The Sufferings of Jesus Christ
Luke 24:45-46 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
After Jesus Christ was raised from the dead he appeared to two men on the road to Emmaus and "expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself." The Scripture in Isaiah foretold of the suffering that Jesus Christ was to endure:
Isaiah 52:14 As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:
"his form, disfigured, lost all the likeness of a man, his beauty changed beyond human semblance" - The New English Bible
He was to be beaten so badly that he would no longer look like a man! Jesus Christ knew God's Word. He knew that this was going to happen to him if he was to fulfill the Scripture. No wonder he prayed three times to the Father prior to his arrest - asking if there were another way to go. Yet he obeyed God's Word and carried out God's Will rather than his own.
Isaiah 53:3-10 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows [pain], and acquainted with grief [sickness]: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he hath borne our griefs [sickness], and carried our sorrows [pain]: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
Sins Covered:
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
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.
He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living [he was going to have to die]: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise [to crush with disease] him; he hath put him to grief [sickness]: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
Jesus Christ knew the Word of God and he had been telling his disciples what was going to happen for many days prior to his arrest:
The record of over 40 hours of suffering:
He was arrested in the garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives late Monday night: (Matthew 26:47-56, Mark 14:43-52, Luke 22:47-53, John 18:2-12)
He appeared before the high priest Annas late Monday night. During this "trial" one of the Temple guard "struck Jesus with the palm of his hand." This phrase is translated from the one Greek word, rhapisma, which means to beat repeatedly with a whip like cane.: (John 18:13-23)
He appeared before the high priest Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin (the ruling 70) in a "night trial" late Monday night - very early Tuesday morning. During this "trial" they spit in his face and buffeted him [to beat repeatedly with fists] and again "smote him with the palms of their hands" - to beat with a cane or rod. They blindfolded him and beat him on the face asking him to prophesy who smote him: (Matthew 26:57-75, Mark 14:53-72, Luke 22:54-65, John 18:24-27)
He appeared a second time before the ruling 70 (Sanhedrin council) around daybreak for a "morning trial" on Tuesday: (Matthew 27:1, Mark 15:1, Luke 22:66-71)
He appeared before the Roman governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate, early Tuesday morning after daybreak: (Matthew 27:2, Mark 15:1, Luke 23:1-6, John 18:28-38)
He appeared before the Roman ruler of Galilee, Herod Antipas, Tuesday morning. Herod took off his clothing and dressed him in a bright ornate robe to mock his claim of kingship.: (Luke 23:7-12)
He appeared again before Pontius Pilate later on Tuesday morning. During this trial, Pilate tried to release him by appealing to the Judeans present three times. Pilate had him beaten with rods [scourged- with a whip that had pieces of metal or bone in the end] and he had the soldiers place a crown of thorns on his head and again smote him with rods. They put a second purple "royal looking" robe on him and mocked him:(Matthew 27:11-25, Mark 15:2-14, Luke 23:13-23, John 18:39-19:15)
He was finally sentenced by Pontius Pilate around noon (John 19:14) on Tuesday (Matthew 27:26, Mark 15:15, Luke 23:24-25, John 19:16)
Finally, he was tortured and mocked by a whole band ["cohort"=four to six hundred] Roman soldiers from around noon on Tuesday until he was led to be crucified early Wednesday morning. This torture included repeated beatings with a stick, braiding a second crown of thorns which they placed on his head and then beat into his head with a reed, ripping off his blood soaked clothing and replacing it for the third and then a fourth time with a Roman military cloak and then finally with his own original clothing, and mocking his claim of kingship: (Matthew 27:26-31, Mark 15:15-20)
Certainly, by this time he no longer resembled a human being - his visage more marred than any man.
He was led to be crucified on Wednesday morning: ( Matthew 27:32-34, Mark 15:20-23, Luke 23:26-32, John 19:16-17)
He hung crucified on the tree from approximately 9 a.m. Wednesday morning until 3 p.m. Wednesday afternoon (Matthew 27:35-49, Mark 15:24-36, Luke 23:33-46, John 19:18-30)
He died about 3 p.m. Wednesday: Matthew 27:50-54, Mark 15:37-39, Luke 23:45-48, John 19:30-37)
From his arrest until his death was a period of approximately forty hours. During this time he was utterly humiliated, illegally "tried," savagely tortured, and relentlessly mocked. - quoted from Jesus Christ Our Passover - by Victor Paul Wierwille
The Scripture fulfilled
Acts 3:18 But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled.
1 Peter 2:23-24 Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:
Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
The sufferings of Jesus Christ for us are now a past tense reality. He has fulfilled all that the Scripture foretold!
Cortright
Fellowship
URL http://www.cortright.org/suffer.htm
© Copyright March 1997 Michael Cortright