Jesus' Kingdom Activity



Running head: Synopsis of Jesus’ Final Days

Synopsis of Jesus’ Final Days

Joseph Locus

GCU

BIB123

Introduction

The events of Jesus’ life are many and varied. John, in fact, comments that a book could not contain them all. The events surrounding the end of Jesus life, too, were action-packed. What follows is a description of those events. They begin with the anointing of Jesus at Bethany and end with Jesus’ ascension into heaven. It is a misnomer, however, to describe what follows as a description of the events that surround the end of his life because Jesus remains alive. It is perhaps better to say that what follows describes the end of his earthly ministry.

After Jesus is anointed by Mary in Bethany, he goes into Jerusalem, and in many ways his public ministry comes to an end. The priority shifts from healing and teaching to preparing for those events that will lead to his death, burial, resurrection, and ultimate ascension. This can be seen in a visit made by a group of Greeks to visit Jesus in John 12. They ask for an audience with Jesus, and their request is communicated to Jesus. In the height of his public ministry, Jesus’ often met with individuals (e.g., the woman at the well, Nicodemus, Zaccheus and others), but this time, he does not even mention their request. He simply says, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” (John 12:23). The final events of his earthly life can be divided neatly into 5 categories: trials, death, resurrection, appearances, and ascension.

Jesus’ arrest and subsequent trial are preceded by a time of prayer with the three disciples closest to him: Peter, James, and John. Judas, knowing that Jesus would be praying at this place and time, brings about his betrayal and identifies Jesus to be arrested and brought to the Jewish authorities. Despite the protests of his disciples, Peter in particular, Jesus allows himself to be taken into the custody of the Jewish religious leaders for trial. This trial is a sham.

He is brought before the high priests Annas and Caiaphas. Despite much false testimony about him, it is Jesus’ claim to be the Son of God that makes up the minds of his accusers. He must die. It is during this trial that Judas, the betrayer, hangs himself. It is also during this time that Peter (and all of Jesus’ other followers) abandons him with three denials.

Since the Jews do not have the authority to carry out the death penalty, they bring Jesus to Pilate and insist that Pilate crucify him. Pilate has a quandary because he sees no crime that Christ has committed, but he also does not want to cause a revolt by denying the Jews their demand. He attempts to avoid making a decision by transferring the matter to another jurisdiction (i.e., to Herod), but Herod only mocks him and sends him back to Pilate. Seeing another possible escape from his indecision, he offers to give them, as a gift, Jesus’ pardon, but they refuse this offer, request the freedom of another man, and demand the crucifixion of Christ. Pilate relents.

The death of Christ is slow and painful. After suffering humiliation and torture at the hands of the guards -- they tear out his beard, beat him, force a crown of thorns over his head -- they force him to carry his heavy cross to Golgotha, where they crucify him. As he hang on the cross, Jesus asks for a drink. He asks his disciple, John, to take care of his mother. He prays to God in various ways, and then dies.

As he hang on the cross, he is mocked by the soldiers, but in the moment that he dies, the curtain leading to the Most Holy Place in the temple was torn from top to bottom, symbolizing the new and open way to God through Christ. In addition, the there were 3 hours of darkness beginning at the time that Jesus died.

While Jesus dies hanging on the cross, the two men who were crucified on either side of him remain living past that time. Because the sun is setting before the Sabbath began, the Romans, in deference to the Jewish tradition, killed the two men hanging next to Jesus (by breaking their knees and allowing them to asphyxiate as Christ had) so that all three bodies could be taken down and buried before sunset. Joseph of Arimathea donates a tomb in which the body of Jesus is laid. It great stone is rolled in front of the tome and a group of guards is assigned to guard the body because the Jews fear that the disciples will steal it.

The next morning, Sunday morning, Mary Magdelene and two other women went to visit the tomb. Distraught with grief, they did not discover what they expected. Instead of finding the tomb sealed with a great stone, guarded by guards, they found the stone rolled away, the guards fallen down as though dead, an empty tomb, and two angels declaring that Jesus was no longer there. That he had risen from the dead, as he had claimed that he would do. The women run back to the disciples to tell them that the body has been stolen. Peter and John race to the tomb, and Peter is the first to arrive. He discovers that the women had told the truth, Jesus’ body really was gone. When the chief priests are told what has happened, they bribe the guards and ask them to circulate the story that the body was stolen while the guards were sleeping.

After he is discovered to have been resurrected, Jesus begins appearing to his followers. He appears to Mary Magdalene early Sunday. She mistakes him for the gardener until he opens her eyes. That same day he appears to two men traveling to Emmaus; to Peter in Jerusalem, and again to 10 of the disciples (excluding Thomas) in the upper room late Sunday evening. One week later, he appears to all the remaining disciples (Judas is dead), including Thomas who has claimed that he will not believe it until he sees and feels Jesus for himself. Having seen and felt Jesus, Thomas, too, believes. Jesus appears to his disciples several more times. On on of these occasions, he delivers the Great Commission. Jesus also appears to a group of 500 of his followers on another occasion and even to his half-brother James (son of his mother and Joseph) who later becomes the leader of the Jerusalem church.

Forty days after the resurrection, Jesus appears to his disciples at the Mount of Olives. He eats a meal with them and gives them the command to stay in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit comes. Incidentally, this happens 50 days later on Pentecost. Thereafter, Jesus was taken up into the sky until he was hidden from their sight by a cloud. The followers of Christ stood looking up at Jesus getting smaller and smaller when an angel appeared next to them and told them that Jesus had been taken up into heaven. The disciples would remain in Jerusalem, as Jesus instructed until Pentecost, at which time the age of the church begins.

The final days of Jesus’ earthly life were, if anything, unexpected. They were unlike anything that anyone expected -- even those closest to him. Peter thought that they should fight off those who had come to arrest him. Jesus corrected him. Pilate thought that Jesus should defend himself, Jesus would not. Perhaps even Judas thought that his betrayal would force Christ to overthrow the Romans. That did not happen either. In the end, Jesus’ final days were as unexpected as all the other days of his life. His actions were not contingent upon the direction of public opinion, the ease of execution, or even his own personal well-being. Rather, Jesus’ last days were directed by the instruction of the Father, whose will Christ had come to do.

Conclusion

As was stated in the introduction, the events surrounding the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry were many and varied. It has become apparent, however, through this retelling of these events that Jesus final days tested the faith of his followers. That faith would not be restored and multiplied until the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Until then, Jesus’ disciples remain in hiding in Jerusalem. Afterwards, they are bold spokesmen for what comes to be known as “The Way.” In sum, the study of the events surrounding Jesus’ life is profitable and beneficial for understanding what comes afterwards in the New Testament. His many works and miracles all lead to the final sacrifice for sin at Calvary. His resurrection and ascension prove the power and goodness of God. These things are the foundation upon which the church is built in the coming years.

References

Atkins, B.P. (2000). Ascension Now: Implications of Christ's Ascension for Today's Church. Liturgical Press, 2000.

This book discusses the implications of the ascension of Jesus for the church today. It seeks to move beyond an insistence on a literal ascension of Christ. In fact, it leaves this questions largely unanswered. Instead, this book discusses the implications of the ascension of Christ to the worship, prayer, preaching, and practice of the church today.

Bowen, C.R. (1910). The Emmaus Disciples and the Purposes of Luke. The Biblical World. (35), 234-245.

This article argues that Luke’s purpose in describing the appearances of Christ after the resurrection is to make sure that people know that Christ appeared to more than just 3 women and the disciples. In particular, he argues that Luke fabricated the story of the men on the road to Emmaus to communicate the historically accurate idea that Jesus appeared to more than just the disciples.

Huffman, N. (1945). Emmaus among the Resurrection Narratives. Journal of Biblical Literature. (64), 205-226

This article is concerned with determining the order and preference of Christ in the appearances after his resurrection. Specifically, the author discusses where Christ appeared first and to whom.

Kaufmann K., Hirsch, E.G. (2008). Crucifixion. Jewish .

This article describes the practice of crucifixion as it was done by the Romans. It discusses the timing of the crucifixion including the day on which it happened and the debate surrounding that issue. It also argues that it was the Romans and not the Jews who were responsible for the crucifixion of Christ. This seems to be one of the major points of the article, not surprisingly.

Keener, Craig S. (1998). Mistrial of the Millennium.(Jesus Christ). Christian History. August, 38.

This article, contrary to the previous article, argues that Pilates actions were illegal and against Roman procedures for trying accused prisoners. The authors argue that Pilate acted illegally because of political expediency in an attempt to pacify the Jews. They unrest, he argues, would have been a major threat to Pilate’s authority. They argue that Pilate acted with the same motives in trying Jesus that the Pharisees acted with in arresting Jesus -- the motive to preserve their own power and authority.

Manek, J. (1958). The Apostle Paul and the Empty Tomb. Novum Testamentum. (2), 276-280.

This article discusses the theology of Paul as it relates specifically to the empty tomb. While the authors do not suggest that Paul did not believe in the resurrection, they argue, not convincingly, that Paul may not have believed in the empty tomb. They note that nowhere in all of his letters does the word “tomb” appear. They note that if it is the case that Paul did not believe in the empty tomb that he would certainly be very different from other New Testament personalities. Ultimately, they conclude that Paul must have believed in the empty tomb. This is so, they observe, because of the distinction that Paul makes between the physical body and the spiritual body.

Morton, S.E. (1928). The Ascension Story. Journal of Biblical Literature. (47), 60-73.

This article discusses the theological significance of the timing of the ascension. The author argues that some of the biblical writers considered the ascension as part of the resurrection story while others, Luke in particular, consider it another story altogether. The author compares the 40 days that pass between the resurrection and the ascension to the flood and to the fast of Jesus.

Overstreet, Larry R. (1978). Roman law and the trial of Christ. Bibliotheca sacra. 135(540), 323.

This article describes the events surrounding the trial of Jesus and argues that Pilate’s actions were not illegal in any way. That is, while his actions were morally reprehensible, they did not violate Roman law or procedure as they apply to the trial of those accused of treason, an accusation that was made against Jesus. It also describes the breadth and scope of Pilate’s legal authority.

Smith, D.A. (2003). Revisiting the Empty Tomb: The Post-Mortem Vindication of Jesus in Mark and Q. Novum Testamentum. (45), 123-137.

This article discusses the so called Q document upon which the synoptic gospel writers based their gospels. It discusses the account of Christ’s resurrection as a means of communicating the vindication of Christ by God. Treats the resurrection as a fiction used as a literary device to communicate some greater idea.

Zugibe, F.T. (1988). The Cross and the Shroud , A Medical Inquiry into the Crucifixion. New York, Paragon Press, 1988 pp 30-33.

This brief section in this book describes the procedure by which crucifixion was carried out. It discusses the skilled group men who were in charge of crucifying a criminal. The man in charge was known as the exactor mortis, while the other four men were aides. They were knows as the quaternio.

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