Calvary
641
In the sufferings of Christ upon the cross prophecy was fulfilled.
Centuries before the crucifixion, the Saviour had foretold the treatment
He was to receive. He said, “Dogs have compassed Me: the assembly
of the wicked have enclosed Me: they pierced My hands and My feet.
I may tell all My bones: they look and stare upon Me. They part
My garments among them, and cast lots upon My vesture.”
Psalm
22:16-18
. The prophecy concerning His garments was carried out
without counsel or interference from the friends or the enemies of the
Crucified One. To the soldiers who had placed Him upon the cross,
His clothing was given. Christ heard the men’s contention as they
parted the garments among them. His tunic was woven throughout
without seam, and they said, “Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it,
whose it shall be.”
In another prophecy the Saviour declared, “Reproach hath broken
My heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take
pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none. They
gave Me also gall for My meat; and in My thirst they gave Me vinegar
to drink.”
Psalm 69:20, 21
. To those who suffered death by the cross,
it was permitted to give a stupefying potion, to deaden the sense of
pain. This was offered to Jesus; but when He had tasted it, He refused
it. He would receive nothing that could becloud His mind. His faith
must keep fast hold upon God. This was His only strength. To becloud
His senses would give Satan an advantage.
The enemies of Jesus vented their rage upon Him as He hung upon
the cross. Priests, rulers, and scribes joined with the mob in mocking
the dying Saviour. At the baptism and at the transfiguration the voice
of God had been heard proclaiming Christ as His Son. Again, just
before Christ’s betrayal, the Father had spoken, witnessing to His
divinity. But now the voice from heaven was silent. No testimony in
Christ’s favor was heard. Alone He suffered abuse and mockery from
wicked men.
“If Thou be the Son of God,” they said, “come down from the
cross.” “Let Him save Himself, if He be Christ, the chosen of God.” In
the wilderness of temptation Satan had declared, “If Thou be the Son of
God, command that these stones be made bread.” “If Thou be the Son
of God, cast Thyself down” from the pinnacle of the temple.
Matthew
4:3, 6
. And Satan with his angels, in human form, was present at the
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cross. The archfiend and his hosts were co-operating with the priests