THE KING OF THE JEWS

 

 And they brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull.  Then they gave Him wine mingled with myrrh to drink, but He did not take it.  And when they crucified Him, they divided His garments, casting lots for them to determine what every man should take.  Now it was the third hour, and they crucified Him.  And the inscription of His accusation was written above:

 THE KING OF THE JEWS.

With Him they also crucified two robbers, one on His right and the other on His left.  So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "And He was numbered with the transgressors."  And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, "Aha!  You who  destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself, and come down from the cross!"  Likewise the chief priests also, mocking among themselves with the scribes, said, "He saved others; Himself He cannot save.  Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe."  Even those who were crucified with Him reviled Him.

 

- Mark 15:22–32 

 

Yesterday we read that, as the crowds, being stirred up by the chief priests, demanded Jesus' crucifixion and asked instead for Barabbas to be freed, Pilate answered and said to them again, "What then do you want me to do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?"  So they cried out again, "Crucify Him!"  Then Pilate said to them, "Why, what evil has He done?"  But they cried out all the more, "Crucify Him!"  So Pilate, wanting to gratify the crowd, released Barabbas to them; and he delivered Jesus, after he had scourged Him, to be crucified. Then the soldiers led Him away into the hall called Praetorium, and they called together the whole garrison.  And they clothed Him with purple; and they twisted a crown of thorns, put it on His head, and began to salute Him, "Hail, King of the Jews!'  Then they struck Him on the head with a reed and spat on Him; and bowing the knee, they worshiped Him.  And when they had mocked Him, they took the purple off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him out to crucify Him. Then they compelled a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of  the country and passing by, to bear His cross.

 

 And they brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull.  Then they gave Him wine mingled with myrrh to drink, but He did not take it.  And when they crucified Him, they divided His garments, casting lots for them to determine what every man should take.  It seems somehow strangely disjointed from the time to consider that at the Crucifixion of the Man who fulfilled so many prophesies, these soldiers would, in fact, cast lots for His garments, essentially gambling for them.  These are the garments which healed those who simply touched them in faith (see Mark 5:25-34; 6:56).   

 

 Now it was the third hour, and they crucified Him.  And the inscription of His accusation was written above:  THE KING OF THE JEWS.  The third hour corresponds to 9:00 in the morning.  Regarding the inscription, THE KING OF THE JEWS, my study Bible comments that this title, intended as an accusation and mockery, becomes instead a triumphant symbol.  Again, this is an unwitting act of prophecy connected with Christ's Crucifixion, this time on the part of Pilate.  According to my study Bible, it shows that the nation has risen against their own King, and that the cross was the means by which Christ established His Kingdom.  

 

 With Him they also crucified two robbers, one on His right and the other on His left.  So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "And He was numbered with the transgressors."  And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, "Aha!  You who  destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself, and come down from the cross!"  Likewise the chief priests also, mocking among themselves with the scribes, said, "He saved others; Himself He cannot save.  Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe."  Even those who were crucified with Him reviled Him.  My study Bible claims that Christ being crucified between two robbers not only fulfills the Scripture, as noted in this passage (see also Isaiah 53:12), but shows that He is completely identifying with sinful humanity.  

 

Once again, we experience the "upside down" quality of this time in which Jesus is led to the Crucifixion.  My study Bible explains the title on the insignia of the Cross, meant to humiliate, and yet it was unwittingly a prophesy, and inadvertently proclaimed the truth about Jesus Christ.   Even so, at the same time, it fulfilled the prophesy, "And He was numbered with the transgressors" (Isaiah 53:12).  Again, the "upside down" quality is present in that Christ is the singular Innocent, free of sin as no one else is, and yet, He's numbered with the transgressors.  In this sense, He bears the sins of the world, although He comes in order to forgive and to redeem.  Notice also how the text tells us that Jesus is blasphemed, by those who wag their heads and tell Him,  "Aha!  You who  destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself, and come down from the cross!"  This is the Man who performed many healing miracles, and yet here He's mocked for seemingly failing to save Himself.  The chief priests most notably jeer at Him regarding His incapacity to "save," once again demanding a sign from Him, "that we may see and believe."  It's like they've never heard Him before when He's told them He will not produce a sign on demand (Mark 8:11-12).  Moreover, there is a greater irony here, in that we know the truth -- that Jesus has purposefully gone to the Cross of His own volition and for His own purposes, which they cannot imagine nor understand.  The text also tells us that even those who were crucified with Him reviled Him.  But we know that at least one of these men with Him will be saved, and possibly both (see Luke 23:39-43).  But Christ goes so that we will follow.  In His death on the Cross, He will defeat death through His Resurrection and Ascension, human nature taken up into Paradise with Him, and transfiguring human suffering such as is witnessed through such a cruel death.  Those who revile Him cannot see what is happening in front of them, and to the defeat of their purposes in putting Christ to death.  In Galatians 3, St. Paul tells us, "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree'), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith" (Galatians 3:13-14).  Those who were to uphold the Law inverted both its purpose and letter in putting Christ to death; yet through the use of the law, Christ removes its curse once and for all, and for all humankind.  One really couldn't imagine a more "upside down" vision than the one His detractors have of Him and what He does on the Cross, in His suffering, humiliation, and death.  All of this brutality, injustice, and ugliness is transfigured in Christ, so that He may in turn transfigure us and out suffering and sin -- even the curse of evil -- in our own lives.  All of it is done through faith, and that is where we must start, with Him, and where we must end also with Him.