The Betrayal and Arrest
READ Matthew 26:47-50
Why did Christ call Judas “friend”?
READ John 18:4-12
Why did the Jewish guards and priests
fall to the ground when Christ answers them “I am He”?
Why then does Peter lash out at the
servant and cut off his ear?
READ John 18:13-14
Can an evil man prophesy a message from
God?
The Jewish Trial
Incidentally, the trial was illegal by
Jewish or Roman law in several ways, including meeting at night, not being able
to find witnesses that could agree, a defendant could not condemn himself, and
proclaiming a death sentence (only Romans could do this).
READ John 18:19-23
How did Christ conduct His ministry?
What did Annas accuse Jesus of?
READ Mark 14:61-65
What question did Christ answer to the
High Priests and why?
What is the supreme irony in Caiaphas’
question to Christ?
The Roman Trial
READ John 18:33-40 and Luke 23:18-23
What world is His kingdom of?
Why was Christ born?
What is truth?
Where does the custom come from to
release a prisoner?
What does Bar-Abbas mean?
READ Deuteronomy 21:22-23
Why did the Jewish leaders want Christ
crucified instead of killed in another way?
The Scourging
Some prisoners didn’t survive the
scourging and Christ had already suffered the infinite Atonement the night
before and had then been subjected to an illegal trial that lasted all
night. The Romans were adept at using a
cat-o-nine tails whip, woven with steel or bone, to take the skin off the back
of the individual from neck to shin.
READ Matthew 27:26-31
Many ancient cultures held a ceremonial
drama, about the humiliation and sacrificial death of the “substitute” King
(the “Corn King” of ancient Celtic religions, for instance) who was killed that
the people might live; what elements of that drama do you see playing out in
what the Romans soldiers did to Christ?
The Crucifixion
Crucifixion may have been the cruelest
and most brutal way to execute a criminal ever systemically used by a
government. It combined prolonged,
agonizing torture and public humiliation, and it served as an intimidating
deterrent to others. But Christ had to
descend below all things (see D&C 122:8), and crucifixion provided that
kind of ignominious death.
READ Numbers 21:6-9
What did the brass serpent on the pole
symbolize?
Is the serpent a symbol of evil or good?
READ Matthew 27:32-33
Why did the Romans compel Simon to carry
the cross?
READ John 19:17-22
Why would Pilate not change the
“accusation” posted above Christ on the cross?
READ Luke 23:34-39 and Matthew 27:39-44
What does Christ teach us in this prayer
to the Father?
What last temptation was Satan serving up
to Christ through the Jewish leaders, Roman soldiers and fellow prisoner?
Why did Christ not come down from the
Cross?
READ Isaiah 50:5-9
What does it mean that Christ set His
“face like a flint”?
READ Matthew 27:45-46
Three hours into the torture of the
cross, Christ cried out in a loud voice, to be heard over the large crowd…what
was Christ saying?
READ Psalm 22:1-21
Did the Father “forsake” the Son at the
end?
READ Psalm 22:22-31
Given the bitter cup that Christ had to
drink, why does He lead the shout of praise for the Father in the Great
Congregation at the Heavenly Temple?
READ Luke 23:46 and John 19:30
Why did Christ shout “It is finished” in
a loud voice?
When He knew His suffering or path was
completed, what did He do?
READ Matthew 27:51 and 54
How did the Roman centurion react as he
witnessed this event firsthand?
What happened at Christ’s death?
What does the Veil of the Temple being
rent mean?
READ John 19:31-37
Why did the religious leaders want to
break the legs of the crucified?
Why did Roman soldiers break the bones of
those hanging on a cross?
Why did the soldiers not break Christ’s
legs but what did they do instead?
