Different people treated the crucified Christ in different ways.

The Jewish religious leaders of the day were more interested in observing the ceremonial laws. It was the sabbath, and they had no intention of allowing these events to interrupt their observances. They had missed the whole point of Christ’s sacrifice, that Christ had proclaimed his work as done, there was nothing left for us to do.

The world, as represented by the secular authorities gets very little mention. Pilate is just used as part of God’s sovereign plan. Even though his actions were not according to God’s will, God used it.

The soldiers merely followed orders. They’d seen it all before. Yet, Jesus had died already, so they had no need to break any of his bones. They had no compulsion breaking the legs of the two thieves who were also being crucified though. Yet through this, the requirements of the ceremonially law were being kept – the Passover Lamb was to be presented without a single broken bone.

Finally there was the one who recorded all of what was going on. He believed in Jesus, the Christ, and preserved was he saw, that he might tell others what Jesus Christ had achieved.

In Malachi, God’s people had to be told they were believing a lie. They had disgarded the word of God and relied solely on their own fallen reason. From observing the world around them and coming up with the false premise that the evil prospered, they came to the conclusion that God was pleased with evil.

They wondered what was the benefit of following God’s commandments, why bother serving God at all.

Yet, this was a shortsighted view. God, through Malachi, reminds them that only the righteous will be his treasured possession. He reminds them there is a distinction between the righteous and the wicked. That, in the long run, God will deal with the wicked, according to his own holiness.