STEEMCHURCH: THE DEATH OF CHRIST
JESÚS had been preaching for three and a half years and knew that the end of her life on Earth was near. The Jewish religious leaders planned to kill him, but feared the possible reaction of the people, who had him as a prophet. Then, Satan influenced the heart of Judas one of the twelve apostles to sell his master. The religious leaders paid him thirty pieces of silver.
It was the night of the Passover, and Jesus had met with the apostles to celebrate it. After asking Judas to retire, Christ instituted a new celebration: the Lord's Supper. He took a piece of bread, made a prayer and passed it among the eleven apostles. Then he explained: "This means my body that has to be given in your favor. Keep doing this in memory of me. " After that he passed a cup of wine and said: "This cup signifies the new covenant by virtue of my blood" (Luke 22:19, 20).
That last night, Jesus taught many things to his apostles. He even gave them a new commandment: to have unconditional love. In fact, he said: "Everyone will know that you are my disciples if you have love for each other." He asked them not to be discouraged by what was about to happen to him, and then he prayed intensely for them. Finally, they sang praises to God and went to the Garden of Gethsemane.
There Jesus knelt and opened his heart to Jehovah. But suddenly a group of soldiers arrived, armed men and priests with the intention of arresting him. To identify Jesus, Judas used the agreed signal: a kiss. The soldiers seized Christ, and the apostles fled.
Jesus declared before the supreme court of the Jews that he was the Son of God. The judges considered his statement to be blasphemy, a crime for which he could be sentenced to death. Then they made him appear before Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor. It seemed to him that Jesus was an innocent man, but even so he gave in to the wishes of the people, who demanded his execution by shouting.
Christ was taken to a place called Golgotha, and there the Roman soldiers nailed him to a tree. Suddenly, the radiant light of day turned into total darkness. That afternoon, when Jesus died, a strong earthquake occurred. His remains were buried in a tomb sculpted in the rock and the next day, the priests sealed the entrance and ordered to watch it. Would that be his final resting place? No, because the greatest miracle was about to happen.
When they arrived at the place called Golgotha, which means "place of the Skull," they gave him wine to drink with gall. He tried it, but he did not want to take it. After crucifying him, the soldiers dodged their clothes and distributed them to him; and sitting there, they stayed to guard it. They placed on his head an inscription with the motive of his condemnation: "This is Jesus, the king of the Jews." At the same time, two thieves were crucified with him, one on his right and the other on his left. Those who passed by insulted him and, shaking their heads, said: "You, you destroy the Temple and in three days you build it again, save yourself, if you are the Son of God, and come down from the cross!" In the same way, the high priests, along with the scribes and the elders, mocked, saying: "He has saved others and can not save himself! He is king of Israel: let him come down now from the cross and we will believe in him. He has trusted in God; let him free him now if he loves him, since he said: "I am the Son of God." He was also insulted by the thieves crucified with him. From noon until three o'clock in the evening, the darkness covered the entire region. Towards three o'clock in the afternoon, Jesus exclaimed with a loud voice: "Eli, Eli, lema sabactani," which means: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Some of those who were there, upon hearing it, said: "He is calling Elijah." Immediately, one of them ran to take a sponge, soaked it in vinegar and, putting it on the end of a cane, gave him to drink. But the others said to him: «Wait, let's see if Elías comes to save him». Then Jesus, crying out again with a powerful voice, gave up his spirit.
It was necessary for Jesus to die to fulfill God's purpose for humanity. Now, he would never die because of inherited sin, for he had been conceived by holy spirit and was perfect. However, he decided to give his life so that we could have the chance to be happy and live forever, an opportunity that the disobedient Adam denied us all.
