The Passions of the Christ

Lesson text:  Luke 1:1-3

“The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:”

The word passion in this text is the Greek verb pascho and is the only usage of the word within the scriptures.  The definition of pascho is to suffer or to experience a sensation or impression, usually painful. 

The word Christ translates as “the anointed one.”  Jesus was not a Christ, He was THE Christ.

Matthew 16:15-17

“He (Jesus) saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art THE CHRIST, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.”

The Importance of Understanding the Passions of the Christ

The importance of understanding the passions of the Christ must not be underestimated.

The Jewish nation missed their Messiah because they looked for a Lion to rule the nations.  God sent forth His son as “a Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” (Revelation 13:8)  Today, many people teach and preach of a glorious and victorious Christ only.  This Christ, they proclaim, will lend you victory over any problem in your life; emotional, spiritual, financial, or physical.  It is true that He can give us victory over our problems, but they fail, as the Jews did, to understand that the purpose of the  Christ was to suffer in our stead.  His life was a prolonged suffering and essential to the plan of redemption agreed upon in eternity past.

The Bible teaches that without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins (Hebrews 9:22).  God, surely then, could have sent Jesus as a grown man to live and die in a day, shedding His blood for lost mankind.  IF…..the blood was all that was necessary.

The sufferings of Christ are indicative of who Christ was and who He is today.  Jesus was glorified of His Father and one day will be glorified before all the creation.  Today, however, He stands as a suffering savior.  WE MUST SHARE IN HIS SUFFERINGWITH SIN BEFORE WE EXPERIENCE SALVATION!!  The modern religious world offers salvation through the blood of Jesus.  Indeed, the blood is the redeeming quality for men’s souls, but much happened prior to Christ shedding His blood to make it effectual and appropriate in God’s eyes.  We must share in His suffering before we share in His glory…Romans 8:17“And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.”

Philippians 3:10

“That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.”

To “know” Jesus, we have to have a fellowship with His sufferings…

Once we have suffered with Christ and “know” Him, we can have confidence in Him…

I Timothy 1:12

“For the which cause I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.”

The Suffering Savior

A. Jesus’ dual nature

Jesus was born of a virgin woman with the Holy Spirit as his Father. Thus, He was all man, all God and without sin.

Galatians 4:4,5

“But when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.”

B. Jesus’ came willingly and in agreement with the Godhead

Jesus agreed to this plan in eternity past with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.  They agreed upon this plan of redemption before the world was ever formed.

Acts 2:23

“Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.”

C. Prophecies re: the Messiah’s Sufferings

The best prophetic descriptions of the coming Messiah may be found in Psalm 22, Isaiah53, and Zechariah 12.  Here are some further prophecies of the things Christ would suffer:

1. Rejection by Jews and Gentiles: Psalms 2:1; 22:12; 41:5; 56:5; 69:8; 118:22-23; Isaiah 6:9; 8:14; 29:13; 53:1; 65:2

2. Persecution: Psalm 22:6; 35:7,12; 56:5; 71:10; 109:2; Isaiah 49:7; 53:3

3. Betrayal by own friend: Psalm 41:9; 55:13; Zechariah 13:6

4. Betrayer’s death: Psalm 55:15, 23; 109:17

5. Desertion of disciples: Zechariah 13:7

6. False accusations: Psalm 2:1,2; 27:12; 35:11; 109:2

7. Silence under accusation: Psalm 38:13; Isaiah 53:7

8. Mocking: Psalm 22:7,8,16; 109:25

9. Insults, buffeting, spitting, scourging: Psalm 35:15,21; Isaiah 50:6           

10. Patience under suffering: Isaiah 53:7-9

11. Crucifixion: Psalm 22:14-18

12. Offer of gall and vinegar: Psalm 69:21

13. Prayer for enemies: Psalm 109:4

14. Cries upon the cross: Psalm 22:1; 31:5

15. Death in the prime of life: Psalm 89:45; 102:24

16. Death with malefactors: Isaiah 53:9,12

17. Death attested to by the convulsions of nature: Amos 5:20; Zechariah 14:4-6

18. Casting lots for garments: Psalm 22:18

19. Bones not to be broken: Psalm 34:20

20. Piercing: Psalm 22:16; Zechariah 12:10; 13:6

21. Voluntary death: Psalm 40:6-8

22. Vicarious death: Isaiah 53:4-6; Daniel 9:26

23. Burial with the rich: Isaiah 53:9

The Physical Suffering

Jesus’ physical sufferings began in the garden of Gethsemane where He prayed until shortly after midnight.  After His betrayal, Jesus was led to Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin where he was found guilty of blasphemy.  The guards then blindfolded Jesus, spat on him, and struck him in the face with their fists.   At daybreak, Jesus was again tried and convicted by the Sanhedrin of blasphemy, a crime punishable by death.  Because authority for an execution had to come from the governing Romans, Jesus was next taken to Pontius Pilate and presented as a self appointed king and a threat to Roman rule.  Pilate sent Jesus to Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Judea, who returned Jesus to Pilate without charge.  Although unable to condemn the man Jesus, Pilate eventually caved to the will of the people and delivered Jesus to be scourged and crucified. 

At this point, during a 12 hour period, Jesus had suffered in the garden, been abandoned by his closest friends, and endured a physical beating.  He also had had a sleepless night and been forced to walk more than 2.5 miles.

A. Scourging

Scourging was a common preliminary practice for Roman executions.  A short whip was used with several braided thongs of different lengths. Within each braid were iron balls or sharp pieces of bone which would tear and gash the flesh with each strike.  Jesus was stripped of clothing and likely flogged by two soldiers or one alternating positions for a total of 39 lashes.  Typically, the soldiers would then taunt their victim, if still conscious.  The result of scourging would have been deep, grotesque slices of skin, subcutaneous tissue, muscle and fascia which would lead to heavy bleeding and exposure of some of the vital organs.  A detailed word study of I Peter 2:24 indicates that the scourging of Jesus was particularly harsh.

B. Abuse

After the scourging, the soldiers amused themselves by further abusing Jesus.  They mocked him by placing a robe around his shoulders, a crown of thorns on his head and a wooden staff as a scepter in his right hand.  They struck him on the head with the staff, spat upon him and tore the robe from his back, reopening his wounds.

C. Crucifixion

Crucifixion was meant to be horrific.  It was one of the most disgraceful and cruel methods of execution and usually was reserved only for slaves, foreigners, revolutionaries, and the vilest of criminals.  It was customary that the condemned man carry his own cross from the flogging post to the site of crucifixion outside the city walls. 

Hebrews 13:12,13

“Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.  Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.”

The entire cross weighed over 300 pounds. Thus, the crossbar, or patibulum was carried which weighed between 75 and 125 lbs.  Jesus was in such a weakened state, he could not bear the weight of the cross to Golgotha.  Thus, a Simon of Cyrene was made to bear that weight for Him.  Once at the site of crucifixion, Jesus was placed upon the cross and three nails were used to fasten his body to the cross.  One nail was placed in each wrist with the palms out and another nail through the dorsum of the overlapped feet.  As the cross was raised with Jesus suspended upon it, the crowd jeered and taunted Him and soldiers gambled for His garments as He looked on.

Once on the cross, death was most likely by suffocation.  Jesus is recorded as having said seven things on the cross.  Each of them was short and likely hurriedly uttered during a painful exhalation.  A person being crucified was without comfort.  One could push up with the feet to more fully inflate the lungs, but searing pain would rush through the lower extremities and trunk.  In response to this pain, the natural reaction would be to relax the legs to relieve that pain.  In turn, the weight of the body would now be suspended upon the nails through the wrist, sending horrible pain down the arms and into the neck and trunk.  There was no place of comfort or relief….the exact purpose and perfection of crucifixion.  In fact the word “excruciating” comes from the Latin word meaning, “out of the cross”.

Often times, the legs were broken below the knees to hasten death.  Without the ability to push up for inhalation, asphyxiation came quickly.  However, Jesus legs were not broken as had been prophesied in Psalm 34:20.  He was already dead, having committed his spirit to the Father.  The soldiers pierced his side to ensure death and out flowed blood and water. 

At about 3 p.m. that afternoon, Jesus’ battered body was taken down from the cross and placed within the specified tomb until time for His resurrection.

The Emotional Suffering

As horrible and grotesque as Jesus physical suffering was, many people suffered a similar fate in history.   What sets Jesus far apart from other crucifixions is the fact that He suffered many additional things.  The physical sufferings were tremendous, but it was also compounded by His emotional sufferings.

A. Disloyalty

1. Judas Iscariot

 Psalm 41:9

“Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.”

2. All the disciples abandoned Him, even Peter whom had vowed to follow Him even unto death!

Zechariah 13:7

”Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the Lord of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.”

B. Rejection

1. His own people (Jews)

John 1:11

“He came unto his own and his own received him not.”

Matthew 23:37

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!”

Isaiah 53:3

“He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.”

2. All men

Matthew 26:56

“…Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled.”

I Peter 2:7

“Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner.”

3. The Father

Matthew 27:46

“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?’ that is to say, My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

C. Humiliation

Matthew 20:19

 “And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again.”

a. Pulled his beard

b. Spat upon him

c. Beat him with fists

d. Exposed his nakedness

e. Mocked with crown of thorns

f. Carried own cross as sport

g. Robe and reed as scepter

D. Injustice

Luke 22:44

“And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”

Jesus began to bear the weight of sin…not his….mine.

Isaiah 53:7

“He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.”

I Peter 2:23

“Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again: when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously.”

Jesus suffered as a criminal, crucified with malefactors, for MY sin.

The Spiritual Suffering

A. Pain of Repugnance – being identified with sin

Isaiah 53:6

“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid upon him the iniquity of us all.”

Isaiah 53:12

“…he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”

Hebrews 9:28

“So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many:…

I Peter 2:24

“Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead in trespasses and sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”

B. Pain of Abandonment

1. Apostles forsook Christ (mentioned previously)

2. Disciples fled (previously mentioned)

3. Jesus’ troubled soul in considering His lonely death

4. Father forsook Him (previously mentioned)

This abandonment was more than the mere emotional torment that mortals may experience.  This type of abandonment was of a spiritual nature; it’s purpose to ensure that the Christ suffered (in body and soul) alone for the sins of the world.  No person has, is or ever shall suffer to the degree that the Christ suffered for us! 

II Corinthians 5:21“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

Matthew 26:38

“Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.”

John 12:27

“Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.”

John chapter 17

Christ’s prayer for you and I 

John 17:20

“Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word.”

The Footsteps of Jesus

I Peter 2:19-21

“For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully.  For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? But if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable to God.  For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps.”

Hymn #206 in Best Loved Songs and Hymns

“Footsteps of Jesus”

“Sweetly Lord, have we heard Thee calling, Come Follow Me!

And we see where Thy footsteps falling Lead us to Thee.

Tho’ they lead o’er the cold, dark mountains, seeking His sheep;

Or along by Siloam’s fountains, helping the weak:

If they lead thru the temple holy, preaching the Word;

Or in homes of the poor and lowly, serving the Lord:

Then at last, when on high He sees us, our journey done,

We will rest where the steps of Jesus end at His throne.

Footsteps of Jesus, that make the pathway glow;

We will follow the steps of Jesus, where’ er they go.”

If true Christians, we must follow Jesus footsteps wherever they go. Many want to enjoy the times of miracles and popularity.  Few are willing to share in the sufferings of Christ.  Nevertheless, it is within these sufferings that we learn of Christ in the truest and best sense.

Matthew 5:10-12

“Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.  Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.”