This past Good Friday, my church, New City Phoenix, presented an art exhibit of the Passion of Jesus Christ by the old masters. I took pictures, and I’m presenting them here as a visual telling of what Jesus, your Savior, went through in those last hours of His life — the Passion of Jesus Christ. Click on each image to view it larger.
The Last Supper
Leonardo Da Vinci, 1490s
Found in:
Gethesemane
32 They went to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and Jesus said, “Sit here while I go and pray.” 33 He took Peter, James, and John with him, and he became deeply troubled and distressed. 34 He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”
35 He went on a little farther and fell to the ground. He prayed that, if it were possible, the awful hour awaiting him might pass him by. 36 “Abba, Father,” he cried out, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”
Mark 14: 32-36
Jesus is Arrested and Tried Before Pilate
- Good Friday: Jesus is Arrested, Tried, and Mocked
- John 18: The Final Day: Jesus is Betrayed, Arrested, and Judged: A King not of this World…
- Luke 23: We Walked Where Jesus Walked. Will You Follow Him to the Cross?
- Mark 14:12-72: Jesus, the Perfect Lamb of God, Facing the Cross, Suffers Agony
The Beating of Jesus
- Good Friday: What it’s Like to Feel Excruciating Pain
- Mark 15:1-32: Jesus Took on Our Punishment & Shame to Save the World
- Predicted in the Old Testament: Isaiah 52-53: Good News in the Epic Prophecy Fulfilled by Jesus
Jesus, Passion at the Cross
The Bitter Wine
28 Jesus knew that his mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture he said, “I am thirsty.” 29 A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to his lips. 30 When Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It is finished!” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
John 19:28-30 NLT
The following is an excerpt of some of the text my church had on display on Good Friday.
Jesus, now near death, knew that the Passover sacrifice had to be finished, and it could only be finished by taking the final cup of wine. This final cup of wine represents the cup of God’s wrath. This was the cup that Jesus wanted to pass from Him when He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane! He begged God to “remove this cup from me!” Jesus knew that this would be the most agonizing part of it all. Yet, Jesus had come to do His Father’s will and take the punishment for all sin ever committed. That moment had arrived.
This final cup of bitter wine was served to Jesus on a hyssop branch, which is a bitter herb. The bitterness of sin is magnified here as Jesus takes the wrath and death that sin caused. My sin, and your sin.
And, with this, it is FINISHED! The sacrifice was complete.
Astonishingly, this fourth cup that is still consumed at Passover meals to this day is not known as the cup of wrath, but rather, the cup of praise! We call it praise because for those who have received this gift from Jesus Christ, death no longer has a grip on us. The final sacrifice is complete. The truth of Good Friday is that God Himself paid the penalty for our sin. Jesus has rescued us from bondage in sin and set us free.
Many religions teach something like, “Be good and you’ll go to heaven.” But this puts us in a bit of a quandary. How good is good enough? That’s the problem with religion. You can’t never know. But [true, born-again] Christianity, a relationship with God through Jesus, says Jesus is your goodness. Yes, Jesus wants us to be and do good, but we all fall short of that at some point. None of us is God. Jesus was and is God, and Jesus is the way back to God for us. Have you considered this?
If you’re not sure if you’re saved or not, if you truly want to be born again and have the assurance of salvation, receive the Holy Spirit, feel His Shalom — a peace that surpasses all understanding, and get a 1-way, non-stop ticket to Heaven after you die, or that you won’t be left behind at the Rapture, which can happen at any moment, this is what you have to do…
