The Crucifixion of Jesus Christ

  The greatest story ever told Began a long time ago in a place far far away. I believe it begins before the creation of this universe.  It began in heaven that, as far as we can tell, was and is the ultimate paradise. Lucifer, a created being of magnificent beauty, the son of the morning, and the “cherub that covereth” was, a very high ranking angel and is believed to have been only second in power to the Holy Trinity. The Jews, in Moses time, knew what a cherub looked like because they were instructed to make a matching pair, out of gold, that would sit on top of the ark of the covenant. It is believed there was a cherub that sat on either side of God. Ezekiel tells us that Lucifer was full of wisdom, perfect in beauty, and perfect in all his ways from the day he was created until wickedness was found in him. I believe that he was the chief of all the archangels until he fell from grace.  Pride caused Lucifer, Satan, to desire to be above the throne of God. In Isaiah 14:13-14 we have the five “ I will’s” of Satan,  “I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; And I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”

Jesus Christ witnessed the fall of Satan as he was cast down to earth. And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.  From that time until some time in the future Satan will try with all the power he can muster to defeat God’s program. However, he is fighting a losing battle because the crucifixion of Jesus Christ defeated his power, his glory, and his kingdom. He knows that he is a defeated enemy of God, and he plans to go out with a big bang taking as many of us as possible with him. In Revelation 20:10 the Bible says, The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone wherethe beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

The final recorded words Jesus spoke on the cross was TETELESTAI! “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. No one beat Him to death, although they tried, and the Roman soldiers who nailed Him on the cross didn’t kill Him either. He, of His own volition,  gave up His spirit. He completed what he came into the world to do. Jesus Christ fulfilled every single prophecy, concerning Him, in God’s Word. He has satisfied all the requirements of almighty God. He came to earth to complete a singular mission. He came to save that which was lost through Adam. Jesus Christ is the only being of all creation that could have overcome the dreadful plight of mankind. God gave Him His all and all to bring everything back into the subjection of God’s law. He fulfilled every wish, every requirement and did everything just as God and the scriptures had planned it out from eons ago. That is why He could say, TETELESTAI! “It is finished!”

  Satan was with God when this universe was created. He was there when we were created. It wasn’t too long before he decided to destroy mankind. There‘s been a lot of speculation as to why God created man. I believe  we were created to replace those angelic beings lost in heaven when Satan tried to take over. Satan convinced one third of the angels to follow him and He led a great revolt. Then in Revelation 12:7–9 we are told, “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceives the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” When this revolt failed he tried to block God from replacing his fallen comrades. He tempted Eve, then Eve tempted Adam, and all mankind fell into sin.

In Genesis 3:15 the Bible says, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise your head and you shall bruise His heel.”  The moment God declared there would be deep rooted hatred between them Satan declared war against Jesus Christ and mankind. Satan’s first plan was to try and destroy the lineage that would lead to Jesus. In Genesis 4:2-8 we read, “Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.  And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?  If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.” Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.” Satan was convinced that Abel was the seed that God had spoken of and by using Cain to kill Abel he had ended the lineage of Christ. However, as we read on in Genesis 4:25,  And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him Seth, “For God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed.”  And as for Seth, to him also a son was born; and he named him Enoch. Then men began to call on the name of the Lord.

Again Satan tries to stop the seed of the woman in Genesis 6:1-8, “Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them,  that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose.  And the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.”  There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown. Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.  And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.  So the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.”  But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. There is tremendous speculation as to the story of the sons of God. There is the book of Enoch which tells a story of 200 angels leaving their first estate and coming here to earth to take earth woman as their wives. Further speculation say that these women bore giant half men, half angelic beings that were described in the mythology of the Greeks and Romans. That Satan was non other than Zeus himself, and the half men, half angelic beings were destroyed in the great flood in the time of Noah.

   Time after time Satan’s attempts to destroy the lineage of Christ failed. In Genesis 12  Adam lied about Sarah being his wife, and in Genesis 37 Josephs brothers sold him into slavery in a rage of jealousy.  Joseph was persecuted and imprisoned, but God still found a way to protect him. He eventually because the overseer to the Pharaoh of Egypt. After this many other attempts were made to stop the line of Jesus. We have  the stories of David the giant slayer, and a Moabite woman named Ruth.

In Jesus time we read in Matthew that Herod, the king of Israel, sought the destruction of Jesus, and when the wise men did not lead him to baby Jesus he had every first born child under the age of two killed. A dream came to Joseph, the stepdad of Jesus, to flee the country and not to return until Herod was dead. Many times after Jesus started His public ministry Satan used every power and trick in his arsenal to destroy the seed of God. There were times the Jews were so enraged at His testimony that they tried to stone Him. Once in Luke 4:28-30,  So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,  and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff.  Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way. I believe this is a miracle. Jesus became invisible and walked through the crowd untouched.

The fall of mankind began in the Garden of Eden and the arrest of Jesus Christ came about in the Garden of Gethsemane. Our King and Savior was born in a cave lying in a animal food trough. He had nothing more than the clothes on His back throughout His entire life and was homeless, sleeping in the Garden of Gethsemane. I cannot imagine the loneliness and emptiness He felt while praying on His last day in the garden. I believe all of Satan’s power was unleashed against Christ. The Bible says in Luke 22:44, “And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.^”

If you have seen the movie “The Passion of Christ”  the brutal beating that Jesus took would probably kill any ordinary man. If you haven’t seen the movie it is worth the time and money to get it. Another good movie about Jesus, which is my favorite, is the “Gospel of John” Even the weight of the cross as He walked to the area outside of Jerusalem where they crucify their prisoners could have killed Him. In John 19: 17-19   we read, “And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha,  where they crucified Him, and two others with Him, one on either side, and Jesus in the center. Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

When they hung Him on the cross there was total darkness throughout the entire world. When Jesus gave up His ghost even the Roman centurion said, “Surely this was Son of God.” This man was no fool, he had supervised many crucifixions. While Jesus hung from the cross there was 28 prophecies fulfilled. In John 19:28-30 “After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst!”  Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth.  So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. It is finished!”

picture is from
“ The Passion of Christ.”