Friday - Jesus Before Pilate & Taken to Golgotha

We've been taking an in-depth look at the trials of Christ, and we're nearing the end of that now, but I'm sure that you, like I, have noticed as we've gone through the various stages of the trials of Christ on the Friday that he was crucified, that there are some fascinating characters involved in the trials. Anus, Caiaphas, Herod, but especially Pilate. We have seen Pilate to be just a very unusual and complex and fascinating person, but obviously the most unique and fascinating person in all this is our Lord. And we have seen that he is fascinating for good reason that he is totally in control of what is happening, even though he is being brutally treated and unjustly, to say the least, unjustly treated. We find ourselves now at the second trial before Pilate, we've been looking at that the last couple of weeks. We're going to pick up where we left off last week in John chapter 18. Actually, we'll begin with chapter 19, but in John 18, as we have looked at Jesus before Pilate, the second time, remember he had appeared before Pilate, Pilate is looking for any way he can to not be involved in this decision. We've seen several efforts he's made to do that, all of which have failed. And so the last one was an attempt to send him to Herod, thinking that I'll get that off my hands. I'll just get him off my hands by sending him to Herod. He's in Herod's jurisdiction. It heard that he'd begun his work in Galilee. Well, that didn't work. Herod sends him back to Pilate. And so Pilate now has him a second time. Chapter 19, verse 1, begins this way, then Pilate took Jesus and had him flagged. I think I mentioned last week before we closed that Luke's gospel tells us that this obviously is another attempt of Jesus to not be involved in putting Jesus to death, another attempt of Pilate, not put Jesus to death, because Luke tells us that he told the crowd that he wanted to flag him and then he'd set him free. That was his intent. His thinking obviously was, I don't want to put him to death. If I flag him, if I scourge him, that will satisfy the craving of the crowd for blood for his punishment. And once they see him after that, they'll surely agree to let him go. And so this was another attempt to get the capital punishment side of it off of his hands. He does not want to do that. Remember, we have seen why. He is a superstitious man himself, but his wife had had a dream for Pilate not to have anything to do with this man. And Pilate is afraid to put him to death. It does not want to do that. So he has him scourged or flagged. It's the same same idea. We've been looking at Jesus. We've seen that he was a substitute last time. It was a substitute for for a barabbas. He died in Barabbas's place. Literally, rather than Barabbas dying, and we saw remember that he was possibly supposed to be the third one on the cross. The third insurrection has done the cross that day. But rather than Barabbas, Jesus is chosen by the crowd to die. So Jesus literally takes Barabbas's place. Remember barabbas, bar son of, Abba father son of a father. And the son of the father dies in the place of son. It's an amazing complex story. And yet in that in that substitution, you find pictured the work that Jesus would do on the cross for all of us. And that is his substitutionary death for us. So we've seen him as a substitute. Now we're seeing him as a sufferer. Again, he is the main character in the drama, not pilot, not Herod, not Caiaphas, not anus. It is Jesus. Jesus now is seen as the sufferer. In order to understand the extent to which Jesus suffered, it is important to understand the scourging. And so let me take just a moment without showing you a picture or a video of that, which is for many just very disturbing. Let me try to paint a picture with words tonight as to how that would be done. There were two kinds of scourging in the ancient world at that time. The Jews actually used scourging. Paul says I have been beaten with 40 stripes, save one, five times. And second Corinthians 11, Paul had been through the scourging five times. But in order for us to understand how Paul could have gone through that and the difference in what Jesus went through would need to understand the difference between Jewish and Roman scourging. Jews usually used a wooden rod for scourging and the person would be beaten, be given 39 stripes. And the reason for that was the Roman or the excuse me, the mosaic law, the Jewish law required 40 stripes. And so that they would be sure not to go over that. They stopped at 39. Sometimes Jews would use a whip which had three leather strands to it. And that would be very painful obviously, but nothing like what the Romans did. The Romans added a cruel twist to this kind of torture. The Roman scourging would be done with a short wooden pole about half the length of a broom handle. On the end of that wooden pole would be several leather strips or strands. And here's what the Romans added that was so cruel. On the end of each of those strips of leather would be sewn into that and hanging out from it, pieces of bone and chain and other things like that. Rock, jagged edges. And so that was the part that the Romans added which made it a much more excruciating form of torture. Plus the Romans did not legislate how many lashes could be given. And so it was completely at the discretion of the man who inflicted it called the lictor. He was actually an executioner called the lictor in the Roman world. And it was totally up to his and the presiding officers discretion as to when it would stop. So there was no compunction about stopping at 30 or 40 or how many ever times the lashes would be given. Many people died as a result of the scourging. Others, many others would would just mentally snap from the pain and the cruelty of it. Most if they did not die or completely snap emotionally and mentally, most would go into shock and violently shake. And here's the reason why. That flagellum, which was the what was called the leather strands with the ins full of bone and rock and chain, would literally tear the flesh apart. Here's literally what would happen. The victim would be stripped of all their clothing and they would be put over a wooden stump about the size of a fire hydrant. Their feet and hands would be clasped by metal clasps on the ground so that they could not move. They could not get away. And the lictor, the executioner would take the scourge, the flagellum, and he would first of all look into the face of his victim. Most of them did that out just of curiosity. And then he would step back about six feet either to the back or to either side of the victim. And this is exactly what would happen with Jesus. He would spread his legs to be able to get the most force with his blows. And then he would pull it as far back as he could and just start beating. Now, there would be the dull thought of the leather straps across the back, the ribcage. But this is what the Romans did that made it so cruel. The tips, the ends of the leather would then whip around the front of the person, the stone and chain and rock would grab the tissue. And as it was pulled back, it would literally tear the flesh away. It was a gruesome thing to see. Now, this has been well documented in books, particularly the book The Day Christ died by Jim Bishop, who was a medical doctor. And he described the strips of raw flesh being torn away, exposing sometimes the ribs, the intestines, even the organs to full view. And there would be then the slow, heavy rhythm of the beating and the ripping away of flesh. That was all involved in the scourging, leaving obviously gaping, bleeding wounds. And the lictor would move locations from one side to the other, different positions from the back, so as to do the most damage possible to the body. So if you can imagine that, I know that the closest I have ever seen to what actually happened was in Mel Gibson's movie The Passion. And it is just hard to watch, but I don't think that even fully captures it. Not from the descriptions in historical records that you read. Again, anyone who remained conscious would be near or in shock, convulsing, shaking, chattering, the teeth chattering spasms. It would just be unbelievably gruesome. And then once it was finished, they would usually drape some cloth around them, and they did this with Jesus as we shall see. It is really quite remarkable that after all he's already been through, remember he's suffered agony in the garden, said he was so distressed almost to death even in the garden. He's been up all night. He has been under such stress that he was sweating as it were, great drops of blood even before he got to this point. He's already been beaten quite mercilessly before he gets to this point. It is amazing that Jesus even lived through this in his weakened state. But obviously, the fact he did is another sign that he is in control. He will not die until he gets to the cross because that is what will fulfill the Old Testament scriptures. It is almost impossible to describe what he would have looked like after this. In fact, the closest description is actually given by the prophet Isaiah in this verse, Isaiah 52-14. Just as there were many who were appalled at him, his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being and his form, his shape, marred beyond human likeness. If you can read in those words what we know historically would have happened in a Roman scourging, you have never seen an accurate description or depiction of what Jesus looked like by the time he got to the cross. You have never seen a painting, you have never seen anything that accurately describes. Not even the passion goes far enough to describe what he would have looked like by the time he got to the cross. He would have been basically one open bloody sore, just flesh ripped off of him and just incredibly, incredibly appalling to even see the cross. All of that is in those words, pilot took Jesus and had him flogged. But it doesn't stop there. Verse 2. Notice what happens next. The soldiers twisted together crown of thorns and put it on his head. Now this is not the beautiful little artistic thing that you see in the paintings. These are long thorns that were used for firewood to start fires, long thorns, sometimes several inches thick or long. They were crudely woven together and then forced down on his head. Then notice what happens next. They clothed him in a purple robe. This is the garment they put on him when he got done with the scourging, but the purple signifies royalty. And so they are mocking him. Is he a king? They put a royal robe on him. Then they went up to him again and again saying, Hail King of the Jews and they slapped him in the face. Matthew's gospel adds one other detail and that is that they gave him a scepter. They have given him the robe and the crown of mockery. They give him a scepter for his kingdom as well. It is a reed again, a weak instrument mocking him. Matthew says they actually took that reed and hit him over the head with it. That would not inflict any damage as though any more needed to be done. But it is humiliating. It is mockery. Can you imagine the cruelty of these Roman soldiers who have just beaten him to where most men would have died? And yet they continue to hit him in the face, beat him over the head, go up to him and bow before him like he is a king. This is all a part of the suffering that Jesus went through for you and me. And I think we sometimes just slide over these verses and don't understand what was happening. And the fact that he did not get out from under it, the fact that he did not even cry out for vengeance is an amazing, amazing display of control and grace. The pilot next in verse 4. Once more pilot came out and said to the Jews gathered there, look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him. Put that with Luke and you find out his whole purpose is to put him through this scourging so that anybody who looks at him, no matter how much hatred they have got in their hearts, would certainly agree to let him go now. Certainly this is enough. And so I am going to bring him out and show him to you so that you can see what he looks like. And I want you to know I find no basis to charge him is still still indicating there's no reason for any charge a capital charge against him. And so he brings him out verse 4 says, verse 5 says, when Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns in the purple robe, pilot said to them, here is the man. Literally look, you know the King James said behold the man, it really is a word for gaze on. Look, really what he's saying is look at this poor creature. What pilot is seeking to do is to get them to have some compassion on him by this time. I mean look, look at this poor creature. He doesn't even resemble a human being now. He is so bloodied and battered and beaten. Surely thinking they will have mercy and letting go now. But notice the reaction. As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted crucify, crucify. So another attempt of pilot to get this off his hands has failed. So look at what pilot says next, the pilot answered, you take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him. This is the third time pilot has said, I find no basis for a charge. Third time. And basically he is so fed up with the hatred of these Jewish people. And all of the attempts pilot has made to try to let Jesus go and get rid of him, get him off of his hands. He is so fed up, he basically says, I'm not going to have anything more to do with this. You take him and crucify him. Well the Jews know they can't do that. They can't crucify him. They have to have the Roman soldiers do that. And that can only be done under pilots order. And so they will continue to press their case. And that leads us to the next view of Christ. And that is Jesus as the judge in verses 7 through 16. But before we go any further, I've not asked any questions or given you a chance to say anything. Any comments or questions you have? After my political and one of the kinds of people, and I remember when they were first, I felt that it was just really, really bad. But they didn't even know what they did. Yeah. It was, it's a gruesome scene even in the movie. And if you saw the movie, you probably remember as Margaret is saying, they had several instruments they could use. And they started with a rod and then they used the typical Roman scourge. Or whip. And then they were like, I don't know how the Roman army worked to that extent. It's whether or not you could volunteer for this or not. I don't know. My guess is they were pressed into this. This was their job. It was what they were assigned to do. But it's obvious from their reactions, they were pretty hardened a bunch. Yeah. You know, when you get a little further into the story and the Roman soldiers who take Jesus to the place of crucifixion and nail him to the cross, I mean, everything they're doing is so repulsive to us. And yet they did this over and over and over and over again. It is our human nature twisted and bent by sin to become accustomed to cruelty or any kind of sin to become accustomed to it to the point that it no longer bothers us. And that's true of any sin. And it's also true of this kind of violence that the sinful nature is made so that we become increasingly hardened, the more exposure we have. And that's what's happened to these soldiers. The fact that they can put a man, put three men at one time on a cross as cruel as the act of doing that was, and then sit at the foot of those crosses and gamble for the garments. They're beyond being moved by it. Exactly. That's exactly the way to say it. It's true of any sin, but it is also true of this kind of sin of violence. The more you do it, the more you're exposed to it, the more hardened you've become to it, the more desensitized is a good word. Now, I just said that they were beyond being moved, but that's not quite true, is it? Let me make this distinction. They would not be moved with the cruelty of what they have done, what will eventually break them, and this is an incredible part of the story, is the response of Jesus, because they've never seen anything like this. And we're jumping ahead a little bit, but we'll get there in a little bit. His response broke the hearts of these hardened Roman soldiers. I think I heard someone over here first, and then we'll go back to Greg, okay. Exactly. Great point that you're making, and that is, the Jews obviously did not endure themselves and win any Roman hearts to their religion with their cruelty. It was Jesus' response of kindness and forgiveness that won the heart. And the point that was being made was that's true for us as well. And isn't that exactly what Peter said in 1 Peter 2, that Jesus died, leaving us an example that we should follow when he steps? Now, it's not following in the steps of his death. Peter's point is that when he was reviled, he reviled not again. When he was unjustly treated, he did not retaliate, but he left himself, he left his case in the hands of the Father. And it's only that, the ability to do that, which gives us the kind of testimony you're talking about, that a watching world wakes up and says, whoa, that is not normal. That is not normal. And so that's exactly what happened. The Jews will not win any Romans to their religion. Christ will break the hearts of Romans through his gracious and forgiving response. And again, that's what the Bible says. The soft answer turns away wrath, right? So we're seeing the perfect example of that. Greg. Probably was not in that large open courtroom area. That's where Pilate would be addressing the religious leaders. This would be back in the Praetorium, the Roman, the palace, in some place where the Roman guard was. It would have been back, it would have been a little bit more private. Whether or not anyone would have been there to witness it, we're not sure. May well have been, but I don't think it would have been out in the large area. I'm not real certain about that, but I don't think it would have been. Okay. Ready for verse seven. Jesus is seen here now as the judge. And I think you'll see what I mean by that as we get into this passage. Verse seven, the Jewish leaders insisted we have a law. And according to that law, he must die because he claimed to be the son of God. Now, you can see they're afraid that Pilate is still going to let him go. Because they have resisted his attempt to say, I find no charge any more. I've had him beaten up. Now, this is enough. And they have said, no, no, crucify him, crucify him. And Pilate has said, you do it. I'm done with this, basically. And they see this thing slipping out of their hands. And so they press the charge again. We have a law. According to that law, he must die. And then they bring up this other charge because he claimed to be the son of God. Now, that's an interesting new twist and wrinkle. And it does hit Pilate. Notice verse eight, when Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid. Okay. It's obvious that fear has been working on him because of his wife's dream and so forth. But he's even more afraid. Why do you think he was afraid at that statement? Well, they're very few. They're very few. They're very powerful. Yeah. At least superstitious Romans and Greeks did feel like you don't offend the gods. Whatever you do, don't offend the gods. And to hear that he was the son of God. Now, in Pilate's mind, that doesn't compute to what it means to us. He just sees some connection with the gods. And he doesn't want to offend the gods. He's already had his wife tell him about a dream. Don't get involved with this innocent man. He's trying to get out of it. And now he hears this. And so it does cause him to be even more afraid. I think that's exactly what was happening. Verse 9 says he went back inside the palace. Where do you come from? He asked Jesus. Isn't that an interesting question? Where do you come from? Are you a son of the gods? Are you a son of God? What does that mean? Where have you come from anyway? Could it be in his fear, in his exasperation with this whole situation? He may be thinking he's dealing with some kind of supernatural being? I don't know. But he asked that question. Where do you come from? Jesus gave him no answer. And so Pilate's response is, do you refuse to speak to me? Pilate said, don't you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you? Now you can see, you can just hear his exasperation coming out. His frustration coming out. But Jesus' response, once again, shows how completely in control he is. Now, imagine, remember the shape he's in. Remember that if he is like anybody else who's gone through this, he's probably suffering from some degree of shock and maybe chattering his teeth, chattering his body, shaking just because of the incredible pain and loss of blood. But notice his answer. You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore, the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin. Two statements he makes. You do not have ultimate authority over what's happening here. Now this may be the clearest statement of God's sovereignty and the control that Jesus has along with his father over everything that's happening. Basically, he's telling Pilate, no, no, wait a second. You do not have the ultimate authority in this case. You would not be able to have any authority or power over me unless it were given to you from above. In other words, you're only able to do what you do because God allows it. The authority, the power, is coming from above from God. And then the second thing he says, therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin. Who do you think he's talking about there? Judas, possibly. Caiaphas, in the most immediate situation, that would appear to be the most immediate reference. I think Judas is probably included. But Caiaphas is the one that sent him to Pilate, right? Caiaphas is the one that turned him over to Pilate. Why would Caiaphas be guilty of a greater sin? Even if Pilate is the one who orders the execution or allows it? If he really is the Judas Messiah, Caiaphas should have known. Chief priests were in on it? Yeah. And Caiaphas is the high priest, the head of the chief priest. He's the head of all this thing. That's an amazing thought that Jesus may actually be making it easier on Pilate to go ahead and make the decision. Yeah. It's not your decision, and there are people who bear more responsibility for this than you do. And certainly, Caiaphas bears more responsibility for the reasons you've mentioned. But also because of that biblical principle, the more light you have, the more responsibility you have. If you have more light, you have more responsibility. But certainly, that's a very interesting thought that Jesus basically is saying, you are not the one ultimately responsible for this. And notice Pilate's response again in verse 12, from then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free. He still tried to set him free. He still does not want to give the order to execute. But, verse 12 says, the Jewish leaders kept shouting and noticed they put another little twist in here. If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar, anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar. What are they playing on there? Politics? Yeah. Yeah, the position Pilate is in as... Yeah. The Pilate is in here. Yep. Exactly. Pilate in the scheme of things, answers, maybe not directly, but ultimately to Caesar. And he is already in trouble. He would not long after this event be called back to Rome as we talked about earlier, exiled to Gaul and he would commit suicide. Not immediately after this, but he's already in trouble with the Romans because of some other things that have happened. When he hears this, he does not need this kind of trouble. He does not want anyone reporting back to Rome. You know, Pilate over here is kind of going easy on someone who claims to be God and claims to be king. Isn't that your role, Caesar? Pilate doesn't need that. So, verse 13, when Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out, sat down on the judge's seat at a place known as the Stone pavement, which in Aramaic is Gabatha. It was the day of preparation of the Passover. It was about noon. I have to say this because some of you will go out wondering this when it says it's about noon. This is the newer edition of the NIV, actually the older NIV and other translations say it was about the sixth hour. And remember, one of the reasons why I wanted to talk about the difference in Roman time and Jewish time is right here. I think the newer NIV translation has probably done us an injustice. Although many people do take it that it was noon, the other gospels don't seem to fit with that, the timing. Probably, and this has been substantiated, Professor Dallas Seminary, Harold Honer wrote a book entitled, I have it in my library, the chronological aspects of the Ministry of Christ, I believe it's called. It has to do with all of the dates and times surrounding the life of Christ. It does a great job of dealing with this. Basically, John is the only gospel that uses the Roman measuring of time. So the sixth hour from midnight would be 6 a.m., not noon, but 6 a.m. And so that fits very well with what the other gospels say about Jesus being crucified, Mark says, for instance, the third hour, which would be nine o'clock in the morning. Remember, Jewish time started at six o'clock in the morning because during the night they had four watches and then they started counting by the hours at six o'clock in the morning. So, again, I don't want to get off on too much detail and rabbit trail here, but I know somebody would come to the door back there and say, wait a second, noon, I didn't know Jesus was crucified. That had to be afternoon that he was crucified. I thought it was, okay, that's the reason why. Okay, now verse, in the verse 14, here is your king, Pilate said to the Jews, but they shouted, taking away, taking away crucifying. Shall I crucify your king, Pilate asked? We have no king, but Caesar, the chief priests answered. And that finally, Pilate says, okay, that's it. I'm done. Finally, verse 16 says, Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified, which means basically he gives the authority for the Roman soldiers to take him and crucify him. And the last part of verse 16 says, so the soldiers took charge of Jesus. Okay, that could not happen unless Pilate gives the okay. So Pilate does ultimately give the okay. He has fought everything he knows to do to not do this. In fact, Matthew's gospel adds this detail. Pilate actually, by way of an object lesson, showed them that he still did not want have anything to do with it. Do you remember what he did? Watched his hands, didn't he? He actually got a bowl of water out. And in front of all of these chief priests and Jewish leaders washed his hands and said, I have no part in this, taking and crucifying. But it's not, it's not what I wanted. Okay, I'm washing my hands of all responsibility. And obviously, he does bear responsibility. As Jesus said, there are some who bear greater responsibility, but he does bear responsibility for what he did. Now, here's my point in saying that Jesus is the judge. He has demonstrated, especially in verse 11, that he is the one who is in control of the legal proceedings and the death sentence. It is Jesus really who is the judge. It is Pilate really who's on trial. Think about it. Pilate is not the free man in this situation. Pilate cannot do what he wants to do. He's not free. He can't do what he wants to do. He is bound by lots of different things. Superstition, Roman religion, his fear of Caesar, his desire not to make any more riot and turmoil in Jerusalem. He's bound by all those things. He's not free at all. He can't even do what deep down he really wants to do. And that is let Jesus go and get him off my hands. Jesus on the other side is purposefully, although no doubt painfully moving things toward the crucifixion. He is the one that has the authority not Pilate. So Jesus is really the judge in control of this not Pilate. Again, you see Jesus not physically but spiritually in all of his awesome power and his deity. So the trial is over. The trial is over. Pilate has washed his hands. The guards now take Jesus. The soldiers now take Jesus. And now we begin the next stage of what happens on Friday. And that is the beginning of the crucifixion. We're going to just start into it. I want to at least set the table for where we're headed here. Again, all four of the gospels cover this quite extensively. And it is a challenge to put all four of them together and harmonize all the details to get an exact sequence. And so we're not going to probably get everything in exact sequence. We'll do our best. But people differ somewhat on exactly everything that happens and when it happened. And some things happen simultaneously. We'll have to deal with them consecutively, but they happen simultaneously. I want us to look at Luke's account here. Luke 23. We'll at least get started here. Luke 23, 26 to 34. And what I would really like for us to see is that Jesus in the crucifixion. Again, the most amazing part of this is the different people that he interacts with on the way to the cross on the way to the scene of the crucifixion. There are a number of people that come in contact with Jesus. And it is obvious that in spite of the fact that he is incredible pain. He is suffering almost complete exhaustion because of the loss of blood. He still is conscious of the people around him and actually ministers to them. It is an incredible picture. And the first one is Simon. Let's at least begin here in verse 26 of Luke 23. As the soldiers led him away. Now, led him away. Typically what that would mean would be four soldiers would surround kind of like one on each corner. The person being led away to execution. And so probably for all three who are being led away, there are four soldiers around each one of them. So Jesus would be in the center of a company of four soldiers. Each criminal that would be executed would carry the cross beam. Sometimes you will see pictures of Jesus carrying the entire cross and stumbling under the weight of the entire cross. He would not have been carrying the entire cross. The cross was not assembled until you got to the place of crucifixion. But there would be one beam of it that would either be tied behind the criminal's neck or he would be carrying. That beam, depending on the style of the cross and the Romans used several different styles, it's a little different to know exactly what style would have been used here. There are four or five different kinds. But it would weigh anywhere between 30 and 100 pounds, depending on what type of beam it would have been. At least 30 pounds. So Jesus begins by carrying his cross. In fact, John's Gospel tells us that he was carrying it. So we know that's how he started. So as the soldiers led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene who was on his way in from the country. Here's seemingly an innocent bystander, if you will, who's just coming into Jerusalem from the countryside. He's from North Africa. He's from Cyrene, which is present in Libya, just to the west of Egypt. He's a pilgrim. He is probably a Jewish proselyte. And he just shows up on the scene and they seize him because obviously given the fact that Jesus is so physically compromised. And remember Jesus is 33 years old. He has worked most of his life as a carpenter. He has walked most everywhere he's gone in the land. He was an absolutely perfect physical condition. He was in the prime of his life, but the agony in the garden, the beating, the scourging has inflicted horrible loss of tissue, blood and strength. And Jesus is not able to carry that beam. He's not able to complete. And the Roman soldiers can see this. They can see that he's not going to make it to the place where he will actually be executed. And so they seize this guy that's just coming into town. They seize him and cause him to carry the cross. They put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. He just he just seized and forced by the Roman soldiers to carry this wooden beam. But there's more to his story. And it's not because of Ray Bolts' song. Watch the lamb. That song may be based on fact, but we're going to have to wait until next week. It's already a couple minutes after eight to find out the rest of the story behind Simon and what Mark tells us were his two sons. Mark tells us he had two sons and he even places one of them. So we'll get to that. We'll get to that next week. Let's pray. Father, again, we are amazed at our Savior. We are amazed at just the incredible response of his deity, of his sovereign power and control in the midst of incredible suffering and justice pain. Beyond that, we are amazed at his love for us. Lord, help us to keep the balance between the very real physical things that were happening and the spiritual purpose of what was happening, the real purpose of the cross. Help us not to lose sight of that. But this is not just a gripping tale of injustice and suffering, but it is the story of our redemption. And pray, Father, that you will help us to ever be grateful for what Jesus did for us, so that he might bear our sin there on the cross. And may we also learn from him what it means to respond to injustices that we may face. Lord, how weak we are when it comes to that. Give us the strength of your son and our Savior and your Spirit to be more like Jesus. We ask it in his name. Amen.