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The Crucifixion of Jesus Christ

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The Crucifixion of Jesus Christ THE CRUCIFIXION OF JESUS CHRIST SUFFERING SERVANT JESUS CHRIST...SON OF GOD AND SON OF MAN Lesson 20 “Who would believe what we have heard? To whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? He grew up like a sapling before him, like a shoot from the parched earth; There was in him no stately bearing to make us look at him, Nor appearance that would attract us to him. He was despised and forsaken by men, a man of suffering, accustomed to infirmity, One of those from whom men hide their faces, spurned, and we held him in no esteem. Yet it was our infirmities that he bore, Our sufferings that he endured, While we thought of him as stricken, As one smitten by God and afflicted. But he was pierced for our offenses, Crushed for our sins, Upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole, By his stripes we were healed. We had all gone astray like sheep, Each following his own way; But the Lord laid upon him the guilt of us all. PARENTS’ & CATECHISTS’ READING Though he was harshly treated, REFLECTION & PRAYER he submitted and opened not his mouth; Like a lamb led to the slaughter Sacred Scripture or a sheep before the shearers, He was silent and opened not MATTHEW 27:31-66 his mouth. MARK 15:20-47 Oppressed and condemned, he was taken away, and who would LUKE 23:26-56 have thought any more of his JOHN 19:17-42 destiny? When he was cut off from the land of the living, And smitten for the sin of his Catechism of the Catholic Church people, A grave was assigned him #613-630 among the wicked And a burial place with evil doers, Though he had done no wrong nor spoken any falsehood.” Page 2 THE CRUCIFIXION OF JESUS CHRIST STUDENTS’ READING REFLECTION & PRAYER Sacred Scripture Grades K-4 New Catholic Picture Bible pp. 204-211 The Road to Calvary Jesus Dies on the Cross The Burial of Jesus Grades 5-12 MATTHEW 27:31-66 MARK 15:20-47 LUKE 23:26-56 JOHN 19:17-42 Catechism Grades K-2 First Communion Catechism pp. 30-32, 42 Grades 3-6 Baltimore Catechism #1 pp. 40-45, 186, Back Cover Grade 7-12 Catechism of the Catholic Church #613-630 TEACHING STRATEGY & OBJECTIVES THEME: JESUS SAID… “NOW HAS JUDGEMENT COME UPON THIS WORLD, NOW WILL THIS WORLD’S ‘PRINCE’ BE CAST OUT AND I—ONCE I AM LIFTED UP FROM EARTH, WILL DRAW ALL MEN TO MYSELF.” This statement indicated the sort of death He had to die [JN 12:32] OPENING PRAYER: FOURTH AND FIFTH SORROWFUL MYSTERIES OF THE ROSARY REVIEW: (SEE PAGE 7 FOR TERMS COVERED IN SECTION 3) THE CREED FOR OUR SAKE HE WAS CRUCIFIED UNDER PONTIUS PILATE; HE SUFFERED, DEATH, AND WAS BURIED. AND ROSE AGAIN ON THE THIRD DAY IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE SCRIPTURES JESUS CHRIST...SON OF GOD AND SON OF MAN Lesson 20 Page 3 STATIONS OF THE CROSS Krilich Mosaics 1. Jesus is condemned to death 2. Jesus Takes up His Cross 3. Jesus falls the first time 4. Jesus meets His mother Mary 5.Simon helps Jesus carry the 6. Veronica wipes the face of 7.Jesus fall the second time 8.Jesus Meets the weeping Cross Jesus women 9. Jesus falls the third time 10. Jesus is stripped of His 11.Jesus is nailed to the Cross garments 13. Jesus is taken down from 14. Jesus is placed in the tomb the Cross The Stations of the Cross, sometimes called the Way of the Cross or Via Dolorosa (Sorrowful Way), is a devotion practiced especially during Lent. Tradition holds that the Blessed Mother first retraced Jesus’ journey from Pilate’s house to Calvary. After Christianity was legal- ized by Constantine, the pathway was marked with different places or stations where the faithful could stop and pray. In 1342 the Franciscans were appointed guardians of the Holy Land. When the Moslem Turks blocked access to the Holy Land, 12.Jesus dies on the Cross the Franciscans were allowed to erect stations in all of their churches worldwide. In 1742 Pope Benedict XIV encouraged all priests to erect these stations in their churches JESUS CHRIST...SON OF GOD AND SON OF MAN Lesson 20 Page 4 READINGS FROM SACRED SCRIPTURE: THE CRUCIFIXION AND DEATH OF JESUS CHRIST MT 27:31—66 and MK 15:20—47 and LK 23:26—56 and JN 19:17—42 AT ABOUT WHAT TIME DOES THE “WAY OF THE CROSS” BEGIN FOR JESUS? The Sanhedrin was in a hurry to see Jesus killed before their great feast day [on Saturday] so early on Friday morning—probably about 6:00 am they took Jesus before Pilate in the courtyard outside of the Antonia Fortress. Remember, Luke tells us in his Gospel that Jesus was also sent by Pilate over to Herod Antipas. Jesus’ Trial by day…the Scourging, and the Crowning with Thorns probably took half the morning until 9:00 or 10:00 am. It was then that Pilate passed his final sentence… “IBIS IN CRUCEM”… “To the Cross You Go,” sending Jesus to His death. That is why we say in the Creed, “He was Crucified under Pontius Pilate.” WHAT WAS THE CROSS LIKE? HOW HEAVY WAS IT? Some of the Crosses we see in Religious art are smooth and elaborate. It is not likely that the Romans put a lot of work into making a Cross. They probably cut and notched two logs, tying or nailing them together. They may have had the wood planed to that it would not be too heavy for the condemned men to carry them. To crucify a man about 6 feet tall, they might have used a vertical beam about 14 feet long [called a “stipes”], and a 6-foot crossbeam [called a “patibulum”]. At the time there were many cedar pine trees in the area around Jerusalem. If these were cut as described and used while the wood was still “green”…the cross would have weighed close to 450 pounds. HOW FAR DID JESUS HAVE TO CARRY THE CROSS? If you look on the map, the distance from the Antonia, through the streets of Jerusalem, out the Ephraim gate and up to Golgotha [also called Calvary— “the place of the Skull”] is about 1800 feet, or 1/3rd of a mile. Keep in mind that Jesus also had been beaten and scourged terribly…and crowned with thorns. He also would have been walking barefoot over rough cobblestones. Remember too…the darkness and oppression…the “weight” of the guilt of all our sins was also upon Him. It is hard to imagine what Jesus suffered be- cause He loved us and wanted to save us from our sins. WHAT HAPPENED TO JESUS ALONG THE WAY? The Gospels do not give us many details about Jesus’ terrible journey with the Cross. We know from the history of the Romans that soldiers would have guarded Jesus as He made His way through the streets. They may have carried a sign for the top part of the Cross [called a “titulus”] on which was written Pilate’s mocking words, JESUS OF NAZARETH: KING OF THE JEWS. We know from the Gospels that these words were written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek…but on most of the crucifixes in our churches and in art we “abbreviate” the message, taking the first letter of the Latin part of the inscription: Iesus Nazorem Regnarum Iudaiorum… “INRI”. If we consider also what we learn from the Stations of the Cross, we know that Jesus fell three times under the terrible weight of the Cross. WHO DID JESUS MEET ALONG THE WAY? The Gospels tell us of Simon the Cyrenian who was forced to help Jesus to carry the Cross. They also inform us of the Women of Jerusalem who wept for Jesus—and who were warned by Him of dark days to come. The Stations of the Cross tell us of two other meetings. We see Jesus meeting His Sorrowful Mother Mary on the way. We also see Jesus comforted by the courage and kindness of Veronica, who wiped His Holy Face and who received an Image of His countenance on her veil as a last gift from her Lord. JESUS CHRIST...SON OF GOD AND SON OF MAN Lesson 20 Page 5 WHAT SORT OF NAILS DID THEY USE TO NAIL JESUS TO THE CROSS? Those who crucified Jesus probably used Roman Joist Nails…terrible iron spikes from 10 to 12 inches long. They probably would have nailed Jesus through His wrists [the better to hold Him to the Cross] and one last nail through His feet held flat against the wood of the vertical beam. DID JESUS REALLY FEEL THE PAIN OF ALL THE THINGS WE DID TO HIM? Some people think that because Jesus was God that He simply made the pain “go away.” But Jesus Christ is God and MAN and He felt the pain as any of us would. Jesus’ love for us as God and Man was so great that He did not merely forgive us, He willingly suffered “for us Men and for our salvation.” HOW DID JESUS TEACH US FROM THE CROSS? First and most importantly by His Suffering Jesus showed us how much we are loved by God. He shed His blood and gave up His life so that we might live. We also learn from His last “homilies”… also called THE SEVEN LAST WORDS OF CHRIST… 1.
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