“Whoever endures will be proven to be on God's side.”
That was what his friend Simon, who had left the Zealot party, had said. But in the end, those words led no one to victory. Even Jesus, now walking ahead of him, carrying his own cross, was facing the same fate as the man. As the man followed behind, watching Jesus’s bloodied back, he could not help but reflect on Simon’s words.
Simon had been absolutely convinced that Jesus could become king, and the dream he so desperately pursued—even leaving the Zealots for it—was shattered here. If only Jesus had joined the Zealots in resisting Rome, he would not have ended up like this. Imagine what could have been achieved if the Zealots’ military might, Jesus’s abilities, and the people’s support had been united.
No matter how many sick Jesus healed, how many demons he cast out, or how many miracles he performed by the power given by God, what meaning did any of it have if, in the end, he was crucified? Look at him now. How miserable he looked! His body, torn and bleeding from the lashes, left a long trail of blood as he staggered forward, barely able to bear the weight of the cross. At this rate, he would collapse before reaching the top. How pathetic! The one who called himself Lord could not even carry his own cross.
As the man had expected, Jesus collapsed after only a short distance carrying his cross toward Golgotha. The soldiers seized a man from the crowd and forced him to carry the cross behind Jesus. Watching this, anger welled up inside him. There was a time when he had placed a measure of hope in Jesus—no, to be honest, he had even found himself hoping for more, against his better judgment. That was why the sight of Jesus now, so utterly defeated, stirred not just disappointment but real anger within him. To his eyes, even the man carrying the cross for Jesus, those encouraging him, and the crowds following and beating their chests in mourning—all of them seemed nothing but irritating.
Those who have the power to resist Rome yet remain passive—if Jesus is so precious to them, if his death is so tragic, why don’t they rise up and fight? This is why this nation fails. The Sadducees who cooperate with Rome, the Pharisees who talk of coexistence, and the weak people—they are all the same. It is not Rome, but these people, who prevent the fulfillment of God’s promise of a theocratic nation.
Just as these thoughts consumed him, a clear voice rang out from ahead. It was the same voice that once said on the mountain east of the Sea of Galilee, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
“Daughters of Jerusalem, don’t weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming in which they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.’ Then they will begin to tell the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ and tell the hills, ‘Cover us.’ For if they do these things in the green tree, what will be done in the dry?”
* * *
At Golgotha, the “Place of the Skull,” the loud sound of a hammer echoed through the air.
The harsh screech of metal against metal cut through the silence.
Bang!
With the first sound, bright red blood splattered everywhere.
Bang!
With the second, a raw groan burst from tightly clenched lips.
Large iron nails were driven into the hands and feet of the condemned. This cursed instrument, which had claimed countless lives before, pierced through the flesh of three men, grazed their bones, and embedded into the wood. After several hammer blows, when the nail finally appeared on the other side, drops of blood fell one by one onto the dry ground. The cries of the crowd swelled, their anguish echoing across the hill. Thus, three crosses were raised atop the hill.
Crucifixion had been used for nearly a thousand years by many nations. As a public warning, it was most often used for slaves or rebels. The crosses were set up along main roads so as many as possible would see them. When Rome crushed the rebellion of Spartacus, six thousand crosses lined the road from Capua to Rome. Alexander the Great, after conquering Tyre, erected two thousand crosses along the Mediterranean coast.
The Jews were not exempt. Although hanging on a tree was a curse in Jewish tradition, Alexander Jannaeus, king and high priest of the Hasmonean dynasty, used crucifixion to suppress his people. He brought eight hundred rebels to Jerusalem and, while feasting, had them crucified. Before their deaths, he ordered their families’ tongues cut out and shown to them. Whether Jew or Roman, the reasons for such cruelty were the same, differing only in details.
The three crosses this day embodied the intentions of both Jewish and Roman authorities. Jesus, crucified in the center, was meant to show what happens to those who challenge the Jewish leaders. The two criminals on either side were meant to show what happens to those who rebel against Rome.
The man nailed to the cross, condemned as an enemy of the powers of this world, struggled to remain conscious. Before the nails were driven in, he had drunk wine mixed with gall and myrrh, dulling the pain a little, but still he felt he might faint. As someone who had risen up against earthly authorities, he knew that fainting from the pain would make his crucifixion meaningless. He had no choice but to endure.
Turning his head, he looked at the center cross. There was Jesus, who had tasted but refused the wine offered to the criminals, enduring his pain fully. Despite his body convulsing in agony, Jesus clenched his teeth and persevered. Seeing this, the man’s anger flared again.
Why did Jesus stubbornly endure such needless suffering? Whether or not he was the Messiah, if he had used his power wisely, he would not have ended up like this. He could have become king without needing the Zealots’ military. Rome’s direct rule over Judea and Samaria was not because Rome wanted it, but because the leaders, unable to tolerate Archelaus’s tyranny, had petitioned for it. Had there been a suitable king, they would have gladly handed over power. If Jesus had only proven his power to Rome, becoming king would not have been impossible. As a pacifist, he posed no threat of rebellion, and he had created harmony between social classes—Rome might have welcomed him. As if to prove such a possibility, Pilate even placed a sign on Jesus’s cross in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin: “Jesus of Nazareth, The King of the Jews.” The Jewish leaders objected, saying, “Don’t write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but, ‘he said, I am King of the Jews.’” But Pilate said, “What I have written, I have written.” Yet Jesus was crucified, rejecting all those possibilities, because of his uncompromising attitude.
As the man sighed deeply, suddenly a prayer escaped Jesus’s lips amid his pain.
“Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”
This voice caused not only the man but also the crowd, the high priests and their followers, and even the soldiers casting lots for Jesus’s clothes to pause for a moment.
* * *
The time from Pilate’s trial to the crucifixion was no more than three hours. Normally, even for someone like Barabbas, it would take much longer before execution, but this time everything happened in an instant—a series of extraordinary events. Because of this, people who heard the news but could not believe it rushed to the scene, mourned, and left. Those who disliked or doubted Jesus came later, after finishing their tasks. Among them were priests who had completed the morning sacrifice and prayer, and people preparing for the Passover lambs. These people, claiming to serve God’s commandments, revealed their true nature in their words:
“Ha! You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross!”
“He saved others. He can’t save himself. He is the King of Israel! Let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him.”
“He trusts in God. Let God deliver him now, if he wants him; for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”
“He saved others. Let him save himself, if this is the Christ of God, his chosen one!”
The two men crucified with him also hurled insults, and the soldiers mocked him, offering him vinegar:
“If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!”
It was a relentless barrage of accusations. Yet Jesus, as on the day he walked calmly on the stormy Sea of Galilee, endured this suffering in silence, waiting for someone like Peter to prove their faith.
As the man watched Jesus, he remembered the words of the man who had carried the cross for Jesus. Those words made him question whether his own mocking was truly justified.
That man had said, while carrying the cross:
“I don’t know who you are, but seeing you reminds me of a grain merchant in Alexandria I was once good friends with. He was a devout Jew, but because he got along well with Gentiles, he was often criticized by his fellow Jews. Still, he ignored all the criticism and went about his work. He would help anyone in need, regardless of their nationality or religion. I first met him when I needed help, but it was his humble nature that made us friends. Eventually, whenever he came to Cyrene, he would stay at my house. One day, I asked him why he lived that way, and he told me about a couple and a baby Messiah he had met. That encounter opened his eyes, and he wanted to live a life that wouldn’t be shameful if he ever met the grown Messiah again. Sadly, he died in a storm at sea a few years ago, but I still remember his words and actions. Thanks to him, I also began to help those around me. Although I was forced to carry this cross, seeing these people weep for you, I realize you are not a sinner. So don’t be sad. Just as I was changed by the person I once knew, so too can these people be changed through you.”
It was unclear what Jesus replied, but it was evident that he was pleased. A life that changes people—no one had as much influence as Jesus. Even Simon, once loyal to the Zealots, changed after meeting him. Many others did as well. People change when they meet him. Then, is he truly the Christ? There is a prophecy in the scriptures:
“Behold, my servant, whom I uphold; my chosen, in whom my soul delights—I have put my Spirit on him. He will bring justice to the nations. He will not shout, nor raise his voice, nor cause it to be heard in the street. He won’t break a bruised reed. He won’t quench a dimly burning wick. He will faithfully bring justice. He will not fail nor be discouraged, until he has set justice in the earth, and the islands will wait for his law.”
The one who lived like this prophecy was Jesus. As the prophecy says, “He won’t break a bruised reed. He won’t quench a dimly burning wick,” he healed the poor and sick, and revived the dying. He did not discriminate based on status and brought justice to all nations. People from distant lands came to hear his teachings, just as it was written: “The islands will wait for his law.” And those who came to him changed. Was he not the one who fulfilled this prophecy? Yet if that was true, how could his present suffering be explained?
“The Lord Yahweh has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with words him who is weary. He wakens morning by morning, he wakens my ear to hear as those who are taught. The Lord Yahweh has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away backward. I gave my back to those who beat me, and my cheeks to those who plucked off the hair. I didn’t hide my face from shame and spitting. For the Lord Yahweh will help me; therefore I have not been confounded. Therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be disappointed. He who justifies me is near. Who will bring charges against me? Let us stand up together. Who is my adversary? Let him come near to me. Behold, the Lord Yahweh will help me; who is he who shall condemn me? Behold, they shall all wax old as a garment; the moth shall eat them up. Who is among you who fears Yahweh, who obeys the voice of his servant? He who walks in darkness, and has no light, let him trust in Yahweh’s name, and rely on his God. Behold, all you who kindle a fire, who adorn yourselves with torches around yourselves; walk in the flame of your fire, and among the brands that you have kindled. You shall have this from my hand: you shall lie down in sorrow.”
He bore every shame and did not let his heart be troubled by the insults of others, just as the prophecy said. Just as the prophecy speaks before the court of God, “Let us stand up together,” he remained dignified, undaunted by any mockery. If he truly was the one justified by God, then such unwavering composure was only natural.
As the man on the cross compared Jesus’s life with the prophecies and marveled, the other criminal on the opposite side shouted insults.
“If you are the Christ, save yourself and us!”
The man realized his own words had been similar earlier, and suddenly, his mind cleared. Another passage from Isaiah came to mind:
“Behold, my servant will deal wisely. He will be exalted and lifted up, and will be very high. Just as many were astonished at you—his appearance was marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men—so he will sprinkle many nations. Kings will shut their mouths at him; for they will see that which had not been told them, and they will understand that which they had not heard.”
Yes, regardless of his current appearance, he is the one from the prophecy.
The man shouted, rebuking the other criminal on the opposite side:
“Don’t you even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.”
The other criminal, embarrassed by the unexpected words, fell silent. The man looked at Jesus and, with a trembling voice, continued:
“Lord, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”
Like Peter, who asked to walk on water in the midst of the storm, he confessed his true faith in the face of death. He proved his faith without any law or deeds; all that was required for salvation was repentance and faith.
Jesus turned to him and, despite his pain, smiled slightly. His gentle voice came forth:
“Assuredly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
The man, relying on Jesus in his final moments, found salvation.
* * *
From noon, darkness spread over the whole land. The sky, filled with clouds, showed not a single ray of light, and the ominous darkness continued, reminiscent of the night before the Israelites left Egypt. It was a time of suffering reserved for those who had not received the true Lamb’s blood, like the houses that were not saved because they had no blood on their doorposts. This was a hardship that could not be overcome without faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God crucified on the cross. Without understanding this, the priests preparing for the afternoon sacrifice, and the people preparing for the Passover lamb and meal, could never attain true salvation.
Yet there were also those closest to salvation at that moment: the women who had not fled, even though most of the disciples had deserted. They watched from a distance due to the Roman guards, but approached when briefly allowed, weeping. Jesus used this opportunity to entrust his mother Mary to the disciple John, and prepared for his final moments, exchanging glances with the other women who had come to mourn. Soon, the visitation ended, and Mary, John, and the other women returned to watch from a distance.
Three hours passed. At three o’clock in the afternoon, Jesus cried out loudly from the cross:
“Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?”
This means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
As these words show, Jesus was forsaken as he bore the sins of all humanity on the cross, just as the scapegoat Azazel was sent into the wilderness with the sins of Israel. As Deuteronomy says, “He who is hanged is accursed of God,” Jesus bore the people’s sins and took upon himself that curse. This was one of the many missions entrusted to Jesus—distinct from his role as the sinless Passover Lamb. It was to fulfill the prophecy of the Psalms:
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning? My God, I cry in the daytime, but you don’t answer; in the night season, and am not silent. But you are holy, you who inhabit the praises of Israel. Our fathers trusted in you. They trusted, and you delivered them. They cried to you, and were delivered. They trusted in you, and were not disappointed. But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised by the people. All those who see me mock me. They insult me with their lips. They shake their heads, saying, ‘He trusts in Yahweh; let him deliver him. Let him rescue him, since he delights in him.’
But you brought me out of the womb. You made me trust while at my mother’s breasts. I was thrown on you from my mother’s womb. You are my God since my mother bore me. Don’t be far from me, for trouble is near. For there is no one to help. Many bulls have surrounded me. Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me. They open their mouths wide against me, lions tearing prey and roaring. I am poured out like water. All my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax. It is melted within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You have brought me into the dust of death. For dogs have surrounded me. A company of evildoers have enclosed me. They have pierced my hands and feet. I can count all of my bones. They look and stare at me. They divide my garments among them. They cast lots for my clothing.
But don’t be far off, Yahweh. You are my help. Hurry to help me! Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dog. Save me from the lion’s mouth! Yes, you have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen.”
Jesus cried out to fulfill this prophecy, but no one understood its meaning.
“Behold, he is calling Elijah,” they said, mocking his cry of pain.
Jesus knew through their response that all his missions were accomplished. To fulfill the final scripture, he said:
“I am thirsty.”
Someone ran, filled a sponge with vinegar, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it to Jesus’s lips, saying,
“Let him be. Let’s see whether Elijah comes to save him or take him down.”
They continued to mock and insult Jesus until the end. All that awaited them was God’s fiery wrath, as prophesied in the Psalms:
“Answer me, Yahweh, for your loving kindness is good. According to the multitude of your tender mercies, turn to me. Don’t hide your face from your servant, for I am in distress. Answer me speedily! Draw near to my soul and redeem it. Ransom me because of my enemies. You know my reproach, my shame, and my dishonor. My adversaries are all before you. Reproach has broken my heart, and I am full of heaviness. I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; for comforters, but I found none. They also gave me gall for my food. In my thirst, they gave me vinegar to drink. Let their table before them become a snare. May it become a retribution and a trap. Let their eyes be darkened, so that they can’t see. Make their backs continually to stumble. Pour out your indignation on them. Let the fierceness of your anger overtake them. Let their habitation be desolate. Let no one dwell in their tents.
For they persecute him whom you have wounded. They tell of the sorrow of those whom you have hurt. Charge them with crime upon crime. Don’t let them come into your righteousness. Let them be blotted out of the book of life, and not be written with the righteous. But I am in pain and distress. Let your salvation, God, protect me. I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. It will please Yahweh better than an ox, or a bull that has horns and hoofs. The humble have seen it, and are glad. You who seek after God, let your heart live. For Yahweh hears the needy, and doesn’t despise his captive people. Let heaven and earth praise him; the seas, and everything that moves therein! For God will save Zion, and build the cities of Judah. They shall settle there, and own it. The children also of his servants shall inherit it. Those who love his name shall dwell therein.”
It was a terrifying prophecy: they would not receive pardon for their sins and would be blotted out of the book of life. However, this was connected to Jeremiah’s prophecy and was part of God’s plan to replace the covenant given through Moses with a new covenant.
“‘Behold, the days come,’ says Yahweh, ‘that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and with the seed of animal. It will happen that like as I have watched over them to pluck up and to break down and to overthrow and to destroy and to afflict, so will I watch over them to build and to plant,’ says Yahweh. ‘In those days they will say no more, 'The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.' But everyone will die for his own iniquity. Every man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth will be set on edge.’
‘Behold, the days come,’ says Yahweh, ‘that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which covenant of mine they broke, although I was a husband to them,’ says Yahweh. ‘But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days,’ says Yahweh: ‘I will put my law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. They will teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know Yahweh;’ for they will all know me, from their least to their greatest,’ says Yahweh: ‘for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no more.’”
Just as it is written, “Every man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth will be set on edge,” this means that each person would die for his own sins. This signified that the old covenant—salvation through the law, passed down by bloodline—would no longer be the way of salvation. Therefore, those who claimed that any Jew who strictly observed the law would naturally be saved, or that even Gentiles must convert to Judaism to be saved, were actually contradicting the word of God. Such people became the seed of beasts, destined to be blotted out from the book of life and excluded from the covenant. Through the prophecies in the Psalms and Jeremiah, God was declaring these truths. But does this mean that all those who mocked Jesus must be judged and perish for the prophecy to be truly fulfilled?
Jesus’ words from the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing,” and God’s promise, “I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no more,” still remained for them. This was also connected to the final message of the Psalm in which Jesus cried out, “Why have you forsaken me?”
“I will declare your name to my brothers. Among the assembly, I will praise you. You who fear Yahweh, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, glorify him! Stand in awe of him, all you descendants of Israel! For he has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, nor has he hidden his face from him; but when he cried to him, he heard. My praise of you comes in the great assembly. I will pay my vows before those who fear him. The humble shall eat and be satisfied. They shall praise Yahweh who seek after him. Let your hearts live forever. All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to Yahweh. All the relatives of the nations shall worship before you. For the kingdom is Yahweh’s. He is the ruler over the nations. All the rich ones of the earth shall eat and worship. All those who go down to the dust shall bow before him, even he who can’t keep his soul alive. Posterity shall serve him. Future generations shall be told about the Lord. They shall come and shall declare his righteousness to a people that shall be born, for he has done it.”
Everyone who seeks the Lord will praise him, and even those living at the ends of the earth will turn their hearts back to the Lord. This was the true promise of salvation that followed all the curses. Even those who now mock and kill Jesus, playing the role of the wicked “seed of beasts,” can, when the morning of resurrection dawns, be forgiven and saved through faith in Jesus and genuine repentance. This was the new covenant God sought to establish by allowing his Son, Jesus, to be crucified.
Therefore, Jesus accepted the vinegar and declared:
“It is finished.”
With this, Jesus fully accomplished all the missions entrusted to him by the Father. Looking up to heaven, he smiled briefly and then, with all his strength, cried out loudly:
“Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”
Thus, Jesus breathed his last on the cross.
The passages from Deuteronomy 21:23, Psalm 22:1-31, 69:16-36, Isaiah 42:1-4, 50:4-11, 52:13-15, Jeremiah 31:27-34, Matthew 5:4, 27:40-49, Mark 15:29-36, Luke 23:28-46, John 19:21-2, 28-30 quoted in this narrative are taken directly from the World English Bible (WEB) translation. Of the parallel passages, I have combined them into a single version that includes all the content.
Listen to the audiobook now.
