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The Spirit of Prophecy Volume 3
should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the
world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.”
With the death of Christ the hopes of his disciples seemed to perish.
They looked upon his closed eyelids and drooping head, his hair
matted with blood, his pierced hands and feet, and their anguish was
indescribable. They had not believed until the last that he would die,
and they could hardly credit their senses that he was really dead. The
Majesty of Heaven had yielded up his life, forsaken of the believers,
unattended by one act of relief or word of sympathy; for even the
pitying angels had not been permitted to minister to their beloved
Commander.
Evening drew on, and an unearthly stillness hung over Calvary.
The crowd dispersed, and many returned to Jerusalem greatly changed
in spirit from what they had been in the morning. Many of them had
then collected at the crucifixion from curiosity, and not from hatred
toward Christ. Still they accepted the fabricated reports of the priests
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concerning him, and looked upon him as a malefactor. At the execution
they had imbibed the spirit of the leading Jews, and, under an unnatural
excitement, had united with the mob in mocking and railing against
him.
But when the earth was draped with blackness, and they stood
accused by their own consciences, reason again resumed her sway,
and they felt guilty of doing a great wrong. No jest nor mocking
laughter was heard in the midst of that fearful gloom; and when it was
lifted, they solemnly made their way to their homes, awestruck and
conscience-smitten. They were convinced that the accusations of the
priests were false, that Jesus was no pretender; and a few weeks later
they were among the thousands who became thorough converts to
Christ, when Peter preached upon the day of Pentecost, and the great
mystery of the cross was explained with other mysteries in regard to
Messiah.
The Roman officers in charge were standing about the cross when
Jesus cried out, “It is finished,” in a voice of startling power, and then
instantly died with that cry of victory upon his lips. They had never
before witnessed a death like that upon the cross. It was an unheard-of
thing for one to die thus within six hours after crucifixion. Death by
crucifixion was a slow and lingering process; nature became more and
more exhausted until it was difficult to determine when life had become