<p>15:29 <i>And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying: Ha You that would destroy the temple and build it in three days</i>- The Christian life, as crucified with Christ, cannot be kept secret from the world. This is why the place of crucifixion was so public- it was near a road, for passers by spoke to the crucified Jesus (Mk. 15:29), and Simon was a passer-by coming in from the field (Gk. <i>agros</i>, Lk. 23:26). The cross confronted people in their daily living, just as it should us today. Quintillian (<i>Declamationes</i> 274) records how crucifixions were always held in the most public places where crowds would gather. For us, if we are living the crucified life with Jesus, it cannot be done in a corner. See on Rom. 4:25.</p><p>This would have reminded Him that He was doing this to Himself, they weren't doing it to Him. He knew that the temple would be ripped apart stone by stone. And so He knew the temple of His body must be, for in that body He bore our sins on the tree. He had foretold that the tabernacle of His body would be 'taken down' as that in the wilderness was, taken apart piece by piece. In that lengthy procedure He had seen foretold the excruciating nature of His death, as every aspect of humanity was taken apart. &quot;...and buildest it in three days&quot; would have taken His mind forward to that certain future. So their taunt would have aided His efforts to remain spiritual. Likewise their allusions to Ps. 22 (&quot;He trusted in God...&quot;) served to steer the Lord's mind there, and to take comfort from the rest of the Psalm and the context of their mocking quotations. Yet even in the mocking, the Lord&rsquo;s Bible mind would have found some sort of encouragement. For the Lord was so clearly bearing the judgment of Israel&rsquo;s sins: &ldquo;All who pass along the way clap their hands at you: they hiss and wag their heads at the daughter of Jerusalem&quot; (Lam. 2:15). And note too Jer. 48:27 (LXX 31:27): &ldquo;Is Israel a laughing stock? Was she caught between thieves that you wag your head?&quot;. This is exactly the Lord&rsquo;s position, between thieves, and mocked- but by Israel. These prophecies imply it was the Gentiles who would mock Israel; thus by treating the Lord as they did, they declared themselves to be no longer God&rsquo;s people but Gentiles. The darkness that came down would have recalled Jer. 33:19-21- when day and night no longer follow their normal sequence, God is breaking His covenant. Israel&rsquo;s condemnation would be that &ldquo;even at midday you will grope like a blind man in the dark&quot; (Dt. 28:29). And yet the Lord would have known that He was suffering for Israel, treated as an apostate Israel, and thus He was the more inspired to pray for their ultimate forgiveness and salvation, seeing He had borne their condemnation. The Lord suffered &ldquo;for the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due&quot; (Is. 53:8 RVmg.). There are therefore elements of the crucifixion sufferings of Jesus in every suffering of natural Israel.</p>