Passion Week EP 04 The Crucifixion GT

Hello again. And thank you for
watching the ICEJ Passion Week

series. In episode 4, we
will be reflecting on Jesus's

crucifixion, from the Garden
Tomb in Jerusalem, and taking

a deeper look at the spiritual
significance of the Passover

meal. It's coming up next.

Welcome to our fourth day of
the Passion Week program

brought to you right here from
the city of Jerusalem. We are

here at the Garden Tomb and
not far away from here is the

mountain called Golgotha
where many believe that Jesus

was crucified 2000 years
ago. Here in this garden we

commemorate the culmination of
everything that we think and

pray about during this
Passover week. But did you

know that when the Jewish
people celebrate Passover

every year, that on the Eve of
Passover, the meal, the

traditional Passover Seder
meal, there are so many

parallels that are pointing to
the death and the resurrection

of Jesus. Today, we are going
to have a very special look at

those connections and also,
we will look at the

crucifixion of Jesus. We'll look
at some of the

historical backgrounds, and I
believe you will be surprised

and blessed to see the impact
of this event that took place

here in this very place 2000
years ago. Please join me.

Here in Jerusalem, just
outside the Old City walls,

you can find a beautiful and
vibrant garden. And right beside

the garden, a rock face
known as Skull Hill, or Golgotha.

Welcome to the Garden Tomb.
Scripture tells us that in

the place where Jesus was
crucified, there was a garden

and in the garden a new tomb.
It was into that tomb that the

body of Jesus was lain.
Millions of people around the

world believe that this garden
is that place.

What makes a visit to the
Garden Tomb unique is the

connection between Skull Hill,
the garden and the tomb itself.

These three elements
work together to bring to life

that final chapter of Jesus'
ministry.

Early on the third day after the
burial of Jesus, some women came

to the tomb seeking his body. An
angel appeared to them and

said, "I know that you seek
Jesus who was crucified. He is

not here He is risen!" This is
a tomb, an empty tomb that

speaks of the power of the
resurrection of Jesus Christ.

For many people, this is a
life changing moment.

After a visit to the tomb,
there is time and space for

people to reflect upon the
story of Jesus the Messiah,

His death and resurrection.
Many groups decide to book a

place where they can meet for
worship and prayer, maybe

communion. As well as tours of
the Garden we also host

events such as worship
services for large Christian

groups, and also musical
concerts. Every day groups and

individuals from all over the
world are blessed and

encouraged by their visit to
the Garden Tomb. Entrance is

free. And we're supported by
the donations of our visitors

and also by the Garden Tomb
shop.

Whoever you are, and wherever
you come from, I encourage you

to come and visit the Garden Tomb.
Come and see for yourself.

We look forward to welcoming
you soon.

Every spring Jewish families
gather to celebrate the

faithfulness of God and to
remember the miraculous

deliverance from the bondage
of Egypt through a ceremonial

meal known as the Passover
Seder. In this video

Dr. Jürgen Bühler shares an added
dimension of celebration for

not only Jewish people, but
also for us as believers in

Yeshua the Messiah.

Welcome everybody to the
Bühler house for this

Passover celebration. It's a
great joy to have you all

with us. Well, let me explain
to you the meaning of the

Passover table. You have a similar
table today in almost every

home here in Israel. The main
components are the bitter

herbs, which are representing
the bitterness of the

experience in Egypt and
slavery. And along with that

is the bowl of salted water
representing the generations

of tears of slavery and
bondage. You have here the

bone, which in most places is
a chicken bone, but it does

represent the Passover lamb.
And the only sweet part on the

Passover table is the haroset.
This is this brown paste

of dates, honey and nuts. And it
does represent the only help

the Jewish people received which
was the mortar they

could use in order to put the
bricks together. And of

course, most importantly, you
have the matza bread and you

have wine at every Passover
celebration. We are going to

have four cups of wine. The
tradition goes back to Exodus

chapter 6. 'The Lord says,
"I am the Lord, I will bring you

out from Egypt". That's the
first cup. The next one, he

says, "I will deliver you from
slavery". And the third cup,

he says, "I'm going to redeem you
as a people", and the fourth

cup is from Exodus 6:7,
he says, "And I will take

you to be my people". In Luke
chapter 22 we read in verse 7

'Then came the day of
Unleavened Bread on which the

Passover lamb had to be
sacrificed'. In verse 14,

'And when the hour had come,
he reclined at the table, and the

apostles with him. And he said
to them, "I have earnestly

desired to eat this Passover
with you before I suffer".

Now what is important for us today
to understand is that this

ancient tradition was also
kept by Jesus and by His

disciples. The Bible tells us
in Matthew 26:26

it says, 'Now as they were
eating, Jesus took the bread

and blessed it'. And if you
read the same story in

1 Corinthians 11, Paul
says, 'The Lord revealed to

me that at the night when he
was betrayed, he took the cup

after the meal'. That means
both Paul and the Gospels, they

say, Well, what's coming now,
that was taking place after

the Passover meal. And he took
the bread and what is

happening at every Passover
celebration? This wrapped

piece of bread, which is
called by the Jewish people

the Afikomen, is being
opened and being eaten and

blessed. And as they
celebrate, they commemorate

again, like we said, the
pierced and the striped body

of our Lord that was broken for us.
And the Bible tells us in

Matthew 26, that when he
blessed it and he said

something like the following,
He says,

"Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu, melech

ha'olam, hamotzi lechem min haaretz."

"Blessed art Thou, Lord of the universe who
brought forth the bread from the earth."

He broke it, and at
that point, he broke the

tradition of the Passover
Seder. And he said, "Take and

eat it. This is my body." He
then took, after the meal, the

cup and this was the third
cup in the Passover meal, and

then he blessed it and he
probably said something like this,

"Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu

melech ha'olam, borei pri hagafen."

"Blessed art Thou, Lord of
the universe, who brought forth

the vine from the earth."
And as he was handing it over to

His disciples, He said, "This
is my blood that was shed for

you". And what Jesus was
telling his disciples, he

said, "I am the Passover lamb.
I am the one who is shedding

my blood for you and giving my
body for your atonement".

So I believe this was an
unforgettable Passover evening

for the Jewish people. And for
us as believers, it's

important that we are reminded
that communion is not a new

Christian tradition that the
Roman Catholic Church or any

denomination started, but it
was a part of a regular

Passover meal. Whenever we
celebrate communion, we

actually are really
re-celebrating one segment of

every Passover meal that the
Jewish people are celebrating.

In a way that Jesus says I'm
the fulfillment of that.

In the book of Matthew 26:30
it says,

'And when they had sung a hymn
they went out to the Mount of Olives'.

And usually you over-read
that, but at the end of the

Passover there is a passage
that is called the Hallel and

the Hallel is a selection of
Psalms. It is Psalm 115 - 118.

And those psalms are read at
every year's Passover

celebration. So when Jesus was
installing and instating the

communion with His disciples,
He didn't stop there and say

'okay, now we are in the New
Covenant', but he actually

continued with the
the same tradition like all

the people in Israel. They
were singing the Hallel, the

same psalms that the Jewish
people are singing today all

over the world. And my
favorite psalm there is Psalm 118.

And in Psalm 118, you have the
very famous passage, it says

'The stone that the builders
rejected, he has become the

main cornerstone'. And of
course we know about whom

that speaks. It speaks about
Yeshua. The other favorite

passage is the next verse
'Blessed is he who comes in

the name of the Lord', or in
Hebrew it says 'Baruch haba b'shem

Adonai'. And I believe we all
know where Jesus said that.

It was just a few days earlier,
before Passover, he was

standing on the Mount of
Olives overlooking Jerusalem.

And he says, "You won't see me
again until you say,

"Blessed is he who comes in the name of
the Lord."

"Baruch haba" means 'Welcolme'.

That's how you welcome
people into your house.

Jesus says, "I will not come
back until you welcome me back

to that city". And I would say,
let's just say this prayer

together and let's pray this
to the Lord that he might come

quickly. Let's pray, "Baruch haba
b'shem Adonai". And at the very

end of the Passover Seder,
probably the most famous

passage in the entire Seder is
recited, it says

"L'Shana Haba'ah B'Yerushalayim".
And this little sentence kept

alive for thousands of years, the
yearning and the dream of the

Jewish people - 'one day we come
back to our homeland'. And what

a powerful statement that is
to finish a Passover Seder, a

prophetic statement that one
day the Jewish people will

come back to this land, will be
fully restored.

And with this, I wish you all a
happy Passover!

I'm reading from
John 19:16-18 where it says

'So he delivered him over to
them to be crucified. So they

took Jesus and he went out
bearing his own cross to the

place called the Place of a
Skull which in Aramaic is

called Golgotha. And there they
crucified him and with him two

others, one on either side,
and Jesus between them.'

We are here at the Garden Tomb in
Jerusalem, a place where every

year hundreds of thousands of
people come from around the

world to commemorate the most
important act that took place

in this very city, the death
and resurrection of Jesus.

Through it, millions of people
from every tribe and nation

came into a living
relationship with the God in

heaven. It was a rock not far
away from here that resembles

the shape of a skull that made
General Gordon believe some

100 years ago that he'd found
the true place of Golgotha. And

also his belief was underlined
when he found a tomb, enclosed

with a garden not far away.
That's why it's called the

Garden Tomb. When we think and
contemplate today about the

crucifixion of Jesus, we are
forced to look into the very

abyss of the human heart.
Crucifixion was the most cruel

way of executing people in
antiquity. According to

historians, this cruel form of
death penalty was invented in

the ancient city of Carthage.
Now Carthage was captured by

the Romans and it was
completely destroyed that only

a field of ruins remains until
today. But they took one thing

from that city. And this was
the art of crucifixion. The

inventor of it must have been
at completely perverted human

being, that even the Roman
people when it was applied in

the empire, were completely
appalled by this punishment.

One of the great politicians and
thinkers of Rome, Seneca, called

it the most cruel and disgusting
punishment.

To die on the cross could take even
several days, the condemned

would not die of the wounds
inflicted on him, but the

weight of his own body was
hanging on the nails through

his hands and for his feet.
And the condemned had to lift

himself up against those nails
when he took a breath. So that

means at the end, the strength
left him completely, and he

would at the end slowly
suffocate, or even die of

cardiac arrest. The Roman
politician Seneca, therefore,

he decreed that it was
completely unacceptable to

apply this death penalty to a
Roman citizen. He said there

was no crime large enough that
would justify to kill a Roman

citizen in such a brutal way.
To crucify the Son of God

seems like a contradiction in
itself. It seems like the most

foolish thought to contain
the One who was from the

beginning, who was the Alpha
and Omega, the Lord, the

Logos, the Word that was
there when the world was

created. The one who has all
power in heaven and on earth,

to contain him to a cross. When
they nailed his feet and his

hands on that cross, these were
the feet that walked the Land of

Israel, proclaiming the good
news of the kingdom of God.

It was the same feet that were
walking on the sea of Galilee.

And when they nailed his
hands to the cross, these were

those hands that were
calming the storm of the Sea

of Galilee, that healed so
many, even the most impossible

diseases, and that were
casting out every demon that

went in the way of Jesus. These
were the hands that blessed so

many people. And there at the
cross, it seems that those

Roman nails brought the power
of those hands to a standstill.

Then it was here
at the cross on Calvary that

the hands of Jesus carried out
the greatest act ever.

When Jesus hung there at the cross
with his hands nailed to that

tree, he was lifting up the
whole sins of this world and

brought forgiveness to
human mankind. When Jesus

breathed his last, the Bible
says it was on the Eve of

Passover. It was the very same
time when here in Jerusalem, in

the Temple, the last Passover
lambs would be slaughtered.

The life of Jesus has come to
a full circle. When Jesus

started his ministry, just 25
kilometers away from here at

the shores of the River
Jordan, John the Baptist

had to cry out over him saying,
"Behold the Lamb of God that

would carry the sins of the
world". And it was 700 years

before Jesus was crucified
here in Golgotha that the

prophet Isaiah foresaw his
suffering in the following way:

'Surely he has borne our griefs
and he carried our

sorrows, yet we esteemed him
stricken, smitten by God and

afflicted. But he was pierced
for our transgressions, and he

was chastised for our iniquities.
Upon him was the chastisement

that brought us peace, and
with his wounds, we are healed'.

These hands of Jesus
that were hanging on the

cross 2000 years ago, today
they are open wide and they

are welcoming you. He will not
reject you. But the word of

God says, As we come to Him,
He will welcome us in His family.

Today, you can
experience this salvation that

Jesus purchased for the world
2000 years ago, with his own life.

Today can be your day of
salvation. Let me pray with you.

Father, in the name of
Jesus, I do pray for everybody

who is watching us today on
this Good Friday program.

I ask you that this will
become the day of salvation

for everybody who does not
know you as his Savior. And

Father, I do ask you that as
they turn to you, as they say,

'Lord, we want you to be our
Master', I ask you that you

allow them to experience the
power of the forgiveness of

the blood of Jesus. We thank
you for what you have done 2000

years ago to save us, to
redeem us and to heal us.

We pray this in the wonderful and
mighty name of Yeshua. Amen.

God bless you, here from the
Garden Tomb in Jerusalem.

Praising God today for our
salvation,

the One and only that points us
to the Father, Yeshua ben Elohim

♫ There is a Name I call upon

There is a Name by which I am saved

Salvation is your name

Salvation is Your name

There is a Lamb who bore our sins

He bled and died so we could live!

Salvation in Your Name

Salvation in Your Name

Salvation in Your Name

Salvation in Your Name

At the Name of Yeshua,

one day every knee will bow

(Do you believe it?)

And every tongue will confess
that He is Lord!

(He is alive!)

Salvation in Your Name

Salvation in Your Name

Yeshua is Your Name

Yeshua is Your Name

Yeshua, oh sing Your Name

Yeshua

Wow, what powerful insights.
Join us next time for the

final episode of the ICEJ
Passion Week series when

we will be returning to the
Garden Tomb in Jerusalem to uncover

the significance of Jesus's
resurrection.

We'll see you next time and
Pesach Sameach!