The Cross of Jesus
By Crickettt (*Revised*)
Let's take a moment to see the full picture of the crucifixion as it took place 2,000 years ago. First of all, during Jesus' ministry, He taught about a new covenant or promise made between God and mankind. The old teachings and old laws were considered the only way to get to heaven. When Jesus began to teach on receiving salvation through believing and not by works alone, the Pharisees would not accept His message and instead took it as an act of treason and blasphemy against God. Since Jesus did proclaim to be the promised Messiah they were expecting, the priests did not believe in who He was nor did they like His way of teaching. Jesus did not come to change the law but, to fulfill the law. He wanted them to see that they had been using the laws handed down to them wrongfully to meet their own needs and standards. The laws were given to govern the people and provide order among them.
The Bible says, Jesus was sent to teach that the way of salvation was only through believing on and accepting the Son, Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Jesus was charged with treason and blasphemy by the very ones who should have known who He was since they were "priests". He was taken out and handed over to the Roman soldiers to be flogged, beaten, spit on, mocked, and literally mutilated. The whip they used to lash Him with contained several razor sharp-spiked balls which when struck, would rip the flesh to the bone. Jesus' body was torn to pieces. This fulfilled the prophecy in Psalms. "For dogs have surrounded me; a gang of evildoers has closed in on me; they pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones; people look and stare at me. They divided my garments among themselves, and they cast lots for my clothing." (Psalms 22:16-18 HCSB).
With each lashing Jesus received, our diseases and our sicknesses were placed upon Him. I learned through research that each lash represented a major disease in which other diseases are derived from. So, the number of lashes Jesus received were not just by chance, but were actually planned by God to fulfill His complete plan through His Son. The Bible also says in Isaiah that Jesus' beard was ripped from His face, and He was mutilated beyond recognition as a man. The soldiers stripped His garments and cast lots for them. They placed a crown of thorns upon His head (the thorns were about 1-2 inches in length). Since the thorns were thick and solid, they were able to puncture through Jesus' head and to His skull. He was forced to carry a heavy cross placed across His back to the place of His crucifixion called Golgotha or Skull Place. However, during the process of carrying the cross, Jesus became extremely weak and a Roman soldier made a man from the crowd carry the cross the rest of the way. Jesus had to walk through throngs of people who were spitting at Him, shoving Him around and punching at Him. The humiliation of having His own people laugh and mock Him had to hurt Jesus. Just think, the people who were hurting Him, were the very ones Jesus would soon die for. Jesus had lost a lot of blood by now from the lashings and beatings. His face, full of blood, swollen, and beaten beyond recognition still expressed compassion for those around Him and especially for the ones who stood by watching and crying for Him. Those were the ones who loved and believed in Jesus as God's only Son. Jesus could have called ten thousand legions of angels to rescue Him and destroy mankind from off the face of the earth. His love and forgiveness towards us was so deep that He knew He had to complete His Father's will in order for mankind to be saved from eternal death. What great mercy and grace He bestowed upon us that day when He took our place on the cross. Jesus was led up to Golgotha and there, He would be crucified between two thieves.
The Roman soldiers laid the cross on the ground. Then, Jesus was placed on the cross and they stretched His arms out and drove large nails/spikes into His wrists. Those nails were not small; they were large in diameter and several inches long. Then, they overlapped His feet and drove a single spike through both feet into the wood of the cross. I cannot begin to imagine the horror of such pain Jesus experienced during that entire ordeal of His crucifixion. The fact that Jesus would lovingly choose to suffer a brutal and humilitating death for all sinners, such as myself, shows me He was not thinking about Himself or the pain He endured. Instead, He was taking upon Himself all the sins, sicknesses, and diseases of the world into His own body so we all could be set free. He paid the ultimate price for our redemption.
The soldiers stood the cross upright and dropped it into a hole in the ground. The jarring from the cross being dropped, ripped the flesh in His hands and feet where they had driven the spikes. His crucifiction was so unimaginably brutal and painful. There was so much blood due to the crown of thorns, the mutilation of His body and face, and the spikes driven into his hands and feet. I cannot possibly understand how He endured all of that. Jesus knew no sin and yet, He became sin for us. He took our place on that cross and God the Father had to turn His face away from His only Son because of the sin He carried. The Bible says, in that moment Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lemá sabachtháni?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Mark 15:34 HCSB)
Jesus looked out at all those who had crucified Him and said, "Father forgive them for they know not what they are doing." (Luke 23:34 HCSB). He loved them inspite of their unbelief and hatred towards Him and didn't want anyone to perish. When Jesus was on the cross, He saw you and me too. He was praying for everyone. It was His great love for us that caused Him to be obedient unto death.
Jesus' mother and His disciple named John were standing by the cross. Jesus said to His mother, "Woman, here is your son" and turning to John He said, "Here is your mother". Jesus made sure His mother would be taken care of. Then, He said, "It is finished" and gave up His Spirit. It was the Roman custom to break the legs of those being crucified to speed up the process of death. The soldiers broke the legs of the two theives and when they came to Jesus, they saw He was already dead. A Roman soldier drove a spear through his side. "For these things happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled: Not one of His bones will be broken. Also, another Scripture says: They will look at the One they pierced."
(John 19:36-37 HCSB). The Bible says, when the soldier pierced His side, blood and water poured out of his body. This also fulfills the scripture which states, Jesus shed His life's blood for you and me. He hung upon that cross in such agonizing pain and yet, He knew the victory that would come from His death and resurrection. You see, Jesus loved you so much that He allowed Himself to become disfigured for you. He literally died just for you so that through His death and resurrection, you would be saved from eternal damnation. He conquered death, hell, and the grave for you
However, that's not where it ends. For you see, Jesus arose on the third day just as He had promised He would. He was even seen by His disciples and also by others in different places. Jesus gave us the greatest gift that man will ever receive. He gave us eternal life! When that third day arrived, a great earthquake occured, and the angels of God came down and rolled that huge, heavy stone away, like a piece of candy, from the tomb where His body lay. Jesus stepped out in all of His glory and heaven rejoiced in song and praise! For Jesus is King of all Kings and Lord of all Lords. He is the Alpha and Omega (the Beginning and the End). He is omnipresent (ever present everywhere). He is the Great I Am, He is Prince of Peace, Mighty God, Holy One, Emanuel (God is with us), and He is the creator of everything. Jesus Christ is Risen! And He sits at the right hand of the Father in heaven waiting for His time to return and get His children (the body of Christ/all those who believe in Jesus as their Lord and Savior).
We have the opportunity of a lifetime to reach out and grab hold of this free gift just by simply believing. Yes, Jesus is no longer on the cross and Praise God, He definitely is not in that tomb. That tomb is empty!
Jesus Christ is God, who came in the flesh of a man in order to walk with us, talk with us, and teach us His ways. Jesus, the one who created us, humbled Himself and died for us. He left his glorious home in heaven with all its splendor to suffer upon a cross and take upon Himself the sins of the world. What "great" love Christ bestowed upon mankind. I don't know of a single person today who would ever endure what Jesus did for a bunch of sinners who didn't even care about Him. Instead, they were people that hated Him and wanted Him dead, people that cursed His name and still do to this day. Jesus paid the ultimate price and gave us life if we will only accept it. Don't let His death be meaningless to you.
Read this again and again until you can fully picture in your own mind what Jesus' death and suffering meant for you. Then, if there are any areas in your life which are not quite right, repent of your sins and ask Jesus to come into your life. He will give you His Holy Spirit who will come and live inside your heart and help you. Let God become the center of your life and let this be a new beginning, a new life for you today! We're not guaranteed tomorrow, so why not do it today!
Jesus took a most difficult situation and turned it around in Victory. You can too! There is one requirement; you must receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior and then live it in your daily life. It won't be easy I can assure you, but with God all things are possible! I pray that you will see for yourself the true meaning behind the Cross and exactly what took place in order for you to have that victory. May you grow stronger in the Lord because of this message and I know God will always be with you urging you in the right direction. You are in my prayers!
Your friend in Christ, Crickettt
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**All scripture quotes originate from the various Bible translations listed.
