EASTER BONUS 2/3: The crucifixion of Jesus

The deaths of JesusMark 15 21-41Being the earliest account, we would expect Mark to be the simplest, with the least detail.This account contains the key elements we are familiar with, Simon of Cyrene (who the hell is this guy anyway and why is he not mentioned anywhere else?) It feels like this is an inserted character to help create the narrative of Jesus being special. Even with early accounts we have suspicious detail. Has anyone ever pinpointed where Golgotha is?There is the familiar bit about Jesus' clothes being divided up. The note about Jesus being king of the Jews.The two people crucified with Jesus are called rebels. They both mocked him.All versions have the sun darkening, some suggest this is an eclipse, but that's not possible because of the length of time indicated and the point in the moons phase when Passover happens. The temple curtain being torn is also in all accounts.Reading Marks account, it's easy to see how even early versions of stories will contain fictionalised detail.Matthew 27 32-55Matthew is very similar to Mark, much of it considered to be a straight copy. Yet even here we see new details being inserted.The note about being king of the Jews gains words, it is placed above Jesus' head. Jesus gets two drinks. The mocking of Jesus has more words, those being crucified with him are still rebels and they also both still mock him.The tearing of the temple curtain isn't enough, so an earthquake is added, but that's still not enough, so rocks are split and dead people come back to life. I wonder why the earthquake didn't topple the crosses.This time it's not the centurion who declares him the son of god, but multiple people who were there watching.Luke 23 26-49Jesus gains a few lines of dialogue during the journey to the crucifixion. And while he is on the cross. We are introduced to the phrase "father forgive them for they know not what they do", you'd think that such a memorable phrase would have been included in all accounts. The mocking of Jesus has changed. The notice above his head has changed, again.We also have the significant change of only one of those being crucified with Jesus mocking him. You'd think that all accounts would have a detail as critical as this. This is exactly the sort of difference that indicates a narrative that is evolving over time.The post death phrase recognising Jesus as being righteous is back to just the centurion saying it. The earthquake has disappeared, but Jesus death is a little more dramatic. It's this kind of subtle detail differences that lead scholars to suggest that those who wrote Luke and Matthew copied from Mark. Each using Mark as a base and adding their own embellishments. John 19 16-36Simon of Cyrene is dropped, as though he's taking too much attention from Jesus and instead Jesus carried his own cross.The note is still there, the text has changed again, and this time it's in multiple languages to really drive the point home. The writers obviously could not agree on what it was that had been written about Jesus. Pilot gets a chance to justify what he wrote. Who had a contact with the chief priests to find this out? Yet another detail that feels like it's inserted fiction.The separating of Jesus clothes gains new detail. What happened to that untorn garment, that would have been very valuable. There is extra detail testing for the death of Jesus with the spear in his side. This is a crucial detail that seems to be forgotten by the earlier accounts, is this another addition?When you read the different accounts of Jesus crucifixion and death, there is clear progression in the narrative, details are added to increase drama and mundane parts are removed. This is exactly the kind of changes that happen when stories evolve over years and decades of retelling.

This is why I, and others, simply can not accept the gospels, or the bible as anything other than a human book telling human stories.

Episode Transcript

(00:09):
This is Matthew and this Easter Special 2025 episode is the
second of three that compares how the four Gospel stories tell
the same account. This episode focuses on the
crucifixion of Jesus, the first on the Last Supper and the third
on the resurrection. This podcast version is the

(00:31):
audio from the YouTube video I have created.
The link to that is in the show notes.
The Deaths of Jesus In this episode I'll be reading the four
gospel accounts of Jesus crucifixion and seeing how they

(00:52):
compare in the same way that I did with the Last Supper video.
I'll be reading them in the order they are written to see
how the accounts progress with each new version, Mark's account
being the earliest since chapter15, verses 21 to 41.
Such a man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and

(01:14):
Rufus, was passing by on his wayin from the country, and they
forced him to carry the cross. They brought Jesus to the place
called Golgotha, which means theplace of the skull.
Then they offered him wine mixedwith myrrh, but he did not take
it. They crucified him.
Dividing up his clothes, they cast slots to see what each

(01:35):
would get. It was 9 in the morning when
they crucified him. The written notice of the
charges against him read The King of the Jews.
They crucified 2 rebels with him, one on his right and one on
his left. Those who passed by hurled
insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, So you who are

(01:56):
going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, come
down from the cross. Save yourself.
In the same way the chief priestand the chiefs of the law mocked
him among themselves. He saved others, they said, and
he can't save himself. Wow, imagine if a pastor did
something like that. Anyway, let this Messiah, this

(02:20):
king of Israel, come down from the cross, that we may see him
and believe those crucified withhim also beat insults on him.
At noon darkness came over the whole land until 3:00 in the
afternoon, and at 3:00 in the afternoon Jesus cried out a loud
voice, Iloi iloi la masa bhaktfani, which means my God,

(02:44):
my God, why have you forsaken me?
When some of those standing nearheard this, they said, listen,
here is calling Elijah. Someone ran, filled a sponge
with wine vinegar, put it on thestaff and offered itchy Jesus to
drink. Now leave him alone, let's see
if Elijah comes down to take him, he said.

(03:05):
With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.
The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom,
and then the Cicurian who stood there in front of Jesus saw how
he died. He said surely this man was the
Son of God. Some women were watching from a
distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene,

(03:26):
Mary the mother of James the Younger and of Joseph and Solone
in Galilee. These women had followed him and
cared for his needs. Many other women who came up
from Jerusalem were also there. Mark, as I said, it's the
earliest account and we would expect it to be the simplest
with the least detail. This account contains the key

(03:49):
elements we are all familiar with.
Simon of Srini, who the hell is this guy anyway and why is he
not mentioned anywhere else? It feels like this is a kind of
inserted character to get the cross away from Jesus to help
create the narrative of Jesus being special.
Even with early accounts we havesuspicious detail.

(04:11):
Has anyone ever pinpointed wherea gold golfer is?
Why not? There is a familiar bit about
Jesus clothes being divided up, the note about Jesus being king
of the Jews. These are odd details that have
the feel of being inserted to make Jesus special.
The two people crucified with Jesus are simply called rebels.

(04:33):
Notice how they both mocked him.All versions have the sun
darkening. Some suggest this is an eclipse,
but that's not possible because of the length of time indicated
and the point in the moon cycle where the Passover happens.
Curtain being torn is also in all accounts.

(04:53):
Reading Mark's account is easy to see how early versions of
stories will contain fictionalised detail.
Matthew's account is chapter 27 verses 32 to 55.
Also going out, they met a man from Cyrene called Simon and
they forced him to carry the cross.

(05:14):
They came to a place called Golgotha, which means the place
of the skull where they offered Jesus wine to drink mixed with
gall. Doesn't sound very nice.
After tasting it, he refused to drink it.
When they crucified him, they divided up his clothes by
casting lots and sitting down. They kept watch over him.
Above his heads. They placed the written charge

(05:34):
against him. This is Jesus, the king of the
Jews. 2 rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and
one on his left. Those who passed by hurled
insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, you who are
going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save
yourself. Come down from the cross if you

(05:55):
are the Son of God. In the same way, the chief
priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders mocked him.
Wow. He saved others, they said, but
he can't save himself. He's the king of Israel.
Let him come down from the crossand we will believe in him.
He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he
wants him. For he said, I am the Son of

(06:17):
God. In the same way, the rebels who
are crucified with him also heatthemselves on him.
From noon until 3:00 in the afternoon, darkness came over
all the land. About 3:00 in the afternoon,
Jesus cried out with a loud voice, Eli, Eli la masa bakfani,
which means, My God, my God, whyhave you forsaken me?

(06:39):
When some of those standing there heard this, they said He
is calling Elijah. Immediately one of them ran and
got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar,
put it on the staff and offered it to Jesus to drink.
The rest said no, leave him alone, let's see if Elijah comes
to save him. And when Jesus cried down again
in our voice, he gave up his spirit.

(07:02):
At that moment the curtailed temple was torn in two from top
to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split
and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people
who had died were raised to life.
They came out of the tombs afterJesus resurrection and went into
the holy city and appeared to many people.

(07:24):
When the Citurion and those withhim who were guarding Jesus saw
the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified.
I probably would be too to be honest and exclaimed.
Surely he was the Son of God. Many women were there watching
from a distance. They had followed Jesus from
Galilee to care for his needs. Among them were Mary Magdalene,

(07:44):
Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of
Zebedee's sons. Matthew is very similar to Mark.
Much of it's considered to be a straight copy, but even here we
see new details being inserted. The note about being the King of
Jews gains a few words and is now being placed above Jesus
head. The mocking of Jesus as his

(08:06):
dying gains more words and thosewho are being crucified with him
are still rebels and they also both still mocking.
The tearing of the temple's curtain isn't enough, so an
earthquake is added, but that's still not enough so not to split
and dead people come back to life.
I wonder why the earthquake didn't topple the crosses if it

(08:29):
were strong enough to split rocks and break open tombs.
This time it's not the centurionwho declares him the Son of God,
but multiple people who were there watching Luke's
encounters. Chapter 23, verses 26 to 49.
As the soldiers led him away, they seized Simon of Sarini, who

(08:54):
was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on
him and made him carry it behindJesus.
A large number of people followed him, including women
who mourned and wailed for him. Jesus turned and said to him,
Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me.
Weep for yourselves and for yourchildren.
For the time will come when you will say, blessed are the

(09:15):
childless women, the wounds thatnever bore, and the breasts that
never nursed us. Then they will say to the
mountains fall on us and the hills cover us, for if people do
these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it
is dry? Yeah, weird.

(09:38):
Two other men, both criminals, were also laid out with him to
be executed. When they came to a place called
the Skull, they crucified in there along with the criminals,
one on his right and the other on his left.
Jesus said, Father forgive them,for they do not know what they
are doing, and they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

(10:01):
The people stood watching and the rulers even sneered at him.
They said he saved others, let him save himself if he's God's
Messiah, the chosen one. The soldiers who came up also
mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar
and said if you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.
There was a notice written abovehim with trees.

(10:21):
This is the king of the Jews. When all the criminals are hung,
they held insults at him. Aunt, you the Messiah, save
yourself and us. But the other criminal rebuked
him. Don't you fear God?
He said, since you are under thesame sentence, we are punished
justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve.
But this man has done nothing wrong.

(10:45):
Then he said, Jesus, Remember Mewhen you come into your Kingdom.
Jesus answered him Truly I'll tell you today you will be with
me in paradise. It was now about noon, and
darkness came over the whole land until 3:00 in the
afternoon, for the sun stopped shining and the curt of the
temple was torn in two. Jesus called out a loud voice,

(11:06):
Father, into your hands I commitmy spirit.
And he had said this. He grieved his last.
No, Elijah the centurion, seeingwhat had happened, praised God
and said surely this was a righteous man, nor the people
who had gathered to witness his sight saw what took place.
They beat their breasts and wentaway.

(11:27):
But all those who knew him, including the women who had
followed him from Galilee, stoodat a distance watching these
things. Jesus gains a few lines of
dialogue during his journey to the crucifixion site as well as
while he's on the cross. This is where we introduce to
the phrase Father forgive them for they do not know what they

(11:48):
are doing. You'd think that such a
memorable phrase would have beenincluded in all accounts, but
apparent not. The mocking of Jesus has changed
slightly with some new specific details.
The notice is still above Jesus head but the text has changed
again. We also have the significant

(12:09):
change of only one of those being crucified with Jesus
mocking him. The other one apparently
recognises Jesus for who he is. Again, you'd think that all
accounts would have a detail as critical as this.
This is exactly the sort of difference that indicates A
narrative that is evolving over time.
The post death phrase recognising Jesus being

(12:30):
righteous has changed from him being the son of God and it's
back to just as a trion saying it.
The earthquake has disappeared, but Jesus death is a little more
dramatic. This is kind of subtle
differences. It leads scholars to suggest
that those who wrote Luke and Matthew copied from Mark, each
using Mark as a base and adding their own independent

(12:52):
embellishments. John's account is in verse
chapter 19, verses 16 to 36. So the soldiers took charge of
Jesus carrying his own cross, who in town took place of the
skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha.
Where's Simon? There they crucified in with two

(13:15):
others, one on each side and Jesus in the middle.
Pilate had a notice prepared andfastened through the cross.
It read Jesus of Nazareth, a king of the Jews.
Many of the Jews read this sign for the place where Jesus was
crucified within the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic
Latin and Greek. No English.

(13:37):
The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate do not write
the King of the Jews, but this man claims to be the king of the
Jews. Pilate answered, What I have
written, I have written and the soldiers crucified, Jesus said,
took his clothes, dividing it into 4 shares, one for each of
them within the with the undergarment remaining.

(13:59):
This garment was seamless, wovenin one piece from top to bottom.
Let's not tear it, they said to one another.
Let's divide it by lot who will get it.
So let's decide by lot who will get it.
This happened that the Scripturemight be fulfilled.
It said, They divided my praise among them and cast lots for my
garment. So this is what the soldiers

(14:22):
did. Near the cross of Jesus stood
his mother, his mother's sister,Mary, the wife of Cleop or Copas
and may remember it. When Jesus saw his mother there
and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her
woman here is your son, and to the disciples, here is your
mother. From that time on Jesus took

(14:44):
her. From that time on this disciple
took her into his home. I did read this beforehand, I
promise later, knowing that everything had now been finished
so that scripture will be fulfilled.
Jesus said I am thirsty. A jar of wine vinegar was there
convenient, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on

(15:05):
the stalk of a hyssop plant and lifted it to Jesus lips.
When he had received the drink, Jesus said it is finished.
With that he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
Now it was the day of preparation, and the next day
was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did
not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they

(15:26):
asked Pilot to have the legs broken and the bodies taken
down. Thoughtful.
The soldiers therefore came out and broke the legs of the first
man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the
other. And when they came to Jesus,
they found he was already dead. They did not break his legs.
Instead, one of the soldiers PS Jesus's side with a spear,

(15:47):
bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.
The man who saw it has given testimony, and he's just what he
is. True.
He knows he is telling the truth, and he testifies that you
may also believe. Yeah, that's convincing.
These things happen so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.
Not one of his bones would be broken.

(16:09):
And the Scripture says they tookon the 1:00 they have pierced
Simon from of Cyrena has been dropped completely as Simon.
He's taking too much attention from Jesus, and instead Jesus
carries his own cross. The notes are still there.
The text has changed again, and this time it's in multiple

(16:29):
languages to really drive the point home.
Writers obviously could not agree on what it was they had
supposedly been written about Jesus.
Such sloppiness. Pilate now gets a chance to
justify what he wrote. Who could possibly have had
contact with the chief priests to find this one out?

(16:50):
And yet another detail that feels like it's inserted
fiction. The separating of Jesus close
gains new detail too. I wonder what eventually
happened to that untorn garment.That would have been very
valuable. Oh, so he was made-up, wasn't
it? We have the extra detail of the

(17:10):
testing of the death of Jesus with a spear in his side.
Again, this is a crucial detail that seems to be forgotten by
the earlier accounts. Or is this too another added
fact? The sponge that is used to feed
Jesus comes after he says he is thirsty.
Another added detail. As with the washing of Jesus

(17:33):
disciples feet, we see that whenyou read the different accounts
of Jesus crucifixion and death, there is clear progression in
the narrative. And this is exactly the kind of
changes that you happen when stories evolve over the years
and decades of retelling with added application.
And This is why I and others simply do not accept the Gospels
or the Bible as anything other than the human book telling

(17:58):
human. You.
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(18:19):
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