22.   And they bring him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, The place of a skull.
      23   And they offered him wine mingled with myrrh: but he received it not.
      24   And they crucify him, and part his garments among them, casting lots upon them, what each should take.
      25   And it was the third hour, and they crucified him.
      26   And the superscription of his accusation was written over, the King of the Jews.
      33.   And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.
      34   And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
      35   And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calleth Elijah.
      36   And one ran, and filling a sponge full of vinegar, put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let be; let us see whether Elijah cometh to take him down.
      37   And Jesus uttered a loud voice, and gave up the ghost.
      38   And the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom.
      39   And when the centurion, who stood by over against him, saw that he so gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.

Questions and Brief Comments.

Verses 22, 23. What does Golgotha means? Distinguish between this drink which the Lord refused and that which He accepted. (v. 36. Matt. 27:34, 48)

Verses 24-26. What is crucifixion? (John 20:26; Luke 24:40; Ps. 22:16). What did they do with His garments? (For comment upon this read John 19:23, 24 and Ps. 22:18). What was the accusation written over Him?

Verse 33. At what hour was He crucified? (V. 25). When did the darkness fall? How long did it continue? How many hours did the Lord Jesus hang on the cross?

Verse 34. What one and only cry of distress came from His lips? See Ps. 22:1. Had God actually abandoned Him? (See Note).

Verses 35, 36. What made them think the Lord called Elijah? (The resemblance of the sound). Why did they offer Him the vinegar? (John 19:28).

Verses 37, 38. How did the Lord Jesus die? What happened in the temple at the same time? What was the significance of that? (Heb. 10:19, 20).

Verses 39. Did even the heathen centurion have better comprehension and feeling than the religious leaders in Israel? What so convinced the centurion? What testimony did he utter? (Following this Lesson take a glance back at Lesson 2).

NOTES AND TEACHING-POINTS.

THE MEANING OF THE CROSS.

      The cross of Jesus holds the central place in the gospel. In order that faith in Him might result in eternal life to the believer, Jesus had to be crucified. And the great point is, not simply that He did but that he died for us. (Rom. 5:8). His death was on our behalf; and not merely for our sake, but "for us" representatively. He represented us on the cross. Because he acted as our Representative on the cross, his death was ours. We died on the cross in the Person of our Lord. This clear reasoning comes from the apostle Paul, "The love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that one died for all, therefore all died." (2 Cor. 5:14). [189]

      "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and Jehovah hath laid on him the iniquities of us all." (Isa. 53:5, 6). It was His love toward us that prompted him to take our place and bear our burden and assume the consequence of our sins: And God in His great love, was Himself the Author of the plan, and the Lord Jesus in loving obedience carried it through on God's behalf and for the redemption of men. This doctrine is the theme of the whole Bible, literally and clearly presented in the New Testament and in type, symbol, figure and prediction running through the whole of the Old Testament. It is the great salvation song of redemption through the blood. "He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world." 1 John 2:2. Whosoever will may come under the provision of this Sacrifice.

DID GOD FORSAKE CHRIST ON THE CROSS?

      "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" This cry of agony uttered by our Lord Jesus on the cross, marked the climax of His sufferings. All physical pain He endured without a murmur; but when in the moment of death He faced the outer darkness alone, and abandoned of God, He cried out pitifully, in words which were written concerning Him a thousand years before. (Ps. 22:1). But did God really forsake Him? Was He not God's beloved Son, pure and holy? And was it not by obedience to His Father's own will that He was there on that cross? How could God have forsaken Him? Yet so it was. "Him who knew no sin he [God] made to be sin on our behalf." (2 Cor. 5:21). "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law having been made a curse for us; for it is written, cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree." (Gal. 3:13). "Jehovah laid upon him the iniquity of us all." (Isa. 53:6). The sin-offering of the Old Testament, though it made men clean, was itself reckoned unclean because identified with man's defilement. It was offered without the gate, in the place of the unclean and the outcast, and those who handled it became unclean (Numb. 19:10. See Heb. 13:11, 12). The Lord Jesus died a sinner's death, not because He had sinned, but became our sins were laid upon Him, and He bore them in His own body on the tree. (1 Pet. 2:24). We who are Christ's shall never have to experience such a death, for He died for us.

THE ENEMIES OF THE CROSS.

      The word of the cross is and was always, foolishness to those that were perishing. To the Jews, it was a great stumbling-block, to the Gentiles, pure foolishness. Against the preaching of the Cross, in its significance all the cunning of Satan is directed. The "Modernism" of our day scorns it from the pulpit. Such cults as Christian Science, Spiritism, Theosophy and others with their mixture of pagan philosophy agree on one point, namely that the Blood means nothing beyond the symbol of a hero's or martyr's death. It has no saving efficacy. Likewise to the Judaist, the legalist, and the moralist, Christ died in vain. (Gal. 2:21).

QUESTIONS FOR CLASS USE.

1. At what place did they crucify Jesus?
2. What did they offer Him before?
3. Did He accept it?
4. What did they do with His garments?
5. At what hour was He crucified?
6. At what hour did He die?
7. What accusation was written over Him?
8. When did the darkness begin?
9. How long did it continue?
10. What only cry of distress did the Lord utter?
11. What did some think He said?
12. What did they offer Him then?
13. Did He accept this?
14. How did Jesus die?
15. What happened at the moment of His death?
16. What testimony did the centurion bear? [190]

Source: Third Lord's Day Lesson of June. Lesson 12. June 17, 1928. The Crucifixion (Mark 15:22-26, 33-39). The