November 6, 2023

Preparing For The Great Slaughter

(Some information may be too graphic for small children)

“Now it was the day of preparation for the Passover; it was about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, ‘Behold, your King!’” John 19:14 (NASB)

             Imagine the scene in progress. Jews were preparing for the Passover meal and celebration of God’s Passing Over each home as the death angel passed over. Before all this, meals had to be prepared by slaughtering an animal. Little did many Jews know Jesus would be a sacrificial lamb to be slaughtered. A lamb’s sacrifice would be replaced by a spiritual sacrifice.

             “Now it was the day of preparation for the Passover;” The day before Passover was a day of preparation. This “day of preparation” was a common name used. “This was the day of preparation for the Passover Week (i.e., Friday). That day was the Passover proper, the day on which Christ died. But it was also the preparation for the seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread, which followed immediately after the Day of Passover, and which was sometimes called the Passover Week.”[1] A lot was happening. MacArthur reveals spiritual relevance; “Since this refers to the day before the Passover when preparation for the Passover was done, John presents Jesus as being sent to execution about the time Passover lambs were being slaughtered.”[2] “… it was about the sixth hour.” This would be around noon. To be properly understood, MacArthur continues; “According to Mark’s account, Jesus was crucified at the third hour (9:00 A. M.). But as Andreas Köstenberger writes, ‘Since people related the estimated time to the closest three-hour mark, any time between 9:00, and noon may have led one person to say an event occurred at the third (9:00 A. M.) or the sixth hour (12:00 noon)’ (John, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament [Grand Rapids: Baker, 2004], 538).”[3] “And he said to the Jews, ‘Behold, your King!” Pilate hurled these insults at the Jews. Pilate did not believe Jesus was their king, but to spite the Jews he used the term, King of the Jews. “Pilate, inwardly overcome, designs, by this mocking of the Jews, not only to mask his disgrace but also to avenge it; it may be that these words unfold even this threatening thought: your King, then, shall first be crucified, and after Him, yourselves. At all events, he shifts the guilt to their shoulders.”[4] This would be written above Jesus during His crucifixion. Hughes sums up Pilate’s life, “Pilate gave up. He could do nothing else. All his life Pilate had sought success… To use a twentieth-century put-down, he was ‘provincial.’ Probably as a boy, he had always wanted to be somebody. As a young man, he was romanced with stories of Rome and her might. So he became a legionnaire. Still, he was just a soldier. Perhaps he was loyal and brave, but in his own mind, he did not amount to much. He longed for success. Finally, Pilate came to the fabled city with its seven hills. It was breathtaking—the Forum, the palaces, the splendored arches. He ached to ascend to its power, to be a success. So he married Claudia, the depraved granddaughter of the Emperor Augustus. He would do anything to succeed. Finally, the small-town boy became Procurator of Judea. He had made it! He had reached the heights!”[5] Or did he?

[1] Blum, E. A. (1985).. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 339). Victor Books.

[2] (MacArthur, John, 1997), 1625.

[3] (John MacArthur, 2006), 342-343.

[4] Lange, J. P., & Schaff, P. (2008). (p. 571). Logos Bible Software.

[5] Hughes, R. K. (1999). (pp. 433–434). Crossway Books.