MEMORY VERSE: ‘And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me. This He said signifying what death He should die.’ John 12:32-33.
LESSON AIM: To consider a cross-section of the people who were present on Calvary’s hill that day.
“Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.” As Christ’s mother stood by the cross upon which He hung, she realised the truth of the words spoken by Simeon “A sword shall pierce through thine own soul also.”’ Review & Herald, December 28, 1897.
1. At the crucifixion what was the attitude of the soldiers standing by? Luke 23:36.
NOTE: ‘Wonder, O heavens! and be astonished, O earth! Behold the oppressor and the Oppressed. A maddened throng enclose the Saviour of the world. Mocking and jeering are mingled with the coarse oaths of blasphemy. His lowly birth and humble life are commented upon by the unfeeling mob. His claim to be the Son of God is ridiculed, and the vulgar jest and insulting sneer are passed from lip to lip. Satan led the cruel mob in its abuse of the Saviour.’ Desire of Ages, page 734.
2. As they looked at the superscription written above Jesus on the cross, how did their mockery continue? Luke 23:37-38.
NOTE: ‘Behold the Saviour betrayed, mocked, derided in the judgement hall. Who was this? The Prince of Life, the holy and beloved of God. Faint and weary after His long, agonising struggle in the garden of Gethsemane, He was dragged from one tribunal to another, testified against by false witnesses, given up to the malice of the Jews by Pilate, who pronounced Him blameless, scourged with cruel whips, spat upon, mocked at, fainting under the burden of the cross, and then lifted upon the cross, reproached in His dying agonies, the rude soldiers quarrelling over His few garments, the reward for their part in the shameful work, priests and rulers in triumph wagging their heads and taunting Him, “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He be the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now, if He will have Him.” How could heaven keep silent?’ Review & Herald, September 1, 1891.
‘Christ’s enemies had demanded a miracle as evidence of His divinity. They had evidence far greater than any they had sought. As their cruelty degraded His torturers below humanity into the likeness of Satan, so did His meekness and patience exalt Jesus above humanity, and prove His kinship to God.’ Desire of Ages, page 734.