Today with Easter soon upon us, we shall examine the crucifixion of Jesus. Like many others, the sermon on Palm Sunday at our church was about the crucifixion but there was much more going on than what appears.
There were two “crucifixions” that day wherein two men were hung upon “trees.” The exact time is unknown but while Jesus gave up the Ghost, it is around that same time, perhaps identically, when Judas gave up his ghost, “Satan” who was in him.
It was not Jesus who was dead on his tree that the Israelites had seen when Moses held up the pole as Jesus explained in John 3:14 but Judas.
All the while we have been taught about the sacrificial death
of Jesus, the “goat” was the one who was the sacrifice to carry away sins. That
is reminiscent of the scapegoat of ancient times:
8 And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the Lord, and the other lot for the scapegoat. 9 And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the Lord's lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering. 10 But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness. (Lev 16:8-10)
Aaron and the Hebrews were acting out the events that would occur on Good Friday, 33 A.D. whenever they performed that ritual. The one lot was for the Lord God, Jesus, on one “tree” and the other lot for Judas in his tree.
Jesus did for certain one thing; that day he took the repentant thief (Dismus) on the adjacent cross to Paradise. But what else was going on? Upon Jesus giving up the Holy Ghost, after Judas hung himself as a sort of sacrifice by his own works, the Holy Ghost of the carpenter, Jesus, pruned the branch from which Judas hung, “and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out” (Acts 1:18).
When Jesus died, Judas gave up the Demon in him and Satan was defeated. Can you see that? That was what Jesus was talking about when He said to be born again, it would entail recognizing that “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up” (John 3:14).
If you see that the crucifixion was not the end of Jesus but the defeat of Satan, then you have been born again (John 3:7). Albeit Christians focus on the “Tree” of Jesus, much was happening in the Judas Tree.
Satan in Judas was the “Adversary” of God, Lucifer, of whom Isaiah wrote, “Thy pomp is brought down to the grave and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee” (Isa 14:11). That was in a vision of Judas with Satan in him with his Demon transformed from a “Serpent” to a measly “worm.”
Why was it necessary for Satan to be defeated before Jesus returned
to Paradise? Lucifer aspired to be king, to wit:
13 I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. (Isa 14:13-14)
There was much going on the day that Jesus was crucified. If Jesus had been merely a man and died, then Lucifer would be King of the world and of heaven. He would reimage what God had imaged back in Genesis 1:1. Lucifer aspired to be King and when he entered Judas, and that was his plan that Jesus foiled. God could be taken down and live, but He could not be put down and die! All the while the flesh of Jesus was resting in the tomb, the Holy Ghost of Jesus had become sin for all mankind.
The Man of God from Judah enacted this scene centuries before with wicked Jeroboam who certainly had Satan in him. In the end, “This ‘Thing’ became sin unto the house of Jeroboam, even to cut it off, and to destroy it from off the face of the earth” (1 Kings 13:34). The Man of God who visited Jeroboam took on sin to destroy it from the face of the Earth and that is what Jesus did at His death, “For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor 5:21).
Rather than all mankind dying for our sins, one “Man of God” died as He became sin for us to make us righteous.
How did that happen? Jesus became sin for us, then delivered sin and Satan to Hell via Gehenna wherein is the Potter’s Field. Jesus suffered death but remains alive. On the other side of Calvary, Judas suffered death but vacated Satan from the world, for a time, and his aspirations to be like the Most High were foiled! Whereas Jesus ascended thereafter, Satan descended unto Hell.
All the while from original sin as one man sinned, until this day, mankind lived in jeopardy, “For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous” (Rom 5:19). Sin was defeated on the day that Judas died, and Lucifer would never reign on high!
Why was Jesus crucified? First off, history reveals that thieves were everywhere in Judea establishing an autonomous zone that neither Caesar nor Herod could overcome. The mob had become the law and both Herod and Caesar were hounded by thieving scoundrels whose base was in Samaria. For one to travel from Galilee to Judea required crossing Samaria where the worshipers would be robbed, maimed, or killed. There was essentially no law at all in “Paradise” and with that “serious crises,” Lucifer saw the moment to take over. Then he entered Judas, according to his plan.
The crucifixion was political in operation from all sides with Lucifer the most prominent to reign on high, but there were many others who aspired to that.
The gospels are clear, they are a “Second Book of Genesis,” as Matthew wrote about his witness: “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” Then Matthew established Jesus as the rightful heir to the Davidic Kingdom. Up until then, David ruled by authority from God, and so did all his heirs. Not Saul, but David was the first rightful king of Israel.
From the time of David until the Assyrians and Babylonians came, it was the “sons of David” over the generations that were rightful heirs to the kingdom. Hence, the generations from Abraham to Jesus are given in the genealogy to signify that Jesus was the rightful heir to the David kingdom, as Joseph was the “son of David” (Mat 1:20) and Mary’s genealogy given as the “daughter of David.” By both lines, Jesus was legitimate heir. Somehow, everyone understood that Jesus is the “Son of David.? It is not known how but perhaps God revealed it to all those who encountered His Son.
Herod was told of Jesus when he interviewed the kings from the East. Historically, Caesar made kings, kings in his Syrian provinces, and issued edicts that kings from other lands recognized kings that he appointed in nearby countries. Those kings who saw the Star of David were from Parthia who before had ruled Judea. They recognized Jesus as the legitimate ruler of Judea despite that Octavian Caesar had appointed Herod, the Arabian, to be king just because he fought for the Romans against Arabians.
Herod had become king, not because he was a Jew nor did he fight for the Jewish people, but because he fought against the Arabians for Caesar. Whereas Judas (Lucifer) was the “familiar friend” of Jesus (Psalm 41:9), Octavian appointed Herod because he was a familiar friend of Mark Antony and Cleopatra. He was as evil as them in his quest for glory!
Herod had sucked up hard and the Jews had great animosity toward him. Herod was great but he worried that he would be put down by some rightful heir.
Heretofore, Herod had murdered his two sons, Aristobulus and Alexander, because of intrigue by his oldest son, Antipater, who constantly deceived him. Antipater was the son of Herod’s first wife, Doris, and the other two, sons of his most loved wife, Meriamne, who was even more beautiful to him than Antony’s adulteress, Cleopatra. She had tried to seduce him with Antony away.
Herod then killed Meriamne because he mistrusted her.
Soon, it became clear to him that Antipater was the one who truly aspired to the throne and had deceived him all those years about his other two sons. Herod had killed all those he loved to maintain his throne!
Herod was king because of the grace of Octavian Caesar. However, Caesar was “King of kings” of all the civilized world. Thus, Herod was devoted to Caesar and his devotion to Yahweh was to placate the Jews. Because Caesar was a “god” in Rome’s pantheon of gods, Herod’s true god was Caesar, and as soon as Antony died, he made that clear with his devotion to his then “familiar friend,” Octavius.
Herod had no power of his own. All that he had was because of the benevolence of Caesar. At the bequest of Herod, the Jews were allowed self-autonomy and freedom to worship their religion. The Romans of Herod’s day were very tolerant of all religions and Octavian was good to Herod and the Jews.
Before Herod could be king of the Jews, he was required to be in Rome to face Caesar who anointed him king even while Antigonus II Mattathias was still king. For three years, Herod was king without a kingdom until he became king of the Jews.
Whereas Antigonus was king because of the overthrow of the Macedonians by Simon Thass who ruled semi-autonomously with the Greeks, Herod was an illegitimate king who obtained the throne by intrigue and marriage. He tried to make himself legitimate by marrying the Hasmonean princess, Meriamne, but as related before, that failed because he killed her.
Each time Herod murdered, he had to appear before Caesar to present his case. Herod could not do away with any pretender to his throne without appearing to Caesar and obtaining authorization. He did that when he murdered Aristobulus, Alexander, Meriamne, and Antipater; but when Jesus was revealed to be the Son of David and rightful heir, according to the Jews, he did not appeal to Caesar.
By deception, Herod wrote a “living will,” living in that upon his death, the Jews would not be told and that all those who aspired to his throne present themselves to his soldiers. Herod thought that many aspired to his throne, and as such the slaughter of the innocents was done as soon as he died!
Because usually entire families of pretenders to the throne, not only the adults, would be killed but their families as well, to get to Jesus it would be necessary to have Joseph and Mary there because they were both of the House of David, and to the Jews, legitimate heirs.
Warned by an angel of the impending slaughter, the King of the Jews, as an infant, was taken to safe harbor in Egypt until it was clear that Herod had really died. After that, the multitude somehow knew who the legitimate heir might be as they called Jesus the “son of David.”
Next, this Roman tradition will be applied to the crucifixion because to all the non-innocents, Jesus was rightful heir to the throne of David, and the many politicians would have the most innocent slaughtered.
(picture credit: Wikiopedia; "Massacre of the Innocents")
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