The Passion of Christ
The Historical Accounts of Christ's Suffering, Death and Resurrection
The reason the Father loves Me is that I lay down My life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from My Father. John 10:17-18
2,000 Years Ago
Jesus laid down his life. He was crucified in Jerusalem in AD 33, under Pontius Pilate and the Romans, as well as the religious leaders who hated Him and plotted his death. This was all done under God's plan of salvation for all who would believe. The Lamb of God, sacrificed for our sins.
Then they seized Jesus, led Him away, and took Him into the house of the high priest.
Luke 22:54
When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. And they bound him and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate the governor. Matthew 27: 1-2
Though the Jewish religious leaders plotted Jesus' death and the Romans carried it out, they were both used by God to fulfill His plan of redemption.
Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; Isaiah 53: 10
Jesus was flogged, beaten and mocked at the hands of the Romans.
Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him. And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. They came up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and struck him with their hands. John 19 1-3
Roman flogging: A short whip made of two or three leather ropes. Each rope contained pieces of metal and bone. A severe form of punishment. With arms tied around a pillar, the victim leaning forward with the back exposed. Deep lacerations, torn flesh, exposed muscles and excessive bleeding would lead the person to near death.
Then the soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called the whole company together. They dressed Him in a purple robe, twisted together a crown of thorns, and set it on His head. And they began to salute Him: “Hail, King of the Jews!”
They kept striking His head with a staff and spitting on Him. And they knelt down and bowed before Him. After they had mocked Him, they removed the purple robe and put His own clothes back on Him. Then they led Him out to crucify Him. Mark 15:16-20
Jesus was crucified.
And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him. Matthew 27:31
Crucifixion: An extremely cruel and painful method of capital punishment in which the victim is nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang on it until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. The death was slow. A person could hang on the cross for days before dying.
Jesus died on a Roman cross.
From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. At the ninth hour, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” When some of those standing nearby heard this, they said, “Behold, He is calling Elijah.” And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine. He put it on a reed and held it up for Jesus to drink, saying, “Leave Him alone. Let us see if Elijah comes to take Him down.” And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” Mark 15 33-39
Jesus was buried in a tomb.
So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. 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 because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there. John 19: 40-42
Three days after His death Jesus was resurrected.
On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women came to the tomb, bringing the spices they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were puzzling over this, suddenly two men in radiant apparel stood beside them. As the women bowed their faces to the ground in terror, the two men asked them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen! Remember how He told you while He was still in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.’” Luke 24 1-7
After he was resurrected, He showed himself to his disciples and to hundreds of others.
While they were describing these events, Jesus Himself stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” But they were startled and frightened, thinking they had seen a spirit.
“Why are you troubled,” Jesus asked, “and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at My hands and My feet. It is I Myself. Touch Me and see—for a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and feet.
Luke 24: 36-40
After that, He appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once... 1 Corinthians 15:6
He was then taken up to Heaven in front of his disciples at Bethany on the Mount of Olives near Jerusalem. Bethany and the Mount of Olives exist to this day.
When Jesus had led them out as far as Bethany, He lifted up His hands and blessed them. While He was blessing them, He left them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, praising God continually in the temple. Luke 24: 50-53
Below
The Mount Of Olives. Present day Israel.
The historical location from where Christ ascended into Heaven.
