March 27, 1988
The details of Christ’s crucifixion—the identities of those present, the words spoken there, and the actions of the various groups—often preoccupy scholars and preachers. In this message, however, Alistair Begg demonstrates that it is the theology of the event that ought to capture our hearts and minds. Certainly we may seek to identify and learn from the ancillary details of the day, but it is the crucified Christ whose presence, words, and actions warrant our full attention and study.
17and ohe went out, pbearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. 18qThere they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. 19Pilate ralso wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” 20Many of the Jews read this inscription, for sthe place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek. 21So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but rather, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.’” 22Pilate answered, t“What I have written I have written.”
23uWhen the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic.4 But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, 24so they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.” vThis was to fulfill the Scripture which says,
w“They divided my garments among them,
and for my clothing they cast lots.”
So the soldiers did these things, 25xbut standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26When Jesus saw his mother and ythe disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, z“Woman, behold, your son!” 27Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to ahis own home.
Copyright © 2024, Alistair Begg. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.