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39: Apparently there was some easily accessible roadway near the crucifixion site. Some may have simply passed by, while others came specifically for the purpose of seeing him. The reviling was blasphemy. They were mocking his claims to be the Messiah. Wagging the head here refers to mocking someone.
40: This verse records the words of the common Jews passing by, who had heard about the details of his trial. they repeated the misunderstanding of Jesus’ words about the temple of his body. And, they directly mocked his claim to be the Son of God. Once again we see self-justification. They reasoned that, if he were truly the Son of God, he could come off of the cross whenever he wished.
41: It seems that a good portion of the Sanhedrin came out on purpose for this spectacle. Their lust for blood is revolting.
42: The paradox of these words is revealing. Jesus could have saved himself. But, as they realized, he had saved others. What they did not see was that he was even then dying to save them. Some of these men may have been the ones who would be saved not long after as a result of Peter’s preaching at Pentecost. Indeed, even if they rejected it, he was dying for the sins of every person standing there that day.
These men were practiced liars. Had Jesus come off of the cross at this time their response would not have been belief, but fear. When Jesus returns again, he will come to judge, for he is the Son of God.

Personal Journal Entry #12040
Prayer Journal Entry #12040
Daily Bible Reading: Leviticus 16:1-18:30
Praise Journal Entry #12002: Gracious and Holy Heavenly Father, You are full of mercy and love. Thank You for Your justice as well. Thank You for calling sin what it is. Thank You for warning man about the dangers of it. Thank You for making Your goodness and righteousness obvious and available through Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior. Your Word reveals Your right ways and intentions. Thank You for Who You are. You inspire me to be a good, godly, holy, pure, kind, helpful, person that I cannot be without You. Thank You for not giving up on us. Your long-suffering patience is a great comfort to me. Bless Your Holy Name! Everything about You makes my soul want to respond with praise and emulation. I want to be like Jesus. I am so far off from that. Help me, Father! I praise You in the name of my Precious Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ! Amen.

36: Having ended with their fun, the soldiers turned to their duty. They were to keep guard and see that nothing disturbed the crucifixion. Jesus had friends and enemies present. For all the soldiers knew, either could be the source of trouble.
37: It was customary to hang a placard on the neck of the prisoner as they made their way along the road, stating the crime that they had been sentenced for. This placard would then be affixed over their head on the cross. Jesus accusation was thus, quite strange. This is Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. It seems this was meant to be a snub against the Jewish leaders, who immediately took offense at it. They told him to change it, to say that Jesus claimed to be their king. But, not surprisingly, Pilate refused.
38: On either side they crucified thieves, possibly associates of Barabbas, though nobody can be sure of their identity. This was another fulfillment of prophecy. He was in the middle, as if he was considered just another common criminal. And, indeed, he was counted as such and died as such. He took upon himself the crimes of all humanity. Thus, he was the common thief of all common thieves with our sins there on him.

Personal Journal Entry #12039
Prayer Journal Entry #12039
Daily Bible Reading: Leviticus 14:1-15:33
Praise Journal Entry #12001: Father, I praise You for all that You are, and all that You have already said You shall be. You are the God of all, reigning for all eternity. Thank You so much for the clarity of Your special revelation, the Bible. The fulfillment of prophecy, the meeting of the innermost needs of our hearts, and the specific expressions of Your love for us found in Scripture, all help me to realize the Truth of Your Word. Keep me in it. May I live it, breath it, think it, eat it. May it be the obsession of my heart. Teach me to love Your Words, so that my words may always be good, kind, and helpful. I ask this in the Name of Your Son, Jesus Christ. I love You, Amen.

35: Crucifixion was a very awful form of torment and death. It is worth noting that the gospel writers do not go into great detail on this subject. They focused on the fulfillment of prophecy and the words of Christ. It is man who has a lust for blood, not God. We must not diverge into a catalog of torments, but focus upon the securing of salvation which was here afforded.
The dividing of the clothes was a common practice. And yet, it was a direct fulfillment of the prophecy by David in Psalm 22. There were evidently four soldiers directly responsible for his crucifixion. They divided his clothes among them. However, his coat was seamless, and seemed a shame to rip. So, this is the part for which they cast lots, to see which of them might have it.

Personal Journal Entry #12038
Prayer Journal Entry #12038
Daily Bible Reading: Leviticus 13:1-59

34: This offer of vinegar (or wine) and gall (or myrrh) had become a common practice, in an attempt to offer some relief to those being crucified. However, it also fulfilled prophecy. He tasted the drink, so that all would know that he knew what it was, and that it fulfilled prophecy; but, he refused to drink it because he wanted to avoid any dulling of his senses. He did not want his words on the cross to be seen as the result of the drink. Besides this, though Christ did drink wine, he had likely always avoided this strong of a narcotic.

Personal Journal Entry #12037
Prayer Journal Entry #12037
Daily Bible Reading: Leviticus 11:1-12:8

32: Jesus was taken to Golgotha, which was just north of the city, outside the city walls. Those who were crucified were normally expected to carry the crossbeam of the cross all the way out to the crucifixion site. However, given the fact that Jesus had already been hurt much more than most criminals had been at this point, it is no surprise that he was not able to carry this beam as quickly as the soldiers liked. It seems that, right about the time they exited the city gates, they decided to get someone else to do it.
The Roman soldiers had the right, under their law, to compel someone to carry the crossbeam. They recruited a Jewish man from Cyrene, a city in North Africa. Simon was likely only there for Passover. Simon had two sons, Alexander and Rufus, who were apparently saved, possibly as a result of his involvement here.
33: The place is Golgotha in Aramaic, and Calvary in Latin. The location of the place, as well as the importance of the meaning of its name, is uncertain. There are a couple of different sites claimed to be Calvary, and it is likely that one of the two is correct. It makes little difference now. Salvation was not secured because of which hill was used, but because of who was crucified. What is certain is that this place was outside the city walls, because it was against the law to execute someone inside the city walls.
The place may have looked like a skull, or there may have been many skulls laying around there, or both. Once again, it doesn’t really make a difference. Most likely, there were many human remains there, and it surely looked like a execution spot, whether the place looked like a skull or not.

Personal Journal Entry #12036
Prayer Journal Entry #12036
Daily Bible Reading: Leviticus 8:1-10:20

30: Some have supposed that the spitting was also some form of mock homage. This may be the case. But, either way, the purpose was to hurt him and make fun of him. They would not have the opportunity to torture one who claimed to be the king of the Jews again soon.
The striking of his head was most likely done with the crown of thorns in place. However, it is not altogether certain that the crown remained on his head throughout the day, though this seems likely.
31: It was not until right before they led him away that he was changed back into his own clothes. Just before being changed, Pilate presented him to the people one last time, hoping to get them to let him release Jesus.

Personal Journal Entry #12035
Prayer Journal Entry #12035
Daily Bible Reading: Leviticus 5:1-7:38

29: The soldiers wove together thorns into a crown for Jesus. It is not certain what exact type of thorn bush was used; but, in any case, the thorns would have been fairly large. The reed was some stick or stalk that was available to the soldiers in that place. With the robe, crown, and the reed in his right hand, Jesus would resemble a king. The soldiers then made sport of him. Pretending to truly bow in homage, they hailed him as the king of the Jews.

Personal Journal Entry #12034
Prayer Journal Entry #12035
Daily Bible Reading: Leviticus 1:1-4:35

28: This verse presents a bit of confusion. The robe placed on Jesus is referred to as being purple in the other gospels. There is no inconsistency here, however. The best solution to this is to point out a couple of things. First, that this was what would now be seen as a red cloak is certain. This is what the soldiers wore, and they would have had access to such. Secondly, both purple and crimson (or scarlet, as the case is here), could be worn by royalty. The description of such a cloak, then was based just as much on its use as its color. Thus, scarlet and purple were often interchanged as referring to the same thing. A crimson, scarlet, or purple cloak would have red in it. The ancient mind would not see purple as an even mixture of blue and red, but would think mainly of the red.

Personal Journal Entry #12033
Prayer Journal Entry #12033
Daily Bible Reading: Exodus 39:1-40:38

27: The band of soldiers could have been as many as five or six hundred. No matter how many their were exactly, it was a large multitude of ruffian Romans. They were neither religious, like the Jews, or refined, like Pilate. They were very possibly part of the same group that came to arrest Jesus the night before. They took Jesus into the Praetorium, the judgement hall, likely located inside Pilate’s castle of Antonia. It was a large place, well suited for the evil purposes they had.

Personal Journal Entry #12032
Prayer Journal Entry #12032
Daily Bible Reading: Exodus 36:1-38:31

26: Pilate released the prisoner they asked for, much to his chagrin. Here it is mentioned that he had Jesus scourged, or did it himself, before actually turning him over to his soldiers for execution. This was yet another attempt on the part of Pilate to release Jesus. The whipping was quite intense, and involved a whip full of sharp objects. It could easily kill a man if done long enough. By it Pilate hoped to satiate the Jews thirst for blood. But, it was not enough.

Personal Journal Entry #12031
Prayer Journal Entry #12031
Daily Bible Reading: Exodus 34:1-35:35