Mormon Literature Sampler:
The Death and Burial of Jesus Christ
James E. Talmage
[i]
James E. Talmage (1862-1933) was born at Hungerford, Berkshire,
England. In 1876 the Talmage family emigrated to Utah where James
became one of the leading intellectuals of the Church and a member of
the Council of the Twelve. He was schooled at Brigham Young Academy
(the predecessor to BYU) in Provo, at Lehigh University, and at Johns
Hopkins. He was professor of geology and chemistry at Brigham Young
Academy and professor of geology at the University of Utah, where he
also became the University's president. Elected to membership in
several learned societies, he was known among his contemporaries as a
gifted scientist, teacher, speaker, and writer. Along with his other
writings, his works Jesus the Christ and The Articles of
Faith are near canonical works for Latter-day Saints. This chapter
from Jesus the Christ demonstrates Talmage's skill at reconstructing
ecclesiastical history with a Mormon view d'appui.
On the Way to Calvary1
[1] Pontius Pilate,
having reluctantly surrendered to the clamorous demands of the Jews,
issued the fatal order; and Jesus, divested of the purple robe and
arrayed in His own apparel, was led away to be crucified. A body of
Roman soldiers had the condemned Christ in charge; and as the
procession moved out from the governor's palace, a motley crowd
comprizing priestly officials, rulers of the Jews, and people of many
nationalities, followed. Two convicted criminals, who had been
sentenced to the cross for robbery, were led forth to death at the
same time; there was to be a triple execution; and the prospective
scene of horror attracted the morbidly minded, such as delight to
gloat over the sufferings of their fellows. In the crowd, however,
were some genuine mourners, as shall be shown. It was the Roman custom
to make the execution of convicts as public as possible, under the
mistaken and anti-psychological assumption, that the spectacle of
dreadful punishment would be of deterrent effect. This misconception
of human nature has not yet become entirely obsolete.
[2] The sentence of
death by crucifixion required that the condemned person carry the
cross upon which he was to suffer. Jesus started on the way bearing
His cross. The terrible strain of the preceding hours, the agony in
Gethsemane, the barbarous treatment He had suffered in the palace of
the high priest, the humiliation and cruel usage to which He had been
subjected before Herod, the frightful scourging under Pilate's order,
the brutal treatment by the inhuman soldiery, together with the
extreme humiliation and the mental agony of it all, had so weakened
His physical organism that He moved but slowly under the burden of the
cross.
Simon Bears the Cross of Jesus
[3] The soldiers,
impatient at the delay, peremptorily impressed into service a man whom
they met coming into Jerusalem from the country, and him they
compelled to carry the cross of Jesus. No Roman or Jew would have
voluntarily incurred the ignominy of bearing such a gruesome burden;
for every detail connected with the carrying out of a sentence of
crucifixion was regarded as degrading. The man so forced to walk in
the footsteps of Jesus, bearing the cross upon which the Savior of the
world was to consummate His glorious mission, was Simon, a native of
Cyrene. From Mark's statement that Simon was the father of Alexander
and Rufus we infer that the two sons were known to the evangelist's
readers as members of tbe early Church, and there is some indication
that the household of Simon the Cyrenian came to be numbered with the
believers.
[4] Among those who
followed or stood and watched the death-procession pass, were some,
women particularly, who bewailed and lamented the fate to which Jesus
was going. We read of no man who ventured to raise his voice in
protest or pity; but on this dreadful occasion as at other times,
women were not afraid to cry out in commiseration or praise. Jesus,
who had been silent under the inquisition of the priests, silent under
the humiliating mockery of the sensual Herod and his coarse
underlings, silent when buffeted and beaten by the brutal legionaries
of Pilate, turned to the women whose sympathizing lamentations had
reached His ears, and uttered these pathetic and portentous words of
admonition and warning: "Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but
weep for yourselves, and for your children. For, behold, the days are
coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the
wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck. Then shall
they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills,
Cover us. For if they do these things in the green tree, what shall be
done in the dry?" It was the Lord's last testimony of the impending
holocaust of destruction that was to follow the nation's rejection of
her King. Although motherhood was the glory of every Jewish woman's
life, yet in the terrible scenes which many of those there weeping
would live to witness, barrenness would be accounted a blessing; for
the childless would have fewer to weep over, and at least would be
spared the horror of seeing their offspring die of starvation or by
violence; for so dreadful would be that day that people would fain
welcome the falling of the mountains upon them to end their
sufferings. If Israel's oppressors could do what was then in process
of doing to the "Green Tree," who bore the leafage of freedom and
truth and offered the priceless fruit of life eternal, what would the
powers of evil not do to the withered branches and dried trunk of
apostate Judaism'?
[5] Along the city
streets, out through the portal of the massive wall, and thence to a
place beyond but yet nigh unto Jerusalem, the cortege advanced. The
destination was a spot called Golgotha, or Calvary, meaning "the place
of a skull."
The Crucifixion2
[6] At Calvary the
official crucifiers proceeded without delay to carry into effect the
dread sentence pronounced upon Jesus and upon the two criminals.
Preparatory to affixing the condemned to the cross, it was the custom
to offer each a narcotic draught of sour wine or vinegar mingled with
myrrh and possibly containing other anodyne ingredients, for the
merciful purpose of deadening the sensibility of the victim. This was
no Roman practise, but was allowed as a concession to Jewish
sentiment. When the drugged cup was presented to Jesus He put it to
His lips, but having ascertained the nature of its contents refused to
drink, and so demonstrated His determination to meet death with
faculties alert and mind unclouded.
[7] Then they crucified
Him, on the central cross of three, and placed one of the condemned
malefactors on His right hand, the other on His left. Thus was
realized Isaiah's vision of the Messiah numbered among the
transgressors.3 But
few details of the actual crucifixion are given us. We know however
that our Lord was nailed to the cross by spikes driven through the
hands and feet, as was the Roman method, and not bound only by cords
as was the custom in inflicting this form of punishment among some
other nations. Death by crucifixion was at once the most lingering and
most painful of all forms of execution. The victim lived in ever
increasing torture, generally for many hours, sometimes for days. The
spikes so cruelly driven through hands and feet penetrated and crushed
sensitive nerves and quivering tendons, yet inflicted no mortal wound.
The welcome relief of death came through the exhaustion caused by
intense and unremitting pain, through localized inflammation and
congestion of organs incident to the strained and unnatural posture of
the body.
[8] As the crucifiers
proceeded with their awful task, not unlikely with roughness and
taunts, for killing was their trade and to scenes of anguish they had
grown callous through long familiarity, the agonized Sufferer, void of
resentment but full of pity for their heartlessness and capacity for
cruelty, voiced the first of the seven utterances delivered from the
cross. In the spirit of God-like mercy He prayed: "Father, forgive
them; for they know not what they do." Let us not attempt to fix
the limits of the Lord's mercy; that it would be extended to all who
in any degree could justly come under the blessed boon thereof ought
to be a sufficing fact. There is significance in the form in which
this merciful benediction was expressed. Had the Lord said, "I forgive
you", His gracious pardon may have been understood to be but a
remission of the cruel offense against Himself as One tortured under
unrighteous condemnation; but the invocation of the Father's
forgiveness was a plea for those who had brought anguish and death to
the Father's Well Beloved Son, the Savior and Redeemer of the world.
Moses forgave Miriam for her offense against himself as her brother;
but God alone could remit the penalty and remove the leprosy that had
come upon her for having spoken against Jehovah's high priest.4
[9] It appears that
under Roman rule, the clothes worn by a condemned person at the time
of execution became the perquisites of the executioners. The four
soldiers in charge of the cross upon which the Lord suffered
distributed parts of His raiment among themselves; and there remained
His coat,5 which was a
goodly garment, woven throughout in one piece, without seam. To rend
it would be to spoil; so the soldiers cast lots to determine who
should have it; and in this circumstance the Gospel-writers saw a
fulfillment of the psalmist's prevision: "They parted my garments
among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots."6
[10] To the cross above
the head of Jesus was affixed a title or inscription, prepared by
order of Pilate in accordance with the custom of setting forth the
name of the crucified and the nature of the offense for which he had
been condemned to death. In this instance the title was inscribed in
three languages, Greek, Latin, and Hebrew, one or more of which would
be understood by every observer who could read. The title so exhibited
read: "This is Jesus the King of the Jews"; or in the more
extended version given by John "Jesus of Nazareth the King of the
Jews." The inscription was read by many, for Calvary was close to
the public thoroughfare and on this holiday occasion the passers-by
were doubtless numerous. Comment was aroused; for, if literally
construed, the inscription was an official declaration that the
crucified Jesus was in fact King of the Jews. When this circumstance
was brought to the attention of the chief priests, they excitedly
appealed to the governor, saying: "Write not, The King of the Jews;
but that he said, I am King of the Jews. Pilate answered, What I have
written I have written." Pilate's action in so wording the title, and
his blunt refusal to permit an alteration, may have been an intended
rebuff to the Jewish officials who had forced him against his judgment
and will to condemn Jesus; possibly, however, the demeanor of the
submissive Prisoner, and His avowal of Kingship above all royalty of
earth had impressed the mind if not the heart of the pagan governor
with a conviction of Christ's unique superiority and of His inherent
right of dominion; but, whatever the purpose behind the writing, the
inscription stands in history as testimony of a heathen's
consideration in contrast with Israel's ruthless rejection of Israel's
King.
[11] The soldiers whose
duty it was to guard the crosses, until loitering death would relieve
the crucified of their increasing anguish, jested among themselves,
and derided the Christ, pledging Him in their cups of sour wine in
tragic mockery. Looking at the title affixed above the Sufferer's
head, they bellowed forth the devil-inspired challenge: "If thou be
the king of the Jews, save thyself." The morbid multitude, and the
passers-by "railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, thou
that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save
thyself, and come down from the cross." But worst of all, the chief
priests and the scribes, the elders of the people, the unvenerable
Sanhedrists, became ringleaders of the inhuman mob as they gloatingly
exulted and cried aloud: "He saved others; himself he cannot save. If
he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we
will believe him. He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he
will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God."7
Though uttered in ribald mockery, the declaration of the rulers in
Israel stands as an attestation that Christ had saved others, and as
an intended ironical but a literally true proclamation that He was the
King of Israel. The two malefactors, each hanging from his cross,
joined in the general derision, and "cast the same in his teeth." One
of them, in the desperation incident to approaching death, echoed the
taunts of the priests and people: "If thou be Christ, save thyself and
us."
[12] The dominant note
in all the railings and revilings, the ribaldry and mockery, with
which the patient and submissive Christ was assailed while He hung,
"lifted up" as He had said He would be8
was that awful "If" hurled at Him by the devil's emissaries in the
time of mortal agony; as in the season of the temptations immediately
after His baptism it had been most insidiously pressed upon Him by the
devil himself.9 That
"If" was Satan's last shaft, keenly barbed and doubly envenomed, and
it sped as with the fierce hiss of a viper. Was it possible in this
the final and most dreadful stage of Christ's mission, to make Him
doubt His divine Son-ship, or, failing such, to taunt or anger the
dying Savior into the use of His superhuman powers for personal relief
or as an act of vengeance upon His tormentors? To achieve such a
victory was Satan's desperate purpose. The shaft failed. Through
taunts and derision, through blasphemous challenge and diabolical
goading, the agonized Christ was silent.
[13] Then one of the
crucified thieves, softened into penitence by the Savior's
uncomplaining fortitude, and perceiving in the divine Sufferer's
demeanor something more than human, rebuked his railing fellow,
saying: "Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same
condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of
our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss." His confession of
guilt and his acknowledgment of the justice of his own condemnation
led to incipient repentance, and to faith in the Lord Jesus, his
companion in agony. "And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when
thou comest into thy kingdom."10
To the appeal of penitence the Lord replied with such a promise as He
alone could make: "Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with
me in paradise."
[14] Among the
spectators of this, the greatest tragedy in history, were some who had
come in sympathy and sorrow. No mention is found of the presence of
any of the Twelve, save one, and he, the disciple "whom Jesus loved,"
John the apostle, evangelist, and revelator; but specific record is
made of certain women who, first at a distance, and then close by the
cross, wept in the anguish of love and sorrow. "Now there stood by the
cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of
Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene."11
[15] In addition to the
women named were many others, some of whom had ministered unto Jesus
in the course of His labors in Galilee, and who were among those that
had come up with Him to Jerusalem.12
First in point of consideration among them all was Mary, the mother of
Jesus, into whose soul the sword had pierced even as righteous Simeon
had prophesied.13
Jesus looking with tender compassion upon His weeping mother, as she
stood with John at the foot of the cross, commended her to the care
and protection of the beloved disciple, with the words, "Woman,
behold thy son!" and to John, "Behold thy mother!" The
disciple tenderly led the heart-stricken Mary away from her dying Son,
and "took her into his own home," thus immediately assuming the new
relationship established by his dying Master.
[16] Jesus was nailed
to the cross during the forenoon of that fateful Friday, probably
between nine and ten o'clock.14
At noontide the light of the sun was obscured, and black darkness
spread over the whole land. The terrifying gloom continued for a
period of three hours. This remarkable phenomenon has received no
satisfactory explanation from science. It could not have been due to a
solar eclipse, as has been suggested in ignorance, for the time was
that of full moon; indeed the Passover season was determined by the
first occurrence of full moon after the spring equinox. The darkness
was brought about by miraculous operation of natural laws directed by
divine power. It was a fitting sign of the earth's deep mourning over
the impending death of her Creator.15
Of the mortal agony through which the Lord passed while upon the cross
the Gospel-scribes are reverently reticent.
[17] At the ninth hour,
or about three in the afternoon, a loud voice, surpassing the most
anguished cry of physical suffering issued from the central cross,
rending the dreadful darkness. It was the voice of the Christ: "Eloi,
Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God,
why hast thou forsaken me?" What mind of man can fathom the
significance of that awful cry? It seems, that in addition to the
fearful suffering incident to crucifixion, the agony of Gethsemane had
recurred, intensified beyond human power to endure. In that bitterest
hour the dying Christ was alone, alone in most terrible reality. That
the supreme sacrifice of the Son might be consummated in all its
fulness, the Father seems to have withdrawn the support of His
immediate Presence, leaving to the Savior of men the glory of complete
victory over the forces of sin and death. The cry from the cross,
though heard by all who were near, was understood by few. The first
exclamation, Eloi, meaning My God, was misunderstood as
a call for Elias.
[18] The period of
faintness, the conception of utter forsakenness soon passed, and the
natural cravings of the body reasserted themselves. The maddening
thirst, which constituted one of the worst of the crucifixion agonies,
wrung from the Savior's lips His one recorded utterance expressive of
physical suffering. "I thirst" he said. One of those who stood
by, whether Roman or Jew, disciple or skeptic, we are not told,
hastily saturated a sponge with vinegar, a vessel of which was at
hand, and having fastened the sponge to the end of a reed, or stake of
hyssop, pressed it to the Lord's fevered lips. Some others would have
prevented this one act of human response, for they said: "Let be, let
us see whether Elias will come to save him." John affirms that Christ
uttered the exclamation, "I thirst", only when He knew "that all
things were now accomplished;" and the apostle saw in the incident a
fulfilment of prophecy.16
[19] Fully realizing
that He was no longer forsaken, but that His atoning sacrifice had
been accepted by the Father, and that His mission in the flesh had
been carried to glorious consummation, He exclainred in a loud voice
of holy triumph: "It is finished." In reverence, resignation,
and relief, He addressed the Father saying: "Father, into thy hands
I commend my spirit."17
He bowed His head, and voluntarily gave up His life.
[20] Jesus the Christ
was dead. His life had not been taken from Him except as He had willed
to permit. Sweet and welcome as would have been the relief of death in
any of the earlier stages of His suffering from Gethsemane to the
cross, He lived until all things were accomplished as had been
appointed. In the latter days the voice of the Lord Jesus has been
heard affirming the actuality of His suffering and death, and the
eternal purpose thereby accomplished. Hear and heed His words: "For,
behold, the Lord your Redeemer suffered death in the flesh; wherefore
he suffered the pain of all men, that all men might repent and come
unto him."18
Notes
1. (Talmage's note a, p. 653.) Matt. 27:31-33; Mark 15:20-22; Luke
23:26-33; John 19:16, 17. Note: Some of Talmage's footnotes have been
omitted because of their reference to other pages in Jesus the
Christ.
2. (Talmage's note e, p. 654.) Matt. 27:34-50; Mark
15:23-37; Luke 23:33-46; John 19:18-30.
3. (Talmage's note f, p. 655.) Isa. 53:12; compare Mark
15:28; Luke 22:37.
4. (Talmage's note h, p. 656.) Numb. 12.
5. (Talmage's note i, p. 656.) Revised version, marginal
reading, "tunic".
6. (Talmage's note j, p. 656.) Matt. 27:35; Mark 15:24; Luke
23:34; John 19:23, 24; compare Psa. 22:18.
7. (Talmage's note m, p. 658.) Matt. 27:42, 43. The clause
"if he be the King of Israel" in verse 42 of the common text is
admittedly a mistranslation; it should read "He is the King of
Israel." See revised version; also Edersheim, vol. 2, p. 596; compare
Mark 15:32.
8. (Talmage's note n, p. 658.) John 3:14; 8:28; 12:32.
9. (Talmage's note o, p. 658.) Matt. 4:3, 6.
10. (Talmage's note p, p. 659.) Luke 23:42; the revised
version reads "when thou comest in thy kingdom."
11. (Talmage's note r, p. 659.) John 19:25; compare Matt.
27:55, 56; Mark 15:40, 41; Luke 23:48, 49.
12. (Talmage's note s, p. 660.) See references last cited;
and Luke 8:2, 3.
13. (Talmage's note t, p. 660.) Luke 2:34, 35.
14. (Talmage's note u, p. 660.) Mark 15:25.
15. (Talmage's note v, p. 660.) Compare P. of G. P., Moses
7:37, 40, 48, 49, 56.
16. (Talmage's note w, p. 661.) John 19:28; compare Psa.
69:21.
17. (Talmage's note x, p. 662.) The Gospel-writers leave us
in some uncertainty as to which of the last two utterances from the
cross, "It is finished," and "Father, into thy hands I commend my
spirit," was spoken first.
18. (Talmage's note y, p. 662.) Doc. and Cov. 18:11;
revelation given in June 1829; see also 19:16-19.
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