scourged by the Roman soldiers.
- They were not limited by the moderation of Jewish law, which prescribed 40 stripes minus 1.
- Scripture fulfilled:
a. Psalm 129:3: The plowers plowed upon my back.
b. Isaiah 50:6: I gave my back to the smiters.
c. Isaiah 53:6: by His stripes we are healed.
C. Jesus is delivered to be crucified. The blood from His beating was not sufficient enough to save us. Only the “blood of the cross” made our peace with God, see Colossians 1:20.
The Barbarous Treatment of Jesus
A. Roman law (Sueton in Tiber, chapter 25) ruled that execution of criminals be delayed for 10 days after sentencing. Yet Jesus was not allowed 10 minutes delay. He was beaten while other soldiers were getting His execution ready.
B. Where the scourging took place–the common hall, the place of justice, the house of Pilate.
C. What the soldiers did:
- They stripped Him, v. 28. The shame of nakedness came in with sin, Genesis 3:7; therefore, when Jesus came to take away sin, He was made naked.
- They put a scarlet robe on Him. Our sins are as scarlet and crimson. Jesus clad in a scarlet robe is bearing our sins in His own body.
- The platted a crown of thorns, and pushed it upon His head.
a. Thorns came into the world because of sin, Genesis 3:18. Therefore, Christ was made a curse for us.
b. Jesus here is a type of Abraham’s ram caught in a thicket of thorns, becoming the substitute for Isaac, Genesis 22:13.
c. Jesus was crowned with thorns to show that His kingdom is not of this world.
4. They put a reed in His right hand, a mock-scepter.
5. They bowed their knees and mocked Him: “Hail, King of the Jews!”
6. They spit upon Him. When Samuel kissed King Saul, we are bid to kiss the Son–>Jesus. Instead of kissing Jesus, they spat on Him!
7. They took the reed out of His hand and beat Him.
The Conveyance of Jesus to the Execution
A. They led Him away to be crucified, as a Lamb led to the slaughter.
B. They compelled Simon of Cyrene to bear the cross, to hurry to the execution.
Charles Spurgeon said, “When I see the great Substitute for sinners put to such shame, scorn, and ridicule, my heart says to itself, ‘See what sin deserves?’ Nothing in the world more richly deserves to be despised, abhorred, and condemned than sin. [Sin] plucked a host of angels . . . from heaven, drove out our first parents out of paradise, and brought on us unnumbered miseries . . . . See how Jesus loved us . . . .”
The Place Where Jesus Was Executed, v. 33
Golgatha means “the place of the skull” in Hebrew. In Latin, it is “Calvary.”
A place near a well-travelled road to Jerusalem, where criminals were executed and displayed as a warning to all would-be criminals.
The Malicious Treatment of Jesus, vv. 34-39
A. The drink they gave Him.
- Solomon decreed to “give strong drink to him that is about to die,” Proverbs 31:6-7.
- They gave Jesus wine mixed with vinegar and gall to make it sour and bitter. This signified:
a. the sin of man, the “root of bitterness, bearing gall and wormwood,” Deuteronomy 29:18.
b. the wrath of God, for “the soul that sinneth shall die.”
3. Jesus tasted it, having the worst of it, the bitterness of sin.
4. Jesus would not drink, having the best of it, the opiate of sin to lessen the pain.
B. They divided His garments, v. 35. Psalm 22:18: “They parted my garments among them, and cast lots for my vesture.”
- This was not true of David.
- It was true of the Son of David, Jesus.
C. They sat down and watched Him, v. 37.
- as guards, lest any rescue Him
- they concluded, “Truly, this man was the Son of God,” verse 54.
D. They placed a title over His head, the crime for which He was convicted.
E. They crucified Him between two thieves.
- A reproach, that He was crucified with thieves, Isaiah 53:12.
- Additional reproach, that He was between two thieves, indicating that His crime was the worst.
F. They cursed, mocked, and reviled Him, vv. 39-44.
The Frowns of Heaven, vv. 45ff–>Darkness
A. An extraordinary light announced the birth of Jesus as the Light of the World. An extraordinary darkness notified the world of His death.
B. Dionysius at Heliopolis in Egypt noticed this darkness and said:
“Either the God of nature is suffering, or the machine of the world is tumbling into ruin.”
C. Jesus complained of it, v. 46.
- He quoted Psalm 22:1 in a loud voice.
- He suffered the separation of sin, Isaiah 59:2.
- Spurgeon said, “Christ bore the sinner’s sin, and thus He had to be treated as though He were a sinner, though a sinner He could never be.”
The Death of Jesus, v. 50
A. His loud voice = His death must be proclaimed!
B. He yielded up the ghost/spirit = He died. His soul separated from His body. He was dead.
C. His death paid our sin-debt by faith in His sacrifice.
Conclusion
The sentence passed against Jesus became the pardon offered to us. What looked like defeat was divine victory. The cross was not the end—it was the opening of the door to salvation.
When we behold Christ scourged, mocked, and crucified, we see two truths at once:
the horror of sin and the depth of God’s love.
He was condemned so we could be forgiven.
He was wounded so we could be healed.
He died so we could live.