Death of Jesus
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The death of Jesus is an event described by the New Testament, as occurring after the Passion of Jesus, as a result of his crucifixion. In Christianity the quasi-annual day of commemoration of the event is a highly important feast day, known as Good Friday.
In the accounts, as Jesus is dying, a darkness appears over the land. The Gospel of Mark states it was at the sixth hour (noon). Some have interpreted the darkness as a solar eclipse, but this is astronomically impossible, since Jesus is described as dying around the time of the Passover, a date on the Hebrew calendar fixed to a full moon, while solar eclipses can only occur at a new moon. It is clearly phrased for dramatic effect, but it could simply mean that the day was overcast.
Both Matthew and Mark state that Jesus cried out his last words - My God, My God, why have you forsaken me, Mark indicating that it was the ninth hour (3 PM). John states that Jesus just said I thirst. A passer is described by both the synoptics and John as then wetting a sponge with vinegar and offering it to Jesus via a stick, but the crowd are described as saying that they should wait to see if Elijah will come to save Jesus. John states that Jesus drank what was offered. Elijah fails to arrive, and shortly after the sponge is offered, Jesus [gives] up the ghost, crying out wordlessly (according to Matthew and Mark), or crying his last words according to Luke and John, and dying.
Luke and Mark report that the veil of the temple split at this point, but Matthew claims that there were earthquakes, splitting rocks, and that dead saints were resurrected. The synoptics report that the immediate events after Jesus' death led a centurion to say Truly this man is [a/the] Son of God (there is no article in the original Greek, so this could as equally be a Son of God as the Son of God), which might be considered a vindication of Jesus (Brown 147), or might be sarcastic (Miller 51). John makes no such supernatural claims, and doesn't mention the centurion.
Longinus, had stabbed Jesus with a spear to make sure he was dead. The spear has become known in Christian mythology as the Spear of Destiny.
Both the synoptics and John go on to state that Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Sanhedrin, approached Pilate and asked for Jesus' body. This is in accordance with Jewish law that stated that if someone was hanged on a tree they were not to remain there at night, but should be buried before sundown (Brown 147) ([Deuteronomy 21:22-23]). Pilate consents, and Joseph wraps the body in linen and puts it in his own rock hewn tomb. Joseph, who John states was assisted by the Pharisee Nicodemus to anoint the body with spices, seals the tomb with a stone, and then leaves.
The first epistle of Peter mentions that Jesus "preached to the spirits in prison"; this is interpreted in the Apostles Creed as "he descended into hell" and is further embellished in the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus. Among many Christians, this is recognized as the Harrowing of Hell that took place immediately following Jesus' death.
The synoptics state that some of Jesus' female followers were watching from a distance, and Mark and Matthew also identify them as including Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome, who had cared for [Jesus'] needs in the past. The followers choose to sit opposite the tomb.
Meanwhile, the chief Sadducees and Pharisees are described by the synoptics as remembering Jesus's remark that After three days I will rise, and so Pilate sends a Roman detachment of troops to guard the tomb, in case Jesus' disciples try to steal the body. Some writings in the New Testament apocrypha state that angels avoided the guards and dragged Jesus' body from the tomb; the Canonical Gospels state that when the tomb was investigated by one of the people named Mary, it was found to be empty.
References
- Brown, Raymond E. An Introduction to the New Testament Doubleday 1997 ISBN 0385247672
- Brown, Raymond E. et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary Prentice Hall 1990 ISBN 0136149340
- Kilgallen, John J. A Brief Commentary on the Gospel of Mark Paulist Press 1989 ISBN 0809130599
- Miller, Robert J. Editor The Complete Gospels Polebridge Press 1994 ISBN 0060655879
External links
- [Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew].
- [Contradictions in the Gospel accounts of Jesus' crucifixion].
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