THE TRUE MEANING OF
EASTER
ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE
EVENTS DURING THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS OF THE MINISTRY AND LIFE OF JESUS CHRIST
PART 4 of 4 -- Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ
| Part 1 - Events Prior to the Last Supper | | Part 2 - Last Supper and Arrest | | Part 3 - Trial and Condemnation |

CHRIST MOCKED AND BEATEN BY THE ROMAN SOLDIERS
From the New Testament of the Bible
Matthew 27:27 - 31, Mark 15:15
The Romans Assume Authority For The Death Of Christ

"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 of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole garrison around Him.

And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him.

When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, 'Hail, King of the Jews.'

Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head. And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified."

THE CROWN OF THORNS
VECELLIO TIZIANO
1542
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JOURNEY TO GOLGOTHA
From the New Testament of the Bible
John 19:16 - 17, Mark 15:21
Simon of Cyrene Carries the Cross

"Then he delivered Him to them to be crucified. Then they took Jesus and led Him away.

And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha ..."

"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."



CHRIST FALLEN UNDER THE CROSS
Artist unknown
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"Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted."
Hebrews 2:17

SIMON CARRIES THE CROSS
Artist unknown
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"He is despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has born our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted"
Isaiah 53:3

JOURNEY TO GOLGOTHA
From the New Testament of the Bible
Luke 23:27 - 31
The Crowd Follows

"And a great multitude of the people followed Him, and women who also mourned and lamented Him.

But Jesus, turning to them, said, 'Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, ""Blessed are the barren wombs that never bore, and breasts which never nursed!""

Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ""Fall on us!"" and to the hills, ""Cover us!"" For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry?'"

CHRIST SPEAKING TO THE WOMEN
Artist unknown
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THE CRUCIFIXION OF CHRIST
From the New Testament of the Bible
Matthew 27:33 - 34, 36, John 19:19 - 24
The Soldiers Nailed Christ To A Cross
And Divided His Clothes Among Them

"And when they had come to a place called Golgotha, that is to say, Place of a Skull, they gave Him sour wine mingled with gaul to drink. But when He had tasted it, He would not drink."

"Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was:

JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.

Then many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.

Therefore the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, 'Do not write, ""The King of the Jews,"" but, He said, ""I am the King of the Jews.""'

Pilate answered, 'What I have written, I have written.'

Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and also the tunic. Now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top in one piece. They said therefore among themselves, 'Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be,' that the Scripture might be fulfilled which says:

'They divided My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots.'

Therefore the soldiers did these things."

"Sitting down, they kept watch over Him there."




CHRIST NAILED TO THE CROSS
Artist unknown

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"For dogs have surrounded Me; the congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet; I can count all My bones."
Psalm 22:16 - 17



THEY TOOK THE CLOTHES OF CHRIST
Artist unknown

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"They look and stare at Me. They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots. But You, O Lord, do not be far from Me ..."
Psalm 22:17 - 19

THE CRUCIFIXION OF CHRIST
From the New Testament of the Bible
Luke 23:32 - 33, 39 - 43
The Two Others Crucified With Christ

"There were also two others, criminals, led with Him to be put to death.

And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left.

Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, 'If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.'

But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, 'Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.' Then he said to Jesus, 'Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.'

And Jesus said to him, 'Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.'"




CRUCIFIXION
Tintoretto
1565

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"An oracle within my heart concerning the transgression of the wicked: There is no fear of God before his eyes."
Psalm 36:1



CHRIST ON THE CROSS
Andrea Mantegna
1456 - 1460

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"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."
Psalm 9:10

THE CRUCIFIXION OF CHRIST
From the New Testament of the Bible
Mark 15:27 - 32, John 19:25 - 27
The Crowd Mocks Christ
Christ Speaks To His Mother

"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.'"

"Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.

When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing by, He said to His mother, 'Woman, behold your son!'

Then He said to the disciple, 'Behold, your mother!'

And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home."

CRUCIFIXION
Pieter the Younger Bruegel
1617
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CHRIST SPEAKS TO HIS MOTHER
Artist unknown
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CRUCIFIXION OF CHRIST
From the New Testament of the Bible
Matthew 27:45 - 47, 51, 54, Mark 15:35 - 36
Luke 23:46, John 19:28 - 29, 31 - 37
Last Hours of Suffering



CHRIST ON THE CROSS
Pieter Pauwel Rubens
1614
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CHRIST ON THE CROSS
Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velazquez
1632
(CLICK THE IMAGE TO VIEW A LARGER VERSION) 		"Now from the sixth your until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, 'Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?' that is, 'My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?'"

Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, 'This Man is calling for Elijah!'

Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink.

The rest said, 'Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to save Him.'"

"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 in on hyssop, and put it to His mouth. So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, 'It is finished!'"

"And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, 'Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.'

Having said this, He breathed His last."

"Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split ..."

"So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, 'Truly, this was the Son of God!'"

"Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.

Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.

And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe. For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfulfilled, 'Not one of His bones shall be broken.' And again another Scripture says, 'They shall look on Him whom they pierced.'"

CHRIST TAKEN FROM THE CROSS AND BURRIED
From the New Testament of the Bible
Mark 16:42 - 45, 47, John 19:39 - 42
Joseph of Arimathea Asks Pilate For The Body Of Jesus

"Now when evening had come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, coming and taking courage, went in to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.

Pilate marveled that He was already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him if He had been dead for some time. So when he found out from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph."

"And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds.

Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury.

Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews' Preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby." "And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses observed where He was laid."

CHRIST TAKEN FROM THE CROSS
Artist unknown
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CHRIST RAISES FROM THE DEAD
From the New Testament of the Bible
Matthew 28:1 - 4, 11 - 15, Mark 16:1 - 4, 7 - 8
Luke 24:4 - 7, 10 - 11, John 20:2 - 10
Resurrection Day

"Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn ...

... there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord desceded from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. His countenenace was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men."

".. some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened. When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying, 'Tell them, ""His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept."" And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will appease him and make you secure.' So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day."

"Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him. Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when he sun had risen.

And They said among themselves, 'Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?' But when they looked up, they say that the stone had been rolled away - for it was very large"

"And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, 'Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but He is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, 'The Son of Man must be deliveed into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.'"

"'But go, tell his disciples - and Peter - that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you.' So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed. And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid."

"Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, 'They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.'"

"It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles. And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them."

"Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. So they both ran togeher, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed. For as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. Then the disciples went away again to their own homes.

But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jeus had lain.

Then they said to her, 'Woman, why are you weeping?' She said to them. 'Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.'

Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, 'Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?' She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, 'Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.'

Jesus said to her, 'Mary!' She turned and said to Him, 'Rabboni!' (which is to say, teacher).

Jesus said to her, 'Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ""I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.""'

Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to here."



THE RISEN CHRIST
Artist unknown
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CHRIST APPEARS TO MARY MAGDALENE
Artist unknown
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THE ASCENSION OF CHRIST TO HEAVEN
From the New Testament of the Bible
Luke 24:49 - 53
Christ Returns To His Place of Authority

"Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.'

And He led them out as far as Bethany, and he lifted up His hands and blessed them. Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven.

And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen."



CHRIST LEAVING IN THE CLOUDS
Artist unknown
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THE REASON FOR THE DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST
From the New Testament of the Bible
Acts 2:14 - 38

"But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said the them, 'Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

""And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams. And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; and they shall prophesy. I will show wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath: blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.""

Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know - Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death, whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it. For David says concerning Him:

"" foresaw the Lord always before my face, for He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken. Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad; Moreover my flesh also will rest in hope. for You will not leave my soul in Hades, not will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of joy in Your presence.""

Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. Therefore, being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself:

""The Lord said to my Lord, """Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool."""""


Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.

Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, 'Men and brethren, what shall we do?'

Then Peter said to them, 'Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. for the Promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.'"

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All Biblical Quoations From:
The Holy Bible, New King James Version
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Crucifixion and Resurrection

For more information on the teaching of Jesus, you may read the following:

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JESUS
by John F. MacArthur, Jr.
Zondervan Publishing House
Grand Rapids, Michigan
1988, 1994

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