SUMMARY OF MATTHEW 27:32-37
A man named Simon from Cyrene carried Jesus’s cross because he could not. At Golgotha (meaning The Place of the Skull), the Roman soldiers offered Jesus wine to drink that was mixed with gall. Jesus taste it, but refused to drink more. They crucified him and divided up his clothes by casting lots. They waited for Jesus to die. They placed the sign “This is Jesus, King of the Jews” above his head.
BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 28, Day 2: Matthew 27:32-37
3a) He saw Christ as the walking dead, too weak to carry Jesus’s cross. He probably heard the crowds and the soldiers, perhaps still mocking Jesus. He may have heard Jesus praying.
b) To fulfill prophecy. Leviticus 4:12, 21 describes how the sin offering is offered outside the city in a place that is ceremonially clean. The sin offering is burned. Hebrews 13:11-13 describes how traditionally the high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. So Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy thorugh his own blood.
4) It tasted bad, and it would have done more harm than good. Jesus did not want his senses dulled for the most important moment in all of history.
5a)
Romans 5:6-8: God sent Jesus to die for us while we were still sinners.
2 Corinthians 5:21: Jesus took on our sin so that we may become righteous before God.
1 Peter 1:18-19: You were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect instead of being redeemed with perishable things
1 Peter 2:24: We have been healed by Jesus’s wounds as he bore our sins in his body on a tree so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness.
1 John 4:10-11: God loved us so much that He sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Thus, we should love one another.
b) I love how we should love others because God loved us so much.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 28, Day 2: Matthew 27:32-37
Hard passage to read, but an important one so we can begin to understand the depth of love God has for us.
Great read!
End Notes BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 28, Day 2: Matthew 27:32-37
Cyrene was a place in North Africa about 800 miles away. The man, Simon, was probably visiting Jerusalem for Passover and was recruited to carry Christ’s cross. Probably the man did not want to carry the cross, but since the man was an obvious foreigner, he had no choice in the matter. Many Bible scholars suggest that his sons became leaders among the early Christians based on Biblical passages (Mark 15:21 and Romans 16:13).
Golgotha
Golgotha (or Calvary in Latin) was the place outside of the city walls where crucifixions were held. It was called the Place of a Skull.
The wine was to dull the pain and the mind — a drug if you will. Jesus declines, wishing to be in full mind and spirit for this sacrifice.
Death by Crucifixion
Suffice it to say, crucifixion was a terrifying tortuous death that Jesus endured. He was scouraged, and then nails where physically hammered into his hands. He then hung on a cross from these wounds. It was extremely hard to breathe on the cross as gravity worked to pull the body down. The victim would have to physically lift their body in order to breathe, which would have been difficult after the torture.
The cause of death on the cross could have been many things:
- Suffocation
- Shock
- Dehydration
- Heart attack
Sometimes, the Roman soldiers would break the victim’s legs so that the victim could not push themselves up to breathe, so they would suffocate and die faster.
Roman citizens could not be crucified so horrible of a death this was. We get our work excruciating from crucifixion, meaning “out of the cross.”
Jesus was crucified naked.
He was in total control of the events. Jesus was both our sacrificial lamb and our scapegoat — the goat that symbolically carried Israel’s sins on its back as it was sent into the wilderness to die.
Jesus refused the sedative so he chould instead take the cup of full suffering and God’s wrath on himself.
Roman soldiers watched over Jesus so no one could rescue him.
Someone would carry the written crime as the victim was led to be crucified as a warning to others. Then, someone would hang the charge over their head on the cross.
John John 19:21 tells us how the religious leaders did not like this title since they did not believe it. Yet, Pilate let it stand. (John 19:22).
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