The crucifixion of Jesus
Jesus鈥 crucifixion is a culmination of a series of events including:
- his entry into Jerusalem on a donkey
- the Last Supper
- the betrayal of Judas
- two trials
After Jesus was sent to Pontius Pilate, who was the Roman governor of Judea at the time, Pilate offered the choice of who to condemn to death to the crowd, as was tradition. The crowd chose to free Barabbas, a well-known criminal, thereby condemning Christ to death.
Once Jesus had been condemned he was whipped, stripped of his clothes and given a crown of thorns and a robe to wear as the crowds mocked him. He was given his cross to carry to Golgotha where he was to be crucified. He fell three times on the path, and a man called Simon from Cyrene was forced to help him carry the cross.
At Golgotha, his clothing was split amongst the guards and he was crucified between two criminals with a sign reading 鈥楾he king of the Jews鈥 placed above his head.
At noon the sky went dark and three hours later Jesus cried out, Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?
, which means, "My God, my God, why did you abandon me?" (Matthew 27:46).
He was offered wine, but he took his final breath and died. At that moment the veil in the temple tore in two and the Earth shook.
When the army officer and the soldiers with him who were watching Jesus saw the earthquake and everything else that happened, they were terrified and said, 'He really was the Son of God!'