The Murder of God
So the question I want you to think
about with the Crucifixion of Christ is who was involved in Murdering God? Was
it the ordinary Jewish people, the Romans, the Sadducees, the Pharisees, the
Scribes, Hared, Pilate, was it Christ - who intentionally came to Jerusalem to
be killed (so a form of suicide), was it Judas, the Spirit, Satan or the
Father? The answer of course is yes; all of these, as well as my sins and your
sins brought Christ to the cross.
I’m not going to go over each
of the Gospel descriptions of the Crucifixion, as I’m sure it’s the one thing
in Scripture we all know a bit about, but I just wanted to list some of the info
for you from them. Something that Sandra
and I talked about last week that I find helpful is not expecting a full
description of any 1 doctrine or event from any 1 section of Scripture. What
the Crucifixion event tells us is that the Bible is often like a Mosaic where
bits and pieces come together from different parts of Scripture to reveal the
bigger picture.
So starting in reverse order:
John is by far the most Calvinistic book in the New Testament and he wants to
drive home the fact that this wasn’t a mistake or an error that got out of hand
or that the Jews or Romans had any power over Christ, so he’ll say over and
over this was to fulfill Scripture X 3, to say this is what God had planed all
along and it happened just like He wanted it to.
So in John 19 we’ll see that Pilate
really didn’t want to kill Jesus but he idolized his power and position and
feared the mobs and upsetting Caesar, Jesus is declared King of the Jews, the soldiers
cast lots for his clothes, Jesus gives his mom over to the Apostle John (the
only Apostle we know of that witnessed the Crucifixion), he drank sour wine, his
side was pierced by a spear and he had no broken bones – most of that had to do
with fulfilling Messianic Prophecy.
In Luke 23 we see the mercy
of Jesus as he asks the Father to forgive the very people that are beating,
mocking and murdering him, and we see the conversion of the thief, who came to
fear the afterlife more than his current crucifixion, he confesses his
sinfulness and Christ’s sinlessness, he confesses that he was receiving his
just punishment for his sins, and he cries out to Christ for mercy.
In Mark 15 we meet Simon of
Cyrene and his sons: Alexander and Rufus. Simon is made to carry Christ’s cross
to Golgotha (and according to church history Simon, Alexander and Rufus all become
known leaders or missionaries within the early Christian Church, often the
Church Fathers reference Acts 11 & Romans 16 to support this) and we also
find in Mark the confession and conversion of the Roman Centurion in charge of
the Crucifixion.
In Matthew 27 we find out
that Pilate’s own wife knows Jesus is innocent and wants Jesus released, then the
Jews choose the terrorist Barabbas over Jesus, the mobs says His blood be on us
and our children - accepting the penalty for His death, we see Christ is mocked
by everyone: the thieves, soldiers, and even the Chief Priests of the Temple
come out to taunt him. And in Matthew we see miracles, signs and wonders - the
curtain that separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the Temple is torn
in two; darkness covers the land, earthquakes, rocks (like the one that sealed
Christ’s tomb) are split, tombs are opened and there is even the resurrection
of dead believers.
So to answer Robert’s question about where was the
Holy Spirit and what was he doing during the Crucifixion, I would say it looks
a lot like the Book of Acts – the Holy Spirit is there pointing sinners to
Christ, he’s converting people even right there at the Crucifixion, he’s fulfilling
prophecy, and he’s effecting signs, miracles and wonders that are meant to make
us realize that this isn’t just the death of a normal individual, we’re meant
to Marvel at the Murder of God in human flesh.
Doctrine of Pneumatology - which means the study of the Spirit
Facts about the HS and Scripture references:
The Holy Spirit is God (important fact) who can and does kill - Acts 5:3-6 Ananias and Sapphira (& probably 2 Samuel 12:15-23 David’s son)
The Holy Spirit is everywhere (omnipresent) – Psalm 139:7-8
The Holy Spirit authored Scripture – 2 Peter 1:19-21
The Holy Spirit convicts men of Sin – John 16:8-11
The Holy Spirit lets us know God loves us – Romans 5:5
The Holy Spirit points people to Christ – John 15:26
The Holy Spirit glories Christ not himself – John 16:14
The Holy Spirit enables men to understand and believe – Acts 16:13-15
The Holy Spirit effects regeneration – Titus 3:4-5
The Holy Spirit enters believers at the moment of Salvation - Romans 8:9
The Holy Spirit immerses Christians into the “invisible Church” or body of Christ at conversion –1 Corinthians 12:12-13
The Holy Spirit guarantees eternal salvation – Ephesians 1:13-14
The Holy Spirit helps us when were weak, praying and interceding for us – Romans 8:26-30
The Holy Spirit gives various spiritual gifts meant to benefit the Church to whomever He wills– 1 Corinthians 12:4-11
The Holy Spirit cultivates Christian character (or sanctification) more gifts the HS gives– Galatians 5:22-25
The Holy Spirit is a comforter, helper and guide to believers – John 14:16-17
Recommended reading The Holy Spirit by Charles Ryrie $7 on Amazon.
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