A moving account of the trial and death of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The pictures were taken at the presentation of the play as enacted by
the Pastor and members of Fairview UMC.
Pilate Hands Jesus Over to Be Crucified: Mark 15:6-15
Now
it was the governor’s custom to release one prisoner each year at Passover
time—anyone the people requested. One of the prisoners at that time was
Barabbas, convicted along with others for murder during an insurrection. The mob
began to crowd in toward Pilate, asking him to release a prisoner as usual.
"Should I give you the King of the Jews?" Pilate asked. (For he realized by now
that the leading priests had arrested Jesus out of envy.) But at this point the
leading priests stirred up the mob to demand the release of Barabbas instead of
Jesus. "But if I release Barabbas," Pilate asked them, "what should I do with
this man you call the King of the Jews?"
They shouted back, "Crucify him!"
"Why?" Pilate demanded. "What crime has he committed?"
But the crowd only roared the louder, "Crucify him!"
So Pilate, anxious to please the crowd, released Barabbas to them. He ordered
Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman
soldiers to crucify him.
Jesus Is Led Away to Be Crucified Mark 15:21-24
A man named Simon, who was from Cyrene, was coming in from the country just
then, and they forced him to carry Jesus’ cross. (Simon is the father of
Alexander and Rufus.) And they brought Jesus to a place called Golgotha (which
means Skull Hill). They offered him wine drugged with myrrh, but he refused it.
Then they nailed him to the cross. They gambled for his clothes, throwing dice
to decide who would get them.
Jesus Is Placed on the Cross Mark 15:25-32
It
was nine o’clock in the morning when the crucifixion took place. A signboard was
fastened to the cross above Jesus’ head, announcing the charge against him. It
read: "The King of the Jews." Two criminals were crucified with him, their
crosses on either side of his. And the people passing by shouted abuse, shaking
their heads in mockery. "Ha! Look at you now!" they yelled at him. "You can
destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days, can you? Well then, save
yourself and come down from the cross!"
The leading priests and teachers of religious law also mocked Jesus. "He
saved others," they scoffed, "but he can’t save himself! Let this Messiah, this
king of Israel, come down from the cross so we can see it and believe him!" Even
the two criminals who were being crucified with Jesus ridiculed him.
Jesus Dies on the Cross Mark 15:33-39
At
noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. Then, at that
time Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi,
lema sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you
forsaken me?"
Some of the bystanders misunderstood and thought he was calling for the
prophet Elijah. One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, holding it
up to him on a stick so he could drink. "Leave him alone. Let’s see whether
Elijah will come and take him down!" he said.
Then Jesus uttered another loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain in
the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. When the Roman officer who stood
facing him saw how he had died, he exclaimed, "Truly, this was the Son of God!"
On the third day, following the Sabbath, Mary Magdalene,
Salome and Mary
the mother of James went to anoint the body. Mark 16:2-6
Very early on Sunday morning, just at sunrise, they came to the tomb. On the
way they were discussing
who would roll the stone away from the entrance to the tomb. But when they
arrived, they looked up and saw that the stone—a very large one—had already been
rolled aside. So they entered the tomb, and there on the right sat a young man
clothed in a white robe. The women were startled, but the angel said, "Do not be
so surprised. You are looking for Jesus, the Nazarene, who was crucified. He
isn’t here! He has been raised from the dead!
A tradition:
A tradition at Fairview is the dressing of the cross with flowers at the
Easter Sunrise Service. This is done as a celebration of the new life that
we gain from the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and the joy that
we feel at His resurrection and promise of salvation. May your heart be
filled with joy and thanksgiving at the remembrance of this fulfillment of the
scriptures. Let's each of us examine our life and pledge to live by the
example of Jesus.
Now
it was the governor’s custom to release one prisoner each year at Passover
time—anyone the people requested. One of the prisoners at that time was
Barabbas, convicted along with others for murder during an insurrection. The mob
began to crowd in toward Pilate, asking him to release a prisoner as usual.
"Should I give you the King of the Jews?" Pilate asked. (For he realized by now
that the leading priests had arrested Jesus out of envy.) But at this point the
leading priests stirred up the mob to demand the release of Barabbas instead of
Jesus. "But if I release Barabbas," Pilate asked them, "what should I do with
this man you call the King of the Jews?"
It
was nine o’clock in the morning when the crucifixion took place. A signboard was
fastened to the cross above Jesus’ head, announcing the charge against him. It
read: "The King of the Jews." Two criminals were crucified with him, their
crosses on either side of his. And the people passing by shouted abuse, shaking
their heads in mockery. "Ha! Look at you now!" they yelled at him. "You can
destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days, can you? Well then, save
yourself and come down from the cross!"
At
noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. Then, at that
time Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi,
lema sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you
forsaken me?"
discussing
who would roll the stone away from the entrance to the tomb. But when they
arrived, they looked up and saw that the stone—a very large one—had already been
rolled aside. So they entered the tomb, and there on the right sat a young man
clothed in a white robe. The women were startled, but the angel said, "Do not be
so surprised. You are looking for Jesus, the Nazarene, who was crucified. He
isn’t here! He has been raised from the dead!