Who Put Jesus on the Cross

April 7, 2023

The Holy Bible tells us how Jesus suffered and died an excruciating death. His suffering was both physical and emotional. He suffered at the hands of the religious leaders and the Roman guards. But who really put Jesus on the Cross? We know from scripture that the Father allowed this and that Jesus laid down His own life. If He wanted to He could have called for legions of angels to deliver Him, but His plan was one that was laid out since the Garden of Eden. Lets examine Jesus' sacrifice beyond the accountability of the Jews and Romans (though woe be to them for their part in it) and look deeper.

We see that Jesus suffering started before His appearance with the Sanhedrin council and Pontius Pilate. It started at the Garden of Gethsemane.

Mathews gospel says, "Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, 'Sit here while I go and pray over there.' And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed."

Marks gospel says that He told Peter, James and John to, "Sit here while I pray." And then is says that He began to be "troubled and deeply distressed." Then He told His disciples, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death."

In Luke's gospel it says that He was in agony, and that sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

And in all three of these gospels Jesus prays to the Father, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will."

Wow. I think its endearing that in His weakest hour He wanted His companions with Him. But sadly they couldn't even stay awake to be present with Him. Jesus began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. In the Greek "sorrowful" means to pain, grieve, vex, and distress. And "deeply distressed" is translated as to feel fear, lack courage, troubled. Jesus experienced agony and anguish to the point of sweating (possibly) real drops of blood. He prayed for the Father to take away this cup, which means in the Greek "the portion which God allots."

Then there is the denial of Peter. When asked if he was a follower of Jesus, Peter three times denied knowing the Man. And after the rooster crowed Luke 22:61 says, "And the Lord turned and looked at Peter." -Jesus felt rejected, betrayed. And Peter, ashamed ran away and wept....

Then the religious leaders took license to spit, beat, and blaspheme Him. The soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and forced it on His head, put a purple robe on Him and mocked and beat Him. Pilate sentenced Him to bear 39 blows from a whip called a flagrum which consisted of braided leather thongs with metal balls and pieces of sharp bone woven into or intertwined with braids. The balls added weight to the whip causing deep bruising as Jesus was struck. It is probable and possible that this beating that Jesus endured would have been so severe that the skeletal muscles, underlying veins, sinews, and bowels may have been exposed (gotquestions.org).

Then they gambled for His garments and cast lots for His tunic.

And of course, He was crucified. Nailed to a cross designed by the Romans to be a death that was very tortuous.

This experience in the Garden and all that He endured was prophesied long ago in the book of Isaiah, as well as numerous places. Isaiah 53:3-6 says,

"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 borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all."

We see similar vocabulary here that we did in the gospels. He was sorrowful, grieved as He bore our griefs, and carries our sorrows. His wounds, bruises, chastisement (punishment) and stripes (blows) were because of our transgressions and iniquities (sins). God literally laid the iniquity of us all on Him. And by His stripes we are healed. The Hebrew word for "healed" is cured. We were cured from our terrible deadly condition-sin.

Do you notice how Isaiah doesn't say that this Servant suffered because of the Jewish leaders and the Romans? No, the reason for all of Jesus' suffering and death was our iniquities. Our transgressions. And the cure for our condition was His life poured out.

So the answer to the question, Who put Jesus on the Cross?- Us. I'm reminded of a song by Sidewalk Prophets called "You Loved Me Anyway" that says,

"I am the thorn in your crown. But You loved me anyway.

I am the sweat from your brow. But You loved me anyway.

I am the nail in your wrist. But you loved me anyway.

I am Judas' kiss. But You loved me anyway.

I am the man who yelled out from the crowd for your blood to be spilled on this earth shaking loud, yes and I turned away with a smile on my face with this sin in my heart tried to bury your grace and then alone in the night I still called out to you. So ashamed of my life, my life, my life. But You loved me anyway."

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