Today we’re joined by Dr. Tony as we talk about the central moment of the Christian faith. We talk about Jesus and the cross in Mt 27.15-56; Mk 15.6-41; Lk 23.13-49; Jn 18.38-19.37.

All four gospels bring you to the same hill, the same cross, the same Friday. And then each one tells you something the others don't.

This week Dr. Tony works through the crucifixion narratives, and the conversation keeps returning to a simple but demanding question: what is each gospel writer trying to show you about what is happening on this cross, and why does it matter that they don't all show you the same thing?

John frames the crucifixion as simultaneously atonement and enthronement. Jesus is the Lamb of God, dying on the very day the Passover lambs are slaughtered, and he is the king lifted up and exalted, just as he said he would be. "It is finished" means both that a life has ended and that a mission has been completed. John holds both things at once and will not let you separate them.

Luke gives you two prayers. The first is for the people killing him. The second is an act of complete trust spoken into what must have felt like complete darkness. And somewhere between those two prayers, a man dying beside him asks to be remembered, and receives the only explicit promise of paradise Jesus makes to anyone in any of the four gospels. No works. No baptism. No time for reform. Pure grace, with nowhere left to hide from it.

Matthew and Mark give you the cry of dereliction. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me. Dr. Tony opens up what it means that Jesus, for the first time in his life, could not feel the presence of God, and why that detail is the most painful thing in the entire Passion narrative, and also, read against the whole of Psalm 22, not the last word.

Readings for next week: Mt 27.57-66; Mk 15.42-47; Lk 23.50-56; Jn 19.38-42

Links mentioned in this episode:

- Dr. Tony’s notes on the crucifixion (https://www.stmartininthefields.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/The-Crucifixion.pdf)

- Rembrandt’s painting, The Sacrifice of Isaac (​​https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sacrifice_of_Isaac_(Rembrandt))

- Why Did Jesus Have To Die, by Adam Hamilton (https://www.abingdonpress.com/product/9781791040611/)

- Entering the Passion of Jesus: A Beginner's Guide to Holy Week (https://a.co/d/89u4GX8)

- Christ Chronological Bible (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/143364603X)

- Check us out on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@biblelovepodcast)