THE DEATH & RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST
There were many defining moments in the life of Jesus. Two of them were his baptism by John the Baptist, and his crucifixion by the Roman authorities. The canonical gospels (Mark, Matthew, Luke and John) are basically in agreement about the events in Jesus’ life between his baptism and crucifixion. But they differ greatly when describing the events before his baptism and after his death.
Details of the death and resurrection of Jesus are described in the following Gospel passages:
| Mark 15:33 to 16:8 | |
| Matthew 27:52 to 28:20 | |
| Luke 23:44 to 24:12 | |
| John 19:29 to 20:18 |
By combining the various gospels’ accounts Jesus’ death and resurrection, one can develop a common story that is consistent with most of the Biblical texts: Simon from Cyrene was pressed into service to carry the cross from Jerusalem to Golgatha, the place of crucifixion. There, Jesus was offered a drink of wine mixed with a bitter substance. He refused. He was nailed to the cross through his palms and feet. Two robbers were crucified with him; one on either side. People passing by hurled insults. From the 6th to the 9th hour, it became dark. Jesus cried out. He was offered vinegar to drink. He cried out again and died. The gospels record different final messages. The veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom by an unknown force. Joseph of Arimathea obtained permission to take Jesus’ body to his private tomb. He wrapped the body in a clean linen cloth, placed it in the tomb and sealed the entrance. On Sunday morning, an unknown number of women came to the tomb. The stone had been rolled away. They found that Jesus’ body was missing. … He has Risen!