Easter Week · Day 6
Friday
Betrayal · Trial · Abuse · Crucifixion
An Easter Week Art Display · Brad Young
Day 6 of Easter Week — the darkest day in human history, and the most sacred.
From Judas's kiss in the garden to the final breath on Golgotha,
this day is the heart of the Atonement made visible.
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Judas leads the soldiers to Gethsemane. He had agreed to betray the Lord for thirty
pieces of silver — the price of a slave. The sign: a kiss. The most intimate
greeting became the instrument of betrayal.
"And while he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great
multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people.
— Matthew 26:47–48
Jesus said to Judas, "Friend, wherefore art thou come?" (Matthew 26:50)
Even in this moment — betrayal by a trusted companion — the Savior addressed him
as "friend." He did not call down fire. He did not flee. He submitted.
Jesus stands before Pilate, having already been beaten by the temple guard.
Pilate finds no fault in Him three times, yet yields to the crowd.
"What is truth?" Pilate asked — then washed his hands of the Truth standing before him.
The soldiers wove a crown of thorns and placed it on His head, draped Him in a
purple robe, and mocked: "Hail, King of the Jews." They were right — though they
did not know it. The King of Kings bore their mockery in silence.
The Way of Sorrows — Jesus bearing the cross through the streets of Jerusalem.
He had been awake all night, flogged, beaten. Yet He carried it — for us.
Simon of Cyrene was compelled to help carry the cross when Jesus could go no further.
At Golgotha — the Place of the Skull — Jesus was crucified between two thieves.
From the cross He forgave those who nailed Him there, promised paradise to a
repentant thief, and cared for His mother's welfare. Seven last words spoken
from the most sacred platform in human history.
"Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour."
(Matthew 27:45) The earth itself went dark. The veil of the temple was rent.
The rocks split. The Savior of the world bowed His head.
Joseph of Arimathea claimed the body. Nicodemus brought myrrh and aloes.
They wrapped Him in linen and laid Him in a new tomb. The stone was rolled.
The seal was set. But the story was not over.
"And they crucified him…
— Matthew 27:35, 46, 50, 54
"My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" — the cry of desolation, the fullness
of the Atonement, the moment when the Savior bore the complete withdrawal of the
Father's Spirit that all sin deserves. Then: "It is finished." (John 19:30)
The work was done. The price was paid. We are bought.
