THE ARREST, TRIALAND CRUCIFIXIONOF CHRISTA fter concluding the Passover, Jesus ChristM.and His disciples crossed over the Kidron

brook and on to the lower slopes of theMount of Olives. Here He would have the lastmoments of peace and privacy in prayer withHis Father.

Jesus knew how vital it was that He be closeto His Father before the traumatic events ofthe coming day. He wanted His Father's sup­port and inspiration to help Him with theterrible ordeal He faced.

STAYING CLOSE TO GOD

Whenever we are about to face difficult sit­uations, or find ourselves in trying circum­stances, it is important that we have a closerelationship with God. We should draw uponthe support, encouragement and guidance thatGod can give us at such times.

What does God promise to those who remainclose to Him?

"Let your conversation [conduct] be without_____; and be with suchthings as ye have: for he hath said, I will never____ thee, nor thee. So thatwe may boldly say, The Lord is my_____, and I will not what___ shall do unto me" (Hebrews 13:5-6).

It doesn't matter how great or how small thedifficulty may be, God is always available tohelp us with our needs and listen to our prayers

ABOUT OUR COVER . . .Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, sen­tenced Christ to scourging and crucifixion.

Illustration by Ken Tunell

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for help. Perhaps we face a difficult examina­tion at school or problems in our relationshipwith our family. Possibly the influence of ourpeers at school seems too much to cope with.Whatever the situation, God will hear us whenwe ask Him for help.

CHRIST PRAYS TO THE FATHER

After arriving at the Garden of Gethsemane,Christ told His disciples to wait while He wentto pray. Taking Peter, James and John withHim, He began to pour out His feelings tothem.

Remember, Christ was also a human being.He had led a perfect, sinless life having hadGod's Holy Spirit from birth, but He stillsuffered just as you and I do (Mark 14:33-34).

"Seeing then that we have a great high_____, that is passed into the heavens,

the Son of God, let usour profession. For we have not an

which cannot be_____ with the of our in-firmities; but was in points

like as we are, yet without__" (Hebrews 4:14-15).

Jesus Christ was tempted just as we are, butHe did not sin. This is why Christ understandsthe trials and problems we experience as hu­man beings. It is no wonder that Christ was"sore troubled" and "exceedingly sorrowful" asHe contemplated the events of His arrest, trialand crucifixion.

Christ knew the terrible death He faced. Heknew He would carry the sins of the world onHis shoulders. Christ knew He must pay the

youth Bible Lesson

JUDAS THE BETRAYER

Knowing that Jesus andHis disciples often came tothe Garden of Gethsemane,Judas Iscariot led a band of

soldiers there to arrest Him. With them wereofficers of the chief priests and Pharisees. Theycarried lanterns and torches and their weapons(John 18:2-3).

Judas, the betrayer, planned to identify Jesusto the soldiers with a kiss of greeting (Matthew26:48-49). As the soldiers approached, Christasked them who they were looking for. Theguards making the arrest then answered, "Je­sus of Nazareth." When Jesus replied to themen, the guards and officers of the priests andPharisees fell backward to the ground.

A second time they said they had come forJesus of Nazareth and moved forward to makethe arrest. At that moment, Peter drew hissword and struck a servant of the high priest,cutting off his ear. Christ sternly rebuked Peterby saying that violent men suffered violentdeaths. Jesus then healed the servant's ear(Matthew 26:51-52; Luke 22:48-51).

Jesus told Peter that if He had wanted toresist arrest, He could have called on thousandsof angels to come to His aid. Instead, Jesusknew that it was God's will that He go throughwith the arrest.

Suffering fromphysicalandnervous exhaustion, the

disciples againfell asleep.When Christreturned . . .they were embarrassed

andafraid ...

are

Level 8 I Lesson 11 3

The soldiers grabbed Christ and bound Himin ropes. Christ questioned their actions inmaking this arrest at night in a quiet, secludedplace. He asked them why they hadn't arrestedHim when He taught in the Temple or walkedthrough the streets.

At the moment of Christ's arrest, the faint­hearted disciples all fled. No one remained tosupport Him. One young man was so desperateto escape that when the soldiers grabbed hisclothing, he tore himself free and ran nakedfrom the garden. It is possible that this youngman was Mark, who later wrote of this incidentin the book of Mark (Mark 14:50-52).

The disciples had been with Christ for three

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and one-half years. They had seen many fantas­tic miracles. They had watched how Christreacted to many different situations. Theyheard Him teach with authority and explain thetrue meaning of the Scriptures-not twistingthe Scriptures to suit His own will as thePharisees did. Even Peter had told Christ thathe knew there was no other way to live exceptto follow His example (John 6:68).

But when they were tested, the disciples,without God's Spirit, were unable to hold totheir convictions. In spite of all that they knewto be true, they didn't have the character tostand for what they believed.

We can look to the end of these disciples'

Youth Bible Lesson

The view looking across the Kidron Valley inJerusalem. with the Garden of Gethsemane where

Christ was arrested in the foreground.

lives to see that they did develop that character.After they received God's Spirit on the day ofPentecost in A.D. 31, dramatic changes tookplace in their lives. They began to teach withpower and authority what Christ had told themto teach, the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.

AN ILLEGAL TRIAL

From the Garden of Gethsemane, Christ wastaken to the house of Annas, the father-in-lawof the high priest. Annas was an influentialman among the Jewish religious leaders. He

Level 8 I Lesson 11

had previously been high priest before beingdeposed by the Romans in A.D. 15. In A.D.18, Caiaphas became high priest, but Annasremained a respected religious leader amongthe Jews. Both Annas and Caiaphas were oftenregarded as high priests (Luke 3:2).

Annas was an older man and well versed inthe Jewish law. He was concerned about hisrole in the community if the message of theKingdom of God were to be believed by themultitudes.

Annas questioned Jesus about His teachingsand His disciples (John 18:19). Christ's replywas that He had never hidden anything, buthad preached openly in the synagogues and inthe Temple.

"Why then," Jesus asked, "didn't you ques­tion those who heard Me teach?"

Angered at Christ's reply, a guard struckChrist. This was the beginning of the physicalabuse that would eventually culminate inChrist's crucifixion. Jesus was then taken toCaiaphas ' house where He was to be tried .

Caiaphas quickly convened an investigativecouncil. The council members came from theinfluential people of Judea-priests, lawyers,Sadducees and Pharisees.

The council could make charges in civil andreligious matters in Judea. But under Romanrule, they could not deal with acts of treason ordisloyalty to Roman leadership.

Witnesses were bribed to appear and makefalse accusations against Christ. But none ofthe men making the charges agreed with eachother. Then two men came forward and falselyclaimed that Jesus had boasted of destroyingthe Temple and rebuilding it in three days. Buteven these two witnesses could not agree ontheir story. They were also twisting the mean­ing of what Christ had said (Mark 14:55-59).

Christ had been referring to the "temple" ofHis body (John 2:18-21). The Apostle Paulalso referred to the body of a converted Chris­tian as a temple.

Why is it called a temple?"Know ye not that ye are the of

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and tonot the

JESUS IS CONDEMNEDTO DEATH

Jesus Christ was subjected to false charges,insults and severe physical abuse. At dawn Hewas again before a council of religious leaders .He was again questioned as to whether He wasthe Christ, the Son of God.

What was Christ's reply?"If I tell you, ye will not : and if

I also ask you, ye will not answer me, nor__________. Hereafter shall the____ of on the _____ of the power of . Then said

Christ gave no defense tothe false accusations andlies directed at Him. To

have done so would have ~

been useless in this unjustcourt.

PETER DENIES CHRIST

During this time, Peter and another disciple,probably John, followed the arresting mob

____, and that the of God from a distance to Caiaphas' house. Becausedwelleth in you?" (I Corinthians 3:16.) John was known to someone in Caiaphas'

The only sign Christ gave to the disbelieving household, they were allowed into the court-Jews that He was the Messiah was that He yard (John 18:15-16).would be in the grave three days and three When they entered the gateway, a maidnights. He would be buried and His body, the questioned if Peter was one of Christ's disci-temple of God's Spirit, would be raised three pIes. Peter promptly denied that he knew any-days later . thing about Christ. He then walked to a brazier

Christ gave no defense to the false accusa- filled with hot coals where several officers oftions and lies directed at Him. To have done so the guard were warming themselves. As Peterwould have been useless in this unjust court stood warming his hands, he was again asked if(Mark 14:61). he was one of Christ's disciples. Again, he

Finally, Caiaphas asked Jesus if He was the denied any knowledge of Christ.Christ, the Son of God. Christ replied: "Thou Then one of the household servants of thehast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Here- high priest, a relative of the man whose earafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the Peter had cut off, was sure that he had seenright hand of power, and coming in the clouds Peter with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemaneof heaven" (Matthew 26:64). (John 18:26).

This was too much for the self-righteous What was Peter's reaction to this third accu-religious leaders. In a ceremonial display of sation?indignation, Caiaphas tore the hem of his gar- "Then began he toment, loudly accusing Christ of blasphemy- , saying, Iclaiming to be God. man" (Matthew 26:74) .

According to the law (Leviticus 24:16), a At that moment, a rooster crowed, signaling"blasphemer" was to be stoned to death. In the dawn of a new day. Then Christ turned andtheir hatred against Christ, these men may now looked at Peter. Suddenly, Peter rememberedhave felt justified in their r--:= = = = = = = = = = = =--, that Christ had told himpredetermined decision to that he would deny Himkill Him . three times.

These highly regarded reli- Filled with grief, Petergious leaders now began to went out and wept bitterlytakeout their spite and hatred (Matthew 26:75).on Christ. They struck Himwith their hands and spit inHis face.

As they struck Him, they began to tauntHim and call on Him to prophesy. They cov­ered His face with a hood or blindfold andmocked Him to identify those who struck Him.This violent, cowardly treatment of Jesuscontinued through the early hours of the morn­ing.

6 Youth Bible Lesson

Pilate was continuallytrying to keep the Roman

emperor happy, andatthe same time, rule a nation

ofpeople he hated andmisunderstood.

5. We should always seek to understandGod's _

6. Christ prayed while in the Garden of

Do You Remember?

1. Why is it important for us to have a closerelationship with God? _

JESUS BROUGHTBEFORE PILATE

Christ was next taken be­fore the procurator, Pontius

Pilate. Pilate was the Roman governor ofJudea. He had been appointed to the office inA.D. 26 possessing military and financial pow­ers. He appointed the high priest and con­trolled the Temple funds. The Roman historianPhilo describes Pilate as a harsh and spitefulman (Matthew 27:2).

Pilate was continually trying to keep theRoman emperor happy, and at the same timerule a nation of people he hated and misunder­stood. He particularly hated the self-righteous,vindictive religious leaders of the Jews, andthey had the same feelings toward him.

Christ was taken to Pilate's palace. Standingoutside, as they feared becoming defiled by en­tering a Gentile's house, the Jews accused Jesusof many things. They wanted Christ tried andexecuted by the Roman authorities. To make thispossible, they used other false charges. Thesethings helped fulfill Christ's prophecy of how Hewould be killed-by Roman crucifixion, notstoning (Luke 23:1; John 18:28-29).

"And they began to accuse him, saying, Wefound this fellow the nation, andforbidding to give to

rest that day until Christ was dead. He furtherrealized that it was his actions that resulted inChrist's arrest.

Judas returned the pieces of silver, his pricefor betraying Christ, to the chief priests. Theyrefused it, self-righteously declaring it taintedwith blood (Matthew 27:3-10).

After throwing the money down in the Tem­ple, Judas ran out and hastily made a noose outof old rope, tied it to a tree and placed itaround his neck. Unable to bear the guilt,Judas leaped out and ended his life. As Judas

hung from the tree, the ropebroke and his body fell tothe ground, bursting hisstomach (Acts 1:18-19).

betrayed

of the high

7. _

Christ.8. Which disciple cut off the ear of the high

priest's servant? _9. What did the disciples do when Christ was

arrested? _

4. Should we be angry atGod if He does not an-swer our prayers exactly as we asked?Why? _

2. God has promised usthat He would never_____ us.

3. What did the disciplesdo while Jesus prayed?

THE BETRAYER'S END

When Judas Iscariot, who was standing onthe fringes of the crowd, heard the condemna­tion of Christ, he understood its meaning. Heunderstood that the religious leaders would not

10. Who was the high priest? _11. Who was the father-in-law

priest? _12. Peter denied Christ times.

they all, Art thou then the Son of God? Andhe said unto them, Ye that ____" (Luke 22:67-70).

As far as the members of the council wereconcerned, Jesus was now condemned by Hisown words.

Level 8 I Lesson 11 7

saying that he himself is Christ a "(Luke 23:2).

They implied that Christ was plottingagainst Caesar. This was treason, a crime byRoman law and punishable by death.

Pilate would have known about Christ, whohad received much attention in Jerusalem be­cause of His miracles and teachings. But seeingno harm in Christ's teachings, he told theJewish leaders to try Christ and judge Himaccording to their law (John 18:31).

Realizing that their purpose was beginningto be thwarted, they loudly proclaimed thatthey could not pronounce the death sentencefor treason, saying that it was Pilate's responsi­bility. Pilate did not want them accusing himto Caesar of allowing sedition in Judea. So hereluctantly agreed to question Christ.

Pilate asked Christ if He claimed to be theking of the Jews. "Is that what you think or didsomeone tell you about Me?" Christ askedhim. Pilate quickly assured Christ that it wasthe Jew's accusation (John 18:33-35).

Christ then explained that He was indeed aking and was born for that purpose. But, Hiskingdom was not of this world (age). There­fore, His followers did not fight. Christ's pur­pose in being born was to bring the knowledgeof the truth to those whom God would call.Cynically, Pilate asked, "What is truth?"(John 18:38.)

The Bible answers this question for us. "Thy____ is truth" (John 17:17).

Satisfied that Christ presented no threat toRoman rule, Pilate told the Jewish religiousleaders that he considered Christ innocent.

But the religious leaders continued their ac­cusations against Christ. Pilate was astonishedthat Christ remained silent, not answering theiraccusations as most people would have done(Matthew 27:13-14).

The priests and elders then turned their ac­cusations to Pilate, again claiming Christ wasguilty of treason. "He's preached sedition fromGalilee to Judea," they shouted.

Hearing that Jesus was from Galilee gave

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Pilate the idea of sending Him to Herod.Herod Antipas was the tetrarch and ruler overthe area of Galilee.

Herod, who happened to be in Jerusalem atthis time, was delighted to see Jesus. But notfor any good reason. Having heard aboutChrist's miracles, he was hopeful that Jesuswould perform one for him. He questionedChrist in detail, while the chief priests andscribes stood by vehemently accusing Him. But

Simon of Cyrene was required to carry the hugewooden stake to the site of Christ's crucifixion.

Youth Bible lesson

Pilate told them that hefound no fault that madeJesus deserve crucifixion.The Jewish leaders werebeside themselves with

hatred and fury.

Christ did not dignify their accusations byanswering them.

Angry at Christ's silence to his questions andnot seeing a miracle, Herod and his soldiersmocked Him. They dressed Christ in a royalrobe and then sent Him back to Pilate (Luke23:6-12) .

BARABBAS IS RELEASEDAs a gesture of "generosity" toward the

Jewish people, it was Pilate's custom during thePassover season to release a prisoner of theirchoice. Hoping to be rid ofChrist, he offered them thechoice of Barabbas, a con­victed terrorist and mur­derer, or Jesus Christ.

The Jewish leaders per­suaded the crowd to demandthe release of Barabbas.When Pilate appeared on thebalcony to ask which prisoner they wanted re­leased, the angry mob, led by the hateful scribesand Pharisees, began to shout for Barabbas.

Pilate told them that he could find no faultthat made Jesus deserve crucifixion. By thistime the Jewish leaders were beside themselveswith hatred and fury.

What did they say to Pilate?"If thou this go, thou art not

____ friend: whosoever maketh himselfa speaketh against "(John 19:12).

Pilate realized that it was Christ's life or hisloss of credibility with Caesar and possibledeath . Taking Christ down to the Roman judg­ment hall, he presented Christ to the religiousleaders as the king of the Jews.

"We have no king but Caesar," they shoutedto Pilate (John 19:15).

Pilate then ceremoniously washed his hands,symbolizing that he did not consider himselfresponsible for Christ's death . He releasedBarabbas and formally sentenced Christ to thewill of the religious leaders. Christ was thentaken to be scourged before being crucified

Level 8 / Lesson 11

(Matthew 27:23-26; Luke 23:24).

THE ROMAN SCOURGINGA Roman scourging was a terrible punish­

ment which many never survived . The personwas tied to a pillar or post and then lashed bya trained soldier. The whips were made ofthongs of leather fastened to a handle. Therewere usually three thongs in each scourgeimbedded with bits of metal and bone. Christwas beaten so badly during this scourging, Hewas barely recognizable.

What does Isaiah sayabout Christ's beaten body?

"As many were astonied[astonished] at thee; his

was so____ more than_______, and hisform more than the _of men" (Isaiah 52:14).

This beating was a vital part in God's plan.Christ's shed blood and His broken body pic­ture a complete and total sacrifice for sin.

At the Passover service today , Christ's sacri­fice is remembered through the symbols Christestablished. A small glass of wine representsChrist's shed blood and a piece of unleavenedbread represents His broken body. True Chris­tians show appreciation that Christ's blood al­lows forgiveness of sin. But also, the brokenbread shows our willingness to allow Christ tolive His life in us.

Another deep meaning of Jesus' sacrifice andsuffering is that with His we are____ (Isaiah 53:5 and I Peter 2:24) .

After the terrible scourging, the Roman sol­diers draped a robe around Christ's batteredand bleeding body. Then they took a wreath ofthorns and jammed it down onto Christ's head,causing excruciating pain as the blood randown His face.

Then spitting on Him, mocking Him andbeating His head with a reed, they bowed downbefore Him, saluting Him as the king of theJews (Matthew 27:27-30).

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CHRIST IS CRUCIFIED

After their humiliating treatment of Christ,the soldiers led Him away to be crucified. Hewas so weak from the brutal scourging, theyhad to force a man named Simon of Cyrene tocarry the huge wooden stake to the site of thecrucifixion (Luke 23:26).

A large crowd of people followed the proces­sion outside the city.

Some women who saw Jesus began weeping.When Christ saw them crying, He turned andtold them not to weep for Him, but for them­selves as the destruction of Jerusalem wouldsoon be upon them. It was about 40 years laterthat Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans(Luke 23:27-31).

Finally, the group of soldiers with Christreached a small rocky outcropping called Gol­gotha, outside the wall of the city. Golgotha is

10

a word that means "place of the skull"(Matthew 27:33).

There they stripped Him of His robe andproceeded with the final part of Christ's death.They stretched Him out on the stake andpounded crude iron nails into His hands andfeet, fixing Him to the wooden stake. Nailed tothe stake over Christ's head was an inscriptionin three languages-Hebrew, Greek andLatin-that read, "This is Jesus of Nazareth,the king of the Jews." This was Pilate's finalspiteful act to the Jewish religious leaders(John 19:19-20).

Jesus hung in agony on the stake while thechief priests and Pharisees came to mock andinsult Him. They challenged Him to save Him­self from the cross if He could. They did notrealize that Jesus could have called upon thou­sands of angels to come to His rescue. ButChrist knew He had to go through with this

Youth Bible Lesson

terrible ordeal to make it possible for God toenlarge His Family (Matthew 27:39-43).

Crucified on either side of Him were twothieves. One scorned Him and accused Him.The other knew that they both deserved theirpunishment, but Christ was innocent. The thiefthen asked Christ to remember him when Hereturned to His kingdom. Christ's reply wasthat later, after the resurrection of all the dead,the thief would indeed see Christ in His King­dom (Luke 23:39-43).

Among the mourners around the cross wereChrist's mother Mary, and one of His disciples,John. Thinking of others, even in this time ofpain and agony, Christ commanded John tolook after His mother from that time forward(John 19:27).

About midday, an unnatural darkness cameover the land of Judea. It lasted for about threehours. After this, Christ knew even His Fatherhad turned His back on Him as He carried theworld's sins on His shoulders. With aheartrending cry, Christ called out to His Fa­ther.

"My , my , why hast thou_____ me?" (Matthew 27:46.)

Shortly after this, a soldier took his spearand rammed it into Christ's side. As the waterand blood gushed out, Christ's last words toHis Father asked for the forgiveness of thosewho had killed Him. Then He died.

At the moment of Christ's death, miraculousevents happened. An earthquake shook throughthe area of Judea. Many tombs were openedand people were resurrected from the dead.Also the veil separating the Holy of Holiesfrom the rest of the Temple was ripped fromtop to bottom, showing that man now hadaccess to the Father (Matthew 27:51-54).

As the first Day of Unleavened Bread wasapproaching, the Jews wanted the bodies re­moved from the stakes. Soldiers came to breakthe legs of those crucified. This would speed uptheir deaths as they would no longer be able tosupport the weight of their bodies to breathe(John 19:31-32).

Level 8 / Lesson 11

The soldiers broke both the thieves' legs, butupon seeing Christ was dead, they left Himalone. This fulfilled the prophecy that not abone in Christ's body would be broken (Psalm34:20).

Christ's sacrifice made it now possible forour sins to be forgiven, when we repent ofthem. We also now have direct access to Godthe Father.

Christ died so that we may have life inabundance in God's Family. And as we willlearn in our next lesson, Christ was resurrectedand now sits at the right hand of God theFather. We will also learn about the beginningof His Church.

Do You Remember?

1. What did Judas do after realizing thatChrist would be killed? _

2. Who was the Roman procurator or gover-nor over Judea? __

3. What did the Jews falsely accuse Jesus ofdoing before Pilate? _

4. What is truth? __

5. Who was the tetrarch and ruler ofGalilee? _

6. Who was the prisoner that Pilate wantedto release? _

7. What is the importance of the beatingthat Christ suffered? _

8. What did the sign say that was nailed tothe stake above Christ's head? _

9. How long did Christ say that He wouldbe in the grave? __

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