The Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ
 

XVII. The Crucifixion of Jesus Christ, Our Savior.

1. A definition and some facts about crucifixion.
"Crucifixion," is a New Testament word. It is found in the Bible only in the account of this horrible death for Jesus, and those two malefactors who were crucified with Jesus, one on each side of Him. Its results are used in connection with those being saved by what transpired when this event took place on Golgotha, outside the City wall of Jerusalem during the "Jews" celebration of the feast of Passover.

"Crucifixion," is an invention of man, conceived for the express purpose of inflicting the most horrible death by which man could die. It was begun in the sixth century B.C. and used by the Persians, Egyptians, Carthaginians, and Romans. The Romans used it for slaves & criminals but never for their own citizens. The practice was abolished in 337 A.D. by Constantine the Great out of respect for Jesus Christ.

When the sentence was passed for one to be crucified, the accused was immediately scourged which, in itself, sometimes caused death. Even if death did not take place, there was severe loss of blood, the flesh being cut so badly that organs inside the body were exposed.

a. crucified = stauroo {stow-ro'-o} = to impale on a cross; a pole or cross (stake or post) as an instrument of capital punishment.
b. "word used for the malefactors' crucifixion" = sustauroo {soos-tow-ro'-o} = to impale in company with.
c. word used in Acts 2:23 (only) = prospegnumi {pros-payg'-noo-mee} = to fasten to; espc. to impale {on a cross}; crucify.
d. word used in Heb.6:6 (only) = anastauroo {an-as-tow-ro'-o} = to recrucify.

The cross existed in four (4) different forms:

  • The Latin, T, with the cross beam near the upper part of the upright beam;
  • St. Andrew's, in the shape of an "X."
  • St. Anthony's, in the form of the letter, "T."
  • The Greek, with the cross beams of equal length, + .

Death by crucifixion resulted not from loss of blood, but from heart failure. Sometimes death came only after two or three days unless it was hastened by the breaking of the legs. At times, a fire was built beneath the cross so that the fumes might suffocate the sufferer. (from The New Compact Bible Dictionary, p. 119) The body was often left to waste away naturally on the cross, or to be eaten by fowls and beasts. The Romans allowed the Jews to bury their dead on account of the law of Moses. (Deut. 21:22-23)
2. Many scriptures spoke of His crucifixion before it took place.
a. The fiery serpent of brass made by Moses and set upon a pole.

Numbers 21:8-9
And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. 9And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived. (KJV)

John 3:14-15
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. (KJV)

John 12:32-33
And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all [men] unto me. 33This he said, signifying what death he should die. (KJV)

John 18:31-32
Then said Pilate unto them, Take ye him, and judge him according to your law. The Jews therefore said unto him, It is not lawful for us to put any man to death: 32That the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he spake, signifying what death he should die. (only the Romans could crucify)

 
b. The last passover supper.

Luke 22:19-20
And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake [it], and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. 20Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup [is] the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you. (KJV)

1.) The body of Jesus was given = didomi {did'-o-mee} = to give of one's own accord to another's advantage; to supply, furnish necessary things; to give over, deliver.
2.) The blood of Jesus was shed = ekcheo {ek-kheh'-o} = to pour out.
3.) for = huper {hoop-er'} = in one's stead; on one's behalf.

Hebrews 9:22
And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

(see Lev. 17:11)

Matthew 26:28
For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. (KJV)
c. Psalm 22
  • Being completely forsaken by Jehovah God, His Father.
     
  • Humiliation, mockery, and scorning from the jeering crowd.

Psalm 22:6-8
But I [am] a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people. 7All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, [saying], 8He trusted on the LORD [that] he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him. (KJV)

  • The intense pain and depression He felt.

Psalm 22:14-18
 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. 15My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death. 16For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet. 17I may tell all my bones: they look [and] stare upon me. 18They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.

inclose = naqaph {naw-kaf'} = to go around

 
d. Psalm 69.
  • The cry for help ---- that would not come!

Psalm 69:1-3
Save me ,O God; for the waters are come in unto [my] soul. 2I sink in deep mire, where [there is] no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me. 3I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God. (KJV)

  • He was restoring that which He had not taken away!

Psalm 69:4
They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head: they that would destroy me, [being] mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored [that] which I took not away. (KJV)

  • He was the Object of shame and the song of drunkards.

Psalm 69:7-12
Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face. 8I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother's children. 9For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me. 10When I wept, [and chastened] my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach. 11I made sackcloth also my garment; and I became a proverb to them. 12They that sit in the gate speak against me; and I [was] the song of the drunkards. (KJV)

  • He was dying of a broken and ruptured heart.

Psalm 69:20-21
Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked [for some] to take pity, but [there was] none; and for comforters, but I found none. 21They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. (KJV)
e. Isaiah 53. (read all).

Isaiah 53:3-6
He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were [our] faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5But he [was] wounded for our transgressions, [he was] bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace [was] upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. (KJV)
3. The Innocent Blood (sinless life) is poured out.

a. The propitiation. (only found 3 times in scripture)

1 John 2:2
And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for [the sins of] the whole world. (KJV)

1 John 4:10
Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son [to be] the propitiation for our sins. (KJV)

Romans 3:25
Whom God hath set forth [to be] a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; (KJV)

  • propitiation = hilasmos {hil-as-mos'}
    = 2 uses in 1 Jo.
    = an expiator
         
  • propitiation = hilasterion {hil-as-tay'-ree-on}
    = used in Rom.
    = spec. is used of the lid (mercyseat) of the Ark in the temple;
    = an expiatory     place or thing; the victim.
         
  • In 1 John, Christ is the propitiation Himself. Through the expiatory sacrifice of His death, He is the Personal means by Whom God shows mercy to sinners who believe on Christ as the One thus provided. Although, He is the propitiation for "the whole world," the efficacy of the propitiation is made actual for those believing.
         
  • In Romans 3:25, Christ, through His expiatory death, is the Personal means by Whom God shows the mercy of His justifying grace to the sinner who believes. His blood stands for the voluntary giving up of His life, by the shedding of His blood in expiatory sacrifice, under Divine judgment righteously due to us as sinners, faith being the sole condition on man's part. In the O.T. sacrifices, there is no reference to the victim from which the blood flowed, but, in the N.T., "the blood" never stands alone; the One Whose blood is shed is invariably specified, for it is the Person that gives value to the work; the saving efficacy of the Death depends entirely upon the fact that HE Who died was the Son of God. {ref. taken from Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, page 896}
         
  • It is MAN that is reconciled to GOD, not GOD to man.

2 Corinthians 5:20-21
Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech [you] by us: we pray [you] in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. 21For he hath made him [to be] sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. (KJV)

  • The innocent blood, is identified as that of Jesus, begotten of God.

Matthew 27:3-5
Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 4Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What [is that] to us? see thou [to that]. 5And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself. (KJV)

Deuteronomy 21:8-9
Be merciful, O LORD, unto thy people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed, and lay not innocent blood unto thy people of Israel's charge. And the blood shall be forgiven them. 9So shalt thou put away the [guilt of] innocent blood from among you, when thou shalt do [that which is] right in the sight of the LORD. (KJV)

Matthew 27:24-26
When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but [that] rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed [his] hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye [to it]. 25Then answered all the people, and said, His blood [be] on us, and on our children.
26Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered [him] to be crucified. (KJV)
4. The sequence of events when The Innocent Blood was shed.
  1. Jesus was crucified at 9:00 a.m. on the same day and at the same time that the High Priest of the Jews was offering up the sacrifice in the temple at Jerusalem. However, Jesus was being crucified outside the City wall. {see Heb. 13:11-14)

Mark 15:25-28
And it was the third hour, and they crucified him. 26And the superscription of his accusation was written over, THE KING OF THE JEWS. 27And with him they crucify two thieves; the one on his right hand, and the other on his left. 28And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, And he was numbered with the transgressors. (KJV)

  1. At noon, Jesus died spiritually. i.e., He was separated from God The Father from NOON until 3:00 p.m.

Mark 15:33-34
And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? {see Psa. 22:1}

Luke 23:44-45
And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. 45And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. (KJV)

  1. At 3:00 p.m., after crying with a loud voice, (one Greek word, = tetelestai = the perfect tense, the passive voice, & the indicative mood of teleo {tel-eh'-o} = finish; bring to a close or an end; to execute fully so that the thing done corresponds to what has been ordered, commanded, etc.) It is finished!

John 19:28-30
After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. 29Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a sponge with vinegar, and put [it] upon hyssop, and put [it] to his mouth. 30When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. (KJV)

  1. At 3:00 p.m., after paying the sinner's DEBT IN FULL, Jesus breathed out His physical life. He laid down His own life! (Greek = "delivered up the {His} spirit." (see Luke 23:46 & Psa.31:4-5)

John 10:17-18
Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. 18No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. (KJV)

John 19:31-33
The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and [that] they might be taken away. 32Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him. 33But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs: (KJV)

John 19:36
For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken. (KJV)

Deuteronomy 21:22-23
And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree: 23His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged [is] accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the LORD thy God giveth thee [for] an inheritance. (KJV)

Galatians 3:13-14
Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed [is] every one that hangeth on a tree: 14That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. (KJV)

John 19:34
But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.----

John 19:37
And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced. (KJV)

Revelation 1:7
Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they [also] which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

blood & water = a ruptured-broken heart)

e. The burial of the Body of Jesus. (The Body given through Mary's virgin womb).

John 19:38-42
And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave [him] leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus. 39And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound [weight]. 40Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury. 41Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid. 42There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews' preparation [day]; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand.

f. This was the end many things:

1.) The end of the sufferings and deaths of The Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 3:18
For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:

once = hapax {hap'-ax} = once; one time; once for all)

Hebrews 9:26-28
For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: 28So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. (KJV)

Hebrews 10:10
By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once [for all]. (KJV)

Hebrews 10:11-12
And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: 12But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; (KJV)

Hebrews 10:26
For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, (KJV)

Colossians 1:21-22
And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in [your] mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled 22In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: (KJV)

Isaiah 53:11
 He (The Father) shall see of the travail of his soul, [and] shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. (The sin debt satisfied forever)
2.) The end of the "veil-vail" of separation.
veil = katapetasma {kat-ap-et'-as-mah}
= spread thoroughly; the screen door to the Holy of Holies in the temple; the vail.

Matthew 27:51
And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; (KJV)

Hebrews 10:19-22
Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; 21And [having] an high priest over the house of God; 22Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. (KJV)
3.) The end of the O.T. priesthood.
The O.T. priesthood = hierosume {hee-er-o-soo'-nay} = sacredness of the priestly office.

Hebrews 7:12
For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law. (KJV)

Jesus Christ is now our High Priest. The N.T. priests (saints, the saved) = hierateuma {hee-er-at'-yoo-mah} = the priestly fraternity of ALL the redeemed, God's priesthood.

1 Peter 2:5
Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father -- to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen. (NIV-Rev. 1:5b-6a)

Revelation 5:9-10
And they sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. 10You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth." (NIV)
4.) The end of the sabbath day.

Matthew 28:1
 In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first [day] of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. (KJV)

(also Mark 16:1)

Christians worship on the first day of the week since that is the day of the resurrection; We follow the early Church. (John 20:19)

Acts 20:7
And upon the first [day] of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight. (KJV)

1 Corinthians 16:2
 Upon the first [day] of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as [God] hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come. (KJV)
5.) The end of the law.

Romans 10:4
For Christ [is] the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. (KJV)

Galatians 3:24-25
Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster [to bring us] unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. (KJV)

Matthew 5:17
Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. (KJV)

Romans 8:3-4
 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 4That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. (KJV)
6.) The end of the temple building.

Matthew 24:1-2
And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to [him] for to shew him the buildings of the temple. 2And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? Verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

(In 70 A.D., Titus, destroyed this temple.)

1 Corinthians 6:19-20
What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost [which is] in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's. (KJV)

2 Corinthians 6:16
And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in [them]; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. (KJV)

John 14:16-17
And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 [Even] the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. (KJV)
7.) The end of spiritual death and the end of the fear of bodily death for the born again children of God.

John 5:24
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. (KJV)

1 John 3:14
 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not [his] brother abideth in death. (KJV)

Hebrews 2:14-15
Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; 15And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. (KJV)

2 Corinthians 5:1
For we know that if our earthly house of [this] tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. (KJV)

2 Corinthians 5:8
We are confident, [I say], and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. (KJV)
5. The historical fact of the crucifixion of the Son of God is found 28 times in the Bible (N.T. only). Many of these refer to the specific event; The rest are based upon the truth of this fact.

John 19:16-18
Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led [him] away. 17And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called [the place] of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha: 18Where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst. (KJV)

John 19:25
Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the [wife] of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. (KJV)

Matthew 27:41-42
Likewise also the chief priests mocking [him], with the scribes and elders, said, 42He 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. (KJV)

Mark 15:21
And they compel one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross. (KJV)

Luke 14:27
And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. (KJV)

1 Corinthians 1:17-18
For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. 18For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. (KJV)

Galatians 5:11
And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of the cross ceased. (KJV)

Galatians 6:12-14
As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. 13For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh. 14But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. (KJV)

Philippians 2:8
And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. (KJV)

Philippians 3:18
(For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, [that they are] the enemies of the cross of Christ: (KJV)

Colossians 1:19-20
For it pleased [the Father] that in him should all fulness dwell; 20And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, [I say], whether [they be] things in earth, or things in heaven. (KJV)

Colossians 2:14
 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; (KJV)

Hebrews 12:2
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. (KJV)

= a completed work!

is set down = kathizo {kath-id'-zo}
= active form of, kathezomai {kath-ed'-zom-ahee}
= to seat one's self; to have one's fixed abode; to settle down.  C/f., the O.T. priests, had to stand while ministering in the tabernacle;  There were no chairs inside the tabernacle. Their work was never finished.
tense = Aorist = a point action; once for all; {a done deal}
voice = Active = the subject is the doer of the action.
mood = Indicative=a statement of fact.
6. Jesus did not take His seat until He was caught away. (Acts 1:9) This is not the ascension! It took place immediately after Jesus was resurrected as given in John 20:17; This is what HE did! When HE was "caught away," the clouds did the action.

Acts 1:9
And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. (KJV)

received = dechomai {dekh'-om-ahee} (middle voice of a primary verb) = to take up; receive; to receive favorably; used of a place receiving one.
= tense - Aorist;
 = voice - middle deponent {same as Active};
= mood - infinitive=reflects the purpose & results.

Acts 3:20-21
 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: 21Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. (KJV)

receive = the same Greek word as above.

restitution (the only use in the Bible) = apokatastasis {ap-ok-at-as'-tas-is} = restoration to the perfect state before the fall of man into sin; = restoration to a true Theocracy {God rule).

Acts 1:10-11
And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 11Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. (KJV)

(see, Mat. 24:27f; Rev. 1:7) "every eye" will see HIM!

Jesus is coming back only once, called His second coming. (study later)
 
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