The Events During the Death of Jesus Christ John 19:25-30 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
The time frame we will be studying in this lesson is from the sixth hour to the ninth hour, or from noon until three o’clock in the afternoon. As with the previous recent lessons we will be looking at the other three Gospels to gather information that is not provided in the book of John. The passages we will begin with are Matthew 27:45, Mark 15:33, Luke 23:39.
Beginning in Luke we see that one of the malefactors on the cross was mocking Jesus (Luke 23:39), but in the next verse he is rebuked by the other malefactor for having no fear of the Lord (Job 28:28). The second thief had also been mocking Jesus but suddenly opened his eyes and realized that Jesus was the Son of God. He even tried to get the other thief to see it. Then the second thief addressed Jesus as Lord showing that he recognized the true identity of Jesus Christ (Luke 23:42). He also knew that Jesus would rise from the dead and enter into his kingdom [Rom 10:9-10]. We see in this verse the very first example of New Testament salvation (Rom 10:13).
Then Jesus tells the second thief, “To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.” While their bodies were laid in graves and their spirits went up to Heaven and back to God (Ecc 12:7) their souls went to Abraham’s bosom (Luke 16:19-31). The paradise that Jesus promised to the second thief was in Abraham’s bosom which was located in the lower parts of the Earth. But after he had been there three nights and three days, Jesus took all the inhabitants of Abraham’s bosom with Him to the Third Heaven (Eph 4:8, 2 Cor 12:1-5) where paradise is now. Previous to that the only people who had been taken to the Third Heaven were Enoch (Gen 5:24, Heb 11:5), Moses (Jude 1:9) and Elijah (2Ki 2:11).
In three of the Gospels we learn that at the sixth hour there was darkness over all the Earth until the ninth hour (Luke 23:44, Mark 15:33, Matt. 27:45). After the exchange with the thief on the cross and as the darkness came over the Earth, the three Mary’s are seen standing beside the cross according to John 19:25. In the other three Gospels we find that these three Mary’s were watching from afar off (Matt. 27:55, Mark 15:40, Luke 23:49). The three Mary’s are merely being noted at different places during the crucifixion since they moved during the course of the event.
The next thing to note is that Jesus cried out and quoted Psalm 22:1 (Matt. 27:46, Mark 15:34). Then after receiving vinegar with hyssop on a sponge (Matt. 27:48, Mark 15:36, John 19:29) Jesus declared, “It is finished” (John 19:30). Jesus is the Passover Lamb and the Passover Lamb was not sodden with water (Ex 12:9). So, they gave Him vinegar instead of water. After receiving the vinegar, Jesus said in a loud voice, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit” and then He gave up the ghost (Luke 23:46). What happened then is that His spirit went to the Father, His body went into the grave and His soul went into the heart of the Earth, or Abraham’s bosom and Hell (Acts 2:27, 2:31).
Now when Jesus gave up the ghost the veil of the temple was rent in twain from top to bottom (Matt. 27:51). This is very important because the veil was ripped by God Almighty. The timing is significant because the veil rips at the precise time that the priest sacrifices the Passover lamb. This was also the same moment that Jesus Christ commended His spirit into His Father’s hands. These events signify that there is no longer a need for us to approach God through a priest with the blood of a lamb. The blood of Jesus Christ is the only sufficient atonement for the sins of the whole world and we who have believed on Jesus Christ have become His priests (1Pet 2:9, Rev 5:9). Therefore, we have no need for a priest of any sort today. To go to someone and call him a priest or father in order to get absolution and forgiveness for sins is blasphemous. According to the Bible, to do so is worthless and vain (Matt. 23:9) since the Lord Jesus Christ has already taken care of such things and given us life everlasting.